R. Crap Mariner tapped me concerning a piece of information that might be of interest to those who use Bank of America credit Cards. I’ll let Crap explain:
Bank of America changed their rewards card 3% cashback category from gas to a user choice from a list. since I recently bought a plug in hybrid car and barely use any gas, I changed it from gas to on-line shopping. thought it would just hit Amazon purchases, but turns out that LL/SL counts too? hope it’s real and not just a glitch.
To demonstrate, Crap sent me a copy of part of his most recent credit card build, showing the 3% cash back against a Second Life payment to Linden Lab.
A Bank of America credit card payment and the 3% cashback earned on it. Courtesy of R. Crap Mariner
Crap continues:
It’s the first month of them doing the flexible categories at 3%. Most credit card bonus offers don’t treat it as on-line shopping, but BOA appears to, but they might close this loophole. We’ll see.
So, if you do have a Bank of America credit card you use for Second Life purchases such as payment of tier, you might want to check your statements or arrange to have any cash back option to on-line shopping / purchases.
The Edge: JudiLynn (JudiLynn India) and Anouk Lefavre
The Edge, Kultivate’s black-and-white gallery, re-opened on January 20th, 2019, with a new ensemble exhibition.
Also now housed in a new building – the rest of the Fanatik unit utilised by the Windlight Gallery which re-opened earlier in January – the exhibition is unthemed for the re-opening and presents the work of Roxaane Daniels (Roxaane Fyanucci), Vee Tammas Shocker (Veruca Tammas), Kody Meyers (KodyMeyers), Sabine Mortenwold, Maaddi Benazzi (maaddi), JudiLynn (JudiLynn India), Anouk Lefavre, Reycharles Resident, and John Brianna (johannes1977).
The range of images is broad: avatar self-studies, drawings, original paintings rendered as monochrome images, Second Life landscapes and photographs from the physical world. As such, this makes for an engaging exhibition.
Of the artists and images on display, I admit to being drawn to the work of Reycharles Resident on the upper level of the building. These are richly evocative studies, vital in their execution; there is a depth of life about them that is intense and captivating.
Similarly, Kody Meyers – as usual – offers a series of studies that are rich in narrative and beautifully posed and created. Kody’s colour work is always extraordinary, but here in black and white, there is something very special about them that kept drawing my attention back to his work.
Alongside of Kody’s pieces are five pen / pencil drawings by Sabine Mortenwold. Like Reycharles’ pictures, there is a strength of raw beauty about them that capture one’s attention – particularly the two landscapes.
The Edge: Roxaane Daniels (Roxaane Fyanucci), Vee Tammas Shocker (Veruca Tammas)
But the truth is, the entire mix of art in this exhibition makes for worthwhile viewing, and it will be available for at least the next month.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, January 20th
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version 6.0.1.522263, dated December 5th, promoted December 13th. Formerly the Spotykach Maintenance RC viewer – No change.
Release channel cohorts:
The Love Me Render RC viewer updated to version 6.0.2.523177 on January 16th.
Project viewers:
The Environmental Enhancement Project (EEP) viewer updated to version 6.0.2.523088 on January 16th.
A Way of Life is the name given to the latest region design by Elyjia (Elyjia Baxton), and which replaces winter’s Snow Falls (read here for more).
This is another delightful setting, carrying with it echoes of Elyjia’s previous designs, developed in co-operation with Brayan Friller (Brayan26 Friller), such as Tavana Island (read more here), the gorgeous Au Petit Jour (see here for more), the Heart of the Sea (see here for more); all of which have been wonderfully exquisite island / pastoral / coastal designs we’ve always thoroughly enjoyed visiting. But while it does carry those echoes, A Way of Life offers its own unique setting and sense of place and freedom.
A Way of Life
Surrounded by open sea and with two of its buildings clearly of Tuscan design / heritage, A Way of Life seems to suggest a Mediterranean setting. Perhaps it might be a part of the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea. But a further look across the undulating island reveals structures that are perhaps more American in nature: a water tower sitting atop a great steel pylon structure, a classic wood framed and clad barn, a broken wooden windmill. Together these push the mind perhaps to an island of mixed history and settlement sitting within a more temperature region of America’s vast coastlines.
When I say “island”, I should perhaps clarify: the setting is almost a mini archipelago in its own right. While dominated by two large landmasses to the east and west, separated by a narrow channel that’s spanned by a single bridge, the region presents a number of islands of varying sizes, some occupied by structures, others the home of grass and trees or rocks and sand.
A Way of Life
Wherever it may reside, A Way of Life is clearly popular: sailing boats sit moored in the mouths of bay and channels while a large schooner appears to be passing close by to the east, sails fully unfurled in the light wind that ruffles the wave tops. The large villa to the east, with its paved terrace, folly and track winding west and south to a pavilion hiding behind the hunched shoulder of a low hill, suggests this is perhaps a holiday getaway point, or a stop-off on a coastal route followed by weekend sailors. The beach just below the villa, pointing a tongue of sand out at the sea certainly adds to this.
But then, close to the channel separating to two large islets, and on the land to the west, the presence of a workshop-like barn, together with the larger barn and water tower, suggests this might be a working island with the villa and nearby house sitting on its own small island perhaps the home to those who husband the sheep and horses under the squeak and clank of the sails belonging to a traditional European-style of windmill.
A Way of Life
It is perhaps the nature of these contrasts that make A Way of Life appealing. The aforementioned juxtaposition of European and American influences, for example. Or the contrast of Mediterranean skies with the trees and foliage suggestive of more northerly European or American climates; or the wagons and old truck (and perhaps event the schooner) hinting at a bygone era contrasting with the modern lines of the sail boats nestled around the coast. These all draw the visitor into the setting.
