The Coke Bottle At Cutlass

 

When someone you care about passes away, what they leave behind becomes more precious. That's certainly been the case of Rita Mariner and her Sunweaver Estates, most of which have had their future up in the air since the announcement of her death. But it's not just her objects involved. There's one small object at Club Cutlass that is easily overlooked, but to those who know the owner is a reminder of a dear friend. 

 

Read more in Design. 

 

A Farewell To A Friend And Community Leader

 

Saturday August 1 at 6PM SL time was Rita Mariner's memorial service. The event for the Sunweaver's departed community leader was held at Sunweaver Air next to Farshore Field, with Shockwave Yareach and Cynthia Farshore being the organizers. Unfortunately our sadness was mixed with frustration as despite this being a full sim, the capacity was capped much lower than it should have been. Cynthia tried restarting, but that didn't work. So Nydia had to broadcast it on her Discord channel while Lom copy-pasted the chat onto the Sunny group.

 

For those who missed it, I'll soon have a more detailed article of what those who could be there spoke about Rita. 

 

 Shockwave would also add Rita Mariner to the Sunweaver Memorial in Sunweaver Eclipse. He would comment on Facebook since she was the community leader, she would get the biggest flame, which went up like a beam when the sim was viewed at night. 

 

She joins others whom have passed on, Zorro, Alleara Snoodle, Jessicabelle Dayafter, Akea Gromet, Artistic Fimicloud, and several others. Time has taken it's toll on the community.

 

But while memorials are supposed to be lasting, sadly this may not be the case. With the future of the sims in jeopardy,  it's very possible that the memorial will fade away into the virtual nether. 

 

Stay tuned for more information.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Rita Mariner and the History of the Sunweavers (2014)

 

With Rita Mariner's passing, the Newser has written about her about every day since. Some readers might be asking "So who is she and how did the Sunweaver community start?" I would interview her in 2014, asking her those questions. 

 

Since then, a number of things have changed. A few sims were added. A road network, then a railway, were laid out. Nydia Tungsten and Cynthia Farshore ended up swapping sims. And sadly, some people would pass away or their real lives took over and they were seen less and less until gone. 

 

Read the 2014 interview in People.  

 

Taking A Few Pictures

 

 With the future of the Sunweaver sims in doubt, been going around taking pictures of the place. One was the Sunbeamer HQ where Rita would hold occasional meetings, and place items that brought back memories.

 

 

An ariel view of SunWaterOne

 

These are just a couple of those I've taken, and others have been taking some as well.

 

In the meantime, efforts to save a little of the land continue.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Developing ...

 

The situation in the Sunweaver community and Estates is still developing, with more than a little chatter between residents, sometimes people who haven't spoken to one another in months, or years. We are mourning the passing of our community leader and friend, and wondering what happens next with this place online we've called home for years.

There is talk that a couple sims *might* be saved. Nothing is certain though. Much depends on Rita's family in real-life, and Linden Lab. But there's reason for cautious optimism.

 

Stay tuned for more information.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Last Looks At Some SLB Exhibits

 

 

While the Second Life Birthday is over for most, for the exhibitors there were a few more days to see something. And so when I had a few minutes I checked out a few. One was the Relay for Life's exhibit, whom one Relayer described as "simple." But it did the job. It was at SLB Spectacular.

 

Eric Mondrain's Second Life Topography, which had a map of Belisseria, was at SLB Electrify.

 

Holocluck Henley's "Clucky Studios" at SLB Sparkle.

Hope by Raven at SLB Fabulous, a memorial to optimism and hope.

But some exhibits were already picked up, the plots empty.

 

Today is the last day for pickups, and tomorrow the sims will be closed to all but the Moles. And so the sims will once again be shelved until the next birthday.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

At The SLB: Shinning Stars Hunt Prize Number Two

 

 

Remember the SL23B Shinning Stars Hunt? For those who wonder what prize number two is, here it is.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

The SL23B Birthday Ends (For Most)

 

 Sunday July 19 was the last day of the SL23B, the Second Life Birthday. And the sims got a bit more active with people enjoying the sims one last time, at least most of us. One spot of activity was Bay City's exhibit.

 

 They were gathered in some movie set seats at one point, but before the red clouds faded, they leaped into the pool for a conga line dance. Marianne commented it was a good thing the water wasn't much deeper, otherwise she'd have trouble breathing. 

