A Laggy Problem in Foxworth Part 2: “It’s Your Fault”

Recently, Foxyfurman Kunami had some trouble with lag on his sim, lag that turned out to be from a sim that was basically a Shoutcast server farm. Although Linden Lab eventually took care of the problem, it was after a friend of his found it and alerted them. In the meantime, it appears some in LL kept pointing the finger back at Foxyfurman, as this note sent by him suggests.

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Bix thought you would find this entertaining, the "it's your fault" response by LL. I do want to add as a side note when I called LL I got Gareth Ontyne on the line, by moving my ticket someone took care of this the next day, so the problem was fixed and everyone knows what happened, it is obvious that the shoutcast server was basically locking up all the performance, but the "canned response" in words is just stupid. I commend the actions but the BS that "blame the sim owner" is just so stupid it is funny.

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Foxyfurman:

Re: Huge Lagg issues on my sim

Spontaneously about a week ago we have had HUGE lagg spikes, we have tried shutting down scripts section by section, with zero help, your service desk told me to re compile all my top scripts into LSL, this is NOT the problem, and it will break many items. We have shut down section by section we still have huge problems, basically my sim is un-useable at this time. Again I have tried shutting scripts off section by section and the only way it even works OK is when ALL scripts are off, even a few scripts will over tax the sim. I have NEVER in a year had this issue and have added nothing new, yes I have restarted, many times including a LL initiated re start. I was informed by my manager that this could have started mid Jan.(ish)but just not as bad, not sure who is new sharing our server but this is a huge mess, thanks for taking care of this ASAP.

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Gareth
Linden Lab Support:

Hi Foxyfurman,

Thanks for contacting us in regards to this issue.

I am going to escalate this ticket to the appropriate department and they will contact you shortly via email regarding your request. In the meantime, if you need to contact us again about this issue, please add a comment to this ticket rather than creating a new ticket.

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Spike Linden
Linden Lab Support

Hello Foxyfurman,

Thank you for your ticket regarding your region and the performance issues.
I'm sorry to say that if there are lag spikes in the way you have described and they continue after restarts, then the source of the problem is within your region. As you have scripted spikes, then it will be scripted items within your region causing this.

Every time you restart a region, it will change server, so other regions can not keep causing issues if you move from host to host.

How were you disabling scripts section by section? This can't actually be done completely.
Unchecking the Run Scripts option in About Land will only disable scripts for non-parcel owner. You can't actually disable scripts for items that are owned by the parcel owner. So if a parcel is deeded to a group, all deeded items will still be running. If a parcel is owned by an avatar, then all items belonging to that avatar will still be running, with both 'All Residents' and 'Group' unchecked for Run Scripts.

This can help you narrow down the problem though, as you can eliminate most parcel/objects through this method.

I've had a look at the region today and script time is high (18-20ms). The chances are high that as avatars go to the region you will be running low on available resources and start to have issues. In this case your 'only' option is to look at your content. You will have to either re-script more efficiently or remove items completely from the region. There is no other choice for this type of issue.

Please make sure to look at our wiki page for 'Improving Region Performance'. This page can help you greatly in managing your region better. Key thing to remember is that you can't just fill a region with anything you want and expect it to work. You 'must' manage your regions content effectively.
TICKET CLOSED

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Ticket RE OPENED

Foxyfurman:

This was fixed prior to your investigation :)

Someone from LL moved the shout cast server sim that was running on the same CPU and like magic everything is totally fine. We are crazy careful about what we put down and paranoid about Time Dilation and our total script time. With a shout cast sim as a "virtual neighbor" our time dilation was 70 now it is 99. In addition for fun we ported to these shout cast sims and all of them were horrific with lag/with time dilation in the 80-50 range and all of their virtual neighbors were a train wrecks as well regardless of ANY avatars.

We had shut down all scripts in the estate manager panel and still had lag this is how we know to look OUTSIDE our sim. It is not always the sim owners fault as you say.

Sorry I re open this ticket but this caused my sim to basically stop in its tracks, it will never happen to me again because I will know what to look for, but I know others will not be so creative in looking outside their sim for the problem.

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It seems persistence is in order when dealing with the Lindens. Fortunately, Foxyfurman has plenty of it.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Discussing Second Life in Real Life 2

Some time ago, I discussed some of the more interesting moments when talking about Second Life in real life (link). A few more things have happened since then.

Friends of mine have mentioned a few stories. One college student moaned that during high school, his classmates then considered him a “freak” for hanging out here. Others described showing it to friends and family, who didn’t always get it. One of the more inspiring stories was about one friend. In real life, she’s bound to a wheelchair. She once talked to some online friends about her wheelchair getting a little worn. Some time later, she received a check in the mail, enough to get her the new wheelchair she wanted.

From me, a few more stories. One neighbor of mine asked about the people I meet on Second Life. I mentioned some, but what got her attention were the people with disabilities, such as being unable to walk in real life, but getting about with ease here. Another was one former friend whom in real life had lost her voice due to cancer, but was able to converse normally here. My neighbor told me it sounded interesting, and would go there if she had a computer.

And some of my discussions end up with comical twists. Word had spread at my workplace during the last election that I write for an online newspaper. They still ask me about it a little, though are usually more interested in “Facebook” and “Farmville” than Second Life. One lady and I talked a little about how you could modify your character to look more or less like you want it to, whether to something like the user, a science-fiction exotic, or a glamour girl. The lady happened to be noticeably thin, and later on while talking, commented aloud she wouldn’t mind having a larger backside. I grinned, “You realize this is the first time outside of Second Life anyone’s talked to me about getting a bigger behind?” We both had a good laugh out of it.

Another day, another coworker asked about the online paper, then hearing it was about goings on in Second Life asked about that. I described it some. Then he asked, “Could you have sex with the girls there?” I was a little surprised that he’d bring that up, though this coworker did like to talk about the seedy side of life. I answered, “Well, you could engage in, virtual intimacy with a girl there if you wanted, and there are a few places that cater to that sort of thing. But just a few. Most people are there for other things.” He then grinned, “Have you ever done that?” My answer, “Um, I did tell you I go about there as a humanoid fox in a reporter's outfit. Do you imagine me going about with the ladies there as that?” Apparently either he could or he wasn’t listening, as his next few comments were that what I needed was a little “noogie,” even if just online.

I could have mentioned a few places I got brought to by friends or by accident, but it was probably best I didn’t.

Bixyl Shuftan

Today in SL Newspaper

In Main News, M&M Creations will be offering sculpt tutorials at Book Island on Friday and Saturday. Also, we had a chance to talk to Cypress Rosewood about the recent burglary in his real-life home, and updates in the case. In Community, we take a look at a childrens' store in Second Life. And in Extra Extra, a tribute poem: "Setting Suns."

M&M sculpt tutorial 3

This tutorial is a big step forwards and still easy to follow for all who would like to create advanced textures with
shade for the more complex sculpted prims in-world.
It is based on Fashion-Sculpties, but all knowledge can be used for all sculpted prims and even for regular prims.
Much more tools of the Grapic Program are used and to use your textures in-world you need some building skills and experience!!
Friday February 5th at Book-Island 12 PM SLT
Sunday February 7th at Moolto-Island 12 PM SLT

Update on Cypress Rosewood

Last week, Second Life Musician Cypress Rosewood was the target of a robbery in real life when a burglar broke into his home (link). Cypress posted on his blog, “our Macintoshes were stolen, my wife's jewelry, two very special guitars including a 1935 Kay Kraft that I received after my grandfather passed, and my main microphone was trashed.“ Fortunately, he had some instruments with him as he was out of town, and having recently upgraded his computer had backed up the hard drive, “you can never have enough backups.”

Of the help he was given, “The outpouring from SL fans and friends the past few days has been overwhelming. It has brightened our mood and spirits here in RL immensely. ... I would like to thank a few people who have been instrumental in helping out with benefits and support. In no particular order, a big thanks to Woode Wood, Jana Kyomoon Hamlet Au, Delinda Dyrssen, Cellandra Zon, Pooky Amsterdam, Von Johin, Crap Mariner, Truelie Telling, Troy McCluhan, Torben Asp, Jess Oranos, Fricker Fracker, Hathead Rickenbacker, Escape Unplugged, Leanna Luftig, Frets Nirvana and Heath Elvejhem and so many more. All people who have helped this past week and fostered publicity making people aware of the situation, please know that it has just helped out immensely.” Cypress stated through donations he was able to get a new computer.

Recently, Second Life Newspaper had a chance to talk with Cypress about the incident, saying there was now a suspect in the case and a warrant for his arrest issued, “he has not been caught yet. I got the heirloom guitar back though.” The burglar had listed the two guitars on Craigslist, “he is not very bright, lucky for me. The detective told me to go buy a lottery ticket.” Cypress, “posted a counter ad, saying they were stolen. The guy that bought them contacted me, as he scours the guitars several times a day on craigslist.” Cypress was soon contacted by a guitar shop, and they had a photocopy of the seller’s drivers license.

On his blog, Cypress stated he had both guitars back, “I have no idea if the jewelry or the computers will ever be found. Will have to see what develops, and if this person is the actual person who broke into our home or not. The guy does have a record and the detective says they will arrest him on burglary charges.”

Cypress soon had to leave, as he was already back at work doing more music videos, “We are working a couple. This one we are working on is Europa Under Ice.” He also had another available, “Color my Dream.”

“I was able to perform live music into Second Life this past weekend again with the grand generosity of the SL community and it makes my heart sing. Thanks so much for the support. My family and I sincerely appreciate it. It has seemed like a team effort with all the positive energy. Sincerely, Cypress Rosewood“

(Picture from Delinda Dyrssen)

Bixyl Shuftan

Dragon Sighting and Dress the Lady Competition at Mystery

The Mystery sim continues to be the place for surprises when at a huge red dragon makes an appearance. Also, the staff feels it's time for a new look for the club greeter, and wants YOU to help out in the "Dress the Lady" contest.

