Interview with Tuna Oddfellow

Tuna Oddfellow is known for a number of things, such as having won the "Second Life's Got Talent" show by NBC in 2007, and being part of the content creator rights movement that rallied against Linden Lab's changing the terms of service at their expense in 2013. But what he is best known for is his unique performance in Second Life, the Odd Ball. Just before his tenth rezzday on August 15, Second Life Newser had a chance to interview him. He would talk about his early days on the Grid, his partner Shava Suntzu, and more.

Read more in People.

The Arena Men's Event

It seems many gachas which have a number of clothes and outfits are aimed at women. So when BloodyKitty heard about "The Arena Men's Event," a Fantasy gacha in Acerbus Silva, she decided to take a look to see what it had. So what did she think?

Read BloodyKitty's review in Fashion.

A Busy Weekend

This weekend saw a number of events. Saturday had the Burn2 "Crazy 8" Races." Sunday saw a few.Virtual Ability had ir's celebration of it's 1000th member signing up. There was the monthly "Homes For Our Troops" fundraiser at Veterans Isle by Frets Nirvana. And for the Sunweaver Estates where the Newser makes it's home, there was a more local event with Dusk Griswold holding her housewarming party.

Details on these, and more later on.

Cartoon of the Day

For those not in the know, gnolls are fantasy creatures resembling hyenas used in games like "Dungeons and Dragons" and "World of Warcraft." Usually hostile NPCs, they can occasionally be neutrals, allies, or player characters.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Virtual Ability Now at 1000 Members

 Virtual Ability recently reached a milestone. The group recently had it's 1000th member join up.

Virtual Ability, which has been in Second Life since 2007, is aimed at aiding the disabled in and outside of the Grid. On occasion, they host lectures and discussions at their Sojourner Auditorium, though hold events on a regular basis for those in the group. Gentle Heron heads the group and location.

To get to the auditorium, head to Virtual Ability (54,169, 22). A teleporter is not too far away which will take one to other important places in the two sim area.

For more information on Virtual Ability, check http://www.virtualability.org/ .

Debbe Latte at Prim Economy Music Park

Longtime readers may remember Debie Latte, the singer whom performed regularly at the Queen of Hearts club at Mystery. Since her days there, she's performed at a number of other venues and a few benefits. She's still singing away, with her coffee cup tip jar, such as Wednesday August 26 when she performed at Prim Economy Music Park.

SL Video: "Pop That Lock"

(Click here if the video does not play)

From Catrin, June 2012

Classic SLN Cartoons

From April 2008. I've been a reader of the "Freefall" online comic since coming across it in August 1999, about sixteen years ago this month. This screenshot cartoon of mine shows a reoccurring "Freefall" pun.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Eye on the Blog: Premium Membership Cut to $9.50 Per Month, VAT Charges to End

Since September 2007, Linden Lab has charged a VAT or Value Added Tax from residents outside the United States from those countries whose tax system includes it. This has particularly been an annoyance to European residents, some of whom have complained it puts them at a business disadvantage with Americans. But in a move that will mean relief to these users of Second Life, Linden Lab announced in their latest blog entry that they will no longer be charging VAT.

Premium members will also have reason to cheer. Linden Lab has reduced the monthly fee for premium accounts to $9.50 US dollars a month.

... we’re reducing the standard cost of a monthly Premium subscription to just $9.50 a month. Enjoy all the benefits of Premium Membership for less!
 
We will also no longer charge VAT for Premium subscriptions. If you live in a region where VAT applies, this means an effective savings in some countries of more than 20% below what you would have previously paid!

Several residents have expressed opinions in threads in the official forums and SL Universe. Not everyone was pleased with the decision to end the VAT. Some Americans complained the Lab was effectively giving Europeans a discount.

For the complete blog post: Click Here.

Do You Have a Story?

On occasion, Second Life Newspaper will print an article or picture submitted to us by one of 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).

