The Secondlife Newspaper PEOPLE

Breezes Thoughts

2009-04-19T11:56:00.005+01:00

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

2009-04-15T02:06:00.005+01:00

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

2009-04-08T16:52:00.000+01:00

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

2009-03-29T18:34:00.001+01:00

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

2009-03-26T14:47:00.000Z

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

2009-03-25T04:19:00.003Z

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

2009-03-19T12:33:00.003Z

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

WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM IN SECOND LIFE?

2009-03-18T09:53:00.002Z

Well, we all know about babies in Real Life and the shenanigans that go in making them and then looking after them until they are old enough to look after themselves.

But how does it happen in Second Life? Does it happen on Second Life, you ask? Of course it does. But, hoe does it happen and why does it happen? Because we live in a non-biological world, we have to take a difference approach to having babies.

In fact it can be very much like the future predicted for RL.

A lady can go into a shop and buy an avatar with several stages of pregnancy, six, for instance. One where there is nothing showing - a normal avatar. Then there are five stages of pregnancy where there is a discernible bump, which grows according to a timetable set by the RL person to whom the avatar belongs.

There is a very advanced baby which can monitor conversations going on around it and can contribute with its own appropriate comments, an awareness which many people believe in, in RL, but not the talking, of course.

I went to several shops to find out how it all worked. In each place the ladies were very happy to talk to me about it and I learned a great deal.

Having a baby in SL can be a learning experience for some and a cathartic release for others. Every stage from conception (controlled by a HUD which even caters for a percentage success/failure rate until conception occurs) through labour to birth, is covered and, of course the delivery of the baby.

The choice of baby is very wide. You choose, girl, boy, colour of skin, hair and eyes. Babies develop in much the same way they do in RL, growing from newborn to nine years old in some cases.

One “baby shop” had a maternity wing with all the necessary facilities to simulate childbirth in an environment that was very much like a maternity ward in RL.

Never having been through the process (fatherhood in SL) myself, I cannot describe what happens but, like all of us with RL experience, I can be sure that it is very realistic.

One thing I am very sure of is that the ladies that I met were very serious about what they did and were very confident that their services were beneficial to many customers, helping mums to be the overcome fears they have of childbirth in RL. Several ladies in the shop at the same time as me were very kind and described how going through pregnancy and childbirth in SL helped them approach the process in RL with more confidence or get over the loss of a real child.

What could appear to many as inappropriate and sentimental came across to me, from what the services providers and past and current customers told me, as a very sincere and worthwhile virtual service and gave a range of experiences which satisfied the needs of the many different customers with their very different needs.

Kim Trefusis

Breezes Thoughts

2009-03-17T08:38:00.005Z

The floodgates of piratelands and 9 sims are chucked full of sl designers ready and waiting to entice you to buy buy buy.
I tell you you won't have a linden left. The array of selections is enough to make the mind go berserk. I want, I want, I need oh yes of course you need more. No one can ever have enough. (hides face in hands and laughs like crazy.

You simply must explore all the sims not just the shops but see all the wonders of landscapings provided for your pleasure.
The relay for life is the biggest event for second life ever.
With all of our help we will help overcome this disastrous cancer.
We need you all to help with the battle.
Together we will win.
Come please please help us make the world full of survivors and cancel the big "C" word forever.
See you all there
yo ho ho and a bottle of rum to ye me hearties!

Breezes Babii

Pictures from the first fashion show hosted by Timeless agency wonderful ladies!

Breezes Thoughts

2009-03-11T08:39:00.005Z

Slugs in the sky, yes sir, and down where normal people are DJ Qwark our very own DJ Is giving us the neatest slugs you ever had to dance with.
Gemma and Qwark and many friends are down on the dance floor where most normal peeps are.
How would bree know what normal is??
Now answer me that.

Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

“We Don’t Allow YOUR Kind Here!”

2009-03-10T05:17:00.004Z

By Bixyl Shuftan

A few days ago, one of my foxfolk friends was exploring around, and wanting to rezz some items came across a sandboox at an Italian beach villiage. Like the majority of places he had seen, all were in normal human avies, “mature content and a nude beach.” Just after getting there, “I was approached by a resident and told that I had to reove my ‘ mask.’ I was polite and said that I wasn't wearing a mask that this was my personna.” But the local persisted, so my friend left. Not long afterwards, he told the story to another fox friend of his whom got irritated and insisted he take him and some others online at the time over, most furred but one neko joined in, “We were pretty civil, except for **** calling them racists. ... they bounced us out and banned us from the area."

When a couple others from the incident arrived, they told me a little more, one saying she took on the appearance of a naked hermapodite with a huge appendage and didn’t get banned until changing back to a clean furry. They asked me to see the scene for myself, and ported me to a spot next to the beach village. I walked in, the scene rezzing more slowly than normal. Just across the bridge was a sign, and one resident nearby. So I stood on the bridge for a while, waited for the sign to fully rez, and sure enough it stated “No Furry” alongside “No monsters” and the usual behaviors against intimate activity in the open and gunfire. The resident did nothing, though might have been away from the keyboard, so I turned around and left. Porting to a tavern, we had a long talk about the place.

It’s my experience that incidents like this are very rare in Second Life. Most places are happy to have anyone whom is not bothering anyone, especially if they’re spending money. But considering how treatment one sees as unfair sticks in one’s mind, when someone does end up booted from a place because of his looks, it is certainly remembered.

Why do some places limit what avatars can come in? Some are roleplay sims that have rules against certain avatars, but will also boot anyone not following the dress code or anything else of a strict set of guidelines, that is, if they let anyone outside their group in at all. I have heard no real complaints about their policies.

Then there was the one single place I was asked to leave because of my avatar’s appearance. Someone from a charity group sent me a complaint about a formal dress nightclub only allowing in human avatars. I decided to check things out for myself, put on my Dana Delight’s tuxedo, and ported over. Seeing a lady by the door, I chatted with her for a few minutes, and she clearly welcomed me. Going in, no one bothered me at first, but the place was laggy as heck. I was about to conclude the place was a false alarm and port out, when a lady approached me and IMed me, “Excuse me ... could you please change to a human avatar?” My response, “The lady at the door didn’t have a problem with me. And in the year and a half I’ve been here, not a single place I’ve been to has had a problem with my appearance.” “I’m truly sorry, but we have a dress code, and we still need you to change.” I was irritated, no sign of a problem at the door and now this. But how much was a place too laggy to stay worth making a fuss over? So I ported out. Most likely the lag would keep away more people than anything I could do or say.

So why did they have a problem? It may be they saw avatars as an extension on the dress code, since people in Second Life have the ability change their shape, as well as their clothes. Trouble is, many people, both furry and normal people, dislike changing their avatar’s look. “I have this nagging fear that I might not be able to change back,” one person told me. In any event, no other place before, or after, had a problem with my foxfolk look. It’s notable that a few weeks later, I was invited to a live classical music performance in a place that was *really* high class and elegant. No one had a problem with my avatar’s look (and Dana's tuxedo fit in nicely).

Then there’s the scenerio that my furred freinds think of most often, getting tossed out “just because” by someone being a real jerk about it. I was a semi-witness to one example. I once joined a group for a pirate club an event organizer I knew liked to go to. One day, one of the pirates started a group chat, “Don’t go to *****. I went there, and they refused to sell me anything, telling me ‘We don’t allow YOUR kind here!’ .“ The immediate response was, “WHOAH! They’re gonna get it now!” This was followed by cries of righteous indignation, and calls for going to the sim to protest or teach them a lesson.

I didn’t get to the scene until later. According to the group chat, the furred pirates began porting over to the place, and before long the local ones threw up a “No admittance” barrier. With no way to get in, the tailed buccaneers cursed for a while, then gave up. The guy who started this then told everyone he might as well shop elsewhere. He soon told the group, “Hey guys, I finally found a place. They even have a furry among them.” And so ended the fight between what one guy called “the tail pirates versus the butt pirates.”

Why do some people have problems with a guy or girl in a furball avatar? The subject can be an article on itself. Penance Sautereau did a two-part article that can be read here and here. But what do do about the few whom take things to the point of banning people minding their own business from sims? That was the subject of a lengthy discussion between me and other furballs.

Second Life’s Community Standards begins with this statement, “The goals of the Community Standards are simple: treat each other with respect and without harassment, adhere to local standards as indicated by simulator ratings, and refrain from any hate activity which slurs a real-world individual or real-world community.” Even if the banning of people because of their avatars is not against the letter of the rules, it certainly goes against the spirit, in my opinion.

By all means, this kind of problem is not limited to furred avies. I have heard stories of players with normal human appearances being subject to harassment in sims populated by furred residents. One former friend of mine told me via instant message about going to a place recommended by me, and treated harshly by some local furballs, “I had no idea furries could be so cruel!” She would then have nothing to do with furs again. A couple of my friends who prefer to appear normal human told me they themselves had gone through some of this kind of harassment.

The antics of the “human-haters” I find to be as silly as their anti-furball counterparts, if not moreso. Aren’t we all human behind our keyboards? I’ve had a couple mild-mannered furballs say normal human avatars look unnatural and zombielike to them, falling into what some call the "Uncanny Alley," but I’ve never gotten much of an answer from the few haters I’ve come across.

These rare but annoying incidents make me think a little of one bit of movie trivia I came across. Fans of the “Planet of the Apes” movie occasionally recall one of the themes was it’s anti-racism message - the gorillas could only be soldiers, the orangutans were limited to sciences and study, etc. Just how well the message reached the actors was brought into question one day. The time it took to put on the makeup was so long, actors would eat lunch still in costume, and did so in a designated lunch area. Once, one of the “apes” happened to look around, and noticed that the place had segregated itself. The gorillas were in one area, the orangutans in another, and the chimpanzees in a third. Even though everyone was human underneath, they had broken up into groups based on their costumes!

With this in mind, maybe it’s a little less surprising some are reluctant to explore places populated by another type of avatar. But in the opinion of this Second Life resident, it doesn’t excuse a few monkeying around with our freedom of movement.

Have any of you the readers experienced this kind of treatment? Feel free to tell your story in the comment section below.

Bixyl Shuftan

Want To Get Somewhere Fast? Make A Teleporter Box!

2009-03-04T20:30:00.005Z

While I was building on my island in Second Life I realized that I could build a skybox way up to 4000 meters above the ground. I was so excited and put on my flight feather, which is an attachement that allows you to fly up that high. I built my skybox, all glass, and I set my environment lighting to midnight. I set out a rug and put a music pod on the wall that played all classical music. It was so incredibly relaxing that I almost fell asleep. The stars were bright and I could see the moon so well. Afterwards I clicked on my map and teleported back home, down to the castle below. Unfortunately I had no way of getting back up to the skybox unless I flew again, which took entirely too long.

I had set a landmark there and renamed it my skybox, but for some reason I couldn't teleport there. Maybe my land setting was a blocked teleport setting, or maybe I had it set to a landing point, but no matter what it was set at, I could not teleport there at all. I didn't want to fly back up, so a friend suggested that I rezz a box and put in the parameters that I needed to get to. That is exactly what I did. I went into the build mode and rezzed a normal, plain box. I went into the edit mode and to the object tab. I set the parameters for the X, Y, and Z coordinates to the same ones my landmark for my skybox had been set to. The box disappeared. My friend suggested that I sit on the box first, and it turns out he was a smart friend. Less than a second after I put in the Z coordinate I was sitting in my skybox along side the other box that I had rezzed earlier. I was amazed that I could get anywhere by just sitting on a box and editing the coordinates to the right parameter setting for the place I wanted to be. Now all I needed was to make the box a little more attractive and I had my own vehicle of transportation! A pink cushion of velvet sounds great!

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-22T14:30:00.005Z

Boooooooooooo and and ghostiesare meeting with Bree tonight.
Yep I looked in a casket and I found this fabulous outfit. It was calling to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
"Please wear me."
Poor Bree could not resist such a plea. Those that know me will simply say 'oh not another peice of clothing do I need. '
I scoff.
One can never have enough clothes to ever satisfy Bree.
No siree.
If you gals want to find some terific clothes come to Lemanias'. I promise you will find all sorts of pleasures here I am on my way to open another grave muuuuaaaaahahahah
Breezes Babii
'I am always searching for something'

Speaking with Sigma-Aldrich's SL Representative Georgianna Blackburn

2009-02-21T13:50:00.002Z

By Nazz Lane

I’d arrived early at the Aldrich Chemistry SIM for a scheduled appointment with Georgianna Blackburn and took the opportunity to look around while waiting for the start of our meeting. Having rezzed in at the entry point I scanned across the wide plaza admiring the design and layout of the build. Aldrich Chemistry is one of five SIM’s that Sigma-Aldrich, the life science and high technology company, owns as part of its SL complex and was the first complete in its build. I noted the presence of two buildings along the perimeter of spacious plazas, immediately to the left is the “new products pavilion” and across the way is the “art of science exhibit”. The latter facility is across form a second square which holds a pleasant fountain, a circular one which sits centered in the wide space. Both plazas are landscaped artfully with spaced areas for flowers and trees. The entire area is framed by rolling green hills to the south from which a pair of waterfalls on each side of the slopes cascade down into the lush green park like setting below.

Just shortly after I finished my tour of the two facilities, Ms Blackburn arrived. We exchanged greetings in text chat before moving into voice for the interview.

NL: What was it that bought you into SL and has kept you here?

GB: Curiosity, like most. I’d heard about it at a marketing conference. When I first came in … there was so much to learn that I gave up. It was about a week later, with a friend, that I came back in. The social networking is what kept me here. I like networking and hearing the thoughts and ideas of others. When I saw through doing a search, the “American Chemical Society”, I knew this was where I needed to be. I’ve been amazed at the creativity of people in here.

NL: I’m reading from your profile text, "And one man in his time plays many parts" What part do you play for Sigma-Aldrich and what part does Georgianna play?

GB: Well for Sigma-Aldrich I’m a pioneer, showing them the technology. Trying to show what can be done with the technology. I work mostly with PhD’s, in Chemistry, but my back ground is in marketing and advertising. I do eMarketing for the chemical division Aldrich brand. About 90% of what I do in SL is on my personal time. I do get some support from IT. We’re testing immersive workspace as a supplement to WebEx, I’m working with an associate in the UK. As for Georgianna, if I had known then what I know now, I might have actually used my real name. Georgianna has become well known.

NL: What does Sigma-Aldrich do in SL?

GB: We’re trying to take an educational approach, however we can attribute some potential sales that occurred because of our presence here in SL. But primarily we’re working with the universities, we have some ideas to try out and we would like to get them moving. As an example, right now we are collaborating with a university on a student project.

NL: How many people at Sigma-Aldrich have avatars and how often do they use them?

GB: There are five. One of the Product Manager’s comes in primarily and helps me out with the product information.

NL: How does Sigma-Aldrich plan to use SL?

GB: We would like to have seminars here and I’d love to do a mixed reality event. We’re also looking to do more collaboration with universities in SL. We’re planning on an open grid SIM, the Science SIM. I’ve been out there and the first person I met there was a customer of Sigma-Aldrich, she's also in SL. We’ve been getting more visitors now here, about 35 a day. But we need to do more events. Also, I’m getting my budget together for SL, it was at the chemistry division last year, this year it’s a corporate budget item. I keep the CIO in the loop on what we do here and on virtual worlds. Also, and this was just recently I sat on the Nokia panel for women in virtual worlds

NL: What are Georgeianna's plans for SL?

GB: I’ve gone to some building classes and I am looking at designing my own cloths. Also, I’m looking for a good French class. I took French in school and would like to expand the knowledge. Sometimes, I hang out in the French SIM’s just to listen in.

NL: Do you have any closing thoughts to share?

GB: I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings me. It’s been very exciting, I feel lucky to have been a part of this.

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-18T11:38:00.002Z

See I told you it would not be

long till I did some other dang fool thing. This is what happens to me when I get flustered, but I have never had part of my hair gone.
Does this mean no blood is flowing in this part of my skull?
You can't see my AO and what it is doing, but I can tell you I have a Kimono AO and I think this is trying to get me to Asia - I want to go overseas but not quite to Asia!

Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

Virtual Ability Island Expansion

2009-02-16T10:55:00.001Z

By Nazz Lane

In August of 2008 I wrote an article for this newspaper on the opening of a new SIM, Virtual Ability Island. I’d met and interviewed Gentle Heron, founder and president of Virtual Ability Inc. (VAI), a RL 501(c) 3 Corporation. Since then the VAI presence in SL has expanded. The first change occurred in November, when VAI partnered with Cap Able, a leading community that supports the hearing impaired. In the partnership, VAI became the owner of the Cape Able SIM and has plans to develop it to further enhance their capability in meeting its mission of providing an “orientation and training center for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses”. A second expansion came about when it was announced that VAI would become one of the Community Gateway choices available to all new residents who sign up for SL with Linden Lab.

I caught up with Ms Heron recently. We met in her skybox office, several hundred meters above the orientation center on the VAI SIM. We exchanged pleasantries while I waited for things to rezz. When they did, I took a seat across from Gentle and we began the interview.

Nazz Lane: It seems that SL is rather slow today.

Gentle Heron: We had a whole bunch of new arrivals come in for the Stepping into Science Conference, which slows things down.

Nazz Lane: I had just read a press announcement about Virtual Ability becoming one of the Community Gateway choices. I thought you had one of the best orientation programs around ... congratulations Gentle. How’s it going?

Gentle Heron: Yes, since January 26^th, still a few kinks to work out. We used a research-based approach, with community development input in developing our orientation. It makes it a bit slower, but we like our results.

Nazz Lane: I also saw information about the partnership with Cape Able, was it a partnership or an acquisition?

Gentle Heron: It was an acquisition, as we announced it in November. They were an existing community for D/deaf and hard of hearing people. They were very socially isolated and by acquiring them, we can integrate them into SL society, which after all is a major goal of the Virtual Ability group.

Nazz Lane: How did the acquisition come about?

Gentle Heron: Interestingly Treasure Ballinger approached us. The former owner had a RL health crisis and couldn't continue. Treasure knew of our group and came over for a chat.

Nazz Lane: How long did it take to work out the details?

Gentle Heron: Less than a month. We had to move fast or they would have lost the SIM.

Nazz Lane: Is the integration complete?

Gentle Heron: Yes, it is. It was a residential SIM and we kept the estate manager, Treasure Ballinger. She now is a member of the Virtual Ability, Inc. RL Board. She is in charge of the rental property on Cape Able. But there are two other facilities there of interest, one is a Service Center with tons of resources both for the D/deaf community and the community of the disabled in general. The other is an art gallery run by an RL art curator, Nicolo Anthony. The gallery features works by deaf and other disabled artists. It will reopen the SIM in February with a Grand Opening celebration, featuring two SL artists. The opening will take place on Feb 22nd from 2-6 pm SLT,

Nazz Lane: So the transition has gone well?

Gentle Heron: Folks from the Cape Able community have begun to come to Virtual Ability social events, and mingle, and our folks have gone to their events, and a few have moved over to Cape Able. So it's working well. Treasure is going to make a presentation to our folks about speaking with someone whose native language is ASL not English, the words are similar, but the grammar isn't and sometimes people who speak ASL are taken for stupid by those who don't understand but they truly speak a different language. Treasure's presentation on ASL will also be given at the Dreams Community Fair in February. We always participate in that, it’s a great way to support the community at large.

Nazz Lane: ASL is the American Sign Language?

Gentle Heron: Yes, but typed out instead of signing. There is a display about the grammar differences in the Service Center.

Nazz Lane: So now with two SIMs ... and with this being one of the communities of choice for new avatars ... what else is in the plans for VAI?

