Yúcale: an arts community in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Yúcale; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrYúcale – click any image for full size

Update: Yúcale has closed, and the host parcel is now home to the OHM Valley hangout).

Saturday, May 4th, 2019 saw the grand opening – in fact the official return – of a base of operations for the Yúcale project and community in Second Life, Originally called the Yúcale Café Gallery (the name by which it is still known on Facebook), the project has a long history, as founder Samiraa Adderstein informed me during the second of two visits at the weekend.

Yúcale started in December 2014, we ran from then until June 2018, when I had a half years break from SL due to RL stuff. I started with a 300 LI parcel back then, and we’ve grown a lot since then, and actually moved three times!  We also had some smaller events before the official re-opening, and a benefit for Feed A Smile.

– Samiraa Adderstein founder of the Yúcale Coffee Gallery

Yúcale; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrYúcale

Now called Yúcale Giramondi Virtlantis, the new location for Yúcale covers just under 1/3 of a Full region, and has been designed by Samiraa  – Samum to her friends – with the support of Pater Bac (Bacoo Balut) to be a place for mixed arts: exhibitions by photographers and painters (which will change bimonthly), together with readings by authors, music events. It is also a place where people can – as the About Land description notes, “meet every now and then to play games, listen to radio plays or watch movies together”.

We used to be the Yúcale Coffee Gallery, but I changed the name this time, because Kip Boahn of the Virtlantis language project sponsored us for almost a year, and it is a way for us to say “thank you”. Also, Giramondi was a small café in my home town that ran events like we do here. It has now sadly closed, but I wanted to remember it in our name.

 – Samiraa Adderstein explaining the name change

Yúcale; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrYúcale

The new design for the community has a pleasantly Mediterranean feel to it. With a southern aspect and shoulder to the west and east by high cliffs, there is an intimate village feel to the location. With moorings down at the water’s edge connected by path and steps to the village above, it’s easy to imagine coming across it whilst sailing along the coast of Italy or Spain, and deciding to come alongside and enjoy an exploratory stroll up to the village square.

For the official opening, Yúcale features art by Belice Benoir, Jaëlle Faerye, Xirana Oximoxi, Balbera Resident and Samiraa herself. Individual exhibitions are located in different buildings both in the village and the parcel as a whole – Jaëlle’s work is displayed within the out warehouse in the south-west corner of the region overlooking the southern moorings and outside of the village, while Belice’s art can be found up in the little chapel looking down on village from a perch on the eastern highlands.

Yúcale; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrYúcale – Balbera Resident

Yúcale is less a place than an idea. We do cooperative events quite often. On Sunday May 12th we have Sunday Lounge, a travelling event if you like. And As May 25th is International Towel Day, we’ll be holding an event to honour Douglas Adams with author readings, etc.

– Samiraa Adderstein

Scattered around and between the art locations are various venues for music – notably the village square and the circus tent down close to the waterfront, while some of the gallery spaces are large enough to accommodate music and dancing during openings. A restaurant / bar sits to one side of the village square, while a little book store (still being finalised at the time of our visits) pays homage to Yúcale’s café origins. In the unlikely event you have problems finding your way around, major venues within the location are linked via a teleport system as well.

Yúcale; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrYúcale

Details of events at Yúcale are published via the Yúcale Café Gallery public Facebook page, the in-world .::Yúcale::. (subscribers at the location), and via a Flickr group. A new in-world publication has also been started, again available from Yúcale.

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Detectives, mages, kaleidoscopes and cave girls

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

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.

Sunday, May 5th,

13:30: Tea-Time at Baker Street

Caledonia Skytower, Savannah Blindside and Kayden Oconnell once again open the pages of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, the final set of twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories first published in the Strand Magazine in 1922.

This week: The Problem of Thor Bridge.

“The faculty of deduction is certainly contagious, Watson,” Holmes informs his good friend John Watnson one October morning after Watson had arrived for breakfast expecting to find Holmes in a depressed mood, wanting for a good, solid case, but finding him instead practically full of the joys of spring.

The comment comes in response to Watson’s observation that such a good mood could only mean that Holmes did indeed have a case. Even so, it is not until after breakfast that the Great Detective reveals the situation.

