Bay City turns five today!

Bay City turns Five!

Bay City is turning five years old today, with a special celebration (and we’ll be joining in with a special Designing Worlds all about Bay City tomorrow!).

In May of 2008 the Linden Department of Public Works unveiled its first project, the themed city area on the Second Life™ Mainland known as Bay City. As we’ll be showing, that collaboration still continues to play an important role in the development of the region, with its fascinating 1950s retro appearance.

But today, as Bay City turns five, its community invites everyone to join them in celebrating this milestone.

The anniversary celebrations will kick off around noon SLT/PDT on Sunday, the 19th of May, with a parade lineup at the bandshell in Bay City – Harwich. The parade will make its way down Route 66 beginning at 12:30 p.m. SLT/PDT, concluding at the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region.

A live concert will kick off at 1:30 p.m. SLT/PDT at the Fairgrounds, featuring Christov Kohnke, CelticMaidenWarrior Lancaster, and RoseDrop Rust, and including GoSpeed Racer of KONA Stream providing music leading into the event.

We suspect that there will also be fireworks … it is, after all, Bay City.

Bay City Fairgrounds

All Residents of the Second Life grid are encouraged to participate. Celebration goods are available at the Bay City Community Center, in the Daley Bay region, for those who wish to be a part of the parade, and able viewing area is provided. The music event is also open to all who desire to attend.

A little background from the organisers – Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab™ and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life™ and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.

As I said, there’s some interesting stories to be told in – and about – Bay City, and Designing Worlds will be taking a look on Monday 20th. But for today … enjoy the party!

 

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Have you seen these Fugitives at the Fantasy Faire?

The Fugitives!

More news has come in about the dangerous fugitives, rumoured to be hiding out in the Faireland – as was warned in a recent post on the Fantasy Faire blog. Now further news has come in from Steelhead, where their crimes were apparently committed.

The Marshal of Steelhead and his Deputies

Demetrius “Fuzzball” Ortega, Marshal of Steelhead City, has informed us that he and his deputies – the famed “nun gunnies” – were investigating an anonymous tip regarding a disturbance at the home of a Mr. Carruthers.

The Questers caught!

The Sisters and the Marshal arrived to find the……”Questers” in the house, standing over the dead body of Mr Carruthers.

They were taken in for questioning.

The arrest!

And that should have been that …

Except that a mysterious accomplice disguised themselves as one of the deputies, bringing the Marshal some tea.

The mysterious accomplice

The tea was drugged, and as the Marshal passed out, they made their escape – having previously drugged the Deputies too!

The Unfortunate Deputies

Now the Marshal says that he has received a variety of communications suggesting that these “Questers” are in the Fairelands!

The Marshal says: “If you see one of these Questers, alert the Fairelands officials. They have the facilities for holding all ne’er do wells. Above all, neither approach them yourselves, nor assist them in any way. It is quite evident that they are very dangerous criminals.”

But other people are trying to find the fugitives too …

Note on the Quest for the Golden Prim:
There are several mysterious characters visiting the Faire with the words “Quest for the Golden Prim” or more simply the cryptic “QGP” in their titler. If you speak to them, they’ll be happy to tell you more – and they’ll share their calling cards with you too. It’s said that they’re based at the Explorers’ Club on Lotus Valley Dream – where it is rumoured that this delightful establishment is harbouring secrets of its own (as well as the ONLY washroom in the whole of the Fairelands!).

The Explorers’ Club (Oriental Branch)

In fact, on Saturday 27th, there will be a party at the Explorer’s Club (Oriental Branch) from 2pm – 5pm to celebrate the relaunch of the Quest for the Golden Prim. And – as the party begins, we suspect that some – at least – of the Fugitives will be safely under lock and key!

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Seraph City celebrates its third birthday with a party!

The Seraph Club

There’s a special event to celebrate in Seraph City!

Seraph City’s 3rd Birthday

Seraph City, the beautiful 1930s dieselpunk city that figured as a key location in The Blackened Mirror – is celebrating its third birthday today, Saturday 6th April, with a party at the Seraph Club from 6 – 9pm.

There have been some changes recently in the region – awesome new sim surrounds, and the region is acquiring more mesh builds.  There are also some available sites for renting, and plans to add some games – like the murder mystery in the offices of The Daily Prim (which will be updated shortly).

For today’s event, evening wear is preferred (1920s – 1930s style would be perfect), and, they say, “tea” will be available from the bar!

It should be a fun evening – hope to see you there!

The Streets of Seraph City

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More about the SL10B Community Celebration!

SL10B Community Celebration logo

People who enjoyed last year’s SL9B advance videos (with the Angel of Death stalking the regions and discovering that, actually, rumours of Second Life’s imminent demise had clearly been much exaggerated) will be delighted to discover that he makes a guest appearance in the first of this year’s videos (once again created by the estimable Crap Mariner):

But the lead character for this year’s event is going to be a little different … and at the moment, he’s trapped in his own little world …

Enjoy!

