The Paradigm of Carefree Living

Jonny Drama?

2009-04-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well the past week in SL has been rather drama filled for a few individuals out there it seems, and for some reason, I seem to gravitate towards finding out a little more about the psyche of some of these 'roleplayers' that seem to congregate in SL. I don't mean roleplayers in the traditional sense (think Goreans/cyberpunk/vampires/etc) but rather these people who think they have some sort of powerful role within the SL community. Now I must go off on a tangent here, because at one stage, I was as to blame as anyone for being sucked in (to some degree) by this ellusive little world known as 'SL modelling', and for all the time spent in this world, I learned a few lessons about the people involved in it.

Now as many of you have probably read, this week saw drama in this modelling world explode with the departure of Maggie Mahoney and Ocean Bates, owners of the SL version of RUNWAY Magazine and the chaos which ensued was rather lol-worthy to many a SL resident with any knowledge of the scene. For me personally however, knowing that I have been on SL for just a while, seeing events like this is not surprising to me in the slightest.

People at times seem to forget that this is SL. SL doesn't affect your real life and if it does, you need to take a break seriously. I say this to the people who become involved to the point where if SL is emotionally affecting you in a negative way, then it is time to click that red X in the corner. I learned this the hard way so to speak, even though I was told this a long long time ago (thankyou Rebel) but with these recent events this makes it more apparent than ever.

I made a post on Shoppingcartdisco about a little group chat that I was a part of when I logged into SL and learned the news of Maggie and Ocean leaving. So me being me, I go to the group that this probably affected more members than any other, that being Runway Kidz, a group whose owner claims it to be a 'model support group' and as such I thought at this time it would be best if I go to this group and see what the general concensus was about these people's actions that indirectly affects every single person who is a part of this modelling world, because now you have these designers weary that if they make a payment to one of these 'magazine' owners, what is their recourse if said owner decides to just abandon SL? Well all I say to these people is welcome to SL, and the danger filled world that it is! Thing is, this whole modelling world is very superficial, and a little akin to a playground if you will. I can only say this via my experiences with it, and lets just say, I do know what I have experienced in this very world, and I have some very informed opinions on the matter. Now lets go thru a little history here with regards to my experiences with Runway Kidz to begin with.

Back in September/October 2007, Summer Deadlight invited me to be a part of Runway Kidz during the Savvy Avvy 07 Male Model search contest. I joined and started to meet new friends, all being models and things, and it was a great group with some really interesting chats and things and this is undisputable. So with all my experience with this group, I now find that trying to do what used to be a commonplace activity (that is, asking peoples opinions on various 'power holding' identities or corporations [sic] related to modelling) was now something that had no place in this group, and after an hour or so of discussion, complaints were made about my questioning and I was removed from the group by Summer. The funniest thing was that while this was going on there was a group chat in the Boulevard Agency group in which some characters were trying their hardest to make jokes about me personally. Yes, at one time I was in this group and had the power to invite members who are actually friends of mine and do show me what is going on in there, so you had better watch yourselves when you try to character assassinate me in forums you do not think I am privvy to.

So to those who think I did something wrong within this group chat, I would just like to say, you are all spineless individuals who take some sort of pride in their status as models and thus, the illusion that they are superior to anyone else on SL. You are all free to post here if you choose to as well, and I do know which members among you are real people, and would not sell your mothers soul to the devil if it meant getting your av featured in some designers vendors ads.

Now to my history with BOSL. At one point in my SL modelling career, I was invited by Fortunate Szondi and Ally Geer to join the Boulevard Agency. Now at the time I was thinking this was great as I was able to work with people I liked and admired and knew they were good at what they did. Now as for what happened next, Summer resigned from her position as model manager in Blvd, then 4 shows were planned. With less than one week to go prior these shows, Frolic vetoed Ally on a decision to invite someone to the agency, going against what he agreed to initially, in that she would have 100% control over everything in the agency. Now I can understand that he has a vested interest in the Boulevard name as he owned the sim and everything, but here is case number 1 of him screwing over someone who had no motive at all other than to help him. So in light of Fort and Ally leaving, I was put on the spot to make a decision, whether to pay attention to what he just did to a person whose conduct was unquestionably professional in her approach to work and dealings on here, and leave with them or stay and help out Frolic. I chose to stay as he promised me everything would be OK and we did the shows and things and it was a successful operation I guess you could say. Over time, I personally worked very hard with Frolic together on many more shows and things, and it seemed to be a bit of fun I guess. So eventually I won the BOSL model of the Year award and as such I now had to live with this 'award winner' spectre hanging over me.

Anyway, to my association with Runway. Around late May 2008 I was asked by Maggie to be a part of the Runway bridal review show and I took part and to me it went on too long and I spent most of those 2 and a bit hours in IM to friends and things chatting. By this stage I didn't care much for SL modelling to be honest, as I was rather bored by it and the late nights I had to spend up to attend shows and events (due to my RL timezone being incompatible with the SL midday times of these shows) and eventually I ended up winning the Runway Model of the Year award as well, so now I was this 'tall poppy' in many peoples eyes, although I must thank Cynthia Smit for constantly reminding me I am not defined by my actions on SL, as many people within the modelling world seem to think is the case.

