Raven's Roost

The Spirit of the Burn

// August 9th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Arts, Issues, News, SecondLife

Amid the worry and scurry, hue and cry that has accompanied the transformation of Burning Life (an official Linden Lab mega-fest) into Burn2 (the extension of Burning Man into the metaverse) I will take the following position:

The transformation of Burning Life into Burn2 is a very good thing.

The question of course, is “a good thing for who?” Most commentary on this has been concerned with what the change signals from Linden Lab and how it affects hopeful residents who were eager to try for a parcel this fall. There hasn’t been a lot of discussion of what it means to Burning Man and the virtual burn itself.

Burning Man has a unique culture (and it is this culture that makes it very attractive to yours truly). Similar to SL itself, it’d be easy to focus on some of the more sensational sex, drugs and rock and roll aspects of Burning Man, but this would miss the point entirely (as it would in SL also).

The real coolness, the fierce core of burning culture, can be found in the Ten Principles. They lay out a vision of a community that is composed of creative, independent individuals who don’t hang on the sidelines. This culture invites you in and encourages you to express yourself. It celebrates generosity.  It expects well being and responsibility.

Burning Life Needed to Change

There are two principles that are particularly germane in examining the BL to B2 transformation. First up is principle #3.

Decommodification. In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Sponsorship comes with strings attached. Corporate logos next to a charity’s name on signs and Tshirts is bankable good-will and high quality public relations. The sponsorship is not extended altruistically. That’s why Burning Man has decommodification as a core value – to defend the idea that true gifting is unconditional and without thought of reward. But wait… let’s check out the header of the website for Burning Life, 2009… and ouch. Second Life logo, upper right – the price of corporate sponsorship.

That isn’t to say Linden Lab couldn’t have provided support for Burning Life if they wanted to. It’s just that such support should have been provided no strings attached, as is expected of all contributors to Burning Man.

Moving on to our next principle…

#4 – Radical Self-reliance. Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

It’s really no surprise that Burning Life was huge (34 sims in 2009), with enormous participation from builders and artists and hordes of SL residents flocking to attend. I mean, it was FREE. It cost nothing to get there, nothing to build there, nothing to exhibit, nothing to perform, nothing to attend. Free. Free. Free.

TANSTAAFL. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Well, not really free – because it was a Linden Lab event, subject to their constraints (PG), rules (no megaprims) and oversight. Still, it was a pretty good deal – except it wasn’t really Burning Man, metaverse edition. It was SL Birthday, desert edition.

It’s not like Burning Man in the actual world is free. You pay to get in and you pay to exhibit. You pack your car / truck / trailer with desert camping gear, water, food, propane and enough sunscreen to drown an elephant. Add all the stuff you want to build with once you get there. You are expected to be entirely self sufficient in the heat and sand and pick it all up and take it out when you’re done.

That’s partly why the culture is what it is. You work hard to go to Burning Man. You invest in the event and you earn being there.

So, What’s Next?

If bigger is seen to be better, then Burn2 will be seen to be a huge step backward, at least in the short term. It seems reasonable to assume that many were participating in Burning Life because it was free and a short term hit can be expected.

On the other hand, Burning Man in the metaverse is now free of Linden Lab and Second Life. There is nothing to keep it from spreading out into Blue Mars, InWorldz, Rezzable, Reaction Grid or even Open Sim servers dedicated to the burn.

Achieving a truer reflection in the metaverse of actual burning culture necessarily requires an event that takes a bit more work and investment to make happen. If the birth of Burn2  ultimately results in the emergence of a more altruistic, more self-reliant virtual community, I will count it a tremendous advancement.

Second Life® is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc.
Burning Man is a trademark of Black Rock City LLC.
Raven Haalan is not a trademark of anyone at all.

Also posted at primperfect.net

Shoot to Thrill

// August 4th, 2010 // Comments Off // Fashion, SecondLife

AC DC’s Shoot to Thrill was in the headphones as I was sending a friend the LM for a fabulous trench coat… at that precise instant Harper’s invite to guest blog arrived. It seemed fitting that great looking coats and guns should be the theme of this post.

Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will.

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“Virtualism” – A Movement for a New World

// May 4th, 2010 // 13 Comments » // Arts, Fashion, Places, SecondLife

I find it fascinating that many homes have kitchens while grocery stores are few. We shop for clothing with a vengeance and yet have no closets. We have no weather, but have roofs. No gravity, but these roofs rest on (apparently) weight bearing walls. We have no privacy, yet we have curtains.

“Form follows function – that has been misunderstood.
Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”
Frank Lloyd Wright

At the turn of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright fused the flexibility of materials like steel and concrete with a philosophy of unity between form, function and setting to revolutionize architecture. I can’t help but wonder what he might have done as a builder in Virtual Worlds. The rules are different here and the functional requirements a profound departure from RL.

aQuatria Gallery

An example of how the new rules affect architectural philosophy is pictured above. The purpose of the build is to display art – so walls become frames. The absence of gravity enables concrete to float on water, glass floors in mid air. There is no need for protection from the elements, so it is wide open. There are no stairs. Visitors don’t drown, so visit the mermaid level as long as you like.

