Photos From The Fandom Fashion Show

 

The Fandom Con is over. But there's still a story or two more to write about it. Gemma Cleanslate was at the Fandom Fashion Show, but the big story was all the Lindens and Moles that were there, of which she took plenty of pictures.

 

See Gemma's pictures in People. 

 

SL Video: "2023 SL Fandom Region Tour"

 

 

 (click here if the video does not play)

 From the Relay for Life in Second Life, "SL Fandom Con supporting the RFL of SL Some Stories Stay With Us Forever In celebration of all our Fandoms and in defiance of cancer we gather together, as proof of what virtual worlds and pixel people can do to help make real change. Through the years of amazing RFL events in SL we have witnessed real world changes in testing and treatments and outcomes, lives have been and will be saved because as a united people of Planet Earth we have decided to do something about it together… Until there is a cure, We Relay! We are proud to be part of our shared commitment to eradicate cancer, and to be in the community of courage and caring in Second Life."

Fandom Con Ends Tonight

 

 

 This past weekend was the second and last one for the SL Fandom Con. On Saturday July 29 was the  "Fancy Fandom" event, "All fandoms have their fancy, and we want to see it! Embrace the theme of the night and show off your unique style on the red carpet. From elegant gowns to avant-garde designs, let your creativity show through."

The event lasted from around Noon to 2 PM SL time. When I dropped by, only about half were in fancier outfits. But there were some interesting looks. Probably the most unique, but more than a little disturbing, were three skeleton-like robots in ladies gowns' dancing away in front of the DJ booth. Thankfully they weren't out to terminate anyone, just move to the tunes. 

Today, Monday July 31 is the last day for events in the Fandom con. It is unknown how long the sims, and exhibits, will remain up. The event is a fundraiser for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

*Correction* There was a date error earlier, it has been corrected.

Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes From The Fandom Con

 

 

 The Fandom Con is still going on in Second Life. On Wednesday, I stopped by the Kraken stage in Octololligo. 

 

At 11 AM SL time Austin Moores was performing on stage. He was described as having a "vast repertoire might have him doing Country one min, Pop songs the next, and Crooning (like Sinatra, Buble, Como) the next. On top of that is sprinkled in some rock and swing music." He would sing various songs for an hour, strumming his guitar.

At Noon SL time, it was Nivor the Singing Chicken, "man can this chicken sing.!!! Crooning the classics, emotional ballads, up tempo modern tunes, he can do it all!!! And he's doing it here for the next hour so come on over and have a listen!" 

The avian singer quickly got onto stage (perhaps in a hurry due to the fox in the crowd), and began performing. He was cheered on by a number of gryphons who had come just for the event, some remarking they had never seen so many in one spot.

But the Fandom con is more than singing events. There are also exhibits such as the one by the Mieville community.

The Fandom Con is a fundraiser for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

More on the Con later.

Bixyl Shuftan

Weekend in Brief

 

 There were a number of things happening this weekend. The "Wootstock" at Raglan Shire took place with plenty of live music. Also was the start of the "SL Fandom Con" which had plenty to see, shop, and it's own live music events. An event called "Furchanted" was taking place. The exhibits of last weekend's "Burn2" summer spinnoff event were still up to see, and more.

More on these and other happenings later.

 

SL Fandom Con Starts Today

 

It's a busy weekend here in Second Life with a number of events going on. Besides the Wootstock, there is the SL Fandom Con, which is described as being for "all comic lovers and fans from our Trekkies, Whovians, Bronies, True Believers, the Warsies, and Ghostheads, Moonies, and everyone in between."

 

The event takes place over eight sims, with numerous exhibits, booths, stores, and stages for music events.

 

 

On day one, there was a music event with sixty avatars present. So expect lag.

The SL Fandom con is "a mega-event for the Relay for Life," raising money for the American Cancer Society. It runs from today, Friday July 21 to Monday July 31.

 

For more information, check out the website at  https://sl-fandom-con.org/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society2/127/220/66

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: Fandom & Machinima Contest For The SL Fandom Con

 

 The SL Fandom Con is hosting a Fandom & Machinima Contest during SL Fandom Con, July 21st thru July 31st.  Join our exciting Fandom & Machinima Contest and showcase your creativity behind the lens!  Whether you're a seasoned professional or a passionate amateur, this is your chance to shine and be recognized for your incredible talent. 

We welcome all videographers to take part in our Fandom and Machinima event.  We will require a registration simply to collect the appropriate information and to provide early event access.

