It's Official, Spring Is Here!

Now, before you look at me like I am insane, I have to tell you I am fully aware that Spring is technically not here yet. To paraphrase a song, however, "It's springtime somewhere!" That somewhere is in parts of Florida and Arizona where Major League Baseball's spring training will open in just a week! For me, that is a very welcome sign that winter is in retreat. Riot and I got together yesterday to play a little ball at the local park in celebration of Winter’s end. We are both wearing the same shirt, a fantastic FREE group gift from LAPOINTE & BASTCHILD. The L&B Swear "Classic" T-Shirt comes with a texture change hud giving both of these textures, plus eight more. Each design has a very cool, vaguely retro, realistic, and comfortable look. It’s just the kind of thing I would wear in my first life. Included in the package are an impressive eight sizes with two variations of each (tucked and untucked). This is definitely a freebie to pick up! So, no offense to all you groundhog fans out there with your rodent oracle predicting how long Winter will linger, but there is only one critter intelligent enough to tell you what season it actually is. He says it's "DUCK SEASON!" That's all folks, now go get some sun (and this group gift)!-----WHC Riler

WHC Riler & Riot Bayn are wearing - Lapointe & Bastchild - the L&B Swear "Classic" T-Shirt featuring 10 designs available via a texture change hud (FREE GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

NOTE - There is a female version of this gift out right next to it and it is equally impressive! (FREE GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

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"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." - John Lennon

For many of us, Second Life is where our imaginations go to play and explore. The title of this post, a quote by my favorite Beatle, John Lennon, says a lot about life. It explains a lot about our second lives as well. We explore, we learn, we develop as avatars and (despite what some people believe) we do so as people at the same time. Our imaginations can develop when our real life limitations disappear. Indulging in these opportunities for play can help us become better and more rounded people. This is what I wish for all of us in 2015: A year of imaginations on the rampage and peace and joy spreading across the grid, trickling into all of our other lives. I was thrilled to see a FREE group gift from ASHBURY recently, one that is perfect for my first post of 2015. It’s the Dean Leather Jacket & Shirt, a MESH one piece combo that includes a FITMESH version as well! The jacket has a great leather texture, detailed stitching, and features striking metallic accents in the zippers and buttons. The shirt portion is a white Beatles tee, which will make a lot of people smile when they see it. Musical tastes vary, but The Beatles’ importance in music is impossible to deny. Together, it's a timeless leather jacket with realistic detailing and an iconic shirt that many people will love. That is one heck of a great FREE group gift, and exactly how I want my blogging year to begin. I want to thank all of you for helping me grow this blog and allowing it to become a source of pride for me and the others who contribute to its success. In March, it will celebrate it's first birthday, something I look forward to greatly. There is a Lennon anecdote, familiar to many, which I will repeat due to its great personal significance for me. "When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."
- John Lennon -----Posted by WHC Riler

Riot Bayn is wearing - Ashbury - the Dean Leather Jacket & Beatles Shirt (FREE GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

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Post-Apocolyptic Dream Date!

Our next guest stays eternally young by prowling the desert wasteland, picking up scrap metal and killing mutants for their fuel credits. He likes long drives in the desert and skinning and cooking rabbits for food. Please give a warm post-apocalyptic welcome to Riot Bayn!!!! Yes ladies, after the nuclear holocaust, after the global war against the undead, even after the mutant uprising that follows, you might still have to date someone. Riot and the remaining horde of mildly-mutated survivors are counting on that. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he already has picked out his clothes for that future event. The rugged-looking MESH vest Riot is wearing is the Menstuff Hunt gift from BROCADE TIGER. It has a fantastic masculine look, and the back is emblazoned with a pair of angel wings, which evoke a vest worn by my favorite character on a great television show. I won't say which one, but a friend once called it a "Soap opera with zombies". I MUTED HER! As worn in the pics, the jacket has been tinted a darker brown, something easily done if needed. I love the look of this vest.

Riot is wearing the Winter Kat Jeans from the Menstuff Hunt gift from NEKOLICIOUS and straight out of the box they are gray but can be tinted as shown here to match other garments. The Winter Kat outfit consists of a bright red MESH holiday sweater, the MESH Winter Kat Jeans (which would be great for most male wardrobes), and a set of animated ears and a tail to complete the neko theme. VESTIGIUM'S Menstuff Hunt prize "Bruises III" contributes the scratches and roughens up Riot's face some, which gives him a very authentic tough-guy look to match his nearly-authentic tough guy attitude. His shirt is a very nicely textured brown long sleeve Henley shirt which is a FREE Christmas Gift from ASHBURY. It looks great whether you choose to wear it alone, or under another item of clothing like a mesh jacket. I own a number of mesh jackets, so an excellent system shirt (layer style clothing) is especially valuable to me. It is available until the end of the month and is a MUST pick up since it can be worn with such versatility.

