Witches; Death; Dilemmas

No: of witchy things bought: 8 (good); No. of Halloweeny items already in inventory: Numberless (or possibly, 666); Hysterical witch accusers encountered: one (awkward)

In a couple of weeks is HALLOWEEN which is always fun time in SL as great opps for becoming ghost, creating spooky haunted houses etc. etc. After a couple of days away from SL due to physical world travel arrived back just in time for Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable meeting, which was v. interesting talk from Greg Prumier who has been teaching in SL for 7 Years (that was in fact title of talk). When got to VWER he and a couple of others were variously standing/sitting by circle of cushions on one side of VWER area. Greg asked where to put presenter and so told him and then set out more of Dustbunny's Darling Sectional Cushions (which are indeed v boho and cute) in orange and red to match autumn theme of sim. Realised afterwards that didn't ask Beth (organiser and host of event) if she already had plans about setting up area, so hope didn't offend.

Anyway, next week am leading discussion on "Halloween and other festivals - can we use them for education in Virtual Worlds?" which is basically an excuse for me to drown VWER parcel in witchy stuff. Had not yet visited the Salem event, so tped over and had happy half hour trying out gallows props, deciding how many new mirrors I needed (answer: lots) and musing over whether should buy Besom hair with stylish witch hat (answer: of course). Snapped up sparkly spider webs, village stocks (with tomato giver for throwing at person IN stocks), pumpkin cookie-giver, sinister cloaked form holding moddable poster and a few other items.

During tour of event came across sign (see above)which said that Abigail Williams (famous accuser at Salem witch trials) was hidden on sim. After Black Dahlia hunt assumed that this might be challenging e.g. with small effigy of Abigail hidden up a tree somewhere, but in fact proved to be v. easy as simply followed path in wood and there was real avatar dressed as Abigail, pointing and muttering wicked, wicked under her breath. Was all very nice, but immediately felt like awkward situation, since this was an actual person (though presuably an actual person who was going afk a lot). Was not sure of appropriate behaviour. Should one say "Hi, I'm Sheila I believe you have some issues with witches?" or shout and point "Evil liar evil liar"? or was one expected to interact in order to learn fun facts about the Salem Witch Trials? In fact did the British thing of pretending hadn't seen her and scuttling back down the path. Am shown in pic hiding behind tree when crept back later to see if she was still there.

When got back to VWER had fun time setting out a Halloween setting that was spooky but not too gruesome. Am not sure if got level right e.g. felt that guillotine and people in nooses might be going to far for educational area, on other hand flying skeleton holding lamp and coffin with skeleton hand curling round lid somehow seemed ok. Set out cute rustic table with assorted Halloween food givers including cauldron of poisoned apples (when you accept one and wear it you fall over dead - see pic, am sort of slumped under table).

Might be challenging for newbies as have to detach apple to become not dead (as opposed to undead) (see pic). On other hand would give people someone else to throw rotten fruit at, when got tired of pelting miscreants in village stocks. Am sure there are educational life lessons there.

New life

No. of new kitten boxes: 1 (exciting!)
Finally succumbed to temptation to let my kittycats create beautiful kitten boxes together. Set Snowfall and Tassie to "breed on" a few weeks ago, which meant that at once was having to shell out more Linden for kittycat food as breedable cats eat twice as much. Then after about 10 days set Tassie to partner Snowfall. Tassie made some coy remark about only having just met (as if! she was there when he emerged from the kitten box, there is photographic prooof) which evidently comes from the kittycat random-twee-remark generator.

Have not been in SL much for the last week, and therefore was surprised and delighted to get an IM announcing the happy event (i.e. Tassie giving birth to a kitten box). When went inworld at first was unable to locate a) kitten box b) Tassie or c) Snowfall. After some camming around discovered a) (Kittenbox) abandoned outside the house (see first pic) b) (Tassie: fond mother) chasing butterflies round the opposite side of the house and c) (Snowfall: proud father) hiding under the floorboards. Seems like the new kitten box is doomed to be the victim of a dysfunctional family right from the start.

The new update allows you to click on the kitten box and see a 2D portait of the yet-unborn kitten, so you can decide whether to birth it or not. Obviously once it has looked at you with its v. cute whiskers and pretty ears it is more difficult to resist. Look! He has his mother's eyes, they are so adorable! (etc. etc.) And he would make a charming mate for Ninetails, in only a few weeks they could be making kitten boxes of their own. It is a primrose path to pouring linden into the kittycats coffers (i.e. for more and more food).

Should note that this breeding thing is a frightfully chaste process, as apart from eating more kittycat kibble there is no noticeable change in kitty behaviour and certainly no Lewd Acts. Once had retrieved Snowfall from under the floor and Tassie from her walk outside the house, let them wander round until they fortuitously both ended up trapped by a japanese screen, and I took a picture (3rd pic, Tassie is on the right)

They may be saying "let our kittenbox live". Or they may be thinking "when is our next kittycat kibble meal". Or as they are in fact pixel cats, it is also possible that they are not thinking anything at all.

BTW if you have any views one way or the other, feel free to comment on whether Son of Tassie should be released from his box to eat up my Linden.

Sculpties, Emails, Neighbours

Sculpty classes missed: 1 (bad); Discussion lists and SL groups spammed with notice about 4th June meeting: 10 (good: unless you got all 10 of them, I suppose); SLED post score: 28 (good, ish); Lucky chair dresses snagged by alt: 1 (yay!)
On Monday attended first Educators Coop chat for a while. Unfortunately had not been able to go to a making-sculpties class organised by Rx, which was shame as sounded v. good. Pic shows Rx and a cube he used with screenshots of how to do things. Also shows unflattering view of Bluewave typing, sorry about that, Bluewave.

