The New Zooby's

The most realistic pets in sl.

inV Remembers 9/11

The 9/11 Memorial in Second Life is a sobering reminder of the lives lost in the terrorists attacks that still affect us today. The large walls with names listed by location on the infamous date provides strong visual evidence of the sorrow on what started out to be a normal fall day.

Another area of the memorial provides a human aspect by displaying pictures of those who passed, covering walls.

This wonderful, annual build provides a chance for us to remember those who passed in a senseless act of terrorism. Please take a moment to visit and offer your respects. The owners have a flower rezzing system available for guests to use. It's a powerful site that you won't want to miss.

911/World Trade Center Memorial

Kids Shouldn't Play War with Real Guns

inV has verified the validity of this fundraiser. If you DJ any type of music and would like to donate one hour of your time to help this cause, please contact Wildlive Laville or Bleumoon Praga. Current availability on Friday is 9-10am and 3-4pm SLT. If more DJs are interested, the event will be extended.

War Child International is a network of independent organisations, working across the world to help children affected by war.

War Child was founded upon a fundamental goal: to advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war.

In DR Congo the militia FNI (Front des nationalistes et intégrationnistes) have ceased their hostilities. They have started surrendering their weapons. UNICEF has estimated that 500 out of the 1000 fighters were children.

In the last three years in Africa around 120.000 children were forced to participate in fighting. This is the conclusion of a report from the International Coalition against the Use of Child Soldiers. In countries like Uganda, Congo and Burundi tens of thousands of children are being used in the battle.

EVENT: Friday 09/12/08 8am -8pm
CONTACT: wildlive Laville in-world

At present, the event is set for 12 hours (8am - 8pm) but as more DJs and artists get involved, the organizers have been given the green light to expand those hours as far as needed.

War Child Fundraiser
If you prefer to make a donation directly, click here.

She Goes a Little Mad Sometimes...

As a horror writer and a Hitchcock fan, I was thrilled when I was asked to blog this latest find. Psycho is arguably the best suspense film ever made (and I'm talking the Psycho Hitchcock directed, not the remake), and Beckenbauer Productions' Second Life remake is a killer immersion into the world of Norman's dead-end motel.

Cabin 1 is one of the most "realistic" places to explore if you want the same effect as the movie. Setting: post-nyah-nyah-nyah shower scene with Marion in the shower curtain. Unfortunately for realism the plastic isn't torn down from the bathtub, but this is Second Life, we aren't seeking reality. If we were we could log and plug in to Real Life.

I took my turn in the shower (fully clothed) and despite the blood on the wall and floor I wasn't attacked by Norma or Norman. For some reason I did have visions of $L40,000 wrapped in a newspaper on the nightstand...

This view from the front porch into the office is a testament to the build and to Jade's vision. When I saw this photo, I got chills--something that's hard to do to me. This blog can't begin to cover the depths of Beckenbauer Productions' creations. I spent today watching Psycho again and went back and the details are outstanding. My only wish is for a Norman bot to stand at the check-in and say, "A boy's best friend is his mother," or "People always mean well. They cluck their thick tongues and shake their heads and suggest oh-so-very delicately."

And what Second Life horror-related build isn't complete without a Lament Configuration? While this little box has nothing to do with Psycho, it can be found in the Bates house on the first floor. Jade and I stopped to play with it. The Lament Configuration actually comes from Clive Barker's Hellraiser and is created by Anti Antonelli. Expect to see plenty of these evil devices around as we approach my favorite holiday.

Don't limit yourself to the Bates Motel, but be careful in the damage enabled areas unless you have a weapon against the not-so-well put together zombies. This photo of a damaged confessional in a church (I know my sit ao isn't all that flattering) was taken in a parcel with the lovely name of Happy Fun Times Memorial Park. Be sure to explore.

Are you Psycho enough?

AVENUE MODELS ACADEMY

Spot the alts anyone?

CLOSED FOR COMMENTS


#1 Anonymous said...
as for no bots at devilinside something poster earlier in the year
http://flickr.com/photos/rigz/2328392215/sizes/o/in/set-72157604101180164/

spot the altsssss anyone?

September 10, 2008 7:03 AM

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#2 Anonymous said...
Let me put your mind at rest over the alts/bots question. There was indeed an alts platform on the DI club sim in January-February 2008, when it first became apparent that DI was losing visitors. It was located on the southern border of Incubus Islands, at a height of 750 metres.

