RFL Sunbeamer Air Show Takes Place

 

 Saturday had one of the big events for the Relay's Team Sunbeamers, probably it's biggest yearly event aside from the Relay Weekend: the Annual Air Show at Farshore Field. Besides the aircraft on display on the ground, the balloon, and the dunk tank, there were four aerial performances, plus the music and dance party. 

How much was raised during the event is not yet known, but the "Sunnies" have raised a total of 890,138 Lindens so far this season, currently making them sixth of the 175 registered teams.

 

We'll have more pictures soon. In the meantime, enjoy some from Wildstar Beaumont.

 

Go Relay! 

 

*Addition: Cynthia Farshore informed the Newser that a total of 102.390 Linden dollars had been raised. She would say it was 35,250 for Roos With a Dream, 67,140 for the Sunbeamers

 

Picture from Cynthia Farshore

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: VWBPE 2025 Conference TRANSITIONS 3 - 5 April 2025 in Second Life

 

The 18th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference, beginning on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, will be an online distributed conference happening in multiple virtual spaces. This conference focuses on the use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes including virtual and augmented reality.

This year we are returning to our Earth build. Each region represents a park featuring a different terrestrial biome, including wetlands, desert, badlands, grasslands, and forests. Conference attendees will be able to explore 3D immersive virtual representations of these biomes.

To the best ability possible, VWBPE provides educational and networking opportunities that are relevant to educational curriculum development utilizing virtual environments and “best practices”. These include

helping to build community through extension of learning best practices to practical application of those ideas and techniques;
providing networking opportunities for educators and the communities that help support education; and
providing access to current innovations, trends, ideas, case studies, and other best practices for educators and the communities that help support education

One of the key challenges faced by the educational community is how to make the best use of new immersive technologies in a way that is sustainable and accessible based on limited budgets available to both instructors and students. Platforms that are free or open source, or that can be shared across a broad audience, are showcased, including methods and research around best practices in their use and applicability.

Our theme for this year is Transitions.

Transitions, like pivotal shifts in a story, capture the profound changes educators and students have faced in recent years. These shifts highlight the need to adapt and redefine social dynamics within virtual environments as education evolves to meet new challenges.

Join us as we all share experiences and successes in how virtual technologies used in the classroom have helped shape education for the better.

This year's keynote speakers are Phylis West Johnson and Rabindra Ratan. The VWBPE conference keynote speakers and their respective presentations are featured on the conference website (http://vwbpe.org), along with a program of exciting presentations, social activities, and networking events that will set extraordinary discussions in motion.  

The VWBPE Immersive Experiences showcase unique and interesting work being conducted across the metaverse. We invite you to join us as we explore eleven interactive and engaging locations across five virtual environments. The Immersive Experiences are scheduled from March 17th through April 17th (exclusive of the conference dates). Details and access instructions will be provided when the program is published

Additionally, this open and free conference would not be possible without the generous contributions of our VWBPE sponsors; for more information see https://vwb.pe/sponsors.

The Rockcliffe Registration Portal is open for people to register new Second Life® avatars and find out more about the VWBPE conference in-world. Go to https://urockcliffe.com/virtual-environments/second-life/. The instructions are there to get you and your friends started at this educator-friendly newcomers’ region in Second Life®.

The VWBPE conference will also be streaming live from YouTube during the conference. The livestream schedule can be accessed at https://www.vwbpe.org/watch.


** WEB PAGES **

Conference Information: http://vwbpe.org  
Registration: http://vwb.pe/register   
Sponsors: https://vwb.pe/sponsors
Rockcliffe Gateway to Second Life®: https://urockcliffe.com/virtual-environments/second-life/  


** SOCIAL MEDIA **

Second Life® Group
secondlife:///app/group/8b03480a-793d-ba5b-5b6b-dd10afb5d38e/about

Discord Channel
https://discord.gg/Xjp5nn9D

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/vwbpe

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vwbpe_org/

LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/3754644/

Twitter
http://twitter.com/vwbpe

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/VWBPE

 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Morning Coffee

 

 

 Picture from Winter Paige Shuftan. While shopping, she saw this angry-looking wolf. Now, why would he be grumpy? I can think of a few reasons.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Reminder: Sunbeamer Air Show Today

 

Just a reminder, the Sunbeamer Air Show is today, It starts at 11 AM, and goes on to 6PM SL time. Events go on for the whole six hours, and will provide plenty of entertainment, from aerial acrobatics to DJ music.Plus, there's the balloon rides, the dunk tank with the German 88, and the aircraft displays that have been part of the show for years.

