Bullies

Our collective has always been the one -overall- which has been the most attacked, either mentally and physically and there are many out there, thousands of voices that cannot be silenced, which speak out and seek to educate and inform the younger generations about how wonderful it is to be diverse and different, and how these things which fall outside the norm is what makes us who we are.

But having taken this semi-forced online hiatus due to my RL move, has not only given me a chance to entertain long postponed leisure activities such as swimming or enjoying a nice book while bathed by a warm summer breeze -sounds amazing uh?-, it has also provided me time to think about topics such as this one.

Does bullying stop after highschool? Do we stop being victims or victimizing others at some point of our lives? As we approached adulthood it either seems to lose its importance or effect on us, but due to our human nature we will always be the victim or the bully at a given time or situation. But when we're adults bullying doesn't necessarily seem so, life is hard we simply add.

More so in secondlife and other social platforms, where people sometimes simply take advantage of the pseudonims and annonimity to profit from specific situations and/or people. I must admit I was -luckily- never the target or victim of bullies, I was too busy studying but I have faced situations in secondlife sadly, which have either hurt me or my loved ones by the hands of a bully who we trusted.

So before speaking out and voicing our discontent on the matter, let's reflect on our actions and see if things we've said or done ever hurt someone... Sometimes all it takes is some quiet reflection and the appropriate apology, some of our victims might not even be aware that they were. Preach by example as the old saying advices.

http://www.facebook.com/spikecls

The move (1)

Uprooting your life and moving can be sometimes and in most cases, something somewhat traumatic and stress producing, specially when you realize that your entire life can be fitted in 2 suitcases.

There's been only two ocassion during my adult life where I have had to go through this process, the difference lies that the last time I didn't have a second life to consider; so there were a whole lot of new things I had to take into consideration.

So as I am getting a nice tan and updating my life exploits in the blog, while trying to get minor updates from my loved ones in-world, I wonder about the path ahead of me.

I'll end today with a quote from my son Skylar -who I hope is on his best behavior- "Never worry about the path you left behind, but focus on the one you're making"

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

And yes... Those are my feet by the pool.

Talking to the wrong man

One of the most daring, intense and complex adventures -yet rewarding- I have dabbled in while in Second life over the past 2 years on the platform -2 years already! times does fly by- would be parenting, but with all of its ups and downs it is truly something I would go back and do again and again.

Parenting has taught me to be more patient and look past the obvious, which in second life is quite a useful skill, as the obvious is not always what it seems and sometimes it pays off to scratch a bit to discover what lies underneath the group of people that surround you, it has also made me understand that my son is a sexual being -and no longer my "kid"- who partakes in the same type of nude exercises his pops does and I have come to develop an amazing selective memory process -hence squirming less and less when we touch such topics-, thus enabling me to better advice him accordingly, when and if needed.

I have also learned to love unconditionally and that no matter what he does or says -even if he has one of those not-so friendly moments- at the end of the day, he's my son and nothing will change that; this is sadly a thing -an essential one- that some people in second life forget to do when engaging parenting or any type of family bonds -them being the romantic kind, the family type and more specially so, parenting- and something I cannot insist on enough, before you go announcing your compromise, be absolutely sure, people get hurt in the process and despite the "virtual" of our reality, there are people behind every avatar, and they have feelings and those are very real.

Both my fathers -the one in RL and the one in SL- taught me by example that there is no black or white, but a wide array of shades of grey and most of the time, people's actions have a reason to be, whatever they may be -I'm not implying that people are basically good inside, heavens no- and it helps better understand why they do what they do if you know what makes them tick.

I think I have profited from my first two years in Second life, I truly can't wait to see what's in store on the next two. And I end this with my favorite Father movie quote "You will travel far, but I will never leave you, even in the face of my death. You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father. And the father, the son..."

P.S. The title of the article is from a father-son song Skylar plays on occasion and that I feel describes our talks about sex and dating.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Virtual Rape

When it comes to the internet and more specially second life, it all is fair game, virtual platforms are an open source for creativity and to let loose on your kinkiest fantasies, this is as long as you don't harm anyone while getting what you want.

Second life seems to be recently the victim of hackers who have used fake but real looking marketplace sites, paypal sites and other means to get a hold of your passcode and credit card info. What really concerns me is how inventive they seem to be getting, first it was group chat sending the link, but now it has progressed to specific avatars you know sending you marketplace links on stuff they'd be inclined to buy.

