Still More Halloween Locations

By Bixyl Shuftan

This Halloween season, there's a lot to see and explore. The Newser has reported a number with several articles (1) (2) (3), including Bellisseria's and Calas. This is just a small fraction of those around, 130 listed in the Destination Guide. But, we have time to list a few more. 

One place I checked out was "Whitby - Birth of Dracula." The Guide listed it as "This build by Hera (zee9) is based far more on the FF Coppola Movie than the book and is nothing much at all like reality. It also has a very strong Lovecraftian feel and is sort of English Innsmouth."

The entrance of the area was at the docks of a town. Walking inland, there were the runs of a church, and there was a manor that was well furnished, including a portrait of Vlad Dracula, whom was much bloodier than his fictional counterpart.

There was one other person at the manor dressed in a maid's outfit, possibly part of some kind of RP. I also saw a kind of vampire kit. Would it work against a bloodsucker?

Cloud Lake (16/242/2657)

Another spot is Old Town at Adagio Breeze (197/59/3603)

"Moody, ghostly, creepy and fun. Once a charming and peaceful spot in rural America, when the events began happening, folks moved away. No cars stopped at the motel; the farm lies abandoned. What happened here?"

One scary place that's also an interactive adventure is "Silent Town: The Otherworld." It's located high above the Chief sim. While you could just explore, to get the full experience, get the Grim Combat System, and a weapon. 

After getting the gear, go up and you'll find yourself in a spooky seemingly abandoned town. Right away, you get a thought on where to check out first. There, you should find a tool, and another clue.

Unfortunately, you're not quite alone, having zombie dogs and walking undead to contend with. So keep that baseball bat or gun handy.

I haven't gone very far yet, but this game looks very interesting. Maybe soon we can have a more in-depth article about it. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chief/43/90/691

Besides Halloween, this is also the time Dia Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) takes place. This holiday is mainly celebrated in Mexico, though is also celebrated to a smaller extent in the United States and other countries. The dead are honored, but in less of a solemn and mournful tone and more of a happy, sometimes humorous one. It's not only for the deceased as the living share sugar skulls and mock epitaphs. 

In the Instituto Espanol sim, there were some displays, and murals painted on the sides of buildings.

 And the local cemetery was decorated with balloons and toys. 

 The Gacha Guild, or "The Guild" as they've renamed themselves, has adopted a "Day of the Dead" theme. And for their Halftime Hunt, one goes into a maze to look for sugar skulls. 

To play, get and wear the HUD, then go into the trap door leading to the maze. Then you navigate around, dealing with dead ends (pun intended) and the occasional trap. Thankfully death is temporary as you only get knocked back to a save point. Once you find a skull and click on it, you can't click on it again until the next day.

Finding the skulls are worth points, from 5 to 15 depending on how rare. The points can be used to spend on prizes.

Also going on is the "Spooky Strides," taking place in a couple temporary sims south of American Cancer Society.

I dropped in on one event with live musician Harmonia Trefoil singing, with the audience in the middle of a spooky fog. 

Also there was Nance Clowes, Trader Whiplash, and Arizona Ballinger. 

Making Strides is a Relay for Life fundraiser, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. Keep an eye on the Relay for Life Volunteers Group in Second Life, or Discord, for times of events.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spooky%20Strides/113/195/24

Playland Park at Viam Autem Sapientiae (110/135/3301) had a few Halloween-themed rides the new one was the "House of Bones."

The ride had you going through catacombs filled with skulls and bones, with skeletons in various positions. 

Celeste Cazenove really "boned up" her techniques when coming up with this ride.

I could go on and on, but then I wouldn't be able to finish this article in time for Halloween. Whether you chose to explore, have fun at parties, or both, have a Happy Halloween.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

The Last Roll: An SL Avatar Builder Makes a Fun Game For Real Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

2020 has been both a tragic, and crazy, year. On one hand, the Coronavirus has caused a great deal of tragedy. On the other, it's caused people to behave in strange ways. Local grocery stores in the United States and some other developed countries have often been short on particular foods and supplies. But for some peculiar reason, the item many seem to want to hoard more than anything else isn't canned food or bottled water. It's toilet paper. A number of us, presumably a small minority, bought up all they could early on in the Pandemic. And to this day, bathroom tissue can still be hard to come by.

Nance Clowes, a noted Second Life game maker, recently informed the Newser about "a free downloadable board game" poking fun at the absurdity of the situation made by an avatar maker in Second Life. So I tracked down the person better known for dinosaurs than tush tissue, Wanders Nowhere.

