L'Amour Diversity Magazine Issue 24 June 2019

ISSUE 24, JUNE 2019

Celebrating uniqueness not trends!

The Models of L’Amour Diversity Present The Amazon River featuring Hilly Haalan

Publisher’s Note

I can’t believe how fast spring and summer came upon us. Everyone around L’Amour has been busy as little bees. We have had so many shows, that I have lost track and we have had a few students taking the Director/ Producer course and working hard on those. One of the graduates Vickie Maidstone had her graduation show and it was a huge hit and a ton of fun.

HadleyCarrington will be having her show at the end of the month, and I am very much looking forward to what she does.

The L’Amour Models have visited the Amazon with Fashion Editor Nani Xue

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for an amazing bikini photo shoot.

Nani also brings us a story on the Amazon role play sim, where we did the photoshoot.

Ali Reignn did her first show for her charity with Bakaboo, read more about it all in this issue of L’Amour Diversity.

We have a ton of great stories for all of the readers of Diversity, so sit back, grab a snack and drink and enjoy the magazine.

n i m a h J Ava

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Celebrating uniqueness not trends!

ISSUE 24, JUNE 2019

STAFF PUBLISHER/EDITOR Ava Jhamin EDITOR IN CHIEF Rienna Lenoir FASHION EDITOR Nani Xue WRITERS HadleyCarrington Jude Tatham Nani Xue Rienna Lenoir Ali Reignn PHOTOGRAPHERS Ava Jhamin Mirza (Soulcrak3r) Ali Reignn Nani Xue DIVERSITY MODELS Trinity Aironaut, Jan Bacon, Resmay Bloodstorm, Vichonette Constantine, Ava Jhamin, Kushy Kloud, Rienna Lenoir, Jude Tatham, Nani Xue

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The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Publisher. ®2019 L'Amour Productions. All rights reserved.

Second Life™ is a registered trademark of Linden Research, Inc.

Issue 24 June, 2019 | L’Amour Diversity Magazine

Okay, okay, enough rambling, just like someone looking at a blogged recipe, you don't care about my life story, you just want the deets about this issue! Well, we have a great one in store for you this time around. The article that's nearest and dearest to my heart is the one I wrote about the Drivers of SL Group. Ava had a chat with Red Hykova and Steve Ruhig-Allen from The River Island Performing Arts and Theatre. She also got to talk to Sharcrista Quan DJ Extraordinaire.

Jude Tatham brings us an article about loneliness in SL, I'm sure most of us have experienced that at some point in time. We also have the press release for the 2019 LUXE Paris Look of the Year Contest!

Hope you enjoy!!

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Editor’s Note

It's June already! We are now half way through 2019! It's hard to believe. The older I get, the faster time seems to tick on by. Here, where I live, summer is about to get ramped up and baby, it gets hot in good Ol' Virginny. I'm fortunate that I live further away from the ocean, so it's not as humid as it could be, but for someone who prefers wintertime, it still gets pretty hot! Thank GOD for such amenities as central air!

Table of Contents

14 The Amazon River Sims Nani Xue takes us to this stunning 11 sim roleplay area and shares her experience with us.

20 Editorial The Amazon The models of L’Amour Diversity take us to the Amazon featuring designs by Hilly Haalan

44 Drivers of SL Group Diversity Editor in Chief, Rienna Lenoir tells us all about this interesting group and introduces us to its founder, Christi Charron

58 The River Island Performing Arts Meet Red Hykova & Steve Ruhig-Allen, owners of RIPA Theatre as they talk with Ava Jhamin.

72 Sharcrista Quan DJ Extraordinaire Ava talks with Sharcrista Quan about her life as an SL DJ.

82 Only the Lonely This month for Jude’s Jewels, Jude Tatham takes a break away from featuring clubs in SL, to talk to us about the lonliness that some people experience in this virtual world.

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92 45th Pazzo Style Challenge HadleyCarrington tells us all about the 45th Pazzo Style Challenge - Boho in Blue.

96 So You Think You Can Blog?

Nani Xue discusses some of the issues new bloggers might run into trying to get sponsors.

102 Lustful Lingerie Show Check out the L’Amour Lustful Lingerie Show!

114Luxe Paris Look of the Year Get the inside scoop on this year’s Look of the Year Style Competition!

120 Ali Reignn’s Raise One Another Up Ali tells us all about her first show for her new Raise One Another Up Act Event featuring Bakaboo.

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Spotlight Story

Spotlight Story

The Ever Amazin’ A

(Where nothing is a

By Nani Xue

Amazon River Sims

as simple as it seems)

This month we take a journey deep into the heart of the Rainforest.

Our destination: The Amazon River Sims.

A couple real world factoids for you:

to bring you this adventure for our June Diversity issue- but until I get my hazard The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical pay from the boss, that’s not happening.

This was the single most dangerous job rainforest. Covering over 5.5 million I’ve had in SL! Although, the sims are square kilometers, it’s so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times! so masterfully crafted and well done The Amazon is found in South America, it almost makes up for it. This may be worse than working for National spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Geographic, let me tell ya. I will share with you why at the end, I promise. Let’s get Suriname and French Guiana. into the pleasant stuff first.

Why is the Amazon called the Amazon?

When you first land, you are inundated The Amazon River was supposedly first with information and you need to pay attention to all of it, as this is a strict in called Rio Santa Maria de La Mar Dulce character set of multiple regions, 11 Sims by the Spanish invaders of the 1500s. ...

However, this theory is mostly speculation total, according to the profile of Tantrica, who seems to be the owner. A read of and it is widely believed the name of the the group charter lists four people as Amazon came from Orellana and his belief that the local Amazon tribe looked the official region management and many moderators and mentors appear like the Amazons in the Greek legend. to always be on hand to help guide you First, I would love to tell you I am pleased through your journey. By venturing

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forward, you agree to their rules and the citizens take them seriously, so let’s respect that. Also, accepting the experiences is important as the sim will eject you if you don’t….repeatedly.

Once you decide to stick around and explore, everything begins at the Wisdom Cave, where you can learn anything and everything you need/want to know about the places and experiences that lie ahead.

be found in the Wisdom Cave - It’s a must go to place. My Editor would likely sell me to the natives if I explained it all in these pages.

They also have class or role examples for their specific “world” they have created, with a very fun interactive way to learn about them before you decide. There are many tutorials within the cave walls for acceptable character descriptions and stories. Included in the tutorials are emoting lessons and what is okay and what is not. This portion took me about an hour to really read and pay attention.

They took a great deal of time and care in crafting all of this to be enjoyed by roleplayers, and it shows.

Again, I need to stress the importance that when you are in the Amazon, it is a role play region, always, there is no visitor or spectator status - so that must be respected. Go through the cave and gain your dot, but be very strategic in selecting that dot, as it has consequences, good Another crucial note: this is a very Adult and not great. environment- Including many adult themes and scenarios should you choose The region is set up with a “dot” color system for roleplay. The dot appears over to stay, so be mindful and maybe a little your head and all the explanations can wary. A quick description of what that L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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means, it is a Predator/Prey environment, enough to take them, there are so many Capture, and not to release, that kind of gorgeous photo opportunities. thing. Without being graphic, you could One more “did you know,” real life factoid: wind up as someone’s food, toy or worse.

Poison Dart Frogs are probably the They even have their own Amazon Dice deadliest creatures of the Amazon system you may use. Also, this is a Rainforest. In the Amazon, they are found combat environment, with a preferred in marshes, lakes, swamps, streams and system, even kits to make weapons and rivers. ... If any predator tries to eat a other things you need. They have trade poison Dart Frog, the highly dangerous systems, ways to get food, they really poison found in their skin causes swelling, thought of it all. Between this article muscular paralysis, nausea, and even and the Editorial photo shoot, I probably death. visited 7 times in the last month, as it is a lot to take in and even more to learn.

So, one last word of caution to our tale, and the reason I demand hazard pay and The scenery itself is highly detailed, and insurance, I am sure I broke a pixel! On jam packed with realism. I cannot tell you my visits, not everything was monkeys enough times how amazing these places and kitties and tropical flowers. While really are, and I’ve been around 100 SL taking my photos, I ended up totally years and seen many fab places. I can’t unaware of my surroundings, got caught even imagine the time and effort that in a trap and hung upside down for a full went into recreating this digital replica of 30 seconds. I couldn’t move or escape, the Amazon River, should you survive long as a camera doesn’t tend to cut ropes!

