Press Release: Filling the Cauldron: Artists, Musicians, and Creators Come Together to Suport One of Their Own

                                              
Residents are familiar with the large scale fundraising activities on the Second Life Grid: mustering a world-wide volunteer base on an economic virtual platform to raise thousands of dollars for such causes as the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, Live and Learn in Kenya's "Feed a Smile," Creations Park’s work to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Hundreds of volunteers donate time, talent, and treasure to make these virtual activities have a real world impact. Every now and again the opportunity comes along for such efforts to be personal. Filling the Cauldron - Saturday April 1st through Sunday, April 9th - is such an opportunity.

Elicio Ember is a brilliant Second Life creator and artist, known for highly imaginative plants and fantasy designs provided through his Cerridwen's Cauldron brand, and for his generous spirit and his involvement in charitable events such as Fantasy Faire. A serious stroke suffered by his father has left Elicio and his sisters with profound medical expenses. The medical situation in Mexico, where Elicio and his family reside, does not provide reasonable medical support for the care and rehabilitation that will be required. Dozens of artists, musicians, and creators who only know Elicio through his creations and generosity have banded together to fill his "Cauldron" - raising money to help Elicio and his family.

Filling the Cauldron is a week-long celebration of Elicio's work in Second Life beginning this Saturday, April 1st. The nine day jubilee will feature live performances, music, over 20 vendor stalls (including Roawenwood, Ozimals, and Fallen Gods), an Art Show with the work of supportive artists as well as Elicio's own works, and both silent and live auctions of unique items contributed to the fundraising effort by their creators.  Live events kick off at 9 am slt Saturday with musician Lazarus Doghouse.

The Holly Kai Estate is host to all these features and more.  Over half a dozen designers have created fanciful gardens using pieces from the Cerridwen's Cauldron catalogue for the Design a Garden Contest.  Visitors can vote for their favorite garden creation, as well as place their votes in the Filling the Cauldron Photo Contest. Cerridwen's Corner will provide an opportunity to purchase a sampling of Elicio's creations, and to visit his main store.

This amazing gathering of talent clearly pays tribute to Ember's contributions to Second Life as both artist and generous spirit, including pieces from his real world artworks available in the silent auction.  "So many people have been touched by Elicio's kindness, and found joy in his art," said Inara Pey, organizer, "This is such a tremendous tribute to the many lives he has touched."  "There are so many unique one-of-a-kind items to be got at this event," added Saffia Widdershins, also among the organizers, "I hope that people will take advantage of the opportunity to get some of these items and have it benefit such a wonderful person and his family when they really need the help."

Filling the Cauldron officially opens at 9:00 am SLT on Saturday, April 1st and continues until 7:00pm SLT on Sunday, April 9th.

More information on the event including schedule, and letter from Elicio himself, can be found at: https://cauldronweb.wordpress.com/

Letter from Elico: https://cauldronweb.wordpress.com/about/a-letter-from-elicio/
SLURLS

FTC Main Welcome Area:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Holly%20Kai%20Estates/198/104/29


FTC Entertainment: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Holly%20Kai%20Estates/53/152/23

CERRIDWEN’S CORNER

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Holly%20Kai%20Estates/218/43/23


Direct enquires should be forwarded to Inara Pey or Saffia Widdershins at the e-mail addresses below, or via notecard in-world.

Inara Pey (inara.pey@gmail.com)
Saffia Widdershins (saffia.widdershins@gmail.com)

https://cauldronweb.wordpress.com/

Scenes From the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Press Day

The Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference is in Second Life. Until Saturday April 1, there will be a number of exhibits to see and discussions to listen to. Before the conference, the VWBPE held a Press Day. The Newser was there, and took a number of pictures.

See the scenes in Events.

VWBPE Conference Taking Place, Ebbe Linden Speaks About Second Life and Sansar

Right now, the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) Conference is taking place. It started on Wednesday, and ends tomorrow, Saturday April 1. There are a number of exhibits, as well as a number of discussions, such as the "Critical Thinking in the Age of Information Overload" That took place at 3PM SL time on Thursday March 30 (pictured above).

Ebbe Linden would speak during the conference, but not at the auditorium like previous years. Instead it was a recorded interview by Kevin Freenan of "Above the Book" in which a small number of people were invited. Part of the reason was the people of VWPBE wanted the discussion to be more of a focus of education and Second Life/Sansar, and a little less about issues concerning the mechanics of Second Life and Sansar.

Still, there were a few occasions in which Ebbe talked some about  Second Life and Sansar on matters outside the VWBPE's topics of interests. At about 23:30 into the video, Ebbe explains more on why Linden Lab is developing a second virtual world, "We can't afford to invest all the money we make from Second Life back into Second Life. ... We couldn't bet on Second Life still being dominant a decade from now." Still, he admitted, "Sansar is a gamble. ... We have to prove it's going to be successful." Still he felt the future would have a number of virtual worlds of higher quality than Second Life, so they might as well develop one. That didn't mean they were leaving Second Life behind. Ideally, he felt, Linden Lab would have two successful virtual worlds."

