The back alley's back at B&D (Bound and Determined Fetish Club). I'm glad to see it back, but I have to say.. I'm still not digging the new atmosphere. It's too f'ing big.
-xopixox
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
You know what I'm sick of?
I'm sick to hell of the internet being portrayed as a place where 'bad' or 'dirty' people hang out. I'm sick of the media talking about Second Life as a place where stalkers, murderers, pedophiles, and 'losers' are. I'm sick of reading news articles saying "Girl murdered for answering Craigslist ad". Sick of it.
CSI:NY last week did an episode that featured Second Life. According to the plot, the murderer was a resident of Second Life, so the detectives had to log in and create their own avatar in order to track down the killer. This led to numerous instances of sarcastic remarks or snide little comments about people being involved in online communities, or falling in love online. Although I'm really glad to see Second Life making its way into mainstream media, but making comments like this really don't help the typical person understand that we really aren't all murderers and bad people. Numerous people at work the next day.. knowing how involved I am in Second Life took time to ask me if I'd seen it and it was always followed by, "that's CREEPY." Great. Just what we need.
The very next evening the episode of "The Office" also mentioned Second Life and in the explanation there was a line that went something like "It's not a game, there are no winners or losers" which was, of course, following by the next line of dialogue saying "Oh there are losers, all right.". Once again, fantastic stereotyping.
Now today, someone else shows me this. The discovery of a 'pedophile playground' within Second Life. For those of you not familiar with Second Life, it's a virtual world where you can choose to be whatever the hell you want. Man, woman, animal, alien, fairy, robot, etc. Now.. keep in mind please, that everyone signing up for a Second Life account in the main area has to be over 18. So, in knowing that.. if you 'choose' then to have a 'smaller' avatar that might look like someone younger than 18 and you engage in virtual sex with an adult .. is that a crime? You're both 18. You're both consenting. You're both involved in roleplaying. Is it a crime? I dunno. Not in my mind, but I'm not sure the law is always on my side.
What's the line with roleplaying and age play? How many times during 'normal/offline' sex have you called someone 'baby' or "my sweet girl'? How many times have people engaged in behaviors like spanking with the partner in costume to resemble a 'schoolgirl' or something similar? I'm wondering how exactly that's different than what we're talking about in Second Life. In my mind? It's not different at all.
-xopixox
CSI:NY last week did an episode that featured Second Life. According to the plot, the murderer was a resident of Second Life, so the detectives had to log in and create their own avatar in order to track down the killer. This led to numerous instances of sarcastic remarks or snide little comments about people being involved in online communities, or falling in love online. Although I'm really glad to see Second Life making its way into mainstream media, but making comments like this really don't help the typical person understand that we really aren't all murderers and bad people. Numerous people at work the next day.. knowing how involved I am in Second Life took time to ask me if I'd seen it and it was always followed by, "that's CREEPY." Great. Just what we need.
The very next evening the episode of "The Office" also mentioned Second Life and in the explanation there was a line that went something like "It's not a game, there are no winners or losers" which was, of course, following by the next line of dialogue saying "Oh there are losers, all right.". Once again, fantastic stereotyping.
Now today, someone else shows me this. The discovery of a 'pedophile playground' within Second Life. For those of you not familiar with Second Life, it's a virtual world where you can choose to be whatever the hell you want. Man, woman, animal, alien, fairy, robot, etc. Now.. keep in mind please, that everyone signing up for a Second Life account in the main area has to be over 18. So, in knowing that.. if you 'choose' then to have a 'smaller' avatar that might look like someone younger than 18 and you engage in virtual sex with an adult .. is that a crime? You're both 18. You're both consenting. You're both involved in roleplaying. Is it a crime? I dunno. Not in my mind, but I'm not sure the law is always on my side.
What's the line with roleplaying and age play? How many times during 'normal/offline' sex have you called someone 'baby' or "my sweet girl'? How many times have people engaged in behaviors like spanking with the partner in costume to resemble a 'schoolgirl' or something similar? I'm wondering how exactly that's different than what we're talking about in Second Life. In my mind? It's not different at all.
