Two Pony Fans Speak Out

Recently, Second Life Newser ran a commentary by Zyker Finesmith questioning if there was some trouble between furies and ponies. Among those who read it was Skylark Lefavre, the owner of the Castaway Club. She contacted me, and asked to speak to me in detail on the subject. She and her partner Fyphfoko Yifu later met up with me and Jasmine Dawn Shuftan, and we talked for a while.

Bixyl Shuftan, "To begin with Sky, how long have you been on Second Life?"

Skylark Lefavre, "Since 2007."

Bixyl Shuftan, "So you have a wide range of experiences on the Grid?"

Skylark Lefavre, "Yes. I have been human, furry, vampire, full animal, avian, tiny. You name it I done it." Sky went on to say these days she occasionally wears three avatars in addition to her furry form, "I am currently … a dragon, a furry, a tiny, and a pony. I belong to Raglan Shire and Isle of Wyrms."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "It's an individual thing. I consider myself furry, pony, and consider ponies anthro characters."

Bixyl Shuftan, "Has griefing been an especially hard problem between any group, or has it always been limited to individuals?"

Skylark Lefavre, "All groups experience it. It's only bad if you dunno how to handle, or prevent it, which the tinies and dragons have done. They have about stopped it. Furries and other fandoms are equal in griefing and drama, including humans."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Same here, and I frequent pony forums and the like, being a lifelong pony fan."

Bixyl Shuftan, "What has your experience with the Ponies been?"

Skylark Lefavre, "No more drama and griefing than furries or other fandoms. … every member is human … no one fandom causes more than others. It's like the political mud slinging commercials. … Things arent' as bad as those hating and fighting make it out to be."

The takedown of the first Pony sim, Bronyville, came up (articles here and here). Of the drama that happened there, "It's a fandom, it's gonna happen," Skylark remarked, "It's new, it's young. It hasn't learned how to deal with it yet. When they learn not to let it happen, and not cause it to happen, then they will rank with (the) tines and dragons (at) Raglan Shire and the Isle of Wyrms. But at the moment, most Bronies are Teen Grid crossovers (from) when it merged with ours. This caused another stereotype: if you have a pony av, you are underage. It's not true."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Most pony fans are in their 20s and 30s."

Jasmine Dawn Shuftan , "Do any of you remember (Overbrain Unplugged), one of the sim admins, a Brony and one of the primary griefers there?"

Skylark Lefavre, "Not him. I remember the sim, though. I was there, I saw it all happen. I never spoke to Curly and those admin devils again."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "We were friendly with Curly, though."

Skylark Lefavre, "We were. Then factions arose from that little sim event. To be honest, Curly Fride is soon to turn 18. But he was more mature than the admins. Not very much, but still more. I saw his report from him, and the other factions."

Jasmine brought up an incident when everyone in Bronyvile was made weightless, "and slung to the far corner of the sim." Skylark replied, "Yes, I know. And I know how to reverse gravity." "Who did you think did that?" "It's an estate tool, and it's a griefer scripted weapon. Someone at (name withheld) showed me how anyone can make a griever tool, and change the creator/owner to you."

"The Bronvyville incident started with a supposed hacking of Curly's account, and the theft of his soon to be released 600 $L pony."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Basically, if its computer related, it can be fiddled, usually relatively easily."

Skylark Lefavre, "Someone hacked into ti to make it so Curly was no longer a sim admin, then stole his pony, released it to the public. The admins were upset with Curly, they wanted to cut him out. The griefer group you spoke of caused the entire mess. They were responsible. They gave Bronys a bad reputation. And this was their plan all along."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "… 'My Little Pony' is more popular then Elvis right now, so of course its going to be a big griefing target."

Skylark Lefavre, "There is a collation on the 'net to do away with all things Brony. I dunno the specifics, but there is a group of Brony haters on the 'net and on SL causing the drama. They pose as ponies, but they are not. They get in so deep, the mess they cause never goes away. The fall of Bronyville was a planned event. They infiltrate new fandoms and take them down from the inside by destroying their integrity and reputation."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "If you're a terrorist, are you going to attack a tiny obscure village, or something like a major train station?"

Skylark Lefavre, "They tried to take down as many as they could. Bixyl, when that event happened, Brony population actually decreased for a while, at least for a few months."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Exactly, and that's why popular things like Pony and Twilight are so often targeted."

Skylark Lefavre, "Popular or (not), anything different is a target. … It's not the furries and the bronies who are at war its the griefers who make them think they are. They cause the drama. They cause the trolling. They cause the griefing. Neither side is at war unless they believe the griefers."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Ponies and furries are no more at war then fans of (Classic) Star Trek and fans of 'The Next Generation.' "

Skylark Lefavre, "Ever hear of the Hatfield's and the McCoys? They fought and killed each other. They fought so long they forgot why. The fought because their parents told them lies, mangled truths. Hate needs justification. To justify you need to lie and lie well."

A friend nearby, Kryxia Silverfall, had been listening, and wondered, "With this griefing going around among the fandoms namely bronies and furies, if one allows the issue to see light in a way it is giving the griefers acceptance in that they are acknowledged and tend to crave that."

Skylark Lefavre, "That's true, but they make those they pretend to be look that way too, like attention whores."

Kryxia Silverfall, "Yes, there are tools out there that may cause what is now known as griefing tools. But then again, it could be and probably is was someone was probably trying to push the limits of say the sims, which the griefers seem to have been able to get their hands on (the tool) and turn it to be a weapon as well. To propagate their form of fun by causing said misery to two groups of people."

Skylark Lefavre, "Quantum Labs was a victim of this. Their tools were ripped off and used as griefer weapons. Now people think users of Quantum Labs huds are griefers."

Kryxia Silverfall, "Basically the griefers thrive on causing misery, for it might make them feel better about themselves by doing what they do. It is all human nature of what is behind the monitor and what they want to do."

Skylark Lefavre, "To put it bluntly, in every fandom there are bad apples to give the group a bad name. It never goes away. Its how you handle it and prevent it that matters."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "You can't control what others like. The founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses supposedly liked 'Care Bears.' "

Skylark Lefavre, "Seems people hated dragons, so they constantly griefed the Isle of Wyrms sandbox, which was public. Now its only usable if you are in group and their griefing is near 0% now. Tinies exists, but they don't push others to be tines, and they have a strict police system to prevent people from joining if they even seem griefer like."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Dragons do get a bad press because of how they are portrayed in movies."

Skylark Lefavre, "Ponies and furries need a better faster and quieter way to prevent and handle things like grieving. Then I know the so-called war between furries and bronies will die. But as it stands, the griever groups not only exist in Second Life, but they exist in other (places), Facebook, the Internet, or real-life. All anyone can do is handle the ones here. Take the griefers out of the equation, there will be peace again."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "Personally, that video I linked too pretty much represents all I know about this apparent 'war.' "

Skylark Lefavre, "I know more than you think (Fyphfoko). I went around asking questions, gathering evidence, at the fall of Bronyville. We were in that group less than a year and drama hit big."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "I lost two small parcels, which pissed me off. Although I do like the new Ponyland."

