Leash Laws in Erie

Well, the Mayor has made another of her decrees - all animals have to be on leashes or be locked up! That is so discriminatory! It's not like the Erie Council even got to vote on it. Does she think Council Member Marzi would wear a leash? As if! And THEN she hired a bunch of critters to run around attacking people so that everyone would think the law was needed. She is so sneaky!


Well, the Brigade will see that something is done about it - we are investigating and she will be exposed to the whole island. Here is a wonderful poster someone put up at Brigade Headquarters.



On a happier note, I am going to be performing in the Phantom Theatre production of Where the Wild Things Are. I will be playing Pete the Dog. I checked the picture book out my Real Life library today - the dog only appears on one page and is being chased with a fork by Max. I think that the play will be much more detailed. (Although I don't expect to have a speaking part, of course!) We are supposed to get fitted for our costumes right away, but I'm pretty sure I won't be forced to wear a costume.

Marzi's Big News

It was quiet in Erie last night, so I found a copyable yarn ball in my inventory and Harry, Ronnie, Leilani, and I chased them, jumped on them, shot at them, and hit them with hammers. We attracted the attention of a few pedestrians too.

It was very silly and restful, especially after the last couple of weeks. I have been stalked by a Dread who was planning to have me for dinner and held hostage by the Mob for a little while. And my BIG news is that I have been asked to be a Senior Roleplayer! That is such an honor! I hope I will be worthy of it and not get sidetracked by jerky treats and sticks to chase.

Wedding Bells for Celina and Kazzy

Ooh, what a lovely wedding last night! Celina and Kazzy got married in the Erie Isle Cathedral and I was a bridesmaid! Here I am before the wedding - it was a hot day and the stone felt nice and cool.


Celina and Kazzy are taking their vows. That's Athena on the far right, standing up for the groom. She's one of my favorite people on Erie Isle.


Celina looks wonderful. I had only seen her in human form before. Isn't her gown beautiful? And Kazzy has that snappy sailor uniform - woohoo!


The happy couple kiss after being pronounced husband and wife. The Cathedral was decorated with roses and hardly looked scary at all.


They swept down the aisle to the joyful congratulations of their friends - then on to Club Restricted to party, party, party.

There's still time to vote for Marzi!

Yes, this is me - cute, cuddly, and pretty much capable. This is my favorite poster Ran made. She put it up in the Slums.


Here I am answering a question in the debate. Ran is at the podium, moderating. She made me this stand because the chairs are so uncomfortable. I'm sitting between Tristen and Lady Ren, two of the other candidates. I have my stack of note cards in front of me, ready for any question. My other cards said things like "more fire hydrants," and "jerky treats for everyone."

Vote for Marzi for Erie Isle City Council!

Photoshoot!

Ran (standing) took pictures of Yan and me so she could make campaign posters. Yan will speak for me at the debate tomorrow night in case anyone has questions. I was hoping to get by on my good looks, but I may have to answer something that needs more than "woof" in reply. When I look more closely at this picture I see that Yan appears to have her hand over my muzzle - maybe I shouldn't even be woofing.

Here is the great, professional looking poster Ran made. It's up on the side of Brigade Headquarters. Notice how I'm standing on the Fire Truck - how cool is that? Ran taught me a special trick to get up on top of it.



Here I am after an evening of trotting around Erie handing out campaign flyers that match the signboards I wear. I made them myself, and I must say they look like I made them myself. I just hope I can get the red and black paint off my paws in time for the debate.

VKC Portuguese Water Dog!

A big surprise today from the Virtual Kennel Club creator Enrico Genosse - a Second Life Portuguese Water Dog. And for only 1500 Lindens, which is remarkably inexpensive for what the VKC dogs can do. (It may be a special opening day price, though.) The VKC dogs can follow sequences of commands as well as single ones, so they can learn tricks. They are absolutely amazing, although not quite as smart as I am, of course.


Dogland Park at Canis Beach was crowded with people and dogs. There are quite a few places to see VKC dogs now, but I went here today: http://slurl.com/secondlife/canis%20beach/


On the left is the Old English Sheepdog, the most recent of the VKC breeds. Center, of course, is the "First Family Dog." I have no idea why the Obamas didn't choose a Dalmatian!

