Fried dumplings .. yum

Make your way to the Downtown sim if you like urban detail and oh yes .. fried dumplings. I don't think I've spent as much time on a sim lately as I did today on Downtown. It's a wonderfully developed urban/inner city setting with a wealth of interesting shops and a subway that you can ride to key intersections.

The entire sim is well done, and I particularly appreciated the attention to details from the graffiti on the walls and the subway train, to the used record store and the gentlemen's reading room. There was room for growth on the sim, and I am looking forward to the next phase of development from this creative set of developers.

posted by Grace McDunnough on Downtown using a blogHUD : [permalink]

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Cemetery plots for hire in Second Life

For L$400 a month, you can rent a cemetery plot to house your loved one's tomb on Memoris island.

This is a beautiful tribute sim and the plots have touching sentiments, but I need to read a bit more on Japanese culture to fully understand the draw. Most of the literature is in Japanese, so if anyone can and would like to translate please drop me a note.



Many thanks to Kosso for fixing the blogHUD cross posting to Blogger!

posted by Grace McDunnough on Memoris using a blogHUD : [permalink]

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A Bonfire in Second Life

Colorado Technical University and the House of Flames are hosting BONFIRE 2007 to celebrate the grand opening of CTU's island in Second Life.


BONFIRE 2007 will be twenty-four hours of live music in Second Life and it promises to be a great event. The festivities start on Friday, June 1st at 12:00 PM PDT/SLT and run through Saturday, June 2nd at 12:00 PM PDT/SLT. The BONFIRE 07 Lineup (all times PDT/SLT):

Friday June 1st
12PM - Kurt Jano (www.myspace.com/kurtbestormusic)
1PM - Linder Paine (www.billwagnermusic.com)
2PM - Tone Uriza/Speelo Snook (www.tonystorpedoes.com)
3PM - CyberPiper (www.cyberpiper.com)
4PM - Grace McDunnough (grace.weebly.com)
5PM - Ricardo Sprocket (www.myspace.com/richpetko)
6PM - Cylindrian Rutabaga (www.myspace.com/gracefolk)
7PM - Niko Donburi (www.nikodonburi.com)
8PM - Wendy Curtiss (www.wendy-lee.com)
9PM - Louis Volare (www.louislandon.com)
10PM - Juel Resistance (www.myspace.com/7juel)
11PM - Luigi DiPrima

Saturday June 2nd
12 AM - Tone Uriza (www.myspace.com/tonyandthetorpedoes)
1AM - Konny Kembla
2AM - Jaynine Scarborough (www.myspace.com/julianegabriel)
3AM - DWditty Delweg (www.myspace.com/dwditty)
4AM - Paisley Beebe (www.myspace.com/leoniesmith)
5AM - Andy Glasgow (www.myspace.com/jem777guitarist)
6AM - Spaceman Opus
7AM - Picker Apogee (www.myspace.com/robvanniel)
8AM - Cesar Pakula (www.myspace.com/cesaracho)
9AM - Jellyjellyjelly Benelli
10AM - Virtual Live Band (www.virtualliveband.com)
11AM - Shiger Seattle (www.myspace.com/shiger)

About CTU
Colorado Technical University (CTU) is an accredited institution of higher learning with campuses in three states, as well as an online division. CTU offers degree programs from the Associate level to the Doctorate in a number of disciplines such as: IT, Software Engineering, Systems Security, Computer Science, Management, Business Administration, and Healthcare. Classes can be taken in a number of delivery formats and now can even be held in the virtual world of Second Life. To find out more about the programs at CTU, visit the Colorado Technical University Island at Colorado Tech (200, 126, 22)

About HoF
The House of Flames is a small showcase venue that features live performances from some of the most popular singers, songwriters and musicians in Second Life. We invite you to join the group to receive the latest concert updates and information. You will find the House of Flames Group in Second Life under groups/House of Flames.

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Second Life Welcomes Microsoft

A tip from Mark at 3pointd reminded me that Millions of Us is ushering Microsoft Visual Studio to Second Life. I teleported to the island this morning to check things out.

