Author: Johannes Huntsman

STÖMOL publicity image

Update: due to some last-minute changes, the public première of  STÖMOL is now slated for July 24th – details at the end of this article.

STÖMOL is an ambitious feature-length science fiction machinima filmed entirely in Second Life and due to première on You Tube on Thursday July 23rd, 2020.

Written, directed filmed and produced by Huckleberry Hax, who also takes the lead role of Epi Stömol, a private investigator. Also appearing in the film are Caitlin Tobias as Waarheid and who is also the film’s assistant director and publicist; Ylva as Verity Certain, Boudicca Amat as Istinito Tatsache, Anthony Wesburn as Adevaru) and Mich Michabo as The Quill.

Stylistically, the film is very much shot in the style of an animated graphic novel – think of the likes of Sin City and you’ll get the idea – that grew out of Hax’s writing and Second…

Club LA and Gallery: Renoir Adder

Now open at Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko Amano (Wintergeist) are two boutique exhibitions offer small selections of art by Renoir and Adder PxL (Z3NooBhasR3turn3D), two very distinctive and very different artists who together present two very different displays of art.

Renoir Adder is an artist who straddles genres. Within his pieces can be found elements of post-impressionism, potentially influenced by the like of Van Gogh; suggestions of Picasso; and surrealist leanings.

Club LA and Gallery: Renoir Adder

Here he presents a dozen paintings, some ten of which carry a strong hint of Van Gogh. Rich in colour, they present a range of landscapes and studies that might have been lifted from a gallery in the physical world and dropped into Second Life. The last two, meanwhile, lean more towards the surreal, with one in particular offering a nod and wink…

Mount Campion, July 2020

Mount Campion is the highest point on the Mainland of Second Life. Sitting on a high ridge of hills running along the north side of Heterocera, it is home to the Mount Campion National Forest, a series of high granite steps that reach almost to the mountain’s green peak.

As the name suggests, the rocky steps and plateaus are home to a rich forest of fir, cedar, maple, birch, beech and more, tall and short, all  casting their boughs over paths and trails that wind up and and down between their trunks and over the rocks, shaded from view above by the umbrellas of green held aloft by the trees.

Mount Campion, July 2020

Designed by Marz (Mar Scarmon), the forest is home to many secrets. Scattered through the woodlands, for example, are houses and cabins. Some stand at the side of the tracks that…

Credit: unknown

Olivia De Camps is a freelance Dominican-American film student in her Senior year at New York University Tisch School of The Arts and a former intern at the New York based independent film production company, Killer Films Inc.

For her latest project, she has teamed with producer and writer Tom Sidi in order to produce a documentary examining the ways in which people use virtual worlds like Second Life, with their introduction to the project stating:

THROUGH A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL STORIES, THIS DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO EXPLORE THE CORE OF BASIC HUMAN INTERACTION. FOR MANY INDIVIDUALS, VIRTUAL WORLDS NOT ONLY SERVE AS ESCAPISM, BUT ALSO MORPH INTO AN EXPANSION OF THEIR REAL LIFE – WHERE GENUINE FRIENDSHIPS ARE FORMED, ECONOMY THRIVES, AND OFTEN ROMANCE IS BUILT UPON AN VIRTUAL IMAGES THAT IS FREQUENTLY TRANSFERRED INTO THE REAL WORLD. USERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMMERSE IN THE WORLD…

Ethnographic Exhibits of Two Cultures from the Republic of Panama

Available now at the Community Virtual Library, and with its official opening towards the end of July 2020, is Ethnographic Exhibits of Two Cultures from the Republic of Panama.

A collaboration between Nexus Dot, a  cultural anthropologist, and co-curator and media specialist Shiloh Emmons, the exhibit represents two decades of ethnographic research Nexus has made studying two groups indigenous to the lowland tropical rain forests of Panama, the Guna and the Emberá, examining their life styles, culture, art and religion.,

Located on a sky platform, the exhibition comprises six main components that examine both the Guna and the Emberá from several perspectives, including their cultures, the Mola art of the Guna, Emberá cosmology, ecology, and shamanism, and more. In addition, the exhibition presents photos of the Emberá Drua heritage ecotourism project, and offers an ethnobotany examination of…

Bryn Oh: Mythical Creatures

Now available at her Immersiva arts region, is Bryn Oh’s latest presentation Mythical Creatures, which is will have an official opening on Sunday, July 19th, 2020.

