Lily Pad Lounge No More

Dammit! The Lily Pad closed when I wasn’t looking. I’d been there a few times early in my Residency and always got a kick out of the frog decor.

The Lily Pad Lounge has closed | Your2ndPlace

After 7 years and as of Monday, June 7, 2010 Drift Monde has closed the Lily Pad Lounge. Sunday was the last performances by Anaconda Carter and Starr Singer. Both ladies have been singing at the Lily Pad every other Sunday for years. 5 years for Starr and 3 years for Ana.
The Lily Pad Lounge has been an icon in the aid of lauching live entertainment in Second Life. There are many artists who have started their SL careers on that stage singing to the frogs.

Why? Because the owner, Drift Monde, has drifted away from Second Life, as many content creators have done over the last year or so. More will continue to drift away as the increasingly “corporate over creative” culture at Linden Labs makes it clear that creative people aren’t what LL is looking to retain.

Uh Ohs

I haven’t been inworld much lately as I’ve been working on a web project – but this announcement after all the hoopla over the new viewer is no doubt causing a bit of a flap in the content-provider community.

I’m a much more casual, social user, but even I can see that a 30% reduction in staff is… a bombshell.

Hope to make it inworld this week, finally, now that my little project is finally done.

Linden Lab Restructures to Generate Efficiencies and Support Investment in New Platforms — SAN FRANCISCO, June 9 /PRNewswire/ —

As part of the restructuring, Linden Lab will also improve its geographic and cost efficiencies. The company’s product and engineering divisions will be combined. The software development teams will be consolidated in North America and customer support will be reconfigured to provide more scalable services. As a result, Linden Lab anticipates staff reductions of approximately 30 percent.

Dear Wally, Wish You Were Here

Crossposted from my typist’s blog, because

  1. it’s appropriate for the day
  2. I don’t care whether my RL and SL identities are linked
  3. it’s a hybrid post with images from both sides of the uncanny divide
Vietnam Reflections

Dear Wally (nobody ever called you Edward except your dad, and the Army),

A lot has happened since 1968. Your two daughters have grown up, and you’re a name on a smoothly polished, black granite wall in Washington DC . They’ve both struggled a bit (maybe because you were taken away from them far too soon) but seem to be fine now. You’re a grandfather, can you believe it? Neither can I. In fact, you have an amazing step-daughter and a couple of cute step-grandkids; you know how the living always say “life goes on,” and it did.

Jolly Roger  TopFlier kite

I never thanked you for your service, because I was just a buck-toothed, cross-eyed little kid when you left for Vietnam. But you taught me some important lessons when you used to be the Army guy across the street that married my sister; I have no fear of stomping tomato worms (how did you know I’d turn out to be such a tomboy?), and I still like flying kites, although I’ve never found one to top the simple, 10-cent TopFlite Jolly Roger you bought at the local drugstore. It looked grand up there in the sky, all piratey and swashbucklery, but then the string broke, and you had a crisis on your hands. It was either stop the kid from crying and find her kite, or give up and go home. To your credit, you drove around in the empty field looking for it, after we walked around trying to see if it had fallen from the sky and gotten tangled up somewhere. Not sure, but I think you may have distracted me from the depressing sight of it caught on a telephone wire by telling me it must have flown for miles and miles.

You did well in the Army (well, your dad being an Air Force colonel didn’t hurt) and you and my sister Tudy had some interesting postings (Fort Bragg, Germany) with your oldest daughter before the time came for you to be sent to Vietnam as an officer in 1968. By then, of course, you were a captain. You looked very brave and strong in your uniform at the airport when we sent you off; that was in Salt Lake, where you’d moved your family to be near Mom “in case.” You’d already dealt with tragedy, losing your baby son Michael in that car accident when you were all on the way… that was terrible, and I guess my mom and everyone thought the Army wouldn’t make you go away after that. Especially as Tudy was pregnant with Heather by then and Holly, your first born, was just getting to school age.

But off you went, striding purposefully into the strong glare of the sun at the old Salt Lake airport after saying your goodbyes at the departure gate (you wouldn’t believe the b.s. we go through now to travel by air). It was hard to see you against the sun in the doorway, where you turned and went away, never to return in the same form. The little pins and badges you wore glinted, and you were gone.

