SL10B Spotlight on... Social Service Exhibits

I saved this category for the last of my tours on purpose. Without a doubt, these are the most poignant to me and that's chiefly because it's so impressive how people come into Second Life, not to escape and hide and play... but to give back!

The two I profiled here are just some of the many service providers in Second Life who push us all toward trying to make the virtual world a little bit better.


Exhibit: "Co-Dependents Anonymous Recovery in SL" 
Exhibitor: Aine Bealtaine (abealtaine)

"Is a fellowship of people in SL, whose comon purpose is to develop healthy relationships.  We meet Sundays at 5pm SLT. Please join our group for more information about CoDA and our meeting location.

Our booth presents offical CoDA links and information, and there are SL Group Joiners there.  We also set up a small play park for your inner child and you to enjoy!

Please IM Aine Bealtaine for more information."

Aurie: And have you participate in earlier SL Birthdays?

Aine: This is the first year (to my knowledge) that CoDA has had an exhibit


Aurie: Do you plan to apply again for next year?

Aine: Yes I hope so - as long as the group agrees. Our goal is to raise awareness of our group.


Aurie: What was it that appealed to you about participating in SL10B?

Aine: Well, when I started in SL, two years ago, the first place I visited was SL8B and SL8B made such an impression on me


Aurie: how so?

Aine: It was wonderful to wander around and get a taste of what SL has to offer! Our CoDA group has only been around since last August. So this is the first year for us.


Aurie: Do you feel this event was beneficial to your group? and if so, how?

Aine: Yes due to the additional membership :) I think our participation in SL10B has been very positive, and I hope we will again be involved with SL11B!


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Exhibit: "Acorn2Oak PTSD Community"
Exhibitor: ღ Anya ღ  (anya.ibor)

Fearless Nation’s Virtual World program, Acorn2Oak is a wonderful way to support and assist people with PTSD in recovery. SL’s international, multicultural, and diverse environment helps make a big world small, and is a very good match for PTSD recovery. I hope people will stop by our sim to learn more and spread the word that PTSD is not a scary condition, and that every RL and SL community must do their part to help victims of trauma rejoin society.

If you know someone with PTSD, please honor their pain and loneliness by becoming educated about PTSD. Most of all: Be their friend and try to understand what they are going through.

We have a lot of information on our website too: http://www.fearless-nation.org

Aurie:  Have you participated in any of the SL Birthday events before this year?

Anya: No, this year was the first time—I think probably because the registration announcement to apply was on the login page of my viewer. In years past I was only aware of SL’s Birthday celebrations after they had started. So it was a real honor to be part of the 10th!


Aurie: Do you think you will apply again?

Anya: Yes indeed! It is very important for the public to have access to accurate, factual PTSD information because there is so much stigma, stereotyping and misinformation about it.


Aurie: What was your goal in participating?

Anya: To raise awareness about PTSD: It is Fearless Nation’s 501c3 mission to banish PTSD stigma by educating the public: The unprecedented rate of PTSD-related suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers and veterans is proof that more needs to be done. People with trauma won’t seek help for because of the “Rambo” stereotypes, the stigma and possible loss of a job a boss finds out one has PTSD, and society’s fear that people with PTSD are a danger to others—when nothing could be farther from the truth. PTSD sufferers self-stigmatize: 99.99% will commit suicide before harming anyone else. The current rate of PTSD-related deaths bears this out.


Aurie: Anya, what did you like best about SL10B?

Anya: It was amazing to see the range and depth of the SL population! So many brilliant and creative people in SL for a breath-taking range of reasons, such as art, RP, gaming, content creation, charity and support, national pride, and so much more. The exhibits were all wonderful, but the sheer variety of international interests and creativity shown all in one place is magnificent.

Come visit our permanent location!  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Acorn2Oak/127/126/22

SL10B Spotlight on... Art Exhibits

One of the most amazing parts of Second Life is the wide variety and enormous scale of the artistic talent online. In this virtual world, we have the privelege of seeing so many talented visionaries with a great gift for the arts.

If you haven't seen them at SL10B, don't worry because they are all over Second Life every day of the year!

Here is one of the many amazing pieces...

Exhibit: "The Evan Moonshine Lepidoptera Museum"
Exhibitor: Evan Moonshine

This museum represents only a small fraction of the beauty that exists on this planet. Through many years of RL work, each specimen in his private collection was personally prepared, tagged, framed, then scanned and brought into SL.

His avid collecting of Leps began when he was a child and continues on to this day. He has many rarities in his collection including a pair of Speyeria diana from Virginia now known to be extinct, and a one in a million half male-half female, gynandomorphic papilio glaucus, which are both on display in SL at his Lepidoptera Museum.

This exhibit represents only a third of his extensive real life collection. 15% of these butterflies and moths were collected by him, and the rest by other people from around the globe. A big thanks to all those who actually risked their lives to collect some of these.

Aurie: How long have you been building for the SL Birthday events?

Evan: This is my first time Aurie


Aurie: Do you plan to apply again for next year?

Evan: Oh yes! It was a great experience


Aurie: What do you like best about the event?

Evan: The diversity. Nothing better than personal expression.


Aurie: is there anything else you'd like to mention?

Evan: *smiles* I want to send a special thank you to my wife for her inspiration and support.

SL10B Spotlight on... Individual Exhibitors

Many of the exhibitors are not there with a commercial group, they are just there to express some of their own favourite things, funny things, and lots of other little things about Second Life.

On a whim, I decided to apply this year! I had never been involved in any of the previous SL Birthday events so this was a real leap into the unknown. I invited a group of dear friends to know about the exhibit and to contribute their ideas.

