Alphaville Herald

Zito Corleone Dead Again

Corleone mafia leader could miss SL Herald's 5th anniversary celebration

by Pixeleen Mistral, Criminal Affairs desk

Nicholas mafia makes quick work of Corleone mafia boss burial

A runner for the Nicholas mafia swung past the Herald offices recently to drop off a picture of what appears to be a tombstone for rival mafia boss Zito Corleone. Mr. Corleone has recently suffered a series of Second Life bans and there are serious concerns that despite a miraculous resurrection Zito has been banned again by the Linden Governance Team -- and this time the ban may be permanent.

Or could Zito rise up from the dead once again? Although the Herald staff admires the careful work that went Corleone's memorial, it might have been better to bury him a bit deeper - and remove the axe from his back - just in case.

Will Zito attend the Herald's 5 year anniversary celebration Sunday October 25th at 2 pm SL time in Shivar sim? The virtual world will have to wait until tomorrow for the answer to this vital question. In related news, the Herald staff invites all our readers to join the Herald editorial board in celebrating 5 years of fairly unbalanced news. Capisce?

Second Life Herald Opens Lively Office

by Idoru Wellamn, staff writer

Pixeleen Mistral today announced that the Second Life Herald is expanding it's “always fairly unbalanced” coverage of the most vital virtual worlds’ news, by opening a branch office in Lively - internet advertising behemoth Google’s first step toward monetizing the immersive social experience.

Ms. Mistral relaxes in a goth chair on the beach in Lively

Taking a break from decorating the Herald's Lively Google news island with pink google pigs, goth chairs, goth candles, and anything else that might pass as techno-pagan decor, Ms. Mistral said, "Herald readers should look forward to seeing our trademark in-depth reporting and critical analysis expand beyond Second Life and also encompass Google - a company that regularly needs to reminds itself to not be evil. Besides, we can now hold Herald staff meetings somewhere that does not crash continually - running Lively on my MacBook Pro under Parallels is working great!"

Network Culture Challenge

by Jessica Holyoke

Cory Ondrejka and Doctor Ludovico recently announced the Network Culture Challenge from the International Island sim.  The University of Southern California's Network Culture Project, in conjunction with the MacArthur Foundation, is inviting the residents of Second Life to imagine new ways that virtual worlds can be used to make contributions to the public good.

The Network Culture Challenge is currently accepting proposals from groups, organizations, or individuals for projects that show how Second Life can enhance, develop, or sustain the public good. The best submissions will be selected based on how well they demonstrate the significance of virtual worlds for making an impact on society or culture.

Up to three finalists will be selected by a community vote. The finalists will be provided with a $100,000L per month building stipend (and land, if required) for three months to execute their proposal. The projects will be showcased on October 16th, 2008 at the State of Play conference to be held in Chicago.

Peace March Saturday

straight talk about violence

by Jessica Holyoke

Drive By Agony along with The Blue Angel Police and Firefighters Memorial, victims of crime and concerned SL citizens, will hold a March for Peace  in SL April 19th at 1pm by marching on the Virtual Capitol Hill   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Capitol%20Hill%201/129/1/32 .  In conjunction with the march, a live music festival for peace will be held from Noon to 6pm SLT.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oleander/197/230/22

Carmen Gray organized Drive by Agony, an anti-violence group that started in the 1990's in Los Angeles.  Drive By Agony is a RL non-profit organization, that has helped over 75,000 youth since 1988.  Having offered anti-violence training to over 50,000 LA youth alone, she is fighting for Congressional Legislation to expand anti-violence training nationwide and worldwide, starting in SL.

Carmen Gray decided to bring her passion of educating the public about the affects violence has on communities, the health care system and victims of crime, and also to allow people that have been a victim or lost someone to violence the opportunity to talk about their feelings and share in a safe and friendly atmosphere and share with others that have gone through the same thing.  Many people have lost children in America to gun and other types of violence and this is also a way in which they can honor their child's memory.  I had two innocent son's murdered one in 1988 and another in 1992. Her real life name is Lorna Hawkins and her story has appeared in many media outlets.  She hopes to bring awareness about HR 3826 sponsored by Congressman Robert (Bobby) Scott from Virginia. The Youth Promise Act looks to reduce crime before it happens by investing in research based programs in the United States.  By holding the March for Peace in the Second Life world, she hopes to encourage people to write and call their Representatives in support of this bill.

Miss & Mister SL Ebony 2008

The most refined tan, dark tan and black Models in the metaverse

Miss SL Ebony 2008 is not your usual beauty pageant.

Launched in order to promote black culture and cultural diversity in SL, this is the first beauty competition ever planned in the metaverse for avitars concerned by the cultural diversity and who are owning and wearing tan, dark tan, black and ebony skintones.

Hosted at Ebony City, the official headquarters of Miss and Mister SL Ebony 2008, the competition will be judged by the powerhouses of SL Black community :

-Vixen Fairplay (Lead officer of Black Men and Women of SL group)

-Shaka Saintlouis (Designer of Shakture)

-Storm Babeli (Designer of Purple Rose Jewelry, Designer of the winner crown)

-Kwamey Pinion (Designer of SOREAL)

-Indyra Seigo (Designer of Indyra Original)

-Patty Cortes (CEO of Ebony Limited and owner of Ebony City)

Sponsors include JCNY, Vitamin Ci, Kid Asia, Urban Diva Store, Otto&Floyd, Ramos Design, ADIMU, Indyra Original, SOREAL, Shakture, Purple Rose Jewelry, CCDesignz, FreeSoul Design...

