Dillon Levenque

Keli Kyrie wrote: Dillon RFL is July 16 & 17 in Second Life. What is happening this weekend is just the Kickoff Party. If I understand the Kickoff correctly it is the start of the fundraising. So it is most likely that it is not too late for Quinn to start organizing things. :smileyvery-happy: You're right, Keli. I just finished reading that. Your correspondent got it a little confused. It's just the team kickoff; it did look a little late to form one but I did see a list of teams so when I have some time I'll see about getting on as a volunteer.

Quinn, did I just hear you volunteer to organize a team?:smileywink: Actually there probably isn't time to do that but if anyone reading this is on a team or knows of one please post. I'd love to volunteer some laps for somebody (I assume that's how it works here; I still haven't had time to do much more than get the dates from the blog). And if I can't do that I can at least be a sponsor. If anyone else knows anything they'd like to share, please do. To say it is a worthy cause is the understatement of all time.

See, this is why those people were waving the signs and chanting. It is so cool to have you back :smileyvery-happy:

I may not have this in the right category. It maybe belongs in Destinations. It may be Off Topic. For me personally it is more to do with friends (and family) than anything else so I'm putting it here. Where it goes after that is fine. There is a nationwide event in the US called the Relay For Life. It's sole purpose is to help cancer victims and defeat cancer. Events are held in towns all over the country. Typically teams of volunteers walk laps on a local school track in exchange for donations. There's a similar organization in the UK, I've been told. I have a family member who's a survivor. I've met many in SL who are friends or family of survivors. I've met some who are themselves survivors. One of my friends actually came to SL in the first place as a result of a family member with cancer. That person did not survive but my friend remains in SL and has done a great deal of fundraising here for RFL. I was reminded of all this by a news story I heard on a local radio station the other day about an opera singer who's in remission. I was moved by the story (I'll add a link here if anyone's interested) and started looking for RFL in SL--I've been going in RL for years but all I've ever done inworld is donate to boxes at clubs. And of course, it IS here. And the great thing is that the big SL event is this Saturday--March 12th. So for once my timing was good! To find out more, visit their blog here: http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/ or if you're as leery of links as I am, just google RFL in Second Life; it's not hard to find. I don't see it anywhere in Events in my dashboard but with all the Mardi Gras things there may not be room right now. I don't have any connection with RFL in SL (yet) and I'm sure they will be getting the word out. I just thought to bring it up. And I do think it has much to do with friendship. And here's the link to the news article. It seems they edited it down; some of the things I heard live are missing but it's still a moving story. http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/03/04/opera-singer-fights-cancer-returns-to-bay-area-stage/ And again, to avoid linking just Google Zheng Cao (her name). You'll find, if not the above article, others that discuss the same thing. ps: Because it's virtual, this is one time you can do a few RFL laps without sensible shoes :smileywink:

DQ Darwin wrote: @Dillon yes that is correct in fact Del, you and I are seeing it in the same way. I like the idea you mentioned about "them even sticking their head in the door". but don't you admit at times one is tempted to close the door while they are doing that. Ms. Levenque can neither confirm nor deny said impulse.

DQ Darwin wrote: I would like to add that SL sells, prides, explains itsself as a community and not just that but a social community. I find the social aspect attractive to me and I can see as well as I know a lot of posters here do. Having said that, what attracts people to a social environment, well of course a place that is social. Pretty easy so far. Now on the grid where can someone reach out and find people that reflect their own thoughts, ideas, comforts and ideals. Well there are a lot of places and it takes a lot of time because of the numbers one can deal with in a given space or time. But you can reach the greatest number in one shot here in the OT forums. Start a topic involving your interests and those that reply are game or not but you can't argue that there isn't social interaction. There will always be positive and negative sides to any post, but to post for the sake of disruption, malice or ill will just because a topic doesn't suit one is a slide back to the old GD standard. It serves no purpose to the community to be anti-social it only serves the misgivings of the person posting. Some rather weak minded individuals took great pleasure in getting Hippiestock and Strengthening the SL Community moved from Make Friends To Off Topic. That in itself just proved how ill willed and self serving the posters were and what lengths they would go to. What better two examples of social and community spirit resulting in many friendship were there. They have yet to be match. So if we can't reach the SL community with ideas for methods to meet or stories to relate through the forums how the heck to we tap that environment. I myself have not given up yet on those two articles being moved back into there rightful place and I plan to remain here in spite of all if the need be to rejuvenate this articles and post more like them. I will not allowed selfserving weak people ruin my day. /Rant over and look no smilies I was going to pick some lines to comment about particularly, but I can't decide which part I'd delete. So I'll just quote the whole thing. That was a cogent and well thought out rant, Dee. Rant on. :smileyhappy: There's your smiley.

