30 July 2025

 

It's been a lovely month, I think because summer fully arrived both irl and within SL. Our dance groups have kept up that theme, opening my summer wardrobe for fun and play. Switched from my usual house to a houseboat which has also been fun. I was contemplating moving to an ocean's edge but like living next a close friend. So using that engineering tool, I sunk my whole parcel underwater and created a mermaid grotto. The 'boat is anchored, I've put in a swim ball, added a floating mattress. It's a work in progress ... put in some ducks, marsh weeds of course, and my yoga frog collection has it's own mini island. A few waterfalls, willow trees, a fountain, a bit of 'earth' in the midst of the water. The last remaining strip of land has two beehives and of course, butterflies. Ooops, oh my gosh, I said pretty much the same thing in my last post. Well, as I said the process continues, and each new addition makes it feel even more homey. (Or 'homely' as the Brits say.)

 

It's true, I have more garden in my inventory than shoes and probably even hair. Adding in all the critters, that's me. Okay, until next month. lol

 

4 July 2025

 

June was busy tizzy Pride, multiple dance performances, a teasingly short spell of what qualifies as "warm weather" and the usual apprehensive viewing of US news. A few days ago we stirred ourselves sufficiently to wave a few more flags than usual for Canada Day. I shot a wedding. I became a Cardy. A confirmed cat person, I've expanded my fur quotient to include one scuzzy little mutt. Harvesting a boatload of cherries the crows have left intact. Finally finished updating my gallery, chockful of Goth goodness. Watched a Brasilian dance company rock out to 70s hair bands. Sunk my parcel deep underwater for a mer grotto and am living in a houseboat on the surface. Put in a small island of waterfalls, willows, yogic frogs, the usual rusty Buddha, and a family of ducks.

 

31 May

 

What a month! Lovely to finally be able to stop bracing for cold winds and icy roads. Newborn bright green leaves embellish and soften formerly gaunt branches, bees still sleepy are buzzing and bumping into things, probably more than a bit drunk on fresh nectar. The month also carries sorrow, casting its own shade over longer sunnier days. A new player on the themed entertainment scene, Frolic, is the perfect hunting ground for a broad range of moods ... Deco, Kubrick ... and as ever, Roxy's parties put us into togas and bikinis and spacesuits and mermaid tails ... even tutus ... even for the guys.

 

18 April

 

Administrating groups can be tricky - I make judgement calls about a photo, how well does it fit my criteria. I don't want sideways pictures. My neck hurts holding my head to see it. lol So it's a practical choice on my part. I also want the focus on whatever has to do with the theme of that group. I make those things clear in the group notes but people don't always read those. Still, I don't like turning submissions away. I just have to draw the line somewhere. :D

 

3 April 2025 or la troisieme d'Avril

 

Scanning back a few pages it would seem my SLife is comprised of scifi dance parties and communing with nature. Seems a good balance for me. :D

 

26 February 2025

 

10997 photos as of today. Three more for an even 11 thousand images posted to Flickr. Professional account. Professional status. I earn a living from my art. And my gift of the gab. Hosting is an art of psychology, diplomacy, efficiency, attention to detail. courtesy, enticement, seduction, empathy, and finesse. It's enough to keep body and soul together, to have a nice home, a garden. Most especially to tip performers, DJs, other hosts at the many entertainment venues I frequent ... I also help to maintain those venues for if they disappear, where would I dance? My photographs are my entourage, they engender goodwill, happiness, connection, friendship. The many groups I run are little homes for stray cows, sheep, frogs, princesses, goats and pigs, sadness, and much more. Artists are delighted to see their work featured as the groups cover photos. I am delighted by their delight. That's me, the good fairy with the duct-taped wand.

 

So where have I been since my last entry in October of '24?

 

I guess I've been 'out living my life' as the message machine reported. The distractions of Hallowe'en. Intensified nightlife with the new addition of Goth social architecture. The entire Xmas hullabaloo. Finding ourselves living 1984 and Terminator and Blade Runner as the supposedly sure things such as traditions and law, never mind your favorite noodle shop, Neo, are in reality just streams and streams of green code.

 

A heart event a few weeks ago has led to an entire change of eating, eating patterns, and meds meds meds. Monitors. Record keeping. Bloodwork.

 

Where is my bacon. Cheesecake. A chocolate bar. Fries. A simple hamburger. Bacon. Say it again, bacon.

 

The effort now is to pull things well back from the brink. Maybe even get things normalized again.

 

Hope it's going well for you too.

  

October 2024

 

Big surprise this month - a feature article about my groups. The full list is included for all to find. Many thanks to Cajsa Lilliehook for your interest and support to the Arts in Second Life.

 

Article here: nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2024/10/siobh%C3%A1n-muintir-sl-flickr-...

 

September 2024

 

... adding more before the month runs out:

 

Hallowe'en approaches and imo Second Life outdoes itself for this holiday. No need to buy anything ... go on all the hunts* and you'll find clothes, bats, spiders, pumpkins, owls, witch hats, candy, costumes, scary hair, dead trees and more. Hit up the parties. Oh, and Frankenstein kitties lol And of course it's just fun to go look at stuff and at the people wearing it. My camera will be working overtime.

 

Check out Hunts SL huntsl.com/

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I'll get a song in my head, something that resonates, liberates, heals, gives me space to ponder, achieve greater understanding. Ultimately expanding possibilities both 'fore and aft' .. there can be retrospective impact as well. Insights into past experiences that shift them from incomprehensible to compassionate, or at least ease some hurts.

