Survivors of Suicide (SOS) is a peer to peer support group within Second Life dedicated to help those who have been impacted by depression, thoughts of suicide, or who have attempted suicide or have lost someone to suicide. The group offers practical support, as well as education and information on dealing with depression, suicide prevention and more.
Founded in December 2008, SOS is the longest running support group of its kind in Second Life, and celebrates its anniversary each year with a special Christmas Fair – and 2019 will be no different, with merchant and vendor application currently open until November 8th – although this may be extended if spaces are still available.
The theme for the 2020 fair is Winter Wonderland, with the event running from Saturday, December 5th, 2020 through until Saturday, January 2nd, 2021 inclusive.
Merchants are asked to adhere to a number of guidelines, comprising:
Booths are provided with a 50 LI allowance that should not be exceeded.
Merchants are asked to dress them in accordance with the theme.
Scripts should be kept to a minimum and only used as required (e.g. within vendors, etc).
All items offered for sale must not violate IP, copyright, patent, trademark or similar rights held by others.
Booths must include an SOS kiosk (provided by the organisers) for donations.
At least one item must be offered at 100% sale price to SOS, or 2 items at 50% sale price to SOS.
Set-up will commence at noon SLT on Monday, November 30th, and must be completed by noon SLT on Thursday, December 3rd.
In addition, applicants are asked to have a free Group slot available so they can be invited into the SOS group for rezzing rights, and should provided a 512×512 copy of their store logo to the organisers via e-mail (address in the application form).
Those interested in applying should complete the SOS Winter Fair 2020 application form.
For further information, please refer to the SOS website.
Burn2 2020 opened its gates at 17:00 SLT on Friday, October 9th and is currently in full swing with daily event scheduled throughout the week that will culminate over the weekend of Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October with the burning of the Man and the Temple respectively, before the event closes with a final party that kicks-off at 23:00 SLT on Sunday, October 18th.
This year’s event is a little different to past Burn2 activities, thanks to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The latter pushed all of the Burning Man events from the physical world to the virtual, as the Burn2 organisers note in introducing this October event:
Traditionally, Burn2 “echoes” the annual event in Black Rock City, Nevada. This year, however, things are different. Burning Man went virtual, the Multiverse populated by eight “recognised universes.” Burn2 was one of those, with a VRC Week event in the beginning of September, featuring just a bit of what a virtual Burn is like in Deep Hole.
Now…in October, we shall go all out!
Burn2 2020
This means that a total of six regions once again provide a setting that reflects the actual Burning Man event, but are this time especially welcoming to Burners from around the world who were not able to attend the physical event,who can share the creativity and atmosphere virtually and immersively. To reflect this, the Burn2 landing / arrival zone includes a short tutorial on using the viewer for those new to Second Life, and greeters are especially attuned to assisting those who are unfamiliar with the platform and with Burn2.
Also reflecting the “virtual universe” idea of this year’s Burning Man event, Burn2 has been given the theme of the Metatverse, with builders and participants invited to present builds and camps that reflect the idea of multiple universes in which life might find itself – be they spiritual, fictional, of time and space, extroverted or introspective.
As usual, there are entertainments and activities taking place throughout the week, with the aforementioned Man and Temple burns taking scheduled to take place twice (and respectively) at 12:00 and 18:00 SLT on the 17th and 18th of October. Full details of the burns and all activities throughout the rest of the event can be found in the event schedule on Google Calendar.
Burn2 2020
When visiting, people can explore the regions in multiple ways: on foot, via balloon, and the familiar Department of Mutant Vehicles cars, whilst for the environmentally minded, horse are also available for riding.
About Burn2
Burn2 is an extension of the Burning Man festival and community into the world of Second Life. It is an officially sanctioned Burning Man regional event, and the only virtual world event out of more than 100 real world Regional groups and the only regional event allowed to burn the man.
The Burn2 Team operates events year around, culminating in an annual major festival of community, art and fire in the fall – a virtual echo of Burning Man itself.
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, October 12th: Running from the Deity
Gyro Muggins reads the 10th (chronologically speaking) story of Alan Dean Foster’s Pip and Flinx series.
Continuing his pursuit of an alien weapon’s platform, the Krang, Flinx finds himself heading into the Blight. However, his ship, Teacher, announces it is in need of repairs and that while its autonomic systems can handle them, it will nevertheless need raw materials from a planet. Flinx therefore opts to land on the nearest world – the planet the “Arrawd”, place roughly equivalent in technology to Earth in 19th century – and therefore normally forbidden as a destination within the Humanx Commonwealth.
