Merry Christmas

And what could make for better Christmas cheer than dancing naked in the snow?

My darling friend Lily Drake and I snuck off the the Secret Garden for a little Christmas dancing fun. From the North Pole, this is Prof. Outlandish. Merry Christmas, everyone.

What the. . .

So I was at the top of the Shoppe Lux tower, trying to get good pictures of the city when I saw this:

I got one good picture before it zipped off into the skies. Who or what is this? An alien, a secret government super trooper? Inquiring minds want to know.

Coming soon

Stepping Out

I may be the luckiest girl in Serenity Point. The best hot dogs in the whole town are sold out of a place right across the street from my studio. When the street isn't crowded I don't even have to change when I feel the need for a thick sausage dribbling hot juices on my tongue. Now I just have to find the taco shop.

Its winter in Serenity and things are getting a bit perky when I step outside. No one has complained so far, though. Snow is on the ground, Christmas decorations hang from the street lights and I'm not turning my radio on until the holiday songs GO AWAY!

Behind me in the picture below you can see my stuido. Well, actually you can't because your favorite photographer is blocking the view. The top floor right above my head is my apartment. The next one down is the studio, the ground floor is the photography shop. That's my car in the alley and there's a bar in the other half of the building. How much better can it get? Its literally ten steps from my shop to the bar and less than half a block to get lunch.

The studio is now open for business. If you need photos for your profile, as a keepsake for an event or that special someone or have a few private shots you'd like done, just get in touch. No extra charge for the vintage style.

I'm Magdalena Outlander and this is Serenity Point, where its never too cold to go out naked.

More Serenity

Outlandish Photos is coming along nicely. In a few more days I should be ready for customers. In the meantime, I decided to let me hair down and look around my new home a bit more. It didn't take long to find the fire department and one of the fire brigade was nice enough to lend me his hat for this shot.

Then I found the roller rink. Anyone who knows me knows that I love skating. I'm going to save the rink itself for a full shoot later. They also have a great dance floor in the middle, dining tables AND a stage with enough room for a full band. Here I am belting out a little tune on the upright bass.

Its always nice when you can rap your hands around something curvy and tickle the middle. More as it comes in, or stop by the studio. I'm Professor Outlandish and this is Serenity Point.

Seraph City Redux

In case you can't tell, I'm really grooving on the old style B&W.

Serenity Point

Finally updated, your favorite cub reporter decided to go vintage and check out Serenity Point. Type "vintage" in your places search and its the first hit. This place is three sims of retro fun and I've only just started exploring it. It seems like there's something fun every step. I didn't even get a chance to ride the free scooters. Instead I got distracted jumping around on tires.

Then I saw the subway station so I had to pop down for a look around. I had to wait a bit for the train to come.

When it showed up it was a bit worn down but a fun ride. There's a lot of fun you can have on an empty train.

Eventually I found the drive-in theater. Its a lot of fun with plenty of vehicles provided for watching movies, cuddling and so forth. They've even got popcorn! I was just starting to explore the possibilities for a shoot when. . .

the owner of the sim walked in and told me they needed an in-house photographer. He liked the classic Bettie Page look and was willing to provide an apartment and a studio! Well what else could I do? I put together a quick portfolio of vintage cheesecake (and a few slightly naughtier ones for my fans. Here it is. Expect to see a lot more of Serenity Point and of me in the near future.

I do hope I see these pinned up in some lockers or I'm going to be disappointed. This is Professor Outlandish of Outlandish Photography Studio, Serenity Point, right above the Koduk camera store. Stop by for all your Vintage photography needs, especially if they're scandalous.

No Salvation

So there I was, just minding my own business in a rundown cathedral. I had my clever angel disguise on, the better to explore without being bothered (worshiped maybe, but not bothered). When who should walk in but my lovely vampire friend Christianna. She looked like she had been having a rough day, all scratched up and tear streaked. What's an angel to do? I gave her a big hug and sat her down next to me. The rest just kind of. . .er. . .developed. The moral of this story? Angels aren't all sweet and innocent.

She might not have made it to heaven, but the lovely Christiana certainly had a religious experience the night she was touched by an angel.

