Second Life Newser: October 2022

Bixyl Shuftan

We interrupt our news reporting with a Halloween story. Clumsy Cooper is back. Somehow, he ended up in Montecity Bay after his trip to the Deathlands. Life is better, with food every day and a soft bed every night. But he still wishes for more, such as cute girls. With rumors floating around, someone asks him for a favor, right on Halloween night. Will our ex-burglar get himself a decent amount of cash? Will he finally find love? The only thing one can be sure of on Halloween is to expect the unexpected.

Read our Halloween SL fiction in Extra.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Duchy of Caledon Downs invites all to the annual Halloween at the Goblin Cave Dance Monday Oct 31st starting at 8pm lasting till midnight. Costumes not needed but you may. The present ongoing Ghost Hunt will end and prizes awarded at Midnight end of dance. Music will play region wide so you can continue hunting while listening.

Goblin Cave Community Center - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/104/89/32

Her Grace Cynthia Farshore
Duchess of Caledon Downs

Bixyl Shuftan

“I have done it again,” says Second Life veteran and self-described polymath of creation, Loki Eliot, with utmost confidence.

And that self-confidence is warranted indeed: just in time for Halloween weekend, Loki has opened “The Crone”, an utterly scary and truly immersive puzzle game, on his home island of Escapades.

For a nominal fee of L$100, the player becomes an investigative reporter, searching an abandoned cabin for clues to find missing townspeople … and the horror begins to seep in quickly: a dark and vast labyrinth of underground mines has to be explored, with only a torch as aid … or weapon against a ghastly occupant perhaps?

Beware of the crone wandering the cave system, guarding what can only be described as the most horrible secret Second Life Residents might be able to imagine … but if you or your fellow explorers should find it: do not spill the beans before the big day of October 31st … or the crone might be none too pleased!

Will Loki Eliot stop working his imaginative magic in Second Life anytime soon? A legitimate question, as he is often seen wandering other worlds, not unlike the protagonist of his current game. Fear not, he says, because SL is very special to him indeed: “People are still finding new ways to do things because there are so many options in SL and I've been here for over 15 years and I still don't know all the options. You can still do really cool stuff!”

Video by Draztor Despres, blog entry here.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Escapades/141/110/3641/

Bixyl Shuftan

Taken at Club Cutlass with the help of DJ Snowbuns (Skylark Lefavre). This is an avatar inspired by "Loona" of "Hazbin Hotel," who's inspired quite a bit of fanart from her fans. It seems they're loony over Luna.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

THIS WEEK: It's Halloween! Ray Bradbury's classic wraps up, plus more spooky doings and storied journeys. Join us this week for more adventures!

Check out the stories and the storytellers!

All events at Nowhereville (203/43/26) , unless otherwise noted.

Stories told in open voice unless otherwise noted. All times SL/PT

--------->> COMING THIS WEEK

**SUNDAY, October 30th at 1:30pm: Ray Bradbury's THE HALLOWEEN TREE, Concludes with David Abbott, Faerie Maven-Pralou and Caledonia Skytower at Haunted Hollow in Chestnut Hills. Samhain Ball to follow. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chestnut%20Hills/141/229/2542

**MONDAY, October 31st:

     ~ at 3pm: THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW at Haunted Hollow with Caledonia Skytower, live on stream. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chestnut%20Hills/141/229/2542

    ~ at 7pm: THE WOLFEN concludes with Gyro Muggins

**TUESDAY, November 1st at NOON: RUSSELL EPONYM, Live in The Glen
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nowhereville/194/131/21

**WEDNESDAY, November 2nd:

   ~ 7-8:00 pm: SEANCHAI FLICKS: The Spooky Edition Celebrates Dia de los Muertos - Join us in our cinema space as we share video adventures and throw popcorn at each other. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nowhereville/211/111/654

   ~ 9 pm: ALL SOULS NIGHT with Shandon Loring

**THURSDAY, November 3rd, 7pm: CURSED, Stories from the Anthology edited by Christina Henry, with Shandon Loring

***

Bixyl Shuftan

The following was posted by Pieni Resident in the Raglan Shire group:

I am deeply sorry to give you such terrible news. Our friend Minie, in real life: Jackie, has passed. She died in her sleep, holding the hand of a friend. She had been having serious health issues all her life, and lately they had been increasing in difficulty. She got a massive infection from a wound they operated on, but could not fix in time. She was a friend and family to so many of us.

