Aspire Magazine, August 2008 by kristianne

contents

Aspire Cover Model Keeley Huet

FINDING THE PERFECT

little black dress

Three Looks with Bonnie and Clyde!

achieving pixel perfection

FRESH LOOK: Apple May Designs August 2008

Volume One, Issue One

Duality, Inc presents SHOPLINE 1

about

Editor in Chief kristianne matfield

Associate Editor ofelia laval

Copy Editors

b. hammerer babyhoney bailey

Art Director/Layout Design kristianne matfield

Ad Sales

Logo Design

mikayla kohl

zoe demar

Contributors sariella ashton angelico babii babyhoney bailey

honey bender felicity blumenthal callie cline

stacey foxley chantal gossipgirl b. hammerer

foxy innis lixena lamourfou ofelia laval

azia lunasea kristianne matfield vespasienne reinoir

Aspire Magazine was founded in 2006 by Trina Noland and Bianca Darling. Aspire Magazine was aquired by Duality Publishing and Duality, Inc and was relaunched in a new format in 2008. Aspire is a virtual world style resource. Each issue brings advice, recommendations, tips, applicable reviews and entertainment relevant in both the real and virtual world. Aspire Magazine is targeted to the style-savvy avatar within the virtual world of Second Life速 but reaches a far wider audience as well. Aspire Magazine is published monthly in Second Life using the THinC Book system. Second Life速 and SL速 are registered trademarks of Linden Lab and no infringement is intended.

Interested in working for Aspire? Please send applications for contributor, photographer and design opportunities to Kristianne Matfield in world or via email to employment@depthmag.com

letter

Dear Aspire Reader Welcome to the first issue of the new Aspire Magazine! The staff at Aspire has been working non-stop over the last several months to conceptualize a magazine format that will satisfy so many wants and needs. And I couldn’t be more pleased with the result of their hard work. So what is the “new” Aspire? We didn’t stray too far from our roots of connecting with some of the best designers on the grid; but, we have moved to being a bit more of a shopping resource than simply a fashion magazine. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of fashion scattered through these pages! (Don’t miss one of my favorite features called “On the Seam” on page 18!) But we also have tips, tricks and techniques for the headaches everyone deals with on a daily basis! AND, a whole host of reviews and suggestions for things to do outside of your closet! (How about some interior decorating? Check out “Home” on page 59!). You will also be introduced to some of the fabulous Aspire models as we scatter them throughout the pages. We put the coveted cover girl spot up for grabs for all of the models, asking them to put together a look and tell us what being a model an SL means to them. The entries were amazing and we’ll be featuring more of them on the Aspire blog in the coming weeks (www.aspiresl.blogspot.com). Keeley Huet won the spot with a stunning photograph and a great entry. Read on... “I thought about this for a few hours, what SL® modeling means to me. I am so new to the business but one thing is for sure, it’s better then I ever thought it would be! I never thought of myself as SL model material as I am not your standard tall, lean type. But it was always something I thought about doing as I am such a connaisseur of SL fashion and of course, the blogs. I enjoy modeling because I adore fashion, plain and simple. I love being a part of creating something. Especially with SL, the artistic vision is unlimited and that’s pretty amazing.“ I agree, Keeley, it is amazing and we’re proud to have you and hope you like your cover! We’re just getting started, but with the team we have assembled and the creativity that pours from them, each issue is sure to be better than the last. I truly hope you enjoy what we’ve done. (And thank you, Staff, for your heart, your faith, your commitment and your patience!) --kristianne matfield, editor in chief

contents contents

18 10 26 28 32 33 34 37

38 41 42

style: ON THE SEAM Little Black Dress building a fashionista’s closet

UNE JOUR DANS LA VIE Aspire Isle an editorial look at the new sim

TRIPLESHOT 1, 2, 3

“Bonnie and Clyde” show us how it’s done

shopping: GIMMIE! The Moment’s Must-Haves want, need and got to have!

FRESH Apple May

the designer everyone should know about

WORLD OF BEAUTY Beauty Avatar meet the designers behind the line

technology: SINE OF THE TIMES Sine Wave’s AO new technology from an old favorite

iNFORMATION Digital Reads are you in the know?

how to: PIXEL PERFECT Prim Lashes how to make them work for you

QUESTIONS WITH CALLIE Advice and More a real slebrity answers your questions

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS Closet Crisis!

we take it to the streets for organizational tips!

contents volume one, issue one

living: VELVET ROPE The 5th ELEMENT

where the beautiful people are

ON THE CATWALK Project Runway

the fifth season debuts

AND THE BEAT GOES ON Mix

the summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best tunes

PREVIEW Movie Reviews

a look at the big screen

On the Cover Keely wears: Skin- [The Obscene] Dress-Surf Company Bow-Thimbles Belt- Kyoot- Army Bangle- [VG republic] Hair-MMShair earrings-*Kc*

home: BLUEPRINT Four Rooms

interior design prim style

CONSTRUCTION The Deeb

an interview with The Firm

interest: ALT CLICK Fashion on the Streets

who did our cameras catch?

ABSOLUTE RULER Tiny Empires

Angelico Babii of Metaverse TV

UPPER EAST SIDE STORY Gossip Girls

a look at the GG sim

INTRODUCING ShopLine

get ready to shop!

QUEEN FOR THE DAY Aspire Model

an Interview with Queenie Extraordinaire

ASPIRE FAN CHALLENGE Anna Zwiers winner of the debut fan challenge

48 52 54 56 59 68 72 74 78 79 80 82 7

contents advertisement

style

Une Jour Dans LA Vie

morning sunrise with damiana aquitaine

to watch the sunrise over Duality Bay, Damiana is wearing:

SWIMSUIT: crochet in red, House of Nyla SHOES: viniani heel in red, Armidi Gisaci HAT: evie in white, Elegance Hats BRACELETS: triple pearl in white, Armidi Gisaci EARRINGS: chinese lantern earrings in red, Paper Couture SKIN: christina in bronze, Redgrave HAIR: edwina in sand, Novocaine 10

style

morning sail with felicity blumenthal

for her morning cruise through Duality Bay, Felicity is wearing:

BIKINI: sunrise bikini in red, Blooberry SHOES: tassle wedge sandal in beige, Jâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EARRINGS: chakra hoop earrings in pumpkin, Earthtones NECKLACE: chunky bead in red, Artilleri BRACELETS: bangles in orange, Persona GLASSES: eternity II in tortoise, Role Optic PURSE: the burton bag in cranberry, Paper Couture SKIN: venus in peach, Redgrave MANICURE: #11, Laqroki HAIR: xaria in honey burnt, ETD

style

brunch on the yacht with keeley huet as she waits for her yacht on Duality Dock, Keeley is wearing:

SWIMSUIT: curl up in blue, Launa Fauna COVER: atoll sequin cover in silver, eLDee SHOES: francoise flats in sky, Shiny Things HAT: alina in blue, Elegance Hats GLASSES: socialite shades in black, vintageWEAR BANGLES: autumn blue bangles, Argyle BRACELET: “x” and wire rope, Mustang Trading Co. SKIN: arouse ala, oBscene HAIR: clara in black, Kin 12

style

tapas by the fountain with aealla illyar

for lunch overlooking the Bay, Aealla is wearing:

SWIMSUIT and COVER: atoll in black, eLDee SHOES: sassy in shiny black leather, Maitreya GLASSES: eternity in zebra, Role Optic BRACELET: zebra bangle in emerald, Armidi Gisaci PURSE: le sac in zebra, Paper Couture SKIN: phoenix in smoked medium, Lunacy HAIR: eva II in chocolate, ETD

style

an evening on the isle with aealla illyar before changing for her evening on Aspire Isle, Aealla is wearing:

SWIMSUIT: sunflower in red, Launa Fauna SHOES: selece in onyx, Jaywalk GLASSES: fabulous shades in black, VintageWear BRACELETS: 4 bangles, Fetch Alternative and victorian bangles, Vintage Wear NECKLACE: ganesha necklace in gold, Earthtones PURSE: the burton bag, Paper Couture SKIN: beautiful in nekkid, Lunacy HAIR: jessica in blonde, ETD

style

sunset with damiana aquitaine

as she bids farewell to another day on the Isle, Damiana is wearing: BIKINI: bikini and sarong in plum, Jacinta SHOES: brandys in green, Shiny Things BRACELET: kamoana in white, Earthtones NECKLACE: triple pearl in royal, Armidi Gisaci HAIR FLOWER: tropicana hair flower in light pink, Artilerri SKIN: christina in bronze, Redgrave HAIR: the glamorous I in smoked walnut, Armidi styling by felicity blumenthal and chantal gossipgirl photography by b. hammerer on aspire isle

contents advertisement

contents

style with babyhoney bailey

We all have them. We’ll never stop looking for a better one because there is nothing more gratifying than owning that perfect LBD. No, we aren’t speaking of a kind of disorder (or the acronym of a well-known Second Life® designer)! We’re talking about a fashionista staple:

THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS For decades designers have tried to create it, perfect it and mold it into something undeniably their own; however, no matter how hard each designer tried, they eventually had to succumb to the fact that each one possesses a shared quality with another - their absolute air of necessity. A good Little Black Dress is more than just a garment for black tie affairs. A Little Black Dress serves as your guaranteed entry card to anyadclub you want to be a part of. Go ahead, mix and match. The risk in “messing up” when it comes to accessorizing an LBD is so low that you can gain mileage from any LBD you invest in. Recycle the dress to change the look! Take a look at a few of Aspire’s favorite LBDs! 18

by House of Nyla

style

Jet Nymph Cocktail Dress

If one didn’t know better, it might look like designer Nyla Cheeky wrote the book on little black dresses. This mini gown is the vampy sister to Nyla’s “Red Dragon Corset Gown” creation (which is a sight to see for all of you couture-lovers). A beautiful dress with definite sex appeal - the Nymph gown will no doubt make you the center of attention. The fabric folds beautifully over curves as it was created from one of Nyla’s real life designs and features lush textures and exquisite prim work.