Jasmine Dawn Shuftan, "I'm saying one thing then I am walking away from this. The day we live in a world untouched by hate is the day this world will be reborn."

Bixyl Shuftan, "Xymbers linked a Krypton Radio article from the JLU, was it accurate?"

Skylark Lefavre, "What article?

Bixyl Shuftan, "http://kryptonradio.com/2011/07/21/woodbury-banned-a-third-time-sl-bronies-take-a-hit/ "

Skylark took a few moments to read, then, "Bix, this article is correct. It could not be better put, and I agree. The Bronies are not a griefing group. They were started by a griefer, but (he) was thankfully removed. There are no more grievers in the Bronies. But sadly the griefer group was involved with the removal of that Bronyville sim."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "I'm pretty sure there are griefers, but they don't run things anymore."

Skylark Lefavre, "And the copybot device he leaked is null and uneffective as new SL server code has made nearly all copybot devices unusable and to my knowledge the place to get them is neither advertised or sold. Nearly all, but not all."

There was a little discussion of technical details of copybot and other tools, then, Skylark continued, "It's sad a new fandom's rep was tarnished by the group, but thanks to the preserverance and hard work of people and Lindens its gonna get harder and harder for griefers to get the upper hand. Drama will always exist, harassment, hate groups, but they can't do what they used to be able to do. Bronies will emerge out of the pit they have fallen in, and become accepted as much as any other fandom, if not more."

"And Bix, you need to add, you do not have to be one thing. You can be a brony, a furry, a human, or even a tiny. In this world, you can be a lot of things at the same time. It's not a 'this or nothing' game, not like it's made out to be. I am human, I am dragon, I am tiny, I am furry, I am mythological, I am four legged, I am many things. I chose to be all, not just one."

"And also, I don't take sides. I don't let people choose who I can see or be friends with. No one should. I'm gonna be all and whatever I want to be."

Bixyl Shuftan, "Do you feel the ponies have been treated fairly in SL media as a whole?"

Skylark Lefavre, " I feel Ponies have been the uncle no one wants to be near, except by a group of some. (I'm) not saying they are hated by everyone, just saying they are not the most favorite. And so, they aren't as accepted as the sum of SL sims. But they are becoming accepted more and more as furries are on human sims. It's gonna take time to be treated fairly. You have to remember they had a past thats was laid in controversy."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "You can be treated unfairly no matter who you are, though."

Skylark Lefavre, "What fandom though did not have skeletons in their closet? As long as we keep the griefers and trolls out, Bronies will get treated fairly."

The talk then turned to a group that Skylark felt had an excellent reputation, "Tinies are so random they make me laugh a lot. You should hear the chatter on Raglan Shire group chat (grin). They are soooo silly. Tinies are widely accepted because they *are* happy, they *are* silly, they *are* productive, and give to SL as a whole."

Bixyl Shuftan, "And lots of jokes about waffles?"

Skylark Lefavre, "Oh yes (smile). Them and their waffles (grin). With the Isle of Wyrms, though, it's cookies."

Fyphfoko Yifu, "With ponies it's muffins."

Skylark Lefavre, "In my inventory, I have a lot of waffle and cookie builds from IoW and Raglan (grin). My Seawolf Ancient dragon has a cookie the size of a human, but round."

"Bix, I saw griefers and trouble come, and go for good at Ranglan and IoW. It will happen for ponies and furies. It's gonna take time. (smile) I have faith."

Bixyl Shuftan, "Any comments on this article on the tines: http://slnewserextra.blogspot.com/2011/12/have-yourself-tiny-little-christmas.html ?"

Skylark Lefavre, "Oh Em Eff Gee! (laughter) Bix! That article!! That *IS* them! (big grin) Something strange happens when I put on a tiny av. I become like them. Others have told me this too. It's infectious."

"You have to give ponies and tines credit, for a new fandom they rigorously enforce rules to keep their avatars from becoming walking porn, like with bits. They keep them fully PG. And ponies like clothes as much as tines. Even hatches have clothes."

Bixyl Shuftan, "Yes, I've heard those rules are strictly enforced at the Brony sims."

Skylark Lefavre, "It's a good rule, Bix. It proves they are worth giving a chance to. They are pure hearted, not perverts and griefers. The better sides of people come out in PG form, the cuter and more adorable side, the beloved and funny side." Sky paused, then chuckled when she read the latest in Raglan chat, "Hee hee, another Tiny raid on a sim. Those are a laugh (grin). … Store owners can ask a group of tines to come to their store. By doing so, this increases traffic to the place. I was in a few back when … A lot of my friends were tines before they were full-time furies."

Skylark, Fyphfoko, Jasmine, and I continued to talk for a while, but this was the end of the topic. Skylark would later make some tweaks to her pony avatar, and although usually goes about in her furry form, on occasion trots about in her pink pony.

*Addition* Later on, Skylark contacted me saying when they talked about the weightless incident at the Bronyvile sim, she meant to say "admin tool" rather than "estate tool." "And I should have added I do not know how to make the tool. ... I saw someone make the script, but I do not know how to make it myself."

Bixyl Shuftan

A Titanic Misunderstanding

One of my most commented on articles in James and Dana's Second Life Newspaper was "We Don't Allow YOUR Kind Here," dealing with people shut out from locations just because of their appearance. Written a few years ago, it was my observation that it didn't happen as often as it seems, and while often against furry avatars by human sims it wasn't always so.

A few years later, I still get occasional complaints from friends about being made to feel less than welcome at a place. The most blatant example was from May of last year when a friend of mine was banned from a small store in Zindra, "get out of my sim." "What the hell is your problem? … What have I done to deserve this harassment?" "you are a furry that is enough to suspect you are a griefer and a copybot and other bad things too … furrys are annoying malicious griefer copybots" I didn't report on it then as I didn't want to end up accidentally give the small-time store owner more business, and was confident if this was an example of his mannerisms, his unprofessional attitude would soon lead to his bankruptcy.

More often, the complaints I get are of being ignored at a social spot. This might be a mater of perception as some clubs and other public places can get pretty quiet at times. It has still been my experiences most stores and clubs have no problem with furry, neko, tiny, or other avatars. So I was surprised to hear about a complaint about a place I had written about earlier this year: The Titanic.

I had gone to the Titanic sim a few times before, notably when I wrote about it during the Centennial of the real Titanic's first and last cruise. A few friends had the impression the staff of the place didn't like furry avatars. But no one bothered me while I was there. At the docks, it was explained the place had a dress code: formal attire and no child or "animal" avatars. Later when one of the staff was asked, he answered this meant four footed creatures. Furry avatars were welcome as long as they were formally dressed. Also when checking the staff page, they had one neko catgirl among their number.

