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Think when you make something by passion and every time you see the result you feel more inspired and wish to go beyond. It has been our experience to reach challenges and find ways to improve each new issue. The recognition we’ve received is our best incentive and, humbly, we will follow this path. It was so nice to interview so special people, who are part of serious campaigns such as Relay for Life (donate)… and it confirms we are right to show that Second Life can be a very fertile field to help people, to find support and learn a lot. This Issue is full of talent. I present our special article, the Education using SL as a tool to spread knowledge. There are many RL institutions that believe in new ways of teaching and training. And, when we talk about teaching, there is our SL “teacher”, who has taught in a very creative way… The only and fascinating Torley Linden!
Citation preview
Editor´s Note
Think when you make something bypassion and every time you see theresult you feel more inspired and wish togo beyond. It has been our experienceto reach challenges and find ways toimprove each new issue.
The recognition we’ve received is ourbest incentive and, humbly, we willfollow this path. It was so nice tointerview so special people,who are part of seriouscampaigns such as Relayfor Life (donate)… and itconfirms we are right toshow that Second Life canbe a very fertile field tohelp people, to findsupport and learn a lot.
This Issue is full of talent. Ipresent our special article,the Education using SL asa tool to spreadknowledge. There aremany RL institutionsthat believe in newways of teaching and training.
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And, when we talk about teaching, there is our SL “teacher”, who has taughtin a very creative way… The only and fascinating Torley Linden!
You will be enchanted by great personalities and their histories of whoreached success and recognition through their quality and ethics: MinnuPalen and Ina Centaur tell us about their thoughts, wishes and more.
The Teleport of this month is playful and very useful for you to learn how toimprove your Second Life. The amazing island of Torley Linden will amazeyou – visit Here Island.
As we don’t have only our intellect, we also show beauty for the eyes in ahomage for men who want a touch of charm. The elegant fashion for themis amazing! And more… Would you dare to wear hats and caps? Top 5 givesnice tips.
We created the pages, prepared the mag and you, reader, can enjoy it now.
Kisses,
Editor-in-ChiefInner-world@inner-world.org
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Cover Challenge
Friendly Greetings!
Education is not a simple subject. By
the way, we want to improve each
new Issue and make them deeper.
Our metaverse has enough
“trivialities” already.
That’s why our biggest target is
showing important subjects to
our readers and being
recognized per this is our
satisfaction. We showed
subjects such as art in our
premiere edition and the main
article in our previews issue
was about health in Second
Life, goodness and the
important campaign Relay
for Life.
Helping people, clarifying,
s h o w i n g
| 1 1
important actions and educating is more important than having fun here.
Educators who use Second Life as a tool to spread knowledge would be the
highlighted of our cover for this issue. And this time this cover was a real
challenge. What or who would catch your attention to read this?
Torley Linden was our ideal for the cover. While Ananda and I were deciding
the guideline of this issue (last November), we saw him on the cover. Torley
Linden certainly is a very important person in Second Life, not only because
of his kindness, but his gift as educator, his tutorials and the way he helps
people in SL. Torley is one of the highlights of our main article and his Sim
“Here Island”, an amazing green and pink universe is our TP to…
So, our cover wouldn’t be another, but this talented guy!!!
I already knew his favorite colors and his passion per watermelon he got
since he was a kid, which became his trademark. Those colors are certainly
the ones on our cover!
Kisses
1 2 | I n n e r Wo r l d M a g a z i n e : : I s s u e 3 : : A p r i l 2 0 0 9
I t is known that education is one
powerful key to reach freedom. It is not
a preparation for life, but the life itself,
as you can do a lot for yourself when
you get the opportunity to study, to
learn and open your mind to an
endless world of possibilities. Virtual
Worlds, universities and school
systems have found a very interesting
way to spread knowledge through the
Internet and education online.
T he countless possibilities virtual
worlds can offer in the area of
education show us the potential of
new ways of learning and spread a very
powerful tool.
T his subject is so important that
in the end of March there was the
Virtual Worlds Best Practices in
Education conference. One of the
wonderful advantages was the
possibility that everybody could go to
this International event inside the
Second Life.
