The Cyber Fair's Last Day

 

Today marks the last day of the Cyber Fair. This shopping event offers plenty of items to wear for those wanting a futuristic look, from headgear to outfits, to bionic limbs, various other accessories, and more. 
 

It's that time again... The virtual world is about to light up CYBER FAIR • SEPTEMBER ROUND ≼ is coming in HOT! From futuristic fashion to cutting-edge creations, this is where innovation meets style in the metaverse. 

 

To read more about it, check the website: https://www.access-sl.com/cyberfair.

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ACCESS%202/126/124/1504 

 

A Reminder: Book Event Today

 

 Just a reminder that there's an event today to promote the book Bixyl Shuftan published in real life a few months ago. It starts at Noon SL time, and takes place at the Premier Business Center. It is scheduled to go on to about 2PM. Being a few minutes early is recommended. 

 

PBC (79,98,2504) 

Announcement: Bixyl Shuftan To Appear At The PBC To Discuss His RL Book "The Corsean Encounter"

 

You're invited: Saturday August 30th at 12 PM Noon SL time
"The Corsean Encounter"
Meet the real-life author Murray M. Lee aka Bixyl Shuftan

At the PBC Botanical Gardens, Auditorium
SURL : PBC (79,98,2504)
Attire: Dressy

If you like sci-fi, you will love the Corsean Encounter!
After-party entertainment will be provided by DJ Naughty Nydia

 

SciFi Con 2025 Starts Today

 

Tomorrow, Friday May 23, is the start of the Sci-Fi Con in Second Life, a RFL fundraiser event. It's taking place in nine sims, with the main landing at Circuit Trap. The opening ceremony is at 12 Noon SL time. There are various smaller events, such as wrestling and DJ parties, radio dramas, movie showings, and more.

The event goes on until Thursday May 29.

 

For more information: https://vonwolfalphas.wixsite.com/sci-fi-con-and-commu/eventlist 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Circuit%20Trap/117/128/70

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

Update: "The Corsean Encounter" Now on Paperback

 

 

It was a few days ago that yours truly announced his novel "The Corsean Encounter" was finally published and up on Kindle. The paperback wasn't available then. But as of a couple days ago, it now is. So now you can get the sci-fi tale done by the editor of the Newser on both Kindle and paperback on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRT58H37/ 

So what's next? Yours truly has been working on a sequel: "The Corsean Encounter: Prelude to War." I've also been working on a fantasy tale, "Tales of a Metamorph." 

But writing those won't stop me from doing stories for the Newser, and as always will continue to write about the people, places, and events of this virtual world.

Bixyl Shuftan

"The Corsean Encounter" Up On Kindle

 

 

I don't normally post about my activities outside Second Life, but this has been a project decades in the making, and is finally up.

 

Those who know me well recall that besides having a longtime interest in current events, I've also been reading science-fiction and history. Most science-fiction stories involve aliens with either advanced or tribal technology. Technology in a Medieval or Colonial Age state? Not so much. 

So introducing my first published story: The Corsean Encounter.

Theadore Smith, sentenced to a Soviet gulag, gets a second chance when the train he's on has a wreck in Central Asia. Making his way south with his companion Leonid Kakanov, they're ambushed by Muslim tribesmen, and have to seek shelter in a cave they stumble upon. Finding a strange machine, it teleports them to another cave. They emerge not on Earth, but another world. Running into some of its not quite human inhabitants, whom live under Medieval conditions, the initially friendly encounter turns hostile when they're captured by a local lord, whom turns them over to his superior.

After a period of time in which Theadore learns the local language, the overlord takes the two humans to his Emperor as a gift. At the Imperial Palace, they learn more about the land and it's people. They get attention from some people who see value in their knowledge. They also run into the ambassador of a nearby land which is somewhat more advanced and not an empire but a republic, Gideon. But some consider the humans little more than monsters, whose lives are of no real value. Can Theadore and Leonid convince enough people of importance that they deserve more than a lifetime in a dungeon, or worse? And what can they do for the Gideon Republic, which many in the Empire want to settle old scores with?

For now, the story is available only on the kindle version, though kindle apps can be used on computers, tablets, and some smartphones. The paperback version will be available soon. 

You can find the story on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRDZSTHC

And stay tuned for the sequel: "Prelude to War."

Update: "The Corsean Encounter" is now available on both Kindle and paperback.

