Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Wounded Warriors Live Music Event

June 30 is the sixth in our monthly Wounded Warriors benefit in SL for 2013. And it is a great lineup ...kicking off your July 4th week! Come and celebrate our Independence week the right way ...supporting those who give us our freedom! 5-9 PM at Veteran's Isle In SL.

5 PM SLT Pondman Haalan
6 PM SLT Christopher135 Quan
7 PM SLT Frets Nirvana
8 PM Dirtydee Sweetwater

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Veterans%20Isle/124/152/3501

Press Release: Relay For Life - Swashbucklers for Life

Swashbucklers for Life is a collaboration between the many pirate/privateer/buccaneer groups throughout the Steamlands in support of Relay for Life. Originally conceived as a relatively simple gathering of three different pirate crews in Caledon and Winterfell, SFL quickly grew into a day-long event involving many different groups in multiple sims across the Steamlands. For SFL's third year, we're expanding to an entire weekend of swashbuckling excitement!

Get buccaneered up and get ready for a day of fun on the seas! Swashbuckling attire is encouraged, but optional. Come for as much of the weekend as you can (or as much as you dare...) and show your support for Relay for Life in the Steamlands! There will be dancing and drinking; there will be music, mayhem, and modeling. There will be comely wenches and dashing buccaneers. There will be rum. What more could you possibly ask for?

Saturday, June 29th:

9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Sea Battle (Fair Winds Battles)

Why not have a taster of life as a gunner on a fine ship???

TAKE to the high seas and fight side by side on a ship of the line
experienced and novice crew members welcome - instructions, weapons, and meters will be provided before the battle

The aim of this battle is NOT SINK THE SHIPS but to board them shoot everyone and take the ship! - and stay alive!.........easy right?

Donations all go to RELAY FOR LIFE (please donate before the battle as dead men cant pay!)

Location: Fair Winds, (167, 62, 24)


11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Tall Ship Race (Winterfell Privateers)

The Tall Ship Race is part of the Swashbuckler for Life multi-team RFL Event, organized by the Winterfell Privateers

The race will start South of the Nepenthe Gate, the border between Winterfell and Caledon and will end under the gate itself, after a tour of the Southern Winterfell sims. The race field is shown in the image below.

Eligible ships are 2 or 3 masted sailships propelled by SL winds, usually used in naval battles and belonging to the SPD, TSS, SCS, SSS, JRS, AT, BRS classes (any ship usually approved for naval battles is eligible, even if not listed here). There is no other limit, but keep in mind that not all the ships fit under the Nepenthe gate. Even if the bridge will be opened at the required moments, the opening is rather narrow and ships that fit under the gate will be able to get more room to maneuver and will find themselves at an advantage (an SPD Frigate, for instance will require the gate to be opened).

Each race will be one go through the race field once.

- If 2 ships will enter the race we will have a direct final
- If 3 ships will enter the race we will have a round robin (each ship will compete against the other two). In case each ship wins one  race we will have a 3 ships final
- If 4-5 ships will enter the race we will have 2 semifinals (one with 3 ships and the other with 2 ships) and the winners will meet in a final
- if 6-7 ships enter the race we will have 3 semifinals and one 3-ships final
- If 8 or more ships will enter the race we will have quarterfinals, semifinals and final

Contact Wildstar Beaumont or Oriella Charick in world for information.

Fair Winds to all the Captains!

Landmark: Winterfell Absinithe  (29, 46, 42)

1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Steam Pirate Derby (Armada Scoundrel Fleet)

What's a pirate like most? Treasure and Glory, that's what! The ASF Steam Pirates Derby is an event that will test ALL your pirate skills in a Dash for Treasure! Think you have the skills to be the baddest of them all? Well, here's your chance to prove it!!

The Derby consists of a race in a rickety steam powered ship, following a map map to the TREASURE! It's buried on an island, you see, and you need to go claim it. But that's just the beginning! The other pirates will be gunning for your ship, and for YOU! There may be unforeseen hazards along the way.

But you won't be left defenseless - donning a special HUD will supply you with a compass and weapons, as well as a health meter. You may find upgrades along the way!

ALL you need to do is work your way through the clues and be the first back to Scoundrel HQ with the treasure!! You may take the chance to slow the competition by shooting their ship, or temporarily killing them. Oh, and you must SURVIVE the attempt...

Location: Blake Bay (203, 119, 21)

For more events that day, check with the Relay For Life in Second Life.

SL Video: SL Newser SL10B

(Click Here if the video fails to load)

Qwark Allen's video of the SL Newser office tower exhibition.

