Kat2 Kit's Memorial Service

On Thursday May 21, Kat2 Kit, known as Matt Shapoff in real life, passed away. About a week later on Wednesday May 27, a memorial service was held for him at his art studio. "The little panda," as his friends in Second Life called him with his avatar of choice was that of a tiny panda, had been involved with many activities here on the Grid, and over time had come to know a number of people. This included yours truly, whom had written about him twice a few years ago.

 Dropping in early at Kat2's studio at Montauk New York (128/157/24), which in addition to his cyanotype blue artwork now had a picture of him as a memorial, Petlove Petshop, whom he had worked with as part of Pooky Amsterdam's crew at "The 1st Question" game show, was already there. She described herself as "just mainly working on films" lately, and was interested in hearing how the Newser and I were doing.

It wasn't too long before others arrived. Alexa Steuart, upon seeing Kat's studio and picture, emoted *sighs and wishes Kat was ....* Jillian Skinstad commented, "Me too. I still haven't accepted it. Does anyone know what happened?" Petlove told, "I heard he was doing some chore around the house and just... went. (I) haven't heard exactly what, don't know."

RJ Kikuchiyo told the group he would be streaming a video of the memorial service live over Livestream,  "Cynthia, Matt' s beloved, will be able to watch from out there. ... Matt was fond of it being used as a tool inworld, too." He asked the group if anyone else had done a memorial service in Second Life. Alexa nodded, "I have been to way too many wakes in Second Life." It was mentioned Linden Lab used to have a memorial sim, and the Sunweaver's remembrance of Artistic Fimicloud just days before. RJ told, "years ago now, I started a monument to our fallen avatar friends on mainland Linden land - they've allowed me to continue updating it."

It was about this time Pooky Amsterdam showed up. She greeted the group, followed by, "It's a sad thing to have lost Kat." "Gone but never forgotten..." Petlove commented, "I have one of his cyanotypes on cloth of a snap from a 'Fritos' commercial we made under the glass on my desk." A few minutes later, RacerX Gullwing of the Giant Snail Races showed up. Then came a surprise, "Look who's here! It's Hydra." Hydra Shaftoe, Pooky's cohost on the game show, appeared. I hadn't heard from him since he left. Pooky commented, "Hydra said that everyone needs a little panda in their life."

Pooky Amsterdam then read aloud a poem, which she also texted, "Epitaph on a Friend"

An honest man here lies at rest,
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth:
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd,
Few heads with knowledge so inform'd;
If there's another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.

Robert Burns

 After that, people began telling stories about Kat, both in voice and in chat. Jillian commented, "I met Matt when I first came to SL to teach." Blitzckreed Levenque remarked, "Nobody else could get the mood up like him."

Panacea Luminos gave the following story, " 'I'm at requesting access to LISound New York to phototgraph the Montak Lighthouse RJ has built. I am a long island artist and have been collborating with RJ on real life 19th century prints I create using cynaotype and dyan dyke process non-silver processes.' Yes..RJ was our connector (smile). Attached was his artists statement, and that was interesting. But back in 2009 what really caught my fancy was this: 'I will be having a real life art exhibition in East Hampton this July, I would like to have a computer logged into Second Life during the Opening, with the avatar restricted to just investigating the Montauk Lighthouse.' And so it began. He opened my mind to some amazing possibilties in SL. He will be missed."

Alexa brought up, "I remember him from his dome on novi and building the train around his property. and being involved in tossing buses at him and pet and emmo on novi." Petshop responded, "That's right (giggle). He was truly an original." "Bus tossing at Kat good times," Alexa mused. Petlove looked to RJ, "RJ, you built the garage from 'Ferris Bheuler's Day Off' that time. If it hadn't been for Matt, I never would have seen that in SL." Jillian commented, "Matt was always dragging me some place. He always had a way of making things fun, interesting and inventive." "Kat was a FUN panda!" RJ reminisced. Pooky spoke, "He was a fun person & so full of life, it's too much, he is gone." RacerX Gullwing added, "Yeah, he was a great guy."

At this point, Pooky Amsterdam rezzed a ball with a panda picture, "The round panda ball is full of stuff of Kat and please take a copy too." To someone, she commented, "Oh emm gee, the alligators! He fought you as Mr Potato Head with light sabers to turn you into french fries." "Too funny." Petlove remarked. RJ added, "I can say that he would be very happy that you all  came today." Drusilla Poliatevska spoke, "It's clear he will be running around in our heads until we go."

At one point, Alexa commented, "Time for a river dance." RJ agreed, "Let's do something silly!!" And then everyone was dancing away, "I know this message of RANDOM is brought to you by one starry eyed panda!" Someone tried to wear an attachment, and ended up dancing while wearing a schooner, "wearing a sailboat (laughter)." A copy of the boat was placed in the water nearby, which had red Asian style sails, one with an image of a panda. A huge picture of Kat on his bicycle was also placed on the ground. On a nearby house, there were numerous pictures of him set up .