Exhibit: "Connected"
Exhibitors: Aurie Elton, Ginevra Perdide

This exhibit is a rotating Earth with many cables extending in all directions and from a variety of places around the world. Each cable leads to dialogue that is meant to represent how we all come from our own parts of the world and grow to love one another ... all connected through our Second Lives!

Was this your first SL Birthday? Yes


Will you apply again next year?

Yes and I am already thinking of next year's message.


What did you like best about SL10B?

I really loved getting to meet so many people as an Exhibit Assistant and at the events on stages. I also had the privilege of making many new friends over the past two weeks. This event proves that SL is more than all the things that give it a bad reputation. It's about creativity, international collaboration and it allows our life paths to intersect in unexpected ways. Second Life really is about far more than the pixels. It's about being connected to people you might otherwise never know.


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Exhibit: "Forever Dreams"
Exhibitor: AlεXandяεa Tuxing-Barbosa (tintin.tuxing)

"A Japanese garden which I built. It's a very tranquil artistic display with some wonderful textures which I have collected throughout my years in SL and with a love of flowers and gardens."

Aurie: Is this your first SL Birthday?

Alexandra: I've done three so far.

Aurie: Do you think you will apply for SL11B?

Alexandra: Oh yes!

Aurie: What do you like best about the SL10B?


Alexandra: I really like the building. It's a great way to express myself.

Aurie: Yes, building is the great equalizer in some ways :)


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Exhibit: "Sky-View Lounge in SL10B"
Exhibitor:  Ray (ray.weyland)

"This build does not commemorate anything, isn't a model of anything, and doesn't have any special attributes.  It's just something fun I wanted to contribute to Second Life's 10th Birthday Party bash. However, I took some ideas from RL (rotating lounge with a view) and some ideas from past towers I've built and created this, like I said before, just for the fun of it.

Also for the fun of it, I've put out some pictures on the ground level of predecessors of this build."

Aurie: Have you participated in the earlier SLBirthday celebrations?

Ray: I was in SL07 and SL08 .. my "View from the Manor" exhibit about a SL-based book I started.


Aurie: So this year you changed the theme of your exhibit?

Ray: yes .. I figured I wanted something just for fun because I knew I was going to be busy in RL during that week.


Aurie: And do you think you will want to participate again in SL11B?

Ray: I think so .. I love to build.  But, it depends on if inspiration hits during the application process or not :-)


Aurie: What do you like most about the SLB events?

Ray: oh .. man!  Just about everything!  I love seeing all the creativity .. the fun people have .. and just how hard people work to make this happen

SL10B Spotlight on... Commercial Exhibitors

I hope you've all had a chance to visit the 15 sims of exhibits! They are truly amazing. I will be spending the next several posts spotlighting exhibitors. I was fortunate enough to talk with several Exhibitors and, without exception, I have been thrilled to get to know them.

Exhibit: "It Takes a Village to Create a Home"
By: SkyeRyder Varriale
Exhibitor's Web site

Aurie: How long have you been building for the SL Birthday events?

Skye: this was my first year and it was a very pleasant experience

Aurie: Yay! :)   Do you plan to apply again for next year?

Skye: oh yes!


Aurie: What do you like best about the event, Skye?

Skye: I liked seeing what other people are up to in SL.  As a builder with a huge store I don't have the time to always explore as much as I like. Now I have several places I know I want to go see. I was also impressed with all of the grass roots social programs we have here. We hear a lot of negative things about SL but the event put things in a really good light overall.

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Exhibit: "Flight in SL"
By: Spartan Industries
Contact: Public Affairs, Astryl Gunawan (astryl.bing)

Rising from the Dazzle sim; a floating hologram in the shape of a Spartan Helmet marks the "Flight in SL" display of Spartan industries.

Behind the Lynx Wildcat, or other finely crafted helicopter on display rises the IMAX style screen.  On this screen we show films of flight in Second Life and the occasional musical interlude ;o)

Come explore the Civilian or Military helicopter on display (these change daily) or have a seat on the sofa and look at our book of flight while you enjoy a Tim Horton's coffee and donut. Grab a frozen treat from our ice cream cart, or pick some free souvenirs from our gift vendor.

Remember to take your complimentary gift bag from the front of the display. and drop your pictures of SL flight in our mailbox to be displayed!

Enjoy yourself, and Happy Happy Birthday to SL!

* Photos courtesy of Astryl Bing *



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Exhibit: "Breakers: A Great Place to Live"
By: Smilemaker Mathy

A salute to Breakers (New England fishing vilage) past, present, and future.  It features billboards with pictures from the past (tavern), present (Librar/book club corner), and future (house) depicting Breakers as it has been, activiities in the recent past, and future homes for new residents.

Aurie: How long have you been building for the SL Birthday events?

Smilemaker: This was my 2nd event to build. I built for SL8B and SL10B and stage managed for the last three.

Aurie: Do you plan to apply again for next year?

Smilemaker: Yes, definitely next year!

Aurie: What do you like best about the event?

Smilemaker: The variety of exhibits! This is my 3rd birthday celebration and it only gets better each year. Hard to imagine that this year can be better.

SL10B Spotlight on... Bear Island

A charming and indulgent little display of the cute bears that our Linden landlords have created over the years to represent themselves and to acknowledge landmark Second Life events! From what I am told, if you ask a Linden for a bear, they should have one that they built to give to residents just for asking.

If you want them all at once, come get one at SL10B Bear Island quickly! They are all free!

If you're curious about the tradition behind the Linden Bear, take a look here... there is a reasonable display of the bears (although quite a few are missing).

In addition to being a fun way to see a bit of the personality of the person behind the Linden, it's a cute collectible and a fun way to choose a "favourite" for non-standard ways.

So let's see how well you know me...

I chose two bears. Any ideas which two?

Torley Bear

Lino Linden Bear... it's all about the Leaf!