Thursday, December 28, 2017

Various Christmas Party Scenes


By Bixyl Shuftan


Besides the "Twisted Christmas" party at the Happy Vixen on Sunday December 17, there were a number of other Christmas parties. Furry Fashion had a Christmas Ball. Steelhead had an "Ugly Sweater" party. One event yours truly happened to catch was the "Winter Solstice" party by the National Space Society on Friday December 22. But I caught the tail end, so there were only a handful of people around.


 On Saturday December 23 was the Christmas party at Club Cutlass. During this time. Santa Claus paid a visit.


DJ Snowbuns played the music for the party, but she had left by the time this group picture was taken.


On Sunday December 24, Safra Nitely, a friend of the Newser, had her Christmas party at Devon Dream for her Second Life friends and family.


The night lighting made for some interesting visual effects.


Also on Christmas Eve, Nydia Tungsten had an encore for her "Twisted Christmas" event as not all of her friends could make it and/or wanted more. Once again, her mild to wild to "WHOAH!" Xmas parody songs played.


On December 25, Christmas Day, an impromptu party started at Club Cutlass. There was no contest, just people showing up for fun.


Shockwave Yareach was the DJ for the impromptu event, spinning a number of tunes, some of which I hadn't heard other DJs use.


Club United, a Christian Club, had it's Christmas party two days after the holiday, on December 27.


Christmas was celebrated in many different places with many different events. But everyone had a great time in doing so.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Bixyl Shuftan


Friday, December 22, 2017

Mary and Joseph Near the End of their Journey


By Klaus Bereznyak,

In Mexico, the lead up to Christmas day is marked in many places by the tradition of "Posada". Each night, Mary and Joseph are figuratively "hosted" in a different home in a village, with a parade and ceremony marking their progress from one home to the next. This tradition has become increasingly popular beyond Mexico, and it even has an equivalent in Second Life.


Since 2009, the Anglicans of Second Life group has hosted an annual Posada in which figures of Mary and Joseph are passed from one volunteer host to another through the season of Advent, staying over in chapels, gardens, campuses, cafes, private homes - wherever a space can be made for them. They reach their destination in the crib scene at The Anglican Cathedral of Second Life on Epiphany Island on Christmas Eve.


The Posada provides a simple moment for people to get together. Sometimes hosts will provide food or entertainment as part of having Mary and Joseph to stay on their sim or parcel. This year, for instance, there was a performance of the St. Columba Choir before the figures moved from Salem Land School to St. Columba's. While the event is run by the Anglicans of Second Life, hosts may come from any or no church or denomination in Second Life - all it takes is a willingness to show hospitality.


Coordinating hosts and handovers across multiple time zones is an enormous task that usually falls to a single volunteer. This year, nobody felt they quite had the time or energy to take on the responsibility, and the event was cancelled. However, it has been such a popular feature of this time of year that the community rallied and Hunny Spiritweaver volunteered at the last minute to make it happen.



"It was an honour and a privilege to coordinate the Posada this year," she tells me. "I was nervous, because the past coordinators did such a splendid job, and those were big shoes to fill."
 

I asked her about her best moment in coordinating the Posada. She is quick to point out how important the wider community is to the success of the event. "It was a pleasant surprise to meet so many generous people who embodied the spirit of generosity that we honour in the Posada tradition. It wouldn't have been possible without the support form Vincent Markovic, as he kept the times organized and took really nice pictures."



The figures will complete their journey around the grid by returning to Epiphany Island on the 24th December at noon. Following a short service in the Cathedral for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, they will be handed to the Second Life Anglican Lay Pastor, Helene Milena, by the final host,  Father Nolasco at the Mater Dolorosa Cathedral. A stable has been made ready at the entrance to the Cathedral and the crib scene can be visited throughout the Christmas season.


