Do You Have a Story?

A new year is on it's way for Second Life, and that means more stories. And one source of stories is you the readers.

Have you seen a particularly well-detailed sim? Went to a great event? Found yourself in a hilarious "only in SL" predicament? We're very interested in what you the readers have to say. Send us a story or funny picture, and if we like it, we'll post it as a Reader Submitted. For pictures, jpg format is preferred.

Mail submissions to bixylshuftan(at)gmail.com.


PLEASE include your SL user name and tell us if you wish it to appear with your story.

SL-newser reserves the right to post in the appropriate section and to investigate any names used in submitted stories (please ask permission before using anyones name or picture or use an alias for them).

Club Little Dove Returns for New Years Eve

Nydia Tungsten recently informed me that she plans to reopen Club Little Dove for New Years Eve. Little Dove was originally a floating Steampunk-style structure kept in the air by propellers, briefly open for the Relay for Life. This time, the club will be a zeppelin, the dance floor just over the control room.

The party will be at 8 PM SL time. No landmark is currently available, though the club is in the Southern Colorado sim. People can IM Nydia Tungsten for an LM.

Other clubs and social areas will have their own events, such as Cutlass at 6 PM SL time. Club Zero will also have an event, but no time was given. Last Year, Linden Labs hosted an official New Years event, ringing in 2010 when the clock struck midnight for every time zone. But there seems to be no such event planned this time.

UPDATE - Club Little Dove is at Southern Colorado ( 110, 35, 105).

The “Winter Wonderland Snowglobe” at the Fitzgeralnd

Some Nighclubs hold special Winter events. One decided to build a room-sized snowglobe. Drakken Calhoun of “The Fitzgerald” told me about the “Winter Wonderland” those visiting his club could walk into.

“When you come into the club, “Drakken told me, “you will see doors to your left. Open the door, touch the wall inside, and it will take you on a magical winter trip. Please stop by, and we hope you like it. Winter has arrived at the afterhours at the Fitzgerald, stop and have a look at our Winter Wonderland, and dance in our Giant Snowglobe.”

The Fitzgerald itself is, as Drakken describes it, “a 1940’s style ballroom and lounge” one can “bring your freinds and go back in time. ... It’s retro decor with deep reds and hints at jazz-age frivolity make it a welcoming and lighthearted date destination.” The ground floor has a ballroom for music and dancing, and for more laid back events and happenings, there’s a small coffee shop on the second floor, called the “Morning Coffee Lounge.”

Currently the crew of the club is on holiday break with no events after New Years, though Drakken would sometimes leave his avatar dressed at Santa Claus at the sim, often Away From Keyboard, “Would you believe how many people took pictures at the Fitzgerald thinking I was only just the traveling Santa (laughter). I spend from December 1st to December 26th as Santa every year.” Events will resume after the holidays are over, their “Martini Hour Venues” and Sunday morning poetry readings at 10 AM, “and coming soon is the Open Mike Comedy Night,” which is in the lounge upstairs.

The Fitzgerald is at Unsung Village at (54, 91, 22). The Snowglobe will remain until winter ends. Drakken plans to put something else in it's place, but isn't saying what it will be.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

“Bah Humbug” - Second Life Parties for the Scrooge in Us

Second Life had plenty of Christmas events, but what about events for those whom had a little too much of all the saccharine sweetness and phony smiles? The Heart of Mystery and Club Zero Gravity had an answer in the form of parties poking fun at the holiday.

Read the story in Events.

Events this Week in Second Life Dec 28 to Jan 3

With Christmas over, events turn to the last week of December, and of course New Years Eve.
There will be a number of events, and here are a few of them.

(Edited Wednesday Dec 29)

Read the article in Events.

"Tonight Live" Studio to Move to Sailors Cove

After a few months at INXX, Paisley Bebee is moving to the Sailors Cove sim.

