Dance Island

By Wesley Regenbogen

 Dance Island is one of the places you can visit if you are into dancing and listening to good music. Sometimes you can enjoy a live set of many of the DJs that are resident in the club. If you are into dancing,just click on the floor and choose your dance animation and your avatar will start dancing. Aside the club itself there are many tattoo shops and other shops around the Dance Island area that you can visit and buy items from.

Dance Island was created by a few citizens (Rich Greenberg, Roxette Mabellon and Deirdre Masala ) on July 29^th 2007. So Dance Island is nearing it’s 7^th birthday soon. The club building was created by a citizen called LadyXray Acer. Since February 16^th 2013, Money Wonder and Deirdre Masala have been the current owners of Dance Island. Deirdre Masala is currently the general manager of Dance Island. Her main tasks are hiring hosts and, managing the schedule.

Aside the group called “Dance Island”, they also communicate via Facebook, Google Plus and SL Events. They also have a stream on UStream (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dance-island ), in which they broadcast most days between 8 am and 2 pm.

On their 7^th birthday, Dance Island has scheduled a 24 hour event in which 24 of the best djs of Dance Island will play their sets in a one hour slot. More information on this event is made public very soon.

And last but not least, readers can find more information about Dance Island on these pages :

• : http://bit.ly/di_dj ( for a schedule )
• On Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/danceisland/
• At Google Plus on this page : https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/115593057276780148921

I wish everyone that visits Dance Island a great stay there and maybe we could meet eachother there one day. Also enjoy the fine music that is played in Dance Island.

Wesley Regenbogen

New Citizens Incorporated Kuula : A Beginner’s Safe Haven

By Wesley Regenbogen

New Citizens Incorporated ( NCI ) is an organization within Second Life that strives to help new avatars in Second Life and make their stay in Second Life as smooth as possible. They have different locations to visit, but Kuula is the place where most new avatars arrive at when they first sign up to Second Life. Older avatars often go there to help out their fellow citizens, because older avatars know how hard it can be to adjust to the new environment called Second Life.

If you are looking for new free clothes and other freebies, you can get free items in the Freebie Shop. Don’t know how to do things with your avatar, there are tutorials available to help you get around in Second Life You can also just go there to enjoy the music or the atmosphere or just relax and chat with people.

To make a short story shorter, Kuula is the ideal place for new avatars to start their adventure in Second Life. New Citizens Incorporated was founded by Brace Coral on April 23,2005.

At the NCI Campuses you can follow classes in many different areas like scripting, texturing, clothing and building. NCI has three campuses : NCI Kuula, NCI South and NCI Beach. A roster of the classes can be found at NCI Kuula. There are other locations listed on the website : http://wiki.nci-sl.info/doku.php?id=nci:locations

At NCI there are 100 volunteers that help run the NCI places and try to help newbies to get started. The NCI has 10,000 active members. There is also a group of NCI that enables you to chat with members of the group to answer your questions. 

Here are a few screenshots of NCI Kuula :

Wesley Regenbogen

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

The Queen of Hearts' Farewell

By Bixyl Shuftan

It's always a little sad when a club closes down. Each represents an idea and a dream, to provide others with a place to have a little fun. Many last less than a year, sometimes just weeks. One, however, lasted for about sevreal years. For eight years, the Romance-themed sim of Mystery entertained visitors in Second Life, with the Queen of Hearts riverboat club as the main area of events for most of this time. It's owner Tygeria Mirabeau and it's manager Amythe Moonlight kept it going year after year through many happy times. But in late June, Tygeria announced to her staff that problems in real life were making her unable to keep up the sim. Friday June 27 would have the last events. So it was with heavy hearts that the staff prepared for one last day of music and dance.

10AM SL time was the start of the "Memory Lane" event, a "come as you are" party, with Amy herself DJing the music. And people came in, not just the regulars, but people whom hadn't been over for a while, including former staff whom had moved on. "Black, I missed you." But they still took things with a little humor, "Aim better next time." Moria the hostess called out, "TP your friends, your man, your girl, your eye candy, and anyone in between."

Amy told everyone, "We are having some dedications to the club and the family we have here tonight ... how I feel about what we build and have built - it's the journey where you meet all the people and help them on the way- that's what makes it special. ... The Queen has been a home to many of us for a long time and some of us for a short time but it's the YOU the people that make it special. ... TONIGHT IS FOR THE PEOPLE!!!!"

The normally 250 Linden prizes for best male and female were raised to 500L each. There was also a jar of candied gummi frogs for anyone to take one. Once in a while, fireworks were placed on the ground, to lauch and explode near the ceiling.

At 12 Noon came the second and final show, and Amy turned over the music to DJ Mac and hostess Aislinp for the "Best in Red" event. There were all kinds of outfits in theme for it. Mac wasn't showing any red at first, so someone joked that it was his underwear that was red. The playful banter continued, between two ladies, "pour some sugar on me." "If you pour sugar on your underwear dear it will not be nice at all, though it will be sweet." "Sugar on underwear....yikes."

Eventually, Mac closed things off with the Club's adopted tune, the last song for an official event here.


Miiiiidnight,
and I'm a-waitin' on the twelve o' five, 
hoping it'll take me,
just a little farther down the line.

And moonliiiiight,
you're just a heartache in disguise,
won't you keep my heart from breaking,
if it's only for a very short time.

Playin' with the Queen of Hearts,
knowin' it ain't really smart,
the joker ain't the only foo-ol,
who'll do anything for you.


"Thank you Mac for a wonderful send off!" Amy told the DJ, then she turned to the crowd, to both the staff and the regulars, "Keep your eyes peeled for notices and IMs. Just give me a couple of days to sort things! We have the staff meeting on Sunday and maybe there will be news then. On Monday we will go to my sim Condunrum as a temporary home."

"Thank you everyone. Look after yourselves and I'll let you all know soon what's happening."

And so ended the last event at the Queen of Hearts riverboat club. As of the day I was writing this, the club was still around, just with no one aboard. It has seen much over the past several years from live music events by a number of singers to costume balls, and of course the scene of romance as couples came for parties both while dating and committed. Then there was the "masked lover" whom for months pursued the object of his affection while still keeping his identity hidden.

The Mystery sim remains up, for now, and there is much to see across the place from the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit, to the train ride, to the little village tucked away in the valley. But eventually it will fade away into the virtual nether, leaving nothing behind but memories.

For now Amy's sim of Condunrum will take over as the new home for the Queen of Hearts staff and fan group, the Cape Hope club at Conundrum (213, 10, 22),  But for the fans, there's only one true "Queen of Hearts," and she will be missed.

Bixyl Shuftan