If any of you wish to send something in real life, let me know, and I will give the address. She lived in a nursing home and did not have immediate family, though. So it will go to her friends and caretaker staff. I will send a separate note inworld and on Facebook, when I know what to do about her Second Life memorial. She had been preparing me for sad news for a while now, so I will do my very best to respect her wishes in all possible ways.

She was my best friend and my family in real life had accepted her as our own. I will be grieving for quite a while, and I hope I can be there for you all in your grief, but please understand, that I may not be at my best right now. Jackie kept telling me I wasn't allowed to howl in holes after her. I will respect her wishes to be silly and cussy and hilariously weird. But also I insist her ghost not tickle me for crying like a tornado for a long time.

Her full Second Life name was Pikku GlitterFarts MorgenMuffel (Minnirainbow), and Jackie Hill in real-life. Those wishing to make a show of financial support, it's been suggested they donate to Spina Bifida month, which she had: https://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/blog/10-ways-to-celebrate-spina-bifida-awareness-month-in-2022/

There will be a memorial party for her on Sunday November 6 at Morning Shire at 12 Noon

Bixyl Shuftan

(Click here if the video does not play)

From Second Life's Youtube channel, a recording from the Thursday October 27 Lab Gab, "Strawberry Linden and Boston Blaisdale will be exploring some haunted destinations this Halloween"

Bixyl Shuftan

Halloween is fast approaching. And while people have been getting into the spirit of the season for a few weeks, things are getting truly spooky now. Some are wearing scary and spooky avatars. Some are going to Halloween-themed events. And then there are the Halloween places. By all means there's too many to list all of them. But we can mention a few. Here, Bixyl Shuftan takes a look at several across Second Life, some of which offer activities.

Read more in Places.

Bixyl Shuftan

Event Name: Mieville's Thanksgiving Market - November 2022

Dates: Start Date: Nov. 4th 2022 -- End Date: Nov. 25th 2022

Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Dragonsworn/151/190/701
[Note the change from Mieville Doyle as listed on the poster.]

Description:
"Visit the Mieville community, for a Thanksgiving and autumn themed street fair, where shoppers will find a wide variety of items from many merchants, and can join in the fun with music and dancing!

This is another of Mieville's fun seasonal themed street fair markets, with a variety of shops from a variety of merchants, along with entertainment during the event.

Contacts: Annakari Dragonsworn (Annakari Genesis)

Submitted on behalf of Annakari Dragonsworn and the Mieville/Historical Hunts and Events group by Unalunaqat Resident

Bixyl Shuftan

Saturday, October 22

~*~

At 10 AM PST

The Non-lethal Effects of COVID Infection

Presentation by Dr. Stephen Gasior (Xootfly)

https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/effects-of-covid/

The Science Circle (72,129,30)

~*~

At 9 PM PST

Halloween around the world, past, present and future

Jes Stannard

https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/halloween-around-the-world/

The Science Circle (72,129,30)

~*~

NOTE: Non-members required to register once

IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝

Bixyl Shuftan

On the official Second Life blog on Tuesday, October 25, Linden Lab announced it will soon be updating Second Life's Terms of Service. The change will take place on Monday October 31.

We clarified certain functions associated with the LindeX as well as the terms applicable to orders placed on the LindeX.
We added a section describing the terms applicable to your use of Stored Value Accounts, including your relationship with Tilia LLC.

In the Terms of Service page, the LindeX is mentioned in Section 3.2 (scroll about halfway down the page). Stored Value Accounts and Tilia are mentioned from Sections 4.1 to 4.4 .

Most likely, the changes have to do with the recently announced deal between Tilia and JP Morgan. They appear to be minor ones.

A thread in the official forums has opened. A quick look showed reactions varied from worry to cautious optimism to humor.

For the blog post, Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan

Soooooooo, I'm doing this thing again! It's October, and I am being bid into pink for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

I'll have the stream at I Pink I Can for one last push. Right now it is sitting at 12,500 Linden, 107,000 Linden keeps me in pink until Relay Kickoff in February, Who's gonna help?