Nearly 4 years ago I found Sailors Cove when invited to visit by Delinda Dyrssen, and then later to play a gig there. I also employed a Sailors Cove Resident in 2007 as a show assistant called Jojamela Soon who helped me out at gigs, and Fanci Beebe who is part owner of Sailors Cove was my Music Manager not long after. Delinda Dyrssen our Producer lived there as many of you know. And I have always found the good community at Sailors cove so wonderfully relaxed and friendly to me and my team. I also had a shop at Sailors Cove for several years, and had a regular Thursday and Friday gig for a year or more also. So I’m so thrilled that Fanci and Patrick can accomodate our TV studio at the cove as its permanent new home.

The studio itself is still under construction, high out of sight from the ground, but is still open to the public, "come and take a look if you want, but excuse our mess." The show is currently on break until January 16th.

The new location is at Lewis Rock (20, 232, 3501)

Source: Paisley Beebe

SL Hockey Playoffs SCORE!

You've all heard the jokes, "I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out." So what is hockey like in Second Life. Any1 Gynoid recently attended a game in the playoffs at the Virtual Hockey League sim

Read the story in Events.

Sunday Cartoon

By Bixyl Shuftan

Poetry - Christmas Notes to a Once Husband

Shellie Sands has another poem up. This one has less to do with Second Life than most, but it still makes a strong statement.

Read the poem in Extra.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Second Life Newser

We hope Santa was good to all of you, the readers, this year.

Ozimals and Amaretto Ranch Breedables in Legal Fight

Virtual pets have been a part of Second Life for quite some time. Earlier this year, the Ozimals company was noted for their popular breedable bunnies. For a time, their bunnies were all the rage on the Grid, people breeding them for popular colors and putting them up for auction. In October, they made a marketing deal with Linden Lab, which sent out some promotional offers for them. Then Amaretto horses appeared on the scene, with horses that are also breedable, starting off as small foals that soon grow up and can also be ridden by avatars.

Recently, the two companies have been involved in a legal fight. It began when Ozimals demanded Amaretto stop selling the horses in a “cease and desist letter threatening to file a DMCA,” saying parts of the scripts were copies of the code used in the bunnies. Amaretto. Amaretto refused, and Ozimals fled a DMCA notice with Linden Lab. Amaretto soon responded with a counter-DMCA and copyright lawsuit.


Legal demands over Second Life products are nothing new. Just weeks ago, Universal Studios ordered a number of product makers to change the names of “Battlestar Galacitca” products, saying they were infringing on their copyright. A few years ago was the noted case of a sex bed company Strokerz being sued by several individuals led by the Eros company. But it was the company owner taken to court, not the company. The Ozimals and Amaretto fight is probably the first legal dispute in which both plaintiff and defendant are two registered companies whose revenue is made within Second Life.

Both Ozimals and Amaretto say they regret the matter has come to this, Josie Cooperstone of the Amaretto team calling it “a trying time for all of the breedable community.” But no one is backing down.

For Ozimal's statement, Click Here. For Amaretto's position, Click Here.

Sources: Dwell on It, New World Notes,
Pictures from ozimals.com and SL Marketplace

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources:

Linden Lab Annouces Rod Humble New CEO

On December 23rd on the official blog, BK Linden announced Linden Lab would have a new Cheif Executive Officer, starting mid-January. They had chosen Rod Humble, whom would be joining Linden Lab from Electronic Arts, where he had been Executive Vice President of EA Play.

Linden Lab's official statement described Humble as having a “20-year career in the game development industry,” with “work on more than 200 games.” He is most noted for his work on “The Sims,” in 2009 ranked seond on Edge magazine’s “Hot 100 Game Developers.” Before that, he was Vice President of Product Development for the online game “EverQuest,” which was the most popular MORPG before “World of Warcraft.”

Philip Rosedale stated, “Rod is a great new leader for Linden Lab. ... With Rod's fresh insights and deep experience in creating and leading the development of fun, intuitive, immersive entertainment experiences that have attracted massive audiences of loyal users, he's the right leader to understand what makes us special and bring the next level of growth to Second Life."

