Those that know me know that my all time favorite New York event of the entire year is the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, which I have been participating in for many years as part of the Brooklyn Bombshell’s group. The Mermaid Parade is run by the non-profit group Coney Island USA, which does a bang…
Month: May 2008
Teaching teens about Darfur in Second Life
Last night I helped out my colleague Shawna with the "Deconstructing Darfur" workshops that she has been facilitating this month in Teen Second Life. The goal of the workshops series is to help a small group of young people to learn about Sudan, the conflict and resultant humanitarian crisis there, what the international response has…
Video: Swingin in the 2008 Dance Parade!
My friend Jerry posts some cool video of the lindy hop group dancing down the streets of Manhattan at the 2008 Dance Parade. Again we had the lovely Swankmobile leading the way, blasting swing music for us to dance to and the crowd to enjoy. We had a nice group of a dozen lindy hoppers,…
Dance Parade 2008 is Today!
I’m off in a few minutes to meet up with some lindy hop friends to dance in the 2nd annual New York Dance Parade. We’ll be joining nearly 4,000 other dancers from 100+ dance groups representing 31 different styles of dance, for the sheer joy of moving our bodies to music. You can catch us…
The NOAA needs your input on their Second Life presence
The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has done some amazingly cool builds in Second Life on their two islands Meteora and Okeanos. This US government agency has commissioned lots of innovative, interactive displays that really show the potential for virtual world education and awareness-raising — from a hurricane simulator to a live map of…
WSJ article on teen summer jobs in virtual worlds: perfect counterpoint to Fox FUD
Lots of you have probably seen this bit of Fox’s sensationalist "news" about the "dangers" of the "Second Life website" on teens. Don’t get me started on how nonsensical the idea of "consensual rape rooms" is, or of virtual depictions of drug labs somehow corrupting minors. Anyway, there is a lot of hemming and…
NMC announces $100K (yes, real US dollars) for innovative learning & virtual world projects
Just got this off the SL educators list. The amazing New Media Consortium is offering US$100,000 in prizes to 20 projects that use virtual worlds in innovative ways for learning. Projects must be conducted in Second Life or Sun Microsystem’s new Project Wonderland virtual world platform: The New Media Consortium (NMC) today announced the call…
Inhabiting a Hopper painting
Checking out Tezcatlipoca Bisiani virtual re-creation of Edward Hopper’s melancholy painting "Nighthawks". Click here to visit it in Second Life. Really nice work! (Thanks for the link, Hamlet.)
Why is a Spanish health center for teens on the SL Adult Grid?
Just got a link to a news story in The Guardian on a Spanish medical group that has set up a virtual health center in Second Life, with the intention of counseling teens on confidential and sensitive health issues. As the article states: Spanish health authorities launched a virtual portal through the Second Life website…
Breakdance/b-boying as a vernacular street dance
Just had a fun practice session with some of my fellow breaking students at PMT Studios. We are getting to the point where we have enough of an initial vocabulary and confidence that we can try out new moves on our own and have our own unique styles and strengths. It’s a great feeling making…