Cybrary

Had a cup of espresso in the Cybrary run by librarians at Info Island. It was totally deserted as you can see in the photo, so come keep me company, people! For anyone interested, there are plenty of spaces open for activity and the conference rooms set up here are far more interesting than in any rl hotel (anything is more inspiring than spending an entire day inside the moldy conference room of the Radisson in Chelmsford, where I recently gave a talk).

I combined searches in sl and on the web and found graduate student Richard Urban’s paper on Second Life museums, (http://www.richardurban.net/), which was presented this past April, in San Francisco, at the “Museums and the Web” conference sponsored by Archives and Museum Informatics. See link to Urban's paper. (http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/urban/urban.html).

I joined the Museums in Second Life Group and found one of 28 identified archivists in sl and sent a query to the leader of Archivists of Second Life run by Christi Janus (Netherlands) and Dinnie Devonshire (Canada). Christi happened to be online and invited me into the group. He teleported me to Cybrary City II, where I landed next to a blank white scroll, the group’s signage, hanging in the air. “Obviously we need a logo. But we do have a mission statement”, which I read with interest. The group is in its infancy, and, knowing nothing about the humans behind the avies, who knows if we’ll even get along, but it’s a place to start. We took a seat on a couple of benches that had been set up around a campfire. “We didn’t want a traditional building. The campfire is where we tell stories and collect oral histories.” We talked for a few minutes, bickering almost immediately about the use of the word document as it pertains to archives.

Next, off to catch last hour of Brian Eno’s sl exhibition “77 million paintings” designed to coincide with the rl exhibition taking place at theYerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF. http://www.longnow.org/77m/

Nightlife

I put the kid to bed, said “see ya” to hubby, put on my headphones, and logged on. Eager to practice my new dancing skills I teleported to the Pier on Pier Island for a bit of nightlife and appeared beside a dance floor packed with avies having a high old time. The dance floor was actually a pier with a stage at one end, extending out over the sea. Stars twinkled overhead. Many hubs in sl are manned with a greeter who welcomes you in, making you feel like an expected guest. This is a real asset in Second Life. With so much stumbling around it’s nice to know that there’s a friendly face on hand to help you out and answer your questions. An indie-looking avie in mini kilt, t-shirt and what looked like doc marten shoes, told me to click on the disco ball over the stage if I wanted to dance. I threw myself onto the dance floor and went for it.

I have no problem dancing by myself and do it as much as possible in rl – when I ride my bike or walk to work with my headphones on I’m like one of those ipod silhouettes, singing aloud like a dork. But I’ve been told that when I dance I flap my arms like “the stubby wings of a chicken”. (This was alarming to hear ‘cuz I actually made money as a go-go dancer – the non-stripping kind. What the hell were people thinking when I was up on my box?!). So anyway, it was great to go on the floor where everyone looked goofy. There was a lot of chat, about the music, about rl…one avie had some trouble on the floor and lost his hair – the sign of a rocking good time. The dj took requests and within ten minutes I heard mine ("Downtown" by Peaches http://www.peachesrocks.com/). How cool is that?

I teleported my friend Nellie to the club. She arrived on the dance floor, totally disoriented, then, once she realized where she was she began changing her clothes frantically, seeking dance-wear. She mooned me a few times and then settled on a corset and poofy skirt over jeans. After a time, Nellie suggested we find a campfire, to mellow out a bit. We teleported to a quiet forested island. The mini-map told us that we were alone in the environment, which was great because we both arrived dancing our asses off, unable to stop the gestures animating us from the Pier. We tapped /99stop into the chat bar and finally calmed down enough to exploring. What a blast to check this place out with a friend. Nellie, who’s as impulsive as I am, immediately tried to break into a cabin nearby. I tried to ride/steal a bike (notices flash up that tell you that you’re fiddling with someone else’s property). I lost Nellie in the woods at one point, when she finally hollered to me (you can shout your text via the chat bar) “I’m in a bi-plane!”…I flew up over the trees to locate her but ran into some mid-air sculptures which were wonderful – wonderful because I don’t yet have the skills to create something like that and amazing to imagine floating sculptures in real life. Like the art in White Cube, the sculptures were based on the most accessible shapes and tools available to sculptors/builders in sl. The shapes hovered over the trees and blinked red, yellow, green, or blew gently on the wind…a relaxing site.