 

 At the Belessarian Bureau of Bureaucracy's exhibit, they were watching a movie.

 

 And there was a party at the Seawall Cruising Club.

 

 Unfortunately, I couldn't stay the whole evening. But no doubt the parties went on to Midnight and beyond. For exhibitors and the Moles, they have a few days to go about the sims to see what they missed or check some one more time. But for the rest of us, it's over, with only the screenshots and the memories.

 

It was a great Second Life Twenty-Third Birthday.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Cartoon of The Day: "Don't Mention Football"

 

 Taken at the SL23B Orpheum Theater. Someone had over his head "Don't mention football!!" Why he didn't want others doing that, I don't know. But with the FIFA championships going on, I could think of one reason.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Scenes From The SLB: Staff Posters

 

Taken at The Golden Palms at SLB Mesmerize.  While dropping by recently, I noticed posters of some of the staff. Plus there was one other with some statistics of the event, with a word of thanks.. They were made by Leondra Larsson.

 

 

No doubt the staff appreciated the recognition. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Playing Possum

 

Taken at the SL23B. One of the girls had a pet opossum that when she wasn't moving lay limp over her arm. In real life, the creatures go into catatonic shock when frightened. But it used to be thought it was playing dead, or "playing possum."

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Wedding Bells

With so much going on lately, it's been easy to miss smaller events.  On Friday June 26 came a special occasion: The wedding of Lilybeth Patterson (LilyBethPatterson) and Ardo Topaz. Yours truly was among those invited, and took a few pictures.

 

See more in Events. 

 

A Fun Weekend

 

 

The weekend had some fun activities. With this being the 250th Fourth of July weekend, while some went to celebrations in both Washington DC and locally in real life, there were some inworld as well. Sometimes they were a day early, such as the one at Club Cutlass. Sadly, community Rita Mariner wasn't there, possibly due to power outages that took down some residents. But Jenni Greenfield took a break from her hiatus to appear for the red white and blue celebration. 

 

 

Cutlass and other places would be closed on Saturday July 4, as were others. But some places had small parties, such as a the pool party at Raglan Shire's "Ool" (the running joke here is there should be no "p" in the "pool"). One resident showed up as a cloud of red, white, and blue fireworks. 

 

 

 

 

Sunday July 5 had some events. At the Second Life Birthday grounds at SLB Delightful, there was a "Dream Machine Gala" at 12 Noon by Carolyn Handrick, which lasted for about three hours. 

 

Also at Noon was the Anniversary Ball of Antiquity, at,it's Buckingham Palace. The community has been around for nineteen years. For the upper crust, the wearing of crowns and sashes was encouraged as for roleplay purposes this was a state event. The ladies and gentlemen danced, as well as chatted, and mused, about goings on. There was also a note of thanks from the Relay for Life for it's contributions to Team ACTS. 

 

There was also a Homes For Our Troops fundraiser. But sorry to say real-life would drag me away from seeing it. There will be another one for today, Monday July 6.  

 

Finally at 5:30 tonight was a small party at the Happy Vixen Beach Club with "Mister E" DJing the tunes. Hostess Kitacelia brought her own fireworks. 

 

It was a great Fourth weekend.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Like Wearing Clouds

 

 Taken at Club Zero Gravity

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Shining Stars Hunt

 

 Besides seeing the exhibits, and the "Golden Ticket Giveaway," there are other things to do at the Second Life Birthday sims. One is the "Shinning Stars Hunt."

 

To do the hunt, you're going to need the HUD. You get it at SLB Incredible (149/231/21) (not far from the Red Carpet Welcome). There are two givers, one for the HUD and one for the prizes. Click on the one on the left to get the HUD, and then "add" it to your avie. It should appear on your viewer on the upper left. Once it does, you're ready to start looking for the shining stars. 

 

The stars appear randomly at various stretches of pathways, both the red carpet and the sidewalk. You either click on them, or walk over them. Doing either means the star vanishes with a sparkle, and there's a brief noise of triumph as the number on your HUD goes up by one. 

After about twenty stars, you can get your first prize. Return to the two givers, and this time click on the one on the right. If you've collected enough stars, you get a small prize. There are at least two more to get as you get more stars. Word has it there's a special prize available once you've collected a hundred.

 

So what is it? Not telling you yet. Get it yourself or wait until after The Birthday is over for me to show you.  

