Last weeked was the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in
Education conference. There were a number of talks and other events, including a few discussions by the Lindens. Near the end they gave out their Thinkerer Award.
This was at the closing ceremony in which a number of people such as
Pooky Amsterdam, Lorraine Mockford, Elli Pinion, iSkye Silverweb,
Olivetree Lighthouse, Beth Ghostraven, Heike Philp, Serena Offcourse,
and others were given thanks (and the Newser was also thanked as well
for it's coverage).
Then came the award, which is given to "for outstanding contribution in
the promotion of learning, community, and educational practices, and who
exemplifies the spirit of cooperative development within immersive
environments." And this year, it went to Wisdomseeker aka Lissena
Resident (Lynne Berrett in real life).
Elli Pinion described
the reasons, "Lynne began her educational career with an MA in English
and doctoral fellowships in the Humanities. She was an English
instructor at universities in New York and Michigan. She joined
Manhattanville College in the New York City area as Director of the
H.E.O.P. College Skills Center for at-risk students and held many other
positions there for almost 30 years. Concurrently, she established a
private psychotherapy practice for adults and couples after getting an
MSW in Clinical Social Work at New York University.
"In
semi-retirement Lynne trained as a coach with MentorCoach, a program
based in positive psychology. She was on the leadership team of the
Alliance for Positive Psychology there for almost 10 years.
"She
says that her experiences as a caregiver, with her husband, first for
her mother and again for her brother in law and his wife, led her to
search out new ways to help others. Because both women had developed
dementia, she began to study brain health in depth to learn how to delay
and even prevent the onset of dementia.
"Lynne first
encountered Second Life at a Positive Aging Conference and was
immediately attracted to the imaginative power of Virtual Worlds. She
recognized the potential for learning through virtual experiences
(turning theory into action) -- learning that could transfer to a
person’s life beyond SL.
"In 2013 she founded the Whole Brain
Health Group in Second Life. She established Inspiration Island, which
now has 4 full levels of activities, as official home of Whole Brain
Health. It is a 'public' region where over 40 volunteers, members of the
island Collective, are given free parcels to create self-guided
activities and offer hosted programs. Everything is designed to help
visitors learn by doing.
"Over the years she has presented her
work in Second Life at many conferences around the country. When she
presented at the National Center for Creative Aging Conference in
Washington D.C., Joyce Bettencourt (Rhiannon Chatnoir in SL) came along
to stream Second Life into the event so they could be joined live by
Thinkerer Selby and members of the Collective.
"Lynne is active in
many virtual worlds educational and nonprofit groups such as Virtual
Worlds Education Roundtable, VWBPE, AvaCon, OSCC conferences, and she
was a founding board member of Nonprofit Commons. She also developed a
course for SL entitled ‘New Frontiers in Brain Training,’ which uses
activities on Inspiration Island to guide students to design
personalized action plans for well-being.
"Her latest
accomplishment is building Virtual Learning Village, a grid in OpenSim
specifically made for lifelong learning and professional development.
She and her group of volunteers have created a beautiful environment
with many innovative tools for teaching and learning.
"It
is for all these reasons, and more, that the VWBPE Organizational
Committee proudly confirms Lynne Berrett, our Wisdomseeker, as the VWBPE
2021 Thinkerer Award recipient."
After much applause,
Wisdomseeker went forward from her place on the stage to speak, "I want
you all to know you have saved my marriage. My husband is watching this
and has promised never to ask me again what I am doing in Second Life."
She paused as a few chuckled, then resumed, "I am so honored to accept
the 2021 Thinkerer Award -- not just for myself but also on behalf of
the Whole Brain Health Team and the Inspiration Island Collective. I
could not have done any of this work without their dedication and
expertise and imagination over many years. There are so many people to
thank!
"First of all, the award winners who came before me. Every
one of you has contributed to the success of our learning projects in
Second Life and OpenSim through your example, advice, encouragement, and
concrete help. I plan to thank people privately, so I won’t subject you
all to a long list of names tonight. But of course the members of the
Inspiration Island Collective are at the top of the list. Every year
since 2014 we have taken a group photo of the Collective. Most of the
original members are still with us—which is a source of great joy to me.
Each year we have added new members to the photo. You can see the
latest one in the Lotus – which is a miniature Inspiration Island – at
our Exhibit here at VWBPE. It was made with loving care by Katsii Tennen
(Catseye), Fran, and Tooyaa.
"If you attended our presentation
this morning, you can guess whom I DO want to thank publicly. From the
very beginning, Thuja Hynes (Tooyaa) and Francisco Koolhoven (Fran) have
been essential partners in producing the rich experiences Whole Brain
Health offers. Our long, fruitful collaboration has been absolutely
central to WBH’s development and my own growth as a virtual worlds
educator -- and as a leader. Their creativity, technical skill, and
willingness to try anything I come up with have repeatedly made the
impossible possible for us.
"I also want to shout out to
Maximillian Merlin, my chief creative and technical partner in a newer
venture, Virtual Learning Village. After creating our drone security
system and a lot for Inspiration Island, Max brought his Buildwerk team
of volunteers to OpenSim, where we have built a beautiful grid for adult
learning of all kinds.
"Our Whole Brain Health logo is a
manifesto for all this work: it’s a simple circle with the three words
INTERACT INSPIRE INNOVATE embracing the central word, CHANGE. The
more we can INTERACT and INSPIRE each other through our collaborations,
the more we can truly INNOVATE – creating new forms of learning in
virtual worlds and beyond, for people of all ages... because well-being
is directly related to flexibility – the ability to CHANGE.
"As
one of my role models, Seth Godin, just wrote on his blog: “The world is
going to change and resilience is our best response. 'Resilience is a
commitment to design, an attitude and a system that works even when
things don’t turn out the way we planned. Especially then. …
Flexibility, community, and a sense of possibility can go a long way.
That doesn’t make it easier, but it’s our best path forward.”
"So
my last thank you tonight goes to the VISION of Best Practices in
Education that is illustrated year after year in this conference. And
most of all, thank you VWBPE, this year, for illuminating the value of
lifelong learning for adults in virtual worlds with this award. "
The award itself, which resembled the classic statue "The Thinker," when presented was very large, almost twice her height. Someone
joked "The real test is if Liss can carry the trophy 20 meters."
Another commented, "That award is going to take a heck of an anti-grav
trolley to be taken away."
Following Wisdomseeker's speech, people started to head out to the last official event, the farewell party. She and several others would engage in a group hug, then depart.
Past recipients include Renne
Brock / Zinnia Zauber, Barbara Truman / Delightful Doowangle, Valerie
Hill / Valibrarian, Cynthia Calogne / Lyr Lobo, Andrew Wheelock / Spiff
Whitfield, Alice Kreuger / Gentle Heron, and Selby Evans.
Among the personalities in Second Life, among those whom seldom needs an introduction is Draxtor Despres. He was first well known about ten years ago when his "Flufee" videos promoting mess proved a hit. Although he eventually stopped them, he went on to more successes such as the Drax Radio Hour, "The Drax Files" videos, the 2018 documentary movie "Our Digital Selves," and lately has been doing "Second Life Destinations" videos for Linden Lab, as well as being the host of the Second Life Book Club. Not long ago, I met up with him for an interview.
