Endings, beginnings

Goodbye 2008. Goodbye work stress, economic stress, parenting stress; goodbye lack of time, energy, patience, health worries; and goodbye cancer taking someone much too beautiful and young to die. I won't miss you at all. Thank you 2008 for bringing me the continued love of my family, introducing me to Slove, connecting me with new friends and deepening the feelings I have for people who have been with me for some time. Thank you for teaching me that I reject fear as my driver on this journey.

Welcome 2009! Your days are spread out in front of me like the pages of a book. I can't wait to open you up, smell the newness of your print and taste the first words of your story. I anticipate your challenges and complications, gleefully look forward to meeting your characters. I hope your theme is love, family and the power of hope.

"Thorns in the Velvet" exhibit by Glyph Graves

I got an invitation to an art opening today and when I noticed the artist was Glyph Graves my interest was immediately sparked. More often than not I forget about such things or I am not inworld at the right time. Today was my lucky day because I got the invitation about 5 minutes before the start of the event.

I can't even begin to describe Glyph's work and the photographs I will share cannot begin to convey to you the movement and life you will experience when you go. Glyph's work moves, it pulses, it sings, it reacts to the SL wind. I really cannot urge you strongly enough to go to
Ars Simulacra and see this magnificent exhibit for yourself. Here is Glyph's artists statement and a bit about the art.

My art in SL is currently focused on the interplay between structure and texture. As well as the normal digital tools of graphic and 3D modeling programs, I also freely make use of Linden Scripting Language as both my chisel and my paintbrush. I'm constantly in a state of wonder (and occasionally, despair) at depth and the dimensionality that's available for the art of Second Life.

Thorns in the Velvet
This exhibitions a bit like a wedding proverb Something new, something old, something borrowed ( prims from my alt) and something blue (in all probability).

Its also a bit of a change in direction incorporating more shiny less alpha in some of the newer sculptures. Its organic in flavour as always and reflecting my fascination with transformation in colour space and sound.

The Aho Museum
NMC Campus
Curated by Tayzia Abattoir

The NMC Campus is a virtual laboratory available to NMC member institutions and their faculty. It has been carefully constructed to provide researchers and students dozens of prebuilt settings for experiments in social interaction in 3-D space. These settings are expressly designed to encourage explorations along dimensions such as formal and informal; traditional and nontraditional; real and surreal; serious and playlike; and other continua as may be defined. The campus has dozens of settings for these interactions, from the serious to the fanciful, each designed to support an optimal group size, from 2 to more than 75.

The sim of Ars Simulacra at the campus is host to a new sculpture exhibit each month.

One year ago today

I am a bit reluctant to post today. Zha's holiday greeting is fantastic and I don't want to push it down and chance that you won't read it. So please do read the post below this one when you finish reading what is sure to be the most insightful and entertaining thing you have come across in a decade. (note the droplets on the bottom of each of the words in that sentence? That would be sarcasm, folks.)

Queen Coronet issued a blogger challenge and I wanted to respond before Christmas wine and chocolates get the best of me. The idea for this challenge is to post a picture from a year ago and reflect on your life at this time in 2007 and what the passage of a year has meant to you. The great thing about having a blog is I don't have to guess what I was thinking and feeling just before Christmas last year its all there.

Here is the photo I used in that post


This was taken on the beach in front of my home in Jokung. I look very alone don't I? Not a plant or a bird, no structures and absolutely no other avatars. I think this photo is pretty clear about how I was feeling last Christmas eve.

I had the classic newbie experience of arriving in SL, taking one look around and while I was intrigued I was also totally lost. I did not know anyone and had no idea how to meet people. So, when a seemingly wonderful person pursued my affection I was only too happy to be partnered. As you can guess, this relationship quickly turned into a 4 month long personal hell where I was manipulated and generally emotionally abused. Late in the fall of 2007 I was contacted by another woman who told me this person had several alts and multiple partners, one of whom was a teenager and young enough to be his daughter. It was classic SL drama and internet behavior at its worst.

