‘Cause I don’t have a wooden heart….

Kitty O'Toole — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:44:59 +0000

I’ve never really considered being a different avatar other than my normal physical appearance,but ‘Plywood Man’ is too much fun to not give it a try A review box was dropped on me by Peter Stindberg, and at first I was kind of ‘What the f***k?’ but now I’m smitten..Basically you are a figure created predominately from plywood textured cubes, with joints. It reminds me of one of those jointed artist’s model dolls that you can get from Ikea. Obviously in this get-up you can’t exactly wear your favourite Last Call gown, but if you’re having a virtual bad hair day or have a ginormous pus-ridden zit on your chops (Ok, we all know that’s not even possible but just pretend!) then this avatar is *perfect* Incidentally, don’t think you can wear this and be inconspicuous- you can’t. It’s a real conversation piece, and it looks really bonkers on the dancefloor! Me? I wore it whilst doing my afore-mentioned landscaping my island, and while doing a bit of virtual weeding…I had lots of planting to do and I didn’t want to get my dungarees dirty..!
I even went shopping in this get-up…and people were gob-smacked when they saw it was me. ( I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not!)
Plywood Man costs L$199 from SL Exchange and is Linden dosh well spent for a giggle. He’s transferable and modifiable, so you can imagine the fun you can have changing his textures, and I think he’d make a really effective walking billboard! I think Plywood Man may be a tad more popular with the guys than the girls but seriously, I really enjoyed wearing this a lot more than I thought I would..it was a refreshing alternative to looking drop-dead gorgeous all the time!

Summer’s here! Yay!

Kitty O'Toole — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:33:30 +0000

I really need to get some web-site maintenance done, and I have been meaning to do it and post a few reviews to boot, but if you live in the UK then you’ll be aware that the weather here has been AMAZING, and sitting indoors on your PC when the sun is blazing away outside just is not an option! However, I did venture briefly in-world, and spurred on by my summer-like aptitude I decided to do some cultivation, renovation and landscaping., I now have a wee corner of Kittywitch Island where there’s a small vineyard (because in RL I love the grape. Perhaps a bit too much), a greenhouse and various vegetables and gardening equipment galore. Oh, squeals of delight abound..it’s amazing. I even have virtual cabbages!!! (As opposed to my usually being a virtual cabbage..ho-ho!) Alas, I’m running out of prims so I’m having to be quite careful in what I use on my land, but so far I’m really pleased with the way it looks.
I’ve just treated myself to few huge trees from the ‘Heart’ garden centre, which is in my opinion just spectacular…if you have never been then you simply must go. There are very few content creators in world who can adequately compete with their designs, and every possible variety of flora is represented. If you want to create a Mediterranean retreat or a tropical paradise, then the Heart Garden Centre has everything you need! I heartily(hoho!) recommend that you visit even if you aren’t fussed about purchasing any virtual plants, just for the ambience of the place. It’s spot on, like enjoying a real life garden centre visit but without the crowds and annoying kids! I’ve bought loads of things from there over the months, even if my intention was just to visit for a wander… My favourite objects have to be the flowers; I love the flexi daffodils that you can get from there, as well as the huge variety of plants and other garden-related delights, such as planters, arbours and stunning trees. Even if you don’t have much land a scattering of virtual plants from the Heart Garden Centre can really make a difference to your build, trust me on this And on that note, I’ll leave you with a picture of my house taken from my stone circle…just cos I’m feeling summery!

Cyclones and Earthquakes…

Kitty O'Toole — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:24:18 +0000

There’s an ancient curse ( Chinese I believe!) which says, “May you live in interesting times.” We’re certainly living through those at the moment, with the terrible natural disasters that have affected Burma, and now China. Please spare a thought for those who are suffering and make a donation of a few Lindens to the cause…there are various places across the grid to donate, and I’ll also post some SLURL’s when I am able to get online.

Sometimes you just don’t realise how lucky you are in your first life, let alone your second…

Kitty Review Policy

Kitty O'Toole — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:32:41 +0000

I’ve been asked by a few people what my policy is for review items, and I’ve been spurred on to include a finite copy of my review guidelines having seen the brilliantly sensible list published on Savoir Hair. As I’ve stated before, I’m happy to review anything ( Yes, I do skins now as well!) and if you would like your products back after I have reviewed them then that is absolutely fine, I don’t expect freebies…but they are nice!

I’m particularly interested in variations on my signature bobbed hairstyle, and my favourite colours tend towards the darker end of the spectrum, so think black/dark reds and earthy tones please. ( I’m a Virgo!) I tend towards the autumnal rather than pastels…personal preference shouldn’t really play a part in a review I know, BUT I don’t think I could give you an honest opinion if I was dressed up like a fondant fancy. I’d be far too busy vomiting due to my candy pink allergy..

