Busy busy...

...sorting through old articles and pages, some of which were never finished, part 2's that were never completed, and submissions from others, as well as an increasing number of new articles.

I don't expect to be inworld for the next 2-3 days as I sort this little lot out, and if I am online, it'll be brief, probably just to check links prior to checking out again. As always, feel free to say hello, but don't expect me to hang around too long. I'd like to get the backlog sorted out, clear the decks, and then approach August with a clean desk, so to speak. As soon as I can find a signwriter, I expect to move into office space on one or more naturist sims, to advertise the blog's existence inworld, and as a focal point for staff meet-ups, etc. I'll let you know when I've got the neon lights in place over the office, and maybe we can even have a party to celebrate the office's opening(s)!

See you soon,

Ems

I'm a leather lazybum!

Hi! Ringo here with my first post for the blog, even though I've been a staff member since Emma began the blog so many months ago. I'm a gay man in second life and in real life, and it was to cover specific matters pertaining to the LGBT scene that I was adopted by Emma to write. I've not really submitted anything for Emma because I tend to play more than shop, and because I don't think you can say there's much 'gay' clothing beyond the leather boy stereotypes. Don't get me wrong, I like to wear a pair of leather chaps or shorts as much as the next gay ;) but they are stereotypes. I'm more likely to be found in a pair of comfortable jeans and a T shirt than I am in flamboyant 'gay' clothes. It's a sexual orientation, just the same as yours may be heterosexual, and neither of us really wear badges to say 'hi, i'm straight or gay or bi'.

I have found that, as in real life, straight girls are attracted to gay men because we're good friends to straight girls and aren't predatory. We often make girls feel 'safe'. Does that make sense? I think that straight girls, even in Second Life, like my company because they know I won't be trying to bed them, so it's sometimes a relief for them not to be under constant cybersex attack. So I've got a lot of 'fag hag' girlfriends in Second Life, including sweet, sweet Emma. LOL! I'm sure she's thrilled being thought of as a 'fag hag'!!!!!

OK...I decided that after much cajoling from Emma that I would finally make a post, and you can see in one of the photos above that I've opted for a figure hugging, 'show off what you've got' pair of swim pants. I've opted for these because while they appeal to me for their 'optional bulge' capacity and are therefore a teensy bit erotic, there's no reason why they shouldn't also appeal to straight guys who like to infer the size of their unit before getting down 'n' dirty with a partner. These blue ones are currently priced at L£1 at Lazybum and another free pair, in white, are available at the same location. I have to say that I was also exceptionally taken by a European-styled set of apartment buildings that you can rent at the Boystown sim, where Lazybum is situated. Only L$399 a week for 125 prims! And in a style that reminded me very much of Holland or Germany, which I like anyway.

I then tp'ed over to a favourite store of mine, Leather & Co, where I noticed they still have a free leather package available for noobs and beginners. Sometimes noob clothes are a bit poorer quality, they're free for a reason, but not this set. You can see in the other picture me modelling my own set, so if you're into the leather scene, then this is an excellent free gift to pick up and browse around their lovely store.

My (straight? bi? lesbian? I've never asked) friend Podge came along with me and picked up a set for herself, and do you know, it looked as fabulous on a girl as it does on me. As you can see from the picture I kept my Lazybum swim pants on! But I did slip them off for another photo, and if you click onto the 'sexually explicit' pages, I think Emma's going to put it up there. She didn't seem to have any issues with putting it on the main page, but for my first posting, I decided that I'd not want to offend anyone any further than they might be by a 'gay' post turning up in the middle of what has, so far, been a mostly 'straight' blog.

Love and kisses to everyone and I promise I'll post again soon :-x

Ringo Stourmead.

So....Sensuelle!

Mal has been exploring again, and come up with a free, black, see-thru undies set...

Hi! As some will know I am from Poland and so my English is not so good (but I try!) and so this is my first writing for Emma although I have been photographed many times for this blog.

Today I found the Sensuelle lingerie store on Rodeo Drive, and it is very sensual lingerie indeed!

There is a free group to join, so I joined this, and also a free set of black transparent underwears. We are not afraid to show some skin on Emma's blog, and so this fits nicely. I have recently been wearing the 'Just Awesome' see thru shirt that was available some days ago and wearing it with the black see thru bra means there is just a small sense of nipple showing. I do not like, in real life, the combination of black brassiere and white shirt. It says to me that a girl is a tramp or bit of a slut, but maybe this is why this combination work so well for me in Second Life. Because it seem trampy, it also seem sexy!