"It has, absolutely nothing to do with Second Life, or what I do (here), which is the Dawn Kingdoms dinosaur sims," Wanders told me, "And it's mostly my partner's work. But it is fun and topical. It's a printable, downloadable boardgame which is a satire of the Toilet Paper panic. We call it 'The Last Roll.' and you can find it at www.lastrollgame.com . It comes in (so far) two forms, the family-friendly boardgame version, Supermarket Dash, and the upcoming tabletop RPG version, TPocalypse."

When asked just when did he and his partner get the idea, he answered, "We were at a friend's house in the early days of the Covid crisis, before lockdown became a thing. We live in Australia, so things have all progressed a bit differently here, and at the time we'd convened for a solstice celebration party. We were discussing upcoming D and D games, and I got up to go to the bathroom. Someone made a joke about the toilet paper panic. And by the time I got back, everyone was laughing at the idea of turning that into an RPG set in a post-apocalypse, where TP is the only remaining currency.

"As the country locked down, the idea eventually shifted into doing two games, one that would be a family-friendly boardgame aimed to help families locked down together to have a laugh at the crisis. And another that would be the post-apocalyptic RPG, with a kind of over the top Mad Max meets Nightvale in a supermarket vibe. That's the upcoming 'TPocalypse' variant, which we're putting the finishing touches on now.

"We're offering both games on a pay-what-you-want basis. We understand that the crisis has hit people very hard economically and want to be able to share this even with people who can't afford to buy frivolous things like games right now. It's designed to be printable at home, but even if you don't have a printer, there's instructions for making your own board and markers. If we can give people even a bit of levity at this juncture, we'll consider it a success."

Wanders told me the game hadn't been around long enough yet for much of a response on social media, but, "We have playtested all our games and had a strong positive response. Dash in particular has become a favorite with some of the local families in our area."

He went on to explain the difference between the two games, "Supermarket Dash is a friendly silly tongue-in-cheek kind of game, TPocalypse goes all out on the surreal humour. Fungus zombies in the veggie section, a vacant-eyed cult of former staff members serving a Lovecraftian unseen Manager locked in an aisle-by-aisle turf war with a koven of murderous Karens gunning for the Manager's blood. And that's just the tip of the iceberg lettuce, shambling mounds made of shopping bags that can devour your character whole, you name it."

There's also a third game in the works: The Last Roll: Biggest Hoarder. In the words of the website, "Form alliances and break them, help out and hinder, tempt and trip up. You all arrive at the store together, but when it comes to the finish line, it’s every shopper for themselves. Pack out your cart with panic-buying, elbow whoever you can out of the way, and come out on top. But it’s all for nothing if you don’t have that precious roll of TP! An irreverent parody board game for 2-6 players aged 12+ (parental guidance). May the most underhanded shopper win!"

As for what Wanders makes in Second Life, he's one of the people at Dawn Kingdoms, making dinosaur avatars. When I asked him which was his favorite, he answered, "Whatever dinosaur I'm currently working on, that's my favorite at the time. I fall in love with each creation as it is born. It's the John Hammond in me, I swear." Prehistorica had grown since the Newser last wrote about it, "It's three sims now. There's a rocky plains, deep jungle, canyon, active volcano, all the classic dino tropes. There's also three underwater areas, a reef, kelp forest and abyss caves. And a floating dragon island with a minigame where you battle earth elementals." He did say there was one thing in the works, "That's my big hush master project (grin), so that will need more time." He then laughed, "Hell the only limit on my ambition is now 'how many prims do I have left to spawn animesh creatures with?' "

When asked if he had anything else to say about the game, Wanders answered, "I guess I could say that in times like these where everything is unexpected and everything feels like it could go badly at any minute, it's more important than ever to hold on to a sense of humour and be able to use that to get through things instead of only blocking out the bad stuff, particularly for kids. We hope our game can highlight that and give parents a way to introduce the idea of these sorts of changes, shortages and restrictions in a way that doesn't seem scary or overwhelming as it can be, even for adults. And with the TP panic easing off in many places that can be a relatively harmless aspect of this serious and terrible crisis, something safe to have a laugh at. Because let's face it, the fact that, when the chips are down and we're facing a global crisis, the first thing people do is panic buy toilet paper is really, really silly."

Read more about the games, and get them if you wish, at https://lastrollgame.com/ .

Bixyl Shuftan

ApRiL fOoL!!!

Happy April Fools Day from the Second Life Newser!

May yours be filled with joy, merriment, and general foolery.

For previous April Fool jokes, check out 2015, 2014,  2013, 2012, and 2011.

