New World Notes

10+ Years Later, NPR Science Friday's Fan Community in Second Life Keeps Listening to Live Broadcasts -- Here's How to Join Them

If you enjoyed Science Friday's recent great story on the life and death and rebirth of the NPR show's SL fan listening community, the good news is that you, dear reader, can still join them too: Click here to join Science Friday: The Next Generation.

After a decade plus of existence, the group still boasts 85 SLers and is led by Beragon Betts (who's also on Twitter by the same name). 

Every Friday at 11am STL / Pacific time, the group gathers in-world to collectively listen and comment to the live Science Friday broadcast.

"Anyone can join who is well-behaved," Betts tells me. Well-behaved being key, because as you'll hear from the Science Friday segment, the group has occasionally been inundated by anti-science trolls. But maybe that's less of a problem, seeing as lately the anti-science trolls are more active on social media, than Second Life. 

Betts advice for new members:

Black Friday Sales in Second Life: All Dutchie Adult Items 20% Off!

Update, 11/30: Black Friday offer now over!

If you're planning your virtual world shopping trips for this Friday, famed SL housewares brand Dutchie (who we're honored to call a sponsoring partner here at New World Notes) will have a Black Friday sale -- 20% off all Adult-rated items. 

 This is actually Dutchie's very first Black Friday sale in SL. "I know a lot of people have less money to spend this year," Dutchie tells me, "so this might give people a chance to buy that adult toy they have had their eye on for a long time. Starting Friday the 27th everything in my adult department inworld is 20% off, even the newest designs, and the sale will last until Sunday."

All sales at her in-world store -- click here to start browsing, and to be first in line with the Friday sales start!

Buy at FaMESHed Starting This Sunday: Vintage Rocking Chair By Dutchie With 20 Bento Animations, 9 Wood/Paint Options, Low Land Impact

This gorgeously detailed rocking chair from famed SL brand Dutchie Design (who we're honored to call a sponsoring partner of New World Notes) is available to purchase this Sunday at the legendary FaMESHed shopping extravaganza that launches this Sunday (November 1st). It's integrated with the latest in Bento animations, including -- I love this, because it's particularly challenging to animate every finger -- knitting and doing needlepoint, and comes with many wood/color options. Available in Classic and Mid-century modern styles, they sell for L$398 each or you can buy both together for L$598. Here's all the official details:

Tomorrow in SL: Acclaimed Artists Bryn Oh, Cica Ghost & Mr. Wainwright Live Build a Sculpture In This Plaza, With Music from Skye Galaxy & Others

This looks like an amazing SL event from metaverse art patron Chuck Clip: Beloved artists Bryn Oh, Cica Ghost, and Mr. Wainwright will live build a massive "exquisite corpse" sculpture in this plaza of Clip's Sinful Retreat sim:

It is one artwork, which is sure to be perfectly strange, to reflect the overall intent of the sim itself. That sculpture, which even I have not seen, is complete, and will be unveiled for all of us during the event piece by piece. In addition to all the beautiful new art, Mariposa Upshaw and Tayzia Abattoir, two veteran curators, agreed to do a rotating exhibit of old Second Life works of art. These will change out roughly every month. With the collections at their disposal, it could take years for them to display every piece they possess. 

Famed SL/RL musician Skye Galaxy and others will also perform -- first show starts at Noon PT.

Click here to attend. More info on Clip's blog.

STÖMOL, Feature-Length Cyberpunk Machinima Shot Entirely in Second Life, Has Its World Premiere on New World Notes This Thursday!

STÖMOL! You've seen the trailer, you've read interviews with its lead creator Huckleberry Hax and co-star Caitlin Tobias. (Or if not, watch below.) You've also noticed Chris Nolan's Tenet has now been indefinitely postponed and are looking for a substitute brainy science fiction thriller to watch.

Starting this Thursday at 3:10pm SLT/Pacific, bring your popcorn and watch STÖMOL as it makes it world premiere here on New World Notes. Click play right then and join us in the watch party in Comments or in YouTube live!

After which, STÖMOL is going wide, premiering in SL at Town Hall Island, a four region amphitheater that can fit up to 200. Get all the details from Huckleberry Hax's blog.