When I take off shirt the full sexiness of this free set of lingerie is apparent. Nipples show! Very sexy! And then I stand up and turn around with low rider jeans on and you can see a little bit of bottom, with full effect shown when jeans are removed! It is a very sexy set and I am most pleased with the effect.

But maybe I should stick to being model rather than staff writer! :) My English is not so good, and I think I make mistakes. Maybe Emma will correct for me.

Love,

Malgorzata Verlangen.

Sorry, Mal, no! There is no need to correct your work, your words and the pictures get the message about Sensuelle over very clearly. Yes, it's a super little set of lingerie, and it looks like the sort of place we, as a team and as a blog, will be frequenting in future.

LeMelonRouge Onyett

Something slightly different today, and as a result something I'm exceptionally excited about. You all know that in the SL world blogs can sometimes be a little too 'samey'? Everyone blogs the same dresses and so on. It's something I'm keenly aware of and do all I can to avoid, although I sometimes do end up blogging skins/sexy clothes just as another dozen or more blogs do.

And sometimes I'll not blog an item, knowing full well that a dozen other bloggers will, or already have, blogged an item.

It's important that this blog is 'different', as best it can, and concentrate on the sexy, the erotic and sometimes plain and earthy sexual end of SL.

I've been tipped off to the existence of LeMelonrouge Onyett -a person, not a place- by one of my SL friends, because she thought that I, and you, might be interested in his work. I am, and you will be!

Lemelonrouge (that's 'the red melon', for the benefit of non-francophones) is an exceptionally talented artist, and he currently has an exhibition running at the L'Ile du Bahania art gallery. It's a series of lovely watercolour nudes, and they will grace any SL home. I think I want one for the wall of my office when we finally establish our own office presence in SL! In fact, I definitely want one! I tried photographing some of these beautiful paintings, but in the end I gave up because I couldn't do them justice. Not that it would appear to matter anyway, as Lemelonrouge (can we call him Lemelon? Lem?) has his own flickrstream, so you can see the items there, as well as by visiting the gallery.

They are gorgeous representations of the (female) nude, and really do fit perfectly into our 'erotic' brief. Visit the gallery now, and maybe pick up an original artwork for your SL home.

Hotty Totty!

Here at SSL we loooooooooooooove a well turned out avi, male or female, particularly male! :)

Even the starter avis are 'ok' nowadays (although it's frightening to have to turn into 'pink polka dot dress girl' every time we're 'ruthed' and have to re-do the avatar. Advice for newbs might be to create an outfit via 'appearance' and save it (I do mine as a folder called 'Deruthed1, 2, 3', etc.

And, as in real life, on a beach, we just love to people watch in SL, admiring the way that people have constructed hot, sexy avatars and put some time and effort into their realisation. Let me tell you, the way to a woman's heart (well, a friend acceptance notification anyway) is through not having huge, boxy shoulders. It doesn't take long to tweak the appearance and, trust me guys, the admiration in return is well worth spending an hour on your avi's appearance.

Diane and I were in conversation (inworld) the other day and we are pretty much agreed that it doesn't have to be some sort of Brad Pitt lookalike avi that wins our admiration. Even an 'older guy' look can attract our attention. In fact, an older guy look might even win our attention more than others, because they're rarer and because the care and attention to detail over an older avi (which almost invariably means the guy behind the keyboard is putting a little of his real self into the look) smells like 'realism' and 'balanced person' and 'possibly interesting conversationalist'. And we like that.

Yes, we're now officially on the hunt for 'Hotty Totty', avatars that win our admiration immediately. No, it's not a competition and no, there are no prizes, but while we're lazing on the virtual sands somewhere you can be certain that we're eyeing up the sunbathing guy (or gal) over there and scoring them for style and effort.

A week long break coming up

No blog updates until next Friday.

I came into Second Life to socialise, not constantly blog. While blogging is fun, a lot of fun, I feel I owe it to my SL friends to hang out and socialise with them, as opposed to shooting off somewhere to find and review the latest sexy outfit. I've also got a very busy RL week coming up, so when I do get home and kick my shoes off it's going to be me time, relaxation time, glass of wine in hand and chatting to my SL (and RL) friends. So....no blog posts until next Friday, and if you spot me inworld, I'll be hanging out with my friends and chilling and remembering exactly why it was that I added them in the first place. If you do spot me inworld, please say hello, of course. In the meantime, have fun and I'll catch you all on the flipside!

