Cartoon of the Day

It was fifty years ago yesterday Man finally made it to the Moon. Eventually, people will return. Though should wolves of the two-legged variety do so as well, there'll be another breakthrough moment.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Burn2 Conception: Communal Earth

The Burn2 Conception, the spinoff event of the successful Burn2 festival, is taking place this weekend. At Burning Man - Deep Hole, there are a number of exhibits and a number of music events. The theme of the event, "Communal Earth," to look at issues related to the Earth. Marcel Mosswood was there, and wrote about the event.

Read the article in Events.

SL Video: "Exploring Hangars Liquides, The World's Largest Cyberpunk City in Second Life"

(Click here if the video does not play)

From Isabelle Cheren on April 19, "In today's vlog I am taking you exploring a sci fi cybernetic experience in Second Life. All details of the destination and what I am wearing from EQUAL10 in the blog post below. More information about this amazing place will be also found."

Some of her talk has little to do with Second Life, but the camera shots are great. 

Blau Rascon and The Second Life Avatar Index

Some readers may remember the Second Life Avatar Review Files or SLARF (slarf.org). This website provided a number of reviews for various furry, and a few feral, avatars. Unfortunately, a few years ago, the website stopped updating, and then went offline. Among the writers for it was Blau Rascon, whom had left after joining up with the Kenzart Kreetures avatar company. Last September, he started a similar website: the Second Life Avatar Index. Cyfir recently had a chance to talk to him about the Avatar Index, and what he's been doing at KZK.

Read Cyfir's story in Extra.

Interview with Hangars Liquides Creator: Djehan Kidd

Djehan Kidd is the artist behind Hangars Liquides, a cyberpunk-themed city in Second Life that unfortunately made news last week when she announced the place was in danger of disappearing. A few days ago, I had the chance to interview her. We would talk about how she came to Second Life, how Hangars came to be, and a few other projects she's worked on.

Read the interview in People.

Eye On The Blog: "#Apollo50th #SecondLifeChallenge"

It was fifty years ago this week that the Apollo 11 rocket launched, and on July 20 that year two of it's astronauts would walk on the moon. Various places and groups in Second Life are having celebration events, such as the National Space Society. Linden Lab is getting in on the events by inviting people to take part in their latest "hashtag SecondLifeChallenge" event, "#Apollo50th," which Xiola Linden posted about yesterday.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon launch! Four days later, mankind touched down on the moon's surface and  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." was born! We wanted to celebrate the momentous occasion with a #SecondLifeChallenge

To take part, the Lab is asking residents to take screenshots and/or videos of themselves and/or friends exploring outer space locations. You then share the picture on social media "using the hashtags #Apollo50th, #Apollo50, #Apollo11,  and #SecondLifeChallenge," as well as posting on Flickr. Of the Flickr pictures, "using the hashtags #Apollo50th and #SecondLifeChallenge ," you submit them to two Second Life Flickr groups, Second Life Official, and Second Life Challenge - Official.

The Lab is offering no prizes, nor is there any competition.

The blog post would also mention the National Space Society's celebration of the Moon Landing tomorrow, Saturday July 20, and the International Spaceflight Museum.

To view the blog post in full, Click Here.

CDS Announcement: Stella Marina Block Party

Come enjoy a lazy summer afternoon at The Stella Marina Block Party in Colonia Nova!        

Date:  July 20, 2019
Time:  12-2pm slt                                               

Tour our new fishing village, dance to the music of DJ Callipygian Christensen. Fun, food and frolicing goats.

Announcement: "Moonshot" Apollo Anniversary Party at The Ark

The Ark is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing with eight hours of music, including DJ Tantari with her new "Walking on the Moon" set.

DJ Books - 12 pm - 2 pm
DJ Xiao - 2 - 4 pm
DJ Tantari - 4 - 6 pm
DJ Cranky Rabbit - 6 - 8 pm

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quarabia/90/128/501

Note: Sim is rated adult, and there may be nudity at the club

Crowdfunder To Save Hangars Liquides Sims

In a further development on the continuing story about the Hangars Liquides cyberpunk-themed sims in danger of closing at the end of the month, it was announced in the group that a crowdfunder to save them had been launched on indiegogo.com.

