Grease Coakes to Have Second Children's Book Published

By Grey Lupindo

          SL Newser reporter Grease Coakes will soon have his second real-life book published.   “Ginny Griffin and Friends” is a sequel to his first children’s book, “Ginny Griffin’s First Day of School”, which was published last year by lulu.com.  I met with Grease at a local restaurant recently to chat about his newest book.   The following is an edited version of our discussion.

Grey Lupindo: What's the title of this one?

Grease Coakes:  “Ginny Griffin and Friends”...[It’s] the sequel to "Ginny Griffin's First Day of School" and is a direct tie to the first book.

Grey Lupindo:   It should be easy for readers to find it.

Grease Coakes:  It's a little longer than the previous book.  Someone who read the book compared it to Encyclopedia Brown, but I don't think of Ginny that way.

Grey Lupindo:  I'm afraid I haven't read the Brown series, although I've heard of it.

Grease Coakes:    Encyclopedia Brown is a detective, but that's not really Ginny's style.   She's more like the girl next door with a big heart.

Grey Lupindo:  Sounds like they might have meant it as a compliment.

Grease Coakes:   The person said it was a good book so it was a compliment.   Maybe she happened to read a bunch of Encyclopedia Brown as a kid.

Grey Lupindo: Probably so.  What happens in this book?

 Grease Coakes:  Well, without giving too much away... If you read the first book, Julie Unicorn was a mean girl.   So when Ginny sees her crying and running out of art class, she gets concerned that no one is giving Julie a second chance.  No one else is willing to forgive Julie because she did some really bad things.  There's a reason she turned to the dark side in the previous book, but I won't say what.

 Grey Lupindo:   Mysterious.....I like that.

Grease Coakes:   Ginny risks all by trying to be Julie’s friend.  As a result Ginny is alienated throughout a lot of the book.  Oh-- I can say there is a cool action scene, but I won't say where in the book.

Grey Lupindo:  Let's give readers a hint. Is it a chase?  A fight?

Grease Coakes:  A fight.  Most children see a school fight so I don't think this will be anything new.  But one of my co-workers called me a terrible person for having a fight in a children's book.

Grey Lupindo:  If they aren't armed, it will be tamer than real-life.

Grease Coakes (laughing):  No, they aren't armed, but I dunno if it's tame.

Grey Lupindo: Kids see a lot in real-life.   We adults don't like to admit that.

Grease Coakes: Yeah, kids are growing up faster now a days and are exposed to more.

Grey Lupindo: Books are a good way for kids to work through the scary RL stuff.

Grease Coakes: Oh sure, especially when the characters are children.  They relate to children more than adults.  They see adults as mean people who forgot what it's like to be a kid.

Grey Lupindo: Can you tell me a little about Ginny’s world?

Grease Coakes:  The world of Ginny Griffin is different than the world we have in real life.  After their World War 2 they decide to stop putting money into war.   In the 1960's solar power is invented and widespread.  I can say that this book shows more of that technology.  More money is being spent on science and education.

Grey Lupindo:  Very forward thinking of them.

Grease Coakes:  Politicians aren't corrupt.   They actually do their job.  Bad things still happen, but it's not as bad our world.

Grey Lupindo:  Where do we sign up to move there?

Grease Coakes laughs.:   You can read my book to travel there for a while.  

Grey Lupindo:(smile)

Grease Coakes:   But a neat part of the book is that I cross over another story into this children's book.

Grey Lupindo:  What do you mean by "cross over another story"?

Grease Coakes:   Well, Rio the Otter happened to buy my writing skills at a tail sale around the same time I started writing this sequel.    He said he wanted a summer beach story.

Grey Lupindo:  Were you able to combine both story lines?

Grease Coakes nods:   Rio shows up in the book, and he meets with Ginny and Phil, her father.  I won't say how or why they meet though.  But what Phil shows to Rio is pretty amazing as he works for a tech firm.

Grey Lupindo: Cool!  So how do readers find your book?

 Grease Coakes:   I just got the cover picture last night so it's not ready yet.   But when it's ready it will be on www.lulu.com. 

Grey Lupindo: Will it be out in time for Christmas sales?

Grease Coakes:  Oh yeah, it shouldn't be long. 

    

         Grease and I continued to chat for a few more minutes about writing and Second Life.   He gave me a short excerpt from the newest Ginny Griffin book.   Like his first book, this one is set in the colorful town of Spoonville.  He has created an imaginative world where the art teacher, Ms. Harriet Hotchkiss, is a cobalt blue peacock and the children, like Harry Hyena, are animals.   But  real-life children will soon realize that the fictional children face a lot of the same issues and obstacles that they do.  They should be able to relate to the characters as they are entertained by the imaginary world.   

        “Ginny Griffin and Friends” by real-life author John Krauss will be available soon in the children’s book section of lulu.com.    

Grey Lupindo

Steelhead Elections: Interview With Jobias Barthelmess

By Bixyl Shuftan


When Steelhead held it's election campaign for mayor recently, there were three candidates. Besides the incumbent TotalLunar Eclipse, two challengers came forward to run for the office. They were Willow Leafstorm, the owner of the Green Fairy club, and Jobias Barthelmess, whom was most well known for his attempted shooting of the community's sheriff Fuzzball Ortega. Jobias has been associated with other misdeeds, but none of those were proven. He also has a known bias against nonhumans, a definite negative in this community were elves, fae, weres, furs, nekoes, humans, and others socialize and do business freely. During the debate, Jobias was mocked by many of those in the audience, and even he himself admitted he wasn't the most popular candidate.

The elections went on as planned on August 6, with most feeling Jobias didn't have a chance at winning. But when the results were announced at the town meeting a week later, the results shocked the crowd. Jobias had gotten the majority of the ballots! How could he have gotten this, many openly wondered, feeling the votes had somehow been tampered with. While Lunar argued for calm, some such as Willow would hear none of accepting the "scoundrel and criminal" as mayor.

Soon afterward, I was going by the newly opened Steelhead public schoolhouse when I noticed two adults inside talking. Getting closer, I noticed they were Lunar, whom had built the place, and Jobias. Lunar saw me, and invited me in. Turning to the man in black, "Mr Barthemless, unless you're officially in office you can't fire anyone." Jobias regarded me momentarily, "Oh, *that* Fox News," then turned to back to Lunar, "Once the recount's done, however, and I'm sworn in office …" Lunar sighed, "Yes, after you've been sworn into office, the oath is taken, the paddling of fish then you're mayor." "Now, please, leave us," Jobias told the elven figure, "Your ears are distracting me. Finish my Town Hall!" Lunar stared at the mustached man for a moment, then simply commented, "Alright, play nice. Take care Bixyl." He then walked to the doors and left.

Bixyl Shuftan: "Good evening Jobias. It seems congratulations are in order."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Yes, well, THEY are demanding a recount. But, not to worry, I shall be sworn into office soon."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Oh yes, as I recall, your apparent victory took many by surprise."

Jobias Barthelmess: "And yet, I was declared the winner. Which is a good thing, because one thing that Steelhead City has been lacking is proper leadership, as well as utilizing the surrounding land properly."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How has it been lacking in leadership? And what's wrong with how it uses it's resources?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, not to offend, but let's just say that there are times that good old fashioned HUMAN know how works best in situations."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Oh, please explain?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "It's just the natural order of things. Nothing more needs to be said."