 

For the past weeks, my go-to song has been "Gratitude" by VNV Nation. I'd never heard of this band although they seem to be stupendously popular across Europe and North America. Essentially a drumkit, keyboards, chords largely in a Major key. The lead singer, Ronan, strolls the stage in a plain shirt and pants, bald, bit of a tummy. What he sends out has a bunch of 'tough guy' Goths and bikers singing along, tears in their eyes.

 

Here's a link to the song: youtu.be/CFeHyWxuPcI?si=YirdStAMBiReXu3p

 

My adventures in Gothland continue ... these people know how to play, how to be kooky! I've done the conga, bounced around to disco (you haven't seen anything yet if you haven't witnessed a vampire getting down and boogie-ing), and a place where my sometimes dark humour draws no shock from my listeners.

 

Wednesday September 4th at 6 pm marks the Premiere show of the Kinetics, for whom I host. Yes, we're back in the saddle again, so to speak. This month's theme is, of course, Back to School. Next month it was my turn to choose the colours for our Finale number .... white with bats. lol I did do a lot research and have provided the dancers with addresses, prices, which bodies will fit what.

 

More to come ...

  

August 2024

 

Taking a month off from the dance world and have been enjoying meeting people from the Goth and Vampire communities inworld. Pretty much a whole new range of musical styles for me, dances (the Stomp for example), wardrobe items (oooh, shopping is involved??) clubs and parties and events. If I were using a printer, I'd be out of red and black right now. lol And then I hang around my pretty parcel and enjoy the pond and the greenery and the sunlight. The entire point of a virtually unlimited world is to be, well, unlimited.

 

June 2024

 

In most of the western world June signifies summer has arrived. We have yet to get the memo here = it's behaving more like April only with leaves on the trees. Fortunately all of our beaches are made of large rocks, small rocks, and things more painful than Lego if you step on them, so I'm not missing sunbathing.

 

As for what I'm up in SL, I opened a small show at the Rainbow Gallery called "Beauty of Goth" using images taken at the various haunts I frequent.

 

"Beauty of Goth" show by Sio at the Rainbow Painters Art Gallery

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chadara/170/62/23

 

Directions: Go in the front door and up the stairs. Turn to your right and go to the far end of the hallway, my space is marked Siobhan. Go on in, have a seat, and enjoy. :D

 

Everyone in the Goth world I have met has been welcoming, kind, and warm. It's very relaxed, people experience it more in the context of family and community. They've given me space to be warm=blooded and tanned skin and to wear colour ! lol I'm getting to know so much more music, the various genres, the DJs, the clubs, making friends. Wonderful experience. My thanks for their patronage, and indeed to all who have visited the gallery to see my art.

  

May 2024

 

Well that zipped by so quickly I forgot to record it! lol

 

April 2024

 

New group just created: Frogs in Second Life (and toads). They've all been creaking, thrumming, plopping, hopping and generally making themselves pests. Now at least they can gather in one watery cacophany.

 

April was chockablock busy in my hosting world - Kinetic Dance was invited to perform at two important fundraising events: Relay for Life (cancer research) at the Fantasy Faire, and Lighting the Way (autism research). Four performances each with their own rehearsals and routines and participating dancers. Ensuring the acts fit onto the stages provided by the venues. Advertising and promotion. Juggling line-ups, quick change adjustments if an act had a meltdown of techie lag sludge (it happens which is why we request folks keep their script levels way down), AWOL performers (computer crashes, electrical storms, power outages, illness) and coming up with a substitution last minute.

 

Show biz!

 

I've also begun exploring a long held interest in Goth sensibilities and can finally organize all the disparate bits and pieces, odds and ends in my inventory into one concentrated folder. It's also stimulated a whole new genre of photography.

 

March 2024

 

SLEA Gallery! Four floors of gallery space through the Second Life Education and Arts group provided me with the opportunity to display my artwork to the greater public. It was a challenge in choosing which images to display and how to organize them, plus get over my innate aversion to standing around waiting for folks to arrive, then being available if they had comments or questions but in no way wanting to seem pushy. Definitely a 'problem of the first world.' It proved an enjoyment for everybody and I was thrilled to make private sales. Thanks to SLEA and all you do to support artists in Second Life.

  

February 2024

 

Another 182 photos and I'll reach 10K. To be fair a lot of them are wonky and full of beginner's mistakes.

 

Those awkward classic bodies with the weird feet. Classic heads and classic hair. One got used to them. Slink hands and feet appeared, I found it very tricky, time-consuming and ultimately frustrating trying to match them to my skin tone. Mostly I wore a lot of boots. Then came mesh bodies. Wow ! As soon as I could afford one I jettisoned my lumpy pile of clay.

 

Then mesh heads became all the rage. Events with a lot of people in high scripted stuff meant that these heads often too their sweet time to load. It was kind of creepy to see eyeballs and brain stem in a gown. But it made for cool pix ... and I felt another fetter loosen. The fetters of "you can't shoot that, it's ugly. Embarassing. Freaky. An invasion. Perverse. I decided to create an album called Inside the Tribe. We're all Tribe inworld.

  

Jumping Jehosaphat, it's January 2024

 

We've just had our week of winter. Enough time to experience the beauty of snow drifting lazily down to settle on the windshield and coat the cedar branches in white. Crunchy snow. Not cold enough for squeaky snow, though. Then the rains came and it became slippery sloppy slush snow. And come tomorrow I bet no traces of snow or ice will remain. My neighbours on both sides hail from a place where winter starts in October and finally leaves some time in April. Where heavy blizzards are the norm and temperatures can go down to -40. They've assured me they're going to stay here. :D

 

Second Life Entertainment & Art - known as SLEA - is an amazing power point inworld. It supports live entertainment, dancing, art shows, displays, education and more. I'm honoured to have space for my own gallery there - 4 floors of my work. There are four galleries in all on that one place in the sky, adjacent to each other, all very different and special. I will be posting the official opening party information as soon as I have it arranged.