ASPIRE’S REASON TO BUY

Not only is the Jet Nymph dress hot, when you feel like dressing down you can wear the top corset piece over jeans! 19

style

Mini Dress

by Cupcakes

This dress caught our eye for two reasons. First, it satisfies the need for something new in an old standby: it’s cut in the classic little black dress style, but the belt under the bust gives it a little modern flair. And second, because it appears to be beautifully hand drawn. The texture is nearly begging to be touched. Worn with pumps, boots, flip flops, whatever you deem worthy, this dress delivers. From the shading in the wrinkled fabric to the shading along the bust line this dress will be one of your all-time favorites.

ASPIRE’S REASON TO BUY

Supporting hand drawn pieces of clothing promotes an appreciation for wearing an actual piece of art. Plus, it’s cute. Duh! 20

by Rosemar

style

Frontrunner Dress

As we all know, choosing a piece that provides options guarantees it will be worn again and again. And, here’s another dress with options! The full skirt effect is shown here. Prim fitting in this dress may prove to be tricky for anyone out there with a slender but bottom heavy shape but it’s most certainly worth the time it takes to perfect. The design is soft enough to dress down yet still strong enough to glam up. The number of ways this dress can be worn is just about limitless.

ASPIRE’S REASON TO BUY

Yet another fully-functional piece of clothing to mix and match with just about any pair of jeans you have in your closet.

style

D-Factor Exclusive

by Bizarre Black Dress

This daring little number pulls out all the stops! A complete “go to” whenever you need it and a “never lets you down” dream piece. Not only is the “Bizarre Black Dress” perfect for Summer, but when matched with a jacket (i.e. the jacket layer of the Bijou dress) it works in all seasons. It’s rare to find an article of clothing inworld that takes on a life of its own, but this dress is every bit the chameleon as the ever-changing fashion industry.

ASPIRE’S REASON TO BUY

The detail alone is enough to make the best of us swoon, but this dress moves with such a realistic fluidity that you can’t not own it. 22

by Bijou

style

Nightmare Dress

A dress like this is a “must have” for any and all women who find themselves more often than not in the “I don’t have a stitch to wear” mentality. This dress not only promises to make you look chic and unforgettable, but also delivers on the mix and match front. The jacket can be worn with jeans and with or without the prim sleeve attachments. The prim skirt piece can be tricky - but definitely worth the time to fit. The thigh-high stockings that come with the gown in the Cuban style can be added to your favorite lingerie ensembles as well.

photography by b. hammerer

ASPIRE’S REASON TO BUY

Versatile elegance with elements screaming to be mixed and matched. This dress can go fifteen ways ‘til Sunday!

style

TRIPLE SHOT:

NIGHT

NOON

MORNING

TLS BOLERO, barerose:

Blogging supe here they pair it is to extend simply like â&#x20AC;&#x153;b

style

er-duo dahlia eilde and nicolas sinatra join the Aspire team as our triple shot stylists. r the same item with a morning; a noon; and an after-hours look to show just how easy d the wear of a single piece! Whether you’re pinching pennies, saving inventory space or bang for your buck” styles, don’t miss dahlia and nic’s monthly contribution!

NIGHT

NOON

NIGHT

MORNING

Classic Italia Tie, armidi gisaci:

shopping

GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE

by kristianne matfield

They dance across the fashion feeds and show up in every photograph we’ve seen. They’re old favorites or new releases, but the one thing they have in common is their hot, haute status. These are the IN items that you have to have in your closet... PORNSTAR HI-TOPS, ubu Once you start playing with the textures on every single surface, these shoes will never leave your feet. Color the like this... or like that... or, ooh! How about like this?! Maybe like that.... show here in a custom color combo

SIGNATURE TOTE BAG, slink Start drooling because this gotta have it bag is luscious, luxurious and lust-worthy. Certainly a staple in any closet. shown here in “chardonnay”

WATER SET, muisim Okay, so how cute is the water bottle? Casual, fun and wonderfully constructed, toss this gotta have it on with jeans or shorts for a laid back look. shown here in “left shoulder”

STRIPED DRESS, m * a *li * k * i When you try this dress on, you won’t even care about all those unneeded symbols in the design house’s name. This dress is perfect. It isn’t a “wish” item; it’s a “buy” item. Do it. Now. shown here in “black/grey”

JERSEY GIRL, veschi Impeccably textured with a vintage feel, this closet necessity has been revived with stylish details. shown here in “pink”

OBNOXIOUS SHADES, vintagewear The “big glasses” look isn’t going anywhere soon so you may as well settle in with this cute pair. Put them on; you’ll feel famous. shown here in “tortoise - black lens”

shopping

VENUS SANDALS, the hub Eye-catching in their detail, they fit like a glove. The new, bright textures elevated a beloved shoe to a new obsession. shown here in “pale blue”

shopping

FRESH by babyhoney bailey

When it comes to personal style, we here at Aspire know how frustrating it can be to be surrounded by clones. What separates the girls from the goddesses when it comes to style is being able to maintain a balance of what’s in, what’s wearable and what captures your unique point of view. Not an easy feat when the number of designers creating extremely high quality pieces is continuing to rise.

APPLE MAY DESIGNS The trend is to move on to the “next big thing”, but don’t make the mistake of overlooking the designers who have been around for a long time and have been quietly creating stellar content without being surrounded by all the hype. Apple May Designs is really a one-stop shop, housing everything from skins to clothing; footwear to lingerie. Having ensembles with options and pieces that mix and match is key to utilizing your wardrobe and a good price doesn’t hurt either! Whether your style is modest, flirtatious, or that of an outright bombshell, you’ll not only find pieces that guarantee satisfaction, but looks to compliment one another in the most fashionable ways possible. If you find yourself with a little twinge in your shopper’s heart, make sure you revisit this designer - we promise you won’t be disappointed! We’ve picked some of our favorites and ended up spending hours playing with the mix and match possibilities. To grab your own, visit Apple May Designs on the Fruitacious sim. 32

shopping

A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF BEAUTY by foxy innis

Everyone starts out as a newbie in Second Life®. You register, create an avatar and are dumped onto Orientation Island to learn the basics of movement, communication and editing appearance. You have Linden hair, Linden skin and the same Linden clothing as the John and Jane next to you. Once you find your bearings, you inevitably start the long journey of trying to incorporate your real life sense of style into your pixels. You create or purchase a unique shape, skin, hair and try to compile a smashing wardrobe.There is a place in SL that can help in the search for your own individual style:

of talents to the group. “Beauty Avatar is a team, we work together to do our best, but everyone in the team has different rules, does things differently, and each of us our own strength. Tiago is great builder, Aida is a wonderful skin designer, I create shapes and skin, and so on.” says Omnia Oh.

The design of the Beauty Avatar Sim is as high quality as their product with clean and classic lines that are aesthetically pleasing. Tiago Morales, builder of the World of Beauty Sim, said he pulled his inspiration for the design of the sim from some of the best shopping Beauty Avatar has created a new sim to house their fashion- cities in the world: Milan and able clothing, shapes, skins and Rome. accessories! The sim isn’t the only new Beauty Avatar’s team, Omnia and exciting thing going on Oh, Sita Loire, Tiago Morales, with Beauty Avatar. They have recently released a new line of Aida Ewing and Spotomo Binder, each bring a unique set lingerie; bright and colorful

swimwear; and three short summer dresses under the “Malice” line. The line is very diverse with tastes ranging from innocent to sexy maven. Coming soon is Beauty Avatar’s “Black and White” fashion line. The “Black and White” line is classic, fashionable and accessible. We were able to try on a piece from the line, Elsinore – a black cocktail dress with a draped top show here on Foxy Innis. The flexi-prim skirt includes a sculpted bow at the hip. A string of classic black pearls frames the neck. Black fishnet stockings complete the look ensuring head to toe elegance for hitting the town. If you’re in the market for a new look, or just feel like exploring, drop by the World of Beauty Sim and check out the terrific products that Beauty Avatar has to offer.

tech

A SINE OF THE TIMES:

the sine wave animation overrider by azia lunasea

Well known throughout the grid for their popular motion-captured dances, Sine Wave Animations Company is developing their first engine designed to override the Second Life® default animations. After hearing some talk about Sine Wave’s plans in a group chat, Aspire model and writer Azia Lunasea picked up a copy of the Sine Wave AO Beta version 1.2 on Sine Wave Island to play with.

FEATURES: Sine Wave has taken a new approach to managing animations in SL. After equipping the AO by moving animations into the contents folder and resetting the script, the owner is given the ability to register an account on the Sine Wave website. (www.sinewavecompany.com). Once logged in, you will find a list of every animation you have purchased from Sine Wave in the past six months and placed in your Sine Wave AO. From the web site you can create “playlists” of animations to use together as a set. This allows you to control the AO from SL with a chat line command. No more

editing notecards or worrying over misspelled animation names!

keyword. The playlist feature has a much greater capacity than other AOs for the numbers of animations which may be used. Additionally, the Sine Wave AO allows for upwards of 40 stands in one playlist. (Not a feature everyone will need, but it may be someone’s dream come true!)

WEBSITE: The web site is well designed. It is intuitive and easy to navigate for someone who is accustomed to using web based applications. The JavaScript™ based features responded quickly to mouse clicks; but, it would be nice if there was a “tool tip” help feature upon mouse-over for those users who are not so familiar with interactive web based forms. Most everyone, though, will find that the universally accepted symbols for copy, edit and delete are familiar to them. Registering on the Sine Wave web site does not require disclosure of any personal information. The only data stored on the site is your historical Sine Wave animation purchases and which animations you use in the AO. Your account name is your avatar’s name. As per Sine Wave’s instructions, please do not use your SL password when you set up your Sine Wave account.

The web site makes managing playlists easy. Many of the features allow more control over how individual animations play. You may set timers; control CRITIQUE: frequency of play; and, specify if the animations Azia discovered very few glitches with the Sine are played randomly or in a predefined order. Wave AO. A couple of the animations Azia often Animations may also be set to play when you, or uses in her AOs did not perform as expected when an avatar you have authorized, type a pre-assigned

(1 = “Meh”, 5 = “Oh, wow!”)

