ROLE Magazine December 2008 by Rohal Schnyder

DECEMBER 2008

WELCOME TO THE NEW

ROLE

STAFF Publisher Rohal Schnyder Executive Publisher Leeza Catteneo Editorial Sienna Fredriksson Ofelia Laval Layout Leeza Catteneo Stylists Felicity Blumenthal Keeley Huet Nicolas Sinatra Prad Prathivi Contributors Anouk Levafre Cayce Newell Felicity Blumenthal Harriet Gausman Jura Shepherd Kee Llewellyn Looker Lumet Ofelia Laval Rhi Rossini Shelby Ziskey Sienna Fredriksson Ucan GossipGirl

ROLE maga z i ne

Editorial Office Concetta (194/172/22) Contacts editorial@role-magazine.com advertising@role-magazine.com All the published material has been provided by the mentioned brands. Therefore, ROLE Magazine cannot be responsible for copyright issues and assumes no responsibility on inaccurate or changes in the products or prices displayed. Copyright by ROLE Magazine. Reproduction or use of the content in whole or in part without the written permission of the editor is strictly prohibited. Dont miss the next issue of ROLE Magazine on www.role-magazine.com

Dear Reader! We really love stories and we think that smart people love great stories. What we want to do is to tell you, dearest reader, of our versions of the stories of Second Life. That is the idea behind ROLE Magazine. We are luckier than we could have imagined to have brought together such a great team of seasoned, experienced writers who share our magazine’s vision. Now it is done! The first issue of ROLE Magazine is published and we invite you, dearest reader, to read our stories from Second Life and we hope the articles and subjects are as interesting to you as they are to us. Many residents are currently discussing the hot topic of the recent changes to Openspace sims. Ofelia researched the Openspace issue and put together an informative article from which we can begin to understand. We visited the Language Lab and Al Andalus Project sims and our stylists and models created a beautiful fashion spread you don’t want to miss! The “Dear Felicity” column answers your questions about SL fashion and Sienna will present you a “Fashion Icon” and a new fashion agency. Rounding out ROLE Magazine’s premiere issue are articles covering the finest inworld art and music by Lukas Lumet, Kee Llewellyn and Jura Shepherd and many additional articles for you to enjoy. Please share your thoughts with us about ROLE Magazine and let us know what you think! We would be more than glad to hear from you. Have fun!

ADVERTISING ROLE Magazine is looking forward to advertise with you. Beside the advertising rates posted in the chart, we also offer smaller spaces. Please ask for price and exact dimensions. Please send your ad as a high resolution JPG or PNG. Ad submission deadline is 25th of each month. Submit your ads or questions to: advertising@role-magazine.com or Leeza Catteneo in-world. Payments in-world to: Rohal Schnyder Ad rates are: 12,000 L$ Double Page Spread 7,000 L$ One Full Page 4,000 L$ One Half Page 2,500 L$ One Quarter 2,500 L$ One Column

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THE FUTURE OF OPENSPACES

FOCUS FASHION AGENCY

WHAT TO BUY

STYLISH ON A BUDGET

36 STYLE SECRETS

FOR MEN

67 64

HOT SPOTS

MUSIC

WHAT IS ART?

ART: DON HOSHO THIS IS SL, TOO 10 14 16 20 24 32

COVER STORY WHAT TO BUY STYLISH ON A BUDGET HOT FINDS GET THIS SHOT FASHION ICON: TATIANNA FAULKES

34 36 41 48 56 52

FOCUS FASHION AGENCY STYLE SECRETS: SHELBY ZISKEY FOR MEN: IUSTINIAN TOMSEN FASHIONISM HOUSE & LIVING: INSTINCT DEAR FELICITY

32 20 16

HOT FINDS

FASHION ICON

GET THIS SHOT

52 48

FASHIONISM

HOUSE & LIVING DEAR FELICITY

76 81 ART: LARKWORTHY ANTFARM

64 67 68 72 76 81

TRAVEL GUIDE ROLE MODEL

LITERARY

HOT SPOTS MUSIC: BORN AGAIN PAGANS LOOKER LUMET: WHAT IS ART? ART: DON HOSHO ART: LARKWORTHY ANTFARM LITERARY: HUCKLEBERRY HAX

90 94

TRAVEL GUIDE: AL-ANDALUS THIS IS SL, TOO: LANGUAGE LAB

FINAL CREDITS

COVER STORY WELCOME TO THE NEW OPEN SPACE The morning of January 5, 2009 will find many residents exchanging residual New Year’s Eve grogginess from a little too much “holiday cheer” with a serious prim hangover. Residents who own Openspace sims will have to choose to either severely restrict use of their sim and comply with newly imposed terms outlined by Linden Labs or convert the sim to either an Island or a Homestead. by OFELIA LAVAL

Openspace issue were formed to expedite residents’ ability to organize and multiple protests were held to express the concerns of those affected by the changes reflected in the announcement. Residents pointed out the failure to communicate the intent of Openspace sims and the mixed-message given by Linden Labs when the Openspace sims prims were doubled in March. Linden Labs responded by saying they wanted to push the Openspace sims on the market quickly as they knew they would be “wildly popular” with buyers. A few days after the October Openspace announcement the Lindens outlined a new plan to address landowner’s concerns. For the first time in Second Life’s history Linden Labs introduced a new land option, the “Homestead” to the existing Mainland, Island and Openspace land structure.

The lifting of many restrictions governing Openspace sims in March of this year was cause for celebration. For the first time, residents owning one or more Island sims could acquire single Openspace sims “for light use” instead of being forced to acquire four Openspace sims simultaneously. The prim allotment was doubled to 3750 prims. The tier? A monthly increase of less than $3.00 USD. Estate owners and landlords interpreted this Openspace announcement by Linden Labs as an opportunity to expand their real estate and rental businesses knowing residents were more than willing to swap the lower prim count in exchange for the privacy of living on their own sim. Designers large and small jumped at the chance to affordably create a shopping destination centered on their brand. Plane, auto and sailing enthusiasts plotted out empty areas of the grid to knit together multiple Openspace sims on which to indulge in their various sports. Entrepreneurs built nightclubs, malls and ballrooms. The grid began to creak and groan under the added, and most would say “predictable”, weight of the increased, high-impact usage.

The Homestead sim will likely be the next step for those currently living or conducting business on Openspace sims. Homesteads will have a prim allowance of 3750, a limit of 20 avatars allowed on the sim at one time, yet-to-be-disclosed limits on scripts, event notices and classified advertisements will be permitted and the sims may be used for “quiet residential and light comAt the end of October, seven months mercial” purposes. Homesteads are after some of the restrictions were not intended to be used for event, lifted from the Openspace sims, Lin“Resident reaction to malls, clubs or other high-impact den Labs announced that residents’ Linden Lab’s surprise uses. Landowners who fail to contact misunderstanding and abuse of announcement was the concierge team before January Openspace sims was placing exceswill see their Openspace sims autoswift and sure.” sive strain on their systems and cenmatically converted to a Homestead. tral processing units (“CPUs”). Linden Current monthly fees for Homsteads are $75.00 USD, increasing to $95.00 Labs stated Openspace sims were USD January 5th and topping out at $125.00 USD by intended to be open waterways or parks with low July 15th. Residents needing a location for nighttraffic - residential, commercial and recreational uses clubs, high-density residential or shopping areas were in violation of the Openspace terms. Linden such as malls and large spaces for events will need Labs outlined a corrective action plan to mitigate the to choose between the Mainland and Islands. issue by radically scaling down the allowed number of Openspace prims, clearly defining “appropriate use”, Linden Labs waived the sim conversion fee until setting limits on the number of avatars allowed on January 1st for Openspace sim owners who wished to an Openspace sim at one time, prohibiting classified convert their Openspace sims to Islands. Landownadvertisements and event postings, and a new, yet-toers with less than four Openspace sims wishing to be-disclosed limit on scripts. convert to an Island, or with a number of Openspace sims not divisible by four, can make up the difference Resident reaction to Linden Lab’s surprise announceby paying Linden Labs $250.00 USD per Openspace. ment was swift and sure. Second Life bloggers were quick to pick up the announcement and weigh in Landowners who choose to retain their Openspace with their opinion. Inworld groups dedicated to the 11

sims must reduce the number of objects on the sim to comply with the new 750 prim allotment and remove all prims not befitting a waterway, parkland or scenic use. Landowners who contact the concierge team to state they are willing to comply with the new Openspace restrictions before January will not see an increase to their current monthly tier of $75.00 USD.

sion to focus on pushing the expanded Openspace sims to market without clarifying appropriate use has resulted in an unfortunate and unnecessary loss of revenue for landowners and their tenants. While there is a measure of comfort in seeing Linden Labs return to the drawing table to create the Homestead option a few days after their October announcement of the change to the Openspace sims one can’t help but think clearer definitions of “proper use” at the outset would have prevented the situation altogether. Valuable lessons have hopefully been learned and undoubtedly Linden Labs will take measures to communicate more clearly to residents. Residents must realize it is possible to demand more from Linden Labs. We are able to demand change and action when we remember that the content in Second Life truly is our collective creation - the Lindens merely provide the platform.

It is easy to understand a landowner’s thought-process when they were gifted a doubling of prims on their Openspaces. Linden Labs should have seized that opportunity to clearly outline the intended and allowable uses. The Lindens live among us. Lindens have a presence inworld and interact with residents. Lindens know the value of a prim and must realize the connection between affordable prims and the health of the grid’s economy -- they had to know landowners would leap at an opportunity to expand residential, commercial and recreational use. Linden Labs deci-

Openspaces Availability

Homesteads

Islands

Now

January 5, 2009

Now

100

Setup fee

US$ 250

US$ 375

US$ 1000

Monthly Maintenance

US$ 75

US$ 295

Educational Discount

US$ 95 (Q1/09) US$ 125 (Q3/09) Yes

Script Limits

TBD

CPU Ratios

TBD

Events & Classifieds

Yes

Yes (free of conversion fee until Jan 09)

Avatars

Convert to Island

Source: Openspace FAQ - Second Life Knowledge Base.

