Month: December 2012

It’s a time for eggnog and holiday tales

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this coming week, as they continue with tales of a distinctly seasonal flavour.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Monday December 10th, 19:00: Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th St (1947)
Miracle on 34th St (1947)

Caledonia Skytower concludes an adaptation of the George Seaton / Valentine Davies Christmas classic, which first appeared in 1947 starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. Over the years it has been subject to a number of remakes and updates, including the 1994 version starring Sir Richard Attenborough. A novella based on the film, also penned by Davies, was published simultaneously with the original film’s release, and was itself turned into a stage play in about 2006 by Will Severin, Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder and John Vreeke.

Join Caledonia at Imagination Island as she brings to a close the story of how Kris Kringle is hired by Macy’s to become their “Santa Claus”, in what is regarded as a classic tale for Christmas.

Tuesday December 11th, 19:00: Christmas at The Vinyl Cafe

Dave owns the world’s smallest record store, where the motto is “We may not be big but we’re small.” Dave is frequently neurotic and prone to small accidents and mishaps – but he’s not the only one in his family, or his neighbourhood.

Bear Silvershade reads a further story penned by Stuart McLean for his CBC Radio show, The Vinyl Cafe, in which Dave Cooks the Turkey.

Wednesday December 12th, 19:00: Hannukkah Tales

Read by Caledonia Skytower and Faerie Maven.

Thursday December 13, 19:00 Holiday Stories

Brought to you by Shandon Loring.

Sunday December 16th, 18:00: Christmas Classics

santaclausJoin Caledonia Skytower at Magicland as she reads the 1902 classic L. Frank Baum children’s story,  The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Join her as she recounts how Ak: Master Woodsman of the World discovers the baby Claus in the forest and passes him into the care of the lioness Shiegra, only for Necile, a wood nymph, to take the babe as her own and persuade Ak that she should – thus earning the child the name “Neclaus” (which in our modern times of course, as the author tells us, we mis-spell as “Nicolas”). As he grows, so Neclaus is encouraged to see the world of mortals – of which he is a part – and so his adventures begin and, eventually, the legend of Santa Claus is born!

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We’re not in Kansas any more…

Posted on by Inara Pey

Breedable animals aren’t exactly new to Second Life. Chickens, bunnies, horses, meeroos, cats, dragons … we’ve had them all and more. We’ve even seen the odd legal punch-up between brands; never a pretty sight where cuddlies are concerned. They’ve been the delight – and at times the bane – of regions across the grid.

Strangelings are the latest offering to turn up in-world, and they’ve done so in quite a different way. Follow the yellow brick road, and I’ll tell you more – if you haven’t heard already, that is.

The Magic of Oz
The Magic of Oz

Strangelings are a kind of breedable fox (with elements of unicorns in some, which itself suggests some interesting interbreeding…). However, whereas other breedables we’re familiar with live in-world, Strangelings have an entirely different domain. Or will, once they’ve fully launched, because they are creatures of the web and iOS.

Strangelings is the first creation to come out of Flying Monkey Interactive, a company founded by two former Linden Lab employees  – Chris Collins and Hamilton Hitchings, both of whom were apparently engaged in the ill-fated Second Life Enterprise product – and the people behind Ozimals.

Magic of Oz
Magic of Oz

The game itself is described as:

A pet breeding focused game for iOS and web.  Strangelings are fantasy fox-like animals that have many different traits and colors.  Breeding these animals will produce outcomes that are based on the genetic code with dominant and recessive traits passing through to the offspring.

Which is great. But what does that have to do with Second Life? Well, given the popularity of breedables across SL, it is possible that Strangelings could have a strong customer base in in-world keen to give the game a go as they are on the go. With this in mind, the team at Flying Monkey have developed a series of customisable, fully rigged avatars people can purchase and use to create copies of their favourite Strangelings and wear them in-world.

Magic of Oz
Magic of Oz

To accompany the avatars, the team have also created two neighbouring in-world regions: Strangelings and Magic of Oz. The former looks like it might be offering land rentals in the future, while the latter takes familiar settings from The Wizard of Oz and gives them a new and interesting twist in the form of a series of mesh builds. It features a munchkin’s village (store area for other merchants) the Emerald City (home of the Strangeling avatars) and the Wicked Witches’ castle.