Once again, the Shinning Star Hunt givers are at : https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLB%20Incredible/149/231/21

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Scenes Around The SL23B: Hollywood Hawt, Bryn Oh's Stormgirl

 

When I speculated the other day after the official parties there would be more, I was right. Going about the SL Birthday grounds, I noticed activity while at SLB Fabulous. And at the Hollywood Hawt exhibit, a bask was going. Talking to someone they had two more planned next month, Monday July 6 and Monday July 13 from 4 to 6PM SL time. 

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLB%20Fabulous/47/211/43 

 

SL artist Bryn Oh has an exhibit at the Second Life Birthday, "Stormgirl." It's at SLB Marvelous.

 https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLB%20Marvelous/179/139/21

 

More to come. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

The SL23B Golden Ticket Giveaway

 

One of the big draws at this year's Second Life Birthday is the Golden Ticket Giveaway.  It offers a chance at winning something most of us will never see, a million Linden dollars. 

 

Who wants to be a L$ millionaire? Inspired by this year’s Golden Age of Hollywood theme, the Golden Ticket Giveaway promises to award one lucky resident a grand prize of one million Linden Dollars that can be used for a luxury virtual shopping spree or anything else you can imagine! 

 

One can enter up to five times a day until Sunday July 14. To do so, you visit one to five of the five kiosks around the SL23B grounds, such as the one at the "Red Carpet Welcome" at SLB Incredible (151/98/21). It should be noted that at least one kiosk keeps getting moved around, at least according to chatter in Second Life Birthday group chat. 

 

What happens next is of those who entered each day, one winner is picked for each of the 23 days the contest is active. The 23 winners are then entered in a second contest. 22 will get 10,000 Linden dollar prizes. And one lucky winner gets the one million Linden prize. 

 

It should be noted that some residents of certain countries are ineligible, and any taxes resulting from winning the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. So the winner should get ready to receive a Form 1099-MISC from the IRS. 

 

Read more about the contest in the official blog.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

The Meet The Lindens Events

 

 Last week from Monday June 22 to Friday June 26, the Meet the Lindens events took place. All took place at the Orpheum Theater, where four sims met, three for the audience which was over a hundred for each discussion. In the past, Patch Linden would usually have an important announcement, such as a new upcoming type of Linden Home, or in the case of last year plans for commercial areas in Belliseria, which would appear some months ago. 

 

That wouldn't be the case this year. Patch Linden was gone of course, dismissed from Linden Lab a couple months ago. Interestingly enough, Philip Linden would thank him for helping make the SLB events what they are today. But there were no important announcements of changes that would stick around, no new Linden Home, no new options for paid accounts, or the like. There was the announcement about the Golden Ticket contest, but that only affects a few lucky winners plus one very lucky winner.

 

Instead the Lindens, and Moles in the last event, would answer questions from the audience. For some reason, Linden Lab would have no live broadcasting. Instead there were videos available later on Youtube. Vic Morington did make live Youtube footage available for those who wanted to see, thought. 

 

Videos of each of the events will be made available later, as well as some other activities of the SLB.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Both At Once

 

 Taken at the SL23B Welcome Area. This avatar looked so much like a World of Warcraft Night Elf, one could be excused thinking they walked in here from the game. 

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

 

The SL23B Shop and Hop

 

 Good news for those who love to shop. The SL23B Shop and Hop is taking place. Featuring hundreds of stores across a total of 24 sims, this is one of the largest annual shopping events in Second Life.

 

The event actually started on Thursday June 20, though those in the Shop and Hop group could get in a day early.  There are a total of 480 stores, divided into two groups of sims. Eighteen are rated Moderate. Six are rated Adult, and are likely to offer adult-rated goods. The store owners are required to offer at least a 20% discount on their items (some are offering more), and at least one free gift for shoppers, regardless if they're in the store group or not.

 

Dropping by, the place matched the theme of "The Golden Age of Hollywood," with it's statues and some stores being Hollywood themed with decorations of Hollywood signs and the like.

 

You can jump right into the shopping by heading to Dahlia (130, 131, 25) (location from an inworld teleporter). But you can get a list of sims from the Destination Guide (or notecards available inworld in the Shop and Hop and SLB  groups), and a list of the 480 stores is available on this page of the official blog. There is also a SL23B Shop and Hop Flickr page. 

 

Happy shopping.

 

Bisyl Shuftan