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Then, in an unlucky turn of events, I ran smack into a rather unfriendly Amazon tentacle trap! Apparently, creative types don’t taste very good because I managed to survive, only to find myself falling into a dark hole soon after. Now, there was no helping hands or Goblin King to be found here, but there was a maze of caves and tunnels, in which I became lost. Now, after some time and reading and good wits we will call it, I did find what I thought was my way to safety. Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in taking more photographs, that I didn’t entirely notice I had stumbled into a less safe, more tribal populated area and found myself stabbed, tied up, and drug away.

situations. Unless you happen to be a journalist and photographer, who had to go to first life work. However, it is still considered slightly rude and against their normal rules. Later, he and I discussed the situation and the why, and he was very helpful. My mentor is a long-standing resident, who in his own words “landed there 5 years ago, and just never left” If this article has inspired you to visit the Amazon River Sims, here is their site, you should check that out first. And maybe leave a note behind, should you go exploring never to return, so at least your loved ones know why!

Now I am off to the spa, so until next On the bright side, this is where I ended time, I anxiously await my next dangerous up meeting a friendly mentor, who taught mission - once we sort out the hazard me one of the Amazon’s hard lessonsbenefits that is. do not go AFK, especially if you have the wrong color dot. Also, as a rule it is not acceptable to log off or TP out of these

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Welcome ladies and gentleman to the AMAZON, where you’re never sure what is going to come around the corner. With the help of my dear friend Hilly Haalan we put together this wonderful “SUMMER IN THE AMAZON” Editorial for you.

Thank you to Hilly for providing all of the swimsuit looks for the shoot. A special thank you to the Models Of Diversity, Jude Tathham, madamekerli the current Miss MMI, Reinna Lenoir, Jan1 Ying, Vichonette Constantine, Trinity Aironaut, Resmay Bloodstorm aka meishagirl and Nani Xue, who also did the photos for this editorial.

I always think of the editorials or actually a lot that I do through dreams. So in this particular case I had a dream of the Amazon and said to myself, “Self OMG how fun would it be and how different in would be to do a summer bathing suit issue in the Amazon.

I thought bright vibrant colors with the models putting together looks of fierce ass warriors. Well I think we have done it once again.

Enjoy Ava Jhamin Publisher

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Jude Tatham [hh] Escada Suede Bikini

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Jan Bacon (Jan1 Ying) [hh] Anjou Beach - Sportswear L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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Kushy Kloud (MadameKerli) [hh] Maris Swim-Bodysuit

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Ava Jhamin [hh] Mendoza Macrame Fringed Bikini L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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Nani Xue [hh] Curious Kitten Top & Panties set

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Rienna Lenoir (Rienna Rieko) [hh] Belia Beads Top and Panty Set L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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Resmay Bloodstorm (meishagirl) [hh] Foxy Top and Strap Panty Set

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Trinity Aironaut [hh] Filippa Beach Set L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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Vichonette Constantine [hh] Odette Swim-Bodysuit

Out on the Grid

OF SL

By: Rienna Lenoir

If you’ve read this magazine with any regularity over the last six months, you probably know that my friends and I have built a little fast food restaurant in SL on the Wombat mainland region off Route 9. One of the things we talked about doing with it, was getting in touch with Christi Charron who was the founder of the Drivers of SL Group (DSL), to let her know that we would like to allow the group to use our property as part of their bi-weekly drives. A few weeks ago, I actually got a message from Christi, who had come across our restaurant when she was doing some drive related work along Route 9, asking if we would like to include Mindy’s in their drives. Since we had already discussed this, I immediately said yes! So two weeks ago, the DSL drive started at Mindy’s and went across the grid in a huge transcontinental drive. Just before Noon SLT, roughly 20 drivers all congregated in our parking lot in what looked like almost a mini car show. Right at 12, the call to head out was shouted across the property, and they all drove out onto Route 9 and started their trek. It was a lot of fun, and I have enjoyed getting to know Christi a bit and being involved in their group. The current drive that started on June 1, featured Mindy’s as the location of a missing employee and drivers were tasked with investigating the crime. They were directed to drive down Routes 10 & 9, and stopped at various locations along the roads to pick up trash from bins at each address to “practice” pretending to be a trash collector so that when they arrived at Mindy’s to locate the actual clue, they would be seen by anyone involved in the crime as just a normal trash truck operator. Once they got their receipt from the Mindy’s trash bin, they were to take it to a diner further down Route 9 and give it to an avatar posing as a waitress who would take their clue from them and then send them on to Capital Motors to grab their gift for having completed the task.

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The drives are always a ton of fun and the sponsors for them donate some great prizes. Now that I’ve rambled on about the actual drives, I’d love for you all to get to know more about Christi and how the group came to be.

Christi Charron joined Second Life in October of 2007, while recovering from a car accident. She tells us she was searching for info on PlayStation Home, which was a virtual world similar to Second Life. PlayStation Home hadn’t yet been released at the time, and she says she never did get to see it before they closed the service down permanently.

I asked Christi what her beginning days in SL were like, it’s always an interesting thing to find out because everyone has a different story. She tells us that the first person she interacted with after orientation, offered her $5L for sex so she almost left, but then she met a guy who owned an airport. He took her on a helicopter ride, and while she couldn’t see much, she says he was nice and showed her pics of his family.

I asked Christi what brings her a sense of satisfaction in her SL world and what she would change if she could. She told me that she likes exploring, scripting and building, shopping, cheerleading, and

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It’s also a group where we do weekly ‘Grid Drives.’ A Navigation HUD directs drivers to follow a route in their own vehicles from place to place, performing fun little tasks along the way, like delivering a crate or pizzas or mail, or even going into space to fix things or just going for fun rides as a group. The Nav HUD we use is made so that one just has to wear it, and it takes care of the rest. The HUD takes you to the start of your weekly mission, and guides you turn by turn to each location along the way, until you reach the end.

Once you complete the drive, you get your Completion Reward from that week’s Grid Drive Sponsor. The gifts are usually vehicles from some of SL’s top vehicle sellers.” of course, being with friends. She loves doing everything on SL and laments that there’s never enough time to do all that she wants to do on SL.

I asked Christi to explain the history of the group and how she came up with I asked Christi to tell us how Drivers of SL the idea. She told me, “I decided to host a group drive one Saturday in 2017, and got started and what it’s all about. She says that The Drivers of SL serves a couple posted a notice for it in every group I could. I wasn’t expecting many to show of purposes: up so I arrived right at drive time and the road was filled with cars of people who “It’s a group for people who want to talk about cars, planes, boats, or even general wanted to do something like this. We did a short, 10k Drive using a Nav HUD that information on Second Life, all sorts of had been created by cheerleader, Patty topics.

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Cloquet, who made it for the Second Life Cheerleading Squad to host their monthly ‘Destination Unknown’ parties.

Party-goers would fly in planes following only the HUD, until they found the party location.”

She tells us that Patty then worked over the next year to improve the HUD and make it work with cars and roads as well as airplanes. Patty also added the ability for drivers to do things at drive stops, like get a drink, sit somewhere, or even much more complex things like racing cars, or getting points based upon how well a driver “drifts” their car around corners.

Having been involved in several groups myself over my 11 years on SL of varying types, and experiencing the drama that can occur when people from different parts of the world, and from many age groups, I was very curious to know how well this particular SL group interacted with each other.

Christi reassured me, “The group members are all super nice and helpful to each other, which makes me very happy and they’re helpful to new people too, which is important. I have noticed that many times people start out with one group of friends and end up driving next to, or even with someone whom they may not have previously known. I think this happens because some drivers tend to go the same speed as others, and that isn’t always the person they started the drive with. I’ve met many new friends this way.”

My friends and I have done a considerable amount of driving in the last year or so as well as flying and boating, and anyone that has participated in this type of activity, knows how violent region crossings can be. So, I took the opportunity to ask this veritable driving pro, if she had any tips or tricks to make the driving any smoother.

She did not disappoint!

She told me, “First of all having a good car makes all the difference, and that can be different for everyone, but eventually you will find a car that just ‘speaks’ to you.

Trying to do a drive with a poor vehicle is just not fun at all, the vehicles are the stars of the show and we all like showing ours off, and seeing our friends vehicles just as much.”

“I just cannot stress enough how much the quality of vehicle is important to a drive, it has to perform well on the road, not just look good in your driveway.

Also a lower draw distance for driving is

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a good idea, around 90m when driving, 300m when flying or boating, and 500m draw distance when in space is recommended. Another thing is to have camera settings appropriate for traveling, The settings in the illustration above show how to decrease camera jumpy-ness.”

handles our social media sites including our Wiki Fandom Page and takes pictures of the drive each week that can be found on our Flickr page.