Humble’s words on the press release were, "Joining Linden Lab is a very exciting opportunity, ... have a long standing interest in the how the boundaries of society and economics change as communications evolve in new ways. Second Life is unique: it sits at the intersection of virtual worlds, avatars, and human contact. The Residents and developers of Second Life have built something very special, I am honored to join the talented team at Linden Lab to help expand this new frontier."

Humble will not be availale for interviews until some time after the New Year begins.

For the entry on the Linen Blog, Click Here. For the official press release, Click Here. To watch an interview of Rod Humble done in August about Electronic Arts' "Create," Click Here. For a list of some of the games to Rod Humble's credit, Click Here.

Picture from mobygames.com

Memorial Celebration for Delinda Dyrssen

On the weekend of Saturday December 18 and Sunday December 19, a large musical tribute was performed by a number of artists in honor of a mutual friend: Delinda Dyrssen. It was one month before in which she had passed away.

The event began at the Sailors Cove Theater at Fishers Island at 9:30 AM Saturday December 18, with a performance by Pmann Sands. The schedule did not go completely as planned. At one point to substitute for someone, Beth Odets and Strum Diesel did a violin and piano duet that went over very well for the audience, which was packed (not all the avatars showed up on the picture). There was a bit of funnery when someone sat on the elephant up for display for anyone who wanted to take pictures. The music went on past 9 PM SL time.

The following day, the second half of the musical tribute took place at Delinda’s club “The Pocket” at Freestar Bay Isle (229, 3, 23). There were more musicians showing up, as well as other talents such as comedian Lauren Weyland. Most soloed, but there was at least one duet when Von Johin stayed on stage to perform with Moondoggirl Moomintoog. The music went on late into the night, to Midnight SL time and possibly longer.

Durring both days of the event, those attending were invited to contribute notecards with comments to a notebook, of which the contents would be sent to Delinda’s family in real-life. People were also invited to make contributions in support for kidney disease research at the kidney.org website, “If you choose the ‘Memorial Gift’ option Delinda's family will get a note from the Foundation. ... Please make memorial gifts for Denise Williams rather than Delinda Dyrssen.”

One of those attending, Angie Mornington, took a number of pictures of the event, and placed them up for display on her web album at picasaweb.google.com. Of the memorial gifts, Angie commented, “I can't think of a more lovely tribute than for them to get hundreds of notes so they know how much Delinda was loved.”

Chestnut Rau, whom was one of the main organizers of the event, posted some comments in her blog, among which, “Some people can do more in a short life than others do in a century ... Delinda loved to bring people together, and promote the things about Second Life.”

“To Delinda's real-life family, I hope her Second Life Memorial showed you how much we loved your Denise. I hope there is some comfort in that for you. I know there is nothing that we can say or do that eases your pain but we would if we could. Thank you for sharing her with us and with the world.”

Sources: Second Life of my Dreams, Angie Morrington's Public Gallery

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Syzygy Celebrates Winter

Our reporter Grey Lupindo's home sim of Syzygy has been an active one this month, setting up a number of winter and holiday-themed places and activities. They even got the attention of the Lindens. The high point was a home tour given to both visitors and residents alike, people getting a chance to show off their Christmas spirit.


Read Grey's story in People.

Youtube: A Morning Drive to Caen

From Vickster Khun, "A morning drive with the Kommodore.. Leaving the German base in Normandie, the Kommodore of JG 2 Richthofen winds her way past hedgrows, surveys the beach, and finally returns to her airbase in Caen, France."

Events this Week in Second Life Dec 21 to Dec 28

It's Christmas Week in Second Life. Some places are less active this week as people go out of town to see family. But others stay open for those sticking around.

So what's going on? Read the list in Events.

