VWBPE - Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Like many, I missed most of the events during the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education. But I did get a chance to catch one of the afterevents. On Thursday March 21

Starting in FIVE MINUTES - VWER Visits VWBPE - Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable in collaboration with the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium - Highlights of Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference and exhibit visit - in text chat at Infolit iSchool (230,25,21)

 

I dropped by a few minutes into the event. I'd run into a few of the people before, such as Stranger Nightfire and Beth Ghostraven. Beth commented, "I haven't had time to explore any of the exhibits yet except mine, so I'm looking forward to seeing some of them." They talked a little about the conference first, such as the session, "Enhancing Criminal Law Education Through Machinima."

We soon headed to VWBPE Rainbow Basin. Sheila Yoshikawa commented, "So the idea is that you can take the pathways through the mysterious rain forest to find the origins of VWER."

Sheila Yoshikawa commented, "So the idea is that you can take the pathways through the mysterious rain forest to find the origins of VWER." There was talk about AJ Kelton, and how he was recovering from surgery, "AJ Kelton was very active in the earlier days of SL ... it would be great if he returns."

 

"There is also a statue in the 2nd room of the treehouse. You can drop a notecard in it with your VWER story."

Next, we headed to VWBPE Canopy Point.

Beth would say, "The exhibit is basically the same as last year, but the outfits are all new.  I think Dinkies must ahve been here last, all the Dinkies outfits were showing, (laughter)" She would say the cabin was a freebie on Marketplace by Jadyn Firehawk. 

We would check out a nearby treehouse. 

Shelia commented, "Perhaps we can finish with  Mythic Origins of the University  New Mexico." We then headed to the final exhibit of the day, at VWBPE Desert Hinterlands.

There were a number of exhibits, Shelia commenting, "I hadn't looked round this properly but there seemed a lot of detail."

Beth laughed at one, "Coyote is squirrely? Ell Oh Ell!"

Shelia would go on to say, "There weren't a huge number of exhibits this year, but interesting variety. ... I liked a feature in the Wholebrain Health one, where you clicked an item and it showered you with compliments.... it was surprisingly cheering."

Shelia would comment, "The sword on my back came from this exhibit VWBPE Tundra Expanse (213,71,27)" I responded, "Let me guess Shelia, while the pen may be mightier than the sword, sometimes it's handy to have both?" The result was some chuckles.

The meeting then wound down, and we went our seperate ways. I looked around a little before moving on.

Bixyl Shuftan

International Womens Day Event At The PBC

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Jardenalexis  held the 5th annual International Womens Day event at the Premier Business Center . The SL Newser had a reserved table right up front near the podium. Bixyl Shuftan and Mrs Charlee Shuftan , Dancerina Starlight and I sat at the table and we invited Racerx Gullwing. to sit with us.

 

Jardenalexis opened the event welcoming all..Rhyme Gardner gave the opening prayer and Emely Mo sang a lovely song that was written for a similar women's event in real-life. 

 

Following that KARINOELLE BAPTISTE gave a very conssce  history of International Womens day .

After that Jarden introduced each of the speakers giving us their backgrounds. PLUMQUEEN BAPTISTE, JACKIE LEFKO,SIENNA HARRIS, each gave uplifting speaches ,speaking about adversity in their lives , always going toward recognition and inclusion and a feeling of belonging. It was all very inspiring and uplifting.

The audience was appreciative of all the speeches and enjoyed it thoroughly. Following the speakers all retired to the third floor for dancing and question and answer during the social with DJ Melly Mel. Jardenalexis gave thanks to the SL Newser for all the support in publishing information about the Premier Business Center and the activities there.

Thanks to Jarden for doing this every year.

Gemma Cleanslate

 

The Belliwood Squares

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 For those who remember the game (and comedy) show Hollywood Squares, there was a treat at Bellisseria for Life yesterday, Thursday March 7. Seven Moles and two Lindens volunteered to take part in a special event: "The Belliwood Squares."

 

Please join us at the Beliisseria Fairgrounds for an hour of great entertainment as our contestants play a game with the help of 9 celebrity Lindens and Moles! There is plenty of room and we will have a great one-of-a-kind piece for your Linden Bear collection to auction at the end! The amazing DJ Steph Lytham will follow the show so plan to stay and dance to some great music too! The show starts at NOON. ... Please join us!

Among the Moles there were the notable Ancient and Abnor Mole, the latter taking the center square. Ancient instead of sitting was standing on the bench, "Someone put a seatbelt on Ancient, I fear he may fall off." Wendi and Sequoia were the two Lindens on the board.  Becca Ordinary was the host of the event, giving Wendi and the Moles various questions as their squares were picked, and after getting the answer asking the contestant up if they agreed or disagreed. A correct answer got the square. Nance Clowes was the cohost, who instead of on stage was on the floor.

There were a number watching, Bellisserians, Relayers, other Lindens and Moles, and others.Throughout the event, numerous people donated. Someone acting anonymous offered a donation of 10,000 Linden dollars, but there was a catch, "We have a 10k anonymous donor ! but they will only donate if YOU GUYS collectively match that 10k in the next 10 minutes. can we do it ??" The amount challenged was raised in just a few minutes and the donation sent.

