What is the matter with us?

The last days I have been post processing some Second Life images. As my avatar has changed, I wanted to put that in a picture, which you could also see in my previous post.
Now, I have been asking to work on that idea, and I made two extra pictures with that similar idea, and posted it to flickr.
Apparently, someone, and it is supposed to be a very dear friend of mine, has done a picture like this one some months ago, and she had the idea again from another RL photographer, and is now upset because I am working on that idea too, although with a total different meaning.
What I am trying to say is, that we, by looking at the flickr stream of our colleagues photographers, may work on another idea, to my opinion. As long as we don't steel the image itself.
If my work is better or worse doesn't even matter, if I think it is good for me, than it is.
Flickr is to my knowledge a site where people can encourage others, by commenting the work of colleagues. I never ever once gave bad critics to another picture.
You don't expect this, at least not from your friends. When they have something to say they can do that in IM or by email, not in public, on flickr, to other friends of mine. Than you are going too far.
Now, I am deeply disappointed in this happening, so I have decided to step away from all this. I will keep on doing what I was doing, as I am grateful to the friends who keep encouraging and supporting me, but I hope that everyone will use their common sense in 2008.
If I will continue to post articles to this blog, remains to be seen.
Yet, it seems that all people are very, but very fast upset in Second Life, and I don't like that. It all began with fun, but where is it ending? Thank you Second Life, I prefer my first life, where I have real friends.

For your information you can find here the three pictures, so you know what I am talking about.
The inspiration started with a rl picture.

Josh Sommer's "Stepping out."


Bella March's ""Break out Bella"


Looker Lumet's "Look(er) in the mirror"

Time for a change

Looker Lumet is stepping out of the flatscreen to help former Looker with his Second Life's avatar.

A Neko in Velvet Underground......

Yesterday evening was very strange to me.
I was all alone in Second Life, without my girlfriend, who had some troubles with her pc , so I thought not to stay very long on the grid.
But suddenly I was invited to a new shop of Duivel Cnoche, who now has a big store where you can find various clothing for women as well as for men.
While looking at the men's clothing and drinking a glass of champagne, I got an IM from another friend who had some trouble with the television, asking if I could be of help. And, as a good friend, I went off to see if I could help him out with his television, which I did.
I have thrown the tv out and put a slide show frame instead. Problem solved, ;))
Since my victory at the Avatrait Gallery, last Sunday, I had the chance to meet the runner up, Lady Arwin Demina. And she is quiet a woman.;)
The other day when I met her, I saw her changing as a neko woman. And I could not resist to give her a compliment about her looks. Now, yesterday, I suggested to take some pics of her.
Well, the least I can say is that she has the looks.;)
Looking for the ideal place to take the snapshots, it was obvious that we chose Velvet Underground. A terrific place for neko's and perfect for pictures.
As this was done in a short period of time, I wonder what I can do, spending some more time with LadyArwin.;))

What is happening with my Second Life screen?

Who can tell me what these black belts are doing in my screen? It seems that I can't take snapshots anymore without these two black stripes on my screen.
I noticed it a couple of days ago, and it won't go away. It must have something to do with some settings as only I can see it. I thought at first that only to log in again would solve the problem, but unfortunately it doesn't.
I also tried a different avatar, but I have the same view with that avatar.
This problem is noticed only in the open air, so not in a house or building...strange..isn't it?
Who can tell me what it stands for, how to solve it, how to get rid of them?

I have been tagged for....Slex questions

Apparently, the Second Life bloggers have found a new game to write articles, just tag one and other, and you have a story.
As I told before, I don't like these games, and I was thinking about not to answer. But I won't spoil the fun.(fun?! for who?;))
I was already happy, that nobody had tagged me for this, but Joonie did. Oops..she did it again, lol.
Now to tag the next bloggers with this questionnaire will be tougher than to answer these questions.
Going through these questions, I already would answer the same on many of them, but I will try to diversify a bit.

Name the avatar that you would most like to have second life sex with for…

1. … their avatar: Tymmerie Thorne

2. … their mind: Bailey Toland

3. … their poetic/mystical/creative spirit: Cienega Soon

4. … their social success/success in SL: Shoshana Epsilon

5. … their libido: Inex Dix

6. … wanting them to go against type for you. That is, if they are normally a top, you would want them to be your bottom, if they are straight and you are same sl gender: Chloe Streeter

7. … and you would go against type for this: Lady Arwin Demina

8. … and you would most want to do a nothing-but-sex week with, who you are not currently having sl sex with: Winter Wardhani

9. … and you want a threesome, which two. They don't have to be from the above list, but can be: Ryker Beck and Tymmerie Thorne

10. … "The forbidden," the one that, you'd like to publicly confess to, but the consequences would be toooooo awful. Examples would be your best friend's partner, a professional contact, someone you know rl who is here… Someone who you want, but have never been able to confess it too. Don't post… Just answer with whether they are online right at the moment that you post your answer: no, not online

11. … nostalgia reasons: Wilma Miles

Sorry for those whom I have tagged, but I was forced....(ok, just a little bit). Don't take it too personal, ;))

That was the easiest part, now I have to tag others....and I tag Tymmerie (obvious), Chloe, Winter, Amanda and Zippora.

Time for change.......Looker Lumet.