Bid Gem Pink
4:00-5:00 PM SLT
Thursday October 27th, 2022

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society2/147/88/23

Until there is a cure,
Gem Sunkiller

Bixyl Shuftan

Hunt Starts October 25th
Hunt Ends November 1st

Free to Play

Grab your free hunt HUD and info at the Deathlands sim

Can you find all of ghostly genes radioactive bones?
Survive the haunted bunker and put Gene back together to receive a gift valued at 1500L$!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Paradise%20Kingdom/88/35/22 (Adult)

Bixyl Shuftan

It's October, and well, a LOT has been happening. There's the Burn2 art and music festival that took place earlier this month. There's the Halloween season, in which various communities and clubs will be celebrating in their own ways. There's been other events happening as well, such as the opening of a new Bellisseria embassy in the Jeogeot continent. Gemma Cleanslate looks back at her time at Burn2, as well as the embassy opening and a couple Halloween parties, including one at the Bellisseria Fairgrounds.

Read Gemma's article in Events.

Bixyl Shuftan

Taken in VR Chat. Someone had an "SS Titanic" avatar. That reminded me of the phrase that lately has come to mean to claim someone's in a same-sex relationship, true or just rumor.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Last week, the founder and leader of the Mieville community, Perryn Peterson, was declared missing and presumed dead following a long absence with his last known location having been the hospital for a few months. While this was a sad development in itself, it leaves the future of the sims where Mieville makes it's home an unknown one as there were no plans set on how to pay for them if Perryn was unable to.

Talking to the community's assistant mayor, Wyvvy (Wyvern Dryke), he did say there was an effort to make backup plans, "The original Plan B was to combine our money and buy some sims." But there was a not so small problem, "But Plan B poofed when I realized that Mieville does not make enough rent to support even one sim for one month. And Perryn never gave me any RL contact info, despite my asking over and over."

And how long do the sims have left? "No one knows," Wyvvy told me, "The Lindens refuse to speak with us." He has talked to others in the community, but nobody seems to have much of an idea what to do.

Wyvvy has decided to do at least something, creating a Gofundme to save a small part of the estate.

For the last year, I have been working on a huge, virtual art build called "Haunted Nawlins." I have been building it in a meta-grid called Second Life. The project had a benefactor, who contributed the virtual real estate necessary to hold it. Unfortunately, shortly after giving me permission to use his rented "region" of real estate, my benefactor became seriously ill. He went to the hospital in March 2022, and by mid-October, his Second Life account had become deactivated. This means that he cannot pay his virtual "rent." Therefore, the region on which "Haunted Nawlins" sits will soon disappear.

My build is a representation of New Orleans, circa 1901. It is spooky and Halloween-esque. It juxtaposes beauty with decay, rich glory with poverty and despair. There are gorgeous, rotting mansions of the Garden District; muddy cobblestone streets of the haunted French Quarter; rustling, secret branches of the Bayou; and the echoing columns of the silent Lafayette Cemetery.

I have also made interactive vehicles, people, and creatures for the build. I am currently working on a simple AI system for them to tell the stories of their lives and the history of New Orleans. This is a Work in Progress; it is not finished. I have so much planned, and I do not know if I will get to complete it....

Furthermore, New Orleans has always been very special to me, so this project means a great deal. Its loss would affect me on a deep level, not just because of the work and energy I've put in, but also because the region on which it sits is central to a large community to which I've become attached. When that region disappears, I can't shake the feeling that the associated community will also disappear. I don't want to lose those friends any more than I want to lose the art.

To see the message in it's entirety, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/haunted-nawlins .

The situation is in some ways comparable to the Steelhead community several years ago, an active Steampunk community in which the sims were all owned by one man. In the case of Steelhead in Sept 2015, it's landowner had a number of difficult RL situations before him, and then the Lab locked his main account. That was the final straw, and he announced he could no longer maintain the community sims, all but one which would shut down less than three months later. Although one of the community would eventually get a sim for a new home, it was still pretty small compered to the old Steelhead.

In the meantime, the people of Mieville continue to go about their way, continuing to have events, such as an upcoming Thanksgiving-themed hunt. Exactly what the future truly has to hold for Mieville, hopefully it will be brighter than it currently seems.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Ghost Hunt on Sunlight Bay! WANTED! Milly (Chilly) Chains and Clara Voyant. Info location in the cave of Joy Mountain.

