ZZ’s Madhouse

by Grease Coakes

It’s around that time October 31st which is Halloween the time of year to dress up and see thrills and chills through and Second Life. ZZ studios as always builds their "Madhouse" every year to share fear. ZZ studios is usally a studio for making adult material. But for the month of October it’s all about the Halloween.

When I walked into the madhouse there was a tame path and a gory path. Being brave and like most characters in horror movies I made the wrong choice and picked gory path. Floor by floor I saw gory surprises and scary sound effects. You’re walking around in a diner with skeletal remains and GASP a zombie appears with a butcher knife. Also backtracking isn’t allowed as I tried to go down the stairs and I was blocked by an invisible wall. ZZ has some clever scripting to make their madhouse a truly mad place.

For each floor it takes a minute or so to navigate through as jumping over things won’t work (trust me I tried). So it’s not a clear path. I wandered around the ZZ sim and found a statue and playground equipment that seems possessed by evil spirits within SL’s pixel grid. Along with that was a SL avatar who seemed forever as a statue I the avatar’s profile and any commutations at all will fail as of course it’s a statue.

After that I checked out the tame path in the madhouse. It seemed much less scary then the gory path. There was a broken window path and the next floor was animated furniture triggering when you walked past. As the saying goes "you fell for the trap." In the tame path I fell into a trap door was sent back to the lower floor.

I was able to grab Darkefur Fraker who’s one of the top vixens of ZZ studios to hear what she had to say, telling her, "You did a great job at your madhouse. How long has ZZ studios been doing the haunt?"

Darkefur answered, "Since... 2011 I believe. Maybe 2010. I've lost track of how many I've built.  *heh* Not a physical award.  I believe we made the top 10 haunted attractions a few years and maybe got an award one time early on."

"Still being in the top ten is a great reason to celebrate scares to share," I stated.

Darkefur agreed, "Yup. As well as being mentioned in many newsletters/blogs/etc.  That's why I say I don't know if we won an award or not since there's so MANY of those types of newsletters out there."

I told her, "Being mentioned in newsletters and or blogs is still an achievement knowing how large SL is. It's hard to be noticed on such a massive virtual environment."

She nodded, "Yeah. And I know it's been mentioned in several over the years."

I then decided to amuse her with something I'd heard, "Is it also true that you enjoy being with stallions?"

Darkefur laughed, "Like you need to ask."

I egged her on, "Haha! So readers of the SL Newser know."

Darkefur giggled, "I'm a kinky fox, as you should know."

Darkefur also suggested that people can challenge the tame path as well for a chance for a new car. However she was undecided what car to get just yet. So as you read this article that should entice you to give the madhouse both tame and gory paths a test drive at the chance at a new car that you can drive around Second Life and be the life of the Halloween party or any party. Darkefur also added “Giveaway car will be mesh, of course.  And mod/copy ok.  SO people can mod it if they want.”

So you might want to show up in a stallion avatar and perhaps charm Darke into clues for the tame and gory paths. A brand new car is a very tempting and grand prize. A good excuse to brave zombies and other scary things in ZZ Studio’s Madhouse.

Sheridan (64, 145, 2500)

Grease Coakes

Grease Coakes in the Land of the Giants

By Grease Coakes

Ever imagine what it would be like if you were small? Like that cartoon "The Littles" about the family of small people. Or there was the movie that came out a few years ago from studio Studio Ghibli, "The Secret World Of Arrietty." Once in a while there’s a movie or TV show you may have seen that explored the possibility of being small in a big world where a mouse or small bird would be a real threat to you.

Here in the Land of Giants at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Random/130/148/4018 you could fulfill that wish as the sim is created as if it was populated by giants. As you enter the sim you’ll see a large set of stairs and green arrows to lead you inside. To the right there’s a horse and carriage to ride around in. There’s a living room a little farther ahead where unless you have a giant avatar already you’re just the size of a squirrel or mouse compared to the massive pieces of furniture.

I sneaked through a tiny door filled with furniture made for small avatars like myself and there’s a huge pool table. Up above is a shiny ball of lights and glow dust that must be a small dance area. Also bumping into the pool balls moves them around like you’re kicking or pushing them forward with all your might. There’s also a TV screen which isn’t on a TV channel but instead it’s tuned into a NES game or Nintendo entertainment system. The game on the screen is super Mario bros. To add even more realism there’s a NES console sitting right there with a couple NES games. It’s just inviting you to play mega man or any other classic game.

On the floor like a mouse hole there’s a light up sign that says bowling alley. I sneaked inside before any giants can get me and there's a little bowling alley with a gummi bears wallpaper. The hotdog guy is funny looking. Every Wednesday there’s a contest for first second and third place with Linden prizes.

I read the easy directions and give bowling a try. You’ll see a percentage of your power as you mouse look and aim the ball. Hold down the mouse button for power and let go when you think you have enough power. I wandered in with no one around and played by myself. The gameplay is simple as I got a fairly good score being in the middle of the score board. You’ll hear voices and sound effects as you bowl adding to the virtual game.

I saw a warp pad and discovered a toys room. It’s fun to look around as I saw a carousel and bumper cars, but there’s also a canoe ride. I figured why not. The canoe slowly drifts on a river of soda as you see spiders and other scary things. As the canoe trip ends you end up on a kitchen floor. To the right is an "Alice in Wonderland" themed room with tea cups and the white rabbit.

At the start of the sim where you climb up the stairs is a carriage ride with a white horse. If you want to take a stroll through the sim knock yourself out. Sit on the carriage as it whickers and trots in your headphones giving you a slow tour around the sim.

