Our Lady's Futurecast

   With the elections and all the turkeys behind us, we begin looking forward to the holiday season and the end of another year. December is a time for recalling things from our past and making hopeful predictions of what the future will bring.

   This year had plenty of ups and downs, but we also had two rewarding, memorable experiences. For a half century, I have been an amateur esoteric scientist. I took delight in telling friends things that science didn't know, but would soon discover. My favorite stories were 1) that the true shape of the universe would be found to be a giant donut and 2) that scientists would soon begin to prove there is a god (or supreme designer). Admittedly, these are some fantastic topics, but in SL, with it's preponderance of sci-fi nerds, they are great "ice-breakers" and have generated many great chat sessions. This year, I found a number of videos, on line, that science was now beginning to echo my theories. One group of scientists had even shown where our galaxy, the Milky Way, was located on the donut. My joy was short lived, when I remembered that I had never written them down and so could not prove that I had predicted them in advance. Oh well, there's still a silver lining. Now that science was accepting my introductory logic, I can point out some of the logical extensions to the theories. Hopefully, by getting it on paper this time, I can enlighten the world or, at the very least, entertain the nerds among our readers.

   We aren't trying to write a book here, so we will just give some short thumbnails of the theories that we think science will be discovering in the near future.

THE MATRIX

   There is Energy and there is Form, a.k.a. Matter. We keep finding increasingly smaller bits of matter, but there seems to be no end in sight as too how small or big matter can be. Where is the dividing line between Energy and Matter? If Energy can not be created or destroyed, it is Eternal. What is causing the eternal to be confined by the dimensions of time/space? The connection is neither and both finite and infinite. It is only a mental image. Science will come up with a math formula that will take a whole blackboard to write, but this same thought can also be expressed in the form of a simple, short sentence, such as "To be or not to be..." or "I am becoming that which I will become". Words and numbers aren't even required, as long as you "get the picture" in your mind.

THE FOURTH DIMENSION

   If you ask most people what the fourth dimension is, they will, incorrectly, say Time. If the first dimension is "here to there", the second dimension is perpendicular to it or "left and right". The third dimension will be perpendicular to the first and second or "up and down". Keeping with this series, the fourth dimension will be perpendicular to all of the first three or "bigger and smaller", or Scale. This understanding of dimensions may seem unimportant, but as the world's thinking begins to take it into account, many new doors will open to science.

DARK MATTER

   Science observes the behavior of the matter in the universe and finds it behaves like there is much more matter than they can see. Science will soon discover that it is like the matter that we can see, but with an added twist, which they will call "Nutation" or wobble. If you spin energy, like a top, that spinning form is what we call matter. If we could "freeze-frame" these units of matter, we would see that the spinning energy is never evenly distributed around the center of rotation. The imbalance of energy is like putting a bowling ball in a washing machine, during the spin cycle. Every unit of matter has a slight wobble to it. Although the frequency or rate of nutation can have a wide spectrum of speeds, there are certain speeds that will be harmonically in tune with other speeds and they will stand apart, like notes in a musical scale. You could be standing next to a person or object and not be able to see it, if the matter in your eyeballs is wobbling at a different rate than the matter that the person or object is made from. Like the spokes on a bicycle wheel, they are there, but you can’t see them. Operators of web fed printing presses, like those used for printing newspapers, use strobe lights to see the printed images as they speed by. Science will soon develop machines to view other forms of matter. Individual humans can develop the ability to see other forms of matter, because their bodies are made up of matter of the different nutational rates. There are various yoga exercises that can help develop an awareness of other grades of matter.

SPEED OF LIGHT

   The speed of light is not a constant. It is already known that light slows down as it gets near mass. What is yet to be discovered is that light also changes speed relative to the scale of the matter being looked at. If you could shrink down in size, to where a single quark is the size of the whole universe, it would take light the same amount of time to cross from one side of the quark to the other as it does to cross the entire universe. Scientist will figure this out, using theory, because they can never build actual machines that can zoom in to the needed frame of reference. Thought is the only thing in the universe that can travel faster than light.

Sha

Paradise Eiland

   Ever since I wrote about Creations for Parkinson's, I have been attending their Sunday night angel's dance. Several friends, including some of the other Newser Reporters, also make frequent trips to Creations. I have also made many new friends there. Last Sunday, Maia Antarra asked me if I would be interested in writing about the coming opening of a new healing center which she was involved with. This new center, "Paradise Eiland Retreat & Event Center" uses non-medical, New Age therapies, like Reiki, Tai Chi, meditation and sound to restore balance and health. I found this topic very interesting, for two reasons. I have been looking into the idea that Second Life can provide real life therapy. Add to this, in the last few months I have developed a problem with poor circulation and pain in my feet and legs. I have very little faith in medical doctors and have been trying to book an appointment in a RL healing center, like the one Maia was describing in SL. I was given a LM and told to contact the owner, Rod Eiland. When our Sunday event ended, I headed for Paradise. In addition to reporting on it, I was hoping to offer myself as proof that these virtual reality techniques do, in fact, work.

   The landing put me right in front of the healing center. While waiting for things to rez, I noticed and enjoyed the soothing music stream. The peace was enhanced as natural scenery and classic Greek architecture came into view.

   Entering the healing building, I found a group prayer/invocation animation and some massage tables, with animation balls for the healers to use. The walls were decorated with iconography from various world religions. From experience, I knew that healing requires the patient to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment. I could tell that this environment would be very believable, for most people. I went back outside to explore more of the center and spotted Rod Eiland was on the West end of the sim with another member of the healing staff. I found them dancing on a beautiful glass dance floor. Introducing myself, I learned that they had already been told to expect me. The three of us talked, until Rod's assistant had to log off. Rod then offered to give me a private tour. The center occupies the Southern half of the Sugar Valley sim http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugar%20Valley/193/17/23

   Our first stop was the Tai Chi area, on the North side of the dance floor. Rod explained that his specialty was sound healing, using brass bowls and gongs and he offered a free session. He said it would work best if I wore headphones, so I dimmed my lights, lit a candle and put my headset on. I could feel the sound vibrating, all the way down to my solar plexus and, for the first time in weeks, was not having any shooting pains from my left foot.