Bixyl Shuftan

ApRiL fOoL!!!

Happy April Fool’s Day from Second Life Newser.

And yes, Michi was in on the joke. Those who know her best probably caught it at the word "hired." Luskwood's most noted skunkgirl already works at ABC World News Tonight, but as an engineer behind the scenes, not an anchorwoman. Oh well, maybe someday.


May your April Fool's be full of merriment, joy, and of course general foolery. ;-)




For previous April Fool jokes, check out 2014,  2013, 2012, and 2011.


Bixyl Shuftan

“What Is Christmas Really About?”

By Locke Esgal

    The holidays are here again, and I just wanted to say a little something about them.

See, a lot of people ask “What is Christmas really about?” Now, this might seem like a cheesy line that's been repeated throughout every Christmas movie ever...It's about spending time with your loved ones. I've seen people argue that it's about the gifts, both giving and receiving. I've even seen some who firmly believe things such as not being able to celebrate the holidays unless you are a die-hard religious person.

    See, I firmly believe that all of that is secondary to the true purpose of the season, Family and friends. Companionship and camaraderie. Grab yourselves a cup of nog, or even hot cocoa, throw on a sappy holiday movie and plot your group's collective fannies on the couch and enjoy the time you've got before school or work picks back up and you all end up busy again! Heck, if everyone's busy anyway, just send them some a bit of cheer. A text, a phone call, or even popping in for a cup of coffee. You never know, you might just make someone's holiday a little bit brighter.

    Celebrating on the Grid? Why not find a holiday sim to visit with friends! Or, grab an in world TV and snuggle up with your loved ones and watch some holiday movies. So long as you enjoy the season with those you care about, it doesn't matter where or how you celebrate it. Plus, you can find yourself some holiday themed avis, or just a really ugly mesh sweater!

    Not in the mood yourself? As a former professionally trained humbug, I can relate. It took me a while to learn this lesson, but I found the holiday stress practically melting away when I realized that the only things that truly matter this time of year is friends, family and maybe that cocoa. Just look for the bright spots and hold them as tight as you can. The bad stuff will pass eventually, just you wait.

    So, just remember, celebrate these holidays with your loved ones and make them as merry as you can. Don't let the bad stuff get you down and, from the bottom of my heart, have ...

Happy Holidays.

Locke Esgal

Grease Coakes Turns Seven

By Grease Coakes

First off I want to thank my RL boss that I’ll name Mary to protect her real life identity. She was nice enough to let me work the day before and have today off. Also one of my co-workers I'll name Stan was singing me "happy birthday" yesterday.

 And I think I speak for anyone that birthdays are special whether it's your birthday in the real world or a virtual birthday. Your birthday is your special day no one can take that from you that one day out of 365 days that's yours. Most people celebrate the holidays in December whether it's Christmas or Hanukkah with family and friends. People who live a second life in the virtual universe get two birthdays per year. How can you beat that? In today's fast paced world of either life people should take their birthdays to take time to smell the roses and relax.

Another crazy fact it's my brother's real life birthday today. So my SL birthday and his real-life birthday are the same day.

So I started the day with no events so I figured there would be something going on at the furry club IYC which stands for International Yiff Center at IYC Addictions (153/115/2492) I was right as the furry DJOK Fretwerk AKA Jim Morris was djing. Not many people were active at 5:30am SLT, but it was ok I still handed out my freebie shirts and hung out.

For my fifth and sixth and SL birthdays for readers of the Newser who may not know, I handed out t-shirts that I made myself. I handed out these shirts for a limited time. In IYC I handed out the shirts to everyone in the club. A few furries IMed me in confusion. I explained these are my birthday shirts. I'll get birthday wishes and in fact Chedder Digipaw with account name CyberRatt resident gave me a whole clothes set named League of xtranary Furs. Shyraii Devinna asked for the asset UUID to make my Zapbird shirt better looking for women to show breasts. It's a rare case that I get a party pooper that declines my shirt. I shrug it off and move on.

I gave Shyraii a cookie and she responds by saying, "My fiance ate all my chocolate chip cookies (frown). He's a butthole (grin)." "Dude what's up with that?" I asked. 

So in IYC I hung out with Shy as we were wearing the same shirt dancing together to Loferz Resident AKA TeiTei who announces over voice anyone who says hi gets a cookie. So I say, "Hi Teitei do i get a cookie?  TeiTei went, "YUSH!" *stuffs one in your muzzle* ^_^

Who can say no to a cookie?

