Club Cutlass

By Grease Coakes

One of SL’s oldest clubs is a steampunk/pirate inspired club. It’s been around for six years which is a long time for anything in real life or Second Life. Club cutlass may not be popular like IYC or SGB but it’s a long time staple of the Sunweavers. One day when I was djing Jenni Greenfield the longtime manager of Club Cutlass was a nice enough lady to tell me about her club. The Sunweavers are a group of furries that been around SL for a while headed by Rita Mariner who’s usually a bunny.


The Landmark takes you to a floating pirate base with a skull and cross bones dancing floor. In fact to dance you click on the dance floor and your avatar starts dancing in a complex series of dances. Not your average click a ball and pick a single dance ball, but instead a full set of dances to animate your character. Jenni says the club has been through many changes for six years. The newest design is simple and detailed for pirates and party goers of all ages.

One of the djs of Club Cutlass, Cynthia Farshore, likes to play rock music from old to new. Other clubs that came to mind were Dusk Griswold, Akea Grommet, and Shockwave Yareach. (No not the transformer the furry wolf named Shockwave).


Jenni said one of the cool things about Club Cutlass is how there’s little or no drama. One of the plaques I saw was “Drama Llamas will be and shot and mounted (not necessarily in that order).” Every week there’s three events as Jenni ask for DJs to fill those events. Each event has a contest for men and women to win a Linden prize of 200 or so. For example going through the alphabet one event was best in anything U. Lots of furries come to that event in their underwear and or an umbrella. Better ask quickly if you want to dj for one of these three events the slots fill up fast. I procrastinated one time and the next day the slots were all filled already.

I asked Jenni what she liked most about Club Cutlass and here’s what she had to say.

Jenni Greenfield: That we've lasted so long, while I've seen many clubs die after a few months.

That’s certainly true, I agreed. Not all clubs and hang outs stand the test of time.

Jenni said she loves Halloween events around Club Cutlass. I told her in real life that I have a velvet cloak so I never have to buy a Halloween costume anymore. She said something similar

Jenni Greenfield: "I have a black cloak with celtic markings!"

She also admitted to being a puppeteer for a long time like Dusk Griswold. I wrote an article about Dusk and her puppets in the SL Newser. Jenni says she has been puppeting since 2002, but hasn’t been practicing as much as her friend Dusk.


Jenni’s Club cutlass is certainly a neat club to hang out at. The music styles of the DJs are easy going and the conversation is laid back. Usually the DJs are good about music requests just ask and you shall receive. If you want a good place to relax and be a pirate Club cutlass is the place for you.

Club Cutlass is at Sunweaver Space (245, 88, 123), with parties on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 6 to 8PM SL time.

Grease Coakes

Freebies in Second Life

By Kitacelia

While Marketplace and Freebie Galaxy are two of the best places for many free and inexpensive items, it is a matter of simply using the right search or finding the correct floor in most cases.  Marketplace is by far better on free items than Galaxy,  as it is much larger.  There are others worth mentioning and exploring. 


For free furry avatars check out the AX mainstore. They have a huge amount of old avatars for free.  For textures, Nikita at Trianwe has a large selection of of textures, scripts and animations for free or cheap.  Kuwait freebies has a number of textures, as does freebie Folly Limeta at Skidz. Arcadia Asylum.  For those seeking free and low cost in the area of fantasy Grendel's Children and Phaze Demesnes are there for your needs if you are strapped for lindens. 

For those looking for pony freebies inworld, check out Derpyland and, Illusions Garden.  Please be aware these are General sims, so don't wear anything you wouldn't to a family  restaurant. or act like you wouldn't in front of your children or friends' children.   That brings us to well those looking for adult items. For adults with certain preferences check out Freebie Temple.  Freebie Textures carry the obvious and more.

Other places to go for free items include, Freebie France, Freebie Bazaar, Freebie Barn, Freebie Street, Freebie Zone, Freebie Fever Freebie Island, Freebie City, Freebie Dungeon, Freebies the Rock. Freebie Factory as well and Freebie Sandbox.  There is also the Freebie and Newbie area of Blackwater. There are also freebies at Equus near Areo Pines as well.  Caribbean Beach has a number of free items including tattoos. 

