M&M Creations: New Look, Same Commitment to Quality

Second Life Newspaper recently met up with 10 Goosson of M&M Creations about what has been happening at her store. “M&M Creations just keeps steady and growing as usual,” 10 explained, “We’ve lots to talk about and show Second Life residents. I’ll make it a short list.”


* The scenery screens have been deleted. After three years of selling those, the interest and needs were gone.

* Part of the main mall has been taken by the tree shop with all trees repacked with a temporary rez. So click, see and buy, or leave. Easy and much better than walking over the entire island and not being able to find what you are looking for.

* The flowershop, same story. The flowers have all been repacked, and some new shapes (sepals) have been added, with temporary rez as well. I dusted all flowers this way and was surprised about what I've created last three years.

* The landscaping shop has had a small transformation as well. It's filled, again a fast and easy way to see all builds rezzed, by using the good TP-system to visit the object you want to see.

* Marcthur is still releasing the Antique builder-packs. Those seem to be very popular.

* M&M Fashion will get more time and attention. Full Permission outfits with all materials used are very new in Second Life. Especially because all creators are so anxious about their goods being copied or stolen. We ignore the fear and keep making new things Full Permission to help designers of any level with good stuff to create great objects/outfits.

* It was time to create a new Tutorial: Fit & Wear Fashion Sculpts. A lot of questions about it and it isn't easy. So this tutorial is almost finished.

* In the line of this new tutorial, I will give the other three (and the new one of course) in-world and will schedule these. So there will be a long running event in June: Tutorials. So, classes, classes and classes (this time on our islands platform with the possibility to rez, all people who will participate, can build right at the spot)

* I changed the island that much, only a few parts are recognizable as they were.


- The fairyland is more wetlands and has a huge cave with colorful scenes, all fantasy-flowers, fairy-like landscaping items, etc., are rezzed. I'm still amazed I built this all myself and I wonder around at midnight. The stage is wide and open next to the seaside with some quiet, hidden, corners to relax.

- We embraced Annika Designs with her low-prim builds (caves, waterfalls) so she has a part to rez a few of her great builds.

* Marc is also renewing the oldies. The cherubs have lighting shades and a very special copper texture. They look amazing.

* New fashion sculpts are made of course. Some of those oldies are renewed, because they needed the newest skills of the creator (grin).


10 only had a little time to chat, so she was soon on her way, heading to one of her classes to offer free lessons.

Always evolving, M&M continues to offer shoppers high quality sculpted outdoor products, and 10 Goosson is still personally helping those new to building to become better at it.

M&M is at the Double MM sim: Click Here for the SLURL.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is often thought of in the United States as the unofficial start of summer. A day off to relax, maybe fire up the grill for a barbecue.

Not what the real reason the day is for: a day to honor those who lost their lives defending the country. And Second Life has it's share of places where memorials to fallen have been placed.

Probably the best known of these memorials is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Second Life, sometimes known as "The Wall." Opened in November 2007, it is still up and continues to draw many visitors.

"The Wall" sim has it's own website at http://www.thewallsl.com.

To get to the Vietnam Wall, Click Here for the SURL at The Wall (39, 32, 25).



Other memorials in Second Life are less well known. Among these is the TLE Memorial in the Raziel sim. The TLE (The Learning Experience) area is more noted for it's building classes and classroom lectures. But one building was set aside as a memorial, where for a donation one can have a stone set up to honor someone. Not just Americans are represented here, but Canadians, British, and others.

Jacob Barton, one of the soldiers dedicated in this picture (second down on the right row), was Lothi Aeon in Second Life, whom lost his life trying to save a comrade one year ago.

The TLE War Memorial is at Raziel (59,61,22).

* * * Addition added later in the day * * *

There are also numerous smaller memorials. Memorials set up as simple reminders for those who gave their all. Among them is the one set up at the Southern Colorado sim by Daaneth Kivioq.

“I have had for a long time a small memorial located on my sim. I invite you to come here for a few moments to reflect on the gift those brave men and women have given us.”

The memorial isn’t much compared to The Wall, a flowerbed and a couple flags. And a plaque reading:

“My Angel, his name is Freedom - Choose him to be your king;
He shall cut pathways east and west, And fend you with his wing.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dedicated to all those who have given life or limb
in the service of the Angel named Freedom

The Southern Colorado memorial is at (129, 41, 25).

"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a 'Blank Check' made Payable to 'The United States of America', for an amount of 'up to And including my life.' Veterans didn't have the luxury to choose Where, When, How, or even IF they will 'make that payment'. They merely do their duty day in and day out knowing that they've written that check that some day may be 'Cashed!' That is Honor." - Author Unknown.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Wounded Warrior Memorial Celebration

On Sunday May 30th, from 5 to 9 PM SL time, the US Military Veterans Group in SL held a live music event to help the Wounded Warrior project, a program to assist hurt soldiers. The event took place at the Veterans’ Center in the Patriot Island sim, with the crowd in front of the stage numbering over a few dozen residents.

