The Secondlife Newspaper PEOPLE

Breezes Thoughts

2009-04-19T11:56:00.005+01:00

First view of the morning is delightful for me.

where shall I roam this day to see. I have a craving for sweets you see. ah Iknow exactly where to go. Follow me if you please.

Is this anyway to camp??

even the bartender is ignoring me. Mercy sakes Bree you are losing it.
I know, but whats a girl to do?
I asked for a drink , he said get it yourself little lady. I raised my glims at him and the look went squinty. finally Igot my drinks.
Just goes to show. Persistance is what it takes.

Now here is my craving satisfied? No not quite. haha but It is close.

Munching on Jellybeans standing amongst the hedgehogs that like to bite my Saadi. and the peacock squawking at him as he frowns mightily. Me in latex and a western hat and gun waiting to venture to a mixup contest. This is the way I go tonight.
Variety of stuff I can get into?

Breezes Babii

Interview with Jazzz Hermit

2009-04-15T02:06:00.005+01:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

The romantic-themed sim Mystery is a place with numerous sites and attractions, notably the riverboat club “Queen of Hearts.” There are also quite a few planned events, such as the daily dance parties at the club and the bazaar sales. Helping sim owner Tygeria Mirabeau manage these, as well as editing the sim magazine, is Jazzz Hermit. Jazzz also describes himself as “mildly courting” Tygeria. I recently had a chance to meet up with him, and he talked a little about his time at Mystery.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did you find out about Second Life?

Jazzz Hermit: Through one of my friends, Amythe Moonlight . She came in a long time before me, but eventually convinced me to give it a go.

Bixyl Shuftan: And how did your experiences in SL go at first?

Jazzz Hermit: It was fun :) I started out having a go at building things. First thing I built was a steam train, then Amythe kept challenging me to build other stuff. It was a while before I came to Mystery, I stayed in sandboxes mostly to begin with.

Bixyl Shuftan: What things did she have you build?

Jazzz Hermit: I was allowed to build whatever I wanted; I remember building a penny farthing at one point, I know she asked me to build a coal scuttle for the pub in the village. Mostly random stuff. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Did much of what you made ended up here in Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: I think only the coal scuttle survived :) Amythe sometimes bounces ideas off me, but it's her and AJ that do all the actual building. I haven't got the patience they have.

Bixyl Shuftan: When did you join Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: I came to Mystery in October 2008 - I didn't join the staff till November, when I first sang for the sim. ... I first sang at Tygeria's birthday party, but it was great fun.

Bixyl Shuftan: About how often do you sing here?

Jazzz Hermit: Not very often. :( I'm away a lot, so I only sing online maybe once every two months. ... hopefully (it will change soon) :) I'm going to be back home for a couple of months in June, hopefully.”

Bixyl Shuftan: How would you describe your work on Intrigue magazine?

Jazzz Hermit: Working on the magazine is great fun. I do it all in photoshop. It's exciting designing the various aspects - the spring edition was supposed to have an interview with Bloodrose Writer in it, but unfortunately I couldn't get hold of him. It's a fun way of getting people to know what it is we do here while making it interesting to read. I get some help on it - a friend of mine does an article now, Amythe helps with the photos and AJ/Tygeria both check it over once it is finished to make sure there are no mistakes, etc.

Bixyl Shuftan: I heard you play some music in real life as well.

Jazzz Hermit: Yes - a lot of my time in real life is spent with my music :) I study music at a university currently.

Bixyl Shuftan: Have you done performances of any kind in real life?

Jazzz Hermit: (laughs) A lot. I was recently in a choir that performed Faure's Requiem I've been doing live performances since I was around about ten, i think. Back then it was school concerts though! :)

Bixyl Shuftan: You describe yourself as liking to sing blues, jazz, and ballads. Do you often try other styles, or is that what you more or less stick with?

Jazzz Hermit: To be honest, I've never thought my voice could sing much more. These days, I'm more of a classical singer than anything - partially due to my university course, but singing classically has helped enormously with all other kinds of singing. Rock/Pop was never my thing - as much as I tried to sing it, it always sounded wrong. (laughs)

Bixyl Shuftan: Heh ... Any particular projects that you've been working on recently, in Intrigue magazine or anything else in Mystery?

Jazzz Hermit: A lot of my time is spent at the university these days, we're getting into exam time :/ I know there's going to be a special edition copy of next month's magazine with a limited number of copies, so that's something I'm currently working on. I've just done a massive rebuild of my computer, so hopefully it'll last long enough this time to get some work done :) I don't think I'm performing again till May 17th, but I've been mostly talking easter ideas with Amy and AJ recently.

Bixyl Shuftan: Any ideas that you can share, or are they all surprises?

Jazzz Hermit: Ha ha! I can tell you that the poetry competition has double prizes this month, and that there's going to be a 'guess-the-staff' game, where you have to guess the member of staff based on a photo from their newbie days.

Bixyl Shuftan: I take it the latter will be quite hard.

Jazzz Hermit: Almost certainly. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Any particuarly memorable happenings here that you'd like to share? Any amusing incidents?

Jazzz Hermit: Ummm .... one of my personal favorite memories from here is during a live concert. Debi Latte was singing onstage, when Tygeria rezzed a giant Rhinoceros next to her :) While people started riding the Rhino, Debi started singing 'The Rhinoceros Song' (laughs).

Bixyl Shuftan: (chuckles) Any future plans that you'd like to mention?

Jazzz Hermit: I don't think I've got any plans at the moment - everything just seems to happen. :)

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to share?

Jazzz Hermit: I can't think of anything else. Thank you.

And so, the interview ended, with each of us going our separate ways.

Jazzz’s magazine “Intrigue” can be read online on it’s website : http://www.heartofmystery.com/Magazine/.

Bixyl Shuftan

Kiana Writer of MadPea Productions

2009-04-08T16:52:00.000+01:00

By Nazz Lane

I’d first become aware of MadPea Productions while working on a story where I’d come across a poster about a game created specifically for a grand opening event at a business related SIM. I’d taken the informational note card offered by the poster into my inventory and reviewed a little later. When I did, the concept fascinated me and I’d decided to find out more about a company that builds games within a game. So I contacted Kiana Writer, the founder and director of MadPea Productions. She graciously accepted my offer to meet and be interviewed for the SL Newspaper.

When the arranged date and time arrived, so too did a TP request from Ms Writer and I took the ride over to MadPeas Production Headquarters on Orange Island. We exchanged pleasantries before moving to the community area where she said she liked to be while working. She then warned me that we may have multiple interruptions from visitors, so we should do the interview in IM.

Nazz: What bought you into second life Kiana?

Kiana: hmm... I came here out of curiosity and got instantly addicted.

Nazz: What was it that caused the addiction?

Kiana: SL is what you make of it. The only limit is your imagination. I just loved meeting people from all over the world, and the possibilities in SL are endless, you can really lose yourself in here.

Nazz: I’m reading from your profile "We create fantasies that are beyond your imagination..." that and from what you'd just said, was that the inspiration for forming MadPea?

Kiana: Definitely, when I came into SL, I was really surprised how “little” there actually was going on … you can create anything here ... and yet people were choosing the same activities as in RL. I saw the potential to bring my stories alive in here and I absolutely love it.

Nazz: How did you come up with the name MadPea?

Kiana: *Laughs* … a moment of madness I guess. It just seemed to fit us perfectly. We wanted something cute and crazy to describe us.

Nazz: It is memorable. You've been in SL for nearly two years now ... have changes in SL changed your vision for MadPea?

Kiana: hmm... let me think about that one … From the technical point of view the engine has improved, which enables us to make the games more realistic. And of course more and more people are joining SL, which is great.

Nazz: I was recently at the Sigma-Aldrich SIM and saw that MadPea had developed a game for their opening last October ... did you approach them or did they approach you?

Kiana: They came to us. They saw what we had done here at Orange and wanted a fun little game for their opening.

Nazz: Was the idea for "Reaction" MadPea's?

Kiana: We sat down with Georgianna from Sigma-Aldrich and talked about what they would like and then proposed Reaction to her.

Nazz: How many other RL companies have done something similar?

Kiana: We just finished a game for MacMillan Publishers/ Nature Publishing group, and the game 'Notes from the Voyage' will come out on soon, and we're currently working on a game for Orange … which will be the biggest game we've ever done. We have several proposals at the moment, but since we are a small team, we usually carefully select the clients.

Nazz: Earlier you'd mentioned that SL has allowed your stories to come out, are you a writer?

Kiana: Like you, I'm a journalist … but I've been writing stories since I was little. Actually I came to SL when I started writing my first novel in English, because I wanted to learn more English ...that was nearly two years ago, and I only completed one chapter … I got so hooked on making games instead.

Nazz: Do you think you'll finish the novel eventually?

Kiana: I think it's going to turn into a game here.

Nazz: Which MadPea game has proven to be the most popular with SL'ers?

