Burn2 Conception: Communal Earth

By Marcel Mosswood

Burn2 Conception: Communal Earth has begun. The Deep Hole Playa is filled with various artworks involving many artists. The Lamplighters tradition has also begun. This is a tradition that makes me always return to this community through my artwork, no matter how busy I am in real life and Second Life.

At a glance, the Burn2 Conception: Communal Earth is different from the previous one, especially about the creativity of the artists, and sim settings to display the artworks.

I’ve got several words from Herbie Haven, the Event Lead:
This event theme was designed around the idea of the communal effort needed to take care of our Earth and to remind everyone what a small place it really is. Many artists and builders come here to display their work and maybe make a point. Anyone can come and build here at our events, you don’t need to be a great builder or an artist, you just need to have an idea that you want to share.

There are several events every year and each has its own theme, so they are always different, they don’t last long and are taken away between events so each event is unique and must be experienced at that time. Builders spend days maybe weeks working on their art that may only be seen for a few days and only by the visitors who show up at the event, then it`s gone. This event was designed to have the builds around in a circle and each builder was encouraged to spill some of their build-out onto the Playa “build outside of the box” and to work with their neighbor to combine bits of their build in an effort to make one giant build.

There are also some very talented artists who perform here at the events that you don’t want to miss. It`s always new and always interesting to see what people do with their imaginations and it’s a temporary installation that if missed, its missed.

You may see pictures or even videos but it`s not like the real thing in 3D. Don’t forget that if you can use advanced lighting and shadows, it`s amazing, a lot of it is designed to use light and shadows as part of the art, you will want to see it that way if possible. Come on over and see if for yourself, get involved and have fun.

And from Ilyra Chardin, the Artist’s Lead:
We have an exceptional gathering of artists for Burn2 Conception Communal Earth. The artists and their exhibits include:
- Homage To Hotter Than Air by Leroy Horten and CyberseaCell by SERRA QENDRA.
- Explore Climate Change by Kimblecoles Resident, Silvia Ametza, and  GeeJAnn Blackadder.
- Zapped Earth by Maia Antarra.
- Progress VS Nature by Andrea Jones.
- What Shape Is It? by Slatan Dryke.
- Communicate Openly by TheaDee.
- Homage To The Tree of Ténérére by HALLIX.
- The Preservation of the Earth by Marcel Mosswood.
- The Hoax by Herbie Haven.
- Free reading by Madame Fortune by Emerald Dahlia (Moonstone).
- The Whiskeydrome by Cuga Rajal.
- Time Keeps Slipping by Sophie MacHugh-Dunn (Sophie72 Congrejo).
- Work of the Artist by Moya Patrick (Moya Janus).
- Totem Mesa Medicine Wheel by Shambala Kimono.
- One Thousand Cranes by Tara Tisane and MatthewBroderich76.
- Protect Our Water Supply by Fifi Oh.
- The Tipping Point and Its A Small World After All by Herbie Haven.
- Vickie’s Recycling Center by Vickie Maidstone.
- Conflix by Kalyca McCallen and Proton d-oo-b
- Under The Sea by Adrian Harbinger
- Mother Eearth - A Terran Opera by Keely (JenniferKeely).
- Thirst For The Last Drop by iSkye Silverweb.
- The Watering Hole by ilyra Chardin.

And here are some words from Dream Wrexan, the Lamplighters’ Fire Dancers Lead:
Burning Man 2.0 is the virtual version of the famous Burning Man in Nevada, and is the only officially recognized virtual reality regional. We host four official events each year, winter, spring, summer, and the fall event, which is the main one lasting more than a week. The Lamplighters are the keepers of the flame, and you will see them processing while lighting the lamps on the spires prior to the afternoon and evening burns on Sunday. Visitors are invited to join in their processions.

Today is not a Fire Dance - just the Lamplighters dancing. Of course, wherever you find Lamplighters you find Fire and Dancing! And everyone is welcome to join in tonight. Sunday's are strictly performances.

The event will be held on 19-21 July 2019. Click here for the complete schedule of Burn2 Conception: Communal Earth https://www.burn2.org/event-calendar/

Visit here:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/160/26/25

Marcel Mosswood

The Raglan Shire Tiny Poetry Slam

by Marcel Mosswood

Last week was my first time joining the Tiny Poetry Slam at the Raglan Shire. It was so much fun and cute! I can say it’s a poetry reading even where participant creates silly poetry and after the reading all who attend throw waffles, turkey, rubber ducks and toast to the participant as applause. In my opinion, Tiny Poetry Slam is a good way to be creative, silly, and fun! So, after it ended that day, I decided to interview Copper Mistral for SL Newser.

The Tiny Poetry Slam. This when I got rubber ducks and turkeys as applause after reading a poetry that I created

Marcel: Hi Copper, what makes you think that people in Second Life need such an event like The Tiny Poetry Slam?

Copper Mistral: All people have the ability to be creative in some way. Many people who can't paint or draw, or do hands-on art like knitting may feel, or even have been told that because they're not visually creative, they can't be creative at all.  But just about everyone can use words in some way. Other poetry slams I've attended in real life were often overly stuffy, and looked down on poets who just wanted to have fun and be silly with their words. Like the tinies of SL, Tiny Poetry Slam is all about having fun.