-xopixox
Sunday, October 21, 2007
it's all in the details, darling
B&D (Bound and Determined Fetish Club) in Second Life has recently undergone a 'remodel'. I spoke with Sefris Wendt (the former owner) to tell him that I liked the way things were looking, and he told me that he'd sold the club and it was now under the ownership of Kailani Ling. Kailani also owns the "Twisted Orchid" fetish club and I've blogged about that previously.
I must say that B&D was by far my favorite place to hang out, observe, and chat with people so when I have some time on my hands, you can usually find me there. This remodel is great, and exciting but I do have a couple cents to toss into the bucket on this one.
The previous version of B&D had one big room with several separate areas just off to the side of the main room. It also had a 'back alley' and in my opinion, the best roleplay scenes happened in that area. The new version is .. well.. freaking huge. There are walkways above the 'main room', which as I've said.. is FREAKING HUGE... and then on the upper floor there are several rooms that are more 'private' than in the previous version. There's a bathroom, a few 'dungeon' looking rooms, a few rooms with just bunches of poseballs, one or two with a bed.. and my favorite, the doctor's office.
The lower room now has a really large stage area with dance poles and seats in front, and then just a few 'sitting' areas around the room.
I've been to several 'sex' and 'fetish' clubs in SL and I understand this 'model', but the more I looked around, the more disappointed I became. In my opinion (and really, isn't that all most blogs are anyway?) what made B&D great was that it *wasn't* like every other club in SL. It was bright and open and exciting. The scale of the build in its entirety 'worked' and encouraged communication and interaction. Although I do like the new B&D with its more separate, private and distinct rooms, the overall feel now is 'dark' and 'big' and I'm just not digging that. The 'scale' is off and again.. in my opinion.. the build is just too big. It's too big to feel cozy or to make you feel like you're 'part of something' by being there. Just one glance at the floor tiles can throw off this whole sense of 'place'. I'm also not sure I understand this whole 'dark is sexy' idea that seems prevalent in SL. Why are all these sex clubs so dark and dreary?
When you're trying to build or create in Second Life, it really is about the details. It's the details that keep people coming back, and it's the details that make the difference. I hope B&D understands how important the 'details' are and that they make it a place I want to continue to frequent.
-xopixox
I must say that B&D was by far my favorite place to hang out, observe, and chat with people so when I have some time on my hands, you can usually find me there. This remodel is great, and exciting but I do have a couple cents to toss into the bucket on this one.
The previous version of B&D had one big room with several separate areas just off to the side of the main room. It also had a 'back alley' and in my opinion, the best roleplay scenes happened in that area. The new version is .. well.. freaking huge. There are walkways above the 'main room', which as I've said.. is FREAKING HUGE... and then on the upper floor there are several rooms that are more 'private' than in the previous version. There's a bathroom, a few 'dungeon' looking rooms, a few rooms with just bunches of poseballs, one or two with a bed.. and my favorite, the doctor's office.
The lower room now has a really large stage area with dance poles and seats in front, and then just a few 'sitting' areas around the room.
I've been to several 'sex' and 'fetish' clubs in SL and I understand this 'model', but the more I looked around, the more disappointed I became. In my opinion (and really, isn't that all most blogs are anyway?) what made B&D great was that it *wasn't* like every other club in SL. It was bright and open and exciting. The scale of the build in its entirety 'worked' and encouraged communication and interaction. Although I do like the new B&D with its more separate, private and distinct rooms, the overall feel now is 'dark' and 'big' and I'm just not digging that. The 'scale' is off and again.. in my opinion.. the build is just too big. It's too big to feel cozy or to make you feel like you're 'part of something' by being there. Just one glance at the floor tiles can throw off this whole sense of 'place'. I'm also not sure I understand this whole 'dark is sexy' idea that seems prevalent in SL. Why are all these sex clubs so dark and dreary?