I hope you like the memorial in Washington DC; it’s probably more popular than the war it commemorates ever was. It ensures that people won’t forget, I guess, and it’s moving and sombre. But people continue to leave stuff there, and I’d always thought it would be nice to fly the Jolly Roger just once more and leave it there for you, to be carefully catalogued with your name and the date and archived by some volunteer… of course, the kite you chose because it was the most bad-ass and un-girly in the store turned out to be a classic, and something we now call a “collectible” worth between $30-100.

Bet you’re laughing your ass off now, and wishing we’d tried a little harder to find it that day, hey?

I can’t even begin to explain the “virtual world” concept, but there’s a Vietnam Memorial in Second Life, too. I’ll be dropping by there later today – and maybe I’ll try to make my own little virtual kite to fly there in your honor.

In church yesterday (I don’t think you were all that much into God stuff but anyway here it is), a friend who’s had his own struggles with life after the service gave a special prayer in honor of Memorial Day and guys like you. He read something from a magazine he’d found, that concluded “all gave some, some gave all.” Some country music singer turned part of that phrase into a song a while back; you probably would have liked it a lot.

I’m still sad that you’re one of the ones that had to give all. It may not look like you and all the other guys from all the other wars are remembered by this country much (except when it benefits the politicians of every stripe that “run” the place), but you are remembered. In spite of all the Memorial Day sales, and barbecues, and people just sitting around on a Monday dinking around on computers (I know, weird, huh?), you’re not forgotten.

So anyway, Wally, thank you for your service. Hope there’s a nice breeze for flying kites where ever you are.

UPDATE:

So yes, I did make it inworld to see the virtual Vietnam Memorial…

Edward W Crum at the Vietnam Memorial in SL

It’s always Cherry Blossom Time at the virtual Vietnam Memorial – the trees are lovely, the lighting is nice.

Closeup of Vietnam Memorial

So many names, it’s hard to find the one you want. There’s a scripted object that helps seekers find them, though

Too many names. Had a nice conversation with a Swedish woman, who was quietly respectful. Nice.

Red Rocks Mesa Veterans Memorial

Bought a kite, found a desert memorial to veterans, could not fly due to no build privileges at Red Rock Mesa, SL

Flying my Jolly Roger kite over my land in Tintafel; neighbor’s house is a large glowing planet

Second Life image of kite flying over sea

Taken at Surf Camp in PrimWorks, Second Life. That’s an incoming wave…did you end up learning to surf?

Inspired by Simply Left BehindThe Non-Rapturist’s Guide To The Galaxy: Thank You.

Marketing Marketing Marketing

Second Life New Toulouse Mardi Gras Beads

Yes, okay, note to myself: I finally got around to updating my listings at XStreetSL to get ready for the coming changes. And so did Dhughan – his little sticks sell better than my party necklaces, so I need to put in some time making better stuff.

Clearly, I need to put in some time making stuffs(tm) and takeeng peekchurs of mah stuffs(tm).

Steampunkaneers! Do you want to meet other Steampunkaneers??

This new #SecondLife group forming looks like fun, although my own creations will be in development hell for a while before they qualify to be called “Steampunk.”

The esthetic, to me, should have great attention to detail, whether prims, sculpties, or textures, AND there must be some element of retrofuturistic technology. From the looks of the group’s blog, SUCCEEDED.

Are you a shop owner offering Steampunk items and finding it difficult to reach your target audience? Are you a Steampunk enthusiast trying to wade through all of SL to find that special item for your costume or your home? Are you new to Steampunk and curious to meet people who enjoy sharing their love of this genre with others? Then we want you to be a Steampunkaneer!

Group membership is open to the public and free to join. Anyone can receive group notices and it is my desire to be able to leave group chat available for those who would like to ask questions or share their love of Steampunk. Group chat is for courteous chat only. Please save your drama for private IMs and do not bring it to our group. Please do not use group chat to advertise your products or freebies or to call chair letters or midnight mania boards. If you have general Steampunk news, either SL or RL, that you think may be of interest to the group as a whole, please feel free to send me a notecard.

Group members may apply for shop owner status (with a Confabulator title) to allow them to post notices of new releases, sales, specials, etc., to the group. Notices will be limited to two per week, one of which must contain a new release in order to prevent excessive notice spamming.

