Burn 2 Begins Today

After weeks, perhaps months, or preparation, the Burn2 Festival is finally here. Starting today at 10AM SL time, the exhibits were opened to all to see. Come and see the Second Life adaptation of the real-life Burning Man music and art festival from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada attended by over fifty thousand people every year. While it's not quite that crowded in the Burn2 sims, this is a popular annual event, so be prepared for some lag, especially at peak traffic times. Those who arrive can expect to enjoy numerous art exhibitions and many music events.

The event lasts until October 26. While the "Burners" have made a few spinoff events around the year, there's only one Burn2. So don't dally.

Join the fun at Deep Hole (224, 92, 25)

For more information, check the Burn2 website: http://www.burn2.org/ . For pictures, check the group Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/burn2/pool/ 

Image credit Molly Montale

SL Video "Margaritaville"

(Click here if the video fails to load)

From Nydia Tungsten who did this for Dusk Griswold, "This was done by request from one of my Angels Dusk, I hope you like it angel. Dusk, Rita, Skylark, Pagan, Bixyl, and Nydia dance and surf their way to Margaritaville"

Questions and Answers With Ebbe Linden

Last week, Designing Worlds gave an early showing of their video of their interview of the CEO of Linden Lab, Ebbe Linden. To the surprise of the audience, Ebbe himself showed up as the video was coming to a close. He then offered the audience a chance to ask questions not covered in the interview, and for more than two hours we did.

Read Bixyl Shuftan's article in Extra.

October is PAIL Awareness

By Tiddily Winks

 Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but very few know it is also Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Remembrance.  October 15th of every year is a special day for everyone who has lost a child, either due to miscarriage or something else.  At 7pm on the 15th everyone will light a candle for their loss and for any loved one’s losses and let the candle or candles burn for one hour.  It is called Worldwide Candle Lighting.  This creates a wave of light around the world.  This can be done by anybody.  I do it for my daughter and for several friends who have also lost their babies for different reasons. 


    If you know someone who has lost a child for any reason, talk to them let them know you care for them.  And take it from someone who has lost a child herself, talk about the child. If you knew him or her tell the parent(s) what you remember about their child.  They may not show it right away but it will make them happy that someone else remembers their “baby.” 

    Also, you can find help for your loss and a friend’s loss.  Most people do not know that children are lost to some sort of death.  We need to get it out there more, show people that is does happen.  Let them know what can be done to help the parents of any children who pass away.  There is a wonderful group known as The Compassionate Friends that is very good at helping with loss.  They cover all sorts of loss and even have online support groups you can go to.  Their website is www.compassionatefriends.org.  I go to this group when I need help dealing with my loss even though it has been 5 years now.  Some cities have a local chapter of The Compassionate Friends as well.  One would just need to go on their website and it will tell them if there is one in their area.
   
Tiddily Winks

The New Raawr Fox Avatar

Last weekend, the Raawr avatar company released their latest version of their fox avatar, designed by Flower Leleu. Grease Coakes decided to check it out and see how it was. So what did he think?

Read Grease's review in Design.

Covadonga & Ruffian Writer's Anniversary Party

Covadonga Writer, a friend of the SL Newser whom has often hosted beach parties for the paper's crew, recently had her own party. October 15 is the anniversary of her and her partner Ruffian's relationship. And with Halloween just around the corner, they threw an anniversary party and gave it a spooky look in theme for the holiday.

 There were various costumes, some scary, some whimsical. Covadonga Writer sported a "Bride of Frankenstein" look while Ruffian came as the not so good Doctor. Other outfits included vampires, Borg, Wicked Queen, Phantom of the Opera, The Shadow, and others.

There were some funny Halloween songs played, such as "Blood Bank Blues," and "Monster Mash." And there were lots of jokes and puns tossed around, "Why does Transylvania University have a hard time getting students?" "The tuition's a pain in the neck."

Lots of fun was had by all.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Cova & Ruffian's anniversary and Halloween party. This Frankenstein monster is just lumbering around, looking like he either can't see or needs a good cup of coffee.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bryn Oh And More at the LEA

Among the artists best known in Second Life is Bryn Oh, whom has made a name for herself with her art displays arranged to tell a story. Now you can see various works by her over the years in "Retrospective" at LEA9. Gemma Cleanslate took a look at her exhibit, as well as that of Eliza Cabassoun in LEA9.

Read Gemma's article in Design.

Halloween Town

The Elizabeth Town sim, which changes every holiday, has brought back "Halloween Town," which offers chills and thrills, in the form of spooky shops, and scary displays.The town is set onto a hill with visitors arriving on top and the road winding down, with a haunted house at the bottom.

One thing new is the giant demon hand that will give anyone who hops aboard an overhead tour of the city, though exactly where it will drop you, I haven't seen.

There's also a pumpkin carving contest, with a list of rules and a sample pumpkin that can be picked up. There are 7000 Lindens in prizes to be given out, with 1600 going to the best overall, and 1000 each to the "Most Creative," "Most Scary," and "Most Artistic," with 550L and 250L to 2nd and 3rd.