By the time Christmas had rolled around I was done licking my wounds and was exploring, meeting people and beginning to find a niche for myself. I was very much a solitary creature and I remember seeing all the holiday festivities and feeling a bit like the moon..orbiting the rest of the world. Why I stayed in SL at that point is a little unclear to me but I guess I never blamed Second Life for the poor choices I had made. I saw the potential to learn new things, listen to live music daily and meet new people. So despite my loneliness I remember feeling very optimistic about the future.

Fast forward to December 2008. I live in a wonderful community and I have found the best friends a person could dream about. I have tapped creativity I never realized was buried under layers of school, bureaucratic jobs, responsibility and the paralyzing fear of failure. I still have moments where I feel exactly like I did last year but on the whole my SL is full and happy, I love and am loved, and life is wonderful.

Holiday thoughts

Holidays are a good time to pause and reflect. Second Life, to me, is all about people. That may seem like a funny thing to say about a part of your life where you pour your attention into a computer, and interact with other people through a place that only exists inside computers, but it rings true for me.

Second life is filled with people, their ideas, their creativity, their energy. We walk, fly, swim and dance our way through sims filled with the builds sparked by people. We are clothed in prims and textures from people. Our very walks and dances are created by our peers. Live music brings spaces to life. DJs, with clever quips, thoughtful choices, and eclectic taste fill spaces with energy.

Surrounding Second Life, people twitter, plurk, flickr, and fill social media tools with words, and images, and finally, blog after blog spreads ideas from person to person. We are inchoate, silly and noisy, but we are a community. Some build us up, some tear us down, we share uplifting thoughts and trivial drama.

I look at this landscape and I am thankful to be part of it. I am thankful for friends I have found here, thankful for Love I have found here, and thankful for the people I have found here. I look back at 2008 with wonder at some of what I have seen, and feel sadness for some of what I have missed.

I wish each and everyone of you, those I know and those I may meet as we wander the gird, a happy Holiday and a 2009 filled with new ideas, new friends and new wonders.

~ Zha

Happy Holidays

(photo of Shengri La Love holiday build, please click through to view)

It is an annual tradition

Somewhere near Christmas eve every year my boss throws a holiday party. This usually involves good wine and fancy snacks. The economy being what it is this year fancy snacks means popcorn. Popcorn covered in white chocolate, which is a nasty surprise if you are expecting salt and butter, I must say. The wine was good, thankfully. I had 2 big old glasses, so yes, this is a semi-drunk blog post. Huzzah.

This is a stressful time of year. Oh, yes.it.is. I would say I am not that stressed out about the holidays, but Zha would probably disagree. I *am* stressed out but it may just be a normal state for me. What say you, Ahuva? Me? Stressed? Sure, a lot of the time I am. I think deeply, care a lot. I feel the slights and disconnects of every day Second Life fully. Some days things roll off me like water off a duck's back. Other days, I find hurt and insult in things that are not at all about me. Yeah. I am self aware enough to know all of that.

What is the point of this post? I guess I want to get to the heart of what matters to me on this frigid December day. And that is being true and honest, real, accepting, loving and kind. What matters is finding the good in people and situations rather than identifying the mistakes, the negative, the unseemly. It is a temptation, though isn't it? I can so easily lapse into focusing on what is wrong but today I am resisting the temptation. At least now, fueled by a fragrant cabernet I am resisting.

Winter Ball Tomorrow, 1 to 3pm SL time

The Winter's Majesty Ball will be held tomorrow from 1 until 3pm SL and you can TP to the lovely location on Shengri La Love from here. The build is a snowy, sparkly winter wonderland. While you are dancing under the stars to music provided by Benton Wunderlich you will have the opportunity to benefit a charity the residents and friends of Shengri La are working to support this holiday season. At the event Shenlei will offer a limited edition snowflake frock, sold only at this event. In addition there will be a tip jar and your contributions will go directly to help CRY's programming.

