Holiday Greetings 2012

Yeah, it´s way too early but I am overcompensating for all those times I never got it out or sent it very late!

Spectacular Immersion

I am home sick today with a really bad cold of a magnitude I have seldom experienced before. However, between the fever spikes and the chills I feel well enough to blog a while.

On Sunday I attended the premiere (?) of The Change, a metaverse rock opera. You can read my plug for the project in my previous post The Change (url). The show will be playing every Sunday at 1 PM SLT for an as yet undetermined period (or if there is an end date I have not yet stumbled upon it).

If I were you I would definitely try to catch it, because I am going back to see it at least one time more. It is an out-of-worldly, spectacular, musical and dramatic immersive experience. I was completely thrilled and fascinated from start to end by the music and the performances, even if I some trouble following the monologues and dialogues. The latter was most likely because of my mounting fever and being unfocused.

I am now going to show you some pictures I took at the show, but let me tell you they do not do complete justice to the show. You have to be there and be immersed in the music, the movements of the scenery and the changing camera angles to experience and enjoy the immersion.

Even though the performers complained somewhat that the SecondLife servers were a hindrance and botched up their performances.  I can fully aúnderstand how annoying it must be for the performers that something does not work out exactly how they had envisioned it, but as a member of the audience I never noticed any major glitches or problems.

Just go see it for yourselves, be dazzled and get food for thought!

Seasonal Chores

The time has come to prepare for the traditional - well for those of us belonging to the Western European and Judeo-Christian culture - seasonal celebrations. As an atheist Swede, who was  born into our secular lutheran church, I am of course referring to Christmas and New Year.

For Ars, as for many other Americans, decorating - or even over-decorating - for the any of the holidays was a cherished obligation. He used to go completely bonkers and we had colored lights, poinsettias, christmas trees etc, etc, all over the place. I am more low-key, much more.

One of the things I do like to do however is sending out greetings to friends and family, even those I haven't been in touch with for months or even years. I still love them and think of them its just complacency, life and other obligations that has caused a - temporary - breach in the daily or at least regular contact.

Another thing I like is having a get-together before people get immersed in their first life families and obligations. This year I had delegated to - or rather pressured - Millimina and Guyke to handle the party, alas they could not get their scheduled synchronized so the party will have to be in the New Year instead, which is fine by me too because a party when people get back to SecondLife is just as good.

Well, to come to the point, yesterday I went to Calas Galadhon (I always go there) to take pictures for my card. I had a great time with myself and the camera in the Firestorm viewer.

Entire Soccer Team Sacked for Homophobia

Sörskogens IF, the first team of 2012

After a soccer game in the 7th division of the Swedish league between the LGBT team Stockholm Snipers and Sörskogen IF, the whole first team of Sörskogens IF has been fired by the clubs board. The reason for this decision was that some of the players of Sörskogen called Sniper players "HIV infected", "sluts" and said things like "You suck dick for 50 crowns" to them.

Sörskogens IF has also received a fine of five thousand Swedish crowns (U.S. $750). The players were ordered to join an ethics course at Stockholm's soccer federation, which they refused. They claim they have made ​​no homophobic statements. 

Ketil Torp, chairman of the board of Sörskogen IF says, "The players unwillingness to apologize, or even admit to the wrongdoings, were the reason for sacking them. It is clear that the team does not consist of 15 villains, rather of a few black sheep, but they are protecting each other and do not want to stand up for what has happened. When you're a team, you have to work together to ensure that all is done in a good manner. The players have shown no willingness to communicate with us. Had they done so, we might not have had to fire them. It is important to put your foot down, to show which values ​​the team stands for especially since we have so many young people and children on the team."

Found To Be Wanting

"Conversation around a column" (1978) Richard Kalvar

I have promised myself and those of you who happen to read my blog to be honest about what goes on in my lives, so there is some news I need to share.

Three weeks ago we got the results of the biannual employee survey at the company I work. In the survey half of the personnel in my department found me to be lacking in certain aspects, the other half thinks I am just great.

