Day: May 18, 2014

The Drax Files Radio Hour 19: sending you back to the future

Posted on by Inara Pey

radio-hourEpisode 19 of the The Drax Files Radio Hour is largely devoted to the recent transhumanist-focused Back to the Future of the Metaverse.

As well as being available on the show’s website and on Stitcher, the show is also on YouTube, and it is to that recording (embedded at the end of this article) any timestamps given in the text refer.

The show starts with a brief discussion on ways to help journos better present Second Life, with Jo having uploaded images of her 1920s Berlin Project to Wikimedia and as a part of a Wikipedia page on the project.

Leo Sun, writing for Motley Fool, picked-up on one of Jo images, together with one from the Lab, which was used in an article reflecting upon on the Facebook / Oculus VR vision of a billion-user “MMO”, thus suggesting putting out information and (particularly) good quality images that are readily available for re-use, copyright-wise, may be a way of raising SL’s visibility.

Drax also promotes the forthcoming metaverse panel which will take place at the first Silicon Valley VR (SVVR) Conference and Expo, and which he will be moderating. The panel will feature Ebbe Altberg (Linden Lab), Philip Rosedale (High Fidelity), Stefano Corazza (Mixamo), Tony Parisi (Vizi), and will take place on Tuesday May 20th, who will be considering topics such as:

  • One global metaverse or many?
  • Identity and privacy
  • Virtual World Governance: democracies, the greek god model, or benevolent dictators
  • Intellectual property and legal jurisdictions
  • Avatar portability and standards
Creating the VR metaverse panel
(l to r): Ebbe Altberg, Philip Rosedale, Stefano Corazza and Tony Parisi. Ready to answer questions on “Creating the VR Metaverse”

If you have a question you’d like to put to one, some or all of the panel, please leave it in the comments section at the end of this announcement.

The main thrust of the show however, is a look at the aforementioned Back to the Future of the Metaverse event, which took place on Thursday, May 15th, albeit it not without technical issues. An event organised by the Skefi’a online science/fiction magazine, led by Giulio Prisco (SL: giulioprisco), it was billed as a discussion of “the VR renaissance outlined in Back to the future in the Metaverse”, an essay by Mr. Prisco, published by Skefi’a on April 22nd.

On hand at the event were a number of speakers. Unfortunately, issues with SL meant things did not go as planned, and activities had to be hastily decamped to Google Hangouts, where only a subset of the participants were able to be involved in activities. Two of these were Philip Rosedale of SL and High Fidelity fame and Stephen Larson,  CEO of MetaCell and a co-founder and the project coordinator for the OpenWorm open science project, both of whom feature in this podcast.

A full video of the event is available on YouTube, with Philip Rosedale initially speaking between the 0:07:00 mark and the 0:09:50 mark, prior to the move to Google Hangouts, with his presentation resuming at the 0:21:55 mark following the move. The Radio show’s coverage of his presentation starts at the 8:20 mark in the podcast, and begins at the point where things have been picked-up in Google Hangouts.

For those who have been following High Fidelity and recent blog posts Mr. Rosedale has made, together with his presentations at events like the SVVR meet-up in March, and his VWBPE keynote, there is little of additional note in what he has to say in the roughly 12 minutes in which he speaks or in the Q&A session which follows. As well as re-treading some of the work High Fidelity are doing, and their approach to a distributed computing approach to virtual environments, he again re-states his belief in technology  – and the removal of the keyboard and mouse – as being the single key required to unlock the doors to the mass adoption of virtual environments.

How High Fidelity will work - click for full size (courtesy of High Fidelity)
How High Fidelity will work – click for full size (courtesy of High Fidelity)

Continue reading “The Drax Files Radio Hour 19: sending you back to the future” →

Escape to New York, understanding the Sign of Four and monsters to avoid

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life and Kitely by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library.

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

Sunday May 18th

10:00 PDT: CatNYP! at Kitely

“A feisty changling girl helps a changling boy return to the “real” New York City from the parallel fairy world where they were both raised. The New York Public Library’s automated catalogue, called CATNYP, is a real lion and a library page is literally an animated piece of paper that retrieves books.”

With Shandon Loring at Lighthouse Point in the Seanchai region on Kitely.

13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street: The Sign of Four Concludes

Sign-of-fourTea-time at Baker Street sees Caledonia Skytower, Corwyn Allen and Kayden Oconnell open the pages of the second full-length novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, which was originally published under the title The Sign of the Four.

In 1888, Mary Morston come to Sherlock Holmes seeking his assistance in two matters. The first is with regards to her father. Having returned safely from India in 1878, Captain Arthur Morston had arranged to meet his daughter at the Langham Hotel, London – but he had vanished from the hotel prior to ber arrival, and no trace of his whereabouts has ever been discovered. The second relates to a series of pearls he has received, at the rate of one a year, every year, from 1882 onwards. The pearls started arriving after she had responded to a strange newspaper query inquiring for her, and the last one had come with a letter, indicating she had somehow been wronged, and asking to meet with her.