Innovative design: 4 Versatility: 4 Ease of use: 3 Compatibility: 3

played. One observation was that her left and right turn animations played with a slightly different body angle than when used with other AO engines. A bow animation, which Azia uses frequently in role play, would not play at all when tested with the keyword feature. Perhaps this is due to the animation’s priority level (something which cannot be changed after an animation is uploaded to SL). One of the concerns voiced by a friend of Azia’s was that her animations played with a “jerky” appearance. Adjusting the web based settings for their playtimes and allowing them longer play fixed this issue. With the exception of the aforementioned bow animation, all of the animations used in Azia’s testing were made for AO usage, with smooth transitions and loose heads. Another acquaintance stated, quite adamantly, that only animations created by Sine Wave would work with their AO. Just to prove him wrong, Azia did not use any of Sine Wave’s animations while testing.

techn

Rating It

the coming weeks. Due to the work-around becoming obsolete in the very near future they opted not to include it. The Sine Wave AO cannot be used to serve animations to multiple users; like a chimera, dance ball or Huddle™. Hopefully this is a feature to be included in future versions.

CONCLUSION: The current version of the Sine Wave AO, Beta 1.2, is not a final release version but is in the open testing stage of development. You may obtain your free copy of the Sine Wave AO from the vendor display at Sine Wave Island. Be sure to read the instructions on both the vendor display and in the enclosed notecard. Please keep in mind, as with any Beta product, there may be features which may not yet be fully functional.

Azia gives the Sine Wave AO Beta an overall rating While Sine Wave makes many AO-ready anima- of 3.50 (above average). She loves the web based tions using their animations is not a requirement interface for managing animations within the AO. The keyword feature is also very nice. Azia does of their AO. note that she could not get a few of her animations to perform as expected with it. This may be due to Something which will probably disappoint a lot the specific animations or user error and not the of potential users is that the Sine Wave AO does fault of the product. Will it replace the animation not operate on SIMs where script usage has been override solutions which Azia is currently using? disabled. Sine Wave’s documentation explains that Not yet. Azia plans to continue to play with Sine other animation overrides utilize a “hack” to bypass Wave while using her other AOs and anxiously the script limitations. The “hack” will not work awaits further development. after Mono is implemented across the SL grid in

A virtual world means residents undoubtedly turn to virtual means for sharing their very real information. Every day, it seems, Second Life® residents are producing new blogs and websites packed full of information, resources and sometimes even a bit of fire.

techn

iNFORMATION by kristianne matfield 1. SL® Fashion Diva For the Fashionista™

4. Stop Content Theft: Art in a Virtual Era

http://slasty1.wordpress.com/

http://blog.stopcontenttheft.com/

Junko Otsuka and Surarin Piek have started dominating the fashion feeds. Their high-fashion photography packed with mix-and-match styles (overflowing with the newest items) accompany a short post with item details. There’s no dawdling, here – these ladies are ALL about style.

Tenshi still runs it but she’s consolidated the content in one place. If you’re wondering where some of the “oldy but goody” posts with their accusations, side-by-side comparisons and triple digit comments have gone, they have likely been moved here. Don’t miss Tenshi’s recent post “I think someone ripped this off of _fill in the blank_!” in which she examines why two designs can look the same, and have the same source, without being “stolen content.”

2. Fashion Feed of SL Best of Second Life’s Fashion Community http://www.fashionfeedofsl.com/

It’s back, did you know? Carissa Crimson took a hiatus but recently re-launched her exclusive fashion feed. While this isn’t a feed to find hot new designers who haven’t yet crossed the radars of the fashion elite, you will find consistent, high-quality content from its exclusive contributors.

3. Shopping Cart Disco A Second Life Fashion World Blog http://shoppingcartdisco.com/

No, Shopping Cart Disco isn’t a new blog, but it’s one of the most eventful in SL. The owners of this blog don’t mince words and finding yourself on the opposite end of one of their tirades usually means you’re being accused of something very, very bad. But did you know SCD is going back to its roots? That’s right, Shopping Cart Disco is back to being all about fashion. As for the content theft “dramaliciousness” everyone love to read and loves to hate? Well, you will find that here….

5. chignon a virtual style blog

http://chignon.wordpress.com/ Mariya Nesiote got a taste of blogging when she covered for blogger and fashionista favorite, Milla Michinaga in May. Before long, she started her own page. Her looks are jaw-dropping and her style is soft and lovely. Her entries are few and far between, yes, but not worth missing!

6. SL InWorld Today.com http://www.slinworldtoday.com/ This is where to go if you want gossip. Come armed with your decoder ring, though, because there’s a lot of insinuation and hinting without a whole lot of out and out declaring happening here. But just like a grocery store tabloid (or a carwreck), you can’t help but look. 37

how to

Pixel Perfect: Challenge One: Prim Lashes

They’re an ingenious invention – little attachments that transform a blah face into a wow face. But get them wrong and it’s an immediate style "don't!" With a little patience, and a few good hints, fitting prim lashes doesn’t have to be a headache.

Tip 1: Stand Still! Use a pose stand. When you’re editing a small attachment keeping your body still makes it so much easier. Tip 2: Copy/Paste! Make a copy of the original. Most designers know how tricky the fitting process is and make lashes with copy perms. Save the original somewhere in your inventory for safe-keeping. It helps to rename your copy with the word “original” in the title so you know where to find them. Tip 3: Go Bald! You need to have an unobstructed view of those lashes - take off your hair and bare it all!

Tip 4: Take a look! Once you’re on the pose stand and have attached the lashes look at yourself from all angles. Use your camera controls to look head-on and from the side. You need to know what you’re working with.

Tip 5: Zooooom! Once you have an idea of what needs to change zoom in to see the details when you’re editing. Hold down your “Ctrl” key and press “0” (zero) a few times to zoom in closer. Hold down “Ctrl” and press “9” to reset your view when you’ve finished editing.

Some of Our Favorite Lashes:

Bedroom Lashes, Cake Natural, lush, fresh and Drama Lashes, Detour Traffic-stopping, lustthick. What we all wish we had! inducing cat eyes. Make a statement. 38

how to

Tips, Tricks, Hints and Advice for all those pesky style problems that present themselves on a daily basis. Pull up your editing window and find... pixel perfection! by kristianne matfield and babyhoney bailey

Tip 6: One at a time! Select the lashes for edit and you’ll see multiple pieces. You want to edit one piece at a time so select “edit linked parts” in your edit menu. Then, click on the piece you want to start with. Remember, you can “undo” using the “edit” menu at the top of the screen.

Tip 7: Rotate! Don’t be shy, use the rotate menu. It’s usually a rotate on the “X” axis that has the most effect in lining up the lashes to the corners of your eyes. Tip 8: Look around! Yes, this is mentioned twice because it’s just that important. Don’t neglect to look at the lash from all sides. While they may seem perfectly aligned on the front of your face, they could be floating two feet in front of you when you look to the side - a definite prim faux pas. Tip 9: Patience! You’re going to have to edit all four pieces, so be patient and tweak until you find the best option. With patience you can have seamless prim lashes.

Tip 10: One isn’t enough! If you wear hairstyles that cover one eye causing cause your prim lashes to poke through the hair, adjust the prim lashes on the “hidden” eye back into your head. Be sure to rename this edited pair of lashes to remind you that the lashes are saved for just the exposed eye. One tip is to toss this edited pair of lashes directly into the same folder as the hairstyle so they pop up in your inventory at the same time. See? That wasn’t so hard! See you next month!

Mascara, Pixel Fashion Color change HUD! One pair of lashes, multiple colors! Perfect!

Dots, Zsa Zsa’s Crazy, funky, cool, photograph and catwalk ready. Not for the faint of heart. 39

how to

QUESTIONS with callie cline Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Callie Cline is one of SL’s most famous avatars outside the virtual walls. She was listed in Maxim’s Top 100 in 2007 and has been featured in numerous other “real world” publications as well. Callie is also busy in SL with her own sim and design line, not to mention her numerous slebrity appearances and projects. She has decided to pass on some of her wisdom in the form of an advice column for Aspire’s readers. Read on.... Q: I’m in love with a guy I met at a club a couple of weeks ago. He’s funny and really understands me. That said, his avatar needs a little work. He isn’t the most fashionable of men and his avatar isn’t as attractive as it could be. I’m embarrassed to be seen with him in public. How can I tell him he needs a make-over? --Cringing A: Well sweetie, you’re in love already? You might think you’re in love but it’s only been a couple of weeks! Give yourself a bit of time. If you are embarrassed because of his appearance you need to learn to not be so shallow! It’s his SL as much as it is yours and an attractive appearance is subjective! Just look at Phillip Linden! I don’t think anyone would be embarrassed to be seen with him! That being said, you can ask your friend if he’s done customizing his avie or if he’d like some help. A lot of people want to do more but don’t quite know how. Be very direct and nice If he likes how he looks and you can’t handle it, you should find a nice-looking avie to date. If looks are truly more important to you than the qualities you say you love about him. Sometimes beauty is skin deep especially in SL. Good luck!!

xoxo, caLLie

Q: It seems these days in Second Life®, “integrity” is becoming such a hot-button issue in business and friendships. You seem to have made yourself pretty successful and I was just wondering if you think of “integrity” as something measured by what you say or more by what you do? --Good Person A: Well, if you’ve been around SL for very long you know that talk is cheap. It’s easy to say stuff but hard to follow it up with actions. This is the human struggle - unless you’re a sociopath! Moral integrity is important and even the most moral among us fail at times. None of us are perfect, though. Knowing that, and knowing the standard we wish to have, we can measure those difficult choices against the kind of person we want to be. Of course in business, relationships, friendships too, we won’t always achieve the ideal we want (and neither will anyone else) but that is what’s great about our journey in life. Personally, I admire people who are aware of their short-comings but desire to be more than their mistakes. While “talking” is one way you can align actions are where it’s at.

xoxo, caLLie

Q: I have been in this “sort of” relationship for about 2 months with a man I adore. While not a perfect man, he is perfect for me. He still says he wants to keep things “without a title” because he doesn’t want to hurt or disappoint me. He says that he isn’t seeing anyone else and that I’m the only one he’s sleeping with, but I want to get married. What do I do? -- Altar-Minded A: Well, you know the old saying, “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” It doesn’t seem like he’s perfect for you and his “I don’t want to disappoint you” comment seems like a pretty lame excuse. Men who are really into you will go out of their way to make sure you know it. My advice is to keep dating other men and give it time You’ve only known him 2 months so there is no way to know if he’s really perfect in that time frame. Remember, no one is perfect! Best of luck!

xoxo, caLLie

Have a question for Callie? Send it in and we’ll see what she has to say! Send questions to askcallie@depthmag.com or via notecard to ofelia laval in world!

