RFL "Rock the Cure" and "Bid Me Bald"

Even though people were celebrating in Second Life’s Seventh Birthday, Relay the Life’s quest to raise funds went on. From 10 PM SL time on Friday June 25th to 10 PM Saturday June 26 was the OD Designs Music Shop’s “OD’s Annual Rock the Cure.”

Team OD Relays 24 Hours For Life, Fun, Games, Music!!! Special Sales, Contest Boards, Free ODPoints, New Guitar Release, all to benefit the American Cancer Society, RFL!!!! We All Did Great Last Year, and This Year We All Going Do Even Better this year!!! 100% of everything the store takes in goes into the Kiosk!!!!

Beginning with a Van Halen Tribute, various DJs and live musicians rocked the store every hour for the next twenty-four hours. In addition, they sold some special items for charity. “Some rare guitars were sold,” told store director Leilani Teskat, “Some one offs and one of the very first guitars Ortho ever built. He had signed it too and sold it for all proceeds to the Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society.”

“Ortho is very, very, very big on charity work for ACS. He's very passionate about stamping out cancer. He got the whole gang of us involved like he does, some really great tribute players, with some long running tributes. Lots of DJs and also helpers too.”

“Rock the Cure” raised a total of 302,000 Lindens

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On Monday June 28, DJ Dione Kohime was the volunteer for the Relay for Life event “Bid Me Bald.” Hosted by DJ Hansel Blaisdale at Eternal Beacon, the event took place from 7 PM SL time to 9 PM. Dione danced away during the event on a white platform above the crowd, often with one or two friends with her. At various times, she would change her hair, from long and flowing blonde, to red beehive, to shoulder-length pink, etc. Hansel, in his dirty blonde hair with pink highlights and certain shade of arm tattoos looked a little green at first when rezzing.

The spunky neko had volunteered to go bald, nothing on her head but the fuzz on her kitty ears, for one day for every 5,000 Lindens raised. By 8:30, enough had been raised to keep her bald for 8 days. During the event, a few in the audience decided to get into the act. Not by going bald, but blonde. “K, its weird seeing **** as a blonde,” someone in the audience muttered, “Stop it, you are all freaking me out.”

At the last minute, there was a push that raised the amount to 45,000 Lindens at 8:59 PM. A few more was raised in the few minutes the event went over, but it was not enough for another day. A total of 47,500 Lindens were raised. There were a few jokes afterwards about what to do next. such as getting a certain guy to go female, “Just sit around an look cute, and watch the guys ask to have sex with you in IMs. (laughter)” When someone suggested that they strong-arm a guy into going back to a “noob” look, that was dismissed as too sadistic.

And true to her word, Dione went hairless, “I guess just that this is more than just a symbolic gesture of support. It helps us bring more awareness to Relay For Life of SL. It's a simple gesture, but it's been a successful and well received one.”

Dione has her own personal page on Relay for Life: Here.

Rock on ladies,

Bixyl Shuftan

Some Events on the Day Philip Returned

On Thursday June 24, Philip Linden announced his return as interim CEO, M Linden stepping down. The immediate reaction by many, if not the majority, upon hearing the news was to cheer. Group chats were full of people happy to see him back, especially as it meant M was no longer in charge. In private chats, people were more likely to express some caution. But out in the open, it was cheers for Philip and jeers for M.

I heard an announcement about a parade being organized in Bay City, and went over. Arriving there, I saw a number had gathered already. Two people had on duck costumes that I had seen in pictures of the sim's parades. Not really avatars, but parade costumes, “Hey, you’re a duck!” A couple more arrived with tubas, another with a guitar, another came as a Greenie DJ, and others. It wasn’t long before the parade started, Welcome back, Philip!” But with lag hitting, keeping track of the line of people was a problem as they often appeared only as green dots on the radar and not on the screen.

At the same time as the parade, there was a Metanews Panel, which had started at 2 PM. The bulletin I got stated, “With the recent news that M Linden is stepping down as CEO and Philip Linden returning as interim CEO, we will have a panel discussion to discuss what this means for Second Life and it’s future. Join us today at 2PM as we discuss this breaking story. Panelists include Phaylen Fairchild, Chantal Harveu, and Saffia Widdershins.” The two others were Gianna Borgnine and SecondLie Scribe, a self-described “malcontent” of Linden policies.

