That evening, a bunch of us arrived almost simultaneously: Doug, Pia, Maxine, Stevenaia and I.
doug Sosa: hello michaelangelo
Pema Pera: Hi Pia!
Pema Pera: arriving here just at the same time :)
Pema Pera: And hi Maxine!
Pia Iger: Hi, Pema,
Pema Pera: Great seeing you again!!
doug Sosa: pema, wher are you?
Pia Iger: I saw two went inside.
Maxine Walden: hi, Pema and Pia
Pema Pera: Well, let’s go in and join them
After some initial confusion, Maxine having teleported in and Stevenaia also stepping, but Pia and Doug and I outside, the three of us went in as well.
stevenaia Michinaga: hi, still rezzing only see doug
Pia Iger: Hi, Maxine.
stevenaia Michinaga: maybe because everyone is outside?
Pema Pera: Hi Doug, hi Steve!
Pia Iger: grap a good seat:)
Maxine Walden: afraid I can only stay for a few minutes this time, but did want to drop by.
doug Sosa: evening (here), hi.
Maxine Walden: hi, doug
doug Sosa: Hi Maxine.
Maxine Walden: and Steven
stevenaia Michinaga: hello
Pia Iger: did I say hello to everyone?
Maxine Walden: Pema sems to be coming and going
Maxine Walden: seems
Pema Pera: must be SL having lag :)
Pema Pera: I’m just sitting here
doug Sosa: I see you.
Pema Pera: Maxine, how have you been?
Maxine Walden: yes, expect so. Been well, thanks, busy with lots of RL stuff, nice to be back
doug Sosa: And since I don’t know, who has she been?
Maxine Walden: even for a little while this time
Maxine Walden: now it seems like lots of lights and blobs around the room, is that only my computer?
Pia Iger: mine is normal.
Pema Pera: mine 2
Maxine Walden: ok, my perceiving apparatus…
Steve had to leave, and Dakini walked in.
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks for the email Pema, I am considering it…. unfortunately, I must go
Maxine Walden: not sure if that is SL or RL, sort of both, my ‘lightshow experience’
Pema Pera: thaks, Steve, and have . . . ooops . . .gone
Pia Iger: I was wondering if Maxine has tried the dream experiment Pema suggested?
doug Sosa: i am fascinated by my ambivalence about people being other than who they are. (hold that thought, dream question is up).
Maxine Walden: I would love to share some of my experience, wondering whether I should wait til I can be here longer, like tomorrow
Pema Pera: Hi Dakini!
Pema Pera: White Tara?
Dakini Rhode: hi!
Dakini Rhode: hmmm
Dakini Rhode: pink
Pema Pera: ah, still rezzing
Pema Pera: started grey :)
Pia Iger: Ok. Love to hear from you some time, Maxine.
Dakini Rhode: grey tara
Maxine Walden: yes, I had better go, WOW what a lovely outfit, Dakini!
xDakini:
Dakini Rhode: thank you Max!
Pema Pera: Another Ryusho creation?
Dakini Rhode: ryusho made this
Dakini Rhode: yes
Dakini Rhode: it’s a Korean outfit
Pema Pera: yes, the high waist
doug Sosa: just wonderful flow and colors
Pia Iger: Hi, Dakini, Are you becoming a fashion model now?
Pema Pera: seems that way!
xDakini:
Dakini Rhode: the first ladies outfit he’s made…
Maxine Walden: beautiful, really gorgeous.
Dakini Rhode: yes fashion model now
Dakini Rhode: haha
xDakini:
Maxine’s time was up, as she already had announced earlier.
Maxine Walden: sorry I have to go, see you all later
Pema Pera: c u . . . oops . . gone
Pia Iger: hope see you soon. Maxine.
Pema Pera: gone already :)
Dakini Rhode: you never get the last word in SL
Pema Pera: people are leaving very quickly today somehow
Pia Iger: have to type faster.
Pema Pera: verrrrry fast
Pia Iger: tough!!!
xDakini:
Pema Pera: perhaps a keyboard shortcut!
Pema Pera: as soon as you hit it, a random flowery goodbye sentence appears
doug Sosa: or joyce’s Ulysses!