Being on the grid in Second Life for almost a year I thought it was time to change my looks. As my previous avatar was difficult to snapshot in close up, my first concern was to look for a shape where the face had some details, which could be taken in a snapshot without deformation.
I think with this skin and shape, I have found myself a new Looker Lumet.
Now, I only have to wait for the reactions, to see if I have made the right choice, or if I have to look for another look..;)

Xmas party, Rezzday.........in Second Life

After some great Xmas parties, in RL as well as Second Life, I had a little time to post process some pictures of the past days.
Last Sunday the last party of the year was held at the Spin Lounge. Again there was great music and a real Xmas atmosphere. At the same time, one of my dearest friends, and also dancer at the Spin Lounge, Inex, had her rezzday. Nothing special, no special occasion to her, just another day.
From me to Inex...a happy Rezzday, and many to come!!!!
In the meanwhile I am waiting for the next Xmas party in SL where I have to go to.;)

Photo contest in Second Life's Avatrait Gallery: the results!

On December 11, I wrote an article that there was a contest going on at the Avatrait Gallery.

"Paolo Bade has an exhibition going on at Avatrait Gallery in Second Life. He made a tribute to a RL photographer, Helmut Newton, and for that reason there is now a photo contest called " A tribute to Paolo Bade's tribute" ..."

Well, after a week of tension, the winners are known, and I am proud to say that I have won that contest. It was a draw, and probably not easy to decide for the jury, but must admit that the other picture is quiet good too!





Congratulations to my co-winner, Helen Rustamova, with her picture "Out of Petrol".



Thank you for voting, because without your support I would not have won.;)
Congratulations to all other contestants, as all pictures were original and beautiful!

Outdoor pictures

When I have the time, and not logged into Second Life, I like to take a walk in the neighborhood, and take pictures. As in this time of the year you can find some amazing views in nature, I decided to put some of them on my blog, although it has nothing to do with SL. See it as a little break in these times of holidays.

No More Group Limitation in Second Life!!

Ok, Veyron asks us to fight against the group limitation in SL, with the maximum of 25 groups. It is indeed rather annoying to decline everytime, when you get an invite, and you don't know at that time, which one you should leave, to be able to accept that invitation.
So, maybe now it is the time to fight the Lindens, and come up for our rights, ;))
We want no group limitations!!
To vote on this , you can go to the Jura issue , and with enough votes we might convince the Lindens to adjust that group limitation!
The request exists already on the Jura from May, but still there has nothing happened, so please go and vote for having a better Second Life.;))

Photoshoot in Second life - Born to be wild

I have taken some snapshots on demand this week.
Sometimes you can find a whole family on the grid, and when they are close, they regularly meet inworld. Now I was asked to take some pictures of the brother, together with his friend online, and his family. As he is an admirer of bikes and sports cars, it speaks for itself that I had to take some shots with a bike or/and car.
In the beginning I was not enthusiastic at all about the pics I have been taken, but after some post processing, I think
at least some of them are worthwhile to show, although I have uploaded the whole shoot to flickr.
Once and a while I am asked to do a photoshoot, which I do with pleasure, as every subject has different wishes, and me, as a photographer, has to find out what to do with it, to be a little creative, and that is exactly what I like about it. Because some of the days , it is hard to find the right subject on your own, when you are not exactly in the mood, but those jobs, like this photoshoot, gives me the right impulse to proceed with what I am doing on Second Life. Trying to take some nice shots, that can please everybody, in the first place myself, and in the meanwhile learn how to use the programs.
And, as I have experienced these past days, that learning process doesn't come always from the same corner. Motivation, by getting compliments from an unexpected corner, might sometimes do miracles. ;)

OSRAM initiates ideas competition in Second Life

Okay, it is not really fresh news, but maybe you did not see it, maybe you did not know, and I think the price money is worthwhile to consider submitting any idea. If you have seen "the light", now it is the time to come forward.;)
There is still some time left, so get your ideas together and brighten up your Second Life, that is, when the grid is not down, like last night (again).;(

Press release 12/04/07

"The One Million Dollar* Idea"

OSRAM is kicking off its second round of Second Life activities with the launch of an ideas competition, the like of which has yet to be seen. In a competition in the virtual world, the light manufacturer is looking for an idea connected with the world of light. The special feature of the contest: the best idea will not only receive a prize, but will also be turned into an actual product in the real world. The lucky winner will receive a million Linden dollars for the development.

"We believe that Second Life holds a huge international potential for creativity," says Juliane Braun, Head of Corporate Communications, explaining the rationale behind the competition. "We would like to pick up on this and find out how ideas are developed in a virtual world." OSRAM is holding a competition to find an idea which can then be launched on the market as a genuine product. Clearly, this will require more than just a spontaneous brainwave. The feasibility of the idea will thus be investigated in advance in Second Life, before being jointly developed in a specially created development laboratory. The company has set a deadline of five months for selecting the product and has created a kind of development environment with a think tank and conference area on OSRAM Island.

Anyone can apply by submitting a preliminary sketch of the idea for the qualifying round. From the start of the competition on 6 December 2007, the Second Life residents will have four weeks' time to enter. A total of 250 of the entries will be selected - and then the next round will begin in five groups of fifty competitors. The ideas will be refined and elaborated with supervision and presentation by OSRAM specialists. The winner and runner-up in each group will progress into the next round. And: each group winner will receive 75,000 Linden dollars and each group runner-up 25,000 Linden dollars.

The ten finalists will then undergo more scrutiny and their ideas will be further developed with light professionals from OSRAM. The winner or the winning team of the One Million Dollar* Idea competition will be announced after five months. The most original ideas will be presented again and displayed to the community at a big final party.

