No Second Life Veterans Tribute This Year

 

For fourteen years, the Second Life Veterans Tribute was a yearly event that honored American and other veterans, both living and deceased. But unfortunately, there will not be one this year. 

 

Eesy Spyker  (Meesoh Honi) would post the following in the Tribute's Discord group:

 

It is with a sad heart to report that this year's SLVT will not be able to be presented this year.  Due to a number of contributors, that make it happen each year, that are going through RL health issues, some with dire family issues/responsibilities and other factors out of our control, we have been unable to work on the tribute and present it this year.  We hope and pray for all involved and will strive to be able to once again provide a place honoring and remembering each and every one of our veterans.

We hope that you all find a place and a manner, in your own way, that you will still honor and remember our veterans.  Each of us contributors from SLVT hope that we will see you out and around SL, in various ways, honoring our veterans.

From all of us here at SL Veterans Tribute we wish all of our veterans, near and far, past and present, a happy and wonderful Veteran's Day, and thank them for the dedication and the price they have paid for us.  

 

Hopefully another event can be organized. But the Veterans Wall, with names contributed by many residents over the years, will be unavailable to see this year.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Announcement: Black Purrl Airshow

 

 What: Black Purrl Airshow
Where: LM Provided/Fiji Island Airport
When: July 19th 11AM SLT - 1:30PM SLT

Come see dazzling aerial displays as the pilots of Black Purrl Airlines and Heavy Metal Aviation take to the skies over Fiji Island Airport.  Peruse the aviation exhibits, watch the amazing aerial maneuvers, and top it off with a Pink Floyd The Wall Tribute concert with full wall and effects to end the show at The Purrl Nightclub. A good time is guaranteed for all.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bancs%20Providence/37/98/29

 11:00 AM Grand Opening and Flyover by Miss Karlie, 
 11:10 Exhibitions and Meet & Greet with our staff,  
 11:20 Stunt exhibition over Fiji Isle by Admiral Kitty, 
 11:30 Wing Dancing Display, 
 11:35 Experience Flights 
 12-1:30 PM  CLOSING PARTY FULL PERFORMANCE of Pink Floyd's The Wall, complete with collapsing wall, lasers,  light show, and live action throughout! Billed best Live Show in 2015 Second Life,  Black Purrl is bringing ML back  to the stage to close our show at Haven Woods

To Air Show Concert Venue: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Haven%20Woods/169/7/21

 

The Beta Contributor Wall

 

 

 

I recently talked to Xavier Thiebaud, the interview to be published soon (when I am not interrupted by power outages). But he took me to a few places, some not commonly known. One was the Beta Contributor Wall, which had a list of over 1500 names of those who were in Second Life in it's Beta days, before it's official opening in June 2003. 

 

The 1500+ names here recognize the most active residents who made Second Life Beta a tremendous success. Whether you are still part of the journey, or someone we hope will one day return, you are all part of this community. 

A big thank you from all the Lindens and a promise of much more excitement to come.

 

The wall, located in the Plum sim, thanked them for helping make Second Life a tremendous success, and being a part of it's journey.

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plum/132/52/33

 

Veterans Tribute Opens

 

Yesterday on Wednesday November 1, the Veterans Tribute opened in Second Life. A salute to veterans in the United States and other places around the world, this location appears online very year at the start of November and is up until around the middle of the month. This is the seventeenth year the Tribute has taken place.

Come see the amazing venue Arinarose has built for us this year, on this awesome sim donated by Dram Seekers! I see new exhibits, a coffee shop, great cabin to relax by the fire, and the USS Enterprise joins us this year!

The main part of the Tribute is the memorial wall, also known as the Tribute Wall. It is made up of names submitted by SL residents to honor loved ones, friends, friends of friends, or anyone they feel deserves a stone from any branch of the military, not just from America's Armed Forces, but from any military from around the world, "Honoring those currently serving, those who have served, and those who have paid the ultimate price in defense of their country." Residents can fill out a notecard by touching the red box near the entrance and drop it in to request a new stone for someone. 

Other parts of the Tribute also deserve a mention. There are warplanes in the skies and military vehicles on the ground. There is a place honoring Canadian soldiers who were killed during the War on Terror. What's different this year is a build of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which will host the Marine Corps Ball later this month.

To celebrate the Tribute being up, there was a small party by the staff at 6PM SL time, with Dena McMahon as the DJ. CANA (Canaris Restless) invited those taking pictures to post them in the group Flickr, " or send them my way so we can put them in the gallery."

