The Grass Might Seem Greener...

You know the cliche "the grass is always greener on the other side"? Well, I think it is true in this instance. For this task I was on a mission to determine how people in Second Life would interact with my newly revised avatar. I adjusted myself to be severely overweight and have facial features that were huge and exaggerated, not to mention I had ugly clothes.

Once I was all dolled down I was teleporting between lands. First of all, it was very difficult for me to find places with more than a couple people so this wasn't an extensive social experiment. There were 3 locations I will note.
Location 1: this was a Help Land and no one was rude or unpleasant. Even the guy named "Get kinky with me" was nice, polite and offered help.
Location 2: this was Second Life's version of a club/ bar/ lounge and in this instance there were more people ignoring me than ever before. I didn't attempt to speak to them but I walked by them and at one point even stopped right next to a group having a conversation. Did I already mention... My avatar was being ignored much more than ever experienced! Aside from that, there was a guy screaming at someone "you are not naked anymore :(". (I say he was screaming because he typed in all caps.)
Location 3: I teleported to y home base which is the new avatar land. This was the place where I was previously propositioned and spoken to in a very vulgar manner. This time, I didn't have all the inappropriate advances. I didn't have many people introducing themselves to me; however from my walk around there seemed to be significantly fewer people in session.

My initial session in Second Life was a weekday late night and this attempt was on a weekday daytime so I assume that accounts for the differences. I am now confident stating that the type of people logged at various times of day directly translates to a severely different experience. Based on my observations I feel that the the grass was greener for two reasons:

1) if someone is not comfortable with their physical characteristics and/ or they believe they have been treated rude in real life, if they choose to make an avatar with the an accurate likeness they may be treated better in Second Life than real life. This may allow them to build some confidence before exploring all of real life's potentials
2) if someone makes their avatar less attractive by traditional standards, they will definitely experience less obtrusive behavior by the other habitants of Second Life.

Now that my avatar experiment is complete, I will lay my mini me to rest. More importantly, I will gladly delete all the junk I had to download to enable use of the service.

Where is their sense and our cents, to boot?

The following would be my twitter to our elected government officials:

Why is common sense not common to you? NOT a rhetorical question-I do seek a reply & STOP punishing me because I am single with no children!!!

Death of Common Sense

A friend sent me the exert from the London Times and I thought it was appropriate given the challenges we are facing 10 years from it's original distribution. When I did an online search, a fellow blogger noted the following as a quote from the author of the obituary editorial:

"Note from Lori Borgman: This piece was first published in 1998 in the Indianapolis Star. It has been "modified" and "edited" by others and circulated on the Internet, even sent to me several times. Imagine my surprise to see it attributed to some guy named Anonymous. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I take having my work circulated on the web as a compliment."

I found it funny because in 1998 Phillip Howard's book titled The Death of Common Sense was published. I wonder if she wrote the obituary before or after she read the book. Hmmm... I am sure Howard is flattered, as well.


London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults not children are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly pupil, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a pupil; but could not inform parents when a pupil became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

And the Oscar goes to...

WOW- I thought it was very appropriate to make note of the EIGHT Oscars which Slumdog Millionaire was awarded this evening. Did I already say WOW? I was not sold on their win for favorite song since I think there were other songs which possibly didn't make the list (hmmm... I cannot name any off the top of my head. I just feel that the songs may sound new to the screen but they sound similar to Indian songs I have heard before). Don't get me wrong- I very much enjoyed the film :-) In fact, I saw it two times before we were assigned to watch it for our film course; however I didn't expect it to win the best film picture. What was I thinking? Using standard logic, if they won SEVEN other categories, then they win a best film nod.

I loved Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler; however I really wanted Richard Jenkins to win for his performance in The Visitor. Nevertheless, I think Sean Penn is a remarkable actor and I suppose his performance in Milk was more memorable because of the impact of the story. I actually thought Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married would have ranked above Kate Winslet.

Well, I am going to get ready for bed now. I didn't realize how late the show would go. I am sure the winners will be sleeping comfortably with their new oscar babies.

Travel Journal- 29th year

In class Prof. Greenberg read the poem Happiness is a Journey, Not a Destination by Souza. It is funny because my friends often remind me of the essence of this work when I become a bit too rigid in my attempts to plan every part of my life. I never take for granted how fortunate I am to have such wonderful family and friends since they have made my journey amazing and memorable! I expect to have the occasional flat tire as I continue my life's road trip but I don't doubt for one minute it will work out for the best.

Here is another short many people enjoy... Yesterday is HISTORY, Tomorrow is a MYSTERY, Today is a GIFT, That's why it's called the 'PRESENT'.

My habits have already changed

In class we were asked how frequently we use multiple forms of media writing. Below are the forms of media which I have already noticed have changed:

Reading others' Blogs- I now read blogs on a weekly basis which is a MAJOR change because prior to this class I NEVER read blogs

Writing your own Blog- I now write for this blog at least once a week which is a MAJOR change because prior to this class I would NEVER have contemplated creating a blog, much less maintaining it... hahaha

Facebook.com- I have actually used the profile I created this semester. I cannot say that I update it regularly but I do use it at least once a week which is more of a commitment than I ever thought I would make.

It is interesting to see that my habits have already changed over the past month. I wonder... how long it will last?

What do Atole and UIW have in common?

I bet you are wondering what UIW and Atole have in common? Not much. Except that both may sound familiar to many South Texans of the "latin persuasion" and both were manipulated by me on Wikipedia*. For class we have been tasked to update 2 definitions- one fact and one fiction. I chose to update UIW with a lie and Atole with a fact (based on my understanding). I know these are not too fun but they were the two that came to mind on the chilly night I was online.

I changed the location of UIW from San Antonio to Austin, Texas. Within 2 days the statement was corrected. Boo- I thought I would confuse some unsuspecting college hopefuls.

I added comments to Atole based on my tex- mex understanding of the tasty beverage meal hybrid. The definition is still there and hopefully helping to educate many around the world... hahaha. Plug in- I LOVE Nestle's Abuelita Chocolate. If you like chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon then you should try it out. You can find it in most grocery stores in town (that is if you are reading this and reside in an area heavily populated by Mexican-Americans)

*Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia by the people and for the people.