More information on Posada hosts and handover times is available inworld at

Klaus Bereznyak

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

A Look at The Christmas Expo


By Gemma Cleanslate


The Relay’s Christmas is open for shopping, fun , building snowmen and riding through the sims on the sweetest horses. There are more than forty merchants displaying their wares. Some are in old New York shops along the avenues. Some have elected  large shops. As you wind down the various streets in and snow laden roads in the four sims there is a lot to see. Breedables occupy one region. A huge skating pond occupies the center of the four sims.  




Look for the Build a Snowman contest. It is a fun contest that takes place every year . That is S.I.D. waiting for snowmen.

”  Pick your spot in the snowman building area and start rolling that snow.  Simple, fancy, classic, wild… it is up to you what you do with your 30 prims. You have from Dec 1 – 5 to build your snowman, voting is held December 6 – 9  and winners are announced during a special Snowman Party  Sunday, Dec 9, 2017.  There are 2 categories –  Judges Picks and the Popular Vote, which is determined by donations to the Relay For Life Kiosk beside your snowman. 100% proceeds goes to Relay For Life of Second Life.”    


Be creative!!! Here is the place for that fun. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oxford%20Street/112/251/26

Santa will be roaming around and will be happy to hear your requests for gifts and to take  a picture with you . You might run into me . I am an elf also roaming and greeting .








The Christmas tree lot has so many gorgeous trees that were created just for the Expo. Get one or more. There are three !! This year the Breedables are having a silent auction all week but a live auction on the 10th of December. Gotyas are available too.

Expect parties and live perfomers too. It is a great week and the  sl Relay for Life will hopefully  earn money for cancer research and help for those experiencing the trauma in this season of giving. This is the entrance on the skating pond at one of the sims. Check the map so you don’t miss any areas.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blvd%20Saint%20Germain/253/227/22
 


Gemma Cleanslate

Friday, November 10, 2017

New Toulouse Ghost Hunt


By Gemma Cleanslate


The following is posted in on the home page of New Toulouse website.

“Following a sharp rise in reports of local hauntings, a fresh survey of ghostly activity is taking place in New Toulouse Parish.


The Spectral Activity Survey will continue through December 5, so be on the lookout for any haunts, spooks, wraiths, phantoms, specters, poltergeists, or other apparitions. Citizens who register 20 ghosts with the Beacon Spiritualist Institute will gain access to gifts organized by the Taloo Boosters Society.


“The ghosts of this parish, among them the oldest inhabitants of the area, have for too long been without a voice,” said Richard Mains, a recently deceased candidate for New Toulouse mayor. “Since many ghosts are housebound, we call upon the living to find us and tell our stories.”


The most recent survey of this type was undertaken in November 1914, when 2,720 spirits were reported in this parish.”



The parish has been fairly quiet since the hippopotamus scare ( http://slnewserevents.blogspot.com/2017/07/bacon-of-hope-hunt-at-new-toulouse.html  ), but perhaps this is where all the ghosts and ghouls went after Halloween Night. 

I am always so happy when New Toulouse has a special “hunt" event. There is a story at every step that is so interesting . This time there are ghosts of past residents of the parish that will not or cannot leave their homes, perhaps out of love of the place, or just can’t get out. Some still have some contact in the sim, some are just completely lost.



I started by getting my Hud that will keep track of all the ghosts I do find. Each stop will introduce you to a new ghost that you really have to look for in some of the places. It took me a while in a few of the stops to find him or her.There is always so much to see in New Toulouse that is interesting in itself it is easy to get distracted. 


In the Chapel I got so interested in playing the organ and admiring it I got off track. I almost gave up because that was a hard spirit to find  but ran into Kenny (kennymcdee.korobase) and Janie (janie.broome) and we worked together on a couple of stops and helped each other. As Janie mentioned the voice dot sometimes gets in the way of recognizing the ghost! It really helps locate the ghost to use the region windlight. To take pictures I usually change so you can see the venues.


Each venue I visited I was able to find the ghost after a short time. There were a few that took longer because of the size of the venue and the many hiding places. Look up look down, climb stairs, open doors, you will find them and learn their fate. There are fun gifts after you finish the ghosts and are guided back to the Spiritualist institute to find the boxes. Little did I know that one of our reporters , Klaus, is involved in this region til I visited his shop looking for a spirit.