Secret Second Life

Once and a while there are good initiatives in the blogosphere.
And for this article I found a blog (rather a forum), where all residents can react anonymous with their secret stories. I did not read all of them of course, but was surprised to see how many people have secret desires, which become true in Second Life.
As many of us have already written before, feelings are real in Second Life, and not all of us can handle those feelings that well.
It is sometimes hilarious to read these messages, but on the other hand, also very frightened to see how a virtual world can mess up with your Rl.
It is a Dutch site, but I have tried to translate some of these articles.

SL Problem

I have also such a problem, started as a man, but soon found out my interests in being a shemale. Is this an unsuspecting side of me? No, I am already wrestling for a longer period of time with bisexual feelings, although I am married in RL. I met two Italians to whom I am a little bit attracted to, and they to me, and now I am in the middle of two lovers; I force myself not to log in on SL, because it already takes all my free time, and I am also tended to play at night, while I am supposed to go to work the very next day. SL can be terribly addictive and time-consuming. keep that in mind! And thereby, also....very compromising...

Where are you?

Hello, in RL I am a bachelor, and I am planning to keep it that way for "the time being", as I like it. In SL however, I miss the woman who gives me a hard time if I don't clean up the house, don't give her some kind of attention etc... Who wants to give me a hard time in SL, by means of IM's, and to quarrel with me once and a while?

Being in Love

I have a crush on him. A normal conversation is not possible. It will always go stiff. ;) from both sides ;) We can no longer focus and he continues with his ordinary life. Sometimes he makes those charming observations, but I don’t know how to react. I do panic with him! only with him! I can not imagine saying it to him. The problem is that I am falling, more and more, in love with him. Help! How can I get rid of these feelings?

Real feelings in Second Life

It all started a couple months ago. I was new and wanted to look as nice as possible, as soon as possible, but after a couple of hours, I had only another color of eyes and glittering earrings. I was tired of messing around, and had now to visit some nice places in SL. Whereas I stood on the dancefloor, an IM appeared. I started a conversation, but had never had such a good conversation. It was concerning just about everything, and I felt myself as I was in the seventh sky. And he felt it the same way, as it went from IM in SL to msn and even to webcam. I have a boyfriend in RL, and he is not too happy with me being on the grid that often. I don't want to stop. I want to continue speaking this "stranger" and meet him once. I am a big girl and know the dangers. But, I have already a relationship with my boyfriend from my 14th birthday on, and now I have doubts of leaving him. I am now 21 and still have a complete life ahead of me, why than staying with one boy whereas there is still so much to explore and to date.;)) SL got me thinking, and has now become a big part of my RL.

We all are having fun on the grid, and we all have certain temptations, but beware, avatars in Second Life doesn't always appear to be what they really are in RL.
How can you even think, after having some kind of relationship in SL, without seeing the other one, leaving your partner in RL and throwing yourself in the unknown?

In the Dutch language we use to say : the grass is always greener on the other side.;)

IBM did learn from Second Life.

IBM has created its own internal virtual world called Metaverse for corporate meetings and collaboration. Why not use Second Life? “If you really want to make most of these (virtual world) meetings it has to be confidential,” said IBM CIO Mark Hennessey.

Those comments could indicate the beginning of a trend: Corporate specific virtual worlds designed to bridge geographies. The message: Confidentiality is everything whether your world is virtual or not.

“We did learn a lot in Second Life, but wanted to do a world here internally where we could talk about IBM types of things securely,” said Michael Ackerbacker, innovation manager of IQ collaboration development at IBM.

So what did Ackerbacker and IBM learn about corporate virtual worlds? Here are a few key takeaways:

Remember the users when building a virtual world. The goal is to enable collaboration not make things complicated. Ackerbacker said IBM is still noodling over how to bring the emotional connection into virtual space and get employees there easily. “Can we create a learning environment that doesn’t get in the way?” asked Ackerbacker.

Cater to your culture. The avatar options in Metaverse–built on the Torque gaming engine–were distinctly IBM. For instance, ties are an option. So is gray hair is an option. And no one is some hybrid animal thingy.

Don’t be exclusive. If you want collaboration you have to make virtual worlds simple. Ackerbacker said IBM stripped down its user interface “quite a bit.” “We only have a dozen controls,” said Ackerbacker. “Click on an icon and it’ll do something–fly, teleport and dress. We’re having an ongoing discussion on how to make it easier.”

Don’t be surprised if IBM takes these learnings an turns them into a service for verticals like retailing and hospitality.

From ZDNet

Career makers in Second Life (part 4)

Sinatra Cartier, aka Rick Ellis performed yesterday evening at the Playboy SIM.
Thanks to a tip from a friend I went to see a show of his, not knowing what to expect. But during his one hour and a half performance, I truly became aware that the man singing in front of me was the one and only impersonator of Frank Sinatra. If it was Frank himself who stood there before us.
The looks of his avatar could be better, but his voice, and that is what counts, was really amazing.
Apparently, this artist is not a one day fly. He is already performing songs of Frank Sinatra for over 20 years. He knows what he is doing.
His avatar has been on the grid from 2003, so he did already quiet some shows here in Second life.
In RL he already performed for actors Don Johnson, Robert Wagner, Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Sidney Poitier, and many others.
You can check out his RL website, or his Second Life site through this link.
Convince yourself by listening to his version of "All of me".

