Machinima Contest About Banned Books

Posted on September 7, 2010
Filed Under On The Web, Special Events | Leave a Comment

BY CHIEF STAFF WRITER PAYPABAK WRITER

One of the things we all love about SL is how people can come together for a cause. Whether Relay for Life, Soles 4 Soles, the current Wigs 4 Kids Hair Fair, or for individual’s like the SOPHIE Foundation or Project Jason that are more about social awareness, the people of SL step forward and find creative ways to get involved. I’ve been writing about librarians in SL for a few years, ever since Codie, Gabby and I ran a booth at one of their exhibitions. They are exploring the frontier of virtual reference on their own time and despite the devastating economic situation, continue to provide services and fascinating programs, such as the Human Trafficking Exhibit I wrote about last February. (The high unemployment crisis means less tax support for libraries where across the nation, budgets and jobs have been cut at an alarming rate.)

BBW poster One annual event that has been run for the past three years in SL is Banned Books Week (BBW). As it sounds from the title, BBW is a campaign to try to raise awareness that censorship and intellectual freedom are important issues. Books still get challenged and banned in communities all over the US and Banned Books Week highlights the fight against such censorship. According to Kay Tairov, Island and Event manager at ALA Island: “Needless to say, this is a particularly good campaign to bring to the greater public outside of Library World in SL. Personally, I think intellectual freedom is an issue that most SLers support, regardless of other differences among us. So this year I’m really making an effort to bring attention to our inworld events to try to get the public excited and aware.”

One of these events is a Read Out, where librarians and some SL luminaries have been invited to read passages from books that have been banned. Another really cool event is a machinima contest. Here’s their press release release:

2010 BBW Machinima Contest

As part of the celebration of Banned Books Week in Second Life, we’re inviting everyone to take part in our Banned Books Week in Second Life Machinima Contest. The theme for this year’s banned Books Week is “Think for yourself and let others do the same” and this should inspire the theme of your machinima entry.

Prizes:

  • 1st Prize – 10,000 Lindens; First Life BBW 2010 T-shirt; winning video featured on OIF Blog and in AL Direct
  • Two Runners Up – First Life BBW 2010 T-shirt; winning video featured on OIF Blog

    Deadlines:
    Submissions will be accepted between August 22, 2010 and September 25, 2010, participants can enter as many videos as they’d like.

    Rules and Specs:

  • Videos should be at least 1 minute and no longer than 5 minutes
  • At least 60% of the video should be filmed in Second Life
  • Video should focus on Banned Books Week or a specific banned or challenged book(s)
  • Video should not use any unlicensed copyrighted material
  • Participants should feel free to use the Banned Books Week graphics or elements available online, and visit ALA Island for a free Banned Books Week Robot inworld.

    • Wow! 10K Lindens!!! Check the links on the main Banned Books Week link given above to find lists of challenged books throughout the past fifty years. You will be amazed at the book titles you will find!

    On Friday, October 1, the videos will be shown at ALA Island and prizes announced. A week of planned activities can be monitored at Banned Books Week in Second Life.

    Bentham Manor

    Posted on September 6, 2010
    Filed Under Fun Places, Interesting Items | Leave a Comment

    BY EDITOR SHAUNA SKYE

    It’s not Halloween yet, but the folks at Bentham Manor don’t know that. If you’re in the mood for a haunted house, have a look. There’s ghosts and monsters everywhere, and most are for sale. Some are from films, some are not.

    This demon girl on the bed with the deep man’s voice properly scared me. Her head rotated around, and I was just thinking how glad I was that she wasn’t my kid.

    Visit Inworld: Bentham Manor

    Phoenix Viewer (Updated)

    Posted on September 5, 2010
    Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People, SL Tech | 2 Comments

    BY EDITOR SHAUNA SKYE

    Well, it happened. The most popular Second Life viewer, Emerald, is dead as reported on the Emerald Viewer Blog. A lot has been written about this already, so all I will say is that I am really sorry to see it go. I don’t know anyone from Linden Lab personally, or anyone involved with the Emerald viewer; I just know that Emerald had all the features I found useful, and now it’s gone.

    Paypabak Writer mentioned an alternate SL viewer called Imprudence in her I’ve Become Imprudent About My TPV article. I took Pay’s advice and downloaded it, but it was lacking some of the things I took for granted when using Emerald.

    Today I found a viewer that looks like it may fit the bill for me. Hopefully it sticks around. It’s called the Phoenix Viewer. I just installed it, and it’s working so far, like Emerald back! Fingers crossed this one lasts.

