Interview With Grace Devin (Grace Loudon)

By Bixyl Shuftan

Among those in the Relay Committee this year was Grace Devin (account name Grace Loudon) Grace has been with the Relay for the past several years, and this year was on the Committee. Recently, I had a chance to speak with her about how she ended up in the Relay for Life in Second Life and some of the things that's been done here.

We met up at the American Cancer Society Island, just outside the main building. But sitting down at a table proved slightly complicated, "(laughter) I don't like it when there are so many sitting options. Just give me a sit for goodness sakes."

When I asked her about how she found out about Second Life, Grace answered, "Oh my gosh;  that's a long way back to remember (laughter). I was playing 'There,' and friends started talking about a new place to check out: Second Life. You had to sign upm it was still in Beta. I didn't make the BETA cut but I got in soon after and made a short, squat little woman named Edna Thereian. I lasted a month (laughter). Then I left for awhile, and thought one day, 'Let's give this another try,'  and I never left!"

I asked her, "When did you return, and what was the difference?" Grace told me, "I started Valentine's Day in 2004 - I remember I had such a hard time figuring out how to move around and function...and yes, I got a box stuck on my head...that I decided it just wasn't for me.  I'd say maybe 2 months later I came back, made a new avatar and dived in.  Had to have a little more patience. I also had to have a little money. Seemed to make it more of an amiable place to be in."

"How did your first days after your return go?" I asked. Grace answered, "Oh great!  I don't think my experience was any different from any other person new to Second Life.  When I was new, there were no regions.  It was all mainland and it was very small.  The population was a fraction of what it is now.  There were maybe five shops, four clubs. It was easy to make friends and just hang out and goof off all the time. It was fun."

I then asked her, "When did you first come across the Relay in Second Life?" She replied, "I spent a good six years in Second Life without ever having heard of Relay For Life of Second Life.  I didn't even know American Cancer Society was represented in SL.  I spent a great deal of my time building.  I got to the point where I was building for a living:  roleplay regions, stores, etc.  I joined up with a really good friend and we started a virtual business that pulled in real life companies - we built region representations for them.  Smirnoff Vodka, The Tourism Board for Mexico, we did a representation of Cocos Island for its entry into being a new Wonders of the World. We had just finished that build actually, when my friend went into the hospital for surgery.  The night we finished she went in.  She never came home - she passed from complications from treatment for endometrial cancer."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I responded. Grace went on, "Yeah, it was pretty heartbreaking.  She was only 23.  From that, I learned about the American Cancer Society. And a friend was involved in Relay For Llife, and she asked if I would help out with a couple of things. And viola - sucked in!" "So you came in around 2011?" I asked. "Yep," she answered, "right around them.  Just finished my 6th year with Relay"

My next question was, "How did your first season with the Relay go?" Grace replied, "My first season, I was asked to build a Designer Region.  So I did - and I remember that there was some fuss over the fact I built a castle (bottom of page) and it was right in front of the water region where activities were going to be held, (laughter) 'and Grace makes her entrance.'  But it all went well in the end and it was great fun. The next year, Charlene, who took care of the track setup, asked me to be her assistant and I said 'sure, what could go wrong?' (laughter)"

After a chuckle, I asked, "Heh, so what happened next year?" Grace answered. "The next year I ended up, through a series of circumstances, being the person in charge.  And thus I became the "track boss" for the next few years.  This year or this past year I ventured into being a part of the Steering Committee. Though I still got to be on the track, which I love. 'On the track' meaning I made sure it was there, along with all the tools and fun things.  And (I) coordinated the Designer Regions, as well as Activities."

I then asked Grace, "What would you say your best accomplishments as 'track boss' were?" She answered, "Not beating anyone up? I kid! I don't really think of any of it as an accomplishment to be honest.  Everything is just a list of things that need to be done so we can have an awesome Relay Weekend.  If everyone has a good time and complaints are minimal, then I guess I could call that an accomplishment. But I never do that by myself. There is a whole gang of people who are integral to every bit of it."

"For those who don't know," I inquired, "what is your position on the committee?" Grace replied, "I am the Relay For Life of Second Life Co-Lead !  That means I'm like Nuala (Maracus)'s (The Lead) assistant.  One of them, there is also Leala Spires.  We are both Co-Leads. So we're backup, the posse, the crew (laughter). Relay this year was split into three areas - Bring the People, Bring the Fun, and Fund the Mission. I was the 'Bring the Fun' person.  Or as we like to refer to it:  'Bring da Funk.'" "So there was lots of funky music?" I asked. She answered, "Every chance we got! (laughter)"

"It was great being the lead for that area, truly," Grace went on, "Lots of creative thinking, brainstorming sessions, party planning, making things, And the people were phenomenal." I asked her, "What were some of the best examples of creative thinking?" She explained, "Every time we had to plan an event, something awesome came out of it.  We were all about 'breaking that box,' so we strived to create things that were new and never done before, or at least not done the way we did them.  For example, our Paint SL Purple and Kickoff events, normally two separate events.  We combined them into one and made it a Purple Kickoff.  Recognition was a ,department, this year, and we had to think of new, fun ways to recognize people like our volunteers, survivors, etc.  From music playing, eggs, to giant greeting cards that said 'cow in the heck are ya?'  Also, we created the Passport Hud for tools and links that everyone used.  Lots and lots of stuff for Relay Weekend as well."