More recently, one of my friends, a neko, come to me with a complaint, "Did you know that the 'wonderful' Titanic sim  is now banning people just for being a furry?" She and her furry partner had went to the ship, after changing their clothes to formal wear. They went to the ballroom, began dancing, and "we got told to change your av or leave: 'Now I have to ask all the furries to please change avatars or leave the ballroom.' … so much for them being a welcoming place for everyone."

Their response was to get a few friends and make a protest at the dock with signs, "Furs are people too!" It wasn't too long though before they were ejected from the sim, and were banned.

Considering how this contrasted with my earlier experiences, I went to the Titanic that night. It was after the party at the ballroom, and there were only a few people there, though a couple were staff. I was automatically sent a notecard as a reminder about the dress code, but no one raised a peep.

The staff member whom had cleaned up the protest was Joyful Finesmith. I contacted her, and she answered. She hadn't been on the Titanic at the time my two friends were asked to leave, she told me. She had returned only when several regulars complained about the protest. She found the protest amusing, calling it "well organized," but it still had to go. She did say she did inform the owner of the incident and what the protestors were complaining about.

But there was no ban on furred avatars, she explained, "we have several furry couples who come regularly." How could this have happened? Joyful did admit it might be due to an inexperienced hostess whom was confused by what an "animal" avatar met, saying they had a "lot" of new staff. She did add that even avatars not normally allowed sometimes are, saying the dress code is not always enforced away from the ballroom, and on weddings child avatars can be allowed. She also described one pony wedding, saying all they insisted on was that the party be formally dressed.

So it would seem what happened was not a change in policy by the venue's owner. Instead, it would appear to be the result of a single staff member booting people whom while unusual for the place still fit in it's dress and appearance codes, either out of ignorance or possibly malice. It's safe to say if the new hire was uninformed it was corrected, and if done due to prejudice the person will be looking for a new job if this is kept up.

Before closing, of the one place in "We Don't Allow YOUR Kind Here" that asked me to leave, it later began letting only club members enter, and membership cost five hundred Lindens. Five hundred Lindens just to be allowed to go to a laggy hole in the hall, in my opinion. Also at least one roleplay place that once disallowed furry avatars later changed their mind. The now defunct Firefly sim once wouldn't allow them, but later wrote them into their rules so one could play one as character there. When I wrote about the New Bastogne combat role-play, I stated the German army group had a policy of not promoting furs. One of the officers later told me that's not the case, but promotions in the group can be slow as they try to keep the higher ranks small.

Bixyl Shuftan

Of Ponies and Furries

Are the Furry and MLP fandoms at war?
   
            Well it appears that the so-called rumor was sort of true, because from what I am getting at is I went to both furry and my little pony sides. I got some information on if it was true or not. Some say that everyone has a right to their opinion. Some say that they are not at war with one another. I don't hate the MLP fandom or furry fandom in fact I am a furry myself. 

    The furry side at first didn't talk at first, because in my mind I was thinking it would make them look bad. I however went to Luskwood and interviewed some furrys there. They say that they are not at war with the MLP fandom. However, I got a video related with what I have been looking for. It's on you tube the link was from Fyphfoko Yifu. His link was this, and it seems to make sense in what was going on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_0QYXBgyuI. It's a you tube link to what I been hearing about.

The MLP side said they don't consider themselves furrys. They plan to take over the furry fandom. I however went to see for myself to see if it was true. They say they are not at war with the furrys. They say they don't want any trouble. In my mind, I think they are causing grief to the furrys and don't even know it, or do they? We don't know. All we can do is wait and see what happens in the future.

    In all this, I quite got the experience of both sides, and both sides I think are not at war but causing grief to each other. Because I think that the My Little Pony is rather cute. Even though IT may and I quote "IT MAY" be a little gay related, such as Rainbow Dash etc etc. But that is not the point. The point is that I think the MLP should form an alliance with the furry fandom and not be so pushy or anything like that to what some furrys say. Only time will tell.

Zyker Finesmith

Medora Chevalier and Trill Zapatero's Dance Queens Festival

 Late last week I caught up with a few dancers from the Dance Queens dance festival, currently underway here in SL. There are several acts over two weekends, showcasing various acts and dances, that (while not my thing in particular) should be quite the spectacle to visit, given the sheer amount of effort put into putting on such a thing. I caught up with Medora Chevalier and Trill Zapatero, and sat down for a little interview when they had some free time in their schedules.


Medora Chevalier: "Hi Xymbers"
Xymbers Slade waits for things to rez in...
Medora Chevalier: "This is the staging made by Trill Zapatero, based on her split screen and SL9B build - the Apocalypse will not be televised."
Xymbers Slade: "Not bad (smile)."
Medora Chevalier: "It's beautiful (smile)."
Xymbers Slade: "So this is where the dancing's going to be then? (smile)"
Medora Chevalier: "Call this a staging! No - it is over on the sim for the Dance Queens Festival... different acts are at different places over this weekend and next."
Xymbers Slade: "Well, that answers my next question then, I was going to ask when it was being held. Is it all interpretative dance, or just a simple social gathering?"
Medora Chevalier: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AohZI4XRY-bwdDRldi1sMkhTVl9wOTJfQlQ3NEZIdHc&pli=1#gid=0 , "Interpretive."
Xymbers Slade leafs through the schedule ... "Neat stuff, for sure. How long have you been doing this sort of thing?"
Medora Chevalier: "Well as dancers this is sheer luxury working with an artist of Trill's stature, and the wonderful collaborative music of Jana Kyomoon & Junivers Stockholm. I've been doing dance choreography for shows since the Rings with Carp in 2008."
Trill Zapatero: "And the WALL, and Alien Bolero 2 years ago, that was a major big time extravanganza!" ( blushes) , "we've been friends since forever!"
Medora Chevalier: "Trill is a huge inspiration!"
Trill Zapatero: "Medora is a huge inspiration!"
Xymbers Slade: "Dance was always lost on me, I'll admit, I take it Trill's far more well known then, or is a big name in this? Color me ignorant."
Trill Zapatero: "I brag about her to everyone."
Medora Chevalier: "Well, Trill has been a well known artist for ever in SL."
Trill Zapatero: "Trill spends too much time online."
Xymbers Slade: "I think we all spend too much time online. (grin)"
Medora Chevalier: "Well I didn't really choreograph it, but I did perform... and Follow the Light - big live music and particle show with dancing with Junivers again."
Trill Zapatero: "That was probably one of the most amazing happenings ever in SL."
Medora Chevalier: "We like extravaganzas (smile)."
Trill Zapatero: "Yesss, with all kinds of spectacle and particles."

