Update on the GA Kerfuffle - Updated

Due to my mood swings and the fact that I managed to grind two of my teeth to pieces during my sleep, I have been remiss in my duties of informing you about some events in the Gay Archipelago after my latest post.

So here is an update on what has happened, as far as I am informed.

ricogenu (formerly known as Rico Bluestar), who was appointed as PR Lead by the GA Lead Weylin Vale a while back, has resigned from office after an altercation with Chade Dagger, the simultaneously appointed Treasurer. The two have differing versions of what actually happened, so I will leave it to them to give their versions in the comments should they wish to do so.

The following sim-owners have left Gay Archipelago (there may be more, I seem to have lost my note card on this):
Garth Raleigh,
Mitch Underby,
Othon Weiland,
Draghan Marksman,
Myles Capalini and - following ricogenu's resignation -
Evan Greymyst (5 sims) and
ricogenu (2 sims, co-owned with Evan Greymyst)
--- Update---
Ricky Silentghost,
Harrison Constantine and
Evan Rutledge (2 sims)

Has There Been A Coup In the Gay Archipelago? (Corrected 2015-07-15) (Updated 2015-07-16)

The Gay Archipelago (GA) is an association of landowners of multiple diverse LGBT/LGBT-friendly sims in SecondLife. They conduct Archipelago-wide events, and welcome LGBT newcomers into SecondLife.

"G Dragon Coup d'etat" by Sui-Kunoichi

The GA is governed by The Owners Group, which consists of the sim owners themselves or their appointed representatives.

Hitherto - i.e. until yesterday - the leaders of the governing body (the GA Lead, the Vice Lead and the PR Lead) have historically always been vetted by and voted upon by the The Owners Group.

According to information from several well informed sources Weylin Vale, the current Lead of GA, announced a meeting on Saturday at 11 PM SLT set to take place only eight hours later on Sunday at 7 AM SLT. (Correction 2015-07-15: This information was incorrect, please see the my later post  Bock in SecondLife; Re:Coup Or Not In the GA?. My sincere apologies to all involved and to my readers.) Update 2015-07-16: Myles Capalini On "Suddenness" & More, where you will find that the date of the meeting was announced early, but not the time.

The purpose of the meeting was purportedly about the upcoming GA SummerFest 2015.

At the meeting yesterday Weylin Vale unexpectedly announced to the owners group that he had appointed the following positions
Vice Lead - Dextrum Boucher

PR Lead - Rico Bluestar,

Treasurer - Chade Dagger,

IT Director - Hiro Dagger-Clemenceau,

Membership Director - To Be Announced and

2015 Festival Director - Caeru Dubrovna.

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As I understand it, this sudden and unexpected deviation from previous procedure by the GA Lead has raised concerns among many sim owners in the GA on the future direction of the organization and whether or not they wish to remain a part of it. 

I will try to keep you updated on further developments as they unfold.

Club Ωmega - Grand Opening Tonight @ GFW

Rico Bluestar and Astanias are happy to welcome you all to the grand opening of their joint venture Club Ωmega! 

The party starts at 5 PM SLT and the DJ is HerrDirektor.

To Club Ωmega (SLurl)

Grand Re-Opening of Gay Fun World Today

Rico Bluestar & Evan Greymyst are proud to announce that the 

Grand Re-Opening Celebration of Gay Fun World 

is today Saturday April 18, 2015, at 12-4 PM SLT

DJ Ralphy with host Joe kicks off the party 12-2 PM SLT with a Non-Naked Nooner Party at The Bunker Club (SLurl)

Contest: Best in Leather/Lace L$2500 (Split Top 3)

After that the party moves on to the new club FlamBOYants (SLurl), 2-4 PM SLT, with DJ's Evan & Rico

Contest: Best in Ripped L$2500 (Split Top 3)

Finally the re-opening party ends with a firework show staged by Ryce Skytower.

Sponsors Include RGDW, JBC, Tori's Stylez, Tomcats Web Comic & PBM Enterprise

Rico and Evan promise us hot sploder action at both parties.

Meaty Monday Reopens

Do you enjoy domination/submission role playing? If so, I have some great news for you.

Rico Bluestar is reopening Meaty Monday at The Manhole on Gay Fun World tomorrow!

Here is your slave transport to The Manhole.

Reminder: Celebrate the Life of Avacar Bluestar

Today there is a celebration of the life of Avacar Bluestar. The event begins at 1 PM SLT and features a concert by Phemie Alcott and a dance party with DJ Thorn Andel and host Esme Capello.

The event will be broadcast live on SL Live Radio. To listen in, please paste this link into your land or add to your radio. http://black.neostreams.info:8167/

Your taxi to the event The Rose Garden at Greymyst Estates II (SLurl).

Avacar and Rico Bluestar's family and friends welcome you all to celebrate the life of Avacar!

