OTHERLAND

OTHERLAND – otherwise known as IRL, in real life, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Otherland is a funny place, with its own rules. Unlike the real world here in the Innernets, 0therland is a place of pain and suffering, with the occasional happy high so you can tell the difference. In Otherland, your looks, your income, the dollar value of your wardrobe, and any other materialistic thing that you can think of is suddenly more important than your personality, your sense of humor, and your ability to express yourself through words. I firmly believe that meeting a Sigo on the internet has a much better chance of lasting awhile, if you are getting to know them there. It takes most of the materialistic things out. It takes looks out of the equation, if you do it right. Why not get to know someone here? We all put up faces, whether in Otherland or here in the real world online. Yes, you know that the real world is here online. You wouldn’t spend so much time here if you didn’t. The unfortunate fact of life in Otherland is that, these days, you are basically putting your life on the line when you start seeing someone, as it only takes one date to become the prize target of the latest whack job or serial killer. Online, you can take as long as you need to get to know them, or to at least catch them out in the inconsistencies of a real fake. You also have an intermediate step, the phone. After you get to know them online, you can take your time getting to know them better on the phone, allowing you to further catch out any inconsistencies in their persona. Then finally, if and when, you can actually meet them. So at least you’ve had a couple of different ways to screen beforehand. And if you are looking for something long term, it’s the person you want to get to know, not the skin that wraps them. It’s a much stronger basis for a relationship. Sure, if you are materialistic enough, you might be disappointed in their looks when you finally meet them. In reality, how many couples do you see everyday, the plain jane couples, that are walking around happier and with more healthy relationships than those shallow get togethers based first and foremost on looks? Last, if you are looking to simply get laid, then Otherland is the place for you. But if you want to take that warping issue out of the mix, online here in the real world is the place to do it. It removes that fake front for instant gratification motive from the picture entirely (the exception being those sites that are strictly for meeting folks in your area with similar sexual tastes for exactly that – instant gratification. There are those who will believe completely 180 degrees on this. And please, put your two cents in, so that anyone who doesn’t have a firm opinion will have two explained sides to consider when developing their own ideas about it.

And now, for the other spiel I have to get in here. I was conversing with one of the regular readers and participants. Otherland and this next one are two new buzzwords that I’m coining. And I have to get them in now as she, yes she, is already rushing to the computer to take credit for them. Heh heh heh.

So here’s the other deal. Without knowing it, without planning it, and basically by some random lucky or fated chance, there are about eight or ten of us in this area of blogland that have developed into the Star Chamber. Yes, if something happens here, you can bet that the Star Chamber has planned it, executed it, and cleaned up on the profits and benefits. If you truly have to ask whether you belong to the Star Chamber, you obviously don’t. But if you are observant, and smart, and look around through the blog rings (the fact that you are reading this means there are clues to be found here), then it doesn’t take much to riddle out the members. The are running things here. They are in control. Big Brother and Wise Sister are watching over us all. So never fear, you are protected. But if you mean harm to any of them, they’ll space you out the damn airlock less pressure suit with little thought and less guilt in a heart beat. So there it is. The clues are there. For those that are curious, follow the clues and make your guesses. One of them might even tell you if you are right. And ultimately, one of them might give you the personal invite that will get you in to the Chamber. It’s all up to you.

Michael