SL Burner Gets Her Build To Be Made At Burning Man

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

This is from the Burning Man Journal.

”The Black Rock City Honoraria Program funds artists from around the globe to create innovative participatory art projects — big and small — that rise on the city’s open playa. These grants from Burning Man Project support returning and new artists alike, they catalyze cross-cultural understanding, and help communities nurture artists and community leaders. These capacities may emerge through the process of creating art in Black Rock City, but their impact extends well beyond the dust to advance a more creative and connected world.

Funded by the nonprofit Burning Man Project, the Black Rock City Honoraria Program helps artists from all traditions and walks of life tell their stories through collaborative projects. When you contribute to the nonprofit through donations or higher-priced tickets, you’re directly funding these grants, bringing art to the playa and more connective creativity to the world. The Honoraria grants are designed to cover a portion of the artists’ costs, but projects require additional financial and logistical support from the community.”

At the July Conception weekend in Second Life, 3V (3vilyn Vortex) and Jeff Olhoeft (jolhoeft Resident) erected a beautiful effigy to be burned. It is one of the few I have seen that I did not want to see flame and disappear. Now it is being constructed for the Burning Man on the Black Rock City in real life!

3V ‘s vision won an honorarium for this year. This is allowing her to recreate that effigy. Burning Man opens August 24 and runs until September 1. Jeff is helping her along with a support team working on the installation. Jeff did the same thing several years ago . He had a beautiful butterfly on the playa and was encouraged to bring it to Black Rock and he did. The name of 3V’s creation is “Inikadowa, “. To see some photos of them working along with team members you can visit https://www.burn2.org/

Scroll down on the left, you will see a slide show of the labor. You can learn the background of the name Inikadowa in a link above the photos.

Congrats to all! What an honor! I can’t wait to see it on the Black Rock TV! 

 

Gemma Cleanslate 

 

 

People

 

Miss Suzanne Super Sweet Speaks About Burn2

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

Burn 2 is Second Life's longest lasting and largest annual art and music festival. Based on the real-life Burning Man festival that also tales place every year and attracts tens of thousands, it has attracted many fans and a number of spinoff events. It has been a party to look forward to every year. 

 

Unfortunately, this year there has been trouble behind the scenes. A number of the Burners have resigned, and there have been accusations from some of them against the group's leadership. The Newser contacted one of the Burn2 Rangers, Miss Suzanne Super Sweet (SuperSuz Resident), and asked for an explanation of what's going on.

*  *  *  *

Question: Who is the owner of the sim and what part does that person play in oversight?

 

Answer: The Burn2 sim is owned by Michael Mikel (M2 Burner) and is funded by the Burning Man Project, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The Burning Man Project produces the annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City, and provides year-round support, connection, education, and grants to Burning Man communities in more than 40 US States and 35 countries under its Regionals Program. M2 sponsors the Burn2 sim under the Burning Man Regionals Program  and is ultimately responsible for Burning Man intellectual property used on the Burn2 sim.

The Burn2 Burning Man Regional Contacts are 3V and myself, Miss Suzanne Super Sweet.  M2 Burner is not involved in any planning of events, building or attending planning meetings.  He does, however, remain a part of the committee that is consulted for restrictions such as banning or even removing someone from leadership.  M2 has faith in the current Burn2 Leadership and expects us to deal with our problems internally whenever possible.  For more information about the early history of BURN2, we have that on our website here. 

Question: Why was Deep Hole access restricted for two months?

 

Answer: We stated the reasoning for the closure of Deep Hole, here: 

https://www.burn2.org/important-message-conception-deep-hole-closed/   

I feel a need to clarify some things. At the time, it seemed the appropriate step to take, to pause and cool things down, and let the Burn2 leadership, in conjunction with Burning Man Network leadership, work on the issues that had arisen. For the Burn2 leadership, this was just as unexpected as it was for the community. I explained that Deep Hole was closed as an intervention to calm down the conflict which had escalated between some individuals.  The plan was to provide a cooling off period and also work with our leadership, where much of the escalation was occurring.  This cooling off time for leadership and  intervention included blocking access to Deep Hole and canceling the next event for the purpose of providing more time to look closely at our processes and policies. 

During the cooling down period and going forward, the leads worked together on specific goals.  We still have a lot of work to do and we will be asking others to help us move forward.  Eventually, we will be looking at our structure, improving Burn2’s culture, and strengthening the teams that help to organize events. Volunteers will have opportunities to join the teams that match their interests. 

Deep Hole was reopened on the 31st of July.  On reopening day, there were several people there who had resigned from their volunteer roles in protest.   I issued an apology for the decision to shut down Deep Hole  and how that negatively affected the community.   I explained the reasons for the cooling off period and attendees shared their frustrations.  The main reason given was that during the months leading up to the cooldown period, there were particular incidents that happened between individuals that continued to escalate due to offensive behaviors between those individuals.  This led to many people reporting high physical and mental stress.

Question: Why were some people dismissed and/or banned?

 

Answer: The reasons for dismissals and bans are kept confidential, out of consideration and respect for the privacy and dignity of the individuals involved. Decisions about dismissals or bans are not taken lightly and are, for the most part, made by a committee of experienced people who have been deemed by Burning Man management as capable and with the qualities needed to make the least restrictive and most inclusive choices possible and reasonable. The committee takes care in reviewing the cases. They try to understand and deliberate before making these decisions.  I am a member of this committee.

Burn2 is guided by a liberal ethos along with the 10 Principles of Burning Man.  Determining the line of inclusion is a constant challenge. We strive to be inclusive and supportive of volunteers in Burn2. We also hold those in leadership to higher expectations as custodians of responsibility in Burn2. 

I will refer you to this page, which talks about the rights and responsibilities of volunteers. 

Question: What happens now?

 

Answer: I have been working with leadership during the cooling down and know that there have been many hours committed to improving policies.  This includes policies governing the leadership.  Several policies were developed or are being developed, such as, the Code of Conduct Policy for Leadership.  We created additional policies for the Burn2 community: the Burn2 Code of Ethics, meetings policy and groups/chat policies. These are designed to foster a more positive and communal spirit in our interactions with each other. We seek constructive feedback focused on creating procedures, policies and decisions with the aim of improving the regional culture. We want to end the practice of public finger-pointing, personal accusations and allegations targeted at individuals, by defining a private complaint process.  Planning for this year’s Octoburn event is getting underway, at the weekly planning meetings on Sundays at 9am SLT and Thursdays at 9pm SLT.  In addition, there is going to be separate meeting time that leadership is setting up with the Burn2 community to give even more opportunity to talk about the shutdown and the work that was done with the leads in conjunction with Burning Man management during that period. I hope that we continue to take the feedback and make changes.  Not all will be implemented but all will be considered.  I know that not everyone is going to be content with this.. I am staying open to ideas on what to do about our problems by focusing on the suggestions, ideas and solutions that are about policy and processes that leadership and others use to operate. I look forward to that because we can always get better and improve on what we have collectively created and what we have been given to creatively express art together.  This is my personal goal.      