We have a few rules that must be followed:

• This is a Relay For Life of Event – all videos must have a moderate rating (no adult content)

• Maximum video length is five minutes.

• All footage must be filmed at the SL Fandom Con.

• Copyright free music only.

• All LL TOS must be followed.

 

 Visit our website for more information: https://sl-fandom-con.org/machinima/

RFL Announcement: A New 2023 Mega Event

 

From Stingray Raymaker - Director of ACS in Second Life

“I’m very excited to introduce SL Fandom Con. A new Mega Event that will bring FANDOM to a whole new level in Second Life. The team of people working together on this project have set some very inspiring goals and have a vision for a completely re-imagined Mega Event experience for the Second Life FANDOM community.”

Full story at https://www.slacsinfo.com/news 

Commentary: Why The Furry Fandom Isn't A Community

To people looking at a fanbase from outside, especially those with little familiarity with it, it's members may seem very much alike and more or less unified. The reality is, a large fanbase often has many internal divisions. For instance, Star Wars fans are split on how good the different trilogies are. Fantasy fans are split on the use of "chainmail bikini" armor for female fighters. And those are just two of the issues that the fanbases have, along with the petty rivalries individuals and small groups can have with one another. And then there's the furry fandom. While some from the outside see it as a monolithic group, it actually isn't. In his commentary, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) reminds us of that.

Read Cyfir's article in People.

Commentary: Perri Prinz Writes About The Effect Of The Antifa

In February 2016, Perri Prinz of Second Life's Sunweaver community announced she was no longer updating her Livejournal which she had used to discuss various topics. Her writing was limited to her Spectral Shadows serial story, which still can be read at http://spectralshadows.livejournal.com/. She has recently taken a break from that and gone back to writing nonfiction articles and briefs. The reason: zealots known as the Antifa.

Perri, under the name Perri Rhoades,  recently wrote a commentary for Furry Times, "The Fandom That Feared Itself." Starting off by calling it the story of how "something truly horrible had happened to the Furry Fandom." In her article, she described her reading about how trolls and zealots were claiming Nazis were present among fans of the genre, and threats of force against them were necessary. Eventually, they would succeed in shutting down a convention through death threats. To Perri, these extremists regarded their targets as having no rights, and her questioning of their actions got her labeled as a "Nazi."

Anyone who even remotely knows Perri would see such statements at best some kind of sick joke. She is best known for her DJing of classic rock 60s and 70s songs, sometimes in bell-bottomed pants, and is the co-owner of a classic rock club with images of the era. Hardly the mark of someone on the far right. In her "Spectral Shadows," at least one character described as conservative was very unsympathetic towards those who were different. She hasn't been the only unfair target. One other so-called "Nazi" turned out to be half-Thai and gay.

So what does this have to do with Second Life? Yours truly has seen the black paw print in a white field on a red armband used as a parody of the infamous fascist armband (not unlike Charlie Chaplin's "double cross" in "The Great Dictator") in the past inworld, as well as groups such as "Fox Supremacists" of which the names were meant to be a gag.

The Antifa has done more than just shut down a convention of sci-fi/fantasy fans. Their threats of violence have also resulted in an annual parade in Portland Oregon being called off. And riots by them at Berkley forced a conservative speaker to cancel an appearance. One writer in the Wall Street Journal commented the danger wasn't just within the Berkley campus, but if not stopped they would have a chilling effect on free speech.

Perri stated that unless the Antifa communists were clearly labeled as the thugs they were and isolated, they would continue to poison the minds of young adults into seeing violence and threats of as an acceptable method  of dealing with those they don't like, "we must ... reaffirm our stance against censorship. We must be more protective of freedom of speech and freedom of expression than we’ve ever been before, as it is those things that are under attack."

Addition: Perri has started up her Livejounral again, reprinting her commentary there, which has already been getting comments by others. I also forgot to mention the New Fallout WW2 Combat Roleplay, which has some German groups.

Sources: Fox, Reuters, Wall Street Journal , Encyclopedia Heraldica

Bixyl Shuftan

Return to Bronytown

Last year, the new "Brony" community found itself homeless and disoriented after it's sims were taken offline. This would be a fatal blow to some communities. But not only did this group of "My Little Pony" fans recover, but they're now stronger than ever. Xymbers Slade takes a look at the place, and interviews two of the "Mane Six" ponies.

Read the story in People.