Earlier this month, the metaverse development company Metaversatility launched a new showcase sim "EmVee Cuba" in Second Life (click here to teleport.) It’s a lovely, picturesque island, pushing the envelope on what is possible in SL, with each prim, texture and light placement designed to create an immersive sense of walking through a historic Cuba…
Category: Travel
“The Trade Show”: international justice and art as political expression
Last night I serendipitously encountered this performance art piece in the Arts District of Chicago called “The Tradeshow.” A moving and critical artistic commentary on the garment industry, it provided unexpected closure to the international justice conference I had been at for the past two days at DePaul University.
Headed to Chicago for ICC conference, streaming into Second Life
Tomorrow I’m doing a quick trip to Chicago for the Midwest Regional Conference on the International Criminal Court at DePaul University. Lots of amazing experts in international justice will there including: Judge Philippe Kirsch, president of the ICC Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the ICC Betty Bigombe, Former Minister of State and Chief Mediator in the…
Global Kids in The Hague!
Barry Joseph and I had a remarkable first day running around the city of The Hague in the Netherlands, spreading the Global Kids love to groups around here. The Hague has an incredibly rich history as a center for diplomatic, international law, and peace activities, with over 150 international organisations based here, including the International…
Off to The Hague to meet with the ICC!
Barry Joseph and I are getting ready to board a plane headed to the city of the Hague in the Netherlands to meet with some folks at the International Criminal Court. We are going to bring them up to speed on our plans to launch the International Justice Center in Second Life on March 20,…
Why I love Virgin America
[This post is not a paid endorsement] I just flew from Los Angeles to New York on Virgin America, and I have to say it was one of the highlights of my trip. Here’s some of the stuff I liked: Seats: Leather, comfy, good legroom in coach class. Decor: Lounge-y and muted, with ensconced magenta…
Travelling the world responsibly
I stumbled upon the Friends of World Heritage website recently, and I liked their tips for responsible travel. They are focused on travel to visit the World Heritage Sites, but their recommendations are applicable to any kind of tourism or business travel. Much of the tips are fairly basic like "learn a few words of…
Six suggestions for the virtual Philippines embassy
Ok, I was a bit negative yesterday when I dropped in on the planned Philippines virtual embassy in Second Life. Here are some constructive suggestions for how the Philippine government should use their first virtual presence: Expose people to the richness of Filipino culture: How about creating a tinikling dance animation? Or selling/giving away Filipino…
Amy Wilson’s real paintings of virtual vistas
Bryan Campen sent me news about this fun art book Postcards from Second Life, created by Amy Wilson. Amy has created a series of lovely watercolors chronicling her travels in the virtual world. I love how her broad strokes and washes lend a dream-like quality to the fantastic vistas one sees everyday in SL. And…
STA Travel dorms: the future of SL housing?
Over the weekend I stopped by the new STA Travel sim, created by the Electric Sheep Company. For those who haven’t been to college in awhile, STA Travel is a ubiquitous presence in campuses all over America, tempting you with discounted travel packages to farflung places. Nothing makes an Intro to Electrical Engineering class go…