Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Another Basement?

That is correct. The Mumbling Goat Basement is a nice hangout for live musicians in Second Life. It is a cozy place and the performances are super cool.


You want to go and see Oblee and listen to his songs and a variety of covers. It is a one-man band and never disappoints you. Oblee is a regular performer here at this Basement as well as the annual Second Live Birthday celebrations.

You could wear all white.
With so many real live shows canceled last year and this year, it is nice to catch a virtual live show in Second Life. 

You feel a certain connection to the artist as well as the people around you. You are all experiencing the same thing at the same moment no matter where you are located at. That is the best part, right? 
Stuck at home and in your PJs? No problem with second life performances, because here your avatar can wear the finest or the most outrageous clothes you can imagine. You do not get that in Real Life without having someone look at you all crossed-eyed. 

Next time you are looking for something to do, why not check it out and catch a live performance, even better if it is Oblee. The variety in Second Life is large and you can find any type of music you desire.

Just imagine how lucky we are who have found Second Life and participate in what it can offer. 


Monday, March 29, 2021

The nerve of some people...


 ...is one of those English idioms that are hard to understand if you look for it word by word. I guess it just means how shocking rude someone can be. You can have nerves of steel but that makes me think of how you are going to pass the metal detector at the airport. You could get on somebody's nerves too. I suppose you could be all nerves which we would call ein 
Nervenbündel.

I often wonder is it Generation Z or do we blame the Pandemic for their behaviors of not caring about things anymore? What I have seen in this past year is actually the opposite and I see other generations flipping out over the most stupid things. As much as we want to blame the young ones for their inexperience in life and the world, they cannot be the ones that nerved it all.

Is it not the youth who learn from us? We are the ones who suppose to be the example of how to act and what is best, yet we love to blame. That is baby boomers along with Generation X and Millennials. We surely are not in our right minds to act stupid and feel entitled over one thing or another.

Entitled individuals think they deserve more than other people, even when they really aren’t better than others are.  Some people feel quite entitled overall, but people’s sense of entitlement can also fluctuate, and there can be times when even a normally unentitled person feels temporarily entitled. The sources of entitlement are not fully understood, but researchers have pointed to factors such as how people are treated by their parents and other authority figures, messages from the media, and other life events, especially those that make people feel that they are special.

The moral of this is: Treat others like you want to be treated and stop irritating others with your nonsense. Be a good example for the next generation or we soon will be wiped out from this planet.

Saturday, March 27, 2021

I'd rather sleep on a waterlily bed


You would think that teachers are strong and have it all together, but let me tell you the truth we don't. There is a certain fear to go back to daily contact with your students. I know at this point I'd rather sleep on a waterlily bed and hope it carries me to a safe place.

When all of this began and the pandemic changed our lives, teachers were glorified of being heroes that were so badly missed, because realized that their children really do not behave and teaching is much harder than you think.

We felt so good inside because someone thought of us as special and needed because we could reach out to those students who were the most difficult and the most vulnerable. We made it happen, year after year, and now all of the sudden we became teachers in the virtual realm.
I must say that my experience in Second Life had made virtual teaching so much easier not that I knew about Zoom or Google Classroom, but I knew the virtual world and that it did exist. 

In one year we quickly became experts in this still of teaching. Our creativity never ended and we reached deeper to get everybody engaged. It became comfortable to come across our safe covid cave to reach the students. No colds, no runny nose, no headaches from crying and screaming children. It was a blessing in a way. Then as parents could not take this anymore, they would call us lazy and just sitting at home doing nothing. They demanded to open the schools, without realizing that the prize of maybe getting infected did not even enter their minds. They wanted relief from the hard chore of helping their child learn. The child they brought into this world now would be thrown back into the danger of getting sick and then bringing it home to them.

I remember parents complain before the pandemic and ask why is my child always sick? They constantly get a cold, they always get lice, don't you guys protect them from this? My child is not learning, why you not teaching them? 

When a teacher gets sick, they have to find a substitute to take over. And yes, teachers get sick a lot just like the students, because kids just cough and sneeze all over and the classroom is a germ factory. We spend so much time cleaning constantly, washing our hands a million times until our hands hurt. A teacher most likely will go to work and teach when they are feeling miserable, because there is no sub who may take the classroom for that day, so you are made to come in. 

I hear the research says that schools are safe, but hey the schools been close for a year, of course, they are safe. The question is what does the data say once they will be all open? I have not had a cold or any flu-like symptoms for a year, but I fear what will happen next. “It puts me in a very difficult moral conundrum, to choose between supporting my community, students, colleagues, and my own family’s safety.”

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

It is Paddy not Patty!

 

Every March 17, the United States becomes an emerald country for a day. Americans wear green clothes and quaff green beer. Green milkshakes, bagels, and grits appear on menus. In a leprechaun-worthy shenanigans, Chicago even dyes its river green.
Revelers from coast to coast celebrate all things Irish by hoisting pints of Guinness and cheering bagpipers, step dancers, and marching bands parading through city streets.

These familiar annual traditions weren’t imported from Ireland, however. They were made in America. The meal that Americans think is Irish was really made of other ingredients. Funny thing, the Irish are now adopting St. Patrick’s Day traditions from Irish America such as corned beef and cabbage.





St. Patrick's Day
, while originally a feast day for the patron saint who brought Christianity to Ireland, has evolved into a secular celebration of Irish heritage. As its reach has widened, many are familiar with the nickname "St. Paddy's Day," where "Paddy" is the shortened form of Patrick, which itself comes from Pádraig. While the holiday is sometimes spelled "St. Patty's Day," some find this to be offensive as "Patty" is a shortened form of the female name "Patricia."