*  *  *  *  *

The upcoming Burn2 event or "Octoburn" will take place from Friday October 7 to Sunday October 16. Of the Burners who left the group, some have been active in the Burn ONe area and having events of their own. What happens as time goes on remains to be seen.

 

Correction: The header that lead to the article stated that Burn2 had been going on since the start of Second Life. We were counting the time period of Burning Life, which was the virtual version of Burning Man until Linden Lab ceased it's sponsorship after several years. After that, there were a number of changes, including the name which was changed to Burn2.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview With Klaus Bereznyak

By Deaflegacy

This interview was done after I gave Klaus the notecard and Klaus sent me by the answers in another notecard.  Thanks, Klaus. 

Klaus Bereznyak has been writing for the Newser for some months. But he's also involved in other things on the Grid. Among them is Burn2. He doesn't hold any position there, but Klaus is in the group and likes to keep track of what is happening.  "I've always tried to get along to the Burns and have enjoyed the creativity on display year after year. It was always a bit of a pipe dream that I'd do something for it, the sort of thing where you might sit in a pub with friends and say "ha ha, we should do something next year; I mean, how hard can it be?" But that's as far as it goes." said Klaus. "Last year, however, I did a build with a friend. Two things came together in that the theme of "Radical Ritual" seemed like a really interesting one to engage with, and I found a creative collaborator who was game enough to say "do you want to actually do it." It was a lot of fun."

Klaus has a reason why he is on Burn2. "I like the 10 Principles of Burning Man and I think they have their place in this virtual world of imagination and experimentation. The themes of 'Radical Inclusion', 'Decommodification' and 'Self Expression' are ones I'd like to see in play more in all worlds." said Klaus. "Basically they mean, "anyone is welcome to participate", "it's not all about money", and "what you have to say is valid". If we played along with that we'd be better avatars and better humans, so I like how Burn2 brings that back into focus every year."

"I think I'll keep championing the creativity and the principles in small ways here, but I'm not planning on getting a parcel and building every year now," said Klaus when asked how long he would be on Burn2. "It was kind of a milestone to do something last year, and this year will have other paths to pursue. But "never say never". If there's one thing I have learned here, it's that the unexpected can happen if you are open to it - so, who knows, I may be involved again in the future."

Klaus went on to say that there is good effort to make the whole thing like a real Burn.  "It's not about coming in on the last building day and dumping something prefabricated and leaving it," said Klaus. "We drove trucks onto the Playa and unloaded building materials, we set up a camp and took a couple of weeks putting it together, met other burners and hung out. We savored the process and documented it at each stage. That was the best part of the experience. You can see how it came together in Pearl Grey's machinima here: https://vimeo.com/248213080."


Building Sojourning Outpost from Pearl Grey on Vimeo.


Like Burn2, Klaus doesn't hold a position with LEA, but he likes to support the creativity that gives space to.  "My involvement was deeper this time last year because I had the good fortune to be invited by another friend to contribute to their work: Art Oluja's Glass jars on LEA 11." said Klaus. "I worked on the soundscape for the sim, creating sounds with woodwind and percussion, which is nicely captured in another vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/228706022 . It was a great experience, and I guess you'll notice the emerging theme is that I like to collaborate."

When Klaus was asked about how long he had been doing it for LEA, Klaus said, "Well, it was just that one thing. I will always keep in touch with what's happening, and I think writing for the Newser gives a nice opportunity to highlight the stuff that's new and different or that makes me sit up and think."

When I asked Klaus if he is writing in real life about Second Life, he said, "Not exactly. I keep the two worlds quite separate, but I write in both worlds. Of course, there is a lot of creative bleed between the two and SL inspires my writing in RL just as RL inspires what I do inworld, but I enjoy the different aspects that the two environments bring out from me in and of themselves. For instance, Klaus writes more poetry than his physical alt does in RL. This is probably because the shorter form is better suited to the average avatar's attention span, and I try to get along to 'Inksters' Poetry Prompt sessions whenever I can. That's not something I'd do in RL. I blog here, too, writing about design aspects of Mainland parcels and topography at http://virtualtopophilia.blogspot.co.uk/ . This year I'm going to be doing more blog writing about Mainland exploration in another collaboration. Obviously I enjoy writing for the Newser as well. In RL, I write and edit professionally and for pleasure, too. The bottom line is that "writers write" - whatever I'm doing becomes grist to the writing mill."

I asked Klaus about how long he had been working on this project, and he had the answer for that question. "I came back to SL in 2015 after a long hiatus. At that time I had some curiosity about how humans can dream collaboratively, and this related to a book I was working on. There were other reasons I re-engaged, too, and being here quickly took on a life of its own." said Klaus.  "In some ways it's all a massive project, a journey in self-experimentation and imagination. When we chat inworld, we are "writing", and this is a very big book that's not only made from words but also prims and mesh. It will never be done and I guess I will keep fighting the lag and the worse aspects of avatar behavior until the grid shuts down - because it's worth it to me, and there's still life in it."

When Klaus was asked about how he is doing with his novel, he said, "I have a lot of projects on the go, and some will go by the wayside. When I was 15 years old in RL, I started writing a novel about a garden that was a world of its own and in many ways similar to this virtual world. Maybe one day I will finish that. In the meantime I'll just be "gardening" here and writing about what inspires me. I have a vineyard, a gallery and a cafe to run; I co-run a shop and a printing press, and ... the list goes on."

Thank you, Klaus, for giving me the answers to the questions I gave you in the notecard.  I really appreciate it.  I believe that I'm already one of your fans, which is fantastic.  As days go by, Klaus and I continue to work together as a part of the SL Newser team.  I look forward to good days with Klaus.