I also wanted to know how she comes up with so many different drive routes and if she does them herself, or if she has people that help her with them. She told me, “I have a few people who help me with the drives and get more each week. Aleksandr String and Robi Rossini have helped me a TON creating fun and exciting mini games on the drives.”

But there is more to a drive than that, sponsors are also important and Avin Zepp has gotten us some fantastic sponsors recently. Jazzimus Maxwell L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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go to our Wiki page and submit a request to be used as a drive stop, but the very best way is for them to put out our Drivers of SL sign, which alerts a drive planner’s HUD as they pass by their parcel that this person has a drivers sign and likely is okay with being used as a drive stop. We always contact them to make sure, but it’s easier when you know someone is likely to say yes.”

Luke Flywalker makes us a radio show each week. He does the drive early, and plays music to match the drive, while recording his comments along the way.

It’s fun to listen to him narrating the drive as you are doing it yourself and hearing music to go along with the mood of the drive.

As far as coming up with the drive, we usually work in reverse, the drives always stop at the sponsor’s store, which may be on a mainland road or a private region.

We then work backwards to create a route that is fun to drive with vehicles, and safe. We find interesting drive stops and landmarks along the way and work back to a good starting point that can hold enough vehicles for what is essentially a weekly car show as we all wait for the drive to start each week.

Christi said that they don’t actively advertise the group anywhere, but it has been growing at a steady rate of 100 new group members a month over the last one and a half years just by word of mouth and by people coming across the group joiner signs that participating landowners put out.

I asked Christi if she had any funny or weird stories to share with us about things that have happened on drives they have done. I’m sure you guessed, she absolutely did! She told me about one of them. “One funny thing happened pretty early on, and we had many drivers with us that day: This particular drive ended in a group of private regions set up as a roleplay town.

The drive ended at the sponsor’s store located there, and the police in the town take their jobs VERY seriously, as we found out. The very first driver to go through town got pulled over by a female police officer for no license plates on his BMW.

The driver, a very polite male, was streaming all of this to us live, as he told I asked her if the drives only take place in her about our group going through her certain areas, or anywhere on SL, and she town that day, and that many more told me that they can take place anywhere like him were behind him and on their way. “There’s no event in town today,” and everywhere! she said to him sharply, “Yes there is ma’am it’s been scheduled for a week,” Then she explained to me how an individual might offer up their location to he nicely said back. “If there were an be a part of the drives. “They can actually event today, I would know about it,” she

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snapped back angrily, and just then, the rest of the Drivers group caught up to them all at once. There were tanks and crazy vehicles like you’ve never even seen before passing them suddenly, and you could just tell she was overwhelmed as it was like and instant Mardi Gras appeared suddenly parading through her town out of nowhere and her reaction was just priceless as she tried to stop the first few then gave up, only to find the region owner forgot to inform her of the event.

I was curious to know what new and exciting things Christi and her cohorts have in mind for the future of DSL. She told me, “In the future, we want more diverse Grid Drives, so we’re training some group members who want to be drive creators, to help with creating fun, new and different Grid Drives. We have at least five drive creators working on their own drives now.

I’ve seen three of them and so far they’re really fun and different and I couldn’t be happier! Expect to see these new, interesting drives in the weeks and months to come!”

probably takes up most of Christi’s time, but I took a chance and asked her what else she does in SL. Boy was I blown away at her response! “I am also a Second Life Cheerleader and that is my ‘real job.’ The drivers group is a giant group with 2100 members of fantastic people, but SLCS is really three times that size with all of its group members included. “ “I have worked with a fantastic team of women over the past 12 years to create the most successful cheerleading team

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on Second Life. We work hard and raise hundreds of thousands or more in donations for Relay for Life yearly, while also performing at paid events like store openings, parties, or other events.”

types of vehicles on a Grid Drive.

CheerMaster that creates planes, cars, boats and motorcycles and the top Cheerleading HUD on SL since 2008. I also make various other products like the LandMaster Landing Score System that hundreds of airports around Second Life use to score and rank airplane landings of their visiting pilots. All with the help of good friends and teammates.”

will gladly assist you as they’re all nice and helpful!

Also, if you don’t make the Group Drive times, then you can always do the drive on your own or with friends as all drives have a two week expiration date, but some “SLCS is an entity under the CheerCorp are available longer. Finally, to do a Grid umbrella that has a few owners, including Drive, all one has to do is put a Nav HUD myself, who employs hundreds of people on and it takes care of the rest, it will take from firefighters, to security officers and you to the start when you’re ready to go, police, to airline pilots for SLCS Airlines. and if you need any help with one, just ask Additionally, I have a company called in group chat and one of our members

I asked Christi if there was anything we hadn’t yet covered for this article that she wanted the readers to know and she said, “we are a fun group, and don’t let the name ‘Drivers’ fool you, because we use all

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If you want to get involved, there is a group joiner on the wall outside of the HQ office at Bruissac and inside the office on a shelf, you can pick up the official DSL sign that Christi mentioned.

Stay tuned for a future article featuring the SLCS where we will tell our readers all about the fun of SL Cheerleading!

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PHOTOGR

RAPHY BY SOULCRACK3R

By Ava Jhamin I met two very artistic and creative people when I went to visit the River Island Performing Arts & Theatre. I sat down with Red Hykova and Steve Ruhig-Allen (Steve Ruhig) to learn more about who they are, and what they do for the arts on Second Life. So, sit back and enjoy, as we learn more about what it takes to bring the arts to the grid.

Thank you Red and Steve for taking the time to chat with me.

Ava: How did you both come to be in Second Life?

Red: I read about the creative options of Second Life in a magazine one day and logged in to have a look around. That was more than 13 years ago, and I can honestly say I’ve never been bored since!

Steve: Strangely enough, I was teaching a philosophy course that involved the problems of consciousness, identity and reality when I read about SL, back in 2008.

I thought it would be interesting to have my students spend a week here and write about the experience. First, of course, I had to explore it myself. I enjoyed it quite a lot and have stuck around continuously since then.

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Ava: Can you tell the readers how the two of you met?

Red: Steve and I worked together on theatre projects for a few years at The Oval Theatre, where we were 2 of the 5 owners/creative producers. From the moment we met, we clicked. We share the same enthusiasm and eagerness to learn new things, and I always enjoyed producing with Steve, over those years we’ve learned and experimented together. His ideas are inspiring, his skills have no end, and I believe the quality of the theatre he produces in Second Life, is second to none. My brother Steve is my creative soul mate, and I’m thankful that SL brought us together.

Steve: Red and I met when I joined the Oval Theatre in 2015. I’d had no experience with SL theatre at that point, but Red kindly showed me the ropes.

I soon found all aspects of theatrical production utterly fascinating.

Ava: Tell me what you did when you first came to Second Life?

Red: I came here primarily to build, to be creative, I had no idea what else was possible. I made friends on my first day with a girl who I’m still friends with today,

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Monica Wier. She was so very generous with her time, passing on her building skills to me and dropping by to offer tips or suggestions to help me. For many years, I would log in at nighttime, on a platform in the sky and build, build, build.

I’ve always found it relaxing, unwinding and therapeutic after a long day at real life work.

After a few years of gaining experience, I opened a building school, where I encouraged other teachers to join and share their skills for free. We taught classes in various subjects on a rota that catered to all time zones. It was very popular, and we had a lot of fun and held regular competitions, giving away prizes and awards. I was lucky to have met Monica, and I have always tried since then to give back my time to eager students, the way Monica did for me. At RIPA we’re always keen to share our skills with others and we offer classes to our cast members, when time permits.

We talked it over and decided to look on it as an opportunity to create together the kind of theatre experience, we knew would excite our audiences. We had a lot of support and encouragement from friends and patrons of The Oval. So much so, that Christo Spyker & Tim Waco of the very beautiful River Island Sim, invited us to set up our new theatre there. It was an exciting time. Our first new performance would coincide with Christmas, so we worked on ‘The Nutcracker & The Mouse King.’ It was a beautifully vibrant Christmas ballet, and a huge success. We had a full audience at every performance and wonderful feedback.

We limited the sim occupancy to 55 people to reduce lag. But over time we realized that the only way to make sure that our audiences would see the production exactly as we produced it, with all the detail and effects with minimal lag, was to manage the theatre on a whole sim of its own, with minimal scripts running. Christo and Tim were wonderful to continue to support us when we moved to our new sim, Big Bang. It’s a huge outlay of expense for Steve and me, but our audiences help to support us voluntarily, with contributions too, so a lot of the cost is absorbed, and performance nights are so much fun for everyone. It’s worth it.