And, in a little side excursion, Pattern Man also explains a clarification about the name of the SL10B Community Celebration:

So here’s a reminder of the addresses:

Web-site: http://slcommunitycelebration.com/
Blog: http://slcommunitycelebration.com/blog/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/slcommunitycelebration/
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/YUyZkm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SLBCommunity

And here are the key dates again:

April 15	Volunteer/Performance, Exhibitor Applications open
May 20	Volunteer/Performance, Exhibitor Applications close
May 27	Sims open to builders
June 16	Grand Opening
June 23	Official Birthday
June 23	Final day of performances
June 29	Sims close to the public
July 1	All builds to be dismantled – sims go offline

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The SL10B Community Event is coming!

SL10B Community Celebration logo

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the anniversary of Second Life – and this year, the tenth anniversary of the founding of Second Life, will be very special.

 This year we will have 20 sims for builds and stages and fun and freebies, and we invite you to be part of the festivities.

 The theme of the event will be: Looking Forward, Looking Back.

 Some key dates for your calendar:
April 15            Volunteer/Performer, Exhibitor Applications open
May 20             Volunteer/Performer, Exhibitor Applications close
May 27              Sims open to builders
June 16            Grand Opening

June 23            Official Birthday day
June 23            Final day of performances
June 29            Sims close to the public
July 1                All builds to be dismantled – sims go offline

Many of your classic favourites will be back.  There will be a cake. There will be a main stage, and other stage venues. There will be gifts to take away – which may well include a (non-Linden) souvenir bear.  There will be an auditorium for talks and presentations. And finally, there will be a time capsule into which you can put your past year’s best creations.

How can I be part of this?
You can volunteer to create your own celebratory plot, as Exhibitors are invited to show off their community and its special nature to others.

 You might prefer to join the team of Hosts welcoming all the visitors and handing out gifts, helping find locations, mentoring any newcomers who might need extra help and making the party happen.

 Maybe you’d rather join the rock concert atmosphere and be a Stage Manager or you are a DJ or Live Performer and would like to share your talent from one of our stages. Or perhaps you want to share your passion and knowledge as a Presenter through a lecture or roundtable discussion in our Auditorium.

 Others of you might be interested in Security or Public Relations. We’re looking for your energetic participation in all of these roles.

 You are invited to sign up for one or more of these areas (yes, you can volunteer for everything if you like). Orientation and Training will be provided for many of the roles. Expect that some time will be required prior to the event for that purpose.

How can I stay informed?

SL10B Community Celebration logo

Read the SL10B blog – there will be regular updates and information posted there!

You can also follow us through various social media:
Our Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/SL10B/
Our Twitter stream – https://twitter.com/SL10B

Our Flickr Group – http://www.flickr.com/groups/2187760@N21/

We also have an information group inworld – “The SLB Community” (without the “”) – it’s free to join so sign up inworld to hear announcements there before you hear them anywhere else.

You can see more information about SL10B on the Designing Worlds TV show at 2pm SLT on Monday 25th March – watch it at: http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds/episodes/sl10b-launch or http://youtu.be/POfi8sOZzvg (it will go live at 2pm SLT).

And you can see some of the backstage planning at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zve9vmtWmaw

More details will be following soon, so watch this space!

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Prim Perfect Jigsaw: St Patrick’s Day at the Blarney Stone in Second Life Dublin

Blarney Stone pub

Actually, as anyone who knows the Blarney Stone (and Second Life Dublin) will tell you, this clearly isn’t St Patrick’s Day! If I’d attempted to take the photo today, most of it would be grey … desperately tyrying to rezz textures. And it would be heaving with people.

We once tried to film a brief segment of Designing Worlds outside the Blarney Stone on March 17th. After an hour and a half of crashing, people coming and going, textures failing to rezz … we gave up and went and filmed in a few quiet suburbs. The giraffe zoo was lovely … I highly recommend Dublin’s giraffe zoo … they occasionally fly – or at least, they used to.

I do recommend you pay a visit to the pub, one of the most famous in Second Life – it’s lively and friendly, and there’s often great music there.

But for now – here’s a jigsaw!

Blarney Stone pub in Second Life Dublin

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

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Prim Perfect Jigsaw: Caledon Celebrates Seven Glorious Years

Caledon Highlands

Today’s jigsaw once more comes from Honour McMillan’s excellent blog, Honour’s Post Menopausal View (of Second Life). Today she has been visiting Caledon which is launching its seventh birthday celebrations – you can read about it on Honour’s blog.

I think my first birthday in Caledon was the Second – I remember there were fireworks the length of the Firth (the great waterway that stretches from Caledon Mayfair to Caledon Sound) and one year I had a firework dislay on the roof of the Primgraph offices in Caledon Glengarry.  The Primgraph’s glory days are sadly gone now, and it currently operates out of a shed in Caledon Penzance …

I hope to take in some of the later events myself – there will be two Balls on Sunday 24th February, hosted by Gabrielle Riel. Or, like Honour, you could simply explore this fascinating land that is still thriving after seven amazing years.