For more, go to Community

ACS gets ready for RFL in SL

American Cancer Society (ACS)
Meeting 30 January 2010

The ACS held a 'meet and greet' of their Relay For Life of Second Life PR/Marketing Committee, which is headed up by Poppy Zabelin (area Chair) and Breezy Carver (area Co-Chair), in preparation for their  annual fund raising efforts through Relay for Life (RFL).  Fundraising will begin in March and conclude with the annual RFL event in July.   Teams are currently being formed to participate in the July event. 

Over the previous fundraising season, over $275,000 USD was raised to fund cancer research, education and prevention.   Distribution of funds can been seen at the ACS website blog http://cancer.blogs.com/international/ and the RFL official blog http://rflofsl.blogspot.com.  Additional information can be found at  http://twitter.com/RelayForLife_SL/.  The RL RFL community has recognized the SL RFL efforts, acknowledging that a lot of money was raised through SL.  Twelve to fifteen percent of the funds raised in SL go to support the International Relay for Life.  This year, notecards will be available for anyone wanting to see how the funds are distributed.  Out of 5,230 relays around the world, RFL in SL ranked 112th in 2009 for fundraising. 

The overall aim of the PR/Marketing area committees is to REACH OUT!!!

Poppy gave an overview of the committee structure. Committee members include Beverly Hastings and Salem Draconia (Mission),  HollyJean Allen (Outreach), Nevar Lobo and Amethyst Starostin (International Relations),  Poppy Zabelin and Breezy Carver (Publicity/Media) with Saffia Widdershins as publicity advisor, IshtarAngel Micheline (Photography), Ren Stonecutter (Education) and May Rosebud (Greeters for RFL main event).

MamaP Beerbaum is the Event Co-Chair with overall  responsibility for teams, PR/Marketing, Technology and Security.

Teams will be responsible for advertising their own fundraising events.  An event board has been created for the teams to post their fundraising events.  The boards can be placed at different locations to get the word out about their events. 

Nevar and Amethyst will be available to mentor and teach people from different countries in SL how to start teams, fund raise in their communities and spreading the word about  official events. They are building a team of ambassadors and translators and would like people with different language skils to volunteer to help. The Japanese and Ukraine communities have also become involved and ambassadors are in both of those countries. 

KEY DATES
February 1 – teams registration opens
March 13 – Kickoff Party and start of fundraising!
July 17-18 THE MAIN EVENT – GO RELAY!

By Shellie Sands

Today in SL Newspaper

In Main News, recent happenings at Foxworth are an example of what causes your sim to lag may not be within your sim. In Community, writer Imarad Breen (Arlene Radasky in real life) has finished her first novel, "The Fox," and will be appearing at Book Island and the Waterstage. We also look at Philosophy Professor Herman Bergson as he prepares a discussion on "The Ideal State." And in Extra Extra, we visit the Criss Museum of Contemporary Art. Don't forget to peek at Fashion, where M&M has some provocative new releases.

A Laggy Problem at Foxworth

Recently, the lag at my home sim at Foxworth became particuarly bad, just after January 20. Sim owner Foxyfurman Kumani was among the first to notice, saying he found he was barely moving, and the only others in the sim at the time were five in the Mayan Casino, “It was not long after a Linden Lab restart of the sim.”

Explaining the problem in a group notice, “The first two calls I had to Linden Lab were a total waste of time. One suggestion (of theirs) was to restart the sim. (laughter) Okay, this did not work. The other was to look at our top scripts. We already did this, and even returned new scripts that had been put out during the period of time when the problem started. We tried turning off scripts section by section (in the sim) with no positive results.”

Both his sim manager Aiko Swashbuckler and the sim technician Leonarris Orsini helped Foxyfurman in looking for the problem. Not having found anything, Aiko asked everyone living in the sim to stop tinkering with scripts. But as it turned out, none of the tenants was behind the problem either, “no one in Foxworth did anything to cause this.”

So what caused the intermittent lag? Leonarris did some investigating and finally found the source on Friday Jan 29. The problem was the way sims are stored within Linden Lab’s servers. A sim doesn’t have to be physically next to others on the map and Grid to cause problems. If two sims next to another in storage, what happens in one can affect the other. Aiko explained Foxworth was one of “ several sims on one server” with “three Class Five ones. One of our ‘neighbors’ on the same (server) was running a Shoutcast server farm business.” Foxy went on, “a new place just came online a week or so ago. ... It is so laggy that you can’t even walk at that place, and it is sucking resources from the machine. ... Linden Labs knows of the problem and will fix the recourse allocation or move us to another (server).” He stated Foxworth’s place on the map would not be changed, at most it would “just run on a different machine.”

The following day, Foxy made another group notice, “Linden Lab has moved the offending sim to another server. if you have noticed, you can move now and walk and fly, all good things. Thanks to everyone who helped, and those who suffered the lag along with us.” And everyone was in complete agreement, “it was a nightmare,” “yeah that Shoutcast thing was crap, I'm glad they took care of it so fast,” “Indeed, the lag was horrid. O.o “

And so, peace and harmony was restored to our little corner of the Metaverse.

Bixyl Shuftan

Coming soon

The Clothing Fair commitee is proud to announce the dates for Second Life's 4th Annual Clothing Fair benefitting Relay for Life.  Events are set to launch on Saturday, March 13th at 3pm slt and run 24/7 through Sunday, March 21, 2010 when the doors must close at 9pm SLT.

The Clothing Fair began as a dream three years ago with 34 stores participating in this event for Relay for Life. Since that date, it has grown to over 150 designers over 9 sims and has raised over 11 million Linden Dollars for RFL. 

This year is no different.  Prepare to be immersed in 8 of the greatest "Fashion Cities of the World" surrounding a center sim patterned after the UN Sculpture Gardens containing sculptures from some of SL's most talented artists.

We have some of the cream of the crop coming together in the fashion world of Second Life bringing designs from all over the world to this virtual shopping experience. Each of these designers dedicate months of time getting ready for this event.  They are all committed to raising as much money for Relay for Life as possible. 

This year we are again inviting the Live Musicians and DJ's of Second Life to join us. Covering 24/ 7 through-out the fair, fundraising, and letting us all know just what can be found through-out the 9 sims. 

The Clothing Fair 2010 promises to be even better than ever, featuring:

Over 150 Clothing Designers

Live Music and DJ's to keep you entertained while you shop

St. Patrick's Day Party with RL Keltic Music performed by LabGraal

Photo Contest

Fashion Shows

Treasure Hunts

And Much Much More. ....

I have given away enough of their secrets. Once again, entry into the fair is free.   As the event draws closer, additional details will be announced on the official website: http://slrflclothingfair.blogspot.com/

Special thanks to the Clothing Fair Committee Members, SL- Newspaper , Royal Elite Magazine and the Builders who gave hours of time to this project: Melody Regent and her team from Regent Estates, Mermaidee Juliesse, Seri Writer , Kim Seifert , Viscount Menatep, Luna Barak,  Windyy Lane, Izzie Rexen, Tari Landar, and Grace Louden.

Linden Labs Purchases “Avatars Unite” Social Network Site “For MMOs”

On January 29, M Linden announced on the Second Life blog that Linden Lab had acquired “Avatars United.” They were now the owners of the “web-based community site designed especially for avatars” through buying the company that runs it, “Enemy Unknown” of Sweden, “We’re proud to announce that they are now part of Linden Lab.”

M Linden explains that “Our goal is to extend and support the great work done by so many on their SL-related blogs and Web sites, because they are a powerful network in themselves. We want to give you more tools, feeds, and connection points to build even more richness and depth into the experience of SL.” Buying up Avatars United, M Linden says, “will soon start to give Residents new and better ways to connect with each other and with the rest of the world.”

Of those with no connection to Second Life already on Avatars United, M Linden says they will continue to be supported, “we're committed to keeping this ideal of a place where avatars from multiple worlds and games can come together.” They also promise to respect the privacy of those “who keep a strict separation between SL and the rest of the Web.”

Taking a look at the website, one can put up pictures, install applications, or give gifts to others using Avatars United own virtual currency, as well as posting updates. There do seem to be a few minor bugs, such as the "Feed Reader" application not being able to work quite right.

It is noteable that M Linden’s blog post states that among Linden Lab’s future plans is “Optional registration and sign-in using credentials from other properties (Facebook, Yahoo!, etc.)” For those who have been asking for integrating Second Life with popular social networks, a welcome move. Looking at the comments to the blog post, one called it, “the first thing since Havok4 that I’ve seen done right.”

One question is how Avatars United will compete with other social networks that already have large numbers of Second Life residents, such as Flickr, MySpace, and SLprofiles. Time will tell how Linden Labs’ move into social networking turns out.

For the complete blog post and comments, Click Here.

A Conversation with Gayle Cabaret of Beta Business Park in Second Life

By Nazz Lane

It’s late Friday afternoon my local time and I’m about to wrap up for the day, having sorted through a busy week’s list of to do’s. I clicked close on the several open notecards and am about to on the inventory window when an instant message arrives:

1 pm on Friday. Wrap up the week with some mingling and networking at B2P's Black Sun. Share with fellow business people the best (or worst) thing you have found, learned, seen this week. We'll share landmarks and anecdotes and keep learning from one another!

Drinks are on the house, of course!

With journalistic instinct piqued and the added incentive of “drinks on the house”, I took the ride over.  Beta Business Park (B2P) is a project of Beta Technologies and had opened in mid September last year. B2P is “a community of businesses and the people who own, operate, and work at them”. The group charter goes on further to define the park community in that it “offers a different way to use Second Life … allowing easy connections between people, as well as convenient shared costs of common facilities”. I’d attended the opening event and wrote a short piece for my blog about it.

The session that Friday was facilitated by B2P’s General Manager Gayle Cabaret (Photo by Giovanii Fellini) who ably led the attendees through the hour long session where we shared, networked and learned. Impressed with the session and Ms Cabaret, I made arrangements to meet with her a few days later for a conversation about B2P and her second life. I arrived for the appointment early and was promptly greeted by a concierge when I did. While I waited for Gayle, several other avatars rezzed and were similarly greeted as well as assisted by the friendly and knowledgeable concierge.

