New Year, and Anniversary Reflections

I was amazed this week when I realized I had been DJing one year as of January 13th.

They say that "Time Flies When You're Having Fun." That seems to be very true. It hardly seems possible that I started spinning tunes at the Wharf last year, and it has been a full year plus, now. I've probably done 130 sets - I'll have to go back and count to verify, just for my own knowledge - but its not so much how many, or how long, but whether people enjoy what I'm doing, and as importantly, do I still enjoy it.

My friend Kaj has been DJing for I about 2 1/2 years, and I remember an interview he did for VR Style. To make a long story short, he said he still loved DJing. I reflected on that as the realization hit me this past week. And I came to the conclusion that like my friend, I enjoy DJing. Sure it can be hectic coming up with a playlist on the spur of the moment, or you can get frustrated with technical problems like a hard drive crash, or a misbehaving stream. But thankfully those problems have been few and far between.

I hope I keep an interesting combination of various tunes playing to entertain people. I think I do. But something else seems to have come to me as well during this past year that means as much to me on a very personal level.

This past year has helped me sort of re-connect with something I love, rock music (in all the glorious sub-categories that I really enjoy). Its helped me reclaim a part of my life that had been lacking in the daily RL grind, and inject it back into the forefront of my life. That has been a most excellent experience. I found and breathed new life into a part of me that needed that attention. I have Finnegan to thank for giving me a chance to DJ at The Wharf, back on January 13th, 2009 (the first set where I streamed for a crowd). While DJing itself maybe wasn't stopping me from connecting to music, it certainly has been a catalyst to keeping me active in being involved in music as much for my benefit as those that listen to what I like to play.

A big thanks goes out to all the people that have supported/enjoyed/encouraged me along the way as well. I wouldn 't necessarily *want* to DJ if I didn't have people at my sets.

Special thanks to Kev Darkfold for being at the "Graveyard Shift" at the Wharf during my first late Friday sets.

Special Thanks to Kaj for advice, support and friendship over the last year.

And special thanks to Pookie for encouraging me to be a rock and roll star *LAUGH*

I couldn't have done it without my best friend RL either. You know who you are.

One Small Step, One Giant Leap

It seems like forever since I posted on here.. seems to be a running theme with me. I thought I would blog in the past to share experiences and memories, but sometimes, RL and SL team up to give me damned little time to cogitate and set my thoughts to print - I guess life is that way in general. Unless you make the effort, the opportunity passes me by.

Honestly, I sometimes think this is one of the best ways for me to actually put a lot of thought into a subject, and wrangle it around for context and examine my own feelings. As much as I think when I post I am expressing my thoughts on a subject that I feel strong about.

One of the things that I noticed yesterday was how I felt really optomistic. It was the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing, Apollo 11, and the giants of Armstrong and Aldrin, and the oft forgotten Collins, that traveled to that heavenly body, and were the first of mankind to truly experience it. Sure Collins didn't get to set foot there, which is a shame, but his contribution is no less important.

Some people say that the space program did nothing but waste money and time and resources, and goad the generations that have followed to continue wasting money and time and resources on an endeavor that can only get people killed, instead of concentrating the aforementioned items to people that are here, now, suffering, hurting, or otherwise just not getting those resources for use.

Imagine if that had been the attitude of Columbus, or any of the other ocean going explorers and the governments of those times. Imagine. What would our world look like today if we never looked beyond our borders, and really thought about what was over the horizen. And then never tried to see what it was.

The recent passing of Walter Cronkite, one of the most well known journalists/reporters/ and television personalities of the 20th Century, and an avid supporter and the main voice for coverage (in many ways) of the Apollo space program, has had a lot of attention, and many news shows are playing interviews from the last few years. Walter made mention in one of these interviews that in 500 years, the event that will be remembered as much as anything else will be Man Landing on the Moon. Like Columbus, in 1492, widely credited for finding the New World (widely, though some say inaccurately) (if Lief Erikson had had a better publicist, or didn't try to keep the knowlege to himself (I don't know if he did or not) he would have gotten the credit 400 years before, right?).