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Annnnd ... it's December! Almost overnight we went from ghosties and ghoulies and wonderful creepiness fullblast into winter wonderlands. Okay, the Krampus tradition (scare the crap out of 'bad' children with monsters) kind of blends one into the next. But for the rest, snowy magic places pop up everywhere, you can skate along rivers specially frozen and supplied with single and couple animations. Polar bears wave and stalwart stags pose and penguins are up to their own goofy fun. Advent sales, freebie red noses, antlers with flashing lights, flying reindeer for your roof, snow addons for the house, icicle addons to drip, tons of mittens and leggings and boots and sweaters (the uglier the better). Sending and receiving those special "I love you" texture cards to friends. Getting together for fancy balls. Attending seasonal dance recitations. Pretend-eating a whole host of chocolate and gingerbread and eggnog and mince pie and turkey and and and. Ho ho ho to you and you and you and you. And a very happy 2024 to come.

 

The rare blue of October skies is here! Looking through my most recent shots it looks like I spend most of my time dancing. lol It's true! Music is truly amazing in SL ... any kind you like you will find. Cuban? si si ! Hip-hop, of course. Metal thrash, yeah. Burlesque, definitely. French cafe accordions. Any time day or night there is entertainment happening, and it's easy to find. Click your magnifying icon and pick a category to search. Arts and Entertainment. Live music. Get to know some DJs and join their groups/subscribos ... do the same for some fave clubs. I keep some in my Picks as well. Yes, it can get a bit expensive if you hit a couple places a night ... I've started just tipping the venues instead of also the DJs and the hosts. But I make sure to reach out to them as well. The pair of DJ and Host is a powerhouse when it clicks. And don't forget live musicians on the grid.

 

C'est le mois de Septembre! Probablement le meilleur mois de l'année. It's September, probably the best month in the year. People still have tan lines on their feet from wearing flip flops which by evening's cooling temps are hidden under socks. Swimming pool lanes are open again as all the little swimmers are back in school. The sun shines, setting a bit earlier each day, the sky remains blue, the first leaves begin to drift but all in all it's staying green. It was always special for me because I loved school. Autumnal photos in Flickr are beginning to pop up with all the many colours..

 

August Got my fill of flat prairie, fields of wheat, alfalfa, canola, enormous skies. Yes, I said that already but seriously, these skies were a whole other planet. It's good to be home, it's muggy and raining and grey but also super green - no drought here. Time to get back into SL and shoot something.

 

July 2023 Traveling to another province, seeing rellies, creating new family ties. Snow-capped mountains to rolling fields of alfalfa and the most panoramic skies! (You can watch your dog run away for three days. And then return, of course :P)

 

June Pride Month ! Tons of rainbows as parties and drag shows and parades and celebrations fill the grid. We are after all an International community with people in countries where being gay or trans or nonbinary or two-spirited is cause for imprisonment or even death. SL may be the only safe space available right now. So check out the events, grab some freebies, be an ally :D

   

And here we are in May. Daytime light is longer if you're above the equator. Mad rushes to the nurseries for potting mix and flats of petunias. Flies mass produce. Fat buzzy bumblebees reel sleepily looking for dandelions - which are a wonderful source of food for them, so if you can leave a few in the yard, please do. May is also a quixotic month weather-wise ... deceptively warm in the daytime, capable of dropping down in the 'omg why did I wear shorts tonight?" zone. My two dance groups for which I host are both flushed with success and pride in having blown audiences away with special performances. And exhausted! lol But also invigorated and renewed. I've been invited to show at a new-to-me gallery. More deets to come.

 

April 2023 A busy month! Both Kinetics and Queens of Burlesque (for whom I host) are doing extra shows on behalf of autism research (Lighting the Way), and Kinetics are dancing at Fantasy Faire as well.

 

FF is always mind-blowing in terms of sheer scale - multiple sims each with a different style and theme. A year's worth of creativity goes into these, and are definitely worth immersing yourself. The Faire has its own group and welcomes photos taken on the premises.

 

And Spring is backing into being, a bit awkwardly. lol I'm happy to see a robin or two. I've been reading up on them and apparently it's the female who builds the nest. Guess the guys just bach it until mating time. If you like to feed the birds, robins are into beetles and meal worms.

 

March 2023 ... 'floating' as more like helium descent. Hovering, perhaps. But speaking of hovering, dragonflies found fossilized show that the essential build hasn't changed in millennia. They're just smaller now. And that's pretty much apropos to wtfk.

 

February 2023 just floating

 

30 December 2022 Just under the wire - here we go :D

 

Well, the weeks manage to fly by and drag on simultaneously. That artificial Christmas hysteria starts programming us with tinsel tunes starting in November ... then it's just one big Mission Impossible countdown until the **bang** at New Year's Eve. Lots more choices inside Second Life ... crunch around a few winter sims, stars glimmering on snow, some sideways-chewing reindeer gazing out with liquid brown eyes, maybe a run of ptarmigan scoots by. Long slow skating on frozen canals. A cup of mulled wine at a five-minute sitdown break in between Advent sales. Umpteen parties. Or just staying home watching the cat mangle the Charlie Brown tree while the pengu zips round and round his own little rink. Jazz on the stream, fire crackling, ridiculously huge inventory stash of winter/xmas stuff to sort.