Grace added, "I have to give a lot of credit to my real-life/Second Life partner as well; Sean.  He put up a lot of the funding that came up for specific script needs that were above my pay grade.  He created some tools for our use and generally exercised a great deal of patience and understanding the entire season." "Nice. Did you both come to the Relay together?" I asked her. She answered, "We did!  He doesn't like titles or being held to a position of responsibility so he has always been my background support.  Doing what he needs to do to help and watch over things when I ask him to: Big, strong silent type (smile)."

"Going back a bit," I told Grace, "you described yourself as into building and roleplaying. What kind of building did you do, and what roleplaying group and area?" She answered, "Well, when I got my first region I created a place called Laura, which is a location known to those who roleplay Gor.  I played a panther chieftess. If you're not familiar with Gor. it's sort of a female native/tribal type.  I was one of the first to play that role too by the way - little feather in my cap.  Anyway I did that for a long time, and during those couple of years I learned a lot about building and terraforming.  Then I got pretty good at it, so I started building for other people.  Eventually, I switched my own roleplay to Medieval Fantasy and built a place called Everwind, which became wildly popular.  By then I was building outside of roleplay quite regularly for a fee.  Roleplay regions for other people, shopping districts, started my own business of prefabs and furniture, etc.  Then got into the building that I told you about with my friend who passed."

"There was a time I was turning business away!" Grace told with enthusiasm, "Then Second Life grew and grew and before you knew it, there were twenty of 'me' out (in) their building regions." "Twenty people who were doing much the same work as you?" I asked. "Well, they may not have built in the same style I did," she answered, "but there was suddenly a lot of people building and it was not longer me among a few.  It was now me among a whole lot.  So the competition to get business increased, as it does regularly in Second Life, and eventually I lost interest.  Especially after the death of Katherine (my friend), I just lost the zeal for it."

I brought up, "What happened with Everwind"? Grace answered, "I closed Everwind after a couple of years and created a Steampunk Roleplay Region called Rivet Town! This also had some moderate success and I really enjoyed building it.  I can't sit still most of the time - my mind is always thinking about what I can do next (laughter). After Rivet Town, I did Everwind 2 - again, had a lot of success. But eventually I grew tired of roleplay and just stuck to Relay." "Sounds like some events, such as the Fantasy Faire, bring back some memories," I suggested. "Oh yes indeed," Grace responded, "I'd love to create for that. Maybe this, next year."

Grace then told. "In fact, as far as big-scale building goes; this island, ACS Island, is the first I've done in a long time." "So you made the builds for ACS Island?" I asked. "Yes," she answered, "What you see here I did.  I asked to do it, and yay!  I was allowed." I panned around, looking at the various structures, "Which of these places required the most planning and work?" "The Memorial Garden, she stated "by a landslide. It was so important to keep it subtle, yet significant.  To make it a place of importance, but not the main feature of American Cancer Society (Island)." "The Catt Gable Garden?" I asked. "Yes," she answered.

Grace explained of the memorial garden, "Catt started the garden on ACS, and she did a lovely job of it.  The problems we ran into however were the abundance of gifts that were left in memoriam.  Also, people felt like the setup created a bit of a maze, which was not intentional but the space was small for it and Catt worked hard to achieve that subtle aspect. She didn't want it to be so obvious when you landed. So I tried to keep a lot of her idea when I re-did it.  And I had to create a system to pay respects with flowers or candles, but not have those items just remain indefinitely. I also wanted to ensure it was a place to reflect, remember, to sit and feel at peace. And of course, memorialize Catt (smile). If you notice, along the path as you walk on the region, there are small portraits lining the walk. Those portraits are all of survivors.  To remind anyone who visits or comes for support, that there is hope. And it doesn't become about a memorial garden or a tribute to those who have passed.  Because many are still here - surviving!"

I then brought up a question that had been on my mind since the Relay Weekend sims first appeared, "Going back to the Relay, you mentioned you were once the 'Track boss.' There were a few people who noticed about the track for this one being several sims shorter than last year." Grace answered, "Yes, we took off some regions this year.  We tried to be smart about the expenses and thought every bit that we spend on what we don't truly need, we take from the donations.  So we dropped regions that just weren't necessary this year. We ended up with every region being sponsored, every region being paid for and not one penny had to come out of the fundraising totals to cover Relay Weekend. The same applied to events like Halfway There and Wrap Up - we decided not to rent a region for any events that really just didn't need it. It's nice to have and pretty to look at when decorated but is it truly necessary?"