RJ told the group, "I should also mention that Kat2 Kitt's last prims are held on (the) mainland prim preserve near the lighthouse memorial, a link to the workshop where the 2015 booth was being worked on is on the gallery at the top of the montauk lights." RJ gave the link as Slapdoogle (170/35/3001), "RJ Kikuchiyo: and of course there is a memorial rock - in Linden's Blake Sea - Crow's Nest, where his name will be held (permanently)."

Then they got out a trampoline, and the bulk of the people started jumping up and down on it,  "Avatar tossed salad!" "Weeeee!" "Serious air!" "Woo hoo!" "How many can get on the trampoline?" Petlove, whom was still on the ground, chuckled "That's really funny to see you all doing that." Drusilla commented, "This is a fitting thing to be doing something very bizarre." Alexa mused, "Kat would love this. .. Take a movie, HOOOOOOOO!!!" Petlove did just that, "had to film a little bit of that (giggle)." A short clip of it would be placed at the end of an episode of "Happy Hunting" (link), "That thing was a perfect ending."

It was about this time that everyone began to say their goodbyes. Petlove had taken pictures of her own and posted on her Flickr (link). Pooky Amsterdam's message was the most poetic, "I'm going to go too, but say not good bye, say fare thee well. And we are faring always with Kat in our hearts."

And so Kat's friends went their separate ways. Second Life would go on. We would go on. But the fellow known in real life for his artistic blues and in Second Life for his panda antics would not be forgotten.

"Thank you Matt Kat2 wherever you are."




(Click here if the video fails to play - need to subscribe)


 Petlove's Flickr

SL Newser "Remembering Kat2 Kit"


Bixyl Shuftan

Racer X Gullwing's 10th Rezzday

By Bixyl Shuftan

Snail Race organizer RacerX Gullwing recently celebrated a Second Life milestone: his tenth rezzday. And on Saturday June 21st, he threw a big party. Silias Scarborough helped out by playing the music for the event.

Besides dancing with his longtime partner Safra Nitely, Racer did a slide show of pictures of his early days. At first, he looked like "Racer X" from the anime "Speed Racer," hence his name. Later on he would start and practice building until he had the bunny form he wears today.

The party was big in both attendance, and the variety of avatars who showed up, furs, tinies, micros, ponies, and of course regular human avatars.

One furry commented he had never seen such a variety of folk in a single place.

Tuna Oddfellow of "The Odd Ball" was among those attending.

So was Prokovy Neva, another noted resident.

Chakat Northspring of Team Firestorm was also there, and got into the act.

Everyone was happy, until some griefers showed up to try and spoil the party. Prokovy would later describe what happened in his blog.

But they were soon given the boot, and the party resumed. The message for the griefers was simple and to the point.

Despite that one slight problem at the end, everyone enjoyed themselves at this one of a kind rezzday party for the "unique bunny" of Second Life's racing scene.

*Addition* Racer would later made a video of his party.

RacerX 10th RezDay2

(click here if the video doesn't show)

Bixyl Shuftan

Giant Snail Race at Raglan Shire

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Saturday May 31, Raglan Shire was the scene of the month's cross-country Giant Snail Race. The Giant Snail Races are organized by RacerX Gullwing and his team. The races take place very Saturday, usually on RacerX's obstacle course in Devon Dream. But during the Relay for Life fundraising season, they hold a cross-country race on the last Saturday of Relay months. In the past, these races to raise funds for charity were held on the mainland. But starting this year, RacerX began offering a charity auction with the location of the next race as the prize. And Raglan won the chance to be the location for May's race.

Normally the snails in cross-country races are in two groups. Those paying a 2500 Linden entry fee start right on the starting line, with those paying a 500 L one starting a little further back. This time, there was an additional starting place further back,with an entry fee of  just 100L.

Across the tiny community, the giant snails made their way across streets, trails, ramps, streams, and walkways. The use of "teleport logs" made things a bit confusing as the snails tried to follow the course, some locals commenting "looks like now they're not sure what is going on." "I hadda idee dis wuz gonna be barely controlled chaos." "Thats nuffin' new in Raglan. Hehehe." But despite that and the lag, a good time was had by all.

The locals sat in various locations to watch the race. Some were showing their humor, such as this kitty looking like a patron at a French restaurant, which if you're a snail is the last place you want to be.

Raglan's tinies already have a reputation for having plenty of chaotic fun. The addition of giant snails just added to it. "We got runned ober!" "I BEEN SLIMED!!" "Ewwwww, tentacles touching me!!" "Told ya things could get crazy."

And at the end, there was the usual celebration and dance, with everyone who made their way to the finish line getting a trophy.