Yes

Cardigan: Peggy (Ivalde)

WHAT TO BUY EARTHTONES

Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spending the last warm days of the year or stepping into spring, you can still enjoy wearing light and soft fabrics. Go for earth colors that match all skin tones, get a pair of shades to avoid the blinding sun, accesorize and wear heels higher than ever. The hottest items this season are oversized bags (buy one that stands out with any outfit) and cropped cardigans (avoid if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re above average height). by SIENNA FREDRIKSSON

Dress: Jumper (Tres Blah)

Sunglasses: Tortoise (Dernier Cris)

Bangle: Wooden Bangle (Cailynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s)

Bag: Boulevard Bag (Paper Couture)

Shoes: Marie Heels (Tesla)

STYLISH ON A BUDGET

Winter has arrived and it’s time to wear the cutest outfits to go shopping and hang out with friends. You may think that being fashionable and stylish requires lots of Lindens. You don’t have to worry because looking pretty and fabulous doesn’t always have to be expensive. We have selected the finest wear suitable for your budget. by UCAN GOSSIPGIRL

Generous Budget Look stunning in a girly houndstooth patterned coat and elegant tuxedo shirt.

Coat: Muism Chic Coat Houndstooth Shirt: Muism New Minimal Tuxedo Dress Top Skirt: Muism New Minimal Dress Skirt Shoes: Maitreya Slinky Stilettos - White Hair: ETD Ashley 16

Modest Budget Walk around the city with style in a cute black and white dress.

Dress: Ivalde Lorelei White Dress Shoes: Aoharu Walk High Heel White Hair: ETD Camille Model: Roxi Richez. 17

HOT FINDS ENDEAVOR

Since my early SL shopaholic days, I’ve always had an addiction for Japanese shops. I love getting lost among the cute stores of Nique Soil and the little boutiques of Creator Pavillon, always looking for new items to add to my ginormous inventory. Thanks to my friend Jeckie, one day I learned that on the Takaraduka sim - well known for hosting the old :bijou: mainstore and the Mirai Style one - there’s another gorgeous shop definitely worth more than a visit, called Endeavor. by CAYCE NEWELL

Endeavor offers the creations of the Japanese designer Mif Yifu, who can successfully alternate from a sophisticated style to a more kawaii (Japanese for “cute”) one, keeping an extremely high quality of the details in every part of the outfit. It was love at first sight! These are some very different looks I put together with Endeavor outfits and that I’d like to share with Role magazine’s readers.

Check out ENDEAVOR styles for men and women at: Takaraduka (196/60/2)

CUTE The “Squirrel” dress, available in four different colours and also as a fatpack, is simply adorable. I love the pastel tones and the oversized and long sleeves, just the style I can’t live without in my RL. Hair: Chai in black by Mirai Style Scarf: Knitted neck scarf(sherbert) by Tres Blah Dress: Squirrel in white by ENDEAVOR Socks: Ribbon socks by AOHARU Shoes: Kristin Booties in thulian by ETD

ELEGANT With an optional black or white fur collar, this is an extremely elegant yet sexy outfit. Hair: J.Lo in charcoal by ::69:: Dress: Foxy Lady in red by ENDEAVOR Gloves: gloves in black fur by ::cover girl:: Shoes: Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Orsay in badseed red patent by Stiletto Moody

GYPSY Another of my personal faves: a summer and gypsy inspired outfit, perfect to be accessories with boho jewels and cute sandals. Hair: Laine in black by ETD Dress: Ethnic dress in dark gray by ENDEAVOR Jewels: Chakra Hoop earrings and Long beads necklace by Earthtones Shoes: Ketty ribbon wood sandals by SugarCube

GET THIS SHOT NEW YEARS EVE 2009

Dancing in the streets to the mumbled sounds from parties above. New Romance, for a New Year. Surrounded by the friends you cannot do without. A place where something over the top, seems just about ordinary. Join us for an evening of Music.Glitz.Glam.Love.Friends ... 2008’s got nothing on us!

Dahlia Elide Female - Icing - Cocktails at Nine Skin - Redgrave Jennifer Pale Skin (Deep Red) Hair - Exile - Love Song, Rekka Shoes - Redgrave - Pumps Leather, black Accessories - Bonita’s - Soft Pink Wrapped Pearl Necklace Armidi - Triple Pearl Bracelet, White

Nicolas Sinatra Suit - REDGRAVE -SUIT Elegance -BlackSkin - Millage Valenti SKA-004 (3rd Edition) Nude - Regular Hair - Truth - Mr Smith - Java Shoes - Shiny Things - City Walk, Black 24

Shelby Ziskey Dress - Yuli - Alissa Chic & Sexy, Wine Skin - [PXL] Cris BETA - NaturalTone - NudeFace - BlackEB Hair - ::69:: J-Lo, black flowers, Dark Brown Shoes - Detour - T-Straps, Gold Accessories - EarthStones - Bali Hoop Earrings, MOP DeLa Bangle Lloyd, Gold b ShinyThings - Ruma necklace, Gold

Prad Prathivi Muism - Leather Blazer & Shirt Muism - Black casual trouser Skin - Damiani Fashion ~ Joshua TANNED Eyeliner Hair - Truth - Spencer - Night Shoes - Adam n Eve M109, Ebony 27

From left to right

Ana Lutetia Dress - Big Booty Big Money - Inside Dress, Green Skin - (CS) Vogue Skin - Glitter Pink (Amber) Freckled Hair - Zero Style - Dana, Auburn Shoes - Shiny Things - Speedy Pumps, Pink Accessories - Paper Couture - Pearl Strand Necklace

Nicolas Sinatra Suit - Sartoria - Blue Silk Suit Skin - Millage Valenti SKA-004 (3rd Edition) Nude - Regular Hair - Laqroki - Roulette - Dark Brown Shoes - Hoorenbeek Allen Shoes, Black

Felicity Blumenthal Gown - Victoria V - Phoebe Evening Gown, Black with Diamond Brooche Skin - Chic Boutique - Diva Skin - Stella [Duality] Hair - ETD - Tiana - Crimson Shoes - Zhao - Lovis Accessories - flirt - Tiffany Pendant, Tiffany Drop Earrings Adam n Eve - Evening Bag, Black

Prad Prathivi Suit - Casa Del Shai - The Armorsolo Suit Black Skin - Damiani Fashion ~ Joshua TANNED Eyeliner Hair - Naughty - Dare - Black Pearl Hat- Muism - MC Fedora (Black) Shoes - Redgrave - Casual Loafer (Black)

Keeley Huet Gown - Eshi Otawara - Smoky Tux Dress, Yellow Skin - Redgrave - Vivian (smoky 2) Hair - JE Republic - Tarae, Ash Brown Shoes - Bax - Black Patten Boots Accessories - Paper Couture - Diamond Pearl Menagerie Necklace Paper Couture - Faceted Golden Sapphire Dangle Earrings Last Call - Rebecca Gloves 28

FASHION ICON TATIANNA FAULKES

Tatianna Faulkes is a relatively new and up and coming designer I discovered in one of my shopping excursions. Her creations are characterized by realistic textures and exceptional work on the details. But her being the new kid on the block shouldn’t fool you - Tatianna has 10 whole years of successful real life fashion designing experience. by SIENNA FREDRIKSSON

I met with her at her store, Fab.Pony - she recently moved it to her very own sim called Posha Beach. She invited me to sit on a comfy couch and I immediately inquired about the cute name of the shop. “It’s short for Fabulous Pony, as in a fashion show pony. Like a girl who’s a show-off and loves to be the center of attention,” Tatianna replied, adding, “I like catchy names that roll off your tongue like that.” And, apparently, so do her many customers. While being there, I noticed at least a dozen impeccably dressed ladies browsing through the items offered, all of which were greeted by a helpful assistant as they entered.

saves her a lot of time, since she can focus on the fun stuff, like coming up with ideas. She also considers the marketing and retail side of fashion interesting, and SL allows her to enjoy that. Has she ever recreated any of her real life outfits in-world? The reply was negative. “In RL I start with an abstract idea and that original concept develops itself. For example, I might wanna do a zebra print dress, and accidently the back neckline might dip too low. I’ll take that ‘mistake’ and exaggerate it so it’s a really deep back neckline. So, planning a specific style is usually rare.” She then went on to confess to me that her favorite creation to date is one of her newest called Harlequin, a dress with loud prints and oversized houndstooth fabric.

Tatianna herself is quite the looker - with her long, raven colored hair crowning her petite frame and her sassy yet classy outfit, she looked like a model off duty. When asked to describe herself, she chose the words explorer, creator, unpredictable current and fun. We had a good laugh when I pointed out I was wearing some of her own creations. She went on to tell me about how she joined Second Life in February of 2008 for the sake of creating; “I was designing in another virtual world similar to SL but felt limited technically and creatively. Once I settled in, I started designing and building within a week.”

Tatianna’s inspirations include anything, from colors, RL fashion trends from around the world, past decades of fashion and style icons to do-it-yourself kids of younger generations and indy music bands. Currently, she’s into Ladyhawke, 90’s nurave craziness and vintage stores in her Montreal neighborhood. I comment that I see the influence from past decades in her desgins and I would describe her style as 60’s to 80’s fashions with a modern twist. She agrees, adding, “The clothing is made with the ‘it’ girl in mind. Definitely extroverted, trendy, and loves to go out and be seen.” Her favorite designers are Marc Jacob with his consistency and wearability, ‘enfant terrible’ Alexander McQueen and his resilience, as well as Stella McCartney with her beautiful vision. She laughs when she admits she tries not to look at too many SL designers for fear that she might accidentaly be influenced by their designs, but believes that

Today, she spends up to 12 hours daily when she’s on a creative surge, taking small breaks away from SL between her creations. I wanted to know how much different designing in SL is compared to creating in RL and if there are certain limitations you have to keep in mind. She said that not having to sew her samples or travel to look for fabrics and supplies in Second Life 32

creativity in the virtual fashion world is abundant.

own store and interacting with people. She paused for one moment, thinking, and then she spoke again: “That as in RL fashion business, you have to put in the hours to reap the benefits and work hard to get your name out there. Competition is high so the pressure is the same to come up with a product and image that stands out. I do love how my clientele is extremely friendly, which is not the case in a RL store environment, so it’s a pleasure to make clothing that can be appreciated so openly.” We talk a bit about content theft after that, which Tatianna finds stupid. “Really, I don’t think the people who do it have much going on ‘upstairs,’ because if they did, they would come up with their own ideas.”