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunlight%20Bay/174/67/22 

 

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 

Saturday March 29

 

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

    SC Moon Base Project Immersive Experience

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/sc-immersive/

    Organized by Phil Youngblood

    Moon Base

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

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

SL22B Open For Performer Applications

 

Earlier this month, Linden Lab announced the theme of the upcoming Second Life Birthday, the SL22B, as well as that it was open to applications from those interested in being exhibitors. Yesterday, Thursday March 27, they announced they were now accepting applications from performers as well. 

We are opening applications for the performance schedule. We are looking for all types of performers to join the week-long festivities. Are you a DJ who can spin up a great party set or a live performer who can jam all night? You might be one of the grid’s amazing Dance companies, or perhaps you’re a Particle Performer? One of the things that makes Second Life so vibrant and exciting is the wide range of performers who share their talent with our Residents. Whatever your medium, we would love to hear from you!

Those performers interested in taking part in the event need to fill out a form on Google docs (here). Performers need to show up an hour before their allotted time, there is a land impact limit to whatever props are desired, and while the stage in the adult regions has no restrictions, all others require that all songs must be fit for a general audience (ie clean).

The deadline for performer, and exhibitor, applications is May 19, 2025.

 

Press Release: Fantasy Faire Opens April 17

 

 

Celebrating its seventeenth year, Fantasy Faire 2025 is the largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, roleplayers and performers in the virtual world. From Thursday, April 17 to Sunday May 4, treat yourself to shopping, dance and theater performances, DJ parties, auctions, questing, our Literary Festival, thematic events and roleplaying as thousands of Second Life residents and creators bring their own visions together to support the American Cancer Society’s vision of a world without cancer.

You’ll find fantasy avatars, clothing, furnishings, gadgets and exclusive items available from over 300 of Second Life’s top Fantasy Creators across 18 stunning regions designed by the visionary artists behind many of the most adored spots on the Second Life destination guide.

In addition to the fourteen shopping regions there will also be Faireland realms that take us beyond commerce and give us places to celebrate together as a community.  Party with fairies, demons and tinies at the Fairechylde. Adventure with the Bard Queen as you complete the Fairelands Quest. Explore the Fairelands on the Litfest Tours. Immerse yourself in a world of stories with the Litfest, Roleplay and Performance events. Remember loved ones with the Memorial Garden and embrace new dreams with the Worldling Cradle.

Fantasy Faire 2025 will be open to the public April 17 – May 4, full eighteen days. The SLurl to the event will be found on the website on our opening day. We welcome you to come and join the story.

 

RFL: Mama Bears Scavanger Hunt

 

 

 

 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩:
This is a magical scavenger hunt that will take you on a journey across Second Life to 18 fantastical lands, in search of a glowing purple orb that holds a clue to the next location.  Each location was donated by a different Relay For Life team!

Your initial donation (𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘬) of L$250 will gain you the first clue and the landmark to your first location.  When you find the glowing purple orb, you must click on it for your next clue and location.

When you get to the final location, you'll receive a landmark to the prizes location, where you can collect all your free gifts, from 8 generous designers.

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙩?
No problem, we got you covered!  For a donation (𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘬) of L$1000, you will receive a notecard with the landmark to the final prize destination.

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜?
March 22 - 31st

𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨
Please be fair and do not share locations of clues.  This event is for charity, and is supposed to be fun.  As the hider of the orbs, I promise, they're not hard to find.  I tried to make the clues as obvious as I could.

𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please send an IM to Sass Winchester (or drop a nc).  For faster answers, send me a message on Discord @ sass_winchester

 SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sassafrass/111/133/21

 

Burnal Equinox

 

This Friday, the Burnal Equinox begins. A Burn2 spinoff event, this art and music festival goes on to Sunday.  There are builds to see, and music parties to enjoy. This year, the theme is "Clockwork Frontier." Gemma Cleanslate dropped in the Playa to have a look.

 

Read Gemma's article in Design.

 

First Million Linden Winner in "March Mobile Millions"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

From Linden Lab on Thursday March 20, their broadcast of Week 2 of "March Mobile Millions" took place. And while all contestants walked away happy, one truly had something to cheer about. 

The show started off well right away with the first contestant getting a hundred thousand Linden dollars, or $400 USD. Soon after came a Dan Grey (his account name was unmentioned. Like the others, he spun the wheel, and at about 4:30 in the video, it came to rest on the One Million mark.

 

 Dan was the first March Mobile Millions contestant to score one million Linden dollars, or $4,000 USD. He was so thrilled, he launched a waffles gesture. 

At the end, the announcer would say a Linden had told him all prizes aside from the big one would be doubled.

 

Stay tuned for week three.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

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

 

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

Club Cutlass: Medieval Days, Retro 70s, Spring Has Sprung

Happy Vixen: DJ Malit, DJ Arooo, DJ Scratch, DJ Squeaks, DJ Khyra

Club Zero Gravity: DJ Snowy - Hooves and Horns

 

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club:  DJ Snowy - Cyber

Xanadu: DJ Jesse 

Club Squeaks: Closed to regular events

 

Montecito Bay:  CAYA, After Dark

Club Scorn: T 2-4, W 2-6, Th 2-12, Sat 2-12

 

Furry Fashion:  Scalies, Wings, Tinies and Smols, Barely There

 

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

 

 

Press Release: RFL Sunbeamers 11th Annual Air Show

 

Welcome to the 11th Annual Sunbeamer Relay For Life Air Show

Team Sunbeamers welcomes you to the 11th Annual Sunbeamer RFL Air Show Fly-in on Saturday March 29th between the hours of 8AM to 5PM SLT. This year’s theme is World War II USO. There will be planes on display with information about them. You can rezz Your Own Plane and stunt around yourself but do ask you clean it up afterwards. Private flying will stop at 10:45am for the sky to be clear for the flight demonstration teams.

This year we welcome four flight demonstration teams and a closing dance
1. Anemone Wing Walking - 11 am slt.
2. Team Phoenix- 12 noon slt
3. French Air Patrol (PAF) - 1 pm slt'
4. Blue Angles - 2 pm slt.
DJ Kayla and the Kangaroos - 3pm till 5pm

A Pilot will be on hand to give balloon rides around the Sunweaver regions.

There will be a Laser Tag arena as well as a carnival midway with a number of activities to participate in. At each activity we ask for a donation to the Relay For Life kiosk located at each, not required but it would be nice.

On the field are Avatar Cannons! For a donation you will be shot out as an Avatar Cannonball!! Oh, and you should grab the free RFL 2025 logo textured parachute provided so that you have a gently landing.

You can take turns dunking either your partner, a Sunbeamer, or anyone in a dunk tank, Just onnnne little detail, instead of a beanbag you fire a German 88mm shell into its target!! There will be lots of other activities so come explore.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunlight%20Bay/174/67/22

 

RFL: "The Hair" At The Moon Dance

 

 

 The weekly Relay for Life Moon Dance is always a blast. DJ Cynthia's music is fun, and so are the puns that fly. But on the March 20 dance, there was Fuzzball Ortega of the Steelhead Salmons with "The Hair," the most famous head covering in the Relay. It's so big, an entire avatar can fly in it. And of course it was followed by a bunch of hair and haircut jokes, the the 60s song "Long Beautiful Hair."

 

The Moon Dance takes place in Sunweaver Space every Thursday at 6PM during the Relay season/

 

Bixyl Shutfan

 

 

Announcement: Bay City Food Truck Festival

 

 

 Food truck culture in a virtual world

BAY CITY, SL (9 March, 2025) -  Celebrating the rise of food truck culture, Bay City will once again bring their food truck festival to the Bay City Fairgrounds in in North Channel ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Channel/128/128/24/ ) on the 23rd of March, 2025. This unique take on a food truck event brings it into Second Life®, allowing avatars of all sorts to enjoy a stroll around the lot, sampling wares. Each truck is unique, set up by residents from around the Grid.