For those looking to make it big in Second Life, Ebbe did have a little advice, "You have to spend quite a bit of energy to be successful in Second Life. You can't just walk in. ... It takes a bit of effort." While he felt "the bar is too high for many to overcome," when the interviewer suggested Second Life has lowered the bar for many, Ebbe agreed.

The conference goes on until tomorrow. For those wanting to get there, Click here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/175/133/37

Hat tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan

Xymbers Slade's "From The Primordial Soup" Interactive Story/Game

Xymbers Slade, whom in the Newser's earlier days was a contributor of both stories, horoscopes based on his inworld tarot card deck, and some occasional cartoons, has been making himself busy lately. In the "Reddit forums under the pseudonym "TheDiscordedSnarl," he's set up a kind of interactive story/game that fans of "Spore" and from years ago "Sim Earth" might be interested in: "From The Primordial Soup." Here, people can guide the evolutionary development of an organism by discussion and voting.

So far, about 1.3 billion years in story time have progressed. The single-cell organism that the readers started out with has evolved into a multicellular organism. It shares the ocean with several other organisms, some it feeds upon, some that try to feed upon it.

As of now, the interactive story has 186 participants, a few of whom have contributed some artwork. It should be interesting to see how Xymbers/Discorded's game progresses as the reader-guided creature continues to evolve.

Bixyl Shuftan

Advertisement: Quest Fur Cover

WHAT in the world is QFC?: Quest Fur Cover, or QFC for short, is a bi-annual grid-wide hunt sponsored by ~Furry Fashion~!  This particular hunt focuses on furry and furry-friendly stores across the grid, and always features a wide array of great FREE gifts!  This time around, we will also have a merchant village at the starting location. This special location will be filled with holiday/autumn themed items that you can purchase, AND will also feature a mini-hunt containing items from the sponsor store, ~Furry Fashion~!

WHEN is QFC?:  Quest Fur Cover runs from April 1st- 30th

WHERE does QFC start?: QFC Kicks off at stop #1, ~Furry Fashion~ One of the stores responsible for organizing the hunt!
Furry (177, 84, 27)

HOW can I join in the hunt?: Hunters can join the hunt group by pasting this link into local chat: secondlife:///app/group/60b06886-19d8-b307-2794-3d55c7e2d0ad/about

WHO do I contact for more information?: Skyler Glassing or Becky Doulton

SOCIAL MEDIA: Hunt Tumblr:
http://questfurcover.tumblr.com/

Furry Fashion Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/furryfashion

Furry (177, 84, 27)

Linden Lab Announces Bing Gordon, Former Electronic Arts CCO, Joins Board of Directors

Last week, Linden Lab announced that Bing Gordon had joined their Board of Directors. Currently the Chief Product Officer of  Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers (KPCB), He is also known for "known for his gaming knowledge as former chief creative officer at Electronic Arts and as an investor and director at Zynga."

“We’re honored to have Bing join our board of directors and work with our team,” said Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab. “He’s helped to bring to life some of the most influential entertainment experiences in recent memory, and as we prepare to open Sansar for all creators, his insights, expertise, and counsel will prove invaluable.”

“Linden Lab has a wonderful legacy and future, based on its technical excellence and forward vision,” said Gordon. “Over the past 14 years, Second Life has proven the value of user-created virtual experiences, and enabling people to create their own social VR experiences is a massive opportunity for which no company is better positioned than Linden Lab is with Sansar. I’ve been spending a lot of time working with Ebbe and the team over the past six months, and it’s an exciting time to officially join Linden’s board.”

Hamlet Au of New World Notes called Bing Gordon's addition potentially good news for Second Life and eventually Sansar to retain new users, "Bing is a passionate advocate of gaming systems to drive engagement. So hopefully this means he's going to advocate for adding game systems to both Second Life and now Sansar, something many Linden Lab staff want, but are unable to push forward without more support from management."

In an article in Polygon, Gordon compared running a business to a "World of Warcraft" guild.

"If you're going to build a company, you have to do it like a World of Warcraft guild leader builds guilds," Gordon explained. "You build a weekly calendar, with check-ins, you come up with a system and process to split up the loot, and hope that they don't try to kill the boss," he joked."... the most powerful part of gaming isn't the competition, it's cooperation. So you develop a structure where cooperation is rewarding. In MMO parties, it turns out with a party of five, even if it's strangers in what's called a 'pick-up group,' what you come to expect is that each individual is around 20 percent more productive, using overlapping skills."

Second Life isn't a game, though almost from the beginning users have been making and playing games inworld. Trouble was, newcomers whom were used to MMOs which provided some sense of direction on where to go, have often felt aimless and confused by the lack of it following the short introduction at Learning Island. This has been cited as one of the big reasons Second Life first time users have a low retention rate, estimated by some to be as low as ten percent. If Gordon can cut the number of new users dropping out by half, that would halt and probably reverse Second Life's long slow decline in usership.