Tanja Resident (Tina) is the one to send the pumpkins to, and those interested have until October 30 to send one. "Several of the creators who sell at Halloween Town will be judging. The votes will be collected and tallied by Laura Liberty. The winner's names will be posted at Halloween Town on October 31st.
You will be contacted by Laura Liberty if you are a winner."

Elizabeth Town (120, 103, 99)

Bixyl Shuftan

Dosbox

In his article for today, Wesley Regenbogen decided to take a look at computer gaming. He noticed many looked back at older games of the 1990s fondly, but with the latest versions of Windows had no way to play them. So what's the solution? A program called Dosbox.

Read Wesley's article in Other Grids and MMOs.

Crew Meeting

 Saturday October 4 was the day the Newser crew met for it's monthly meeting at our office in HV Community. Attending were Wesley Regenbogen, DrFran Babcock, Nydia Tungsten, Theonlyjohnny Resident, and Bixyl Shuftan (myself). Also there was Any1 Gynoid, a former CNN iReporter for Second Life, and Jian Allicot, whom expressed interest in Nydia's idea for broadcast news videos.

Dr Fran showed up a little early. She was back from a vacation in real life, and looking forward to writing again. As usual, she had a pet with her, this time a little piggy she insisted was "lunch." Heh, at that size, expensive bacon.

And with me putting the spotlight on Fran on her pets so much, well, turnout's fair play. Here I am with "Chilly," the Firekitty from the Firestorm anniversary party last month. It got a few jokes from Any1, whom brought up an infamous joke between Johnny Carson and Zsa Zsa Gabor about the pet cat she brought with her and was on her lap. ... well, infamous to me.

Never a dull moment around here.

Bixyl Shuftan

DrFran’s Alt Goes Shopping

After a vacation, DrFran is back, or at least her alt is. And she finally has a new Fashion article. With Halloween approaching, she checks out some Halloween hunts. So what did the intrepid alt scare up?

Read DrFran's story in Fashion.

SLife and Times: Fake or Cheating

Tiddily Winks recently thought about a certain issue. If someone's married in real life and engages in virtual intimacy online, isn't it cheating? She had heard some agree, though may make an allowance if the spouse knows what's going on. Others felt it's just another form of pornography. She expressed a few thoughts on the matter.

Read more in People.

Reader Submitted: United Federation Starfleet Pinastri Colony

UFS Pinastri Colony, home to United Federation Starfleet Headquarters and Academy. From the second one enters the parcel sounds of the hustle and bustle of StarTrek and its universe float gently through the air. Several Ships, information about them, and notecard givers that provide you about this wonderful place can be found just a few meters away from the entry point of the parcel.

The staff is not only friendly, but is also quite diverse and welcoming. Even the most inexperienced of people are welcomed to come and visit and learn more about role playing as a Starfleet member at the Academy, which is conveniently located on sim. The staff also has a policy of tolerance of all persons, which will help to calm the nerves of even the most skiddish SL Resident. The decor and build of the sim is quite easy to navigate and signs help prevent newcomers from becoming lost as they transverse the sim.

There is also a club for the more partygoing residents if you are so inclined. If you love StarTrek I personally recommend this sim.

United Federation Starfleet, UFS Pinastri Colony (25, 242, 48)

Neosordo Resident

Cartoon of the Day

Hamlet Au (James Wagner), the head of New World Notes, has been quite a rival for the SL News audience, at least in the past. Lately though he hasn't been reporting on Second Life as he once has. In April 2011, we both dropped in on a Japanese charity event, and to my surprise he was in the Japanese schoolgirl avatar. He told me he was testing the "basic mode" for newcomers on the official viewer at the time, and he somehow got stuck as a girl due to a glitch. My response was over a minute of laughing gestures, "Oh you are SO cartooned!"

So after three years, here you go Hamlet.

Bixyl Shuftan

Three of My Questions at Ebbe Linden's Q & A Session

Second Life Newser is still working on the full article of the Question and Answer session Ebbe Linden had following Saffia Widdershin's showing of the video of her interview with him. So while we're working on the article, here's a sneak peek.

I brought up a question that some, such as Hamlet Au of New World Notes and Ciaran Laval, wondered about, "Recently Blizzard Entertainment announced they were stopping work on their planned MMO 'Titan,' partly because the company felt it would just end up draining users from it's existing game, World of Warcraft, which while having fewer customers from it's prime is still doing good. Is it possible the development of SL 2.0 as it's called could be shelved for similar reasons?"

Ebbe's response was, "Bixyl, Blizzard stopped because they did not think it would be good enough, very brave call by them after so many years of hard work, so failure can and do happen and could happen to us. But I spend almost no time contemplating failure (grin)."

There was no mention about Linden Lab's "Minecraft" spinoff "Patterns," which was shelved a few days later.