There are actually two Microsoft islands that officially open Thursday May 10th, 6PM SLT according to the sign posted at the landing point. The pair are a bit sparse although they may be dedicated to a game indicated by a sign in the lobby of the auditorium that says:

This isn't your average game. You may have noticed something floating high above the island. A select few will gain access to it and reap rich rewards. But be warned, this is not for the faint of heart or meek of mind.

The something floating above the island is a blimp, and you can see a bit more of it in the promotional video on YouTube entitled "What's In The Blimp?".

My guess is this is a play to tap into the machinima community. If you haven't seen the Microsoft Visual Studio Defy All Challenges promo site dedicated to machinima, you should go check it out. Other rumors are that future releases of Second Life will run only on the Microsoft OS. (ok, I made that up)
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Virtual Worlds Fair Coming To Second Life

I don't normally report on things *about* to happen, but this was too compelling to wait.

My friend Frank Koolhaas (aka Mario Gerosa in RL) is planning what he calls the "First World Fair of the Virtual Worlds" in Second Life. From his blog post:

This project is the First World Fair of the Virtual Worlds, which will be held in SL and will host tens of stands with representatives of all the main virtual worlds (for example, a dragon will be in the World of Warcraft stand, while there will be an astronaut in the Entropia Universe stand), which will show the marvels of the place they come from by means of posters and videos.

This is the first project from Lifelog Studios, a new venture for Mario and friends. I haven't had a chance to catch up with Mario for comment yet, but this appears to be another fantastic project from the author of "Second Life" (Meltemi, 2007).
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Bundoran Reef

I'm just about to get washed out to sea by the amazing surf at Bundoran Reef on the tip of the West of Ireland estates. This could be a whole new SL addiction for me ....

This is my first blogHUD cross-post, and I must admit I am digging it. Many thanks to my friend DrFran for giving me the inspiration to finally set this up and to Koz Farina for his fabulous gadget.

posted by Grace McDunnough on Bundoran Reef using a blogHUD : [permalink]

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Ask Patty About Cars and Second Life

Second Life Indagatrix: Ask Patty
Ask Patty is launching a Second Life venue on Pontiac's Motorati Island. You say you've never heard of AskPatty.com? Well then, shame on you. Go read the Press Release for the requisite details then you *must* go see this build. If you want to join the festivities, the grand opening is May 11th from 4-9PM SLT and if I didn't have a live music gig, I'd definitely be there.


I'll tell you up front that I *love* this build. It's small but appropriate, and I would gush for pages about it, but since most of you didn't even know who Patty was (tsk tsk) I'll just give you a handful of reasons I think it's a brilliant new entry.

1) Tap the Creative Brain Trust
While it's true that the big 3-4 developers have scooped up a lot of the Second Life creative class and have them grinding out large corporate installations, SL is not short of creative genius. Patty Streeter hit pay dirt by selecting the talented Osprey Therian. And, for big bonus points in my book, Patty took the time to recommend Osprey on the SL Universe forums.

2) Smash, Mash, Blend the Brand
I appreciate builds that blend branding with what the Second Life platform provides, and this installation certainly does. The stylish roadster houses an office as well as interactive spark plugs that allow you to access the services that AskPatty.com provides.

3) Spread the Love
AskPatty buttons and t-shirts allow you to take the brand with you. Yes, I know we all hate to follow the little blue box back to the web, but *some* day this won't be as painful.

4) Choose the Right Location
The AskPatty build is located on Motorati which is technically the appropriate alignment. I know, you are asking yourself "do any women actually go to Motorati?" I suspect women who are interested in cars may drop by, but is that the target audience? This may be the achilles heel for Patty and friends, only time will tell.

5) Mix it Up
Don't forget about the power of mixed media. Osprey did a short machinima piece, but I do wish there was more variety of content in the build such as the AskPatty podcast.




Go on, take it for a spin.