 

I've put in a few shots from my this-es and that-es. I see the number of folks following me has edged up to 2500, which is pretty amazing considering my work is in my opinion quite unpolished and rather primitive. But we are often our most harsh critics. :D The point is I have fun making it and others like looking at it so everybody wins.

 

Wishing you all transit the old/new year phase with well-founded hope. It's a team effort, this humaning. The animals seem to have figured out how to live and let l ive (aside from the whole prey/predator thing which isn't personal, after all.)

 

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19 September 2022 Today we buried our Queen. Rest in peace, Your Majesty. Well done you.

 

8 September 2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died. So ends a lifetime of service and also an era. She was Queen when I was born, her portrait a familiar sight in any Government office, Post Office, on money, on stamps. I woke in the middle of the night to watch Diana marry Charles. Sarah to marry Andrew. Kate to marry William. Harry to marry Megan. I was shocked and terribly saddened by Diana's death and I watched her funeral. There was much bad feeling towards the monarchy over their seeming indifference .... it was occasion for the Queen to embrace the new reality that grief is not a private affair. I watched Helen Mirren play her, Dame Judith Dench play her ancestor Queen Victoria, the series The Crown, the interview with Harry and Megan by Oprah Winfrey, the interview given by Diana exposing her husband Charles' infidelity. I don't consider myself a monarchist per se, but I've never failed to watch the Queen's Christmas Address.

 

September has arrived and I'm back in the hosting saddle again. Feels good to pick up the routine, which never goes stale because the acts and the people and music are always variable. That stupifying heat has lifted as well, evenings are almost crisp. Soon the leaves will begin to turn and gently waft to the ground. Already SL is gearing up for Hallowe'en ... things can be seen slouching towards Bethlehem to be born. Or to the MP to be purchased. :P

 

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As promised here is the full list of the groups I administer as of August 9 2022. Please take a look, enjoy, and feel free to send in your images!

 

Groups administered by Siobhan Muintir (Sio)

 

Books, letters etc

www.flickr.com/groups/literati_sl/

 

Bunny Fun SL

www.flickr.com/groups/bunny-fun_sl/

 

Camera equipment SL

www.flickr.com/groups/shoot_photographerssl/

 

Closed - Tango's

www.flickr.com/groups/tangos_club_secondlife/

 

Closed Temp - Cafe Musique

www.flickr.com/groups/cafe-musique-sl/

 

Closed unti winter: Penguins Pingouins etc

www.flickr.com/groups/sl_penguins_pengouins/

 

Corvidae SL

www.flickr.com/groups/corvidae_sl/

 

Cows Bulls Bison etc

www.flickr.com/groups/cows_of_sl/

 

Flammed Ingos & 1-leg stands

www.flickr.com/groups/flamingo_sl/

 

Fowl Deeds - chickens etc

www.flickr.com/groups/fowl-deeds-sl/

 

Get Kraken!

www.flickr.com/groups/3543494@N24/

 

Happy Trailers to you

www.flickr.com/groups/trailers_second_life/

 

I <3 Ippos Fashion/Blog

www.flickr.com/groups/2778977@N23/

 

Instrumental Music SL

www.flickr.com/groups/instrumental_music_sl/

 

Invite-only A Whisper of Smoke

www.flickr.com/groups/3652967@N21/

 

Invite-only I Used to be Snow White

www.flickr.com/groups/sl_snow_white_drifted/

 

Invite-only SL For your Eyes Only

www.flickr.com/groups/sl_your_eyes_only/

 

Invite-only In the end; Grief & Loss in SL

www.flickr.com/groups/grief_death_loss_in_sl/

 

IPPOS for Nature Lovers

www.flickr.com/groups/ippos_nature_sl/

 

Just Cats SL

www.flickr.com/groups/just_catssl/

 

Les Baigneuses SL The Bathers

www.flickr.com/groups/les_baigneuses_sl_the_bathers/

 

Meditations SL

www.flickr.com/groups/meditations_sl/

 

Out-Foxed in SL

www.flickr.com/groups/out-foxed_in_sl/

 

Poppies SL

www.flickr.com/groups/poppies_sl/

 

Queen Anne's Lace

www.flickr.com/groups/queen-annes-lace-sl/

 

Seagulls Mouettes in SL

www.flickr.com/groups/seagulls_in_secondlife/

 

Snakes 'n Ladies, Medusa & Eve SL

www.flickr.com/groups/medusa_eve_snakes/

 

What a Sheep Shot (and rama-llama dingdongs)

www.flickr.com/groups/sheep-shots_sl/

 

What a Sty! Pigs etc.

www.flickr.com/groups/pigs_in_second_life/

 

you get my Goat!

www.flickr.com/groups/14805962@N20/

 

Moderate for:

Noir NeverLand Cabaret

www.flickr.com/groups/4453888@N24/

  

Aug 8th

 

The goats arrived today. First there was meeting Goathard, the mischevious pretty much innocent but you're never quite sure, friend of Gustaf Hobo. See his deeply funny work here www.flickr.com/photos/goathard/

 

Then I was finding sheep aplenty ... and there always seemed to be goats cropping up (get it, 'cropping up'?) lol

So, check out "You get my goat" www.flickr.com/groups/14805962@N20/

 

Aug 7 2022

 

The scouring continues ... wrestling albums into shape, putting them into Collections, chucking more crap, visiting memories. Heard there was a Frogmore hunt today, so off I went to the sim for the first time. Got distracted looking at rentals so decided just to shoot the place up instead. Frogmore sim: www.flickr.com/groups/14677915@N21/

 

Aug 6, phew, did some early-fall cleaning and got rid of at least 1K crappy images from 'olden days' ... some of them showed a pretty good eye and editing skills considering how new I was. I kept a few for sentimental value. This knocks my total image count well below 9000. Not that a PRO membership restricts the number of images one may have. :D I just want more and more.

