MemeMeeeemememe meeeme me

I never do memes. I might hear of them and have a good idea, but then I never get around to it. It's not that I'm lazy, darlings, I'm just... so very busy with all the brunches with socialites, teas with royalty, pedicures with starlets... you get the idea.

The movie poster meme, though, popped its little head up and I immediately chortled with glee. I had about 5 or 6 ideas, and of course, got only one done. Ah well, at least I got something accomplished! I hope it makes you giggle!

The Dream

With an important deadline looming, I worked all day at my typewriter. Sadly, despite all the hours of brainstorming, all I'd managed was the first word. Still, I was so pooped I dozed off right where I was!

Suddenly, there he was. Those eyes! That smile! That chest hair!  Right before me, a vision to behold: my dream date!

He had prepared a lovely picnic lunch for us to enjoy, but everyone knows: swim first - eat later!

Just as we were about to dig into the fruit, bread, and cheese, a hideous monster jumped out! "Gimmee that Brie!" it snarled. I was so frightened! My brave dream man whipped out his big gun and took care of that Brie brigand!

"My hero!" I gasped and he turned. He puckered up and leaned towards me. He raised his hand and offered me a friendship bracelet. I reached to take it when....

My blasted alarm clock shattered the illusion and I found myself back in my bed with nothing but the deadline to greet me. I sighed and got up, the memory of my dream man fading slowly from my mind. If only it could be real!

That's when I saw it! There, on my wrist. No.... could it be??? Was it really all a dream?!

~~~~~

Thanks to Andel Rhiadra for being such a patient, lovely model! 

Featuring items from The Arcade gacha event!

Bedroom 1:

ADD Andel - Bowling league - Bowling Balls

Apple Fall - Breakfast at Tiffanies - books

Aria - Oolong Teacup Planters - flowers

Art Dummy - wake me. - bed

DIGS - Skyline Relief Blocks - London

Floorplan - antique typewriter - floral

Pilot - Landmarks - Eifel Tower

Scarlet Creative - Getaway - poetry books boxed

Shakeup! - Fabric Flower Ring - Tie Dye (on wall)

Standby - World Tour - amps, ukulele, keytar

Trompe Loeil - Billiards Dresser

Vespertine - Fabric Birds - Birdcage, owl

Date Picnic:

Elate - A Posh Picnic set

Miamai - Critters Society - floaty

Second Spaces - Game Night - Backgammon

Sway - Swim Ring - Love

Bedroom 2:

Art Dummy - wake me. - white clock

Aso - Alphabet Marine Bag

Commoner - Rocking Horse

Gizza - Summer Basket - Aquarium

Handverk - Mermaid's Purses - narwhal

PixelMode - Bean Bag Chair

Remarkable Oblivion - Snapbacks - Royalty

Second Spaces - Game Night - Block Stack

Silent Sparrow - Corgi

Zigana - Super Bot - lamp – Gizmo

On Andel:

BOOM - Friendship Bracelet - lilac

Paper Doll - Ruffly Kini

Pink Fuel - Harley

Teefy - Boho - dress

Wasabi Pills - Lory

On Wilmur:

Adorkable - Lilac Bloom

LWL - Cuffs and Collars - Black Tie

MishMish - Squirt Guns - Orca

Brie Brigand:

RachelBreaker - Sweet Soft Fursona

Pixies in a Fix

"Why did you follow me?
My brain is a pea!"

"This is not the picnic I planned - 

to end up lost in a strange land!"

"I'm hungry! I thirst!
My feet hurt the worst!"

"Quit whining, my dear!

Who knows what will hear!"

"Look, there! Don't you see?
Behind that big tree!"

"Go ahead, take a sip.

Just a little, just a nip!"

"Oh horror! Oh wow!
We're in for it now!"

"Run, run, run like the wind!

Did you see the teeth in that huge, gnarly grin?"

No one knows how the pixies got away.

They'll have their picnic another day.

~~~~~

Featured:  

Balaclava@Arcade - Tricksters and Their Magical Treasures - #9- Briar Carly and #10- March Freckle. These very tiny mesh avatars come complete with an AO!

Intrigue Co.@Arcade - Prehistoric Plushie Pals - Pizza the Pleiosaurus, Ernie the Eohippos, Moe the Mammoth, Petunia the Pterodactyl, Sammy the Sabertooth, Sara the Triceratops, Thunder the T-Rex, and the Props! These are also holdable attachments. 