I then brought up, "Also, for the first time in a while, the theme for next season wasn't announced at the wrap-up. When will it be announced?" Grace confessed, "Well honestly, I don't know!  We truly don't have the answer yet. There is a lot that we want to put on the table and sort out for next year.  A lot of responsibilities, things that we do or have done that are somewhat unnecessary or obsolete.  We want to try to knock out what takes a lot of time with no real measurable results.  And want very much for the people involved in putting it all together to be able to step away, sleep, not stress (laughter)." "Sounds like there may be some big changes next year," I wondered. Grace responded, "Stingray is an important part of that decision making so at this point we are all just taking a breather then we'll get together and sort it out, figure out the structure for the next year and how/when to proceed.  Some changes may be big, and there could be only one or two small changes.  It's just really, really up in the air at this moment.  But decisions will be made very soon.  I'm sure we'll have a theme!  We just might ask for suggestions later than the norm."

I then brought up the two off-season Relay-related events later this year, Making Strides for Breast Cancer, and the Christmas Expo. Grace smiled, "Absolutely!  Strides is planning a walk soon and I know Nuala already has her Christmas Expo laid out (laughter)." I smiled, "What does she have in store for us?" Grace answered, "Oh gosh, I have no idea!  I don't think I'll be working on it this year, unless she plans to surprise me with a request to help.  We may just have to wait and see!"

I then asked, "So what are your plans for next year?" Grace responded, "I suppose more of this!  (laughter) Every year I keep telling myself I have to turn it over to someone else now.  My world outside of Second life is busy, busy!  I have two kids, I sing, and have a band and we travel a lot, I actually have to curb my schedule for Relay season; my plate is quite full!  But then here I am, right back in the thick of it all (smile)  It's not easy to just step away when you see how much of an impact what you do has on the progress made in finding a cure. I feel like I might miss something if I'm not in the middle of it all."

I finally asked, "Was there anything else you wanted to add?" Grace thought for a moment, "I think there is just one more thing.  I think that everyone gets tired.  We get tired of staying up late, we get tired of trying to make everything right and perfect, we get tired of trying to work with the different personalities of everyone involved in Relay.  We get tired of doing things certain ways, we get tired of changes, we get tired of fighting, of dealing with pain, illness, losing loved ones.  I know that tired - I feel it too.  But the moment we give up because we're tired, is the moment everything we have worked for and want to continue to work for becomes to big to defeat.  I hear this said in a movie once:  'What can you expect to accomplish if you are just one drop in an ocean?' he answer was 'But what is an ocean but a series of drops all together.'  That is Relay, and that is us.  We need to never stop being those drops in the ocean." She paused for a moment, "I may not have gotten it word for word but close enough!"

It was about then we parted ways, "Thanks, Bixyl (smile).  I appreciate that you wanted to hear from me."

Image Credits: IshtarAngel Micheline, Softpaw Sommer

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Mikati Slade

By Bixyl Shuftan

For those going to the Second Life Birthday, one build dominates the grounds of the mega-event, the "Cake Stage" which is so big, it takes four sims to hold it. For three of the past five years, the "Baker" of the stage has been builder and artist Mikiati Slade. Recently, the Newser met up with Mikati, and we sat down for an interview.

"For those newcomers who know you just by this year's Cake," I asked her, "how did you find out about Second Life?"

"I am from Japan," Mikati answered, "and I came to Second Life in 2007. SL was hyped even in Japan at that period. Second Life is everything dynamic and on-time for creating, so I thought I can show people (around the) world my creativity."

"How did your first days here go?" I asked.

"In real life, I learned classical sculpture and then worked for commercial graphics," she explained, "So, the first day of Second Life, I searched art galleries in SL and visited. I enjoyed a lot of artworks. Then I (was) amazed with avatar shape edit and I (was) excited that I can use my sculpture skill for avatar designing. That's my first day of SL." "Sounds like from the beginning, you were doing much building and creating." "Yes. I (was) amazed. Second Life is very wonderful world for creators, more serious than what I was guessing before. So I had ideas to create things."

I then brought up, "What were some of the things you built early on?" Mikati thought for a moment, "Can I rez some things what i built on that period? It's chair and shoes." I told her okay, and after some moments, she made appear some items, "These are first buildings of me, chair and sandals. The chair is something like modern Eames chair." Taking a closer look at the footwear, I commented, "The shoes look a bit detailed for a beginner's work." Mikati told me, "Yes, I worked for commercial graphics with 3D an 2D things. So, I already had some skills about it. And SL is very flexible to making shape from regular prims. So, I really enjoyed to create things, like (a) puzzle."

