Starax at Blackwater Sculpture Art Gallery in Second Life

Starax at Blackwater Sculpture Art Gallery
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Blackwater/102/110/93


Starax at Blackwater Sculpture Art Gallery in Second Life, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.










The BURN2 is coming up very soon in just a few days. Builders in Second Life look forward to this event because of the incredible display of art and creations there.



The inspiration there is phenomenal as each of us gravitate to the very best builders and creators on this grid.




Blackwater Sculpture Art Gallery is an outdoor installation of historical and new builders of Second Life. From Starax, the ultimate prim builder to the newer artists using sculptys, the gallery is an absolute must see for anyone who builds.





I frequent this gallery as myself or as my builder alt. There is a meditative quality about the place as you wander through the art work there.



There is a wonderful collection of Starax here, too. He is my most favorite of all the SL artists. His work is astounding even today. Though technology has improved, his builds were of pure prims... and yes, the prim count is enormous! LOL!



Take some time to go before you go to the BURN2. Enjoy ART!

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FTC - Federal Trade Commission - USA

Since 1995, I have been blogging on the internet. Of course, then we called it journaling a log about our experiences. A digitally written diary of the minutiae of our lives. Ridiculously unimportant and filled with personal anecdotes about nothing. Occasionally, I would mention a cool product that I bought or a place that I went to such as a restaurant or store. And, even then, the journals were just my musings.



When the internet exploded with journals, we started calling them blogs. Blah blah blah logs became blogs. The content was still about nothing much, but we could see that someone was reading our little missives and it made a difference in our businesses. Another way to connect with our consumer base.

We started reviewing the things we liked and the things we lived with daily. A restaurant would send a voucher for a dinner or a manufacturer would send a freebie t-shirt. Benign gifts of accolades and thank-you's.

Then, we started getting the big gifts. The stuff that was expensive and made us feel a bit creepy accepting. Sure, we loved their products but it made me feel like a paid agent for their company. So, I made a decision and said, "No more.



The decision was made way back in the late1990's. I would have to check my archived files for those first disclosure contracts. Yes, I had my entire team sign them and the legal language was harsh. If you wrote something and you were given a monetary gift, you were fired.

In this virtual world of international interests, the lines blur. People send gifts to each other for all kinds of kindness. I get gifts from avis from my group, and I return them or delete them after letting them know that I can't accept them. On THE A LIST! the lines blur even more. We are a business group and our members give the group gifts. As long as it is a gift that is shared among the entire group, then Xavier and I feel that it is not a gift for blogging.

The problem is that if a gift is given and I wasn't online and it is sitting in my inventory; that fact alone may taint my reputation if ever the logs were reviewed. It is a difficult situation for me. In THE A LIST! we have asked our contributors to disclose gifts, and we have a disclaimer on those blogs. Because both of us are on American soil with FTC -Federal Trade Commission blogging laws over our heads, we want to try our best to adhere to US laws.



We know how ridiculous laws can be, but this one tries to protect the consumer. I think we know gifts are given to bloggers from Consumer Report. It is obvious that the product manufacturer gave the blogger the product for review. The reason we believe Consumer Reports reviews is that the evaluations can be harsh... very harsh. So, we believe that the products are honestly evaluated and CR has a disclaimer.

I am the blogger on THE A LIST! and I want to make sure that people know that I do not accept gifts from any of the group members unless they have shared that gift with the entire group. So, my blogs do not have a disclaimer. Some of the contributors have a disclaimer on their post because it is a product review and the item was given by the creator.

How the FTC reviews the millions of blogs in the real world or virtual world is interesting in itself. And, the law will fine the blogger and the product creator, too. Ouch! Double slam. So, we try to protect both interests. No gifts period is a good policy. It's best that we stay as squeaky clean as possible. As far as some industries, it's practically a given that those gifts to the avis are for reviews. But, now we disclose that in those specific posts and let you decide.

raftwet jewell in second life

rafee at  kasbah : sunglasses by [Gos]



raftwet jewell in second life, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.


I just loaded the new update for viewer 2. The rezz time seems much faster now. But, I am still missing prims off of my shoes and parts of my hair when I log into a venue that is exceptionally busy.

I tested the new viewer at Lion's Gate, Jenna Dirval's new venue for live music. There was approximately 50+ avatars there. I crashed when I turned on the stream... poof, with no warning.

When I came back, everything rezzed immediately except for one small patch of hair at the back of my head. LOL! I was even able to take photos without the usual gray blobs. So, I am a happy picture taker once again.

They did fix the annoying orbit-zoom-pan thingy at the bottom... now both horizontal/veritical and orbit are there without having to click back and forth. (I just wish I knew how to make that block image smaller).

My inventory still does that annoying bounce when I am trying to do a search or scroll. Please fix that! It is very dangerous as I work very quickly and have inadvertently deleted important stuff when I meant to delete a duplicate object. Now, before I delete my trash; I quickly scan the entire trash list just in case!

I do like this viewer (please don't send daggers and arrows my way peeps) as it keeps my desktop very neat and tidy when I am building. Notices and IM's are not as annoying (much to the chagrin of all the marketers) and I can focus when I am working.

A few things are kinda buggy... the inventory bouncy thing is super borked. And, my inventory load is very slow. I usually have to log in two to three times for everything to load. Sometimes, half my inventory is missing... luckily, I am not a newbie or that would freak me out! After a second log in, everything seems to come back.

As with anything new, people will complain. I always look forward to doing things different and new. It keeps my mind challenged and makes the time here fresh. I am used to this viewer now, and, I am comfortably building with it. So, thank you Linden Lab... keep pressing forward until you guys get it totally right. I see the light now at the end of the tunnel... and the future looks bright.

For more help on Second Life viewer 2.0

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wetlands second life virtual land

WETLands in Second Life


wetlands second life virtual land, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

wetlands

in second life

is a reflection of the beauty of oceans,

rivers, streams

and magnificent natural landscapes

in california.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Old friends in Second Life are precious gifts.

I will remember them forever.

Their souls are etched in my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Old Friends"

old friends,
old friends
sat on their park bench like bookends.
a newspaper blown through the grass
falls on the round toes
of the high shoes
of the old friends.

old friends,
winter companions,
the old men
lost in their overcoats,
waiting for the sun.
the sounds of the city,
sifting through trees,
settle like dust
on the shoulders
of the old friends.



can you imagine us
years from today,
sharing a park bench quietly?
how terribly strange
to be seventy.
old friends,
memory brushes the same years
silently sharing the same fears

a time it was
it was a time
a time of innocence
a time of confidences.

long ago it must be
i have a photograph
preserve your memories
they're all that's left of you


Words & Music by Paul Simon
Sung by Simon and Garfunkel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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through the eyes of mathematics

Life Art Gallery


through the eyes of mathematics, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.











Right brain meets left brain is one of the reasons I love Second LIfe. 
Artists here are also scripters and mathematicians as they apply the tenets of their science to their artwork.











 
I stumbled upon this gallery the other night during a late night break from building. 
You can find it listed in the showcase in search. 











 
Life Art Gallery is an explanation of mathematics applied to the wonders of the building process here in SL. It is a divine place for those of us with a math and science background touring through the magic of building in the virtual metaverse. Check it out! Math and Art! Woot!

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
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raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life