“You have heard of Neil Gibson, the Gold King?” he said.

“You mean the American Senator?”

“Well, he was once Senator for some Western state, but is better known as the greatest gold-mining magnate in the world.”

“Yes, I know of him. He has surely lived in England for some time. His name is very familiar.”

“Yes, he bought a considerable estate in Hampshire some five years ago. Possibly you have already heard of the tragic end of his wife?”

“Of course. I remember it now. That is why the name is familiar. But I really know nothing of the details.”

The details are that the wife of the aforementioned J. Neil Gibson had been most cruelly murdered by none other than the family’s governess, Grace Dunbar. The evidence in the case couldn’t be more clear, nor Miss Dunbar’s guilt more sure.

So the letter Holmes reveals to Watson he has received, and which protests Miss Dunbar’s innocence despite all the evidence indicating otherwise, is not only responsible for his upbeat mood, but also sets the Great detective a pretty riddle. Particularly as it has been written by none other than J. Neil Gibson himself …

18:00 Magicland Storytime

Caledonia begins Ian Flemming’s classic children’s tale Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: the Magical Car from the Golden Horseshoe.

Monday, May 6th 19:00: Paper Mage

Gyro Muggins reads Leah R. Cutter’s 2003 début novel.

Set in the Tang Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom (about the time of Charlemagne in Europe), the novel tells us of the adventures of Xiao Yen, a young woman training to become a paper mage, a sorcerer with the power to endow folded creations with the semblance of life.

Because her gifts are in demand for the protection they can offer, Xiao Yen must leave behind her beloved family and their village home and embark on a dangerous mission when she is hired to protect a caravan. Yet even as she departs, she has no idea that this looming adventure will shape the very woman she is to become.

The story follows two time lines, alternating chapters between the caravan journey, where one of her fellow travellers is a goddess who charges her with a dangerous quest, and the story of her childhood training, when she lay caught between her aunt’s plans and her mother’s plans to have her married off.

Tuesday, May 7th  19:00: Kaleidoscope

When a brilliant young violinist dies in a horrific accident, Madame Karitska has only to hold the victim’s instrument in her hands to perceive the shocking truth. But when an insecure wife asks whether her husband will abandon her to join a sinister cult, Madame Karitska–as wise as she is lovely–chooses not to reveal all that she foresees. And when an attaché case is suddenly dropped into her lap by a man fleeing a crowded subway, she knows it’s time to consult her good friend Detective-Lieutenant Pruden.

A nine-year-old accused of murder, a man dying a slow death by witchcraft– for the hunted and the haunted, Madame Karitska’s shabby down-town apartment becomes a haven, where brilliant patterns of violence, greed, passion, and strange obsessions mix and disintegrate with stunning, kaleidoscopic beauty.

With Caledonia Skytower.

Wednesday, May 8th 19:00: Meet Midsummer

With Aoife Lorefield at LEA 2.

Thursday, May 9th 19:00: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Cave Girl

Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones was not overly courageous. He had been reared among surroundings of culture plus and ultra-intellectuality in the exclusive Back Bay home of his ancestors. He had been taught to look with contempt upon all that savoured of muscular superiority, such things were gross, brutal, primitive. It had been a giant intellect only that he had craved, he and a fond mother, and their wishes had been fulfilled. At twenty-one Waldo was an animated encyclopaedia, and about as muscular as a real one.

And so we are introduced to Mr. Smith-Jones, the unlikely hero of this novel, set within Burroughs’ Lost World series. Swept overboard during a during a South Seas voyage intended to ease his ill-health, Waldo finds himself carried ashore on a primitive jungle island, where all his book learning can’t help him survive, particularly in the face of the terrifying ape-like throwbacks to mankind’s early evolutionary history who live on the island, and from whom he continually flees.

And then he encounters – rescues, even, albeit mistakenly – Nadara, the titular cave girl. Regarding him a hero, she teaches him the arts of survival and her primitive language, taking him back to her tribe – who turn out to be Palaeolithic cave people. If he is to stay among them, Waldo must prove his worth by fighting the strongest. He opts to flee instead.

