One More Time: The "Cake Explosion" And Other Last SL15B.Unofficial Events.

Although the end of events at the Second Life Birthday was officially last Sunday June 24, people weren't ready to quite call it quits on the SL15B just yet. In the past few years, the "Cake Explosion" has become a popular unofficial event as people gathered to witness the final moments of the popular build. But this year, the final day the sims were open to all had a few more happenings as various DJs turned the power on the clubs around the Birthday sims, and played for whomever would show up. And many did on the SL15B's true last hurrah.

Read more in Events.

Updated 11PM

SL15B Volunteer Closing Party, AKA "Cake Explosion" This Sunday

"Volunteer Closing Party. -- We hope you are enjoying exploring SL15B for this whole week without lag or crowds! The closing party will be on Sunday 1st July at around 12pm SLT through to 4pm SLT. We will be at Mikati's stage for the explosion, then move on to Stage Left, The Serpent. Check notices running up to the weekend for more info."

Treacle Darlandes

*Addition* After the announcement on Thursday night, there was a correction saying the "Cake Explosion" was at 4PM, not Noon.

The Last Day of Second Life Birthday Events

Sunday June 24 was the last day, at least officially, for events at the Second Life Birthday grounds. And people had one last chance to enjoy the parties there. And there were a number.

At 8PM the night before, it was the "Live Music with Dance and Special Light Show" by "Tuna Oddfellow. It wasn't at one of the stages, but at a special platform over 650 meters in the air. For those who hadn't seen his "Odd Ball" performances before, it was quite an experience. For those interested, Tuna has recently resumed his Odd Ball. Instant-message him to find out when his performances take place.

 At 12 Noon at the Cake Stage, DJ Tantari.played some tunes for the crowd. She played her "Space First Stage" set of music.

For about two hours, the high-energy blue vixen wowed the crowd with her sci-fi tunes.

Not everyone listening was on two legs. At one point a black unicorn showed up.

The exhibits were up and running as always, though the action was mostly at the clubs

By late in the night, the events at Stage North (above), the Central Stage, and even Stage Left wound down. The action was at The Cake.

At 11PM, people gathered at The Cake for the last official party, and in a sense the last hurrah.

DJ A.F.I. (Ladigirl Resident), a real-life DJ from Hollywood California, spun the tunes.

Besides the regular-sized avatars, there was a giant, and a large anthro dragon.

But regardless of how we looked, we were there for the same reason, to end the celebrations with a bang.

Among those there was cake builder Mikati Slade.

But all good things must come to an end. And at Midnight, DJ A.F.I. closed her set with a display of fireworks.

But while this is the end of the official events, this is not the end of "The Birthday." The sims will remain up and open to the public until July 1, and so most of the exhibits will remain as well (It always seems at least one guy jumps the gun and leaves right away). And there is the tradition of the "Cake Explosion," which will be sometime later this week.

"Happy 15th Birthday Second Life."

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "SL14B Cake Explosion"

(Click here to see the video)

From RacerX Gulwing on July 3, "The Cake stage explosion!! Made by Mikati Slade. Some of it was sped up because my frame rate was at 1 to 4fps. I figured 30 minutes at 1 frame per second was to long so cut it back to about 10 minutes of the best footage"

SL14B: "One Last Hurrah"

Even though the SL14B officially ended on Sunday night at Midnight SL time, as the time before the sims are closed grows short, people are showing up for a little more fun while they remain open. yesterday, Saturday July1, had a number of impromptu music events, such as Stage Left.

There were smaller events in other places too, such as this trippy dance area at Mediamagic. Thefloor and walls were display screens, showing videos that gave the place quite an effect. making the place look hues of red, blue, green, mixed, and images of people at times. That's Mikati Slade on the left.

But there were other things to do, notably look at the various exhibits around.

So today's the last day. Don't forget to drop by at 4PM for the "Cake Explosion" when the Cake Stage gets blown up in a public event, followed by a party at Stage Left that promises to go on to Midnight.

One last party will be held July 2nd from 8am SLT to Midnight SLT with live performers and DJ's.  It will start at the Cake Stage until Mikati blows it up at 4pm.  The party will continue at Stage Left once you climb out of the rubble.  Don't miss it!

See you there.