One panelist admitted she was fighting the temptation to “stand up and riverdance.” “If this were World of Warcraft, the announcement of the change of the CEO wouldn’t be nearly as big a deal.” “Not everything Mark did was a total loss.” One thought Philip had put Mark in charge due to pressure from the board. One panelist had originally approved with Mark when he was first appointed as he seemed more approachable than Philip. Of what this meant for Second Life, they disagreed. SecondLie thought the company really needed to address issues such as content theft, or otherwise it would decline into a niche market within “eighteen months.” Others were more optimistic, one saying that the idea that SL’s best days were behind it was “bull***t!”

The Cutlass Club in Sunweaver Air was the scene of an impromptu party to celebrate M stepping down, with Shockwave Yareach as the DJ. A tombstone with a big “M” had been set up, along with a barbecue grill. It wasn't long before a crowd showed up, a couple people whom hadn't been there in a while. Shockwave's music was occasionally on the mark, such as the ‘70s song “M.” One girl was passing out “M” shoulder pets. Not eveyone there had harsh words for M Linden. A couple people felt he deserved better than the bad rap he was getting.

A few examples of what went on the grid the day Philip came back to his old position as the head of Linden Lab.

Source: Nikka Dreamscape's Journal

Bixyl Shuftan

Greenies Home Closes, Moves to OpenSim

Wednesday June 23rd was the last day of the “Greenies Home” sim in Second Life. On June 15th, Rezzable, the owners of the sim, announced they would be closing the area, and moving the contents to their grid in OpenSim. Since then, a number of visitors have given the noted sim a last look before it’s scheduled end.

For three years, the sim stood as an example of creativity and humor in Second Life. The area consisted of two rooms in a house that took up the entire place, visiting residents looking about the size of mice in comparison. In fact, one walked into the rooms from a mousehole. The human owners were nowhere to be seen, but who was around were numerous tiny green men known as the “Greenies.” They could be seen in various amusing situations from trying to figure out something, to riding one of the household toys, and occasionally getting in a bit of trouble.

The whimsical little aliens quickly became the talk of Second Life, and the place was recommended to newcomers as a must-see location. And over time, Rezzable made little changes to the place, such as an occasional new Greenie, temporarily adding in games such as the roach-zapping pest control, once the mothership appeared in the sim, accessible via the Greenies small saucers, the family TV and scanners on the ship broadcasting a 1950’s alien invasion TV show. There was also a sequel sim, “Greenies Lawn.” And of course, the little aliens appeared in Relay for Life sims, such as one depicting the accidental death of dinosaurs from them, and appearing in Second Life’s Fifth Birthday celebration. Rezzable did other noted sims such as “Carnival of Doom,” but Greenies Home remained their most famous.

Almost a year ago on July 7 2009, Rezzable announced it would be withdrawing it’s sims from Second Life, and moving the places to OpenSim. But Greenies Home would be staying, at least for the time being, as Rezzable’s last sim of 40 at their peak.

And on June 15th, came the news Greenies Home would soon be gone from the Metaverse as well, "now it is time for the Greenies to come home."

Taking a look last week, I found a few new aliens I hadn’t noticed before. This included one next to an ad for their OpsnSim grid. Then again, it had been some time since I was last hear. At the Greenies store, I went ahead and got one of their avatars as a momento. Over time, there has been quite a variety of costumed Greenies, such as pirate, vampire, and even Gorean (showing their sense of humor again). Yours truly just got your basic Greenie. There were also a number of freebie items up on vendors.

The final week had various events at the sim. There were a couple fishing parties, the second on on Sunday from 1 to 3 SL time. On Wednesday the final day, from 1 to 4 PM SL time there were two live music events by Thumper Boucher and Truelie Telling. After the partiers dispersed, people continued to drop in for a final look. Some locations had copies available for sale, marked by a red tag. For a price, fans could take a momento home with them.

Most people this reporter overheard were sad to hear of the little green fellows leaving Second Life. A few commented they had never heard of them, scratching their heads at the fuss. But they were a minority.

And so a piece of Second Life disappears, leaving behind memories, a few Greenie rings and other souvenirs, and of course those Greenie avatars. So perhaps they did not truly make a complete exit.