Second Life Bloggerparty December 16th

Last Sunday, the blogger party for December was held at the Royal Caledon Air Force, while Zoe Connolly and Lady Whoop-Ass/Flight LT Diamanda "Cuckoo" Gustafson were our host.

While more than 55.000 residents were online, the second life bloggers were trying to reach the party, and once arrived at the spot, stay there without crashing.

As Zippora already stated yesterday in one of my posts, it was not easy, to dance, to chat, and most of all to stay online without crashing. It does not need much explanation why I do not have more snapshots this time. Every time I had a nice view, and pushed the button, my view changed, and I could start all over again, struggling against the lag.

It is good to know that Second Life’s popularity is growing, but it is certainly not more fun. On the contrary, as I wrote in a previous post.

The set up for this party was beautiful, with the planes in the background, dancing on the ice, music from the 40’s. Everything was there to make it a great last bloggerparty of 2007. Only, the Linden servers wouldn’t cooperate.;)

Nevertheless, we are grateful to Zoe, for having us there at Caledon, and making it a hell of a party.

Best wishes to all of you colleague bloggers, and see you at the next blogger party in 2008.(February?)

Look at my flickrsite for the other pics.

B.Places in Second Life

Last week I received a note from the Avatrait Gallery with the request to vote on the B.places voting box, standing in the gallery.
As I saw the box, the logo came immediately to my attention, as it was so familiar. At least to me. I can imagine that not everyone inworld would recognize the "b"logo. But me, as a good Belgian, saw the sign of Brussels Airlines. Could that be correct? Has Brussels Airlines made his entrance to Second life?
Yes they have, and what a great initiative.
Discover each week exciting locations and visit new exclusive worlds.
They provide a top list of b.places. Places that have been suggested by avatars, just like you and me. So, after a while, you will get a pretty good view which SIM you should visit.
On their website, you can find a newly popular place list, the top 20 and the new b.places.
"Brussels Airlines has created this website, together with a set of tools, to promote rapid and easy travelling to top destinations of your choice."
When you wear the free HUD, you have the last visited spots directly on hand, with some other features.
I only saw the link to Brussels Airlines this weekend, and that is why I post this article only now. But I am sure, as a photographer, I will enjoy seeing the best locations.(when there is no lag, of course;))

Why Second life crashes?

This is a very interesting question, where a lot of residents would know the answer of.
Of course everybody knows it has something to do with the capacity of pc, video card etc.... but I was wondering why I keep crashing lately so often in Second Life.
Even just standing somewhere, and only talking makes me sometimes crash.
As I am a photographer in Second Life, it is rather important to have as less lag as possible, and certainly not to crash, but unfortunately, where ever I come, I need to wait so long till everything has rezzed, before I can make one picture, and when I make that shot, I crash.
You can imagine my disappointment, and that is mainly the reason why I haven't post new pictures over the last few days.
Do I need to buy me a new PC? A new video card? Extend the memory?
Probably the most accurate answer will be, buy yourself a new PC, with a better video card, more memory.
So there is nothing else to do for me than to wait, until my financial situation allows it to buy me a new system.;)
In the meanwhile I hope that I can keep making pictures once and a while, without too much trouble of lag and crashes.

Half a million lost pieces recovered in Second Life

According to Linden Lab, they have recovered nearly half a million lost inventory items, belonging to 143.000 users, lost due to bugs and glitches. And it even seems that there are more lost items to be recovered in the near future.
From an roughly estimation from Tateru Nino, the value could exceed 16.000$US, based on the fact that a user-to-user transaction works out to around 10.5 Linden Dollars.
Not bad, for some lost items, which were forgotten by their owners already.
This can be a very happy Christmas for some of those users, who thought those items were definitely lost.

Did you know...Quicktime Exploit Fixed

Apparently the Quicktime exploit, which causes some trouble in Second Life, by viewing videos inworld, is updated. But you need to update Quicktime.
You still can view videos with the old Quicktime, so it is important to update.
The only question that I have for the moment is, why Linden Lab, does not inform all the residents to update quicktime.

The Sun doesn't always shine in Second Life

Going through some blogs, I noticed that Linden Lab is not always keeping the information internally. Sometimes, just when they don't need to, they bring out some news, that isn't suppose to come out in the public, even though we would have known it after all.
Originally the news was read at Massively about Linden Lab CTO, Cory Linden, being fired or quitting his job at the company. Apparently the ideas of Cory were not exactly the same as those from Philip Rosedale. (LL's CEO).

Philip wrote an email to all employees, and here is a part of it:
"Cory and I have differences in how we think Linden should be run, differences that in the past few months have become irreconcilable. These are tensions that were more manageable when we were smaller, and there have been times that they have helped us do great work together. But now, as we change and grow as a company, I feel that we need a different set of strengths in engineering leadership. I strongly believe that this is the right decision, although not without pain, for both LL and Cory. "

Cory's reaction to his departure from LL was also written in an email:
" I continue to believe in both Second Life and Linden Lab, but Philip and my visions for the future of Linden Lab are divergent enough that he decided to lead in his own way. While I will miss all of you, I have confidence in engineering - in all of you - to adapt and excel going forward. You are a phenomenal collection of talents and I know that both Linden Lab and Second Life will be hugely successful."

Taturo Nino wrote a comment on this issue, what Cory Ondrejka's departure would mean for Second Life:
"If you asked me this-morning, "Who can Linden Lab least afford to lose" my answer would have been simple: Cory Ondrejka and Robin Harper. At least (sitting on the outside here), every other member of staff seems to be replaceable."