Magic of Oz
Magic of Oz

Magic of Oz is very well executed and avoids all of the kiddie-toon feel of Linden Realms in terms of trees and flora. As such, it makes it an interesting place to visit and explore, and offers more than a few opportunities for photography. Exploration doesn’t take long, but it does show what can be achieved mesh-wise in world to create an attractive, fun environment.

Magic of Oz
Magic of Oz

I’m not one to have ever been attracted to breedables in-world (I remain firmly of the opinion that the best meeroo is one served roasted, with seasonal vegetables and a suitable jus). As such the Strangeling game is unlikely to appeal. Nor, if I’m honest, are the avatars (because I’m a boring fart and prefer sticking to a human form in-world). I am, however, a little curious to see how the promotional aspect of things works out for Flying Monkey and Strangelings – it’s an interesting approach.

as to the Magic of Oz itself, it is a finely crafted region and well worth a look around if you’re curious.

Magic of Oz
Magic of Oz

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The sky at night will be a little bit darker…

Posted on by Inara Pey

His name may not be known to many outside of either the UK or the field of astronomy, but Sir Patrick Moore was one of the all-time greats. His knowledge as an astronomer was prolific, his enthusiasm as a writer / broadcaster infectious, and his reputation as something of a monocle-toting eccentric in the great British tradition of the word, legendary.

Patrick Moore first presented The Sky at Night in April 1957

A Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Astronomical Society, he was best known for his monthly BBC astronomy programme The Sky at Night, which in April 2012 celebrated 55 years of broadcasting, making it the longest-running television programme with the same broadcaster in history.  Through the programme, his also responsible in spurring-on many to develop an interest in astronomy, celebrities included, as well as  many to become scientists and astronomers.

His own passion for astronomy started at an early age, and by the age of 11 he was already a member of the British Astronomical Association and by fourteen he was running the local observatory. War interrupted his career – as it did so many – and saw him lie about his age to join the RAF (he was 16 at the time and already wearing his trademark monocle to counter a problem in his right eye), in which he served as a navigator in Bomber Command. After the war, he used his government demob grant to attend Cambridge University, and wrote his first book Guide to the Moon in 1952 using the 1908 typewriter one which he went on to  write every one of his subsequent books.

As a BBC presenter, Sir Patrick covered the Apollo missions in the 1960 and 1970s and he was on first-name terms with many of those unique men who first walked on the surface of the Moon.

As well as astronomy – which he pursued as a writer and broadcaster and through his own observatories in the garden of his home – Sir Patrick was a keen cricketer in his younger years, and revelled in his reputation for wearing a monocle and playing the xylophone – both of which he did with great aplomb and both of which tended to turn-up on television when he was being  – quite lovingly for the most part, it has to be said – impersonated.

He was truly a British institution.

I was lucky enough to meet Sir Patrick once while in my teens when Dad took Mum and I to a reception in London to mark the 21st Anniversary of Apollo 11. The special guest at the event was Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. The event wasn’t that large, being organised by a society of which Dad is a member, but it still surprised me when Patrick Moore himself (whom I knew more by reputation and the aforementioned impersonations than actually having watched his show) came and talked to me while I was contemplating the buffet laid out.

I remember it being a little awkward, as my knowledge of astronomy and space was limited at best then, and I wasn’t really sure as to how to deal with thing Great Personality From Television (Patrick Moore was always physically imposing, even leaving aside the monocle and tufted eyebrows which always seemed to have a life of their own). I have no idea if he sensed my discomfiture – but I do remember that as we both stepped away from the buffet with loaded plates (most of the food on mine happily suggested by Patrick Moore himself), we were chatting about music and cricket (the latter being a subject of which I knew even less about than astronomy, and which he had just been forced to give up  – at the age of 68!).

It is the memory of that time, which now seems to have lasted hours but in truth was perhaps only ten or so minutes in length, which sits most vividly with me now. Sir Patrick Moore, FRS, FRAS, CBE, passed away today. As a result, the sky at night will be just a little bit darker from now on.

Sir Patrick Moore 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012
Sir Patrick Moore 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012

Starship trooping

Posted on by Inara Pey

As regular readers know, I get bitten by the building bug every so often. Until recently, this manifested itself by me routinely taking a proverbial sledgehammer to my home and knocking seven bells out of it before replacing it with something else. usually, when I start banging prims together, I have some idea of what I’m aiming to achieve. Other times I don’t, and it takes several attempts to get things sorted to a point where I’m completely happy.

