Scylla Rhiadra

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Speaking of Vikings . . . We were talking about Vikings, right?

Wow. Thank you again! The main reason I post here is the people, who are supportive and wonderful. You're an exemplification of that. Thank you for making this worthwhile!

Thank you! I'm so pleased you like it! I'll admit that what strikes me about it looking at it now is how impressive my rack looks. Amazing what lighting and an unlaced bodice can do!

Oh dear. People, where are your lovely pictures???? Well, never mind. Here's another by me -- apologies for crowding them in. It's in imitation of a much nicer work I ran across on Deviant Art, dating from 2009 and by an artist called Rust2D. I liked the effect, and wanted to see if I could replicate something similar.

This shot was supposed to be something else, but it became this instead. Oh well. Sometimes my pics have a mind of their own.

Ah! Here indeed is God's plenty!

Nice butt, I hope?

It is of course all very complicated, because words and ideas don't really "belong" to anyone once they have been articulated (I mean, in the sense that anyone gets to dictate how they are interpreted). Weirdly, this point keeps coming up in this thread, from the insistence that there is only one "true" way to understand Kipling's poem, to the equally questionable notion that prayers, scriptural texts, etc., are inviolable and can only be used or read in a way prescribed by a certain variety of belief. And part of the issue there is that people elide the boundaries between what you call personal point of view and absolute ones. I am very far from suggesting that my reading of Kipling's poem is the only "correct" one -- I am very well aware that other, very clever people, have written reams on it, and on Kipling's own system of belief. That's the beauty of literature: it is susceptible to a nearly endless variety of readings (which, however, must at least be evidence-based to be valid). I'd argue that the same is true, with somewhat different results sometimes, of religious texts. I am not at all conventionally religious, but I find scripture to be full of beauty and wisdom (and a few things that are neither). And I don't even believe in a personal god!

And so . . . ? As I say, I think critiquing Luna's reading of such a prayer is well within the bounds of propriety, free speech, etc., just as I critiqued Kipling's poem, but you seem to be going a step further and telling her that she's not "permitted" to quote, interpret, or use it? If I'm wrong, and you are merely critiquing her use of it, perhaps you might explain the basis of that critique? Beyond the fact that Luna is not "your kind" of Christian?

Garnet, with respect, you don't "own" God anymore than you "own" a prayer, a psalm, or any other biblical verse. People have been reading, interpreting, and using the Bible in their own way for literally thousands of years; you are certainly in your rights to object to or critique a particular interpretation, but you really don't get to dictate The One True Way, nor is it at all appropriate to tell people that they can't access it unless they subscribe to your particular belief system. Luna's approach to belief and spirituality is most definitely not mine, but I fail to see why it, whatever "it" is, is not every bit as valid as your own. How is this different from telling a Muslim, a Jew, or a Quaker that they are "getting it all wrong" and therefore shouldn't be quoting from scripture?

Sorry, Luna, I've realized that I forgot to respond to this. As Cinn says of herself above, I actually very seldom feel the need for resilience in SL. Mostly, my experiences in-world are entirely pleasant, and the parts that aren't are trivial enough that I don't need a coping mechanism much more sophisticated than "Well, that happened. Now, what was I doing? Oh, yes . . ." Occasionally SL can feel a bit too much like work, perhaps, particularly in the weeks leading up to a new show. When I start to feel that way, I take time for myself to be by myself: I'll generally work on my inventory, take a pic (which, really, is 3/4s of my SL anyway), or quietly explore on my own. I don't think I'm especially resilient. Just lucky that I am seldom called upon to be so.

Awww! Thank you! it's mostly because I keep forgetting to pay the electricity bill . . . Your theatre looks wonderful, btw. I will have to visit!

There just aren't enough eye roll and facepalm emojis this morning . . .

Probably the least interesting, and certainly (*cough cough*) the least used of the rooms in my flat is my bedroom. It DOES feature the world's ugliest bed, that looks like it was constructed from old parts salvaged from a dumpster. I'm rather proud of it. Comrade Antonova keeps hinting that I should be finding a nice young man, preferably a Party member, and producing sons and daughters to serve the Motherland, but . . . meh. Not all of me needs to be put to the service of the state, and there are definitely a few bits and pieces that I prefer to preserve for private, personal use only. Anyway, the room is mostly furnished with hand-me-downs: some Ukrainian folk art, a PSI poster, books and knickknacks, a battered old wardrobe and chest of drawers, etc.

