Exit, Stage Left

Hi there,

I am stepping down from the Manager role at Dance Queens.

Can't decide if I'm taking a break or taking a hike. Time will tell, I guess.

Thank you to Web for the opportunity to help contribute to the dance community for the past year in this role.

I've learned a lot and gotten to know a lot of good folks, and I hope I've helped more than I've hindered.

But I think it's time for someone else to have a chance to experience it for themselves, and to make a difference.

More thanks...

To the choreographers, who put it all together while desperately trying to keep it all together.

To the directors, who stack the shows, balance egos, and keep the magic flowing.

To the set builders, who build the canvas upon which art flows. Oh, that's texture thrashing? Dammit.

To the costumers, who disappoint the perverts who want to see us all naked.

To the dancers, who provide the medium through which motion is made (until animesh has matured sufficiently).

To the toolmakers, without whom we'd all be just standing around. (Stupid backstage movers.)

To the emcees, who coordinate the music we dance to, otherwise we'd all look weird for no reason.

To the venue owners, who provide the stages on which we lag... I mean dance.

To the hosts, who make us feel welcome, scary eyes and all.

To the fans who suffer through removing facelights, HUDs, and scripts every time they come to a show. (And putting them all back in afterwards so they can remove them all again.)

To the teachers, trying to jam into our heads everything we're too lazy to RTFM or YouTube ourselves.

To the videographers and photographers, capturing moments and memories, and deleting the ones we'd rather forget.

To Linden Lab, for the platform that lets us all do this, or sometimes in spite of it. (Second Life, not Sansar. I mean, get real.)

And to everyone that makes the impossible possible.

-R

As the world falls down...

When Second Life is having issues, SLGridStatus is the friend that gives you the bad news that you don't want to hear.

SLGridStatus
@SLGridStatus
[status] Investigating: Some Second Life services are currently experiencing an outage. During this time, some Second Life services may be unavailable including, but not limited to: logging in, and object rezzing. Please refrain from rezz…

1:48 PM · Oct 27, 2019

You should have SLGridStatus on your browser's bookmarks bar, Twitter follows (and notifications), RSS feed reader, or whatever method makes you happy.

Mailbox

Sure, Web...



I'll hit the mailbox in a bit.

Gesture Controls

I use a lot of gestures (control-G) for things I say in text. (As opposed to other gestures I use, which you can't see.)

For example, F5 is my applause, F7 is my pre-show link list for Debauche shows, and F12 is bow.

To remember them all, I put a strip of white medical tape over the function key row and write a one-word reminder what they are in permanent ink.
(I think I talked about this a while back... also posted it on Flickr too)



The problem is, you can't gesture control everything.

You need to remember the keyboard shortcuts for them, otherwise, you end up having to dive into menus.

Now, for some, such as Chat Console and Shadows and Name Tags, you can configure your Firestorm Quick Preferences for easy access.
(I went over that about a year ago here, I think.)

But for others, such as Midday and Midnight, you're kinda stuck.

And some of those keyboard combinations are difficult for those of us who sometimes can't quite get our fingers to do exactly what we want them to. (My left hand has some nerve issues due to elbow surgery 7 years ago.)

Or remember what each keyboard shortcut combo is. Or maybe my left hand is busy on my Spacenavigator and I don't have a second hand free for something quickly.

This is where I take a step back and go to the Windows level of control.
There are trackpad gestures available to control things.

For my Asus (Windows) laptop, I use three-finger gestures to control the daylight and midnight settings.

Here's how I did it:

1. Windows Start Menu - Gear Icon (Settings)
2. Click Devices
3. Click Touchpad
4. Click Advanced Gesture Configuration
5. Customize your three-finger left gesture to control-shift-X
6. Customize your three-finger right gesture to control-shift-Y
(feel free to customize your other gestures as needed)

Now I just swipe three fingers left, and it's midnight.
Swipe three fingers right and it's midday.
Three fingers up, it gets loud.
Three fingers down, and it's quiet.