These outlaw spooks are terrorizing the territory. They are not wanted alive, just deader! A bounty is posted at L$500 the one who kills the most. L$250 2nd, $L 100 3rd, L$50 4th. This warrant is good til dawn 6AM Nov 1st. Use your own prim firing gun and scour the region searching as they pop up, but be quick as they only appear for a few seconds.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunlight%20Bay/44/55/43

Bixyl Shuftan

Here's what's going on at the Sunweaver and Montecito Bay clubs, The Fallout Shelter, and the Furry Fashion Lounge.

Club Cutlass: Socks and Stockings, Monster Mash, Halloween

Happy Vixen: Creatures and Costumes, Orange and Black, Wings,
Big Boobs and Butts, Madkatt Mashup, Halloween Marathon Pt 2, Halloween Marathon Pt 4, Monster Mash

Club Zero Gravity: TBA

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club: Halloween Marathon Pt 1

Xanadu: DJ Christine, DJ Jesse

Club Squeaks: DJ Squeaks

Montecito Bay: CAYA, After Dark

Furry Fashion Lounge: Horror, Cartoons and Animation, Murder Mystery & Monsters, CAYA, Gore, Black Parade, Halloween

Deathlands Fallout Shelter: DJ Bonnie, DJ Wolfy, DJ Nafrini

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

Bixyl Shuftan

Save the Date- Oct 28 IDRAC

Virtual Ability's annual International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference is a free public professional conference. This year's conference is on Friday, October 28, in the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability island. The theme of the conference is "Access to Justice."

The impetus behind Virtual Ability's conferences is to provide professional-level information to the general public in a highly accessible format. Most of us would never get to hear from and interact with these researchers and other experts outside of Second Life!

You can see the conference schedule and more about the speakers here: https://virtualability.org/idrac-2022/

Presenters at this year's conference range from a lawyer talking about how "typical" employment hours are discriminatory, to a student investigating the fairness of AI hiring software; from a retired professor who became a disability ally, to a physical therapist who has written children's books featuring a dog with an amputated leg who deals with discrimination and bullying.

Additionally, several of the poster sets on Healthinfo Island address topics related to Access to Justice. These you can visit any time during the month of October. Be sure to click each poster for additional information and live links. You can get a notecard containing all the text (posters + click text) plus image descriptions by clicking the entrance poster.

We hope you can attend the IDRAC conference on October 28. If you (your avatar) can't attend live in Second Life, you can watch the conference live stream on Virtual Ability's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/VirtualAbilityInc

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

Bixyl Shuftan

On Saturday October 22, a memorial service was held for DJ Waya Snowpaw. He had passed away on Sept 27 and his death announced on the weekend of October 15-16. He was in his 60s. The service was conducted in voice by Suta Northman, EndoraMcandrewsII, and Stacy Maracas.

Waya in real life was an American Indian, and the ceremony had a number of tribal elements such as a bow, drum, and axe at the coffin, along with a helmet on top of a rifle planted barrel down in a pair of boots, his SL avatar picture in front. American Indian music was played for much of the service. The event happened high above the Veterans Isle sim in front of a group of fellow veterans, friends, and people coming by to show respect.

Waya had been DJing for about forty years, most of his adult life. A passionate music lover, he had a noteworthy collection of songs and records, even a few Edison wax cylinders from the 19th Century. A few LPs he supposedly rescued when kids were tossing them around like a frisbee.

Numerous stories were told, in voice, many that sadly were not written down, "I'll miss those wolves that Waya had with him when he DJed." Following the event, there was a 21 gun salute, followed by an informal dance by those who stuck around.

I was told by one resident, "There will be another service too on 11/5/22 at 2 for all of Waya's furry friends that maybe could not make it here."

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Quite a bit happened this weekend. The Sci-Fi Expo officially concluded, though the sims should be up for a few more days. Waya Snowpaw, the DJ who performed tirelessly at Veterans Isle for about a decade, had a memorial service. The Renegade Burn art and music festival continued (above). Burn2 had one last big event, it's Volunteers Party. And there were various events for Making Strides such as Spooky Strides and I Pink I can.

