One Important Thing Before I Go

I got a note from my friend White Lebed about an exhibit she is curating called Soleil at AngelGate. White always pulls together great art so please make sure you go to enjoy the opening party and the fantastic art.

When: Opening Party July 11th at 10am

Music: 10am Improvisation by AldoManutio Abruzzo
11am Rock covers and original songs by Edward Kyomoon

Where: http://slurl.com/secondlife/AngelGate/89/98/651

From White's Notecard:

Almost every art work you will see is new and not seen before. Most were created specifically for the show. The artists were asked to make art reflecting all possible intepretations of the theme, "the Soleil". You will see many intersting and unique artworks that this theme has inspired. The level of creativity of our artists is amazing. There are many names you will already know - they have participated in many events around the grid and are regular exhibitors at Angelgate shows. You will also have a chance to discover some new artists making their debute in the SL art scene and some very rare exhibiting artists.

Here is the list of the artists and the artworks (in the order they appear from the bottom up)

GARY KOHIME - The Future of Color
SPIRAL WALCHER - Beyone Violet Symphony
COLEMARIE SOLEIL - The Watcher, Where are You
SAIWUN YOSHIKAWA - 3 Strip_Multi_15/15/2009_sou
SPECIAL JEWELL - Terra Egypta 2, Terra Egypta 3, Terra Egypta 4, Terra Egypta 1
PIXELS SIDEWAYS - AG-F-Summer in the City - Pixel
FILTHY FLUNO - Filthy Complete, #1/3 AngelGate
CORCOSMAN VOOM - In The Sunshine In The Rain
MORGANA NAGORSKI - Glowing, Alone, Wearing Violator, She Hasn't Come Out To Play For Such A Long Time, Feathered
XENOPHILE NEUROCAM - Xenophile Neurocam - dendrite.potential
POID MAHOVLICH - Solen til jorden
BF2 SHEPHERD - Isis Egyptian Goddess WW Fountains
BLUNT FHANG - 1-09-08m black
CHARLES ROSENTHAL - Soleil Charles Rosenthal v.2
JIMMY DEBRUYERE - Polished Fish
FEATHERS BOA - Sand, Sea, Sun (3D)
YABUSAKA LOON - Sculpture " Yin Yang"
NESSUNO MYOO - MechanicalKnight
WHITE LEBED - If an Art Gallery could dream about a summer vacation...
SUNN THUNDERS - Fusion Sculpture, 6/2009
ARTISTIDE DESPRES - Soleil d'Or
ZHORA MAYNARD - Mirror by Zhora Maynard
SASUN STEINBECK - Texture Picker 1 Prim, Morph Sculpture v14
ALIZARIN GOLDFLAKE - Sunrise Sunset
KOLOR FALL - Chromosphere
DOROTHY URVILAN - "Take me back to the garden of love"
TALIA TOKUGAWA - Soleil Renaissance
SOROR NISHI - sorors branch
UB YIFU - Sun's birth
SHELLINA WINKLER - DAWN AND SUNSET - DAWN, SAWN AND SUNSET - SUNSET
SOLKIDE AUER - Mi ritorni in mente.
SAPPHORIA SHILOVA - "can only dream of Soleil", "worship the idea of Soleil", "C'est Moi Soleil"
OBERON ONMURA - Heat
MISO SUSANOWA - The Alchemist's Table
STARHEART ERDHEIN - Star Portal, Wings of Promise, Chariot of Ra
ADAM RAMONA - Stella Sonice
GLYPH GRAVES - Memories of Summer

When you arrive using the landmark above you will see the first floor filled with art work. On this floor and above many of the art sculptures are interactive - they react to avatar presence by making sounds or rezzing something as part of the presentation. Consider walking closer - if you just cam around you will give you only part of the effect our artists have created.

After you examine the first floor, please walk up the staircase. Each step has an art work made by the artist whose name you see on the step. Clicking on a step will give you information, bio, and artists' statements.

Once you reach the top of the stairs you will enter our Events area. This is where the Opening Event will be held on July 11th. This is a very unusual event area - the whole room is designed specifically for this show by one of the most acclaimed SL artists, Glyph Graves. He is well known for making beautiful, vibrant, unusual installations. For the Soleil he created not just a room - it is a different world. Again, I strongly suggest walking in as opposed to camming up - you will see how being inside affects your mood and feelings.

To emphasise this effect, during the opening, July 11th, we will enjoy a very special performance by AldoManutio Abruzzo, an amazing professional musician (Dennis Moser in RL) known for his music improvisations. He visited the events area and agreed that this wonderful art installation will inspire him to play something special - his music will be the 37th art piece of the show, only existing for one hour. He is generously donating his peformance to AngelGate Arts to support the future of creating art events like the Soleil.

The opening celebration will be continuted by another live music performance. Edward Kyomoon sings rock music and love songs ranging from the 60's to the present, covering bands and artists such as the Doors, Pink Floyd, Blue October, Snow Patrol and Nine Inch Naiils. He also shares his own original music. He will perform from 11AM till Noon. His concert is another generous donation to support Angelgate non-profit organization art programs .