Bixyl Shuftan: (raises an eyebrow) "What natural order of things, might I ask?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Humans are superior. Look at some of the great minds of our time. Professor James Moriarty, Human. Doctor Fu Manchu, Human."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Hmmm, so those people are examples you're giving as superior humans?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "But of course. And, like me, are misunderstood."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Ah yes, it does seem your apparent victory has caused much discussion. Perhaps .... we could put a few matters to rest with this interview."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Yes, thank you."

Bixyl Shuftan: "To begin with, how did you decide to come to Steelhead?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Merely traveling along, and ran across this town. Not realizing that Ortega had been living here for sometime before I arrived."

Bixyl Shuftan: "You knew of Marshal Ortega before coming here?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Oh yes. His true name is Ortegavich. I had made an attempt at leadership in the past. The ruler of Moldavia, which is located in Eastern Europe, was, much like here in Steelhead, not utilizing his country to it's fullest potential. Ortegavich's wolf tribe, as well as other tribes, over threw me, and placed the buffoon I replaced back in power."

Bixyl Shuftan: "So your problems with him are because he's one of this particular tribe?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "That and a mangy mutt. They made him Marshal of this town, and yet, he's obviously useless."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How is he useless?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "All these others claiming that THEY protect Steelhead. Obviously, he's not right for the job."

Bixyl Shuftan: "One would think a werewolf would be quite useful in detering crime."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Attracting fleas, perhaps. It's time for changes in Steelhead, bringing industry here, making Steelhead the place to bring a bright future for mankind. Oh, yes, and of course, all non humans to wear collars. No particular reason, just something Professor Moriarty had suggested." ((Cuz I'm EEEEVIL!))

Bixyl Shuftan: *raises an eyebrow* "Collars? I assume you mean something other than shirt collars?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "No, I mean collars, like the one the Elf was wearing. It will keep them in line."

Bixyl Shuftan:  *keeps a straight face as he takes notes, but his tail flickers and bristles in an irritated manner* "Exactly what seems to be the problem as far as humans, and the various other races are concerned?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "It just does not seem natural."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Going back to the industry, what's wrong with the economic rate of growth the region already has?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "I mentioned this at the debate. They could do so much better than what they've done. Look at New Babbage. That's a prime example of what Steelhead could be. ONce I'm officially sworn in, trees in Steelhead and Nevermoor will be chopped down and large factories will be built. Also, in St. Helens, there will be strip mining. May also have the mines of Boomtown re-opened."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Why were those mines closed, might I ask?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the Elf at our next meeting."

Bixyl Shuftan: "As for the strip mining and forest felling, well, there seemed to be a great deal of resistance to the idea at public meetings."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Ah, the primitives fear change. Not to worry, they'll get used to the idea."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Durring the meetings there were a few references to your, previous activities in Steelhead. Could you explain what these activities were?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Ah….well…..I had a ......... " *fidgets*

Bixyl Shuftan: "Yes?" *has pencil and paper in hand*

Jobias Barthelmess: "Nervous breakdown."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Nervous breakdown?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Yes, that's it. Nervous breakdown."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Interesting, Please explain."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Slightly delusional, it seemed I wanted to harm the mangy mu......I mean, Marshal Ortega. Apparently, I did shoot him with a silver bullet. But I've no memory of this." *tries to look innocent*

Bixyl Shuftan: "Oh yes, I believe Lunar mentioned it, and at the debate, you admitted to this."

Jobias Barthelmess: "But the doctor's at the sanitarium in Caledon took care of me, and I'm quite alright now."

Bixyl Shuftan: "I see." *takes notes* "Also, Lunar mentioned you had a few debts."

Jobias Barthelmess: "A Barthelmess repays all his debts. If I have any, I assure you, they WILL be paid off."

Bixyl Shuftan: *takes more notes* "Then there's the matter of the youth of the town. As I understand your plans mentioned at the debate were, less than well received."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, we can't have them running about, unattended. So, working in the proposed factories, and in the mine would be quite useful to them. Have them earn their keep, learn to be part of the workforce. Some of them smell bad already, so they're used to sweat and grime, obviously."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Well, if them running around is the question, why not just keep them in school, like the one we're in now?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, they're not always in school, now are they? Can't lock them in here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Already checked into that, I can't get away with it.....I mean.....Ummmm....NEXT QUESTION!" *pulls out a hankerchief and wipes his brow, muttering, "this reporter's good." *

Bixyl Shuftan: *has trouble keeping from cracking a grin and takes more notes* "Yes, um, as I recall, there were some concerns about voter security, about how the box seemed a little flimsy. Any comments?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, the Elf said all votes would be safe in the box. If they're concerned about the box being flimsy, they should blame him. Not me."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Hmmm, it was my observation it was he who thought it looked flimsy."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, *I* didn't put it there. I had suggested helping out with the elections, but was rejected. Thankfully, I was allowed to run."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Curious how you chose to run under, what was it, the Villians Party?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "That's what they refer to me as. A villain. Myself, Moriarty, Fu Manchu, Thomas Edison….."

Bixyl Shuftan: *raises an eyebrow* "How is Thomas Edison a villain?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Gaining credit for 'his' invention. " ((He stole the lightbulb.))

Bixyl Shuftan: "So, in your opinion, there needs to be more villains in politics?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "If you mean those poor misunderstood soles that were labeled as villains? Yes. Perhaps some to run news sources as well. The truth needs to be told."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Well, I shouldn't comment about my establishment's competition *restrains a smirk* "Let's see, being a villain, how well acquainted are you with the town's lawyers?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "The one's here are too nice."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Too nice? Please explain?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Just like many others in this town. They're too soft. One of the reasons this city is so behind others, and not living up to it's full potential."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Like Remmington Pion, who ordered this special election?"

Jobias Barthelmess: "Yes. I believe he favored the elf to win the election. None of them realized how well liked I really am in Steelhead."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Interesting. In the debates you admitted you had some problems with your image."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Well, I will admit that I'm surprised to be the victor, but the results seem to be clear, and once the recount has been done, it will be made more clear. I AM the new mayor of Steelhead City, and a new dawn shall rise on this Pacific Northwest town."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Yes, after the recount. And as I understand it, a number of the others are demanding a very thorough count of the votes, including Willow Leafstorm."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Probably jealous because she didn't win."

Bixyl Shuftan: "She does seem very determined to keep an eye on you."

Jobias Barthelmess: "Yes, well, if that truly bothered me, I wouldn't be in Steelhead."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Let's see," *looks at his notes* "Was there anything we haven't covered?"

Jobias Barthelmess: You have my plans for Steelhead? Factories, mining, etc. Bringing a bright future to Steelhead. ((Poor misunderstood soul that I am)) I believe that we covered everything.......and some that will place me in a negative light."

"Now I have grown bored of your questions. Go, place your article."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Allright, see you at the recount. I'm sure it'll be ... interesting."

It was about then that I left the schoolhouse, and looking behind I could see Jobias slipping out, and heading away into the shadows.

Since the interview, the controversy over the Mayoral election continues. There's been talk of organizing a group of "Brownjackets" to make sure Jobias doesn't get the job. It's doubtful collars will be part of the group's dress code.

The next town meeting at Steelhead is Tuesday night, August 20th.



Editor's Note: The town election campaign was set up as a community roleplay, with "the Jobias Barthelmess character was created for the sole purpose of having an avatar that folks would love to hate."