Sponsors are offering over 25,000L$ of gifts to the finalists of Miss SL Ebony 2008.

For more details see these web sites: http://missandmisterslebony2008.wordpress.com
and http://ebonystylesl.wordpress.com/

Marc and Vanessa Need Help

Would you like to take a survey?

Marc and Vanessa are students from the University of Zurich in Switzerland doing research in Second Life for their social and business psychology studies. They are interested in Second Life as a new way of collecting data and are conducting a survey about some social issues of the United States.

Among all the participants they will draw three winners, who will win an iPod shuffle or 2x10 000 linden dollars. [hopefully LL will not consider this gambling - the Editrix]

So seize the chance and get in touch with Vanessa or Marc via email (v.mcsorley@gmail.com or marc.schneider@access.uzh.ch) or Second Life (Sowi Korobase). The will then meet you inworld and explain all the details to you, it will take about 12 minutes. You can only participate if you are a Second Life resident currently living in the United States."

Thanks for your help!
Marc.

Babyfur Week in SL

Remember - Thursday is "take a babyfur to lunch" day

The holiday season is always a very special time - a time for reflection and a time to reach out to our fellow avatars here in the metaverse.

Though other's customs may seem strange at first, we are all united on a basic level - we all suffer from the same lag, the same crashes, and experience the same joys and sorrows.

Seen in this light, most residents will agree that we are fortunate to be a part of a community with rich and diverse cultural traditions.

A community where we can all take pride in our work and play.

This is not just a game - far from it -- here in Second Life we transform lives in ways that elevate the human spirit and help fulfill our hope for a better and more peaceful world, particularly in no-rez, no-push sims.

It is in this spirit that the Herald kicks off a special babyfur-themed week.

Over the next seven days we will feature a valued part of our community - the fur cubs and their friends who collectively make up the next generation of furries.

We think once you get to know these cookie loving, diaper clad, pacifier sucking avatars you will find them much like most other players - they just want to relax and have a good time in SL.

Let us join hand and paw to celebrate the babyfurs’ contributions to our society.

Goodbye, Ginny.

One of the typists for digital dressmaker Ginny Talamasca is dead

by Tenshi Vielle

It's always sad when someone from the Second Life community disappears, with little to no explanation. We get to know designers through their work, and come to love them through their efforts. They are a bit special to us, and it's what makes us feel like we might be able to support each other. A sense of community.

There are a million words I could type on this page, but they'd all be meaningless. For nearly a week now, the Second Life fashion community has known something was up, and it's been horribly silent. There was a dread that echoed. A dread of not knowing what was coming, or maybe it was not wanting to know. We don't want to lose one of the community - it's like losing family. Some people may hurt more than others, but at the end of the day, I think we all just hurt.

This is why it really, really sucks that the Quad shut down on October 30th. No explanation. Rumors absolutely flew that someone from the Quad had died. We were all genuinely concerned.

Yesterday Starley announced that one of the two people that operated Ginny Talamasca had indeed passed away. Ginny left us on October 30th due to a sudden and unexpected brain aneurysm. The future of his Last Call and Dazzle lines are unknown at this point, but not many are thinking about that - we're just mourning, each in our own way. His best friend and partner wrote a piece on the Last Call blog, to be found by clicking here.

Ginny, from all the outpouring from the blogs at Fashion Planet you obviously had a lot of admirers and friends. See you in the next round.

View one of Ginny's lasting legacies, Diary of a Dressmaker, here in .pdf file format downloadable in .zip.

Herald Celebrates Self, Book Publication, With Party November 3

We at the Herald always argue that there's nothing virtual at all about virtual worlds, and now we have proof: Neatly bookended by two book covers and sitting on my desk here at the Herald's Silicon Ghetto offices is a very physical early copy of the book the metaverse has been waiting for, The Second Life Herald: The Virtual Tabloid That Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse. Painstakingly penned by virtual muckrakers Urizenus Sklar and Walker Spaight (aka Peter Ludlow and Mark Wallace), and featuring a cast of virtual characters from Second Life, The Sims Online, World of Warcraft, EVE Online and *all* of the internets, The Second Life Herald chronicles not just the rise and rise of the virtual world's first and favorite tabloid, but looks as well at the increasingly important role that virtual spaces play in our everyday lives, and articulates the issues we'll be facing as the societies now emerging in the metaverse grow in reach and influence.

To mark this august event, we're planning an evening of real-world celebration, on Saturday, November 3. More details after the jump.

New Second Life Herald Advertising Manager

Hello! The Second Life Herald has a new ads manager, Tenshi Vielle, and I am on the warpath for new advertisers and to reclaim old ones!

Here's more information on the rates at the Herald and requirements. If you're interested, please IM me in-world or email smiletenshi [at] gmail [dot] com anytime :)   The Herald recently broke 150,000 unique hits in a month a one week period, a record for us - and perfect for your business!

Herald advertisers reach thousands of Second Life residents every day. We offer box ads at the top of the left- and right-hand columns, banner ads at the top of the page, and one-time posts in the main thread.