Xymbers Slade: "How much work goes in to putting on one of these productions?"
Medora Chevalier: "Well, Trill has been building for a long time for split screen - how long did it take you Trill?"
Trill Zapatero: "This is a modified part of that build, that took me about 2 months and some."
Medora Chevalier: "Jana and Juni have been building up their collection of collaborative music over the last year."
Trill Zapatero: "But modifying this didn't take that long."
Medora Chevalier: "And I choreographed over about 3 weeks."
Xymbers Slade nods, "Always nice to 'build on the shoulders of giants'... or at least stuff already established... (smile)."
Medora Chevalier: "But Bolero - Ravel arranged Stockholm - that took me about 3 weeks to choreograph originally."
Trill Zapatero: "Well the theme really fit what Medora had in mind."
Xymbers Slade: "So what are you currently up to? I did hear something about this Dance Queens thing. And what's next after this? Do you have something in mind?"
Medora Chevalier: "Well it's a dance festival."
Medora Chevalier: "But all of us like work that has a message."
Xymbers Slade: "Aha, so something with morals then? (smile)"
Medora Chevalier: "And the message for this is, that when civilization collapses under the weight of the banking and ecological and injustice crises, there will still be beauty, humanity and love."
Xymbers Slade: "There's an 'Occupy' joke in there somewhere but I'm not going to be the one to make it."
Medora Chevalier: "The important things are not those we buy but those we give."
Trill Zapatero: "And make!"
Medora Chevalier: "It goes beyond any single campaign and to the heart of what it is to be human."
Xymbers Slade: "Are you expecting large turnout for this?"
Medora Chevalier: "Well I guess we would like to have a full audience."
Trill Zapatero: "A show for friends."
Medora Chevalier: "Though the time is quite early for our usual fans."
Trill Zapatero: "40 is our capacity."
Xymbers Slade nods...
Medora Chevalier: "They know that we always dance and create for change. The show is called Dance for Change. We believe that the connections between people of different nations, ages, races, languages in this space is how we build positive connections... a web of light."
Xymbers Slade: "What's the toughest part of doing it all? The one necessary part that needs to be done but makes you go 'we could do without this if we cut corners' ?" ... Although I get the sense you don't cut corners at all, with the amount of work I'm seeing here in the background."
Medora Chevalier: "Well - I guess getting everything blended together in harmony."
Trill Zapatero: "Are we any where near 'minimalists' ?"
Medora Chevalier: Choosing the dances well - there are over 100 for 45 minutes... and making sure the dancers place themselves where they complement the build."
Trill Zapatero: "Minimalism is so last week."
Xymbers Slade: "Do you program your own dances in or do you hire other help to work with that?"
Xymbers Slade: Xymbers Slade doesn't know the first thing about dances/animations.
Medora Chevalier: "We use dances from the mocap studios in SL, but I choreograph them all and I always include some sky dancing and particles... part of the magic of special SL art - not just a copy of real life."
Xymbers Slade nods
Medora Chevalier: "Of course there's always some fingers crossed that the tech gremlins leave us in peace!"
Xymbers Slade: "Are you planning on doing anything bigger, like going more than one sim and broadcasting from sim to sim? Maybe for the future?"
Medora Chevalier: "Well yes I'd like to..."
Trill Zapatero: "How many sims did you guys use for the WALL?"
Medora Chevalier: "In the past for the Wall and the Rings we were loaned 4 sims as the audience was big enough. But that was when the education institutes had more in-world sims. 40 is small."
Xymbers Slade: "Oh wow, that was what, 2008, 2009?"
Medora Chevalier: "Yes, 2008, but then it was revived and we have a new rock opera that will launch in September, so this is like a nice refresher before that."
Xymbers Slade: "A rock opera? Can't say I've heard of a blending of rock and opera as a genre. Maybe I'll slip by and take a look, then."
Medora Chevalier: "Well like Tommy, it tells a story using songs as a narrative."
Xymbers Slade: "Ok, last question on my little list, what do you hope people bring home from all these dances? (smile)"
Medora Chevalier: "Hope. Hope that even in the depths of the worst crisis our planet and people have ever faced we can use our creativity and our love across the world to pull through and live a better life in harmony."
Xymbers Slade: "In these times, hope is something in short supply, I've noticed. Given the time and amount of energy expended into building this, I bet you'll be more than successful (smile)."
Medora Chevalier: "We hope so - Trill, Jana, Juni - and all the dancers, We all believe in that and we represent an internationalism: Trill from Canada, Szavanna from South Africa, Sofia from Portugal, me in the UK, Dove and Angelique in the USA, Juni in Sweden. But all in all its our gift to those who come along, given with love and hope. So many countries, and we have to plan around time zones, languages, chat lag and typos, etc."
Xymbers Slade: "Rare that I see that kind of co-op anymore, in SL or real life, honestly. It's a nice little 'global effort' you have here (smile)."

The schedule can be found at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AohZI4XRY-bwdDRldi1sMkhTVl9wOTJfQlQ3NEZIdHc&pli=1#gid=0. If you wish to see what kind of dances and things are being put on. Go show them your support and tell 'em I sent you (smile). Dancing isn't my thing personally, so I'm not going to give it a dragon hoard rating, it'd just go right over my head.

Xymbers Slade

Dusk Griswold and Her Puppet Fun

It’s doubtful that anyone who has a TV has not seen Sesame Street. I as a child remember seeing Big Bird and the other various puppets. It was magical. As a kid, they seemed real. As a kid, we had no idea these were puppets and not real beings or people. Later on growing up we figured it out.

I recently talked to Dusk Griswold, another Sunweaver (the last article I wrote was about Nydia Tungsen) about her and her puppetry. According to Dusk, she says it’s a dying art. I’m not so sure. Puppets are still used today in shows for children. The movie “Team America World Police” came to mind too, but I can talk about that later. Also recently there was the real life movie “The Muppets” that came out last year.

Growing up, Dusk watched Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, and was always fascinated by the puppets, and knew one day she wanted to perform them. More recently, she discovered a show from Canada Ccalled The Longhouse Tales. While she said the writing was not that great, the puppets were nicely done, and the look of one inspired the design of her puppet, Vixie.  

Dusk seems very lucky too. She has admitted in real life to meeting one of the puppeteers named Terry Angus. As a puppeteer, he worked on various muppet projects. One thing Terry did work on in particular was the show "Fraggle Rock." I remember that show with Muppets living in a cave. Dusk says he is a talented puppeteer and craftsman. In fact, her puppet named Vixie was created by the same guy: Terry Angus. When Dusk showed me pictures of Vixie the puppet, I said it’s a huge puppet and very well detailed. Dusk Griswold answered, "Should be they were built by a former Muppet performer."

Amazingly Dusk also met a Pixar employee and has a very good drawing of Vixie by him when Dusk was describing Vixie, "One drawing was done by a Pixar artist." Pixar is the same company who made the "Toy Story" movies and other animated moives. In fact I remember seeing the first Toy Story in a movie theatre as a teen.

Dusk showed me a video of Vixie performing live. Well Dusk was puppeteering, and Vixie seemed alive above the table. Vixie looked almost alive by Dusk’s deft hand motions at a furry convention. It was a funny show with humor that you might see from a Muppet show. Dusk wanted Vixie the mad scientist to create a nuclear power coffee maker, commenting, "More like a nuclear powered coffeemaker." I chuckled, "That's one way to get hot coffee."

