Month: February 2017

Mice, men, monsters, heroes, gods – and Wodehouse

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday,February 5th, 11:00: Of Mice and Men – Part 3

Caledonia Skytower, Shandon Loring, Corwyn Allen, Kayden Oconnell continue a reading of John Steinbeck’s classic 1937 novella at Seanchai’s Explore the World of John Steinbeck in Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai).

The World of John Steinbeck - the Steinbeck Gallery, Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai)
The World of John Steinbeck – the Steinbeck Gallery, Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai)

From January 20th through February 5th, Tacoma Little Theatre, Tacoma Washington State, presents Of Mice and Men directed by Niclas Olson. The production is being supported by Senchai Library as a part of their Explore the Arts series, hosted on Kitely, where a special World of John Steinbeck has been created and is open to exploration by virtual world users and to members of the audience attending performances of the play at Tacoma Little Theatre, where a PC has been set up to provide access to Explore the World of John Steinbeck.

Within the virtual space, visitors can explore more of Steinbeck’s life and work, and experience the history of the times about which he wrote. If they wish, they can also visit the other Explore environments established by Seanchai in support for Tacoma Little Theatre’s production.

Monday, February 6th 19:00: Lisa and David

Gyro Muggins reads renowned psychiatrist Theodore Isaac Rubin’s book on the complex struggles of children with severe mental illness. Lisa and David are two troubled teens whose growing friendship breaks communication barriers.

Tuesday, February 7th 19:00:  A Monstrous Regiment of Women

Continues with Caledonia Skytower.

Wednesday, February 8th 19:00: The Winter of Our Wodehouse

Trolley Trollop reads selections from P.G. Wodehouse.

Thursday, February 9th 19:00:

19:00:  Monsters and Myth – The  Hydra: A Winter’s Love Story, Part 2

Shandon Loring continues reading a rich mixture of the legend of Hercules, laced with and a spin of the tale of Boreas, the purple-winged god of the north wind and his love for Oreithyia (in this tale, replaced by the goddess Iris), deceitful deities and a cunning young girl.

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

Science fiction with Finn Zeddmore.

Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for January / February is Heifer International, working with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.

Artful Expressions in Second Life: Blip and Nekonuko

Posted on by Inara Pey
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz

Sorcha Tyles opened the next exhibit at Artful Expressions, her boutique gallery, on Saturday, February 4th, and it  not only includes two guest artists, but also presents a new design for the gallery itself.

Now occupying a two-storey structure, a teleport board linking the ground floor with the upper, the gallery has twice the floor space of the previous unit. The lower floor is devoted to Sorcha’s own photography  – which is more than worth a visit in and of itself; she has a marvellous eye for subject, mood and setting, and her studies are entrancing.

Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles
Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles

The upper floor is given over to Sorcha’s invited guest artists, and in this lies another of the attractions of Artful Expressions: Sorcha actively seeks out those who may not have exhibited widely in Second Life in the past, or have perhaps been overlooked by other galleries. Thus, her gallery is an ideal location for discovering the work of artists and photographers you may not have previously come across in-world.

“I am an improviser by nature…in life and in my art,” Blip Mumfuzz says of herself and her work. “My images are typically the result of an unplanned, spontaneous interaction with my environment.”  She goes on to state that she became interested in SL photography as a means of recording her travels across the grid. But then, “I noticed that I started seeing differently … I found that once I found saw something interesting I’d start moving the camera around.  Looking over and under, behind and between.  I began looking less at the things themselves…and more at visual and spatial relationships things.”

Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfuzz

The result is a set of studies offering  a unique perspective on the virtual world in which we roam and which utilise a refined use of line, form and use of colour to create images which are deceptive in their elegant simplicity, inviting us to look into them and discover the story each contains.  You can see more of her work on Flickr.

Nekonuko Nakamori, the second artist Sorcha is exhibiting through February, is a physical world artist with a grounded in Japanese art and who specialises in conceptual / abstract art in oil.

Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori
Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori

Within Second Life, and as Blip started out, she uses photograph as a visual journal of her travels within the grid. Each piece, a precise 1:1 ratio image, presents a location she has visited, usually with nekonuko herself somewhere within it – sometimes prominently, other times distantly. Carefully post-processed they are offered not only as a record for her wanderings, but as a painting, almost of a waif at large in the world.

Both Nekonuko and Blip will remain on display at Artful Expressions through until the end of the month.

SLurl Details

Second Life Home and Garden Expo 2017 announced

Posted on by Inara Pey
Home and Garden Expo 2016
Home and Garden Expo 2016

The 2017 Second Life Home and Garden Expo  has been announced with the opening of registrations. The event will run from Friday, May 19th through to Sunday, June 4th 2017 inclusive.

As with past years, the Expo will span multiple regions and feature the very best in home and garden design, furnishing and decor, all to help raise money for Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL).

Creators / merchants and artists interested in participating in the event can find full information on doing so via the following links:

Home and Garden Expo 2016 - the fun fair
Home and Garden Expo 2016 – the fun fair

Gacha machines will once again be a part of the event, and 50% of the proceeds from these will be paid to RFL. Machines will only be permitted within the central region for the Expo, and will be placed in a premium location there. One gacha machine is included in all exhibitor packs, and additional machines can be bought for L$500 each, also 50/50 split between merchant and RFL of SL.