Now to my disassociation with both partys. At some stage Frolic asked Cynthia to shoot a pic for his monthly editorial note (link), and with my encouragement, she shot 2 pics for him, spending hours on them in photoshop and was not charging him because he was essentially marketing her. It was under this mutual obligation that I thought it was just a friendly favor that benefitted both partys, and it all seemed ok. Proceeding on and asking his opinion of the 2nd shot (link), I was passed a texture of a portrait of Frolic done by a "new photographer" Ashoka Eales. Now I already knew this was the new alt of my ex-partner, the 'on her death by via cancer' Christieanna Daviau (see previous blog) and I immediately told Frolic that if he helped promote/represent 'Ashoka' in any way then I was "gone" and I would never want to help him on anything in the future. Now this might sound like an extreme thing to say when you consider that we had been working on events for a year, and this was the only thing I had ever asked him to do for me, due to the hurt her lies had caused me at one point in time. But it seemed that this was too much of a favor to ask, and as a result he ran the Ashoka picture in the mag and Cynthia was screwed over as well.

So fast forward a couple of weeks, and I see that Ashoka is releasing a clothing line and some people who full well knew the extent of her lies were actively promoting her on flickr, and as a result I made my sarcastic comment on flickr which caused an uproar, with Runway taking me off the cover, and things. Frolic left me offline messages at this time, telling me to contact him and once I eventually logged on, he told me I didn't know the whole story etc and that I should remove the comment. I told him no, because she was a compulsive liar who didn't deserve all this positive press and if it took me taking a stand with that comment, then that is what it took. Anyway around this time, I spoke to Maggie, telling her my stance on this issue and why I felt compelled to write what I did. Thing is, Maggie seemed sympathetic to me and seemed to realise she had jumped the gun in her decision but it was then revealed to me her personal circumstance of being a cancer survivor made her react in such a way with removing me etc, and she even agreed that what I was lied to about was the act of indecent human being. But alas that is why the tone of my post on here was a little apologetic towards Maggie herself, but as for Ashoka, her lies will never be forgiven by me, unlike Frolic who was able to look past these lies as well as the fact that as Christieanna, she 'left' SL also owing a designer $15000l for undelivered design work.

So moving on, we see that people can leave SL with the money, come back as an alt and all is well, no matter what they did in their previous incarnation. As Jonny, I will continue to say what is on my mind regardless of the situation, and this is no different a circumstance. I won't run and hide behind an anonymous screenname on forums, I won't run to an alt, even though many people have suspected me of doing so at times.

Anyhow, my opinion on the matter is this, I don't personally know what happened between Frolic and Maggie, but I do think that the staff were not informed about what is going on in regards to the situation. As for not being paid, welcome to the SL modelling industry. You know what you are getting into, there is rarely any guarantee of payment, and to me what BOSL was going to achieve by taking Runway on board, (other than a few more google hits and Frolic furthering his accension to the latest SL martyr) I don't really know. As for the repercussions of this whole debacle, I found it funny how people in the RK chat were criticizing my every right to proclaim the awards I have won in the past and how, as a result of these events, I actually seem an idiot to claim myself to be involved with such drama-causing partys. Fact is though, when you apply for a job in reality, do you not give them a copy of your CV with past employment details and qualifications? Or do you not live in reality and just spend all your time in SL like some of these people involved do? Truth remains that now I actually feel embarassed to be considered a model on SL and from now on would just like to be known as Jonny, the person who blogs about whatever he feels the need to, and in this case, that was just informing people that there is 2 sides to every story, just that some partys feel the need to lie or cover up various things. I hope all this gives you a little insight into the partys involved, and my reasonings for not really wanting anything to do with them and their little 'clique' of false superiority anymore. As for these people who say I have "changed" over the time they have known me, well all I can say is if I have changed, I have just become a little more sceptical about trusting people in SL.this is primarily due to the way in which some of these partys involved in this fracas have treated me in the past, and I have lived and learned through my experiences with them. As a result, as a person I still feel completely honest about who I am, I say type things in SL in regards to business dealings (prefer it over voice) as we all know that people can quite easily get away with lying over voice chat as there is no record of it. I do feel sorry for any person who goes thru the trauma of cancer, as I stated in a previous blog, and at this juncture, I urge you all, to get out of SL for a while, go and enjoy your RL, because one day, you might have something bad happen to you in RL, such as finding out you have an illness or whatever, and if you can only think about SL and what you are represented as in world, then I severely doubt your ability to fight against whatever distresses you.

7 guys, one tank...

2009-04-01T23:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so as I was lacking inspriation to get out there and find some new items to blog I came up with another idea in my head. That was, to find an item and then get my friends to come up with their own interpretation of how they would wear said item, with the only rule being that I want them to make it their own style. This idea sat in my head for a couple of weeks, and I was thinking of forgetting about it altogether, as I wasn't sure anyone would be interested nor would they have the time to devote to appeasing my crazy ideas. How wrong I was! The first person I mentioned this idea to was Boe Cortes (who funnily enough I actually met at Muism one day), and I already had in my mind the item would be a Muism tank top as pretty much every guy on SL has (or should have!!!) one of these tanks in inventory. After a bit of deliberation we decided to go with the Muism Tank Top MS/Light and then I proceeded to sound out the feelers to see who else would be interested in participating, and I got positive responses from pretty much everyone I asked, and one guy (who shall remain name-less) even stopped masturbating in his socks to join the festivities! So without further ado, here is what everyone came up with.