Nazz: I’m impressed with the concierge service. Do you have 24x7 coverage?

Gayle: That's the goal, right now we strive for 6am to 6pm coverage ... and do a bit better than that. But with the call buttons, we at least know who to get back to in the morning. As you see, we are doing better than 6am already.

Nazz: What was it that brought you into Second Life?

Gayle: Oh goodness ... in short, knee surgery. I'd seen something about Reuters being here, then my partner came in poking around … and then I had surgery on my knee and was stuck at home in a recliner for weeks. I followed her in and almost didn't stay. I was not impressed, until I found the New England estate. The people there were an actual community and they showed me a bit of what this platform could really do … that, and they had beautiful sail boats all over the place. I don't think I left the estate at all for at least 6 months… maybe a shopping trip here and there.

Nazz: How was it then that you become involved with B2P?

Gayle: Well, in a living example of how social this platform is; after I found NE, I got a greeter job there due to my almost constant availability. I moved up quickly, within a matter of weeks I was helping the managers host events and started working on retail management there. Then the estate was sold to its current owner, Sudane Erato and she got me with the deal.  I have been managing the village/commercial operations there for three years now. Sudane brought me to the attention of the partners of Beta Technologies, she works with them, too.  They brought me in on early planning discussions for building the community here. They knew they needed someone with the event/community/estate management staff to do this and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nazz: As general manager, your primary responsibility is in managing the event/community/estate management staff?

Gayle: They have put this project pretty much completely in my hands. B2P has a mission of its own, of course ... the community and offering the office space with shared facilities. But this also serves as a sort of front office for Beta Technologies so, we are constantly working with people looking for help on virtual world projects. BT has a very deep bench, so I am comfortable telling our visitors "if it can be done in a virtual world, BT can help you do it. If it can't be done, we can tell you why and probably offer you an alternative."

Nazz: How many events are held here in an average week?

Gayle: Let's see … SL 101 every day, Grace is running her classes three times a week, my forum is twice a week and we usually have two mixers, at least and I've added the show and tell and then Metanomics …  so sixteen and we're not done yet.

Nazz: That’s a good amount. On average, how many "new" to second life people pass through here?

Gayle: Well, since we are an official Community Gateway, that number is huge. I can tell you, if I open the report from LL, how many landed in our orientation area just through the gateway last month and, of course, there are many who find us other than the gateway. You're familiar with the program?

Nazz: The community gateway program, yes.

Gayle: Great … in December we got 1257 through the gateway program, alone. Judging from our metrics, the landing spot at the orientation area has already had 742 hits this month.

Nazz: That’s a pretty good clip. Do you query entrants on why they chose the B2P community gateway, if so what sort of responses are generally given?

Gayle: Well you really haven't experienced life until you've tried to wrangle newcomers. We are in the process of developing a short list of questions to get that info … those who are truly here for business purposes tend to move a little more slowly, they stand still and actually talk to us. Others find the 'fly' button very quickly and they are a completely different story. We know that many who come through this gateway simply picked something from the list and clicked, without considering. We try to help them all but the point is to be there as an option for those who are making a considered decision about what they want to do here.

Nazz: As a business park, what services do you offer to the businesses located here?

Gayle: Well, space, of course … but you can find space anywhere. We also provide tenants with the chance to share resources … meeting space, the auditorium, the orientation area, club… no need to build their own. Also the presence of our staff here ... it not only supports BT, but our tenants, as well ... built in estate management. But, really the most important thing we offer is service with the staff here, our community members can come to us with any question from 'how do I make my hair fit right?' to "I have this huge idea ... how do I make it happen?"I take the word 'concierge' very seriously if we don't have the answer immediately, we'll get it quickly and respond.

Nazz: What do you see on the horizon for B2P … let’s say in six months to year out?

Gayle: We'll be announcing the dates for our 2nd semiannual Leadership in Business conference shortly. It will be late April, and then planning for a third for October. We're going to be adding some wonderful tools to our office builds to assist with collaboration and we're working on the pilot of a new business show for treet.tv. We'll be adding more and more programming to our weekly schedule.  I've got a long list of requests for professional development topics and I intend to provide as many as possible.  What else ... continuing to build the community, because, as I keep preaching, we are each other's best resource networking and conversation are vital so I just keep trying to provide ways to make that happen.

Wishing On A Cure – teams’ registration for Relay For Life of Second Life opening soon!

RELAY FOR LIFE OF SECOND LIFE is back and it’s bigger and better than ever! This year’s theme is ‘Wishing On A Cure’. Teams’ registration opens soon in preparation for fundraising from March to July, culminating in a 24-hour walk on July 17-18 around a virtual track.

To register your team, please go to: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/slregistration. Registration opens on February 1.

Don’t worry if you haven’t taken part in a relay event before. There will be an opportunity to learn more at a series of informational meetings on February 12 and 13 where the incoming Event Chair Tayzia Abattoir    , together with the American Cancer Society’s official representative in Second Life, Stingray9798 Raymaker, will present an overview and hold a Q&A, supported by the Event Co-Chairs MamaP Beerbaum and Nuala Maracas.  Each team will also be assigned a mentor who will coach the team, brief them on new developments and answer questions.

‘This year we’ve paid special attention to training’ says Tayzia. ‘During the informational meetings we’ll explain what goes on at Relay, how to form teams, and how people can get involved in the event.’ She added: ‘Each team will be assigned a mentor as well. We have a great group of enthusiastic mentors this year who have already been busy training for over a month so that we’re ready to go as soon as registration opens.’

For more information please contact one of the following:

Tayzia Abbatoir (RFL of SL Event Chair tayziaabbattoir@gmail.com),

Stingray9798 Raymaker (ACS Staff Partner Jeffrey.Montegut@cancer.org),

MamaP Beerbaum & Nuala Maracas (Event Co-Chairs, mamapbeerbaum@gmail.com or nuala.maracas@gmail.com).

About Relay For Life

Relay For Life is the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. The mission of the American Cancer Society is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. Cancer knows no boundaries. The American Cancer Society partners with 20 cancer organizations globally to license and support Relay For Life programs in other countries.

About Relay For Life of Second Life

Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) is a division of Relay For Life in an online virtual world. Relay For Life teams fundraise from mid-March through mid-July. On July 17 and 18 we will walk a track for 24 hours, just like in a real world Relay For Life. Team members build and gather at their team campsites, enjoy live music, participate in fun events, and explore the many Relay sims and the incredible builds by some of Second Life’s top designers, as the event runs overnight and into the next morning.

Last year’s Relay For Life of Second Life attracted more than 120 teams with participants from over 26 countries, held over 300 team fundraising events between March and July, and raised over US$275,000 (that’s REAL US dollars) for cancer research and education.

Key dates

Please note these key dates:

February 1 – Teams’ registration opens

February 12 – information sessions at 6am and 4pm

February 13 – information sessions at 8am and 6pm

March 13 – Kickoff Party and start of fundraising!

July 17-18 – GO RELAY!

Cypress Rosewood Gets Helping Hand After Robbery

Cypress Rosewood is a noted musician in Second Life, as well as the host of the “When Worlds Collide” talk show. When returning home on the night of the 24th, he got a nasty shock. The back door of his home had been knocked down and thousands of dollars worth of computers, and instruments had been stolen. Some of the equipment he had been using to play music online. It was a particularly bitter blow to Cypress.

Fortunately, word spread among his friends, who began taking action. Tony Gerber’s music shop offered music for sale with proceeds going to Cypress. Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” talk show held a fundraiser for him on Tuesday the 26th at 7PM SL time. Chatting with Pooky about the fundraiser, she responded, “It was very successful, and I am happy for that.” The next day, also at 7 PM, Cellandra Zon at “The Pocket” club held another fundraiser.

Needless to say, Cypress was very appreciative for the help. He posted the following on his Twitter page, “Thanks Second Life friends & fans coming together to raise money to replace stolen items from our home & get me back playing music live.”

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources: Delinda Dryssen’s Blog

Today in SL Newspaper

In Main News, Shellie Sands describes her experience with People Path LLC and their study "being conducted to investigate the overlaps and impacts of SL on RL and vice versa." In Community, we look at the Areo Pines and Recreation Center. And in Extra Extra, the "ABBA Sweeden" tribute band plays at the Pillars of Hercules.

People Path LLC Research Study in SL

Some time at the end of 2009, I received a notice about a research study being conducted in SL.  I have no idea how I got on the list, but it certainly piqued my curiosity.   We were asked to complete a survey to determine if we met the criteria for participation in the study. The study,  by People Path LLC,  was being conducted to investigate the overlaps and impacts of SL on RL and vice versa.  As one would expect, the questions on the survey centered around that theme.  After submitting my survey, I was informed I had been accepted to participate in the study. 

The study was completely anonymous and was comprised of 3 options by which to participate.  RL information was not to be collected and avatar names were to be "coded and 'washed'" for the study so as not to reveal anyone's RL/SL identity. 

The first option for involvement was to occur in December, involving group discussions in SL with 5-6 avatars.  These group discussion were to last one to two hours covering RL/SL overlap.  Involvement in a group discussion (full participation) netted the participants $L10,000.  I found I was unable to devote up to two hours of my time on the days/times presented to me so I opted out of this one. 

The second option for participation was  to begin in early January involving one-on-one voice interviews with Flower Ninetails (aka Christine Bolas, People Path LLC).  The interviews could take place via voice chat in SL, Skype or telephone.  I was approached to do one of these interviews, having not participated in any of the group discussions.  As I was in between working headsets, I opted for the telephone interview.  This level of participation
was to pay $L15,600.

My interview was scheduled for 15 January at 2 pm SLT.  I anxiously awaited the phone call, having no idea what on earth to expect.  All I really knew was that it would take one to one and a half hours.   