Sources: Linden Lab, Forbes, New World Notes, Polygon

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Isle Fundraiser Raises 110,000 Lindens

On Sunday, March 26, the Veterans Isle sim held it's monthly benefit concert. Organized by Frets Nirvana, the event was to raise funds for the Homes For Our Troops charity, and ran from about 4PM to 9PM SL time. Besides DJ Waya Snowpaw, several live musicians were scheduled to appear: Savannah Rain, Dimivan Ludwig, Hogan Bailey, and  Frets Nirvana himself.

Following Hogan Bailey concluding the event with his live singing and dancing girls performance, Linden dollars continued to be contributed past the slightly more than 100,000 L that had been brought in by then. Checking the following morning, the total had gone up to 110,000.

Frets Nirvana holds a few other benefit concerts for Homes For Our Troops every month, but his event at Veterans Isle is his largest and most successful. It is held monthly on the last Sunday. The next fundraiser in the sim should be on Sunday April 30.

Relay Announcements: DJ Competition and Gatcha/Gotya Signups

Honoring Hope, a Relay For Life of Second Life team, is seeking three interested parties to judge a DJ competition.  The competition will run May 6 - 7 (11 - 2 SLT both days), May 13 - 14 (12 - 2 pm SLT both days), and May 20 (2 -6 pm SLT).

REQUIREMENTS:

- The parties will need to be experienced in either DJing in SL or running/managing a club and/or DJs in SL.

- Be available for ALL dates of the competition.

- You do NOT have to be associated with RFL of SL or have RFL of SL experience.

- Be willing to help set criteria for judging before registration begins March 31.

Ariel Stormcrow

*  *  *  *  *

We're gearing up and getting ready for the Half Way There Fair!

We are looking for teams to sign up for Gotya's!  2 per team are allowed and will be distributed throughout the event area. 

If your team is interested, please fill out the form below by April 28, 2017!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnhlIHSI_r8NkDN3NN7YtR3o1-M9e15oOqC4rQf0lkdHOBLw/viewform

Go Relay!!

WyldChild Raven
2017 Events & Activities Co-Lead

Breaking Press Release: Bid The Lindens Bald

In what's clearly the biggest development for the Relay for Life in Second Life, Linden Lab itself is getting involved in the Relay. Or to be more specific, it's members.  A number of Lindens have volunteered to take part in a special "Bid Me Bald" event. Details are described in the press release just handed to the Newser by Trader Whiplash.
____________________________________________________________________________

Bid The Lindens Bald
A Bid Me Bald Challenge – April 1st to 19th

In celebration of the 10th Season of the Relay Rockers signature fundraiser Bid Me Bald, the team announces a very special Bid Me Bald Challenge Event: BID THE LINDENS BALD to be held during the first 2 weeks of April.

Three teams of Linden avatars will join with the Rockers to support the Relay For Life of Second Life by challenging each other to ‘put their hair on the line’ for donations to Relay.

The teams, from the Concierge and Land Operations and LDPW and Customer Accounts departments, agree to dress their avatars without hair for a period determined by the total donations in the ‘winning’ team’s Kiosk.  The teams with the highest totals will get to keep their hair and the challenger will go bald 1 day for every L$5000 (or part of) raised by the top team.

The participating Lindens are:

The Concierge Team: Kat Linden, Whitney Linden, TJ Linden, Izzy Linden, Madori Linden, Vix Linden, Derrick Linden, Boris Linden, Theresa Linden and Lillian Linden .

The Land Operations & LDPW Team: Dee Linden, Patch Linden Bianca Linden, Silent Mole, Vitae Linden, Kona Linden, Kiera Linden, Magic Mole, Ancient Mole  and Shaman Linden.

The Customer Accounts Team: Ami Linden, Corki Linden, Kristin Linden, Ginger Linden, Jagix Linden, Solo Linden, Sparky Linden and Tommy Linden.

Each Team will place a special Kiosk at Relay dAlliez on April 1st and donations to the kiosks will continue until Haircut Day – April 19th @ 2-pm.  Kiosks will be totaled and Governor Linden will shear each of the Team Members during a special Bid Me Bald Party at Relay dAlliez

*Bid Me Bald recognizes, with honor and respect,  those for whom the choice was made, not by themselves, but by Chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.  We have the choice and we choose to sacrifice our hair to honor these Survivors and to help the American Cancer Society Save Lives, Celebrate Lives and Lead The Fight for a World Without Cancer*

For More information contact:
Trader1 Whiplash
Bid Me Bald Coordinator
Trader@t1radio.com

Cartoon of the Day: A Stinky Situation

Taken at the Relay Rap just before the "Skunk Aid" event last week. A seat behind someone with a "Pepe Le Pew" avatar isn't exactly where one wants to sit.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Furry Discrimination

Second Life allows one to appear more or less what they want to look like, either able to make the avatar ourselves or more commonly purchasing it from a builder. One would think as long as one kept their privates under clothing, all would be well. But that's not necessarily the case. There are a few roleplay sims that insist on visitors resembling the people of the period, which don't get many complaints from nonhumans as humans get the boot too if they don't change outfits. But what really gets people irritated are the handful of places that kick out furries and other nonhuman avatars for no good reason. Grease Coakes had the misfortune to run into one recently.