Riot's ride comes courtesy of SURPLUS MOTORS, and was not free. However, now is the perfect time to mention that both Surplus Motors and KNIGHT PERFORMANCE make fantastic cars, some of which are free group gifts. The level of care and detail in the creation of these cars is evident in the pics. So, even if you can't get tickets to appear on a future episode of Post-Apocalyptic Dream Date, you can look like you belong on the show: rugged, handsome, and able to take care of yourself in a world of unimaginable violence and brutality. You can have that look and still have enough money left over to buy that issue of the National Enquirer you saw at the fuel depot. Oh look! President Kardashian is posing nude again to get the budget through Congress. I always knew she would make a great President.-----WHC Riler

Riot Bayn is wearing - Brocade Tiger - the Angel Wing Vest (Menstuff Hunt / 1L)

Nekolicious - the Winter Kat Jeans (Menstuff Hunt / 1L)

Vestigium - Bruises III (Menstuff Hunt / 1L)

Ashbury - the Henley Long Sleeve Shirt-Brown (Christmas/Holiday Gift / FREE)
It should be available until the end of December so hurry!

Check out the FREE Surplus Motors and Knight Performance groups if you are looking for free high quality vehicles. They both do group gifts along with other promotions

The Menstuff Hunt ends January 2nd, so grab everything you can!

The Official Homepage Of Menstuff

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The Poetry Of Winter.

Winter has fallen and flakes of snow drift lazily to the ground in the cold, dense air. Around all of us is the romance of the holidays and the joy of seeing the warm smiles of distant loved ones once again. Memories resurface of cuddling on a park bench with a lover as the snow falls, kissing their nose and sharing an intimate laugh. The joyful noise of the young fill the days with excitement and wonder. Winter can be a romantic time of the year, and within it there is poetry around all of us. Sadly, it is completely ruined by the lousy weather. The best thing about winter is sending my friends to miserably cold places to get even for trips to the beach I didn't get invited to. Riot Bayn can tell you all about that when his teeth stop chattering. The Megastuff 2 Hunt is going on right now. It consists of the Menstuff, Womenstuff and Homestuff hunts, all running at the same time. They are on until January 2nd and are generally excellent hunts. Riot is wearing the Stephen Steel Grey Jacket - the Menstuff Hunt gift from JFM (Jana's For Men). The garment is a well made, warm looking MESH jacket perfect for these winter months and JFM was very thoughtful in including a FITMESH version in the package as well. It is a well done garment and deserves some extra love from us hunters. Riot is also wearing another Menstuff Hunt gift in this post, the prize from HAWKER'S HOUSE. Their gift includes the very nice black turtleneck and chino slacks in black. The sweater is nicely textured and is a system (in layers) garment which makes it fantastic to go under mesh coats and jackets. It is a great thing to have in inventory for that reason alone. If that wasn't enough of a reason to pick up the Hawker's House Menstuff Hunt prize, here is another one: the MESH black chino slacks Riot are wearing is also part of the same gift! The Menstuff hunt is ending soon, January 2nd so, if you want in on these items, you will have to run there. The hunt objects are small blue T-shirts and cost 1L each. At Hawker's House you are only looking for one hunt item, both the chinos and turtleneck are in that box! Lastly, since the hunt is nearly over as I post this I wanted to post the Menstuff blog where you can find pictures of other gifts offered. It is fairly well covered already so I am just hitting the highlights that I feel need extra attention. Until we cross paths again my friends, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Festive Festivus to all of you. I hope you find a great deal of joy and love over the holidays wherever they take you. -----WHC Riler

Riot Bayn is wearing - JFM (Jana's For Men) - the Stephen Steel Grey Jacket (Menstuff Hunt / 1L)

Hawker's House - the Black Turtleneck Sweater and Black Chino Slacks (Menstuff Hunt / 1L)

