The Return of Urban Furry

 

 A club the Newser has written about a few times in the past is coming back. On Wednesday September 3rd, Urban Furry had it's Grand ReOpening party. It started at 2PM, and was scheduled to go on to 8PM. It is owned and managed by Whiskey Ravenhurst. 

 

Urban Furry has been in operation a few times before, Whiskey reluctantly closing it when events in his real life require his full attention. This time, he feels he is able to keep up the place indefinitely. 

 

If the club looks familiar to some, that's because it is. Whiskey was missing the original version of the club. So he brought it back, with a few small alterations. Among the additions, a couple of framed articles from when the location was in the Newser. 

 

For the moment, the club has no regular events. Whixkey says he should have scheduled hours in about a couple weeks, with the times being determined when interested DJs can play.

 

Urban Furry is at Vector Valley at (193/43/2011). 

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Wedcot Center Is Back

 

 

 In October, the Newser reported that Wedcot Center Park, a tribute to the EPCOT Center owned by Disney, had closed down. For fans, some good news. The place is back. 

Disney Epcot tribute - Celebrate the season with Nightmare Before Christmas, and Haunted Mansion Holiday! Festival of the Holidays, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, with access to mini golf.

The place is still under Trevor Sleydon and is still in the Real Dreams sim. A look at the park's group showed no announcement's in the past month, so it's safe to assume the place came back before the first of the month. The place isn't quite perfect. The "Spaceship Earth" attraction isn't quite working. But some things such as the monorail are. 

The landing location is at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Real%20Dreams/42/4/105

Bixyl Shuftan

DJ Franny Dean’s Thanksgiving Parade Returns

 

For some time, FrannyDj Dean had been doing parades in Second Life, notably her Thanksgiving Day one. But in February 2023, she passed away. But for her fans, there is good news. DJ Franny's parade is still on! Gemma Cleanslate will have some more information tomorrow. But for those who can't wait, head to the Amazing World sim.

 

 

Tempura Island Back - Update: Will Be Preserved By Linden Lab

 

It was several days ago in which the Tempura Island sim closed following an announcement in the group a few days before. But it seems the sim has returned. A reader alerted the Newser the place was back and open to the public to explore: Tempura Island (124/46/33)

Exactly what happened as of the writing of this article is unknown. There was no announcement in the sim's group. The area remains owned by it's longtime owners. The person contacting the Newser hoped both the sim and the recent Tempura Project would remain up. 

Update: At 7AM, it was posted in the Tempura group that the sim would be maintained by Linden Lab under it's Preservation Society.

Dear Tempura Island friends, lovers and visitors.

We like to inform you, that after our decisions to close TEMPURA, we have been reached by LL and made decision and accept to maintain our region by joining "The Second Life Region Preservation Society" provided by Linden Lab. We have received so many messages from SL residents about closing TEMPURA and we are very happy that TEMPURA will still exist.

Please enjoy TEMPURA sim as you have been for all these years.  We like to express our grateful to Linden Lab who recognize and decide to keep TEMPURA as part of SL existence.

Thank you everyone who love TEMPURA sim!  

　　　　　　　菊之介王子 (kikunosuke Eel) / Tempura Island team

So it seems Tempura joins the ranks of The Shelter, Chouchou, The Lost Gardens of Apollo, Mont Saint-Michel, the SS Galaxy, and Svarga as places (mostly well-designed sims) that will be maintained by Linden Lab.

Hat tip: Eliza Cabassoun, Spiffy Voxel

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Tiny Yosemite

Longtime readers may remember Jadyn Firehawk's Yosemite park in Second Life. The place  remained up for some time until sadly real life made her unable to keep it up. Following her setting up of her Coronavirus Survival Store, she found she had a number of people still in the sim group. Inspired by these fans, she recently brought the place back in a smaller form, Tiny Yosemite. Gemma Cleanslate heard about it and decided to check it out.

Read Gemma's article in Places.

Interview With Guitarist Jon Bazar

A musician has returned to Second Life after a five year hiatus: Jon Bazar. A guitarist in both real life and Second Life, he had to take a break due to real life. The Newser recently had a chance to set with him, and he had a few things to say about how he came here and doing music in real life and in virtual reality.

Read the interview in People.

Update on Mieville

Some good news for the residents, and fans, of the Mieville steampunk community. For several weeks, the people there have been worried about their landowner, Perryn Peterson, after he checked into a hospital and not a word was heard from him since. That is, until earlier today, when a resident spotted him online. Miss Mattie Puss (MatildaRigby Resident) would describe the encounter.