Both of these great collections are exclusive to this month's Arcade - so make sure to collect them all before the end of the month!

Assorted foliage for my jungle - Ferns from Botanical and planter foliage from Trompe Loeil!

Oasis

The d-lab stuff at Arcade this go around is simply divine. So is this wearable pool from flowey, also at Arcade.

~~~~~

Aparatus - d-lab - cyborg parts@Arcade

Pool - flowey - aloha summer@Arcade

Non-Arcade: 

Skin/Glasses/Socks/Sassiness - Wrigglesworth, shirt - Intrigue, shoes - Deco, undies - Balaclava (no, you can't see them, but they are awesome, take my word for it!

Location: Tableau

The Cat's Out of the Bag!

As icon Clairee Belcher said so graciously, "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize."

One important accessory that is often forgotten is no further than the tip of your nose: glasses! Functional as well as fashionable, glasses allow us to look our best, as well as help us... well... look!

I love glasses. I have so many that it is hard to pick through them to find the pair I need. I might find the perfect color frames, but the lenses are all wrong! Sometimes it takes me longer to find the right glasses as it does to find what jewelry to use, and you can just imagine how much jewelry I have. Not anymore, darlings! I think I might have finally found the holy grail of glasses!

These are the Cat Glasses offered by Conspiracy Theory for The Arcade gacha event. They come in all sorts of wonderful colors and patterns. They are very well made and are quite detailed, and at only 25L a try they are one of the greatest bargains of the entire event. The rare surprise in Conspiracy Theory's gacha is a marvelous HUD that lets you customize the Cat Glasses! I am wearing the White Cat Glasses, so with the HUD, I can customize all the finer details, while the color of the frames stay intact.

The HUD comes in three parts: One to customize the studs decorating the points of the glasses, one to customize the color and darkness of the lens, and one to customize the color of the side arms. 

Here is a demonstration of the first and third parts of the HUD together. The left picture shows the stud colors available, and the right side shows the colors available for the arms of the glasses.

  

As you can see, there are quite a few colors you can choose from to make your glasses look exactly the way you want. Below, I have shown first the default, then changed the studs and sides to red, and then again changed them to a nice soft blue!

The middle part of the HUD controls both the color and the darkness of the lenses. The rainbow gradient allows you to make your lenses any color you want - from delicate pink to bright red, from forest green to sky blue!

At the top of the rainbow gradient is a black strip. This is where you can customize how dark you want your shades. All the way to the left and they are clear. All the way to the right, and they are dark for sunny days, or for special spy missions when discretion is key!

As I finish my ensemble, I have decided to customize my Cat Glasses for a nice, soft blue lens, with blue studs and blue sides. The rare HUD from Conspiracy Theory@The Arcade will help me match my glasses perfectly, every time I go out! 

Good luck getting your Cat Glasses, and the rare Cat Glasses HUD. They are worth every linden!

~~~~~

Glasses - Conspiracy Theory@Arcade (customized with rare HUD prize)

Vanity Table and makeup items - Tres Blah@Arcade

Dress Form - Schadenfreude@The Arcade

Chair - Apple Fall@The Arcade

Lilac Bouquet - Adorkable@The Arcade

Ensemble: Hair - Bliss Couture, Dress - Icing, Rings - Paper Couture, Earrings/Necklace/Stole - Donna Flora, Dress - Icing, Hair Pin - Dark Mouse

Where a new member of the (doll)household is not happy.

After spending a lovely day at The Arcade, I came home to introduce my wee residents of my dollhouse to their newest member! Grumpy Cat! He wasn't pleased but I figured, give him some time.

When I woke up this morning there was quite a disturbance!

Some of Grumpy Cats's Emote pals showed up and started picketing for his release! How frightening!

Thankfully, the police showed up and the angry throng dispersed. I'm going to have to keep my eye on Grumpy Cat, methinks.

                                                                                ~~~~~

The Arcade gacha event has arrived once again, darlings! The wee Emoting animals above are all from Tableau Vivant. The signs they hold are scripted to allow you to add your own personal message! The whimsical piggy police is Anya Ohmai's contribution! The souvenir the monkey is perched on is one of Pilot's offerings. There's a whole collection of famous landmarks!

