AVENUE Magazine May 2013

AVENUE ultimate style Magazine issue 56 / May 2013

Legal Insanity

Photography by Absinthe Raymaker

Publisher’s note

This month’s fashion theme of East meets West is of great interest and importance to me as it translates beyond the fashion realm, for I personally feel this marriage and fusing of two cultures to form the backbone of my very being.

I was born on the tiny island city called Singapore and resided there for the majority of my life. Weaned on a British education system and American media, English felt like my “native” language, which was and is in fact, Singapore’s first language much to the surprise of many people who have not been to or known much about Singapore.

Growing up in a multi-cultural society and through my extensive travels around the world, I have been exposed and absorbed nuances of different cultures and languages both east and west, so much so that people can’t quite figure out where I am from when they try to decipher my accent.

Some have mistaken me for being French or some European country which always amuses me as I reveal my Asian roots.

I am proud of my Asian heritage, while being very aware of the westernised influences in my life, and this is what makes me “me,” similar to the many Asians or westerners that have grown to learn and assimilate both cultures as their own. So it is with great delight that I present the fashion team’s variation on the theme - to translate their perceptions, views and alternative ideas of how this merger of the East and West can transpire through fashion in Second Life® as inspired by this real life fashion trend.

With the power and reach of the internet, the world is really getting smaller, enabling people to be able to learn about other cultures. We can make a cultural difference in our own lives if we are curious enough to explore and open enough to assimilate and accept.

Here’s to the celebration of the global cultural potpourri of today and tomorrow.

Rusch Raymaker

Rusch Raymaker Publisher

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Photographer Julie Hastings

Editor’s note

What I like most about change is that it’s a synonym for “hope”.

If you are taking a risk, what you are really saying is, “I believe in tomorrow and I will be part of it.”

– Linda Ellerbee The middle of the spring season is always a favorite time for me.

It seems that everything is anew again, from the brilliant colors of the season to the scent of change in the air. AVENUE in May is full of change, too, and we are excited as we look to this month as a sign of some exciting things making their way onto our pages.

AVENUE’s family is growing, and we are delighted to welcome the following new staffers into our fold: Amita Yorcliffe (Stylist), Calima DuFaux (Stylist), Eira Juliesse (Stylist), James Schwarz (Stylist), Ocean Blackthorne (Stylist) and Sunshine Zhangsun (Writer/Photographer). We also recently welcomed photographers Zazie (Jordan Giant) and Citta Wiskee, whose artistic work our readers have already seen in several features. We are fortunate to have all of these talented members joining our team!

It is all about the fusion between Asian and Western cultures in AVENUE’s fashion section during May as our team of stylists show you their take on our theme, “East Meets West.” From stunningly hand-crafted headpieces to couture fashion to casual street styles, AVENUE brings you our

interpretation of one of the hottest trends seen on real life runways and in designer collections this season.

Not only that, but we’re changing it up this month with different features and some new faces, and May is just the beginning. Watch us as we continue to grow!

In our May lifestyle section, read about the dynamic Vaki Zenovka, and take a peek at Once Upon a Fairytale, one of the newest businesses to hit the grid, offering an array of event and party-planning services that everyone should know about!

Carter Giacobini visits with Naila Summerwind of Ghost Security Services and tells all about what the GSS team is up to and how they help to protect their growing client base. Don’t miss “The Heart of the Home,” our Architecture and Interiors feature of the month, and see some unforgettable kitchen décor by Augusta Godenot and Coralie Bilasimo.

All of this and more awaits you in the newest issue of AVENUE Magazine. From our family to yours, we hope that you are having a delightful spring and that the rebirth and newness that this season tends to deliver is bringing you joy, as well.

Xandrah Sciavo

Xandrah Sciavo Editor in Chief

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20 Cover Story

Featured Designer

Architecture & Interiors

52 224

May 2013

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Fashion 24 34 44 52 66 80 94 110 120 136 150 158 168

Cover Story Legal Insanity Icon of the Month Nyu Couture Clash Deconstructing Wang Featured Designer Goucci The Trendsetter Urban Manga Focus On Eastern Treasures La Femme Lost In Translation Homme East meets West The Details Calligraphy with Style L’Avante East meets West To the Nines AVENUE Models From Runway to Street Urban Fashion BlogSpot Fusion

184 194 206 216 236 246

Lifestyle

Arts

Feature Interview 252 Vaki Zenovka Interesting Sims 264 Onigashima Event Review 280 Once Upon a Fairytale Architecture & Interiors The Heart of the Home Business Review GSS Security Perspectives Second Life is Ten

Arts Feature Rust Arts Feature Dryland Visions Raw

Magazine cover Featuring Datrip Blackbart Legal Insanity Designer Photographer Arscene Dubrovna

AVENUE Magazine is published and managed by AVENUE Inc which owns and operates AVENUE Models + Academy and AVENUE Marketing + PR. Online issues: issuu.com/avenue AVENUE website: www.avenuesl.com Visit us inworld at: Zenshi East 62.118.26 For exclusive updates, gifts, events and latest releases, join our inworld group: AVENUE Magazine Readers Press releases to: editorial@avenuesl.com Ad queries: ads@avenuesl.com Advertising and vendor requests: Absinthe Raymaker, Amazon Silverweb, Kerasia Hexicola, Leezah Kaddour, Xandrah Sciavo

Staff & Contributors Publisher Rusch Raymaker Editor in Chief Xandrah Sciavo Creative Director Leah McCullough Fashion Editor Anna Sapphire Lifestyle Editor Umberto Giano Vice-President of Marketing Amazon Silverweb Marketing Manager Absinthe Raymaker Marketing Executives Amita Yorcliffe, Kerasia Hexicola, Leezah Kaddour, Pablo Starsmith, Yeriak Couturier

Writers Carter Giacobini, Casja Lilliehook, Huckleberry Hax, Isadora Fiddlesticks, Lexie Jansma, Louise McWinnie, Prisilla Avro, Quan Lavender, Spruce Canning, Sunshine Zhangsun, Umberto Giano, Xi Zane, Ziki Questi Stylists Absinthe Raymaker, Anna Sapphire, Amita Yorcliffe , Boe Cortes, Calima DuFaux, Dantelicia Ethaniel, Diconay Boa, Eira Juliesse, Gabe Bookmite, Hikaru Enimo, Jax Aster, James Schwarz , Leah McCullough, Miaa Rebane, Neva Crystall, Ocean Blackthorne, Winter Jefferson Photographers Absinthe Raymaker, Annough Lykin, Asia Rae, Citta Wiskee, Eira Juliesse, Eve Kazan, Leah McCullough, Natasja Schumann, Neva Crystall, Piedra Lubitsch, Sunshine Zhangsun , Zazie Graphic Designers Absinthe Raymaker Grant Valeska Rusch Raymaker Contributor Augusta Godenot Coralie Bilasimo Thalia Heckroth

Cover Story

Don’t

fence

Me In Writer Cajsa Lilliehook Photographer Hikaru Enimo

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

Robert Frost

D

o not try to fence Datrip Blackbart of Legal Insanity in with labels like urban, minimalist, high-concept, casual or any of the other categories that fashion followers use as shortcuts to define a designer’s aesthetic.

Like Walt Whitman, Blackbart is large, he contains multitudes. As he explains, “I hate categories, I hate limits, I hate to be defined as an urban designer or whatever people like to define my brand.

Legal Insanity is me and it will change as I do, and so I will not fix it into a category.”

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Perhaps because Blackbart began his Second Life® career in music and continues as a partner and DJ in the Energy Club to this day, he is an iconoclast. Music is naturally iconoclastic, irreverent and challenges tradition. Music demands the bravura performance, the wild passion and outsize personality that rocks the boat and moves the mainstream.

Blackbart brings that irreverent passion to his designs. Consider his Jacquard Kilt. With the exception of royal weddings and historical reenactments, kilts are still transgressive clothing for men. A less confident designer would go the route of the Utilikilt®, butching it up with leather or canvas fabric and lots of hardware. Blackbart resists that moderating impulse and takes a minimalist approach with simple punk-inspired chains and one slim pouch. He insists men can wear skirts, and they do not need to hang a hammer off their belt to be manly men when they do.

Blackbart joined SL® in 2009 hoping to meet new people and play music in the clubs. Three years ago, he formed the Energy Club with some of his best friends from his first and second lives: Thlemaxos Rewell, Solostah Arabello, Manon Clary and Ozyra Roacastle. DJing there under the tagline “The Legally Insane One,” he wanted new challenges and formed Legal Insanity in 2011.

Men’s fashion in Second Life® has long been plagued by too few

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stores with too few options. Many assume that men are simply less interested in fashion and the dearth of menswear options is the natural order of things. However, a more plausible explanation is that with fewer men than women in SL®, many designers simply focus on the larger women’s market.

This had the pernicious effect of not only limiting the number of people designing for men, but also discouraging creativity. With a smaller market, it is safer to create for the mainstream. A fashionconscious man had to hunt high and low, wading through a lot of what he did not want to find something innovative. Many, perhaps most, gave up and settled for a small and safe inventory of mainstream clothing and turned their attention to less frustrating pursuits.

Like many of the new menswear designers, Blackbart was motivated by that frustration. Instead of giving up, he got up, stood up and started making his own clothing.

“When I started creating clothes, I basically did it to avoid the boring clothes that Second Life® designers were offering. Two years ago, the male fashion world in Second Life®, was really out of time - only a couple of stores were really on the edge creating young and funny or modern clothes.”

Dissatisfaction is the engine of progress.

And there is progress. The fashion-conscious man can be as bold and colorful as a peacock

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wearing Blackbart’s Legal Insanity designs.

“I say let me never be complete, I say may I never be content, I say deliver me from Swedish furniture, I say deliver me from clever arts, I say deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth, I say you have to give up! I say evolve, and let the chips fall where they may!” Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club One could accuse Blackbart of arrogance, but he challenges himself as much or more than he challenges mainstream fashion.

“You can never get enough, and you can never go too far. I put no limits on my work and on my creativity. Today I design casual clothes because that’s what I really like, but tomorrow I could start to design haute couture or I could decide to create pet’s clothes or whatever will make me happy and satisfied... Let’s say happy because I’m never satisfied. So I could say that my philosophy is the engine that keeps me challenged.”

Blackbart designs for women as well, with fashions that range from clubwear to high-fashion dresses. “I love the clothes I design for women. They are the expression of the kind of woman I like, classy in her own way, never boring, never too naked, sure of herself and sure of what she wants and conscious of her charm.”

His womenswear, like his menswear, resists easy categorization. Like his menswear,

it is also a reflection of him. For men, he creates what he wants to wear. For women, he creates what he wants to see.

The Legal Insanity customer is a wild one. They are “people that aren’t scared to live or risk and that don’t want to be captured in a scheme or a category,” as Blackbart continues to describe his customer. “My typical customer likes good music, not a genre in particular... my customers love what music can give them. They don’t care about the style. Favorite movie? Pulp Fiction, for sure! They love it! And on Sundays, they wake up when the sun knocks on their eyes and they grab a good Italian coffee, of course - black and with no sugar.”