 

 

I (through an alt) saw two games. The first between was Sandie Slate and Artie McGregor. At one point, Wendi Linden's square was picked by Sandi, "OK Wendi! What type of Linden home has Die Betrunken Maus as its Community Center?" Wendi had a little trouble remembering, "I believe that is the... new theme coming up... The... No, wait!" Some encouraged her, "You can DO IT Wendi!" Kit Linden growled, "YOU CANT TEASE ME LIKE THAT WENDI!" Finally Wendi spoke, "It's the Chalet style!" Sandi agreed, was correct, and got the square.

Then there was when Dreaming Mole was asked, "In British money, how many shillings were to a pound?" Her answer was, "Lets see, it’s 2 tablespoons to an ounce, 16 ounces to a pound, 12 pence to a shilling… 2.4 miles to a kilometer… carry the 8… divide by four servings…. That comes out to…I though..20." Artie agreed, was correct, and got the square.

 

At one point, Sequoia Mole was asked, "What is the only type of bird that can fly backwards?" She grinned and answered, "The only type of bird that can fly backwards is the Reverse Ostrich. Unlike its earthbound relatives, the Reverse Ostrich developed tiny jetpack-like wings that allow it to zip backwards through the air, primarily to confuse predators and make a swift exit from awkward social gatherings in the bird world. Its unique flying technique is also a great party trick at avian get-togethers, making it the life and soul of the bird party scene." That got a lot of chuckles, then Sequoia composed herself, "Just kidding...it's a hummingbird of course!" Artie was laughing, "I think it's Dragons!  Come hunt Dragon Eggs with us at the MadPea Grid-Wide Hunt!  I Will Disagree!  The answer is definitely DRAGONS!" While amusing, unfortunately her disagreeing with hummingbirds cost her the square.

 

Sandie was considered the winner of the first round. But the next had a certain spooky personality she was up against: The Bellisseria Slenderman.

 

 "Slendy" instead of directly saying he agreed or disagreed would hold up cards with his answer, at one point texting "Bellisseria Slenderman (Slenderman Grumpypants) cuts some siding out of some poor home owner's Stilt Home and makes a sign out of it!" Slenderman would end up winning the match, "Congratulations on your win Slenderman, please don't hurt me."

Once the game was over, people were invited to get off the seating area and dance, with Steph Lytham DJng the music. The event had raised well over 40,000 Linden dollars.

Talking to Becca after the event, she would say for the paper, "I am deeply grateful to the Moles and Lindens that came out to play BelliHood Squares. They do a lot for us day in and day out and this was the extra mile, coming out to share their time and humor with us for a good cause. I really loved hearing their humorous answers, especially! This was a really fun event and it was a fantastic experience to be around them!

 

"I also am very grateful for our four contestants who generously gave of their time and made meaningful contributions to RFL to be part of it. They were first class contestants and even better people for doing this!"

Bellisseria For Life goes on to Sunday, March 10. And this is just one of many Relay events over the season.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bellisseria For Life

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

The Relay for Life season is in full swing. And there have been various Relay events. Some are large such as the recent SL Living Expo. And there have been plenty of smaller events by the various teams. This week, the Linden Home continent of Bellisseria is getting it's own Relay event: Bellisseria For Life, or "Belli For Life" for short. It's taking place in the Bellisseria Fairgrounds.

Games is the theme of this year's Bellisseria For Life. Some of the displays were fun parodies, such as this Monopoly take on the "Game of Homes" joke Bellissarians make when giving up one Linden Home in hopes of getting a better one.

I decided to dust off my alt Rezzdammit to check things out.

There was a huge squid on display with a fishing pole, for any aspiring fisherman to pose with and take pictures. 

 

 There was something for the Korean show "Squid Games" as well.

Gorden Ramsey meets GTA.

 

 There were tributes to many classic games, from Minecraft to Pac Man.

 

An AT-AT becomes a zip-line anchor.

There was also a stage for music events. At times when I was busy, I'd notice close to two dozen there on the map. But when Rezz was around, it was a small audience with the "Bell Hammies" on stage with DJ Stella.

It was a tiny crowd (no pun intended), but a happy one just the same.

The dance floor doubled as a "Bellisquaria" game board. 

And at one point, the attention went to the rare Gacha steampunk hat I'd given Rezz years ago. 

 

[14:15] Becca Ordinary: love that hat Rezz
[14:15] The Bellisseria Hamster (JessycaJayne Resident): yush great hat!
[14:15] RezzDammit Resident: Hyuk hyuk, thankies
[14:16] The Bellisseria Hamster (JessycaJayne Resident): so funny
[14:16] RezzDammit Resident: Ah gotts et frum ah friend, he sez since eys wuz et th' steem-lahnds so much, it fits me, hyuk
[14:16] Becca Ordinary: hahahaha
[14:16] The Bellisseria Hamster (JessycaJayne Resident): steampunk is awesome 🙂

But not all of the games were show pieces. Many were playable, like these tabletop games.

And there was this miniature golf game. 

This Tetris game had a rather low-tech "screen" made up of light bulbs that went on and off. 

Eventually Rezz would head back home and I would appear to look around, such as this Minesweeper and pool table.

There was also a classic hammer and bell game. Can you whack hard enough to ring it?

Charlee would join me, and we would play a few games of bowling (she would win two to one).

From Gemma Cleanslate

Also there were games of laser tag and a few others. Gemma Cleanslate says there will be trophies given out to top players of some of the games.

Bellisseria for Life continues to March 10. So if you're in a gaming mood, come on by

Bixyl Shuftan