The planet has a lower gravity than more Humanx worlds, something that benefits Flinx physically – but things go awry when he injures himself and is forced into the care of a local couple, who find his abilities and technology – if the expression might be used – out of their world.
Despite his protestations, Flinx finds himself increasingly the centre of attention and the idea that he is some kind of deity – and while he finds himself drawn to the less complicated life on Arrawd and the fact it separates him from all the cares and worries he faces in the Commonwealth, he realises he must leave.
Unfortunately, by the time he arrives it this conclusion, three of the governments on the planet have decided to wage war in order to “earn” his blessings and claim him as their deity. And so, reluctantly, he has no other option but to both get involved in matters whilst simultaneously trying to escape the world view that he is some kind of god.
Tuesday, October 13th:
12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen
Music, poetry, and stories in a popular weekly session at Ceiluradh Glen.
19:00: Odd and the Frost Giants
Willow Moonfire reads Neil Gaiman’s story, originally written for World Book Day.
Winter isn’t coming – it’s refusing to go away, but no-one understands why.
Not only that, but Odd has run away from home, despite the fact he can barely walk and has to use a crutch. Nevertheless, he finds his way to the forest, where he encounters three animals: a bear, a fox, and an eagle, and they have a strange story to tell. Listening to them, Odd realises he must now embark on a strange journey, one he can barely imagine.
For he must now set out and save nothing less that Asgard, City of the Norse Gods. For it has been invaded by the Frost Giants, and while they hold it, winter will not pass away.
It’s going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and free the mighty Gods. A boy who is resolute, cheerful and infuriating and clever…
On All Hallows Eve, young Pipkin is due to meet his eight friends outside a haunted house on the edge of town. But as runs through the gathering gloom, Something sweep him away.
Arriving at the house in expectation of meeting Pipkin, his eight friends instead encounter the mystical Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who informs them that Pipkin has been taken on a journey that could determine if he lives or dies.
Aided by Moundshroud and using the tail of a kite, the eight friends pursue Pipkin through time and space, passing through the past civilisations of the Egypt, Greece, Roman, the Celts … witnessing all that has given rise to the day they know as “Halloween”, and the role things like ghosts and the dead play in it.
Then, at length they come to the Halloween Tree, laden with jack-o’-lanterns, its branches representing the confluence of all these traditions, legends and tales, drawing them together into itself…
Thursday, October 15th, 19:00 The Book of Kindly Deaths
Seeking clues to her grandfather’s disappearance, Eliza Winter finds a hidden room in his Gothic house and finds a hidden room. Within it, only moonlight falls through the stained glass of the window, no matter what the time of day, to illuminate a tome that awaits a reader – The Book of Kindly Deaths.
Believing the book might hold a clue to her grandfather’s whereabouts, Eliza opens it to find it filled with tales dark and sinister – and through its pages, discovers that nothing in the world is quite what it seems and the darkness of tales can be terrifyingly real.
Before long, Eliza finds herself forced into battle against her darkest fears to save her family from the book’s guardian, the horrifying ghoul Grim Shivers. And as the pages turn, she finds herself tumbling into the heart of the Grimwytch, a haunted world of terrifying monsters where it’s forever midnight.
Offering a rich mix of dark fantasy, original storytelling, sprinkled with a touch of Lovecraft and a soup·çon of Gaiman, and finished with an author’s name superbly suited to the weaving of dark tales, The Book of Kindly Deaths is a tale that has never failed to please lovers of mystery tinged with dark happenings.
Saturday, October 17th, 13:00 The Baba Yaga at the Haunted Hollow
Caledonia shares adventures from Folk lore, and some more modern version, of the famed Russian Witch, at Haunted Hollow. There will be a teleport from the main landing point of this month-long Halloween event.
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, October 5th: Running from the Deity
Gyro Muggins reads the 10th (chronologically speaking) story of Alan Dean Foster’s Pip and Flinx series.
Continuing his pursuit of an alien weapon’s platform, the Krang, Flinx finds himself heading into the Blight. However, his ship, Teacher, announces it is in need of repairs and that while its autonomic systems can handle them, it will nevertheless need raw materials from a planet. Flinx therefore opts to land on the nearest world – the planet the “Arrawd”, place roughly equivalent in technology to Earth in 19th century – and therefore normally forbidden as a destination within the Humanx Commonwealth.
The planet has a lower gravity than more Humanx worlds, something that benefits Flinx physically – but things go awry when he injures himself and is forced into the care of a local couple, who find his abilities and technology – if the expression might be used – out of their world.