Boe was the first guy I got to pose for me and I must admit he set the bar high, showing what a good combination of clothes utilizing prim attachments can do to spice up your everyday tanktop. We dragged ourselves away from the amusement of Sabeins housewarming(or should I say toiletfilling??)/babyshower (don't ask) and when the shoot was done I proceeded to nag Boe about places I should visit when I am in Europe later this year.

Boe is wearing:
Cap: Agrace - Hunting (hair)
Scarf: Endeavor - colour change scarf
Belt: Redgrave - Asymetric Belt
Gloves - Redgrave Driving gloves
Glasses - PrimOptic glasses - vizion
Jacket: Aoharu - TailoredJK _ Gray
Tank: Muism - Tank Top_MS/Light
Pants: Meriken Co. - Houndstooth Pants Brown
Shoes: Muism - Ankle boots/dark brown
Poses - Kmadd

Next on the list of volunteers was Leo Xenno, and I dragged him away from Missem (not really, she came to the shoot with him ;-P) long enough to get these snaps of him in his take on the tanktop inspired outfit. It was all jokes and laughter during this shoot until Leo was snatched away to give his wife a goodnight kiss.

Leo is wearing:
Dutch Touch......camo pants with belt
Soreal Superatars......white/blue/red
Mad Design Hair......Eric
Tattoo...Custom from aussie ink
Ipod.....Kalrau
FNKY Plate Cuff Watch...black
M.R.M Silver Necklace....soul and spirit

Well me being me, I couldn't let the other guys have all the fun, and I took this happy snap of me posing like the poser that I am. But as you all know, a guy has some needs that need to be fulfilled, ask my ex's. ;-P

I am wearing:
Tanktop: Muism - Tank Top MS/Light
Jeans: Shit Luck - The dude jeans in Dark Blue
Jacket: Beauty Avatar Helsinki Jacket 02
Shoes: Redgrave Athelete Sneakers in red and black (Big thankyou to Viola for indulging my wish for this color combination with this sneaker a few months back)
Hair: Uncleweb Denis hair in black
Earring: Musim round stud in black and Silver
Glasses: Steinwork Aviator glasses
Skin - Damiani Neo
Pose - Long Awkward Pose [LAP].

Next model was Gahum Riptide, and he came up with his take as you can see above. A nice mix of urban casual, without going for overkill, that was very easy and simple on the eyes. We chatted for a bit about the inefficiencies of the SL client and how it forces us to crash every now and again. It was more goodtimes as the camera kept snapping.

Gahum wears:
Glasses: *ARAI* glasses02 black
Jacket: Aitui - Tokyo Intake Jacket - Coal
Shirt: *Muism* Tank Top_MS/light
Jeans: Zaara - Classic Jeans *indigo*
Primitive Design_studded belt
Kalnins Shoes - Crossyard
Tattoo: TiKi TATTOO UaHuka

Az Aeon was the next guy on my list to come and get his pic taken, and I really liked his combination of a suit jacket with jeans. I think he did a great job on this. I chatted to Az and his partner Christina during the shoot about all sorts of things, from modelling to fashion to photoshop and the like. Then I had to go eat lol.

Az is wearing:
Jacket: Armidi - (m) Classic Pinstripe Blazer [Charcoal]
Tanktop: *Muism* Tank Top_MS/Light
Jeans: *Valiant* Gold/Silver Black Denim Jeans
Boots: *REDGRAVE* Biker Boots -Night-
Shades; *Rawdolls* Retro Junkie Aviators

The final guys I got to pose for me were Mr. Lawless McBride and Mr. Winter Jefferson. It was nothing but comedy with these 2 guys around, and as scheduling the shoots went, it was inevitable they would end up being photographed together. So after trying to get a poseball to disappear and a relog trying to get to see Winter's top, I managed to grab this shot of the 2 guys looking rather dapper.

Lawless on the left wears:
Naith Smith Design - Rock'n'Rolla Chain
Genesis - Au Naturel Eyes (Natural)
Kunstkammer - Star Belt
[MRM] - Skinny Pant *Black*
Gritty Kitty - Deadline Hair (black)
Eko Merlin - Recovery Bracelets
Aitui Tattoo - Mr Midnight Tattoo (faded)
Muism - Tank Top (ms / light)
Belleza - Mathieu Skin (med 1-e)
UBU - Drunks Sneakers

Winter (on the right) is wearing:
Electrica De Luxe - Tartan Pants
Fear and Clothing Sharksin Jacket
Muism Crinkle Scarf in Red, Ear Piercings Mix 3
Redgrave Black Leather Boots
Black Maria Rius hair
Soul skin in Helios

As these were the last guys I had to shoot, it was time for a group pic, so I joined in alongside them and we all said 'Cheese' one last time. See my blogroll for links to their respective blogs if you want to see their amazing work

So as you can see, all these shots were taken in the Laguna Beach Cove sim where there will be a Live music event this coming weekend on Sunday at 3PM SLT. With benefits to go to Relay For Life. It is in part in honor of the builder/owner Bronco Graves' friend who passed due to cancer Valiant Strangelove. I also did this blog as a kind of way of showing guys that even if they think that the supply of clothes in SL might not be as broad as the womens selection, you can still make an item that everyone else has your own, with just a little careful thinking and thought.

So to round off this post, I would like to thank Az, Boe, Gahum, Lawless, Leo, Winter, and Alexa and Bronco for making this post possible. And also to every designer we featured, keep on making stuff for us guys! We can't do this kind of thing without you! Til the next time. ciao ciao.

Its been a while.....