Bixyl Shuftan

How to Run a Club

By Kitacelia

There are many ways to run a club. Several have different themes for the club itself, steampunk, country/western, biker, outer space, beach club, fantasy, retro/classic, techno, gothic, heavy metal, punk etc The music  played may or may not match the club style or a contest theme  Some have contests with prizes to bring people in. Boards can be set up in a number of ways, everything from everyone can join and vote, to only group members may join and only those in the contest may vote.  Some clubs have a single board, while different clubs may have two, separated by gender or contest entries, some are even designed so that those who stay for the entire event have more of a chance to win.

It can be winner take all or split so that everyone with a vote gets something. Sometimes there is a fee to enter the contest, which adds to or even makes up the entire prize. Certain clubs welcome all sorts of avatars within reason(nothing insanely huge or that breaks terms of service rules)  Others are limited to say humans, men or women only.

 Some clubs have bars, games, trivia and or exotic dancers to bring guests into their clubs.  Several clubs use hostesses to run contests, promote events, support DJs greet people, give out tags and make conversation with guests. Hosts and DJs may be paid an hourly wage on top of tips in some cases, in others they may work for all tips, where you provide your own tip jar, usually they don't take a cut of tips, in other cases in which they provide the tip jars, a percentage of tips is often given to the owners which can be anything between 10-20 percent of tips.

Other clubs may only have DJs, and rely on the DJ , club manager or even the other to send notices.  Most clubs send 2-3 notices, one a few minutes before the event, one at halftime and occasionally at the start of said event as well.  Sometimes the DJ and/or host is required to promote products/services or nearby shopping.

Some clubs have sploders, which is a kind of gambling allowed in SL.  In some cases they give a little money back to each participant.    Many clubs prevent currently working staff from entering the contests.  In some cases the host and greeter are separate jobs, the greeter is basically just that, says hello, welcome to the club etc and possibly gives out group invites/tags.      

Some clubs have a bar tender who both roleplays and uses bar props to simulate a real life bar style experience.   As far as applications they can be anything from name, times available and one or two basic questions to a few pages, describing a number of hypothetical scenarios.

An example of a particularly poorly run club, is one where they spam members with notices every 20 minutes.  As well as not removing old staff who do not actively work there.   Gesturbating by guests is tolerated.    There is no set schedule.   Hosts are expected to promote the radio, with no contest, in a club that lacks, games, a bar, and other forms of amusement to draw in guests.  Staff is required to put up their own money for contests, and even when the contest is paid for they may have to front the money as it is not given to them in a timely fashion. Come as you are is a common theme and being naked always qualifies.  This results in many people bringing in alts, who vote for each other, knowing they will win something with any votes, who stand there unresponsive for most of the event.

While I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject, this is based on what I have observed/ experienced over the last almost year, working in clubs and being a guest at various clubs.

Kitacelia

Interview with TotalLunar Eclipse

By Bixyl Shuftan

With the Steelhead mayoral elections this week, Second Life Newser was able to get a hold of the two candidates expected to have a good shot at winning. Last week, we interviewed leading challenger Willow Leafstorm about the election and what she would do if victorious. This weekend, I sat down with TotalLunar Eclipse, the incumbent candidate. Besides the election, we talked about how he and his wife Tensai ended up in Steelhead and their history there.

Bixyl Shuftan: For those readers who know little about Steelhead, how would you describe yourself?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Physically, I am a moon elf that has taken up being an apprentice mason.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did you come to be in Steelhead?

TotalLunar Eclipse: It was an accident, Tensai and I were running from an angry mob, and we took whatever train could take us to wherever wouldn't ask us too many questions. We took the train to the end of the line, and it was Steelhead."

Bixyl Shuftan: Interesting. What may I ask sparked this angry mob?

TotalLunar Eclipse: (chuckles), At the time I was the hired hand and Tensai was the scientist. Mad scientist I should add. And that was near seven years ago.

Bixyl Shuftan: And getting to Steelhead, how did things go?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Steelhead was perhaps the most friendly place we've ever been to. They saw mad scientist, and accepted it readily (smiles).

Bixyl Shuftan: So you found many like-minded people here?

TotalLunar Eclipse: We found many open minded people here. Everyone has a different tale to tell and they're unique in their own right.

Bixyl Shuftan: And how did your tale go in the first few years?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Steelhead is where I began my trade, building and stonemasonry. I focused on that and Tensai focused on her science.

Bixyl Shuftan: As a builder, what projects have you been the most proud of?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Lately? The new station, the RFL build which is the new city hall.

Bixyl Shuftan: The Relay build was made into a permanent building? Interesting. I take it some Relayers will be pleased to hear that.

TotalLunar Eclipse: Yes, that's our new town hall. It is not down yet as I have to make it more useful to what we need it for but it is the same.

Bixyl Shuftan: What other builds have gotten attention over time?

TotalLunar Eclipse: The sun pagoda in Shanghai, Vista House and Multnomah Falls and the landscaping in St Helens and Nevermoor. Ahh, the building we are in now, this is the new schoolhouse.

Bixyl Shuftan: Looks good. I take it this will be able to suit the needs of all the local youngsters?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Yes, two classrooms so we can have areas for labs, etc.

Bixyl Shuftan: Laboratories? Are these what would normally be found in schools, or are there accommodations for, "mad scientists" in training?

TotalLunar Eclipse: We have our own grade of mad scientists or sons/daughters of notable mad scientists. So science/technology is something we have to focus on.

Bixyl Shuftan: How did you become the mayor of this community?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Would you believe for the longest time I was not? The founder of Steelhead, Kattryn Severine was mayor. Though she left SL a very long time ago, only checking in with Tensai and I on occasion. Finally she released Steelhead to me in full ownership not too long ago. So technically I've been Mayor only about a year.

Bixyl Shuftan: One year ago, what would you say are your best accomplishments as mayor?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Expanding Steelhead Six times its original size.

Bixyl Shuftan: Impressive

TotalLunar Eclipse: Thank you

Bixyl Shuftan: Were there any happenings you had a part in you'd like to mention? Any negotiations with neighbors?

TotalLunar Eclipse: We have had relations with other Steamland sims we'd like to strengthen and grow upon. Steelhead is a city of friends and that friendship has lasted a very long time for Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan: Any incidents while you've been mayor?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Yes, in Shanghai there were mobs that took a great deal of time to clear out and many disappearances that are still left unsolved.

Bixyl Shuftan: How were those dealt with?

TotalLunar Eclipse: We had a team of undercover investigators and those who infiltrated the mafia. We were able to catch them at the crime and arrest them

Bixyl Shuftan: Mafia? Sounds serious.

TotalLunar Eclipse : (nods) A dangerous fae with her ear more to the floor than mine own.

Bixyl Shuftan: What fae was this?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Aoi Steamweaver is her name. She and her band of fae mercenaries finally returned to China.

Bixyl Shuftan: So she seems to be gone for good?

TotalLunar Eclipse: I do hope so though we are never fully aware if that family will return or another family will come in to take its place.

Bixyl Shuftan: Going to more recent matters, what inspired that bet between you and Jimmy Branagh?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Oh. just teacher against student in my mind. Obviously a very bad move, heh.

Bixyl Shuftan:  (chuckles a bit) So it seemed like a harmless publicity stunt. At least until someone, as the story goes, found a technicality in the local law.

TotalLunar Eclipse: (nods) The lawyers are so finicky.

Bixyl Shuftan: For the record, which lawyer was this?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Remington Pinon, my personal legal consultant and lawyer in Steelhead.

Bixyl Shuftan: Whom were you expecting to be running against before the candidates were announced?