However, as he spend more time in the jungle, gaining in strength thanks to Nadara’s teachings, he finds himself unable to put her out of his mind. So much so that when a ship finds the island, he refuses passage aboard her. Instead, more sure of himself than at any point in his life, he sets out to find the cave girl who believes he saved her.

With Shandon Loring. (Also in Kitely grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

City of Solace in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

City of Solace; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrCity of Solace – click any image for full size

Sitting just off Wellington Road as it arcs around the southern bulk of Jeogeot, sandwiched between Route 9 and 10 sits the City of Solace, a region-wide, futuristic city design by Jean K. Smit (jeankyn) and of Bill R. Smit (BlackBlade Smit). It’s an interestingly curious place, easily accessible by road, and with a direct teleport set to deliver people to the main rental office high overhead.

From this latter comment, it should be obvious that this is a location offering rentals – both residential and commercial; however, it is also a place open to visitors, and where casual role-play is potentially encouraged, the Destination Guide description noting:

Solace. A city of wonder, mystery, and amazing vistas. The City of Solace could be considered a city of tomorrow, today. Futuristic architectures, places to see and visit, things to see and do. In accordance to the city, there is also a space installation to explore, named S.O.A.R. Rentable habitation pods, access to starships, etc. There is lots to do for avid role-players.

City of Solace; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrCity of Solace

At the time of our visit, a number of the city units had been rented, so some care is perhaps in order when exploring at ground level. This is reached via a teleport booth outside of the rental office, should you arrive there first. This gives access to three ground level locations: a nightclub, the city’s motor centre (which also supports Get The Freight Out), and the SmitCo headquarters.

The majority of the ground-level city is laid out along a network of enclosed roads which in turn provide access to both Wellington Road as noted above, and with the airport at Annyong to the north-west. Thus those driving through the Mainland or flying over it can pay a visit to the city if they wish.

City of Solace; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrCity of Solace

The residential units appear to be of two sizes, single floor and split level, while local businesses occupy some of the high-rise buildings. There was no sign of role-play when I dropped in; but given the city appears in the Destination Guide’s Recently Added category, and elements of the supporting infrastructure – such as a promised web site – still appear to be under construction, this is perhaps not surprising as the city is still building is residents and businesses. Or perhaps role-play is more focused on the space station.

Located in the sky, the space station is officially called the Solace Orbital platform for Astromineralogy and Research (SOAR). It is reached via a separate teleport system to the main pods, being based on Stargate SG-1 style ring systems. One of these can be found just outside the rental office, lying within a grassy dimple. Another can be found at ground level in a circle of trees towards the south-eat corner of the city, just below the turn-off from  Wellington Road that’s marked by the tall Blue Star truck stop and travel centre sign.

City of Solace; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrCity of Solace

SOAR is a large facility offering both research and residential opportunities. In fact, with its docking facilities, a mid-level public deck, that sandwiches habitation pods between itself and the biodome of the uppermost level, where visitors arrive when using the ring system teleport. One might be tempted to comment it is “a port of call – home away from home – a place of commerce and research…”, even if it isn’t big enough for a quarter million humans and aliens….

The multiple decks of the station are connected by a central elevator system, and while some areas are devoid of content, the public deck offers a bar and a cafeteria area looking out over the docks and their varied visiting spacecraft. The outer sections of the station feature restricted access and contain the main administrative offices and research facilities. Again, usage at the time of our visit appeared light, but this may grow over time as people discover the city and the station.

City of Solace; Inara Pey, May 2019, on FlickrCity of Solace

Overall, there could perhaps be a few more public spaces – the apartments feel a little cramped in their vertical stacking in the city – but overall, City of Solace and SOAR is an interesting – if unexpected – find whilst motoring through Jeogeot. It’s also a place that offers an interesting potential backdrop for photography.

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Fantasy Faire 2019: as the Sun dips towards the west

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Fantasy Faire

The official events of Fantasy Faire are over. The DJs have played, the artists have performed, stories have been written and told. Memories have been born, friendships renewed or made. As it is with every year, Fantasy Faire 2019 will leave its mark on all who attended it, whether for their first time, their fifth or as someone who has been a part of the magic since its inception.

