Thursday, September 21, 2023

Whole Brain Health Opens New Underwater Sim

 
 
On Sunday September 17, there was the opening of a new underwater sim. Inspiration Bay, also known as Wild Fairy Pond, was open to visitors, and there was a live music event to celebrate. The area is part of Whole Brain Health's land, and the event announced by Wisdomseeker (Lissena Resident).

Come celebrate the opening of our new sim with its massive underwater environment, designed and developed by landscaper Luna Bliss!  Includes a special performance by Aubryn Melody at our underwater stage!  We hope to see you there!
 
Dropping by, the place was well-designed with plenty of underwater plants, rocks, fish, and occasional stone structures. It was all quite colorful. And it wasn't just one small area in the sim, but walking around I found much to explore. There was a place were one could get a snorkel if they wanted. In others, one could get a swimmer's AO.

In a notecard, the place was described as a collaboration with the Safe Waters Foundation. It would also say of builder Luna Bliss, "Luna has supported our classes in the past, generously donating her creations for students to build their projects, and we invited her to develop Inspiration Bay." The notecard also described the smaller surface area, "We have horses to ride the trail, rowboats, sailboats, canoes to tour the surface. You can spot the very fun Riverboat at Southwest corner, which also has a high-dive!"
 
I missed the tour that was offered, but did see the start of the live music event. Aubryn Melody was on stage, singing while playing her guitar, while the various people in the audience, merfolk and human, danced away. This included Luna, who was among the mers with her tail.
 
 
Bixyl Shuftan
 

In The Hole

 
 
 Remember the video of the Alcatraz sim we showed a few days ago? Well, I decided to give the location a visit to see if it was still around. While the sim was still there, it was under a new owner. And TPing over sent me to a small corner, with ban lines keeping me from going elsewhere, plummeting down into a small hole. With flight disabled, the only way out was to tp away. So this exploring had come to a dead end. 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

A Few Halloween Shopping Places

 
It may still be September. But already some places are getting ready for the spooky season that is Halloween. While there are haunted houses to see, others get into the spirit of things and decorate their places to make it spooky. Gemma Cleanslate decided to check out a few places where one can "scare up" some scary decor.
 
Read Gemma's story in Places.
 

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day

 
 
The fox has been busy, and almost forgot it was "Talk Like A Pirate Day" yesterday. Here's an old picture from 2013. 
 
For a few more chuckles, check our 2013 article on pirate lingo

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Events This Week at the Sunweaver and Montecito Bay Clubs, and Furry Fashion Lounge

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

Club Cutlass: Silver and Gold, Fire and Ice, Purple and Blue

Happy Vixen: DJ Maliit, DJ Arooo, DJ Geerkil, DJ Snowy, DJ Mattie, DJ Frost, DJ Squeaks, DJ Khyra

Club Zero Gravity: TBA

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club: DJ Snowy

Xanadu: DJ Jesse 

Club Squeaks: DJ Squeaks
 
Montecito Bay:  CAYA, After Dark

Furry Fashion Lounge:  Monochrome, Celtic Green, Pink VS Purple, CAYA

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'
 
 

SL Video: "Alcatraz - The Rock"

 
 

From Bleem Belargio on Sept 2021, "Video shot at the Alacatraz sim The Rock in Second Life." Sadly, the build is now gone, though this record of it remains.
 

Monday, September 18, 2023

Frets Nirvana Performs at Veterans Isle HFOT Benefit

 
 
 At Veterans Isle yesterday, September 17 at 2PM SL time, a noted performer came out of his hiatus. Frets Nirvana, known best for his help in organizing fundraisers for Homes For Our Troops, was once again picking up his guitar and singing after a break from performing. 

It has been quite a while but I am happy to inform you that inspiration has hit and I will once again climb the stage in Second Life today September 17 @ 2 PM.  I will be performing at the Veterans Isle hangar and all tips/donations are going to our efforts for HFOT in Second Life.  You can expect a new repertoire of tunes and hopefully my music has gotten better with age.  Rest assured that it has still been a big part of my life even though I have not been performing it in SL for quite a while.  My intention is to once again inspire you and put a smile on your day with music.  I hope to see you today at Veterans Isle.  We will see where life’s musical adventure takes us after this!  David Steel has been kind enough to offer his DJ talents at 1 PM prior to my performance so come on out early and have a great Sunday afternoon.