Read Grease's story in Extra.

More "Bid Me" Events For RFL Team Sunbeamers

Today the time period of the Relay for Life team Sunbeamer "Bid Me" events for team captain Rita Mariner and Ranchan Weidman from last week come to an end. But for those wanting more of the "Bid Me" fun are in for a treat as there are a number of new ones. A couple days ago on Monday, there were eight announced, the kiosks all at Club Cutlass.

We have 8, yes 8 BID ME going and 1 Auction now running at Cutlass.  So please find the time to come over, check them out and BID on them, if you so desire.

BIXYL will go Toshi mini Fox if he loses
BRANDI - will go young innocent mousie, if she loses
RITA- will go back to my first hideous avatar, if I lose
NYDIA is auctioning off a music video of your making

Perri is offering to go BLUE VIXEN or CHOCO BUNNY
Four of her friends are offering dates.

Since the announcement, there's been one more Bid Me added, another one for a date. for a total of ten events.

To fill in the details, Brandi Streusel is offering to stay a child/cub avatar for a week. Rita is getting into the Bid Me for a second time, this occasion offering to change into her first avatar, her "ebil tan rat." Perri Prinz has two options besides keeping her her bunny self, blue vixen, or as it will soon be Easter her chocolate bunny avatar. At least 3000 Lindens are needed for them to keep their new look for a week.

Four of Perri Prinz's friends are also up for date auctions: Christine Rhodes, aka "The Magic Fox," who DJs at Xanadu on Sunday nights, and Vicki Anderson, Kacey Carver, and Clover Lappina. Kacey is fairly unique as she has a pinkish squirrel/skunk hybrid appearance. There's a minumum 1000L to bid them a date, which will last about three to six hours.

Nydia Tungsten had a different idea: an auction. This time the winner gets to choose what she'll do a music video on, picking the song, dancers, and location (subject to her approval). Skylark Lefavre is also offering a date, with a minimum bid of 5000, the details being nothing more than a hug or cuddle and no outfit more revealing than a bikini.

And then, there's me. Last year's "Fox Avatar Challenge" resulted in me going tiny for a while. So this year, just the Tokushi tiny fox is up. 5000 Lindens means I get shrunk down for a week, with another day for every additional 2000 L (rounded down) raised. Since yours truly has reporter duties, I reserve the right to go back to full size when doing an interview or similar work. Otherwise I'm stuck at kneecap level. Last year, I ended up spending eight days as a tiny. How high it will be this time, who knows.

The "Bid Me" events will be around probably for two weeks, until Wednesday April 12, until the totals are finalized and the results announced. But don't wait too long. Before you know it, your chance to give me the "tiny toss" will be gone.

The kiosks are at Club Cutlass at Sunweaver Bay (114/117/757).

Bixyl Shuftan

Advertisement: DJs Needed for Furry Club Alliance

Are you a beginning DJ looking for a place to start your Second Life career? Or perhaps you're a longtime master of spinning the tunes who's looking for a new place to rock? If so, the Furry Club Alliance can get you a gig. We are four clubs, the airship Club Cutlass, the beach club Happy Vixen, the classic rock club Xanadu, and the open field club and hangout The Gathering Oak. Two of our venues, Xanadu and The Gathering Oak, are looking to expand our schedules. But we could use hosts and hostesses, and we especially need DJs. Even if our schedules are full, we can always use backup DJs in case the unexpected happens.

Those interested please Instant-Message Perri Prinz, Matoazma Kazyanenko, or Nydia Tungsten.

Events This Week at the Sunweaver and Furry Fashion Clubs

It's the final week of March. But no need to go out like a lamb. Rock on like a lion at these clubs.

Club Cutlass: Best in "M," Wings, Roller Skates

The Happy Vixen: Steampunk, Wolves, Cyberteck, Mustelids, CAYA

Xanadu: TBA, TBA

Furry Fashion: Black and White, Japanese Fashion, Mythology, Spots vs Stripes, Tails, April Fool/Memes, Beach Party, Ghosts, Rainbows

See the schedules in SL Clubbin'.

Club Gearz Moves to Steelhead Bay

When the Steelhead community held their first town meeting in their new home of Steelhead Bay last Tuesday, March 21, one matter brought up was the relocation of Club Gearz from Caledon. The theme was agreed upon as "New Beginnings." And on Friday night March 24 at 7PM, the club held it's first event in the sim.

A number of people showed up. Most were Steelheaders, but some were friends, notably from the Relay for Life. Fuzzball Ortega, acting as the DJ, whipped out "The Hair," and played a number of tunes, including what's become the unofficial song of Steelhead: "This is Home."