TotalLunar Eclipse: To be honest, no one. This position requires long hours, a lot of time invested into it and I do little else beside it. Most know to stay away from government position.

Bixyl Shuftan: Two challengers stepped up, Willow Leafstorm, and Jobias Barthelmess. How much of a surprise were they?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Willow was not a suprise as she'd expressed interest in the politics of Steelhead before. Jobias though... I am rather surprised he would subject himself to public ridicule after the incidents he involved himself in.

Bixyl Shuftan: I think one such incident was mentioned at the debate, but for the readers could you describe them, or at least the more noteable ones?

TotalLunar Eclipse: As a rule I do not slander people especially opponents but Jobias has been involved in past transgressions involving Fuzzball Ortega and his desire to rule Steelhead.

Bixyl Shuftan: At the debates, I believe there was mentioned an incident involving a silver bullet.

TotalLunar Eclipse: Yes, he shot our sheriff and as you know Fuzz is a lycan. So silver is quite lethal.

Bixyl Shuftan: Well, the sheriff is obviously alive and well. Was he a bad shot, or did something else go wrong?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Fuzz outwitted Jobias, he was never in any danger. But... Jobias has done his time and since then has led a relatively quiet life.

Bixyl Shuftan: Willow expressed some concerns about what Jobias would do if elected, although felt he stood almost no chance of winning.

TotalLunar Eclipse: He is not a favorite among many. His intolerance for those of us who are not human blood is quite evident.

Bixyl Shuftan: And even among humans, I understand he's not seen much better?

TotalLunar Eclipse: No, he hires henchmen only to not pay them, gets out loans and such to fund his former terrorism ways and doesn't repay. So banks are unwilling to lend to him anymore.

Bixyl Shuftan: Between you and Willow, this seems to be a campaign of limited stakes. Her only issue about you, if one can call it that, is being both Steelhead's builder and mayor at once is too taxing and strenuous.

TotalLunar Eclipse: At this point of time it is quite taxing on me but that's why I have ambassadors that run things for me. I will be utilizing them more in the upcoming months. That is if I win *smiles*

Bixyl Shuftan: So you feel Willow has an even chance of besting you?

TotalLunar Eclipse: I shouldn't say anything concerning other's candidacy. *smiles* But I feel she is a good speaker and has given her speeches and ideas a great deal of thought.

Bixyl Shuftan: Gotcha. Well, other than what you already mentioned, what would your goals be under another term as mayor?

TotalLunar Eclipse: I am taking what Willow has said to heart and utilizing my ambassadors more, finding different ways to advertise the sim and getting more citizens involved in its upkeep. I always feel like I am imposing asking someone to do something, but I should get out of my shell and let others assist.

Bixyl Shuftan: Let's see ... I haven't brought up Tensai until now. What has she thought about the election?

TotalLunar Eclipse: She chuckles under her breath about it, says I shouldn't do things... exactly to the law.

Bixyl Shuftan: (chuckles a bit) That covers most of our questions. Though if you don't mind, might I ask about that device on your wrist?

TotalLunar Eclipse: My typewriter? Certainly, its a beautiful device made for me. With moon elves the males, after a certain maturity, become empathic. And they lose their ability to speak, it's all telepathic. This is just a voice enhancer, as I am getting older and my voice is losing its volume.

Bixyl Shuftan: Oh, sorry to hear that, Lunar.

TotalLunar Eclipse: That's alright about my voice, it is replaced by the coolness of this device.

Bixyl Shuftan: Was there anything else you wanted to mention?

TotalLunar Eclipse: Anything else? Nay, just that I would be very honored to steward Steelhead again as I have for years prior.

Bixyl Shuftan: If that's everything, thank you again for your time.

TotalLunar Eclipse: Thank you Bixyl.

The Steelhead mayoral elections begin on Tuesday August 6, and the voting closes On Friday August 9th. The winner will be announced at the Tuesday Town Hall meeting.

Bixyl Shuftan

Steelhead's Mayoral Elections: Willow Leafstorm

In The Steelhead Community these days, the big event is the campaign for the job of mayor. Three candidates are competing for the job. They are incumbent TotalLunar Eclipse and two challengers, Willow Leafstorm (Zoelass Resident), and Jobias Barthelmess. I recently had a chance to talk with Willow about the elections.

"I'm hoping the elections will be interesting and turn out lots of people to vote," Willow told me just after meeting up with her. Talking about how the campaign got started, it went back to June 23rd when Lunar and one of the youngsters, Jimmy Branagh both entered the Sumo wrestling matches. Lunar made a bet he couldn't lose, saying if Jimmy won he'd be mayor for a week. And as it turned out the scrappy street urchin beat him.

As luck would have it, it wasn't just as simple as making Jimmy honorary mayor for a week. Willow explained, "Through some technicality in the Steelhead bylaws, Lunar would have to be re-elected to his position of Mayor in order to be re-seated as Mayor. Of course this meant that there would have to be elections. At first everyone thought it was just going to be nominations, but then there was an application process. The Baron (Klaus Wulfenbach) had expressed interest in running, but had missed the application deadline. … some people weren't willing to run in the first place. Then we discovered that this Jobias Barthelmess had applied."

As for the third candidate Jobias, Willow described him as a classic mouthstached black-hatted villain, "He is a scoundrel and rogue … he couldn't even come to the meeting when they announced the candidates. Truly bad form." Of his plans, "He is determined to destroy the trees in St. Helens and set up factories and Strip mine Boomtown. Then he wants to 'rid Steelhead of all undesirables and only allow the right people to live in Steelhead.' I take it to mean from his statements that includes all non-humans including fae. I can not let him do that."

Willow had more reasons to run besides the man in the black hat, "I just want to help out my community. Not just the fae that live here, but Nevermoor as well. We have not been represented in the Steelhead council. There are a number of Steelhead Ambassadors, but as far as I can tell none from Nevermoor. We are a newer region in Steelhead with a newer population. Many of, if not all, of the Ambassadors are ones that have been here for at least 5 or more years."

And what would Willow's goals be as mayor? "First would be to make sure each region would be represented with councilors. Next, organize the community to help promote Steelhead to bring people in to Steelhead and have volunteer greeters. There are also empty lots in Steelhead city, I think we need to put something in them until they can be rented like park space or structures. Nobody, explores empty lots. Plus, we need more landscaping in the city. Toss in a few trees and add some flower beds. Things that will attract people to our town and want to move here."

"Finally," the challenger stated, "I noticed as I fly around there is a lot of prim trash out there. We need to clear the skies of the debris. … I was going to fly home from an event a few weeks ago and I took a leap from the platform where the dance was held and nearly smacked myself on a piece of floating prim. These things get away from people as they build and just hang around in the air. That stuff just collects after a number of years." She wondered if while building, some things just floated away from some building sites when the builder's attention was occupied, "Then there are things that former residents leave up there. Half completed projects and skyboxes."

Of the upcoming debates, Willow spoke, "I still have to polish up my statements. It would be nice to know in advance what the questions asked would be." The fae then grinned, "Jobless Bathtubmess doesn't have a chance." I asked if she expected turnout to be heavy, "It's hard to say, it depends if the rest of the community is going to sit up and take notice. I have been getting my voter base motivated to vote." Asking her who she thought her voting base was, her first response was the residents of Nevermoor, then she added, "any other non-humans who don't want to see Barthelmess win. As I told Lunar at last Tuesday's meeting, May the best fae win."

Our time soon came to a close. I asked Willow what else she had to say. She concluded, "Just that being mayor and also responsible for building and maintaining a town like Steelhead is a big job for just one person to handle. And of Course Vote Willow Leafstorm for Mayor."