Perhaps the best way to describe this collection of 21 pieces is as a series of art collectibles, in that they come with a unique property, which I’ll get to shortly.

This was a fun project where I researched 20 legendary, mythical or creatures of folklore from around the world and re-imagined them. Some are well known such as the Dragon or Phoenix, but then there are more obscure ones like the Nariphon or the horrifying Manananngal.

– Bryn Oh on Mythical Creatures

Bryn Oh: Mythical Creatures

Each creature is presented as a 3D sculpture on a plinth bearing a brief description of the creature’s form. More detailed descriptions of the creatures and their histories, drawn from multiple sources…

via Speedlight

It’s been a little over a month since my last update on Speedlight, the browser based Second Life client, so here’s a quick round up of the major updates since then.

Note that unless otherwise stated, the following notes apply to the browser version of Speedlight, as at the time of writing they had yet to be applied to the dedicated Android app version or (so far as I’m aware), the beta iOS app version.

Group Support

Perhaps the most noticeable update to the browser version of Speedlight since June is the expansion of Group related capabilities, specifically:

• Search your groups.
• View group notices and send  group notices.
• Leave a group.
• Invite someone into a group.

Obviously, all group actions are subject to the group permissions assigned to your role within the group.

Notes:

• Groups are accessed via the Group option in the Speedlight client menu.
• The Group…

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.

Sunday, July 19th: 13:30: Tea-Time with Miss Marple

Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,’ declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, ‘would be doing the world at large a favour!’ It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later – when the colonel was found shot dead in the clergyman’s study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the…

Resolution Exhibition, July 10th-12th

Running from Friday, July 10th through Sunday July 12th is the Kultivate Dene Gallery’s latest exhibition, Resolution. This is a special 3-day event curated by Tempest Rosca-Huntsman, and forms Dene Gallery’s first exhibition as a part of the Kultivate family.

Some 30 artists are taking part in the event, as follows: Beuanna Banana, Brian2 Werefox, ByrneDarkly Cazalet, CalebBryant Resident, Giselle Chauveau, Inara Pey, Ivyana Szondi, Johannes Huntsman, Kacey Macbeth, Kalina Sands, Ladycharis, Lam Erin, LawrenceD, Morgaine Blackrain, Myra Wildmist, Nugget Ichibara, Paradox Mercury, PinkRayne, Reya Darkstone, Rockcail Resident, Roman Godde, serenaelia, sirspanking, Skip Staheli, Skye Fairywren, Sugarfairy88 Resident, Tempest Rosca, TrishaSrose, Whata Conundrum, & Wicca Merlin.

Resolution Exhibition: PinRrayne

The event will feature live entertainment across the three days, with the schedule lining up as follows (all times SLT):

• Friday, July 10, 2020:
  • 15:00-16:00: Samuel James.
  • 16:00-17:00: Abby Jaidov.
  • 17:00-18:00: Mavenn.
• Saturday, July 11, 2020:

© and ®Linden Lab

On Tuesday, July 9th, 2020, linden Lab announced it is to be acquired by “an investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager”.

The acquisition is currently pending approval by financial regulators in the U.S., due to the Lab’s subsidiary, Tilia Inc., which forms part and parcel of the acquisition.

The full statement on the matter, which can be read on the Lab’s corporate website, includes a statement from Linden Lab CEO, Ebbe Altberg:

We’re excited for this new chapter to begin. We see this as an opportunity to continue growth and expansion for Second Life and our money services business Tilia. We’re grateful for the ongoing support from our community, business partners and investors. Now more than ever, there is increased recognition of the value and utility of virtual worlds to bring people together for safe, shared, and social on-line experiences.

Once the…