It seems that LL and Second Life will face a whole new future, and it still remains unclear what is going to happen next. With the departure of Cory, LL lost a very important contributor to Second life, as we know it now.
So, 2008 will be perhaps the most important year in Second Life's history, a year of significant decisions and leading it to the future, with competitors already knocking on the door.

RedBubble, Art gallery

Reading Shoshana's blog, and while the grid was once again out for the European users in "prime time", I checked out an online Art gallery, where you can post your best work to, and even sell your "art".
RedBubble is an online art gallery and creative community. You can use RedBubble to:
sell your work, connect with with a vibrant community of creative folk and buy framed prints, posters, canvas prints, t-shirts, greeting cards or your very own calender.
I have registered myself and posted some of my latest work. I already found the "Second Life" group, which was founded by Vieeto Voom.
Now, all we have to do, is wait and see if some of our pictures will be sold, and if we become famous for just a little while.;)) Just check my site out there.

Second Life tribute to RL Art

Paolo Bade has an exhibition going on at Avatrait Gallery in Second Life.
He made a tribute to a RL photographer, Helmut Newton, and for that reason there is now a photo contest called " A tribute to Paolo Bade's tribute" ....

You can vote every day again on the pictures inworld until December the 16th at the Avatrait Gallery.
I chose to do a difficult one, with Julie Cardiff and Freggeltje Food as my models. I hope you all like the picture, which is a copy of the photograph of the RL artist, but with a little touch of myself.
I revisited the place three times to have everything in place.

If you visit the Avatrait Gallery, to see Paolo Bade' SL Art, please vote in the meanwhile for the picture, shown above, from me.;)TY!

Simuality, 48,183,396

Career makers in Second Life (part 3)

Preciousse Moody had a concert Friday evening at Portucalis, a Portuguese SIM in Second Life.

This artist has never performed in RL before, what is a shame, because if you would listen to what she sings....many well known artists don't sing that beautiful as she does.She is a Canadian artist, who only plays and performs on Second Life. The songs she sings are covers and original songs.She only did 6 performances until Friday night, but I think her future agenda will be full.

Preciousse did sang some encores at Portucalis, as the audience was requesting her to go on with the show. And the last one she did was really exceptional. It was one from Whitney Houston, I'll always love you.
The way she sang that song was really magnificent...to get the shivers...;))
I can only say, that with this artist, a new star is born, and it would not surprise me if she will get in no time a contract for the real business in RL.
If there are any producers who read this article, please go to one of her shows, and you will see, it is no waste of time.
In the meanwhile I have been watching three shows of her in the past few days. Really amazing.
If you can not wait and want to listen to some of her songs , visit her MySpace.
For more pictures of Preciousse, visit my flickr site.

CLUB MANNEQUIN TO COMBINE FASHION WITH NIGHTLIFE IN SECOND LIFE

Evanston, IL "12/07/2007 "
There's a hot new place on the Second Life nightclub scene, CLUB MANNEQUIN , a "Fashion-first" club has opened, and is having its very first weekly runway show on Saturday, December 15th at 1pm SL time.

CLUB MANNEQUIN is more than just a "fashion theme" club, it's a fashion hub for real-world designers. Hundreds of real-world styles have been being "built" in-world to be featured in the runway shows and the "Mannequin Showrooms" which will be exhibiting the clothes of the club's various designer partners.

And not only can your Second Life avatar wear the latest "club" and "urban" styles, but partiers can also link out to the club's web site and either bid on unique designer items or order the real-world versions of what's available in the Mannequin Showrooms at the site's Mannequin Boutique.

Featuring top DJ's, an awesome light show, great dance animations, and lots of special events, CLUB MANNEQUIN is sure to become one of the most popular places in Second Life. Club aficionados will certainly want to check out the Mannequin VIP program, to guarantee access to all the fashion events!

Starting mid-month, CLUB MANNEQUIN will have a standard program of weekly runway fashion shows, featuring the styles of their "name" designer partners, plus additional shows and special events all through the week. One unique feature will be the "charity auction" shows, where designers will show their one-of-a-kind pre-season prototype items in their virtual versions on the club's catwalk, and have the unique originals available on the web site's auction page.

And, the "between worlds" shifting does not end there, as CLUB MANNEQUIN will be featuring contests for in-world Second Life fashion designers to have their designs manufactured in real-world versions which will then be marketed under the club's own label! Details of all these exciting new fashion ventures will be available at the club and on the website, as they become firmed up.

Don't miss CLUB MANNEQUIN's Grand Opening runway fashion show and party on Saturday, December 15th at 1pm SL time!

CLUB MANNEQUIN can be found in-world in Second Life at:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Simuality2/160/166/28

The club's website, with more information and features, can be found at:
http://SLMannequin.com

"Santa" already spotted in Second Life (part 2)

On December the 6th, all children get a present from "Sinterklaas" in Belgium and Holland, as I wrote some time ago.
Well, exactly on that very same day, I got an IM from a dear friend, asking to visit my place. When I tp'd him, my surprise was big, not to see my friend, but Santa Claus. (probably he couldn't find the clothing from "Sinterklaas" in time.;))








But I have to say, it wasn't Pieter, my friend, but it was really a very good Santa. He did not stay very long, as he had to visit much more places (I can imagine) but assured me he would be back with bags full of presents. (or was my hearing not quiet well at the moment he said that;;))
To read about the history and the comparison between Sinterklaas and Santa Claus, read my previous article.