Dusk has also met other people from the Muppets in real life, "I have met Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, David Barclay, and Terry Angus." Sounds like the real life Dusk has gotten around meeting lots of neat people. She has met some interesting people. I commented the only famous person I met was Charles Feelgood, a real life house DJ from my area.

Ironically I mentioned the R-rated movie “Team America World Police” which features puppets which are designed to look like real people. The same people who created "South Park" made this movie poking fun at adventure/action movies with their twisted sense of humor. Dusk said she hasn’t seen it. I recommend it to anyone who likes South Park, or anything to do with puppets.

Dusk thinks Muppets/puppets are a dying art. Maybe it’s not amazingly popular like video games or the Second Life we all inhabit, but it still has some life to it in the real world.

Dusk has a Flickr account, where one can see pictures of Vixie the puppet's construction. 

Pictures from 2012 RFL Walk.

Grease Coakes

Heartspeaker and the Vison Quest

I reported earlier on the storytelling of “Heartspeaker” on the Native American sim “Spirit Nations.” When I wrote the article promoting Heart’s storytelling every Thursday at 1pm SL time, I earned his trust as he said “There is thunder with your words.”  Also that more people came to his storytelling session when they read about it from this very paper.

Heartspeaker recently invited me to a special occasion: a vision quest.  What’s a vision quest? It is an initiation for a young man or woman in Native American cultures to give the young person spiritual guidance. It involves 3 days of fasting and no water. At the end of the vision quest the young person sees his or her animal totem and then is now welcomed into the tribe as an adult.

For the vision quest here in SL I didn’t have to fast for 3 days to participate, but it was for the benefit of a man named Traverse Slade.  He spoke of how he had dreams of his totem animal as a crow. Meeting with Heartspeaker and Traverse wasn’t exactly a vision quest, but more like Heartspeaker shared his life experiences with Traverse and I. I shared along with Traverse, talking about how my totem animal fox helps me sometimes in various ways. For example I said that fox helps me hear danger like a car coming.

Heartspeaker told Traverse and I about his life experience when his own tribe sent him on a vision quest. As a 17 year old Heartspeaker spent his 3 day vision quest in a small hole in real life. The elders and one of his mentors Charlie Ironshield gave him beef jerky and water to tempt him. Heart spoke of how “Coyote” the trickster tempted him during his vision quest. Coyote is used in Native American stories as a trickster and a goofy personality who teaches folly and what not to do through his antics. Coyote was telling Heartspeaker “Go ahead! Eat and drink something the elders will not know.” Heartspeaker gained willpower to sustain fasting by singing his power song. He mentally fought coyote using his power song. Over time the lack of water made his voice weaker, but heart kept singing anyway. Eventfully Heartspeaker began to focus on his environment in the small hole he was in.

He said there was something he could not share with Traverse and I, and it was something his could only tell his spirit quest teacher Charlie Ironshield. He could tell us his animals spirit were both owl and Otter. Owl teaches wisdom and helps him see better in the dark. Otter may not sound like an impressive animal like owl or wolf, however otter teaches how to share and joy. An important part of any tribe.

Another lesson Heartspeaker said learned from his childhood was when in a Native American summer camp he was told to go around and keep in mind what he saw and perceived in nature. As a young man Heartspeaker blew it off, thinking he would rather play. Later in the evening with his talking stick he felt embarrassed when he had nothing to share. The next day he made sure to look around in nature and see what was all around him and he was excited.  That evening Heartspeaker didn’t eat out of excitement wanting to share what he saw that day. When it was his turn the elders skipped over him. Later Heartspeaker asked why he was skipped. Charlie Ironshiled said “When there is an opportunity don’t waste it” the lesson hit Heartspeaker hard as he learned the hard way.

At one of Heartspeaker’s storytellings, I brought that up. Especially when I found my computer mike. Instead of blowing an opportunity for me to tell a story I took advantage and told a classic coyote story in voice chat about how coyote thought he would be first in line to get the most powerful spirit medicine when the Great Spirit was giving out powers to the animal people. Coyote’s antics screwed him up instead of helping him. he was last to get his powers as the Great Spirit gave him powers of folly and wisdom to teach people what not to do.

Another thing that Heartspeaker brought up was asking people where the most comfortable place to sit in a forest was. Most people don’t pick up on the simple truth that there’s no wrong answer. It’s wherever each person feels most comfortable when he or she sits. As everyone is a different person there is always a different answer. He spoke about seeing a fox a few months ago I said I’ve seen a deer a few times. He suggested talking to an animal with my mind I had never thought about that before so I said I’ll give that a shot.

Heartspeaker said today that he never stops learning as he learns something new every day. A vision quest just seems like a part of life as part of a journey. Maybe it’s not a quest or journey to gain a magic sword like in a fantasy moive, but maybe a quest for yourself to never stop learning and live life.

Home of Many Nations, Spirit Nations (99, 172, 21)

Grease Coakes

Breezes Thoughts: Bixyl and Jasmine

It has been a long  time since I have taken this moment to describe to you the wonderful union of our Bixyl and Jasmine.  The sim was filled with as many friends as could witness the beautiful occasion.

Sitting there and gazing around, gives a solitude of the heart laughter, watching the crowds and comments gave us a moment to realize their finding of each other and the guests were waiting in anticipation the momentous event about to take place.

As the bridemaid  so lovely walked to the the place of honour,  you can feel  a static in the air.  Here comes the proud groom, walking to the future. And the bride that soon followed was so very lovely.

Nydia Tungsten said it all, "a unique world created these two together." And when the vows were read, many tears of happiness were with the guests hearts.  

I believe their vows were the best vows I have ever heard. 
 

So long live their lives of happiness together,

Breezes Babii

Picture from Lomgren Smalls 

For more pictures of the wedding, check out Bixyl's Flickr.

Relay for Life: Woodstock, The Critter Races, and the Jeffry Pastorelli Tribute

The Weekend of June 30th and July 1st saw a number of Relay for Life events. Some were big, and some were small. One of the bigger ones on Saturday was the "Woodstock: Summer of Love." It was in Nantucket Channel, held by Sail4Life, and went from 9AM  to 9PM SL time (Noon to Midnight EST).


Time to go back to the "Summer of Love"!    Nantucket Yacht Club in support of the Sail4Life Team is recreating Woodstock with 12 hours of Peace and Music running until 9pm tonight.  Come and enjoy the music, take a dip in the pond or play in the mud.  Bring your friends,  Drop in and Drop out.  Drop some Lindens in the RFL Kiosks


Hopping by the place at the time DJ Benny (aka "Benny the Boozehound") was playing, it certainly looked like Woodstock. The area was mainly grassy field, with a stage at one end, which held the performers and where most of the people partied. With the theme, the majority were either dressed like hippies or were nearly naked.

The event area was large on it's own, but surrounded by scenery paneling to make it look more like the countryside. There were a few campers and campsites. At the stage, there was about one new performer every hour for the 12 hour event. Besides the dancing, one could mess around in the mud hole, or one could skinny-dip in the pond. Besides collecting money in the RFL kiosk, the Woodstock event had another way that fit with the theme. People could buy a flower for the event by donating fifty Lindens, and dedicating it to a friend.

