Shady

I've just attended the in-world memorial service for Shady Fox.

Since his passing a little over a week ago - caused by cancer, diagnosed just last October - I've really wanted to write something about Shady; about his impact on Raglan Shire and its development from its inception, his stature within the Shire community and, on a more personal level, what his friendship and support meant to me - but I've found it almost-maddeningly impossible. Not because I've been racked with grief about his sudden death but because to summarise even parts of his 10+ year odyssey in Second Life in a single blog post (or even several) is virtually impossible. He was known by so many communities across the grid, had touched so many lives in such unique ways and had brought joy to so many more that to try and capture even an essence of what Shady Fox was about would be a disservice to him and would undervalue his real worth.

The only thing I can categorically say - and which was quoted by Raglan magistrate Zayn Till in his memorial speech - was this: whatever he became involved in, Shady Fox was the cherry on top of the cake; he was that one ingredient that made something already rather good so much better.

And with him gone, I fear that nothing will ever quite be as good again.

Rest in peace my friend. I, like so many others, will miss you forever.


A machinima video I made in an afternoon after having spent just a couple of hours with Shady

Yaya Bingyi

Yaya Bingyi (centre) leads a tiny Halloween hop-a-long.

Woke up to some terrible news this morning - Second Life tiny resident Yaya Bingyi passed away last weekend.

Her RL partner sent me a notecard stating that she died on July 5th, "from complications to her long illness."

Yaya was a tiny hippo in-world. She'd had a store on the Shire in the shape of a beehive almost since Raglan came into being. I remember it being there when I first visited the sim and was immediately drawn to it. Even then, it was already well-stocked with a range of beautifully made tiny wares. Most of it was made for females, but that didn't stop me from admiring the workmanship and envying the talent that had gone into making them.

Time zone differences aside, it seemed that for a long time our paths never really crossed in-world - that is until late last year when I was quite randomly teleported to a gathering of tinies on some remote sim where the group already there was inflicting their own brand of silliness onto whoever they could. Yaya was part of that group and welcomed me as though we'd been friends forever. I guessed that as I'd been around the Shire for not much less than her, she'd heard of me through mutual friends or by reputation (unbeknownst to me at the time, I'd already connected with her through Facebook and she followed my ramblings on Twitter, both under her RL name); and from then on, we chatted and chatted. I remember she was using Voice that morning and there was just something so enthusiastic about how she spoke that it made me have to plug my headset in to chat back to her. Normally I wouldn't have bothered, but Yaya's energy made me feel as though I wanted to be part of that conversation.

And then she wasn't around so much again. I'd occasionally see her drop a comment or two on statuses on Facebook, so I assumed she was OK. I'd never have known that she was unwell. I don't know what her illness was; I do hope she wasn't in pain. And I do though know that Yaya left behind a good number of friends who will miss her.

SL10B - The Tinies of Raglan Shire

SL10B - The Tinies of Raglan Shire, originally uploaded by Daniel Voyager.

Here's a nice shot of our SLB Helter Skelter, built by Etheria, Panacea and Summer. I just booked the plot and directed traffic when required.

Looking Forward to SL10B!

Wow, it's that time of year again already?! Seems like it wasn't that long ago that we chopped down our Giant Mushrooms at SL9B!

Well, it is that time again, so of course Raglan Shire and the tinies have a presence there. This year I again recruited the amazing Etheria Parrott and Panacea Pangaea to assist with the building and asked Summer Seale to come on board to help add a touch of sparkle and all-round beauty to the finished thing. I did virtually nothing; OK, I came up with the concept, but aside from that my contribution was embarrassingly minimal!

It's Second Life's 10th birthday and this years' theme is Looking Back, Looking Forward, encouraging residents to review their time in SL so far. I don't know of anyone who's still around since then - I think the only person I ever met who was 'born' in 2003 was the late Stillpink Sandgrain - and of course Raglan Shire didn't come into being since 2007, so we haven't had as much history to draw from, but enough.

I won't elaborate any more on our build just yet so as not to spoil it for you, dear reader (it doesn't open to the public until tomorrow), but I think the ladies have done an incredible job. I do hope you find time to visit!

Super 6 Cometh!

April 2013 will mark Raglan Shire's 6th anniversary of being and as usual we are holding a themed-event month to celebrate. This year's may prove to be one of the most exciting and dynamic yet!

It's Super 6: Superheroes versus Supervillains!

For the 30 days of April, the League of Defenders (LoD) will fight back against the forces of the Legion of Tiny Villains (LTV) from spreading their influential menace across the cluster!

The LoD have erected a glorious base of operations beside the Shire's favourite social hangout, the Paw & Whisker clubhouse. It's a pristine white villa and has been strategically placed directly opposite the abandoned warehouse that the LTV have taken up residence in. The former base of operations of The Leftovers Catering Company has fallen into ruin but the LTV are now using it to cook up their own evil schemes!

The League of Defenders' Headquarters

But on whose side of the stream will you align yourself with? Will you stand alongside the heroes of the League of Defenders or will you set out to cause trouble with the Legion of Tiny Villains? Or will you align yourself with neither? Perhaps you will be a mercenary, ready to fight for the highest bidder or perhaps you are already part of a group that will take on all-comers!

The Raglan Shake

So my good pal Pyewacket and I filmed this yesterday...



Fun times!

Silent Treatment

Silent Treatment, originally uploaded by Betty Rogan.

Just stunning, beautiful, enchanting, bewitching, sublime...I'm running out of superlatives to describe this.

So honoured to call Brogan a friend! One of the best Second Life artists at work.