Ashanti LeShelle's photography articulates her dreams and jump-starts our imagination

Berliner Ashanti LeShelle is polite and reserved in her interactions with others, but her photography tells us so much more.


The FlyBy by Ashanti

Using freeware to post-process her photographs and Second Life as her platform, Ashanti at once loses her self containment and pierces our dazed reality, inviting us to explore her mind and her dreams in ways that surely would have delighted André Breton.


Ashanti dangles from Light Waves' sculpty Ballerina's fingers in "Aversion"

Increasingly, Second Lifers are using the metaverse as a tool for self-discovery and projection of their inner world, with new dimensions of depth. In this regard, Ashanti is leading the pack.

Heartstruck by LOVE... for sculpties

Rodion Resistance created this cherubic cupid out of yummy sculpties and textures. It's gone viral all over the grid and is actually a clever promotion for his company, Avatrian.



Animated arrows strike right where it counts! It's also trans, copy so you can give it away to all your friends and loved ones. Better than chocolate!



Are you ready for Valentine's Day yet?

Great news for Machinima makers: Lip sync in Second Life is now possible

Evo Szuyuan is an expert on visualization and information applications, not to mention a terrific artist and Machinima maker.

Evo has alerted me to some exciting information that is especially relevant to Machinimators and voice users, which I take pleasure in sharing with you here. While Second Life now offers Voice Chat, avatars' lips are lifeless. Now Mm Alder has implemented a Babble loop for voice visualization that makes lip sync possible in Second Life. Creative Machinery is hosting the binaries for Windows here. The code may be downloaded from the JIRA. To understand how it works, please refer to Mm Alder's wiki. Thanks for the tip, Evo!

By the by... if you are like me and do not understand what JIRA stands for, it is a Java EE web-based bug tracking and issue tracking application developed by Atlassian Software Systems, and used by Linden Lab.

Second Lifers' love of wheat translates to *four* real cows - To celebrate, AM Radio announces a writing competition

On September 22, 2007, AM Radio set out some plots of wheat for sale on the land where his own, much celebrated virtual wheat field in Second Life sits, known as The Far Away. Teleport directly from here.

Now AM Radio has announced that he is sponsoring The Far Away Writing Competition. Participants are invited to write a story or poem, and then post it in the description field of their photograph to the Wheat Field Flickr group. Only one entry per Flickr account is permissible, and all entries must be received by March 7, 2008.



There will be one Grand Prize consisting of $10,000L, one Eton American Red Cross FR250 radio (a real one), and featured placement of the winning submission on The Far Away (with the winning entrant's permission) for 8 weeks. Rules can be found directly at the Far Away.

All this is in celebration of an important milestone. From day one, AM has taken all proceeds from every sale and forwarded them to Heifer International, an organization that works to end hunger and poverty by providing livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of people who struggle daily for dependable sources of food and income.



Today and 250 generous donors later, these sales of virtual wheat have raised very real money - $2,000US in fact - and enough for Heifer to purchase four cows.



What is it about the Far Away that moves us so and compels us to return again and again? It is hard for me to put it into words.



On paper, it sounds conventional: a field of wheat, grey skies, a rusty old train, a table... but in our pixelated reality it is a comforting riddle that has gripped the imagination of thousands of its visitors.

Strawberry Holiday put it this way, "The Far Away is my favorite place in Second Life. I go there almost every day - usually once when I first log in by myself... and once before I go to bed with Wendy. It calms me.... not just because it's an amazing build, but because I see the time and effort AM puts into it. There's always something new to discover. Tonight, Blueberries! And I always meet really great people there... or bump into friends. It's become my place of peace in Second life, like coming home."

For Darkle Sands, "the Far Away is not just some 'SL Build.' It's a piece of art. AM is an artist and prims are his paint. Everything in the Far Away makes you feel immersed, and the placement off unusual things in the landscape really makes it very abstract. To date it still rates in my top favorite places to be in Second Life." Spiral Walcher agrees with Darkle, and adds: "It is the perfect example of when reality meets virtual reality."