Advertising rates:
468x60 pixels, horizontal banner:
L$6,000 per week, L$22,500 per month

145x145 pixels, sidebar:
L$5,000 per week, L$20,000 per month

145x290 pixels (i.e., taller than it is wide), sidebar:
L$9,000 per week, L$35,000 per month

One-time post, main thread (included in our RSS feed):
L$10,000

RMS Titanic Now Open

by Tenshi Vielle

RMS Titanic Now Open To The Public for Bookings and Viewing

Glorious in detail, grand in design, the Second Life replica of the RMS Titanic is an absolute 'must see'!

Retail and residential spaces are available for lease immediately on this magnificent stationary model of the famous Olympic-class ocean liner, which also provides romantic recreation and dancing areas with scenic deck side views.

Situated on the lovely tropical Volcano Cay, the official grand opening of the elegantly impressive and truly 'unsinkable' super liner Titanic was recently held on Friday, October 19, 2007.

Heartun Breaker Leaving SL Herald

HELP WANTED: metaverse reporter / love&sex&advice columnist

by Pixeleen Mistral, managing editrix

My new iMojo phone was buzzing insistently where I left it on the granite blocks near the waterfront in Sanchon sim. That whole iPhone thing is so last week's news now - these days you want to be rocking an iMojo. The iMojo is innovative - the functions of the Herald’s office mojo wire have been packed into a small mobile device that fits neatly into my purse, but did I really want to stop playing Barber’s piano sonata to answer the phone? The mojo wire seldom brings good news.

I stopped just before really getting into the E flat minor section, and stared at the polished granite where the iMojo buzzed contentedly. In the last few days the iMojo has been insisting on role-playing a tweaked out bumblebee - something the iMojo enjoys, but creates an irritating sound when sitting on granite. There is such a thing as a too-smartphone. Still, granite blocks are really a must to get the proper sound out of a Suzanne Zeluco concert grand piano - recently expensed to the Herald as miscellaneous office supplies. Accountants and media critics might claim this was excessive, given the number of gorean slaves who perished hauling the huge blocks that support the piano from an ancient quarry outside Da Boom sim down to the Sanchon. However, Andre - the Herald concierge - assured me that most of the slaves crushed under the 2000 ton blocks during the unfortunate incident were able to make new alt accounts and are back to serving bazi tea in Gor. I sighed, and looked at the iMojo where a message said:

Italy’s “Clean Hands” Prosecutor to Visit Second Life

I almost never report on hypervents, but this one is special. Imagine this: There I was snorkeling off the coast of southern Italy, near Maratea . I came back to the beach and sent the cabana boy for a Campari Soda and a copy of the Corriere dela Sera when the mojo wire on my satellite phone buzzed. Ho hum, another hypervent, but as I am about to hit “delete” I notice that this one is different: Antonio Di Pietro was coming to Second Life on Thursday, July 12.

Di Pietro was one of the priniciple “mani puliti pulite” (clean hands) prosecutors who tore into corruption in the Italian government, exposing its relation to the Mafia and the P2 black Masonic lodge (membership of which included prominent journalists, parliamentarians, industrialists, and military leaders -- including the then-future Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi). The Mani Puliti judges eventually reshaped the Italian political landscape, but Berlusconi, who owns three of the seven television networks in Italy and several important newspapers, has managed remained politically powerful (see my 1994 piece on the Italian Hacker Crackdown for an early primer on his antics). Di Pietro’s current gig, in the Prodi government, is Minister of Infrastructures, and he is working hard to develop new media for political discourse, and it is no mystery why, given that Berlusconi still basically controls most of the media in Italy. Di Pietro’s blog is here. Press release is below the fold. -- Uri

iCommons Summit Comes to Second Life June 14-17

A public service announcement

iCommons Summit 2007 in Second Life at USC Annenberg Public Diplomacy Island
14-17 June 2007

SUMMARY: The goal of the iCommons Summit in Second Life is to reach more people via virtual reality to promote awareness and use of the latest principles and methodologies for broader sharing of intellectual property.

GETTING THERE: Those new to Second Life may register for a free account at this link, which will then take them to the venue. Those who are already residents may go to the venue directly »here«.

SHARE THE PAST, CREATE THE FUTURE:

This year, the iCommons Summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia brings together pioneers of the free Internet "to make sure that, at its crossroads, we guide the world along a path that will enable the kind of free culture and decentralized innovation that has characterized the early years of the Internet."

The iCommons Summit will be run in parallel in Second Life, expanding the community who will be able to learn, collaborate and share their knowledge and experiences of the Summit. The parallel summit will help to introduce new users to Second Life and to build the global diversity of participants who are collaborating in-world.

Anshe Pays US$60,000 to Open Virtual Pawn Shop in Entropia

Land baron Anshe Chung expanded her empire today by winning one of five banking licenses in the wild and wooly virtual world of Entropia Universe, according to a late-breaking report from RCE Universe. Anshe paid PED600,000 (US$60,000, or more than L$16 million) for the right to make collateralized loans in Entropia, meaning any banks that open there will be little more than virtual pawn shops -- for the moment. In announcing the auction, Entropia notes that “Should an interested party hold a real banking license in the real world, many more services and features can be added.” Will Deutsche Bank soon be getting inquiries from Anshe? And what about the cross-world arbitrage opportunities? A whole new world of virtual capitalism awaits! [More details on 3pointD.]
--Walker Spaight

SLCC Likely to Create Spot Shortages

Metaverse may affect RL economy

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Economists continue to predict a shortage of lawn care specialists, fast food preparation technicians, and retail stock replenishment experts - sometimes known as stock boys - this summer in late August. The problem is expected to become acute within driving range of Chicago - the epicenter of a Second Life fanboy meet-up known as the SLCC.