Another thing I've heard time and time again was people expressing regret over popular sims vanishing, such as "The Wall," and the Sept. 11th memorial at "World Trade Center." So I asked, "Over time some noted sims have faded away, such as the Vietnam Memorial. In the past one popular sim was brought back by Linden Lab: Svarga. Might there be more sims, such as memorials, that could also be revived?"

Ebbe answered, "Bixyl, we can't run those experiences ourselves. So if the creator leaves then their creation ultimately (goes) unless someone takes over. Otherwise you're asking us to provide discounts to some in some way. (I'm) not sure how to do that in a scalable and proper way."

So then how were they able to bring back Svarga? And in the case of memorials would it not be a simple matter of talking to the creator to see if there was anything other then keeping them running as they were?

My third question was about Linden Lab rewriting the conditions third party Linden exchangers, such as Podex, could do business, "Last year, Linden Lab told third party Linden exchangers if they wanted to remain in business, they could no longer buy Lindens for real world currencies. When I interviewed one of the smaller 'land barons' he told me this has affected his desire to do business as he can no longer cash out instantly but has to wait for his money. One resident from France told me he has a pile of Lindens he wishes he could sell for Euros but can't. Is there any possibility that licensed exchangers can go back to being able to both sell and buy Linden dollars?" This question got some remarks from the audience along the lines of (yes, can they?)

Ebbe however told us no, Linden Lab would not change their terms to allow third party Linden exchangers to buy Lindens for real world currencies, but they would fix the official Linden dollar exchanger's problems, eventually, "Bixyl, I think there are compliance matters that made us change those exchange rules, and we're working to add other payment platforms that provide more geo/currency options."

But I'd found a question that resonated with several members, and they continued to talk about it for several more minutes. 

Stay tuned for the full article, coming soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Second Life Cheerleading Squad Onboard the SS Galaxy - Lost in Music"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Steffy Lavender, "The Second Life Cheerleading Squad on board the Galaxy Cruise Ship, dancing and performing in the Great Ballroom. 10. February 2012."

Linden Labs Ceases Development of "Patterns"

On a press release yesterday, Linden Lab announced that it was stopping all work on it's sandbox game "Patterns." There will be no further development and the game will no longer be for sale. Linden Lab will no longer be keeping multiplayer functions operating, though those who bought the game will still be able to play it in single player mode okay.

Recently, Linden Lab announced that we are working on an ambitious project to create the next-generation virtual world, while we continue to improve Second Life and grow Blocksworld. As we focus on these priorities, we have ceased development for Patterns, and we will be no longer offering the game for sale.

We at Linden Lab are extremely grateful for the adventurous early players who explored the Patterns genesis release. Those who purchased the Patterns genesis release will still be able to play their copies of the game, but features relying on server connections, such as world-sharing, will not be functional.

Patterns had early promise, and while Linden Lab focuses our efforts on our other offerings, we are still evaluating the future of the Patterns technology. Interested parties are welcome to contact us with proposals.

Patterns was announced by Linden Lab in September 2012. People quickly noticed it's strong similarity to "Minecraft," though gravity played a role in the game. Linden Lab was appealing to gamers with this product in their strategy at the time to diversify it's product line. But it failed to generate much of a following or an income for Second Life.

The cancellation of Patterns by Linden Lab leaves just three operational products in it's line,"Blocksworld," "Desura," and of course Second Life.

Source: Linden Lab 

Bixyl Shuftan

A Look Back at the VWPBE 2014

In April, the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference took place in Second Life, noted for the appearances of Philip Rosedale, the former Philip Linden, and Ebbe Linden, the new CEO of Linden Lab whom was giving his first speech in front of an inworld audience. Celene Highwater was there, and wrote about what she saw then.

Read more in Events.

Overview of the "Designing Worlds" Interview with Ebbe Linden

By Bixyl Shuftan

A few days ago, "Designing Worlds" had a public preview of the video of their interview with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Linden (Ebbe Altberg). They asked Ebbe a number of questions.

(Click here if the video fails to play)

Of Ebbe's running Second Life since February 2014, "It's fairly close to what I expected." His most unpleasant surprise was seeing how far the company had "disconnected itself from the community." What excited him the most was the communities and how people cooperated "to make things happen ... whether it's games, education, art ... the fact this is all user-generated ... that just wows me every day." He commented, "the energy here at the office has gone up quite a bit since I got here."

Of the new user experience, Ebbe told that they were continuing to make improvements to the mesh avatars that were now the new default ones for newcomers, and reminded they could always change to the older prim ones. He mentioned that they were trying to solve what he called the "deadface," which his avatar's lack of facial movement showed. He talked about the difficulties of the "transition period" of having two types of avatars, prim and mesh, on the Grid, and having to respond to bugs and complexities. Of welcome Island, they were "working with some groups that are doing some user-generated welcoming experiences." He talked about about how the Lab could work with volunteers to improve the Second Life experience, "because ultimately there are too many experiences in something like Second Life ... we don't even understand them all or know that they even exist."

Several communities had gotten Ebbe's attention as special, notably Berlin where his son spent some time in, "How it's grown over the years and the incredible community engagement."

