Yes, summer is winding down, but it isn't too late to cram in some late late summer reading.  And who better to suggest good solid reading, but the FBI.  Dell Cameron, writing in the Daily Dot, has the goods.  He gives us the 20 online publications concerning Barrett Brown that the prosecution considers "must read."  Or is that "don't read".  Hmm these lists are so confusing...

Here is how Mr. Cameron lays it down.

I attended the gag order hearing on September 4 and listened as the U.S. government spoke candidly about the journalists who've covered Barrett's case. Twenty articles were admitted into evidence from various writers and websites. Much to my surprise, the U.S. government has great taste in journalism. I've collected the online articles it selected as evidence against Barrett Brown for your reading pleasure.

You want to know who made the list, don't you?  Well to see it you just gotta click through! [link]

Spoiler though, some of the names will be familiar to Herald readers!

She found herself an interchangeable man
to fill her needs and her demands

If he is not there when she has desires
a few spare parts are all she requires

An arm here, a leg there;
she likes this kind of chest and this kind of hair

These animations and this kind of walk
and a southern drawl whenever he talks

"Now something is missing, what can it be
that I need to finish my fantasy…

Oh I need an operator to say…
the sweet things that I want to hear today!

That is the easiest part to find,
a totally replaceable male mind."

And what of the parts that she left behind,
do they still whirr when she logs in to find

Her interchangeable man for the day
or do they lie dormant and dwindle away?

copyright (c) 2009 – Kris Dibou – used by the gracious permission of the author.

There it was, within our grasp
World peace and brotherhood of men
The end of war, the end of famine
An electronic Eden once again

So paint the world as you will
And hope for better days
But the truth lies underneath
The flowery colored haze

Our Eden fell to online hell
As virtual throats were slit
By two-edged words and curses heard
Through cables, fiberoptic

You cannot hide who you are
Or mask your true intent
To everyone at all times
In messages now sent

Avatar or human being
Yourself you will become
The truth comes out eventually
Will you stay or run?

copyright (c) 2009 – Kris Dibou – used by the gracious permission of the author.

by Kris Dibou

The problem with total immersion is that you must come up for air or you will suffocate…

I suppose it is like a sailor being lured into the sea by a beautiful mermaid; he is so enamored with her that he does not realize he is drowning; that he has given up his home and family to follow her into the murky depths of oblivion.  Perhaps at the point of death he will see the mermaid for who she really is and somehow escape her clutches; perhaps not, but if no one escapes, who would start the legends?

The Mermaid

As I sailed over the seas that my forefathers sailed before
I came upon a sea so calm by a green and grassy shore
The water, warm, the sea so blue, I dove and swam about
And rested on a beach bleached white and dined on ocean trout

As the sun set down on the glassy line twixt today and tonight
I watched my sloop drift to and fro in the waning light
And I as well lay on that line between the light and dark
Not sure if I was in a dream or simply deep in thought

I thought I saw a twinkle in the water near my feet
As if a star had tumbled down to taste the water, sweet
And the ocean's daughter from the song called me to her home
Was I there in the depths with her, or was I all alone?

We swam about the current's route without a care or bother
It only briefly occurred to me that I was breathing water
Perhaps it was my nature that forced my dream to stop
My dreamy thoughts that made me shake; I scrambled to the top

Dreams or thoughts, the point was moot for I was out there drowning
If not for the plank afloat nearby there would be no day a'dawning
And I looked back into the water deep and there, below the surface
The creature, fair, was changing form revealing its true purpose

It will not dine, no not today, on wandering seamen lost
For the sea is free flowing 'though the mermaid tries to raise the cost
I will swim in the sea again, but I will never feel the same
Was it my unquenchable thirst, or the mermaid that's to blame.

    ~Kris Dibou

by Coke Supply

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by Coke Supply

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…to be continued…

by Coke Supply

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by Coke Supply

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by Coke Supply

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[...to be continued...]

It occurred to me today that SL is like a gourmet meal that you eat backwards.  Allow me to walk you through this meal beginning with the dessert. 

1st Course: Dessert

You’ve joined Secondlife and discovered a world of beautiful women and handsome men, where there is no disease to pick up from casual encounters, save for bruised feelings.  Some unknown beings have created beautiful sims for you to cruise around in and you begin to dream in avatars.

2nd Course: The Entree

After you have spent some time deep in pleasure, you arrive at the main course where you enjoy a more broad spectrum of flavors and truly participate in your dining experience.  You learn to build, perhaps to script, and perhaps learn how to dj or make animations; maybe even become good at Photoshop.  In this portion of the meal, you may, in fact, let your Rl body go and develop health problems.  After you’ve had your fill, you drop down to the salad and soup. 

3rd Course: Soup & Salad

You log on less frequently, create less and just keep running on the flavors your remember from earlier.  You begin to wonder why you even bother.  The Lindens appear to be letting you down and you have noticed how fast everything moves, while your online experience literally lags.

In the end, two things are certain- what you don’t eat will go to waste, and what you did eat turns to shit.