Konrad Jansma at Exposure Art Gallery

Konrad Jansma lives and works in the North East of England. His primary inspiration is landscape - both the natural landscapes of the Northumbrial national park, and the industrial scenery of the Tyne estuary. Recently he has become interested in interpreting the landscapes of SL and is showing here some studies made of the Wastelands and the old (now defunct) districts of Satoo and Cetus.

Konrad's overall aim at present is to explore the boundaries between representation and abstraction through his idiosyncratic development of Abstract Expressionism.

He generally works, in RL, from sketches and photographs making an underpainting in acrylic on paper or canvas and then finishing in oil.

Most of the images in SL are available for sale in RL (contact Konrad for RL prices and shipping information).

The current exhibition features some of Konrad's more recent work. Older work can be seen in a number of other locations - please IM Konrad for LM's if interested. New experimental work can currently be seen at Konrad's gallery in Wedge.

The exhibit opens at 2 pm SLT on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at Exposure Art Gallery in Tabula Rasa (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tabula%20rasa/141/40/27) with music by DJ Frequency Picnic!

The Sweater

What better day to share this particular piece of Canadiana...on Hockey Day in Canada. The Sweater is wonderful story by author and former National Librarian of Canada, Roch Carrier.

"In this animated short, Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice "Rocket" Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, he was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton's. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team. This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages"



This classic animated Canadian short by Sheldon Cohen and the National Film Board of Canada. One of my all time favourite children's stories.

For more information visit http://www.nfb.ca/film/sweater/.

Enjoy...and keep your stick on the ice!

Designing Worlds Visits Al Andalus

Saffia and Elrik visit the remarkable Second Life re-creations of palaces, gardens and mosques of historic Al Andalus and get a tour from community leaders Rose Springvale and Jamie Palisades.



Al Andalus creates some of the most famous palaces, gardens, plazas and great buildings – such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba – of the mediæval kingdom of Granada, where Christians, Jews and Muslims met in an amazing cross-cultural environment. They were joined by Rose Springvale who showed some of the sites … and also explained the philosophy that underlies the creation of Al-Andalus and has guided its development.

Al Andalus part of the Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS). Other regions include Colonia Nova, Neufreisadt, Alpine Meadow and Locus Amoenus.

I provided photographs of Al Andalus for the show, which can be viewed in a Flickr album.

Children! January's Aether Salon

Sunday, January 17 saw the Aether Salon welcome Miss Saffia Widdershins, Master Jimmy Branagh and Miss Myrtil Igaly discuss the topic of children.

"Those little darlings. The heirs to your throne. Washed and in their jammies, your children are true blessings. You pause. Is that smoke you smell? You hear giggling and footsteps racing up to the nursery. Getting up from your easy chair you discover the little darlings have been playing with incendiaries again. Oh, the joys of parenthood!

What was it like to be a Victorian child? What is it like to play a child in Babbage? The speakers imparted their wisdom to a full Salon!

Photographs from the event can be found in a Flickr album.

For more information about the Aether Salon and a full transcript of this and previous events, please visit the Aether Salon site.

Shirtless Against Breast Cancer Fundraising

I am extremely pleased to be associated with this ongoing fundraising initiative of the Consulate of Europa Wulfenbach. I was pleased to be asked once again to design the coffee table book to raise money in-world for http://www.breastcancer.org.

This year's Shirtless Against Breast Cancer campaign includes four calendars, yet there were many more submissions than could fit in these offerings, and some that might be a bit too much for a calendar displayed on a wall... so the collection includes a lovely book!

Two different cover options, but the same interiors, available from the vendors at all Consulate offices, in addition to Piermont Landing, Ruby's Pub, Ruby's II, Lotus of the Sea Gallery and CocoaJava Cafe in New Babbage, Steampunk Adventures in Winterfell, Tricia Aferdita Gallery and Exposure Art Gallery in Tabula rasa, Designing Worlds studio in Northpoint, Oliveto, the Primgraph offices in Caledon Glengarry, Velvel's Emporium in Steelhead Shanghai, Regent Theatre, Pneumatic Revolution Lounge, StratoGear Station and Steelbucks in Steeltopia, and the Victoriana Harbour train station.