I have written about CRY-America before. CRY is a registered 501(c)3 (cryamerica.org) that works to develop programs for underprivileged children both in the US and in India. The reason we've chosen to support CRY is because of our ties to the apparel industry, which is one of the worst offenders in using child labor to manufacture products. Shenlei Flasheart wrote about why this is so in one of her blog posts here.

The gown I am wearing in the photo below is Shenlei's newest creation. It is called Majestic and is available in 5 or 6 luscious colors in her shop Debutante. I am showing you this lovely dress because it makes me feel like a princess but also to give you a hint about the quality and detail you can expect in the snowflake gown. You really do not want to miss this frock.



I don't often ask people for things as I find it uncomfortable to do so. So please understand that is it hard for me to ask for your support. I realize this is a busy time of year and you probably have errands to run and social obligations tomorrow. We all do. At the same time, taking a little bit of time to relax with friends and support the important work of people who are advocates for vulnerable children is a great way to spend some time.

So, if you can find the time I respectfully request your support tomorrow afternoon. Please come, tip, and buy the incredible snowflake gown for yourself or as a gift for your friends because all proceeds go directly to CRY.

Thank you in advance for your support and happy holidays.

Chestnut Rau

and

~Shenlei Flasheart

Shenlei Winkler,
CEO
Fashion Research Institute, Inc.

Ode butterfly hunt TODAY

The monthly Ode hunt in Shengri La is taking place tonight at 5pm SL time. (There was a hunt at 7am but I am late in telling you about that one.) Hundreds of butterflies will swarm the 5 sims. All you have to do is click on them and you have a chance to get stunning Random Calliope jewelry for free. There are Ode hunts on the 17th of every month so if you miss the fun tonight you can always come in January.

Yesterday I was all tied up in knots. It happens. Today feels like it is going to be a fabulous day, despite the odd green cast to the world and the hail falling outside my window. I have a holiday luncheon and a long, luxurious trip to the hair salon planned. I sometimes wonder how the littlest things can either make or break my day.

Anyway.

I wanted to share a link to my friend Alexander Burgess's blog called Everything Hits at Once. Alex writes about a wide range of interests, some of which are Second Life related and some of which are not. He is a DJ and often writes about music. Today Alex has a post up about his top 20 favorite cuts for 2008. There are free downloads so get over to his blog and grab them.

Alex and Mygdala March partnered yesterday in a moving ceremony, officiated by the Mayor of Topgol Romana Wei. Myg clarified that, yes, if necessary she could pick Alex out of a lineup. Alex admitted to being the father to Myg's as yet unborn twin boys. It was a moment. I got choked up. Here they are in full partnered bliss. Cute, right? Well Myg is anyway. Alex looks kind of pissed off. Could the Topgol lag have something to do with his scowl? Who knows.




I also want to direct you over to Grace McDunnough's new blog Three Thanks a Week. Grace woke up one Monday morning feeling out of sorts, kind of like I did yesterday. She ran across this article that said gratitude, expressed in simple form on a weekly basis increases your happiness. So, Grace created a new blog where we can share three things we are grateful for each week. I love the idea of taking a moment to reflect and to share gratitude with others. Will you join us?

Today I am grateful for the happiness of my friends, people who bring together community in simple and effective ways and I am very much grateful for free downloads.

Cheers.

Thought for the day

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Kristallnacht Exhibit at US Holocaust Museum

If you have not already seen this machinima by Crap Mariner, please take a moment to do so now. Thanks

Yes, you can build

There are so many inspiring builders in SL. From large scale professional builds like Greenies, Emvee Cuba, LaReve, and everything by AM Radio to art installations at Brooklyn is Watching and the Not Possible In Real Life creations Bettina Tizzy finds for us on a routine basis, the creativity in SL is astounding. For some of us, myself included, the unbelievable skill of the best builders in SL can lead the inertia of fear.