Vacation

I have been scrambling around trying to get ready to leave on vacation. I have about a million and one RL obligations I need to take care of, including everything from packing, leaving cooked meals so my kids don't starve because my husband would feed them frozen pizza every day, to getting a bunch of shots that I am told will protect me from serious illnesses but in the short term have succeeded in making me feel like -- haha-- typhoid Mary. On top of everything else it seems clear from the pain in my head I have a brutal sinus infection so off to the Doctor for the 3rd time in a week. Let me tell you, this overseas vacation is starting to feel like work.

In any case, I will be away. Far away. In a place where they use the Cyrillic alphabet and I will be unable to read street signs or restaurant menus. At least I had the typhoid shot so I can go to the market and point to fruit to eat. My sister and cousin will be with me so we will bond over being strangers in our ancestral homeland.

I will be bringing a netbook to keep in touch with the office but I have no idea if I will have reliable internet service. I will likely not be inworld but I will be checking email a little if I can. See you all in about 2 weeks.

NoH8 by Trace Osterham

Taken by Trace Osterham for the NOH8 SL Campaign. When re-posting this image, please always link back to www.noh8sl.com. Go see the entire exhibit. Teleport from here.

Open This End -- A Virtual Art Experience

The other evening I got an invite to check out Open This End which is a gallery housing everything from SL photography to large scale interactive art pieces. This is going to be something of a drive by post as I am getting ready to go hiking today, but I did want to encourage people to visit.

I love to be able to play with art. For some reason knocking prims about and watching them react to what I do makes me smile every time.



I did not have time to get through everything there is to see at Open This End so I will be returning. I also did not have time to take down the name of the artists so I could attribute all of the wonderful work I am posting to tempt you. I apologize but sometimes the outdoors calls and today is such a day.

Happy 4th of July to those of you who celebrate.

Explore Lollygagger Lane and Participate in the 'Into the Wild Hunt'

Do you ever get sick of the ubiquitous SL palm tree beach? Do you ever think "If I see one more shop, club, fantasy garden, or dang chicken coop or I am going to scream." No? I guess it is just me then.

Anyway, Lollygagger Lane is a great place to visit if you have a sense of humor and want to explore the grittier side of SL. Wander around and you will find funky shopping, off the wall freebies, dancing, places to hang out with the friendly and interesting people who live and play here. Don't piss them off because I have a feeling they know something about dark magic. Not too sure about that, but it is a good idea to be respectful anywhere you go, right?


The textures and builds at Lollygagger Lane are first rate, if a little run down. There are shops where you can buy much of what you see. A word to the wise -- be careful where you sit.


If you are a Zyngo fan you can play here. It looked like there were some sweet payouts too.


The Lollygaggers will be sponsoring a fun hunt and I wanted you all to know about it. The hunt is called Into the Wild and is inspired by the Chris McCandless story. (If you have not read Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur I encourage you to do so. ) Here is the notecard the Lollygaggers sent me:

HELP! Bertha the Blow up Doll and Baltoro Haystack had a falling out. In her drunken state she hopped in the bus, hot wired it and drove off DRUNK! We do not condone drinking and driving. But that is besides the point. Baltoro's home and free sex is gone.

We need your help in locating the bus. What is in it for you, you might be asking right about now.

Well, there are 21 items to find that are located around the grid (freebies). These items will have clues to the next location of the next item and finally to the location of the bus.

The first three people to find all the items and will receive a cash reward for finding the bus and the rest of you get some pretty nice freebies that we made especifically for this. That is right, new freebies, never before seen in SL!

The items you find you put in the content folder of the backpack that you will have to find in the beginning of the hunt on lollygagger lane.

1st place - 3500 lindens
2nd place 1000 lindens
3rd place - 500 lindens
142nd placed person to complete the hunt will receive 2400 lindens.

After a week we will announce the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners as well as the 142nd person.

The Hunt begins on July 8th at 12 Noon SL TIME (PST)


Sincerely,

The Lollygaggers

Lollygagger Lane is a great place to explore and you can get there by clicking here.

Come to the SL Opening of Drama Dolls!

My friend Honour is opening a new store called Drama Dolls. There will be two parties to celebrate the Opening tomorrow Wednesday July 1, featuring brilliant blues man Von Johin. The first show is at the Euro friendly time of 11:00 am SLT. The second party will start at 6:00 pm and rock on for 2 solid hours. Honour is a proud Canadian and tomorrow is also Canada Day so if you want to join us for that reason alone please do! TP from this link.

So what is Honour selling? You probably know her from her fantastic trees and plants which I have blogged about before and you will see at both of my parcels. This time Honour has taken her artistic eye in a completely new direction. Why don't I let her tell you all about it herself?

Welcome to Drama Dolls!

Please note that all of our dolls are multi-lingual and will operate in English, German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Portugese, Italian, Dutch, Russian and Norwegian.

Did somebody cheat on you? Were you insulted or offended by another SL resident?