Whenever I stop by the Far Away, I hope to find a gentle person and frequent visitor there by the name of Hitomi Mokusei. I asked her via email how the Far Away makes her feel, and her reply came easily and eloquently: In the Far Away there is a feeling of peace, safety and constancy, but it is touched with an underlying emotional resonance that permeates everything in it... a tinge of nostalgic longing for what once was but is now gone. It is not a static place. Not all is revealed on the surface. Exploring it in more depth reveals secrets, that can fire the imagination... touch the heart... or make one think in a new way."

What does it mean to you and how do you feel there?


Life is bittersweet. Less than five months ago, I received an urgent IM from dedicated adventurer and NPIRLer Matthew Kidomen, alerting me to his discovery of a most extraordinary build in the sky above a sandbox. That finding turned out to be momentous, and the build was called The Far Away. Two days ago, Matthew wrote to say that he is leaving Second Life to do other things. I can never thank you enough, Matthew. "May good luck be your friend in whatever you do and may trouble be always a stranger to you."

Playing with tornadoes... courtesy of Tryptofaa Sands

I've been delinquent in my research and blogging because I've been having too much fun. It's all Avi Arrow's fault for owning a tornado, all Jurin Juran's fault for tp'ing me to see it, and especially Tryptofaa Sands' fault for making this too-entertaining toy. I got so carried away, literally, that all my photographs were a disaster, but fortunately can share this video with you by Dimitrio Lewis instead. Forget the first part... you get a better idea of the drama a bit later in the vid. Osprey Therian, creator of some of my favorite Machinima, has captured a few of our antics on her camera and I hope to at least point you to her vid soon.



You can purchase your own 40-meter sculpted Tornado HUD V2.0 on SLEX or drop by Tornado Island (teleport directly from here) and pick one up there.

The one, the only, Sabine Stonebender: Flickr group SL Picture.Pile.Ups gives me a helping hand

Sabine Stonebender is one of the brightest stars - a true original - in Second Life. Yesterday, I had the good fortune to spend fascinating hours with her, as I am preparing to profile her soon. I took the opportunity to snap some pics, but when I reviewed them, my shortcomings as both a photographer and a post-producer glared right back at me. What to do? And then I had a brainstorm... I turned to a very active Flickr group founded by Miabella Foxley that I have been following with growing admiration - SL Picture.Pile.Ups - and submitted this shot.


Sabine's incredible skin in my shot is lost in darkness

The SL Picture.Pile.Ups, which boasts 357 members, explains the process this way in its charter, "Each new pile-up begins with a post in the discussion section. Take that picture and add to it in Photoshop.. maybe some effects? a background?? w/e floats your boat... then repost so another person can take your addition and add to it... get it??"

KadeKlata Karson was the first to come to my rescue to spectacular effect.



Luna Zolnir, whose gorgeous photography has been featured on this blog on more than one occasion, followed suit with her take.



Not long after, Suzanne Graves blew me away with this rendition...



All this happened in less than half a day! What a group! Many thanks for their time and generosity.

Thierry Mugler's sim hits a cool groove, but the clothes, the skins! o.O

The opening splash page of Thierry Mugler's United States website asks: "Will you dare the metamorphosis?" (sic) That's correct. I checked it three times. That's how it is worded.

It's that same this-could-be-cool but out-of-sync feeling I get from his debut in virtual worlds, now manifested by his own sim in Second Life, which is slated to open to the public in March of this year (teleport directly from here).



Fact is, I revel in the playfulness of his Real Life fashions - for the most part - and wish I could be typing at this very moment, fully outfitted in one of those little silver numbers he's so well known for.

Wikipedia describes him as: "Thierry Mugler, born 1948 in Strasbourg, France is a fashion designer, photographer, and creator of a fashion design company of the same name."

His sim, featuring "Dr. Muglerstein," was created by the company Balistik Builders, and is in Mugler's signature colors of silver and soft blues and shades of violet, taking full advantage of Second Life's Windlight and the glow feature. It's offbeat and spacey, and the terrain texture - a silvery sand that's been stained here and there in purple and blue - is worth a visit alone.

