Grand Opening of Peace Nation at Creations Park

Last weekend, The Creations Park sim opened a new area, Peace Nation, with a Grand Opening party. Sim owner Barbie Alchemi was there along with her real-life mother Fran Serenade, and a number of friends. Besides announcing a new place to explore and relax, the event was also to raise funds for Parkinsons.

See more in Events. 

Press Release: Virtual World Conference Supports Quality of Life in Mental Health

Virtual Ability, Inc. announces the third annual Mental Health Symposium to be held Saturday, April 26th, 7:00 am PDT/SLT to 5:00 pm PDT/SLT in Second Life®. The theme of this year’s conference is “Quality of Life.”

The World Health Organization defines quality of life as an individual’s “perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, standards and concerns.”

Quality of life is important to us all, but may be more difficult to attain for those with mental health issues. Overall quality of life is affected by psychological state, physical health, level of independence, social relationships, personal values and beliefs, and the relationship of all of these to the person’s environment.

Symposium presentations include (in alphabetical order):
•    Hillary Bogner, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, will offer insights from her research on depression among older adults.
•    Colleen Crary, Executive Director of Fearless Nation, Inc., will share lessons from adversity for creating a vibrant life.
•    Dick Dillon, CEO of Innovaision, LLC, shares surprising information about why some recovering addicts become “weller than well.”
•    Teresa Goddard, Senior Consultant with the Job Accommodation Network, will inform us about attaining employment equality through accommodation and self-advocacy.
•    Dr. Christine Karper and Michelle Stone, members of the American Counseling Association’s Cyber Task Force, will talk about the role of counseling and virtual service delivery.
•    Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie, University of Southern California, will describe the use of virtual worlds as healing spaces for veterans.
•    Dr. Nicolas Rüsch, of the University of Ulm, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, will explain the results of his research on well-being among persons at risk of psychosis, focusing particularly on shame and stigma.

Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc., stated: “I am pleased to see an increasing focus on quality of life in mental health care in recent years, since many persons with mental health diagnoses struggle with these issues. The Symposium’s international presenters are acknowledged experts in their fields. I will be interested to hear what they have to say on these important topics. Please join us on April 26 to learn more from a variety of exciting speakers!”

All sessions, done in voice and text simultaneously, will take place at The Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island within Second Life®:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/53/172/23
 
The full schedule of presentations is posted at http://www.virtualability.org/conferences/mh-symposium/mh-symposium-2014/.
 
About Virtual Ability, Inc.
Virtual Ability, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to enabling people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in on-line virtual worlds like Second Life®.
 
For more information on Virtual Ability, Inc., including the benefits of virtual worlds for people with disabilities, please see www.VirtualAbility.org.
 
For further information, please contact:
Alice Krueger, President
Virtual Ability, Inc.
Office: (303) 400-3306
akrueger@VirtualAbility.org

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

A Visit to Folkvang Norse

Grey Lupindo's back with another article about her journeys across the places of Second Life. Her most recent trip took her to a Viking-themed place: Folkvang Norse. Here, she found much to explore, as well as some neat rides to explore around with.

Read Grey's article in Places.

Greenies Tribute at LEA

What a thrill! For those who knew and loved the Greenies in Second Life, you will get a kick out of this installation in LEA for sure! For those who do not, a short history. The Rezzable 3D set it up for a band of aliens to invade the Second life sims and move into a home here . The home was huge in size and the tiny  Greenies lived behind hidden doors and walls and in the furniture.  Exploring the house and their doings was so much fun. There was even 7seas fishing in the kitchen sink. 

 

After a few years the home was closed in 2010 and the Greenies disappeared back into space, leaving many sad people around the sims. Many of us have Greenie avatars that we pull out once in a while for an event. 

 

Now, there is a re-creation , a tribute, to the Greenies home in LEA 23. It is massive in size and you can rezz a bike there to roam the areas. One inhabitant I did not see was the cat. I will have to look again.  Don’t miss any  nooks and cranies where the greenies hide. When no human is in the house, of course, they roam at will, setting up games, watching tv, using the computer and more. I looked in the kitchen sink and had nostalgia for a fishing tournament. 