I then asked her, "What were some of the easiest things to learn, and some of the most difficult?" She answered, "On building in SL, most easy thing is making 'big shape' and 'sketch' in world directly and fast, this is very big advantage. And most difficult thing is, more technical thing specific in SL prim building. It is,  alignment of the parts. It need to use numbers and calculations. This is very important to keep the quality."

My next question was, "About what time was your work starting to get noticed by others?" Mikati told me, "I exhibited first time was, 2008 Burning-Life in SL. I created some pop display together my friend, and Molly Linden gave us a trophy. This was the first time of exhibiting." "I'll bet that got you some attention." "Yes, I thought so, and excited that people saw my works. And that's one of big excitement of SL I realized also showing people around the world in real-time, 3D world."

I brought up, "I recall in 2011, you had an exhibit at the Second Life Birthday that year." She smiled, "Yes exactly! I exhibited at SL8B, 2011, first time as a regular exhibitor. And SL Newser came to interview with me. This was my first time of having connection with SL media. I still remember it was so cool experience." "Oh yes, Grey Lupindo found you and interviewed you." "Yes!"

"And the next year, you ended up being the designer of the cake stage." I asked, "How did that come about?" Mikati answered, "Yes, I got opportunity to build the cake stage of SL9B. A staff, KT Shakumi, IMed me and she told me. She told me that she already visited my another exhibitions, like 'Kuru Kuru World' at MiC: Museums of Rome Capital, and 'PICO PICO LIFE' at LEA: Linden Endowment for the Arts. They liked my work, I guess."

"What was the inspiration for the cake's design?" I asked. Mikati responded, "About the 9B cake, this year one?" "Well, all of them." "Okay, can I tell you about it one by one?" "All right." "I built SLB Cake Stage three times. And each have different inspirations and concepts. About 9B, it was the first time, and I just tried to make it to express celebration mood using my style. " "How would you describe this style?" "My style is using a lot of retro-console game style pixel icons in 3D. I designed the style because such pixel things can be one of primitive symbols of current digital age. And the 'cubic' shape can be done with perfect shape, even in regular SL prim period. Also, it reflects Japan pop-culture, like Nintendo games. So I thought this is rational style for me."

My next question was, "What were some of the reactions to the first cake stage?" She answered, "About the 9B Cake, people had interest about such pixel 3D things in the huge size. And also the mood was very optimistic and pop, which was not so usual in SL before. So, I think people enjoyed it. ... SL12B Cake Stage, I created a lot of icons for this time and tried to create mood of dreamy. SL13B Cake Stage, the SL13B official theme is 'Shared Adventure.'  For the cake, I defined the Cake Stage is the treasure of the birthday party and 'goal of the adventure.' So I combined a lot of coins, treasure boxes, and jewels with the Cake."

I then brought her attention to the badge she was wearing, "I see that your SLB card says 'Baker.' I take it that's one of a kind?" Mikati told me, "Yes, the badge I wear is an official thing of SLB, and it says 'Baker,' SLB Cake Stage builder called like this. One optional thing I can tell, the role name 'Baker' is not just a 'cool name.' On birthday party, person who make the birthday cake have not to open the 'oven' until done to bake, even if people complain to open it!" "So people were asking you where it was when other builds were going up?" I asked. "Sorry my English," Mikati answered, "You mean, if people wonderd when I finish the cake?" "Yes." "Okay, yes, the SLB cake is the biggest opportunity for Second Life builders, I am thinking. And every time I did all of my best to make good thing seriously. So I spent all of time until the final deadline. And I think many people were getting tired to wait for it, heehee. Some people actually asked me about it. ... I also understand their feelings. So I told the people, 'I am sorry.' But I did not open the oven, heehee."

I chuckled a little at the giggles, then brought up, "And after a couple years, you were asked to do the cake again, and then the year after that." "Yes," she answered, "I think this is pretty rare thing of SLB. Because I heard that every year different builders build it. I think cake builder who built three times, I am the first."

Changing the subject slightly, I asked, "Besides the cake stage, what else have you been working on recently?" Mikati responded, "Recently, I joined an art project of a university teacher from Germany, It is purposed to archiving SL artists works for the future. Virtual world is still early period, I think, And in the future, the Second Life culture would be a great material for researching how virtual world started. So I was interested in it and joined."  "That is interesting. How has this art project gone so far?" "It is managed by a person, Art Blue, in SL. The project already exhibited at LEA semi-official SIM, and in near future, the buildings will go to OpenSIM and bring to real life art biennare."

My next question was, "Of the SL13B, what were some of your favorites among the other builds?" She answered, "All of the buildings at SL13B is a part of the celebration, so I love all of the builds! And this time, I love all the performance stages especially. All the stages did really great job!"

I then asked her about her appearance, "I notice you have a few items on you right now, those gloves, the cake hat, the heart-shaped glasses, and the flower." She smiled, "Oh yes, heehee! The heart sunglasses is what I wear since 2011 or more earlier, my trademark I am thinking. It inspired from a move Lolita by Cublic. The hat is gift of the SL13B cake stage. I made this and I think already 2000 - 3000 people got it."

