Breezes Thoughts

First view of the morning is delightful for me.

where shall I roam this day to see. I have a craving for sweets you see. ah Iknow exactly where to go. Follow me if you please.

Is this anyway to camp??

even the bartender is ignoring me. Mercy sakes Bree you are losing it.
I know, but whats a girl to do?
I asked for a drink , he said get it yourself little lady. I raised my glims at him and the look went squinty. finally Igot my drinks.
Just goes to show. Persistance is what it takes.

Now here is my craving satisfied? No not quite. haha but It is close.

Munching on Jellybeans standing amongst the hedgehogs that like to bite my Saadi. and the peacock squawking at him as he frowns mightily. Me in latex and a western hat and gun waiting to venture to a mixup contest. This is the way I go tonight.
Variety of stuff I can get into?

Breezes Babii

Interview with Jazzz Hermit

By Bixyl Shuftan

The romantic-themed sim Mystery is a place with numerous sites and attractions, notably the riverboat club “Queen of Hearts.” There are also quite a few planned events, such as the daily dance parties at the club and the bazaar sales. Helping sim owner Tygeria Mirabeau manage these, as well as editing the sim magazine, is Jazzz Hermit. Jazzz also describes himself as “mildly courting” Tygeria. I recently had a chance to meet up with him, and he talked a little about his time at Mystery.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did you find out about Second Life?

Jazzz Hermit: Through one of my friends, Amythe Moonlight . She came in a long time before me, but eventually convinced me to give it a go.

Bixyl Shuftan: And how did your experiences in SL go at first?

Jazzz Hermit: It was fun :) I started out having a go at building things. First thing I built was a steam train, then Amythe kept challenging me to build other stuff. It was a while before I came to Mystery, I stayed in sandboxes mostly to begin with.

Bixyl Shuftan: What things did she have you build?

Jazzz Hermit: I was allowed to build whatever I wanted; I remember building a penny farthing at one point, I know she asked me to build a coal scuttle for the pub in the village. Mostly random stuff. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Did much of what you made ended up here in Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: I think only the coal scuttle survived :) Amythe sometimes bounces ideas off me, but it's her and AJ that do all the actual building. I haven't got the patience they have.

Bixyl Shuftan: When did you join Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: I came to Mystery in October 2008 - I didn't join the staff till November, when I first sang for the sim. ... I first sang at Tygeria's birthday party, but it was great fun.

Bixyl Shuftan: About how often do you sing here?

Jazzz Hermit: Not very often. :( I'm away a lot, so I only sing online maybe once every two months. ... hopefully (it will change soon) :) I'm going to be back home for a couple of months in June, hopefully.”

Bixyl Shuftan: How would you describe your work on Intrigue magazine?

Jazzz Hermit: Working on the magazine is great fun. I do it all in photoshop. It's exciting designing the various aspects - the spring edition was supposed to have an interview with Bloodrose Writer in it, but unfortunately I couldn't get hold of him. It's a fun way of getting people to know what it is we do here while making it interesting to read. I get some help on it - a friend of mine does an article now, Amythe helps with the photos and AJ/Tygeria both check it over once it is finished to make sure there are no mistakes, etc.

Bixyl Shuftan: I heard you play some music in real life as well.

Jazzz Hermit: Yes - a lot of my time in real life is spent with my music :) I study music at a university currently.

Bixyl Shuftan: Have you done performances of any kind in real life?

Jazzz Hermit: (laughs) A lot. I was recently in a choir that performed Faure's Requiem I've been doing live performances since I was around about ten, i think. Back then it was school concerts though! :)

Bixyl Shuftan: You describe yourself as liking to sing blues, jazz, and ballads. Do you often try other styles, or is that what you more or less stick with?

Jazzz Hermit: To be honest, I've never thought my voice could sing much more. These days, I'm more of a classical singer than anything - partially due to my university course, but singing classically has helped enormously with all other kinds of singing. Rock/Pop was never my thing - as much as I tried to sing it, it always sounded wrong. (laughs)

Bixyl Shuftan: Heh ... Any particular projects that you've been working on recently, in Intrigue magazine or anything else in Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: A lot of my time is spent at the university these days, we're getting into exam time :/ I know there's going to be a special edition copy of next month's magazine with a limited number of copies, so that's something I'm currently working on. I've just done a massive rebuild of my computer, so hopefully it'll last long enough this time to get some work done :) I don't think I'm performing again till May 17th, but I've been mostly talking easter ideas with Amy and AJ recently.

