The 2011 Relay for Life Walk

I’ve gone to every Relay walk since 2007, when an old friend told me about the first one. Last year in 2010 was the first I did do as part of a team, the Passionate Redheads. The event then was truly a blast. Some yearly events I’ve gone to, the old feeling of excitement of the first time isn’t there. But that certainly wasn’t a problem here.

Just before noon SL time on Saturday July 16th, I arrived at the castle set up on the four corners of the sims the four sims RFL Wish, Unity, Voulenteer, and Treatment. The place needed the capacity of four sims as it was truly packed. When I brought up the map, I counted a total of 127 avatars in four sims. I watched the event along with fellow Redheads Nydia Tungsten, Treminari Huet, Lomgren Smalls, and Skylark LeFavre, along with a variety of other avs from tines to merfolk to superheros to robots.

There were a number of speeches given at the opening, but one stood out. Bootedgirl Foxtrot gave a speech that could be done only through a computerized voice. Cancer had taken away her larynx.


I relay for, each day we all can awake, with the gift of time we are given, to see the world, and love and be loved, and continue to pass on the very hope that will live on forever. I relay for the dream, for more time, for all those touched with cancer, to have quality time, in life, without pain. I relay for each day I awake, for each moment I see my Second life partner, my Love Jay, who saw me through many late hours of pain, and now enjoy many late hours of laughter. I relay for others to have what I now have, a chance to live and give back hope, and help however I can.

Shortly after her speech and the cheers that followed, the hour was up, and it was time for the Survivor/Caregiver lap. Those whom had faced the disease and survived, and those who cared for them, were invited to take the first of the official laps. Some Sunweavers such as Elphias Kojishi walked the track. Others just went to our camp and cheered them on. Among them was Rita Mariner, back as a purple bunnygirl after being “pardoned” from her remaining time stuck as a human. Two of the Redheads, also bunnygirls, did their cheering in cheerleader outfits, which was an interesting sight for the guys walking the track. As the survivors and caregivers walked, someone pointed out that the music being played was written just for the Relay.

there is no finish line until we find a cure,
together we begging like soldiers in a war,
and we won't slow down 'till we win this fight,
the Relay for Life.

Our camp “Peace to All Who Enter Here,” was a peaceful forest area, with a gateway of roses. Virtual critters such as squirrels and deer walked about the place. The center was dominated by a huge tree. the back of the camp had a picturesque waterfall. There was also a ride, a balloon, that took riders over the camp for a few minutes. A prayer book recorded messages, which then floated into the virtual breeze.

A number of Second Life notables took part in the Relay. Some such as Bryn Oh had contributed builds. Others did the Walk. Among them was Jaycatt Nico of the noted “Jaycatt & Frogg” musical pair. He greeted me and the rest of the Sunweavers, hung around a few minutes, and made a good-sized donation before leaving. Blogger DrFran Babcock walked by and gave a hello. I also saw two longtime friends Breezes Babi and Glitter Xeltentat walk by. One of the Relay staff, Samara Barzane, came by as a pink catgirl.

The total number of people I recognized, well, not enough room to mention them all.

And then, it was the team’s turn to walk. With Danneth Kivioq, Rita, and Dusk leading the way, we got on the track and began walking, waving our huge Sunweaver flags. Helping us was an accessory called a “walker” that was worn on our backs that allowed us to walk automatically while typing, or taking pictures. We just needed someone to follow. And so, we began our journey down the track, those without walkers picking them up at one of the stops along the way.

The Relay’s theme this year was “Season of Hope,” and many of the sims reflected the seasons. The northwest had spring, the southeast had summer, including the water sims with a beach area, the southwest had autumn, including a school for the youngsters, and to the northwest winter, most of the sims there snowed over. The Redhead’s camp was in RFL Family, in the northeast corner near the middle. And going throughout the track, we found a variety of builds. Some were very well done and imaginative.

Unfortunately with all the people on the track, lag was a persistent problem. A time or two it was so bad that the teammates around me were all rendered invisible. And there were times some of us were left behind due to it, and someone would have to port us forward to rejoin the group. We had to stop a few times due to a sim that was closed from further people entering, appearing like it vanished. And a few times I would just up and crash. And I didn’t reappear where I crashed, but where I had logged off the previous night, at the rest stop sponsored in Artistic Fimicloud’s name. By some coincidence, the first time this happened, my teammates caught up to me, which got a few comments from them.

The result was we made our lap, but we’d had to skip sims due to the lag and crashes, and some of us got back later than others. Some of us stayed at the camp, others kept going, “I want to complete the lap for real.”

For the themed laps, many of us dressed for the occasion. On the “I Can’t Believe I’m Wearing This!” I went back to the human avatar I wore after my “Bid Me Human” Event. Others had some avatars that certainly drew attention. On the “Ride Your Favorite Horse,” I tried to bring out my mount, but for some reason it wouldn’t rezz.

At times, we didn’t walk, but took a moment to look at some of the builds. This included the Steampunk New Babbage, or the Activity Water Region. There was also a scavenger hunt taking place, mostly in the four corner sims, where one had to find the objects on the list.

Over the group chat, I heard of “Bid me Bald” events being done. But one lady had a different idea, a “Pumped Up for Relay - Evangeline Ling, Co-Captain in team Relay for HOPE will be getting PUMPED UP and will be a body builder for every 1000 L donated to her challenge kiosk.” Enough was raised to give her an athletic look for several weeks.

At 7PM, most of us took a break from the walking to head to the club at the Unity sim, not far from the castle. It was Dusk Griswold’sturn to DJ, and as always she did it well from a stocked playlist. She played a number, some were requests. But at one point, she had one in honor of Artistic Fimicloud, the late Sunweaver & Redhead whom is always remembered. For her, Dusk played “Calypso.”


To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean,
to ride on the crest of a wild raging storm.
To work in the service of life and living,
in search of the answers of questions unknown.
To be part of the movement and part of the growing,
part of beginning to understand,
Aye Calypso the places you've been to,
the things that you've shown us,
the stories you tell.
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
the men who have served you so long and so well.


At 9PM was the Luminary Ceremony, and the Redheads went back to camp. The track darkened all over to night, and everyone went silent, in memory of those passed on. But at 10, the sunshine came back, and we were out on the track again. 12 AM was the Masquerade, and out came my vampire bat avatar, flying over the track.’

Yours truly had to take a break to get some sleep, but woke up a little early to rejoin the Relay. This time, a couple Redheads whom couldn’t be there Saturday made it on Sunday, notably Alleara Snoodle. In previous Relays, Alleara had either helped with the building or designed items such as clothes. But this year, events in real life simply couldn’t be put aside. Fortunately, she was able to join her teammates this day.

The Passionate Redheads officially reached “Platinum” status at the Relay Walk. Daaneth made the announcement sometime on Sunday, “Congratulations on all your hard work. You have made me proud to be a Redhead.” And for every Relayer in all of the teams, a small “Teamwork Awars” trophy was delivered.

