(R)Evolve

'The Digital Revolution is Now'

For a couple of months now, I have been watching the organisers of FutureWave build their dream of a futuristic fashion fair, and all their hard work has accumulated in a great event that opens to the public today. A large number of Second Life creators have been drafted in to this transhuman 'revolution', including some real fashion giants who I wouldn't ordinarily associate with the science fiction genre (but who, from the looks of their billboards, have created some fantastic things). There are also a whole bunch of stores I have never heard of that I am now going to be paying a lot of attention too - and I think that's half the point of such a couture market kind of event as FutureWave.

sian (who, in the future, has massacred the Upper Case) got me a sneaky early pass into the sim before the hoards descend later today. Having heard so much about it and having posed for sian's shop's (MetaTheodora's) ads, I really wanted to get in and have a look at the place before it becomes overrun with lag.

This is about the closest to cloning I'm ever going to comfortably get. So many Kittis!

(In the future, we'll probably all move really bloody slowly. Even the speed of Virgin Media internet cannot combat sheer numbers of virtual bodies who, nostalgically, cling to heavy scripted prims - which, non-SL users, can be fantastic and beautifully made but which can also cause super lag.)

Incidentally, there is an item available in MetaTheodora's gacha inspired by a blogpost I wrote ages ago about the idea of a nostalgic and out-dated vision of the future. That post is titled 'Kicking the Chrome Bucket'. If you get sian's little booby prize, I would love to see your pictures of you wearing it.

Reaching Beyond

Looking Down

But then I felt a little bit guilty. I knew I was going to take lots of pictures of the sim and post them here, but sneaky passes are ordinarily meant for fashion bloggers who agree, in exchange for said sneaky pass and free copies of a lot of the items on sale, to provide a whole bunch of publicity for the event and the products on sale. By posting pictures of the sim only, I'm only really doing half of that job - but I am still being bombarded with free copies of everything.

A moral dilemma then, and I have solved it by only picking up the free blogger copies of items I have been told to pick up or sent directly. I'll be back to buy everything else that I might want like an ordinary Joe when the fair opens later today (about eight hours from now). I've also done my damnedest to photograph FutureWave in the best most honest way that I can.

Just opening the couple of boxes I have been given has been stressful. There are boxes upon boxes and items upon items and I want to try everything at once but there is just so much! I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a box to open from each vendor...for each fair running in SL. I'm afraid I've lost half of what I've opened already. No wonder so many fashion bloggers have such huge inventories and such incredible lag. They're dragging around wardrobes full of Narnia all the time! That is not a territory I really want to venture into.

Meeow

So whilst you're full of Valentine's chocolate (gifted or discounted - who cares? Chocolate is chocolate) and the weather outside is foul, check out FutureWave. Here is the link to their page, and I'm sure they'll post a link to the sim itself there just as soon as it opens - here!

Yesterday's post on avatars and souls here - here!