Recherché - Exhibition Opening

The Northmead Gallery is honored to welcome you to the opening of Stockard Darkmatter's exhibition

"Recherché"

on Saturday, October 17th, 12PM (noon) SLT. 

Your limousine to the event!

Musical entertainment will be supplied by the inimitable DJ Lee McKay.

Save the date!

"Glitter & Gore" at Second Pride

Second Pride has an amazing scarefest coming your way with 4 days of “Glitter & Gore” October 25th, 26th, 27th, and 31st.

In addition, an interactive haunted experience has opened! Spread the word! Remember, the Second Pride region is open to you anytime, with stores and other amenities open around the clock…stop by and see our progress!

Entertainment will run from 10am until 12am (midnight) each of the four days. It's going to be a BIG event! The party area has been fully decorated and we have an interactive Haunted Experience, You can stop by now to see the region, and have a sneak peek at the Haunted Experience.

You also have the opprtunity of sponsoring one of the Halloween entertainment sets for a suggested donation of L5,000. Please speak to Bock McMillan, Lee McKay, or Grant Valeska in-world for details on this. All donations continue to support Rainbow Railroad.

Closing Speech by Chair @SP2019

"DJ Regi will be up momentarily with our Grand Finale party until who knows when, but we wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you, present and not, who has come out and danced and played and had an amazing Pride celebration with us. Without you, there’d be no reason for us to do this. We deserve to feel good about who we are, to be proud of who we are, and boy have we done that this week!"

Chairperson Lee McKay by Fornith Cayshun

"I want to tell you that I have been overwhelmed by the compliments that I have received personally this week, and I know my fellow board members have also been receiving them. We’ve heard that this is your favorite Pride celebration, the best you’ve been to in Second Life, and so many other accolades. I can’t tell you how it makes us feel. It’s not that we want praise, it’s that we want YOU to be happy and enjoy yourselves in the best way possible, and it sounds like we may just have gotten it right.

I told you last week in my opening remarks that I would forget to thank someone, and I did. I want to recognize Andy Bates and Souix for three amazing art installations around the region. Two are called “Faces of Pride” and one is our “Stonewall 50” exhibit, which is a history in photographs. If you haven’t seen those, please take the time to check them out.  We have already been invited to present those exhibits at another venue!

That brings me to a reminder that this is not the end of Second Pride for the year…it’s more a beginning. The region will stay as it is, everything will be right here, shops and all, for you to visit anytime, bring friends, hang out, just enjoy yourselves. AND, we will begin soon having smaller events on a fairly regular basis, and you can definitely look forward to larger events and activities for Halloween, Winter, and other special times of the year. Please, remain a member of the Second Pride Festival Group to be kept up to date on what’s going on, and also check on our website at www.second-pride.com. In fact, coming up next weekend, we have Pride Fest, presented by FMD and The 40 Thieves in conjunction with Second Pride. All proceeds benefit Rainbow Railroad. Click one of the white posters outside the dance area to receive a landmark, and we definitely hope to see all of you there!

I want to thank Tootsie and her team for their hard work in keeping us secure for the last ten days, and tell her to go get some much needed sleep!

On July 13^th at noon (date corrected, 2019-07-06), in accordance with the Second Pride Bylaws, we will hold the annual meeting of the Board and Members. Also, you may remember that we tried to vote on a minor Bylaw change at the start of Pride, and the lag killed the voting machines immediately. We will complete that voting before the 14^th if all goes well now that the lag is gone.

Okay, thank you all again, and without further delay, Regi….take it home for us….let the Grand Finale begin!"

The Chair's Opening Speech at Second Pride Festival

Lee McKay's, the Chair of Second Pride, speech at the opening of the Second Pride Festival yesterday.

The Second Pride board, Lee McKay, Bock McMillan & Tootsie Nootan
(missing in the picture is i0n, who is currently on sick-leave.)
Photo by JJ Goodman

"I promise I won’t interrupt the party for long! I want to thank everyone for coming out today for the opening of Second Pride 2019, and the debut of our newly redesigned Second Pride region. We hope you’re ready to have some fun and celebrate Pride!