Love,

Emma.

Welcoming Ella!

I met Ella Keng last year, not long after this blog began, and I've been friends with her ever since. A dedicated RL and SL naturist, she has been appointed to the staff of 'The SL Naturist', so I thought I'd better introduce her here, as you'll see her name on some of the articles whenever the paper finally goes public. Without further ado, I'm going to hand over to Ella (don't be confusing Ella with Emma, will you?) and let her introduce herself to you.

'Thanks Ems...Hi everyone, I'm Ella and I've been writing stuff for the new paper for a while now, checking locations and taking photographs. I'm going to be concentrating solely on naturist reporting, so my name's unlikely to be popping up much on the Sexy Second Life blog too often, but Ems would like to cross-reference the two publications, so it's possible you'll see me occasionally. What can I add that isn't on my SL profile already? I'm a Brit, a Mum, I'm 34 and I don't cyber under any circumstances, so don't even ask! I've no worries in deleting long-established 'friends' the instant they take the cyber route. It doesn't interest me and I don't do it. And that's why I am unlikely to pop up here much, as Ems explores the more exotic and erotic end of SL. I don't indulge myself in the erotic. I'm a RL naturist and I like the wholesome, family image of it. So my writing will focus solely on naturist matters in SL. I won't be testing poseballs! My pix (above) were taken on the balloon ride at the lovely Su Casa naturist sim, and I do believe that our colleague Vajeena will shortly be presenting a report on it for both publications. Hope to run into some of you in SL!'

Emma adds...Ella is correct. Both publications will be doing a report on Su Casa in Issue 1, but you'll have to read this blog, and the SL Naturist blog, to get the full range of photos from various locations, lol.

Welcome to the SSL office!!! :)))))

Well....!!!! SSL has an inworld office presence! :)

I'm absolutely thrilled with use of the space, provided courtesy of Elbag Gable, co-owner of the Eden group of sims, and as you can see from the pics, I'm already acquainting myself with my new desk and laptop to bring you ever more posts about the sexy, the erotic and the naturist goings-on in SL.

And I guess it's also time to announce a plan that has been hatching (I've previously referred to it on the blog) for many months now...a SL naturist newspaper! Yep, I've been working away behind the scenes with my SL SO for some time now to bring the idea to fruition, and we're almost there!

Many, many SL users will have visited SL's many and varied naturist sims, demonstrating an enthusiasm for naturism, even amongst those who would never consider the experience in RL (isn't it about time you tried, boys and girls? :) )

I think it sort of reflects how people would like to embrace naturism if their RL circumstances, geography, location and body-conciousness permitted them to do so. Sometimes they can't do it, simply because they're located too far from a RL beach, their partner isn't keen, or they feel conscious about their 'less than perfect' body. Few RL naturists have perfect bodies, let me tell you, so the 'public debut' might not be as daunting as you would envisage. There will always be someone fatter, thinner, saggier, with a bigger/smaller manhood and bigger/smaller breasts than you, so get over it! Be proud of that bod!

So, in SL, where the body can be beautiful, people can indulge their 'guilty secret' by stripping off and enjoying the virtual sun and surf. I'd guess that a high proportion of SL users have used SL's naturist locations, and so I feel that there's enough material, and avatars, to produce a newspaper for those avatars and highlight what's going on in the various sims for naturists.

We wrestled with a title, tried to be clever, and then decided that 'The SL Naturist' -while not sounding very imaginative- was maybe the most accurate reflection on what the publication (inworld and online) was about.

So, as things stand we'll be sending our people out to report from sims, take photos, interview naturists, list upcoming events, etc, etc. and see where it goes. The plan is to publish material via our own webpage, and also to publish an 'inworld' version. Either you can join an 'SL naturist' group to get your free copy as they're published, or else we'll try to get group owners/sim managers to send out copies (free) through their own groups. And maybe even have a vendor stand located in the various naturist sims around the grid.

It's back to work for me! Lots to do and write about, as well as research. Look closely at the pix and you'll see I'm reading Eden's own webpages !!!! If I'm inworld, the office will pretty much serve as a home location, so if you're in and around the Eden sims, don't be shy and say 'hi!' if my name shows up.