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Black Tie Elegance

// April 30th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Fashion, SecondLife

I felt the need for a “no excuses” tux recently. I knew what I wanted – prim collar, prim lapels, prim cuffs, prim everything. Why should the ladies be the only ones with 3D formal wear? The hunt was on.

Our quarry was bagged upon finding the elegant “Party in Venezia” tux by Musashi-Do. This tux elevates men’s formal wear to finally be a worthy match for your better half’s array of stunning gowns. The combined bowtie / collar / lapel prim set (as well as prim jacket cuffs, trouser cuffs and jacket bottom) really set this outfit apart. Continue Reading

Festival of Friends – Kitten Designs

// April 13th, 2010 // Comments Off // Fashion, People, SecondLife

The creation date on Kitten Krakauer’s calling card is the day after I rezzed in SL. We met at Hair Solutions, where my sistas Kitten and Clio took a day old gal under their wing and spent several hours and a few thousand of their own Lindens on her makeover. Kitten, who operates Kitten Designs, exemplifies for me the greatest reward of SL – a true and lasting friend.

She represents another greatness of SL – the creative energy and skill of a terrific designer. She made my eyes for me, custom, back then, and I’ve never been tempted to change. Her little store in Ava City has moved and grown, her product line expanded and her skill deepened. Today, I’m honored to present three knockout looks featuring the designs of my friend, Kitten. Continue Reading

Got Tats?

// April 10th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Fashion, SecondLife

Hey, summer is coming. Now is the time to be thinking of what you’re gonna be about in skimpy wear. One of the best summer accessories is the full body tattoo.

I’ve been locked in on my ink for a long time, so lets reprise an oldie but goodie – Tiki Tattoo Huxley (although to be honest, I couldn’t even be bothered with skimpy wear).

Tat: Tiki Tattoo – Huxley
Hair: Damselfly – Wick
Skin: Belleza – Miguel

Haida Totems – Kwerks Labs

With the sun out of hiding, It was time for Jaime and Bin to go tat shopping and get caught up. But a funny thing happened to Jaime… Continue Reading

Two Mashups on Location for Spring

// April 2nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Fashion, SecondLife

Well, I needed to sort my inventory and you know how that can be. You get trying stuff on and then realize you have nothing to go with it, so inventory sorting gets interrupted by a shopping trip. Naturally, you need company, so before long, your Inventory sorting becomes this extended outing…

To salvage something productive from the situation, I decided to blog the results of the excursion. These two outfits are mostly old stuff drawn from the inventory sort, but there is some new stuff too.

First up, we’ll slum it down in a trailer park near Junkyard Blues. Wearing the boyfriend’s flannel shirt with a multi-layered tank and a butch haircut from Truth worked for me. Where’s the beer and basketball?

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Burning Life Spring Fling – Day 1

// March 27th, 2010 // Comments Off // Places, SecondLife, Uncategorized

Things got pretty awesome on the playa yesterday, as Burning Life’s AfterBurn program kicked off the Spring Fling! The opening hour was double packed with a performance by the ChangHigh Trinity Sisters Fireshow on the Live Stage…

… and the drum and dance troupe Burning Taiko on the DJ Stage. It’s hard to go wrong, really – but it does make you want to be many places at once.

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Spork on Location: A Tribute

// January 27th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Fashion, SecondLife

Recently, Spork Designs announced they were closing their doors on February 15. I’ve been a fan of Spork’s terrific designs for ages but having everything in the store on sale at 50L opened the floodgates. It was TIME TO SHOP!

It has also been my privilege to call the store’s co-owners, GM Nikolaidis and Barbara Nicholls friends and my happy chance to work with them from time to time. They are on the “counted on one hand” list.

This blog is a little tribute to Spork Designs. The clothes are varied and versatile, so I thought it fitting to put together some looks and visit some places in SL.

Every location can use a little Spork, I say.

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aQuatria Gallery – Exhibition of an SL Art Collection

// January 19th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Arts, Places, SecondLife

For the last four weeks I have been building an exhibition space for my personal art collection on my parcel. The aQuatria Gallery is open to the public, come one, come all, but is non-commercial. Nothing is for sale. It is a celebration of great SL artists and the selections are those that suit my own tastes and price / prim limits.

The gallery’s name refers to the heavy use of water in the build as well as containing a nod to the triplets – Raven, Jaime and Bin (thanks to Isle Lunasea for the brilliant name).

The architectural goals of the build were to be arty, as befits its purpose, but not over power the art. As usual, my building principles of “no gravity, no weather, no biological functions” were in effect.

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