Finally at 10 AM were the closing ceremonies. Getting back to the castle, the walls and avatars alike took a good deal of time to rezz. Congratulations to all had been going around since the morning, and continued at the closing.

YOU ALL ROCK! - Every last one of you has contributed to making this an amazing Relay. From the tiniest *waves at Lom* to the biggest *waves at King-Kong!* It has been a wonderful experience! And the commitment of our sponsors to RFL of SL has been heartwarming and generous. Thank you ALL so much. Here's a blogpost by Poppy listing y'all. http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/2011/07/thank-you-to-our-sponsors.html


It was announced we had broken our seasonal fundraising record, again. Nearly 75 million Lindens had been raised, equaling over $373,000 US dollars. There were also some stories of inspiration at the closing, though before the ceremonies, Redhead Nydia Tungsten shared the following:


Why I Relay I had never heard of RFL before in my life, even though I watched my step father slowing die from cancer, it was here in Second Life that I learned of it as I listened to some one speak of it, she was describing someone to me that she had lost as well, and I heard others speak of her, that is how I got to know Fimi, and Dusk Invited me to the RFL Team "Passionate Redheads" since then I lost someone else dear to me Kamryn Noel, so I run for all of them, and for you all. I even run for me. When I was a kid my cure for a sunburn was to get another one on top of it. So now I have moles all over my back that I need 4 to 6 biopsied each year. I am terrified that one day I will get the news that I have it. But I will always relay for all of you no matter what.


My own reasons to Relay? Cancer doesn’t run in my family, but it has taken down those around me in real life. Neighbors, coworkers, and family pets. Here in Second Life, I’ve met a number of friends, including the Sunweavers whom make up much of the Passionate Redheads. I arrived too late to have known Fimi, but I can’t help but admire her from how she continues to be talked about.

Funding and research do work. More treatments are discovered. More methods found. And survival rates for some cancers have gone up. The true cure for all cancer still eludes modern science. But throughout the history of medical science, one disease after another that was once a death sentence have found cures and treatments that work at any stage of discovery. Maybe this will be the year a team of scientists makes the public announcement we’ve all been waiting for.

So until then, the Relay for Life will continue on, both in real life and in virtual reality.

Following the closing ceremonies, there were a display of fireworks outside the castle. And there was one last official lap, the Victory lap, the one taken in celebration. At Noon Second Life time, the 2011 Relay for Life Walk was officially over. But the Relayers remained on the grid, continuing to walk laps, explore the builds, enjoy the attractions, or just meet up for a good party. Hours later, I ran into Team Steelhead and Fuzzball Ortega still whooping it up.

The fun continued for the next few days. A few builds went down on Monday and Tuesday, but most stayed up until Wednesday night. Of the unofficial parties, two stuck out. On Tuesday was the second annual “flood party," the first one last year coming about on a whim. And Wednesday had a small “Tear-down party.” On Thursday at Noon, what builds remained were removed. It was then that the Relay for Life Walk was truly over for another year.

The fundraising season isn’t officially over yet, though. August 20 is the official closing event. And once that’s over with, comes the planning for next year, and the planning for the next Relay track, with teams trying to make their next builds better than ones before.

And of course, continuing to meet up with the new friends we made, and old friends we caught up with.

Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Amythe Moonlight

Amythe Moonlight, the manager of Mystery, long a beloved personality in her sim, becoming known as the "Princess of Hearts." Recently she became the center of attention with her “Masked Lover” Bloodrose Writer revealing himself, and then Mystery’s “Royal Wedding” between them both. Recently, I had a chance to interview her about her time in Second Life, past and present.

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

Amythe Moonlight: Someone in another game told me about it, so I came to see what it was all about. I discovered I could make things in here. That interested me and I started building. I began with art, and moved onto other things, In fact, we are sitting in one of the first big things I built - Stonehenge.

Bixyl Shuftan: Oh? Interesting?

Amythe Moonlight: it wasn't on Mystery then. It was moved here.

Bixyl Shuftan: (looks around) I didn't think this was among someone's first builds.

Amythe Moonlight: It was one of mine (laughs), after the art and a few tables. I actually created it from a photograph I took of the real Stonehenge.

Bixyl Shuftan: Nice, what kind of art did you create?

Amythe Moonlight: I started with 3D animated art, abstracts, and some photographs. I used to do a little landscape photography in real-life.

Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds interesting. How did you meet Tygeria?

Amythe Moonlight: I met her at a live music event (smile), and she asked to see some of my work.

Bixyl Shuftan: So she developed an interest in your artwork?

Amythe Moonlight: No, by then I was building houses and had built an semi-Asian style house. She asked to see it.

Bixyl Shuftan: What happened with the house?

Amythe Moonlight: She came and looked around, and was interested in part of the rooftop garden I had built on it. She asked me if i could build a shrine, which I did. Then she asked me for bridges. I think some are still here on Mystery. That's how I became part of Mystery really. I saw what she did here and wanted to help. Tygeria has an amazing talent for bringing out the best in people. So much talent. She is an amazing lady.

Bixyl Shuftan: It's my impression people think of you more as an organizer than an artist. When did you become Mystery's manager?

Amythe Moonlight: Well, I began to build on Mystery. Tygeria was changing things around then, and I worked with her trying to make the things she was seeking. The more I worked with her the more, I learned and the more I fell in love with Mystery and it's concept. To help people, with information, with knowledge, with somewhere safe to visit, with friendship, residents new and old, and to give them somewhere to come to feel at home. In my eyes that was such a wonderful concept, I wanted to become part of it. And so I started here as a builder, and then it grew, and grew, and I never left - and I never will. Mystery is a very special place, and The Queen of Hearts the most wonderful place to call home.

Bixyl Shuftan: How much of Mystery have you built?

Amythe Moonlight: I think Stonehenge, the cafe and the pub, and one shop in the village were originally my builds. But I have worked on other parts of Mystery along with Ayjay. And of course as we update, things change a little. That is one thing about Mystery that I love. The fact it doesn't stay the same. It is seasonal and changeable. You never know what you will find here. What is here this month may be gone next month, or be changed, or be added to.

Bixyl Shuftan: That's true, over time, there have been some interesting things that appeared for a while, like the funhouse.

Amythe Moonlight: Yes the funhouse, the rollercoaster, ruins have come and gone. We even had a kraken live in the lake for a while. That has moved on, though Nessie has stayed throughout . Our lake monster has been here from very early days.

Bixyl Shuftan: The lake monster?

Amythe Moonlight: Nessie - our version of the Loch Ness monster. Even Nessie changes though. She must be getting older; she found a hat and scarf last winter when we had snow here.

Bixyl Shuftan: Heh, with the 7Seas fisher at the lake, does anyone get their rod and reel yanked away? (grin)

Amythe Moonlight: Hehe! No-one has reported it yet! ... Well we have bumper boats out there, so they might scare her off. Hehe!

Bixyl Shuftan: Heh heh. ... Of the seasonal builds, do you have a favorite?