Marcel: Who are the avatars behind this event?

Copper Mistral: The hosts are Copper Mistral, Stereo Nacht, and Jillan McMillan. Raglan Shire Magistrate Zayn Till wanted to start a regular poetry event in Raglan and asked if I would be interested in hosting it. I had been attending the Wulfenbach poetry slam at the now-closed Mamma Gkika's and jumped at the opportunity to bring a poetry slam to Raglan. Stereo Nacht was asked to attend and give some guidance in getting things started. She fell for the tinies and joined our ranks, becoming ONE OF US!

Marcel: What a cool team! Is there an real life event that inspired you to create this event?

Copper Mistral: Not particularly, though it has been influenced by an real life slam I used to attend at the now-closed Zoomdweebie's Tea Bar in Wichita, Kansas, and that slam saw some of my tiny poetry performed for an RL audience.

Marcel: I see this event is held in the Raglan Shire, a community for tinies and Dinkies, is it open for biggies to participate?

Copper Mistral: Absolutely! We welcome everyone, all sizes, shapes, av's, as long as they behave themselves. While we throw applause, we do ask that people be respectful, not interrupt, and keep things family-friendly.

Marcel: Waffles, rubber ducks, popcorn, who has the idea of using those funny things? And why use them?

Copper Mistral: Thrown applause is one of the elements that came to us from the Wulfenbach Poetry Slam. Over there, books and bottles were frequently thrown around as applause. Being tinies, waffles are a natural choice for us, but we've used everything from waffles to anvils, rubber ducks to wrenches, as well as books, snowballs, paintings, and more! We do it because it's fun, it's funny, and it's something you just don't see that often. For those who prefer not to get pelted by everything from soup to nuts, we have a party cannon, which fires only balloons and confetti. All one has to do is ask that they not be buried by rubber ducks.

Marcel: Are the participants also poetry artists in real life? For example, a painting in SL was made by the artist in real life.

Copper Mistral: Some are, yes. All of our original poetry is written by someone, after all. Many of us would not consider ourselves "real" poets, but the words still come with feeling and meaning.  Some do write considerable poetry outside of SL. Others might not have written a poem since leaving school until they joined us at Tiny Poetry Slam and felt the urge to join in the fun.

Marcel: Can you tell me about the philosophy behind the rules on the board "Be creative, get inspired, ignore the roolz, add extra silly"? This is so interesting, while other community trying to keep the rules of poetry.

Copper Mistral: So much of real life is seriousness. We work, we have health problems, we take care of others. Second Life is a welcome escape, no matter how little time we can spend here.  Tinies are all about having fun and helping each other out. At Tiny Poetry Slam, we firmly believe that poetry should not be all super serious and stuff. Sure there's lots of fun, silly poetry out there, but it's usually "for kids." Why can't everyone else have fun, silly poetry? Enter the beloved Pawku. A form of poetry unique to Raglan Shire. A pawku is like a haiku but without all the rules. A typical pawku is three lines (more or less), may or may not rhyme, and has as many or as few sillybulls (syllables) as needed to make it work. They're almost always pure silliness, but occasionally have a touch of seriousness or a good dose of friendship and love. After all, tinies are a caring group, and our friends are very important to us.

Marcel: Thank you, Copper, very nice info here for avatar who like to join the Tiny Poetry Slam.

The Raglan Shire Tiny Poetry Slam is held every Monday at 6 PM SLT, here is the LM:

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heron%20Shire/163/76/115

Marcel Mosswood

SciFi Convention 2019, An Interview With Merky (Richmerk)

by Marcel Mosswood

So I’m ready for the SciFi Con 2019 that is held on May 17-26, 2019! I’m wearing my Star Trek costumes which I made for my Dinkie avatar months ago specifically to present the SciFi Convention 2019. I’ve done with my booth so today my agenda is to meet Merky (richmerk), the Coordinator of the committee for my interview about the SciFi Cons 2019. Here is the interview:

Merky (richmerk), The Coordinator of The Committee

Marcel: Hi Merky, let me introduce myself, I’m Marcel Mosswood, I would like to interview you for the SL Newser. I see that the Scifi Convention is very well prepared by your team. The landscape and the concept of the buildings are very attractive and professional. How long have all these preparations been made from the start?

Merky: Actually, because of real life issues, we got much less warning this year that we needed to build a convention, so everything you see here was created in just a few weeks.

The SciFi Con Sims

Marcel: Wow, that’s a really fast preparation for such a great event! I’ve read from the website that the event is held annually. Can you tell us the beginning of the idea of making this sci-fi event an annual event? Who are the avatars involved at the initial event?

Merky: The Scifi Cons go way back to the early days of SL. I don’t know the exact year because that was before I joined. Back in those days, it was a different group of people. I think originally a Real-Life group called the ‘International Federation of Trekkers’ was the force behind the conventions. When they caught the notice of the RFL, the Cons became more regular and larger.

Marcel: So, why do you associate Scifi Con with raising funds for RFL? Are there special reasons?