His inspiration comes from within. However, his greatest source of inspiration is music.

You can hear his passion for music so clearly. “Music moves feelings, burns passions, changes moods and gives you or takes from you strength. I always listen to something. I always have music around me.”

Blackbart creates to music.

“Some of my creations would like to be aggressive like The Prodigy or romantic like Elvis Presley or crazy like Jerry Lee Lewis or even rude as Eminem.” You can see all of that in the aggressive kilt, the romantic madras pants, the wild and crazy mustard yellow suit or the rude shark ready to take a bite out of you.

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“Legal Insanity is a part of me, I put myself into it, so it goes with my moods and follows my thoughts and feelings.� It is large; it contains multitudes.

Marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife. com/stores/45772 SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Legal%20Insanity/110/139/39 Blog: http://legalinsanitycollection. blogspot.com

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Fashion Icon

Nyu Icon:

Writer Xi Zane Photographer Citta Wiskee

F

ew people have the ability to reach Icon status in fashion. Take into consideration that the word Icon was used over the word Idol. Idols are defined as any person regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion; worshiped, put on a pedestal, and eventually (since we are human) traded in for the next big name that hits the runway.

Icons, however, are the people who completely shake up the fashion world so much that eventually their work is unforgettable and

classic. Icons are the innovators and forward thinkers, not flashes in the pan. NyuNyu Kimono, owner of NYU, is not a flash in the pan.

Kimono’s body of work reaches back as far as full permission sculpts, and has been seen in both low end and high end products.

Her take on minimalist style and artfully shaped mesh shook up the industry and continues to inspire.

Without a doubt, NyuNyu Kimono is an icon.

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Kimono started with full permission sculpt pieces in 2010 with the help of Maylee Oh, designer of The Secret Store; fitting because it was Maylee Oh’s work that inspired Kimono to try her hand at working with 3D models.

During her interview, Kimono had nothing but great things to say about her first mentor. “Till date, Maylee’s works still never cease to inspire and amaze me,” Kimono wrote,” and I want to thank her for being such an awesome friend, inspiration and mentor.”

Kimono created a simple ribbon bow as her first piece.

With patience and time, though, she graduated to high collars and power shoulder add-ons. Go far enough back in her Flickr stream and photos of sculpted jacket addons and bustled gown add-ons pop up as well. All of these addons are shapes that are completely unmistakable for anyone who has been around long enough to appreciate sculpts. Though Kimono’s high quality sculpt work was well loved by creators and silently fawned over by the average consumer, it’s her work with mesh that arguably pushed her into the arena of Icon.

Kimono started to design on her own mesh models and opened the clothing store. With the opening of her own store, Kimono had the opportunity to show off not just her 3D sculpt skills, but also her fashion sense. Anyone who knows NYU as a brand knows that the word minimal is woven into almost every choice. As with any designer,

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she creates pieces for SL® that she is familiar with once she logs off for the day. Kimono wrote in her interview, “When it comes to real life, I’m quite a simple dresser, and I choose my clothes based on 6 Cs! Clean, Comfortable, Character, Climate, Color, Confidence.” She goes on to explain, “I think the 6 Cs should apply to everyone, too.

Choosing a clean set of clothes, with the right fabric to make you feel comfortable when wearing it, something that reflects your character’s preferences, pieces that will suit with the weather (climate) of the day, and of course matching colors. This all leads to the final C...

Confidence!” Kimono brings the 6 C philosophy into her design work in Second Life®; so much so in fact, that she’s reinterpreted pieces she has hanging in her closet.

Reinterpretation or not, Kimono’s minimal style is well received by those inside and outside of Second Life®’s fashion role-play.

Though Kimono is known for her minimalistic style, she certainly mixes it up every now and then. She enjoys genres that don’t necessarily adhere to her minimalist style, such as visual kei, lolicon, harajuku, and touches of traditional Far East fashions.

Influences from her home country of Singapore also bleed into her work. Kimono shared, “Quite often during designing, I think of ways on how I can create something that possesses both minimalism with a little oriental touch, either to the style or patterns.” She even half joked, “Perhaps I might release a minimalistic cheongsam next.”

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What perhaps is most notable about Kimono’s character is her willingness to take the time to mentor others. Perhaps because her personal Icons Fashionboi Lander (House of Fox), Azure Electricteeth (Tee*fy/Laviere), and Maylee Oh (The Secret Store) are always willing to share their tips and tricks with her, she felt comfortable and understood how important it is to pass on her know how to up and coming icon Ngozi Faith, the owner Ozi, when Faith was stuck in her creation process.

An icon shouldn’t just create innovative and future classic designs; they should also inspire and pass forward their success stories.

NyuNyu Kimono defined the word icon as, “Someone that takes designing to a whole new level, set an everlasting trend in the fashion industry where their name would be widely mentioned and remembered, such as Issey Miyake, who invented a new method of pleating or “The Little Black Dress” by Coco Chanel.” Kimono’s name and brand is most certainly synonymous with minimalism.

Though she may not have been the first to bring minimalism to the grid, her creative approach and 6 C rule certainly made her a pioneer in the genre. It is her innovation in the genre as well as her pass-itforward attitude that makes her AVENUE’s Icon of the Month.

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Shirt: Cropped Sweater and shirt by Coco, shorts: Drape Bermudas by Shi, ears: Steaking by Mandala, boots: Quinn Kneehigh by Slink, hair: Closer by Vanity, skin: Margot by Glam Affair.

Couture Clash

Deconstructing

Wang Writer Louise Roundel Photographer Syra Huyn

I

n this issue, we are going to bring to you the rising star today’s runways: Alexander Wang.

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Who is Alexander Wang? He is the Taiwanese-American designer famous for being the Parson’s School of Design drop-out who succeeded without the need of a diploma: the Alexander Wang that has become more and more relevant and prominent to today’s wardrobes.

Recently appointed as creative designer for Balenciaga, Wang will certainly bring his minimalist and deconstructionist style into play, making sure that his brand and Balenciaga merge effortlessly, causing us to crave their designs even more. Get your wallets ready; it is time to spend some money!

A relatively new and young designer, Wang has been somewhat projecting in his collections a hint of his Asian heritage through minimalistic and structured cuts, and his clever use of patterns.

His 2013 Spring/Summer collection reveals the skin under the black over white, white over black - the Wang’s monochromatic must. Long leather strips that wrap the legs, empowering women in a somewhat gladiator sandal boot style paired up with laser cut and plastic covered dresses and tops, mark this season’s Wang-ian trend.

Simple and minimal, sometimes on the borderline of manly and androgynous, Wang’s collection whispers edgy modern couture with a dash of sexy as the skin is once more revealed through the fabric strips that together form skirts and dresses.

Ultra-chic sheath dresses, paneled horizontally in either black or white fabric (preferably cotton or leather), python trim sweatshirts and other python motifs are a constant and meant to be kept in Spring/Summer, or so he hopes.

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shirt: Detzel leather shirt by Ison, pants: Xui trousers by Celoe, shoes: Angelina Peeptoes by Gos, clutch: Leather Feather by Handverk, skin: Margot by Glam Affair, headmakeup: Plain Line on Head by Alge’s Designs, hairbase: Hairbase by UnBra, ponytail: ILA344 by Boon.

Dress: Waiting metal by AD, shoes: Grace Sandals by Gos, earrings: Cherry Larissa by House of London, lipstick: MK Minimal Linda by Alge’s Designs, eyeliner: Couture by Glam Affair, skin: Margot by Glam Affair, harness: Leg Harness by Shi, ponytail: ILA344 by Boon, hairbase: Hairbase

by UnBra, bag: Totem Bag by Belgravia.

Featured Designer

S

GOUCCI

Writer Cajsa Lilliehook Photographer Asia Rae

tepping off the elevator as you teleport into Goucci’s lobby, it is immediately evident that you are entering a business with a strong identity and sense of mission.

The thought and design that went into the lobby, including the landing point coming right off the elevator, suggests this is a design house with a clear sense of who their customer is and with a mission in mind when they design.

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Blouse: Mademoiselle by Goucci, skirt: Mademoiselle by Goucci, hat: Hat by Goucci, earrings: Silver Pearl by Goucci, skin: Mya SK by Belleza, hair: WKM795 by booN.

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When asked if that first impression was accurate or merely a crazy whim, Goucci owner and creator Hervé Faenzo responded with gratified enthusiasm. “No, you’re not crazy! We want to change the way people see prêt-àporter in Second Life®. Who says we can’t connect ready-to-wear with haute-couture?” Who says, indeed. While their collection may be small at the moment, every piece brings high-fashion quality and aesthetics to ready-to-wear investment dressing.

Goucci succeeds by carefully and thoroughly defining the Goucci woman. She does not just dress up because she has to, but because she wants to. She not only uses fashion to express her style, but also her mood and her ideas. She is a strong woman and wants to be seen that way. Whether a youthful party girl, a traditional homemaker or a powerful businesswoman, she is someone who knows her strength and wants to reflect that strength in her fashion. She is not afraid of power.

Goucci is the work of a collaborative design team who develop a common inspiration through research and planning under Faenzo’s leadership.

They research current seasonal trends and pop culture tropes before coming together to plan their palette and their themes.

For example, Goucci’s recent Fashion Week 2013 collection was a reimagination of the modern woman. Upending conventional wisdom, they came to the

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conclusion that the modern woman does not have to nor want to limit herself to minimalist neutrals. She can wear bright colors and still be avant-garde.

The Goucci team members are revolutionaries of color. They produce investment pieces that can be worn time and time again in combination with their own label or other labels. The style is minimalist, but their palette is wild with color. Bold canary yellows, flame oranges and cobalt blues sidle up to cardinal reds and opulent purples. This is not your traditional minimalist palette of grey, beige, cream, tan and black, but a wild explosion of color that revolutionizes the concept of minimalism.

Faenzo explained how the team draws inspiration from their own real life fashion styles. “We blend it together to make something brand new. We want to create ready-towear clothes that are wearable but not-average, something you can see on runways and fashion magazines.”

Like any new brand, Goucci faces challenges. When a new store opens, they are on their own, having to navigate not just clothing design, but store design, brand development, marketing and fashion networking - all the business elements that have nothing to do with designing clothing and everything to do with succeeding as a fashion designer.

Nonetheless, Faenzo explained that the hardest challenges for

Tank: Silk Tank Top by Goucci, pants: French Trousers by Goucci, bag: Leather Tote by Goucci, sunglass: Oversized by Goucci, earrings: Onyx Pearl by Goucci, hair: Trouble by Analog Dog.

Blouse: Satin Blouse by Goucci, pants: Amber French by Goucci, bag: V-Leather Sash Hobo by Goucci, sunglass: Oversized

by Goucci, skin: Mya SK by Belleza, hair: Elisha by Truth.

Dress: Silk Dress by Goucci, belt: Plastic Studded by Goucci, earrings: Nouveau Earrings by Goucci, wristlet: Metal Cuffs by Goucci, shoes: Saffron Saskia Stiletto by Goucci, hair: Effect

by LeLutka.

a new fashion house is “to make their own vision happen” and to develop their own personality distinct from others.