Throughout the landscape are numerous places to sits and rest and appreciate your surroundings. In this, I particularly like the little cove between villa and island house, where a small deck and a stranded old rowing boat (now converted to a little snuggle point festooned with flags and lights) can be found.
A Way of Life
Finished with a natural ambient sound scape, A Way of Life makes for an idyllic visit well suited to its name. Photographs taken within the region are welcome at the Hrodas Fen Flickr group, and should you enjoy your visit, do please consider making a donation at one of the tip jars to help towards the region’s upkeep and future design iterations.
With thanks to Shakespeare for the nudge to re-visit Hrodas Fen.
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 at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.
Monday, January 21st 19:00: Ringworld
Gyro Muggins reads the first in Larry Niven’s science fiction series focused on a gigantic artificial ring, the Ringworld, built around a far away star at a distance roughly equivalent to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
Roughly 1.6 million km wide, the ring rotates slowly around its central star to provide a gravity on its inner surface roughly equivalent to that of Earth, and it has an atmosphere suitable for humans. It was built by a race known as the Puppeteers, who have been working to affect both humans and the cat-like, warrior Kzin.
Regarded as a classic, Niven’s novel (and later series) is also curiously contradictory. On the one hand, it is focused on exact science of advanced technologies, but on the other it engages in bizarrely pseudo-scientific fantasy conceptions.
The series sits within Niven’s broader Known Space series, the fictional setting of about a dozen novels and several collections of short stories, and which encompasses his Man-Kzin wars series. In addition, the idea of the ringworld it presents is regarded as the inspiration for the Halo series of video games, and there are multiple similarities between the two.
Tuesday, January 22nd 19:00: The Time Keeper
The inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years.
Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.
He returns to our world – now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began – and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, Father Time must save them both. And stop the world to do so.
Join Caledonia Skytower and Kayden OConnell as they read Mitch Albom’s 2012 novel.
Wednesday, January 23rd 19:00: The Jennifer Morgue
Corwyn Allen reads the second volume in the Laundry Files by Charles Stross.
Bob Howard is an IT expert and occasional field agent for the Laundry, the branch of Her Majesty’s Secret Service that deals with occult threats. In this second outing, Bob Howard finds himself dragged into the machinations and conspiracies of megalomaniac multi-billionaire Ellis Billington, The Black Chamber and The Laundry…
Dressed in a tuxedo (what else for a globe-trotting British Secret Agent?) and sent to the Caribbean, Bob must infiltrate Billington’s inner circle via his luxurious yacht. His mission? Prevent the Billington from violating a treaty that will bring down the wrath of an ancient underwater race upon humanity’s head.
Offering a wonderful pastiche on both the world of James Bond and a wonderful mimicking of Ian Fleming’s style of writing, Stross produces a novel that also evokes Lovecraftian overtones that is delightfully entertaining to read. In true Bond style, Bob is (reluctantly) partnered with an American agent – in this case a stunningly beautiful woman who also just happens to be a soul-sucking succubus from another dimension. Which, being the case, marks Bob’s mission somewhat differently to those of Bond: not only must he stop the bad guys and come through this at best shaken, he must totally avoid being stirred towards getting the girl…
Thursday, January 24th:
19:00: Moana Part 3
With Shandon Loring & Caledonia Skytower. Also in Kitely grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI.
My Anonymous Shadow is the intriguing name of an exhibition of work by Dixmix Source, owner and curator of DiXmiX Gallery, that opened on Saturday, January 19th, 2019. On display are 12 images focusing on – as the name implies – the photographer’s shadow, or in some cases the artist’s avatar presented as a shadow; hence the intriguing nature of the exhibition.
It’s an innovative approach to presenting what might be thought of as avatar studies; within each image we see an anonymous figure; a silhouette, sometimes cast by light across a floor or wall, and others, the shadowy outline of a figure expressing emotion or framed within a setting, or abstractly caught in what otherwise be the pages of a graphic novel. But in each and every one of them, the black figure is both the centre of the image, yet (literally) a dark unknown.
With a considered use of colour in some of the images (more blatant in the likes of Shadow 5 and Shadow 7; softer and more refined in the likes of Shadow 9 and Shadow 11), the use of abstract presentation (again, Shadow 9 together with Shadow 3 and its mirror twin, Shadow 12), and carefully composed character studies (such as Shadow 8 and Shadow 10), this is a fascinating series. There is a narrative within each piece, waiting to be told – and that narrative very much depends on how you approach this exhibition.
For example, they might be considered individually, and as they were formed: pieces depicting an actual shadow cast on a surface, or a figure shown in deliberate silhouette. Viewed in this way, the story each image tells tends to be one of composition, balance, tone, capture and presentation; the play of light and dark, the contrast of shadow and object, in which the shadow / silhouette is divorced from association with a person, but is simply a component part of the artist’s use of contrasting elements to complete the whole, even when as expressive as Shadow 8.
But if they are considered as a whole, and within the context of the title, the narrative becomes more involved and branched. On the one hand, they could be taken as imaginings on what our shadows might be doing whilst we are otherwise occupied: out in their own world, exploring, experiencing, searching. On the other, these pieces might be seen as reflections of thoughts and emotions; considerations on identity, place, relationships that are personal to the photographer; yet at the same time, the very anonymity of the figure within each renders them as reflections of moods, events, feels, that we, the observers have experienced and can instantly recall in viewing them.
Thus, My Anonymous Shadow becomes a fascinatingly layered exhibition, one which can be enjoyed purely from the artistic expression each piece presents, and / or for the more narratives and ideas that lie just below the surface – or should I say, within their shadows?
