Virtual Bosphorus

In geography, the Bosphorus bridges Europe and Asia via the country of Turkey. In Second Life, the Bosphorus is where new Turkish residents come to Second Life.

“We started off by being a Linden Lab community gateway sim, for Turkish Orientation.” John Zelnik, whom owns the sim, explained to SL Newspaper. This was in April 2007. The sim at one time had a replica of the Bosphorus Bridge, but later took on a different look, “We have teamed up with the football club Inter SL. It is actually authorized by the real club to use the naming rights, etc, in SL. We have been working with them for about a year now. But they have been around since 2007. We decided to bring forward virtual soccer and make it our sim's main attraction.“

“The Inter players take this very seriously,” John continued, “It's no different to real soccer for them. They train every single day, a few hours every day. They use special huds to actually play the games. We also have a Football academy which we teach residents to play virtual football. It’s a bit of a change from the club scene. We are getting more and more females who are interested in playing as well.”

John explained over time a total of “a few hundred” players entered Second Life’s soccer league through Bosphorus, “It is not widely known within SL apart from certain cultures who have teams. There are national teams which we conduct national championships. We have one due in June.” John explained Argentina won last year’s tournament, “There are a few teams in Second Life created by residents. However as we are the official inter-team, there are not many like us, with authorization from the actual club itself.

John went on, “This is only one of the real life/Second Life interactions we have. We have also now made an arrangement with one of Turkey's most famous artists to have her gallery here in Second Life also. Hulya Kupcuoglu who has had many showings in Europe and Turkey, we will show case her art work here at Virtual Bosphorus. Another real-life group we work with is “Remove the Barriers.” It is a Turkish movement which we are the official sl representatives of, an organization for raising awareness for people with disabilities. Their aim is not to collect donations, but it is purely to raise awareness and change simple living conditions in Turkey for those who are living with disabilities who can not get around due to the infrastructure, etc.”

Eve1209 Qunitessa, whom helps John out, commented, “Don't forget to tell him about our live concerts too, John.” John smiled, “Yes, we do have live concerts here every week.” Eve added, “The soccer field actually converts to a concert stage” John offered to show, and heading to the soccer field, a large white stage appeared, bluish lights shining down, and covered with a half-dome in the pattern of a soccer ball.

Eve brought up, “Oh, also the shopping: we have some of the best designers in Second Life here. No freebie stores. ... We have some big names like UK Couture and Myth.”

“We are not a sim with 75,000 traffic with bots,” John commented, “I have a allergy to things like that. ... I prefer to keep things real. I'd love to see this place buzzing one day, because we have put in a lot of effort, time and money. We aren’t funded by bigwigs, nor am I one. I’m just a little man trying to make a difference, with the great people around me.”

Eve pointed out, “If you zoom up, and look at the soccer stadium, it's shaped like a heart. John does this sim with his wife.” John smiled, “Ahh yes, my one and only Second Life wife, who is also my fiance in real-life. ... I don't look at things here as just a game. Real people, real projects, real goals.” Eve, “That’s what makes working with John and Princess (Dikes) so special to me. Just like this heart shaped stadium - they've both put their hearts into this place.” John answered, “Thanks Eve. The way we see it this is not just our sim ... This is the sim of everyone who comes here whether it is the store owners, the visitors, the players, the newbies. We have faced a lot of challenges to keep this sim up and running, both financially and emotionally. But our dream remains the same, to share this place with Second Life residents.”

Bosphorus was recently remodeled, with a grand reopening ceremony on April 1, John saying, “Yes we changed the entire sim, renovated, and what you see now opened on the 1st. But this sim itself has been around for over two years.”

The sim has it’s own website (still being worked on) at http://www.virtualbosphorus.com , and also it’s own Facebook page.

“Virtual Bosphorus & F.C Inter SL welcomes all visitors to come and experience soccer in Second Life. They have provided an atmosphere to please people from all walks of life. Whether it is playing soccer in their fully functional stadium, shopping from SL's biggest and best brands or listening to live music from SL's most amazing live vocalists, Virtual Bosphorus & F.C Inter SL aims at providing a great experience for all.”

The entry point for Bosphorus is at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bosphorus/194/125/22

Bixyl Shuftan

Live in Sunweaver Islands: A Bargain Home in Second Life

Finding a place to live in Second Life for an affordable price can be a challenge. Sign up for Premium Membership to get a “free” Linden home, one will be paying $9.95 US dollars a month. One can rent land, allowing one to stay a free resident and skip the fee, but the prices for rental land and homes can be high, a thousand Lindens a week or more.

How about a place in Second Life where you pay not a thousand Lindens per week, but per month?

At the Sunweaver Islands, 1000L will get you for four weeks, a rate of 250L a week, a 512 square meter plot, 16m x 32m in size, with a 117 prim limit. One can rent as many lots as are available, and the staff will join them into a larger lot if possible, so one can build the house of one’s dreams.

The Sunweaver Islands have both public islands and private islands available:

Public Islands allow one the flexibility of having either a house, store or both. As the name suggests, they are fully open to the public.

Private Islands allow one greater privacy, but are restricted to residents of Sunweaver Islands only. One is allowed to build stuff for sale, but no selling is allowed here. Control over who gets on the islands and behavior is enforced.

For more information on rental space in the Sunweaver Islands, please contact one of the rental managers: Nydia Tungsten, Wensleydale Dinkins, Shockwave Yareach, and Rita Mariner.

Also ask what move-in specials are available. As of now, the first month is half-off the normal price for new renters.

Pixel Labs and the “Book”

Imagine a device that would make reading a book within Second Life quicker, or perform Google searches and other things from the Internet within SL? A new virtual tablet called the "book" allows you to do these and more. We take a look at this handy tool and the people behind them: Pixel Labs.