The Official Homepage Of Menstuff

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Dia de los Muertos

Halloween is almost upon us and in America that means it's time for scary movies and trick or treating! Sometimes though we forget that other cultures celebrate this time of year in entirely different ways. Take the Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It is a celebration of life, a festival during which families decorate the graves of lost loved ones in remembrance and create colorful "altars" with photos and favorite foods of the deceased. At night, the line between the worlds of the living and of the dead blur and allow the ancestor's souls a short visit to their families. The ultimate symbol of blending these two worlds is in the festive costumes depicting skeletons engaging in everyday activities. I found a perfect FREEBIE outfit for my Dia de los Muertos celebration at BOTANICA by completing their maze hunt. Explore the maze, collect all the luminaries, and trade them in for your choice of prize, including the male or female Day of the Dead costumes, complete with skull facial tattoos. They're colorful, perfect for the season, completely FREE, and fun to pick up! No group space needed! Just grab a friend and head to BOTANICA!-----WHC Riler

My friends are wearing - Botanica - The Dia de los Muertos Costumes (FREE GIFT FOR COMPLETING THE MAZE HUNT)

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It's Halloween! Soon, that is. It will be Halloween. Coming up. Soon.

Lately, Celise has been pestering me relentlessly. So, I promised I would kick off my Halloween posts with her favorite Halloween costume of 2014. This is the current FREE GROUP GIFT from JAZZITUDE, a lovingly produced tribute to the British television show and international cult phenomenon "Doctor Who". The science fiction show features a time machine/spacecraft called the TARDIS (which is disguised as a police call box). The costume is adorable! One really great advantage is that this costume is appropriate for any sim. Yet, it still looks a little bit sexy to me. Depicted on the dress is the TARDIS and Jazzy, the creator, has included several subtle nods to different seasons of the show as a tribute to the Doctor. This is an incredibly unique costume. If you have any interest in the show at all, I know you will be delighted to have it. Special thanks to The Nag's Head Pub on the Creamy's Spot sim, a beautiful place to have a pint.-----WHC Riler


(On a more personal note to Celise: You are not English, have never been there, and do not have a clue about anything remotely British! You don't need to be English to wear the costume, of course, but stop it with the damned fake accent, it's very annoying!)

Celise is wearing - Jazzitude - TARDIS Cosplay Outfit (FREE GROUP GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

This Scavenging Life - Home

It's Worth The Wait .(UPDATE! SEVEN DEADLY SKINS GROUP NOW FREE OCT 31ST ONLY)

I am so excited! It's shaping up to be a fantastic month to be a resident of Second Life. There are free haunted houses and other scary builds, Halloween themed dances and it is an extremely active month for freebie/bargain hunters. Yesterday, I received word that the FREE GROUP GIFTS from HOORENBEEK have changed, so I rushed over to check them out. They have an unusual policy regarding their gifts, but Hoorenbeek is an excellent store and the gifts are fantastic. In order to be eligible for them you must first join their subscribo and wait two weeks before you can pick up them up. It sounds like it's a hassle but since it's a subscribo it won't tie up one of your group slots, and the gifts from them are of high enough quality that it is worth the extra effort. The gifts do not change every month but since they require a waiting period to pick them up, it's understandable that they are kept out longer to give people more time to pick them up. This month's gift is the MESH Montgomery Jacket in gray. It is a perfect jacket for the weather as it turns colder, one that looks as if it will keep you warm during the coldest of days. The details are superb from the realistic lining of the hood to the buttons that could hold the jacket closed. The Montgomery Jacket looks rugged but still maintains a nice civilized look. I should warn you to please read the card included in the gift, it contains a short description of all the included parts and options. That is needed because the options included go beyond merely wearing the jacket open or closed. In the picture I am wearing it open along with the shirt insert and to give it a more complete look I grabbed the Gray Classic Tie from Nerd Monkey. The tie was a hunt gift from a previous hunt blogged in my entry "Basic Black? Not A Chance, This Is Exceptional Black!" and has been extremely useful to me. I also wanted to point out the skin I am wearing. It is the Halloween Hunt gift - Vincent at SEVEN DEADLY SKINS, but it's a group only hunt. The group is 200 lindens to join which sadly makes it outside the scope of this blog, but the owner of Seven Deadly Skins does offer reduced prices to join every so often and I will try to keep track of when that happens to give everyone a heads up. If you already belong to the group, do the hunt, the skin is very nice. If you don't already belong and don't have the money to join, no worries. I will keep my eyes open for future chances for you to join. Izara is very generous with her group gifts and Seven Deadly Skins is a good group to belong to. The Vincent gift comes with and without the hair base and is one of my favorite skins, so I imagine you will see me wearing it often. The hunt is on until Halloween, have fun and see you on the grid. Oh and my apologies to the fine people at Hoorenbeek for mucking up their LM on the original post.
-----WHC Riler

WHC Riler is wearing - Hoorenbeek - the Montgomery Jacket In Gray (FREE GIFT/ SUBSCRIBO)

WHC Riler is wearing - Seven Deadly Skins - the Halloween Hunt gift - Vincent (FREE HUNT GIFT/ PAY GROUP 200L BUT FREE TODAY 10/31/14)

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Slipping Into Fall.