   I made an appointment to return the following night for a full treatment. Our timing was off, so I missed the scheduled time and spent time getting more details of the upcoming grand opening.

    The center will open on November 26, with opening ceremony beginning at 1pm SLT, with the release of a flock of eagles. Technically speaking, I can't tell you that these healing techniques will cure anything. I can say that, based on experience in SL and RL, there is great potential for real healing here. These things also take time, so don't expect any instant miracle cures on your first visit. I'm going to keep my walking cane handy, until I've been to a few more sessions.

   At this point of the story, I would normally be telling readers to come have a great adventure. What I will say is, if you or a friend have been feeling your light has dimmed, you owe it to yourself to explore Paradise Eiland and see if they can turn up the light and get you in the pink.

Sha

Seduction

   While scanning the World Map for interesting, unusual sim groups, we came across this cluster of 30 sims. The individual sims were laid out in such a way as to allow one to travel to all points in the cluster, while being spread out over a larger area of the grid than a compact grouping would cover. It was also clear that every sim also contained water areas that made it obvious that the preferred mode of transportation is by boat. We have a collection of boats, but thought it best to make a quick visit to determine what the rules are and what kind of craft would fit best in the area. Zooming in on the map, we notice that the sim which is fourth from the top and second from the right is the only one without any water of it's own and has a darker texture at the center. This seemed like a good clue that this sim might be an administration and gathering area, so it was selected as a starting point for our adventure. Arriving on a beach, on the West side of the sim, we open "About Land" and read up on what the area is about. The entire cluster is known as "Seduction Estates" and is dedicated to selling or renting residential properties. There are no shops or dance clubs or other public gathering spots. This region is for rich, hedonistic, clothing optional adults to have their mansions in a "Tropical Paradise", kind of like a "Berverly Hills on the sea". The rules say no child avatars are allowed, but there is no mention, for or against, of furries being permitted. We played it safe, by going as a 4' tall adult human female. To keep up with the Jones's, we decided to get an inexpensive motor yacht and found one at the Marketplace, for only $75.

   We rezzed our yacht at Sunny Beach, to get a feel for how it handles. Satisfied that it would be a good craft for the adventure, we dressed in a yellow polka-dot bikini and a modesty top, to give us the rich girl, playing with "Daddy's Money" look.

   We plotted a course that would begin at the Northeast sim and would take us through all thirty sims, using the public waterways. Since most of the properties have security orbs, we wanted to avoid getting sent home, so most of our exploring would be done by zooming and panning our camera. 

   To aid navigation, we made good use of both the World Map and the Mini Map. Unlike most of the places that we have visited, the world map, at this location, showed all the properties that are for sale or rent in yellow. This would help us locate and price the available properties.

   Although we never found any offices for administration and land sales, we did discover the only gathering spot on a hill in the center of the sim we did our first research on, Seduction Isle. This "club" has a stage, with piano, and three dance floors, we assumed for couples dances, but there was nobody there during our adventure.

   Each of the many individual properties is a small island, surrounded by rocks, waterfalls and trees, for privacy. Most have a large mansion in the center. I was impressed by several that even had the nautical equivalent of a drive way, to moor boats off the main water ways. Few of the mansions had a lived in look, so we began to think, if you've seen one cookie cutter mansion, you've seen them all, until we spotted an old, derelict sailing ship.

   The ship and nearby building are probably not a residence. It seemed more like a local park, the sort of place that young adults might gather, to be away from the eyes of elders, while enjoying forbidden fruits.

   Speaking of being unseen, we noticed that the number of people, on all of the sims, was highest after 9p.m., but even then was only a few individuals and couples and they were mostly up in skyboxes. We had hoped to find some residents that could be zoomed in on, to check out what the natives were wearing, but they seemed to vanish, each time we were near.

   Following the World Map, we tracked down the three property sizes that are offered at Seduction. All of the properties require a one time payment of L$500 plus a weekly tier payment, based on size. They each come with a house, which can be replaced with your own. Houses provided count against the prims allowed for each property. A 1/16th sim is $1550 per week, with 460 prims. 1/8th sim is $2500, 900 prims. 1/4 sims are $2900, 930 prims.

   Personally, as an efficient shopper, I enjoy a higher quality home and community, for half the price, so I'm not planning on moving. In SL, we can become anything we desire. If you feel seduced by Seduction Estates, I wish you all the pleasure desired. Live there or not, we found it to be a fun adventure. We navigated through 30 sims, in a shiny new mega motor yacht and it was like a Hollywood bus tour of the homes of movie stars.

   Come, enjoy a tropical vacation and let your inner, petite, cuter than dimples on a bunny, rich white girl come out to play, Queen For A Day.

   We already know what all the guys want,

Sha

Shop Til You Drop

secondlife://TOURNANT/116/125/40

      In the world of Second Life, we wear a costume of avatar and clothing all the time. Is it any wonder that Halloween is a favorite time of year for many residents? There will be countless theme parties and haunted house destinations to report on. All this fun inspires us to dress up our own avs and homes, with a few shopping adventures. What could be better than finding 20 shops, dedicated to Halloween, all in one location. An avid shopper, we checked out an event that runs until October 31, called "Shop 'Til You Drop. The landing puts one in the center of the sim, with eight blocks of about 20 shops.