Bixyl Shuftan: "To begin with, what were you doing before you came to Second Life, and how did you find out about it?"
Draxtor Despres: "I was working on a teenage comedy film, and I was writing the score for this movie. And my friend who was mixing the music, who I was touring with and I was 23 maybe, and he was also in his mid-30s and we were saying 'Ah, it was so much fun when we were on tour,' and he said 'Ah, we could do a virtual band.' And I go, 'What do you mean a virtual band?' That was in 2007. And he said, 'Ah, this thing called Second Life, there's musicians in there.' And I go, 'Second Life, that sounds interesting. And I looked it up, signed up an avatar, and logged in. And then I called him on the phone, on the landline, and said 'Where are you in Second Life? I'm in there. It's awesome!' And he said, 'I'm not in there, I just read about it somewhere or my son told me about it.' So that's how I got in. But it immediately resonated because it tapped into something that I think I was looking for since I was twelve, which is a space that is inclusive and has all sorts of people and you can access it and you are not bound to your physical location."
Bixyl Shuftan: "How did your first few days go?"
Draxtor Despres: "Yeah, I was going to New Citizens Incorporated. I said this many, many times. It really bears repeating. People echo this. I don't know what would have happened if I would have met people who took me in and were spending time with me and helping me out. And I think Linden Lab knows this. Everybody I talk to at Linden Lab, I always say 'You guys gotta have greeters, you gotta hire greeters. I know there's Gateway Programs, but there is no way this onboarding process in something like Second Life can be automated. There has to be handholding and real people. And so yeah, I went to New Citizens Incorporated and I think a week in or so, I was just completely fascinated and I knew I wanted to tell stories. I was just coming off radio. I quit my radio job when my son was born. ... 2004. So I was three years out of radio, and went back to music. And when I was in Second Life, I realized I can tell stories, I need to find out what people do, and I need to do that with my, radio documentary-type style. I didn't know what machinima was. But I was aware you could capture the screen. And so I did that, and the stuff looked pretty awful. But that's the beauty of Second Life, you learn by doing, (chuckle). And then you upload it to Youtube, and then it becomes a permanent record of how bad you were! Which is good! Because then people can see a growth. I think that's actually great. It's also a type of encouragement for people who want to get into stuff. They go, 'Hey, this guy that I admire started somewhere.'
"I think the first machinima I did was 'Playing Democracy in a Virtual World.' I uploaded it in May, but I know I finished it in April or before then. I'm not saying this to brag, but it was very clear to me what I wanted to do, which was to document what other people were doing, exploring, and then documenting it. So within the first two months, I did the first story, and then it was basically two videos per month for a while. I was completely absorbed. And it worked out well. What was interesting is I was working on this film still. And I actually played a little role in the film. It was for Disney actually. It's a Disney romantic comedy, but for the German Disney division. And I had to go on the set a few times. And I was constantly talking to people in Second Life through offline IMs with my little T-Mobile Sidekick. I don't know if you remember T-Mobile Sidekick. It was a really kind of cool early, smartphone if you will. The T-Mobile Sidekick 2. Look it up. I still have it here, of course it doesn't work any more. But I was able to do text and access the Internet and everything. So I was constantly, while I was on the set of this film, I was constantly texting people offline. And then I remember the director was like 'You gotta be in the here and now man!' And I go, 'I am. I need to do field inquiries in the other world in the here and now."
Bixyl Shuftan: "What led to Pooky Amsterdam and the 'Flufffe' videos?"
Draxtor Despres:"Well, that was, 2011. A that time I was four years, almost five years doing ... I don't know. Before Flufee (video one link), I did at least a hundred different mini-documentaries and news reportages about various aspects of Second Life. And I'm not counting (that) I also worked on three interactive projects for big documentaries through the Bay Area Video Collition, BAVC. And I wanted to just go into unscripted comedy. And Pooky (Amsterdam) is a friend of mine, and she was game. And at the time, mesh came along and so the avatars that were put out were, had a different feel and look, and people had a lot of anxiety about mesh. And that was the basic story line, that Flufee was not afraid of mesh, he wanted to leave 'Primland.' And that was the basic story that we from then on developed further. "But it was actually quite controversial. As you know people are, I don't want to paint with a broad brush, but there is a small group of very vocal people who oppose improvements. Same thing was when Voice happened. I did a peice about Voice. People were really upset. And people were upset about mesh. And so we got a fair ammount of very negative feedback, like we were making fun of people with anxiety. And we never intended to make fun of anxiety around economic issues like how it would impact people with existing businesses. Those are all completely legitimate concerns. If someone comes in and says 'Okay, and now we're going to open the market to professional stages, upload their stuff they have elsewhere, of course that's, it's a huge thing that will change everything. And it did change everyting. And it created economic hardship for a lot of people who had comfortable prim-based businesses. Those are things that I do not naively support like, it's very nuanced.
"What we did with Flufee was just try to have some fun with different sterotypes within SL. And just comment on them, just like any good comedy or satire does. Believe me, I'm not a fan of making everything into an IKEA, which at the time was the main charge, like 'SL's going to turn into IKEA. It's just people mass-producing stuff. And the prim carpenter is going to be out of a job.' And those things, those thoughts, fears have total validity, because it's parallel to what's happening in the physical world. Matter of fact, I know three carpenters whom are extremely gifted, but who are out of a job because of cheaper stuff that you can buy in big chain stores. In a world where you have stagnating wages, that is what happens."
Bixyl Shuftan: "I guess it was a surprise that it was the hit it was."
Draxtor Despres: "Yeah, it was a surprise that it was the hit. But you know, I don't want to downplay Flufee. I think it was total fun. But, if someone would have asked me what was the craziest thing that happened in my 'Second Life career,' the craziest thing was hanging out with former President Jimmy Carter, Richard Branson, and Peter Gabriel in Paris France when I was nominated for a 'Every Human Has Rights Media Award,' and have in my office here a signed document by Desmond Tutu because of a Second Life video that I made. So I'm not downplaying what we did with Flufee. It was a lot of fun. But in terms of impact and changing my entire life, the fact that I was able to do something that resonated with the entire world and people whom I admire in the realm of social activism like Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela, that's another level you see. Comedy's fun, but the other stuff to me matters much more. But that's just me. It's not trying to devalue other stuff. But I'm a social activist and to be able to show people on this gigantic scale being in Vanity Fair and again being on stage with Jimmy Carter, talking about the validity of virtual worlds. To make real change in the physical world, that is, it's at another scale of impact and importance. Again, I'm not saying comedy's not important. Comedy is very important.
"And it was a fun challenge to write these things, the Flufee things. That kind of disciplined writing. You get a little feel for how tough it is to write for a sitcom, or something like that."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Did you expect to do as many Flufee videos as you did?"