Steve: At first, of course, I socialized.

Friendships in SL can be both more intimate and ephemeral than in RL, but in my opinion they’re just as valid. Soon I discovered building and at that point, figuring out how to make things took up much of my time. Then I discovered scripting, and I was totally hooked! But none of those things compares to theatre, which embraces all of them in a uniquely Steve: Two years ago, The Oval Theatre, creative way. which had been our theatrical home, disbanded. I was bereft, unsure of what Ava: Can you tell the readers how The to do next. But Red and I soon put River Island Performing Arts & Theater our heads together and decided to try was started and why? establishing our own performing arts company. We’d produced two shows Red: After the Oval Theatre closed and together back at The Oval, so we had everyone dispersed to attend to real life or some idea of how to manage things. It other projects, Steve and I were cast adrift. didn’t take us long to realize what we We were theatre-less! And yet we wanted wanted to do on stage was too resourceto continue. We had a lot more that we intensive to work anywhere but on a sim wanted to do, so many ideas! where we carefully controlled the prim L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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and script count. So, we acquired our own sim, Big Bang, and have never regretted it. Running a theatre is sometimes a chore--logistics, scheduling, making sure everyone is happy with roles and costumes, etc.--but always, always, worth the effort. It’s been a grand experience!

Ava: Can you please the readers what inspires you both in your theater arts career in Second Life?

Red: I’m inspired by creative people, the energy and excitement of ideas. Steve and I have found over time, that there is nothing in this world that we couldn’t create without a little imagination and ‘smoke & mirror’ ingenuity. Steve always inspires me, and I’m inspired by the creative freedom that Steve and I have achieved.

The resources of a whole sim allow us to create purpose-built theatre venues for our shows. With careful pre-planning we use these opportunities to enhance the experience for the audience, creating fully immersive theatre. Last year, we produced and performed our SL version of ‘West Side Story.’ It was a huge project, taking many months to complete, because of the level of detail we included, and the various complex scene changes.

This year we spent a combined total of over 800 hours producing ‘Grease the SL musical.’

Steve: We inspire each other constantly.

I’ve never known a collaboration like the one I have with Red. We are excited by each other’s efforts and the joy of watching a show take shape, gathering a coherent look, feel, and theme as it does, is something we both want to make happen again and again. We’ve never done a project that didn’t involve that unique spirit and enthusiasm.

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Ava: I know from doing shows, how much work it is. Can you tell me what it takes to put on a performance at RIPA Red: We’re very fortunate to have a great theatre family at RIPA. Our cast grows regularly, as new people come to see our shows and ask to join and many of us have performed theatre for years together. The atmosphere within our group is always fun helpful and welcoming and at the same time professional. The cast do a wonderful job in rehearsing and preparing costumes for each show. It’s heartwarming to realize, when we’re preparing the shows, that every cast member cares about the quality of the performance as much as we do. Although they often thank us for the experience, we are mostly grateful to them, for making it all good fun and as rewarding an experience as it is for us.

Steve: First, it’s important to understand that upon first acquaintance with the Spot-on Director system, Red and I realized its expressive potential: we could do things like animating dancers independently, highly intricate animation splicing, and complicated stage business that had never previously been possible.

No one--certainly not I! --can go through five animations in seven seconds! It just isn’t possible, but we do it all the time with the Spot On tools. The price of that expressive potential is extremely intricate, close work.

We have performed entire musicals and ballets, every minute of which has demanded hours of work timing animations, plotting out traveling paths, and even making our own animations.

The extreme example occurred a couple of weeks ago when an especially intricate 35 seconds of music took me some 15 hours to put together. In it, I had to carry Red across the stage, put her down on

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the ground, lie down next to her, and later get up and search for her. Because I had to make the couple’s animations, make sure they all timed out well, and position the avatars in proper relation to each other, it was awfully slow going. So, a big project like West Side Story, takes us between six weeks and three months. We can manage smaller shows, composed mostly of choreography, without dialogue or stage business, in two to three weeks.

Of course, that’s just the technical side of things: We also have to design and build stages, we are always trying to get the audience to gasp when they see our sets,

select and in some cases make costumes, recruit a cast, schedule rehearsals, make invitations, write a program, and advertise--all of this, often at a staggering financial loss. If each show isn’t a labor of love, I simply don’t understand the term.

Ava: What kind of plays/operas does RIPA Red: At RIPA, we produce all kinds of performances. We will tackle anything, imaginative ballets, plays, musicals, comedy, and sometimes just a fun dance show.

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Listed below are a few of the performances we’ve produced and performed in the last couple of years: Some Previous Productions: • Rocky Horror Picture Show - Musical • The Nutcracker & The Mouse King Ballet • Make ‘em Laugh - Comedy Musical • World Tapestry of Dance - Dance • West Side Story - Musical/Play • All Of Me - Romantic Musical/ Dance • Some Nights - Musical/Play/Dance • Grease - Musical/Play • Quirk du Soleil - Musical/Imaginative Ballet/ Dance Upcoming projects: • L’Histoire Du Monde - A Classical Ballet

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We also produce a series of Cabaret Shows called ‘After Dark’ male and female revue. A fun and classy dance show for late night performances. These shows are also popular, but are listed separately to the main theatre performances, due to some adult content.

Steve: We like to think we have an impressive range. We do revues, musicals, ballets and striptease shows.

We’ve performed Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Nutcracker, Grease, and a strange anomaly we called Quirk du Soleil.

Now we’re simultaneously working on two shows: the third in our “After Dark” series of striptease shows, as well as a concert of French romantic and impressionist music we’re calling “Histoire du Monde.”

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Ava: How long from post production does music between numbers, so timing the it take to put on a show? transitions is everything!

Red: Oh, months and months, and sometimes it feels like forever! Steve and I love the production part of theatre, for me it is more exciting than performing. I enjoy watching a show come together, from the beginning, in my mind’s eye, to being able to fully experience it in world. It always amazes me how close to my imagination we achieve the result, especially when we both work together on separate parts of a scene. But that’s what I mean about the synergy between my brother and I. We like to spend a lot of time putting our shows together so that the audience has as exciting an experience as possible.

Grease, for example, took a combined total of over 800 hours to produce and the whole show was 90 minutes long in total. The purpose-built venue took a lot of pre-planning. The stage in the round brought the audience closer to the experience and the action happening around them, while they sat in cars, as if they were watching from a 1950’s drive in theatre. We spent more time creating portal entrances to bring the audience to the special location of the show, they’re only little touches, but we like to do what we can to make the audience feel like they experiencing something special, produced with thought, and love and feeling, as well as skill and talent.

Steve: Once all the design, construction, and choreography is done, we usually need two weeks for four to five rehearsals and we’re ready to go. That time is largely devoted to understanding what we must do, where we need to be, and when to change costumes so that the show can go from start to finish with minimal interruptions. We don’t often allow more than a minute of intermission

Ava: How do you decide what to perform?

Red: That’s a great question! I don’t know the answer, lol ...Unlike other siblings, Steve and I never squabble or have a cross word, we chat a lot about ideas for new shows, and throw suggestions back and forth, and then it’s as if we both latch on to the same idea! And away we go!

Steve: Ideas often emerge from talking together, we’ve created entire shows that way. But sometimes one or the other of us has a pet project we’d like to do, and in that case the person whose “baby” it is tends to take the lead in musical selection, planning and development.

Ava: Do you feel that more people should check out a venue like RIPA Theatre. If so, why do you think they should?

Red: Absolutely, there are wonderful artists in Second Life. We’ve hosted many of them at our theatre. I think going to clubs to dance in SL is great fun but so is an evening at the theatre. It can be a night out with friends, or a romantic date, or a fun evening out for all your SL family, just as it is in rl. And the atmosphere inside the venue during the performance is electric when you can feel the audience are enjoying the show and having fun together.

We’re often told by members of our audience or fan group that it was a first visit to theatre in SL, and that it was the best thing they’d seen here! Our shows are free, to make sure that everybody is welcome, and we’ve built up great relationships with other businesses and communities in SL who help us to spread the word. We’ve performed charity events and also support Second Pride,

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performing last year at their month long festival. Our group, ‘Fans Of RIPA,’ is growing and growing with each show we perform. So, yes, I think everyone should come at least one time and check it out.

And like most of our 300 regular followers, we think you’ll enjoy it enough to come back again and again.