Despite his protestations, Flinx finds himself increasingly the centre of attention and the idea that he is some kind of deity – and while he finds himself drawn to the less complicated life on Arrawd and the fact it separates him from all the cares and worries he faces in the Commonwealth, he realises he must leave.
Unfortunately, by the time he arrives it this conclusion, three of the governments on the planet have decided to wage war in order to “earn” his blessings and claim him as their deity. And so, reluctantly, he has no other option but to both get involved in matters whilst simultaneously trying to escape the world view that he is some kind of god.
Tuesday, October 6th:
12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen
Music, poetry, and stories in a popular weekly session at Ceiluradh Glen.
19:00: Odd and the Frost Giants
Willow Moonfire reads Neil Gaiman’s story, originally written for World Book Day.
Winter isn’t coming – it’s refusing to go away, but no-one understands why.
Not only that, but Odd has run away from home, despite the fact he can barely walk and has to use a crutch. Nevertheless, he finds his way to the forest, where he encounters three animals: a bear, a fox, and an eagle, and they have a strange story to tell. Listening to them, Odd realises he must now embark on a strange journey, one he can barely imagine.
For he must now set out and save nothing less that Asgard, City of the Norse Gods. For it has been invaded by the Frost Giants, and while they hold it, winter will not pass away.
It’s going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and free the mighty Gods. A boy who is resolute, cheerful and infuriating and clever…
On All Hallows Eve, young Pipkin is due to meet his eight friends outside a haunted house on the edge of town. But as runs through the gathering gloom, Something sweep him away.
Arriving at the house in expectation of meeting Pipkin, his eight friends instead encounter the mystical Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who informs them that Pipkin has been taken on a journey that could determine if he lives or dies.
Aided by Moundshroud and using the tail of a kite, the eight friends pursue Pipkin through time and space, passing through the past civilisations of the Egypt, Greece, Roman, the Celts … witnessing all that has given rise to the day they know as “Halloween”, and the role things like ghosts and the dead play in it.
Then, at length they come to the Halloween Tree itself, laden with jack-o’-lanterns, its branches representing the confluence of all these traditions, legends and tales, drawing them together into itself…
Thursday, October 8th
19:00: The Night Stalker – Interview With A Vampire?
Shandon presents another adventure into the unexplained from the canon of Carl Kolchak. Also in Kitely – teleport from the main Seanchai World grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI.
21:00: Seanchai Late Night
Finn Zeddmore presents contemporary Sci-Fi-Fantasy from such on-line sources as Light Speed, Escape Pod, and Clarkesworld ‘zines.
Rock Your Rack is the annual fund-raiser for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) opened its doors on Saturday, October 3rd, and remains in full swing through until Sunday, October 18th, 2020, offering shopping, music, fashion shows, entertainment and art.
Some 1.7 million women – and men – were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, the year in which Rock Your Rack was founded by Jamee Sandalwood and the team at Models Giving Back. Today, the figure still stands at around 1.6 million world-wide. NBCF’s mission is to help women in the United States by providing help and inspiring hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services. NBCF is also joining hands with organisations around the globe to provide breast cancer education, and Rock Your Rack aims to raise funds to support all of these activities.
Located on a single region, the event this year has a distinctly tropical theme, and is sponsored by Digital Farm System, Dark Betty, Darkstar’s Speakeasy, Designs By Soosy, NY NY Piano Lounge, Rapture, and Swank Events. and has more than 60 designers and merchants taking part.
As with previous years, supporting designers have been asked to provide a limited edition item, of which 100% of all proceeds of sales go towards Rock Your Rack. In addition, and to encourage visits to the event, designers have been asked to offer an exclusive item their customers can only purchase via Rock Your Rack. You can find out more about the limited edition and exclusive offers at the event here.
Rock your Rack 2020: art show
Entertainment will be on offer each weekend of the event and features bot DJs and live singers. Special performances by Terpsicorps Artwerks are also a feature of this year’s event. Just under 40 artists are participating in the Rock your Rack art show this year, presenting a rich mix of art covering SL avatar studies and landscape and physical world art created by the the artists involved. And, of course there will be the event fashion shows.
The complete event schedule can be found in the calendar below – all times SL. However, be sure to check the Rock Your Rack website for concise schedules for things like the weekend entertainment schedules.
Those so minded can also take part in the Rock Your Rack hunt. Many of the designer and other booths at the event have a L$10 item available as part of the Rock Your Rack Hunt – look for the heart-in-a-clothes hanger objects. Then can be found all over the event region – including the art show!