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pia Iger: wow.
Pema Pera: that would do it
Dakini Rhode: bfn works for me
Dakini Rhode: bfn
Dakini Rhode: can spit it out pretty fast
Pema Pera: how about “b”, can that mean only back or also bye?
Dakini Rhode: or be
Dakini Rhode: b good
Pema Pera: bw
Pema Pera: be well
doug Sosa: remember even goodbye is short for i think god be with you.
xDakini:
Pema Pera: interesting!
Pia Iger: I heard it somewhere.
Pia brought us back to the previous topic.
Pia Iger: And how about go back to Doug topic he just mentioned?
doug Sosa: I started about my quisicalness about my experience of people being here other than they are there (RL) and how I feel about that. On the one side fun.
doug Sosa: On the other, goes against the grain of trying to just be.
Dakini Rhode: or does it
Dakini Rhode: are they both appearances?
doug Sosa: that’s the dilemma
Dakini Rhode: the “real” appearance and the other?
xDakini:
doug Sosa: In rl i try to feel your heart beating against my soul. Here it is so much more visiual
Dakini Rhode: what a beautiful way to express it…
doug Sosa: blush
xDakini:
Dakini Rhode: it’s interesting… the lack of dimension here and yet…
doug Sosa: what does the xdakini in green mean?
Dakini Rhode: we are all sitting with all the dimensions and this is an extension…
Dakini Rhode: the babbler is babbling…
Dakini Rhode: Pema say something in dutch
doug Sosa: van gogh
Pema Pera: achtentachtig prachtige gaskacheltjes
xDakini:
Dakini Rhode: this babbler does not work
At least babbling in Dutch didn’t seem to work for Dakini’s babbler
Pia Iger: actually since visuals are so easy to make here, I take them less serious. Just appeciate, but not attach the visual too much w/ the person.
xDakini:
Dakini Rhode: does that seep into RL do you think?
yDakini:
doug Sosa: I find it hardto make that distinction. iassume that the visual here is at least one aspect of what the person wants to be
xDakini:
zDakini:
doug Sosa: what is that?
Pema Pera: a mystery?
I was just thickening the plot by also typing in green a few variations on the monotone “xDakini” that kept being spewed out by her babbler.
Pia Iger: or, here we are given chance to take people’s look, age, gender loosely, so sort of detached
Pema Pera: As is often the case in these kinds of dilemmas, the disease-linked cases speak vocally in favor of taking on a different role — paraplegics for example
Dakini Rhode: i wonder about all the classifications by which we judge another… age, sex, “disablilty”, hair color….
doug Sosa: I am an optimist. I want to believe that each person is at least that beautiful.
doug Sosa: But I know that all such suppositions are unwarranted.
doug Sosa: But maybe true!
Dakini Rhode: so then the appearance could be anything…
Pia Iger: In some sense, it is true.
Pema Pera: This whole question will take on a very different form a few decades from now, when virtual reality will go beyond just visuals . . .
Dakini Rhode: that brings up all sorts of questions…
doug Sosa: Not so far awy. And will history intervene to lead us in a different direction?
Dakini Rhode: you know that phrase, “religion is the opiate of the masses?
Pema Pera: Marx, yes
doug Sosa: yes..
Dakini Rhode: I wonder wheter VR can be considered as an opiate
Pema Pera: I can be addictive, but it is more active than using opiate, I’d say
Pema Pera: many things can be addictive
Pema Pera: but it could be a flight into fantasy, yes
Dakini Rhode: other than addictive qualities…
Pema Pera: but a shared fantasy!
Dakini Rhode: there is the consideration that time spent here is time spent not doing “real” stuff
Dakini Rhode: erasing
Pema Pera: oh, but the amount of networking you can do here is in fact far more efficient than in RL . . . .
Pia Iger: agree.
Pema Pera: for example in my work in astronomy
Pema Pera: which is not role playing
Pema Pera: different use of SL
Pema Pera: but also PaB
Pema Pera: imagine how difficult it would have been to contact each other!
Dakini Rhode: i imagine we would not have met
Pema Pera: the dozens of individuals who come here regularly now
Pema Pera: probably not
We talked more about role play.
