Loving the Breasts

by DavidHawk Actor

 (Photo taken from cancers.1000space.com)

For those of you who don't know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. It's a time where real men wear pink. I am a guy, and as such, I don't know much about breast cancer. I understand the concept, however. A woman develops a disease that affects their breasts. Luckily, they didn't bury the lead; they put it right out front. Breast Cancer. 

I want to start this article in complete ignorance. There are things I've heard, but this opinion has no research behind it. After I’ll put my thoughts to this writing though, I'll do a little fact checking. The amount depends on my laziness. 

So let’s put everything I know about cancer into one sentence. Cancer affects everyone. It really is that simple. We all know someone who has fought through a type of cancer, or chances are, we, ourselves, will have to fight it. 

Now that I've told you what I know, it’s time to bust into my opinions on breasts. First, as a man, I am really a breast man. Second, I’ve heard that one in eight women will have to deal with breast cancer.  That is huge. There are over three billion women in the world. Using my quick calculator, that means, approximately 375,000,000 women will contract breast cancer. If that number doesn’t seem huge to you, you must be from China. 

Earlier, when I said (even though it’s in print, I still said it aloud as I wrote it) that cancer affects everyone, I wasn’t saying that in a blanket effect. I guarantee that everyone reading this has someone in their life that has had cancer. My sister-in-law had ovarian cancer. If you're rolling a tear right now, I'll give you permission to stop because she did beat it. Unfortunately, she can’t have any more kids.

I know for a fact that the people who choose to fight any disease are strong. I read a lot of comic books, but that is not a subject that is usually addressed there. You might see a character who died of some form of cancer, but to actually see the treatments and the medications, it just shows your true colors. I definitely tip my hat to any cancer survivor because the worry, the stress, and the pain they all go through just make you know without a shadow of doubt that you should be thankful for every day you’re alive. 

Time for some facts. “Breast cancer is a type of cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk.” And yes, I literally just copy and pasted that. Now, I am not a doctor (I just play one in the bedroom), but that sounds very technical. Cancer is an unregulated cell growth. As the cells divide themselves and grow, they become malignant tumors. Those tumors then invade other areas. 

Once you are diagnosed with cancer, the preferred treatment is surgery where they carefully go in and cut the infected cells out. One of the most successful treatments for breast cancer is the one we’ve heard about a lot, chemotherapy. Chemo is where the infected person takes a variety of chemical medications that slow the speed of the cell divisions or kill those cancerous cells. And up until right now, I always confused chemo with our next therapy, radiation. As you can guess, I'm an idiot. But radiation is used to bombard the affected area with high doses of ionizing radiation. 

As a whole, approximately half of the people who are diagnosed with invasive cancer survive. That is a glass-half-full way of saying that half don’t make it. Wearing a pink ribbon is not going to save anyone’s life, but if a woman with breast cancer sees that and gains just another moment of strength—a moment that helps her recover—then we should all be wearing pink. 

The donations that everyday people make to assist in finding cures for this disease as well as many others is instrumental. Think about that when you see the donation boxes at stores or at the marathons asking for donations. We ALL will be affected by cancer. Finding cures to these diseases is one of the most important things this world needs. If you want to find ways to help organize fund raisers, donate or just learn more about breast cancer, click HERE and HERE and worst case scenario, go to Wikipedia. And always remember, I love your avatars!

 [Editor's note: Although it is rare, it is not uncommon too for men to be stricken with Breast Cancer. Cancer affects all, and this type of cancer is no exception.]

Hotlanta Blues—You’re Damn Right I Got the Blues!

-by Sita Writer

When you think of the blues, you think about misfortune, betrayal, and regret. You lose your job? You get the blues. You don’t get that promotion? You get the blues. Your partner cheats on you? You get the blues. You can’t log onto the grid? You get the blues.
  
Blues lyrics frequently deal with personal dramas, and often, the words go way beyond self-pity; sometimes, they are about overcoming hard luck or just having fun. The best blues are visceral, cathartic, and exposed raw and primitive emotions.

There are many theories about where the “cradle of the blues” resides, but most clues lead back to the African continent and then to the Mississippi Delta. A precursor of modern blues originates from work songs sung by black laborers and the influence of religious songs on the genre from the nineteenth century. Today, there are many subgenres of the blues, ranging from Country to Delta, acoustic to electric, Piedmont, boogie-woogie, Jump, and Chicago, to name a few.

If you are in search of an authentic blues club in SL, you need look no further than Hotlanta Blues owned by DonPaul Cale. This club exemplifies all aspects of the blues: It is gritty and soulful, sensual with a dash melancholy joy; this club offers a true urban haven. DonPaul, a genuine blues aficionado, found out about Second Life from a songwriters chat group and decided to explore the possibilities of live music on the grid. “I built my blues club to reflect an old city, one that is somewhat used and abused, but still alive and thriving in spite of all its been through,” says DonPaul.

Now in it’s fourth year of operation, Hotlanta Blues offers a palette of blues that is always a treat. When asked, DonPaul reveals that his favorite type of blues is, “slow and soulful, led by electric-guitar; the kind that makes you want to close your eyes and listen while you move to the music.” As for a favorite, DonPaul notes that there are so many blues musicians both old and new that he admires. “If I had to choose one I might pick Albert King. I love the feeling he puts into his guitar work.”

The best thing about Hotlanta Blues is that the DJs who entertain you here really know and appreciate the blues. “We have live DJs every day starting at 3 or 4 p.m. SLT... sometimes a little earlier... and they go into the wee hours of the morning, depending on the crowd. Twice a month we have Saint Skytower perform live and once in a while we have other live musicians. I'd like to have more live musicians more often, but that gets expensive and our primary goal is to keep the club solvent so we can keep it open and keep playing the blues,” DonPaul says.

 
As for owning a club, “I built Hotlanta Blues to be a club I would enjoy going to. I want people to come and have a good time and enjoy the DJ’s and Hostesses and the other people there. In my opinion, SL is not a game... it's a virtual social environment where you can interact with people from all over the world while you enjoy doing things together. There are things in SL that simply annoy me and interfere with that enjoyment... lots of flashing lights, overly irritating gestures, talking pregnant tummies, etc. You won't find those at Hotlanta. What you will find is the blues being played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” says DonPaul.

 Hotlanta Blues is always rockin'! It is small, some may call it a hole-in-the-wall, but that is what the best blues bars are. The sound is sweet, and the crowd is hopping. You won’t have the blues if you check it out!

Virtual Wrestling Spotlight

- by DavidHawk Actor

For those of you who don't know me, I feel I should react like Ron Burgundy.  "I'm kind of a big deal," I'd say.  I've been involved with the Second Life Pro Wrestling Community for two and a half years and during that time have made a name for myself as an owner, writer, and performer.

If you've never seen professional wrestling inside Second Life, you are truly missing out on live entertainment.  Not only is it action performed by people in the ring, it's voice acting at its finest.

When I first was introduced to pro wrestling in world, I was shocked.  I have been a fan of real world pro wrestling my entire life and never even thought to see if it was here in Second Life.  That day, I learned not only was pro wrestling a thing here in SL but that it happens everyday!  There are a variety of groups and showtimes to fit everyone's timezone differences.

Just like real professional wrestling, doing this in SL is scripted entertainment.  If you signed up for a match against me, we would both know who was going to win but crafting the match to get there is all up to us as the performers.  The community uses a hud system that allows you to type a move into the local chat, hit enter and watch your wrestler perform the move against the selected opponent.  I'm simplifying it, but that is the general idea.

The greatest part of this scripted entertainment is being able to craft a story with another person.  You provide the drama thanks to the voice performances and the actions your character takes.  If you're a heel (a bad guy), you might insult the crowd or attack someone with a weapon.  As a face (good guy), you'd do it all for the fans and stick to the rules.  Writing stories is why I got into this community.  I love writing the feuds between two or more individuals.  Seeing the stories I've written played out is an amazing feeling.

By now, you can tell I have a real passion for the community as a whole and really enjoy what I do for it.  The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the amazing people within the wrestling community and spread the word about this underground community.  If you want an action, adventure roleplay with a group of people who are friendly and willing to help new applicants, then you won't find a better group.

Being that this is my first article and because I'm a promotional whore, I'll be spotlighting myself.  For uniformity purposes, I'll be talking about myself in the third person for the spotlight.

--Spotlight--

                                                                (Photo by Angeli Optera)

Name: DavidHawk Actor
Nickname: "The Real Deal"
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 245 lbs
From: Boise , Idaho

Formerly known as "The Renegade," "The Stinger," and "The Icon," DavidHawk Actor claims to be pound-for-pound greatest wrestler ever and by looking at his accomplishments, it would be hard to argue with him.  He held the OEW World Championship on five seperate occassions as well as holding the AWF, NBW, and UXW World Titles once each.  At the 2011 OEW Legends Awards Ceremony, David won the awards for Superstar of the Year and Good Guy of the Year.  At that same ceremony, he was also inducted into the OEW Hall of Fame.  He's held a variety of other championships as well, ranging from the OEW Tag Team Championship to the SWF United States Championship.  He has known success in every group he's worked at as well as worked some memorable feuds with some of the best known names in the SL Wrestling Community.  After being with OEW since its founding in 2010, he said farewell in April of 2012 and took some time off from the wrestling scene.  During this time off, he filmed a movie for Force.TV called Living With A Vengeance as well as started a weekly talk-show version of Virtual Wrestling Spotlight where he talks with guests from around the wrestling grid about controversial topics affecting everyone.  Outside of the wrestling community, David is an avid roleplayer holding the role of Batman (Bruce Wayne) in Gotham City, SL's premiere Batman-themed rp, and Wolverine (Logan) in The Original Marvel RP.  Recently, his break from wrestling has ended, and he's shown up at Virtual Wrestling Entertainment, a group that prides themselves on having the highest quality of production value.  DHA arrived at one of their biggest shows of the year, a huge battle royale where the winner receives a spot in the main event of WrestleSeries, their largest event every year.

Now that I've given you an introduction to Second Life Professional Wrestling and then talked about myself for a while, it's time to tell you how you can check these events out.  First, log onto Facebook and like the SL Wrestling Community page.  Second, there is a SL Wrestling wiki that has all the groups and times of each of their shows listed.  After seeing the list, check out one of the shows, and if you don't know where to go, anyone on the Community's Facebook page would be more than happy to help you.  Pro Wrestling isn't for everyone, but whether you go for the action, the drama, or the hot people being half naked and fighting in the ring, you won't be disappointed.  Treat yourself to the best LIVE entertainment in SL.  That's going to do it for me this week on the printed Spotlight, make sure to catch me every Monday @ 5pm SLT on the VWS talkshow live in studio or streamed, and wrestling for the VWE that has a show every Wednesday @ 5pm SLT and Friday @ 6pm SLT.  I love your avatars, and I'll see you next time!


Locations:
MetaMix Studios, VWE
Slam City, DCWF
Business District Echo, APW
Bonaire85 , OEW
Slam City, HAWX (for female wrestlers, if anyone's interested)