Deltango Vale wrote: @DQ "the "clubhouse" card" One thing I tend to forget - but it's always a big factor in text-based dialog - is different meanings ascribed to words and phrases. Here is what I meant: Clubhouse = lounge, foyer, agora, cafe, community center or neighborhood pub/bar. A public space open to all that acts as a meeting place. I'll go back to the OP and add a note :smileyhappy: And that is how I thought (and I think Dee also if I read her post corrrectly) of the GD Forum. I saw it spelled out as such in a number of posts by different people. The percentage of residents who post on the forums AT ALL is very small--less then 10%? Less than 5%? I didn't take the time to look before I started this but it's a small number. And on the last version of the Forums there was just the one GD; everything else had to do with serious or relatively serious SL stuff. So the GD forum was a subset of a small subset of residents. A clubhouse. A coffeeshop/bar/bookstore where you know a lot of the regulars. If I go in to my 'clubhouse' and find that people I don't particularly get along with are there, maybe I just have a cup of tea (okay that's a flat out lie: a pint of Bass) and smile on my way out the door. Doesn't mean I'm scratching the 'clubhouse' off my list. I really don't see any other reason than the one Dee proposed for some people not liking that idea. And I really don't care if they don't like it. I don't even care if they make a point of sticking their heads in the door and telling me they don't like it. But when the sort of things happen that you talked about in your OP, Del, action is required and I do hope some is taken.

DQ Darwin wrote: It is a social group for all ladies or those so gender oriented that wish to keep in touch. Thanks, Dee :smileywink: Of course when I'm actually inworld it's only close to lunchtime in like Vladivostock and I haven't met anyone from there yet.

My current signature is my first. And it too was inspired by Maddy. I heard that story from her childhood and somehow it just popped into my head the next time I logged on. So that's two people in this thread alone, and if Lia ever gets here that would be three.

In ancient Rome it was considered favorable to get married during the month named for the goddess of, among other things, matrimony. Juno. 2500 years later..... Marigold that was terribly unfair; I bet every single person was dying to comment on that post.:smileymad:

Sylvia Tamalyn wrote: I agree, Mo! Sure, there were a couple of badly behaved people there last night (but they actually were NOT noobs), but it was awesome to watch folks like Maddy and Ossi patiently helping the shiny new members learn how to dance. :smileyhappy: I haven't been very often but I'm glad I was there last night, that was fun. Although I'm not sure being thrown into the deep frier is a way to learn to dance. Then again, if you dance with Maddy you gotta expect some surprises. And Sylvia somehow I've not seen your signature before. It is absolutely dead solid PERFECT.

Suspiria Finucane wrote: Hi Dillon, I agree with you. It's best out of sight out of mind. :smileysurprised: PS After Storm duplicated the vanity thread I figured duplicating threads was the new fad...:smileyvery-happy: Laugh. Hey, the important thing about that is it got moved out of Off Topic. It might even be acceptable to do picture threads. How cool is that?

Hi Suspiria--in fact Keli noticed that earlier and there's a thread about it: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Off-Topic/Invisible-to-visitors/td-p/712661 I kind of liked the idea. I mean, we are whackos. Why let potential new SL residents see the kind of maniacs they might have to deal with? We don't want to be responsible for scaring people away.

Drake1 Nightfire wrote: this is very very confusing. all these different ranks and no info as to how to achieve them. some people can add video others can't. very very strange and somehow looking very much like favoritism. whatever, bring on the cheese. Wow. Talk about carrying a torch. You must have it as bad for Suella as Storm does for Ceka (which reminds me I've not seen one single post from her in the new Forum; I did see a few on SLU while I was going through withdrawal). Bad news, though; I saw an exchange today with Suella and a guy who actually had worked in a cheese shop.