Draxtor Despres: "Well, I actually wanted to do much more. But, it's just not feasible. You know, you call it a success. And thank you. But the reality is, I never intended it to be a commercial success, or I'd never had a plan to make money off it or sell it, or whatever. I didn't even own Flufee. Flufee was owned by these bike gang guys. We just asked them 'Can we use Flufee?' And they were from the Czech Republic. So I never had a plan to sell this somehow, or make money off of it, or whatever the business model would be, sell t-shirts, or I don't even know. If you were to ask me now how I would advise someone how to monetize this, I wouldn't know where to begin with. Maybe a Patreon campaign these days. But fact of the matter is, it's very labor intensive. I just could not keep this up. It was not fesible to do that as a hobby basically, with a time commitment.
"And then the added aspect was that, I wouldn't call it a dispute, but there was a little bit disagreement with where we wanted to go with Flufee. Because ... they registered flufee.com, the bike gang folks. And, again we just started this for fun. But then they wanted to commercialize it and do other things with it. Primarily, the wanted to do an iPhone app where, have Flufee (break wind) and do all sorts of things. And actually, Pooky wrote a joke about this in one of the episodes, I don't remember which one. And then I realized, or Pooky and I realized, that we were basically taking something we did not create, Flufee, the character, the image, as far as I'm concerned, we created him because we gave him a voice and we gave him a whole world. But it was not our creation. We didn't create, we didn't draw him. We didn't create the character. So, and that's totally normal, the bike gang was able to do with him what they wanted to, which was to sell an app. And then the conflict then that I saw is like 'Okay, we can continue this, and it's a lot of fun. But it kind of makes no sense for us to create, it's basically fan fiction. Which is fine. But fan fiction with an incredible amount of work, that kind of leads nowhere.
"So what would make sense is to create your own character and do something like that, because over the years of course what was cool was learn how to efficiently produce these things, which was very valuable. We stopped it, and I started on a project called 'Caleo's Room.' Which was, we used some music by Egochavinsky, very very weird concept. And that was in 2013, it never saw the light of day. Why? Because I was reminded by Chris Leeman of Botanical, that he missed my news reportage. And I saud 'Ah, maybe I should go back to doing that.' And he said, 'Yeah, you should. Nobody's doing it.' I mean, Bixyl, you're doing it in print. But he was saying in terms of video. And I said, 'Okay, I'm going to do personal profiles. I'm going ot start with you Chris.' That's how the Drax Files then started, in 2013.
"So basically, we ended Flufee because of this realization that we're putting a lot of work and a lot of time making free content with characters that we don't own. Then I started to draw up the 'Caleo's Room' idea which was basically a mystery scripted sort of like a, I was obsessed with the TV show 'Lost,' and I wanted it to be something like 'Lost' that little bit, but made with machinima. And I'm really glad that we didn't do it, because, it's, narrative machinima is really great. And there's some amazing practitioners here in Second Life and in other worlds. But I realized that I have a unique thing to offer. And that's where I'm coming from. I was news director at an NPR station for quite some time. I started actually at KPFK in North Hollywood in 1999, very important left-leaning progressive radio station, still around. Been around for sixty years. And so I thought, 'You know, what Chris is saying makes a lot of sense. This is my unique offering to this world. And I gotta continue doing that."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Yes, there was the Drax Radio Hour and the Drax Files that you moved on to."
Draxtor Despres: "Yeah, you can say that I moved on to that. I would say that I moved back to where I came from, which is documentary. I mean, in 2007 I registered virtual worlds public radio dot-org. I think I still own it. We announced it at the 2007 Second Life Community Convention. In 2008, I won the 'Every Human Has Rights' Award. In 2009, we were nominated for an Emmy for interactive news reporting. In 2010, I did the Kansas to Cairo documentary with the US Department of State under the Obama Administration. That's when Obama started following me on Twitter. So this stuff is in my blood. And then I did a little detour with Flufee. That's how I would, if I would be my own biographer. And again, it's not to devalue this. I think I'm a funny person. I'm not arrogant (chuckle). You know, I know that I can be funny, because people enjoy the funny side of me when I'm offering it in a variety of context. But, the fact of the matter is, that what is needed in this ecosystem is, this reportage stuff, with this documenting and profiling people. And that's what I realized.
"And the same with the Book Club now, for example. The Book Club is also something. Again there's people here who do book talks. I know that there's the Seanchi Library. Those are all really awesome things in that ecosystem. But nobody has done consistently inviting of real life authors into Second Life. There was sporadic stuff. William Gibbson was here 2008. Kurt Vonegut was here in 2006 shortly before he passed away. But nobody has done a consistent weekly offering as we're doing it now. So this is what I'm obsessed with. And this also again, this comes very naturally because this fits my personal interests."
Draxtor commented about someone else being delayed and her having to reschedule, "It's really crazy because we're in Germany right now. I don't even know where you are, Bixyl. I'm always interested. I like the feel of the global village that we are here." So I mentioned I was from Virginia, to which he responded, "Ah, I've never been to Virginia. I've only been to nine states. ... " When I mentioned the history of the state, he continued, "Yes, absolutely. I find this, I mean, I'm reading a lot on American history. I'm learning a lot through reading. I'm learning a lot through my wife and in-laws. She's from Hawaii. The whole history of the Imperial side. There was a fantastic book about the various, acquisitions shall we say. Starting with Hawaii, which was the first big one, 'Because it's better if you own the sugar producing plantations rather than renting it, am I right?'
"Let's continue the questions. ... I really need to go to the East Coast and the original colonies. That's definately something when we can travel again, when I can afford it ..."
Bixyl Shuftan: "I remember the Book club episode in which you interviewed Larry Niven , Philip Rosedale was there in the audience."
Draxtor Despres: "Yeah, we've had over sixty authors. Onboarded over a hundred authors now. We've done the book club since April 2020. We had, amazing guests. Larry Niven is a favorite. It's amazing. Larry Niven is 82 years old. And it was amazing to help him onboard in Second Life. He had huge problems downloading Second Life and installing it under Windows. And once he was in SL, it was completely natural to him. It was actually quite amazing. I'm going to keep this story fresh in my mind to dispel this myth that Second Life is so difficult. For Larry Niven, being in a 3-D environment was so much more intuitive than being on a flat desktop, in Windows 10 (chuckle). So it was very cool. And a lot of others.
"What is exciting to me about the Book Club is to bring in people, some of whom are very skeptical. We get high viewer numbers. Three thousand viewers on average on the stream. Not inworld of course, but on the bigger shows there's three thousand people watching this. Can you imagine? I'm not saying all of them are hardcore book lovers. When this streams on the Second Life Facebook page, it's probably likely that a lot of people get notification that 'liked' the Second Life page, 'Okay, there's a livestream.' Then they go there and then they watch a little bit and then they disappear again. So I'm not to delusional to believe that we have three thousand hardcore book club lovers whom are completely engaged with what we're putting forward. But, it's still pretty cool, and I can leverage these numbers to get authors in who may not even talk with me otherwise. So I'm using this strategically. And what is very satisfying is when an author goes like, 'Yeah, you've got good numbers. I've got to come on the show." And then I tell them to sign up for a Second Life account, and then they go like, 'Uh, secondlife.com, what a weird page. All weird. Avatars? I'm not into gaming.' And then I go, 'Trust me, trust me,' I say, 'Come on in.' And then they do it, and then they're inworld. And then I can show them the art, amazing stuff that's happening. And then their eyes open to new possibilities. And that's enormously satisfying.