T he question they made, which
converges to this article about
education is: “Are the virtual worlds
the classrooms of the Future? The
target of this conference was the
discussion about how the Virtual
World Environments can help the
students of today to become all they
can be, by creating work strength in
the future.
S econd Life has been a valuable
professional development tool for
educators. Hundreds of educational
programs and projects have been
released by many universities and
schools from all over the world by
showing their proposals in Second Life.
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I t is fascinating how education organizations can benefit us even using virtual
worlds. We have many choices and can attend to seminars, courses, symposia,
conferences, be part of discussions, presentations, and debates about amazing
subjects on learning and how to improve creativity.
S ome Universities and institutes already have their lands and installed
gorgeous campus in-world to be part of this revolution we’ve been living.
E ven many important companies such as IBM have their training center in SL,
where they promote meetings with their teams from all over the world, to discuss
new projects and other subjects. It is easier and faster to have your “digital body,
as an avatar” and meet your team in-world.
T here are also some projects at Ohio University involving science education
for grades K-12 and many other Universities and schools offering classes in-world.
Education in SL is a success and Linden Lab has been encouraging educators to
take advantage of the multimedia and social-networking possibilities within its
grid. Second Life is the improvement in interaction and expression when
compared with programs such as distance-education courses. The environments
where classes happen are more attractive and, with the event of voice and video
conference in-world, we can really enjoy it.
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Libraries, Museums and find so many
other sources of knowledge in Second
Life, that if you want, you probably will
find a way to learn about more than
what you imagine. You can meet
students and educators working on
class and real-life education projects.
S econd Life has new and exciting
possibilities for educators and their
students. Sometimes you can try to
understand how it would be possible
to learn through a Virtual World? Well,
there are many options you can
choose among Science education (yes
you read correctly), Multimedia
presentation or Language Learning
practice, for example.) It is possible to
attend a class with other people and
their avatars in front of a screen where
you can follow your teacher, while
his/her voice and videos or images are
shared with everybody. Imagine how
many disciplines you can find in SL,
T his subject is such an important
way to reach thousands around the
world, that there are some lists
created to help educators interested in
offering their knowledge in-world. It is
not a matter of language, as we can
find Universities, Institutes, famous or
small schools from many countries. So,
if you don’t speak English, which is
one language spoken here, as the
company that created this program is
in the USA, California, don’t worry as
you surely will find education in many
languages, such as French, Italian,
Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, and
many more. Imagine the amazing
opportunity you can experience and
find people from many countries and
cultures to share your experiences and
get theirs using Second Life for
education.
Y ou can meet Educators working
with countless subjects and also visit
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and you will certainly be surprised.
T he more you keep in touch with
people interested in teaching or
learning, the higher level of
knowledge you will reach. As an
example you can join a Group in
Second Life called 'Real Life Education
in Second Life', which has members
who are interested in the educational
possibilities of Second Life. You can be
an educator or even a Researcher and
if so, you can join the Slur -- Second
Life Research Listserv.
O ne of so many “gifts” Second
Life has brought to us is the possibility
to discover new skills, which you
didn’t even imagine you had. It is
known that thousands have learned a
lot in their virtual lives and it is
wonderful to improve your talents or
to learn new things such as new
languages, philosophy, art, science
and much more...
O f course it is important to
mention that it doesn't replace the
real contact, but it enables working
with people all over the world and
also make it much easier for people
who can’t leave their houses or have
short time to do all they want.
S ome experts in many areas have
been teaching in SL.
D eMarco Galthie a very talented
Professional who started his “second
Life” almost two years ago and has
taught in-world tells us about his
experience as an educator in SL.
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D eMarco heard about SL when
he was part of a Project called Gates of
Universe of a German games producer
called Earthwave studios. Then, he
thought he could make money in the
Virtual World, by using his knowledge
in the modeling and 3D area, as he is
a modeler, texturizer and animator in
RL. The first experience was frustrating
as he found out he couldn’t modeling
in SL until he discovered he could do
it outside of the metaverse; it was
something pretty new called Sculpt
and he learned how to bring his
creations to SL.
B esides creating he decided to
teach also as a more enjoyable way to
use his knowledge, knowing it could
help Brazilian people to improve their
image as creators in-world.
A very interesting point DeMarco
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mentioned is that one of the qualities related to distance courses is the immersion;
therefore beyond using voice, he has a 3D representation, which is nicer.