Amythe Moonlight: Ohhh, hmm, that's a hard one. I love the village in the winter with it's snow covered rooftops, and it's trees and lights. The little shops look very quaint. Last year we had ice-skating on the lake that was great fun, with a Christmas market all around the edges, quite Dickensian.

Bixyl Shuftan: Considering that Mystery has thrived for five years, I imagine there have been quite a number of memorable happenings.

Amythe Moonlight: The anniversaries and the supurise parties spring to mind. But everything here is memorable. And the fact it changes keeps people coming back to see what is here now.

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything stand out from the first few years?

Amythe Moonlight: I think the biggest and best thing in the early years for me was meeting Tygeria herself and getting to know her as well as I have! She has taught me so much. She is very inspiring and has the most creative ideas. I just try to make them come to life (smile).

Bixyl Shuftan: Someone told me that you and Tygeria make for an interesting pair of personalities, she the lively funmaker, and you the "straight woman" trying to keep her in check.

Amythe Moonlight: No-one keeps Tygeria in check. We work well together though, and have been sim partners for several years now.We are different, it's true. I tend to be quieter, but we both work towards the same goals and concepts.

Bixyl Shuftan: One of the more recent events has to do with another over a year ago, when you started getting some aynominous love notes.

Amythe Moonlight: Oh the Mystery Man! Yes someone was requesting songs for me from the DJs and live artists, and doing it anonymously. I could not think who it was, though I tried to find out. The songs were wonderful! And I admit it intrigued me. Early this year at one of the live events he revealed himself to be Bloodrose Writer.

Bixyl Shuftan: How long until it get to the point Tygeria was putting up "Wanted" posters?

Amythe Moonlight: Hmm I think that was after the first few months . She posted a reward! No-one claimed it though, since no-one guessed. He sent requests vs newbie (accounts) and remotely. He wasn't in Second Life at the time, so I never suspected him. I had known him for years though, and worked with him a lot in past years, but with him out of SL, I never dreamed it was him.

Bixyl Shuftan: Heh, I imagine it was a big surprise when he reveled himself.

Amythe Moonlight: Oh yes!!! And at an event too! Good surprise though.

Bixyl Shuftan: Did you ever suspect Tygeria might have known who it was?

Amythe Moonlight: I did ask her once, but she said she didn't. She seemed as puzzled as I was.

Bixyl Shuftan: So only speculation as who the "Masked Man" might be?

Amythe Moonlight: Yes it was all speculation until he revealed himself. I believe the live artist Debi Latte was in on the secret, but only for the last couple of weeks.

Bixyl Shuftan: So now that Mystery has had it's most memorable wedding, what are you plans for the future, for you and the sims?

Amythe Moonlight: Well I own Mystery's sister sim, Conundrum. Conundrum is a retail and visiting sim. It has a selection of small shops and a boardwalk and quay with boats to drive around the sim, as well as beaches and things to do. I design clothes and have a dress shop over there, and hope to have a fashion show later this year. I also have my Bears &Stuff business there, animated and chatty bears for all occasions. “Gone Squirrely” also has it's HQ there, so you have to keep one eye out for stray squirrels!

Bixyl Shuftan: Oh yes, the squirrel game. (grin) Supposely it's real fun to play in micro avatars.

Amythe Moonlight: Yes the squirrel game with rogue squirrels to catch! It's such fun! Ayjay and I have been working on that for a long time. We should have version 2 coming out in the near future.

Bixyl Shuftan: How have the practice games gone so far?

Amythe Moonlight: They went well and it is out for sale as version 1. Now we are working on a new version with even more in it! There will be some changes on Conundrum soon, and some exciting new merchandise in a new shop over there, so keep an eye out!

Mystery of course, always changes, and to see the changes here you need to keep visiting! The sim grows with us - it is a place much loved and cared for and as the seasons pass so she grows new things to entice us. As for plans, well there are many. But suffice to say I think we will see several changes here in the coming months.

Always a mystery! You never know what you will find!

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to add?

Amythe Moonlight: Working with Tygeria and with Mystery is both an honor and a delight. She is my closest friend and my confidante. Without her Mystery would not be what it is today and neither would I. I have grown and changed since I came here as the island has herself. This is the magic of the place.

They say magic is full of mystery. But I say, Mystery is full of magic, both seen and unseen. It touches the heart and resides in the memory. I am so glad I found this place and became part of it, it is now part of me.

Bixyl Shuftan: Thank you for your time Amy.

Source: Queen of Hearts

Bixyl Shuftan

Adopt-a-Family’s Summer on the Boardwalk

Summer on the Boardwalk, a carnival for Adopt-a-Family, was held this weekend, July 8 – 10, at SnickerDoodle (126, 135, 25). Adopt-a-Family is an organization that helps make holidays a little better for Second Life residents facing economic hardship in their real-life. The carnival was a huge success, raising over $288,000 L for this charity.

The festivities included rides, food, live music, auctions, and even a dunk tank. Although the rides could be ridden for free, a convenient ticket box near each one allowed you to donate to the charity. The rides included a Merry-Go-Round, Bumper cars, Ferris Wheel, Jet Scream, and more. I got a great bird’s eye view of the carnival from the Ferris Wheel, but the Jet Scream ride was awesome. It started out tame, but soon was revolving like a rocket. Good thing I rode before I ate the hot dogs and cotton candy.

There was a House of Mirrors that looked interesting, too, but I never made it inside. I was distracted by a few fun-loving residents at the dunking tank who were having a great time. Instead of looking in the mirror, I decided to join them.

Lacie Beningborough and Laetitia Vella had Ted Floresby right where they wanted him—in the dunk tank. Ted splashed into the tank quite a few times thanks to Lacie’s mean arm! Laetitia and I cheered Lacie on a bit, then I had to give it a try. For a small donation I got 3 balls. I made the last one count—and downed Ted again. He was a good sport and was doing it for a great cause.

Other SL celebrities, including Frolic Mills and Dousa Dragonash took a turn in the dunk tank, too. Guess they know us mere mortals love dunking the rich and famous. BlackBarbie Bravin, who is both a SL celebrity and businesswoman said “it was a hoot.” “What's most important,” BlackBarbie said, “is that we are able to help others. It was a great experience and the best reason to ever to mess up my hair.”

On Sunday there was live music. Avantguard Frequency started the show off. When I stopped by he was getting a very warm reception from the crowd. Other musicians were slated to play during the day. Lacie Beningborough, who organized the carnival, said, “Other musicians heard about what we were doing and asked if they could volunteer. So we added an extra 2 hours to the show-- that was totally amazing!”

In addition to the rides and music, jewelry and fashion designers donated items for the auction boards that lined the stage area. Lacie said Frolic Mills and the folks at BOSL volunteered and worked hard to make this event happen. They all deserve a big “thank-you.”