Another question was about her native language being Japanese, "Earlier you brought up language. You don't seem to be having much trouble with English. Has it been a difficult language for you to learn?" Mikati agreed, "English is my big trouble point, yes. Usually, most Japanese people are not good at English, and me also almost zero skill about English when I came to Second Life. But SL gave me amazing big opportunity to learn English while having communication with western people, and my English skill improved very much. Learning language is very big advantage of SL also I think."

"About how many other Second Life users are Japanese?" I asked. She thought for a moment, "I am not sure the exactly numbers of population about it, but I think Japanese Second Life users are many, like, European countries. Japanese SL users are usually enjoy together, but having communication with Western SL users is not so often." "So interactions between most Japanese and most US and European users are uncommon?" I asked. "Yes, I think so," Mikati answered, "This because wall of language." I then questioned, "In what interactions there are, have there been many misconceptions, mistaken ideas, of Japan and it's people among Westerners?" She answered, "Most of Japanese people is respecting western culture very much, and always interest to have communicate with western people even in SL. But also Japanese people think that making mistake on English can be rude with western, I think. So, usually become shy I feel."

I then asked, "Did you have any other future plans besides the art project you mentioned?" Mikati answered, "I developed my style for everyone even out of Second Life. So my future plan is , showing and making enjoy people out of SL. This is my current plan and dream." Wondering about her noted build, "Might we see another Mikati Cake Stage in the future?" She responded, "I am thinking my style is perfect for SLB cake. so i want to make it in the future again of course. But also the cake is good opportunity for another builders. So, It also nice if another builder will make it, I think."

Mikati offered to show me the scale model of the Cake Stage,  "I can guide you, cake mini scale model, if you like." We went over to a skybox in her sim she which used as a building area, "As we see, this is 1/10 scale model of this year cake. I designed and worked in this scale, then stretch to the real scale. 1/10 scale is easy to see and easy to calculate real size." She then asked me to follow her inside, "Okay, please follow me a little. ... This is interior part of the cake. Now we are 10-times giants, heehee!"

She directed my attention to a small stick several inches tall, "Do you see the red small stick here? This is the avatar size in 1/10 scale." I asked, "So if someone is 1.6 meters high, this would be .16 meters?" "Yes, exactly! But many times, SL avatars are near 2 meters. So i made it as 0.2 meters. Heehee!"

I then asked her if she had seen some giant avatars in the official Cake Stages. She answered, "Oh yes! I have seen once such very large avatar at the cake few days ago! It was nice humor for the cake, because the cake is huge. Heehee!" It did cross her mind that it made everyone else look like her scale model, "The viewing looks similar with real size when you hold your camera to the red small stick."

She then brought me to a platform where there was a model of last year's Cake Stage, the one for the SL12B.  "This themed '12,'" she told me, "The twelve candles have twelve icons." At one point, she compared them to the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.

I then brought her attention to two huge pillars on the other side of the sim. She answered they were for the art archiving project she mentioned earlier, "Oh yes. These are the things of the art project that themed archiving SL arts. The tower shape outside is given parts. Artists build things using their typical style inside it." Of her sim, there was no house or relaxation area, "This sim is just for my private work place ..."

It was about time for the interview to come to a close, "Did you have anything else that you wanted to add?" Mikati's answer to that was, "I just want to add a thing (for the residents), I thank you to have opportunity of featuring the cake, and thank you for contributing for SL culture for long time."

It was about then the interview came to a close. Mikati and I would later meet up again at the "Cake Explosion" in which she brought down her build in a spectacular manner as a public event, as well as her making an appearance at the SL Newser beach party. While it's unclear whether she'll be building another Cake Stage soon, no doubt this cheerful designer is far from finished.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Alejandra Jumanya of Wetherby's

By Bixyl Shuftan

I recently interviewed Alejandra Jumanya. She is known on Second Life as the owner and clothes designer for the Wetherby's store, with the display name of Mrs. W. But what makes her time on the Grid even more notable is that she is able to come inworld and operate a business despite her real-life troubles in her home country of Venezuela.

"This has been my baby for 7 years," Alejandra told me of her store, "All this time, I wanted to bring some class to SL and to design, because it's a passion of mine."

She went on to say things have been rough lately, "About 10 days ago I made the resolution to close my store.  ... the past few months have been specially rough for me in real-life. Things have changed drastically, 2 years ago you could exchange $1 for Bs.4,30. Today you exchange $1 for Bs.800."

"That's quite a value drop," I commented.