I've got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe you now
I've come too far
No I can't go back
Back to how it was

Created for a place I've never known

This is home
Now I'm finally back to where I belong
Where I Belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching for a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
This is home 

For the Steelheaders, it was a reminder that at last, they had found their home in the virtual world.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Nuala's "Bid Me Bald"

Wednesday March 22 was the date of another "Bid Me Bald" Event at at Arinultra Cay. This time it was Nulala Maracas' turn to sit on the barber chair. Some comments were captured over Relay chat, one saying of Daylan the barber, "he's enjoying it a wee bit too much if you ask me." Others remarked, "I think Nuala's hair is all over the beach now." "So shinny."

Oldesoul Eldermar, who provided me the picture, told me she had been bid bald for 17 days.

Sci-fi Convention in Second Life

The sci-fi convention is in town. Or rather, the Science Fiction Alliance is having it's Convention event. Considered a spinnoff event of the Relay for Life of Second Life as it raises funds for the Relay, the mega-event lasts until Sunday April 2. Here, one can find events from stage performances to DJ music parties, numerous exhibits of various science fiction groups, and numerous vendors for sci-fi products. Grease Coakes dropped by, and took a look around.

Read Grease's article in Events.

The Linden Snowball Fight and The "Skunk Aid"

Quite a bit has happened in Second Life lately, and we haven't had time to tell it all. Two fun events that happened recently had to wait until now. One was the "Snowball Showdown," better known as the "Linden Snowball Fight," which took place on Friday March 17. The one last December was part of the "Jolly Holiday Crawl." This time, the snowball splatting stood on it's own as Lindens and residents slugged it out it the arena in the Winter Wonderland arena.

As it took place on St. Patrick's Day, the arena was lit with green lights, giving the event an "Emerald Isle" flavor. The hat on the arena monster, which occasionally popped up, added to it as well. But the main event were all the lindens and moles, including a certain one whom was recently hired. There were two separate snowball scraps, and at each for an hour the frosty missiles flew. But at the end, the Lindens bade the residents a friendly farewell. At least until the next showdowns next winter.

A couple days later was the "Skunk Aid" event for the "Relay Rockers" Relay for Like team. One of the things teams can do one another for fun this year is to "skunk" one another thanks to "Stinky the skunk." When the Rockers got "skunked," they decided to hold a "Skunk Aid" party. The event took place in the Arinultra Cay sim.

A number of Relayers showed up for the two hour event. While Stinky himself never showed up, a number showed up in skunk avatars, such as Gem Sunkiller (pictured above), and Team Sunbeamer's captain Rita Mariner. The Rockers got a couple days knocked off their "skunked" time period. There was also a contest won by Nulala Maracas, who showed up not in a skunk avatar but a skunk suit.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: VWBPE 2017 Kick-Off: “Legacy”

March 29 starts the four-day Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference, with an amazing line-up of speakers, workshops, sim demonstrations, poster presentations, and more.  The conference will cover a wide range of subjects concerning virtual worlds and their use for education, virtual reality, smart games, arts and science, and the future of technology.

This year's keynote speakers include Dr. Celia Pearce (SL: Artemesia Sandgrain), Chris Dede (SL: Chris Olejniczak) and John Lester (SL: Pathfinder Lester). All three of these visionaries are have been involved in virtual worlds as long as, and even longer than, VWBPE.

Each VWBPE conference keynote speaker and their respective presentations is featured on the conference website (https://vwbpe.org), along with a calendar of exciting presentations, social activities, and networking events that will set extraordinary discussions in motion. 

We have Immersive Experiences happening throughout the week before the conference. Check out Chemistry Labs on the 21st, Spanish Language Learning on the 24th, and Lizards of ARS on the 26th. More Immersive Experiences are scheduled after the conference.

Additionally, this open and free conference would not be possible without the generous contributions of VWBPE sponsors.

Starting March 21st the Rockcliffe Registration Portal will be open for people to register new avatars and find out more about the VWBPE conference in-world. Go to https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/ and all the instructions are there to get your friends started.

The full conference schedule is online here: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-calendar. All of the conference events will be in Second Life this year, and the locations are included in the listings. When you click on a conference event and click Add to Calendar, you can add the event to your own calendar (Google+ and more).

**Keynotes**

VWBPE Main Auditorium
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/22

Keynote: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Twenty Years in Virtual Worlds
Dr. Celia Pearce, co-author of Ethnography and Virtual Worlds (2012)
SL: Artemesia Sandgrain
Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 5:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific Time

Keynote: How Immersion in Virtual and Augmented Worlds Helps Students in the Real World
Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
SL: Chris Olejniczak
Friday, March 31, 2017, 1:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific Time

Keynote: Beyond Escapism: Virtual Worlds, Vulnerable Populations and Social Good
John Lester, CTO of Virtual Rehab‘s global technology strategic direction
SL: Pathfinder Lester
Saturday, April 1, 2017, 4:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific

**Legacy Panel**

Panelists:
Beth Ritter-Guth (Desideria Stockton: SL)
John Lester (Pathfinder Lester: SL)
Ken Hudson
Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal: SL)
Moderator:  Ghaelen D’Lareh
Time:   Thursday, March 30, 2017, 8:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. PT/SLT
Location:  VWBPE Main Auditorium
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/22

**Above the Book**

Above the Book at the VWBPE 2017 Conference will feature sessions with Ebbe Altberg (SL: Ebbe Altberg) and Bernhard Drax (SL: Draxtor Despres). Those who would like to attend this private Livestreamed session must submit questions to https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-2017-above-the-book-question-submittal by Monday, March 20, at 11:59 pm SLT.