The festival will feature DJ GoSpeed of KONA Stream, who will be providing music from noon to 2:00 p.m. SLT. The event will also feature many other fun activities, including horse shoe tossing and other pastimes. The event is free and open to the public. You do not need to be a Resident of Bay City to participate: just bring an empty stomach and prepare to have some light fun in the city’s fairgrounds.

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann.

 

http://slurl.com/secondlife/North%20Channel/128/128/24

 

Cartoon of The Day: Re-Tail

 

 

 Picture from Winter Paige Shuftan. She and my wife Charlee were shopping, and at one point her tail looked like this. What could make it look this way? I had a few ideas. 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

SL Video: "Bibi Vengeance - Danna"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

 From Ophiucus Orion in Fen 2024

Titanic Build in Yumix Region

 

 

The Newser was recently informed about a reconstruction of a famous ship: The Titanic. Dropping by Yumix Dream Land, I found the ship was enormous. So large, it had to be placed diagonally so it could fit in the sim. 

One can walk about on the decks, and there is some access inside. 

The Yumix region is most noted for a build of another famous ship: the Yamato. It's still there in the Yamato Memorial sim. 

There was a sign in the area saying that the region was 17 years old. 

The RMS Titanic was the largest ship in the world at the time it was built. The ocean liner would sink on it's maiden voyage in May 1912, taking about 1500 of the 2224 passengers and crew with it. The tragedy has continued to have an impact on popular culture to this day.

The Titanic build is located at:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yumix%20Dream%20Land/123/9/26

Bixyl Shuftan

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 

Saturday March 22

 

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

    Open Forum and Programing Feedback

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/open-forum-and-programming-feedback/

    Organized by Stephen Gasior

    Auditorium

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

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

 

 

EOTB: Linden Lab Launches Official Second Life Discord

 

Yesterday on Wednesday March 20, Linden Lab announced they had launched a server on Discord, their official one for Second Life users.

 

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our official Second Life Discord Server! As a hub of community interactions and information exchange, this server is a vibrant space for all Second Lifers to connect, share, and learn together.  

Clicking on this link, https://discord.gg/secondlifeofficial ,  will take you to the SL Discord channel if you're already signed up for Steam. There was about one person or more signing up every minute much of the day and night, and as of the writing of this article there were hundreds signed up for it. There were various threads, from destinations to events, to scripting, and general subject matters. Drama, political and religious discussion, and hateful speech are prohibited, as well as what's considered excessive advertising and self=promotion.

 

To view the blog post in full, Click Here. 

 Bixyl Shuftan

 

Virtual Ability Town Hall

 

A few days ago, Virtual Ability had it's annual Town Hall meeting.  Gentle Heron and others in it's committee discussed to the crowd about what the group and it's location does and answered some questions near the end. Gemma Cleanslate was there, and took note of what was going on.

 

Read Gemma's article in Events. 

 

Top Ten Relay For Life Teams

 

 

 The Relay for Life fundraising season has been going on for about a month, and the teams have already raised a lot of money. Four have already passed the Million Linden mark.

 

First is Camping for a Cure,  which has raised over 2,689,000 Linden dollars. Second is BeliforLife, which has brought in over 1,905,000 Linden dollars. Third is The Sugar Skuls at over 1,738,000 Lindens. 

Fourth is Aether Chrononauts Tiny Steps, or ACTS, at over 1,039,000 Lindens. Firth is The River of Life, at over 972.000 Linden dollars. 

The Sunbeamers, the team representing the Sunweaver community where the Newser office is, us in seventh place at over 872,000 Linden dollars.

 

Go Relay!

 

Bisyl Shuftan.

 

SL Video: "Second Life March Mobile Millions Spin & Win Event - Week 1"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

 From Linden Lab on March 13, the video of their "March Mobile Millions" Week One contestants. Some were close to winning the big prize.