Lacie Beningborough began Adopt-a-Family in November of 2009, when she discovered that a SL resident was in need in RL. The family was in jeopardy of losing everything because the husband had just lost his job, and the couple had two chronically ill children. Lacie organized a benefit to help the SL resident. The fundraiser was a huge success, and she promised to have it become a SL tradition. This year’s Christmas show will be December 19, 2011.

During the year Adopt-a-Family raises funds to help families in Second Life to have Christmas in real-life. The identity of the recipients is known only to the Board of Directors to protect privacy. Donors have the option of remaining anonymous or allowing their names to be used. If you know a SL resident that will need some help during the holidays, you can contact Lacie Beningborough before November 15, 2011.

Grey Lupindo

The South Sudan Independence Party

On Saturday July 9th, the world had it’s newest internationally recognized country. South Sudan had officially declared it’s independence from Sudan. News reports showed people dancing in the streets of it’s capital Juba, celebrating the end result of a long, hard struggle. The country has been quickly recognized by the United States and many other nations.

In Second Life, a “South Sudan Independence Party” was held the following day on Sunday July 10th at the Saffa Islands sim to commemorate the new African nation. With Sandy Kira as the DJ, the event began at 2 PM. The event was held at a beach club, with thatched roofs and surfboards, but with the South Sudanese flag prominently displayed. People were also waving small flags of the new country.

I only managed to catch the tail end of the event, but it was not boring. People were paying attention to a film being broadcasted on the screen set up at the club. A Emmanuel Jal was speaking out to an audience about his struggle as a child soldier, a “War Child,” in the wars of Sudan following his village being burned down, and eventually making peace with those he once saw as his enemies. One resident couldn’t hep but comment, “Wow they were sooo young. Babies with AK47s. These kids must be damaged in a way I will never know.”

The event went past it’s scheduled end of 4 PM. People thanked Tonny Storm for the occasion, “Thank you for this nice evening, Tony.” Following the video, Tonny had this to say, “I am really thankful to all of you. You celebrate this moment with me here. I am far away from Sudan and South Sudan, but I am happy for this nice time with you guys. And I have a short thing I want to tell you about myself. I am not from South Sudan. I am from the north, actually. But I have been working with many groups in the north for people of South Sudan and (the) whole (of) Sudan in general. ... I am happy for (the) south, but also sad because our efforts to keep one country that respects all it is citizens and lives with democracy and respect (for) human rights (is) gone now. Yes, South Sudan’s people get their Independence, they can shape their own future now. But I still have commitment to the other people in Sudan whom still suffer, to get the country we dream to have one day.”

“I had (a) Sudan sim for a while. I tried to tell the different story about Sudan, the story (the) media never tell. (The) media always tells a single story and stereotypes people to it. So today give proof by South Sudan’s independence that besides suffering, there is always hope. And there are always people whom work hard for a better future. They can succeed or lose, but the struggle must continue. Thank you everyone.”

Tonny’s remarks were met with applause, “Tonny, you make me cry now.” “Thank you, I am crying also, trying to hide the tears.” “We pray that the people in Northern Sudan find strength in the victory of the Southern Sudanese, and continue to work for the good of the community.”

Tonny told me, “I must thank my awesome DJ Sandy. She did some great tunes. Sandie Mistwallow, she built the club. She did an incredible job in no time, gathering everyone.” He passed over a notecard with several links, as well as one to South Sudan’s wiki entry, “please watch the videos, they tell the whole story.”

I asked about their opinion about the country’s lack of paved roads and how hard would it be to attract international investment. One of the women there, Karima Markova, answered, “Building infrastructure is a critical concern to be sure. If the government cannot organize it, roads will be build to extract resources. The people will lose. Africa has seen too much of this in its history.”

The links Tonny Storm provided were Youtube clips, “Introduction,” “Independence Day” (Al Jadzeria), “Dr. John Grang,” “Emmanuel Jal: The music of a war child” (the video shown at the end of the event), and “South Sudan song,” in addition to the country’s wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Sudan.

"Thank you very much."

Bixyl Shuftan

“An Enchanted Evening with MoShang and Cypress,” Followed by a Generous Donation of Goods for Passionate Redheads

It was a good week for the Relay for Life team Passionate Redheads.

The night of Thursday July 7th had a special event in Southern Colorado. In the Enchanted Forest, there was a live music concert featuring two musicians. One was MoShang Zhao, the other was the self-described “best ambient artist in Second Life” Cypress Rosewood.


Come to the beautiful Southern Colorado sim and the Enchanted Forest for a mesmerizing concert with Second Life artists MoShang Zhao and Cypress Rosewood as they present a two hour concert called "An Enchanted Evening with MoShang and Cypress" on July 7th, 2011 from 8-10 PM SLT. Don't miss this event, it promises to be spectacular! Sponsored by the Passionate Redheads, all proceeds from the show go to benefit the American Cancer Society through the Relay for Life.


And as 8 PM approached, people began showing up at the entrance of the forest. Some of the Redheads teleported directly over from a favorite club of theirs, Club Zero, which had an event just before the “Enchanted Evening.” A few dozen people in a variety of avatars came to listen in.



Sabine McGettigan: Hi everyone, Cypress Rosewood and Moshang are playing a duet for us here in SoCo. Take a break and come listen! Nydia Tungsten- Foxtrot (nydia.tungsten): and they are GREAT! Sabine McGettigan: Heavenly :)


Cypress played first, followed by MoShang doing his solo on his flute. Then the two went on stage together to play. People sat down on cushions rezzed for the event to listen, or danced to the music. Two kiosks were set up to collect funds for RFL. Several thousand Lindens were raised. It wasn’t as much as some earlier fundraisers the Redheads have held, but the event was still considered a success.

At 10 PM SL time, the event came to a close, the musicians giving their thanks to all, "Thank you so much. See you next time, thanks, and good night."

For more of Cypress Rosewood’s music, he makes regular appearances at the Space Music Theater at Spinthrift (156, 81, 98) at Sundays at 8 PM SL time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Friday, the Passionate Redheads received a special gift from an old friend. With the Relay for Life Walk about a week away, builders for the team were setting up their exhibit, or “campsite” as they called it, with a "Forest in the Spring Theme." Previous exhibits have had help from friends. Among them, Lilith Heart, the owner of the Heart Garden store. On Thursday, Sabine McGettigan got a message from her.

I will send you some boxes to get things started. And if you need more of anything please let me know. Also if you see anything in the garden centre you would like me to send, pop a list on a notecard and I'll send those too. If you have too much of anything, maybe you could set the boxes for sale and the proceeds could go to the Relay. Have a fun weekend :-)



Her “some” boxes totaled over two dozen! They were rezzed at the campsite temporarily. In group chat, there were cheers and praises, “WOOOT!!!” “She's always good to us! :) ” “It's kind and great that a designer has done that.” Daaneth Kivioq got yours truly a group tag to get over to the campsite to see the goods for myself. It wasn’t long before builders Dusk Griswold and Lomgren Smalls showed up, and they and Daan began unpacking the boxes and setting things up. They were joined by other builders, including Shockwave Yareach.