Bixyl Shuftan

(Click here if the video does not play)

By Zoren Manray on October 24, the Regagade Man Burn, "Renegade man burn at Burn ONe in Second life. I have only recorded this event so that others can observe it. I do not claim ownership of anything seen in this video and I do this without seeing profit or fame. Remember no mater what happens the man always burns. Burn ON all!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Taken at Sunweaver Space. For those who don't know, there's an old college prank in which the prankster will slip a bowl of water under a guy's hand to try to get him to pee in the bed. Considering cats can be mischief-makers, well, they'd try it if they heard about it.

By Bixyl Shuftan (with thanks to Penny)

Bixyl Shuftan

On Tuesday, Linden Lab announced that Tilia had "secured a new strategic investment from J.P. Morgan." Also, "Tilia is also working with J.P. Morgan Payments to further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services." So just what does this mean?

Well, it's a little more complicated than to just call it a deal between Linden Lab and JP Morgan.

To begin with, Tilia was created over three years ago in 2019, announced in July and going active in August. The service had been created to avoid future problems with the US Government concerning changing Linden dollars for real-world currency. At first, only those cashing out Linden dollars into real world currency had to keep it in mind. In May 2020, it was expanded to cover both the buying and selling of Linden dollars. Following Linden Lab being bought up by the Waterfield group, Tilia would be involved with not just Second Life transactions, but other places online, "virtual worlds and metaverses, online games, and NFT marketplaces" such as Upland.

So why the deal? Well, the Waterfield Network's motivations are easy to understand: quick cash in exchange for sharing further profits. In the statement from Tilia, Brad Oberwager, whose position at the service was Executive Chairman, stated, "Virtual economies represent a huge financial opportunity particularly for game, app and virtual world developers. J.P. Morgan Payments, a worldwide leader and recognized innovator in payments, is the right partner as we continue to expand capabilities in line with these rapidly growing creator-based economies."

JP Morgan's motivations? As a bank, obviously their motivation is to make money, in this case over the long term. But considering Second Life's golden age was over a decade ago, why would they be interested in this kind of deal now? In the statement from Tilia, the representative from JP Morgan stated, “We believe that contextualized commerce - such as virtual economies within games and virtual worlds - is an area perfectly positioned for innovative payments solutions to play a critical role in the coming years." He would call Tilia, "a market leading provider of software gaming payments tools, to develop solutions for these new and exciting marketplaces.”

In the Second Life forums, there was a thread with two news articles about the deal on the first page, from Forbes and Venturebeat. The Forbes article called Oberwager the acting CEO of Linden Lab. The Venturebeat one stated that Tilia would no longer be under Linden Lab, but now it's own company under the Waterfield Network. Tilia would use the money from JP Morgan "to expand its business and go into new markets." So it seems Linden Lab probably won't be getting much of the money, at least not directly. The article would say the deal took about a year to negotiate. Oberwager was quoted as saying, “They invested in us and they solidified a really big partnership. We’re like the tip of the spear for the metaverse. They’re a good partner with a lot of credibility.”

He would go on to say, “This is a good thing when creators can make money. There are people around the world who make their living by building things in Second Life. ... Here’s why I think it’s so important,” Oberwager said. “These universes are social economies. If you don’t allow people to make money, if you don’t allow this economy to happen, if you don’t support creators, you’re going to have to rely on an advertising model to make your world work. That is a disaster. That would be the worst thing that could hit our society — an advertising-based metaverse.” He felt such a virtual universe would operate on companies tracking people so they could better target ads, "That's not a world we want to live in."

There is some irony in the Tilia deal. It was a year ago that Facebook announced it was going to make a major effort into virtual worlds, saying it would become the "Metaverse," even changing it's name to Meta. It's owner Mark Zuckerberg was acting like Second Life never existed. Since then, things have not gone well for Facebook/Meta. The company has lost a LOT of money and investor confidence shaky, "some analysts say that they aren’t even sure what Facebook’s core business is anymore — or if it even has one." Horizon has also performed far short of expectations. Despite Facebook's huge base of users, a Wall Street Journal article reported the number of people using Horizon has been much smaller than Second Life, with a smaller ratio of women to men, with reports of some of the men behaving badly despite the lack of legs on avatars (while in SL about 80% of the entrepreneurs are women according to Oberwager), and most areas never being visited by anyone other than their creators.

