What’s your god damned dream?
Posted by myg
We were having a little talk, me and Alex, about how funny it is that of all the things that are possible in Second Life, one thing we really enjoy is having a club. We could be winged creatures, out ransacking mythic lands. We could be gangters with bigass guns setting up hits and extorting $L from our neighbors (actually, maybe we should do that…). We could be part machine - in fact, in SL we actually *are* part machine. But what do we spend our time doing the most? Recreating a part of our history that we never got to live in the first place.
Alex and I have spent a lot of time playing in clubs in our indie-rock band. I have spent more hours in stench-riddled dives from Boston to Charleston, rocking out, drinking cheap beer and squatting to pee over nasty public toilets than I probably have in shopping malls. We often fantasized about owning our own club but never wanted to deal with all the alcoholics. And it wasn’t conducive to being in a band either. So we never did, and came to terms with the fact that we never would.
Then came Second Life, which offered the chance to have a version of that experience without the drawbacks. Here we managed to create some of the club atmosphere, share good music, meet digital people and make friends, without having to deal with the drawbacks of a real club. The other day Alex and I discussed this and said, “huh - that’s damned cool.” And it is.
I’ve been thinking a lot about “real” in Second Life and what that means. Last post talked about identity a bit, as that’s the blog topic ablaze in the SL Blogosphere. Now I’m thinking about what it is we do. It is funny how sometimes we choose to emulate the physical world - we shop, we hang out, we hook up, we dance. And even though those experiences in some ways pale by comparison to the real world experience, they are not without value. Like when you can own a club and NEVER have to clean up some drunk’s vomit or blood, maybe it’s even better than the real thing.
So what’s your god damed dream, and how are you realizing it in SL?
my dream? I guess to find someone who loves me for my inner self
But beyond that, share and express my music..convey that feeling I get and make it tangible…im doing pretty good that way.
You do great at that Xax.
My god damn dream? To do events people really enjoy.
*So* living it….
…as long as I remember *I’m* “people” too!
Quite simple..
Realizings projects in a term you normally would need years and millions iRL. (Speaking of my clubs, the casino, the rental business and all the houses of me and Lisa.) And on top of that, something which surely won’t be able iRL as well: a 24/7 D/s relation as the submissive.
Another question which I think is quite interesting in relation to this topic: What RL desires awakened (again?) because you life them in SL? Is your wish to own a club smaller since you have one in SL? Or do you even think more and more what it would mean to have one RL?
Wait, Soph is “people?” Is that like soylent green?
Jumps up on the people-sweeper in the middle of the crowded street and shouts “Soph is people!”
Seriously, though, what is my god damn dream? It has changed since my first days here, and I can never quite nail it down, but I’ll try.
Part of it is just being unafraid to be creative - stringing together pictures and words, making machinima, making myths, adding to the collective foundation of this shared hallucination we live in. Some of this I can’t do right now because of technical issues, but I’m willing to bide my time until I’m running on a better machine. In the meantime I do my best to help my friends and family with their dreams instead.
The other part is harder to explain. I’m chasing a feeling, or maybe a place, or both. There’s a city in my dreams with streets so narrow you can touch the walls with both hands as you walk down them, and light and laughter emanating from windows high above. There’s an abandoned battle platform floating on the sea, deck overflowing with flowers. There’s a cramped, noisy noodle shop hidden in the back alleys of Tokyo. There’s a stranger on the train you talk to for hours, but never ask their name and never see again. They all have a feeling in common I can’t quite explain, but I’m sure trying.
So, trying to capture or create a certain moment, and share it with others. Lately I’ve turned part of my search back to FL, as limited a place as it is, so my efforts are divided, but I’m still looking here too.
Thanks for asking the question, Myg. I think we all need to answer it from time to time.
@Vanny - yes, creating virtual spaces you’d never have the means to create is way cool. In fact, sometimes I think of using SL to envision the off-the-grid house Alex and I want to build someday, so in that way maybe SL does awaken some RL dreams too. As for the club though, Clockwork doesn’t make me want to open a real club. It allows me to enjoy the stuff I like without the hassles I wouldn’t like.
@Soph - events that pull together folks from all over the globe rule. I’m glad you’re living it!
@Burgess - dope!
@Argent - Argent! So good to hear from you! What a brilliant description of what these kinds of dreams feel like. Damn. In a way I’m reminded of Vanny’s comment - how SL and RL dreams can sort of converge, and that’s a very good thing. One place helps inform the other, lets you try things you might be inhibited to try otherwise. Lets you see if indeed that’s the dream you want to pursue, lets you try it on.
My dream has always been about squatting to pee over nasty public toilets, and now I get to 24/7 at -=CLOCKWORK=-!! Thank you, Myg and Alex, for letting me realize my lifelong dream!
I really should aim higher. Regarding my dreams and aspirations, as well as my peeing.
Sorry about that.