A fine tribute to the veterans of America, and it's friends.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Meadow%20Grove/113/147/22

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Tribute Ends

Sometime late Monday Night November 14, the Veterans Tribute came down. The island had been opened on November 1, a tribute to veterans. While aimed primarily at American veterans, other nations weren't forgotten as the Memorial Wall had numerous flags, and the stones had numerous small American and Canadian flags rezzed by visitors. There were a few small events following Veterans Day, the last one on Monday night having a few last minute visitors.

"A shout out and thank you to everyone that made this years Tribute amazing."

Veterans Tribute Open

 

 

The Second Life Veterans Tribute is up and open to the public. Every November, this location appears on the map as a homage to veterans. There are various locations such as the September 11 memorial and the event stage. But the main location is the memorial wall, which is made up of bricks representing those who served. This is the 16th showing 

 

The Newser has written about some of the men on the wall, such as Lohti Aeon and one group of Iraq War Marines who didn't make it home alive. 

Those interested in DJing or otherwise performing for the event are invited to fill out this Google Doc (link).

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stony%20Brook/249/29/24

A Marine's Story (2011)

 

Memorial Day has many stories. One would first be told one Veterans Day in 2011. At the Second Life Veterans Tribute, Laken Titanium, a US Marine in real-life, was introduced to me. He had a story to tell, not of himself, but rather of a number of his platoon whom sadly never made it home. 

Read the story from 2011 in People.
 

The Second Life Veterans Tribute

 

Veterans Day / Remembrance Day is in six days. But since November 1, one place in Second Life has been doing a homage to veterans: the Veterans Tribute. This year marks the fifteenth the Tribute has appeared in Second Life. It is known for it's Memorial Wall, which lists the names of hundreds of veterans, past and present. But there are also a few events going on.

Read more in Places.
 

Veteran's Tribute Returns

 

Veterans Day, known as Remembrance Day in Europe, will be coming soon. And the Second Life Veteran's Tribute is back in the virtual world.

Welcome to the 14th Annual SL Veteran’s Tribute for 2020.  This is the 14th annual Veteran’s Tribute that we have put together.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The Tribute opened on Halloween, and is scheduled to remain open until November 17. As before, there are a number of exhibits around, such as Battleship Beach and the Canadian Memorial. The largest of these is the Memorial Wall, which is made up of bricks representing a soldier whom served (or occasionally a group) either from a recent conflict or one from the past. A few, such as Lothi Aeon, have been residents of Second Life. 

There is a stage, and so far there have been events most days the Tribute has been open. But there doesn't seem to be a set schedule, so to keep track of when musicians play and other announcements, one can join the SL Veteran’s Tribute group. At the stage was a sign for the Fearless Nation PTSD support group. People have also been invited to contribute to the Tribute's Flickr page, "Share your pictures with us we want to see it through your eyes!"

The Veterans Tribute is located at WideWorld Vezuvio (121/127/22).

Bixyl Shuftan

Berlin Wall Display in Second Life (2008)

It was thirty years ago this month that the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War and the failure of Communism, was opened and began to be taken down. For years, the city of Berlin was divided, the state of East Germany keeping it's subjects behind a barrier of concrete, barbed wire, minefields, and guards with orders to kill anyone trying to flee. Hundreds died trying to cross it before it the guards began letting people through and over in in November 1989. For Baby Boomers and Generation Xers old enough to know, the fall of the wall was history in the making, a revolution without a shot being fired. But for younger generations, many know little to nothing about it. In November 2008, a Christo Larsen built a Berlin Wall exhibition in Second Life, detailing the history around The Wall. The article was originally published in Second Life Newspaper that month.

Read the republished article in Places.

AGRA Racing

Second Life isn't really a "game," though one can play games inside it. Among activities one can do are races, and one can find a few racetracks around the Grid. But how about one in which your car goes up and down walls? At the AGRA racetrack, you drive a car out of a sci-fi setting, and race on a track that not only offers challenging twists and turns, but takes you up and down the walls. I had a few words with two of the people behind this unique race in Second Life, at United Furry Outpost, as well as seeing it in action myself.

Read the story in Design.

Veterans Tribute 2017

Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day as it's known in some countries, is in a couple days on Saturday November 11. And as it has every year for the past 11 years, the Veterans Tribute has appeared in Second Life. The place is mainly a memorial wall in which each of the stones have a name or names of many veterans, American, Canadian, and others, of wars current and in the past. While a few of the names are among the living, most on the wall either died in action or passed away in peacetime. The center of the tribute is a memorial flame surrounded by a ring of flowers, a ring of water, and the five flags of the five branches of the US military.