Where was I? Yeah, 500 years from now, man landing on the moon will be what people remember, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, constantly referred to as the First and Second humans to walk on the surface of the moon, hopefully will also be remembered for pushing the frontiers further into both imagination and exploration of what we can accomplish if we have the impetus of both imagination and desire to see across that next horizen.

I look back over this period of time, and I truly hope that there is a push to continue the exploration of space, and not some underfunded half-baked attempt to make it look like something is happening, when all we're doing is dragging our feet. Granted, without Warp Drive, Hyperspace portals, stargates, or Time Warping starships or gateways, I think we can safely say that the exploration of space is going to be something that will have to happen at a slow, steady pace. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.

Oh well, I've babbled a lot about a topic that I'm just scratching the surface of. In the final analysis, I think its what we have to do. Give ourselves options for both resources, and just in case, options, for we are not a terribly wise people, as a whole. I think there are those among us that are wise, but I think as long as politics is a driving force, expediancy and greed will tend to hobble the development of mankind.

Neil Armstrong took that small step by one man, and left a foot print in a place very few have ever been - for all mankind. In the end, my dreams and hopes took root in a future that may never come, but I can sleep better at night knowing that foot print is there, leading the way into what I know is a better future, if we can only follow in those footsteps.

D

Starfall - the new blog

Just yesterday, I started a new blog for the new place - its called STARFALL. Here's the link:

http://starfall-home.blogspot.com

We'll be posting stuff about Starfall - DJ Schedules, events (pictures and happenings), and whatever pops into our little brains *grin*

Kaj posted pictures of the Grand Opening last night on there, so pop on over and see what's there.

We're pretty much duplicating the event schedule from the previous venue. I really hope that everyone enjoys what we've done.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Love,
Dehr

Starfall - The New Home for the Wharf

At 4PM this evening, DJ Blaise will begin the party that opens the new club - its the Summer Solstice, and what better time to open the temple up to celebrate the summer!

We're calling the new place STARFALL. Its a place to hang out and do whatever. Its not just for when you want to dance and party. Bring your friends over - we'll be adding some features over the coming days, so Please, have a good time and enjoy!

DJ Blaise starts the celebration at 4PM, and at 6PM I'll be playing some of my rawkin' tunes, and hopefully keep your weekend alive a little bit longer.

My personal thanks, by the way, go out to the following folks, in no particular order, but with as much gratitude as possible for making our new place a reality:

Koen, for donating the land and making room for our new home. A great new friend.
Kyne, for building his little fingers off, being a good friend, and not scratching my eyes out for getting him into this xD Oh, and being a smexy nekoboy!
MTD - Builder, wiseman, wiseguy, all around sexy elfin beast!
Merrick - Textures, advice, enthusiasm, and reminding me that this is for all of us.
Ima - Textures, humor, and everything you do

So many other folks, and I can't say enough to express how much this means to me. Thank you all!

Managing to get by for the future

Up until this past Sunday evening, things were pretty good, I suppose.

I had a great job Managing at the Wharf, lots of friends.. I had just celebrated my 2nd Rezday on SL - Saturday.
Then the Wharf closed the next day, on this past Sunday. We were all a bit dumbstruck.

I was given ownership of the group, and all of a sudden - I'd gone from being the Manager to being something else. I was the guy that a lot of you turned to looking for what we needed to do.

I am a good planner - when I have most of the variables. I get a bit fuzzy when the way forward isn't that clear - who doesn't? But I felt this burning desire to push forward to get back what was lost. And that kept the motion forward going.

I could dwell on the sense of loss, hurt, anger, confusion that sort of hovered around like a cloud the first few hours. Hell, I took the whole thing rather calmly. I didn't know any more than anyone else did. But I think I had worked a few things out, so it wasn't quite a shock. And I truly understood WHY it happened. But I'm not going to dwell on that.

To be honest, we find ourselves in a situation that could not have been better than if we had left things the way they were.

Friendships have grown closer, and new ones are forming. With change comes opportunity. And this is a golden one.

