Scene From the Weekend: Bay City

Bay City held it's parade yesterday, part of a busy weekend that included the Steelhead St. Helens party, the Relaystock, Mystery's Eighth anniversary, and more. We'll soon have a full report, with pictures, of the Grid's most noted annual city street parade.

Mount Saint Helens Erupts in Steelhead

Last week in the Steelhead sim, there were some signs that the highest mountain in the region, Mount St. Helens, was due for an eruption. And on Friday May 16, it blew.

And what did this motley group of mad scientists, elves, faries, weres, and others do when the mountain blew it's top, exposing a lava dome? They threw a party. Fuzzball Ortega was the DJ for the event. The lava and rocks were not static. Once in a while, a dome would bubble up, followed by a mini-eruption, "Oops lava bombed again." "Dang eruption threw me off my nifty steps."

The partiers wore some red and orange dresses, or at least some pretty thick shoes. Well, most of them, "I really wish you'd have given me fire resistant shoes before I plopped here." "(laughing out loud)  my feet are hot." "We test our fire-resistant outfits!" There were also a few firey avatars as well.

At one point, someone joked, "Now may I ask why we are all sacrificing ourselves to the almighty volcano god when really only one would suffice?" Someone promptly answered, "cuz no ones a virgin?" The result was chuckles, followed by more jokes, "Takes more sinners I guess." "We ran out of virgins. Hope the volcano's satisfied with lots of salmon meat."

Among those attending were sim owners Totallunar eclipse and  Tensai Hilra. Lunar told, "May 18th is the anniversary of (the) Mt St Helens eruption and coincidentally Tensai's real-life birrthday." Tensai joked, "the explosion was a warning to the world of my being born." There were a couple cakes, one chocolate, one a pile of waffle on a stick, that one could snack on.

Everyone had a good hot time.

The mountain is at the Steelhead St Helens sim (128, 131, 38)

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "SL11B Community Celebration Video No 6: Performers and Auditorium"

(Click here if the video fails to load)

The sixth of Saffia Widdershins' SL11B videos, "So you want to perform at the SL11B Community Celebration? You want to host an event in the Auditorium? The MadMan is here to advise you ... and warn of the dangers of juggling large numbers of live cows.".

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at last week's Creations for Parkinson's event, one avatar's face just stayed grey after the others came into view.

By Bixyl Shuftan

InWorldz Reaches 100,000 Accounts

This week, the virtual world of InWorldz reached a milestone. The official total number of residents passed the 100,000 mark. 

Daniel Voyager wrote the landmark number had been reached on May 15 at 6:37AM SL time. "It's taken almost 4 years to reach the 100,000 registered users milestone, and in another four years, I would imagine InWorldz (will have) reached the 200,000 ... mark if rates continue as they are."

Inworldz had a total of 1000 registered on February 16, 2010. It would take to June 20th that year to reach 5000, August 12 to hit 10,000, and Dec 12 to get to 25,000. It would take to Jan 15th 2012 to reach a total number of 50,000 users, and to May 3 2013 to get to 75,000 in number. 

Congratulations to InWorldz.

Press Release" Bay City Anniversary Music Schedule

As part of Bay City's Sixth Anniversary, enjoy a music extravaganza in the Bay City Fairgrounds on the 18th of May!

Performing will be Bay City's own GOSPEED RACER of KONA STREAM from 12:30-1:30 p.m. SLT, followed by Local kid CHRISTOV KOHNKE from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., ULTRAVIOLET ALTER from 2:30-3:30 p.m. SLT, and finally WINSTON ACKLAND from 3:30-4:30 p.m. SLT.

GOSPEED RACER (12:30-1:30 P.M. SLT)
"What is KONA Stream? It is my personal station I run from my home. I play mainstream pop and rock music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s along with soundtracks, novelty songs, mashups and light sprinkling of country. My current library has 13,000+ tracks in it"

CHRISTOV KOHNKE (1:30-2:30 P.M. SLT)
"Hi, I love to sing and play the guitar. I play pop music of all styles from all ages. I play in real life and find playing in SL a lot of fun. I love to play lead guitar too so don't be surprised if you hear me soloing over myself using a looping device that I use to record myself in the moment and then play over that. I pride myself in all of my playing be live and in the moment versus pre-recorded in any way."