Kiana: Eek! That's a tough question. The games we have out at the moment are very different yet, we have the same players playing them all. “Within” and “Firefly” are more challenging and “Swamp Hotel” is currently on the Linden Showcase, it's a smaller game.

Nazz: Why do you think the games have gained so such popularity in SL when a number of people consider SL a "game"?

Kiana: I think everyone here reaches a point ... when the shopping and clubbing just aren't enough. We don't make just games, we provide a whole community. You get to meet like-minded people … and one thing I was thinking actually ... you get to play our games as yourself in a strange way. For example, if you play a game on a console, you have to choose a character, but in SL, you tend to spend a long time making your avatar into your persona and you truly get to live the story as yourself. We build the games from the player's point of view, to give the player a true experience. The feedback we get is so funny at times … some people have been really scared

Nazz: You'd mentioned "community", since the inception of MadPea how big has the community gotten?

Kiana: We’re at 1058 members at the moment and we have a Hippogroup for those that don't have group space. And now we have a problem, because the group is so big, the notices don't reach everyone and the group chat fails all the time, we need that for communication.

Nazz: Do the members of the community interact in SL and RL and in the "game"?

Kiana: I don't know about RL, although I've heard rumors that some members have met in RL after they met each other in MadPea games … but yes, we have events where they come to meet each other … we are also working on making our website more interactive www.madpea.com … and one thing I think is so fantastic, members that have completed a game, help out others that are just starting.

Nazz Lane: Any closing thoughts or comments you'd like to share with my readers?

Kiana: Stay tuned, as we'll be bringing out some really big games during the next couple of months, they will truly blow you away.

Conversation with Sand Castle Studios CEO Gianna Borgnine

2009-03-29T18:34:00.001+01:00

By Nazz Lane

I’d become aware of Sand Castle Studios through my friendship with an associate of Sand Castle and through the Association of Virtual Worlds, where Gianna Borgnine and I first became acquainted. After exchanging wall postings there for several weeks and later in twitter, we were able to connect in Second Life recently for a conversation about her and Sand Castle Studios.

“Hello Nazz.” She said, as I rezzed into her office at the Sand Castle Studios headquarters. “Shall we sit?” She asked and then added, “It's nice to finally get together.”

We each took seats at the long glass conference table where we exchanged pleasantries and then I asked her, “Sand Castle is an interesting name for a company ...what's the genesis?”

“Actually, I would love to say we put lots and lots of thought in it, but ... really we liked the idea that SL is constantly changing and that what we develop here in this platform never stands still … where you can build anything … including fairy tales.”

“How long has Sand Castle been in operation?

“We started in October of 2007. I had recently left another company and decided to start my own. We barely had the building up and we had clients. It happened so fast, we never even had a grand opening party or an official launch date.” She replied and then laughed.

“What was it that bought you into SL and why did you stay?

“Originally someone recommended it to me … more as a social place. Then I saw an article about it in Time magazine. It made it sound very interesting ... a virtual world where you could explore places, meet people, create things.” She replied and then added. “Of course the first thing I wanted to do was buy everything! Then I thought, maybe Gianna needed a job.”

“What was your first job?”

“I looked for what was available and many of the posting were in the "adult" field. I wasn't too interested in that. I did eventually get my first job working as a live in landlord overseeing what the builder/owner referred to as a battered woman's shelter. He said he wanted to make a safe haven for woman to feel safe in SL when some did not at home. The position was slightly overwhelming, even given my RL experience, and I shortly after took a job with a man starting a graphic design studio. Then I got into this field, and have been here doing it ever since. It is now my full time RL job as well … completely changed my life.”

“What was your RL experience if I may ask?”

“I have a BA in psychology and one in criminal justice. I did some counseling and eventually took a job as a Probation/Parole officer for offenders on Home Confinement. It came with quite a bit of counseling as well as law enforcement.” She replied, than added. “It was nice to get to use a different piece of my psychology degree for marketing in SL. I wanted it to be lighter than RL … more upbeat.”

“Isn't psychology and marketing the same field?”

“It certainly hasn't hurt our company any.” She replied and laughed.

“Sand Castle is your full time job now ... how has business been in these uncertain economic times?

“Believe it or not, business has been better than ever. We hit a slow patch in December and I was worried that the economy was taking its toll ... but I think the holidays were stressful for many people. Since, it has been great and is full force! I think in these times where many people have to choose their brand strategy/marketing wisely, SL is a great way to advertise and build a community around your brand. It's very cost efficient when done correctly.”

“Reading through the SCS list of service offerings ... marketing and branding has been in the forefront of the surge then?” I asked

“Yes, very much so. With many of those, we get to do amazing building jobs and we have such a great team that has really been up to the challenge. In my opinion, the potential of virtual worlds is still largely untapped. But the opportunities to create emotional connections with brands through truly interactive experiences are there. We get to allow companies to build communities that tell their stories through interactive experiences based on the emotions underlying their brand which in turn allows them the opportunity to develop connections with their customers in a truly unique way that you just can't achieve by simply advertising at them.”

“I've always thought that was a component of SL most major corporations missed ... tell me a little about VESIM/NESIM technology, is it proprietary?”

“Almost all major brands have completely missed that. We are hoping to change that.” She replied and then continued. “Our VESIM/NESIM technology doesn't truly belong to just us. We were approached not long after opening by a long time friend and business associate of mine who happens to be a nursing instructor in RL. He was looking to develop something unique to use with his students in SL. He had also met another instructor looking for the same thing. They couldn't find anything truly interactive for their students in SL. We met and discussed his vision and how we might change that. We made it mostly as a BETA to test the concept which was very successful. We do have several schools trying NESIM and providing us feedback and we are still working on it with someone who is truly dedicated to Nursing Education in virtual worlds to take the concept further. NESIM stands for Nursing Education Simulation and VESIM is Virtual Education Simulation as we were approached by many fields looking to create something interactive and educational for their students as well. I can't say much about what we are currently working on in this area due to the NDAs involved but I will say we are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to come in world and use the technology without much exposure to SL.”

“Any closing thoughts you'd like to share with my readers?”

“Hmm ... Whether it’s with us, or with another company, or own your own, don't forget the imagination you had as a child. If you can dream it, you can create it.” She replied.

An Interview with JueL Resistance

2009-03-26T14:47:00.000Z

By Nazz Lane

We’d become acquainted in Twitter, where I’d happened upon her profile while building on my list of people to follow. I’d heard her perform in SL and enjoyed it immensely, so I clicked to follow her tweets. It was a little later the same day that JueL replied with, “Thank You for the follow, if you get a chance check out one of my live acoustic performances ... and if you know of COOL SL things pass it on”, and she returned the follow. We next crossed paths at a concert, the opening of Tranquil Gardens, where we chatted in IM while listening to the performer. She agreed to an interview and we made the arrangements to do so in Skype.

Nazz: What bought you into SL and why did you stay?

JueL: I used to play sims on-line for a few years and a friend suggested I try SL, that was in 2004, and there was no music back then, just the U2 shows, so I quit. Another friend suggested coming back as the music scene has come along, so I came back in SL in November of 2005.

Nazz: You’ve been performing in SL for three years now, how much has the SL music scene changed in since then?

JueL: Rolling Stone, Wired and NPR all interviewed me about music in SL. I have to say it was a healthy competition a year ago ... now it’s a free for all. The music community is very loose knit … some will play for free and some are writing their own music. Most venues are unwilling to pay … I won’t play for free. So my impression of music scene ... It’s expanding, my visual is that it’s like a field of flowers spreading out … and competition that is so unnecessary … so few people who sing and play with an instrument.

Nazz: Do you perform in real life as well?

JueL: I’ve performed in RL since I was 15 or 16. I was very shy and it took me a long time to get over it.

Nazz: What performers have influenced your style and music the most?

JueL: Well, my music is not for everyone, I have smaller crowds. I’ve been influenced by the darker side. I like Nirvana ... I’m a big fan of Kurt Cobain and I feel like we have much in common. He was one of those rare artists who can take the music and the lyrics and blend them into something that we can feel. Other artists that I like and have inspired me … Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Bob Dylan, who’d influenced my song writing style … Patty Griffin, Mary Gauthier and Bonnie Raitt.

Nazz: What’s your favorite venue in SL?

JueL: My place is my favorite. There are no dance balls and exploders. You come in sit and listen to the music. The Living Room #13 started in early 2006 and it is centered around nothing but the most raw, down to earth, real live musicians and performers in SL. If it moves the soul, it's here.

Nazz: Any performances or special moments that stand out?

JueL: I’ve played so many over the years … iVillage, Elward, and at Dell last year at the opening. You do your own music and some covers, make new fans. Some think that getting a gig like that will make you famous. It doesn't, but it’s still nice getting recognized.

Nazz: I see from your profile that you’re and artist and have a gallery, how’s that going for you?

