second-life-places
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Second Life takes you to the moon (almost)
Tucked away on one side of the Space Frontier Sandbox in Second Life is a reproduction Saturn V , apparently to scale, at rest on the launch-pad and serviced by the customary gantry. The individual pieces are made by different Second Life users, but the combined work is that of one Wicked Quasimodo, who has turned it into a very authentic-seeming launch, flight and (eventually) moon-landing simulation. A HUD object provided on the launch pad provides all the NASA ambience that you'd expect from a detailed simulation. While still a work-in-progress, and with a few little glitches, it remains a very atmospheric experience.
Gibson joins Second Life, Bob Welch to perform
Actually, we're talking about the other Gibson for those of you who were thinking about William Gibson. Gibson Guitar corporation, the famous manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars (their website is down due to a configuration error at the time of writing), are launching an island in Second Life on Wednesday, 16 July to promote their products, and the work done through the Gibson Foundation (ditto on the website cock-up, sorry). While Gibson Island (not to be confused with the more famous Gibson location in Second Life, the cyberpunk dystopia named for the aforementioned William Gibson) is not yet open to the public, we were able to get an early peek at the site (a really long lens comes in handy) while Metaverse Media Group staff and contractors were finishing up construction on the site. As part of the launch, 70s multi-platinum solo artist and former Fleetwood Mac vocalist/guitarist Bob Welch will perform in an exclusive concert with other Second Life musicians. Bob Welch's avatar (Bobwelch Magic) will also appear on stage along with celebrity musicians Cypress Rosewood and Von Johin.
Second Life Places: The garden of Not Possible In RL delights
Hosted by Rezzable Productions in Second Life in conjunction with NPIRL, the garden is an art show, with over a hundred content creators. It has art over four simulators, and up to 3,000 metres above the sims. Some of the creators have provided freebies -- such as free avatars. Light Waves has produced a puzzle -- a hidden sculpture; there's live concerts and DJs playing throughout; a sandbox with tutorials and a building mash-up and more. To see everything here could take you quite a while. It's running until 23 June, which doesn't leave you a lot of time. %Gallery-24584%
Mixed reality Melbourne: Seventeen Unsung Songs
It's one of those little Melbourne bars, not so much wider than the bar that runs much of the length of it, with some seating near the front for the smokers (who are nearly out in the cold, literally), and a smaller lounge area in the back with a tiny little stage. It's poorly lit (too dark for clean photography), and the cramped space is moderately crowded. The focus is, strangely, two men, and their laptops. Their laptop screens are projected against the walls, and strange ambient music is circulating through the room. This is a living performance in Second Life created solely for an audience in the physical world.
Second Life places: Visit Mexico Ruta Maya
The Visit Mexico Ruta Maya sims are sponsored by the Mexican Tourism Board. And they've done a great job -- so many sponsored sites are like someone has tried to create a real-world expo and transport it to Second Life. Visit Mexico Ruta Maya is not like that at all. It presents a solid Second Life experience, that happens to make you want to go to Mexico and find out what it's like with scent, touch and taste. %Gallery-23630%
Garden of NPIRL Delights opens
Virtual world build/art fan-group, NPIRL (Not Possible In Real Life) are opening a huge Second Life art show today (Friday, 16 May) in conjunction with metaverse development group Rezzable Productions. More than a hundred content-creators, artists, architects and scripters are involved The show runs all the way until 22 June (the day before Second Life's fifth anniversary) and will be holding numerous events (including live-music and tutorials) through the four sims allocated(Rezzable Create, Rezzable Design, Rezzable Discover, and Rezzable Explore) in which are depicted Paradise, Earth and the Underworld. Spectacular, surreal, varied, complex, crowded, disturbing and delicious. It all starts here.