 

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

 

 

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

Club Cutlass: British Rock, Angels and Demons, Animals Around The World

Happy Vixen: DJ Malit, DJ Arooo, DJ Scratch, DJ Squeaks, DJ Khyra

Club Zero Gravity: DJ Snowy - Dog and Pony Show

 

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club:  DJ Snowy - Disco

Xanadu: DJ Jesse 

Club Squeaks: Closed to regular events

 

Montecito Bay:  CAYA, After Dark

Club Scorn: T 2-4, W 2-6, Th 2-12, Sat 2-12

 

Furry Fashion:  Felines, Gothic, Fursonas, CAYA

 

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

 

 

Firestorm Webrowser Viewer Made Available on Limited Runs

 

Normally, Linden Lab doesn't say much about Team Firestorm, the group of volunteers behind the most popular Second Life viewer. But on Friday, they made them the subject of the latest post on the official Second Life blog. They announced there would be a Firestorm version of the Project Zero mobile viewer. 

 

But, there would be a catch to using it. One needed to pay to use it, and it would only be for a total of several hours.

We’re thrilled to introduce a brand-new way to experience Second Life with Firestorm. Now you can use it directly from your web browser! No download, no installations, just quick and easy access to your virtual world with high performance and low lag.

To celebrate this launch, we’re offering an exclusive test run: special packs of five hours for just L$250 (US $1). This is a limited offer to help test the service, and it will not reflect the final pricing when we fully launch.  

As the Lab stated, it was a limited time offer, and in about a day the "special packs" had all sold out.

 

 For the blog post in full, Click Here. 

Cartoon of The Day: Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

 

 Taken at the International Women's Day Conference at the PBC. This lady was green for the performance that day. But for St. Patricks, I could think of a few other possibilities. 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

 

 Today is Saint Patrick's Day, a holiday not only celebrated in Ireland, but also the United States, Canada, and a number of other countries where numbers of Irish settled. 

 

Second Life boasts a couple noteworthy locations related to the holiday. One is the Castle Blarney Pub, located in the Dublin sim. This venue has been in Second Life for over a decade and can be counted to draw a crowd this time of year. So be prepared for lag. "Come visit the lively, always-exciting Blarney Stone Irish Bar in Second Life. Social events and live DJ music occur daily. Live music concerts are also held three times a week."

Dublin (82/82/25).

 

Another is Castle Blarney in the Wilde sim. It's where the Blarney Stone is located in real life. And here in Second Life, making the journey is just a teleport away. Just head to the top, lay on the floor where the stone is, and kiss it. Will you receive the gift of gab (or be "full of Blarney")? Who knows (yours truly has kissed it a few times inworld).

 

And don't forget to check around for St. Patrick's-themed events.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon Revisit: Happy Panda Day

 

 

 From 2020. "Taken at the Happy Vixen. Skylark "Snowbuns" Lefavre was in a pandagirl avie. With her hair, she was black and white and red all over."

 

Happy Panda Day 

SL Video: "Second Life Community Roundtable - March 14, 2025"

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

From Match 14, a recording of the community roundtable event that day. 

 

 

Pictures From The PBC Women's Conference

 

One week ago on March 8 was International Women's Day. In Second Life, there was a conference at the Premier Business Center, organized by JardenAlexis. The Newser was there, and took pictures.

 

 Read the story in Events. 

"Pie Day" at the Happy Vixen (2013)

 

 

From March 14 2013, a few words on a pre-party event at the Happy Vixen that got messy.

 

On March 14, some people showed up a little early at the Happy Vixen beach club. So with no party yet, and considering the date was 3.14 or "Pi(e) Day," pastries were ordered. And it wasn't long before someone tossed one at another, and then the deserts started flying.

With the water nearby to wash anyone, it was a fun day for all except possibly for the janitor.

"Happy Pie Day."  

Dove's Dream

 

It was a little more than two years ago in which the owner of the noted freebie store The Free Dove, Palomma Casanova, passed away. But the store didn't go away. It was kepr going by Shelby Monitor, who renamed it Palomma Plaza. On Palomma's birthday March 11, there was a special event in which 89 designers contributed items. Gemma Cleanslate was there to take a look.

