Disconnecting Can be a Very Good Thing

For the past several days I have been tense, stressed out, edgy. My RL work includes managing the finances for a research group funded by an endowment and federal grants. With the economy taking a nose dive and the US government bail out of the financial industry, I expect little to be left to fund climate change research. The prospect of good, hard working people doing important work losing their jobs is very real in my day to day life. On top of that there is an election here in the US -- you may have heard about it? (insert eye roll here) It seems my worry about the election is shared as everywhere I go people are talking about it. Throw on top of these worries another ill-planned business decision on the part of Linden Labs and the resulting community outcry that has many of my friends positively distraught. It has been a wild ride over the past few weeks.

This morning I visited Strawberry Holiday's new installation called Disconnected. The installation consists of a dome inside which there is a person who is sitting on a sofa surrounded by technology. She has a cell phone in her hand and is sitting across from a television. There is a table with a laptop and another flat screen mounted on the wall. The dome itself is dark and the objects have the signature Strawberry glow. Outside the dome is a large field of the most lush tall grass I have ever seen in SL. There are glowing, pulsing trees and the dark sky is covered with stylized stars. Ambient music completes the scene.
(click for bigger images -- well worth it)



The message I took away from this wonderful installation could not have been more timely. When SL and the input from technology is too much, I become disconnected from what really matters. At that point it is important to turn it off. Step away from the polls, the predictions, the fussing about tier, the bad business decisions, the worries about the future. It is time to step away from all of it and enjoy some art, play in the grass, look up at the sky and appreciate the stars; spend time with the people I love. I needed the reminder.


Strawberry is having a photography contest so you may want to consider entering your photos. I will say I found it a little hard to capture good images at the installation due to the glow. I will keep trying as I think it would be fun to contribute an image to the flickr group.

To Enter:

Between October 30th, and November 20th Take a photo @ Strawberry Holiday's "Disconnected" and write a caption then post it in flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/strawberrycontest/ .

You may submit only one entry per Flickr account. That's all you have to do! You retain rights to anything you submit, but you could win a prize.

A panel of three judges WendyofNeverland Fussbudget, Savannah Nihilist, and Strawberry Holiday will choose the winners by the closing party for "Disconnected" on Sunday November 30th, where the winner will be announced and prizes awarded!

1st Prize (to be awarded to one avatar on Nov 20, 2008):

5,000L and a full collection of more than 15 Strawberry Holiday Trees including some no longer available for purchase in Second Life.

2nd Prize (to be awarded to one or move avatars on Nov 20, 2008):

A full collection of more than 15 Strawberry Holiday Trees including some no longer available for purchase in Second Life.