I t is fascinating to see his
enthusiasm, the development of his
trajectory in SL and how he plans his
courses and offer them. Since the start
his didactics has been always different
than the ones used by most of all
schools, which already existed in SL, as
he doesn’t follow models.
D eMarco opted to offer just a
few or no furniture or any extra in
classroom; nothing that could cause
lag or catch attention of the student.
He also opted to teach for a few
students, as it doesn’t matter the
quantity; despite he does not have anything against this.
H is dedication to improve new methods and always searching for the best
to make his classes easier are some of the qualities of his courses, after more than
a year he started his school. He has used a new program, which show in real time
Despite DeMarcoadmits that Second
Life presentslimitations and
perhaps always willhave them, it is still
possible to teachthrough the metaverse
by using sound,images and videos;
and all this can makeclasses playful.
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what is happening on his real screen.
The main advantage of this is that his
students don’t need to install any
software to follow the modeling
process.
H is expectations regarding the
future of Second Life show his belief
about the convergence of media and
how sure he is that what he teaches
can inspire big steps and realizations.
H is message is positive and he
knows how to reach goal – “There are
explorer people, which build their
path, they are entrepreneurs and,
there are some who just walk
on the asphalt. My students
will sell the asphalt to them.” SL
is still a jungle full of risks, but
imagine some years ahead, when we
Will have more speed, how it will be
the convergence of media?
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K now more about DeMarco Galthie creations at:
http://www.earthwave-studios.com/GoE/races.html
Visit the website of the producer:
http://www.earthwave-studios.com
S ome Universities, schools and institutes you can visit and even get more
information about:
| 2 7
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Among so many fantastic professionals and creators we find in
the metaverse, which share what they know in a so generous and
competent way and in so different areas, a name is a must and I
shall mention him because of his amazing skills, Torley Linden.
A legend of SL and on the Internet in general Torley Linden is
a fantastic example of teaching through the Internet. Torley is a
multi task media guru, blogger, graphic designer, virtuoso concert
pianist and much more. He made 220+ video tutorials and promos,
which have gotten almost 4 million total views on YouTube.
W ell, I admit it is not easy to contact him and that I’ve tried
a lot to interview him. But, what was amazing and surprising, and
I can tell “inexplicable”, was a day I went to SL in a different time
just to talk with another person I interviewed and didn’t even
remember where I logged out the last time. I was shocked when I
“fell” on the head of “somebody”, imagine who? Torley and his
infallible Pink and Green avatar. I was so surprised by this
coincidence (or not), that it took sometime for me to say at least a
simple “hi” on the Arenas Rosadas bridge. And he was there, still…
and said nothing… and I was there, almost touching him to know
if I would finally get or not my answers to the interview I sent some
days ago by e-mail
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B ut, while I don’t get it, let me
talk about this special person…
H ow can’t we admire a person
who uses its creativity in a so
brilliant way in everything He does?
And the most incredible thing is his
generosity in sharing all with us. He
also challenges all, calling us to his
creative world and believes that life
can be much better through the
creativity. We can, we have talents,
which are just sleeping sometimes.
This is his message.
E ven his music is amazing and
impressive. It is impossible to not
get touched by his piano.
T he colors Pink and Green are
his stamp inspired by something at
least “exotic”, the watermelon that
he loves. The colors he uses are
strong and vibrants, just like Torley.
It reminds a cybernetic Andy
Warhol. But, don’t be wrong, he
didn’t come to the world just to take
a simple walk. Of course his life is
also an amusement park, but he
knows exactly how to manage the
“toys”.
T orley inspires us to look for
content and uses so many sources
to teach; that He became an
example of how wonderful can be
the education through the Internet
and Second Life, our Virtual World.
A “freesoul” as he calls himself, who
also found a way to motivate people
positively and touch their lives.
It is fantastic!!
W e closed this Issue and... it
happened! He answered the
interview and here it is for you to
enjoy!!!
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Inner: How do you manage yourtime and the great gift such asthis amazing creativity you have?