As time went on, went the inevitable jokes about stoned hippies and while having cleaned up their act years later still looked back at their wild youth with fond memories. DJ Benny shouted at one point, "Now you can tell everyone you WERE at Woodstock!" Someone else joked in response, "If you can remember being at Woodstock, you weren't there."

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

Sunday at the Steelhead Estates was one of their last big events for the Relay season, the "Steelhead Critter Races."


A Benefit Event for Relay For Life in Secondlife, sponsored by Team Steelhead Salmons & the Steelhead Public Library. If you have a critter and it can be raced, this event is made for you! Bring your horses, tigers, ostriches, banthas and other ridable critters! You are critterless? Ostrich is lame? Bantha has mange? Then drive one of our free Roman Chariots!

The race was held on a track high above Steelhead Port Harbor, with Sheriff Fuzball Ortega in charge of the event. The race attracted a number of contestants and onlookers, some of the latter whom also brought their own mounts. Besides the horses were a number of exotic mounts, including a "Star Wars" Bantha, a "Cyantian Chronicles" Shiave, and a "Guineapigasaurus." The latter was a horse-sized ridable guinea pig brought in by Mindy, one of Steelhead's kids whom amused/annoyed the others around with it's squeaks, "breeep, breeeep, breeeep!"

There were four races in the event. Although there was a race for any kind of rideable ground mount, no flying mounts were allowed. Also, players could not be the mounts either. There was some debate as to why the second rule, either because of possible jokes about a girl being "mounted" by her boyfriend, or that Fuzzball's fiance Eugene Burton might take advantage by riding him around in his wolf form more often, riding crop in hand. Before the official races, there was a practice lap taken. After that, there was an entry fee of 500L per race, or a one time payment of 1500L for all of them. They were entered by both those from Steelhead, such as Baron Klaus Wuffenbach, and from outside such as Liska Fuchs.

The first race was "Reasonably Sized Critters," any mount that could fit in the starting gates, whether horse or exotic mount. The second race was "Unreasonably Sized Critters." The riders had to go into the starting gate without their mounts, run to the cycle in front of them when it started, rezz their mount, then start running. The third was a normal horse race, although the horses themselves were a variety of kinds from breedables to statics. Baron Wulfenbach loaned his huge horse to one contestant. The first and third race were won by the same rider, whom had an experienced breedable horse. As it turned out, the horse might have given him a small edge as this particular breakable can be trained to run faster.

The fourth race required no fee, or mount of one's own: the steel chariot race with piston-powered mechanical horses provided for free. Trouble was, the chariots were so fast, they proved difficult to steer around the track, getting caught on the walls, tipping over, or getting caught at the starting gate after a lap.

Following the races was a party held by DJ Thadicus Caligari, in which the former competitors and onlookers joined each other for music and dance.


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

Following the Steelhead races was a memorial event to Jeffry Pastorelli. Jeffery had been a team captain for the Team Relay for Hope whom passed away in 2010 (Prim Perfect article). The event was held at one of Second Life's more solemn areas, the Remembering Our Friends Memorial


Hello everyone, I just wanted to send a reminder that there will be a memorial for Jeffry Pastorelli TONIGHT, Sunday July 1st.  This is being held by Mike Burleigh at 7 PM SLT at Remembering Our Friends, landmark attached.  Please be there if you can, as this means a lot to us all.

The event had a moderate attendance, with among those attending Trader1 Whiplash and Lomgren Smalls. Mike Burleigh was in charge of the music, but much to his irritation, he had some problems getting his stream online, and the problems persisted throughout the event. Lomgren Smalls, whom helped get people to the event,  rezzed a kiosk for his team, the Passionate Redheads, and the money began to pour in. While this year's Redhead events often brought in just several thousand Lindens each, this one was bringing in tens of thousands, bolstered by some promising to match the donations of others. That the money was coming in despite the stream being down led to some jokes, "Can this mean that the music in SL is so bad that people will pay NOT to hear it?"

People talked about Jeffry during the event, "I know he made a huge impression on me. And still does to this day." "I miss him, even if he was a pain in the a** most days" "You know, we wouldn't have loved him as much if he wasn't a pain in the a**." "I can still hear him cussing in the living room when things pissed him off too. He was passionate." "Yes he was. And that passion rubbed off onto so many of us Relayers."

During this time, someone tried to display a copy of the Relay Weekend sims map. But as the area didn't allow for rezzing on the ground, he tried to wear it. But as his avatar moved around, so did the map. Trying to get more than a glance at it was a big challenge.

By the end of the event, 35,000 Lindens had been raised for the Redheads, the team that had struggled this season, bringing it's season total to 245,000L and was a much needed morale boost. The following day, the total would pass 250,000 Lindens, and get the Redheads the Gold standard.

More on Jeffey Patrelli can be heard at a special episode of Designing Worlds, taped at the Remembering Our Friends Memorial (Click Here).

It was quite a weekend with many events, most of which we don't have the time to mention. And as the Relay moves on into July, the Relay Weekend approaches, with nine days left as the prining of this article, the weekend of July 14 and 15, with the Relayers anxiously anticipating the climax to the season.

Bixyl Shuftan

The SL Ninety-Nines

    While exploring SL9B recently, I found the SL Ninety-nines exhibit, located at  Hoedown (217, 230, 21).   The exhibit featured photographs of Amelia Earhart and a couple of awesome planes.    No pilots were there at the time, but I pocketed a LM to their site, New Amelia’s Airfield, located at Allalinhorn (42, 71, 50).  Later I took a trip to their airfield, got an intro flight with Fortnight Baxton, and ended up joining the group.    
 

      As many of you know, the real-life 99’s is an organization that was founded by Amelia Earhart in the early days of aviation.  Its goal is to support and promote flying for women pilots.  The SL 99’s was founded by Judy Dressler, a SL woman pilot and the creative owner of Clear Skies Aviation.   In the photo she is standing beside her CSA Dolphin II, the  trainer gear version.    The group is non-profit, with the goal of recreating the early years of women in aviation as well as advancing SL aviation.  There is also a blog for the group at http://sl-ninetynines.net.

     When I first arrived at New Amelia’s Airfield, SL 99’s pilot Fortnight Baxton was getting ready to fly her seaplane. Fortnight flies regularly and also builds planes.  She offered me a ride in her SL99 Tereschkova Seaplane, and I quickly accepted.  One of the perks of membership, she told me, is a gift of a couple of planes to help new members start flying right away.

     We taxied to the lift elevator that connects to the runway located at the New Horizons Airport.   Along the way, Fortnight gave me a Mark 1 Arline Inflatable Personal Flotation Device to wear.  Since we were going to be flying in a seaplane, we needed to be prepared for any emergency. 

       After a quick run-up to check the engines, we were cleared for take-off.   Fortnight flew us to a marina owned by one of her friends and fellow 99er.   There, she expertly landed the plane in the marina and water-taxied us to the dock.   After a few minutes we took off again, flying over palm trees and picturesque islands.    

