Review: Hoorenbeek’s Cargo Pants
ARMAGEDDON DOWN TO HOORENBEEK
 |
| My SL Prepper, bedecked in the finery of H’s Mesh Cargo Pants |
21st December 2012: That has to go down in history as the worst apocalypse ever. I, for one, was very disappointed. I’d made all the preparations (bought in some extra cans of beans, a clockwork torch and radio, camo jacket, etc). And then nothing. It was terribly disappointing.
And I had such an amazing post-apocalypse post planned for Every Second Man! I was going to include tips and tricks for surviving, special moves for taking down a zombie in a one-on-one situation … tonnes of stuff. But (sighs) it all seems a bit redundant now. There’s been no apocalypse, no polar shift and no rising of the undead. Life (and Second Life) goes on as normal.
However, I will still introduce you to my SL Prepper, who is all kitted out with the very latest in post-apocalyptic fashion, including the newly released Hoorenbeek Mesh Cargo Pants!
Mesh Cargos from Hoorenbeek have been on my SL wish-list for a while now. Their non-mesh cargos were the best I had come across in SL, and I was really excited to see how they would tackle them in mesh form.» View author and full post…
Exclusive Interview with the Flatterbot Scam Artist
The Mind Behind the Scam
To many in SL, the scenario is frustratingly familiar.
You TP to a new location, usually a shop, and immediately your IM box is flashing. A woman, having complimented you on your wonderful avatar, is spinning a yarn that has it all: anger, betrayal, heartbreak, jealousy and Linden poverty. Eventually, you must choose between putting your hand in your pocket and helping this poor waif get back on her feet, or brushing yourself down and walking on.
Of course, there is no woman. You’ve been speaking to a bot that churns out a scripted sob story. And if you did put your hand in your pocket, you’ve just been scammed.
These bots have become the plague of SL. Signs have been put up warning about them, notices flash up in local chat exhorting the public to be aware of their wiles, and whole blogs have been started, dedicated to tracking down these bots and the person or persons controlling them.
Now, Every Second Man brings you an exclusive interview with the person that claims to be behind this entire operation. Speaking to ESM using the bot Nanyea, an insight is provided both into the workings of the scam and mindset behind it.
The Interview
B: Thank you agreeing to this interview, Nanyea.» View author and full post…
10 Gift Ideas When Buying for the Women of SL
BLAISE BUYS FOR HARPER
I find this time of year bloody stressful, and a large part of that is buying gifts, RL and SL. What’s worse is having friends like Harper Beresford. What on Earth can I buy for the Queen of Second Life that she doesn’t already have, has already seen or has already been given by someone else? Of course, we all encounter this problem to a larger or lesser degree, and it was funny when chatting with Harper that she had thought the same about buying for me. So … it was agreed … we would buy each other a positively generous ten gifts, five in SL and five in RL, and we would write a post on what we were buying and why we had made that choice.
You can read Harper’s gift choice for lucky me by clicking here.
As for me, I hope that both Harper and you enjoy my choices. Perhaps some of the ideas will help you choose some nice presents for the women in your Second Life. If we stick together, men of SL, we can get through this seemingly interminable time of year with our wives’, girlfriends’ and lady friends’ respect intact.» View author and full post…
Review: Egoisme’s Pea Coat
TO PEA OR NOT TO PEA
(Note: Ego’s Pea Coat Floats My Boat)
Silly post titles aside, why is it even called a Pea Coat?
As it’s basically a sailor’s coat, my deductive mind thought it might be because sailors would don this style in bad weather, or during ‘pea soupers’ as my Grandad used to call particularly foggy days (I can’t reprint what he used to call my Grandma’s pea soup).
But no, it’s not that. After spending countless minutes researching the topic on the utterly infallible Wikipedia, it would seem that the term comes from the Dutch or West Frisian term pijjekka. While pijjekka might sounds like a slang word referring to a man’s … umm … nautical equipment, it isn’t, and actually the pij part refers to the coarse wool that the garment was made from. Have a look on Wikipedia here if you don’t believe me. Like I said, infallible!
So anyway, etymology aside, what of the eponymous Egoisme» View author and full post… Pea Coat? Well, it’s mesh, it comes in ten different colours, and it costs a rather affordable $250L. And, I must say, I rather like it.
If I’m honest, it wasn’t an instant taker for me, and I vacillated over it somewhat (as I am wont to do) before I decided ‘Yes!
Obamarama
.png)
 |
| Barack Hussein Obama II, President of the United States of America |
A collective sigh of relief resounded around the world today, as it awoke to read the news of who would (and who wouldn’t) be leading the world’s only superpower for the next four years. That’s right – Barack Hussein Obama II was reelected for a second term as President of the USA, much to the delight of reasonable, fair-minded, intellectual people across the globe and to the deep chagrin of … well … other types.
 |
| I like subtlety when choosing metaphors in my photography |
“But you’re not even American,” I hear you cry (as well as some even cried about Obama himself). True, but this election gripped the world because of the influence that its outcome will exert on all our lives. This, coupled with the Republican penchant for starting wars it can’t finish, means everyone had a vested interest in keeping an eye on things State-side.
 |
| Love him or hate him, few disagree that he’s a great orator |
And, above all that, even if I don’t really understand the American political system (which I don’t), or don’t understand how a candidate can get less votes and still win the election, and certainly don’t get what part an Electrical College plays in all of this, that man is just so damn charismatic.» View author and full post…
Review: Redgrave’s King Skin
CRADLE TO THE REDGRAVE
 |
| And you would think, being a medical man, that he would know better |
 |
| One solid weekend of training and now his First Aid Certificate sits proudly taped to his locker door |
Some say that everyone in SL is looking for something. For some, it’s love. For others, it’s sex. For yet others, it’s a simple escape from the drudgery of RL. For me (right now anyway), it’s an older looking skin.