"So my priorities have shifted," Alejandra stated, "Before I went on to close the store and open a new (one) ... more refined... with less objects, with higher prices.. and paying clientele... I thought maybe I should give it another shot at getting a bit more sales and trying not to close my shop. I was accepted in the SLF&O group, which has like 65,000 customers. And I made a plan to give (the store) a real second chance. If by December things don't change, then I will close and open a new shop."

"It is, I think, one day in Second Life, is like the equivalent to one week in real-life." She laughed a little,"One week in Second Life equal to one month in real-life, one year in SL is like ten in real-life ... regarding work and friendships."

"How did you find out about Second Life?" I asked. Alejandra answered, "On TV, there was an article on Anshe Chung, the virtual land baroness. I thought it would be fun.  This is actually my third avatar.  The first one I got, I tried a fox costume and I couldn't find a way to take it off.  The second time I couldn't get out of the newbie zone." "And the third time was the charm?" I asked. "Exactly," she answered. "I met some friends and together we were able to get rid of our newbie looks and into our trashy ones!"

"Why do you say they were 'trashy?' " I asked her. She answered, "Most clothes were trashy 7 years ago.  It was hard to find nice everyday clothes that made you look nice, elegant, simple and yet, beautiful. That's why I started the store and the 'freebie of the day.' I created a four story building with 8 mega prims, I would send a notice to a fashion group, rez my building in a sandbox and let it there for 4 hours until it was sent back.   That's how I got money to pay for my first week of rent.  I seriously didn't think I would last a month."

"Did you learn to make clothes," I asked, "or did you have a friend making them?" Alejandra answered, "Oh I made them!!! I made them with mismatching seems, necks larger one one side than the other and colors that faded on the wrong places.  Luckily I have improved since then.  But that's the beauty of Second Life. You are always learning something new. It's a great exercise for the mind.  Making mesh is as hard as it was learning to make clothes in SL back then."

"So you found mesh clothes a challenge?" I questioned. Her answer, "It is, I have no formal background as a designer, so to suddenly start working with Marvelous Designer, Zbrush, Maya, Mudbox, Rhino Gold and photoshop amongst other programs it's hard.  You will always be learning something new or a new way to do things faster and nicer."

"So what have been some of your more noted designs?" I asked next. Alejandra replied, "I made over 3000 designs so far, it would be almost impossible to choose.  But I do have some personal favorites.  It has been a wonderful journey."

Alejandra then began to describe some of her real-life difficulties, "The most difficult thing I find, when it comes to designing is to separate yourself from real-life and what is going on. I remember vividly almost two years ago, I was designing a beautiful red gown, with lace.  So feminine and exquisite.  While outside my window I could hear people screaming profanities at the National Guard Police, gunshots, tear gas coming into my home.  My daughter in her crib, sleeping quietly.  I sat there for a few seconds, not knowing if i should cry, keep designing or do something.  I finally snapped awake, took my daughter and sat in a mattress we had set in the hallway floor between the bedrooms we had set up for emergencies.  It is not safe to be near windows.  Sat there with the baby sleeping in my arms.  Once the gunshots were over, I put her back in her crib and I sat back in my computer.  After all that, how could I go back in the zone and create something beautiful? That's the hardest part of designing."
It took me some moments to respond, "That's quite an experience." "It is, indeed," she answered, "I normally take about six to eight hours waiting in the street every Saturday to buy food at the supermarket, and not what I want, but what I am so lucky to find.  So, when I get home, I am tired, both physically and emotionally to come to Second Life and finish that cute little black dress with large logo embossed dress i was working on the previous night.  But after a few hours, some warm tea and music, I am ready to start working."

"That sounds pretty tiring," I commented, then asked, "Have you met many others from  your country in Second Life?" "I belong to some Venezuelan groups," Alejandra answered, "and met a friend named Nazirah Avro, she is an amazing singer!!! But I think life is so hard here, we (Venezuelans) try to blend with people from other nationalities to be able feel and act like any other person here in SL."

"Interesting about the singer," I then switched to a topic related to her real-life, "You mentioned the inflation rate of your country earlier. Was that making it more difficult to do business in Second Life?

"It certainly changes things" she told me, "You should never negotiate in a position of weakness, the political and economical turns Venezuela is having in real-life, make you stand in a position of weakness.  Making SL money was a game for me a few years back, today (it) is the difference between my daughter having a Christmas present or not.  So I work harder, but also, I do it for the money, when before I did it just because I liked it.   That is stressful.  Basically what I do, is gather all my sales, and buy in America things that are very hard to get here, for instance baby shampoo, Tylenol, deodorant, sometimes toilet paper, clothes and toys for my daughter and ship them over to myself here, and do it again next year.   That is quite stressful."

My next question was, "Do you ever mention Second Life to your friends in real life?" Alejandra's answer was, "My husband knows, so does my best friend and my mother.  But it's not safe to tell people you make money in US currency, because others might get the wrong impression and you end up in a express kidnapping or even worst, one of your relatives."

My response was to wince, "Ouch, that's something we in North America don't usually think about, except worrying about our kids."