2009-03-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

...since I last blogged on here and I won't make excuses but I really need to 'feel' the items I am blogging about for me to get inspired enough to make a post on here. However that excuse doesn't hold up when it comes to this outfit, as everyone who has seen me in world the past month or so has probably seen me wearing the latest Muism Leather bomber jacket, in all its various incarnations. Here I am wearing the Black/brown version, and the reason this jacket inspired me to post was because I have a similar one in rl, featuring faux fur and everything. However lucky the fur can be zipped off, as it got rather tiresome being called 'Maverick' all night when we went to the casino in RL.Following the jacket is some older Muism Straight leg jeans [Dark], but they are capped off with the Muism Cowboy boots in black. I was lucky enough to get a view into the development process of these boots (in between playing Street Fighter 4 and GTA: The lost and Damned on my Xbox) and saw them and the various revisions Ice made to them and I must say I do like the finished product. I think that the GTA universe had some influence in the setting of these pics, a grimy rainy cityscape at the Creamshop sim that I was shown thanks to my friend Olyvia Zenkova. The Hat is a pretty popular hat from Argrace, and the necklace is the Davarriale necklace from my friend Ryker Beck's store Genesis.

Perhaps the most strikingly different item in this post is the skin I am wearing, from a store called Den-Dou. It is Ichiro skin in bronze and while it looks almost semi-androgynous, I like it for a change from my usual skins. So pretty much overall this is the kind of outfit I would wear in reality in the upcoming months leading into Winter. Since my SL is playing up I will add the LMs later, but if you want them just shoot me an IM :-)

Muism Ankle boots

2009-01-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get a preview of these boots sometime last week from Icemocolo at Muism not long after I blogged the Pirate boots and I must say, us guys are currently getting spoiled for choice with all these superb footwear releases of late. These newly released ankle boots are certainly no exception.
The boots are available in 2 styles, a stitched version with a intricate pattern at the tip of the boot, streaking down the sides and over the toes. I really love this touch however these is a version that is your normal boot, however I personally prefer the stitched version as they just look badass. The leather look has just the right amount of shine in all the right places to give a highly realistic look, whether you are rustling cows or chilling at a bar. Such is the versatility of this boot.
So if you are looking to expand your footwear collection (or your clothes for that matter) once again I recommend you pop down to Muism to check out the range and as always, it is to the quality we have come to expect from Ice and Migi.

MUISM Mainstore
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muism/60/112/23

To explain something...

2009-01-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

Now many of you who are reading this probably wonder what the hell happened with this whole deal about a random comment on flickr I made. Well as many of you know I am an honest person, and it is the attribute of honesty which I value above all others. I don't care much about superficial things such as the looks of people behind their computer screen on SL, more about the actual person behind it and their character. Recent events with my best friend having to actually leave SL due to fighting cancer, and another one of my closest and best friends on here not being on as much as usual due to also fighting cancer started me thinking about something. Then the revelation to hear from 2 more friends that their parents were currently fighting cancer and getting told explicit details of how the treatment was affecting them personally, seeing someone they love fight for their lives being powerless to do much other than offer their love and support reminded me back to each and every time I saw the 3 of my RL grandparents pass due to cancer itself, and the battles they fought.

Then I log into SL as I usually did. Then I was informed by a reliable source that someone from my past had resurfaced back into the scene. This person was none other than my ex-gf C.D., now in the form of the designer at the focus of this topic. Now many of you may remember, at one stage I was head over heels for this girl. Then I found out the whole relationship was founded upon lies. The biggest of these, was the fact that she was leaving SL due to having cancer.

Now at one stage, C.D. told me that she had terminal cancer and only was given 6 months to live. Now me being the caring person I am, and having faith in the person behind the screen telling me this, I believed every word. However, when she described the type of cancer she had, giving me vague details about the cancer itself and the treatment she was undergoing I started to become a little suspicious, especially when I spoke to a friend whose father passed from the same style of cancer she claimed to have had and when her descriptions of each treatment she was undergoing changed from day to day, I reached out to express my condolences to her RL sister on Myspace, as having seen family members of my own pass in RL I could relate to what she must be going thru and wanted to sympathize with her. I was in complete shock when I was told that I must be mistaken and that C.D. was not sick and that I misunderstood.

In light of this new information, I thanked her sister for letting me know the truth, and wished her aunt a speedy recovery, and logged into SL once more. Her sister responded to me once again apologizing for whatever confusion was caused. Now with this information, I went and confided in a few of my closest friends on SL, asking what kind of person would lie about this? However I decided to sit on this information and see whether or not the truth would be revealed to me with time. Eventually relations became even more strained as the new-found knowledge I had was eating me up inside. The fact I actually cared to the point where my RL demeanour suffered (and was noted by work colleagues) due to me being angry at the world for punishing someone I cared about got me even more worked up and I confronted C.D. about this new revelation and a few more that I had found out in talking with people.

Anyhow, I found out lie upon lie had been told to me over the tenure of our relationship and that the whole thing itself was founded upon lies. I now realized that I had overstepped the mark and that SL had affected my RL too much, as I am a very trusting person by general nature, however these revelations shocked me to my core, making me want to leave SL, as I didn't know who could be trusted anymore. However, C.D. became too 'ill' to actually play SL anymore, and as such threw a leaving SL 'party' with her friends while I was at RL work following a dramatic NC that explained it all along with a very photoshopped picture that left me and many many others unconvinced.