Bixyl Shuftan: Any ideas that you can share, or are they all surprises?

Jazzz Hermit: Ha ha! I can tell you that the poetry competition has double prizes this month, and that there's going to be a 'guess-the-staff' game, where you have to guess the member of staff based on a photo from their newbie days.

Bixyl Shuftan: I take it the latter will be quite hard.

Jazzz Hermit: Almost certainly. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Any particuarly memorable happenings here that you'd like to share? Any amusing incidents?

Jazzz Hermit: Ummm .... one of my personal favorite memories from here is during a live concert. Debi Latte was singing onstage, when Tygeria rezzed a giant Rhinoceros next to her :) While people started riding the Rhino, Debi started singing 'The Rhinoceros Song' (laughs).

Bixyl Shuftan: (chuckles) Any future plans that you'd like to mention?

Jazzz Hermit: I don't think I've got any plans at the moment - everything just seems to happen. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to share?

Jazzz Hermit: I can't think of anything else. Thank you.

And so, the interview ended, with each of us going our separate ways.

Jazzz’s magazine “Intrigue” can be read online on it’s website : http://www.heartofmystery.com/Magazine/.

Bixyl Shuftan

Kiana Writer of MadPea Productions

By Nazz Lane

I’d first become aware of MadPea Productions while working on a story where I’d come across a poster about a game created specifically for a grand opening event at a business related SIM. I’d taken the informational note card offered by the poster into my inventory and reviewed a little later. When I did, the concept fascinated me and I’d decided to find out more about a company that builds games within a game. So I contacted Kiana Writer, the founder and director of MadPea Productions. She graciously accepted my offer to meet and be interviewed for the SL Newspaper.

When the arranged date and time arrived, so too did a TP request from Ms Writer and I took the ride over to MadPeas Production Headquarters on Orange Island. We exchanged pleasantries before moving to the community area where she said she liked to be while working. She then warned me that we may have multiple interruptions from visitors, so we should do the interview in IM.

Nazz: What bought you into second life Kiana?

Kiana: hmm... I came here out of curiosity and got instantly addicted.

Nazz: What was it that caused the addiction?

Kiana: SL is what you make of it. The only limit is your imagination. I just loved meeting people from all over the world, and the possibilities in SL are endless, you can really lose yourself in here.

Nazz: I’m reading from your profile "We create fantasies that are beyond your imagination..." that and from what you'd just said, was that the inspiration for forming MadPea?

Kiana: Definitely, when I came into SL, I was really surprised how “little” there actually was going on … you can create anything here ... and yet people were choosing the same activities as in RL. I saw the potential to bring my stories alive in here and I absolutely love it.

Nazz: How did you come up with the name MadPea?

Kiana: *Laughs* … a moment of madness I guess. It just seemed to fit us perfectly. We wanted something cute and crazy to describe us.

Nazz: It is memorable. You've been in SL for nearly two years now ... have changes in SL changed your vision for MadPea?

Kiana: hmm... let me think about that one … From the technical point of view the engine has improved, which enables us to make the games more realistic. And of course more and more people are joining SL, which is great.

Nazz: I was recently at the Sigma-Aldrich SIM and saw that MadPea had developed a game for their opening last October ... did you approach them or did they approach you?

Kiana: They came to us. They saw what we had done here at Orange and wanted a fun little game for their opening.

Nazz: Was the idea for "Reaction" MadPea's?

Kiana: We sat down with Georgianna from Sigma-Aldrich and talked about what they would like and then proposed Reaction to her.

Nazz: How many other RL companies have done something similar?

Kiana: We just finished a game for MacMillan Publishers/ Nature Publishing group, and the game 'Notes from the Voyage' will come out on soon, and we're currently working on a game for Orange … which will be the biggest game we've ever done. We have several proposals at the moment, but since we are a small team, we usually carefully select the clients.

Nazz: Earlier you'd mentioned that SL has allowed your stories to come out, are you a writer?