**Major Sponsors**
*Silver:
Rockcliffe University Consortium (https://urockcliffe.com/)
Virtual Ability (http://www.virtualability.org/) 
Agile Dimensions (http://www.agiledimensions.com/blog/)

*Bronze:
Ageless Mind Project (http://agelessmindproject.org/)
University of New Mexico (http://extendedlearning.unm.edu/)
University of Idaho (http://www.uidaho.edu/)

**Web Pages**

Above the Book Question Submittal: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-2017-above-the-book-question-submittal
Calendar: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-calendar
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-worlds-best-practices-in-education-conference-2017-tickets-31309376187
Rockcliffe Registration Portal: https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/
Sponsors: https://vwbpe.org/sponsors-2017
Thinkerer Award: https://vwbpe.org/thinkerer-award-2017-nomination

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at the Sci-Fi Convention

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Sci-Fi Con Taking Place Until April 2

For the tenth year in a row, the Second Life Science Fiction Convention is taking place. "Second Life members and passionate fans of science fiction, with hundreds of participating groups, in a unique online explosion of imagination… all united to kick cancer’s (butt). What started in 2008 as a single region Sci-Fi Meet and Greet charity party, has grown into a six sim festival of creativity and purpose; hosting parties, discussions, interviews with notable Actors of Sci-Fi, epic Trivia Showdowns, and one of the best theatricals the grid has to offer The Milky Way Cabaret. We are proof of what regular pixel people are capable of when we come together in a common cause."

This is a fun event to go to, especially if you're a science fiction fan. For more information, check their blog at: https://slscificonvention.wordpress.com/ .

How to get there? The answer is at sim Forty Two (85/207/23),

SL Video: "Touch My Body"

(Click here to see the video)

Nydia Tungsten is at it again. She filmed this on March 19 at the Happy Vixen, with the help of Perri Prinz and Matoazma Kazyanenko.

Sunbeamers Reach Bronze Level, "Bid Me" Results

By Bixyl Shuftan

It's been a good week for the Relay for Life in Second Life's Sunbeamer team, the team of the Sunweaver community. Last Friday, March 17, the team reached the 25,000 Linden mark, and "Rising Star" rank. as a result of their "St. Patrick's/Capt'n's Birthday" event.  Since then, the team has continued to get more funds, thanks in part to two "Bid Me" events, a "Bid Me (your choice) by team captain Rita Mariner, and a "Bid Me Human" by Ranchan Weidman. The Wednesday night party at Club Cutlass was the last chance to make donations at the four kiosks for the two events, each woman having a "stay" and a "change."

Finally at 8PM, the totals were made official. Those bidding to have Rita change came out on top, 3222 to 3073, for a total of 5773 Lindens. Ranchan's bidders for human also came out on top, 2551 to 1700, for a total of 4773 Lindens. The combined total of the two events was 10,546 Linden dollars.

So what would Rita be stuck as for a week? There was a comment or two about making her the East Indian human avatar from the 2011 "Bid Me Human" she was in. But instead it was suggested she use an avatar she uses only once in a good while, her custom-made vixen Lotta Lamour, a character from the "Tale Spin" cartoon. Those less than familiar with the cartoon had called it her "harem vixen."

Ranchan, whom has switched around a little from domestic canine to fennec fox, now had a change of her own to make as well. She soon found an anime-influenced human avatar to wear for the following week.

The money from the event put the team over the 50,000 Linden mark. But the cash would continue to roll in.  The following night, Rita would announce the team had passed 75,000, "We are now at Bronze Level!"

Despite that the community already had to raise lots of cash just before the Relay season, the team has been progressing faster than last year. In the 2016 Season, it took until May 19 for the Sunbeamers to reach Bronze rank. But eventually the team would go on to reach Platinum rank. How high can the team go this year? Eventually we'll see.

For those looking to donate to Team Sunbeamers, you can find our kiosks at Club Cutlass in Sunweaver Bay  (114/117/757), the Happy Vixen at Purrfection Estates (236/219/24), and the SL Newser office at HV Community (140/85/25).

The Relay for Life in Second Life is a chapter of  the Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society's most noted fundraiser.

Bixyl Shuftan

The New Steelhead's First Town Meeting

Steelhead is back. For over a year, the members of the community had to live in other places after the estate faded away from the grid. But with the founding of Steelhead Bay, they now have a home once more. Tuesday night, March 21, was both the opening of the sim to community members and the first town hall meeting since the closing of the old estate.

Read the story in People.

Press Release: Survivor/Caregiver Ball at Two Moon Paradise Sunday

 Dress to impress and come expecting a great time at the annual Relay For Life of Second Life’s Survivor & Caregiver Ball set for 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at the Two Moon Paradise sim.