Did you experience DRAMA?

It happens unfortunately.

Well Drama Dolls is here to help you get a bit of what you deserve in return - at the very least you are owed an apology!

Pick a Drama Doll that you can use to represent the individual who did you wrong. There are different price ranges, levels of detail, number of animations, types of dolls - something for everybody.

We have macho types, the girl next door, elves, vampires and more! We even have Fuginistas - you know .... those people who like to make fun of you on their blogs because they don't like your skin/shape/clothes. :)

We have the Doll you need to get closure move past this traumatic experience!

Take your Doll home - you will find detailed instructions and 4 copies of the Doll in your inventory. 3 of those Dolls are fully scripted and will give you the acknowledgement and apology you so richly deserve. Once the Doll has apologized it will disappear - quite dramatically! :)

The 4th Doll is not scripted but you can keep it as a reminder of your apology.

Now take a look upstairs! Do you know somebody who needs a hug?

If you are looking for positive Drama (because it does exist) we have DollCozies. You can purchase a Doll, name it and give it a message you'd like to pass to your friend/lover/partner/spouse. Your Doll will give them a Hug and your message.

Some DollCozies have flowers in their hands. Your folder will come with a pot of matching flowers you can also give your recipient.

Please enjoy your visit to Drama Dolls! Check back often for our new additions. :)

Cheers, Honour McMillan

The dolls are creative, funny and oh so clever. Here are some examples.

The doll above is one of the fuganistas that Honour mentions in her note. She is well proportioned, has no bling and if her prim toes do not match her skin I can't tell because her subtle earth toned gown covers them. She does have prim boobs which are a definite NO but at least she does not have a watermelon butt. Next time your photo appears in a blog with a strip over your eyes, now you can get a proper apology from your Drama Doll.


This doll cracked me up. A blogger! Watch out -- her camera is fast and she will not hesitate to name names. Behind the blogger is a kajira doll and next to her is a neko doll. You will find royalty, furries, vampires, elves, drows, dolls that look like the avatar next door and many more. I have one particular request for a Drama Doll. I want one that looks like a certain SLceleb blogger who really should apologize to about half the grid. I think it could be a big seller.

Anyway, come by the opening party and check out these dolls. I love them and I think you will too.

Finally! A healthy way to entertain your inner drama queen

I got the following announcement and thought I would share it here. If you like to act why not check out this opportunity? It looks like fun.

Mahana Machinima in conjunction with blacklashed.net is holding a casting call for a feature length film consisting of several 10 minute shorts and trailers shot inside of Second Life. This project is not-for-profit and will be funded through donations of private contributors and sponsors. Monetary compensation for actors will be modest but the reward of participating in a machinima production of this scale will be fun and provide a wealth of experience for those wishing to pursue this form of creativity inside of Second Life.

Our first casting call will be for the following shorts:

1. Title: Happy Birthday Mr. Christian

Genre: Dark comedy/Drama/Romance

Summary: Leigh Messner wants to break free of her overprotective home life. Will a new opportunity in the office of Stuart E. Christian be her ticket to freedom or will she get more than she bargained for?

2. Title: Eat Your Heart Out, Stephen Coppermine

Genre: Horror

Summary: Helen loves Stephen but after a fateful trip to Mexico on an Archeological expedition, an unexpected change of heart threatens their relationship and nothing will ever be the same.

Requirements

Cast members must be able to understand and speak standard English (in text and voice). This is imperative to communicating with the director and production team. You must be a team player, however voice actors must be able to work autonomously and meet recording deadlines.

Must have a clear speaking voice, a good microphone (preferably a headset or professional recording equipment) and recording software; we recommend the free software, Audacity.

Voice actors must be able to express natural emotion and voice control (ie tone-timbre, accent)

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

**Applications can be found here.

**Disclaimer: Although some content will be edited from it's original source material, this film will be exploring subject matter of a mature nature; if you are adverse to coarse language, violence, adult situations and mild sexuality then this is not the production for you.

Perspectives on Life

In my life outside the virtual world I am a manager. I run 4 departments and have a bunch of people who report to me. People say this all the time, so feel free to roll your eyes, but we are pretty close. We are a family, if you will. A work family. The work we do can be difficult, the people we serve are most definitely challenging. Sometimes our work is boring and tedious. It is one of those workplaces where people laugh a lot. When something horrible happens to one of us, we all feel it.

Recently a member of my work family got sick. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong despite poking and prodding and fussing for two months. The whole time this person got sicker and sicker, visibly declining before our eyes. She went into the hospital last week and by yesterday afternoon she was dead. She was 34 years old and a single mom. She leaves behind a 12 year old son and confused, broken-hearted friends and family. How can something like this happen without any explanation? No one is offering us an answer. Perhaps there is no answer.

So - an unstable grid, the configuration of the flipping pie menu, the location of adult activity on the grid, petty disputes between bloggers, claims of intellectual property theft because someone uses an idea you claim as your own, concern about lag caused by virtual chickens -- I am feeling a little perspective about it all today.