The “Cataclysm” Continues in Azeroth

Recently, "World of Warcraft" went through it's third expansion, "Cataclysm." Following the coverage of the wolf-like Worgen, yours truly took a look at other aspects of the game, as well as what a few people are saying about the online game and it's future.

Read the article in Extra.

Postcards from Breezes

Here I sit amongst the presents. Skating and making snowmen, watching the deer pawing the snow. Looking for morsels, where are the snowflakes thinking as they from the clouds above? All I know is winter wonderland is right here for all to enjoy and wish for happiness in the coming year. solitude is fine for a moment or so, come on gang join me in the Wanderlust ice ring on beautiful SkyBeam Nevar and Ame are looking for you. Thanking them with your presence makes this a joyous time.

Visit Skybeam Wanderlust (194, 102, 28)

Breezes Babii

Sunday Cartoon

By Bixyl Shuftan

Jack Linden to Leave Linden Lab

In his latest post on the Linden Blog, Jack Linden stated he would be leaving his post at Linden Labs at the end of the year, “It’s time for me to set sail for new horizons, hang up the god powers, and journey to another grand adventure elsewhere. It has been an incredible six years, and one that has been made extra special thanks to sharing it with you, the Second Life community.”

I first met him during the “Openspace” controversy, him being the one to answer questions from an often tough crowd as to why Linden Lab was jacking the tier of Homestead sims by 66%. I don’t remember him losing his cool with the occasionally hostile questions, but I don’t recall much empathy either. Tateru Nino commented, “Certainly if there was bad news to deliver, Jack seemed to be your man for the job – and it never seemed to stress him out. There’s not many who can handle that sort of thing.”

Tateru further commented, “I’ve never figured out, exactly – even the couple brief times I worked alongside him at the Lab – if Jack was a decision-maker or a communications flunky. I believe he finished up with the title of Executive Director of Product (Land, eCommerce,Search, etc), but I was never able to figure out if he actually had a voice or influence in any of the decisions that he communicated.”

Jack’s farewell post was followed by a number of well-wishers, those saying they would miss him, and others saying although they had their differences with Jack, they had to respect him, “Jack, I will give you credit for being one of the few Lindens willing to face the masses... “ There were a few who were unimpressed, one saying “your departure is long overdue.”

Jack stated he would be back on Second Life, but as a regular resident. It is unknown whom Linden Lab plans to replace him with.

Sources: Linden Blog, "Dwell on it" , Picture by Ciaran Laval

White Fight

The snowball fight between the Lindens and the residents of SL was a riot as usual! Yes, there were numerous Lindens who made it to defend their honor. Huge piles of snow flew through the air tossing avatars into the sky at times. Some used bazooka throwers.

Torley was at the Thursday fight but I missed him. Spider Linden was there Friday morning and as the fight progressed he grew bigger and bigger! Tiggs Linden was a tiny and hard to hit. Blondin was present as usual as was Jeremy. Oz and Log Linden took part also. There was a micro fox moving so fast no one could possibly hit him. I could not even read his name!

The fight went on for a long time and the Lindens and participants moved from Break Away sim into Empty Net and back again. However, I did hear one say “I have a button here that would determine the winner anytime.” The fight continued long after the Lindens went out. Everyone had a wonderful time at both fights, Thursday night and Friday morning. There were missing Linden faces that flashed by my eyes: George, Blue, but all in all the Lindens defended themselves well.

Winterfest goes on. Check out the destination guide for all the activities there.

Gemma Cleanslate

More Winterfest Fun

Another visit to the Winterfest in the Neutral Zone to see the Art Exhibit landed me right next to my favorite SL artist . As soon as I saw the interactive piece I knew it was Feathers Boa's. The twinkling art she is displaying on the first floor of the Fine Art Exhibition Hall is fitting to the spirit of Winterfest. Be sure to walk into the art itself and see the changes that take place around you.