Torley Linden: This is a muchbigger question than I can answer ina single go! But, I'd like to sharesomething useful, and that's: cheap,lightweight experiments. Everydayin my processes, I look for littlethings I can improve, 5-10 min.tweaks that can add up to saving mehours, even days over the long run.For instance, I'm always searchingfor better ways to compile info; I'vebeen using Evernote to keep track ofmany Second Life-related pieces,such as cool places to visit in-world.It can even clip images and syncs onboth Mac and Windows, so I'mcovered visually and across myplatforms.
This, in turn, gives me more time tobe creative. I love to intensify focus,and that requires enough space tothink to myself. It's true the busyworld around us can inspire art, but
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I prefer to have a time of "digestion" and a time to actually make stuff fromwhat I've absorbed. Some of my best work has come from that dynamicbalance. Sometimes I need to sleep on it too; SL is like a waking dream.
Also severely important is reducing unnecessary conflict and waste — I callit "Chop the slop!" — from your first and Second Lives. Don't spend timearound people who aren't supportive and nurturing of your creativity; thatdoes nothing good and just drains your inner richness. Rather, focus on whatbenefits you the most, and one of the biggest questions I ask daily is: "ISwhat I am doing useful AND fun?" That keeps me going.
Inner: As you are a social media guru, blogger, graphic designer,virtuoso concert pianist and so many other amazing things, what wouldyou like to do more, that you haven’t tried yet?
Torley Linden: There are some things I gave up on earlier in life due to notenough time, motivation, or interest — hindsight has shifted my views. Forinstance, I wanted to pursue 3D modeling more, but focused on musicinstead. I think this would be a great skill to excel at, and I have such a softspot for sculpties in SL and the organization they've brought to us.
Also artistically, and this relates to video production, I'd like to get moreinvolved with motion graphics. I see so many amazing show reels where type(fonts) is spinning in space, being layered, glitched, and edited to extremedegrees — Andrew Kramer's Video Copilot is notable, as he worked on theFringe titles. More machinima could benefit from this, too: I believe VERYmuch in cross-disciplinary excellence.
Public speaking's another interest of mine where I haven't done a lot of it
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yet, but could seemyself having a lotof fun. Ze Frank isa big inspirationin that regard...some say he lookslike PhilipRosedale! (I'minclined to agree.)
In the real world,maybe someday Icould cook. For now,I leave that to mywife, and she's great.
Inner: Virtual worlds suchas Second Life can be a wayto live better lives. Why did youdecide to join it?
Torley Linden: To have a better life. In 2004, I wasdepressed and lonely! I found Second Life with its 7-day-trial at the time, and thought, "10 bucks for a Basic account after that?Sounds good to me." Second Life's given so much to me and I'm passionateabout giving back: I've found so much support here, got a job, found love,etc.
It sounds like one of those "But wait, there's more!" infomercials, yet it's all
| 3 9
true. In numerous ways, I've benefited from so many facets and aspects ofSL. Second Life has made my first life a much more enriching, happy one.
Inner: Education is a must to get freedom and we can get it from manyoptions, even Second Life. Why did you become a SL guru, who makesour lives so great by your wonderful tutorials?
Torley Linden: I detailed more of the story in my first post on the SecondLife Tips & Tricks Blog (http://tr.im/sltnt); it was really about not having easyresources to learn from, so in a gradual evolution of "practice what youpreach", I made a case to my bosses at the time that this — easy educationfor Second Life skills — is essential yet underdone.
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Second Life is so visual and manypeople don't want to read longparagraphs of text (I'm sometimesone of them), so the next best thingto me looking over your shoulder isshowing Second Life AS IT IS.
Like all Residents, I began as acomplete noob, and learned fromso many oldbies, veterans who wereall too happy to share with me whatthey know, for they felt that theyweren't being listened enough to,either. Over the ages, I've continuedto distill the very best highlights ofcollective community knowledge,because I simply love helpingpeople have a wonderful time here!
Inner: Are there tools andcreations you would like to seemore in SL?
Torley Linden: Yes, this could fill abook. Or several. I'd specifically liketo see more products and serviceswhich have a complete, cohesiveexperience, meaning: the box art
| 4 1
looks good, the build quality is robust, and all the tiny details are taken careof. For example, SeaWolf 's dragons (on the region of Aggro) have succeededwith their combo of many SL features strengthening each other: they have asuperb HUD, comprehensive documentation, clever use of deformanimations for wing extensions, and even a cheeky Easter Egg if youaccidentally remove attachments. My words do no justice, but it's the pure"WOW!" of excitement you get upon immersing in such a product.