One of the things I love about her items is that she uses a lot of colors; it really gives the customer choices. She points out she likes to wear different colors herself to suit her mood in real life. “I’m known in both worlds to be a fashion extrovert. What I wear reflects my internal feelings that particular day. I love to tell a story with what I wear and have been like that since I was a little girl, even if sometimes it might not make sense, there’s a method to the madness.” Tatianna’s creativity doesn’t just stop there - she also design shoes, bags, hats, leggings, she even has her own range of lovely skins. She explains that she got involved with creating so many thing because she wanted to cover all bases. She calls SL her “outlet” and believes that it encourages endless creativity. “As most designers, when I get an idea in my head, I want to bring it to life and share it with the world,” she says. And I believe she has a lot of ideas to share.

Wrapping up the the interview, I list all the things she’s creatively involved with and wonder if we’re to expect more surprises from her in the future. She smiles and with a wink answers that novelty is always on her menu. I ask for her final words and get the following: “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous,” a quote by Coco Chanel.

The conversation then switched to how she does business. I couldn’t help but ask what is the most important thing she has gained from running her

And I, for one, can see that Tatianna Faulkes is both.

FOCUS FASHION AGENCY

Focus Fashion Agency is a fresh, dynamic and up and coming fashion group created by veterans of the Second Life fashion industry to develop, train and promote the careers of new and established models and fashion designers in Second Life. Focus is not merely a modeling agency; it’s a fashion promotions firm, made specifically to bring the work of Second Life designers, models, fashion professionals and corporations to broader audiences. Its public relations associates are ready to assist and advise in helping you make the right decision about your promotions and to make sure that the money you spend reaps the returns you expect. by SIENNA FREDRIKSSON

The agency is based in Aloha Ocean Ridge, a private and lag free sim; it’s main facilities consist of the headquarters building and modeling school, the practice runway and a photographic studio. The agency also owns a runway, which is located sky-high, where the shows are held, and can easily be transformed for the needs of clients.

SL will find in Focus the useful tools to remain within the fashion circuit. The agency runs a vigorous 10 day model training course, which is designed for turning anyone into a credible model by preparing them for any challenges they may face within the industry. After graduation, the students are introduced to the fashion world through a debutant show and are given a valid certificate. The models are promoted this way and are also featured in the agency blog and event invitation, as well as in the show brochures, which are created and distributed at each show to Focus’ exceptionally long guest list. Promising students who demonstrate remarkable skills may be asked to join the agency. Other services include: styling, concierge when taking part in a contest, professional photography and portfolio.

Focus’s strong team is made up by a number of multifaceted SL professionals, representing countries and languages from all over the world, with real life business experience in fashion, marketing, PR and promotional services. They have vast working experience of the in-world fashion industry and are first and foremost professionals, working hard to achieve the best results possible in any given assignment. The Focus team members have gained extensive knowledge of how the fashion system works and are prepared to share it with clients and teach them the secrets of the runway, all at a very low cost. Because, unlike other agencies, Focus associates are not interested in profit, but solely in making things happen for the people they work with. Quality is not always expensive and the focus always remains on the clients. The name of the agency derives from that fact, meaning that the spotlight is on you.

There are also numerous opportunities for designers and businesses when working with Focus and at a cost they can afford. Usually, it is hard for designers to create and at the same market their brand. That’s where Focus come in, with its public relations and promotions experience and a network of contacts to call upon to achieve the growth and promotional goals set, while safe guarding their creative integrity and expression. The agency has tried and tested methodology for show planning, which has proven both practical and popular and includes the following steps: concept creation,

Those who have chosen modeling as a career and are serious about making a name for themselves in 34

brochure designing and distribution, guest listing, booking, training and styling professional models, choreographing and coordinating, venue decoration, hosting the event, photography and publication, before- and after- show blog entries. If you have an interesting proposition or feel that the

Focus group may be able to be of some assistance to you, please visit the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog, http://focusfashionagency.wordpress.com, for further information. Focus Fashion Agency HQ Aloha Ocean Ridge (212/230/21) 35

STYLE SECRETS SHELBY ZISKEY

Shelby Ziskey is a beautiful woman with wonderful taste and sophisticated style who blogs about fashion mostly and also writes some avatar related stories. She was so kind as to choose two of her favorite outfits for the “Style Secrets“ section of this issue. Her blog is always worth a visit. Everytime I sneak in, I get stuck and enjoy the beauty I find there. I‘m sure you‘ll experience the same! by LEEZA CATTENEO

SHELBY CASUAL *~*Damselfly*~*Chantyl - Brown Mocha Splash Blend *MM* Diamond Stud Earring (L) =DeLa*= Bangle „Aida“ Black -DC- Lina: Chestnut - (Day) Smokey MichaMi GlamTank in DarkBrown [VG Republic] ‚Metallic Bomber‘ in Gold Fishnet Stockings -soft- / tinkable *REDGRAVE* Armidi Limited - (F/Skinny) A001 Jeans [Black Classic] 2 Maitreya Verve Pumps - Black

And here you can find Shelby Ziskey’s blog and Flickr stream: http://flickr.com/photos/shelbyz/ http://dirty-ego.blogspot.com/ 36

FOR MEN IUSTINIAN TOMSEN

It all started in the fashion world in 1858 when Charles Frederic Worth created the first high couture fashion house at 7, Rue de la Paix in Paris. Soon afterwards the fashion world explored and has rapidly grown to include a diversified array of styles and trends. And yes there is an official Haute Couture composed by 16 fashion houses the names of which I am not going to reveal due to the many trademarks which would come into play. by IUSTINIAN TOMSEN

The variety of models, styles, ideas, colors, textures pushed the fashion world into a constant revolution. Every new designers will try to impress the discerning buyer with out-of-the-ordinary outfits and almost all designers are creating their own version of deconstructed classic looks. How does SL fashion connect with fashion in the real world? Maybe some couture houses will try, through some SL designers to test fashions inside SL before going ahead with designs in real life markets - or maybe not. Gone are the days when everybody could rather easily design their own SL clothes and look good. The SL fashion world has evolved massively in the last year. Much of the innovation has come from big enterprises

such as Armidi, but we cannot overlook the input of the many wonderful, lesser-known SL designers. What were the biggest fashion contributions in 2008? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll let you decide. In the meantime Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking forward to the 2009 fashion season and am anxious for more Asian and European-inspire designs.

Considering the global nature of SL, while it is chilly in Europe with falling temperatures I realize it is the beginning of Summer on the other half of the world. With that in mind here are outfits featuring attire appropriate for cooler and warm weather.

REBEL IN BLACK The first outfit features pieces from Muism, D2TK and Aoharu. It almost qualifies as formal wear and would take you from your job to a catwalk rehearsal. The suit jacket comes from Aoharu and includes fantastic clothing sculpties. The collar piece is the best I have seen. It fit right away. The lower part the design is an easy to fit sculpted prim and excellently textured. The tank top and the jeans are from Muism. The jeans have just the right look with very realistic textures and fitted rolled-up prim cuffs. The D2TK boots I am wearing have been featured many times on my blog and they are simply the best cowboy boots available. You might call this look slightly â&#x20AC;&#x153;grungeâ&#x20AC;? but I simply call it rebel.

THINKING ABOUT FALL The winter season is getting closer and with that we are returning to darker colors. The outfit I am wearing is from Factory - a dark denim with a nicely sculpted sweater and collar. It is an excellent choice for those dark, cold nights of the upcoming season.

DESTROYED DENIM For a summer style I chose a palette of white and blue color tones. The outfit was designed by Bare Rose and it is called Damaged White Denim - it is a rerelease of an earlier version of this design. This new release features excellent texturing. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what enhancing techniques June Dion used to make the textures but they are very realistic and clear. The included scarf has just the right amount of flexies in it. I chose to wear the Soreal sport shoes in white but the blue would have been a good option too.

FASHIONISM by SHELBY ZISKEY

Marketing in Second Life is fascinating. Outsiders in the form of individuals and corporations have trickled in through the years expecting to wrangle our pixels with their dazzling experience and lucrative track records. The concept is simple; develop a sim, do some traditional advertising, contract a few SL Charter Members for word of mouth action and let the avatars with fists full of Linden dollars ride in on the brand name. Not so much.

hair quickly and I built up my business from there. I had to evolve my hair over time, it didn’t look anything like these. There was clearly a business to make out of hair, and others started making some as well.

Considering the economic climate, Washu shared that some creators left the Hairspray sim not wanting a satellite expense. Then there were others that came to the sim wanting to work harder to pull in more sales. What I found even Companies the likes of Coca Cola, have “It’s been my experi- more interesting was the fact that discovered that sponsoring a well esence in SL, that the she works in SL full time, as she sees tablished venue such as Junkyard Blues best content cre- some close to her being laid off in is going to give them more mileage ators are the most RL. Things that make you go hmmm. than large sims sporting their name humble of us all.” Washu says, “Some people say there’s with nary a soul stepping foot on it. only so much you can do with hair. But as more SL tools become availYou don’t have to look far to find marketing success in able, they opens new doors for all of us. And, like SL. Homegrown goodness from near charter member anything else, designers come and go.” Plenty of rez dates like Washu Zebrastripe. I spent a recent afterroom for everyone to stretch and grow creatively. noon getting to know Washu and was amazed at her accomplishments. We met at her store, Mirada, on the It’s been my experience in SL, that the best content sim Hairspray that she owns with her SL/RL husband creators are the most humble of us all. Washu works Damien Fate of Loco Pocos fame. Of course, I asked tirelessly on the Hair Fair project every year, which has the obvious about how and why she began designing proved to be a phenom all its own. She helps Damien hair. “The hair biz, wow, that was such a long time ago. with Loco Pocos, who has taught himself how to build, Prim hair didn’t exist back then. We all used the tools sculpt, script and texture. If you missed their HallowSL gave us. Most of the people in SL were not casual een treasure hunt, it’s a must for next year. I have nevusers, so I think I seemed to see things a little different. er experienced anything like it. They are both busy, I was quickly tired of the SLider hair, so I plopped a but very aware of and generous to the SL community. few prims together and put them on my head. Everyone just ‘loved’ it. It gave me the inspiration to build I couldn’t help asking about the ethnicity of her avatar. more styles and sell them.” Washu went on to say, “SL I saw her First Life photo and it wasn’t anything like wasn’t very big, but word got around about the prim her avatar, contrary to what most people do when de48