"Things are insane here," she told me, "For instance, Jails are handled by the prisoners.  They move the drugs, kidnappings, from jail.  They also have complete power inside the facility, only letting guards come into certain areas.  Some prisoners are 'fritos' which means they are weak and they must pay their PRAN (jail leader) a royalty every week if they want to stay alive.  Some jails are so big they have three or four prans.   One of this prans got an early release recently for 'good behaviour,' He slaughtered the other two prans days before he got out and left his brother in charge of the prison.  Now his brother gets married and throws an spectacular party inside prison. Prisons have nightclubs, booze, even pools."

"That's hard to imagine here in North America," I told her.

"Oh yes, things are crazy here," Alejandra went on, "My friend's neighbor goes out to the bakery for fresh bread, two blocks from his house.  He finds a friend and they stay to talk.  Two kids in a motorcycle tried to rob his friend and he tells the kids they need to listen to the Lord, because the Lord died for them! and they shot my friend's neighbor right in the neck, he tried running away from them and died in the middle of the street.  They made it very clear they don't like to be lectured."

"Two brothers, 22 and 28 years old, are in a McDonalds with their kids and wives. They came from the christening of one of their kids, the youngest was talking to his dad who lived in another city.  Two guys came into McDonalds to rob them. They brothers got nervous because their dad was listening on the other end, the thugs saw that and they shot them both, one was killed the other one on the way to the hospital.  Their dad was devastated."

"Things like that happen everyday.   A lady left her home at 2 AM to make a line to buy food, she carried with her Bs.2000 (roughly US$2,5) to buy government priced food for her three kids who she left alone at home.  On the way out a kid tries to rob her but she recognizes the kid and says 'Oscar, I know your mom, I knew you since you were a kid.' In the struggle, the kid shoots her in the arm (aiming to the heart) and then on her jaw (aiming to her brain), she played dead and he left.  She crawls back home, wakes up her kids, they call an ambulance that doesn't come, so they put the agonizing woman in a motorcycle and take her to the near medical center, with her jaw in several pieces.  I truly hope she was able to recover."

I was a bit of a loss for words, "Sounds like quite a mess. Any sign of improvement at all?

Alejandra simply answered, "I hope so."

After some moments of quiet, I broke the silence, "Well, I certainly hope that improves for you ...  assuming all goes well, what are your future plans for the store?"

"I'm not sure," she answered, "Things are changing drastically fast here.  What I would like to do is move to America with my family and start my own organic makeup line, which I already do in real-life here.  I make makeup from scratch using only organic fruits, veggies and minerals I extract from the soil myself and process at home.  I have been working on this for years now, and hopefully when we live in America I will be able to open my own makeup line. I guess I will always play Second Life, because I have so many friends here and I truly love designing, so I am not going anywhere, no matter where in the world I live."

"Well, hope those go as planned," I then asked one last question, "Was there anything else that you wanted to add?"

Alejandra answered, "I would like to thank you for this opportunity, and all my customers, thank you for your support and love.  You can join our group and get the freebie of the day here, or come visit us at our mainstore http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pergola/158/9/22."

It was about this time the interview came to a close, "Thank you again Bixyl."

Alejandra's store is still running at Pergola (158/9/22), has a page on Marketplace, and has it's own blog at http://wetherbysfashion.blogspot.com .

Bixyl Shuftan

Ub Yifu – RFL Designer Builder

By DrFran Babcock

My first awareness of Ub Yifu came during the 2009 Burning Life. We were still calling it Burning Life, and not Burn back then, and I still recall the sense of wonder I experienced upon encountering Ub’s Gulliver installation. “How did he do that?” was the question everyone asked upon seeing his larger than life Gulliver, tied to the playa.

I was thrilled and surprised to find that Ub Yifu was doing a designer build right next to my team’s camp. For those who don’t know: Every year for Relay for Life most teams build a campsite, but some residents are invited to do a build on the annual theme (this year: 100 Years of Hope), and these are called Designer Sims.  As soon as I realized that Ub was our neighbor, I ran over and asked him for an interview. He could not have been more pleasant.

By the way, if you run into Ub Yifu, you will never forget him. Bryn Oh, well-known Second Life™ artist, described his avatar as her favorite. He is a recreation of the famous Picasso Don Quixote and Sancho Panza drawing, complete with both characters! He is a original and creative fellow, and I was happy he agreed to talk with us:

SL Newser: How did you find out about Second Life™? What has kept you here? 

Ub Yifu: I first heard about Second Life™ in 2007 on French TV. They were saying that anybody could build anything in 3-D there, so I wanted to try[smiles]. And… guess what? It was true! So, I got addicted to building things and haven’t stopped for six years now—starting from the basic prim to mesh now.

 SL Newser: How did you come to make statues in Second Life? 