"As you know, these stereotypical notions about Second Life, they unfortunately are very sticky. They still persist. We all need to work against them. And we're all doing our part. And unfortunately it's ... I'm going back to the original thing. Second Life is something where you need to experience it and you have to do this with handholding, right? So the biggest challenge in what I do is with the videos. The biggest challenge is to translate into a 2D medium the visual, the linear movie, the amazingness of SL. And over the years, I've realized certain things work better than others. For example, mixing real ife with Second Life so people go, 'Ah, these.' Because the first thing that people say is, 'Oh yeah, these are NPCs. Why are you playing with NPCs or whatever?' And I'm like, 'Oh no. These are representatives of actual people. And sometimes I can drive that point home with a juxtaposition of real life and Second Life. And sometimes I still don't succeed."
Draxtor then briefly changed the subject, "You know Bixyl, I just noticed you look a lot like Greg Pallast (chuckle). Was that intentional with the hat, are you a Greg Palast fan?" My response was to smile, and comment I felt my clothing was the classical reporter's outfit, to which Draxtor spoke, "I saw an interview with Greg Palast. If you don't know who he is, hold
on, let me get you a link . Greg Palast is one of the last and most
amazing independent investigative reporters of America. And I saw an
interview with him, here' his website (https://www.gregpalast.com/),
where they ask him about the hat, and he just had the hat, yeah. That's
true, it is true. But people don't wear it any more. And Greg Palast is
the only one who wears it in real life. And you're the one holding the
tradition in Second Life. That's so cool."
Bixyl Shuftan: "And about you, where did you get the idea for your appearance, the goggles, the Pac-Man t-shirt, the shorts?"
Draxtor Despres: "Bixyl, you gotta do your due diligence and look up my evolution. Look in the early videos of the 2007 era, especially the Kansas to Ciaro project. And you see how I evolved. I was in a suit and tie for a long time. And then in 2012 I changed. I think in the early Flufee era I still had that outfit. And then Loki made me that t-shirt, the Pac-Man shirt. I also have a 'Drax Files' shirt, but I like the Pac-Man shirt more. And that's when I got the goggles. But before from 2007 to 2012, I was the reporter guy. And I have a federal trademark on that outfit, on that visual representation based on the 2007 avatar. I never changed. I can actually send you a video from a German news reportage. And there's a lot. There's one from PBS. I was on the cover of 'Frontline' actually, 'Frontline World,' ... from 'Eyewitness.' (video link) ... Gotta do your research (smile)."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Where did the pants come from?"
"Loki Elliot made those pants. Those were custom pants. And he did a
whole bunch of cell-shaded stuff. I have some more cell-shaded. He was
experimenting with cell-shading at the time."
Draxtor was telling me time was running out, so I then asked, "What are your future plans in SL, and any other projects?"
"I'm working on a feature documentary about virtual cultures and pandemic times to follow up on 'Our Digital Selves.' Our Digital Selves came out in 2018, has won one hundred and fifty plus awards, was shown all over the world. In many film festivals I still - , actually the Infographic Film Festival in Paris was postponed because of Covid. I was accepted into that as well. And now I'm doing a similar ninety minute documentary. But it's Second Life *and* Animal Crossing. It's just a kind of comparison of two worlds, one old, one new, if you will. And how the situation of lockdown, how do virtual environments help us, how do they change our behavior, for a long time to come. So that's what I'm working on.
"And then of course as a Linden Lab contractor, which is almost a full-time job because we're producing so much content with a tiny, tiny team. It's really just Strawberry and me. And, I shouldn't say that. There's Marianne McCann, ... helping with the Book Club. And I have access to some volunteers that help me out with props and stuff. But it's basically Strawberry and I, and Bret from Linden Lab driving most of the video content. And it's, yeah kids, it's a different skill that creatives sometimes don't enjoy, which is to have to produce all the time on deadline, and not just when inspiration hits you. Which leads me to say that truism and something that people should be aware of is that inspiration is a learned skill. You have to learn how to tap what inspiration is in your particular profession or line of work. Be a friend of the blank page, or not be afraid of it. And just fill it with meaning."
Draxtor explained he had time for one more question. So I just asked, "Anything else you want to add?"
"What I would like to add is that, as you know, I dabbled with VR. And I have nothing against VR. But VR is not a world. VR is basically a specific piece of hardware. What matters is the society, the community, the world. And worlds can be built and can be enjoyed with or without 4K resolution (chuckle). That an industry that sells headsets needs to sell you on visual fidelity that's completely understandable. I have nothing against visual fidelity. But if the continued success of Second Life teaches us one thing, it teaches us that really the only thing that matters is human connections and worlds building. The fact that we can build our place and connect with people, and do that in a fairly inclusive way, yes you still need a high speed Internet connection, yes you need a computer that runs it. These days, Second Life runs on a wide variety of machines. Linden Lab has really invested in that. And VR runs on expensive headsets with expensive machines. So what I hope, Linden Lab did an amazing job with Sansar. Sansar was an amazing piece of technology. And it's sad that it didn't gain traction. And I was doing both for a couple years, three years almost. I'm really glad to be in Second Life full time, because it's really like, it's total home. It is absolutely home. And it's not going anywhere. I mean, look at it, you know. People come and go, (chuckle) it's funny.
"I was at a VR conference in 2014, at the Computer Museum in San Jose. And a mutual friend of mine introduced me to some young guys from USC. They were working on something, I forgot what it was. And she said, 'This is Draxtor. He does a lot of stuff in Second Life.' And they were literally saying, and they didn't mean it in an offensive way I don't think, and they were saying like, 'Oh Second Life. That's where older people like to go dancing and chat.' And, (sigh) sometimes this stuff is offensive to me. And I get upset when people say this. But I felt like, 'Okay, these guys probably didn't mean it, and I don't want to escalate this.' And I think I said something in fact like, 'Yeah, some people may be older than you guys or me. And they may dance or chat.' And I left it at that, you know. My goto thing on this is, often, and it's a little bit self-destructive in a way, or self-defeating, when I get really preachy. But I think when you're passionate about something, you tend to get preachy, right. And that can put people off. And frankly, I don't care. But I also realize it's a waste of time, sometimes. But I get upset over people when people have this notion. I was at another conference, Augmented World Expo, 2017. I was introduced to a guy who also said something, typically, 'Second Life's still around.' And you know, I mean I can say ... I throw out the 500 million US annual transaction volume. I'm not a numbers guy. But if they want numbers, you can tell them. These are people who are like it's all about dollars for them. Okay, so you throw some dollars in their face. And you know, and that is enjoyable when people are like 'Second Life's still around, hur-hur-hur! I have this really cool start up, and you're telling me,' and 'It's doing very well.' And that is funny to see, kinda see their jaw drop basically. Some of these like dismissive guys.
