Saturday Night Coming Out Party!

It’s one of the biggest events on the Second Life calendar, Second pride! It’s an annual event which takes place each year attracting some of the biggest businesses, DJs and other entertainers to raise funds for a good cause. Pride 2009 will be in aid of raising funds for Amnesty International and it’s scheduled to take place next May. However, the Pride organizers are staging a Second Pride 2009 “Coming Out” event tonight.

The event takes place on the Atlantis 2100 sim and will include a speech from the Second Pride Chairman, introduction to what Gay Pride 2009 will involve and there will also be a huge party on the dance floor with tunes from Kayla Kuhn. There will be two separate events for the Coming Out party in order to cater for people from different time-zones. The first one takes place at the European friendly time of 2pm sl time and finishes at 4pm sl time. There’ll also be a North American friendly time party from 6pm – 8pm sl time.

You can visit the Second Pride 2009 Coming Out event at the following link. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vernada/15,128,5101

I was asked by Ammon Pera to blog about a stunning exhibition here in Second Life, and as usual with assignments, found myself rather surprised and pleased to be exploring a fascinating, interesting, albeit saddening bit of history, recreated in breathtaking detail.

On November 10th, 1938, there began in Nazi Germany a pogrom of persecution of Jews that extended into Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, and began the annexation of most of Europe by the Nazi regime.

This night, known as “Kristallnacht” or literally “Crystal Night” was one of horror for Jews across Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, as Nazi troops began a systematic racial purge consisting of destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, homes, synagogues, and schools. The “Crystal” makes reference to the breaking of glass which accompanied horror after horror, and the US Holocaust Memorial in Second Life features a gripping depiction of the Jewish quarter of a German city, slathered with anti-Judaism graffiti, broken glass, burned books and holy scriptures, and desecrated synagogues, schools, and homes, through which one may walk in eerie silence, observing the aftermath of hate. Small blue information click-points are dotted throughout the exhibit, and provide informational text when clicked. Also featured is a video wall playing live video accounts from witnesses and victims of this dark night in history.

With recent resurfacing of hate agendas against gay Americans here in the US, this little tour was a stunning reminder of just how quickly “a little” political expression of intolerance can escalate into a world-wide conflagration encompassing the murder, rape, and disenfranchisement of millions.

Second Life is certainly for fun, and I’m not one to go chasing “sobering” moments in here, but this little sojourn brought me up short, and left a deep impression.

I served for two years in Berlin during the era of the Wall, traveled into communist East Germany at the time, and visited the various memorials and museums of the holocaust located throughout Germany. I was even assigned to guard duty at Spandau Prison in Berlin, standing watch over the then-living last Nazi prisoner of the Nuremberg war trials, Rudolph Hesse, by then a pathetic shadow of a man, babbling incoherently to himself within his cell, and prone to begging American and Russian soldiers for treats, knowing that interaction with him was absolutely forbidden by our military leadership, and would result in disciplinary action against us.

In the front of Spandau Prison, just inside the entry gates, still stood a pair of crematory ovens, in mute testimony, side by side, of the disposal of the remains of those held there for interrogation by the dreaded Gestapo of the Nazi War Machine. The US Holocaust Memorial in Second Life held that same eerie sense of foreboding history for me, and that same uncomfortable feeling that in this world, history is prone to be repeated, if forgotten.

Visit the US Holocaust Memorial in Second Life, slurl.com/secondlife/US%20Holocaust%20Museum1/1/35/26 and be reminded in these difficult economic times, of just how much our parents’ or grandparents' generation sacrificed, and of just how bad life could be, for nearly 6 million who did not survive Hitler’s regime. Kinda makes one look at our problems of today in a whole different light, ya know? Lilah tov!

Coming Soon

Club Vision Minbari

You think you've seen everything in SL?
You are "blasé" and feel too old for surprises and new experiences? Don't you bet on it!
Prepare yourself for Club Vision Minbari: you've never been so close to action, technology and innovation! We're preparing an event with enough adrenalin-fuelled dream moments to keep you buzzing for the rest of your life!

Save the date! 21, December 2008, in Minbari, you'll find out what it's all about. Don't miss it!
Further information coming soon...

Club Vision Minbari – We make your dreams come true

Time to spice up your sex life?

Some couples out there slip into the role of being a comfortable pair of old shoes and when that happens, it’s usually the time to spice up that old non-existent sex life. So what’s the remedy? Well try taking a trip to Omnipotent. I was in convent class and was interrupted by a loud ding a ling ring by my boss, Ammon. He called me and told me to get my ass to Omnipotent and check the place out pronto as it was definitely a place for me! What he meant by that God knows as I’m such a conservative soul. So I arrive there and what am I confronted with? Poses and animation balls ranging from “Trampling Domination” to “Amazing Footjobs.”