For more, go to Extra Extra

Pueblo Blanco Grand Opening Celebration

Pueblo Blanco Community is proud to announce its grand opening celebration for Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 2PM to 4PM SLT. As part of our grand opening celebration, we are planning a sim wide hunt, a party, freebies, $1,000 giveaway for best male and best female.  Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their friends, loved ones, and partners.
Pueblo Blanco is a virtual representation of an Andalusian rural environment in Spain.  Several styles of homes and shops exist on Pueblo Blanco.  Some homes have security and privacy features. All tenants share the free common facilities made available to them, like the rowboats, fishing, grotto, horse rides, and more. Beautiful rolling hills, winding narrow roads, spectacular white homes and tiled roofs and romantic park makes this a community you’d want to spend the rest of your second life in. This is a quiet peaceful area with many interesting locations open to residents, their partners, and guests.  Beautiful rolling hills, winding narrow roads, spectacular white homes and tiled roofs and romantic park makes this a community you’d want to spend the rest of your second life in.
Pueblo Blanco is simply a great place to live, visit, decompress, shop, meet friends, or just spend some quality time, alone or with good company.  Some locations are primarily scenic while others are intended for romantic interludes.  We insist that all tenants and visitors use common sense and common courtesy with guests.
For more information please visit http://puebloblanco.wordpress.com or contact Precious Mannonen in-world.

“The Great Panda Heist”

Among the shopping hunts out there in Second Life, there’s one in particular for nature lovers, and those whom simply like fuzzy critters, “The Great Panda Heist.”

Spooky Mistwallow is the organizer of the hunt. In real life, she is a finance analyst, whom writes novels as a hobby. In Second Life, she is a part of Pandas International. In setting up the hunt, she has had the help of Kat2 Kit, whom has been making a name for himself in his tiny panda avatar for his work with Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” and other media.

“(The hunt) was Spooky’s idea,” Kat told SL Newspaper at his panda center in Silver Bog, “I was looking for a traveling fundraiser, and this is both fun and traveling.” He brought to attention the Wolong Panda Center, which was severely damaged during the earthquake in China in May 2008. A number of workers and pandas at the center died. Among them, one named Mao Mao, whom was memorialized outside the Pandas International hut in a sculpted statue.

Of how Kat got interested, “I originally had a miniature panda av. ... As I started to talk around, Ling Ling passed. So Cheen Pitney made me a sculpture. The one out here. Little did Cheen know I would wear him. I did a series of photos around the grid. And people started tipping me. Then after the earthquake, Elnora Newel made me a sculpty Ma Mao and baby, this one here. And now for this hunt, Bald made the greater panda up front.” “Baldtraveller,” Spooky corrected, mentioning Baldtraveller Shan.

“I have worked with Kat many times doing fundraisers for Pandas International in the past,” Spooky told, “and I have organized gridwide hunts in my store, so I thought why not combine the two. In this hunt, while every store hides a small panda with a gift inside. Most also have a donation box in the store as well. Even if donations aren’t received from every hunter, they are definitely made aware that pandas are in need, and the existence of this organization.”

Asked about what kinds of stores are in the hunt and what kinds of goods can people expect to find, “Well, I know most of the stores have panda-themed gifts made special for the hunt. Others, include bamboo or are Asian in nature. The items will range from furniture, jewelry, clothing, and anything else you can think of. The stores we hand-picked and are almost all good merchants with whom we have worked with in the past. Again, from every level of merchandise.”

“For example, we are giving out this lovely panda-framed image to visitors here,” Kat spoke as he pointed to a picture.” Spooky continued, “Kastle Rock Couture, my store, for example, is giving out a special color of my fundraiser panda gown, a panda necklace, and an Asian-themed table. I have seen some panda art, a bamboo leaf dress, and a set of ginger jars. There are a few sample pictures on the official hunt blog as well.”

“(There) was an unspoken theme,” Kat informed, “everything had to be cute to ‘ holy s*** that’s cute!’ “ He then rezzed a panda bot, a small cub holding a balloon that began floating around, making grunting cries those around found adorable, Spooky commenting, “that has to be the cutest thing I’ve seen besides Kat. (laughter). .... It’s cute like a baby.”

Spooky has been involved in other charity hunts, “My store participated as a vendor in the AIDS hunt and also provided donation items for Breast Cancer. I also sell year-round three special gowns and give the pandas fifty percent.” Spooky herself was sporting a panda necklace and a panda tattoo, “the tattoo I’m wearing is a hunt gift one of the vendors sent to me. It’s from Suzy Martinek of Love Tattoos. It’s so cute."

Spooky talked about doing a “Party for Pandas” event in the future, “what we do is schedule time at one club after another, an hour usually. We rezz donation boxes that give information about pandas and why they need support. Last time how much did we raise, Kat?”

“Over 20,000 L," Kat answered, "We were verrrry happy. I take the Lindens, cash them out to Paypal, and then make the donation to Pandas International.”

The website for the Panda Heist is at http://greatpandahunt.blogspot.com . A video Kat thought was important was Pennies for Pandas . For a takeoff on the “Roaming Gnome," here is "Ling Ling around the Grid."

Pandas International accepts donations at P.O. Box 620335 Littleton, CO, 80123. It’s website is located at http://pandasinternational.org . They also have a Facebook page.

"The Great Panda Heist” lasts from March 21 to April 30th.

“I am very excited and thankful for all this support. I an starting to find one of the keys to social media, is volunteerism.”

Bixyl Shuftan

Tellaq Avatar Creations

One complaint about Second Life that occasionally comes up is the lack of ethnic avatars. Quality ones seem especially hard to find. One man here started up a skin store to do something about it: Tellaq Avatar Creations.

The store is two buildings, one for male skins, one for female. The mens’ area had the larger selection (for now), and had mostly black skins. But there were several white ones as well, in addition to an Asian look. Both buildings had a lucky chair, giving people a chance to win one of the skins.

Tellaq Avatar Creations is owned by Tellaq Guardian. “I am a graphics designer in my First Life,” he explained, “Seven months after I got into Second Life I tried (making) my first skin. First reason for making the Afro skin, I couldn’t find any good black skins for myself. As you can see in the store, there are many Afro skins.”

Tellaq remarked that his choice of his name in Second Life was a joke, “ ‘Tellaq’ means a cleaner guy in a Turkish bath. He cleans the customers inside (grin), helping them to clean their shoulders and (places on) their back where they can’t reach.”

Tellaq has a total od 48 avatars in his store, but only for the moment, “I am working on forty Afro women now.” He plans for a total of ninety avatars in the near future, “It will be done in two months.”

Among the avatars, his favorite is “Derrick,” which he created first and still wears most of the time. He also feels especially proud of his work on “Kid,” “Francis,” and “Vincent.” Comments by others about his skins encouraged him to make more, “Their comments made me do better things. They said I was number one (smile), and (had) the most beautiful Afro skins when they saw this. ... They gave me the fire to do (more).”

