I've just heard a song...

I've just seen a face,
I can't forget the time or place
Where we just met.
She's just the girl for me
And I want all the world to see
We've met, mmm-mmm-mmm-m'mmm-mmm.

I first noticed Dar when at the Tournament for Life Kissing Booth in Loch Avie when she piped up "I'll kiss Mr. Wormser for L$300" or however much it was. I was flattered by her boldness and like a gentleman, puckered up for a good cause.


Had it been another day
I might have looked the other way
And I'd have never been aware.
But as it is I'll dream of her
Tonight, di-di-di-di'n'di.

I hate to think of the odds of two people meeting and falling in love. I know it happens everyday, but it doesn't happen to me everyday (contrary to what some people think) Until that day, Dar completely flew under my radar, and to this day 4 and half months later I am grateful for her BOLD MOVE.


Falling, yes I am falling,
And she keeps calling
Me back again.

I started falling that day, though I will admit slowly at first, but picked up speed as the months go on, I fall more and deeper each day, faster and faster.

I have never known
The like of this, I've been alone
And I have missed things
And kept out of sight
But other girls were never quite
Like this, da-da-n'da-da'n'da.

My relationship with Dar is the best I have had in SL, she has been with me through a difficult time and good times. There was a time where I was single and dating heavily but did not have any deep, committed, relationships, and I really see I have missed out.


So thats why Dar & I now have a song. This is that song, and I am grateful for Lennon & McCartney to put in such good words the way I feel.

I need your votes

My creative partner Dancoyote Antonelli aka DC Spensley is a finalist in a second life contest for his exhibit "Full Immersion Hyperformalism" which I blogged about here:

http://zenmondo.blogspot.com/2007/08/island-of-caledon-in-hyperformalist-sea.html

As I was instrumental in this build, a vote for him is a vote for me. So please head on over to:

http://www.sl-award.com/sl-award.php

and in the lower left corner click on "Vote Here for your favorite winner" and please vote for DC Spensely: "Hyperformalism"

Thank you. :)

P.S. Spread the word if you are able. Thank you again.

Portraiture by Becky Book

Becky probably knows me better than anyone else on the grid, and is the only person I have dated in both worlds. She has begun a career in Avatar Photography, when she was learning, she practiced on me and the result has been in my profile for a few months. Well she has much improved since then, and wanted me to sit again, both for my new hair and her improved skills. These are the results.

ZenMondo in the uniform of the Library Militant.

A casual pose in Victorian Clothes.

Don't fire till you can see the green of my eyes!

A nice collage with the Caledon colours in the background

Patrolling the woods in my duties as Library Militant, ready to give scripting assistance or a book to any I may find there.

Here we see Colour Sgt. Wormser (ret.) Taking out his uniform for parade purposes.

I bet you didn't know that before I came to Caledon, I was a super hero!

Have I mentioned I am crazy for my Lady Love, Lavendar?

Enter the Bibliomancer: A new career for the CodePoet

ZenMondo Wormser of the Library Militant
Photograph by Lady Lavendar Beumont

I try to make it known that I am willing to serve my nation in whatever means possible. Usually this involves me employing my trade as a CodePoet, providing codepoetry for various things around Caledon. If it benefits Caledon, my services have been gratis. It was in this spirit, that JJ Drinkwater approached me with work for the library.

He seemed to be pleased with my work, and offered me a continuing relationship with the Caledon Library by inducting me into the Library Militant. In so doing I have taken my vows of Literacy, Obstinance and Bibliomancy, and received the livery (see photo, above). I will receive my Orders at a later time. My responsibilities will primarily being supporting my current work, taking on more work as needed or consulting on any scripting work that needs to be done. I am happy to do it and my heart soars to serve my community this way.

At the urgings of Mr. Drinkwater, my work for the Caledon Library will all be released open source under a Creative Commons license. I needed a little urging in this direction, as my work is valuable for the most part, and this will prevent me from reselling it to other libraries and interested parties. But Mr. Drinkwater convinced me that it was for the greater good to put GOOD code out there for others to learn from and use. Once the scripts are deployed in the library, I will be posting them to various wikis and the scripting library forum. For doing this, JJ as styled me as an Information Hero, but really I am just doing what I feel is the right thing.

Steam Links!

I am not one for often posting links but this is just too cool to turn up. Its a Steam-Powered Bionic Arm

I know you are saying big deal, I have seen these on Edward Pearse and Qlippothic Projects, but wait, this is in that big blue sim called REAL LIFE.

Quote:
Goldfarb’s power source is about the size of a pencil and contains a special catalyst that causes hydrogen peroxide to burn. When this compound burns, it produces pure steam. The steam is used to open and close a series of valves. The valves are connected to the spring-loaded joints of the prosthesis by belts made of a special monofilament used in appliance handles and aircraft parts. A small sealed canister of hydrogen peroxide that easily fits in the upper arm can provide enough energy to power the device for 18 hours of normal activity.

A 21st century application of the most Caledonian Power sources, Steam.