All in all if you want to be lazy and see something new for an hour or two here in the grid you should check out the land of the giants. Even if you’re not a fan of the genre of being small in a giant’s world you should at least check it out for something to do if you’re bored silly.  I was impressed by the level of detail here and I think you would be as well readers of the Second Life Newser.

Grease Coakes

The Trotsdale Library

By Grease Coakes

Many people think of a library as a quiet place to use the computer for a short while or to borrow books or moives. However in the pony sim of Trotsdale it serves a very different purpose.

In a real life library you might get shooshed if you spoke above a whisper by a librarian or someone wishing peace and quiet. Instead the pony library in Trotsdale encourages talking to tell stories over voice chat. Just like open mike in book Island the Trotsdale library is an excellent place for aspiring writers to read their literary works out loud. Or if you choose you can read your favorite book to entertain your friends as your share the book that really wows your imagnation.

As you walk in the glass door with unicorn heads by the sides there's a reading chair towards the front and plenty of pillows on the floor. Sit on the classical looking chair if you want to read something in voice chat. But if you want to spend your lazy afternoon listening to one of your friends or an author you haven't met yet. Feel free to sit on a pillow and listen away to let yourself be whisked away into the world of the story. Don't be shy even though Trotsdale is a MLP sim you can show up in any avatar you wish. Just remember Trotsdale and Nisa nearby are G-rated sims, so use common sense.

Being in the library a few times before I heard Amehana Arashi read her favorite story "Rojuun by John H Carroll." The story itself sounded richer with many engaging characters in a fantasy environment involving dragons and magic with Amehana's reading. She also told me, "After I finish that one I'll be reading 'A Rosary of Stones and Thorns' by M.C.A. Hogarth." I myself read my children's book outloud and chapters from a book that i am working on. A few ponies showed up to hear my stories and Amehana's reading of Rojunn.

Not only is the library a great place for hearing people read out loud but there is also excellent artwork based upon the show "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic." The ceiling artwork shows Celestia,Luna,and Twilight. On the top floor there was also banners showing MLP related artwork. Sadly the bookshelves don't have any books, but they add to the atmosphere of a library even if they just are prims.

On a Sunday night at 7PM SL time, Milo the white pony, AKA Decitrex Resident, read out loud his story about a poor guy called "Hard Luck Hank Screw the Universe." Milo read in a dramatic voice read out the characters dialouge and described the scenes at a good pace. Hard luck Hank had ragged clothes and dealt with mutants down in the sewers in a space station. Milo did a great job doing various voices as a Irish rogue voice or a tough guy. He put lots of emotions into his voice as if they were right there in the library. When he finished reading, his main character Hank wasn't comfortable doing something even though a lady character offered him a  great deal of cash.

There's a schedule to the right of the reading chair that showcases locals and ponies who read  at certain times on the schedule. For now the schedule seems light. One of the events is also a music show. Maybe in the future more ponies, humans, dragons or whatever might fill in more slots to add flavor to the library.
Even if you're not a brony or pegasister the Trotsdale library is open to all who wish to try something new whether to test your story out to ponies who are eager to listen,or if you want to sit on a pillow and listen to exciting new worlds. Just like in MLP you might meet new friends as well. Even if you're shy like Fluttershy.

Trotsdale Heights (22, 156, 24)

Grease Coakes

The Pony Sim At Nisa

By Grease Coakes

When I interviewed Amehana Ishtari about her new book Selkie skins Castle And Wells, I noticed that the sim was unique as it was a friendly sim for Ponies, or rather; ponies akin to the popular show "My Little Pony : Friendship Is Magic," or in shorthand MLP. When I warp to the sim, I hear a classic rock music stream which fits the mellow atmosphere of the sim.

When I got off work one night Amehana and I agreed to meet at Nisa (97/243/25). She was hanging out with her two friends Phoenix another pony and YunaJones Resident under the second name Twilight Sparkle High Note.

Amehana told me about a summer solstice event which was like a treasure hunt looking for dragon pearls. The dragon pearls were used to craft items that were useful to the pony in one way or the other. She said that RP or Roleplay is not required, however it adds to the sim environment. She mentioned Phoenix her friend was very good at creating quests for ponies. You can learn more about their summer solstice event at http://www.manelands.com/topic/the-solstice-approacheth .

I asked Amehana is roleplay required and she said this, "RP is not required here. There are some that simply come to explore and enjoy. RP is encouraged though, as it's intended as an MLP sim, just with our own lore as Nisa, Thessalia, and the Ibex Empire are all fan created countries in the universe."

"You'll find that those that RP here tend to like magic, science and knowledge very much. You'll find some nods to other things here too."

I asked Amehana about her own character and she had this to say about her kirin fursona. To double check, a kirin is part dragon and unicorn She said for this sim she said it was a different species. Instead Raikou Hare is more like an alicorn (like Twilight Sparkle from the TV show), "Raikou Hake is a kirin from the Ibex Empire. That country is populated mainly by Ibex, other kirins, and dragons. She grew up in what equates roughly to a samurai family that oversaw rice plantations. Her family has a love of learning and it's own library, and from an early age she loved to paint and write. When she was very young she wrote a story that shocked her parents and her father's friend... a priest at the crystal shrine local to her family (and he is a dragon). As a result she ended up studying story crafting and art...with a large dose of  'study all the things.' She also has a very strong bond with the Ibexian Life crystals... When that becomes it's own sim she will be fully boded with those crystals."