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PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: CLOSET CRISIS!

Ask any shopping guru or fashionista on the grid to give you a chief complaint and most grueling chore, and you’re likely to hear something about the closet situation. Virtual closets are even worse than those in shoebox apartments in the heart of Manhattan and we wanted to make sure we covered all the bases for managing the nightmare; so, we took to the streets and asked some of the best shoppers around! “How do YOU organize your inventory?” Some prefer to go a bit more organic like designer Indie Rainbow. “I just leave everything in separate folders, the way I see it is that if you leave it organized by date, and there’s something near the end of the list on your avatar - it shouldn’t be there, because it’s too old to be fashionable.” Aspire Says: The “Date” option in the sort window helps you find older, unsorted items to clean out! (But high-quality vintage is NEVER out of style!) Top Model Serenity Mercier follows three simple rules. She says: (1) Work out a system of folders and sub-folders that makes sense to you and what you do in SL. (2) Make sure to set aside some time regularly to do inventory management and clean-up. (3) Don’t hang onto stuff you don’t need... having a huge inventory count isn’t necessarily a sign of how rich you are so much as a sign of how totally disorganized you might be! Aspire Says: Get a group of friends together and have a yard sale with those items you’re ready to part with or put a box together to donate to a lucky newbie!

Well-known designer and Aspire Isle resident Digit Darkes makes use of those extra system folders. “I use my Gestures Folder as a ‘Building Folder,’” she says. “Inside that is ‘electronics, furniture, decor, lighting, etc...” Aspire Says: Making use of system folders eliminates clutter and makes the folder easy to find!

Top model and interior designer Patking Miles says, “I’m bad with names!” so instead, she sorts by color. Her number one tip? “Just get rid of DEMOs!” Aspire Says: And don’t forget to empty your trash after cleaning up! Designer, Aspire Isle resident, and blogger Iris Seale uses a couple techniques. “I organize by type (casual, formal, lounging, hair, skin) and then by designer inside those folders.” She also makes use of some of the technology available out there. “I also have The Fashionista Closet, [by Dominus Skye] which I’d die without! You put outfits into boxes and put the boxes into the closet. It gives you a hud that lets you go through the outfits by picture and then sends you a folder of the one you want.” Aspire Says: Most closet systems will only work with items that have “Copy” permissions. Be sure to check out your inventory before investing in a solution you can’t use! Second and Real Life designer Nyla Cheeky gives a caution instead of a tip. “Stay on top of it or be forever soooooooorry!!!!” Aspire Says: Make use of the “recent” tab for sorting items as they’re aquired!

Pose designer and fashionista in her own right Dove Swanson gives a great trick to use when sorting your inventory. “Multiple inventory windows open at the same time!” It makes things so much easier when working with folders. Aspire Says: With your inventory open, choose File/ New Window to open a duplicate copy. You can then move items from window to window without losing your place! Aspire Model Masumi Desade uses folders. How does she sort them? “I pick out outfits I like and put all the things in a folder together so I know where it all is easily.” Aspire Says: Use the “make outfit” button when editing appearance to group items automatically. But be careful with “no copy” items if you ever want to find them again!

Aspire Model and Magazine contributor Azia Lunasea stays efficiently organized. “I use a ‘Today’ folder,” she says. “It contains all of the important stuff; my calendar items for the day, frequently used landmarks, a copy of my AO, basic shape, skin and hair for those freaky emergency moments when something has gone terribly wrong. It also holds my Aspire folder (where all work related stuff goes) and Special Projects folder (for scripting things I’m trying). The idea being that I can access the one folder for everything I will need during one particular day, very quickly and without a lot of hunting. If I have a few free minutes, I can spend them working on something for Aspire or a project, rather than spend that time looking for all of my notes.” Aspire Says: Use the “add to outfit” option to put on all of your standard items and hud attachments in case you drop or remove them!

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Model and Publicist Payton Heron has to be organized. “I am a retailer in RL and thus think via categories and as a model who has modeled for over 90 designers in the past year, I have extensive inventory. So take hair for example. I setup sub folders for: Long, Medium, Short, Updo, Ponytail, Misc. This helps me to quickly find a style that I want and then the color within the style. The number of subfolders depends on the category. Key folders are: Accessories; Coats/Jackets; Costumes; Designers - each designer that I have modeled has their own sub folder and all of their outfits in it; Dresses - short; Formal - long dresses; Jewelry; Lashes; Lingerie; Lounge/sports; Misc -- odd and old; Pants/Jeans; Sets - combo outsides with options; Shoes; Skirts; Stockings/Socks; Sweaters; Swim; Tops; Wedding Gowns” Aspire Says: Think of your categories like drawers in you real closet. Everything in its place!

Second Life designer Aranel Ah renames her items to help. “I use key words. If I own something that has a distinct look, i.e. tops that show nipples, I will add to the end of the item name a word like “nip-tastic” or something else that I don’t think other people will use.” Aspire Says: No Mod items can be placed in folders for key word use, too! Modeling agency owner, designer and publisher Alaska Metropolitan reveals that sometimes there just aren’t enough tricks to stay on top of it. “I don’t organize anything, I throw stuff into folders called ‘HELP’ and ‘FIX ME’ and then search for stuff with the search bar. Isn’t that terrible?” she asks. “I want to sort some day but it’s too daunting!” Aspire Says: We feel your pain, Alaska! Maybe someone should create an inventory organization service...

How do YOU do it? Email penny@depthmag.com

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behind the velvet rope: The 5th ELEMENT by stacey foxley

The 5th ELEMENT Nightclub is one of the hottest and most popular nightclubs in Second Life®. Visit on a popular night like club reviewer Stacey Foxley did and you’ll find yourself at The 5th ELEMENT entrance surrounded by a huge line of patrons waiting to get in. Take advantage of the line and let the club rez entirely to appreciate the club design and make the most of the atmosphere. As we all know, the “wait for rez” is a perfect opportunity to adjust your skirt, apply one more coat of lip gloss and get your dance moves ready. 5th, as it’s known to regulars, boasts a modern, futuristic exterior and entrance designed by club owner, Dakota Neumann. To pass through the doors, you walk through a bright beam of light and then the club’s visual charms hit you immediately. The modern-yet-elegant décor washes the room in color and motion setting the mood as you make your way to the dance floor. A circular DJ Booth and outdoor patio overlook the main dance floor where the crowd moves to a mixture of house, dance and trance music. In busy times, the lag will make it difficult to move so it’s best to dance or take advantage of the club’s design which features seating areas along an upper level over-looking the action on the dance floor below. From the outdoor patio you can see the dance floor in its entirety. A perfect place to hang with your friends, chat and take a break from the action. The 5th ELEMENT has over 36 DJ’s providing live music from 6AM until 2AM SLT. The sound system is good and sharp -- all the better to pump out those house, dance and techno beats -- and live shows by the likes of Audrey Falta, Kromus Korobase, Sahar Irata, Threnody

Average People: 40 Girl/Guy Ratio: 60/40 Atmosphere: Friendly Celebrity Hangout?: YES Minutes before being hit on?: 8 Overall Experience: 98

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Rating It:

Cassini, Kianna Noel, and Eddie Umarov help to draw out SL’s prettiest, best-dressed crowd. On the night Stacey attended, the music was terrific all night as an opening DJ spun commercial house music that led into more progressive sounds. Over the course of the evening, the house music gave way to a unique half hour set featuring classic sounds from rock, to hip-hop, and everything in between. 5th is open until two in the morning and the die-hards take full advantage of every last minute. Other nights of the week feature DJ’s geared toward a specific crowd and is packed to capacity. General Manager Kianna Noel and the entire staff were extremely friendly along with the 5th ELEMENT dancers flanking the dance floor which keep the energy going until your ready to drop. The 5th ELEMENT is a sensual indoor/outdoor setting characterized by charming décor and an eclectic and sophisticated fun-loving social scene. The live DJ’s and SL’s sexiest patrons beckon you to abandon your seat and find a dance groove. Overall? 5 Stars!

GOL 3 (234, 130, 27) TYPE: Night Club MUSIC: House, Trance, Dance, R & B, Hip-Hop, Rock, Top 40 DJ’s: Live Music From Over 40 DJ’s DRESS: Fashionable, Hot ‘n Sexy, Club Gear, Casual HOURS: Daily from 6:00 am – 2:00 am SLT OWNER: Dakota Neumann, GM: Kianna Noel

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Where were you Wednesday, July 16th? The same place you’ll be every Wednesday night at 9/8c - parked in front of your television, giddy with excitement, about the newest season of Project Runway. Bravo rolled out season five of the award winning reality show and apparently it will be their last, as the show is scheduled to move to The Lifetime Network after this season. No worries, all of your favorites are back; Tim “Where’s Andre?” Gunn; Nina “I smell something funny” Garcia; Michael “Giggling

like a schoolgirl” Kors; and Heidi “I still haven’t found my inside voice” Klum. Three weeks into this season and the contestants promise to be the drama-laden, talented designers we’ve come to expect with the typical cast of characters: the token straight guy; the mohawk; the out-of-touch elderly; the tattoo lover; the diva; and the yet to be identified crier. Project Runway’s success has been greatly influenced by its editing, but so far this season there have been some odd variances. Typically, you’d see an example of

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On the Runway by b. hammerer

almost every designer’s work at some point during the construction stage in each episode. This season, however, some outfits were popping up on the runway walk, making you ask, “Where did that come from?” In the normal Project Runway style, we’re exposed to Blayne (“Christian-Lite”) trying to market his “Licious” catch phrase; Suede, referring to himself in third person and the endless whining of Stella, who’s on her constant quest for more “leathaa.” It’s already annoying as hell, but who knows, by the

show’s end, they could be fan favorites. We’ve already seen some terrific designs from Kelli, Daniel, Kenley and Leanne, yet so many questions remain. When will these designers figure out that if Tim tells you that the judges are gonna hate it, they will? Will Nina Garcia ever stop scaring the hell out of the contestants? How did that scar get on Heidi’s $2.2 million dollar legs? These questions, hopefully, will all be answered this season on Project Runway. 53

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...and the beat goes on...