Kiana: Like you, I'm a journalist … but I've been writing stories since I was little. Actually I came to SL when I started writing my first novel in English, because I wanted to learn more English ...that was nearly two years ago, and I only completed one chapter … I got so hooked on making games instead.

Nazz: Do you think you'll finish the novel eventually?

Kiana: I think it's going to turn into a game here.

Nazz: Which MadPea game has proven to be the most popular with SL'ers?

Kiana: Eek! That's a tough question. The games we have out at the moment are very different yet, we have the same players playing them all. “Within” and “Firefly” are more challenging and “Swamp Hotel” is currently on the Linden Showcase, it's a smaller game.

Nazz: Why do you think the games have gained so such popularity in SL when a number of people consider SL a "game"?

Kiana: I think everyone here reaches a point ... when the shopping and clubbing just aren't enough. We don't make just games, we provide a whole community. You get to meet like-minded people … and one thing I was thinking actually ... you get to play our games as yourself in a strange way. For example, if you play a game on a console, you have to choose a character, but in SL, you tend to spend a long time making your avatar into your persona and you truly get to live the story as yourself. We build the games from the player's point of view, to give the player a true experience. The feedback we get is so funny at times … some people have been really scared

Nazz: You'd mentioned "community", since the inception of MadPea how big has the community gotten?

Kiana: We’re at 1058 members at the moment and we have a Hippogroup for those that don't have group space. And now we have a problem, because the group is so big, the notices don't reach everyone and the group chat fails all the time, we need that for communication.

Nazz: Do the members of the community interact in SL and RL and in the "game"?

Kiana: I don't know about RL, although I've heard rumors that some members have met in RL after they met each other in MadPea games … but yes, we have events where they come to meet each other … we are also working on making our website more interactive www.madpea.com … and one thing I think is so fantastic, members that have completed a game, help out others that are just starting.

Nazz Lane: Any closing thoughts or comments you'd like to share with my readers?

Kiana: Stay tuned, as we'll be bringing out some really big games during the next couple of months, they will truly blow you away.

Conversation with Sand Castle Studios CEO Gianna Borgnine

By Nazz Lane

I’d become aware of Sand Castle Studios through my friendship with an associate of Sand Castle and through the Association of Virtual Worlds, where Gianna Borgnine and I first became acquainted. After exchanging wall postings there for several weeks and later in twitter, we were able to connect in Second Life recently for a conversation about her and Sand Castle Studios.

“Hello Nazz.” She said, as I rezzed into her office at the Sand Castle Studios headquarters. “Shall we sit?” She asked and then added, “It's nice to finally get together.”

We each took seats at the long glass conference table where we exchanged pleasantries and then I asked her, “Sand Castle is an interesting name for a company ...what's the genesis?”

“Actually, I would love to say we put lots and lots of thought in it, but ... really we liked the idea that SL is constantly changing and that what we develop here in this platform never stands still … where you can build anything … including fairy tales.”

“How long has Sand Castle been in operation?

“We started in October of 2007. I had recently left another company and decided to start my own. We barely had the building up and we had clients. It happened so fast, we never even had a grand opening party or an official launch date.” She replied and then laughed.

“What was it that bought you into SL and why did you stay?

“Originally someone recommended it to me … more as a social place. Then I saw an article about it in Time magazine. It made it sound very interesting ... a virtual world where you could explore places, meet people, create things.” She replied and then added. “Of course the first thing I wanted to do was buy everything! Then I thought, maybe Gianna needed a job.”

“What was your first job?”

“I looked for what was available and many of the posting were in the "adult" field. I wasn't too interested in that. I did eventually get my first job working as a live in landlord overseeing what the builder/owner referred to as a battered woman's shelter. He said he wanted to make a safe haven for woman to feel safe in SL when some did not at home. The position was slightly overwhelming, even given my RL experience, and I shortly after took a job with a man starting a graphic design studio. Then I got into this field, and have been here doing it ever since. It is now my full time RL job as well … completely changed my life.”

“What was your RL experience if I may ask?”

“I have a BA in psychology and one in criminal justice. I did some counseling and eventually took a job as a Probation/Parole officer for offenders on Home Confinement. It came with quite a bit of counseling as well as law enforcement.” She replied, than added. “It was nice to get to use a different piece of my psychology degree for marketing in SL. I wanted it to be lighter than RL … more upbeat.”

