There's a hair in our cake

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

That Pandora Wrigglesworth has struck again. I'm still chuckling, even as I type.

The annual Hair Fair 2009 in Second Life® is a massive (hairy?) affair that just about everyone loves, despite that fact that it lags us nearly to death (attendance is sky-high), but we like it especially because it benefits Locks of Love, the charitable organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy and other medical reasons.

Now, Pandora is known for her utterly surreal, over-the-top and laughter-inducing creations and her exclusive coiffs for the fair do not disappoint.

She writes:

"None of these styles will be available until the fair opens and, for the duration of the fair, will only be available at the fair."


The "Lampshade Hairstyle"

"Why choose between glamour and frivolity? You can have both and be the life of every party! When you walk in with Lampshade hairstyle, you are sure to light up the room!

Lights up just like a Real Lamp! Just tug on the single spring curl beside your right ear.

Hide in plain sight from Stupid People!"


The Let Them Eat Cake Off Of Your Head! style

"The people may be revolting but don't hold it against them. Let them eat cake with the Let The Eat Cake Off Of Your Head hairstyle! Treat your guests to six delicious varieties of cake, artfully arranged within a tower of lavish curls and garnished with delicate flowers.

People can help themselves to any of the three cakes you are currently wearing simply by touching the cake they want. Forks and plates are complimentary."

Hostess and Buffet in One!

The most SCRUMPTIOUS hairstyle ever!

Infinite Cake!

The Cake Menu includes:
- Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Carrot Cake
- Cherry Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Birthday Cake

It seems we can expect three hairstyles from Pandora, and we haven't seen the third yet. I am all anticipation!


Photographs by Pandora Wrigglesworth.

Oh that Pandora Wrigglesworth! She has done it again!

Posted by Alpha Auer...

I would have expected nothing less than total hilarity from the lady who has endowed the metaverse with the clockwork brain, which is prominently displayed in my blogger picture to your right on this very page, but I really have to say that Ms. Wrigglesworth may have outdone even herself with this latest one - the Rococo Fantastico hair. Thus, without further ado, first a direct quote from the creator herself:

"Now is your chance to show that snooty Marie Antoinette who the real queen is. Rococo Fantastico is the biggest hairstyle you will ever see. It takes six zeppelins and four propellers just to keep it up! Includes clockwork ballroom with porcelain dancers. Choose your own color, bows, flowers, and style!"


...

So indeed, Rococo Fantastico comes with a full menu which allows you to decide on the colors of all its components and even gives you style options. Needless to say, I immediately went for the dark steampunk style. However, in the event the menu turned out to be a bit of a lifesaver beyond all of the stylistic issues: I was somewhat dubious prior to acquisition whether I would actually be able to wear this - the problem being my one pride and joy in this life; my ears (well, my tail too of course, but it is all an ensemble you know...). My ears must be visible at all times! This is indeed the one area in my life where I would rather die than give an inch. After all, I only have 768 pairs of them and visible they must be. (Not all 768 of them at once obviously - but I am sure you get my drift). But, I need not have worried: The construct - I hesitate to call it by such a banal phrase as mere "hair" - has a handy little re-sizer built into the menu and thanks to this piece of state of the art technology I managed to size down the hair to the point where my ears did in fact become visible. A bit of a mohawk style it ended up being but I quite liked that too for some reason.


...

I may or may not wear Rococo Fantastico. Who knows?... The occasion may indeed present itself! One thing is for sure though, if it weren't for the prim count and the fact that I am running perilously low, I would rez it on Syncretia in a nano second. This is utterly utterly wonderful!


The ballroom with puppet dancers (close up)
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You can teleport to Curio Obscura, Pandora Wrigglesworth's shop, directly from here.
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Pandora Wrigglesworth's Portable Door Generator - Physics with panache

Today, Pandora Wrigglesworth will be releasing her newest product, The Portable Door Generator. She teleported me to a room yesterday and asked, "The door is behind you but, how would you get out of the room if there were no door?" She went on to explain, "With my new device, you don't have to rely on the architect's choice of where to put a door."

She activated the mechanism, and with a swirl of particles, a new door magically appeared, when none had been there before.




And just like that, Pandora walked through a door of her own creation...

Pandora went on to say that "It works on any solid surface. It doesn't have be just walls. It does require rez perms but it is temp rez so prim limits aren't an issue. It works on walls up to about 5 meters thick and doesn't have trouble with walls being different angles on the other side. There are five different kinds of doors chosen at random."