Deaflegacy

Interview with Ladyslipper Constantine

By Bixyl Shuftan

Ladyslipper Constantine is a resident who's been involved in a number of activities in Second Life. She was at the recent "One Billion Rising" demonstration in Second Life for women's rights worldwide. But she's best known for her work with Burn2 as a member of DRUM, as well as one of the rangers, and has also been involved with the Second Life Birthday, and Virtual Ability. Recently I had a chance to chat with her, and we met at a skybox.

Bixyl Shuftan: "So how did you find out about Second Life?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "A real-life friend of mine told me about it, I joined, got totally lost so (I) quit. Same friend talked me into coming back about six months later, but I couldn't remember the first avi's password (grin). The second time the friend was around to help."

Bixyl Shuftan: "So the Second time went better?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Much better!  There was actually an orientation area that explained a few things."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Sounds good. How long did your beginning period in Second Life last?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "With the first avi?  About three days (laughter).  I could not figure out what I was doing, and I didn't know anyone and no one talked to me.  It was just these tall buildings, some men standing around and I just had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. So I emailed my friend and said 'forget it' (laughter)."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Heh, and your beginning period the second time around?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I'm still her (smile). My friend took me under her wing, showed me where to get things to look better, showed me where she lived and allowed me to set a home base there until I could explore SL more. And best of all she introduced me to others who were inworld more than she was able to be."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Sounds like things went very well."

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Yes, they have. And  my experience as a noob, is why I became a mentor."

Bixyl Shuftan: "When did that begin?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "After I had been in SL for about six months to a year I think. I can't remember for sure."

Bixyl Shuftan: "When did you first hear about Burning Life/Burn2?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I heard about Burning Life via some friends, and to be honest, my first visit there was terrible. I didn't have a good computer and the lag was so bad I couldn't move. But the next year was better and then I decided to volunteer as a Ranger. I've been one every since and am also an Estate Manager for the sim."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How long have you had that post?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I've been a Ranger ever since that first year and I guess it was when they made me a ranger ops lead that I became a Estate Manager.  I think my 2nd yr as a Ranger. I'm not a Ranger Ops lead any more tho, just a Ranger, but still an EM."

Bixyl Shuftan: "I take it that can be a busy job at times"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Yes, during the October big burn, less so during the smaller events."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How did you join up with the Drum group?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I met one of the drummers and he invited me to try out as they were looking for more.  All the drummers in that first group except one, are no longer with DRUM. Brigitte Kungler who is actually the founder, is still with us, and she's also our director as well as she made most of the sounds for our drums. And BTW, DRUM stands for 'Divine Rhythms of Universal Music.' "

Bixyl Shuftan: "Where did that name come from?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "It's universal because our sets are from various cultures around the world, as well as some that are just us (smile), like the Rusty Barrels set. To quote what we give out in info cards: 'We have a variety of different sets we play live, including Taiko, Native American, African, Latin, East Indian, Mallet, Wall set, Steel Pan, African Ghost, Rack, Rusty barrels, and our newest set, Brazillian.' And we can usually do 5 of those sets in an hour performance."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Sounds good. Have any of your performances over the years stood out?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I guess the ones at the Second Life Birthdays do, but we've enjoyed doing  them all over (smile). The largest crowd we had was at the end of a Virtual Ability event, 62 avatars were there."

Bixyl Shuftan: "That's quite a crowd."

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Yes! We play for a lot of non profits, and our next one is this Sat (Feb 13) at Noon if you've never seen us play. It's at Creations (for Parkinson's) sim."

At a few points I had snapped some pictures, and it was about then I had taken one of some objects to the side. She asked, "Did you just take a picture of me?" I responded, "Oh, I took one of you earlier, but the last one was of the items over there," and pointed them out. She responded, "Ahh, our subscribo." Of the directional letters around the skybox, "And those letters are because I'm directionally challenged, and so when I go to the location to see which direction we'll be facing, I come back here to rez the drums properly. That way they are usually good when I rez them at the venue.  although I have been known to mess up at times. (grin)"

Bixyl Shuftan: "What kind of messes? (grin)"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Like not have the set facing the way it should face when first rezzed, and then forgetting to link it all to rotate it. But it's rare that happens now, thank goodness (laughter)."

Bixyl Shuftan chuckles a bit: "With that in mind, were there ever any bloopers that were especially memorable?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Yes, main one for me was not linking the six little tin cans on our wall set, and then not just linking those 6 together to take, but doing it one by one, and then I had to come here to rezz the whole thing and hope I had them all back in the right place. Those cans are what the drummers click on to get in position and have that drum's animation inside."

"I need to add this too about DRUM. All the sets, the sounds and the animations  were all made by either past or present members of DRUM."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Does DRUM appear at every single Burn2 event?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "No, not every single Burn2 event. Just usually the (main) October one, although we have played at a couple others."

Bixyl Shuftan: "I imagine you're seen many changes in Burning Life/Burn2 over time."

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Oh yes. Burning Life was huge because Linden Lab supported it. Burn2 arose when LL quit supporting it as we couldn't use the name Burning Life (any more). Now it we have to rely on donations to get the sims. That and the money folks spend to get a plot to build on at the Oct. event."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Of the exhibits you've seen over time, do any stick out in memory?:

Ladyslipper Constantine: "That's asking a lot of me to just pick one or two as there have been so many outstanding ones. I really can't just pick a few. Some of the temple builds have been totally awesome. Dama ( I can't remember his full SL name) built some very good ones."

Bixyl Shuftan: "So was there anything you can tell us about this year's Burn2, or the spinoff events such as the Burnal Equinox?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Burnal Equinox will take place, give me a sec to find the date again ... will take place April 2 and 3, 2016 and the theme is 'Picnic on the Playa.' Fairly soon on the burn2.org website, information about getting a free plot should be available. After Burnal Equinox, we ususally have another small event before the big week long October event. That event is called Conception and is usually longer than just two days. There are volunteer opportunities as well, and those are listed on the website  www.burn2.org. Not for Rangers though as the training for Rangers doesn't take place until about the month before the October event."

Bixyl Shuftan: "What can you tell the readers about that?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "You mean about being a Ranger, or about any volunteer opportunity? For (volunteering), we can always use stage hosts and greeters, greeters not for the stage, but for the landing area. Stage hosts would greet at the stage, but they also usually have to know how to set a stream for the performer."

"A Ranger helps check builds for compliance before the event, and during the event we moderate disputes so everyone is happy.   We also walk the playa checking things out and making sure all is well.  We definitely aren't cops. (grin) We can eject from a sim, but most Rangers don't have the ability to ban. Only an Estate Manager can ban and that's done only if the person causing a problem refuses to stop."

"It is fun to be a Ranger, and takes patience at times. You get to meet a lot of nice folks rangering. We do not order folks around or come across as bossy just because we wear the Ranger hat. So anyone who thinks it's like that, would not be a good candidate for a Ranger."

"And that's about it that I can think of for volunteering at Burn2. Ohhh, I did forget one thing.  there are classes being offered now for building art cars and also basic scripting."

Bixyl Shuftan: "The mutant vehicles?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Mutant or art (smile). I think the guys prefer to call them art cars now. They provide the scripts for the cars as well as the basic build, but then the student does what they want to that build and some turn out some amazing vehicles. Many of them are put into a vendor for folks to ride around in during an event there."

Bixyl Shuftan: "What in your opinion have been some of the more outlandish designs?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Hmm, another tricky question.  Funny ones were like the toilet, huge ones were like the one where everyone on it was dancing. And then there are the cute ones, like I bet you will see at Burnal Equinox, because of the theme, picnic food cars maybe."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Heh, so a case of 'eating on the run?'"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "(laughter) Maybe.  DMom built a cute one yrs ago, that had you drumming while you rode. ... People come up with the most creative ideas. That is what I enjoy so much about Second Life, the creativeness. Oh and one more thing about the upcoming Burnal Equinox event, something will be burned, but I'm not going to tell what that will be. (grin) It won't be the Man as we can only burn him during the October event."

Bixyl Shuftan: "So something will be burned, just not 'The Man".' 

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Right!  Like at one event earlier, we burned a Phoenix. At Santalarity we burned a tiny village. (smile)"

Bixyl Shuftan: "(grins) I take it no Tinies were harmed in the event?"

Ladyslipper Constantine: "Nope, and I'm proof as I was a tiny during that one. Hee-hee."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Heh. ... Well, it's been a while since we started. Did you have anything else to add?

Ladyslipper Constantine: "I can't think of anything. ... Thank you Bixyl."

We would chat for a few more minutes before it was time for us to go our separate ways. I would later see Ladyslipper again at "One Billion Rising." No doubt she'll continue to be active in Second Life for some time.

Bixyl Shuftan

Skye Silverweb Talks About Burn2

By Bixyl Shuftan

While I was at Burn2, I had a talk with one of the communications staff, iSkye Silverweb. She was happy to speak about the festival, and we soon met. "Hello, welcome home, Bixyl!" she greeted me with the expression of welcome the Burners often gave.

"Thank you," I answered with a smile, then began the questions, "So about how long have the preparations for this year's Burn2 been going?

Skye answered, "Oh we started ... hmm, the planning table meet every week all year. We had our last event, Burnal Equinox, and after the wrap of that event we actually started thinking about BURN2's October event. That would be back in... July/August."

I nodded, "How did you come up with the name and theme?"

"We followed the RL Burning Man's theme this year," Skye answered, " which was the same, Caravansary - we saw so many possibilities that could happen in a virtual setting and let me tell you the builders did NOT disappoint!"

"Sounds like visitors can expect some great exhibitions," I commented.

Skye continued, "Caravansary is based on the old Silk Road of yore, the crossroads of trade and civilisations. ... Oh yes! We have had some great musical and dance performances. Yman made a return this year with an eye-popping performance of light and particles. That was with the Changhigh Trinity Sisters"

"Interesting. Where is this exhibition?" I asked.

"This was performed yesterday and Yman's troupe will perform again later in the week," Skye told me, "I can show you the stage if you like."

"Do you have a day and time (for the performance)?" I asked, "And certainly."

"Let me check the calendar for that information, I knew you would ask!" After a moment, she answered, "The Changhigh Trinity Sisters will perform at 2;00pm SLT Sunday the 26th. You can see the complete schedule of events here: http://www.burn2.org/calendar."

Skye went on, "One of our traditions is the Lamplighters' processions,  which are held at 11am and 7pm SLT each day, except for the last Saturday and Sunday.Those days are Burn days - we show up and drum a bit, then after the Burns we lead the people into the embers to dance."

"About how many are involved in it?" I asked.

"How many participants or Lamplighters?" Skye replied.

"I meant how many Lamplighters are involved?" I corrected.

Skye answered, "The size of the group varies depending on availability. For planning the processions, we have a Council of Elders, comprised of 4 Elders, and we do the planning for the Lamplighters events including processions. We added the 11AM time this year bcause we wanted to include our European contingent. And as it turns out we have a pretty good turnout at that time, which is pleasing.

"Sounds good," I then asked, "have there been more participants and Burners from that time zone lately?"

"This weekend, yes!" she answered, "and I am hoping that hold true during the week, since that is early to mid- evening for Europe. An easier time of day than our 7pm SLT time which is the wee hours of hte night. I have already received appreciative feedback about that 11am time and that's been exciting for us. I think that's true too of BURN2 in general. We like having more people come so we make performances and exhibits available more hours of the day. We've had a very good time and a lot of fun. (The) people here really do live those 10 Principles of Burning Man we talk about."

"Sounds good. Could you remind the readers of those?" I asked.

"Oh definitely!" Skye told me, "You can find them here: http://thelamplightersblog.wordpress.com/ten-principles/. And I have a display of those ten principles of Burning Man over in the Lamplighter Village, would you like to see them? The Village isn't far - we can walk."

"Sure, and no problem," I told her. We then walked to a place with a tall Burning Man symbol in the front. On the sides were two tents making up the length of the place with the side toward the inside open. There were signs hanging halfway down from the top, five on each side for a total of ten.

"This is the Lamplighters' Village," Skye told me, "And the Ten Principles are on the ten posters you see on either side of this courtyard. This is where the processions start and often end too. The processions go to the Temple which is two sims away. And it is always an experience to cross sims on the way but that in no way diminishes the enthusiasm of people who come along."

I nodded, "How long did 'The Man' and the Temple take to build?"

"Both took months to build," she answered."

"Whom was involved in their design?" I requested.

"The Lamplighters oversee the Temple build," Skye told me, "and I was the contact for the Lamplighers with the Temple builder, who is Midori Rotaru. We liked her Temple so much last year, that we asked her to come back and build it again this year. She has an assistant, Chyenne Devin, who works with her. For the Man, Marianne McCann is the build team lead, and Pygar Bu works with her. There is at least one other person but I would encourage you to talk with Marianne and learn more about how that build happened."

"Between this and Bay City, they must be busy," I commented.

"Definitely!," Skye responded enthusiastically, "I think that's true for many of us here at BURN2. This is entirely a volunteer planned and driven event, nearly entirely resident funded,  and all of us are also involved in other projects around SL and in real-life. We do this because we love it, we believe in and practice the Ten Principles as much as we can."

"About how many here have been involved with both the Burning Man festival and Burn2?" I asked.

Skye answered, "I can't tell you a number but I can tell you this, an increasing number of people here will tell you they also were actively involved in Burning Man, every year. It's been exciting to see the number of people coming in and saying 'I'm from the real-life Burning Man,' or 'I went there and this FEELS just like home.' That's gratifying. To get numbers of who is involved in both, I think the best person to ask about that would be EmCee Widget or Ronon Carver. EmCee is the Regional Representative for BURN2 to Burning Man."

"If you would like," she suggested, "I can teleport you to the Temple and to the Man so you can get snapshots of each." I agreed, and she then told me, "Okay let's go to the Temple first, then The Man. I think it's a fitting conclusion to end at The Man because 'he' is why we do this. I will go to the Temple and teleport you there. One moment." She then ported away, and a few moments later I was sent a teleport request. I took it, and in an instant I was before the front of a black structure with a red cloth over the front opening with four tall tourches around me and pictures of previous temples to the sides.

"Let me know when everything is rezzed for you," Skye told me, "On the other side of the road behind you is a sim border, just a for-your-information." After some more moments, I told her most everything was clear and in color. "We can go inside," she then led me inside, showing me around. Inside was four large bases with white light beaming up from each, and in the middle of them a large reddish globe that was hollowed out with an opening on top, from which it glowed white, on a steel base that somewhat resembled a large steel flower, "That is the censer."

Looking back outside, I commented, "I notice there are pictures of earlier temples."

"Yes, Midori did a wonderful thing," Skye told me, "She wanted to show history of the Temple at BURN2. So she asked for some snapshots of past Temples, I thought it was a wonderful gesture." She drew my attention to the structure's appearance, "You might notice there is a lot of black in the colour here. This is a cultural thing. Asians see black as a happy colour, a colour of warmth. In Western cultures we don't see it that way. And so Midori being Japanese, she incorporated that because it fit so well with the Silk Road concept. A lot of Eastern peoples crossed those trades routes with the West.  So again, being in touch with history, We thought it was a marvelous idea."

She drew my attention to the globe in the center, "The censer here was created by Vicarious Lee, and she did this completely independently of Midori's work on the Temple. It turned out to be a perfect match in colours and build style. The censer is the SL equivalent of the RL Burning Man's tradition of people leaving notes at the Temple there. At Burning Man, The Temple is the spiritual center. It is the same here. People wrote little notes and stuck them into the walls of the Temple, and those notes got burned with the Temple

"About how many people here have left messages so far?" I asked.

"Let me check," Skye paused for a moment, then answered, "twenty so far, and the festival opened yesterday. we anticipate that number to go up very quickly over the week. At the Temple Burn next Sunday, the messages in the censer will be read aloud, shouted, so everyone within 100 meters will be able to see them in text. This is something that really is very deeply moving for a lot of people. And then once those messages are read off, the burn commences. Really special experience."

I brought up, "I recall when SL was being developed, some of the Lindens visited the Burning Man festival, and it had quite an impact on them."

Skye brightened, "Yes! so for the first six years of the festival in SL, the Lab actually supported the festival and it was called Burning Life at the time. Then in about 2010, the Lab had to withdraw its support. But then the resident Burners wanted to keep it going, and so it morphed into BURN2. Became a virtual regional of Burning Man in order to continue here."

I commented, "I've heard that lately the company policy of discouraging fraternization has been reversed. Have you seen more interest by the Lindens of the Burn?"

Skye answered that they had, "We actually saw Torley here yesterday during the Lamplighters procession. We were delighted to see that. And I believe other Lindens may have visited while I was not here. I don't know if other Lindens plan to come and visit but we would love to see them here. For all we know, they have been. I'm not here on the playa 24 hours a day so I couldn't tell you but we would welcome them as fellow Burners," she smiled.

Skye continued, "Any other questions here, before we go to the Man? ... There are stages between here and there, with various musical happenings as per the schedule. Feel free to drop by those stages, such as the Temple stage, the Man Stage, and Center Camp. Then Yman's exhibit, Idle Rogue, Organica, all are also musical camp stages among others. Let's go to Center Camp so you can see what that is, that's the social hub of the Playa especially when there is a performance going on that's on the way. You can see it from here if you draw distance is up around 200 meters or more. When you cam from above, it looks almost like a whirling dervish's skirt, thus its nickname 'the dervish tent.' "

"Let's go to Center Camp, best to teleport or we will cross a couple of sim borders." She smiled, ported away, then sent a TP to me as well. After heading over, "This is Center Camp and it's quiet at the moment, here. I do see a good number of avatars around on my radar, but here, yes, at the moment. I call it quiet because it LOOKS quiet - but I'm deaf so I wouldn't hear if there is any music going on nearby *grin*"

I looked over on my own radar, "I see some to the north, at a red tent."

"Probably a performance there. We could stop over there when we finish our little tour, if you like Bixyl," she suggested.

"It's up to you. I was able to cam over to take a picture," I answered.

"Good, ok, then a hop to the Souk and then the Man," Skye told me, "I will meet you there ..."

We both teleported to the location in question. The place looked like a bazzar with booths and tables full of goods, "So what's the purpose of this building?" I asked.

Skye answered, "This is to emulate the souk, a marketplace along the Silk Road. It is the center of trade, but of course here no money changes hands. Things are admired and graciously given. And people meet, perform, play music, or do whatever they wish. One person offered 'free hugs.' "

I chuckled, "Heh, what was the reaction?"

"All sorts of them," SKye answered, "amusement, a little chagrin, shyness but once hugged invariably the huggees felt much better! I think this will be more used during the week. This weekend has been mainly focused on opening acts and getting things underway. The marketplace should come to life starting tomorrow (Sunday), espcially later in the day."

 "Then on to the Man," Skye prepared to port over, "see you there in a moment." "I think it's just over there," I commented, and began walking the distance over instead, about a quarter length of a sim. Getting there, Skye smiled, "Crossed a sim border without incident! Now, about the Man..." She pointed up at the huge wooden human-shaped structure, "In real-life, it was 100 feet tall. That works out to about 32 meters. This Man here, is the equivalent, 32 meters tall. And you'll notice he is standing directly on the Playa. This is a first. Uually he stands on a base. Its' not THE first (time) but it's a first in a long time."

"Why none this time?" I asked.

"They wanted a challenge, I guess!" Skye suggested, "It burned very well, but took a LONG time to burn, in real life. However, Marianne, The Man team lead says it will NOT take two hours. The real-life Man took well over two hours. I encourage you to talk more with Marianne McCann about the work on the Man."

I had the radio in, which wasn't broadcasting music but people speaking about something, "Oh, I noticed the radio chatter. What might this be?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask," Skye told me, "I don't hear it! sorry."

Then the chatter ended and some tunes started, "Oh, well, it ended and replaced with music."

"Probably a stream then," she looked around, "there is a stage right behind us, The Man Stage, across the road there." She changed the subject back to the tunes, "This year they tried not to allow people to have too many music events on at once," she gave two reasons, "a) lag,  b) people want to see them, and if they are on at the same time there is that competition for people's ears. So this way people can enjoy everything if they wish."

"Has that meant fewer musicians this year?" I asked.

"Actually," she answered, "We've been happily enjoying about the same number of performers this year. The performance lead for BURN2 this year is Larree Quixote. He manages all the official stages and the performers on the playa."

"Can you give a few examples of the musicians?" I asked

"Ohh, we've had DJs like Puterdoc Devinat Camp Idle Rogue," Skye answered, "and live performers like ... Guerrilla Burlesque (which) performed here last night. We have trance at one of the camps, psytrance, good old rock'n'roll, jazz, blues, all types live and DJ'd."

"Oh, and DRUM performed here today! One live performer, Bamboof Stillmorning, very popular here. There are others, but as I'm deaf, I'm not the music expert here. .. But I refer you to Larree Quixote, who can tell you a lot more."

"There are some lovely art builds, I hope you explore them. They are like little gems scattered all over the Playa, and every one of them is worth seeing. There's a little petite camp 'refuge for little Burners,' just one example."

"So what are your plans after the Burn?" I asked Skye.

"After the Burn, I myself will be looking ahead to Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education, VWBPE, and also I'm active in Virtual Ability so I will be helping Gentle Heron plan the Mental Health Symposium. Both of these touch very important values for me, education and the disability community. VWBPE will be March 18-21, 2015; the Mental Health Symposium hasn't be set with a date yet."

"Was there anything else that you wanted to mention?" I asked.

"No tha'ts it," she answered, "but I hope you will explore some of these art builds. Such clever and inventive creations here."

It was about then that Skye and I parted ways, leaving me to see the rest of the Burn2 grounds.

Burn2 would continue for another week, culminating in the Burning of the Man, and then the Temple Burn. For those who missed the festival, the Burners hold a few smaller events across the year. And of course Burn2 will be back next year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview With a Burn 2 Ranger – Ronon Carver

By DrFran Babcock

Ronon Carver is a Burning Man/Burn 2 Ranger. She loves Burning Man, Burn, and Second Life™. All of this becomes apparent as you listen to her answer these questions about her time in SL.

This interview is so late because Ronon was on the playa in First Life, and returned to take up her duties as an SL Ranger seriously. Once you read this interview, you will understand, as I did, what’s behind the woman behind the dust mask:

SL Newser:  One if the first rangers in Burning Man, after placing a stick on the ground, is reported to have said: “On the other side of this line, there exists a world where everything is different.” After all these years in both First Life Burning Man, and Second Life™ Burning Life and BURN2 in what ways has this been realized for you?

Ronon: That Ranger was actually the FIRST Black Rock Ranger, Danger Ranger, the Rangers' founder, in 1992. His statement was realized for me with my first Burning Life in 2008, where I was introduced to the Ten Principles (http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/principles.html#.Unh8cJSbjYt), and then even more so at my first Burning Man in 2009. It was completely unlike anything I'd ever experienced and very different from my world which (at that time) was driven by the Protestant Work Ethic. I've never experienced volunteering, especially on that scale, and especially where people volunteered for the betterment of the community, rather than for self promotion or advancement. I was inspired by all these people working together to pull off this fantastic event, and by artists and builders who made things simply for others' enjoyment. 

The community created by all these people offers an alternative to our consumer-driven, socially stratified culture. Instead of the brutal, dog-eat-dog, what’s-in-it-for-me world where people struggle to climb the socioeconomic ladder, you find one of compassion, cooperation, and collaboration; where giving and self-sacrifice are the norm and people are valued for who they are, rather than for what they are and what they have. It levels the playing field where we're all equal, and having expensive toys doesn't make you better or more important than anybody else. You never know who that guy standing next to you is. He could be an unemployed bus driver or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. But, it doesn't matter, because we all have equal value as human beings. This is extremely empowering

How this has affected me in the default world is I've challenged myself to include the Ten Principles in my daily life. I try to be more accepting of other people, especially of those whose belief systems are very different from my own, and I have become active in my community through volunteer work and social activism. I regularly donate to several causes, work to lower my carbon footprint and reduce my consumption, try to be more self-reliant, and so forth.

SL Newser: Why did you become a ranger in First and Second life ?

Ronon: I became interested in crisis intervention as part of my grieving process after I lost my son. There was no help available in my local community, so I turned to online resources. I read a lot, talked to a lot of people, learned a lot, and became interested in helping others. I started listening to people more, paying attention to life more, and working less. I took foster parent training, crisis intervention training, peer support training, and help line training. I now provide peer support counseling with crisis support lines and groups, both in SL and in the default world, volunteer with the American Red Cross’ Disaster Action Team, work with domestic violence and other crime victims, and participate in grief support groups. Becoming a Ranger was a natural progression of what I was already doing.

SL Newser: What are the joys of the work you have done?

Ronon: Seeing the relief on people’s faces. It's incredibly empowering and validating to people when they realize someone is hearing them without judgment and doesn't think they're crazy or unimportant.

SL Newser: What are the difficulties/challenges in the work you have done?

Ronon: Dealing with emotionally distressed people can always be difficult, and the environments in which we work create a lot of challenges, whether it’s the hot, dusty, arid desert, or the cold, sterile, digital world. In Second Life™, text-based communication creates its own special challenges because it’s so easy for communication to be misinterpreted, especially since to a large degree, it is the reader who sets the tone, rather than the writer. A huge part of human communication is expressed through facial expressions, posture, tone, and vocal inflections. Without these cues, the reader has to use his or her own perceptions and assumptions to interpret the message. Even a positive message can be interpreted as an extremely negative, hurtful, snarky remark, depending on how the reader chooses to interpret the text-based words. (Think of how many ways you can say “Have a nice day!”) In BURN2 Ranger training, we stress approaching every situation with the assumption that everyone has good reasons for what they’re doing and that they’re doing their best. This sets the tone for a positive interaction.

SL Newser: I would be in gross denial if I didn’t acknowledge the tons of drama surrounding Burning Life and BURN2. What has been your experience with the politics of Burn, and in what ways have you managed it?

                                                                                                           

Ronon: I think any time you’re dealing with a group of people working on a project, you’re going to have drama. I haven’t found the drama in Second Life™ to be much different from the drama found in many first life groups. “Drama” is a product of people not having all the facts. They’re being “dramatic” because they have only one side of the story; some information, rather than all of it, and they react on it. People are afraid of the unknown.  This is a common and normal human reaction; it's not one that's confined to Second Life™, or to BURN2.

One way that we have managed this is to be as open as possible. Previously, planning meetings were closed and anything said was held confidential, which helped create an atmosphere of distrust. Now, meetings are open to everyone, and no part of the planning aspect is held confidential. Want to find out how and why? Come attend a meeting. Everyone is welcome. You can just sit and “lurk” if you want, but be prepared! We might just ask you to do something.

We’ve also changed the way the organization is structured. We no longer use hierarchical departments, so there are no territorial disputes. Anybody can volunteer to help with anything, which allows people to focus their volunteer efforts where they're most interested. It also creates opportunities for people to branch out, learn new skills, and take on greater responsibilities. And, it also means we’re no longer needing to rely on a few key people for critical functions, which creates a less stressful environment.

SL Newser: What is your vision for Burning Man 2013 and BURN2 2013?

Ronon: My vision for Burning Man 2013 was to work fewer shifts and spend more time in camp with friends, but I ended up spending more time on shift meeting new friends. I love being part of the Ranger team and interacting with Rangers and other participants.

For BURN2, my goal is to be more of a mentor and advisor. I’ve been volunteering here for six years now, and it’s time for me to step back and make room for people with fresh ideas and different ways of thinking and doing things. Ladyslipper Constantine did a great job of almost single-handedly training all the Rangers this year, as well as running the day-to-day on-playa operations. Other Rangers pitched in, as well, helping out in various leadership capacities.

SL Newser: What would you like folks out there to know about Second Life™?

Ronon: Second Life™ is a wonderful, creative place full of amazing opportunities. Like Burning Man, it is a place where people can be the individuals they wish to be.

SL Newser: Anything else you want to share?

Ronon: Anyone who wishes to learn more about Burning Man should check out the website at http://www.burningman.com/ or BURN2 at http://www.burn2.org/. Both sites also have have applications for those who wish to participate as volunteers, as well as information about other ways in which people can participate.

DrFran Babcock

The Art of Mikati Slade in Second Life

By Grease Coakes

 

Gemma, one of my co-workers for the SL Newser, told me about an amazing artist in Second Life at its version of the Burning Man festival, also known as Burn 2. Her name is Mikati Slade

As a digital artist from Japan Mikati studied classical sculpture and drawing at an art university. Looking at the stage she created, which is the largest in the Burn2 festival, it stands tall at 144 meters by 144 and it floats 25 meters off the ground. Mikati said the stage had to be off the ground for the Burn 2 festival. So what she did was build propellers like an airship from a studio ghibli movie. She also reduced the weight of all parts so it floated easily. Studio Ghibli is the animation studio headed by Hayao Miyazaki who made such flims as Spirited Away and Princess Monoke. Mitaki knew about those films. The DJ Obi Galli played lots of electronic tunes old and new for the party people at the Guru Guru stage. So long as I was dancing and talking to Mikati, there was always a lot of avatars like myself enjoying the great music and the graphical eye candy which Mitaki made.

 

Mitaki’s main influence is the Nintendo era of the 80’s with games like Super Mario and Megaman. When I warped to her Guru Guru stage, I was surrounded with bright colors and 8-bit graphical icons floating in a circle. The stage was packed with characters like what looked to me power rangers and sonic the hedgehog. There was even was even some mega man characters and me and her talked over video games. 

She mentioned that Capcom made the Mega Man series and also Street Fighter 2 games. In her words, the video game movement created a generation hooked on these types of games on the old Nintendo Entertainment System and the arcade revival from Capcom’s Street Fighter 2. That’s a certainly a valid point. Even someone who barely played video games was influenced by those video games one way or the other. I told Mitaki that I make shirts in Second Life based upon an old game I used to play on the Game Boy color.

 

But her Guru Guru stage wasn’t her first creation in Second Life. Mikati also created Kuru Kuru World for the Museums of Rome Capital. Using a LEA or Linden Endowment Arts grant she created Pico Pico Life from a full-sim land grant. Another of her achievements was The Cake at SL9B that took up four sims! I wonder how long and how many digital avatars it would take to eat such a massive cake.

 

Her artwork was also featured on her flicker page among other photos. One picture which really stood out was a pink 8-bit explosion which symbolized the nuclear bomb from the 1940’s that was dropped on Japan near the end of World War 2. It was used for the Burn 2 in 2010 called the pop atomic. In Mitaki’s words, it changed the Japanese culture forever and the 8-bit console were powerful symbols of 20^th century civilization. Or at least what’s viewed by Japanese culture.

 

Mitaki Slade was also jovial and fun to talk with. When I started talking with her she mentioned that she was in the SL Newser before about SL8B before. I told her it would be an honor to write about her and she seemed to appreciate that.

 

Grease Coakes: Oh really? Cool Well I’ll be glad to honor you again and publish an article about you for the Newser again.

 

Mikati Slade: Yayyy! I am really glad!

 

If you get the chance check out her artwork available on the internet or in second life. I had a fun time talking with her and seeing her art live at the Guru Guru stage.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikati/ 

Grease Coakes

Kev Sweetwater's Burn2 Memorial Service

Last week, the man behind the avatar Kev Sweetwater was found to have passed away in real life. Kev was best known for his role in Burn2, the team sent out a notice announcing his passing, and that they would be planning a memorial service on Saturday May 19th at 6PM. The event would be held at Deep Hole, and pictures of Kev were requested.

Arriving a little after 6PM on Saturday, the sim was full of people. At times there were more than fifty present. Most were of the Burn2 Community, but there were others. Kev was also a role-player at the Tombstone Wild-West RP, so many others from there were also present and paying their respects. Among those present was Dusty Udal, the former Dusty Linden. There was also Wizard Gynoid, artist Claudia222 Jewell, Dudarling Supermarine, Fearchar "Buck" Enoch, M2Danger Ranger, DollEyes Barbosa, Rails Bailey, whom I was told was one of the first Burners, and of course Gemma Cleanslate. Also there was Charlotte Martinsyde, whom had only recently partnered with Kev.

A tent had been set up for the occasion. With it's colorful top, it certainly didn't look like it was for a funeral. But underneath were various pictures of Kev Sweetwater, including a few of his real life self.

For almost two hours, people shared various stories about Dev. Je was described as having once made it to the Burning Man festival, which Burn2 is based on, which someone responded, "Another good lesson. Don't put off your bucket list more than necessary." Dusty Udal commented, "Well, I for one will never be able to make fresh eggnog without thinking of Kev. … We had an eggnog appreciation club going." They also joked about antics in Second Life involving using burn animations on oneself, and Kev using a fire extinguisher on them. One commented of a pinkish vehicle that looked vaguely like an open mouth, "Of all the things Kev built, the Clam Licker car is still my favorite." "I remember when he was building that thing, kept trying to run me over with it. Nothing quite like turning your camera and seeing that coming for you."

"(laughter) I was Away From Keyboard one night we were trying to set roads, and when I came back Kev had lowered the sim underwater, and left." "He asked me to have his babies, as a joke …" "I blasted him clear across the sim with a kamehameha." One cammed over to the memorial gallery, "I'm looking at this one pic and it's tearing me up, with the t-shirt saying 'NO MOAR PRIMZ 4YU!' " "I made that shirt for him, the front read 'Prim Dictator.' " "My first burn that I got to be a builder, Kev came over and was trying to join my parcel to an empty one. He was so tired, I think it took 3 cups of coffee before he got it." "The first time I met Kev, we talked for almost 6 hours. He could hold a conversation about anything, and always make it seem interesting."

"I won't ever forget the day he showed up in my box, telling me how much Charlotte meant to him, gushing, pouring out his soul." "That sounds like Kev." "I was captivated on how one man could express his being about Charlotte. That's when I knew he had found his love."

Emcee Widget, "So this guy walks into the DMV, and Gypsy and I are talking to everyone. We don't know anybody yet. We are talking about how DMV works and how we work together. And this guys like, 'Well this is pretty cool. I am an Okay builder, but I love to help people. I love Burning Man' he says. And I tell him, 'Find a team to work with.' And this guy starts working with everyone. This is how I met Kev."

Iskye Silverweb, "I knew Kev before BURN - at VWBPE, the first speaker at the conference needed to be introduced. And Phelan Corrimal was supposed to do the intro but wasn't there. I was that speaker's coach/helper/mentor, and so Gentle Heron said, if you do the intro, I'll voice (I'm deaf, so I only do text). And I was standing on the bridge kind of scared. And Kev in his little TV body stood on the other end of that bridge and IM'd to me, 'you can do it, go.' Gentle prompted and I thankfully finished the intro and got back off and Kev's 'good girl!' kind of surprised me but it was nice encouragement."

Katelin Rexen, "Even though he was a busy guy, he still was able to stop and talk say hello. And when I was sick and down in the dumps, when my physical pain was at it's worst, he would always try to cheer me up or ask how I was feeling. That was kind of guy he was, cared for his friends. … Kev, you will never be forgotten as so many here tonight remember the wonderful and caring man you truely were."
"This was nice. Thank you all for letting me stay a while … It's a very touching gathering. I never got to meet Kev, but I know he is well loved and missed …"

After the talk of Kev and some bacon jokes, someone got some virtual glasses of brandy, and passed them around, "… raising our glasses to Kev, cheers." "Cheers!" "He certainly gave of himself for all of us." "Yes, wherever you are now Kev, this is for you."

As 7:30 PM approached, people began taking places near the temple, which had been reconstructed for this special occasion, "I need to be up and close to toss Kev's Ranger hat in." "I never got this close to the other burns, and well, this one is special. So bolt me to the ground, please." "Please remove unnecessary HUDS and attachments." For a while, only the torchlike censers inside burned. Then white smoke was seen coming from the bottom, then the temple became ablaze. "It's beautiful, especially against the night sky." "I don't think I've seen a temple burn so beautiful and bright before now."


People were invited to leave messages in the temple, and many did, some including, "We will never forget you. You will always be part of our souls, part of our lives." "I'm sorry I took you for granted. I'm sorry I didn't thank you for all the work you do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you how special you are." "Kev I will miss seeing you in Amiville and at the SL Birthdays. Godspeed!" "Gone but not forgotten. You will always be part of us." "My darling husband, I love you, forever and always … Charlotte." As the the temple burned, the messages were released in poetic form.

Other messages were spoken by those attending as the flames lit up the memorial grounds, "Celebration of a life lived well in Second Life, and real life." "This is for you KEV!" "Yeah, burn for Kev!" "God bless you, Brother." "You will always be my Brother, Kev!" "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.""Rest in peace my friend, 'til we meet again!" "Go in peace and love, little brother. And save me a seat!" "God speed, you wacky son of a bitch." "Hope someone calls me that when I go." "Love you always, my darling."

Eventually, the fire began to burn itself out. And finally the flames were gone. There was only a few blackened timbers standing up, and burnt debris and ashes on the ground. "The best I've seen in Second Life." "Just Awesome." "This is a celebration of life! We can applaud this awesomeness!" "This is the latest I have been in Second Life in about four years." "Thank you so much whoever did this." "It was a wonderful tribute." "Awesome burn, go with the flames." "Good bye Kev, safe journey." "Thank you everyone for being here and making this happen. Don't take anyone for granted. If someone is special to you, tell them." "I'm sure Kev's in 3rd Life looking down on us and smiling."

Over time people gradually got up and left the sim, the number remaining becoming fewer and fewer, until all were gone. But the memories of what took place remained.

Anyone wishing to leave a message on Kev's account feed here: https://my.secondlife.com/kev.sweetwater . He also had a Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59196052@N05/

"Nobody dies as long as they are remembered."

Bixyl Shuftan