I feel FREE, finally :)

 

Sometimes you hang on to someone for years and forget that this certain someone does not even care about you the way you care about them. You convinced yourself that he/she will change and also fall in love with you. Let me tell you something, it is not gonna happen if they linger and do not express their feelings towards you and they make you believe that everything that could possibly go wrong in a relationship is your fault. You know that type, right? If not, sooner or later you will experience it too, unless you are the luckiest person and find the soulmate who respects you.

You don't know how liberated it feels when you all of a sudden have seen the light and you are done, because the coward means nothing to you now and you can remind yourself that the person who has him/her has used merchandise that was returned. You also lost that jealous feeling of why them and not you. I am telling you, it feels so good that they are gone and someone else's problem. 

This leaves me to find someone new that I can occupy my time with. Here at the Basement Club people come and go and so many interesting characters stop by. I love this about the Basement, the best thing I ever created, and yes the music is nothing but unique and different just like us.

Don't forget right now the "Pirates of Monte Likka Hunt" is happening at the Retreat and Basement Club. Find the purple pearls and get some free gifts, plus the place is a wonderful spot for pictures.

Halloween Shop and Hop (backdrop)

Besides the great deals at the Halloween shop and hop and the free gifts, I discovered the amazing decor all around that can be used as a backdrop for your Halloween pictures.

I mean seriously, the design team of the Lindens have done a great job with all of this, right? With little effort in changing the windlight settings, you can get some spooky pictures for your Halloween holiday cards or art gallery.

Oh, you don't have photoshop? No problem at all, you do not need to pay any real dollars on the editing software because I edited these pictures with "Picasa 3", which you can download free. It basically just adds some filters to your pictures and best of all you can see all your pictures at once. ( Perfect for not just Second Life pictures which I have millions of, but also your real-life pictures.)

Now, get up and do something creative and use the free backdrops and the free editing software and become of us: The Second Life Photographer.

Once you have your creations upload them to flickr and add them to the Second Life: Halloween Flickr Group., or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, whichever social media platform you use. You are now an artist and you will get better and better at creating something your friends will admire.

Buam & Madln

I am often asked by my fellow Second Lifers that I must be excited about Oktoberfest and since I am German I must love beer. I can tell you already the answer is no for both of those questions.

Oktoberfest originated in Munich in the State of Bavaria. (I come from Hesse=Hessen) Just like the United States, Germany has several States and regions and each has its own traditions and festivals. Since many German immigrants brought some of these traditions to the USA, they of course brought the Oktoberfest with them. 

The Festival has become more popular in other regions of Germany as well, because who would turn down a chance to celebrate some Gemütlichkeit (a German word I use most often because I feel it applies to Oktoberfest more than any other word or phrase. Gemütlichkeit is the general feeling of coziness; the happy feeling you get when you’re surrounded by friends and loved ones, with a massive beer in your hand, shaking your booty to some sweet polka jams.) 

Second Life loves the Oktoberfest as well and many places decorate and wear the traditional Lederhosen for the Buam (boys=men)  and the Dirndl for the Madln (girls=women).

Here is another fun German word: A Zechpreller is someone who patrons a restaurant and/or bar, consumes food and/or drink, and leaves without paying. In America we call that person a… well, just use your imagination here. Regardless, you probably have a name for such behavior where you live as well because, as it turns out, jerks are universal. Now I better never, EVER hear of you being a Zechpreller at Oktoberfest, ya dig? 

And if you witness this kind of behavior yourself, be sure to call him/her out using the proper German term.

Oans, zwoa, g’suffa! Oh, I forgot I do not even drink beer, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy it. Just ask Draxter Depres for some of those Bavarian Traditions, he has some hands-on knowledge. I doubt he likes beer, because of not all German drink beer or alcohol. I do like Eierlikör, but that is for another holiday.

We are not like you old people in Second Life

 

So I had this conversation with Alfred after he brought a bunch of his friends to the Basement Club. Some were brand new others may have been here for a while and had some experience. I asked him how his friends liked it and he assured me they had a great time. I continued to ask him why none of them were dancing and he replied: " We are not like you old people who dance in Second Life." WHAT???

That can't be right now, that only old people dance here in SL. Then what is considered old in the first place? Alfred and his friends are in their early 20s, which makes them part of Generation Z.

Baby boomers are the biggest consumers of traditional media like television, radio, magazines, and newspaper. Despite being so traditional, 90% of baby boomers have a Facebook account. This generation has begun to adopt more technology in order to stay in touch with family members and reconnect with old friends. They are here in Second Life and most of them have been here the longest because of the value of real friendships.

