Ad: Charlee's Gachas

 

Looking for a place to get some gachas? Well, for some at bargain prices, check out Charlee's Gachas. You'll find that the variety is large, and the prices are small. From companion pets like mice and pandas and bats, to jewelry, to furniture, you'll find plenty of products at bargain prices.  

To start browsing the Marketplace store, Click Here. 

 

Ad: Charlee's Gachas

 

Looking for a place to get some gachas? Well, for some at bargain prices, check out Charlee's Gachas. You'll find that the variety is large, and the prices are small. From companion pets like mice and pandas and bats, to jewelry, to furniture, you'll find plenty of products at bargain prices.  

To start browsing the Marketplace store, Click Here. 

 

 

Cartoon of The Day: Bird Riding Trouble

 

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

Ad: Charlee's Gachas

 

 

 Looking for a place to get some gachas? Well, for some at bargain prices, check out Charlee's Gachas. You'll find that the variety is large, and the prices are small.

 

For Halloween, there are a number of items you can get. You can find pet baby bats.  You can get a spooky cake. You can get a Black Widow top. Or perhaps get a trick or treat teddy bear. 

To start browsing the Marketplace store, Click Here. 

Cartoon of The Day: Devils Food Cupcakes

 

 

 Charlee had gotten some Halloween decorations for the kitchen. As for what recipe was used, guess "the devil is in the details."

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

A Writer's Inspiration

 

 

 It's no real secret that besides articles for the Newser, I write some stories on the side. There are shorts such as "Sebastian The Healer." And then there are some novel-sized ones such as "The Corsean Encounter" which should be finished soon (and hopefully I can figure out publishing on Amazon). 

My SL wife Charlee recently gave me a little something to encourage me along: a writer's desk. This includes a few quotations from notable writers such as Tom Clancy. And of course one from her.

Thank you again for inspiring me, my beautiful sweetheart.

 

Bixyl  

Wedding Bells

 

 

Charlee and I are now officially a couple here in Second Life.

Maybe it was the people who were already calling us "Mister and Mrs. Shuftan." In any event, Charlee and I decided to go ahead with our wedding. Originally it was going to be one with a number of people attending. But later on after some talk, we decided to "elope" and have a private ceremony.

 

The reception went on as scheduled, on Wednesday June 14 at the Happy Vixen at 7PM SL time. The reason for that particular time was so the lady who officiated the wedding could be there. There were a few people who didn't make it due to real life or tired from the recent Relay season. Still it was very much a fun party enjoyed by all, especially by Charlee and I.

For those who have given us their well wishes, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon of The Day: Lag Thick Enough To Walk On

 

 

 Taken at the Relay Weekend track with the help of Charlee Shuftan. After a sim crossing, the result was the "walk of lag" going slowly up.

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Relay Track Sneak Peeks

 

 

 The sims of the Relay track, most of them, are now open. Charlee Shuftan and I took a trip around. While we don't want to spoil the surprise, we can show a few sneak peeks of what lies ahead.

The Relay Weekend is from Saturday June 10 to Sunday June 11

Bixyl (and Charlee) Shuftan

 

Relay's Team Sunbeamers Reach Ruby Fundraising Level

 

 

 It was a question that was asked more than once by the more optimistic Sunbeamers for a few months, "Can we reach not only Emerald, but Ruby this year?" And when the team reached the million Linden mark earlier than any other year, on May 26, it looked within grasp. And on Friday June 2, Rita announced to the group that it was, but would need a push.

Both Brian and I are willing to chip in some heavy money to push us towards RUBY, but it will now be enough from just the two of us. We will need help.

 

"Ask and you shall receive" so goes the saying. And a donor who helped out at the Relaystock event, Charlee Shuftan (Charlee Amethyst), stepped in again. And Rita soon made another announcement.

 

 

SUNBEAMERS ARE NOW RUBY!

Hi Beamers:  Thanks to the efforts and donations for Charlee Shuftan and myself., plus some nice remotes. WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY RUBY, at $5042US.  Love to you all.

But, there was one small commitment our fearless leader had to own up to.

A Bet is a Bet

Beamers, I promised to go PINK for a month if we made RUBY! *gag me with a spoon* I AM PINK!  "MY EYES!"  Both Charlee and Bixyl bet to go HUMAN, those are naturally PINK. WE have three suffering for you now. Love you all anyways.

And so Rita owned up to her word, down to getting a pink Luskwood skunk avatar as well. But as she stated, she wasn't the only one with a different look for a while. Charlee and I had a talk, and decided to go human, or rather, neko and kitsune, for a month. There was a joke somewhere that the reason some guys don female avatars was so they wouldn't have to stare at a male butt all day, and that with a tail in the way I wouldn't have that problem. 