Lilith’s Heart Garden store is in Heart 1 (124 124, 28)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

With all the “Bid me Human” events the Passionate Redheads have pulled, a few of their furrier teammates have asked, “So who’s having a ‘Bid me Furry?’“Almost lost in the excitement of SL8B, a couple weeks ago on June 25th, the “Cure Chasers” RFL team, noted for their cheerleader uniforms, held just that.


Yes once in a lifetime because she will never do it again. “Turn Sienna Thor Into A Furry For RFL.” Sienna has been been locked in a back room at the Red River Saloon since Thursday so she could not get away. She will turn her beautiful body FURRY for $L10,000 for the first week and $L1,000 for every additional day after that.


The event went on for several hours, with DJs Stormie Windlow, April McCoy, and Jocelyn Sands providing the music. Yours truly dropped in about halfway when about $15,000 was raised. Sienna was there dancing away as a racoongirl. She remarked of one of the greetings she had gotten from a furry passing by, “Hello cutie,” was that it had been months since anyone had ever greeted her like that.

For whatever reason, the stakes were soon changed. After $20,000, she would take on the form of a “tiny” raccoon. It wasn’t long before that was raised, and she shrunk in size to kneecap height. Fortunately for her, there was a “tiny” danceball for her and the other tiny present to dance around in.

There was also a kissing both there for additional fundraising.

Also that day, singer Lance Rembrant was giving a two-sim concert to raise funds for Relay for Life. So much was happening that day, there just wasn't time to write about it all.

With about a week to go until The Walk, the various teams are pulling numerous events. One I noticed was a “biker babe” Road Rash rally being held this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There’s no shortage of events, so be on the lookout for one if you’re inworld, and stop by.

Bixyl Shuftan.

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

Bixyl Shuftan

Meet Mikati Slade

While touring SL8 last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Second Life Artist Mikati Slade at her exhibit, “Together”. The colorful exhibit was one of the most fun pieces of art I have seen in a long time. Her art exemplified the theme of this year’s celebration, “The Magic of Second Life.” When I met Mikati, she was dressed in the same bright pinks, yellows, and reds as her exhibit. How fun!

In real-life Mikati is a digital artist from Japan. As part of her formal education she studied classical sculpture and drawing. Her real-life work experience includes illustrations and graphic design. She is a very bright, friendly asset to the SL art community.

The “Together” exhibit was described in a notecard as “Japanese Pop-style,” featuring “a bright, pixelized sculpture made up of cute figures of various looks and other symbols.” I saw lots of hearts, flowers, and happy objects. Looking at the exhibit made me smile.

On her notecard, Mikati wrote, “People are often inhibited by numerous limits and handicaps, such as their appearance, gender, or age. In envisioning a better future, it makes sense to try to address this issue. In Second Life, people can push aside some of the obstacles that trouble them in real life and live, work, and develop relationships in a freer environment. It's the vision of a better future materialized in Second Life today. This is the magic of Second Life.”

Mikati also has exhibits at a French art sim, PiRats Art Network. More of her Japanese Pop art work can be found there at PiRats Art Network (148, 81, 21). Through her designs, Mikati hopes to communicate her ideas about society and people’s identities. We talked about how Second LIfe provides the opportunity to meet people that we would never have the chance to meet in real-life. “Yes,” Mikati said, “Really that’s magic!”

Grey Lupindo

“Bid Nydia Human” Nets 50K Lindens

This was a fundraiser full of twists and turns.

The event started as a follow-up to the “Bid Me Human” event of May 20th for the Relay for Life team Passionate Redheads, in which I volunteered for. To the surprise of everyone, the event raised 29,000 Lindens. Afterwards, DJ and club owner Nydia Tungsten talked about doing this kind of event as well. And soon, came the announcement:


"That's right, for all those that would love to torture this little white vixen, here is your chance. Come bid me Human on Sunday June 19th at 4 pm SL time. First week will cost you $5000 L's each day there after is 1K, so come see how long you can keep me human. This will be held at the H.M.A.S. Little Dove in the beautiful Southern Colorado sim. All proceeds go to Relay for life and the awesome work they do."


June the 19th was chosen partly because that was the day the previous “Bid me Human” came to an end. Nydia thought it would be symbolic if I showed up in my human appearance one last time and changed back when she changed from her fox avatar, “passing the torch” she called it.

But when the weekend approached, Nydia’s real life family wanted to do something that day. Nydia at first thought she might be a few minutes late. But whatever was going on, Nydia felt she had to move the event back from 4PM SL time to Noon. This would undoubtedly disrupt things as some people whom were planning to show might not find out about the change until it was too late. Nydia felt the event wouldn’t raise quite as much as the one the month before. Her goal was 15,000 Linden dollars, which would mean seventeen days without the vixen avatar.


So on Sunday, as Noon approached people began dropping by the zeppelin club, with a kiosk set up specially for the event. But although people were donating, progress was much slower than at the May “Bid me Human.” Possibly it was because this event had many more friends of the volunteer, and they were reluctant to “torture” her. Nydia encouraged the others to donate more. Finally, the 5,000 Linden goal was reached. I changed back to my familiar foxy appearance, and Nydia took on the form of a tall shapely blonde.

The event went on for a while, Nydia getting a few whistles for her shapely appearance and skimpy outfit. A few friends of her were also in human avatars out of sympathy. Eventually she reached and passed her goal of 15,000. The kiosk went up to 18,000 Linden dollars. She was talking about leaving the kiosk up until 6PM as planned for those arriving late. But just after 2 PM, Nydia got a call from her real-life family, and had to leave. After she left, the numbers dwindled away, leaving the kiosk at 18K.

A little before 4 PM, when the event was originally scheduled to start, Southern Colorado’s sim owner Daaneth Kivioq appeared. Not knowing the event had already started and the people came and went, he reset the kiosk and began inviting friends over. He was soon told the news, and grumbled about resetting the kiosk. He then added 2,000 more Lindens, raising the amount raised to 20,000 Lindens, three weeks and a day as a normal human.

Among the others there was RECoyote Mindes, the co-owner of the Spectral Shadows art gallery and the Green Meadowlands Ballroom club, also known as “Perri’s Xanadu.” Just after seeing the amount hit 20K, he stepped forward, “No! Keep Nydia a vixen!” He then added his own amount to the kiosk to get his request, a whopping 30,000 Lindens!! This was close to the equivalent to a hundred and twenty US dollars! Daaneth looked at the amount, and it was his opinion that considering the amount of the donation his wish should be honored.

Why had "REC," as he was known to his friends, donated such a large amount? He felt having to drop her vixen look for three weeks would really be torture for Nydia.

It wasn’t long after this that Nydia arrived back on the Grid and the zeppelin. She got a notice to the Redhead group of the news about what just happened, then asked us for details. When Daaneth told her he no longer considered her honor-bound to continue as human, Nydia felt some Relayers who chipped in might feel cheated. So she stated she would remain as a blond human for 24 hours. Both RECoyote and Daaneth agreed.