Faenzo joined SL® after reading about it in an article about “The Hottest Games of 2007.”

Anyone who met him during that time would never have predicted a career in high fashion. “At first I didn’t understand a thing... but at some point, I met really good people who used to play Second Life® for more than a year and they taught me everything they knew. A funny fact is that I spent a whole month naked because I didn’t know how to dress up my avatar!”

already is.” They are already on their way, having recently added hair and with plans to add makeup and skins in the works. Eager with anticipation, Faenzo added, “We can’t wait to show you what’s coming next for the fashion scene in Second Life® with Goucci.”

Marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife. com/stores/134774 Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ milanmode/ SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/ secondlife/Faenzo/169/134/3002

The first thing he ever made was a gold earring, using a torus.

Wearing it around, people would ask where they could purchase it.

“I saw that I could make a ‘’living’’ out of designing accessories, and I started a few lines of accessories.

It didn’t go well at first, and I closed it since I didn’t know how to properly run a fashion brand in Second Life®. I believe that the most challenging part of designing for SL® is creating an image for your brand that everyone can relate to.”

Faenzo and the rest of the Goucci team seem to have cracked that challenge now. Looking forward, he is grateful for the support they have received and feels optimistic.

“We are always looking to improve and grow our line by adding creative aspects for it. We plan on making it much bigger than it

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Dress: Silk Dress by Goucci, sunglass: Oversized by Goucci, necklace: Cleo Diamonds by Goucci, wristlet: Metal Cuffs

by Goucci, shoes: Charcoal Saskia Stiletto by Goucci, bag: V-Leather Sash Hobo by Goucci, skin: Mya SK by Belleza, hair by Exile.

The Trendsetter

Urban Manga by Anna Sapphire

Blouse: Wrap Blouse by Shi, skirt: Red Suns by MEB, sandals: Ancilla

by Eclipse, headpieces: Shiori by Tukinowaguma, tattoo: In one breath by La Malvada Mujer, hairbase: blonde by Boon, hair by Boon, eyeshadow: GlamourPuss by Chelle, lipstick: PiP9 by Dutch Touch, skin: Mikaela by CStar, eyebrows: 18 by Nuuna.

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Shirt: Lana by Remy, pants: Balloon by Coco, sandals: Vendetta by Fleshtones, bracelet: UV Color by Burning Chrome, headband: Spiked by Whatever, umbrella: Japanese by Swetaholic, hair: RHN435

by Boon, makeup: 6v9 by Nuuna, skin: Mikaela by CStar.

Top: Egg Halter by Ladies Who Lunch, cape: Shae by Molichino, pants: Hakama by Trap, shoes: Wedge Sandals by Whatever, bangles: Magnifique by Je Suis, bow: Asagumo 3 by Tukinowaguma, hair: Kudilya by 3636, hairbase: blonde by Boon, skin: Ayumi by LionSkins, eyebrows: 18 by Nuuna.

"To me you're strange and you're beautiful. You'd be so perfect with me, but you just can't see..." -- Aqualung! (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZwGWRrIlz68) j'addore

Blouse: Asymmetrical Bodysuit by Muhi, leggings: Geometric by Lethal Couture, shoes: Trisha by Whatever, earring: Shiny ‘90s by So Many Styles, glove: Leather Glove by Shi, hair: MKT012 by Boon, hairbase: blonde by Boon, skin: Mikaela by CStar, lipstick: Not So Mellow by Lapin, eyebrows: 18 by Nuuna.

Focus On

Eastern Treasures by Calima DuFaux

Headpiece: Divinity 05 by Glam Affair, corsage: tatsu2012 by Tomoto, makeup: Cinq african violetby BlackLiquid, lipstick: barbie bitch sheer shimer, lip line by BlackLiquid, makeup: Diamonds on Eyes

by Glam Affair, hair1: BNG331 by booN, hair2: CTW881 by booN, jacket: haori balle

by Tomoto.

Headpiece: I Follow Rivers by Glam Affair, corsage: tatsu2012 by tomoto, headband: Lux Exclusive by Shi, hair: Kabuki Empire

by Epoque, makeup: Cinq poppy red by blackLiquid, makeup: Dark Ed. Cosmetics no.2 by Glam Affair, dress:Venettaesque by Loovus Dzevavor.

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Headpiece: Fiora Antlers by Glam Affair, skin: Fei by Elysium, makeup: lips geometrica line by Elysium, eyeshadows: In Color-3

by La Malvada Mujer, hair: SGK120 by booN, earring: AMIDA

by MANDALA, jacket: PRISON by LeLutka.

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Headpiece:Hanami Headpiece

by Glam Affair, belt: Bindi Belt by MOLICHINO, hair: SGK120 by booN , makeup: LipColor - MagentaMagic by PIDIDDLE, eyeliner: Couture Eyeliner no.04 by Glam Affair, eyeshadows: Vanilla Eyeshadow

by LpD, collar: china dress

by LR, top: wa no hana by Tomoto, jacket:vanity - leather

by Erratic, brooch: Sakura Hair Stick by AITUI.

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Headpiece: Wanda by LaGyo, headband: doxo

by RaMa RoWanberry, makeup: In Color-1 lips and Trick Pony -2 by La Malvada Mujer, eyeliner: Couture Eyeliner no.05 by Glam Affair, hair: Banged Slick by NO, earring: SINRA by MANDALA, top: BL Morrighan by MIAMAI.

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"To me you're strange and you're beautiful. You'd be so perfect with me, but you just can't see..." -- Aqualung! (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZwGWRrIlz68) j'addore

Hat: hanagasa by Tomoto, makeup: Ethereal white face by TuTy’s, In Color- 4 lips by La Malvada Mujer, Eyeshadow Wet by MONS, lashes: Catwalk Lashes_Extravaganza by MIAMAI, earring: Bouclier by Epoque, Jacket: Michelle Swing Blazer Miu by Loovus Dzevavor.

Obi: Obi by Sweetaholic, tattoo: Kujyaku by Hori-Muto, hair: Wareshinobu Formal by Hana Katsuraya.

La Femme

by Dantelicia Ethaniel

Shirt and tie: part of Casablanca by Bare Rose, pants: White Hakama pants by Trap, obi and Kanzashi: part of Yuki Onna by Bare Rose, hair: Venetian hair by Tuty’s, eyeshadow: Altjo by Zibska.

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Pantsuit: Mindnight Catsuit by Violator, haori : part of Sakura by Azul, head piece: part of Cover that Face by AD Creations.

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Shirt: part of Vale Moroccan by Remy, collar and skirt: parts Arirang and Jayon by LittleGirl Oriental, hair: Sessie by Emotions, lipstick: lipstick by La Malvada Mujer, kanzashi: Kanzashi by Sweetaholic, eyeshadow: Eyeshadow by Kooqla.

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Coat: China Doll coat by Curious Seamstress, hair: Hair

by Kik-Tilda, face Chain: Silver face chain by Soedara, lipstick: Lipstick by La Malvada Mujer, eyeshadow: Paint Stroke Emphasis by Tuty’s.

Headpiece: Wanda by LaGyo, headband: doxo

by RaMa RoWanberry, makeup: In Color-1 lips and Trick Pony -2 by La Malvada Mujer, eyeliner: Couture Eyeliner no.05 by Glam Affair, hair: Banged Slick by NO, earring: SINRA by MANDALA, top: BL Morrighan by MIAMAI.

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Kimono and Obi: Pani Blue by Gspot, top: Ungud top

by Miamai, hair: Brutal Geisha show hair by Faster Pussycat, eyeshadow: eyeshadow by Kooqla, lipstick: lipstick by Pididdle, Prop: crystal by Zynklayr Blaylock.

Corset: Geometrica corsage by Elysium, dress: Origami dress by sYs, blouse: part of Arirang by LittleGirl Oriental, hair: Rivaldo by CheerNo, lipstick: lipstick by Pididdle, eyeshadow: Paint Stroke Makeup by Tuty’s.

Homme

east meets west by Jax Aster

Jacket: Ryan by Nyu, Pants: Eddie by Fatewear, Hat: Imperium by Shi.

Jacket: Adam by Diram, Pants: Seroual by Diram, Necklace: Onigiri by Mandala, Makeup: Astroglam by Nuuna.

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Shirt: Chinoi by Shi, Pants: Wide Leg

by Jane, Shoes: Zouri Miyabi by Exia, Bracelet: Lor by Kosh, Necklace: Amida by Mandala, Makeup: 15 by Glam Affair, Makeup: v45 by Nuuna.

Outfit: Montsuki Hakama by Sweetaholic, Makeup: Plum Geisha

by Tableau Vivant.

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The Details

Calligraphy With \ Style by Absinthe Raymaker (sinontherocks)

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Hat: Headdress by SeiRei, top: Vale by Remy, obi: Tateya lily by Milky, skirt: Leather mermaid by Paperbag, purse: Mortier Clutch

by Epoque.

Hair: Pocahontas by Lelutka, hat: Cowboy hat by roosters Gearnutz, flower: LBD natty scarf pin by Leezu, dress: Tentacle by The Sea Hole, obi: DD020 BO by Milky, boots: My wester boots by Monso, purse: tentacle handbag by The Sea Hole, makeup: Theater of you 1 by La Malvada Mujer.

Hair: Tantrum by Analog Dog, skull: Bird skull by LoQ, hair ornament: Persiguiendo el dragon by La Malvada Mujer, bodysuit: Neef

by Indented Fashion, obi: Ribon Tennyo01 by Milky, sword: Eien by PUcca Firecaster, shoes: Molly sandal by CO57, cuffs: Archer cuff by Valentina E Couture, makeup: Tao moon by Tutys.

Hair: Domenica by Emotions, necklace: Belly danger tariqa by Soedara, shoulder piece: Vesuvius

by Ladies Who Lunch, top: Matsushima by R2, parasol: dragon

by Cherry Tokyo, brows: Mindeye decor by Finesmith, makeup: by Tutys and Nuuna.

Hair: Cheyenne by Emotions, helmet: Dragoness by Ezura, earring: Shapes by Glow Studio, dress: Rajhu by Miamai, belt: Pyton

by Shi.

Hair: Electricity by Magika, collar: Paper neckpiece by Shi, fish: coy by Solidea Folies, dress: toga dress by Shi, sword: Eien by PUcca Firecaster, make-up: by Tutys and Nuuna, brows: feather brows by Boudoir.

L’Avante

East Meets West Stylists Winter Jefferson & Eira Juliesse Photographer Eira Juliesse

Eira Hat: GothCap by House of Fox, hair: Hairbase by LoQ Hairs, skin: Spacecat by Kooqla, makeup: Queen Amidala Makeup by Beautifully Grotesque, top: Ninja II Unisex Red Dragon by Ladies Who Lunch, top: Corset by Chrysalis, pants: ChodCollection Dewi Black by Miamai, leg flowers: Empire gown by Fellini Couture, boots: Shay Boots by Illmatic.