The dollhouse and vouboos are old Arcade items: The dollhouse and furnishings are from Pilot, March 2013 Arcade and the vouboos are from Schadenfreude's December 2012 Arcade. The vouboo gacha is up at Schadenfreude's shop, but the dollhouse and its trappings are only obtainable through private trades at this point.

Everything at this Arcade looks so whimsical and fun - I hope everyone gets what they hope for!

June 2013 Arcade Feature #1
Tableau Vivant - shown are: Giraffe, Fox, Monkey, Bear, Panda (rare), and Cat (rare)
!Ohmai Teacup Piglet - Pork Patrol

Let the Waters Lift Us

It has been almost a month since an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, causing massive damage, staggering loss of life, and an ongoing nuclear disaster - not to mention countless aftershocks hampering relief efforts.

I've put finger to keyboard several times to try to put down my thoughts on it, but nothing I have written comes close to adequately say what I want to express about it. For some things, there just aren't words.

Since this event, there have been amazing responses - both good and bad, both in the real world and in SecondLife. As it normally happens, catastrophes bring out the best and worst in people. Personally, I can't understand any human response to what is happening in Japan other than absolute compassion.

Several benefits sprung up in SL seemingly overnight to try to raise money for relief efforts, including the Pacific Crisis Fundraiser, the Help Japan Fundraiser, and Project Fur Japan. So many creators donated their time and content to raise money, and I am grateful for each and every person who did something to try to help.

It has been a month, but the need does not wane, even if our attention might. Here is a reminder of how you can help directly to organizations offering relief in Japan.

• The American Red Cross. Using your cell phone, you can text-message donations of $10 to the agency. Text the letters REDCROSS to 90999 to make the $10 donation, or visit the organization's website.

• The Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895. In Tokyo, the Salvation Army "opened its main building to help shelter commuters who were unable to reach home. They served hot drinks and packed meals," said a spokesperson. You can text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts.

• Doctors Without Borders, an international group, already has teams working in Japan. The groups notes it is "drawing on unrestricted donations" given to it to fund its efforts, and "we are not accepting donations specifically earmarked for the recovery efforts in Japan. We greatly appreciate your generosity and encourage your support of our work. We will continue to post updates on our homepage, Facebook and Twitter as new information becomes available." To donate, call 1-888-392-0392.

• The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is raising funds to help children in Japan. Donations accepted at website, or by calling 1-800-367-5437.

• Mercy Corps  is "accepting donations to help survivors of Japan's earthquake and tsunami through our longstanding partner, Peace Winds Japan." Donations will go to meeting the "immediate and longer-term needs of the survivors," a spokesperson said. You can text “MERCY” to 25383 to donate $10.

 For animal relief:

• The International Fund for Animal Welfare has information about efforts to save animals in Japan. To make a donation by phone, call 1-800-932-4329.

• World Vets (veterinarians) offers veterinary aid around the world in collaboration with animal advocacy groups, veterinarians abroad, other governments and military organizations. The organization has a Japan Disaster Relief Web page where you can donate.

• The Japan Cat Network, which was started in 1993, is dedicated to helping Japan’s stray and abandoned cat population. It is also one of three groups that are part of Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, which includes HEART-Tokushima and Animal Friends Niigata. You can find the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support group on Facebook.

• Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK) says it will accept care of as many quake-tsunami related homeless animals as it can. Donations can be made at the website using PayPal, and money contributed will be used specifically for that, the organization says.

If you're wary of donating to any charity, the Better Business Bureau has information on how to give responsibly. Also, the Charity Navigator is always a good resource when considering how to help causes you believe in. (I seriously wish there was one of those in SecondLife!)

~~~~~~

Credits:
Dress: Agnes Finney - Agnes Blessing for Japan (for Project Fur Japan)
Hat: Vita's Boudoir - Cherry Blossom Bonsai Hat (for Help Japan Benefit)
Jewelry: Alienbear - Kitty Cyrus Collection (for Project Fur Japan)
Poses: Adorkable, Exposeur, Gesticulate/Status - (Posers Unite package for Pacific Crisis Fund)

Hair: Bliss Couture - Cecilia, Vanille
Glasses: Wrigglesworth - Cat Eye Glasses