May 21, 2009

Blogger Not Letting Me Publish Comments!

Both Moggs Oceanlane and Deadlycodec have added comments in the past two days but I can't get Blogger to let me publish them! All I get is as error message:

We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.

When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:

* Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
* Provide the following error code and additional information.

bX-p2ixs5
Additional information
blogID: 796214310334781259
host: www.blogger.com
uri: /moderate-comment.do


Bummer! The Blogger Support and Help Group offered suggestions but they didn't work. Double bummer!

And I mention this why? Well, seeing as a whine an awful lot about the horrors of censorship, my failing to publish comments might be interpreted as the very act I abhor. I keep telling my American colleagues that the First Amendment is one of the most beautiful constitutional additions to any constitution and that it is vitally important to protect it. So I'm doing my bit for democracy by at least proclaiming that I am not censoring stuff!

Of course, maybe it's a plot by the people at Blogger...

May 19, 2009

SLebrity Update: How Can I Spin This..?

Blogger and Plurker Moggs Oceanlane offered to do her bit for promoting the frequency of the word SLebrity by letting me know that her friend Valiant has added it to the Urban Dictionary. As of today, it isn't there yet but maybe soon...

On the downside, I checked the Google hits for the word and it now stands at 1,940. This represents a minor downturn in its use and I still hold out hope for a resurgence.

May 18, 2009

Life On Line: 7th Edition

We're going from strength to strength! Now showing on more sites than ever before - after only three months.

This week on Life On Line, we help celebrate the launch of Second Pride, a week-long festival in the virtual world Second Life celebrating Gay Pride. We catch up with co-founder of the virtual world Twinity and learn about their exciting Illuminati competition, part of the hit sequel to the Da Vinci Code, just released. And music by SpaceJunky as they perform their original hit, I Am. All that and more.

Click on the screen on the left to watch this edition.

May 16, 2009

I Want To Be A Celebrity

The Metaverse Broadcasting Company, MBC TV, are currently airing episode 3 of their virtual reality show, I Want To Be A Celebrity, which is curiously entertaining. However, I don't want to talk about that but the theme song to the show, Celebrity by the UK band The Thought Criminals.


I should start by saying that I loved it so much, I bought the album. And at $9.99 from iTunes, it's a bargain. Here's what the blurb on Amazon.com has to say:

"The Thought Criminals was formed in South London, UK in 2004 when programmer/musician Kirlian Blue and vocalist/frontman Rocky Goode, set out to form a band that would blend early 80s dark electronic music with the more modern alternative dance music of today. The duo worked feverishly on their concept and then enlisted the help of famed dance producer Tony Messenger and mixer Robb Henry to tie things together. The result of their effort is the debut album, Die Young: Stay Pretty.

"The Thought Criminals sound can only be described as an EBM laced Sci-fi/80s/Electro Punk montage. Kirlian, supplies the backdrop for Rocky's tongue & cheek (sic) vocals. Die Young : Stay Pretty, is a 10 track release which contains 3 bona fide singles: The catchy pop hit (I'm Gonna Be a) Celebrity, the old school EBM Date Rape Lovers and the explosive My Baby's a Suicide Bomber. In addition to the album tracks, Die Young: Stay Pretty, includes seven bonus remixes that will be sure to pack dance floors across the globe."

Electro/dance/punk is the best way to describe it. Cyberslut is another great tune that will appeal to the Second Life brigade, which also comes as a 12" Club Remix version with the iTunes download. I need to make a visit to 6th Element Club to see if anyone's playing parts of this album.

May 6, 2009

The Conferederation of Democratic Sims: New Article in Prim Perfect

The Confederation of Democratic Sims (CDS) is Second Life's longest functioning democracy and my latest two-part article has just been published in Prim Perfect magazine.

You can read it online as a Calaméo publication, or download the PDF version to print out and read at your leisure.

This is a special second birthday edition of Prim Perfect that includes retrospectives and comments from folks who have been involved with the magazine over the past two years.

May 1, 2009

Life On Line Episode Six Now Available

Click on the video to the right on this page to watch the May 1st, 2009 edition of the popular internet show, Life On Line.

In this edition, Life On Line takes on a more serious tone with discussions about damaging gambling addiction and the risk of falling foul of cybercrime online. Lawyer Seamus Byrne, a leading authority on cybercrime, talks about what everyone can do to better protect themselves against financial or identity theft and other forms of cybercrime.

Resident online psychotherapist Roman Candle talks about the dangers of online gambling and what it does to people’s lives. He also provides some helpful tips to help people recognise the warning signs in those they love and getting them off the habit.

Newsman Sigmund Leominster reports on the latest games and virtual worlds in the metaverse. And musically, we are joined in the studio by satirist Eva Moon with her song Cash from Nigeria.