A beautiful handfasting

Today her Grace Gabrielle Riel and Lady Azul Draken were married in a ceremony conducted by Hypatia Dejavu.

The brides were lovely.

There was, of course, dancing after, in the courtyard of Carntaigh.

And what would a wedding reception be without cake and bubbly?

Hat contest

Inspired by my friends in the Consulate of Europa Wulfenbach, I wish to announce a CONTEST for best hat. Because, of course, one can never have too many hats.

Two competitive divisions:

Tipjar hats

  • 30 points for ostentation
  • 30 for cleverness of thank you reply
  • 30 for special effects
  • 10 at judges’ discretion
  • Please note that points will be deducted for tipjar hats deemed unusable.

Hats to wear

  • 30 points for ostentation
  • 30 for versatility
  • 30 for special effects
  • 10 at judges’ discretion
  • Please note that points will be deducted for hats deemed easily lost (because, of course, any plan where you lose your hat is a bad plan.)
  • Hats should be gender-role-free
  • Two classes: Tiny and Tall

To enter

Hats should be named “tipjar – contestant name,” “tiny – contestant name,” or “tall – contestant name” and dropped on the judges, Otenth Paderborn, Frau Annechen Lowey, and Baron KlausWulfenbach Outlander, no later than Friday, October 10. Entries should be copiable, and in the case of hats to wear, modifiable, but need not be transferable. Contestants may enter in multiple classes.

Winners

Winners will be announced here and at an event to be held Saturday, October 11 (12-2pm SLT at the Wyre Fairgrounds; winner need not be present to win). Cash prizes will be awarded:

  • L$ 1000 to highest scoring tipjar
  • L$ 1000 to highest scoring wearable hat for tinies
  • L$ 1000 to highest scoring wearable hat for talls
  • L$ 1000 to contestant with highest combined total score
  • L$ 1000 to highest scoring entry

Victorian politics

So far it only goes back to 1885, but eventually the online Sittings By Decade (Hansard) will go back to 1805.

Hansard, the Official Report, is the edited verbatim report of proceedings in both Houses of Parliament. Hansard is not a verbatim account of debates in Parliament. It seeks to eliminate “repetitions, redundancies and obvious errors”.

May salon this evening

I very much regret the late reminder, but tonight, as every third Tuesday, you may find me at home at Ormsby Hall, Little West Sniggery, Caledon Murdann for a literary salon from 5:00 to 7:00 pm SLT. Tonight’s starting point:

Sir Timothy was a fluent speaker, and when there was nothing to be said was possessed of a great plenty of words. And he was gifted with that peculiar power which enables a man to have the last word in every encounter,—a power which we are apt to call repartee, which is in truth the readiness which comes from continual practice. You shall meet two men of whom you shall know the one to be endowed with the brilliancy of true genius, and the other to be possessed of but moderate parts, and shall find the former never able to hold his own against the latter. In a debate, the man of moderate parts will seem to be greater than the man of genius. But this skill of tongue, this glibness of speech is hardly an affair of intellect at all. It is,— as is style to the writer,— not the wares which he has to take to market, but the vehicle in which they may be carried. Of what avail to you is it to have filled granaries with corn if you cannot get your corn to the consumer? Now Sir Timothy was a great vehicle, but he had not in truth much corn to send.

—Anthony Trollope, The Duke’s Children, chapter 26

Dating for dollars

Linden dollars, that is, in contributions to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Second Life. This Sunday I will be privileged to have a date auctioned off.

I had the pleasure of having my portrait done by Mr Jaksoi Pak for the auction vendors:

Social norms, privacy, and community

There’s a thought-provoking post about social norms and privacy at Grace McDunnough’s blog, Phasing Grace: Upholding Social Norms

Reflecting upon my early Second Life social experiences and those today I see dramatic changes, especially related to social privacy. For example, part of the subtle but consistent reinforcement from the early community was that the separation between one’s Second Life (SL) and real life (RL) was assumed, and the merger of those two was the decision of each individual to be exposed, discussed, etc. at their discretion and without prompting and if shared, certainly held in the utmost of confidence.

I’ve left a comment with a few of my perceptions as a resident of Caledon, a Quaker and Unitarian Universalist, and a middle-aged avatar (since November 2006, when we had already passed our first million residents).

March literary salon

As I am each third Tuesday, I will be at home tomorrow for conversation. The March topic is drawn from “The beauty of life,” an address delivered before the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design on February 19, 1880, by William Morris:

‘HAVE NOTHING IN YOUR HOUSES THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW TO BE USEFUL OR BELIEVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL.’

What is the relevance of this “golden rule” to our first or second lives?

Please join me at Ormsby Hall, Caledon Murdann, on Tuesday 18 March, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm SLT.