Sumo Wrestling at Steelhead

At the Steelhead Estates, the residents are having the their Sakura Festival. Earlier in the week was one of the livelier events of the festival, "Sumo Sunday." Contrary what one might expect, it was not two big bulky guys in loinbelts slamming against one another. Instead, residents chose whatever avatar they liked. Despite a few technical glitches, the event was fun-filled with its share of chuckles.

Read more in Events.

MadPea Art Festival Ends Tomorrow

While the SL10B has been taking place, Madpea has been hosting an art festival. Beginning on June  15, the show has shown works by two dozen artists, in addition to a number of entertainers from DJs and live musicians, and more.

the first ever MadPeas Art Festival ... see paintings from ArtWolf  Eternal, sculptures by Solkide Auer, immersive art work by Ginger Lorakeet, or an artistic scene by  Fuschia Nightfire.

The performances today June 28, are the Ballet Pixelle from 5 to 6PM, and DJ Cerval from 6:30 to 8:30PM. On Saturday June 29, The Independant Ballet will perform from 2-3 PM, and DJ Riah from 4-6 PM.


The location of the event is at Salette, (179, 99, 1516)

Interview with Philp Rosedale at Burn2 by Emcee Widget

(Click here if you can't see the video )

During the SL10B, Philip Rosedale, the founder of Linden Lab and Second Life, was interviewed by Emcee Widget at the Burn2 sim. Rosedale's avatar was quite different from his old Linden one, and commented at the length of time it took to set up his voice for the interview, "I'm the guy who created this thing, and it just took me an hour to get this working." There was an audience of a little more than 20 avatars.

Rosedale told Emcee that he continued to be inspired by Second Life's community. Emcee brought up a quote by Steve Jobs about present day computer technologies being obsolete in ten years, and Rosedale commented with that in mind, "Second Life has fared fairly well in that reguard." The "explosion" of small handheld devices was also mentioned, Rosedale saying ten years ago this broad level of access to technology wasn't imagined.

They talked on about how virtual worlds might be in the future. Rosedale at one point mentioned a "SETI solution" to getting more processing power onto a grid, "throw the computer into a pool" for a virtual world, "we'd have a ton of computers … if we used those computers on a server network." He also brought up the gyros and sensors in today's handheld devices, and thought they would allow future virtual world users to go beyond the mouse and keyboard. He also thought there might be developments on ways to get more avatars within a region, as well as ways prove one's real-life identity, "How do you know I'm really Philip Rosedale?"

When asked what he was doing besides work on Hi-Fidelity and virtual worlds, Rosedale told he had taken up boxing, "I thought I could have an amazing experience improving myself." He talked about how "an accelerometer on your head" could be developed to help prevent injury. He also planned to be at the next Burning Man festival.

And what would he be doing in 2023? Rosedale answered that he honestly didn't truly know, though felt it was a safe answer he'd still be working on virtual worlds.

"You gotta have shoes."

Bixyl Shuftan

Hat tip: Daniel Voyager

Interview with Tuna the Oddfellow of Second Life

Grease Coakes recently interviewed one of the more unique performers of Second Life: Tuna Oddfellow. At his Odd Ball, Tuna puts on quite a show with spectacular special effects. Grease had a chance to talk to him about his interesting past, and of course this one of a kind performance on the Grid.

Read Grease's article in People.

SL10B Statistics and Comments

Daniel Voyager had some statistics about the SL10B published on his blog. While there have been no numbers for the number of visitors (for SLB6 more than 17,000 residents dropped in at some point while it was open), it does say over 640 were present at the moment of the grand opening. For the 22 sims, there were 375 exhibits and five stages, with 470 applications submitted by performers and among the staff, 115 alone were registered as greeters.

Click Here for the whole list, along with a link to statistics of previous SL birthday celebrations.

The Second Life Wiki has a "History of Second Life" page. It's from Linden Lab, so there's no mention of the adult content protests and the 30% layoffs. Click Here.

Of Second Life's future, Daniel expressed optimism, "I think we will see more new technology introduced from Linden Lab in the coming years making Second Life more realistic, faster and better improved."

Hamlet Au of New World Notes also had a few comments about Second Life, a few which made it to a SF Post article, and more in depth on an article in gigaom.com. Hamlet felt the biggest mistake Linden Lab made with the virtual world was "it ignored what the overwhelming majority of residents were actually doing." While it was pushing things like an "Enterprise" version for businesses to hold meetings, it paid little attention to the roleplaying and other gaming, fashion and shopping, adult activities, and other things which were drawing residents. It might have a second chance to get the larger public's attention as technologies like Oculus Rift make it much easier to use. Another thing that got Hamlet's attention, people with physical and mental disabilities were using Second Life to interact with others in ways that would be difficult to impossible without it.