 Frets performed for a moderate though enthusiastic crowd, which dropped money into two house-shaped kiosks on either side of the stage. Bri McMahon, who was assisting, would thank them, "tysm for your generous donations to HFOTS! ... tp in your friends, don't let them miss out on Mr Frets being back for a special concert, or miss out on helping us Build Homes and Rebuild Lives along with Homes for  Our Troops!" She would continue to say more, "365 homes built, 74 current projects going, and 90 cents on the dollar goes directly to the program. ... Homes for Our Troops is a BBB Accredited Top Rated Military and Veteran Charity that will never cold call you asking for donations. ... Their mission: To build and donate specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives.... Since its inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents out of every dollar spent has gone directly to our program services for Veterans. HFOT builds these homes where the Veteran chooses to live, and continues its relationship with the Veterans after home delivery to assist them with rebuilding their lives. ..."

There was also some musing during the event, "Sorry xxxxxxx, didn't mean to kick ya like a can can girl." "I can't feel my avi butt." There was someone using the  "LEEROYYYYY JENKINS!!!!!" gesture. And there was someone with an unusual name, "Welcome, ThisPainsme."

At the end of the event, a total of 40,000 Linden dollars had been raised. Frets kept his promise, and donated an additional 40,000 L, bringing the total to 80,000 Linden dollars.

Fundraising events at Veterans Isle are usually on the first Wednesday of every month. But there have been occasional additional ones. For more information on Homes For Our Troops, click here: https://www.hfotusa.org/.
 
Bixyl Shuftan
 

Press Release: Haunted Nawlins Howloween 2023

 
 
 "HOWLOWEEN" means all things spooky, monstrous, dark, and haunted (not gory).  Our celebration is grand, fun, wild... and interspersed with Dark Humor, Magick, and the (un)Dead.  We include Dia de los Muertos!
 
Celebrate the scary season in Haunted Nawlins (New Orleans).  Trick or treating for ALL ages, not just kids.  (Due to mature & spooky content, underage players should have adult supervision).

Lots of games, free unisex gifts, tons of food both creepy and Cajun!  Explore the French Quarter, dodge the zombies, barrel through the Bayou!  Another fantastic Festival in Flox.

The Sponsor for this event is ~Lantian/Flox~.  Participating merchants include: Chimeric Arts & Fashions, Indecision, +Inner Mantra+, Junk Food, Kaerri, Lorin's Sound Effects Station, LOVE, LozMac Designs, The Mustard Seed, Porta Portraits, Tea Lane, A Touch of Magic, and many more!  The full list is available here: https://hauntednawlins.blogspot.com/p/participating.html.
 
These merchants offer a wide range of top-quality decor, clothing, jewelry, furniture, and full perm items for your shopping therapy.  Even better, each of them has a free gift waiting for you!

Important: We encourage all to grab a FREE or Deluxe "Trick or Treat HUD" at the arrival building.  Wearing that, you can collect points by clicking doors, playing games, and interacting with certain animesh characters.  You can then trade those points for exclusive, high-quality prizes at the French Market!
 
     * 30 September - 5 November 2023
    
    * Also, the Haunted Nawlins build is permanent, and will be reused for future events.

    * At the Flox sim: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Flox/128/128/28
 
* BLOG: https://hauntednawlins.blogspot.com/

* Flickr Group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/nawlins/
 
 

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Classic SLN Cartoons: Dancing on A Dalek

 
 
 Originally posted on June 2, 2010. The picture was taken at Club Zero Gravity sometime before, showing a kitty dancing on a Dalec. The ones on "Dr. Who" wouldn't have tolerated such behavior at them at all, but this one was bearing it. Or considering the girl had no clothes, "baring" it.
 
This would be the last cartoon published in the Second Life Newspaper, as it would close a few days later. 

By Bixyl Shuftan
 

Saturday, September 16, 2023

SL Video: "When We Stand Together in Second Life"

 
 

From Bleem on September 15, "Music video of When We Stand Together shot in Second Life."
 

Friday, September 15, 2023

Writers' Meeting At Caledon

 
 
 Yesterday, I dropped in at the Writers' Meeting in the Caledon Night Readings Room. This is a place for people to talk about what they've been writing, listen in on others talking about what they've been writing, get a little help and inspiration on writing, and more.
 
Meeting for writers to talk about writing. Sit near the virtual fireplace and discuss about what one is writing, planning to write and maybe tell about their writing process. ... And somewhat random writings prompts are provided later, in case they might give inspiration. Use them whatever way you wish.  There is no demand to write anything based on the prompt for the next meeting. Come talk about writing or bring your questions about writing, editing, and publishing in a friendly atmosphere.
 