One piece is a sparkling snow flake that morphs as you pass around it and into it. Another is a crystal heart that changes into gold as you approach it. Some of her old familiar pieces grace the walls . You cant miss the building . It is in the Town Square right next to the directions arrows to take you to the events.

As usual the events were later in the day so the next thing I tackled was the Snow Maze. Great fun! There is a sign on the roof that says “No Peeking!” LOL. I spent more time there than I meant to because there are lots of nice freebie boxes and vendors inside the maze. I picked up a few outfits and some gestures. I was tempted by the free hotel but resisted. Go get those goodies!

The first snowball fight is at 4:00 pm SL time on Thursday and the second at 8:00 am on Friday. I plan to make both if I can! I already picked up my free snowball thrower and practiced a bit.

You have the entrance to the town square for the Art Exhibit so here is the entrance to the maze. By the way, the maze is based on the film “The Shining!" Jack Belvedere, owner of the sims, told me he had to clean up all the gore before doing the snow maze.

Have fun!

Gemma Cleanslate

Join us in The Sojourner Auditorium Today at 10 AM

To accommodate his English-speaking readers, Roger Cardinal (1973) chose the more “anglofied” term for “Art Brut” as the title of his seminal text, Outsider Art. Outsider Art now encompasses the wide range of emerging art work that exhilarates viewers by defying ready-made responses to, and assumptions about, art. It’s an art, Cardinal says, that has always been around us, but it took several centuries for our discursively-abled-minds to begin to grasp its import as pictures and visual stories of infinitely diverse ways of experiencing and living in the world. Our cultural tastes and assumptions, the many art-books that assure us that we are pointed in one direction, have made us impervious to alternative realities. After all, Cardinal reminds us, our cultural heritage in the honored domain of “art’ established our superiority.

Artists making work under the Outsider rubric became a complex modern phenomenon of stigmatized people who reflected and communicated their own stigmatization. Until recently, these artists were known only in medical terms: schizophrenic, autistic, retarded, and so on. Within the past two decades, however, artists with disabilities are emerging with voices that announce that they seek to establish new metaphors from their own experience of the world.

About the presenter:

In RL, Nana is Alice Wexler, who teaches courses in studio methods and artistic development, instructional resources in art education, and art for exceptional children and adults at SUNY New Palz. Her research focuses on the art-making practices of exceptional children and adults, and on the integration of text and image in art works made by children and adolescents. She is writing a book on children with special needs in alternative settings.

Outsider Art; Artists with Disabilities
Presenter: Nana Chingseng (Alice Wexler, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Art Education at SUNY New Paltz)
Thursday, December 16, 10 am SLT
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

Memorial Celebration for Delinda Dyrssen this Weekend.

A two day Memorial Celebration of the incredible life of Delinda Dyrssen will take place this coming weekend, Saturday 12/18 and Sunday 12/19. There will be live music, comedy, an art auction, a grand sail around Sailor's Cove on Saturday afternoon and tributes to our dear friend. I know several musicians have written songs for Delinda so you can expect to hear beautiful original music over the course of the weekend. The schedule is not entirely finalized so expect some additions and changes.

Saturday 12/18 - Sailors Cove Theater
LM http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fishers%20Island/13/125/23

9:30am Pmann Sands
11:00am Christopher135 Quan
11:30am Astronimus Randt (or Astronimus Galaxy) with Cellandra Zon
12:00 pm PonDman Haalan
12:30 pm Tpenta Vanalten
1:00 pm Remembrance in Voice
2:00pm Remembrance in Words
3:00pm Remembrance Messages
4:30pm Truelie Telling
6:30pm Nesto Silverfall
7:00pm Noma Falta
7:30pm OhMy Kidd
8:00pm Pato Milo
8:30pm Anek Fuchs
OPEN MIC

Sunday 12/19 - The Pocket
LM http://slurl.com/secondlife/Freestar%20Bay%20Isle/229/39/22

