It Came From Bellisseria Chat: "The Priest Who Poofed"

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Several days ago, I had Bellisseria chat open, when I noticed someone message, "Hi. Anyone having a problem with a intruder dressed as a priest he rezzed in my home after i turned secruity off he just stood then poofed, 1 day old? I have been here a few years never had this before." Someone else responded, "Are you the first person to own your house? He may have had it first and didn't change where his home is." A third didn't think so, "If he was 1 day old, he probably hadn't been there before." "True that."

Others were chuckling, "Oh, emm, gee." "Wow!" "He came to bless your home." "It was 'The Bishop!'" "Quick...engage panic mode.....someone was in someone elses house ? (laughs)" "Good story material, though, 'The disappearing priest.' You could turn it into a Bellissarian Mythic Trope." "Won't someone please think of the prim children!" "'The Priest Who Poofed' sounds like an Agatha Christie mystery."

The homeowner continued, "He walked and followed me." So did the comments, "You can always ban him. Do you have his name?" "No, I was so shocked, I didn't think." "He prolly never came back." "EIther turn security back on or ban him by name in your land settings." "Security back on." "(He) reminds me of that creepy *** guy who used to slime around....." "(laughter) awww I remember ***, he was funny. People lost their collective cr*p over him." "You're sure right about that (big grin)." "Some guy named ***....used to be a 'peeping tom' and posted all his snaps on Imgur/tumblr (I can't remember which)." "Oh emm gee. Because that's totally not weird at all." "It was funny.......people were losing their cr*p left, right and centre." "There is no catagory for how gross that is." "What? running round Bellisseria being a 'Peeping tom'? I mean it takes all sorts but still. the reaction from folk was hilarious,  like he'd broke into their real-life homes and pee'd on their kids." "Even in second life there is a thing called privacy, some people should remember that, others should grow up." "Bravo ****....well said!"

The conversation soon movied on to other topics. Whatever became of "The Priest Who Poofed," I would not know.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

People

A Look At The Sci-Fi Expo

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

From Friday October 8 to Sunday October 17, 2021, the Sci-Fi Expo took place in Second Life. Subtitled "A Journey to New Eden," it was a celebration of science-fiction (and to some extent fantasy), it also had the purpose of raising money for Making Strides for Breast Cancer. 

The event took place in six temporary sims near the permanent American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society 2 sims. They were Aperture, New Eden, Arecibo II, The Remnant, Genisis Spire, and The Old Dam. For those not familiar with the "Portal" game, "Aperture" was the name of the corporation. The "IPink ICan" sim was host to the "I Pink I Can" event that took place at the same time. 

One minor complaint I've heard from a few Relayers is that some of the Sci-Fi Cons and Expos seemed a little plain in how they were made, compared to events like the Relay Weekend. 

This wasn't so much the case this time. The sims appeared to me to be much better done.

Lately, my schedule can be occasionally unpredictable. While I wasn't at the opening day of the Expo, I was able to be at several events the following day on Saturday the 9th. From 10 AM to Noon SL time at the main stage in Aperture, "DJ Kayla and the Roos," members of the Roos team of the Relay for Life, were playing onstage to a crowd.

 

 "Who you gonna call?" The Roos in this case.

From 1 to 4PM, there were the "Combat Bumper Boats ... Grab your friends and your water wings for some fun on the high seas!  Rez a bumper boat and challenge your friends to see who will remain dry, and who will be all wet behind the ears.  This is definitely a fun time you don't want to miss!"

The rules were fairly straightforward. Click on the boat rezzer, sit on the boat, select a color, then go at it in a free-for-all with no score. 

The boats when rezzed all started with 100 points of health. When they hit the shore, they lost a little health. When hitting another boat, they would lose more health. If there was a method to make another boat lose more health than you, I never did find it. Occasionally, there was a cartoon "smash," "zoing," "boing," or some other animated effect floating in the air.

There was also a water gun one could squirt at other players. I wasn't sure if it did a tiny amount of damage, or none at all. But we were using them anyway.

From 6 to 9PM that night was the superhero-themed "Bat Dance." As the narrator put it, "Don your super suit and enter the depths of the Batcave for a party that will even put a smile on the face of the Dark Knight!  It's a super night of dancing that will be absolutely heroic!" 

We ended up having a, super, time.

 On Tuesday at 8PM, it was DJ Mattie's turn on stage.

 "It's time for another event at the Sci-Fi Expo Main Stage. Performing at 8PM is the talented DJ Mattie. 'Shi was raised on country music, blues, bluegrass and classic rock. Shi still has a great passion for these genres, country being hir favorite. Music has always gotten hir though some of the worst times in hir life, and now shi love to share some of these wonderful tunes with folks here on SL' Come on over as we kick cancer's behind and have a fun time doing it."

 Someone passed around a few hula hoops. 

And there was quite a diverse audience.

I also decided to give the Sci-fi Expo quest a try. 