1. Folders are super useful and appreciated For super safety, call it ‘For Review’ followed by submission date and your store name please.

2. Please include a notecard, with all the essential details on it like:

Name of the store & designer(s)
Name of the outfit/hairstyle/object/building/small patagonian mammal
Price
SLURL
Link to your blog- I can then include you on my blogroll, which is nice.
Whether you’d like your items returned.
Anything else that you want to include.

3. Send me the folder, ‘Kitty O’toole’.

Of course you don’t have to adhere to these guidelines, but they do make reviews a lot easier to manage I’ll repond as quickly as I can, usually with 7-14 days. If you’re worried that I haven’t reviewed your product and that time period has elapsed drop me a line to kittywitchin@googlemail.com. You can IM me but I get flooded with wonderful things every day and get completely distracted. Finally, thank you for considering my site as worthy of reviewing your wares! ( And thanks to Savoir Hair for the inspiration for writing this post, if you haven’t visited the site recently please do so as they’ve had some cracking stuff over recent weeks!)

Selling my soul to Satan…

Kitty O'Toole — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:08:39 +0000

…corporate Satan as well but alas, sometimes it has to be done. Especially when the government has turned more ‘New Tory’ than ‘New Labour’ and abolished the 10p rate in income tax, as well as other assorted financial blunders…Anyways, I’m pleased to announce that Kittywitchin is now sponsored by Claim Squad. Unlike those annoying TV ads with people pretending to be barristers etc, Claim Squad is an online organisation that actually knows its onions and is very successful in personal injury claims…so if you or someone close to you has had an accident in real life recently, ask them to click the link at the top right of this page and fill in the form. I’ll finish this plug with a true story…many many moons ago my mum was employed by a local supermarket, and one afternoon she slipped in the store on a grape…sounds funny but if you’ve ever had a fall or been injured you’ll know that seemingly minor incidents such as these can absolutely wreck lives. I’m led to believe that my small, dumpy mother went into orbit and alas when she landed she hit the deck with such force that she broke her coccyx. That’s your tail-bone. Yes, it bloody hurt her, she was incapacitated for months resulting in surgery to remove the shattered remnants of bone and her back has never been the same since. She’s an old lady now and somewhat arthritic, so you can imagine the jip it causes her. Alas, in those days there weren’t such things as Claim Squad to assist her, and although she did attempt to try and obtain recompense for her injuries she was sadly unsuccessful. Money doesn’t make up for the pain and hassle that being injured can cause an individual, nor does it lessen the effect it has on the family as a whole, BUT it can help…so give Claim Squad a try, and the very best of luck

Dernier Cri-that’ll do for me!

Kitty O'Toole — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:29:49 +0000

Now, if I’ve been reliably informed, Dernier Cri is a new arrival to the metaverse from the teen Second Life grid. If that is the case then we have one amazingly talented teen in our midst, who has the potential to take the grid by storm-I kid you not! I’ve just had the pleasure of a hair-buying spree with a wonderful difference, demos that you try on and tint using a rather smashing menu system. It’s great fun watching the white demo-hair style come to life via the selection of your preferred shade, and of course no costly mistakes, because you can try *any* colour in the palette before you shell out. When you buy a style you can choose the colours in your pack too- another really neat, practical selling point for the store. Also, shock horror, I didn’t need to adjust this style it fit straight outta the box! I actually heartily recommend that you get all your buddies down to Dernier Cri and have a mass trying on session as it’s stupidly entertaining trying on all the hair in all the colours that you would never wear in a million years. After you’re all haired-out, then move onto the fashion items. The store itself is really nice and modern, and features excellent hand drawn clothing. In fact, if you need a swimsuit for summer 2008 then give this store a try because there are some lovely bathing suits and bikinis on sale too. I also really liked the sunglasses that were on display. One of the best things though is the price…very reasonable. A three-pack of the hairstyle of your choice in custom colours is a mere L$275. Clothing is just as reasonable, I bought the swimsuit in this shots for L$50. I have no complaints, I’m a satisfied shopper. Oh and the skin that I am wearing is on offer NOW at Artilleri’s mainstore. It’s called Emi and costs just L$1 for the Anett make-up, which includes all sorts of combos of eyebrow colour, freckles and pigmentation. it is an utter bargain and is only available for a limited time to group members ( join the group and wear your tag to buy) You can’t miss it, it’s on the stage. Gorgeous isn’t it? Why are you still here?? GO AND BUY IT! ( Especially you Shinji!)

Kitty Quicky: Prad is one talented ickle sausage!