Ebbe told that he was aware about how uneasy residents could be about changes at times, but felt that over the past eleven years the Lab "has done a pretty good job" in making sure changes didn't interfere with how things already were on the Grid, "We don't have any plans right now to do anything that would be destructive to what you can so in Second Life today."

Of the Terms of Service issue, "I wasn't here, but I think the way it was rolled out created more complications than that the change actually was. ... understanding the needs of the community is critical." "We opened up JIRA again so that people can log specific issues with us ... we're constantly on top of that to make sure that we understand what's going on out there." Other than communications, "there's probably nothing you can get everybody to agree on because everybody has very different needs, depending on what they are trying to achieve."He would later remind, "we're trying to make it clear to people that the content is yours, and we just want to have sufficient protections to protect ourselves."

The Lab is working on the chat lag issue, "we're better today than we were a few months ago." "We have some other goodies coming. Performance-wise there are a couple projects I have high hopes for," texture loading and improving the speed of data flow between the server and client.

On the issue of last names, "It's on the list of ...things Oz and Danger (Linden) would like to tackle."

Of SL 2.0, "we really started to devote and put in significant resources on it and really go after it about four months ago. We're probably three or four weeks away from having our first internal milestone." "Getting close" to have users able to import content and script. Guessed that the alpha release would be "somewhere (of the) middle of next year." Ebbe was pleased with their progress so far and was optimistic of how it would go, "It's going to ve a fun ride."

The decision to make SL 2.0 closed source was because of "simplicity," and wanting to work quickly. He says there would have to be some level of stability before they could make it open-source. "It wasn't that we didn't want to go open source. It was (A) that we wanted to not as extra labour on ourselves at the beginning ... and (B) we want to focus on extensibility ... we didn't want to add that extra complexity."

Of the third-party viewers, he felt "most of that they're doing new is creating new user interfaces and new features that actually work against the back-end we have. ... I don't think the viewers ... did a lot of innovation in the back end of things, it's more of the front end."

Of the transition to SL 2.0, he again told not to expect to being able to take all of your inventory over, as it would "put an extreme burden on this new product ans we would just spend more time just getting back to where we are versus being able to focus more energy on moving into the future." While mesh objects are "very likely" to be able to be transferable, "it's going to be a completely different scripting language."

But SL 2.0 would "tale a tremendously long time" for it to be able to Second Life residents the experience they already enjoy, "This place is great, stay here for a long, long time. ... If three years from now this is still a better place ... then so be it." Although the platform has a code name, it hasn't been released as "we haven't fully checked to see it it's a legal, valid ... name to be using in a product."

When asked about intellectual property rights, "I think we've done a lot. We've done more than most, if not more than everybody to try to more sure to protect people's IP." "It's a delicate balance to try to make the things simple and easy and still give people sufficient protection ... to create and develop ... and not have all their work instantly being ripped off."

"Tell me all your wishes and needs and hopes! ... We look at it all, read the forums. I go in every two weeks and spend hours and hours reading the threads on the forums."

Inara Pey has a full transcript of the interview on the Modem World blog.  Daniel Voyager has a brief outline of the interview's highlights.

There was also a Q and A session after the public viewing, which the Newser will publish soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

Space Week in Second Life

It's World Space Week in both real life and Second life, and there were some events this week on the Grid that made note of the occasion. The majority of them were in the sci-lands, but there were other events such as one in Steelhead and one not far from the Newser office at the Vinyl Museum club. At one event, there was a former Linden whom is still making his presence felt on the Grid.

Read more in Events.

Statistics for Summer 2014

Daniel Voyager published a list of statistics a few days ago. They show a continued slow decline of the number of sims across the Grid.

The total number of sims is 25,836, down from 26,100 from three months ago, and 26,729 from a year ago.

The total number of private estates is 18,824, down from 19,080 and 19,645.

The total number of Linden-owned sims is 7,012, down from 7,040 and 7,084.

There were a couple positives in the numbers. The number of private estates grew by 24 in August and by 1 in September. But these obviously haven't been enough to offset the overall decline.

Of the concurrency levels, they've been reaching a maximum daily peak of 52,000, down from 56,000, and a low of 28,000, down from 30,000.The median daily concurrency has gone down from 42,000 to 41,000.

Daniel noted there have been a total of 10,000 to 13,000 accounts being created every day, estimating that the 40 million mark of the total number of accounts created will occur soon. However, only a small fraction of those accounts have so far seen a second day of use.

Daniel Voyager got the statistics from the Second Life Grid Survey, and Second Life Statistical Charts.

Cartoon of the Day

Another one from the Green Mire II party by Madpea. You never know what seemingly harmless pranks in the past can come back to "haunt" you.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Puddle Jumper

In the top of the Sunweaver Estates group is a region called Pacific Waters owned by Cynthia Farshore who has made it totally open to the public. The main feature on the sim is Farshore Field, a small one strip airfield to be used by all. Nestled up in a corner of the airfield is The Puddle Jumper Mall owned and operated by Cynthia Farshore, a two story building located at Pacific Waters (62, 89, 31).