Winter Hair: KGI848 by Boon, headpiece: Carina by Solidea Folies, skin: Marilyn by Tableau Vivant, makeup: Golden 4 by Miamai & Couture Eyeliner 2 by Glam Affair, throat and shoulder Armour: War by Violator, obi: War by Violator, outfit: Spellbound by Miamai, legs: Stilts by Heb Dexler & Leg Harness by Shi, shoes: Geta by Slinks.

Hat: Hanagasa by Tomoto, hair: Cachet by LeLutKa, skin: Marilyn by Tableau Vivant, makeup: Golden 2 by Miamai, eyeliner: Couture eyeliner 3 by Glam Affair, necklace: Asahi by LouLou & Co, shirt: Asymetric Shirt by 22769, bracelet: Bamboo Bangle by Miss LT, ring: Big Balls ring by Miss LT, pants: Skirtpants by CheerNo, shoes: Okobo by Nadia.

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Hair: KGI848 by Boon, headpiece: Carina by Solidea Folies, skin: Marilyn by Tableau Vivant, Makeup: Golden 4 by Miamai & Couture Eyeliner 2 by Glam Affair, throat and shoulder armour: War by Violator, obi: War by Violator, Outfit: Spellbound by Miamai, stilts: Stilts by Heb Dexler, harness: Leg Harness by Shi, Shoes: Geta by Slink.

Hair: Warrior by Epoque, fan: Tsubaki Dancing Fan by Rui Moriguchi, skin: Spacecat by Kooqla, Makeup: Gold Idole 1 by theSkinnery, makeup2: A Night Of Mystery Gold Black by Violator, lipstick: Orient Express Kyoto lips by blackLiquid, earrings: Earring Black by Swallow, bracelet: Shame Bracelet

by Finesmith, hands: Mesh Hand Splayed by Slink, shirt: Exploiter White by Remy, belt: Spring Fling Gown belt by Chop Zuey, skirt: Miss Bliss Couture Beauty by Bliss Couture.

"To me you're strange and you're beautiful. You'd be so perfect with me, but you just can't see..." -- Aqualung! (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZwGWRrIlz68) j'addore

Skin: Spacecat by Kooqla, eye jewelry: Eastern Star tears by Eshi Otawara, hair: Hairbases for pale skins by unBra, makeup: HT Whitewashed Mask with red lips by Leah Portland, makeup2: Orient Express Kyoto by blackLiquid, hat: Mickey Fur Hat by Bliss Couture, jewelry: Eda

by Lazuri, hand coverings: ChodCollection_Bata

by Miamai, gown: Marie by Eshi Otawara, dress collar: A Gown That Looks Breezy by Eshi Otawara, sleeves: Private collection jacket by Liz.

Hair: Emeli by LeLutKa, Hairsticks: Dragon Hairsticks by Killian Creek Creations, Skin: Marilyn by Tableau Vivant, Brows: Anthology Of Transition by La Malvada Mujer, Makeup: Golden 3

by Miamai, Couture Eyeliner 2 by Glam Affair, Suit: Sleeveless Ao Dai by Bare Rose, Arms: Dena’ina Set

by Plastik, Nails: Druid Claws by Core, Back: Mark Of The Forsaken Halo by Sinful Needs, Shoes: Fhar Sandals by CheerNo.

To The Nines

Stylists AnnaG Pfeffer, Gloria Gabe, & Seashell Dench Photographer Citta Wiskee

Hair by BooN, shoes: Kimono Okobo by Falln, jewelry: Saint

by Finesmith, fan: Shi Waving Fan by Falln, skin: Geisha 2 by Nuuna.

Hair by BooN, shoes: Kimono Okobo by Falln, jewelry: Saint

by Finesmith, fan: Shi Waving Fan by Falln, skin: Geisha 2 by Nuuna.

Hair: Succulent by Blackliquid, sticks: Flora Green by Twisted Cherry, earrings: Kotar

by Finesmith, eyeliner: Couture Eyeliner 1 by Glam Affair, lipstick: Madame X by LovelyMi, shoes: Zen by Ncore.

Hair: Dolce by LeLutka, sunglasses: Shades Flowers Deluxe Couture by ChicZafari, bracelet: Triumphi by LaGyo, earrings: Tokyo Tears by Maxi Gossamer, shoes: Triumph

by Ncore, bag: Gia Clutch by Ricielli, lipstick: Leah 8 by Glam Affair.

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Skin: Amelie Contessa by Glam Affair, eyeshadow: Oh DicoDico

by LovelyMi, lipstick: Vendetta2

by Madrid Solo, hair: Serene by Tukinowaguma, earrings: Fan

by Dahlinks, hairpiece: Yosino 2

by Tukinowaguma, nails: Milky Nails by Mandala, shoulders piece: Bel Envol by Champagne, shoes: Cruel by JD, socks: Dragon Girl by Bare Rose, belt: Golden Rope by Lethal.

Eyeshadow: Bam by Pink Acid, lipstick: Diva Gloss by Pink Acid, gloss: Lipgloss Shane by Mons, hair: Shock by Tuty’s, hairpiece: Femme Head circle red by LaGyo, gloves: Gloves

by Emery, collar: Beau Tassels

by Remy, booties: Zip Spike by Gaga.

都市时

L

Urban Fashi

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La Femme

by Leah McCullough

时尚 on

Dress: China dress long black

by Lika Ruby, top: Mides shirt

by Baiastice, lipstick: Juna lips blood by Sorry Asia, hair and chopsticks: Warrior by Epoque, eyeliner 1: Couture 01 by Glam Affair, eyeliner 2: Japan liner

by Inside Lab, obi: Serasu Kimono Obi by HOR, shoes: Ariane by Ingenue, hairband: Japan flowers by Glow, skirt: Oto skirt mesh by sYs, skin: Esmee by Dutch Touch.

Dress: China dress long black by Lika Ruby, shoes: Ludmilla by H.m.a.e.m, jeans: Elle

by Elate, lipstick: Lana glossy lips 08 by Glance Skins, jacket: Emma by Baiastice, sunglasses: Oversized sunglasses by Izzie’s, phone: Mobile phone by MW Boa, bag: Suede leather bag by Nyu, hair: Alice by LeLutka, coffee: Coffee to go by Trinket, skin: Kate by The Skinnery.

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Dress: 416-001 trumpet sleeve by Rina, top: Basic turtleneck by Friday, collar: My Minerva Collar by La Penderie de Nicole, makeup: Neri Oshiroi Geisha makeup 3 Yuuka by Tuty’s, lipstick: Juna lips blood by Sorry Asia, eyebrows: Minimal Halloween tattoo by Tuty’s, shoes: Know Wedge Sandal by GF, eyeliner: Couture Eyeliner n1 by Glam Affair, belt: Wanda hole by LaGyo, hair: Brunch Queen by Epoque, skin: Esmee fair by Dutch Touch.

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Dress: 416-001 trumpet sleeve by Rina, corset: Foxy Gray Satin & Black Lace corset by Blacklace, eyeshadow: Nyasha Bean eyeshadow 01 by Glance Skins, lipstick: Lana glossy lip 05 by Glance Skins, earrings: Louise

by Nha!, bag: Chris patent handbag by Baiastice, boots: Alstar by JD, scarf: Long scarf by Maitreya, hair: Bitter sweet by Vanity Hair, glasses: Alphabeat

by Steinwerk, skin: Kate by The Skinnery.

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Fusion

by Amita Yorcliffe - http://amitayorcliffe.blogspot.com/ Hikaru Enimo - http://hikaruenimo.wordpress.com

Tops: Chinoi by Shi, bra: Kimiko by Blacklace, pants: High Waist Cutoffs by Fashionably Dead, hair: Kabuki Empire by Epoque, head accessories Persiguiendo el Dragon by La Malvada Mujer, glasses: Beachy Keen Shades by Yummy, watch: Asia Watch by Gizza, bangles: Cazandra by Modern Couture, shoes: Mesh Aria Legwarmers & Sneakers by SimpleCandy, eyeshadow: Pois Moderno by La Malvada Mujer.

Blogspot

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Dress: Regal Rose Bush by LME, necklace: Carley by Zibska, hair: Sayaka by Tukinowaguma, shoes: Supermodel Lada by BSD, eyeshadow: Cinq by Blackliquid, blush on: Pierrot Blush by Inside Lab.

Dress: Flight Bodycon by ISON, cape: Shae Cape by Molichino, hat: Flora Antlers

by Glam Affair, hair: Seiji

by Taketomi, earring & ring: Jay Lane Black by A&A, shoes: Celina by Redgrave, eyeshadow: Popcrazy by La Malvada Mujer, blush: Pierrot Blush by Inside Lab.

Tops: part of Year of The Dragon lady by Barerose, skirt: Peek Slit Skirt by Remy, skirt attachment: part of High Impact Peplum by Loovus Dzevavor, accessories: Epaulette Set by Gizza, belt: Wanda Hole by Lagyo, hair: RHN435 by BooN, glasses: Steampunk Spike by Pure Poison, eyeshadow: Cinq

by Blackliquid, blush: Pierrot Blush by Inside Lab.

Tops: T-Top by Remy, pants: Floral Green Pant

by LME, belt: Bindi by Molichino, gloves: Jessamine by Belgravia, hair: 20m by Iruco, shoes: Fit Me Boots

by Ariskea, necklace: Imperium Necklace by Shi.

Ring: Joy Engagement Ring

by Chop Zuey, earrings: Tres Fleurs Earrings by Chop Zuey, hair: Nadine 2 by Truth, Dress: Henna Fragrant Dress by GizzA.

Hair: Helena by Cheerno, ears: Steaking by Mandala, hands: M1 by CheerNo, jacket: Casual Blazer by Kal Rau, shirt: epoch

by Iruco, skirt: skirt pants by CheerNo.

Hair: Boys&Girls 41 by Dura, watch: Hokusai by Mandala, bracelet: Curb chain by Gabriel, necklace: Curb Chain by Gabriel, scarf: Stylish Stole by K, suit: Mills by Gizza.

Hair: Boys&Girls 42 by Dura, sunglasses: Big Bird by Iruco, bracelet: Utamaro by Mandala, watch: Hokusai by Mandala, bag: Beldur by Amberg, top: Chinoi by Shi, pants: Skinny trousers by Iruco, shoes: Christian Loafers by Entente.

Featured Interview

Va k i Z en ov ka Writer Cajsa Lilliehook Photographer Piedra Lubitsch “Fashions fade. Style is eternal.”

– Yves St Laurent

F

ashion and style are often used interchangeably, but they are very different things. Fashion is a collective endeavour; its followers flock to catch the shifts in necklines, waistlines and hemlines. Wearing the latest trend is a sign that one is part of the fashion cognoscenti aware, alert and poised for change.

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Style is an individual pursuit, a contemplative sport. Those who choose style over fashion cast a line, not a net, into the river of new designs, capturing the select prize, the one piece that can mix and match with other elements to create something new. Style is all about selection and combination.