   Keeping in the spirit, we sent Thing (from the Addams Family), to take notes and pictures. The layout of the streets made it easy to zig-zag through and see all of the shops.

   We found lots of clothing, for both conventional and mesh and even a shop for "Dinkies". You could also find accessories, to enhance your costume. The Thing gave a thumbs up, at the vendor for Halloween painted nails.

   Down the street, we found a shop that sold full scale animated skeleton bots, including a caged go-go dancer that shakes her pelvis and a butler that serves drinks. Thing posed for a picture with three sitting on a coffin, in the classic see no, hear no, speak no evil pose. We are tempted to return to get a prim count, to see if it would work in one of the tower rooms, back at our castle.

   At another furniture shop, Thing got downright silly, trying to give a "hi-five" to a chair shaped like a hand. This relationship would never have worked, because the chair was only into big butts. Thing made up for this silliness, by finding a mesh dress shop, with a gown that Sha would surely find "to die for".

   Whenever possible, one should always try the demo, before buying mesh clothing. We returned home, to prepare Sha for a visit, including some custom spooky lighting. The demo was a perfect fit, so by the time you see this, she will already have worn it to her next event, along with some bat wings.

   Before we went to explore, we had no idea of where this story would take us. It turned out to be a lot of fun and even Sha found something she couldn't live without. We recommend that readers get off their butts and send in a hand, before the witching hour arrives.

Sha

Science Friday

   When the Editor, Bixyl Shuftan, mentioned this destination, he did not have details, but it sounded like the perfect location for this reporter to explore. Bix explained that it was a group in SL that gets together on Fridays to listen to a NPR radio program, called "Science Friday" and discuss the topics that are covered in the two hour program. Science and Art have been my two greatest interests, throughout this life time. While I am, technically, an amateur, some of my theories could stand their own against those of the pros. When watching science videos, narrated by celebrity scientists, like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox and Bill Nye, I'll debate them in a heart beat. In a group debate, you'll find me sitting on the same side as Carl Sagan and Michio Kaku (my favorite). My top three theories include; What Dark Matter is and why we can't see it, The real story of the Big Bang and The True Shape of the Universe is a Big Donut. Recently, scientists have begun to confirm my donut, calling it a spherical torus.

   Determined to find the group and location, we did several searches and found the group that hosts the event. The group's description stated that they conducted Friday meetings and that SL comments and questions would be linked to the live radio broadcast, but the location of these meetings was left out. To get the whole story, I joined the group and then opened group chat to ask for the LM. Within minutes, one of the members shared a LM. Armed with a time and place, there was only one question left, for this scientist to ask. What to wear??? Intuition hints that this event might favor coming in human form, so I selected my "Newser-Jade" outfit.  It turns out that, although most were human, we were joined by a cyborg, so it probably isn't important. When Friday came, I was the first to arrive. in the center, there is a conference table, with a limited number of chairs and around the perimeter there are hanging basket chairs. As a newbie/observer, I selected a basket, with a good view of the room. As members arrived, I was invited to sit at the table. Each time that somebody sits at the table, it increases it's size and number of seats. One of the members, Beragon Betts, sent a friend request. Heavens YES, it's always good to have friends that out-rank us in the member's hierarchy and are more "in the know" than us. Beragon is friendly and helpful and has since come to visit Sunweaver Bay and Sunny Beach's Gathering Oak. During the Science Friday event, I noticed there didn't seem to be communication between the group gathered and the radio program. I learned that, it had been so, in the past, until LL regulations stopped it. LL realized it shot itself in the foot, by ousting non-profit groups and reversed the rules. It may take time to heal, because schools are reluctant to return to teaching in a world that supports sex and vampires, over the acquisition of knowledge.

   The radio program provided a number of topics, which we discussed in nearby chat. Some of the members were professional scientists and the group, as a whole, had an above average knowledge in science topics. The first topic was about research of gene editing to create bulls without horns and hey, we all like to talk a little bull, now and then. The second topic was about the continuing AI research needed to get computers to understand the spoken language. The sounds that carry our thoughts to others has always been of great interest to this writer. So much so that, I created my own True Type Font, called "DiJiFon", with a 40 letter phonetic alphabet, with each letter stored in only 8 bits, that can be displayed on any digital watch.

   Attending Science Friday is a great adventure, for it's friendly people and leading edge, on topic discussions. But Wait, there's MORE!!! It's all about Location, Location, Location.

   The Science Friday location is right in the midst of several science sims, including scale models of rockets, landers and satellites. I always get a thrill from the shift in perception of going from seeing it on paper to walking up to and going inside of the full scale model.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/162/56/22

   Hop in the cargo bay bed of this Texas size pick-up, because Houston: We are go for launch. Come, 4...3...2...1... your way to some fun and start next week-end  with a sub orbital journey to Science Friday.

Sha

Dark Side

   Several weeks ago, I did a social commentary, called "The Drawing Board", in which I hinted that SL was like a high speed computer model system, with which behaviors and life styles could be pre-tested, and ultimately lead us into an age of freedom and enlightenment. One could even say that there is a kind of Jedi Force, which is leading to a better way of living.

   Last week, I gathered a dozen SLURLs from the Destination Guide, in hopes of finding the next Great Adventure to take my readers to. I found lots of pretty scenery and special effects, but none of them were good enough to get a recommendation from my hand. Added to this, I was also attempting to help mediate some local drama. This led to a lot of WTF questions, like; What's wrong with the Destination Guide, What's wrong with the local community and OMG, does Second Life also have it's own DARK SIDE?