The phone rang at the appointed time, and after brief introductions, my interview began.  The questions were very interesting I thought.  Among those were questions with regard to
when or if SL ever prevented you from attending to RL, or whether SL prevented you from attending RL commitments/appointments, etc., as well as if it affected your parenting in any way.  Other questions were centered around the aspects I found "binding" in SL, for instance, was it the social networking, was it a connection to RL and was I making lindens to convert to RL cash, and why did I need lindens,  why did I need a home and pay rent, all questions along those lines.  I was quite fascinated with the direction of some of the questions as they seemed to focus on many areas which I had myself pondered and thought about their significance.  I also offered opinion and my own personal experiences as relates to SL vs. RL.

I asked about the data, stating it would be interesting to see the results at the conclusion of the study (me and my damn RL research job!).  However, this study is being conducted for a client of People Path and all data collected will be the client's property to do with as they will. When the interview concluded, "Flower" logged in and paid me my fee. 

On to the third type of participation in this study.  This will be one-on-one, face-to-face interviews in person, in a place of the individual's choosing.  Christine will fly to  the individual's location (nice budget!).  These interviews are expected to cover a few hours discussing aspects of RL/SL overlap.  The participants will be paid $300 in cash. 

I felt the interview was interesting, had excellent questions and I am glad I had an oppotunity to participate.  I sent a note with after thoughts and comments that didn't come to mind during the interview.  In the end, however, although the experience got me thinking, revisiting ideas I have had in the past, I doubt it will change how I enjoy or interact in SL. 

By Shellie Sands

Cartoon of the Day

Interview with Treet.tv CEO Wiz Nordberg

Wiz Nordberg is the founder and CEO of Treet.tv, a virtual television company in Second Life. I recently had the opportunity to meet up with him, shortly after he attended one of the snail races covered by his network, and ask a few questions.


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

Wiz Nordberg: That is becoming harder and harder to remember. I am not much of a gaming person, but I find simulations and "expressive tools" interesting. I think I may have read about it online somewhere. I just don't recall anymore. My wife, Texas Timtam, and I used (Second Life) for about 8 months to a year before ever considering the idea of doing something "serious" in here. It was just for fun.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did that first year go?

Wiz Nordberg: Oh, it was a revelation. The main attraction to me was the "empty slate" of Second Life and the fact that everything everywhere was the creation of a resident. That was remarkably energizing to us. We met some great people, long time SL users, and made some great friends. They helped us to know what to do and what was interesting. Of course that was almost 4 years ago, there were far fewer people here, and the ones who were here were dedicated. The influx of "the curious" had not yet begun.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did Treet.tv come about?

Wiz Nordberg: Unexpectedly. (smile) It is a long story, but let me see if I can shorten it. My wife Texas has worked with the music industry a lot. In 2007, she convinced the Australian government to sponsor an inworld music event to coincide with South-by-Southwest. It was called the Texas Aussie Music Party. Because of our history in the music webcast business (we have done some very large commercial ones for record labels), it seemed obvious to me to try to "film it" somehow. Since we had a lot of experience with that, it was a fun experiment.

But... Unexpectedly, while I was testing I set up a screen in a club that we went to with some friends of ours. Just to get some of the settings right. The people in the club, when they saw themselves on the screen.... well... they almost acted like a group of pre-technology natives that had just seen a telephone for the first time! They started dancing and having fun, and couldn't stop. It was amazing to see their reaction at "seeing themselves".

Within minutes, literally, we were over at “godaddy” and called it the Second Life Cable Network (SLCN). That really is how it all started, with that moment.

Bixyl Shuftan: So it was a spur of the moment decision?

Wiz Nordberg: Yes, we did not intend to start a business. It was just an extension of the fun we were already having. It took months before we started to believe it was something we should take seriously. We did an experimental show called “That S'Life,” we did it ourselves just to prove that the "idea" of television could be transported successfully here. Then we began meeting people who wanted to do shows.

The first was Paisley Beebe, who had performed at the Texas Aussie Music party. To my surprise she didn't want to do a music show, she wanted to do a talk show. When Tonight Live aired, we finally decided that "this was a business" and started planning everything else from there.

Bixyl Shuftan: What would you say have been the more successful shows?

Wiz Nordberg: There have been many. Of the regular shows, Metanomics and Tonight Live had had the largest communities and viewership. But, part of it is because those are also very long running shows. It takes time to gain a loyal audience. Both of those are nearing or exceeding 100 episodes. Shows like the 1st Question and Designing Worlds are catching up.

As far as individual shows, there have been some big successes too. Of course when we had Bruce Willis on, as well as the Transformers Cast with Michael Bay, there were huge numbers for those. But other shows, such as when Paisley interviewed Mark Kingdon and Philip at the Linden Lab offices in San Francisco. That special show did very well. And, inworld, our music shows are at the top of the list always. Our music channel gets almost more viewership than anything else.

Some of the business shows do really well because they have a very interested tech audience. ISTE Eduverse, for example, may really be the biggest show right now in web viewership. They have done a lot to really push that show out to people. I could go on ... about shows. You need to rope me in. (smile)

Bixyl Shuftan: There do seem to be quite a lot of them, talk shows, game shows, sports

Wiz Nordberg: Yes, I didn't even mention all our sports shows! We have done almost 3000 episodes so far. My mouse fingers hurt just thinking about that. :-)

Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like some shows were a challenge to cover

Wiz Nordberg: Anything worth doing right is challenging. We do shows in a different way than most anybody else, it has its own special problems but also tremendous benefits. As a rule, things go very very smoothly. Our show producers just put in a tremendous amount of work. It's mind boggling sometimes.

Bixyl Shuftan: Maybe I should have brought this up earlier, you mentioned you had experience in the music webcast business?

Wiz Nordberg: Yes, Texas and I owned a business here in Australia which was the number one web provider to the music industry for about nine years. As part of that, we did some of the largest webcasts ever done here, some with 40-50 crew members. We did the main websites for BMG and Warner Music for many years, plus many many others that were single promotions or webcast-only sites. We still run the Paramount Home Entertainment site in Australia. During that time, we learned a great deal from some amazing video professionals we were fortunate enough to work with or have working for us.

Bixyl Shuftan: Did Treet.tv attract any attention from any of those businesses?

Wiz Nordberg: No, I think what we are doing with Treet is off the radar for most traditional media companies. I am not speaking specifically of our clients, but they have a job they are focusing on and the MMO and gaming industry doesn't overlap a lot into their space. Understanding this and seeing the future opportunities takes a leap of faith and a lot of people don't use the same crystal ball we do.

When we worked with Fox and Paramount on the Bruce Willis and Transformers shows, it was with their USA offices. I don't even think we spoke to anybody in Australia at that time, or ever, about what we do. Those deals were really the work of a visionary guy who worked for a company called Picture Production Company. While our entertainment background helped convince them we were the people to work with, they took some amazing risks to create such crossover opportunity and it was great to be in the middle of that.

Bixyl Shuftan: I was told by the staff at one show they managed to get some of their footage onto TV off the Internet, New York City

Wiz Nordberg: Yes I think that might have been the people that work with Pookie at the 1st Question.

Bixyl Shuftan: It was ... Do you see more of that happening, attracting the attention of "real" television?

Wiz Nordberg: I think "real" television has some "real" problems that won't be solved by looking to networks like ours. More than likely, we will start competing with them in alternative television environments like Boxee. That is where the future traction will be. If crossover happens back to cable, it will be fueled by that. Terrible sentence, but you get the gist.

Real television requires enormous markets to function. Markets of 50,000 viewers just won't help them. Our footage has been on TV, both ABC news and BBC as well as Australian Television, but it has been more of a "curiosity" or "human interest story." To get this kind of stuff to happen in mainstream delivery markets, many changes need to occur and it will take a few years. We do, however, think that some shows can "break though" to mainstream market interest. It is one of the things we also are gambling on a bit.

Bixyl Shuftan: There have been some stories about more people relying on the Internet for television. Might this be one of the changes?

Wiz Nordberg: Yes, there is a huge move of interest away from television toward the Internet. We see this unstoppable, and it is not a matter of "if" the internet will replace conventional television, but "when".

Bixyl Shuftan: Any plans for the future you'd like to share?

Wiz Nordberg: Our biggest plan for the future is to extend our reach beyond Second Life viewers and beyond Second Life content. That doesn't mean we are downplaying Second Life, far from it. But, we feel it is essential that our shows can be watched by everybody. Part of that is our new website.

For the first two years, we really did not consider the web our "primary viewership market,” but that has changed in our minds. We see the web now as being as important to delivery as inworld viewing has been. The new website is more exciting, it is more oriented toward discovering things rather than "searching for what you know is there", and it invites people to join in. The old website didn't even allow comments on shows.

When we designed the first website, we figured maybe we would have "100 or so" episodes. The fact that it has held up as thousands of episodes have been produced is a miracle! But, one major difference is the new website focuses primarily on Shows. We care a lot more that people like the show pages than our home page, and we have given our producers control over their sections, as well as done some nerdy things like published our show pages at a higher priority to Google than our other pages. We also designed our own viral player, which is actually scalable to millions of embeds. As the next year evolves we expect to see our player all over the web. It has already been embedded in over 1000 different locations, and it has only been live for 2 months.

There are probably 20 other things I could shout out about, but I'll hold back. Suffice it to say that we see the new website as the first actual step in creating a large online presence. Up until now, everything we have done has been "small" by comparison.

Bixyl Shuftan: If anyone was interested in doing a show, how hard would it be to get on treet.tv

Wiz Nordberg: Well, we accept pitches all the time! We are very receptive. But, one thing that everybody should think about.... we rarely are concerned if people can do the 1st or 2nd show. We believe that is easy. Lots of people have the energy to create a few shows. The big thing we want to know is that they will be able to do the 50th show. So we ask a lot of hard questions about their team, their ability, and their commitment. But we also like to help people we believe are "close" to being able to do it, and just need a push And now and then, we just take a chance on something nutty. (smile)

It was at this point Wiz had to head to a meeting, and so we parted ways.