Daaneth stated there was some more good news. RECoyote’s donation had given the Passionate Redheads team a grand total this season of over $2000 US dollars. This made the Redheads officially a Platinum-ranked team, putting it well ahead of most other teams.

Nydia had another surprise. Her close friend Leena logged onto Second Life for the first time in a while. With this and raising 50,000 for the Redheads, it was clearly a good day.

Bixyl Shuftan

Being Human

For practically all of my time in Second Life, my appearance has been of something with a tail and a coat of fur. For the first several months, it was the starter ringtail. After my newcomer period came to an end, I took on the appearance of a red 5-foot foxboy. I would on occasion take on another appearance briefly. But very seldom did I wear a human appearance. And when I did, it was usually for a cartoon or as part of some joke, such as for Halloween.

That was changed on May 20th, with the results of the Relay for Life “Bid me Human” event. I thought it would only be for a few days. But the event raised so much cash, the term would be for a month. I did get a few outlets, the club I occasionally hosted at, the New Bastogne combat RP, when doing any interviews for the paper, and the Second Life Newser anniversary event. But outside those, stuck as a 6’ 7” “baldie.”

So how has it been as a furball used to being able to shift around? It hasn’t stopped me from exploring around, and I’ve continued going about my journalistic duties, as well as doing a couple cartoons with it. To most anyone I briefly come across when going about Second Life, it hasn’t made any difference. Though when talking to someone for a while, I’m not as inclined to make a humorous comment as before. I guess when one looks short and furry and a bigger smile, it’s easier to break the ice.

So what do my furry friends think? There were a few shaved jokes, as well as the “Ahhhh! A Human!!” gesture a few furballs carry. And it was a little awkward interacting as before during the community parties, which often had some theme in which I’d often change to a different form, as well as a set of clothes. But soon I was more or less joking around with everyone much like before, even if I was a bit bigger and balder. The biggest reactions was when people found out about it for the first time, with reactions such as “whoah” or a fallover gesture. One lady didn’t react too well, “That is NOT you!” But most took it in stride, the only problem being their wondering how I was feeling. Some commented it looked funny. More often, they felt it looked above average for a human avatar.

A friend did tell me there was one place where I wouldn’t be welcome: a furry-only nude beach which had a policy of tossing out human avatars. Not sure why such a policy, but I don’t exactly frequent those kinds of places.

As for the ethninticity, American residents haven’t paid any attention. A few Europen friends have made some good-natured jokes, such as feeling I’d look better with a basketball jersey, or joking the av came with a bigger dork. A few have asked if I was black in real life. The answer to that is no.

Someone from the Relay organizers asked me if I planned to stay this way once the “Bid me Human” period came to an end. No thanks, for several reasons. I may go back to this on occasion, such as for a cartoon or for Halloween. But professionally, I’m too well known as “Fox News in Second Life,” not to mention known by my friends as a “foxy guy.”

So looking forward to June 19th, in which I’m free to return to my Luskwood red fox, and enjoy going about Second Life as before.

Bixyl Shuftan

My Little Brony

It takes a lot to impress me these days. After being on the grid for almost five years, I've pretty much seen it all.

Enter Bronyland, started by, of all things, 4chan?

That's right, started by a 4chan meme on /co/, the "My Little Pony" incarnation currently all over Youtube and TV is now in SL as the "Bronies", a beerslam of "bro" and "pony." Joining the group and rooting through the notices gets you a easily-edited Brony avatar (the hud is unusual, you color the spaces on the hud itself, click sync, and it does the work for you, rather than you editing each individual prim), and searching a bit more you'll come across landmarks to the Bronyland sim.

Curious, I teleported over. And holy HELL, the place is bustling and packed. It's packed with cuteness and sweetness, the perfect spot to unwind when you're in a cute-sy, kiddy mood. I tracked down Twinkle Swizzle. the Lady Of The House, and we got together for a little interview.


Xymbers Slade: Ok, my first question is, how long has this place been up? This has to be a "new meme", and yet the sim looks -really- fleshed out right now.

Twinkie Swizzle: We've been here in this sim for about a week. It was formerly My Little Project sim, but decided it would be better served as a home for the Bronies. We currently have a ticket in to change the name to "Bronyville."

Xymbers Slade: It's certainly become that home. It looks like it sprang up overnight. How did this whole thing get off the ground? I saw a pony in a sandbox a few weeks or so ago and thought "Ok, THAT'S cute." Just a random idea cribbed from 4chan?

Twinkie Swizzle: The week before we moved here, Curly had a little house on a 1024 lot in "Sim." It was interesting packing 30+ people in there. We needed to spread out! Hee-hee.

Xymbers Slade: Yay lag then. I just came from the Korea sims and they're laggy a bit.

Twinkie Swizzle: It all started in late 2010 when Lauren Faust released the Generation 4 “My Little Pony” on The Hub. Because of the super cute art style and fun personalities of the characters, it went viral. 4chan has a weakness for cute.

Xymbers Slade: How many members does the group have right now? Worried that things will go out of control if there's too many to keep track of?

Twinkie Swizzle: We currently have 1681 members, and it's growing by about 100 members a day.

Xymbers Slade: I think the Mentors had something like 2500 before Linden Lab told them to screw off ... heh. Since this whole thing started on 4chan, do you get hit with a lot of griefers who don't like the idea of "cute and sweet"? Most people don't equate 4chan as having a weakness for cute.

Twinkie Swizzle: We went from 30 members to almost 1700 in about two weeks. I'm totally blown away by how many fans are actually here in Second Life. Curly's pony avatar really helped bring everybody together.

Xymbers Slade: It made me want to build a little again or at least edit, hence what I have so far. (smile)

Twinkie Swizzle: We do deal with the occasional griefer. However we have a mod team made up individuals with a lot of previous Second Life moderation experience in other communities such as Furnation and Luskwood. We are not a furry community per-say, however quite a few of our members are furry.

Xymbers Slade: What do you have planned for the sim? Will it become a place to roleplay? Seeing it's based off a popular show and all.

Twinkie Swizzle: We want to give the fans of “Friendship is Magic” a really fun experience here, if roleplay is what they want, I'm sure we can provide some venue for that.

Xymbers Slade: What's the biggest thing that has surprised you since this first got off the ground?

Twinkie Swizzle: Besides the astonishing growth rate, just how amazing the members are. When you think of chan culture, you think of LOLcats, goatse, and internet memes. The Bronies hold friendship and caring for each other in high regard, so it really defeats the stereotype.

Xymbers Slade: This seems to be a big thing on TV right now. Are you worried about repercussions from the creators of the cartoon if they get wind of this, especially if the avs start selling?

Twinkie Swizzle: We see this sim as more of generic interpretation of cute vectorized ponies and their home, rather than a direct copy of Hasbro's intellectual property. We would never sell anything actually branded as "My Little Pony."

Xymbers Slade: Hence the Brony label? (smile)

Twinkie Swizzle: Exactly!

