Crew Meeting

 

Picture from Gemma Cleanslate

Saturday January 10 was the first Newser crew meeting for the year, taking place in our office at HV Community. Those attending from right to left were Netera Landar, Gemma Cleanslate, Bixyl Shuftan (myself), Nydia Tungsten, and Klaus Bereznyak. We would discuss what we covered in December, and plans on what to write about this month. Falling between the holiday season and Valentines Day & the start of the Relay fundraising season, there's usually more time to cover things that we've put off for a while. 

Netera admitted to being a little overdressed due to a tribute that night. But the rest of us just complemented on her looks. 

 

Stay tuned for more articles of great people, places, and events by the SL Newser team.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

Editor 

Wind Phones in Second Life

 

Have you ever heard of a "Wind Phone?" For those who don't know, it's a way for those with lost loved ones and close friends to speak to the departed over a phone that's not connected to others, but presumably the words would be "carried by the wind" to the spirit they're aimed at. The idea started in Japan, and eventually spread to other places. And eventually, it came here to Second Life.  Klaus Bereznyak went to take a look at the phones here, and talk to one of the people behind them.

 

Read Klaus' story in Design. 

 

Fresh Art Unveiled at Xaraz Gallery for May

 

After a period of quiet, Klaus Bereznyak is back.  Today, he writes about the Xaraz Gallery, by Michiel Bechir and Veyot. With seven artists' works featured, Klaus had much to say, and not just about the art but the grounds themselves.

Read Klaus' article in Design.

 

Kowloon Locker Festival: A Virtual Spectacle of Creativity Second Life

 

After a hiatus, Newser reporter Klaus Bereznyak is back with an article. Today, he looks at an event going on in Kowloon. This Asian urban-themed sim has been in Second Life for years, know for it's appearance. But there's also events there. Klaus recently went to Kowloon's Locker Festival. So what's a locker festival?

 

Read Klaus' article in Events.  

Scraps: Collages at Montara Bridge Works Gallery

After some time taking care of things in real-life,  Newser reporter Klaus Bereznyak is finally back with a story. He had recently been to the Montara Bridge Works Gallery, where there's a new exhibit: Scraps. Done by Veyot, she has been making collage art for several years. So what did Klaus think?

Read Klaus' article in Design.

New Infohub and Pod Station Launches in the Heart of Historical SL

Of the thousands of sims in Second Life, Da Boom was the first one. It came online in Second Life's beta days in November 2002 months before the Grid officially went online. After the virtual world's first few years, not a great deal has happened to this old area. But recently something did happen. There's a new infohub and pod station in the sim. Klaus  Bereznyak dropped by, and took a look at what the new location had to offer.

Read Klaus' article in Places.

Crew Meeting

From the Newser's last crew meeting on Saturday May 11, at our office in HV Community. Showing up from right to left were reporters Marcel Mosswood, Klaus Bereznyak, Deaflegacy, Bixyl Shuftan (myself), and Gemma Cleanslate. Also there were Velani and Rua Whitepaw as guests.

Gemma had a little something for those exploring around on the roads: a bike rezzer. The bike works well enough in-sim, though there may be issues with sim crossings.

Oh, as for those jokers who thought they could disrupt us by using a N-word gesture, we just turned down the sound.

We'll be busy in the coming month, covering Relay for Life events as well as the setting up for the SL16B sims for the anniversary celebrations next month. And next month we'll be celebrating our ninth anniversary. Assuming all goes as planned, we'll have a little something for you the readers.

Bixyl Shuftan

Environmental Art Delivers a Sobering Message at Ecoscape

For most of its history, Mankind was at the mercy of the environment while having little impact on it. While Man could occasionally cause ecological damage, it was on a local level. But in the past century, it's become more obvious more powerful tools made possible by recent technologies in addition to more humans on the planet are having an impact on the global ecology. The question is, how much? Klaus Bereznyak recently went to InterstellART and saw EcoScape, an art exhibition with works from eight different artists about environmental issues. So what did the exhibits show?

Read Klaus' story in Design.

Crew Meeting

Last Saturday March 9, the Newser crew held it's monthly meeting. Attending were Klaus Bereznyak, Nydia Tungsten, Gemma Cleanslate, Deaflegacy, and Bixyl Shuftan (myself). Deaflegacy's partner Six String was also there.

Besides the talk about what to write about in the coming month, there was a little time for fun with some pizza from Gemma. At one point, she was showing off a few avatars, including a tiny hedgehog that could do somersaults in the air.

Guess one could call it "living life on the hedge."