What do you the readers think? What has Second Life done right, and wrong, in it's ten years, and how do you see it's future? Will there be an SL20B?

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources: Daniel Voyager, Hamlet Au

SL10B: A Message From Golan Eilde

SL10B  -Looking Forward, Looking Back

What a celebrations it was. Wow, made my heart be filled with joy.

Eight days 24/7 shows, I can't really even start to count on what made my SL10B so amazing.

Maybe its my Crew that changed my way of thinking.

Maybe its the DJs that changed me to who I am today.

And maybe it's the music, after all it is what makes us do things.

I look back to Second Life to my past, and see the path I walked where I was. And am looking now to where I am. What a transformations it was. Time to look forward to new horizons and to take a step forward.

I wanted to say to all that made an impact on me during this event,  a big thank you. Without you I don't think we could done all of this.

You made this one birthday to remember!

Also wanted to say special thanks to:

Sim Coordinators -  all you did to keep the sims stable

Moderators  -  for keeping our event on the safe side from griefers and unwanted people

Greeters/hosts  - You guys did great work welcoming new residents and all that needed help on the sims.

EA - You guys were just amazing gave the help to exhibitors, what they needed and setting access, rules, and set their parcel, permissions, etc. It's not an easy job but one of the most important.

Performers - It was a blast this year, I thank you for the tunes. Thanks for a job well done.

Leads- (senior and land ) - Thanks for your support and for all you did to make this event happen.
          
Stage Manager -  without you guys the stages would never worked themselves out.
                               
          
To sum it up: 

           It was a pleasure to work with you all
           and I am looking forward for next year!!!
   
          
                        
P.S. DJ STAGE TEAM - You  Rock  :D           
       
GOLAN   Eilde
Lead, DJ Stage                     
SL10B                                                        

Cartoon of the Day

At the Relay Rap with Holocluck Henley. Besides his 3D glasses, he's always sporting sneakers. From what I remember in high school, they had a certain quality, one would think was more fitting of the familiar black and white critters.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Surprise Visit in SL10B

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Since the SL10B is still going on this week, I logged into the History site in Beguile sim to check on what was going on. If you have visited you know that the arrival point is the good old corral of the early days. To my surprise the corral was full!! Many avatars were sitting on the ground. 

 

As I surveyed the avatars, I saw that almost all were newbies. Thanks to Fran Gustav, a greeter and host,  I learned it was a university language class visiting Second Life for the first time. The instructor, Pionia Destiny, brought them to here as part of the class. I supplied her with some landmarks and information and tagged along. What fun! 

 

Their first stop was to the Welcome Center where they picked up all the goodies there and learned how to change their appearance. Then with some instructions, she set them free to roam. It was joy to watch. 

 

Remember the SL10B Community Celebration continues until the 29th of June. If you have not had time to see all the wonderful exhibits hurry! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Beguile/253/145/22

 

Gemma Cleanslate 

Interview with Rod Humble in SF Gate

SF Gate has an article with pictures of Second Life throughout the years, with a link to an interview with Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble by Benny Evangelista. Humble answered a number of questions. When asked about the hype surrounding the Grid several years ago, he admitted, "it probably had too much publicity at it's peak," and added it was now overlooked too much. Among his goals for Second Life was to reach out to those who tried Second Life but didn't stay and get them to return. When asked "Is there going to be a Second Life2?," he seemed to be saying there would be in the future, "it's not going to be for a few years, but it'll be something next gen."

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

SL10B: Doc Gascoigne, "Thank you SL10B Community"

I personally would like to thank everyone who volunteered to work for the Second Life 10th Birthday Community Celebration. All your collective effort and volunteer spirit helped us pull off this grand event. I also would like to thank the SL Community for supporting this event. Without you whether it be in the form of volunteers or visitors, our birthday event would not be as successful as it has been this year.

This year’s gathering was a look back for some and look forward for others. For me personally, it reminded me of the SL I came from where we “paid it forward” by helping each other with our knowledge, experience and throwing really great parties. If I had not said it a dozen times I will say it again; Community is not just a word it is an entity; a living, breathing entity. An interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location. Our common location is Second Life.

If you enjoyed the event and want to be a part next year, keep an eye on this blog and stay in the SLB Community Group for notification of next year’s festivities.

It was and always has been an honor and my pleasure to once again work with all of you.

Cya next time,

Doc

Source: SL10B website.