I wandered around until of course I found my way to a bar where four avies were dancing some kind of accelerated hustle, laughing and poking each other with gestures. I told them I’d lost a friend. “She’s in plane? And she’s new? Uh oh.”

“Shh, don’t scare her,” One of the others whispered. Suddenly I heard from Nellie. “I’ve crashed into a tree! I’ve ruined someone’s lawn!” She abandoned the plane, leaving a burning hole in someone’s back garden and ran for it, not knowing how to leave a note behind…

We found our way to a swing and rested there for the rest of the evening…when I spoke to Nellie in rl yesterday she told me she missed me last log-on. She had spent her session as a triceratops.

Next stop…Cybrary on Info Island, to participate in some librarian action.

Artscape

Last night was very quiet. Cramped in rl from crouching on the floor over my laptop for three nights straight and stunned from a heat wave, I left Siri lying in a hammock wearing a ready made tiger striped tankini, on a beachy island club called Italia.

I was okay there for a while, as the place was empty of people, but soon wary, when I noticed that the place was obviously some kind of hook up joint, scattered as it was with pose balls with intimate sounding titles. It was time for some fine art...

I searched the grid for art-related sites and pulled up the White Cube Gallery. I approached the gallery with excitement, thinking I was going to experience art of real White Cube, London, proportions. And I enjoyed the exhibition – sort of.

I entered the exhibition "4" (June 3rd to July 4th) by American artist Juria Yoshikawa (Lance Shields). Juria, a female in sl (this helps explain: http://memespelunk.org/blog/?page_id=39), is an artist in real life and has been creating sculptures in sl since March 2007. In this particular installation she collaborated with musician AldoManutio Abruzzo (Dennis Moser). Her artist statement reads:

‘ "4" is the latest artistic romp of emerging virtual artist Juria Yoshikawa collaborating with composers Miulew Takahe, Bingo Onomatopoeia, Auxillary Snook and AldoManutio Abruzzo. Given a month in a 15x15 meter cube shaped art space, she has chosen to use a single number as the beat to create her artwork to. The idea is simple. Yoshikawa will install a new artwork in the gallery each week. The minimalist number concept then extends to the 4 SL musicians she has called on to collaborate with, one each week. Each composer is given a single number 1, 2, 3 or 4 to create a soundscape based on their musical interpretation of that number. Yoshikawa herself will use her 4 opportunities to extend her ongoing exploration of light in immersive spaces.’

I entered the exhibition and animated my avatar as instructed. My sl body was blown and lifted through cubes of white light. I listened to the rush of music and was in the moment...for a moment. Unfortunately, technology failed me, or I it, again. My avatar was supposed to float gently on sound waves. Which it did, until I tried to stop all animations and my left arm somehow bent over the back of my head in some wrenching yogic crunch. Once again, I was ruining a perfectly good scene…

It takes a lot of openness on the part of the rl operator to truly appreciate an online exhibition. Like, if I had a 36” monitor and Boston Acoustic speakers attached to my computer. And blinders, so I wouldn’t be distracted by the stack of half-folded laundry, mocking me in the corner of my living room where I sat on the floor with laptop. Upon reflection, I thought about the work of rl artist Olafur Eliasson and would be interested to see a virtual representation of "Your Spiral View" or "The Inverted Shadow Tower". http://www.olafureliasson.net/selected_works.html)

But there was something there, emergent. And though a disclaimer in sl would have been the respectful thing to do, disassociating the gallery from the real place, with artists pushing the boundaries of material uses, it may not long before White Cube, London will jump on board.

Baby steps...

Last night was lovely.

I found a changing room and practiced trying on a variety of free outfits, thus protecting my virtue from further humiliation. Cheesiness abounds in Second Life and not surprisingly most of the free clothing I picked up was more suited for an MTV Yo Raps video. The majority included fishnet crop tops, platform f*k me boots, gold lame and sequins. When in doubt, go for black. I finally found a black swing skirt called “Rasputina”. Of course it was made of net and ribbon, and therefore see-through, but I found some granny pants – or what looked like spandex cycling shorts which are probably for a man’s wardrobe – and wore those beneath. I made some black shoes, locked on the tresses and off I went. My friend found me pretty quickly and invited me to try dancing again. What the hell. He teleported me to Osborne (133, 117, 62), site of last night’s disaster. I held my breath and there I appeared, in front of the fountain, fully clothed. Hurrah! My friend on the other hand, seemed to have had a problem on the way…