The ball will be at
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Two%20Moon%20Paradise/160/183/28

“The Survivor Caregiver Honor Ball is always a highlight of our Relay season,” said RFL of SL Survivor/Caregiver Co-Lead TS Darrow.  “This year will be no exception. If you are a Survivor and Caregiver this is your time to shine. You are the foundation of why we relay. The whole RFL of SL community is invited to join us for an afternoon to honor all our heroes!”

As part of the celebration, there will be special performances by Russell Eponym and Lisa Brune.

For more information, please contact Co-leads Shiran Sabra or TS Darrow.

About Relay For Life of Second Life

Relay For Life is the signature event of the American Cancer Society and has been active, and continually growing in Second Life for 13 years. In 2005, the first Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) was attended by a few hundred avatars and raised almost $5,000 US dollars for the American Cancer Society. As of July 2014, RFL of SL ranked number 17th in donations received among more than 5,600 relay events held worldwide. As of January 2017, RFL of SL celebrated raising $3 million US dollars to support the mission of the Society to 'Save Lives, Celebrate Lives and Lead The Fight for A World Without Cancer!’

About the American Cancer Society

For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society has been working to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays and is the world leader in the fight to end cancer. Together with our global partners and millions of supporters, the American Cancer Society carries out its mission to Save Lives, Celebrate Lives, and Lead the Fight for a World Without Cancer.

For More Information:

www.relayforlifeofsecondlife.org

www.cancer.org/involved/participate/relayforlife/second-life

Reader Submitted: Skunkie Party

Over time, Club Cutlass, the main club of the Sunweaver community, has gone through a number of changes. From about 2009 to Feb 2012, the club was of a Meso-American "pyramid" design. Among the events held was this "skunk party."

Zorro Wuramunga took these two pictures of the event of which the only clue of the time was the background. Then as now, the club has the air of the sweet smell of friendship.

Press Release: Bennefit at Veterans Isle This Sunday

Frets Nirvana and US Military Veterans Group announce the third 2017 benefit for Homes For Our Troops in Second Life! 

Frets Nirvana, the premier guitar artist in the virtual world Second Life and the US Military Veterans Group announce the March 28, 2017 benefit in Second Life for the Veterans Support Organization for Home For Our Troops . 

Frets Nirvana states:  “HFOT is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these Veterans are multiple amputees, paraplegic, quadriplegic or suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).  As of January 2017 they have built 229 homes for severly wounded Veterans and have another 85 projects underway.  Since its inception in 2004, over 90 cents of every dollar spent by Homes for Our Troop has gone to directly support Veterans. ”

Home for Our Troops benefit concerts feature premier Second Life talent monthly at Veteran’s Isle.  The concert on March 26, 2017 is scheduled from 4-9 PM PST.  Featured artists will be DJ Waya Snowpaw, Savannah Rain, Frets Nirvana, Dimivan Ludwig and Hogan Baily .

ABOUT HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS  - HFOT builds homes as a departure point for Veterans to rebuild their lives, and once again become highly productive members of society. Despite their life-altering injuries, many Veterans have embarked on new careers, completed their college degrees, or started families. Empowered by the freedom a mortgage-free and specially adapted home brings, these Veterans can now focus on their recovery and return to their life’s work of serving others. Many have embraced their roles as motivational speakers, sharing their messages of persevering through tragedy with groups and classrooms around the country; others take to a national platform to promote awareness of veteran suicide, homelessness and PTSD. Their incredible stories are the driving force for the work for HFOT. To learn more about the Homes For Our Troops visit https://www.hfotusa.org

Interview With Dusk Griswold

Dusk Gridwold is one of the key members of the Sunweaver community. As one of the founding members, she has been with them since day one. Before she was in Second Life, she helped get a furry convention, Midwest Furfest, started, and was known there, and a few others, for her puppetering, her most noted character being Vixie the Fox. While she no longer sees a place for herself at furry cons, she remains active inworld, having DJed in the past for the Relay for Life's Passionate Redheads team, as well as being the team leader for a time, and is still helping out with the Relay.

Read the interview in People.

Sunweaver Bay Easter Egg Hunt

Shockwave Yareach is known for building a a number of things in the Sunweaver Estates, including the "Alien Egg Hunt" that's been up a few times at Easter. But this year, "I needed something new and different." So this year, an Easter Egg hunt in the Sunweaver Bay sim, "14 eggs hidden in all the common areas of the entire sim.  Find them all and get a unique relaxation prize. ...  I modded one of my own private relaxation devices into a special prize you cannot get any other way but to find all the eggs."

To play the game, head to The Drunken Parrot pub at  Sunweaver Bay (125, 90. 22). Between the kiosk and a sample Easter basket, there's a chocolate bunny. Touch the bunny for both the instructions and the basket. Wear/add the basket to do the hunt. Touch an egg, and a copy will appear in both your basket and your inventory. There are a total of 14 eggs.