Now, I’ve seen some pretty far our sex animation poseballs in my time in Second Life, but this place really does take it to the extreme. Upon tripping over the “violent doggy” poseball set, I stumbled across something called “slapstick combat.” The item carries the slogan, “most effective way to settle disputes.” So the next time you and your partner have that all important row, be sure to have a “slapstick combat” poseball set handy so you can settle your dispute by bitch-slapping each other silly. As you can clearly see from the picture above, I was most shocked at many of the items I discovered. Naturally, I wouldn’t be caught engaging in such activities as these poseball sets warrant *coughs*.

For those of you out there who do like to dabble in the most extreme, then be sure to check out the “lick your pussy everywhere” and “gang bang” poseballs. Just don’t blame me if you’re walking funny the next day after over using any of these items. Ever tried helicopter sex? Well if you’re inclined to do so, there’s also a poseball set to enable you to do just that, if you’re not sure what that entails exactly, I’ll leave that one for you to checkout personally. For the more perverted among you, there’s the “upskirt hand peep” poseball, but I wouldn’t recommend using that one on your first date assuming your partner wears a skirt! There’s also a “woman shish kebab” poseball, but I’ll leave that one for your imagination.

Most of these items from Omnipotent are priced between the 200 – 500 Linden price range. Obviously, the creator, Vijay Uggla has invested a lot of time in creating the animations and they may not be for everybody, but if you are intrigued and want to check out his animations, then all can be demo tested before buying by visiting his store in world at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Memussi/66,236,54 – have fun and remember to keep it on the fly!

AOHARU for Men and Women

Written by: Gigi Bing

While much of the world looks to Europe as the hub of fashion, one should not turn their eye away from the East where exotic and unconventional ideas make powerful statements in apparel. By fusing eastern and western concepts, Japanese fashion is youthful, fun, and playful in its contemporary styles while it is stately and noble in its traditional forms.

The influence of Japanese fashion culture is now no longer debated. It is assumed. We see it featured in fashion magazines, in music video, on catwalks. The unique, new fashion sense of Japanese youth caused a revolution in fashion, music and retail in Japan. That influence has now reached Second Life.

Asymmetrical clothes with bold cuts and exotic accessories are the latest trends in Japanese fashion. SL fashion designer Machang Pichot has captured Japan's fashion trends in her Aoharu traditional and modern clothing lines. Her store is stocked with Japanese-influenced women’s and men’s apparel consisting of beautiful vibrant color combinations that demand your attention, to bold and trendy colored shoes, to innovative and sophisticated hair styles, to exotic flawless skins.

inVogue: How did you become interested in fashion design? Describe your background and explain how you ended up creating the Aoharu line.
Machang Pichot: The very first shop I opened in Second Life was a Kimono shop. Because I am Japanese and I thought creating and introducing Japanese traditional things would be nice. Since I love fashion in real life, soon I started to feel the desire to design mode/casual clothing too. In February 2008, the birth of AOHARU Sim, and that was when I started to design casual clothes. For me the clothing is a bridge; it helps me to communicate with variety of people. In Real Life, I am an illustrator working for TV programs and such. I love how the lines make shapes. In the AOHARU LINE, I put emphasis on beautiful form. Beautifully formed dresses make people happy, don't they? I will try my hardest to keep making even more beautiful clothing.

inVogue: Describe the Aoharu style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
Machang Pichot: I'd describe the characteristic of AOHARU as its form and colors. Because of my RL profession, which is an illustrator, I always try to design clothes in beautiful form and colors.

inVogue: What is your most favorite item from your fashion line.
Machang Pichot: I'd pick AOHARU Chiffon Flower Dress. I had this inspiration to make a dress that you can feel flowers when I had a walk in a flower garden when I was on vacation. I designed it as the flowers wrapping around your body and chose some pale colors as they were in for the season.

inVogue: Where do you find your inspiration to design your beautiful garments, shoes, and skins?
Machang Pichot: I love fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland. My creations are a nice mixture of trend and imagination. For my skins, I make what I'd like to look like, as in skin tones and makeup patterns and such.

inVogue: Do you spend a lot of time researching your collections or is it a whim or a fancy like you walk around and see something and it just grabs you?
Machang Pichot: I don't spend much time on researching. You see a lot of girls in different fashion in Harajuku, Tokyo, and that's where I hang out in a lot. Maybe that's where and when I get to research for my creations as I walk around. The very first thing I do is let my imagination work, remembering the things that I got inspirations from, and put them on the paper, and then I design my clothes from the sketches I make.

inVogue: When you see people either wearing your clothes, skins, etc. How does that make you feel?
Machang Pichot: That makes me very, very happy. That may be the happiest moment in Second Life to meet people wearing my creations, because it proves that they are pleased with my creativity.

inVogue: Can you describe an evolution in your work from your first creation to the present day?
Machang Pichot: In the beginning, I was making Kimonos, then on to casual clothing. My earlier clothes are not so realistic in shading. My customers told me that my creations remind them of Anime. On the other hand my recent creations, I make them as realistic as they can be, and have more shading as well. I love making clothes that has cuteness and beauty as well as a Japanese touch.