So upon C.D. 'leaving' SL the truth of this matter and extent of her deceptions didn't go beyond the partys that already knew. However, recently it emerged that C.D was running around in the A.E. alt which she has had hidden the whole time we were together and was planning to release a new collection of clothes. Now I knew she was as A.E. for a while, and cared nothing of the fact that the people at her 'going away' party were all in full knowledge that she planned to retreat to this alt, and I generally avoided contact with said people due to now knowing they could not be trusted.

When it came to the point of hearing graphically how ill a friends father was battling cancer online I snapped. I had to draw attention to how this one person, could make a mockery of all people battling cancer and I posted a comment on flickr in haste. It was laced with sarcasm, and was poorly worded, however it did get a reaction, which is all I hoped, however many people out there totally misconstrued how it was intended, mainly due my own haste and anger over this whole situation. Yes I am totally angry that people who know the extent of her lies could now be supporting her as though she did no wrong. No I don't believe myself to be perfect (I'm far from it, and as such, endeavour to better myself with each passing day) and what I wrote I can easily see how it was read by all the people who have now lambasted me for making it. However as you can see, I was only trying to expose this person for what they have done, my job as a blogger is to inform and entertain and my over-riding sense of altruism made me act in the way as to which to give these people information on the person with which they were supporting, and hope that in this knowledge that they could make a conscious decision as to whether to support her or not, as I would do anything to keep people from falling for the same abundance of lies she told me.

As for the Runway magazine thing, I am just sorry that I was never given a chance to explain my side of the story prior to them removing my article. I hope this sheds some insight into why I said what I said, and while it may have seemed very bad, I think it had to be said in such a way as to draw attention to an issue which affects us all. I may have gone about things in an unprofessional way in some peoples eyes, but I was only acting with getting the truth out there as my main objective. I can live with any consequence of these actions, as I know I was acting with the truth in mind, but for people to accuse me of inciting drama and whatnot, I have to ask, was I the one who told people I only had a short time to live and left SL under the pretense that I had to battle cancer months ago? Am I the one who made a mockery of those who use SL as an escape to get away from their RL, and think it is right to take advantage of those who care about you and mess with their emotions by making such false claims? Am I wrong to try warn people to stay away from people who partake in such activities? I guess only time will tell and I would like everyone to know that from now on, if you want to comment on this issue, I will leave this blog open for now, but please know that I am big enough to admit the way in which I drew attention to this persons actions was a mistake, lets see if she can do the same in explaining her actions.

P.S. to my friends and their families who are currently battling cancer, you all know my thoughts and well wishes are with you.

Good things are worth waiting for........

2008-11-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

Today was a day that held a dear surprise for me in that Shai Delacroix released the Amorsolo suit in black. This has been a dream of mine since I first got hold of the Amorsolo in grey around a year ago, and I must say, it was worth the wait. The suit's black shirt (which you would have seen me wearing in many many styles I have made up as it is an invaluable piece of my inventory) now contains a beautifully sculpted prim collar that is coated in the intricate textures that the suit is known for. I must say I waited (and pestered a few times) for Shai to make this version of my favorite suit in all SL and to finally have it on feels amazing.

Casa Del Shai
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Casa%20Del%20Shai/150/99/691

Shoes from Redgrave (by Viola Leigh)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/REDGRAVE%20Womens%20Fashion/243/229/23

Lookr what I found here.....

2008-11-04T04:18:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't really find this store, but it was moreso my friend Mui Mukerji asking me if I had been before and upon me vaguely remembering the name, I accepted the tp and came to check out the clothing available at this store. Upon arrival I remember it was a store I had checked out a while ago, and thought to of going back to to pick up some clothes when I tired of the old standbys. However upon getting some of the clothes here, I was regretting my decision to not pick some up earlier as the texturing is first rate, and has all the neccessary shading and prim detailing you would expect from a more seasoned designer, however at a fraction of the cost of what a more well known designer would charge.

The Lookr brand is the product of Adam Soler and he has done an amazing job at creating some beautiful clothing that is priced at an attractive rate. Perhaps my favorite item I purchased was the Rider jacket, which I bought in Copper and the pictured Red. this jacket has a rather striking visual appearance, accented by well made prim cuffs and collar. the best thing was the coolar was a perfect fit to my av, and I didn't have to resize them too much as I have to do with some items I purchase. The other items I purchased were the Lookr From shirt in gold and the Form Blazer, and I must say I was really impressed by the breadth of options available in layering and prims for such a great price. Adam is probably moreso known for his SL photography skills being a featured artist at gallerys such as Vain and Twilight, but I must say, his clothes are as high quality as his photos. If you are looking for quality at a nice price, Lookr is as good a place as any on the grid.

Lookr Mainstore
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lookr/125/104/6

Limited edition coat set at Muism

2008-11-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after finishing reading the Runway magazine and finding out I was a finalist for Male Model of the Year I stumbled across an article that said that limited edition Muism Yeti coats will be available as of the 1st November. So me being the Muism fiend I am, I tp there right away, only to find the coats were not yet in store, as the new Guerilla section was still being completed.