So how hard are the eggs to find? Shockwave answered, "A couple are easy.  Some are devilish (deviled eggs). But nothing is in private areas.  Public area of the sim, but that's a LOT of hiding spaces. You don't have to fly or scubadive."

You'll also find a vendor for a clean brass Edison bulb table lamp where you get the basket. It costs 100 Lindens, the money going to Team Sunbeamers.

So far, after a quick look around the sim, I found one egg. And it's at ... well, you shouldn't have too hard a time finding it. Any 'ol pigeon should be able to see it. Shockwave didn't say how long his hunt would be up, but it should be around at least until Easter, which this year is April 17.

"Brought to you by Shockwave Yareach, Cynthia Farshore, and the Sunbeamers."

Happy egg hunting.

Sunweaver Bay (125, 90. 22)

*Addition* The number of eggs, 14, wasn't originally given. It's since been corrected.

Bixyl Shuftan

Events This Week at the Sunweaver and Furry Fashion Clubs

It's another week of events at the Sunweaver and Angel clubs and the Furry Fashion Lounge.

Club Cutlass: "Best in L," Black and Blue, 60s and 70s

Happy Vixen: Circus, Blue and White, Martial Arts/Fighters, Silly/Crazy, CAYA

Xanadu: TBA, TBA

Furry Fashion Lounge: Rock, Chuck Barry Tribute, Mix and Match, Elements, Light vs Dark, Feathers, Circus, Space, Nature

Read the Schedules in SL Clubbin'.

Updated 10:30AM

"Spoonful of Sugar" Festival

March 18 was the start of an event called "The 2017 Spoonful of Sugar," a fashion, home and garden, and breedable festival in Second Life. Over the weekend, there were a number of live performances, such as the singer Maximillion Kleene. The next events are on Friday March 24, with Trader Whiplash of T-1 Radiointerviewing people from "Doctors Without Borders," and will go on to Sunday March 26 when there's another break. The final events will be on Friday March 31 and Saturday April 1.

"Spoonful of Sugar" takes place over five sims. Besides live events in the central sim of the same name as the event, there are numerous shops in the four surrounding sims of which goods sold raise funds for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders.

"Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF offers assistance to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of neutrality and impartiality."

For more information, check the "Spoonful of Sugar" website at : http://www.thesosfestival.com/index.html .

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spoonful%20Of%20Sugar/180/26/27

Ivory Tower Honors Michael Linden

Avi Arrow alerted the Newser of what was going on over the Natomi sim where the Ivory Tower of Prims is. Over the map was a picture honoring Michael Linden, whom had recently left Linden Lab. "I've been doing a series of Sky Art," Avi explained, "I'll continue ... for Michael for a few more weeks."

What It's Like To Acquire A Sim

The Newser has written about hundreds of locations in Second Life. But the process of getting one, this is something we have yet had to write about, until now. MajikVixen recently opened her new sim, Zamargad. In this article, she chronicles the steps she took from the decision to get one, to the steps of the process, to the party to celebrate it's completion.

Read Majik's article in Extra.

A Busy Weekend

Quite a bit happened this weekend. If one counts Friday, there was the Linden Snowball Fight and the Team Sunbeamers party. But there was the Giant Snail Cross-Sim Race (see below), The VWBPE (Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education) Press Day (picture above), the event itself starting on March 29, the Relay Rockers "Skunk Aid" party, and more.

We've gone into detail about the Sunbeamer party. More on one or more of the others later.

Bay City's Secret Event Revealed: Everfest March 30 - April 1

Recently, E.F. Committee (EFcommittee Resident) of Bay City finally revealed the reason for the secret messages he or she has been sending since just after Mole Day, here, here, and here. The community would be holding a festival to honor a late noted resident; Ever Dreamscape.

"We aimed for mysterious and 'Ever-like,'" E.F. Committee explained to me, "We realized that there were 3 days between the 'Dreamscape 500' on Thursday and Ever's night on Saturday, so decided to make it a festival this year. Three days we think she'd have totally loved. The Bowlathon is for Ever's favorite charity, Child's Play."

For those who don't know, Ever was a noted part of the Bay City community, who helped organize events. But she was also known for her quirky sense of humor. She would set up many kinds of calamities, but was particularly known for setting fires. In early May 2014, she passed away. Shortly afterwards Bay City honored her in an unusual way by setting much of the city aflame.

Of the earlier teaser messages, "We wanted to build 'mystery' but also get people thinking 'WTF?' We'll type up what each image had to do with Ever, including the links."

The event will include, "random sharks, fires, aliens and Godzillas. We did, with love, when Ever was ever around." Of fires, "that's post party on Ever's Night. Dennis will burn, and we hope most of BC will as well with us. ... We are striving for a very.... ForEver event. She was very unique, it's taking a lot of us to try and even come near" her level."

E.F. Committee concluded, "More details are coming, and everyone is invited. We'll send out LM's in the notecard explaining the posters."

And so, Bay City gets ready to honor one of it's more unique residents in a very unique fashion.

Bixyl Shuftan