Washu Zebrastripe, by Shelby Ziskey

signing their pixel personas. Washu shared, “There are probably a few reasons for this. I don’t have anything really amazing to announce about my avie. When I started, I felt that most people looked the same-ish (one reason for making hair), and I wanted something unique. One day I made an ethnic avie and I just loved how she looked. I did grab everyone’s attention it seemed. We all look how we like in SL and this avie is just what seemed to appeal to me. However, I also find it a learning experience. I live in a small town that is not ethnically diverse. Although smaller and more

subtle, I see a few struggles that minorities face.” With so much more to say, and not enough word space left, I’ll leave you with this human interest cherry on top of your in depth designer interview. The following video is from Illclan, the machinima company they work with - amazing. People like Washu and Damien make me very happy to be a part of Second Life. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVBOgEqoi1Q 49

I am so extremely excited to have been asked to participate in the new Role magazine, even more so, to have the chance to interact with readers! Who am I? A fashion blogger girlie from My Second Closet (http://mysecondcloset.blogspot.com). I’ve been shopping for both myself and others for ages now. I have a fair bit of experience in the SL fashion world, everything from modeling, to adjusting prim hair, to finding the perfect diamond earrings. So, basically, I have loads of useful and completely useless information to share. Yay! I am thrilled that you, the readers, will be writing in to me with all of your fashion questions. Anything goes, girls & guys! If you have a question about where to find fuchsia pumps to match your mini, I’ve got answers and opinions! On with the show... by FELICITY BLUMENTHAL Dear Felicity, What do you prefer, system skirts or prim skirts? Sincerely, SkirtGirl

than most, in that I will in fact adjust individual prims in a wig to getit to fit just right. I don’t however suggest that for everyone! Don’t hold me responsible for your mess!

Dear SkirtGirl, There are many views on this, and really it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Both avenues have perks; I would say it is more a question of WHO you are buying from. If it is a good designer, their system skirt will be just as good as any prim one. Of course, if your booty is enormous, you are ON YOUR OWN! I can recommend two designers who I think make particularly good system skirts, one would be Constanza Volare of Alchemy, and the other is Shai Delacroix of Casa del Shai. That doesn’t mean they are the only resources, just that when I think of system skirts, I think of them.

But in trying to figure out a way to best assist you in the simplest way possible, you might find this information useful; I went around to some of the more popular hair designers in-world, and asked them what their average head size is for their hair. So here are a few of my faves: ETD – 53 (53 for men) MMS – 55 Aden – 55 Truth – 53 (70 for men) If you do feel brave enough to edit your hair, be sure to first create a copy, in the off chance that you screw it up!

Dear Felicity, I have an awful time adjusting my hair, and was wondering if you have any suggestions? Sincerely, HairDisaster

I hope this was either helpful or entertaining to you all, and will encourage you to submit your questions for next month’s issue. You can either drop them to me via notecard in-world or send them by e-mail at felicityblumenthal@yahoo.com .

Dear HairDisaster, You are not alone in your hair battles. I personally don’t think I’ve found a single hairstyle that was just perfect when I put it on. I am much braver 52

HOUSE & LIVING DEVON FISCHER & CORNELIUS SLOAT

For this issue, I interviewed the owners of the well known furniture store CORN, Devon Fischer and Cornelius Sloat. And if you are planning on interviewing talented interior designers, you might expect a huge house packed with furniture. So did I, but my expectations were not met! What I saw was way better than I had anticipated, with a lot more rooms and a design of furniture so realistic, like nothing I had seen before. And last but not least, I met two designers which were very nice, kind and so much fun! This interview took place just before they opened their newest store, INSTINCT, which is completely dedicated to the bedroom. by LEEZA CATTENEO

Cornelius Sloat: So good to have you here! Devon and I were just showing a few people around our new store. And here it is. We aren‘t open until the 22nd, but I thought perhaps you might like to see it. It‘s completely new and still hot off the bake.

Cornelius: Babes, let‘s show Leeza one of your bathrooms, eh? Devon: Sure! Everything is interactive: Taps, water, shower, loo. We went to a bathroom which I would describe as simply beautiful. The design was sleek and I really could click just everything and enjoy the animations. We had a blast, to the point that it was hard to leave the room and check out the rest!

Devon Fischer: We don‘t really live at a place in SL, you know. We are always working (laughs). It‘s funny, because we are always so busy creating, we never actually bother making a place for ourselves. We are here pretty much all the time. Well, we are very sad people because all we do is build and hang out. We don‘t have a home, we just go to the same old places; but we feed off each other. It‘s like we go “OMG we should do this“ and “OMG we should make that!“

Cornelius: Did you flush babes? Devon: I forgot to flush (laughs). It comes with full animations complete with what Cornelius calls “pray to the porcelain god.“ The baths have multi animations, as do the showers. We figured why just have eye candy? So it doesn‘t just look pretty. It actually does something you know. Like washing (laughs). So we are hoping people are gonna like these.

Cornelius: What I need is empty space and some plain background, so I can actually see what I am doing. So you can imagine, our living is... a plain background (laughs). Well, I guess if you want to have a walk around first, that‘s cool.

We stepped outside the bathroom and I caught a glimpse of the tastefully decorated bedrooms around us.

Leeza Catteneo: Sure, that would be nice. Let‘s look around and talk. 56

Devon: We started off making beds. but we thought why stop there? So the lights work too, as I said we wanted our stuff to be functional. The beds are menu controlled, we like to call them “Intimate Beds,“ because they have a range of animations in them - everything from hanging out with friends to being intimate with your loved one. They cover all bases (laughs).

work us Leeza, we are in your hands (laughs).

Corneliust: It‘s stupid to just have sex animations for your bed, you know.

Well, here the interview was interrupted and censored... No, I‘m just kidding! The animations were incredible. Of course, I didn‘t try the whole set, but the hug, snuggle and cuddle poses I liked a lot. And not only those, but also the bed and surroundings were stunning.

Leeza: Because you can do so many more things on a bed. Cornelius: I know, even with 2000 sex animations it‘s simply a waste.

Leeza: When did you start building furniture?

Devon: Exactly. We couldn‘t find the animations we wanted at all. So we had to make them all ourselves.

Cornelius: I guess I started in 2006, around November, and opened CORN around May, 2007.

Cornelius: They are great, look much more realistic. They aren‘t as big as some of those sex bed ones, but we feel they‘ve got everything you need. You are going to pay so much for a bed, you might as well have one that you can actually use. Babes, why don‘t we get on the bed and show Leeza? Go ahead,

Devon: I didn‘t really start until 2007. Corn had his store on the mainland at first. We haven‘t worked on CORN for a while, because we have been secretly doing this. Leeza: But now you are refreshing. 58

Devon: Yes, a new revolution in SL furniture!

Devon: The pink and black does it for me (laughs). It‘s so very girly and I think all the girls kinda flock to it, you know.

Cornelius: Oh, you had to say that! Devon: I know (laughs). I was dying to!

Leeza: I totally agree and I love how you add so many details to your rooms. I saw handcuffs, pills, condoms, magazines and many other awesome little things. That makes one feel how much fun the creators had creating all this.

I, myself, couldn‘t agree more. Devon: You wanna look around some of the other rooms? We got 16 of them.

Cornelius: Well, we think you deserve details! It is fun. I mean, I don‘t know how others can just think about money.

We walked through the place from room to room, and each one had a different and very special feel to it. There was a room in particular that looked like a real life one; I‘ve never seen a room like this in SL before! It was stunning very realistic.

Devon: We like making the little things, we have fun making them and I think that‘s why it turns out OK, because we enjoy it. I love it when you go somewhere and they have little things. Just love it.

Devon: All the beds have the same animations. But we tried to make them as realistic looking as possible using sculpties, which is a real revolution in building.

Leeza: And it‘s really sad that some people don‘t respect your hard work and steal from you.

Leeza: This room is awesome. It looks so great with all the realistic shadows, too. I so would love to wake up in it on a Sunday morning, with the sun shining through the window, warming the floor. And then step on it. It looks so very comfy.

Cornelius: We just constantly get ripped and it‘s annoying. I can‘t imagine why people would want to steal designs and try to claim that they are the best of the best. And they are getting smart. They start preempting you by going to blogs first.

Cornelius: Yes, this is our first fully rendered room. All built in Blender, first.

Devon: To me lately, SL seems to be full of those stories - people stealing this and that. It saddens me, because we invested so much time. It‘s scary to think someone can just steal everything so easily and claim it for their own.

Leeza: And you rendered the whole room and imported it to SL? Cornelius: Yes, took ages. My computer is slow.

Cornelius: We are a bit anxious about this, because if people are crazy about ripping off CORN, what are they going to do here?

Devon: It‘s a painful experience. I‘ve had many tantrums. Leeza: Is this your favourite bedroom?

Leeza: Yes, they‘ll never experience how much fun it is to create your own stuff and improve your skills. Plus they hurt people. Now, how did you start building items?

Cornelius: Actually, I like another one better. This way please. Now, this is what I want to wake up to. It‘s beautiful on sunset or sunrise.

Cornelius: I started making espresso machines only. We basically make what is not there; like, I wanted an espresso machine and none was available, so we made it. We started creating nice kitchen stuff together because there was none. We made this store because there was nothing like this around.

Devon: Yes, looks great in sunset mode. Cornelius: And I guess I like the one next to it. This is a bit girly, but I can imagine it belonging to a really classy girl. This room is good on midnight. 60

Devon: Then this massive store kind of grew out of nowhere. How the hell did we do that, man! It‘s bloody huge! So, we are ready to open and we can‘t wait. When you look at something for too long, you start to wonder, “is this really any good?“ I say “yes!“ Their items are really awesome; beautiful, designed with love and passion. They have such a great sense for details and creating an atmosphere. And isn‘t it great that Devon and Cornelius don‘t keep their furniture to themselves? They share it with you and me. I‘ve never visited such nice people before, and loved it so much, I took their furniture home with me!