But while the formal events have now ended, The Fairelands remain for one more weekend; so if you’ve not yet had the time to visit this year’s realms, now is the time to do so.

Already this year has been a landmark for Fantasy Faire. In 2018, the event raised some US $50,000, all of which was put towards cancer care at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi, Kenya, and the American Cancer Society’s plans to build a new Hope Hostel for cancer sufferers and their families and carers at the hospital. The success of the 2018 Faire served as a hallmark event for the Hope Hostel efforts within the ACS, as Kristen Solt, Managing Director of the American Cancer Society’s Global Health Initiatives Programme indicated in an open letter to all Fairelanders.

Fantasy Faire 2019: The Shrine Tree

This year, it had been hoped that 2019 could come close to matching that total, further strengthening the work at KNH, with a target of US $40,000 being set. But then came an anonymous business donor, who offered US $20,000 to Fantasy Faire if the event achieved their target.

US $40,000 is L$10 million – that’s a lot by anyone’s count. But on Thursday, May 2nd, as Fairelanders were informed via group note cards, that target was achieved, and the anonymous benefactor indeed stepped up and presented the Faire with a further US $20,000, bringing the total raised to date for the 2019 event to over US $60,000.

Fantasy Faire 2019: Sanguinely Gardens

And there is still time to increase that amount. the regions of the Fairelands will remain open until the end of day, Sunday May 5th. The stores all remain open for business, and there is still time to join this year’s Fairelands Quest – the Lair of Lantoris:

The Bard Queen’s grandson has been stolen … his parents, the Princess Flora and Garius the Winter King are determined to rescue him. But Oswain has been carried to the lair of Lantoris, a disgraced mage and follower of the Unweaver. His skill at protective spells is so advanced — can you penetrate his barriers? It all depends on you, apprentice of magic,  to gather the ingredients to create the spells that Flora is researching. And then to venture into Lantoris’ realm, where Garius is desperately seeking his son.

As with past Faire Quests, the Lair of Lantoris is HUD-driven, with the HUD available from all landing points within the Fairelands at L$250 for the basic edition and L$350 for the Deluxe edition with a custom outfit for your avatar. It is, again, like previous quests, in two parts, with the second chapter, now open – so, if you haven’t started it as yet, there is still time to catch up over the weekend!

Fantasy Faire 2019: Thornfast

The first part of the Quest offers a great way to discover the Fairelands: you must travel through each one, starting with the Fairelands Junction, where the Bard Queen will set you on your way. Then you must find a series of ingredients (with the aid of a NPC “helper” in the form of The Professor), one per Faireland region (with the exception of Thornfast, which is reserved for chapter 2 of the Quest). The ingredients could by anywhere in each region (except within the store themselves), so you’ll get to find out a lot about each one.

The second part of the quest takes place exclusively within Thornfast – make sure you follow the additional instructions for this part of the Quest carefully! Should you need help with anything, refer to the Quest FAQ, and if your curious about the rewards you’re be granted on completion, check out the Quest prize catalogue!

So, with three days left, be sure to head over to the Fairelands and enjoy Fantasy Faire 2019 before the regions fade into the west for another year. There’s a lot to be found within the stores, and plenty of kiosks in which to offer a donation, and you can also dontate via the Fantasy Faire ACS team page.

Fairelands SLurls

 

Waifs and Lala in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Lalalala Gallery: CybeleMoon: Waifs

I received an invitation from CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo) to drop in to a boutique exhibition of her work at the Lalalala Gallery complex owned and curated by Lala Lightfoot. An invitation that allowed me to both visit CybeleMoon’s work – which is something I’m always only too happy to do, being a confirmed fan of her work – and pop in to see Lala’s current exhibition and see preparations in hand for a new exhibition.

Waifs, located in the North Gallery provides a gathering of Cybele’s art focusing on children, and carries with it a definite Parisian theme. It mixes physical world and virtual world images in another captivating display of art with a story, helped among by Edit Piaf via the easel-mounted media board.