We’re doing something different this year in that we now consider our region to be a permanent build that will remain in place for the foreseeable future. We are also a Second Life Gateway region and will soon have new people entering Second Life right through our own Gateway in the northeast corner of the region. I hope you’ll go check out the progress on that. It will be opening in the near future. 

If you’re curious about how this build came to be, I was watching a video of Diana Ross performing in Central Park in 1983, and the shots of the park and the buildings in the background just looked and felt inspiring. I showed a really simple mockup of the idea to Bock and to his husband, Tomais, and within days, the building started, spurred on by a very generous donation of all these buildings in the Old NYC collection from Schultz Bros. We thank them for their generosity! This is a build that we want you to explore and enjoy. There are all sort of places to wander, stroll, sit, watch, meditate, reminisce, play, and just be. It’s a walking space, a place to take photos, bring friends, hang out, play games, and more. We will no longer be one or two events per year. We expect to have parties on a regular basis, starting soon.

This year, we are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, considered to be the catalyzing moment in the push for Gay Rights. With the current political climate and with our rights being slowly but methodically eroded from us once again, there is no better time for us to reflect on the events of that night and the nights that followed, and to consider the battles fought then, and the battles that are to come, because they are coming. We need to draw from the strength of the heroes of that night…Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Storme DeLarverie (Stormy Delahveay), Danny Garvin, and so many others. We honor them for the stand they took that night, and we pledge to continue their fight.

Second Pride Festival Starts Today!

Ready or not, the long-awaited day has finally arrived! The Second Pride Festival starts at 1 PM SLT.

You can see the full schedule of events by visiting The Second Pride website's event page (url).

Here is the lineup of events for the first day, Friday, June 14, 2019. Please always make sure to visit the Second Pride website for any last minute changes!

Getting Ready For The Festival

The Second Pride Region is getting ready to welcome you all to the Second Pride Festival, June 14th-23rd, 2019.

There are still stores of all sizes available and time slots for entertainers. 

Presumptive vendors/sponsors, please contact me (Bock McMillan) inworld! 

Presumptive entertainers, please go here to sign up or contact Lee McKay inworld.

Photography: Tomais Ashdene

Travelling on the SecondLife Railroad

I may have told you before about my wonderful husband Tomais need to own every vehicle created in SecondLife from 2010 and forward.

Previously this urge was mainly centered on unicycles, bicycles, tricycles, cars, trucks, sailboats, motorboats, barges, blimps, balloons and airplanes of every size, shape, and type known to urbanized man. Well, now my sweet and lovely man has found a new kind of vehicle. Trains.

Yesterday we were traveling on the SecondLife railroad (SLRR) which covers a couple of hundred regions of SecondLife mainland, while Tomais was introducing Lee McMay to his new addiction. Connor Collins, one of Lee's friends from Steamworkz was with us.

We traveled from where Tomais and Lee have their "siding", I believe that's what the parking place for the train is called, all the way to our friend Petr's station at Burn.

I always thought that the mainland was rather ugly, but parts of the landscaping along our route was beautiful.

Second Pride: Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), Today 2-10 PM SLT

Today's Event Schedule
2-4 PM: DJ i0n
4-6 PM: DJ Regi Yifu with host Lady Mei
6-8 PM: DJ Shepherd with host Larz Kaz
8-10 PM: DJ Lee McKay with host Kaiden

Your taxi to the event:  Second Pride - Mardi Gras 2019 (SLurl)

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This event is BYOBBB, i.e. bring your own beer, booze and bead necklaces!

Re: SP Donation to The Trevor Project

The Chair of Second Pride Lee McKay today posted on the Second Pride website (url) about the completion of the donation to The Trevor Project.

WooT! 

That's US$2.170 from the generous donors in SecondLife to the aid and assistance of struggling young people.

Second Pride: Habemus Praesidem!