I’d seen avatars appear, or walk by, in a sort of granite state, like an animated stone statue, while their clothes slowly “rezzed” on. They appear like blank canvases until fully realized. But something funky was going on with my friend. In RL I’ve been flashed at before – it’s a rite of passage. I’ve been flashed at in parks, trains, even while canoeing. However, there’s something particularly disturbing about watching an avatar standing before me, body features grayed out, except for a semi-transparent, hairy and rotund little penis pointed in my direction. Did he know he was flashing me? Was this some kind of SL joke? Did my body parts emerge like this to others? I don’t think he flashed me intentionally but what do I know? Obviously not much. And I was too embarrassed to ask. Actually, I was convinced that my friend had only good intentions. Plus I didn’t want to waste my avie’s newly found confidence due to a hint of penis. His clothes finally appeared (very debonair actually) and he escorted me to the dressing room where I could purchase a ball gown for free.

I walked into a huge dressing room, complete with dressing table and images of gowns to choose from posted on the walls. I put on a swirling black Scarlet O’Hara/1950s tiered and eyelet gown, cinched at the waist and strapless, which swung from the waist in animated splendor. I felt lovely. My friend escorted me onto the floor, which was glowing with prisms from the lights above. Romantic, streaming music was provided courtesy of martiniinthemorning.com. Blue and pink spheres, or pose balls, bobbed around the floor reading “Swing 2” “Slowdance 5”, “Tango” and “Swept Away”. My friend guided me carefully towards a pink pose ball reading “Swing 1”. Sitting on top synchronized my avatar with his and suddenly we were twirling round the dance floor like Astaire and Rogers. My hands left the keyboard and we just let ourselves go. It was a bit awkward to be dancing with a virtual stranger (as my husband walked by in the living room poking over my shoulder). In fact, it made me think of those teenage dances I used to go to (anyone remember Mosley’s in Dedham?). Now and then we’d chat and joke about the dance styles. Sometimes we were quiet and watched our avies enjoy themselves. Honestly, I felt exhilarated…My friend sent me a happy attachment and I smiled for the rest of the evening…

Help me...

Signs posted warned me against leaving Help Island until I felt ready, as there’s no going back. However, being as impulsive as I am, I decided to go for it and headed towards the mainland. My advice if you decide to try a second life? Stay on Help Island for as long as possible. Learn how to dance, dress, back flip, build a bit and then depart. Learn from my mistakes…

I felt pretty pulled together as I toured around the place. I had a cup of free coffee in a Greenwich Village café, toured Info Island where all the librarians hang out, visited an art gallery filled with fantastic photographs by a contemporary French artist. I even made a friend who chatted with me one evening on a park bench. Thinking that my city buns were giving me away as a newbie, I decided to use the coupon for free hair at Gurl 6 and picked up an awesome set of locks that I wish I had in real life (bountiful, layered, six different colors!). However, malls are malls whether in real or second life and after browsing hairstyles for ten minutes I got that panicky feeling that I get in any shopping center and decided I needed a pint.

I managed to find my way to an English pub called the Three Lions. Once inside the bartender shouted my name in greeting and folks chatted by a roaring fire. I was met by my friend, who was wearing a Penguin t-shirt and socks with sandals. He asked if I wanted to dance. We watched two women, wearing tiny petticoats and leather corsets, gyrate to generic rock music being played by a band on stage which transmitted through the computer speakers. My friend slipped across the dance floor like Frank Sinatra, twirling and sashaying, leaping and bending. He was amazing! He told me to touch a poster on the wall in order to make myself dance. I did…and then all hell broke loose.

Suddenly my avatar was spazzing out like it was on cocaine and ecstasy. I did the hustle, the foxtrot, moonwalk, Britney and jazz hands all at once and over and over again. “Woh!” my friend said and backed away from me. He shouted directions at me “Right click, for god’s sake, right click”. I couldn’t stop myself from moving. As I blazed around the dance floor I noticed all the avatars had stopped conversing and were staring at me as I whipped by, back and forth. I think the band even stopped playing when my avatar raced over and pounded the floor of the stage before doing a pole dance in front of them. After what seemed like a half hour of hysterical command prompts, I managed to steer myself out the front door, still dancing mind you, and halted all animations.

I caught my breath and backed sheepishly into the pub. After a sit down and a pink cocktail (courtesy of my friend – though I couldn’t figure out how to drink it) he offered to teleport me to a ballroom dance. Amazed that he was still willing to hang out with me I agreed.