Rack Your Rack 2020: fashion show stage
About Rock Your Rack
Rock Your Rack is the annual fund-raiser for, and officially endorsed by, the National Breast Cancer Foundation in the United States. launched in 2012, the event has been held every year since then, operating on the basis of complete transparency. All documentation relating to the funds raised at each event from screenshots of totals raised, through the Lindex credit processing of US dollar amounts out of Second Life to donation receipts from the MBCF, are posted each year directly to the Rock Your Rack website.
The season of Haunts and Things That Go Bump In The Night is once again upon us, bring with it plenty to do across the grid. Two groups that are offering a themed quarter-region and events throughout the month are friends of this blog, Elite Equestrian and Seanchai Library, who are jointly presenting Haunted Hollow to one and all.
Once Upon a Time there was an Enchanted Hollow somewhere between the Hudson River Valley and the land of the Brothers Grimm. It was here, under the glow of the Hunter’s Moon, that the tales gathered. They settled in as cooling breezes whirled the falling leaves, nestling between the autumnal heights and that place where the brook waters blend with the salty sea. Mind your step! In the centuries between this moment and when these stories were born, some few of them may have begun to twist, just a very little.
Seanchai Library bring tales for the season throughout the month with a programme featuring (all times SLT):
13:30, October 4th, 11th, 18th (Sundays) – Tea Time with The Shadow: tales from the classic radio series, originally featuring the voice of Orson Welles (1937-1938).
19:00, October 7th and 28th (Wednesdays – The Halloween Tree: episodes 1 and 4 respectively of Ray Bradbury’s fantasy novel tracing the history of Samhain and Halloween through the tale of a group of trick or treating boys.
13:00, Saturday, October 17th – Baba Yaga: Caledonia Skytower reads tales of the supernatural being (or a trio of sisters of the same name) of Slavic folklore, who may help or hinder those that encounter her or seek her out, as she appears in assorted roles.
13:00, Saturday, October 24th – The Witch’s Headstone: Caledonia Skytower reads Neil Gaiman’s short story that originally formed the 3rd Chapter of The Graveyard Book, the story of Bod (short for Nobody), the boy raised by the ghosts of a graveyard, and which has also been published as a short story in its own right.
13:30, Sunday, October 25th: Tales of Washington Irving: Seanchai present tales penned by the essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat who is best known for his short stories, including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Haunted Hollow 2020
The treasure hunt runs through the entire month and starts at the landing point – just click the cauldron or the board behind it for hint, and start seeking out the places within the hollow that are hinted at. There are thirteen locations to find, with prizes awaiting those who take the hunt.
Visitors are also invited to ride the Hollow’s skeleton horses and ponies – simply click on the rezzer boards and make your choice of horse or pony and ride the trails. Rides are available throughout the event, and random (and changing) gifts are offer throughout. In addition, the rides will be opened on three days of the month when registered riders can participate and have the chance to receive a special Animesh, rideable pony-sized skeleton. These special rides will take place as follows (all times SLT):
08:00-09:30, Saturday, October 10th.
17:00-18:30, Friday October 16th.
18:00-19:30, Saturday October 24th.
The Live Trick or Treat events will include a tour of the homes in the hollow – participants are asked to wear suitable costumes! – and will also feature tarot card readings, music and fun. Details will be made available through the information boards at the landing point, so be sure to keep an eye on it throughout the month!
Haunted Hollow – the Headless Horseman!
As you ride through the Hollow, look out for the shoe-like Witch’s House, where spells and potions might be found; and there’s the hut of the Baba Yaga – what might she offer to you? But use caution, as you might note from the surroundings, not all who arrive actually leave… And while your name may not include “Ickabod” or “Crane”, you will nevertheless come across the Headless Horseman!
Climb the trails and you’ll find the Story Teller’s Ledge, where tales might be heard and music and dancing enjoyed. Further up, and the Fairy Tale Tower awaits. Run by a skeleton crew, its rooms have nevertheless been rented out by the characters of assorted tales. Could that be Cinderella’s glass slippers left in the tower’s hall, her pumpkin coach carelessly parked alongside? And just who might that mirror, mirror on the wall belong to – take care after looking into it that you don’t prick you finger on the needle of the spinning wheel left in the middle of the room, or you might be staying at the tower longer than intended!
Whatever your Halloween treats might be, Haunted Hollow may well offer them to enjoy together with its own tricks. So why not pull out your favourite ghostly look or horrorly costume and drop in throughout October to join the fun?
Survivors of Suicide (SOS) is a peer to peer support group within Second Life dedicated to help those who have been impacted by depression, thoughts of suicide, or who have attempted suicide or have lost someone to suicide. The group offers practical support, as well as education and information on dealing with depression, suicide prevention and more.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 