Camp Hardknock

Gemma Cleanslate recently found out about about what some kid avatar fans regard as their best time in Second Life: Camp Hardknock. Heading over, what she saw was a place with a wide range of experiences for the kids. The place is guided by the counselors of course, of which doing thing behind their back is a favorite pasttime. Gemma took an in-depth look at the place, and the fun the SL kids had.

Read Gemma's article in Places.

A Look at the Post-Weekend Relay Track

The Relay Track doesn't have much longer before it's down. Wednesday's the last day to get a good look at the place. And what awaits the visitor, quite a bit.

At RFL Reflections, the sim is mostly water. And there's a number of boats one can use, from a sailboat, to a kayak, to jet skis. There's also a jetski course to the south, though the slower boats aren't affected by the obstacles. To the north, the ocean floor has a bit of scenery, as well as an island with waterfalls. Going into the waterfalls are caverns, some with picturesque views. And there's a small Second Life Coast Guard station nearby, where one can look at the craft.

In the eastern half of RFL Overcome and the western of RFL Manage, there's a huge laboratory. Just about everything is built to giant scale, the tables, the equipment, making normal avatars look mouse-sized. For some Relayers, it brought back memories of the classic "Greenies" sim from the earlier days in Second Life.

Impromptu parties are still going on at the track. There really hasn't been any hard schedule for them, though occasionally one will see a star on the map saying there'll be an event there at a certain time. One can run into Relay noteables there, such as Trader1 Whiplash, Bain Finch, DJ Madona, Lomgren Smalls, and others.

There was one party for Wednesday I did hear the time for, though not the place: the Flood Party. It's supposed to start sometime between 4 and 6 PM SL time, of which one of the sims gets flooded. Residents are advised to bring their own inner tubes or swimmer AOs.

For screenshots of the Relay track check out the Flickr page Here.

Bixyl Shuftan

RFL Walk 2012: Screenshots from the Relayers

Sent by Eugiene Burton Ortega, when her partner Fuzzball Ortega was DJing for T1 Radio, "My Husband the RFL Fancy Footwear DJ."

Events This Week in Second Life from July 17 to July 23

The Relay Weekend is gone, though the sims will still be up for spontaneous impromptu parties, including at least one "flood party." But there are other events on the Grid. The yearly "Hair Fair" is taking place, raising money for "Wigs for Kids" to donate hairpieces to young cancer survivors. "Leonardo's Machines" offers a mixture of art and history. Plus more events. And of course there's our regular schedule of book and poetry readings, DJ music parties, talk shows, and church services.

Read more in Events this Week.

Relay Weekend: "360,000 Thanks"

Looking back at the Relay Weekend, here's a few words from Relayer Bain Finch.

* * * * *
Wasn't that just the most amazing 24 hours, ever?

I found myself fixated in the Volunteers and Lands group chats today, just reading the out pouring of one's profound emotions moments and expressing of their thanks to everyone involved.

And going well beyond the obvious faces, names and voices of Relay, but to people that worked tiredly in obscurity. The individuals that stepping in to fill a void. The linden's were impressively thanks as well, as they were out there working long hours trouble shooting the chaos of Relay, and they were noticed by some, and others openly shared that appreciation.

There are a good many individuals out there, that must be completely spent from their efforts. Charlene, Nikki, MamaP, Dwen, Stingray and Trader are the obvious leaders to the legions of others under their wings. The mentors, Teams R Us Survivors/Caregivers, Outreach, Event, Design, Sponsorship and PR committees and their legions. I would like to see that list of everyone that held a committee position this year, I bet it is extensive. And then the Special Events people that work in concert with Relay of Second Life but are not part of Relay.

And then there are THE TEAMS! Team Captains, Co-Captains and their membership and supporters and individuals. We have shared many a laughs, great times. And many very real moments and tears, when life rears its ugly head. You are Relay. You are that <<>>

All the Sponsors of Relay and the Sponsors of Relay Teams, that participate at ever level Relay. They pay for us to do what we do. Please show your appreciation by visiting their shops all year long.

Yet another group of people that work constantly of our benefit are the media people: Streamed, Voiced and Written. This group of folk are a little different. They work year round. Again this Relay season the main media groups in Second Life – Treet.tv, Metaverse Broadcasting, Metaworld Broadcasting, Pookymedia and Prim Perfect are came together to put out a twenty-four hour telethon in support of Relay for Life, which will include news, interviews, and special events and streamed that inworld and online.