The Second Life Veterans Tribute Group is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers (both civilians and ex-military) who have come together to build a Veteran’s Tribute in Second Life. The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

Visitors can request a new stone be carved in honor of someone by putting the name and some information on a notecard, and putting it in one of the mailboxes  There are also roses and flags near the start that people can get and place inside the memorial. There are also planes up for display, and a small POW memorial.

The Newser has reported on the Tribute for the past several years, including that of onetime Second Life resident Lothi Aeon/Jacob D. Borton, and when one Marine told the story of his fallen comrades.

The Tribute will be up until November 13th.

Silent Reverie (162/186/36)

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Veterans Tribute

Real life news has been dominated by the results of the US Presidential Election, and reactions to it. But other events go on. Among them the Sixth Annual Second Life Veterans Tribute. Made up of a memorial wall to honor American and other veterans of wars current and past, the Tribute has appeared in some form every year since 2010, built and set up by the Second Life Veteran's Tribute Group.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.
The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The center and main feature is the memorial wall. Each brick represents a veteran, or sometimes a group of veterans. While a few are still living, most have passed on or were killed in action. Among them is Lohti Aeon/Jacob Burton, whom had a friend in the Sunweaver Estates, and one group of Iraq war veterans whose story was told by a comrade who survived what they were unable to. In the middle is small garden with flags of the US armed forces around it. But US veterans are not the only ones honored, as is evidenced by a small memorial to fallen Canadian soldiers.

While there, I ran into AdamRamsey, whom had been on the team earlier but took a break,  "I remember when that thing first came out. ... Wow, it has grown. This is amazing. I can't believe I took a few years off." He told me he was going to get together with Wildrose Pevensey, one of the team.

The tribute is located at Crossing Sands III (16/124/30).

Bixyl Shuftan

News and Commentary: More on The Trump Wall

With supporters of two different US Presidential candidates from two different parties making their presence felt in Second Life, one for Donald Trump and another for Bernie Sanders, eventually there would be some kind of problem between the two. And a large problem it was, in the form of a section of wall erected by supporters of Trump towering over the Sanders HQ. Since it's appearance, I've talked to the leaders of both groups. Besides a difference in opinion on who should get the nomination, the two disagree about the intent on what the "Trump Wall" is about.

Read the article in Extra.

Political Feud Between New Trump and Sanders HQs

While writing my long-delayed article on the Bernie Sanders HQ, I decided to drop in on the place. It seems not only has the place expanded and moved to another spot on the sim, but it has a new neighbor: Trump supporters.

With Trump's call for a wall across the US-Mexico border, it seems a few of his supporters have bought some land next to the Bernie Sanders area in Caspoli, and constructed a wall standing 180m from sea level, with barbed wire on top and fireworks exploding around. The Trump side shows one large American flag painted onto the concrete. The side toward the Sanders HQ shows both US flags, Trump campaign signs, and a picture of Donald Trump pointing over the wall. A word balloon over the image taunts Macaria Wind, the owner of the Sanders HQ, saying hundreds got to the Trump HQ by clicking on the wall, "We have twenty times more traffic! I keep winning! You can't stump the Trump!"

The owner of the wall, whom is listed as different from it's creator, had this in her profile: "I do not endorse any political candidate in this jank arse election. I just help friends that do." One of the neighbors in the Sporminore sim to the south reacted by erecting a picture of some creature, labeled "Trump."

Longtime users of Second Life might recall "The War of the Jessie Wall" (New World Notes), which happened very early in Second Life's history and what Hamlet Au described as "what happens when cultures clash and territories are disputed; when people misinterpret rules, or misapply them. It's about political debate, and what we believe to be political at all, depending on where we're from, and what assumptions we take with us, when we come here. And because you often learn the most about yourself when you come into conflict with others, it's also about the Second Life community's first challenge to define themselves." While there were no signs of shooting, it seems the verbal debate is being expanded into a virtually physical one, at least with walls.

The new and expanded Sanders HQ is at Caspoli (45/37/46). Turning around, you should be able to see the wall some distance away from there.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wildroses Pevensey On The Veterans' Tribute

Last week, the yearly Second Life Veterans' Tribute took place. After I first wrote about this year's tribute, I had a chance to talk to it's curator, Wildroses Pevensey. Wildroses had a few things to say about the event, saying it was a bit tiring, but had absolutely no regrets.