When you're trying to build or create in Second Life, it really is about the details. It's the details that keep people coming back, and it's the details that make the difference. I hope B&D understands how important the 'details' are and that they make it a place I want to continue to frequent.
-xopixox
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sexstination #15 - Gotham City XXX
Once again, one of my lovely friends suggested that I review a certain spot in Second Life so here we are at Gotham City.
Billing itself in 'search' as the "Largest FUCK SIM in SL!!" , Gotham City has a little bit of everything and a whole lot of atmosphere. I'm honestly not sure I understand the whole 'largest fuck sim' thing because .. and correct me if I'm wrong here.. aren't all sims the same size? Maybe they're referring to the scale of the build? No idea.
Anyway! Back to our review.. Gotham City has the typical things you'd expect in a sex area.. shopping, clubs and poseballs. One store is selling 'flexi cum' that you can wear to make the experience more 'real' for you, but to me it just looks like a cow's udder went all haywire and sprayed heavy cream all over you. Real cum does not look like this, people.
The difference with Gotham is that is really is 'themed' exceptionally well. You really do feel as though you're in a 'city', and I dig that. Parts of the city are rainy and overall it feels very 'dark' which translates well to 'dirty'. There was even a rat scurrying around my feet at one point.
I did wander into the 'Pink Pussy Cat' club to see what was going on. It was fairly quiet when I was there, but the girls working were really nice and that was pleasant. I tipped one of them and was on my way to explore a bit more.
It seems that Gotham will also have rental apartments available so if you're interested or looking for a place to live that's a little bit different and you're into sexually themed areas, you might want to check that out. No idea what the rates will be, but worth looking into.
I dig Gotham City. I've spent some time there since this review and I'm sure I'll be back to visit again. One thing I do think is worth mentioning though... if you're a super hero av, you should probably leave Gotham off your list of places to visit. There's a huge sign there saying that anyone arriving in a superhero outfit will be ejected without warning.
I guess they were sick of Batman showing up trying to rid Gotham of the 'bad people'.
-xopixox
Billing itself in 'search' as the "Largest FUCK SIM in SL!!" , Gotham City has a little bit of everything and a whole lot of atmosphere. I'm honestly not sure I understand the whole 'largest fuck sim' thing because .. and correct me if I'm wrong here.. aren't all sims the same size? Maybe they're referring to the scale of the build? No idea.
Anyway! Back to our review.. Gotham City has the typical things you'd expect in a sex area.. shopping, clubs and poseballs. One store is selling 'flexi cum' that you can wear to make the experience more 'real' for you, but to me it just looks like a cow's udder went all haywire and sprayed heavy cream all over you. Real cum does not look like this, people.
The difference with Gotham is that is really is 'themed' exceptionally well. You really do feel as though you're in a 'city', and I dig that. Parts of the city are rainy and overall it feels very 'dark' which translates well to 'dirty'. There was even a rat scurrying around my feet at one point.
I did wander into the 'Pink Pussy Cat' club to see what was going on. It was fairly quiet when I was there, but the girls working were really nice and that was pleasant. I tipped one of them and was on my way to explore a bit more.
It seems that Gotham will also have rental apartments available so if you're interested or looking for a place to live that's a little bit different and you're into sexually themed areas, you might want to check that out. No idea what the rates will be, but worth looking into.
I dig Gotham City. I've spent some time there since this review and I'm sure I'll be back to visit again. One thing I do think is worth mentioning though... if you're a super hero av, you should probably leave Gotham off your list of places to visit. There's a huge sign there saying that anyone arriving in a superhero outfit will be ejected without warning.
I guess they were sick of Batman showing up trying to rid Gotham of the 'bad people'.
-xopixox
Friday, October 12, 2007
virtually broken hearts
I've seen more and more couples in SL lately trying to work through 'issues' that arise in spaces like Second Life. All the experiences I observe and hear about seem so similar in some ways, but always unique in others.