The plot of the quest involves Earth trying to broker a peace between the various factions of the colony world of New Eden. But the global communication network is down, and one of the research assistants from Earth has gone missing with a data crystal with information the delegation needs to get things going.

But as anyone whom has done these kinds of quests before, it wasn't that easy. Even when you find the research assistant, your quest has only just begun. She plugged an ancient computer into the communication network. 

In trying to find out what's going on, you discover a powerful artificial intelligence in the alien computer, which doesn't necessarily put Humanity's interests as priority.

You also run into the Greslok, the planet's native race.

 Much of their home area is littered with starship debris, which the human government has promise to clean up, eventually.

As it turns out, the Greslok live simply now, but long ago were more advanced and created a powerful artificial intelligence they ended up going to war with one another resulting in the destruction of technology, including the AI.

With the AI now seemingly reactivated, you go to turn off the main source of it's power.

You don't succeed in turning off the power. But you do get the artificial superinteligence to think about it's situation. In the end, a truce is agreed to, and it agrees to share some teraforming technology.

That's pretty much what I saw at the Sci-fi Expo. I did hear on Discord that on the day before it's close, it had raised more than 1,750,000 Lindens, or $7000 US dollars.

 There was more of course. Wildstar Beaumont would take a number of pictures and post them on his Flickr. And one can check out more on the blog (here). 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

RFL: MamaP's "Poo Chat"

By Bixyl Shuftan

One of the fun things about the Relay for Life Volunteers group is the chatter. It's fun, lighthearted, and sometimes you get comedy gold. Stingray Raymaker's been the subject of it twice with his "pink pantyhose challenge" in 2011, and his "pinky dinky" avatar challenge in 2015. But recently, MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum), found herself the center of a storm of chuckles thanks to a typo.

*  *  *  *  *

[18:33] Selene (selene Jashan): Group Notice Sent by: selene Jashan
5 Days of Relay
Kudos to Head Hunters for such a successful Jail & Bid today at 5 Days of Relay .   For this Jail and bid they raised 164250 total tonight!!   Right now just the Rally has raised 509538.   This Community is totally committed to kicking cancers ass!!!