Further details on the event can be obtained through the Home and Garden Expo 2017 website,  where blogger registrations will be opening in the near future. In the meantime, press enquiries can be made in-world to Kaerri Rae.

Navigating Natural Falls in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

I was drawn to Natural Falls V in part after seeing Loverdag’s images of its predecessor, Natural Falls IV, at the end of last year. I didn’t get to see that iteration of the build. so when I saw the newest design in the Destination Guide, I took a rapid leap over to see for myself.

Natural Falls is the work of Dann (DannChris), who appears in Second Life as a highly industrious hamster with talent for, among other things, intriguingly descriptive prose. “Natural Falls,” he notes, “is located in an abandoned, flooded metropolis slowly decaying under a derelict, elevated railway.”  It’s an evocative description, and the build – which also sees Natural Falls located in a new sim – more than lives up to it while once again amply demonstrating Dann’s skill in increasing a captivating, atmospheric environment rich in content and potential narratives.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

Visitors commence their time in the region at a boardwalk landing-point. This offers a variety of routes around the flooded setting, some of which end in stairways leading down to the water. Above this, seated on tall steel and concrete piers sits the elevated railway. From above, board walk and railway divide the region into an uneven grid-like pattern, as if sectioning this water-claimed city as it sits beneath a brooding sky complete with low-lying clouds.

Blocky, cement-like walls occasionally sit alongside the boardwalk, their many glass-less windows staring over the failing remnants of what was once a thriving urban hub, now reduced to deserted houses, shops and industrial units rising from the slow-moving waters. The detritus of a vanished community litters the flooded streets, and everything at first glance appears to be trapped in the gloom and grey of neglect and desertion.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

But – look again, and you’ll realise there is more to see than you may have thought when arriving. Colour sparks across the region, be it from the broken windows of a long-empty shop, the bloom of flowers in a flooded garden, or the splash of graffiti on a wall. While in the distance sits the beckoning glow of many-hued lights. Once seen, this draws visitors to a mystical corner, a world of almost otherworldly allure, suggesting that that even amidst this urban decomposition, something  quite beautiful survives.

This blending of art and colour within the wider setting of decay and loss encourages exploration. Nor does everything reside outdoors as well. Thus, time and a careful eye are recommended as a part of any visit, lest something is overlooked along the way.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

And when you feel you’ve toured the ground levels enough, remember to check the teleport mirror by the landing point. It’ll carry you up to a haven of light and colour above the clouds, a little island of cosiness to be enjoyed alone or with someone special.

Natural Falls V continues what has been – from the images I’ve seen on the Flickr stream – a fabulous unfolding story, rich in content and presentation, and most assuredly well worth a visit.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

SLurl Details

 

2017 Mole Day in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Horizons Experience (November 2016) is one of the Mole's most recent projects
The Horizons Experience (November 2016) is one of the Mole’s most recent projects

Saturday, February 4th, 2017, marks the annual Mole Day celebrations in Second Life, and all SL residents are invited to attend festivities at the Bay City Fairgrounds, North Channel.

First held in 2010, Mole Day honours the members of the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW), affectionately known as the “moles”, who are responsible for the construction of the Mainland infrastructure in Second Life – the roads, railways, waterways, and so on.

mole-day-2017“Moles” are resident builders, scripters and others who create new content on Linden Lab’s behalf and to the benefit of all. These Residents all have Second Life accounts with the last name “Mole”, and work under the auspices of the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW).

The Moles have been responsible for some of the larger mainland development projects, such as creating many of the more famous sights in Nautilus and wells as undertaking initial development of Zindra, the Adult continent.

More recently they have been directly involved in projects such as Horizons, the Horizons Experience and PaleoQuest. The Moles also develop Linden Homes regions on behalf of the Lab, including all of the parks and places to discover within them.

However, their very first project was developing Bay City itself – hence the City’s annual celebration honouring them.

The celebrations will kick-off a 11:00 SLT, with Oblee (Obeloinkment Wrigglesworth) and Gospeed Racer of KONA radio providing the entertainment., and as well as the music and fun, attendees can grab landmarks for all of the major public builds by the Moles, and also to their home region, Meauxle Bureaux, which you can also read about here.

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 group for Residents of Bay City.

Related Links

Lab speaks out on US Administration’s Immigration Policy

Posted on by Inara Pey

LL logoOn Thursday, February 2nd, Linden Lab became the latest tech company to speak out against the recent immigration Executive Order signed by US President, Donald Trump.

Politics is a contentious issue, and one I’ve preferred to keep out of this blog. However, there is no doubt that the move by the new US Administration has caused great concern in both the United States and around the world. More to the point, Second Life is also a global entity which has  – through the Community Standards – always sought to make a stand against intolerance on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. As such, the Lab’s statement is wholly in keeping with this standing.

The statement reads in full:

We at Linden Lab are extremely disappointed in and adamantly opposed to Trump’s recent executive order on immigration. We reject racism, intolerance, and xenophobia.

We are proud to include immigrants among our leadership, colleagues, and customers, as well as our families, friends, and communities. We value diversity, compassion, and understanding, and we are proud that our products enable people to come together and form meaningful connections regardless of differences in their offline lives.

Trump’s order is counter to what we value and antithetical to American ideals. We join the many voices calling on the US government to remove this restriction as quickly as possible and to refrain from imposing additional barriers that threaten opportunities for immigrants, under-represented minorities, and women.