Last but farthest from least is the Enky's Dollarstore, which has many items for nothing or 1 linden.  They even have tinies dragons, and dragon tines for free, which is hard to find.  I know most dragon avs run over 1K so this was an exciting find for me personally.  

Unfortunately a few Freebie places have closed. Freebie Market is no longer in business. And two stores, LS and aquarium freebies no longer carry any free items I can tell..

Please be aware than any oversights with regard to listings were not intentional except when the subject matter was too adult-oriented for the paper or cases where mentioning a single freebie or two would be basically offering free advertising space for a store. I hope everyone enjoys reading about these places as much as I have enjoyed exploring and writing about them.  

Kitacelia

Perri Prinz’s Green Meadows Club

By Grease Coakes

One day I sat down with the owners of the Green Meadows club Perri Prinz and RECoyote Mindes and asked them about their club, which was known as Xanadu before. Perri’s club is managed by Skylark Lefarve and is based on the Green Meadow Lands club in Perri’s very own writing series “Spectral Shadows.”

In Perri’s own words she explains, "Everything in Spectral Shadows is an allegory of something, mostly dealing with my internet and SL experiences." Perri said like Bixyl, I’ve been put in her story series as a reporter. Perri said I don’t have any super powers in her story, just skills as a reporter. Drat!

Perri explained that the club plays mostly various genres of rock, like 50’s rock and roll, swing, classic country, and classic rock and so on. The décor is very original like a 50’s swing wall design, plus album wall art all along the club walls. There are also retro game machines up on the upper floor. Not in the mood for dancing? Play a game of Pac Man instead. The arcade machines created from the real thing link to a game site where you can play the game matching the machine. Perri said that Truck Rolland designed the arcade games, but Perri designed the invisible overlays to lead you to the website.

There are a few vendors around behind you when you warp to the club selling disco outfits and more. Curio Draco designed the dance floor and when Perri asked for permission Curio said it was ok to use the artwork.

Later that evening, Cynthia Farshore of the Sunweavers DJed at the Green Meadow Lands club and she played her mix of classic swing and more.  A lot of avatars were dancing and having a good time on a Sunday night. Skylark Lefarve during every event has a Linden contest for best in something for both men and women avatars. So there’s good music and a chance to win at Perri’s retro style club.

The teleport carpet in the plaza also warps you to Perri’s gallery of Punk Hippie’s art work commissioned for Perri Prinz’s "Spectral Shadows. So if you’re in an art browsing mood by yourself or with a friend you can check out the gallery of artwork created by Punk Hippie. In fact she’s the same artist that drew the cover for my children’s book “Ginny Griffin’s First Day Of School”. Punk Hippie’s art style is very simple but professional in my opinion, with bright colors and a fair amount of detail.

Stop by once in a while to Perri Prinz’s club with live rock or also my DJ set 4-6 SLT on Friday nights. And also if you are a classic rock DJ looking for a place to perform, why not apply here? Perri is always looking to new dj talent to add to her club.

Grease Coakes

For the 2009 article on "Perri's Xanadu" as it was called then, Click Here: http://15timez.blogspot.com/2009/12/xanadu.html .

Deesha Romance and Relaxation Area

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Newser was informed about a place in Second Life set up as a rest and relaxation area for people, one with a unique look. Asked to contact a Trusor Draesia, I did so, and was given a teleport request. Heading over, I found myself around a location with an otherworldly look to it, with the alien-looking trees and grasses. The background music was light and easygoing.


"Welcome to 'Deesha, World of Romance' ," Trusor greeted me in voice. She explained that she had an interest in science-fiction, and so made the place to resemble ancient alien ruins. She showed me around. There were various structures around, such as stones with glowing lines etched into them, or the webbed hand from a giant statue sticking out of the water as if reaching for help. One could wade through the pale alien "grass," which looked more like seaweed growing on land.

 Trusor directed me to the remains of a walkway with a circular hole in the middle, with a red hologram filling it. She invited me to jump in. Doing so, there was a whole new area of the alien region. There were fountains with water running down, with plants in pots and small gardens.  She suggested that I set the view to midnight, and doing so, the place took on a new look. Torches lit up much of the area in light, and a number of the alien plants were  giving off a soft glow. And there were luminous creatures resembling anemones, glowing in the dark as they slowly floated through the air. It was quite a sight not often seen on the Grid.