To add to the roleplay experience Nisa and other pony sims like Canterlot have their own website at http://www.manelands.com/. Ponies add in their characters so people have an understanding of each other's fursona. Amehana mentioned so long as no one blows up the sim and makes sense, they are accepted within the website as an approved character. In fact to fufill the lore and RP of the Nisa sim they are looking for dragon characters. Dragons need apply if any scaly fire breathers are looking for a pony roleplay sim.

A good time to come to the sim is on the 16^thth of this month where Amehana announced there would have a Jellicle ball http://www.manelands.com/topic/jellicle-ponies-come-one-come-all.

Part of Raikou Hare's description is she's the sim librarian. She's planning a poetry workshop in the near future.

Over at the Trotsdale library Amehana was reading over voice lore about the pony sims to any interested ponies or anyone else. She added in this, "The books that I have read for Trotsdale are ones that I thought would be enjoyed by the pony community. I read 'The Last Unicorn' and then 'Mitama' with a bit of my poetry between those, and some poetry by young Oliver Lambert. What is available here in the Nisa sim are lore cards for sim RP, and some short stories and poems I wrote -as- Raikou for RP purposes."

"It was Mondays at 6PM I was reading. I finished the book this week and am taking a break while what's going on with that library is worked out. However I do read at the Sapientia Concha Librarium in the Computer sim Saturdays at 6 or 7 PM SLT. That's different from my MLP involvement though (even though I often don't change back to my usual avatar). Trots Mon at 6 (holding). Computer Sat at 6 or 7."

Amehana also gave me an info notecard explaining the rules of the Nisa sim. A lot of it is common sense on how it's a tolerant environment. No trolls or being mean to other ponies is allowed. Fair warning that any such behavior will get you banned. Also that Nisa is a G sim so no dead ponies or extreme violence. No adult themes either.

During the interview, a friend of mine from WAYYYYYYYY back IMed me asking what I was doing. I told him writing about ponies. His name is Sneaky Krugman and those who remember Tj Icey's before it was changed into Dance Island may remember he used to work there as a host. Sneaky is also known as a DJ and creator of voice emotes. Crim and Amehana and I encoruaged him to try out the sim as a pony. Sneaky felt like he was crashing the party and warped elsewhere. But maybe the ponies could recruit him as a dj.

Crim Mip, one of Rita Mariner's Sunweavers, is one of the main ponies of the Nisa sim along with his girlfriend Lacy. Amehana herself is also an admin. Crim Mip also showed up and asked if I had any questions, and I told him Amehana was very helpful. He commented, "She's a great help in watching over the sims."

There are a few houses for rent, at no cost, as Nisa is always looking for more dragons in particular, or any other sort of mythical animals or ponies. Amehana added in there's also caves to explore.

Amehana mentioned this was a home to her. Why not check out Nisa and see if it's a great fit for home for you as well?

Grease Coakes

Storytelling at Rawhide Native

By Grease Coakes

Due to real life work having the same schedule every week for a long time I wasn't able to see DJ Aurora for a while. But another event I missed out on was Heartspeaker's storytelling at Spirit Nations every Thursday (article). I gave it a shot but Mary said no I need you on Thursday for the truck. Mary is a nice lady, but I know better than to push my luck. Luckily on my day off on Wednesday Heartspeaker told a story today so I was able to say hi to my friend and hear another of his stories.

Spirit Nations the sim itself shut down however Heartspeaker said on voice that the Spirit of Spirit Nations lives on at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tender%20Heart/67/65/22

Before Heartspeaker told the story of lightning bolt he made small talk with Two Medicines and myself. He commented the book he bought which had the Lightning Bolt story he was telling today. Raimi a friend of mine accepted an invitation to join me in listening to Heart's story. The day I wrote this article and heard Heart's story was July 9^th and Heart said his birthday was the previous day July the 8^th I wished him a happy birthday. Heartspeaker said the hat I wear made by Hawkin Starsider was the cat's meow for me or the fox's yip. Hawkin Starsider created the hat and I bought it years ago at the original spirit nations sim. As I was talking with Two Medicines and Heartspeaker the effects of the sim were pretty to look at as I saw dandelion seeds floats towards me on my screen.

Lighting bolt went to see his teacher Goose Flying as Goose Flying was telling of an event in the future. He sent Lightning Bolt to see Iron Blanket down the mountain on the Wyoming side of the river.

Lightning Bolt had a vision of the goddess and traveled on a horse named Big Nose. He saw the universe and mother nature appertaining the beauty of snowflakes and rainbows. Also the beauty of magpies. He asked is life and death interchangeable. And the magpie said yes. Looking for knowledge and answers, he joined the army looking for money and riches.

Heartspeaker told the story at a perfect pace in an elderly voice with vigor. It was fun listening to him add emotion to the voice. When he finished the story, he laughed remembering when one of Heart's elders named Chima a 6^th generation Native American told him he would tell stories for a living. When heart was younger He blew off Chima's prediction thinking it was nonsense. Today it's very clear that Heart is an excellent storyteller.

There's more to the Rawhide club than Heartspeaker's story telling there were many sights to see. two medicines the child avatar hung out with me and Raimi chattering away acting like a five and half year old (but in real life she is very much an adult).

Wandering around the sim I saw a pretty waterfall and a picture of a Native American prayer. Also many various animals and sounds effects you would hear in nature of just being outside. I also saw a tall totem pole colored turquoise. There's also a shop to purchase Native American clothes. There's also dance balls of water dances around a pit.

Two Medicines confirmed that Heartspeaker still has his story time at 1pm every Thursday.