The weather is changing now in my area of the world. The days become shorter and cooler. It is quite a sight to see, the leaves changing. Soon, it will be time to go up into the mountains and look out over the breathtaking sight of the trees draped in their autumn colors. Of course when you do, here is a little tip from someone who is in awe of such grandeur. STAY IN THE CAR! It's cold out there and utterly miserable. There is no reason at all to leave the comfort of your fossil fuel burning bubble. That's why man invented the window. What I really look forward to more than the turning of the leaves is the change of the monthly LAVAROCK group gift. Once again, it does not disappoint. This time around, they are offering the lito male jacket-2, a beautiful, dark brown, MESH leather jacket. As usual with a LAVAROCK FREE GROUP GIFT, the textures look so soft that they tempt you to touch them. The styling, like all my favorite Second Life clothing, looks like a piece I would own in real life. They have come up with a another gift that became my new favorite jacket the instant I put it on, and the most amazing part is that it's FREE! There is also a monthly gift for women at the store and it is this same jacket in black leather, with a few subtle differences. One difference is the tiny pentagrams on the two lapel buttons, just another small detail on a wonderfully detailed jacket.  Also worth noting is the hair I am wearing. It is the FREE Welcome Gift "MINATO" [male/unisex] from ARGRACE. It comes in a fatpack of 40 colors and is resizeable. This hair was also shown in black on an uncredited Riot Bayn in a previous post entitled "A Low Rumbling Whisper In The Darkness". Given the difficulty in finding freebie/cheapie male hair, it is a definite pick up if you haven't been there already. Also as a bonus for female avies picking up the welcome pack, there is another female hair in it as well. Time to get in the car and do some sightseeing: the leaves are beginning to turn and it really is something to see. Stay warm.-----WHC Riler

WHC Riler is wearing - Lavarock - the Lito Male Jacket_2 (FREE GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

Argrace - FREE Welcome Gift "MINATO" [male/unisex]

Celise is wearing - Lavarock - Lita Jacket Black Leather & Suede (FREE GIFT/ FREE GROUP)

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A Low Rumbling Whisper In The Darkness

A low rumbling whisper in the darkness stirs her. The sensual roar of pure power tempts her to lose herself in the heat and fury of the act. This beautifully detailed masculine MESH mask is all about the power and mystique of the unknown. This Twisted Hunt prize (FREE) from ARCADIA is perfect for intimate roleplays or for more public masquerade balls. Some may question the need for a mask when your name is clearly displayed above your head in-world. The mask on SL isn't about concealing who you are; rather, here its about the power that fantasy and imagination have to take over and carry you to unexpected places. There is a small catch though, The Twisted Hunt is widely regarded as the most difficult Hunt on Second Life. It uses decoys and other techniques to make hunting harder than usual. Trust me, this prize is worth the effort! So, set aside a little time and a bit of patience and run over to ARCADIA for this hunt prize. I am told that if you join the twisted group and ask in chat nicely you might receive a little help if you have extreme difficulty finding it on your own. Enjoy the prize once you find it, you will have earned it and It's spectacular!-----WHC Riler

Arcadia - Tuatha Winter Kings Mask (FREE). The Twisted Hunt ends September 30th!

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Clubbing With Someone I Don't Know At All

I woke up this morning to a message from a friend, one that I had to share with you immediately. Since this is only going to be out a few more days, I will dispense with my usual writing style in favor of more basic form of communication, shouting. HEY EVERYONE! OVER AT THE AKEYO MAINSTORE THERE IS A THREE ITEM HUNT AND THE PRIZES ARE THREE FREE DANCES! AKEYO is one of the best dance and AO creators on the grid and a chance to get three of their dances for free is something that should not be passed up. The hunt items are black boxes and are hidden fairly, no decoys or other annoyances to hinder you. The dances look unisex to me although one seems to be a bit more feminine in style. Run here soon, they will only be out a few more days. See you on the dance floor. Oh and "Studmuffin" says hello.-----WHC Riler

AKEYO - THREE ITEM MINI HUNT ENDING VERY SOON! GRAB THE DANCES WHILE YOU CAN!