Bixyl Shuftan

OD Designs Custom Music Shop

Want to go to a place where you can not only get a cool guitar, but also customize it to your liking? Head on over to OD Designs, where one can get guitars, drum sets, and musical AO's to perform your own dream concert, and more.

The store itself has a *huge* variety of guitars up for sale, grouped by the name of the maker of their real-life counterparts, as well as the models and color schemes of the instruments.

“There’s no real genre attached to this (store),” store director Leilani Teskat explained, “We have several different musical tastes here. I’m trying to get a Shakira tribute to play here soon, hopefully. Our tributes are open to any of the tribute houses. We offer that to give them added exposure. Plus, we also have the OD Band HUB too. That gives even more exposure, that’s located out on the back porch. We also have OD Live, which is our Live Artists branch of things. We’re partnered with some live performers too, StevenJaimz, Anek, Space Junky, to name a few.”

“So it really is a wide open genre. (laughter) Which I prefer, because it adds to the variety.”

Leilani went on, “Also, we’re partnered with real-life guitar manufacturers ... Ortho makes reproductions in-world of them.” Leilani explained the real-life companies treat the virtual goods more or less as a kind of advertising, “so we provide text shouts when the person wears the guitar. Plus, we have links from the OD website to all of their sites. Plus, I have them followed on Twitter too, and we have them on Myspace and Facebook. So we’ve got the whole web 2.0 network going.” Feedback from the real-live guitar companies has been “very positive. Actually, some of them have been so impressed, they linked our website onto theirs. So we have our pages on theirs. The ones I specifically built myself, so that’s been a real feather in my cap, so to speak. ;-) “

She brought up the website of the BC Rich guitar company, which at the bottom had “Visit BC Rich at” followed by several places online, the one virtual world being Second Life, which was a link to her OD Designs page (http://www.odmusic.info/leilani/bcrich%20webpage.htm). “If you go there, and look at the very bottom, you’ll see the link to SL,” which was a SURL to their store, “That’s the webpage I made for them, and the others too. It’s added promotion for them too, something interesting.”

But the store does more than just sell guitars, it allows one to modify them, “We’ve got (a) custom shop that allows people to customize their OD guitars and basses, even adding their own stickers to their instruments. It’s very cool! ... There’s also a short video on how to do it.” She showed me the shop, which has separate stations for stickers and streamers. A webpage shows two videos on how to operate the booths (http://www.odmusic.info/CustomShop/customshop.html#Custom%20Streamer%20Station). For stickers, one can select from the textures in the station, or use one of your own from your inventory. You can also enlarge or shrink the sticker and choose where on the surface of the guitar front you want it. For streamers, the guitars come with three invisible ones hanging from the headstock. The booth allows you to texture and tinit from one to three. Once again, either one can use a texture of those from the booth or one of your own.

When one wears the guitar, one gets a copy of the Heads Up Display to control it with various animations, “you can also adjust the guitar on your av (recommended if you have a tail), then when you have it positioned properly, click the guitar and select ‘Teachfront.’ “
The custom shop has its own HUD as well to help with editing the guitar. Guitars can be copied for one’s inventory, or one can use the store redelivery system for a new copy.

For purchases made at the store, customers are given OD rewards points. “Just like air miles, in a sense,” Leilani explained, “It’s helped out a lot of people who want to do tributes.” In picking the guitar, one may want to pay attention to how it’s color compares to your clothes, “ That's the biggest problem I've found is matching the color up. Sometimes SL can make it kinda disappear. If you have an all black ensemble it gets lost.” The guitars are also highly detailed, down to the strings, made from about 180 to over 250 prims. Most of the guitars come in three sizes, “some of these guitars are so big for my av ... but I want them that big to show off, if I use the Medium sized ones they look good but you can't see the detail.”

Besides guitars, OD Designs also sells drum sets, in different sizes, “the medium ... , the monsters, these are the model most commonly used in Second Life, and the small ... People usually get them depending on which tribute or application they are wanting to do.” Like the guitars, the drums are highly detailed, “we do offer a wearable version of the drums just in case people don't want to use up any prims.” The largest “monster” set is The Titan, “there are a lot of people who just love that particular drum kit ... they also do different things, like the Titan there can spin around and even UFO around.” Like the guitars, drum sets come with their own HUDs for options like different styles of drumming, lights and special effects, and spinning the whole set around drummer and all, “I suggest not doing it in Mouse View.” Sitting on the drums, one gets a copy of the HUD plus the drumsticks.

OD Designs also sells keyboards and pianos.

Animations can be remote-controlled, “say you were a live artist playing a guitar, you could have a friend control your animations.” OD Designs sells the H2V vocal HUD, “some do use this vocal HUD along with the guitar playing as some real-life artists sing and play guitar.” And it also has the H2X, a whole-body HUD similar to the one with the guitars, but has many more animations, over fifty, “ think of it as the HUD you get with the guitar is the H2 lite.”

Leilani also pointed out the Redelivery and Help Center, which can get people a fresh copy of their guitars, as well as showing how many reward points they have.

“Someone can come in get a guitar, and be able to do a tribute or performance right away,” Leilani explained, “and we also have a database of people wanting to get into the SL music industry (so to speak) ... the SL Live Music scene is very live and kicking, there are a LOT of live artists, some using SL to promote their own music, and then directing people to their websites to make sales. ... We're trying to help the people get more gigs too because we know that if they're not making the lindens they can't purchase OD Gear. So I'm always looking for ways to help people, and help them step up their performance too. Not just me but the other OD staff. We all help out in customer service.”

The OD Designs website is at http://www.odmusic.info/. The page for the custom shop is at (http://www.odmusic.info/CustomShop/customshop.html#Custom%20Streamer%20Station) and the one for the H2X Full Motion Authentic Guitar Animation HUD / AO at (http://www.odmusic.info/H2x/H2x.htm).

“OD ROCKS!!”

Bixyl Shuftan

“Blips on the Grid”

If Second Life seems buggier than normal lately, that’s because it is.

In an SL blog entry on January 18th, FJ Linden admits that “over the past 4-6 weeks, we have had some regular operational blips, specifically affecting logins, teleports, and in world performance. “ The reason for this he says are that Linden Labs is relocating from it’s central database in San Francisco, and taking the opportunity to upgrade some old infastrucure. Trouble is, it seems someone forgot to write some paperwork on these “legacy systems that are deeply tied to every part of the Second Life experience. ... In many cases these systems were designed and deployed with little or incomplete documentation, which only adds to the challenge of migrating with minimal disruption.”

Comments after the post were a mix of some relief as they now had an explanation of why things were buggy, with some wishes that things would be better soon.

FJ Linden states that they are “in the final stages” and that it will most likely continue for “the next few weeks.”

Click Here for the complete post and comments.

Hearts in Harmony for Haiti

Thank you for participating in the Haitian Fundraiser. As you know this tragic event has effected alot of people all over the wold. We are only a small part of the help that is reaching out to them.  All donations will be made to a non profit here in SL called Builders of Arda, This group is already in Haiti working in the city of Meno. This is a registered 501c3 , verified by LIndens and the state of PA. The funds raised by them will be funneled into food, shelter , clothing and items needed for the welfare of people in the earthquake area. Contact person for the charity is Phoenix Seelowe.
Thank you,
Nevar Lobo 
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Haven/212/59/22

DJ Dakota Christensen : 12-2pm slt

Kim Seifert :  2pm slt  

MarkSeery Melodie : 3pm slt

Haruno Watanabe: 4pm slt

CraigLyons Writer: 5pm slt

StarFlower Orbit : 6pm slt

DJ Bcreative Wilde: 7-9 pm slt

1/24/10

Aryon Dagger - 12pm slt

Cataplexia Numbers - 2pm slt

Bcreative Wilde - 4pm slt

Cake Somerset - 7pm slt

http://slurl.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Haven/212/59/22

Haiti Earthquake Response Fund,

Funds collected by these (Haiti Earthquake Response Fund Donation Bowls) is being collected by the Real Life 501c3 non-profit charity called the Builders of Arda Inc. 

A brief history of this organization (Builders of Arda Inc.)

Builders of Arda sponsors schools and literacy centers in Haiti for the last several years.  Our organization works closely with our sister organization Beyond Borders to end child servitude and increase literacy throughout the impoverished nation of Haiti.

Due to the current disaster in Haiti due to the terrible 2010 earthquake both Builders of Arda and Beyond Borders have taken up donation drives to raise funds to send to our people on the ground in the most devastated areas of the country of Haiti.  Following these drives a full public audit will be available to show where every collected Linden went upon request to Phoenix Seelowe in Second Life.

Haiti and her people need help now, we have been able to collect several hundred dollards so far but more help is needed as the scope and size of the catastrophe become more apparent in the coming days, financial assistance will be needed to feed and cloth many displaced families.  Please help us help them.

Best Regards,
Phoenix Seelowe

Cartoon of the Day

Today in SL Newspaper

In Main News below, we look at Second Life and real-life artist Feather Boa's exhibits in the Cripta Gallery. In Extra Extra, Special Jewell's recent work is up on display at "The Beauty of it All" at the Chilbo Museum. And in Community, a two-sim live music event will take place tomorrow on Sunday the 24th at TriBorough New York and Hudson New York to raise funds for Haiti relief. Don't forget to look down a little further as Breezes has some fun with dinosaurs and other critters at Calamaro Planet.

Feathers

Retrospective. Spectacular movement in art. 

When I wandered through Feather Boa”s art at AdOpera in the Cripta Gallery it was with memories. I first saw her work at the Garden of Earthly Delights last year and was astounded.  I think of her walking around the city of Boston taking pictures of anything and everything: tiny gears, signs, dials, clocks, envelopes, all kinds of things she passes in her travels. Then she takes them, arranges and rearranges, blends and creates imaginative delightful art works in rl and sl. Such talent! 

