Archive for the 'Social Experiment' category
Haunted Goth Dreams, a Halloween 2007 Second Life Machinima
October 16, 2007 9:51 pmIt’s that time of the year where avatars wear pale skin, dark make-up and generally scare each other to relog. So armed with a secret camera in trembling hands, Kylie and I ventured into the darker recesses of Midian City, Liquid Heat and City of Lost Angels to make a rather special film. I personally love the avies that frequent these wonderfully crafted places, avatars full of character, individuality, unique clothes, deep role playing (whatever that is) and strange protruding teeth. Sprinkle on one of my favourite songs, Haunted by Poe, a little sneeky editing and voila…enjoy, but make sure your not alone!
“A machinima by Gary Hazlitt based on and using as background, the great song “Haunted” by Poe. Special thanks to the creators and inhabitants of City of Lost Angels, Liquid Heat and Midian City sims, you are wonderful people. Avatanimation, filming and editing by Gary Hazlitt. A JustVirtual Production © Gary Hazlitt 2007″
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life © 2007
Experience the Drama of the ‘Human Mind’ in Second Life
September 2, 2007 12:41 pmor a quick case study of my role as SL designer, producer and builder in moving a film/book/stage ‘idea’, Thursday’s Fictions into the metaverse of Second Life. First, to give you a taste, a short video of my friend Kylie (who has gone a bit goth) walking through the environment. (note: An important thing missing on the video is Richard James Allen’s meditative texts that appear all around as you explore and of course visitations are usually at a much more relaxed pace.)
I have noticed that this blog is turning into mostly things I have created in Second Life or close friends, not a bad thing I suppose as long as those creations are worth singing about. I believe this one certainly is. I was lucky to work with Richard James Allen and Karen Pearlman (of Physical TV) who are the drivers behind an ‘idea’ called Thursday’s Fictions. This idea has been manifest in film, book, theatre and my task was to be the designer, producer, builder etc: in Second Life. It was only a small project compared with many of the multi sim creations I have done and are currently working on, but it excelled in being a worthy, experimental, artistic and aesthetic statement. It fell strongly into something I call Story Environments - spaces that have narrative embedded in them at varying degrees, more on that later.
The basic premise of the story is a woman who lives for one day only is trying to take her most valued creative possession (her dancers in a trunk she carries with her) between various reincarnations. There is more to it than that of course and the themes of death, love, life, mind, body, spirit all intermingle to create a fascinating pot pourii of philosophy, psychology and self awareness.
My challenge was to find appropriateness in Second Life which is itself an allegory of the themes of the piece from the outset. In other words, as I mentioned in this panel interview on SLCN.tv, (yes I talk!), SL is a space that is already routed in parallel existance, new incarnation and so on. It was about trying to find something that was different enough from quite a few existing ’spiritual’ areas in SL but also providing links back to ‘real world’ perceptions of spiritual architecture.
I haven’t time in this blog post to go into vast detail but to say the build was done very rapidly and I worked iteratively with the writers (that included script consultant Rock Sonic - SL name) who are all relatively new to the true creative potential of this world. Some of the techniques used to deliver the narrative elements included invisible sensors that talked to you randomly, spirit ’spheres’ that whisper as they pass through you, moving and still texts of various forms on the walls, objects and nature that chats residual and direct thoughts, sound and embedded gate-keeper questions.
There are effectively two longer form experiences at the moment. Purgatory, a series of halls and alcoves exploring a range of ideas mostly routed in one word ‘choice’. What life to go to next, what to take, decide what happened in the previous one, choose a state of mind and so on. The second experience is one life you inhabit, the ‘fractured’ mind of one of the characters. For the latter I created something that was slightly unnerving and disorientating yet also welcoming and familiar. It was loosely based on the sets of the film but I injected some play and elements of confusion. Go see and you will understand. The first main area purgatory is populated by Richard’s a range of texts, my favourite being the ’self-destructive’ lines (in the floating spirits in the main hall) from his book Kamikaze Mind. I also wanted Purgatory to show how music, sound and visual effects, text, signs, places to explore and architecture create a new kind of experience in SL that becomes very cinematic. There were many compromises that had to be taken but happily they are all easily overcome in future experiences I will create in this and many other properties. I/we also wanted this experience to be as social as possible. In a full 3D social space anything that doesn’t allow a shared user journey through it is doomed so it has been great watching couples and small groups exploring.