Trusor told me the place had gotten numerous complements, "I take them to the top platform, and they tell me it's great. Then I invite them below, and they're going 'Oh my God!'"

On the surface, visitors will sometimes find they have company. Residents may find a small flying saucer buzzing about their feet. Trusor chuckled a little, saying she wanted to give the place a little humor. Down below, there are a few round structures in which people can walk inside and find a spot for couples to sit, and the view outside clear. Trusor explained those were for couples who wanted a little privacy, people outside unable to see in, but those inside could see out.

Trusor commented she was feeling a little bored at the time when creating Deesha, but did want to make a place that people could enjoy. She had basically connected two huge skybox rooms into a "double platform," then decorated, "Not bad for a non-builder." She had made not a single item in the place, but instead purchased or was given the contents. She had spent three to four days setting things up before  deciding it was ready for visitors.

Besides a love of science fiction and romance, there was one other reason Trusor made Deesha as it was. "Many romance places have closed," she told me, "others are surrounded by shopping malls. I didn't want to make it commercial. So I built it like this. … I don't charge anyone anything. I'll take donations, sure. But I'm not in this to make money. This is a place to relax."

So who goes to Deesha? "A lot of couples come here," Trusor answered, "Some single people, but for the most part couples." She told me often when dropping by she'd see couples dancing to the music. "I've had weddings here," She told me, saying there would be another in about a week.

Trusor has no plans to change Deesha. "People enjoy it. Three, four couples keep coming back. So that makes me happy. … Everyone who comes here likes it. "

Bixyl Shuftan

Kelly Yap's Art Show

By Grease Coakes

You may or may not know Kelly Yap in Second Life. She’s a green skinned human in second life like the green girl from the original Star Trek that charmed Captain Kirk. I remember meeting Kelly long ago from the "A List" for an art show best in hats. I’m a lousy builder in SL, but I gave it a shot anyway. She’s currently holding a contest called “These feet are made for walking.” I still qualify for trying out, even though I don’t wear shoes (what furry wears shoes?) She asked me to DJ for an art show of hers. I said sure why not, we were already friends.

 The first floor was created by Trill Zapatero. I saw some pictures of tarot cards what seemed spray painted against brick walls and many grails. The theme itself was grail quest with many framed pictures on the walls. There were grails on the floor that spouted out the letters “Ism” very much like the photo of grails that also said ism on the nearby wall.

 

The second floor was created by Tani Thor who made scripted art with a few pictures that had a lifelike appearance with 3d scripting. Some of the RL photos looked amazing as well. Kelly Yap seemed afk before her art show so I checked out the third floor. Green feet were the subject of the third floor by Caro Fayray. Her artwork seemed unique as it was centered on what everyone has feet. Kelly later told me that the third floor was not complete.

 

When the clock hit 3pm SLT, lots of avatars warped out of the blue as if they were hiding behind the pictures. The artist herself Tani Thor warped in wearing an amazing black dress. She spoke Italian but had a text translator to translate into English. She seemed happy that a lot of people were wowed by her art. She also told her photos, which looked realistic, were taken not in real life but in Second Life.

 

In a short time there was a ton of avatars there dancing along to my music and checking out Kelly Yap’s art show. People were having a fun time checking out Tani Thor’s artwork and/or dancing to my music. Either way from what I could everyone was having fun. Some people spoke Italian but art and fun seemed to break down language barriers.

 

Kelly Yap had lots of friends check out her art show and Gemma Cleanslate popped in for a sec to look for her friend Trill Zapatero I told her that her buddy didn’t show up. I wanted to DJ for a longer time but my guru showed up online. However I also enjoy Brahma yoga class so it was the greater of two goods. Art is a part of life whether in real life or Second Life, in music or drawings or photography of what goes around us. I may not have a fancy art degree, but I certainly can appreciate art when I see it.

 

Grease Coakes

VMA Spring Build-Off Winners Announced

By Grey Lupindo

The Virtual Museum of Architecture held its Spring Build-Off at the Builders Brewery Sandbox at Builders Resource (127, 131, 22).    The theme was Homes of Feudal Japan.   Colorful cherry blossoms and flying kites added a festive note to the competition.    The first picture, taken by SL photographer Sanfroggy, shows an overview of the competition area.
 