Eden, and their own webpages

If you read the Naked Dreams post (below), you'll find that there is a comment from Brenda Hoisin, co-owner of the Edenopolis group of sims.

Brenda mentions Eden's own webpages, which I was aware of but which I've failed to link to previously. No agenda, just forgetfulness. It's a must-read for anyone who uses Eden, and I'm more than happy to right my oversight right now.

The link to Eden's own webpages is here. It's an essential read for those of us who, as Brenda said in her comment, wish to live the naturist dream in SL.

For what it's worth, Eden is rapidly coalescing into THE naturist sim(s) in SL, as it endeavours to practically build a naturist world within the second world. A visit is well worth any genuine SL naturist's time, membership is cheap and so is housing. I can foresee a time when Eden does actually become an entity unto itself within SL, and exists semi-autonomously as a region where you can shed your clothes and live, shop and work naked all the time and becomes a place where all you need for your naturist SL is available. At some point in the future, later this year, I expect 'SSL' to locate an office somewhere in the Eden sim, to show that we, as a blog, are 'open for business' within a properly managed naturist environment, and also that, commercially, Eden is also open for business.

While Wild Coast remains possibly the focal point for naturist socialising (in terms of visitors), Eden has long since outstripped it in terms of things to do and see and a place to live. In a sense it is representing a new concept of thinking in Second Life (for which credit must go to Brenda and Elbag) as there is a clear vision behind the sims to create almost a 'country' within Second Life (well, an archipelago of islands, rather than one land mass). The point where 'Eden' pretty much becomes SL's first 'country' cannot, surely, be far away? (Yes, I know there are sims for 'India' and 'Ireland' or whatever, or we have 'Gor' type sims, but these tend to be visual representations of the geography and architecture of a real life location (or in Gor's case, a literary world). Eden is something new and different, and appears to be -whether Brenda and Elbag know it or not- nudging its way to a point where the sims exist as an identifiable 'country' not extant in the real world. And that, for me, represents a whole new SL philosophy that can be tapped. Have we reached a point now where we no longer have 'group tags' for Eden, but what are becoming 'passports' to a new imagined, thrilling and delightful nude world and life?

Maybe I've gone off on a rant here, lol, and it's not strictly speaking 'erotic' or 'sensual' matters that form the bread and butter of this blog, but these are a few thoughts on where the wonderful Eden is headed. Let me know if you agree or disagree with the sentiments I've expressed.

Edited to add....I've added a direct link to the 'Eden' webpages in the 'blogs that I read' section (to the right of the page) and have also added a link to Buffy's own webpages there too. If you've got webpages or blogs that you think fit within the SSL brief, please let me know and I'm more than happy to start assembling a 'links' page for 'out of world' pages that reflect and enhance our inworld experiences).

Is it just me or....

...do SL guys suddenly seem to be taking much more pride in their avatar's appearance?

Recently we, the staff at SSL, were discussing what appears to be a new phenomenon, guys suddenly looking cuter. I admit that I've recently encountered a few guys wearing older avatars, and looking all the more sexy for it.

Diane agreed with me and told me that 'I've seen some yummy looking fellas recently in older skins and slightly more rotund shapes and, do you know, I've found them attractive'.

I know exactly what she means. The rarity value of realistic avatars immediately makes an older guy stand out from the crowd. He's being what he is, rather than some unattainable fantasy ideal, and you know the sense of reality in the avi is probably going to reflect in the conversation that follows.

Diane goes on 'I met an older guy in SL recently. Thicker round the middle, grey hair, grey pubes and a small, thicker wiener, and I suddenly though that he looked sexually attractive. If I wanted someone to take me home in SL, I'm gonna fall for a guy like that as opposed to these lumps with laughable 10 inch penises.'

Well...enough already, Diane! LOL.

But she's right. Effort and accuracy maketh the man. Even a younger avi with a properly sculpted shape, nice pecs and buns, is going to do it every time. As some of you may know, I'm in a SL relationship with one such figure, a reflection of reality. Not hung like a donkey and shoulders half a mile wide, and it was the effort put into the avi that led me to chat with him and eventually embark on a SL relationship with him. Yes, we cyber, but the relationship is founded on a deeper sense of just enjoying one another's company and understanding an honesty at work in our SL relationship. It's lovely, and it sparked to life from the fact that my SO did put some work into his avatar.

