From Blitzkreig Bop to Psycho Killer via the The Last Train to Clarksville

[Richtea57]

I kept seeing the acronym a.o. turning up in various places and had an idea it maybe vaguely important. So, after an extensive and exhaustive search of the entire internet, I found out what it is or stands for.....I say 'intensive and exhaustive', what I actually did was google 'second life ao' and watched the first 2 minutes of a 7 minute video.

Right, thinks I, now that I'm fully armed with all the in depth knowledge needed to make a wise and informed choice, I'm hitting the market place.

Which I did.

The sensible thing for me to have done was take my time read what the blurb says and perhaps be a bit picky.

Which I didn't.

I chose to go down the, 'Ooh, that's cheap and on the top of the page,(very important that), I'm having that one'.

The first one I tried had the word 'gangsta' buried in the details....How bad can it be, thinks I...Very bad indeed, as it turned out. Now, I'm a bit of a with it hep cat and can sing along with all the latest hits from Justin Beiber and One Direction. I'm as down with the kids as it is possible to be with my arthritis and  chronic lumbago. But I draw the line when an avatar representing me does that crossing the arms while looking moodily over one shoulder thing.

'Gangsta' I'm sad to report was lost in a drive by deletion.

Number 2 was slightly better, the only thing that let him down was when he glanced straight out of the screen with this sort of come hither look that seemed to say, 'Come on I know you want me' , which I found disturbingly attractive...far too attractive.

He's been stored away for those many moments when I feel neglected and need reassurance.

The search continues. I tried typing in 'Grumpy Old Git', -no, really, I did. How can that possibly come back no matching items?

Oh, the title of this meandering bit of old tosh? Well AO to me will always be the opening lines of The Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop, which, while I started doing all the searchy stuff, I had on youtube and went from there on a nostalgic random musical tour eventually arriving at Talking Heads Psycho Killer.

[Qie Niangao]

I get 0% of the cultural references here, but just in case it's any help: the best AO scripts are free, and the best AO animation sets are the ones you craft yourself by selecting the best from multiple animators.

(There are some folks who prefer not to use AO scripts at all, and instead rely on functionality built-in to some third party viewers. For basic stuff, that's still adequate, despite some important improvements in animation scripting since the time when viewer-based AOs were all the rage.)

[Ohjiro Watanabe]

AOs are one of the things that it is best to search for in world so that you can try before you buy. If you buy a complete AO they will usually have a posing stand in front of the board that you click on to buy and you hop on that and click through all the animations. Or you can buy individual animations and put them in an AO and so build up your own individual collection.

 

 

[LlazarusLlong]

I don't know whether to be ashamed or delighted that your "cultural" references speak to my inner youth - the one that still has a six-pack and hair of a length his mother silently disapproves of.

Your search for "Grumpy Old Git" probably brought up multiple references to me and my various sl and rl alts, although it's probably better that you don't pursue that line of research or it will raise all sorts of spectres from the past.

I personally think that the standard animations reflect my real life lack of animation; a shambling gait, looking ludicrously like a cross between Nelly the Elephant and Cheeta the Chimp when "running" or, when stationary, an incredulous, arms akimbo, stance reflecting my disdain for the spectacles ranged in front of me - in particular, the females repeatedly scratching their legs must surely be worrying how the crabs have descended that far.

I would not worry too much about your ao, since most bar stools have multiple choices, from "Come and get me, sailor" through "My wife doesn't understand me", to "I think I am going to be sick"; just make sure the typing animation option is turned off, unless you wish your avatar to rp a St Vitus Dance or Parkinson's sufferer.

Oh, and get the free Ramones tshirt. I wore it most of my first year in SL, then bought myself one in real life, after which strange people started coming up to me in shopping centres, shouting "Let's go!"

[i also think it's time for a Monkees revival, don't you?]

[Richtea57]

Ah, I wish that I was young enough for the references to mean nothing.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look at free ones. i'm quite happy just tinkering and finding my feet,(almost literally on one clumsy occasion). I suspect  that crafting my own anything may be a step beyond my very limited abilities just now.

[Richtea57]

Thanks, I'll look into that, though i find looking in world a little overwhelming still, but kind of fun....in a, what the bloody hell am I doing, sort of way. 

[Richtea57]

Silently disaproved of? You were lucky.

Yes to the Monkees revival. if you were to ask me to list my favourite top twenty pop songs, (and I strongle advise against it, because I'd do it), not a single Monkees song would be there, but who can resist turning the car radio up and singing along to I'm A Believer or Pleasant Valley Sunday.

I've got a Jam t-shirt in sl. The last one I bought myself in rl has a picture of Columbo on it with his famous phrase ubderneath. The main response it appears to engender when worn is a mixture of disdain and pity. 

[LlazarusLlong]

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Richtea57 wrote:

Silently disaproved of? You were lucky.

Yes to the Monkees revival. if you were to ask me to list my favourite top twenty pop songs, (and I strongle advise against it, because I'd do it), not a single Monkees song would be there, but who can resist turning the car radio up and singing along to I'm A Believer or Pleasant Valley Sunday.

I've got a Jam t-shirt in sl. The last one I bought myself in rl has a picture of Columbo on it with his famous phrase ubderneath. The main response it appears to engender when worn is a mixture of disdain and pity. 

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In rl have a dirty raincoat like Columbo.

When I wear it my friends call me the baglady.

On the subject of top 20s, maybe that would make for another few threads, as I think we'd have to have separate ones for each decade in the latter half of the 20th century, and perhaps make it harder by restricting it to a top 10, or even a Desert Island Disk octuplet. SInce you suggested it, you can select the first decade.

[Richtea57]

I used to have a dirty raincoat back in my punk days, often worn over a slogan bespattered boiler suit, (white Dulux matt on blue cotton).  Oh yes, I was 'with it' as the young ones would say.

Hmm, 1970s too easy, (only 2 or three years to pick from). 1960s a bit far back and perhaps too heavily influenced by my big brother's Tamla Motown collection of the time. 1990s to the present, I'd have to remind myself, 1980s has just the right mix of awful and good.

So I'd pick 1980s  

[LlazarusLlong]

Ah, the 80s! Picking up a one-night-stand in a club under Waterloo Station on any night that they weren't playing Duran Duran or Wham! Getting black lipstick slobbered all over my best Adam Ant frilly white dress shirt and listening to Joe Dolce in the back of the cab on the way home to a sixth-floor flat (with no lift) overlooking Battersea Park, with lime green and silver trellis wallpaper. What memories . . .

[Aislin Ceawlin]

You just HAD to bring up Adam Ant...oh lordy. So many late night slobbery, eh...you know what I mean...lol! I actually watched a bunch of '80s videos recently and was astounded by just how CORNY they were! I really don't remember them like that!! 

[LlazarusLlong]

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Aislin Ceawlin wrote:

 I really don't remember them

 

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FIFM!

[Mary Stavin was GORGEOUS, wasn't she.]

[Aislin Ceawlin]

Mary WAS gorgeous, but Adam? I STILL have to go change after watching his corny videos:matte-motes-big-grin-wink: I also have the same problem with Tim Curry ala Frank n furter!