The Mother Road

What could be better than a trip down historic Route 66? I was on my way to Venice Beach and figured I'd take the scenic route. Unfortunately my car broke down outside of some little town along the way, so I had no choice but to go into town and try to call for help. After all, naked reporters don't have anywhere to carry a cell phone.

I guess they had some trouble with bad behavior in the past because the entrance to town was plastered with warning signs. After agreeing not to break any of their rules, they let me past the checkpoint and it was time to find a phone.

The one at the local watering hole took a while to get working but I finally got a hold of some friends who promised to come pick me up. It was going to take them a while so I figured I'd take the opportunity to look around a bit.

At some point on their Route 66 journey, everyone should get their picture taken with the Route 66 sign, so that was my first priority.

And I couldn't miss a chance to get a shot with this lovely classic car. After some looking around, I settled down to wait in the church. It was a quaint little thing, looked like it had been abandoned for a while. So when my friends showed up they caught me goofing around on the pulpit. . . just reading, I promise. They were all more than happy to get in on the fun.

Here's Suzette Elan, on her knees and saying her prayers like a good little girl. I could probably make a Catholic Priest joke here but I think I'll let it go.

That's Chritiana Xevion in the pews listening to my sermon on the evils of. . .ok, I admit, I was reading Letters To Penthouse to everyone when. . .

the gorgeous Aeonlatex Cerise made her dramatic entrance. This rubber dolly never does anything halfway.

First stop was the service station, where they'll fill you up or clean your pipes depending on what you need. After a quick conference around the table we planned to get some drinks, grab a bite to eat and head for Venice Beach again. The vending machine fare was nothing to write home about but at least Aeon had boots to hide a wallet in so we could get a little something.

Across the street was an air strip. We spent a little time playing WWII pinup girl but since the plane wasn't big enough to carry us all (and no one knew how to fuel it let alone fly it) we figured we should probably leave it where it was.

The diner, like the rest of town, was deserted but they had a jukebox, pinball and ice cream. What more could a girl ask for?

The best part of an abandoned town? Free booze! Properly liquored up, we were ready to head on to the beach. That's a story on it own but maybe a little sneak peak wouldn't hurt.

Live from Venice Beach, this is Prof Outlandish reminding you that the best way to keep your clothes from getting sweaty when you work out is to take them off.

Pinups from Seraph City

There'll be a full article soon but for now. . .

Seraph City is a great, unique 20's=30's dieselpunk sim. It reminds me a lot of early Caledon, great people, unique designs. I'm working on my own little Seraph project involving a jetpack corps. Here's a few promo shots taken with the City's logo.

I have seen the future

and it is Makers by Cory Doctorow. Download your free copy today, steampunks. There will be a test on this material.

Limited Edition Gallery

Since my lovely welcome in Caledon I've been moving progressively farther from JUST reporting the news. I'll still be doing that, of course, but it will probably mostly go to the Naughty News blog.

In the meantime, thanks to the help of several friends, I've manged to get my first few gallery works up. Stop by Steam Sonnet and see the limited edition Luxuria Mystic runs. There are three on display at the moment. I expect to have a fourth named "Lilith" up just as soon as I sell one to pay for uploads.

For a bit more detail, I'll just quote the notecard given out in the store:

About Luxuria Mystic Limited Editions

Every work you see here with a number is an original and for sale. Each piece has a limited run of 10 prints. Each print is signed (or kissed) and numbered. Unnumbered works have already sold out, but they are kept on display with their information where possible.

All works for sale are no mod to prevent accidental damage but Zenmondo Worsmer has kindly provided a size changing script so that you can fit the work to whatever size you need. All works are transferrable. When you buy one, you are buying the original, not the contents or a copy, so you will also need to Take it after your purchase.

On the back of each work is a credits page. Most of the work is mine alone, but some pieces do involve public domain portraits of historical figures or, in the case of Lovelace Athena, Lord Byron's poetry. Where possible, the original artists recieve proper credit.

