Various Relay Events in February

By Bixyl Shuftan

 It's been about two weeks since the Relay for Life's season Kickoff on Saturday February 15. As soon as it ended, other events began happening right away. Among the first, at 11:30 AM taking place within walking distance from the stage where the Kickoff took place was a "Family Feud"  game between some of the Linden Moles and some noted Relayers.

While the Relayers were in the lead while I was there to watch it, the Moles were not going down without a fight, "Mole powah!"

Later that day were other events. This included "RFL Celebrates Mardi Gras." It took place at 4PM at "The Club" in the Yes sim.

A few days later on the evening of February 18 at 7PM SL time, Matt Carlton DJed in front of a crowd at the Home and Garden stage.

Matt played a number of country songs, such as "Live Like You Were Dying," "I'm Going To Love You Through It," "He Rode All The Way To Texas," and "What Do You Say."

"Another good one was 'Braid Her Hair,' Nspire, lesser-known singer that I always forget about and he's really good. But it's kind of like Rascal Flatts' 'Skin,' about a young girl that has cancer. But this one tells about how she dreams about all the things that she can do if she wasn't sick, and it's really pretty people liked it really well too."

The following night, Matt and I were chatting, and decided to stop by the Relay Hard Cafe. Located high above the Woodloch sim and run by Team Shadow, it had it's last scheduled event the night before and was to be taken down soon.

"We are not renewing our tier," Gem Sunkiller would later tell me, "We have a new place for weekly dance parties. We will be at the Washburn on Wednesdays." She would tell me the Cafe had been operating since 2014, "Before that it was weekly pool parties or weekly parties on the dock. The Cafe saw many great events, and the sense of community there helped some Relayers form lasting friendships." Of the events, "Most all of them were interesting.  I remember an evening where rock was the theme and most people were jamming on their guitars. Last Strides season it was home for our Strides campaign. All that pink was interesting." She had a hard time picking out a favorite event, though one had something spontaneous and unplanned, "One night we were jamming away, and the cheerleaders from one of the high school teams took over with a drill formation. I forget which team that was, but it added so much fun." Of the team captain, "(Sasha) says her two favorite where the night we dressed as an airline crew, and the Latin/Salsa night.

"We never knew what form our fellow Relayers would take, some were human, some were animals, some were fantasy creatures, and all were welcome. The friendships that were formed, the spirit that was ignited, and mutual respect and care between those who attended over the years is the most memorable part.  We hope to continue those same values at our new location, and take it higher.  We are ready, Game On!

"We may be back with the Relay Hard one day."

Most days, there was a Lantern Release Ceremony, in which numerous Asian paper lanterns were lit and let loose to float into the night sky.

Nothing is more beautiful, and a wonderful time to reflect on those we have lost.  One person commented yesterday, " It is like sending little prayers or kisses to heaven."   

Friday night February 21, the Steelhead Salmons had their first event, which was "Sims themed." Held in Steelhead Bay, Fuzzball Ortega, the estate owner, was the DJ. Almost 3000 Lindens were raised that night, bringing the team total to almost 11,000 Linden dollars.

On Saturday February 22 was "Roll for a Cure" by "We Are Dragons," high above Moonlight Caye, "If you love D and D come on over."

Come join We are Dragons in rolling Initiative against cancer!! Located at Barkuloo Retreat in the game room at 3pm SLT!! Open player seats to the earlest an willing for adventure!!

It was amusing, and a bit ironic, seeing dragons roleplaying an adventure game as humans. In the game, the characters are tasked with dealing with a bad of goblins that keeps making trouble. Their job isn't necessarily to kill them, just deal with them so they stop being a problem. Getting creative, they get some liquor, and persuade the goblins there's a big party in town. The goblins end up getting drunk, and the town guards easily toss them in jail. While some wonder if this was a waste of good ale, the characters are complemented on their cleverness.

On Sunday February 23 was a "Show and Tell" by Saffia Widdershins. It was at 2PM the Theater at the Hope 3 sim.

People could show off either old items, or interesting items they'd gotten along the way. One of Saffia's favorite's was a "Big Apple" hat. "I can hear the taxi horns and sirens on your hat Saffia," someone from the audience mused.