Tellaq had not been planning on making a store when he started, intending to make just a few skins, but the complements by others spurred him to make more, “I wasn’t planning to do it. I was just having fun in Second Life.”

Tellaq had no plans to sell anything but skins, “Except skins and shapes, I don’t really plan to do anything else.”



Tellaq Avatar Creations is at the Tropical Breeze sim at (49, 62, 23)


Bixyl Shuftan

OD Designs Custom Music Shop

Want to go to a place where you can not only get a cool guitar, but also customize it to your liking? Head on over to OD Designs, where one can get guitars, drum sets, and musical AO's to perform your own dream concert, and more.

The store itself has a *huge* variety of guitars up for sale, grouped by the name of the maker of their real-life counterparts, as well as the models and color schemes of the instruments.

“There’s no real genre attached to this (store),” store director Leilani Teskat explained, “We have several different musical tastes here. I’m trying to get a Shakira tribute to play here soon, hopefully. Our tributes are open to any of the tribute houses. We offer that to give them added exposure. Plus, we also have the OD Band HUB too. That gives even more exposure, that’s located out on the back porch. We also have OD Live, which is our Live Artists branch of things. We’re partnered with some live performers too, StevenJaimz, Anek, Space Junky, to name a few.”

“So it really is a wide open genre. (laughter) Which I prefer, because it adds to the variety.”

Leilani went on, “Also, we’re partnered with real-life guitar manufacturers ... Ortho makes reproductions in-world of them.” Leilani explained the real-life companies treat the virtual goods more or less as a kind of advertising, “so we provide text shouts when the person wears the guitar. Plus, we have links from the OD website to all of their sites. Plus, I have them followed on Twitter too, and we have them on Myspace and Facebook. So we’ve got the whole web 2.0 network going.” Feedback from the real-live guitar companies has been “very positive. Actually, some of them have been so impressed, they linked our website onto theirs. So we have our pages on theirs. The ones I specifically built myself, so that’s been a real feather in my cap, so to speak. ;-) “

She brought up the website of the BC Rich guitar company, which at the bottom had “Visit BC Rich at” followed by several places online, the one virtual world being Second Life, which was a link to her OD Designs page (http://www.odmusic.info/leilani/bcrich%20webpage.htm). “If you go there, and look at the very bottom, you’ll see the link to SL,” which was a SURL to their store, “That’s the webpage I made for them, and the others too. It’s added promotion for them too, something interesting.”

But the store does more than just sell guitars, it allows one to modify them, “We’ve got (a) custom shop that allows people to customize their OD guitars and basses, even adding their own stickers to their instruments. It’s very cool! ... There’s also a short video on how to do it.” She showed me the shop, which has separate stations for stickers and streamers. A webpage shows two videos on how to operate the booths (http://www.odmusic.info/CustomShop/customshop.html#Custom%20Streamer%20Station). For stickers, one can select from the textures in the station, or use one of your own from your inventory. You can also enlarge or shrink the sticker and choose where on the surface of the guitar front you want it. For streamers, the guitars come with three invisible ones hanging from the headstock. The booth allows you to texture and tinit from one to three. Once again, either one can use a texture of those from the booth or one of your own.

When one wears the guitar, one gets a copy of the Heads Up Display to control it with various animations, “you can also adjust the guitar on your av (recommended if you have a tail), then when you have it positioned properly, click the guitar and select ‘Teachfront.’ “
The custom shop has its own HUD as well to help with editing the guitar. Guitars can be copied for one’s inventory, or one can use the store redelivery system for a new copy.

For purchases made at the store, customers are given OD rewards points. “Just like air miles, in a sense,” Leilani explained, “It’s helped out a lot of people who want to do tributes.” In picking the guitar, one may want to pay attention to how it’s color compares to your clothes, “ That's the biggest problem I've found is matching the color up. Sometimes SL can make it kinda disappear. If you have an all black ensemble it gets lost.” The guitars are also highly detailed, down to the strings, made from about 180 to over 250 prims. Most of the guitars come in three sizes, “some of these guitars are so big for my av ... but I want them that big to show off, if I use the Medium sized ones they look good but you can't see the detail.”

Besides guitars, OD Designs also sells drum sets, in different sizes, “the medium ... , the monsters, these are the model most commonly used in Second Life, and the small ... People usually get them depending on which tribute or application they are wanting to do.” Like the guitars, the drums are highly detailed, “we do offer a wearable version of the drums just in case people don't want to use up any prims.” The largest “monster” set is The Titan, “there are a lot of people who just love that particular drum kit ... they also do different things, like the Titan there can spin around and even UFO around.” Like the guitars, drum sets come with their own HUDs for options like different styles of drumming, lights and special effects, and spinning the whole set around drummer and all, “I suggest not doing it in Mouse View.” Sitting on the drums, one gets a copy of the HUD plus the drumsticks.

OD Designs also sells keyboards and pianos.

Animations can be remote-controlled, “say you were a live artist playing a guitar, you could have a friend control your animations.” OD Designs sells the H2V vocal HUD, “some do use this vocal HUD along with the guitar playing as some real-life artists sing and play guitar.” And it also has the H2X, a whole-body HUD similar to the one with the guitars, but has many more animations, over fifty, “ think of it as the HUD you get with the guitar is the H2 lite.”

Leilani also pointed out the Redelivery and Help Center, which can get people a fresh copy of their guitars, as well as showing how many reward points they have.

“Someone can come in get a guitar, and be able to do a tribute or performance right away,” Leilani explained, “and we also have a database of people wanting to get into the SL music industry (so to speak) ... the SL Live Music scene is very live and kicking, there are a LOT of live artists, some using SL to promote their own music, and then directing people to their websites to make sales. ... We're trying to help the people get more gigs too because we know that if they're not making the lindens they can't purchase OD Gear. So I'm always looking for ways to help people, and help them step up their performance too. Not just me but the other OD staff. We all help out in customer service.”

The OD Designs website is at http://www.odmusic.info/. The page for the custom shop is at (http://www.odmusic.info/CustomShop/customshop.html#Custom%20Streamer%20Station) and the one for the H2X Full Motion Authentic Guitar Animation HUD / AO at (http://www.odmusic.info/H2x/H2x.htm).

“OD ROCKS!!”