JueL: There’s a period of time now where I feel like painting and I'll do that and nothing else. I may pick up and write … mostly poetry and short stories. Filthy (Fluno) and Cyl (Cylindrian Rutabaga) were a big influence on getting me to sell my art work in SL and on Etsy.com … now I want to do so in RL. My style is "Folk art", I see colors and I want to throw them onto a canvas. I have synesthesia … it’s where the stimulation of one sense leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sense … like sound and vision … so painting is like music to me.

Nazz: You’d mentioned earlier a commonality with Kurt Cobain, is the synesthesia?

JueL: Like him, I’m bipolar. I feel that I’d known I was bipolar since I was eight, but I wasn’t diagnosed with it until 1989. Since then I've studied … I want to know everything about it. Everything that has to do with the brain I want to know about it. Like did you know that musicians who play string instruments are more likely to be unfaithful in their lives … and that most musicians have more testosterone. I have so many books on the brain.

Nazz: Where do you see your musical career taking you?

JueL: I’d like more exposure, on radio stations like Radio Paradise and clearchannelmusic ... and I’d like to be known as a song writer not so much as a performer. Maybe in three years or in five … someone with a bigger recognition will do a cover of something I’ve written. Or maybe I will. I still perform in SL, but not as much. I’ve tired of it and monotony bores me to death, I like more variety.

Nazz: Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?

JueL: The biggest thing, and I tell this to everyone who wants to do music in SL, ask to be paid. If the venue owner says no, keep looking for one who will … and I’ve learned that it takes fifteen years to be an overnight success.

The End of a Sim, But Not a Community

2009-03-25T04:19:00.003Z

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was March 21st when I got the news. Dreamers Cove was gone, and with it my old home, Woodlin. The other sim in the area had vanished a couple weeks before.

Woodlin was created almost a year ago, and when I first saw it in Summer 2008, it was mostly the form I had known it. Dreamers Cove was the main of the two sims in Woodlin. Most of the residents lived there, either in treehouses or apartments built onto the larger trees that stood a few hundred meters high. There was also a shopping mall where people could get new clothes, accessories, avatars, etc. Dreamers was also where the Margaritavile beach club was located. The sim also boasted a movie theater (for a time, people could see movies in their own homes as well). All was built in a sim with a natural look to it, where one could explore the trees, hills, and streams, occasionally finding some hidden caves. The largest one was a temple where one could meditate.

Hopeful Shores was the second sim of Woodlin, only occasionally ever have anyone living there, and fewer trees. But it had two good clubs. 6th Circle was the hell-club there, inspired by another one that had gone out of business. Later on came Star Tails, the highly-colorful space club that regularly hosted parties to the end. Late in 2008, a space station was built and Star Tails attached to it.

The Woodlin area was built and managed until recently by Dax Loon. Staticminded Waco became co-manager in January, and full manager in February.

I made a number of friends there. There was Bubbles, whose lighthearted manner and “bubbly” friendliness were always a cheery sight. There was Aiko, whom was a bit of a prankster, but always wanting everyone to have fun. There was Maria, whom was often seen with Aiko and her “partner in crime" in mischief, though the more I knew her the more I saw of her sweet and tender side. There was Mega, whom liked firing her guns and causing explosions (away from peoples’ houses). There was Miki, the self-described “lil imp,” whom was known for her line of clothes and webcomic. There was Galvanized, whose “movie voice” made him popular with others and one of the best DJs. There was Rory, who proved to be a great event organizer and club owner. There was Aiko’s partner Foxy, whom also made a name for himself DJing. There was Isegrim, the “big but not so bad” wolf as I called him, whom was known for eyeing the ladies, but so big-hearted none of the girls minded. There was Jessica, whom was a bit of a tease. There was Danikia, whom was an up and coming DJ this year. There was Ekedo, the quirky little DJ whom is best described as young at heart. And there are many others whom I lack the time to mention.

The times we had. Where to begin? We saw movies together, laughing at humor and cheering at the action. We played games of Una in the space station’s lounge, cracking jokes over voice and laughing harder than we had in weeks. And of course all the parties we had, and not just in the clubs. We would have a dance party out on the deck of one of the apartment trees. This included a few beach parties with the landlady dancing around in a bikini and guitar.

Although this may be the end of the Dreamers sim, it is not the end of the community that for months called it their home in Second Life. Foxy acquired another sim: Foxworthy, also known as Willow’s Thicket. Running the location with help from Aiko, he has offered a number of houses for rent, some housing other old neighbors of his. With the close of Dreamers Cove, he plans to eventually offer more residential places for them. In the meantime, the residents of Willows are continuing to keep in touch with old friends.

The land may be gone, but the happy memories remain, and friendships forged over time between neighbors in SL continue.

Bixyl Shuftan

Mend a Broken Cyber Heart

2009-03-19T12:33:00.003Z

So awhile back, one of my SL loves dumped me cruelly, hurtfully, and for stupid reasons. I know that probably sounds pessimistic but break-ups are rarely pleasant. But as it did happen on SL, I decided to wander about looking for distractions to ease the hurt and take my mind off things. So on that note, I give you...

PENNY'S TOP 5 WAYS TO DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM A BROKEN HEART ON SL

5) Go dancing! Yeah I know that sounds simplistic but SL has no shortage of dance clubs of all sorts, including our very own Secret Seductions, and sometimes dancing mindlessly to good music with fun people around is a great way to soothe the ache. For a lot of people it's healthy to be around people after a break-up. It also doesn't hurt to just dance the anger away. I find personally that channeling break-up anger through dancing is a lot healthier and positive then stewing on it.

4) Go exploring. I found that with so much hurt in my heart, it was a perfect time to look up some things on SL I had been meaning to look for but kept forgetting to. I looked up the Apple store, and had fun browsing all the virtual computer props. Even put one on my desk in my office. Then I looked for various themes. I found an actual Transgender support area, hidden amongst all the shemale sex clubs, and met some really cool supportive people there. Just search the places tab for anything you're into, goth, rave, art, etc, and go exploring. You'll be amazed how easily you get distracted from the hurt.

3) Learn to build or create. Get yourself to one of the many public sandboxes here on SL and start building. Create something. Experiment with textures and shapes. Build a house, a car, a guitar, anything you can imagine, you can build in SL. I'm just a beginner myself, but I found it incredibly cathartic to even just build a box with my logo on it. It was liberating, and helped me ignore the hurt awhile. So go get yourself building, and see what you can come up with.

2) Hanging with friends. A simple yet easily overlooked option. There's always SOMEONE on SL more than happy to shoot the breeze and gab happily for hours about anything and everything, or even nothing in particular. Talk about your break-up. Talk about the weather. Talk about that new prim outfit you bought that you don't think quite looks right, but talk. It really is the best way to purge negative energy from a break-up, to just talk it out, or talk about completely unrelated things. But talk, and soon you'll find the hurt fades into the background.

1) GO SHOPPING!!! Okay, this one probably usually only applies to us girls, well, except if there's a good hardware store on here someplace. But the best medicine sometimes for us ladies when we're hurt is to go shopping. Spend frivolously on things we don't need, or just window shop looking at nice stuff we can't afford. Shopping is a great stress reliever, because you get so caught up in all the cool things you can find that for a while you forget you're hurting. Shopaholics unite!

Of course we know nothing ever truly makes the hurt go away. Only time can do that. But for the immediate moment, it helps to have fun ways to make you stop thinking about it. And that's really the best painkiller isn't it? So go have fun. Hurt is only as painful as you allow it to be.

Now give me a hug dammit!
Penny Sautereau

WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM IN SECOND LIFE?

2009-03-18T09:53:00.002Z

Well, we all know about babies in Real Life and the shenanigans that go in making them and then looking after them until they are old enough to look after themselves.

But how does it happen in Second Life? Does it happen on Second Life, you ask? Of course it does. But, hoe does it happen and why does it happen? Because we live in a non-biological world, we have to take a difference approach to having babies.

In fact it can be very much like the future predicted for RL.

A lady can go into a shop and buy an avatar with several stages of pregnancy, six, for instance. One where there is nothing showing - a normal avatar. Then there are five stages of pregnancy where there is a discernible bump, which grows according to a timetable set by the RL person to whom the avatar belongs.

There is a very advanced baby which can monitor conversations going on around it and can contribute with its own appropriate comments, an awareness which many people believe in, in RL, but not the talking, of course.

I went to several shops to find out how it all worked. In each place the ladies were very happy to talk to me about it and I learned a great deal.

Having a baby in SL can be a learning experience for some and a cathartic release for others. Every stage from conception (controlled by a HUD which even caters for a percentage success/failure rate until conception occurs) through labour to birth, is covered and, of course the delivery of the baby.

The choice of baby is very wide. You choose, girl, boy, colour of skin, hair and eyes. Babies develop in much the same way they do in RL, growing from newborn to nine years old in some cases.

One “baby shop” had a maternity wing with all the necessary facilities to simulate childbirth in an environment that was very much like a maternity ward in RL.

Never having been through the process (fatherhood in SL) myself, I cannot describe what happens but, like all of us with RL experience, I can be sure that it is very realistic.