Holmes discovers that the pearls started arriving shortly after the death of Major Sholto, a colleague of Arthur Morston’s from the army in India, and he is certain there is a connection between the two – a connection which appears to involve an Indian fortress and the names of three Sikhs and a man by the name of Jonathan Small. Then the subject of a treasure and links between it and Arthur Morston, Major Sholto and Sholto’s sons are all revealed …

Find out more by joining Cale, Kayden and Corwyn.

Monday May 19th, 19:00: The Chromium Helmet Concludes

Gyro Muggins completes his reading of Theodore Sturgeon’s 1946 classic short story.

Tuesday May 20th, 19:00: More Good Poems

With Kayden Oconnell.

Wednesday May 14th, 19:00: Flora and Ulysses

Kate DiCamillo’s second novel to win a prestigious Newbery Award (the first being The Tales of Despereaux in 2004), is at its heart, a comic superhero tale.

“The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him.

“What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry—and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.”

Join Caladonia as she completes her reading of this lighthearted tale of eccentric, endearing characters, engaging illustrated by K. G Campbell.

Thursday May 15th

19:00: Scylla and Charybdis

From the pages of Greek mythology come Scylla and Charybdis, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters (though to be the Straits of Messina) traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings as described by Homer in his epic Odyssey. Scylla, a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of shark-like teeth, was once human in appearance, according to Ovid. Her transformation, he claimed within his Metamorphoses, was the result of jealousy and witchcraft on the part of Circe.

Credit: Bookpalace.com
Credit: Bookpalace.com

Charybdis, on the opposite shore of the narrows, was said to lurk under a fig tree and drank down and belched forth the waters of the straits three times a day. The shipwrecked Odysseus barely escaped her clutches by clinging to a tree until the improvised raft that she swallowed floated to the surface again after many hours.

Join Shandon Loring as he takes us, as the saying goes, “between Scylla and Charydbis”.

—–

Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for May-June is Habitat for Humanity: envisioning a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Related Links

Bay City turns 6

Posted on by Inara Pey

bay city 6Bay City celebrates its sixth anniversary on Sunday May 18th, and the Bay City community is marking the day with a another special time of festivities and fun to which everyone is invited!

Activities will kick-off at noon SLT with a parade lineup at the bandshell in Bay City – Harwich. At 12:30 SLT, the parade will make its way down Route 66, and proceed to the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region.

A live concert will kick off at 13:30 SLT at the Fairgrounds, featuring Christov Kohnke, Ultraviolet Alter, and Winston Ackland. Bay City’s own GoSpeed Racer of KONA Stream will be providing music leading into the event.

All Residents of the Second Life grid are invited to participate. Posters, banners, parade float bases, and other goods are available at the Bay City Community Centre, in the Daley Bay region, for those who wish to be a part of the parade, and a viewing area is provided. The music event is also open to all who wish to attend.

Bay City's 6th anniversay will be celebrated at the Bay city Fairgrounds
Bay City’s 6th anniversay will be celebrated at the Bay city Fairgrounds

The Artists

gospeed-racerGoSpeed Racer

Music leading into the event

“What is KONA Stream? It is my personal station I run from my home. I play mainstream pop and rock music from the 60s, 70s, & 80s along with soundtracks, novelty songs, mash-ups and light sprinkling of country. My current library has 13,000+ tracks in it!”

CHRISTOV KOHNKEChristov Kohnke

“Hi, I love to sing and play the guitar. I play pop music of all styles from all ages. I play in real life and find playing in SL a lot of fun. I love to play lead guitar too so don’t be surprised if you hear me soloing over myself using a looping device that I use to record myself in the moment and then play over that. I pride myself in all of my playing be live and in the moment versus pre-recorded in any way.”

WinstonWinston Ackland

In real life, Winston’s career spans two decades, and you may have heard his cover of Lithium in the movie Marley and Me, while his version of Psycho Killer was featured in Oliver Stone’s Savages.

An accomplished song-writer, he loves playing before audiences in Second Life, where he performs a mix of solid original songs and what he calls ” offbeat covers” so that he can present “a musical party with old friends you haven’t met yet.”

ultraUltraviolet Alter

Musician and artist Ultraviolet Alter is known throughout Second life both her distinctive musical compositions and for her numerous collaborations with other SL artists. she has participated in many events across Second Life.

Special Dedication

ever-1Bay City’s 6th anniversary is dedicated to the memory of Bay City and Second Life resident, Ever Dreamscape, who passed away recently in real life.

Ever had been an enthusiastic and active member of the Bay City community since she first came to Bay City in 2011. She was editor of the Bay City Post, and played a part in helping to organise many of the community’s events, including these 6th anniversary celebrations, prior to her passing.

About Bay City and the Bay City Alliance

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.

Related Links