A Week at the Office Alone

For the first time in over a year, it's just been the me the editor and head writer at the paper this week. No, nobody's been slacking. The others had to take care of some real life matters. But don't worry, the rest of the team will soon have some stories. Until then, I'll hold down the fort the best I can.

Madpea Looking For "High Profile Residents" For Charity Auction

A month from now on September 27 2015, Madpea will be doing a charity auction for "Feed a Smile." Part of a larger organization, "Live and Learn," they are "currently in the process of building a school in Nakuru. The first classroom and staff office were opened in January but there is a long way to go with each classroom costing around 19,000 USD to complete." More information about the project can be found on Live and Learn's website.

Madpea stated that last year, their SL Celeberty Auction for Feed a Smile raised 1.1 million Lindens, "and this year, we want to help complete one of those classrooms and get those kids into education."

But we need your help

Most ‘Celebrity’ SL Residents don’t actually consider themselves celebs but if you are a well-known resident on any scaled and think other residents would place a L$ value on spending some time with you then we want and NEED you to take part in this project. Maybe you’re a photographer that could offer a portrait or a one-to-one tutorial of your work? A prolific blogger who could share your knowledge with another resident? A store owner or creator willing to give a demonstration or create a unique product. Maybe you’re a DJ or Live musician willing to give an hour show to a winning bidder. The options are endless and you get to choose what you give.

The Celebrity Auction will take place on the 25-27th September with a weekend full of live music and entertainment and will culminate with a live auction on the 27th September at a specially built area at !Exodus! Rock Club.

We’ve seen recently with The Lexi Project just how phenomenal the generosity of SL’rs can be and how we can make RL changes to people’s lives when we work together. Please nudge your favourite SL Residents to join us ... We’re also looking for live singers, bands and DJ’s to take part in the weekend events. 

Volunteers are asked to complete the Celebrity SL Auction Joining Form for the event.

For more information, one can contact Kess Crystal inworld or by email: kess@madpeagames.com

Source: Madpea, Modem World

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Club Cutlass. Looks like one needs to forget the paleotologist and call "Ghostbusters."

By Bixyl Shuftan

"Crazy 8 Races" at Burn2

While Burn2 is still weeks away, fans of the event can still have some Burner fun with a spinoff event, in which you can go for a spin. The "Burn2 DMV Crazy 8 Races." On Saturday August 29, Residents are "are invited to participate - by watching, playing, driving, and just generally adding to the fun! The races will be all day, anytime."

The brilliant Burner brains at BURN2's DMV have concocted another fun day of racing for you, coming up on Saturday the 29th of August!

The DMV has constructed a figure 8 track on the Playa and has loaded up the rezzer with about 25 different vehicles to choose from! We will have some goofy feature races throughout the day and finish the event off with a dance party and fireworks!

You're invited to participate as a driver or passenger, or just sit and watch the hilarity ensue.

 Heading over to Burning Man Deep Hole, the track and vehicle rezzer were already ready for anyone wanting to practice for the event. And as advertised, there were plenty of crazy vehicles to choose from. One thing that wasn't mentioned was the "Crash" circle in the middle of the track, sending cars running over it into the air.

There's a trophy there anyone can pick up, but those at the event will really know who won.

The schedule for Saturday is as follows:

10:00am -OPEN RACING
11:15am -Mother Clucker -12 Laps
11:30am -OPEN RACING
12:45pm -Chariot Challenge -12 Laps
1:00pm -OPEN RACING
2:15pm -Licker'd Up Limited -12 Laps
2:30pm -OPEN RACING
3:45pm -Costume Feature -12 Laps (Race in a favorite costume!)
4:00pm -OPEN RACING
5:15pm -Barnyard Bonanza -12 Laps
5:30pm -BurnerBus Blitzkrieg -12 Laps
5:45pm -OPEN RACING
6:30pm -Costume Feature -12 Laps
6:45pm -Dance Party & Fireworks

There was already a race last week on August 22, so some racers may already have had some practice.