One thing I am very sure of is that the ladies that I met were very serious about what they did and were very confident that their services were beneficial to many customers, helping mums to be the overcome fears they have of childbirth in RL. Several ladies in the shop at the same time as me were very kind and described how going through pregnancy and childbirth in SL helped them approach the process in RL with more confidence or get over the loss of a real child.

What could appear to many as inappropriate and sentimental came across to me, from what the services providers and past and current customers told me, as a very sincere and worthwhile virtual service and gave a range of experiences which satisfied the needs of the many different customers with their very different needs.

Kim Trefusis

Breezes Thoughts

2009-03-17T08:38:00.005Z

The floodgates of piratelands and 9 sims are chucked full of sl designers ready and waiting to entice you to buy buy buy.
I tell you you won't have a linden left. The array of selections is enough to make the mind go berserk. I want, I want, I need oh yes of course you need more. No one can ever have enough. (hides face in hands and laughs like crazy.

You simply must explore all the sims not just the shops but see all the wonders of landscapings provided for your pleasure.
The relay for life is the biggest event for second life ever.
With all of our help we will help overcome this disastrous cancer.
We need you all to help with the battle.
Together we will win.
Come please please help us make the world full of survivors and cancel the big "C" word forever.
See you all there
yo ho ho and a bottle of rum to ye me hearties!

Breezes Babii

Pictures from the first fashion show hosted by Timeless agency wonderful ladies!

Breezes Thoughts

2009-03-11T08:39:00.005Z

Slugs in the sky, yes sir, and down where normal people are DJ Qwark our very own DJ Is giving us the neatest slugs you ever had to dance with.
Gemma and Qwark and many friends are down on the dance floor where most normal peeps are.
How would bree know what normal is??
Now answer me that.

Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

“We Don’t Allow YOUR Kind Here!”

2009-03-10T05:17:00.004Z

By Bixyl Shuftan

A few days ago, one of my foxfolk friends was exploring around, and wanting to rezz some items came across a sandboox at an Italian beach villiage. Like the majority of places he had seen, all were in normal human avies, “mature content and a nude beach.” Just after getting there, “I was approached by a resident and told that I had to reove my ‘ mask.’ I was polite and said that I wasn't wearing a mask that this was my personna.” But the local persisted, so my friend left. Not long afterwards, he told the story to another fox friend of his whom got irritated and insisted he take him and some others online at the time over, most furred but one neko joined in, “We were pretty civil, except for **** calling them racists. ... they bounced us out and banned us from the area."

When a couple others from the incident arrived, they told me a little more, one saying she took on the appearance of a naked hermapodite with a huge appendage and didn’t get banned until changing back to a clean furry. They asked me to see the scene for myself, and ported me to a spot next to the beach village. I walked in, the scene rezzing more slowly than normal. Just across the bridge was a sign, and one resident nearby. So I stood on the bridge for a while, waited for the sign to fully rez, and sure enough it stated “No Furry” alongside “No monsters” and the usual behaviors against intimate activity in the open and gunfire. The resident did nothing, though might have been away from the keyboard, so I turned around and left. Porting to a tavern, we had a long talk about the place.

It’s my experience that incidents like this are very rare in Second Life. Most places are happy to have anyone whom is not bothering anyone, especially if they’re spending money. But considering how treatment one sees as unfair sticks in one’s mind, when someone does end up booted from a place because of his looks, it is certainly remembered.

Why do some places limit what avatars can come in? Some are roleplay sims that have rules against certain avatars, but will also boot anyone not following the dress code or anything else of a strict set of guidelines, that is, if they let anyone outside their group in at all. I have heard no real complaints about their policies.

Then there was the one single place I was asked to leave because of my avatar’s appearance. Someone from a charity group sent me a complaint about a formal dress nightclub only allowing in human avatars. I decided to check things out for myself, put on my Dana Delight’s tuxedo, and ported over. Seeing a lady by the door, I chatted with her for a few minutes, and she clearly welcomed me. Going in, no one bothered me at first, but the place was laggy as heck. I was about to conclude the place was a false alarm and port out, when a lady approached me and IMed me, “Excuse me ... could you please change to a human avatar?” My response, “The lady at the door didn’t have a problem with me. And in the year and a half I’ve been here, not a single place I’ve been to has had a problem with my appearance.” “I’m truly sorry, but we have a dress code, and we still need you to change.” I was irritated, no sign of a problem at the door and now this. But how much was a place too laggy to stay worth making a fuss over? So I ported out. Most likely the lag would keep away more people than anything I could do or say.

So why did they have a problem? It may be they saw avatars as an extension on the dress code, since people in Second Life have the ability change their shape, as well as their clothes. Trouble is, many people, both furry and normal people, dislike changing their avatar’s look. “I have this nagging fear that I might not be able to change back,” one person told me. In any event, no other place before, or after, had a problem with my foxfolk look. It’s notable that a few weeks later, I was invited to a live classical music performance in a place that was *really* high class and elegant. No one had a problem with my avatar’s look (and Dana's tuxedo fit in nicely).

Then there’s the scenerio that my furred freinds think of most often, getting tossed out “just because” by someone being a real jerk about it. I was a semi-witness to one example. I once joined a group for a pirate club an event organizer I knew liked to go to. One day, one of the pirates started a group chat, “Don’t go to *****. I went there, and they refused to sell me anything, telling me ‘We don’t allow YOUR kind here!’ .“ The immediate response was, “WHOAH! They’re gonna get it now!” This was followed by cries of righteous indignation, and calls for going to the sim to protest or teach them a lesson.

I didn’t get to the scene until later. According to the group chat, the furred pirates began porting over to the place, and before long the local ones threw up a “No admittance” barrier. With no way to get in, the tailed buccaneers cursed for a while, then gave up. The guy who started this then told everyone he might as well shop elsewhere. He soon told the group, “Hey guys, I finally found a place. They even have a furry among them.” And so ended the fight between what one guy called “the tail pirates versus the butt pirates.”

Why do some people have problems with a guy or girl in a furball avatar? The subject can be an article on itself. Penance Sautereau did a two-part article that can be read here and here. But what do do about the few whom take things to the point of banning people minding their own business from sims? That was the subject of a lengthy discussion between me and other furballs.

Second Life’s Community Standards begins with this statement, “The goals of the Community Standards are simple: treat each other with respect and without harassment, adhere to local standards as indicated by simulator ratings, and refrain from any hate activity which slurs a real-world individual or real-world community.” Even if the banning of people because of their avatars is not against the letter of the rules, it certainly goes against the spirit, in my opinion.

By all means, this kind of problem is not limited to furred avies. I have heard stories of players with normal human appearances being subject to harassment in sims populated by furred residents. One former friend of mine told me via instant message about going to a place recommended by me, and treated harshly by some local furballs, “I had no idea furries could be so cruel!” She would then have nothing to do with furs again. A couple of my friends who prefer to appear normal human told me they themselves had gone through some of this kind of harassment.

The antics of the “human-haters” I find to be as silly as their anti-furball counterparts, if not moreso. Aren’t we all human behind our keyboards? I’ve had a couple mild-mannered furballs say normal human avatars look unnatural and zombielike to them, falling into what some call the "Uncanny Alley," but I’ve never gotten much of an answer from the few haters I’ve come across.

These rare but annoying incidents make me think a little of one bit of movie trivia I came across. Fans of the “Planet of the Apes” movie occasionally recall one of the themes was it’s anti-racism message - the gorillas could only be soldiers, the orangutans were limited to sciences and study, etc. Just how well the message reached the actors was brought into question one day. The time it took to put on the makeup was so long, actors would eat lunch still in costume, and did so in a designated lunch area. Once, one of the “apes” happened to look around, and noticed that the place had segregated itself. The gorillas were in one area, the orangutans in another, and the chimpanzees in a third. Even though everyone was human underneath, they had broken up into groups based on their costumes!

With this in mind, maybe it’s a little less surprising some are reluctant to explore places populated by another type of avatar. But in the opinion of this Second Life resident, it doesn’t excuse a few monkeying around with our freedom of movement.

Have any of you the readers experienced this kind of treatment? Feel free to tell your story in the comment section below.

Bixyl Shuftan

Want To Get Somewhere Fast? Make A Teleporter Box!

2009-03-04T20:30:00.005Z

While I was building on my island in Second Life I realized that I could build a skybox way up to 4000 meters above the ground. I was so excited and put on my flight feather, which is an attachement that allows you to fly up that high. I built my skybox, all glass, and I set my environment lighting to midnight. I set out a rug and put a music pod on the wall that played all classical music. It was so incredibly relaxing that I almost fell asleep. The stars were bright and I could see the moon so well. Afterwards I clicked on my map and teleported back home, down to the castle below. Unfortunately I had no way of getting back up to the skybox unless I flew again, which took entirely too long.