But shouldn't the real draw... the reason the sim exists, be his designs for skins and clothes offered there?

Last night, a friend who asked not to be identified because she'd rather not be remembered looking like this, modeled a couple of Dr. Muglerstein's skins and outfits for me. What's your opinion?



This skin was presented at a press party yesterday...



Um... what was Mr. Mugler thinking?

Afterwards, my friend and I did a little wandering and discovered a hidden crypt underwater at the lake.



Inside, some freebies. Being a SecondLife Hobo, I rarely turn down a chance to check out a freebie - my poor disheveled inventory - so I decided to try on the "electric hair." Here's the before shot...



...and after! We lol'ed and lol'ed.



Actually, I thought the electric hair was sorta fun in a for-a-little-while kind of way. And that's pretty much how I feel about Thierry Mugler's hip new presence in Second Life. Let's hope he takes heed and listens to what is surely going to be an outcry from Second Life's demanding fashion community. He would do well to sign up some good clothing and skin makers who undoubtedly would do a far better job of translating his Real Life designs into pixelated threads.

Many thanks to Aenea Nori, blogger extraordinarie, for sharing her find with us.

David Rumsey's Maps: Nathan Babcock's interactive sculpties bring cartography to life

There's a new place on the grid that is so lovingly rendered and detailed, so flawlessly planned and scripted, and so very pleasing to the eye, that it is a credit not only to the people behind it but to virtual worlds, as well.



David Rumsey has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University and was a founding member of Yale Research Associates in the Arts. He has been an Associate Director of the American Society for Eastern Arts in San Francisco, a lecturer in art at the Yale Art School for several years, and a real estate developer. And then... around 1983, he began to collect maps. The fact that he has been living in the Bay Area comes as no surprise to me. As a book collector myself, I can tell you that many of the best rare books and ephemera stores in the world are found in that vicinity.

Today, and 150,000 historical maps later, David Rumsey Maps is one of the largest private map collections in the United States. Mostly, he has focused on cartography of the world of the 18th and 19th Centuries, but he has also gathered atlases, globes and maritime charts of Oceania, the America, Asia and Europe. In 1997, David turned to Cartography Associates to digitize his collection... and ten years later, he entered Second Life using an avatar by the name of Map Darwin (rez: 11/13/2007), and began seeking a way to translate his treasures on the 3D Internet.



Meanwhile, Nathan Babcock (rez: 5/5/2006) is an associate creative director at Centric, an advertising agency based in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and notably, Second Life, that has positioned itself as an Agency of Change. David Rumsey approached Centric to bring his collection to life, and now that relationship has changed the map of Second Life.



Nathan became the creative lead for David Rumsey Maps, and three months later a four sim wonder was completed that will open officially to the public on March 6, 2008 (teleport directly from here).

Nathan Babcock: The sculpty is the crown of the estate; it's not simply a hand sculpt. What you see is actual real life topography data brought inworld, so the map is true to scale. If your avatar is 3 inches tall, Yosemite is 1:1 scale.


Here you see a framed illustration of the Grand Canyon in the distance.

Nathan Babcock: David Rumsey is a philanthropist and map collector. He wants to educate people on the history of maps and seeing what the world, or cities looked like through time. Topography is ever changing, and maps serve as historical snapshots.

Bettina Tizzy: Does he come in world ever?

Nathan Babcock: He does. He loves SL and will be giving a speech on the launch date. His maps are featured in Google Earth and Google Sky, and (he) does talks amongst the academic crowds all the time including Harvard.

When you visit, be sure to max out your draw distance (Preferences> graphics> Draw Distance> 512 - and don't forget to set it back to about 120 before you leave!). You will notice that the entire region (actually four sims) is covered in a map terrain of Yosemite Valley dating back to 1883. The terrain elevation is "real terrain" brought into Second Life by utilizing real topography height elevation models. In essence you are really flying through Yosemite.