Fingerstyle guitarist Frets Nirvana, US Military Veterans Group of SL, and Symbiotic Productions announced the fourth in the series of benefit concerts for the Wounded Warriors project. ... All proceeds collected ... will be paid out directly to Wounded Warrior Project, (WWP). WWP provides services and programs to the more than 30,000 troops that have been injured in recent conflicts to ease their burdens and aid in the transition back to civilian life.

About Wounded Warriors: Wounded Warrior Project began when several individuals took small, inspired actions to help others in need. The resulting objective was to provide tangible support for the severely wounded and help them on the road to healing, both physically and mentally. What had been initially viewed as a small contribution (compared with what the warriors had sacrificed while serving our country) has become WWP’s signature program: “WWP backpacks delivered beside to wounded warriors.”

Wounded Warriors program has developed significantly over the last several years to include advocacy, benefits counseling, caregivers retreats, coping/family services, peer mentoring, warriors to work and many other programs for the benefit of United States wounded veterans.

Despite being a bit gray from lag, those attending the event enjoyed themselves and the music. Frets Nivarna was the third musician playing, from 7 to 8 PM SL time. There were some schedule changes, and von Johin took over to sing last, “playing live from Nashville Tenn for you.” He noticed not everyone in the audience was from the US, “probably not Memorial Day for you in London, but thank you for participating.” He went on to play past the hour he was scheduled to, going not to 9 PM SL time but two, to 10 PM.

Votslac Hax was among those who helped organize the event, “This is the fourth concert. And I believe the sims been here for quite some time.” He explained in the three previous concerts, there were notable musicians such as Craig Lyons, Maximillion Kleene, “This was the largest longest event (we held). It was designed to celebrate Memorial Day worldwide.”

Approximately 31,000 Lindens were raised for the WWP that night. During normal times, the Patriot Island sim welcomes veterans of all branches to come by and relax, to enjoy activities such as skydiving, helicopter flights, boating, games, and shopping.

To learn more about the Wounded Warriors Project, visit https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

BobbiJo Jonson, “The Responsibility to remember is ours. And a way each of us can do this is to support the Wounded Warrior Project. Thank you all. A most glorious day of remembering.”

Bixyl Shuftan

MushROOM and Lunamaruna

Artist Scottius Polke creates some unique, cartoony art. More recently, he has given his style of art a third dimension by creating two unique places in Second Life based on his artistic style.

To read the story, Click Here to go to Community.

Tell the World "Why You Relay"

Relay Week is fast approaching. And this year, The Relay For Life organization here in Second Life, and Editorial Clarity, Want to do something different.

We Want to know Why you Relay? What is your inspiration? What do you hope to achieve by Relaying? And what kind of Relaying are you doing, to support the American Cancer Society?

Over the Next Few weeks, Ed is going to be looking for some Relay Teams, to volunteer to be on Camera in Second Life, and Tell us Why you Relay. These will only be short videos, however a different video will be done for each Relay Team. The final Products will be shown on a Big Screen at the 'Why I Relay' Area at the Relay Sims on The Weekend of July 17th-18th.

If you as an individual, or a Team, would Like to be part of this, Please Contact Editorial Clarity In-world (Notecard Would be best) or by Email (editorialclarity@yahoo.com) - And a schedule will be made for a time that suits you and Ed to get it filmed.

Thanks and Appreciation

'Why I Relay'

Interview with Tuna Oddfellow and Shava Suntzu

For quite some time, Tuna Oddfellow, “Fish the Magish” in real life, has run the Odd ball with his partner Shava Suntzu. They’ve entertained many crowds, as well as helping others through occasional fundraisers. Now, Tuna and Shava are in need of help themselves. Recently, Second Life Newspaper conducted an interview with them.

For the interview, Click Here to go to Community.

White Mouse Power

At one party a friend was hosting, someone’s AO muttered something so crude, it shocked everyone into silence. What did we do in response? Find a way to diffuse it with humor.

For the story, go to Extra Extra.

Cartoon of the Day

Mystery Celebrates Four Years in Second Life

It was four years ago this week that the Mystery sim was founded. And to celebrate, Tygeria Mirabeau and her staff are throwing a week of special events. They started out with a bang with Debi Latte singing live from the Queen of Hearts riverboat club. But Mystery has much more to celebrate besides the parties. There are new attractions, and even a sister sim appearing.

To read the story, go to Community.

"The Pocket" Raises over 106K Lindens in Flood Relief Benefit.