These same good people also covered all our mains events, right from Kick-Off, to the Fashion Fair, on and on, along with another legion of Bloggers, Tweeters, Facebook and so forth. These people do this year round and lend their support and move on to other stories, along with their followers and supporters, sponsors and so forth.

Going a level further, there are all the people, our real life family, our real life friends, co-workers and associates that give us support in this. Letting you book time off for this, covering you shift maybe, or the thousands of ways they support you and this.

I know I have missed a major group of people, because it just too daunting of a task to summarize everyone.

Just like it is just too daunting to summarize my appreciations for all the big and little things, that every single one of us have done in this.

The very best way I can think is, for each one of us, needs to take a step back, take what you are feeling right now, and thank yourself with that thanks.

Bain Finch

From the RFL in SL Blog

RFL Walk 2012: Screenshots from the Relayers

One Relayer sent this shot of the "Dr Who Fans in SL" build in the RFL Journey sim. They won two awards this year.

Dusk Griswold and Her Puppet Fun

The Relay for Life team "Passionate Redheads" has two new co-captains this year, Lomgren Smalls and Dusk Griswold. Dusk herself is known as a DJ, and was among the DJs at the 2012 Relay for Life Walk (pictures from her DJ session there). In real life, the person behind the avatar is a puppeteer, and has done performances on stage. Grease Coakes recently sat down to interview Dusk, and the conversation turned to the subject of her real-life puppetry.

Read Grease's article in People.

Content Creators’ Conflict Leads to Fundraiser

Grey Lupindo reports on the "One Voice" fundraiser. The event was organized to raise funds for a content creator's legal fees in a copyright dispute, in addition to raising awareness about what DMCA rules can do to a Second Life business. The final day of the event is today.

Read Grey's article in Design.

The 2012 Relay Walk Concludes.

It was an eventful Relay for Life Weekend, with hundreds of avatars walking around the track, probably over 2,000, with millions of meters walked and thousands of dollars of dollars raised. Someone at the closing ceremonies stated that this was the most successful Relay Weekend ever. It's certainly been among the most successful seasons so far. About 330,000 US dollars has been raised so far this season, and It's not over yet.

At the Closing Ceremonies at 10AM Sunday July 15th, a number of awards were handed out, with the Knights of Avalon winning the best theme decorated. The Steelhead Salmons came in third. Two awards went to the Doctor Who Fans in SL team. Among who walked the most laps, Jesie Janick was first with 44.21. Due to SL's noted technical difficulties, a picture of the whole audience was unavailable.

Although the Relay Weekend marks the end of the Relay for Life fundraising season, except for some teams holding one last party, the final event isn't until August with the "Wrap-Up Party," in which a few more awards will be handed out and the theme for next year announced.

For the Steelhead Salmons, the Relay was a resounding success with Platinum rank achieved after raising close to 550,000 Lindens ($2200 USD) , and two of their more noted members having a wedding that stole the show. For the Passionate Redheads, the season brought troubles behind the scenes, which resulted in less fundraising. But some individuals worked to keep the team going, notably Lomgren Smalls and Dusk Griswold, and the team succeeded in making gold rank and raising 300,000 ($1220 USD). Not as high as last year, but still more than most teams.

For now, the sims are still up until Friday, with teams asked to keep their builds up until Thursday, in which case they're to come down. Until then, there is much to see, with some activities still going on, such as the water fun at RFL Reflections, and various impromptu parties, including the "flood party."

Stay tuned for screenshots of the Relay Walk.

Read more at the RFL in SL page: http://rflofsl.intuitwebsites.com/index.html

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Machinima: "Time Travelers Ep 5 - Quantum Entangled "

The latest "Time Travellers" episode by Pookymedia is up, "We are all of us connected, none more so than the Teen Time Travelers who must fight to escape the danger of the approaching Meks. As they jump through time and again meet their future selves, the stakes escalate around the future as they must follow their present destiny. Game on!

"The award winning series, Time Travelers, is an animated adventure series about the future. The series showcases future careers in science such as geoengineering for alternative energy, nanobiolology and neuroscience for learning and health care.

"Time Travelers was sponsored by the leader in education financing SLFC, www.slfc.com , and iHelp, www.ihelploan.com , committed to helping students achieve their educational and career goals. For over 30 years SLFC has been a pioneer in enabling students to realize their dreams for the future through education. SLFC's support made Time Travelers a reality.

"Time Travelers will be seen online, at International Film Festivals and throughout the nation at FutureLab: The Innovation Expo www.FutureLabExpo.com ."

Written by James Canton and Pooky Amsterdam. Pooky, whom is known for hosting the game show, "the 1st Question," takes on a role in this episode.