Family Village, Part II

I couldn't download more pictures yesterday, so I broke up my Family Village post into two parts. Here are Alexius and her son Skott showing me the Pirate Cave. I should have made them turn around so you could see their faces, but I didn't think of it till too late. Next time, guys!



Inside the cave is a great place to play. Skott and his dad Hektah designed and built the whole thing. I love the skeleton!



Hektah told me that his son Devon's lemonade stand pays for the whole village. I'm not sure if he was exaggerating a little bit, but anyone will want to buy a cup of lemonade and a cookie here!

Family Village, Part I

Family Village http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jobina/154/207/21/

My friends Hektah Szpigel and Alexius Dumpling have expanded their store (Flashy's Kreationz 4 Kidz) and now have a whole village. It's just wonderful - bright and open and cheerful, with activities for families and kids. I wasn't able to go to their grand opening last weekend, but today I had a chance to check out Family Village.

This is the 7 Seas fishing area. Alexius is in the background with Hektah and his son Devon on the right and their friend Brooklynn on the left, holding up the beautiful fish she caught. I never thought I would like the 7 Seas fishing game since I don't have the patience to fish in Real Life, but it really is fun. I finally paid my 250 Lindens for the professional fishing rod set, which contains an invisible rod without animations so I can use it without distorting my appearance. Some of the fishes are really intricate, and Family Village also has custom bears you can reel in. (You can also end up catching a piece of scrap metal or an old battery, but that can be fun too.)


This is Kids Nation, a club/dance floor for kids. Hektah and Alexius built it, of course!


Looking out from Kids Nation you can see shops and the playground area. There are just enough shops to be fun and interesting, but not so many as to cause lag.


The new Flashy's Kreations is spacious with all kinds of furniture and decorations. Hektah has expanded on the Fire Truck theme and now has a whole bedroom set!

I will have to post part 2 tomorrow. It seems I can only download four pictures a day, so I'll save Skott's pirate cave for a post of its own!

Brigade members captured!

What a scary day in Erie Isle - three Brigade members have been kidnapped! Victoria, Journey, and Ran have all mysteriously disappeared, and with the Dreadshift slave auction coming up tonight, we have a pretty good idea of who took them and what will happen to them.




Sheriff Choi was called to a disturbance in front of the Dread castle, so I tagged along and found out that our own Brigade soldier Harry had been caught searching the castle. The Dread tied him up and summoned the law to deal with him. Harry insists there is a hidden basement in the castle, but the Dread deny it and no one believes him. By this time Colly, our Brigade medic, had arrived on her motorcycle.




The Dread left Harry for Choi to deal with. While they decided what to do, I found this feather - an angel feather from our own missing Journey! She has to be inside the castle in spite of what the Dread say.




I really really wanted to rush in and hunt for Journey myself, because I was sure I could track her once I was inside, but Choi and Colly said no. We have to wait till the Dread aren't watching for us and come up with a Cunning Plan to rescue Journey. But can we do it before the slave auction?

Fire Department - um,Training?

I got a message Monday afternoon to report to the firehouse at 5:00 pm for training. Fire Chief Air said, "If we can get some extra training in there may be some promotions for folks who need to get off probation." It was the first chance I've had for fire department training, since my schedule never works out for it, so I was pretty excited. It turned out to be a little different from what I'd expected - and funny thing - nothing was ever said about promotions after the session ended . . . .

Only three trainees showed up - me and Oracon, who I've seen around quite a bit, and Ash, a person new to me. You can see her standing with me beside the ambulance. Ash and I really got along well and I'm hoping she and I can be the K-9 search and rescue team. But I have to ask her what she thinks about that! She sure likes dogs and she has a great sense of humor, so I will be really happy if she agrees.

Air decided to show us how to drive the ambulance, so he got in the driver's seat with Oracon in the passenger seat. Ash and I got in the back and Air started up the engine. The next thing I knew we were barreling down the street, swinging madly around the corner. The back doors flew open and I don't remember anything for the next few minutes. Then I realized I had been thrown out and the ambulance had driven into a canal! It took forever for Air to get it out of the water. We were all laughing so hard (out of character, that is) that we never did calm down.