Things have obviously changed since moving full-time into my Linden Home. While I can tinker around with the insides of this to my heart’s content, I can’t really go knocking it apart and replacing it. However, it doesn’t mean I’m ignoring the old building bug when it comes to call. Which it recently has.

I’ve no idea why, but I’ve had starships on the brain for a while. Maybe it is a hold-over from living in my little “skystation / space station” before jumping over to my Linden Home. Maybe it’s just that I love Bear McCreary’s music for the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series. Whatever the reason, it eventually drove me to go out and buy a copy of the LJ Jayde starship by Smith Fizz. Call it an impulse buy; at 80 metres long, this is not the kind of behemoth you find hanging from string from an hobbyist’s ceiling…

The original Jayde in "stock" format
The original LJ Jayde in “stock” format

I’ve actually been aware of Smith Fizz’s work for a number of years – when I was involved with someone way back, we looked at a number of his ships with a view to getting one as an SL home. Well; seemed like a good idea at the time, even if we subsequently didn’t. Get one that is.

My first task on getting the ship – and with due respect to Mr. Fizz, who did not have the advantage of large prim formats when designing and building the original, was to do a little bit of prims shaving from the basic hull and also removing a few bits and pieces I feel are extraneous – such as the tiny wings. In its “stock” build the ship comprises 871 prims. With the new maximum prim size, and some trimming around the hull, I reduced this by some 211.

My revised Jayde after prim trimming
My revised LJ Jayde after prim trimming. Still might have a further fiddle with the rear end. If you’ll pardon the expression…

Next up came the major issue of the ship’s interior. Part of this is actually very clever. You see, Smith Fizz, working with Thomas Connover, has developed a scene rezzing system (not, I hasten to add, a temp rezzing system). This means that the forward section of the ship can be used to generate a number of interior rooms, which is quite handy and offers plenty of scope for those wanting a sci-fi role-play environment. The problem is that time has not dealt too kindly with some of the offered interiors, which now look more than a little, well, dated.Some of them also, while very clever in how they work and the flexibility they give, also have bits sticking through the sides of the ship. This isn’t something you notice while moving around in the ship, but cam out, and for a self-confessed  obsessive like me, it’s a red rag to a bull…

So, my first act was to grab a new rezzing system from Smith Fizz (wonderful system if you have limited space and want to put it to multiple uses – just make sure everything going into it is at least COPY), and start re-modelling. I’m still working on things, but I’m rather pleased with the results to date.

The original lounge are of the Jayde - the style of furnishings, coupled with visible poseballs mean this has not aged well
The original lounge are of the Jayde – the style of furnishings, coupled with visible poseballs mean this has not aged well

The first room to get the Pey touch was the lounge. I have no real use for kitchens in SL, so the space devoted to this and a dining area in the original design were lost on me. Instead I reduced the overall rezzing space by adding new interior walls (providing a forward “vestibule” area in the process) and then went for a sunken look, with updated sculpted sofas and recliners, with a small bedroom area beyond a partition (I still can’t shake myself of incorporating one into personal builds). A touch of the Orient to the wall textures and an echo of Fallingwater in the ceiling, and I was done – and in less than a third the prims of the original.

The revised lounge, with a bedroom area beyond
The revised lounge, with a bedroom area beyond

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SL Christmas Expo – supporting RFL SL

Posted on by Inara Pey

The 2012 SL Christmas Expo is underway. While the official Relay For Life Second Life 2012 events season is officially closed, the Expo is in support of RFL SL, and is being held on five sims adjacent to that of the American Cancer Society.

The Expo, which runs through until December 19th, brings together merchants and entertainers from across the grid to help us prepare for the holiday season and get in the mood for Christmas as the New Year, and features a number of special events and activities.