Editors note: I've decided to drop the "Second Life Indagatrix" from my post titles as it was confusing several people as well as search engines.
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Second Life Indagatrix: Geek Squad Island

I saw the announcements earlier this month, but just recently found my way to Geek Squad Island. The build promotes the Geek Squad services, and has office hours from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. EDT, seven days a week which may come in very handy after Wednesday's update. According to the Geek Squad site,

Geek Squad Island will act as the virtual home for Geek Squad, a place where customers and Agents can interact in digital space. Housed atop a pair of volcanoes connected by a steel-and-glass transit system, the island is an immersive environment in which residents can explore the Geek Squad mythos, interact one-on-one with real life Geek Squad Agents in avatar form and test out a virtual representation of real world support services.

There is an underground amphitheater and transit system from which you can take a transit tube ride to either the House of the Future or The Volcano and History Museum. If you are sensitive to motion, I would recommend that you just fly. The transit tubes are interesting, but a blur of grey and orange was not my personal favorite although I did get this great inside shot.


The House of the Future has a tour HUD; don't miss it like I did on the first visit. It provides you with a description of the elements that a well-equipped futuristic house might have such as a Murphy bed. Yes, I said Murphy bed. Who needs a Geek Squad when you have a Murphy bed?


The Volcano area has a spinning disc platform over the volcano on which to entertain yourself with bumper cars. If you've come alone you may get bored quickly since there aren't any NPC around to abuse or bump. And a note to the ladies or gents wearing kilts, you have to wear a bumper car attachment that will attach where your skirt *was* so be forewarned.
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Second Life Indagatrix: Get Your Trek On

I knew the time would come when I'd admit my secret weakness for .. Star Trek. And yes, it was with great glee that I stumbled across an event listing today which read:

Admiral - There Be Whales Here!
The Star Trek Museum invites you to meet the newest members of our family, George and Gracie. These humpback whales were brought here from the 20th century by Admiral James T. Kirk in an effort to re-populate the species. They can be viewed from the observation area to the south of the Star Trek Museum. TovaDok II (89, 213, 23)

I had to read it three or four times since oddly enough, the only reason I found this little slice of heaven was that it was listed under the Live Music category. Yes, I have heard the mermaids singing, but whale watching listed under live music events? I think it's a creative stretch. Live music in Second Life is so popular that it's practically the only category people actively seek out from the events which has made it vulnerable to piles of misplaced (i.e. spam) listings. But, this was Star Trek's George and Gracie, and most was forgiven.


Sabri Piccard is the TovaDok II owner and Star Trek Science museum curator, and his handiwork is a skillful mix of creativity and collaboration, as many of the museum pieces such as the star field are shared or open source works. The museum itself is expansive and well done with abundant literature about each section. There are far too many features to list here, and Sabri's museum site offers far more interesting content than I could hope to produce. Hop on this SLurl and take a look for yourself. Take your time and look around, I think you too will be impressed.

I got a sneak peek at George and Gracie, both fine examples of Megaptera novaeangliae and the creation of Kaikou Splash of Splash Aquatics. I could not gather images to do them justice, but here is a machinima piece of another humpback whale resident at Commonwealth. If you go to the watch watching platform, be sure to pick up a note card which contains many interesting tidbits and a bonus whale plushy, courtesy of T'Sora Enoch.


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Second Life Indagatrix: Commonwealth

There are days when you stumble upon something that has been right in front of you all along. It's pleasantly frustrating, and a humble reminder that there are no coincidences, only those moments at which you decide to pay attention. On Monday I stumbled upon Commonwealth Island after following a SLURL from a 3pointd post about EnviroLink and their geolocated feeds project.

I teleported to a tiny glass platform inside the GeoGlobe and was met by Hayduke Ebisu. Hayduke (aka John Knauer) is a friendly and bright avi who seems to have dabbled in many interesting SL projects including SLQuery and is the proprietor of the beautifully tranquil Commonwealth Island.