I know that some people don't 'get' online communities and just can't grasp how anything in them could be 'real'. I've had people tell me time and time again that 'sex with a cartoon' just doesn't appeal to them and I've gotta say that the idea of having Goofy or Pluto go down on me doesn't really send me to orgasm either, but that's not what SL is about. It's not about the right-clicking and 'sitting' on a poseball to make your avatar go through some pre-planned motion of sexual activity. It's about the private conversations. It's about smiling when you both type the same thing at the same time. It's about making a connection with someone you would have never met in RL, but have now come to have real feelings for because of this virtual space. It's about falling in love.
I've gotta say that over my years of time in online communities, I've fallen in love quite a bit. There are amazing people all over this world and when you think about how borders just fall away in communities like this, isn't amazing that we haven't achieved world peace just from loving each other in virtual worlds.
Inhibitions are lowered, and you're able to be more of 'yourself' in these environments, allowing people to fall in love with who YOU are and not necessarily what you look like, or what job you have, what car you drive, etc. Online communities allow for intense, personal, and extremely real interactions. What this means is that they also allow for intensely real broken hearts at times.
I have been in that situation.. more times than I'd like to think about really. I've thought my world would end, and I've sat in front of the computer glancing at the clock every minute waiting for someone to log on. I've cried myself to sleep over loves that never happened and loves that I wish hadn't happened. I've felt empty when an online lover doesn't sign on, and I've felt the desperation in wanting to take something 'online' into real life. I've felt the nervousness when something does become 'real' for the first time, and I've lived with the pain when it doesn't work out.
For everyone out there that's going through relationship issues with someone you met online, take it from a girl that's been there and listen to me. Work through it, make it happen, do whatever you need to do.. because it's worth it.
I honestly hate that - "Loving and losing is better than never loving at all" - bullshit because sometimes I don't think that's the case. Sometimes I wish I'd never met someone at all instead of meeting them and having them break my heart.. but I do know this. I do know, without a doubt, that I have learned so much about myself through these experiences that I would never give that up in a million years. You change, and grow and become a different person every time and that, my lovelies.. is priceless.
-xopixox
I know that some people don't 'get' online communities and just can't grasp how anything in them could be 'real'. I've had people tell me time and time again that 'sex with a cartoon' just doesn't appeal to them and I've gotta say that the idea of having Goofy or Pluto go down on me doesn't really send me to orgasm either, but that's not what SL is about. It's not about the right-clicking and 'sitting' on a poseball to make your avatar go through some pre-planned motion of sexual activity. It's about the private conversations. It's about smiling when you both type the same thing at the same time. It's about making a connection with someone you would have never met in RL, but have now come to have real feelings for because of this virtual space. It's about falling in love.
I've gotta say that over my years of time in online communities, I've fallen in love quite a bit. There are amazing people all over this world and when you think about how borders just fall away in communities like this, isn't amazing that we haven't achieved world peace just from loving each other in virtual worlds.
Inhibitions are lowered, and you're able to be more of 'yourself' in these environments, allowing people to fall in love with who YOU are and not necessarily what you look like, or what job you have, what car you drive, etc. Online communities allow for intense, personal, and extremely real interactions. What this means is that they also allow for intensely real broken hearts at times.
I have been in that situation.. more times than I'd like to think about really. I've thought my world would end, and I've sat in front of the computer glancing at the clock every minute waiting for someone to log on. I've cried myself to sleep over loves that never happened and loves that I wish hadn't happened. I've felt empty when an online lover doesn't sign on, and I've felt the desperation in wanting to take something 'online' into real life. I've felt the nervousness when something does become 'real' for the first time, and I've lived with the pain when it doesn't work out.
For everyone out there that's going through relationship issues with someone you met online, take it from a girl that's been there and listen to me. Work through it, make it happen, do whatever you need to do.. because it's worth it.
I honestly hate that - "Loving and losing is better than never loving at all" - bullshit because sometimes I don't think that's the case. Sometimes I wish I'd never met someone at all instead of meeting them and having them break my heart.. but I do know this. I do know, without a doubt, that I have learned so much about myself through these experiences that I would never give that up in a million years. You change, and grow and become a different person every time and that, my lovelies.. is priceless.