Gentle Heron: Oh my, well we've been working with the SecondAbility Mentors group. They serve as helpers for our newcomers. There are bells along the newcomer orientation trail that anyone can ring for assistance and that sends a message to any SAM wearing their HUD the first SAM to respond then is given the SLURL and can TP directly to the person needing assistance. Those bells are now used at the Autism Society of America here in SL, and at the London SIMs. We had a volunteer scripter who created the bell/HUD system. What else we are doing is providing a wiki of resources in SL that the SAMs can use to refer people to for additional specialized assistance.

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-14T12:20:00.003Z

Okay!!! I have done alot of dumb

things, but I have never done this trick before. Now gang, I know how to look under the beach for the rest of me.
Do you think I can find me?
Well you got another think coming.
Of course you would love to see all of Bree cause all she has on is a lovely Boa and tiny bikini bottom. I was going to a contest for barely there depending on if I find myself. Wish me luck.
No doubt there willl be another experience coming for MOI soon. Please note the newspaper vendor in case I need something to read :)

Breezes Babii in a mess again

Some Real Life Reactions to Second Life

2009-02-09T05:44:00.004Z

Being in Second Life for almost two years, there comes the question. What do my family, friends, and coworkers think of it?

One of my relatives uses the computer to work online, making a fair amount of income. The idea of a “chat room on steroids” she found appealing. But her computer wasn’t powerful enough for the Second Life client, and the chat rooms she used to conduct business worked well enough. So she never did touch Second Life herself, just found it good that I did.

Among friends and co-workers, I mention it sometimes when the subject of computers comes up. Some have heard of it, but more often than not they haven’t until I mentioned what it is. Some express interest, others couldn’t seem to care less.

One man I thought would be interested was a UFO buff, and wondered what he would think of a place where one could virtually take on a non-human appearance. So one day in some casual conversation when he asked me what I was up to this weekend, wondering if I’d be listening to “Coast to Coast.” I told him most likely I’d be meeting up with some friends online. He asked if it was on a game, and I mentioned, “Maybe a little ‘World of Warcraft,’ but also on ‘Second Life.’ “ He thought for a moment, “I think I heard about that on TV. ... The program told it was some weird porn site.” I gave him an odd look, “What? It surely must’ve told you more than that?” “Nope, porn site.”

“It’s a vast three-dimensional virtual landscape,” I told him, “Unlike games such as ‘World of Warcraft,’ almost all the content is created by other players. Sure you’re going to have a few people create some adult-themed areas, but most places on Second Life aren’t like that. People have created wilderness areas, castles and villages, even science-fiction areas with aliens. You can find just about everything there.” “Porn site.” “Oh come on. Just because a few areas there are a little wild does not make the whole place dirty.” “Porn site.”

I thought for a moment, recalling he was in the US Navy, “Someone created a replica of the Vietnam Memorial there.” “A what?” He seemed more interested. “Someone recreated ‘The Wall’ in Second Life. Right down to every one of the fifty thousand names.” “No way.” “Yes way.”

I then explained how I came across it, describing how from the point of view of one’s computer, one appeared to be at a replica of the Vietnam Wall. One that was highly detailed, right down to the squirrels in the park, and with a system to find individual names. My friend seemed impressed, and hearing about the article I wrote asked to see it. I showed it to him after work before we left for home. He thought it was very interesting. Still, he continued to call Second Life a porn site as a joke once in a while.

I mentioned SL to a few other coworkers on some occasions. Most hadn’t heard of it, more familiar with “World of Warcraft,” but some were interested. I thought someone might be curious enough to give it a try. Still, it was a surprise when my supervisor told me he was going on it. I talked a little about what I did there, my doing articles for an online newspaper. He didn’t think anything about my avatar’s foxlike appearance there, as he was familiar with my sense of humor and saw the “Fox News” joke. I expected that I would soon be helping him out some, but as it turned out he gave it up as the “lag” took the fun out of it for him. So my worry that I’d soon have to explain one of the weirder aspects of SL to the man who hands me my real-life paycheck never materialized.

Then there was one story about Second Life that made the news in the local paper, though not in the best light. It seems a man in SL broke off a relationship there with a lady, and her response was to come after him in real life with the intention of detaining him for a while whether he liked it or not. One coworker who was more into computers and games than most others found out about it and went to me, “Hey *****, hear about that woman who met a guy on Second Life and tried to kidnap him? Maybe if you keep running into girls there, maybe someday soon one will be knocking on your door with a pair of handcuffs. (chuckle).” Perhaps I should have reminded him of when he told me he stumbled into a Star Trek club, and got tackled by a Klingon girl.

Not everyone reacted positively. Once I was talking with a couple friends of my Father, a man and a woman. The subject of the future came up, and they had a rather pessimistic view of it. The man mentioned an old science-fiction story in which people were afraid to come out of their tiny apartments, interacting with each other only through a computer world. I then mentioned, “Well, something like that exists now, Second Life.” Before I could say more, the woman promptly told me, “Stay away from there!” “Too late,” I answered. She wasn’t too happy, explaining how she heard of people having relationships online, and how she thought they were completely out of their mind. I then asked her, “So which is worse, people having relationships online, or guys going to hookers?” “Well, at least a hooker would be *real.*” It was obvious there was not going to be any changing of their minds.

And so, a few reactions of real life friends, family, and acquaintances to Second Life. It would seem more positive publicity is needed.

Bixyl Shuftan

No Limits 3

2009-02-07T12:23:00.004Z

Click Images to see full size
They will open in a new window

One Stop Baby Making Clinic

2009-02-05T09:45:00.002Z

I never thought Second Life could get as close to reality as I have been discovering. Who could have thought that there would be a baby making clinic? Just like you heard it, a baby making clinic! The genius behind this idea is Jeff Demar, creator of the Bouncy Bundles Maternity.

Getting pregnant in SL is now a wish come true to those who have wanted to experience real life experiences in SL. Bouncy Bundles Maternity is a one stop clinic and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Jeff Demar and his staff offer everything a real life maternity clinic can offer. They offer pregnancy tests, pregnancy bellies, baby toys, and even delivery rooms, where you can deliver your baby even if there are no staff members online.

If it’s your wish not to look pregnant or go through a pregnancy you can always go to their Creation Stations and create your own baby. The Bouncy Bundles Maternity offers 4 main variations of babies to choose from: Economy, Deluxe, Low Prims and Crawlers. The difference between the variations are the prices, the Economy baby is the most affordable one. The prices range between $2500L and $6000L, they are very well-equipped and can interact with the parents and people around them just like a real life child would do.

“All of my babies come with several poses for interacting. They sit, stand crawl, walk and can grow up to 3 years,” said Demar.

The Bouncy Bundles Maternity babies go through a regular growth and as Demar stated, their maximum growth is at the age of three. The babies change as they grow, their faces change and grow teeth at 6 months old. The babies go through six stages: newborn, 3 months old, 6 months old, 1 year old, 2 years old and 3 years old. Parents decide how long it will take the babies to reach their maximum age.

“I did not place a timer into them because each parents’ role-play is different,” said Demar.

You can choose the amount of babies you want, twins, triplets, quadruplets or as many as you wish. Parents can create a “normal” baby, gorean, goth, neko, or vamps, which are born with baby fangs that grow as the baby grows.

“You can rez a baby and select from a multi-menu system. You pick the options for the baby and when you’re finished, you make your purchase,” stated Demar.

If you choose to go through a regular pregnancy, you can decide the time you want to be pregnant and the delivery date. All you have to do is go to the Pregnancy Section where they offer the “tummies” and information needed. There you can also purchase an ultrasound appointment and can get your free “pregnant shape”. The delivery facilities are found in the third floor where you can go to when it’s time for your baby to come into the beautiful SL world.

Jeff Demar has been in business for over 2 years and has delivered many babies. His staff is very well prepared and will guide and answer any questions you might have. Visit the Bouncy Bundles Maternity and enjoy your new baby.

By Lizzy Arriaga

2009-02-01T14:12:00.002Z

There is a continuing supply of new free accounts in Second Life each expecting exciting new adventures. Which they will surely get, but how do they emulate the older residents with their cool clothes, beautiful hair, bodies and skins? Of course there are the ubiquitous freebies, hundreds of outlets and thousands of products, so many of them repeated in each yard sale or freebie mall and they soon find that everybody else has got the same hair, skirt or jeans. “You can spot a Newbie a mile off” with the plastic hair and unrealistic face.

Apparently there a three questions that new accounts ask: 1. How do I get money?

2. How do I get a job? 3. Where do I go for sex? There may be others but these are the favourites.

Well it would appear logical that if question 2 were answered, question 1 would be answered and there would be no need for begging. Problem solved! Ah, but how do you get a job? There’s the rub. So, I went looking for jobs.

Well camping seemed to be thought of as a job, so I had a go. There are different levels of activity in camping. Your avatar can do nothing, scrub the floor or clean the windows for, say, L$2 for 50 minutes. One camper I saw had achieved a level of over 1000 minutes. They must have left their computer on continuously for over 17 hours(I wonder how much that cost?). You can work in nightclubs as escorts, dancers or bouncers. These jobs apparently pay quite well. There are higher levels of pay but some I would rather not discuss how they are earned.

So, you can earn money by doing a “proper” job. So why beg, at all? I can only think it’s because it’s the first “real life” thing you learn in Second Life. Even before you register, you’re told about begging. It’s also naughty, therefore fun! Also it’s not REAL work.

But there are enough residents in Second Life who get upset about begging and believe that something ought to be done about it, for it to be taken seriously by “The Authorities”.

“Ban them “, I am told. “Kick them about a bit and THEN ban them” Phew; strong feelings! “How do they know that begging is wrong?” I ask “Common sense”, “It’s obvious”, “Of course, they should know, “everybody knows it’s wrong” come the replies.

There are two sides to this argument, The “Newbies” and their helpers. On the one side and those of us who are settled in and living and working in a real world, on the other. So, what can be done about it? I asked some residents... Without exception, they were strongly opposed to it and suggested strong action against it, from the residents and from Linden Lab, themselves. It is believed that beggars will go to dozens of groups with the same message and some residents respond by paying the L$1 required. Apparently this can mount up to enough money to buy a shape or a skin. A big prize; indeed.

There does seem to be a problem, but it is on one side, apparently. There is a great divide between “Newbies” and long-term settled residents, with homes and work or jobs and a history in Second Life. So where does the solution come from?

People will soon learn the etiquette of Second life and find work or dip into their RL pockets to fund their lives here, or leave. Very many have done that. There are job agencies in SL, there are valuable skills to be learned which will earn a good income, once mastered. For the individual who started off begging, then learned trade or started a business, found his or her funding, the problem is over. But a new wave join up and it starts all over again.

So, it is an SL-wide problem and will never go away unless tackled on that scale. Banning it, punishing the perpetrators as criminals, as some have suggested, is too totalitarian and leaving it to the offended resident to complain and ban or mute the offending party is too lax. Perhaps more emphasis should be put on teaching Second Life etiquette on the Help Island, making sure that the newcomers REALLY know not to beg and what to do so that they don’t need to beg. Also a more concerted effort in creating and finding jobs and opportunities for new residents and bringing it to their attention.

There ARE agencies out there but they are competing with each other and most offer very little. Several I have seen have huge walls covered with empty posters with a scattered few announcing camping or FREE MONEY. It is hardly enough to meet the reportedly huge demand from the daily influx of “Newbies”.

Perhaps there should be a Grid-wide network of Job Centres, financed and monitored by Linden Lab, sharing work and training information, to ensure that everyone, wherever they arrive or live in Second life has access to them. Or is that too much like Big Brother, too much like Real Life? Maybe begging is just something we can decide to accept or do something about, on an individual basis Second life is like that, isn’t ?

Kim Trefusis

My First Attempt At Building!

2009-01-28T02:40:00.017Z

I have been to sandboxes and had the frustrating experience of people there who only go to bother others, griefers. I have put a box on the ground and stretched it and rotated it. I have put an outfit on and modified it with the basic tools in the edit section, but I had never built anything that was going to stay put or that was very big. I decided after being in Second Life from the begining in 2003, and then leaving and coming back with a new account in 2007 that I was ready to actually purchase a piece of land. I looked in search and the land sales, asked friends in my clan family about their experiences and took their advice and finally decided on a little island of my own. It is very private and I now can control who and what comes around. I can't believe I waited this long to do this! It is fantastic to actually own a virtual piece of land. I can build and leave it and move it and edit the terrain. It is so incredible what you can do in Second Life! I started with a pre formed castle thinking that since it was pretty much put together that it would be easy! I was wrong. I rezzed it on the ground where I wanted it and it was the size of a little sand castle, lol. I stretched and moved it until it was the size i wanted. I thought okay that was easy. That is when I decided that I didn't like the floor texture, or the wall texture, or the shape of the fire place. So I began changing things. Now, since I have been in Second Life so long I have quite the selection of textures. So at first it was fun! I began by changing the outer walls of the castle. I right clicked on the castle, edited and then chose texture. I put on so many different ones just trying them out, but I found that I had lost the origanal stone texture. It was not in my inventory, so I had to chose a different one, and that in itself wasn't so bad, because I had so many different types of stone ones. The thing that was bad is that some of the castle was linked together and some was not. This means that some of the castle was one stone and the other parts were another! I had to change almost stone by stone the textures into the same ones. I relinked and locked and unlinked and relinked so many times! I could not believe how many parts were with this castle!! If I had it to do over again I would have made sure the whole thing was linked in the begining and then just went to edit the linked items. But, I am learning so it is all an experiment of new skills learned each day. After I changed the floor to marble, which again required a lot of linking and unlinking, I was so exhausted I felt like I had done it for real! I decided then I would stop on the castle and work on the sky box that came in the box. I wanted to put it way up so that I could make it a little private get away for friends and I to enjoy the sky and stars. I went up to 3000 meters and rezzed the skybox platform and the skybox which again was the size of a small sand castle. I finally got the two to fit right and stretched to the right size and then decided I hated all of the textures, lol. I played around and came up with the idea of an all glass skybox. I chose a glass block texture and stained glass for the windows. Wow it looked pretty cool! I found a music pod in my inventory that I had picked up so long ago and put it on the wall. I linked everything, put a nice rug, played nice music set the light to midnight and it was amazing. The moon and the stars were so bright and you could see everything. The glass block texture that I chose was blue so it glowed bluish in the night! Then, I thought that I should put the music pod on the other side of the room, so I clicked and took it into my inventory.....um without unlinking it. Which as you can guess took the entire skybox back, except that three of the windows were not linked! So there they were floating around and the rug was floating around too. I tried to fly around and take everything back, but everything went back into my inventory as the name, object. Just to let you know how difficult that is, I have 25000 objects in my inventory and a lot of them were made while building the castle below. I couldn't find the windows at all. I rezzed a lot of objects and never found them. I tried to put the skybox back and it wouldn't let me drop it. I don't know why. I could wear, and detach, but not drop! I went back down to the castle so mad at myself that I had to log off. I came back after some nice coffee and a bite to eat, since I had spent the majority of the early morning hours trying to unscrew what I had screwed up. I put my flight feather on and went back up to 3000 meters and rezzed the platform and skybox again. It all came back except the windows and I was actually pretty happy about that. The next hour or so I spent trying to figure out how to make a window like the other three that were linked when I took the skybox back. I teleported a friend who does some building and he showed my how easy it was to make my own windows!
I can't believe it. It is so simple.
You click the build at the bottom of the screen and in the box you choose the box object and click on the ground! A box appears and you add the texture of the stained glass. Now you have a stained glass box. You stretch and move into place! You have to adjust the horizontal and the vertical postion of the texture by editing and choosing texture. You move the horizontal and the vertical numbers to the places that you want. I copied the numbers and the settings from the other windows. Perfect!! Oh if you are thinking, why couldn't you just copy the other windows, I will tell you that I tried and failed. It would not let me do it. So now I know how to make my own windows!!!!
Next article I am going to tell you how to make your own teleport box!
Have fun exploring and learning!

By Christina Munro

Breezes Thoughts: Your little piece of paradise in Secondlife

2009-01-27T08:55:00.003Z

WHEN TIMES GET ROUGH AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, find yourself a quiet lovely place to sit and contemplate.
Watch the beauty of this world, erase the thoughts that fill your mind. It takes time, but see the rainbow above me? somewhere in the rainbow and in the very best friends is the help that will help you find your way.
Come to spots like this each and every day talk out loud when times are wonderful.
Open your hearts and lifts your hands to embrace the love that surrounds you it will come to you in time.
Everyone should have their own little piece of paradise in SL, somewhere to just sit, relax and think. This is mine and its appropriately named Sanctuary and wondrous magical place which makes all the troubles drift away.
I am wishing in the night and it must come true as who has ever seen a rainbow in the night?
Told you to throw coin or fairy dust in the well NOT yourself you silly!
Oh well I can still make mistakes and laugh especially when I am so relaxed!
Have you found YOUR place yet?
Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

Looking Back at the STA

2009-01-26T05:28:00.006Z

It’s been a year since my old hangout, the STA, faded away from Second Life. But it is still remembered.

My story there began at Luskwood, my first hangout, in August 2007. It was just weeks after by long newbie period could be called over. One day there, I met a lively lady named Kara. She and I became friends, and looked forward to seeing one another. A few days later, she invited me to TP over where she was. So I did, and found myself in a circle of cafe tables & chairs, with two guys with her. She introduced them as Blarion and Keli. She called the place the STA.

Little did I know how big a part of our experience in SL this little place would be.

The STA area, short for Student Travel Association, was bought by the agency for the purpose of attracting people to their website to purchase travel tickets. It was made up of two sims. the east one held the main STA building. It was like that of a fancy travel agency, showing pictures advertising the benefits and joys of traveling abroad. The west one, Orientation Island, was the one my friends and I usually hung around.

The STA was run by two people. GlobetrekkerBob Lane was the official manager of the sim. But a great deal of the work was done by assistant manager Euranna Rossini, or Anna as we called her. We would occasionally run across them near the walkway, where they would talk about an unusual happening, or perhaps a story. GlobetrekkerBob for instance had done quite a bit of world traveling earlier in his life, and would occasionally tell a story from those days. At parties, Anna would always show up. Bob usually did.

They didn’t run things by themselves. They had the help of a small number of volunteers, such as Aellyn, August, Stormshadow, Gemini, Maccy, Sparklin Indigo, Ivana, Rashed, and others. My friends also helped a little, myself offering help to newcomers, so Bob considered us members of the STA group as well, though with no set hours. Blarion also became the DJ for the Monday night parties, with Keli as host. Blarion also got the use of one dorm, even though he wasn’t really a newcomer. Otis was another DJ with a rougher style.

The STA had a partnership with Sean Voss and Landmark Island. The organizer of the Second Life Tour Group had a link to the STA, and would send them notices about his tours. A number of people, myself included, belonged in both groups.

So we hung around there, getting used to the occasional nude newbie, “Ray Stevens music anyone?” I would dryly comment sometimes. Sometimes we would run into a new friend. Sometimes there would be a crazy situation, such as a completely random shapeshifter. Kara changed from a catgirl to a huskygirl a few weeks after I first came across the STA, Blair switched to a wolf avie. Keli was always a Kitsune at Orientation island. Four others joined Kara’s band of friends, three men and a lady. The guys, two huskyboys and a blue raccoon, were Schism and two whom wished to be anonymous. The second huskygirl was Kara’s roommate Kana, whom had a greater mischievous streak than Kara.

Then I got my job at the newspaper, and the place became a favorite spot to take pictures for cartoons. My friends also gave me a few ideas for articles.

The high point of the STA was the “Wandering Art” Show. For three days, the dorms and sandbox gave way to picture art displays in the notrh, and sculpture in the south, with over thirty artists represented. This got the place some publicity, and the costume party was like being able to have some leftover Halloween fun. And in Christmas and New Year’s, the fun continued. At one point, Bob mentioned the Discovery Channel was interested in the sim, but I never did see the place on TV.