[11:29] Perryn Peterson wabes to da Kitteh hoping not to frighten her half to death.
[11:32] Perryn Peterson: I is back.  Sort of.  Not in the best of health but back.  You won't believe all that happened.  I hope to see you soonly.

HE HAS RETURNED! HE LOGGED IN FOR A SHORT TIME AND LEFT MESSAGES. HOPEFULLY HE WILL COME BACK LATER BUT HE WAS HERE!

Mieville chat was promptly full of comments, "Linden Labs prob called him up and said you know you got these people panicing and they wont leave us alone." "It's a Valentine miracle.  I can't wait to hear what happened.  Soooooooo relieved.  Wonderful news." Miss Mattie would add, "He left me a message and I cussed him. I love him and wanna smack him for being gone. ... hope he comes back on tonight so I can hug hims and bite hims for being gone and hugs him again."

Talking to Assistant Mayor Wyvern Dryke (Wyvvy), he told me couldn't give me 100% confirmation the emergency was over, but "It's safe to assume he's paying his tier.  I don't think you would be going out on a limb for saying that."

So it would seem Mieville's crisis is coming to a close.

Bixyl Shuftan

"Bunny is Back" Rita Mariner Back Online

Good news for the Sunweaver community. After a few days of being locked out of Second Life with her main account, Rita Mariner announced yesterday she was able to get back on once more, "I was able to log in as of 2:30 CST (12:30 SLT)."

Rita's banning has raised more than a few eyebrows, at least one estate owner asking if something like this could happen to her as well, having her account frozen because she was sent a form that got lost in the mail or email. It was also brought up that the original Steelhead community closed down partially because the Lab had locked out the estate owner's main account (the bigger reason was numerous real-life difficulties). One person commented, "That's disturbing, and rather draconian. Something like this only reinforces the fact that FinCEN completely controls the Linden Dollar. What the hell happened to Linden Lab's spine?" Another responded, "US government regulations is what happened and LL is not going to go against it."

In any event the bunny is back, and life in the Sunweaver/Angel community can get back to clubbing and preparing for the Relay. Some though are glancing over their shoulders.

Bixyl Shuftan

New Santorini

One group of sims the Newser keeps writing about year after year is Calas Galadhon Park. The sims are always well-designed, and there's something new every few months. Sadly, in the past a few of the sims had to be shut down due to real-life finances. But recently came some good news. One of the lost sims, the Greek-themed New Santorini, is back. Gemma Cleanslate went there to look around.

Read Gemma's article in Places.

Garden of Absentia Memorial Pond Reopens

In July 2018, the Newser reported about the Garden of Absentia, which was closing after being online for about ten years. But, we have a happy update. Part of the place, the pond, is back in a new location.

Dear friends. I am happy to say that the Garden has reopened. It is a much smaller parcel, but it is cozy and beautiful. I do not have words to express my gratitude to Dee Andel and Typo Cobalt who made this opening possible. Here is your transportation to the Garden of Absentia Memorial Pond.

So once again, the garden is back, a memorial pond with floating candles lit in honor of many who did not survive their battle with cancer. The place is located in the middle of some relaxing countryside scenery. To find out more, check out it's Facebook page, or head over to it's location at:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Celtic%20Harbor/19/233/23

Hat Tip: Annie Oh (AnnieBrightstar Resident)

Bixyl Shuftan

Back in Business

The leftovers of Hurricane Michael had some punch to them, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands far inland from where it made landfall. Where yours truly lived had a "High Winds" watch, and power was knocked out last night, not getting it back until late this afternoon. We'll have some more news up soon. So stay tuned.

Bixyl Shuftan

Brandi Streusel Back in Second Life

A little more than a month ago, it was announced that Brandi Streusel was taking an indefinite break from Second Life. We're happy to report that she's back, and back in action as a DJ.

"I missed Second Life and all my friends," Brandi told the Newser, "It wasn't easy staying away."

Brandi is the partner of Nydia Tungsten, whom runs the Angles Estates sims in the Sunweaver area, and helps manage most of the others.


Brandi can be found on Second Life DJing as "DJ Squeaks" at clubs Urban Furry and Club Cherry18.

Brandi Streusel Back Online, "Two Vixens And A Wolf" At Cutlass, Other Sunweaver News

Early this month, it was announced that Brandi Streusel had taken an indefinite break from Second Life. The Newser is happy to report that the little mousegirl of the Sunweaver/Angel community is back, and doing some music DJing, " I've missed both so much." She is currently playing at Python's Dance Club on Wednesdays.