Summer Mix

There’s a science to creating the perfect mix CD. It’s the challenge of matching the right sounds to the mood you’re trying to capture. How do you do it? Focus on the four main ingredients for the perfect mix: time, place, mood and company! We racked our brains for hours and spent an equal amount of time (legally) downloading music to compile our idea of “The Perfect Mix CD For Summer 2008”. For your listening pleasure, we present to you Hits to Beat the Heat! 1. Rhianna: Disturbia 2. Relient K: Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet 3. Pussycat Dolls: When I Grow Up 4. Coldplay : Viva la Vida 5. Danity Kane: Damaged 6. Wisen Y Yandel: Sexy Movimiento 7. Daft Punk: Technologic 8. Jason Mraz: I’m Yours 9. Janet Jackson: Feedback 1. Rhianna first burst onto the music scene in the summer of 2005, so it’s only fitting that we start the CD off with her hit song, “Disturbia”. Did you know that she’s the face of Covergirl cosmetics? One more reason to throw her in at the top spot. High style and music goes hand-inhand! 4. Coldplay is slowing it down for a moment with a vibe that is slow enough to hum softly in bumper-to-bumper traffic and fast enough to drum your fingers to the beat against the steering wheel on the way out for a night on the town with friends at your favorite local hot spots. 54

10. The Capricorns: The New Sound 11. Lady Gaga: Just Dance 12. Madonna (ft. Justin Timberlake): Four Minutes 13. New Kids on the Block: Summertime 14. Paul Oakenfold: Faster Kill Pussycat 15. Prima J: Rockstar 16. Sugaland: All I Want to Do 17. The Ting Tings: Shut Up and Let Me Go 18. Wonder Girls: Tell Me

6. Haven’t heard of Wisen Y Yandel yet? That’s alright, because this is the perfect time to crank the volume up and let the Latin duo take you on a mental island vacation with their unique blend of pop and reggaeton. The duo have a long list of names you will know to vouch for them -Lenny Kravitz, that Paris girl, Daddy Yankee, Ja Rule, R Kelly and Nelly Furtado. Push “play,” turn the volume up, fix yourself a tasty margarita and sit back. 10. The female power duo behind The Capricorns got their start on an old (can you say vintage?) Casio keyboard purchased at a garage sale.

14. Did you know that was actress Brittany Murphy crooning along with Paul Oakenfold in Faster Kill Pussycat? 18. Rounding off the end of our mix CD is an extremely interesting and addictive girl group from South Korea called Wonder Girls. They may not fight crime or be able to fly but these Korean Spice Girls know how to make memorable pop music. Add a couple of your own favorites to the end of the list and you have a perfect hallmark to the Summer of ‘08! Now crank up the tunes and get out there and enjoy the sun. (Don’t forget your sunscreen!)

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Previews: Movie Reviews & Commentary

Sex and the City New Line Cinema Rating: R

The long-awaited Sex and the City movie has finally been released. Like countless other fans of the show Honey Bender is the proud owner of “the pink shoebox” containing DVDs of all the episodes of S.A.T.C. Honey’s favorite episodes are carefully marked with small post-it notes (pink ones, of course!). Since the movie’s release the critics have been unusually vile in their reviews of both the S.A.T.C. phenomenon and of Sarah Jessica Parker (referred to by fans as “S.J.P.”). The Sex and the City film has been dismissed as superficial, braindead and anti-male. S.J.P. has been cruelly labelled as ugly and old (alas she’s 43!) while her character Carrie Bradshaw is viewed in the press as stupid, anorexic, self-obsessed Park Avenue princess, capable of nothing more than shopping and acting like a child. Let’s take a look at these assessments. Carrie Bradshaw is a character not a real person. “Stupid?”, well I don’t know, “quirky, funny, sexy and very well-dressed” are the words that spring to mind when a fan thinks of Carrie Bradshaw. As for S.J.P. the critics give her flack for being thin, old and ugly with a “long, horse-like face.” Oh! And let’s not forget age! In Britain’s newspaper The Telegraphs critic Sukhdev Sandhu was unable to drum up enthusiasm for the film because “Samantha, who’s on the verge of 50, and Carrie, who looks like a skeletal transvestite, is getting on a bit. This really should be its’ final hurrah.” Norwegian film critic Arild Abrahamsen chimed in with “Western anorexic ideals have run amok with S.J.P., who looks like a ghostly

Madonna-copy, with legs so skinny she could give birth to twins sideways.” The Daily Mail ridiculed S.J.P. for wearing clothes that “ooze desperation” and that even her feet look old and wrinkly. Her feet! GQ’s Pier Morgan claimed he’s seen prettier people among the “down and out” at Charring Cross. In the United States, Sarah Jessica Parker was voted “the least sexy person in the Universe.” It’s scary that a woman can inspire so much hatred merely because she is successful. Not only has Sarah Jessica Parker reached an icon-like status for an entire generation of women, she starred in a hugely successful television show in which all lead roles were played by other women in a media world ruled by men. S.J.P. should be praised for that achievement alone. S.J.P. is by no measure “a classic beauty” yet to judge an actress merely on her looks underscores that the physical standards women are expected to uphold as opposed to men remain extremely unbalanced and unfair. Consider “The Sopranos.” It is hard to recall the media outcry over the physical appearance of actors James Gandolfini, Tony Sirico and Steve Van Sandt. Why weren’t they slagged-off for being overweight, balding men in horrible clothes, making light entertainment out of organized crime and ultra violence? Carrie Bradshaw’s only “crime” is shopping for expensive shoes. What else can one really say about a woman with talent, style, beauty and success? -- honey bender

Ironman (2008) Marvel Comics/Paramount Rating: PG-13 Finally, a movie that delivers on all fronts in the superhero genre. Maybe it’s because Ironman is what most fan boys would consider a second-tier superhero, his circulation numbers are not nearly as high as Batman or Spiderman, and Ironman is not nearly as well-known to the general populace. Much more than merely a reveal of the high-tech iron clad body suit to the movie-going public, Ironman is a triumphant re-introduction to actor Robert Downey Jr., the man inside the suit. Always a gifted actor, his portrayal of Tony Stark, the inventor of Ironman, is spot-on, and in some ways

Aside from the expected violence (Ironman is a flying, heavily weaponed tank after all) there’s a bit of exposure in the form of one of Tony Stark’s nightly conquests, wearing only panties and a man’s dress shirt, that may be inappropriate for the very young crowd. Overall, Ironman is an excellent movie and a welcome new superhero installment for Marvel Comics - giving hope for amazing sequels to come. (Rating: 9 out of 10) -- b. hammerer

Hellboy II: The Golden Army tures Rating: PG-13

Universal Pic-

The lovable, hornless demon is back and breaking out the “six-pack of whoop-ass” on a whole new slew of freaks that go bump in the night. Hellboy II is directed by Guillermo del Toro (from Pan’s Labyrinth fame, you know, the movie everyone loves but no one has seen). del Toro has brought along some of his uniquely freakish creature-creations to play in this movie installment of the Dark Horse Comic

book character. Hellboy is a member of a team of supernatural entities working for a super-secret government agency that “deals” with the paranormal. “Dealing” usually involves huge guns, flames and numerous property damaging explosions but that’s exactly why we love the big guy. Hellboy has been working for the U.S. government since being captured/rescued from the Nazis as they forayed into a paranormal means of winning the war. Seeing the first Hellboy movie is not necessary but recommended to help give an understanding of the backstory of some of the characters and give some weight to some of the inside jokes about Baby Ruth’s and cats. Hellboy is called upon to stop a war between mankind and an original race of elves that more closely resemble sun-deprived vampires than the happy woodland folk known for making cookies and living in trees. This provides Guillermo del Toro all the reason he needs to unleash the latest freaks from his imagination with his own special interpretations. To del Toro, tooth fairies are not butterfly-winged, dust-sprinkling, under-the-pillow, quarter-delivering sprites but instead hairless, batwinged, fanged creatures that feast on the calcium in bones and prefer to rip the teeth out of their victims first. Some of his creatures in this movie resemble those from Pan’s Labyrinth, but of course, no one saw that movie or would recognize them anyway.

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a mirror of his own real life. A wealthy, playboy celebrity, making no apologies for living a life of excess until a life-threatening situation forces him to rethink his choices and lifestyle. That said, you don’t go to see Ironman for social consequences of regretful actions. You go to Ironman for some serious iron-booted ass-kicking and Ironman delivers in spades. Given that the original Ironman character was created in 1963, this adaption blends exceptionally well in the modern day setting of war and terrorism. Tony Stark is a billionaire weapons merchant, who ends up wounded by his own company’s weapons, while touring a war zone promoting the sale of his latest missiles. Captured by the enemy and forced to make weapons for them, he instead creates a prototype for the Ironman suit and uses it to escape -- thus a hero is born. The movie is chock-full of fast paced action sequences, start to finish, and more surprisingly, a great deal of humor. Downy’s charm and delivery make for some truly laugh-out-loud moments and there’s great chemistry with his personal assistant “Miss Pepper Potts,” played by the talented and lovely Gwyneth Paltrow.