The most worrying part is that Linden Labs, who recently changed TPV terms to ensure we are safe, seems to be doing nothing to stop the rapid spread of hacker attacks, who have found in the platform a nice playground to scam innocent victims out of their hard earned money. Using common sense before clicking anything that openly asks for you passcode would be a nice advice, but we all are subject to accidentally clicking whatever is sent to us by a close friend.

I guess it's all a matter of looking over our shoulders now until the Lindens decide to do something about it, which we all know could take a big long while, unless their security directly affects them, but be reminded dear people at the labs, that SL is all about people, and if our safety is compromised, we will surely take our business elsewhere.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Cuando se trata de de el internet y más específicamente del second life, todo vale, las plataformas virtuales son una fuente abierta para la creatividad y para dar rienda suelta a tus fantasías más retorcidas, esto siempre que alcanzar tu objetivo no haga daño a nadie.


Second Life parace que está siendo victima últimamente de el ataque de hackers, los cuales usan sitios muy elaborados pero falsos que paracen ser iguales a los de Marketplace y Paypal para hacerse con tus claves e información de credito. Lo que realmente me preocupa de todo esto es lo muy inventivos que se han vuelto, al principio eran vinculos en grupos, pero ahora a progresado a IMs individuales con vinculos de productos por parte de amigos cercanos que son propensos a comprar.


Lo más escandaloso de todo esto es que Linden Labs parece estar más preocupado últimamente de velar por nuestra "seguridad" al reforzar los terminos de servicio en lo que concierne a los TPV, que en poner un alto o por lo menos investigar lo que parecen ser ataques que campan a sus anchas y se están propagando como el fuego. Estos han encontrado un sitio perfecto en el second life, en donde pueden dar rienda suelta a metodos creativos para sacar el dinero a usuarios que muchos hemos ganado con ezfuerzo. Usar el sentido común antes de cliquar en cualquier cosa parace ser aconsejable, pero todos estamos sujetos a abrir cualquier cosa que un amigo cercano nos envíe.


Supongo que ahora será cosa de mirar por encima del hombro en todo momento hasta que los linden decidan hacer algo al respecto, lo que todos sabemos podría tomarles algún tiempo, a menos claro que esto les afecte directamente, pero recordad amigos de LL, que Sl está principalmente formado por personas, y si nuestra seguridad está comprometida seriamente, nos llevaremos nuestros negocios y dinero a otro sitio.


https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Capture Love

When I initially joined Second Life's "Capture Love" contest, my first intention was to show people that other types of love could be experienced on the platform, that do not gravitate towards sex or romance and that deserved to be showcased in public as well.

I never did expect to get the massive amount of positive feedback and affection from SL users of all kinds, originated from a simple picture, which I decided to share and comment, on something that is habitual for me, which is taking time to have coffee with my son every morning.

Nothing I do in second life would ever be possible without all of you, your support, comments and feedback on everything I do and decide to share. I am truly honored and humbled and day after day, small things such as this one prove to me that the choice of starting a blog was the right one.

Here's the Link to the article I was asked to write for having won the "Capture Love" contest with the story on how I became a gay parent in Second Life. Again my heartfelt thanks for having allowed me to share my story, and I leave you all with a quote from my Second Life Father Northstar: "'The Love that dare not speak its name' in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the "Love that dare not speak its name," and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it. "

Oscar Wilde


I love my two sons, and like that of any father my love is pure and simple and I am very proud of it


https://www.facebook.com/spikecls 


Cuando me uní al concurso de Second Life "Capture Love", mi primera intención fué la de mostrar a las personas de que otros tipos de amor eran posibles en la plataforma, que no giran en torno al sexo ó el romance y que merecían ver la luz pública también.

Nunca esperé recibir el apoyo masivo y las muchas muestras de afecto por parte de muchos usuarios del second life, originados todos por una foto muy simple, la cual decidí compartir y comentar, de algo que hago de manera habitual y natural todos los días, que es tomar el café temprano con mi hijo cada mañana.

Nada de lo que hago en el Second life sería posible sin el apoyo continuado de todos ustedes, los comentarios y sugerencias en todo lo que hago o decido compartir. Me siento realmente honrado dia tras dia, y son pequeñas cosas como estas las que me prueban de que mi elección de hacer este blog no fué erronea.