Last week, “The Pocket” hosted a benefit fundraiser (Link) for Cypress Rosewood, whose house and office suffered flood damage, which his insurance did not cover. A number of noted musicians, plus Tony Dyson (Azar Shelman) took part.

Delinda Dyrssen, who manages the Pocket, later announced that the event at her club had raised a total of 106,660 Lindens. While not enough by itself to pay for the damage, it helped. Cypress was able to find an apartment to move into until his family could find a house.

Cypress thanked those whom spent time and Lindens, “The generosity of ... Second Life friends was amazing. ... The compassion, help, and generosity is as over the top as the water was.”

Bixyl Shuftan

Mystery to Begin Four Year Anniversary With Debi Latte

It was four years ago next week that the Mystery sim was founded. And to celebrate, they plan on holding a week of events. The fun starts tomorrow, Sunday May 16th when at Noon, Debi Latte comes to the riverboat club to sing live. Tygeria Mirabeau and Amythe Midnight, the sim owner and sim manager, had praise for Debi, saying she had always made time for Mystery and it’s people.

Amy and Tygeria told SL Newspaper that they plan to do more than just hold events. They have been working on a sister sim, the Isle of Conundrum, which will open durring the celebration. The sim will offer sailing, romantic cuddle spots for couples, and retail space for stores. They also have new attractions on Mystery for visitors and regulars alike to enjoy.

“You never know what to expect at Mystery.”

Bixyl Shuftan

The Chilbo Community

It began as a dream among a few people, a place where people could live not just as virtual neighbors, but a community. Since then, Chilbo has grown not just in area and numbers, but has attracted and continued to attract a number of artists and musicians, while continuing to help newcomers to Second Life. Today, Second Life takes a look at the Chilbo region and community.

To read the story, go to Community.

Flood Relief Benefit for Cypress Rosewood

Cypress Rosewood (Tony Gerber in real life) was on his way home in Nashville Tennessee after a real-life music performance when trouble struck. Nashville was hit hard by terrible flooding, Cypress hearing it called a “five-hundred year flood.” He was unable to get to his home. Fortunately his wife and daughter were able to get out, but his home and shop were flooded and when talking to Progressive Insurance he was told his policy had an “exclusion clause ... for water damage.”

As a result, friends of Cypress have been organizing to raise cash. One such benefit will be this Saturday May 8 at “The Pocket.” Beginning at 4 PM SL time, various musicians will be performing until Midnight. The musicians include OhMy Kidd, Keiko Takamura, and CraigLyons Writer. Also there will be Azar Shelman, whom in real life is Tony Dyson, the man who designed and built R2D2 for the “Star Wars” movies. He will be taking a few minutes to answer questions and pass out a few gifts.

Another event was held Friday at 2:30 PM at the French Quarter sim. Cypress’ “Twitter” has the words, “Everyone making donations, thanks so, so much. We are blessed and we are humbled.”

Earlier this year, Cypress Rosewood was the subject of real-life trouble when a burglar broke into his home while he was performing. Not unlike now, friends raised cash to help make up for the loss of valuable equipment stolen.

The Pocket is located in the Freestar Bay sim at: 216/32/24.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources: Delinda Dyrssen’s Blog

Cartoon of the Day

Friends in Need

With the stories about the negative side of Second Life going around, such as griefers, sometimes the Metaverse can seem like a two-fisted place. And sometimes, one wonders. Would these people whom you call friends in virtual reality actually lift a finger if you were in trouble in reality? Recently, there were a couple examples of cases where the answer was yes.

Read the story in Communnity.

US Army to Use Second Life to Aid Amputee Veterans

The US Army is making plans to purchase space in Second Life for the purpose of helping veteran amputees back into society. Named the Amputee Virtual Environment Support Space project, the virtual space is to be used by the wounded soldiers after they leave treatment centers.

“The avatar will be able to interact with other registered avatar beings – fellow amputees, caregivers, even friends and loved ones – in a virtual world that's unencumbered by the restrictions of time, distance or disability.” One program manager noted amputee soldiers once out of treatment faculties found themselves alone. The virtual world would help provide them with a group of peers for support.

“As AVESS develops, users also may be able to check in with their professional caregivers, asking questions, getting information updates, and even seeing online demonstrations of the best way to do a physical therapy exercise or adjust a prosthetic device.”

The contract was awarded in fall 2009 to ADL Co, "We tasked them with coming up with a roadmap, letting us know what was possible in developing a virtual world for amputee veterans, and letting us know what issues there are in terms of privacy, access, authenticating who was coming into the environment, all those types of issues," program manager Ashley Fisher explained.

The first phase involved a normal Second Life region, to see what they could do there. Their experiences also led to the conclusion they needed a secure area from unauthorized avatars, especially griefers whom would harass the wounded veterans.