Details about this and other Burn2 related events can be read at the Burn2 website: http://www.burn2.org/.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Burning Man-Deep Hole (223/104/24)

SL Video: "Relay for Life 2015: Interview with Cuddly Waffle"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From July 27, 2015, Pooky Amsterdam talks to Cuddly Waffle of Team Strange Journeys.

Press Release: Formation of Team Diabetes of Second Life

Website: www.teamdiabetesofsl.org

In World Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plush%20Non%20Profit%20Commons/221/30/26/

We are pleased to announce the formation of Team Diabetes of Second Life! Team Diabetes of Second Life is an official and authorized team of The American Diabetes Association. The mission of Team Diabetes of Second Life is to raise awareness, tolerance, and funds for diabetes in the virtual world of Second Life.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2014, diabetes was estimated to be among 9% of all adults (18 and up) worldwide and by 2030, diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death.
Team Diabetes of Second Life was founded by Jessii2009 Warrhol and Johannes1977 Resident. The organization will function in the form of an advisory board, with a coordinator leading the Team Diabetes of Second Life effort. The 2015 Team Diabetes of Second Life Coordinator is Jessii2009 Warrhol and the 2015 Team Diabetes of Second Life Advisory Board Members are: Johannes1977 Resident, Emma Portilo, Veruca Tammas, Sandie Loxingly, Rob Fenwitch, and Earth Nirvana. Saiyge Lotus is a special advisor to the advisory board.

The official Team Diabetes of Second Life season will take place from November 2015 to February 2016, with the following events planned:

Off Season Event – October 1 to October 15, 2015 – Fall Second Life Showcase
Official Season – November 1 2015 to February 15, 2015
November 1 – Team Diabetes of Second Life Season Begins
Entire Month of November – National Diabetes Month
Entire Month of November – Team Diabetes Red Hunt
November 4 to 14 – Art in Hats
December 1 to 15 – Winter Second Life Showcase
December 1 to 30 – Windlight Magazine’s Art Showcase
January 2016 – TBD – Tour de SL Bike Race
February 2016 – Team Diabetes Heart Ball

In addition to the events mentioned above, individuals, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to hold fundraising events in support of Team Diabetes of Second Life! An official fundraising toolkit will be available to the Second Life Public on September 1, 2015 at the organization’s office in Nonprofit Commons.

About The American Diabetes Association:

The American Diabetes Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The American Diabetes Association leads the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fights for those affected by diabetes by funding research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association delivers services to hundreds of communities and provides objective and credible information and resources about diabetes.

Free resources are available in English and Spanish at http://www.diabetes.org and 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

The American Diabetes Association is currently celebrating its 75th year in existence! For the 75th anniversary, the American Diabetes Association is honoring decades of progress in diabetes treatment, management and quality of life, and our role in these advancements.

– See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/about-us/75th-anniversary

For More Information:
www.teamdiabetesofsl.org
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?px=11304578&pg=personal&fr_id=10000 (Official Team Diabetes of SL American Diabetes Association Online Page)
www.diabetes.org
www.artinhats.com
http://www.idf.org/membership/meet-our-members (website to find international assistance with diabetes research, prevention, and general information)

Memorial Service for Lumiere Noir

Last weekend, Second Life bade farewell to a noted resident, Lumiere Noir. For many who learned how to build things, they got their lessons at the Ivory Tower of Prims which allowed residents to learn at their own pace. As it's creator, Lumiere's death was particularly sad to many. On Sunday August 16, residents old and new gathered to remember the departed teacher and share a few stories.

Read more in Events.

Press Release: Fashion for Life 2016 Planning is About to Start

Did you hear ... this is the 10th anniversary of FASHION FOR LIFE and we needs all the Relayers to get involved ! Have you been around for a while in the fashion industry and want to participate .. then we want to know!

For this Special Event and Milestone ... Amethyst and I have come out of retirement and will be planning this event !

Want to be part of FASHION FOR LIFE !!!  fill out this info form!

http://goo.gl/forms/C2NMr59qZV

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Club Cutlass. Not sure what happened to this guy as instead of dancing on the pole, he looks like he was stuck on it like what the bloodthirsty tyrant of Medieval Romania whom inspired Braum Stoker's "Dracula" did to those he didn't like.

By Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Relay for Life 2015: Interview With Fuzzball Ortega "

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From July 27, 2015, part of a series of interviews of people in the Relay for Life, Fuzzball Ortega, the Captain of the Steelhead Salmons team is interviewed by Aisling Sinclair. "Filmed and edited by Saffia Widdershins"

Diabetes Fundraiser at the Phoenix Space Station

At the Phoenix Space Station, there will be an event to help benefit Diabetes research. Second Life Newser was informed by the Galaxy Fleet Command Star Trek roleplay group that "The RL organization Fraternal Order of Eagles is hosting a fund raiser and educational talk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as a combined SL/RL mega-event!"

"We will be  in a real-life event to show  the real world  what fun we have." Edconnect Gufler of Galaxy Fleet Command told the Newser, "Christian Zefanwe has been working hard over the months to create this event and we are finally here."

The Fraternal Order of Eagles on their website (http://www.foe.com/) stated they raise nearly 10 million for charity every year, and have a Diabetes Research Center named for them.


For more details, contact Debbydo Resident,

The event will be on Saturday August 22, at 6PM SL time. The Phoenix Space Station is in the Sovereign sim at (125/136/2538)

Linden Lab Announces Project Sansar Closed Alpha Ready For Volunteers For Testing

Earlier this week on Tuesday August 18, Linden Lab issued a press release saying that their next generation virtual world, currently called Project Sansar, was ready for testing and stated a "small number of volunteers have been exclusively invited" to help out.

Linden Lab stated they plan for Sansar to be able to be used, when ready for full release, by handheld devices, as well as being compatible with VR headsets such as Oculus Rift. They touted the next generation virtual world as able to "empower people to easily create, share, and monetize their own multi-user, interactive virtual experiences, without requiring engineering resources. ... eliminating the complicated challenges that today limit the medium to professional developers with significant resources." They did not go into detail as how this would be different from Second Life.

Ebbe Altberg, Linden Lab's CEO (known inworld as Ebbe Linden), talked about "Lowering the barrier for VR experience creation. ... Project Sansar will do for virtual experiences what WordPress has done for the Web."

Slated for general availability in 2016, Project Sansar will democratize virtual reality as a creative medium. It will empower people to easily create, share, and monetize their own multi-user, interactive virtual experiences, without requiring engineering resources. The platform will enable professional-level quality and performance with exceptional visual fidelity, 3D audio, and physics simulation. Experiences created with Project Sansar will be optimized for VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, but also accessible via PCs and (at consumer launch) mobile devices. Users can explore and socialize within Project Sansar experiences through advanced expressive avatars, using text and voice chat.

Drawing on more than 12 years of unique experience running Second Life, the largest-ever user-created virtual world, Linden Lab will make it fun and easy for Project Sansar users to create social VR experiences, eliminating the complicated challenges that today limit the medium to professional developers with significant resources. Project Sansar will allow creators at all levels to focus on realizing their creative visions, without having to worry about issues such as hosting and distribution, multi-user access and communication systems, virtual currency and regulatory compliance, and other challenges associated with creating, sharing, and monetizing virtual experiences today.

“We want to lower the barrier of entry for VR experience creation,” said Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab. “Project Sansar will do for virtual experiences what WordPress has done for the Web: empower a broad range of people to create with professional quality and reach global audiences. By greatly expanding who can create virtual experiences, Project Sansar will also extend the value of VR to a wide variety of use-cases — from gaming and entertainment to education, architecture, art, community-building, business meetings, healthcare, conferences, training, and more.”

The small group of initial creators invited to help test Project Sansar will create 3D content using Autodesk’s Maya® software and will export their creations to the new platform. At consumer launch, Project Sansar will support a variety of third-party creation tools as well as native building options, so that creators can work with their preferred software.

In the coming months, Linden Lab will welcome additional creators and content partners to Project Sansar as new features are added to the platform and testing expands.