As Heartspeaker said the spirit of Spirit Nations is still in Second Life in the Rawhide Club. Native Americans have a presence in Second Life just like in the real world practicing their beliefs and traditions.

If you're curious about Native Americans and their beliefs and the way they speak with spirits feel free to stop by http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tender%20Heart/67/65/22 and look around. Or if you want a place to relax and hang out to try something new the rawhide club may be right for you.

Grease Coakes

ZZ Studio’s Haunted Madhouse

By Grease Coakes

Halloween is the time for ghosts and goblins and trick and treaters. Most everyone finds a costume to celebrate the spooky time of year. But for ZZ Studios, the furry adult themed movie studio, they plan well ahead of time to create an excellent haunted house to scare the skin off your bones. Cindy "Zig Zag" Babii, the main skunk of ZZ invited me down to check out her haunted house at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ZZ%20Studios/113/119/26. Her Haunted house is featured in the SL group Top Haunts. For the past few years Cindy Babii and her amazing staff have put together a great haunted house.

Last year it was a fun zombie hunt as the zombies could actually kill your avatar. There was an also a great madhouse to get lost in with very good sound and visuals. A lot of the hard work and credit goes to Darkefur Fraker a long time fox of SL and a super builder and scripter. Cindy also gives credit to herself, Rhin, Jeremy, Hojo and Kehf. Their hard work also made the haunted house spooky.

This year you got to download a HUD to change your windlight settings along with a flashlight. Some areas turn off your flashlight depending on where you are. The inside of the madhouse looks a lot like a horror movie environment.

Keep your eyes open as there are special effects that you might see in a movie or just random goings on like a TV suddenly turning on or a piece of furniture on you. Cindy had this to say as I was exploring the sick madhouse, "I’ll give you a min to change your pants. (giggle)"

Some of the effects certainly were scary. Last’s year madhouse was more like a maze to figure out how to get to the top with a glass maze to confuse you. This time around Cindy and Darkefur put more energy to make it scary.

I told Cindy that she should get an award from top haunts for the quality of her madhouse. She had this to say, "We're usually top haunted house for SL though traffic wise." I told, "By the look of it I think you should get an award Darkefur and the ZZ staff did a great job." Cindy, "Thanks hun."

Like last Halloween ZZ studios model trading cards will be given out through random givers. I was one of the trading cards the previous year with Justin Foxchase. Sadly however I missed out for 2013 and I missed my chance to be on one of the cards. There’s also an impressive sharknado and some tentacle beast at the beach in ZZ studios. It doesn’t look safe to swim in these waters.

Cindy also welcomes humans to ZZ Studios to check out her haunted house and her very own sharknado.

Seeing the pictures is one thing. If you need a good scare stop by ZZ Studios’s Haunted house and get a good scare. A change of pants or underwear not included if something scares you. Cindy says it will be up for a few days past Halloween so there’s plenty of time to stop on by and get chills and thrills.

ZZ Studios (113/119/26)

Grease Coakes

Shockwave's Alien Egg Hunt Maze

By Grease Coakes

 

When people think of Easter a lot of people think of the Easter bunny and chocolate. For religious and spiritual people the death and rebirth of Jesus comes to mind. What Shockwave Yareach of the sunweavers had in mind was one of his fun mazes. Instead of you eating colored eggs from those egg coloring sets you played with as a kid, Shockwave thought what if the eggs ate you?

 Shock to celebrate the Easter season instead of making Easter bunnies created an excellent maze based off the "Alien" movies with Sigourney Weaver. When you warp to the LM that Shock gave out in the Sunweavers notice, you see a massive building shaped like a long rectangle. Click on the nearby square to get your HUD. There’s an egg outside the maze to shoot at to make sure your gun works. 

 

Picking a gun at random, I found a plushie gun I bought year ago and forgot about. I told Shockwave this and here’s what he had to say: "Kill them with cuteness!"

 

Apparently it works with the HUD on I get a message saying you have slain this egg it cannot harm you as I hit the dangerous egg with a plushie. When you open the door I hear the star trek sound from whenever the holodeck doors open. The inside of the maze looks realistic as if you’re in a science fiction movie or reading a book.

 

Don’t be fooled however. Even with my deadly plushie gun in hand this maze is no mere walk in the park. Like the NES game contra one hit you’re dead the same is true for Shock’s maze. I’m walking around the maze lalala ... AHHHHHHHH FACEHUGGER!!! And your avatar goes back to the start of the maze with a facehugger on your screen losing your score. Shockwave himself said his wife was getting on him in real life for yelling in terror as his wolf avatar got killed in the maze.

 

The maze is cheat proof too if you try to walk in without the HUD the door won’t open. So walking around the maze with no HUD to not experience death is a no-no. I said then the maze wouldn’t be a challenge.

 

Shock said it’s fun to build in Second Life as to build a real life maze would be way too expensive. I commented that it’s very easy to buy a furry avatar for 800-900 Linden. In real life you would have to build one yourself or pay someone a large sum of real money to build a fursuit to walk around as a furry in real life.

 

Shock may not have a Hollywood budget in real life to make the next Aliens movie, but he certainly did a great job making a great maze to entertain the Sunweavers or anyone else who likes shooting things. Next time you eat or paint eggs this Easter season be careful that it doesn’t explode and hug your face like when I visited Shock’s fatal Alien maze.

