Here's a quick little video clip of Tomo and me lindy hopping at the Dance Marathon on Friday done by Anna, another local lindy hopper. Yes, I know, I need to stop pointing. You can also see my friends Jerry and ShortyJul swing dancing at the end of the video on the Gothamist website. Thanks,…
A lucky lead at the Dance Marathon yesterday
Here’s a fun picture of me dancing with my friends Devona and ShortyJul at the Dance Marathon event held yesterday to today in Madison Square Park. The picture was taken by Jerry, who’s flickr gallery from the event is here. I couldn’t make the evening shift of swing dancers, but it looks like a fun…
The virtual world is starting to look more like the real one
Vive l’Europe! Adam Reuter’s reports that there are now more Europeans than Americans in Second Life, with 54% of the active users in January being from Europe and 31% from the US. Here’s the full breakdown from January: United States 31.19% France 12.73% Germany 10.46% United Kingdom 8.09% Netherlands 6.55% Spain 3.83% Brazil 3.77% Canada…
Video of Holocaust Museum briefing on Darfur in Second Life
My friend In Kenzo passes on to me an incredible video of the in-world briefing on the genocide in Darfur organized by the US Holocaust Museum that took place last month. The video features a very skillful and powerful juxtaposition of in-world footage and images from Sudanese refugee camps. Makes me want to work on…
Dance Marathon today and tomorrow in Madison Square Park
I did my little bit for the cause of dancing today, heading out in the freezing cold to dance for an hour with a hardy dozen lindy hoppers in Madison Square Park this afternoon. The cause was an effort to fight the ridiculous Cabaret Laws in New York that restrict public dancing to only a…
A face only a Martian mother would love
I rather like this picture of my avatar, taken at the Live Without Boundaries sim.
Call for youth-oriented groups interested in teaching computer game-building
I received yesterday from Amber Oliver of the World Wide Workshop Foundation a very interesting "grant" call for proposals, offering their new education platform that teaches young people how to create computer games to educators and youth leaders around the world. Sounds like a great opportunity for an educational organization looking to expand their interactive…
The Phoenix article on Second Life and real world politics
Sara Donnelly wrote an interesting and lengthy piece in The Phoenix on Second Life and political action entitled "Out-of-Body Politic." I must have been in a grinchy mood because I said some pretty unpolitic things about Second Life activism: “SL ‘protests’ are really just cop-outs for people who don’t want to show up in the…
Ted Castronova announces “Videogames and Public Policy” conference June 22-23 at Indiana U
Just got word that the Synthetic Worlds Initiative at Indiana University, headed by Dr Edward Castronova, is hosting a conference on "Videogames and Public Policy" tentatively scheduled for June 22-23. The format sounds like a complete hoot and a half: The theme will be explored through a game that puts participants in a 19th century…
Considering in-world violence as a Quaker pacifist
Catherine Linden posts on the official SL blog that the Linden Lab PR department is looking for "folks who are using Second Life in the pursuit of religious or spiritual ends." As some of you know, I’m a Quaker. Not a great Quaker, but still a member of the Religious Society of Friends. After the…