This region has so many fascinating artifacts scattered around it is a wonderful place to visit even when not much more than everyday living is going on. Every time I go I see shops and buildings I have not explored before. I always stop at the cemetery before I leave and get that News Orleans feeling. It is always a pleasure to visit . Have a great hunt. Ah, it is a good idea to take off the hud once in a while to save the ghosts and remember to use the Windlight of the region. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse/129/99/23

Gemma Cleanslate  

Saturday, November 4, 2017

More on Halloween 2017


By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life can get wild at times. With the ability to look more or less like whatever you like, many take advantage of it. But there's just something about Halloween that encourages people to be wilder, those who otherwise wouldn't deciding to let their virtual hair down, and those whom already weren't afraid to act a little crazy are even less so. There were no shortage of Halloween-themed events and places in Second Life, only a fraction we could mention. And before we say goodbye to the spookiness, one more look.


Saturday October 28 had a number of events. One was the Pirate Gala at RFL Making Strides, raising cash for the cancer charity.

The MSABC Honor Gala continues with Maximillion Kleene taking the stage at 3pm.
Attire- pirate/ wenches/ old-world or just come as you are! Raffles, live auction and more!



Maximillion himself came as a ghost. He certainly put a lot of spirit in his music.


Furry Fashion had a special Halloween area, which we wrote about earlier. On Saturday and Sunday, they moved their parties from their lounge to there. I managed to make their "Dark Parade."


Do you have any plans to see a parade today? Come be a part of one! Dress up for the Dark Parade that's happening now, or come listen to the music!

Nightmares and demons - the Furry Fashion Lounge has protection against their arise. Halftime is here, and it almost time to depart! Come join the Dark Parade, suit up in your darkest attire and enlist at this event now for the L$1,000 prize! It's a special commemoration in a special lounge! Get your new landmark to the halloween-themed lounge and let the parade continue through tonight! With DJ Bengt's music, we'll carry on!


Also on October 28, there was a "War of the Worlds" concert to help raise funds for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The event was high above the Rajasthan sim. The musical was based on the radio drama broadcasted in 1938, which created a panic as it sounded like an actual newscast.


Jeff Wayne's musical version of the scary classic story will be "performed" by the RingSlingers, with all donations going to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and the American Cancer Society. Remember, "the chances of anything coming from Mars is a million to one, he said"...the chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer is 8 to 1!


The Gotham Island event at Creations for Parkinson's, which had been going on all month, was in full swing. There were some acts on stage going on Saturday, "All aboard the Crazy Train!"


There were a number in the audience, including Barbie Alchemi, the owner of Creations (as the minimap shows, this screenshot was taking in an intermission between acts).


On October 30, there was a Halloween parade in the Enchanted Adventured sim, named the "Parade of Nightmares."

The fires are lit, the cauldrons are bubbling. Crypt doors are creaking and tombstones are quaking. That must mean only one thing, it's Halloween season! Join us today at 2 PM on Mean Street for the ghoulish delights of Parade of Nightmares. Don't be one of those poor unfortunate souls that misses a delightfully devilish good time!


There were a number of Disney villains, some static, some played by avatars. The one doing the part of Cruella noticed me, "How do you like my coat. It's made from, fox." Boo-hiss!


Jack Sparrow also waved to the audience.


Oogie Boogie, the antagonist in "The Nightmare Before Christmas," invited me to spin his roulette wheel (in the movie, he ties Santa Claus to it). With Oogie Boogie's connection to insects, I asked, "Is it bugged?" Oggie answered, "No more than usual."


Club Cutlass has no Tuesday events, so the club had it's Halloween party on Tuesday, with the place all decked out in ghosts and spiderwebs and the floor covered in a spooky fog. Shockwave Yareach was the DJ that night, spinning a number of Halloween tunes and a couple of his music parodies.