 

Gemma Cleanslate

 

Read Gemma's article in Design. 

 

SL22B Open For Exhibitor Applications

 

 

Yesterday, Linden Lab announced the theme, and logo, of the SL22B, this year's Second Life Birthday celebrations: "Myths and Legends." They also announced that applications for those wishing to be exhibitors of the event were being accepted. 

Just like last year, your exhibit does not need to stay in theme. Share your Second Life passions with us. Your interests. Your communities. Your world! Every year we celebrate because of you, the amazing and creative Residents who have chosen to call Second Life home. What has drawn you into this world, and what keeps you here? These annual festivities are an opportunity to show us what fuels your Second Life. Let's celebrate that together! 

 

 As the announcement says, while exhibits in theme are encouraged, staying firmly in theme is not a requirement. There's also that there will be two groups of exhibition sims, General Audience and Adult, so exhibits need not be kid friendly. But while exhibitors can be from a store, they cannot be commercial advertisements. While gifts are fine, tip jars are prohibited. Exhibits cannot be used as party venues before Sunday June 29, and even then there are restrictions. Scripted bots cannot be part of an exhibit. Exhibits should avoid political content, and anything the Lab considers hate material is prohibited.

Those interested in being exhibitors need to fill out this Google doc (here). There are only a limited number of parcels available for exhibits, and sending an applications does not guarantee acceptance.

 

The deadline for applications is May 19. 

 

 For more information, check the Linden Blog.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 

Saturday March 15

 

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

    Pi-Bonding: a Chemist’s view of Pi Day

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/chemists-view-of-pi/

    By Michael Shaw

    Auditorium

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

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

 

 

Breaking News: Theme For SL22B Announced

 

 

 This just in. A few hours ago, the theme for this year's Second Life Birthday celebrations, the SL22B, was announced. This year's theme is "Myths And Legends."

 

 This year’s Birthday theme is Myths and Legends. It reflects the Second Life experience because we are all the heroes of our own adventures! The emphasis is on the characters and stories people create in SL both personally and within their communities. 

 

The event starts on June 23.

 

More to come. 

Hat tip: DeniseUnicorn Toonie

 

EOTB: Community Roundtable With Philip Linden Tomorrow

 

 

Tomorrow, on Friday March 13, there will be a Community Roundtable event hosted by Philip Linden, (Philip Rosedale in real-life). The main topics will be Linden Lab's Project Zero, and what they're planning for 2025.

 

People are invited to submit questions, through this Google doc (here). 

 

Town Hall 1: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Town Hall Island1/252/5/26 
Town Hall 2: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Town Hall Island2/6/7/26
Town Hall 3: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Town Hall Island3/249/252/26 

 

For the blog post in full, Click Here. 

 

Team Firestorm Announces Viewer Statistics

 

Yesterday, Team Firestorm's Project Manager Beq Janus made their first blog post since December, wanting to explain why "It has been a little while since we released a Firestorm update, and I wanted to use this week to discuss why that is, where we are, and what to expect."

 

 She stated that "if all goes to plan," they'll be making a series of posts explaining upcoming features, "But before I do that, I wanted to quickly recap where things stand today." She began with saying that last week, the Lab was saying it's "ForeverFPS" viewer was the default Linden viewer, while Firestorm's official release continues to be "aligned with what LL called 'DeltaFPS.'" Why didn't the Lab's earlier version, called ExtraFPS, have a matching update from Firestorm? Beq stated that the team concluded, "in part on feedback through the early-access group and other interactions," that there wasn't enough appeal for it among Firestorm users, and they had already done a number of updates in a relatively short time. In contrast, the Lab's ForeverFPS viewer mostly added numerous improvements, such as water and sky rendering quality, and bug fixes

"So if we are now a couple releases behind ... where are we at today?" Based on statistics provided by Linden Lab, almost 80% of Firestorm users are using a PBR-capable viewer, most of whom are using the latest one (PBR-WebRTC aka 7.1.10). Of the remaining 20%, most are using 6.6.17, the last pre-PBR viewer. 

