Points of Interest: Emvee Cuba

Perhaps one of my favourite places to visit on the grid; particularly in the dead of winter. This build by Metaversatility is really quite fabulous. The textures are second to none and truly make you feel the tropical heat of an afternoon in Cuba.

There are places where you can tango with your sweetheart as well as other scenic pose locations in which to have some fun.

I shot this set while listening to some great Cuban music which totally put me into the mood!

I highly recommend Emvee Cuba as a destination; the beauty and authenticity are quite incredible.

Emvee Cuba can be found by visiting http://slurl.com/secondlife/Metaversatility/116/119/25.

Quest for the Golden Prim Podcast: Number 3

Welcome to a behind the scenes look at The Quest for the Golden Prim! Gabrielle Riel invites listeners to join her and discover the mysteries of the making of the web comic, as she interviews the creators, writers, producers and cast of The Quest for the Golden Prim. The time for secrets...is at an end!

The third Quest for the Golden Prim Podcast, hosted by Gabrielle Riel features Otenth Paderborn and Martini Discovolante, as well as myself.

You can listen to The Quest for the Golden Prim Podcast by this Direct link to the show on Archive.org. You can listen to it as a stream or download the audio file directly. It is also available through iTunes.

Thanks to Gabrielle Riel and Radio Riel for conducting and recording this continuing podcast on the Quest for the Golden Prim.

Shanghaied!

Sunday saw the Aether Salon hit the road and head to Steelhead Shanghai and the Dragonlands Hotel for a presentation by TotalLunar Eclipse, Elegia Underwood and Riven Homewood. A good crowd was on hand for a very interesting presentation. The Dragonlands Hotel provided a beautiful and exotic locale for this month's salon.

From the Aether Salon site:

You awaken in the dark. The smell of the sea fills your nose. Where are you? Wait - there was the night out with friends... and then the - oh dear, and after that the... hmm. You can't remember much more. But you are absolutely not where you had been. You're on a ship - headed - where, exactly? You've been shanghaied!

This month, the Aether Salon will take a field trip to the exotic and beautiful Steelhead Shanghai. Once there, hosts TotalLunar Eclipse, Riven Homewood, and Elegia Underwood will regale us with tales of the region.

I was on hand to photograph the event; they can be viewed by visiting Flickr.

For more information on the Aether Salon, visit their blog at http://aethersalon.blogspot.com/.

Miss Viv Trafalgar, Miss Serafina Puchkina and Miss Jed Dagger put together interesting salons featuring informative, educational and interesting speakers each month.

Primgraph Issue 9 Now on Newstands

It is with great excitement that issue 9 of The Primgraph is now available - and this Christmas issue is probably the most exciting yet! I am pleased to have provided the cover image for this issue along with a number of additional photographs to accompany some of the fabulous articles throughout.

Perhaps more importantly, at least to me, is the publication of episode 4 of the Quest for the Golden Prim! We continue our epic story in comic book form as we are introduced to new characters and learn more about those we have already met.

Thanks to everyone on the Primgraph team, in particular Miss Terry Lightfoot for her incredible and masterful job laying out this great issue. Thanks also to Miss Saffia Widdershins, Miss Ceejay Writer, and Miss Elegia Underwood for their hard work on this issue.

This issue of the Primgraph is available by visiting http://en.calameo.com/books/0000042345d7b215db355.

Shanghaied! December Aether Salon in Steelhead Shanghai

This month, the Aether Salon will take a field trip to the exotic and beautiful Steelhead Shanghai. Once there, hosts TotalLunar Eclipse, Riven Homewood, and Elegia Underwood will regale us with tales of the region.

Sunday, December 20 at 2 pm slt
Steelhead Shanghai
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelhead%20Shanghai/124/39/48

For more information about the Aether Salon, visit their official aetheric weblog at http://aethersalon.blogspot.com/.

Quest for the Golden Prim Podcast

Welcome to a behind the scenes look at The Quest for the Golden Prim! Radio Riel's Gabrielle Riel, discovers the mysteries of the making of the web comic, as she interview the creators, writers, producers and cast of The Quest for the Golden Prim. The time for secrets...is at an end!

Radio Riel's second Quest podcast featured Miss Aisling Sinclair, Mr. Blackhawk60 Sikorsky and PJ Trenton in discussion about the Quest. Miss Sinclair plays the role of Miss Annabelle Scott and Mister Sikorsky plays the role of Mordecai Watson. I, of course am the photographer and designer of the Quest.

The second podcast can be found by visiting http://www.archive.org/details/TheQuestForTheGoldenPrimPodcast-Episode2PjTrentonAislingSinclair.

Find out more about the Quest by visiting the official blog at http://goldenprim.blogspot.com/.

