voyeurism

to be, or not to be

here's another set of dates for your calendar :-)

the SL Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre troupe that plans to perform full-length versions of the Bard's plays live in Second Life.

their first such undertaking is Hamlet.

although the first performances of the entire play are presently scheduled for February, there will be a screening of Act 1 Scene 1 - followed by a Q&A session with the directors and cast - at 11 am SLT on 1 December (7 pm GMT 1 December; 3 am Singapore 2 December). this will take place at the SL Globe Theatre, which has been built as a historically-accurate replica of the original, while being specifically engineered for voice-acting and movement-on-stage.

as a complement to enjoying the performances in-world, you could also subscribe to their production blog :-)

you can also help out in a couple of ways, such as by becoming a sponsor (for as little as L$500 (US$2)), or by trying out for the auditions - the next of which will be at 12 pm SLT and 6 pm SLT on 8 December (8 pm GMT on 8 December and 2 am GMT on 9 December; 4 am Singapore and 10 am Singapore on 9 December, respectively).

one of the most exciting things about this project is that (to quote the bill directly) it represents an attempt "to produce and present a professional performance via actors who might not be in the same place at the same time - allowing for actors from around the world to collaborate and perform simultaneously, with the hope of making the first step in eliminating the barrier of distance. Thus, will be Second Life’s significance in real life theatre.”

Technorati Tags: Hamlet, SL Globe Theatre, Second Life, Shakespeare, SL Shakespeare Company

please consider helping, if you can

i'm writing this post on behalf of a friend - Cezare Blanco.

Cezare has a plot of land that he urgently needs to sell.

as far as i can tell, Cezare's reasons for needing to sell the land are bona fide - the money will go to paying for chemotherapy treatment for his friend in Real Life.

the remainder of this post is in Cezare's own words - please do consider helping, if you can:

[update 5 December: this plot has been sold! :-) all thanks be to God]

****************************

PLEASE please please grab this wonderful plot, for RL cause.

He needs to purchase meds. He is not begging, but selling the land he once owned. My friend cannot maintain the land anymore (or even SL), and the money will help in first life medic care. So, if you are trying for a new home, please choose this one, it is for a good cause.

- Wonderful residential plot, NOT mainland.

- Beach front, corner plot, protected views.

- 6144 square meters, gentle white sand, and it has 1406 prims available.

- CAN be divided in two, being one of 4096! You can use one and resell the other!!!

- NO LAG, Excellent covenant, great and silent neighborhood.

- The ugly red ban lines are not allowed.

- The landlord is professional, friendly and compromising.

- 11 days paid tier included.

***Price is L$26,000 in-world. ***
It's LESS THAN L$5 per square meter!!!
Buy for this price directly in-world.

*** BUT YOU CAN GET IT FOR 23K!!!!***
(It's FAR LESS than what my friend paid for it.)
All you need to do is to IM me.

SEE LAND HERE:
Dreamscape Island (203, 29, 21)

Thank you.

I am not some "schemer" and will answer questions in IM about the land. References available too.

It is an act of solidarity to help a stranger you don't even know.
My friend is not asking for a donation. He is trying to make money for his needs in a honest manner. Please, if you can, help us out.

opening of Princeton's Alexander Beach

just in case you happen to be free between 3 pm to 5 pm SLT today (11 pm GMT 28 November to 1 am GMT 29 November; 7 am to 9 am Singapore time), please do consider attending the opening of Princeton University's newest sim - Alexander Beach.

Alexander Beach features the architectural talent of Scope Cleaver - it's actually his fourth commissioned build for the university.