"And Ebbe Linden was really good at that too. I met Ebbe several times in these conference settings when he was giving talks and when he was on the convention floor talking to people. And I observed him a few times when he was talking with other tech types, or even just regular people or start up people. And he was just incredibly cool and confident, and not phased at all when people were like 'Oh yeah, Second Life. I remember how there was this scandal ... oh you guys got this, ha ha ha, that's funny!' And he was just really cool. And I was like, 'Hey, this is going to be my role model,' because normally, I would get upset, 'You guys, mother effers, you don't know what's what.' Let me tell you."
It was this point Draxtor told me he had to go, "Okay, I gotta go. Strawberry is pinging me." He thanked me for the interview, and the Newser crew for it's coverage of Second Life, "Thank you for what you do. It's really awesome what you do. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about this. It's really all about the world and what people do. This is frankly my life. It's just evolved that way. I want to create media that will last and will showcase how the world can be made a better place if people engage in creative pursuits. And creative pursuits can be anything. It can be cooking, pottery, whatever. But this is the digital version of it. So, just absolutely amazing."
It was then that we parted ways. Anyone wanting to meet Draxtor can do so at the weekly Book Club events, and his videos about Second Life will continue for a long time to come.
Kayly:What kind of artist are you? And what medium do you work in? How would you describe your art?
Sabine: I am a mixed media artist which means that I use multiple
mediums in my work. I start out with acrylic, then draw into them with
oil pastel or a water-soluble ink/chalk. I also add paper to help me
define space in my paintings. I am more of a "builder" then a painter
in a way as I add different things to create the layers in my work.
All
of my paintings have multiple layers. I play textures off of patterns
so you don't know what is what. Is it paper or is it texture?I love
having a depth to my paintings that people want to step in and go, “Wow!
How did she do that?”
Kayly: Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? What gives you inspiration?
Sabine:I
don't work from anything. Everything just flows. I will take pictures
as I am working on a piece so that I can look at the values in the
painting. I look at the gray scale to see if I have a good range. So, I
would ask myself -do I need to up a lighter area or do I need to make my
darker area stronger. That really helps me to work on the painting. It
is really more important to me then looking at the composition that just
shows up in the process.
John Singer Sargent is an amazing
artist. I love to look at his work as he is a master of a brush stroke
that pulls you in but you then step back and look at the overall piece
to see how it all fits. I want to make something that when you look up
closely you are interested but when you go across the room the painting
still holds your interest.
I also love Jean Dubuffet and Willem
deKooning. They both have such amazing textures; that is what I am
after. It is like they are playing with the texture to see where it
takes you.
I can't stand looking a painting that is just one
flat range of color. Paints that are just flat soft colors with no
range of darks and lights to me are just blah.
I listen to music
when I am painting. If I have some really great music flowing and I
feel like dancing and the painting is just pouring out of me it is like
the top of my head is coming off. It takes me to a complete other state
of being.
Kayly: Did you have any formal training in art? If so, what university? If not,did you take workshops or learned from books?
Sabine:
Yes, I have painted since I was 7. I started taking oil painting
classes, painting mainly still life. Now, I refuse to paint a still
life -never again! I went on to major in art in college and concentrated
on painting and drawing. And then continued to take classes in a local
art center for a long time in both oil and mixed media abstracts. I am
also very good at pen and ink renderings and painted representational
landscapes for years. One day I took a workshop in abstract mixed media
and fell in love with it. I never really looked back.
Kayly: What
is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? And what is your experience
had been? Any positive or negative? And has exhibiting in Second Life
affected your real-life art?
Sabine: Oh, I really like being able
to share my art here. There are a couple of things that make meme-that
is art is essential to my being. I can't not paint. I also can't not
workout. I am a serious fitness person. Those two things keep me
balanced and sane.
People here would not know the fuller me without me showing my art. It is key to who I am.
Someone,a while ago said I should show my work here and I decided to do it. I do show my art a lot in Second Life. I get invited to show in various places. I think about getting a booth in an event sometimes. In real-life in my area people know who I am or have heard my name.
In real-life, I also teach art at a couple of art centers here and I also offer Zoom classes so if anyone here wants to learn to paint, I can teach them.
Kayly: Do you have your own galleries? Do you exhibit in other galleries? What art related projects do you usually do in Second Life?
Sabine: I have exhibited in a few but not many. I need to apply to other galleries in real-life. It is on my bucket list. In Second Life, I think I should consider putting something in an event. I have seen others do that.
I participate in Sisi Biedermann Artist United Gallery, Ernie Farstrider The Galleries, Windlight Galleries Galleries, and different boulevard art shows.
Kayly: Is there a crossover of people from Second Life to real-life to buy your works?
Sabine: No not yet -no one has commissioned me to paint them anything here, but I have had people say they would. Not yet but maybe one day.
Kayly: So,do you sell prints of your works?
Sabine: I need to do that. I am working on getting a new website in place to be able to do that.I had sold some of my Geisha Series as printsvia Saatchi, Instagram, and Facebook.
Kayly: What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in Second Life?
Sabine: Just reach out to gallery owners here in Second Life. People
are really happy to help here and give you an opportunity to show your
work. Showing in Second Life is a lot more artist friendly and it gives
you an avenue for people to see what you do. And you don't have to be
an accomplished artist to show your work here.The experience will give
you more confidence and allows you to show your friends what you love
doing.
Exhibiting here, you learn how to set up to exhibit your
works. If anyone needs help figuring out what to show or how to hang a
show,I can help them.
Website: www.mjanejohnsonart.com
Email: mj2makesart@gmail.com
Sabine Mortenwold Second Life Gallery: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/oxygen%20o2/148/186/1172
Susan Braveheart is an illustrator who brings her delightful illustrations into Second Life.
Kayly:What kind of artist are you? and what medium do you work in? How would you describe your art?
Susan:
I am a small furry long tailed kind of visual art creator. I don’t use
any specific medium as a standard; I like experimenting and mixing
things. My art is mostly made up of illustrations with animals,
especially cats. Kind of naive imaginative illustrations with a touch of
seriousness and/or humor. It also is made up of different kind of
patterns or abstract decorative drawings.
Kayly: What is your process? Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? How do you approach your art?
Susan:
Process... hmmm, well, usually there just pops up a vision or picture
in my mind. It can be when something or somewhere catches my eye, or a
situation or just anything. Usually, I start off with pencil and paper
and continue with ink. Then I would color the picture with pens and/or
watercolor depending on the effect I want to add. Last of all, I scan
the drawing into (the) computer to make it printable. Very often I would
add effects by retouch or colorize.
Kayly: Did you have any formal training in art? If so, what university? If not did you take workshops or learned from books?
Susan:
No, I did not have any formal training in art only graphic
design/advertising a big bunch of years ago. I have worked as a textile
pattern designer, but I am otherwise self-taught.
Kayly: What is
your earliest experience with art that you remembered that mark your
path into becoming an artist? Who influenced you to be an artist? A
family member, a teacher....