    Get info on Phoenix at: Jessica Lyon’s Blog

    Hair Fair and STEAM: the Hunt

    Posted on September 4, 2010
    Filed Under Fashion, Hair, Skin, Free or Cheap, Special Events | Leave a Comment

    BY CHIEF STAFF WRITER PAYPABAK WRITER

    Okay, hold onto your hats . . . or maybe, get ready to take them off! The Fifth Annual Hair Fair starts today, September 4, running through the 19th. Just as the Truth Hair Sale closes, you can drag your worn out scalp to one of the Great Events of Second Life. I have no pictures or landmarks since the fair starts today. More details can be found at the websites listed below, and hopefully the inworld location will be available and I can add it. (And that has been accomplished.)

    globe

    Shauna frowns on articles with more than one topic, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another one of my favorite events taking place, having begun on Wednesday and running the length of September: The third annual Steam Hunt, or as it is an acronym, STEAM: Steampunk Travelers’ Event, Adventure & Megahunt. Steampunk-themed gifts to be found in more than 135 participating shops hidden all over the grid. Exclusive items made only for this event, only available during these thirty days. Join the STEAM group for free and get full list of participating stores. Or visit the official STEAM blog for up-to-date details (a link to the list of participating stores is in the narrow right-hand column). One of the great side effects of hunts is midnight madness signs that are so very likely to fill up. (Got two MMs yesterday!) So put on that steam-powered, stovepipe hat, or tail, and head over to the starting point.

    Hair Fair Information
    Visit Inworld: Hair Fair 3 (one of four)
    Visit Website: News, as of August 28 and Sponsor: wigs for Kids

    Necessity is The Mother of Invention

    Posted on September 3, 2010
    Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 2 Comments

    BY FREELANCER LACRIMAE STARSMITH

    At least that’s what I’ve always been told, and I suppose that over the years it’s something that we may well have proved to ourselves time and time again. Whether it’s the emergency remedy for a wardrobe misfunction, (stapling your hem when the stitching goes, just before that big interview . . . the judiciously applied sellotape/chewing gum, when you realise just how revealing that new party top has suddenly become!) or the urgent disaster relief effort. I have a friend who once realised they’d run out of onions just as the guests were arriving for dinner. The solution? Chunks of apple, rubbed with garlic, and nobody noticed!

    Then there’s the little inventive solutions to practical problems that we all have, solutions that work so well, we never get round to a ‘proper’ fix – the ‘special’ book that we use for that wobbly table leg because it’s the perfect thickness; the length of string and bit of twisty wire that keeps the garden gate shut. All inventive solutions to life’s little problems.

    When it comes to inventive solutions, Second Life citizens have a quite remarkable ability to find clever ways of using their imagination to make our world a better place. It’s not only necessity that’s the mother of invention, but the desire to have an ever better and richer in-world experience, which drives creativity and ingenuity to ever greater levels of excellence. Perhaps this is why when things do go awry, there’s such a strong reaction from the SL community – the negative reactions to Viewer 2 (and the subsequent ‘upgrade’), for example – it seems we want quality and have little tolerance for mediocrity.

    I don’t have the benefit of a long history in SL to fall back on but many of you I’ve spoken to have been around for a while and, I’m pleased to say, still haven’t lost the sense of wonder at just what is now possible in SL. I’ve been told how sculpted prims have paved the way for greater realism (at a lower prim ‘cost’), how ever more sophisticated integration with the web has brought richer content to the Grid and how things that were just a pipe-dream not so long ago are now the stuff of everyday experience. I’m sure that if I could TP back to the early days of SL, I’d be shocked by just how far we’ve come and it makes me wonder where we will be in the future.

    What surprises me though, is that much of this innovation comes from the everyday users of SL, not high-powered developers sat in swish offices with the latest in hi-tech equipment and degrees in programming. Ordinary people who use their experience and imagination to tweak settings, play with textures and give up hours of their time and energy to creating new and exciting ways to experience SL. It’s a mystery to me how they do it – when I’m faced with the ‘edit’ menu, it’s about all I can do to manipulate the odd bit of furniture, or create a simple object (I made a pizza the other day – I’m so proud of it!). As for the complexities of building and – it gives me goose-pimples to even think of it – debugging, I’m lost. Nevertheless, it’s the incredible tenacity of these people, in conjunction with their boundless enthusiasm and insatiable curiosity that continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in SL – and I salute them!