The Blog Readibility Test

What level of education is required to understand this blog?

In Second Life most of us speak English, but there are still avatars from different countries who does not speak, or can not understand this language. But as the majority of residents speak this language I decided some months ago to blog in English, even knowing that it would not be perfect, but I thought at the time that I would reach the most readers by posting the articles in English.

I saw this test some weeks ago, and just today I thought to try it myself on my blog. The result is satisfying, but don't know how accurate, as I checked other blogs too.
Timothy, who also conduct this test on his blog, had a "GENIUS" result. Now, I have double checked his blog and came to the same result as this one, "COLLEGE (postgrad)".
I won't tell you the other blogs which would only need a "JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL" or "HIGH SCHOOL" degree.;))
But as I said, I don't think it is accurate, because some of these bloggers performed the test on their blog already with a totally different result.
But what is satisfying, is that at least my blog is understandable. Imagine if the result was "KINDERGARTEN".;))

The question is of course: would you have to be a genius to read the blog? Would you need a college degree to understand this blog? Does that mean I use too difficult words? Or is my English too bad to understand?;)

How to....manage your IM in SL

As I posted yesterday, I am registered at Rezzed.Net, a social network for Second Life residents. And there you have, on the homepage, the possibility to post some blog entries as well.
Now, there was a small article from Thaumata Strangelove, about her being offline in Second life, when she is in fact online.;))

Do you have sometimes the urge to disregard your IM's, but you don't want to be rude to your correspondent? Well here is your answer.

- First, you edit preferences and change your busy message to Second Life: User not online - message will be stored and delivered later.

- Then, just kick on busy mode and uncheck that person from your communications list. If they send you an IM, you will still see it, but they will get the message that says you're offline.

I hope that you won't use this method a lot, and in this way, I should perhaps be glad that my blog is not the most viewed one, because.....can you imagine if everyone will use this trick?
Thaumata even says she uses this a lot, and that is a quite frightening thing to do, but sometimes necessary, I presume.
Hilariously, a side effect of this is that she somehow managed to get an email which states that she sent herself an offline message which states that she is offline. It's like some kind of weird SL fractal. Neat.

New Blog Header

I have changed the header of this Second Life blog.
The old one was my first, and at that time, I wore glasses.
As I already told in a previous post, I had some troubles with those glasses, that I had to leave them off. Now I thought it was maybe a good time also to switch from header, as a new year is almost to begin, and this can also mean a new start for my blog.
I hope you all like the new header, but if not, you may always tell me. Maybe I will make a new one then.;))

It's Time To Live Again

Reading Tymmerie's post about free hugs, I stumbled on a video post from Torley. It is made quiet some time ago, without Windlight ;), but play it, and you will see why it is still actual. If you have some doubts, think about your friends in Second Life, before leaving it.

Finally registered at RezzedNet

After seeing a post of Raul Crimson and Codie about a new social network for Second Life profiles, such as SLprofiles, I was very curious to check it out. Unfortunately my first attempts were in vain. But yesterday evening, after having looked through the whole store from Luc Aubret, I found the log in panel at the entrance of that store, and could finally register.
Rezzed.net is in public beta (you can through a Rezzed.net terminal in-world) and offers for the moment only 10MB for pictures.
If you are registered or decide to register, you will be able to add me as your friend at my profile page.

Update:

Comment on Rezzed.Net by Luc Aubret on Dec. 5, 2007 12:38 AM

We're up to 100 MB now. We're hoping to come out of beta with unlimited picture space.

More information on Second Life hack

More information is being released from people outside of Linden Lab on this exploit. Symantec has a warning up on this exploit at their site.

"The attack begins with the popular IFrame. An IFRAME code that causes the browser to make an additional request to another URL,is embedded in a porn site. Without knowledge, users visiting this site are redirected to the malicious site serving the exploit. Currently, the malware that is downloaded by the exploit is detected by Symantec as Downloader. We are still studying the attack in depth, so look out for more information at a later time.

Since a patch to correct this issue has yet to be released, we advise users to be cautious when browsing the web. For those of you seeking extra protection, we also recommend the following options:

- Run web browsers at the highest security settings possible

- Disable Apple Quicktime as a registered RTSP protocol handler.

- Filter outgoing activity over common RTSP ports, including TCP port 554 and UDP ports 6970-6999 "

This seems to be a weakness in the Quicktime client to redirect a user to a hidden malicious website to silently install exploit code which is then used to execute the SL exploit of transferring Linden $ and/or objects in world.

It will be interesting to see what Linden will come up with in the next weeks to come on this issue.

But taken into account, I will certainly take the steps that are suggested by Symantec, to lessen the vulnerability to this exploit.

I've been tagged by a Second Life blogger: Eight Random Facts

Ryker Beck has tagged me to participate to a "Eight Random facts" meme. Although I am not in for those kind of games, I won't spoil the fun and will post some random facts.

The difficult part is to find eight people who I should tag. I will tag Tymmerie Thorne, Jooney Jatho, Chloe Streeter,(already tagged), Winter Wardhani, Veyron Supercharge (already tagged) and Amanda Shinji. I could tag Sand Posthorn and Bella March, but I know they won't respond, so the rest has already been tagged, I leave it to anyone's free opinion to tag her/himself .