9:00am Pilgrim75 Swashbuckler
9:30am Lorin Tone
10:00am Arimo Teixeira
11:00am Frets Nirvana
12:00pm The Follow
12:30pm CraigLyons Writer
1:00pm TwinGhost Ronas
2:00pm Guitar Zane
3:00pm ZeroOne Paz
3:30pm Zak Claxton
4:00pm Phaylen Fairchild
4:30pm Lauren Weyland
5:00pm Maximillion Kleene with Cellandra Zon
5:30pm Wytchwhisper Sadofsky
6:00pm Zachh Cale
6:30pm Ande Foggarty
7:00pm Blues Heron
7:30pm Vaughan Michalak
8:00pm Freestar Tammas
8:30pm Von Johin
9:00pm Moondoggirl Moomintoog
9:30pm Kit Guardian
10:00pm Matthew Perrault
10:30pm RoseDrop Rust
11:00pm ColeMarie Soleil
OPEN MIC

We do expect the sims to be crowded so if you want a quiet place to listen you are welcome to do so at my home http://slurl.com/secondlife/Harbour/194/144/24 or at Crap Mariner's Clocktree Park http://slurl.com/secondlife/Edloe/118/108/28. If anyone else would like to stream the Memorial on their land please let me know.

Enjoy more than 30 art works graciously donated by creative friends of Delinda's for the art auction and you are encouraged to bid generously. The funds will go to KDIGO which is a charity that was near to Delinda's heart. There will be art displayed on both sims so please visit Sailor's Cove and The Pocket to enjoy the works.

One of the goals of the Memorial is to raise awareness about kidney disease and the international database for paired kidney donation that Delinda was promoting when she died so suddenly. KDIGO is a global non-profit foundation dedicated to improving the care and outcomes of kidney disease patients. Please visit the KDIGO webpage and read more about the organization http://www.kdigo.org. If you are interested in learning about how you can give the gift of life by donating one of your kidneys please visit the US National Kidney Registry at their webpage http://www.kidneyregistry.org/.

Delinda's RL family and her SL friends encourage you to consider making a Memorial donation to the The National Kidney Foundation, which is part of KDIGO, in Delinda's name. If you want to make a donation I encourage you to do so via the webpage at this link: http://tinyurl.com/2fhn3vw.

If you choose the "Memorial Gift" option Delinda's family will get a note from the Foundation. I can't think of a more lovely tribute than for them to get hundreds of notes so they know how much Delinda was loved.

Chesnut Rau

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

New Allied Base Sim in WW2 RP Area

For the players on the Allied teams, the layout of the sims gave them just one small area at the bottom of the southernmost sim. This came to an end last week on Dec 9 when the new "Allied Base" sim was declared open in a ceremony and party, with a truce declared and all teams invited.

Read about the new sim in Places.

Winterfest Fun at GOHA

I have been so busy, I was not able to get over to the Winterfest in GOHA until today. The whole place looks wonderful! Since the events were starting later in the afternoon, I set off to find some of the activities that were around for amusement when events are not taking place.


The first place I found was a spectacular skating pond with skaters merrily performing lovely skating tricks. It is not that hard. There are solo and couple skating animation balls at one end of the rink. I took a try at it and it was easy. I set off to find the area for the snowball fights. That is one of the events I do not want to miss!!! It is great fun tossing snowballs at the Lindens! My thoughts went back to last year. There are so many faces I will sorely miss! My hopes are there will be some Lindens I know there.

The place that indicates the snowball fight is also a place to rezz a sled for a downhill ride. It is a good thing they have barriers there, or I would not be writing this! The pond at the bottom is frozen over and the snowball servers are all set up!! You will love the sims at GOHA. Before I left I came across a snowman building contest in the town square. Really cute!

Take a trip over and see all there is to do! This is a wonderful site for Winterfest! - Neutral Zone (132, 141, 60)

More to come!