    I’ve pondered what drives people to be so inventive and lately I’ve realised that, unconsciously, that very process of inventiveness has been stirring in my own SL and, no doubt, the same is true for most people. It starts when you begin to realise that things need to change – perhaps your appearance, maybe your immediate surroundings and, as you start to make changes, you face little challenges. Objects that don’t fit, things that don’t quite look right . . . and so we start to experiment – we move, stretch, re-texture, until we like what I see. Then we start to play . . . what does that option do? How does that menu work? Then we run out of prims, and so starts the process of trying to do the same thing in an alternative way.

    As time goes on, through curiosity and trying to meet the need of necessity, I’m starting to learn new things and I’m pushing the limits of my own abilities and creativity and now, I’m starting to realise just how addictive this process is, and I’m wondering what further possibilities there may be, still to explore…

    No wonder SL continues to expand and amaze in both size and content. With hundreds of thousands of us pushing beyond our horizons and exploring the possibilities, the potential is unlimited! So I shall continue my efforts and encourage you all to be curious, inquisitive and adventurous at whatever level of skill you may be – whether an absolute beginner like me, or an expert, like those who create inspiring SL art and magical sims – and together, let’s make SL even more amazing than it already is!

    Traces of Ourselves

    Posted on September 2, 2010
    Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 1 Comment

    BY STAFF WRITER JELLIE ARROWMINT

    I was reading a BBC article about the discovery of new archaeological sites – about the marks people had left behind, and it got me wondering . . . what do we leave behind?

    When we frequent places and befriend people in Second Life, we must leave some sort of mark. If we build then there is a physical trace of our presence, but what do we leave if we don’t? It’s easy to spot the answer to this if you check out someone’s profile picks. Many of these have dedications to friends past and present, but are the traces always good ones? Every now and then I come across profiles that scream out how horrible someone is. This reflects not only on the individual it’s about, but on whoever wrote it–and it tends to put me off them. There is enough drama in the real world, surely we should try not to bring it here.

    If you knew you’d be leaving a trace behind, would you act differently? It’s not always possible to be polite and say ‘hello’ to everyone we come across. We’re never going to meet even half the people in SL even in passing, and we won’t get along with everyone for whatever reason; so even if we don’t build houses or make clothes, even if we aren’t keen on whoever or wherever we are, why don’t we ‘smile down the telephone’ be nice to people and leave some traces of goodness behind.

    From Dusk til Dawn

    Posted on September 1, 2010
    Filed Under Art, Culture, Education, Interesting Items, Xstreet | 1 Comment

    BY EDITOR SHAUNA SKYE

    This may shock some of you beyond belief, and I know some will be thinking I really did have that breakdown after all, but I’m actually going to write about a place that advertises nude dancing, girls girls girls, and hot calientes. No, I’m not talking about Dear Prudence Rock Club. In fact, the name of this place . . . I’d just blush too much if I had to say it.

    Ok, it’s not what you think. The place I’m talking about is not an active club in Second Life, but the building is for sale . . . for 12,000 lindens. Why is it so pricey? Because it’s the famous bar from Quentin Tarrantino’s cult classic movie, From Dusk Til Dawn. I must admit, I’m not into live nude girls, but in this case, there really aren’t any live nude girls. They are dead nude girls aka vampires who will eat your face off.

    That’s right. I am not into sex places, but I happen to find an establishment where the staff turns into vampires interesting. That must say something about my personality, right?

    For those who have never seen the film, here’s the trailer. I can’t believe this is as old as it is, from 1996.

    A replica of this place was created in great detail by Two Roses Bar and Clubsupplies owner, PantzerHamzter Petshop. The detail is excellent.

    PantzerHamzter has created many other great things as well, including the glitter ball I use in The Killing Moon pub, and background system privacy screens, which are very popular sellers. He also owns Second Lights NeonLights Creations, and Two Roses Pirate Plunder Market.

    PantzerHamzter Petshop was kind enough to give me a copy of his background system privacy screens, which are controlled by HUD. No, this wasn’t a bribe, as I’d already sought this place out on my own to write about it. He just happened to be there, and was quite helpful. He let me take his picture too! At the time I didn’t realize he created those background scenes as well, so was great to get those. They were excellent, and I can see why they are a great seller. Perfect for skyboxes, but can even be used on the ground since they blend into the sky.

    If you’re a fan of the campy Quentin Tarrantino vampire movie and would like to see the bar from Dusk til Dawn, head on over. If you’re a club owner in need of supplies, Two Roses makes high quality items. I give it the thumbs up.

    Visit Inworld: Two Roses Bar and Clubsupplies
    View on XstreetSL: PantzerHamzter Petshop

    **Added Note: If you buy something from PantzerHamzter Petshop and let him know you heard about his place from Moonletters, he will give you a 10% discount.