Bixyl Shuftan

A New Intercontinental Route for Pod Riders

While some residents are content to remain in their own small corner of the Grid, others like to explore around. One way residents can do so on the Second Life Mainland are the Yava Script Pods. An automated form of transportation, all a resident has to do is hop on, adjust the speed to allow everything to rezz, then sit back and enjoy the ride. Pod routes exist on several continents. Klaus Bereznyak recently found out that there's a new route that was recently made between the station on the Corfeld sim station on Corsica and the DeMorgan sim station on Gaeta V. He decided to check it out.

Read Klaus' article in Places.

Cica Ghost's Drawn Town

Not long ago in the official Second Life blog, Linden Lab put the spotlight on a place made by an artist: "Drawn Town." Designed and built by Cica Ghost, the exhibit is the latest by the Serbian artist whom has made a number of builds ever year since 2013. Klaus Bereznyak took a look at the place, or rather two looks. The place looks quite different at nighttime.

Read Klaus' article in Design.

Burn2: "Seasonal Perceptions" Brings Snow and Dust Storms to January

The Winter Burn festival, the Burn2 spinoff event for the cold months of the year, "Seasonal Perceptions," is over. The builds however will be up for a few more days. And there are some particularly fancy ones. Klaus Bereznyak was there, and writes about the art exhibits and other things about the event.

Read Klaus' story in Design.

Crew Meeting

On Saturday January 5, the Newser crew had it's first meeting of the year. Attending were Klaus Bereznyak, Deaflegacy, Gemma Cleanslate, and Bixyl Shuftan (myself). We discussed ideas on what to cover this month while we still had some time before the Relay season and other events hit next month.

Stay tuned for some exciting news, some you might have seen this week already.

A Favourite Irish Musician Returns to Perform at Music Island

Dainial had been a live musician in Second Life up to about two years ago, then took a hiatus. Earlier this month, he ended his break with a performance at Music Island. Klaus Bereznyak was there, and had a seat among those in the audience as he played music inspired by traditional Irish folk songs.

Read Klaus' article in People.

The Tarot Garden Offers 22 Days of Winter Gifts

In August, Gemma Cleanslate covered the opening of the Tarot Garden in LEA17. Late in the month, the exhibit will close. But before it does, you can drop in for some gifts. Every day until the 22nd, the exhibit will be offering a new item by one of the sculptures. Klaus Bereznyak writes about these parting presents to the art lovers who come by.

Read Klaus' article in Design. 

Bayou Chat Noir's Cat People Halloween Hunt

Klaus Bereznyak is back from his search for Halloween stories. He traveled to the Bayou Chat Noir sim where he found "The Cat People Halloween Hunt." Based on the 1942 movie "Cat People," players need to find ten clues across the area, which will take you through some spooky-looking scenery. Solving the mystery gets you some prizes. That is, if you're brave enough to solve the mystery.

Read Klaus' story in Design.

Crew Meeting

Saturday September 8 was when the Newser crew had it's monthly meeting at Noon SL time at the office building in HV Commmunity. Attending were Gemma Cleanslate, Klaus Bereznyak, Deaflegacy, and myself, Bixyl Shuftan. My friend Velani was also there as a guest.

Klaus had a shirt with the country of Zimbabwe on it. This led to a short discussion of our coverage of sims with African themes, both safari areas, and places with communities with African residents. Will we be seeing more in the near future? Maybe.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wheedle Gallery in Coniston to Close

Klaus Bereznyak heard about a small art gallery in the mainland sim of Coniston about to close, the Wheedle Gallery. The owner, Wheedle Resident, is something of a colorful character, saying the reasons for the closing were not having to maintain a larger gallery elsewhere, but his campaign for Second Life Governor. Klaus would take a closer look at both the man and his small gallery.

Read Klaus' article in Places.

Paula Cloudpainter: New Works at Visions of Beauty

How many of you as a kid would spend many moments looking up at the clouds? Klaus Bereznyak recently came across an art exhibition by Paula Cloudpainter. As an artist, Paula lives up to her Second Life name by doing artwork on clouds, both pictures and photography. Klaus went to her exhibit at the Visions of Beauty Gallery to take a look.

Read Klaus' story in Design.

Crew Meeting

 Saturday July 7 was the day of the Newser's crew meeting. Attending from right to left were Jamiethefoxy, Klaus Bereznyak, Deaflegacy, and Bixyl Shuftan (myself). We traded ideas about what to write about, such as the upcoming Relay Weekend (which was the reason this pictures weren't posted last week), and other subjects.

At the end up the meeting when we all stood up, I noticed something about Klaus. He was shoeless. "Oh yes - it's the summer," he told me, "I have been hoboing." I reminded him with a grin, "Bare feet for a fur is one thing, for a human avatar, a bit more watch where you walk." "Hee hee - I will."

Getting to the foot of the matter, I guess

Bixyl Shuftan