Gemma Cleanslate

Events in Second Life This Week Dec 14 to Dec 20

This week in Second Life, the events are dominated by the Winterfest festival, which lasts until Saturday. From hockey games, to skiing, and especially the Linden vs Residents snowball fight, the week offers no shortage of things to do and places to see.

Read about the happenings this week in Events.

North Pole and Santa's Workshop

Ho! Ho! Ho! In another of our Christmas articles, reporter Grey Lupindo makes a special trip in Second Life, to the North Pole. Here, she drops in on Santa and the elves, and finds other things to see.

Does Grey end up on the "naughty list?" Read more in Places.

Sunday Cartoon

By Bixyl Shuftan

USS Arizona Memorial Service in Second Life

On Tuesday December 7, the Ohau sim had a service at their USS Arizona Memorial. I was unable to attend the event, but later on I did meet up with the event manager, Twstd Ruggles.

“Aloha” she greeted me as I ported in next to the memorial, the names of those who died at the battleship’s sinking being announced. A lei rezzer, when touched, would throw a wreath of flowers into the water, stained a bit from oil bubbling up from the image of the sunken ship, calling out, “Thank you for remembering the fallen soldiers of Pearl Harbor. Your lei has been launched into the sea in remembrance.”

“It was really a beautiful service.” Twstd told me, and shared a few photos, though was sorry some people only appeared as clouds, including singer Ichie Kamiche, “she sang three songs, one patriotic, and two Hawaiian.”

“I gave an opening speech. I almost couldn't speak because I was choked up. But I got through it. This place is special to me.” Before her speech, she had sung “America the Beautiful,” and played President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech. Besides Ichie’s singing, there were also hula dance presentations, and a prayer from a chaplain.

Besides myself, there was one other visitor, “my father in law was a survivor of Pearl Harbor.”

“Thanks for stopping by.”

Bixyl Shuftan

Dude! Surfs Up in Second Life!

Any1 Gynoid takes a trip to the beach in her latest article. Our "radical dudette" takes to the waves in search for places in Second Life to go surfing. So get your board, and find out where you can catch the big wave.

Read the story in Places.

Winterfest Kick-Off Party

Join your friends for the official kick-off party of Winterfest in Second Life. The opening event, which begins Dec. 10 at Noon (Pacific), features live music from Mankind Tracer.

The event is at the Neutral Zone sim at (136, 136, 60).

(from Destination Guide)

Festive Holiday Trimmings

It is that time of year again. I know you are all looking for holiday décor. I have been around to some of the winter sims that are selling really lovely trees, wreaths , lighting, for expensive prices. Take a trip over to the Corner of Relaxation Geo-dome. As usual Vickijo Rivera has a huge assortment of all the possible décor you would like. The best thing is that it is all free!

I found Saucy Loire placing it all for you. Characters from the comics, fat jolly Santas, Rudolf, glowing balls to hang, lights to string across your doorway, an amazing selection of trees of all sizes and colors. In the dome you will also find a tp that will take you up to Sweetsister’ Silverstar’s place in the sky where she has many delightful items for the holiday at very cheap prices. Outside you will find some of Saucy’s builds , Gingerbread houses, trains, and more. I saw a whole skating rink our there for sale.

Take a tour all around the outside of the Dome. Just be sure you get there soon! Relaxation (89, 167, 42)

The Creative Christmas Hunt

Grey Lupindo reports on the "Creative Christmas Hunt." Unlike most hunts, the goodies here are aimed at builders, things "you can use to create your own special items." One just has to agree not to sell items made from them.

Read Grey's story in Extra.

Azeroth Gets Thrown to the Wolves With "Cataclysm"

If Second Life has been minus a few people these days, the reason is likely to be World of Warcraft.

With the latest expansion on the shelves of stores, "Cataclysm," players have been buying them up, including yours truly. There's a new profession, able to fly in the "classic" areas, new zones, and of course two new player races. One are the goblins, and the other the Worgen, wolf-like beings.