WTG MC Community!!!
[18:34] V I X X Y (Vixxy Shackleton): Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooot
[18:34] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): Way to gooopooo, That is amazing!!
[18:34] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): gooopooo?????
[18:34] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): HAHAHAH
[18:34] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): GOOOOOOOOO
[18:34] Dianna Wycliffe: LMAO Mama!!
[18:34] Selene (selene Jashan): LOL
[18:35] Dianna Wycliffe: I love your typo's
[18:35] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): as Vixxy knows, I am old HAHAHAH
[18:35] Selene (selene Jashan): and for those that dont know Mama is one of those drivers that has rage issues LOL
[18:35] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): I do!
[18:35] V I X X Y (Vixxy Shackleton): HAHAHAHA Mama
[18:35] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): guilty!
[18:35] Trager Alter: welcome to my world - lol
[18:35] Aryon Dagger: OMG!!! Mama!!!
[18:36] Random Darrow (Random Padar): LOL Trager
[18:36] Nikki Mathieson: hahahahaha  I get back just in time to read mama's HILARIOUS typo
[18:36] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): too funny!
[18:37] Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (Trader1 Whiplash): wahts wrogn wiht mamas typign?
[18:37] Bixyl Shuftan chuckles
[18:37] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): [18:34] MamaP Alter: Way to gooopooo, That is amazing!!
[18:37] Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (Trader1 Whiplash): and nikki JUST Got back after it?
[18:37] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): go poo????
[18:38] Nikki Mathieson: perfect timing...  I mean...
[18:38] Melina Firehawk: Sounds like someone had a brown out
[18:38] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): MamaP Beacon Teaches Typing
[18:38] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): focus on the amazing part, over 150,000L raised at a Jail and Bid today, at Relay Goes MC, lots of people in jail!
[18:38] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): ok.. who gave Mama xlax
[18:38] Melina Firehawk: CODE BROWN!!!
[18:38] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): OMG Lizzy!
[18:38] Selene (selene Jashan): <-----gets a="" big="" br="" ol="" out="" pen="" red="">[18:38] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): LMAO Selene!
[18:38] Trager Alter: props to our 5 day lead , selene, and her team for unifying the MC community - they are closing in on $6,000 as a community and still 3 more days to go
[18:38] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): well  narcan won't fix that
[18:39] Melina Firehawk: Let's hope that was a Baby Ruth
[18:39] Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (Trader1 Whiplash): damn too bad we dont have you on at midnight this year
[18:39] Aryon Dagger shuffles off
[18:39] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): it is amazing hoe we all love a good poo joke
[18:39] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): I bet you Mama's face is brighter than tomato red
[18:39] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): Hey Aryon
[18:39] Selene (selene Jashan): "how" LOL
[18:39] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): It is amazing what?
[18:39] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): OMG now I did hoe for how HAHAHAHAH
[18:39] Nikki Mathieson: who you callin a hoe
[18:40] Nikki Mathieson: you might need to rest
[18:40] Melina Firehawk: I used to work at an outdoor pool.  We had other ways of saying poop in the pool!
[18:40] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): I am going to stop typing, LOL
[18:40] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): Yep. Confirmed: MamaP Beacon Teaches Typing will be released this summer
[18:40] Selene (selene Jashan): waves the red pen and grins LOL
[18:40] Nikki Mathieson: LMAO
[18:40] Bixyl Shuftan: garden equipment now? :-)
[18:40] Random Darrow (Random Padar): Melina lol
[18:40] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): That should be an even bigger hit than Beavis Macon Teaches Typing
[18:40] Melina Firehawk: I kid you not, Random!  My boss learned it at a convention for pool managers
[18:40] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): I ain't scared of no PoPo. Call the PoPo hoe. CALL THE POPO HOE!
[18:40] Selene (selene Jashan): Ok Nikki here ya go,  you get the honor next typo LOL
[18:40] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): madonna HAHAH
[18:41] Melina Firehawk: We should probably be careful or she'll give us the royal flush :-P
[18:41] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): ok Nikki you need to take control here
[18:41] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): change the subject HAHAH
[18:41] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): hugs mama
[18:41] Nikki Mathieson: hahaha I think you're doing GREAT
[18:41] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): HUGS!
[18:41] Aryon Dagger: Well on the same theme ... Trump is in England
[18:41] OldeSoul Eldemar (OldeSoul Resident): and stop the entertainment?
[18:41] Melina Firehawk: Don't you just love toilet humor?
[18:42] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): so what about those sims!!
[18:42] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): have you ever read the tweets the Scotish made about Trump
[18:42] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): oh my god
[18:42] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): are they looking amazing or what??
[18:42] OldeSoul Eldemar (OldeSoul Resident): In the shire here is no p in the ool
[18:42] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena) sees the toilet talk, starts polishing up her gasmask
[18:42] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): I think discussing Mama's typing skills is a safer topic.. BARELY.
[18:43] MamaP Alter (MamaP Beerbaum): LOL
[18:43] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): well  youd thin as lon as we been here
[18:43] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): we shoud know typonese
[18:43] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): Yes, but, the two that Mama graced us with in the last few minutes are just priceless
[18:44] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): lol true  true
[18:45] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): Mama is priceless
[18:45] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): Yes she is. Even more priceless than her typos
[18:45] Melina Firehawk: Gotta love it when something happens and the chat runs rampant with puns
[18:45] Melina Firehawk: The longest I've seen it happen is actually about 2 hours
[18:46] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident) sets a tray of tortilla chips and guacamole  and avocado verde dips
[18:46] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): Holy Cow.. the MC 5 Day Jail and Bail just raised 162, 149
[18:46] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): woooooooooo
[18:46] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): Yay
[18:48] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): question
[18:48] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): why do mice hate water?
[18:50] OldeSoul Eldemar (OldeSoul Resident): warning - those typos are contagious
[18:55] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): lizzy - why do mice hate water??
[18:56] Xyza Armistice: they cant swim ?
[18:56] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): maybe she's asking b/c she doesn't know??!
[18:56] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): poor little mices
[18:56] Xyza Armistice: lol
[18:56] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): cat fish
[18:57] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): sorry  i got destracted
[18:57] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): cat fish hate water?   or hate mice?
[18:57] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): it's Catfish... mice hate water because of catfish
[18:57] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): okk
[18:58] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): i know
[18:58] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): it wson an exterminator's commercial here
[18:58] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): (I don't get it)
[18:58] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): *was on
[18:58] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): that's worse than a dad joke
[18:59] Eclair (Eclair Martinek): hahahahahhaahhaha
[18:59] Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[18:59] Xyza Armistice: rofl
[19:00] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): and trust me
[19:00] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): my dad can tell some groaners
[19:00] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): lol
[19:00] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): LOL
[19:00] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): I can never remember the joke.
[19:00] Kitty Gumbo (Prettykitty Gumbo): I can remember the punchline.
[19:00] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): I remember seeing a joke Larry Dixon tweeted
[19:01] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): and the first thing I thought was... omg my dad would tell that joke....
[19:01] Melina Firehawk: I still have some of the jokes my dad shared with me
[19:02] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): So I tweeted back that... and he said he's been telling 'dad jokes' since he was 10 and that he has a set of values and refuses to rise above them
[19:03] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): I think some men just love telling groners
[19:06] Bixyl Shuftan: Well, once men's wives have kids, they have to watch it with the dirty jokes. But there's always groaners.
[19:06] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): yup
[19:08] ? LIL LIZZY-ROO KRADITZIO ? (KumaguroBunnyBear Resident): when my step mom's friend and her husband would go on road trips with us, my dad and him would be in the front seat  acting out  Monty Python and Strange Brew.