Pending better UI improvements from the Linden side, I want to see moreproducts use left-click actions (found under the General tab of the buildtools). They make it so much easier to sit, buy, etc. Little tweaks like thatreally add up, and shows the maker has a personality and cares about thecustomer experience. Which is such a fascinating part of SL because all Resisare our customers, and many of them have customers in turn — which isexactly why it's so important to keep teaching, learning, and amplifying theawesome.
Thank you so much for your attention, Torley!
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Inner: Why did you getinterested in a Virtual life? Doyou separate your RL of SL?
Minnu Palen: I was not interestedtill I read an article and figured I'dgive it a try, once I took that firststep, there was no going back. I wasamazed and fascinated by thisvirtual world. I do separate SL fromRL in a way, but I express the realMinnu through my virtual
character. I am into fashion inRL, art, and being creative.Those are the things I do notseparate.
Inner: You recently offeredus a wonderful new fancystore. Please, tell us aboutyour activities, skills andinterests in SL and yournewest project.
Minnu Palen: I can't take all thecredit for something that is nolonger just mine. LeLutka is ateam of creative people, a groupof friends, more like a virtualfamily. My sister, Thora, my good
| 5 1
friends, Valena and Miabella(whom is now doing jewelry forus) and our general manager,also known as my right hand,Aradia are all a part of it.Without them, none of whatwe've accomplished withthis release would have beenpossible.
When I am not working,(which is pretty much all thetime) I am spending time withfriends, or taking time off tospend time with my significantother in RL. I love photography andI have been able to express my visionand ideas on SL quite well through myphotography, which is one skill I take pridein. We are currently working on a new haircollection and a new skin line for theladies. We will soon start working ona next collection, butthat won't happenfor a little while,although weu s u a l l yp l a n
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months in advance
Inner: In your opinion what are the strong and weak points aboutcreating in a Virtual World and the copyrights situation?
Minnu Palen: The strong point is that one can reach millions all over theworld; it makes my day hearing from a happy customer. I'm flattered thatsomeone would call our creations amazing, or that they love it so muchthey'd like to feature it on a fashion show. We take pride in our work andthat is probably the best feeling, knowing you can reach millions and evenaffect someone’s life.
We took part in a Relay for Life event last year and I was so happy to be ableto help Cancer survivors feel good about themselves, to some this is just avirtual game, but to many, this is their way to escape a painful reality, I amjust glad I could help, even if just a little.
The weak points to me are, the constant changes with Windlight settingsand the horrible mesh we're given. I wish I could create more realisticlooking avatars, however, it is out of my hands and we won't be able to doanything about that till LL decides to offer a better mesh for us to work with.
I feel we do what we can when it comes to copyright laws, there have beentimes when I have submitted a claim and it goes unnoticed or sent backbecause we missed a simple word, it is a lengthy process, and sometimes
it does not even count in our favor. I have been on both sides of thefence, and I feel copyright claims are a serious matter and it
should be dealt with by the parties involved, not the public.
| 5 3
Inner: You are very talented andyour art and creations areamazing and unique. How do youmanage this success and wheredo you find inspiration?
Minnu Palen: Well thank you, butagain I cannot take all the credit foreverything created at LeLutka. Wenever expected to have the successwe've had. At first it started as ahobby, something to do in ourspare time, and also, I wanted skinsthat I couldn't find anywhere in SL.Then we grew bigger and biggerand here we are; I am glad ourcustomers enjoy our work and thatis what I am most thankful for. Ourinspiration comes from all over, apainting, a magazine ad, an oldvintage piece... it can be anything.
Inner: Do you find the resourcesyou need to express your talentsin-world? If not, which tools doyou miss here?
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Minnu Palen: It's never enough,sometimes I wish for a little extrathis, a little more of that, and Idon't think we'll ever be fullyhappy with what we have towork with on SL. However, I feelwe have come a long way and Iam happy with what we have forthe time being, although bettermesh would make things easieron ALL of us who create, I thinkthat is what I'd like most.
Inner: Do you believe SecondLife can surprise us and offernew challenges this year?What would you like to seehere in our Second life nowand in two years?