Checking out the Worgen starting area, Gilneas, the place was packed with large numbers of other players as the expansion had only recently been available for sale. The players went through the story of the characters' country under seige from attacks by the cursed beings, only to get bitten while defending the place and eventually transform as well. Fortunetly a serum is developed to allow the Worgen to regain self-control, but it isn't long before a new threat moves in.

Worgen can be any character class, except paladins and shamans. This includes druids, unavailable to normal humans, and hunters, which can be an amusing sight as Worgen hunters fight not so much with claws but with guns and their pet dogs. They can boost their speed temporarily, and are a bit more likely to score critical hits, as well as more resistant to natural and shadow damage.

And the dark Victorian/Steampunk looks and the Cockeny accents add to the atmosphere (and sometimes the humor).

I'll be checking out other features soon, but for now, me and other WoWers are having fun running with the wolves, and enjoying every moment of it.

(Runs off with a huge bone as an Undead calls out "Come back with my leg!")

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

"Cease and Desist," Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life Ordered to Close by RL Foundation

What a shock it was to hear the magnificent Frank Lloyd Wright Museum was gone! I loved that museum of his homes, business buildings, glass and so much. I wrote about it several months ago after spending some times there roaming the builds. I received an invite and attended a panel discussion of the problems that caused it to be taken down.

From what I can understand, there was a licensing agreement that was set up with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in real-life some time ago after visits to the foundation by a representative of the Virtual Museum Board of Second Life. I arrived late at the Treet tv where it was held and do not want to misquote anyone so I will direct you to the website where you can view the Designing Worlds show of Monday, 6 December to hear what the panel had to say. It was very interesting.

On the show, they talked with three people involved in the Museum: – Ethan Westland, Chair of the Virtual Museums, Inc Board; Rowan Derryth, Member of the Board of Directors, Virtual Museums; and Rosalie Oldrich, Co-Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum. In the second half they explored wider issues about bringing real world architecture and artifacts into virtual environments with Monday Beam, Attorney at Law, Roy Philbin, Founder/CEO, Second Interest, and one of the people behind the very popular Dresden Art Museum in Second Life, and Dirk Talamasca, Virtual Worlds Developer and long-time observer of Second Life.

The question that always comes up about intellectual property from the real world into Second Life is a focus of many discussions and was part of the discussion here. Saffia Widdershins and Erik Merlin co-hosted the event. I know Second Life has lost a wonderful site.There was a cease and desist order issued and it was followed. Gone!

If you have interest check here for the discussion. http://archive.treet.tv/programs/meta-makeover.

Gemma Cleanslate

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I had first heard of the closing of the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life in Facebook, the person saying it would be closed by the tenth, and confirned it with an Internet search. I also heard of the Treet.tv show in which some of the people involved were being interviewed, but could not get there. I tried teleporting to the sim, but found it blocked. I ported next to it and tried walking in. Sill closed. And I noticed that although much of the scenery around me had rezzed, not much inside the museum sim had. I saw someone inside taking down the buildings, the FLWM Chairman Ethan Westland.

Talking to Ethan, he explained the museum had actually closed on the 5th. Of the cease and dessist order, "... The Cease and Desist order is a normal procedure for them anytime they end a licensing agreement. They couldn't reconcile the amount of staff time that this project would take for them providing archive research with the low potential for revenue that the museum could provide."

Ethan explained they had decided to comply with the court order and remove the buildings, but would rebuild, "on the site of the previous Wright Museum and we will use the name of our RL nonprofit, Virtual Museums, Inc." He expected the opening to be in a couple weeks. It was not planned to be just about Frank Lloyd Wright, "It could be or just styles of architecture by period. The decision has not been made yet but the focus on education about architectural styles will still be the primary objective."

"We appreciate the support we have always gotten from the virtual community all over SL and the outpouring from so many have really energized us to continue on and find new ways to provide architectural and educational opportunities for our members and visitors alike."

Bixyl Shuftan