Eshi Otawara (Monday 21 July 2008)

Eshi Otawara's latest and lovely creation in the Desperado sim of Second Life...

"Rain of Hate" 20 July 2008

Once again, my friend GoSpeed Racer invited me to the Desperado sim to witness another Eshi Otawara build. This time Eshi built a sobering and tragic look at hateful and spirit-killing speech from family and its deleterious effect on identity.

A call it "Rain of Hate" because while staring up into a cloud-like form of text for more than 15 minutes, it reminded me of standing in a cold rain.

As I raised the camera higher, the text merged into a tornado-like storm. Eventually I broke free of the hate-swarm and looked toward the sun and sky.

The Art of Eshi Otawara 19 July 2008

My friend GoSpeed Racer invited me to the Desperado sim to witness Eshi Otawara's latest build. Eshi is creating a series of 1-hour art installation builds and this video presents one of her beautiful and amazing creations....

Eladrienne and Kheph777 NPIRL Build Blowed-up real good

Let's go destroying builds on NPIRL! Yay!

Crap Mariner is on hand for the destruction. Roll the tape!



That thar build got blowed-up real good!

Second Life Bloggers Group Logo Contest :: Final Votes and Winner

The Logo Contest is officially closed.

We have a winner and a new logo for the Second Life Bloggers group and the Second Life BloggerCon 2008 group.

The winner is Vint Falken, who will receive the prize of 5000 Linden dollars for her excellent design.

Here is the final vote...

Vint = 17
Looker = 5
Oolon = 4
Tiana = 2
Dalien = 1
Calantha = 1


I want to thank dinee and Veyron for helping me raise funds for the cash prize, all the logo designers for participating, and all the members who voted. Thanks very much to all of you.

Sometimes leading this bunch is like herding cats, but it's all worth it to me!

*smiles and laughs*

Now on to the next major project....

Update on SL Bloggers Group Logo Contest

((Please note the new deadlines and inworld display location))

I'm searching for a logo for the Second Life Bloggers Group. dinee and I will award 5000 Linden Dollars to the designer of the best Logo. Winners will be decided by our group members.

Logo designs should be in a few formats.

512 x 512 texture for use on the group tab and on inworld signs/objects.

Vertical and Horizontal Banners and Badges in jpg and gif format to be used on our blogs.

Send all submissions to Zoe Connolly in the following manner...

1 ) Send a 512 x 512 Texture to my inventory. It would be helpful to add your logo texture to a flat notecard-giving object with a bio/description. Please make the object modifiable.

2 ) Create jpg's or gif's for use as banners and badges on our blogs. Use this banner webpage as a guide. I'm looking for a full banner, a square button, and a skyscaper images. Send any jpg's or gif's to my email address...

zoeconnolly (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Group members will vote on the winner. Contest Entries will be displayed at the new Connolly Telegraph and Second Life Bloggers Headquarters in Antiquity Cove. Click here for the SLurl to Zoe's parcel in Antiquity Cove.

Entry Deadline is 12:00 PM SL time Sunday September 9th.

Voting will start at 12:00 PM SL time Sunday September 16th.

and remain open until 12:00 PM SL time Sunday September 23rd.


Disclaimer: Linking to this post is "All Voluntary Of Course"

The FlowerBall

A little over a week ago, Col. Hotspur O'Toole invited a few Caledonians to a fascinating art build. While there, I struck-up a pleasant conversation with Mr.Douglas Story, who is one of the artists on this amazing project...






Mr. Story sent me the following press release...

FlowerBall - An Interactive Art Thingy

by
Douglas Story - concept, prims, pictures
AldoManutio Abruzzo - soundscape
Desdemona Enfield - scripts


FlowerBall is a very large, very colorful, very musical and very immersive bit of art - the kind of thing that truly is possible only in Second Life. At 120 feet high and wide, it’s huge - your avatar flies up and through five layers inside a gigantic sphere, your interaction with the layers changing the visuals, and adding new layers of sounds and music.

Soon to be open to the public on a pristine sim owned by Princeton University, FlowerBall presents the almost abstract close-up floral photography of Douglas Story in a unique way. As you float inside these luxuriant images, you are awash in a multi-layered tapestry of lush ambient musical sounds by noted Second Life live musician AldoManutio Abruzzo. All of this is powered by complex scripts written by the talented and energetic Desdemona Enfield.

One early visitor compared it to being "inside a huge flower." Another said, "I feel like I'm swimming in sound and color."

Visitors do need to be aware that they really must pay attention to the instructions that they will be given to them as they arrive at the site - unfortunately one must change an audio setting in Preferences in order to hear the sounds properly. The creators assure you that the experience will be well worth that small effort.

Experiencing FlowerBall is one of those Second Life 'wow' moments that is not to be missed. The opening reception with the artists is scheduled for Saturday, July 21st at 2 pm SLT at the usually-private Princeton University Sim at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Princeton%20University/24/193/104/

Readers who wish to view the work after the July 21st opening should be directed to its Princeton North location at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Princeton%20North/75/40/37/

Members of the press who wish a preview are invited to visit this location as well.

FlowerBall is presented under the auspices of Tayzia Abattoir and New Media Consortium, with special thanks to Princeton University.

----------------------------------------

Artist Information

Douglas Story creates his extreme macro photography with a 5 megapixel digital camera in and around Los Angeles. All images displayed were shot using natural light, and are essentially as they came from the camera with no, or very little, enhancement after the fact. Douglas has displayed his work in group shows in Los Angeles, and in Second Life at the Aho Museum and the Angel Dorei Gallery.

A Second Life resident since 2005, Desdemona Enfield, in her more serious moments, studies the Zen of Scripting and occasionally dabbles in building. She's highly verbal and will scroll everyone off the screen when given an opportunity. In real life, the daydream that comes closest to her vocation would include a checkered history in computer graphics, medical imaging, data protocols, and embedded systems, plus a tad of physics and mathematics. However, these days she prefers to dance in sky palaces.

AldoManutio Abruzzo is a hugely popular improvisational musician who performs frequently in Second Life. More information and a performance schedule may be found at his web site at:

http://usrslashsbin.angrek.com/

I'm hoping that this team may be able to do something interesting for our projected Second Life Bloggers Convention tentatively scheduled for February 2008.