The unofficial list was as follows (RacerX accidentally crossed the line at 10):

 Lominola Rehula 1
 Lulee Babenco 2
 Bree Himmel 3
 Tapple Gao 4
 Vanessamendonca Resident 5
 Tindallia Soothsayer 6
 Alden Cortes 7
 Shady Fox 8
 Loopy String 9
 Temba Resident 11
 Fullauto Vandyke 12
 Cinders Vale 13
 Trebek Raymaker 14
 Caleb Kit 15
 Linn Darkwatch 16
 SkippyMcSkipperson Resident 17
 Galaxar Darkstone 18
 Cobbie Tigerpaw 19
 Kaydge Resident 20
 Seth Stratten 21
 Safra Nitely 22
 Rendal Constantineau 23
 Sweecahcahche Ah 24
 Panacea Pangaea 25
 Morganne Darkstone 26

RacerX would later offer a video of the race.



(click here if the video fails to play)

Bixyl Shuftan

SL10B – Ego-Tripping with DrFran

By DrFran Babcock

You know how when you see a group picture, the only thing you really look at is yourself? If you are being honest with yourself, you know this is so. That’s why I did a double take as I walked by one of the builds at The Second Life™ Tenth Birthday (SL10B) and ran right into a very old picture of me! In fact, there are three times I show up at the event, and I will tell you about them

Giant Snail Racing Throughout History

I imagine that most readers don’t know that I was an announcer for the Snail Races long ago. I was probably the grid’s worst snail racer, but I found a niche adding color commentary to the races. My favorite memory of that time was when I shared about the true fact that snails had both male and female reproductive organs, and could make their own babies without any help. It was the first time that Treet TV lost the focus on the race. I still smile whenever I think about it.

RacerX Gullwing is the founding rabbit of the Snail Races. He has been running these races continuously almost since he was rezzed in 2004. I know of no other Second Life™ event that has run as long as the Snail Races. They have been on various sims. When I first starting to attend, they were on the old sim of Montmartre. They are now housed on Devon Dreams, where RacerX lives with his darling bride, Safra Nitely. With Safra and Tindallia Soothsayer, Racer pretty much creates a new theme for the races, and holds the races every week. At the build here at SL10B you can learn a lot about the history of the races, and get many freebie snail avatars. I recommend trying to race if you have a pretty fast computer, and you have never tried it before.

By the way, while at the build, be sure you check out my Snail Race Trading Card, displayed prominently on the wall surrounding the display.

Visit Giant Snail Racing Through History: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Enchant/33/239/22

SL Newser Building at SL10B

This tall and majestic building, created by Qwark Allen, is the home of SL Newser for the duration of the celebration. You can take an elevator up to the observatory on top, where you will get a 360 degree view of SL10B. You can also see a recreation of the table around which we meet monthly to plan out story ideas and leads. It should not surprise you that this month we focused a lot of energy on SL10B.

SL Newser is one of the few remaining Second Life™ tabloids on the grid, and the reporters, my pals, are committed to bringing always the most recent, interesting, and informative news about ten-year-old SL.

While you are in the lobby, be sure to find the picture of me. That’s number two out of three.

SL Newser Building at SL10B: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Astonish/186/73/23

Now & Then – Avatar Portrait Project by Kristine Kristan

The final place you will find DrFran is at the photography build of Kristine Kristan—a display worth visiting for the build alone—not just to see the photos there. Kristine had the genius idea of doing photo-montages of residents with their old avatars and their current avatars. This was a stunning use of the theme: Looking Forward, Looking Back.

I caught up with Kristine and asked her how she got led to this project:

Kristine: It just seemed like the obvious choice. I’ve been having fun with SL photography and digital editing for a few months, and I did a series of staged portraits of myself for a project.  I never had others pose for me. Once I knew I was accepted I started planning the build and the sets, and getting  the word out that I needed willing models. I was lucky to have both very good friends and some artists themselves pose for me. I was shooting portraits right up until the morning of opening day. I’m really happy with how it has all turned out. I think people are having fun with the “Do-it-Yourself” section, digging out those old avatars. It was just for SL10B though, so once its over I think I will put all the portraits in The Time Capsule and find something else to do!

What you will see at the Now & Then exhibit is a series of creative photographs of avatars that shows what they looked like when they were newbies, and what they look like now. Kristane’s photography skills really shine, because each individual photo is a gem. There are pictures of residents that might be well-known such as Crap Mariner (who looked like Toulouse Lautrec when he was new), Marianne McCann, and many others. If you look at these and think that you wish you had one, too, despair not. Just go upstairs and make your own.

Avatar Portrait Project Then & Now: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Astonish/186/73/23

Oh, and before I go, please go see my exhibit. You will find dozens of free souvenirs from the history of this great virtual world.

Second Life™ Classy Souvenirs: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL10B%20Stupendous/24/100/62

Happy Birthday, Second Life™

DrFran Babcock