A Special Tribute ...

 

 I'm sure a number of you remember when I surprised Rita Mariner by going as a clone of her. It worked so well, it became something of a Sunbeamer tradition when we hit a million Linden dollars raised to go about as that for a week. Well, with Rita gone and the Sunbeamer team retired, it looks like that tradition is no more. 

 

Still, there was one more thing I could do with the avatar. I contacted Corey In The House (jjws888 Resident), who specializes in making statues of avatars. And we got together for him to make a statue of the avie. It wasn't lost on me that what started out as a joke became something to help remember her. 

 

A copy of it is at Club Cutlass, Rita's hangout. So one way to honor her, and keep her at her favorite spot. 

 

*Addition* - I had sent a message in both a group announcement and a Discord message that I had dropped off something at Cutlass, though didn't say what it was. Apparently that wasn't enough to keep one Sunny from getting a surprise, "Scared the crap out of me! I went to Cutlass ... came face to face with Rita's ghost! ... dammit guy, where the hell did you get that?!"

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Corey In The House, SL Avatar Statue Builder

 

Have you ever wanted to get a statue of your avatar or that of a friend, for amusement, or some other reason? I was pointed to Corey In The House, who for some Lindens will do just that. So how does it work and what else is he noted for?

 

Read the story in People.  

Relay Track: RFL Survivor, Playdolls

 

 Taken at RFL Survivor, "Survivor Strong, Caregiver Strong."

 

 The Playdolls team had a huge statue at their camp.

 

More to come,

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

The White Vixen Enterprises Building

 

 

 Another of Penny Shuftan's (Deaflegacy) screenshots. This one is of the White Vixen Enterprises office building in the Pacific Waters sim. The angel statue in particular got her attention.

 

"The Man" Statue Turns 20

 

July 19, 2022 was the anniversary of one of the oldest objects in Second Life and possibly the oldest one more detailed than a single prim: "The Man." People came by the Ivory Tower of Primitives where the statue is located where they danced away to music provided by GoSpeed Racer. This included several Lindens and Moles such as Oatmeal Linden. The Newser was there, and took a number of pictures. 

 

Read more in Events.
 

"The Man" Statue Turns 20

 *

Yesterday, July 19, 2022 was the anniversary of one of the oldest objects in Second Life and possibly the oldest one more detailed than a single prim: "The Man." 

This statue, created by Oldjohn Linden, was created on July 19 2002, twenty years ago.  This would be almost a year before Second Life was officially open.

 

People came by the Ivory Tower of Primitives where the statue is located where they danced away to music provided by GoSpeed Racer. This included several Lindens and Moles such as Oatmeal Linden. At one point, someone in a HUGE mega-macro showed up. made 

Happy anniversary to "The Man"

 

Addition: Check out more pictures of the event (here). 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

EOTB: Linden Lab Announces Oz Linden's Retirement Gift

 *

In February, Oz Linden retired from Linden Lab after 11 years of work. There's no record if he got a gold watch. But he did just receive a retirement gift from the Lab: a small bronze statue courtesy of Second Life artist Bryn Oh. The announcement was last Friday, September 24.

To celebrate Oz and his many contributions to the community, Linden Lab commissioned talented artist Bryn Oh to create a special bronze sculpture of his avatar as a retirement gift. Using an image of his avatar as a reference, Bryn created Oz in a very unique way -- the infamous Second Life “away” pose.

So why did Bryn Oh have Oz in that position? He would answer with this:

I felt it was nice to make Oz in "away" because maybe retirement its more of an adieu than a goodbye.  Or maybe I am just too sentimental.

The Newser first reported the news about the bronze statuette last month. It's not the first time Bryn worked with bronze. In 2017, she was making some based on her works in Second Life.

For the Linden blog post, Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Artist Bryn Oh Makes Real-Life Statue of Oz Linden For Linden Lab

 

Second Life artis Bryn Oh has been known for various artistic displays in Second Life, such as her Rabbicorn. But she has also been doing some real life art, such as the bronze sculptures she made in 2017.  Recently in Facebook, Bryn announced she had been doing more bronze statue art. But this time, it was Linden Lab itself that requested the sculpture, in honor of Oz Linden, whom had retired in February this year after 11 years.

Several months ago I was approached by Linden Lab, the makers of the virtual world I use for my art,  to create a retirement gift for Oz Linden a long time and very well known Linden Lab employee.  They asked me to create a bronze sculpture of his avatar.

Bryn used a couple of images of Oz from the 2019 interview of him an April Linden (though mistook April as the one doing the interviewing). The resulting sculpture was 12 inches high, and was slumped forward in the style of an AFK avatar.

I created a 12 inch sculpture of Oz and it is being shipped to Linden Lab right now so yay.  When creating the pose for the sculpture I decided to make Oz in an "away" pose.   An away pose is unique to the virtual world in that when a person doesn't touch their keyboard for a while because they have gone to make tea or went to walk the dog.. their avatar will time out and be put in the "away" pose which is slumped over and asleep looking.

So why put Oz in this particular pose? Bryn would explain with the following:

I felt it was nice to make Oz in "away" because maybe retirement its more of an adieu than a goodbye.  Or maybe I am just too sentimental.

So the scuplture was made in a way that expressed a wish that Oz wasn't really gone, just having stepped away for a while to return later.

Images from Bryn Oh's Facebook page

Bixyl Shuftan
 

The Ebbe Altberg Memorial

 

Linden Lab's Fourth CEO now has his lasting memorial in Second Life.

