The Raglan Shire Artwalk is one of the staples of the SL art calendar, and for 2021 the 16th Artwalk will take place between Sunday, May 16th and Sunday, June 20th, inclusive.
A popular event among artists and residents, the Artwalk can see over 150 artists displaying their work – 2D and 3D – across the regions of Raglan Shire. All the displays are open-air, with 2D art is displayed on hedgerows in and around the regions, while sculptures and 3D art is displayed in a number of designated areas, all of which allows visitors to both appreciate the art and explore the Shire regions.
A Call For Artists for the 2021 event has been issued for those wishing to participate, and key points about the exhibition are as follows:
It is a non-juried show.
Artists can display more than one piece if they wish.
2D (“flat” art pieces will be awarded a maximum of 15 LI, and individual pictures should be 1 prim, including the frame.
3D art (sculptures, etc.), will be awarded a maximum of 500 LI for up to three pieces of work. Artists are requested to state the LI per piece in their application.
Sales of art are allowed.
Types of art supported by the show are: representations of RL photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and digital fine art that can be displayed on a prim; and SL photography, manipulated SL photography and SL sculpture.
Pictures of RL crafts, such as beadwork, leatherwork, etc., are not part of the show’s definition
All the above art forms are welcome, but should be rated PG / G – so no nudity, please!
Group membership will be required in order to display work.
Tip jars are not allowed.
Questions and enquiries should be forwarded via note card to Artwalk Director Karmagirl Avro, or Artwalk Assistants Kayak Kuu, Linn Darkwatch, or RaglanShireArtwalk Resident.
Tuesday, May 11th: Notification of exhibit space location issued to artists – note that hedgerow space for 2D artists is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Friday, May 14th (after 09:00 SLT) and Saturday May 15th: Artist set-up days.
Sunday, May 16th: Artwalk Opens.
Sunday, June 20th: Artwalk closes.
Sunday, June 20th (after 21:00 SLT) through Tuesday, June 22nd: takedown of works.
An artist’s rendering of the SpaceX Starship HLS, now selected by NASA. Credit: SpaceX
On April 16th, in what was something of a surprising announcement, NASA confirmed that SpaceX has been granted the sole contract to develop the first Human Landing System (HLS) required for the Artemis project to return humans to the Moon.
HLS is the technical name given to the vehicle that will physically deliver crews to the surface of the Moon and return them back to lunar orbit. It is also the single element of the Artemis project that more-or-less ruled out the agency meeting the goal of returning the first crew to the Moon by the end of 2024. Developing a space vehicle is not a short-term activity, it requires years of development and testing, and a lot of money. Prior to the announcement, and with just 3.5 years to go for NASA to be able to meet the 2024 goal, it felt as if the decision on any HLS contract was being pushed down the road, NASA’s 2021 budget for any development stood at just US $850 million, around a quarter of the amount requested from Congress.
It was not until April 2020 that initial contracts were awarded to SpaceX and teams led by Blue Origin and Dynetics for initial proposal and develop of potential landing systems (see: Space Sunday: the Sun’s twin, going to the Moon & SpaceX). At the time NASA indicated they would likely proceed with two of the options; hence the reason for some of the surprise expressed after what was something of a hastily-arranged press conference the focused only on SpaceX gaining the initial contract – although the door is being kept open for the other teams to bid / compete for future Artemis missions.
During the announcement, NASA admitted that costs and a limited budget were a major factor in the decision – the SpaceX bid price for the contract was significantly lower than either Blue origin or Dynetics. A further factor in SpaceX’s favour is their long-term operational relationship with NASA.
In this 2020 rendering (sans the revised landing legs), three of the exhaust ports for the high-thrust RCS system that will be used to bring the SpaceX HLS into a landing can be see below and to the right of the crew egress door. Credit: SpaceX
The contract to develop HLS is US $2.9 billion, which covers the development of the system over the next few years, and the first two flights – an uncrewed test flight / landing and the first crewed landing. While a lot, this is actually around 13% of the cost of developing the Apollo Lunar lander when the latter is adjusted for inflation.