“Live Green and prosper.”

Bixyl Shuftan

"The Fire" by Mysty Mellison

Mysty Mellison is a playwright/producer in SL. Her play, "The Fire", will open on Friday, June 25 at 4:00 SLT at the SL7 B Mainstage SE, SL7B Imagination (29, 220, 22). I met up with Mysty recently to learn more about her and her latest play.

Grey Lupindo: Can you tell our readers what "The Fire" is about?

Mysty Mellison: It́'s a haunting tale about Pete and his quest to save his family from famine. Pete is a peasant, and Frankey is an American boy. The conflict is grain vs. gold.

Grey Lupindo: What́ is the time period and setting?

Mysty Mellison: The play starts in 2010 and goes back to 1789. It is set against the back drop to the French Revolution. We join Frankey as he visits Paris, France in 1789.

Grey Lupindo: How did "The Fire" come about?

Mysty Mellison: I wrote "The Fire" for a RL theatre. However, as I am a struggling writer, I did not have the funds to produce it.

Grey Lupindo: How much was it going to cost?

Mysty Mellison: The cost for a theatre is $4k - that́s US Dollars, not Lindens.

Grey Lupindo: Do you have an estimate of how much it́s going to cost to produce the play here in SL?

Mysty Mellison: So far next to nothing. I met some generous people at Trendone and L'Ecole SL who donated some builds. Xstorm Radek and his wife Patty are wonderful. They helped build the sets. Wolveli Kas has been a wonderful help to the production. She goes beyond her acting responsibilities and steps in for missing actors. She proofread my script, making changes for the better. And Friday night, she made a timezone chart. The actors are volunteers.

Grey Lupindo: How many actors are in "The Fire"?

Mysty Mellison: Twelve. My actors are passionate. It is work, but it is fun.

Grey Lupindo: What has surprised you the most about producing it?

Mysty Mellison: The scheduling of actors is a challenge.

Grey Lupindo: Who are the main actors?

Mysty Mellison: Pete is played by Intelkid Craven. Frankey is being played by either Valentine Easterwood or Gimly Beck.

Grey Lupindo: Besides SL7B, are there any future performances planned?

Mysty Mellison: There is a tentative one July 17-18 3pm slt at O'Caseys.

Mellison, who has been a resident since May 2009, said that the group currently perform as storytellers, too. The photo for this article was taken at Hestia's Hearth, where rehearsals are held. In the future a full production of "The Fire" will be performed there. Hestia's Hearth, Trendone (114, 70, 47) This location is symbolic, like much of the play, Mellison said, because Hestia is the Greek goddess of the fire.

Grey Lupindo

The Ex-Linden Independence Day Party

On Tuesday June 15th, there was an “Ex-Linden Independence Day Party” from about 11 AM to after 3 PM SL time. The party was held in Dublin 2 in a platform about a thousand meters in the air, inside a round hedge at one end. Ham Rambler, the owner of Dublin, was the DJ for the party attended by both ex-Lindens and still employed Lindens, or “not dead yet” as the running joke went. and those who came to wish them well.

Among the ex-Lindens showing up were Teagan, Whump, and Neuro. Among the “not dead yet” were Aimee Linden in her pink wings, and Bryon Linden whom in his whimsy altered his avatar to make it look like a zombie: the walking dead. Both Lindens and residents came in a variety of avatars from normal human to tiny. Second Life Newspaper was told by one of the residents at the party there were close to 70 people in the sim at one point.

Near the teleport entrance were some t-shirts for the event, available for free. One sported the phrase, “I’ve been Lind “ex-ed.” There was also a link to a website where one could get a real-life version of them. Over the location was a large sign of Apple CEO Steve Jobs giving a speech to a graduating class, him saying “and then I got fired.” A reminder to those given pink slips that getting fired wasn’t the end. For those whom wanted to look around a little, at the other end of the platform was the Dublin tourism center.

The party was supposed to end at 2 PM SL time, but continued for over an hour longer, people continuing to joke and laugh, Aimee Linden at one point joking she thought she was in her alt, and have a good time.

Source: SLURL from New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Some pictures by Second Life resident Brinda Allen (thank you).