How does it work?
Pandora Wrigglesworth: Rezzing the doors and linking them up was easy. It was detecting *where* to rez them that was tricky. There is no LSL command to detect the shape of a prim in other objects, so I rez small invisible prims and bounce them off the walls and then through the walls like sonar. They move until they hit a wall and that's where one door goes. Then they drill through the wall until they stop colliding with it and that's where the other door goes. There are three prims and then I use a little matrix algebra to determine the rotations and positions from that. They are self-deleting. I'd hate to see them stack up in the Lost and Found folder!

Please note: This device is also handy when you fall down underneath a building on a bad teleport.

All proceeds from the sale of Pandora's items benefit her Global Domination Fund. You can pick up the Portable Door Generator at Pandora's shop, Curio Obscura, by teleporting directly from here.

Inflatable women, Happy Missiles and other necessary accoutrements for a properly accessorized Second Life

I have always been fascinated by ultra accessorized avatars who are in the know when it comes to the coolest purveyors offering an array of goods with which to manifest their particular styles, ranging from the "everything but the kitchen sink" belts and boots sporting Swiss knives, flasks and cigarette packs (and the occasional teddy bear), to tellement détaillés military dandies, ninjas and soldiers of fortune dealing with imaginary villains in their camouflage uniforms, cyber-prostheses, and well-appointed helmets and katanas.


I snapped this pic of a customer at artoo Magneto's Trash Palace ages ago and have longed to find that hair ever since. Alas, no such luck

Among the fashiontribes I most admire are the impeccably attired Steampunk peeps. All those exposed gears and bolts, coupled with bowler hats and Victorian touches convey an appealing gentrified eccentricity and frankly, I find it all rather elegant, in a metallic sort of way.

There was a good read in the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month by Damon Poeter, in which he points out that "Steampunk originated in the 1990s to describe science fiction that was an offshoot of the cyberpunk genre, but has since gained a real-world footing in fashion and design that evokes the Victorian era. Now a full-fledged subculture, Steampunk is increasingly visible at gatherings such as Burning Man and Goth "Convergence" festivals." Well Damon, it is also a much celebrated phenomenon in the virtual world of Second Life®, as can be seen in such charming apparatuses and whirling gizmos, doodads and creatures created by TracyLynne Carpenter and Ordinal Malaprop, and of course, Bryn Oh.

Anyhow, I have no idea how I managed to get so sidetracked when what I really intended to tell you is that I had the pleasure of running into the very delightful Pandora Wrigglesworth yesterday afternoon. We spent a pleasant hour at my lush new Chakryn Forest (teleport directly from here) catching up on things and, as it turns out, she's been busy researching and developing advanced Steampunk-ish gadgetry and unusual innovations (some do call it "misapplied technology").

I was reminded that I never did manage to share the news with you about her Extendo-Leg Shoes - as shown here in a photograph of hers - when she demonstrated a variation on that theme that's especially appropriate for very short but fashionable women who want to give the appearance of being considerably taller: the Uber Platform Boots.

But the real surprise came when - in a true departure from the style I've come to know Pandora for - she donned her latest: the Inflatable Woman avatar, complete with that zippy sound of vinyl rubbing against vinyl when she walks.


When you hug the Inflatable Woman, she blows up like a balloon


Another recent innovation is her Camera Hat, which lifts off your head and flits about as it tracks your client camera.


The Camera Hat should not be confused with Pandora's Topter Hat - the ultimate flight assist - that opens its doors to deploy working propellers when the wearer is in flight

But my favorite, just for sheer fun, has to be the Happy Missile Silo.


That's me (in Tooter Claxton's Brunhilde avatar) on the top and Pandora to one side. Pandora also develops all the superb poses.

Pandora describes it as follows:

"So your neighbors have a Super Fun Cannon, do they? (Another Pandora Wrigglesworth product) When it comes to household armament, you can’t afford to fall behind. If you love your children and want them to grow up happy, it’s time to invest in a Happy Missile. You do love your children, don’t you? Don’t you? Install this Happy Missile Silo and you will have an endless supply of Happy Missiles. When properly calibrated, each missile is guaranteed to fire straight up and explode to the delight of the entire neighborhood.

Seats Up To Fourteen! Tiny Compatible! Silo Is Just 8 Prims! 20% Chance of Kittens with Parachutes! Beware low ceilings. Not recommended for indoor use.

Notably, all proceeds from the sale of her items benefit her Global Domination Fund. You can pick up any of these items at Pandora's shop, Curio Obscura, by teleporting directly from here.

See also: Fashion that would make any engineer proud

Photographs of the Extendo-Leg-Shoes, the Uber Platform Boots, the Topter Hat, and the Camera Hat by Pandora Wrigglesworth.