 

There is a machinima in the box outside the house that shows you the greenies and if  you want to see more  take a look here in a machinima by papillonxxxx from 2010.  http://youtu.be/8NZ3144QX_4  . 

 

To visit the tribute house  begin here .  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA23/165/28/22

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Events This Week April 22 to 28

Easter is behind us, but for those late for the chocolate candies there are still some Easter themed places up such as Easter in London City. There are the Relay events. And of course there's our usual live music and DJ parties, book and poetry readings, discussions, talk shows, church services, and races.

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Read more in Events this Week. 

RFL Springfest Battle of the DJs

From Noon to 2 PM on Sunday April 20, the Relay for Life's Sunbeamer Team held a "Battle of the DJs."  This was the Relay team's event for the "Springfest" weekend. Three of the team's DJs performed to raise funds for the team for the American Cancer Society.

'Beamers, we will need you to here to cheer on your fav DJ to victory. Cynthia Farshore, Shockwave Yareach or Perri Prinz, as they battle for your hearts, minds and your hard earned Lindens.  Who wins will be determined by who raises the most Lindens, during their 40 minute jam session!  Battle starts at  Noon SLT.

DJ Cynthia performed first at Noon. The music from a far shore was followed by the 'beamers answer to Wolfman Jack: DJ Shockwave whom performed from 12:40 to 1:20 PM. Last but far from least on this Easter Day event was their resident bunny DJ Perri. Here, she has a couple new fans coming up to the stage for a closer look.

All three DJs brought in several thousand Lindens, bringing the team total to just under 49,000 Lindens. As of the writing of this article, the total stands at 50,000 raised, about half the amount needed to reach Silver status.

*Addition* Rita later announced it was Perri Prinz who brought in the most cash.

I want to thank our three DJs for putting on a great show!  You all did great!  ...  I do want to thank those of you who did find the time away from family and friends to come out and support our event.  Cynthia raised 1170L, Shockwave raised 1949L, Perri raised 2450L.  So Perri is our WINNER!

Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

High Fidelity Alpha

After Philip Rosedale, the former Philip Linden, left Linden Lab, he continued his work in virtual reality. Eventually, he came up with a new project: High Fidelity. A new kind of virtual world, he build it with his experiences in Second Life. DFran Babcock was approved as a tester for the alpha, and will be writing about her experiences.

Read DrFran's article in Other Grids and MMOs.

Avatar Review: Seawolf Dragon

In January, Xymbers Slade reviewed the Dragon Guardian avatar from Spider Productions. Today, we have another article about a dragon av, Theonlyjohnny Resident takes a look at the one from Seawolf. So what did he think of this scaley firebreather? Here he gives his opinion.

Read Theonlyjohnny Resident's article in Design.

Press Release: Second Life Eleventh Birthday

The event will be held from Sunday June 22nd – Sunday June 29th—seven days of amazing exhibits, music, conversation, debate, firework displays, games, puzzles, sports and everything else the wonderfully inventive communities of Second Life™ can pack into seven days and 11 sims.
Actually, even that won’t be the end of it, as the sims will be open for a further seven days for everyone to explore.

What’s our theme?
The theme this year takes inspiration from a quote by the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill:

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

Last year’s theme was “Looking Forward, Looking Back,” but we focused mostly on looking back, and rightly so, as 10 years was an important milestone and a perfect opportunity to reflect back on where we came from.
This year it’s time to look forward; to imagine where we are headed.
When Winston Churchill said this in 1943, he could not have imagined a virtual world like Second Life, but now, more than seventy years later, his words have come true in this new world that we have created.
If there’s one thing that makes SL unique, it’s our community of users. Users from all corners of the globe come together under a single umbrella to build a community that comes from our minds and our imaginations. Everything we see, touch and use in Second Life is a product of our imaginations, our minds, and our community.
And this year, at the SL11B Community Celebration, we want to celebrate precisely that!
Get thinking. Get imagining. Get creative!

How do I get involved?
Applications are now open for Performers, Volunteers and speakers and performers  in the Auditorium. We will need lots of volunteers to make this a success, so please consider whether you can give some time to helping out. We can promise you a lot of fun!
Applications for Exhibitors (i.e. people who want a plot to build on) will open on April 27th.
The closing date for Exhibitor, Performer and Auditorium applications is May 26th.