Events This Week June 25 to July 1

After a two week break to better concentrate on "The Birthday," Events this Week is back. Explore the grounds of the SL10B now that the main crowds are gone. Take a trip to the Bed Bug Hotel. Premium residents can go on Magellian's Grid Scavenger Hunt. 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.

See the list of happenings in Events this Week.

Press Release: It's Time To Relay

After four months of fundraising, Second Life Relayers will be gathering on July 13-14 for the ninth annual Relay For Life of Second Life 24 hour event to CELEBRATE, REMEMBER and FIGHT BACK.  The Relay track will stretch across 34 of 40 Relay sims and will bring together thousands of volunteers and team members who have so far raised an amazing US$300,000 in the 2013 fundraising season and who will be walking the track together in their quest to see an end to cancer.

Stingray9798 Raymaker ( Jeff Montegut, the American Cancer Society’s staff partner to SLs Relay) said: “Thanks to the tremendous support of our volunteers, teams, committee members, and corporate partners, we have raised an astonishing amount of money and are getting so close to an all-time total of 2 million dollars raised in Second Life.  This important contribution is money that funds the mission of the American Cancer Society – research, education, and prevention.  I’m looking forward to personally thanking everyone at this years event!’

The theme of this year’s Relay is ‘100 Years of Hope’, a theme that has inspired some of the most imaginative events and builds and in celebration of the American Cancer Society’s 100 year anniversary.  The Relay track will be divided into Past, Present and Future areas.  The fun-filled weekend will also include five activity regions that will house live music, djs, a silent auction, an art show, a Raffle for Relay, Snail Racing, a Teams vendored flea market and a special ‘Teams R Us’ clubhouse where teams can hold events away from the track so that they can celebrate without lagging the track sims.

Visitors will land at the Welcome Area, upon arrival, located on the Relay For Life region, where there will be a lot of helpful information to help them get started and where there will be volunteer greeters to answer questions and give out the 2013 Visitors Guide.  There are themed laps between the main ceremonies and visitors will see signs over the track that display the current lap theme.

The event will officially open at 10:00am on Saturday with an Opening Ceremony, where the Fundraiser Club Banner Awards for 2013 will be presented to the teams. More than 100 cancer survivors and caregivers have registered to take part in the ‘honor walk’, which is a CELEBRATE lap and will start immediately after the opening ceremony, followed by the team spirit lap.

At 9:00pm the track sims are turned to midnight to light up the thousands of luminaria (candles) along the track, each representing a survivor or someone who has passed from cancer. For one hour people walk the track in silence as the dedications are read over the broadcasting stream, provided by T1 Radio.  This lap is known as the REMEMBER lap.

At 6:00am is the FIGHT BACK Ceremony when people gather together to make a personal pledge to help fight cancer. It might be by pledging to have a regular breast exam, to follow a healthy diet, or to stop smoking.

The Closing Ceremony will begin at 10:00am on Sunday, June 14th followed by a final victory lap at 11:00am.  The Raffle For Relay and Silent Auction will remain open until that afternoon.

 

Nikki Mathieson, 2013 Event Chair, said: “We have had an amazing season. Our volunteers have worked non-stop, their excitement, commitment and dedication has not wavered!  We are looking forward to Relay Weekend, where we will come together to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back.  Relay For Life of Second Life has made such an important impact, with thousands of people logging in to make some loud noise and pitch in on Finishing the Fight against cancer!  We have proved that a determined group of people who care, can join together and do amazing things.  We CAN make a difference!  Congratulations to each and every person that was involved in this year’s relay!”

Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser of the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year. Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from mid-March through mid-July. In July teams build campsites and walk a track, just like in a real world Relay. Relay For Life is about coming together with a group of people you don’t know to effect change in the lives of people you may never know.

The premier sponsors of Relay For Life of Second Life in 2013 are: Amaretto Ranch Breedables, Lanterns For Life, Mossms, Peace Haven’s Communities, Pink’s Props, and Touched By Angels.

FOLLOW US on:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RelayForLife_SL

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/rflofsl

RFL of SL Updates: http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/

For background information and the history of RFL of SL see:

SL Wiki: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Relay_For_Life_of_Second_Life and

Official RFL of SL website: http://www.relayforlife.org/secondlife

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Gem Sunkiller (RFL of SL Outreach Area Chair)

SL10B: Ego-Tripping with DrFran

Some individuals leave their mark in a few places. DrFran Babcock has certainly been one. Not just for her work at the Newser, but also with her time at the Giant Snail Races. Both of their exhibits at the SL10B mention her, along with her own. Plus one can find her likeness at a fourth, of which she got a chance to chat with the owner. We're all entitled to a little self-promotion, so here's some from our intrepid reporter.

