Procrastination, Thy Name Is Dot Lane

This is how my blog works. Yesterday I started to get ready for the new skin and sim launch for Fleur, which will happen this afternoon at 2 PM SLT. In my case "getting ready" means obssessing about what I will wear since I know I will be running into lots of friends and SL luminaries who can get dressed in a dark closet in ten seconds and look better than I will even after I spend a couple of hours trying on outfits. I also have the added pressure of being a Fleur Insider now, which means I will be under particular scrutiny. I thought I would wear a new Fleur Shoujo skin to the party so I searched for "shoujo" in my inventory.

Lo and behold, I found that I have a dress from a store called "Yome Shoujo". How odd. I check the date I acquired it, and learn it was sometime last September. I have no recollection of the dress so I put it on, and I love it! (see the "pepe" dress below) Immediately I forget that I'm supposed to picking out an outfit for tomorrow and I run off to the store where I stand, slack-jawed at the cuteness I see around me. Not only is there cute, but it is inexpensive cute with lucky boards and gifts and OMG I just had to see everything. I picked up the gifts, waited around for the lucky boards (which are fast ones, just so you know) and bought a dress and legwarmers and a sweater and I've spent the past hour taking pictures and getting this blog post ready. The sad thing is, I still don't know what I'm going to wear to the Fleur opening, which is less than two hours away as I finish writing this. /me sighs.

But just look at what you will find at Yome Shoujo! I love that the dresses usually have multiple skirt options, generally long or short, and the fabric patterns are very different than what one usually finds. YomeShoujo also sells furniture and other little odds and ends to make you happy.

With the exception of the pepe dress which is paired with a lucky board skin from Yome Shoujo, I'm wearing a brand spanking new Fleur BND Lotus Shoujo 3 skin and my trusty booN KARo7 hair. (I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Doesn't that girl have more than one hairstyle? One that makes her look a little less Bride of Frankenstein?" Oh yes, dear readers, I know exactly what you're thinking.) I can't say enough about the new Boutique skins at Fleur. I've been wearing the freckled Vanilla Parfait for months now and I'm pleased to say that the third-generation Parfaits include freckled skins with a slightly more grown-up look to them.

Yome Shoujo "Pepe" dress with "dede" skin (skin free from lucky board)

Yome Shoujo Life2 (free from lucky board)

Yome Shoujo JamPink (free from lucky board)

A trio of gift shirts

dot shirt
psychedelic shirt
heart shirt

Look closely at the psychedelic shirt. No, not at my breasts! Sheesh!

Yome Shoujo "Shimonu" sweater

Youme Shoujo "TR" dress with long and short skirt options

Dot Lane Goes To The Dogs

Fall means houndstooth and woolly sweaters! I've gone through my inventory and grabbed a few of my favorites to model. In other news, I've been named a Fleur Insider. I'm really excited about this, and flattered to be in such beautiful company. I have to apologize for my lack of substantive blog posts, but I have a few RL writing deadlines that need to be cleared up before I turn my attention back to SL.

Jill's free CMD outfit

Hair: booN MOM55
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai "Agroglyphe"
Sweater and Skirt: Jill "CMD"
Skin: Fleur Allure Alabaster Vampy

Punch Drunk "Jenny"

Skin: Fleur Vanilla Deux Parfait 6
Hair: booN ERA794
Dress: Punch Drunk "Jenny" in purple
Hand Tattoos: B390 "Aisha"
Earrings: Bliensen + MaiTai "Dark Bloom" earrings
Necklace: Cipher "Black Eye" necklace
Ring: Hanauta "Thank you Kiwi Ring"

CKS Designs "Emily"

Dress and Tights: CKS Designs "Emily"
Shoes: Yuka Shoes "Charcoal Suede Court Shoe"
Hair: booN SHY48
Skin: Fleur Allure Alabaster Kit 2
Ring: Hanauta "Thank you Kiwi Ring"



Hair: booN BON75
Dress and Stockings: Mayuki Nozaki "Houndstooth Dress Love 1" in brown
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in chocolate
Earrings and Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai "Industrial Revolution"
Skin: Fleur Allure Ivory Bare 3

Best Item Camp Ever

Best Item Camp Ever
Originally uploaded by dot.lane

It used to be that when you camped for an item, you simply sat in a chair and waited. This evening at Tokyo Pig Sight however, I came across and item camping device that required me to repeatedly kick a vending machine for five minutes to win the tiny AV you see in the picture. That's five minutes of priceless therapy..... you can get your own from the Mega Graphics store at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tokyo%20Pig%20Sight/100/127/24

Do You Know Who I Am?

