Dec. 7, 1941

I wasn't alive on this date and probably anyone who reads this blog wasn't, either. My grandpa, however, was. He was 16 at the time and like many young American boys/men his age he found a way to fudge his birth certificate and enlisted in the Army. I realize that most of you know why he would have enlisted, but for those of you who don't, this was the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and in doing so, pulled the United States into World War II.

I believe my grandpa was a brave man. But to hear him speak about some of these things when he was alive, he would have told you just the opposite. He rarely talked about the war. Some memories are probably just to painful to recount. When he did, though, he always told me, "Lissa, don't ever join the military. You'll end up dead because of someone else's argument." I guess by argument he meant war. I never really asked him to clarify, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was. I hope so, because right now, I feel a true sense of disillusionment toward our government and the people running it. And even worse, I feel such sadness for those who are fighting in a war or trying to put together the broken pieces from a war that in retrospect may not have been necessary.

Please don't misunderstand, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are/were awful people and in Bin Laden's case he is someone who takes credit for all of the lives lost in the World Trade Center destruction. He is the enemy. Further, I support our men and women in uniform and thank them from the bottom of my heart for having the deep courage to defend our country and our rights against those who would try to take them from us. I will continue to pray for them that they may all return safely to their families, friends and home.

But to you people who call yourselves servants of the people. You are servants in word only. Your deeds show otherwise. Your continued pay-raises to yourselves, your lax morals, your toe-tapping in bathroom stalls, your disregard for the environment and your continued flip-flopping on moral issues based on polls show that you are nothing more than greedy, self-serving, war-mongers who are hungry for more oil and more money. I'm saddened and sickened by you "officials" who pretend to know what is best for us, but in reality are only doing what is best for yourselves.

When is enough, enough?

Today, I will remember my grandpa and those he served with side by side in the dirt and mud. Those who died on foreign soil and gave their blood, their limbs and their lives to defend people like me who they would never know. I will remember those who have lost their lives in my lifetime fighting in a war that is unnecessary and based on greed. And finally, I will remember that even though my grandpa would not have agreed with what this government has done, he would still fight for this great country and for the rights of the people who live in this land. That's the type of man he was. He was a member of the greatest generation. We have so much to live up to.

I love you grandpa. I wish you were still here. Thank you to you and all who have served before, with and after you.

Love,
Lissa

WindLight Frustration

Okay, so I'm trying Windlight for the second time after I decided I didn't like it because my fps (frames per second) were way too slow. Like, maddeningly, painfully, running into things because I overshoot when I'm turning, slow. But I'm trying it again, regardless. Stupid me.

Yes, the atmospheric effects in WL are gorgeous. (See photo) but I truly am a "complete experience" kinda' girl. Even typing this out is incredibly frustrating. The load the WL is placing on my graphics card makes me feel like I'm back at my old 75 MHz Mac Performa with a 603e Power PC Processor trying to type in Microsoft Word while having Photoshop open at the same time.

But Lissa, the pictures you get in WL are incredible. So What? If I can't enjoy my time in SL, (productive or otherwise) then why on earth would I want to be there. This is worse than a laggy event. Maybe I'm missing something. Someone help me out here. What settings should I use in my preferences?

In my regular SL viewer I get between 10 and 20 fps depending on what I'm doing. I can fly around and enjoy myself, etc. Here are my specs. MacBook Pro, 2.33 GHz Intel Core Duo, 3GB RAM, Radeon X1600 Video card.

Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I want to enjoy the eye candy and still have a decent frame rate! (which btw, is hovering at 4 fps! (And I'm standing still!).

Love,
Lissa

Merry Christmas to all my Wicked Friends!

Christmas has come a bit early to Cattiva e Cattivo. Pop into the main store Annapurna 107,150,296 and take a look under the tree. Santa Clause has stopped in for all you wicked people. And by wicked, I mean good. :)

Merry Christmas to all!

Love, Lissa
posted by Lissa Maertens on Annapurna using a blogHUD : [permalink]

My Heart Goes Out to Omaha

*Sigh* I'm sitting here typing this knowing that there's nothing I can say that will change this tragedy or at this moment the hurt, anguish and anger that my friends in this awesome town are feeling. Please know that as someone who lived in your wonderful town, worked on 98th St, shopped at the Westroads, and just loved Omaha... I hurt for you all. I'm sorry that this has happened.

My heart goes out to all who have been affected by the tragedy at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm saddened for the families of the victims and I'm saddened for the families of the man who committed this atrocity. Right now while emotions are raw and the hurt runs so deeply I can only imagine that it seems Omaha will never be the same. But please continue to trust in God and the overall goodness of people. Omaha will not be the same, it will be better. I know how strong the people of Omaha are.

Much Love,
Lissa

Testing blog hud, hopefully this will post to my blog!

posted by Lissa Maertens on Nooribeom using a blogHUD : [permalink]

I nearly quit today

Today was just one of those days. Not one major thing was the issue, just a lot of little things that have been building up over time. I nearly quit Second Life. A lot of this has to do with wondering what on earth it's worth? Do I bring joy to anyone? Do people enjoy my stuff? I still don't have the answers to all of my questions, but I promise I'll keep searching.

Please remember and respect that for me, my one requirement of Second Life is that I have fun. I hope it stays fun for me.

Tagged by the wonderful Una Ewing

Okay, I have to admit, I wanted to be tagged. The surprise in being tagged was that it was Una who tagged me! She is one of the friendliest people I've met in SL, but she's so busy I truly never thought she would have tagged me! That being said, following is the standard rules and those who I am tagging.

The rules are:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

Lissa Maerten's random facts/habits:

I live in the midwest

I'm a knee shaker/foot tapper

I'm a coffee-holic (the darker the roast, the better!)

I love good beer (have even considered brewing my own!)

I have a short attention span (I'm sorry, what'd you say? I was daydreaming... *L*)

I don't think money is the root of all evil, I think greed and mean people are the root of all evil

I am a brunette in RL

I never dreamed that I would have anything to do with fashion until I found Second Life. :)

Okay, now that's done. (It was a bit harder than I thought it would be)
My friends who are tagged:
1. Ben Vanguard
2. Chez Nabob
3. Daman Tenk
4. CronoCloud Creegan
5. Blaze Columbia
6. LB Fellini
7. Monica Renneville
8. Lavinia Leigh

(That was much easier than the eight habits! *L*)
If I'm lucky enough to be tagged again, I'll post the taggers names here: (if not, it's going to look sad and pathetic!)

Daman Tenk (I didn't see anywhere in the rules where it says you can't tag back)