I had set a landmark there and renamed it my skybox, but for some reason I couldn't teleport there. Maybe my land setting was a blocked teleport setting, or maybe I had it set to a landing point, but no matter what it was set at, I could not teleport there at all. I didn't want to fly back up, so a friend suggested that I rezz a box and put in the parameters that I needed to get to. That is exactly what I did. I went into the build mode and rezzed a normal, plain box. I went into the edit mode and to the object tab. I set the parameters for the X, Y, and Z coordinates to the same ones my landmark for my skybox had been set to. The box disappeared. My friend suggested that I sit on the box first, and it turns out he was a smart friend. Less than a second after I put in the Z coordinate I was sitting in my skybox along side the other box that I had rezzed earlier. I was amazed that I could get anywhere by just sitting on a box and editing the coordinates to the right parameter setting for the place I wanted to be. Now all I needed was to make the box a little more attractive and I had my own vehicle of transportation! A pink cushion of velvet sounds great!

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-22T14:30:00.005Z

Boooooooooooo and and ghostiesare meeting with Bree tonight.
Yep I looked in a casket and I found this fabulous outfit. It was calling to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
"Please wear me."
Poor Bree could not resist such a plea. Those that know me will simply say 'oh not another peice of clothing do I need. '
I scoff.
One can never have enough clothes to ever satisfy Bree.
No siree.
If you gals want to find some terific clothes come to Lemanias'. I promise you will find all sorts of pleasures here I am on my way to open another grave muuuuaaaaahahahah
Breezes Babii
'I am always searching for something'

Speaking with Sigma-Aldrich's SL Representative Georgianna Blackburn

2009-02-21T13:50:00.002Z

By Nazz Lane

I’d arrived early at the Aldrich Chemistry SIM for a scheduled appointment with Georgianna Blackburn and took the opportunity to look around while waiting for the start of our meeting. Having rezzed in at the entry point I scanned across the wide plaza admiring the design and layout of the build. Aldrich Chemistry is one of five SIM’s that Sigma-Aldrich, the life science and high technology company, owns as part of its SL complex and was the first complete in its build. I noted the presence of two buildings along the perimeter of spacious plazas, immediately to the left is the “new products pavilion” and across the way is the “art of science exhibit”. The latter facility is across form a second square which holds a pleasant fountain, a circular one which sits centered in the wide space. Both plazas are landscaped artfully with spaced areas for flowers and trees. The entire area is framed by rolling green hills to the south from which a pair of waterfalls on each side of the slopes cascade down into the lush green park like setting below.

Just shortly after I finished my tour of the two facilities, Ms Blackburn arrived. We exchanged greetings in text chat before moving into voice for the interview.

NL: What was it that bought you into SL and has kept you here?

GB: Curiosity, like most. I’d heard about it at a marketing conference. When I first came in … there was so much to learn that I gave up. It was about a week later, with a friend, that I came back in. The social networking is what kept me here. I like networking and hearing the thoughts and ideas of others. When I saw through doing a search, the “American Chemical Society”, I knew this was where I needed to be. I’ve been amazed at the creativity of people in here.

NL: I’m reading from your profile text, "And one man in his time plays many parts" What part do you play for Sigma-Aldrich and what part does Georgianna play?

GB: Well for Sigma-Aldrich I’m a pioneer, showing them the technology. Trying to show what can be done with the technology. I work mostly with PhD’s, in Chemistry, but my back ground is in marketing and advertising. I do eMarketing for the chemical division Aldrich brand. About 90% of what I do in SL is on my personal time. I do get some support from IT. We’re testing immersive workspace as a supplement to WebEx, I’m working with an associate in the UK. As for Georgianna, if I had known then what I know now, I might have actually used my real name. Georgianna has become well known.

NL: What does Sigma-Aldrich do in SL?

GB: We’re trying to take an educational approach, however we can attribute some potential sales that occurred because of our presence here in SL. But primarily we’re working with the universities, we have some ideas to try out and we would like to get them moving. As an example, right now we are collaborating with a university on a student project.

NL: How many people at Sigma-Aldrich have avatars and how often do they use them?

GB: There are five. One of the Product Manager’s comes in primarily and helps me out with the product information.

NL: How does Sigma-Aldrich plan to use SL?

GB: We would like to have seminars here and I’d love to do a mixed reality event. We’re also looking to do more collaboration with universities in SL. We’re planning on an open grid SIM, the Science SIM. I’ve been out there and the first person I met there was a customer of Sigma-Aldrich, she's also in SL. We’ve been getting more visitors now here, about 35 a day. But we need to do more events. Also, I’m getting my budget together for SL, it was at the chemistry division last year, this year it’s a corporate budget item. I keep the CIO in the loop on what we do here and on virtual worlds. Also, and this was just recently I sat on the Nokia panel for women in virtual worlds

NL: What are Georgeianna's plans for SL?

GB: I’ve gone to some building classes and I am looking at designing my own cloths. Also, I’m looking for a good French class. I took French in school and would like to expand the knowledge. Sometimes, I hang out in the French SIM’s just to listen in.

NL: Do you have any closing thoughts to share?

GB: I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings me. It’s been very exciting, I feel lucky to have been a part of this.

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-18T11:38:00.002Z

See I told you it would not be

long till I did some other dang fool thing. This is what happens to me when I get flustered, but I have never had part of my hair gone.
Does this mean no blood is flowing in this part of my skull?
You can't see my AO and what it is doing, but I can tell you I have a Kimono AO and I think this is trying to get me to Asia - I want to go overseas but not quite to Asia!

Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

Virtual Ability Island Expansion

2009-02-16T10:55:00.001Z

By Nazz Lane

In August of 2008 I wrote an article for this newspaper on the opening of a new SIM, Virtual Ability Island. I’d met and interviewed Gentle Heron, founder and president of Virtual Ability Inc. (VAI), a RL 501(c) 3 Corporation. Since then the VAI presence in SL has expanded. The first change occurred in November, when VAI partnered with Cap Able, a leading community that supports the hearing impaired. In the partnership, VAI became the owner of the Cape Able SIM and has plans to develop it to further enhance their capability in meeting its mission of providing an “orientation and training center for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses”. A second expansion came about when it was announced that VAI would become one of the Community Gateway choices available to all new residents who sign up for SL with Linden Lab.

I caught up with Ms Heron recently. We met in her skybox office, several hundred meters above the orientation center on the VAI SIM. We exchanged pleasantries while I waited for things to rezz. When they did, I took a seat across from Gentle and we began the interview.

Nazz Lane: It seems that SL is rather slow today.

Gentle Heron: We had a whole bunch of new arrivals come in for the Stepping into Science Conference, which slows things down.

Nazz Lane: I had just read a press announcement about Virtual Ability becoming one of the Community Gateway choices. I thought you had one of the best orientation programs around ... congratulations Gentle. How’s it going?

Gentle Heron: Yes, since January 26^th, still a few kinks to work out. We used a research-based approach, with community development input in developing our orientation. It makes it a bit slower, but we like our results.

Nazz Lane: I also saw information about the partnership with Cape Able, was it a partnership or an acquisition?

Gentle Heron: It was an acquisition, as we announced it in November. They were an existing community for D/deaf and hard of hearing people. They were very socially isolated and by acquiring them, we can integrate them into SL society, which after all is a major goal of the Virtual Ability group.

Nazz Lane: How did the acquisition come about?

Gentle Heron: Interestingly Treasure Ballinger approached us. The former owner had a RL health crisis and couldn't continue. Treasure knew of our group and came over for a chat.

Nazz Lane: How long did it take to work out the details?

Gentle Heron: Less than a month. We had to move fast or they would have lost the SIM.

Nazz Lane: Is the integration complete?

Gentle Heron: Yes, it is. It was a residential SIM and we kept the estate manager, Treasure Ballinger. She now is a member of the Virtual Ability, Inc. RL Board. She is in charge of the rental property on Cape Able. But there are two other facilities there of interest, one is a Service Center with tons of resources both for the D/deaf community and the community of the disabled in general. The other is an art gallery run by an RL art curator, Nicolo Anthony. The gallery features works by deaf and other disabled artists. It will reopen the SIM in February with a Grand Opening celebration, featuring two SL artists. The opening will take place on Feb 22nd from 2-6 pm SLT,

Nazz Lane: So the transition has gone well?

Gentle Heron: Folks from the Cape Able community have begun to come to Virtual Ability social events, and mingle, and our folks have gone to their events, and a few have moved over to Cape Able. So it's working well. Treasure is going to make a presentation to our folks about speaking with someone whose native language is ASL not English, the words are similar, but the grammar isn't and sometimes people who speak ASL are taken for stupid by those who don't understand but they truly speak a different language. Treasure's presentation on ASL will also be given at the Dreams Community Fair in February. We always participate in that, it’s a great way to support the community at large.

Nazz Lane: ASL is the American Sign Language?

Gentle Heron: Yes, but typed out instead of signing. There is a display about the grammar differences in the Service Center.

Nazz Lane: So now with two SIMs ... and with this being one of the communities of choice for new avatars ... what else is in the plans for VAI?