Read DrFran's story in Events.

SL10B: The Last Events

Sunday June 23, 2013, marked the day Second Life officially turned ten years old. It was also the last day of events at the Second Life Tenth Birthday Event, the SL10B. And going around, there were plenty of events to see and experience.

Besides the events, there were the exhibits as always, such as this Eiffel Tower build. The gray in the picture shows how bad the lag was for yours truly, even after a few minutes to settle. So I usually kept my draw distance much shorter than this picture shows.

There were many parties at the four stages, and a few exhibitions. At one of the water places in SL10B Stunning, a mermaid party was held.

While there, I ran into Tantari Kim, whom was interviewed by Grease Coakes a few days ago. She told the others there about the article, and talked a little about how it was in earlier days.

Small Second Life.

The afternoon and evening went on. Finally at 5PM SL time was the last event at the Cake Stage, a stand-up comedy session with Lauren Weyland, Second Life's most noted comedian.  It was in voice, so instead of all four corners of the stage, it could only be heard in one: SL10B Pizzaz. So all those listening were crammed there, which made it a little tricky at times to walk around as one could easily get the "lag walk" and crash.

DrFran made it over (picture above is hers).

At the same time was the last event in the Auditorium, where Saffia Widdershins hosted a discussion on the Steampunk communities. Steelhead was discussed there of course. It was described as not a "hard" roleplay sim, but a social one that was kept lively by the spontaneity of it's residents. Some of their spontaneity was shown that evening as Steehead's Sakura Festival held a sumo wrestling event (more on that later).

At 6PM were last of the events at the DJ stage, better known as The Reactor. Straddling two sims, SL10B Incredible and Awesome, the party lived up to the sim names, with the music and the effects of the lighting at Midnight, at least once the sims had some minutes to rezz.

Gleanr Ellsmere was the DJ for this event. He would be followed by Ladjgirl Resident, the last DJ to officially perform at the SL10B.

One Linden showed up for the party as well, Amber Linden. She enjoyed the bash, and upon her departure wished everyone well.

And so, the events of the Second Life Tenth Birthday came to an end. At least officially. Unofficially, exhibitors can still hold impromptu gatherings at their places. The sims themselves will still be up a few more days until Friday June 29. For exhibitors, July 1 is when things come to a close with the deadline to pick up their builds before the sims fade back to the virtual nether from whence they came.

It was an exciting SL10B.

"Happy Birthday, Second Life."

For more pictures on SL10B, check out the Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/slcommunitycelebration/pool/.

To check the Linden SL10b Destination Guide for individual exhibits: http://secondlife.com/destinations/sl10b/1. 

Or you can just port to the entrance to see anything you missed: http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Wonderous/6/93/22

Bixyl Shuftan

Breezes Thoughts: "Twas an Old Lady ..."

Longtime readers may remember Breezes Babii, the creative spirit behind "Breezes Thoughts" of the original Second Life Newspaper. She sent in this little tale, one that starts like a familiar nursery rhyme but quickly takes a different turn.

Read Breezes' tale in Extra.

Cartoon of the Day

Someone at the SL10B in one of the "Primitar" avs from "Linden World," the alpha version of Second Life, was funning around with lightning bolts. So took a picture.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Relay For Life "Walk the Plank" Event

Join Tiny Steps on their pirate ship for swashbuckling fun and 7Seas fishing - who will be walking the plank?

There will be a 7Seas fishing contest, with custom catches by Migizi North & April Quicksand.

DJ Gonzo will be spinning the tunes.

We have a pirate photo booth for people to take their own pictures.

Pirate outfits for tinies by Clover Denzo and Panacea Pangaea will be on sale.

There will also be a raffle with exciting arrrrtems for pirates of all sizes.


Saturday 22 June 1pm-3pm SLT


Pirate Ship: Tinys Haven, (123, 195, 24)

RFL Raffle & Pirate Fishing: Tinys Haven,  (147, 173, 21)

Tinys Haven Dock & Fishing Area: Tinys Haven,  (99, 53, 21)

SL Video, "SL10B - The Reactor"

(Click Here if the video fails to load)

From KT Syakumi, "My SL10B Community Celebration stage build - The Reactor - filmed by Moo Money in only 4 hours (including editing). Inside shots filmed with Rescene by Logan Bauer"

More on the SL10B

There's more going on about the SL10B than we have time to write about. Fortunately others have been.

Daniel Voyager has made quite a few posts on his blog about the Grid's anniversary celebrations. From Press Day, to Opening Day, the Cake Stage, the History Walk, Maps of previous Second Life Birthdays, Bear Island and the Cornfield, the Pod Tours, and the Clanis Telihub. He's also taken quite a few screenshots on his Flickr, with one set for SL10B photos.