Steve: Decidedly! I think when a theatre company does well, the result is nearly indistinguishable from attending a performance in RL. That is certainly what Red and I aim for and I think we’re often successful. If the audience can forget all the technical stuff and “feel” the performance, we’ve communicated something vital. While SL has many compelling experiences to offer, good theatre is among the best. Nothing makes us more proud than to hear, as we occasionally have, that they didn’t know such things were possible in SL. Ava: It feels that the performing arts venues are lost on the young, can you tell the readers of SL why the arts are so important for the young?

Red: I think our audience tends to be young and old, we try and offer a mixture of styles of performance to give something for everyone, but even then, there is no age limits for theatre, it’s for everyone to enjoy.

Steve: Oh, you don’t have room to hear everything I have to say about this! I’ll cut it short, however, by saying that art is how we find out who we are. No other human activity has that capability, probably because most things we do we *intend* to do, and that intention colors the meaning and value of the activity. It’s not necessarily dishonest, but it can be, and at any rate our biases get in the way.

Art can remove those biases and allow us to see ourselves from new and angles

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and in unexpected lights. They shouldn’t all be flattering angles or complimentary lights, either. Sometimes there should be a shock of recognition we didn’t expect; sometimes art should help us find the depths of our existence, complete with exaltation and joy but also with loss, sorrow, and suffering. Personally, I would be incomplete without art.

Ava: Tell me your plans for RIPA Red: We have a beautiful classic ballet coming soon, L’Histoire Du Monde, imaginative with the most amazing effects throughout. We’re also working on a new After Dark show, and then who knows!

Anything is possible. And my longer-term plan is to retire into Second Life for my old age and do this till I die.

Steve: Privately, our motto is, “We can do anything!” What that really means is that we refuse to limit ourselves. Thus, we commit to continual growth and experimentation. More concretely, we have, in addition to the French ballet we’re working on, plans to produce Sweeney Todd, an ultra-high-energy retro revue called “Jump, Jive and Wail,” and a revival of The Nutcracker. We’re also toying with highly experimental productions that don’t yet have clear enough contours for me to talk about lucidly.

Thank you both for spending some time with L’Amour Diversity Magazine and letting the readers get to know both of you. I hope this inspires some people out on the grid to get involved with the arts, it will enrich and make you grow.

Link to our Flickr Link to our Facebook Group SL Link to our Fan Group Landmark to RIPA

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Sharcrista Qu

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uan DJ Extraordinaire

By Ava Jhamin

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I can honestly say that Sharcrista is probably one of my oldest friends on Second Life. I have known her pretty much the whole time I have been on Second Life. I met her through another friend and we have been friends ever since.

Frank’s Place, Frank’s Elite and Dino’s.

After listening to Ms. Genira, I was determined to learn everything that I could about becoming a Second Life DJ, so I searched to find an SL DJ School and took a 6 week class. My instructor suggested a few great software programs Shar is one of those friends that even if we and I selected one that I love to use, Sam don’t talk often, when we do talk, it’s like Broadcaster Pro. It’s expensive, but so we talked yesterday. She also did a couple worth it, if you’re serious about becoming of shows and DJ’d for me and that started a solid DJ. L’Amour on the path for having a DJ and hostess all wrapped into one beautiful William Zeta, from Sphynx Jazz, let me package. practice in his club when the venue was dark, back in 2008, and I made my debut Her name came up for an event and at his club in mid 2009. Shortly after I said, “Oh, Oh, a story on Shar would that, Gymmy Sinatra was chatting with be awesome. She has been DJ’ing for William and asked if I was available to DJ probably longer than most people have at his clubs. Mr. Zeta said, “I don’t own been in SL.” Sharcrista, so ask her if she’s interested.”

That’s when I began Dj’ing at Sphynx Jazz I sat down with Sharcrista so that the and Frank’s Place, Dino’s and Frank’s Elite. readers of L’Amour Diversity could get to I did double DJ sets four to five days a know this amazing human. week, along with my full-time job in RL. I did it for about four years, with the goal Ava: The question I always ask first, how to be a top DJ at all the accomplished did you come to Second Life, Sharcrista? ballrooms here in Second Life. I was honored to be a DJ at Sphynx Jazz Club, Sharcrista: I’ve always had a passion for Phat Cat’s, The Frank’s Entertainment music, designing my own space and my Group, Moonlight Sonata, Foxxies and own look. I have a degree from Fashion several others over the years. I was also a Institute of Design and Merchandising DJ for one of the Second Life Anniversary (F.I.D.M.). Someone very close to me said, Celebrations.

“Sharcrista, I think that you’d enjoy Second Life,” and that is how I began my journey I had to cut back my schedule due to in July of 2008.

RL obligations, family and my full time work schedule. I now DJ on Tuesday, for Ava: Can you tell our readers, what you Michel’s Foxxies Jazz, Wednesday, at Zin did when you first came to Second Life? and Thursday, at Peg’s Moonlight Sonata.

I DJ twice a month, at Xtern’s New York, Sharcrista: Well, one of my first friends New York Club. William just recently here told me about a few places to go reopened Sphynx Jazz, two to three dancing and get to know people. When, Sundays a month, so I DJ there. I also still I walked into Frank’s Place, I saw an do guest and theme sets for friends when amazing DJ, her name was Mia Genira.

I have a free Saturday or Sunday.

I began listening to her DJ sets and got to know so many wonderful people at Ava: Are you a DJ in real life?

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Sharcrista: I’ve thought about it and I do have my music URL, so I’m technically a radio station if I wanted to stream 24/7 in real life. I’m just not there yet because, I’d need to have two computers, a Mobile DJ license inside of my Internet Streaming DJ License, I’d have to pre-record ads, content and I’d have to think about obtaining sponsors, etc. I have recorded a few introductions for several radio stations and toyed with auditioning for audio readings and commercials, but my time is so limited.

in Second Life?

Sharcrista: As I said earlier, I was just in awe with all the different DJ’s that were creating their magic at the many clubs and venues here in Second Life. DJ Jonathan Heiss was an inspiration, DJ Mia Genira, DJ Liam, DJ Ray, DJ Dark and DJ Bobby, I could keep going. Each one of these amazing DJ’s created a moment and that is what I wanted to create with my music for the citizens of Second Life.

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Ava: Can you explain to the readers the process of picking the songs you choose for a set?

Sharcrista: The music selection is determined mainly by what the particular club is focusing on for their guests and patrons. I always ask the owner of the club what type of music they want to hear in their venues. After listening to them, I know what kind of music to weave together.

As an example, for Foxxies Jazz, I always provide a different selection of romantic songs from soulful classic, jazzy, Motown, Country romance and 70s and 80s romance. Another example, Moonlight might have a theme night, so we can move from romance to a fun beach party set, Country, Big Band or Mardi Gras. Xtern’s club, moves from a disco roller skating theme set, to an 80s club set and even a current raw set.

Ava: Have you ever been asked to do a song that you just did not like?

Sharcrista: Yes, on several occasions. If I’m doing a romance set, I’m not going to play a hard rock request or a break up song because it ruins the mood. When you are weaving a romance set it ebbs, flows and builds and then softens and strengthens throughout the night. If a song has a derogatory message and meaning, I’m not going to play that song no matter what.

Ava: What is the main satisfaction you get from being a DJ on Second Life, Shar?

Sharcrista: If everyone is taking that musical journey with me and enjoying the songs that I’m playing. When they mention that they truly had a wonderful evening with their love, that means the world to me.

Ava: What do you want the people to take away from a set you are doing?

Sharcrista: That they are listening to a music set that has been carefully and thoughtfully crafted, just for them, at a specific club. My

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theme sets are totally original and I’m flattered when I see other DJ’s in the club looking for inspiration. We’ve all been there and that tells me I’ve created something special and unique. I always want to be trend setting with my music selections and theme parties.

Ava: Do you have favorite songs that are specific to you as, Sharcrista the DJ? Sharcrista: Yes, I do.

Oleta Adams - Get Here ( For all those people who have lost someone in real life and second Life) Chayanne & Vanessa Williams - You are My Home ( For my extended Second Life Family and Friends) Celine Dion - Power of Love (For all of us) Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest - Set the Night to Music (My goal to create a magic night for all my listeners) Julio Iglesias - Moonlight Lady (To all those beautiful ladies searching and hoping for love) Justin Timberlake - Can’t fight this Feeling ( The joy that I feel when everyone is dancing and in the moment.

I could keep going regarding my favorite songs.

Thank you for sitting down with me Shar. I think this interview was long overdue. I love you, Shar and you keep up the DJ’ing and being the real you.

Thank you for taking time to get to know me.

I’m so honored Ava.