Bixyl Shuftan

Kat2 Kit’s Commercial Cyanotype Art

Residents in Second Life whom have been to Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” game show, or seen the episodes online (http://www.the1stquestion.com/) have seen a tiny panda named Kat2Kit, doing the opening acts. Kat (as his friends call him) is also among the "tinies" in Pooky’s Second Life Machinima “I’m Too Busy to Date Your Avatar.”

As it turns out, not only is Kat a talented virtual actor and game show star, he is also a skilled and inventive artist in real life.

Outside Second Life, Kat2Kit is Matt Shapoff of New York City. He creates one of a kind artwork using a 19th century non-silver photographic technique called “cyanotype.” His unique work has been described as “combining 19th Century printmaking techniques with 21st Century digital photography and design.”

Kat has been doing artwork, “Officially after dropping out of collage for aerospace. " When asked how Matt got started, he stated "I got into NYU photography as an undergrad after discovering a love for photography and art. Using a a portfolio I made in high school under the basement stairs in my house. (I) took one class in "non-silver" where I learned several processes, but cyanotype soon became my favorite. In the early 1990's I began doing this more extensively. Because the process is a "contact" process, it requires a negative the size of the final print. Most often this is done with BIG cameras, but I prefer to use a laserwriter and overhead slides. The department chair will now admit I was the first to do digital art in the department.”

Kat also commented that the initial response wasn't enthusiastic, "I heard alot of 'why blue?' " But over time their attitude changed, “Now the department is called Photo and *Imaging*!"

The idea of selling artwork never really came until about fifteen years later. “A dozen or so,” pictures were sold on his first try, Kat described, “It was a jewelry sale for my wife, and we put a few out to see.” What surprised Kat the most was, “I offhandedly set a price, and they paid it! Well, it was what I guess I would part with them at. Pretty high I thought, $75 for an unframed one of a kind 6" wide by 30" long print of local botanicals.” Kat used the plants themselves in the pictures, saying they worked, “but they somewhat expensive in commercial terms. My cards are created in much larger, more repeatable, volume via offset or inkjet. I have cyanotype cards, but they are a bit pricer.”

Kat first began advertising his commercial art online in 2005, “First with etsy ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmadeonpeconicbay ) and then with supermarket ( http://hmpb.us). He got the idea of selling them in Second Life, “pretty quickly, as I started making film again, but this time using SL as the camera.” Kat had been a part of Pooky Amsterdam’s “The 1st Question” from the beginning, “I was doing my bike tricks at ‘Brooklyn is Watching’ and she asked me if I would be the opening act for her show.” He also did the filming, “If SL years are like dog or cat’s years, it feels like 10 years.

Kat went on to say he and Pooky would be on real-life television on December the 31st 3 PM in New York City, “I made the tape. (For) over year I have trying to get the files. I have worked in broadcast media both at Showtime networks, and BBDO. Finally we got enough short together for 1 hour special. Pooky submitted it, and we feel honored to have been chosen for December 31st. We will stream it in-world, and have a part in-sync with real-life. We are considering a weekly show for the Dating Casino ... a real-life slot on MNN TV ... public access.” Pooky later told me the episode was broadcasted as planned, and was very pleased with Kat’s work.

Kat’s personal blog is at - http://handmadeonpeconicbay.com. He pointed out a short webfilm on cyanotypes at (http://blip.tv/file/341745?filename=Mattlabs-DigitalCyanotype664.flv). Kat is sometimes seen in Second Life operating a printing press with the tiny panda. He pointed out another short webfilm “Using the Pearl” at - (http://mattlabs.blip.tv/file/1884211/)

Matt Shaphoff's work can be viewed and purchased online at http://hmpb.us . His digital art can be purchased in Second life at his store in the LlSound New York sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/LISound%20New%20York/134/163/24). Commissioned work can be created or brought into Second Life on request.


Bixyl Shuftan

Perri's Xanadu

In the movie “Xanadu,” two men turn an empty auditorium into a successful nightclub with the help of a muse. In Rainbow Wood, it might not have been a muse behind the club Xanadu, but there are certainly a number of creative people behind it.

Club Xanadu is owned by Perri Prinz (Perri Rhoades in real-life) and RECoyote Mindes. “There was another Club Xanadu when I first joined Second Life,” Perri explained, “It was my favorite hang out, but the owner never advertised it, so it soon disappeared. Later I found the building on SLX and bought it. I carried it around in my inventory for about a year, having no place to put it. Then we got a place, and REC wanted to (open it) too, since he liked the movie. So we set it up. But we soon saw it was beyond us to do a real Xanadu sim based on the movie. So we developed it into a classic rock club for people who enjoy both popular and obscure rock music from the 70's and 80's.” Club Xanadu opened in May 1, 2009.

RECoyote, “When we couldn't do a exact copy of the disco, we went for a 70s feel and music. But even getting DJ that stick to a 70 and 80 easy pop listing music is not easy.” Still, they found some who would, such as Nydia Tungsten, Lsai Aeon, Dusk Griswold, Timber Wolfenhaut, and Asuna Kaligawa. “Timber is one of the best for era music,” RECoyote felt. “Well, I'm the main DJ,” Perri told, “My music plays there round the clock, 24/7, when another DJ is not hosting an event. I play eclectic 70's and 80's album music, hit tracks interspeced with non-hit tracks. Disco, Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz, Swing, Rock & Roll and Novelty tunes. We have other DJ's that specialize in things like Anime tunes, Euro-disco and other things for special events.” RECoyote described their special events as including, “Hippie, Groovy, Cartoons, Movies, Sci Fi, and a mix of general events.” Spoke Perri, “Whatever theme we can imagine, we do it.”

Club Xanadu is on a wide sky platform high in the air over Rainbow Wood. The exterior, like it’s movie counterpart, is based on the real life Pan Pacific Auditorium. The interior is dominated by a huge colorful disco dance floor, with a DJ stand in the back decorated with a row of vinyl records. One clicks on either the black singles danceball or the rainbow-colored couples’ danceball. The ring around the dance floor can be used as a roller rink, and residents can sometimes be seen skating around. On the walls are a small number of artworks and posters, including the poster of the Xanadu movie. There are a few seats further away from the dance floor one can rest one’s avatar, as well as a bar. The club also has a balcony, with a few cuddle couches and more displays of art. Just outside the club, there are a few cuddle spots for couples.