Dakini Rhode: i don’t role play in SL
Pema Pera: neither do I
Dakini Rhode: despite my wearing a green tara costume…
Pia Iger: imagine the real traffic headaches.
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: As far as role playing, though, in RL too we have different roles at home, at work, at various hobby places, etc.
Pema Pera: so in that sense we are all role playing all the time
Pema Pera: as I think both of you have alluded to already
Dakini Rhode: lost doug
Pema Pera: yup
Pia Iger: maybe he lost the internet.
Pema Pera: probably so
Pia Iger: I feel SL give us a chance to play out some part of our mind, which normally cannot manifest.
Dakini Rhode: i agree Pia
Pia Iger: It is still true of ourselves, but not truly “seen” in RL.
Dakini Rhode: i spend most of my time in SL building things
Dakini Rhode: don’t even see my avatar most of the time
Pia Iger: Yes. explore creativity. which will be limited by RL access.
Dakini Rhode: it’s a way to express creativity, now that most of my working day is spent in meetings….
Dakini Rhode: i realize it’s like when I “doodle” on a piece of paper
Dakini Rhode: except here i can make a teahouse
Pia Iger: Yes, We get better “tools” here,
Dakini Rhode: better lego blocks…
Pia Iger: smile:)
The conversation moved on to building.
Pema Pera: I’d love to learn to build and script and all that
Pema Pera: as soon as I can find the time :)
Pema Pera: I would love to be able to express myself the way Storm is able to express himself landscaping, for example
Pema Pera: or the way you built this tea house, Dakini
Dakini Rhode: do you do any of that with te astronomy group?
Pema Pera: not yet
Pema Pera: it is on the list of things to do
Pema Pera: first we are still organizing into a group
Pema Pera: hard enough!
Dakini Rhode: yes
Pema Pera: I guess this group will start building too soon
Pema Pera: we’ve been talking about it
Pema Pera: Moon has started
Pema Pera: Solo and Gen are talking about a pub
Pema Pera: that they are playing with already
Pema Pera: others are likely to follow
Pema Pera: Pia, would you like to learn to build?
Pia Iger: I do, but I don’t walk very well yet..
Pema Pera: :)
Dakini Rhode: oh that is cute
Dakini Rhode: i don’t walk very well either
Dakini Rhode: that’s SL
Pema Pera: of course “building” can mean a broad range of thing, from clothes or whole avatars to houses to trees to, say, weather effects, the possibilities are endles
Pia Iger: but you did build PaB group quite well!!
Pema Pera: :>)
Pema Pera: Thanks!
Dakini Rhode: that IS another form of building
Pema Pera: And thanks to you all for helping me!!
Pema Pera: my role here, for now :)
Pia Iger: I am fascinated various people come here and join the group!
And back again to role playing.
Pema Pera: talking about roles . . . . yes, it has really surpassed my wildest imaginations! . . . . .
Pema Pera: While on the one hand it is true that Dakini and I don’t role play in SL, in the sense that our identity is more or less transparent (I have it on my profile; Dakini a bit more indirectly, after you find her blog), we do engage in activities that we wouldn’t easily be able to do in real life — so in that sense all of us are playing the role of being quite a bit more cosmopolitan than we really are.
Pema Pera: this whole role playing is tricky to evaluate, I feel . . . I could argue about it in many different directions . . ..
Dakini Rhode: hmmm… i lead groups in RL and i lead a group in SL
Pema Pera: in that sense similar, yes
Pia Iger: SL is extention of RL, can be.
Dakini Rhode: i see a theme there…
Pema Pera: extention is key, indeed
Pema Pera: not same, not different . . .
Dakini Rhode: what is different is it’s much cheaper in SL to build a retreat center…
Dakini Rhode: and to come to one…
Pia Iger: true, costume is cheaper too:)
Dakini Rhode: and faster!
Pema Pera: yes! Would have taken me 20 hours to reach you both, instead of the 20 seconds to rezzzzz
Pia Iger: no laundry to do!!!
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pema Pera: yes
Dakini Rhode: i’m getting lots of costumes now… getting out of those black robes
Dakini Rhode: funny
Dakini Rhode: i found ryusho to make us robes…
Dakini Rhode: and he makes me these lovely things
Pia Iger: It brings pleasant experience to us, too, your outfits.