Second Life Places: NASA CoLab
We've wanted to visit NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for years, but haven't previously had the opportunity. Some of us live on the wrong continent to do so, for one thing. We've visited NASA now however, and you can too. NASA has a presence in Second Life. NASA created the CoLab Island to enable 'co-working and project incubation ... for NASA staff and the entrepreneurial technology community'. There's a bunch more marketer-speak on their 'NASA CoLab SL Project Overview' notecard, but the English form of it is that they want to talk to us, and want us all to talk to them. %Gallery-22814%
Cruise on a luxury liner: The SS Galaxy
The SS Galaxy is impressive. Crossing three simulators and on the order of 600 metres long, it is the single largest structure that we are aware of in Second Life. (If there's something larger than the SS Galaxy, by all means let us know!) We took a trip to the SS Galaxy this week, and crawled over it from stem to stern, to see exactly what it offered, other than just an event venue. %Gallery-22300%
Have a picnic in a living world
Where can you go to see a sea dragon, read art books, have your fortune told, and play music, all in the one spot? Well, Svarga in Second Life certainly has all of this. And that's not all you can do in this wonderful simulation. The most wonderful things about Svarga don't show on the surface. You can roam the island for hours and still miss details - such as the variety of underground spaces. As with most virtual world sites, words and pictures don't do it justice -- which is part of what virtual worlds are all about. %Gallery-21726%
Dubai Women's College
Dubai Women's College is, as far as we can tell, the first educational institution in the Middle East to open a campus in Second Life (are we wrong? There's a lot of educational institutions with setups and sites on the grid). The island, Dubai Women's College, isn't, as yet, a whole lot to write home about -- a mosque, some signs, some classroom-platforms, out in the middle of community-college-ocean. There's a college map, and a museum-under-construction. Oh, and a sign out front that proclaims: 'The extent of a teacher's imagination is the only limit to what or how teaching can take place in this learning environment.' Well, that and a functional grid gets you a virtual-world-enabled education.
The London School of Journalism
The London School of Journalism is taking their budding journos in-world. This great British institution has joined a long list of educational institutions and set up a college in Second Life, where they plan to offer free lectures on writing and journalism and industry issues to anyone who's interested. The school's director says the mixed-medium of sound, text and the ability to see avatars' faces will enhance their teachings. 'We've already had an enormous response on Second Life, with between 500 and 1,000 people visiting our area each day,' LSJ director Michael Winckworth told industry blog www.Journalism.co.uk Unfortunately he displayed some less-than-investigative journalistic skills by also saying 'I know of no-one else on Second Life offering open lectures,' despite the veritable plethora of same. But we all have our off days.
Merovingi 2008 Fashion Awards now running
Running until the 26th, the 2008 Merovingi Fashion Awards are on now. If that name seems familiar it may well be because Gabriel Merovingi (Sebastian Oxide in SL) and Australian based Merovingi Group ran them last year, as well. This year the show is fund-raising for Doctors Without Borders, and the National Cancer Society. The prizes for the category winners this year include L$ and Apple hardware.
Babelswarm has a way with words
Letters pummel you as they fall from the heavens, struggling to form the words you just spoke. Any casual utterance leads to another cascade of letters; you see some jostling letters fall into place before you -- "hello". Are you talking to Babelswarm, or is it talking to you? The Australia Council for the Arts awarded a $20,000 artist-in-residence grant to three Melbourne artists last year to explore interactive art in Second Life. Christopher Dodds, Adam Nash and Justin Clemens -- visual artist, musician and writer -- created Babelswarm to combine swarm theory with the story of humanity's effort to build a tower to the heavens. Terrestrial visitors can view and contribute to Babelswarm at the Lismore Regional Gallery, where the words they speak will become a part of the ever-building, ever-collapsing virtual tower. The installation opened simultaneously in Second Life and at the Lismore Gallery April 11th. If you have Second Life installed, why not stop by and help create the tower with your words?
Second Life through the eyes of Shoshana Epsilon
Shoshana Epsilon, one of Second Life's more renowned photographers is opening an exhibition later today at the Avatrait gallery at 1PM SLT (US Pacific Time). The Avatrait gallery itself, known for its devotion to digital impressionist art has been partly on hiatus for some time while it and the simulator it resides in have been undergoing refits. Avatrait gallery is relaunching their monthly gallery showings with Epsilon's work which will be available for purchase inworld, or as hard-copy, high-quality physical-world prints. Epsilon's work has never disappointed us. It's classy and has range and depth. Epsilon will be at the opening today to meet the exhibition attendees and to answer questions about her work. If you love Second Life photography and art, take the time to go and see Epsilon's work.