Anyhow, a quick IM to Icemocolo and he was kind enough to tp me to the new section where he laid out the vendors and I was the lucky guy first in line to buy one of these amazing coats. My friend Belle LeFavre was the lucky first to get one of the womens coats, and Ice was kind enough to help her out with fitting it, and we laughingly joked at how hard it is to explain to someone how to fit things. We all had a good long chat about all kinds of random things for a couple of hours and it was so refreshing to get to chat with someone whose work inspires alot of people. Ice remarked that this coat took him a year to develop the neccesary tools to be able to create the coat to the standard he expected, and I must say it was worth the work with this coat giving you a feeling or power and distinction upon wearing it. It also comes with an undercoat, shirt and these plaid pants you can see in the pic to give great value for money, and considering it is a limited edition available only for this month, how can you not go and grab one?

The Yeti in smoke wasn't my only purchase though. I bought this Muism Slim fitted S.W. suit in brown as I have rarely seen any suits that aren't in standard colours that I really like, and I must say this suit is an awesome addition to my inventory also. Classic styling, the option of 3 different collars and enough layers to wear it with other parts of inventory make it good value. This suit is available in other colours as well but when the gf tells you how good you look in this as mine did, I think I made the right choice. Also in these pics I am wearing the new Muism stud earrings and they are awesome. After hunting around since December last year for a quality Mens earring I finally found the one I am after. These releases once again show that Icemocolo and Migi Voom are at the forefront of urban fashion in SL and I anxiously await their next new releases.

Outfits and accessorys available from Muism
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muism/60/112/23

Footwear from Redgrave
http://slurl.com/secondlife/REDGRAVE%20Mens%20Fashion/35/241/23

Zorro!!!

2008-09-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

I was walking around SL and wondered to myself why I was doing nothing why don't I go and check out a store or 2? So anyway I went to have a look around the new Boulevard and stumbled across Devon Dinzeo's clothing store and remembered chatting to him the other week, but I still hadn't gotten around to checking out his store! So anyway, I finally went and had a look at his beautifully crafted mainstore and picked up this little number!

Devon is a very well known builder in SL, and he has decided to start making clothes and I must say, I welcome his work into my wardrobe! The textures are nicely shaded, and the prices are very cheap for items of this quality. Devon has done well to create some beautiful jeans and this outfit was the one that struck my eyes as one I had to have! I coupled it with my mask and hat from Illusions and it was a perfect looking outfit, of course I had to wear my black Oslo's to go with it. So if you are looking for quality clothes at competitive prices, try Dinzeo Designs today!

Dinzeo Designs Mainstore
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Angelic/162/65/26

"The Upgrade man"

2008-08-22T07:01:00.001-07:00

Well after being a bit of a nomad and pretty much camping out at Casa Del Shai, the new release items just had to be had in my inventory. So after I got them and haven't taken them off for the past few days, I decided to just throw together some outfits from my Shai folder, and it is amazing how easily the different outfits mesh to form perfectly synced pieces that could actually be sold together.This is the latest releases from Shai, the scruffy jeans in the Lito shade, and the Mallory woven shirt in Drfitwood. I coupled these new items with one of her tanktops I picked up in my camping-like state when I started to have a chat and I was promptly dubbed "The Upgrade man" by Shai as we deliberated on a title I could have in the group. The reasons for this is she commended my ability to upgrade the look of avs with ease.

This above outfit is comprised of the Slick Rick trenchcoat in green, the shirt is from the Alphonso suit in olive and the pants are from The High Roller suits. I really dig this look and it has the nice blend of formal and casual that makes it stand out. I think wearing the Shanghai shoes from Jeepers Creepers gives it more that elegant edge but if I was to go with Oslos it would be tipped to a more casual style.

The next outfit I assembled was based around my first ever Shai purchase, the Croc trench in red. I once again used a shirt from Alphonso (this time from the burgundy version) and wore the pants from the Adulterer in Black

My next outfit was one that just appeared when I was going thru my outfits throwing stuff on, I liked it and snapped it but can't be bothered looking at what it is exactly comprised of.
The final outfit I am featuring (so as to not give you overload as I could have kept making them for hours on end) is based off the Alpine man suit, but with a twist in the choice of pants (from the black version of Shai's Classic tux) and went for Oslos just to get away from the Shanghais for a bit.

Anyway, all these goodies can be found at only one place, and that place is at Casa Del Shai!!

Casa Del Shai Mainstore

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Casa%20Del%20Shai/150/99/691

oh and the shoes can be found at JCS!!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/La%20Fortuna%201/101/52/22
The bonus pic is using a pose from Long Awkward pose that I wanted to give a shoutout to Dove for making my amazingly well crafted signature pose that I will be attempting to do a pic of very soon!
Go to their hunt and see if you can find all the poses in their hunt for poo!!

Long Awkward Pose
http://slurl.com/secondlife/BelleStar/219/21/21

How do I become a model in SL??

2008-08-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

OK I have moved this from the Modavia blog to here because it is my informational guide and I want people to come here to find it.

K, now after fielding this question wayyyyyy too many times from people in world I decided that I would make a post about it here so I can just send them here without having to spend time telling the same few things over and over. By no means take this as any kind of ‘definitive guide’ or whatever, it is just some advice I can give to you all who have ever had questions about the path to becoming a model on here. I’ll tell you a bit about my own journey but I think that I am an unusual case as it was never really my desire to be a model to begin with, it just kind of happened. But anyway onto the advice.

Step one - Know what you are up against!

This step above all others is the first thing I would say to any aspiring model. by this I mean, you really may think you are all that and everything but you have no idea that there are so many others who think the same way. So this is step one, have a look at who the successful models on here and you will notice something. They all have something about them that makes them stand out. They are unique, and you can go into a packed sim and still recognise them as soon as you see them. Then you think with the abundance of items available in SL that you should be able to do this without a worry, but it isn’t quite so simple. Take some shots of yourself and compare them to that of 10 other models, and ask yourself if you still stand out. Have other friends answer the same question as well. Then you will have a better idea of what steps you need to take in order to improve or change.