The Puddle Jumper's start was very slow and after months of her own product construction being constantly put on hold, Cynthia came across an idea other sellers had started, affiliate selling. She realized that filling this mall with just aviation items was not going to lead to much. So the answer was to department the store. After some contacts, she was able to pull in quality products that covered a wide range of subjects. There is Talevin's Designs which covers magic supplies, portals, magician typing overrides, weapons, jewelry, and even tiny petite products for fairies.

As far as the modern world, in addition to her own creations Cynthia has brought in products from J&L Creations to cover building tools, low prim houses, skyboxes and the tools to make one, Landscape gardening, scripting gadgets.

In addition to being the Owner of an airfield and store Cynthia is a DJ so no surprise she would bring in electronics. Two large vendors from DSL Records stuffed with 101 items from a complete DJ stage to DJ animations and equipment. A wide assortment of guitars, drum sets, pianos, keyboards, speakers, Media player TVs, radio tuners and audio controls. Now in her latest move, she’s proud to announce that The Puddle Jumper is an official reseller of The Golden Oriole steampunk merchandize! The mall has become as a department store containing Medieval/Fantasy; Contemporary; Electronic; and finally a Steampunk section. Ever looking for new items she hopes to increase the inventory into clothing lines next along with the possibility of reinstalling rental space.

Cynthia Farshore

A Question of Uniqueness

What makes you unique in Second Life. That's the question that got my attention recently. Thinking about it, I brought the question up to others, and there were a number of responses. So what did various people say?

Read more in People.

Running Into CEO Ebbe Linden

Yesterday afternoon, Monday October 6 begining at 2PM, there was an early showing of Designing World's 250th episode, an interview of Ebbe Linden (Ebbe Altberg), the CEO of Linden Lab by Saffia Widdershins and Erik Merlin. About 3:39, who should show up but Ebbe Linden himself for a Q&A session.

Stay tuned for details of what took place.

A transcript of the interview is available on Modem World. 

Preparing For The Burn

It's less than two weeks away from the start of Burn2. While in the past we've had someone reporting things from the inside, this year we have no imbedded reporter. So we're keeping track of things from any Press releases and website updates, as well as pictures of the event.

The action begins on Saturday October 18, so be there at the Playa.

Website: http://burn2.org/

Flckr group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/burn2/pool/

Image from Pygar Bu

Darkwood

One of Gemma Cleanslate's favorite places to explore is the Calas sims, which change from season to season. For October, there's something a little different this time. There's a Halloweenish display somewhat based on the dark side of Middle Earth in "The Hobbit," “We took a few liberties …  some could say more than a few."

Read Gemma's story in Places. 

Press Release: 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo & Winter Breedable's Fair Registration

Registration for the 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo & Winter Breedable’s Fair is now open!  The following link is the registration page for the 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo: http://slchristmasexpo.wordpress.com/shop-registration/.  To register for the 2014 Winter Breedables Fair, please visit the following link: http://slbreedables.com/shop-registration/.  Both the expo and fair have a variety of merchant and non merchant sponsorships. You can view these sponsorships at the following link:  http://slchristmasexpo.wordpress.com/expo-sponsors/

The fourth annual Second Life Christmas Expo & Winter Breedable's Fair will be held on December 4 to 15, 2014 and is a mega event that raises funds for Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL). 100% of registration fees, sponsorship fees, kiosk donations, hunt, raffle, auction, and vendor donation items are paid to Relay For Life of Second Life. Relay For Life of Second Life is part of the American Cancer Society and is a virtual version of the real life Relay For Life. You can find more information about RFL of SL here:  http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/ .

The 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo and Winter Breedable Fair will consist of both holiday and non holiday items from some of the best creators and designers in Second Life, spread across 8 sims! The Winter Breedable Fair will feature a special one of a kind (OOAK) breedables auction. Both the Expo and Fair will feature special events, including live performances, djs, the Holiday of Hope Ball, Hunt For the Bells, Naughty Or Nice, a Christmas Tree Lot, Ornament Auctions, and of course photos with Santa!

The 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo and Winter Breedable Fair  Coordinator will be Dawnbeam Dreamscape. Jessii2009 Warrhol will be the 2014 Second Life Christmas Expo & Winter Breedables Fair Co-Coordinator.

About Relay For Life of Second Life:
Relay For Life of Second Life is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year.  Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from mid-March through mid-July. In July teams build campsites and walk a track, just like a Real World Relay.  Since 2005, Relay For Life of Second Life has raised over $2.25 million USD for the American Cancer Society. In 2013, Relay For Life of Second Life has raised over $390,000 for the American Cancer Society.  Relay For Life has become an international movement in RL and SL.  In 2011 participants from over 80 countries took part in Relay For Life of Second Life.

About the American Cancer Society:
For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together with millions of our supporters worldwide, we help people stay well, help people get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer.