We have just launched our crowndfunding campaign to save the city.

You can donate anything you feel like, keep in mind the 100 EUR perk is like the regular rentals yearly.

Djehan Kidd is offering two perks for people do donate. For a donation of $112 USD, you'll get an apartment in Hangars for a year. For a donation of $1122, you get one of four platinum rooftop lofts.

As of the writing of this article, $1257 of the $6735 goal had been raised.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Bixyl Shuftan

Addition: As of 1PM SL time, the amount donated is $1572 USD.

Linden Endowment of the Arts Set to Close August 31

In what can only be described as a stunning development for artists and supporters of the arts in Second Life, the Linden Endowment for the Arts is set to close down on the last day of August.

The Committee of the Linden Endowment for the Arts regrets to inform residents of Second Life that the LEA regions will be closing at the end of August 2019.

In November 2018, the Committee decided that the best way forward was for the members to step down, and allow Linden Lab to revamp or re-organise the program, with new members if they wished. At that time, the bi-annual Land Grant (the AIR regions) were shuttered. A small number of the Committee stayed on to administer the Core regions until the remaining grant commitments ran their course.  Those grants are now coming to an end, and therefore the LEA will be closed at the end of August 2019

The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) was established to help create a center of arts activity in Second Life. It was founded in 2010 and launched its first events in 2011. For the last eight years, it has been a collaborative venture between Linden Lab and the arts community. Guided initially by a board of renowned Second Life artists and more latterly also bringing in people with a strong interest in promoting the Arts in Second Life, the LEA has been committed to providing access to engaging experiences in the arts for the Second Life community. Over the last eight years, through its exhibitions, programs, and events, the LEA has fostered awareness of artists’ contributions to our virtual world and encouraged others to get involved and be inspired.

It has long been divided into two parts; The Core Regions and the Artists in Resident Regions.

The LEA Land Grant (the AIR Regions) was a program to distribute 20 regions (LEA10 - LEA29) generously donated by Linden Lab. These regions were used to promote art and artistic endeavors in Second Life. Full regions of virtual land were made available to in-world artists through an application process. The AiR Land Grant was a 6 month grant.

The LEA Land Grant was shuttered by Linden Lab in January 2019 at the request of the LEA Committee, pending decisions on the future of the LEA.

The Core regions  (LEA1- LEA9)  hosted a variety of artistic events and installations for a three month period. The Core regions included a Welcome Area, a four region theatre, a sandbox for artists, and partial and full regions that could be used for the three month period, with a great emphasis on community art events.

This program will be closing at the end of August when all the regions will be shuttered by Linden Lab at the request of the Committee.

The Committee wishes to express its gratitude and deep respect for the artists of Second Life, whose work they have been privileged to support over the last eight years. We hope that in time Linden Lab will be able to create a new program that will continue their support of the arts in Second Life.

Any questions concerning the Linden Endowment for the Arts should be addressed to PatriciaAnne Daviau or JMB Balogh.

The  Linden Endowment for the Arts Committee:
PatriciaAnne Daviau, JMB Balogh, LaPiscean Liberty, Jayjay Zifanwe
Advisors:  The Dove Rhode and Corcosman Voom


Until recently, there were many more LEA sims. But in November 2018, it was announced 19 of the 29 then were closing down as part of "restructuring" of the LEA.

Saffia Widdershins invited me to talk to her for a few minutes. She stated Linden Lab had nothing to do with the LEA closing down. If anything, they wanted it to keep going. But the LEA Committee "were pretty much burned out." After inviting a number of people to join the Committee, and being refused, they had decided to step down so a fresh start could take place.

Saffia told me this wasn't necessarily the end of the LEA. It could still be saved in some form, "But the initiative needs to come from the arts community. They need to pull together and create a workable proposal (or several proposals) for the Lab."

Inara Pey had a number of things to say on her blog, "As was pointed out to me after I wrote the article on the 2018 restructuring announcement, running any organisation like the LEA is going to be a thankless task; there is no remuneration for time given, there is always going to be hostility over actions taken and the grants awarded, and so on; it really can be a thankless task. ...