“Isn't psychology and marketing the same field?”

“It certainly hasn't hurt our company any.” She replied and laughed.

“Sand Castle is your full time job now ... how has business been in these uncertain economic times?

“Believe it or not, business has been better than ever. We hit a slow patch in December and I was worried that the economy was taking its toll ... but I think the holidays were stressful for many people. Since, it has been great and is full force! I think in these times where many people have to choose their brand strategy/marketing wisely, SL is a great way to advertise and build a community around your brand. It's very cost efficient when done correctly.”

“Reading through the SCS list of service offerings ... marketing and branding has been in the forefront of the surge then?” I asked

“Yes, very much so. With many of those, we get to do amazing building jobs and we have such a great team that has really been up to the challenge. In my opinion, the potential of virtual worlds is still largely untapped. But the opportunities to create emotional connections with brands through truly interactive experiences are there. We get to allow companies to build communities that tell their stories through interactive experiences based on the emotions underlying their brand which in turn allows them the opportunity to develop connections with their customers in a truly unique way that you just can't achieve by simply advertising at them.”

“I've always thought that was a component of SL most major corporations missed ... tell me a little about VESIM/NESIM technology, is it proprietary?”

“Almost all major brands have completely missed that. We are hoping to change that.” She replied and then continued. “Our VESIM/NESIM technology doesn't truly belong to just us. We were approached not long after opening by a long time friend and business associate of mine who happens to be a nursing instructor in RL. He was looking to develop something unique to use with his students in SL. He had also met another instructor looking for the same thing. They couldn't find anything truly interactive for their students in SL. We met and discussed his vision and how we might change that. We made it mostly as a BETA to test the concept which was very successful. We do have several schools trying NESIM and providing us feedback and we are still working on it with someone who is truly dedicated to Nursing Education in virtual worlds to take the concept further. NESIM stands for Nursing Education Simulation and VESIM is Virtual Education Simulation as we were approached by many fields looking to create something interactive and educational for their students as well. I can't say much about what we are currently working on in this area due to the NDAs involved but I will say we are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to come in world and use the technology without much exposure to SL.”

“Any closing thoughts you'd like to share with my readers?”

“Hmm ... Whether it’s with us, or with another company, or own your own, don't forget the imagination you had as a child. If you can dream it, you can create it.” She replied.

An Interview with JueL Resistance

By Nazz Lane

We’d become acquainted in Twitter, where I’d happened upon her profile while building on my list of people to follow. I’d heard her perform in SL and enjoyed it immensely, so I clicked to follow her tweets. It was a little later the same day that JueL replied with, “Thank You for the follow, if you get a chance check out one of my live acoustic performances ... and if you know of COOL SL things pass it on”, and she returned the follow. We next crossed paths at a concert, the opening of Tranquil Gardens, where we chatted in IM while listening to the performer. She agreed to an interview and we made the arrangements to do so in Skype.

Nazz: What bought you into SL and why did you stay?

JueL: I used to play sims on-line for a few years and a friend suggested I try SL, that was in 2004, and there was no music back then, just the U2 shows, so I quit. Another friend suggested coming back as the music scene has come along, so I came back in SL in November of 2005.

Nazz: You’ve been performing in SL for three years now, how much has the SL music scene changed in since then?

JueL: Rolling Stone, Wired and NPR all interviewed me about music in SL. I have to say it was a healthy competition a year ago ... now it’s a free for all. The music community is very loose knit … some will play for free and some are writing their own music. Most venues are unwilling to pay … I won’t play for free. So my impression of music scene ... It’s expanding, my visual is that it’s like a field of flowers spreading out … and competition that is so unnecessary … so few people who sing and play with an instrument.

Nazz: Do you perform in real life as well?

JueL: I’ve performed in RL since I was 15 or 16. I was very shy and it took me a long time to get over it.

Nazz: What performers have influenced your style and music the most?

JueL: Well, my music is not for everyone, I have smaller crowds. I’ve been influenced by the darker side. I like Nirvana ... I’m a big fan of Kurt Cobain and I feel like we have much in common. He was one of those rare artists who can take the music and the lyrics and blend them into something that we can feel. Other artists that I like and have inspired me … Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Bob Dylan, who’d influenced my song writing style … Patty Griffin, Mary Gauthier and Bonnie Raitt.