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By Jude Tatham

w e J s ’ e d u J Only th 82

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s l e w e

he Lonely

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‘Welcome to Second Life, discover incredible experiences, fascinating people, and vibrant communities in this vast, virtual world.’

This is Second Life’s tagline, found on the front page of their website. In just this statement alone, they promise amazing experiences, the chance of meeting exciting people and the possibility of living an amazing, virtual life.

much to the friend; this is their virtual life too and they have every right to be with whomever they want. The tough part in this is, that you expect this sort of thing in RL, not in a pretend virtual world, where you come for fun but so, not to seem

But let’s get real. In reality, that isn’t necessarily the case and unless you keep yourself busy, creating and building, SL does rely heavily on your interactions with others and without them this really is a lonely place.

I, myself, have been in and out of SL for over 12 years and during that time I have had deep, mainly platonic, relationships.

I have been a part of some wonderful groups and societies, and I have had a fantastic time living my virtual life. There have, however, been days, weeks, even months of crushing loneliness. Times, for example, when groups have fallen apart, sims have shut down and when drama has occurred, forcing people apart. I have also lost good friends to real life, when their priorities have shifted and they don’t have time for the game anymore. Sadly in these cases, it often feels like they don’t have time for me anymore.

“We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship, can we create the illusion for the moment, that we’re not alone,” Orson Welles.

In-world romantic relationships can make you feel lonely too, particularly when you aren’t in them! Several times, close friends have met a man or woman and as a result, stopped spending so much time with me. Of course, I never really say

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selfish, we just move on.

It is always important to remember there are real people, living real lives behind these avatars and the emotions and

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feelings are very real too.

never felt lonely in SL. “Everyone has to speculate to accumulate” he said, “you I was interested to find out what other can’t walk into a busy sim and stand there people’s experience of loneliness had waiting for people to talk to you. It is up been, so I found myself at a beach hang to you to talk to them and strike up a out, packed with people standing around, conversation.”

This sounded a little too easy for me.

Surely, it wasn’t as simple as just talking to someone - how are meaningful relationships made? What if you have been burnt in the past, or are extremely shy?

He went on to say, “SL gives you the power of anonymity. No matter how open you are, you are in control and can give as much or as little of yourself as you want. There is no reason to be shy or to hide. Why come to SL, if you are?”

I understood what this beach goer was saying, but I didn’t believe it was the same for everyone. Loneliness, like in RL, comes in different forms.

“I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable, as solitude.”

Henry David Thoreau The biggest obstacle and cause of loneliness for many, is the time zone difference. For me personally, most of my friends live in the United States whereas, I live in the UK. There are times when I don’t see some friends during the week at all, because when I come online, they are at work or doing RL things and when much of the US community comes online, I am in bed. chatting. “There is no chance of being lonely here,” I thought, so I IM’d a few friendly looking folks.

The first person I spoke to, said they had

Also, circumstances can make things hard.

I spoke to a friend, who told me about her experience. She had been hanging out on and off for 6 months, at a large social area in SL. During this time, she had made some friends and would log on regularly

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to see them. Within the larger group, there was drama from time to time, so the owner of the sim would get angry and ban certain individuals for weeks at a time. Because of this, the group thinned out and people would stop logging on. As a result my friend, decided to quit SL - it wasn’t for her.

actively seek out people to fill the void.

Although loneliness is very present in this virtual world, we can, as individuals, combat it and make Second Life the place we want it to be. We just have to take the leap.

Thankfully, she came back and is a big part of my Second Life, but her situation isn’t rare and many get bored and leave the grid, often for good.

Most recently, my experience of loneliness is when I chose to stop participating in some roleplay. Within the RP there was a strong family unit and we came together for a common cause. But, when I stepped away, that family seemed to disappear and I saw less and less of them. What made us come together, our common cause was no longer there and I realized perhaps they hadn’t been the friends I thought.

So, it is easy to wallow and feel sorry for ourselves, but is it within everyone’s power to combat loneliness in SL? For another person I chatted to, the answer is a resounding, yes! “Loneliness only exists when you allow it. You need to put effort into everything to get something back, just like RL.” I asked for them to elaborate.

“Keep busy, explore, talk to lots of people, experiment and that way you can meet more people, they may want to join in what you are doing and then you have created your own group.”

What I find interesting, is that often the feeling of loneliness is brought on by myself. Often I choose solidarity over socializing and therefore miss opportunities or find myself alone in my own thoughts or tasks. But once I get bored of these, or crave company, that is when the work begins and I have to

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1st Runner Up Balhem Soulstar

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Fashion

L’Amour Productions 45

PAZZO Style Challenge #45, themed: Boho Blue, was held last weekend at the L’Amour Runway. This month, Jude Tatham, CO-COO, and I scraped and scrounged and found a very Boho and quite a blue scene for the show. The idea was to give a mix & match furniture look with blue and purple blanket and pillow type textures. The models definitely fit the theme. We turned out what looked like my blue Boho dream come true! Big thanks to Mirza (Soulcrack3r), for the photography this month. Believe me, it was a fun time getting things ready!

Jude judged, along with Vichonette Constantine of Catwalk Agency &

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Academy and the owner of PWA Poses, also joining the judges panel, was Ava Jhamin CEO of L’Amour Pazzo Style Challenge.

I worked backstage this month and read the outfit descriptions, which the contestants wrote themselves. The descriptions were pretty fabulous; however, being backstage is totally not a chill time, with having to do that and trying to juggle IM’s! Everybody wants to talk to you 5 seconds until show time.

To keep up in the chaos, was a new and challenging experience!

Next, we saw the contestants. There

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5th Pazzo Style Challenge were some really fantastic duds! Two of the girls went for a halter with fringe tops and long skirts. One had sapphire and ivory and the other’s was a bright aqua/blended wine color. Both were great efforts, but not quite the timeless Boho theme we were looking for. We also saw a navy cropped top with a cross strap around the front, partnered with a cool patterned skirt that hugged the floor.

Another contestant wore a cropped shirt and pulled back hair with a blue headscarf.

Finally, we had two contestants who displayed one of the genre’s most prominent features when you think about Boho - blue jeans, and one of those people was our winner, Zee (Zimileo)!

Zee did such a great job representing the Boho Blue style, that she was named the winner! Her Boho Blue look really blew the judges away! Even though the judges had a really hard choices to make, she rose to the top!

Zee really hit the spot with her jeans that had daisies running down her leg and a cropped top with an open, striped sweater over it. The combination really rocked, and the scores showed it. What a fun show!

By Hadley Carrington

*To be in next months contest, contact HadleyCarrington or Jude Tatham.

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What exactly is a blog?

from Second Life for four and a half years.

I was here when SL blogging took off, way A blog is very similar to a website. I would back when, and now I’m here in what is a say that a blog is a diary/journal that is whole “new” era of creators vs. bloggers. mostly maintained by one person – the We will touch more on that at the end and blogger. Usually, blogs are being updated I will try not to prattle on too much. quite often, once a day, once a week, once a month. Blog posts are the fundamental Let me begin by saying, this article is of a blog. written as it pertains to Second Life, so that is what we are discussing; the

Blogger - A blogger is someone who writes regularly for an online journal or website. A political blogger might provide weekly commentary on current events.

A personal blogger keeps a website which may include diary-like entries, photographs, and links to other sites.

Such a blog is a record of how the blogger spends her days — vacations, weekend outings, books and movies she’s watched, and so on. Fashion bloggers might take photos of outfits or link to shopping sites, and pop culture bloggers might recap last night’s TV shows. The word “blogger” comes from blog, first used in 1998 as shorthand for weblog.

bigger picture of a “Second Life Blogger.”

Stating it as bottom line as we can, for the purposes of this article, an SL blogger is really more of a social media influencer.

SL bloggers are only “online diary weblog writers” about 40% of the time. The I was actually asked to write this particular other percentage, are photo/snap-shot article, because of some of my recent diary bloggers, video bloggers, artistic experiences and findings. I have the chroniclers or however they see fit, unique perspective of having been gone through various outside SL social media

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sources. There are some who actually “web-log” blog, but in fact don’t write much beyond the details of the products they were tasked with highlighting. So, really, they fall more into the category of promotions, marketing, and advertising, and are really not producing a journaling experience, so to speak.

For the record, there is no right or wrong here -- as with most things, there is the

actually pay - but the situation always comes with many designer imposed rules and conditions. Every designer has their own specific brand of rules, but here are some I have seen, or dealt with. Frankly, it is all disheartening.

“Second Life promote my creations” Rules: You must have “X” number of followers, likes, groups, hits, syndications, etc. and “X” is usually numbered in the several thousands or more.