 

Beq would comment that most Firestorm users change to a new viewer within two weeks, 40% within 48 hours), commenting that some wouldn't move "until compelled by the three-version 'block,' relying on our roughly quarterly updates" to give them stable viewers.  But under their new update model in which older versions aren't automatically blocked, those using older versions "no longer have anything to compel them to update."

This is not a problem in the grand scheme of things, but it is a problem when it obscures the users who are not updating for reasons other than “can’t be bothered” as we are unable to tell if we need to do more to help those users or whether they are happy as they are and will move when compelled by broken content or some other reason. This is undoubtedly true of the 8% on the buggy 7.1.9 version, where many of those still clinging to it are saying “well it’s ok for me”. Those people can and will update to a later 7.X viewer when they feel the time is right, and because they are already on 7.1.9 we know that their machines are capable and overall most of them will see a further improvement when they next update.

At the end, Beq offered, "A quick survey. Tell us why you run the version you do." (link) She concluded, "There really is a lot of new stuff coming in the next update so please look out for more updates in the coming days."

 

To see the blog post in full, Click Here.

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

 

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

 

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

Club Cutlass: Green and Yellow, Luck of the Irish, St. Patrick's Day

Happy Vixen: DJ Malit, DJ Arooo, DJ Scratch, DJ Squeaks, DJ Khyra

Club Zero Gravity: DJ Snowy - Best in Green

 

Bouncing Bunny Beach Club:  DJ Snowy - Wings

Xanadu: DJ Jesse 

Club Squeaks: Closed to regular events

 

Montecito Bay:  CAYA, After Dark

Club Scorn: TBA, DJ Shadow, DJ Juana, DJ Gwen, DJ Aldi, DJ Poison, TBA, DJ Malit, DJ Gwen

 

Furry Fashion:  Felines, Gothic, Fursonas, CAYA

 

Read the schedules in SL Clubbin'

 

 

Annoucement: Steam XIX Grid-Wide Hunt by Mieville Historical Hunts

 

 

 Mieville Historical Hunts proudly presents STEAM XIX!
Theme: Around the World in 80 Days

:STEAM XIX has three special adventures for you to enjoy:

 #1 - THE GRID-WIDE HUNT: STEAM XIX
Around the World in 80 Days, featuring 50 gifts!
(This blog post focuses on the Grid-Wide Hunt's participating shops!)

#2 - TWO THEMED MARKETS for your shopping pleasure!

 #3 - A HOT AIR BALLOON GAME played in the
Mieville Themed Market areas (Verne & Twain)
for added gifts and fun.

Use this landmark to start these adventures!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Shelley/82/217/22

 

 

The Book Island Newser Office, And It's Neighbor Indivisible

 

 

 For those who don't know, the Newser has a couple auxiliary offices. One is in Bellisseria. The other is at Book Island. We'll soon be sprucing it up some. Yours truly has already set up a sign for his novel "The Corsean Encounter.

 

The office is located at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Book%20Island/221/118/36

 

 

 But it seems we have a new neighbor, the SL chapter of the political activist group Indivisible.

 

 The group is against the current US President and his plans for government. Inside was information about them.

 

 We may be hearing more about them in the future.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon of The Day: Barbie Girl

Taken at the PBC International Women's Day Conference. For some reason, someone was wearing a Barbie box. Maybe it was some kind of statement, but it had be thinking of this song (here). 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

SL Video: "Dance of The Fox"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 

From Nydia Tungsten on March 8, "This was a bit of a test Video I THINK it came out okay"

Ongoing Relay Event: Freedom Rock Concert

 

On Monday March 3, yours truly stopped by the Freedom Rock concert, a two week event organized by the Relay for Life team Camping for A Cure. At 3PM, Marina Sharpshire was on the stage singing. 

As she sang, people cheered each other on, encouraging more donations, and even buying others raffle tickets, "Here let me buy a few tickets for others!" "Marina is so amazing." "Teach someone new about relay and how great it is." "I wonder if i give 100 how long it would take for us to get to 14000?" "ALL ABOARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!" "What a relief for a person fighting cancer and their family to not have to worry about where to stay while getting treatment." "One Team!!!"

