July 28th @ 8:00 p.m. SLT - Fireworks at Livingtree!

This Saturday, July 28th, and every Saturday at 8:00 p.m. SLT this summer, come to Livingtree for fireworks and fun!

Refreshments will be provided.

This is a child AV friendly event, but you do not have to be a child av to enjoy the show.

Kick the can

(This was originally from the Metaverse Messenger. I do a whole page for them, so go an check it out, 'kay?)

Of course, you know as well as I that kids are not allowed in-world -- that is, the flesh and blood teen and younger folks. No, this is about those of us who have chosen to be kids within the world as we know it. I am writing this in an attempt to change that, and give at least a little insight into why me and others like me choose these particular avatars.

Let me use a classic television analogy: in the original Twilight Zone episode, "Kick The Can," a group of nursing home octogenarians start to play the kids game in the title. In the process, they end up back in the halcyon days of their youth.

This is the intent of a majority of those with kid avatars as a primary character. It is a chance to recapture youth lost, or gain childhood experiences not previously had. It is, quite simply, a chance to let one's inner child out to play.

When I joined Second Life, playing a kid was not at all something I had considered doing. I did not even look at that as being an option until meeting two separate real life friends in-world, and seeing them playing kids. We talked a bit about this, and they offered some of their motivations. I liked what they had to say, and it led to me doing the same: a chance at youth and innocence regained within a virtual world.

This is not to say that everyones' intentions are as pure, although those with more erotic interests would appear to be in the minority. For most of us, the idea of a sexual element to any of our young second lives is appalling. Certainly for all that I have talked to about motivations. When we're in character, we are embodying the role. We are kids: acting like adults in a child's body is the last thing we'd be interested in. Applying adult thoughts and motivations to any child is a fool's game - and this applies to Second Life kids just as easily.

So what do we want? What is it that draws people to play kids on Second Life? Simple: we want to hit the playground once in a while, be cared for and nurtured by our in-world families, and have fun with our virtual peers.

We simply want to kick the can.

Saturday night fireworks at Livingtree

This Saturday, July 21st, and every Saturday at 8:00 p.m. SLT this summer, come to Livingtree for fireworks and fun!

Refreshments will be provided.

This is a child AV friendly event, but you do not have to be a child av to enjoy the show.

Memories and imagination

Remember, for a moment, what it was like when you were a kid.

Remember springtimes of your past, when the flowers would bloom, when you could wish on dandelions, and -- for some -- when you would hunt for brightly colored eggs while wearing your new Easter dress. Perhaps, too, you spent a weekend or two selling cookies for your scout or guide troop some Springtime, too.

Remember Summers that would never end, where ice cream, lemonade, and all sorts of summertime treats seemed like they were yours for the taking. Days spent climbing a favorite tree, or daydreaming of clouds that looked like fluffy bunnies.

Remember Autumn: the satifying crunch of a leaf as you leapt into a pile, freshy stacked. Cast your mind back to pumpkins carved and costumes worn for Halloween, or - for those of us in the States - Thanksgiving-time school plays.

Remember wintry nights spent at home, a mug of cocoa at the ready, perhaps catching a "CBS Special Presentation" featuring Charlie Brown, Rudolph, or Frosty. Think of the wonder of lights, whether it was the glow of the family menorah, or the gleam of lights strung around a tree. A time of paper-wrapped presents and candy canes.

Remember joy, and wonder, and the happy times of your youth. All these memories that may bring a smile to your face, or even a tear to your eye.

Those were halcyon days where life may well have been a lot simpler, before car payments, mortgages, and 1040s, when you got up to go to elementary school instead of facing another rush hour commute to a dull, gray cubicle. You know, when the doctor might offer you a sucker, and you could do crayon drawings on the menu at your favorite restaurant.

Now imagine those being something other than simply memories. Imagine if you could head off to elementary school now, experience the seasons as you once did, and enjoy a simpler time in your life once again. Imagine that Summer need not end, because the sky will always be blue, with a few wispy clouds some 140 meters over your head.

Imagine too that any bad that may cloud those memories could be somehow lessened, with a sheen of adult experience allowing you to avoid your own errors, while a bevy of other tools can help prevent any ills you may have suffered during your childhood.

Finally, imagine if, as a kid, you could fly, teleport to places far and wide, and make whatever play thing you desire.

This is the life of a child in Second Life. Now, is it any surprise why one might choose it?

Fireworks tonight @ Livingtree!

In celebration of US Independence Day, Canada Day, an jes because it's fun, we'll be shooting off a whole lotta fireworks tonight, July 3rd, at 8:00 pm SLT at Livingtree

Refreshments will be provided. This is a child AV friendly event.



Also, feel free to check out the island. All of Robin Sojourner's stores (The AV store, The Broom Closet, and Kick The Can) are located there, as well as her texture tutorial and Wiccan learning center. Also both me an my brother have stores there, and there is a biiig playground, swimming hole, fishing area, river, aslip and slide, and mudhole all are welcome to use and explore. Even a few hidden surprises here and there, too!

If you can't make it, well, we'll also be doin' fireworks on Saturdays regularly through the Summer months. So come on down an enjoy!