ULTRAVIOLET ALTER (2:30-3:30 p.m. SLT)
"Hailing from Toulouse, France, Ultraviolet is a musician, sound designer, composer and artist working in live performances and art installations in virtual worlds."

WINSTON ACKLAND (3:30-4:30 p.m. SLT)
"Premier Second Life live performer and real life music professional, Winston Ackland provides smiles with his clever original works and quirky adaptations of obscure covers. Somehow, it all makes sense as audiences relax in a comfortable atmosphere and enjoy innovative songs crafted from a blend of rock, bossa nova, jazz and lounge. Winston is able to connect with in-world audiences like no other."

Event held at the Bay City Fairgrounds in North Channel, easily accessible by boat, car, walking , or teleport, and the end location of this year's parade. Come on down!

Bay City Fairgrounds, North Channel (103, 134, 28)

SL Video: "SL Furry Girls Badonkadonk"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Nydia Tungsten, "The Angels were feeling a bit country, so we used a song from Trace Atkins 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.' The dancers include Nydia, Brandi, and our special birthday girl Alleara."

Attack on Titan at Grenadine

Remember the "Attack on Titan" sim and game that made news last year? Theonlyjohnny Resident found a second one which one can just roleplay one, or they can do some combat gaming. But one just doesn't jump into the gaming, but first has to be approved and then has to go through a nine phase training course. So what did Theonlyjohnny think of the place and game? He tried them out and offers his review.

Read Theonlyjohnny's article in Design.

Creations For Parkinson's Raises Over 800,000 Lindens

Although the Relay for Life has been going in full gear with plenty of fundraisers and events, other charities have not only continued to hold events, but also do well in raising money. Earlier this week, the Creations for Parkinson's group held one of it's main events, its third annual benefit at the Sweetheart Jazz club. They were all out in trying to break their old record, and for thirteen hours their musicians performed for the crowd.

Read more about the fundraiser in Events.

Bay City In Flames Following Ever Dreamscape's Passing

Earlier this week, noted Bay City resident Ever Dreamscape died. While visiting the memorial set up for her at Daley Bay, (228, 60, 24) I noticed some flames nearby. It turned out their brewery was on fire! The source of the free drinks offered to newcomers was aflame. It was a sight that would bring tears to lovers of beer.

I contacted another noted Bay City resident, Marianne McCann, about the matter. She told me it wasn't just the brewery, so were "many other parts of the city, including at Dennis (sim). ... Right now, pretty much all of Bay City - Dennis seems to be aflame."

Why was the city aflame in the aftermath of Ever's death? Marianne told me this was all done in her remembrance, "Ever had a reputation around the city for being a firebug, amongst the creation of many other calamities.  And many of the residents of the city have, well, (been) taking up her torch, as it were, in her honor. I guess it's kind of a viking funeral. But, um, different."

Marianne had nothing but praise for Ever, "Ever came to Bay City in 2011, and in that time founded the Bay City Post, started our Oktoberfest and Miss Bay City events, helped in the creation of the Park Plaza hotel, expanded out Mole Day and Tree Lighting events, and Started the Bay City Rumble races. She was very much a part of the Bay City community. Some of the last work she did, back in March, was  laying the groundwork for this weekend's anniversary event."

How would Ever's Death affect Bay City in the long run. There are plans for a permanent memorial for her. On the issue of land, "she had sold all of her actual property some time back, and was sharing tier with some others here in the city, while renting some other land here." Activities she had started she had already handed to others or shared, "she had given me all the access to the Bay City Post. The events were already handled jointly between me and her. She had already handed the Rumble off to ADudeNamed Anthony. he Pen, where Espresso Yourself nights are hosted, was part hers. Pygar Bu and I have picked up her tier contribution there. Roc Plutonian owns the land the Post uses, as well as the Park Plaza and a DMV/Driving School/Insurance agency she was starting to work on when she took ill. Sylvia Tamalyn owns her Y-Stay apartments as well, and has for some time." So her legacy here would go on.