It is a sign that one is an iconoclast - a rule breaker who never needs to apologize.

Vaki Zenovka has chosen the individual pursuit. She has little interest in the latest trend, the season’s colors or whether prints or color-blocking are big this year.

Instead, she has defined a personal aesthetic that makes her instantly recognizable and memorable. “I like finding well-made pieces with some personality. My favorite designer, in real life, is Antony Price -- he’s the man who turned the suit from something you wear to the office into something you have naughty sexy moments thinking about. He put Bowie and Grace Jones and Bryan Ferry and Anjelica Huston into suits. He put Tilda Swinton into sexy robot drag. He’s the one whose designs taught me from a young age to completely disregard what we think of masculine and feminine.”

Disregarding the boundaries of feminine and masculine defines Zenovka’s personal style and is also what drew her to Second Life®.

She joined at the suggestion of a friend and was won over by “the revelation that unlike any other game I’d played, I could change gender at the push of a button...

I had the old Harajuku Boy and

Harajuku Girl sets, and I was mixing and matching, trying to create something that was utterly alien and weird: eight feet tall with long, attenuated arms and toothpick legs, an otherworldly grotesque. I never was able to quite accomplish my vision, but it was my first day on Second Life.”

Zenovka’s style is classic and androgynous - the fashionable tough chick. Too many designers think androgyny means dressing all genders in menswear, but true androgyny should pull from the masculine and feminine. Zenovka is a true semiotician of androgyny, drawing signifiers of the feminine such as lacy socks or a floral blouse and mixing them with signifiers of masculinity like a suit, a hat, a short haircut. As she explained, “Just wearing menswear is easy. Styling a sexy balance of masculine and feminine, so you’re not quite sure which direction the whole look is taking? That’s hot...Androgyny is sexy in pulling, and playing with, both stereotypes. Androgyny is sexy in defying expectation.”

If you have been lucky enough to discover Insert Funny Name Here (link: http://insertfunnyname. wordpress.com), Zenovka’s SL® blog, you’ll already be aware that she defies expectations as a fashion blogger. In fact, she resists the label. “I don’t usually think of myself as a fashion blogger. I love fashion bloggers, but their approach to pictures is to show off the clothes in the best possible light. My approach is to take a really artistic picture. Sometimes

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I’m wearing clothes in it.” Inspired to blog by Uma Ceawlin’s Style Diary which she declared to be flawless, she saw that most blogs were either aimed at men (like Bronson Twine’s Second Man), or were for very feminine women.

She realized she could fill a niche, as her blog’s tagline suggests, showing that tough chicks can be fashionable.

Despite her androgynous personal style, Zenovka recently wrote a defense of the feminine as feminist in her blog. Asked how she thinks feminism is expressed in fashion, she explained that a large part of feminism is empowering women to make their own decisions. “It’s okay to make the decision to feel sexy. It’s okay to make the decision to dress to appeal to men’s desires (or to other women’s desires, or to make other women envious). More importantly, it’s okay to just make the decision to dress to feel good.

The ability to make that decision all by our lonesome is kind of the point.”

To Zenovka, the challenges of blogging are also the rewards. “I love the challenges...And often I don’t already know how to do the Photoshop® tricks I need to do to make the image happen, so then I have to go out and learn those. I’m a lawyer -- I don’t really have time to spend hours on a single image for my SL blog. But god, I love to do it. It’s my creative outlet.”

In her professional life, Zenovka specializes in internet legal issues

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such as Intellectual Property laws. She recently represented Gala Phoenix in the Hush - Curio copyright case. This has brought a more than usual amount of attention to her as an avatar.

However, in SL, she pursues her legal interests under an alt named Agenda Faromet, leaving her Zenovka identity as the personal connection it was meant to be.

She is a member of the Second Life Bar Association, which meets at Justitia Virtual Legal Resource Village once a month. Justitia is the contribution of several attorneys who wanted to provide Second Life residents with resources for legal information. Zenovka also does a lecture series focusing on IP issues and posts the information on her blog.

Asked to provide what she thinks are the most important legal concepts that SL residents should know, she responded. “First, The Terms of Service governs your relationship with Linden Lab. It does not necessarily govern your relationship with other users.

Second: lawsuits are incredibly expensive. We tend to think, ‘Oh, that person over there did me wrong, I’ll just sue!’ That should be your absolute last move. Third: protect yourself. Register your copyrights. Post a license.”

world that wasn’t there before. It might not be great. It might not make you rich. It might not get any attention...So what? Do it for yourself. Do it to learn something you didn’t already know. Do it so that one day you can look back at the stuff you used to do and say, ‘Wow, I’m so much better now than I was then!’. That satisfaction, that sense of accomplishment, feels amazing. Go do it for you. Tell yourself I said ‘hi’.”

As to her plans for the future?

Zenovka’s answer was wry, “Hey, I’m just proud of myself when I can manage to log in. I’ll get to the future eventually.” http://insertfunnyname. wordpress.com/ Justitia Legal Resource Village in-world: Justitia [126.120.954]

Zenovka has more general advice for SL residents. “I really want to encourage people to get out and blog. Or make clothes. Or make poses. Or do something. Go create. Put something out in the

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Interesting Sims

Onigashima Writer Prisilla “Silly” Avro Photographer Zazie

“M

omotaro grew up strong, powerful, and kind. In no time at all he had become the strongest in the village. One day Momotaro heard about the ogres on Onigashima who spread fear among his countrymen. He begged the old man and woman to allow him go to Onigashima to drive away the ogres.”

-Japanese Folktale

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Since February 2013, Onigashima has existed in Second Life® as the creation of Nya Alchemi and Nix Marabana.

Their inspiration was the story of Momotaro, a well known figure in a Japanese folktale. In this popular folktale, the hero Momotaro journeys to the distant island of Onigashima to fight the ogres that have been terrorizing humans. He is victorious and brings the ogres to their knees, returning all stolen treasures to their rightful owners.

Onigashima in SL® is a beautifully-landscaped, traditional Japanese-themed sim and the home to Alchemi and Marabana’s various shops and projects. Shoppers who seek a bit of Japanese flavor in their SL® can find traditional items offered at kisetsu and FuubutsuDou. Looking for a bit of modern Japanese flair? Kirei and Impish have what you seek. Kimonos, Asian skins, Japanese furniture, role play chores, make-up and hair are just a sampling of what can be found in the stores of Onigashima.

Shopping in Onigashima is not your typical shopping experience.

The stores of Alchemi and Marabana are unobtrusively scattered across the landscape, which offers the visitor much to explore and enjoy.

Alchemi and Marabana took some time in deciding the name of their sim. Considering they both create traditional Japanese items as well as some more modern inspired designs, they wanted to be sure to name their sim

appropriately. Marabana reflected, “We wanted a sim that could be built to look old-fashioned but still have enough ‘strangeness’ to accommodate our other things.

Nya thought of ‘Onigashima’... it’s kind of a slightly scary fantasy place from a children’s story. So that’s why we picked the name and designed as we did.”

Onigashima is more than a home to the shops of Alchemi and Marabana. “We also want to provide other things for people to do, so we have fishing games and places to explore. We have plans to add more games and things too, when we can find the time between all of our projects!

We like to see people explore and have fun on our sim.” One of their latest events was a photo contest where participants were tasked with photographing the sim in creative ways. There was a party held in their honor where the winners were announced and awarded with gift cards from the stores in Onigashima.

Being in its youth, Marabana expects Onigashima to continue to grow and evolve. “We definitely want to add more things, and I can never resist redesigning things over and over. I’m still considering Onigashima a work in progress, and I don’t even know if it will ever be ‘finished’. It’s impossible to be perfect but I always want to make it better.” Marbana plans on continuing her work in bringing more of a haunted feel to Onigashima.

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Whether it be for shopping, exploration, or to escape the noise in your lives, Onigashima is definitely a sim worth visiting.

Visit: Onigashima [59.115.45] Website: http://onigashima. blog.com/ Read the story of Momotaro: http://japanfolklore.blogspot. com/2008/08/momotaro.html

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Event Review

Happily Ever Writer Cajsa Lilliehook Photographer Eve Kazan

O

After

nce Upon a Fairy Tale opened with one of the grandest ambitions in Second Life速 history - to make dreams come true. Who is up to the challenge of bringing fairy tales to life, of creating happilyever-afters, Wonderlands and Neverlands and dreams spun of sugar, stardust, spindrift and imagination? Well, there is more than one fairy godparent in this League of Extraordinary Party Planners.

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13

5/31/20

Sue,

aid of honor m y m s a p e e to earn your k g in go eed a dozen n y ll a ld u e r o w I , n You’re left on my ow k out the c if e h k c in to th I le a e T s u beca Upon a Fairy e c n of them.

O ll to a t n in e d w ie I r . r s a m m groo I want to get d n a , s e u n e v wedding gown with e z u ga ly e v lo arried on e myself in a e m s g n in a tt c ge I t , e ly e s f Seriou ce and bare la d te edral. It’s e h th c a o c r l c a r e d tu a a m n hand lmost form a a s lm a e’s this open p r e e h th T , . n h e c a th e t b u B the at is like on a beach! th ’s it ir a d n e a th t, n in so elega ee stories up r th t u There’s a o . b ll a a o t b o e n z s ga t’ a m th ballroo airy tale. But f l a e r om. There’s o r a ll a m b o r f d n g a in gr th some library, an a a , n e d I want all the r , f ga ie n gr ia s d o A o t G e r sec ant them all! w I t. a o b r e iv even a r s! wedding cake to make my e m h it w g in k r l and are wo u f lp e h learly need c is I e r e e s u th a f c f e ta B s .

The ou to help, too y d e e n I t u b choices, more grooms!

Hugs, Janet

The heart and soul of Once Upon a Fairy Tale are the partners, Katherine Starfall, Kara Trapdoor, cueball21 Resident, and Emma Portilo. They came together to create a sim full of distinct and romantic settings for the parties and events that mark the milestones of our lives, shining like jewels in our memories.

Like all great ambitions, Once Upon a Fairy Tale was born of disappointment and frustration.

These partners experienced the frustration of poorly planned events and the disappointment of a wedding celebration marred by problems with venues and unresponsive planners. Knowing they could do better, they set out to create a completely new sort of event planning, the experience complete with custom builds and a laser focus on customer satisfaction. This ambition is encapsulated in their mission statement: “The inspiration for Once Upon A Fairy Tale comes from the desire to create uniquely customized events in SL® that make dreams a virtual reality. Carefully styling, planning, coordinating and timing are all prepared so events run as smoothly as SL® will allow and bring happiness and joy to participants. We believe open communication and focusing on the desire of our customers’ hearts is key. Designing venues that cater to dreams instead of offering the same repetitive services for all makes everything uniquely yours.”