Also, the "Two Vixens and a Wolf" radio show, which the Newser reported on recently, is getting a new location to listen in from inworld besides their studio in Rabbit Valley: the Sunweaver's main club and hangout of Club Cutlass. Svetlana Snowpaw (Sarah Golem) made the following announcement on Tuesday July 17.

Hello I just wanted to let everyone know about our fairly new Radio show "2 Vixens and a Wolf" we are going live at 5PM SL Time (27 Minutes) you can listen in at allfurradio.com for our 3 hour furry talk show which we do EVERY MONDAY (Today is exception due to technical difficulties) from 5PM-8PM SL TIME

Unfortunately, not all the news from the Sunweaver community has been good. On Monday or Tuesday this week, community leader Rita Mariner was taken to the hospital due to an infection. She was released Wednesday. Also Dusk Griswold's real-life spouse has been in the hospital for several days. Her condition was initially serious, but she has been recovering and will hopefully be home again soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

Mouse Hole Manor Is Back

In February, Mouse Hole Manor, the home of Nydia Tungsten and her partner Brandi Streusel,was taken down. In place of the castle, which had been up for some years, went a more modern home that was up for a few months until it came down when Nydia and Cynthia Farshore exchanged sims. In Pacific Waters, Nydia had a smaller home on an island for a time. But this week, she and Brandi made the decision to bring back the Manor.

"Well, we have been talking about it," Nydia told the Newser, "We kept having problems with the other ones. Now we are finding out a lot of others missed it as well, and the phrase 'Local Icon' kept kicking around in the back of my head. But most of all, we feel, this is home."

Nydia is still setting things up, so anyone dropping by in the next few days will see some bare rooms. While nothing is set in stone, except perhaps for the castle walls, there will be some differences between Mouse Hole Manor now and from it's previous days. It's days as a place for business and planning meetings for the Angels group are pretty much over as those are done in the nearby office building in the southeastern part of Pacific Waters. The theater had been removed to make the "Float-In Theater" to the east. What there will be more of are games for Nydia, Brandi, and her friends, such as "Greedy." The island the Manor sits on has more trees on it, thinly wooded. Nydia says the place will be likely be the setting for special event such as weddings in the future. For now though, Nydia is happy to have her castle back, "Feels like home."

Bixyl Shuftan

Pearl Harbor Memorial Back Online

Sometime between December 2015 and Memorial Day in May 2016, the Oahu sim disappeared from the grid, taking away it's most unique build, Second Life's USS Arizona Memorial with it. But good news, the Newser was recently informed by the sim owner Twstd Ruggles that the island was back, and with it the memorial, which one can visit again at Oahu (176/22/23).

On Saturday January 7, there will be an official reopening party, starting at 12 Noon SL time, with a hula and fire dance show at 1PM. The event will be at Oahu (97, 220, 22).

The memorial had previously been up for several years, and hosted a Peark Harbor 70th anniversary event on December 7 2011. It's return is welcome news for history and military fans.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reaction to the Return of "The Lost Gardens of Apollo"

Since we (or rather Anne Brightstar and Shin Klaar) revealed that the beloved classic sim "The Lost Gardens of Apollo" was back online, there's been a number of reactions. Among them from Dane Zander, the sim's creator, whom thanked us for letting him know the location was back online.

Hamlet Au in his article about the return of the Gardens reminded readers what had happened to cause the location to close. Dane had been having financial problems at the time, bad enough for him to apply for debt relief, and "Doing so involves detailed scrutiny of my personal finances," he stated. Counting the European Value Added Tax, the sim was costing him $250 USD a month, and on his limited income, he couldn't afford it. While he had been able to cover most of his expenses through donations, he was far from alone in being hit by financial troubles, and the amount of Lindens in his donation jars dwindled.

Zander had written to Linden Lab at the time, suggesting to them they could take the sim and keep it running. But he never did hear from them. Nor is there anything to suggest that he had been contacted by the Lab before they restarted his sim. He was quoted as saying, "I only just heard about it. I am pretty shocked ... I had no idea. I'll have to ask LL what is going on. Thanks for the heads up though!"

The reactions from residents have been overwhelmingly positive, many fans happy to see it back. That the sim could be brought back years after it's fading away apparently without the permission of the owner was brought up by a person or two, which brought up the question of does this mean Linden Lab could do this with any sim. But that one person thought some statues seemed to be missing suggested that perhaps some data could have been lost.