 

August is here! I very recently attended a Jack the Ripper-themed party. Yeah, strange. But the build was fantastic, foggy London town, complete with gas lights, cobblestoned dead ends, wandering curs, and police posters from 1888 warning of deadly attacks of women. "Jack" was never identified. Some suggest his behavior was sanctioned by Queen Victoria herself, who blamed prostitutes for lowering men's moral standards. Yes, always blame the victim. Thanks your majesty, why don't you go back to covering the legs of tables lest they incite lust (yes, that was the fashion of the time). So I did two sets of photographs ..... the historical version, and a more subdued 'party' set. I even hunted down death poses and 'killed' myself quite brutally in an alley ... artists? We're crazy.

 

Oh, and I created another group. :D IPPOS for Nature Lovers www.flickr.com/groups/ippos_nature_sl/

 

It features the beauty of nature and architecture at a four-sim community called IPPOS. Prior to this, the IPPOS group was mostly fashion shots. I proposed to the remaining Admin of that group, who was swamped with other things, that I create a separate group and get the first one under control. With the newest group I wanted to fill it fast, and took a bunch of shots myself. That was fun too. If you'd like to learn more about IPPOS, its rental properties, res-rights photography opportunities, stores, visit their wordpress site. To learn more about IPPOS commercial and residential properties visit threadsandtuneage.com/ippos/

  

July. Let's see what happens. I do know I love running 27 groups. :D

 

Okay we're a ways into July now and it appears I'll be back hosting come September. It'll be nice to return to some sort of 'normal' routine, plus I've been added to the Kinetics roster as a substitute hostess. That coupled with Noir Neverland and Queens of Burlesque (both of which have Albums, see my list) makes me a very happy gal.

 

I do have to reiterate about permissions and copying/posting my artwork .... Nobdy has permission to do that. My photo settings do not permit downloading, but I can't track someone taking Screenshots. Please don't steal my work. It's not complimentary!

 

June 2022 After a long stretch of illnesses, my mother has passed into her next existence. She left whilst I was asleep in her hospice room, the nurses awoke me gently to tell me she had gone. In the midst of grief bills need to be paid, paperwork gotten underway, utilities canceled, a memorial planned. I keep going. I am receiving such kindness from her friends, neighbours, from relatives I've never really gotten to know before this. She was quite beautiful. Very sociable and out-going, loved to entertain, to bring people together for food and bridge and putting on skits. She sewed hundreds of doll outfits for church charities. We didn't really understand each other very well, very different perspectives and values, diverse natures. But at the end I gave her what strength and comfort I could, and she was finally able to let go. I'm not sure what's next, but she would want me to find happiness.

 

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A little reminder about accidental posting of my work elsewhere: Any images a person posts goes onto their personal stream, under their own name. Even if it not their work. If you want to direct attention to a particular shot of you that I've taken, put in the link to it from my stream in your Discussion section or in the About section. Thank you.

 

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Tis finally the month of May ... a capricious Spring, sunny then hail then snow then too hot then .... We are each coping with the horrid war in the Ukraine, offering prayers, shelter, anything we can. Covid rages on, but masks are disappearing. SL folks are as fun as ever ... my Kooks gallery is filling up. Must be the Spring sap flowing.

 

Goodness, I'm in arrears! January, February, March, into April now ... I've recently found out about a free weekly friendly photo contest in Second Life. It's called PhotoHunt. Only takes an hour from start to finish ... we all go to the same sim and shoot what we like. No editing allowed. Not even cropping. Wow, forces me to really pay attention! You pick your 'best' picture and mount it on their wall. People vote for those they like, anonymously. First, Second and Third place ribbons are awarded, plus a cash bonus. I've won an award each time ... which amazes me given the incredible talent I've seen. It's great fun to see so many sides to a sim one doesn't even realize is there.

 

Deets:

 

Photohunt is an opportunity for SL photographers to take as many photos as they like at an assigned location. They must choose the best image - with no editing, cropping (windlight is fine) - and put it up on a board. Everyone present in the exercise has a vote. People place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. The whole thing takes 60 minutes.

 

To visit the Photohunt main location for dates and times of the next events: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/NCIsland/146/82/1751

 

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Just noticed I've tipped into 9100 images here. Very satisfying to wander around in. Sometimes when I'm flipping through pix in a group to which I belong, I'll come upon one I especially like ... and am surprised it's mine. lol A bit embarrassing to say but hey, self-appreciation has to be ok.

  

When someone faves my work the first time, I like to go see their art and the other art they fave. Often I stumble into treasure troves, get ideas, learn something new. But if I encounter certain stuff, I back out of there in a hurry and Block that person. "Stuff" includes depictions of hardcore sex, virtual or irl. Especially if those photos are mixed in with shots of petunias and fuzzy bees and kids on bikes and then someone taking it up the butt. I mean, wtf.

 

Wow, that was some show!! And the audience were big Broadway fans so we had tons of fun together going oooh and ahhh and singing along. :D Doing it all again this week featuring new selections.

 

Very excited to be hosting Noir Neverland's very first "On Broadway" extravaganza tonight. The theatre is decked out in red and gold, I've found a slit up to there tuxedo gown with Really Big Hair and a diamond garter to host in .... and having seen the acts at rehearsal, wow. So much incredible talent and amazing dedication! I encourage folks to seek out theatre and performance inworld ... live music venues ... wonderful free entertainment, no need to find babysitters and parking, wear masks, line up for a drink ..... just sit down, take off your ao, and relax. lol

 

January 1 2022

 

Happy New Year!!