There are many more elements planned for this ‘idea’ of Richards and these will include another 6 or 7 more life journeys that will attempt to cover a broader spectrum of the ‘human drama’. To go to this experience now here is a link to the starting grove - SLURL.
Posted by © Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life
The Virtual Wedding, The Plan, The Charity and The SLUV
August 6, 2007 2:17 am
As a belated follow on from the previous article you may recall Polly and Steve about to get married. Well a couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of committing the event to video and subsequently editing it and adding some of my music. The YouTube embed I think captures the key moments of the three hour event as two people give their vows of love and commitment in front of friends and family. I copy below some textual elements from the video (which deliberately scrolls past or is on screen for too short a time - you are encouraged to hit pause on the first three busy text screens). This opening statement is from Annie Barnard who ran the proceedings
Greetings to all of you that have gathered here today to acknowledge and celebrate the love and joining of the hearts of Scubasteve and Pollyanneke. They have invited all of you, friends and family, to witness their declaration of love and commitment. They have asked me to pass you a message today … They would like you to know that their friends are a big part of second life. They know that you are all here for them and helped keeping them together in the hard times. Second Life is never easy for relationships but with good friends like you they know they will make it. I am sure that you, dear family and friends know far better than I do just how strong their love for one other is.
Often people feel that when they meet it is by chance. However, I do not feel this way and for Scubasteve and Pollyanneke meeting was not by chance. They met each other in a pond building area in April 2007. together they like to laugh, explore second life, find places to ride their horses and making a nice home at Vero Beach. Alone Scuba likes to come up with surprises for Polly and Polly like to find cozy spots for them to come back together to visit. Polly likes to call scuba ghost and subca like to call Polly Muse. Their persistence and determination to not be over come the forces from within and outside SL that would otherwise stop them from seeing each other had made the relationship resilient and magical in every sense of the word. One day they will even find the answer to the ultimate question in every avies mind can sluv conquer lag? Only time will tell.
This text is the actual statements and vows during the actual ceremony, again captured in the video, but may be too fast for some to read as it crawls across the screen in the romantic middle section.
Steve: Pol.. from the moment we met my sluv for u has grown and grown and together we have overcome so many hurdles together and now that we have a beautiful son together, my life is truly fulfilled, u are and always will be my sl babe we are synergy and u are truly wat sluv is all about. Everytime i see u it takes my breath away and leaving u each day is so so hard ur my angel, my ladyhawke and i’ll be ur Navarre together forever… eternally aprt. I so sluv u Pol
Polly: Oh Scuba i so sluv and adore you. You are so patient and kind especially when i am trying to build
You make me laugh all the time… more than anyone I have ever met sl or rl. I adore every single second i have with u and i want to be with u forever. I so so sluv u
Annie: Scubastive and Pollyanneke, as you slip on your rings, notice that they are a never-ending circle, as your love is for each other. The rings have no beginning and no end. They come together as a symbol of your love for each other. Polly, please repeat after me…
Polly: I, Polly. take you Scuba, to be my husband. I promise to love and support you, to honour and respect you, to make you laugh, and to explore with you not only the beauty of this world around us but the beauty that lies within your heart as well
Steve: I, Scuba, take you, Polly, to be my wife. I promise to love you and support you, to honor and respect you, to make you laugh, and to explore with you not only the beauty of this world around us, but also the beauty that lies within your heart as well.
and the final decree from Annie telling the SL world that these two are now a couple…
Annie: Scubasteve and Pollyanneke, you have declared your love and commitment in front of your friends and family today. If you agree with this union of your hearts please respond by saying I do.
Polly: I do
Steve: i do babe
Polly:
Annie: Scubastive and Pollyanneke, as you have declared your love and promises today, and by the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Fill each day with love, laughter and light. Dear friends and family, I am honored and pleased to introduce for the first time as Husband and Wife, Scubastive and Pollyanneke.
It was a great celebratory event for all concerned and since then Steve and Polly have been contacting me with more information on their plans to use Second Life as a force for change in many worlds. The text below is from both of them detailing how one area, namely SL couples adopting Real Life children will work and some scripting help they will need. Good luck to them and this initiative.