Earlier I IMed a human buddy of mine Lia Mistwalker, asking is there any events at SGB which is shorthand for Sounds Gravis Beach at Sounds Gravis Beach (134/21/32). Lia told me, "Sakura spins at 8am to 10am."

I told her, "I'm so there! it's my party and I’ll shake my tail if I want to I turn 7 today." "Happy rez day!" she says

When the party started I went over to SGB and SGB Melody the club owner said this, "And all the girls, please line up and kiss our Furry Grease... It's his rezzday today!"

SGB is always a great place to hang out at. Smooth music and minimal emotes. There's always a conversation going on plus the DJ mixing live. Raphad Noyes who may be related to StJohn Noyes one of my friends from Brahma Yoga class stopped in at SGB with his lady friend Mielerosa (honeyrose58 Resident. He's usually a werewolf but today he was a human. Raphad is a very polite and cultured werewolf/human as he always calls me sir. He mentioned in IM, "You look a bit different, Sir." "Yes indeed Sir Noyes," I answered, "I’m wearing the first avatar I bought in SL." "Interesting."

I IMed Aurora Avila informing her I can make her DJ set today as I usually work on Thursdays, the only day she DJs. She says awesome. We also chit chat about the game she told me about , Guild wars 2.

"I should try the species you showed me," I told her, "the goblin species they are hard to find in PVP (which stands for Player vs Player)." Aurora answered, "They tend to be pretty fugly." "Yeah they are! But all my characters can't be the Charr cats that would be boring."

Over time In real life I get hungry so I plan to leave SL for a bit for food. But before I leave, the girls at SGB plan to make Cesare Drucker the club manager cross dress. They type various things like

Jet Goode: "We can duct tape him to a pole."

Lia Mistwalker: "Mini dress, don’t forget to wax his legs."

Mariete (Mariete Babii): "Just don’t WAX Grease!!!You could kill him."

Luckily I leave before the ladies decide to play dress up with me

After I go out to get Chinese food and popcorn I come back into SL and bounce from SGB to the Ark at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quarabia/141/123/500. I hang out for a bit then I go to Woods at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/WOODS/126/163/25 

Then Nydia Tungsten IMs me and says there's s video that I could take part in. She warps me to The Happy Vixen at Purrfection Estates (180/59/22). I warped over and a short while later she starts her chimera and begins recording. Nydia sorts out things as she has to relog and over time the video is complete. Her video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfArSuKsqHM&feature=youtu.be.

When it's finished I made a SL card through email to my brother for his real life birthday today.

Afterwards I took another break from SL and logged back on and stop at a few other places but for my SL Birthday it doesn't seem right. I instead warped to my friend Amehana Ishtari and I jump in on a pony party.

I handed out my shirts and Amehana admits to being busy. However she does agree to an interview about her new book Selkie Skins Castle and Wells soon. Amehana has also written about a woman named Blowing Wind as she goes on a spiritual adventure with a dragon spirit named Ryu. I joked, "Amehana your pony looks pimped out." And she says this, "Ummm... Thank you? *raises her eyebrow, never thinking that word would ever be used for her*" I instead say that her pony is dressed like a diva and she says, "*watches you backpedal*"

I goofed off and relaxed before Aurora Avila starts to DJ at her new club club Midi Bikini Bay (85/196/1022) where she still plays her video game remixes and Japanese songs.

I went to Club Midi and I had a good time just like it was yesterday. Aurora played her mix of video game songs and everyone chit chated about video games or whatever. Aurora still has a nice surprise to anyone who tips her. I felt stress ebb away and relaxed as Aurora played her unique mix of songs.

I guess the point of this article is that in today's fast paced world of Second and First Life that once in a while take time for yourself. I remember talking to a customer at Royal farms in real life and he said don't sweat the small things and always have fun for yourself. Give yourself some me time.

Today I did take time for myself and had a great seventh birthday. It's a rough world out there but if you always have a smile on your face the world will seem a much brighter place. I guess that's the gist of this article is just have fun in life whether it's your real life birthday your second life birthday or your unbirthday.

Grease Coakes

Have Yourself a Tiny Little Christmas

Remember the "Tiny Carollers" whom entertained the audience at the last show of the season of "the 1st Question" during technical difficulties? Well, their whole performance was too long for the article then. So here it is now.