While I've collected plenty of stuff over the years (mostly notecards and landmarks), what stood out to me was the six inch "microkitty" avatar made by Lomgren Smalls several years ago.

But what stole the show were a couple miniature builds by Cassie Eldemar (Cashew Writer).

 "It's a replica. Well, my interpretation, of one of the Carnegie libraries."

For a little comedy, Saffia rezzed a large coffee cup, which had been made into a kind of hot tub. Would hot-tubbing in coffee be a java addict's dream?

These were just a few of the various Relay for Life happenings in the past two weeks. Be sure to watch for more in the next few months, peaking in early June with the Relay Weekend.

"Game on Cancer!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes From The Relay For Life Christmas Expo

From December 5 to today December 15th, the Christmas Expo has taken place. Sponsored by the Relay For Life, the event has raised funds for The American Cancer Society through both donations in kiosks, and goods offered for sale with the proceeds going to the charity. But the expo was more than just shopping. The scenery was picturesque, and there were a number of music events.

A few maps were around to show people where to go in the four sim shopping area.  There were also a few sims to the east.

 More than seventy merchants provided goods of all kinds, especially Christmas-themed ones.

 And there were a few places to stop and warm oneself when just looking around.

The snow-covered cobblestone streets made for a scene out of an old-time Christmas story.

 The inside of the shops involved much scenery too.

 But there was more to do than just shop. One could just walk around and enjoy the scenery.

 The Gazebo, where a number of music events took place, the tunes broadcasted over T-1 Radio.

 One could walk, or one could ski.

 The online newsletter Prim Perfect, by Saffia Widdershins, was also there.

 At 2PM Dec 10th, I came across a discussion.

Saffia's subject was the "Urchins of Babbage," talking to Jimmy Branagh, and Myrtil Igaly. Jimmy is also a member of the Steelhead community. They talked quite a bit about their adventures.

Relayer Dwen Dooley pranced around in a deer avatar, or sat down. The dark unicorn Avariel Falcon was also walking around.

Another look at the Gazebo, from a musical bash on Thursday Dec 12 by DJ Mandy.

Mandy the Elf has taken over the airwaves here at the Expo. She's got a backpack full of gifts, and a playlist full of terrific Christmas songs for all of you. Come in your holiday best and join the fun!

And boys and girls could also sit on Santa's lap to let him know what one wanted for Christmas. But the girls didn't necessarily have to be little.

 

On Saturday Dec 14th, the "Holidays of Hope Ball" took place from 4 to 8 PM.

Trader Whiplash and Nula Maracas provided the music for the event, of which Victorian Age wear was encouraged as to give the look of the "Dickens Fantasy" theme.

There was a raffle at the Ball, which was won by Chevelly SilentGhost and Kerri Imari Criss.

It was an event enjoyed by all.

Today December 15th marks the last day of the event. So there is one more day to enjoy the scenery and the music. And events such as the Avi Choice awards.

Bixyl Shuftan

The SL9B Commencement Speech

Monday June 18th was the first official day of the Second Life Ninth Birthday. Like others before it, this one began with a commencement speech. Before, it had been done by one of the Lindens. But this time, Linden Lab wasn't involved in the anniversary event at all, save for a little publicity on the destination and events guides on it's website. So someone else would be giving it.

The speech was scheduled at 11AM, and as the time approached, people began gathering at the four-sim cake stage to wait for the speaker. It was anticipated that the four sims would be crowded, so it was announced the speech would be heard on the radio streams covering the road system. For some reason, the majority were showing up in the southeastern cake sim of Tisa, including the large dragon avatars present. When it's numbers approached fifty, staff began asking people to move from the southwest corner to other sims. The northeast sim of Neun had less than half, and sometimes less than a third of the people whom were on Tisa. At one point, one of the sims went offline. 