The team has continued to collect donations. As of the writing of this article, the 'beamer's total raised for this year is 1,260,000 L, and in the top ten fundraising teams, eleven of which have raised a million Linden dollars or more. 

It should be noted that the Sunbeamers were founded ten years ago in 2013. Compared to the amounts our predecessor team, the Passionate Redheads, brought in, our initial year brought in a small total. "We are a small team," it was explained. But over the years, the totals have gotten larger and larger. Over the years, some teams that once made the top ten have gone back a bit to smaller but still impressive levels. And some like the Redheads and the Relay Wizards have closed down altogether. But the "Sunnies," like some others such as the Relay Rockers and Team ACTS, continue to be top performers year after year.

The small team became "the little team that could," and now, "the little team that does, again and again."

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

A Fantasy Faire Proposal

 

 

The Fantasy Faire was certainly a magical moment with many stories. And as it was ending came one on a personal note. Charlee Amethyst and I have been dating, and well, things just clicked. Maybe it was because the scenery looked perfect, maybe it was the timing of the event, the final day the sims would be up. But it was then that I asked her to be my SL wife and partner.

We haven't set a date yet for the wedding. But we will.

Maybe that's why we all like the Fantasy Faire so much. Magic just seems to happen. And for my love and I, the magic brought us closer together.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunbeamer "Bid Me" Update: "Bid Me Otter" and "Bid Me Purple"

 

The Relay for Life Team Sunbeamers has had some good successes. With the Air Show and Medieval Fun Fest events, done with Roos With A Dream, the team was catapulted to Sapphire rank fundraising. But helping the team were the "Bid Me" events going on. On Saturday May 6, three were concluded, the "Bid Me Bunny," "Bid Me Panda," and "Bid Me Skunk" events.

Here are the totals for the three BIDD MES that ended tonight.
LISKA - Stay Fox -  100L
             Go Skunk -= 14,100L
             
 Liska goes SKUNK for 3 WEEKS
 
 BIXYL - Stay Fox - 50L
             Go Bunny - 14,100L
             
Bixyl goes Bunny for 4 weeks

CHARLEE - Stay Human - 500L
                   Go Panda - 12,000L
                   
CHARLEE goes Panda for 6 weeks

So this means that yours truly, when not doing obvious Newser work or at special appearances like the upcoming Newser anniversary party, will be dealing with carrot jokes for about a month. Usually it will me in the mesh bunny that Charlee helped me make after the Bid Me started. Charlee will have to deal with comments about Pandaren jokes and flirts for a month and a half. For Liska, she's showing a little creativity in her new skunk form, dressing up like Luskwood founder Michi Lumin.

But as most Relayers "otter" know, this is not the end of the Bid Me events. There's a couple more. They are Skylark "Snowy" Lefavre's "Bid Me Otter," and Mattie Carlton's "Bid Me Purple." 

 

Like most other Bid Me fundraisers, Bid Me Otter has two kiosks. For those wanting to give Snowy a taste for fish, they donate to the otter kiosk on the right. For those wanting her to stay a bunny, they chip in to the default kiosk on the left. For every 3500 Linden dollars, rounded down, in the right kiosks at the end of the fundraiser, Snowy is stuck as a "rudderbutt" for a week. For instance, if 6999 L is raised at the end, she would need to stay in her new form for a week. If 7000 Lindens are raised, It's "otter chaos" for her for two weeks. And if more is raised in the "stay bunny" kiosk, she stays one.

For Mattie's "Bid Me Purple," the idea came to her as she was going about the shops at the Fairelands recently, some of the items going to make a fairy-winged purple kitsune, "It's a 100% unique avatar built for Relay for Life. And all of it was pretty much purchased at fantasy Fair." Like Snowy's Bid Me, there's a change kiosk on the right, and a default kiosk on the left. For every 2000 Linden dollars raised in the purple kiosk, rounded down, Mattie assumes the form of her violet nine-tailed fox for a week. That is, if the amount there is greater than the default kiosk.

Both Bid Me fundraisers are at Club Cutlass. Snowy's event ends on Saturday May 20 at 8PM following the close of the party there. Mattie's event ends on  Saturday May 27, also at 8PM.

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunweaver%20Bay/114/117/757

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay

Bixyl Shuftan

A Personal Change: Upgrading to Mesh

 

 

 Earlier this month, I stated I was working on upgrading my avatar from the DSD Fox that I've had for a couple years, which in turn was an upgrade from the Luskwood fox avatar I had as my main look for over a decade. And with a little, actually a lot, of help from Charlee Amethyst, my new "fox reporter" look is done. There might be a small tweak or two more, but here it is.