  

December 2021

 

Happy 25th! Over the years I've faved many pix of sheep, wondering "should I create yet Another Group" for them? The idea would slip away as if it were lanolin but somewhere in my subconscious a voice would sound "I'll be baaaaaaaaaaaak." So here we are, with A Sheep Shot. Send your lambs rams and various and assorted woolie butts this way. Ewe made me love ewe (I didn't wanna do it) www.flickr.com/groups/sheep-shots_sl/

 

'Tis the season of huge outdoor shopping venues! My fave place to people watch - and shoot. Fascinating to see a variety of styles - super long nails, for example. Very large buttocks and breasts, and tiny feet. Lots of ink. After exposure to so many folks, I start to see patterns emerge. Another part of the festive season are dances, skating parties, masquerade balls, special entertainment performances. I am fortunate to be a part of these various circles and have plenty of chances to put on those long swirly gowns. And I can skate divinely on virtual ice.

 

Final posting for November '21

 

The daylight hours are fewer above the equator as we enter the winter cycle, and I love the quiet and peace of gray skies and falling rain. Both concentration and creativity are easier for me - the neighbours can no longer use their power tools to grind and drill and saw and weed-eat and mow and sand. In my art, I am still shooting dancers especially because I host for two dance venues, and I love the motion to music combinations. But recently I've been hanging out with trees and rabbits and waterways and did I mention rabbits? Winter climes are beckoning as well ... trundles of penguins, roving packs of fox, open fires in circles of melted snow, bright twinkling lights, plates and platters and tureens bursting with stews and soups and bread fresh from the oven, and sweets and goodies galore. Tis the season of the Ghost of Christmas Present on its way. SL goes a bit mad at this time ... I wonder what the Australians and New Zealanders feel when the stores have no bikinies or surfboards for sale? :D

 

Very sad news today, my friend Amber Wild is gone. She inspired so many wonderful groups, always made time to reach out to people, put her heart into her eyes in every creation. Beautiful souls touch our lives so deeply. Amber, thank you for all the wonder you brought into my world and every gift of kindness you shared. (Please visit her page here flic.kr/ps/3es23j)

 

November has begun .... all those shots I took of Hallowe'en parties and events are now hanging out demanding attention, even though the ghouls have gone home for another year. Yes, yes, I can hear you! (Who can I call? Ghostbusters?0

 

Also managed to finally get over to the Elvion sim ... beauty beauty everywhere. Alas, it is now closed. Good news, them that created it intend to create something else! For ideas on how to put together landscapes or how best to shoot something, to be amused by the whimsey, to fall for all the animals lurking about, to just feel peaceful, visit the Elvion Flickr group.

  

October has arrived, phew, almost missed it as well. My RL is taking most of my energy atm; it's good to be busy but I miss my long idle hours of leisure playing with filters and gathering treasures of the artwork here.

 

September was here ... and I missed it!

 

August is here!

 

And wouldn't you know it, the cows came home. As in yes, another group has arrived on Flickr celebrating the Bovine Divine. www.flickr.com/groups/cows_of_sl/

 

July's melting onwards lol Many of the dancers I'm shooting are choosing the element of Fire ... that's one way to deal with the heat!

Ah but to step out of the shower and onto the porch for that natural dry, what a pleasure. Denizens of the warm all year round places may not realize just what 'winter' means in the goes down below zero most days. Fortunately there are plenty of winter sims should I have a yen for figure skating or getting cracked on the skull by huge icicles. (Okay, I'd have to buy those separately.)

  

June has melted into July 2021, the heat shimmers, begonias burst vibrantly forth, I sneak a few moments to shoot and edit. Thank you to every person who takes the time and shows the love to send their images in to my groups!

  

June 2021

 

New entry - still essentially on hiatus from any networld .. but noticing cool stuff through my "SL Cam Eye" in RL. Have received a delightful invitation to show in a gallery, will certainly follow up on that once my current duties allow. :D

 

After a few weeks in the Twilight Zone I'm baaack on the net again. Phew.

 

May 2021

 

Fantasy Faire proved a wonderful source of delectable photographical delight, particularly the calligraphic universe of Fiona Fei. It was like being inside of a Chinese brush painting, literally - shapes took on meanings of their own.

 

April 2021

 

Goodness, I missed posting for March! Well, things did get a little hare-y. A little cracked humour there, hopping right along .... I'd been trying to maintain two different groups for rabbits ... the 'realistic you can't tell this isn't real' group, and the heck, if they're wearing tutus and neckties, let em in group. But there just wasn't enough 'realism' out there to sustain dividing the bunch of cottontails, so now they're all in one rambunctioius family of Bunny Fun SL. It's costing me a fortune in veggies, but hey, I support fecundity, wriggling noses, floppy ears, whiskers. Bugs Bunny taught me opera, after all.

 

What else, what else? My photography is my White Rabbit ... thanks to being invited to host a rez party, I discovered a treasure trove of the unique, strange and wonderful completely new to me. Enjoy the "Clem" series! Seriously fun to combine my two favorite things to do - yak to people while shooting them. :P

 

Shot a few profiles for friends ... one has a sailboat so have arranged to go sailing in lieu of Lindens. Barter is fun!

 

Word is also getting around of my work, so am being offered commissions. woohoo !!!!