    I’ve Become Imprudent About My TPV

    Posted on August 31, 2010
    Filed Under On The Web, Opinions/Gossip/People, SL Tech | 2 Comments

    BY CHIEF STAFF WRITER PAYPABAK WRITER

    Seems like the people behind the wonderful Emerald TPV (Third Party Viewer) have given me enough doubts about their trustworthiness that I have changed my passwords and taken up once again with the Imprudence viewer. For an example of the bad press Emerald is receiving, I link you with ArmanisX Saiman’s Second Effects blog for his succinct take on the matter. After reading ArmanisX, whom I trust implicitly, I decided my passwords needed changing, downloaded a replacement TPV, and uninstalled Emerald!

    I know I have written about the Kirstens viewer, which is much closer in compliance with V2.0 standards, and will be studying it when time permits. But as my everyday recreational TPV, Imprudence is getting the nod. I really am curious about using it to explore other virtual worlds–as if I had time!–and possibly exporting items, which are leading features of the product. My alpha and tattoo layers work with it, which is a huge plus.

    It’s not the first time I’ve used Imprudence, which I have installed and uninstalled a couple times over the past year or two. I have had some performance issues and sometimes wondered if using too many different viewers was a cause, so I tend to be a bit fastidious about such choices. I have read that Imprudence is not on the directory of LL approved viewers, but there it is on the directory list so not sure what that’s all about.

    Empty AO menuWhatever the case, I am so far quite pleased with the change. An immediate thing that caught my eye was that the default font for notecards and windows is much easier to read. The rearranged pie menus still won’t let me detach things on the initial click … Huh? A listing of the most salient features can found on the wiki and includes what I understand many people initially embraced Emerald: breast physics! A huge deciding factor for me was the built-in AO interface, which saves a HUD attach spot and runs in any simulator environment without contributing to lag. Ever since I finally got down to mastering my ZHOA settings, I have become fearless and went right to work with this amazing feature. Yes, Em had it, too, apparently, but this was like falling off a log to set up. And the AO on/off toggle is right there, unobtrusively among buttons on the lower toolbar next to the sky editor that loads all those great Windlight settings that V2.0 viewers continues to ignore. (See the two pix accompanying the article, the first shows the empty AO menu and the tab on the toolbar, the other shows the populated menu and how you can set defaults.)

    One caution: I sometimes check SL on a different PC and installed Imp with an odd result: it only lists _localhost as the only grid it can access and of course, it doesn’t work. It gives a wide variety of choices on my laptop: 3rdrock, cyberlandia, giantgrid, inworldz, legendcityonline, osgrid, gorgrid, sciencesim, and others. Somehow, I think the rest of the list was not installed/accessed. Localhost doesn’t work on the lappie, either.

    I have noticed when I use my cam that its movement is faster, not something I am used to. But … LOLZ … I am willing to get used to it!

    Visit Websites: Imprudence Blog and Imprudence Forums

    There Are Places I Remember

    Posted on August 30, 2010
    Filed Under Opinions/Gossip/People | 2 Comments

    BY FREELANCER LACRIMAE STARSMITH

    So begins one of the most poignant Beatles’ songs, (who can forget that scene from ‘The Tall Guy’?). It’s a song that plays in my head whenever I allow myself to have one of those moments of wistful, nostalgic melancholia that we’re all prone to occasionally. I guess it’s just one of those things that we have to get used to in life – things, places and people change and pass in, and out of our lives. Often all we have are our memories, often locked away until something brings them to the fore… sometimes a particuliar song will stir memories, or maybe something more esoteric – a location, a particular set of circumstances, or even a certain smell can bring them flooding back, as if it were only yesterday.

    In its own way, Second Life mirrors reality in much the same way. I find that I can be caught at an off-guard moment wallowing in nostalgia . . . who doesn’t remember their very first login, that moment we first rezzed and the confusion and wonder of it all? Or perhaps that time we talked, or danced or played the night away, completely caught up in that perfect moment – something we’ll always look back on with a smile. For some, it’ll be memories of ‘the big day’: a partnership ceremony perhaps every bit as life-changing as a real marriage.

    These are our Second Life treasures – things that can never be taken from us, that chart our journey through SL – the landmarks, the laughter and yes, the losses and sorrows too. You never know when a memory may surface, almost anything can be the trigger. In fact, many of us, I’m sure, deliberately keep mementos of the past for no other reason than they provide a link to our past – things that maybe we should forget, but somehow we feel the need to ocassionally bring them to mind. I’m sure I’m not the only person who keeps landmarks to places we’ll never go again. I have landmarks to places that no longer exist – and yet they still exist in my memories – just because they’re now ‘Abandoned land – property of Governor Linden’, doesn’t mean that, for me, they weren’t once special places.