And what of the "Lost Gardens of Apollo Memorial" by Delphi Bernard? She says she plans to keep her sim up as long as she is able to. She feels with the restored sim's broken animations and the lack of music, people will want to head to hers.

So will Linden Lab bring back another sim anytime soon? Right now, that's something only the Lab can answer, and it's probable they haven't decided whether or not to yet. Already some residents are making suggestions such as Forgotten City and Starry Night. Anne Brightstar had one other suggestion, one aimed not at bringing back a place but putting some activity back in one it already had: the SS Galaxy. She felt Linden Lab could easily get a few people to help organize parties on the ship, keep an eye on the music stream, and rent out rooms to people interested. While bringing the ship back by itself was better than nothing, no activity at all made it simply a museum piece, which to longtime fans of the ship was a sad reminder of once was.

For longtime residents whom once could only look at screenshots and old articles about favorite places which had vanished years ago, the return of the "Lost Gardens of Apollo" offers hope that maybe, just maybe, they will someday return.

Addition: Hamlet got in touch with Dane, and he had a few more things to say, about the return of his masterpiece.

Image credit: Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

"The Lost Gardens of Apollo" Has Returned, "Historic Build" Under Lindens

More good news. For the second time in less than two weeks, another admired lost sim has returned to the Second Life Grid. This time it's "The Lost Gardens of Apollo," built in 2005 by Dane Zander, it had been a well designed and picturesque build, with a number of spots where couples could relax, and a platform they could dance or watch the sunrise or sunset. It closed in June 2011 when Zander could no longer support it. In May of this year, a tribute sim was made by Delphi Bernard. While it wasn't Zander's creation, it was an excellent and well-done build based on his style. But now, the sim really is back.

Anne Brightstar had informed me that the sim was back, referencing an article by Shin Klaar. The sim was listed as being under Mogura Linden, the same Linden who is listed as the owner of Mont Saint Michel, the picturesque build of a real life historic structure that vanished in September and was brought back by the Lab a little more than a week ago. The name of the place has changed a little. It is now called "The Lost Gardens of Apollo Historic Build."

This is different from the previous times Linden Lab has brought back a vanished area. The most obvious difference, they've done so a lot faster since the previous time. With Svarga, the sim was brought back months after it's closing. With the SS Galaxy and Mont Saint Michael, the places returned weeks after their vanishing. More than five years have passed since the passing of the Gardens.

Did Linden Lab decide maybe it was time to bring back some of Second Life's popular lost sims under a kind of preservation program, which has been suggested in the recent past by the Newser? If so, could we soon expect to see even more lost treasures to appear? Or perhaps a fan of the Lost Gardens spoke or did the right thing at the right time and got things finally rolling?

In any event, this beautiful sim is back, and once again people can come again and enjoy it.

Thank you again, Linden Lab.

Lost Gardens of Apollo (173, 120, 25)

Bixyl Shuftan

Mont Saint Michel Returns, Linden Lab Involved

Mont Saint Michel is back on the grid.

It was several weeks ago that this replica of a historic structure in northwestern France, a sim once listed as one of the top ten places based on real life locations to visit in Second Life by Newser writer Becky Shamen, had vanished from the map. It was in September 2015 that it's owner Moeka Kohime announced that she could no longer afford to keep the place afloat and it would soon be closing. But the sim would remain standing for about a year longer before finally fading away, seemingly gone for good. Only two times before in the thirteen year history of Second Life, with Svarga and the SS Galaxy, has Linden Lab intervened to save a sim from vanishing into the virtual nether.

Apparently the Lab has decided to make Mont Saint Michel number three.

Taking a look at the information about the sim in the viewer, a look under the "Covenant" tag revealed an owner other than Moeka: Mogura Linden. Mogura Linden made news last year for being the founder of the "SS Galaxy Preservation Group."  So she's involved with what seems like transferring the ownership of the sim to Linden Lab.

I was able to visit the sim and look around a little. Some of the shops there are still active, at least for now. And there were some chimneys with smoke coming out of them that I hadn't noticed before. Did I overlook them earlier, or something just added?