Linden Lab is also currently recruiting talented engineers to join the team developing Project Sansar. More information about working for Linden Lab, current positions, and applications can be found at lindenlab.com/careers.

* * * * *

Daniel Voyager and Inara Pey have also reported about the announcement. "The Verge" also did an article, though it's choice of words, "fading from public view, was a virtual world in its own right," could be interpreted as saying Second Life was dead and closed.

Both Daniel Voyager and Inara Pey posted about a youtube in which Ebbe Linden discusses a few details about Sansar: https://youtu.be/2mQj7TpE-Wc . Inara also wrote an analysis of the talk.

Bixyl Shuftan

The “Wingless” Free Avatars (2009)

So you're interested in furry avatars, but you have only a handful of Lindens on you? It used to be that if this happened to you, you were just plain out of luck, or had to make do with one of the older furry avatars made early in Second Life's history, such as the starter ringtail that was one of the options for newcomers on day one in 2006. Then came a much better choice. Wingless Emoto made his lines of avatars free and available to Second Life's public. Bixyl Shuftan wrote about them in 2009 in Second Life Newspaper. Six years later, the avatars are still around.

See the 2009 article in Design.

"Bright Canopy," Sucessor to SL GO, "Go For Launch" on August 29

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life users with tablets remember SL GO, the application made by Onlive in cooperation with Linden Lab that allowed them to access Second Life and go about inworld normally without the need for a computer. But in April this year, Onlive announced the end of the service following Sony purchasing their company. It was the end of what one Second Life newsletter writer called, "one of the best things to happen to Second Life in a long time."Later this month, a successor to SL GO will finally be ready for people to download and use: "Bright Canopy."

Bill Glover, the founder of Bright Canopy, credited Inara Pey's post on her blog, about SL GO's shutdown and suggestion that someone else could provide it's service, for his decision to post a survey asking if anyone would be interested in helping him start such a streaming service. The response was the founder of a company handling streaming for some of the largest companies in the world, Nikola Bozinovic, offering to help him out, and "over one hundred SL and OpenSim residents ... offering to help with testing, docomentation, bug tracking, and even development. ... With a team like that, it's no wonder we had the core features, working in beta in less than seven days."

The monthly fee, at least for the first 90 days, will be $17 a month, "Our early bird price is going to be an experiment for 90 days. If you’ve been following the blog, you know we’ve seen price fluctuations on the back end, and we still need to watch actual usage of the service. $17 is a sustainable price if the instance costs return to their typical, historical values. It is not a sustainable price with the current spike in instance price. We may need to get creative with how we split instances, or we may need to raise prices. We intend to remain transparent as always and will keep you posted. Our goal is to continue to maintain a sustainable, affordable service."

While $17 a month is a little more expensive than the $9.95 a month SL GO was at for most of it's history, it is much cheaper than the $3 an hour it was when first released. 

The company plans to soon have an "East Coast Cloud" for faster ping rates for users on the eastern time zone of the US, and is offering free time for those whom have friends sign up. They are also planning a release party.

Like SL GO, the company says Bright Canopy will improve the Second Life experience on older computers.

For more information, check their website: http://www.brightcanopy.com/ or their blog:  http://www.brightcanopy.com/blog/

 Hat tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: The RFL "Lanterns of Life" Team's Last Season

With the end of the 2015 Relay for Life of Second Life season, it is also the end of an era. The team name "Lanterns For Life" will no longer be used by this team in the future.

Lanterns For Life have always been a sub-group of the Green Lantern Core. However, due to actions from other groups with the Green Lantern name and to avoid possible legal action from DC Comics, DC Entertainment, Inc,  and Warner Bros. Entertainment, for using copyright material to collect donations for charities, the parent group has changed its name. We will be moving away from using any logos or names that could be associated with the real life companies.

During the next Relay For Life of Second Life season, we shall relay with our new parent group: Core Charities.