In one corner of Club Xanadu is a tribute to the Pan Pacific Auditorium, several photographs of the structure. The Auditorium was built in Los Angeles in 1934, and became an iconic structure. It hosted a number of events (including wrestling, which was mentioned of the auditorium in the movie). The place was closed in 1972 after the opening of the L.A. Convention Center. For the movie Xanadu, the exterior was made to look covered in neon lights through special effects. It was hoped among some that the movie would bring attention to the building and it being refurbished and saved. But no effort was made to preserve the building, and it continued to deteriorate. Just six days after it’s 54th anniversary in 1989, the building was destroyed in a spectacular fire.

A friend of RECoyote and Perri, Aurora Avilla, had the idea for a “Chocolate Lounge” as part of the club. But that idea was shelved and instead was set up elsewhere in Rainbow Wood separately. “Was created for the chocolate bunny craze that was going around a few weeks ago,” Perri explained, “We were thinking of adding a chocolate bunny lounge to the club, hosted by chocolate bunny dancers.” Aurora leads a group called the “Chocolate Nosebobbly Collective.”

Perri talked about a mall being planed to match the club, but for now there are a couple art shops outside the club. The larger one is especially important to Perri, “This is the art done for Perri's story,” RECoyote told, art for Perri’s thirty year old work of writing: Spectral Shadows (http://www.perrirhoades.furtopia.org/). Perri’s website describes Spectral Shadows as “a novelized serial in format of Doctor Who.” It’s origins go back to the 1960’s when a “makeshift demo” was made for a series of rock operas. But instead Perri began writing it down in the late 1970’s. She rates it “PG-16.” The store contains artwork for the stories.

“The saga concerns the exploits of intelligent animals with time travel capabilities. It is very much inspired by the traditions of Doctor Who and Star Wars, with a good bit of Watership Down and Jonathan Livingston Seagull thrown in for contrast, and a bit of Spellsinger and Xanth to provide balance. Whereas George Lucas used old-time movie serials for the formatting of Star Wars, we use the formatting of old-time radio serials. This works well, as it is a very dialogue driven series, containing many cerebral oddities and conundrums. What you might call a thinking person’s adventure serial. It’s something that, by all logic, should not work. But it most often does work, if just through the sheer tenacity of the creators to make something ridiculously impossible seem like a logical course of events.”

So for a walk back in time to the music of the 70’s and 80’s, come to Club Xanadu. The club is at Rainbow Wood (128, 72, 2501)

Whether it’s music, art, or fiction, “Find your muse at Xanadu.”


Bixyl Shuftan

Angels Beach

At Cape Suzette in the Sunweaver region is a small but growing beach club, Angels Beach.

The club had some small beginnings, starting off as just big enough for several patrons. “We opened in April, and we have expanded three times,” club owner Nydia Tungsten explained. She credited Kim7 Avril for the idea, “she helped me when I was down and helped me create Nydia's Angels (Nydia’s group). About the same time we were working on the club and it just fell into place.” Nydia credits Treminari Huet with building the club, “this club is her design.” Treminari has been happy with the club’s progress, “I’m glad to see Nydia doing something successful with it. :) “

Of the club’s small and cozy beginnings, Nydia commented, “I like to still think of it that way, compared to the size of most clubs. Angels Beach is a good size. No wasted space to get lost in. No fancy ‘themes’ like space or playing cowboy and Indians or pirates. What we wanted was someplace to come and be themselves and relax just hang out and maybe even meet someone special, kinda like I did at Zero. ... We made the club a beach club because, people go to the beach to have fun. And that is my number one goal, to help people have a good time.”

Nydia herself is an experienced DJ in Second Life, having played at a number of other clubs, including (but far from limited to) Club Zero Gravity, Xanadu, and Cutlass, “We will be playing what people want to hear music-wise. Our DJ's will be taking requests from all genres, except crap ... I mean rap ... wait, I had it right the first time.“ She also has other DJs on her team. There is Lsai Aeon, coined the “Purple Puppy” by her fans, noted for her Saturday night  antics when DJing. And there is whom Nydia calls her lead DJ, “the mistress of the tunes if you will,” Alexandra Tymets, “I was impressed with her wide selection and general knowledge of music.”

Alexandra, or “Sexy Lexi” as she’s sometimes called, plays a variety of music, “I can do 80s, Trance/Techno, and Eurometal. A little bit of Angry Grrrl Rock too, Pink, Liz Phair, etc. And, umm, of course a selection of silliness. Technically I could even do Classic Rock if it came down to it. I have a little Corsi and Bob Rivers, and of course a ton of Weird Al. Oh and some Lemon Demon and Mc Chris. And if I don't have it, I have a talent for finding it.” During the conversation, Lexi’s neko mousegirl avie, or “Nezumi” as she calls it, had her ears rubbed a few times by a friend, resulting in a surprised squeaky expression, “They keep me around to DJ and make me squeak.” Her friend grinned, “She's our little squeaker toy.”

Scheduled parties are not the only time people gather at Angels Beach. Sometimes a few friends show up just to hang out, or dance to whatever the stream is playing. With the recent expansion, there are cuddle chairs available for couples, plus a fun inner tube ride on the new underdeck underneath the main deck that allows the swimmer to take a leisurely drift on the river around some of the surrounding land, and back to the club. Just be careful of that patch of green ...

Although the club’s general theme is always a beach one, there are themed parties. One was a Wild West party in which most of the people showed up as not cowboys, outlaws, or Indians, but the horses. “Had plenty of horsepower that night,” Nydia joked. Nydia felt the party with the largest turnout was the “Hi-tech Redneck.” The winner, “I think she went for a cyborg rancher. It was pretty inventive ... had a neon coyote, a mech dog, robo horse, had a few good ones.”

Nydia reminded that although the majority of the club’s patrons are furs, all are welcome. There are some normal human avatars in her club group, “Human, neko, merfolk, who ever or what ever you are in Second Life, you will be welcomed. I will be looking for water scenery for the merfolk.” She is also looking for a “mermaid” dance animator for the club. Nydia mentioned one in her staff, Jian Alcot, lives in Europe, and plans to run events at times more convenient to Europeans when more join the group, “if she can get enough from across the pond we will start having Euro-parties as well.”