The group also has a blog called The Scriptorian at: www.steampunkaneer.wordpress.com.

Weekly Tweets 2010-05-02

Theatre | Tomorrow Is A Very Important Date

Dhughan here, just fell down a rabbit hole in the best possible way. Don’t miss seeing seeing “Alice in WonderSLand” in Second Life, starting May 2!  Buy tickets here.

Through a lucky chance, I was invited to watch a dress rehearsal of the Avatar Repertory Theater’s production of “Alice” by a friend, Miss Elegia Underwood (who played Alice tonight, but alternates in the role for most of the run). I’m so glad I had the experience; it was a memorable evening of theater, for all that it took place on my electronic-typing-viewglass-thingummy. That is to say, it was a fine production worthy of any playhouse or acting troupe, and in fact it accomplished feats of wonder that a “real life” crew would not be able to translate to the stage.

For one thing, it had lizard men speaking in broad West Country accents falling into cucumber frames. It had a mer-dormouse! It had a singing, dancing gryphon! It had audience members clinging for dear life to their seats in free fall, or desperately trying to click the “pie” menu in order to retrieve flotation cushions! And there were lavish amounts of black pepper, and even a snorting Pig-Baby!

Let’s see the RSC pull that off in live performance, hmm?

I wasn’t able to take photographs during the performance, which was sheer torture, as the scenery-changery-jiggery-pokery is amazing. If you are lucky enough to see the production, which will cost you a mere $L500 to be transported to WonderSLand, do not be late for this very important date. The opening sequence is not to be missed, as there’s a sort of… audience participatory element.

Here are some imaginary disclaimers which might have been helpful if added to the program that I did not have as this was “only a rehearsal.” To my mind, it was an accomplished performance, but still, there could have been some warnings:

You are advised to keep your arms, legs, eyes, ears, and sundry other appendages in the theatre at all times, and no peeking behind the scenery unless you want to be spoiled for upcoming action. You will be amazed at where this production takes you, as it’s quite frankly out of this world. Remain seated, and kindly do not make clicky-clicky noises or touch ANYTHING, or something surprising may happen. Persons and other beings who sit in the front row may find themselves with a lapful of hedgehogs if they are not careful.

I, er, inadvertently touched the [scenery redacted] which caused some puzzlement amongst the cast, and I only realized what I had done when I realized that they had inserted jokes about it into the dialogue.

Oh, dear. At least it was momentary. Sorry, chaps and ladies. It was a WONDERFUL performance and I wish you all a very successful run.

Avatar Repertory Theater to present “Alice in WonderSLand”

Once the line between genius and madness has been crossed, you can never go back, and for one little girl, that line keeps moving. Please join Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole as the Avatar Repertory Theater proudly presents “Alice in WonderSLand”, in an all-original production with our madly talented international cast and team.  Lead designer JubJub Forder says “this is not the cutesy Alice you usually find in movies. This is a little girl’s dark fears of growing up.”

Tickets are L$500, available for purchase on XStreet .

Your ticket will contain extra information regarding venue, etc.

The audience will be immersed into WonderSLand, where they will see magical places bloom around them, with a panoramic view of the scenes built by JubJub Forder and his talented crew.

Visit the White Rabbit’s house, enjoy a Tea Party with the Mad Hatter, Dormouse and March Hare, attend a Croquet game hosted by the Queen of Hearts, and witness the trial of the Knave of Hearts in a courtroom where rules are meant to be broken.

Theater presented in a virtual world such as this gives the designers, costumers, builders and actors the opportunity to present entertainment that would be impossible in real life. Our imagination drives those dreams, and we invite you to come play with us in WonderSLand.  Avatar designer Ada Radius promises your experience to be “surreal comedy on the edge of a nightmare”, and costume designer Rowan Shamroy is creating a dark look to echo the original Tenniel illustrations, based on the clothing of late Victorian England.

The production, directed by MadameThespian Underhill, features Mickie Nikolaidis and Elegia Underwood alternating the role of Alice, with (in order of appearance) Persephone Phoenix, Sodovan Torok, Joff Fassnacht, Em Jannings, AvaJean Westland, Rowan Shamroy, Kayden Oconnell, Thundergas Menges, Dolgoruky Umarov, Ada Radius, Lailu Loon, Corwyn Allen and JudyArx Scribe. The production team, led by AvaJean Westland, includes JubJub Forder, Ada Radius, Rowan Shamroy, Thundergas Menges, Sodovan Torok, Prospero Frobozz, Elegia Underhill, CodeWarrior Carling, Amon Dragonash, Kayden Oconnell, and Mickie Nikolaidis.