As a couple in SL, Pollyanneke Pera and Scubasteve Canning decided to have an SL baby.
what we deicided to do though was to make a real life difference in the third world
by sponsoring a child through World Vision. In this was, we share the joy of having
a virtual baby together, but also are making a real life difference to a boy in India.We want to share that experience with other couples in SL who are thinking about having
a SL baby together. That way, thousands of needy children will benefit as a direct
result of couples in SL. Here’s what we are proposing; Couples in SL who want to have a baby (and there are thousands of them) currently can do so through a couple of options….
- they can get a scripted object that comes with an hud to interact with the mother the object will whisper phrases such as need changing or feeding etc.
- they can ‘adopt’ a child which is an adult who role plays as a child for a couple which a monthly fee is paid to the ‘adopted child’.
The concept of an SL child is a means for a couple to share their ’sluv’ for each other
on a higher level. However, our thoughts are that this could be better served by
making a difference in the real world. Hence we felt that a donation to a children’s charity
would go that step further in making a difference. In that same vain we wanted to give
something back to the couple in return for their donation. The best way is a symbolic
gesture such as a scripted object not unlike the scripted SL babies that currently exist.Specifically, it would work like this.
- Couple goes to a SL ‘maternity hospital’ and chooses a baby. the amount would be the equivalant of $40 US. when the couple touches the object to pay, the money is transferred to the charity via a URL link. The charity can then convert the Lindons into US currency or if possible the money is automatically converted via a Lindon exchange and the US dollars deposited directly to the charity. The URL for the donation is http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/donate/donate.aspx more specifically, we have chosen the Child Alert Emergency Fund from Christian Childrens Fund.
- When the donation is made, the couple recieve a scripted baby object as a symbol of their genoristy and sluv.
- The couple can choose to go back to the ‘hospital’ in a few months for a ‘check up’ this would give the couple more options for their child such as being a bit older, the ability to walk etc. this would require another donation to the charity to occur.
Therefore, we need some scripting help with this project. firstly to provide a scripted baby object, then the URL link to convert the payment into US dollars which would automatically go direct to the Christian Childrens fund. Finally to provide additional scripts for the growth and walking etc.
This is the organisation that we would like the money to go to.
- Christian Childrens Fund. More about this charity at http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/content.aspx?id=104 The specific fund within the organisation would be;
- Child Alert Emergency Fund. Wars and natural disasters create emergency situations that put already vulnerable children in grave danger. The ChildAlert Emergency Fund helps CCF act quickly to provide for the immediate needs and long-term recovery of children in emergency situations, whether natural or manmade. Recently, our Child Alert Emergency Fund has provided resources to help thousands of children affected by the Asian tsunami, the India earthquake, Sudanese refugees living in Chad, and other emergencies in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Afghanistan.
This is purely non-profit but a way in which thousand of children can be saved through scripting in SL. IM Pollyanneke Pera or Scubasteve Canning if u can help us to help thousands of needy children.
Posted by Gary Hazlitt inside Second Life © 2007
The Boisterous Billabong Bar
July 1, 2007 3:20 pm
The Pond Bong Overload 07, originally uploaded by Gary Hayes.
When I built the Pond islands over 6 months ago I intended this area to be the most organic of all the spaces on the then three Pond islands. This area was also designed to provide a gateway to the outback and Uluru and the juxtaposition of busy bar, social space and real open space (a whole sim for the outback) was planned. That zen like combination is important, psychologically we like to be on the edge of wilderness - facing open sea, deserts and mountains. The call of the wild. Some other parts of the islands were not rich, social and detailed (due to other forces) and that is reflected in how popular they are. Anyway.
The bar itself was roughly designed on my own memories of Queenslander and Western Australia shacks and bars in the outback. I had to use some Western USA textures on the walls etc: due to time contraints and the whole thing took about a day to do - plus a few extra hours later on the internal details like the beer pumps and original seating.
I noticed after a couple of weeks that people were also gathering outside the bar in front of the Pond so I quickly added a fire, bbq and seating plus extra flooring. This has now become one of the busiest 4000sqm areas in SL. The area at launch was supposed to have live bands, singers, streamed music and so on. These are still being planned but it is slow to materialise on a commercial sim, as it costs real money plus a bunch of legals - yet I am amazed that avies still gather and meet here in such large numbers. Less to be entertained but more to socialise, get away from the less aesthetically designed sims and gather before heading off elsewhere.