Received notice about Educators Coop Retreat at end of month which sounds v.v. cool, so looking forward to that. Remember RL friend going on retreat where chocolate was forbidden and she had to sneak out to munch furtively on a kit-kat bar. Obvious advantage of virtual retreat is that can be indulging in all sorts of pleasures of flesh (within reason) whilst simultaneously taking part in retreat.

Have sent out oodles of emails and notices re the meeting tomorrow at noon SL time, in which (I hope) people will turn up with good ideas for developing the H1N1 (or, as I choose to call it in populist fashion, swine flu) information literacy build. At what point does this become spam? Hope someone will tell me if it does.

A SLEDer has analysed all the SLED posts for the last couple of years and posted a list of how many posts each person has sent. Rolig Loon came top, Graham also topped the 100 post mark, proving what a helpful person he is. I came in (as my RL alt) at 28 posts. Fear that most of those were announcements of meetings, as rarely contribute otherwise. On other hand, organising discussions is a contribution. They certainly aren't doing my career much good, anyway, so I hope someone is deriving benefit. (Hmm, must have had a glummer day than I thought)

On to more cheerful and even less impactful matters: have been zipping round moving the island from spring to summer, ripping out flowering cherries, bluebells and tulips, and putting in birch & aspen trees, garlic mustard and poppies, plus a couple of lavender bushes outside the Centre. As a finishing touch the sushi bar has been replaced by a retro barbecue (2nd pic): you can get wearable hamburgers, kebabs and - something else - is it sausages? I really mustn't go back in to SL just to find out.

Back on my own land, yet more new neighbours, these ones (last pic) with a rather more morbid tone than usual. Note the twin skeletons holding hands across their graves. However, was much cheered to get unsolicited IM from complete stranger just to say she'd wandered onto my land and liked it a lot.

P.S. Dimitrova finally got her free Pizzacato Poppies dress after a mere extra hour of waiting. It was almost worth it. But not quite.

I realise I am a metaverse evangalist

Meetings on SL attended in RL: 1 (good); Healthy food consumed = 1 apple and 1 handful of undidentified green matter decorating sandwiches (good); Unhealthy food consumed = sandwiches, biscuits, cake, coffee (bad); Handbags not bought = 1 (good, I suppose).

Yesterday attended meeting in London organised by landlords (i.e. Eduserv ;-) and the CETIS project at Strathclyde Uni. Once had hauled RL self out of bed and onto early train, traced venue at end of lane off Theobalds Road, and picked up biscuits (type = ordinary) to sustain self through rest of morning, was hey ho for sitting listening to people.

The RL version of Art Fossett gave totally awesome short roundup of what SL is about. His ppt slides each had pic of Art, in a different t-shirt in each pic to illustrate points. He said he had thought of doing this by showing Art changing t-shirt each time in SL. V. nice idea but pondered that might be dodgier for self as is something intrinsically tacky about watching female avatar changing into a series of t-shirts, even if had demour cami on in vest layer.

Presentations will be loaded by CETIS shortly, in meantime there are posters at http://www.slideshare.net/eduservfoundation/eduserv-foundation-sl-projects and also displayed on Eduserv Island inworld. Two which appealed most immediately were Theatron 3 and a project at the Institute for Education which is looking more at the social side of SL through qualitative research. Theatron 3 is crafting detailed (and prim heavy) recreations of theatres in SL (after a successful 3-D web project). Is interesting for numerous groups - historians, theatre studies etc etc plus tourism-type appeal plus use as performance space (and would imagine for, as in RL, corporate entertaining in RL, can imagine Bill Gates' avatar swanning in for product launch). Also raises information management issues.

At lunchtime (sandwiches = reasonable; fruit = good) was able to pop into SL to show someone my office. Had already got v. excited at glimpse of it in background as Art was showing people round Eduserv Island.

After the 2 afternoon presentations had coffee (= standard institutional) and cake (= good) and then a one hour discussion. Was debate about whether what SL offered to educators was new or not. Some felt was not much advance over chat, but most (I think) disagreed and felt it gave more. General feeling that do need to identify what is uniquely effective/ useful about educating in SL. At moment little research on impact of SL: hope this strand of things doesn't get lured down a meaningless quantitative quest.

Was also disagreement about whether should ever REQUIRE students to go into SL. Personally feel that if it is educationally meaningful, aligned with LT&A etc. etc. then is much like any other activity (seminar, lecture, lab, whatever) - everyone should have to do it. Art quoted someone's opinion that 1 in 10 people "get" SL. However, I pointed out that often students don't "get" lectures either, and that doesn't stop us forcing them to do them (or at least timetabling them, which is by no means the same thing as getting students to attend...)

Anyway was at this point that realised that in 3 short months have moved from academic who curled lip in sneering fashion when speaker (at May Eduserv symposium) said he was a metaverse evangalist, to being a metaverse evangelist myself. Unfortunately job title is still Senior Lecturer, so fear will either have to curb metaverse tendencies before take over whole life, or change jobs.

One speaker said how a fave thing was dressing up in SL and taking posters of self (ie avatar) which was reassuring. On way back to St Pancras was also reminded of shopping in that passed shop selling exquisite leather handbags with tasteful flower appliques. However, cost £350 rather than 350 Linden, so sighed and walked by.

Did not take any pics of RL event, therefore have included photos of 1st home, i.e. Japanese tea garden. NB last pic is me splashing water dreamily (i.e. with pose ball DAYDREAMING placed artfully on stone), and in entirely innocent fashion. 2nd last was taken (intentionally) at night, so is meant to be dim. As usual, click on thumbnails to see full size.