In addition to the fanboys, a number of RL virtual world marketing “experts” and metaverse consultancies may also descend on the windy city, along with cross dressing fur suit fanciers (furries), possible W-hat, 4chan and PN griefer contingents, academics spouting erudite au courant argot, and battling Alliance Navy and Mercanzeteer strike forces - all in search of that most elusive experience - the sighting of a Linden Lab staffer.

While many hope to gain special favors from the Linden Lab game gods, sources speculate that after having all but completely withdrawn from their virtual world, the Lindens will require RL supplicants to fill out a form on a web site after having waited at least 30 minutes for a Linden to appear - and then slip a few L$s under the table - before they are “Linden certified” as competent to fleece assist those un-initiated in the mysteries of the metaverse.

Charity Event Organization

by Tenshi Vielle

I've been thinking this morning about organizing a charity event to help out the Virginia Tech families. If anyone wants to help, please join the group Virginia Tech Charity to brainstorm and organize ways to assist those in need - and help out the VA Tech families.

If you have ideas or are interested in assisting, please IM Tenshi Vielle after joining the group.

April 14th is Bandana Day!!!

Locks of Love Hopes You'll Wear a Bandana on April 14th. In an event that is tied to the hugely popular Hair Fair '07, “Bandana Day” is hoping to get you to wear a bandana instead of prim hair on Saturday, April 14th. Says Locks of Love charity liaison for 2007 Celebrity Trollop, “The idea behind bandana day is that you’d purchase several different bandanas to replace your normal prim hair on April 14th. Tons and tons of different hair fair creators are participating and all of the proceeds from the bandana sales will benefit Locks of Love.”

Bandanas are on sale at the Hair Fair, which is easily found using the search feature. They come in many different shapes and styles and cost as little as $50 lindens.

Word of Mouth Marketing a Winning Strategy for Post Sixx Contest

by Muffin K. Smith, Herald grrrl about town.

Fox Cavern- Post Sixx grrls are learning that beauty is more than pixel deep, because last week's Post Sixx grrrl pageant seemed to come down to personality and brains as the beauties who took the stage were “really too close to call” according to pageant judge Marilyn Murphy. Now in its fourth week, the SL Herald's Post Sixx Pageant is becoming one of the most popular events in the Second Life Week. Between the beautiful swimsuit clad models and the witty banter of judges Murphy and Jaime Wheeler, the audience and the models come prepared to be both entertained and entertaining.

“The best part is that the growth of this contest has been all word of mouth,” said Wheeler. “We've done very little advertising and yet every week we have more and more people here. I have a lot of fun, and I think the contestants and the audience do too and it's that sense of fun that makes it popular. Heck, last week we even attracted a griefer, so I guess that's a sign we've hit the big time,” Wheeler added with a laugh.

Post Sixx Pageant

calling all hott woodnymphs, drow, goreans, guys, girls, furries, and robots

By popular demand, Marilyn Murphy is bringing Post Sixx competition to the masses. Marilyn has teamed up with the SL Herald and Shadow Sinners at Fox Cavern to create a weekly Post Sixx Pageant. Last week's Post 6 Grrrl - Tavasha Martynov was the winner of an earlier pageant - and you could win too!

The event will be held at Shadow Sinners at Fox Cavern and will be a relaxed pageant style. Participants will dress in bathing suits and meet the judges. The pageant will begin at promptly 4:00pm SLT on Saturday April 7. Judging for this event is very subjective. The Post Sixx column is a forum for an avatar to be seen and let people know what you are about in Second life. We will be interested to see men and women and drow elves and furries and any other variation in avatar design. The Herald editorial board remains hopeful that a Linden Lab staffer or a super cute robot will show up - mechs are teh sex - but the decision of the judges is final.

There will be only one winner per week.

Shadow Sinners - Fox Cavern (227,225,21)

Do Something Good for Once!

OK all you SL script kiddies, hackers, builders, goons, and event managers, now is your chance to do something good with your skillz. Jennifer Schlegel with TechSoup.org passed along this announcement to us -- a call for projects on using tech for social good. There are already a few SL projects in the mix. Note that the deadline is coming fast: April 6.

Pitch Your Cool Tech Projects for Social Good @ TechSoup’s Net2 Year2 Conference

NetSquared Year Two (N2Y2) is set for May 29 & 30 in San Jose, and we're looking for talented, engaged developers, hackers, nonprofits, etc. to propose cool new tech projects for social good. Submit project nominations to <http://www.netsquared.org/projects/nominate> by midnight PST on April 6th. 20 projects will have a chance to compete for cash from the NetSquared Innovation Fund.

Project representatives will make their pitches to developers, funders, helpers, thinkers and disseminators. Every project should receive a big boost in much needed resources, and a few will get a nice dollop of cash on top of it, which will be awarded at the conference by community vote. View nominated projects here: <http://www.netsquared.org/projects/project-proposals/latest-projects>and be sure to join the online community vote beginning on April 9th.

Giuliani Campaign Dances Into Second Life (Sort of)

[Editor's Note: The following is an unpaid political announcement received this evening at the Herald offices from virtual political operative and Second Life resident GenJCChristian Homewood. Had I not been going about my usual duties of picking up Pixeleen's cigarette butts planning tomorrow's coverage, I might have missed it. Fortunately, we are able to bring you this highly important disco-political newsbreak.
--Walker Spaight]

Remember this date, March 20, 2007. It will go down in history as the day the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination entered the virtual world. With the opening of Disco Rudy’s: the Unofficial Virtual Campaign Headquarters for Rudy Giuliani 2008, a Republican candidate now has a presence in the virtual world, Second Life.