"However, there can be no doubting then when all is said and done, the LEA did a tremendous amount of good for the artists who participated in its programmes, offering many the means to express themselves and reach audiences in a manner that might never otherwise been able to achieve.

"While the LEA many have had its warts and at times had to face undue criticism, it has through its nine years of existence been a force for good for those arts who have been able to make use of its facilities and it has certainly helped enriched art within Second Life and allow many to appreciate work and installations they might otherwise never get to see. So, it’s not unfair to say its passing will be missed."

So will the LEA be saved, or will this chapter of the history of the arts in Second Life come to a close? Stay tuned for more details.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Moon Landing Day 2019 - 50th Anniversary

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first first landing of humankind on the Moon. Join us at our Tranquility Base venue on Saturday, July 20th, for two historic video watch parties, and a Space Age Sock Hop with DJ Aristippus (details below).

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/50/100/3675

Video watch parties:

We will gather at Tranquility Base at 1pm SL time ahead of the landing time, and again at 7:30pm SL time in advance of the first steps on the Moon, where we will watch the videos and discuss the past, present and future of space exploration and development. You can view these videos on our screens or in your browser any time, but the information below will allow you to sync with the timing of the historic events.

Apollo 11 Moon Landing - CBS Coverage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E96EPhqT-ds
Video start time to sync:  1:02:28 pm SL time

Apollo 11 First Steps on the Moon - recently restored video of the first lunar EVA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9HdPi9Ikhk
Video start time to sync:  7:52:45 pm SL time

You can also watch and listen to:
“Hope Eyrie” (The Eagle Has Landed) - anthem of the Space Age
Performed by Julia Ecklar, written by Leslie Fish, video edited by Per Malm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cVOOXQo22o


Space Age Sock Hop with DJ Aristippus!

4-6pm SL time, Saturday, 20 July

Join us at Tranquility Base (see landmark above) for some songs with a space theme, some that come from the Moon landing era, and a whole lot of classic rock and roll. Costumes not required, but we encourage spacesuits or period sock hop outfits. Freebie classic avatar spacesuits available!

Aristippus, The Sexy Dj, has been DJing for many years. He mostly plays songs that he has uploaded from his personal collection of vinyl LPs and 45s. He is an original Baby Boomer, born in Year 1 of that generation. As such on Oct. 4, 1957, he was almost 11 years old when Sputnik went up, ushering in the age of space exploration.


For more information on the Apollo 11 mission:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/

http://apollo11.spacelog.org

http://www.earthtothemoon.com/apollo_11.html


Check out the Apollo 11 exhibit at the Neil A. Armstrong Library and Archives here:

Begin Apollo 11 historical tour here
[ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/152/123/3012 ]

Get a FREE Apollo 11 wearable spacesuit here
[ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/77/124/3005 ]


See the Saturn V / Apollo stack, Launch Umbilical Tower, and Vertical Assembly Building at the International Spaceflight Museum's "Spaceport Bravo" region:

Saturn V / Apollo stack at ISM Spaceport Bravo
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Bravo/57/57/38

Listen to our Moon Music playlist through the end of July:


Sponsored by the National Space Society in SL and the International Spaceflight Museum:

We are the in-world presence of the National Space Society, an international organization of like-minded people, from the interested public to grassroots activists to astronauts and space scientists.

http://space.nss.org

Welcome to the International Spaceflight Museum! We strive to create full-scale, accurate models of rockets and other spacecraft, and present astronomical information in an interactive, accessible way. This museum was started in late 2005, and has been at the present location on Spaceport Alpha since early 2006.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/48/78/24

http://ismuseum.org

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Club Cutlass' "Toon Time." "Wreck-It-Ralph" as the "bad guy" in his video game is a sympathetic one when you think about it. His home, a stump in the woods, is uprooted to make way for an apartment complex. And the impulsive guy that he is, vents his fists at the source of his problem. Sly Cooper may be technically breaking the law in his heists, but that be steals only from other thieves *and* would rather avoid violence, makes him the hero of his game. Fortunately in Ralph's movie, everything turns out well for him in the end.

By Bixyl Shuftan

SL Newser 9th Anniversary SL Photography Contest Results

After a week for the readers to vote on their favorites, as well as the judges, we finally have the results of the Second Life Newser 9th Anniversary SL Photogrphy Contest. The contest was in two parts, popular vote and judges vote.