Portilo

brings

experience and passion to the work. As she explains. “I’ve always wanted to be able to build and put together dream venues - things that are unique and beautiful and high quality.” With her success in planning fashion shows, weddings, parties as well as doing interiors for magazines and clients, she has the perfect combination of skills to have the audacious ambition of being a dream-maker. “That has all been fun and has contributed wonderfully to my learning experience, but I am now focusing on my dream of being able to cater to the dreams of others and bring their wishes to life; meeting challenges and surpassing goals to create magic. To feel the satisfaction of knowing I’ve been able to contribute to someone’s happiness for the celebration of their love is a wonderfully fulfilling thing to be part of.”

Clients coming to Once Upon a Fairy Tale will tour the various venues on the sim before interviewing with a staff person who will ask questions to elicit ideas about their hopes and dreams for the event. Much of the magic comes from listening to draw out the needs and wishes of the client and in accurate recording of that information. After that, keeping communication open, transparent and reassuring will keep clients’ focus on the joy of anticipation, not the anxiety of planning. On the day of the event, clients can rest assured that everything will be in place and will be able to relax and enjoy their day with ease.

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9/30/2013 Hey Rach!

oing p, and it’s g u g in m o c y rt ond I have a pa been in Sec e ’v I w o n k ou t to be maj. Y and have no w o n rs a e y I think it’s .

Life for five y a D z e R a single ed to throw id celebrated c e d I o s hange, time for a c a bash. throw it. You lly a re to g goin ils, Well, I’m not ith the deta w g in s s e m f a know I hate myself out o e iz n a rg o ’t and I couldn folks at Once e s e th to d up bag. I talke y’re cooking e th d n a , le Ta Upon a Fairy ecial. something sp Tale h the Fairy it w g n ti e e m It was cool I sat down . y p ra e th y rt d folks, like pa nd we talke a le p o e p ir the my with one of n’t like and id d d n a d e I lik it, they had about what w e n k I re befo I interests and d - before te n a w I t a h The Trap! to figured out w e m o c , o ted it. S knew I wan bananas. e b ill w it r, I swea Cheers, Taylor

Dear Shirle

y, Judy and

Deanna,

10/10/2013

Ever since the four of us had our the same w babies eek, we hav e scramble outdo and d to outshine ea ch other fo birthdays. r our kids’ How about doing som really crazy ething this year a nd throwin party over g a joint at Once Up on a Fairy know our p Tale? I ast attemp ts to collab failed, but orate have let me you w h y thinking. this place g ot me They have this display som showroom where the y e of their m any decor and it occu settings, rred to me that we cou something ld do like that. P erhaps we event in the have the ir library an d they deco different r rate the ooms indiv idually for taste and t each of ou hen the big r o p draw straw en space w s or let the e either m pick? Th all get our at way we way. What do you say ?

Connie

Unlike most event sims, Once Upon a Fairy Tale has not put all its eggs in one fairy godmother’s basket. In addition to the imagined weddings and big events, they also have a club called The Trap Club, Trapdoor’s baby. Never mind the possibilities of a dance club called The Trap on a wedding sim; the overall theme of The Trap Club will also be versatility and transformation. One night it may be home to a bachelorette party for former Madonna wannabees, the next, a pulsing bachelor party with house music and next, a smoky blues club with sultry saxes and sultrier sirens. Transforming to meet the needs of the client - a chameleon club - The Trap Club will be integral to the vision of Once Upon a Fairy Tale.

Whether a wedding celebration, a children’s birthday party, a Rez Day bash or a party just for the sake of a party, the people at Once Upon a Fairy Tale are ready to make dreams come true. It can happen to you, if...

URL: http://onceuponafairytalesl.com SLURL: http://maps.secondlife. com/secondlife/Winter%20 Faire/54/13/23

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Dearest J essica, 6/20/2013 Thank yo u fo yesterday r being my maid of honor at my w an edding. It fly home meant so d standing with me from Afgh mu anistan to be there. ch to me to have you It was ex actly wha t and family , about J I wanted - small ack and m and intima not about te with f e making throwing rien a promise the bigges about yo to each o ds t party in u being h ther, ome - if history. A only for n d a little bi three day t Still, I did s. n't want sma went to Once Upo ll and simple to b e n by a wa terfall see a Fairy Tale. That boring. That's why ms lik I beau be kept. I loved eve e a place where tiful chapel nestled ry pr people fro m Once U thing about it and omises are made t o pon a Fa it bigger o iry Tale n especially loved th r grander at the ever push and under What is b e d s m t est, thoug h, is havin ood that biggest is e to make and suppo n't alway g you, m rt me s bes y lif just as y ou alway elong friend, to st t. and s have.

Your little sister, Sarah

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Architecture & Interiors

The

of the

Heart

Home

Writer Umberto Giano Photographer Thalia Heckroth

I

n real life our kitchens are the focal point of the home. We spent countless hours there, cooking, eating, and socializing. In Second Life®, though, it’s different. Unused and rarely considered as more than an afterthought, the kitchen is usually the most neglected room in a virtual house.

Dishware: Bistro Coffee Mug by LISP Bazaar, Knackerbrod Plate by POST, appliance: Bixleta toaster by Artilleri.

Why? Well the question basically answers itself. Virtual kitchens are the living space equivalent of the human appendix – they’re nonfunctional and, when decorating a home, they can be a real pain. Is it a wonder that most SL kitchens are treated as an afterthought? We’ve all seen them when touring friends’ homes: bland and boring all-white kitchens, devoid of personality and charm… about as appetizing as eating a bowl of screw drivers. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In any reality, the kitchen should be the heart of a well-ordered home.

Second Life interior designer Augusta Godenot understands the importance of the kitchen in a virtual home. She recently decorated the interior of her kitchen (in the West Lake House

by L2 Studios) with function in mind. Godenot explains, “The room invites you to participate fully in the life of your home. Over time, a kitchen becomes more than a space to cook. Children come home after school, do homework at the table, have snacks and talk about their day. As a mother, I drink my coffee, struggle to master a new recipe, and plan my chores. I may share coffee with my neighbor. This kitchen is a gardening shed, restaurant, message center and therapist’s office.”

While that may seem like a tall order for any space, Godenot’s kitchen delivers in spades. An old wooden farm table glows with a finish textured to appear worn

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Shelf: ID Shelf 01 by Y’s House, smalls: ladle (from Tudor House) by Gryphon Lair, Antique Colander by Picnic, Gogebic Pottery - Milk Jug by POST.

Appliance: Dalgety Kitchen Refrigerator by Cheeky Pea, built-ins: Adler Top Kitchen Units and Love the Beach Kitchen counters by Scarley Creative, wall art: Shabby Garden Paintings by Shabby Tabby, Hodgepodge Kitchen Prints by What Next, shelving: ID Shelf 01 by Y’s House, Red Apple Kitchen Shelf by K Store, Woodcutter Pickle Shelf by LISP Bazaar, lighting: Vine Lamp by LISP Bazaar, smalls: Steel Fruit Basket by The Loft, Vine “Vite” Bistro Floor Mat by LISP Bazaar, 3 Wooden Bowls by K Store, Bistro Clock by LISP Bazaar, 2013 Calendar by Cleo Designs.

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Appliance: Marquette Sink by POST, pet: Cat by Shop Seu, Plants: Laurel Cottage Herbs and forever Garden small overturned flower pot by What Next, Small Finny Plant by LISP Bazaar, Planter-01 by iTuTu.

uneven by time and use. The antique bench and beautifully painted workplace chair by Zigana invite family and guests alike to sit and visit or play games. Nearby, the Scratched Metal Drafting Chair

by Art Dummy stands at the ready for Godenot to perch upon as she prepares breakfast with Kinoko’s Hand Whisk & Bowl and Milk Box sets. Various potted herbs, strategically placed fresh fruit, and groceries create the ambience of a true working kitchen. “Adding details specific to the room’s use gives it authenticity and draws the viewer in,” Godenot advises. “I have added cooking utensils, a telephone, notepad, jarred preserves, kitchen appropriate art, small appliances, and food to complete the illusion.”

Of course, this kitchen has not only been designed to be functional, it is also set up to please even the most critical eye with plenty of cottage charm and vintage appeal.

The worn plank ceilings and floors of the West Lake House prefab set the stage for iconic furnishings and accents like metal-textured pendant lighting from LISP Bazar, a timeless white fridge, wheeled metal and wood open shelving, an antique telephone, and a classic rag rug. Godenot has skillfully woven together elements of style with emotional appeal. She smiles, “Your mother could have used that stove; your aunts, nieces and children could have played at that table. Above all, it celebrates the love of home and family.”

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Edibles: Dutchie bread and cheese by Dutchie, Mason Jar full of Homemade Apple Brandy by Alchemy Immortalis, TTR-Jar of Black Currant Preserves by Tatiana’s Tea Room, Wire Basket and Eggs by Kopi, wine: Dutchie winebottles by Dutchie, smalls: Small Cutting Board by iTuTu, Chopping Board 2 by Kunst.

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Godenot’s advice to those who wish to capture the same atmosphere in their virtual kitchens: “Look to your home for inspiration. Envision a moment you are trying to capture and add the little things. An observer may not see the individual pieces themselves but will perceive the bigger picture/impression of your mood. Avoid excessive symmetry or order. Chairs should not be aligned at the table and accessories should not be lined up in rows.

Throw a little chaos and whimsy into your design.”

Like Augusta Godenot, builder Coralie Bilasimo designed her kitchen to be a focal point of her custom Italian-style seaside vineyard home. Anchored by its warm terracotta tile floors and rustic stone masonry walls, the space is finished out with rich walnut paneled built-in cabinets and an industrial size antique iron stove/oven. Bilasimo describes her kitchen as “simple” and “Italian country,” noting that in the old world “the home’s heart has always been its hearth.”

“I wanted an unsophisticated feel that was earthy and timeless,” she continues. “And in the countryside, where the pace of the day concedes to a subtle appreciation for good food and conversation, I wanted a space where life revolves around mealtimes and the cozy invitation of the kitchen and dining room.”

This is indeed a kitchen designed for socializing - the sharing of intimate moments between family and friends. It’s the perfect setting

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Shelf: Red Apple Kitchen Shelf by K Store.

Edibles: Poached Perch by POST, Tea Bread

by Alchemy Immortalis, Country Morning Beverage by 7 Pasangs to the South, appliances: Marquette Sink by POST, Side by Side Refrigerator by Depoz, table: Antique Butcher Block by Antique Artistry, smalls: Pestle & Mortar by POST, Baking 3 Bowls by Culprit, Hanging Cloth by Dutchie.

for laughter and mirth and, of course, those deep, life-altering conversations over a bottle of Chianti.

When decorating any space, Bilasimo insists one should always add to the space what he or she loves, for it is the owner’s personality that shines through these nuances that add distinction.

“In any design, delight is found in the details: food simmering on the stove, basil and tarragon growing in clay pots along the windowsill, and the family cat sunning lazily alongside them,” she notes.

Indeed, Bilasimo’s kitchen reveals numerous subtle delights such as a woven basket overflowing with fresh produce, a baguette and happy sunflower peeking out from inside a grocery bag perched on an antique style wooden milking stool, and a mouth-watering glazed cake emanating steam as it rests upon a butcher’s block worn by age and use.