   In RL, I have been a publicly elected Mediator and am a life time student of ancient wisdom and secret brotherhoods. You would be amazed at how much of "Star Wars" was based on real history of planet earth (the correct spelling of Jedi is Djedi). Everything in the universe is a mixture of Yin and yang, male and female, positive and negative energy, good and evil, which have to be mixed in harmonic proportions. An out of balance mixture will cause a thing's structure to decay and die. The Masters, that I studied under, have explained that They do not call the dark ones evil. Instead, They call them "Our errant brothers" and teach that we must also love our enemies. In order to truly love something, you must first know and understand it. If the side of Light is good thinking and the side of Dark has errors in it's thinking, we need to look at what's on the minds of these two sides.

   A Brother of Light understands that the universe runs on the law of economy and strives to plot a path, in our upward evolution, that is the straightest line between two points, from clod to god. Efficiency is the mother of all virtue. These Brothers know that the knowledge of Truth cannot be given or forced on us. It must be gained by each one of us. The prime directive is FREE WILL. They will never take away your ability to make your own mistakes. We learn faster that way. These Brothers also do not want to call too much attention to themselves. When you shout, AHA! I FOUND THE TRUTH, They are pleased that you think you found it on your own, without following the bread crumbs they dropped along the trail. These Brothers are also all about the Oneness and encourage gatherings, families and communities.

   In contrast, the Errant Brothers are divisive, creating disunity and dissension. They do not allow others to have free will. Going against their way of doing things will make you an enemy. They do not serve others. They want everybody to be their servants. They don't want to change things for the better. They want to reverse evolution to make us little more than a pack of sheep, that they control and feed off of. Having no light in them, they lack a sense of humor and are short tempered. They are insensitive to the needs and pains of others. They will say they feel our pain, but the only pain they know is the frustration of not getting things their way. Even an innocent word or deed will incite them to harass and or ban you, to get control over your choices.

   By now, many readers will be aware of avatars in SL that are very light or dark. We don't want to name any suspects here, because that will only get us drawn into their illusional dramas. What we do want is a world, where evil, erroneous thinking has been carefully put in it's proper place, in the past, behind us. Get thee behind me, Satan. Having a war between good and evil is not an efficient solution, because eye for an eye, evil for an evil creates a never ending cycle and will last for many thousands of years, like in the Middle East. How, in SL, can brothers of light put darkness in it's place? It's relatively easy, by using attrition. The two things that wear evil down the most are being ignored and laughed at. If your so called enemy puts a road block in your path, your feelings might tell you that they are being hurt and you should be angry and return the hurt. Not a very safe way to handle things. The mind holds the answer and reminds you that, Hey this is SL and you have super powers. With a click of the mouse, you can fly or TP around any road block. OK, but what if the enemy is threatening and harassing us, in our home and community? Stay in mind and remember, such activities are against FCC regulations. Being a bully in SL could get you in a RL federal prison. A mind, kept in the light, will see the threat, record the facts in the brain, override the emotions, while letting the negativity pass through, or bounce off, so that the state of mind and peace is maintained. An old saying goes, "A curse that finds no place to land, returns home to roost". This means, if your enemy's threats are like water on a duck's back and roll off, that water will end up in your enemy's lap. As a kid, we had our own saying, "I'm rubber, you're glue. Anything you say bounces off me and sticks to you".

May the force be with you,
   Sha

The Gathering Oak

   Some time ago, I volunteered to help an old friend, turned new neighbor on Sunny Beach, Erik Mouse to  build the sim of his dreams. He showed great interest in providing attractions for the community to come and have fun. I have become his court Magician and councilor, to teach him the power of Imagination. The force is strong in him.
   The perimeter of the island sim provides beaches, boating and surfing. The interior of the island is a thick forest, known as "Mythica Woods". At the North end of the woods, there is a clearing, with a spring fed pond. When I made the Sunweaver Tour video, I called this area, "the local watering hole", because it seemed like it was a natural gathering spot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f144n1NYcos .
   There are several Hobbit style homes, a camp fire, a TP and Stargate. We built a tiki hut club and called it "Surf's Up", to draw attention to the surfing wave, on the North shore. Erik was eager to begin having weekly events, on Saturdays at noon SLT. I let him know that it would be his adventure and I would not be on club staff. He is the owner and should make his own rules and provide any staff and DJs for any events scheduled. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, but after three weeks, our little friend was feeling stress, because his club had yet to become an overnight success. He came to the Newser staff meeting, seeking help in getting more visitors to come. At the close of the staff meeting, Erik, Bixyl and I convened to Surf's Up, where an event was in progress. This was the ideal location for the discussion, since we could also get additional input from those on the dance floor. Indeed, I took notes as Skylark LeFavre began to describe a different decor, from her imagination. She described a clearing with a large oak tree..... Before saying another word, I was already seeing the complete picture. That night, I searched the marketplace for oak trees. I found a towering ancient oak tree, that looked like the perfect fit for Mythica Woods. I spent the night, with nobody around, installing the oak, removing the tiki hut and moving the club equipment under the tree branches. The next day, after seeing the new set up, Erik sends an IM, asking if I had left anything for him to do. Indeed, there were a few objects and the contest board, which I could not move. Later that evening, I attended a weekly dance event, at Creations Park. They have a rotating circle sync dance that is a wonderful thrill to partake in. After the dance, I met up with Erik again. I told him that I think a circle dance would be perfect for the new club layout, so we went about trying to find a good one. That was an adventure of it's own and we nearly got booted off of one RP sim. When we found an in world demo, of one I spotted on MP, we tested it, bought it and took it home to set up. Words could not explain how enjoyable it is for a group to share. I knew I would need to get some pictures or video of a group doing the dance. For two days, I asked friends to come try it. At the close of the following Happy Vixen event, I announced that I would be making a video and all were invited to be in it. We got a nice little impromptu group going and the camera began to roll. I captured 10 minutes of video, before folks needed to go and posted it, unedited, on Youtube.
https://youtu.be/L_kNx3Nz5oI

   Recently, I made the comment that where the sky and earth, fire and water all meet is a place where strong magic is made. There's lots of room to dance and several group sitting areas, if you'd rather sit this one out. There's even a cuddle basket, if you like that kind of magic. The club will now be known as "The Gathering Oak" and will have a weekly Saturday noon dance and you can also come any time, to enjoy all of the sim's attractions.