The results of the judges' choices were:

3rd Place (100L and a trophy) : Tie vote - Dean (serenedean) and Witcher (witchercraftsmn)

2nd Place (250L and a trophy) : Lady Onia (Ladyonia)

1st Place (500L and a trophy) : Pink Clarity

Almost 100 readers came to the SL Newser office to vote on their favorite pictures. The results of the readers' choices were:

3rd Place (100L and a trophy) : Anjel.Mills

2nd Place (250L and a trophy) : Lady Onia (Ladyonia)

1st Place (500L and a trophy) : Dean (serenedean)

Congratulations to the winners. You should be receiving your prizes soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

Firestorm To Offer Seperate Viewers For Second Life And Opensim

For years, Team Firestorm has offered not only a viewer that can access Second Life, but also one that can go online either Second Life or the Opensim girds. In a recent announcement however, Firestorm's team leader Jessica Lyon announced they would no longer offer a viewer that can get on either virtual world.

We have reached a milestone in how we handle Open Simulator and Second Life binaries. In the past we have provided SL-only builds AND OpenSim-and-SL builds. This has always caused much confusion to our users, and for that reason—among many others—we have forked our code into two repositories. This means we can now issue updates for Second Life and updates for OpenSim independently of each other. It also makes it a lot easier for us to develop for Second Life without worrying about backwards compatibility with OpenSim, and to develop for OpenSim without concern about SL compatibility. Everyone wins!

No longer will the two be tied by release date or version numbers. Firestorm developer Beq Janus has been communicating with OpenSim developers and grid owners and has been working hard on OpenSim-specific issues for a future OpenSim Firestorm viewer update.

The SL and OS Viewer will still work for now. But the next viewers for Second Life and Opensim will only work on their respective grids.

Click Here for the blog post in full.

SL Video: "Second Life Destinations - Medieval Roleplaying"

Xiola Linden's post for Second Life Destinations on July 3 was of "Medieval Roleplaying," the video filmed in the area of Mystvale.

Have you ever thought about writing your own Medieval novel? What if you could live through your very own battle of the throne without any of the very bloody and finite endings you’ve seen on television? Hold court, joust, ride forth into battle on the back of your trusted steed, or simply embrace the photogenic romance of living in an era long passed - it’s all possible in SL.
 

That’s where communities like MYSTVALE and other role-playing communities within Second Life come in. Tailored to immerse you in an experience that blends history and fantasy together, and allows you to begin making your own history through creative story-telling. Talk about choosing your own adventure!

Put on your favorite medieval outfit, grab your preferred party of adventurers, and cross the virtual veil into MYSTVALE.  

For the blog post in it's entirety, Click Here. 

Events This Week at the Sunweaver, Montecito Bay, and CDS Clubs

Here's what's going on at the Sunweaver and Montecito Bay clubs, Lyuba's Game and Dance Center.

Club Cutlass: Best in 'C', Scary Stuff, Wild West

The Happy Vixen: Best in Golden and Sunny, Best in 60s, TBA, Best in Purple, Star Trek vs Star Wars, Space Cowboys, Best in Sci-fi, Anything But Clothing, Black and White

Club Zero Gravity: TBA

Montecito Bay: TBA

Lyuba's Game and Dance Center: Apocalypse to Thunderdome

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'.  

Furry Fashion Puts Lounge Events on Hold

For years, the Furry Fashion Lounge has offered DJ music events for the friends of the mall. But yesterday, it was announced in both the inworld group and Discord channel that the events at the Lounge, recently renamed Furscape, were being put on hold, at least for a little while.

We decided to reevaluate  the way that we manage the sim.

In order to restructure we decided that Regularly scheduled events would be on hiatus for a few weeks while we make plans on a future event structure. While we won't have scheduled events running, the lounge is still open as a good place to hang out and enjoy yourself. Keep your ears open for when DJs might decide to play music for your enjoyment! Furry fashion is not closing down!

Thank you for your unbelivable support!

There is not yet a date for when events will resume. For those wanting to know when impromptu events are taking place, joining the group is recommended.