You can set them to the shortcuts for other things in your viewer if you wish. Whatever makes things easy.

If you'd like to add even more gesture control to your system, there are a lot of trackpad/touchpad gesture control apps for Windows and Mac Systems out there.

Windows: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/add-mouse-gestures-to-windows-10
MacOS: https://folivora.ai/ (Better Touch Tool)

That way, you can simplify a really complicated keyboard "shortcut" that you can't remember with a simple function key.

I use Better Touch Tool on my Mac at work for volume control, switching between tabs in my browser, and other quick key combinations i can't remember or perform.

What kind of handy tools and shortcuts do you use to make things easier?

SURVEY: Rehearsals

Hi there. This is R.

Got a quick question... how much rehearsal do those of y'all in dance troupe do?

What kind of things do you look for in a rehearsal?

What's the biggest thing you've caught in a rehearsal that you're glad to have had a chance to rehearse for?

Leave your responses in the comments.

Thanks,
-R

PS: Yes, I know that rehearsals are often "silly" time for me, and they're the source of The Debauche Follies Flickr album, but I do take outfit preparation and mover location seriously. (That gives me more time to be a loony.)



Mmmm chicken!

This is what burnout looks like... when the love and inspiration of dance deserts you

I can't help but jump back to this scene in the movie Beetlejuice...

Set scene:  Adam and Barbara are in the waiting room with the receptionist, surrounded by others clasping their numbers and waiting to be called on.  Action!

Adam:  Is this what happens when you burnout?

Receptionist:  That is what happens when you burnout, that is what happens when he burns out, and that is what happens when they burnout.  It's all very personal.  And I'll tell you something; if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have had my little (epic) meltdown.

Obviously I took some liberties there.  As I don't have grammarly to check my grammar, I looked up burnout in the dictionary:

burnout

 noun

burn·​out | \ ˈbərn-ˌau̇t  \

Definition of burnout

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1: the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing through use or combustion.

also : the point at which burnout occurs

2a: exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration

b: a person suffering from burnout

I like definition one the best, "the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing through use or combustion".

Whether you've been in dance for six years, ten years, or six months, burnout is real.  That feeling you get - the high when you perform a dance you're proud of, those bursts of creative energy that keep you working on a dance for all hours, the thrill of performing at your favorite venues...it can be intoxicating...and it can be addicting.  Burnout can take many forms, and like anything it can be slow and gradual or it can hit you like a ton of bricks.

Suddenly, you may feel like you're in a rut - creating the same thing over and over again.  Maybe new ideas are no longer coming to you.  Maybe you've committed to perform x times a month and are constantly chasing your tail getting acts finished - working by deadlines.  Maybe you've created such a regimented process that it feels like you're building a car instead of creating art.  It was a long time before I realized that my checklist and logical mind was overpowering the freedom to follow inspiration.  Everyone feels burnout differently, perhaps skirting the edge or reaching that point that dance has lost its magic.  Almost inevitably you reach a moment when you ask "why am I doing this" and doubting yourself and your own abilities.

One of the references I love best is this:  Creative energy, that thing that drives us and helps us create these new ideas and express ourselves through our art, is like a well of water.  We use it as we create and it replenishes itself.  How?  how we feel, our happiness, the support we receive...and over time.

Over time.  That phrase hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.  Creativity needs time to replenish.  How much time?  That depends on you - what drives you, what fuels you, what you enjoy, the balance in your life, and a million other factors.  Only you can know.  So what is burnout?

"Burnout means you’ve pushed your creative energy beyond the point of recovery...A person who has pushed their creative well too hard for too long will, like its watery counterpart, one day find it empty."  (link below)

Ironically, I began this post while I was in the midst of a full blown burnout - a complete loss of inspiration.  It is only now that I'm able to finish it as I continue my new beginning, my renewal.  Everything you read here.  That was me.  I know many others who have reached a similar point, or who have skirted the edges.  It is real, and no one is immune.  Only you can listen to what's inside and know how full your creative well is.  Only you can stay aware of why you create a dance.  Only you can know when you are draining your well faster than it can fill.  Only you can shift things to prevent losing joy in something you love.  Only you can bring yourself back.