The other night we had over 60 avies all gathered in this small area after a TV programme in Australia. The top picture is a shot I took of that. Below are other images that give a feel for what takes place here including floods, small battles and endless winged flirting. Quite a few folk are already creating deep stories and role playing in this space which is great and there are many secret places for the initiated, the pash room for one 
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life
Second Life ABC Bot 02, originally uploaded by Gary Hayes.
Not sure who Jim is but the steel man sitting down is one of many early prototypes of an Artificial Intelligence Chat Bot I am experimenting with. The back-end engine for this one is freely hosted at Pandorabots.com and I am using a mixture of existing libraries across a range of subjects but also creating specific ones to various commercial and non-for profit sim developments.
I have started to use several off the shelf sculpties (single, colour map formed smooth prim) of the human form. On this one you can see I also mapped a 360 scan of one of those bio forms which makes it look a little stupid - especially with the hat. I am also doing a script at the moment that will make his head turn and arms move in synch with his chat, but the easiest way to do this is to log in as an avatar and attach the chat bot ‘object’ to the body of the avie that is kept awake artificially.
The quality of the automatic responses is improving each day and I think we are only a couple of years away from having a chat bot that is unrecognisable (in chat at least) from many, if not most, of the current SL inhabitants.
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life
Role-playing in Midian City
October 3, 2006 11:30 pm
In this world it is amazing what you find on your doorstep, literally. I have been building my sky platform at 400m over the past week and noticed just across the way a large, black monolith build. I was naturally curious. Little did I know inside was a complete city simulation, an under belly of bio society, for us avies to act out and role play both innocence and deviance. You can see how close this is to my land which has vertical elements of course - that is my sky pool, dance room and cinema. I visited the city at first by actually jumping inside from my sky platform and after a few visits quickly learned the secrets within.
I spoke briefly to Baal Zobel the creator (and author of the story text below) who said the whole build only took four weeks because the rich textures were all pre-prepared.
“I did the bulk in a week and just spent two messing with the details. I did have all the textures which is two thirds of the work. Its for other people to use”. Baal the name Meaning Master or Owner. In ancient times, Sun, Lord or God, A fertility deity, Son of EL, High god of Canaan. The cult of Baal celebrated annualy his death and resurection on mount Saphon where the children of Baal danced around the altars chanting frantically, cutting themselves to inspire his attention and compassion. The form, a mask, to face the world
He has an altruistic vision for his creation and this post will hopefully give you a feel for his dark, engaging and altogether immersive world. I visited several times and as instructed acted my part when confronted by a range of characters. Here is the welcome area and some of the instructions:
Welcome to Midian City. We hope you enjoy your stay. Enter, follow these, or never leave. STEP 1. Read the rules. Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the MPD. Then grab a role. That’s STEP 2. You need one to RP
Midian City Roles
Read the carefully to learn about the group titles available to inhabitants of Midian City, which will help you define your role and allow others to know your intentions. You should wear one of these group titles AT ALL TIMES while in Midian City. Reading the description of Midian City below will help you understand the roles and better choose one.
As you walk into the black mist door the city is slowly revealed as it fades out of darkness, you are on the main street.
Strange characters hide in the darkness, there are secret back alleys at all turns, the sound is deep wind, creaking doors, eerie.
Graffitti, decay and litter are everywhere - here is a description of the story world of this dark and dangerous place.
They say that Midian City never sleeps, and the souls that linger there never rest. The country ignores it, and the world has forgotten it; a foul example of what can happen when crime, corruption and decay finally take their toll. The accumulated sins of men and beasts have smogged the entire city into an unyielding night of shifting shadows and flickering lights. And at the dark heart of this forsaken place stands Sector 6.
In this deranged corner of the world, there is no hope, there is no laughter, there is no peace. There are only the hunter.. and the hunted.
The craven who have managed to tear themselves away from the Midian City’s sordid grasp with their sanity still intact have long spread their stories of the factions that rule it. More than gangs, less than brotherhoods, these factions form a delicate balance of hostile peace that keeps the city moving. Although, the direction to which it moves is anyone’s guess.
The story continues to permeate ones brain as you crawl in the sewers or get lost in the subway, metro station. When I descended onto the main platform once a man had cornered a lady, trapped on the tube train with him, he had a knife.