"We’re very excited about this opportunity to share our love for Rudy with other Second Life residents," Disco Rudy’s creator [and GenJC's typist], Joshua Christian Homewood, declared as he christened the building with a can of virtual Pabst Blue Ribbon. "But more importantly, we’re thrilled to provide potential supporters a venue where they can share their love with each other by embracing the Giuliani lifestyle," he continued, "that’s why we’re going with a disco theme."

Here Come the Kossacks!

Hijinks and Revelry at the YearlyKos Convention, Now Coming to an SL Island Near You!

If you are at all involved in progressive politics you will know about the Daily Kos website. Employing an interesting AJAX powered social media software in which diary entries can be promoted to the main thread and in which comments can number in the gazzilions, The Daily Kos has re-energized progressive politics with its sophisitcated use of grass roots social software technology -- what the kewl politco kids and Daily Kos fans (Kossacks) like to call netroots. Now reportedly humming along at 600K visitors per day, the Daily Kos (founded by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga) has branched out to include a wiki, a media company and an annual convention -- the YearlyKos -- and now a bigass mixed-reality event in Second Life.

Here is the skinny, a small SL Dev company called InWorld Studios (IWS) is going to be streaming the YearlyKos convention into eight SL islands SL for 4 days, including the the keynotes, panel discussions, breakouts, and the Democratic presidential candidates round table. They are also going to try a "mixed-reality" panel and breakout sessions where SL attendees will be able to pose questions in real time to Chicago panelists. Most interesting to me is that attendance will be limited and the entry fee will be huge by SL standards -- $25 plus peer pressure to donate more.

I consider this to be a very interesting development for SL. If you've read Crashing the Gates, by Markos and Jerome Armstrong you know that these guys are as fluent as you can get with social media. I'm prepared to pay attention to anything they do at this point. Below the fold are some details from IWS's Dire Lobo:

Log In Today For An Auction to Benefit Oxfam

Today at noon SL time (3:00pm Eastern), Second Life residents have the chance to donate to charity organization Oxfam in the UK via a charity auction to be held in »the Platon region« of SL.

From 12 till 6, the auction will offer dates with desirable male and female residents of SL. According to a press release, "The highest bidder spends a romantic date with the Charitable Valentine, and all proceeds go to Oxfam directly. All bidders will have a chance to win SL's Platinum SexGen bed. To participate in this auction, both the potential bidders and willing Charitable Valentines search on SL and join the group Charitable Hearts. Then notify a group officer by IM if you are a bidder (Charitable Heart) or a Charitable Valentine for auction. Group members will be notified closer to auction time regarding selections and times for Valentines."

So if you're in the mood for love and charity, log in today at noon.

[Now With Pictures!] Second Death? Design-Your-Own-Coffin Contest Kicks Off Today

Ghaniain coffins -- Can you do as well in Second Life?

Dutch funeral company Uitvaart and coffin-makerer Bogra are so excited about Second Life that they're already thinking about virtual death. And they want your help. The burial-meisters are kicking off a design-your-own-coffin contest today, according to a press release. Pick up your free modifiable virtual coffin at the Bogra office in SL's »Tathlina« region. You then have until March 1 to trick it out as something fit for your personalized burial and return it to SL resident Gwendolyn Kronsage. "The finished coffin needs to be accompanied by a notecard describing the design, as we would like to know why residents decorated the coffin the way they did and what materials they used," according to a press release. Rather hilariously, the rules of the contest stipulate that "only biodegradable materials can be used in the design process" -- though this is apparently "to guarantee the feasability of the Real Life production of the winning coffin."

Entries will be photographed and displayed at the Bogra office during March, after which a jury of experts will select the winner, which will be "taken into Real Life production by Bogra Netherlands. This coffin will also be displayed at (international) funeral fairs as the first coffin that has been designed in an online community." W00t! (I guess.)

Lock and Load: SL Combat Expo Gets All Fired Up

What sounds like a truly ambitious combat expo is coming to Second Life, March 24 to April 2 in the »Armory Island« sim. The first three days will include workshops and roundtable discussions on combat-related issues within Second Life, according to a press release from Apollo Case, who's running the show. Weapons vendors will also be there to explain their products to the general SL public, and make new product and product upgrade announcements. Booths at the expo run anywhere from L$3,000 for three days of the smallest option on up to L$20,000 for a "Diamond" level stand for the full 10 days, but you can book before February 20 for a 15 percent discount. Full details and preliminary timetable below the fold. For more information, contact Apollo Case by IM, or by email at apollocase [AT] yahoo.com.

Goon Public Service Announcements

Philip Linden and Plastic Duck - as seen by Something Awful goons

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Recently, Decomposing Monstre dropped by with a series of public service announcements to share with Herald readers - but these presented a serious publishing problem -- how to create a real multiverse media mashup on the web 2.D so new wave marketing gurus to real life corporate titans trying to make sense of teh intraweb 3.D can still get the true zeitgeist of Second Life goons and griefers.

After some experimentation in the secret Herald laboratories, our tame text technicians suggested juxtaposing goon-created Philip Linden and Plastic Duck announcements then photographing the results as a sort of post-modern generative art form.