Dance can be so many things - art, creativity, expression, release.  I forgot that for a while, my well empty.  Now I'm finding my way again. 

I think there is bravery and strength in sharing something of our self that isn't perfect.  To reveal a piece of our true selves.

May you never lose the magic of dance.
~ Eva

reference & info I found useful:  How to survive creative burnout

While Flickr is down...

Hi, it's me. R.

Flickr is currently down for maintenance, which means my insanely large repository of dance photos is off somewhere in the ether. Probably for the best... it's mostly just obligatory photos of Diawa and Nara these days.

In the meantime, Flickr has asked people to take their good panda image and do things with it. 

I'm cringing at the thought of the horrible things that Second Lifers are doing to this poor panda.

Me, I'm trying to teach the pandas about Second Life Dance:

 

"Okay, repeat after me: I look good in black."

How to care for your dragon...

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

So, some of you might get chicks or bunnies for Easter. And then, for those of you who go egg hunting and come across a dragon egg, here's some helpful advice...

Feed your dragon...



Plenty of fresh water...



And duck when Laura throws a brick at you.

I think things have been gone rather smoothy, buuuuuuuuuuuuut...

Hi there,

So, in the past year, I think things have gone rather smoothly with the calendar, blog, and daily digests. Congratulations to everyone for doing their best to keep the Dance Community and audiences informed.

Still, there are no perfect systems, only opportunities for improvement.

- Unlisted events don't receive adequate promotion.
- Cancelled events that still appear in the calendar or digests can mislead and frustrate audiences.
- Last-minute edits or additions frustrate Dance Queens managers.
- Future events may be off by an hour due to Daylight Savings Time in your region.

One of my personal heroes says often that if you can't have agreement, at least try for clarity. (Maybe that's why I bought a Honda Clarity?)

I'd like to take a moment to address a few things:

1) Dance Queens receives its information from troupe leaders or their representatives. We provide a notecard template and mailbox for them to use, and that mailbox alerts the group managers. We only accept event listings from this method, period. We do not harvest information from social media, nor do we accept direct messages or invitations to an individual Dance Queens manager because might be wrong, lost, or forgotten. If a Dance Queens manager receives one of those and it does not appear in the calendar, they may send a notecard as a reminder to get it added. This is done as a courtesy,and  they've gone above and beyond and should be commended for such. (yay)

(Even if your troupe leader or representative is a member of Dance Queens management, and they do this process for you, they will drop a notecard in that mailbox and pick it up themselves. It provides an audit trail for quality checking.)

1a) If you do not include a poster, your event might not be listed on the blog. I personally will not hunt you down for textures. I do not maintain an archive of them. If others do, they've gone above and beyond and should be commended for such. (yay)

1b) If there are obvious inconsistencies or errors in the text (dates vs. day of week, etc.), a Dance Queens manager will attempt to contact for that group to ask for corrections.

2) Dance Queens management asks for at least 48 hours advance notice of events to list in blog, calendar, and/or daily digests. All of the Dance Queens managers are members of dance troupes, and to expect them to leave a show, rehearsal, or routine building for a last-minute notice or correction is not fair to them. If others do, they've gone above and beyond and should be commended for such. (yay)

3) Dance Queens management asks that you limit advance notice of events to 3 months. This is to reduce the number of updates and edits and cancellations.

4) If you have updates, edits, and cancellations, please submit a notecard for them. For the same reasons as 1 and 2.

5) You are welcome to make an announcement for your event in Dance Queens group chat. One announcement per event, please, in the hour before the event only.

5a) If you forgot to submit a notecard for an event, you're still welcome to announce it in Dance Queens group chat. Do not be surprised if you are politely given a notecard template from a Dance Queens manager to notify us of future events. This is an invitation, not an admonishment.

5b) Yes, you are also welcome to yay these announcements. That's what makes it fun. (You can also yay this blog post.)