 

Shocky's Lair, Sunweaver Space (191, 135, 61)

 

Grease Coakes

Bible Study at the "House of Prayer" Church

by Grease Coakes

 

Bixyl mentioned that he wanted an article about a church in Second Life, so I thought I’d check one out. Using a random search I found “God’s House of Prayer Church,” which showed a high level of traffic, about 10k. When I warped into the sim, I was inside what seemed like a real-life church that may be in your neighborhood. I looked around and saw a schedule which showed that when I warped to the sim a Bible study was about to start in 5 minutes! 

 

 Walking inside the church I felt positive energy as I followed a lady up into a large room with artwork you might see in a church. I found a seat as I was surprised that it wasn’t 4 or 5 avatars came in attendance but about 20 or so not including the Bible reader Jehoshabeath.  Before the Bible study started Chanasitsayo sang a song with a live acoustic guitar over voice chat. She sang the song “My Life Is in You Lord.” He stopped reading and asked the group do they as individuals feel they are more or less Christian then others? Agape Scorpio said that it depends on family and your upbringing whether you are in a Christian family or not. She certainly makes a strong point as family does help make you a good person along with being a good Christian.

 

Moka, another lady at the Bible study expressed, that she felt as if she wasn’t always perfect at being a Christian. It sounded to me as she was talking over voice chat that she was being hard on herself. I told her to take your time and, “So Moka you should learn about Jesus at your own pace ^.^ .” Moka also said that she wasn’t good with hard things as challenges that God presents to her “Not good with hard things  :s” I answered back to her,“Moka the hard things will still be hard but you will still be able to accomplish them”.

 

The Bible study leader asked a second question about why does Paul say to see God with your heart and not with your eyes? Lots of people answered in various ways. I answered, “God is pure love you can't see love with your eyes or your brain." Another question was how large is God? I answered that he is infinite while Moka said infinite at the same time I answered. I chuckled at that.

 

A lot of the Bible study was discussion based and it was neat to hear what everyone said. I commented that Moka was hard on herself for not knowing so much about God. But also she was participating a lot which made me think that she knew a lot more about God then she may admit or realize. A question that was asked was “Why is praise important?” I answered that God wants to receive love just like we do.

 

The Bible reader Jehoshabeath said he has no kidneys and that will continue to keep serving God until he is called home. Moka’s voice comment about she thanked Jesus of how she is alive and well every morning. That made me think that not everyone in life has the ability to walk that most people take for granted. Not everyone has the ability to walk and that’s something to keep in mind as I worked for MDA aka Jerry’s Kids as a telemarketer in real life.

 

Chana offered an ending prayer and sang a song called “Even If” by Kutless to end the Bible study. As Jehoshabeath quietly said that the bible study was meant to be short but ran over time anyway.

 

God is praised in many ways in Second Life and real-life. I can’t speak for whoever reads this article whatever way towards God is best for you. My experience at “God’s House of Prayer” church was certainly a positive experience. If you are feeling down and out this church seems like a good place to express yourself to God. There seemed to be lots of people there to share their experiences with God. When I wrote this article their Bible study was on 6pm SL time on Tuesday. That seemed like the right time to stop by.

 

When I mentioned I was writing for the SL Newser, Agape Scorpio was thrilled! She also said that tonight’s Bible study happened to have a lot more people than usual. I’ll be glad to share this bible study and the group’s love for Jesus in this article as I had fun.

 

House of Prayer (72, 113, 38)

 

Grease Coakes

New Rawhide Club

By Grease Coakes

 

By looking through notices (and I get a lot of them) I saw a notice for a Native American music event at 4pm SL time. This seemed neat to check out. Curious, I talked to my buddy 2 medicines on the Spirit Nations sim I go to hang out with Heart Speaker and others for his weekly gatherings. 2 medicines and I chatted for a little bit and wanted a hug from me in her child avatar. I eventually found out where Rawhide was by asking “Where’s this live music event?” in the Spirit Nation chat. I got a LM right away from the owner LittleStream through IM. I showed 2 medicines the LM and I warped over wanting to check it out.

 

I found a green field with a few shops in sight. There’s also a country bar close by as I was greeted by the owner LittleStream. I said hello and asked about the event I want to check out later. LittleStream says that she created her club a mere month ago with the owner Topper Redfield as a hangout for Native Americans. I certainly got the western feel as I explored around. By the other end of the sim I saw some teepees as well.

 

 Wanting to dress right for the event I looked around and saw some vendors. A lot of them sold clothes for women, but towards the end I found some men’s clothing befitting the western or cowboy motif that the club was all about. When I found something that looked cowboyish, a red cowboy jacket, I bought it for a mere 199L.  What was interesting that Littlestream thought I was a fox. This is true as I do have a fox animal totem; however I was walking around in a griffin avatar instead. When I explained what a griffin was she expressed that she was honored that I visit her club as a part eagle avatar. She then explained that her spirit animal was that of the eagle (like in her profile picture she pointed out) a powerful animal totem in Native American culture. Also she said it is against the law for anyone who is not a Native American to own bald eagle feathers.

 

When I asked LittleStream about her spiritual experience later on she explained that suddenly was able to write and understand Native American words. LittleStream said that she is not a Native American by birth; however she said that her eagle spirit led her to this path.  She started a jewelry business and had the urge to work with turquoise and Native American beads. Over time LittleStream said she saw visions of a plain or a special place where she met with a brave. As time went on, her visions were stronger as she saw her father as a medicine man and many tribes. She thought she had a brain tumor at first but later one she figured out that her present life and past lives were merged together. I said that must have been unsettling and she agreed with me. She recently joined Second life as a new avatar and met with someone named Eaglefeather who says they are connected in a way but won’t say how.