Exposure Art Gallery can be found at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tabula%20rasa/152/45/27.

The book is L$750, with all proceeds going to breastcancer.org, and will be available until August.

A special thank you to my fabulous friends in Avalon who participated in the project and who appear in both the book and a few of the calendars.

Please support this worthy cause by purchasing your calendars and books today!

Amazing Amadeus...

...was what they called the program last night at the National Arts Centre; and it certainly was that! The Clarinet Concerto is one of my favourite Mozart works and last night's performance of the adagio with Kimball Sykes and two members of the Lars Lubovitch Dance Company certainly put a different look on the traditional view of the orchestra.

Pinkas Zukerman performing as the soloist "in Mozart’s last violin concerto, where backs of cello and double bass bows striking the strings suggest a "Turkish" sound – all the rage in 18th century Austria" was a wonderful end of a program of fabulous music.

You can listen to MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 "Turkish" on the NAC web site at NACmusicbox.ca.

Below is a brief video of conductor Pinkas Zukerman discussing Mozart.

TED: Ideas Worth Sharing

Want to be inspired? Want to hear some of the most influential "thinkers and doers" in the world? If so, I highly recommend a visit to TED! TED (http://www.ted.com) originally started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from the technology, entertainment and design communities, has grown in both depth and scope. What hasn't changed is that they bring you some of the most interesting, inspirational and entertaining presentations anywhere.

"TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize."

I recently found a free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which provides access to feeds from TED.

Be inspired...

Designing Worlds Needs Your Help!

Designing Worlds is entering the Streamy Awards, the first and most prestigious awards devoted to honouring excellence in web television.

The Streamy Awards identify and celebrate the pioneers laying the groundwork for a new and dynamic entertainment medium. The Streamy Awards ceremony brings together the top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping online entertainment, and awards are presented for the past years’ best achievements in 35 categories spanning multiple disciplines. Currently in its second year, the Streamy Awards began as a grass-roots effort piloted by the leading minds in online entertainment and continues to share the spirt of rugged independence that drives creative expression online. The show is co-hosted by Tubefilter and NewTeeVee.

Reflecting the inherent openness of entertainment online, the Streamy Awards submissions process is free and and open to the public. We would like you to nominate Designing Worlds for one of these prestigious awards in the Best Reality or Documentary Web Series – and help us to raise the profile of virtual worlds – and the role of television within worlds such as Second Life.

Winners are selected by the International Academy of Web Television, an independent, member run not-for-profit organization representing a wide cross-section of online entertainment including actors, agents, composers, content developers, directors, journalists, producers, technology innovators and writers.

Please use the public voting system to vote for us – and other Treet shows. You can vote once a day – so you could give us repeat votes if you’re feeling REALLY enthusiastic! Go to:

http://www.streamys.org/submit/public-submissions/
and vote:
Best Documentary or Reality Web Series
Designing Worlds
URL: http://designingworlds.tv

Other Treet shows are up for awards too! Please vote for:

Best Hosted Series
Tonight Live! with Paisley Beebe
http://archive.treet.tv/programs/tonight-live

Best Hosted Series
Fabulous Fashion with Angie Mornington
http://archive.treet.tv/programs/fabulous-fashion

Best Live Production
The First Question with Pooky Amsterdam and Hydra Shaftoe
http://archive.treet.tv/programs/1st-question

Lauren Live in the following categories:
Best Comedy – LaurenLive
Best Actress in a Comedy – Lauren Weyland
Best Director of a Comedy – Lauren Weyland
Best Writer of a Comedy – Lauren Weyland
URL http://archives.treet.tv/programs/lauren-live

Best Hosted Series – Meet an Author
Best Experimental Web Series – Meet an Author
http://archive.treet.tv/meet-author