Dakini Rhode: o thank you Pia!
Dakini Rhode: i didn’t think about it that way
Dakini Rhode: i see now
Pema Pera: yes indeed!
Pema Pera: we express and share our creativity and that of others, directly and indirectly
Pema Pera: in so many different ways
Pema Pera: SL has so many elements . . . roles. . . fantasy . . . networking . . . creativity in building, scripting . . . .
Pema Pera: play, in short
Dakini Rhode: SL can so take over your RL
Pema Pera: a very playful environment in so many different ways of the word play
Pema Pera: yes, it can . . .but so can other serious hobbies
Pema Pera: some people completely loose themselves in one activity, whether sports or playing music or anything really
Pema Pera: but perhaps the difference is that this environment is so broad, and offers so many different aspects . . ..
Dakini Rhode: yes, and at the click of a mouse
Pema Pera: Well, at around this time I’ll have to look through the mirror in the other direction: RL is about to take over SL :-)
Gambhira walked in, and sat down to join us.
Gambhira Skytower: hi
Dakini Rhode: Hell Gambhira
Pema Pera: Hi Gambhira!
Dakini Rhode: hello
Pema Pera: come join us!
Dakini Rhode: hello
Dakini Rhode: o dear, typo
Pia Iger: Hi, Gamb
Dakini Rhode: Please excuse me, i was just leaving….
Pema Pera: Have you been here before, Gam?
Pema Pera: bye Dakini!
Pema Pera: in time this time!
Pia Iger: bye, dakini
Dakini left, and we summarized PaB for Gambhira
Gambhira Skytower: yes…
Pia Iger: so you know about PaB we are doing here?
Gambhira Skytower: no i don’t know
Pema Pera: we get together here four times a day
Pema Pera: to chat
Gambhira Skytower: cool!
Pema Pera: not always the same people of course
Gambhira Skytower: what times?
Pema Pera: we do sleep (some of us do)
Pema Pera: 1 am 7 am 1 pm 7 pm
Pema Pera: we’re about to leave
Pema Pera: we started an hour ago :)
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/ has more info
Gambhira Skytower: okay, well now i know the times
Pema Pera: what we do is that in RL we engage in a kind of very short meditations
Pema Pera: 9 seconds at a time
Pema Pera: believe it or not
Pema Pera: but then four times an hour
Pema Pera: and four times a day we can talk about it here
Pema Pera: to compare notes
Pema Pera: we started about ten weeks ago
Pema Pera: and we now have a core group of several dozen people
Pema Pera: typically half a dozen each time we meet
Pema Pera: feel free to come back, any time!
Gambhira Skytower: thx!
Pema Pera: Do you mind if we include your SL name in the blog?
Gambhira Skytower: i will come again!
Pema Pera: together with some parts of our conversations?
Pema Pera: we tend to do that, but want to make sure people agree
Gambhira Skytower: you mean with regard to future conversations?
Pema Pera: any and all — unless somebody is not comfortable with that
Gambhira Skytower: i don’t mind
Pema Pera: for example, I will soon put the conversation of the last hour on the web
Pema Pera: but if somebody is not happy with that, I can leave their part out
Pema Pera: thanks!
Pema Pera: also, often people say something that is quite personal
Pema Pera: and that I then leave out too
Pema Pera: so it is not an automatic process
Pema Pera: for example, details about somebody’s life that seem too personal I leave out — or I ask specifically
Pema Pera: well, I have to leave now.
Gambhira Skytower: ok
Pema Pera: Good meeting you here!
Pia Iger: see you. I will be tomorrow 7pm guardian, right, Pema?
Pema Pera: let me check
Pema Pera: That is Thursday, right?
Pia Iger: so, Gam, tomorrow at 7pm, we will meet here for talk.
Pia Iger: Yes. Pema. Thursday 7pm
Gambhira Skytower: i might not make that one… but you’ll probably see me again sometime
Pema Pera: and some of us will meet here also at 1 am, 7 am and 1 pm before then
Pema Pera: sure, any time that is convenient!
Pia Iger: No problem, Gamb
Pema Pera: see you!