He aqui el vinculo al articulo que me pidieron escribir por haber ganado el concurso "Capture Love" incluyendo la historia de como me convertí en padre en el Second Life. Una vez más muchísimas gracias  por haberme permitido compartir mi historia, y les dejo con una cita de my padre en el Second Life Northstar: "contest with the story on how I became a gay parent in Second Life. Again my heartfelt thanks for having allowed me to share my story, and I leave you all with a quote from my Second Life Father Northstar:“El amor que no osa decir su nombre, en ese siglo, es el amor de un hombre maduro y un hombre joven, como el que existía entre David y Jonathan, tal como aquel que Platón usó como verdadera base de su filosofía, y tal como se encuentra en los sonetos de Miguel Ángel y Shakespeare. Es un afecto honrado y espiritual, tan puro como perfecto. Inspira y colma grandes obras de arte, como las de Shakespeare y Miguel Ángel, y las dos cartas mías tal como son....En este siglo hay un concepto tan erróneo de él (del amor que no puede definir su nombre) y es por esa razón que estoy colocado aquí...”

Oscar Wilde


Amo a mis hijos, y mi amor es puro y simple cómo el de cualquier padre


https://www.facebook.com/spikecls 

The Sex Evolution

As you get old and your sex experience improves, so does you general intercourse protocol. When you are a teenager is all about doing it, doing it often and doing it all the time, same applies to when you are on your twenties but your a bit more experienced so you go from doing it like bunnies to actually have a taste on who you interact with, there's the added factor however of getting to the point when you've tried it all before your bits get flabby - a very common fear among the gay community who have the general opinion that 30 and upwards is the end of fabulousness-

But then as you grow older and more experienced, sex gets to new levels of complexity, the things that turned you on and you fantasized about in the past lose their glitter and shine and achieving orgasm at all cost is no longer the one goal that drives your sex life -which does help improve your overall intercourse-.

Time in second life moves differently tho, a bit faster than that of real life -no real explanation but evolution and personal growth varies slightly and you do move quicker through personal experiences and growth, something I have pointed out in earlier posts- and surprisingly, so does you second life sex experience.

When you log in for the first time and you learn you can have sex if you snatch the right parts, is all about getting some of that and as much as you can, but then as you get deeper into the experience -I believe it was the first thing I went around looking for, but not something I am after as a main goal in second life lately- you learn there are so many options out there to improve the experience and which does indeed make a difference.

Like the old saying goes: "Is not about the destination but the road traveled", simply put is not all about cumming but how you get there...

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Let's go Nuts about Balls

I came to discover to my dismay recently, that as perfect and natural as X4 male genitalia looks and "feels", you can resize the whole thing, shrink it a bit, make it tilt, bring it back or a little further, but one thing you cannot do, is change the size separately.

I would not mind paying a little extra for some customizable testicles that adjust to our unique anatomic responses, I am after all a lover of balls; I admit it, shrunk, low hanging, hairy or shaved... I firmly believe that they are so unsung when it comes to our genitalia.

But none of that when it comes to the X4 -for those uninformed is the Penis attachment you buy and wear in secondlife-, apparently to have a different set of balls, you need to go to the Xcite shop and buy another different set and then update on their website and synchronize them in-world.

Speaking of unsung anatomic responses, I wonder if linden labs and Xcite are in negotiations to add avatar physics to penises -oh yes, that horrid programming that is making millions of happy women and men in-world have the opportunity to watch their butts, bellies and breasts jiggle like jell-o-, that's some rightful use of avatar physics right there and one I constantly wonder on why it has not been added yet... after all, there's some swinging down there in real life to go nuts about.

https://www.facebook.com/

STROKE MY... Ego

The Internet and social platforms such as second life, give one the opportunity to explore many things, but second life has that added option of building yourself an alter ego, a virtual persona with its own image, feelings, agenda and background story; it all depends on how invested you get on it.

We build our avatars to be the perfect image of that person we wish to be, we cannot be or we wish we will get to be or we used to be -this applies to SL twinks- and we tweak bits and pieces as we go along our second lives; something that also gets built up however is our ego, which I have come to learn for some people, needs to be stroked and pampered properly to get the desire effect, as if it were a penis.

Let's get a few things straight and get the message out there to the millions of second lifers, or social platform users with blogs, profiles, groups or whatever you want to call them. Keep it real, keep it simple, do things because you want to do them and have something to share with people, not to build up your sense of self importance or compensate for a somewhat socially challenged real life.

I joined second life and do most social networks for a simple reason, as of right now; I feel I have something to share, it gives me the chance to explore my talents and dabble on areas that would be impossible for me in real life or would take tremendous effort or a huge financial investment to get me somewhat started or to the point I am now in second life. If you need your ego stroked through appraisal or approval, you need therapy not the internet, so maybe getting a REAL social life would help you work on your issues.

I'll stick to having the one thing that needs stroking, stroked and I'll do that in the privacy of my bedroom with the hot guy I like.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls