Interview With Sunnweaver Leader Rita Mariner

 
By Penny Shuftan

I was lucky enough to be able to get together with Rita Mariner, the leader of the Sunweaver community.  

My first question was if she owns Sunweaver and other lands. "I own 10 sims, four full, 6 homesteads," said Rita,  "About 10 years, I started out with Sunweaver Isle and expanded from there, as demand grew." According to Rita, the best thing about rental people would be people.

Rita not only has these sims, she also have two clubs; Club Cutlass, and Club Zero Gravity.  "I had them, when we lived in Pockwock," Rita replied, "on the mainland, just moved them, when he had the room here."  I also asked Rita what's the best part about owning the clubs.  She said, "The
people again, I don't run either club for profit. I Just wanted a fun place to hangout with friends."

Rita is also with the Relay For Life in Second Life.  "Yes, I've started with the Passionate Redheads, until they broke up," said Rita, "I then started the Sunbeamers, and been going with them, ever since. I created the team, so I am the boss bunny." The best part of working with the Sunbeamer team would be her team members, and thinking up crazy stuff to do each year with the teams and its members.

One game created for the Sunbeamers' Relay events is the Demolition Derby, which Shockwave created based on her idea.  "It has audience participation, they get to fire cannons at the drivers," said
Rita, after saying that they all have a blast there.

Rita's goal for 2022 is to keep in doing what she has been doing, running the Sunweavers and Sunbeamer team and enjoy the company of her friends while doing so, "It's fun to hangout with my friends, some of them I know in real-life," said Rita, "I used to attend furry conventions as an artist/dealer.  There would be Sunweavers there, we would all get together for dinner one night at the conventions."

Rita's original avatar was a rat, who she named after a female rat in "Flushed Away." She later settled on the Kani Bunny as her main avatar, although she has dozens topick from. 

As we ended the interview, Rita had one more thing to say, "I just follow The Golden Rule, treat others, as you wish to be treated." 

Rita is a hard worker, who cares a lot about the others in many ways.  She is very successful at running the sims, and the clubs.  As we ended the interviews, I did so with a smile because Rita is truly a remarkable person.

Penny

Editor's Note: Just after the interview, Rita gave her renters a month's free rent.
 

More Sunbeamer "Bid Me" Results: Over 60,000L Raised

 By Bixyl Shuftan

One of the events the Relay in Second Life is known for are the "Bid Me Bald" events, started by the Relay Rockers and caught on with others. But a Relay team with a lot of furry avatars, well, something different is called for. In the early days of the Newser, the Passionate Redheads would hold a number of "Bid Me Human" events, such as the one that left Rita Mariner "in the skin" for over two months. As time went on, the Redheads transitioning to the Sunbeamers, the "Bid Me" events began to show some creativity and variety when it came to what to be bid on, from other types of avatar besides human, to a different color, and more.

Thursday April 8 was the final day for DJ Matt/Matt Carlton's "Bid Me Pink" fundraiser. For Matt, she felt a little pressure to bring in plenty of Lindens as she wanted to match this season the amount she made last year, which included 60,000 L raised at one event on Fantasy Faire's last weekend. This was also the first "Bid Me" in which the kiosks were located at the Bouncing Bunny Beach Club, the newest venue in the Sunweaver community where most (but not all) of the Sunbeamers make their home. This was partially to help draw attention to the new venue, and partially because Matt has a DJ event there, and her fans would be inclined to donate then. By the last day, Matt was already at two weeks with over 5,000 L raised.

As this was a special Relay fundraising event, Matt didn't take any tips, instead asking that money be donated to the Relay kiosks, and the cheeky pictures at the bunny-themed venue were covered up. The contest theme was "Best in Purple," so several people came in purple outfits, purple fur, or both. A number of people were there, including club manager Snowbuns (Skylark Lefavre) and owner Nydia Tungsten (Rita Mariner owns the land). Other people showed up such as Rosie (RougeRedHead01 Resident), the newest reporter for the Newser, and Gem Sunkiller. Several people would also send remote donations.

Matt would play songs such as "It's a Great Day to be Alive," "Live Like You Were Dying," and "Angels Among Us." Among the last he would play for his set was "Clouds" by Zach Sobiech, a young musician whom was diagnosed with terminal cancer when composing the song. (https://youtu.be/sDC97j6lfyc)

We could go up, up, up
And take that little ride
We'll sit there holding hands
And everything would be just right
And maybe someday I'll see you again
We'll float up in the clouds and we'll never see the end

We'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher
Go up in the clouds because the view's a little nicer
Up here my dear
It won't be long now, it won't be long now

By the end of the first hour, Matt was already at 7,500L in the "pink" kiosk. Thanks to more donations coming in, by the close of Matt's performance, the total had risen to 15,000 Lindens. With 500L in the "stay orange" kiosk, this made for a total of 15,500L raised, and a comittment of six weeks in pink. Matt thanked everyone over the radio stream, which got someone musing, "First time I heard someone say thank you for being forced to be pink." Matt responded, "I like pink, but I Chose pink this time as my Aunt just fought Breast Cancer and won. So fitting, I thought."

Matt had offered a little bonus if 10,000 Lindens or more was raised. If that goal was reached, she stated she would spend at least half the time in the "Bid Me" period in Relay clothes. This could be either her Team Sunbeamer outfit or some other Relay wear.

The contest was won by LiskaBystrouska Resident.

Saturday April 10 was the last day of three "Bid Me Foxy" fundraisers. The volunteers for these were Shockwave Yareach, Cynthia Farshore, and team captain Rita Mariner. The kiosks were at Club Cutlass, and the fundraisers were totaled at the end of the party that night, at 8PM SL time. Shockwave and Cynthia got identical results: 250 Lindens each in the "Stay" kiosk and 7600 Lindens each to go vulpine. They'll be in their new looks for three weeks. For Rita, her default kiosk got 50 Lindens while donators chipped in 5050 Lindens for her to go vixen. So she has to deal with jokes about raiding coops for two weeks. With three people made foxy all at once on top of the existing number of foxes, there were jokes about a "foxolypse," as well as wondering if there'd be a run at the KFC.

Cynthia was DJing for the Relay USO event that night, and Shockwave was with her. So they didn't have to change until that event was over. The three fundraisers brought in 20,800 Lindens.

Finally came the end of Nydia Tungsten's "Bid Me Mouse or Bunny" fundraiser. This would be on Sunday April 10. Like Matt's Bid Me, the kiosks were at the BBBC, and the fundraiser was timed to end just as a party at the club was ending. Compared to the other Bid Me events, the default kiosk was making a strong showing. In the two hours, several thousand more Lindens were added to the kiosks. There were a few people coming by whom hadn't been to the club before.

Finally at 5PM SL time, the totals were finalized. 4,000 Lindens had been donated into the "Go Bunny" kiosk. The "Stay Vixen" kiosk had 6,010 Lindens. The "Go Mouse" kiosk made more than both combined, making 14,000 Linden dollars. As Nydia had pledged a week for every 2000 raised, normally this would have been seven weeks. But she had a surprise. She decided not to count just the amount in the winning kiosk, but the total of all three combined, 24,010 Linden dollars. So this meant 12 weeks, or three months. At the close of the party, Nydia changed to a mouse form, and her partner Brandi Streusel, whom was already a mouse, gave her a hug. There were more than a few comments about cheese recipes.

All five of these Bid Me events raised a total of 60,310 Linden dollars. Counting offline donations, this has brought the total raised by Team Sunbeamers past 450,000 and a half million, or Jade Level, within sight. This isn't the end of the Sunbeamer Bid Me events as DJ Snowbuns volunteered for one (more on that one later), and no doubt there will be more. With this combined with DJ Cynthia and DJ Matt helping out other teams, the Sunbeamers are continuing to be a top-ranking team in the Relay for Life in Second Life.

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Rita Mariner and the Sawyer Squad

By Bixyl Shuftan

Many residents in Second Life have at least one alt, short for "alternate account" for those outside the virtual world. It's on the record yours truly has two. Some have a few to several. But few can boast of having the number that Rita Mariner, the chieftess of the Sunweaver community, does. She has over a hundred, most in what she calls the "Sawyer Squad." Her alts are no real secret as she often has a few around Club Cutlass, and will occasionally have one by her. Recently, I had a few words with her about these accounts.

"Maybe 120 plus Sawyers" Rita answered when I asked how many she had. Asking her how did the Sawyer Squad start, she answered, "It started just after I got started in Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000 myself, we were finding it hard to find enough players to become subjects or subordinates.  Also many players would start in one, the other or both, get bored and quit. So I started the Sawyers to fill the gap and try to give active players ... at least one person in their downline, that was active."

How soon and how fast did the alts grow in number? "That happened over a period of years," she answered, "only as I needed them and also due to the investment each one represented.  I figure between the avatars, HUDS, clothes, etc, each alt has, they cost me approximately 20,000L each. ... I have close to $14,000US invested in them over the years."

So what did they have besides HUDs and basic clothes? The chieftess replied, "Well, right from the beginning I decided that all Sawyers would be black, my Babes in Black, as I call them.  Most have aat least two avatars, an Uchi Kani and then a second one of a different critter and most also have a EP pony. Then you toss in several changes of clothes, 7 Seas Fishing game, Crowley Corp ships, AO's.  The costs add up."

Why the name Sawyer and why black? Rita answered, "Sawyer is from the female cat, Sawyer, from Cats Don't Dance. I liked her.  I picked black, 'cause a black Kani is very sexy looking."

"The fun part is several of my alts have their own fans now," the Sunweaver leader revealed. I asked how that came about and why, and was told, "Sawyer021 and Brandi Tungsten both have mice avatars, so they play cousins. Momma Gil, has both Sawyer017 and MissMystique. She wants them on all the time, I don't have the computer power for that. ... MissMystique I created just for MommaGil. She is a cream colored Chinchilla, very pretty. Sawyer017 also has a black Uchi Chinchilla."

Besides the Sawyer Squad, Rita stated she had a few other alts, "I also have a bunch more named ones I created just for fun, The Chipettes have been used in a music video, by Nydia Tungsten. I have the chipmunks too, still looking for the proper hair and outfits for them. Once I actually found a nice chipmunk avatar I created set of named avatars with that, for fun, the female ones are cute, the male ones, not so much."



I brought up Valkyrie Ice, whom was the one non-Sawyer in the "Babes in Black" group. Rita told me, "They are not a separate grroup, Babes in Black, is part of my Sunweavers group. If you have a black avatar, you can be in it. I put the Sawyers in all the regular groups and treat them like a regular player. If someone tlaks to them, I try to get them to respond back. They are not there just as eye candy. I do try to have some fun with them too. That's why they are NOT disposable to me. I come to Second Life for only a couple reasons, be with my friends and play Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000. I don't build much and don't script, (but) I have a massive investment here already in my ten sims. I do participate in the Relay For Life with my Sunbeamer Team, and I am happy to raise what money we can for the American Cancer Society."

Rita stated the response others have had to her alts has been positive as far as she's seen, "They like them, Queen Ranchan titled me 'Sawyer Swarm Queen' in Tiny Empires. In TE3K, I am Space Booty Hunter. (Also) in TE3K, I was able to move some of my Sawyers under a new player who moved to our guild and bump him back up to Director. ... That's what the Sawyers are for."

Rita then mentioned a problem that had recently come up, "I want to get my alts off Singularity and onto a better viewer, I can't do it without help. All my pass codes were written a ledger book and months ago, (and) it got accidentally tossed out in the trash and I mean ALL my pass codes, not just for Second Life. So that is why I am trying to get Linden Lab to understand the situation. I can't go through the normal procedure to recover pass codes, the e-mails tied to the various accounts have long since disappeared or been changed into something else." And when she tried contacting Linden Lab, their response was bureaucratic, "I put in a ticket to try and get this issue with my alt avatars fixed and have run into a roadblock they NEVER had out in the open, but buried in their wiki site. Who goes to the wiki site? They say, on their wiki site you limited to five alts! They will help me with five. And even they screwed that up. They are stuck on Singularity, I want to move them to Firestorm/Phoenix, can't do it without the passcodes."

"I don't want to throw them away," Rita spoke about Linden Lab's five alt limit, "I have close to $14,000US invested in them over the years." She did have a possible compromise for the Lab, "I suggest to Linden Lab, that they put a third option on the signup page for alts. If they want $9.95 fee for each alt, then ask at creation, I would have gladly paid it, then.  but in exchange I want no hassles if I need help."

Some days later, Rita had an update on the situation of her alts, "Linden Lab actually took my suggestion and I got my five accounts back." I asked if she was going to get help with the rest, and the Sunweaver leader answered, "It's all done. I told them to just put a simple code on each one for now, e-mail me the code, I would use that to access their AL account page and reset the passcode myself. So they did it, I accessed eacch one and they are all reset."

And so all is well once again with one of the largest groups of alts in Second Life. If you want to see some of them, come on over to Club Cutlass, or message Rita Mariner.

Bixyl Shuftan

Back to Normal: A Look Back At The "Bid Me Human" and "Platinum Challenge"

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Monday June 19 started a period of a little more than two weeks when I wasn't quite myself. For the latest round of "Bid Me" events of my community's Relay for Life team, the Sunbeamers, I had volunteered for a "Bid Me Human." Although I had changed briefly to a human avatar for short periods of time over the years, I hadn't volunteered to be one for a "Bid Me" event since the days of the Passionate Redheads in May 2011. The result of that was me being stuck in the look for a month. This time, the Sunbeamer chief ruled it was for two weeks, although it would turn out to be nine days, with a catch.

Besides the shorter time involved, it didn't affect me so much this time as the slightly awkward feeling I had at the clubs at the start of last time. I was still being asked to dance. I was still able to dress in theme much of the time, such for the "Video Game" party in which I went as a "Rust" player (picture to the left). And the reaction I got from others, furry and human alike, was mostly positive. There were a couple exceptions. One was one girl who felt, "That avatar is not you." The other was an incident when a friend invited me over to a country music club whose attendance was all human except possibly a couple neko avatars. Someone there, seeing my avatar's black appearance, made some remark about an "interracial sim."

Considering in real life, my appearance is white, I once had a black boss, and one church in the area has it's sign in both English and Korean, if that was some kind of joke, I missed the point entirely. I only spent a short time in the place before events called me elsewhere, so I didn't see any immediate response. I was later told by the person who invited me that the guy who made the remark had been told by the club owner not to do that again if he wanted to be able to keep coming over.

Then on Sunday June 25 came another development, the Sunbeamers reaching Platinum Rank in their fundraiseing total. Earlier, the team's chances of hitting the next level after Gold were iffy, so I had told team leader Rita Mariner, and others, that if the team made Platinum, I'd go female for a week. That got a chuckle of of Rita, and made it part of her next announcement to the group.

Males going about as girls in Second Life can be a touchy subject, especially with occasional stories of "catfishing." So I almost never changed to one, or rather deliberately as the jokes about glitches and "ruthing" go, and never went about in public as one, doing so only rarely  to show a girl in private what a certain avatar would look like, or a couple certain pictures for articles. I even wrote about the subject once in response to Becky Shamen's article , saying the "dos" and "don'ts" about it could be a little complicated with gray areas that appear different hues to different people. But an enormous amount of money going to charity from it, to me that seemed like a good enough reason.

I had thought the Sunnies had a fair chance of reaching the goal, so an idea came to me: go as Rita's double. I saw this as a playful poke in the ribs, though as some who prefer furry avatars take their unique appearance seriously and react badly to perceived "copying," I talked to a few people first to make sure Rita wouldn't freak. It turned out planning ahead was a good idea as Cynthia Farshore and Shockwave Yareach's steampunk land and air racing event was the most successful event the Sunbeamers ever had. So yours truly had to own up, Rita saying she was expecting to see my new look at the Cutlass party Wednesday June 28. So I got a white kani female, found a white hairpiece for it (ironically the style was also called a "Rita"), found a couple smaller bunny feet that resembled the catlike ones Rita had, though mine had bigger claws. As for the dress, fortunately finding that wasn't hard as Rita had once told me and others during a party what brand it was. One friend helped by giving me a title in her group, "Bunny Chieftess." So on Wednesday night, I dropped in and while everyone else was still rezzing, and presumably I was to them, I walked right up to Rita. After the usual "Hey Bixyl," there was silence followed by "whoah" and laughter. Rita was among those laughing, telling me I did a great job, "Good going Bixyl, you got me," and we both posed for a picture for a group announcement for the community.

So after that, the reaction was almost entirely positive. One friend pretended to be upset I wasn't trying to do a tribute to her appearance. As she was busty, I joked that I'd get a backache just looking at my avatar (contrary to the opinion of some, not all males go ga-ga at the sight of large breasts, and some can find sympathy for the back pain and other challenges of well-endowed women). But another reason was I wasn't as good a designer and fashionista as she was. Someone thought I could have done a slightly more realistic job on the feet, but considering I was trying to get as close to Rita's look as possible it was pretty good. To those who don't know Rita, she has something of an act of being an aggressive alpha doe bunny with an attraction for other girls' "booty," though she's always careful only to tease those she knows. I'd occasionally imitate her in chat as a joke, which got a few chuckles. Going about at events outside the Sunweaver and Angel areas, there were a few "Ms. Shuftan" comments, but no one gave me a hard time. At the Second Life Birthday, almost no one spoke a word about it.

Someone did joke that I'd be enjoying the "look from behind." In short, I didn't get the same feeling from looking at the avie as other female avatars, maybe because it was supposed to be "me." I had wondered a little if some guys would make a pass at me, but that never happened. What did happen was there were several girls who suggested I could stay in that form, probably as a joke ... probably. I did still end up getting dances from a few girls. I guess they knew this was all in the name of fun. And I was openly saying this was no big deal, "I can go without peeing standing up for a week." For the Independence Day party at the Happy Vixen, I even got her a dress from a Relay shopping event for a one time use. The following day would be the last for the "Rita clone," at least for a long, long time.

So now, back to my normal foxy self. Though I would still occasionally change looks, such as the skunkboy for the "Black and White" event at Cutlass a couple days later, I was sticking with being furry and male. But already, I have people asking what will I do for next Relay season when the Sunnies hit Platinum again. In short, I don't know yet. But there's a year to think about it. And in any event, it was, different, going about in the other form. But I won't be doing it again, at least not without another enormous amount of money going to charity.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunnny Awards Night at Cutlass

By Bixyl Shuftan (and Becky Shamen)

On the night of April 22, the Sunweaver community held an event to honor several individuals whom have distinguished themselves for their efforts to help out the community. The ceremony took place in the middle of the usual Friday night dance, DJed by Cynthia Farshore, which was briefly put on hold.

"People can I have your attention, please?!" Rita spoke up, then began reading from some notes, "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to join this man and this women........wait a minute....oops .....wrong ceremony. We are gathered here to award to some very deserving individuals the very first ever SUNNY Awards." After a couple chuckles from the audience, the white bunnygirl continued, "This award was inspired by the deeds of a certain individual who went way above the Call of Duty, to others and in the opinion of many of us deserves this award and more! Our own Sha, Becky Shamen designed it, so kudos to her for her work, on this and much, much more."

"Since we only set aside 15 minutes for this, let's get rolling. Perri Prinz, please step forward and stand beside the box and the center column, please." Perri moved, but was having a little trouble with lag, "Perri? Behind the column, please. Center one. Thank you." Perri would be receiving the first award on behalf of her partner RECoyote Mines, whom sadly wasn't there at the ceremony, but busy with his trucking job in real life.

"RECoyote is the inspiration for the SUNNY Award, it has been his over the top generosity, too so many, that it has to be recognized and honored. The wonderful part is he did it without being asked, he just saw the need and helped! That is a rare quality in today's world and so that needs to be appreciated and nurtured. The Sunweavers are like that, we are family! Now while most of us can't be as helpful as RECoyote was, many of us have stepped up in the past and done what we can, when we could, with what we had. Really no one can ask for more.

"So RECoyote from ALL of US to you we present you with the very first SUNNY Award and to top it off, we also present you with a statue of your mangy coyote self, so pigeons can poop on you daily! We do this cause WE LOVE YOU!" There were a number of cheers and claps and a "huzzaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh" animation, "Thanks for your deeds REC."

Perri spoke, "Since REC couldn't be here for unavoidable reasons, it's my honor to accept this award on his behalf. I'm sure he'll appreciate it and be long reminded of the love that comes to those who do good." Becky commented, "REC is the reason I made the award. It is designed to radiate JOY. The statue was a co-build with Rita." Shockwave spoke, "One of the nicest folks I've known. ... was worried about Perri and Ny.  A class act all the way."

"Thanks to him, living here just got a little easier for all of us. Those fees (to Linden Lab) weren't cheap. Neither were those tablets." "And he is helping with my transmission." "He also paid my family out of a ... debt. ... Pretty much saved our lives." "And he is helping with my transmission." "A very very generous soul." "There's a place in heaven for him." "Not soon I hope." "We bring heaven to earth by helping others."

After a few more comments, Rita continued, "Next up, Shockwave Yareach and Cynthia Farshore, please step forward and stand next to your awards, please." Sockwave pretended to be worried, "I didn't do anything! The tape lies!" Once they were at their places, the white rabbitgirl continued, "Shockwave has been with me since Day One, he has been my right hand Wolf, also pissing on my foot and chewing on the furniture, never totally housebroken." After a pause for chuckles, she continued, "Still if you need some building done, something sripted, a renter's temper soothed, a glitch in the club's media system, or running the Sunday Night Movies, Shockwave is right there. I don't think SL would be half as much fun without him. The greatest compliment I can give him is to call him my friend both here and in RL. So you deserve this Sunny award Shockwave. Enjoy it!" There were then a number of cheers, followed by Shockwave saying, "Thank you very much."

Rita then turned her attention to Cynthia, "Cynthia Farshore, I don't know you as well as Shockwave, but Shockwave likes you and since you keep a smile on his face and keep him out of the gutter, that has to account for something. On a more serious note, Cynthia has repeatedly, let us use her SIM to host Air shows for the RFL, she is also half of our dynamic duo build team for the Sunbeamer campsites. She has put out alot of her own money to get things done. She also loves to DJ. She is a valued member of our community, so you are deserving of this award Cynthia, Enjoy!" There were more cheers.

Rita then looked to Becky, "Becky your turn, park your tushie next to your award." Becky did, then Rita resumed, "The fourth person is our own Sha, Becky Shamen, the bouncing Bunny, who decorates the dance pole,here at Cutlass,during our dances. She also designs and makes all the clothes for the Sunbeamer RFL team. Sha also runs things here on Sunweaver Bay for me, taking in strays, mentoring new people, building stuff, ...  Sha is like my own bunny clone on the sim. She keeps things running smoothly here so I can goof off. Supreme Bunny is LAZY! Becky enjoy your award you earned it!" There were more cheers and congratulations."

Rita was a bit hesitant in speaking about the fifth award winner, "The last person on the list to get an award is me, but I am not going to blow my own horn, as they say, I'll leave that to others. If they wish." Shockwave spoke first, "Rita started this mad house.  Paid for it with her own money for years and years.  Kept us together when many other groups had fallen apart." Becky added, "Being a useful member of this community is one of my greatest joys. I am thankful and I insisted that our beloved Big Moma should also receive this award. She is the core of Sunweavers." Cynthia spoke, "I was still rather shy when I found this place but Rita and Shocky here help me to be more open."

Becky told Rita, "Take your place on stage, Chief." The white rabbitgirl did, "It has been a real pleasure to lead ths freak show, I LOVE YOU ALL!" Shockwave smiled, "We love you too, chief freak." Cynthia mused, "So for our chief freak I bring you ..." and the music resumed, then so did the dancing as the people on stage got down.

The coyote statue made in honor of RECoyote Mines would later be placed in the Sunweaver Estates, somewhere in Sunweaver Bay.

Pictures by Becky Shamen, Story by Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Nydia Tungsten Gets New Monitor From Sunweavers

Among the more active residents of the Sunweaver Estates is Nydia Tungsten. One of the estate managers who helps out with any land issues, in the past she was one of the regular DJs at Club Zero Gravity, the Happy Vixen, and other clubs. More recently she's been doing a number of videos, many of which have been featured on the Newser such as "Come Back," "Evacuate the Dance Floor," and "Margaritaville." And of course her articles in the newsletter, mainly reviews of games but also some occasional social commentary.

In real life, Nydia's finances have been a bit limited, as have those of many residents. So when her monitor began acting up after several years of use, such as blinking out for a couple seconds, She didn't have enough after regular expenses to buy a new one right away. So reluctantly, she made the following announcement.

I can't shoot anymore videos until further notice, I have a dying monitor and it is going to cost me between 150 to 200 dollars usd to replace, so please bare with me while I tend to it and save up.

It didn't take long for word to get around. So after some discussion, Sunweaver chieftess Rita Mariner made an announcement of her own:

Sunnies:  Nydia Tungsten's Monitor is dying and doesn't have the funds to replace it and that means no more videos!  Maybe no more SL for her.  We can't have that.  REC has suggested a Monitor Fund for her, I agreed to collect any Lindens you may wish to donate to help out.  After a period of time, I will pass along any Lindens we get to Nydia and she can then convert it to Cash and transfer it to her bank!  So if you wish to help out, just sned your donation to me, Rita Mariner.

Not everyone donated via Rita. A few directly donated to Nydia. But the results were the same. It didn't take long at all for Nydia to find out she had all the money she needed.

Sunnies:  The fund to raise funds to help Nydia Tungsten replace her dying monitor was a complete success!  Those of us that donated, raised over ... towards her new monitor and she was awestruck!  She has offered to make music videos for all those that donated.  Way cool, Nydia!  Here is the Monitor she decided to get.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005623
Thanks again to all who donated.  We are Family!


Nydia herself had some words about what happened, "When I found out about it...I was shocked.....for them to do that for me .... it touched me deeply.  At first I thought maybe ... $10 to$50 dollars .... because I know how tight money is. Then I started getting it...and I cried...."

"I knew I had to get the best monitor I could for the money, so I enlisted my mega geek brother for help. Between the two of us we found a monitor at a great price. I was even able to get a 3 year extended warranty. And I thought I should get it as fast as possible, so people wouldn't keep donating their hard earned money..."

Nydia paused for a moment, then spoke again, "You know I am not one toask for help at a drop of a hat.... Once I confirmed the sale...I cried again. I am almost eight years old in Second Life. I have seen and heard of this happening to others as well. But never thought it would happen to me..." There was silence for a few more moments, "Sorry for the long pauses...crying again..."

"There are a LOT of people here in Second Life I consider family. I know to some here in SL they will call anyone family at the drop of a hat.....I only claim those that I truly care for."

So what were Nydia's plans now that she has a new monitor on the way? "I have stopped video productions because of the monitor, as well as most streaming and gaming," she explained, So I will start that up again." When asked if she had an idea for a video, "Several actually, skunks and vixens as well as others dancing. I will start with a small one at first as a test."

"What I REALLY wanted to say... To all of those that donated, and wanted too, I would like to publicly say 'Thank you' and your love has touched me deeplyand I will never forget this. I truly want to say more... but words fail me. I am STILL bloody crying... I want so much to give back some how to those that have given to me.....even in some small way."

It was a day later that Nydia announced that the monitor had finally arrived. She showed a picture of it to the Sunweaver group up and running, in the new Minecraft server a number of Sunweavers and others in the Furry Gamers group have been in, and that she was back in business.

Another example of how Second Life friends come together to help one another.

Bixyl Shuftan

Rita Mariner and the History of the Sunweavers

By Bixyl Shuftan

Every community in Second Life has a history, and this includes the Sunweavers. Living in the sims Sunweaver Isle, Sunweaver Bay, Sunweaver Space, Sunlight Bay, HV Community, and Pacific Waters, the "Sunnies" as they are sometimes called go back several years. They've been the home of some noted persons in Second Life, such as Artistic Fimicloud, Lomgren Smalls, and Alleara Snoodle. Also the Second Life Newser's office is in the Sunweaver sim of HV Community.

Recently the Sunweaver leader Rita Mariner and I met up to talk about the history of the group.We met up in the Southwest corner of the Sunweaver Estates in the sim of Sunweaver Bay, on top of the tall apartment building in the sim.

"So, how did the idea for the Sunweavers come about?" I asked Rita.

Rita answered, "It was simple, we were living in (the sim of) MUD at the time and starting to acquire land. Having a group, made owning land more benefical. I had a friend named, Shane Fisher, who had a comic of sorts and in that comic, he had a religious group called The Sunweavers. The Sunweavers idea of religion was PARTY!, singing and dancing, jojfulness. So I borrowed it for our group. We started ... a core group of us, most of whom are still with us. Once we bought all the Land on MUD we could get, we still wanted more."

"And whom was the core group?" I asked.

Rita replied,"Jenni Greenfield, Dusk Griswold, Shockwave Yareach, Windy Lurra, Brolly Field, Robin Hyacinth, and me." She handed over a couple images of the group, "Not the best pic, all I have." Then came one of an area, "One of the Sunweaver's First creations, Sunweaver Park. The group lived on one side of the road, in MUD, we used the land on the other side as a park to get creative and built a park."

It was about this time we were joined by one of the Sunweaver Estates' residents, Becky "Sha" Shamen, after some friendly greetings, she stuck around to listen, "loves the community."

Rita continued, "Anyways, while we lived in MUD, we were having fun calling ourselves 'MUD's Women,' spoofing the Star Trek episode."

"So all girls, except for Shockwave?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Rita answered, "One of the early conditions I put on the Sunweavers to set us apart from other groups, was we did bellydancing, therefore, we all needed to get at least, one set of decent silks, preferably EROS silks, even though, at the time, they were pricey. ... We would then showup at various dance clubs, in our silks and dance, getting a lot of praise, those silks were very nice. But when EROS stopped selling the silks, I dropped the requirement."

"What year was this?" I asked.

"2007," Rita answered," Long time ago. Once we maxed out on how much Land we could get in MUD. I started looking elsewhere. I settled on POCKWOCK, and slowly started to buy up land there. Once we had a decent amout of land there, we created Club Cutlass and Club Zero Gravity. Shockwave had a blast creating the scripts for Zero G," Rita described the space club then, "you could dance on the walls, the ceiling, float in the air and still dance."

I asked, "They looked much different then, did they not?"

"Yes," she answered, "we built our first shopping area there, airfield, pirate ships, fort, etc. secret tunnels, we had fun."

"Sounds interesting. So the tunels were secret passages between places?" I asked.

"Mostly secret escape or entrance," Rita answered, "Just for fun. We liked to get creative. ...  I almost owned the entire sim, but there were a few holdouts, and they wanted ridiculous amounts of lindens for their land. Of course all of this was taking place just prior to LL pulling the plug on gambling."

"So after the gambling ban, land was cheaper?" I asked.

"Land prices dropped into (the) trashcan," Rita answered, "Casinos no longer were profitable and people were bailing out of SL so fast, they didn't care. That's why today it's hard to get renters, (the) aftermath of the land boom and bust."

"At that time I decided it was about time to get a private estate. They weren't cheap. (But) the idea of having total control over it and no neighbors with banlines and PORN everywhere appealed to us. Sunweaver Isle was our first estate."

"How fast did the community grow?" I asked

"Once that was filled up, we had alot of demand for another," Rita answered, "so soon we added Sunweaver Cove. Still more demand, but for public sims. I then added sunweaver Air, Sunweaver Space, Cape suzette and Buccaneer Bay. I had enough renters to at least keep the bleeding from my checking account manageable. (I) Never had enough to break even. Then when LL decided to add the Homesteads I had several folks approach me about getting one."

"How did that go?" I asked.

Rita answered, "I said, 'you pay for them, tell me where you want it. I'll order it.' So I had three different people order them. That worked out fine, until LL changed the rules on them. Raised the tier and limited the use. People started dumping them."

"Did any of the Sunweaver homesteads close?" I asked.

"Only one," Rita answered, "I gave up one Homestead."

"I recall the Sunweavers have included some creative people whom were known elsewhere," I brought up, "such as Lomgren Smalls and Alleara Snoodle."

"Yes, Alleara is still around," Rita told, "but as for Lomgren, not sure what has happened to him. I guess real life got him."

"And Artistic Fimicloud," I also brought up.

"Yes, we still remember Fimi," Rita reflected, "she is one of the inspirations for why we Rally in the RFL. She used to have a nice treehouse on Sunweaver Cove, across from Tremi. We had hoped to put the treehouse back up on Sunweaver Bay, but not sure who has it."

Rita handed me a few pictures. I noticed one in particular, "Oh yes, I recognize your house."

"The house next to mine was a co-worker and friend," she told me, "He was a skunk on SL."

"Is he still around?" I asked.

"No," Rita answered, "he passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, sorry." I told her.

"Eugene Chandrayaan (was his) SL name," Rita told me, "(his) profile has been wiped."

"It seems only a handful of Second Life residents have a friend from real life coming in with them," I commented.

"Dusk brought me here," Rita informed, "and when I was going to Furry Cons alot, I use to let folks on SL know and we had Sunweaver Parties."

"How many from Second Life, and the Sunweavers, would you meet there?" I asked Rita.

"Varies," Rita answered, "I have had anywhere between 5-10 showup, say Hi and then some of us would go out to dinner. Met Kaarla, Twilight, Shockwave, Zorro, Fyremane, Lomgren, Dusk, probably many others whose names I have slipped my mind."

"You mentioned Dusk brought you here?" I told her, "How did that come about and how were your days before the Sunweavers?"

"I knew Dusk from meeting her at the Warner Bros Store, In Chicago," Rita answered, "I had driven up there to meet the voice over actors for the Animanics. During over chats, Dusk invited me to try out SL, It was a stepup from E-Muck. a Muck with PICTURES!"

"I started out in Nueltin. I had to borrow the Lindens from Dusk and Twilight to buy my first land, house, etc. Since I was on probation, with LL. for the first 30 days. My land was out in the bay, so I floated my house. It was the same house I still have, by the way."

"Oh really? How did you come up with the design?" I asked.

"I didn't," Rita answered, "I bought it. I like it, the inside is an open layout, so you can install walls and stuff as you like. The idea for the Group didn't come about till we needed it for Land Purchases. Then I thought about it. Sunweavers came out from that and we decided to have fun with it too."

I decided the change the subject, "Earlier the Relay was mentioned. How did you find out about the Passionate Redheads?"

Rita thought for a moment, "I think it was members of the sunweavers that mentioned it. Probably Dusk, so I joined up. Being both a survivor and caregiver, I fit right in."

"What year was this?" I asked.

"2009," Rita answered, " I keep all my stuff in folders, and 2009 is the earliest RFL stuff I have."

I continued, "As I recall, quite a number of Sunweavers joined up with the Redheads."

"Yes, The Redheads was a great team," Rita added, "lots of us were in it. Pity that it had to disband, but I understand why and I support Sabine's decision."

I nodded, "What were some of your favorite events that it held?"

"Heck, I don't remember that far back. You would have to ask Dusk."

"With the Redheads gone, you stepped forward by founding a new team," I recalled.

"Yes," Rita answered, "Someone needed too. Pity that I haven't been able to attract all of the old Redheads back."

Becky Shamen, whom was nearby, commented, " ...and somebody...ahem...made clothes for the new team (smile)."

Rita briefly glanced over, then commented, "Yes, we have to thank Becky here for the classy Team Clothes she made for us."

"One group that often gets mentioned in the same sentence as the Sunweavers are the Angels" I brought up, "Do you consider yourselves the same community in Second Life, or two close ones?"

"Two close groups," Rita answered, "Nydia created the Angels for her own purposes, as I created the Sunweavers for mine." There was a slight typo, followed by an odd gesture, "Oops. Darn caps lock, didn't even notice until after (hitting the 'Enter' key)." Rita laughed, "I guess I was too busy staring at Sha's chest."

After a few jokes and snickers between the three of us, Rita got back on track, "but the Sunweavers are family. We look out for each other, help each other, care for each other. Like right now, several of us are working to get Jenni's PC working again."

"It's been having trouble?" I asked.

"It died, or at least the video card part," Rita answered, "but nothing we sent her as far as cards, worked. Her PC is just so OLD! I looked at my PC, the motherboard is $22, the processor $14! My PC was bought in 2006, Gateway GM5076E. One is a Dell, the other a HP."

"Besides the Relay," I brought up, "recently the Sunweavers have recently gotten a place in the InWorldz grid."

"Yes, a toehold in Inworldz," Rita esplained, "Not really going to get a huge following until more sellers see a market there and put in vendors, especially for avatars. I have a purple vixen, on PMS."

I chuckled, "Oh yes, your everyday avatar is a purple kani ... was there a special reason for this look?"

Rita answered, "When I saw the Kani bunny I loved the look. And since I am not a lover of PINK, I chose purple for me, just to be different. I have several other colors too, I can put on if needed. I wear pink, only on special occassions. ...  I don't mind Pink on others, just doesn't work for me."

Rita then turned to another subject, her squad of alts, "As for the Sawyers, when I decided to create them, I went totally Black for them."

"Oh yes the Sawyers, Why were they made?" I asked.

"Primarily to help out on Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000," Rita answered, "To give folks with no subjects or subordinates someone."

"I've noticed there's often a few around at Cutlass parties," I commented.

"Yes," she told, "I am personally maxed out on ships and credits in TE3K, so I have one of them around to feed ships to them, as the offer comes up. I cycle through them, bring each one up to a certain level, before swapping them out for the next one."

"And dressed in theme, I've noticed," I recalled.

"Oh, each sawyer represents a major investment in time and Lindens." Rita informed.

I commented, "I've noticed a few different avatars among them, bunny, bat, pony ..."

"Each Sawyer has a Kani, EP Pony, Felis," she told me, "plus I am trying to find them a unique avatar for themselves, but it needs to be available, in black. Plus I send them out for clothes shopping too."

Becky, who was still nearby, wryly remarked with a grin, "I think Rita likes the smell of burning money."

Rita laughed, "They burn 5-6,000 (Lindens) in clothes. So by the time I am done with each Sawyer with avatars, AO, clothes, etc, I have 20,000 lindens in them. Also the Tiny Empire HUDS they aren't cheap, when you get the compacts and fed hud, plus bookkeeping add-on.  So my Sawyers are a major investment. And a couple of them have already been claimed," she laughed again, "Momma Gil has Claimed Sawyer 017, and Brandi has claimed Sawyer21."

"So when they're claimed, what happens," I asked.

"In a way, they are like their pets and/or sister/cousins," she answered, "Sawyer21 is my mouse and looks like Brandi."

"I imagine the Sawyers must mean quite a bit of multitasking," I commented, "and computer power.

"I have two desktops running," Rita explained.

"And the newer one handles the most?" I asked.

"Both desktops are roughly the same," she stated, "one has a little more RAM than the other. I bought the second one off eBay for $600."

"So, after the Relay is done, were there any future plans you had with the Sunweavers?" I asked.

Rita brought up a slideviewer show she was working on, "I try to talk those Sunnies who haven't contributed a photo of themselves, to do so. So I can put them in the slideviewers."

Becky brought up another issue, "You recently mentioned another trolly line. Albert and I were hoping for a road that connected the estate sims."

Rita answered her, "I would have to check with landowners about putting a bridge across the sims to their land."

"Most have cars or bikes," Becky expressed, "It would be fun to drive between all the sims."

"I will have to check with Nydia too," Rita stated, "She might build a road, don't know. ... they don't have the extra prims for a road."

After that, Rita got a call, "Well, Jeremiah needs my help, she is moving to here." She then  gave her farewell, and we went our separate ways.

If you want to meet up with the Sunweavers, drop by one of their parties at Club Cutlass on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday at 6PM, Sunweaver Space (176/62/125). If you want to live at the Sunweaver Estates, contact Rita, Shockwave Yareach, Dusk Griswold, or Nydia Tungsten for information.

Image credit: Rita Mariner, Artistic Fimicloud

Bixyl Shuftan

Rita Mariner, Head of the Sunweavers

By Grease Coakes

I heard about the fledging Relay for Life group the Sunbeamers and that Rita Mariner has never been interviewed (gasp)! I figured I’d be the first furry to interview her as furries and humans have been dying to know all about Rita. One afternoon I saw Rita online and asked could I interview her. She said sure.

Rita Mariner, the head bunny of the furry group of the Sunweavers, took on the role of heading a new RFL team to combat cancer. She named her team the "Sunbeamers" and so far has five members. Rita worked hard for Sabine’s team the "Passionate Redheads" and was hurt when the team disbanded.


Rita is frustrated that her head builder Shockwave Yareach is busy with other things. But she seemed happy that in two events she raised $L50, 000. With a team of only 5 members? That’s really good, considering how 50K Linden equals $200 in the US dollar. That averages out to 10,000L per member. Imagine if Rita had 20 members she could get 200k Linden easily. Rita hopes to get more people to join her team the Sunbeamers over time. She said in the near future that the Sunbeamers might hold an event at the New Bastogne Sim. She wasn’t sure of the date and I didn’t want to type something that wasn’t concrete.

Rita Mariner, "Bixyl Shuftan, Gil Otaared, Jenni Greenfield, Acis Tigerpaw, Cynthia Farshore, Shockwave Yarearch, are the main members. I added a few of my Sawyers to flesh it out."

Rita describes her alt account Sawyer bunnies as pretty faces to promote her Sunbeamers like arm candy. I joked I wouldn’t mind a Sawyer bunny and Rita answered some aren’t bunnies though. One is a mouse the other is a chinchilla.

Rita Mariner, "You are getting to be as bad as Gil and Brandi. They have already stolen two of my
Sawyers." *laughs*

I told Rita her Ritaness is rubbing off on me.

Rita spends a small fortune on her Sawyers which number over 60. She buys her Sawyers nice
clothes a nice AO along with nifty HUD/s.

Rita also plays "Dungeons and Dragons," the popular role playing game with her buddies with Skype and maptool. I told her I also roleplay with the MLP/Fallout crossover in SL.

Rita Mariner, "Ranchan, Kaarla, me and Windy. Shocky is on hiatus, at the moment." Rita plays bi-weekly as the ranger, which is the only ranged attacker. Rita says the game has been pretty rough as she added this, "I was expecting to die for the 3rd time, last game, but somehow I survived." Later on while DJing, I played "Staying Alive" the disco song for Rita at a Club Cutlass event in her honor.

I asked Rita what her fave hangouts were. She said Club Zero Gravity, the Bubblegum Factory, as well the Lighthouse. Rita said Club Zero Gravity was from one of her older sims called Pockwock.

I noticed that Rita’s Sawyer bunnies were holding the MLP dolls.  Rita told me that you can try once per day at 3 different vendors on a MLP sim. Rita said that Applejack is her fave pony having the most common sense of all the ponies on the MLP show. She also shared this video with me which is really funny.

Rita Mariner seems like a confident leader to inspire her new RFL team and an interesting bunny to hang out with who likes roleplaying and the MLP fad. She changes avatars on occasion, but is almost always a bunny and likes to hang out with her fellow Sunweavers. I’d say the Sunweavers group is lucky to have a great bunny as Rita to be their head bunny.

Grease Coakes

After the Redheads, Not One Team But Two

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was last week in which the Relay for Life team the "Passionate Redheads" officially disbanded. Although this move was expected by some in the group, the reaction was still sadness, even tears. One expressed that the Redheads were her introduction to the Relay For Life, and this move made her feel she was saying goodbye to a good friend.


A few days later, there was another announcement from  Redhead Co-Captain Dusk Griswold, whom felt there was a need for further explanations.


First off, this decision was not done lightly. I gave it a lot of thought ever since the end of last year's Relay, and after several months, my thought was it was time to start fresh.  Lom, Sabine, and I discussed things, and we were in full agreement that it was time for a change.

I do want to make it clear it was not any single event that lead to this decision. I don't feel it is the Redheads way to point fingers or place blame on anyone, and I will not do that. I will say that several events from last year contributed to the decision, but was not the only factor.  A big factor is just plain burnout. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes, and I know Sabine was seriously burned out. I am also burned out, to the point where I may not even join a team this year, although I will still be attending events and helping when needed. 

Even before the decision to disband, there was some talk among some about a new team. And on Friday Jan 25th came an announcement from the Sunweaver community, of whom many of their numbers were part of the Relay team. Rita Mariner, the community's leader, would be forming a new team to take the place of the Redheads.


Sunnies:  For those of you who know what the Relay For Life is, It's the International Fight Against Cancer.  We Relay once a Year to raise money to continue the fight.  Anyways, the Passionate Redheads Team has disbanded, so I have started up a new team, the Sunbeamers, to replace it.  If you are an old Passionate Redheads member and want to join the new team, welcome.  New member, join up?  Contact me.


Rita Mariner wasn't alone in planning a new team. The following day, there was an announcement from Redhead Co-Captain Lomgren Smalls.

I know Rita has already announced her new RFL team following the retirement of the Redheads, but I have also been planning on captaining a new team this year.  That's what happens when we don't talk about our plans, heh.

I am planning on calling the team "Micro Madness," and everyone is welcome to join, micro or not, human or furry/etc.  If you have already joined Rita's team, that's great, and I'm not intending this to be a competition about which team is better.  Let's fight cancer TOGETHER!


These wouldn't be the only two teams to come from the Passionate Redheads. In 2011, a number walked off and formed a team of their own, the "Inspired Dream Walkers." In a 2011 interview, then Co-Captain Daaneth Kivioq commented they thought the team had become too large.

Dusk commented in the second part of her announcement that in her opinion, it didn't matter whom was on what Relay team, as long as they were in the Relay.


... I feel that the RFL and the teams are really about people, not the teams. It doesn't really matter what you call yourselves, we are all in the same fight, and I do hope everyone will still keep fighting. We had a great run, and have a lot to be proud of.  I don't see this as quitting or giving up, but rather a chance to renew and start fresh. It's always been a personal belief that even good things eventually come to an end, but I also feel when one door is closed, another opens. I don't know what the future will bring for us, but I am excited about it, I am looking at this as a chance to move on and do great things.

As long as we Relay and fight cancer with passion, the spirit of the Redheads will live on. Let's never forget that passion, and why we do this. It has been a great honor to have you all on the same team, and I look forward to working with you  again as we keep fighting the good fight.


And so, the former Redheads are starting to adjust to going to the Relay without the banner they'd Relayed under, for some the only one they knew. With the Kickoff still a month and a half away, much can still happen. But what is certain is the struggle to fight cancer goes on, and the former Redheads will be going ahead with the Relay.

The Second Life Newspaper office makes it's home in the HV Community sim, next to the Sunweaver sims.

Bixyl Shuftan

Shockwave and the Sunweaver Movie Night

For a couple of years Shockwave Yareach has been treating the Sunweavers and any guests on their land to a movie night here in the land of Second Life. "Movies in SL? Never!" Well, actually it’s true. Shockwave every Sunday night at 6pm SL time, 9pm east coast time of the US, has picked a movie to show the Sunweavers. The Sunweavers being the furry group headed by Rita Mariner. I joined her group long ago and I never had a reason to drop them.

Long ago when I first learned about Shock’s movie night, the first movie I saw was the "Star Wars Christmas Special." I remembered a friend’s warning in real life to never watch it. Be warned though this movie is completely wretched I was only able to watch it with friends to make fun of it.  It also came complete with retro commercials. In Shock’s words it’s a neat time capsule, "Oh it's epically bad.  But it's so bad it's funny and with all the commercials, it is a great time capsule."

But don’t lose heart. Shockwave plays excellent movies as well as bad from new to old school. One time I mentioned I never saw the old animated movie “The Last Unicorn.” My friend Tantari Kim said it was a good movie that was a little scary for kids. Shockwave was nice enough to play that movie for me. I was surprised as it was like a bottle of old wine that aged well and was a joy to watch.

A couple other movies that come to mind was "UHF," the classic movie with Weird AL the oddball songwriter which makes parodies of popular songs. "Summer Wars" was an excellent Japanese animated film. It explored a near future where everyone had an avatar to explore the Internet, with someone’s avatar wrecking it. The animation was wonderful with amazing action. Shock also played “The Avengers” which just came out on DVD. I saw that in the theater recently and enjoyed watching it a second time.

Shockwave said the movie night for the Sunweavers was started by Jaxx Tardis. Sadly Jaxx was laid off in real life, so Shockwave took over. The pair still work together on the file conversions for every movie. I wished Jaxx good luck on finding a new job.

In addition to being the movie man for the Sunweavers or as Shockwave says “The Sunnies,” Shockwave also composes music parodies. Nydia Tungsen told me that he also wrote a funny song. Everyone might have heard the song “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Shock wrote a parody of it one Christmas season. All I can say was Grandma was drunk and regretted doing something with a reindeer. 

Shockwave has played lots of movies almost every week for his fellow Sunnies. If you would like to check out a movie night ask Rita Mariner for an invite to her group the Sunweavers. Shockwave has started a trend as the Disney cartoon movie "Robin Hood” was played at the furry club Anthroxtacy. Shockwave also takes requests. I mentioned not seeing "The Last Unicorn" and he put it as the movie the following week. He generally plays sci-fi movies, animated movies, and anything that goes with the season. Shockwave announces in the group chat what movie is showing and he’s a friendly guy to boot.

Grease Coakes

Editor's Note: Middle picture from the showing of "Madagascar 3." 

Passionate Redneads’ “Bid Rita Human” Raises Nearly 75,000 Lindens

Rita Mariner, the owner and “Chieftess” of the Sunweaver Estates, has emerged as this year’s champion fundraiser among the Passionate Redneads. But this honor came at a price. Her coat of fur.

Rita, the proud and confident leader of the Sunweavers, has been known to change her avie on occasion, but has always been known for her purple kani bunnygirl look. Following the success of two “Bid Me Human” events held by the Passionate Redheads, Rita volunteered for one of her own. If anyone would get a lot of attention from those among the Passionate Redheads also in the Sunweaver group, surely she would, and in the process raise a lot of Lindens.

The two previous events of this kind had gone differently. The first resulted in the volunteer having to spend a month without his fox avie (a few events excepted). In the second, the three week period the vixen would have had to gone furless was suspended after a larger donation came in to keep her foxy.

One thing was gone to make sure this event would be a bit different from both. There would be two kiosks for the event, one for those voting with their lindens to bid Rita human. The other would be for those donating to keep her a “purple bun-bun.” A minimum of 5,000 Lindens was needed to get her to change, both kiosks counting to the total, plus an additional day for every 1,000 raised. *But* the total on the “human” kiosk had to be at least one linden over the “furry” one. Otherwise the bunny would escape without as much as a moment as human. The event was set for Tuesday from 5 to 7 PM SL time.


Join the Passionate Redheads Relay For Life of Second Life team for “Bid Rita Human ... or NOT!” Tue Jun 28, 2011 5-7 PM SLT Come party with the Redheads while the bidding war for Rita Mariner becoming human begins! 5000 L$ for a week, then 1000 L$ per day after, but only if the human kiosk wins! Which will it be?


There was a little confusion about where the party would be, SL Newser mistakenly hearing it would be held as a special event at Club Cutlass. But instead like the first Redhead’s Bid Me Human it was held at Southern Colorado near Fimi Falls.

And at 5 PM, the Redheads, from the Sunweaver lands and elsewhere, began gathering at Southern Colorado. Friends from other teams were also there, such as Fuzzball from Team Steelhead whom showed up in the enormous wig he had promised to wear if his team went Platinum, this time dyed red. Besides the mix of human and furred avatars, there were a few of the “bronies,” plus one of the Sunweavers went feral fox for the night, musing he thought someone should represent the local wildlife. DJ Nydia Tungsten and Jenn Chant, normally foxy and feline respectively, went human for part of the event to symbolically "pass the torch," Nydia being the previous volunteer for a bid event.

From the start, the Lindens were coming in. Unlike the event with DJ Nydia, the money to bid Rita human was coming in quite fast. The tough landlady wasn’t exactly drawing the same reluctance from those in furry avs to make her go tailless for a while, nor from the normal humans, “Skin her! Skin her!” The $5,000 was soon raised, and Rita was set to spend at least a week as human. But the purple bunny wasn’t going down without a fight. She added some cash to the furry kiosk, sending a message if the Relayers if they wanted a little fun at her expense, they’d have to fork over a lot more for it. And over time, the amount was slowly matched.


It's close (21:09:49 )The bidding is hot and heavy to get Rita human. 26149L's for her to be human, 25153 for her to stay furry ( but she put in 25K in that one). So come help us keep the balance in human favor!!


The party went on for a while with more coming in. Then with ten minutes to spare, Rita put in another six thousand Lindens. Unless almost 5,000 more was raised, her cottontail would get away. So the Redheads and friends reached a little deeper in their pockets. But with one minute to go, they were still 1,000 short. Last-minutes amounts came in from tens of Lindens to a few hundred came in, and at the last second the human kiosk won.


And It's HUMAN! Well, looks like the Sunweavers will be having a human Chieftess for a while. The results are in, 36903 vs 37909. It's Human by a nose. A final total of 74812, which is 76 days as human for Rita. Let's hope she has plenty of sunscreen for those days at the beach. Thanks again for your willingness to take one for the team Rita, or in this case take seventy-six, and Go Redheads!

And as promised, the Sunweaver leader went from bunnygirl to human lady. Like the first event, it was an ethnic look. This time it was East Indian, with a silky gown. She was not exactly acting thrilled over it, despite a bunny whom tried to console her by dancing with her, “I was hoping to get friends to save my fur. Instead they bid me bald. ... 76 days, I think I will kill myself.” Other friends tried to reassure her as well, “Samara knows the best places to shop.” “Thank you to everyone who came over to make this a huge success. Its always scary to put yourself on the block!” “After this, we may end up with lower stakes, such as ‘ Bid me Mousey.’ “(How about) bid me barefoot?” “Heh, I'm already barefoot. (grin)”

The total in US dollars raised was impressive as well, Team Captain Sabine McGettigan announcing, of the total raised this year, “$2199 is what we have raised so far! That's REAL MONEY! Can you believe it? It’s like ... a CAR!” Daaneth Kivioq soon had an announcement of his own, “Actually - its 2500 USD now by the website.” It was also announced that since the founding of the Passionate Redheads team, they had raised a total of $30,500 US dollars.

Already the team was looking forward to further events. Lomgren Smalls announced his new RFL microkitty would soon be available for purchase, in male and female versions. And of course in Sabine’s words, “Less than three weeks to Relay!” The Walk would be soon.

For those of you wishing to meet Rita Mariner to give her a few words of thanks, she frequently appears at Club Cutlass on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 6 to 8 PM.

Bixyl Shuftan