The Quest for the Golden Prim is presented by Primgraph Magazine.

Concert of Sacred Christmas Music (December 20, 2009)

Lady Eva Bellambi is pleased to invite you to the ballroom of her home, Caisteal Teanacadh, on December 20, 2009 (7 - 9 pm slt) to listen to a concert* of sacred choral Christmas music by Miss Ariesse Heart - or rather, her human.

Miss Heart's guiding spirit began piano and theory lessons at the age of five, and wrote her first song at the age of twelve. Her first octavo was published twenty years later. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 1,500 published works. Over twelve million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for the last 19 years.

In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.

Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos."

Lady Bellambi feels so fortunate that Miss Heart has agreed to spend time with us in the Isle of Skye, Winterfell Anodyne [slurl], Second Life, sharing her music. Attendees will all have a chance to chat with Miss Heart during the concert as well as after the music has ended. Unlike RL composer/conductor educational moments, which must take place either before or after the music, the platform of a virtual world gives us all the opportunity to use text to ask and answer questions while the music plays all around us.

Please join Lady Bellambi for this special holiday time together. She looks forward to the opportunity to introduce you to Miss Heart, and for you to learn more about the brilliant and lovely woman behind the avatar.

*pre-recorded

Art in SL: mushROOM by Scottius Polke

One of the most interesting and creative art installations that I have been to in Second Life is Scottius Polke's mushROOM. Scottius, affectionately known by many simply as The Otter is one of my greatest friends in SL and one of the most talented artists to boot!

mushROOM is a graphic, 3-dimensional art installation, by Scottius Polke who created special artwork for the exhibit, and hand-illustrated all the textures. Althought the setting is a simple bedroom with typical furnishings, the room is inhabited by the artist's subconscious - which manifests itself in life forms such as mushrooms, molds, amoebas, and other unclassifiable organisms.

Dance with amoebas, jump on the bed, kick the crumpled paper around, and discover the surprises this room holds. Lots of interaction so I recommend you go and see it as soon as you can!

mushROOM is currently installed at Project Z in Cetus (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cetus/128/128/11).

Book Review: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

And now for something completely different...a book review! I finished reading Andrew Davidson's first novel, The Gargoyle in the past couple of days and I thought that I would share my thoughts.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and the coworker who lent it to me was a little unsure about whether I would be interested in it or not. She enjoyed it, so I decided...why not?

I have to say that I enjoyed this novel immensely. That being said, be forewarned that it is a very intense read; certainly not light by any stretch of the imagination. The trials and tribulations of the main characters was certainly very extreme and laid out in some case in rather graphic detail. Ultimately, though, it was one of those novels that did a masterful job of weaving a number of historical narratives in with the present day.

A mixture of religious symbolism brought together in a very readable story spanning the ages. Some may find the details of certain aspects rather unpleasant and distasteful but in the end they pull the story together rather well imho.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Check out more about this title at Amazon.com.

Points of Interest: Ciudad de Mexico

As an avid Second Life photographer, I am always on the look out for interesting places on the grid to shoot. One such place that I recently wandered to was Ciudad de Mexico.

Currently featured in Second Life's Showcase, the sim is defined as an urban combat role playing sim is set in an alternate version of Mexico City that covers various timespans, including pre-Hispanic, colonial, present day, and the future.

Visitors arrive at ground level; a bright, futuristic looking skyline of highrise towers and brightly glowing objects rotating around the sky. There are also a few shops which mostly sell clothing, although nothing particularly specialized from what I could see.

Below the surface is an underground city of older, more traditional structures, statues and shops. Certainly an interesting place to visit. Unlike other role play sims, particularly combat-based ones, I was unable to locate an information kiosk or visitor tag generator. There were very few people in the sim at the time I was there so I'm not exactly sure what you will encounter in the way of "hostile" individuals.

Additional photos of my short trek around Ciudad de Mexico can be found on Flickr.

You can visit the sim in world by going to http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ciudad%20de%20Mexico/186/80/65.

Prim Perfect Issue 22 on Newstands

The December 2009 issue of Prim Perfect magazine is now available. The Christmas issue takes a trip to a region that specialises in Winter – winter sports, winter fun, winter celebrations! This is Wolf Mountain (http://slurl.com/secondlife/PeachTree%20Resort/53/44/33), where skiing, skating, and a host of other fun activities can be enjoyed all year round. A fearless team of reporters and photographers pulled on their winter jerseys, their snow boots and their woolly hats to explore….

I was fortunate to be able to contribute various photographs throughout the magazine. Thanks to Scotti Lyle, Viv Trafalgar and Qwis Greenwood who's wonderful articles allowed me to showcase what I saw and photographed at Wolf Mountain.