Her art has been exhibited in many real life galleries . She works in graphic arts in the USA and Japan . About sl art she says “  I believe that we are seeing a new form of creative expression being born in SL and other virtual worlds. There are so many talented people here and that the best is yet to come." Some of the art is moving and changing as you gaze at it. Stand and wait and you will discover more than you expected. It is a large exhibit in a large gallery. You will be able to enjoy it at the Cripta Art Gallery until the 10th of February. Feathers also owns two galleries in SL. Her life is just beginning and I think she will be around a long time with new visions to delight the eye. I am lucky because I have one of the pieces in my sl home that was a gift from her sl father and mother and think of her often. .
http://slurl.com/secondlife/AdOpera1/149/86/26

By Gemma Cleanslate

“Avatar” in Second Life

James Cameron’s science-fiction movie “Avatar” has taken cinema by storm, setting box office records in the United States and elsewhere across the world. Inevitably, people began making avatars of the alien “Na’vi.” Whenever there’s something big in science-fiction, people are drawn to begin with to recreate it here. With “Avatar,” there was a certain irony to it. There’s the movie’s name, making the “Na’vi” in Second Life “Avatar” avatars. And just like the humans in the movie create “avatars” to go about in an alien world in an imersive and personal manner, people have been doing so with “Na’vi” avatars here in the Metaverse. And of course Second Life avatars tend to be much taller than normal human anyway.

Many of us have already seen the familiar blue, thin humanoids showing up at clubs or other places. As it turns out, there have been efforts at more, trying to recreate the world of Pandora in Second Life.

Probably the most detailed of these Pandora areas is the Pandora Magic sim in Second Life. The entry area has a few freebies nearby, notably the rp combat system. Portals can take you to shops, or straight down to the planet. And given a little time to load, it is a most beautiful sight. Trees standing tall in the air, luminous plants and creatures providing colorful light - notably when seen at nighttime, flowers that make “crunch” noises and temporarily vanish when you walk near.

And of course there were a few Na’vi avatars about, walking here and there. There was also a couple embracing in a leaf boat moving slowly along a river. There were other cuddle poses throughout the sim, for any couples going here for a stroll in the woods. Supposedly some people after seeing the movie are depressed about not being able to visit Pandora for real (Click Here for CNN article). Logging into Second Life and going to Pandora Magic would certainly be one way to ease these down feelings.

Pandora Magic and its sister sim Pandora Hellsgate are the location for a German Na’vi roleplay group, though they don’t seem to have a problem with visitors going about the forest. The language at the starting area was German, though some notecards had English translations. Most of the chat heard was not in English, but there was one who did, commenting, “I think the reason Second Life has gone AVATAR crazy is because the movie related to us in a big way. A lot of us log in to a new body and a new world with unimaginable possibilities. SL is the outdated version. (laughter).”

Going into Search and typing Na’vi or Pandora, one will find other sims. Checking some of them, none led to a forest as lush as Pandora Magic’s, but there were some other roleplay groups. Angels Sanctuary had a Na’vi forest, which while not as detailed as Pandora Magic was better than most other "Avatar" places I saw. Two places had the same design space station, with a free human Hardsuit and 1L hovercraft, though except for demos the Na'vi avatars were a little costly. And some areas, while a nice place to stroll, seemed to have nothing to do with the “Avatar” movie, or were just a place to sell expensive avatars and props.

So if you’re someone who’s seen the movie and wants to relive it, or just want to see a little of what all the hype is about, Second Life offers places and things for you.

“kîyevåme, eana-txim.”

“(See you soon, blue-butt).”

Bixyl Shuftan

Learn about sculpts inworld with M&M

1st Tutorial
A basic tutorial will explain how to use sculpt maps and build the sculpted prims in-world. No extra skills than the basics you need to build in-world are nessecary.

Ideal for newbies and Beginner Designers/Builders
Friday January 22nd  at Book-Island 12 PM SLT
Sunday January 24th at Moolto-Island 12 PM SLT

2nd Tutorial
January the 29th; One step ahead. For this tutorial you need a Graphic Program, like Photoshop, and basic skills using Photoshop and building
in-world!!

We teach you how to merge a shade-texture with a
basic-texture in Photoshop to give your in-world builds and creations
more depth and a more realistic appearance.
Friday January 29th at Book-Island 12 PM SLT
Sunday January 31st at Moolto-Island 12 PM SLT

3rd Tutorial
February the 5th; This tutorial is a big step forward and still easy
to follow for all who would like to create advanced textures with
shade for the more complex sculpted prims in-world. It is based on
Fashion-Sculpties, but the knowledge can be used for all sculpted
prims and even for regular prims.  Much more tools of the Grapic
Program are used and to use your textures in-world you need some
building skills and experience!!
Friday February 5th at Book-Island 12 PM SLT
Sunday February 7th at Moolto-Island 12 PM SLT

***You don't need to subscribe in advance for the Tutorial-series, but
please appear 10 minutes in advance, so we can start right on time.
To avoid lag we ask you all to TAKE OFF  &  DETACH  lag-causing
adjustments and attachements on your avatar!
(EXAMPLES; AO-huds, scripted attachements, face-light, huge amounts of
flexible prim-dresses, huge amounts of sculpted attachements)***

Contact 10 Gossoon for more information

Cartoon of the Day

Syzygy Community Celebrates First Anniversary

The Syzygy Island Community celebrated its first anniversary on January 9. The party was held on Helios at Imagine Peace (181, 221, 34), owned by Olorin Tigerpaw. Tigerpaw is the Community Events Coordinator for Syzygy. Grijandomore Greene, another founding resident of Syzygy, DJ́´d the event, and the other residents and their guests danced and partied.

    The second picture, provided by Pipsqueak Fiddlesticks, shows Syzygy being created in January, 2009. As future residents watched, Syzygy came on-line. This magical event was followed by weeks of work by Administrator Samantha Glume, and the other officers, Elric Anatine, BW Jinxing, Pipsqueak Fiddlesticks, and Olorin Tigerpaw.

    The Community is comprised of four areas: Eos, Helios, Pyxis, and Selene. It is a covenant community, with a general nature theme, spiced with a touch of the Ancient and the whimsical. Elric Anatine, manager of landscaping and common grounds, continually beautifies the public areas and changes the seasons. Currently Syzygy is a winter wonderland, with skating spots, a hot tub, gardens, and other interesting sites located through the sim. There are many small nooks and seating areas for quiet visits, romantic dancing, or simply as a break from the hustle of SL. Syzygy is open to the public, and visitors are welcome. 

By Grey Lupindo

Today in SL Newspaper

On Main News, we look at The Corner of Revolving Time where one can do some early shopping for Valentine's Day. Inside Fashion, we put the spotlight on a new release from "My Precious." In Extra Extra, we interview real life and Second Life singer Lance Rembrandt. And in Community, Breezes shares a camping story.

February 14 Is Coming Fast!

You can start your Valentine Day shopping  already.

As usual Vickijo Rivera is ready for visitors to come pick up decorations for that special day. She is always on top of getting wonderful items for everyone to enjoy each holiday.

Many creators and builders  contribute to the sweet items in the geo dome that are almost all free!

Around the grounds of the Corner of Revolving Times you will find some lovely items for sale  that are very inexpensive. Saucy Loire has been busy making some really nice emitters that you will love to place  all around your home or business. And the trees!  Don’t miss the freebies or bargains!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Relaxation/87/169/42

Gemma Cleanslate

Cartoon of the Day

Second Life “Avatar” Advertising Campaign?

It seems that not only has Linden Lab started doing some advertising for Second Life, but they’ve decided to take advantage of the hype over the highly popular movie “Avatar.”

Seen here and here on Flickr (special thanks to inacentaurdump and gogolita), the advertisement banners show a thinly-dressed blue lady with blue skin in front of a wilderness area with a moon rising in the sky behind her. The caption reads “Free AVATAR.”

The woman is not technically a Na’vi avatar. She isn’t wearing tribal clothes, and has no pointed ears or catlike features. But the connection to the movie is obvious.

Peter Linden has been asked about the ad, and had the following response:

"While we’re certainly fans of the Avatar film and of blue avatars (not to mention pink, green, yellow, and robot avatars), we do not want to cause any confusion between Second Life and the movie with this advertisement, and we plan to change it to avoid any misunderstanding."

The advertising campaign does seem to have made the desired results. After slowly declining for much of 2009, their “user concurrency” numbers suddenly rose. Tateru Nino of the “Dwell on it” blog had her own comment about Linden Lab’s ad campaign in comic form. The Lindens will probably want to take their time before removing the ad.

Linden Lab isn't alone in taking advantage of the "Avatar" bandwagon. Social network IMVU has also come out with their own banner, featuring a blue woman with the caption "Get Your AVATAR."

It is notable that a number of people have created various Na’vi avs up for sale in Second Life. While there are a few cheap and demo ones, most cost hundreds, even thousands of Lindens. Some Pandora roleplay areas have sprung up in some sims as well.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources: New World Notes , Massively

Second Life Science Fiction Convention 2

From Friday January 8 to Sunday January 10, the Second Life Science Fiction Convention 2 took place. Sci-fi buffs from across Second Life to spend a little time in the four-sim event, with money raised going to the American Cancer Society. Although not quite as busy as the first Convention, there were still things to do and exhibits to see. From Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica to Doctor Who, the con drew a variety of fans.

Story continued in Community.

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL Exhibit at Tart Gallery

A special showing of the Bold & Beautiful Exhibit occurred at the Tart Gallery on 2 January 2010.   The gallery is owned by ByrneDarkly Cazalet and has two floors of art. 

The Bold & Beautiful exhibit featured artwork by real life poster artist Claudia Hek of The Netherlands. Unfortunately, Claudia could not be present.   Due to technical difficulties, Claudia is unable to maintain a presence in SL.

Of interest is the fact that each of the posters features dark haired females as the subject, evoking thoughts of a Betty Boop characterization.   A common theme is the use of a red flower in the hair.  Each woman is modeling various looks, such as a pirate with ship tatooed on the arm, cigarette in her mouth; a woman encircled by red roses and wearing a sombrero; an Indian girl, and a  woman in lingerie sporting a nun's head wear--interesting. One of the more striking posters was a woman superimposed on a black panther surrounded by flames and baring fang teeth.