*  *  *  *  *

After that, things finally began to settle down, more or less. There would be more wisecracks over the rest of the Relay season. But the "Poo Chat" stood out as one of the longer lasting chuckles this year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Relay For Life "Skunk Aid"

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Sunday March 17th, there were a number of Relay For Life events. There was the Fashion For Life, for one. But another event was the "Skunk Aid" party. The event was held for  the Relay Rockers, led by Captain Nuala Maracas, which had been targeted by someone in the Relay's "Stinky the Skunk" campaign. The "Moonstar Mavericks," led by Amanda Darbyshire, were also involved. The event was from 5 to 7PM at Arinultra Cay.

 OK You Allllll...  You Skunked the Rockers, so now its time to celebrate with the first EVER Skunk Aid..  its a Black and White 60s Party   coming up at 5pm in Arinultra Cay.   Music by Yours Truly.  Come let Stinky know we love him, but Just Like Cancer.. its time to Move On!


No reporter was there at the scene, though details could be read in Relay chat, "STINKY!!!!!! … Moonstar Mavericks also got a visit from Stinky. … Stinky is a cute skunk, too." "I'm a doctor, not a skunk herder." "STINKY!! He's not visiting the Rockers. He LIVES with you." "As  a Noob this year, Im wondering who Relay Rockers tiffed off to have us Skunked so many Times!!?? "Well, you know what they say. Old homes are sturdy homes. And, Stinky decided he wanted to move into the sturdiest home in Relay." "Hahahaa, I first read that as 'old homes are stinky homes.'" "Hell I don't know, all I know is we have been skunked until Summer!!!" "I think they wanted him...maybe even paid him to stay…*winks* " The Relay Rockers had been given more than the standard five day skunking.

Trader commented, "Yep!  When Life gives you Lemons you make Lemonade.When Relay Gives you Skunks you make .... T-shirts and hold a Skunk Aid Party! … Rockers and Mavericks  come get your shirts and hats!  Cancer Stinks!!!" For a 50L donation, one would get a  "Cancer Stinks" T-shirt. There were also skunk caps one could get for free just for showing up.

The comments continued, "The two team captains are dressed as skunks....lol.. too funny!" "Yep.. Stinky Maracas. And Stinky Darbyshire." Trader sent me a few pictures which showed some of the funnery. Nuala had donned a fursuit over her avatar. Amanda had changed from human to furry with a Luskwood skunkgirl avatar, sporting green hair as it was St. Patricks Day.

Later on, I chatted with Trader about the event. "(We) raised about 8g and got Amanda unskunked," he told me, "We are using nothing but skunk kiosks. We had a good time (laughter). … We had people popping in and out. Lots of teams were represented.  It was a cooperative event between Relay's oldest and of its newest teams to rid ourselves of Stinky.  It showed true One Team spirit!"

"The jokes were bad," he added, "the usual road kill jokes, 'what color does SkunkAde come in?: Purple of Course.' (laughter) And I played 60s songs like 'White Rabbit,' 'Black Is Black,' 'Whiter Shade of Pale,' 'Paint it Black,' (and) wrapped with 'Ebony & Ivory.'" Trader commented he might have added songs like "That Smell," "but it was a 60s show." So what was the craziest moment? "Well, Nuala Maracas in a Skunk gut doing 'Gangnam Style' was interesting (laughter). I am glad no one took a picture of me in my Family tartan kilt , a grey 'Cancer Stinks' Shirt, and a Stinky Baseball cap."

"It was a fun event. It shows the special quality of Relay For Life of Second Life...  Regardless of your team, regardless of where on the globe we are all one team, sharing the same dream: a world without cancer! Stinky is a fun addition to Relay! Now that doesn't mean we want him to be a permanent tenant at Arinultra Cay, we don't mind him staying for a visit!"

Checking the Relay Rockers team page, someone had put up more cash to have the team skunked until April 5th. But more donations came, so by the time of this article's publishing the date had been moved back to March 30th. The fundraising boosts have raised the Relay Rockers' total to over $139,000 Lindens raised, or over $550 US dollars. The Moonstar Mavericks aren't far behind with over $129,000 L raised. Both are Silver-ranked teams. At over 51,000 Lindens raised, the Steelhead Salmons are halfway to Silver.

There were other events that day, such as a bumper car rally. One of the leading teams, Harmony of Hope, was issued a challenge when one fox resident offered to go pink if the 200,000 Linden mark was crossed. It was, and he did. 

For more information, check the RFL in SL website. 

"Cancer Stinks!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Pictures from Trader1 Whiplash

Culture and Fun

By Gemma Cleanslate

Linden Lab lost me for a week.  Now I am back!! 

Sunday I attended the opening of the very first "Culture and Fun" exhibit of a wonderful artist, Pan Yuliang. "Culture and Fun" is a group that sends out very interesting notices everyday with quotes and historical perspectives. ”We occupy with cultural things in widest sense. This includes  every kind of music, the belles-letters, poems, philosophy, history, painting, architecture and all other more or minor aesthetic and fine arts” is the group vision. Now they are starting a new venture of exhibits by artists that not only display their art but give you a wonderful background on the artist. 