Gentle Heron: Oh my, well we've been working with the SecondAbility Mentors group. They serve as helpers for our newcomers. There are bells along the newcomer orientation trail that anyone can ring for assistance and that sends a message to any SAM wearing their HUD the first SAM to respond then is given the SLURL and can TP directly to the person needing assistance. Those bells are now used at the Autism Society of America here in SL, and at the London SIMs. We had a volunteer scripter who created the bell/HUD system. What else we are doing is providing a wiki of resources in SL that the SAMs can use to refer people to for additional specialized assistance.

Breezes Thoughts

2009-02-14T12:20:00.003Z

Okay!!! I have done alot of dumb

things, but I have never done this trick before. Now gang, I know how to look under the beach for the rest of me.
Do you think I can find me?
Well you got another think coming.
Of course you would love to see all of Bree cause all she has on is a lovely Boa and tiny bikini bottom. I was going to a contest for barely there depending on if I find myself. Wish me luck.
No doubt there willl be another experience coming for MOI soon. Please note the newspaper vendor in case I need something to read :)

Breezes Babii in a mess again

Some Real Life Reactions to Second Life

2009-02-09T05:44:00.004Z

Being in Second Life for almost two years, there comes the question. What do my family, friends, and coworkers think of it?

One of my relatives uses the computer to work online, making a fair amount of income. The idea of a “chat room on steroids” she found appealing. But her computer wasn’t powerful enough for the Second Life client, and the chat rooms she used to conduct business worked well enough. So she never did touch Second Life herself, just found it good that I did.

Among friends and co-workers, I mention it sometimes when the subject of computers comes up. Some have heard of it, but more often than not they haven’t until I mentioned what it is. Some express interest, others couldn’t seem to care less.

One man I thought would be interested was a UFO buff, and wondered what he would think of a place where one could virtually take on a non-human appearance. So one day in some casual conversation when he asked me what I was up to this weekend, wondering if I’d be listening to “Coast to Coast.” I told him most likely I’d be meeting up with some friends online. He asked if it was on a game, and I mentioned, “Maybe a little ‘World of Warcraft,’ but also on ‘Second Life.’ “ He thought for a moment, “I think I heard about that on TV. ... The program told it was some weird porn site.” I gave him an odd look, “What? It surely must’ve told you more than that?” “Nope, porn site.”

“It’s a vast three-dimensional virtual landscape,” I told him, “Unlike games such as ‘World of Warcraft,’ almost all the content is created by other players. Sure you’re going to have a few people create some adult-themed areas, but most places on Second Life aren’t like that. People have created wilderness areas, castles and villages, even science-fiction areas with aliens. You can find just about everything there.” “Porn site.” “Oh come on. Just because a few areas there are a little wild does not make the whole place dirty.” “Porn site.”

I thought for a moment, recalling he was in the US Navy, “Someone created a replica of the Vietnam Memorial there.” “A what?” He seemed more interested. “Someone recreated ‘The Wall’ in Second Life. Right down to every one of the fifty thousand names.” “No way.” “Yes way.”

I then explained how I came across it, describing how from the point of view of one’s computer, one appeared to be at a replica of the Vietnam Wall. One that was highly detailed, right down to the squirrels in the park, and with a system to find individual names. My friend seemed impressed, and hearing about the article I wrote asked to see it. I showed it to him after work before we left for home. He thought it was very interesting. Still, he continued to call Second Life a porn site as a joke once in a while.

I mentioned SL to a few other coworkers on some occasions. Most hadn’t heard of it, more familiar with “World of Warcraft,” but some were interested. I thought someone might be curious enough to give it a try. Still, it was a surprise when my supervisor told me he was going on it. I talked a little about what I did there, my doing articles for an online newspaper. He didn’t think anything about my avatar’s foxlike appearance there, as he was familiar with my sense of humor and saw the “Fox News” joke. I expected that I would soon be helping him out some, but as it turned out he gave it up as the “lag” took the fun out of it for him. So my worry that I’d soon have to explain one of the weirder aspects of SL to the man who hands me my real-life paycheck never materialized.

Then there was one story about Second Life that made the news in the local paper, though not in the best light. It seems a man in SL broke off a relationship there with a lady, and her response was to come after him in real life with the intention of detaining him for a while whether he liked it or not. One coworker who was more into computers and games than most others found out about it and went to me, “Hey *****, hear about that woman who met a guy on Second Life and tried to kidnap him? Maybe if you keep running into girls there, maybe someday soon one will be knocking on your door with a pair of handcuffs. (chuckle).” Perhaps I should have reminded him of when he told me he stumbled into a Star Trek club, and got tackled by a Klingon girl.

Not everyone reacted positively. Once I was talking with a couple friends of my Father, a man and a woman. The subject of the future came up, and they had a rather pessimistic view of it. The man mentioned an old science-fiction story in which people were afraid to come out of their tiny apartments, interacting with each other only through a computer world. I then mentioned, “Well, something like that exists now, Second Life.” Before I could say more, the woman promptly told me, “Stay away from there!” “Too late,” I answered. She wasn’t too happy, explaining how she heard of people having relationships online, and how she thought they were completely out of their mind. I then asked her, “So which is worse, people having relationships online, or guys going to hookers?” “Well, at least a hooker would be *real.*” It was obvious there was not going to be any changing of their minds.

And so, a few reactions of real life friends, family, and acquaintances to Second Life. It would seem more positive publicity is needed.

Bixyl Shuftan

No Limits 3

2009-02-07T12:23:00.004Z

Click Images to see full size
They will open in a new window

One Stop Baby Making Clinic

2009-02-05T09:45:00.002Z

I never thought Second Life could get as close to reality as I have been discovering. Who could have thought that there would be a baby making clinic? Just like you heard it, a baby making clinic! The genius behind this idea is Jeff Demar, creator of the Bouncy Bundles Maternity.

Getting pregnant in SL is now a wish come true to those who have wanted to experience real life experiences in SL. Bouncy Bundles Maternity is a one stop clinic and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Jeff Demar and his staff offer everything a real life maternity clinic can offer. They offer pregnancy tests, pregnancy bellies, baby toys, and even delivery rooms, where you can deliver your baby even if there are no staff members online.

If it’s your wish not to look pregnant or go through a pregnancy you can always go to their Creation Stations and create your own baby. The Bouncy Bundles Maternity offers 4 main variations of babies to choose from: Economy, Deluxe, Low Prims and Crawlers. The difference between the variations are the prices, the Economy baby is the most affordable one. The prices range between $2500L and $6000L, they are very well-equipped and can interact with the parents and people around them just like a real life child would do.

“All of my babies come with several poses for interacting. They sit, stand crawl, walk and can grow up to 3 years,” said Demar.

The Bouncy Bundles Maternity babies go through a regular growth and as Demar stated, their maximum growth is at the age of three. The babies change as they grow, their faces change and grow teeth at 6 months old. The babies go through six stages: newborn, 3 months old, 6 months old, 1 year old, 2 years old and 3 years old. Parents decide how long it will take the babies to reach their maximum age.

“I did not place a timer into them because each parents’ role-play is different,” said Demar.

You can choose the amount of babies you want, twins, triplets, quadruplets or as many as you wish. Parents can create a “normal” baby, gorean, goth, neko, or vamps, which are born with baby fangs that grow as the baby grows.

“You can rez a baby and select from a multi-menu system. You pick the options for the baby and when you’re finished, you make your purchase,” stated Demar.

If you choose to go through a regular pregnancy, you can decide the time you want to be pregnant and the delivery date. All you have to do is go to the Pregnancy Section where they offer the “tummies” and information needed. There you can also purchase an ultrasound appointment and can get your free “pregnant shape”. The delivery facilities are found in the third floor where you can go to when it’s time for your baby to come into the beautiful SL world.

Jeff Demar has been in business for over 2 years and has delivered many babies. His staff is very well prepared and will guide and answer any questions you might have. Visit the Bouncy Bundles Maternity and enjoy your new baby.

By Lizzy Arriaga

2009-02-01T14:12:00.002Z

There is a continuing supply of new free accounts in Second Life each expecting exciting new adventures. Which they will surely get, but how do they emulate the older residents with their cool clothes, beautiful hair, bodies and skins? Of course there are the ubiquitous freebies, hundreds of outlets and thousands of products, so many of them repeated in each yard sale or freebie mall and they soon find that everybody else has got the same hair, skirt or jeans. “You can spot a Newbie a mile off” with the plastic hair and unrealistic face.

Apparently there a three questions that new accounts ask: 1. How do I get money?

2. How do I get a job? 3. Where do I go for sex? There may be others but these are the favourites.

Well it would appear logical that if question 2 were answered, question 1 would be answered and there would be no need for begging. Problem solved! Ah, but how do you get a job? There’s the rub. So, I went looking for jobs.

Well camping seemed to be thought of as a job, so I had a go. There are different levels of activity in camping. Your avatar can do nothing, scrub the floor or clean the windows for, say, L$2 for 50 minutes. One camper I saw had achieved a level of over 1000 minutes. They must have left their computer on continuously for over 17 hours(I wonder how much that cost?). You can work in nightclubs as escorts, dancers or bouncers. These jobs apparently pay quite well. There are higher levels of pay but some I would rather not discuss how they are earned.