Check out their home and store at: Kisping (157/80/467) http://sl-homestyle.blogspot.com/ 61

HOT SPOTS Glass Ark @ Shiki (234/215/30) Pictures by Tillie Ariantho: http://flickr.com/photos/tillie

truehouse cafe @ House Music Island (115/171/23) 64

Rumour @ Crush Row, Doll City (15/223/22) Pictures by Babyhoney Bailey: http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyhoneybailey 65

MUSIC BORN AGAIN PAGANS

After a short while of Madame Amoufhaz twisting knobs and tweaking synths to achieve maximum creepiness, the sounds of sixty cycle hum followed by a zap-pop give a rare glimpse at Born Again Pagans’ natural world existence. Meanwhile, hexx Triskaidekaphobia has just plugged in her guitar and announces with tongue-in-cheek vibrato that the first song, titled “Crazy Bald Heads,” is “dedicated to Lindens and all their thieving.” by JURA SHEPERD

It’s a regular Tuesday gig for the Pagans at the Dragon’s Pearl venue. Among the modest crowd are a few new citizens, but they are greatly out numbered by SL music insiders and dedicated live music fans. By the time “Crazy Bald Heads” wanders seamlessly into a sleepy remake of Bob Dylan’s “All along the watchtower,” the handful of new people have teleported away to the next shiny object. Madame and hexx are unfazed.

In their music and persona, Born Again Pagans seem unbothered with the messy trappings of mixing realities. Intentionally or not, hexx and Madame have crafted Pagans to have a context unique to Second Life. For example, “Red Fences Suck,” their song about land access permissions, would make no sense at all to someone unfamiliar with SL. Their unapologetic surrender to pixel existence is infectious. Born Again Pagans not only create an atmosphere where it’s OK for isolated people to gather together electronically, they embrace it with open, gracious and enabling arms.

The cold truth of it is that living in a pixel world makes us impatient and that doesn’t allow much room for subtlety. Pagans’ sound is a séance of musical oddities and requires some investment on the part of the listener. They have discernable influences of roots rock, blues and trip-hop atmospherics, but Pagans maneuver through the conventional boundaries of these genres to create their own futuristic neo-hippie blend.

Pagans close their set with a quirky ballad rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” The looped layers fall away one by one, and finally the last layer of organic whirring fades. Before the stream drops hexx says, “One love, one heart” and the enigmatic Madame Amoufhaz waves goodbye.

Even the thick underlay of warm, sunny reggae comes with a caveat. Their Irie influence almost seems accidental, as if Pagans are dystopian nomads that stumbled upon the last remaining recordings from Coxone Studios of Jamaican fame. Under the influence of this relic, the hybrid language of Patois is replaced with hexx Triskaidekaphobia’s androgynous and hypnotic chants, the “one drop” beat synonymous with reggae gets interpreted with electro-gizmo rhythms, and the sunny island disposition makes way for an uneasy awe for what’s yet to happen. It’s a delightful mix-up that works, but anyone listening to Born Again Pagans with the expectation of hitmaking hooks will most likely be frustrated. Patient listeners, however, are rewarded in other ways.

For more information about Born Again Pagans see: http://bornagainpagans.wordpress.com http://www.myspace.com/thebornagainpagans 67

ART WHAT IS ART?

Let me introduce myself. I am a SL photographer and I have been on the grid for almost two years. I will be writing for this magazine to keep you updated on events about art, photography and all things related. As the competition grows, there are a lot of SL artists holding an exhibition these days, and it is not always easy to know which event is worth visiting. It all depends of course on what your interests are, but I would like to write about exhibitions of avatars who are known as artists and create amazing things, whether that is in SL or even in RL, but presented virtually. by LOOKER LUMET

Being one of the avatars who produce images, and finding myself among colleagues who do the same, I feel privileged to write about them. They are all doing their best to show off their work, just because they like it. For the majority, it all began as a hobby, but grew to almost an obsession. It is this obsession that inspires all those image-makers to produce the wonderful work which can be admired on their “Flickr” stream, as well as in the several galleries that you find in-world. I would also like to ask you, gallery owners, to give me the information of where and when your gallery has an exhibition. I would love to see the news about the artists’ work spread over the metaverse and write about it.

beautiful works and will have more chances with their processing to be given the title of an artist. But I am convinced that people who do not possess that knowledge can also be called artists. And the proof is out there, I will show you in my coming articles. I also believe that people running contests in SL are not the ones to judge what is art and what’s not. Art is what you make of something. When you think a piece is beautiful enough to put in your living room, and you would pay money for it in RL or SL, then that would be art. Don’t ask me for an exact definition of art, you can do so much better. You, the avatar, the person, can define art much more precisely than anybody else, as it is what you see and perceive as art. Not to mention that there is a variety of different art forms... But that is, of course, just my two pence.

I will try to show you, through my articles, that there are some truly amazing artists in the virtual world. There has been a lot of discussion lately on whether or not art exists in Second Life. I think the answer to this question is more on a personal level rather than having a general, common and well thought answer by any writer of an article. My opinion is that if you can say that a piece of work sells, it is supposed to be art, and the person who made it is an artist. I have seen a lot of things in SL called art, but which are nothing more than a picture with a beautiful background. I have seen photographs, which have been wonderfully photoshopped, something not usually called art. Are people who have the skills of processing photos true artists and the rest are not? I think the first ones will have an advantage in producing

There definitely are artists on the grid and there certainly is art in SL.

PART OF THE “LOST WORLD” SERIES http://www.flickr.com/photos/lookerlumet

ART DON HOSHO

While I was searching the grid for artists and people who might like to write about art in Second Life, I found the web blog of Ahmad Hosho, aka Don Hosho. I read some of his pieces and thought he might like to write about art for the magazine and started following the leads I found in-world. What I discovered made me write this article. Well actually, I don’t want to talk too much about Don Hosho, because his own writing is influenced by the postcard option of Second Life and the blog HUD which he uses to report about people’s styles, art and whatever else he discovers. by LEEZA CATTENEO On my way to explore Don Hosho’s traces in the metaverse, I landed at the Twilight Gallery where he is holding an exhibition of his work. And what I saw touched my soul; by showing you some of his pictures here, I hope you’ll get the idea of how I felt. And perhaps you’ll feel the same. I think his art could be described as “metaversial painting.”

“To where virtual worlds are taking us... will we lose our life one day and stay in second life, will it be more advanced... are we going to live inside our fiction... or will our fiction live inside us?

I fell in love with the picture titled “Am I real or fiction” and bought it. The description of this picture made me try and categorize his work, even if I think we shouldn’t really brand art:

Visit his store in-world: Yongnam (172/155/649) His flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hosho And his blog: http://donhosho.wordpress.com

A mix between a second life shot and an over paint. You decide how much is painted.”

“Am I real or fiction?”, Don Hosho

“The Sexy Gypsy portrait”, Don Hosho

“Is Chromanoid a real or a fiction?”, Don Hosho

COLLAGE AND THE MEANING OF SECOND LIFE

Second life is a world of surfaces. All that we see here is nothing but images -– textures – painted on the surfaces of three-dimensional primitives, all layered one on top of another, in two dimensions, to create the illusion of depth, motion and...life. It is, in a manner of speaking, one enormous, complex, ever-changing collage. And it is in that spirit we are proud to introduce real life and Second Life artist, Larkworthy Antfarm. by KEE LLEWELLYN

Larkworthy is an artist from a family of artists: her brother and sister are artists as well. But it is Larkworthy whose work resonates so deeply here in the world of Second Life.

LA: I collect images. Recycled images, old textures -– torn, cut, salvaged bits, arranged, scanned, and re-arranged. Some pieces fall into place and get glued down. Others float and drift through my work until I can pin them down to an idea.

Combining complex layering of images and a deep sense of colour, texture and composition, Larkworthy Antfarm brings a sense of vitality and reality to her works; a sense of life that is eerily reminiscent of our second lives here. There are crash-test dummies who lounge about watching TV (are they earning Lindens while they watch, I wonder?). There are fish-headed women, and Victorian hoop skirt stays on sewing mannequins with wings swooping through the air next to serene women wearing Elizabethan garb: all of these being relatively common sights here in Second Life, though not entirely in the manner which Larkworthy shows us. And thus her works are a reflection of, and encourage meditation upon, Second Life itself. I spoke with Larkworthy about her work and her experiences here in Second Life.

KL: I envision you amidst a vast array of file cabinets, each spilling thousands of found images from their depths into your studio. How close is this image to realty? LA: Yes, I must confess that I cannot part with even a single scrap of paper. I am a hoarder. A magpie. The collecting of elements is as much about art as the finished works. KL: Where did your style begin? What was your first collage and what about it made you say, “This is it. This what my art is all about.”? LA: I have been cutting up magazines since I was a child. Paper dolls and 3-dimensional shoe box scenes. Puppet shows. I used to cut up cookbooks, arrange paper food on plates for my dolls. I was always leaving bits of cut paper in my wake. I call what I do organised chaos.

KL: Collage is, in a real sense, the art of the found, is it not? Taking existing images and composing them in new ways, with a new vision. And yet some of your work includes original imagery. What’s your process? Do you start with an idea and seek out the images you need or do you allow the images you find to lead you to their own solutions?

KL: Some (most?) of your collage work is done with a computer. How much? Do you still use a traditional 76

paste pot for some of your work or have gluey fingers given away entirely to carpal tunnel syndrome? Which method do you prefer?

KL: How much of your work is hand tinted? Do you ever take something that’s already coloured and recolour or alter it to work with a given composition? Did you ever do that before you worked with a computer? And, using the computer, how many times a day do you say, “Oh, God! that was easy! I wish I’d had that when I worked on that other piece I did by hand X many years ago?”

LA: Some pieces have been generated totally by computer, simple superimposing of images, but most of my pieces start with scissors, and paste, paint and paper, the materials I love best. I want to get my hands dirty. The computer is best for cleaning up messes not making them.

LA: Well I do hand-tint old photographs all the time. 77

And yes there is some tweaking of colour on the computer after pieces are scanned, but the physical act of colouring with paint, pastel, chalk...feeling the colour on my fingers, the smudges, scratches layered onto the works, the hands-on process cannot be reproduced by computer. More often the computer allows me to create an imaginary piece that takes the original and recreates it in a form that technically does not exist except in imaginary pixel form.

LA: Well as artists we are all so different. My brother is a very conservative old school artist whose work reflects his traditional training. My sister is a talented artist as well, but her work often reflects her politics, and she is a fearless social critic. For 5 years she has stood vigil on a busy street corner protesting Bush and his wars. I admire her courage. I envy both my siblings for their formidable talents. And yes, we have been known to have creative differences. I confess I once painted a moustache on a poster of my brother’s favourite GOP presidential candidate. He was very angry with me at the time.