Step two - Prepare dilligently

OK, so now you have seen what you are up against you have to take the steps to get to your goal of becoming a model. Just a little bit of advice to girls, most female models I know have inventorys in excess of 20000 items, of which, 85% of them are QUALITY aesthetic improving items such as skins, clothes, shoes and hairs from all the top designers. This is imperative that you have a similar quantity in your inventory, and I say this as you must remember, modelling is a competitive industry, both in RL and Sl and there is only so many Agencys/shows/jobs to go around. So if you can achieve this point then you might be competing on a more even playing field.

Once you have the items and look taken care of, the next step is a portfolio. This can be the make or break thing that will separate you from the elusive first job (or the next one). Choosing a photographer doesn’t sound hard, but getting the right shots to convey who you are is essential, as you remember the adage ‘a picture tells 1000 words’? In SL this holds true especially in the modelling scene. A good portfolio can make or break you. If you possess the skills yourself then who knows, you might just find out that doing pics is just as much fun as modelling, or it can help you develop an edge into getting yourself into the industry. If you are able to find a decent photographer, be prepared to pay, as it isn’t cheap to get great shots, but they are priceless in helping move your modelling career along.

Next up is the step alot of aspiring models forget about, and that is developing a good network of industry contacts. This can range from designers, other models, agency heads, etc etc. From all these inner-industry people you can learn things and it can help get your foot in the door alot easier than an outsider could. As such spending time in ‘the scene’ such as attending shows and the like will further immersify yourself within the modelling psyche and help develop yourself as someone who has a desire to potentially do a show or whatever.

Another thing alot of wanna-be models neglect in the preparation stage is the procurement of the tools needed to perform on the catwalk - those being walks and poses. Many a time have I heard people say ‘I want to be a model’ and I ask them how many poses they have and the answer I get back is ‘I have my AO’. This just won’t cut it, as you are competing with models who may also dabble in photography and have hundreds of poses at their disposal. So while you may have gotten into the whole modelling scene with friends and whatever you will still need the tools to get the job done, as many models may get called up at the last minute due to no-shows, so you never know, you may be lucky enough to one day receive a call like this.

Step 3 -Patience

OK so you have everything you need, the looks, the photos, the contacts etc but you are still feeling you are getting nowhere. Here is where patience comes in. Nobody has become a model in a day. It just won’t happen. You need to be patient. And you sometimes need to analyse things again and ask questions of yourself such as ‘how can I improve’ or ‘why is that person getting the jobs’? Maybe your profile needs work? I think that profiles personally are a way in which you can convey who you are and what you are about in a concise manner. Saying you are a Gorean slave girl who only answers to your master won’t get those modelling jobs rolling in (I suggest using an alt for this if it is your thing) so this is something you can also work on. A blank profile just won’t help differentiate you from the hundreds of others wanting a shot.

Step 4 - Your first show

OK, so you have been asked to appear in your first show so now what? Well if you had followed the previous advice and done the most essential thing in a models life by preparing you will not have any worries. Prior to my first show I practiced walking on a beach (who needs a runway when you can improvise?) so don’t use any excuse to not practice. Many people can claim to be a ‘model’ but I personally don’t believe they are until they have walked a show (thus shattering anyone’s illusion a model can be made in a day). Then I will bet anyone on SL walking their first show they will be so nervous that they are nearly wetting themselves as they would no doubt have attended shows and seen the lag monster rear its ugly head that nobody (not even the best of the best) is safe from. Your first appearance on the catwalk being a success is crucial to you getting repeat performances so you want to be prepared as much as possible. So practice, practice practice!!! Also the first show will give you an insight into the extensive planning and preparation that goes into each and every one, as per Risa’s earlier blog. But if you had been disciplined enough from following the previous steps you would already know this. There is nothing like pulling off a successful show in SL and having your friends cheer your name, believe me.

In conclusion

Look at RL and look at the successful people there. They all got to where they are due to a combination of having a strong drive, ability to overcome setbacks and they put in the hours to get to their goal. All the top models are there because they have done the work required. None of them were given it on a platter, they have put in the work and gotten the job done, and that required the very valuable asset of time. The reasons they continually get jobs is usually due to their work ethic, being punctual to practices, getting the latest clothes/AOs/Hairs/skins etc to stay on top of the game. It is a continually evolving world in SL and models have to be able to adapt and be willing to listen to advice, particularly if it is from someone who has put the score on the board. I’m not writing this as some authority figure, but moreso someone who wants to give some insight into what separates models from those who aspire to be. So don’t give up is my advice, but maybe alter your goals and make them a bit lower than ‘I am going to be SL’s next top model’ because that kind of attitude just won’t help you attain the steps that will enable you to claim such a position to begin with.

I hope this guide helps people understand that there is sooooo much more to modelling on SL than what it appears to be, and also allows people to see what is required to achieve your goals. I hope nobody thinks that I have given any secrets or anything away, to me this all seems to be common sense (a trait you must have as a model!!) Please feel free to give me feedback or whatever, I appreciate it.