So, you can earn money by doing a “proper” job. So why beg, at all? I can only think it’s because it’s the first “real life” thing you learn in Second Life. Even before you register, you’re told about begging. It’s also naughty, therefore fun! Also it’s not REAL work.

But there are enough residents in Second Life who get upset about begging and believe that something ought to be done about it, for it to be taken seriously by “The Authorities”.

“Ban them “, I am told. “Kick them about a bit and THEN ban them” Phew; strong feelings! “How do they know that begging is wrong?” I ask “Common sense”, “It’s obvious”, “Of course, they should know, “everybody knows it’s wrong” come the replies.

There are two sides to this argument, The “Newbies” and their helpers. On the one side and those of us who are settled in and living and working in a real world, on the other. So, what can be done about it? I asked some residents... Without exception, they were strongly opposed to it and suggested strong action against it, from the residents and from Linden Lab, themselves. It is believed that beggars will go to dozens of groups with the same message and some residents respond by paying the L$1 required. Apparently this can mount up to enough money to buy a shape or a skin. A big prize; indeed.

There does seem to be a problem, but it is on one side, apparently. There is a great divide between “Newbies” and long-term settled residents, with homes and work or jobs and a history in Second Life. So where does the solution come from?

People will soon learn the etiquette of Second life and find work or dip into their RL pockets to fund their lives here, or leave. Very many have done that. There are job agencies in SL, there are valuable skills to be learned which will earn a good income, once mastered. For the individual who started off begging, then learned trade or started a business, found his or her funding, the problem is over. But a new wave join up and it starts all over again.

So, it is an SL-wide problem and will never go away unless tackled on that scale. Banning it, punishing the perpetrators as criminals, as some have suggested, is too totalitarian and leaving it to the offended resident to complain and ban or mute the offending party is too lax. Perhaps more emphasis should be put on teaching Second Life etiquette on the Help Island, making sure that the newcomers REALLY know not to beg and what to do so that they don’t need to beg. Also a more concerted effort in creating and finding jobs and opportunities for new residents and bringing it to their attention.

There ARE agencies out there but they are competing with each other and most offer very little. Several I have seen have huge walls covered with empty posters with a scattered few announcing camping or FREE MONEY. It is hardly enough to meet the reportedly huge demand from the daily influx of “Newbies”.

Perhaps there should be a Grid-wide network of Job Centres, financed and monitored by Linden Lab, sharing work and training information, to ensure that everyone, wherever they arrive or live in Second life has access to them. Or is that too much like Big Brother, too much like Real Life? Maybe begging is just something we can decide to accept or do something about, on an individual basis Second life is like that, isn’t ?

Kim Trefusis

My First Attempt At Building!

2009-01-28T02:40:00.017Z

I have been to sandboxes and had the frustrating experience of people there who only go to bother others, griefers. I have put a box on the ground and stretched it and rotated it. I have put an outfit on and modified it with the basic tools in the edit section, but I had never built anything that was going to stay put or that was very big. I decided after being in Second Life from the begining in 2003, and then leaving and coming back with a new account in 2007 that I was ready to actually purchase a piece of land. I looked in search and the land sales, asked friends in my clan family about their experiences and took their advice and finally decided on a little island of my own. It is very private and I now can control who and what comes around. I can't believe I waited this long to do this! It is fantastic to actually own a virtual piece of land. I can build and leave it and move it and edit the terrain. It is so incredible what you can do in Second Life! I started with a pre formed castle thinking that since it was pretty much put together that it would be easy! I was wrong. I rezzed it on the ground where I wanted it and it was the size of a little sand castle, lol. I stretched and moved it until it was the size i wanted. I thought okay that was easy. That is when I decided that I didn't like the floor texture, or the wall texture, or the shape of the fire place. So I began changing things. Now, since I have been in Second Life so long I have quite the selection of textures. So at first it was fun! I began by changing the outer walls of the castle. I right clicked on the castle, edited and then chose texture. I put on so many different ones just trying them out, but I found that I had lost the origanal stone texture. It was not in my inventory, so I had to chose a different one, and that in itself wasn't so bad, because I had so many different types of stone ones. The thing that was bad is that some of the castle was linked together and some was not. This means that some of the castle was one stone and the other parts were another! I had to change almost stone by stone the textures into the same ones. I relinked and locked and unlinked and relinked so many times! I could not believe how many parts were with this castle!! If I had it to do over again I would have made sure the whole thing was linked in the begining and then just went to edit the linked items. But, I am learning so it is all an experiment of new skills learned each day. After I changed the floor to marble, which again required a lot of linking and unlinking, I was so exhausted I felt like I had done it for real! I decided then I would stop on the castle and work on the sky box that came in the box. I wanted to put it way up so that I could make it a little private get away for friends and I to enjoy the sky and stars. I went up to 3000 meters and rezzed the skybox platform and the skybox which again was the size of a small sand castle. I finally got the two to fit right and stretched to the right size and then decided I hated all of the textures, lol. I played around and came up with the idea of an all glass skybox. I chose a glass block texture and stained glass for the windows. Wow it looked pretty cool! I found a music pod in my inventory that I had picked up so long ago and put it on the wall. I linked everything, put a nice rug, played nice music set the light to midnight and it was amazing. The moon and the stars were so bright and you could see everything. The glass block texture that I chose was blue so it glowed bluish in the night! Then, I thought that I should put the music pod on the other side of the room, so I clicked and took it into my inventory.....um without unlinking it. Which as you can guess took the entire skybox back, except that three of the windows were not linked! So there they were floating around and the rug was floating around too. I tried to fly around and take everything back, but everything went back into my inventory as the name, object. Just to let you know how difficult that is, I have 25000 objects in my inventory and a lot of them were made while building the castle below. I couldn't find the windows at all. I rezzed a lot of objects and never found them. I tried to put the skybox back and it wouldn't let me drop it. I don't know why. I could wear, and detach, but not drop! I went back down to the castle so mad at myself that I had to log off. I came back after some nice coffee and a bite to eat, since I had spent the majority of the early morning hours trying to unscrew what I had screwed up. I put my flight feather on and went back up to 3000 meters and rezzed the platform and skybox again. It all came back except the windows and I was actually pretty happy about that. The next hour or so I spent trying to figure out how to make a window like the other three that were linked when I took the skybox back. I teleported a friend who does some building and he showed my how easy it was to make my own windows!
I can't believe it. It is so simple.
You click the build at the bottom of the screen and in the box you choose the box object and click on the ground! A box appears and you add the texture of the stained glass. Now you have a stained glass box. You stretch and move into place! You have to adjust the horizontal and the vertical postion of the texture by editing and choosing texture. You move the horizontal and the vertical numbers to the places that you want. I copied the numbers and the settings from the other windows. Perfect!! Oh if you are thinking, why couldn't you just copy the other windows, I will tell you that I tried and failed. It would not let me do it. So now I know how to make my own windows!!!!
Next article I am going to tell you how to make your own teleport box!
Have fun exploring and learning!

By Christina Munro

Breezes Thoughts: Your little piece of paradise in Secondlife

2009-01-27T08:55:00.003Z

WHEN TIMES GET ROUGH AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, find yourself a quiet lovely place to sit and contemplate.
Watch the beauty of this world, erase the thoughts that fill your mind. It takes time, but see the rainbow above me? somewhere in the rainbow and in the very best friends is the help that will help you find your way.
Come to spots like this each and every day talk out loud when times are wonderful.
Open your hearts and lifts your hands to embrace the love that surrounds you it will come to you in time.
Everyone should have their own little piece of paradise in SL, somewhere to just sit, relax and think. This is mine and its appropriately named Sanctuary and wondrous magical place which makes all the troubles drift away.
I am wishing in the night and it must come true as who has ever seen a rainbow in the night?
Told you to throw coin or fairy dust in the well NOT yourself you silly!
Oh well I can still make mistakes and laugh especially when I am so relaxed!
Have you found YOUR place yet?
Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

Looking Back at the STA

2009-01-26T05:28:00.006Z

It’s been a year since my old hangout, the STA, faded away from Second Life. But it is still remembered.

My story there began at Luskwood, my first hangout, in August 2007. It was just weeks after by long newbie period could be called over. One day there, I met a lively lady named Kara. She and I became friends, and looked forward to seeing one another. A few days later, she invited me to TP over where she was. So I did, and found myself in a circle of cafe tables & chairs, with two guys with her. She introduced them as Blarion and Keli. She called the place the STA.

Little did I know how big a part of our experience in SL this little place would be.

The STA area, short for Student Travel Association, was bought by the agency for the purpose of attracting people to their website to purchase travel tickets. It was made up of two sims. the east one held the main STA building. It was like that of a fancy travel agency, showing pictures advertising the benefits and joys of traveling abroad. The west one, Orientation Island, was the one my friends and I usually hung around.