People started to pull together Sunday night. And it kept building. The sense of support I have felt in the last 5 days has been humbling. It has nearly brought me to tears to be honest. It has shored up my determination to do everything I can to make this new "wharf" or clubhouse or whatever we want to call it - work.

This merry band of misfits that we are, and all the friends and party-goers that we have and will entertain, that's what I want to give us back - a place for us to gather, have fun, hang out, joke, and experience each other in that intimate way we have come to enjoy so much.

We needed a new home. We've got one. We're building the new club. It WILL be done soon. I won't give an exact date, but soon is certainly within the next week, if not this weekend.

In the meantime, we can party on our good friend's Vince and Darla's "Crypt Dwelling" Clutch Cargo, like we have the last few nights. Or if we want, we can play on someone's land, have a house party. A lot of those that have clubs or are involved have made offers to let us use their places. That's really cool.

The point is.. I've felt a strong bonding, a feeling of togetherness through out the last 5 days that has left me at a loss to express to everyone what it means to me.

I just hope I'm up to the task of giving you back a place that you want to hang out together.
With all of us pulling together, it is NOT just me. I'm more just a traffic cop standing here, watching friends both old and new pull together to create something better for us all.

You are all throwing your passion into building the new place. And its going to be awesome.

The biggest contribution everyone can make, truly, is to look forward - not behind. Look to the future of what the Wharf has become, and see that we've actually grown stronger and closer for it.

If you are reading this, keep your eyes on the notices. I'll let you know when the new place opens. And we'll have one hell of a fab party *grin*

Dehr

PS - Koen- thank you so much for your support, and giving us a home.

Boldly remaking the Final Frontier? Star Trek has arrived on the big screen

Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott, Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu and Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Eric Bana as Nero in Paramount Pictures' Star Trek - 2009

Well, I can't say I was apprehensive regarding whether the new Star Trek reboot film would be good or not. It seems that there is enough inertia behind director/producers like JJ Abrams that they at least attempt to produce something that is watchable. Star Trek, in this case, is not only watchable, its pretty darn good.
I won't get into spoilers here, so don't worry about me blurting out a key plot point.
What I will say is the movie is rather well cast. Most of the actors were transparent to the roles they were in, with the exception of the appearance of Leonard Nimoy - I'm not spoiling anything there - it has been ballyhooed that Spock/Nimoy appears in the film at some point.

Something I have to say - I attempted to avoid as much of the media hype for this movie as possible. I largely succeeded. Early on I did surf IMDB for the cast members, at least for the Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc. And I did indulge in a few of the trailers that were released last year and about a month ago.

Often times I find that the information put in place to promote a movie either spoils it, or somehow dilutes the enjoyment. My main reason for avoidance is - I didn't want to dwell on whether it would be a good remake or speculate on whether this was "true" to the original actors. That would not be fair to this film, other than - it is incumbent upon whomever is remaking a franchise to pony up to the table and deliver the goods - if you are going to "remake" the original, be as fresh and interesting as you can, advertise it for what it is, and (in my opinion) try to honor the spirit of the original. Otherwise, what is the point? You could have renamed it whatever you want - and it would probably do just as well. Of course, there's no such thing as bad press, and everyone loves to rubber neck at a crash site, right? Some movies rely on that if they are going to suck.

This one, happily, didn't.

Eric Bana plays a Romulan named Nero - I didn't realize he was in the film until I saw the credits. I was aware I had seen the face before somewhere. Transparent to the role. I am not a big fan of Eric Bana, but I'm not a detractor either. He was good in Troy, and though I didn't care much for the film, the Hulk.

Zachary Quinto plays the part of Spock far better than I had thought. I expected him to be more like "Sylar", if I'm being honest. He doesn't have Leonard Nimoy's ability to maintain an impassive face, at least as was portrayed in the original series. But all things considered, he gave a rather good performance.

Chris Pike makes a good James T. Kirk. I can't say I heard of him before this movie, which is ok. But he does the role credit.