Then on January 25, 2008 came something no one expected. I logged on to get a message from Bob that the STA was gone. The company had decided the sim was not getting them an increase in sales, and so they pulled the plug. Those online at the time gathered for a few hours after the last-minute warning, and then the sim vanished. By the time I logged on, they had gathered at a friends beach, talking about what had happened, and about the sim. We were still in disbelief over it, and no one knew for sure what they were going to do next. Bob told a few stories, and stated he was going to take a few days off from Second Life before deciding his next move.

Others expressed their sadness at the STA’s passing. The Shade dance club made plans for a newcomer orientation place on their land. Sean Voss invited us to use his Landmark Island as a hangout, and of course his weekly tours continued. But instead we went in different directions. I followed Kara and friends to hanging out at a sandbox with a “treehouse” building. But a few weeks after the STA closing, Kara told everyone goodbye, saying she was going on a long hiatus. And with her gone, it just wasn’t the same happy little group it once was, and we met less and less. Blarion DJed for a while, but gave it up to concentrate on college.

I never did see Bob again. Anna told me he had come back online once, but mentioned nothing about future plans. Sparklin Indigo soon created a club, Sparks Ignite. It did good for some months, but real life stepped in, and she had to abandon it. Otis found other places to DJ. Euranna Rossini was the most successful, starting up a virtual flower shop: Gairdin na Sidhe. One can still go there to get flowers.

Many old friends from the STA I seldom ran into any more, or never saw again. Then when some friends talked about having a rezzday party for Blarion in June 2008, so many people from the STA were invited, it turned out to be much like a reunion. Some like Otis I hadn’t seen since the STA closed, and would not see again for a while. It was a happy time, and even though the location was different, it felt a little like the old STA had come back for a little while.

A year later, we’ve more or less gone our own ways, some of us keeping occasional tabs with one another. But we’ve never forgotten our old home in Second Life. It may be gone, but the memories of good times and friendships remain.

Bixyl Shuftan.

First Day?

2009-01-23T15:38:00.015Z

There have been so many things written about Newbie's, and there are so many help tips out there to help make things easier for your Second life. I don't want to do a repeat of what has already been done, but I will probably repeat some of the advice that experienced avatars have given you or will give you. I suppose I will start with giving some personal experience with my first days in this virtual world of Second Life and then I hope to give a weekly update as to what you can do as a newbie. I started coming to Second Life when I first heard about the launching of it in 2003. I tried desperately to get in to the world, but couldn't because of my computer capabilities. I was living in Italy at the time and needless to say our connection was really slow. I tried again as few months later, but still there was nothing there. I think through out 2003 I kept trying because I really was interested in the idea and thought what a great concept! I was in chat rooms all the time, and loved the way you could meet new people from all walks of life. There was a problem with the chat world though because so many bots were online that it caused such a disruption of conversations and I became increasingly more frustrated everyday. Finally the last draw was when MSN chats went from being free to charging, and then finally altogether stopping the chat rooms that I went to. I think it had to do with this one annoying chatter who used to just do different sized O 's in the room non-stop and then proclaimed that he was crashing the room, about 10 times a day. I stopped going to chat rooms in 2003, and it wasn't until 2007 that I checked out Second Life again. I had moved back to the states, had a better graphics card, and a faster connection. I thought that now I could finally find out what it was all about, and hoped that it would be what I had imagined it could be. I logged on, picked a last name and created a first name. Whew! That was easy! Okay now I had to decide what type of account, free or premium. I was thinking why would anyone pay for virtual things? That just sounds crazy to me. You don't actually have anything for you payment, except pixels. They aren't real and there is no way I am paying for that, so I picked the free account. Okay next step; create my avatar. I could be anything that is animal, vegetable, or mineral. I chose the animal human. It was the basic woman avatar with the silly hair, pinkish shirt, and the infamous duck walk. Cool, I thought. Not really reading much about the progress that second life has made until then I thought I was cool! I logged in as Christina Munro, and was on my way. I landed in a main hud. At that exact time someone else did too! Wow, my first encounter with another avatar. We looked at each other and started typing. Our hands were moving as we talked and it was really exciting. What a great experience! I am talking and moving at the same time. Okay we walked around a bit taking whatever tutorials there were and then we were teleported to the main area for newbie interaction. There were so many cool looking avatars, how did they get that way? Why was I walking like a duck when there was this incredible looking woman sliding across the screen in a very sexual way wearing practically nothing, and did she actually have nipples? Wow, this is amazing, I thought. I so want to explore everything. So I said "hello" to her. She said "hello". I asked her where she got her hair first thing, because I had to get this thing off of my head, and fast
She then passed me an item. A blue screen popped up and I accepted the offer. Cool a box of 250 hair styles. Sweet! I clicked on it in my inventory and wore it. Well, that was a mistake, because now I had a box on my head! Okay, so it took me awhile but I got it off by right clicking on it and detaching it. I kind of got mad at her because I thought she had tricked me and tried to make me look stupid. I may have said something along the lines of, "what a ****!" lol She was very confused and then promptly told me to f*** off newbie. This other avatar sent me an im and said just rez the box on the ground and open it, copy it to your inventory and then pick one to wear. Okay, rez? Huh? First new word I learned was rez. Rez is when you bring something into the world and it becomes an object that you can see. It was a word that was inspired by the movie Tron.
What does "rez" mean in Second Life? Watch this video tutorial:

Pasted from <http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Rez>

So, now I had hair on top of my ridiculous mullet looking newbie hair. I did it the hard way and went into appearances by right clicking on my avatar and then choosing appearances. I found out how to change my shape, skin, and my hair. As well as clicking on the clothes sections. I must have played around with that for hours. I figured out that I had to make my original avatar hair go away before wearing the ones that the incredibly nice woman, whom I ignorantly insulted, gave me. I could change my breast size, even the gravity level on them. This was too cool. So I was in the main land area, somewhere alone changing my appearance but I still couldn't get realistic looking features. I did look a lot better though, which was great. Still had the stupid duck walk, but I didn't want to make the same mistake as before with the first lady who gave my first makeover equipment. I will always keep that hair in my inventory, even if it isn't prim or flexible. I still love it, because it created a new beginning in Second Life for me, which made me feel anything was possible. I will never remember that avatar's name, maybe Hedy something or other, but I will always remember that it was the start of something I hope will never end. This was the end of my first day, but not the end of my Second Life! The next day I logged on, popped up in the same spot and began again with my exploration of the virtual universe. I met so many nice people, and I also learned so many things. I hope to be able to share some of that with you and help you continue to learn and love Second Life as much as I do. I want to help you go from the duck walk to the coolest animations you can imagine! I want to see you go from the original avatar to whatever you want to be, animal, vegetable, or mineral!
You can be literally anything!

Newbie in Second Life

2009-01-23T08:12:00.003Z

Let’s be honest here, all of us have been through the “Newbie” stage in Second Life. It’s a stage full of mixed emotions. You feel happy for being part of a new evolution in the game world. You feel confused because you have no idea what to do in the game. But, mainly, you feel excited as you learn to play and learn the tricks to survive in such a strange world.
Survival! Yes, I never thought that would play such a great role in a game!

A few months ago, I was persuaded to join Second Life by some friends. It was not long after when I decided to try it out. My first day was a pretty normal, nice people were talking to me, others simply ignored me, and one girl Vikky Palianta, was very kind to take me to a freebie store so that I could get new clothes. The next day I logged in and was very lost, I had no idea where to go, what to do and what to expect, that’s when I met Dalton Lytton, who is now my friend and somewhat of a mentor; he helps me out every time I need a new Second Life Lesson.

I thought SL, as it’s called by all the residents, would be fun and interactive, but I soon learned that many of the residents had other intentions. I thought I could trust everyone in SL, but many residents have been disrespectful, mean and have taken advantage of the “Newbie” situation. I will not generalize; there have also been very nice people that have helped me out many times, like Vikky and Dalton. I have run into griefers, spammers and many other people that just look to harm others and their properties. I never thought Second Life could be such a dangerous place if you are weak and an easy catch to these types of people. It is truly a resemblance of Real Life.

Second Life is full of surprises, no one can know what to expect in every sim. You can find a sim where you can enjoy a pleasant time, meet new people and experience what SL should really be about. Other times you will find sims that are full of “pervs” that only want to harass you. I had that experience my very first week. I was exploring SL, when I got a TP from a person I had met, so I took it. I ended up at a sex island sim and that person just left me there when I said I did not want to have “sex” with him. I walked all around asking people how I could get out, but no one helped me. There was one man that treated me nicely and told me to have a sit with him and I did. After a few exchanged words, he began asking me if he could touch me in a sexual way, I got mad and left. He kept sending me IM’s telling me how sexy I was and what he could do to me in Real Life; I got so scared that I even thought about closing my SL account.

After talking to my friend Dalton, I learned that I could report a person, but I had forgotten his name. Now, things have been much easier for me. I have learned to “put my guard up” and not let anyone take advantage of me for being a “Newbie”. I can now say that with a very tough lesson learned I can enjoy Second Life as it should be enjoyed. “Newbies” don’t get fooled by nice faces or people treating you nice, you can never know their true intentions.

Lizzy Arriaga

Author Nasus Dumart (aka Susan Mahar)

2009-01-22T08:39:00.002Z

By Nazz Lane

I'd been introduced to Nasus Dumart by a mutual friend several weeks ago at a party. We spoke briefly that evening and she'd informed me of the impending release of her first book, "The Unofficial Guide to Building Your Business in the Second Life Virtual World". The book is being published by the American Management Association and is soon to be released. We spoke briefly after the holidays and she readily agreed to meet for an interview. So, having arranged a date and time, we met at her newly established shop front in SL from which she is planning to promote the book.

"Good morning. We're dressed well for so early in the morning." I said seeing how her avatar was attired in a sleeveless red cocktail dress.

"Yes, well a girl has to look her virtual best, no matter the time of day." She said and then added, "So, this is my little shop to promote the book, the revised book cover is behind you. I am still setting things up. I have to load the website and the endorsements."

"If you're ready we can get started, what was it that brought you into SL?"

"Apple MacKay (Jay Mahar in RL) is my husband. He is a tech guru, always on the cutting edge. When he started in SL, he got very excited. It got my attention. He said it was the biggest new thing to come along in a long time. So, I started to observe and then I saw how he interacted with others. I got a little jealous and decided there was nothing stopping me from joining so, I did. I had never played online games, never even been in chat rooms so, SL was a huge step for me. Apple asked me, as I created my avatar, 'what do you want to do with your second life?' That was a HUGE question. So, I made a few decisions about the track I wanted to take. I have a degree in Media, and my journalistic training kicked in. This was a big topic on which to explore and write about." She replied.

"What was your most memorable moment in SL?"

"So many … well, I think I can say the first was hearing live music. I don't recall the performer but when they spoke to the room, mentioning my name, it was a big deal. That's when I realized this was a largely undiscovered medium. That's when I realized we were experiencing something special and we were one of the first to do so."

"Let's talk about the book ... I think you'd mentioned to me it was your first, right?"

"Yes, it is my first book. I have been writing since I was a teenager and educated in media and journalism. After the big question from my husband, what do you want to do with your SL, I answered I want to be a writer again. So, that Christmas, he gave me a website."

"I've been out to your Sensible Sue Blog." I commented.

"Actually, Sensible Sue launched my career as a writer. Sensible Sue got a following and it gave me the confidence to do it professionally."

"How was it you'd come up with the idea for the book?"

"When I had enough material, I pursued Joelle Delbourgo, Literary Management, with the idea to bring SL mainstream in a book, a great topic. She loved it, and so did the American Management Association. They are now my publisher. I decided to write about SL to a mainstream audience, bringing it out of the underground. Being that I am a 'regular' person, with no previous online interest and Jay with his expertise, I wanted to write about the ability for everyday people with any interest in SL to try it."

"You're being a 'regular' person allowed you to be more objective?"

"I turned to the big name companies in SL, the entrepreneurs, etc., to tell about how they are using SL. I spoke with Dr. Colin Parris and Grady Booch of IBM, Dr. Larry Johnson of The NMC, Susan Tenby of the NPC, and Sibley Verbeck of ESheep. I included different sectors; corporate, education, entrepreneurial, and entertainment."

"When you approached the AMA how receptive were they to the idea?"

"Our manager, Joelle Delbourgo presented us to the AMA. They'd heard of SL, but didn't realize how much there was to it. They were very excited to have us write this for them and now they know more about it. Some of the editors have created avatars and will attend the release party at Molaskey's Pub."

"There were several notable SL'ers you'd mentioned in your Linkedin profile ... was there anyone you wanted to chat with but didn't connect?"

"Most everyone I approached was more than happy to participate. But there was one that stays in my mind for passing me up. I cannot disclose who, but they were with a major University. Anyway, most everyone was very cooperative. I turned to the movers and shakers of SL for the book most notably, Philip Rosedale, Mitch Kapor, Dr, Colin Parris, Grady Booch, Steve Prentice, Princeton U, to name a few.

"Was there any one notable person who you'd interviewed that was the most helpful with your project?

"Well they all were really, surprisingly so. They're all behind me in bringing this topic mainstream. The people I spoke with all agreed I was writing an important work for the mainstream audience and fully and whole-heartedly cooperated."

"In your LinkenIn profile you mention that SL as a new media is misunderstood by RL business. What is it that they misunderstand?"

"Well I am referring to the notion that SL is a game, a 'get rich quick' medium, etc. So many businesses came to SL looking to use traditional marketing methods and then bailed out because it wasn't a fast enough ROI. They didn't understand the complexity and simplicity of SL … SL has a community that interacts, no one here wants a hard sell. Grady Booch, of IBM gave me a great understanding of SL. He said SL introduces the 4th dimension that is the HUMAN factor. They want to connect, it's personal, it has personality and it is a near face to face interaction that is unmatched anywhere except for RL." She replied and then added, "SL is still pretty far out there for most people. I just hope I can take the fear out of it for the uncertain mainstream audience."

"Besides this site … what other plans do you have to promote the book within SL?"

"Well, we are using Molaskey's Pub for the interactive part of it. We have http://Molaskeys-Pub.com , plus some RL appearances, a podcast with the AMA, social networks, book signings, etc."

"When is the release party?"

"We are planning the release party during Molaskey's Pub 2nd anniversary event, the week of St. Patrick's, March 13-18. I hope you can make it Nazz."

Breezes Thoughts

2009-01-20T11:33:00.003Z

I do not think I was meant to drive.
I know I was meant not to sail.
My loving family shudders at the very mention of "lets go for a ride".
I can't understand their ways. I mean no harm, just a little outing is good for the soul.
I mean is not everyone who sails underwater and flys thru the air across the mountain tops into the soft fluffy clouds with a gal in silky dress and pearls, with stars in her eyes and a smile so wide to find what adventures of life in our wonderful SecondLife.
Enjoy my friends leap into the wild breezes with me, who knows we may have an adventure together.
Bree
I am always searching for something

Woodlin Restored

2009-01-18T07:55:00.002Z

The Dreamer’s Cove sim is back to normal, at least in appearance. But the rumors may take longer to deal with.

The attack had been launched Friday night. Someone had hacked Dax Loon’s account, made an announcement the “Playtime” group was ending, then ejected everyone from it and began deleting everything in the sim. Friends could not find her on their lists: the hacker had erased them from hers. The officers online at the time couldn’t stop the hacker as they found themselves banned from the sim. The hacker also made grossly obscene insults in conference chats in every group Dax was in. One friend called it the worst assault he had heard of in Second Life.

Fortunately for Dax, her friends in those groups worked to spread the word this was not her. Chase Vesperia told me, “just be glad Mako (Minogue) was on SL, else Dax's username might be under permeant suspension right now. Hacked accounts are usually placed on all out suspension till ownership’s determined, which since Dax is in Japan would take two months or so on average.” The hacker had intended to destroy her reputation and the community she had built.

Staticminded Waco sent a request to Linden Labs for a “rollback” to restore Dreamer's Cove to the way it was. It was granted a few hours later. One friend of mine outside the group I talked to on the matter, Foxyfurman Kumaki, commented to me that no matter what people might say about the Lindens, when it comes to technical matters, they stood superb. People logged in to find the sim restored, even the items that had been compressed into “balls” and thrown in their Lost & Found were back in place.

Dax Loon eventually came back on Saturday evening, badly shaken by what had happened. That this kind of profanity was linked to her was a lot to bear. She later had to go to a clinic. By this time, only a fraction of the “Playtime” group had rejoined. It was opinionated that whoever did this deserved far more than a simple banning, but there were grounds for a lawsuit.

Woodlin is back, but the cleanup continues.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wiped Out

2009-01-17T18:35:00.003Z

I was writing a column about my old hangout, the STA, which vanished a year ago, when I got word about something happening in my current SL home Woodlin. So I logged in to my apartment’s location in Dreamer’s Cove ...

And it was gone.

Nothing left but the green landscape.

Talking with others, it seems someone hacked the account of the owner, Dax Loon. One witness to the chat told me it was obvious from the pornographic insults that it wasn’t her, “whoever did this ... that’s one sick individual.” At least one resident was banned from Dreamers. Everyone was ejected from the sim group and her friend list. We still have no idea who would do this and why, some griefers in SL wrecking destruction simply because they can. Details are still coming in.

People are still logging in, wondering what happened, and those who know, explaining. Dax Loon still has yet to log on.

So what happens next?

Time will tell.

Bixyl Shuftan

Life's Too Short...

2009-01-13T17:14:00.000Z

The first column of a new year is always the most difficult to write. Somehow the nature of all that “road ahead” nonsense provokes us to preach. Or wag fingers at ourselves and others. Or turn over new leaves as if last years' lives were just so much compost. The upheaval at the bar hasn't helped; all of us forced to sup our morning caffeine 90 degrees to the left. “I dunno, Mags. That title worries me a bit. You don't usually resort to gutter language to make your point.”

“I know, I know. But this time I felt more like the 'gutter' came to me. Searched for a better word, but there just wasn't one. What the heck. I'm going with it. People say 'Life's too short' but do they really do anything about it? Do they back up their hard drives? Do they wad up their To-Do Lists and begin anew? “

“Do they organize their inventories, purge their trash, and clean up their caches? Are they kinder? Soberer? More loving and giving? Always wearing underwear?” My latte companions cast an eye downward and blushed a bit.

“Sorry, Fellows”, I muttered. “I truly am working on being more culturally aware in 2009.” We studied the photo I was determined to use to illustrate my intent to act on All-Things-New. The cups and pints were raised. The vote was in. And now it is yours for inspiration – along with our profound wishes that you move Heaven and Earth in all your lives. Why? Cuz...
by Magdeleine "Mags" Rossini

Reader Submission - I was thinking of getting an Island...............

2009-01-08T11:18:00.003Z

Hi to those interested to know.

In around December 2006. I was playing Slingo and after I put my coin in a person come upon me to "watch" me play. It was "her" (a guy in RL and it don't matter). She observed me playing and had a friendly chat.. which befriended me. Finding out what I do in SL at that time was the "casino thing" if I may say.

And later on in around January of 2007 as I was going back once in a while to this persons Slingo she would talk to me. Asking me what's up and or what's on my mind. During one of our conversations. I mentioned I was thinking of getting an Island. AN ISLAND?

Yes. And this person was so excited to ask me if it was possible if we could be island partners in "ownership". I said I would do some research and think of it.