Ub Yifu: I came here to create things, but since I was painting as a hobby in Real Life I started earning a few Lindens importing my Real Life painting into SL. Then, I decided to make the 2-D paintings in 3-D, and I started reproducing famous painting from Matiss , Picasso, Magritte, and DEGAS in 3-D. That lead me to reproduce real life sculptures 

SL Newser: Tell me about your workflow. How do you go from an idea to a three dimensional Second Life™ object ? What tools do you use? 

Ub Yifu: I usually start from pictures and use several 3-D software programs to do the shapes I want. Now meshes are changing the game, and open many windows to 3-D creation.

SL Newser: How did you arrive at your concept for the build you have made for Relay for Life? 

Ub Yifu: Well, I had some help! Ipunin Pera is very aware about the cancer fight with her own charity and she gave me a lot of good advice. The theme is 100 years of the fight against cancer, and I  in the present time sims,  so I tried to symbolize the research from all over the world with a giant microscope studying earth looking like an atom. Around this, the researchers are working hard and helping people. On the ground the people from all over the world gather to do the fight! (Note: You have to come and stand with Ub Yifu’s statues, and experience the feeling of being part of the fight against cancer.)

SL Newser: What would you like the rest of the world to know about Second Life™? 

Ub Yifu: It’s really a place where you can make your dreams come true, especially for people who like to be creative. 

SL Newser:  What other plans do you have for the future?  

Ub Yifu: I’m working on new mesh statues all the time now, and the new thing on my sim is the exhibition of a new Flickr artist doing Second Life™ pictures every month. I found a great community of creative people there and I’m glad to share some space with them. During July 2013 come see Bamboo Barne’s pictures.

I could not agree with Ub any more. I went to the sim where he has his gallery, and ended up exploring and playing in his Gallery for over an hour.

Ub Yifu’s Relay for Life build is a colorful series of paths that lead to a giant research microscope. There are also rides to play on, and multitudes of settings for taking of pictures. As the sign in the playground  there reads: Imagine a world without cancer.

Where to find Ub Yifu’s work:

Ub Yifu’s Designer build at Relay For Life (opening July 13, 2013): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/RFL%20IMAGINE/34/147/21

SKY SCULPTURES GALLERY: https://my.secondlife.com/ub.yifu/picks/077bf72b-71c7-df01-d9d5-876953e804e4

Ub Yifu also does custom work, and can recreate your avatar as a three dimensional sculpture.

Also:
Gulliver statue at Burning Life 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99404124@N00/3936144076/in/photolist-6ZPLv3-7KDPBK

DrFran Babcock

King Kong vs Mega-Macro Lomgren

Following The Walk for Relay for Life, for a few days until the teardown people continued to have fun at the various sims around the track. People explored around, collected freebie souvenirs, or just got together for a party. The various Relay groups would hold one, and anyone else was free to drop in.

On Monday July 19th, the Relay Rockers group were holding a bash at their camp, which looked like it was set up for a celebration, with it’s picnic tables, balloons, stuffed animals, cupcakes and cakes. Standing above it all, one giant multilayer cake, with pink icing, candles, and a slice cut out. People were partying across the camp, including a few on the giant cake.

I dropped in along with a few others from the Passionate Redheads. Among them. one of the two main builders of the Redhead camp, Lomgren Smalls. Lomgren is unique among Second Life residents as the “tiny kitty” avatar he uses almost all the time is just six inches in height. A skilled builder, a few years ago he tried pushing the limits of Second Life’s physics by seeing just how small he could make an avatar that could move more or less normally, being able to do most common actions except dance. It’s certainly been a conversation-breaker, and in a job fair in Second Life even helped him get his current real-life job.

We enjoyed the party, dancing to the music when we heard, “Big ape.” And looking up, what came into view was a big mass of muscle and hair: a macro gorilla avatar, probably King Kong size. It danced alongside the rest of us for a little while, then I saw one girl appear in it’s huge hand, as if doing one of Fae Wray's scenes, “EEEEEEEEE!! It’s got me!! Help! Heeeellllppppp!!”

Someone decided to help in his own way. “I’m going to put that gorilla in his place,” Lomgren commented, then zipped away. A minute later, something appeared, towering over the gorilla. It was Lomgren, but in a much, much, larger avatar: a mega-macro. He had also decided to try to take avatar building in the other direction, building a huge feline that put most macros to shame. I didn’t get a measure of just how tall it is, but it was probably over 100m in height.

Lomgren stuck around for some minutes. One guy teleporting in found himself between the huge avatar’s toes. The girl held by the ape soon dropped from it’s hand, and soon the gorilla was gone from the party, not wanting to look like an organ-grinder monkey next to the mega-macro. After the hairy primate was gone, Lomgren disappeared again, then came back as his usual six-inch high self, “I prefer being this height.”

The master builder had his chance to stand tall literally as well as figuratively.

Bixyl Shuftan