Nevertheless, the selection of the SpaceX vehicle is somewhat odd. The will be a significantly different vehicle from the proof-of-concept craft SpaceX is currently demonstrating, requiring as it will fully propulsive landings. It will also require substantial on-orbit refuelling just to get to the Moon.
As the vehicle is designed to land tail-first, and the Moon isn’t exactly concrete smooth, it will require substantial landing legs both to land on and keep it upright. These will mean the vehicle will likely require an additional “waist level” set of motor to mange the landing, and thus a substantially different internal layout of motors and fuel tanks.
Nor does it get any easier – for once on the Moon, the crew will be up in the nose of the vehicle, 25-30 metres above the lunar surface. So, to get down to it, they’ll need a complex airlock. elevator system that is robost enough to make repeated trips down from and back up the the crew module – something that is liable to be tiresome when it comes to off-loading equipment.
As the HLS remains in lunar orbit, crews will be delivered to it via the Gateway station using the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle / SLS booster combination.
NASA Announcements
Alongside the SpaceX HLS announcement, NASA has also announced a new competition for the development of commercial services that can be used in support of human operations on the Moon – cargo delivery systems and similar.
It has also been confirmed that the second crewed launched to the International Space Station using a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle should lift-off fro Kennedy Space Centre at 10:11 UTC on Thursday, April 22nd. The crew, comprising NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, France’s Thomas Pesquet and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide, arrived at Kennedy Space Centre on Friday, April 16th, and performed a final pre-launch dress-rehearsal in readiness for the flight which allowed NASA and SpaceX to confirm the launch vehicle is ready for flight.
The NASA / ESA / JAXA Crew-2 arrive at Kennedy Space Centre. (l to r): Thomas Pesquet (ESA / France), Megan McArthur (NASA), Shane Kimbrough (NASA) and Akihiko Hoshide (Japan / JAXA).Credit: NASA
Crew-2 will fly to the ISS aboard the Endeavour, the Crew Dragon used for the August 2020 Demo-2 mission that saw astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken made the first human flight to orbit from US soil since the space shuttle was retired in 2011. Similarly, the Falcon 9 booster that will carry them to orbit was also used to fly the Crew-1 astronauts to the ISS in November 2020.
NASA has also received a potential boost from the Biden Administration, which is seeking a 6.3% increase in the agency’s budget for the next fiscal year. In all, the plan published by the administration is requesting US $24.7 billion for the space agency, with US $6.3 billion earmarked for the Artemis programme and US $3 billion for the ISS.
Some US $2.3 billion has been requested for understanding and alleviating climate change, a 10% increase over the prior year. The summary of the spend does not go into specifics on individual missions already in development or being planned, but does point to funding for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (formally WFIRST), which the Trump administration repeatedly tried to cancel, and a 16% increase for NASA’s STEM funding, which again the Trump administration tried to eviscerate through a combination of closing down related NASA departments and reducing funding.
The Biden Administration is seeking a 6.3% expansion of NASA’s budget for 2022, specifically earmarking the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for funding – a move likely to find favour in congress, which refused three attempts by the Trump administration to kill the project despite its advanced state of developing and low cost. Credit: NASA
Alongside of NASA, the Biden federal budget looks to increase the National Science Foundation’s government funding by 20% (US $10.2 billion) and raise the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association’s budget to US $2 billion.
It’s time to highlight 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 home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Monday, April 19th: 19:00 The Mote in God’s Eye
In the year AD 3017, humanity is recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants of its predecessor although some worlds don’t appreciate bring brought to heel. Following the quashing of a rebellion on New Chicago, Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the battlecruiser INSS MacArthur, and charged with transporting the suspected leader on the New Chicago uprising Empire’s centre, the planet Sparta.
The route takes the MacArthur to the New Caledonia system, where she is ordered to intercept a sub-light vessel that appears to come from a yellow star referred to as the Mote, as from New Celedonia, it sits in front of a massive red star, like a mote in an eye.