"Happy Birthday Second Life!" SL14B Celebrations End

Sunday June 25 was the last day of official events at the Second Life Fourteenth Birthday celebrations. And there were a number of performances at the stages.

The energetic DJ Tantari Kim, who performs every Tuesday night at the Happy Vixen, made an appearance at the DJ stage.

Among those in the audience were Golan Eilde and Catboy Qunhua (pictured).

Later on, I went to "Stage Left" where Jaycatt and Frogg were performing.

While Frogg Marlowe rezzed, my viewer refused to render more than small parts of Jaycatt Nico during the performance.

I had to wait until after the show for a good picture of the pianist.

Xiola Linden and April Linden were also there. Of Xiola's shirt, does "We are the weirdos, Mister" refer to Linden Lab?

As Midnight neared, people gathered at the Cake Stage. The last DJ there was Laz Dressler

Among those there was Cake Stage builder Mikati Slade.

"This is the Birthday!"

"That's why you're in a cake..."

As Midnight neared, Laz ended her set with "Goodbye To You." "Thank you all so much for staying with me tonight," she told the crowd, "Good night everybody. Have a blessed Second Life."

 In previous years, Midnight would mean the end. But I noticed a gathering at Stage Left, and going over, I saw fireworks.

Among those there was Walton F. Wainwright (Faust Steamer), the builder of Stage Left.

Seeing another gathering in front of the Cake Stage, I went over, and there were a few people, including Warp Linden and Mikati enjoying one more event, a few fireworks. Some spelled some words.

"Happy 14th Birthday Second Life. See you next year."

And so, the official events for "The Birthday" are done. But that does not mean the end of the SL14B just yet. The sims will remain up for several more days, and most exhibitors leave their builds up, allowing those who couldn't attend earlier due to real life events or older computers to see them. One unofficial event that's become a tradition, the "Cake Explosion" has been given a date: Sunday July 2 at 4PM SL time. But on Monday July 3, the sad part begins with "the breakdown." And on July 6 the sims go offline, leaving nothing but memories, recordings, and articles such as this one.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Draxto Streams LIVE From SL14B Part1 "

I noticed by accident Draxtor Despres was streaming live from the Second Life 14th Birthday celebration grounds. So I dropped over to say hello. I appear (in my human avatar due to the "Bid Me Human" earlier) at about 27:30 , along with Mikati Slade, the Cake Stage builder. The first fifteen minutes of the recording is of Draxtor watching Strawberry Singh's own stream.

I would follow for a little while with a couple friends, Velani and Silvia Ametza, the latter the girl who did almost all the work on the SL Newser exhibit. We would eventually check out Loki Eliot's claymation exhibit. (Note: some adult language, possible nudity from rezzing avatars).

SL14B on Press Day

Press day is always exciting on the SL14B sims because we are all looking for the first glimpse of the wonderful builds scattered across all the regions. It is the time when we can finally publish pictures of the builds themselves instead of just teasers. Since I was not working this year at the event, I let Bixyl do the teasers. 

I absolutely love the entrance this year. It is an amazing creation by Darkstone Aeon . There was a grand greeting for the press when I arrived!  I hope people take the time to examine it during the week .

 There is so much to see there. You can ride a dragon, or take a hot air balloon ride around the outside. One can also sit in the welcome center building and relax, hoping the dragons don’t get you.   But don’t miss the cave! Before you leave the entrance mountain extend your draw line to get a view of the distance at the top of the stairs. 

Not too far from the Dragon mountain is the auditorium, or as it is called this year , the Entertainment Hall, Digital City. The builder for this ediface is  Anthony (ADudeNamed Anthony). All week long meetings and lectures will take place there and you can see the schedule on the website.

Quite visible from this area is the Cake Stage. Mikati Slade has worked her magic again in creating a marvelous build. There will be many parties on this stage. 

We will visit the parties at the other stages during the week when the parties are going on.

                  

Also not far from the auditorium is the Time Capsule. Will Webb is the curator of this parcel. it is here that collector’s items from all the past birthday celebrations are on display.There is a capsule from 2003  belonging to Ryan Linden that cannot be opened until 3001. Amazing. 

  

This will all be yours to enjoy beginning on June 18 at 12:00 noon and will continue with events and games until June 25 . The sims will remain open until July 2 so you can get to explore more of the magnificent builds . Take a pod ride and jump off when you want to see a parcel. 