And since I am linking today, the inspiration for the new bartender I have in Steam Sonnet, (behind ZenMondo's CodePoetry & Steamworks in SteamSkyCity) a steam powered Astromech droid.

I present R2-S2 by Crabfu.





And speaking of Steam Engines...

Did you know Jay Leno is a SteamPunk?

Jay Leno's 1870 Staitionary Engine (part 2 where its built and working and turned on )

Jay Leno's Stanley Steamer (Automobile as god & queen intended, powered by steam!)

Thats not all the steam-powered things at Jay Leno's garage but those are my favorites. I am not what could be described as mechanically inclined, but for some reason I love that site.

An island of Caledon in a Hyperformalist Sea

Long ago, before I even heard of Caledon, I lived with a small community of artists in a small Irish village named Grainne O'Malley. It was rent free, the only condition was to create art. I soon settled in as the resident CodePoet, providing scripts for the other artists in residence. This was the first time I started having a steady income from scripting in Second Life, and I started learning a lot. Then I met Dancoyote Antonelli, who had a small gallery in Granny, and needed some scripting to be done. A simple teleport system for his Museum in uvvy, (the first of many I think), and something to hand out a landmark and notecard. Simple stuff, I didn't charge him much, but he insisted on writing up a contract and naming our partnership ZenCoyote Ltd. At the time I had done everything by handshake deal, and this felt kind of weird to me, but I did it. Little did I know that these small jobs (which lead to my first build, a scripted 2 prim pop up invitation) was really an audition to see if we would work well together. Best I can reconstruct that was May of 2006. Here we are a year and a quarter later, and our partnership is still going strong. I don't even know how many scripts I have provided for Dancoyote's artwork, and I don't feel like counting. But they have been numerous and varied.

DC has just opened an exhibit called “Full Immersion Hyperformalism” in the sim of Arts and Letters, filling the entire sim with his artwork. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Arts%20and%20Letters/45/133/707/

A brief word about Hyperformalism. I have been living with it, helping DC realize it in my own small way (I am not the artist, just a tool like a brush, or as DC has called me his "sixth finger") I have my own understanding of it, and I probably get it more than most, but if I try to explain I am sure to get something wrong, so I will quote the artist himself on the topic:

"Hyperformalism is formalist abstraction in hyper medium. By turning off rendering of facsimiles of real life, an eerie surreal space for viewing art is created where things no longer conform to the field of view of your avatar and where scale and context are no longer measured against the arbitrary figurative standard. "

In short, the Art that DC exists for the most part could not exist in the real world. Coming to Arts and Letters, you will see nothing that is not hyperformalist -- nothing familiar to the real world -- except, off to one side, a small Victorian cottage.

Dancoyote has decided to honor me and my contribution with a small space that represents me.
It was his idea to populate a small Victorian Cottage with little things and doo-dads to represent Zen, the CodePoet. He knows I strongly identify as Caledonian, so a small Caledonian island in a sea of hyperformalism is the Zen Exhibit. Which can be found at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Arts%20and%20Letters/203/224/295/

It is a small space that says "me" So its a house by Coyote Momiji, Furniture by Desmond Shang, and little trinkets of mine scattered about of my creations. Such as a Quizaphone (Build by Alfonso Avalanche), A portrait of Ada Lovelace that says a poem when you touch it, A clockwork heart, an Omnilocator Device and an Apple II (all built by Drystan Knight), My Cheshire Cat (built by RyanRabbat Bunyin), and my Music Box (built by ME(!)).

But do come and see the rest of the show as well, there are little pieces of my soul throughout the sim. DC says there are about 4000 scripts running and I figure about 99% of them are mine in his artwork.

All of the stuff I must stress is DC's vision and work. I just write the scripts, I have no say in how he uses them. :) In fact I am often suprised to see my little creations used the way he does. Its a true synergistic relationship, I could not do what he does with my scripts and he could not not do them without my scripts in them. One of the things there though is an item I worked very hard on. The ZenCoyote Pixel Board.



This was actually built mostly by me. Its 200 prims, and 100 scripts are needed to make it work. I hope you will come play and draw on it. I did a lot of work on it, but the vision was DC's. With the pixel board I was realizing the artist's vision. DC has named it a social expression appliance. Basicaly you can draw little pixelated drawings on the small control board which are then seen on the large Display board.

There are many wonders to behold here, I am happy to have done my small part, and that DC has seen fit to honor me so with a small space in his exhibit.

In Honor of Dame Lapin

Tonight, I was present at the ceremony where our Vicereine Knighted Lapin Paris to honor all her hard hard work for Relay for life. An accolade well earned. I did not know what a proper present for a new Knight is, well I expect she got lots of swords, so I gave her what I could, a poem.

~
The Star walks amoung us
and our lives are brighter
just beacuse she is here.

Her footsteps are a dance
her voice a song
every movement a poem

She is a treasure of the realm
though she does not know her worth
she makes us all richer, just knowing her.


To Dame Lapin Paris on the occasion of her Knighting
From ZenMondo Wormser August 6, 2007