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Natoma

By Bixyl Shuftan

The 2015 Relay Season Officially Ends: The Relay "Wrap-Up"

Sunday August 16 marked the official end of the Relay for Life season in Second Life. Although the main event was a month ago, the season would not end until the "Wrap-Up" ceremony. The Relayers got together for one last bash with awards given out, and cheers for teams and individuals.

Read the story in Events.

Electrobit City to Close

In August 2011, Xymbers Slade wrote about the Electrobit City sim, the home of builds done by the creators of the "8 Bit Theater," Jei Desoto and Kris Spade. Four years later, there is still a place there, but not for much longer. Xymbers informs the Newser that the people behind the sim will be closing down.

It is with deep regret, that we must suspend development on this project soon. This doesn't mean the project is dead, this project will continue! It may be in SL in the future, or something more ambitious like Sansar, or a different platform. Will continue to inform on updates in the group.  At present it is non-sustainable here. For now, we project the closure date to be 09/18/2015.  Feel free to photograph and blog during this time.  TYVM all for your support and intere.

Presumably "non-sustainable" means the creators no longer have the money to pay the tier. The build has about a month left before it fades away.

Bixyl Shuftan

Events This Week at the Sunweaver Clubs

It's another fun week at the Sunweaver Clubs.  At the Happy Vixen, we're experiencing the sweet smell of friendship with our "Skunk Party," and our "Mice vs Bunnies" night.  At Cutlass, it's "Best in U and V," "Feeling Blue," and "British invasion" night.

See details in Events This Week.

"Wootstock" at Raglan Shire

From Friday August 14 to Sunday August 16, the Tiny-themed community of Raglan Shire held their "Wootstock" event. The event was a mix of 60's counterculture and music, and the good-natured silliness and fun that Raglan's Tinies are known for.

The event was presented by the Raglan Shire Artisans Society. A number of DJs and musicians performed at the festival. Among them, Jaycatt Nico and Frogg Marlowe, Maximillion Kleene, Beth Odets, and Ganjo Mokeev, whom was performing on Sunday afternoon when I dropped by. The crowd gave him quite an approval, "APPAWS!" "PAWSHOME EXPERIENCE!!" "Tiny  HOOOOOOOO!!!" "Yesh!" "YEAH!! GANJO!! ROCK!! ROCK!! GANJO!!" And there was the usual Tiny silliness, "Ok now I don't need to bite Ganjos ankles. Woohoohahahaha!" "AWWAYS da time fer waffahs!" "Got to get ourselfs back to da Waffle House!!"

 Not everyone at the event was Tiny. The musicians's crowds of fans happily followed them over. There were also some notable personalities from outside the Shire there, such as Toady Nakamura of Grendel's Children and RacerX Gullwing of the Snail Racers. Toady had turned into a psychedelic-colored frog, and RacerX had changed his black hat and suit to something resembling the front cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts."

The weather wasn't all sunny, but had it's own unpredictability. Woodstock in real life was known for it's mud, and mud comes from rain. At one point, the whole sim turned grey, and as the focus sharpened, it turned out to be a downpour. The Tinies then reached for their umbrellas.

Lots of fun was had by all.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Relay Rockers to Present Second Annual Alliez Mysterio Awards This Sunday, August 23rd

August 17,  Relay dAlliez - The Relay Rockers announced today that they will present the Alliez Mysterio  Award this Sunday, August 23, 2015 at 3pm SLT.  The ceremony will feature entertainment by EffinJay (Frogg Marlowe and JayCatt Nico), and conclude with T1Radio's Time Machine Show featuring Trader Whiplash.

The Alliez Mysterio Award is presented each year to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the team's award committee, have exhibited "Relentless Dedication" and have made an "Enduring Contribution" to the Relay For Life of Second Life.  The award, which memorializes team co-founder Alliez Mysterio, who was lost to Breast Cancer in the fall of 2013, was first awarded in 2014 to Nikki Mathieson and Dwen Dooley.