Race for the Bells - all proceeds to RFL
Race for the Bells – all proceeds to RFL

In terms of the latter, the Expo is the starting point for the 2012 Race for the Bells. This is a unique “marathon” “run” across 25 regions in Second Life. On offer is a first prize of L$10,000 for the person who can complete the course in the fastest time – and locate the 25 silver bells in the process. The marathon is open to all, and can be run as many times as you like. The is an entrance fee of L$100 per run – with all proceeds going to RFL. To start, use the teleport above and then click on the TOP sign at the start point and pay the entrance fee (click the BOTTOM sign if you are re-running!). The  hint for locating the first bell will be delivered, and you are off! Each bell you find will give you a hint as to where the next can be found. The race will be open through until December 19th.

Proceeds from the Expo raffle, featuring some unique prizes, will similarly be donated directly to RFL. Tickets cost L$100 or three for L$250. Keep an eye on the Expo’s blog as well, for details of upcoming silent auctions.

SL Christmas Expo 2012: come shop 'til you drop!
SL Christmas Expo 2012: come shop ’til you drop!

The Expo will also play host to the 2012 Avi Choice awards at a black tie formal event to be held at the Expo’s auditorium on December 14th. The event commences at 18:00 SLT on the 14th, and will be fronted by Traderi Whiplash and Nuala Maracas and feature Saffia Widdershins, Elrik Merlin, Zander Greene and Aisling Sinclair with a host of entertainers.

The Expo park
The Expo park

Entertainment at the event will take place daily, and feature some of SL’s top musicians, dancers and DJs. The full schedule is available on the Expo website.

The five regions of the Expo feature an urban layout of broad streets lined either side with stores which encourages a feeling of being out Christmas shopping. Christmas trees stand at many street intersections, snow lies piled about, and there are a number of open areas where the foot-weary can sit and take to load off for a few minutes, including the central park area.

Each Xmas Expo shopkeeper has donated two items and set them for sale in a special Relay for Life vendor. Proceeds of all sales from these vendors will go directly to RFL – so look out for them as you wander, explore and shop.

The RFL Xmas CD

On offer at the Expo, and available in-world only through until the New Year, is the Christmas Holiday CD, which features some of Second Life’s best performers, who have donated their time and their voices to a very special recording.

The RFL Xmas CD
The Christmas Holiday CD

Coordinated and arranged by Liz Harley and produced by Joe Silverstar, the CD is available for L$500 which goes directly to RFL. It can be purchased from a number of special RFL vendors located at the Holiday Park and in the Auditorium on sims: Xmas Expo 1, Xmas Expo 2, Xmas Expo 3,  and Xmas Expo 4. Each copy includes an in-world CD and a link for downloading track MP3s outside of SL.

SL Christmas Expo 2012, giving support a worthy cause
SL Christmas Expo 2012, giving support a worthy cause

Marketplace listing categories contest winners announced

Posted on by Inara Pey

almost a month ago, I reported on LL launching a contest to define new female skin categories for the Marketplace.

As I explained at the time – for those who don’t / rarely use the Marketplace / notice their existence, listing categories are the selections under which merchants can have their products listed in the Marketplace. The idea is to help quantify / filter products on the Marketplace (together with keywords) so that they can be more easily found (by a user using the Category option on the left of Marketplace pages and clicking down through the options to refine a list of displayed results in the main part of the page).

Marketplace listing categories: LL seeling to improve
Marketplace listing categories: LL seeking to improve

Merchants have long felt that many of the categories used within the Marketplace are too broad; however, defining where and how the categories should be expanded is a problem in itself. In November, LL therefore issued a survey to merchants asking them for feedback on a proposed new structure – and as an incentive for people to participate, offered-up the aforementioned contest: to define a new set of categories for female skins.

Today, in a quiet update to their original announcement, the Lab have issued details on the new categories and the five winners. The new categories will also now be applied to male skins as well, and comprise:

  • Fantasy, in turn comprising: animal, vampire, fairy, alien, zombie and “other”
  • Human Light Toned, Human Medium Toned, Human Dark Toned – each of these in turn comprising: young, adult, aged
  • Human Fatpacks

The five winners of the contest are: SayaNicole Cuttita, Kilene Kondor, Emma Krokus, Yuukie Onmura and Voshie Paine. Each has apparently been informed and received their cash prize of L$2899 which, as LL keep reminding us, is equivalent to the cost of a month long [sic], frontpage Marketplace Product Listing Enhancement”. Indeed, according to the survey itself, a month-long listing enhancement was the actual prize!

So, congratulations to the winners!