Wednesday, April 24, 2019

The Sunbeamer Air Show



On Saturday April 14, the Relay for Life's Sunbeamer team held it's yearly air show event. This was the sixth one the relay team of the Sunweaver/Angel community had held.


As in previous years, the event was held at Farshore Field, which is in the sim of Sunlight Bay.


Cynthia Farshore was the woman behind this and previous air shows. Normally an anthro goat, for the event she was sporting a wolfess look due to a "Bid Me" the Sunbeamers had done.


Team captain Rita Mariner, with her friend Gil Otaared and a few other teammates.



A number of people showed up, Relayers in and out of the Sunbeamer team, as well as some from outside the Relay.





One of the popular attractions of the event was the cannon, which one just crawled in, then lit the fuse.




The cannon would then launch you into the air at a replica of the Moon.


Getting one of the parachutes from a box next to the kiosk near the cannon was recommended, which automatically deployed when you got back down to a certain height, and gave one a longer look at the scenery below.


The parachute was decorated with this year's Relay theme, "All Aboard."


One other cannon would send you two sims away to the north into Pacific Waters, though as the sim was mostly water, parachutes were more optional.




There was also a race. One would pick up a bicycle blimp, and go through an areal "steeplechase" course.


Those taking part had to get their blimps around a course of fence rails, getting the areal vehicles just over them to count.



 Snowy Sugar Blossom (Skylark Lefavre) was offering balloon tours of the area.


Becky Shamen showed up in an airship of her own.





There was a German 88 gun, though not just for display. People could sit on it and lob shells at a target, a hit sending a volunteer into the dunk tank.


There were also a number of planes up on display, such as this German FW190.


An American Dauntless torpedo plane and light bomber

A US Gruman F-4 Wildcat fighter.


 An American P-40 Warhawk.


A US Thunderbolt fighter, one more noted for it's engine power and durability than it's maneuverability.


A Japanese Mistubishi A6M "Zero." This fighter was deadly in experienced hands early in the war. But as it was lightly armored and the Americans learned how to go up against these nimble plans, losses began to take their toll on veteran pilots. Plus Japan's smaller industrial capacity meant it couldn't replace losses as quickly. As the war in the Pacific went on, American pilots faced fewer, and less experienced opponents.


There were a few WW1 and between the wars aircraft, like this French Nieuport 17 fighter.


A look at the Nieuport's cockpit. The controls were a lot simpler then.






Some float planes were next to a dock on the side, such as this Japanese Kawanishi H8K bomber.



Cynthia would do a little flying of her own with a couple planes.


But thanks to the "Teleport Disconnect" bug, which affected sim crossings as well, flying around was tricky, often ending in a viewer crash, much to Cynthia's frustration.







Despite the bugs, the Sunbeamer Air Show was a success, taking the team past Gold fundraising level, and up past 150,000 Linden dollars. The music event at the Happy Vixen a week later would raise the team total past 180.000, closer to Platinum Level.

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

Bixyl Shuftan

Monday, April 15, 2019

Oasis for Parkinson’s


By Gemma Cleanslate



“I am thrilled to announce the opening of 'The Oasis Event and Hunt for Parkinson's' Come explore the mystery of ancient Egypt. Events For Parkinson’s and Miss Globe Universal Charity Foundation partnered up for this exciting new event. “ Barbie Alchemi announced last week and I am late in getting over there to see it all.


This is a partnership installation and is not to be missed. The build is fabulous. Every step has hints of ancient Egypt with all the art and hieroglyphics around.


Each shop is filled with beautiful offerings from your favorite creators. So many are participating and giving contributions from their sales, some 100 percent. The shopping is so enticing I did indulge.


In one shop there is an informational display about Parkinson's disease and the efforts to find a cure for it. Be sure to stop there and read,


There are also two hunts going on. In many shops you will find a small scale pyramid for sale for only 15L with great prizes in them. I peeked and also got quite a few.  The other hunt is in the large pyramid where there are gems scattered about and you must find those that contain a prize. These are more expensive but worth it since the proceeds also go to the great cause. There is fabulous fashion show planned for Saturday, the 20th, 10AM SLT at the temple near the pyramid.


A large outdoor stage is set for music, theater, dancing and fun. I found a couple dressed for the event having a dance on the stage while I was there for the 4th time. Even if you don’t shop much you can make a donation at one of the lovely kiosks set up around the region. Be sure to make a visit before the 21st of April when it will close. Kudos to the creators of the sim for the beauty they brought to it.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Greenmist/110/25/3201

Gemma Cleanslate

 * * * * *


Editor's Note - I had a few words with Barbie Alchemi. She credited Rose Mikaelson (djroseathena) with the building of the Oasis, and mentioned Nola Hellershanks and Shelia Style as the co-cordinators.  One of the buildings she pointed out to me was the pyramid, which had a small maze inside. For more information, check out Creations for Parkinson's blog: https://creationspark.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/the-oasis-is-now-open/. 

Friday, April 12, 2019

Burnal Equinox: Eyes To The Skies


By Marcel Mosswood

One big event in Second Life has about to begin: The Burnal Equinox. What is Burnal Equinox and how is it held? To know about that I interviewed iSkye Silverweb, Communications Lead at Burn2 and Co-Event Lead for Burnal Equinox. Here is our conversation:

Marcel: What is the Burnal Equinox mission and vision?

iSkye Silverweb: BURN2 is an extension of the Burning Man culture and community into the world of Second Life. It is an officially sanctioned Burning Man Regional, and the only virtual world Regional out of more than 100 Regional groups worldwide.

This unique virtual Regional spreads the culture and Ten Principles of Burning Man year-round in Second Life by holding several events during the year and culminating in an annual major festival of community, art, and fire in the fall, nicknamed "Octoburn," which is a virtual echo of Burning Man itself.


Marcel: What is the aim of this event?

iSkye Silverweb: The aim of the Burnal Equinox event is to bring together creatives to build and create music around a specific theme. This year's Burnal Equinox theme is "Eyes to the Skies", a looking up to the stars - what is out there? Friday we celebrate Yuri's Night, the anniversary of the first human launch into space. The builds you will see around the playa on Deep Hole will reflect various artists' interpretations of this theme.

Marcel: Who is the avatar behind the idea of Burnal Equinox?

iSkye Silverweb: Burnal Equinox was originated organically by the Burn2 planning committee - it was a collective decision, not one of any single avatar. The theme was selected by the committee and then three posters were chosen by the BurningMan 2.0 community to represent the event. The posters are embedded here:




Marcel: Is there a real-life event or history inspiring you to organize this event on SL?

iSkye Silverweb: Burning Man started in 1986 with a group of friends burning a stick man on Baker Beach in San Francisco. Soon after, this became an annual tradition attracting large crowds, and the event was moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

Today, tens of thousands trek to the dry lake bed and set up camps in a temporary city that disappears without a trace after a week.

The Burn2 community centers all its activities around the Ten Principles of Burning Man.
All events are temporary, and at the end of each event, creatives leave no trace on the virtual playa; everything is cleared off and the playa is back to its pristine dry lake bed state.

Marcel: What is the website of Burn2 in SL?
iSkye Silverweb: Our website is at https://www.burn2.org
The Ten Principles of Burning Man can be found on this page:  https://www.burn2.org/about/the-ten-principles/

Burnal Equinox will be held on 12-14 April 2019
LM: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/143/73/55

Marcel Mosswood