-xopixox
hoppin' down the bunny trail
I realized I'd never posted an update about my Playboy Bunny experience and figured I should, so here it is.
If you recall, I was f'ing focused on getting hired by the Playboy corporation to be a 'virtual' bunny for them, and managed to get the job. If I do say so myself, I made a hell of a bunny. I was sexy, but not the 'model' type.. friendly, helpful and damnit.. just plain fun. I had a blast wearing the 'bunny suit' and representing Playboy in SL.. for about 2 weeks.
You know that whole 'grass is always greener' thing? Well, same thing goes for bunnies. The grass in the Playboy meadow was so f'ing delightful that I *had* to have it. Once I was there, hoppin' around the fields with the other bunnies for a while.. suddenly the grass on the OTHER side of the fence started looking pretty damned tasty. Seems the Playboy corporation really didn't take care of their grass as much as you might think and it started making the bunnies sick. The bunnies tried to tell the farmer how to make the grass better and how to attract more bunnies, but the farmer told the bunnies to shut up and eat the grass they were given.. but only half as much as they were given to start with. Ok enough of this.. it's making my head hurt.
I was hired by Playboy, as was my good friend. We were *psyched*, baby. PSYCHED. This was f'ing fab, working for Playboy. But, turns out.. that not many people came to the Playboy sim, and when they did, they weren't greeted with the 'mansion' like you'd hope for.. they were greeted with a huge-ass store selling overpriced merchandise. The grotto was there.. but not very well done and not the sexy grotto people are used to. So, over time.. it was more and more boring, and we felt more and more used and 'not listened to'.
I'm not one for keeping my mouth shut about things when I'm right so I emailed the guy that brought Playboy into SL and told him *exactly* what he needed to do to make Playboy ROCK in SL. He didn't listen. He's a guy, he's the head of a company, I'm just a stupid insignificant girl working as a bunny... what do I know. Well. I've been in SL for years and I know what works and what doesn't work.
Playboy needed/needs to bomb that build and start over. Build the mansion. With gates. You arrive at the gates and are greeted by a bunny who then escorts you to the mansion itself. With night lighting and a pool with underwater lighting. The grotto is there too.. in all its glory. There are bunnies, with trays of drinks doing the 'bunny dip' and actually conversing with you like they have half a brain in their heads. There's fantastic live music, and an exclusivity and sense of style you can't get anywhere else in SL. The mansion includes many rooms for socializing and perhaps even some for merchandise - but this merchandise is priced competitively and is well crafted. This would work and this would make Playboy something special.
I'm no longer a bunny and frankly, I don't miss it.
If you recall, I was f'ing focused on getting hired by the Playboy corporation to be a 'virtual' bunny for them, and managed to get the job. If I do say so myself, I made a hell of a bunny. I was sexy, but not the 'model' type.. friendly, helpful and damnit.. just plain fun. I had a blast wearing the 'bunny suit' and representing Playboy in SL.. for about 2 weeks.
You know that whole 'grass is always greener' thing? Well, same thing goes for bunnies. The grass in the Playboy meadow was so f'ing delightful that I *had* to have it. Once I was there, hoppin' around the fields with the other bunnies for a while.. suddenly the grass on the OTHER side of the fence started looking pretty damned tasty. Seems the Playboy corporation really didn't take care of their grass as much as you might think and it started making the bunnies sick. The bunnies tried to tell the farmer how to make the grass better and how to attract more bunnies, but the farmer told the bunnies to shut up and eat the grass they were given.. but only half as much as they were given to start with. Ok enough of this.. it's making my head hurt.
I was hired by Playboy, as was my good friend. We were *psyched*, baby. PSYCHED. This was f'ing fab, working for Playboy. But, turns out.. that not many people came to the Playboy sim, and when they did, they weren't greeted with the 'mansion' like you'd hope for.. they were greeted with a huge-ass store selling overpriced merchandise. The grotto was there.. but not very well done and not the sexy grotto people are used to. So, over time.. it was more and more boring, and we felt more and more used and 'not listened to'.
