How does your avatar look today ?

[Ted McGregor]

1 hour ago, Conall DeCuir said:

I am across the street again, leaning against the wall and watching her.  Not even trying to hide it.  It’s a daily thing now.   Sometimes i am there for hours, watching her serving the customers inside the cafe and i love it when she smiles .....

Remember : No stern looks and do not raise your weapon too soon. Apparently. 😐😜

 

[Ted McGregor]

Electric Dreams

 

 

[Garnet Psaltery]

My AO includes a smoking animation, with cigarette and smoke.   I'd enjoy being a Moll in a photo. 

[Garnet Psaltery]

2 hours ago, Conall DeCuir said:

I am across the street again, leaning against the wall and watching her.  Not even trying to hide it.  It’s a daily thing now.   Sometimes i am there for hours, watching her serving the customers inside the cafe and i love it when she smiles .....

 

There is so much soul in that expression and pose.  Was this what the mobster really wanted to do instead of shooting someone?

[Ted McGregor]

38 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

Was this what the mobster really wanted to do instead of shooting someone?

I'm sure he farted and is trying to get away with it casually. Why else that look and the 'Keep Out' sign ?

ETA : See ? He's laughing over it. What a monster !

Edited December 13, 2019 by TDD123
Keep out

[Orwar]

   Conducting model interviews. Set up a temporary office in the back room!

[Orwar]

   Meanwhile, Neph is lounging in the lounge. Behaving, for once!

[Raevyn Addams]

[Conall DeCuir]

34 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

There is so much soul in that expression and pose.  Was this what the mobster really wanted to do instead of shooting someone?

There is always that one girl he wants to do something different with ...

[Scylla Rhiadra]

2 hours ago, Conall DeCuir said:

I am across the street again, leaning against the wall and watching her.  Not even trying to hide it.  It’s a daily thing now.   Sometimes i am there for hours, watching her serving the customers inside the cafe and i love it when she smiles .....

Uh. Maybe it's my turn to find this a bit disturbing. Not the pic (which is excellent, as was the one with the gun), but the narrative.

I'm sure that this is not the effect you're going for, but from where I stand this is more than a bit threatening and stalkerish -- maybe especially the "not even trying to hide it" thing. If I knew there was a man "watching" me all the time, and in fact, making a show of doing so, I'd frankly feel threatened.

It's just a pic, and a fictional narrative, obviously, so nothing to get really upset about (and I'm not). But it's interesting how one's perspective and social/cultural/gender position can change how something is perceived.

[Garnet Psaltery]

4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Uh. Maybe it's my turn to find this a bit disturbing. Not the pic (which is excellent, as was the one with the gun), but the narrative.

I'm sure that this is not the effect you're going for, but from where I stand this is more than a bit threatening and stalkerish -- maybe especially the "not even trying to hide it" thing. If I knew there was a man "watching" me all the time, and in fact, making a show of doing so, I'd frankly feel threatened.

It's just a pic, and a fictional narrative, obviously, so nothing to get really upset about (and I'm not). But it's interesting how one's perspective and social/cultural/gender position can change how something is perceived.

I had a different response - it reminded me of this song. 

 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

3 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

I had a different response - it reminded me of this song. 

Fair enough. I think that's certainly more along the lines of what Conall was intending.

This isn't going to always break down strictly along gender lines, because, for a variety of reasons, nothing ever does. Honestly, though, I find that song -- unintentionally, I'm sure -- a bit creepy as well.

[Orwar]

Just now, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Maybe it's my turn to find this a bit disturbing.

   My interpretation isn't quite so .. Dark. It's a common narrative in both movies and other stories, that a guy dreams of a girl but can't muster the courage to tell her how he feels. And sure, that may be perceived as shallow and stereotypical, but it also does point out a problem that many men have - just as women who complain that photo-shopped models in adverts are always looking so perfect, the social expectation of how men should look and act is no less daunting. Confidence, manners, but also independence and not being too stringent with adherence to rules, having a deep, masculine voice, being muscular and-- having veiny arms, apparently.

   It's a shame that something that used to be quite innocent and sweet, adoring, is now so quickly judged to be creepy. Some guys are that, certainly, but can anyone, man or woman, admit to not have snuck a peek of someone who they found physically attractive, even going out of their way to cross paths with them - without having any intention at all of doing something disgusting or evil to them? I think it's entirely innocent, and natural human behavior.

[Ted McGregor]

Pssst, Scylla .. more pictures and poetry, less tl;dr please 😜

Edited December 13, 2019 by TDD123

[Scylla Rhiadra]

14 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   My interpretation isn't quite so .. Dark. It's a common narrative in both movies and other stories, that a guy dreams of a girl but can't muster the courage to tell her how he feels. And sure, that may be perceived as shallow and stereotypical, but it also does point out a problem that many men have - just as women who complain that photo-shopped models in adverts are always looking so perfect, the social expectation of how men should look and act is no less daunting. Confidence, manners, but also independence and not being too stringent with adherence to rules, having a deep, masculine voice, being muscular and-- having veiny arms, apparently.

   It's a shame that something that used to be quite innocent and sweet, adoring, is now so quickly judged to be creepy. Some guys are that, certainly, but can anyone, man or woman, admit to not have snuck a peek of someone who they found physically attractive, even going out of their way to cross paths with them - without having any intention at all of doing something disgusting or evil to them? I think it's entirely innocent, and natural human behavior.