inVogue: How would you define what is and what isn't a trend in fashion?
Machang Pichot: Generally speaking, a trend is something that the majority of people would like to wear for the season. I believe everyone has their own favorites, and that would make them their trend, so what I like would make it my trend.

inVogue: Describe the current state of Japanese fashion and where do you believe it is heading?
Machang Pichot: Japanese fashion is hybrid. It is a blend of the trends of fashionistas from abroad with our own trend then changed it to fit our small figures. There are a lot of girls who refer to petite fashionistas such as Nicole Richie. I believe that there will be more original and unique styles in our trend.

inVogue: How do the people of Japan view fashion compared to other countries?
Machang Pichot: We have loads of fashion brands from abroad here in Japan, so as you walk through the city you'll see both of our own fashion trend and that from abroad. There's also a variety of fashion magazines here and we love reading them. And of course from the movies we see a lot of different fashion styles.

inVogue: Where do you see AOHARU heading to in the future?
Machang Pichot: I love making clothes that make others happy, and will continue to do so. I will try my best to make clothes with cute forms and textures for AOHARU.


Machang has proven herself to be a designer that is not afraid to push the envelope within her collection. She has taken a culture and poured that into her AOHARU collection. A look which can be defined as contemporary, futuristic and appealing to the global SL fashionistas.

AOHARU
http://slurl.com/secondlife/AOHARU/119/124/24

SL Your Way - A Few Tips

We are all newbies at one point or another and learning the SL client is not the easiest task. While many of us know the tweaks like the back of our prim hands, the tips and tricks that follow are a few key settings that just might help enhance the experience of someone less familiar with the client.

Many settings require that you enable the Advanced menu. To do so, simply click the control key (ctrl), the alt key and D simultaneously.

1. I have many friends who like the typing animation and the clicking keys. But there are certain places like clubs and concerts where it might not be so appropriate. To turn off the typing animation, select Advanced > Debug Settings... This will open the Debut Settings window. In the text field enter "playTypingAnim". (You will only need to type the first few characters.) Then change the drop down menu in the bottom of the window from TRUE to FALSE.

2. The SL client by default tests your character for inactivity and sets you as Away when you are idle. To turn off this test, select Advanced > Character > Character Tests and then select Go Away / AFK When Idle to deselect it.

3. Not everyone has the fastest computer and SL for many can be a hard lesson in lag if not crashing when in areas of high-traffic or watching videos. One solution is to turn off rendering of certain things. This would mean that you may not be able to see everything around you but will in most instances reduce the lag and can prevent crashing. To turn off rendering, select Advanced > Rendering > Types and select any number of elements; generally from Sky down. Be aware that turning off character will stop the rendering of avatars, but in clubs this can be immensely helpful. Be aware that turning when watching a video you cannot turn off Simple rendering as this will stop rendering the prim necessary to view the video.

4. Want to use your camera more extensively and ability to select prims farther away from you? This can be helpful when identifying the owner or creator of a distant object. Under the Advanced menu, make sure that there is no 'x' beside Limit Select Distance. Also place an 'x' by Disable Camera Constraints by selecting it. This can be extremely helpful for photography. But remember to please respect the privacy of others. Nobody likes a Peeping Tom.

The Preferences window can be a mystery to many people. One tip that can increase your SL experience, especially when watching videos, is to increase your disk cache and bandwidth. In the Preferences window on the Network tab, increase the bandwidth to 1500 kbps and the disk cache to 1000 MB. For many, this can also increase the performance of SL. SL also has provided extensive help available by clicking the Help button.

An excellent video that describes the Graphics settings in the Preferences window is available on the Second Life Support site. Just go to the Second Life website and click Support. In the menu on the left, select Knowledge Base and then the Second Life for Beginners link. From the list select the "Graphics preferences guide - Video Tutorial" link. This video is a must-see for any beginner.

Most important to remember is never hesitate to ask. People typically enjoy lending a hand and sharing their experience. And for you old-timers, never forget we were all newb at some point. Share the knowledge.

Attention: Wallstreet, Politicians & now SL

BB Menu

Required 100K a month membership to enter the private BB Blog and see what it's all about.

Visits at minimum are 25k
Additional Signed Second Life Autographed Picture 15k
Additional Signed Real Life Autographed Picture 30k
Additional Web Cam 25k
Additional Signed Dirty Undies Shipped Overnight 50k
Additional 5000 USD + Travel Expenses for a Night of Talking Only in Real Life

And if your not into women, no problem. Her boyfriend just joined the business, adding a masculine dimension. He offers the same menu but with an additional dirty condom option shipped overnight by mail.

According to many, this woman & man can make you cum with no touch on either side. She has been in business for almost two years and her black book is thicker than a New York phone book. To enjoy the tantalizing services of this duo, you have to be asked or referred by a current member who has been a client for no less than 6 months and strict confidentiality is what makes BB the place to get off. I find it intriguing that Second Life goes deeper and more hardcore than what we see or ever talk about. It makes me wonder what else is out there. I bet your wondering what BB stands for.