       This Build-Off was very different from past competitions.   Djinn Dasmijn, Co-Director of the VMA, said, “This has been one of the Virtual Museum of Architecture's most unique build-offs yet. ... Builders had asked for something off the wall, different, non-Western. Well, how better to be non-Western than to go East.”    

       There were a total of 10 entries, five in the Pro category and five in the Novice.   The number of entries was intentionally kept smaller for this event so that the builders could have more room and prims to use for the houses.   Many of the homes featured traditional Japanese gardens, rice paper walls, bamboo, and beautiful murals.   The photographs taken by Sansfroggy show the exterior of the First Place winning entries in each category.  The winners Pro Category were 1^st - Celestine Ghiardie   (House 4);  2^nd - Terra Tepper  (House 2); and 3^rd -  Granelda Oh (House 1).   The People's Choice Award also went to Granelda Oh.    Also building in the Pro Division was Rottin Dean and Sandi Glas.    

 

           The winners  in the Novice Category were 1st - Winter Nightfire; 2^nd -  Rage Quintessa; and 3rd - Vencat Boxen.   The People's Choice Award went to Winter Nightfire.     Bartimaeus Brandenburg and LunaEnigma also built in the Novice Category.     

           An Honored Sponsors Village was designed and built by Garvie Garzo.  In addition to Builder’s Brewery, which donated the use of the sandbox and provided other assistance, the Build-Off was sponsored by  XD – Gadgets, Creations for Parkinsons, Ashira's Aerie,  [zED]ge-NeticS, MeadowWorks,   Lucid Design, MrMultiWriter, Smiling Faces Entertainment, Look REAL w/Starla Farella, Top Jobs,  DRUM, and Affection Island.     

           On Sunday, March 3, the Museum held an awards party, complete with entertainment.   Twostep Spiritweaver, DRUM, Mr.Multi “Mic” Writer, and Ed Lowell performed.    The viewing time was limited at Builders’ Brewery because the event was being held on their sandbox.   However, Djinn Dasmijn hopes to find another location where the Homes of Feudal Japan will be able to stay longer to allow more SL residents to view them.

Grey Lupindo

Farewell to Gracie Kendel's "Ce n'est pas une peinture"

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Sunday February 24th, noted artist Gracie Kendel held a farewell party for her three-dimensional art exhibition "Ce n'est pas une peinture." Known as Kristine Schomaker in real life, had created the artwork after hearing comments that artists in Second Life were simply uploading photographs of their work and not using the Grid's ability to fuller potentials to display art and decided to "play with the concept." The name translates to "This is not a painting."

For some months, the exhibition was in LEA 15 for anyone to come by and either look at from the teleport spot, or jump right in it. Unlike other examples of modern art, one could float around and experience the colors, and background music, from the inside.

Eventually, it came time for the exhibition to close. On the weekend before it, Gracie invited her friends to drop by for one last party for the place. And at 11AM SL time a number of residents dropped by. Some were decked out in some artistic-looking avatars themselves. It was a fun time for both the artist and her friends.

Asking her about her future plans, Gracie answered, "Well working on some more RL/SL plans," mentioning she needed to finish her current project: mannequins used as canvases for modern art. … I am creating 16 in RL but also creating 16 avatars in SL with painted skins that I will project in RL. So it will be another mixed reality thing (smile)." Would that be the only thing? Gracie herself wasn't sure, "who knows, maybe something else will come up ... you never know. (laughter)."

On Feb 28th came this announcement from Gracie:

LAST DAY to enjoy Ce n'est pas une peinture. It has been an amazing 6 months but it is time for it to end. Please come and enjoy the sim while you can  this one last day. I will be letting it all fall tomorrow morning slt :)) Have a wonderful day!!! Thank you so much for your support :))

And so, "This is not a painting" was now a part of Second Life history, gone with the nether. But one can still see the artwork in pictures and videos, such as this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2NQ69A4DQM&feature=youtu.be .

Gracie Kendel is perhaps best known for her 1000 Avatar Project, which made news in 2011. One can read more about her and her works at http://kristineschomaker.net/ .

Bixyl Shuftan