However you want to celebrate, we all can be a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day.



Monday, March 15, 2021

What we learn from Diversity, and things that are not German.

Our worldview changes the way we experience our lives. When you interact, socialize, and work with people from different experiences, you can hear and learn from people. Not many people are fortunate enough to be able to travel the world or work as an ex-pat in many different counties. Alternatively, we can learn from people coming from different backgrounds, and lucky we have Second Life to do this in a safe way.

I am amazed by the diversity of people who stop by the Basement Club. Sometimes they just wander in or they have visited the Retreat and the Gallery and discovered the gem of the Basement Club. Some come for the unique style of music.


The right to be able to enjoy the excitement that you have, no matter where you go or who you are with, is the reason we want a diverse and inclusive environment.

Increase your knowledge about other cultures, find out more. There can be language differences and even with some translater software, the real meaning might be a little different and get lost. Ask many questions about the other person's country or culture. Believe it or not, most of us love to brag about where we come from the minute someone shows interest in it.

It is ok to be different and unique, that is what makes the planet so colorful. There are some things that we do share, we share laughter, pain, and a pandemic that changed our way of living for now.

Today, we live in a world that is deeply connected and global, especially here in Second Life. What an absolute blessing where you can learn right from the source. Can you imagine the benefits you will have when you finally go and travel to that country and you already know what to expect.?

Good ole Dandy had her birthday on March 15th and was telling me about the German chocolate cake she ate. Now how many of you think that is actually the real cake we have in Germany? I know many of you say yes of course. Contrary to what many people believe, this cake did not originate in Germany. It is actually an American recipe. In 1852 Samuel German, an English American Baker who worked for Baker's Chocolate Company, created a new type of dark baking chocolate. Needless to say, "German's" chocolate cake was invented. This is what we learned right here in Second Life. 

Me, as a german knew we do not have this cake but I had no idea why Americans call it German. The recipe was so popular that German's Chocolate sales shot up 73 percent in one year. Newspapers across the country reprinted the recipe. But somewhere along the way, German's Chocolate Cake lost its apostrophe-s, leaving Germany holding the credit for a classic American dessert.


Monday, March 8, 2021

I'm the hero that saves me


Hey, at least in my mind I'm feelin' like I'm the hero that saves me. There, I hold my head high, get everything right. Delusional? maybe. If I'm pretending, why not write happy endings where I'm better than we both know I could be. Still, at least in my mind, I'm feelin' like I'm the hero that saves me.

Tell me what I should have said and I'll pretend to know that
things come out of my mouth that I should probably learn to hold back
Why do I expect to have the patience that I don't have?
Over and over, expecting a different result. 

It is easier to log into Second Life and pretend I am ok for now because I am.

Hope you all can stop by the Basement Club for some fun music and exceptional people. Well, most are anyway.
M-F DJs starting at 6 PM SLT...see you there.




Sunday, March 7, 2021

“Go wisely and go slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.”



“There is no darkness but ignorance.”~William Shakespeare 

Being ignorant is you living in darkness. No one likes darkness. Surviving there for too long isn’t easy. Someday you will crave for the light, so why not now. Seek the light (knowledge) and shut out every darkness. Feed your mind with knowledge. Learn new skills and learn from others, that is the great thing in Second Life. Remember that first time you logged into SL and you had no clue how things work or how to navigate? Some people just left and said: Oh this is too hard, I do not have the patience for it. 

Listen to what people have to say, learn their principles, thoughts, and opinions. But always think twice before you speak because, once you’ve spoken, you can’t take your words back. That does not mean you can never say your opinion, it just means some people will not listen and will always bring up the words you spoke.

“Reputation is a bubble that is easily popped.”

Just when you think you’ve gotten yourself on a high horse, you could fall flat on your face. Indeed, it’s great to seek a high reputation and respect. But the smallest mistake can ruin all that. When and if it does happen, know that that’s life for you.



Sometimes I have to run from people who have done me wrong.
“Bad boys can’t be changed.”

Just when you think you’re having a hot and steaming romance, he goes cold on you. Dating a bad boy can give you high blood pressure from thinking too much. For example, in Hamlet, his hot-and-cold behavior drove his girlfriend, Ophelia, insane. She even drowned herself in the river. That might seem a bit too much, but being in love with the wrong person can do just that to you: drive you insane. Therefore, don’t waste your love on someone who doesn’t value it.

Monday, March 1, 2021

Spent the day in bed...

...you ever have those days when you stay in bed and it feels amazing?

I spent the day in bed, it's a consolation. When all my dreams are perfectly legal in sheets for which I paid, I am now laid and I recommend to all of my friends that they...~Morrissey


As I was there in bed and fell asleep I drifted off into Second Life. I really don't mind that at all, because I get some great ideas when I dream about SL and I am there making some adjustments to the Retreat. I have read in some forum that Second Life addicts dream of it, but I am not an addict. I am an artist. I am sure you don't call an artist who creates new pictures all the time and dreams about it an addict, right?

There are benefits of lucid dreaming because studies show that people have less anxiety if they dream and are aware of it because they can shape the ending to anything they like. Some people taking part in lucid dream studies were able to come up with new ideas or insights, sometimes with the help of characters in their dreams. There you go, it is justified. to stay in bed and dream about it.

~Stop watching the news because the news contrives to frighten you to make you feel small and alone to make you feel that your mind isn't your own~

I think I rather dream about Second Life than the constant reminders in the news that the world is corrupt. Life is still good and there are more good people than bad people. So let me dream while I am in bed. 
Have a great day and dream well :)