The new Celebre gown from Adam 'n' Eve. My bodyguard is keeping watch.

Celebre with the micro-mini skirt option.

Celebre also has a sculpted skirt.

The train for the Celebre gown.

Those of you who know me well know that glamour is not my strong suit. I am usually found working the cute side of the street, so it was with a little trepidation that I tried on the new Celebre gown/dress from Adam n Eve. After all, we short curvy girls usually aren't the belle of the ball because formal wear often doesn't look quite right on us. Now I hear what you're saying. You're saying, "Dot Lane! Who is this 'we' you keep referring to? Don't you know people realize that when you're using the first person plural you're really talking about yourself?" /me feigns innocence.

Sachi Vixen has accomplished a very difficult design task with Celebre: she's managed to balance the weight of the beading on the gown and the fabric stiffness it would take to maintain the shape of the gown--one can almost feel the dress because of the cut and texture. The cutouts on the side accent my curves while the front of the dress slims my belly. I didn't even have to wear my skirt shape to make this dress fit, and no prims had to be tortured, which are both big pluses in my book. I also appreciate the versatility, since one has the option of a micro-mini for clubbing, a long skirt for formal events, and a sculpted skirt for when you're not quite sure what to wear. Head over to Adam n Eve and check out the other colors!

As befits my celebrity status I have my bodyguard with me at the Hotel Dare where these photos were taken. Lester Lubitsch isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and his dashing "bandido" mustache gives him an air of mystery. And, as you can see, there are no paparazzi to be found anywhere near me so I know he's doing his job right. Thanks Lester!

What is Dot Lane wearing?

Dress: Adam n Eve Celebre in black
Hair: booN KAR07
Skin: Fleur Vivant Blush Biba 02
Necklace: Shiny Things Knotted bead strand, mother of pearl
Sunglasses: Mokoptical "Disco" currently a store gift--hurry!

Dot Lane Uses The FilterCam 1

Dot Lane Uses The FilterCam 1
Originally uploaded by dot.lane

See details below.

Dot Lane Uses The FilterCam 2

Dot Lane Uses The FilterCam 2
Originally uploaded by dot.lane

CodeBastard Redgrave hooked me up with her new FilterCam and I'm just starting to explore the possibilities. It's a hud which allows one multiple framing and filtering options from within SL, meaning one doesn't have to rely on post-processing for certain effects. I've just begun to scratch the surface of this tool and look forward to blogging more photos. I met Helena Stringer of The Stringer Mausoleum last night, so I'm wearing The Stringer Mausoelum's Orly hair, a Fleur Parfait skin, jewelry from Bliensen+MaiTai, a collar from Eat Rice!, and a little black dress from B390. The star tattoo is from Original Choice.

Who Do You Love?

Living as I do in a state which recognizes marriage equality, I can assure everyone that Massachusetts has not fallen apart since same sex couples have started to get married. So I was somewhat surprised that Californians voted yes on Proposition 8, which reverses same-sex marriage in that state after a brief period of legality. The idea of putting what should be a basic right up to vote--to vote!--as if it were simply a bond issue or a property tax override chills me. The idea that someone would then vote to deny another person the right to marry makes me ill. We all have a lot to answer for in this world, made up as we are of our own imperfections. So I would like to ask all of you who are convinced of you own moral rectitude, the self-righteousness which allows you to judge your fellow citizens: Who are you to cast the first vote?

Valhalla Beach Designs Opens!