Maybe (in character) it was really one of those training simulations where you have to solve a really hard problem. But maybe it was just one of those days. We finally got back to the firehouse and it wasn't a minute later that someone stole the fire truck right in front of us!

I stayed in world for three hours last night! It was pretty crazy - but it was so cool to have a computer that kept up with all the excitement. I could type and the words appeared right away. I could move around without getting stuck. I can see I'm going to have to watch my time here - because after all, I do have a Real Life too!




[17:57] Marzipan Zanzibar looks sadly down at the ambulance - if only she had been trained in search and rescue. Oh well.

Les chiens de chasse de la reine

I love Erie Isle, but I still like to explore Second Life. Here I am at the Palace of Versailles, France's unofficial capital for much of the 17th and 18th centuries. http://slurl.com/secondlife/versailles%20city/ I was the only visitor, and I never saw so many huge empty rooms. I got a little dizzy standing on this floor.



But there was one room that wasn't empty - the Queen's bedchamber. It had a beautiful harpsichord that I couldn't play - my paws are too big. (I think I could play a harp, though. I could do lovely glisses with my paws. How hard could it be?)



The room actually had two occupants: the Queen's hunting dogs. And look - they have spots, just like me! If I ever go back and find the Court is in residence, I will pretend that I am one of the "chiens de chasse de la reine."


I had to take a little nap after trudging through the palace. I'm sure the Queen wouldn't mind.

Erie Isle won and I got a new computer - what a great weekend!

Erie Isle
http://slurl.com/secondlife/erie%20isle/ won the role-playing category of the Resident Choice Awards - are we good or what!

http://secondlife.com/resident-choice-awards/

Yes, we're the best! I expect to see lots of curious Second Life residents exploring Erie in the next few days. But please, Dalmatians, stay away - this fire truck is taken.

Speaking of fire trucks, look at this picture. It's from my brand-new computer, put together by my all-time favorite human. I can't believe how fast everything rezzes and how good everything looks. I am amazed at the detail in the Erie builds that I just couldn't see before with my old PC (dog rest its soul). I can hardly tear myself away - I feel like I could step through the monitor screen and be in Erie without even teleporting. I swear I can taste the jerky the Erie Islanders keep giving me.

Finally!

l
I finally got home! I'm getting by with an old computer for now and it took me forever to find the right video drivers for it, but tonight I managed to go in world. Yes, it looks pretty pathetic, and I didn't even try going to Erie Isle yet, but it will do for now. I am promised a wonderful, powerful, super PC. The parts are here but I don't know how long it will take to put it together. I don't care, though - I'm home.

Trapped in Real Life

I can't help but whine a little - the computer crashed and hopes of saving it aren't good. Himself is building a new one but it won't be ready for a while. In the meantime we might have the use of the really old one that still runs Windows 98, but even that isn't certain.

So right now I'm limited to what I can do from my Blackberry - which is not much!

I did join the Dalmatian Yahoo group. Someone posted a really good joke (or maybe it's not a joke) which I'll share with you:

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagonfull of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past.Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children fell to discussing the dog's duties.
"They use him to keep crowds back," said one youngster.
"No," said another, "he's just for good luck."
Then a third child brought the argument to a close..."They use the dog," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."


And now I guess I'll go have a snack and a nap.

Weekend Fun

This was a fun weekend on Erie Isle! I met a charming new friend called Nine. He helped with Choi's rescue. I hope to see more of him - he reminds me a little of the Creature from the Black Lagoon (my all-time favorite creature).




Journey made me a recruiting signboard to wear. The Brigade members all think I look really cute in it, and I think so too.





I'm supposed to be keeping track of a mysterious visitor to Erie, but so far I can't ascertain his motives in coming here. He did feed me jerky, though, so I know he has a heart of gold.