6) Dance Queens migrated to Google Calendar to simplify management of the event calendar. The old platform was more error-prone and unreliable that Google Calendar. I personally worked up a form, spreadsheet, and script solution that uses Google APIs to simplify additions to the calendar. It even marks who posted your event and when, which provides yet another audit trail. Management of existing events is as simple as drag-and-drop, duplicate, doubleclick-edit, and click-delete. But...

6a) Daylight Savings Time ruins everything. In the 2-3 week window where early adopters (United States) are out of sync with the rest of the world, errors happen. The script in the Google API is... well... blech. This is why we try to list everything in SLT as well as include the full text from notecards in the calendar and blog. It allows us to double-check entries after we post them as well as check before we make the digest announcements. Worst-case scenario is a simple drag-and-drop correction.

Personally, the blog, calendar, and daily digests allow me to plan out my entertainment choices and reduce the number of groups I need to personally join for announcements. Well, that, and promote the group that I am in... duh, right?

VENERATE MEEEEEEEEEEE! (yay)

But it also can promote the groups that you perform with, photograph, video, or attend.

And that's a Good Thing, but together we can make that Thingness even Better.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for improvement, please put them in the comments of this post.
Thank you,
-R, Dance Queens Manager <- one of the rare times I will use this title and not "I help Web with stuff."

PS: Yes, we still accept stuff for help wanted, new dance troupes, and all of that for the blog. Just put the information in a notecard and drop it in the mailbox, and we'll give it a look-see, okay?

... a little too far?

Got a new car recently.
Figured it needed a little classy.
(And I look good in black.)

Dancer Jargon?

Hi there, I'm back.

So, during Elayn's class tonight, the topic of Second Life dancer jargon came up.

Jargon (n) the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group

The first term that came up was "Ball Warmer." I believe that refers to someone who just puts on a costume and rides a mover as a dancer, doing nothing else.

What are some other terms that we use in dance?

Put them in the comments.

Thankful

America's Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
I remember the days of family feasts.
Grandparents coming in from the city.
Then potlucks, and attempts at a home dinner around her newsroom schedule.
(Who the fuck watches the news on Thanksgiving?)



I work early. She works late. And on holidays.
We argued over whether stuffing had mushrooms and water chestnuts.
So, I made both.
Still, the cats really liked turkey.



But so much effort for so much wasted food.
And they catered or potlucked her work.
So, I challenged myself to make anti-Thankgiving feasts.
An art project, or an excuse not to accept some awkward pity-invitation from friends or coworkers.
The most amusing pathetic solo meals.



Nah, too complicated.



Better.
But then...



Oh. Yes.
Facebook was right... they're open.



Thin crust wood-fired pizza from Kennealy's in Houston.
My favorite. Her favorite.
I picked up two.
There's corned beef on the other pizza.

They're open this year, so I guess that makes a tradition.
I can take a break from the vegan diet for a day, right?
Down 66 pounds, cholesterol and A1C and blood pressure are better.
What's one day, really?

A day to just relax. And reflect.
And be grateful for...
For getting nagged to death into finally seeing a show.
And then shown there are so many more.
For the dance and the dancers.
The choreographers and the set designers.
The creators and dreamers.
Half a second here, do it this way, no THAT way.
The toolmakers and the tools.
The hosts and the deejays (whether I take an obligatory photo of their butt or not).
The teachers and the mentors.
The directors and the dictators.
The shooters and the fans.
Shit, I missed that damn backflip again, did you get it?
And the opportunity to help promote and organize some of this.
(Whether you use the calendar or not, not that I'm judging you for that, it's all okay... but send in those notecards anyway!)
So others can enjoy the magic and the madness.
What I'd been missing all that time.
Until I finally opened that door.
And found... you.

When I did my love letters to dance in the form of interviews on Inara's Living in a Modem World, one word kept coming up: Family.
Through Second Life Dance, so many people have found where they belong.
And I've found mine.