Here are the rules:
(1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
(2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
(3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
(4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are my eight random facts:

1/ I am fascinating by the Formula one since my childhood.

2 2/ That is why I have been working almost all my career in the automotive industry.

3/ My first chat was in Second Life.

4/ Photography is a hobby of mine in RL too.

5/ I broke my collar bone (clavicle) once, with an innocent football game.

6/ As a good Belgian , I do like chocolates and French Fries.(which should be Belgian Fries actually, ;))

7 /I was a DJ in my former life…;)) while I was a student.;)

8/ Although I am no rocker, I do like the music of Within Temptation, a Dutch gothic-rock band, and especially their song : “All I need”

Summer & Winter's Second Life Rezzday

Last Friday the twin sisters Summer and Winter had a ball for their rezzday. I must say, a totally different approach for having a party. And a party is what it was.
With some classic music and Frank (Sinatra) , we danced and had fun for quiet some time, although I did not understand a word from the Portuguese language, but then again, neither did they from my Flemish.))

Fortunately I had another Belgian to talk too, and we could take revenge by talking Flemish. Largo was his name, and was Winters' boyfriend.
Thank you Winter and Summer for the invitation, it was a great party, you both were "Sissy" for that night.;))

Snapshots in Second Life : Art or just pictures?

post processed image

I have been taking snapshots in Second Life for several months now, because I like doing it, and I wanted to learn in how to post process the snapshots afterwards.
After all these months, I was wondering where to draw a line between nice snapshots and beautiful images, post processed by someone who knows what he is doing in Photoshop or so. And the competition is growing, I can tell you that.
Now, I am very pleased with what I learned, and I use the skills already in RL, in my daily job.
But I am wondering what is suppose to be art in Second Life.

No post processing (just the name added)

I use to make snapshots, and try to make them as nice as I can, from different angles, with a special view etc....and use the post processing just to blur a bit, or to manage the colors or the contrast a bit more. But these pictures are not comparable with images, which are post processed, and where the post processing makes the image.
Now, pictures, which are not heavily reworked are to me, or could be, art as well. And here I want your opinion.

just adjustment of contrast,name and frame added

Could snapshots, made without or just a little post processing, be art or not?
As example I have put some of mine pictures here, but these are not here as a standard.
Once you have decided which pictures are art to you, the next question will be, is this art also art in RL? Would there be a market for this kind of art?
These questions are perhaps not very important to you, but could be decisive for me.

Second Life Art : Cieniega Soon at the Avatrait Gallery

From today on, Cienega Soon will have an exhibition at the Avatrait Gallery. I can only recommend to pay a visit to the gallery, because this artist has a way to play with colors. Just magnificent.

Second Life Viewer Susceptible to Quicktime Security Flaw

ALERT !!!

I post this original message for should you read this blog before logging into Second Life.
This is from the official Linden Blog.
When you log in, you will get the message, first to read the official blog for this message.

"We were alerted a short time ago that a QuickTime exploit has been discovered which may allow an attacker to crash or exploit the Second Life viewer. The Second Life viewer uses Apple QuickTime to play videos and streaming media. This exploit affects QuickTime usage on every platform that uses it, and to date, Apple has not released a fix for the exploit.

At this time we advise that you disable streaming video playback in the Second Life viewer except when you are attending a known and trusted venue. To do this, just open the Preferences dialog, and uncheck the “Play Streaming Video When Available” checkbox on the “Audio & Video” tab.

We do have the ability to turn off all videos on the grid, but have instead chosen to respect the existing in-world content and experiences which rely on streaming video, as we know that many of you enjoy these. We do recommend that you employ caution when using QuickTime in Second Life, only enabling it in environments that you trust, and are familiar with.

We are able to track attacks, and rest assured, if we discover a malicious stream, we will vigorously pursue the attacker. This will include account termination and legal action if appropriate, as well as the appropriate assistance for affected Residents.

The bug is in QuickTime, and not in the Second Life viewer. When Apple has submitted a fix, we will integrate it into the viewer as quickly as possible, and will notify everyone once this has been done."

How to make money in Second Life?

The slide share embed below is called How to make money in Second Life, and it is kind of funny, it still has references to casinos and shows a Ginko Financial terminal in the next to the last shot. Don’t do it buddy!

Apparently this slide show is made by one of my best friends in SL, Coolz0r Courier, and was made 10 months ago, so before the Ginko and casino story.
I still thought it was nice to post it.

| View | Upload your own

Found on Smartlindens.

Betrayal or not in Second Life?

We are all having fun in Second life, in one way or another, otherwise we wouldn't be on the grid, I assume.
In those several months that I am a "player" in Second Life, I hear more about people leaving SL, due to their relationship in RL.
I have lost already some dear friends, because their real life partner had found out some actions on their PC, which were not "proper". And with these actions I don't necessarily mean SLex, but just having good times with an avatar of the opposite sex, by talking or/and accompanied.
The question is, are we betraying our partner in RL, by just having some unforgettable times, by just being able to forget the RL problems for just a little while?
Because, let us be honest, we all have some troubles in RL, minor or big, and SL is helping us to forget them just a little bit. We are able to find new skills, to explore the wonderful world of SL in all its means etc..., and that is a lot more amusing, to do with a friend.
And if it happens to be with an avatar of the opposite sex, would that mean that we are betraying our partner in real life?
To my opinion, most of the time, the partner does not "play" in Second Life, and that is why they don't understand what is going on, and what real friendship means in SL. And yes, that can be a bit more than saying "Hi" and "Goodnight", but is that betrayal?
But everyone still have feelings, and those feelings are of course also there with our partners, only...they don't know about Second Life. And if the first life is difficult enough, than why making it more complicate than it already is?
So at the end, we are not helping ourselves by running towards Second Life, we are creating more difficulties. Instead of finding some peace in SL, we will not be able to forget the problems from real life.......we are creating even more problems.
Conclusion of it all: stay out of Second Life!!;))

A Second Life Avatrait

On November, 20^th, the postman was at my door, but, as like most of us are working during the day, I was not able to receive a package that he had with him for me. He left a note in the mailbox and, as most of those post offices are only open on the same hours that everyone is working, it is difficult to find the right time to get that package.