For More Information:
http://slchristmasexpo.wordpress.com/
http://slbreedables.com/
www.relayforlifeofsecondlife.org
www.cancer.org

SL Video: "The Drax Files: World Makers (Episode 23: Loz Hyde)"

(Click Here if the video fails to load)

"Although 3D designer loz Hyde has a creative day job - he is getting paid to breathe digital life into Hollywood blockbusters such as Terminator and Guardians of the Galaxy - the user-created universe of Second Life holds a special place in his heart: 'People have tried to analyze why SL is so successful and yes, the environments are beautiful, but I am more touched by the people!' Among his many contributions to the community of colorful avatars is the now iconic "Arcade" building, which is inspired by the Brighton Pier in loz' native England. The Arcade in SL serves as a beloved destination for many residents during the Gacha series of events."

"Loz Hyde runs the 'Meshworx' store in Second Life, where he sells his unique furniture and buildings to a global userbase.  Most' Meshworx' designs feature aspects that originate by loz' real life surroundings in California but in a rather subtle way: loz often goes out to photograph surfaces, materials, mechanical objects as well as details in nature that tell a story. He then manipulates and layers these images to create dense textures, which he subsequently applies to his virtual designs.

"'I promote Second Life like you would not believe' he explains, by showing off snapshots on his mobile phone to colleagues in the VFX community in Hollywood. 'In SL you can do whatever you want and that is the empowering thing. If more people knew that, more people would use it!'"

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at the Green Mire II Madpea party. For those who don't get the punchline, (Click Here - note some profanity ).

By Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: World Space Week

World Space Week: an international celebration of science and technology, and their contributions to the betterment of the human condition. Founded in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly, World Space Week is held every year on October 4-10.

These dates commemorate two events:
    October 4, 1957: Launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space exploration;
    October 10, 1967: Signing the U.N. Treaty on Principles Governing the Activites of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (The "Outer Space Treaty").

Each year, the World Space Week Association selects a theme for the upcoming World Space Week (WSW). The theme for 2014 is “Space: Guiding Your Way” featuring the benefits of satellite navigation to society.

http://www.worldspaceweek.org


The National Space Society, International Spaceflight Museum, other space groups and technical volunteers bring special World Space Week events to Second Life:

Oct 4th Saturday, 4-6pm SL time -- Party time!  Space-suitable attire suggested but not required (freebies available!)
"Electro/wave, space house and intergalactic disco from the offworld colonies, mixed by neko replicant MeowMeow Ghost, and streaming live from Tranquility Base."
NSS, National Space Society (50, 100, 3674)

Oct. 5th, Sunday, 2pm SL time  --  An Overview Of Global Positioning Constellations with TaraLi Jie
"Multiple groups have put up satellite navigation systems in orbit.  This will give an overview of where they are as far as functionality and what future plans have been revealed, as well as any unique features they might have."
International Spaceflight Museum, Spaceport Alpha (108, 156, 22)

Oct. 6th, Monday, 3pm SL time  --  National Space Society in SL weekly general meeting  --  Everyone welcome!
NSS, National Space Society (128, 152, 1260)

Oct 7th Tuesday, 2-4pm SL time -- Party time redux!  Space-suitable attire suggested but not required (freebies available!)
"Electro/wave, space house and intergalactic disco from the offworld colonies, mixed by neko replicant MeowMeow Ghost, and streaming live from Tranquility Base."
NSS, National Space Society (50, 100, 3674)

Oct. 8th, Wednesday, 2-5am SL time  --  Lunar Eclipse viewing party!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2014_lunar_eclipse
Follow along with us as we watch live coverage at Slooh Observatory:  http://live.slooh.com
NSS, National Space Society (50, 100, 3674)

Oct. 8th, Wednesday, 4pm SL time  --  How do you run a GPS Constellation? with TaraLi Jie
"To create a GPS system, it's not enough to simply send up satellites.  They require constant updates due to a variety of issues.  I'll discuss what makes determining a location via GPS so tricky, and how the various systems handle the issues."
International Spaceflight Museum, Spaceport Alpha (108, 156, 22)


WSW 2014 SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE GOODIES!
    Commemorative mesh tee shirts by custom designer Mell Hammerer are available at the venues, courtesy of Mell and Charlie Navarathna, along with other goodies...enjoy!


About the sponsors:

National Space Society in SL
Free to join!   secondlife:///app/group/17a08f4d-3ed6-8ba0-5a6e-91c4218b35cf/about
An activity of the National Space Society, an international organization of space enthusiasts:  http://www.nss.org
Managed in SL for NSS by the Research Team of the Oregon L5 Society chapter of NSS.
Ariel Miranda, In-World Administrator.