Sunday Oct 29 had the Temple Burn. While not exactly a Halloween event, it was the main event that day.


 At the Happy Vixen, DJ Scratch did a "bewitching" performance at the Early Halloween party.


And DJ Squeaks (Brandi Streusel) did a "Dark" event, those invited to the dark side being offered cookies.


Halloween had the Creepy Crawl, organized by Xiola Linden. I missed most of it due to real life, but did catch the "Pumpkin Fight."


Taking place in the Pumpkin Fight Arena, Linden Lab didn't try to hide, much, that the game was the snowball fight given a Halloween look, the guns doing the same things.


 Normal players had a choice of pistols and rifles, pistols launching someone into the air when scoring a hit. Premium players had a rifle which would temporarily trap someone. I caught this screenshot at 3PM, when the fireworks went off.


The whole place had an erie look, a perpetual dusk with dim orange skies and shady ground.


After the Pumpkin fight, Safra Nitely, a friend of the Newser, had a party for her Darkwing group and friends. Bony arms reached up, as if trying to grab someone, or perhaps wanting someone to pull them up to join the party.


 "No, you're not getting my pizza!"


There were outfits of a number of kinds, this girl having on a simple mask. My friend ShadowRene Ivanova won the prize up for grabs.


There would be a number of places having Halloween parties that night, Furry Fashion had a big bash. But the whopper was the six hour marathon event held at the Happy Vixen's Haunted Woods.


Come one, come all to the Final Halloween Event of the Year at Happy Vixen! We're rocking the night away with not one, not two but 3 rocking Dj's spanning 6 hours of Halloween mayhem. We have DJ Naughty Nydia, DJ Squeaks and a rare treat for one and all. DJ Jasmine Hornycorn. If this lineup isn't enough to wet your musically inclined sweet tooth, we're throwing down a massive 5000L prize to be sliced down the middle for all the creeps and deadies. Shall be a night to die for! Need a date? Borrow a shovel and dig one up! Creep, crawl, slither, flap or just appear like a spook and help us rock the night away at Happy Vixen Haunted Woods on Halloween night!


Actually, it was eight hours of music, with a separate "Black and Red" event at the start with DJ Geerkil, appearing as an anthro dracolich, along with JB Racoon, of which he shared some playful banter with at times.


Then at 6PM, Brandi took over the DJ booth for two hours, followed at 8PM by her partner Nydia Tungsten, the owner of the Happy Vixen.


Nydia and Brandi were both in darkfur that night, which doesn't happen often.



 The last two hours of the event were handled by Jasmine Dawn, who built the Haunted Woods.


Initially, the prize was going to be 7000 Lindens, split into 3500 each for a separate male and female board. But some in the audience kept adding to it. In the end, the prize was a whopping 20,000 Lindens, or about $80 USD. Kanhk Windstorm won the top prize for the men, while Salurielle Shinigami (ShadowRenee Ivanova), and Mato (Matoazma Kazyanenko) split the women's prize.

Jasmine had DJed a few years ago in the past, so this was a one of a kind event with her, "And that my friends is the first and last time you shall see me dj here in this wonderful venue here at Happy Vixen. ... The music may end but you all have made me some wonderful memories." Nydia appreciated her music, and especially the haunted forest, "Jas, on behalf of 'White Vixen Enterprises' I would like to thank you for all you have done for this year's Halloween event."


The Haunted Woods had been scheduled to go down after Halloween. But people asked that it stay up a little longer.


 So the woods got a reprieve, staying up a little longer.


 But not forever. After the 7-9PM event on Sunday night, the woods fades back into the virtual mists from whence they came.


 After that, these few pictures are what will remain to remind others of Jasmine's handiwork.



And so, we say goodbye to Halloween 2017 in Second Life. It had it's share of tricks, with the lag and real life butting in. But it had plenty of treats.

Addition: Originally I had Nydia starting up the big party at the Happy Vixen, followed by Brandi. This has been corrected.

Bixyl Shuftan