Well we had all our "gentleman's agreement" to purchase an island and go in on it 50/50 FIFTY/FIFTY. And we knew there could only be one name on the lease per se. We flipped for who would be that person. And the other would be able to name the island. I got to name the island. I named it Avaron. I wanted just each to have a 4096 and "rent out" the 14 other 4096's. so that we can and or could grow. But my partner just did not want to split me a 4096. He/She wanted to each to have equal of three 4096 size lots. and rent out the remaining ten lots. And that would be enough to cover our tier. I went along with it.
By July as we all know the banning that took place. So my partner then cut me a slice of the island and removed me from her section. As my business was a benefit of my traffic that I could attract. In previous rented land. And my partner knew that I drew people for the games and events I held. And since the business of gaming was basically gone. My partner pushed me to the corner of the sim..and become incommunicable. Degrading my status to nothing. This was for about 6 weeks. And then finally of all my partner returned my items from the Island. I asked to communicate with my partner from Skype as we always have previously. My partner said that she/ "he" had nothing to say to me. And after several attempts to communicate with my partner I was banned from the island that I had initially wanted - the Island I named. The island that I thought we was really partners with.

I have filed numerous complaints with LL about this in game and to various people. But have never had a resolve to the matter. And by January of this year of 2008. I got tired and fed up with it, and took a break. I felt I was ripped off. I felt I was defrauded. And now I find out from reliable sources. that the person had pre planned to defraud me of my 1/2 of the island we purchased together. you know $800 x 2 people = 1600 the cost of the island at that time in 2007. (in other words it took funds of 2 people to buy a server for SL).

My so called partner won't respond. My former partner tried to destroy any tie with me. Even the group that was assigned to the island. Designs unlimited members was being removed except for me. As I was listed as OWNER along the side of my so called partner. I salvaged that by adding some friends of mine that was not in the group. Just to salvage any evidence we had some connection together. I have all the conversation from SKYPE when my partner was unable to use the microphone. Which point out that we were forming a partnership prior to the island being brought on. I have a payment receipt from paypal so stating the reason I was sending my partner 800.00 USD was for the island. So..where am I wrong? by partnering with a thief ?

To make things worse I was seeing I was getting railroaded by this partner. I tried to sell out my side of the island. And that idea was even stopped by this partner. So i got a double screwing! And yet i have tried many times to contact LL even by phone call and was hung up.

what is a person to do in this situation? Take it lightly and let the bully partner get away with it? I think not..and not in this day and age.

Thank you for listening.

Inyur Orbit

Second Life Residents Participate in a Health Care Community Discussion.....Continued

2009-01-03T16:46:00.002Z

I arrived at the café minutes prior to the 7:00 PM PST start time to find several people already there, including the award winning Machinama Creator and journalist Draxtor Despres who was there to film the meeting. Ms Vita, stylishly attired in a grey skirted business suit, sat on a stool on stage where she exchanged greetings with early arrivals and those that were soon to arrive. Shortly after the scheduled start time, she opened the session by asking everyone to introduce themselves and to say why they were there. The conversation occurred primarily in spatial voice along with text chat. Ms Vita, with the able assistance of Perplexity Peccable who transcribed voice into text chat and Cotton Thorne who gave voice to text chat, served as the moderator for the discussion.

The range of attendees is broad based, from first life health care givers to those who have or are actively engaged in receiving care for either themselves or loved ones in real life and those who were there simply because they are concerned and interested in the issue. Each are active and engaged residents of second life. Avatars such as Gentle Heron, president of Virtual Ability, Inc, or Jonah Zenovka Founder of Twilight's Peace an interfaith group and Perplexity Peccable, founder of SLHealthy and Healthcare Education in SL who is a medical librarian in her first life. All had a common desire, to have their voices heard, recorded and presented to the incoming administration.

"Our goal here is to discuss the questions provided by the transition team and draft a submission based on our findings and conclusions which I will submit to the Health Policy team. The questions were sent to you all via email but I have them here in-world on a slide show for easy reference." Vita said as the introductions were completed. She then added. "I really want to encourage everyone's active participation in this process. Although we will strive to find common ground, if our consensus is that there is a lack of consensus we will submit that as part of our findings. I encourage you all to a healthy and respectful debate on this complex issue. Let your voice be heard. This is your forum."

"We will review the questions one at a time and discuss each one. The decision on whether to focus our submission on all questions or focus on a specific area is ours to make. I would suggest that we get through the questions and decide at that time which, if any, area provided material we want to focus on for our submission. We'll decide that with a group vote. After the discussion questions and our vote, I'll ask you to create a note card with your avatar name, your RL name if you choose to disclose it and your answers to the survey questions. There are slides prepared with the questions for your reference. As your moderator for the evening, I will not actively participate in the debate. My role is to keep the discussion moving and I may on occasion ask that we move on to the next person or topic." She said and then asked the attendees if there were any questions.

No questions were asked so the process began and the seven questions were presented beginning with the first, which asked session attendees to state, "Briefly, from your own experience, what do you perceive is the biggest problem in the health system?"

It began and continued for the next two hours, an event that was being replicated in many places of the United States. Only this one occurred in a virtual world. And they were engaged, these avatars, engaged and passionate, and ably facilitated by Ms Vita who deftly drew each into a productive discourse. It was a remarkable process to observe this virtual meeting. A meeting where attendee's could not see each other, only the virtual representations of themselves, avatars engaged in a civil and open discourse on an issue that has perplexed and vexed the United States for many years now. At the session conclusion, note cards were distributed for participants in gathering additional responses for the final report. The dialog complete all were invited to the front of the café for a group photograph.

In a post script to the session, Siri informed me that Draxtor Despres and Nonny Writer were working on a documentary of the meeting and it would be completed in early January. She also said that Drax had spoken to "Globalvision"in New York. They had contacted him and wanted to interview us regarding this project for a real life documentary on President-Elect Obama's administration grassroots organizer efforts. She then added, "It's an awesome opportunity to get the word out about the power of second life"

By Nazz Lane

The Not So Tranquil Writer - So Go The Days Of Our Lives...sigh

2008-12-29T12:30:00.003Z

All writerly struggles should be lessened with a good cup of latte and some serious thought. Or so I believed. Someone obviously slipped this writer too much decaf as my “Away” face had been kissing the table top all week long. I researched what other revered humor writers had said about the Winter holidays hoping to find some inspiration. Erma yearned to be a child again , Dave Barry offered a hysterical story about two old men and an owl . Hours passed and I became totally convinced that no one, save for Dennis Miller, had a light-hearted word to say about the holidays. “Santa is very jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live.” Thanks, Dennis.

Why the church bells in my brain should start ringing at the very moment a new face should arrive at the bar we will never know. Providential, I tell you. Jesss and I introduced ourselves and chatted amicably while scrutinizing the others' profiles.

“Ah,” I said. “I see you have discovered the more (ahem) erotic side of SL.” All the while I was wondering how Santa knew to stick a bad girl in my stocking.

“Oh that,” she replied. “I really should clean up my profile. No place really to put the past.”

Slipping immediately into my Value-Added Avatar role, I plied her with question after question about then, now, and tomorrow. She was an amazingly beautiful and poised woman – quite confident and candid about her enjoyment of the intimacies available inworld, and to what extent she availed herself thereupon and therein. Her story was rich, respectful, and intriguing. So much so I found myself sharing confidences I would have never divulged to anyone else. Her “past” had made it so, and did not deserve to be lost.

Thus I shall be preparing my New Year Proposal to Linden Labs to add the Past Life Tab to our profiles as soon as possible. And certainly as the dawn of 2009 approaches, I resolve to jolly well have a fascinating one!

So, on that note, for a good time call Mags....

Breezes Thoughts

2008-12-22T09:35:00.003Z

Bree Darn it Get out of the fire!
Well I tried going to the ballet tonight, and that was disaster.
sl crashed me 2x and commentator kept hollering please sit down and take off face lite I guess I was to uggie to face another min. Told them I cannot move thank for asking. Grr plus place barely had anybody there. so came here to sit by the fire with crazy hair on crazy head and I guess the fire took a fancy to my gown, just glad it wasn't one of Dana's.
What a night!
Breezes babii
I am always searching for something

Spartin Parx Get in on the fun

2008-12-19T08:47:00.004Z

On my journeys around this world of ours I meet many interesting people one of these was Spartin her studio was a delight to explore with many provocative pictures so i asked her to tell me about herself and how she got started, this is her story:
"I just moved to a sim I bought for some privacy and to figure out who I wanted to be in this game. You know, what I had to offer; the whole I' travel and figure out who I am thing (lol) So I'm on this sim alone with my best friend Jill Brimm and we were sitting around talking and I take a few "Snapshots" everyone uses this option as a scrap booking tool as I was too! Well I got irritated that I could not get the best angle so I took some more, then I got more picky.
Finally I do a search trusting I will obtain something to better my class of pics for me to share with my best friend.
We did alot of Avatar switching and we would buy crazy things like animals and insects, funny things to make each other crackup, mostly Jill was the one who would spend hours entertaining me, but I wanted wonderful pics of it.
So I'm searching and came across some items that really seemed to help sharpen my focus, enrich my shots.
Then Bam!!!
I was hooked, I bought a lil warehouse to lay out all my things neatly, and Jill became a tortured example of my need to perfect and reperfect.
I was pretty content then I walked into a REAL Photographers studio one day; man I was in it hook line and sinker! I felt like crap, I was desperate to make myself learn every thing I could to better my tool!
Finally I started just drawing folks in from dance clubs and Jill loved to scout. I just worked and worked, I gained another close friend in the meantime Jago Contantine, who was a naturalist, with his photography he taught me to respect not using alot of gadgets and additives to a pic, simplicity was his craft and still is, he was my Buddha of Photography! (lol) I use to think he felt that what I used to create my shots was a joke till the opening night of my gallery!
It was amazing! Truly a night of nights. Everyone I have worked for or dragged in front of my lens was there to support me. Reaching this point in Second life was never in my sights and look how far it has gotten me!
Am I a "ROCK STAR" hell no.
Am I good at what I love doing........You bet!
If it wasn't for sitting around kidding with Jill back then I would have maybe never found myself. Maybe I would have become something of a hobo! (lol) Had I not learned to respect the craft and what others do from Jago I may have turned out arrogant and a name dropper who appeared shallow and non responsive.
There is soooo much more I dream of learning, Im merely a baby crawling right now, I strive to become an an inspiration; like the small time avatar that stood in the great halls of a mass photography store dreaming of making pics like that!
Im so proud of my work, and Second Life has given me a opportunity to take what was always in me and dig really hard and deep to pull it out of the sand! I am forever in Jill Brimm and Jago Constintines debt. Sure hope one day to honor that!"

Spartin Parx
Gallery/studio for all who are interested in a more provocative look at SL.
Get in on the fun!!!
Spartin's Island, Sparkys Parx (93, 99, 30)
Contact Spartin Parx for more information

The NOT SO Tranquil Writer - They Will Love Ur Longer Pole!

2008-12-16T07:57:00.000Z

Today's column is a bit on the shorter side. With the Winter Solstice rapidly approaching, it seemed fitting to forego wordiness -- particularly for Northern Hemisphere readers all bundled up in muffs and blankets. Solstice is celebrated in a variety of exciting ways around the globe. In fact at one point in history, celebrations got so rowdy the Roman Empire just plopped Christmas over top of it on the calendar to restore order. Fine with me. Go Romans! All the more to celebrate.

"They Will Frolic Around Your Burning Log"

Your Yule one, that is. Set aflame with the remains from the previous year's log, it creates a sense of "that's okay, I'll keep you warm," for those with the shorter pole.
Although no one can argue that the Germanic peoples have the best drinking games, my particular Wintertime favorites are the thirteen Yule Lads from Iceland. Number 9, Bjúgnakrækir, prevails during the traditional Solstice and Christmas period December 20 - January 3. He lurks in the attic until you are sleeping. Then he snatches your smoking sausage. No doubt that will lead to The Epiphany!

"Give Her A Gift That Is As Long As Your Arm!"

Whatever we celebrate...and however we celebrate it, a common thread exists. It is a time of hope, renewal, protective, peaceful intentions, great merriment, and of course, gifting. Rich or poor, often our greatest gift to each other is simply to offer the other arm.

Happy Holidays, All. Oh! And to you Southern Hemisphere folks who have been on some strange berry diet for the last few weeks: we hate you in your bikinis. But just remember, we'll see you again on the flip side.

by Mags,

An Interview with Author Isabel Runningbear

2008-12-11T08:54:00.004Z

By Nazz Lane

The internationally celebrated author Isabel Losada, known in second life as Isabel Runningbear, had graciously accepted my invitation to meet and be interviewed. Ms Losada has published five books in her distinguished career and had recently returned to second life when she appeared on the SLCN TV broadcast, "Meet an Author Show" with Adele Ward. We met at my office to chat about second life, her work and plans.

"Hello Isabel." I called out as she rezzed into the courtyard at the headquarters of this newspaper. SL was being a little quirky and it took her a few minutes to rezz complete and move the short distance to the office. "Please, have a seat." I said.

"Hello Nazz, thank you, lovely office by the way." She said and then clicked on a chair to sit.

"What bought you into second life?" I asked after taking my seat.

"I came into SL nearly a year ago originally. Friends who work at a university, they have some innovative approaches to teaching and wanted to show me." She replied and then added. "They've done some marvelous work with teenagers ... disaffected youngsters. I've found that some of the best aspects of SL have been in the education field." She replied.

"When we talked briefly before, you'd mentioned not having 'played' SL much, even though your avatar has been around for nearly a year, why were you away from SL?" I asked her.

"I was attempting at having a first life. It was my friends who'd mentioned my having been an author and having an SL account. That resulted in my being invited into the Written Word group, and then the appearance with Adele." Isabel replied.

"Who has been the most extraordinary resident of SL you've met so far?" I asked.

"My friend Elsa, she's a builder at the university She does some amazing things and she works so hard there." She responded.

"Is there anyone in SL you'd love to meet and why?"

"No one in particular, I don't feel the need to meet any of the Lindens for example ... I would however like meeting anyone who is in a publishing house and is in SL and from the UK. I'm reminded of a having met someone from an editing house once who had said why bother with the internet. That was years ago. I would have liked to have met someone with imagination then."

"I saw your appearance on the 'Meet Author Show' it was highly entertaining and I enjoyed it greatly, was that your first promotional appearance in SL?"

"I did a talk at the university at the invitation of my friends there. I had a difficulty doing a talk from SL, I missed the audience connection."

"In your book 'Men' you set out with question 'Where are all the interesting and available men' are you thinking of asking that question in second life?"

"No, because I wouldn't imagine ... extending it into SL. A man of fifty will go out with a woman of thirty. Women in their forties who have reached the height of the careers and are single … ask where the available men are. We've all heard horror stories about internet dating, the risk of projecting what you want onto them without knowing it. What's missing is the personal chemistry of a relationship."

"What were your impressions of "Isabel" being represented by an avatar?"

"I like my avatar … I had an experienced person sitting beside me when I created her. I'm curious though about the psychology of designing an avatar to look to like you in RL or not. However I do like my ears and tail."

"Do you think SL a viable platform for marketing and promotions?" I asked.

"I don't know … I don't have a sense of the potential. But I suppose it would depend on what your book is about. If I chose to enter into it, there is a group of writers here ... a community. I would like to know them in RL, it would be strange for me having a community that is only virtual." She replied

"In the "about you" page on Bloomsbury.com, one of your five favorite books was "Three Sisters" a play by Chekov. Your commentary said 'This is a play but in my former incarnation as an actress I was once Olga and actually lived there. I still remember my life as Olga and the longing to get to Moscow. "What are the similarities between 'Isobel' and 'Olga'? I asked.

"In many ways my life has been easier then Olga ... She had two sisters and all are unhappy. Olga is the oldest and feels the responsibilities. She lives in a small town and feels trapped … despair I suppose ... fatalism ... Chekov portrays. She is limited by circumstance. I don't feel trapped the way Olga felt ... I can make choices ... even if I chose to make my life as an author ... so the similarities ... I would like things to be different then how they are." She replied.

The (Not So) Tranquil Writer #3 - "Oh, Horse Yang!

2008-12-09T07:55:00.002Z

Oh, Horse Yang!

I usually start my morning with a steamy latte, ponder the global, national, and local news, read some good blog material, and cap it off with a detailed study of my horoscope -- from two trust sources – so I'll know how to adjust my perspective to all that news. Lately I have felt, well, conflicted. This morning, the epiphany descended. In RL I am a Cancer. But in SL...I am, of all things, a Pisces!

“That's it!” I exclaimed out loud to no one, realizing immediately that I needed to mull both facets of my astrological influences. Not as easy as it sounds. According to the standard Tropical astrology crew, I really should get along quite well with myself. Cancerians, being of the “I Feel” ilk, pair well with Pisceans on the “I Believe” track. All touchy-feely watery people. Both oozing with empathy and sympathy; likely to be carrying tissues, aspirins, fairy dust, and calming teas to accommodate and soothe a variety of savage beasts. No conflict there.

Epiphany Two! What about my Vedic signs? After all, I couldn't rely on Ptolemy as the absolute authority to guide me on my morning quests. Using the sidereal approach, I discovered that the RL me is a Gemini. My SL me? Aquarius! The confluence of those signs can only be described as “Head Girl On 'Roids”. RL Me yelling, “I Think”. SL me screaming back, “I Know”.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Jaw set, I knew the dawn of understanding approached. Some combination of “I think I know” and “I feel I believe” or “I know I believe” and “I think I feel.” Clear as mud.

Determined to leave no stone unturned, I plunged deeper. Bring in the Chinese, please. Ahh, beginning to make a bit more sense. As a Tropical Sheep-Rabbit I reveled in the delightful woolliness of my birth rights in both worlds. Soft, warm, Yin-Yin-ish – albeit a bit aimless at times.

Sidereally speaking, though, it appears I entered the world as a Tiger-Horse, 100% Yang, and probably determined to either eat or trample my Sheep-Rabbit self. I quickly reached for some comfort within the Trines. One of me was born in the year of the Ox, the other in the year of the Pig. Result: All is lost unless I partner with someone in both worlds from the year of the Dog.

The sun has finally set – the world spinning swimmingly through yet another day and me without a definitive answer on how to feel about it. Not to be undone by this, after headlines tomorrow, I shall invite the entire zoo inworld and we will settle all of this via a robust competition of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Author's Note: Thank you to Stellata Primrose for submitting the L$1,000 winning words and punctuation used in today's column.

Mags

Playing Una at Woodlin

2008-12-04T00:01:00.000Z

I didn’t expect to write another story about my Woodlin buddies so soon again. But what happened this weekend, I felt it just *had* to be told.

Many Second Life residents know about the board games here, such as SLopoly, a Monopoly spinoff poking fun at SL. Well, one of my neighbors got Una, a SL version of Uno, a card game in real-life. He thought it would be a great way to get everyone together, notably Dax Loon who's been working like crazy on her next big build.

I had never played Uno in real life, but the rules seemed simple enough. The object of the game is to play all your cards, ending up with none. A card can be played only if it’s the same color or number or a wild card. Besides the wild, there are special cards which call for the next player to be skipped over, the direction of play suddenly reversed, the next player to draw two extra cards, etc. Gameplay needed the players to sit at the table and get an HUD from clicking the stool.

But one thing the designers didn’t count on was what happens when close to a dozen easily amused guys and girls sit down to play.

It didn’t take much to get some of us chuckling, and when one did, we all joined in, either in voice, which most used, or chat. And with our emotes, funny noises and audio lines from film clips, the hilarity just fed on itself. If a player ran into a setback, it was enough to use a long “NOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooooooooo....” emote. Then there was when a player would be hit with a “draw four card,” “Oh my Gawd. You pawned me! (laughter) I’m going to get you for that. (more laughter),” pretending to be mad at the dealer. And when one of the skunkfolk made that remark, I jokingly asked if I should get clothespins and tomato juice, which got more chuckles. Emotes of sound clips of funny web films and movies, emotes of funny sound effects. It continued on and on, and some people supposedly were laughing so hard, they were crying in real-life. Then there was the game’s ending animation, when the cards would explode outward, then all converge on the winner just in front of the chest. When it was a girl, there were jokes about the deck ending up in the cleavage.