Celebration of Avacar Bluestar's Life

A celebration of Avacar Bluestar's life event to be held Saturday at the Rose Garden at Greymyst Estates II beginning at 1:00 PM SLT.

Avacar's and his widower Rico's Second Life family are looking forward to seeing you at the event.

My friend Eddi Haskell has promised to post a landmark to the event on his blog Eddi & Ryce's Second Life later today (Thursday February 5).

A Special Message from Rico Bluestar

"Dear Friends and Family of Avacar,

I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support and kind words over the past two weeks since Avacar passed away. It has been a hard time for myself, as I am sure it must have been for many of you.

I want you all to know how much your sympathy and support, and hearing your fond thoughts about Avacar, have meant to me as Avacar’s partner. Knowing that Avacar touched and was loved by so many of you has been of enormous comfort to myself and Avacar’s immediate Second Life family. They have helped all of us get through a very difficult time.

I especially want to thank Evan and Izzy Greymist, Parvin, MissBigRed, Phoebe, Ryce, Ralphy, Joe and Asharr for helping to plan and speaking at Avacar’s truly incomparable memorial service last Saturday. I was so pleased that well over 100 of you attended the event, and that those who could not come followed coverage on blogs and on websites.

About the memorial service itself, it has come to my attention that a few rumors are floating around about who was or was not invited to the event, and the conduct of certain people at the event. Nothing can be further from the truth. Everyone who knew Avacar was invited, and your comments at the event were wonderful.

I know Avacar is smiling knowing that so many cared about him and that he will be missed dearly.

Thank you once again for being such good friends, and please have a great holiday season,

My best Regards,
Rico"

This post is a reblogg of Eddi & Ryce's Second Life: A Special Message From Rico to All Of Avacar Bluestar's Friends and Family

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I must add that I am greatly saddened by the fact that someone, who claims to be a friend of Avacar's, would use this sorrowful occasion to spread lies, rumors and hateful drama. 

Avacar Remembered

Friends and SL-family of Avacar Bluestar gathered at his memorial service this evening, to remember and to be reminded of the man, his life and his deeds and also to support his beloved partner Rico Bluestar and the rest of Avacar's SL-family.

The sim was at full capacity - or even over at times - throughout the ceremony. When some people crashed new ones joined. I saw 101 avatars on the map, which supposedly should not be possible...

I recognized people from Europe, Australia, North and South America, all of us gathered in one place at the same time to remember a partner, a brother, a friend or just a man who had crossed our path and been kind to us.

Screen capture courtesy of Eddi Haskell

Evan Greymyst, Parvin, Ryce Skytower (Eddi Haskell), Sasch Petrov, MissBigRed and Avacar's SL-sister Phoebe Sahara - among others - shared their thoughts and feelings at this sad time with all of us who were there.

You can read Ryce Skytower's eulogy on his blog Eddi & Ryce's Second Life: My Comments At Avacar Bluestars Memorial This Evening

Rest in peace, Avacar, with the knowledge that you were loved.

R.I.P. Avacar Bluestar

This morning when I opened my email, I received the extremely sad news, in an offline group notice from SecondLife, that my friend Avacar Bluestar has passed away,

Avacar Bluestar

★ September 21, 2010 (SecondLife) - † November 14, 2014

Group Notice From: gay fun world, ricogenu

It brings me great sadness to tell you all this. But as of Friday the 14th  Avacar passed away in rl  dued to complications from heart surgery.  He will be missed by all and even more so by me.  I have shared 2 and half years with this man in sl. I came to know him in RL over the years. I thank you all very much
                                   Ricogenu"

My thoughts and deepest sympathy go to Ricogenu, Avacar's longtime partner in SecondLife, and to Avacar's families and friends in both lives.

Rest in peace, Avacar, with the certain knowledge that you were loved by many in both our worlds.

Parvin to the Rescue

Yesterday the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, was close to a nervous breakdown.

The laird was puttering about at his ongoing supersecret project - which is to be revealed to the world in the not to distant future - but there was a building thingamabob that he just couldn't get quite right despite having been at it for hours. As he saw that Parvin, a.k.a. Xcept Atlas (left, archive photo) the laird's friend and the Market Lead of the Gay Archipelago, was close by the laird in his desperation called out to him for help.

Parvin swiftly responded to the cry for help, took a look at the problem at hand and said in a calm voice: "Well, I am not a builder but I am good at maths and I believe this issue can be solved with three prims, a square, a triangle and a semicircle." Whereupon he immediately started working on proving his point.

The laird looked on in wonderment as the brilliant man worked on the solution to his difficult situation. Parvin was done in less than  five minutes. The result was amazing and the botheration was completely solved to his satisfaction.

The laird was so relieved and overjoyed that he was prepared to knight the beautiful and highly respectful young man on the spot. Uncertain whether that would fit into the rest of Parvin's chosen existence in SecondLife the laird instead settled on giving him a gold medal for his excellent service.