   Aloha,

Sha

Drawing board

   Our adventure today is not about a sim or group of them. It is about all of the SL World Grid. We will be looking into the heart and soul that animates this world. Last month, we wrote about Creations for Parkinson's and became friends with Barbie Alchemi, it's creator. Since then, I have been attending their Sunday night dances which, in addition to the inspirational music, always includes a topic for things of a spiritual nature. My companion, Erik, has attended and the guests all love him. His comments, on the topic, were well received and they thanked him for his "wonderful insights"

   In private chats, Barbie and I talked of our experiences with the therapeutic uses of Second Life. We both knew of people whose real lives had been improved because of their SL experiences. We both admitted that as a major part of our SL Raison d'Etre. We come here to bring Love, Light and Healing, in service to others. I explained my evolving theory, that Second Life was like a drawing board for the new Age of Aquarius. Meteorologists use computer modeling to track and predict storms. They can run many variations of data to get the most likely prognosis. Have you ever noticed that time seems to flow at a different speed in SL? The six plus years I have been here, feels more like decades. We'll leave it to the accountants to figure out how much that is in "dog years". The thing is, regardless of the time difference, we still learn the same lessons from our experiences. Because of our hyper time, we can test out one "happily ever after" theory after another, until we get it right, in far less than the many life times it would take in RL. We learn quickly, the difference between what is good and what is better.

   In real life, you have, no doubt heard that we are entering "The Age of Aquarius", a cosmic upgrade of the world's OS, which will make life, as we know it, a whole lot better game. What will the new age world be like? Well that answer would fill a shelf of  books, but fortunately, a good friend of mine, J.J. Dewey, has just published his "quick list" and it is a good summary of things i have heard over many years. The items on the list are not for debate. We are all entitled to our own opinions. Any disagreements with the ideas would only happen if the author's definition of terms are not understood. You can read more of JJ's writings at www.freeread.com

The World to come

(1) A world without borders – no passports needed
(2) One where brotherhood, goodwill and inclusiveness set the tone so we have right human relations.
(3) One where the Haves share with the Have-Nots so extreme poverty is abolished.
(4) There is to be a one-world government that unifies the world without becoming a tyranny.
(5) This will lead to a secure peace on earth.
(6) There will be a one-world religion which will basically be the world acknowledging through free will that certain universal principles are true.
(7) People will be influenced more by mind and reason than by lower emotion and being reactionary.
(8) People will becomes less materialistic and focus more on the spiritual.
(9) Christ and his associate Masters of Wisdom will walk openly among us as teachers of the human race.

   Personally, this sounds like a good plan and I have spent many years trying to help bring about this new OS for earth. I also do my small part in getting these ideals tested by the residents of Second Life. I could go down the list and mentioned ways I worked them into the minds of others, but this is not about me. Instead, I will turn these questions to the readers.

Do you think this sounds like the kind of world you'd like to live in?
Are you willing to help build this world?
Are you willing to be it's beta tester in Second Life?
   If you have any ideas on this new world topic and would like to share them with us, SL Newser welcomes Reader submitted articles for publication.

  When I mentioned that I was about to write this article, to the dancers at Creations, Erik made a comment that I wanted to quote.
"I actually thought that SL is more like a world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it is the part of the hopes and dreams of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries."

I couldn't have said it any better,"
"Sha"

Wild West

   I have been writing for SL Newser, for several years now. With all this practice, we gain skills in finding and writing about ever greater adventures. This also enables us to observe and teach those elements that make any life, real or virtual, better for all. Life can be difficult, but the rules are very simple. To have a better life, always obey these two little rules. One, life is fun. If you're not having fun, you aren't playing by the rules. Two, life is for learning new things. Everything in life is a fun lesson and even an old god can learn a new trick. If you are not learning fun new things, you are stuck in a rut. Being stuck is not fun. Go back and read rule one. In addition to writing about a fun life here, we also give one-on-one guidance, to those that seek it. They are like students or Padawans. We will be including one of these padawans in this adventure. Let us begin to set the stage, for his entry.
   On an intuitive hunch, I opened the World Map, of the SL Grid and began scanning for interesting sim clusters. Finding a good candidate, we zoom down for a closer look at the terrain. Like a good spy satellite, we get a detailed picture of what is going on down there. In this case, we located a tight collective of 24 sims. Each sim is named after an area in the western part of the USA and you could see it in the landscaping. This area had all the elements of a great place to explore.

      I had copied the SLURL for one of the sims and went, briefly, to set a LM and get a "first impression". The landing is a skybox, with a painted interior. There is a shack, a horse and a few signs. The 24 sim area is called "Wild West Roleplay Lands" and, as we guessed it, there will be rules. As kids, we called "Roleplay" by the name "Let'spretend". You did your best to look and sound your part, in order to free the imagination to act out the role. It has been many moons, since we last played "Cowboys and Indians" and my imagination has many other ways of getting around. I decided that when I come back I would take in the whole experience, by joining the group and wearing the HUD and health meter. After the regularly scheduled evening's event, I returned home to dress western, horse included, and returned to those wild days of yore.