Pan Yuliang is recognized world wide as China’s first modern artist. She had an extraordinary life and career which paralleled that of Modern China. She was born under the Empire, sold into prostitution, bought by a revolutionary, was the first woman to attend art school, the first to study with men, the first to study overseas, the first to exhibit solo and the first to combine Western and Chinese artistic techniques. And she produced exquisite art. 

Her entire history is available in several languages at the exhibit.  I recommend that you visit the exhibit which will end . The group founder, Lizzy Pleides, told me that the exhibit was put together by Tessa Zalivstok and Jaelle Faerye. There will be more exciting exhibits to see . This one will be there until November 25 or perhaps longer.

 http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Seduction/219/20/200

 For more on Pan Yuliang, check out this Wikipedia article.

Gemma Cleanslate

Pinewood Derby at Camp Kawabata

What great fun! Christian Welles, sent me a notice that there would be a Pinewood Derby at Camp Kawabata, the Scout Camp. It was held in what looked like an old warehouse near the camp grounds on Saturday the 18th of February. The scouts each built their own cars before the race began, choosing their shapes and paint. The sound of hammering was evident as they all worked.


Then the first round: the girl scouts’ cars raced down the ramp. Little Angala resident was the 1st winner, with a time of 16.70. Then the boys went down the ramps, and the first winner there was Ragged Resident and his time was 17.70. The races went on for several rounds with the winners changing places more than once as they did the rounds.

For those who do not know the Pinewood Derby has a long time place in scouting in real-life. Cub master Don Murphy created it in 1953 as a tool for bonding between dads and sons to build a miniature racing car together and is an official function of the Boy Scouts of America. It has been adopted by other scouting groups and so into Second Life. To read more about the history visit http://www.pinewoodpro.com/pinewood-derby-history.htm.

Christian Welles, Webelos Den Leader, and Billybob Farshore, Patrol Leader, both oversaw the event in Second Life. At the end Angala resident was the top winner with her 16.70 time and received a trophy along with Clymene ( 17.50) and Hunter -Lynn (17.90) who took second and third place respectively. It was fun to watch and listen to. This was the first time the event was held, but not the last I am sure. There should be another one perhaps in the spring.

Gemma Cleanslate

Why I Became a Child Avatar by Pygar Bu

Part Five of Gemma Cleanslate's "The Kids of Second Life"

I decided when I joined Second Life, that I wanted two things for my avatar: to be an angel named Pygar, and to be a kid. My name and appearance are directly influenced by the movie Barbarella, but the kid part is more of an ideal way of being in the world for me.

I love using my imagination to do everything I can, and I try to keep a very fresh outlook on life and learn something from any and all experiences I have. I can express these qualities best by being a kid! :-D

I started out in 2006 as an eight-year-old, and have "aged" to nearly twelve. I will likely stick to twelve when I get there in July on my rezdate. One of the activities I do with other kids in SL is attending Camp Hardknock, and the upper age limit there is twelve. I enjoy my camp experiences so much that I don't want to grow up! (laughs)

I also have a family here. My sisters Mari and Robin are very special to me, and we are Real-Life friends as well. Our parents also became friends of ours through our shared experiences in SL, though we have never met them in person.

My imagination has led me to building objects in SL. I make toys to sell in my store, and have built some other things for Livingtree island, Burning Life, and just for fun. I made some of the things in this exhibit!

Well, hopefully that gives you some insight into my childhood here. Thanks for reading!

Py

Why I Too Became a Child Avatar

Part Four of Gemma Cleanslate's "The Kids of Second Life"

My whole decision to get a second life began, when I read a Wikipedia article about the Otherland Books by Tad Williams. There was a reference to a Second Life (TM) article on Wikipedia and I am always curious, so I looked at it and got amazed.

Since I listened to the audio-play of the books I imagined how it would be to be one of the kids living inside the "Old Mill". When I noticed that there is a possibility to be a kid and to relive a childhood I didnt really have, I used my chance and registered. The first day I logged in i felt pretty much left alone - there weren't any SL-Mentors at that time, that programme started later on.

So I roamed over SL to find what I actually was looking for, a place where SL-Kids would meet. The first place I finally met any SL-Kid at was at Auburn Hills Nature Preserve - a beautiful place on about a Quarter-Sim, that was lead by Phoenix Ripley. He was a funny guy who always had an open ear and a cheer up for everyone who needed it. Sadly phoenix died in October 2007 and the place is gone meanwhile, but that's another story. The first SL-Kid I ever met was Verena, a German girl and we could sit at Auburn Hills for hours and talk about all silly things. One day she asked me if I wanted to come to the Vortex Kids Club to dance and I agreed.

When we got there, I simply was amazed. Bunches of Kids and many I friended at that day.

It was not much later after that day, when someone told me to try one or two adoption agencies to find some parents. So i started a search and found B&R, a small agency which had a nice atmosphere and which I really liked. There, I experienced my first miracle in SL. I was just done with my Kid Application form and sent it to the staff, when she said that she would have just the parents I imagined. 5 minutes later I left the adoption agency at the hand of a beautiful woman - Connie, my SL-mum now already for over 3 years!