As of now, Camping for A Cure has over 830,000 Lindens raised, third among the teams. 

Freedom Rock goes on to Sunday March 16.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society3/95/202/3009

Bixyl Shuftan

 

This Saturday at The Science Circle

 

 

Saturday March 8

 

    ~*~

 

    At 10 AM PST   

    Misinformation About Science

    https://www.sciencecircle.org/event/misinformation-about-science/

    By Alice Krueger (Gentle Heron)

    Auditorium

 

    ~*~

 

    NOTE: Non-members required to register once

    IM Jes Cobalt or Nymf Hathaway

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

 

Announcement: 5th International Womens' Day Concerence at PBC

 

 

 Saturday March 8th at 12 PM SL time

Two speakers, Changhigh Sisters Fire Show, and DJ after party meet and greet.

Come celebrate the women in your life!

Attire: formal, purple, green or white (optional)
Video invite: English:https://youtu.be/L2duNix0ZoY
French version: https://www.tiktok.com/@haven.bridge3/video/7477276725043383574

SURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/PBC/192/193/1127

"March Mobile Millions" Offers Residents a Chance At One Million Linden Dollars

 

Even though it takes roughly 250 Lindens to equal one US dollar, a lot of them adds up to some good money. A million Linden dollars is about $4,000, which is a lot of money to most every resident. And this is the top prize for Linden Lab's latest contest, "March Mobile Millions," which offers residents a chance to win some big money. 

 

Get ready for an exciting month-long celebration with March Mobile Millions! Throughout the month of March, we’re giving you the chance to win Linden Dollar prizes and an exclusive VIP inworld experience! 

To take part requires logging in to Second Life through the mobile viewer.every day and complete a challenge for the particular week. For instance, the challenge for week one is to teleport to three different places in the Destination Guide (ends March 10). Each day, one resident who's done the challenges will be selected to get a ticket to enter a secret location for a "VIP Spin and Win" event. This event takes place once a week, streamed live on the Second Life Youtube channel, and ticketholders get a chance to spin the "Megawheel" "for massive Linden dollar prizes." As stated players can win up to a million Linden dollars. 

The wheel has 48 slots and offers the following:

• L$10,000 (15 slots) – approx. $40 USD
• L$20,000 (12 slots) – approx. $80 USD
• L$50,000 (10 slots) – approx. $200 USD
• L$100,000 (5 slots) – approx. $400 USD
• L$200,000 (3 slots) – approx. $800 USD
• L$300,000 (2 slots) – approx. $1,200 USD
• L$1,000,000 (1 slot) – approx. $4,000 USD

 Winners are of course responsible for any taxes and fees.

To read the blog post in full, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Memorial Concert for Solana Python

 

 

 On Friday February 28, there was a memorial concert for Solana Python. She was an artist in real-life and brought her art to Second Life as well, in addition to being a live music promoter for musicians such as Bat Masters. The event was organized by Tuna Oddfellow and hosted by Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, and took place in the Elibia sim. 

 

 The Second Life music and creative community lost a cherished soul earlier this year. Solana Python, a talented artist and vibrant presence, passed away in January. In her memory, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky is hosting a special celebration of life and music—a full day of performances dedicated to Solana and the joy she brought to so many.

 

This event is more than a tribute—it’s a reminder that in Second Life, love, art, and friendship endure beyond time. Whether you knew Solana personally or were touched by her work and energy, we invite you to come together in her memory. Let’s celebrate the magic she left behind.

 

The event ran from 12 Noon to about 11PM SL time. The musicians were Tsunamijimbunn, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, Zelator Baphomet, Snow Ogre, Dennis Mac Namara, Kris Electricteeth, Larree Quixote, Guitarhero Dougall, Velvet Quandry, LX, and Tuna Oddfellow himself. I dropped by at just after 3PM when Tuna was playing, with his avatar sporting a fishlike head, possibly humoring his real-life magician's stage name "Fish the Magish."

 

"It's never about how much time we have, It's what we choose to do with the 86,400 seconds we are given each day."

Bixyl Shuftan