We then parted ways. We would meet again a couple days later on Friday August 2nd for the debates. The election itself takes place on Tuesday August 6th, will ballots able to be turned in until Friday August 9th. The winner of the mayoral race will be announced on Tues Aug 13th.

Bixyl Shuftan

Relay For Life: After the Walk

By Bixyl Shuftan

Following the Relay For Life Weekend, in which the Relayers walk the track, the sims remain open for some days afterward. This is to allow those who missed the walk to see the exhibits, but it also allows those whom had lag troubles to see the camps and builds without trouble. And yours truly was among those taking some time to sightsee.

Most people walked. But I saw a few people in vehicles, even Sageway two-wheelers. Once I saw some pedal-powered contraption manned by several residents from Loligagger Lane. Getting on it however, I was knocked off as soon as it hit a sim crossing.

Much of the time, inspired by the "Stinky the Skunk" cheers and jokes, I went down the track in my skunk avatar. This included one time at a water build in which the stinker got a dolphin ride.

I wasn't the only one, though. Stopping by the "Bog of Eternal Stench," there was the Relayer whom was playing the part of "Stinky." Who was it? Well, I never heard him admit it, so keeping Stinky's secret identity a secret, for now.

And while going down the track, people would sometimes meet up to talk, or have impromptu parties. Listening to the Relay chatter on Monday July 15, Fuzzball had a challenge to live up to. Since a fundraising goal had been met, he had to go bald, purple, and dress in modern wear. And so he appeared that way on the track, looking like something from "Blue Man Group," but purplish. "Lavender was too girly," his partner Genie spoke amusingly.

As a few more dropped in, a dance animator called "PSY Gentleman" was passed around. And then we were soon having our own little dance party. This included one dancer in an "ent," or tree spirit avatar. She had some "tree"mendous moves.

One of the Relay traditions is the "flood party." It began one year when the water level in one sim was raised before the camps were cleared, and everyone had such a great time, people kept on doing it. This year, it took place Wednesday July 17. There was no need for life preservers this time, though. There was only a foot of water covering the path and much of the ground at RFL Spirit where the flood took place.

At RFL Reflections, a yacht had been parked at the docks, with a skunk figurehead. Aboard were dancing a number of Relayers, with Aryon Dagger acting as DJ behind a booth and spinning tunes. She was soon followed by DJ Madonna as clouds formed overhead, and rained on the people and land down below. Later on, Stingray would show up in pirate regalia and a couple ships with Gorean flags appeared. People laughed rather than shivered, though, and a few were donning pirate outfits of their own. This might have been the last of the big parties, and people were taking advantage of the chance to have fun.

By Thursday July 18, there were a few empty camp areas as their builders had for whatever reason to pack up early. But most of the exhibits were still up, and people explored. In RFL Give, there was one gathering of human and furred avatars, some of both in Steampunk outfits. We enjoyed the music, dancing a little, and swapped a few jokes.

As usual, people were joking around in the Relay Volunteer Group chat, but there were also expressions of sadness. The empty spaces were the sign that the sims would soon be gone, "I'm going to miss the Relay." One woman commented there would be an emptiness in her heart filled only by the planning for next year.

Friday is probably the last chance to see the sims with some number of exhibits. You may also get a chance to see a "demolition party," as the build goes out as part of an event. In two or three days, the sims will fade back into the virtual nether, and The Walk will be over for another year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Jackson Arthur’s Book Biz

By Grease Coakes

One of the major events at book Island is "Jackson Arthur’s Book Biz" previously known as his office hours. He told me the main focus of his book biz is how to better promote and market your literary works and expand your readership. Jackson is fairly lenient as there are not really any rules so long as you show respect to others. In general humans and furries share ideas about books.

As I or anyone walks or flies to his office on book Island Jackson always greets avatars cheerfully through voice. There’s lots of talk outside the topic of promoting your books and writing in general as regulars like DangerDave Writer and Merit Coba come and hang out. Jackson says the only requirement is wanting to chat or read to come to Book Biz.

Silver Moon Unicorn (silvermoonunicorn) had this to say in the zany conversation in text, "Merit and Grease, are you two getting married sometime?" There was an ongoing joke that Merit asked me to marry her and I said sure.

I mentioned that me selling my children’s book in the medium of Second Life is creating some buzz as people come back with positive reviews that I post on Facebook, as a friend, Eyll Tripsa, gave me a good review on my children’s book.  I mentioned that a stranger bought my book by tipping me when I djed. He declined my book, so he said to give it to Ophelia Magic instead, who is a popular playmate at Anthroxtacy. In her own words, she said it was adorable. That was certainlty a positive thing as I didn’t know Ophelia that well as she gave me a positive review.

Another subject that Jackson Arthur brought up was book covers and art in general. One of the challenges of an author is finding an artist for his or her book.  I mentioned a couple artists that did excellent jobs for me. A separate artist did the cover for my children’s book and her friendly drawing style seemed to fit my book. However her style wouldn’t work for all other genres. I suggested an artist named Dishes to Jackson Arthur who drew for me. Like the saying goes not to judge books by its cover but people do it anyway.

Tricia Joy aka redpatski came to the Book Biz and suggested her friend Ricker as an artist. She showed a wonderful black and white artwork of a family of deer.

I asked Jackson a question of what’s harder to write or to promote and sell your story? He said writers have an easy time writing their books and stories, but it’s much harder to promote your story when it’s written. But the other side of the coin is you have to write something to share too you can’t just spend all your time promoting what you don’t have.

Out of the blue Danger Dave gave me 2,000L to promote myself to give out ten copies of my book on the house to people. That was a big surprise. All he asked in return was go to @HaikuHare on twitter and share their thoughts. He said facebook was ok under his real life name  Rick Carlson too I was sure to thank DangerDave for the 2k Linden. I’ll think of a way to promote my book later on.

All in all Bookbiz by Jackson Arthur is a great event to share ideas about marketing and or writing in general. His Book biz at his office starts at 10am SLT every Saturday at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Book%20Island/87/120/44. Everyone is welcome to chat about writing and have a good time

Grease Coakes

Ub Yifu – RFL Designer Builder

By DrFran Babcock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where to find Ub Yifu’s work:

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

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

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

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

DrFran Babcock

SL10B Wrap-Up with KT Syakumi

By DrFran Babcock

I finally caught up with KT on the second to last day of SL10B, because she was so busy up until then. She was a blur the few times I saw her. Sure, I was able to corral Doc Gascoigne in the corn field, but KT was not only senior lead along with Doc, but oversaw a two sim stage build of The Reactor.  I was happy when she had the time to respond to my questions:

SLNewser: Well, now that SL10B is winding down, you have had a little time to reflect on the experience and this history-making event. What are your reflections? 

 KT Syakumi : Wow, reflections. Um, I’m reflecting on how nice it will be to start getting to bed at a reasonable hour. You’re in trouble when you start thinking of 2:00 am as an early night. I’m just glad that the general community enjoyed it. We started planning this in January, so it’s been a long road, but hearing the chatter in the group talking about their experiences at SL10B and over the last 10 years makes it worth it. It just feels like the whole SL community wanted to celebrate 10 years of SL.

SL Newser: What would you say was your greatest joy during SL10B? 