Since the animated posters keep changing automatically, the announcements displayed might be seen as a sort of I Ching throw down overseen by a benevolent Linden Scripting Language sprinkled with metaverse lag in dynamic balance of opposites. Perhaps this is representative of the internal dialog inside the goon community? In any case, here are the results:

Second Convention Hits Second Life, March 1-3

SL resident ZATZAi Asturias has announced the first Second Convention, to he held in Second Life, March 1-3. No word yet on how or whether you need to register in advance, but if avatars don't choke Artificial Isle to a crawl, it could be a fun few days of sailing, speechifying, fun-poking, partying and hawking of wares.
--Walker Spaight

Fall Real-Life Typist Convention in Chicago - SLCC 2007

truck stops deserted, basements left empty as SL typists convene

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Chicago city official brace for a possible influx of pale squinting kids leaving mom’s basement for the first time in years, obtuse academics, hep cat PR professionals, and swaggering metaverse consultants - some of the typists behind the avatars we all know and love cyber in Second Life. The cause of the Chicago city fathers' concerns? The infamous Second Life Community Convention is expected to be held in the windy city - possibly this fall around halloween.

Across America, truck stops braced for a temporary loss in business as metaverse loving hairy truck drivers who frequent truckstops for internet connections may decide to form a “Convoy to Chi-town”. The potential impact of the expected mass migration is not limited to suburban basements and and the shipping industry - some in-world club owners also expressed concerns that a number of their “escorts” might not be available during the conference.

Uri’s Predictions for 2007

Well, you’ve survived the warmup acts. For weeks now you’ve been exercising your fake smile muscles as you read the predictions that tell us about the MSM being duped by the Herald and dead hookers in Philip Linden’s car, but all along you wondered: When will Uri finally give us *his* predictions? And I understand your concern. Uri’s predictions for 2005 and 2006 were so spot on target that his predictions have become the Farmers Almanac of second life – people wouldn’t think of planting corn or sitting in a camping chair without consulting them first. But waiting is half the fun, don’t you think? That’s what the crew on Duran Duran island say anyway. But no matter, your long wait is over. I am happy to inform you that Uri’s Predictions are now, finally, at long last, available for your reading pleasure. Just below the fold.

Total Infosphere Domination

I ran into these stats via a link on the SLCC site. Here is the main page. As the figures show, the Herald media family (from the SL Herald to our publisher and editor Walker Spaight's 3pointD, to our Conspiracy Theory Desk reporter Prokofy Neva's Second Thoughts) completely dominates the SL infosphere.

Actually, for all I know these figures are the result of monkeys pounding on calculators in a state of banana deprivation, and I have no idea what to make of them. They certainly aren't right for the Herald since the SLH suffix seems to cut down the traffic count, and the figures do not incorporate traffic to our Alphaville Herald and Dragonscove Herald archives (which on some days get more traffic than SLH). Still, with advertisers milling around the Herald headquarters in trench coats offering us bars of candy and rides in their Porches, we have to ask "is there a reliable way to measure traffic?"

Saluting an Officer

The Herald sends its condolences on the death of Second Life resident Jordan Witherspoon, who passed away recently at the age of only 28. Jordan was a member of the Alliance Navy, a role-playing group that was committed to policing portions of SL on its own (though opinions as to its beneficence differed, depending on which end of the policing you were on). We've covered the Navy and related groups several times in the Herald, and have always appreciated them not just for their tabloid fodder, but for their efforts toward self-governance and their commitment to their task. Jordan's passing was marked by a memorial that drew some 200 SL residents. As noted on eightbar (where I first read about this), our thoughts are with Jordan's family.
--Walker Spaight

Mermaid Synchronized Swimming at Elf Holiday Charity Fundraiser

UPDATED EVENT SCHEDULE on second page

The Elf Circle’s charity fundraiser week kicks off with a splash at 6 pm SL time, December 7th as a the merfolk perform a synchronized swim and dance at Mystica (139,101,54). Mermaid synchronized swimming sounds like exactly the sort of thing that Herald readers need to experience - it may even float the spirits of those who’s hopes sank with the most recent Second Life updates.

The merfolk performance is part of a series of events co-sponsored by the Elf Circle and Isle of Wyrms to benefit the charities of American Red Cross, Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, and Doctors without Borders. This week’s events will include several concerts by artists such as cypress Rosewood, Fflewddur Llanfair, ColeMarie Soleil and the Otherworld Orchestra, Heath Elvehjem, AldoManutio Abruzzo, Samadhi Cleanslate, and Frogg Marlowe and Professor Blackmountain.

Fall Boat Show

a MSM-style analysis-free, lightly edited press release - enjoy!

scary monsters (and super creeps) like Flying Tako sailboats

The Second Life Sailing Federation’s web site reports that a fall boat show is running until October 31st at the Sanchon Sailing Center. Quoting from the site, “the boat show lives on as a pure exhibition of the talented builders and sailors across the grid".

Three Years of the Herald! Come Celebrate, October 26.

You love it, you hate it, you wrap your pixelated fish in it, but there's just no avoiding the Second Life Herald. Though things looked rocky a while back, the Herald has soldiered on, revivified by the bloodhound instincts of new Herald managing editor Pixeleen Mistral, and recently re-joined by Herald founder Urizenus Sklar. Now you too can rake a little muck, by joining us at the Herald's third birthday party, to be held next Thursday, October 26, at 2pm SL time, in the Hyperborea sim. Hyperborea, of course, is the new location of the august _blacklibrary, which hosted last year's event. As ever, we have no idea what's going to go on there, but Hyperborea has a nice big sandbox in the middle of the sim, so bring your party favors.

