Aimee Weber
- http://www.aimeeweber.com
Aimee Weber loves the feeling in her stomach when she is almost, but not quite about to fall backwards in her chair.
Trolla Culpa
Here is a quick follow-up on the Michael Crook case. As part of his settlement with 10 Zen Monkeys Crook was required to make a public apology for his misuse of the DMCA ... on video! Some of you may recall that Crook was the one who filed a take-down order against Cristiano Midnight because his image appeared on Snapzilla. The case lacked any merit whatsoever, but because of the flawed nature of the Safe Harbor rules, Cris was forced to comply by his ISP without any due process.
Since Crook's settlement, his image has been restored on Snapzilla and we are treated with the following video of Crooks rather defiant apology.
Michael Crook is the quintessential attention-seeker, hosting sites that deny the holocaust, disown the troops, and publicly expose private photos and e-mails from respondents of his bogus sex ads on Craigslist. Sadly, the troll profession is, in a word, viable. We see this in the Second Life community often in the form of people with little or no real skill launching themselves to fame simply by bashing others and making outrageous remarks. On the other hand, maybe "viable profession" isn't as apt a description as "circus freak-show act." Sure, people are flocking to see what you have to say, but does that really make you important?
(Thanks to David Cassel for bringing this video to our attention!)
For the Love of Pi
As you all know, the value of PI is 3.14159. Er, well, some of you knew that, but many MORE of you knew that tomorrow's date is 3-14 and at 1:59 SLT the lovable nerds at the SPLO will be celebrating humanities most handy constant. Festivities will happen at Midnight City and EastLandTwo and include Pi rides, PiHenge, a listing if Pi to Ten Thousand places, and other fun stuff to touch the inner math nerd inside us all.
Pie will be served, but of course.
Just Killin': Avatar Murder
Now that Linden Lab has taken a stance against ageplay in Second Life, a few thoughts have come to mind. I'm not really talking about why Linden Lab made this decision. Their motives are obvious and completely understandable. They don't want to run afoul of foreign laws, they want to reduce liability, and they want to avoid affiliating their brand with an illegal and widely condemned practice.
But I'm wondering how society's priorities, got stacked the way they did. I've seen passionate opposition to the practice of two consenting adults role playing sexual acts as though one were a child. Honestly I can understand the opposition. But why doesn't anybody care about good old fashion killing?
Murder!
High School Drama in Second Life (No, Really!)
In my many years of involvement with the Second Life platform, I would say the most common cry, the most often lamented facet of our virtual community would be that of the "High School Mentality." One cannot publically acknowledge another user without accusations of cliquishness. One cannot host a contest without the perception that it will all boil down to a popularity contest. And one cannot find enmity with another resident without our minds drifting back to those days of emotional drama, of locker rooms, of sweaty gym socks, of uncomfortable desk-chairs, and the nerve-grating sound of the high school bell.
I suppose it's no surprise that the High School era is one that brings back mostly bad memories to the Second Life demographic. For such an intelligent group of people, High School is about the only era of our lives where intelligence is a liability, and where civilized society is unable to intervene with the Darwinian principals of survival of the fittest. It's a time where girls eviscerate each other with subtle glances, a wrinkle of the nose and a well placed rumor. It's a time where boys, uh, well, beat the snot out of each other.
Continue reading High School Drama in Second Life (No, Really!)
13 Most Beautiful Avatars
Second Lifers are living in an exciting age, where the real world regularly makes a frantic bee-line to enter the virtual world. But what's rare is when facets of our virtual world break their unseen chains and burst out into the real world. Kermitt Quirk's Tringo is one fine example, but there aren't many.
Well this Saturday we can add another example to the list. Eva and Franco Mattes will be opening the 13 Most Beautiful Avatars exhibition at The Postmasters Gallery in Manhattan. I had the pleasure of viewing part of this exhibit at my alma mater, Columbia University, a few months back and it's quite a sight to behold! Very high resolution screen captures are printed on canvas, most averaging 87 x 114 cm in size. The breathtaking detail of these avatars is plain to see, right down to the blood vessels and tiny capillaries in their eyes.
But the thing most striking to me was a feeling that's difficult to describe ... Presence perhaps?
Second Citizen Turns One
Second Life's forum of ill repute, Second Citizen, celebrates one year of brawls, drama, parody, and captioned images of kittens. But if you haven't been around to participate, fear not. Second Citizen enthusiast, Wildfire Walcott has provided a full recap of the year's events including the FICazoid wars, Mother FIC's suduction of Cocoanut, the banning of voted-5, Apotheus Silverman's takedown notice against Second Citizen, and a whole lotta Prok.
I've been with Second Citizen for a large portion of its one year existence and will confess that I leave it open in my browser at all times, occasionally reloading the new posts page for a well needed break from work. Second Citizen's owner, Mother FIC, takes pride in his absolutely-no-censorship-even-if-it-hurts approach to forum moderation. The result is a more-or-less self moderating community that feels comfortable expressing ideas and equally comfortable getting feedback for those ideas ("Your idea sucks! Here's a photo of a kitten!")
So Happy Birthday Second Citizen, and may there be many more!
Meet the Authors of the Second Life Official Guide
Tuesday night, Feb 13th at 6pm SLT (in the Kula Commons) Wiley Books will be hosting a meet-and-greet with authors of the Second Life Official Guide. Providing the inside scoop on the making of Second Life's first official publication and answering all of your questions will be Catherine Omega, Wagner James Au, Mark Wallace, and Michael Rymaszewski.
As if that wasn't enough, we will be giving away a boat-load of content goodies and one lucky attendee will win a free copy of the second life official guide!!