KL: Where did you attend art school? (Did you?) LA: I am wildly and unashamedly untrained. Some days I am an artist, other days, a poet, a film maker or a musician. Lucky for me, my imagination never confined me to one medium because I’m not good at following rules. But I do find I combine forms quite often. A piece I might create may end up as the subject for a poem, and even sometimes inspire me to make a video. I am very multimedia oriented. You can view some of my videos on Youtube.

KL: Here in SL you own a gallery and display the work of other artists among your own works. How do you find new artists to show? What are your criteria for selection? Can you be bribed? (purely an academic inquiry, you understand.) LA: There are some incredibly talented artists on SL. and I hope to showcase more of their work at my gallery The Barking Dog Studio (shameless plug). Very exciting to meet so many talented individuals.

KL: What other artist(s) would you say most influenced your work? LA: I always loved eccentrics who built fantastic worlds out of broken glass, tile, mirrors, doll heads, china plates. Folk artists whose creative impulse is not always recognised. Like these outsider artists, I cram my pockets full of tumbled glass whenever I walk on the beach. I save plastic doll parts, break plates and make bizarre mosaic pieces. My last piece was a tiled bowling ball covered with thousands of dollars worth of antique Chinese vases smashed to worthless shards after an earthquake. I saved the pieces from the dump. Like Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers or Mrs. Prisby’s bottle houses and her doll heads impaled on fences. I want to build fantastic worlds out of stuff other people cast aside. I see treasure where others see trash.

KL: In the last year, what artist(s) have most caught your eye, both here in SL and out in the real world? How many cross over (in either direction)? LA: Robbie Dingo’s “Starry Night” video on Youtube. What an incredible homage to Vincent Van Gogh. I cried when I watched it. I Love the artists, the musicians, and the poets of SL. The people whose imaginations have been unleashed here. These are my inspirations. So many people have been supportive of me, have encouraged me to exhibit my art. Before SL, very few people had ever seen my work. It never occurred to me that others might like to see it. KL: Are you a mentor? Have you ever been the person instrumental in launching the career of any other artist? Would you like to be? Do you or have you ever considered teaching?

KL: Your brother is a very well-known artist and your sister is also an artist. Which of you is the best? (just kidding... unless you actually want to answer that). Growing up, it must have been quite competitive. Were there paint fights? Secret late-night forays into the studio to alter a sibling’s work (with moustaches and crudely drawn spectacles)? How insane did you make your parents?

LA: I am an English professor in RL. A poet by training. I have also worked for many years as an editor for a literary magazine, so yes I have certainly met and encouraged many artists and writers over the years. I can only hope I have planted seeds. 78

KL: If you could have one perfect thing; a thing you’ve always wanted, what would it be? And under what conditions could you be enticed or compelled to give it away, freely, to another person?

Larkworthy Antfarm’s work can be seen at her gallery.

LA: One perfect thing? To love and to be loved. Nothing else in this world matters. SL has taught me that love can take many forms, but it can not be hoarded. It must be given away freely.

www.youtube.com/user/Larkworthy

The Barking Dog Creative Arts Center Selene (42/38/25)

KL: Thank you for your time and honesty (you were honest, weren’t you?). LA: Thank you. 79

LITERARY METAVERSIAN FICTION AN INTERVIEW WITH HUCKLEBERRY HAX This world we inhabit has a knack of drawing us in, slowly at first, until we are living and breathing the very virtual air that envelops us. Some of us become so intrinsically attached to it, that we may even find ourselves becoming one with our virtual self; taking on the good traits and maybe the odd bad one, too. Many of us feel the need to take it a step further by writing and telling stories from within. Huckleberry Hax has done just that and in record time – a little over two months for a full novel. His story, “The Day is Full of Birds,“ is set in an alternate universe where the cold war never ended. As Huckleberry describes it, “The plot is centered on Henry, a loner in both the real world and the online world he visits. As tensions between America and the Soviet Union escalate, Henry‘s worlds start to merge, taking him back towards a moment in his history he has spent most of his life trying to forget.“ Huckleberry joins us to talk about his novel and give us his take on the metaverse. by HARRIET GAUSMAN

Harriet Gausman: Tell us a little about what influenced your decision to become a part of this virtual world?

staying with me once installed and demonstrated what I assume now was a version of World of Warcraft connected to a pirate server. It looked extremely dull to me at the time and I couldn‘t see the point. That was about a year or so before I discovered SL, and I uninstalled it just as soon as he was gone! Harriet: What do you think about the writing community here in SL? Which sims would you recommend for anyone wanting to get involved?

Huckleberry Hax: Actually, I was in task-avoidance mode at the time! Whilst surfing various web pages (when I should have been getting on with something else), I came across a reference - and a link - to Second Life. Of course I‘d heard about it elsewhere before, but only in passing. Also, I was messing around at the time with a script for a radio sitcom where one of the characters spends time in a ‘virtual world,‘ and I had no idea what these places were actually like. I think there had been a news story too, then or thereabouts, about a gamer in Japan actually dying from spending 36 hours plus in an online game without moving, and I couldn‘t see how such immersion was possible.

Huckleberry: My involvement with the writing community began, I suppose, with a group I joined for National Novel Writing Month 2007. That was based in SLiterary, which is an astonishing place, although I found it a little difficult to make friends there (I have no idea why, it might just have been my newness to it all). Since then, the venues I‘ve been to include the various stages at Cookie, The Blue Angel and, of course, Milk Wood. I‘ve read stuff of mine at all three of those places, and actually I think reading your work aloud is key to feeling

Harriet: Had you been a part of any other virtual worlds before SL? Huckleberry: No, not at all. A friend of mine who was 81

you‘ve really become a part of these communities. The writing community has given me new impetus in SL; I feel I fit in there better than anywhere else I‘ve visited so far. The people I‘ve met are amongst the most beautiful I‘ve ever encountered, perhaps because they save their drama for their stories.

I decided I couldn‘t wait until then to write it and set aside my evenings in April to write it in instead. In the event, I achieved my 50,000 words in that time, but spent May and about half of June polishing and writing an extra 12,000 words or so to finish it. Harriet: Perhaps, you can tell us a little about National Novel Writing Month?

Harriet: You are currently reading from your new novel, “The Day is Full of Birds,“ at Milk Wood and The Blue Angel; what has been the response from these readings? Have they precipitated any further work?

Huckleberry: NaNoWriMo happens every November and is organised through the website at www.nanowrimo.org. It‘s essentially a personal challenge - see if “The two worlds start to you can write a 50,000 word novel in merge for the main char- one month. It‘s one of those things acter, so that he starts that sounds ridiculous when you first to perceive things in the hear about it, but it works. The nummetaverse we wouldn‘t ber of people participating has been normally see” growing steadily and last year over 100,000 people took part worldwide.

Huckleberry: The response has been positive. I‘ve yet to have a great deal of feedback from people who have actually downloaded and read the entire novel as a result of attending a reading, however (although some have done that). Mostly, people tend to comment how much they like listening to my reading voice, which I find astonishing since I hate the sound of my voice so much! All of that is fine by me. I think readings should be regarded as events in their own right in terms of how enjoyable they are. I wrote recently to the Metaverse Messenger suggesting they come along and review one - just like they might review a live music event - but they didn‘t take the time to even reply to my email. I think that‘s a shame, and represents a shallow view of the quality of art and culture evolving within the metaverse.

Harriet: What are the advantages and disadvantages of approaching a novel this way? Huckleberry: The basic premise of NaNoWriMo is that writers generally don‘t write novels because they keep trying to edit what they‘ve already written, and the whole process ends up taking so long it just never happens; I should know, I finished my first ever novel in 1997 after spending three years on it, and couldn‘t face going through all that again. Give writers a ridiculous target like 50,000 words in one month and they have to turn off the “inner editor“ and focus on quantity over quality. Of course, once you get going, the quality can start to improve because it changes the way you think whilst you‘re writing. And even if you hate what you‘ve written by the end of the month, there might still be stuff in there which you can use for something else. It doesn‘t work for everyone, but it hit the spot for me; it was exactly what I needed.

Harriet: You wrote the novel for National Novel Writing Month, how long did it take you to complete? Huckleberry: Actually, no I didn‘t. The novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2007 was “AFK,“ which took me exactly 30 days to write (and can also be downloaded for free from my website, in pretty much the state it was in on 30/11/2007). “AFK“ is quite a provocative novel about relationships in SL - so it got people engaged - and, at 50,000 words, it‘s not exactly a taxing read. Quite a few people downloaded and read it, and the feedback I got for it was just wonderful. It actually transformed the confidence I have in my writing completely and made me want to write more. ‚The Day is Full of Birds‘ was originally an idea I had in February for my NaNoWriMo 2008 novel, but

Harriet: Tell us a little about the story and the background to the characters. Huckleberry: Whereas “AFK“ takes place almost entirely in Second Life, “The Day is Full of Birds“ is set partly in the metaverse and partly in the real world. As the book progresses, the two worlds start to merge for the main character, so that he starts to 82

perceive things in the metaverse we wouldn‘t normally see, such as expressions on the faces of avatars or hearing a tone of voice when communicating through text. Also, TDIFOB is set in an alternative word where the Cold War never ended, so it‘s not Second Life, as such, but a world very similar to it. It‘s much more science fiction than “AFK.“ Another key difference between the two books is that “AFK“ is essentially a story about being a metaverse resident, whereas TDIFOB is a story which uses the metaverse as a context for other themes to be explored, in particular unrequited love and regret. I want to continue to write in these two separate areas: I will be writing a novel called ‚Be Right Back‘ for NaNoWriMo 2008 in the former style and am planning a book for next spring in the latter.

Harriet: What made you decide to write a novel set in a virtual world? Do you think we will see more of these stories emerging as more people join worlds such as these? Huckleberry: Virtual worlds and their inhabitants fascinate me. As I indicated earlier, I see the potential for two types of story using virtual worlds - those about virtual worlds and those which use them as a backdrop. I have no doubt whatsoever that we‘ll see more fiction using them in time; it‘s just a question of more people becoming familiar with the potential for storytelling that they offer. Harriet: In your novel the two worlds begin to merge as one, do you think that virtual worlds and their technology will become a more integral part of real life? The internet is constantly evolving and I can certainly see how internet shopping would benefit from being more “virtualised.“

Harriet: What are the similarities and differences between the virtual world in your novel and the virtual world we inhabit? Huckleberry: I‘ve tried to make the virtual worlds I describe in both of my novels as close as possible to Second Life, so that they are instantly recognizable to readers who are SL residents. In “AFK,“ I use more SLspecific terminology, whereas in TDIFOB I go for more generic terms where I can. In both books I also explore slightly more dystopian versions of the metaverse. In TDIFOB both teleporting and flying are switched off in an effort to reduce communication as the world gets closer to nuclear war; so to get anywhere in the metaverse suddenly takes a lot of time. In “AFK,“ the idea of an intentionally dystopian metaverse as an alternative to SL is discussed, where teleporting/flying doesn‘t exist for most residents in the first place, and where avatars can get ill and die. Core to that idea is the belief that SL is just too utopian to hold most people‘s interest for all that long, and that the only way to make metaverses truly mainstream would be to „carry over“ all the nasty bits from the real world.