Congratulations to Perry Applemoor for her stunning design and layout of the magazine and to Saffia Widdershins and Ceejay Writer for their hard work in pulling together yet another stunning issue of Prim Perfect.

You can find the full issue online by visiting http://en.calameo.com/read/000004234f22d41f3c524 or find out more on the Prim Perfect web site at http://www.primperfect.net/.

Izabela Jawororer Live at the Labyrinth Theatre

I am very excited about tonight's event in Avalon...a recital by the fabulous violinist Izabela Jaworower at the Labyrinth Theatre (http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Labyrinth/127/104/34). The event will be from 7 - 8 pm SLT.


Izabela Jaworower - Winter violin recital program
================================
W. A. Mozart - Sonata for violin and piano E Minor, KV 304 ( in 2 mvts)
J.S. Bach - Concerto E Major for violin and orchestra, ( in 3 mvts)
J.S. Bach - "Air on G String"
F. Kreisler - "Rondino"
F. Kreisler - "Shon Rosmarin"
H. Wieniawski - Polonaise Brillante" A Major, Op. 21
A. Vivaldi - "Winter" from the " Four Seasons"
================================

Violinist Izabela Spiewak started her international musical career as a winner of the Wieniawski/Lipinski International Young Violinists' Competition at the age of 17, in Lublin, Poland.

Born in Eastern Poland, she is a graduate of the State Music School for gifted children which she joined at the age of 8 and was a part of for 12 years on a full scholarship. Subequently she completed the Performing Artists' Degree and graduated with honors from the acclaimed Warsaw Music Conservatory, Poland.

She studied with the leading Eastern European pedagogues, including Mr. Oskar Ruppel, a pupil of a legendary virtuoso Eugene Ysaye.

Still as a student, Ms. Spiewak recorded classical and popular music for the Polish Radio and TV and was a part of the Polish Radio and TV Orchestra.

Under the auspices of the Polish Performing Artists' Management, Ms. Spiewak relocated to Central America and toured all over the world with the Mexico City Philharmonic.

Upon arrrival to the United States, Ms. Spiewak was offered a full scholarship to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute under the direction of Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas.

She studied chamber music and performed under the guidance of such distinguished masters as Menahem Pressler, Martha Argerich, Lynn Harel, and Pinchas Zuckerman. She recorded albums with celebrities such as Leonard Bernstein, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, YoYo Ma and Yehudi Menuhin, and pop stars, such as Michael Jackson, Lisa Minelli, Michael Crawford, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Sarah Brighton. In addition, she was priviledged to play for Presidents George Bush Senior and Bill Clinton, also the Pope John Paul The 2nd. She is an active recitalist, a recipient of the North Carolina Regional Artist Grant and a Touring Artist for the State of North Carolina, a leader of the Arcangelo Piano Quartet (since 1997) and a violinist of the DUO APPASSIONATO. She toured the US, Europe, South America and China.

In addition to her busy performing career, she keeps a prominent teaching studio where she shares her expertise with talented young violinists.

(Bio and program courtesy of Izabela Jaworower)

Points of Interest: World War I Poetry Digital Archive

I finally got a chance to watch the recent Designing Worlds episode featuring Frideswide, a recreation of a portion of the Western Front in WWI using the materials of Oxford University's First World War Poetry Digital Archive. This is without doubt, one of the best installations I have ever come across in Second Life and an illustration at how this virtual world can be utilized to its potential.



Csteph Submariner and his team of designers have done a magnificent job of not only designing the sim, but of incorporating the materials from their archive to its fullest potential. It is evocative, it is moving, it is thought-provoking and it is superb.

I strongly encourage everyone to visit this location on the grid and explore every aspect of it. There is so few left to tell the story of the Great War and their sacrifices and efforts should never be forgotten.

You can visit the sim in world by going here http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frideswide/219/199/646/.

You can also visit their Second Life-related web page for more information http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/secondlife.

I have taken photographs at the installation which you can visit on my Flickr page. View their YouTube video machinima or visit their Flickr group.

Points of Interest: Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum

One of the most interesting places that I have recently explored is the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum. Second Life offers a unique and perfect venue for learning more about one of the world's most iconic figures in architecture.

I ventured forth to the Museum on assignment for Designing Worlds who taped their most recent episode from the Museum. Saffia and Elrik met with CEO Frey Bravin, Assistant Director Rosalie Oldrich, and Education Director Barbara Collazo.



I encourage you to visit the Museum in Usonia (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Usonia/6/4/22) and give yourself plenty of time to explore every square meter.

For more information on the Museum, visit their web site at http://franklloydwrightvirtualmuseum.ning.com/.

I have added the set of photographs that I took for the show to Flickr.