The LGBT+ residents and our straight allies of SecondLife waited with bated breath for the announcement from the Special Meeting that had been called on Saturday for the particular purpose to appoint a new Chairperson.

All eyes were fixed on the tiny chimney perched on the roof of the Meeting-skybox for a sign of either black smoke or white smoke. Then suddenly, at 1:40 PM SLT, the smoke appeared. And it was gloriously white! The board had agreed (6-0, with 1 abstention) on a Chairperson for Second Pride.

Sister's and brother's, sing out in joy and exultation, for we are no longer orphaned lambs shambling our way through the desert in disarray, facing the dangers without a leader to guide us. 

Please join me in welcoming our new shepherd, and leader, 

Lee McKay!!!

I'm Drunk But I Have Never Been More Sane In My Life

Love all you sweet people!

It's been one of the worst days of my life but after a few snaps on the recommendation of my love Tomais and my buddy Lee, and I am feeling just awesome! Akvavit solves all problems and makes you feel mellow and forgiving and loving and sweet.

Anyone want to come to Sweden for some hanky-panky tonight?

SP Meeting 10/06/18 - Minutes Posted

The minutes from the Second Pride Board meeting on October 6th, 2018, have now been posted on the Second Pride website.

Here's a link directly to the minutes (url).

After the eventful meeting, the Second Pride Board now has the following members.

Chairman
Rez Vale-Starfall™ (DJReZ Cyberstar)

Secretary
Mikey Vale (MikeAdam)

Treasurer
Bock McMillan

Events/Marketing Director
Nicky Windstorm (DunceMidwest)

Community Relations/Marketing Director
i0n (AlPrunty)

Security Director
Tootsie Nootan

Building Director
Starter Evenstarr (starter232)

Technology Director
Lee McKay

It's A Party...And You're All Welcome!

Please join us in celebrating Life, Love and the grand opening of Static Frenzy's exhibition at the Northmead Gallery, Southern Charm, SecondLife on Saturday, October 20th, 2018, at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

Music will be provided by the amazing Lee McKay. (By special dispensation, music by ABBA will be permitted - for the first and only time ever - on Southern Charm.)

SecondLife photographer Static Frenzy, as many already know, is renowned and loved for his vision of what it means to be an LGBT-man in a virtual reality with scenes from his everyday life, budding romances, and hot sexual encounters.

The Northmead Gallery also has its permanent galleries showing the works of JJ Goodman, Wayne Allan, and Tomais Ashdene besides parts of the Laird of Southern Charm's vast collection of  SecondLife artwork.

Wear whatever you feel like, but wear something. (The only one permitted to be completely nude is Mr. Apmel Goosson Esq., should he wish to attend.)

Remember, all the best parties should have at least one sim crash.

Here is your limousine waiting to transport you to The Northmead Gallery at Southern Charm (SLurl).

A Message From The Chairman of SP

This message has been posted on the Second Pride website (url) today.

"Dear Second Pride Members,

You may or may not have heard about a very upsetting Board meeting today [October 6, 2018]. As everyone is aware there was a snafu with the original voting process. This, as I have stated already publicly, was my fault. I owned my mistake and the Board took measures to correct that error. Which I supported 100%. It was Bock McMillan that pointed out to me that the IT Director was to be the Election Chairman, according to the Bylaws in place. He was again 100% correct. The system that was originally used was not vetted by the Election Chair, Lee McKay. Therefore, it could not be used in the state it was in. Additionally, the security was just not there. That was a serious concern to all the Board and should have been with the candidates and members-at-large. 

A new voting system was created specifically for Second Pride Elections. It took longer to create then initially anticipated. Anyone who has looked at an SL script knows how complex they can be. We all wanted a secure way for everyone to vote. That way there could be no questions as to the legitimacy of the vote. 

That’s the background. So what happened? 

Today during the Second Pride new Board Member seating the newly elected Marketing Director called into question the integrity of the Election Chair and myself. Also called into question was the legitimacy of the voting process. Mind you he WON, by a large margin.