Dot Lane Models VBD Earrings

My friend Val has been making jewelry and other items for some time now, and I've enjoyed watching her craft progress. She's finally taken the plunge and opened her own store, Valhalla Beach Designs, and, as a plus, has set out a few lovely freebies for a limited time including a set of earrings modeled by yours truly. There's no bling here and no diamonds, but plenty of other things that just scream restrained good taste. Of particular note are the five and six letter ID bracelets which have text change capabilities, and I love the jade items as well. I also like the organization of the store, which is built onto the side of a cliff. On the lower levels are things like anklets and belts, moving up to bracelets, then necklaces, and earrings on the top level--you can deck yourself out from head to toe.

VBD Daisy Earrings

Standing Over The Ocean At Valhalla Beach Designs

1960s Dot

1960s Dot
Originally uploaded by dot.lane

Ros saw the pic of the new booN hair and said it looked very 1960s, a connection I didn't make. So I grabbed a 1960s inspired dress from Marlys and sure enough, there I am ready for swinging London!

Single Women, Second Class Citizens

For those of you who aren't interested in my first life, you can skip this commentary.

Today, while reading some political websites, I came across a link to Dennis Prager's column at townhall.com. Now, keep in mind that townhall.com publishes the craziest of the crazy conservatives, but Dennis Prager is ostensibly someone who is taken seriously those on the right. His column seeks to minimize the implications of an Obama win by analyzing (and by analyzing I mean "make shit up") why certain groups of people might vote for Obama and why those votes don't count as votes for transforming America. I fit into a couple of the groups Prager lists, including "Single Women". This is what Prager has to say, in toto, about single women:

Single women of all colors and ethnicities vote Democrat. They do so primarily because many of them are financially dependent on the state, because they have no man to depend on, nor a husband who might influence them politically (married women are considerably more likely to vote Republican than single women). Whatever their reasons for voting for Barack Obama, transforming America is not one of them. They would vote for any Democrat.

What. The. Fuck. Single women vote for Democrats because we're poor and don't have a man in our life to tell us what to do? I can barely express how angry this makes me. I voted for Obama for myriad policy reasons, not because I'm on welfare or lacking proper male guidance. And what about single women who vote for Republicans? What does that say about *them*?

I absolutely voted for Obama to transform America. I want to transform America into a country which respects the right of all of its citizens to get married to the person of their choice. I want to transform America into a country that harnesses its immense resources to improve the lives not only of Americans, but of people around the world, instead of squandering billions to fight an unncessary war. I want to transform America into a country that doesn't torture political prisoners so we have the moral standing in the world to ask the same of other countries. I want to transform America into a country which respects the civil rights of its inhabitants by not eavesdropping on its citizens. There are so many problems we face, so many challenges, and look at the campaign conservatives have run. The only thing they've sought to transform America into is a country divided by race and ethnicity, a country cowed into fear of terrorism, a country filled with people who will gladly give up the rights guaranteed to them in the Constitution to pretend that somehow they are safer, a country in which we are asked to believe that simply having the right religious beliefs is experience enough to be President.

America, led by conservatives, had done tremendous damage to itself over the past eight years. I don't need a paternalistic asshole like Dennis Prager to tell me my vote isn't a vote for change. But this is how certain conservatives view women--make no mistake about it. We're to marry, have children, keep quiet, learn to vote Republican. It's enough to make one cry, especially after having been accused time and time again of not being a feminist, or worse, a woman-hater, because of not supporting Sarah Palin. I wonder if Palin's daughter voted for her mother, since she's not married yet. Oh, right. She's not old enough to vote. That's okay Bristol--Levi will smarten you up.

Not Safe For Work: Best Ever Rez

Not Safe For Work: Best Ever Rez
Originally uploaded by dot.lane

I'm not sure what's going on in-world, but rezzing has been an issue for many people, with this being perhaps the most egregious example.

Dot Zombie!

Dot Lane, Driven To An Early Grave

I'm an occasional actress, and by actress I mean general nuisance who is tolerated on the set of Divas, a sitcom produced in world by Phaylen Fairchild. Kit Maitland, and Evie Fairchild. I can be seen in the latest episode, playing a little girl trick-or-treater dressed as a bumblebee. Last night was the premiere party so I dressed up in my glamourous best, headed to the set, and found a little grave prepared for me so I could sit and watch the show. I'd like to thank Phaylen, Evie, and Kit for including me in all the fun. If you want to watch, head here for all the information.