You must have an actual written blog and not be just a photo journal blogger.

You cannot ever feature others on your promotional Flickr or site - as this particular “rule maker” believes that photos of others are not your personal property, even though you took it, it has your logo, your editing time, etc. and it wasn’t bought by someone.

The list above are just examples some of the main ones I have seen, almost all designers have the less off-the-wall requirements of X items per month within a set time frame, using off site programs to report blogged items or using off site programs to access items. Some creators even want bloggers to post a thousand links with the photo that may or may not have to do with what you are promoting.

standard definition, and then there is SL which, let’s be honest, is its own world and entity, with its own rules. So, what is standard and accepted varies between the real world and SL. Bloggers make some good money in the real world, reviewing and promoting products, as do IG models, and so on. SL bloggers basically get “paid” with the items they promote in SL, because very few creators L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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Sometimes they have “contests” in which you compete against your fellow bloggers verses working in concert for the same cause.

Some of these rules and stipulations make perfect sense, and again, not to beat a dead pixel, but they can make whatever rules they want and you decide if you want to jump through their hoops and promote them or not.

But let’s cover one last thing dealing with that by jumping back to the real world for a minute - In the real world, you can make good money for those demanded numbers and groups and your social media influencing presences. All kinds of things go into those views and clicks and likes and so on. The L$ equivalent just does not even compare and in fact, it doesn’t really for the SL creators either.

and have something of a “well known in certain circles” status, you step away even for a year and when you return, you will find that you have been reduced to almost noob status and have to start all over again. You lose your followers, people forget you.. it’s a battle to stay current and relevant daily. So, factoring all that, and believe me, this little article isn’t even half the information that could be presented on the situation... we leave it up to you. Because bottom-line, it should be something that ultimately you are doing because you want to. If you think it’s worth it, if you enjoy it, then do it for you; not the numbers game, not the rules game, and certainly not the name game.

At least that is this semi-retired journalist’s opinion and L$2 on the matter. Until next time!

A L$99 outfit, while awesome and generous... one by itself, wasn’t worth the hours they took creating it. We can break this down with a little simple math: The US minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and in some states, even fast food pays more than that these days, and if you have been working your industry for awhile, you probably make more than minimum wage. Let’s say for argument’s sake that you make only $10 an hour in the real world, which is still a pretty low wage these days, that’s about L$2500 an hour. You’ll be hard-pressed in SL to find anyone willing to pay you $L2500 an hour unless you are a live singer or professional photographer, but it is how the math breaks down.

Also, Second Life moves and changes more rapidly than RL and as a whole, things change faster and people forget you a lot more quickly - So even if you used to be the COO of many In-World “Media Entertainment” businesses, run multiple business blogs, sites, magazines,

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The Lustful Lingerie Show went off without anyone losing their panties on April 28, 2019. It was a great show and sooooo very sexy as the ladies strutted their stuff in lingerie from Face Paint Style & Classy N Sassy.

The show was hosted by none other than Nani Xue and was DJ'd by the "oh so sexy" Balhem Soulstar.

The show was done in a beautiful burlesque sim and all of the ladies at the end of the show did there version of Burlesque by Christina Aguilera.

The models that participated were: Rienna Lenoir Vichonette Constantine Resmay Bloodstorm Hadley Carrington Jude Tatham Kushy Kloud (Madamekerli) A special thank you to Rienna Lenoir for model directing, to our amazing staff photographer, Mirza, and a special thanks to Trinity Aironaut from Face Paint & Face Paint Style, and Cassie (Cassandra1961) from Classy N Sassy.

By Ava Jhamin

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THE LOOK of the YEAR Style Contest It truly feels like it was yesterday that I was sponsoring and part of the Luxe Team.

But it’s already been a year and we’re now getting ready for The 2019 Luxe Paris Look of the Year competition.

Sponsors for the event include, Luxe Paris, Aim, Luxe Dot B, L’Amour Diversity Magazine Maniera - ModeLS - Confidencial.

There is something new about Look of The Year this year, they have added a men’s category to the mix. Each man and woman winner will receive from the new face of LUXE Paris L$50 000L, A fashion feature in L’Amour Diversity Magazine, Maniera, ModeLS, & Confidencial, One year of free shopping at LUXE Paris (a value of L$30,000), a scholarship at In-Nova Modeling Academy (a value of L$ 4,000), a gift card of L$,3,500 at Pro Pose, a gift card of L$3,000 at Alma Makeup and a crown from Zuri Jewelry ( a value of L$799), and a Scholarship to In NovaModeling Academy.

I will be doing a full article on the winners and the 1st runners up. Below we have included a calendar of events so that everyone can go and support this great competition.

n i m a h Ava J

CALENDAR LOTY 2019 May 15th: Launch in ModeLS, SL Confidencial, L’Amour Diversity and The Second Life Enquirer.

May 26th: SELECTION of the FIRST GROUP of 5 semi-finalists women & 5 semi-finalist men May 29th: PUBLICATION of the FIRST GROUP on LOOK of the YEAR website June 2th: SELECTION of the SECOND GROUP of 5 semi-finalists women & 5 semi-finalist men June 5th: PUBLICATION of the SECOND GROUP on LOOK of the YEAR website June 9th: SELECTION of the THIRD GROUP of 5 semi-finalists women & 5 semi-finalist men June 12th: PUBLICATION of the THIRD GROUP on LOOK of the YEAR website June 16th: SELECTION of the FOURTH GROUP of 5 semi-finalists women & 5 semi-finalist men

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June 19th: PUBLICATION of the FOURTH GROUP on LOOK of the YEAR website June 23th: SELECTION of the FIFTH GROUP of 5 semi-finalists women & 5 semi-finalist men June 26th: PUBLICATION of the FIFTH GROUP on LOOK of the YEAR website June 30th: SELECTION of the 10 FINALISTS women & the 10 FINALISTS men July 3th: PUBLICATION of the 20 FINALISTS on LOOK of the YEAR website July 6th: First modeling class for the finalists without experience (Boniefacio, Naar, Ponchituti) July 7th: BRUNCH of the JUDGES & the FINALISTS July 10th: Second modeling class for the finalists without experience (Boniefacio, Naar, Ponchituti) July 14th: First challenge-show ‘’Happy Sunny Afternoon’’ July 21th: Second challenge-show ‘’Romance at the Ritz’’ and Grand Finale L’Amour Diversity Magazine | Issue 24, June 2019

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PRESS RELEASE LUXE Paris, LUXE Dot Be & AIM Present LOOK of the YEAR 2019 Style Contest First Prize Women: L$50 000 First Prize Men: L$50 000 Are you a woman or a man of style? Well, show it to us because we are looking for two ambassadors, a woman and a man, who will become the LOOKS of the YEAR of LUXE Paris and LUXE Dot Be and win L$50 000 cash each!

OPEN TO ALL! EASY TO PARTICIPATE! This contest is open to all women and men of style. No need to be a professional model to apply as we train the finalists without experience! All you need is style, to express yourself through what you wear! We are looking for an elegant woman and a stylish man who will represent our brands with grace and character.

So don’t wait any longer, wear a LUXE Paris or a LUXE Dot Be outfit, style it, snap a picture, write your name in the title and send FULL PERM to LOOKoftheYEAR Resident. Each participant will automatically receive a free outfit from LUXE Paris or LUXE Dot Be. Every week for 5 weeks, starting May 29th, we will publish the pictures of 5 semifinalists women and 5 semi-finalists men on our website at lookoftheyear. wordpress.com. We will also display them in the LOOK of the YEAR Hall at our main stores on Bao/67/72/26 .

THE FINALISTS WILL EACH RECEIVE 10 FREE OUTFITS! When we will have 25 semi-finalists women and 25 semi-finalists men, our jury will then select 10 finalists in each category.

These 10 finalists women and 10 finalists men will be revealed on July 3th and be invited to meet the judges at the LOOK of the YEAR Brunch on July 7th. At this occasion, the finalists will be asked to explain why they would be a good ambassador for LUXE Paris or LUXE Dot Be. They will also be invited to select 10 free outfits each at our main stores!

This brunch will be followed by two styling challenge-shows, sponsored by AIM. The challenge-show Happy Sunny Afternoon will take place on July 14th and the challengeshow Romance at the Ritz in Paris will be held on July 21th, immediately followed by the grand finale and the revealing of our LOOKS of the YEAR 2019-2020.