In the following time I met a lot of SL Children, became a Child Recruiter for SLC,started my own business, got involved in the Hogwarts Reborn RP community, started fishing (thanks to Arianna Pinkerton, whom I freinded at my first day at the Vortex as well), built up my RC Racing Circuits, got more involved by DJing etc.

A year and a half later I had the honour to become a manager for one of the greatest vehicle creators in SL, Apolon Obscure. I didn't ask for it, but I annoyed him so much about customer requests, that he told me to come over to his workshop and do it myself. When i was done with my first Helicopter, he told me that I did better than he expected me to and asked me to become his custom manager. I felt really honoured about that and agreed. Since then we were making a lot of things and I more than once drove him up the wall with my ideas, but I love the job a lot and in the following year I learned even more to texture, save prims, sculpting etc.

Another honour I had was to DJ at SL6B and Burning Life 2008/09. While BL08 and SL6B were pretty cool and I DJed for Marianne Mccann's Inner Child Camp solely. Burning Life 09 was an experience of a much greater dimension. I DJed about a dozen sets (including fill-ins for the Vortex) within 10 days and shot a lot of pictures. It was awesome to ride all over the sims and to see all the awesome builds creators did.

In January 2010 I had the honour to meet the first SL-Children and SL-Friends in RL while i was in the UK. Gemini, Myrtil, PJ and Matt! It only added to our friendship, at least in my eyes, although I wouldn't mind to have more time for them, but that will come. I am sure of that.

In May 2010 I got involved in 2 new Projects - the Virtual Railroad Consortium (VRC) and the United Aeronautic Republic (UAR). While in the VRC i will try to help to smoothen trafficking Problems on the SL railroads - I am an apprenticed railroad worker RL so i know a bit about that stuff (grin), in the UAR I will try to fulfill a dream I had since my earliest days in SL - to fly without borders or limitations.

So I am now looking forward of what the future may bring. One thing I am planning is to build at BL10. If you want to help me about it, you are welcome to IM me anytime.

Everest Pike

Why I Became a Child Avatar

Part Three of Gemma Cleanslate's "The Kids of Second Life"

Hello, My name is Lil’ Patty Wylie and I’m six years old. I live in a sky house over a mall with my mommy, Sister and cousins. I go to School at Hardknock Elementary and I help Mommy with the mall when I can. I am very lucky and have lots of friends and we love to explore the safe places in Second life.

When my player (my adult side) came to Second life it was to be able to play with a doll again, even though it was a virtual doll. My player was introduced to SL with a demonstration from a friend and thought it would be fun to have an animated doll.

What became a totally unexpected experience is that the animated doll took on a life of its own. I Patty here in second life am real (sorta) and am able to live or relive the experiences of a child. Now I Patty have brought out the inner child of my player and now we get to grow within this world called Second Life.

Here I like school where in first life I did not. Here I love playing games with my friends where in first life I was really bad at it. I’m pretty bad here too, but it does not bother me like it did in first life. In some ways being a kid in SL is an opportunity to reshape a childhood experience and make it better.

Me thinks the reason I am a child avatar in second life is the opportunity for me to share with friends of like mind, the joys of just being a kid again. To just leave the real world behind for a while and enjoy a fun filled worry free world along side others doing the same thing.

Patty Wylie

Sage Kostenbaum

Part Two of Gemma Cleanslate's "The Kids of Second Life"

How did I become a child avatar? Well… When a man avatar and a woman avatar fall in love… *laughs, falling back a bit* Just kidding!

Seriously, let’s start to before SAGE KOSTENBAUM even existed. Prior to Second Life, my player - player?! This isn’t a game; this is MY life we’re talkin’ about here! - used to hang out in a so-called world called Zwinky. But, compared to SL, Zwinky is a practically a comic strip. She got burned out with that and upon hearing about Second Life on an episode of CSI: NYC, and from a fellow Zwinkster, she decided to check it out.

At first, like everyone else, I started out as an adult avatar - a harajuku noobie. I left Orientation Island, explored around a bit, saw some of the sites, and even thought about getting a job at Sweethearts Jazz Lounge as a hostess. I thought that would be so much fun! I love interacting with people.

After doing some traveling, I stumbled upon an island owned by a member of the church I belong to. I was very impressed with the landscaping and his buildings that I wanted to meet him. A few day later I finally met him. And, I was shocked by what I saw. Initially, I didn’t believe my eyes. He was… a child! I had NEVER encountered any child avatars before in Second Life. I thought it was a world solely resided by adults. It wasn't until AFTER I became one myself did I see anymore. Unlike now, in May of 2008, child avatars were few. We usually were only found in the Kids' Communities. The first time I saw another child running arounds the streets of SL outside sims I normally hung out in, I was so excited. It was like, I HAFTA be your friend! But, now in 2010, if I see a fellow child I don't know, I think, where have you been hiding? LOL

So, back to my conversion story. After meeting this boy, I decided I'd like to live in Second Life as a child also. At first, I did some messing with my appearance. Made my adult shape shorter, fattened some areas and ended up looking more like a teen. While talking with this new found friend of mine, he shared with me a scripture that explains: you should become as a little child. And, I thought, yes, of course, full of innocence and forgiving. We talked some more and he asked if I was planning on being a child avatar most of the time. Hmmmm… I thought. Yeah, I think so! ^.^ He invited me to join a local SL child group called Second Life Children and I did some more research on becoming a REAL child avatar.