In recent times they resorted to using a sploder in the ICE Mall sim to distort traffic numbers there, because of the increasing amount of unrented stores. The sploder would be rezzed for an hour or two, and then removed. On a Friday not so long ago, they collected a massive 65 sploder hunters on the sim.

The allegation that DI staff were using alts on the dancefloor seems to have originated around the same time they rezzed the alts platform at the start of this year. The allegation was persistant, and they were unable to shake it.

Not illegal, plenty of places use the same tactics. They did it to raise the club profile in Search, and to fool clubbers and store renters that the sims were more popular than reality. It's just a great shame that they needed to resort to such secretive methods to try and bucket the water out of a sinking boat.

September 8, 2008 10:30 PM

DI Closed: Take 438972546797?

CLOSED FOR COMMENTS

We've all seen the website or heard the news on the rumor mill: the gay club DEVILinside has closed (again). Yawn -- we've heard this before, as a ploy to get attention when attendance is down, and it's hard to believe this isn't yet another attempt to increase traffic when (and if) the public is allowed in again. As club guests, we don't want to be manipulated or made part of silly games. We are looking for a good place for music, conversation, fun and relaxation.

DEVILinside used to be *the* best place on the grid for gay parties. Guests would gather in the club to meet the hottest guys, and countless partnerships began there. It was full most days of the week. It was exciting. It was fun. Fast forward and today it is DEADinside. I interviewed Ayor for inV when DI was smoking and can't believe how hard it has fallen. So what happened to lead to the club's downfall? My one word answer: EGO. When you believe you can never fail is exactly when others find your weaknesses and prove that you can. It's amazing how Ayor and Luca ran that club into the ground.

So, what are some things I observed that drove people away from DI? While I was never banned from the club, I saw several people banned for minor issues; sometimes for simply disagreeing with the owners. Yes, sometimes people need to be banned (think griefers), but when a club depends on filling the room with people, banning someone just because you don't like them isn't good business.

In addition, the attitude of DI management to staff and DJs many times left the staff feeling underappreciated. The bad staff took it out on the guests (or ignored them totally), the good staff left and took the crowds with them. And who can blame them? As staff problems got worse many people were alienated, and is it any wonder that people choose to party at BLU, Tainted Boys or High Energy instead? DIs response was typical: in desperation they banned many club owners for simply having a club that drew their usual crowd, which turned even more people off of the club. Did they not think people noticed there boor business and behavior?

It's a shame that a club with so much potential had to turn to such low measures in a futile attempt to keep a crowd. Close to the end there were rumors they were using bots to fill the place. People don't appreciate manipulation, and won't fall for the "club closing" ploy. If DI had wanted to recover, it was possible through strong management and client focus, but anger and ego got in the way. Was this because they had a kid with no experience run the club? The glory days will be missed, but the struggles and manipulative games won't. Even if it *does* return it will never be respected and appreciated as it once was. The king is dead.

This is the notecard for the first ploy at getting attention. It was apparently leaked out by accident, yeah right. Have a look.
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After many weeks of procrastination Ayor and myself have decided to close DEVILInside. This will take effect from Friday May 16th at 12 midnight.

The closure is due for the most part to our "Lack of Motivation" and the lack of motivation of staff. This closure may or may not be permanent. The club will remain in place but no public access will be permitted.

If you would like to discuss this please IM Ayor or myself as we are not closed to suggestions regarding the club.

We would like to thank you all for your support over the past 18 months. It has been a fantastic journey for us all.

At this stage we may re-open after the Northern summer, but we will assess that closer to the time.

Kind regards

Ayor & Luca

If it is dead why haven't we been ejected from the group?

Rapture/Blu Party

It seemed that everyone turned out for Rapture's event at Blu's special build in the sky. Despite SL's tantrums the party went on for hours. As usual, conversation, music and hot men filled the scene, making this the place to be in Second Life.

Even though the event wasn't at Blu's usual location, the trademark logo and colors transferred the atmosphere. The Blu Boys provided eye candy and kept the crowd pumped while some of SL's hottest DJs (Dj Shep, Dj Wes and Dj Adham)played our favorite music. For great fun and dancing, we couldn't have asked anything more. Thank you Rapture Club Circuit for another great job.