The story of Midian City continues:
They tell of THE HOUNDS; a spectrum of beings who live for the chase. In fact, without the thrill of the pursuit, they’d have no interest in their quarry at all. If you become the object of a Hound’s affection, it will step up to you and utter a single word: “Run.” Every fibre of your being will be inclined to escape, but this is a mistake, because anyone who’s encountered the Hounds will tell you this: they will chase, they will catch, they will play, and they will feast.
And they also tell of the SHADOW STALKERS; another spectrum of beings who take a different approach to the hunt. The Shadow Stalkers do not play games with their prey like the Hounds do. They wait in the shadows, and are behind every corner, under every fire escape. They are patient, they are determined, and when they spot a favoured prey, they pounce, grab, and drag it into the darkness with them. What happens after that is often unspeakable, even within the city itself.
Then there are tales of a gang of felines seldom seen on the streets, from which they are banned by law. These “CATWALKERS” can be found perched high above the city on the many catwalks, upon which they are forever roaming, watching, and waiting for a chance to pounce. They love to toy with their prey. Frequently jokesters and easily amused, they just as readily squash those things that come to bore them. They are jokers and night creatures and just love to play, just like the cats they resemble.
I visited some of the seedier areas of Midian, the snake pit dance hall and the various peep shows scattered around. All of them had an air of sex, danger and a lurking terror that made my wings crawl. I gave Erika the dancer a tip and made my excuses.
Women of the night are both prey and predators and they move in and out of the shadows. Occassionally the MPD, Midian Police, prowl the streets, keeping order but following their own laws. No one can be trusted. A scream is heard in the distance. After several wrong turns I find the twilight zone club. Larissa and Clarita jig the night away, off duty maids keeping an eye out for the vampires that frequent this dance hall.
After the club I took a wrong turn and got lost in the sewers.
The story continues:
And beneath the city streets in the maze of ancient decaying sewers stories tell of the NIGHTBREED. A gang of vampires and other dwellers in darkness that feed on the flesh and blood of their victims, those foolish enough to dare the dark slime covered tunnels where even the Midian police have lost control and seldom venture. Here in the cool darkness the Breed Queen suckles her brood, waiting for the night when she will leads them up and out into the streets to feed.
And at the top of the pyramid lies the MIDIAN POLICE, most currupt of all.. because at least the Hounds and the Shadow Stalkers are honest, the Breed and Cats are at least true to their natures. Although the smallest group of the faction, they are the self-proclaimed “elites”. Enforcing their laws on a whim and arbitrarily serving justice as they see fit, the Midian Police are suspected of connections to a rumoured underground cult to maintain their sphere of power. But nobody knows, they could be neither.. or something worse.
Midian City is a place of even further rumoured darkness, secret society activities, prostituition, cruel experiments, sinister motivations, and ancient evils that go beyond the base desires and instincts of the gangs, or the hedonism of the Midian Police.
Somewhere in Midian City, somebody knows the truth. But those who do aren’t telling, and those who don’t should do well to leave it alone.
One of the most terrifying areas I visited was the toilets and the Medical Centre with blood scattered on the walls and barbaric instruments on the floors. What deviance goes on here?
Back on the streets there are many dark alleys that only a black angel would dare. On the catwalks above the sounds of stilettos clunking on cold steel, a muffled shout and silence.
After all this excitement with heart pounding I try to find the main street again, the smell of death and onions and hot dogs fill the air.
For sanctuary the most social place in Midian City is the famous Sushi bar. It is here that lost lives are discussed, where the innocent newly undead and unaware visitors drift and face their demons. I sit and chat here with many residents of the city, the passers-by, all charmed and intoxicated by the potential of our own fears. I have met individuals who are totally engrossed in their role, who cannot remember their true avie character, who have been possessed by others, lost in the darkness. Others talk of unworldly happenings, some are looking for victims. Midian City, a place to visit more than once, but be careful you may never get out. Here is the obligatory SLURL to go there if you dare!
POST SCRIPT: For some reason only known to Baal he decided to ‘ERASE’ his creation, the whole city. This is a real shame as many residents were enjoying the experiences here. I hope he will reinstate it one day.
UPDATE Dec 06: Baal has rebuilt Midian City bigger and stronger on its own island, simply type in Midian City on the map tool and explore 4 times what I describe above!