Mona Eberhardt has also written a review of the SL10B. Not everything was fine and dandy about the event, she felt. She noted a number of exhibits that were little more than advertisements and how a number of builds were just copies of what was built the last year. But there's no shortage of great and unique builds, such as Qwark Allen's telescope (left).

Crap Mariner also came out with his "Brutally Honest SL10B Sim Tour."

The Linden blog had a few announcements. The Linden Lab Destinations Guide now has a SL10B section. This can help you pick and choose individual exhibits.

Linden Lab has also made a game just for Premium members, The Magellian's Grid Scavenger Hunt.

Magellan Linden has uncovered an evil scheme by mad Doctor Talpa, to build some form of mind-control machines and take over the world. Magellan is busy building a machine to counter this scheme, but in the meantime YOU are needed to gather materials and components -- and to destroy any of Talpa's machines you can find.

Linden Lab also release an infographic about some impressive statistics about Second Life. Among them, stating more than three billion dollars worth of transactions have taken place over the past decade. The claim that 36 million people signed up, though, isn't quite the complete story as not everyone stayed. They did state one interesting bit of trivia, "the most purchased items are womens hairstyles."

Longtime residents may remember when companies left and right were making a presence in Second Life. While most of them have left, there are still businesses who see money to be made here. Alienware is doing a cross-promotion with Linden Lab with a contest, with a computer as the prize.

To help celebrate Second Life’s tenth birthday, we’re running a co-promotion with Alienware , the pioneer in specialty high-performance PC gaming systems! From now until July 17, 2013, Second Life users can enter to win a brand new Alienware 14 laptop!

The events at the SL10B go on until Sunday, and the sims will stay up for another week. So enjoy them while they last.

Image Credit: Daniel Voyager, Mona Eberhardt, Linden Lab, Alienware

Bixyl Shuftan

Greed in Second Life: Part 1- The Viking RP

Do some residents in Second Life seem a little too eager for a few extra Lindens? Theonlyjohnny Resident thinks so. In today's article, he writes about his experiences at a Viking roleplay that fell apart in his view because of the owners demands for cash from the players.

Read Theonlyhohnny's story in Design. 

Interview with Tantari Kim

In this time when Second Life is celebrating being officially a decade old, Grease Coakes recently interviewed one of the residents whom was around from the first days, Tantari Kim. Tantari talked about how she found out about the early Second Life, and what virtual life was like in the world's first days.

Read Grease's article about Tantari Kim in People.

Cenedra Asbourne's Art Show

I took a break from the SL10B Saturday to attend the opening of an art exhibit of works by my friend Cenedra Asbourne. It was held at the ImagineNations Estates in Wicked River. Many people showed up for the event. Warren Ochs welcomed us with “ HI everyone ... if I can interrupt you all for just a second. Thanks to all of you for visiting the NEW ImagineNations. We're very pleased to have Cenedra and Thea exhibiting with us this month....”


Cenedra is displaying some of her lovely works. She does many styles of photographs but these are her from her fanciful side. The colors are lovely and bright , depicting dream like figures. You can see more of her art at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cenedraashbourne/ . 

Across the way Thea Maiman is exhibiting several of her works They are lovely in a very different way , displaying a more realistic side of life. More works are found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thea-maiman . Both exhibits will be showing all month. There are other lovely works from SL artists on the upper and lower floors. Take time to walk around and enjoy.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wicked%20River/142/86/1510

Gemma Cleanslate

Various SL10B Places

The SL10B goes on, with the residents having hundreds of exhibits to look at, and sometimes interact with. The Newser has had a little time to look at them, and less to write about them. So which ones did we find that deserve a look?

See the pictures in Places.

Club Fur back in Furnation

Since the closing of the Furnation Prime sim in 2009, Club Fur has been owned by Alynna Vixen. It was moved to Kitsuhana, and reopened in November 2010. It stayed high above the sim for a few years, until a few days ago when Alynna announced that the Furnation Prime sim was back, and she had moved the club back there. She is looking for DJs and hosts & hostesses.

Now that the sim is back, there's no reason the club should not follow.   Please accept the new landmark.  We should be reopening in about a week or two.

Club Fur is the oldest furry-themed club in Second Life, possibly the oldest club still around. It is a member of the FCA club alliance. It's new location is FurNation Prime (55, 31, 21).

Press Release: PTSD Discussion at the SL10B

PTSD Recovery in Second Life
NeuroPsychology & Virtual Worlds for Trauma Care

THURSDAY - 20th JUNE - 2013
12 PM SLT (PST)

Presented by Anya Ibor, RL's Colleen M. Crary, M.A. (Forensic Psychology).