Susan: I think it was probably my
grandmother who influenced me.When I was a child visiting my
grandparents summer cottage, I saw her paintings of flowers and birds
and cats. They were the prettiest paintings ever. Otherwise, I always
been seeing pictures in things and happenings around me. Suddenly
pictures would just popup for an idea/vision.
Kayly: What artists in real-life and Second Life have affected you?
Susan: There are way too many for me to put a finger to name.
Kayly:
What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? and what is your
experience had been? Any positive or negative. And has exhibiting in SL
affected your real-life art?
Susan: I just like to share what I
do. If people like my art and it brings bring a smile or two,then I am
happy. Someone buying my art is just an extra bonus, but most of all I
am always honored I have affected someone that much with my work that
they want a share of it as their own.
Kayly: Do you have your
own galleries? Do you exhibit in other galleries? What art related
projects do you usually do in Second Life?
Susan: I share my work
on and off in different galleries, and not that long ago I put up my
own little art building at my main store location, where I have put up
some of my work together with some fashion with my artwork printed on
them. As I have my art for sale printed on various items in real-life
online stores. So I thought well why not put such items up in Second
Life also.
Kayly:Do you find that your Second Life customers visit your real-life online stores?
Susan: Some have actually gone to my real-life stores after seeing stuff here. Yes,items I have sold on my real-life sites have been abroad from people all over the world. But mostly in Europe.
Kayly:What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in Second Life?
Susan: Do what you are passionate about show it to the world!
Kayly: So besides being an artist you are also a musician. When did you start becoming a musician?
Susan: Oh, that was way back in 2009, I just happened to end up at the O-Lounge, a karaoke lounge.I believe it was the first and only one back then. A good friend, Canipanic, talked me over to get on stage. I only knew one song to sing and I was super nervous. And so that’s how I got started and learned more mewsic. Then I got talked into entering a Second Life Idol contest which I won :-D And shortly after that I got booked for my first real sets. Now I am hooked. Mewsic is my feel good medicine and joy.
Kayly:How does being a musician affect your art?
Susan: I think they go hand in hand. Both parts of me inspire one another. Mewsic gives me visions of pictures and pictures sometimes puts mewsic in my head.
Kayly: When did you become a tiny or a furry animal? and why?
Susan: Well,the tiny kitten, kitteh in me is just a smaller furrier and purrier version of the bigger or real me. I do shape shift at times but never lose my tail or ears. I am always a kitten no matter what shape or size (big grin). Actually the me here in Second Life was a normal biggie avatar in the beginning in 2007 and also, I purr-formed under different name. Then during a period of surgery and sick leave for fun I created this kitten from my back up alternate account. And I got stuck being all meowy and purry when I came across this kitten avatar. Too much fun (big grin).
JolieElle Parfort is a mixed media artist who combines photos that she has taken in Second Life with graphic digital tools to create dreamlike images. She has been featured in many exhibits throughout Second Life.I had the pleasure to interview Jolie about her art training and her art experiences in this virtual world.
How did you get started as an artist?
JolieElle:I have been an artist all my life. Since my earliest memories I drew and got lost in the things I was drawing.Like my fantasies. When art lessons were available,I took them -I grew as an Air Force brat so with moving it was nothing consistent. But I loved any kind of art we did in school.
Is your family known for being artistic? Did you get a lot of encouragement from your parents?
JolieElle
Parfort: They were very encouraging. My mother had a great aesthetic
sense and did some beautiful window design for a while. My father loved
art but he did not feel proficient in doing art so he learned about it
as much as he could.We had a beautiful art series from Time Life books
with pull-out full-size prints of major paintings with explanations.
So,did you go to art school?
JolieElle
Parfort: When I was 12, my dad retired to a small Florida town,that had
a small art school on the main street. It was a private studio but the
artist, Elliott McMurrough,opened it up for art lessons which became
very popular. I became involved when Elliot tasked me to model for his
portrait classes. I was often at the studio not only for modeling but
because Elliott had a daughter my age. Later I took art classes in high
school but nothing ever clicked for me, there was no actual teaching -
only challenges.
At 18, I went to Florida State and majored in
art there and it was the same thing - I was given assignments that made
no sense and it was only confusing. So during summer break I went back
to Elliot's school to model and saw that his teaching methods made
perfect sense-the knowledge and philosophies he passed on as he taught. I
stayed and studied at Elliott’s studio known as the School of Art.
Jolie
found that Elliott’s School of Art laid the foundation for her art.
Following she explains the philosophy and the lineage that the classes
were based on.
JolieElle Parfort: It began with "The Ten
American Painters”(also known as The Ten) .... Theywere an artists'
group formed in 1898 to exhibit their work as a unified group. Artists
John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, and Childe Hassam were the driving
forces behind the organization. Dissatisfied with the conservatism of
the American art establishment, the three artists recruited seven others
from Boston, New York City, and elsewhere on the East Coast, with the
intention of creating an exhibition society that valued their view of
originality, imagination, and exhibition..." (source Google). These
artists were heavily influenced by French Impressionist and many went
overseas to study.
A couple of these artists started art schools
in the States. Child Hassam started the School of Art in Province town
Massachusetts. Charles Hawthorne in 1899 founded The Cape Cod School of
Art in also in Provincetown. Hawthorne trained his eyes to see and paint
color as Monet had, and devised methods of teaching these principles to
his students.
So,one of Charles Hawthorne’s students was Henry
Henscheand Henry Hensche in turn taught Elliott Murrough. And then
Elliott taught me. My education is a direct line through the decades
from the first impressionists.
So, what are some of their principles?
We
were taught to paint by learning to see shape and color for what it is,
not what we think it is. High color starts to startle your eye when you
see this way.We worked from life whether it is still life we set up and
still life set up outside in full sun to fully see colors. Then we
would move to portrait and later landscapes. It was actually grueling
work but the best part is that there none of the 1960's and 1970's
pretensions just real learning and practicing and improving.To us an
abstract was a much deeper continuation of a painting until there is
only form and color. Therefore,we never set out to "do" an abstract.
So how would you describe yourself as an artist? What is your medium?
JolieElle
described herself as originally a plein air painter just trying to do a
decent painting. But she does used digital methods to create
impressionistic images. She is open to break out of her traditional
training to explore other areas of art.
What is your process? Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? How do you approach your art?
I
worked from life and then from photos when necessary. Photos as an
accessory to art developed back in the days of Degas. But the emphasis
is never to simply copy a thing, but to find the art in it. To make it
"more" than real.
What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? And what has your experience been?
In
my middle years I found myself with no studio space and no supplies.
But I also developed a very keen interest in computers, CAD and such
things. As soon as I was able to get my own computer, I started teaching
myself but everything I do is still based on the same principles I was
taught from when I was plein air painting. So, my art may start as an SL
photo but then I upload the photo into my programs. I was never taught
any computer graphic skills. I just winged it and "painted" over my
photos until they became art. So,this is my concentration now. And yes I
have had people ask me to teach them how to do what I do but I have no
idea how to approach that.