Visit This Weekend in SL: Japonica, an Exploration, Gaming, and Shopping Experience Beloved by Second Life's Japanese Community

Japonica is an annual event/sim-wide experience in Second Life that SLers not based in Japan might miss, but it's well worth a visit, NWN translator Sanny Yoshikawa tips me. 

"This is one of the biggest events in the Japanese SL community," she tells me. "The market finishes soon, but their interactive horror story events will start from August. It is usually like a haunted mansion with a story."

These are the items in the market available until the end of this weekend, beautiful Japanese-themed fashion, housewares, Bento-powered poses (as here on the right), many of them available for just L$1, or other small prices.

Along with shopping and the horror game, Sanny tells me the sim, which changes every year, has incredible enviornments and builds evoking Japan. 

Click here to visit and start exploring.

Special Stömol Offer for NWN: 2 Free Tickets to the Premiere of the Feature Length Cyberpunk Thriller Shot Entirely in SL

You've heard about Stömol, the much-anticipated, upcoming feature-length machinima shot entirely in Second Life starring a cast of avatar all-stars fronted by Huckleberry Hax, the writer, director, producer, and leading man. (Making Hax, I guess, the Orson Welles of Second Life?) Now special to New World Notes readers, Mr. Max is giving away two free tickets for the premiere on July 23 at 3PM SLT.

Here's how to enter for a chance to win them, instructions straight from Hax's keyboard:

Tomorrow: Miro Shot, Rising UK Rock Band, Puts On Immersive, Interactive Concert in Sinespace -- RSVP for Free Tickets!

Miro Shot, the acclaimed alt rock band inspired by virtual worlds, is performing a special concert tomorrow inside a virtual world: Specifically at their virtual headquarters in Sinespace (a NWN media partner).

Show starts July 4 at 2pm PT -- go to the band’s site to RSVP for free.

In the Sinespace concert, Miro Shot will perform music from the band's debut album “CONTENT” (featuring classic rock star Manfred Mann and Mary Wilson of the Supremes -- yes, those Supremes.) The band is signed to Believe Recordings (Bjork, James Vincent McMorrow), East City Management (Alt J, Wolf Alice), and published by Warp (Brian Eno, Stereolab, many more greats), so this is your first chance to see a rising star music group in the unique MMO-meets-mixed reality format they created.

Unlike many virtual world-based concerts, however, tomorrow’s show won’t simply be the band streaming in via audio, or performing as pre-recorded characters. It’s going to include an immersive, social game experiment, and in-person interaction with the band.

As frontman Roman Rappak puts it, that’s very much part of the plan:

Stand for Justice in Second Life Has So Far Raised $10K for Black Lives Matter & Other Orgs! Can We Reach $20K?

Click here to directly teleport to Stand for Justice, a month-long fundraiser with all sales of SL items going to Black Lives Matter and other justice organizations. New SL style and houseware offerings are available in the upstairs wing -- including virtual copies of art by rising artist Pippin Long. (Better known within the SL community as the RL daughter of Whiskey Monday, a talented artist in her own right.) Pippin's contributions to the fundraiser -- as presented by Whiskey above-- are these portraits above of legendary Black activists Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and Marsha P. Johnson.

Speaking of fundraising, Stand for Justice organizers just let me know the event has so far raised over L$2.6 million in donations -- i.e., over $10,000 in USD, when converted on the open market. (Screengrab for proof below.)

Next target: $20,000.  Click here to start donating and shopping.

This Weekend: Stand For Justice SL-Based Fundraiser Expands With New Content from Top Brands Including Kraftwork & Veechi to Benefit Black Lives Matter & Other Orgs

Click here to directly teleport to Stand for Justice, a month-long fundraiser, which just expanded its offerings of SL style and houseware offerings in the new upstairs wing, including new additions from top brands like Kratwork and Veechi -- and all virtual content sales turned into real money donations to Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective, Campaign Zero, and the National Police Accountability Project, along with a bail fund for jailed protesters nationwide.

So far the event has been a great success, with thousands pouring into the event during its opening weekend, with over $7500 in Linden Dollars raised from sales and direct donations in its first few days.

Can the SL community raise donations over $10,000 this weekend? Click here to help!