Minnu Palen: Second Life neverceases to amaze me; when I firstbecame a member of thiscommunity, it was all dull, wehad barely any lighting, andeveryone wore horrible face
| 5 5
lights that lit up an entire hall. Now we have Windlight and better lightning,which makes the avatar look a bit more realistic; although the latest versionhas a problem with lighting and prim attachments. Other than that, I amquite happy with it.
I would like to see Windlight finally fixed, I'd like to see a viewer withshadows, which makes my life easier when I need to edit a photo inPhotoshop, and last but not least... better mesh, have I said that enough?hehe, I think you get my point.
I'd like to take this time to thank Inner World Magazine for thinking of meand our company. I am flattered and I look forward to this issue of themagazine. Thank you again on behalf of the entire LeLutka team.
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She does everything,and does everything
well. Know more aboutthis fascinating
scientist, who is aworkaholic and loves
art. The best thing is thatshe expresses so many
gifts in RL and SL.
| 6 1
science consultant.), I put a sitetogether for them, including acustomized backend for themagazine and adbook(h t tp : / / adbook . s L i t e r a r y . com) .Things were going really well, until(those whom I still think inhindsight were) the most importantmembers of the staff lost interest inSL. I ended up funding themagazine myself after taking onseveral custom build jobs in SL.(These were the golden days ofcommerce in SL. The average price Icharged for a custom commercialbuild of a single building was aboutL$250,000. In August 2007, I had to establish aregular stream of in-world fundingto pay for the sLiterary island simthat I opened IC-Skins. And then, itbecame an addiction.
Ever since I was a kid, I was forced tobelieve that it's not possible tomake a living through art (I did notreally see the buildings I create asart -- they were mostly justgeometrical applications of basicarchitectural techniques; though I
Inner: When were you born in SLand why did you get interested ina Virtual life?
Inna Centaur: I first signed up for SLin 2003, but I was still studyingphysics at the time, so did not havemuch time for SL. (Soon, I'dforgotten about both SL and myusername/password!) I signed up formy Ina Centaur account onHalloween, 2006. I was following theSL hype on Slashdot, and decided tomore actively participate.
The first people I met on SL were agroup of people who thought thatSecond Life was a "world by itself,"enough to foster literary fiction in;they would eventually be foundersof sLiterary Magazine. I found theidea interesting, but I did not seethe potential in SL. They were tryingto form a literary journal, so I naivelyagreed to help them with theart/layout. I didn't sign back on SLuntil three months later.
In my spare time (I was writing anovel, while serving as a part time
| 6 3
try to use a new idea each time, eachbuilding, on the whole waspredictable. Art, on the other hand,is not predictable; even just theprocess itself is enlightening.)I then spent a lot of time readingbooks (secretly: novels), since I wasnot allowed to draw. When I createsomething, I am always overcomewith the arrogance that my creationmay exceed me -- but it became clearto me how fragile and delicate artreally is. I used that as an excuse tobecome good at mathematics andscience, forcing myself to believethat my creations would receivegreater longevity in those fields.)
Inner: Tell us about youractivities, skills and interests inSL and your newest project.
Ina Centaur: his is perhaps the mostdifficult thing to explain to peoplewho do not know me: I doeverything, and I do everythingdecently well ;-) My weak point isthat since I can do everything,sometimes I run out of time to do
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everything (I also try to assign to people both paying and volunteer jobs --most of the time, I misjudge people and assume too much of them). Forexample, I built from scratch (partially from the opening cityscape photo withMarv running across a building top in Sin City, the movie -- but mostly frommy imagination) my Skin City sim/mall project, but did not have enough timeto continuously promote it. The purpose of the Skin City project was primarilyto raise funds for Primtings, Shakespeare, and sLiterary, my three other sims,which were devoted to art and did not have much commercial potential.