The bottom of the credits contains the date and time of the work's creation. This is an anti-copying device. You can compare the date and time on the credits to the prim that your artwork is on. If they match and the creator is Magdalena Outlander then you can be confident that your limited edition print is genuine. If you should happen to find a print without this information, or where the prim does not match the credits, you are looking at a counterfeit. Please inform me immediately.

All prints on sale at the gallery start with number 3 of 10. Number 2 is always given as a gift to a particularly inspiring Caledonian. Number 1 is reserved and will be auctioned off either for charity or once all eight of the prints for sale have sold. The inofrmation card on each print will tell you who received print number 2, a landmark to its current location (if known). The same information is provided for the number 1 print if it has sold.

There's a lot more to a limited edition than just uploading a texture. Each one has to be created from a plywood box to produce a different creation time. There is no shift-copy used in these works. Each individual piece requires two custom textures to be uploaded. One for the numbered artwork itself and the other for the credits that denotes both the number and creation time.

In other news, Takashi someone won mayor of Hard Alley. Thanks to everyone who braved the bad air and worse RP to vote for me.

Elcetion is Underway!

Just about two hours left. Remember to vote Magdalena Outlander. And here's. . .not an outtake per se but a photo I've always been fond of. A little big bad wolf action, even if he is a fox.

Also, all you plurkers who are reading can now find me here.

Satudray, Saturday, Saturday!

Its the election for mayor of Hard Alley! Get out and rock that vote for your favorite junior Naughty Reporter. If I win I'll post exclusive coverage from he Mayor's office right here!

Thoughts on the Steampunk ethic

An odd series of conversations occurred at the Blue Mermaid tonight. Somehow we got to talking about morals, ethics, the growth of communities and Steampunk as asthetic vs Second Lifestyle vs real lifestyle. I didn't have tine to stay for as much of it as I wanted to, but I thought a few things were left unsaid. I'd like to add them here, away from the confusion of multiple conversation threads going by as fast as everyone can type.

Let's start with exactly what Steampunk is. I think the best description I heard was "love the machine, hate the factory". As a society, the Internet has taken us past the knee-jerk distrust of technology from the Cyberpunk age.

Cyberpunk fiction often presented technology as a necessary evil, something you had to compromise your soul for but couldn't get by without. Steampunk recognizes the utility of technology. Whhere it differs from mainstream culture is in the idea of a return to individual craftsmanship. This is a perfect match for Second Life, of course. Things like wholesalers and design by committee are only now in their infancy in SL. By far the vast majority of things in this virtual world were painstaking crafted by a single individual. In the real world this tends to express itself in the famous computers, guitars, clothing and other objects modified by Steampunk designers. You simply can't buy Steampunk in the store. The very definition of the aesthetic says that if its mass produced, its not Steampunk.

To some, real life Steampunk is nothing more than an aesthetic choice. Its playing dress-up. There's certainly a fair degree of truth in that analysis at the moment. The Steampunk ethic is, for right now anyway, primarily expressed through fashion choices and custom mods of commercial products.

This isn't necessarily a permanent situation. Already the move to solar power and eco-friendly urban engineering is beginning to decouple the average American from centralized sources. Internet shopping likewise allows for niche markets to flourish. As the consumer becomes decoupled from centralized control, the craftsman once again has room to ply her trade and reach those consumers who will appreciate (ie pay for) her work. Essentially nanotech/advanced 3-D printing decopules the labor of production from the labor of design. It becomes like the SL merchant's business model. Long hours to design one product that can be reproduced in whatever quantities are needed.

I don't think we'll be seeing Neal Stephenson's neo-Victorians from The Diamond Age until manufacturing also becomes decentralized. However, the budding Steam craftsperson can already make a decent living with their work on ebay. This just demonstrates that there is a market for high quality work done by hand in the Steampunk aesthetic. I don't know how many Steampunk designers actually make a successful living selling the crafts, but if anyone knows one of these people, I'd love to do an interview.

More next time on Steampunk philosophy and ethics, the ideas behind the aesthetic. Reccomended reading - The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.