Xymbers Slade: Do you think this is just a fad whose star will fall to earth just as quickly as quickly as it rose? All this work only to go poof if interest dries up?

Twinkie Swizzle: TV shows come and go, but the messages they carry last forever. With Season 2 in the pipeline, we don't really see things slowing down right away. Of course everything has an expiration date, but we're going to have fun while it lasts!

Xymbers Slade: Well, that pretty much covers the questions I had in mind.

Twinkie Swizzle: Sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by Xymbers. Brohoof!

This is most definitely a place to visit. Join the Bronies group for access to the avatar and a LOT of modifications (just go through the notices, there are a lot of attachments and things to be had). This is SL Done Right at its finest, not bean counters and lawyers afraid of the aforementioned chan culture.

As of this being typed, all the fun is on the sim called "The Joint", but as Miss Swizzle said, they're getting the sim name changed soon to Bronyville. Go visit, you'll be glad you did.


Xymbers Slade.

Trek Sim Holds RFL “Jail and Bail”

While the Passionate Redheads were doing their “Bid Me Human,” a Trek group was doing their own Relay for Life fundraiser, a “Jail and Bail” by the UFS in the Starfleet Sector 002 sim.


Commander Kermie Mistwallow is in the brig for the 2nd of 3 days on charges of aiding and abetting a known fundraising effort! As part of his punishment for his crime, he may have to shave his head - but only you will be able to decide that through your donations!

This jail and bail ends tomorrow, Sunday, May 22. At the end of that time, Commander Mistwallow will be freed and the punishment extracted upon his hair that you have determined! He's already going to go bald for a week. Will it be longer?


Deciding to take a look, I beamed over, and the two cells I saw were empty, with what looked like a cardboard cutout and a mannequin in their places. Also, the walls were missing, so I thought my computer was being slow and taking forever to rezz. One of the crewwomen, Zania Turner, was there. When I pointed out what I couldn’t see, she clicked on something, and the wall plus a number of details appeared, “We use a lot of rezzers to save on prims.”

I talked to Zania a little about the event, “Our jailbirds have left holograms up, as they are currently sleeping ... If we can get L$100,000 in donations, these guys will go bald, along with most of our Engineers.” As of late Saturday afternoon, they had raised 37,000 Lindens, “He'll be freed after 3 days, and the punishment will be extracted on his hair dependent on what people donated. And the CO of an outpost, and most Engineers, will also follow suit and honor that same hair punishment.”

Of how the idea came about, “I've heard of other jail and bail events that were pretty successful. We were trying to consider what we could do for our fundraisers for this year. When I saw something on TV for the St. Baldrick's Society, I figured that was the perfect ‘ marriage ‘ for an event. St. Baldrick's is a group where the members shave their heads and go bald to stand in solidarity with kids that have cancer. My brother had cancer as a kid, so this was something that kind of hit home in a sense.”

Zania expressed doubts that they could do another fundraiser like this anytime soon, “This is really the last fundraiser we can have as the group that we're in is in dire financial trouble. If we don't raise money for our group, we're going to lose a region. That's why we need to make this one for Relay For Life big. ... We just aren't getting the condo rentals that we need to support us having both regions. We may lose one, if not both, if we don't increase our donations or condo rentals very soon.”

Zania told me a little about the UFS, “We started out as one region, and actually were part of another group until differences in leadership resulted in a split. Since that time, we have forged our own future within the Star Trek universe and acquired a second region. Our RP is based around the Delta Quadrant, where we have picked up the adventures following the return of Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant. As an organization, we are similar to SFI or The Federation (IFT) in that we provide memberships to those who are interested - for free - and they can experience Star Trek in any way they choose. We provide ships and stations for people to be stationed at, and even have a fully functioning Academy that provides almost 200 classes for cadets and members to take.”

At one point, we were joined by another of the group, Simmyish Resident. Zania explained, “Simmy here is in the process of changing, but he's one of our members. He's assigned as the Chief Security Officer for the Pathfinder Research Facility, which is where we're standing (in the Security deck).” They told of some of the fun they had with the jailbirds, “teasing in general, like putting tribbles in Kermie's cell (grins).” Simmyish mentioned, “I've kind of not being able to access the locks for them.” He also mentioned that crew members were showing Kermie samples of his favorite beverage and joyfully drinking it in front of him.

To get to the cells, beam over to Starfleet Sector 002 at (189, 102, 71). For those coming across this article a little late, the sim is a good place to visit for Star Trek fans.

Bixyl Shuftan

Mystery Celebrates Fifth Anniversary with Week of Events

For week after week, month after month, Mystery has been one of the most active romantic-themed sims in Second Life. Every week, it’s Queen of Hearts riverboat club has held events on most days, sometimes two or more a day, both DJs and live singers. And the rest of the sim offers much to see from it’s mountain and waterfall, to it’s balloon ride, to it’s village shops and mystery manor, and much more.

On Sunday May 15th, following a few days of preparation, Mystery launched it’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration. A week of special events and the unveiling of new attractions. Sunday’s event began at 12 Noon SL time, with the ever-popular Debi Latte appearing on the deck of the Queen of Hearts to a large crowd both on the deck and on the dock below.

Also there were Mystery’s owner Tygeria Mirabeau, dressed in a revealing white gown, and manager Amythe Moonlight, in a classy black dress. Several other staff were also there. They helped liven things up with a few jokes and comments. So did Tygeria with a few playful flirty remarks to Debi, which occasionally interrupted her songs with a few giggles. Debi sung a number of songs, including the one adopted by the club as it’s signature: “Queen of Hearts.”


Playin with the Queen of Hearts,
you know it ain’t really smart.
The joker ain’t the only fool,
who’ll do anything for you.


In the middle of the songs, the fireworks went off, and the dark skies over the club were showered with colorful lights. Late in the hour, someone appeared on the ship whom hadn’t been seen in a while: Jazzz Hermit. He was greeted with smiles and a warm welcome.

Debi was scheduled to play until 1 PM, but played one more song. She then turned the stream over to Jazzz. Some of the crowd left, but a number stayed to hear Jazz sing songs such as "What Have I Got to Do to Make You Love Me?" He wondered if he was a little rusty, not having sung in a while, but everyone enjoyed the music. Peoples' attention were also drawn to a little bear magician, "The Great Teddini," behind the singer.

Following Jazzz, those attending were invited to see the sights of the sim. This included some new builds, notably the roller coaster a little distance east of the riverboat. And many did.

There would be more events as the week went on, DJs, live music, and some 7Seas fishing contests. But Sunday was a wonderful start to the anniversary celebrations.

Playin with the Queen of Hearts,
Dancin on the Queen of Hearts,
Five years of the Queen of Hearts,

Bixyl Shuftan

"Fight Like a Girl"

While I was growing up in the 1980’s, wrestling was fairly popular. My friends loved to watch the shows of “good guy” characters like Hulk Hogan beat up the bad boys. And when the bad guy was from Russia or Iran, the emotions could get pretty raw. There were wrestling video games, and even a cartoon show.