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life - aaaarrrgghhhhh!
Four Hearts Living in Just One Mind
September 11, 2006 8:58 pm
I have been meeting the neighbours. One of the first ones I met was Heather Steadham. She has created a lovely Japanese (a bio style apparently) building enhancing the bay and a sky deck with grand piano for those romantic evenings as the sun sets. But Heather has a secret. She has a few ‘associates’, as she likes to call them, simultaneous and alternate personas that are driven by the same ’spirit’ - inextricably connected in this world. Sounds strange? On their sky deck I met up with Heather, Max and their alternate furry personas on Sunday evening to find out more. I started by asking when this real time, parallel, duality began.
Heather Steadham: Hmm. I’d have to say about a month ago or so.
Maximillion Steadham: Essentially, Heather was the first to come to SL. She found that among other things, people were much nicer to female AV’s than to male and were much more willing to help out.
Heather Steadham: The female AV has many more friends than the male side. Females from my observations are more willing to assist one of thier own before they would assist a male.
Maximillion Steadham: We can get different responses to the same question from the same person depending on our outward appearance.
They refer to themselves at the start as avs and talk about an unknown force simultaneously controlling them so I dug a little deeper.
Maximillion Steadham: I’d have to say our mannerisms and speech / typing styles. They are very similar to each other. The same entity or controller as you call it, operating two AV’s as one unit. Sometimes it is mind boggling as to how it can be done. We also have additional personas that we can assume.
Some people may find this parallel ’sibling’ type existence a little odd so I asked a little about their relationship.
Heather Steadham: Think of it as good side / bad side. We’re still trying to determine what our relation ship is…and I’m the bad one. :> They sometimes ask about our relationship… We are delibrately elusive. When pressed, we will respond that we know each other and are exploring further relationship possibilities. There are also times where I will dress completely different from Max as well.
Maximillion Steadham: We leave it as “associates”
Given the obvious connection between the two of them I asked how both would feel if one of them developed a relationship with another av and started to lose contact with each other.
Maximillion Steadham: That is her choice, much the same way that I am also free to develop other relationships as well. We normally take things one day at a time and keep options open.
Heather Steadham: The depth of other relationships is something that gets determined as time goes on.
Referring back to something Max said about ‘additional personas’ I found out that the two of them go deeper into the rabbit hole by as well as the parallel existance they have alternate personas that they use. They both regularly transform themselves into ’skunks’. Yes indeed. I asked why and what did it mean.
Heather Steadham: Heather in human form is generally a warm and friendly person. Max knows if I am “in skunk mode” to tread very carefully…or it could also mean that I’m involved in a construction project. The skunk makes an appearance when the need for “being left alone” outweighs the need to be sociable.. i.e.: when building or taking clases. Not wanting attention. That skunk appearance would be a mask I wear to be left alone rather than to interact with others.
Maximillion Steadham: When she is in her skunk persona in public, she is also not entirely “happy” that day. So, when she is in “skunk mode”, I serve as a guardian / protector of her emotional state. It also helps in public when she is in skunk mode to have a much larger human present to ward off criticism.
I had met both of them a few days ago at a popular furry club and found them dancing together so I asked about their relationship in their transformed state.
Maximillion Steadham: Yes. Heather and I have been to several clubs where they are furry / human tolerant. Depending on Heather’s emotional state that day, I can appear as a gray, mature skunk, like a father figure to her or as a black skunk similar in appearance to Heather. The transformation is mostly to ward people away from Heather. The difference being either paternal/familar or as a trusted associate.
As part of the interview Heather implied that she prefers Max as Skunk, making her feel more comfortable as that persona, which I think surprised Max. This lead to a discussion about their relationship as regards money.
Maximillion Steadham: There is also the disparity in the division of wealth between our personas.
Heather Steadham: I have the income. Max is my trusted employee.
Maximillion Steadham: Not really. I control her funds at her request.
Heather Steadham: I have a tendency to buy on impluse and consult Max depending on the amount.
Maximillion Steadham: Essentially, anything over $500 requires my assent to purchase.
They both demonstrated how they dance together and talked about clubs they go to, so I prodded again on the question of how people perceive their relationship
Heather Steadham: We normally will visit blues/ rock / and slowdancing clubs on the weekend. Max has a list of the ones we can be found in. But we could also be two friends just having an enjoyable time, free from drama.