I of course at once contacted Rico, the Lead of GA, to inform him what a brilliant and accomplished Market Lead he had.

When Tomais arrived at the scene he was put to work on texturing the prims according to the lairds wishes and his own better judgement. 

Let me tell you, the final result is stupendous and fabulous, as you will get the opportunity to witness with your own eyes in the near future. 

I am a man with no real talent for SecondLife, which so highly relies on the creativity and skills of it's resident's. However, to paraphrase Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire", "I have always depended on the kindness of my family and friends."

I do have a knack of inadvertently surrounding myself with an abundance of amazingly skilled and talented family and friends who can help me out and guide me whenever I need it. I love them all dearly!

Miss Wigstock 2014 - Seeking Contestants, Bloggers, a Videographer & Sponsors

I am pleased to share this press release from Gay Archipelago with you all, as my family has a stake in this contest ever since my brother Dejerrity Mycron won third place a couple of years ago. (Between us, he should have won of course!)

Dates to remember for Miss Wigstock 2014  

• March 21 - Contestant entries due
• April 19 - Preliminary events  
• April 27 - Miss Wigstock 2014, final event

Contestants 

Sign-ups for Miss Wigstock 2014 contestants are due by March 21st, 2014.  

Please fill out a notecard that you have named "Miss Wigstock 2014 Entry (your name)" with the required information (see below) and send it to Ricogenu and/or Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas) prior to March 21, 2014. 

SL Avatar Name: (your name)
Drag Stage name: (your preferred stage name) 

PRELIMINARY EVENTs on Saturday April 19 at 12 PM and 4 PM SLT, theme Burlesque:

1. Your choice of time for the preliminary event  12 PM or 4 PM SLT?:
2. Pick two songs you will perform at the preliminary event. 
3. Add a file of both the songs for the preliminary:

FINAL EVENT on Sunday April 27 at 12 PM SLT, theme Disco:

1. Please pick three songs you would be willing to perform (Only one will be performed)
2. File of the 3 songs for the final:
3. Do you require any background set or props?:
4. Additional notes for the organizers?

Oliver Elton will assist each contestant to get them ready for the shows.

Bloggers & a Videographer

Gay Archipelago are also seeking a videographer for the final event as well as bloggers to live blog the events.

Please contact Ricogenu and/or Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas) if you are interested in participating.

Sponsors

Gay Archipelago thanks its current sponsors who have signed on. They have donated cash, gift cards, their sims, and items:  GreyMyst Estates, JCNY, RGDW, Roby's style, Empire Emporium, N4RS, Corinthia Isle, GAYstar and HUG's.

Please contact Ricogenu and/or Xcept Atlas is you are considering sponsoring this event.

---

*Two preliminary Miss Wigstock shows at Corinthia Isle's "Cawk & Heels Drag Club"*

Each contestant will participate in one of the two shows where they will each perform two songs.

When: Saturday April 19 at 12 PM and 4 PM SLT

Theme: Burlesque

Host:: Edwin Wilmot of Corinthia Isle

DJ: TBD

Voting: Audience favorite, the contest board will be set to group allowed voting only. (Group tags will be given out during the show.)

Builder: Rene Bonaparte

Prize: Gift Cards/Gifts

                  

**  Miss Wigstock Finals will be on the big stage at GreyMyst **

We will have two full sims together, contestants on one sim, audience on the other. Each contestant needs to pick three songs, however they will only perform one at the finals. (This is to prevent duplicates among contestants.)

When: Sunday, April 27 at 12 PM SLT

Theme: Disco

DJ:  TBD

Builder: GreyMyst's builders

MC: Chris Magic Blackheart

Prizes: 

• L$15,000 First, 
• L$5,000 Second, 
• L$2,500 Third 
• Gift Cards/Gifts 

Judging: 

Judging will be handled by three impartial judges to be determined. Anyone connected to a contestant or a sim will not be permitted to judge. Each judge will have a scorecard, with scoring guidelines. The judges will give their scores to a scorekeeper who will total the points independently.

Last year's Miss Wigstock video 

If you have any questions or comments please contact Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas).

Ricogenu & Parvin

Out With the Old Leads, In With the New

Together with Tomais and Guyke I payed a visit yesterday to the Gay Archipelago bash to say thanks and good bye to their outgoing Lead Garth Raleigh and PR Lead Othon Weiland and welcoming in the new Lead ricogenu Resident and Parvin (Xcept Atlas).

I, my hubby and Avacar Bluestar

Petr Hastings Vanbeeck, Chairman of Second Pride

Rico, the new lead of GA

Othon, Garth, Parvin and Mitch (Garth's husband)

Guyke at the side of solid and hot DJ Rocky Constantine

When we started feeling cramped and sweaty in our suits Tomais and I decided to go let our balls hang loose  for a while in the constantly balmy breezes at Boystown's Sunday Beach Party with Ryder Yowman and host Lee McKay. The view was exquisite!