~*~ O' Little Sim of Raglan Shire, Where Tinies come to Playyyy ~*~
~*~ To run and chitter endlessly and RiverDance all dayyyy ~*~
~*~ And in the Snow of Winterfest, Tinies are heard to Call.. ~*~
~*~ To Visitors of Biggie Height, Asked Why Are You So Tallllllll? ~*~

* ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ *

~*~ It's beginning to look alot like Wootmas! ~*~
~*~ All across the shire you go! ~*~
~*~ Take a look at the village chalet, ~*~
~*~ The snowmen and the sleigh, ~*~
~*~ With candy canes and tinsel all aglow! ~*~

~*~ Its beginning to look a lot like Wootmas! ~*~
~*~ Tinies in every store! ~*~
~*~ But the nommiest site to see ~*~
~*~ Is the waffles that will be ~*~
~*~ Inside your own front door. ~*~

~*~ A pair of bunny hop shoes and lazors that shoot ~*~
~*~ Is the wish of Copper and Reign! ~*~
~*~ Dolls that will talk and go for a walk ~*~
~*~ Is the hope of Jillan and Jane! ~*~
~*~ And Kayak and Toady can hardly wait ~*~
~*~ Till Raglan U opens agaaain! ~*~

~*~ Its beginning to look alot like Wootmas ~*~
~*~ All across the shire you go! ~*~
~*~ Theres a great tree name of Steve, ~*~
~*~ That all the tinies can see, ~*~
~*~ He's GINORMOUS, and doesnt mind the snow! ~*~

~*~ Its beginning to look alot like Wootmas! ~*~
~*~ Soon the bells will start! ~*~
~*~ And the thing that will make them ring, ~*~
~*~ When all the tinies sing, ~*~
~*~ Is right within your heart!!! ~*~


* ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ *

~*~ Hark the Tiny Critters Sing, Glory to the Waffle King! ~*~
~*~ Peace on the Grid & Syrup mild, Otters & Ferrets Reconciled! ~*~
~*~ Joyful with all your fur so slick, Raise up your Cookies on a stick! ~*~
~*~ And with upward paws proclaim, We shall RiverDance again! ~*~
~*~ Hark the Tiny Critters Sing, Glory to the Waffle Kinnnng ~*~

* ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ *

~*~ Jelly Beans, Hunks of Cheese, Sugar Frosted Ham. All Deep-fried, Toast on the Side with Wootberry Jam.. ~*~
~*~ Chocolate Cake all wrapped in Bacon, Nachos on a Stick! Come Along, Let's eat some Noms & Hope we don't get Sick... HEY!! ~*~
~*~ Nomming Treats & Sweets, from Our Raglan Shire Buffet, Fills our little tummies, with Food this Holiday! ~*~
~*~ Just singing 'bout it now, Make's our Hunger Rise! We can't wait to grab a Plate & Stack it real High.. Withhh.. ~*~
~*~ Jelly Beans, Hunks of Cheese, Sugar Frosted Ham. All Deep-fried, Toast on the Side with Wootberry Jam.. ~*~
~*~ Chocolate Cake all wrapped in Bacon, Nachos on a Stick! Come Along, Let's eat some Noms & Hope we don't get SICKKKKKKK! ~*~

~*~ Here we come A-waffling please feed us Breakfast Food! Here we come A-hungering so ~*~ Knives & Forks Come to Me, And a Warm Butter Patty, And please Serve us some Syrup & Chopped up Pecans Tooooo...~*~
~*~ And Please Sprinkle some Berries on them Toooo! Here we come A-waffling please Feed us Tasty Treats!~*~
~*~ Here we come A-chittering so give us something Sweet! Thanks to All for the Snax! Now we all can go Chillax!~*~
~*~And go about the things that we all Dooooo..... And Happy Holidays from All of Us to YOUUUUUUUUUU~*~

* ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ *

~*~ Sleigh bells ring! Are you listening? ~*~
~*~ In the shire, snow is glistening! ~*~
~*~ A wootiful sight, we're happy tonight, ~*~
~*~ Walking in a waffle wonderland! ~*~

~*~ Gone away is the blue bird ~*~
~*~ Here to stay is the new bird ~*~
~*~ He noms on chocolate ~*~
~*~ With bacon on a stick ~*~
~*~ Walking in a waffle wonderland! ~*~

~*~ In the shire we can build a snowman ~*~
~*~ Pretend that he's a chef from outta town ~*~
~*~ He'll say 'Want some waffle?' We'll say 'YEAH MAN!' ~*~
~*~ Then he'll pour the syrup while we chow! ~*~

~*~ Later on we'll conspire ~*~
~*~ As we riverdance in the shire ~*~
~*~ Tiny faces alight ~*~
~*~ With all the presents in sight ~*~
~*~ Walking in a waffle wonderland! ~*~

from the Tiny Crew of "the 1st Question"