Read the interview in Events.

Veterans Tribute in Second Life

It's Veterans Day, and what's become a yearly tradition has returned to the Grid, the Second Life Veterans Tribute. Made up of a memorial wall to honor American and other veterans of wars current and over history, the Tribute has appeared in some form every year for several years, built and set up by the Second Life Veteran's Tribute Group.

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and are non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

The main feature of the Veteran's Tribute is the memorial wall. Each brick represents a veteran or group of veterans. Visitors can request a new brick be built in honor of someone by putting the name and some information on a notecard, and putting it in one of the mailboxes there. There are hundreds of named bricks, and some room for more. The wall is set up around a central fountain with the US Armed Forces flags flying overhead. The main entrance is at a landing craft, leading to one section of wall decorated with a number of nations' flags. One can also place flowers, flags, or yellow ribbons at the wall.

Besides the memorial wall, there are smaller memorials around, such as the Canadian Veterans in Afghanistan memorial, the Fort Hood plaque, and the POW empty chair tribute.

The Tribute has been the scene of events in the past. This year, there will be several musicians, live and DJs, performing there.

4PM: Strum Diesel

5PM: DJ MaxPower Gordic

6PM: Lee Winegarden

7PM: DJ Bannock Ogg

8PM: Tristyn Homewood

9PM: Gibson

The Newser has covered the Tribute each year since 2010.  There have been a number of stories about it from Lohti Aeon/Jacob Burton, to one Marine whom made sure his fallen comrades would be honored, and more.

The Tribute this year is at Thundering Falls (248/12/22)

Bixyl Shuftan

Berlin Wall Display in Second Life (2008)

For those of the Baby Boom and Gen X generations, Europe was a different place in the recent past that it was now. Following the Second World War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, the Soviet Union and it's satellite states keeping it's people in with barbed wire, minefields, and border guards with orders to kill. The most visible spot was the Berlin Wall, which was set up around West Berlin, a spot of territory inside East Germany where citizens could live under a democracy. After it's construction, many died trying to cross it. In November 2008, a Christo Larsen built a Berlin Wall exhibition in Second Life, detailing the history around The Wall. The article was originally published in Second Life Newspaper that month.

Read the republished article in Places.

Veterans Tribute in Second Life

Every year about this time in Second Life, a temporary memorial is set up for veterans past and present, the Second Life Veterans Tribute. Unlike some other memorials, it is not static. Visitors can contribute names to its Memorial Wall.

Read more about the Veterans Tribute in Places.

The Veterans Tribute Memorial Wall

By Bixyl Shuftan

During this Veterans Day weekend, there was a special exhibit set up in the Southfield sim: the Veterans Tribute memorial wall.

 On Veterans Day, I gave the place a visit. The landmark I was given took me to a small replica of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was facing the memorial wall in front of me.  The total amount of ground made up a quarter sim. It was made up of a fountain with four sections of wall to the northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest. Each of the sections was made up of bricks, each with the name of a veteran given by a resident. The bricks have the soldier's name, plus rank and branch of service plus either a date or what conflict the soldier took part in. There were a couple bricks for veterans of the Revolutionary War and Civil War, though most were for World War Two and more recent conflicts such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. One brick was for the late Second Life resident Lothi Aeon, whom in real life was Army Specialist Jacob D. Borton.

Most of the names are American, but the wall is open to all and some were in honor of veterans from other nations. The flags of a number of democracies fly over the memorial. Around the wall are a number of smaller memorials such as one for Canadian servicemen whom did not survive their time in Afghanistan. Over the central fountain itself flew flags of the US Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, with a flame burning in the center, with a statue of a rifle stuck into an unoccupied pair of boots with a helmet on top, a symbol of a soldier fallen in battle, with the following chiseled in stone behind it:

Without you standing sentinel, and ever must you be,
Without you standing sentinel, not one would long live free.

There are also a few combat vehicles set up, plus a few aircraft in the air. Trees and rock separated the exhibition from the rest of the sim. Bordering the sim edge was a strip of poppies. 

While there, one of the Tribute staff was there, Wildroses Pevensey. She greeted visitors, whom included a number who were veterans in real life. She told me that the exhibit had been up for three days, and was due to be taken down the next day. In previous years, the Veterans Tribute was part of larger events, and part of a sim-wide display that was up for a week, "We've had to scale back."

The following day, the memorial was gone, in storage until Veterans Day next year.

Bixyl Shuftan