 Finally at 11:30AM came an announcement, "Thank you for joining us! It is my great pleasure to introduce our speaker. This woman is one of those most responsible for the existence of this centralized celebration." And to the calls of "Yay!" and "Yes!" stepped up the speaker, Second Life media personality Saffia Widdershins of the Prim Perfect blog and the "Designing Worlds" Tree.tv show.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to SL9B!" Saffia spoke in voice, with the speech also announced throughout the four sims in chat, "Welcome to over three hundred exhibits created by the denizens of Second Life and spread across twenty sims. Welcome to a week of music and performance by the finest in Second Life. And there will, unfortunately, be lag.  And possibly, like a rainstorm on the barbecue, there will be sim crashes.  But, you know, we live in Second Life.  We’ll keep calm and carry on."

 "There’s presents – yes. It’s just like those parties you had when you were very young, at least you do in the UK, when you leave with a swag bag of goodies. There’s cake. There’s beer. Please remember, though, to take your litter home with you."


"They suggested that we take the theme of community, and celebrate in our own communities. I think I can safely say that that decision disappointed a great many. There were those people who had already started their builds, in anticipation of the opportunity to exhibit on the largest communal platform that Second Life annually offers. There were scores – no, hundreds of people who were preparing to donate their time and energy to the celebrations: the musicians, the educators, the greeters, the estate managers and assistants."

"But we nearly didn’t carry on at all.  Back in April, on April 16th, just over two months ago, there was an announcement by the grid operators, Linden Lab, that they would not be donating any sims for the community birthday party this year. What would we have lost, if we had accepted what Linden Lab had said, and partied in our own communities? I think the clear answer is that we would have lost our sense of a greater community."

"Many of us belong to strong communities: lifestyle communities, national communities, role play communities, study or work-based communities, communities of interest. And we have parties there – fantastic, wonderful parties."

"But … We would have lost the sense of being part of the greater community. We could have done that for the Birthday. We would have lost our sense of awe and wonder at what we can achieve individually, as new exhibits continue to astound us and delight us. We would have lost the crazy serendipity of seeing wonderful things rubbing shoulders with each other. We would have lost the chance to salute people who make our virtual lives, and our real lives, a better place."

"But that didn’t happen."

"For what was an agonizing month, there seemed to be hope. But finally, on May 9th, just over a month ago, it became clear that there would be no communal sims from the Lab. And with that final 'No,' it all seemed hopeless. How could the huge birthday party, the biggest annual celebration in Second Life, be gathered together, organized, built and launched in what amounted to ... five weeks?"

"And that was when we found our fantastic sponsors. Let’s salute Zeebster Colasanti and his team from DreamSeeker Estates, who donated ten sims, and his lead here at SL9B, Samantha Ohrberg. Let’s salute Callie Cline of KittyCatS and Equinox Pinion and Dennis Lagan of Fruit Islands, who donated two sims each. Let’s salute our anonymous donor, who gave a further six sims. Thank you – for having faith in the Birthday, for having trust in the community that we would make the birthday happen. Thank you for your belief in the Second Life community."

"As we started pulling things together, I heard one question more and more: 'Why are you celebrating Second Life’s birthday, when Linden Lab can’t be bothered to? Why are all you people putting in time, and money and so much work when Linden Lab can’t even drop twenty sims on the grid for a month and say, 'Here you are. Get on with it.' ”

"And, you know, I have an answer for that. It’s not Linden Lab’s birthday. It’s ours."

"Yes, Linden Lab have created the framework. They have given us the grid, the land on which to build our dreams, and sometimes our nightmares.  They hold the data that drives our Second Lives. They’ve given us the power and the ability to shape our imaginations in virtual forms. Amazing, wonderful virtual forms. But, it’s not their birthday. It’s ours."

"I hope that on June 23rd they’ll be opening the champagne in the Lab, maybe some of it non-alcoholic, and much of it organic. They are, after all, in California. I hope that they’ll be exchanging a few stories, a few laughs, a few guilty chuckles over where the bodies are buried.  I hope that one or two will raise some bright shiny ideas, 'Hey, wouldn’t this be cool to do?' And I hope that they then don’t spring that shiny coolness on us without consultation and rigorous testing! And I hope they raise a glass, a rueful, bewildered, maybe slightly apprehensive, maybe slightly awed glass of champagne, and drink to the denizens of Second Life – that awesome, troublesome, mulish, mutinous, sarcastic, angry, loving, fabulously creative group of real life people who make Second Life what it is."