RFL Announcement: 2019 Xmas Expo - Registration Open

Space is filling quickly!

The Magic of Christmas is the theme for 2019 Xmas Expo in support of The American Cancer Society

Our Premier sim sponsors are almost sold out!  Be sure to reserve your merchant spot soon!

No store?  Sponsor a Special Event!

SL Christmas Expo

Share with your merchant friends!
Our goal is $20,000 US for 2019! 
We did it in 2018.....we can do it again!

Lof of great announcments coming up! 
You don't want to miss taking part this year !!

https://slchristmasexpo.com/

Cats Museum

In real life, cats have proven popular pets, having lived with man for thousands of years and with over 95 million kept as pets in the United States and over eight million in Britain. In Second Life, you can find pet virtual cats in many places. Selena Alexandre has a tribute to our four-footed feline companions, the Cats Museum. Gemma Cleanslate, a cat owner herself, went to have a look.

Read Gemma's article in Places.

The Kultivate 4th Annual Anniversary

Kultivate Magazine, a publication that focuses on the artistic side of Second Life, is celebrating it's fourth anniversary. As they do every year, they're celebrating with both an art show and music events every day this week. Marcel Mosswood of the Newser was there, and wrote about the event.

Read Marcel's story in Design.

Linden Lab Still In Talks With Djehan Kidd Over Hangars Liquides

Last Friday, the Newser reported on the five region Hangars Liquides urban sci-fi sims in danger of being shut down at the end of the month. This weekend, I had a few words with the builder and owner Djehan Kidd about the area, and it's situation.

Djehan told me it's looking unlikely Linden Lab will allow Hangars to rent out apartments and still remain a nonprofit. She felt it's not because they don't want to, but in her opinion they're "monitored" by the US Government more today than in the past. She's also gotten numerous offers of help to keep the sims afloat. But she feels their best chance lies with the Lab's sim preservation program, "So far I didn't get a no or a yes. All I know is that a commitee will visit (the sims) and decide."

Meanwhile, others are spreading the word about the sims. A concerned resident created a thread on the official forums about Hangars Liquides, and it quickly grew to numerous pages, some people posting pictures of the area. There were numerous pleas for the sims to be given a break and allowed to stay on. One commented, "I don't think I have been there before or if I had I didn't spend long there because the scale of it whilst immersive is also bewildering. Spent 30 minutes exploring it again and it is undoubtedly a work of art. Despite all its complexity it is well optimised, I had none of my usual problems with textures and objects not bothering to load. It is a fine example of what is possible to do here."

There's also a Flickr page full of screenshots of the sims (caution, not all safe for work).

The full interview with Djehan will appear later this week in the Newser.

Image Credit: Lawrence Celestalis

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: "Headline Apollo by The Beckridge Gallery"

THE BECKRIDGE GALLERY PRESENTS "HEADLINE APOLLO"
A POP UP EXHIBIT BY DIAMOND MARCHANT

An exhibit of front page print journalism by the Fort Worth Star Telegram during the Apollo 11 moon mission

July 15 thru July 28, 2019 at The Beckridge Gallery, Bellesseria, Second Life
Free and open to the public

The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon mission has brought forth numerous books, films, and exhibits that offer different perspectives on this unique human achievement. In this vein, the "Headline Apollo" exhibit presents what the readers of a north Texas newspaper saw over this 10 day period in July, 1969. A newspaper of that era covered this history making mission with great detail and emphasis, but simultaneously reported on other issues of the day, such as Vietnam, Chappaquiddick, Luna 15, Nixon, hospital taxes, local crime, and baby names.

The exhibit also includes NASA archival photos of the mission, magazine covers, and a tip of the hat to the first visit to the moon by humans, Apollo 8.

The newspapers presented in "Headline Apollo" (except for July 21 morning) were collected and archived in 1969 by a young diamond Marchant and photographed in 2019.

About the Beckridge Gallery

The Beckridge Gallery of Bellesseria, Second Life is a small indoor gallery that hosts one exhibit at a time. Exhibit topics include art, science, and history and may concern the real world as well as Second Life activities.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beckridge/198/136/25

Media Contacts

diamond Marchant
diamond.marchant.sl@gmail.com