I keep that bookmarked in my browser's bookmarks bar.
It's my pause button for whatever's trying to harsh my mellow.
That moment where you know it will all be okay.
Flicking through the snapshots, the albums, the moments.
The memories.
Through the lag and the loonies, the good and the bad, the pain and the joy, tests and rehearsals and showtime, filling the sim our outnumbering the audience... always classy!
And I'm so goddamned grateful for you all.

-R

(What are you thankful for?)

What happened to The Dance Police?

We're a bit busy chasing juvenile delinquents...



YOU! YES, YOU!
STAND STILL, WILL YA?

(Does this count as a Name That Butt, too?)

Thoughts of home...

When I'm not photographing butts at some dance event, making yet another change to the Dance Queens calendar, being always classy with Debauche, or shopping for more white hair with black ribbons and bows, I tend to stay in my home park.

It's a nice quiet neighborhood. Peaceful as a living painting on my desk at work, wondering when the next pointless meeting or confrontation will happen.

The park is infested with calico cats that represent my RL cat Tinny, who is usually either sleeping on my shoulder or in my lap. And there's the reading room for the stories, the orrery ceiling, the cabinet, and all that.

Despite years of searching for nicer mesh undergrowth, the sculpty flowers with oranges and yellows and reds like Von Gogh remain. Oh, I could have told you, Vincent... that episode of Dr. Who always gets to me.

The lighting, too. I've changed out the torches and lanterns and lamps over and over, never finding quite the right ones. And then I go back to the Trident rusty lanterns.

Same with the clocks in the trees. I've changed out those clocks every so often, from simple sculpty pocketwatches to mesh hoops to hanging clocks... until something better comes around.

And then there's the sections, like the wild blueberries, the pond of tears, the piano (psst Web), the rocks, the fence, the watermelon patch... if I see something new out there, I think about where it might fit in, or if it will fit in better than something else. As long as it doesn't become Pee Wee's Playhouse of chaos.

Oh my God, the bridges I've been through, so many bridges, so many sofas and chairs and hammocks and swings... finally, I've settled that once and for all... until I find better, of course.

Still, with little tweaks and adjustments there, it's still the park.

After every show, I upload the best-of photos and drop them in the mountain gallery, and then pick out the best solo shot to add to my running best-of-the-best collection.

There were times when the park was in the Destination Guide, and then times when I asked for it to be removed. It's a hard balance to find. I've managed to keep it from becoming one of those go-to photo spots that are always full of people rubberbanding around.

It's the same with the friends list, really. Add a few... then a few too many... remove a few... then remove a few too many. Over and over and over.

But there will always be the park, and as much as it stays the same, it's never going to stay completely the same for long.

Tell me about your home.

Name That Butt, Round 30

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.

Name That Butt, Round 29

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.

AND THE ANSWER IS:
Web at the Dance Queens Showcase

If you guessed correctly, well done.

And if you didn't, you have plenty of time to cam around and study up before the next round of... Name That Butt!

Name That Butt, Round 28

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.

AND THE ANSWER IS:
Lags of Debauche!

If you guessed correctly, well done.

And if you didn't, you have plenty of time to cam around and study up before the next round of... Name That Butt!

Name That Butt, Round 27

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.

AND THE ANSWER IS:
Kelly at Noir!

If you guessed correctly, well done.

And if you didn't, you have plenty of time to cam around and study up before the next round of... Name That Butt!

Name That Butt, Round 26

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.


AND THE ANSWER IS:
Si de Brit at Winds!

If you guessed correctly, well done.

And if you didn't, you have plenty of time to cam around and study up before the next round of... Name That Butt!

Name That Butt, Round 25

It's time once again to Name That Butt!

After shooting thousands of photos of dance performance in Second Life, I've gone a bit off my rocker.

I'll post a photo of someone's butt, and you try to guess who it belongs to.



Put your guesses in the comments.

AND THE ANSWER IS:
Aiofe of Debauche... GO SISTER GO!

If you guessed correctly, well done.

And if you didn't, you have plenty of time to cam around and study up before the next round of... Name That Butt!