"Ever was a very complicated person. She came across in SL as a dumb, silly, unpredictable person that always appeared just before a disastrous, hilarious calamity. She was Chaos. But underneath all that was a kind soul, a person of great intelligence and drive, and the sort of person who - if she had it - would give you the shirt off her back. It's hard to describe how a person could, oh, show up at your door dressed as a shark, or walk into your pub as a monkey and set the place on fire could also be so beloved by the community, but she was."

"Also, from a personal standpoint, she is someone I will miss greatly. She helped keep me - and the rest of Bay City - moving forward."

For now, much of the city is a pyrophile's delight, flames licking away at the buildings as a tribute for it's late resident. While the flames will eventually fade away, the memory of Ever Dreamscape will go on.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL11B Sims In Progress

The sims for the Second Life Birthday celebration are online and on the map. This year, there is a total of twelve, eight of which are open to exhibitors.

SL11B Impressive
SL11B Spellbound
SL11B Electrify
SL11B Beguile
SL11B Astound
SL11B Fascinate
SL11B Wonderous
SL11B Enchant
SL11B Pizzazz
SL11B Astonish
SL11B Spectacular
SL11B Bear Island

This is a smaller number of sims than previous years. The SL11B blog conceded this, "making for a smaller but more streamlined event." But they insisted, "Smaller in size, but not smaller in energy. We have managed to fir all the usual buildings and event venues into a more compact area without compromising on quality." They also stated the smaller number of spaces for exhibitors meant that those applying to be exhibitors would have to act more quickly." Applications will be taken for a few more days until May 20th.

The sims themselves will be open to builders on May 30. The official birthday celebration will be from Sunday June 22 to Sunday June 29. The sims will remain open for several days afterwards for visitors to continue to see.

For more information, check the SL11B Blog.

And here is the fifth of the SL11B videos by Saffia Widdershins, "The Madman explains how Second Life businesses can apply to exhibit at the SL11B Community Celebration - and what they can and can't do here."



(Click here if the video fails to load)

Bixyl Shuftan

Rest in Peace Ever Dreamscape

In was announced in both Daniel Voyager's Blog and The "Poultry Report" that Second Life resident has died. Daniel reported that her son stated she had passed away from liver failure.

Ever joined up in 2007. She later became involved with events in Bay City (as did her real life son). She made a number of friends, many of which have continued to post condolences and talk of happier times with her in her profile feed.

A memorial was set up for ever at Daley Bay (228, 60, 24), near the Bay City Welcome Center. Uccie Poultry stated on her blog there are plans for a permanent memorial and talks with Linden Lab about preserving her properties.

Rest in Peace Ever Dreamscape.

Image credit: Benjamin Wahl 

Press Release: Relaystock

The Relay Rockers invite everyone to join them on May 17 and 18th for Relaystock, a multi team Relay For Life of Second Life event open to the first 60 teams to apply.

The event will feature 'Team Sites' around a 60s style festival stage.

Teams have been invited to bring Kiosks and Vendors, host 2 hour DJ segments on the stage and participate in one the most popular events this year, the Rocker's 2014 Celebrate Remember Fight Back Top DJ Competition.

"We have been fortunate to have participants from many teams in the CRFB Event" said Rockers Co-Founder Trader Whiplash. "RelayStock is our way of saying thank you for the huge support across the grid for our event.  It  affords every team the opportunity to share in a super fund raising event."

Nuala Maracas added, "This is just another example of the One Team concept in Relay. It doesn’t matter who's kiosk or vendor the donations land in, after all we are all on the same team in the end."

The event will be held at Relay dAlliez.  Relay dAlliez is dedicated to the memory of Alliez Mysterio, who founded the Relay Rockers team in 2005, with Trader and Nuala. Alliez was lost to breast cancer this past fall.  The sim has been available to any team for events at no cost,  a 10th anniversary gift to Relay from the Relay Rockers in honor of their own 10th Anniversary.