I dropped in a bit late on this particular meeting, which had one dracanic-looking avatar among the human ones. An earlier meeting I was at had a mix of humans, furries and tinies. One was talking about elves in his story universe, saying they had originally left the land the story takes place on, but were being forced to return, and most weren't able to use magic. One of those present commented that appealed to him, "more interesting when they have to use the grey matter between their ears."

The Writers' Meeting takes place every Thursday at 11 AM. The discussion is in chat and not voice.
 
Bixyl Shuftan
 

Press Release: Burn2 "Animalia"

 

Burn2: ANIMALIA

Opening 6:00 pm SLT / Pacific, Friday October 6th, 2023

Ending Midnight PDT/SLT, Sunday, October 15th, 2023
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/174/32/25

Burn With Us!
BURN2 is an extension of the Burning Man culture and community into the world of Second Life. It is an official Burning Man Regional, the only virtual world Regional out of more than 100 Regional groups worldwide, and the only Regional to burn the Man! This unique virtual Regional spreads the culture and 10 Principles of Burning Man year-round in the world of Second Life hosting several official and Burner organised events each year, culminating in an annual major celebration of community, art and fire in October – a virtual echo of Black Rock City.

As always, we look forward to welcoming home Burners from all over the world ( Are you new to SL/Burn2? How to Come to BURN2 ). You’ll enter the playa through the Gate, where friendly Greeters will welcome you, walk on processions with the Lamplighters; visit the Rangers, and check out our effigies. Wander, explore, climb, interact. Visit Center Camp and the art and sound camps, where DJs and musicians bring music to soothe, inspire, excite and incite to dance. Wander through and explore the art camps, where artists, storytellers and others will have art, stories and engaging things to share. Pause at the Temple to meditate.

You will be surrounded by art, music, fire and welcoming Burners! See the (continuously updated) BURN2 Calendar at https://www.burn2.org/event-calendar/ for the event’s schedule.

Burn2 ANIMALIA: October 6-15th, 2023
As is our tradition, our event’s theme is the same as Burning Man’s, which is ANIMALIA, an exploration of the animal worlds both real and imagined, and humanity’s place in it.
 
Every year, artists and creatives are invited to get their plots to create homes and art installations in our virtual temporary city. For 2023, we will have a total of 12 regions of our virtual playa - plenty of space for seasoned and new Burners to build their art, theme camps, and even camp villages. Collect some friends, create a HUBS cluster or a village, and join together to make your scene on BURN2’s virtual playa in 2023! Yes - you are encouraged to group build and make a great camp, a HUBS cluster or village, a sound camp, or art installation come alive.

We’ll help Burners bring their 3D builds into Second Life, encourage participants to decompress on our Playa, and there will be some supplies that you can use to decorate and make your place your own. Take your virtual theme camp to another level by creating events or gatherings in your space - you will be able to post your activities on our website in the soon-to-be-populated WHO::WHAT::WHERE Guide. We have a large Burner community at BURN2 eager to burn with you and we are excited to see what you will bring out to the virtual Playa and share with us! Check out more at www.burn2.org. Welcome Home!

Something New at Burn2…
At Burning Man, when you wander through the area, you’ll see all kinds of camps. Some gift food, others drink, and still others places to chill. Some invite fellow Burners to come in and visit, experience and interact with art and with each other. This has been the case for many years.

You’ll also find there are sound camps of different sizes in various places. Groups of people come together to construct their stages, play their tunes, dance, perform, read poetry, tell stories, and all manner of music to tickle your eardrums. In an effort to further echo Black Rock City we will not have a Main Stage or BOB Stage at our Octoburn event - although Center Camp will still host a small stage as has been the case in the past. We encourage the musically inclined and the prim slingers and mesh makers to come together and create shared stages in clusters of camps, much like the Burners at Burning Man. Sharing resources in similar, virtual, ways echoes Burning Man’s HUBS (Humans United for Better Sustainability) initiative.

B2TV’s roaming camera crew will live stream in various places, showing performances and awesome art all around the playa! If you can't log in, you can stay connected to the event through B2TV's Live Video Webcast to Mixcloud, which will be featured on the front page of Burn2’s website..Every participant puts into practice many of the 10 Principles in being a part of the event, most especially Communal Effort. We’ve had a number of sound camps in the past and we’re happy to see you come back each year! Let’s see some MOAR sound camps of all sizes! MOAR art camps! MOAR ART of all kinds!