How did you get started into exhibiting in Second Life?
I
found a sim with cheap real estate and a downtown. I rented the space
and then teaching myself everything as I went along, I remodeled it. I
hung my paintings and called it "House of Art". From there I noticed
that there were shows and competitions to enter and things just
developed from there. When I moved to Avalon, I rebranded as ART DREAMS.
So how did exhibiting in Second Life affected your real-life?
Well,
I discovered Fine Art America. I joined and posted my Second Life,
hoping to sell but that didn’t do much. Fine Art America tends to price
things too high. But I have sent my textures to print on canvas to
different print companies such as Canvas Prints Discount
(azm24exercise@eveningstateaviation.com) and had great results. Lower
prices than Fine Art America. All printing is done on canvas. I have not
done printing on fabrics; I don’t know how to market that; it just a
different skill set. I am just a painter.
So for now, I do my
exhibiting in Second Life, as going out carting paintings to real life
galleries is just out of the question.
What art related projects do you usually do in Second Life?
This is it.
Do you participate in fundraisers?
There
is one I am working on for Focus Magazine -a contest. Another project I
will be working on is more of a teaching exhibition on the work of Dali
which will take place here in Thirlmere (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Thirlmere/93/192/22)
What is a teaching exhibition?
The
large display and teaching gallery they have herein Thirlmere has nice
big rooms for moving displays and they like to suggest different themes
for the artists to explore. So, there are exhibits with lecture with
Q&A. The next one is on Dali and Surrealism.
It is run by Star Finesmith and Sethos Lionheart.
What advice would you give to artists who are interested in exhibiting in Second Life?
Go
to SEARCH ----> GROUPS and join all the art groups possible. Then
start collecting information on what kind of exhibits are current -what
competitions and coming up -and definitely enter the Raglan Art Fair it
is such good experience and so many artists are there -go around and
meet some.Also, get a Flickr page and send your work to various groups.
I recently found out from a friend the other day that Second Life resident Dax Loon had passed away. And looking at her profile, it stated that she had. For me, it was a reminder of earlier times in Second Life, several months of happy occasions followed by a sad parting.
Early in my time in Second Life, I didn't really have a home. It wasn't until Summer 2007 I began coming on regularly, and while there were places I hung around, notably the Student Travel Association and Heaven's Sky Garden Village. At the latter, I was given a room to stay for several weeks without being asked to pay for it. Sadly both places would close, and my home area would be the private office I was given at Second Life Newspaper.
Sometime in Summer 2008, a human friend I'd met through another human friend I made at Luskwood told me about an interesting club called 6th Circle. Dropping it, the place was a hell club with flames and lava all around, and in the middle of the place was a red-eyed skunkgirl named Dax Loon, with red streaks in her hair and sporting heavy leather boots, whooping and cheering. She was the owner of the club, and cheering everyone on to have a good time.
The second time I went there, I came across a few more friends of hers, and ended up going to ground level of the community: Woodlin. The place was made up of two sims, Dreamers Cove being the main one and Hopefull Shores being the smaller one in terms of content and capacity. The first thing I noticed was the trees. There were a large number of them of various sizes. There were one or two that were especially high, a few hundred meters I think, with plenty of apartments. Most were smaller, such as medium-sized trees with two or three, and small trees with just one. The sim also had a number of hills, caves, and streams, looking much like a forest when looked at from some angles.
And this wasn't all. There was a shopping mall where people could get new clothes, accessories, avatars, and more. The sim also have a movie theater, and for a time people could see movies in their own homes as well. They didn't clash with the natural landscape as the way they were build and looked from the outside blended in. The largest of the caves had a temple for anyone to meditate at.
6th Circle would close soon after my arrival. But Dax soon opened up a space club: Star Tails. She would later start building a space station next to it, and had plans for a space combat game at one point. Later on was the Margaritaville beach club. One of my regrets is not taking more pictures of the place, though I did take a few.
And there were the people. Dax had a close friend named Staticminded Waco whom went about in a husky avatar. Others I knew there were Mistressbubbles Bondar the pandagirl, Marai the snow leopardess, Jessicabelle the skunkgirl, Isegrim the wolf, Miki the demoness, Megathearon the neko, Ekedo the young fox, Rory Langdon the blue skunk, Galvenized Hammerer whom went about in a freebie purple feline, and a number of others. We'd party at Star Tails, "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode being played almost every night there, and when the space station started going up play a few games of "Una" and spend half the time laughing in Voice mixed with chat. We'd watch a few movies together, once watching "The Hulk" and I changing to a green Wingless fox in the middle of it and at the end we all had a good chuckle. There were also gatherings in the social area of the larger treehouse that turned into improvised parties. I had some of my best times in my early Second Life days there.
And of Dax Loon herself, she was Japanese-American in real life, a small woman whom was a survivor. She had overcome a difficult childhood, made a living for a while as a waitress in Hooters, and eventually came here to Second Life, becoming one of the personalities at a club called DV8. Then came trouble. She developed cancer, and the treatments to save her life ended up costing her voice. She would tell me only one person in Second Life ever heard her speak. And the medications she was still on could cause trouble. She once told me a heavy television ended up breaking her arm when it fell on her, the bones a bit weakened by her prescriptions. Still, she refused to let that get her down, and was determined to make a happy place for herself and her friends. She once commented she imagined Woodlin as the place she would like to be after she passed away.
The happy times continued for months. Then Dax went on a trip to Japan. She had been adopted, and the only blood relative she knew was a brother she'd gotten in contact with a few years earlier. The brother finally talked her into going over to meet her biological parents. But, it did not go well. And it showed in her reactions with others. The once happy skunkgirl was often withdrawn and depressed. There were times I found her at the temple area, sitting there, alone. And not sure what to say, I could only sit with her as a show of unspoken support.
Plenty happened in these few months, some that's probably best left unspoken and unwritten about. During this time, one close friend of mine did a prank on someone. But he reacted badly, and as he was now the manager of the place ordered her to leave. This was followed by others leaving. But the big incident was when Dax's account was supposedly hacked and whomever it was was shouting a string of profanities while deleting or returning everything. We wouldn't hear from her for hours, eventually the sim manager calling the Lab and getting the place rolled back. Dax would eventually contact us, saying she had logged in through an alt, and seeing everything happening fell off her chair and knocked herself out. But talking to one friend of hers, the person wasn't so sure she was hacked as Dax had up and lost it in the past.
I'd hoped Dax and those friends of mine who left would patch up their differences and all would be well again. I didn't want to pressure Dax as her high hopes for a happy family in real life had been dashed. She would soon return to America. But the problems continued. After one more incident, the details which are best left unwritten, more friends of mine left. And I myself came to the sad conclusion it was time to leave. I gathered everything of mine that was non-copyable in my apartment, and left, never to live there again. I would make one more trip to the sim a few weeks later. Much of the place was a mess, many of the trees gone, and various items scattered about like some sandboxes. The smaller sim was offline and gone. Perhaps it was a reflection on Dax's state at the time. Soon after in late March 2009, the sim closed down. The community that had been my happy home for months was gone.