The Schedule:

Saturday May 17
8am Holocluck Henly  - Team Heart & Souls
10am DJRedRyder - Team Tiki Photography For Life
12noon  Nuala Maracas
1pm CRFB Semi Finals - Jay Sparrowtree
2pm CRFB Semi Finals - Dee Wolfe
3pm  CRFB SemiFinals - Chevelley Silentghost
4pm CRFB SemiFinals - Jordan Morgenrote
515 - DJ TBA - Team Sweet Magnolia's
7pm Fizban Underwood - Team Shadow

Sunday May 18th
8am Johannes 1977 - Team Tribute City Relayers
10am WolfTruheart - Sink the DJ - Team Unmasking A Cure
12 Trader Whiplash
1pm CRFB FINALIST #2
3PM CRFB FINALIST #1
5PM CRFB AWARD CEREMONY
515PM Trader Whiplash - BRING YOUR OWN KIOSK - ALL TEAMS

For More Information Contact Ariel Stormcrow, Relay Rockers Captain, CRFB Director
ariel@relayrockers.t1radio.com

Relay dAlliez (10, 9, 21)

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at the Fantasy Faire

By Bixyl Shuftan

Land of the Giants

Many older residents in Second Life remember the "Greenies Home" sim, a place that was two giant rooms that made visitors seem mouse-sized. While the Greenies have long left Second Life, there is a place in the Grid where one can explore giant rooms of which the size difference makes the ordinary look extraordinary. Second Life Newser found out about the location, and Gemma Cleanslate went to explore the huge builds, which had a number of fun activities as well.

Read more in Places.

Balanvi

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

Most people hear rentals and they think of a plot of land, for thousands of lindens a week. However that is not always the case. At Balanvi, the rentals are everything but pricey.

I know from experience. I have rented quite a few places in Second Life, but none of them compare to Balanvi. Not just in price, but in what you get with the price. In most cases, you either get what you pay for, or you get less than what you pay for. However with Balanvi, you get neither. You get more than what you pay for.

You not only get a good sized plot of land, but also get a fully furnished house. I paid L$ 299, for a week here, and I was amazed at what I received. The house could actually be changed, and not just between one or two others. I had a choice between the following numbers of houses,

40 General Rated Houses,
42 Mature Rated Houses,
54 Unfurnished Houses.

The sheer number of the houses to choose from was amazing, and even more amazing, instead of having to just move to a different piece of land, for a different house, you simply clicked a menu, chose your house, and it would rezz on your land. It was that simple, and easy. However it doesn't stop there. You also receive 100 prims to decorate the house however you like it.

Renting the house, is as easy as click and pay, actually, it is just click and pay. It is seriously that simple. All you do, is right click the mailbox, and pay it. If you pay for 4 weeks, you will receive a 10% discount, making it an even better deal.

As for the houses you can choose from, if you think they will be terrible, or they will all look a bit alike, don't worry, each house is completely different from the others. Each house is also amazing, and awesome looking.

When you first come to pick out a place, you should head to the mainstore. The mainstore is awesome, and it is where you will find which places are available. Take a look at all the places offered and then make your decision. Don't be afraid to come and take a look. It's an amazing sim. Even the owner is nice. He will help out, as soon as he can, and he isn't nasty, like some sim owners.

Even Balanvi's website is open and inviting. It has a help section, a place to look at the different houses, a section just about the referral system, and much much more. So take a look at the website too. /http://www.balanvi.com.

As I stated above, there is a referral system. If you refer someone to the sim, and they rent a place, then you will earn 50% commission of the first payment. When you have successfully referred someone, you must fill out a referral form, otherwise how will the owner know you have referred someone? It is just that easy. It not only helps get the word out about Balanvi, it also earns you some lindens, and finds someone else a place to stay. It really is a win-win-win situation, which is rare.

All in all, if you're looking for an actually affordable place to live, then come and check out Balanvi. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee it.