KT Syakumi: There were many. I worked by milestones. I have this huge spreadsheet programme thing with tasks and objectives to be completed and dates, etc. The first ‘joy’ milestone was when the sims were finally opened to the exhibitors to start building. These completely empty sims were suddenly transformed overnight. When I logged off the previous evening, the sims were bare and quiet. When I logged on in the morning, probably half the exhibitors had claimed their plots and started building. It was a ‘wow’ moment and was the point where I really knew that the event was going to work.

SL Newser: What was your greatest challenge during the event? 

KT Syakumi: Time-wise, the week after the applications closed was a killer.  There was only one week in between applications closing and the sims opening. I had 518 exhibit applications to process and to send out emails. Just the sheer number to get through meant no sleep for a week. The biggest overall challenge would have been managing and co-ordination of all the volunteers and exhibitors. Well over 1000 people were involved.  

SL Newser: Your amazing build, The Nuclear Reactor Stage, was the talk of SL10B. We would love to have a little peek into the creative process that went into it’s design and construction.  

KT Syakumi: Haha, yes I've heard some of the talk. To me, the SLB is not just about celebrating a birthday. Some people queried how a giant silo on a wasteland fit the birthday theme, and if you’re just having a birthday party, then it probably didn't. To me, the SLB is all about celebrating SL and the diversity in it. It’s about showcasing the best of SL and what it can do. And, it’s about celebrating the community of SL (it is the SL10B Community Celebration after all), and the variety inside SL. I realized before I started that it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it was important to me that all tastes and styles are represented. The Live stage and the Cake were designed to be the 'Looking Back' part - they were made using only prims and sculpts. And I think we all agree that they in no way suffered from that - they were both amazing. The DJ stage and the Lake stage were the 'looking forward'. They were requested to be full mesh builds, to showcase what can be done now with new building methods. I had the idea of a very game-like build, and you can see the influence of a few different videos games in it. It didn't end up anything like what was in my head at the start, and I completely ran out of time (thanks to Harlequin Rhode who helped me make textures when I sent her panicky IMs), but I think I got the overall feel fairly right.  

SL Newser: I think the lighting and the overall look of The Reactor was stunning. Anything else you want to share about SL10B? 

KT Syakumi : [Laughs] There’s not enough space! I’d like to thank all the staff I worked with—your dedication and ability to put up with me is astounding. I’d like to say a special thanks to the stage builders: Donpatchy on the Cake, Kazuhiro Aridian on the Lake, Toady and Flea on Live, who stepped in late and proceeded to just go beyond my wildest expectations, Aki Shichiroji who made the auditorium, and my unsung hero, Pygar Bu, who ran around making all the random stuff I thought of, as well as being responsible for the welcome area. It looked sparse, but he recreated it to look identical to the original 2003 welcome area completely from a few old photos - no easy feat. These people are the reason I wasn't reduced to a blubbering mess. Their ability and especially attitude made this event for me.

SL Newser: Pie or cheese?

KT Syakumi: Pie. I’m allergic to cheese. You wouldn't want to know me.

SL Newser: What would you like people out there to know about Second Life™? 

KT Syakumi:  Most new technologies seem to go through a few phases. They start off new and slow and build slowly till they hit a bubble and explode in growth. For Second Life™ I think that was 2006. Then, they become hyped and hyped and then over hyped, and suddenly people find that their experience doesn’t match the hype, and it starts fading. I think that is what happened to SL. The cool thing is that people then begin to discover exactly what is possible with the technology and they begin to understand it fully. I think SL is slowly headed into that as it evolves and grows. I’m hoping people will begin to see what SL is really capable of rather than what they’re told it is.

SL Newser: What’s next for you in Second Life™? What can the residents expect from you? 

KT Syakumi: I guess I'm fading back into obscurity again. I need to spend time on my business that I've neglected for the last 2 months - I also learnt a lot about mesh building from making the reactor and I want to put that into practice.

Fading into obscurity? I find that so hard to believe. Watch these pages, because I am sure one of us will be writing about KT soon enough.

DrFran Babcock

Interview with Tuna the Oddfellow of Second Life

By Grease Coakes

A little known secret of Second Life is a magician who has his very own Tunaverse. Tuna Oddfellow, who has been a long time resident of SL since August 15 2005, is a magician in real life. In Tuna's own words, using Houdini as an example, he enjoys pushing boundaries and seeing how far he can get.


Tuna does an incredible job of pushing boundaries as he puts on an amazing light show, the Odd Ball, for your computer screen that you might see at a dance club. In fact he won a contest held by NBC 4 the TV station as the most talented avatar in Second Life in 2007. His color and lights show wowed the judges, earning him the prize. His prize was 1 million Linden which translates to roughly $4,000 in US Dollars.

His light show at his small land will blow you away. Every Monday at 6pm SL and every Sunday at 12 Noon SL, Tuna meets with Jana Kyomoon, a real life ambient musician who created a music album you can get here. http://www.last.fm/music/Jan+Pulsford/Ambient+Reflections+of+Jana+Kyomoon.


Of Jana, Tuna had this to say, “For Jan and me, entertainment duo is more correct than business partners. Though I would love to work with Jana professionally.”

Her album is called “Ambient Reflections of Jana Kyomoon.” I’ve heard Jana’s live music at Tuna’s odd ball and it was very relaxing along with the mind blowing effects that Tuna offers. I had joked that her music is very mellow that it could be romantic. Tuna said that would be too odd though (ha ha!).

In his Tunaverse group he always asks what time is it when his oddball is about to start? His answer every time is:

“Time to get odd odd odd!”

In fact Tuna claims his real life is stranger still.

Tuna Oddfellow, "Well my Second Life is like my first life, both are stranger than fiction. In first life, I spent years as a magician. You know, finger flinging, sleight of hand, reading minds, escaping from chains the works. For many years I had performed magic at private parties, restaurants, as a street magician and as a master of ceremonies."

Looking up Tuna on the web I saw that He has been a real life magician in real life for 26 years along with his job in Second Life as a cofounder of odd studios.

Despite some physical pain Tuna still gets out to perform in real life as he still pushes the boundaries of life,  "I aim to push my own boundaries too."

Grease Coakes, "Oh sure everyone should push their own boundaries to see what he or she can achieve."

Words are hard to express the light and color show that Tuna puts on twice a week so it’s best that you experience it yourself. I remember seeing the lights and colors actually move and not stand still like a normal background. Not so fast that it makes you dizzy more like a slow turn with many colors that your avatar gets drowned in. It’s easy to lose track of other avatars and your own in the colorful world that Tuna creates for you along with Jana’s ambient electronic music.

Pictures say a thousand words sure, but you have to see his Oddball to have any idea what I am talking.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dragonhenge/134/123/652

Grease Coakes

Editor's note: Tuna has certainly been making shows for quite a long time. Good to see he's still at it. 

Interview with Tantari Kim

By Grease Coakes

Just recently, I turned six in Second Life. I may be old, but there are still avatars in the grid older than me. Like I stated in my interview with DrFran Babcock, Tantari Kim has been here a much longer time then I have. She heard about Second life through a MUCK which is a text based roleplay.

Tantari Kim was part of the SL beta where everyone was building and messing around. She didn’t like that as she wanted to be more of a social butterfly. She left the SL beta going back to a place called there.com, where everyone built cars and had races a lot of the time. Then later someone on a muck said 'come back to SL, someone named Cross Lament can make an avatar for you.' For a one-time fee of $20 in real money Tantari Kim joined Second Life again. She said that Linden labs was nice enough to grant her last name of Kim from the beta Second Life when she rejoined Second Life in April 05, 2004. In April of next year 2014 Tantari Kim will be a decade old, where in comparison my avatar only turned six recently.