After some back and forth with others on the Board, the Marketing Director began making derogatory statements and accusations against the Second Pride Board. Pointing out how unfair the election process had been and how it was suspicious how everything happened and how it was handled. Stating that he was not pointing fingers, but calling out the positions of the Board that he had issue with. Well, since there is only one person in any given Board position, it was easy to see how he was actually accusing that positions, inherent occupier. He went on further to degrade the members-at-large, stating “I know that during the second process, the overall feeling was very subdued, people felt angry, disgusted and resigned.” As Chairman, I did not get that sense. During the process, Jimmy was constantly asking for updates on the number of votes being cast. He was told no that was inappropriate. It only incensed him. He stated that in real life you could see how the vote was going and how many people voted. So, I am going out on a limb here, but we in the USA don’t know how many votes were cast until after they are all counted. I am not sure about Jimmy’s country. Perhaps it is different? However, we ran the election process and will continue doing so, according to the rules in the USA.

Jimmy went on to infer that the only reason the original election was deemed null and void, was to get Mr. McKay’s “friend” more votes. Let me assure you of one thing, I am not the smartest guy on the block, but I DO know Lee McKay is not the type of person to do something like that. Nor would he have anyone else do it for him. That is slander and a baseless allegation. Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount needs to apologize to Lee McKay for that. 

As Chairman of the Board, I lost my temper and yelled at Jimmy during the meeting. I apologize for letting my emotions get the better of myself at that moment. Lee and I both motioned to have Jimmy removed from the Board. It was seconded and passed 5-2 in favor of removing him. 

Personally, I like Jimmy. He really is a fine fellow. I am not sure why, after winning the vote, he couldn’t just be happy with that and let it go. The outcome was the same.
I am truly sorry that it had to come down to this. I was ready to resign since it was *MY* fault the original vote was canceled. Bock was correct to point out the problem to me. Lee McKay was ready to resign. For the betterment of Second Pride as an organization, Jimmy had to go. The Marketing Directors position will be absorbed, as the Bylaws are written, by the Events and Community Relations Directors to split the duties as they see fit. 

It is with great hope that the future of Second Pride be as bright as it has been in the past. As we move forward into the future, let’s try not to forget why we are here. It’s not fame and glory. It’s not for recognition. It is to do good work and to reach out to our fellow LGBTQ community and bring it together in a spirit that uplifts us all! That is why I ran for Chairman in the first place. It’s why I will continue to the very best of my ability. 

Sincerely,
ReZ Vale-Starfall
Chairman of the Board"

Installation of SP New Board Today

In a notice in the Second Pride Festival Group, the chairperson Rez Vale-Starfall announced, that the new board members will be installed on the board on Saturday, October 6th, 2018 at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

At the event, Rez will also be announcing the candidates for Community Relations Director.

The event will take place at the Second Pride HQ (SLurl), hope to see you all there!
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After the installation, the Second Pride board will consist of the following people.

Chairman - Rez Vale-Starfall (DJRez Cyberstar)

Secretary/Treasurer
--- Secretary - Mikey Vale (MikeAdam)
--- Treasurer - Bock McMillan

Infrastructure Director
--- Security Director - Tootsie Nootan
--- Building Director - Starter Evenstarr (starter232)

Outreach Director
--- Events Director - Nicky Windstorm (DunceMidwest)
--- Community Relations Director - vacant
--- Marketing Director - Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy)

Technology Director - Lee MacKay

(In bold and underlined I give you the board positions directed by the newly adopted bylaws, under them in cursive are the positions according to the previous bylaws under which the recently ended election were run. According to the new bylaws, those positions are to be maintained until any of them become vacant when the responsibilities will be transferred to the remaining director. As of 2020 the only positions available will be the ones decided by the new bylaws.) 

REWARD Let's Play "Find the Edit Button!"

As some of you may know, I am a candidate for Treasurer of the 2018/19 board of Second Pride.