I always say "I can't build." I say this because I am comparing my beginner efforts to Svarga. And guess what? I will likely never ever build something on that scale, with that level of detail and complexity and sheer brilliance. But, I have built a house, landscaped a number of parcels, created items for my home and gardens and most recently I taught myself how to torture prims so I could make a piece of jewelry as a gift. I would still not call myself a builder but I can create a thing or two using the SL tools, and so can you.

Even if you never intend to create a single thing your SL will be much improved if you learn how to manipulate your environment. Being able to modify your clothing, resize objects such as furniture in your home and carefully place objects exactly where you want them are simple to do once you know a few key things. I am not going to teach you how to do any of these things. Instead I am going to point you in the direction of some resources that have helped me and to which I return again and again.

For those of you like me who learn best visually, Torley Linden has many videos on YouTube that explain everything from "What is a Prim" to "Reference Ruler & Grid" to "Building Materials Explained" and more. I think I have learned more from Torley's videos than from the long list of classes, books and online text-based tutorials I have used. I cannot recommend Torley's work strongly enough.

Some people learn better in a class setting and there are lots of in-world classes where you can learn basic building or specialized techniques such as clothing creation. Go to Search then choose events and there is a drop down menu for education. Browse the listings and you will certainly find more classes than you will have time to take. Remember that taking classes can be a great way to meet people who share your interests as well. I especially recommend you drop by New Citizens Incorporated which offers classes and other assistance for new and experienced people alike.

Ivory Tower Library of Primatives by Lumiere Noir has been around
for a very long time. There are tutorials there that will guide you through the most basic prim manipulation through complex ways you can shape prims to create objects. The tutorials at the Ivory Tower are very clear and you can walk through the steps at your own pace. I go back to there whenever a build technique is proving difficult for me to master. If you are an aspiring builder The Ivory Tower is an important stop on your journey.

If you learn best using books you can't do much better than "Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life" by Aimee Weber, Kimberly Rufer-Bach and Richard Platel. The book provides basic information about SL, discusses building techniques, explains the terraforming tools and includes a CD with tutorials, textures, clothing and avatar templates and the basic tools to create animations and poses. It is worth every bit of the $26 it will cost you.

Having just pointed you in the direction of a number of resources I will say diving in and playing with the tools may be the very best way to learn how to build. Rez a prim, play with options and see what happens. Let your imagination and your creativity guide you and have some fun.

To give you a giggle here are photos of some of the things I have made, starting with the first thing I ever built moving forward in time to more recent projects. If I can do this (and be brave enough to show you my terrible first attempts) you certainly can do it too. Yes, you can build.

Child Rights and You (A chance to indulge your need for fashion and help children at the same time)

I know you are tired of hunting. You never want to see another globe or ghost again. You have spent hours and hours wandering all over the grid, searching for objects which you will then sort through for many more hours. Likely you will throw away hundreds of objects and delete just as many landmarks. I know. I have done it myself.

So, how are you going to indulge your need for low cost adventure shopping? I have a suggestion. (You knew I would, right?) It appears that Santa had a little accident in Shengri La Peace.



The candy bag on the back of his sleigh ripped and he spilled a hundred or so candy canes. If you click on the candy canes and buy them for $25 Lindens you can help CRY and get a surprise gift.

What will you get inside the candy canes? Some of the gifts are new designs by Shenlei Flasheart, some are from the retired and otherwise unavailable Prim and Proper line, some are from Flash and Trash. All of the items are fun. Pay your $25 lindens and take a chance. Buy a few candy canes and see what fantastic items you get! More important than the gift you will receive is the feeling you will get knowing you have donated to help children.

All too often the glittery, beaded sweaters and gowns we wear in RL during the holiday season are sewn by young children in India. Therefore it is especially appropriate at this time of year to take a moment to think about the clothes we buy. For more information about child labor in the apparel industry, please read Shen's post here.