Commonwealth is stashed among a neighborhood of sims that are loosely related, and mostly dedicated to information and education. It borders the famous Info island, which is why I was surprised to not have seen it earlier in my travels. Commonwealth is a project of the EnviroLink Network, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization since 1991 and includes several meeting places and US Forest Service-like buildings used to host participating organizations. According to the welcome notecard:

Commonwealth Island is about building a community in Second Life focused around organizations working for social equity and environmental sustainability. Commonwealth will provide a starting place for organizations who wish to try out spreading their mission/message in Second Life without making a big financial and time commitment.

There are a number of recognizable and worthwhile groups hosted on Commonwealth. I'm not going to spell them all out here for you - nay, jump on that SLurl and go check this place out for yourself and when you do, don't miss the hang-gliding and the geothermal feature. You'll be glad you did.
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Congratulazioni Mario

This post is nothing but gush about the most recent accomplishment of my dear friend Frank Koolhaas in Second Life. Frank, aka Mario Gerosa just had his book entitled "Second Life" published in Italy by Meltemi.

When I first met Frank in late 2006, I was immediately drawn to his exuberance and wonderful Italian charm and I am sure much of this is reflected in his book. Frank and I are one third of the Kuurian Expedition leadership, we are the domestic and international "Consul", as appointed by Poinky Malaprop. Our on-going friendship is one of those classic and cherished conincidences that seem to be so prevalent in Second Life. During one of our first conversations, Frank declared that he was going to write a book and at that time I was certain it would be primarily about his passion - architecture - but in the end, Frank wrote about the cultures and trends of the Second Life experience from art, architecture, sex, business, travel and law as relayed by numerous Second Life residents and their diverse perspectives.

Frank presented the book to the SL community at a Kuurian event on Monday and in true Frank form, even had the publisher in world to participate in the discussion. An English version should be released, although during the presentation to the SL community on Monday the time frame was not specific.

If my Italian was better, I would highlight some of my favorite parts, but so far all I've translated is the section I wrote in the chapter "Piccolo dizionario enciclopedico per il futuro di SL". Go get a copy!
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Second Life Indagatrix: Weather

I stopped by The Weather Channel's new Second Life presence today to soak in what I thought might be a more spectacular weather-themed experience than the NOAA sim. My expecations were not met, and were probably misaligned anyway since NOAA is all about the science of weather, and The Weather Channel is about linear network broadcasting. I don't know what I was thinking.



The Weather Channel islands offer Residents three interactive experiences they've called "Epic",Extreme Skiing, Moab Desert Biking, and Big Wave Surfing. None of these really held any appeal for me personally, but you may find a few minutes to waste here.


If you aren't into extreme sports, you can view some linear programming from The Weather Channel on a big screen and a smaller set of viewing areas inside a central pavilion.


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Second Life Indagatrix: Leo Burnett

This is the first post in a new series I'm calling Second Life Indagatrix (with apologies to my good friend Poinky Malaprop). If you know what the latin word "indagatrix" means these posts will be self explanatory, and if you don't look it up and exercise your brain - it's good for you.

Today we're exploring the Second Life island of Leo Burnett. If you are not familiar with this icon of advertising, then while you are looking up indagatrix, spend some time learning about this creative genius and his company.

The apple story is an important piece of Leo Burnett legend and it was a logical extension to erect an enormous apple tree on the island. The development was commissioned by Millions of Us, but the work of crafting what might be the largest single tree in Second Life fell to Foolish Frost. This avi can build a tree.


The inside of the Tree (I feel like it should be a proper noun on this island) has a library, garden and museum to explore as well as a few platform type observation decks. Which reminds me, I'd love to play a live music gig in a tree!

The apple tree is the island centerpiece, but it is offset by smaller interesting fantasy-like structures built by Versu Millionsofus. Versu, of the Datavision sponsored 3 days in real life/second life fame, developed a series of fantasy like platforms and birdhouse dwellings that are so cute I may just move in.


Visit Leo Burnett's place in Second Life. You can clutter your inventory with a flying pencil .. from which we know come big ideas, and who doesn't need one of those?
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