raftwet and xavier in second life

raftwet jewell and xavier thiebaud


raftwet, xavier on valentine's day, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

raftwet and xavier at japan tempura ballroom

the a list! at fogbound blues club

raftwet and xavier at wetlands ballroom

raftwet and xavier at substance club

playing in a homemade psy ball at riverlands sushi pavilion

xavier and raftwet on easter bunny on wetlands outdoor ballroom

2010 and half the year is almost over. The pace of the grid just marches on...

After all these years, we both have a lot of fun on the grid. Despite the group dynamics, despite the drama on the grid, despite everything... we still enjoy this place called Second Life.

Enjoy this wonderment... this place of imagination and beauty. It is a fine place to find yourself, to discover who you are inside and to share your dreams with the rest of the grid.

I still love it here no matter what comes my way. And, our avatars, raftwet jewell and xavier thiebaud will live forever in our hearts.


wetlands moon

wetlands outdoor ballroom

riverland ocean party zone

raftwet at japan resort event area

raftwet jewell at wetlands ballroom

raftwet jewell at muzik haus

dance island party w/ djvoyager

energy club party

chip takacs at japan resort

kitty cat dance at fresh asses

raftwet jewell meditating on riverland surf zone

raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter

Summer is Almost Here!

raftwet jewell in second life
Summer is coming so fast. It's already May. We are almost half way through 2010 already. Everything about the grid moves like lightening speed and every year I am full of "I shouda, I coulda, I wanna."



There is never enough time here to accomplish everything I want to do. My building skills are still amateurish and lacking. My scripting is very rudimentary. When will I have time to focus on my favorite things? Real life is always a priority, but the lines blur and I feel that my Second Life is just as important to me.



THE A LIST! group takes most of my time as I flit around posting blogs about the places that I visit or the music that I hear. Then there is the administrative tasks which are never ending. Luckily I have a trusted partner who handles the schmoozing part as he spends most of his time in IM making connections across the grid. I am too shy to reach out like that, so I spend most of my time on the blogs, network and strategy.



We have been reviewing several new contacts who are now blog contributors to the information highway we have created with the group. Some are serious producers while others send info when they can. I appreciate their efforts very much as I know how difficult it is to balance RL, SL and their own business interests.



I told my partner recently not to worry if other entities are sabotaging us or making concerted efforts to hurt us in our attempt to unify the grid. This is a normal progression for any growing network. Sometimes, it is an emotional turmoil to face the negative aspects, but mostly this will strengthen us. We really do believe in this platform called Second Life. We really do think that this is the future of the digital and internet world. And, because we believe this strongly, we know that we can keep moving forward and doing the best we can for our members.


xavier thiebaud and raftwet jewell in second life


I gave him the analogy of the old story, "The Hare and the Tortoise." We are the tortoise... we move slowly, but we keep moving ahead. Let the hare fly by us with guns a-blazing as we just keep moving to the finish line. But, in our case, we will never finish because there is so much more to do.

river on blue galaxy, waterfalls at avilion

Blue Galaxy in Second Life


river on blue galaxy, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

I've been exploring again with friends and my partner. There are so many beautiful sims on the Second Life grid. I am always stunned at the creators here.






Aoshi sent me a tp the other night to Blue Galaxy. Now, I've been there before, but the textures on the hills and mountains have been changed. They are unbelievably realistic.






The river is gorgeous with rays of light washing over the sky. We stayed for quite awhile talking in chat and just hanging out there.






A few nights later, Xavi and I went to Avilion Ballroom. This is probably my all time favorite ballroom in Second Life. I think almost every romantic couple in SL has been here.






But, the difference that night was the incredible sky waterfalls they created. Gawd, they were fantastic! I have a sky waterfall too on RiverLand that was inspired by SL Botanical Gardens, but this was just absolutely gorgeously created.






There is no end to the beauty of this grid. Try to explore and see what the builders have made just for you.

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger

visit mexico in second life

Visit Mexico - Mexico Chichen Itza


visit mexico in second life, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Summer travel is almost here! Americas have offerings from the USA to South America. Visit Mexico is a virtual world sim in Second Life offering travel experiences to the Archeological sites of Chichen Itza.








Tonight, Visit Mexico held a concert of live music featuring Second Life's favorite musician, Maximillion Kleene.






I've been coming to this sim since 2007 and I am so glad to see it still being supported by Mexico Tourism! Woot!

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in myspace
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in koinup
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger
raftwet jewell's the a list! in myspace

kolor studio particle show

quantum musical entanglements concert in second life


kolor studio particle show, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Ethereal music drifting through the particles highlighting the installation at the Quantum Musical Entanglements concert.






Skye Galaxy and Cypress Rosewood weaving a mesmerizing array of musical notes wrapping around our selves.