Unfortunately, the encounter with the alien vessel does not go well. But has a result, the MacArthur is dispatched to the Mote alongside of the battlecruiser Lenin, charged with trying to establish first contact with the race the built the sublight ship – whom humans have nicknamed “Moties”.
Arriving at the star, the human ships find a race far more technically developed than had been thought, and old enough to have developed into a series of highly-specialised sub-species. Thus begin an fascinating tale of first contact between races, one that encompass a range of dances – political, strategic, and more – in which motives are varied and secrets hidden.
Gyro Muggins reads the classic sci-fi novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
When the Jones family move into a Victorian house that has been converted into a set of flats, and her parents always busy and wrapped in their work, young Coraline sets out to discover all she can about her new home.
Along the way, she meets a pair of retired actress sisters, an old man trying to train a mouse orchestra, and a door that, unlike all the others that lead somewhere, oddly opens onto a brick wall.
Until the day it doesn’t, and instead opens onto a hallway leading to another world.
It’s a world just like her own, but also very different. The flat she enters looks just like her own, the neighbours are just like those she has met – but oddly younger – and the mother and father she finds within the “other “home dote on her: marvellous toys, magical books and wonderful food.
This other home and the parents within it are all that Coraline has ever wanted – until her other mother tells her she can stay and live forever – if she will have buttons sewn into her eyes. Scared by the request, Coraline returns to her real home, only to find her parents now gone. Realising they have been taken by her “other mother”, she realises she must return along the hallway and risk her future in order to rescue them.
With Willow Moonfire.
Wednesday, April 21st, 19:00: When You Trap a Tiger
When Lily and her family move in with her sick Halmoni (grandmother), a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history.
Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers and now the tigers want it back. So the tiger visiting has arrvied with an offer for Lily: return what Halmoni stole in exchange for the return of her health Halmoni’s health.
It is a tempting offer; but deals with magical tigers are not always what they appear to be. So Lily must, with the help of her sister and her friend Ricky, find her voice and her courage, and face whatever trickery the tiger may conjure.
Caledonia Skytower reads the 2021 2021 Newbery Medal winning story by Tae Keller.
Thursday, April 22nd
19:00: Revisiting the Poetry of the Planets
Caledonia shares Holst’s music and the poetry written and submitted as part of her 2017 LEA project, in the Glen.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
Late night contemporary sci-fi and fantasy with Finn Zeddmore.
* Nourish *, April 2021 – click any image for full size
We built this for our own fun last year during a global pandemic. We wanted to know what it would be like if Lockdown never ended… let the plants and nature take over. So welcome to our little piece of calm. Please explore all!
So reads the introduction to * nourish *, a parcel Shawn Shakespeare recently pointed me towards. Located on a Full private region, this is small parcel – just over 2,300 square metres in size – that packs a lot into it.
* Nourish *, April 2021
Designed by Molly (MollyWolliDoodle) with the assistance of Matt (MatthSuogan), the parcel is focused on a street scene – but not your typical street. As per the description, this is a place where a pandemic lockdown has meant that nature has moved in, leaving the local businesses overgrown with the road and footpaths becoming cracked as grass makes its presence felt.
The businesses lining either side of the road look as if they haven’t opened in a long time – and not even social distancing has allowed their proprietors to maintain their frontages, although their neon signs continue to shine as if to enticing possible customers.
* Nourish *, April 2021
Conversely, the local multi-storey – clearly no longer required for the purpose of parking cars – appears to have been taken over as a kind of club environment and social space. It stands a little at odds with the idea of a lockdown preventing people gathering together, so one can only assume that it has been taken over by those within the same social bubble.
The roof of the building has been converted into a place for games and partying – and quite imaginatively so; including the conversion of a locomotive caught on the elevated tracks that pass the structure.
* Nourish *, April 2021
This rooftop setting is actually the icing on what is a compact cake of rich detail. From the street slowly being reclaimed by nature through the multi-storey to the waterfront with its rough beach and broken house, there is plenty to catch the eye and the camera lens, and the apparent contradictions (subject to a never-ending lockdown and the construction of the place intended to bring people together) simply work. In fact, the contrast talks to the the realities seen within the current run of restrictions on public / social gathering.