Nevertheless I managed to find the time, I had to quit the office in time, and get there before closing hour.

I was expecting a package from Illinois, but was already waiting for so long, that I did not thought that this would be it. You can imagine my curiosity to open the package once I saw that it was from Avatrait.

I have to admit, it was worthwhile waiting. It is even more beautiful than on the screen. The colors are so true.

It is great to actually have a piece of your own from Second Life in RL. It is hanging right in front of me, against the wall, so when I am working on my PC, I see this piece of art, and with art I don’t mean my picture, but all of it, the frame with the picture.

I had no intention to make a free advertisement with this article, but when something was promised by a company, and when those promises are actually met, and how, I can only recommend the Avatrait Gallery, when you would like a picture from Second Life hanging in your RL room from the best artists on the grid.

And in fact it is also a little advertisement for my pictures too.;))

You can find all about the arts and artists of the Avatrait Gallery here.

New Second Life “SLURRENCY EXCHANGE™” to offer best rates, preferred programs.

Evanston, IL – 11/26/2007

Virtual world developer Simuality.com announced their new venture
into the world of Second Life currency exchanges, with the opening
of the SLURRENCY EXCHANGE™,whose main office is located on the
Simuality island.

Simuality founder Antony van Zyl (Hendry Goldkey in-world) was quoted:
“moving into the exchange of Linden Dollars for other currencies is a
natural outgrowth of our efforts to bridge the gap between the real and
virtual worlds”.  Initially, all transactions will be PayPal based,
allowing for the greatest flexibility in transactions for Second Life
users world-wide.

The SLURRENCY EXCHANGE™ promises to have the best rates, set daily,
for both those buying Linden Dollars and those looking to cash
out their in-world earnings.  In addition, there are “preferred customer”
programs for regular users, with separate structures for frequent buyers
and sellers.

Live avatar attendants are available at Simuality’s SLURRENCY
EXCHANGE™ to help with customer transactions during official hours of
operation at the island offices.  Eventually these hours will expand
to 24/7, and access will be available from kiosks throughout Second
Life.

Located at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Simuality/195/205/2
in theNortheast corner of the Simuality sim, the SLURRENCY EXCHANGE™ is
currently open for business from 11am till 3pm SLT seven days a week.
Second Life residents are encouraged to visit and get details about
signing up for the Preferred Customer programs. 

Winter at "Doornroosje"

Despite the lower traffic at Second life's Doornroosje, the seasons are not standing still. Eagle may have found another spot to build a wonderful castle, with lots of surprises, until further notice, Doornroosje is a place where we all have nice thoughts about. As already known, the months in Second Life seems in fact as years, and we all regret that the former "Roosjes"group has split, for many reasons, but they all are still present in SL. We hope sincerely that once Eagle's castle is built, we all get together again like in the old days, and have some fun. Sorry........not some fun, but a lot of fun. There are already some of us, who can actually confirm, that the new place has everything that it takes to make Eagle's nest to a friends gathering place, where we all can do what we please to have fun.
In the meanwhile we see the snow falling at Doornroosje, a Christmas tree is standing in all it's glory, the first present already waiting under the tree.
For a lot of us, and I think for all of us from the "Roosjes' group, it will be the first Christmas in Second Life.

Update: Career makers in Second Life (part 2)

Yesterday evening I visited the store of PatrickHufschmid on Second Life. I just wanted to have a quick look, but did not expect that Patrick Hufschmid himself would be there actually. This was of course the ideal opportunity to know what he is doing in SL.
In his store in SL, he creates originals, which he can make later as an exact copy of those guitars in RL. Some of them are limited editions, scripted with rooth prims. It is amazing what he does with his guitars, not only in RL, but in SL as well.
I was lucky yesterday, as he had taken a day off in RL to update his guitars in SL, and so I was the first one to see his latest project in SL, also a limited edition, a "waterguitar", scripted of course.
After I said that I had published an article about him on my blog, he started to explain, with the exact copy of his handmade built guitar of "After Forever", how and what these guitars could do in SL. How you can play them, how you can test them.
This original is only recently available in SL, and he gave me a link to a website where an article was written about this SL guitar.
"Patrick decided to give After Forever some Second Life promotion, and it's awesome to see that it actually works out, I think he's one of the first guitar builders to do it in this unique way. He's created an After Forever guitar that you can actually buy and use for your second life character."said Sander Gommans, After Forever guitarist.

By visiting PatrckHufschmid's store in Second Life, you get a "Funny Guitar" for free with his signature.
We played a bit around with the guitars, and I tested the features in this "Funny Guitar". A real "must have" for a laughter at parties!
And finally he let me play his piano in SL, the HufPaull.