In light of all this, the Shengri La community is raising money for CRY, an organization who works on behalf of children in India. According to the notecard I got at the LM above

Child Rights and You (CRY) is an inclusive, participatory, people's movement that campaigns to demand universally recognised child rights for India's children. Outraged by gross violation of children's rights in India, CRY partners with developmental organisations, communities, government and the media to work towards eliminating the root causes of deprivation, exclusion, exploitation and abuse, bringing about lasting change that is equitable and just for every Indian child.

All funds received when you buy your candy canes will be donated to CRY. So, come on down and see what surprises you get inside your candy canes. The gifts arrive in your inventory in folders so there is no unpacking and, I promise, you won't want to delete these items.

http://www.cry.org/index.html

Wintermute

A very dear friend showed me the fantastic Wintermute today and I could not wait to take some photos and blog this amazing place. You simply must put on a warm coat and tp over to have a look around. I spent a short amount of time and absolutely plan to go back and explore this lovely spot in detail.

You will land in a small building that is lit by glowing candles. Your eyes will be drawn to a table upon which rests an open birdcage. There is a chair and some feathers are scattered about.


As you walk toward the table to investigate you will see a path up a mountain, which is lined with more bird cages. Above each bird cage are poetic words that make you curious about what is ahead.


When you get to the top of the hill you see this.





If you find you are getting cold from all the ice and snow, there is a small oasis of color and warmth.



If you find you are cold while at Wintermute you may want to consider wearing a hat. I had to spotlight the one I got at Exile this morning because I love it so very much.


(Click on all photos for a larger view.)

RIP

Odetta Holmes
1930 - 2008

Scripting for the non technical

For some reason I got a bug about building an indoor fountain. So I started throwing prims around and came up with this.



Of course the water had to move. At this point I am pretty good with a rotation script. I can copy and past a script into a prim just like the pros. Still, I was not satisfied with motion alone because a silent fountain makes no sense. The water needed to make soft tinkling and splashing noises.

What to do? At first I started to look for sounds in a prim. Lots of places sell these so you can add life to your build. You can find ambient sounds for everything imaginable from industrial scenes to medieval villages or haunted forests. I searched and searched for the soft bubbling of a small indoor fountain and found the object of my desires elusive.

It began to be obvious that I would have to get a sound file and rig a script to make the sound file loop. I was beginning to think I was in over my head on this little project. Rather than give in to my absolute certainty that I could not get this little bit of scripting done I started to think -- "dammit I am going to do this." It just can't be that hard. Much to my surprise it really was pretty easy.

First I had to find the perfect sound file. As luck would have it the search tool eventually led me to Sound Shack owned by the most helpful Loren Tone. Loren sells his sound files full perm, which was important as I wanted to be able to make multiple copies of this fountain and I planned to give it away. I have no need to modify the sound file, not that I would know how to anyway.

Back to the point. Loren had several different sounds that worked perfectly for my project. Beyond that he was very helpful and gave me a few open source scripts that I could fiddle with to make the sounds loop. Loren explained how to use the scripts and was generally very kind. So, if you are looking for sound files and good customer service I do recommend his shop Sound Shack.


I took the simple sound looping script and added it to a prim. Then I added the sound file, recompiled the script and shazam the prim made tinkly, bubbly, flowing fountain sounds. Finally, I made the prim transparent, put it in the bowl of the fountain, linked it up and was done. Come to think of it I could reduce the prims on the fountain by adding the sound to one of the pieces of the fountain itself. See? Building is a process of iteration and refinement.

Creating this silly fountain and not shying away from the challenge of figuring out how to loop sounds was very rewarding. And, as a side benefit of the process, I now have an object that creates a soft sound scape for my home. There is something about the sound of moving water that I find very relaxing. If you do too just IM me and I am happy to drop a copy of the fountain on you.