"This is one of the earliest detailed surveys of Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The map shows interesting cultural features in the valley, many of which no longer exist. The steep valley cliffs are shown with a map style of the 19th century called hachuring - closely spaced lines to indicate slope."

Fly to the center of the estate where you will find a circle platform and wait to rez everything completely.



Try clicking on "Height Map" to see the map of that quadrant represented as a flat map.



Then click "Fullbright," to set the bright effects, and alpha effects of each sim.



Due NW on the estate, you will see two colossal globes in the distance (thank you, huge prims). The first is the Globo Terrestre or World Globe dating back to 1790, by Giovanni Maria Cassini, that shows contemporary discoveries in the Pacific as well as the routes of three of Captain James Cook's voyages.



Per the accompanying notecard: "Giovanni Maria Cassini was an important Italian engraver and painter based in Rome. In addition to producing globes and maps, he issued many engravings of landscapes and architectural views which were popular in his time. He was a member of the ancient Catholic religious order, Clerici Regulares de Somasca (C.R.S.), whose initials follow his name in the title of the Celestial Globe. Cassini was born in 1745 and died circa 1824."


This photograph taken from inside the globe.

The globe furthest away, in a corner, is the Globo Celeste or Celestial Globe, dating back to 1792 and also created by Giovanni Maria Cassini.

Per the accompanying notecard: "The globe features a particularly decorative projection of the heavens with the constellations shown in their classical forms. The celestial globe is based on the astronomical observations of Flamsteed and Lacaille. Ptolemaic and later constellations are shown. Stars are illustrated at various sizes depending on their magnitude. The heavens are shown as they would be seen by an observer looking from the center of the earth."


This photograph taken from inside the globe, which also happens to be Nathan Babcock's favorite spot on the estate

Head back to the gift shop area (great freebies, by the way) and teleport up to see the topographical map of the city and streets of Old New York, dating back to 1836, by J.H. Coton.



Per the accompanying notecard: "Anson Stokes, an authority on the mapping of New York, said "This is one of the most beautiful nineteenth century plans or maps of Manhattan Island, and is full of interesting information. It is perhaps the last example of really artistic map-making, as applied to Manhattan Island." Central Park did not exist when this map was made, and most of Manhattan Island north of 42nd Street is shown as streams, woods, hills, fields, and farms."

Come back down and discover and claim your spot on the map of the world that enables a push-pin annotation of where you live along with a short blurb about it.


All photographs taken in AM Radio's Nostalgia Windlight Preset. Many thanks to our very own Amalthea Blanc for pointing me to this. :D

UNKLE - Eye for an Eye: ... wow

Chance Abattoir slipped me a link to this video yesterday and I'm all astonishment. Take a look...



The video was created for Unkle by Shynola, a group of four British visual artists: Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves who have collaborated to make numerous award winning music videos, commercials and promotions.

Robert Del Naja, also knows as 3D and the frontman for the band Massive Attack, did the concept art.

Many thanks, Chance!

Time Out!

By golly, a new record... my fourth blog post of the day and so much to say!

NEW WINDLIGHT VIEWER WITH FIXES!
Get that baby here now, and like Pastrami Linden says, if you have an ATI card, be sure to download the latest drivers.

SPECIAL REQUEST TO ALL INVITATION MAKERS
If you are seeking wide distribution of your invitation, kindly make the invitation and all its enclosures (notecards, landmarks, etc.) full perm so that they can be distributed via notice.

SPECIAL REQUEST TO ALL ARTISTS:
Whether you sell your art, or give it away, collectors will bless you many times over if you *add your name* to the name of every art piece you ever make. It's a misery trying to find things with obscure names in inventory.


That said, let's talk art...



If you like sculpture - and I do mean really_great_sculpture - I highly recommend that you make your way over to the Time out of Time show curated by Tayzia Abattoir at her Crescent Moon Museum. It has a very short run... opened yesterday, and ends this Sunday.

I've just been and there were three important pieces by Starax that I had never seen before: Rivals, Sore Love and his Clock. The more I learn about his work, the more I understand the depth of his legacy to art in Second Life. The Crescent Moon now sits on a Havok 4 sim, which seems to be disagreeing with the script for the clock, but it was behaving when I was there.