When I found my first child shape and skin, I thought, I had no idea you could buy already made child shapes and skins! I was estatic. At first, I decided I would be eleven years old, but since then, I have become eight years old. Some kids get older as years pass, I got younger. :P I no longer wear that first skin, but my shape is the first shape I found; a free one. I've just done a lot of molding over the past 2 years.

So, in a nut- shell, that’s how the adult Sage Kostenbaum became the child Sage Kostenbaum. And, I LOVE it! The child avatar community is so tight. We look out for each other, and help each other out. And, I have met so many friends. Friends who have become some of my best friends, not only in this world, but in the world beyond the World Wide Web. I have a family - 3 mothers and a sister. I go to school. I made Valedictorian! I am the female co-host of a kid avatar radio broadcast show called Milk n Kookies.

Being a child avatar is the best. We explore lands, go to dances, hang out, go shopping... but most of all, we don’t have a care in the world. It’s fantastic! We’re not a bunch of perverts; in fact the MAJORITY of us aren’t even looking for sexual encounters. We’re all fairly the same, deep down inside, just a group of kids trying to have fun and reliving a second childhood.

Sage Kostenbaum

So Why Am I a Kid Avatar?

Part one of Gemma Cleanslate's "The Kids of Second Life"

Let me use a classic television analogy: in the original Twilight Zone episode, "Kick The Can," a group of nursing home octogenarians start to play the kids game in the title. In the process, they end up back in the halcyon days of their youth.

When I joined Second Life, playing a kid was not at all something I had considered doing. I did not even look at that as being an option until meeting two separate real life friends in-world, and seeing them playing kids. We talked a bit about this, and they offered some of their motivations. I liked what they had to say, and it led to me doing the same: a chance at youth and innocence regained within a virtual world.

This has led to four years of child avatar roleplay in SL. Being part of an inworld family, going to elementary school, heading out to Summer Camp, and just enjoying the wild, carefree life that comes before worrying about jobs, bills, and other commonalities of an adult's life.

So why a kid? So I can hit the playground once in a while, be cared for and nurtured by an in-world family, and have fun with my virtual peers.

I simply want to kick the can.

Marianne McCann

Last Call for Fun at the 2010 RFL Track

Just before the sims for the 2009 Relay for Life Walk were taken down, the teams held a “teardown party.” I never found out if it was planned, or came about spontaneously, but it was quite a sight, with everyone whooping it up, builders, team captains and officers, and bystanders such as a certain reporter.

I expected something similar this year. But it didn’t quite happen like last year. After the Walk was over, many of the officers in the Passionate Redheads group either dropped out of sight or were on little. As it turned out, the Redheads had to deal with a number of problems this year, many of the people getting sick, having to help family, or otherwise had to deal with real-life problems. Combined with the “Great Recession” as the current economy is sometimes labeled as having, the Redheads endured what one called “a perfect storm” of trouble that could easily stall a fundraiser in its tracks. And still, the team managed to raise thousands in US dollars.

Maybe the other big teams were having similar trouble. I didn’t hear of one big last party, though did notice a number of small gatherings on the map on Tuesday July 20th, the last day before the builds were to be torn down. Deciding to drop in on one, I found a gathering of people at a beach scene, with plastic pails and kiddie shovels, sand mounds one could bury themselves in to their necks, with a huge sand castle in the middle. It turned out that the DJ here was also broadcasting into the radio stream over the RFL track area. Redhead builder Shockwave Yarearch also dropped by, joining in the dancing for a while.

As the party went on, the DJ gave an announcement. One of the track sim managers had raised the water level by ten meters, flooding the place. A little later, he described people going over to party over there, and more and more of the people at the beach party headed over. I was among them, teleporting over to the sim, and indeed it was all wet, trees with water up to their leaves and buildings with water halfway up the walls. Unlike a real-life flood, no damage done here, though.

Someone began passing around ducky inner tubes. They really couldn’t keep you afloat without a swimmer AO, but fortunately I remembered I had one. More began appearing, a few others probably using some kind of AO to help them float. Others deployed umbrellas and floated around like Mary Poppins. Then a boat showed up, captained by someone looking like a pirate, and someone else in a tiny duck avatar on board. It was certainly weather for ducks at one point when rain began coming down. Rain is pretty rare in Second Life, and for some it was the first they had seen it.

People were having a great time, laughing and joking, and then came the fish puns, “Oh my cod!” “I did it for the halibut.” “I’m calling the carps.” People even talked about doing a water sim next Relay, selling mermaid/merman avatars and swimmer AOs for charity.