International Spaceflight Museum
A world-famous, private, non-profit activity not affiliated with NASA or other Space Agencies, depending on individual and corporate donations and receiving no government money. Please support ISM!
Kat Lemieux, In-World Director
􀀅

The "Making Strides" Cross-Country Giant Snail Race

Last week on Sept 27, RacerX Gullwing's Giant Snail Races held a special "Cross Country" race for the "Making Strides. This race was a bit different in two ways. One, there were prizes available besides the trophy one gets for finishing the marathon. Two, as this was a Making Strides event, there were special pink giant snail avatars available for racing. These made of the majority of the racers, some which took time to customize them to somewhat resemble their normal snails, the color aside. The avatars were for free, but the pink scarves needed to be in the race were 500 Lindens with the cash going to the American Cancer Society.

The race took place on the Sansara continent, starting a little after 11AM in the Ontario sim. There was a Vezpa Scooter station close by the starting line, so people could rezz one and follow the race on vehicle, which yours truly did for a while. The course went past "The Shelter" newcomer hangout, and a reproduction of the "Spruce Goose," the largest airplane that ever took flight. There was the usual mayhem as snails got stuck at times, delt with the infamous ban lines, and the occasional "walk of lag." RacerX also had to end up replacing a course marker that somehow got returned.

After about 35 minutes, the first of the snails crossed the finish line at Davenport. Gareth8 Albatros was first, followed by Oodlemi Noodle, with Alden Cortes third. They, and possibly other winners, got 4,500 Lindens in gift certificates. Next week, the races resume their normal, and wacky, themed events at the obstacle course on Devon Dream (165, 110, 777)

Bixyl Shuftan





(click here if the video fails to play)

Michi's Commentary

Luskwood as an avatar maker has stated in the past they're going their own way when it comes to avatar development, doing things at their own pace rather than look at avatar trends.

That came to mind when I came across Luskwood Founder's Michi Lumin's Blog, and this post. The artist commented there seemed to be a certain trend among furry avatars, one that the artist felt would come to a certain conclusion if things kept up (Click Here).

The image originated from 04range, but I can easily see the Lusk designers thinking he nailed their jokes about some of their competition.

The Star Trek Museum

Star Trek has had an impact unlike most science-fiction shows, gaining thousands of die-hard fans across the world. Second Life has a number of Trek roleplays. But it also has the Star Trek Museum. For Trekkers and people whom want to know more about the show alike, the place has a lot to show and offer. Wesley Regenbogen (No relation to Wesley Crusher), beamed on over to have a look.

Read Wesley's article in Places.

Game Review: Star Trek Online

While Wesley wrote about his trip to the Star Trek Museum (See Places), Bixyl Shuftan checked on on the Star Trek Online computer game. In a game full of Fantasy MMO's Star Trek is different with it's sci-fi setting, but also much more. In the game you play both in character mode and ship mode. You're also able to play a few missions written by other players of the game.

Read more in Other Grids and MMOs.

Press Release: Benefit at the Caprice Darkrose Memorial and Club

We are happy to announce our latest event, our August National Kidney Foundation Benefit.  We will be having it at our usual place, the Caprice Darkrose Memorial and Kinky BDSM Dance Club ... Event Date & Time - October 4th. Noon to 8:00 pm.

Entainers Schedule Times Are Pacific Daylight Time GMT -8
DJ Immm Back Noon to 1 pm
DJ Cheribomb Vavoom 1 to 2 pm
DJ Saucylia 2-3 pm
Live Performer Harmonia Trefoil 3-4 pm
DJ Mikki Vintner- Firehawk 4-5 pm
DJ Dreamer 5-6 pm
DJ Madonna Daehlie 6-7pm
DJ Maxim Makarov 7-8pm

We are very enthusiastic and eager to have this event.  It is our fourth to be held at the Caprice Darkrose Memorial.  Come enjoy a day of music, friendship and celebration showing our love for Caprice, and support a cause near and dear to her heart.

100% of all donations go to the National Kidney Foundation via their Second Life Avatar, NationalKidneyFoundation Resident. All of the entainers are donating their time and performing for the enjoyment of all who come to the event.  Donations are greatly appreciated but not required to attend the event.

Caprice Darkrose was a longtime resident of Second Life . She passed away on May 3, 2014 at the age of 35, due to complications of kidney disease, which she had battled for some time. Caprice was loved by many people in Second Life, and leaves behind many friends and a lot of memories.

Xoph: A Shop of the Bizarre and Macabre

October is best known for Halloween, at least in the USA. And in Second Life, residents often go all out for chills and thrills. Besides the Haunted Houses, there are shops where one can go to get some scary goodies. Fritter Enzyme found a store named "Xoph" that went beyond your run-of-the-mill spooky, but downright scary, strange, and can be more than a little disturbing. So he braved looking the place over, and survived to tell his tale.

Read Fritter's story in Places.

Relay For Life in InWorldz Passes One Million Izs Raised

About a week ago, it was announced that the Relay For Line in InWorldz had passed a milestone. It's fundraising totals for the 2014 season had passed the one million InWorldz dollars, or "Izzies," raised.