There's one incredible piece by Savi Seyes (look for it on the top of the little mountain just outside the museum). I understand Savi died last year and that some were not aware of her passing. If you are learning it here, I am so sorry.

Look for several sculptures by Bryn Oh. This new artist has me in a tizzy... her clockwork mechanisms and insects! I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more from her.

I found two works by Cheen Pitney , just outside the museum to one side: his Sax Man - featured here earlier today - and his Bear Dancers.

There are only two copies in-world of Fire 'n Ice by Aiden Seraph, and Tayzia has rezzed one of them.

So many other inventive, special works, many new to me... a gorgeous sculpture - Bold Caution - by Lash Xevious, Stella Costello's Primolution, Sorrow by Androclese Antonelli, and Determination by Neobokrug Elytis... many more. In fact, I think I need to go back and look again!

Again, recommended. Teleport directly from here.

Mono highlight: Size limit for scripts up'ed to 64K

Bjorlyn Loon just attended a Mentors-Only Linden Lab preview of Mono, the scripting alternative that is currently in beta, presented by Mia Linden and Periapse Linden. The most significant information that she picked up is this little nugget:

Periapse Linden: With Mono, we up'ed the size limit for scripts to be 64K, so... many LSL scripts that were in pieces in separate objects can now be vastly simplified and put in one object.

Other points made by Periapse include (these are direct quotes):

"Mono is an enhancement to the simulator, specifically that part of the simulator which runs scripts. Currently all your LSL scripts are run by a virtual machine, embedded in the simulator, known as LSL2.

Mono is an alternative virtual machine. It is open sourced, very fast, and very stable. About three years ago Babbage Linden had the idea of using Mono to run scripts in SL. Lots of obstacles had to be overcome. Plus, he had to write a compiler which would take the LSL language we all know and turn it into Mono bytecode.

Basically we're testing scripts side by side in Mono and LSL2. Since it's the same source code, they should behave exactly the same -- at least that's what we're trying to achieve. With Mono, though, comes some extra speed. On some LSL scripts it's only a percentage difference. But on math intensive scripts Mono is hundreds of times faster than LSL2.

I need to point out that we are talking only about a different virtual machine. This is the same LSL language you've been using all along. No new calls. So you can compare the script compiled to LSL2, with a version compiled to Mono side by side in the same place.

We know that there are many other bugs out there, we just couldn't find them, so we figured the best way was to hold an open beta program, and let residents test their own scripts to see if there are differences between LSL2 and Mono.

Mono beta started last week, and so far it's been a great success. In fact a resident found a crasher within minutes of the beta being open. I hadn't even had time to download the viewer! For a full write up on Mono please see the Mono wiki article. If you're curious about the bugs that have been discovered you can look at the JIRA meta issue for Mono: SVC-1276."

**Mono wiki can be read here.
**If you want to submit bugs, please link your issue to the SVC-1276 so that we can see it.
**Beta is running with one host, four regions.

Periapse continued, "We do have some fun long range plans that leverage Mono's ability as a general purpose VM. For example, we could create an interface that allows scripting SL using C#, or some other language, in addition to LSL. But that's for another day...

We are not changing LSL in any way. Our intention at this point is for parity. You can go to one of the beta regions on aditi and take one of your scripts and create a copy. Then you can compile the copy to Mono. By rezzing both the mono and LSL2 version you can actually see them run and compare performance and behavior. It's a simple UI -- basically just a checkbox on the script editor which says "Compile to Mono"

Some scripts need to do various forms of script to script messaging that shouldn't be necessary. They do so because the program is too big for the 16K limit so it gets broken up into pieces that then have to communicate. With Mono we up'ed the size limit for scripts to be 64K, so many LSL scripts that were in pieces in separate objects can now be vastly simplified and put in one object."

It is expected that a full transcript of the meeting will be posted on the Second Life blog. Thanks Bjorlyn!