Nazz: What’s your favorite venue in SL?

JueL: My place is my favorite. There are no dance balls and exploders. You come in sit and listen to the music. The Living Room #13 started in early 2006 and it is centered around nothing but the most raw, down to earth, real live musicians and performers in SL. If it moves the soul, it's here.

Nazz: Any performances or special moments that stand out?

JueL: I’ve played so many over the years … iVillage, Elward, and at Dell last year at the opening. You do your own music and some covers, make new fans. Some think that getting a gig like that will make you famous. It doesn't, but it’s still nice getting recognized.

Nazz: I see from your profile that you’re and artist and have a gallery, how’s that going for you?

JueL: There’s a period of time now where I feel like painting and I'll do that and nothing else. I may pick up and write … mostly poetry and short stories. Filthy (Fluno) and Cyl (Cylindrian Rutabaga) were a big influence on getting me to sell my art work in SL and on Etsy.com … now I want to do so in RL. My style is "Folk art", I see colors and I want to throw them onto a canvas. I have synesthesia … it’s where the stimulation of one sense leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sense … like sound and vision … so painting is like music to me.

Nazz: You’d mentioned earlier a commonality with Kurt Cobain, is the synesthesia?

JueL: Like him, I’m bipolar. I feel that I’d known I was bipolar since I was eight, but I wasn’t diagnosed with it until 1989. Since then I've studied … I want to know everything about it. Everything that has to do with the brain I want to know about it. Like did you know that musicians who play string instruments are more likely to be unfaithful in their lives … and that most musicians have more testosterone. I have so many books on the brain.

Nazz: Where do you see your musical career taking you?

JueL: I’d like more exposure, on radio stations like Radio Paradise and clearchannelmusic ... and I’d like to be known as a song writer not so much as a performer. Maybe in three years or in five … someone with a bigger recognition will do a cover of something I’ve written. Or maybe I will. I still perform in SL, but not as much. I’ve tired of it and monotony bores me to death, I like more variety.

Nazz: Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?

JueL: The biggest thing, and I tell this to everyone who wants to do music in SL, ask to be paid. If the venue owner says no, keep looking for one who will … and I’ve learned that it takes fifteen years to be an overnight success.

The End of a Sim, But Not a Community

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was March 21st when I got the news. Dreamers Cove was gone, and with it my old home, Woodlin. The other sim in the area had vanished a couple weeks before.

Woodlin was created almost a year ago, and when I first saw it in Summer 2008, it was mostly the form I had known it. Dreamers Cove was the main of the two sims in Woodlin. Most of the residents lived there, either in treehouses or apartments built onto the larger trees that stood a few hundred meters high. There was also a shopping mall where people could get new clothes, accessories, avatars, etc. Dreamers was also where the Margaritavile beach club was located. The sim also boasted a movie theater (for a time, people could see movies in their own homes as well). All was built in a sim with a natural look to it, where one could explore the trees, hills, and streams, occasionally finding some hidden caves. The largest one was a temple where one could meditate.

Hopeful Shores was the second sim of Woodlin, only occasionally ever have anyone living there, and fewer trees. But it had two good clubs. 6th Circle was the hell-club there, inspired by another one that had gone out of business. Later on came Star Tails, the highly-colorful space club that regularly hosted parties to the end. Late in 2008, a space station was built and Star Tails attached to it.

The Woodlin area was built and managed until recently by Dax Loon. Staticminded Waco became co-manager in January, and full manager in February.

I made a number of friends there. There was Bubbles, whose lighthearted manner and “bubbly” friendliness were always a cheery sight. There was Aiko, whom was a bit of a prankster, but always wanting everyone to have fun. There was Maria, whom was often seen with Aiko and her “partner in crime" in mischief, though the more I knew her the more I saw of her sweet and tender side. There was Mega, whom liked firing her guns and causing explosions (away from peoples’ houses). There was Miki, the self-described “lil imp,” whom was known for her line of clothes and webcomic. There was Galvanized, whose “movie voice” made him popular with others and one of the best DJs. There was Rory, who proved to be a great event organizer and club owner. There was Aiko’s partner Foxy, whom also made a name for himself DJing. There was Isegrim, the “big but not so bad” wolf as I called him, whom was known for eyeing the ladies, but so big-hearted none of the girls minded. There was Jessica, whom was a bit of a tease. There was Danikia, whom was an up and coming DJ this year. There was Ekedo, the quirky little DJ whom is best described as young at heart. And there are many others whom I lack the time to mention.