Alexander Beach is designed to be a social and performance space for the Princeton community, and includes a sandbox and an exhibition gallery.

you can read more about the build in:
- Aleister Kronos's 24 September entry in Ambling in Second Life;
- Bettina Tizzy's 23 November entry in Not Possible in Real Life; and
- Harper Beresford's 24 November article for SLNN.

congratulations, Scope :-)

Technorati Tags: landmarks, place, Scope Cleaver, Second Life

Linden Lab loves geography teachers

the geography teachers among you might find it worth your while experimenting with the new-found power that WindLight has so kindly bestowed us :-)

leaving Imzadi

it's never easy leaving home.

it's never easy moving on.

i took the very difficult decision to cease my tenancy at my original home sim of Imzadi today.

Imzadi will always have a very special place in my heart. without the sense of place, security and warmth that Imzadi gave me, the young and newly-rezzed Veritas Raymaker would have felt very lost in Second Life, especially during those crucial first months when everything seemed so new and overwhelming.

as he has always been, my friend Bouncing Box - was there today, as i was packing my things.

Bouncing was there that first day, when i was full of excitement and nervousness, and he was there today.

thank you, Bouncing, for always having time for me.

:-)

Bouncing and i enjoying the view from Imzadi, one last time

Christmas shopping

it's a month to Christmas!

:-)

while we are not yet in the season of Advent, it's never too early to make room in our hearts for our Risen Lord, and to invite Him into our lives.

if you are looking for a Christmas tree through which to share His love and blessings with others, please do consider Sue Stonebender's Silent Night Tree. As Sue explains, the Tree is part of the Second Life Ubuntu project, in which a proportion (in this case, 25 percent) of the proceeds from sales of participating products will go towards microfinancing schemes in Real Life.

you can read more about it in her 22 February blog entry, in Prim Perfect's 10 April write-up, and most recently in Sue's extended FAQ.

Sue's talents are, of course, not limited to Christmas trees :-) she is best known for Intemptesta Nox, which was the home sim of the (now defunct) Opéra Populaire - itself inspired by the Palais Garnier in Paris.

why not get your Christmas trees and visit the new Opera House while you're there :-)

on a totally different topic, if you happen to be free at 6 pm SLT on 29 November (2 am GMT 30 November; 10 am Singapore 30 November), then do consider going to Spaceport Bravo to attend a ninety-minute talk by Jamais Cascio on the Metaverse Roadmap. the talk is the second in the Metaverse Meetup series organised by (former Linden) Lys Ware (RL: Henrik Bennetsen), who is the research director over at the Stanford Humanities Lab.

here's the abstract of the talk:
>> The Metaverse -- what does it include, where is it going, and how will it change our lives? Based on my work for the Metaverse Roadmap Overview, I'll look both at the underlying technologies of the Metaverse and at the social, cultural and economic impacts it could have.

you can RSVP via Facebook.

oh! i took my first WindLight pic today :-)

looking down on my apartment at Solafirma, from 300 metres

Thanksgiving aboard the SS Galaxy

Bill Stirling - the Chief Architect of the SS Galaxy - threw a surprise Thanksgiving party this evening :-)

thank you, Bill!

hydrodynamics 101

first of all, i'd like to wish all my American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!

:-)

i took this shot earlier today: just like i did back in July, here's me learning about hull construction - keels, in particular - in some of the most highly motivational ways imaginable.

authentic learning, anyone? :-)

Raymaker V - a Tiara-class sloop designed by Tracylynne Carpenter

feeling like Tom Sawyer

here's me feeling like ol' Tom must have felt on the Mississippi.

i'm on my trusty Old Wooden Raft, admiring the view - in this case, the exquisite craftsmanship of Tracylynne Carpenter.

hope it's infectious

the one-hundred-and-thirty-first episode of ventriloquy introduces Solafirma - an architectural build by Alex Bader.

Alex has very kindly granted me living space within Solafirma, and i take the opportunity to pose the question of the relationship between architectural builds and the subsequent creative outputs of the individuals who inhabit them.

this question is not a trivial one, especially in the light of the increasing number of educational institutions which have already set up, or are considering initiating, presences and projects within Second Life.

as you wait for this 1.7 MB episode to download, i invite you to browse Alex's Flickr photostream of Solafirma :-)