You've said nothing here that I disagree with. It is a shame, absolutely, that something that is, I am quite positive, intended to be sweet and innocent is susceptible to a very different reading because of certain elements that have developed in our culture. And, of course, I'm not suggesting that being shy, or socially awkward or insecure constitutes in itself anything threatening. In the vast majority of cases, this is innocent. But stalking women -- in SL as well as RL, actually -- is common enough that it is a recognizable pattern. Some of us have experienced it.

I want to be clear that I'm not criticizing Conall here. We've all said or written things that were, unintentionally, open to alternate and probably undesirable readings. I could give examples from my own writing. I just note this because it is interesting how different social and gender positions can alter how something is understood.

13 minutes ago, TDD123 said:

Pssst, Scylla .. more pictures and poetry, less tl;dr please 😜

Pssst. Agreed. I'll shut up now.

[Conall DeCuir]

Funnily enough, the text to my pic was basically copied out of a romance novel from women for women ... the anti-hero series, which are very much fawned over. But ok, i will not post anything in here anymore but leave my shots for my flickr. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Conall DeCuir

[BelindaN]

[Laika Ravikumar]

2 minutes ago, Conall DeCuir said:

Funnily enough, the text to my pic was basically copied out of a romance novel from women for women ... the anti-hero series, which are very much fawned over. But ok, i will not post anything in here anymore but leave my shots for my flickr. 

Isnt that a bit of an overreaction seriously am sure nothing was meant to warrant that.

[Garnet Psaltery]

8 minutes ago, Conall DeCuir said:

Funnily enough, the text to my pic was basically copied out of a romance novel from women for women ... the anti-hero series, which are very much fawned over. But ok, i will not post anything in here anymore but leave my shots for my flickr. 

Do not stop posting pictures.  You cannot ignore the command of a cat. 

[Orwar]

15 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

But stalking women -- in SL as well as RL, actually -- is common enough that it is a recognizable pattern. Some of us have experienced it.

   People stalking people is a problem, regardless of who it is. I've had exes who have done some pretty darned creepy things to myself, my family and my co-workers. I had a friend who permanently withdrew from all social media, because his ex kept showing up at parties and even meetings he attended, even though no one had invited her. I've had exes in SL who have stalked me, and ones I never even got together with to begin with.

   That you might be unaware of these things happening, which wouldn't surprise me as -men are expected to be tough and just take whatever cr@p people throw at them, and not whine about it-, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, or that it isn't uncommon.

   Anyway - let's not derail this thread too much. @Conall DeCuir don't mind them; your photos are very well made and interesting. That people try to project emotion onto anything that pops up in black and white is just pretentious and sad.

[Conall DeCuir]

3 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

Do not stop posting pictures.  You cannot ignore the command of a cat. 

 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

12 minutes ago, Conall DeCuir said:

Funnily enough, the text to my pic was basically copied out of a romance novel from women for women ... the anti-hero series, which are very much fawned over. But ok, i will not post anything in here anymore but leave my shots for my flickr. 

I'm totally not surprised that you should have got this from a romance novel for women: they often include these kinds of tropes -- and for instance, the slightly rapey figure of the Heathcliffe, the dark and brooding hero. It's an element of many women's fantasy lives.

And, again, I was not criticizing, and certainly not suggesting that you should stop including text. Just noting a phenomenon. By all means, keep writing and posting as you do.

[Conall DeCuir]

1 minute ago, Orwar said:

   People stalking people is a problem, regardless of who it is. I've had exes who have done some pretty darned creepy things to myself, my family and my co-workers. I had a friend who permanently withdrew from all social media, because his ex kept showing up at parties and even meetings he attended, even though no one had invited her. I've had exes in SL who have stalked me, and ones I never even got together with to begin with.

   That you might be unaware of these things happening, which wouldn't surprise me as -men are expected to be tough and just take whatever cr@p people throw at them, and not whine about it-, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, or that it isn't uncommon.

   Anyway - let's not derail this thread too much. @Conall DeCuir don't mind them; your photos are very well made and interesting. That people try to project emotion onto anything that pops up in black and white is just pretentious and sad.

Thank you very much Owar! Anything you wrote here is just spot on. 

[Nalates Urriah]

52 minutes ago, Orwar said:

It's a shame that something that used to be quite innocent and sweet, adoring, is now so quickly judged to be creepy. Some guys are that, certainly, but can anyone, man or woman, admit to not have snuck a peek of someone who they found physically attractive, even going out of their way to cross paths with them - without having any intention at all of doing something disgusting or evil to them? I think it's entirely innocent, and natural human behavior.

There is a load of subtle and not so subtle conditioning in our world (RL). People unaware of it tend to absorb it and never question it... often are totally unaware of it. An interesting experiment is along the line of asking the religious or political people why they believe. VERY few have a good answer.

How we see something like Conall's image and comment shows our conditioning whether parental, community, social, or media impressions. It isn't about Conall unless he explains his thinking and motivations. It's all about our reaction and perception.

If you find those that have watched the American impeachment hearings and those that have only read/watched/listened to the news coverage, I find their opinions are 180 degrees apart... conditioning is a major factor in our perception of our world.

So any reaction to an image or comment reveals  us...

I think Conall's image is nice, content and quality-wise. I appreciate your (Orwar) take on it and the responses here.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Nalates Urriah

[Laika Ravikumar]

  Anyway - let's not derail this thread too much. @Conall DeCuir don't mind them; your photos are very well made and interesting. That people try to project emotion onto anything that pops up in black and white is just pretentious and sad ?

Not what I expected from you backing off now we have all had stuff in our RL I sure have doesn't matte what gender but to say its pretentious and sad is kind of dismissive of other people's feelings. Just saying.