PTSD is a complex, hard-to-treat condition plagued with stigma, misdisgnosis, and a credibility problem with the general public. Join PTSD expert Colleen crary (Anya Ibor in SL) for a 1-hour presentation and discussion of why PTSD happens, how it alters brain structure, and what we can do do help those with psychological trauma recover and blend back into their communities.
Brief presentation followed by audience Q&A.

What is PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder?
Why do some people get it?
How does it happen?
What happens to the brain and other organ systems under stress?

See you at the event's most engaging discussion!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Astonish/52/40/23


A legal 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Maine, USA
Presents Its Virtual Program: The Acorn2Oak PTSD Recovery Community.

For more information, check the website at http://www.acorn-to-oak.org , email the group at corn2oak@outlook.com , contact Spirit Pleides inworld, or check out the group's inworld location at Acorn2Oak (139, 115, 22)

SL Video: "April Fools House 2013"

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The "April Fools House," built at Raglan Shire by Toady Nakamura and Clover Denzo. Flea Bussy of Grendles called it, "a wacky fun build."

Cartoon of the Day: Artist Bryn Oh

This picture was taken some time ago when noted artist Bryn Oh helped out with the "Avatar Games." A bug led her to appear laughing. It was recently when I got the okay to use the picture for a cartoon. So what would an artist find funny? Mostly what everyone else would, though some subjects hit closer to home than others.

by Bixyl Shuftan

SL10B - Meet the Lead Stage Managers!

In today's interview about the Second Life Birthday, DrFran Babcock interviewed not just one person, but four. The SL10B has more than just the Main, or Cake Stage. There are three others, the Turtle Stage, The Lake Stage, and the Reactor Stage. DrFran talks to the directors of each, Linda Sautereau, Jahman Ochs, Fedora Jones, and Golan Eilde. Each has a story of his/her own.

Read the interviews in People.

Real Life News and Commentary: PRISM and Internet Surveillance

As we in Second Life celebrate a decade of being online, in real life news have come some unwelcome developments for those who value computer privacy. First the NSA was found to be spying on American citizens through Verizon. Then a whistleblower exposed a once secret NSA data-collection program: PRISM.

Gizmodo's described PRISM as, "a secret Government  program that gives the NSA unprecedented access to the servers of major tech companies, which may or may not be 'direct,' so that the agency can spy on unwitting US citizens, with terrifying granularity, which is both different from and more aggressive than the Verizon scandal, and has the full (but contested) cooperation of tech giants, and which is, shockingly enough, totally legal." Why would the Internet Service Providers coooperate? Gizmodo commented, "they have no choice. Failure to hand over server data leaves them subject to a government lawsuit, which can be expensive and incredibly harmful in less quantifiable ways."

The responses from the Internet companies have been mostly varying degrees of denial that they cooperated. Apple (one of the last to submit according to the whistleblower) also claimed not only did they not store data related to company location, but that communications over iMessages and Facetime were encrypted so that not even they could read them, "Apple cannot decrypt that data."

The reaction from the public appears to be mostly negative, with some expressions of support. It is worth noting in this day of age of political warfare, some conservatives have expressed support for the President they oppose on other issues, while some liberals have come out to oppose him on this issue. The New York Times responded with an editorial, commenting "The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue." Supposedly when first aired, it read "The administration has now lost all credibility," and then was edited. That the President when a candidate opposed the surveillance programs of his predecessor and once in office not only continued to run them but expanded them, was not seen well by more than a few. Recent polls show him at an all time low.

Among the responses was this animation "United States of Surveillance" by Mark Fiore.

"The government … is so far completely unapologetic. And why wouldn't they be? It's easy enough to follow the letter of the law when you're the one writing it."

Bixyl Shuftan

Source: Wikipedia, The Guardian, Forbes, New York Times, Gizmodo,

Press Release: Steelhead City Sakura Festival

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The festival will officially start June 19th and run through the 29th.

June 19th to the 29th: Sakura Blossom Hunt.

Several vendors from Steelhead will have blossoms in their store for people to find.
Particpating Vendors:
Weather! or not? in Steelhead St Helens  (25, 31, 172)
Eat Me! Bakery in Steelhead Nevermoor (128, 104, 26) 
Three-Cogs Airship in Steelhead City (103, 108, 26)
Bad Bella in Steelhead Nevermoor (93, 52, 26)

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June 19th
Wednesday 5pm: Live reading of a few Japanese folklore at the Library narrated by Lunar. Please make sure you have voice activated so you can hear the speaker
Steelhead (31, 30, 31).