Lalalala Gallery: CybeleMoon: Waifs

Those familiar with Cybele’s work will likely recognise a fair few of the images on offer. However, this doesn’t lessen the impact on seeing them here, particularly when framed by their groupings: Place de la Sorbonne, Boulevard Montmartre, Rue Poissonnière. These provide a uniquely Parisian feel to the set of images on each of the walls, and are centred on at least one of Cybele’s pieces in-world art, which perhaps binds images and place names together.

Take Rue Poissonnière (“Fishmonger’s Road”), for example, or Boulevard Montmartre. Both offer images of young children – the waifs of the exhibition’s title. The former brings to mind the route fish would take to the market of Les Halles from Boulogne and other ports, with Cybele painting The Siren’s Call offers and image of a little girl dreaming, perhaps of taking flight like the gulls overhead, or of diving into the waters and becoming a mermaid, free to escape the troubles of land life. With Gigi sitting among the images of Boulevard Montmartre, there is an echo of the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur (admittedly, there are no domes on the house to assist in the suggestion – but the echo is there). This, together with the image of the Eiffel Tower roots the surrounding images in thoughts of the artists who once painted the street life of the district, and he views it offers across Paris, maintaining the Parisian thread through the exhibition.

Lalalala Gallery: LaLa Lightfoot

The rest of the gallery complex comprises two exhibition spaces, one of which was being prepared for a further exhibition by Lala, and other of which features a collection of her paintings, and Lala’s studio space, a cosy social space.

A physical world artist, Lala offers a number of her painting through the exhibition space, all of which  – again at the time of my visit – were on a floral theme. Most (all?) appear to be pastel images, rich in colour and presented in an uncluttered style. The new exhibition appears to be focused on digital art, and I look forward to returning to Thistle in the future to visit it.

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SL Marketplace: store managers introduced

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Thursday, May 2nd, 2019, Linden Lab deployed the latest updates to the SL Marketplace, chief among which is the introduction of the store manager.

A store manager is another user a merchant with a Marketplace store can designate to manage some operations of their MP store. This is a capability that merchants have long requested, both through the forums and the Web User Group meetings, and the response to the deployment has already been positive.

Key points with store managers:

  • Merchants can nominate up to five store managers.
  • By default store managers can:
    • Edit store details.
    • Edit product details.
    • List an unlisted item.
    • View store and product details.
  • In addition, merchants can optionally allow store managers to:
    • Unlist an item.
    • Redeliver items (including changing automatic redelivery status).
    • Add/remove revenue distributions.
    • Add/remove listing enhancements.
    • Change prices.
    • However,these additional permissions can only be added once for a store manager: if they are to be changed at all, the store manager must be removed, and then re-added with the changed permissions.
  • If a store manager does not have any of the additional permissions, those fields appear as inactive in the edit and bulk edit pages. Similarly, the associated controls do not appear for store managers that do not have permission to unlist items, add/remove revenue distributions, or add/remove listing enhancements.
  • Store managers can access the store using their own log-in credentials – not the merchant’s.
  • All store manager action (creation, settings permissions, removal) are set through the merchant’s My Marketplace > Merchant home options.
  • Instructions for adding / removing Store Managers can be found in the official Second Life Marketplace store managers Knowledge Base article.
Store Managers are added via the My Marketplace > Marketplace Home page (1), then clicking Edit Store Information (2) and scrolling to the bottom of the Store Information Page to click Add Manager (3). Add the name of the Store manager and setting the additional permissions for term via the pop-up (4), then clicking the ADD button when all is set (5). Remember that if permissions are to be changed, the Manager must be removed and re-added with the required permissions

In addition, and to provide merchants with oversight of the actions taken on their store:

  • All actions taken by (a) store manager(s) are logged and can be reviewed by the merchant (My Marketplace >  Merchant Home > View audit logs in the left menu.
  • E-mail alerts can also be set to be sent whenever a store manager performs an action on the merchant’s store.
  • Additionally, no store manager will be able to:
    • Archive products.
    • Add/remove other managers.

Again, full details on managing Store Managers can be found in the Knowledge Base article, and any specific issues with the system should be reported via the Jira.