Some told they hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time.

We’re going to have to do it again soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

Breezes Thoughts

2008-12-03T09:29:00.002Z

Bree In a Tree, was certainly a chore getting up here on this limb.
Climbing is not one of my best ways of looking at life. Perched up here, with the birds and the bees I gaze o'er the land and what do I see, what do I feel?
It is hard to describe, the wind blowing through my tresses , clearing my visions of cloudy skies. The eagles soaring by, searching for twigs to comfort his nest, waiting for his mate is what it is all about.
Splashing waters behind me, delights me Oh how I love the streams rushing by.
Making me want to wade to the end of time. Life is bred amongst the rocks, the stones and neath the waters hides silt and maybe a sliver of silver or gold.
Seek and turn the stones and find your treasure, you never know what lies under your feet or ahead on the path. Take a chance, look around maybe try and follow the butterfly floating around. reach out and try to grasp a piece of this earth.
I am not much for getting my life in order, but,sitting here makes me see the beauty of this gods made world, for but who else can make scenery as He.
Smiles are within me, I hope all can see and feel the gift of our lives.
In the SL life has bought such happiness, oh yes, is like real life, it is not always wonderful, but in its own way truly an experience not to be missed.
Breezes

I am always searching for something.

Will PutOutOrGetOut Oswobodowskystein Please Report To The BlehW00t Nfo Firedesk?

2008-12-01T09:18:00.001Z

There are a scant few times in our lives when we can easily re-christen ourselves. Over the course of years, I have sat with many a wigged out parent who have dropped children on my doorstep wearing their “Do Not Return To Sender” T-shirts. I quickly reassure the children that we always have plenty of porridge. And I take a moment at the door to ask Mum and Dad to glance back one last time and remember the day they chose a name for their Blessed Bundle. Frequently reconnecting oatmeal-hating children and teary-eyed parents is accomplished in short order.

Then they grow up. All of them. And they can choose their Own Names, thank you.

Most readers know I sit in OChills Bar & Grill drinking latte all day. Chatting with the various visitors and pondering where their minds must have been as they were “born” into SL. Think back now. Wasn't easy was it? Picking a name that would chase you through all time and eternity. Establishing your own unique sobriquet – either to reveal or conceal the Old You. Quite a bit like vanity plates for your auto.

“So what,” you say. “I can always dump the Old New Me and get a Newer Improved Me, right?”

Wrong. All of a sudden you have Friends. You have non-transferable favorite pink sheep slippers and Big Hair of enormous nostalgic proportions.. Someone has given you a pet who will follow you devotedly to the grave. Your groups think you are cooler than Ice-T. You've bought a custom made George Clooney or Brittany Spears skin. Worst yet you may have grown rich and famous!

“Got the fix,” you counter. “I will add a Bright Yellow Text Tag Of Reason to my head explaining where said head was when I named myself!”

“Brilliant!” I say with my custom pixel brows aloft. My no-transfer latte extended Northward by my "Proust!" gesture.

The winning tag to date: “My former soul mate dragged me kicking and screaming into this crazy place and I just typed 'IBelong2Roxie' to please her. I really wanted to name myself after my dream car.” Fortunately we have good seating at the Bar for disclaimers taller than the average visitor.

Got a name like that? It's okay. C'mon over, grab some porridge and latte and I'll call your parents. Oh...and your kids too if you wish.
Mags

Woodlin: My Home Community in Second Life

2008-11-29T07:35:00.008Z

Being a free player, owning land isn’t an option for me. Not that I felt the need for a home here for most of my time in SL. Some months ago, two friends of mine invited me to use a house of theirs rent free for a while. But for reasons beyond their control, the deal had to be called off. So it was back to calling my office my home. But as it turned out, not for long.

By a happy coincidence, I came across the Woodlin community. The scenery itself is impressive, with it’s tall trees with treehouse apartments and walkways. It’s possible to get around without flying in most places with the use of elevators and climbable ropes. There’s a shopping area for those looking for clothes or a new avatar, a community platform in the main apartment tree for dance parties or a soak in the hot tub, a couple steampunkish balloon & propellor craft for flying around in, a temple to meditate in, two clubs, 6th Circle and Star Tails, to party in, a theater to watch movies, and other things to do.

But what makes the place what it is, it would be the people there. I called it the Woodlin community, not just a sim, for a reason.

Woodlin was created by Dax Loon about eight months ago. A resident of SL who has had quite a colorful history over time, she created the place at Dreamers Cove as her image of an ideal place to live, later expanding it to Hopeful Shores, and kept rentals fairly low. A master builder whom a friend described as “oozing talent,” she is often working on new projects. But she will drop what she’s doing to show someone around.

But the sim is more than just one person. Megatherion Zenovka, a neko with a small arsenal of big weapons, is described by Dax as her “right hand” in the sim. There is Staticminded Waco, a self-proclaimed “dirty old dog” whom isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself in order to get a chuckle from his friends and once got the Star Tails club on a real-life club’s TV screen while doing DJ duty. There is Foxyfurman Kumaki, another DJ whom has put up some interesting variety of songs. There is Aiko, a fun-loving prankster. There is her “sister” Marai, a friendly sweet-voiced kitten whom is often her “partner in crime.” There is Galvenized Hammerer, a good friend of Dax and another notable DJ with a “dramatic commercial voice.” There is Evo Imako, Star Tails’ main DJ. There are Bubbles, Leon, Danika, Scratch, Rory, Jessica, and many others whom have helped make the place what it is. A place that finally got me to part with a bit of cash to help contribute to it’s going.

The majority of Woodlin’s residents are furred avatars. But Woodlin is not and will never be a “furry” community. Dax has stated over and over again the place is open to all, and it irritates her how some furs, nekos, and normal humans strictly stay within a “cliche.”

So if you’re in SL looking for a club to dance, a place to shop, or just want to look around some scenic views, come on over. And if you’re looking for a place for a home here in the metaverse, I doubt you’ll find a friendlier group of neighbors.

Bixyl Shuftan

Breezes Thoughts

2008-11-27T08:21:00.004Z

Kinda a surprise to go to my favorite

haunt and sink into the ground and found out you can go way under; lol
ah discoveries we find in SL.
I hope to find my friends pretty soon .
Lots of underwater newness too pretty neat I found today.
Maybe we should all remember to look up and down when exploring sometimes there is lots more to see.
Now if someone could just give me a hand to get my Av out of here???

Breezes

The NOT SO Tranquil Writer -CIGBTYOT?

2008-11-26T09:15:00.006Z

by Magdeleine Rossini (a.k.a. Mags)

I do not precisely recollect what newcomer life was about. That memory must have gone peacefully into the night along with the one marked "Labor and Delivery". However, I do vividly recall that on Day Three I bought some fabulous GuRLyWood hair with funding offered to me across a crowded room by a lovely pixel benefactor adorned in a dazzling black gown and sporting an enormous coif. Right-Click, Buy, Wear Now. My newly-acquired Big Hair in situ, off I toddled, breathless and ready to tackle everything. Fab!

Wondrously, she was the first in a long line of generous, supportive people I have come to know here. Because of her I decided to make my walk through this wonderful "new" world the same way as in the one where the hedges always need trimming -- in total awe.

"Yes," I vowed. "I will become an invaluable Asset to this greater universe. Giving freely, loving deeply..."

You get the point I'm sure. A Value-Added Avatar. I learned to build. I mutilated scripts. I divined exotic textures. I talked my fingers to the cuticles. I joined groups. I worked in a wonderful nightclub. I got a translator and talked my fingers further to the bone in 17 languages. I traveled to amazing places. I bought land and a house after dumping my tips into the slots one night and hitting The Big One.

Now I am prepared to contribute. To be all that I can be. But I cannot do it alone. I need your help. I am preparing a proposal to Linden Leadership for a New Blue Button for the middle of my screen, entitled ,

Now, you may think this new button is just a well-mannered tool for staving off chatty friends. I assure you its intended use is far wider-reaching.

Witness an act of kindness? Use it.

Beneficiary of the astounding global generosity and spirit that is Second Life? Use it.

And, yes. It is the perfect utility for chatty friends as well. Fortunately even on Day Three I had the presence of mind to jot down the name of my Big Hair Benefactor. When I hit The Big One, I was able to return to her the L$300. Hopefully my presence here now will serve the silent message she shared with me that night. I have no doubt she has shared again. There is never enough Big Hair.

Until the new button appears on your viewer, please apply "CIGBTYOT?" liberally. I just bet you have your own amazing story to tell, don't you?

Mags

Old Friends, and a New Friend

2008-11-18T14:05:00.006Z

You never know whom you’ll meet in Second Life.

Sometimes in what seemed like a well-planned meeting with friends, someone you haven’t seen in a while will drop by to say hello.

And sometimes you’ll meet someone new, who shows quite a bit of promise.

The first day of the Second Life Newspaper Anniversary celebration was a big success, with fifty people in the sim at one point. Two times the Xploder went on overdrive, delaying the moment of it’s cash award, the second time spewing half it’s 16,000L pot to one lucky winner, and the other half split into 215 L awards to the others (a friend I TPed in put in only 15 L, making 200 ).

But that was just one part of the party. It was good to see my friends at the paper, and a couple outside it, dropping by and having a good time. Then someone called out a name I hadn’t heard in a while: Baron

And there he was, standing at the edge of the party, skinless, like a gray ghost. Our old friend Baron DeSantis had apparently come back from the “grave” to say hello. He stood there for some minutes, a few words going back and forth. Then he wished us well, and bade us farewell.

Baron had been a rather unique reporter and writer when he was here at SL Newspaper. Getting “arrested” for charity, he went back later for a series of rather unique stories. He certainly added an interesting element to the paper while he was around. But for personal reasons, he “killed” his character, and left.

Whomever else you might be here, old friend, hope you’re doing well.

Baron wasn’t the only person whom I ran into after months of silence. Recently I ran into a Japanese friend from my days hanging out at the STA sim whom I had seen only once (a friends rezzday party) since the sim disappeared. With her now having a better knowledge of English, we talked for a while on how each of us had been. A happy day.

It’s great to meet old friends.

And sometimes, one will run into someone and make a new one.

Among the people attending the anniversary party was one lady very new to Second Life. Day two of the celebration, the “newbie” party in which each of us appeared in as close to our newbie look as we could, it was different for her as she had been in SL for just three days. Thanks to supportive friends, she was already getting the hang of things, as well as having some quality clothes.

She noticed me and a friend in our newbie furry avatars, me in a “ringtail” similar to the one I entered SL in, and asked me if this how was how I looked at the start. I told her it was. She asked me if I had a free furry avatar on me, and I told her I had. I gave her a package of the “Wingless” avatars once for sale, but now available for free and passable from player to player. I also had a tan Wingless fox available ready to use and passed that over too.

For those who don’t know, the “Wingless” fox avatar folder has both male and female shapes, and also parts for both digitgrade and plantigrade legs (the latter looking more human). Newcomers had always had trouble getting the legs looking right because of all the parts, but my friend figured it out right away! She was now a pretty vixen dancing about on perfectly symmetrical digitgrade legs, as if she had at least weeks of experience, not a few days.

Running into her after the party, she had figured out about placing clothes that would normally go where her tail was attached, and was wearing a billowy silky dress. It was then that my Japanese friend came online. After some IMs, we headed over, and had quite a conversation on what one can do in Second Life, and both my friends got along well.

If there’s a glue that holds Second Life together and keeps us coming back, it is friends.

*****

On another note, it’s been about a year since I officially joined up with the paper. I had been sending a few “Reader Submitted” articles, but got the title “Freelance Writer” just in time to show up for the first Anniversary celebration. Now here I am for the second. A year of “Fox News,” in the form of articles and screenshot cartoons.

It’s been quite a journey that’s taken me to many corners of Second Life. I’ve met many interesting people, and made a few new friends along the way. There have been some sad moments, but many more happy ones. I’ve run into some talented people, some who had stories to tell of overcoming impossible odds in real life and coming out a winner. And a few I can only call heroes.

James, Dana, and all the others, it’s been great being part of the team, and I'll do my best to keep on being "fair and balanced." ;-)

Here’s to Year Three, and beyond.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader submitted - PARTY!!!

2008-11-17T11:15:00.004Z

Thanks to Fury for starting it, Luskwood's Nekkid Dance Party from two Sundays ago
Submitted by Christopher Chidester

Click for full size

SLOOP - STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT

2008-11-11T08:18:00.003Z

I swear to God the last thing I was looking for when I joined SL, was a boyfriend. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know what I was looking for. But, wandering around, looking for places to hang out, I ended up at a fancy place, kind of old style, very formal, great music.
A guy approached me. I don’t exactly remember what he said, but he asked me to dance. And I said yes. I had been in SL for three months only. We were perfect strangers in the SL starry night.
I suddenly felt SL was great for romance.
I hardly remember what we said, but those must have been the right words, because the next day he asked me out, and we went back to that wonderful place that was called the Seabreeze.
We like to dance like crazy to all kinds of music, but, not being teenagers… sometimes we really need to dance to soft songs in some elegant place, wearing a tux, and a gown that flows along with the music, swaying to the tunes that carry you away to fantasy land. And we went there often. It was delightful. That was were we first kissed. (As so many other couples.) It was like being stars in an old movie. It also felt like like we were ordinary people that got mixed with wonderful fictional characters from all sorts of magic stories. Those two… maybe they are spies. That lonely guy at the bar… maybe he was waiting for his Ilsa, like Bogey. And that couple saying sweet things to each other, out loud… It was magic.
But… a few months ago… the Seabreeze closed. For good. Off the grid. And the lovely owner also vanished from SL. We were used to her voice. We felt welcomed. We loved her. The Seabreeze was “our place”.
And we have been looking for a new place that could become “our place” again, ever since.
We have a few clubs that are so much fun, and I will be writing about them soon. But that special place… the one we miss when we are in the mood for a romantic evening, with great songs from all times, a timeless elegant place for lovers… That we hadn’t found.
Until a while ago.
The “Midnight Romance” filled in the hole the Seabreeze left.
Amazing, huge ballroom. The floor reflects the crystal chandeliers. The white piano shines on the stage. Retro style. Elegant. Fancy. The owners, Ted Rousselot and Angie Dailey, are such warm and enchanting couple… they make you feel like they have been your friends for ever.
The place is great, the mood is right, people are nice, and we have found a new place to call “our place”. A new place to believe for a while we are Bogie and Bergman. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Or whoever makes you dream. Or just yourselves.
If you are in love, you must take your sweetheart and dance in this dreamy Club.
If you have a date… someone you just met and want to get to know better… can’t think of a better place.
If you are alone… Great place to meet people.
I can tell you from my own experience: it turned out so right… for strangers in the night.
Covadonga Writer

Breast Cancer support group in SL

2008-11-10T08:20:00.004Z

This week I went to the Support group to hear Lady Kay Gable talk about her survival of 2 bouts of breast Cancer. I want all who read this to realize what a battle of fighting cancer is and that it can be done and we all support every cancer there is. What an awesome group the American Cancer society is.
Visit American Cancer Society (136, 182, 48)

'For several years, the American Cancer Society has existed in Second Life through its volunteers, Relay For Life event, and an island that served as a central meeting place for volunteers and avatars, of those who are affected by cancer.
The new Island features a 4-story, two-tiered office building that is dedicated to Relay For Life volunteers, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer volunteers, Island Greeter volunteers, and an Information Library.
American Cancer Society pamphlets and brochures provide information related to cancer prevention, treatment options, support and information and is available in the Information Library, as well as informative videos about the history of the American Cancer Society, cancer information, patient support programs, and Relay For Life information.'

I want to say to you fighting cancer should not be done alone and for any of you that have been touched by this terrible disease you should know the support is there. Thank you Lady Kay for sharing your inspirational story with us.
Breezes Babii

2008-11-07T08:14:00.004Z

Feelings were running high on bonfire night (November 5th)
Faery Crossing members Guy Fawkes Bonfire burned a Linden he is almost gone in health everyone around danced as fireworks were enjoyed!

I hope you all had fun - but I don't think the 'guy' did.

Breezes Babii

I am always searching for something!

Sloop - THE ONE YEAR SL BLUES

2008-11-05T08:28:00.004Z

Someone told me, when I was a newbie, that time in SL runs at a different pace. I didn’t understand it then, but now I’m certain it does. It runs slower. A week seems like such a long time, a year it’s like a decade.
They also told me that the “one year barrier” was tough to dodge. It seems that’s a kind of turning point: around the first year, most people experience a deceleration in their enthusiasm to live a Second Life.
To be honest, I have detected it among many of my friends. And I also think it might be contagious. Enthusiasm is contagious. So is depression. If you call and no one answers, you stop calling.
I guess, like everything in RL too, what’s new is fun. And everything is new in SL when we become citizens of this virtual world.
It’s amazing to TP, to be able to change your look, to find almost everything you can think of, to build stuff, to furnish your house, to buy clothes and change with just a “click” of the mouse. To fly.
It’s great to go dancing, to join groups, to meet people, to throw parties, to have a job.
The inner child wakes up, to see that our fantasy world has really come to life.
But… unless you have taken up some of the things you can do here as a serious enterprise, by the time a year or so has passed, there aren’t many tricks up this virtual world’s sleeve. And then… that’s the time when you need to stop being just frivolous: some good old feelings from RL should come in handy.
Take a look at your Friend’s List. Is it extremely long? Filled with names you don’t even remember who they belong to?
Or, instead, you have a few very close friends, the kind you miss when you are not in SL? Do you have a partner? Are you in love with someone? Do you love what you do here? Do you really care?
I have met some amazing people here. People that are engaged in making this place a gateway to a very special kind of experience. People that teach, people that learn, all kinds of artists, people that think of ways for other people to have fun, people that understood this is a place to share. Like RL, this is about getting involved.
It starts like a game we enjoy in amazement. Then, if you can’t find a way to bond, to belong here, -no matter how little time you spend in SL- it’s over. It starts to fade. Like children get tired of toys… and throw them to a corner to be replaced by the new one. I already have seen that happen. And It’s a pity. Some of us have invested real feelings. Honest feelings. Please, don’t give up easily. Keeping this alive takes a lot of work. Like in RL. You have to water the plants. You have to call your friends and ask them how are they doing. You have to tell them you love them and you miss them. And they have to take the trouble to answer, if they care.
So, when the One Year Blues kick in, pull yourself up and get back in the grid. Believe it or not, some people in here love you.
Covadonga Writer

Breezes Thoughts

2008-11-03T08:08:00.003Z

I found my outlet. Beating the drums with Taiko drum Sticks. Beating out the sound, vibrates thru the night skies, the frogs are croaking ( I hope none else does around me) the wind is balmy, blowing my hair, soothing my soul, the waters are lapping against the dock, the sampans are waiting for me to take a calming ride across the seas. Come to Puzo and you will enjoy too.

Breezes Babii

101!