This is a technological concert merging art, music and avatars fully immersed into the performance itself.






Soothing... enriching the soul... I drift away above all worries and approach nirvana here on Kolor Studio. Thank you Kolor Fall for this beautiful presentation on your land.

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in myspace
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in koinup
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger
raftwet jewell's the a list! in myspace

Quality Avatars

There has been a phrase going around the grid lately that almost makes me chuckle when I hear it. "Quality Avatar" is a reference to avis who are not only invested in the grid but have dedicated their art, music, creations and places to the rest of us.



They give their time wholeheartedly and expose themselves in a raw fashion to let us glimpse their own souls. Their art, music, creations reflect their passion for the virtual world. What they give is so personal and so freely that many times it brings me to tears.



I have met many of them. And they have given me so much. They have given me hope that no matter what evil people do here, it will always be over shadowed by the good that the "quality avatars" bring.



Last night, I was honored to be at The Pocket, an original live music venue. What I saw in that gathering was a group of quality avis who I know are quality human beings. They support each other, they plan and bring the best of the grid to us, and they spend their real money here, investing in the grid.



ColeMarie Soleil was wailing an emo-style set of her own music. She is raw and honest in her delivery. I met her many moons ago back in 2007 at an art performance. That gathering of artists was an introduction to the incredible offerings of Second Life. I realized then that the art I loved and participated in real life could be accomplished here.



What I hope for myself is that I can remember their example and continue to give to this grid, too. Sometimes, and especially, lately, I have almost given up hope that this grid can be a place of sharing and collaboration. Last night made me feel positive again that this is truly a possibility.

Viewer 2.0 - I Got an Opinion!

I just read all the posts about the recent Second Life viewer 2.0. Log into the website and search for "Recommend Abandoning Viewer 2.0." When you click on the link here, it will take you to the middle of the comments... ya gotta scroll up to read all of it... if you have time. It's a worthy read.

One of the reasons I don't comment there is because I am a corporate avi. And, I figure no one will hear my opinions because of that. Blah blah says the corporate avatar who only thinks of the bottom line and business... so no one will pay heed or even allow me to have an opinion.



But, I do have a perspective that might be different from the old guard, newbies or even Linden Labs. I have been a cheerleader for the lab ever since I got here. I shared the same dream and vision of the grid as many of you. I really believed in the utopian concept of sharing, creating and making this a new frontier for our internet future. A digital world where we can have a secondary life while managing our real lives in here using banking, purchasing, researching educational needs, implementing concepts frugally and socializing with some of the most sophisticated, artful, technological minds in the world.



I really believed and I still believe this. Though things have changed mostly because of economic downturns around the world, LL has been inundated with the real life BS of corporate reality; ie., lawsuits, con artists, technological hurdles, social communities of various interests, and a pervasive attitude of me-ism.

I am a builder here (not top notch, but I like building very much). I spend most of my time building and hanging out at clubs and live music events. And every chance I get, I am exploring and posting blogs about my experiences in Second Life.

The comments that I read today is worrisome. I just loaded viewer 2.0 for my alt. She is a building alt to help me practice in-world because my main avatar, RAFTWET Jewell is so busy with IMs, chat, and blogging that it has become impossible to build as her. So my alt has loaded 2.0 and is practicing with it on another computer.

My first reaction was, "OMG! my desktop shrunk." The menu tabs on the right bolt out in a very large format decreasing your view by nearly half. And, I didn't like the movement keys below that are very large and seem to be in the way when you use them. The other thing I didn't like is that the system seems to be illogical and not very intuitive. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to make a "pick" in my profile. I even asked a senior associate at the Fermi sandbox and she didn't know! I had to Google a search for "how to make a profile pick in viewer 2.0" to find the answer.

More clicks are necessary to accomplish what I used to do while building. And, for me, that is a problem, because I am showing signs of carpal tunnel and it made my wrist and thumb ache after a session. I never did find out how to see if someone has pushed, bumped or griefed me. (If you find it, please IM me and tell me where it is?)

With that said, I think the new viewer is more user friendly for a brand new avatar coming into Second Life for the first time. I do like that I can close all the windows and have a clear desktop for when I am exploring or building. But, I have to use more clicks to do that.

As with everything, I know this is a major attempt to make things better. I don't want to sound like a major complainer because I do welcome change. When I first got here, the GUI seemed daunting and not user friendly at all for a non-technical person like myself. And, I learned through trial and error and through the good graces of this sharing community.

With the new viewer, I hope I will keep an open mind and learn this new system. I want to believe that LL will listen to our criticisms and suggestions with an open heart and mind. The techies out there need to get on the blog and make your comments and suggestions, because we all need your input! If you don't see me in SL for a while, it's because I'm practicing as my alt with the new viewer... I will learn it. Just like I learned the old version.