For more information on the production, visit our INFOHUB for the latest updates or contact AvaJean Westland.

To be added to our mailing list, please contact Kayden Oconnell or Ada Radius.
You can also learn more about Avatar Repertory Theater by visiting our website at http://www.avreptheater.com/ or our blog at avatarrepertorytheater.blogspot.com.

I was able take aetheric notes during the performance, and I definitely agree about the “little girl’s dark fears.” Everything is a bit nightmarish and frightening for Alice, although she’s plucky and talks herself out of panicking, and also she attempts to deal with an illogical world logically (with limited success). But the scenes are lovely, and for the most part the voice dialogue was perfectly clear and crisp, with plenty of fun accents and amusing bits of “business” such as sound effects, “OOF!” type reactions, and so on.

At only 40 minutes in, I had no idea what might happen next, even though I’m tolerably familiar with the story.  It seems to be a very faithful reading of the book, including dialogue and events that don’t always make it into the usual “movie version” of the work.  Mr Johnny Depp can eat his hat for all I care, this production was perfectly well adapted for Second Life, without any unneccessary revisions to the text.

All the actors are performing in voice with animations, scripted objects, and a great variety of dialects. Every scene change is magical, from every angle (as long as you didn’t attach your camera to somebody that went off stage at the end of the scene as I did at first).  The sound is very good, and there is also incidental music from various sources. There was even a song-and-dance routine that went quite well aside from a minor miscue with the music. The only major glitch that anybody noticed was that the Queen of Hearts’ voice dialogue was too quiet, but that will be quickly addressed for the performances.

Naturally, this being Second Life, there are some fun liberties taken with how some minor characters are rendered, but also from a stagecraft-y point of view, some of the effects are definitely Not Possible in Real Life. And enjoyably so, I must add. The effect when the Cheshire Cat appeared and disappeared, leaving only a grin, was very nicely done, and the rabbit hole sequence was very inventive and fun. In fact, every scene had some bit of business or other that just really… worked so well for the virtual venue we were in. There were a few sound effects that will be familiar to anyone who’s spent time in Second Life, especially near the end. Quite funny, actually, and amusingly appropriate to the action.

The flamingo-and-hedgehog croquet game, which was in progress at the time I made my notes, is full of thrilling action. There are playing-card croquet hoops, squabbling royals and gentry, squawking flamingos, and bouncing hedgehogs (which generally end up near the first row if not carefully whacked or herded by the cast). I could hardly wait for every scene change – just because it’s so well done each time, and so inventively realized for the virtual stage. The voice work and dialects are extremely good; this production could work as a radio play, but the scenery is so beautifully designed, made, scripted, and textured that not using it would be criminal. I’m told that the production has been in the works for 3 months, and to the company’s credit, it ran beginning to end without any major technical hitches or crashes. Alice, played for rehearsal by Miss Elegia Underwood reported afterwards that she had nearly crashed during the apocalyptic croquet scene, but everyone else evidently covered with hedgehog-whacking and croquet-hoop action, and eventually she was able to resume playing to the end.

After the exciting finale, which made me laugh because it made use of a very clever visual joke, the cast came out for the traditional bows to enthusiastic applause. We audience members were able to give feedback and learn interesting details of how the production worked. I confessed during the Q&A that I was the one that had clicked on the [scenery redacted], which caused no end of jollity to the cast (and a note was made by the properties master to prevent a repeat performance). It was then that the White Rabbit, whose big scene I had nearly ruined, came over and whapped me with his long, fuzzy ears. There was even a “whappity-whappity” sound effect.

Although I may have appeared calm on the outside, on the inside I was thrown back in my chair in convulsions of laughter, and I knew that I’d had yet another amazing “only in Second Life” experience.

I’ve been given carte blanche to go ahead with this aetheric notation, as tomorrow is Opening Night (or Day, or Afternoon, depending on your time zone). So please do go see “Alice in WonderSLand,” and pray that there’s no repeat of the recent #SecondLifepocalypse!