With Club Zero having to close it’s doors, Nydia made the decision to expand the club’s schedule to fill the hours the space club once held, “I have talked with Ranchan and she and I think Angels beach would do well as the Zero's replacement, so she is supporting me with this by allowing me to send notices in the Zero's groups and she will spend some time here as well as I hope DJ'ing every now and then.” There will be parties every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8 PM Second Life time, and 8 to 10 PM on Saturday nights. For fans of Lsai Aeon, Nydia says she will be taking her act from Club Zero to Angels.

On Saturday night on December 5, the club held it’s Grand-Reopening party at 8 PM SL time, to celebrate it’s expansion in size and hours. The theme was “Angels & Demons,” with everyone  enjoying the heavenly-looking dancers and having a devil of a time. It was a well-attended bash, with close to two dozen people at the club. There was a contest with a 2000L prize for the winner for best in theme. The result was a tie by Vania Arashi and Alpine Plessis.

The location of the club is at  Cape Suzette (74/ 34/ 24), and has a small website and schedule here - http://sites.google.com/site/angelsbeachclub/schedule-1 .

So for a great day at the beach to play or unwind, and a great place to party at night, come to Angels Beach.

“A little piece of Heaven on the sandy shore.”

Bixyl Shuftan

Literary & Artists’ Villiage

In the Astrid sim is a place where people with a love for writing have small shops and boutiques to display their craft, as well as getting together occasionally to listen to each others works, the Literary and Artist Village. Since it’s official opening on November 7, it and it’s group have been ways promising writers can meet and find an audience.

A poetry reading on it’s official opening had some readings to offer, done in voice. Kalli Birman read some romantic poems. Persephone Phoenix read a “disturbing” poem of a woman who committed suicide from mental stress from her time in Iraq. Corwyn Allen recited poetry one reader commented he liked for his touch of “dry humor,” including “Spanish Dancer” one he had written that morning, and “Saturday Morning” about a lawn mower covered with the first frost of fall, near a lawn that won’t need it until spring. Stosh Quartz had a grandmotherish voice, and read what one called a “pot poem,” one about her cat and an encounter with the dog that left the canine running, and “EEP!! There’s a Spider on My Computer Screen!” Kalli Birman finished the reading, “I’m kind of in a ‘I hate men’ mood” and recited “Social Nos,” which had lines like, “You are a little man, living in his father & mother’s basement, being what he dreams ... lover of many, but provider to none.” A few hung around after the poetry reading to chat about various subjects.

DaSaved Eros passed around a notecard with another poem:


I'm friend with all  I love all

I make God a pocket universe to joy for the making of being just to re-build the devil wings was it seen ?

I love all Plus you

Would not God love the devil God best that was once lost

missed

lost

but whole and once again love all

friends  with love


Besides poetry readings, there are other events, such as live music,  and informal “Night Cap” discussions in which people come by to talk about things such as love and relationships.

SL-Newspaper had a chance to talk to one of the women behind the Literary and Artists’ Village, Cath Munro. “We service well-known authors and just starting authors as well and are involved with many international authors who are trying to break into US market,” Cath explained, “I allow for authors to feature their work on Second Life and we also advertise the community in real-life and in the publishing world. Readings, meetings, networking are basically the goal here, except in more real-life targeted environment than is customary for other literary outfits on SL. The sole goal is to help authors to get published in real-life, and the Second Life events are just a ‘workshop’ to do that.”

Cath informed there was more planned than just readings, “We also plan on having live music regularly, and other events that will be organized by Kalli Birman.”

The group interested writers would join is the ALA, which announcements are made, “ALA announcements include real-life calls for writers, and other real-life opportunities as well as just promotions of the events and readings of our residents and writers anywhere on Second Life.” Cath also showed a mailbox in the village, “a real-life literary agency mailbox here where the authors can place their samples and potentially be contacted and get a contract of representation. This is the drop box for anybody to leave a sample. It is forwarded onto the real-life literary agency. “

Cath says so far, they have been getting, “about 500 queries per week” total. “Well, this is exactly why this village was opened, to find new talent without having to run around the whole (of) Second Life. ... the poetry reading at the Grand Opening opened my eyes to how many talented people are really around here. It's just that it is time consuming having to find them (laughter). So having them read here helps. Anyone can do events here.”

Cath Munro mentioned a few of the more talented writers by name. One was H3 Turbo, a self-described “rouge scientist” with a place called the “Clockwork Orange H2onE2 University” whose writings discuss politics and science. Chaos Priestman “writes scifi and we had a few readings for him. He took a short brake to get married to a wonderful lady that he's met on Second Life.” She also mentioned Paul Levinson, “whom I've met on Second Life and who actually was the person who kept asking me to open this village. He recently wrote a book, New New Media.”

As it turns out, this is not the villiage’s initial opening, but it existed before. “It was up last year,” Cath explained, “but then the agency got really busy with real-life inquiries and there was simply no time to manage it. We have since hired more people both in real life and on Second Life, and Kalli will be helping to manage the Literary village now. We are trying to read all the queries that come via email and sometimes it means reading 1000 pages a day. So we have two additional people helping out.”

“On Second Life, we have asked Kalli Birman to help managing the events for writers. Hopefully that will help but we still aim for quality not quantity and want to remain a boutique environment with a personalized assistance to writers. For example, I am currently working on a PR story for a writer that will be publicised to promote his book. That is a bit different from other agency services. The writer and I communicate both via SL and real-life email, but Second Life is truly helpful to be able to communicate faster and more vividly, as well as being able to "test" some visual promo ideas.”

Cath says all are invited to the “make up” Grand Opening party, which came about as the one on Saturday November 7 was marred by the major glitch in Second Life then, “I hope to have this event in mid December as the upcoming holidays might cause busy schedules. After that we will have regular readings, networking, live music and literary competitions.”

Bixyl Shuftan

SNOWY MOUNTAIN RESORT

Before I came to Snowy Mountain, I was wondering how I should start my report. I had never seen it before and did not know what to expect, except snow and mountains. Even, I could get that!

But when I rezzed here, on the veranda of the log cabin, I turned round and the view took my breath away. It was an immediate emotional reaction!

Continue reading Kims' adventure in the Community section.........

Flirtatious! Grand opening

What are your plans this Friday night?  I can tell you where you should be: Flirtatious!  Located at Reverie 47, 64, 45 (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Reverie%2047/64/45/) on a mature sim, Flirtatious will be holding its grand opening on Friday, November 20!  Co-owners Chip Silverfall and Treasure Zarco describe the atmosphere at the club as strictly fun with a 70’s and 80’s vibe, “But not the pop stuff you hear all over,” says Chip, “The stuff people actually listened to back then!”  The club has a lineup of DJs and live performers that will keep the jams pumping through your speakers and on these nights the music will stray from strictly 70’s-80’s and will cover a variety of genres.  I recently had a chance to sit down with the owners and ask them questions regarding the new place.

Is this your first club in SL?

“Yes.”

What made you want to open a club in SL?

“It was a whim,“ answered Chip with a slight grin, “I needed something to do and Treasure has great connections in the entertainment industry.”

“I love working the clubs and with the artists,” added Treasure.

Are there any special events going on opening night?

“The opening day schedule will be 3pm Harmonia, 4pm Cranston, 5pm Magnolia Anthony, 6pm Chandra Deed, and 7pm DJ Salina.  We will also have contest boards for best dressed or something similar with 500L going to both male and female winners!”

What perks can be found at your club?

“There are many dances available both singles and couples.  Our club will be featuring DJs Sal, Tommy, and I myself will also be DJing.  There are 7 romantic residences available.  These are skyglobes with changeable scenes, dances, and cuddle and kiss poseballs.  We have a lovers garden where you can sneak away with that special someone and, my favorite thing, the elf dance.”

The Elf dance?  Can you elaborate?

“Sure!  32 dance balls all in a circle that are controlled by a single HUD.  On the HUD there are 50 dances that we have mastered the controls over!  So, when a faster tempo song is playing we know which dance will fit and when the next song is slow, we can have it queued up and ready to go,” stated Chip excitedly.  “This is something inspired by Inspire Space Park.  Their dance was spontaneous and didn’t have as many dances, nor did it have a name, but ours will be held every Saturday at 6pm.”

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your club?

“For us it’s all about fun!  If it’s not fun, it won’t be included.  We even have rules about being bored or lonely in our club rules note card.”

An up to date schedule for Flirtatious can be found at: 

http://www.brownbearsw.com/freecal/FLIRTATIOUS?KW=Treasure%20and%20Chip;Op=ShowIt&Date=2009-11-17 

The club is now hiring DJs, live singers, hosts, and hostesses as well as renting shop space outside near the entrance to the club.  If you’re interested in being a part of the Flirtatious team, contact Treasure Zarco for an application.  Shop space is 200L for 20 prims and your lease starts as soon as you pay the box located in the stall you choose.  Two spots are still free, so hurry up and grab yours today before they are all taken!  See you at the club!

Lucy Halberd

T&A Estates, the place to be

When you first arrive on the T&A sim, you rezz into a startlingly beautiful room. You are surrounded on all sides buy an enormous starscape. Take a while to focus and you can then see what must be the control centre of the sim.

 Just in that one place there is a playable pool table, together with a greedy greedy table and a U-know table. There are Zyngo games arranged around the wall, and other games I have never seen before, Phrase Invaders, UFO Abductor, Scrambo and RetroArcade. What are they? Come and see for yourself!

 All part of the service is a DX terminal which enables you to buy Lindens without even having to have a credit card. If you want to buy products inworld, there is an Apez terminal, too. In between these two terminals you will find vendors for T&A Estates own products. Well worth a closer look.

 Having seen the gaming area, I went to the teleport terminal to find out what else was in store for me. Ummm. Right what do I do first? 

How about racing... or some racing or maybe some racing! 

Wow! What more could you want? Well, how about the Demolition Derby? Get some friends together, go to a teleporter and choose from more than ten options. They have a fantastic teleporter system here. Zap! You arrive in no time at all. Select to Demo Derby, pick a vehicle (you’ve got a choice of a half dozen) and you are out in a huge arena with a 1000 health points. See how long you survive!

If you like crashing into each other, you can go to the Battle Dome and have a go on the bumper cars. 

Tame? No way! 

There are hospital beds waiting outside. Woah! now that’s what I call a warning! Behind them is a vendor for DCS weapon, if you want to carry on your battle, back home.

 About the racing… I have just come back from the Red Rock Track. My heart is thumping. I accidentally found how to go REALLY fast on one of the demo bikes. I should have read the instructions first! So many bikes to choose from AND you can buy one if you want to. You don’t have to go to the T&A Cycleworks to buy one but… Come On! It’s so cool down there. And there’s the Photo Studio, , too, where you can take a selection of single, pair or group photographs. You can even have them framed if you want to.

 Altogether there a six tracks, each one different, testing different skills in different ways. On most tracks you can rezz a bike or a kart. You can even buy the track, if you want to!

Tired of the countryside? Go to the sea. That fantastic teleporter system can take you there. Domino Island is a very beautiful place at ground level. It has little hideaways and islets to sit on and watch the day go by. If you want more entertainment, go to the South Pier and pick up a paddleboat, a fishing boat, a bumper boat or, for more speed thrills, a jetski, or you can sit on the dock a spend some time fishing with the Seven Seas fishing game.

This is definitely a place for people who want to DO things. I know because, I've done it and I recommend it. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Domino%20Island/129/125/1026/

By Kim Trefusis

Club Zero Gravity

From outside, Club Zero appears in orbit in outer space around a planet. It can be considered three sections. The landing pad is where most people arrive. On this platform are a number of Star Wars ships, plus one of the Thunderbirds. There is also a rideable rocket that seats up to three people. Every few minutes the crafter either launches and drops to the surface to land at the Sunweaver Space Port and Sunweaver Airfield, or launches from the ground to dock at the station. In the back is the store and gaming area, with a number of Zyngo games and vendors for items from vehicles to furniture.

Find out more in the COMMUNITY section with Bixyl Shuftan

CHRISTO ISLAND

When I landed on Christo Island, I had a quick look round to get my bearings.

I decided to go for a flying survey of the whole island, to look at the big picture, so to speak. I could immediately see that it is very beautifully designed. Somebody has a good eye for detail. In the north West corner, there is a smallholding with a wheat field and a small vineyard and a vegetable garden. I’ve got to say, it made feel really good inside. It had a very soothing effect on me! Behind it there was a mountainous island which only added to the atmosphere.