He's baaaack.... Urizenus Returns to Herald: plans Kool-aid-free Zone

Yes, I'm back and working for Pixleen as a regular contributor to the Herald because I just can't freaking take it. Any. More. As the Lindens are feted for having 1 million non-paying subscribers (99.9% alts) and the so-called serious media goobers come in with their breathless brain-dead Philip-fluffing puff pieces, and as Reuben's "Minions of Us" and the Electric Kool-aid Acid Sheep have wet dreams of metaverse Bo Peeps in spandex I say: "Step away from the Kool-aid!" Take a deep breath. It is time for the kind of reality therapy that only the Second Life Herald and your faithful public servant Urizenus Sklar can provide. The revolution will not be televised, but it will be blogged. Oh will it be blogged.

Stay tuned.

Herald Announces New Editorial Board

It is with great pleasure that the Herald announces its new editorial board, designed to keep the paper just as readable as before and in addition to make it more editor-friendly. Specifically, Herald Founding Editor Urizenus Sklar will now have even more time to chill on the Herald yacht, and Herald Editor in Chief Walker Spaight will be able to hold even longer, more lavish soirees at the Herald loft in Brooklyn.

Recruited to head up the editorial board as Managing Editor is Herald sports and political correspondent Pixeleen Mistral. Pix will be taking over many responsibilities from Walker, who has been with the paper for almost two years and will remain as Editor in Chief. In addition, fashion editor Matthias Zander, having not been heard from in some time, has been returned to the closet. Founding Editor Urizenus Sklar remains, as ever, Editor Emeritus and Original Virtual Muckraker.

SecondCast #34: And Now, The News

The latest episode of SecondCast, the only Second Life podcast that matters, is now available for your listening pleasure. We stick to the news in episode #34, covering Grid crashes, power outages at Linden Lab, and Hamlet's recent video interview and wandering tongue, among other things. With special guest co-host, machinima queen Moo Money, for extra spice. Check it out.

Beeb Seeks Avs For MMORPG Doc

The BBC is in production on an hour-long television documentary on massively multiplayer online games, and they're looking for subjects to interview. If your avatar is "more like you than you are" -- or even if you're just a noob -- get in touch with them and maybe you too can appear on British television. The film will be broadcast in the UK around January or February of next year as part of Horizon, the broadcaster's "flagship science documentary series," according to the Beeb. Full details and contact information below:

SL to Ditch Forums -- Residents Fail to Meet Linden Quality Standards

by Pixeleen Mistral, Herald National Affairs desk

Linden Labs has announced plans to close its official forums over the next few months. Metaverse citizens braced themselves for a possible drama shortage, and there are unconfirmed reports of drama stockpiling and hoarding by some forum regulars. In a move to avert a panic-driven run on the drama market, Unverified Linden (a Linden staffer without credit card information on file -- and who may not even exist!) sat in the Waterhead gathering area directing frightened residents to Second Citizen and SL Universe as mostly harmless alternatives to the official forums.

Early reaction to the announcement was mixed, as some residents pointed out that the Forums contain large amounts of flaming, trolling, repetition and silliness... almost like a normal community on Teh IntarWeb. Even the usually affable Torley Linden complained about resident “noise” on the forums last week. Representative of those concerned about the move was Ceera Murakami, who said, “What you’re doing is blinding and deafening yourself and the community. I’ll admit, there’s a lot of worthless crud in the forums. But there is a lot of damned valuable community action, as well.”

SecondCast #29: zzzzz . . .

Second Cast Episode #29 is out, and it's a real snoozer! Actually, I haven't listened to it yet (I missed the taping yet again, unfortunately), but as Johnny Ming puts it in his show notes, "The show was so riveting that Cristiano fell asleep." The crew also interviews SL resident Tony Tigereye, owner of the Tropics Casino, discusses the recent Suzanne Vega concert in SL, and more on texture IP rights. Your challenge: stay awake through the entire thing.

A Double Dose of SecondCast

It's a double dose of SecondCast today, as the crew brings you not one shiny new episode but, yes, two.

In Episode 27, hear SL resident Oz Spade's take on the recent Second Life Views event, for which Linden Lab flew eight residents to San Francisco to gather their views on the direction of Second Life. (Official coverage of the initiative itself can be found on Robin Linden's blog at the following links: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5])

Then, in Episode 28, hear Johnny Ming and the Secondcasters (sans me, unfortunately; me being Walker) interview Cory Edo of the Electric Sheep Company, discuss Cristiano's ban from Second Life, and recap the SL Relay for Life last weekend that raised over $40,000. Stay with Episode 28 to the end for a nice (or not-so-nice, depending on your musical taste) surprise.