Claudia Hek was born on the rustic island of Terschelling in the Netherlands.  Later she left for Amsterdam to attend the Rietveld Art Academy there.   At Reitveld, she was learning portraits and realistic art.  She had wanted to learn techniques and apply it to the art she was focused on, primarily graphic art.   She soon realized her vision would not be encouraged and left the Reitveld.  During her time in Amsterdam, she found employment and began playing in bands.  Through her work with bands and involvement in the Amsterdam music scene, she was able to pratice her art  by doing posters, logos and t-shirt designs. From this work, word spread of her talent.   After some time, she came to the realization that she wanted to focus more on the art side of things so she quit her job and starting networking.  Because her work was already known through the music scene, she took on many jobs doing posters, etc.  Word of her work spread via the internet around the world and over the last 5 or 6 years, Claudia has been able to earn a living from it on a freelance basis.  She is now a well known artist in the underground scene and her style is most valued by garage/rock bands for her posters, logos and self printed t-shirts.

Claudia still plays in a band, with her animator/cartoonist/painter husband.  There are times that, due to the demands of the band touring and recording, she is unable to work at her art, but she continues to collect new ideas during those times.   Claudia claims she has always been into art and creating things, and as a child she focused on drawing horses. as that was her passion ,having grown up with horses.  Nowadays, Claudia is attempting to mix the realistic style of painting with the subjects she paints; she is not as excited about the graphics now.   She is very excited at working on her own unique style.  Between Claudia and her husband, they have the music/art scene pretty well covered!
Visit Claudia's website at http://www.claudiahek.com for more information or to make a purchase.

By Shellie Sands

Cartoon of the Day

Autism Awareness Raises over 200,000L

Late Saturday night on January 9th at the Tiatopia sim, after a week or poetry readings, art contests, live music events, and a lot of fun, the “Autism Awareness Project” came to a close. With a climatic performance, singer Ichie Kamachi wowed the crowd and brought donations over the top. The final total, not counting last-minute donations, was a total of 226,290 Lindens raised, or $874 US dollars.

“We started with a goal of 65,000,” sim owner Tia Macbain explained, “Then when we saw we made that in the first day, I was like ‘Okay, so let’s go bigger.’ And so we pushed it to 100K in each (of the two) pillars here." Added to that were the amounts from the art contest, the art auction, wedding certificate purchases, "a big chunk of stuff.”

Story continued in Community

Book Island Revisited

In a previous article, I had discussed Book Island and the fact that the owner had seemingly disappeared and Book Island seemed to be dying out.  I spoke recently with Selina Greene, sim owner, who has set the record straight.  I had previously been unable to reach her for comment when I wrote the first article.
Selina explained this was due to the fact that her computer died, and the one she was using was unable to accommodate SL.  In addition, she was also going through a complicated pregnancy.  She and her new baby and doing quite well now.

A large extension  to the Cartland Court area of the island had been built, which would explain the many empty shops I saw when I was last there.  The island now has a 90% occupancy with many tenants remaining and new vendors coming in. 

In 2010, Selina, together with Arton Tripsa, are planning many things, including a redesign of the public areas,  as well as multiple events.  A google calendar has been installed in the main square for "Events on the Beach."   The addition of the calendar will provide residents with the opportunity to plan and scheduled their own events.  To date, 3 events are planned, including a Book Island party with DJ Grizzly Silversmith, one of the residents. 

The island has become home to quite a few new residents.  One of the groups includes Podcrafters, organized by Emz Mazie, Imarad Breen and Insight Zadark.  Members of the Written Word group will recognize Emz Mazie's name (aka Emerian Rich).  The group promotes Podcasting and Marketing.  In addition, they produce Podiobooks, serialized audio books.  These are available for free at http://podiobooks.com.  Examples of the podcasts will be shown on the TV screen in the main square.   As well, a trailer of Arlene Radasky's (Imarod Breen) book, "Mark of the Druid," will be shown on the TV screen.

 

RL romance writers, Melissa Mayhue (FaeWritr Bookmite) and Elaine Levine (Vinnie Mimistrobell) hold a month SL Salon on the Island,  held often at Books at the Beach. During the past year, they have hosted RL literary figures, Deidre Knight, Elissa Wilds, Deb Stover and Terri Brisbin. Another resident is Nightmare Scribe, a writer and co-founder of the award-winning Colorado Springs Fiction Writer's Group at http://www.csfwg.org.

Over the next couple of weeks, new homes are being built for  writers who would like to live in a literary community. 

With the many plans in place, the future of Book Island looks, indeed, very bright and I look forward to becoming a bit involved with events there.

Shellie Sands

Cartoon of the Day

Builders wanted

Regent Estates has been asked to sponsor and build the New York build sim for the 2010 Clothing Fair benefitting Relay for Life.

There will be 9 sims in total, with the theme of " Fashion Cities of the World". It is our job to build, in full, the NYC sim. The Clothing Fair will play host to 130 of the top clothing designers from across Second Life.

There are 8 amazing cities and one United Nations, all coming together for one great cause. New York is one of these important sims and we are honored and thrilled to have been asked to participate in this great project.

The sim will be based on many of the current builds in our New York NYC, which has gained notoriety over the years for its tribute to the World Trade Center Towers and the tragedy of 9/11. Voted best Memorial in Second Life, we are honored to be able to give back to another worthy cause, the Relay for Life.

Included in the sim you will see the Lady herself, The Statue of Liberty, as well as the New York Library. Among other buildings planned are the Empire State Building and the famous Flatiron Building.

You may be asking yourself "why is Melody going into all this?" Well, I will say that our builders were so honored to be asked to be a part of this we couldn’t say no. But that is not the only reason: we decided to come to the community itself, and offer a way for some of you great builders to join in this worthy cause with us.

We are looking for 10 builders to join us in this endeavor. We want to offer a way for you, as a builder, not only to give back, but also to get your work out and seen by THOUSANDS of people over a 10 day period.

If you would like to be a part of this project, please continue for more information on what we need:

• NYC skyscraper style buildings
• Exterior footprint of 25x25M
• Interior space of 15 m deep x 25 m wide x 20m tall
• Minimum height of 70m
• Maximum height of 200m
• 200 prims or less (The fewer the better!!)
• No textures over 512x512 (256x256 is preferred)
• Mega prims are allowed but must be phantom
• Single front entrance
• Only the main floor must be functional – IE, no multiple floors needed
• Nothing scripted
• Completed build in a building rezzor (one can be provided if needed)
• Minimal sculpty use, if at all
• Must provide the finished build copy/mod to Melody Regent and the Relay for Life manager (to be named later)
• Interior must remain flat and neutral in color
• A full permissions copy of your logo or ‘name plate’ to be used for promotional use.

All builds must be turned in no later than January 30th. The sooner we get them, the better. You may replicate a RL building or come up with your own design. You are welcome to turn in as many entries as you wish, we will accept only the best of the designs for the limited space available.

When you turn in the build, please include a folder labeled “NYC Clothing Fair – (your name)”. In the folder we will need a copy/mod version of the building in a building rezzor, a landmark to your store/location (if available), Company logo and a notecard with any information you feel we need or about you and your company.

We will be announcing the names and store locations of all the builders that we use to the forums, in Prim Perfect and to our New York group with over 6000 members. You will also get a sign outside the build that honors you as the contributor.

We also have some ‘filler’ places available that need to be built. These are simple builds that will have nothing inside them. They are merely for looks and there to fill the space between buildings. If you want to contribute to these as well, please contact Melody Regent directly for more information.

We are thrilled to be involved in this worthy cause and to have you join us. If you have any questions at all, please send detailed questions to Melody Regent in world or email to MelodyRegent@gmail.com

Thank you again

Melody Regent
Regent Estates

Some Favorite Communities in Second Life

Second Life is full of interesting places and fascinating people, but when the two come together in a community: that's when the real fun of SL comes to life. I was invited to write about an incredible community in SL called Chilbo. Chilbo Public Library is one of SL's most famous libraries. And the community itself is very intriguing. Chilbo comprises multiple sims which are inhabited by artists, musicians, poets, writers, and many other creatives. One current project is Poetry Benches. Chilbo is inviting poets gridwide to participate. You sit for a spell on a Poetry Bench and a poem appears! Cool! In the picture, I am having an SL brunch with Chilbo resident artist Kristine Kristan and our friend Kelp Parkin. Behind us is the Cat Cage, Kristen's very arty SL house. Check out the community website and blogs at Chilbo.org; which are quite impressive resources about SL culture (great links on the side navibars!).

Kelp Parkin and I met through another great SL community, New Citizens Inc (NCI). I've been teaching free classes at NCI for 2 years, and we just started a new course on Photography & SL Journalism. Kelp is an NCI Helper, one of our many volunteers and students. NCI hosts social events and build contests, as well as free classes on just about everything to know about SL.

I've invested quite a bit of time in 2 other SL communities... one I'd describe as inherently activist, and the other are RL professionals working for social benefits organizations.

Four Bridges Project sim is a collaboration of Amnesty International-E, PeaceTrain, and many other activist groups (a few logos are pictured). Four Bridges groups have organized numerous gridwide events, week-long Woodstock-like affairs, like Peace Fest, Earth Week SL, SL Human Rights Festival, Second Pride Festival, and Imagine Festival. These folks are very spontaneous and thoroughly knowledgeable about RL activist issues and how to utilize SL for action and creating awareness! You can meet a lot of high powered activists through their community and get involved in world rocking projects. The Four Bridges team works effectively across group lines gridwide to bring together terrific art, music, talent, ideas, and energy.

Nonprofit Commons has achieved cross-group collaboration in the real world of charities and social benefit organizations and brought them all into Second Life. They have gathered together over 100 RL groups and concentrated them on several sims such as Aloft NonProfit Commons (pictured). Groups like Kiva.org for RL microlending and The Jason Project for RL missing children, and OpenCafe.org.za which teaches South African youth about open source technologies. I've done the music promotion for a few of their sim launches and it's clear that everyone wants to work with them (easiest gigs I’ve ever done!). They are great do-gooders one and all. Check out their meetings on 8:30am on Fridays in SL at Plush Nonprofit Commons. You'll meet dozens of RL nonprofit organizers, sharing their best ideas. Now that's SL community!