“The key is to communicate loving wear in a well-visited place by choosing, for example, elements that reflect lived-in life – polished wood with nicks and scratches, fabrics slightly frayed, a hot mug of tea abandoned briefly by its owner,” says Bilasimo. “Comfortable and inviting spaces have hints of use throughout them found in the textures and placement of objects. They depict the movements of life, both subtle and blatant.”

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Kitchens in SL are often overlooked, but they shouldn’t be. In real life, this all-important room provides both physical and emotional nourishment, fulfilling our longing for companionship and the warmth of home. Builders and decorators pay close attention to kitchen design and functionality, because they know it’s a significant decision factor for home buyers. As Coralie Bilasimo says, “Kitchens are one of those wonderful rooms in which dreams are made.” So ask yourself, isn’t it time your virtual home included a kitchen you absolutely adore?

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Chair: Scratched Metal (Drafting Chair) by Art Dummy, smalls: Peaches and Recipe Book DĂŠcor by LISP Bazaar, Stainless Bowl, Hand Whisk, White Egg and Milk Bottle by Kinokoko, Favorite Meat Recipes by POST, plant: Pumila by Poche.

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Pet: German Shepherd by Zooby, edibles: Rustic Bushel Basket of Windfall Fruit by Alchemy Immortalis, Sunday Afternoon Shopping by LISP Bazaar, Harvest Cider by POST, Vegetable Crate by RVi Design, Tea Bread by Alchemy Immortalis, Poached Perch by POST, Winterpot Stew by POST, Havamal Lagerol by POST, Tomato Bowl by iTuTu, wine: 3 Wine Bottles by Dutchie, non-perishables: Caffeetiere by Dutchie, Coffee Sack by Tartessos Arts, Coffee Grinder by Tartessos Arts, Salt by iTuTu, Olive Oil bottles by Depoz, furniture: Antique Butcher Block by Antique Artistry, Small Wooden Stool by iTuTu.

Business Review

Ghost is the

Machine Writer Carter Giacobini Photographer Citta Wiskee

S

ecurity in Second Life® is a bit more complicated than in real life. When someone is causing a problem, you can’t just have a hired goon physically remove them. There’s no calling the police to have them arrested if they’re on your land or at your event. So, what do we do when we’re living in the virtual equivalent of the Wild West?

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Thank goodness for Ghost’s Security Services! GSS was started in the summer of 2011 by Ghostrider Evermore as, basically, a gadget shop offering security devices for your land. However, when Naila Summerwind came on as co-owner, she saw a need starting to develop for security services for events, sim owners and private parties having issues with griefers. To meet this need, they expanded into consultation, event and sim services. Whether your needs are for your home, one sim, a multi-sim system or any type of event, GSS has something for everyone.

“I could never be happier with the service that my sims have received from GSS. Naila and the other GSS people have been great and helped us eliminate a griefing problem that included having the sims crashed 3 plus times a day.

They have also trained my staff in the best and quickest ways to handle griefers to avoid further issues. I would recommend their services to anyone having security problems.” ErictheBold Resident, Member of the Jungle Boys Community “What we started seeing was that people wanted and needed security. However, with such a huge array of security, equipment, and gadgets out there, they didn’t know where to start,” explains Summerwind. “So, we started working really closely with some of the best creators, learning their equipment, the best uses for it, etc.”

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Offering an array of different products and services has served this burgeoning company well, as they are filling a void that no other company really fills. From personal protection equipment or defense HUDs, to land orbs, all the way up to offering on-site staff, this company does it all. “After talking with many people, we found that many of the companies that offer some type of security are basically role-play, or they focus on using HUDs or weapons. We take a very different approach,” says Summerwind.

“We had some serious griefing issues at our sims - a private mainland of 60 sims for flying and boating - and we had griefers everywhere. They were crashing sims and making life at the clubs and stores a miserable experience, so I decided on finding outside help. I contacted several locations, and none of them seemed to know how to handle the situation. Some wanted to bring in the military forces and handle it with guns blazing, but that is not what I wanted. I wanted an invisible force making life nicer for everyone. I came across GSS and contacted Naila, who was very professional and set up an appointment to meet with me and my key people. We met, she answered all of our questions, and then asked dozens of questions of us in order to figure out a plan.

She brought in her team and scanned our sims, found issues, and made a plan of action. Her team helped us set our sims up so we were not as vulnerable and

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recommended several scripted devices to help monitor and watch for possible griefers. She then took my entire senior staff and myself in for a three part training so we could handle it all ourselves. I then hired her company to stay on and monitor key sims. All of this, and at a very affordable price. The first day she came, our griefing stopped. We have not had one since, and it has been eight months now. Not one griefer. I could not be happier with her and her team.” Bob Garnet, Vlaremont Estates Co-Owner If you’re looking for a company that will put on police costumes and run around your sim acting like a bad scene from CSI: Miami, you’re barking up the wrong tree with GSS. Content to lurk in the background, inconspicuous and careful not to interfere with what you’re doing, they offer us the kind of support that I have not seen in SL®. In fact, I was at an event for AVENUE that GSS was working and did not even know that they were there. If any issues did come up, they were quietly handled and no one was the wiser. There were no displays of bravado or huge particle effects as they caged some miscreant. All that we, as the public, saw was a perfectly run event. This is what security should be, and this is what they bring to their clients.

“We focus more on using equipment and setting that equipment up to allow for the specific access that the customer wants,” further explains

Summerwind. “We are, of course, on site, but the idea is to control the event without the use of HUDs or weapons that will just increase lag and create further disruption to the event.”

“I can strongly recommend GSS. Naila has done wonders here. GSS operates all of the security at my sim. I had trouble with griefers, and now we are untouchable. They have reduced 600 members scripts and we have a lag free sim. If I ask for assistance, one of the team is here as I am talking. I cannot fault them and their continuous support. They go far beyond the call of duty - a staff member visits here every day and monitors figures and security. They even contacted a creator and had some custom software made for us here. I was ripped off in the past with other companies, but GSS is so honest. We have had so much support - I could not run a club without them.” Hbomb Woodford, WoodFords Club Director This is not all that they offer.

Though they do this flawlessly, they have also started to offer consultation services for those of us out there that are not gifted with the ability to figure out SL® gadgets. GSS is a gift from heaven!

Not only will they help you pinpoint what your particular security needs are, but they will explain exactly how to use the gadgets they offer.

If more is needed (i.e. a security staffer for an event or a multisim issue), the staff at GSS will be more than happy to sit down with

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you. If you’ve ever looked at some of these security orbs and gotten so confused that you end up just putting it back into your inventory, then you will surely appreciate this company. This is what makes GSS unique, and this is what will keep them around for a very long time.

It is this kind of personal service that sets them apart from other security companies in SL®.

I know from personal experience that most companies either just set out vendors and let people fend for themselves or they try to use the client’s sim or event to puff out their chests and make their presence known. The first is useless to most people, and the latter is more than disconcerting for anyone coming to your sim or event. Discretion combined with an in depth knowledge of how security works in this new world is something that is definitely needed. And, GSS most certainly delivers well.

their services. But mostly... that you are safe! There are many misconceptions out there about SL security; GSS can clear that all up for you and make sure you secure yourself in the most economical way possible.

I couldn’t recommend using GSS any more... they are truly experts in the buisness, the ultimate professionals, and a delight to work with!” from Zzoie Zee, zenshi CEO

“I have had the pleasure of working with GSS for well over a year now. Together we have been through many types of security issues, and through all of them, I have yet to come across an issue that Naila or one of the other GSS team members couldn’t solve. If they don’t have the answer for you,they will get it - even if it means contacting creators on your behalf and having updates done to security products. The customer service is bar none!

Everyone at GSS goes above and beyond to make sure you are not only completely satisfied with

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Photography by Leah McCullough

Perspectives

Second Life® is Ten Writer Huckleberry Hax

I

n June of 2003, smartphones and tablet computers had not yet been invented. Windows XP was the dominant operating system, and the idea that anything could possibly come along to challenge that was, frankly, laughable (Microsoft are still laughing at the very notion ten years later, only in a more hysterical manner). Facebook was a full half year away and Twitter not yet even a twinkling in its creator’s eye. iTunes hadn’t yet been released for the PC. VHS cassettes could still be bought in shops. Finding Nemo was educating movie-goers on the important issue of the anthropomorphism of fish, and Beyoncé Knowles was topping the pop charts with “Crazy in Love.”

And, Second Life® started.

Ok, so technically it started before that, depending on where you set your marker: October 2002, if you start counting from the opening of the public beta; March 2002 if you stand by the date that the first resident, Steller Sunshine (now over eleven years old), joined the private beta. Incidentally, Stellar’s giant beanstalk – her first SL® creation – can still be found at Welsh [24.79.21]if you fancy a bit of metaverse archaeology.

However, June of 2003 is the date that Linden have set as SL®’s birthday, which means that SL® is officially ten years old next month. No mean feat at all for a software product. It’s come a long way during that time, and many aspects of it must now appear almost unrecognisable to those very first residents who had no mesh (not even sculpties), no voice, no windlight, no monetary system and no ability to teleport.

That’s right: SL® in its first official incarnation had no teleporting, and when it was introduced, it was only through a hub to hub system, where you had to make your own way across regions to and from the nearest teleport station.

In ten years, we’ve seen SL® grow into a major phenomenon, talked about by the media and attracting large numbers of registrations every day, only to dwindle slowly into the (hopefully temporary) internet obscurity of continuing but no longer fashionable services. We’ve seen real life businesses and universities leap head first into the metaverse, only to depart within a couple of years, the promised potential of 3D Internet apparently unfulfilled.

And, we’ve seen Linden Labs itself turn from an energetic company focused on education, open communication and user 247

creativity into a much more opaque organisation seemingly concerned mainly with the commercial markets available to it and a more heavy-handed regulation of the metaverse (though not always without good reason).

But, despite all this change and turbulence, is the essence of SL® now really so different from how it was back then? I say that it’s not. Whilst there have been many technical improvements over the years, most of us still communicate primarily in text and the graphics upgrades have probably only served to enhance rather than create the sense of immersion we feel in the metaverse. Real life businesses opening up in SL® – for example, car manufacturers offering prim versions of their latest real life hatchbacks (let’s be honest here, the proper word for this was ‘advertising’) – always was a red herring of no real consequence to the vast majority of residents; probably few of us even realised that they’d left until we read about it in a doomsayer blog post somewhere. And, whilst the ‘feel from above’ has undeniably cooled from the jollier days during such years as 2006 and 2007, I just can’t believe that the average resident’s level of affection for Linden Labs is so significant to their day-to-day enjoyment of the metaverse that they consider the whole thing qualitatively ruined now. For sure, we all grumble about lag and sim crashes, but I’ve yet to hear anyone tell me they’re leaving SL® because they just can’t handle the failed teleports any more. If anything, the dayto-day technical issues of SL® have just taught us to be tolerant.

No-one ever seems to mind when 248

we disappear halfway through a conversation because we’ve all had exactly the same experience at some point or another. And, at the end of the day, SL® crashing is pretty far down on the list of the worst things that can happen to you in life – second or otherwise.