Kitty O'Toole — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:52:30 +0000

I’ve been a tad lax in updating my Flickr recently so I’ve just been catching up on some of my buddies posts, and ye gods, that Praddles has done it again! I already knew that he was a talented ickle sausage, but some of his recent artwork has literally blown me away. I especially love some of his landscape shots, for example ‘Hosoi Ichiba’ has been re-worked to absolute perfection, and he’s also posted some gorgeous shots of his rather lovely girlfriend, Chel. Stunning work that has to be seen to be believed, Prad surely ranks amongst the best image creators in Second Life. Not to forget the fact that he makes amazing buildings, clothing and pretty much anything else SL related. In fact Prad, if you ever read this, is there anything that you aren’t good at in SL?

If you’ve never seen Fifi’s work, then click here and prepare to be *stunned*:

In fact, for best effect I seriously suggest you make yourself a cuppa, get some biscuits, switch to slide show mode and enjoy

Is Linden Labs talking out of its ARC?

Kitty O'Toole — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:33:38 +0000

On Thursday Pastrami Linden happily announced (seriously, check the way that the article is written, seems like Pastrami was on the special glee-inducing pills!) an interesting concept which *potentially* could have really unpleasant repercussions for avatars and businesses alike. You can now activate a feature that allows you to see your ‘Avatar Rendering Cost’ and I think this has the potential to open up a HUGE can of worms. Without going into too much detail ( check the blog for that) the more complex your av, the attachments you carry and prims that you use on your person have a numeric value. This is your rendering cost and obviously if it’s high then you *could* be having a detrimental effect on your environs. The onus will therefore fall on us to ensure that our avatars carry as little ARC as possible. Now initially my thoughts were that I can see the point in this, and it may prove to be a useful function-for as a virtual community surely we should do as much as possible to decrease the Linden lag-fests that we are so often forced to endure and spend most of our time whining about? But, then I thought again, and I must admit I’m starting to think this ARC idea could be used to stifle creativity. OK, there’s nothing wrong with prim-efficiency, but it’s a given that some of the most beautiful designs of avatars and clothing in our world are going to carry a lot of weight prim-wise. So this leads me to wonder if we are going to see situations where people are ejected from sims because their ARC count is too high. Discrimination could rear it’s ugly prim-heavy head in our virtual utopia..Of course there’s the other side to consider. We know we have amazing designers and talent in-world who will probably see ARC as a challenge that can be successfully met head-on. Low ARC could even become a selling point. But there’s a danger here..Second Life is what it is because of it’s complexity and because of the amazing creations therein. I don’t want it to take a backward step and become dull and formulaic because someone doesn’t want to exceed a set ARC. I want it to be beautiful and visually challenging and prim heavy if that’s what it takes…But am I alone in thinking that this is Linden Labs issue that they should be dealing with, rather than trying to make us sort it out? Am I being melodramatic here? Actually I don’t think I am…a pessimist might argue that we’re being thrown improvements like these to create such disharmony in-world that Second Life will eventually fizzle out, leaving Linden Labs free to move onto other projects. No wonder Phil Linden bailed….Anyway, enough with the grumpy kitty.I’m interested to know what you think so please leave a comment below. I also recommend that you check out the original article and the response on the Second Life Blog: http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/05/01/who-me-yes-you-couldnt-be-then-who-introducing-avatar-rendering-cost/#more-1960

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Kitty O'Toole — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:49:10 +0000

There are certainly a myriad of be-bobbed (Hah! see what I did there?) and gorgeous ladies on the silver screen around this year. Ok I know Cate Blanchett is playing Irina Spalko (the Villainess) in the new Indiana Jones movie, ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ but she is clearly heavily influenced by my signature bob style, and Soviet wardrobe apart I think she looks great!

She also obviously told Christina Ricca, as I pointed out a while ago..but just to rub it in:

For what it’s worth I’m way more excited about the former movie than the latter. The trailer left me a tad cold, I guess perhaps that’s because I’ve never seen a ‘Speed Racer’ cartoon. However, Harrison Ford with a whip is a completely different kettle of fish….bring it on!!

Enough of the movies. The bob I pretty much always wear is called ‘Patricia’ by ETD and it is *perfect*. Seriously, Elikapeka Tirimasu should have me on commission…..;P

Sale at Artilleri on for another few hours…

Kitty O'Toole — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:45:05 +0000

..it finishes at 7pm SLT and I daren’t tell you how much I have just spent, but the wonderful ‘Lily’ skin range is on offer and yes I have snaffled most of it I think I look glorious! You have to come and take a peek, dresses, tops, shoes and sunglasses galore..as well as coats, bags and stuff for fellas as well. But who cares about them eh?
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