Behind The Scenes of the Second Life Birthday

By Gemma Cleanslate

I went over to check out the layout of the birthday sims.The opening is getting close so activity is going on behind the scenes to make sure your experience will be a memorable one. I always like to see the builders throwing their prims and never being satisfied or finished in their minds although to the viewer it all looks perfect.

I ran into Yavanna setting out her pods to take you on tours of the whole area and took a ride to check out the route . It is a great way to learn about the installations . As you pass by the pod tells, you left or right, what the creator had in mind. You can hop out any time to go through the parcel and hop back in again when you want. I like to take it all the way around its meandering to get an overview and then go back.

I spotted several moles working feverishly on the decor. Alotta Mole was suspended high above the trees as he worked. on another sim Squishy Mole also took to the air to look down on her job.

Squeaky Mole was down on the ground placing her decor. Someone had been eating ice cream and dropped it nearby.

I love to see some of the place holders that builders set out on their parcels to show they have been claimed . This one looks like the artist is really thinking hard about their work.. Sher told me she was!

The greeters’ class was in session off sims to get us all prepare for the onslaught of visitors , distribute gifts, guide them on their way to the stages or auditorium . There are many greeters ready to roam and help. Look for them anywhere to ask for help. We will be waiting for you ! I have that job this year.

The celebration will go on for over a week so save time to get to every part of the huge display. I was an exhibitor assistant for some years and never saw everything though I was on the sims for weeks before the openings each year. This year it looks like it will be a little easier to be able to keep track of where I have been and where I need to go . All the installations are to the west of the map. Take a look at your map and you will get the idea before you go.

Here is a large display of the Linden Homes where you can get to see all the models that will be available. Looks like one of the moles was in a hurry. I give the moles so much credit. It looks like double duty is going on to get more homes and houseboats out as fast as they can and also working on the birthday. If you see one thank them!! See you around the regions ....

Gemma Cleanslate

Editor's Note: Originally, this article went up Thursday June 13, after getting an okay from one of the moles. But when one of the Lindens saw the article, we were told to take it down. 

Building Begins For Burn2 Radical Ritual in October

By Klaus Bereznyak

Last week, the sims became available, plots were allocated to contributors, and building began for Second Life's regional Burning Man Festival, which opens October 21.

This year's theme for the Big Burn (or Octoburn) is "Radical Ritual", and it follows the theme and ethos of the recent 2017 Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock desert.

According to Burning Man, "Beyond the dogmas, creeds, and metaphysical ideas of religion, there is immediate experience. It is from this primal world that living faith arises. In 2017, we will invite participants to create interactive rites, ritual processions, elaborate images, shrines, icons, temples, and visions ... The human urge to make events, objects, actions, and personalities sacred is protean. It can fix on and inhabit anyone or anything." (https://burningman.org)

 
There is plenty to be done in readying the flat, empty desert sims for the imaginative architecture that is to come. Individual plots have been divided and named and roads put in place. The large public features like Main Stage, The Temple and the Gateway are to be constructed.

A series of info sessions were held for builders this week before the building plots were handed out. In the coming weeks, we'll see an extraordinary city arising from the desert floor.

Burn2 camp builders consider the authenticity and immediacy of their builds, virtually using the sorts of materials that could reasonably be trucked into the desert, set up and then taken down without leaving a single trace.

It's not too late to participate in Burn2's Radical Ritual as there are still openings for the submission of single artworks or applications for juried plots. Musicians and live performers can sign themselves up with a performance slot, and a range of volunteers are needed, from community guides to scripters and greeters.

More information can be found at http://www.burn2.org/

Klaus Bebeznyak