What I see when I am logged into the SP website
(Click picture to enlarge)

That means that I am obliged to take part in the ongoing Q&A for candidates on the Second Pride website. No matter how I try, I am not a perfect proofreader and sometimes the silliest mistake slip by.

So when I noticed two mistakes/typos in my responses yesterday I wanted to edit them. For the love of me, I could not find an edit-function and instead corrected with a reply to my replies.  

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When I got home from work today, there was a message from the IT Director (Admin of the Second Pride website), the right honorable Mr. Lee McKay Esq., waiting to inform me that I, in fact, can edit my responses. Huh, I still cannot see where I edit?

Anyone who finds the edit-option and first posts where to find it in the comments below will win a reward of L$1,000! 

SP Elections 2018 Update & Proposal of New Bylaws

The election for the Board of Second Pride 2018/19 is running according to schedule.

The board members with a year remaining on their tenure are
DJRez Cyberstar, Chair,
MikeAdam Resident, Secretary, and
Lee McKay, IT Director.

Candidates running unopposed (and will be automatically seated) are

Nicky Windstorm, Events Director,

Bock McMillan, Treasurer,

Tootsie Nootan, Security Director, and

Dee Sparta, Community Relations Director

Positions with more than one candidate
Marketing Director
1. Jimmy Gracemount
2. Kaiden Brandt

Building Director
1. Starter Evenstarr and
2. Devin Drakon

The two last positions will be voted on, starting September 1, 2018

Q&A for candidates
All the candidates are answering questions from the membership until August 28, so hurry up and get your questions in at the Second Pride website (url).

"To participate, you will need to have an account on the website if you don’t already have one. Then click on the candidates link under “2018 Election” above and the conversation will be beneath the candidates opening statement."

Discussion of Proposal For New Bylaws
A proposal for new bylaws was introduced at the board meeting yesterday. There is a ten-day discussion period open for members.

Read the proposal (you'll find it under Documents) and take part in the discussion here (url)

Second Pride Was On Fire!

Late Saturday - or very, very early Sunday morning for us Euros - the hawt, sexy, stunning, mouth-watering Men in Motion set Second Pride on fire (at least the gay men and the bi men and women) with their shaking, rattling, rolling, jumping and even more sensuous movements.

Well, my friend Si de Brit, who is a dancer in the company and choreographed two of the dances (Hint: Look for fire!) convinced me to stay on. I didn't regret it one bit.

There were quite a few of the SL-glitterati along with some sexy and creative security personnel. (Congrats to the sim at LEA, Levi!)

I had to leave at 4AM my time to "take care of business", i.e. go to bed before I fell asleep with my head on the keyboard. (It gives you such a strange look the day after...)

Pictures!

Chaotic Paragorn

Mickey Morowell & Regi Yifu

Lee MacKay & some crazy attention seeking dude

Levi is whacked out and Kit also resting by his side. 

Winding Down

After a long and hard week it's become more or less a tradition to wind down at the Steamworkz Sunday Tea Party with DJ Lee McKay and host Jax Endriago.

My brother JJ, I & my husband Tomais, photo by JJ Goodman

Second Pride Has A New Board

Seeing as there was only one candidate to four different positions on the board the present board made the wise decision to cancel the elections and proclaim the new board elected.

This picture is, alas, totally unrelated to the subject of this post, but nice to look at 
nonetheless. It shows actor Sam Heughan in the hit television series Outlander

The new board will now - well, after the inauguration - consist of
Chair - DJRez Cyberstar
Secretary - MikeAdam Resident
Events Director - Jamie Rozenberg and
IT Director - Lee McKay

Congratulations to you all and may you dispense of your duties as well as the previous board.

The new board faces some difficulties from the start as five heavy positions on the board are vacant, Marketing Director, Treasurer, Security Director, Community Relations Director and Building Director. To even out their workload and get a truly well-functioning board I believe it would be wise for the new board to scout for people to fill the vacant positions.

Sam Heughan in Outlander again, this time with a bit more clothing