But later on, the wrestling scene changed. To paraphrase Jesse “The Body” Ventura, it looked like everyone was a bad guy and the heroes had left the scene. And so most of my friends didn’t watch or talk about wrestling so much any more. And when they did, it was often about it’s glory days, either of the 1980’s or 50’s.

It was probably inevitable that those whom looked fondly at those days would seek to bring wrestling into Second Life.

Not long ago, Sam Nightfire invited me to a wrestling match at the UWS Metrodome on the Virtual World Network sim. I was a little late, but there was still a special fight left, “glad you made it. This match is the ladies championship.” Now males have a reputation of loving to see women fight. But my reaction was a little different, “Um, why am I thinking this may be the most vicious, merciless of the fights?”

Some guys think women can’t fight. That all they can do is slap each other and tear at each others clothes. It’s my experience that this is far from the case. What women lack in strength, they often make up for it in tenacity and strategy, hitting where it hurts, and doing it again, and again, and again. A few can be quite brutal and ruthless at it. Years ago, I read about one tabloid reporter whom volunteered to go at it with a lady wrestler of a semi-professional ring, and the “bad girl” quickly had him begging for mercy.

The match was between Roxy Rockett and Gwenivere Swansong. Because of the number of people around, I didn’t see anything at first. Then one, and the other lady wrestler appeared through the rezz, as well as the guy referee. The action appeared slow at first, though the chat told it was anything but. “YOUR TURN GWEN!” ::catches her breath, closing her eyes from the pain:: “You a**hole!” Following a loud thump, “Hee-hee! You reaaally think it was going to be that easy? Wow, you are really stupid.” “Oh, I’m SO hurt!”

The audience, mainly men but lots of women among them, was not always better. “They fight like girls.” “Go Gwenny!” “Come on Rose! Get up... you can do this!” “You gonna go kick some *ss!!” “Let’s go Gwen get up and beat her *ss.” “Az get in there show ‘um how it's done!”

Before long, the animations weren’t so much affected by lag, and the actions became clearer, the grapples, the kicks, the body slams. I winced, imagining what damage and scars girls in real life would be getting. The two tigresses continued the carnage, one getting a brief hold on the other only to be knocked away. Finally Gwenivere pulled a “stunner” on Roxy, “And THAT, is how you get ROWDY!!” She then pinned her opponent, and the referee counter, “One! ... Two! ... Three!” Roxy then dislodged her, but it was too late. She cursed as the bell rang it’s victory chimes, and the audience roared, “HEEELLLLL YEAAAAHHHHH!!!” Gwenivere was awarded the championship belt, and raised her trophy up in the air proudly.

Not long afterwards, I had the chance to interview the athlete.

Bixyl Shuftan: Congrats on the win Gwenivere

Gwenivere Swansong: Thank you Bixyl.

Bixyl Shuftan: Interesting choice of a wrestling name, "Gwenivere"

Gwenivere Swansong: ::laughs:: Well, actually I began as a fantasy roleplayer. Plus it's a stem from my real-life name Gwendolyn.

Bixyl Shuftan: Oh really, that's interesting.

Gwenivere Swansong: I found out that there was virtual wrestling through my friend, and later mentor, Curt Bombastic.

Bixyl Shuftan: I wasn't aware of official women's matches until tonight. Is this something new?

(nearby wrestler): There's been women's matches about as long as there's been SL wrestling.

Gwenivere Swansong: Nope, actually there are women's divisions in most feds. even one designated to only women. Though, UWS is one of the first to make their women's division a priority and not something placed on the back burner.

Bixyl Shuftan: So how long did it take to become one of the wrestlers here?

Gwenivere Swansong: Not very long at all. Because of my history with roleplay, it was easy for me to understand the meter system and emoting. I was told I took to it pretty naturally, though everyone's training period depends on their own levels and time that they can dedicate to it. I spent , I think, about three weeks training. But still I learn new things everyday.

Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds good ... When people imagine guys watching women scrap, they usually think of guys drooling, staring off into space. What has your impression been?

(several laughs and boos from nearby bystanders)

Gwenivere Swansong: ::chuckles:: We all have fun here, and the occasional good spirited flirt has been exchanged. But when it comes down to the true grit of it, the women of the UWS are respected as equal wrestlers; not just pieces of tush in revealing clothing. We are allowed to be who we are and enjoy what we do without harassment, but on an equal playing field.

Bixyl Shuftan: Well put. ... Tonight's match seemed pretty tough. How long do most matches last?

Gwenivere Swansong: Our matches can last anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, well, lag permitting. Though most matches do tend to run over, but it's mainly because we end up really enjoying ourselves out there and revel in the fan's reaction and the ambiance that both they, the commentators and the wrestlers create.

(bystander): Gwenny! Congrats on winning the title, Champ!

Gwenivere Swansong: ~ <3 ~ Thanks Drew!

Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like quite a few memorable moments happen.

Gwenivere Swansong: Yes, I can honestly say that most of my most memorable moments have been in the arena. Whether it's training, performing or just goofing around with my fellow wrestlers. We love what we do here. I really feel like UWS is my home and I have a great time here. The wrestlers, they are my family.

Bixyl Shuftan: Goofing with the other wrestlers ... anything especially hilarious happen?

Gwenivere Swansong: ::laughs:: TONS! We have such a lively bunch of wrestlers here, it's hard not to have a good time. All the way from Derrick zane's many voices, broly's antics , the list just goes on. We are, well, a colorful group of people, to say the least. Falling out of the ring because someone accidently clicked the ropes, word goof ups, just endless.

Bixyl Shuftan: (chuckles) In your opinion, what was the one most worthy for a sports blooper TV show?

Gwenivere Swansong: Aah, that's like trying to pick your favorite song. Hmm.. it would probably have to be a current one between me and Rose. We might be rivals but we also have our moments. We were in the ring a few weeks ago when we were practicing for the one on one match. Well, it was one of the times where the rope wasn't clicked and rose ended up ... eh ... le’ts just say, that for the position we landed in, ... well (blush) you might have seen on “Skinamax.”

But, as I said, that is just the current one that comes to mind. Between lag and hud malfunctions, there is always room for strange things to happen.

Bixyl Shuftan: So now that you've won, anything to say to your fans whom might be reading this?

Gwenivere Swansong: Only that through hard work, dedication and a positive outlook, anything can happen. People focus so much on negativity or think they have to be a jerk or bad*ss to make waves. I want my fans to know that class isn't dead. There is a saying: nice guys always finish last. Not the case... this time. The nice girl finished first.

(bystanding wrestler): Nice speech.

Gwenivere Swansong: Hehe!

Bixyl Shuftan: Thank you for your time, Gwenivere.

Gwenivere Swansong: Thank you for yours as well. I hope to see you coming out again to see us.

With Sammantha hanging around there, I’ll probably be back again soon. But still, women’s wrestling is not what I would call a spectator sport for the timid. “Catfight” my tail. More like pantherfight or lionfight.

Bixyl Shuftan