Bixyl Shuftan

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 Saturday November 9

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

    Visions of the Future From Science Fiction, Panel and Discussion

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/scifi-visions-of-the-future/

    Moderator and opening panelist: Stephen Gasior/Xootfly

    Panelists: Karthik Prathaban, Natalie Foster, Mike Shaw

    Auditorium

      

    ~*~

 

    

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

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

 

Reader Submitted: Mystery Flesh Pit

 

Welp... I just found the "Mystery Flesh Pit"... in Second Life. You can use the LM here to get to it. https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vigdorova/101/152/83

 

Let's see... Oh yea! It's an SCP... SCP-6713...
Oh wait! That's outdated info...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Flesh_Pit_National_Park 

The Sci-Fi Con: "Altered States"

 

While the Relay for Life is getting ready for the Relay Weekend, there is another fundraiser event going on. This would be the Sci-Fi con. Raising money for Team Fox, this event is taking place over nine sims covering various themes of science fiction to June 4. Gemma Cleanslate went there to check it out.

 

Read Gemma's article in Events.  

Correction: The con goes on to June 4, sorry about the error.

SL Video: "Raglan Shire SciFi 2024"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

From Nitwacket on April 5

SL Fandom Con Starts Today

 

It's a busy weekend here in Second Life with a number of events going on. Besides the Wootstock, there is the SL Fandom Con, which is described as being for "all comic lovers and fans from our Trekkies, Whovians, Bronies, True Believers, the Warsies, and Ghostheads, Moonies, and everyone in between."

 

The event takes place over eight sims, with numerous exhibits, booths, stores, and stages for music events.

 

 

On day one, there was a music event with sixty avatars present. So expect lag.

The SL Fandom con is "a mega-event for the Relay for Life," raising money for the American Cancer Society. It runs from today, Friday July 21 to Monday July 31.

 

For more information, check out the website at  https://sl-fandom-con.org/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society2/127/220/66

Bixyl Shuftan

Nova

 

Gemma Cleanslate was recently at the latest location created by rαvєn вαnríσn (RavenStarr Resident) and her Spark group, "Nova." Wanting to create a science-fiction area that was different from numbers of dark ones she'd known, she came up with something that "definitely pushed my skills." So what did Gemma find?

 

Read Gemma's article in Places. 

Sci-Fi Expo Team Announces "Indefinite Postponement"

 

After several years of fundraising, one annual Relay for Life happening will be doing no more, at least for now. Yesterday on Wednesday March 1, the Sci-Fi Expo team announced the "indefinite postponement" of future events.

It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the indefinite postponement of the SciFi Expo due to unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control that are affecting members of our team. We are extremely thankful for the incredible support we have received since opening in 2017, allowing us to raise a remarkable total of US$24,620.86 for the American Cancer Society through both their Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising campaigns. This phenomenal contribution has enabled the American Cancer Society to provide invaluable resources for cancer research, treatments, and support programs, improving the quality of life for those affected by the disease.

The success of the SciFi Expo was only possible through the hard work and dedication of our team and with the support of our amazing community. We thank all of you who attended and supported the event, and apologize for any disappointment this announcement may have caused.

We strongly urge everyone to participate in the various other events the American Cancer Society of Second Life hosts throughout the year (see the links listed below). These events are great opportunities to show your support, have fun, and contribute to an important cause. Your participation and donations to these events can make a tremendous difference in the fight against cancer.

We understand the difficulty of the current situation and we thank you for your understanding and support. We hope to be able to celebrate this wonderful event with our community once again in the future. In the meantime, we wish you safety and health and remind you that we are all in this fight together, for a world without cancer.

The Sci-fi Expo took place every fall, alongside Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. It typically had music and dance events, discussions about science fiction, booths for various sci-fi groups such as roleplaying ones, plenty of shops, numerous exhibits, in it's last couple years a quest, and more.  The Newser took a closer look at the one in 2021.

As far as the Newser is aware, this announcement does not affect the schedule of the SL Fandom Con in May this year.  

*Correction* Earlier the title was "Sci-Fi Con," which has been corrected (hasn't been the first time we mixed up the two names.

Filmed in SL Movie "Waarheid" Priemers At Film Threat

 

 Last week on Thursday December 15, the made in Second Life movie (or machinima) "Waarheid" premiered at the "Film Threat" theater. Scheduled to start at 10AM SL time, the 100 second countdown started at 10:30. There were over a hundred people in the sim. 