 

She created the rawhide club as a place for Native Americans to hang out at. She invited me to her club group and encouraged me to stop by at 4pm SL time. I went to a sandbox and grabbed the clothes I bought. I was impressed for 199L I had a nice looking cowboy outfit a cowboy shirt jeans and a belt. I logged off for a while for some time away from SL and came back on for the Native American dance. The music itself was very relaxing and put my mind at ease.

 

When I came back on, there was a slowly rotating circle of poseballs by the fire. The DJ Mountain String spoke in voice and said he only played Native American music. He also warned be careful not to watch the rotating dance too long or it might make you dizzy. I cheated by writing this article during the dance event so I wasn’t always looking at the  rain dancing avatars When you jumped on one of the poseballs your avatar slowly danced around the fire along with others who joined in like a rain dance. 20 minutes past 4pm SL the slow dance circle was filled.

 

It was a joy to listen to Mountain String’s music as he played a lot of ambient music with flutes and some rock songs. A lot of the songs talked about Native American beliefs and their way of life I heard words like warrior and sacred circle along with mother earth. Or songs about being a certain tribe like Cherokee and Lakota. A lot of the avatars dancing with me were dressed in high detail Native American clothes.

 

It was something fun to experience goofing off and telling stories when I could with Heartspeaker and others was one way to experience native American culture at the Spirit Nations sim. Being to a Native American dance was a whole new experience. LittleStream’s club also plays soft rock. Stop by the rawhide if you get the chance if you’re looking for a new club hang out at, or something new in general.

 

Grease Coakes

New Bastogne: WW2 in Second Life

By Grease Coakes

 

Second Life has endless ways to make use of a sim. You can have a rocking dance club, or others use a sim to hold prayers and build an ashram or church. Native Americans use a sim just to hang out at and express their culture and heritage. Another way to use a sim is for fun filled combat. Had a bad day at work? Blast your friend’s head off with a submachine gun, or even better use a bazooka.

 

Vickster Khun created a combat area in a sim owned by her, New Bastogne, which recreates a World War II environment based in France during German occupation in 1944. Nydia Tungsten and JessicaBelle Dayafter gave me a tour of the sim in a 1940’s armored car. When I first warped into the sim I saw a realistic room like a 1940’s office. Walking out, I was in an underground bunker. Jessica was a Lt. Colonel and Nydia was an under officer as a 1st Sergeant. Nydia played as her attaché being the driver while Jessica explained everything.

 

As I was in the back seat I saw destroyed buildings and old posters and cafes in giving the player or myself a historically accurate and terrible war like environment. The builders behind the sim did a great job in creating a realistic World War II recreation. In fact Nydia ran into an old style lamppost on purpose and it actually fell over and the same with chairs and table on an outside café.

 

 There are also sewers to go underground if you wanted to be sneaky and not be in direct combat. The goal of the sim, or rather the combat, was to capture flags and change them to your faction or nation. But of course as a combat sim you need firepower to overwhelm those nasty Germans, or you could be playing as the Germans trying to take control of Europe.

 

Nydia and JessicaBelle showed me where to pick up weaponry and a uniform so I’d be ready for battle. When I got the hang of it, I shot Nydia "killing" her by surprise. Sadly for me she came back and killed me several times going around the sim in fun filled combat. The combat scripts you put on only give you 25 hit points and allow you to put a flag above your head to show you’re an American or another allied nation. The low hit points add realism to the combat sim. Instead of taking 20 bullets before you die you can only take a shot or two before you die and respawn. To not be offensive the German sign is a red field with a cross, not the infamous Swastika used in Nazi propaganda.

 

A SMG isn’t for you? Well good news, there’s more. Unlike the first person shooter "Team Fortress 2" where you can pick a class to use certain weapons you stick with the basic rifle, however you can still use bazookas you just don’t start with full ammo like the solider in TF2. You have to pick up ammo crates to load your bazooka. That way not everyone is going around German occupied France with a bazooka you have to earn it by grabbing the ammo crates.

 

There are also vehicles to use as well to blast other players. You can grab a tank or even a fighter plane to blast away with. The tank gun made holes in the ground with a fiery after-effect and a sound effect of voices yelling German commands to fire. The plane itself was tricky to fly and I crashed into the sim next door. I had to laugh at myself in good fun.

 

JessicaBelle Dayafter wanted to show off the sim she likes roleplaying in and she wanted to vent some frustration at a group of people abusing the sim by bending the rules and not playing fair. Like Blizzard’s game "World of Warcraft," lots of players picked one side overwhelming the other faction. The game loses fun when this happens, in Jessica’s words. In fact when I brought up WoW she mentioned a lot of these unfair players may be also WoW players.

 

JessicaBelle Dayafter: “And all too often people would not use common sense of fairness. Like if you are fighting 3 enemies, coming over with 12 soldiers and 2 tanks is wayyy overkill, and totally unfair.”

 

Also people can become abusive getting too seriously involved in the sim. JessicaBelle Dayafter told me,  “Going back to the topic at hand of insults (sort of), another thing that drove many people off, is certain people take their RP waayy too serious, and bordering on being down right offensive/breaking rules of conduct set in place by LL.” 

 

As an officer, a Lt. Colonel, JessicaBelle tries giving orders, however her orders are often ignored by the other players. So by those upset by the cheating players she suggests going to LL to complain. Part of the problem is however is the managers and owner of the sim aren’t always sure what to do and her suggestions fall on deaf ears. I used the analogy of the NFL how when refs make bad calls against the home team you’ll hear boos resounding from the stands.