2008-11-01T14:11:00.003Z

Did I think we would actually make it to 100??
Never!
One year ago in September I joined a philosophy class in SL. I figured even though the project was announced to be the study of the 100 philosophers who have influenced the thinking of today we would never make it to the end. I determined to stay until the end whenever it might come.
After all, how many avatars would stick around and also what would the professor do after it became too burdensome.
I guess I was not the only determined one!
The professor stuck!!
He thrived on it, putting in as many as 15 hours a week in both preparation and presentation.
In our final class of the original project Herman Bergson was philosopher 101, explaining his own experience during the past year with the words, “You all were in fact my teachers and a great help during more than a year. Your participation and enthusiasm showed that it was worth investing so much time in this project.”
We met 3 times a week for an hour, sometimes longer.
Some of the members were much more into philosophical discussion than others.
We came from all over the world! Sometimes we wandered away from the lesson of the day and were gently pulled back onto the correct path, well, sometimes dragged back kicking and screaming. Some of the original members disappeared, but others came to take their place. We all made some very good friends and we made it to 100!
Along the way it occurred to us that after the 100 we would have more work to do together. Each class and each discussion appeared on Professor Bergson’blog(http://www.thoughts.com/herman_bergson/blog) so any absentee could follow what was missed. Aristotlevon Doobie also began a book in which he put every class presented. He also included links to the background material for each philosopher. The updates came every few days in e-mail to those who wanted it along with some pithy saying and sometimes art attached. At the end was a year book with the members of the class in portrait.
We got no degree for our work and fortunately no exams!!! AND on Sunday we begin again!!
Our next series of lectures will be 25 women philosophers and their influence on modern philosophical thinking!
You are invited to join the class by contacting Herman Bergson. Hope to see you there.
Gemma Cleanslate

Breezes Thoughts

2008-10-24T09:11:00.003+01:00

Oh blood on ground, ewwwwwwwwwwwwww well Bree was trying her hand a stone sculpting and destroyed a few heads as she was doing so. I wonder why so many ran away when I turned with mallet in hand.
The Day is drawing nearer and Witchy Bree is scheming in the Cemetery of her Favorite haunting place.
One day an angel said to me"It is time to get going on conjuring up spell my dear!" sooo what better place to scheme than here. The ghosts and skeletons are cacklin away` waiting to see what I do with my vial of potions I carry by my side.
The Duke of Centaur is getting wary. My children are perking up at seeing their Mommy on the prowl.muuuuuhhhahahahah
Dancin near a pot of poisin, ready to fill the goblet. Slake my thirst!!!!!

See you soon
Breezes

Breezes Thoughts - messed up again

2008-10-16T08:26:00.005+01:00

Scary kitty saw me on the deck and snarled at me.

Boots don't fit you ninny!..... Bree you have been around long enough to know how to wear your boots.

snarly /Cheeky cat.

Hisss I say.

snarl she says back.

Why no fish dinner for you, you little varmit catcher.

Knees knocking through the leather.

I neglected the boot base.

Tail is twitchin ( Kitties tail) not mine. Oh rats (pardon the expression) 1 boot is smaller than the other grrr. well 2 sizes

Ninny Ohhhh really.

mmmmm smart yes gals please pay attention when sl boots catch your fancy.
Breezes in another mess!

Breezes thoughts - I did it again!

2008-10-15T08:08:00.002+01:00

Bree has a new home on Puzo.
My dear friend and SL brother Jule has graciously given me most lovely site. My dear Dana is building a home and Dorian is doing the pictures.
I was sleeping while they were slaving away to make a surprise for me, I awoke to a beautiful new home annnnnnnnnnndddddddddddd in one instant I almost destroyed it all!
Yes Ninny Bree done it again.
My eyes were wide with surprise, I heard,
"Mommy! What did you do??"
Dorian saying "Alright where did it go? You really are a mechanical destroying machine"!
Hangs head, straight faced was I.
You see I had taken walls away before, I have shifted ceilings, I have lost many a piece of furniture and even buried a cat.
I have never done it within 2 minutes of first seeing it though.
James would roar "Mommy! Mommy!"
Bless her heart Dana was Laughing hard. Well she said she was.
Tell you what I did. I forgot to have my right tag on when I put it in my name. Clicked my whole new home away, left standing in mid air with furniture still there. woe was I.
I am assure that it is now all locked down glued and nailed to stay in place.
Jule is thankful I cannot do to him what I do to others lolol but come and see me, maybe you will keep me company and go for a swim while you are there.
see ya :)
Breezes
I am always searching for something.

An Interview with SuzyYue Machinima Director

2008-10-13T08:39:00.003+01:00

RL had been hectic and needing a bit of relaxation, I decide to go exploring after logging into SL.
Opening my inventory folder I scanned through the LM's. Finding one that seemed interesting, I double clicked on it and arrived quickly with a whoosh.
There were several people at the site when I rezzed in. I was pleasantly surprised by the presence of a few acquaintances and we began to chat. As we did, I noticed a dark haired woman who had begun in chat giving directions to several people, commenting about the area and what needed to be done to prep it for filming.
Intrigued by the conversation, I opened Suzy Yue's profile and read it. "Work with talented folks creating Machinima...the best in SL..." I smiled realizing I'd found my next story and readily introduced myself to her. We chatted for several minutes and she agreed to do an interview so we arranged for a date and time to meet a few days later.
Nazz: How was it that you'd come into SL?
Suzy: Well, I was introduced to it by a friend, who is no longer here very much. Read my profile. I came to play, but now I work.
Nazz: How come the change from play to work?
Suzy: It's a long story. Suzy is an alt. My primary avatar came into the world partnered with my RL spouse. Suzy was created to be a much more carefree version of me. But, after partying and playing, Suzy got curious about what else there was to do in SL. I did the usual things in SL that girls do. All the while, I was dancing around an idea that I didn't think was possible in SL.
My RL background is in theatre as a director and actress. So one day I got curious and decided to find out if there were actors in SL … and I did a search and found there were.
Nazz: How did that lead to being a director of Machinima?
Suzy: Well, I auditioned for a Machinima piece, advertised in one of the groups. I got cast in the lead. While I was waiting for that to begin I answered another ad from Popcha, looking for an actor to run Avs for a demonstration. I was hired and then Adonis Bussy, the CEO of Popcha, asked if I would like to try my hand at designing an avatar for the same client, I said sure and then, he asked if I could get more actors for another demo and I said sure. Next thing I knew we were talking about me being a production assistant.
Nazz: So you went from actress to production assistant to Machinima Director?
Suzy: The evolution from actress to director happened over a couple of months. I have directed in RL, for several years.
Nazz: How many Machinima have you directed?
Suzy: At this point 8 in the last 7 months.
Nazz: What is the role of a Machinima Director?
Suzy: I was not sure that there was a role for a director in Machinima initially. Traditionally, it seemed from my standpoint that the Machinimatographer (the cameraperson and editor) was the director, by necessity. But as we worked on the first IBM episode, I started to see that there needed to be a single artistic vision even for an industrial short. So I just started applying my process to the Machinima process. Clear roles for everyone involved; Director, Cinematographer, Production Assistant, Actor and Producer.
I started setting up call times, necessary, just as it is on a real production. By the same token I wanted to approach hiring actors in a more traditional way as well. I wanted to make sure they were paid. I thought it made more sense to engender some loyalty by offering decent SL wages and instilling a sense of purpose. We were a company in the theatrical sense, an ensemble and the actors as a result, feel a part of the production.
Someone suggested to me that we should move more towards scripted robot type acting. But honestly I think that though actors are in many ways puppeteers, that they give actual performances many times. It brings humanity to the process, Machinima with human spirit.
Nazz: Do you feel your approach to directing Machinima is unique?
Suzy: It's fairly unique because it mimics RL ...more structured in how we do it. My process is one that makes sense for me. So I do, but like I said, I've been doing this only a short time.
I know the idea of paying the actors is above the norm in SL, that is not traditionally a part of this medium, I don't think.
RL is a part of SL in so many ways this is just one more, you rarely make a movie with a bunch of volunteers. What I mean to say is a good movie, play, commercial in RL is made up of people who do their jobs and care about what they are doing, all to serve the work. Well that's all I want to bring to the process not just the Machinimatography, filming people doing things and editing it together.
I am not saying that that is how it is done generally but I do want to make this more like RL.
Nazz: Do you have a favorite that you've directed?
Suzy: Well I think that the piece we did for Flashpoint Academy is special to me because I helped to script it. I had more artistic freedom. It was also longer than the other pieces we did and it was fairly dynamic, I think.
Also, the fourth episode we did for IBM was a lot of fun, challenging and lots of effects. The climax of a four episode story arc, by then the actors and crew had things down pat. We had really funny material in it and the particle effects. Also the music, we worked with Ariella Languish for episodes one – three and for episode four, Mewsic Bing.
Interview By Nazz Lane

Just around the Corner

2008-10-05T14:14:00.002+01:00

It was a gloomy night, but comes the dawn as we visit the cemetery.

My friends surround me and we are entranced by the skeletons and ghostly visions.

Yes it is homecoming time and we are happy.

Soon we are going to feast from the witches cauldron. We are to have boiled intestines and octopus and starfish and drink octopus spaghetti with their ink as sauce! yummmers !!!!
Breezes Babii

Showing Second Life to Discovery Channel With Sean Voss & Torley Linden

2008-10-03T05:18:00.010+01:00

If you had a chance for your avatar to get on TV, it would be a great day. But that was just one of a few things that made that day one to remember. I ran into an old friend, and also met a Second Life celebrity - Torley Linden.

I had recently gotten a message in a stored IM from Sean Voss, the first I had heard from him since he went on hiatus after suspending his SL Tours. He told his group, me included, that he was going to be on the Discovery Channel, and invited us to join him.

On Tuesday Sept 30, I logged in and got another stored message from Sean Voss. He had started about a couple hours ago. Porting to Landmark Island, it was empty. But after IMing him, he soon appeared. Things were a bit awkward as my voice was off at first, (I had turned it off while in a place where it was causing trouble), and a few other details. But after some minutes, he asked me to invite some friends over. Most were busy, or too embarrassed, but I was able to get Firehorse Rearwind and one other friend over. I introduced them, as they had never met, then Sean asked us to port over to Paris, so we did.

And as things slowly rezzed, I heard voices, and it was soon obvious we were in a group. As Sean showed us around, it soon became clear a couple avatars were with Discovery. There was a Linden in the group, one whom had a watermellon-colored necktie and a very familiar voice, but I didn't recognize the name. When someone called him “Torley,” I knew whom it was, the guy whose made a name for himself with his helpful videos for SL newbies and more experienced residents alike. He was using an alt account for this event.

Sean described the sim, focused on Paris as it looked around 1900. He led us to the Moulin Rouge, where we were invited to dance. One lady invited me to dance, and it was one that had us strutting about like chickens, which had us chuckling. After that, we headed to the Eiffel Tower, went up to the summit, and parachuted down. Once we were all down, the two with Discovery told the rest of us they had enough footage, thanked us, and ported out.

Sean Voss and a few others left as well (Sean still had yet to tell us when the footage was likely to be shown), which left the rest of us with Torley Linden. Torley was happy to talk with us, talking about in his early days of SL people would often charge ridiculous amounts for lessons, and making a promise to himself if he ever had the power, he would show people what to do for free. He also talked some about the development of Windlight. When he began talking about his cat, I rezzed a SL pet pug dog that a friend had given me, which got a few chuckles from Torley, him telling us he had yet to see one of those in Second Life.

Eventually, Torley had to go, and we all went our separate ways. And so ended a very interesting afternoon in Second Life. Thanks again to everyone.

Bixyl Shuftan

SLOOP - “P+(5xE)+(3xH)”

2008-10-02T08:42:00.003+01:00

People in RL become obsessed with the idea of finding formulas to explain concepts that can’t really be explained by a formula, because they deal with the complexity of human behavior.
A group of British psychologists came up with a formula to try to answer the million dollar question: “Are you happy”?
I don’t think a formula can answer that. No way. But it’s interesting to take notice of the facts they took in consideration. And, then, compare them with our life in SL.
So, if happiness is not to be considered a subjective state, measuring the state of well being is simple according to the formula they came up with:Happiness= P+(5xE)+(3xH)
This equation is determined by three factors:
P stands for personal characteristics, including a person's outlook on life, adaptability and resilience.
E stands for Existence and relates to health, financial stability and friendships.
Add five times your existence needs, which includes health, financial stability, your community, and friends.
H stands for “higher order needs”, and covers self-esteem, expectations, ambitions and sense of humor.
So, add a triple dose of that.
When asked about what made them happy, four in ten men said sex made them happy, (I think in SL more men would say that-as well as in RL…-), and three in ten said a victory by a favorite sports team. (Someone has to figure out how to organize a competitive sports season in SL: something like the “New York Pixels” Vs. the “Chicago Laggers” would be quite an event).
For seven in ten women happiness was related to being with family, and one in four said losing weight.
This doesn’t apply to SL either. We can loose weight by editing appearance in a jiffy. We can also gain it. Or all the muscle we want without having to lift nothing heavier than the mouse. And it doesn’t look like having a “family” is a priority for women in SL, if they have one in RL. (They probably log on to SL to take a break).
Romance featured higher for men than women. (This I don’t believe). So did a pay rise and a hobby they enjoyed. These three things do happen in SL, there’s romance, a lot of people have jobs and make money, and almost everyone has a hobby.Women were more likely to cite sunny weather. (Ahh this is something that’s really not an issue in SL, except when RL weather brings down your Internet connection.)
The questions that were asked in order to come up with the formula, were the following:
1)Are you outgoing, energetic, flexible, and open to change?
2)Do you have a positive outlook, bounce back quickly from setbacks and fee that you are in control of your life?
3)Are your basic life needs met, in relation to personal health, finance, safety, freedom of choice and sense of community?
4)Can you call on the support of people close to you, immerse yourself in what you are doing, meet your expectations and engage in activities that give you a sense of purpose?
It’s obvious all this questions are easier to answer in a very positive way from where we stand in SL. Come to think of it, it’s very hard not to be happy in SL, where we are never sick, we are safe, and we are free to engage in activities that give us a sense of purpose. Or not.
Some people are happy logging on and just dancing ‘till their hardware breaks.
As I said, I don’t believe in that kind of formula, but maybe, just for fun, we could try one for happiness in SL:
Happiness in SL= H (3Gb RAM)+ 2BPOS + 4BC + L&F
Where H stands for Hardware, multiplied by 3 Gigabytes of memory, plus twice the Best Performing Operating System you have now, plus a four times stronger Broadband Connection.
As for L&F… stands for Love and let your imagination Fly. The rest is up to us.
A famous teacher and psychotherapist, Dr. Haim Ginnot, said:
” Happiness is not and end in itself. It is a by-product of working, playing, loving, and living”.
Log on, and enjoy your SL journey.
Covadonga Writer.

Social Networking within the Social Network of Second Life

2008-09-23T08:23:00.002+01:00

The lead for this story had come into my editor and she'd asked me to chase it down. So, in following up on it, I IM'ed and made an appointment to meet with the MetaLife CEO and founder Robbie Kiama.
We met at the Nokia SIM and Robbie was there to greet me when I arrived.
"Hello Nazz." He called out as I rezzed in. "Welcome to MetaLife. I hope my English is good for you. I'm from Lithuania in RL." He said.
I replied telling him that I thought his English was very good. We were planning to talk using voice chat, however we were forced into a text chat for a few minute while I connected my headset in order to use it and SL was being well, it was being SL.
Finally having straightened out and when plugged in and ready, I asked him, "Is this MetaLife's headquarters Robbie?"
He replied, "This is yes, we have another office as well. But MetaLife isn't about this location. It's about building a platform for other developers, land owners, business owners, and organizations ... Anyone who is doing anything in SL being able to connect using the MetaHUD flagship product. Using the MetaHUD, our members can travel to and tag favorite places, meet interesting people, shop and share their experiences ... making that information available to the MetaLife community ... they can comment on anything in the metaverse of SL. Once they do, it's available to their friends or the entire network of MetaLife users."
I commented on the uniqueness of that within SL and asked, "How does it work?"
"Well it's a HUD, so you wear it and it will position itself on the screen. You can of course move it around to your comfort level. Try it Nazz." Kiama suggested.
I wore the HUD I'd picked up and it rezzed on my screen, on center and to the right side. Robbie offered to be my friend and talked me through accepting the offer. In the center of the HUD, I could see comments posted by members, much like what I'd become accustomed to seeing in Twitter. He then walked me through the search function, asking me if there were any particular items I might be shopping for at this time. I told him that I'd been looking for a leather jacket and so we did a search and a list of the most popular ones appeared on the HUD. The most popular items first and the information included designer, location and price.
"This is really great Robbie." I said then continued: "How did this concept evolve?"
"We'd been planning for this for some time. A good friend had introduced me to SL and when I arrived and began to look around for opportunities, this concept was something we started working on. We tried several different models and it evolved to what you see. MetaLife has received backing from a venture capital firm in Europe. We've several projects in the pipeline now. I'd like to show you our soon to be released kiosk." Kiama said in reply.
We moved over to a display he had rezzed while we talked. "How does the kiosk work?" I asked.
"The MetaKIOSK, which we will launch on September 23rd, provide SL entrepreneurs a means to sell their items grid-wide. We also believe that for landowners, the system will provide an innovative way to resell items that are pertinent to their parcels. For SL residents, metaKIOSK will provide the ability to teleport to chosen locations, review, and leave comments about any displayed content on the parcel and all services are powered by metaLIFE search." He said and then continued: "We've already introduced our Metalife Partnership Program where the referring partner, who is the one who owns the kiosks and when sales are generated by the Kiosk, 97% goes to the developer, and the other 3 % is split between the kiosk owner and Metalife."
"It sounds to be an awesome concept Robbie, are there any plans to take it to other virtual worlds?" I asked.
"Only for SL, we have no plans for any other particular Virtual World now. Our goal is to build a strong platform in SL and look at other VW's and see what the need may be." Kiama replied.
I thanked Robbie for his time and headed back to my office to begin reviewing my notes. Along the way, I stopped off and using the MetaHUD, rated a few of my favorite places.
By Nazz Lane

Reader submission - DAY AT WORK

2008-09-20T11:50:00.006+01:00

by Jacek Shuftan
I remember the first good days in SL when I was starting my in-world adventure. Having a lot of free time I used to IM my friends running their businesses and was surprised when they ignored my invitations at the party etc. Time passed and now I understand them. This short article is dedicated to all newcomers to virtual world.
Situation is typical.

Normal day at work in SL, fourth coffee drunk, cigarettes are going to finish, soon I am trying to communicate with a rich-looking Spanish lady in my shop which is not easy as she doesn't speak English and the babbler doesn't work correctly. With the help of dictionary and by similarity to English I am guessing what she really wants.

I have 10 IM conversations at the same time.

- Talking with my scripter as the product we have launched recently doesn’t always work and we are trying to find out whats is wrong

- Exchanging all the vulgar words with one mall owner who obviously wants to cheat me

- A couple bought my product in a box and doesn’t know how to take it out. They are just writing that if I do not come immediately they will report me to the Lindens.

- My girlfriend says that she will not stand it any longer and if I do not invite her at the party at once – its all over between us.

As I said –a typical day.

And here he comes!

Excalibur Chamonicis ( I wonder why they always have such sophisticated names)

- He starts:

 Yo, bro!After a few minutes I find a second to answer

 Hello, I am really busy now. If its something really urgent - go on, but we will talk later, ok?

 Nothing special. It’s my first day in SL. What u doin?

Having a free moment I go on:

- Not now, later pls

 Man. Don't be so bossy! How can I use a freebie penis? Just got it.

 Inventory, wear.

 What's the inventory?

 Email me tomorrow, I will help, but not now, please.

Meanwhile the Spanish lady writes me six digit numbers and I don't know what she means

– maybe its my life deal?.

- Mall owner promises me ban at his land and sudden death.

- Girlfriend informs that she has just got an offer of virtual sex from my friend and if I do not come she will accept it....

 I attached it! - Excalibur shouts – Wanna see? Big fun!

- I receive one TP invitation and ignore it not even having e time to say once more that I am busy.

 Men! Why aren’t you coming? You must see it!