The results were a bit surprising to me as I usually receive great marks in these surveys and considering that I have been completely open with them about the depression I am undergoing treatment for. I suppose they think I should get over it after two and a half years.

Since the results of the survey came in my co-workers and the personnel manager have been analysing the results together to pinpoint what flaws they believe I have. The co-workers written summary of this analysis was - due to some unfortunate delays - handed to me on Friday morning. This was on the morning of the day we were going out for Christmas dinner together.

In the summary the main points of criticism is that I "seem tired" and "lacking in ardor". They also believe that I set a bad example by taking too many "smoking breaks" (they are all non-smokers) and that I seem afraid of conflicts.

Well, that put a damper on my participation at the Christmas dinner, I attended all the same but avoided alcoholic beverages completely. During Friday and Saturday I have been mulling over this the whole time and I have come up with a strategy on how use it for a beneficial developments for myself and the workgroup.

I am grateful to my co-workers for being open and honest in their responses, because if I do not know how they feel about things I am denied the possibility to improve. Of course, I recognize my responsibility for the situation that has arisen. However, I believe that there are some errors in their evaluation of the situation and also some misconceptions that we have to discuss or clarify.

From my point of view, I also see that there is a potential for improvement among them too and that we need to discuss these matters openly to achieve a lasting improvements in our working environment. Our dialogue about this and other improvements have just begun, but if we all have the common goal to feel better at work and with each other, it can take the time it needs.

GA Winterfest - The Opening

Saturdays in SecondLife have lately meant a lot of strange problems for me. All my remarks in Instant Message and local chat are repeated, any tip I give get repeated also until I leave the sim and my HUD´s and AO´s turn themselves off anytime I try to use them. Frankly it´s more than a little tedious!

If I weren't the most patient man in SecondLife I would complain and rant ferociously, as it is you just get this whimper instead.

Today I had one of my "have-to-go"-events lined up, the opening of the Gay Archipelago´s Winter Festival. My son Guyke was a grass widower (Ziggy was away in first life for one of his hellish weekend work shifts) so I forced the boy to accompany me.

Well, once I thought I was ready dressing and teleported to the party I landed in snow, which really shouldn't have been a surprise to me considering it was a winter festival duhhh! As a trendsetter and fashionista extraordinaire it was of course impossible for me to go to this particular party in a tee and capris, so back home I went to change a-g-a-i-n. I choose to blame it all on my bad cold and my fever, although I should think others will have alternative theories on the matter.

Mitch and Garth, the happy couple

We got there a bit late and missed out on George Michaels and Ricky Martins appearances, but were in time for DJ Avacar´s great set and in time for the two most thrilling events of the party, the northern lights show and my buddy Garth Raleighs proposal to his beau Mitch Underwood.

Luckily - and to Garth´s and the party guests great joy and relief - Mitch immediately and happily accepted whereupon heartfelt congratulations to the happy couple ensued, totally against the rules of the Winterfests ban on chat spam, but no one really cared about rules at that point.

Guyke and I

The Change

THE CHANGE, is a rock opera created for the metaverse through months of collaboration by an international team.

Sundays at 1pm SLT at Benvolio (SLurl) 

The CHANGE is about the huge challenge and choice facing our world - will we continue the way we are to one future - with the world destroyed or change direction?

The show uses symbolic imagery. The audience is led by a dark and a light shaman into alternative futures. We voyage into other realities -  into the distant future and into the distant past.

We face the questions - what have we done? Is it too late? Shall we awake or shall we die? Answer the questions for yourself when you have seen this ambitious original creative show

The CHANGE is part of the Intergrid Metaverse Arts Biennial (Url). The Biennial Website will show all the events as the full programme develops on the different grids.

The festival celebrates the emerging fantastical and creative worlds of virtual reality. In the hyper gridded metaverse new worlds spring into being, each with its creators and arts. Already avatars can travel between some of these worlds. The IMAB festival calls for all grids to provide hypergrid freedom for our virtual selves to leap world to world! Let the citizens of the metaverse explore, encounter, create and express themselves!

(Tipped by my buddy junivers Stockholm)