Caledon Highlands, photographed by Honour McMillan

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

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Prim Perfect Jigsaw: Drama Libre creates aspects of Escher

Aspects of Escher

Today’s jigsaw is one of the toughest I think we’ve set, and it’s a rather unique venue too.

It’s based on the drawings of M C Escher, amnd it was a fascinating build in and of itself (“Now, how do we get to the top?” one of the builders asked himself as he was showing me around).

But perhaps the most amazing thing is that the whole build was created just for one special party, and then will be taken down and replaced by another equally remarkable build. In fact, as the party was last night, the destruction may already have begun.

This is the work of a group called Drama Libre, whose motto is “Leading the revolution against Drama,one party at a time”. They hold regular Saturday night parties (at 7pmSLT – alas for Europeans) at Ravenswood – and having been holding these parties for the last six years! You can read more about them and see pictures of their wonderful weekly builds at their web-site. The photos go back to their first parties in the autumn (fall) of 2006. You can even attend the parties … as long as you promise to be drama free!

But for now, let’s puzzle over a jigsaw …

Aspects of Escher

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Catch up with your Prim Perfect jigsaws (showing images of Second Life and other virtual worlds).

If you’d like to submit a photo of your own to feature as a jigsaw, send it to the Prim Perfect Flickr Group. It should be sized 800w x 600h, or else it will need to be re-sized.

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Fun Noir for the Blackened Mirror – the winners of our special contests!

The Seraph Club in Seraph City

At the end of season party for The Blackened Mirror, we held draws for all special games that we have been running throughout Season 1. The prize for each of these games is a chance to appear as a character in the world of The Blackened Mirror, not on the show, but referenced in The Blackened Mirror materials!

We will not reveal answers here, as people will still be able to play the games on the web!

The questions (and winners) were as follows:

From Episode 1 – the A Day in the Life of Harland Quinn game
As part of the clue in the diner (where we showed a copy of The Daily Prim newspaper, with its racing news), we asked:
What links Quinn’s bet with a Broadway musical?
The very first person to get this right won the chance to appear in The Blackened Mirror world. This was Kyle Beckett, who chose to become a good character and a reporter on The Daily Prim newspaper.
But we continued the game till the end of the season, and the winner was:
Chris Collins

Harland Quinn – Private Investigator

From Episode 2: Secrets from Quinn’s past
This game was first launched at the HP Lovecraft Festival in Second Life, where a special playbill was located. It was subsequently included as part of the jigsaw game associated with Episode 3. We asked:
Tell us the connection between the poster, the newspaper report and a famous Hollywood film about the world of theater …
No-one has been able to answer this question correctly!

From Episode 4: Death in Velvet Game
In this game, readers (and later listeners) were able to find the first three parts of Death in Velvet, a special Harland Quinn short story written by David Abbot, the author of The Blackened Mirror. They then had to tell us who the murderer was (and how they dunnit too!).
The winner was:
Orpheus Angkam

From Episode 4: The Link between the Seekers of Truth and a famous 1930s novel (and film)
This game asked players to find outwhat linked Episode 1.4 of The Blackened Mirror with a famous novel of the 1930s, made into a very famous film, by the author of Goodbye Mr Chips and Random Harvest.
The winner was:
Garnet Psaltery

From Episode 5: The Police Report game
This was part of an inworld game that asked people to trace copies of the police report that revealed what had been happening in Seraph City while Quinn had disappeared after the Unpleasantness at the Java Jive. One of the places people visited on the Hunt (or through the inworld quiz) was a rather exclusive apartment block, which had a doorman … and we asked:
Why is the name Carlton Garfield a very appropriate one for a doorman?
The winner was:
Maeve Everest

Quinn and Co face a mystery

Congratulations to all our prize winners!

We will be contacting Chris, Orpheus, Garnet and Maeve shortly to find out whether they want to be good or bad characters and how they can best be incorporated into the world of The Blackened Mirror!

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Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas – at the Home and Garden Market

An Invitation from the Home and Garden Market

The Home and Garden Market are holding Open House (or should hat be Open Market) this Christmas.

“We are inviting anyone spending Christmas Day in Second Life to come down to the Home and Garden Market and spend Christmas Day with us,” says Heavenly Villa. “Whether with friends, family or on your own, you are welcome to come and see us, enjoy some music, dancing and dinner.”

Part of the Christmas Part at the Home and Garden Market

The Market has created a special area where they have eggnog, champagne and gifts from designers under a lovely Christmas tree, all part of an attractive Christmas park at the Home and Garden Market where you can relax, dance, chat with friends around a fire, or even enjoy Christmas dinner at one of the tables (you might want to wear thermals for that – there’s a lot of snow about!).

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