 

JessicaBelle Dayafter, "Some examples of shenanigans: spawn camping gathering large a large amount of troops, and waiting within line of sight or right outside the spawn areas, so anyone trying to re-enter battle gets massacred. A lot of it too was slinging insults to each other in combat, and not in a playful/meaningless way."

 

Sounds like some people want to ruin the game for others and bend the game to their will beyond reason and cheat. Which is sad when instead of enjoying the WW II sim in a fair way, they made the sim not fun anymore. This is just common sense or something you learn as a kid that other people do not like it if someone else cheats or plays a game whether a video game or a board game in an unfair way. Or if someone is winning by roll of the dice or just good shooting not to take offense and be a sore loser. That’s something to be reminded of in the holiday season when fairness and kindness show good holiday spirit. 

 

Check out the WW II sim when you get the chance readers of the Second Life Newser I had a fun time goofing off with Nydia and JessicaBelle.  That’s certainly part of the Christmas season just having fun.

 

Grease Coakes

Racers Island Raceways

By Grease Coakes

Chances are you may have seen one of the Fast and Furious movies starring Vin Diesel with those sports cars going hundreds of miles per hour in those breath taking races and car chase scenes. Well in Second Life you may not be able to physically touch one of those epic sports cars. However you can come close by checking out Racers Island and drive around one of their 15 raceways. When I bought my retro car from the Bay City car show, I found Racers Island through a Second Life search under raceways.  One of the first things they struck me when I teleported to the sim for the first time was the radio stream was a drum and bass station always playing drum and bass. It certainly pumps your blood to get your mind and body in a racing mood. The website bassdrive.com plays a variety of all genres of drum and bass from jazz to scary.

15 raceways? That’s a lot! Eddie Mathieson the creator and owner of Racers Island might agree with you. But his passion for cars and racing inspired him to over time buy and rent a sim totally dedicated to racing. Not just for stock cars, but motorcycles and even a human race too! The 15 raceways are skyline, Sunset short and long, Stock car Oval, Nitro, Streamline, Oasis, Garage, Timberline, a demolition Derby area. The other tracks are Yuni wacky world which looks a lot like a Mario kart raceway. Yuni Battle Royal, Sunrise, and my favorite track the Tokyo Drift. Each of the racing tracks are built very well and crafted after real life racing tracks.

 

Eddie who has experience in real life with 3d graphics on computers came to Second Life and created Racers Island in the spring of 2007 a little before my newbie self was born in SL. His Racers Island has been around a long time. Over time he has developed new cars and new raceways. As part of the raceways, he has professional stock car races on his sim. Anyone can enter so long as they have the right stock car costing 1,500L. There’s also a demolition derby if you want to destroy instead of drive around. The scripted junk car is all of a mere 100L. The demolition derby is held 6pm SL every Saturday and hosted by Racers Island’s manager Nella Boccara.  There’s a pot where everyone who wants to participate chips in 20L. Then as she announces over voice chat 3…2…1! Smash 'em Bash 'em! Do as she exclaims and destroy the other cars by driving and ramming the other cars.

 

Thinking like a fox I thought it would be best to avoid damage if possible and let the other cars kill each other. This backfired against me however. When I don’t take damage or hit another car in a set period of time, my car will overheat and then I take double damage when I get hit. I then realized it’s better to seek and destroy and quickly as possible instead. Racers Island added that script to the demolition derby cars after realizing someone was always winning by avoiding damage.  I played 10 or more times and won twice winning the pot. Being competitive I grumbled when I lost but I still had good natured fun playing over and over again. It was fun to see my fox avatar jump out from a wrecked car. At and towards the end of each demo derby car parts were strewn all over the area. They slowed down your car getting in your way adding realism to the mayhem. 

 

When I talked to Eddie himself he said that Nella was his favorite manager. Using the TV show “Star Trek the Next Generation” I said Nella was Commander Riker and Eddie was Captain Picard. In fact Nella was voted “Best Race Manager of the Year: Nella Boccarra” as posted on the Racers Island website. Eddie laughed and agreed that I said a good analogy to the management relationship between himself and Nella.

 

I asked what stood out about the stock created for their races. David Wetherby named Rookie of the year suggested I try out one of the demo stock cars. I found one on the sunset track. The Maximum speed was higher and the demo stock car was much easier to control. Instead of crashing into the walls I was making smooth turns. The car I purchased is an excellent car make no mistake. But the stock car demo I tried out is much better suited for a professional race.

 

One of the things Eddie mentioned was that his racing sim was welcoming to lady drivers. He didn’t point a finger at any racing sim in particular, but he mentioned other racing Sims didn’t give lady drivers a warm welcome. In fact he mentioned a lot of the people who hang out at Racers Island were women.

 

On Monday evening I was invited to come practice with David Wetherby and Wildrose Bijuox. David was very skilled indeed as Eddie said next year he might be champ. Using the demo car David was way ahead of me and same with Wildrose as they were veteran drivers. I got a good feel of what a race would be like. It seemed like a real life race like you would see on TV or live at a race track.

 

It’s always fun to experience something new in Second Life land. The Racers Island raceway that I stumbled on a couple months ago was certainly a fun place. It’s filled with lively people and great tracks just let loose and drive around. One thing about this sim is that it costs zero gas. Anytime I bump into a wall by accident I don’t risk a life threatening injury. Just using the demo car or any vehicle you may have bought from their mall or elsewhere I highly recommend cruising around on one their raceways.

 

If you want a new place to explore and experience check out Racers Island Raceways. Who knows you could become the new champ or rookie of the year.