Mastrius from Rfyre

2008-07-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Anyway, my good friend Raven Pennyfeather sent me this costume yesterday after I bumped into her at the Avenue show and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to blog it. Knowing that it was in part inspired by the music of Rob Zombie, and having listened to them since I was a teen in the early 90s, I knew that this piece would be suited to me. (Side note: The intro to Thunderkiss '65 was one of the first things I learned on guitar in RL).

So as I cranked my settings up to ultra to best check out this magnificent outfit I started to cam around and just get lost in the details of it all, racking my brain thinking how does Raven manage to outdo herself time after time?

So in keeping with the theme of a dark and heavily rocking outfit such as this I decided to wear my old boots from Lapointe and they matched this outfit perfectly. The setting wasn't hard too decide on either, with a trip to the Crimson Shadow sim by Rezzable.

The outfits shoulder pads are in 2 pieces and are among some of the best fitting prims I have seen from Raven, I think she is truly improving on what was already great to begin with. There is a few different options a prim belt option, a jacket with full length prim skirt, 2 different open and closed tops, as well as gloves to complete the look.

Anyway as the shoot progressed I decided to go even darker and don my goth skin from AVid, which still looked amazing with this outfit and the white tonality of the skin provides a perfect contrast to the darkness of this outfit. Anyway All I can say is check out these pictures and if you are into exquisitely detailed outfits, then go to the House of Rfyre today and pick this one up. I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Outfit:

Mastrius from House of Rfyre
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Isle%20RFyre/98/175/24

Boots from Lapointe
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Evocative/109/128/23

Goth skin from AVid
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Clothing/202/27/37

The Red Carpet party

2008-07-11T23:36:00.000-07:00

So this past Thursday was my girlfriend Christieanna's rezzday party and it was a fun other than the lag caused by so many people being there, but hey, it is SL what can we expect?

Anyhow, enough about that, I'll get onto what I am wearing (which co-incedently, is what i wore to the party!). A few of you all might recognise the tux as being from Casa Del Shai, and it is. However this is special, as while I was temporarily offline after buying/giving Christieanna her presents she told me she would hunt out something for me to wear to match the Nicky Ree Elizabeth Dress I bought her for the party. Anyway, while I was offline Chris did the sweetest thing and contacted Shai to consult with her on what she would recommend for me to wear to this party. Next thing is Shai sighted the dress and created this version of her Classic Tux (with red bowtie and cumberbund) just for me! Its not everyday that your favorite designer on SL makes something specially for you, and I must say I was ecstatic when Christie's "Surprise" she had for me was revealed.

As you can see the tux is immaculately detailed, and I haven't taken it off since the party ahah. Anyway, this post is just to give thanks to Shai for the suit, Frolic for organising the event and the amazing setting, everyone who attended, and finally Christieanna just for being amazing in every way. Love that girl.....

Hi everyone!

2008-06-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hi to everyone out there, Jonny Tobias here. This is my own personal blog I am starting up where I will just talk about things I am up to, what I am wearing and all the good things like that.

So first things first, as people who used to read my Modavia blogs will know, I will only really blog every now and then about things when I find the time in my busy schedule. As you may or may not know I chose to leave Modavia a couple of hours after the Best of SL awards where I won the top male model award. The reasons for this were posted in the NC I sent to the Supermodels group and primarily that I wanted to cut down on my commitments so that I could focus my energy on projects that took my interest and to spend time with my girlfriend and partner the lovely Christieanna. So as such I no longer will be blogging there and instead bring to you my musings here!!

Anyway now that is out of the way, I'll get back to informing you all of the purpose of this blog and what the title means. As you may all have seen from my Paradigm tag I have been wearing from time to time, it was based on the idea of this blog (which I was slack in getting started) and it encompasses all the things I do in SL in regards to styling/creating shapes and the like. A paradigm by definition means 'the highest example of' and as such, you know that when you are dealing with me you are getting 100% effort into helping you in whatever way I can when working with you, from someone who attempts to hold true to this philosophy at all times. However the carefree living part of the title is kind of an oxymoron as to how I approach my work, it is more relating to how I choose to live my life outside of work, in a more carefree manner. So there you have the dichotomy of my personal being, the work/play balance which we all deal with in everyday life.

So now that you sat and read through all that, onto the fashion. For my initial post on here I decided to go with my outfit of choice for the past day or so. It is a meshup of a street casual style as evidenced by the Casa Del Shai pants and overcoat I have chosen to wear, and also offset by the more formal style of the Muism tucked in shirt and tie. In all it is a very simple outfit but it has maximum visual impact. As always the textures from both these designers is top notch, but this overcoat was something I slept on until only recently, as upon its release I saw everyone wearing it so I held off and I must say that I made a mistake, so I bought the black and green versions. The green version does pop a little more than the black but it contrasted with the neutral look I was trying to achieve.

You will notice how the colours I chose for this outfit are very neutral, with your classic black and white of the pants and jacket offset by the medium tone of the grey shirt. The Jeepers Creepers Shanghai shoes in black and silver continue this colouring theme and as such complete this outfit. Sometimes the most simple combinations are the most effective and this outfit is illustrative of that theory.

Clothing worn in this blog:

Casa Del Shai
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Casa%20Del%20Shai/128/128/0

Shai Slick Rick Trenchcoat in Black Sugar
Shai Adrien Paper Pants in Grey with Belt

Muism
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muism/128/128/0

Muism Fine Silk Shirt in Dark Silver
Muism Lose Tie/DNA

Jeepers Creepers
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tean/247/74/25

Shanghai Black/Steel