Yes! The Plot Sale!
Our annual Octoburn plot sale is underway and will be open through Sunday, October 1st. Note that the build period closes at 11pm on Tuesday the 3rd of October. Burn2’s plot sale is equivalent to buying a ticket to camp at BRC. This helps to defray the cost of renting the extra regions we use in Second Life®. Where to go to get your plot? The plot sale kiosks are in a grotto in Burn2’s own virtual Gerlach. Check them out here: Burn2 Plot

Sale Landing Point.
So Now…What to Do? Get Your Plot Today!
First, get your plot! Decide how big a plot and what you want to do on your plot - art, music, join a sound or art village, or just have a camp. Then get your ticket for your plot! And while you wait for the regions to arrive, plan your build, form a village with other friends who get their own plots, get your ideas going so you’ll be ready when you get your placement in early September.

More Opportunities to Participate - Coming Soon

There will be more opportunities to participate in Burn2’s Octoburn event. Watch the main ANIMALIA
page as more information becomes available.

Gift Your Talents in Tunes and Dance Burn2 will have one stage for performers: Center Camp, ideal for more relaxed and intimate shows. Visit our website for more information about the event and how you can join the event as a DJ, live mixer, live musician or singer at Center Camp or one of the many independent sound camps. The Center Camp bookings are first come, first served.

Did you know… that plot owners can create their own stages and host performers if they wish? YES, they can! - you can do your thing inside your sound camp space - and invite others to join you, of course. Want to read, interview someone, have poetry readings? You can do that with a live stream or in local voice chat. You’ll be able to give us some information via the plot owner questionnaire after you get your plot and we’ll assist you with  good placement - and we’ll be helping to connect sound camps with performers!

Create an Art Display
Big art sounds intimidating? We are inviting Burners to contribute smaller scale art that will be displayed in various places at ANIMALIA. Put on your art beret, fire up the sketchbook or mesh build apps, sling some prims and add your bit of creativity to this event. The ANIMALIA Invited Artists committee is now accepting applications from 2D and 3D artists! Be sure to read the Invited Artists Guidelines before applying.

Plot Lottery
The application for the plot lottery (aka Plottery) will also be opening soon. These plots will be 512 square meters, with 156 LI max and height limit at 16m, in various locations around the expanded playa. They are intended for those who cannot afford the cost of a plot but want to have a spot on the playa to call home, create art, have some great fun.The Plottery application is now open!

And, last but not least…there will be Burns! You can come and watch the burns! The Man WILL Burn on Saturday, 14th October (noon and 6pm SLT), then the Temple will burn on Sunday the 15th (noon and 6pm SLT). Be sure to visit the beautiful Temple, and leave a message or two in the Censer. Those messages will be publicly read out before the Temple burns. We hope you find that the virtual Temple is a sacred space that can evoke a similar experience to what you would encounter at the Temple on a physically dusty Playa.

Tell Your Friends! Come and Participate!

We look forward to welcoming Home Burners and our community when the event opens on the 6th of October!

Then, you can walk through the gate, and if you are a virgin Burner, ring the bell! Follow the Lamplighters on their twice-daily processions; visit the Rangers, view the Man and meditate in the Temple. Dress your avatar in your Playa finest. Visit the many performance and art camps with music to soothe,  inspire, excite and incite to dance with your avatar. Dance along with your avatar in the comfort of your own home (nobody has to know!).

You will be surrounded by art, music, fire and welcoming Burners!

Want to stay informed through group notices? Join the BurningMan 2.0 group in Second Life. Log in, do a search on groups or pull up the profile of any BURN2 staff member, open the group properties, and click the Join button.

As always, the 10 Principles serve as our framework for how we want to live and do things together.

About Burning Man Project
The nonprofit Burning Man Project produces the annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City, and works year-round to provide support, education, and grants to a global ecosystem of artists, makers and community leaders. In doing so, the organization functions as the cultural heart of the global Burning Man  community, facilitating and extending the culture from the Burning Man event into the larger world.

SHARE the News about Burn2’s ANIMALIA Event!

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 
 
Saturday, September 16

 
    ~*~
    
    At 10 AM PST   

    Maternity Hospital: A Metaphor For Human Fertilization
    By Phil Youngblood PHD
    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/maternity-hospital/
 
    The Science Circle (72,129,30)
      
    ~*~
 
    At 9 PM PST   

    International Equal Pay Day
    By Jes Stannard
    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/international-equal-pay-day/
    
    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) ═╝