Urban Search and Rescue

Erie Fire Chief at Weekly Brigade Meeting

I found out yesterday at the Brigade weekly meeting that I wasn't officially a member of the Fire Department. I had to apply! It just doesn't seem right that a Dalmatian wouldn't automatically be a member, but I filled out the application and today I was accepted! Fire Chief Aircom has given a lot of thought as to how I can fit in (other than just running after the Fire Truck):

Ever heard of a USAR Team?
Urban Search & Rescue
It's a specialty rescue unit that launches a massive response to a disaster like a hurricane, a terrorist attack or an earthquake

And he says I can be half of a K-9 team. Actually, what he said was I would have to find a handler. (After a little discussion we agreed to say partner instead of handler. )

He told me about a great web site - http://www.peopleandpaws.org/AreasofExpertise/USAR/tabid/58/Default.aspx

I'm going to study the information there to prepare for my training. I do have to find a partner first. I asked my BGF Danielle if she would like to be partners, but she has just been asked to be a Senior Role Player and may not have the time for search and rescue. We'll talk about it more later this week. I hope she can do it, but it's really an honor for her to be a Senior Role Player and I can see how it could be very time consuming.

Job Fair

What a fun evening I had yesterday! It was the Erie Job Fair, a tour of the island so that new and potential residents could see what part they might want to play. In the top picture you can see the tour group coming across the street from the Courthouse, where they learned what it takes to get on the Council and how someone can be a DJ on Erie Isle. The second picture is outside the Hospital. Doc Ran (in the white coat) and Brigade Chief Journey are in the back (they had finally stopped dancing!) with Fire Department Lieutenant Choi in the foreground. (I don't remember who the legs on the left belong to.) Right behind me you can see our Fire Hydrant - we really need one on every corner.

Brigade members were dancing when I arrived before the tour.

Doc says "glad to be brigade.. even when times are tough..we dance."

It took forever for things to rez well enough to take pictures. We were asked not to to wear radar HUDs so as to keep the lag down, but my personal opinion is that flexi hair is the lag monster. I hate being without my Mystitool - it's almost as bad as losing my sense of smell would be. Sure, I know if my friends are online, but how far away are they? I took it off, though (/me sighs noisily!).

When it was the Brigade's turn to answer questions Choi and Journey told the newcomers we need drivers, helicopter pilots, fire crew, paramedics, and even a bomb technician. Ran explained that the hospital needs nurses, orderlies, doctors, and janitors. Healers can be herbalists, whole health, and magic and science healers. I wore a title that said Fire Dog - Erie's Best Job. But really I hoped no one else would want to be a Fire Dog. I bet we could use a bloodhound for tracking or a Newfoundland for water rescue, though.

Before the group left the Sheriff talked about law enforcement jobs. The Sheriff is pretty scary so I stayed out of his way. The tour moved on to the Red Zone, where they planned to meet a surprise guest in the Butcher Shop. I kinda wanted to go, but Colly IM'd me: "I wouldn't Marzipan, or you may wind up being served" so instead I stayed and played with Jaden. We gave eskimo kisses, which didn't have anything at all to do with being an Eskimo dog - it's just rubbing noses together. Jaden says anybody with a nose can have eskimo kisses, even a Dalmatian!

I am just about blogged out now. I think it's time for a snack.

3 weeks later . . .

How embarrassing! There is a link to this blog at www.erie-isle.com and I haven't posted for three whole weeks! Bad dog!

I can explain, though - I have been so busy participating in island life that I haven't had time to keep up the blog. I am having a wonderful time and have made lots of new friends. Everyone is so nice and so much fun (well, except for the people who tried to run over me with the ambulance when I first started). I am finding I love Role Playing. It's kinda like improvisational theatre, except that you can take your time thinking about what you're going to say because everything moves rather slowly. And that's okay, because at the same time you will be juggling instant messages with several other people and waiting for lag to catch up with your typing if there are lots of people in the sim.