      We flew to the airport at Honah Lee Surf, located at Honah Lee Surf (185, 86, 23).  I took a few pictures along the way, and was greatly enjoying the tour when suddenly flames shot out of her Number 3 Engine!    I snapped quick pix of it while Fortnight took immediate action.  Luckily I didn’t have to use the PFD she had given me, and we landed safely.

      The airport at Honah Lee Surf was active with both military and civilian planes.   Fortnight, who specializes in seaplanes, also flies an F-22.   She brings that one out she said “when I'm feeling the urge to go fast”. 

     After the flight, I teleported back to New Amelia’s Airfield to get a better look at the planes and the facilities.   The hangars are spacious and decorated with photographs of RL women pilots.  Most of the photos are of Amelia Earhart, but Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, and others are also honored. 

     I later talked with Judy Dressler, whose nickname is Purple.  She incorporates a bit of history will all of her planes.  “It all began with me making the Harriet plane”, Dressler said, which she named in honor of Harriet Quimby,   “Not many know she was the model for Amelia when she was a child,” she said.    She also includes non-U.S. aviatrix.  She named the Nancy Bird biplane after a famous Australian woman pilot, Nancy Bird Walton.

      Upstairs they have a club built by 99s Events Manager, Brandi Whittenton.  I had a drink at the bar while enjoying the aviation photos that lined the walls.    In addition to socializing, the group flies powerpuff races and supports RFL.   They try to fly as a group at least once a week.   Scheduling and time zones are a challenge as the group is comprised of international members. 

     Membership is open to all SL women who support the aviation goals of the 99s.  There is a one-time fee of $200L that helps support New Amelia’s Airfield.   Sales from Clear Skies Aviation, Dressler’s company, helps fund the SL 99s, too.  CSA is located near the hangar, with both planes and flying clothes for sale.  Demos of planes can be rezzed above the shop, too, on a carrier runway. 

     After I joined, I met up with instructor Emillie “Emily” Placebo.   She went over a lot of the basics of SL flying and gave me a lot of helpful tips and aids.   Afterward I went off to practice.   Emily and Fortnight Baxton both made flying looks so easy.   I have a lot of practicing to do, but I’m looking forward to it.  

Grey Lupindo

Nydia Tungsten and Her Impact on Second Life

             I reported on Nydia Tungsten before as the owner of  the cool Club Castaway with its pirate theme. But there more to the white vixen then just being a club owner. In fact she also owns the Club Zero Gravity and the Happy Vixen. in addition, she runs Angels Beach Land Rentals. The most she has run at one time was 11 clubs. She does a good managing those clubs at the real-life price tag of under $500 for renting the land every month. However she did say, "I am almost to the point of making real-life money."

Thanks to her Second Life mother Skylark Lefavre, Nydia is an expert of running her own clubs, "She is my SL Mother…. I met her my second day here, and she has been a guiding force in my life here.

Lucky Nydia. I’ve been in Second Life for 5 years and I don’t anything about running a club. I didn’t even know where to look for furry clubs when I was a newb.

Nydia is a successful club owner as she always listens to what everyone wants to see at her venues. I used the example of what the original owner of the real-life fast food chain McDonalds Roy Croc said, “Take care of the customer and the business will take of itself.” Luckily Nydia’s clubs are healthier than fast food, but Nydia’s clubs are very successful nonetheless.

Also she’s a counselor to her friends. She helped out Dusk, one of the Sunweavers who was dealing with the real-life death of one of her friends due to cancer: Artistic Fimicoloud, who was deeply loved by all the Sunweavers and her freinds. Dusk is one of the Sunweavers in the Second Life group of the same name. The Sunweavers is a furry group headed by Rita Mariner.

Dusk is also one of the leaders in the Relay for Life fundraising team "Passionate Redheads,” which I reported on in one of my earlier articles with Sabine. Nydia Tungsten told me, "She is one of the most loved Sunweavers and one of the new leaders of the RFL team 'The Passionate Redheads.' I recommend that team to anyone wanting to join a team, by the way."

She also talked about a friend whom said she has a year left to live, "She made a comment I have heard so many times before....when she told people about it they go quiet. If someone tells you something like that ... yes it is from left field and a shock. But you need to talk to them, let them talk about it, because they are more in shock than you and need to talk, so let them." I commented a few times that listening is also a good part of being a telemarketer to make sales. Seems like it’s a great way of being a friend too.

To top it all off, Nydia is also a DJ for her clubs. "The music I like to play," she explained, "(is) well... up beat, the type that makes you want to get up and move. And I also like to play the stuff that makes you laugh." One of her heroes in Second Life is Shockwave, who Nydia just told me is a great songwriter. For a Sunweavers party, she told me about a song parody that he wrote of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," an Xmas song that was very funny. She also said he is an excellent builder for RFL (Relay for Life) events

Next time you come to Second Life, stop by one of Nydia’s clubs. You may catch her djing. Or if you have something that’s bothering you she’ll be glad to lend an ear. Or if you just need a laugh, ask her about the reindeer song Shockwave wrote.

Castaway Cove - Kalmeere Paradise (18, 184, 21)
Club Zero Gravity - Purrfection Estates (229, 11, 3365)
The Happy Vixen - Purrfection Estates (249, 61, 22)
Angels Beach Land Rentals - Kalmeere Paradise (159, 98, 21)

 Grease Coakes

"Operation Bronze," and Other Relay for Life Events

A few days ago, the Relay for Life in Second Life hit a milestone. The total amount collected since it's beginnings in 2004 had reached the one and a half million dollar amount, "At the end of April 2011, we celebrated hitting $1milion," stated Bain Finch in a post, "and in just over 400 days since that amazing feat, you went and raised that bar to $1.5m."


The weekend of June 8-10 saw a number of Relay events. Among them was the RFL Street Fair held at Lollygagger Lane at Menophara on June 9 from 9AM to 7PM. Conducted by the Lollygagger and Hobo groups, the event promised an art gallery, bus tours, a mud wrestling ring, tarot card readings, a kissing booth, and of course the live music events, such as Frets Nirvana. And there was "more free stuff than you can shake your rat-on-a-stick at." The area had a general run-down look with automobile shells and other debris alongside shacks. There were a number of goods set up to sell to raise money.

Dropping by in the middle of the event, there were a number from Europe still up, Firery Broome asking, "I can not believe that you EU peoples are still awake." "Hehehe!" "Just getting started Fire." "We Germans still party."

For those who don't know, "lollygagger" was what one Linden was quoted as calling those residents whom were always complaining about the Lab, and the name was soon adopted by some with rebellious streaks.

The big event that weekend was "Operation Bronze" on Saturday June 9. For twelve hours from Noon to Midnight SL time, Relayers would party at ACS Island. The purpose of the event was to boost the totals of active but underperforming teams to 10,000 Lindens, which ranks as Bronze status in the Relay. The idea had started at the "Halfway There Fair" earlier this season.