It's unclear whether or not the transfer of ownership will mean the sim will be temporarily closed for a while. So those interested in seeing the place again are advised to drop by sooner rather than later. But it's good news that this picturesque sim will be around for good.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mont%20Saint%20Michel/78/34/21

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager and Tyche Shepherd

Bixyl Shuftan

"There" is Back, But Few Are Playing

Longtime users of Second Life may remember "There," another virtual world which in the early days was considered it's most noted competition. There was launched by Makena Technologies shortly after Linden Lab's virtual world in October 2003. While it had an early advantage due to having more funding at the start, it soon ran low, and Second Life's gaining the media spotlight put it in the shadow of it's rival. It tried to distinguish itself from it's competitor by marketing itself as family friendly and appealing to teenagers, whom at the time couldn't get on Second Life unless they were 18 or over. But in March 2010, the CEO of There announced the virtual world would be shutting down.

About a year later, Makena took a survey among former users of There to see how many were willing to return, with two stipulations. One was that There would no longer allow teenagers, but be 18 years old and up. Residents would also have to play a $10 monthly fee. CEO Michael Wilson published the results on his blog in April 2011, with 2400 having answered, and 80% willing to return under those conditions.

That would be the last I or anyone else at Second Life Newser would hear about "There," until a few days ago when I ran into Christopher Organiser at the Second Life Birthday. Among the things he talked about was the virtual world there, which he stated he was originally from, "It has since reopened, but is not the same and they charge a monthly fee for everyone and made it 18+. That caused a decrease in active memberships." He brought up Michael Wilson's blog page at https://theremichaelwilson.wordpress.com/ , "At the bottom of the page are real-time stats of how many people are online. Daily max is around 80-100 people. That's pretty small, which is really bad. Compare that to Second Life."

According to Wikipedia, There reopened in May 2012, about a year after the results of the survey. It also has a blog at https://blog.there.com/, which has entries going back to Septemeber 2014, the first entries saying, "today, nearly two million people have become members, making There the destination of choice for anyone who wants to experience the power of chat combined with the fun of online games. ... we created a world of continuous fun, over 20,000 different clubs to join, and thousands of cool places to play games, meet someone new, or just go exploring."

But with numbers as low as 30 active in the entire virtual world at once, a number that could easily fit in a single Second Life sim, it's clear that the virtual world that was once Linden Lab's greatest rival has pretty much become a faint shadow of it's former self.

Bixyl Shuftan

Lost Gardens of Apollo Memorial: A Sim Is Rebuilt

It was almost five years ago in June 2011 when the "Lost Gardens of Apollo" vanished from Second Life. Built in 2005 by Dane Zander, this was a beautifully designed sim with stone architecture and mosaics built well into an island landscape, with high towers stretching high into the sky, and cuddle spots set among a number of pillows and pools. A popular spot for couples who could snuggle or find a spot on a platform or floor to dance in the sunset, it's end was a sad event for both longtime fans and for people whom had just found out about it as word got around. The Newser was around to get a few pictures before it closed.

Usually when a location disappears from Second Life, there's nothing left but screenshots, videos, and memories to look back on. In the case of Svarga and the SS Galaxy, Linden Lab intervened to preserve the places, but this would not be the case with the Lost Gardens. Instead someone would step in to bring back the Gardens on her own. The result is the "Lost Gardens of Apollo Memorial" in the
Sorbon Beach sim, built and owned by Delphi Bernard. The sim is a rebuilding, and not a true duplication. But the structures are done in the same style, capturing the beauty and soul of the original Lost Gardens.

"I want to bring back some memories," Delphi told me when I met her at the Gardens. She told me in trying to rebuild the place, she had a double challenge. She basically had just screenshots and videos to work with, "to rebuild the terrain just from memories and pictures, that was not easy. And (to) find the original textures, it takes some days." She told me the Newser article was one such source. Another problem was that this wasn't a full sim but a homestead, "A big challenge was to rebuild that all just with 3750 prims. ... This is just a homestead sim, so I can not rebuild all. I hope you can feel the spirit (of) Apollo a little." She told me it took four to five weeks in total to rebuild. She went on to say Dane Zander, the creator of the original Apollo had seen the place and was happy with it.

Delphi says she should be able to hold onto the sim for the foreseeable future, so both longtime fans of Apollo and those whom had heard about the original but had never seen it can enjoy the location, "I think a little bit retro is good for all."

And so the Lost Gardens of Apollo are back. Perhaps some of the statues and a few other items are not there, but what defined the old Apollo sim is there. For longtime residents whom have seen sim after sim fade away, the return of such a well built area is welcome news.



(Click here if the video fails to play)

Sorbon Beach (190/136/23)

Bixyl Shuftan