Cinemassively: Visit Mexico in Second Life
The Mexico Tourism Board has made quite an impression on Second Life with the recreation of some of their most famous landmarks. Now, they've released this outstanding video by Kronos Kirkorian, with music performed by Dizzy Banjo. We'd normally point out the liberal use of transitions and special effects, but he is a video professional with incredible talent. Every scene in the video makes this blogger want to call a travel agent! To check out the sim in SL, visit Ruta Maya.If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
Second Neo-Realms Tournament Fishing League starting soon
Dare we say, we've been waiting for this announcement with baited breath? There's things in the water. Sharks, kraken, three-eyed radioactive fish, gyardos (both red and dead -- better dead than red?), crabs, water-cacti.... If it swims, or might if prodded enough, Neo-Realms has stocked the seemingly safe waters with some of the most bizarre creatures seen in this world or out of it. Your job: Bait 'em, hook 'em, land 'em. You and a partner will compete with other teams over the course of the season to bring the best and rarest fish out of these seemingly safe waters.Want to practice without having them count toward your totals? Neo-Realms has a special control box with which you can schedule practice matches for you and your partner. Head on over to the Neo-Realms Team Fishing League website to register your team, inquire about sponsoring the league, or to just find out more about it. And while you're out there fishing, if your catch starts to pull you into the water, just let it go. Seriously. And if you land something particularly amazing, why not snap a picture of it and send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com?
Liverpool Hope University holds open day in Second Life
Liverpool, in the UK, has the distinction of having three universities. According to the BBC, Liverpool Hope University, the smallest of the three, recently held an open day wholly within Second Life. Media students spent six months in Second Life building replicas of some of the buildings as well as other elements, such as their ideal student accommodation. Potential students from around the world were then able to interact with student ambassadors for the day. This activity was supported by the head of department and the head of marketing for LHU.Although LHU will be holding a more traditional open day in June, it is exciting to see the acceptance of Second Life both as a venue in which students can be expected to work, and for such a potentially critical activity as assisting student recruitment by the university's administrators. If you would like to see their work, the Liverpool Hope sim appears to be open to the public now.
Genomes on the map
Genome Island in Second Life is a real treat if you're a genetics geek or a science geek. If you're not, it's still an amazingly cool place to visit. Max Chatnoir (Dr M. A Clark, Professor of Biology, Texas Wesleyan University) has brought this site to life along with the help of some skilled and able assistants, most notably Elizabeth Gloucester (Professor of Microbial Molecular Genetics at a medica school in New England), and Apaul Balut (Professor of Microbiology at a medical school in the Midwest USA). Three-dimensional protein sequences hang in the air, among educational displays and trivia games, and giant reproductions of individual cells, with labeled structures in motion and larger than your head. %Gallery-19254%
ABC Island anniversary tonight!
That's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and not that other ABC in the United States of America. Partner and counterpart to the United Kingdom's BBC, "Aunty" ABC occupies a special place in the hearts of Australians. Oh, she gets some teasing sometimes -- but she's been with us since 1929 with Radio, Television, and the Web and has always excelled at embracing new media and finding ways to integrate old and new media together in new and compelling ways. As public broadcasters go, the ABC sports an impressive catalogue of high-quality educational programs, news, music and entertainment, and isn't shy about finding new ways to deliver them, with an increasing amount of content available on the Web or via Second Life.
Visions of Global Justice
This coming Wednesday, 19 March, the USC Network Culture Project will feature the work of thirteen talented virtual world artists on the theme of justice, all specifically created for this event to celebrate the International Criminal Court. The artists involved are a talented set indeed from visual, audio and performance fields: Tuna Oddfellow, AM Radio, Pavig Lok, Tooter Claxton, Juria Yoshikawa, Dancoyote Antonelli, Filthy Fluno, elros Tuominen, Chance Abattoir, Adam Ramona, Josina Burgess, Velazquez Bonetto, and Junivers Stockholm.