For this Bronzing event, 25 smaller teams had their totals raised to Bronze rank. From Zelda Generations to WrongSide Relay, to Asylum, these obscure teams had their moment in the sun, and a new status while DJs like Fuzzball Ortega and Trader1 Whiplash did the music for the dancing Relayers. All teams that had raised at least one Linden were elgible. And by the events end, the last elgible team was at  10,000 total, "2890 now! … 1890 to go! … 790 to go!" "Yes! We did it!" "Last team bronzed." "Oh my God! What an achievement!" "SL Relayers are Amazing!" "You guys rock!"

The event was marked by wisecracks and joking around. One guy spent his time in a feral deer avatar, leading to some jokes about being a hatrack. But there was also more sentimental statements, "I was part of something great, and found I have a family here who I can reply on and will help if I can."

As Bain Finch put it, "It really was beautiful to witness the birth of Bronzing.

To see the team totals, Click Here.

Sunday was another event by Team Harmony of Hope, "Racing Tiny Cars for a Cure" at the Yes sim. The event took place on a track under a roller coaster. The little cars were cute, getting in them showing an animation of the character squeezing in, and then the rear license place showing the driver's first name. "I still have no clue how i got into the thing!" Trader1 Whiplash Exclaimed. People were asked to donate at least 50 Lindens.

Unfortunately, the cars could be difficult to drive, instead of bouncing around obstacles mine would launch in the air and come back down. Eventually, mine was knocked off course and into the lake. Still, everyone had fun.

There were of course other events that weekend. Among them was a race by the Strigoi Motorcycle Club. They found themselves without a sim and appealed for help. Ghostriders World MC heard about their problem, and offered their own sim for the event.

It was a good weekend for the Relay for Life

Bixyl Shuftan

Star Journey: A Journey of the Self

Within the vast realm of Second Life, I found something neat as I always do. Something called a star journey. Something created by the author of “Star Journey - A Cosmology of Self" by Richard H Geer. His SL self Starman Heron holds a guided tour and shows you what it is all about.

For starters his tour on Monday at 7pm SL is great if you have never been to his sim before. When you warp to his Star Journey sim, you’re surrounded by stars and space. You see arrows on the floor directing you where to go. Starman using voice greets everyone in a friendly manner. Before he starts, he gives everyone a notecard explaining the 96 symbols in his star journey.

I asked him what inspired to create star journey. He answered, “I wanted to teach in a new way and he wanted to build a set of tools for what wasn’t there before.” The star journey may sound new age, but actually it’s not. It’s actually a practical way to answer your own questions and life concerns. Starman also mentioned that real life counselors and mentors and coaches use it on a professional level to help their students.

Like a tour in real life, Starman/Richard shows everyone around towards his star journey group and a HUD you can play with. Then he directs everyone towards a deck of cards on the star floor. He asks a person to volunteer to ask a topic he or she may be thinking over one night. I volunteered and from the deck of cards I picked the leaf out of 96 symbols. Whatever symbol is drawn he asks what you think about that symbol and also what other people in the tour may think. Class participation is encouraged as the picked symbol is discussed about what it could mean. In the notecard he hands out to you is a list of all the symbols. When that card is picked out you teleport to that location.

Below the starting star environment of the tour he shows you a picture of, down below is a whole another sim with the 96 symbols each in the same position of the star map. You and the class teleport to that same symbol and look around and discuss the symbol further so it clicks on how it applies to your question.

 Next on the wall he shows a star map on the wall with the 96 symbols in certain places. He points out that leaf is no. 30, which is fresh young and represents new growth. Amazingly that’s pretty accurate when I asked about my children’s story. Another night that I came to the tour a woman drew the field card no. 82, asking about her career. When I thought field it made me think this woman has the world in her hands like in a vast open field. She described she had a lot of freedom in her job.

Pure luck? Maybe not. In a more advanced class on Saturday, three symbols are picked at once and talked about three symbols randomly picked. Picking water, rope, and the serpent, me and the class visualized those three things together and how it connected to my book. One woman saw me riding the serpent in the water and using the rope as a lasso to grab a publisher. Haha!

Starman’s set of tools the Star Journey deck of cards is addicting and exciting to play with. You don’t even need the tour to poke at the deck with Starman around.

Next time you want to check out something new and you have a burning question check out the Star Journey tour with Starman.

Class times are: 7pm SL time on Monday & Wednesday, and 2 PM SL time on Saturday.

Star Journey , Star Journey (125, 123, 439)

Grease Coakes

Virtual Railway Consortium Secretary Stryker Jenkins Steps Down

June 1 was the date that Stryker Jenkins took the chore of being Secretary for the Virtual Railway Consortium 2 years ago. He has done a magnificent job of keeping the group informed of all the activities for the SLRR. True to his word, June 1 was his last day as secretary. Many thanks to Stryker for all his efforts and I really don’t think he will be far away from the Consortium. Here is his final Statement. 

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Goodbye Railroaders,

As you may have heard I am resigning as Secretary for the VRC as of today, after 2 years at the self elected post...

I am still a builder / engineer for the VRC and I will volunteer where I can... I am just not in the decision making leadership group of the VRC anymore.

No dramas, no fuzz! I just felt it was time to make space for someone new to help run the VRC.

So, if you have any further questions or remarks, and want to talk to someone about that try Qie or Moundsa.

"But Stryker... Who will be replacing you?". That is up to Qie and Moundsa as well. As the dust settles, and things fall back into place, and I find my new role within the group doing what I love to do, build, I guess the group will have to talk about that one. Until then it's 'Business as Usual'!

"I hope it wasn't a bad departure." No, although there was a reason for it of course. It just felt like I was pulling the wagon in 1 direction and the conductors were actually wanting to go in the same general direction, but via a different route. "Time to give myself and the VRC leadership some space..." I thought, rather than getting in the way and making thing worse over time. As I said before, I am and will remain part of the VRC volunteer group. Because we do have a great organization here that helps new and exciting users enjoy the freedom on the tracks in SL.

"What will the future bring for you?". Well I am going to continue to do what I love to do. Organize some Rail Community meetings, Build, Create, Meet people, Ride the tracks and Make SLRR maps. And volunteer some of my time to the VRC group.

And I hope that many of you will volunteer your help and services to the VRC as well! We are a Rail Community... and are here to keep the Free railway travel in Second Life TM going.

As of today, Friday, 1st. of June 2012... anything I say and do is no longer "VRC policy", they are my own opinions and thoughts based on the beliefs of the VRC group.

So...

Hello Railroaders,

The future is looking bright, the trains are polished and ready to go. Let's make the journey a nice one and...

SEE YOU OUT THERE!

Stryker Jenkins.   

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 For more on the Virtual Railway Consortium, check out it's website: http://www.virtualrailwayconsortium.org/ .

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Kev Sweetwater's Burn2 Memorial Service

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

"Nobody dies as long as they are remembered."

Bixyl Shuftan