With Horizons and Facebook/Meta faltering while Second Life is flourishing and indirectly attracting attention of the largest bank in America through Tilia, Linden Lab has proven not only can it outdo Zuckerberg with virtual worlds, but also on attracting big money investors. While "The Zuck" can pretend our virtual world doesn't exist, in private he sure can't deny we do.

Sources: Forbes, Venturebeat, Petapixel, Ryan Schulta/Wall Street Journal

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

(click here if the video does not play)

From DJ Puddles of B2TV on October 20, a recording of the "Man Burn" on October 15, "Dedicated with love to the memory of "KT", Ktahdn Vesuvino: 22 May 2009 - 18 August 2022."

Bixyl Shuftan

In a sad development for the Mieville community, it's leader and mayor, Perryn Peterson, has been declared missing and presumed dead. In a group bulletin last night, assistant mayor Wyvvy (Wyvern Dryke) had this to say:

I know many of you are still hoping Perryn returns, and to you I say, don't give up hope.

As for me, I have resigned myself to the fact that he is (almost certainly) not coming back. The Tinies offered me a little, temporary Memorial spot for Dia de los Muertos, so I built Perryn a bitty memorial.

Please come see it, remember Perryn... smile... wish for his return or say goodbye. Or both!

In the group chatter that followed, it was noted, "He's not even listed in the Mieville group," and "He's not in the search however." "I think we should assume the worst." Wyvvy, when asked how long Perryn was gone, told, "He went to the hospital in mid-March. (then) only logged in maybe five times, for a few minutes. Then disappeared completely June 16. ... We just kept on keepin' on."

This hasn't been the first time Perryn has vanished. In February 2020, his not having logged on since going to the hospital in December 2021 was causing some worry as there was the threat of the Mieville community sims closing due to lack of payment. But he soon returned. Afterwards, measures were put into place so the sims wouldn't be in danger if there was another time he couldn't log on. It would seem that time has arrived.

Perryn's memorial is at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cathedral/129/25/72

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Saturday, October 22

~*~

At 10 AM PST

The Science(s) of Architecture

By Terry Beaubois (Tab Scott in SL)

https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/sciences-of-architecture/

The Science Circle (72,129,30)

~*~

At 9 PM PST

Language, words that transcend culture

Jes Stannard

https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/language/

The Science Circle (72,129,30)

~*~

NOTE: Non-members required to register once

IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

╚══════════════════════════════ The Science Circle (72,129,30) ═╝

Bixyl Shuftan

Yesterday on the Second Life blog, it was announced there would be an episode of Lab Gab tomorrow, Friday October 21. The event takes place at 10 AM, and will feature Patch and Grumpity Linden. The notice stated "They will make a few announcements about upcoming features."

The Lab also invited readers to send questions over, using this link to a Google doc.

The event can be seen on Youtube. As with other Lab Gab shows, no location is given for residents to drop over.

Grumpity Linden is the "VP of Product." Patch Linden is the "VP of Product Operations," and the most visible Linden since the passing of late CEO Ebbe Linden.

Bixyl Shuftan

Saturday October 22

12 Noon to 2PM SL time

Music by DJ Holocluck Henley

Preferred attire is formal or Halloweeny.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse/206/205/23

Bixyl Shuftan

In the Second Life blog yesterday, Tuesday October 18, Linden Lab announced a business deal concerning JP Morgan.

We’re excited to share with the Second Life community some news about Tilia LLC, the all-in-one payments platform that powers the metaverse. Tilia was originally built and continues to support the Second Life economy.

Tilia today announced that it has secured a new strategic investment from J.P. Morgan Payments. In addition to the investment, Tilia is also working with J.P. Morgan Payments to further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services.
Read the full announcement at Tilia.io

Wikipedia lists JP Morgan as the largest bank in the United States and the largest bank in the world "by market capitalization."

More on this story later.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Taken at "The Guild" sim of Abnormality. Among the Halloween-themed last names is "Bitey." This guy changed his name so it was both his first name and surname. No word on how "bitey" he really is, though I had some idea of what could provoke him.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Some good news for fans of Tuna Oddfellow. His Odd Ball shows, after being sporadic for some time due to the performer's real life, is now on track to being a weekly event once more.