I may be old in Second Life, but other avatars are still older than me and Tantari Kim takes the cake. I remember one time hanging out at my fave human club SGB, which is shorthand for Sounds Gravis beach. I TPed Tantari over. When people saw her profile age, a human or two paid her Linden and Tantari was humbled by that. SGB is here at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sounds%20Gravis%20Beach/114/30/30

Back then Second Life was very different where before mainstream furry avatars were available. Furry avatars were custom made for others at the tune of 5,000L vs. buying a regular furry avatar from a vending machine. Back then furry avatars were clunky and had what Tantari said had bubble tails. The lower legs were very skinny on the avatars.

The first furry vending machine made by Luskwood was a big event back in 2004. To Tantari’s knowledge at that time it was a major party back at that time period. Tantari showed me a picture of the grey vixen she bought.

Back then people made Linden by giving ratings to other avatars. Based upon being nice and personality how your avatar looked and building skills. You paid the reviewer 1L per aspect you were asking to be reviewed on for a maximum of 3L. Tantari gave lots of reviews as she made 1,200L per week. I said that would be plenty to live on in Second Life. Get an avatar every week with money like that.

The SL that exists today made accounts free, but now you had to pay real money for the Second Life Linden currency. Tantari and other furries saw the downside as lots of griefers attacked furry clubs like the Ark. Tantari said if a human avatar came to a furry club people would look up the avatar’s profile right away in case they had to report the human avatar. Furries were fearful that humans might grief the sim. But now with free accounts anyone can just make new accounts to regrief the same sim again. When people paid $20 for an account people thought twice about greifing sims or people.  Linden Labs terminated anyone’s account caught greifing.

There’s a place around called The Shelter where they still have a game show going on. Similar to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," every question you got right was a certain amount of linden where you can choose to keep that Linden or keep answering questions to try and earn higher amounts of linden. Get a question wrong and you lost it all. The game is called payment Podium. Furries and humans are both welcome at The Shelter as a PG sim where tolerance and being polite was the norm. Seems like a nice place to go to if you had a bad day or just wanted to take it easy. It’s still around at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isabel/47/237/81

In fact a group she created herself is called the Vixen Scouts International as she made her very own vixen scout outfit. The motto is vixen scouts are helpful and kind. The vixen scouts is exclusive however as you must be using a vixen avatar to join in. Tantari is very much like that as she greeted new accounts/avatars at Tutorial Island back in 2005. She described various things on the picture she showed me like a board game called prim attack that she never played. On the right was the circle where new avatars loaded when they finished their tutorial. The purple bike in the picture was free for anyone to use.

She also said how next to the Tutorial Island was Luskwood which was SL’s first furry sim, which is still around today. Tantari showed me lots of pictures with her avatar among various other furry avatars. The avatars including herself shown in the pictures were state of the art years ago, but today could be used as freebies as avatar creating and building has advanced over the years.

I joined in 2007 and I really didn’t know much about Second Life. I went to the Ark which is still around today and met Tantari. She was helpful and guided me around. Another thing she remembered about the Ark is when voice chat was still introduced a few months after I joined Second life. The people who talked in voice chat killed the music played by the stream. The other side of the coin was music got in the way of those having conversations over typing. Tantari said not all people on voice were the sharpest tools in the shed though. Tantari and I talked over Skype we remembered how the ark looked and SL looked a lot different back then. She also showed me lots of pictures.

Tantari was and still is a good friend of mine as she was helpful and kind I was a clueless newbie when I first started. I may be an old avatar in Second Life, but Tantari Kim’s experiences and adventures are great in number as she is one of the first avatars in second life that we all live in today.

Grease Coakes 

SL10B - Meet the Lead Stage Managers!

by DrFran Babcock

I could not be more excited about Second Life’s™ tenth birthday. It is almost impossible to believe that there has been a whole decade of virtual world existence.  The preparations for this gigantic party have been ongoing for several months, and SL Newser is glad to give you some inside glimpses.

Second Life™ is a worldwide, and that means that there are residents active all the hours of the day and night. The four incredible stages of SL10B will be filled with talent around the clock. If you wonder how that gets done; wonder no more. Each stage in the 20 sims (plus two provided by Linden Lab!) has a lead manager, and I will let you get a little peek into the the lives of these residents.

Each of the four Stage Leads was asked the same questions. Below are their answers:

Fedora Jones – Lake Stage. Builder: Kaz

SL Newser: How did you find out about Second Life™, and what was it about this world that kept you here?     

Fedora Jones: I really don’t remember how I first heard about Second Life™, but it was probably some random mention of it on some random web site.  I'm sure it wasn’t a First Life friend who told me about it because I didn’t know anyone in SL when I set up my account.     

I stayed because I wanted to get involved in singing once I had a better computer. Once I got my computer hardware upgraded, I was able to join the SL music community.

SL Newser: How did you come to be a stage manager for SL10B? Have you worked a birthday celebration before?     

Fedora Jones: My first real show in SL was as a singer was at SL8B, and the new (at the time) CEO of Linden Lab visited my show.  So, the SL birthday event has some sentimental value to me because it’s my anniversary, and I wanted to “give back,” if possible.  I was a Stage Manager at SL9B, and I assume that I was asked to be a Stage Lead for SL10B due to my outstanding performance as a Stage Manager at SL9B-LOL.

 SL Newser:  What are your duties going to be like during the celebration?     

Fedora Jones: Basically to “herd the cats” and get everyone in the right place at the right time. Seriously though, my primary duties are to schedule the performers and Stage Managers for the Lake stage, and to distribute information to those people.

SL Newser: Can you give us a peek/preview of some of the entertainment you will be hosting?         

Fedora Jones: The Lake stage is a "Mixed" stage, meaning that it has both deejays and live performers.  Most of the performers at Lake are deejays, but Sunday afternoon will be mostly Live performers.

SL Newser: (In homage to the old Metaverse Messenger): Pie or cheese, and why?’

Fedora Jones: I’ll choose "pie" because there are a wider variety of kinds of pie than of cheese.  Plus, you can put cheese on your pie, or even make a cheese pie, but why would anyone put pie on their cheese?  (Ed’s Note: Haha)

SL Newser: What would you like folks to know about Second Life™? Or, anything else you want to say. 

Fedora Jones: In spite of all its pixelated prettiness and technology, Second Life™ is still based on real people.  For that reason, you’ll experience in Second Life, most if not all of the emotions, and “issues” you have in real life. 

GOLAN Eilde DJ – Nuclear Reactor Stage – Builder: KT Syakumi

 SL Newser:  How did you find out about Second Life™, and what was it about this world that kept you here? 

GOLAN: I heard about it on the news. It was Friday evening on Channel 2.  They were talking about how people were making money, so I wanted to see what that was like. After that, I stayed because of the people;  what they make you feel.

SL Newser: How did you come to be a stage manager for SL10B? Have you worked a birthday celebration before?

GOLAN: I started to do this long time ago (this is my 6th year in the SL), and the sixth SLB event. I started at 2008 at SL5B,  but wasn’t a stage manager back then. We were greeters and moderators, I think.  In SL6B I was Stage Manager for the first time.

SL Newser:  What are your duties going to be like during the celebration?

GOLAN: To make sure all is OK on the stage, but that is just  overall information  so the answer can be divided into a few parts:

24 hour support for event stages, performance events, Live and DJ

 entertainment and stage areas.    