 

And Spring is springing ! Even if it's mostly from the Covid containment, I'm enjoying robin song, bee buzzing, longer hours of light, the surprising green in a new leaf.

 

----------- A few more thoughts

Whenever someone faves my work, naturally I go to visit theirs as well. Many times I am surprised because their own work, and that of whom else they have faved, are completely different. Like someone strictly into fashion shoots faves a tree of mine, or one of the bunnies :D I truly DO love the diversity about artwork and tastes and interests, it fascinates me. And humbles me too, in a way ... something about what they see in my work touches them. So if you're reading this, someone who has taken the time and care to fave me, thank you kindly. :D

 

February 2021 ... A New Era?

 

I've pretty much purged all of my albums - the photos don't vanish, they just go loose. It's a good way to shake out the cobwebs, let go of probably a fair amount of crappy shots (probably 1K at least), and think along new lines. It's a massive project but hey, social distancing, isolation ... why not do something useful?

 

new note: The consolidation continues, I had one casualty of a group that 'disappeared' - my only regret is it ate some very nice photos by other artists, my own 1400 from that group are still in my photostream somewhere. And likely to be ruthlessly purged for the most part. When I began taking pictures, I went overboard on shooting the same image again and again, then keeping every single shot. lol Now of course I might shoot five, keep one, pitch the rest. It's definitely more about quality now than quantity, not saying the quality couldn't be improved. :D

  

January 2021

 

Whoops, missed December's update! New group created, this time about the lop-eared nose-wrinkling veggie-garden raiders: rrrrrrrabbitz !

www.flickr.com/groups/rabbit_habit_sl/ (These animals keep following me around, demanding space. At least I don't have to feed them or pick up their, uh, leavings.) ((Not yet, anyhow. Who knows how innovative animesh might become?))

 

Had a lovely time visiting sims dedicated to winter and to Christmas ... such beauty! There is no snow chez moi, so it's a pleasure to have the experience and the magic ... a stretch of imagination to smell frost on the windows or catch snowflakes on your eyelashes ... but SL almost provides that too.

 

And so the globe is still dealing with the pandemic, children born in 2020 will grow up with plague as everyday and mask-wearing as normal, home-schooling and parents working at home a given, zoom and duo and all the media interfacing as natural. It's the rest of us who must keep adapting and adjusting. Fortunately, humans are a resilient bunch overall and I'm confident we can get through this next patch.

 

November 2020

 

Have decided to close the Shoes tell Stories group; it was a vague wording, vague parameters, I had to keep making decisions of whether this was more like a shoe ad or something telling a story, I still was getting pictures without shoes, sometimes even without feet. It was fun, I met some fun folks. There are many SL groups featuring footwear, so plenty of places for you walk, hop. skip, shuffle through. Thanks to all who joined and contributed!

 

And there go those four weeks! After the monsters squelch away, the spines of leafless branches and rain-slicked trunks scratch a keen poetry on the sky. This is the time of incipient compost, future rot and rich loam, frost-killed plants, all return to a more primordial place. It is a dying imperative to future living. I seek out silver and white, crisp, clean, fluffy, sluggish bears, proud elk, seasonal coats of fox and hare.

 

Soon will come the warmth of candlelight, diamond stars in night skies lasting longer hours, smells of fir and pine, cinnamon and nutmeg.

 

October 2020

 

Update 27th October

 

Always a great time to hunt up shots, what with monsters abounding, spiders' webs and mists, cauldrons, drunken skeleton gangs, bats bats bats!!! Hoping your Hallowe'en is proving much needed opportunities to socialize, to throw off the masks of stress and 2020-ishness and to don new masques of the gothic, the wonderfully horrible, the daringly dastardly demeanors of demon debutantes and devilish dervishes.

 

10 October

 

Wonderful thing happened yesterday ... dropped over to the Rainbow Gallery for a look round and someone popped in behind me and caught me dancing. Yes, I dance in public places when the music is good and nobody's looking. haha Anyhow, she was so nice and was actually looking for artists to show at her 11 floor tall gallery. I told her I can afford 'free' and yes, I was given a very cool rectangle of ocean and sand and darkness and neon all mine own. 23 prims later, 12 pictures, rocks and stairs and pampas grass and a glass tipjar stuck in the waves et voila. maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Phasic%20Foo/194/90/25

 

Also, the Penguins invaded. There was a lot shuffling about on the ice floe and guess who fell off? :D So please get your Pingu hit here: www.flickr.com/groups/sl_penguins_pengouins/

 

September 2020

 

Woot, honoured to be mentioned in a second article, this time about a reflective collage about dance. nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2020/09/siobhan-muintir-sl-flickr-tutor...

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I'm not quite ready to commit to yet another group but penguins have begun taking up a lot of space in my Faves. I must have a case of Happy Feet on the way. I remember watching a nature special showing a bunch of penguins on an ice floe. There was a lot of shuffling around until one on the edge was pushed into the water. The lucky ones craned their necks to see if anything ate the victim and seeing s'he'd survived, all dove in. Moral: Tuxedo'd lifeforms are not necessarily trustworthy, and try to stay in the middle (even if you're a bit of a loner :P)

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Wouldn't you know it? Just after disbanding my inworld gallery I'm featured in an article in New World Notes ! :D Life is always surprising, and often delightfully. Please visit Casja's blog - she features a new artist/creator frequently, and provides insightful commentary. Here's 'my' feature: nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2020/09/siobhan-muintir-sl-flickr-cajsa...

