In July of 2007, Starwood Hotels announced that their first experiment with virtual worlds, the Virtual Aloft Hotel, had come to completion. Normally when such things happen, the corporation just has the island and the build derez into the ether and everyone congratulates themselves on a job well done. Starwood decided to do something different…
I’m on the Teen Grid!
My work avatar "Rik Gkid" was successfully created and transferred over to the Teen Grid today! I have to say that being ported over from the Main Grid over to Teen SL felt a bit like going into exile in a strange land. What is this giant volcano? Where are all the ad farms and…
“The Freshest Kids” Quick Movie Review
I just watched the documentary "The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-boy" (2002). It’s an entertaining introduction to how breakdancing got started in the Bronx in the 1970s. The documentary intersperses awesome dance footage with interviews with legends of the hip-hop world — from Cool Herc to Ken Swift to Mr. Wiggles to Africa…
Postscript+Chatlog: Event on Best Practices for Nonprofits in Second Life a big success!
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of leading up a panel of non-profit experts talking about "Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life," held at the Plush Nonprofit Commons in SL. Speakers shown from left to right are: Lori Bell, Alliance Library System Rafi Santo, Global Kids Jade Lily, SL Relay for Life Jimbo Hoyer, YearlyKos…
Mole Negro Boxed
Mole Negro Originally uploaded by Swifty My roommate Swifty took this awesome picture of my cat Mole Negro. Yes, Mole always looks like that — perpetually shocked. So cute!
REMINDER: I’m speaking about Best Practices for Non-profits in SL TOMORROW at 8:30AM in Second Life
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow — Friday, February 8 at 8:30AM PST — I and a host of other great speakers will be presenting the best thinking around non-profit work in Second Life. The discussion is based on a white paper that I prepared for Global Kids on "Best Practices for Non-profits in Second…
I’m not Jackie Chan: Responding to subtle racism
Coming home from, of all things, breakdance practice, I encountered a subtle form of racism that is fairly common for me. I was coming out of the Atlantic Avenue subway station in Brooklyn when I heard someone yell out "Jackie Chan!" in my direction. I turned to see a group of young black men and…
Cute new icons on Windlight client for Second Life
I just installed the new Windlight client for Second Life. Don’t know how spry it is, but it sure LOOKS pretty. I like the new icons for "nobuild," "no script," especially "no push" on the top nav bar. That last one reminds me of a crash test dummy. Buckle up!
Yehoodi Talk Show #505: Presenting The Sausage Fest!
Episode #505 of the Yehoodi Talk Show has hit the interwebs! Spuds and I talk about a $10,000 lindy hop competition, a cool swing fundraiser for cancer research in Orange County, and, of course, the lovely Christina Oppold. More exciting, we do a launch of a new podcast for the lindy gentlemen called, ahem, "Sausage Fest."…
“Get Activated!” Leading Non-profits Discuss “Best Practices” for Activism, Collaboration, Education, and Fundraising in Virtual Worlds on February 8
As I previously reported, the white paper I prepared for Global Kids on "Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life" is now out on the interwebs for your downloading pleasure. I’m helping organize an in-world event to talk about the findings of the paper, and engage directly with folks who have much more expertise on…