 

Racers Island Raceways is located at Racers Island (24, 41, 811). There's also a Racers Island Raceway blog at http://racers-island-raceway.blogspot.ca/

 

Grease Coakes

9/11 Stairclimb Tribute at Areo Pines

I’m not exactly Captain America when it comes to patriotism or love for my country, however I think it’s fair to say that the events of 9/11 in New York and Washington DC was and is a day to be respected.

In real life I remember hearing people exclaim on the TV and radio that the World Trade Center was demolished by the terrorist attack. I was in shock that day thinking of the senseless loss of life. Politics aside you had to respect what just happened.

Bixyl asked me to check out a live exhibit at the Aero Pines recreation park sim and recreation area in Second Life. When I warped to the sim, I saw an excellent replica of the World Trade Center in memory of said events. To honor the firefighters who risked their lives their day, there was free firefighting clothes to wear to dress up like a real life firefighter. It came with a fire hose you could click to spray water. The exhibit asked that when you walk to the top to wear the fire fighter clothes.

Part of the exhibit was to simply have your avatar walk up the stairs to the very top. Just like the real life world trade center it was a tall building to walk up. No five stories to walk up and you’re done it was easily 100 or more. I’m not in top physical shape in real life. I could imagine that was not an easy feat walking up those stairs if that was the real version of Grease. It never crossed my mind to cheat by flying up the stairs. Walking up took a good ten minutes or so.

Before I started my hike up towards the top I saw a video screen like a wide screen TV it played a video of a cameraman following firefighters around on that horrific day. What started as a routine call turned into pure chaos as he followed them around watching the building burn on fire after the plane crash. He also recorded firefighters working hard risking their lives. The video portrayed the second building collapsing and the debris falling all around the area. He went back to the fire house seeing firemen cry as they realized not all their friends made it back. The cameraman, a man with a foreign accent, was devastated after he realized his brother was gone. Further in the video was cleanup where the fire department and more was clearing the debris and more to look for anyone who was still alive. Morale was low as they discovered bodies of dead firefighters and people unlucky enough to be in the way of the collapsed building.

When I got to the top there was a guestbook to share your thoughts. I made a notecard talking about being concerned for my real life sister who lives in the NYC area. Luckily she’s still alive. In addition to that, a little past 9/11 I worked for Sprint as a telemarketer in the Washington DC area. I forget what day it was, but I remember there was a bomb threat in that building. Everyone was sent home. I was fearful of what could happen. That building still stands today, however a bomb threat is still something to take seriously.

Watching the video I was distracted by a sound spammer whom I was angry about as I was booted a few times from my dolphin viewer by lag. I was sure to report her and I talked to a woman who said she was pushed down the stairs by people rushing by. Imagine if that was a real life scene. No one should be pushed downstairs in second or real life.

Lexi Abonwood, "... and I got pushed down stairs by people."

Grease Coakes, "Really? That was rude kind of goes against the spirit of 9/11, being pushy against your fellow man or woman."

Lexi Abonwood, "I agree with you, we are supposed to be remembering the people who helped
everyone."

Me and a total stranger got the general idea. It’s still a day to move on with our lives and do day to day things. However you cannot ignore or forget what happened that day and the lives that were lost. Not everyone is as brave as a firefighter or a superhero from the comics so we can certainly admire their bravery and sacrifice for that day.

For more on stairclimb tributes, Areo Pines' owner Cindy Bolero mentioned this website: http://www.9-11stairclimb.com.

Grease Coakes

Castaway Cove

In the virtual world of Second Life, lots of clubs seem the same. Contests to draw regulars or new blood, the same DJs or events. Human and furry clubs both have to think of new and innovative ways to make itself stand out, to draw the furry and/or human clubber.

Nydia Tungsten has done that with her new club Castaway Cove. And she did say humans are welcome just like the furry crowd the Nydia aims to draw to her sim. Her main goal is create a common area for the residents or outsiders to come and relax.

The first thing I noticed after I used the landmark Bixyl gave me is that I land on the beach. Not many clubs are located like that. Then I see, "Ooo neat looks like a pirate ship sliced in half." And indeed there are two halves of a pirate ship laying on the beach as if it was in a shipwreck.

Another thing that Nydia brings to my attention is the Psicorp vender that one of her employees Sylnaya Windlow brought to Castaway Cove. Psicorp in the furry world of SL is a big deal for various furry products. Local builders like Fortunas Sands and Lsai Aeon also have shops here at her club.

In addition to the basic dance area I saw many other attractions on Nydia’s sim. For one example the game "Primtionary," which happened to be in an earlier article of the SL Newser but I asked anyway, "Primtionary, what game is that?"

In Nydia’s own words, "Well if you have ever heard of pictionary, it is like that, but instead of drawing the clues you build them with basic prims."

"So if I wanted to build an apple it would be a red sphere with a stem at the top?"

Nydia said yes, and she gave one hard example of Lsai having to explain jet lag, which she did accomplish after a lot of hard work. Each correct guess wins a small linden cash prize.

On top of having a unique new game on her sim Nydia also has jet skis to zoom around on and board games to goof off playing with friends. Also there was Bruce, a large crab at the bottom of the ocean. It was a big daddy! Be sure to ask Nydia about her special tub and to view it at sunset.

After I finished this interview I had fun playing the SL version of the game Clue with Helios and Rua. Besides Clue I also saw Greedy Greedy.

So next time you want to try out a new hangout spot just to try something new. Go to Nydia's Castaway Cove, located in the Kalmeere Paradise sim (18, 184, 21)

Grease Coakes