The times we had. Where to begin? We saw movies together, laughing at humor and cheering at the action. We played games of Una in the space station’s lounge, cracking jokes over voice and laughing harder than we had in weeks. And of course all the parties we had, and not just in the clubs. We would have a dance party out on the deck of one of the apartment trees. This included a few beach parties with the landlady dancing around in a bikini and guitar.

Although this may be the end of the Dreamers sim, it is not the end of the community that for months called it their home in Second Life. Foxy acquired another sim: Foxworthy, also known as Willow’s Thicket. Running the location with help from Aiko, he has offered a number of houses for rent, some housing other old neighbors of his. With the close of Dreamers Cove, he plans to eventually offer more residential places for them. In the meantime, the residents of Willows are continuing to keep in touch with old friends.

The land may be gone, but the happy memories remain, and friendships forged over time between neighbors in SL continue.

Bixyl Shuftan

Mend a Broken Cyber Heart

So awhile back, one of my SL loves dumped me cruelly, hurtfully, and for stupid reasons. I know that probably sounds pessimistic but break-ups are rarely pleasant. But as it did happen on SL, I decided to wander about looking for distractions to ease the hurt and take my mind off things. So on that note, I give you...

PENNY'S TOP 5 WAYS TO DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM A BROKEN HEART ON SL

5) Go dancing! Yeah I know that sounds simplistic but SL has no shortage of dance clubs of all sorts, including our very own Secret Seductions, and sometimes dancing mindlessly to good music with fun people around is a great way to soothe the ache. For a lot of people it's healthy to be around people after a break-up. It also doesn't hurt to just dance the anger away. I find personally that channeling break-up anger through dancing is a lot healthier and positive then stewing on it.

4) Go exploring. I found that with so much hurt in my heart, it was a perfect time to look up some things on SL I had been meaning to look for but kept forgetting to. I looked up the Apple store, and had fun browsing all the virtual computer props. Even put one on my desk in my office. Then I looked for various themes. I found an actual Transgender support area, hidden amongst all the shemale sex clubs, and met some really cool supportive people there. Just search the places tab for anything you're into, goth, rave, art, etc, and go exploring. You'll be amazed how easily you get distracted from the hurt.

3) Learn to build or create. Get yourself to one of the many public sandboxes here on SL and start building. Create something. Experiment with textures and shapes. Build a house, a car, a guitar, anything you can imagine, you can build in SL. I'm just a beginner myself, but I found it incredibly cathartic to even just build a box with my logo on it. It was liberating, and helped me ignore the hurt awhile. So go get yourself building, and see what you can come up with.

2) Hanging with friends. A simple yet easily overlooked option. There's always SOMEONE on SL more than happy to shoot the breeze and gab happily for hours about anything and everything, or even nothing in particular. Talk about your break-up. Talk about the weather. Talk about that new prim outfit you bought that you don't think quite looks right, but talk. It really is the best way to purge negative energy from a break-up, to just talk it out, or talk about completely unrelated things. But talk, and soon you'll find the hurt fades into the background.

1) GO SHOPPING!!! Okay, this one probably usually only applies to us girls, well, except if there's a good hardware store on here someplace. But the best medicine sometimes for us ladies when we're hurt is to go shopping. Spend frivolously on things we don't need, or just window shop looking at nice stuff we can't afford. Shopping is a great stress reliever, because you get so caught up in all the cool things you can find that for a while you forget you're hurting. Shopaholics unite!

Of course we know nothing ever truly makes the hurt go away. Only time can do that. But for the immediate moment, it helps to have fun ways to make you stop thinking about it. And that's really the best painkiller isn't it? So go have fun. Hurt is only as painful as you allow it to be.

Now give me a hug dammit!
Penny Sautereau