* Nourish *, April 2021
There is a certain novelty to the setting that is engaging and which makes a visit more than just the opportunity to explore; it encourages visitors to spend time simply appreciating the design. And the novelty is more than skin deep, so to speak – should you drop in, be sure to walk down the steps to the subway; there is actually more there than might first meet the eye.
Compact, carefully thought-out and executed, * nourish * is visually engaging and fun.
Sunday, April 18th will see the Community Virtual Library celebrate its fifteenth anniversary with the opening of their new in-world library building and resource centre.
Founded in 2007, the Community Virtual Library (CVL) carries the tag line of “a real library in a virtual world”, and is affiliated with the American Library Association. As a library, it includes all of the facilities you might expect: the ability to select and read books on a wide range of subjects (courtesy of the Gutenberg project) and categorised as one would find in a physical world library; a reading room, resources to help with research, links to world literature presented by country / language that reflects the international nature of Second Life, and so on.
However, CVL is far more than just a virtual reproduction of a physical world library – it is a community hub offering opportunities and resources for learning, resource-sharing, and exploration. It offers facilities and presents opportunities for CVL members and affiliated groups to mount exhibitions and presentations and hold events and meetings. It also connects with library communities throughout Second Life, bringing together digital citizens with the information and resources they seek, and provides support to educators and educational organisations.
Community Virtual Library
CVL’s Full region provides a range of facilities operated directly by CVL and also by affiliated groups, offering a rich mix of literature and arts, and is a core member of the IRC 501(c)3 non-profit New Media Arts Inc. In addition to a presence in Second Life, CVL has also extended into various virtual worlds utilising OpenSimulator, including 3DWebWorldz, Avacon, CybaLOUNGE, and Kitely, either by establishing a dedicated facility within these worlds or by partnering with libraries already operating within them.
To mark CVL’s 15 years of operation and the opening of the new library building, there will be a special 2-hour event visitors and CVL members alike are invited to attend. Commencing at 12:00 noon SLT, on Sunday, April 18th, 2021, it will include opportunities to tour the new building and hear from staff and volunteers about CVL’s history and future plans.
United Artists of Second Life: London junkers – ιστορίες
If like me, you enjoy mythologies from around the world, then a visit to the United Artists of Second Life (UASL) is going to be well in order, because it is there that London Junkers is presenting ιστορίες a journey through a selection of stories from Greek mythology.
Commencing in a the great hall of what might be a temple where a statue of Ariadne in repose, ιστορίες takes the form – appropriately enough – of a journey through a labyrinth of tunnels and passages that connect halls of various sizes in which might be found scenes from the tales London has selected for inclusion within the exhibition.
United Artists of Second Life: London junkers – ιστορίες
Each story is given form through the use of mesh sculptures with additional props, some of which are interactive (touch Pandora’s box for example, whilst (Psyche is presented as a butterfly).
Further stories await explorers in the the tunnels as well; within them can be found the Minotaur, together with the Cyclops, Medusa, and a walk through the realm of Hades and Persephone.
Each story is marked by a small horse sculpture, located just before or just within the entrance to the chamber or tunnel containing it, Touching each of these will offer a note card on the tale. These are well-written and present their information succinctly so that does not overwhelm, whilst communicating the core of each myth.
Beyond the hall with Cupid and Psyche, visitors pass out of the labyrinth and onto the snowy slopes of Mount Olympus where a path winds up to the gods themselves: Artemis (rather appropriately, given the times), Athena and of course Zeus himself, who obligingly provides a teleport back to the start of the installation and the opportunity to explore other exhibitions within the UASL facilities.
When visiting ιστορίες be sure to have your environment set to Midday and that Advanced Lighting Model is enabled (Preferences → Graphics → check Advanced Lighting Model – there is no need to enable shadows as well).
United Artists of Second Life: London junkers – ιστορίες
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 