More recently, I did hear of a party the Redheads will be having to celebrate their success at the Relay, on Saturday August 14th at 10 AM. Enough time for those most involved to take a well-deserved rest.

But it’s that spur of the moment party at the flooded sim that to me represents the final bash of the 2010 Relay for Life track.

Bixyl Shuftan

Delinda Dyrssen "Taking Flight" at the Snail Races

I'm still smiling from all the fun and laughter I had while participating in a Special Edition Giant Snail Race put on by RacerX Gullwing and his crew to help raise money for Relay For Life in SL on Saturday. I have raced once before in one of the regular races which are normally giant snails but this one was with Tiny Giant Snails (about the size of a typical avatar in SL) but to be honest I had a little difficulty steering that Huge Snail Avatar around the course.

As soon as I tried on my mini snail (and promptly had a Live n Kickin Flag added by Baldi McMillan (who happens to also be my SL next door neighbor) Thank You Baldi. I was ready to race! This race turned out to be absolute chaos for me and Treet TV's Cameras which you'll see in the clip below. I would attribute it mostly to sim lag as there were way more people in the sims than the Linden Labs servers could handle gracefully.

At one point I fell off one of the rides and I guess the build was at a high altitude in SL and I found my snail/self falling from above 2000 meters below to what I believe was some kind of Music Event that was going on below us where I briefly saw Harrie Skjellerup (organizer of The Originals) in front of me before a friend teleported me back to the Snail Race..

Anyway.. this 2 min clip below shows some of the madness of the race with a priceless shot of one of the boats overloaded with snails appearing to fly through the forest and off into space.. You gotta love Second Life Sim crossings!

Watch with the Audio on this is pretty funny..



Delinda Dyrssen
Reprinted from "Brb" with permission

Return to “The 1st Question”

It’s been a little over a year since my appearance on “The 1st Question,” hosted by Pooky Amsterdam. She had invited me onto the show the first time after a chance meeting, and meeting up again at the SL7B celebration asked me if I wanted to make another appearance, on Tuesday June 29. Needless to say, I accepted.

For those not familiar with the game show, “The fast-paced, fact-based, fun hour of science related merrymaking, audience participation, prizes, wit & wisdom,” it’s broadcasted live on Treet.tv every Tuesday night at 7 PM SL time. Consisting of a combination of science trivia questions and other mindbenders, it’s been called “A cross between lunch with Albert Einstein and the classic 50’s game show.” Four contestants try to outdo one another in front of a live audience numbering a few dozen, while the show is broadcasted live to compatible viewer TV sets within Second Life and the live broadcast page on the Treet.tv website. Old shows can be seen by checking the archives.

Contestants have to show up by 5:30 PM SL time at the show location in order to prepare for the show, to make sure there won’t be any technical clitches such as echoes and feedback. Besides myself, the contestants were White Lebed, an “Artist-in-Residence” at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and one of the volunteer staff for SL7B as well as being involved with Burning Life, Matt Fiertze, the “founder of First Link & vBusiness Link,” and Fire Centaur, the director of B3D Multitech Limited, and whom liked to focus on education in SL.

The show started up at 7 PM, with a little funnery display from a surfing tiny, then Pooky and her cohost Hydra Shaftoe introduced themselves, then us. Hydra has been involved in some real-life news lately as he volunteered some time to help clean up some oil-soaked birds in the recent Gulf oil spill. We first engaged in a little science funnery as we were asked which element we thought represented us. My answer: iron. It was what type was made out of, and when it rusted, it was the color of my avie. Matt went with carbon, “keep it simple.”

In “Nuggets of Knowledge,” we were asked to each ask Hydra a trivia question that we knew the answer to. Mine was, “can one of the space shuttle’s insulating tiles be held in someone’s bare hands when red hot?” In “Word Up,” we were asked to make up a word with a definition, with the audience to vote on whom was best. I thought I did good with “bubblic - addicted to popping bubble wrap packing material.” But Matt wowed them with his “Prim-Fu" - the art of building with as low a prim count as possible to combat lag and other glitches. The audience voted his “not a word but should be” as best.

We went on with “Yea Me or Nay Me” and other sections with trivia questions. I did better this second time than the first, feeling not so tense. I was tied for first for a while, then Matt took the lead and kept it. The audience helped me stay un the running with a couple questions. But at the show’s end, Matt Fiertze was the winner with 12 points. I was second with a respectable 8. White and Fire had some bad luck and were further behind.

For winning, Matt had a chance to visit Pooky’s prize vault. But Pooky congratulated all of us for doing a good job under the pressure of the camera. Three of my friends, including Grey Lupindo, also showed up for the show, with a number presumably watching live from the Treet website.

As it turned out, this will be the last live showing of “The 1st Question” until August. Until then, people can always go to the archives. The episode I appeared on Tuesday can now be seen in them: Here.

And yes, I know my voice is weird.

“You have a question, we have the answer.”

Bixyl Shuftan