Just after the Lab's leader Ebbe Altberg's passing was announced on June 4, Patch Linden would say that there would be a permanent inworld memorial erected for him. On Sunday July 13, Evangeline Ling, posted in the Second Life forums that she had found it. 

"I spotted this today while out on a routine flight in my Goose around Bellisseria.  Thank you to Patch Linden, Abnor Mole and the entire team of Lindens and Moles for memorializing Ebbe Altberg (Ebbe Linden) in such a beautiful way!"

The memorial is on an island in the middle of a lake, with log homes and a railroad track not far away. A stone path leads from the shore of the island up to a bronze statue. Around it's base are a number of candles. A plaque reads "Ebbe Altberg: 1964-2021 Always in our hearts." Just above it is what looks like a book with a likeness of Altberg on the left, and on the right Patch's announcement of his death. Abnor Mole would say of the candles, "The unlit candles you can touch to light in his memory. The ones that have gone out anyone can touch again to renew them, and they are ready to be lit again."

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Altberg/139/134/58
 
Bixyl Shuftan
  

Reader Submitted: The Relevance of Statues

All the current news about statues in the real world reminded me of a rather unprepossessing statue in Second Life that celebrates a huge step forward in the virtual world.

Back in 2006, working in the dark dangerous prim mines which honeycomb Heterocera,  a mole, sadly their name seems not to have been recorded, made a remarkable discovery as detailed for posterity on the plaque.

"This statue commemorates the discovery of sculpted prims in '06. Found in the prim mines of Heterocera, sculpted prims were immediately recognized as a new category of prim that would change the face of Second Life forever. This statue is dedicated to the brave Moles who delved into the pixelated crust of Heterocera Atoll in order to bring forth these valuable prims."

The statue is located alongside the West Coast Road,  close to a rezz zone and the YellowDots -"Chatty Cafe"-   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nightfield/252/145/37

If you want to combine a bit of extra  fun with your visit, there is a friendly mole  which allows you to rez a 4x4  and close by an Air Balloon rezzer. 

Annie Brightstar 

From "Exploring Second Life With Annie"

Rainbow Magellan Linden Statue at Costner Bay Island, "Squishy Pickle" at Houseboat Area

Going back to Costner Bay Island, the island in the Costner Bay, Whiskey Bay, and Ondine sims, I noticed some small changes such as a small outdoor workshop in one corner. But the most visible addition was an enormous statue of Magellan Linden, painted in rainbow colors, minus a green pickle it was holding.

The question of was the exploring Linden celebrating Pride Month . or had been zapped by unicorns was answered by taking a closeup, and seeing a "Second Pride" flag in his hand, the Second Life logo done in rainbow and on a white field. The statue was places by Abnor Mole, the flag by Naughty Mole.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ondine/172/183/23

The object in the statue's hand wasn't the only pickle in the vicinity. Going to the houseboat area next to Bellisseria's northeast, I came across a community center with a number of picnic tables around a wooden building. Taking a closer look, the building was named "The Squishy Pickle."

 There was a sign behind the counter "Menu: Pickle : 0L." With the lag, it looked for a moment like "U Pick : 0L." On the counters were a couple jars of pickles on sticks an avatar could click on, get one, and add/wear. There were also signs on the building of women with pickles and one picture of various Lindens and Moles with the pickles in hand.

So why is Linden Lab making a "big dill" over pickles at Bellisseria? Have they become fans of DJ Sheeba Metaluna and her "Flying Pickle Lounge"? Actually, there's a reason for the Lab's pickle joke, one that was explained in a chance encounter with one of the moles, the details which will be explained tomorrow.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Brodovima/104/67/25

Bixyl Shuftan

Sci-Fi Expo and the Stan Lee Memorial

The Sci-Fi Expo is in town. Located in the Solaris Station sim, this is an event for science-fiction and fantasy fans inworld. One can enjoy the exhibits, do some shopping, find out more about some roleplay groups looking to expand their numbers, and more. The event raises funds for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

While science fiction is usually pretty fun, not all is well at the Expo. Stan Lee, the artistic genius whom help redefine superheroes, passed away on Monday November 12. Unlike the characters of other hero comics at the time which were often as two-dimensional as the paper their stories were printed on, Stan Lee's characters had more personality and had problems their readers could relate to. Spider-Man for instance could whomp the bad guys, but dealt with acne and girl trouble. Eventually, other studios would follow his lead and make their superhuman characters a little more human.

At the Expo, a memorial to Stan Lee was set up. A fitting tribute to an artist whom entertained many in their childhoods, as well as their adulthoods.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Solaris%20Station/93/103/35

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Anne Brightstar was telling me about the pictures on her Flickr page, and I noticed this one. Why would just one statue have a ball. Maybe they were playing catch.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunnny Awards Night at Cutlass

Last Friday, it was a night for the Sunweavers to honor five individuals whom had helped out the community. The reason for the event was one individual whom had recently stepped up several times to help out certain individuals, in addition to helping Rita Mariner and Nydia Tungsten with paying the fees to Linden Lab to get tier reduced, and therefore lowering the rent for everyone. But as the person was starting to feel a little embarrassed for feeling singled out, instead of just honoring him only, four others were also named to share the stage with him in an award ceremony.

Read more in People.

Minecraft: Building Around Angels Villiage

While Nydia Tungsten's been experimenting with Minecraft maps for her friends to game on, the players on her new Angels Village on her servers have continued to build after the village took shape. Quite a few statues and other things were built. Including a tribute to the players.

Read more in Extra.