Maximillion Steadham: It’s up to the other people present to ask. We don’t volunteer our relationship.
I politely requested that they transform into their ’skunk’ mode to ascertain if their indeed was a personality shift and to see how they related to each other but more importantly why the need to wear the mask.
Heather Steadham: This is my general appearance in public when I am in skunk mode - elegant, but also ready to spray you if needed. I would considered Heather’s more wild, but shy side - if that makes sense. In this state, I’m usually emotionally vulnerable..They are more suprized to see me as a human than a skunk. This is the persona most people see me with. The skunk came out after about two weeks of first moving into SL. When I lived in Seogwipo…any male AV would stop by and check out the female AV who had taken some time and pride in making her appearance as elegant and functional as she could. It detracted from being able to educate myself or just relax at home. It has its functions. I can maintain an eloquent appearance, but at the same time keep the general male populace away from me.
Maximillion Steadham: We are observed holding hands many times, and it keeps the furs away…they tend to have a higher “leering” factor than the humans do.
Heather Steadham: If Max is right next to me in a fur area, it is generally assumed that we have a relationship - and we are not bothered in that way. Incidentally humans in fur areas are generally looked on as newbies without the funds to make the transformation to fur, furrys tend to have the overactive sex drive.
I mentioned that when I first met them there was a crowd on their big black decking and they came up with the ruse that Max was tired due to being recently serviced. Now I see how it works. The simultaneous existance of the Steadham’s ‘from just one mind’ is rare in this world. I must admit to doing the same on many occasions and have started a ‘group’ called the SIMULs which has a growing membership. One of the attractions is the real time, duality of being, whether dual gender or creature or whatever and communicating with individual avs without their being aware. I asked Heather for her reasoning.
Heather Steadham: That is what also keepspeople from guessing we’re the same. If we are here at the same time…kind of hard to say we’re ALT;s. The typos occasionally give it away too. I can fool people, but if Max is just hanging around, it give the illusion away sometimes. If I “occupy” Max, there are less questions.
It was great to see fellow simul’s operating smoothly and obviously enjoying the complexity of dual, triple and quadruple, real time, parallel identities. We did talk much more about the gender differences in this world and how a female av is treated more favourably, freely given more ‘gifts’, has more friends and generally at a social advantage. I am sure we will see an increase in the numbers of simuls in this world as it affords multiple perspectives on the world, which is impossible in the bio world I understand. It is easy to point out that this may be verging on dissociative identity disorder but I see it more as acting and multiple, simultaneous, in-world role playing. Being able to communicate as parallel identities allows me and others to understand more about how others relate to a wider range of person or creature that stands in front of them and that understanding increases your own self awareness.
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from Second Life
The House that Jjason Built - with a lot of help from Elvawin
September 4, 2006 1:55 am
This world has a wide range of architecture. Much of it has been imported, so to speak, from the bio world and replicas of that worlds cities and famous buildings abound. But as I have said many times in previous posts, why not fire the imagination and create never before seen builds that utilise some of the unique features of this world. One of my in-world colleagues and Esperance LAMP office resident Jjason Jedburgh has been involved for quite a few weeks building his dreamhouse here. He took the intelligent step of employing an experienced architect called Elvawin Rainbow who has built over 50 custom homes before and has some words of wisdom for wannabe architects. Both of them showed me around their creation yesterday while I asked questions and took pictures. We talked about the concept, process and inspiration behind this wonderful, very livable and special creation. I joined them on a sunny Sunday evening and began by asking Elvawin a little about her background
“I’ve been building custom homes for a while and they are a unique challenge in that it isn’t so much the architecture thats difficult but understanding what the customer wants. So its a lot of talking ‘tell me what you like, show me some things’ get to know them. So listening is as important a skill as building”
So Jjason talked and Elvawin listened and they went through numerous iterations. Jjason told me about some of the primary goals for his home.
“I wanted something that was breathtaking, yet elegant and sparse, something that would exhilarate with scale and aesthetic resonance. I wanted colours that were golden, yet translucent - full of heavenly light that would entrance and uplift. We experimented with numerous textures.”
He talked privately later about this home being a kind of memorial to a family member he lost in the first world, and how it now has very personal significance but will respect his privacy before going into anymore detail. Jjason also came across like a boy with a new toy when he talked about some of the unique features of his new four and a half floor home.