Plastic Duck On the Air This Thursday

The Duck is back! Even a letter to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from Linden Lab PR operative Catherine Linden couldn't stop him. At long last, the infamous CBC interview with alleged griefer extraordinaire Plastic Duck -- who took third place in competition for the Herald's coveted 2005 Avatar of the Year award -- is being aired. (Other residents are featured as well, of course.) The program goes on this Thursday, July 6, at 9:30 in the morning, though check the schedule for local listings. You should be able to listen on the streaming section of the CBC site as well. Find out if the Duck's really dirty, or if Catherine has been smoking quack. (Sorry, couldn't resist. Note to Coco: You can blame Walker for that one, just fyi. :)

Herald Editor Wins Presitigious Industry Award

His is not the prettiest face you'll ever see in the Herald, but send him a a woot-ful congratulations anyway today. Who is he? He's Peter Ludlow, the typist for Herald founder and editor emeritus Urizenus Sklar, and he's just been named one of the ten most influential gamers of all time by no less august a body than MTV. We always knew the Herald was the most important virtual press outlet around, but it's good to see the rest of the world is catching up. We tried to reach Uri for comment on the Herald yacht, but our questions were drowned out by the fizz of Cristal coming from belowdecks. Apparently, the retired editor was so shocked at hearing the news that he has taken to bed for a round of "massage therapy." We hope to bring you his reaction as soon as he recovers. In the meantime: w00t!!!1!

SLCC Registration Now Open

Virtual reality takes on a more physical aspect this August as Second Life residents gather in San Francisco for the second annual Second Life Community Convention, to be held August 18-20. Registration is now open at the SLCC site. The three-day event is still in the planning stages, but already on the agenda are some pithy comments from various Lindens, and a presentation on virtual self-promotion from VW marketing and services company Rivers Run Red, brainchild of resident Fizik Baskerville. If last year's SLCC was any indication, an outstanding time will be had by all -- even better this year, in fact, given that the Furries of Luskwood are one of the sponsors! Of course, you have to pony up your $150 to attend. Interestingly, though, you can also pay in Linden dollars. At L$50,000, it's actually US$5 more expensive to pay in virtual currency at the current exchange rate (L$322/US$1), but with the falling Linden it may well pay to wait a few days. [More discussion at 3pointD.]

Help Wanted: Underpaid, Overworked Managing Editor of the Second Life Herald

One of the first things that happened to me when I hit Second Life is that I noticed this advertisement seeking an editor at the Second Life Herald. I answered the ad and it not only changed my experience of Second Life completely, but it launched a new phase of my RL career. At the time, my predecessor, Herald founder Urizenus Sklar, had this to say about the job: "I’ve been both editor and publisher of the Alphaville/Second Life Herald since October of 2003, and I’m getting really burnt out (and have other projects I need to be working on)." Well guess what? I've been working for the Herald for a year and a half now (about as long as Uri had been running the show when he posted that ad), and I find myself in the same position. I don't seem to be able to attend to my RL responsibilities and at the same time give the Herald the attention it deserves. I've passed the 18-month sell-by date that gets affixed to Herald editors when they come on board. It's time to find someone to keep the tabloid fires burning.

Grand Opening: Club Ecstasy With An S

From the Herald's random press release department: This Tuesday, May 23, will see the grand opening of Club Ecstasy (not to be confused with Club Ecstacy) in the Ecstasy sim of Second Life, 5:00pm SL time. Owned and run by SL resident Steve Mahfouz, Club Ecstasy exists "to provide quality low-lag / lag-free dancing entertainment for all SL residents. Tomorrow's party will see Steve and General Manager Icy Flasheart start a giveaway of one... million... Lindens... in cash prizes over the next 30 days. "We, the management and staff of Club Ecstasy, are going to strive to provide fun, lag-free entertainment for all groups of SL residents, and offer all popular music genres during themed events," Steve says. It's actually a noble goal, given the state of many of SL's nightclubs. We look forward to the parties.

1.10 is Coming! 1.10 is Coming!

Well, probably. Pending "final verification of all issues," according to this forum announcement, it seems Second Life is getting its latest dot version upgrade, going from 1.9.whatever to a full 1.10.0 this coming Wednesday. Be ready for a half-day of downtime while the new version is put into place -- and then a fewl weeks of crashes and asset server problems after that -- but once things get rolling smoothly, it should mean a better Second Life for all. The main improvements coming with 1.10 include floppy prims that will immediately be made into flowing skirts, Elven robes and superhero capes; new lighting controls that someone else will have to snarkily explain; and the ability to make http calls from within a scripted object, which should significantly improve the kinds of things people can create in SL by cracking the world open that much wider in its interface with the rest of Teh IntarWeb. So strap on your new video card drivers and dive in.

Town Hall: Philip Getting Friendly With the Feds

by Dow Jonas

At a packed town hall meeting with live Skype call-in as well as typed text in-world, SL chief executive Philip Linden, in reply to a query from Second Life club owner Trader1 Whiplash, responded to residents' concerns about repeated grid-grashing by unnamed griefers by commending them to federal authorities:

"If you are a club owner in SL, that's exactly like being a Web site owner on the Web," Philip said. "Interrupting somebody's commerce on the Web is a serious crime. In cases where we are able to establish a reasonable equivalance between that kind of disruption, we have, and we will be, and we will get better at, turning those people in, in general to the FBI here in the US. We are serious about doing this and we have done it."

Anshe Ties Up in the Rivers Run Red

Two of the biggest names in Second Life corporate life announced a strategic alliance last week, according to this press release from AnsheChung.com. That's right, Anshe is steering her land baron's boat down Fizik Baskerville's Rivers Run Red virtual world branding and marketing concern. Is there a wave of VW consolidation on the way? Isn't it too early for that? No word on new deals yet, but keep your eye peeled for new competition in the space that the Electric Sheep have so far staked out for themselves. More at Clickable Culture and 3pointD.com.