Performance Staff training and coordination, as needed.

Performance Staff scheduling, as needed.

Performer and Deejay applications and schedule(s) assignments, as needed.

Volunteer applications and assignments, as needed.

Stream Coordination and assignments.

Interviews / Subject matter expertise regarding the stages, performers and performance.

Basic Security of the stage areas.

SL Newser: Can you give us a peek/preview of some of the entertainment you will be hosting?

GOLAN: It’s going to be literally 24/7 music for eight days.  Some of the Deejays are top of the line Deejays in SL.  Playing different genres: trance and techno, and even pop music (smile).

SL Newser: (homage to Metaverse Messenger): Pie or cheese, and why?

GOLAN: Pie. pie is sweeter (grin).

SL Newser: Last, what would you like folks to know about Second Life™? Or, anything else you want to say. 

GOLAN: SL is the best virtual world I know.  I also love being here and taking part in this amazing event. Some people make you feel this is your second family.

Linda Sautereau – Main Stage - Cake Stage. Builder: Donpatchy

 SL Newser: How did you find out about Second Life™, and what was it about this world that kept you here?

Linda: I learned about Second Life at my former University, which had an initiative for faculty to teach using virtual worlds.  I basically came to use SL to teach my classes and stayed because of the music and the people.

SL Newser: How did you come to be a stage manager for SL10B? Have you worked a birthday celebration before? 

Linda: I started as a greeter in SLB6 or 7.  I was a stage manager in SLB8.  I had met Doc (Gascoigne) when I was an SL Mentor.  He knew that I owned a jazz club and asked me to be the lead on the Cake stage in SLB9, and again this year.  I feel very strongly about making a positive contribution to the SL community.   

SL Newser: What are your duties going to be like during the celebration?

Linda: Basically to make sure that the residents who come to the Cake Stage have a great time!  That means making sure that the performers start on time with as few problems as possible.  I’ll manage a crew of Stage Managers along with my assistant lead, Laura Polke.  We change and test the streams, handle any griefers, coordinate with the sim coordinators if there are land problems, and just overall run the stage. 

SL Newser: Can you give us a peek/preview of some of the entertainment you will be hosting?

Linda: Well, we have a mix of genres and types of entertainment on the Cake stage:  Deejays of almost every type of music: jazz, country, trance, house, R&B, blues—just about anything.  We will also host dance troupes and tribute bands.

SL Newser: (Homage to Metaverse Messenger) Pie or cheese, and why? 

Linda: Pie...cuz cheese doesn't like me. 

SL Newser: Last, what would you like folks to know about Second Life™? Or, anything else you want to say.  

Linda: That SL is a place where you can be and do whatever you choose to do.  You can create, run a business, or just hang out and listen to some of the best recorded and live music anywhere.  But more importantly, you can meet lovely people from all over the world, many of whom can become great friends!

Jahman Ochs - Live Stage - Turtle Stage. Builders: Flea Bussy and Toady Nakamura
  

 SL Newser: How did you find out about Second Life™, and what was it about this world that kept you here? 

Jahman: I’ve been involved in online communities of one sort or another since 1979, starting with ARPANet (Ed’s. Note: Wow! That’s the beginning of the Internet), through CompuServe and AOL, Delphi and PlayNET, IRC, and so on. I’ve also been a programmer since that same time working in, among other things, 3D graphic display platforms and software. I had always imagined that eventually there would be a way to intermingle the two: a 3D environment that would be a social community, so you might say that Philip (Linden) Rosedale and I were soul-brothers.

I knew about Second Life™ from its inception from the trade magazines and web sites, but did not actually arrive here until 2006, after reading the article in WIRED magazine regarding Philip receiving their Rave Award for Innovation in Business. 

Of course, once I did arrive, I found a world very close to what I had indeed anticipated; was immediately enthralled by the rich building and scripting tools and the depth of community; and, despite all of its flaws, I have never been too far from this place ever since. 

SLNewser: How did you come to be a stage manager for SL10B? Have you worked a birthday celebration before? 

Jahman: My first SLB was SL7, when one of the organizers approached me in the last weeks prior to start, to ask me to assist the Lead in managing a new stage to handle an overflow of acts for which there was no room on the other three original stages. That was the first year that the “Cake” stage came into being. (Of course, now, Cake is the largest of all the stages in SLB). During SL8B, I was again the assistant to the Stage Lead for Main stage, the last year it was called such (now it is called “Live,” to distinguish the fact that it has, exclusively, musicians and singers). That was the first year I was involved from the planning phase and really learned the whole process, from start to finish, that goes into making this event happen.  SL9B was the first year that Linden Labs relinquished their sponsorship, and it was not clear there would even be an organized, multi-sim event. As such, that planning phase was much shorter once we decided to move forward without the Lindens, using donated land. I was still right there when the call went out, and in the span of two months—this time as Stage Lead in my own right for the Lake stage—we put together one of the best SL Birthdays ever!  This year for SL10B I was offered the Stage Lead for the Live stage, and there was no way I would have been happier. I’ve been a musician (singing since I was six months old!) all of my life, and music in Second Life™ is my second passion after scripting.

SL Newser: What are your duties going to be like during the celebration? 

Jahman: As Stage Lead for the Live stage, most of my duties were prior to the celebration. I was responsible for scheduling, contacting and confirming the 120+ performers who will be appearing there during the event(!); recruiting, scheduling and training the staff of 15 Stage Managers who will actually manage the stage during the performances; and collaborate on the details of the stage build with the incredible builders who created the stage and its surroundings on the two sims that make up Live this year. 

Once the event starts (and Live stage traditionally has the first performance of SLB, after the opening ceremonies on Cake stage), it will be non-stop music here with performers back-to-back from 7:00 AM to Midnight SLT for eight days straight, At that point, I will be turning over most of the responsibilities for managing the hour-by-hour details of the stage to my team, of whom I am most proud. We work together as a unit, to make sure that every performer arrives on time, gets on stage with a working stream when they are scheduled, and has the opportunity to give the very best show possible. My role will be to make sure my team has anything they need during the event to make that happen, as well as fill in for the various roles involved where there are gaps in the schedule.  

SL Newser: Can you give us a peek/preview of some of the entertainment you will be hosting? 

Jahman: My goodness, with over 120 performers, all of whom are at the top of their game, it's hard to be that selective! Pete Mroz (Pilgrim75 Swashbuckler in-world), LindiMoo, Lyrica Acoustic, Ilianor Illios, Tone Uriza, Premium Composer, Sioux Nikolaidis, Debi Latte - and the opening act this year is Mimi Carpenter. These are just a handful (or two!) of the absolutely incredible mix of musicians and acts, which includes dance troupes and cheerleaders! Without a doubt, I can say this is the very best overall collection of talent that we have ever offered on an SLB stage. 

SL Newser (in homage to the Metaverse Messenger): Pie or cheese, and why? 

Jahman: Cheese, because I'm a savory kind of guy

SL Newser: Last, what would you like folks to know about Second Life™? Or, anything else you want to say. 

Jahman: Second Life™ is not a game. It’s a community of creative and passionate people in an environment truly unlike any other in the history of humanity, and representing a concept of reaching out beyond the physical world to form a place fueled completely by collective imagination. Whatever the future holds, that vision came to full fruition here first, and I am hopeful it will forever be remembered as such. 

So, there you have it. I think you will agree that the Stage Leads are a diverse and worthy group of Second Life™ residents. Say hello to them as you groove to the entertainment they provide.

DrFran Babcock