See Episode 4 Here, and Episodes 1-3 combined Here.

Cartoon of the Day: RFL Walk

Remember last year when the Steelheads brought you "The Hair?" Well, not to be outdone, this year the Passionate Redheads bring you "The Hat."

It's huge! It's enormous! It devours avatars alive! ... Actually, no it doesn't. But it sure gets attention on the track. On another note, that's Dusk's actual line, slightly altered. ;-)

The Relay for Life continues on this Sunday morning, with the closing ceremonies at 10AM, and the Victory Lap at 11AM. After that, all scheduled events end, but the exhibits will be up for a few more days. And keep an eye out for impromptu parties, notably what's become an after-walk tradition, the "flood party."

By Bixyl Shuftan

Bay City's "Giant Snail Races Scavenger Hunt"

This special Giant Snail Races event by RacerX Gullwing last month on June 30th was the last of the Relay for Life races. Instead of a cross-country race, they did a scavenger hunt in Bay City. The snails were to go around the town looking for items on a list. There were a total of ten checkpoints. Among them was a donut shop. One can only imagine what passersby would be thinking of the huge shelled creatures stopping by the pastry place (looking for cops perhaps?).

Among the racers, no one got ten and only two got nine checkpoints: Tindallia Soothsayer and Safra Nitely.

While there, I got into a chat with noted Bay City resident Marianne McCann. She was talking about a "Caledonian spy" who " landed at Bay City Municipal Airport and asked for asylum." But apparently her friend Ever Dreamscape had other designs for the defector, involving a clown suit and a crime scene for "interrogations." Someone stated the defector later sneaked away. Marianne commented, "Those of us in Bay City, of course, wish to continue to broker a peaceful co-existance with our... friends... in the somewhat backward nation of Caledon, but will not hesitate to keep our borders secure from any invasion force from the steam menace."

There has been no word of the incident from Caledon. When Vicerene Kamilah Hauptman was contacted, she would only admit to some "fun drama" going on between the two regions.

The Giant Snail Relay team has raised a total of 90,000 Lindens before the Relay Walk, still a Bronze-ranked team. But with their races they've gotten quite a bit of publicity.

*Addition* During the Relay Weekend, the team jumped to Silver status.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Relay Walk Takes Place Today

After five months, the high point of the Relay for Life fundraising season takes place today: The Relay Walk.

The Opening Ceremonies take place at 10 AM SL time at the four sim meeting area of RFL Volunteer, RFL Treatment, RL Unity, and RFL Wish. For a quick teleport, Click Here.

For links to the various campsites, go to the Team Totals page Here.

For more information head to the RFL in SL blog at http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/, or http://rflofsl.intuitwebsites.com/ .

Congratulations Fuzzball and Eugenia Burton Ortega

On the evening of Friday the 13th came what was seen as the event of the year for the Steelhead community, in addition to a major event to the Relay for Life voulenteers: the wedding of Marshal Fuzzball Ortega to Eugenia "Genie" Burton.

The event took place in a cathedral over the Steelhead Estates. Scheduled to take place at 6:30 PM, the ceremony was an elven one, conducted by community leader TotalLunar Eclipse. Tensai Hilra told there were 78 people there at one point. Lunar thought there was 80. Besides Steelhead, there were people there from the Relay volunteers, such as Trader1 Whiplash and Lomgren Smalls. Instead of rice, Steelhead trouts were thrown around in jest.

Following the ceremony, Fuzzball and Eugenia asked everyone to head to the RFL Volunteer sim for the reception. They later explained it was only fitting that it be held at the Relay, as it had such a big part of their getting together. And what a wedding it was with a djini cake in the middle, a roast pig, a chocolate fountain, "we had to send Mindy home before she took a bath in it."

And of course, there was lots of dancing. That is, when the dance machine was working. "Hokay, vhere did dot intan getz to?" asked Captain Veles Jägermonster (velesjaeger.munster), "Dhey dun letz me jomp un."

"I'm so happy that I'm teary!" Eugenia told everyone. That is, when she wasn't squealing her characteristic "Squeeee!" "I love my new name!" she told of her new surname of Ortega, squealing loudly when called "Mrs. Ortega."

The squeals spilled over into the RFL Volunteer group. One of the Passionate Redheads told me, "All day long, Relay for Life volunteers group has had people going 'SQUEEEEEEE!' When I got here this morning they were doing that. I just closed the group chat and somebody had just done it."

It was quite a wedding, although the honeymoon may have to wait. The day after the wedding would be the high point of the Relay season, the Relay for Life Walk. So many of the guests bowed out early to get some sleep before the 24 hour event.