- Next TP – “Sex orgy rooms for all” Ignored again.

That moment my girlfriend visits me in the shop and sees the Spanish girls who talks to me and shows me her new skin ( Does she sell skins?) She got naked so that I could see all the beauty of that work. (It's not bad indeed )

My girlfriend looks at me with big eyes and listens to my excuses that its only business, nothing personal. When the Spanish one slowly puts her clothes on I finally manage to persuade my clients to come to the shop so that I could show how to open the box.

Little nervous they are standing by half naked beauty and my girl.

And at that moment...

 Bro! Wait – I will visit you!

Noooooooo! - I scream waking up my RL neighbours.

But it’s too late.

He lands in the center of our group, naked, with a penis happily attached and a gun in his hands. He shoots to all of us.

 Will kill you all, bastards!!!! hahahaha!

The Spanish girl escapes without hesitations, clients hide in the corners and say that they absolutely want refunds but will not discuss that in such conditions, my girlfriend leaves and removes me from her Friends List.

We are alone in the shop with Excalibur.

 Man! This game is cool! U seen how I killed them?

I sit on the floor and say:

- Yes..... SL is a great game......

A Gaping Wound

2008-09-12T07:50:00.002+01:00

Another year has passed since that horrendous attack that occurred in New York City seven years ago.
I can still see the second plane bursting into the south tower of the World Trade center. It is embedded deeply in my mind. I shook for hours while watching the unfolding story.
I have a special place I go every year where I can look south and see the empty space where the towers stood. And I went there this morning. People who stood there that day seeing the black smoke have placed a touching memorial at that spot and it is a good place to sit and meditate.
I was happy to find so many places in second life that recall the event and where I could spend more time in respect to those who died and those who still mourn them. Last year I visited the World Trade Center sim which commemorates all those from the 90 countries who died in the air and on the ground. There is walkway which edges a large pool bordered on one side by black walls, that seem to weep tears ,on which are etched the names of all the innocent fallen.. I f you know someone who perished you an fly up and find them on the wall. I found two. One can rezz a memorial plant or flower to place at the base of the walls and they will remain for 24 hours. At the entrance are several walls of photos of those who lost their lives that day and the days following.

I went again today to rezz a flower before the wall and to make a donation to keep this sim alive. I visited other tributes and found some wonderful memorials placed. I rang a bell for the firemen in a garden and saw the World Trade Center tribute in Sunset . The reading of the names at Wings of Hope was so thoughtfully planned out with bagpipers, fire trucks displayed, an honor guard around the stage and a live singing of Amazing Grace to precede the reading. It was so touching to see the work that went into the event.
My visit to Cetus for the poetry reading rounded out the day . Any1 Goynoid was hosting the event in the Cetus Community Center. The main poet was Larkworthy Antfarm who read poems that she wrote during the years following the tragic day. They were lovely and very touching, painting images with words. “City breathing Fire” was one that filled my soul with remembrance. Explorer Dastardly followed with journal writing she did and Ana Herzog added her poems to the event . The audience was very appreciative of all that was spoken so eloquently .
After that I was able to locate the Firemen’s wall that was dedicated in the morning at the World Trade Center.
My final stop of the night was a short visit to Remembrance Island for a concert by our friend from the Peace Revolution, Louis Landon (Louis Volare). His inspiring original music added to the recollections of a day well spent in sl.
Much credit should be given to those who worked hard to provide these sites for us. Hope McAlpine and her committee are to be congratulated as well as all those who contributed time and effort to make this sl day special for all those who visited the sites and events and made donations to the funds for the survivors.
It was a day in sl that made me feel satisfied that my time here is not wasted but enhanced by my second life.

Gemma Cleanslate

SLOOP

2008-09-08T08:23:00.007+01:00

A DOZEN SIGNS YOU SHOULD TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS OFF SL:
(You can always log into SL Newspaper to stay updated)
1) The last time you went to a movie theater in RL, you saw “Jaws”.
2) You are paying someone to go to work in RL in your place. You have instructed that person to tell your boss not to worry, because he/she is really your alt.
3) When it snows in SL you wear a sweater even if you are in the Bahamas.
4) You lost your keyboard. You found it underneath three empty pizza boxes, smudged with ketchup and ice cream. Keys are glued together with Coca Cola .
5) You finally got up and went to the Gym. It had moved six months ago.
6) The hand you use to drag the mouse looks like a claw.
7) The dog –or cat- has decided to sleep in your bed, since you are hardly ever there.
8)Your friends –that hate games on line- have logged into SL just to send you IM’s to make you answer the phone.
19) The only bill you never forget to pay is the broadband connection.
10) When you change your clothes you go to the closet and look for the menu to click “Replace outfit”.
11)You fall asleep on your desk. You wake up, go to the bathroom, and look at yourself in the mirror: the letters from your keyboard have transferred to your forehead. You can read “QWERTYUIOP” backwards.
12) You were invited to a RL black tie party. You showed up in your pajamas, wearing football socks, your headphones, a can of beer in one hand and a wireless mouse in the other. “Hey, gang! –you said-. Where do I click?”
So… if this, or something like this is the case… take a couple of days off. Go out there. Walk in the rain. Get wet. Get your finger caught in a door. Take the trouble of going somewhere without taking a TP. Stop and smell the roses. Feel the palpable beat resulting from the injection of RL into your veins.And hurry back here. It’s always good to check for yourself that “out there” still sucks. ROFL.
Covadonga Writer

Breezes Thoughts

2008-09-07T12:20:00.003+01:00

Life in Second Life is a roller coaster,dips and heights do make for exciting times.
Over the paths, I have traveled many times they always lead me back to the land I love.
Many do say venture on, this I may do but I shall never go too far away.
I am watching my friends I see their minds take them to the greatest SL adventures. Such inquisitive minds my friends do have.
I wonder in amazement their craving for the unknown.
I find my way from reading this terrific newspaper, seek out the landmarks from these terrific writers and you will find so much and realize all the hard work they bring to make us aware of all second Life has to offer.
The sims available are filled with some of the greatest talents, there is something here for everyone.
You just have to venture out and eventually you will find your forte.
There are classes to take for those who wish to learn, on every subject you can imagine. Well, I ask myself, Bree, why do you not take your own advise?
Ermmmmmmmmmmm good question.
Well now you all know i do venture out and have found some terrific places and people.
Writing about them is something else. If I find terrific spot I tell others, cause I want them to do greater justice to it than I have knowledge for.
So readers, if you have found a place you love and want to share it with us, please tell us or better yet, write about what you have found and love or dislike.
Lets join together, get the word out.
Lets all share and show, especially the newcomers to our Second Life.
Dana always loves to read your letter and often publishes them.
Until next time..........
Bree
I am always searching for something

Covadonga Writer - RL RAIDER

2008-08-29T07:54:00.000+01:00

Myth? Legend?
Please, join me in this adventure that has swept me off the Grid.
Myth? Legend? I am already more than one year old, and ever since I was born I have been hearing tales about the existence of a remote, fantastic place, that has been out there like… forever.
As the tales go, “The Founders” of our world came from out there, probably escaping from three lethal plagues called “stress”, “boredom”, and “frustration”.
(The legend doesn’t say anything about what kind of virus might cause that).
They came in search of freedom, and to pursue happiness and make their dreams come true.
That place, the place they came from, it’s mentioned -in whispers- as “Real Life”.
I’ve heard –as probably most of you have- that the place in impenetrable, remains uncharted, and populated by hostile and deadly predators. Apparently it involves a very large place called “Universe”, that is 15,000,000 millions years old… (I know what you are thinking, but legends are always exaggerated).
It is said that a “Big Bang” started it, and it has zillions of SIMS, that, oddly, are not flat, but round. Some are hot balls of explosive fire and shine light. Some are colder and should be suitable for something the tales refer to as “First Life”.
So… being a curious soul with a knack for adventure, plus the fact that any mystery obsesses me, I decided to explore.
I was told to look for a wise old magical avi that lives in some enchanted forest. I had a lot of trouble finding him. I had to face all kind of perils and challenges. When I got to the forest, the place was terribly laggy, and I had to fight all kinds of monsters, made out of more than one thousand prims. My determination was tried in unbelievable ways.
I crashed to the point of exhaustion. A witch showed up and told me that if I went on I was going to look like Ruth forever and ever, and she cast a spell on me, but luckily I had my anti-spell hud on. I kept on going, struggling with my scripts that had begun to fail by the minute.
By the time I reached the heart of the enchanted forest I had already touched bottom: I was down to the “duck walk” again. I found a very old, short, strange looking being. He told me he was a Slelf. (hardly anybody knows about their existence).
He needed proof of my good intentions. I had to answer a few riddles correctly. The Slelf was pleased with my answers and he was willing to share SL’s best kept secret.
He told me, shuddering, of a place in the Grid that sometimes behaved like a portal to what was known to the ancients as “Real Life”.
This place overlooks the ocean and is located somewhere at one point of the Grid’s edge. (That terrifying place no one dares to look down into… who knows what monsters lie beyond).
I located the coordinates in the map, but had to walk, climb, and fly ‘till I dropped. (There’s no way to TP to that place.) When I got there, I waited. (There are some adjustments you have to do under “preferences” –all of that is secret too, of course-).
Then, suddenly, there’s a glitch. And it becomes a worm. And the worm has drilled a “wormhole” and you jump in and the next thing you know… you are”Out There”!

Everything was blurry. It took such a long time to rez I thought I had fallen into a kind of limbo and I would be stranded there for ever.
But, then, all of a sudden, there it was!!
A huge, amazing SIM, full of sound and fury. It’s quite creepy, because it bears a strange and yet disturbing resemblance to our World. Everything looks very much alike… but I don’t think this “world” is made of pixels.
(What ever it is made of I have no idea. Everything looks… “sticky”).
Avis are called “Persons”.
They don’t seem very friendly, but maybe it’s just a first impression.
I was overwhelmed and needed to sit down. I started walking along the streets of what looks like a very large city.
(Isn’t “pushing” restricted here?).
I found a place were there were a lot “persons” writing on laptops –without a writing animation!!! How weird is that?
They also had a lot of food and drinks that they actually swallowed!!!
I realized the first thing I needed to do was to try to find a way to contact the Newspaper.
I approached one of these “persons”. He looked friendlier than the rest. He kept staring at my legs and didn’t seem to mind when I asked him if I could use his laptop.
I told him where I came from, he seemed genuinely surprised, and he said he vaguely remembered having heard of a place like that.
-I thought that place was a legend, he said.
-What? Second Life a legend? We think this place here is a legend!
-I answered. That kind of made us both laugh. (I have to admit the “person” is good looking and, btw, I’ve never seen a male avi with such good hair).
He showed me how to type without a script, and I managed to log into the SLNewspaper and send this, my first report from “Real Life”. I felt a bit relieved.
The “person” told me his name was John Smith. (I have never heard of such a strange name in SL). He gave me an “e-mail” address (I think that kind of works like IMs) and hoped to see me soon. I thanked him but I decided I had to move on. People at the Bar were staring at me, as if I looked weird or something. Maybe because I was way taller than everybody else.
I decided to keep on exploring some more.
I started wandering , totally amazed, thinking what to do next, when I remembered that the old SLelf never told me how to get back into SL.
I realized I was in dire straits. I will have to figure that out, somehow, while I’m “out here” gathering information about this place that turned out to be anything but a legend.
Did we really come from here?
Will I ever find out the truth?
If I manage to stay alive, you will hear from me soon.
I think I’ll have a lot of exciting stuff to tell you.
“Out here” is also called “The World”. (I find that an intriguing coincidence).
And believe me… I’m sensing it’s a dangerous place.
Covadonga Writer on assignment in "The World"

Breezes Thoughts

2008-08-27T11:20:00.002+01:00

Atop the clouds I do lay gazing far away The stormy sea way below crashing on the reef
In between the meadows green fields of flowers do I see, the beauty of life surrounds me.
Embrace what I can It is never enough To dream is such Ecstasy
I awaken to reality oh how I love this Second Life.
Sometimes your dream gets cast away, let it not drift from you Reach out and embrace it smile upon this cloud let not the raging sea take you and dash you Nay never let it get far away

Breezes
I am always searching for something.

Getting to know Charlene Trudeau

2008-08-24T14:10:00.005+01:00

Its quite funny really the amount of people I meet who really do good things in Secondlife but except in their own community they are very little known, Charlene is, in my opinion, one of these people.
We met over advertising - quite normal - but I was really taken aback when I met her. For someone who must have a business brain to be able to run over 30 sims successfully she was so human and also nervous. Some people just don't know how to even start with advertising themselves but still do so well simply because they are real.
I know how trite that sounds here in SL where no-one is supposed to be what they seem, but there are 'real' people in this unreal world.
Trying to get Charlene to promote herself was not possible, she is who she is and people really need to meet her to know what I mean by that.
Charlene Trudeau is the owner and manager of Skybeam estates a huge undertaking and one she takes very seriously but she is so novel in her approach I find it hard to promote her in any way - its just not necessary.
Skybeam has residential land, commercial, mixed use and the sandbox is at the center of things as it should be for anyone with a passion for building, like Charlene, but it has so much more to offer too. Many, even those who use the sandbox, have no idea what the estate offers:
Charlene Trudeau: I did find out that I may have 'low-key'ed things just a bit too much, when a recent person buying in said 'you know I used to use skybeam sandbox a lot but never realized you had any estate land... how long have you been doing the estate thing?'
Charlene Trudeau: I figure at least a sign might be a good idea at this point :)

I asked Charlene about what she tells people who are looking for somewhere to live and have come to see Skybeam, her answer was very different:
Charlene Trudeau: That's funny because my first advice is to do one's homework and research absolutely everywhere they can (including skybeam) before making any decision :)
I suppose that I care about making their life in SL the best one I can... and that I am always an IM away, that I take their investment seriously and believe they should expect something back beyond just the plot of dirt they live on.
That they can expect answers to questions, response to concerns and a community around them (even if they choose not to participate in that community actively) anyone can set out a region and mark it for sale, we're trying to be something more than that.
I asked her about the community and activities:
Charlene Trudeau: right now the 'regularly scheduled' activities are: our friday night dance night, this is held at a different location throughout the estate each week this week, its technically being held off estate, but on a joined partner estate :) we have one big monthly party that I hold at two different times the same day to try to cover more time zones plus on Thursday nights I've started a Q&A with Charlene Trudeau, to just come ask anything about SL, if you stump me I'll find out and get bring back my homework the next week :) I also do a monday morning chat hour to wake up and start the week with.
Some times I don't feel accessible enough to my folks any more so I'm trying to make times to do so.
Now, in addition to that, which is all official 'estate' stuff, I have Neill on Harbour Cove who has put together a sailing club, has two different fishing games available to folks, a swim hud arrangement so you can swim down and explore the water ruins and so on, so resident available activities are starting to crop up too. Then SkyBeam Pastures is designed to appeal to the horse crowd, I have not done well marketing it to date because it came in around the same time RFL really exploded.
(Here i must explain that Charlene is very much involved with RFL also and is at the moment of this conversation bald for RFL.)
Charlene Trudeau: So from Pastures you can ride up into trailridge, harbour cove and on into the university region and really over into Instituto Espanol which is a Spanish language school
Dana: All part of skybeam estates?
Charlene Trudeau: yup :) Wilson Voight runs the school and its his own private venture but has made his home on SkyBeam
Talking about her covenant and how she goes about selling she had this to say:
Charlene Trudeau: At the time the only covenants out there (and far too many today) mostly said you can't do this this this and this and NO REFUNDS EVER and now and then 'Buy the land, pay your tier, and leave me alone' not in those words necessarily but that's what I felt when I read them.
I was looking to ask people to spend real money for the privilege of living on the estate and I felt that meant I had a responsibility to them too so my covenant is long, and longer now than it was then. I try to explain some of the 'why', not just the rule, which takes time.
Charlene and Skybeam do have a website but as she said its not really there as a sales tool its there so she can keep her residents informed check it out for yourself here http://www.skybeamestates.com/
You can get your own idea of the kind of person Charlene is by reading her blog and decide for yourself. You can read more about Skybeam estates HERE
Dana Vanmoer

Kids Being Kids

2008-08-23T11:45:00.002+01:00

I was intrigued when I met two children avatars while working on the SL5B exhibit stories and spent some time talking with them.
I decided to look into the children of sl. Why I wondered ?
I am talking about adults who are living as children in second life, some as role players, I was told they have decided to explore their inner child and live a children in sl.
So I asked my friend Myrtil Igaly to take me touring kid friendly sl.
There are several sims that are really kid friendly and are set up with fun games and places to go explore.
Our first visit took us to Nemo Beach on Goony Island where I met some other children having kid fun. One of my first new acquaintances was wearing a sign that said “ Alms for Orphan “ but Myrtil informed me he had a father in sl.
We took a walk around , meeting a mudzombie on the way who was quickly dispatched by Ricky Geesink, the non-orphan.
They led me to a raft on which we joined about 5 other kids for a ride across the lake.
On the other side we visited a the Vortex, a dj club that accepts kid, adults, furries or who ever wants to come to a party.
We then stopped at another sim, Rascal , where I got to see Myrtil’s store with all kinds of kid’s stuff to buy.
Fergotten Dabu tried so to impress me by giving me fun items to use but I already had them, so he cried!
Our next visit was to a “teen “ sim, Undercity, New Babbage . It looked like a dismal inner city . I learned from Rai Fargis that it is part sci fiction and will become a role play place soon.
“It was a thriving city once, but people built an Artificial Intelligence for security which became too powerful and killed all adults so its only kids and teens here.”
There is a skate park , hidden places to play and lots of visitors.
I visited a children’s mall which had everything a child would need or want for sale. If you would like to adopt a child in sl it is possible too an Adoption Agency, of which there are several.
I was surprised to find that there are so many children friendly places to go and play.
From reading the SLC Blog I learned that they are really into policing themselves as children to be safe from predators and reporting such activity to avoid abuse.
The reason I decided to do this article was the strange policy activity toward children’s builds at the time of the SL5B which changed several times during the preparation and provoked many protests.