Overall, Hellboy II is a fun, action-filled movie with great special effects and seamless CGI, blended with the typical Hellboy humor, delivered flawlessly by actor Ron Perlman. Hellboy II features a bit more development of the characters’ backgrounds but it doesn’t slow the story down or interfere with the movie. One complaint is the way the government paranormal agency was suddenly more like Men in Black than the exterminators they were in the first movie. Hellboy II is completely enjoyable for children, possibly a little spooky in parts for some younger than 10, but well worth the price of admission. (Rating: 8 out of 10) -- b. hammerer

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BLUEPRINT Two designers, four rooms and four styles! There’s nothing more exciting than filling your inventory with the latest fashions but don’t forget that fashion can hang on your walls, too! Our designers’ advice? When it comes to decorating take chances. Even when your primary pieces are straight out of the box, finding that one special item can really make the room unique and yours. Don’t forget to try your own hand at a bit of building when you can’t find that perfect final piece! 59

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Sweet Surferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Suite

Interior design isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just for the mature at heart. To keep things fresh and youthful, choose primary colors like the blue walls in this room and play them against lighter accents like the bamboo shades and blond wood floors. The effect is a clean, welcoming, fun place to be! FAVORITE ITEM: The vintage surfer girl headboard is fun and fanciful. Using art in unexpected ways, such as for a headboard, is a perfect way to use more pieces and create individuality. HEADBOARD: Vintage Surfer girl in tiki frame - Callie Cline Home (1 prim)

BED: RV_Lazy4 4 - Interior Holic (5 prims) HEADBOARD: Vintage Surfer girl in tiki frame - Callie Cline Home (1 prim) TIKI POLE: Tiki Pole - JC Designs (2 prims) LIGHT: Phuket lantern - Barnesworth Anubis (13 prims) BOOKS: Book Bundle - Melino Style (12 prims) CHAIR: Dhivi Chair / Saffron - Melino Style (20 prims) ORCHID: Phalenopsis White Orchid - Barnesworth Anubis (5 prims) DRESSER: Wicker Console Table – Plush Pod (12 prims) END TABLE: Round glass end table - Dust Bunny (18 prims) SURF BOARD: Surftech-Xanadu - Hang ten - JC Designs (1 prim) PLANNER: Day Planner - Plush Pod (5 prims) FAN: Ceiling fan - Waverly Kline (7 prims)

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RUG: Sisal Rug - Kristianne Matfield (2 prims) CANDLE: Sage candle - Melino Style (2 prims) Self-made: Paddle Lanterns Bamboo Shades Wall Art Ohm FAVORITE ITEM: The vintage surfer girl headboard is fun and fanciful. Using art in unexpected ways, such as for a headboard, is a perfect way to use more pieces and create individuality. -- HEADBOARD: Vintage Surfer girl in tiki frame - Callie Cline Home (1 prim)

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SLeek and Modern designed by kristianne matfield

LAMP: Bennet Lamp - Black - Londyn’s Edge (7 prims) BOOKS: Books - Del Sol (3 prims) CHAIR: Girevole e Pouff white - Maximum Minimum (16 prims) MIRROR: Colors Mirror – INN (3 prims) EASEL: EE Tecni01 - EE Furniture (26 prims) RUG: Zebra Rug, Brown - Maximum Minimum (1 prim) ORCHID: Golden Flower Pot-Dendrobium Orchid – Elysium (7 prims) CABINET: Miro Drawer – INN (19 prim) LIGHT FIXTURE: The Chloe – Lofty Lighting (27 prims) DESK CHAIR: Ox Chair,white. v 2 - Maximum Minimum (18 prims) DESK: NOMAX, office table - Maximum Minimum (31 prims) MUG: Starbucks® Latte – Kristianne Matfield (4 prims) DESK LAMP: EE Circle_lamp - EE (5 prims) BOOKSHELF: Melrose Shelf - Londyn’s Edge (6 prims) GOLDFISH BOWL: LE GoldFish Bowl – Glass - Londyn’s Edge (3 prims) FLOOR PILLOWS: Ashton Lounge Pillows –Silver - Londyn’s Edge (3 prims)

The key to modern is simplicity. The urge is to add more to avoid looking clinical, but messy can never be modern. To keep it from getting too cold, add natural textures and fibers to bring warmth. Here, the splash of red from the filing cabinet in the back centers the room and gives it life. FAVORITE ITEM: The perfectly textured zebra rug has countless options and will be used in many rooms to come! -- RUG: Zebra Rug, Brown - Maximum Minimum (1 prim)

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MORE MORROCAN

The trick with eclectic style is all in the details, but be careful not to go too kitschy. Warm tones, rich woods and comfortable fabrics combined with the flickering glow of candles and special pieces all around makes this an exotic sanctuary. FAVORITE ITEM: The magic screen on the back table has to be seen. Scrolling kanji and a visually-enticing photograph make this piece one of those special treasures youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want to hold on to. -- Magic screen â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Jessica Ornitz (35 prims)

Melino Style: CHAIRS: Persian Dreams2 male or female sit (22 prims COUCH: Persian Dreams 2 *2 sits* (26 prims) COFFEE TABLE: Persian Dreams2 Low Table (7 prims) Fatouma Lantern Gold (17 prims) Orange Glow center piece (15 prims) Candle red, candle cream (2 prims each) Book Bundle 1 (12 prims) Painting A - Jessica Ornitz (1 prim) Painting E - Jessica Ornitz (1 prim) Red Art - The Loft (3 prims) Pagota Armagenon - Asariel Roux (1 prim) Phuket Lantern (2) - Barnesworth Anubis (13 prims each) Hanging Drip Lamps - Glow x - Daedalus Brink of DAHaus (12 prims) Wine bottle: Waverly Kline (1 prim) Wine glasses: Kitchen Korner Showroom (4 prims each) Cigarette & Ashtray: Fnky! (6 prims total) Mantle Clock - Night : Twistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quality Victorian Furnishings (16 prims) Pure Passion Bouquet in vase - Flower Power (6 prims) Magic screen -Jessica Ornitz (35 prims)

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PRIM and PROPER designed by kristianne matfield

SINGLE MIRROR - Brass Mirror – The Loft (2 prims) WINDOW TREATMENTS - Bigass Set of Drapes, Color Change - Rustica (8 prims each) CURTAIN ROD – Iron Curtain Rod – Kristianne Matfield (5 prims) MIRRORS - Bamboo Mirror – The Loft (4 prims) VASE - SurayVase grey – Leezu Baxter Designs (2 prims) CANDALS - Shoji Lamps, Small, Medium, Large – The Loft (3 prims each) BUFFET TABLE - Mahogany Dresser - BellaRose Furniture (6 prims) LAMP - LaRue Floor Lamp~SandMarble - BellaRose Furniture (15 prims) CHANDELIER – Gaudin Round Lamp - INN (6 prims) TABLE - Dining Table Montana YuPe (edited texture) (11 prims) CHAIRS - MultiSit Retro Dining Chair – BellaRose Furniture (10 prims each) CHAIRS - Dining Chair w/eating anim SilverSilk – BellaRose Furniture (7 prims each) TABLE ORCHID - Glass block vase w/orchids – Pixelated Petal (27 prims) RUG: Sisal Rug - Kristianne Matfield (2 prims)

Classic style doesn’t have to be boring. Here, striped wallpaper and wood floors provide the casing for a traditional dining room. When placing accent items, don’t forget to use an odd number of items. It’s more pleasing to the eye, just like the three candles combined with the single vase and mirror accent above the buffet. FAVORITE ITEM: The modern light fixture keeps the room from being too traditional while the round shade provides a perfect contrast to the rectangular shapes in the rest of the room. -- CHANDELIER – Gaudin Round Lamp - INN (6 prims)

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The Deeb House

What was your inspiration for the house?

LUNA: When we build together, we tend to draw ideas from one another and from random architecture that we see in everyday life. This house was actually the culmination of those things. I started the build and asked Asri to join me after the basic structure had gone up. As soon as she came on board, we worked on all facets of the house together.

ASRI: My biggest obstacle hands down has to be finding a reliable and trustworthy scripter. This is something I am still struggling with, not because the talent isn’t out there, but because time is a factor. How did you come up with the name for the home? LUNA: It is my dad’s name. We are incredibly close, and I wanted to pay homage to him. The next house we do will be named in honor of one of Asri’s family members.

ASRI: After Luna had started the build, I saw great potential in reaching a market we hadn’t tapped. Offering luxury for those with limited prim allotment. I think even the smallest of homes ASRI: When we were deciding on names, we talked about naming it after Luna’s mom, who deserve the highest details. passed away in Febuary, but Luna didn’t think the house fit her mother’s personality, so we named it What were some of your biggest obstacles? after her father. LUNA: Prim shifting, a buggy sim, scripts acting wacky, and our internet crashing. It was a fun two What are some the home’s best features? months! LUNA: Where do I begin? I love the ceiling in the 68

Soon after opening her store, Luna met Asri Falcone. The two discovered they lived close to one another and started a friendship. In the past two years, they have worked on occasional projects together until they made it official and started a branch of avenue four called “The Firm”. The partners released their first large residential project, “The Modern Retro” house in 2007. living room and the fireplace. I also love the mural Asri put on the wall in the master suite. The fun details like running water and no poseballs are great, but the details in the build are what I think make it special. ASRI: Ease of use. Anyone can set this house up without a problem, and you don’t have to worry about furnishing it. Everything down to the toilet paper is included. Decorating at the touch of a button eliminates the endless hours of dredging through furniture stores, which is why I have never owned a furnished home. I never actually finish that part, and I am pretty sure I am not alone. LUNA: Hey! I don’t mind them dredging through my furniture store! Have you planned another build for the future, and if so do you feel it’ll be hard to top your latest?

Asri has been in SL since April 2004 and has been designing in multiple facets from the very begining. She and designer Sensual Casanova worked together under Le Cadré Network until late 2007. Asri had focused her energies on clothing and shoes before moving into residential construction. “In 2005, I released my first home under my company name ‘House in a Hatbox’ with the first automatic home rezzer EVER in SL [scripted by Rickard Roentgenim in 2004],” she says. “I saw a gap in the market for larger homes that were prefab, so I started designing homes on a larger scale that were easy to assemble without being custom built.” Together, Asri and Luna are working on filling yet another gap in the SL residential design market by providing easy luxury above and beyond what SL has been able to offer before.