 The actual birthday is June 23. I warn you , If you really want to see all the builds plan on spending many hours on the all the sims. There is a big hunt going on in all the regions during the time it is open. There are also gift centers where you can pick up your presents from many of the builders. Check out the website to see everything you will encounter so you don’t miss anything. http://www.slcommunitycelebration.info/

Much more to come. Here is where you start at 12:00 noon Sunday.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL14B%20Impressive/96/122/80

Gemma Cleanslate

Cartoon if the Day

From the Newser beach party at the Happy Vixen last month. Mikati Slade's ursine friend looks like he was "bear-ing" in mind what to take over.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: Mikati and the Chicken Costume

Taken at the SL Newser beach party at the Happy Vixen. At one point, Mikati Slade, the noted builder of the Second Life Birthday "Cake Stage" showed up, and she brought a couple friends.

I forgot what was really spoken, though she had a few giggles out of it.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Interview With Mikati Slade

In June 2011, Second Life Newser reporter Grey Lupindo interviewed one of the SL8B exhibitors named Mikati Slade whom had made a cheerfully bright art exhibit she called "Japanese pop art." Since then, Mikiati has gone on to build greater things, notably three of the Second Life Birthday's massive Cake Stages. As the thirteenth of the SLB events was winding to a close, we caught up with the noted builder, and she explained a little about how she came to Second Life and what kinds of skills were involved in making her huge confectionery creations.

Read the interview in People.

The SL Newser Beach Party

Last Saturday, the Newser crew took a little time to relax from their busy schedules. And what better place to relax than the beach, except maybe a beach club. A number of the staff, both newcomers and veteran reporters, as well as readers and neighbors of the Newser office building. A few pictures were taken of the party as a reminder of the fun they had.

See the pictures in Events.

The Second Life Birthday "Cake Explosion"

The Second Life Birthday may have officially ended a week ago, but the volunteers and fans met up for one final event that's become a tradition whenever there's a Main Stage by Mikati Slade at the SLB: the "Cake Explosion." Second Life was there as the cake was raised up into the air, and let go to fall to the ground in a shower of virtual slices and frosting.

See the pictures in Events.

Image credit: Tantari Kim

SL13B Celebrations Go Out With a Bang

Sunday June 26 was the last day of the Second Life Thirteenth Birthday, or SL13B, celebrations, and all day there were events, mostly at the music stages, such as "Stage Left" shown here.

Over the weekend, a number of live musicians and DJs performed, including DJ Tantari here at the Tree Stage.

And of course one could see the many exhibits, such as this one set up by the National Space Society.

There was unfortunately a bit of sadness with the celebrating. Bewell Ormega (Todd J. Retzlaff), had passed away at age 50. He had helped with the fireworks at the SLB for five years. So in his honor at Noon SL time, there was a special fireworks show in his honor at the Cake Stage, the pyrotechnical displays of this year being his last.

And as the last hour of the celebration came, only one stage would have a performance, the Cake Stage.

Dozens of avatars gathered at the meeting point of the four sims making up the stage, "Friends do not let friends crash alone."

Byach Littlething was the DJ for this last hour while more fireworks shot off around everyone, with a variety of avatars, and a few noteable personalities among run-of-the-mill residents.

Mikati Slade, the builder of the Cake, was among those partying, as was Golan Elde.

At one point, Marianne McCann shouted, "If I may be so bold but to say, three cheers to our baker, Mikati, for the amazing cake stage!" "Hip-hip HOOOORAAAAAY MIKATI!" "Yep, she really takes the cake." "She's outdone herself this time! I adore cake stage!" "" "LOVE my Cake Hat!" "Everyone is so proud of you Mikati for all of your hard work."

"Happy Birthday, Second Life! 13 years... Simply incredible!" "Come back next year!"

And so, the official events of the SL13B are over, But this isn't quite the end. The exhibits are not scheduled to come down until July 3rd. But some exhibitors take them down a day or two or three before that, so those who were waiting to avoid the lag to see them better not wait. And there will likely be a few unofficial events, including the blowing up of the Cake Stage.

"See you next week when we blow up the cake!!!"

Bixyl Shuftan