Kan Suzuki’s boarded up SL headquarters Interesting article in the BBC about how Japan has instituted a freeze on all web-campaigning before their July 29 national elections. Reportedly, Japanese politicians are not allowed to create new websites or update their existing ones prior to the election. Diet member Kan Suzuki has even had to close…
Category: Virtual Worlds
Touching the hand of God at the virtual Sistine Chapel
There’s a tiny scene in the movie "Six Degrees of Separation" when one of the characters is getting a guided tour of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Her guide takes her up to the ceiling where the staff are doing some renovation work on the famous fresco by Michaelangelo. "Hit it, it’s only a…
“Faces of Faith” bringing religious leaders into Second Life July 29
On July 29 the UC Berkeley School of Journalism presents a program on "Faces of Faith in Second Life" from 1-2pm PST. Taking place on Nowhereville Island (teleport SLURL), the event will feature Don Lattin and a panel of religious/spiritual leaders for a conversation about faith and spirituality in virtual worlds. Questions will be taken…
Suzanne Vega returns to Second Life July 13!
This Friday July 13, at 4PM PST, Suzanne Vega returns to Second Life to celebrate the release of her seventh album "Beauty and Crime" (love the album cover and art BTW). From the press release: Users are invited to stop by to interact with Vega who will be hanging and chatting on the virtual Ludlow…
My avatar gets fancy in his new barong tagalog dress shirt
Men’s Second Style, an excellent SL fashion blog, turned me on to these beautiful "barong tagalog" shirts created by designer Shai Delacroix. I finally got my hands on one tonight and I’m a very happy Fil-Am (Filipino-American) now that my avatar is sporting such a handsome dress shirt. The barong tagalog is the traditional men’s…
Teens to create machinima about child rights at virtual summer camp
Global Kids announces that they are organizing a virtual summer camp to help teens in the Second Life Teen Grid to create machinima videos related to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Running for a month from July 23 to August 23, campers will be expected to attend the camp five…
NORML opens SL headquarters – virtual potheads say “kewl, dood”
I got the news from Laura Judy that the marijuana legalization non-profit NORML has opened a small office in Second Life (teleport SLURL). You already see a good amount of simulated marijuana use in SL, so it makes sense for NORML to start reaching out to residents here. For those that don’t know, NORML’s mission…
Second Chance Trees a finalist in Amex $5 million challenge
Paul Young sent me the news that the Second Chance Trees initiative has been selected as one of 50 finalists in a competition sponsored by American Express called "The Members Project." Second Chance Trees is an effort to raise awareness about and funds for rainforest re-forestation around the world. Second Life residents can purchase virtual…
AjaxLife: browser-based Second Life interface
Katharine Berry, reportedly a British teenager, has successfully created a very bare-bones but working web-based client for Second Life a few days ago. No fancy graphics, animations, video or audio, but you can chat, IM, and teleport around from your web browser using what she calls "AjaxLife." It’s a really cool achievement and something that…
CORRECTION: “Live Earth” event in Second Life tomorrow (July 7)
I got the word from David Alexander that the global climate change concert series "Live Earth" will be simulcast tomorrow an in-world event paralleling the "Live Earth" concerts will take place in the Better World Island sim (teleport SLURL.) Live Earth is a a 24-hour, seven-continent music extravaganza that will bring together more than 150…