Alliez, one of the original Second Life Estate owners, helped found the Relay Rockers with Nuala Maracas (2015 Relay Event Coordinator) and T1Radio's Trader Whiplash during the SL's first Relay season in 2005.  The team, which has participated in all 11 virtual relays was the top fundraising team this season, earning the Ruby Fundraising award and amassing more than $15,000 of support for the American Cancer Society.

"Alliez was a steadfast supporter of Relay For Life and the Rockers" said the team's founding captain Trader Whiplash. "We miss her dearly and this is a way to allow us to honor her memory while recognizing her own enduring contributions to Relay and to Second Life"

The team was led this season by captain Sue Peregrine who along with team co-captain Melodie Jigsaw, Elizabeth Tinsley of Fantasy Faire and Elrik Merlin of Prim Perfect  Productions, received Relay For Life's  prestigious 2015 Community Champion Award. They were joined by co-captains Ariel Goldrozen and  Arizona Ballinger.

The 2015 Relay Rockers were ranked 1st for Overall Fundraising and 2nd for Convio (Online Off-grid) Fundraising. Whiplash received both the Top Convio Partcipant Award and Top Convio Fundraiser Award.

The celebration will be held at Relay dAlliez, the dAlliez Estates sim dedicated to all Relay Teams.  Since 2014 the sim  has been the sight of more than 50 team and multiteam events.   Frogg Marlow and JayCatt Nico open the festivities and will be followed by the Awards presentation ceremony and Team Thank You party.  

The Relay Rockers invite the entire Second Life community to join them for the celebration.

Relay dAlliez (128, 5, 23)

Scenes From the 2015 Relay Walk

It's been about a month since the Relay for Life in Second Life had it's Relay Weekend. One of the biggest yearly events in Second Life, certainly the biggest yearly two-day event, many hundreds of avatars walked the close to forty sims of the track. With the official end of the Relay season yesterday, Second Life Newser looks back with some screenshots of the event and it's team campsites on the sims.

See the pictures in Events.

*Note* This article originally went up yesterday with only about two-thirds of the Relay track covered. Here it is again with pictures from all around the sims.

The Weekend at a Glance

There were quite a few events that took place this weekend. Saturday saw Tuna Oddfellow's tenth rezzday celebration, with two of his Odd Balls that day. It was also the grand opening of a new club, Coeur D'Ame. Sunday had the Relay for Life season Wrap-Up at the Rose Theater, and at the Ivory Tower of Prims residents gave their respects to it's builder, Lumiere Noir. On both days at Raglan Shire, their "Wootstock" 60's tribute took place.

We'll have more for you later. For now, the newx crew is tired and needs some rest before writing up on these events, and more.

SL Video: "The Drax Files: World Makers (Episode 31 - Tom Boellstorff)"

(Click here if the video fails to load)

The latest Drax Files from Draxtor Despress, Aug 12, 2015, "New Drax Files on the question what is REAL. Comment and share with a skeptic if you like. ... Anthropologist Tom Boellstorff sees no difference between doing ethnographic research in Indonesia or among the residents of a digital universe like Second Life."

In Memory of Lumiere Noir

A *Remembrance and Celebration* gathering for Lumiere Noir will be held at 1:00pm (13:00) SLT on Sunday 16th of August at the Ivory Tower Library of Primitives http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Natoma/210/164/28 (G-rated) .  Bring fondest of memories and dancing shoes.

Natoma (210/164/28)

Cartoon of the Day: At the Odd Ball

From Tuna Oddfellow's 10th Rezzday Odd Ball. SaveMe Oh tries a little pranking by playing a video game in the middle of Tuna's event. But instead someone pranked her unintentionally as his dance movements took him into her game unit.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Tuna Oddfellow's 10th Rezzday Odd Ball

Tomorrow Saturday August 15, 2015 marks the tenth Rezzday of one of Second Life's most unique performers: Tuna Oddfellow. To celebrate, he will be holding his Odd Ball twice that day, at Noon and 6PM SL time. Performing the music will be noted Second Life musician Beth Odets.

the Dragonhenge sim at (126, 122, 651)

"An unblown mind is a terrible think to waste."