My newest project is a fashion-networking device presented in the form ofan in-world networked "paperdoll" HUD. (OK, I think you probably want meto talk about Shakespeare. When I'm directing a play by myself, I usuallyspend at least a few weeks just analyzing the play. Sometimes, it's daysspread over several months or years apart. As I'm analyzing, I imagine howthe sets and characters might look. Once I have a good idea of how the playmight go, I make a casting call. For an SL production where actors only workpart time, when everyone's casted, we typically spend a month, with 1 to 2hours a day on weekdays and 3 to 6 hours on weekends rehearsing. It isbasically like the RL theatre production process, except we often waste a lotof time when SL is broken. Nevertheless, I think it's wonderful that so manyadults who would never get to see a Shakespearean play live in RL get to seeit in SL -- so, even though we have not yet raised enough funds to pay backtier, the project is worthwhile for both its artistic and social aspects.)
Inner: In your opinion what are the strong and weak points aboutcreating in a Virtual World and the copyrights?
Ina Centaur: Well, this is where I need to explain that Second Life is *not* theonly virtual world. The permissions system that SL uses is perhaps, the"easiest" to understand in that it is based on RL commerce limitations. For
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example, if you are a fruit seller in RL, you sell your apple, and it's gone: it'sa no-copy apple. This analogy applies to SL's no-copy permission. It's a verynaive system because there are no supply limitations in virtual worlds: youcan sell an infinite number of apples even if you run out of land to grow iton!Also, I think SL naturally promotes creativity -- the buyer of the virtual applemight customize it, perhaps combine it as part of a feast plate. On SL, evenif the buyer creates everything else herself, the entire plate becomes no-copy, once the rotten apple is attached. But, in other virtual worlds, thepermission system is actually smart enough that you can have "virtual nocopy" limitations on an object.
For example, Virtual Merchant A sells a pair of shoes as "virtual no copy", thebuyer (call her Virtual Merchant B) can then customize the shoes and sell anindefinite number of this modified version by paying Virtual Merchant A foranother copy, each time her modified copy is sold. This is perhaps betterknown as implicit licensing. What I mean to say is that the strong point increating in an *ideal* virtual world (not SL) is that there are no supply limits-- assuming that you don't have data failure (where a hard disk drive failsand your creation instantly disappears!). But, that is also the weak point;there is really no such thing as a true "one of a kind" item in virtual worlds.(Basically, once someone else has a copy of something you created, they canpotentially have an infinite number of copies of that item -- albeit, "illegally."Thus, I don't think it is realistic to impose permission settings assuming theywill not be broken; this does not mean that I don't support them, though. Ifa creator wants their creation to have the permissions they set, then that istheir right, even if it is impossible to enforce them.)
Inner: You are very talented and your art is amazing and unique. Doyou find in-world the resources you need to express your talents?
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Ina Centaur: For my SL creations, Iactually spend most of my creativetime away from SL, and only go in-world when necessary. Wheneverpossible, I'm sketching things out onpen/paper, and then making theasset parts using external software -- sculpt texture and texture inPhotoshop and modo. When I'm in-world, I often end up wasting mostof my creation time (assuming I canget away from IM hell) when textureuploads become broken or when myinventory randomly deletes items --or, when the SL client softwaresimply does not have the right toolsthat any other 3d modeling programwould have. For examples of somebasic and intuitive building toolsthat could improve the SL creatingexperience, check out SketchUp, thefree (and *very* easy to use – Iactually found out about that whenmy 8 year old cousin showed me thehouse she built using SketchUp!), a3d modeling program from Google.
Some basic examples I'd like to seein SL would be the ability to non-
destructively create "subgroups" or"sublinks". On SL, if you link a multi-prim piano to a house build, theoriginal linkgroup is destroyed: tounlink the piano, you have to selecteach of its prims (which can be verytime-consuming). In SketchUp, youwould just make the piano its owngroup or component, and thencreate an inclusivegroup/component for both thehouse (which would be its owncomponent/group) and piano.
But, there are also other timesavingtools available in SketchUp -- suchas alignment and placementshortcuts. I think all of these toolscan be incorporated in SL on theclientside-only. Example -- thesublink data structures can bestored locally, with the serverreceiving only the usual informationof the two objects being linked intoa greater object; when you have toedit the sublink, the client softwarewould check your local store for anysigns of sublink data structures.
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Inner: What would you like to see more in our Second life now andin two years?
