Category: Second Life

No parent should have to bury a child … No mother should have to bury a son. Mothers are not meant to bury sons. It is not in the natural order of things.

– Stephen Adly Guirgis

Thee words came to mind as I visited The Broken Dreams Project in Second Life, as a result of a suggestion by friend Miro Collas. Created and managed by Jared Palianta, The Broken Dream Project is a memorial to those who have taken or lost their lives in recent times as a result of the intolerance of their peers or the through the hatred  / violence of others.

Set as a simple park occupying one-quarter of a Homestead region The Broken Dreams Project is a place of quiet contemplation and reflection. A place where  – in a world where bigotry, hatred, political violence, zealotry (both religious and political) seem to be once again on the rise (although the question must be asked, did they ever really go away?) – pause can be taken to reflect on the level of senseless violence and hatred can be visited upon others.

This project is dedicated to the memory of
those who have lost their battle from Hatred
and Bullying. Your memories live on in this
sombre marbled garden dedicated to
everyone who has endured Hatred and Bullying
because of their sexual orientation, race,
creed, and religious backgrounds. Free from
persecution, your memory lives on inside
These walls.

– From The Broken Dreams Project dedication stone, by Evan Greymyst.

Flanking the landing point are memorials to young people who have taken their lives as a result of bullying and hatred, together with the park’s dedication stones. Around these are several more memorial areas dedicated to those who have lost their lives or been injured through schools shootings, victims of religious extremism (9/11 and the May 2017 Manchester arena bombing); hate crimes and violent act on the basis of their sexuality (such as the 1978 Louisiana Gay Pride Day fire-bombing and the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shootings), acts of US domestic terrorism (the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma and the 2015 San Bernadino shootings) and mass shootings in the United States, such as the 2017 Las Vagas shooting that left 58 people dead and over 400 (of 851 total injuries) injured by gunfire.

These are simple, plain speaking memorials, some of which can be especially hard-hitting, such as the section listing the  young people who have lost their lives as a result of shootings in US schools in the 17 years 2 months to February 2018 (and which has yet to be updated with the victims of the Parkland attack of February 2018), as well as all those inured as a result of such shootings. This is a particularly sobering corner of the memorial as it indicates that the first 17 years of this century have already seen the number of US school shooting related deaths exceed the number seen in the last 40 years of the 20th century.

As well as the memorials, The Broken Dreams Project also offers information on a range of support groups both without and within Second Life, including rape support, assistance for those experiencing bullying and hatred on the grounds of their sexuality, or who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or suffering mental anguish. This information includes note cards, telephone help line numbers, website addresses, and  (where relevant) landmarks to in-world groups – all of which makes The Broken Dreams Project something of a valuable resource. I would perhaps suggest making the website links given on of the information walls clickable so that people can be taken directly to the pages, but this is really a very minor point.

With an understandable US bias, The Broken Dreams Project is a place for quiet reflection for anyone who has lost a friend or loved one as a result of senseless violence or the result of suicide, no matter what their age. Donations are welcome from those wishing to support the project, and can be made via the donation boxes located around the park’s footpaths.

SLurl Details

• The Broken Dreams Project (Reckless, rated: Moderate)

Ocho Tango Place – click any image for full size

I last wrote about Ocho Tango Place in 2015, as a part of a visit to artist Mistero Hifeng’s gallery space and store. The club and Mistero have long shared a Homestead region, and they still do; but while I’ve written about Mistero’s gallery in the intervening years, I’ve not been back to visit Ocho Tango Place since 2015.

Focusing on the tango, Ocho Tango Place is billed as a location for milonga and romance. At the time of my 2015 it sat atop a plateau above the rest of the region hosting it and Mistero’s gallery. However, whether this continued to be the case after September 2015, when both Mistero and Ocho Tango Place relocated to their current home is unclear.

Ocho Tango Place

What is clear is that today, both club and gallery now share a more integrated space. The latter has always used water in its design, and this continues through to the half of the region used by Ocho Tango Place, as designed by Megan Prumier and Sheerpetal Roussel, who owns the club.

Located to the east of the land, the club sits as an island of brick and stone – a former railway station – watched over by the tall figures of steel pylons silently carrying power lines. A terrace before the building offers outdoor seating, a wooden walkway reaching out over the shallow water to the landing point. A locomotive with tender and rail cars can be found at the rear of the club, venting steam as it sits on a single track.

Ocho Tango Place

Trees – most of them slender and birch-like – and grass mixes with the water across the rest of the setting, form  moist islands stretching to the horizon. The are broken into small groups by both clear water channels and the parallel lines of rail track as they curl around the parcel to arrive at buffers, the iron fingers of street lamps marking their route.

In the midst of this, a lone sandy hump rises bearing a denuded tree. Draped with blankets and with blankets and cushions beneath, it is one of several places people can sit and pass the time, along with the club’s terrace and upper floor. More can be found scattered across the parcel (and even higher up – check the power lines!). Further to the west is an outdoor events area lies over another low-lying sandbank offering a place for those seeking a little romantic privacy whilst dancing.

Ocho Tango Place

Wildlife in the area takes the form of origami flamingoes standing in the water or circling overhead, presenting a slightly surreal, but fitting aspect to the setting for those who fancy exploring it. They are balanced by a family of ducks enjoying the freedom to swim on the waters beyond the club to the east.

I’m not sure on when events are held at Ocho Tango – there is no events board available, and while there is a dedicated group for the club, it didn’t have any details of past events when I checked to offer some frame of reference. However, the audio stream carries music in keeping with the theme of the club, allowing those wishing to enjoy a dance to drop in and pass the time whenever they wish.

Ocho Tango Place

Coupled with Mistero’s gallery space alongside it (with TP to his store), a visit to Retrospect and Ocho Tango makes for an engaging visit, mixing art and dance together in a visually striking setting.

SLurl Details

• Ocho Tango Pace (Retrospect, rated: Moderate)