I visited the SL5B exhibit by Loki Eliot and friends and wrote about it in Childhood Dreams.
I talked to him after visiting his sim, Goony Beach, which he built for himself originally depicting scenery from his own childhood.
He said “I came to SL with no idea what it was, i chose a kid avatar becos thats what best expresses my personality and i stayed because i love to make things and create stuff.”
He made it for 6 or 7 friends who were some of the few children in sl at that time. Now the sim is a favorite hangout for the kids in sl who number in the thousands..
Take a look at the SLC Blog on the web, and visit the Vortex to get a flavor of the fun to be had and think of your inner child and be kind to the children of sl.
For some they are reliving their childhood like Loki, and for some perhaps having the childhood they never had in real life.
By Gemma Cleanslate

A Conversation with Gentle Heron about Virtual Ability Island

2008-08-19T11:16:00.003+01:00

I found out about Virtual Ability Island through a friend.
She had left me an offline IM and a LM. Her IM was brief and read,
"OMG! Nazz … You have to check this out."
Knowing she rarely overstated things, I decided to take a look.
I arrived at the site and waited a bit for it to rezz before moving. I had apparently joined in on the tail end of a tour so waited until the tour completed before introducing myself to Gentle Heron, the tour leader.
I explained to her that I was a freelance reporter and would be interested in possibly doing a story.
She agreed, but needed a little time before she could meet and she asked me to look around for a bit.
While waiting, I wandered over to the TP point and began reading the signs that surround an arriving visitor. "Virtual Ability Island has been developed through a partnership between the Alliance Library System and Virtual Ability Inc. (VAI).
The goal of the partnership is to develop and island with an orientation and training center for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses." The welcome sign read.
I pulled out a blank note card and started writing out some questions in preparing for our chat.
"Hello Nazz, I'm free now if you're ready." Gentle called out as she approached me. "So how can I help you? And should we do this in IM?" She asked.
I replied that IM would be fine and begin with my first question.
NL: Tell me a little about Gentle Heron?
GH: I'm a Mom of three from Colorado. I have MS and work part time from home. I am president of the RL 501(c) 3 Corporation Virtual Ability, Inc. The Virtual Ability group and this island are two projects of that corporation in second life. We are an all volunteer / donation group.
NL: How was it that VAI discovered SL?
GH: Two friends, SuperQuiet Heron and Sodapop Heron and I checked out virtual worlds because we wanted to find a community where we could "live" virtually since we were all pretty much affected by our impairments. Second life was the most fully developed at that time. We came in here June of 2007, which was before the corporation (VAI). We founded The Heron Sanctuary (THS). It is a group, not just a place. The group is a support community for people with any kind of disability. The two groups, THS and VAI have a hangout island, called VAI Sanctuary. The groups work together.
NL: An Interesting choice for a name, any significance beside the obvious of you three having the last SL Surname?
GH: Of course, a sanctuary is a safe place, where those who are alike can come together for mutual support and can be among those who understand your situation. On our website you will see a summary of the research showing the benefits to people with disabilities of coming into and interacting in virtual worlds. In real life I can't stand unaided, but here I can walk, swim and dance ... anything. Because of that, for me, and for many others, this is far more than a game. It IS a second life.
NL: How many hours a day do you put in SL?
GH: Uh oh! A dangerous question, some days none at all, if I am too worn out or have too much work for my real life employer. Other days, well, let's just say it's more than eight. Working on this island project really is a full time job. I also work part time work for an educational research firm from home and I have three children to support, remember. MS really limits the energy you have, so that limits what you can accomplish. You really have to prioritize.
NL: What has been your most interesting experience in SL so far?
GH: Interesting? Gosh so many. Would you believe I have been bull riding in here? There are so many fun things to do in SL that I can't in RL, even simple things like going to a concert or seeing an art gallery or simply walking in a forest. Those are things I used to be able to do, and I missed them, but I *can* do them now in SL.
NL: Tell me about some about your plans for VAI and this SIM?
GH: The reason to do this island is to bring more people into SL, to support their learning to use the computer here, and to get them integrated into SL society. We have other ideas we'd like to try, but need to plan carefully and make sure this is successful first. One thing we are experimenting with is a form of housing that reinforces the feeling of community. We'd like to do more experiments along those lines. We're also exploring ideas about enabling meaningful paying employment.
NL: How will you know when you've been successful here?
GH: Success isn't how many people we keep in the group, but how many move into SL and they begin to interact and take advantage of what goes on in SL. But surprisingly, many stay or come back to the group to help others.

Sloop - THE MASK

2008-08-18T10:43:00.002+01:00

Let’s be honest: don’t you sometimes find yourself staring at you avatar , wondering who the hell that virtual person is?
It’s supposed to be you… but… Is it… really?
It is said that the biggest load we carry in our lives is our personality. Our personality is the result of our basic self, after being molded as we interact with the people and circumstances we have to deal with in life.
It takes a lot of strength to be “that person” the others have come to know and take for granted.
It is OK.
That’s the way the world goes around.
But that social personality is there at the expense of other possibilities that remain hidden behind our face, the face that stares back at us from the mirror every morning, that glances back at us from the store windows as we walk by.
And sometimes we are tired of that face, of answering to the same name, of being so predictable.
So, since the beginning of times, other masks were made, probably in the hope of becoming someone else.
But, if you think about it carefully, it becomes quite clear that the fake mask, by concealing, actually reveals.
We choose a mask that represents someone else we also are, deep inside.
Someone else that needs a face, because our flesh and blood face has already an owner.
The person that looks like we do everyday.
The person that answers to our name.
Masks, of couse, are related to myths. And myths are the richest source for tales.
Our real face is the mask we are wearing to portray our authorized personality.
When we choose to wear a mask, we are giving permission to a hidden part of the personality we project in public, to show up.
Maybe a darker side, maybe a brighter side, but most probably a truthful side. A side that has not yet been tamed.
In our society we don’t wear masks, unless we have to attend a costume party.
Or outlaws that obviously need to hide their faces. (It’s quite obvious here that the mask is showing who they really are).
But our personality is a load we carry. It takes it’s toll.
It keeps our mind sound, but it’s a bit like a straitjacket.
So, when we dream about being some one else… we dream about freedom. A freedom we long for, even if, given the choice, we would stick to being who we “officially” are.
Think about the myths and tales that were built around a mask. Off the top of my head… Zorro, the Lone Ranger, Batman, Spiderman, The Phantom of the Opera, The Man in the Iron Mask, Darth Vader, Gatubela, Superman.
Remember: masks are both, concealing and revealing.
In all the cases mentioned above… when the character wears the mask… his real self shows up, often displaying a very different personality, and a different name.
So the personality that lives a “normal” life, is really used to mislead people about who they really are.
Looking “normal” is the real disguise. The masked outfits unleash and reveal a deeper nature that otherwise remains hidden.
So, besides Halloween and costume parties… what other chance do we have to hide behind a mask , conceal our real life personality and reveal who we really are?
I am thinking about Second Life.
Aren’t you?
And I’m not talking about becoming “somebody else”.
I already wrote about that, explaining why I don’t think that’s possible: those myth based characters I mentioned, are not schizophrenic. They are just very complex beings… that have understood that sometimes the personality that relates to our identity is a heavy burden.
It has promised to help us feel safe, and to keep our act together… but it’s also a jailor that won’t let us out of the cage, if it thinks we are planning to stop flying in circles and instead, fly away.
So take a little time and take a good look at the character you have created in SL. Or all of them: the main character… and the alts.
This “game” is much less innocent than it seems.
Those characters are concealing who you are supposed to be in RL. But they are really revealing you who you also really are, who you really want to be, the way you really feel about your inner self.
Watch yourself in the mask you’ve made from scratch from the default avatar. What does it tell you?
And… most important… Are you listening?
Covadonga Writer

Breezes Thoughts - Tai Chi

2008-08-15T09:52:00.003+01:00

Tai chi

Is this not the darndest assortment of avatars in a Japanese Tai chi dance?

Buddha would certainly perk right up could he envision this happening.

Tranquility does emote from this beautiful spot though. Bree spends time here dreaming up all sorts of visions that could be.

Many times I have told you stories of happenings here.

The crowd nowadays is much more sedate. How I miss the rain clouds the snow storms the stories we told each other.

One day I was promptly told to keep quiet. ha , one does not tell Bree to be quiet. One fella I know may tell me to shush lol, but that is rare and I must admit well deserved.

Have fun today

Bree

Breezes Thoughts - Refuge

2008-08-11T09:30:00.004+01:00

On my journeys I came upon a very lovely place. It is called SL-refuge.

It is a place where ladies in need of help may come for a bit of rest and peacefulness.

I met Sgt Panama who along with Josephina (of the beautiful Club Josephina) run this delightful and beautful build.

The land is donated and built by Josephina and consuls with Sgt Pan. Sgt Pan is a wonder in herself, Knowledge of several languages, a veteran, a Mother, a welder and a wonderful caring person.

I wandered over this land and sat on a bell atop the church.

It is such a peaceful place and Bree loves the comfort of watching from high above to see lovely grounds. Surely there is peace to be found here.

Please to read all that is offered here, whether it be for yourself or perhaps you know of someone who would benefit from what these ladies offer you.

I congratulate your efforts Josephina and Sgt Panama and oh yes, I cannot forgot gladys the cleaning Lady hahah what a delight she is. So shy, I could not coax a picture from her, but I heard her singing as I wandered around.

Be sure to come visit the Club Josephiina and also visit the Old Mill and shopping is nearby enjoy my friends.

Background Info:

Need a home for the homeless? Somewhere temporary yet safe to stay until you get back on your feet? No money, yet want somewhere to rest your head after a busy day wandering the streets of SL?
Welcome to the Second Life Refuge. We provide free, time limited (depending on demand) temporary accommodation for those genuinely in need. We have basic etiquette and behavioural standards as we want people to be safe and comfortable during their stay.
The location of the refuge because it is on a need-to-know basis, applicants for the free housing need to put a brief explanation as to their need on a notecard and drop it to Josephina Bonetto in-world.

Sloop - HOME ALONE

2008-08-07T10:57:00.004+01:00

What are we humans up to when we have the place for ourselves, when no one is watching?
I guess there’s quite a list of activities that most of us have engaged in when we are “home alone”.
Remember when you were kids?.
Maybe you were ten and had a newborn baby brother. Didn’t you even once take the pacifier from him and gave it a taste… for old times' sake?
Girls love to get their hands on someone else’s doll… and sometimes brake it. Haven’t you ever gone through you parent’s drawers and closets, trying on their clothes? I loved to walk around in my mother’s pumps, and, I don’t know how… she always knew I had had them on the next time she decided to wear them. Not to mention what I did to her make up.
We often suspected we were being held prisoners. Those people couldn’t be our real parents. We must have been born Princes and Princesses and… “Oh My God , they must be so worried at the Castle, trying to find us.” We needed proof. So we turned the house upside down trying to find old pictures, or letters, or stuff that would tell us things about who the grown ups we lived with REALLY were.
Then we get older, and decide not to look for proof anymore… we start looking for loose change in pockets and, if possible… for cigarettes. Or grass. (Which might have shed a new light on who our folks were… maybe they weren’t such twits after all.)
Teenage guys also apply themselves to the stack of Playboys the keep under the mattress along with the Spiderman comics. I guess they also spend a lot of time trying to unscramble the porn channel.
When we are older… I guess we girls use that free time to wax our legs, to pluck our eyebrows, to paint our toe nails, to smear all kinds of concoctions on our face.
Guys get hungry and eat chicken out of the fridge without using a knife and fork, or even a plate.
Sometimes they get bored and try to fix household appliances, that, like Humpty Dumpty, will never be put together again.
Some people like to go around the house stark naked. We also might play some very loud music and dance like crazy around the house, or watch an old movie – a very sad one- so we can cry to our heart’s contempt.
And… we also log in to SL, when we are home alone. And… what is it we do in SL, when we are alone… when no one is watching? When our friends are not on line?
The feeling is pretty much the same… isn’t it?
At first…when you are noob… the quantities of goods and services related to sex becomes intriguing, to say the least. I always found porn basically ridiculous, a total turn off. But all those places for kinky sex… and all those gadgets… SL seemed to have an infinite supply.
Avi’s are always kind of cute, no matter how pervert they want to look, ha ha, so I never took that seriously. But… I was quite amazed and curious and did a lot of exploring… by myself… when no one was watching. (Com’on!!! Don’t tell me you didn’t.)
But then there’s also“normal” sex, and when you are a noob you don’t know it comes along with the furniture. When I bought my first bed I didn’t understand what the hell was that. So I spent a lot of time –home alone-, trying to figure out how that worked. And I was NOT going to ask around… and decided to put that away for good.
(Needless to say a couple of months later a boyfriend became part of my Second Life and OH did we figure out how those scripts worked…) (blush).
You know what I really like?
To go shopping by myself and try on clothes and shoes.
I like to go looking for new hair styles. I spend a lot of time trying those “demos” on. I try to find a new look, trying on some make up too. I spend a lot of Lindens and I often end up looking like before I started. I also try something on and decide to “edit”. It’s amazing how good I am at trashing perfectly good items.
When I realize, once again, that my inventory is unmanageable, I spend some time sorting it out. That is boring, so I give up quite soon.
Then I start checking my friends “profiles”, to see if something has changed. Let's see… are these two still together? Did they add some new info about themselves?
Except for those very few and really close ones… WHO these people really are?? Maybe this cool handsome latin lover is an old lady from Cincinnati who is fed up with Bingo and now finds her kicks in SL.
I am sure some of them are alts, but It’s really a challenge to figure that out. I have some suspects… though. They better watch themselves. I’ll blow their cover sooner or later, he he.
Then I decide to update my profile. Change the photos, add new pics. What groups do I belong to? Why am I in an S&M club??? Was I drunk? Let’s get out of there.
What about doing something useful?Time to go once more to a sandbox and try to improve my building skills. I can only build very simple things… mostly square or flat shaped. So whenever I try to do a more complicated object it turns out to be such a contraption than immediately attracts the attention of other builders who know what they are doing and try to help… which spoils the fun of being alone playing with prims.
Then I decide to go exploring. Find cool places and meet people that I’ll keep to myself for a while.
“I have some friends that my old friends don’t know… hahaha”.
Feels good for like two days. Then they get deleted. (My true friends are a very serious thing).
What about searching for cool animations?A new hud, so I can change the way I walk, sit, fly?
A new game for my parties? Dances!!!! Oh, yes. Need some new dances for my Chimera. I spend quite sometime trying them on. Last ones I got? Very slow dancing ones. Worth every penny. Ask my bf.
And what people do when they are NOT home alone… well… no need to comment on that.☺))))))
Covadonga Writer

The SL Democratic Movement calls for LL to balance the ToS and governance of SL

2008-08-06T09:33:00.003+01:00

Throughout history, human being and its technology have always been in an intricate two-way relationship, changing our concepts of being and reality along the way. With the creation of Cyberspace we even made ourselves a new plane of existence, a new being. With usercreated, immersive 3D virtual worlds like Second Life being the pinnacle in that field at the moment.
Despite the fact the Second Life world is entirely created by its users, by its residents, the grid operator Linden Lab uses a totalitarian control and governance model which is all too common with providers across cyberspace.
The fact this world is being created by its residents and the intricate interdependency relation stemming from this between Linden Lab and the residents, should be cause and basis for establishing a novel relationship between provider and user, that truly acknowledges the residents' investments and existence, essential for the creation and sustaining of the Second Life world.

What is needed is a revolutionary change! A change that is needed to create together the possibility of a democratic Second Life, and in extension Metaverse and Cyberspace, that will respect the civil rights of its users.
Therefor, the SL Democratic Movement calls for Linden Lab to balance the Terms of Service and governance of the Second Life world:
We demand that future contract changes will be negotiated.
Accordingly, we demand change of the pretext of the Terms of Service regarding change of contract to enable this.
We demand a meaningful socio-political dialog between Linden Lab and the SL community and a public, transparent, non hierarchical structure with meaningful voting procedures and a possibility of referenda to enable this.
We demand the abolishment of articles 2.6 and 3.2.b and similar statements in the Terms of Service.
A profound change in these articles will make room for the full acknowledgment of you and your investments and for protection against arbitrary banning and deletion and in effect towards rights of due process and fair “trial”. Accordingly, the abuse report system should be changed towards these goals.
We want Linden Lab to actively further and intensify its open source plans and efforts, towards open sourcing the server code and a truly open grid.

These changes need the support of the SL community to become reality! We, SL Residents, need to start acknowledge our rights first! Join the revolution today and start agitating for a better world!
SL Democratic Movement's campaign for democratic reform of the rule of Second Life has been underway for several months, and is motivated both by tensions between Linden Lab and their customers in Second Life and instances of mismanagement of the service as well as by a deep-seated philosophical conviction that users of Second Life ought to be acknowledged with their participation in the world both by right and necessity.
SL Democratic Movement is a non-profit organization advocating self-rule, transparent and fair governance, resident rights and democracy within the virtual world of Second Life.

SLDM is not affiliated with Linden Lab or Linden Research, Inc. Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc

Breezes thoughts Leaves and Seas

2008-08-04T12:07:00.003+01:00

The wind is blowing and the leaves are rustling
The springs are flowing and the mind is dreaming
Doth Lady Bree know from hence she drifts?
Across the seas, the waves do carry forth
A land awaits her, the time is far away.
Let not the sands carry her from where she wishes to go.
Her love of adventure may never evolve
The mind is searching for ways to part the clouds,
willing to speed her to the land she most desires.
What lies ahead, the future is yet to reveal
I live in a land of dreams, what else is there?
Whether your dreams come true or not, is it not wonderful to have a dream in your life? To me it is and I hope those who read this have one too.
Bree XXX
I am always searching for something.

Well its news to me! - Once bitten twice shy?

2008-08-02T12:22:00.006+01:00

A good place to learn stuff while on SL is a place called Help Island. I was there and had a bad experience because I didn't ask questions, I hope by telling you about it you can learn from my mistakes:
I was at Help Island walking around and learning and exploring, when a girl walked up me and asked if she could bite me and that she needed to bite 25 people before she could get a badge.
I asked her if anything would happen to my avatar and she said no, nothing at all, so I let her bite me.
It appeared that nothing was wrong.
Then I talked to someone, who I knew, who happened to be a healer. She healed me and it took about 15 minutes. So my health was lowered by letting her bite me? I was told I would vanish had I not been healed.
Not good:(
When going to help island and if you have questions always ask someone who is a mentor, or ask questions from someone you might know in SL who has been here awhile, and if you're uncertain about anything then use your good judgement and don't let them do something to you.
Some people just might tell you something that isn't quite true, like your avatar being hurt.
Your avatar can never be hurt.
There is no health or death to an avatar unless you're in a role playing battle sim and even then as soon as you go to a different sim the health is reset.
I'm still a newbie myself and learning, I hope I can help you to avoid some of the common pitfalls and decoys in SL for us newbies.
Remember to always have fun here on SL
Glitter Xeltentat

Reader submission: Misappropriation of Native American Heritage in SL

2008-07-31T13:54:00.004+01:00

Dear Dana,
I am participating in a project in Second Life called Native Lands, which is part of the USC Network Culture Project: SL and the Public Good Challenge. http://networkculture.usc.edu/ Native Lands is a place in SL to create and communicate authentic Native American culture.
A problem we face is inappropriate use of Native heritage in Second Life. The creation and communication of inauthentic, false and fraudulent "Native" culture here, and the volume, both in the sense of amount and sound level, of the false heritage that is being generated here drives out the authentic Native Americans.
At first I assumed most of the misappropriation was innocent. I still believe many non-Natives who try to create or interpret or claim Native heritage in some way are simply misguided.
But there are many others who deliberately misguide, mislead and defraud as a political statement.
In SL, this type of fraud takes three forms:

Americans who may or may not have Native ancestry, but who are not eligible to be enrolled in a federally or state recognized tribe, and get belligerent about it.
Inappropriate use of Native imagery in role play - Goreans are in this category.
People who know they have no Native ancestry, but believe Native culture should be in the public domain for anyone to use or create at will.

Role players and ordinary wannabes are unfortunate but familiar background noise in Indian Country. However, the last category of frauds, the people with no Native ancestry who are using Native culture to advance their political agendas, are a serious problem that we need to address straight away.
Our Native American national symbols must be removed from their property.
Native Americans are dead serious about our National sovereignty. Every Native person has a gaping raw wound covered by that flag. You will certainly get a reaction if you touch it.
When I saw my flag along with a dozen others flying over one of those frauds' collection of fake Indian junk, it literally made me sick to my stomach.
I have no idea why these people are not satisfied with their own ethnicity and nationality. It is very strange. I have called on friends here in Second Life who have professional insights into how to approach the problem.
My two principle contacts in SL are Schmilsson Nilsson of the Understanding Islam project, and a French anthropologist named Sky Light. The worst offenders seem to be French, many of whom speak very little or no English.
I am preparing a complaint of violation of community standards to submit to Linden Labs about one extremely offensive display by a person who goes by the name of W**** S***, who runs an entertainment venue on the N********* sim. I am also looking into legal recourse against a person calling herself q******* H****, who is selling items labelled as Indian made in violation of US federal law.
I dont know how far I will get, but at least I can draw attention to how this has progressed from extremely bad taste to causing real harm to Native Americans in Second Life.
Thanks for your time,
Nany Kayo