The "Relay for Life in InWorldz" webpage listed the following totals:

Team 1

General Account

Iz$362,427

Team 2

Fashion for Life

Iz$166,961

Team 3

Tiny Steps for a Cure

Iz$307,200

Team 4

Tri Group Team

Iz$30,811

Team 5

Roleplay for Life

Iz$187,693

Team 6

Tsuki Mura for Hope

Iz$76,539

Team 7

Dragons for Life

Iz$8,040

Total raised

Iz$1,139,671

"Izzies" are worth about half of what a Linden Dollar is worth. So while the total is smaller than the Relay for Life in Second Life, it's been growing. Last year the RFL in IW raised 325,000 InWorldz dollars (worth about 162,500 Lindens). The RFL in IW will go on to its own Relay Weekend on November 1.

This year, the Relay for Life in Second Life raised $415,422 US dollars for it's 2014 season.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Angels Calendar Auction Raises Over 40,000 Lindens

Cartoon of the Day

The ancient Romans caught doormice, fattened them up, and then cooked them as food. As the ROMA area is a furry-friendly place, one can imagine whom would be eating most of them.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Perri Prinz Returns to The Vinyl

For the past several weeks up to a few days ago, Perri Prinz, the co-owner of The Vinyl Museum had taken a hiatus from Second Life. Now she's back to DJing, and Tuesday night she was once again in business as the night's DJ.

About a dozen and a half people attended that night, including Lomgren Smalls (left), whom also recently came back after a hiatus, his close to a year.

"Dr. Demento" was the theme that night, a radio personality known for playing humorous and offbeat songs and other recordings. And so Perri played a number of tunes associated with him, including "Transfusion," which was the song that helped Demento get his nickname.


The Vinyl Museum is at HV Community (67, 207, 4051), and has events every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8PM SL time

Press Release: Think Pink Week (in Honor of Breast Cancer Month)

October 1, 2014 is the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! In honor of this occasion, the 2014 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Second Life (MSABC In SL) committee invites you to "think pink".

From October 1 to 8, 2014 avatars in Second Life will spread the message of pink throughout the grid, in order to raise awareness about breast cancer. During this special week we will have fun themes, events, and contests to make you think pink! Below is a schedule of committee ran events and contests:

OFFICIAL COMMITTEE THINK PINK WEEK EVENTS:

Pink Ribbon Day – Wednesday, October 1, 2014
October 1 is the start of breast cancer awareness month. Show your support for breast cancer awareness by wearing a pink ribbon throughout the day in Second Life.
Stomp Out Breast Cancer – Pink Shoe Day – Thursday, October 2, 2014
Help us stomp out cancer by wearing pink shoes, boots, flip flops, or pink feet!

Pink Denim Day – Friday, October 3, 2014
In real life the American Cancer Society and Lee Jeans have National Denim Day, where Lee Jeans donations 5 dollars of every sale to the American Cancer Society. You can visit Denim Day here:  http://www.denimday.com/.  In Second Life we ask that you wear denim attire and/or buy the special par of mesh jeans for only 5 lindens each at the Strides Booth at ACS: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/122/47/22

Pink Your Parcel Day – Saturday, October 4, 2014
Still want more pink?? If so pink your parcels today, turn your house, grass, and trees pink! Send us a photo and enter our special Pink Your Parcel photo contest. (Please see the notecard in world to submit your photos for this contest)

Pink Spirit Day – Sunday, October 5, 2014
Join us at the American Cancer Society Island for a day long party. With live djs and music, this pink rally will be pinkreffic!

Mission Pink – Monday, October 6, 2014
Learn about the mission of Making Strides and help us spread the word of Strides throughout Second Life, by placing your mission posters at your home or business.

Pink Swag Day – Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Put on your best pink attire and show off your pink swag throughout the day. Go entirely pink and enter our Pink Swag Day photo contest!

Pink Honor & Remembrance Day – Wednesday, October 8, 2014
As Think Pink Week ends, we honor and remember those we have lost to breast cancer. Honor a loved one by place the special pink ribbon at your Second Life home or business. Enter a special dedication that will be displayed on our website to a loved one.

Individual or Business Events:
Please let us know if you are having any events during Think Pink Week, so that we can promote these events on our official social media sites and on our Strides Fundraising Event Boards in Second Life! All events must meet our fundraising guidelines before we post them. You can submit your events here: http://makingstridessl.org/submit-your-event/

About Making Strides Against Breast Cancer:
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer or MSABC is the largest network of breast cancer awareness events in the nation, uniting more than 300 communities to finish the fight. Every breast cancer walk and event is an incredible and inspiring opportunity to honor those who have battled breast cancer, raise awareness about what we can do to reduce our breast cancer risk, and race money to help the American Cancer Society fight the disease with research, information, services, and access to mammograms for women who need them.

About the American Cancer Society:
For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together with millions of our supporters worldwide, we help people stay well, help people get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer.

For more information:
www.makingstridessl.org
www.cancer.org
http://makingstridessl.org/events/think-pink-week/

For media inquiries:
Contact: Jessii2009 Warrhol, 2014 MSABC In SL Chair
makingstridesinsl@gmail.com