"That was the most beautiful wedding!"

"May hyu both be rilly heppy togedder, Mizz Genie und Herr Marschalle."

Pictures from Victor1st Mornington's Flickr. More pictures at Softpaw's page.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Get Ready to Relay!

Saturday, July 14th is the day when Relay enthusiasts hit the track for the Relay For Life of Second Life! Are you ready to Relay?

The Opening Ceremony for this year's Relay begins at 10 AM SLT on Saturday, July 14 and features 24 hours of themed laps and festivities! As we prepare for the big day, we want to give thanks to each of you for the last four months of hard work and for making the dream that is the Relay For Life of Second Life come alive.

Many thanks to Linden Lab for their support and commitment to the Relay For Life of Second Life, and to the American Cancer Society (ACS) and our ACS Staff Partner, Stingray9798 Raymaker, for without their support, our successes would not be possible.

We applaud the efforts of our leadership and thank MamaP Beerbaum for inspiring and guiding this monumental effort, and to Dwen Dooley for his Website wizardry and commitment to excellence, to Nikki Mathieson and her team for making the Relay come to life, and to the Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs for their dedication, hard work and profound good humor, to our Sponsors for believing in and supporting the Relay, to our Telethon media partners, to Trader1 Whiplash and T1Radio and to the designers of the beautiful, thought-provoking and imaginative campsites as well as the Team Captains, the Teams and the volunteers who embody the heart and soul of the Relay For Life of Second Life.

Stingray9798 Raymaker praised the Relay For Life of Second Life and said, "I am just as excited for this year's Relay For Life of Second Life as I ever have been. Over the last few weeks, the momentum has been building to what will be an amazing crescendo and finale to an amazing fundraising season."

He added, "I have been bragging about you all to my fellow American Cancer Society colleagues for the last several weeks, and will continue to sing your praises as long as people will listen to me! Now - let's go have a Relay!!"

Lyr Lobo,
PR and Media Relations Area Chair

From RFL in SL

Happy Friday the 13th

It figures, when Friday the 13th rolls around, there's always a black cat somewhere.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone.

Sneak Peak at the Relay Track

The Relay for Life Walk takes place tomorrow, Saturday July 14th and Sunday July 15th. And until then the sims are closed to the general public. But we got a sneak peek at what the teams have created so far. And so a few pictures were taken of some of the builds.

See the pictures in Places.

Heartspeaker and the Vison Quest

Grease Coakes did an article a few months ago about "Heartspeaker," the storyteller at the Spirit Nations sim. Recently, Heartspeaker asked him to come back for a story that meant much to him: one about his Vision Quest. So Grease headed over to listen to the storyteler's tale.

Read more of Grease's article in People.

Press Release: RFL Weekend Schedule

Themed laps are a way to add some fun and amusement to the long hours that we walk during Relay weekend. Whether it is wearing a silly hat, showing international pride or paying tribute to doctors, nurses, police, firemen or many others in this years Caring and Curing Lap, these themed laps are totally optional but fun to participate in or simply enjoy the efforts of those who do.

Feel free to interpret each theme with all the creative energy that embodies Second Life and in your own fun and festive way! We look forward to seeing you on the track!

10 - 11am: OPENING CEREMONY

11am - 12:30pm: CELEBRATE - Survivor/Caregiver Honor Walk - Survivors Are the "Spirit Of Relay" They Are the Promise Of Hope! Please Line the Track and Celebrate Our Heroes, Our Friends who have heard the words "You Have Cancer", as they walk the track in this opening lap.

The Caregivers are the Backbone of the Fight. They hold the hands, they care for and support their loved ones as they walk their cancer journey. As you stand at the side of the track, celebrating the survivors, cheer for their caregivers, too as we also support the ones who give so much to help our Survivors Fight Cancer! Cheer them all on as they walk by!!

12:30 - 2pm: Team Spirit Lap - Teams R Us! Wear your Team Shirts and wave those team banners and flags. Walk the track with pride for all you have done to help find a cure for cancer.

2 - 3pm: Silly Hats/Big Hair: Just like it says.. show us your silliest hat and/or craziest hair! (Fuzzball Ortega take note)

3 - 4pm: The First Timer Lap - As an homage to the new residents who have only recently joined Second Life and are taking part in their first Relay, lets celebrate first timers with the default Second Life offered avatars. Best thing is...everyone has those avatars in the Library folder. Open Inventory, scroll to the bottom, open the Library folder, then go into Clothing...and all the default sign up avatar folders are in there. Simply drag and drop the folder into your avatar and be a new resident for an hour! (PS: for extra effect, take off any AO's and use the default run/walk)

4 - 5pm: Animal Kingdom! A salute to the breedable companies in SL who show such amazing support to Relay. Dress as your favorite animal or wear a t-shirt that acknowledges your favorite breedable! Take your pet for a shoulder ride around the track, even.