“We experimented with balconies at first. They were initially a significant part of the design. The sweep of the glass, including transparent horizontals round the outer rim, allow the view to be enjoyed 360 degress. In the main accommodation privacy is afforded by configurable partitions, controls on either side, ocean or rear of building, north or south. The holodeck is available in the centre core section. “
Elvawin talked further about some of these features
“Probably most of the house is scripted for control over privacy and still provide the open vista, the ability to control openess at whim. Each and every panel is scripted so you can open or close at whim as well as all at once. They are controllable by the owner of who he gives access to.”
Jjason got even more enthusiastic when he talked about some of the interior design motifs
“Ultimately we chose this golden ambience, with the star motif in the centre and the aquarium is another feature that is in concert with the environment, but also functional because it allows access to each floor. The furnishings are both modern and sometimes gothic or morroccan. There is an artificial beach and fish as well as a waterfall that spans the distance from house to ocean”
I was surprised when Elvawin told me that it only took one week to complete the actual build (Jjason joked that he only employs architects with whips, perhaps suggesting a slave/master-like work ethic?) and create this work of architectural splendour - but as was explained, the pre-production and conceptual design took many weeks prior. This reminded me somewhat of composers who write music in their heads and admit that getting the notes down on paper for others to play and hear is a final, relatively mundane task.
Some of the buildings surrounding this house are very drab in comparison and I suggested that Elvawin needs to create a complete city, even though she is a self confessed ‘prim hog’.
“My plan is to buy an island or 12 or so someday and you will be able to see what I can really do” Jjason continued “yes, Elva should have done the entire suburb - but I couldn’t afford the land or the prims! The municipality would have thanked me.”
So now it is built what is this masterpiece actually like to live in?
“I love sitting on the edge of the waterfall” said Elvawin.
“I love the roof. Sitting on the edge is heavenly and lying on the hammock at the outer circumference, listening to the wind and ocean below is sublime” said Jjason
So I left Jjason and Elvawin to do some final tweaking to the swimming pool and central entrance hall and made my excuses. It is wonderful to see two people collaborate on producing something together that creates beauty in this world rather than just being a functional living environment.
It should be a lesson to us all as well to plan and make sure our motivations are driven by more than just making money or increasing the value of the land. Architectural creativity, as always, needs to be focused on being innovative and functional leaving a legacy that we can all enjoy and admire. Jjason and Elvawins creation definitely falls in that camp and more importantly enhances the natural environment in the process.
For those in the bio world who want to visit Jjasons house here is the Slurl link. Please respect his privacy while there naturally.
Posted by Gary Hazlitt from inside Second Life
Strange Events in the Birthing Zone
August 22, 2006 10:29 pmBeen going through my old snapshots and thought I would send a few through the digital fourth wall to you all out there in bio world. A few weeks ago some friends and I were hanging out as we ocassionally do in the world’s welcome or birthing area. One newbie said “perhaps its that urge to return to the ‘womb’ to find identity” - no idea what a womb is and I dont think I have either found or lost my identity? Odd statement. Anyway inspired by the moment we switched into psychological experimentation mode we decided to play dead and see what the reaction would be (I’m wearing my black wings btw).
So we led there for what seemed like hours, and what a confusion. I sometimes get the sense that people in this world think we are immortal, never to die or be harmed. So ill or dead people here are out of the ordinary. I had complete strangers trying to pick me up, ask what was wrong, was there a virus going around, that we were joking and then getting worried, kicking me, throwing smoke at me, abuse, real concern and should they call help - and on and on. Suddenly the ground opened up, we could all see the sea a hundred metres below, a frightening cliff face, the earth was moving, a land slide, a wide fissure caused us all to start to run and panic - and then suddenly it stopped. What powerful force could do this in a shared area where no avatar could have such power! Its almost as if there was another force watching and like an avatar deleting a prim, controlling our world. To be investigated.
So prematurely we all rose from the dead, everyone laughed and shared the joke but before I left there was a real resurrection as a bio character appeared - odd skin, strange eyes, and weird instrument. Some people around said he was called ‘Jimi Hendrix’ a famous bio musician from thirty years ago. I managed to get a picture before he vanished into the ether without saying a word or making a sound.
Posted by Gary Hazlitt