Back at the skybox, I gathered and read all the notecards about the ground rules and notice that they are in English and German. That seemed unusual, at the time, but I would eventually learn the reason. I joined the local Buffalo Wyoming Group and wore the WW meter HUD and health meter. Now I was ready to descend to ground level and begin the adventure. Turning towards the TP, I spot something at my feet that wasn't there before. It was my tiny neighbor, friend, Erik Mouse. He had located us on his world map. Not long ago, I had invited him to join me, during my explorations of Creations for Parkinson's and he had figured out, if I was far from home, I was probably researching another fun adventure. I could tell, he was hoping to get invited to join the fun. I have to admit, my first thoughts were, this is like getting a hot first date and your mom says to have to watch your little brother and let him tag along on your movie date. Then, my mind steps in, telling me this is exactly the thing we are trying to teach others to do. It wouldn't be a change in our plans, because we were making it up as we go along. Besides, I reasoned that Roleplay was a bit like sex, being more fun to play with friends, than to play with self. I told him that I wouldn't mind if he joined me, but he would have to do it as a human cowboy. He said he had never played a human, in SL, but would do what it takes. I informed him that he could find a human avatar in the library section of his inventory and that they provide free period clothing at the near by shed. Our location seemed to be preventing us from making any changes to our avatars, so we returned home to make a man of him. At the Surf's Up club, I located a complete cowboy avatar, on Marketplace, for only L$25. The cowboy avatar even came with a coiled lasso, so Erik was now fully prepared to rope him some fun.

    So, now we have Erik, on his first day as a human, but he's not the only cherry. I quickly discover that I am no longer the author of this play and the actors are working without a script. Our first location, on the ground, was the town of Buffalo, Wyoming. Sha, from experience, takes up the lead position and her faithful companion follows a few paces behind. Being in a Wild West town, our first interest was finding the local Bank. We found it, but it was locked so we went across the street, to the Saloon. The barkeep and patrons are all cardboard cut-outs. If we wanted adventure, we needed to head on down the road. A quick check of the radar showed that we were the only ones on this sim, but there are a handful of others on the next sim, so we head in that direction. As we entered the next town, there only seems to be one resident and he is taking a nap, in front of the Pub. I spot the local jail and head over to check the accommodations. I entered a jail cell and invited Erik to come in and pose for a souvenir photo of our adventure.

   We broke out of jail and returned outside where I spotted a gallows. I think this might be a good place to demonstrate the virtue of Courage, so I clicked the gallows and selected the hang by the neck animation.

Well, I was having some fun, but my companion was probably wondering when the adventure would begin, so we headed towards the blips on the radar. This ain't no big city. There are no paved roads or direction signs to follow. As we walk, I spot three buffalo, grazing in a field and say, "Oh look at the cute critters. Let's go pet them". BIG MISTAKE! One of the buffalo turns in my direction and prepares to charge. I take off for the hills, double time, and see on the radar that Erik is right behind me. I run into a stone canyon and find a Medicine man's tee-pee and campfire. Thinking this is a safe place, I sit down at the fire. Turning my cam around, I see Erik lying face down on the ground, with a rattle snake biting his leg. I asked him about the snake. He said that he didn't know about the snake, but his HUD just informed him that the buffalo had killed him. I'm like, OMG, they killed Kenny! I brought my little buddy here and got him killed. Then, the unexpected happened. Laying face down in a pool of blood, Erik begins to comfort me. "Don't worry, I'm just dead. I'll be better in about 30 minutes". WOW! Who is this guy and what did he do with the timid little mouse? I said, " no worries pal. I'll sit here and wait for you, while I smoke this peace pipe that I found by the fire." As I sat there thinking, I realized something else about this man named Erik, that was different from the mouse I had known for years. From the time he found me in the skybox, until now, he had not been AFK, even one time, throughout our adventure.

   At about this time, a stranger approached the campfire, carrying a rifle. I could only hope that he was one of the good guys, because we were in a defenseless posision. As he began to talk to us, or should I say, er begann, mit uns reden, I realized this cowboy was speaking German and it was being translated to English. I learned, later, that Wild West Roleplay is very popular in Germany. The cowboy told us that Erik would soon live again, although his full strength would take a bit longer. When Erik rose from the ground, the cowboy pointed to the ground and said, here marks the spot where you were dead. The blood was gone and the cowboy bid us well on our journey. I told him, "Danke shon", and Erik and I continued on the trail. We soon found ourselves in another small town and it had a church. I have always been interested in the architecture of places of worship, so we went inside for a look. Erik's first comment was that we could have used some of this guy's healing skills, back on the trail. WOW! He understands religion. I was seeing inside the RL Erik in a new light. I wanted to get to know him even better, so I steered the conversation to our RL selves. "Do you go to church", I asked.  "No", was his reply. I told him my age and birthday and he told me his. Erik is in the same age range as my three daughters. Our sun signs are also very compatable. I asked him if he used Facebook, so we could friend there. He did and we set it up, then and there.

    The hour was getting late and I had a staff meeting the next day. I told Erik to feel free to explore some more, but I was going to bed and would probably come back a few more times, to explore more of the Wild West Roleplay Lands. He wanted to know if he could come again, with me. I told him, "Si, mi casa, su casa".

   I must point out here that Erik and I only covered about 1/6 of the Wild West Roleplay Lands. If you come here, there is enough adventure to keep you going for months or even years. Besides that, I am scratching my head, wondering what this story is really about. A fairy mouse king becomes a mortal man, to descend to earth, is killed and comes back to life. It all begins to sound like a symbolic initiation into some secret brotherhood of knights or an ancient Greek passion play or the labors of Hercules.