5-6pm: Cruisin' Western Style - Walk the track to the sounds of great country western music while you dress the style!

6-7pm: Blast from the Past - This years theme is Time For a Cure.. well, step back in time and dress the style from your favorite decade/trends or better yet, dress for the decade of your birth.

7-8pm: Musicians For Relay - Salute the wonderful SL musicians who do so much for Relay, year after year. Represent them on the track. Look like a punk rocker, or maybe a rap artist or even wear a t-shirt saluting your favorite SL musician! Thank you to the best musicians anywhere!!

8-9pm: Favorite Holiday - You could be a Xmas Tree or dress up as a firecracker. Or just wear that favorite Holiday Sweater.. oooohhh Easter Bunny, anyone? Use your imagination and have fun!

9-10pm: REMEMBER - Luminaria Ceremony - ( quiet reflection with readings and inspirational music; sims are darkened for reflection and remembrance of those and their loved ones who have lost their battles to cancer or are still battling it; all are invited to participate) Walk the track in silence.

10-11pm: Fancy Footwear - Purple boots, rainbow tennies, spiked heels, roller skates.. dress up those feet and run that track!

11-Midnight: Fantasy Hour - Fantasy Characters - Dragons, Pirates, Star Trek, Fairies, Elves... Fantasy themed avatars, Medieval, Tinies, Mermaids & Mermen, Wings

Midnight-1am: Midnight Masquerade - Wear a Mask and costume and join the carnival like festivity hour.

1-2am: The Power of Purple - wear as much purple as you can. ..skin, hair, eyes, clothing, .. just bring on the purple!

2-3am: Monster Mash - Vampire, Frankenstein, Sasquatch, Godzilla.. Costume or Avi.. show us the monster in YOU!

3-4am: Super Heroes! - Able to leap buildings in a single bound---more powerful than a locomotive---faster than a speeding bullet... it's a bird, it's a plane.. NOOOO.. it's YOUR favorite SUPER HERO!

4-5am: Sports Mania - football, baseball, rugby, hockey, swimming, cheerleading.. just any sports attire. Don your favorite jersey or uniform and bring that Relay spirit.

5-6am: Up All Night - Curlers, Coffee, PJ's & Slippers - Curlers, Coffee, PJ's & Slippers - time to wake up and smell the coffee

6-7am: FIGHT BACK - Fight Back Ceremony - (Pick up your specially made RFL HOPE Cape and Fight Back Flags - available at the Relay Stations, and join us as we make our fight back pledges to save a life this year - your own, a friends, a family member, or someone you don't even know yet. Together we all can FIGHT BACK.

7-8am: International Lap - Wear your countries flag.. (provided by the International Committee) or outfits that represent your country. Adorn yourself in your country's colors!

8-9am: Caring & Curing - paying tribute to doctors, nurses, police, firemen or many others. So many who dedicate their lives to saving and helping fellow mankind. Cheers to them!

9-10am: Formal Hour - Wear your best as you walk the final lap before Closing Ceremonies. Formal attire. Try to keep prims to a minimum, please.

10am-11am: CLOSING CEREMONY

11am - NOON: Victory Lap! - Walk the track and meet the Relay Committee. Celebrate YOUR Relay. Take THAT, Cancer!

Read more in the RFL in SL blog - http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/

SL Youtube: "Vic and the Pink Dalek"

And now for some Relay for Life fun involving Vic Mornington (Victor1st Mornington) of the Relay for Life "Team Dr. Who Fans in SL" and a pink-plated Dalek.

"Victor1st Mornington and a pink Dalek enjoying a lovely date together.

"We won time with Victor1st following a Relay For Life Auction. So what better than him being reunited with the pink Dalek once again!

"Please support Relay for Life, together we can help find a cure. Please goto -
http://www.cancer.org/Involved/Participate/RelayForLife/second-life

"With Thanks to Michelle Leckrone for filming & Editing this.

"The name Dalek and Doctor Who are solely owned by the BBC, I own nothing!"

For those not familiar with "Dr Who," the Daleks are killer robots normally hostile to everything other than themselves. The classic ones are stainless steel, but more recent seasons of the show have these newer models that have inspired a few "Power Ranger" jokes from some Whovians.