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Luna Benavente has been in Second Life® since October 2005. She started designing as most do, by fluke. She was working on a clothing line when a friend needed a couch which she tried to make. She found that she had a natural affinty for furniture and lighting. She kept designing and before long filled her inventory with her own products. The natural progression resulted in opening the store “avenue four” in 2006. “I love walking in to a space and seeing in my mind’s eye what I think it should look like,” she says.

very soon. It will be the big brother to The Deeb Home. We will be adding a media/game area that also becomes a club, 2 more bedrooms, and an indoor/outdoor pool. This house will also feature the interactive color schemes as seen in our previous work, The Modern Retro. In each room you will have between 3 and 4 color schemes to choose from, which will rez at the touch of a button. ASRI: As far as the color schemes go it will be upgradable. In addition to the 3 or 4 color schemes that are inculded in the house, you will actually be able to purchase additional color schemes for your home at a later date, and it will automatically update your room rezzer modules. This is also a feature that will be available in The Deeb Home release v.2.0. The house includes an automatic update system, so therefore if you have purchased the current release of The Deeb Home, any updates will be sent as soon as they are finished. Both of these homes will be an ongoing project, providing you with fresh content throughout the year.

LUNA: Oh yes, we have another build coming out 69

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by sariella ashton

Sariella was shopping when she met Persia Chrisjewelry like the pieces created by ~Muse~. tensen and Lyra Blackthorn and asked if they would L.B.: I pretty much wear the same clothes in Second mind sharing their fashion tips with our readers. Life® what I wear, or would like to wear, in RL. I love all the rich colors, textures and tailored clothPersia was wearing a “super sexy” ensemble featuring I am seeing this year. And the shoes! I am more ing her custom Body Doubles shape; Glitterati skin; apt to match clothing to favorite shoes (than shoes “Booty Call mini-dress” from Kitties Lair; Maitreya to clothes) in both of my lives. heels; Armidi “Gisaci Metallic Tres Bangles”; Paper Couture’s “Chandy Disco” earrings and Earthtones S.A.: What is important to you when shopping for “Whisper” ring. an outfit/look? P.C.: I don’t want to look like everyone else. I could Lyra was wearing her custom shape from Body care less if something is labeled “haute couture.” I Doubles, Naughty skin “Zoe”; “Clear Eyes” from refuse to spend too much on fashion just because Muism; “Flutter” lashes from Cake; “Kenzie” hair an expensive item is what someone else has idenfrom Aden; “Coffee bean” manicure from Adam tified as glamorous. There are too many underand Eve; “Classic Loose Tank” from Armidi Limappreciated designers in SL. I think it’s fun to shop ited; “Distressed Denim Mini Skirt” from Detour; around for hidden gems to fill my closet that no *UnToneQuilt* “Gladiator” shoes; “Concho” belt one else has discovered yet! from The Closet, and *UnTone* “BH turquoise” L.B.: The little details! Design, color and texture jewelry. will catch my eye but even the best texture won’t cover flaws and misaligned patterns or prims. Sariella Ashton: How would you sum up your fashion style in a word or two? S.A.: What bit of fashion advice would you like to Persia Christensen: Simple, sexy, elegance share with our readers? Lyra Blackthorne: Casual elegance P.C.: Less is more! You don’t really need “poofers and bling” to make you shine. “Smile” attachments S.A.: What inspires your style? are the work of the devil. Invest in the very best skin P.C.: I look for beautiful textures and clothing silyou can afford and pair it with a beautiful shape. houettes that will cling to my shape and curves. No Even if you have every hair style and every outfit poufy skirts for me! I’m inspired by vintage lingerie created in SL your avatar won’t look as good as it (like Casa del Shai), the gorgeous metallic creations will with a nice skin and shape. of Digit Darkes paired with fabulously-made shoes L.B.: Learn basic building and editing skills so you by Zhao or Storm Shmooze and simple, elegant can be sure everything you wear fits your avatar 72

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scoping out the fashion scene - watch out, you could be next! perfectly. Stray prims, crooked eyelashes, hair that is too small or too big will ruin the look of even the most beautiful avatar. If you have to wear bling or a fake smile to get noticed - you missed.

Rounding out Sariella’s search for fashionable avatars is resident Kristi Maurer. Kristi was looking adorable in her hair from Cake, jacket from Cupcakes, belt from Armidi, shorts from the new M*a*ii*k*I collection, and shoes from J’s.

Fetisha Price is another fashionable woman who caught Sariella’s eye while shopping at Truth. Fetisha was wearing “Jessica (in Heather)” skin from Cake, a top from the now-defunct fashion house Last Call, “GLAM Buttoned Trousers” from Viva La Glam, white pumps from Maitreya, “Pearly” hair from Truth, a ring from Paper Couture and bangles from Argyle.

S.A.: What do you do in SL? Kristi Maurer: I’m a photographer and, of course, a shopping addict!

S.A.: How would you sum up your fashion style in a word or two? Fetisha Price: Classy, eclectic. S.A.: Where are your favorite places to shop in SL? F.P.: Paper Couture, ETD, <3 Cupcakes, and Viva La Glam. S.A.: Do you have any fashion tips you’d like to share with our readers? F.P.: I suppose that simplicity is the key. There’s no need to throw your entire clothing inventory on at once! S.A.: What is one wardrobe item you could never do without? F.P.: My Maitreya pumps. I adore them.

S.A.: How would you sum up your clothing/style in one or two words? K.M.: It always depends on my mood. I always try to keep it a little bit chic and a little bit sexy -with maybe a bit of “funky” thrown in. S.A.: What are your favorite stores to shop at? K.M.: Oh man, that’s like picking a favorite child! Well, I love Armidi/Gisaci. I wish I could have at least one of every item there. I almost do! S.A.: What fashion tips do you have for our readers? K.M.: My #1 rule is to not follow trends. “Trends” are trends for a reason - because everyone likes them. I don’t want to look like every single person out there on the grid. I try to mix pieces from a bunch of different outfits together just to be a little bit different. So, what is my advice to Aspire readers? Figure out what you like and wear it. Follow the crowd if you want to but don’t be a sheep. 73

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Everything You Wanted To Know About An Absolute Ruler (But Were Afraid To Ask) by angelico babii

In the Second Life® environment virtual dreams come true. Power, property and loyal subjects can be yours in Tiny Empires. Explore the medieval multi-user game that is taking SL by storm. Tiny Empires is a massive, multi-player turn-based game inside SL using a Heads Up Display (HUD). The game is set in Medieval England (1100 - 1300 AD). Each player starts out as a “subject,” a “liege” or feudal lord (who may be of any rank within 5 levels all the way up to Emperor). Subjects, Lieges and the Emperor are all SL residents playing from various locations around the real world. The idea of Tiny Empires is to cultivate a cadre of loyal subjects and rise through the ranks of medieval society by amassing gold and land. The irresistible urge to play grows and you quickly realize that your SL friends may make excellent subjects and you lure them into the Tiny Empires game. The rapid growth of this extraordinary game breaks all the records for participation in SL. A staggering 25,000 residents are believed to have at least tried the game with an equally impressive estimate of 15,000 residents who currently play. The mastermind behind Tiny Empires is the not-so-tiny Emperor “Ultralite Soleil” (where do people get these SL names?). The UltraModest Ultralite is a professional game designer RL with several real-world computer games to his credit. Ultralite says that Tiny Empires is by far his best work yet. “For the first several years of my career I worked as a professional game developer. Of course after leaving that industry I missed the fun of designing games, so that’s what led me to build Tiny Empires. Now I believe that Indie game development is the only way to go.” The popularity of Tiny Empires is still something of a mystery to its creator, but ask any player of the game why they play and the mystery is quickly cleared up. One avid Tiny Empires player is SL actress and poet, Ada Radius. Ada says the game can easily become an obsession. “I can be playing the game for several hours a day some days – and I am not the only one. And the great thing about it is that anyone – no matter what they are into in SL can get into it – anyone from the D&M role-players in Gor, the elves and anyone else in between.” Ada has reached the status of a Marquise now which means she has come quite a long way in the game. Mind you, she describes her affair with Tiny Empires as a love-hate relationship. And she’s pretty steamed that the Emperor has raised taxes recently. Could this be the stirrings of a revolution? Ada says no. “It’s annoying but it’s not like we are about to start throwing our HUD’s into Boston Harbor or anything,” she says. Maybe Ultralite should consider moving the game from medieval England to revolutionary North America? Another nice aspect to this game is that there are no rules. As a visit to most any Sim in SL will prove, 74

interest most gaming areas within SL are laden with notecards proclaiming “thou-shalls” and “thou shall absolutely nots.” Not in Tiny Empires. You learn from experience what works and what doesn’t. Players often find that their explorations within the game lead to discoveries that are educational and interesting. The various blogs are full of exquisitely researched writing about King Arthur’s Wales, the code of Chivalry in France and all manner of interesting readings about medieval and pre-medieval European society. Interested in trying it out? Here are some helpful tips to get you started: 1. Strategy and planning may help you advance quickly up the ranks. Investing in acres, bribes to increase the number of subjects, recruiting new players to the game, paying for improvements and upgrades to the assets of your fiefdom, are all good ways to get ahead in the dog-eat-dog virtual world of Medieval England. 2. Be careful how you manage your cash because like everywhere you have to pay your taxes. A healthy bank balance is also handy in keeping your subjects happy and obedient. 3. Take time to get to know other players in the game because that seems to improve the game-play. Tiny Empires players have several favorite haunts in SL where they hang out together, so the game is another excellent way to make new friends in SL. Members of a particular lineage (a group of people connected to a particular liege lord or lords) often hold special events like balls and tournaments. You’ll find that the frequency and quality of opportunities improve when you are with other players. 4. There is a free trial version available from the vendor at Ultralite Soleil’s shop in Kitster (151, 38, 52), which will allow for game play until 10 acres have been accrued. At that point, game play will be suspended and a message will appear to notify the player that in order to continue, the full version of the HUD must be purchased for 499 Linden (or about $2.50 US). Rank, gold and acres are stored separately from the HUD, and you will continue where you left off when you upgrade. So you still get the credit for your trial period. Like all good groups in Second Life, there is the inevitable blog, http://tinyempires.blogspot.com/ for more info on this game. Good luck to you, you Tiny Imperial Majesty!