I was whisked away to a peaceful marbled piazza, with a fountain gurgling in front of me. My friend descended a staircase, elegant in a black tuxedo. He asked if I had a ball gown. “I have a ‘medieval frock’” I told him (that I had purchased for something like 2 cents in U.S. currency). We noticed that I was still in the seated position from the pub. “Hang on a sec.” I told him and tried to stand up. Nothing worked. Was it lag? Caps lock on? For reasons I can’t explain, I grabbed my hair from the top of my head and threw it on the ground. “Wow. You don’t have to get angry.” My friend said. Unexpectedly bald, I tried to grab my hair back and clicked edit to change my appearance. And then something happened that made me SO WISH I was the kind of gal who read directions before building a new toy.

Abruptly, all my clothes disappeared and there I was…standing butt naked in front of a stranger. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” My friend laughed, “Cute butt”. I was HORRIFIED. I frantically clicked and copied and tried to get some clothes onto my body but instead turned my avatar towards my friend to give him full frontal. Now, I’d heard that you had to buy genitals at some Second Life mall in order to “complete the picture” but let me tell you – I was – as my son says - “nudie-pie” and all the parts were there. My friend was now snarfing with laughter as I managed to sit, yes sit, on a skirt and put on a black t-shirt. “Aw, Sweetie,” he said sympathetically. I blabbed about meeting later after I had gotten my bearings and bailed, teleporting myself next to the park near Three Lions for some privacy (next goal is to find some changing rooms). I left Siri in the park, in the dark, naked…except for a skirt that her cute butt is sitting on.

Griefing...

After logging back on I found myself safely on land, still on Help Island. I was feeling okay. I made my way, carefully, towards the plaza where all the folks had gathered. I noticed a lovely looking "person" wearing a gown covered in peacock feathers. She gestured towards a sign and made beautiful white glowing spheres shoot from her wrist. I hobbled towards her and pressed the "chat bar".

"Hi, I like your dress." She turned to look at me and flew off.
Did I look weird? I suddenly felt sort of shy. What the hell? How can I, an avatar, feel shy?? But there you have it - real life crosses into second life. I couldn't bear the thought of walking down the promenade towards the group with everyone checking me out. Everyone looked so pulled together. So I hovered above the group and watched as chat appeared on the lower left side of my screen. I was eavesdropping! I landed and sat on a bench. I had no clue what anyone was talking about. A huge guy with black wings rushed by. An avie with shining "bling" stood sentry near me, arms crossed. His handle (or name, which floats above everyone's head) read something about a car company. I sat there for a little bit when a nice person named Arri asked if I needed help. Like in real life, I was most concerned about my outfit. I asked how I might change my clothes. Arri promptly delivered a box of clothes to my inventory. I made my way back to the park and tried to edit my appearance. My avatar froze and arms and legs stuck out like a kid preparing itself to be slathered with sunscreen.

All clothing pieces are objects created by "prims", or shapes, that can be edited to create anything from clothes to stuctures which then inhabit the worlds in Second Life. I clicked a few buttons and suddenly I lost my skirt (still had pants on). I then tried to manipulate my hair-do, or "city buns". They floated next to my ears like birds nests and landed on my face. I struggled with the hairy city buns when suddenly an enormous avie who resembled the Incredible Hulk sidled up to me and shoved me. "Here's my anus!" he shouted (through my computer) and he bent over. Thankfully, I didn't see any prim-built arsehole. "Here's my anus!" He yelled again and walked through me. I stood my ground and struggled with my buns...time to log out.

Help Island

The first day went alright. I chose an avatar called "city chic". A tall chick in red tunic and capris appeared and stood around cluelessly in the middle a grassy field on "Help Island", first stop for all "newbies". I pottered around in circles and then tried flying. I wandered over to a road and building that had the atmosphere of City Hall Plaza Boston at 4 a.m. on a Sunday. I tried to drive an abandoned steam roller but it didn't run. I saw the body of another avatar slumped over in a car, otherwise, the place was abandoned. Where were all the peeps?

I lifted gently and rose above trees and structures and lo and behold...there were others. I could see them bustling in a park. I flew toward them, over a vast ocean and promptly landed in it rather than the park...I watched, horrified, as my avatar plunged into the sea. I frantically clicked my directionals as Siri struggled into a speck and then disappeared under the water. I've never felt so bleak.