Mesh can be quite complicated, at least from my point of view as you often need to fit your avatar to match the clothes, or avatar parts such as digigrade feet. But with Charlee's help came up with a new look, which required getting new pants and a new shirt and jacket. So gone is the green shirt that was a reminder of my Runescape days, the freebie cargo pants, and the camel jacket that I got with my first payment from James and Dana's SL Newspaper. All that's left of my old look is the fedora, with it's press tag later added on made by my late close friend Alleara Snoodle. 

So this will be my new main look. The DSD is still a great avatar, and I'll likely still be wearing it at some themed events. But it had a higher complexity, and showed more lower leg when wearing pants. And the people behind it are no longer active and thus the avie is unsupported. There's also that my new appearance just seems and feels a few years younger.

 

I'll likely be spending some time updating other avatars of mine (with help). But the one that's my image as Second Life's "fox reporter" and "fox news" has been updated.

Sunbeamer "Bid Me" Update: "Bid Me Panda", "Bid Me Bunny", and "Bid Me Skunk"

 

 It's been over a week since three of the latest four Bid Me events by the Relay for Life's Team Sunbeamers were set up. Rita Mariner bit the bullet and ended hers early after a huge donation resulted in being an albino skunk for ten weeks. But that left two others. They are Charlee Amethyst's "Bid Me Panda" and Bixyl Shuftan's "Bid Me Bunny."

 

 There are a couple new BID MES up and running at CUTLASS.

1. CHARLEE is offering to go PANDA, 2000L per week

2. BIXYL is offering to go BUNNY, 3500L per week.

 

 

Charlee Amethyst is one of the more recent members of the Sunbeamer team, and once told about the "Bid Me" events jumped in with one that hasn't been done before. She's offering to send time in an anthro panda bear avie. For every 2000L, rounded down, donated into the kiosk on the right, she spends a week in black and white. For example, if 5999 Linden dollars are donated, the period of time is two weeks. But of 6000L is donated, it's three weeks. For those wanting to keep her as-is, there's a default kiosk on the left, which if it exceeds the panda kiosk means she can stay as is.

And then there's mine: "Bid Me Bunny." For every 3500 Linden dollars a week in the left kiosk, rounded down, yours truly spends a week dealing with hare-raising puns. For example, if 10,499L is raised, the period is two weeks. But if 10,500 L us raised, it's three weeks of hopping down the bunny trail. For those wishing to keep my foxy, there's a default kiosk which if ahead at the end of the Bid Me means I stay as is.

There are a couple outs. When doing an interview, or otherwise clearly doing Newser business, it's back to my usual avatar.

Both "Bid Me Panda" and "Bid Me Bunny" are up until Saturday May 6, and the totals finalized at 8PM SL time at the end of the Cutlass party.

 

For Liska da'Lantros (LiskaDaLantros Resident), her "Bid Me Purple" came to a close on Saturday April 22

Liska BID ME Purple results.

KEEP LISKA FOXY - 0L

TURN LISKA PURPLE - 10,300L

Liska goes PURPLE for 4 weeks, till MAY 20.

 

But this isn't the end of Liska's Bid Me events. Since her period of four weeks is about the right time for another fundraiser, she volunteered for another one: "Bid Me Skunk." Like the others, there's a default kiosk to keep her as is (when her time as purple expires), and a skunk kiosk to change her. This time it'll take 4000 Linden dollars a week, rounded down, to changer her. For instance, a total of 7999 Linden dollars would be just one week of tomato juice jokes.

People have until Saturday May 20 to donate to Liska's latest Bid Me, the totals finalized at 8PM SL time after the party at Cutlass.

 

To donate to any of these Bid Me events, head to Sunweaver Bay (114/117/757).

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Getting A Mesh Fox Avatar

 

 It's been a couple years since I finally changed over from my 2007 Luskwood avatar to my DsD fox. But friends have been telling me it's not quite enough. So, finally taking some time away from my pen to piece together a mesh fox avatar.

 

Getting a new furry avatar in Second Life has been changing. While you can, and many do, still get complete avatars, getting a mesh avatar often (and maybe usually) means piecing one together with the mesh body and various mods and parts. This takes not just Lindens, but also time to shop for the parts, and more time to put them all together, and put together just right. For the skilled (and patient), this can mean a very detailed and unique avatar. For those not so skilled, well, results vary.

Thankfully having some help with this, from the talented (and generous) Charlee Amethyst, otherwise I wouldn't know where to begin. But it's still taking some time.

I'll have more on the topic soon.

Bixyl Shuftan