When I first entered SL® in 2006, it was mainly as a workavoidance strategy. I will admit also to having been curious about how any sort of online world could be quite so engrossing that people would spend anything like the hours in them I’d heard reported, but it was hardly a curiosity that required urgent and immediate sating – until the task of writing my first novel in ten years came along, that is. It was with a fairly skeptical mind-set, then, that I first came to the metaverse, not expecting it in any way to exceed my somewhat limited expectations. And, to begin with, it didn’t even meet them.

I had imagined that, at the very least, SL® would be as smooth and as visually stunning as some of the first person computer games I’d seen advertised, and that this was presumably how it had achieved its following. I didn’t think for one moment that my avatar would look quite so primitive as it did, and that everything would be quite so, well, jerky.

In those days, initial orientation took place at Orientation Island (a copy of which exists at Orientation Island Public [128.128.2]) and further help was then available at Help Island (a copy of which exists at Help Island Public [128.128.2]).

As visually unimpressive as those places were, things did at least work there as they’d been designed to.

But then I discovered the mainland

and got my very first introduction to lag. The region to which I was sent was massively overcrowded, and my avatar seemed to be unable to do anything other than walk on the spot. Also, the screen seemed to be spewing text endlessly from local chat, and I had no idea how one was supposed to keep up with it (in those innocent first few SL® days I imagined myself to be a great deal more noticeable than I actually was, and believed that somewhere in that soup of text was at least a line or two addressed to me). Within about five minutes, I experienced my first viewer crash.

The whole thing was hopelessly confusing, and I persisted only because I still thought there had to be something to this that I was missing.

It’s hard now to remember the exact ‘moment of immersion’.

Making my first SL® friend was certainly a big part of that.

Learning the basics of building was another. The deeper I got, the more it felt like I’d discovered a whole new dimension to life that had previously been hiding in the shadows. SL® started to change the way I thought about real life, but the way in which this was true was itself something that changed over time. Imagine a Venn diagram with two circles, one labelled ‘RL’ and the other ‘SL’. When skeptics like I was first enter the metaverse, the two circles are completely separate: what could there possibly be in a computer game that is of relevance to the real world? Then the two circles touch. Then they start to overlap. Finally ‘SL’ is just a smaller circle inside an enlarged ‘RL’, and the ‘S’ and ‘R’ prefixes are increasingly meaningless. There is only ‘Life’; there is only that which

is experienced, be it physical or virtual or otherwise.

This is because all experience is ultimately mental experience. The first things we learn from SL® might be how to use the interface and then how to make things happen in the shared creative space (as Linden now view it), but what we go on to learn can end up touching upon some of the most fundamental issues concerning human experience. How do we think about and identify with ourselves? How do we connect with others? What constitutes a place?

What constitutes engagement in meaningful activity? The personal growth that SL® offers us in these areas is applicable to our whole lives, not just our virtual ones.

To give just a small and concrete example, creating buildings in SL® has motivated me to study post-war architecture, which has enhanced enormously my enjoyment of building design in the physical world. Appreciation of that which we already have surrounding us is much touted these days as a key to long-lasting happiness: how ironic that one route to improving this should be through a virtual world where it’s possible to create and explore the things you don’t already have.

Happy birthday, Second Life®.

You started something amazing.

Here’s to the next ten years of metaversing.

Huckleberry Hax is the author of ‘AFK’ and other novels set in Second Life®. You can read these for free from www.huckleberryhax. blogspot.com

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Arts Feature

Writer/Photographer Sunshine Zhangsun

R

UST is the newest artistic installment from Cica Ghost. This fantastic build is hosted on the LEA13 sim, part of the Linden Endowment for the Arts sims. RUST appears just how its name implies; a rust encrusted collection of objects that appear to be assembled from various metal parts. As with Ghost’s previous work on LEA13, animation is an essential component of RUST where sculpts and prims appear to be stretch right in front of observers thanks to the [zED]~APS~ Animated Prim System for animating objects, and the results really make a difference. Visitors to the installation are greeted by its various animated elements, from the waddling ‘birds’ and floating balloons to the conveyer-

like machine that moves circles and squares around the track in time. There is a rusty little dog that seems lost in the field and a cat that seems to rule over his viewpoint. This is a very immersive work, and a click on random objects will invite interesting interactions. Curious avatars may find themselves dancing on top of a wheeled stand or spinning around inside hollowed out machinery.

When asked about what inspired this oxidized environment, her response is unexpected but also so refreshingly honest. Ghost simply replies, “Hmm… I don’t know.

One day I woke up and just started making it.”

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Those familiar with Ghost’s work will notice her signature hat-shape motif throughout RUST in many forms, such as the “mushrooms” that pop out of the ground and with her lamp posts, as well. Pay attention to all the moving parts, because it’s easy to miss the silvery drops that slowly fall from the metal screen boxes growing from the trees or the happy dancing birds. Of course, it is impossible to miss the family of three intricately detailed elephants that look rather out of place, but in the scheme of things, does it need to make sense? Click on one of the larger elephants and sit upon its head a while. This perch provides a great vantage point to see the entire sim and is fun, too - who wouldn’t enjoy sitting or dancing on an elephant’s head? Further exploration reveals the largest of the ‘birds’ perched upon the edge of the sim, perhaps trying to find its lost eggs or just surveying the entire installation as it roosts high above it all, and why not? RUST is a wonderfully fantastical experience that everyone should visit, observe and enjoy.

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RUST represents Cica Ghost’s second round with the LEA (Linden Endowment of the Arts) grant process, and she enjoys the opportunity to utilize an entire sim as a canvas for her work.

She notes, “LEA gives me the space to work and create.” The Linden Endowment for the Arts is a collaborative effort between Linden Labs and the Second Life® art community. The LEA program offers full prim sims for five month stretches to virtual artists through a grant process that requires an application from a content creator or group. The selection committee, made up of artists and supporters of the arts in Second Life®, review each submission. There are twenty LEA sims granted each round.

Once selected, the artist/creator is required to have their build or installation open to the public for at least two of those five months.

RUST will remain open to the public for exploration until late July 2013.

In addition to creating these wonderful spaces, Ghost also creates clothing under her eponymous brand and sells selected elements of her builds through her store, as well.

Visit Cica Ghost’s RUST at LEA13/210/47/22.

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Writer Quan Lavender Photographer Ziki Questi

E

specially during the past two years, the quality of photography in Second Life速 has increased tremendously. The possibilities provided by windlight settings, alone, are allowing a great freedom of different moods. This attracts of course many real life photographers, as well.

Art Feature

Anita Witt (aniwitt Resident) is one of of them: “In real life, I am a semi-retired freelance photographer. Most of my work is related to performing arts.

I also work for a small local magazine, and I produce feature articles in collaboration with a journalist friend. From time to time, I also dabble a little with art photography.” But it was not that coincidence which brought her to Second Life, she describes, “I had a few days with nothing much to do when I read an article that mentioned Second Life®, so I decided to go for a look. The first few weeks I TP’ed around on random, made a few friends and discovered a few nice sims (Worlds End Garden, Alpha Point and The Forgotten City were among my early discoveries). I just fell in love with the place, and when I started realising the photographic possibilities, I was completely sold.”

Of course, she started early with photographing and exhibited her first works. “The first incarnation of my gallery opened in June 2011.

It was six pictures in a corner of a public photo studio at the Two Sisters sim, where I had my first SL® home. When that sim closed down a couple of months later, I rented my first piece of land and set up a gallery. Over the next six to eight months, I expanded from a 4096 parcel to a whole homestead sim. Somewhere along the way, I found myself with more space and prims than I could use for myself, so I decided to invite artists to exhibit their work.”

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However, first she had to find a concept for the homestead. She wanted something more exciting than the usual gallery builds, and an idea was born. “Like so many other photographers, I have always been fascinated by decay. Most of my real life “art” photography is made in various abandoned decaying buildings. Unfortunately (in this context) I live in an area where most old decayed buildings are either brushed up, torn down or effectively shut off from public access. So I have spent many hours online looking at images depicting decay from around the world, and one of my “favourite” spots is the giant dried out Aral Sea in Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan.” Witt smiles and continues, “So when I decided to do my first full coherent sim build, the Aral Sea theme seemed like the perfect choice for a homestead sim with a limited number of prims. Also, it’s not very likely that I’ll ever get to the real Aral Sea, so I thought, why not bring it to me? My original idea was to make it more dreary, polluted and true to the real life Aral Sea. But as the building commenced I realised that it was bringing me down, making me depressed. So I decided to build in some hope and I was looking for a circus or carnival to add to the sim when I found Pallina60 Loon’s “Woops... A Baby” at Burn 2, and I knew immediately that with its fertility theme, it would add more to the overall design of the sim than I had ever hoped for.”

The result is breathtaking. Dryland quickly made its way onto the Second Life® Editor Picks list and stayed there for a long while. Playing host

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to more than 52,000 visitors since opening was far beyond her wildest dreams. Witt had a photographic approach to the sim design.

She took a lot of photos along in the building process to make sure she was providing the best photographic qualities. She shares, “ You could say that Dryland is my first three dimensional picture.

And it is still not a finished piece; since the opening in December last year, I have made many changes and additions to details around the sim... and there will be more.

Recently I have begun setting up a few pose stands in some spots to accommodate people who come to make pictures.” The setting is meant to be an invitation to all visitors for taking photos, and many are making use of it.

Heart of Dryland is the gallery, with changing exhibitions of SL® photography. Witt invites artists whose work she admires to a given theme. The current exhibition is called “Water” with works by Alles Klaar, Kynne Llewellyn, WuWai Chin and Tess Falworth. A literally refreshing show in a desert!

AVENUE asked Anita Witt if her gallery in Second Life® is a commercial success. “No, it is a moneydrain,” she replied. “But I believe it enriches and makes the sim more interesting. Also, it gives me a possibility to approach art from a different angle. And most important, it brings me joy!”

Her gallery not only brings her joy, but the work she does in Second Life® inspires Witt in her

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real life too: “SL® and real life photography are different in so many ways, but even so, I believe that practising SL® photography is actually making me a better real life photographer, and I have been forced to learn new things in Photoshop for SL® photos that I now practise for real life photos.”

Be prepared to be amazed when you visit Anita Witt’s Dryland at http://maps.secondlife.com/ secondlife/Mado/122/203/40.

Visions

by Dantelicia Ethaniel

S

tumbling from the rubble in confusion, our hearing reduced to a whine from the concussion, we looked out over the city.

As if the Gods suddenly awoke, the clouds parted and titanic fingers of light stalked across the shattered buildings and spires, turning the sifting dust into glittering stars amongst the ruins. I looked at her frightened, dirty face as she shouted, “Is it over?� in a muffled murmur. I shook my head and at that moment the skies darkened again and the fingers of light became fists of fire.

We screamed in silence.

Text by Kane Maelstrom

Flawed Madonne

Lingering

Eve

Apocalypse

Ravaged

Corpus Maudit

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