Huckleberry: I read a comment by one of the Lindens once which made a lot of sense to me. He compared looking at a product on a web page to looking at it in a 3D world such as Second Life. In both areas you can convey pretty much the same information about the product, however in SL you would be able to see other people looking at it whilst you were. It‘s a tiny difference, but one of massive importance; it emphasises that sense of “thereness“ you get from visiting SL locations by highlighting the importance to that of other people and their proximity. At the moment, SL is still far too clunky and unreliable to be considered a serious replacement to the web - properly interactive “web on a prim,“ for example, simply has to be sorted out before we even start getting close to that. But it‘s insights like this which help me to visualise what the future has in store - and, yes, I see the metaverse very much as being at the heart of that.

Harriet: Was there a biographic element to the story?

For more information and a chance to download the novel in its entirety visit Huckleberryhax.blogspot. com.

Huckleberry: TDIFOB combines personal recollections of my time at university with a memory of an unrequited love (I think we all have those) and thoughts/feelings I have about the death of my father in real life and the birth of my son. It‘s fiction, but there‘s enough in there for me to draw on.

Interested in attending a reading or poetry event? Then visit MIilk Wood. Just look under search or my profile picks. 84

AFK (2007) by Huckleberry Hax, ISBN 978-1-40920664-4

The Day is Full of Birds (2008) by Huckleberry H. Hax

“I look back now and I wonder when and where it all went wrong. I wonder when magical turned into mundane, when novelty turned into necessity. I wonder when it was that SL stopped being something I chose to do and became something I needed to do instead. I wonder when it was that I became addicted. *Really* addicted. I wonder if it could have been any other way, and I honestly doubt that it could have.”

1989. Europe is poised on the brink of revolution; or is it? Two decades later, the consequences of one small event have turned a world on the brink of peace into a world that is hurtling towards war. Only Henry, a loner in both the real world and the online world he visits, has the power to roll everything backso that it plays out the way it was supposed to. As tensions between America and the Soviet Union escalate, Henry’s worlds start to merge, taking him back towards a moment in his history he has spent most of his life trying to forget.

A Second Life® detective reflects on cases and confessions, on love, on anger, on understanding Second Life as perhaps the greatest liberator there has ever been, and on falling for the oldest trick in the book, just the same...

ROLE MODEL FAYANDRIA FOLEY by ANOUK LEFAVRE Fayandria Foley joined Second Life in 2006 to walk in fairgrounds or parks and take turns walking or the second Relay For Life, after she had read about the running laps. Each team tries to keep at least first one in a magazine at her oncologist’s office. She one team member on the track at all times. then met former chairwoman Jade Lily, who invited her to be her co-chair. In 2007, FayanIn 2005 during a conference, ACS dria and Jade were organizing Relay found out about an electronic com“I just holler together as planned, but Jane needed munity of people called Second Life, louder than the to step down for three months and she and being itself a community based others so I get to filled in for her. In 2008, it was her turn to organization, the first SL Relay took be their ‘mouth’ be the chairwoman for Relay, which she place in July of that year. SL RFL works so to speak.” did with all her strength and love. By the just like a RL community would do as end of the season, the American Cancer far as the ACS Relay For Life’s fundraisSociety (ACS) representative changed ing efforts are concerned. In-world, and she was asked to embrace the 2009 Relay season. RFL is comprised of many teams. Each team hosts its own fundraising efforts by means of auctions, The American Cancer Society Relay For Life began live music events, vendoring created items or scavin May 1985, when a colorectal surgeon ran around enger hunts to raise money for the walkathon. a track in Tacoma, Washington, for 24 hours, raising $27,000 to support the ACS. Today, Relay For As a part of the Relay For Life celebrations, the teams Life is held in more than 4,600 communities in the gather for a gridwide event before the actual Relay United States and in 23 countries across the globe. itself: the Halfway There Fair. All of the teams come To date, more than $1.5 billion dollars have been together in a fun environment and feature items they raised to help the Society accelerate the progress have created for that year’s event and tell the story of finding a cure against cancer by saving lives, of that year’s theme. Finally, the individual teams’ helping those touched by cancer and empowerefforts culminate into a 24 hour walkathon known ing people to fight back against this disease. as Relay For Life, taking place in July. Each team is given a campsite to build on to compliment the Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight event, deyear’s theme. From the Survivor’s Lap and lighting signed to celebrate survivorship and raise money of the luminaries to the closing ceremony, SL’s Relay for research and programs of the ACS. During For Life features what you will find in any RFL event the event, teams of people gather at schools, around the world. Regardless the location, virtual or 87

real, SL RFL volunteers are equally dedicated to the cause. It is a worldwide and a multi-cultural event.

and I hope to see this Relay will be ready to be handed over to someone else. 2009 will be my last Relay in the Event Chair position for sometime. We need new ideas, new blood, new energy; if not, Relay won’t grow. In the end of 2009’s Relay, I will have taken it as far as I can at this point.

Fayandria Foley received ROLE Magazine in her lovely home and opened up her heart to talk to us about her work with RFL in Second Life. ROLE Magazine: You are the 2009 SL RFL chairwoman. Tell us a bit about your job and the kind of work you do.

RM: If someone wants to become a team member what would you need to do? Fayandria: You just contact Catt Gable or MamaP Beerbaum. They will line you up with a team captain and then your team will raise money by running events.

Fayandria Foley: My job is to basically help the other committees do theirs the best they can and the work I developed is the transition of a RL Relay into SL. It is not entirely my job though; it is the combined work of many loving and caring people. I just get to be the lucky one to sign the notecards. You have to see how much everyone contributes, from the team members to the co-event chair. We are all equal and have one goal: to fight cancer! And cancer attacks us all. Actually, it seems like the fight against it is pulling this world together like nothing else has been able to.

RM: Could you tell me a bit about the events and activities SL RFL develops? Fayandria: We have one main event, the Actual Relay. In 2009, it will take place on July 18 to 19. We have a few warming up events prior to that: a Kick off Party, to announce to the community that we are in town and ready to go! Then we have the Halfway There Fair. That is just fun time for the teams to come together, meet each other and maybe raise some money. There are several kinds of teams: for the Relay itself and for the team events. The teams set their own schedules for the events they promote. We post them on a calendar they have to check to be sure they aren’t all on top of each other.

RM: How does it make you feel? Fayandria: It makes me very proud to know I am fighting cancer alongside so many caring and wonderful people. They work so hard and I get the honor of helping them out and handing them their weapons as they fight. It is not easy, we lose close friends and not always to death... In an organization this large opinions tend to differ; my job is to ease the blend. Sadly, I can’t always accomplish that and it hurts as bad as a death actually to see a friend walk away. It hurts and I hate it. But sometimes you have to make a choice, and I may cry and scream in private, but in public I will be calm and decisive. You have to do what you have to do! And loving the people are incredibly easy! I care about them and I want to help each and everyone of them, and they also want to help so we bond together. I just holler louder than the others so I get to be their “mouth” so to speak.

RM: Tell us about the experience – the Actual Relay through your eyes and heart. Fayandria: Relay through my eyes and heart… How do I describe that?! It is life. It is hope, sadness, death, families, friends, celebration. It is whatever you need it to be! It is an amazing thing when you go to a Relay, you may not even know what you need but it will happen - you will be screaming with joy one minute and crying with sadness the next. You will twirl and whirl in happiness, then cling to a friend in need! And the friend is there! They are right beside you. They are living it with you! All this in the 20 to 24 hour time span and you are fighting together, too! It is much more than raising money. It is about emotions, about loving and caring. You can talk to one person and they are mourning the loss of a loved one and the next is celebrating another year of life. It is overwhelming! Imagine 35 sims made just so you can walk while

RM: Which expectations do you have for the 2009 actions? Fayandria: I expect an amazing turn out. I hope we will be able to raise $ 250,000. We intend to reach out more with our international programs 88

supporting your friends. Celebrate, remember and fight back! That is a Relay. Celebrate life. Remember life and fight back so no more lives are lost. Relay! RM: How do you manage with all those emotions? Fayandria: I live each one with them. I listen to their voice or read their words and I live that moment with them. It is such a rare thing that Relay does. It becomes what a person needs. RM: Before we finish, this interview is about SL RFL but it is also about you. We would like to ask you to tell us a bit about yourself. Fayandria: Me? I am a daughter, an aunt, a friend, a lover, I am just like you! I cry too easily. I laugh too loudly. I am way too bossy. And yet shy at the worst times but I always try to preserve everyone’s dignity at any cost. I live because of it! I am a survivor too…

Visit the American Cancer Society Sim to get to know more about Relay For Life (RFL) and their way to support people affected by cancer. Visit the “ACS Memorial Section” and the “Survivor Walk” and get to know more about cancer, how to fight it and about networking groups in real life and Second Life. There are many information available.

American Cancer Society Office American Cancer Society (129/144/52) www.relayforlife.org www.cancer.org 89

TRAVEL GUIDE AL-ANDALUS CALIPHATE

Al Andalus - A melodic name with mysterious connotations. Some people incorrectly suggest the Al Andalus Project was founded to represent the sharia, the controversial islamic law, in Second Life but those who know and have experienced Al Andalus realizes it is a peaceful place where residents respect each other regardless of which religion or culture they belong to. When I visited the sims for the first time, I didn’t realize the two sims that comprise the Al Andalus build are modeled after a real world city. One of the first things that caught my eye was a magic carpet. What I did next is most likely what anyone would do! I Jumped on it and took a tour, curious about the things I would see and expectant to learn more about the mysterious Al Andalus.