The movie is a dystopian sci-fi tale of which the script was written by Huckleberry Hax, who has also done over a dozen novels and numerous short stories in Second Life, the most noted being "AFK", and also plays the part of the antagonist, Belletristik. Caitlin Tobias is the actress behind the protagonist Erika Janssen/Waarheid. Other roles played include AvaJean Westland, Ylva (Soulfullife ), Boudicca Amat, Lydia Lindemann (Lydiadecremorne), Mich Michabo, and Strawberry Singh (Strawberry Linden). The movie is a sequel to Stomol, Huckleberry's first major SL film, which debuted in July 2020. 

The movie starts with Waarheid / Erika trying to track down the location of the man who nearly killed her, recalling what happened to her, losing her arm, and her recovery. But things do not quite go as she planned. She eventually wakes up in what apparently is a very sophisticated virtual reality simulation, placed there by someone who says she wants to help her accomplish her tracking down her attempted killer, but wants her to trust him, which she's reluctant to do. 

 

The movie ended with applause, and afterwards much of the cast and audience went to a club to celebrate at an afterparty, Huckleberry saying at one point, "We have this amazing venue tonight due to the generosity of Amelie (amilee34) and Ylva - please show your appreciation to the venue and DJ."

 

Yours truly doesn't want to give too much away about the movie, though with her in an ultra-realistic virtual reality simulator comes the question how does she truly know she's out of it (Total Recall anyone?) I was pleased with the ending. A lot of work was done on the movie and it was well-done.

A few days before on December 9, Strawberry would interview Huckleberry, Caitlin, and AvaJean in a Lab Gab episode. Huckleberry would say he didn't plan on doing a sequel to Stomol at first, but hearing what people thought eventually came up with the idea for Waarheid. It was filmed in a number of locations, some of which are no longer around. Huckleberry spoke that he has no plans for a sequel to this, though he won't say "never" either.

Caitlin would also write about the movie in her blog: https://caitlintobias.com/ .

To see the movie, head to Film Threat  (48/126/23). It should be there for a few more weeks. Exactly when the theater's next movie is scheduled to be up is unknown. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submission: Subnautica Below Zero Revisitied

 

Sunweaver community Rita Mariner is a longtime fan of the Subnautica game, a survival MMO that takes place in an environment they seldom go: an ocean. So when they came out with a sequel: Subnautica Below Zero, she checked it out while it was in early access and soon wrote her initial impressions. After some more time to play with it and see what's changed as the developers added some new features, and new challenges.

Read Rita's reader submitted story in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Announcement: Thank You From The Sci-Fi Con

 

 

 On Monday October 31, the people behind the Sci-Fi Con issued "A Massive Thank You" for it's supporters. They had raised a total of 2,411,149 Linden dollars (US$9,644.60), a new record.

Thank you for yet another marvelous and historic year! The 2022 SciFi Expo broke its fundraising record for a THIRD consecutive year in a row, raising L$2,411,149 (US$9,644.60) to fight back against Breast Cancer. All funds raised during the 2022 SciFi Expo support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program whose goal is to save lives and end Breast Cancer as we know it.

The generosity of the our entire community is beyond heartwarming, and we are incredibly thankful to be part of it, so thank you for helping contribute to such a worthy cause. And to thank you to everyone who donated, whether you came and made a purchase from a creator, through participating in one of the many events or performances, however you donated we are so appreciative of the support you have shown to this special cause time and time again.

 

They also thanked "this year’s Event Sponsors, Exhibitors, Events and Performers, Blogger team, and to all of this year’s visitors and attendees. This event simply would not be possible without the support of all of you. So once again, thank you!"

Weekend in Brief

 

 

 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.

 

Sci-Fi Expo Opens

 

 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

Cartoon of The Day: Caitian Question

 

 Taken at Club Cutlass's Sci-Fi Night. Feline races in science fiction happen fairly often. And when Star Trek's animated series was done, it got one: The Caitians. But there seems to be some minor disagreement on what they looked like. One fanfic I came across, while showing the women as more or less like M'Ress as done by Filmation, the males looked lionlike, more muscular and with a mane. Perhaps it was just the fashion of that particular city. As for why M'Ress's feet were digigrade and Caitian's feet in the online game were plantigrade, that I don't have an answer for.

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon of The Day: Shooting First

 

 

 Taken at Club Cutlass's sci-fi party. In the original series of Star Trek, lower-ranked men and women in Security, noted for their red shirts, ended up getting killed a number of times to the point it became a trope. Thinking about it, their weapons were smaller than those in a certain other science-fiction tale. Looks like this one 'shirt isn't taking chances on her next away-team mission. 

By Bixyl Shuftan