   I don't know where the story came from, but I'm signing it,

Sha

The Cure

      Since my youth, I have taken an active interest in doing my small part to help bring peace on earth, good will to all and the healing of the planet, with all of it's lifeforms. Throughout the grid, there are uncountable teams dedicated to finding the cure to many diseases. I do my part to help teams, in both SL and RL. From experience, I can say that there is a problem to finding cures that doesn't get mentioned much, if at all. I am going to tell you a story, but begin by telling you some important details that 1)  It is based on true conversations, some in SL and others from RL, 2) the names of people, places and diseases are all made up to a] protect the inocent and b] to allow readers to fill in the blanks for themselves, and 2) I will refer to myself in the first person, just me, myself and I, talking directly to the readers. Since this is all made up, there will be no pictures included, for the same reasons as above.

Gehirnnebel
   I was enjoying my first dance event, at a sim that I had recently written about, when I got an IM from an old friend, whom I'll call Jack. Jack said that he wished he could find some friends to hang out with. I told him that I was at the place that I had previously been telling him about and there were many friendly people, that would welcome him. Next thing I know, everybody is welcoming Jack and asking him to join the dance circle. We both enjoyed it and ended up among the last 3 to leave. We'll call the other remaining guest Jill. Jill had not even been one year in SL and was happy to meet new friends and hear of the sims they live on. We decided to continue our evening together by touring the sims that Jack and I lived on. During the lengthy tour, I discovered that both Jack and Jill had the same disease in RL, we shall call Gehirnnebel.

   The next day, I began to recall some things that I knew about Gehirnnebel. It was said to be caused by the Gehirnnebelwurm, which moves into and burrows around in the brain. Spread out in the brain makes it impossible to remove or poison, without killing the brain itself, so doctors say there is no cure. But wait, I had also heard that although you can't cut or poison it out, there is a way to starve it out. The gehirnnebelwurm lives on the glucose that circulates in our blood. Human cells, on the other hand, are not limited to glucose for their survival. If we only eat foods that do not break down to make glucose, the energy is delivered to the cells by a process called ketosis. The gehirnnebel worm can't thrive unless it gets glucose and will become dormant until it gets some. While these pests slumber, the brain has time to heal itself and, within a few days, the foggy brain begins to clear. I looked forward to telling Jack and Jill that a slight change in their diet could quickly lead to a wonderful improvement in their health. The next time I logged in, there was something I needed to re-write scripts for, but I was hoping that I would also find Jack and Jill. As I finished my repairs, to my delight, both showed up within a couple of minutes of each other. As I began to tell them that I knew of a possible "cure" for them to test, I soon noticed that Jacks brain had gone AFK and my news was going right over his head. Jill, on the other hand, was hearing the news, but was becoming agitated by it. Before even hearing what the cure is. How could I possibly have a cure, when doctors said it was not curable? How could I know of a cure, if I had never had gehirnnebel myself? I soon realized that helping Jack and Jill would not be as easy and fun as I had hoped, so I sat down and waited for them to regroup, so I could go into more detail as to what the cure might be. Keep in mind, at this point I hadn't said what the cure was and neither had bothered to ask what it was. Naturally, Jack was confused, because he had missed most of what had been talked about and Jill was getting very heated in her arguments, while still having no clue of what the cure was. Ultimately, her emotions got the best of her and she removed me from her friends list, muted me and poofed away. Now Jack was even more confused. When I explained that she got angry at me about claiming a cure, without either of them having learned what said cure might even be, Jack delighted me with his response. "So, what is the cure?", he asked. Since I didn't want to go through another argument with an uninformed person, I told him he should first get some background information, by doing a web search on the topics of Ketosis and Paleo Diets. If after reading about it he was interested in trying it, I could show him how to do it. For now, this is as far as the story goes, but we can already see the moral of the story.

   Fundraising teams can raise billions of dollars for scientists to find and make a cure available, but for the cure to work, those that need it most, will need to keep an open mind and not be kept from using it by unearned authorities that want it banned, because they can't get rich by curing with methods that go beyond their barbarous treatments of cutting and poisoning.
   As our teams continue the quest of finding the cure, we must also know about and prepare for the greedy individuals that will do everything in their dark power to keep us from the cure.

[I would like to point out that I hold no grievance towards Jill and forgive her social blunder. She had warned us that her friend skills needed work and this is not uncommon for those with brain disorders. If she would like to be friends again, I will welcome her back]

The only dumb questions are the ones you forgot to ask.

Sha

Tableau

   Among the LMs that Bixyl sent us recently, there is one for a sim called Tableau. We stopped here long enough to set our own LM and then headed to Creation's for Parkinson's, to write about it first. Our first impression of Tableau was that, although it was, in ways, ugly to us, it was also, some how, very interesting and might even be a fun adventure. Before we begin our adventure, our readers must understand the language being spoken. Mediators know that disputes often arise between two parties that both want essentially the same thing, because of not knowing the other party's definition of the principles in question. If we tell readers that Tableau is a fun adventure, they are probably going to disagree. To get on the same page, let's sit in on the first lecture given at  Clown College.
   The Professor wears a silly looking cap, called a mortarboard, and a bulbous red nose and is explaining why people laugh.   Laughter is a release of tension. If you are struggling to figure out something, when you finally get it, you say "Aha". Other jokes are funny, because the teller uses a different meaning (double entendre), which is known about but not expected in the story. Another useful way to make us laugh is called "Slapstick". When we see a one ton weight, thrown off a cliff and heading down towards our position on the ground, we laugh with the relief of seeing it flatten the coyote, instead of us. OK, we can now go to Tableau and have a better idea of why we think this is a fun adventure.

   Arriving on the sim, we are in a desolate town, in the middle of a desert. We wonder if there are any people that live here, if so, why. A sim surround adds to the impression that we are in the middle of freakin' nowhere. If I was a child, growing up in this place and was asked, what would I like to be, when I grow up, the answer would be, "I'd like to BE.......any place but here".