 

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30 August 2020 - Today I disbanded my inworld gallery, it just wasn't getting any traffic. I had fun with it, great building with lots of light, three floors, reasonable rent, and it was a good experience. You can still find my work for show and sale at two locations:

 

The Rainbow Painters Gallery is a huge, friendly space supporting new artists as well as those more experienced. Lots of themes are suggested throughout the year, which I find helpful 'cause it can so tough to choose just a few pieces to show out of the blue. It's run by Patty and Timo Dumpling, longtime patrons of the arts. Nicer folks you won't find. :D You can sell your art there, with no commission to the gallery.

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chadara/210/70/1006

 

The Gallery above the club Cafe Musique is wayyy up in the sky, which makes for interesting scenery. So many artists show there, a large room apiece, a lovely modernistic build. Check it out here (the first time you will land at the Club, just click the LM again to arrive at the Gallery)

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sandness/123/180/2001

 

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More added to August, which sees new group arrive .... yes, a flock of bright pink birds stuck their beaks out, demanding their own group. I had long refused to house flamingoes .... people kept trying to sneak them into the "Fowl Deeds" group BUT no matter how timid one might be, a flamingo is never gonna be a chicken. So come on over, stand on at least one leg (preferably your own) and meet da new boids in town. Flammed Ingos and 1-leg Stands www.flickr.com/groups/flamingo_sl/

 

August 2015 - 2020 Five years have passed since I posted my first SL shot here. That took a ton of courage to do, I was completely certain it was terrible photography but ... something had spoken to me and I wanted it to have a tiny place in the world. One became two became four and so on ... and one amazing day, I got a "like" and was totally thrilled. (Just like Sally Field "you like me, you really like me!") :P I joined a few groups just to 'watch and learn' and sent a few images along. Time passed, and I was awarded a cover. W.O.W. I was flabbergasted. Now, as Admin for what is it, 25, 26? groups, it's a delight each time I feature someone's work on the banner, especially when they tell me how it made their day.

 

When I look at my early shots I find some of them cringe-worthy ... the angle is wrong, the cropping is wrong, the colours are off, et cetera ... and of course those funny odd awkward game feet and accompanying duck walk ain't beautiful. However, I don't delete them because they capture my history ... and show my evolution of my avatar appearance, old friends no longer inworld, events at sims which no longer exist, and more. To all of us here at whatever stage of our SLife, I raise a virtual glass. Slainte !

 

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July 2020

I'm having more fun, possibly because holding on to too much anxiety about demagogues isn't fun at all. So I've cut way down on listening to omg podcasts and more often to Brené Brown "Unlocking Us" stuff. So instead of shooting the palm trees from afar, I zoomed in among the fronds and perched. Cams defy gravity.

 

brenebrown.com/unlockingus/

 

A Big Shout Out to Smug Mug/Flickr for revamping the image approval protocol and secondly, the cover choice process.

 

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June 2020

As pretty much everybody else around the globe, I've been adjusting to the new 'surreality.' I'm trying to balance out fear of catastrophe, starvation and despair with hope for the emergence of greater kindness and caring. Sometimes I pore over data and try to anticipate and extrapolate various potential outcomes, watch the protest marches and mutter "It's about time" as more and more endemic injustices are "discovered" and addressed by mainstream powers. So - cynicism and sarcasm as a veneer covering inconsolable sorrow at all the suffering then, now and yet to come.

 

As for my art ... I see I am hiding underwater a lot ... lol But water is a wonderful medium for expressing emotion so perhaps that is why. At the risk of sounding hopelessly naive and precious, if not yet 'woke' I definitely feel the somnolence of "If I keep my eyes closed it's not happening" is lifting. And that's both terrifying and absolutely defiantly courageous. Modelling is on every tv screen, vid clip, marching sign, radio ad, podcast ... change external and internal, bumpy, scary, bullets, tear gas, denial, entrenched strangleholds struck down, voices never silenced amid the panicked anthill of a demagogue.

 

Okay, back to my meanderings about ART and stuff ... When someone faves my work, I naturally go and check out their work too. Something that keeps surprising me is how very different are the subjects, styles, subject matter, feelings between the two. It's fascinating!

 

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April 2020

Ironically, nothing brings people together more effectively than a global pandemic. Except we're only metaphorically together because surviving this means staying apart. I'm thinking people with pets are especially blessed in that touch is available. I'm making do with hugging pillows and a very large stuffed Elsa lioness, and watching lots of kitty cuddling on the net. One of my recent pieces shows me and five cats in our SL home .... and not a single one is actively insulting another. Although I think there are some nasty whiskered insults being telegraphed. lol Stay safe, wash those paws, love is still all around.

 

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March 2020

I read somewhere that science fiction is not about the future, but the present.

I suspect Art is also very much the present too ... I see a lot of us dealing with Corona.

 

One of my most recent pieces I call Hope - an uplifted face, eyes closed, beautifully radiantly mottled and hued. I stumbled on the 'statue' in a store while sorting old LMs and was fascinated with its Zen timelesness.

  

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{Updated February 18th 2020]

 

Just passed the mark of 7800 photos ... and Kodak didn't make a single cent on any of them. lol Yes, I'm dating myself a little ... Snow White waiting for her pictures to be developed, singing "Some Day My Prints Will Come"

 

I'm loosening up a little, which feels great. I guess it's like anything, becoming a bit more confident riding a bike, one can afford to risk more daring, take a few more chances. Better balance. In art, no chance to scrape knees nor eat gravel, even better.

 

Cats seem to have tippytoed in .... and strange salmon-coloured birds have arrived to give advice.

 

** New group just created "For your Eyes Only" www.flickr.com/groups/sl_your_eyes_only/pool/

which, coincidentally, is dedicated to eyes.

 

Peace

 

Sio