Ina Centaur: I would like to see more creative and efficient uses of SL.But, there may be limits to that. Just as I mentioned earlier that SecondLife naively imposes limitations on supply, their system seems to also
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fatally impose the limitations on audience -- it is pain to hold anylive event with more than a few audience members... and notbecause the audience members are naughty, but because theSL software cannot support so many of them. Iam not sure if Second Life will bearound in two years.Though I, and
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many others are in love with Second Life, there are several promisingalternatives that are quickly becoming viable. I'm very interested in AvatarReality's Blue Mars, which basically creates a virtual world that would becompatible with Poser models. If people prefer data similar to Second Life,there's also OpenSim. The problem with most OpenSim startup's is thatpeople on SL -- most of whom do not have RL connections to secure realisticventure capital funds, start them. That is why most of them are floundering,but I'm sure one of them will figure out the way to do it is to go out and talkto the VC's, and then things there will get going.
But, the fun thing is that *anything can happen*. We will just have to findout what happens in two years!
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A, B, C, DLights, videos, creations, amazing tutorialsPink and green, creativity or a dream?It is where you can find a way to live amuch better and richer Second Life…
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Would you dare?Would you visit it?Would you explore it with the eyes of a child?We are hungry to learn, to create…
There you go to the wonderland of beauty and learningTorley Linden is an amazing artist and offers this Sim
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to inspire you to create and learn a lotabout endless possibilities
He loves watermelon, pink and greenand teaching by fantastic tutorials
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Be curious, explore each part and certainly you’ll be surprised!!!
Is it possible to see so gorgeous shapes and colors? My eyes are not enough to see allLet’s watch it with the freesoul´s eyes, right now, right HERE!
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He knows what he wantsHe shows sensibility, but never looses his strengthHe decides whenever and wherever to goHe knows what to wear and feels comfortable in any situation
Doesn’t matter whoDoesn’t matter whatHis choices will always celebrate life, elegance and charmClothes are just the frame to his success and power!
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Skin: ABSOLUTE - Pale Hair Face B 01 by Lelutka
Hair: Faux-Hawk (part of Dante - Ebony Skin by Naughty)
Suit: Suit - BB Dark Red by Made Men
Shoes: KR Democrat Black by Kal Rau
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Skin: ABSOLUTE - Pale Hair Face B 01 by Lelutka
Hair: Faux-Hawk (part of Dante - Ebony Skin by Naughty)
Shirt: Septic - Bordeaux by King
Pants: Classic Pant - Black by King
Shoes: KR Democrat Black by Kal Rau
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Skin: ABSOLUTE - Pale Hair Face B 01 by Lelutka
Hair: Faux-Hawk (part of Dante - Ebony Skin by Naughty)
Shirt: Patron Blue by King
Pants: Classic Pant - Black by King
Shoes: KR Democrat Black by Kal Rau
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Skin: ABSOLUTE - Pale Hair Face B 01 by Lelutka
Hair: Faux-Hawk (part of Dante - Ebony Skin by Naughty)
Shirt: Cambridge Cuffed Shirt - Ajan Blue by Gisaci
Pants: Classic Pant - Black by King
Shoes: KR Democrat Black by Kal Rau
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Skin: ABSOLUTE - Pale Hair Face B 01 by Lelutka
Hair: Faux-Hawk (parte de Dante - Ebony Skin by Naughty)
Outfit: p.c: European Stripes bt Paper Couture
Shoes: KR Democrat Black by Kal Rau
Advertisers of this issue by order of appearance:
LeLutka – LeLutka (255/129/25)DgN Designina - Bricolage (173/160/21)SexMachine - Sex Machine (226/15/451)
Bossa Nova - Pc. Geppex McCaw (133/97/21)KR Kal Rau - La Fortuna 2 (88/156/23)
Aden - Jewel5 (140/183/25)Second Island - Second Island (128/128/20)
Surya Isle – Surya (214/207/20)R&D - Chic Store - Parallel Universe (200, 41, 246)Paris New York - Paris New York (128/128/20)
Insolence - Venom (94/133/28)
Highlighted Landmarks of this Issue:
IBM - IBM (83, 7, 23)Ohio University Second Life Camp - Ohio University (20, 38, 24)
Pontifícia Universidade Católica - PUC Rio (154, 187, 24)Korea University - Korea University 1 (193, 12, 28)
University of Helsinki – Educati - EduFinland (100, 213, 25)Here Island - Here (127, 128, 33)
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