   It seems that, to save a dwindling economy, the town created a tourist attraction, called "Dinosaur Park". The three dinosaurs are impressive in size, but lacking in realistic detail. Perhaps they were made from sheet metal, salvaged from the many vehicles found dead in the desert.

   The town budget couldn't afford a sign painter, but some old weathered boards and a black crayon let us know which way to go.

   Down the road, we spot an earlier attempt to draw tourists. It is called Fun Time Park, but something evil has destroyed this place. At the mouth entry to the park, outside authorities have blocked entry, with signs saying Closed, Condemned, Quarantined and Infectious Virus Area.

   Sha is here for a story, not the rides, so, pulling out her Press Pass, walks boldly through the gate to the middle of the park. There is a black hole and signs of toxic waste. A Newser Press Pass will also shield you from harmful radiation. Sha marches straight into the black pit and drops into a glow in the dark, day-glo chamber.

   Naturally, Sha loved the pretty lights, but wouldn't stay long, not having her Geiger counter or a sonic screwdriver in her pockets. One can't help but begin to think that this poor town is ripe for a take over by some crazy gang of hippies, ha, ha, he, he, ho, ho. Is there a secret gang, calling itself "SLUG", that is responsible for the tagging on the local walls?

   Passing by a news stand, the headlines show that the residents are very concerned about the identity of SLUG and a dead lady, found inside one of the dinosaurs.

   Perhaps they should be more concerned with finding a way to remove the two giant, rusted atom bombs from their town, but maybe they are saving them to make some new dinosaurs.

So now, as we wrap up this tour, we count the hands of the readers that got their eyes poked, hair pulled out and pianos dropped on their heads. None? I guess you all had a fun adventure. We send it off to print and close the light for a rest. Hmmm, are bunnies supposed to glow in the dark?

Sha

Creations for Parkinson's

   Touching bases with our Editor, Bixyl, he gave us some locations, to consider for our next story. He was especially interested in one called "Creations for Parkinson's". Here, we will find shops and exhibits to raise donations to Team Fox for Parkinson's research, a fundraising program at The Michael J. Fox Foundation. As an active supporter and member of the Sunbeamer RFL team, we are always happy to promote the work of all such team events.
   From personal experience, there are "tricks of the trade" that can improve your success at asking people, "Got any spare change, man?". We often explained to our panhandling friends that if they provide their benefactors with some entertainment, even if it's just a silly little song and dance (that actually is VERY good at getting tips).  So, in the back of our mind, as we approach the Creations Park sim, we're anticipating finding out if Team Fox has a song and dance for our entertainment. One of our extra-favorite types of entertainment is to see, hear and do things that I have never done before. On this adventure, our fun meter went off the scale. We kept thinking, this story is going to have us looking in the Thesaurus, to brush up on our list of superlatives.

   On the first trip to Creations Park, thoughts of Disneyland come to mind. How did they fit so many attractions on one sim? It is also covered in vegetation. Navigating the paths sometimes requires using Mouselook and checking your locations on the map. But wait, there's more!!!

   Creations Park is flanked on the West by Merlin Gardens sim and on the East by Frantastica sim. Each of these has it's own ton of fun attractions to explore.

   Creations Park is the fund raising center and the Southwest quarter of the sim has many boutiques that share profits with Team Fox. This area brings to mind Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills, in their selections of clothing, furniture and landscaping plants. Come buy something glamorous, while helping out a good cause. You can also donate directly to Team Fox.  There are paths that lead to all the attractions on the sim, like the castle, Aladdin's palace, a pirate ship, a beach and gardens. There are also TPs, to take you to locations in the sky and we'll cover one of our favorites, shortly.

   There's nothing we like better than stepping off the beaten trail and blazing our own path. At this location, this could lead to an unplanned visit to Atlantis, in the waters below, but it could also lead to finding a secret attraction. In an unmarked tunnel, that takes a short-cut through a hill, we spotted large rainbow colored gems and a ball of lightning, that one can meditate in. We had never seen one of these and had to try it out.

Every area on the three sims that we explored had beautiful scenery and music streams that reduce stress and energize the soul. While visiting Merlin Gardens, Sha found  a bench and sat down to read a book and sent us AFK for an ice cream break. After a good half hour, we were ready to check out the amusement park, on the Frantastica sim. The rides there were better than any we had ever tried. We made a note, saying that, with all this smiling and jaw dropping, we might need a sling to rest our mouth. 

   Our first visit here must have been fun, because 3:30 am came in a flash. We decided to head home and continue exploring the next night. Before logging out for the night, an IM came in from our friend Erik Mouse, asking our help in solving a mystery. There was a '57 Chevy Belair on the seafloor by his island. We recognized the owner and returned the car, but Erik was still agitated, by how it could of gotten there in the first place. To calm him down, we changed the subject and told him about the fun we were having, while researching this article. We told Erik, if he came there and tried the amusement park, we would include a picture of him in the article.

After getting him to try the water slide, space needle and bungee jump, we took a ride together on the Ferris wheel. Unlike the other rides, the Ferris wheel has no time limit, so we rode for a long time, before asking him if he would recommend this place to my readers. After a short pause, his reply came, "Um....YES, I would". By this time, the sun was beginning to come up in RL, so we parted company for the night.

One of the LMs that Bixyl had provided was for the Chapel of Eternal Love, located 4001 meters above Creation Park, so we went there on our next visit. This elevated area is the icing on the Creations cake. We found this to be an awesome, inspirational adventure. As we put the pictures and words together for this article, we find they can't begin to show how great the joy is, when you visit. To enhance our story, we have made a video of scenes taken in the Chapel of Eternal Love. We hope you will go see  for yourself . Team Fox has brought us a piece of heaven to inspire a helping hand. Let's show them that they have earned our "spare change".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRh6fnZE7ko&feature=youtu.be

Namaste,

Sha