I wasn't sure at first just how to play a dog on Erie Isle - it's not like being myself in regular Second Life, where people take it for granted that I can talk. I've taken a couple of "emoting" classes (one offered in Erie - they are great on educating residents and have several classes each week on all kinds of topics) so I knew that I could type /me happily accepts the jerky offered to her and see it appear on the screen as

Marzipan Zanzibar happily accepts the jerky offered to her

I almost always use that format since most Erie residents can't hear me speak to them ICly. (Don't you love that abbreviation? IC for "in character" and OC for "out of character" - thus ICly and OOCly). I do attempt to talk directly to people on occasion, especially if I have important information for them. For instance, I may type <<< CAN YOU HEAR ME? >>> to get their attention at first.

I decided on this format because the symbols look a little like radio waves, and I'm hoping to convey the idea of telepathy. Often someone I'm talking to will IM me and ask if they are supposed to be able to understand me. I reply that it's up to the individual whether or not they can "hear" me. Then depending on their own character's abilities, they may say something like /me wishes she could understand the little dog, who almost seems to be trying to talk or /me's cat-like senses immediately detect what the puppy is saying.

When someone can't understand my telepathic words I have to resort to the Lassie method of communication - I bark a lot and try to get people to follow me. It's exhausting, let me tell you. How Lassie ever managed to get Timmy out of the well so many times is beyond me!

Just one picture this time - I must remember to take more, but I get so caught up in the moment it's not easy!

I'm not the only puppy on Erie Isle?

I am so EXCITED!!! I have been accepted into the Brigade, the law and order faction on Erie Isle. Here is the announcement from the Brigade:

WELCOME NEW CADET
Please welcome Marzipan Zanzibar, our very own Fire Dog and Brigade mascot! Please help her learn the ropes and make sure she is fed, walked and loved up regularly!

I haven't started role playing yet, but tonight I went to the Gypsy camp and my friend Danielle helped me set up my DCS meter, which keeps track of experience points and combat damage. Not that I'm going to be fighting - I'm not tall enough to qualify! It was very confusing setting it up, but she walked me through it and now I'm all ready to start playing.




Someday soon I hope to take part in rescue operations like the one Danielle and I watched yesterday - you can see the rescue boat by the downed helicopter and the ship caught in the sea monster's tentacles. But I need rescue dog training first!

Erie Isle

I've had my excitement for the day, sure - I accidently stole a helicopter and crashed it! I was visiting Erie Isle, a role-playing sim. Here is their web page: http://www.erie-isle.com/

I read all their note cards at the landing site and put on a visitor tag. When I entered the island itself there were several fights going on so I tried to stay out of everyone's way while I looked around. A big black helicopter on the roof of the hospital caught my eye, and the next thing I knew I had climbed up to the roof and sat in the pilot's seat. Sometimes it is so awkward having paws rather than hands - I must have pushed a button because suddenly the chopper was in the air and turning in circles. Somehow I got it partially under control and tried to take it back to the landing pad.


A warning from one of the Game Masters that the helicopter was not to be used by observers got me just rattled enough to crash on an apartment building balcony. The occupant wasn't too happy. She said:
Get off my landing
Or I will end you
One second love
jump
and you will live

You can bet I jumped! I didn't even have time to take a picture of the crash scene. But I didn't break anything when I landed and soon I met a kind being who took me to Club Restricted for a nice drink of water.



Club Restricted was a little scary because everyone who came in the door was "cursed by the Dreadshift" and burst into flame. Fortunately this didn't happen to mere observers like me! They all recovered right away, so maybe the curse isn't too terrible.

I came home thinking that I probably had had enough excitement and wouldn't be going back. But then I read a recent issue of the Erie Isle Seer - and guess what I saw!


An article about the Erie Island Fire Department! I wonder if they need a mascot? I will have to investigate this further!

"Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?"

Or - I went to Narnia and all I got was this lousy lamp post. Okay, it's really a lovely lamp post, but I am so disheartened. The creator of the Chronicles of Narnia sim decided he wasn't going to do it any more so he took Narnia down - with only a few hours notice. I loved visiting my friends there, but I knew there was something wrong because all the people I liked best were leaving. It was still a shock to have it all Fizzle out. I won't even bother to post the other pictures I took.

But if you look in my inworld profile, you can see me with Aslan - that's a memory no one can take away from me.