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L$275 000 IN PRIZES Each of our two ambassadors will also win: One year of free shopping at LUXE Paris/ LUXE Dot Be (a value of L$30 000), a fashion feature in the magazines ModeLS, SL Confidencial, L’Amour Diversity and The Second Life Enquirer (a value of L$30 000), a private dinner party for 20 at the Duplex Club (a value of L$5000), a scholarship at InNova Model Training (a value of L$4000), a gift card of L$3500 at ProPose, a gift card of L$3000 at Alma Makeup, a crown by Zuri Jewelry (a scepter for the man), a value of L$1500, an official picture by Jack Rock (a value of L$1000), an hour coaching with Ponchituti Boucher and a VIP invite to be part of AIM Modeling Agency.

The two runners up in each category (women & men) will also receive a scholarship at In-Nova Model Training (a value of L$4000), a Zuri tiara or scepter (L$1000), a gift card from ProPose (L$2500 for the first and L$1500 for the second), a gift card from Alma Makeup (L$1000 for the first and L$500 for the second) and an official picture by Jack Rock (L$1000). They will also get an hour coaching with Ponchituti Boucher and be interviewed by ModeLS Magazine and SL Confidencial.

The deadlines to submit your picture and qualify for the weekly semi-fi

‘’IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY SECOND LIFE’’ - Nany Jurado, LOOK of the YEAR 2018-2019

’Winning the LUXE Paris LOOK of the YEAR contest was the best moment of my Second Life’’, confides Nany Jurado, a soccer mom from Medellin, Colombia, who has been in Second Life for nine years. ‘’When I think about the moment they said my name, I get excited again! I have no words to describe the power of the joy which filled me suddenly. I was crying and laughing in the arms of my RL daughters as the IM were coming from everywhere!’’

Nany was selected as the best ambassador for LUXE Paris among 123 candidates.

Elegant, stylish, genuine and with a very generous personality, Nany represents the LUXE Paris spirit perfectly. We were really please to have her as our brand ambassador throughout the year. ‘’All year, it was a magnificent experience and I encourage everybody to go for it’’, continues Nany Jurado. ‘’The things you learn, the friendships you build, the staff who treats you with a huge love and respect... Really, I would do it again if I was allowed!’’

THE JURY The judges will give a score to each finalist at each of the two challenge-shows and the total of those two scores will determine the winners.

The contestants will be judged on their style, elegance and originality by a prestigious jury: Parisian Skytower and Mika Palmyra, owner-designer of LUXE Paris, Boniefacio, owner-designer of LUXE Dot Be, Essy Luv, co-owner of Amazing Impressions Modeling agency (AIM), Marcus Lefevre-Enimo, Founder and Chairman of Miss SL Organization, Nany Jurado, LUXE Paris LOOK of the YEAR 2018-2019, Chemak Kamala, owner of SL Confidencial magazine, Ava Jhamin, owner of L’Amour Diversity magazine, Naar Rexen, owner of In-Nova Modeling Academy, Zuri Rayna, owner of Zuri Jewelry, Ponchituti Boucher, owner of ProPose, Onix Noir, owner of Alma Makeup, Falbala Staheli, top model & photographer, Lanai Jarrico, owner of The Second Life Enquirer, and Haniak Feiri, General Manager Duplex Club.

You can enter the contest as many times as you wish as long as you present a different outfit for each entry.

finals are: May 24th, May 31th, June 7th, June 14th and June 21th.

Bakaboo Fashion Show for Ra

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The Bakaboo Fashion Show was the start of the Raise One Another Up Act Event.

Some of the best Models in SL were a part of the spectacular day!! The Models all had two outfit changes and could style both as they desired in expressing themselves. There was stylish, beach, goth, cyber, animated outfits and so much more!! The maxed out sim was an array of beautiful art that came to life before everyone's eyes, with great music by DJ Jakko. The event was a definite success!!

Richar walk, th anothe Sora ou amazin Richard I have to say, all the models did an amazing job with their performances as well as styling. The creativity they displayed was absolutely phenomenal! There were even a MMI fo few models for whom it was their first runway show: Noah Moonites, Damien Crow & D-Luv. I am super happy at the courage they had to get up there and do what they always dreamed of doing!

In ending, I want to stop and thank everyone that was involved in the total preparations for the event. Thank you, to all the models, this show could not have sprung to life without all of your hard work and passions!! I want to say thank you to Ava Jhamin, for always having my back in everything that I have done so far, in my platform. My vision for my platform is to take a stand against bullying and in turn promote lifting one another up, instead of breaking each other down!! I want to say thank you to my husband, Francis Reignn, who has started #RaiseOneAnotherUpAct, by my side and dived right in. I would also like to thank him for his help with the complete productivity of the Bakaboo Fashion Show. You truly made everything smooth and stress free, I could not have made this all come together without you!!

I want to also thank Ocean Blackthorne, for all of the hard work and dedication he puts into every outfit he makes. Your creativity is amazing, never give up, you are loved and cherished by many!! And last, but not least, I want to thank all of the guests that came out to watch and take part in the show. You are all the inspiration and smiles to us as models. You encourage us all to keep doing what we are doing, you are all beautiful!

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rd De Grataine Suoh, wearing in one he Yang Kimono & Leggings and in er walk he was wearing the vibrant utfit. Both his stylings were absolutely ng!! Richard is an inspiration to all!! d is also currently the reigning Mr. or L’Amour Productions.

Noah Moonites was wearing the Max Tweenster in the Fashion Show, age ten years old. Model for Bakaboo, and runway model for Reignn Enterprises. When Noah is not modeling his father, Basil Moonites says, he enjoys playing soccer and tinkering with things. I tell you what, his father was proud of him and his first runway, the little one has a bright future!!

ne, the fabulous Designer of this could have happened creations.

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Ali Reignn, creator and founder of the Raise One Another Up Act Event, wearing the Roberta Jumpsuit. This comes as an animated jumpsuit when you buy the fatpack and fatpack exclusive!

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Luka Benton wearing the James Blazer and Pants it comes in 5 different colors in either plain or textured.

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lamourproductions.org CREATIVE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS GRAPHICS Magazine Layout by Rienna Lenoir PHOTOGRAPHY Photos by Ava Jhamin (4, 72 - 77, 92 - 93) Photos by Nani Xue (Cover, 14 - 19, 20 - 39, 124 - 135, 140 - 145) Photos by Mirza (Soulcrak3r) (102 - 111, 120 - 125) Courtesy of Christi Charron (44 - 53) Courtesy Red Hykova and Steve Ruhig-Allen (58 - 66) Courtesy Mika Palmyra (114 - 119)

OTHER IMAGES https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/blogger https://prefer.nz/content-management-cms-blog/ https://cdn2.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/blogvswebsite-180x180.png https://www.devdigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/blogs-seo-content-strategy-devdigs.jpg https://www.mediamojo.com.au/how-to-publish-your-first-blog-post/to-blog/

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L’Amour Diversity Magazine

Advertising Special!!!

Choose L'Amour Diversity for your advertising needs.

The following are the advertising packages for ads within the magazine utilizing your own artwork (see specifications for each package). If you would like us to create your ad, please request that from Ava Jhamin, who will schedule that for you at an additional cost. ::NOTE:: These are special pricing packages for L'Amour Diversity Magazine, which means if you purchase NOW you are locked in at this price for consecutive future issues.

If you cease to run your ad for even one month, the pricing specials will no longer be in effect.

PLATINUM LEVEL $L5,000 / Issue

$L4,000 / Issue

Full-Page Ad (full spread)

Full-Page Ad (full spread)

•

Bi-monthly 6 issues/year.

•

Size: 2048W x 1536H (72 dpi)

GOLD LEVEL

• Bi-monthly 6 issues/year.

• Size: 2048W x 1536H (72 dpi)

Includes your logo on

•

L'Amour Productions

website

Package does not include website advertising.

lamourproductions.org.

Get 1 Ad FREE if paid up front 1 year $L25,000.

SILVER LEVEL $L3,000 / Issue

BRONZE LEVEL $L1,500 / Issue

1/2-Page Ad (single page)

1/4-Page Ad

• Bi-monthly 6 issues/year.

• Bi-monthly 6 issues/year.

• Size: 1024W x 1536H

• Size: 512W x 768H

(72 dpi)

(72 dpi)

Package does not include

Package does not include

website advertising.

website advertising.

IMPORTANT All ads must be PAID IN FULL at the time of ordering to reserve your spot immediately!

ALL FUNDS MUST BE PAID TO AVA JHAMIN. Please include a message in the payment details text box indicating what the payment is for (LEVEL/MONTH/BUSINESS NAME). Your ad must have your store or brand name included in the title. Unless told otherwise we will use the same ad issue.

Contact Ava Jhamin with questions.

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