SL Video: "Party!"

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From Dead Silence on August 8, 2015

The Zillion: Recreating the Real Life Disco of Antwerp

By Wesley Regenbogen

In the mid 90s there was a disco in Antwerp, Belgium, in Western Europe which was called “Zillion.” Most people in Belgium refered to is as “The Zillion”, because it was unique in it’s form. I never went to the disco myself, but I have heard stories about it. Most of the visitors were Belgians and also Dutch people, because the disco was on the north of Antwerp. Zillion was a disco in real life Antwerp that made people party at the end of the 90s and beginning of the 2000s.

In 2001 the real life disco closed down. Now 14 years later, it has been recreated by Jean Vincent in Second Life, with permission of the original owners of the real life Zillion disco, of course. He began on the 20th of April, 2015. He also decorated the place in respect of the real life Zillion disco and he did a really nice job recreating its vibe. Not only the disco was recreated, but also the surroundings. The streets were also recreated.

The grand opening event was on May 1, 2015. They hold regular events on a regular basis in the disco on Fridays and Sundays. The music that is played in Second Life Zillion is : House, Deep House and Trance. They even have a live music stream from within the Second Life Zillion disco itself, so if you are not in Second Life they offer you the ability to listen to the music when offline in Second Life.

The music stream can be found at : http://myradiostream.com/zillion .

The owners are Dutch or Belgian, Dutch is the most spoken language in Second Life Zillion. But they can also talk in English and maybe French too.

For communicating with their patrons and VIPS, the club has a website, http://secondlifezillion.weebly.com/ , a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/Secondlife.Zillion , and also has a group active for their “VIPs”, called “Zillion VIPS.”

In my personal opinion , It’s great to see they are recreating a real life disco and actually take the effort to recreate all of it in Second Life !

If you want more information about the real life Zillion disco, you need to go to http://retrotracks.forumactif.org/t725-zillion-antwerpen-be

So, if you want to join the fun, head over to :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Royal%20Palace/86/178/22

I hope to see you there soon !

Wesley Regenbogen

Lumiere Noir, Creator of the Ivory Tower of Primitives, Dies

Most longtime residents, especially builders and scripters, know about the "Ivory Tower of Primitives." For those residents wanting to learn how to build and script at their own pace, this library if infor mation in the Natoma sim is the most well known and one of the best places to go to. The one behind this library of instructions and tutorials was Lumiere Noir, whom created the Tower very early in Second Life's history, possibly shortly after it's begining in 2003, and has since helped maintain it, with the help of Avi Arrow and Kennylex Luckless.

It has been recently revealed that the person behind the avatar Lumiere Noir has died, passing away on Monday August 10, 2015.

I chatted briefly with Kennylex, " I do not know so much about him personal, but he was the Founder of the Ivory Tower. ... He was the one and only that did build the tower I think." He explained the Tower wasn't originally built in Natoma, but "The first Tower was located in Noyo, It was a huge party here when the tower was moving here, it was a big event for the whole of Second Life."

Kennylex went on to say, "Natoma and The Ivory Tower was one of the first places I did come to in SL and the reason that I did stay so long."

Kennlylex pointed to an article in the "Not Possible in Real Life" blog. There in an interview with Bettina Tizzy, Lumiere identified himself as Vince Frost of Plano Texas, a teacher of English as a second Language. "I love to make things and I love to teach," Lumiere spoke when asked where the idea for the tower came from, "Making the tower was a natural thing for me as a teacher." He didn't like teaching inworld, so he created the tutorials.

Lennylex told me that Lumiere's avatar was active, but being used by a friend to make some adjustments to the tower. 



Torley Linden did a video about the Ivory Tower of Prims in May 2008 (link), "Its kind of like visiting a candy factory to see how your favorite sweets are made," came one of the comments. He also took a number of pictures in his Flickr (link).

Lumiere was known for appearing in a "Black Spy" avatar, of "Mad Magazine's" "Spy vs Spy" comics.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan