Ad Monkey speaks.

Despite the lack of a tournament this weekend, it's been busy as heck for Karine and myself. So I thought I'd document some of the things that have been going on, plus a few developments in SL relating to people whom I know, like, and generally don't pull out firearms when I walk through the door:

1) The Averlast commercial: This baby's been simmering on the pot for a while. Now that it's done and live for your viewing pleasure, it's a relief for me to finally be able to talk about it without fear of spoiling the surprise. It was made by WBA Advertising, an inworld firm that specializes in this sort of thing. We should have some screens up soon for viewing it in SL, and so far people seem to like it. There has been a definite uptick in traffic since the first version of the commercial went live on WBA's servers. I especially like the music, a catchy tune by Therese Nightlife. I wonder if she does live performances?

2) Free stuff on SLX: Another part of our big new publicity push has been to post a box full of our promotional tees for free on the SLExchange. It was Karine's idea, and in terms of publicity, I think it has already started to pay off. Some of the buyers have already come into the gym wanting to know more.

3) New products in the pipe: In addition to building new facilities, Karine has also thrown her energy into some cool new glove designs. Plus I've been at work on a few items that are coming out just in time for summer. I know Karine has found some time for sparring, but I don't know where. Me, I'll probably be an utterly spastic mess when I finally do step back into the ring.

4) Happy Rezday, Dolly!: First Fionna celebrated her rezday last week, and then her partner-in-crime/Outfit Wars rival Dolly Gwynneville threw a rezday bash last night in Callalily Cove. The music was rocking (and gave me incentive to track down a few bands I hadn't heard of before), the champagne was flowing, and a good time was generally had by all.

5) Warren Ellis walks among us: Writer Warren Ellis is the reason I got into Second Life. A futurist by inclination, he posted about his entry into the metaverse a couple of years ago, prompting me to visit the SL website to find out what the fuss was about. Well, we're both still kicking around the virtual world, and of late I've been getting notices through his Army of Filth group that he's commenced a sort of walking tour of the mainland. His dispatches are scathingly honest, and often quite funny. While I look forward to reading more, I'm kind of hoping he doesn't stop by my little shop to offer his aesthetic opinion. You know what they say about asking questions that you don't necessarily want answered...