Quinn Morani wrote: Off Topic from this thread (and what could be more appropriate given that this is the Off Topic forum)... Dillon, I can hardly tell from that tiny avatar photo, but are you wearing your "I'm a Lefty" t-shirt? That's awesome! :smileyvery-happy: Good eye, Quinn! Yes that is my Lefty tee. I was in a hurry to get an avatar pic and being at work only had access to online stuff so I made a quick crop of a pic in my album and used that. I wondered if anyone would notice; I made sure to get the top line of text in the picture. Now that I've seen Suella's badge and picture post I'll probably get more creative maybe over the weekend, but I think I'll hang onto the Lefty shot anyway.:smileyhappy: Well if I'd just looked one post down I'd have seen Keli posted the one from my profile.

Actually I believe the new resident is the artist, not the model. If Wikipedia can be trusted on the dates he would have joined on his 18th birthday (and is probably age verified). Seems a bit modest about his 'Ideas' total, though. :smileyhappy:

That really doesn't bother me at all and it might even be good news. If in fact LL does not want their casual visiting audience to see what looniness some of us get up too maybe that means there will be a general tolerance for looniness, at least on this little side branch.

Storm Clarence wrote: You go over there! This is SLVanity - the most off-topic absurdity relating to SL. Do you know how much L's are spent in-world on vanity? Most of mine are, I think. And here's my pic. It got posted once on the old Forum but it's one of my current faves.

In a post not long ago on the old GD Forum Quinn corrected me. I had referred to the existing 'Strengthening' thread as Quinn's. She said, "It's the Forum's thread now". And after thinking about it I had to agree. I'd like to think this incarnation will come to contain a lot of what the first one did. In any case, as one of the owners of this thread I'd like to comment. I know that there is now a whole new Forum category called "Off Topic" (yippee!), but I think this particular thread is right where it belongs. It is and was not a collection of friends communicating, but in many ways it was at least for me and for others a kind of friend genesis. There were people who posted who are now my friends. There were people who posted who I've yet to meet in SL and who may eventually become friends but in any case are people I'd love to meet and talk to. The whole thread was/is a collection of rare and very valuable shared experience. Humor. Struggle. Pain. Love. It was, in fact, very much like life, Second or First. That was its beauty. I wish more than anything that that continues. I would like to propose something to you, my fellow thread owners (past, present, and future). There have been some negative comments. Rather a lot, actually. I responded with a jab of my own and so did some of the rest of you. I propose that retaliation not continue. We can't control, nor should we want to control, what gets posted here. But we can maybe just read and move on. I don't think this thread requires any defense whatever (I know that's easy for me to say since as I mentioned I've already gotten my lick in). It is it's own strength. I for one will try my hardest to just let any future negativity go. I hope you all do the same.

It's a good day to be alive in SL. I've done my Host file stuff and have my Media settings right so it was not a huge problem for me in terms of existence, but the sheer vileness of the whole operation was/is a drag on everyone. There's still one thing I'd like to know. If I could learn who the crackerjack (whose only organ(s) smaller than his brain appear to be his gonads) is I'd be pleased. I'm not saying it would move me enough to switch to boy mode just long enough to smack him (be tempting, though) but I'd really like to know whose place not to get close to.

Smile. I love that you were surprised that enough people in high school even knew who you were to vote you the "Most Shy". You must have been blooming a little in spite of yourself, and that wouldn't suprise me in the least.

Mags Indigo wrote: Personally I'm hoping that 'entertainment' remains the overriding ethos and that it doesn't descent to the 'dramatic depths' we too often witnessed in the old GD. Aye to that. Although there were some who found that stuff entertaining.

But clearly what I need is the Edit button; haven't seen that. I can see the emoticons are going to work differently and I don't recall putting the extra LF in there. And I left off the close parentheses. Other than that it was great. Three lines and I only screwed up two of them! ETA: Found the Edit feature under Options on the upper right. Takes a bit of mouse control to get there but it works.

First: Hello Chuck. And Hello to all of you that I have yet to get to know, and Hello again to all of you I already know (including three of you by current count that are actually the same person). I'm glad to see her, too. :smileyvery-happy: Second, regarding Reply. I used the Reply button inside Chucks OP, and looking below me it does say I'm replying to that post. So I've revised a bit. I like the "Preview" feature so you can see what the emoticons are doing. Was that on the old Forum too?

I really liked seeing this title in the list just now, Quinn. And there couldn't possibly be a better place for it than a category called 'Make Friends'.