With Woodlin gone, Galvenized I never would see again, him having left Second Life. Bubbles went to a fantasy sim. I would join several others including Jessicabelle and Marai whom made a new community, Foxworth. It might not have been as exciting as Woodlin was, but it was home. The owner left the clubbing to Rory Langdon, whom had the Bahama Beach Club in another sim and invited us over a few times a week for events. But about a year later, the sim owner couldn't keep things going due to one big renter moving out and the Lab discontinuing another big source of his Second Life income due to a technicality. So in March 2010, the Foxworth community closed. Rory would have to take a break from Second Life due to real life not long after he retired the beach club after several months. A few of us moved to one small corner in another place, but there wasn't enough room for me.
By this time, I had been going regularly to Club Cutlass for a while, and when I mentioned I was looking for a new place to stay, Rita Mariner invited me to rent a spot in the Sunweaver community. As it turned out, it was cheaper than either Woodlin or Foxworth. Still, I missed my former home. And when someone told me that there was a treehouse in the style that was around Woodlin, I got it and used it. This would be my home for years, until I finally got a mesh treehouse with a ladder, and no need to fly up or fall down.
I would come across Dax only once more. Someone told me about another sim, and to my surprise I saw Dax DJing to the crowd, dancing with Static. We had a few words, and we parted once again. That was the last time I ever saw either one of them, and would hear nothing more until being told she had passed away. Supposedly she had gone on a trip on foot through Europe. While the cause of her death was unlisted, as she was a cancer survivor it's probable she had a relapse she couldn't recover from.
If there's a lesson in what happened at Woodlin, perhaps it's that happy times don't always last forever, and sometimes neither do friendships. Second Life being a virtual world, places come and go and I've heard of many nice places soon having faded away after being around just a short time. The real-life circumstances of the people who make them can change, and without help they can easily fade away. Friendships can last for years, even decades sometimes. But sometimes when people change, end up having disagreements, or both, friendships can be tested. And when two friends of someone end up fighting, it can be quite a mess for the person caught in the middle and a dilemma. And sometimes too much has happened for a friendship to keep going.
But while I was sad at the place closing, there were also many happy memories. So it's best to remember Dax as the high-energy enthusiastic skunk girl whom for a short time held together a community of friends in a fun place. Of her wondering if Woodlin was the kind of place where she'd end up after she passed away, perhaps she has.
One of my friends recently told me about a new pony-themed community: Moonlit Night Shores in the Coral Outlet sim. Among the first things I saw there was a huge pony statue in the public circle in the middle of the grounds. Different areas of the place have different functions. The shops are in one area. The local houses are in another. There's also a dance area, a beach area, a sandbox area, a theme park, and a manor for the owner and the community staff. The area looked a bit winterized at the time with snow in places, and the housing area had a Christmas tree in the middle.
While going about the area, I came across RosieDrop Honeydew (RosieStarfield Resident). "Sorry if I seem busy," she told me, "I'm just trying to edit the windows so people cant see into others' homes." She asked to change to voice, as she was more used to chatting that way, "This is a pony related sim, but it allows all species, humans, furries, ponies, nekos ... we do have some rules that we are in the process of making. ... certain things allowed, certain things not allowed."
When I asked where did the idea of the place come from, she told me she'd been working on the idea for over a year, "I just haven't been able to accomplish it." She tried with a friend, but failed. So she was trying things again, this time with a staff to help her out. She introduced me to Barcode, the "co-owner," whom helped out with rules in addition to his theme park and other things in the area. There was also Evra Nolan (VioletBogues Resident), the superviser. Six String (RolePlayismylife Resident), whom was there was one of the staff, one of the music performers. Not there but mentioned by Rosie was Janus, whom along with Barcode "are putting in the major help of funding the sim," and another officer named Whale94 aka Captain Whale, whom Rosie had known since the first sim.
Of the Sandbox, "Or as the kitties call it, the Moonlit Litterbox," Six mused, it was built by Evra. "Don't get messy," she laughed. It was set up so people in the community group could rezz and build things there, though a few items were there for good such as the posing platforms and seats, "I set up seating with the plush tigers too to chill if anyone wants." Barcodeland was the name of the theme park, which had walls and a floor with white and balck lines resembling the maker's namesake: barcodes. It had a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, "Duck Hunt" shooting game, a funhouse, and more attractions.
Next to the homes was the tallest structure of the community, the watertower. "... straight out of Animaniacs, but with a Moonlit twist" Six commented, it having the logo of the community. Of the houses, Six commented, "There are homes for rent here for a more than reasonable amount. rent costs so low, it's practically criminal." Of the shops, none of the buildings were occupied yet, though they had high hopes they would soon be filled. The beach area was a strip of sand, a few beach towels, a lifeguard stand, and shallow water. Next to that was the stage and dance area, where a DJ or live performer could entertain a crowd.
I was invited to take a tour of the staff residence, the manor. It was usually off-limits to others, but this time they made an exception. It was the place for monthly meetings, in the staff meeting room. Each of the people also had their own rooms. Barcode's place was a "drug trip of a room." Of Evra's room, "I honestly just wanted to go a little ham on decor, thank barcode for some of the ideas ... the room is basically very horror themed." Of Rosie's "We went kinda crazy and made it Picasso."
Once the tour was over, Rosie talked a little more about the backstory, "I just wanted a nice calm relaxing place ... where people could relax with their friends, add to the pony community, make the pony community better." She had been at other places with drama issues, so she thought about how it could be handled better, wanting "A place where people can be themselves so as long as they're no drama. We act like ourselves .. sometimes there's some ... tease each other, but we do it to be funny, not being actual trolls. ... we don't want to p*ss people off." Evra commented, "We know when to be serious and mature but we like to be good and fun." The staff were serious about their rules. But when it was just them around, they felt free to horse around.
Rosie made the snow textures, as well as the textures on the water. "I consider myself an artistic person ... drawings, cutie marks. Of her pony avatar, blue with honey-colored swirly stripes, she told me it was inspired by her original pony, and took pride on it being unique. In pony roleplay, she had a magical ability that could be chaotic. She considered the character not unlike a fallen angel, comparable to Discord, that liked to cause chaos and make everything look silly. Once she got to know someone, she might get a bit flirty. She was easily angered, but her stunts were mostly limited to pranks like covering things or the one angering her in honey, or games.
Of the sim, they planned something for Christmas, possibly a secret Santa. There also were plans for kareoke events, as well as something for the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox. Rosie hoped that the place would be around for many years.
Dropping by some time later, the look of the place had changed some. There were plenty of houses around, but instead of the manor was a castle, and instead of shops there were stalls. There was plenty of empty space around this area, though I did see the beach area further away, along with an ocean liner and a couple other places. Messaging Rosie, she told me they had gotten some more of the sim's land and were in the middle of expanding. So it seems my tour was done just before a rebuilding that would result in a bigger and better Moonlit Night Shores. So what will it look like when it's done? We'll have to wait some time to find out. In any event, feel free to drop by and relax, just pardon the dust.