And Vajeena put it most succinctly by stating that 'once you've seen a guy who has worked on his avatar, and been attracted to the realism of it, you know you aren't going to ever contemplate a relationship with some horrible looking dude.'

Yes, guys, you still need to have a personality, otherwise the effort's wasted, but the lesson appears to be that without a cute avi (if the SSL staff straw poll is anything to go by) you're toast in the relationship stakes. So, c'mon guys. Rather than trying to get the knickers off a SL female within 10 mins of meeting her (on the basis that she looks cute because she has put some effort in), spend the 10 mins tweaking your avi to look real, human and attractive!!!!

Naked Dreams

Now, this is interesting! :)

I've visited the 'Eden Naturopolis' sim often. It's huge and it's massive and it's immense and it's astounding. Vaj is going to be doing a report from there (probably several reports, as one isn't going to do it justice).

For those who don't know, it's quite possibly the most dedicated naturist sim in SL. Others may be more popular, but for me 'Eden' is the numero uno, on account of its size and its affordable housing and emphasis on the 'outdoorsy' type of pursuits that remind me of some of France's better RL naturist camps, maybe La Sabliere or La Jenny and Arnaoutchot. And some of it reminds me of Playa Laguna Baska/Krk in Croatia. Each of those have a very strong family vibe in RL, and in SL Eden (owned/run by Elbag Gable and Brenda Hoisin) manages to hold a lovely family vibe. No sexballs! No creepy guys (well, I've never met a sex pest there) lurking!

Eden expands, it seems, by the day. And the newest addition to the bird-named sims that make up its entirety is Naked Dreams on the Eden Heron sim. Built and owned by 'Tess Koinonen' (I'm not sure I've spelt her name correctly, and will fix this when I do get a correct spelling) it is almost an exact replica of 'Buffy's Cove'!!!!!!

This isn't intended as a criticism, but something to rejoice, for all of those who remember Tess's work on Buffy's before some sort of closure earlier this year. Some of us felt very sad at the loss, as Buffy's was a constant in the ever-changing SL, and somewhere to relate to in a very positive way. I'm not sure if the former owners of Buffy's outgrew each other, or had some sort of falling out, but Tess appeared to 'disappear', Gray Muircastle has founded 'Su Casa' (another equally gorgeous naturist sim) and a couple of others (Emily Hyun and...I forget) took on and rebuilt Buffy's.

I do seem to recall that Tess (I really do need to find out her correct name) had a wicked sense of humour regarding her sim builds, with lots of little 'hidden' areas secreted around her builds. I've not had time to explore 'Naked Dreams' fully yet to see if there's a recurring theme there, but I'll let you know.

There are subtle differences between 'Buffy's' and 'Naked Dreams', of course...both feature a church on the hilltop, but the styling is a little different, but anyone who already knows Buffy's will find the geography of 'Naked Dreams' to be very familiar.

As far as I'm concerned, there can't be enough naturist sims in SL, and this new addition is to be warmly welcomed. I fully intend to spend a part of this afternoon there, tap-tapping away at my laptop to finish off some of the promised and now overdue articles referred to elsewhere in the blog. In other news...my internet connection now appears to have stabilised again, and I am in a position to actually do stuff inworld. Praise be!

What I'd love to see now is a replication of Tess's other, previous Buffy's build...Nature's Way, which also had a lot of delightful secret hidey-holes to explore.

I'm not inworld

Sorry for the lack of promised posts, but there's something wrong with my internet connection and it takes forever to get anything to rezz, so finishing off the 'Lucy' skin photoshoot and modelling some of the 'Darkness' sexy hunt items is proving to be impossible. I'm not sure what's wrong, but it's impossible to do anything inworld right now and I'm on day 3 of this 'go slow'.

Avoiding the Hair Fair, 2011

Most of the blogs are now buzzing with news of the Hair Fair, 2011. I think it runs until July 15th, so I won't be looking at any of it until about July 14th, by which point the lag, the 'region full' signs and the 10 minute wait for a full rezz has stopped. While I acknowledge that hair and skin, in the main, are the two aspects that generally form our physical 'attractiveness' and therefore sexuality/eroticism to others (maybe 'shape' is a third), I don't blog skins, (head) hair or shapes as a rule, except in exceptional circumstances or for exceptional items...talking of which, Diane and I are still working on a portfolio of snaps for the exceptional 'Lucy' skin, and I'll bring you an update -a lengthy update- around next Tuesday. RL is in the way for the next 2-3 days. :(