The STA was run by two people. GlobetrekkerBob Lane was the official manager of the sim. But a great deal of the work was done by assistant manager Euranna Rossini, or Anna as we called her. We would occasionally run across them near the walkway, where they would talk about an unusual happening, or perhaps a story. GlobetrekkerBob for instance had done quite a bit of world traveling earlier in his life, and would occasionally tell a story from those days. At parties, Anna would always show up. Bob usually did.

They didn’t run things by themselves. They had the help of a small number of volunteers, such as Aellyn, August, Stormshadow, Gemini, Maccy, Sparklin Indigo, Ivana, Rashed, and others. My friends also helped a little, myself offering help to newcomers, so Bob considered us members of the STA group as well, though with no set hours. Blarion also became the DJ for the Monday night parties, with Keli as host. Blarion also got the use of one dorm, even though he wasn’t really a newcomer. Otis was another DJ with a rougher style.

The STA had a partnership with Sean Voss and Landmark Island. The organizer of the Second Life Tour Group had a link to the STA, and would send them notices about his tours. A number of people, myself included, belonged in both groups.

So we hung around there, getting used to the occasional nude newbie, “Ray Stevens music anyone?” I would dryly comment sometimes. Sometimes we would run into a new friend. Sometimes there would be a crazy situation, such as a completely random shapeshifter. Kara changed from a catgirl to a huskygirl a few weeks after I first came across the STA, Blair switched to a wolf avie. Keli was always a Kitsune at Orientation island. Four others joined Kara’s band of friends, three men and a lady. The guys, two huskyboys and a blue raccoon, were Schism and two whom wished to be anonymous. The second huskygirl was Kara’s roommate Kana, whom had a greater mischievous streak than Kara.

Then I got my job at the newspaper, and the place became a favorite spot to take pictures for cartoons. My friends also gave me a few ideas for articles.

The high point of the STA was the “Wandering Art” Show. For three days, the dorms and sandbox gave way to picture art displays in the notrh, and sculpture in the south, with over thirty artists represented. This got the place some publicity, and the costume party was like being able to have some leftover Halloween fun. And in Christmas and New Year’s, the fun continued. At one point, Bob mentioned the Discovery Channel was interested in the sim, but I never did see the place on TV.

Then on January 25, 2008 came something no one expected. I logged on to get a message from Bob that the STA was gone. The company had decided the sim was not getting them an increase in sales, and so they pulled the plug. Those online at the time gathered for a few hours after the last-minute warning, and then the sim vanished. By the time I logged on, they had gathered at a friends beach, talking about what had happened, and about the sim. We were still in disbelief over it, and no one knew for sure what they were going to do next. Bob told a few stories, and stated he was going to take a few days off from Second Life before deciding his next move.

Others expressed their sadness at the STA’s passing. The Shade dance club made plans for a newcomer orientation place on their land. Sean Voss invited us to use his Landmark Island as a hangout, and of course his weekly tours continued. But instead we went in different directions. I followed Kara and friends to hanging out at a sandbox with a “treehouse” building. But a few weeks after the STA closing, Kara told everyone goodbye, saying she was going on a long hiatus. And with her gone, it just wasn’t the same happy little group it once was, and we met less and less. Blarion DJed for a while, but gave it up to concentrate on college.

I never did see Bob again. Anna told me he had come back online once, but mentioned nothing about future plans. Sparklin Indigo soon created a club, Sparks Ignite. It did good for some months, but real life stepped in, and she had to abandon it. Otis found other places to DJ. Euranna Rossini was the most successful, starting up a virtual flower shop: Gairdin na Sidhe. One can still go there to get flowers.

Many old friends from the STA I seldom ran into any more, or never saw again. Then when some friends talked about having a rezzday party for Blarion in June 2008, so many people from the STA were invited, it turned out to be much like a reunion. Some like Otis I hadn’t seen since the STA closed, and would not see again for a while. It was a happy time, and even though the location was different, it felt a little like the old STA had come back for a little while.

A year later, we’ve more or less gone our own ways, some of us keeping occasional tabs with one another. But we’ve never forgotten our old home in Second Life. It may be gone, but the memories of good times and friendships remain.

Bixyl Shuftan.

First Day?

2009-01-23T15:38:00.015Z

There have been so many things written about Newbie's, and there are so many help tips out there to help make things easier for your Second life. I don't want to do a repeat of what has already been done, but I will probably repeat some of the advice that experienced avatars have given you or will give you. I suppose I will start with giving some personal experience with my first days in this virtual world of Second Life and then I hope to give a weekly update as to what you can do as a newbie. I started coming to Second Life when I first heard about the launching of it in 2003. I tried desperately to get in to the world, but couldn't because of my computer capabilities. I was living in Italy at the time and needless to say our connection was really slow. I tried again as few months later, but still there was nothing there. I think through out 2003 I kept trying because I really was interested in the idea and thought what a great concept! I was in chat rooms all the time, and loved the way you could meet new people from all walks of life. There was a problem with the chat world though because so many bots were online that it caused such a disruption of conversations and I became increasingly more frustrated everyday. Finally the last draw was when MSN chats went from being free to charging, and then finally altogether stopping the chat rooms that I went to. I think it had to do with this one annoying chatter who used to just do different sized O 's in the room non-stop and then proclaimed that he was crashing the room, about 10 times a day. I stopped going to chat rooms in 2003, and it wasn't until 2007 that I checked out Second Life again. I had moved back to the states, had a better graphics card, and a faster connection. I thought that now I could finally find out what it was all about, and hoped that it would be what I had imagined it could be. I logged on, picked a last name and created a first name. Whew! That was easy! Okay now I had to decide what type of account, free or premium. I was thinking why would anyone pay for virtual things? That just sounds crazy to me. You don't actually have anything for you payment, except pixels. They aren't real and there is no way I am paying for that, so I picked the free account. Okay next step; create my avatar. I could be anything that is animal, vegetable, or mineral. I chose the animal human. It was the basic woman avatar with the silly hair, pinkish shirt, and the infamous duck walk. Cool, I thought. Not really reading much about the progress that second life has made until then I thought I was cool! I logged in as Christina Munro, and was on my way. I landed in a main hud. At that exact time someone else did too! Wow, my first encounter with another avatar. We looked at each other and started typing. Our hands were moving as we talked and it was really exciting. What a great experience! I am talking and moving at the same time. Okay we walked around a bit taking whatever tutorials there were and then we were teleported to the main area for newbie interaction. There were so many cool looking avatars, how did they get that way? Why was I walking like a duck when there was this incredible looking woman sliding across the screen in a very sexual way wearing practically nothing, and did she actually have nipples? Wow, this is amazing, I thought. I so want to explore everything. So I said "hello" to her. She said "hello". I asked her where she got her hair first thing, because I had to get this thing off of my head, and fast
She then passed me an item. A blue screen popped up and I accepted the offer. Cool a box of 250 hair styles. Sweet! I clicked on it in my inventory and wore it. Well, that was a mistake, because now I had a box on my head! Okay, so it took me awhile but I got it off by right clicking on it and detaching it. I kind of got mad at her because I thought she had tricked me and tried to make me look stupid. I may have said something along the lines of, "what a ****!" lol She was very confused and then promptly told me to f*** off newbie. This other avatar sent me an im and said just rez the box on the ground and open it, copy it to your inventory and then pick one to wear. Okay, rez? Huh? First new word I learned was rez. Rez is when you bring something into the world and it becomes an object that you can see. It was a word that was inspired by the movie Tron.
What does "rez" mean in Second Life? Watch this video tutorial:

Pasted from <http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Rez>

So, now I had hair on top of my ridiculous mullet looking newbie hair. I did it the hard way and went into appearances by right clicking on my avatar and then choosing appearances. I found out how to change my shape, skin, and my hair. As well as clicking on the clothes sections. I must have played around with that for hours. I figured out that I had to make my original avatar hair go away before wearing the ones that the incredibly nice woman, whom I ignorantly insulted, gave me. I could change my breast size, even the gravity level on them. This was too cool. So I was in the main land area, somewhere alone changing my appearance but I still couldn't get realistic looking features. I did look a lot better though, which was great. Still had the stupid duck walk, but I didn't want to make the same mistake as before with the first lady who gave my first makeover equipment. I will always keep that hair in my inventory, even if it isn't prim or flexible. I still love it, because it created a new beginning in Second Life for me, which made me feel anything was possible. I will never remember that avatar's name, maybe Hedy something or other, but I will always remember that it was the start of something I hope will never end. This was the end of my first day, but not the end of my Second Life! The next day I logged on, popped up in the same spot and began again with my exploration of the virtual universe. I met so many nice people, and I also learned so many things. I hope to be able to share some of that with you and help you continue to learn and love Second Life as much as I do. I want to help you go from the duck walk to the coolest animations you can imagine! I want to see you go from the original avatar to whatever you want to be, animal, vegetable, or mineral!
You can be literally anything!