By Any1 Gynoid

"Live n' Kickin" at Greenies

On Tuesday January 5th at 9 SL time, the live music show “Live n' Kickin” played on a well-known location: the Greenies’ House.

To those who don’t know, the Rezzabe Greenies sim is one of those sims in Second Life that are truly must-see. The sim is a huge house where one appears to be mouse-sized. Residents see the world as the diminutive alien “Greenies” do, and can find them all over the place exploring around and getting into various mischief. Since it’s construction in 2007, the sim has been added to, including a Greenie store, a roach hunting game, and small club in an old radio sometimes called "Club G."

For this episode of “Kickin,” Delinda Dryssen brought in singer Takamura Keiko and her band the “Shebangs.” A notecard stated Takamura “started out playing Second Life gigs as a hobby. and enjoyed an immensely positive reaction from her audience while enjoying the comfort of their own home. It also gained her a profile on MTV and a social network of other SL-based musicians. That turned her hobby into a vocation.”

The notecard went on to say she had moved to San Francisco, became part of the community of local musicians, and with the encouragement of her friends in Second Life recently began playing at open mic nights. Supposedly Philip Linden was there to see her first performance, “Because of my semi-stardom in Second Life, I’ve started branching out in real life, and it’s been a wild ride.”

And so at 9 PM, the party started with Takamura and her band singing live and loud from the big record player, with the audience dancing on the cabinet shelf and down below. A couple dancers were in Greenie avatars as well, with others in green avatars of a different kind. Nearby, one of the sim’s Greenies seemed oblivious as he listened in an iPod.

The event can be seen in the show’s archives on the treet.tv website: Here.

So for Live n' Kickin fans, it was truly a unique event, dancing inside a music player instead of just to one.

Bixyl Shuftan

Science Fiction Convention Returning to Second Life

Get your lightsabers and Vulcan ears. The SecondLife Science Fiction Convention 2 is coming to the Metaverse this weekend. And it will be raising Lindens for the American Cancer Society. So get ready to “beam” on over.

For more, go to Community.

Cartoon of the Day

Autism Awareness at Tiaopia Island

From January 3rd to the 9th, the Tiaopia sim will host the Autism Awareness Project. The week-long event has poetry readings, art auctions, storytelling, and over 40 live music artists to help raise funds, and attention to those with the illness. Each day will have a different theme, from romance to Madi-Gras. The dedicated team has the goal of raising a record amount of cash, and have plenty of fun for themselves and everyone else.

Continued in Community

Today in SL Newspaper

In Main News, we introduce Shackle Simsider as he explains a newcomer’s point of view of Second Life’s money trees in "Well, It's News to Me." Also, we take a look at game show star Kat2 Kit’s other project, his unique cyanotype artwork both sold online and here into the Metaverse. In Community, Skybeam is holding it’s Ice Sculpture contest. And in Extra Extra, musician Zak Claxton hold’s his album debut party.

New column for SL residents

A day of a newbie's life

Hi all first of all I want to introduce myself,

I'm Shackle Simsider, and as it will say above I'm a newbie.

And I want to share my experiences with other people.

So here I ended up writing an article in the newspaper

One of the first things I stumbled on was money:

If you are new to this game and don't know what to expect i can imagine people don't want to spend real money,so I tried to find ways to make money in game

And there it is a Money tree:-

You can pick dollars off it by left clicking them (don't fill in any forms or login in a browser window if it opens, it might be a trick to get your password)

a linden dollar looks like this:-

There can also be fruit in it, bannana's oranges or apples depending on the owner of the tree they will be worth more than 1 linden.

There are a few useful things around the tree; the signs will tell you if the 'balance' of the tree is more than 0 linden so in other words "if it is able to spawn dollars on it"

another is 'money in tree', this indicates that there is or isn't any money in the tree (occasionally this will say there is when in fact the tree is empty this can be due to sim lag) the best way to find the money is to go to world than envoirment options and put it on midnight this is becouse the notes are full bright and easier to spot another cool tool is the alt look;

if you want to use this press and hold left alt then left click and hold your mouse now move the mouse forward and left and right

it makes looking in trees and shops a lot easier

I think this is one of the best things to know of as a newbie, not only becouse it gets you your first few linden dollars but its a good way to explore the world, I saw loads of nice places when I was picking money off tree's and lots of freebies near the trees

This is a nice place to start your quest on finding money tree's

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Silla/128/36/75

Kat2 Kit’s Commercial Cyanotype Art

Residents in Second Life whom have been to Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” game show, or seen the episodes online (http://www.the1stquestion.com/) have seen a tiny panda named Kat2Kit, doing the opening acts. Kat (as his friends call him) is also among the "tinies" in Pooky’s Second Life Machinima “I’m Too Busy to Date Your Avatar.”

As it turns out, not only is Kat a talented virtual actor and game show star, he is also a skilled and inventive artist in real life.

Outside Second Life, Kat2Kit is Matt Shapoff of New York City. He creates one of a kind artwork using a 19th century non-silver photographic technique called “cyanotype.” His unique work has been described as “combining 19th Century printmaking techniques with 21st Century digital photography and design.”

Kat has been doing artwork, “Officially after dropping out of collage for aerospace. " When asked how Matt got started, he stated "I got into NYU photography as an undergrad after discovering a love for photography and art. Using a a portfolio I made in high school under the basement stairs in my house. (I) took one class in "non-silver" where I learned several processes, but cyanotype soon became my favorite. In the early 1990's I began doing this more extensively. Because the process is a "contact" process, it requires a negative the size of the final print. Most often this is done with BIG cameras, but I prefer to use a laserwriter and overhead slides. The department chair will now admit I was the first to do digital art in the department.”

Kat also commented that the initial response wasn't enthusiastic, "I heard alot of 'why blue?' " But over time their attitude changed, “Now the department is called Photo and *Imaging*!"

The idea of selling artwork never really came until about fifteen years later. “A dozen or so,” pictures were sold on his first try, Kat described, “It was a jewelry sale for my wife, and we put a few out to see.” What surprised Kat the most was, “I offhandedly set a price, and they paid it! Well, it was what I guess I would part with them at. Pretty high I thought, $75 for an unframed one of a kind 6" wide by 30" long print of local botanicals.” Kat used the plants themselves in the pictures, saying they worked, “but they somewhat expensive in commercial terms. My cards are created in much larger, more repeatable, volume via offset or inkjet. I have cyanotype cards, but they are a bit pricer.”

Kat first began advertising his commercial art online in 2005, “First with etsy ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadeonpeconicbay ) and then with supermarket ( http://hmpb.us). He got the idea of selling them in Second Life, “pretty quickly, as I started making film again, but this time using SL as the camera.” Kat had been a part of Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” from the beginning, “I was doing my bike tricks at ‘Brooklyn is Watching’ and she asked me if I would be the opening act for her show.” He also did the filming, “If SL years are like dog or cat’s years, it feels like 10 years.

Kat went on to say he and Pooky would be on real-life television on December the 31st 3 PM in New York City, “I made the tape. (For) over year I have trying to get the files. I have worked in broadcast media both at Showtime networks, and BBDO. Finally we got enough short together for 1 hour special. Pooky submitted it, and we feel honored to have been chosen for December 31st. We will stream it in-world, and have a part in-sync with real-life. We are considering a weekly show for the Dating Casino ... a real-life slot on MNN TV ... public access.” Pooky later told me the episode was broadcasted as planned, and was very pleased with Kat’s work.

Kat’s personal blog is at - http://handmadeonpeconicbay.com. He pointed out a short webfilm on cyanotypes at (http://blip.tv/file/341745?filename=Mattlabs-DigitalCyanotype664.flv). Kat is sometimes seen in Second Life operating a printing press with the tiny panda. He pointed out another short webfilm “Using the Pearl” at - (http://mattlabs.blip.tv/file/1884211/)

Matt Shaphoff's work can be viewed and purchased online at http://hmpb.us . His digital art can be purchased in Second life at his store in the LlSound New York sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/LISound%20New%20York/134/163/24). Commissioned work can be created or brought into Second Life on request.


Bixyl Shuftan

Opinion: Second Life’s Numbers Going Downhill

A recent article in “Massively” spelled out what many residents have kept saying would happen if the Lindens didn’t get their act together. More people are moving on from Second Life than moving in.

Second Life’s “User Concurrency” reached 88,000 in Spring 2009, and then began to slowly fall. Officially, the reason is Linden Labs new policies against bots used in camping and gaming. It’s also been thought that after several years, most computer users inclined to give Second Life a try already have. However, this decline comes after a number of questionable decisions by Linden Labs, the Openspace/Homestead controversy, “Age Verification” rules, the end of the Mentor Volunteer group, and others.

Of these decisions, the Openspace debacle may have been the most damaging to Second Life’s numbers. One former SL resident explained that with the new rules and prices, a number of his favorite places closed down, “if the really cool areas with your friends go, then you have little reason to go back.”

By all means, it’s not too late to turn back, but given the Lindens’ past history, people can be forgiven for looking to see what else is out there.

It’s interesting that Massively compared Second Life to Everquest, saying the Metaverse had just about reached the same number of users at the MORPG’s peak. Everquest had been the top game for a few years, then it declined. The arrival of a better game, World of Warcraft is recognized as the big reason, but one gamer pointed out another. The makers of Everquest kept making changes to the game that gradually robbed the game of it’s social aspect, the shrinking number of players finding it harder to meet up to trade or team up. A one-two punch that sent Everquest into a shadow of what it once was.

So far, there is no “Second Life killer” on the horizon that would do it what WoW did to Everquest. But already the actions of the Lindens are driving people to look for new pastures, even if it means abandoning open-ended virtual landscapes and going back to games.


Bixyl Shuftan

Source: Massively

Cartoon of the Day