I'm not one for keeping my mouth shut about things when I'm right so I emailed the guy that brought Playboy into SL and told him *exactly* what he needed to do to make Playboy ROCK in SL. He didn't listen. He's a guy, he's the head of a company, I'm just a stupid insignificant girl working as a bunny... what do I know. Well. I've been in SL for years and I know what works and what doesn't work.
Playboy needed/needs to bomb that build and start over. Build the mansion. With gates. You arrive at the gates and are greeted by a bunny who then escorts you to the mansion itself. With night lighting and a pool with underwater lighting. The grotto is there too.. in all its glory. There are bunnies, with trays of drinks doing the 'bunny dip' and actually conversing with you like they have half a brain in their heads. There's fantastic live music, and an exclusivity and sense of style you can't get anywhere else in SL. The mansion includes many rooms for socializing and perhaps even some for merchandise - but this merchandise is priced competitively and is well crafted. This would work and this would make Playboy something special.
I'm no longer a bunny and frankly, I don't miss it.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Arse Electronica and Fuckzilla - yum.
Arse Electronica - a conference about porn and tech was held recently in San Francisco. I wish I could have gone, but instead I'm going to live vicariously through other people's experiences, blogs, and photos.
Two of the coolest things I've read about from Arse Electronica were 'Moaning Lisa' and 'Fuckzilla'. Moaning Lisa was a mannequin wired so that if you touched her in certain erogenous zones she would moan in response. Cool shit that could perhaps be used as a training tool for men who just don't 'get it', but my guess is that most men visiting Arse Electronica probably 'get it'.
"Fuckzilla" was a robot fucking machine. They asked for volunteers to be fucked by a robot and one lucky girl was placed on a table behind a sheet and had the experience of a lifetime ending in a tremendous orgasm and an ejaculation seen from behind and above the sheet thanks to Fuckzilla.
Sounds like a great conference to me.
Two of the coolest things I've read about from Arse Electronica were 'Moaning Lisa' and 'Fuckzilla'. Moaning Lisa was a mannequin wired so that if you touched her in certain erogenous zones she would moan in response. Cool shit that could perhaps be used as a training tool for men who just don't 'get it', but my guess is that most men visiting Arse Electronica probably 'get it'.
"Fuckzilla" was a robot fucking machine. They asked for volunteers to be fucked by a robot and one lucky girl was placed on a table behind a sheet and had the experience of a lifetime ending in a tremendous orgasm and an ejaculation seen from behind and above the sheet thanks to Fuckzilla.
Sounds like a great conference to me.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Hot new tattoo shop in Stone Hill
Ms. Dorothy Rochefort (a close friend) has just opened an amazingly hot new tattoo shop in the sim of Stone Hill. The shop was designed and built by Micala Lumiere, and Dorothy will be offering custom tattoo work. She does also have a limited selection for purchase, specifically one designed for the sim of "Mill Pond" available for purchase only at "DOT Ink".
Stop by if you get a chance.. it's a hot shop and she's a great artist.
Stop by if you get a chance.. it's a hot shop and she's a great artist.
-xopixox
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Calling All Sexy People... I need your help!
I'm putting together a community art project about sex in online communities and part of the project is getting input from people that are actually *having* sex in online communities.. so here's what I need from you, sweeties..
The project will be a video of sex in SL, along with captured 'text' conversations (names deleted and/or changed) with the anonymous audio files as the soundtrack for the video project.
This only works if people participate, so help me out here people... email your mp3s to pixelbailey@gmail.com.
-xopixox
One audio file (mp3) of your voice. I'd prefer to have the audio file be of an orgasm that you've recorded yourself having, but any heavy breathing, sexy noises, or just spoken 'sexy' words will all be used in this project.
The project will be a video of sex in SL, along with captured 'text' conversations (names deleted and/or changed) with the anonymous audio files as the soundtrack for the video project.
This only works if people participate, so help me out here people... email your mp3s to pixelbailey@gmail.com.
-xopixox
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