OMG, Love, I look like something the dog found under the back porch in this pic! But that's a very kind thing to say! (In fairness to me, it IS nearly 5 and a half years old. I've improved with age!) Also, disclaimer: while I am deeply addicted to coffee, I am not, in RL, a smoker -- I'm just drawn that way.

Does this count?

I think resiliency is a very real attribute, and not just a pop psychology one, and it's very applicable to both RL and SL. It's also a good attribute to have. What I object to is the suggestion -- which, frankly, I hear in the forums quite a bit in various forms -- that if one isn't "resilient," one is a failure, or at fault for being impacted by the bad behaviour of others, or other misfortunes that befall one. Someone harassing you in SL? Well, if you let that bug you, and don't just block and move on, you're at least as much at fault as they are! We aren't all built the same way, and one-size-fits-all "advice" of the sort that this poem offers is really imposing values on others. Not everyone can be resilient, they can't just "toughen up," for all sorts of possible reasons. That's unfortunate, perhaps, but it's not something for which they are to blame. Which is why I think "resiliency" is the least interesting thing that this poem communicates.

This thread doesn't need to be about racism at all -- that's a subject that was introduced by BJ. It's a red herring. Insensitivity? Maybe? I think the good bits I quoted above are very good bits indeed, and I hope they do embody at least some of how I behave in SL.

I think that's pretty much exactly what he means. Kipling was very big on "action." For me, it means less that than not getting lost in an illusory world produced by mere dreaming.

Yeah, that's kind of the point I was making near the end of my first post on this. I don't buy that "nothing can hurt you" in SL. Nothing can physically hurt you, but we've all experienced, or witnessed, very real hurt happening here. And I don't myself believe that merely "suck it up, buttercup" is an adequate response to that when it happens.

Here are the bits of the poem that I think are applicable to everyone. They represent a reasonably good guide for at least parts of how one should live in SL. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch The rest, not so much. For me anyway.

Interesting, and likely necessary, substitution at the end there! I have very mixed feelings about Kipling, who was centre stage for much of the heyday of the British Empire as both cheerleader and sometime critic of the colonialist enterprise, especially in India. He was an excellent writer, and a great storyteller, but there is a machismo (not to mention Anglocentric) element to most of his work that leaves something of a bad taste in the mouth. "If" was a very popular poem, the kind of thing that people would hang, framed, on their walls as an inspiration and a sort of embodiment of British muscularism. There is much with which I agree in this poem, and a great deal that I find unattractive as well. The final line, without the substitution, sort of sums that up, because it defines the meaning of this sort of character that in a way that is much more "judgy" and value laden than suggested by your substitution: Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! In the original version, it's not merely that these qualities define the kind of person that you are (a "resilient" person), but are actually the criteria by which we determine if you are a success or a failure (i.e., not a "man"). Putting aside the sexism here (Kipling wasn't really great at representing women, and usually didn't bother), does this mean that if you cannot manage these things, one is a "loser" instead? Does everyone need to have a stiff upper lip and a gung-ho attitude? There's also a lot more required from this poem than just "resilience." I actually teach Kipling occasionally, because he can be nuanced and interesting, but I find this poem a bit trite, to be honest. It's one step above the rubric on the inside of a Hallmark greeting card -- at least in my view. Not his best work. Interestingly, btw, there is a pretty good old film called "If" from the late 60s starring Malcolm McDowell that is a sort of savage and satirical riff on this poem set in an English school for boys (it's a little Lord of the Flies) -- what does the exercise of these qualities actually look like, on the ground? It ain't pretty, or so the film suggests. Oh, and SL. To some degree, maybe this poem is of a piece with the "it's only a game!" or "block and move on" school of thought here? It's a short step from "resilience" or a "stiff upper lip," to "stop being such a snowflake."

"I thought I locked that door. And why do you have that camera????"

Another old pic rescued from the shoebox under my bed in Voroznia. My bathroom isn't large enough for a bathtub -- and there's barely enough hot water to fill one anyway (Comrade Antonova says they'll be upgrading the building boiler next year . . .but she told me that last year), so I just have a slightly grotty shower.