Anton Yelchin - the fresh faced Pavel Chekov of the film - he had some techno babble, was very geeky eager, and they played up his faux-Russian accent quite heavily. I can't say I was over thrilled with the character, but I was not put off by it either.
Simon Pegg plays Scotty, and he wasn't bad, though maybe in future installments, they will actually focus on the man and the character more, rather than the sound byte "I'm giv'n 'er all she's got Cap'n!".

Karl Urban was wonderful as McCoy. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed his portrayal. I have become a fan of his from this role.

John Cho's Sulu was developed in a mid-range way. I guess they didn't want the characters to be taken too seriously, yet tried to give them weight and merit. But overall, he wasn't bad in the role at all. He wasn't gay enough *laugh* though.

Zoe Saldana playing Uhura - I am ... conflicted here. I won't say much about this, but I can see what they were doing and why. Zoe Saldana gave a good performance, no doubt. But - well, you decide if I'm being over critical for the way her character was slotted in. But of all the characters, I'm not sure this one is as true to the character portrayed by Nichelle Nichols. Not the actor's fault, but a matter of plot/scripting.

Another person to note - Bruce Greenwood was an excellent Captain Christopher Pike. I can't say enough of how much I enjoyed his portrayal of this character. In a lot of ways, he should have gotten more screen time than he did. Excellent job.

Overall, the Enterprise herself got a facelift on the outside. Its a very familiar design, more "artistic" than the original series version. They didn't dwell much on the details of the ship, so I would not go in expecting that. Interior shots of Engineering didn't seem to jive well with the sort of ship it should have been, but then, I guess pipes and tubes have to be routed from somewhere.

Anyway, long story short - I'd see this film again. Probably will. And if you've seen it, and want to discuss, let me know and we can talk about all the things I didn't put in this review.

Speachless, or introspective?

After I posted last week, I realized that was the first post I've done in a long while on my blog. I had been posting a lot on Mondays, and occasionally through the week, but the last 2 – 3 weeks I haven’t. I guess the Wharf Blog has been getting most of my attention, since I spend a good portion of my time in and around that beloved place.

I don’t think its been from a lack of things to say, or situations to comment on. I think I’m too busy doing - well - everything, and I run out of time to put my thoughts into a readable format.

Of course, my RL has been a storm of activity through my RL job. That has demanded I spend an inordinate amount of time in the last month dealing with that situation. And when I log into SL, I'm rather busy. And that got me to thinking – man, I spend a lot of time on SL.

So let’s do the numbers – between Hosting, DJing, and Managing throughout the week, I devote about 20+ hours of my time to those activities. That’s not including DJ set prep times, promoting or dealing with issues for the Wharf, sets running over an hour or more, or blogging and promoting for that prosperous pile. It is hard to quantify some of those hours because they are intertwined with everything else I do. (By the way, I’m not complaining – It’s a combination of the best jobs in the world. I love it).

Often times it’s a matter of priorities. I spend time with my various friends, whether its bouncing from/to clubs, hanging out at their place, or meeting up at The Wharf. I frequent other venues as well, like the Aqua Lounge or Centerfold, to hear my friends play.

I am increasingly busy when I'm online, though. Especially today, Friday - I have a set to put together yet - I think I'll do a boogie/funk/disco set, maybe. I've been thinking hard about how I can vary my sets more. I used to drop into other clubs all the time to hear what others are playing. I've not been doing that quite so often of late.

My passion for the Wharf and the satisfaction I get from that whole portion of my SL continues unabated. It’s challenging sometimes.

One GOOD thing is, Ima has shown herself to be a competent, fun-loving and capable person at hosting, so she's helping me out a few nights a week for my sets (for the past month, I’ve been without a regular host because the time difference for buster was just too great), and for the Wednesday night set. That will take 4-6 hours commitment off me from the hosting side, and/or making my DJ sets less stressful.

Overall - I guess I don’t really have a point to this ramble, other than – you put time and effort into things you have to, and into the people and things you love, and you hope that the time is worth it. I think it’s worth it. I would rather spend my time sharing with these people I have found that are so awesome - this family of wonderful, crazy, brilliant, funny, and messed up missfits - my brothers/sisters and friends.