Find out more in the COMMUNITY SECTION with Kim Trefusis

Cariama: a new vending system

Why should you pay a commission for your sales when using a vending system?

Major vending systems are based on commission, however at Cariama we have decided that sales should not been commissioned at all and if you put up your products for resale, you decide how much to give to resellers. So simple, sales commission at 0%, and you may compare with other vending systems.

Moreover, the shopping experience should not be limited to Second Life world® since different Opensimulator worlds exist. Cariama proposes to expand and benefits from sales in those Opensimulator worlds.

Several features have already been implemented in Cariama: multiple avatars are sharing the same Cariama account, products are sold inworld with vending machines and via the website, collections and stores are created, and customers’ statistics are given (fees may apply for certain statistical tools).

The revenues of Cariama come mainly from advertisement. Banner and product ads appear on a majority of Cariama pages and in the different virtual worlds. That gives the most exposure possible for an efficient online advertisement campaign for your products, services, blogs, forums, or any websites. With a simple auction system and depending your budget to make a higher bid, you can now take advantage to expose your products.

Cariama brings you all those opportunities and as a seller you will gain major profits. Sell inworld and via website, at no cost.

You can preregister now and receive news till Cariama is launched: website http://www.cariama.com, and in Second Life world® http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alpha Centauri/215/240/27/.

 

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Cariama is a new vending system for virtual worlds. The system gives Second Life® and Opensimulator residents the opportunity to buy and sell their products and services with a single interface sharing inworld and website features. Cariama is committed to an original concept that unites the goals of customer value: no commission on sales. The strategy of Cariama is geared towards sustainable growth based mainly on advertisement.

For more information, see Cariama online at http://www.cariama.com

Headquarters: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alpha Centauri/215/240/27/

Contact: Kay Noble

Email: kay@cariama.com

WHAT IS VIO?

I have the good fortune to rent an office on Vio. What is Vio? Vio is two things. It is a place and a concept.

The place is set on two island sims, Vio and Vio II.

The centrepiece on Vio is a circular auditorium called The Crucible, with seating for over 70 people. Facing it is a giant whiteboard which can be used for any of several purposes. In front of the whiteboard is seating for the speakers. The auditorium is the middle of a five-part layout. The four outer squares house sweeping arches which support a huge exhibition hall, over 20 metres up in the air, with more than 20 exhibition stands. A wide corridor takes you round the hall which is spaced in such a way that you do not feel crowded, a welcome difference to many exhibitions I have attended in the past.

Separating the four outer squares and running under the auditorium are waterways flowing out to the sea. This is a business centre with a beautiful heart. Three of the outer squares are open spaces to enjoy. The fourth is grassed over and is surrounded by information panels, telling you all you need to know about Vio, the place and the concept. Surrounded by these, is the “Cool Wall” a bank of panels dedicated to each Vio resident, telling all about them, each panel gives out information created by the residents themselves.

Through the trees that surround the whole of the centre, you can glimpse several superbly designed single-storey buildings. These are the offices of Vio. There are more on Vio II.

On Vio, there are twelve complexes, as each building is known, and they all back on to the sea. How wonderful to be able to take a break from the day’s work and take in such a view! Each one has the facility to offer up to four different layouts. Depending on your needs, you can have a quarter of the building, separated from the rest for L$ 700 with 150 prims a week. Next up is a half at L$1400 a week with 300 prims. If you want more, this can be negotiated with the estate manager, Esvee Fallen or the owner Xander Newman.

On Vio II, there are four areas separated by water ways, running to the sea. In the centre is a beautiful water feature. There are large, two storey offices available at L$1900 a week offering 360 prims as well as the one storey buildings. The whole aspect of Vio II is more mixed than that of Vio, which is the hub of the island group. It is beautifully landscaped and has a serene atmosphere to it, enabling you to make those important decisions in tranquil surroundings. An interesting touch is the lighthouse, in one corner.

If that’s not secluded enough for you, may I present the Skyboxes? There are eight single storey buildings and four two storey buildings, over 500 metres in the sky. Standing on one of the balconies, I can see the others suspended in a bright blue sky. Majestic!

Vio offers a wide range of office facilities, from 200 sqms to 1660 sqms, from 150 prims to 450. And the rest… The rest? Conference facilities, networking as part of the business culture, the use of the Crucible for discussion, seminars and meet & greet. There are secure meeting facilities available to hire and so on. There is definitely more to Vio than meets the eye.

“But, Kim, you mentioned two things”, you ask. Yes I certainly did.

The concept. Vio is much more than a group of offices, however well designed and however beautiful the surroundings. It is a community.

Take a look at the information panels and you will see what I mean. Seriously, after you have read this article go to Vio, 145, 146, 27. Or look in Search for Vio and that will take you there.

You will find yourself at the heart of the Vio central hub. Go straight to your left and read the panels from 1 to 20 and be prepared to be amazed. I’ve worked on business parks in RL and SL. But this is different. Based in Second life, Vio brings you the best of both worlds.

You can have your own private office, where you can work in peace and privacy, you can reach out to two worlds with your message from here. People will come to you in their numbers to hear what you have to say and to see what you have to offer.

I work from home in RL (Real Life) but I have access to the whole world because of what Vio and Second Life offer me. I can do this because I am not alone. There is the Vio community.

Ask a question in the Vio Business Group window and the answers are there, not immediately, not every time (I don’t want to paint a false picture of perfection. Perfection doesn’t exist, but Vio does a good approximation!).

Then there’s the website http://www.getvio.com/ , full of information and a calendar of events. It has the business directory, to which you would be added, if you became a Vio networker. There are links to sources of information and help.

To use their own words, I will answer the title question and introduce you to their concept, which makes Vio so very, very different.

“What is VIO?

VIO (VIRTUAL INNOVATIVE OPPORTUNITIES)

VIO is a collaborative business incubator bringing together virtual world and real world companies to work together to accomplish their goals. VIO is also the name of the SIM or island in the virtual world of Second Life developed to serve as a resource for the RL and SL business community.”

Here are the contact details again: Estate Manager, Esvee Fallen, owner Xander Newman. Website: http://www.getvio.com/ , Landmark; Vio (146, 147, 27).

Come and join us, this could be the beginning of something big!

2500th member at The Red Dragon Nite Club

What an accomplishment!
There are not many places that survive to this many members.
Find out more in the EXTRA EXTRA section