Hope to see you all there.
Michael Crook served, pwned, 0wn3d, owned, and got his ass kicked
Back in November Second Life's beloved web mogul, Cristiano Midnight, had a run-in with infamy in the form of Michael Crook. Crook's accomplishments include Denying the holocaust, Disowning the troops, and
posting fake sex ads on Craigslist only to publish the private info and photos of those who replied. This time Crook targeted Cristiano in one of his campaigns ... squashing freedom of speech.
Crook sent Cristiano's Snapzilla a DMCA takedown notice targeting a photo of himself appearing on Fox News. He sent the same notice to Cristiano's service provider demanding the removal of this image. But Snapzilla wasn't the only target. Crook went after any blog or news site that dared feature his image including Boing Boing, and 10zenmonkeys. As pointed out by Boing Boing, use of this image falls under Fair Use rules. Even more compelling, it was Fox News who owned the rights to the image, not Michael Crook.
Continue reading Michael Crook served, pwned, 0wn3d, owned, and got his ass kicked
Get a First Life
Darren Barefoot gives us a cute reminder over at Get A First Life that maybe we shouldn't take Second Life quite so seriously. Featuring 6.5 billion residents and absolutely no lag, Darren suggests we should all give First Life a try.
I took First Life for a test drive earlier today and liked what I saw. The graphics were breathtaking and vehicles experienced no problems crossing sim borders. Primitive buildings blocks, called atoms in First Life, are plentiful and offer extreme levels of detail for any build. The First Life physics engine is highly optimized and extremely fast, using quantum wave functions to simulate most of the operations of the estimated 1.7 x 10^77 atoms in the universe. These wave functions cleverly collapse into individual atoms only when observed by a resident.
Value in the Virtual World
It was the happiest day of my life! The virtual man of my dreams proposed to me! (Uh, what's-his-name ... Ralph I think. Yeah, that's good enough.) I blurted out "I DO" with no hesitation. For the rest of my current account's life, he would be the man I would spend my early evenings with just after work, but just before Nip/Tuck and House (Hugh Laurie is SUCH a babe!)
But first things first! We needed to pick out a virtual diamond. Not just any diamond! But a glorious, gleaming, towering beacon of radiance that would that would blind the skeptics and naysayers with our eternal love! I wanted a rock that would warn ships in the harbor of shallow waters and become the new benchmark of quality for ALL jewelry purchased with four months' stipend.
Hyperbole! (The New Genocide)
Most people who know me, know that I'm a fairly light-hearted person who doesn't take life, or Second Life, all that seriously. That's not to say I'm not passionate about my friends, family, and work here in Second Life. I have a great deal of love for SL and get a tremendous amount of satisfaction in what I do here. But core to my personality is the need to keep things in perspective. I cringe every time I'm told that I am "famous." Also, I have only a limited amount of energy to commit to forum debates before I get giddy at the absurdity.
But what must one do if they look at Second Life with all the life-and-death seriousness of Russian Roulette? How can you take the experience of sitting at home on your comfy computer chair in your fuzzy bunny slippers while looking at the cartoonish images on your computer screen and express the dire, apocalyptic consequences when virtual events don't go the way you want them to?
The answer is Hyperbole!
Login problems
The SL Blog reports "minor problems" with logins around 3 am SLT. Hmm ... I can't log in at all it seems, so when does a "minor" problem becaome a "major" problem in those circumstances?Chadrick posts that the login problems and TP difficulties are being investigated, but then leaves comments switched off. FYI dear Chadrick, this leaves people very frustrated as they sit outside attempting to log in, thinking "well my problem with login doesn't seem very minor", wondering whether all logins are now borked and they should give up and go do something else, or if they've just been unlucky, and will get in on their fifth attempt.
In the old days, you'd be able to join a flood of posts in the General Forum, sharing what was going on, and judge for yourself whether it was worth continuing to try. Even now, with comments switched on, it would give people a picture of what was happening, and possibly, valuable feedback to the Lindens trying to work out what is going on.
No one expects instant answers, but by turning off the comments you prevent us from getting peer feedback which might help. So now I can inform you that Moopf can't tp back to his own island, but I have got into SL.
A Second Life Christmas Epiphany
Not everybody understands Second Life, but for some it may be harder than others. Imagine being born in 1923 when the traffic signal and band aids are new inventions. In your early teens, you can finally enjoy FM radio while playing a brand new game called Monopoly. As a young adult, you learn about a new cooking tool called the microwave oven, which you can purchase with another new invention, the credit card. Life goes on as you witness audio cassettes, AstroTurf, and Rollerblades. Each new invention revolutionizing our culture and adding complexity to our world.
Yak Shack Showdown Has a Winner!
The Yak Shack Showdown is over and the air in Midnight City is saturated with love, compassion, and yak musk. The turnout was wonderful and people got deliciously playful with their yak designs. But the coveted title of Yakmaster goes to LittleToe Bartlett for the Two Headed Sideshow Yak!
When asked to say a few victory words, LittleToe has this to say: "I can say without hesitation it's the most fun I've ever had with yak- a terrific event, all around..."
Amy Weebler's 2007 Second Life Predictions
Dear Second Life Insider,
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Amy Weebler, not to be confused with international virtual superstar, Aimee Weber. I have decided that it was time for me to share my vast insight into the Second Life culture, my mysterious powers of supernatural precognition, and my willingness to violate Non-Disclosure Agreements by publishing my top ten predictions for Second Life in 2007.
So with no further ado, let us begin!
Sincerely,
Amy Weebler
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