Notes and an outtake

Not much going on. Just studying up for the Triathlon portion of the Caledon Games and working on my campaign for WORLD DOMINATION. . .I mean. . .er. . .mayor of Hard Alley. So to keep my faithful readers entertained, have a picture of my darling Io and I dancing on Valentine's Day. This one was good enough to belong in the main article but I just couldn't make it fit the story.

A couple of side notes

Loyal readers no doubt remember my campaign in Hard Alley. Well, its still going. Campaign posters are up, handouts are ready. All we need now is votes on the 20th.

Some of you may also have noticed a subtle change in my style in the last shoot. Yes, its true, I used to dye my hair in an attempt at what the MIT set calls "artificial intelligence". I finally gave up and washed it out, except for one little spot that just doesn't want to match my natural color.

Live From Caledon On Sea - The Blue Mermaid

In my personal blog, I promised a full report on my lovely Valentine's Day and I hope it was worth the wait. Reporting from Caledon On Sea with a little help from my friends, Professor Outladish presents: The Blue Mermaid.

First off I have to thank my two lovely loyal readers who assisited in this shoot.

Regan Finesmith will be the subject of the free poster given to loyal readers who also follow my in-world group (free to join, hint hint). She was chosen through a careful selection process involving asking for a volunteer and taking the first person to raise their hand. Let that be a lesson to aspiring reporters everywhere. All you have to do is seize the opportunity when it presents itself.

Io Guisse, my lovely assistant and Valentine's date just had the luck (good or bad, you be the judge) to end up losing her dress on stage with me during the Valentine's event.

 OK, so first the dry facts. The Blue Mermaid is a burlesque club in Caledon. Events are held Wednesdays at 7 and Sundays at 1. The owner, Hypatia Callisto and the DJ for the event, Icarus Ghost were both amazingly friendly. Io and I were made to feel right at home.

Its got a lovely atmosphere and is pleasantly risque by Victorian standards. Reporters and their dates can get naked on the stage, for example, without getting into trouble. I must admit this had a fair bit to do with my enjoyment of the evening. They also don't mind junior reporters taking a little impromptu champagne bath.

 

Now if you're like me, you've been to clubs all over SL. The formula tends to be very straight forward. There's a commercial area that vendors rent space in. That pays the bills for the club, which in turn generates the traffic for the vendors. Once you get there, there's a two hour themed event. Depending on the size of the club the prize for best in theme is somewhere between 250 and 1000 L. There are strippers and a DJ working for tips. Before the event, the place is empty. Two hours after the event starts, prizes are given out and everyone who works there packs up and goes home. Even when you win, you're left feeling vaguely used.

Not so the Blue Mermaid, my friends. The Valentine's Day dance was scheduled to start at 7 PM. Every time a group went home, another came in. When the DJ finally packed up to go home at midnight there were probably still a dozen people in the place. This, faithful readers, is a place that people come because they love it run by people who love it. There were plenty of dancers shedding their clothes but none were employees or doing it for the tips. I can't reccommend this place highly enough for the neo-Victorian, Steampunk, or just slightly naughty set.

The main room has several lovely features. There's a bar for dancing on. . .

 

and tables and couches to perform for a more intimate audience. . .

 

and that's just the main room. 

If your looking for other places to check out, The Blue Mermaid is part of the Caledon Adventure, as shown by the goblet next to your pleasantly distracted junior reporter.

 

Just step out front to the time machine. Flip the lever, pick a destination, have a seat and you'll be whisked away to another Caledon Adventure location of your choice. Don't do it yet, though. You'll miss the joy of the Mermaid's secluded back rooms.

The first of these isn't so much a back room as a top room. When things get crowded down below, you can head up the staris to the balcony level. Its perfect for watching the Caledonian antics, as a dance overflow area or for getting a little closer to an adoring fan.

 

From there you should be able to easily find the other back rooms, complete with a comfy couch, another lap dance chair and an absolutely lovely rug in front of the fireplace.

Unfortunately, this is the point where my lovely volunteer had to leave. It was a great shoot, though and very. . . satisfying off camera. 

Live from The Blue Mermaid in Caledon On Sea, this is Professor Outlandish, sleeping the sleep of the just.