Merky: The Scifi Con has been with RFL since I joined the team. It’s a wonderful and worthwhile cause. They’ve always supported us, and because of their encouragement and advice, the Con is more successful now than it has ever been!

Marcel: I can say that is a good collaboration. What is your fundraising target for this year? And besides the fundraising, is there another goal that you would like to achieve?

Merky: In past years, I think the Cons have made around 1 million lindens. Last year we were a little smaller and only got 750k. This year though, Our goal is at least 2 million! There are a lot of generous people out there, the Con team is working overtime, and we have a lot more experienced help this year, so I’m sure we’ll reach it.

Marcel: About your great team, who are your team members? And how do you manage your teamwork to achieve your goals?

Merky: Myself and Debbydo are blessed this year with some great new helpers. We have a dedicated event manager this year, VєηυŞ (shayna.paine), who has worked tirelessly for weeks now to put together a solid lineup of shows and entertainments. The immense central domed building was constructed by Beth Delaunay (isilmeriel). The sims were built by Benjamin Brougham, StarWolff, and Varahi Lusch and Minions. Wolferein Foxdale’s job is basically to fix and make better all the stuff that I build, and mesh things. Kendra Mollsen (koreeah) is the troubleshooter and customer service girl. There are a bunch of other people also that were invaluable helpers both before and during the Con. We keep everything organized through Google Docs and Discord servers. Constant good communication is the key.

Marcel: Wonderful! I can see your work through the appearance of the Con. The last question but this may be inspiring others: Would you like to say something to our readers, maybe some quotes, which always motivates you during this fundraising activity? 

Merky: One of the things we did before the Con this year is come up with a theme song that reflects our core philosophy and what we try to accomplish in Second LIfe. Paul McCartney’s Hope for the Future (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=163_C5UVU-I).

Visit here to enjoy the sci-fi world, shop and donate for the Relay For Life: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SFC%20Atlantis/127/128/34

Marcel Mosswood

14th Raglan Shire Artwalk and Interview With Karmagirl Avro

by Marcel Mosswood

Raglan Shire Artwalk the 14th is being held at May 12 – June 16, 2019. This is an art exhibition involving several sims and includes the largest art exhibition on Second Life involving more than 175 artists. Yesterday, I went around all the sims all day at the Raglan Shire Artwalk accompanied by Karmagirl Avro (Karma Da Squabbit). She explained many things about the Artwalk.

The Raglan Shire Artwalk maps

“The first year we had two Artwalks, I think they were a three days event. Zayn Till, the Raglan Shire sims owner, saw a real-life art walk while living in Seattle, and wanted to bring that into Second Life,” she explained.

Karma said that the original intent of the Artwalk was a way for creative people to have a place to display their art. It was originally only for the community members but quickly spread to outside the tiny community. It is a free event, they've never charged rent for it, and this was the sim owners way of giving back as well as fostering creativity both in and out of the community.

The first year the Artwalk had two and it was a three days event. It is now a five-week long event. This one is the largest ever. Karma said that first few Artwalk had about 50 participants, and when she took over as director the Artwalk hit 100 that year. She set goals every year since and have hit them. It is over 180 participants this year, the biggest ever. 40% of the sculpture artists are first time participants to the Artwalk. 20% of the Artwalk participants are new. So even if you have been to every Artwalk you will see something new! “I am always excited to see both new and returning artists to the Artwalk,” said Karma.

One of the 2D art areas

The Raglan Shire Artwalk has had so many great works of arts from within and outside of the community, it's difficult to narrow it down to a few people. “But just off top of my head some very talented people: Silas Merlin, Panacea Pangaea, Maymay Maytov, Petunia Liveoak, Natalmari72, Reycharles, Skyblue Earthboy, Hadiya Draper, Denaliav, FionaFei, ViktorSavior, Layachi Ihnen,” said Karma.

One of the sculptures areas

When I asked her, “What do you think about art in Second Life? Is it have a good future?”

Karma answered, “I think art is evolving in Second Life with the advent of mesh. I remember how stunning it was to see mesh sculptures for the first time. There was one particular sculpture last year in Heron Shire that was so stunning I literally gasped when I saw it.”

“I was really excited last year that we had our first augmented reality art, which uses real-life sculptures and uploads them to a photo that can be scanned using an app to bring the sculptures to life! This display by Natalmari72 is back this year in Artwalk Area #4 in Raglan Shire. It's not to be missed!” said Karma while I watched the work of Magic Murti Lila on my Android phone.

The augmented reality art

Explore the great artworks by Second Life artists here:
Artwalk 2D art area #1: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/30/222/77
Artwalk 2D art area #2: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/68/148/58
Artwalk 2D art area #3: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/13/160/79
Artwalk 2D art area #4: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/75/245/22
Artwalk scuplture art area #1: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heron%20Shire/125/131/22
Artwalk scuplture art area #2: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Morning%20Shire/237/168/21
Artwalk scuplture art area #3: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Athen%20Shire/68/233/23
Raglan Shire Tree Gallery: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/122/59/59
Artwalk 2019 Vendor & Freebie area: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raglan%20Shire/116/29/59

Marcell Mosswood

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