"Because it’s not Linden Lab’s birthday.  It’s ours. We built it. Everything you see here – and everything you will see across the grid was built by the denizens of Second Life. Who hoped that people would want to come – and wondered, to begin with, if we needed more than four sims. Or ten. And who were then deluged by people wanting to join us and be part of the Best Birthday Ever."

"The Exhibitor Assistants who have been on hand 24/7 to make sure that everyone who needed help and support would have it – pretty damn near instantly. Doctor Gascoigne. KT Syakumi. Diana Renoir. Honour Macmillan. Marianne McCann. Rails Bailey. Crap Mariner. Thank you. Without you, this wouldn’t have happened. Without your hard work, your perseverance, your unparalleled ability to stay patient and smiling in the face of everything that the grid and its denizens can throw at you has been just mindblowing."

"But none of this celebration  would have happened without the efforts of a small, dedicated and totally awesome group of people who took those twenty sims and bashed them into shape. The stage managers who will be making sure the stages stay stable, and that the streams work and all the artists appearing are happy.  So, thank you. hank you to Mikati Slade, who built this amazing four sim Birthday Cake stage. hank you to Kaz, Kazuhiro Aridian who built the Lake stage. Thank you to Donpatchy Dagostino, who built the Lotus stage and the wonderful train. Thank you again to KT Syakumi who created the breathtaking Egyptian stage … and the breath-holding underwater stage!"

"Thank you to Artistide (Artee) Despres, who made the Community Hub that links this event to the other SL9B events that are happening across the entire grid. Thank you to Bo Tiger – whose lovely HUD is going to have us all bouncing happily from A to J and back over to Q ... Thank you to Yavanna Llanfair who has made the pod tours that provide the most amazing way of seeing the sims. And thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who have come together to make sure this happens. And thank you to all those people donating gifts to the Egyptian expedition and to David Abbot for writing the fun tale you’re all about to read!"

"This was the year of the hasty training classes, the year of the flying by the seat of our pants, the panics and the crazy improvisations and the last minute ideas so shiny that they just had to be acted on. This was the year of the last minute birthday party and, I hope you’ll all agree, we pulled it off. And while all that was going on, we had to make sure that people knew – so they would know to come and visit. o from the beginning, there was a team of bloggers and media people dedicated to making sure that the word got out to as many people as possible. Daniel Voyager, Inara Pey, and Ginette Pinazzo."

"This was the year of the 'last minute.' his was the year of discovering that more and more people wanted to join us, to help, to perform – so this was the year of the last minute fifth stage and the frantic re-arranging of schedules. But, thank heavens, it doesn’t have to be like this. Next year is the Big One.  The Tenth Birthday. We’ll be entering double figures – and we’ll be shouting to the world that Second Life is bigger and better than it ever was – a place where we have claimed our world for our imagination. Because it will be Huge.  There will be more sims, more exhibits, more art, more music, more of everything than ever before.  And, believe me, we’ll be prepared. And we’ll be holding our first planning meeting  ... well, maybe in a month or so."

"Because today, and for the rest of this week, we’re going to PARTY!"

"So unleash the Dragons! Bring on the dancing tinies!"

"We’re NINE and we’re going to PARTY!"

And with that, the audience cheered. The dragons roared, some flying up into the air. A line of tinies began doing Raglan Shire's characteristic "Riverdance." And everyone else erupted in cheers of "Yes!" "Yay!" and applause gestures.

"We did it!" "Thank goodness these people didn't take that 'No!'" "Happy Birthday!" " 'cause it's OUR birthday too!!!" "Cause it's OUR Community!!!" "WOOOT! OUR Birthday!!!! Community Birthday!!!!!!!!!" "Happy Birthday to US!!!!!" "OUR birthday and NOT Linden Lab's!" "(I'm) very happy to be called a 'denizen of Second Life!' Thanks to them all from the bottom of our hearts!!!"

With the end of the commencement, the sims across the SL9B region opened, though not without some trouble as some had trouble 'porting in, and the lag made it difficult for some to move around.

But it was a speech that made a great deal of residents proud.



*Update* The recording of the opening, by Petlove Petshop for Metaworld Broadcasting (turn up the volume).

Bixyl Shuftan