Gen X (Millennials) still reads newspapers, magazines, listens to the radio, and watches TV (about 165 hours' worth of TV a month). However, they are also digitally savvy, and they spend the most time here in Second Life. 

The average Gen Zer received their first mobile phone at age 10.3 years. Many of them grew up playing with their parents' mobile phones or tablets. They have grown up in a hyper-connected world and the smartphone is their preferred method of communication. On average, they spend 3 hours a day on their mobile device. They do not spend much time here in Second Life, because as they tell me there is nothing to do other than Clubs and walk around. LOL....NOT!!!

Gen Zer needs instant results, they can't sit around and wait. They are hungry, they call Uber-Eats. They want something they let Amazon deliver and most have a boomer or Millenial pay for those things.

These friends of Alfred wanted "FREE" stuff to make them look better, they did not understand that the avatar they got free comes with the standard outfit. You want free clothes and stuff you have to change the body and head first and that costs a few lindens. They do not have that, because these youngins live at home.

Here is my advice: Might as well dance here like us old people in Second Life. Slow down and maybe you can get a job here and earn some Lindens.

..Nelipot.. (HAPPY FALL)

 

Nelipot is an enchanting place where autumn is in full swing. Hear the birds tweet and smell the fresh autumn air. The colors of orange, red and yellow will delight you with joy.

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.  ~ Emily Brontë

It is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love the colors and the cooler days and nights and as nature prepares herself for the long winter sleep.

This place is such a lovely place for photography and nature lovers. Very peaceful and quiet.

"Autumn Leaves" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with original lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French (original French title: "Les Feuilles Mortes"), and later by Johnny Mercer in English. An instrumental version by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best-seller in the US Billboard charts of 1955. My favorite version of the song I once used in a Second Life Video. Go check it out, it was one of my first creations way back. 

Autumn Leaves ~ Coldcut.

Autumn leaves fall and are swept out of sight
The words that you said have come true
Autumn leaves fall and are swept out of sight
So is the memory of love that we knew
The wind of forgetfulness blows them
Into the night of regret
The song we so often did sing
Is echoing echoing yet
The falling leaves
Drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips
The summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold

Since you went away, the days grow long
And soon I'll hear cold winter song
But I miss you most of all, my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
When autumn leaves start to fall
Autumn leaves
Autumn leaves start to fall
Start to fall

My name is "Jack"

When you think of Halloween, you automatically visualize the Jack-O-Lantern or witches and ghosts. Now, you might have a few questions. For example, why does the term jack-o’-lantern have a man’s name -- “Jack?” 

At that time, people living in England reportedly called a man they did not know “Jack.” So, an unknown man carrying a lantern was sometimes called "Jack with the lantern" or "Jack of the lantern."

On all Hallow’s Eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O’Lanterns. In the 1800s waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O’Lanterns.

I love these old folklore stories and how those traditions have become an everyday thing here in the United States of America. There is no way you could think of Halloween without Jack-o-Lanterns.

As I am getting ready for the big "the pirates of Monte Likka" hunt, you will find many pumpkins here at the Retreat. Make sure you turn your windlight to night to get the full effect and listen to all the eerie sounds.

Upon one wild and windy night
Woo-oo, woo-oo, Woo-oo, woo-oo-
We, Jacks, our lanterns all did light-
The Wind it surely knew FOR


Whistle and whistle and whist! Now, list!
Woo-oo, woo-oo, Woo-oo, woo-oo-
Whirling and twirling, with turn and twist,
The wind it softly blew.

Qualify me for this dream

📺 Watch the Trailer of "The Pirates of Monte Likka" 📺

It is beginning to look like Autumn all over the Retreat, and don't forget to watch the trailer for the upcoming hunt of the Prates of Monte Likka.

And all the things that I have seen qualify me for a part in your dreams. And though I'd like to tell you exactly how I feel. Somehow the music hides it and conceals it. Some say I got devil, some say I'm an angel. I am just someone in trouble, I don't think I'm in danger. As autumn leaves fall to the ground, so will the memories fly in the wind and the rain will hide the tears. These tears are not for you, they never were, they are for me.

I love autumn and all the colors. It is my favorite time of the year and yes the Retreat is ready to qualify for this dream. The annual hunt will start on October 1 and it will be very cool in my opinion. I hope you come on over and check it out. It is all best viewed in "night" mode windlight. Turn your sounds up so you can hear all the eery noises.