Join the Tunaverse at Ambient 101 in your craziest outfits & AVAs for an OddBall immersive Art Party together with Tuna's psychedelic visuals & World famous JaNa KYooMooN's Ambient electronic compositions.

Let's Get Odd!

As of now, the times for the weekly show are on Sunday, at 10 AM and 10 PM SL time. There may be extra events during the week.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ambient%20101/130/128/3951

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Here's what's going on at the Sunweaver and Montecito Bay clubs, The Fallout Shelter, and the Furry Fashion Lounge.

Club Cutlass: Star Trek vs Star Wars, Creatures of the Night, Fall Colors

Happy Vixen: Cute and Scary, Night Creatures, Bare, Madkatt Mashup, TBA, Leather and Latex, Black and White

Club Zero Gravity: TBA

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club: Wings

Xanadu: DJ Christine, DJ Jesse

Club Squeaks: DJ Squeaks

Montecito Bay: CAYA, After Dark

Furry Fashion Lounge: Sexy, Fur vs Scales, CAYA, Creepy vs Cute, Release Party, Late Night, Release Party

Deathlands Fallout Shelter: DJ Bonnie, DJ Wolfy, DJ Nafrini

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

Bixyl Shuftan

The Russia-Ukraine War remains in the daily news, the recent headlines being drone attacks on the capital city of Kiev (Kyiv). In Second Life, while the initial massive show of support has somewhat ebbed, some people still fly Ukrainian flags or have blue and gold displays up as a show of support. Last weekend, I'd gotten another reminder when someone in a veterans community, Soldier Waverider, announced in group chat he'd come across a Russian solider who'd just joined up with Second Life, and invited people to talk to him. As I was trying to calm down a friend who had a stressful day, I sent my alt Rezzdarnnit over.

The soldier, whose name will not be mentioned in the Newser, had escaped Russia with his immediate family, and was now in Sweden. He had left partly out of not wanting to be part of the invasion again, and partially that he was about to be sent back despite post-traumatic stress disorder. He disagreed with Putin, and found no fault at all with the Ukrainians.

Most of our conversation was in voice, and the man in question spoke in English with a strong accent. When he had first arrived, most greeted him with suspicion, some wondering if he was a troll. But then he ran into Waverider, and after some conversation the American veteran was convinced his story was genuine.

There's also an update on an Ukrainian resident of Second Life. Hanna Linberg (gabby11196), the owner of Osmia, was last reported hiding out in a city under Russian occupation, her situation complicated by pregnancy. Late last week, Hamlet Au would report that she escaped with her family and went to a free part of the country where she would give birth to her baby. While the war is still far from won, this one story has a happy update.

Addition: Third paragraph was added several hours after this story first went up. Sorry for those details being late.

Source: New World Notes.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

There was a sad announcement from Legacy Vets a couple days ago. US Army veteran Waya Snowpaw had passed away.

It is my unfortunate duty to inform our members the loss of a fellow vet and brother. Waya Snowpaw United States Army Veteran has passed away and went on to a Higher Command. He left us on 27 September 2022 Services will be held and a notice will be sent out to where and when.

Waya was a longtime presence at Veterans Isle events, and at it's predecessor Patriot Island. He was the DJ opening up for Frets Nirvana's fundraisers, at first for Wounded Warriors, then Homes For Our Troops. Month after month, year after year, he took part in hundreds of fundraising concerts. Besides as the DJ among live performers, he stuck out in his furry avatar when most of the others were human.

The services will be held at Veterans Isle on Saturday October 23.The event will be at the USMV Chapel at 3PM SL time. This will be followed by a reception behind the church. Dress code is formal, and it is requested people keep down on scripted items, "we want everyone to attend and not get lagged out."

Rest in peace,

Bixyl Shuftan

*Updated 3:30PM*

Bixyl Shuftan

There were a number of events of note this past weekend. The Burn2 festival officially concluded with the Man Burn (above) and the Temple Burn taking place, though the builds will be up for a few more days. The Renegade Burn festival started, with it's art displays and music events. The Sci-Fi Expo continued with a number of discussions and music events. There were also various Making Strikes fundraisers such as "I Pink I Can" and "Spooky Strides."

More on one or so of these happenings as time allows.

