Scenes From The Smash Party

Saturday September 12 had a few events. One was the "Smash Party" by the Titmouse animation studio.

Expect the unexpected at the Titmouse Smash Party ... Anything can (and probably will) happen at this virtual world gathering where participants are invited to smash, bash and crash one of the hottest parties of the year held by independent award-winning animation production company Titmouse

The SURL given out for the event was in "Smash Portal A." Heading there, there were a few people guiding those interested along. Among them ironically enough was Squeaky Mole. Leave it to Linden Lab to assign a mouse for a "Titmouse" event.

We were to go through a screen/portal to go to the party.

Or rather, one of the parties. There were a LOT of sims Linden Lab had set up for party areas in case the event attracted a ton of interest. I ended up in number 23.

Going through, I ended up in a building.

 Looking around, there were a few things in the building.

This was probably a display of an animator at work.

I continued to look around, stepping outside. And there was the cage in the distance.

 There were a few food trucks one could pick up a snack.

This was probably the Titmouse mascot Mr. Chirps.

The sense of humor showed, though not sure if this really came from the studio of was someone being funny.

The entrance, and exit, of the cage.

Those entering were given a weapon at random.

Sometimes it was a battleaxe, sometimes a baseball bat, sometimes a sledgehammer, sometimes a squeaky hammer. There was also one spikey thing I couldn't identify.

And once in, people were free to swing away. Toilets would shatter as water went up in a geyser.

Computer screens and televisions would implode, then shatter. Stacks of red solo cups would go all over the place.

Pinatas would shatter into candy and heads. Pallets would break apart. Vases would crack into many pieces.

 In real life, items would have to be replaced after every session.

But here, the destroyed pieces would vanish after about a minute, and the item would respawn. Amd the carnage would continue.

At times, the place would get thick with dust in the air.

 Person after person wrecked scenes of therapeutic destruction.

Yours truly never swung a hammer, prefering to document what went on.

The Smash Party would go on for a few hours, but I was around only for one half hour of it. Perhaps Titmouse will hold another one here next year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Going About Gen Con

By Bixyl Shuftan

The Gen Con continues in Second Life. And there's a lot to see. Going by the Presentation Hall in VGCExperience Delta (36/35/62). I found a teleport HUD that took me around places And it wasn't just all in one sim, but a number.

From Fantasy/Medieval/Renaissance/Fantasy areas.

To Steampunk and science-fiction.

To post-apocalyptic.

 But the real purpose of the Gen Con was the gaming and discussion of games. I stumbled across this Dungeons and Dragons game, and was invited to join. He already had some characters pre-made, all goblins.

We were all members of a "gob squad" as I called it, from a goblin community that wanted good relations with the neighboring human one, and were asked by the leader to meet up with the human leader and clean up some problems. I was the goblin bard in the group, whom carried a frying pan as both a weapon and a kind of instrument.

So what can a little goblin with a frying pan do? Well, bards can learn cantrips and other magic spells, which was of great assistance to the cleric, rouge, and ranger with me when needing to rescue a hostage from a group of thugs. Nothing like casting a swarm of spiders onto a bunch bad guys with arachnophobia.

It was a few years since I last played D and D. But the purpose of the game was to have fun, and no one was trying to be a "munchkin." So everything fell into place and the thugs were beaten.

That's it for now from the Gen Con.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wedding at Bellisseria

By Gemma Cleanslate

Bellisseria had its first wedding . It was quite an event. The festivities started at 11 am slt with music for those gathering early. By the start of the ceremony  at 12 at the lovely venue arranged for it there were 65 at the fairgrounds site.

The decor was lovely and arranged so well for such a special day.

The groom is Red Daidig. “True love is not measured in hugs and kisses, but in struggles and fears, and those who can work though those...they possess true love". , he says of his lovely Second Life wife, Ravyen Daidig (Ravyen Woodward). She says of him, ”What can I say."  

But from the Fire, 

Is  born anew. 

A creature beloved,

To stand by you.

They did not say that today but some years ago.  A storybook meeting on the day he decided to leave Second Life if nothing inspired him. However a newbie arrived needing help and so he did. And so it began. A relationship that lasted not only in Second Life, but they married in real life in August 2015. They wanted to be married here in Second Life for a while and finally it has come true for them. They are among their SL friends here and wanted them to be part of their happiness in witnessing their vows.

 Patch Linden officiated at the wedding, telling us their story and reading their vows.

“Do you Red , vow on this day to love and support Ravyen, to grow , to have and  to hold through trials and tribulations, together, forever?”

“Do you Ravyen, vow on this day to love and support Ravyen, to grow, to have and  to hold through trials and tribulations, together, forever?”

The answer was yes from both, of course, and Patch then told them  to seal it with a kiss and they did.
It was a short and sweet and lovely ceremony.

On to the Party! The party went on  for several hours after the ceremony was over.

Patch and Squeaky Mole danced and danced with us all and had a great time!

I am just afraid that Patch will now have to take the second job of officiating all bellisseria weddings. Look out Linden Lab.

To see flickr shots of the wedding check out ZZ Bottom’s page. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zzbottom/albums/72157712832621562

image credit: Rebellah Antoinette D'Arcy (Deloreen Resident)

Gemma Cleanslate

AdMire : Real Life Jam Meet-Up in The Netherlands

By Wesley Regenbogen

AdMire stands for "Adorable Mixed Realities." This event takes place in The Netherlands and in Second Life every year in the beginning of September. This year it took place from September 8th until September 10th, 2017. AdMire gives Second Life musicians the chance to play songs and where they play instruments and sing together and basically have fun in real life. It takes place in a castle called “Castle De Berckt” in The Netherlands ( in Baarlo, Limburg, The Netherlands ). This place used to be a monastery, so there is also a chapel.

Our goal is to bring performers from Second Life together to create music and mayhem for the enjoyment of our friends and fans in REAL LIFE. Whether you are a musician, a fan or just want to meet your Second Life friends in RL – join us for our annual live music event hosted in Baarlo, The Netherlands in September. AdMiRe welcomes visitors from countries all over the world – NL, UK, BE, DE, FR, DK, ES, IT, AU and yes, even AUS and US! Of course we hope to see YOU there at our next event, too!

 

This year, they played from Friday September 8th, 3 PM CET until the early hours of Sunday September 10th, 2017. The theme was “collaboration.“ That’s why they play music and sing together, some of which have never played together before.

This event is streamed live into Second Life in the place inworld that they made for it. They actually recreated the real life building here on the Grid. They hire this chapel venue each year to play music and sing together.

Some of the artists you can hear and play music there are: Kaycee Drayman, Wannahave Ferraris, Xander Nichting, Allegra3/Sandra, Inchino Melson, Tim Anadyr, Thera D., Aminius Writer, Mike Carnell, Michi Renoir, Lyn Carlberg and many more.

This is a nice experience, because it allows you to enjoy the music that is played live in real life and it is streamed live in Second Life. Real life and Second Life are combined in this event, which is a nice thing.Personally, I liked the event and the music in their venue in Second Life.

You can find more information on http://www.admire-nl.org

Wesley Regenbogen