    Some landmarks I really should delete . . . locations that bring a lump to my throat when I think about what might have been, or events that happened there, or just incredibly happy times that, for a moment, were the best ever and now, are in the past. And yet, I can’t bring myself to delete them – they’re important to me and I never want to forget why.

    There are other places I remember too: landmarks that I’ve kept, but I’ve no intention of visiting – blasts from my past that serve as a reminder to me that things weren’t always as they are now. These places remind me of a less than savoury, even sordid, past – nothing I’m proud of, unfortunately, but their very presence is a constant reminder to me of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve changed, and that in turn, brings to mind some of the people I’ve encountered along the way that have been instrumental in bringing about those changes.

    I’m an avid profile reader – I even check profiles of people I meet on a daily basis for updates and changes, and you’d be amazed how often they do change! Sometimes tiny, almost insignificant changes, that speak volumes . . . but some things don’t change. I always feel a tinge of sadness when I see a profile that speaks of friends ‘no longer in SL’ or ‘lost to RL’. All too often it seems, these missing, but not forgotten people were once partners (and often, still are) of those in whose profiles they appear. It strikes me that there’s nothing sadder than losing a partner in SL – being cut off completely from someone you shared so much with, in such a meaningful way – and leaving SL is such a permanent thing. Of course, people leave SL for all sorts of reasons, some unavoidable, some unexplainable, but I do feel for those left behind and their need to keep the memory of that special person alive. I imagine many of us have been in the position, if only in RL, of trying to ‘hang on’ to an ex-partner – sometimes the memories never fade. I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to lose someone that you’re incredibly close to if they should choose to leave SL – how much harder than having an ‘ex’ must it be to have someone who simply no longer exists, except in our memories and those few, brief words in our profile?

    Of course, there are many people who make a lasting impression in our lives but then move on, someone doesn’t have to leave SL to leave a gaping hole that we can never quite fill. I know from speaking to many friends that there have been people in their past that they’ve been exceptionally close to but, at some point, something happened and things changed. It’s odd how something can crop up in the most routine conversation that hits a raw nerve and reminds us of that person and the close friendship once shared – perhaps all the more difficult, knowing that out there, somewhere they are getting on with their SL and, who knows, maybe thinking of us too?

    You may think I’m a sentimental fool but memories are precious to me – even the bad ones – after all as Gielgud? says in the Jazz Singer, “If you don’t know where you’ve been, how can you know where you’re going?” And I can guarrantee that, when those memories spring to mind, whatever the trigger, I fully intend to indulge my wallowing in nostalgia – I think it’s good for the soul. It allows us to purge the less happy times, whilst reminding us that there have been some wonderful times too. It makes us realise that that, although change is inevitable, and sometimes difficult to bear, we prevail and so do our memories.

    Of course, the present is hugely important – what we are doing right now, with the people around us is the most important thing in the world . . . but without the things, the places and the people from our past, we wouldn’t be where we are today or, for that matter, who we are today. So, if I may offer a small morsel of advice – never forget the past, instead, reflect on it, ponder it, celebrate it and re-live it but never, ever regret it. The past is what it is, we can’t change it, although it may have changed us. Let’s accept it for what it is and never be afraid to let it have its place in our present.

    Sixty Linden Weekends

    Posted on August 28, 2010
    Filed Under Free or Cheap, On The Web, Special Events | Leave a Comment

    BY EDITOR SHAUNA SKYE

    Just a reminder to everyone that every weekend several stores participate in pricing designated items for just 60 lindens. This is often stuff that costs a lot when it’s not on sale, so if you shop sixty linden weekends you can sometimes get real bargains. The kind of things you’ll find will vary; everything from clothes, furniture, gadgets, garden, and more.

    Is this like a hunt? No. With hunts you have to, well, hunt. With Sixty Linden weekend the sale item is either right at the landing point or you’ll find footprints on the ground leading you straight to it.

    A list of participating stores is sent weekly via notecard. You can get this list sent to you by subscribing inworld at Sixty Linden Weekend Main Subscriber (Heavenly Escape).

    If you’re a merchant, you can participate after filling out an application. This will bring traffic to your store! Ask Cara Ametza for information.

    Some of this week’s sale items can be found on the web at Official Picasa Gallery.

    keep looking »

  • Archives