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June 20th
Thursday 5pm: Poetry Slam - The theme is Sakura blossoms in Winterfell

The Poetry Slam at der Hut des Jaeger is held every week (barring holidays and emergences) on Thursday Evenings, 5:00 SLT

Winterfell Absinthe, (72, 141, 22)

Generally we gather at 5:00 pm SLT, and usually manage to have the first recitation by 5:30. Readings continue until we run out of material, or until the music at Mama Valdy's begins at 7:00 SLT.

    It is not Mama Gkika's, but it is the pub for the Jaegermonsters. Sometimes there are themes, and sometimes there is a free-for-all. People recite their favorite poet's work, and sometimes their original work. Most nights are in chat, but if you ask, we can set up for Voice.

    A Word about the audience appreciation - it usually involves projectiles. Now, the pub grounds are not damage-enabled, but sometimes the chickens or cupcakes or tomatoes can push you into the wall. It is all in good spirits, just make sure your ammunition is temp-rez.


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June 21st
Friday 7pm: Sakura Festival in Steelhead Shanghai at the YuYuan Gardens.
DJ'd by Willow Leafstorm
Afterparty starts at 9pm SLT with Zanya
Steelhead Shanghai (46, 167, 24)


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June 23rd
Sunday at 5pm SLT: SUMO SUNDAY!

Those interested will be given special suits to wear to compete with one another. The winner still left standing will have a 500L donation to the RFL group of their choice and 500L for their pockets.

SL10B Opening Day

On Sunday June16, the Second Life Tenth Birthday, or the SL10B for short, officially began. Quite a bit took place at the sims set up for the event, in addition to some events outside. Second Life Newser took a few pictures of what happened that day.

See more in Events.

Gem Sunkiller's "Bid Me Chocolate"

Last week, Gem Sunkiller volunteered for a "Bid Me" Relay For Life event. There had been a number of "Bid Me Bald" events this year, such as the ones for Trader Whiplash and Gina Gracemount. But Gem Sunkiller put more than her hair on the line. She would risk getting eaten alive. She stated if enough Lindens were raised, 168,000 in total, she would wear an avatar of chocolate!

Hey Relayers! Not long ago a Challenge was laid before Koy and Mandy to raise 168,000 in order to make Gem Sunkiller wear a Chocolate Avatar for 1 week! THEY ARE SO CLOSE! 70-80K already in the Coffers and they need YOUR HELP! Tonight from 6-8 PM SLT  we will have an Open Kiosk Event at the ACS Events Area, Madonna will be there waiting to rezz Your teams Kiosk. At the end of the event all the Kiosks totals will be tallied and the amount announced. COME BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND SET GEM'S CHOCOLATE DOOM! 

The event was held on June 12 at the American Cancer Society sim, starting at 6PM. Among those there were DJ Madonna and Alleara Snoodle. There were a few chocolate bar props set up. Gem had on a chocolate brown dress, in addition to Madonna wearing a fudge colored latex suit. Instead of just one event, there were a number of active kiosks taking in funds for several teams. Within a couple hours, the rest of the Lindens needed for the chocolatey dare had been raised.

 Madonna Milena: Sheriff Al is now DJ'ing here on the island. The kiosk totals still count toward Gem's chocolatey time... So come on down.. Dance with us some more.. Buy more chocolate coating - and help give cancer the boot! And if you're not yet represented in the row of kiosks, let me know and I'll rezz one for you!

The event went on for a while past the 8PM scheduled ending, with the partiers laughing and joking, in addition to dancing.

IshtarAngel Micheline took a number of pictures of the event, which can be seen on her Flickr.

It was a couple days before Gem would get the  the avatar, a chocolate wolfgirl. It would be a couple more days until the Relay event at Arinultra Beach before I saw the avatar for myself. She joked she had gotten a wolfess and not a bunny as it could bite back anyone nibbling on her.

It was good chocolately fun in the name of rasing funds for cancer.

Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Draxtor Destinations - The Behemoth at SL10B"

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"Episode Three" of Draxtor Despres' "Draxtor Destinations." He looks at a cartoonish build at the SL10B.

"Second Life, the user-created universe of unbridled digital creativity is turning 10 this month and Loki Eliot has created a monster: the behemoth is a not-really-thinly veiled metaphor for SL in pixel flesh and blood, complete with tiny engineers explaining to the visitor how the best of intentions to nourish and raise a cute infant child of creative expression led to the uncontrollable beauty we enjoy today."

"The Behemoth" is at SL10B Wonderous ( 132, 48, 23)