Yes, I’m on a quest at the moment. I’m in my 30s, and like a lot of men here I don’t like looking as if I’m only just moving out of puberty. However, I have found that older looking skins are in quite short supply. I should really qualify ‘older’. For me, ‘older’ in SL means over 25. For a long time, now, I’ve used Belleza’s Jacob skin. He’s young, but if you look closely he’s definitely no teen, and he even appears to have little crow’s feet creeping in (something, I’m glad to say, that hasn’t appeared in RL yet!).
From speaking to other men on the subject, it seems I’m not the only one that feels this way, and that there is a definite demand for such skins.» View author and full post…
CTS Competition Winners
HIP HIP HOOREYMUNDO!
 |
| El Nuevo Reymundo (you just can’t beat history jokes, especially those in another language) |
Every Second Man is proud to announce that a winner has been chosen for the CTS Wardrobe Competition. Readers were asked to state in one sentence why they (or someone they nominated) need the Wardrobe. Answers flooded in, some of which were funny, some of which were very creative, and some just downright desperate for inventorial rescue. However, for me, one entry had it all: humour, pathos, romance, and above all the possibility of redemption for a sartorially challenged man. Therefore, I am pleased to announce the winner of the ESM CTS Wardrobe competition as Callie Latham who submitted this rather heart-rending entry:
“For the love of my sanity, please give this wardrobe to my husband so that our pictures can have some variety and don’t all look like they were taken on the same day because he can only find one outfit!”
And so it is. Right now, direct from Carlyle Theas Solutions, a CTS Wardrobe is winging its way to Reymundo, Callie’s husband.
“I’m just so pleased,” said Reymundo, talking to ESM earlier today. “My inventory was getting out of control.» View author and full post…
Review: Hoorenbeek’s Mesh Blazer
BLAISE BLOGS BODLEIAN BLAZERS
 |
 |
| The notation on the blackboard is purely to calculate whether I can afford yet another fatpack |
This is the second Hoorenbeek blazer that I’ve reviewed, the first being the rather delectably suave Mesh Leather Blazer. This, however, is a very different cut of suave. This is the blazer of the academic, the intelligentsia and the literati. And before you scoff at that, do remember that some of the West’s most popular icons are academics, Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones to cite two examples. There’s no doubt about it: brains are sexy. And if you slap in a little dash of privilege, the result can be near irresistible.
Which is what we have here, for this blazer exudes education and privilege. In form, it is a single breasted pin striped blazer, worn either open or closed, with two gold buttons at the front and four on each cuff. It comes in six colours and has a choice of three badges that can be worn on the left breast pocket, although you can also wear it without the badge.
In its form, it’s a near perfect blazer. It holds a really good shape (particularly in the shoulders, which are often poor in mesh jackets) and looks every bit as tailored and fitted as it should.» View author and full post…
Win a CTS Wardrobe
Interview with Carlyle Theas
Plus Your Chance to Win the CTS Wardrobe!
 |
| Come on! What prize isn’t made better by a big red bow and a girl in a bikini sitting on it? |
This is it! You had thought it wasn’t true, but yes! ESM brings you the opportunity to win (yes, win!) the CTS Wardrobe Inventory Organiser (read the review here if you need reminding why you so desperately want one) and we bring you a very special interview with the designer, creator and all round cerebralist Carlyle Theas. As both an entrepreneur and SL product inventorator, this was a rare opportunity to probe the type of creative mind that I could only ever dream of having and pitch my own business idea to her. Carlyle was gracious, articulate and oh so very professional, clearly immune to any of my charms or ‘wit’ and very patient in gently explaining her product to a person whose IT skills don’t extend beyond pressing Ctrl, Alt, Delete.
 |
| Blaise & Carlyle during the interview In this shot, I think I skilfully captured the moment when Carlyle started to think that I might not really be up to job of this interview |
B: Hello Carlyle.
Intolerable Fashion: Top 5 Worst Male Trends in SL Today
SEXY AND WE KNOW IT
“For bad taste to flourish, the good need only say nothing …”
 |
| Meet Gavin – the sum of all I hate. |
Since starting Every Second Man a mere three months or so ago, I’ve only written about things I like. Not that everything I like is perfect, of course, and not that everything I’ve chosen not to blog has been stuff I positively dislike. However, there is a lot out there that I do positively dislike; stuff that makes me grumble, huff and puff and wonder at the youth of today; stuff that makes me feel old and cranky and out of touch.
It was while bemoaning such delightful trends as the ankle knickers with my blogging companion Harper Beresford that I hit upon the idea of writing a ‘Top 5′ list, but a cautionary list that documents the very worst fashion trends in SL at the moment. It’s subjective, it’s biased and (from looking over the pictures) it’s a horror show. Harper has compiled her list (which you can read by clicking here) and you can now read my Top 5 list here, counting up to the very worst. Set your throats to gag and your stomachs to churned: this is ESM’s Top 5 Worst Male Trends in SL.
#5: Talentless Tanks & Tedious Tees
Now, let’s be clear that I have nothing against tank tops or tee shirts per se.» View author and full post…