Theonlyjohnny Resident

Events This Week May 13 to May 19

The Fantasy Faire may be over, but there are other events this week in Second Life. Today is the Creations for Parkinson's Third Annual Benefit at the Sweethearts Jazz Club. This weekend is the Relaystock, in which a number of Relay for Life teams get together while musicians and DJs perform on stage at this 60's themed event. The "Queen of Hearts" club celebrates it's eighth year. And there are the regularly scheduled book and poetry readings, DJ music events, races, discussions, talk shows, and church services.

Read more in Events this Week.

Third Annual Benefit For Parkinson's at Sweetheart Jazz Club

In a press release, in addition to on the Second Life destination guide, it was announced that Creations for Parkinson's would be holding their third annual fundraiser event at the Sweethearts Jazz Club today, Tuesday, May 13, 2014. The event is twelve hours long from 8AM to 8PM.

Please join us for the biggest event of the year! 12 fun filled hours of contests, live singers, Dj's, and more! Sweethearts is all heart. Please join your heart with ours!!!

Creations for Parkinson's stated last year, they raised 756,000 Lindens. This year, their goal is a full one million Lindens.

Besides the event, one can also donate to Creations for Parkinson's through the "Team Fox" website (link), or their sim's donation globes: Creations Park (151/90/24).

Creations for Parkinson's is headed by Barbie Alchemi, whom started the organizations in honor of her parents, of whom her real-life mother appears in Second Life as Fran Serenade.

Sweethearts (42/147/23)

Press Release: Burn2 Conception 2014

Conception ­ a time to celebrate beginnings, and a time to celebrate the future, whether it is
that of Burning Man, our experience with it, or the people we have and will come to know
through it. How did we find these crazy folk we call Burners, how did we become Burners, and
do we see a future Burning bright?

Sometimes it is good to look back at where we came from, so we can see how far we have
come. A long, long, long, long, long time ago where we live now, looked much like our moon.
So as we look back at the start of the flame this year, let’s do it under the stars on a landscape
just waiting to come to life.

And so we call to the creators, builders and artists of Second Life: Bring this barren
playascape to life.  Ancient meteor showers pockmarked the playa full of craters ­ claim one
(choose a size ranging from 28m to 36m in diameter), then conceive, build, and enliven this
landscape. Will you create a past, present or future in your crater?

Some craters will overlap ­ make your Communal Effort, finding new friends by getting close.
Recycling bits of past builds is encouraged if you choose to look back. We love recycling!
Perhaps you’ll show where we are now, the present. For the future, give us some Radical
Self­Expression! Make something new in your crater, something ‘out there,’ ‘far out there’, far
into the future.  Where are we headed? Or, what is headed here?

Interested in Radically Participating as a builder/artist? Please review the builder’s
guidelines here: http://goo.gl/WjGtNG

Then click here to complete the application for a parcel crater at Conception 2014.
Application Deadline is 16th May 2014!

Please let us know when you have included us in your publications, as we link back to online
TV, magazine and blog posts at http://www.burn2.org/media_coverage. We would love to
include you! Just email a link to your content to communications@burn2.org, and we will
include it.

BURN2 is the virtual extension of the Burning Man festival and community into the world of
Second Life. It spreads Burning Culture and the Burning Man Ten Principles all year round.
BURN2 is one Burning Man regional, out of more than 100 first world Regional groups.

We encourage you to use the following labels and hashtags when you write about the event:
Burn2, #burn2 . We will promote those tags to make it easier for people to find your content.

Want more information? Check out these resources:
Website: http://burn2.org
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/burn2/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BURN_two
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BURN2BURNERS
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Burn2.SL/
Regional Page: http://regionals.burningman.com/regionals/cyberspace/second­life/
Contact people:
communications@burn2.org
Steering Committee: steering@burn2.org
BURNING MAN Regional Contact: secondlife@burningman.com

DrFran’s Alt Goes Hunting And Freebie-Finding

DrFran, or rather her alt, is back from checking out some shopping hunts. Here, she writes about three of the top ones, the Cotton Candy, the Chapter Four, and the "I'm Sexy and I Know It." And for each, she describes a few of the items to be had for free or nearly free.

Read DrFran's article in Fashion.