I jumped off the magic carpet and went into the city where I met Rose Springvale, a representative of the Al Andalus Project. She kindly offered to share some information about the Project and, after that exciting magic carpet ride, I was anxious to learn more! The Al Andalus Project was the idea of Michel Manen. Mr Manen withdrew his involvement from the Project earlier this year due to personal reasons. Rose Springvale described the mission of Al Andalus as a “peaceful co-existence and dialog with other cultures.” She added that the concept of the Al Andalus region in the 13th century was an ideal. The leaders are Muslims and the community includes followers of the Christian and Jewish faiths.

The carpet flew me to a Mosque over a city bazaar filled with stores, and over a Plaza. I passed a big fortess, the creation of Satir Decuir, the main architect of the sims, and remembered hearing that the fortress is full of secret tunnels and rooms within the towers. I noticed canons on huge towers and I am pretty sure I saw someone firing a cannon ball. Before landing I saw many things I wanted to explore. 90

Rose Springvale spoke of the Mezquita (a Spanish word meaning “mosque”), and stated that the Mosque was originally built inworld on the mainland. During the construction period of the Al Andalus Project, the builder Marino Nuvolari agreed to move the Mezquita to the Al Andalus sims. The building is fashioned after the real life Great Mosque of Cordoba, the seat of Andalusian power in the 13th century. Ms. Springvale stated, “In later history, after the Christians took over Granada, the Great Mosque, which is now a cathedral, was the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition.” Other builds on the Al Andalus sims include a Christian church and Jewish synagogue.

mer palace and gardens near the entertainment center. Our market is pure fun! Don’t think we are all about stuffy, boring politics. Getting together is the point. And you know, it’s hard to feel threatened when you are belly dancing.” I totally agreed and began to understand the idea of Al Andalus in Second Life. It is not a place to experiment with established prejudices. Al Andalus is a virtual experiment and a virtual replica of a historical

Ms. Springvale added, “Aside from the Mosque, definitely visit the palaces, including the sum91

real life region which were known as part of the Iberian Peninsula. It is worthwhile to think about whether or not “principles of Muslim Law” and “a democratic government” could ever find common ground but this represents just one of the considerations when experiencing a co-existence of different cultures.

Next time you are in the mood to explore why not check out the Al Andalus Project sims? Enjoy the beautiful builds modeled after real life religious and cultural sites and experience the vision of peaceful co-existence for yourself! While in Al Andalus be sure to check out:

“Right now our [inworld] government is a direct democracy. When there is an issue to discuss everyone is entitled to contribute and vote. We have ministers in charge of different areas and I meet with them to coordinate. We have people in charge of building and grounds, events, dialog, and even a minister of cake!”, declared Ms. Springvale.

1. Visit the magnificent Majid (Mosque); 2. Shop in the Abencerraje Palaces located in the AlPartal Plaza; 3. Explore the inner walls, rooms and passages of the fortress; 4. Walk through the City Bazaar, and the Muslim, Christian and Jewish Quarters; 5. Discover the stunning houses of the Al-Garnata Village; 6. Wander through the Generalife Gardens. See a show and dance in the Al Zahra Entertainment Complex, or enjoy a quiet moment by the waterfalls. 7. Check out the lamps and fountains of the clothes washhouse located next to the Majid (Mosque); 8. Walk out the Gate of Iron (by the majiid / mosque) and take the scenic route down the mountain all the way past the Bridge of the Cadi and the river Darro; 9. Find the cannons on top of the Towers and shoot a round or two; and 10. Discover the history, legends and poetry of Alhambra and Al-Andalus by reading the Al-Andalus Info Points notecards (marked Al Andalus flag signs) – or some of them, at least!

And there it was! The idea of a “Minister of Cake” was what convinced me of the possibility of a peaceful co-existence! I learned of the “Global Handshake Festival,” an Al Andalus Project event held in September, and the upcoming plans of a 1001 Arabian Nights event. Al Andalus participated in the November “Grand Tour” event in which a group of 17 sims got together and hosted a progressive party with 30 hours of music that lasted two days. It is interesting to think about the optimism behind the controversial ideas expressed by the Al Andalus Project. Could this Project, as an experiment in a virtual world, really be a model for future communities in real life? The Al Andalus Project sims are a great place to visit and explore. Open space sims surrounding Al Andalus have complimentary themes such as one that represents the Basque region of Spain managed by resident Delia Lake.

And of course, you should jump on the magic carpet!

Visit the Al Andalus Project: Al Andalus Alhambra (58/149/46)

THIS IS SL, TOO EDUCATION IN A LANGUAGE LAB

It was a hot summer day in Italy and David Kaskel was sitting in this taxi. The cab driver was arguing with other drivers through the open window. The traffic was slow and the air dusty. The cabby started a conversation about the city and all the issues you’ll experience if you want to get from place A to place B in an Italian city like that. It took about an hour to arrive at their destination and after that, David Kaskel felt like he had learned more about the Italian language than in the course he had taken. by LEEZA CATTENEO

The real story might vary a bit but it’s true that after an one hour conversation with an Italian cabby, the idea of Language Lab was born, an idea David Kaskel began to realize in 2005.

You do not only go to classes and let the teachers educate you with several lessons. What they did is build up a whole city on more than 15 sims. It is a place where new students get a room at the “Students Dorm” - there, they can meet and play games together and take part in events. The city is also used to teach people certain kinds of English phraseology, for instance the “Airport” and “Hotel” locations are used to teach travel related phrases, how to book a room, ask for towels or look for lost luggage.

He has been in Second Life since it was in its beta version, and he started to bring together a team of people he knew from both the education and IT fields, to build up a great and still growing education business in Second Life. They developed an interesting concept, which I would describe as “learning by experiencing in a virtual world.” People from all over the globe can enjoy daily experiences together in a virtual city and improve the language skills they would need in similar everyday occurrences in real life.

To start this virtual education experience, new students who haven’t joined Second Life yet are be able to create a Second Life account directly on the Language Lab web page, as well as downloading a viewer. The system of Language Lab gives new English students the last name “Learner” and new Spanish students it’s equivalent “Aprendiz.” Language Lab bought both last names together with “Teacher” from Linden Labs to use them exclusively for their business. After new students and fresh Second Life residents have joined, they will be teleported to the “Welcome Center” of Language Lab, where a team

To make this experience as real as possible Language Lab hired real life actors who are native speakers and who role play living in a real city. “The point of the city is to give the immersion experience to the students,” Ami Champion, representative of Language Lab states. “Students can learn conversational and practice the same in a relaxed environment.” 94

of helpers is waiting for them to give them advice. These can be technical questions, as well as questions about appearance or the classes. At this point I want to thank Neleximo Contepomi to show me around in the english city as well as in the spanish city.

I think the success of a virtual education business like Language Lab could stand for the opportunities a virtual world like Second Life offers. Not only do they know how to teach a language, but also they took advantage of what the metaverse had to offer to realize a concept which would be impossible in real life.

In the Language Lab city a “Beauty Salon” will give new residents and students the opportunity to upgrade their appearance and a “SL Basics” area explains to them how to handle the virtual world.

The city itself is protected against people who are not students or teachers or related to the Language Lab. This way. the students can concentrate on their lessons and wandering in the city. If they want to leave the city to explore Second Life, they can do so anytime. And if you want to have a look as a visitor, you will find a very friendly and helpful team which will show you around and answer your questions. Altogether, it was a really impressive experience.

The students have a 24/7 access to one of the native speaking teachers. All teachers are certiefied and licensed in real life. Yet, it’s the individual who comes to the welcome area from the website, but Language Lab do have businesses they are developing relationships with. The city and what people can see now will most likely be geared towards the individual and “city ‘duplictates’ can be created fairly easily now to accomodate the needs of businesses. Once you do it the first time, doing it again is a lot easier. The spanish city did not take as long as the english city,” Ami Champion says. Of course, they charge for the classes. But they pay their teachers real life wages and have developed a quality environment that seems to be worth the price a student would pay.

To get to know more about the Language Lab visit: Language Lab (128/128/23) www.languagelab.com

FINAL CREDITS PEOPLE & LOCATIONS

People and places mentioned in the articles in appearing order. The menu of the inworld magazine contains a notecard with landmarks to the stores. ENDEAVOR Takaraduka (196/60/2) SHELBY ZISKEY http://flickr.com/photos/shelbyz http://dirty-ego.blogspot.com FELICITY BLUMENTHAL http://mysecondcloset.blogspot.com INSTINCT Kisping (157/80/467) http://sl-homestyle.blogspot.com GLASS ARK Shiki (234/215/30) Tillie Ariantho: http://flickr.com/photos/tillie RUMOUR Doll City (15/223/22) Babyhoney Bailey: http://www.flickr.com/ photos/babyhoneybailey BORN AGAIN PAGANS http://bornagainpagans.wordpress.com http://www.myspace.com/thebornagainpagans LOOKER LUMET http://www.flickr.com/photos/lookerlumet

AHMAD HOSHO (DON HOSHO) Yongnam (172/155/649) http://www.flickr.com/photos/hosho http://donhosho.wordpress.com LARKWORTHY ANTFARM The Barking Dog Creative Arts Center Selene (42/38/25) HUCKLEBERRY HAX Huckleberryhax.blogspot.com ROLE MODEL: FAYANDRIA FOLEY American Cancer Society Office American Cancer Society (129/144/52) www.relayforlife.org www.cancer.org AL ANDALUS PROJECT Al Andalus Alhambra (58/149/46) LANGUAGE LAB Language Lab (128/128/23) www.languagelab.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO Scarlet Chandrayaan, owner of ICED, Light World (178/73/92)

ADVERTISERS In appearing order.

TRUTH Truth Island (152/144/24) CRUSH ROW Doll City (156/226/22) THE OBSCENE Dolphins Archipel (14/239/22) MIMI’S CHOICE Deep House Island (208/18/23) GEORGIEABEAN LATELY Doll City (124/207/22) ROLE OPTIC Concetta (121/92/301) KEY LIGHT & CAMERA The Best of SL Boulevard (231/80/25) ANGEL DESSOUS Angel Blue Sky (127/220/22) SHIKI Shiki (120/118/21) THE VENDETTA GARDEN Doll City (249/215/22) THE CROWN AND PEARL Crown and Pearl (104/110/25) MAX MASKS Haute Couture (206/116/23) AVATRAIT Evoluon (89/112/140) LOOKR Lookr (121/105/6)

HAVE A GREAT REST OF THE YEAR.

ROLE maga z i ne