"We wanted to avoid that, because we really did want the veterans to be able to go in and express the issues they are having with the people they know are going through the same thing," Fisher detailed, "And also, we needed it to be secure, because we want to try to bring families, and possibly even children, into the world, and we can't really do that on the regular Second Life platform." The area is being set up in a private, and secure, space in Second Life Enterprise , a region for private spaces marketed to corporations.

Fisher made comparisons to the movie “Avatar,” in which a former marine who lost his legs is able to go about in a new body through the use of a machine. She explained she saw “tremendous therapeutic value” in the amputees’ ability to “define their avatars as they choose, and to immerse themselves in those characteristics as they interact with other avatars.”

Fisher expected some to depict their amputations on their avatars with prosthetic limbs, though a number would do so only as they became more at ease with the virtual environment and the others in it. The “transformation” where they would come to “accept themselves and their new appearance” was hard enough when surrounded by their peers in a hospital, but harder when trying to fit back into society.

"For individuals with disabilities, virtual worlds are a powerful way to connect with others, to access peer support and to participate in activities that might not otherwise be possible," Fisher explained. "This project will establish the best way to adopt this technology for the unique needs of the military amputee community."

Source: The Official Website of the National Guard


Bixyl Shuftan

Farmville and other Facebook Games

Lately, Facebook and the games one can play on there, such as Farmville, have been getting some attention. So what exactly are these little games that are (usually) free to play? Here, we take a look at the craze that’s hit the Internet.

For the story, go to Extra Extra.

Nemo

Those with a fascination for Steampunk, fans of the classic novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” or even just a simple interest in either, may want to head to a certain place in Second Life: Nemo.

The entry point is a metal platform, with a walkway leading to a metal tube poking up through the surface, a doorway open and leading to an elevator. One can take the elevator down, and find oneself in the middle of an undersea city. The structure is done in the style of the Victorian era, but with strange machines mixed in. Near the entrance is a model of the complex, which can help in seeing where one can go while down there. There is also music in the background, which was a bit haunting at times when I was there.

The underwater complex is well detailed. Some rooms are simple living quarters in which one can sit on a couch by an amp and read the books of the day. There is also an occasional portrait of a notable person, appropriate to the setting, at the time, such as scientist Nikola Telsa. There is also an organ in one

In other places in the structure, one can look at electrical and plasma-filled equipment fit for a mad scientist’s lab. There are robots in the place, resembling sea creatures, in various stages of assembly, as well as sketches of the contraptions on the wall. If one looks outside, an occasional working model can be seen moving through the water. There are also other machines for use outside the lab, such as a fortune-telling machine. The machines are done in good detailed, sometimes with moving gears and other parts.

Nemo was built by Sextant Shepard, a French journalist in real life. In the Linden Blogs, he stated he was working on another area, the Oruchalcum Mine. Nemo itself is still a “work in progress,” evidenced by a closed door with a sign at one point.

A fascinating sim that anyone who’s read the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells will enjoy.

Nemo is at the FRANCE3D futuna sim at (91/148/21).

Someone also did a Youtube of the area, which one can see: Link.


Bixyl Shuftan

M Linden Appears on “The 1st Question” Game Show

About a year ago, Second Life Newspaper took a look at Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question," a game show in Second Life shown on treet.tv someone called “a cross between having lunch with Albert Einstein and ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ “ Since then, the show has continued to appear every Tuesday at 7 PM SL time, always drawing a packed audience, and having among it’s contestants a number of noted residents, some well known, some important, and a few whom were both.

On Tuesday April 20, the contestants included one of the more well known residents of the metaverse: M Linden, aka Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon.

The other contestants were Sydney Caramel (real-life journalist Boonsri Dickinson), FutureGuru Haiku, and Professor Springflower. But all eyes were on M Linden. The center of the room had been circled with “M”s as well. So the question on our minds was, would the CEO come out on top, or end up getting his tail kicked? A couple people in the audience joked that a Linden loss would result in the sim suddenly disappearing.

The sim was packed more than usual, with 66 residents in the place at one point. This caused lag and other complications. Some residents crashed and were unable to get back in, including Sydney Caramel. Co-host Hydra Shaftoe later commented he should have capped the avatar limit at fifty or fifty-five. So it was up to two other contestants to stand up to the head Linden.

But with the first few questions, it was becoming clear M Linden was holding his own, able to answer tricky puzzles. Although the others were ahead in points at the start, M soon took the lead and held onto it, eventually winning the show. It is unclear what prizes M Linden won from his victory on the game show.

The archived episodes of “The 1st Question” can be seen Here , with the April 20th show most likely appearing on their within a few days.

Bixyl Shuftan