Angelico Babii hosts “The Tonight Show with Angelico Babii on Metaverse TV. View him here: http://metaverse-tv.com/Shows/lateshow

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AN UPPER EAST SIDEby STORY lixena lamourfou

While out shopping the other day, Aspire contributor Lixena Lamourfou was knocked aside by an over-anxious fashionista! Being knocked aside is Lixena’s utmost pet peeve. Every time this happens she wonders to herself, “Who does this person think they are?” This time, instead of passively moaning about it, she decided to find out just who was this avatar sporting the last name “GossipGirl” and a group tag reading “GossipGirl Fans.” Lixena put on her sleuthing outfit (a spectacular trench from Casa del Shai) and off she went in search of some answers. Lixena should have known by the girl’s aloof behavior and keen sense of style that the path would lead her straight to “The Upper East Side,” a collection of sims dedicated to the RL television show “Gossip Girls.” The sims are designed to exactly resemble the sets of the show including the houses of some of the show’s characters. The premise of the show is splendid! A group of girls attending an elite private school, are spied on by an anonymous person who then blogs about them online. Gossip, designer clothes and parties abound as the characters deal with life in the upper east side.

When Lixena touched down in the “GossipGirl1 sim” she found herself in front of the Waldorf Atelier Hotel and knew she was in the right place. This sim is clearly the sort of place where a girl can put on her best pair of Minx shoes and strut. Lixena rode the elevator up to Blair Waldorf’s house - a trendy and expensively-decorated apartment with a sparkling dance floor in the foyer. The Gossip Girl sims are PG and are fully moderated by a group called the Mod Squad. The Mod Squad are there to assist you in your exploration and they cannot be missed. Each Mod Squad member wears a chic black trench outfit that fits the fashionable mood of the sims. Lixena decided that the Mod Squad trench was much more sleek than her own so she hurried off to the many shops interspersed throughout the sims to find one.

The Gossip Girl sims feature many familiar shops such as Calla, Digit Darkes, Amaretto and Ivalde. After picking up a few new outfits in Helen Bernel, Lixena stopped for lunch at Le Bilboquet where Gossip Girl fans meet for coffee and conversation every morning at 8am SLT. While at Le Bilboquet a Mod Squad member passed Lixena a notecard listing the multiple events occurring on the Gossip Girl sims daily. As Lixena drank her coffee she imagined dropping in on the Disney Night Party in a Sleeping Beauty costume. Fabulous!

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Duality Inc Presentes SHOPLINE

ShopLine is a full-service shopping resource designed around the specific needs of the Second Life® shopper! Created by the marketing minds behind Duality, Inc, ShopLine is THE answer for SL shoppers who want to stay in-the-know about all of the latest releases, sales, events and specials in SL! ShopLine is not a group so there’s no risk of group chat and non-stop notices that interrupt your daily business and add to lag. ShopLine isn’t an automatic subscription service so when inventory offers come at an inconvenient time, you won’t accidentally decline something you may want later nor will you accumulate a mass of items you’ve forgotten before checking out! ShopLine is user-driven. What does that mean? Well, the staff at Duality, Inc | Aspire Model Management can shop with the best of them and we love getting notices of new and exciting stuff. We were members of fashion update groups, but eventually had to leave the groups because they became more of a hindrance than a help. We wanted the ability to download the information when we WANTED it, when we were ready to shop, instead of being bombarded with it all day long... ...and that’s when we came up with ShopLine and have been working tirelessly for several months to bring it to fruition! It’s really easy - just pick up a free hud and/or kiosk from the ShopLine distributor located in the Duality, Inc offices on Aspire Isle. (It’s free!) and watch for the calendar texture to change date... when the calendar shows current date, it’s been updated with compiled notices from all your favorite retailers - just for you! Get the information you want when you’re ready for it and never miss a hot new item again! Join the ShopLine group in world and watch the Aspire Blog for additional information. 79

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QUEEN FOR A DAY

Although the Aspire and Duality, Inc staff DO visit other places, we tend to stray back to our shopping roots. (Shopping in your own backyard, if you will.) This proved incredibly fortuitous as it gave us ample opportunity to not only run into, but to catch up with and get to know one of Aspire Modeling Ageny’s finest a little bit better.

Queenie Extraordinaire ASPIRE: When and how did you come into SL? QE: July of 2004 actually, I started dating a gamer guy and I wanted to find something to play too.My PC wouldn’t run SL at first so we upgraded and I dove in headfirst. Those days were quite different and SL was so much smaller. Everybody knew everybody ASPIRE:What were you like as a new resident? QE: Well, we knew some people already from an online radio station we were involved in. Tya Fallingbridge of Pixel Mode, actually she was a big time builder even back then and had a club we basically lived at. I was quite sociable though that was “home” for my first few months ASPIRE: When and why did you find yourself attracted to the fashion and modeling aspect of SL? QE: Well, as you can maybe imagine back then it was kind of slim pickins’ in the clothing world. Lots of designers but not much quality. I discovered PixelDolls and I must say that made me much more interested. As for modeling, Daphne Molinari, one of my closest friends, was involved with the DoveVogue agency, which was one of the very few at that time, and I saw what she was doing and how much fun it looked and she helped me get a gig.

ASPIRE: What do you think of the fashion community on SL? QE: There are so many different aspects of the

fashion community! I love seeing new innovations and watching designers improve. I love the fashion bloggers and I think they get a lot of flack sometimes, but I think it boils down to being a hobby for me. I LOVED blogging but it just started taking up so much time. I enjoyed going out and finding new things; I always purchased them too, never asked for review copies. ASPIRE: Is that why you started modeling? QE: I started modeling as a hobby, yes, and when work got slow I continued blogging. ASPIRE: So would you say it’s more about supporting an artist for you then? QE: Yes its about supporting an artist. For me mostly, it’s just fun to put a look together, then taking pictures, and learning PhotoShop ASPIRE: Do you find it hard to find a unique identity here? QE: I didn’t used to, but like I said earlier the world was SO much smaller. I do think I have gone into my shell more as SL started growing to tremendous proportions. I think I felt overwhelmed with the sheer vastness of the grid. I see so many gorgeous avatars nowadays that yeah, I think it is much more difficult to stand out in a crowd and that you have to put your personality to use. ASPIRE: So many models talk about the importance of personality separating oneself from the crowd, especially in regards to competitions.

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What do you think of modeling competitions? QE: I bet they are a lot of fun for the people who enter them, and you get to make new friends, so I support them. I really haven’t entered many myself, usually due to time constraints with RL work. I wish I could, because the girls (and guys!) usually seem to have a blast. It’s definitely a way to get yourself out there! ASPIRE: What’s your average day in SL like? QE: Oh my! Quite boring, I am sorry to say. I live up in a plain white skypad, mess around with looks, snap pics here and there to play with during free time, catch up with some old friends. Recently I finally ventured out for a night and went back to see my old crew and had a great time. I need to do that more often. I spent over two years partying, DJ’ing, and partying some more, and I think I just finally had to slow down.

couple of months and is mood-dependent, so I can’t really name a single one, but definitely a decent skin. I’d go bald, as long as I have a good skin. ASPIRE: Being an SL model requires a bit of inventory in take - is yours messy or is it spotless? QE: It’s definitely not as neat as I would like it to be. Typically I will clean it up before a show so I can find show-related items a lot easier, other than that I slack. I have been saying for three years now that I need to just do an overhaul, but there’s so much of it that is sentimental or even “vintage.” I have skin DEMOS from four years ago that I cannot part with because the off-chance I’ll someday want a trip down memory lane. In a way my inventory is like my virtual scrapbook, if you will. We like that, Queenie, and of course we will.

ASPIRE: What’s your go-to inventory item when you have ten minutes to get dressed and be somewhere? QE: If I have ten minutes, I PANIC! I will change ten times in an hour before I am satisfied, but my go-to’s tend to be from DE Designs since he typically makes complete outfits and they are easy to wear-and-go and look good in. ASPIRE: What’s an item you couldn’t live without? QE: A decent skin. Which for me changes every

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by ofelia laval

Aspire’s first Fan Challenge was to assemble an outfit inspired by the Counting Crows song ‘Round here. The rules were simple: Interpret the lyrics of the song, wear one red-colored item and wear items from at least three different designers. At stake? $5,000 cool lindens, a feature in Aspire magazine and the notoriety of being the very first winner of Aspire’s new monthly “Fan Challenge” contest. The panel of Aspire judges awarded Anna Zwiers with the prize for her vision and creative interpretation. We caught up with Anna the day after her win and asked her how she approached the contest challenge. While in college, Anna earned extra money tending bar and frequently heard ‘Round Here on the radio. She wanted to capture the heavenly references and reflect those in her choices. Anna’s winning look featured hair from House of Heart, Opium skin with dark make-up which she said seemed like a “Maria” sort of skin, a buckled corset by TorridWear, boots by Blaze, red star tattoos by *mia*, Schatzkiste eyes with glowing corona attachments, and a fog emitter! When asked how Anna came up with the idea of using fog as part of her outfit she said the lyric referencing the “ghost in the fog” was one she decided to take literally! An honorable mention to Aspire judge Azia Lunasea who, while unable to participate in the contest, was unable to resist the urge to take the challenge and arrived in her interpretation of ‘Round Here. Azia’s ensemble featured a dress and stockings from Ghost, belt from FallnAngel Creations, skin from Glitter Red and a boa from Callie Cline. If you aren’t already a member of the Aspire Fan group be sure to join and watch for your chance to win our next Fan Challenge!

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Let us do the work for you so you can concentrate on the fun part! Next month, more reviews, more interviews, more new releases and more fun! SHOP ON!