Bixyl Shuftan

Taken at Club Zero Gravity. The punchline is the same as a cartoon for the old Second Life Newspaper in 2007, but it's no longer up.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

THIS WEEK: "The Halloween Tree" returns, R. gets Brief in The Glen, and the stories keep on rolling. Join us this week for more story adventures!

Check out the stories and the storytellers!

All events at Nowhereville (203/43/26) , unless otherwise noted.

Stories told in open voice unless otherwise noted. All times SL/PT

--------->> COMING THIS WEEK

**SUNDAY, October 16th at 1:30pm: Ray Bradbury's THE HALLOWEEN TREE, Part 1 with David Abbott, Faerie Maven-Pralou and Caledonia Slytower at Haunted Hollow in Chestnut Hills. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chestnut%20Hills/141/229/2542

**MONDAY, October 17th at 7pm: THE WOLFEN continues with Gyro Muggins

**TUESDAY, October 18th:
~ at NOON: RUSSELL EPONYM, Live in The Glen

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nowhereville/194/131/21

   ~ at 7pm: HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE Continues with Caledonia Skytower.

**WEDNESDAY, October 19th, 7-8:30 pm: SEANCHAI FLICKS: The Spooky Edition - Join us in our cinema space as we share Halloween-themed video adventures and throw popcorn at each other http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nowhereville/211/111/654

**THURSDAY, October 20th:

   ~ at 7pm: BE SPOOKY! BE BRIEF! in The Glen with R. Dismantled

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nowhereville/194/131/21

~ at 7pm: SEANCHAI LATE NIGHT with Finn Zeddmore late night contemporary Sci-Fi-Fantasy.

***

Bixyl Shuftan

(Click here to see the video)

From Dream Engine Productions (Inaia Amore) on Jan 1, "This Second Life music video was made to all those going through something. We all struggle in some way or another, we all are trying our upmost to be better whether it's in ourselves or through the life we are living in SL and in RL. I am no saint, there are things I have had to reflect on, we all do, not one of us is perfect!"

Bixyl Shuftan

On Friday October 14, the Sci-Fi Expo officially started. This event supporting Making Strides Against Breast Cancer had it's opening ceremony at 10 AM SL time. Benjamin Brougham, the Lead Cordinator, greeted the crowd that was a mix of humans, furs, tinies, robots, and other avatars.

"Greetings everyone, and welcome to the 2022 SciFi Expo! I’d like to firstly thank our entire team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly, and constantly to make sure that we give you the best event we can each and every year. ... a massive thank you to all of our sponsors, without them the event would simply not be able to be put on at the same level, so thank you for your support. ...

"We are all here to fight back against cancer, specifically Breast Cancer. All of the proceeds raised during the Expo will continue to go to funding Breast Cancer treatment and research. Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, it has likely had an impact on nearly every person alive. Whether it be you, a parent, a sibling, a child, a neighbor, a co-worker, cancer has no bounds, and it won’t stop until we are able to stop it.

"This year, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 1.9 million new cancer cases diagnosed, and over 600,000 thousand cancer related deaths in the United States alone. This is why we fight, why we celebrate all those who have survived, honor those who have sadly lost theirs, and continue to fight back against this faceless killer. If you are interested in learning more about the services the American Cancer Society has to offer, there is an information center along with the Memory crystal garden in Aperture with posters with information and links to resources. We are also connected directly to the American Cancer Society region, which has additional resources and contacts on hand.

"Are you or a loved one battling cancer? Find out how many ways the American Cancer Society is there to help. Visit cancer.org or call (US) 800-ACS-2345.

"Before we officially declare the 2022 SciFi Expo open, I would please ask that everyone join me in taking a brief moment of silence so that we may honor all those we may know who have survived, or sadly lost their battles.

"Thank you, I truly hope that you all will enjoy this year’s Expo. Without any further ado, I do hereby officially declare the 2022 SciFi Expo open!"

The event goes on to Sunday October 23. There will be music events, movie showings, shopping, discussion of things sci-fi, and the quest.

For more information on the Expo, check out the blog at: https://scifiexpo.org/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Nexus/158/98/4001

Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

For fans of "Ghostbusters," "My Little Pony," or both, there's a game for the Halloween season in the Luna's Empire area that will interest you. The Luna's Empire Ghost Hunt. If "bustin' makes you feel good," there's a number of spooks to take down, and get points that can be exchanged for prizes.

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