How do I find out more?
You can find out more by following this blog, and by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
We also have a Flickr page where you can paste your own images when the sims open. You make see some sneak images from the team before that so keep watching!
Main site: http://slcommunitycelebration.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SLBCommunity
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SLBCommunityCelebration
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/slcommunitycelebration/pool/

Cartoon of the Day: Unhappy Easter for the SL Enquirer

Taken at a RFL Jail & Bail at "The Strip," and done in cooperation with Lanai Jarrico, the owner and editor of the Second Life Enquirer, which we have a link exchange with. This cartoon goes hand in hand with her SL Easter story. So how did Lanai end up in this predicament? Check her paper to find out.

Passover Service in Second Life (March 2010)

In March 2010 on Palm Sunday, Bixyl Shuftan was at a virtual Passover service in Second Life. The event was performed by a Christian group whom saw great value for followers in learning about what has traditionally been a Jewish practice. Although done four years ago, this event still stands out as how Second Life can be used for religious education.

Read more in Events.

Classic SLN Cartoons: "Happy Easter"

Done for April 2010, this guy was playing around with animations, so when he was sitting  in this prayer pose for a while, I got my "Loco Poco" chocolate rabbit and took this picture.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: Educating With MAD Lab

(Click here if the video is blocked)

Prom Pookymedia: "Merced County in California needed to upgrade and modernize their Vector Control outreach to schools in their county. They called us to create a mixed reality film to increase awareness of the threats that mosquitoes pose to people and animals. We were asked to help educate on how the professionals in this important arena help maintain a safe environment for all. The film has met with great success for the program. Speaking to the audience in a language they really understand!"

Grace Baptist Church of Second Life

One can find many things in Second Life. This includes places to go to church. Among them is the Grace Baptist Church of Second Life. Second Life Newser recently went to the location for a closer look, and had a few words with it's Pastor, Bryan Sarjeant.

Read about the church in People.

Game Review: Seven Days to Die

Nydia Tungsten's back with another game review. Today, she takes a look at "7 Days to Die." In this game, players are up against huge numbers of zombies, and starting out with nothing but a little food and water, they must scavenge what they can to fight back. So did Nydia like it, or was the zombie MMO  brain dead?

Read more in Other Grids and MMOs.

"Yuri's Night"

Last weekend on Saturday April 12, the National Space Society in Second Life celebrated "Yuri's Night," an event held to commemorate the successful journey of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

Yuri's Night is an international celebration held on April 12 every year to commemorate space exploration milestones. The event is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961. The launch of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission, is also honored, as it was launched 20 years to the day of Vostok 1 on April 12, 1981. In 2013, Yuri's Night was celebrated at over 350 events in 57 countries.

The goal of Yuri's Night is to increase public interest in space exploration and to inspire a new generation of explorers. Driven by space-inspired artistic expression and culminating in a worldwide network of annual celebrations and educational events, Yuri's Night creates a global community of young people committed to shaping the future of space exploration while developing responsible leaders and innovators with a global perspective. These global events are a showcase for elements of culture that embrace space including music, dance, fashion, and art.

The event took place from about 4PM SL time to 10 PM. Originally scheduled to be at the Sagan Planetarium in the Aspen sim, the event was moved to high in the sky over Spaceport Bravo. Pixel Bombastic performed live music for the crowd of science fans.

 

 

For those dropping by, there was a box of freebies one could pick up, which included t-shirts, mens and womens pendants, moonwalk and Russian dance animations, and an SK-1 Soviet space helmet.

 

Among the exhibits there was Yuri's capsule from his Vostok rocket, "Gee, that Vostok capsule really was just a steel ball!" "(laughter) Pretty much."

One lady commented, "Yuri was received by Brazilian President Quadros, and we are very effusive in how we ... our joy, (laughter) he is correct, but the Russians are like that ... They are also very effusive, as the Italians. ... The ability of joy of the Russian people is indeed admirable, Russian folklore and the music is beautiful too."

A good time was had by all.

Bixyl Shuftan