New Happenings...

It's been a crazy busy semester in RL, so I haven't been playing in SL nearly as much as I would like. Now I'm playing a little catch-up, passing on some of the announcments of events that I've received recently:

1) chief Inglewood posted a call for participants in the Fresh Faces 30000L$ Photo Contest. There will be a two-way split of this generous prize: the First Place Winner gets 75 % & the Second Place Winner gets 25%, and the contest is sponsored by GCRadio, Talk of The Town Magazine, Marketing Brings Results, and MBR Records, with a portion of the proceeds going to the AMP-4-A-CURE CANCER GROUP. It costs 25L$ to enter or to vote. Go to the Eastmont Mall Upper Level http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eagles%20Summit/51/239/28/

2)Jayce Slade says: A 'IGHT Y'ALL, MAKE SURE Y'ALL TUNE INTO THE SISTER STATION OF WJAY 106.9,..... KRNB 97.7 *THE GROOVE* features neo-soul and R'n'B. WE WILL HAVE THE FIRST LIVE BROADCAST OF MELLOW MONDAY WITH THE ONE AND ONLY DJ TMB. Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW HOW HE GETS DOWN SO COME ON OUT OR TUNE IN AND RELAX TO MR. MELLOW HIMSELF. http://teal.neostreams.info:11452 LIVE ON KRNB 97.7 *THE GROOVE* 8-10AM DON'T MISS THIS !!!!

3)Maris Lane invites all budding entrepreneurs and experienced store owners to Come join us at ￡avish Mal; for their GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!!! PAY FOR 3 WEEKS (OR MORE) AND GET ONE WEEK FREE!!
♠ Three spacious store sizes and stalls available with excellent amount of prims per unit.
♠ These high quality shops and stalls are in a low lag sim, so please have a look around!
♠ Sleek, and classy look and can be modified to your request. [inside only]
♠ Affordable rent!
♠ Midnight Mania Boards offered for you store upon request, to help bring traffic to your location.
Prices are starting at.....
1.) Regular Shop - 130prims/ L$400 ...per week
2.) Large Shop - 375prims/ L$725 ...per week [limited only 4 of these units]
2.) One Stall - 25prims/ L$110 ...per week
Mall will be adverstised by us, but we also recommend you advertise your own shop also.
Please IM or send a Note Card to owners Tiyah Triellis or Maras Lane with rental questions.
**ONCE YOU HAVE RENTED A UNIT PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF US FOR A GROUP TAG SO YOU CAN REZ***Sorry, once units are rented there will be no refunds should you wish to end the term early.*Prims will also be monitored so please adhere to them or items may be returned.http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ilo%20/178/36/21/

4) DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT IS HIRING DANCERS TO WORK PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EVENTS AND PARTIES.
PLEASE CONTACT ENTYCE GOLDLUST FOR MORE INFORMATION
and an application. You can HAVE FUN AND MAKE MONEY TOO!
WILL TRAIN!!

5)(¨*•.¸´•. :: Chocolate Entertainment Inc. :: ¸.•´¸.•*¨)
♥ Got a party?♥ Need a proper bachelorette send off?♥ Your next rezz day party needs just a hint more sugar?
Naughty or nice, Chocolate Entertainment is here to fulfill your entertainment needs!
You can check out our office or contact Godiva Rugani or JaMarcus Jonstone for questions.
(¨*•.¸´•. :: WE ARE HIRING! :: ¸.•´¸.•*¨)

6) SRM Museum and Art Gallery celebrates Thanksgiving with a special film, The Thanksgiving Story, which depicts Native Americans teaching the pilgrims to survive. A lesser known story is the alliance of enslaved Africans and Native Americans, this week's film in the Media Room, as a special feature, we examine Black Indians, narrated by James Earl Jones. Next week will continue with our regular schedule. PLEASE VISIT THE GALLERY'S two new harvest paintings; At Harvest Time, and Harvest 1998. Shops are now available at SRM’S New Marketplace. These quaint little shops offer classic flavor and rustic charm. SRM has an eclectic and diverse visitor base from all over SL, and RL which is great exposure for your business. Shops are located near our Spa, new Café and Remembrance exhibit. Very reasonable. Contact Indea Vaher for more info. http://slurl.com/secondlife/ZoHa%20Islands%20/25/194/21/

Barry White's Birthday Tonight

It's Silky Smooth Saturday at Nat's Jazz Club ya'll, and we're celebrating Barry White's Birthday! DJ Ice aka Lucas Scarborough is spinning those silky smooth tunes we've come to love with a few of those timeless Barry hits. Oh yeah...Smooth Jazz, R&B, and Neo-Soul like only our boi can do it. Dress in your best Semi-Formal or Formal attire, and as always, DJ Ice is taking your requests and dedications. So bring a friend or meet a new one, and grab that limo. Doors open at 6PM SLT. Nat's is a great space with some great people, always! And tonight's celebration of Barry White means you should be ready to slow dance and talk romance....http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ephesus/180/220/21/

Announcing Nocturnal Souls

I'm passing along the announcement of a new club, NOCTURNAL SOULS, a unique club located high in the clouds above SugarHill Island, which is having a grand opening on Friday at 7:00PM SLT, with DJ Miles Eleventhaur and hostess Dulcedosa Descenna. Nocturnal Souls is a gothic atmosphere filled with a true musical fusion to nourish every soul, SOUL * ROCK * HIPHOP * CHILL MIXES and more!

VAMPIRES, Friday it will be nightfall, safe to come out of those coffins & play, and even if you aren't a vampire, everyone is welcome at NOCTURNAL SOULS. The sploder will be loaded with linden; a raffle ball will be exploding prizes all night, and there will be dancers to entertain the crowd. You are invited to wear your own fangs or pick up a pair when you arrive from the gatekeeper at the door. Of course, the best dressed in GOTH wear wins L$1000!! Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Jay-Z, Sophia Ramos and Living Colour will be jamming at the event, brought to you by BlackSoulRhythms Radio. The Nocturnal Shadows have finally found their way to SL and are taking over! The Shadows is a group of roleplayers (mostly vampires) who are here to struggle to keep our legacy alive; their bond is strong, and so they look after one another. The Shadows are also inviting those interested in joining the group to contact Marjorie Dibou or Capone1 Noriega for more information. http://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill/17/130/881/

Black Soul Rhythms Radio This Week

I'm passing along the announcement of this week's in-world events and online music streams sponsored by Black Soul Rhythms Radio. There is a great variety of offerings of music from the Diaspora:
TUNE IN FROM RL = http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

GOOGLE CALENDAR OF EVENTS **** http://blacksoulrhythms.com/OnAirShows.html

MONDAY 7:00PM SLT ::: DJ HUSH will bring the "Quiet Storm" to SugarHill Island. He will play your favorite romantic R&B tunes and sprinkle in the uptempo dance cuts to get you sweatin on the dance floor!!! SexXxy casual attire ... bring your friends ... or meet someone new. Party goes down in Gallery Galli !!

MONDAY 9:00-11:00PM SLT::: DJ Soopa Uglee :: DJ Soopa Uglee :: Playing slow jams to start your week then will work up a sweat with the best RnB and Funk. Come to the event on SugarHill Island ...poppin sploder and champagne in Gallery Galli. Taking your requests from the beautiful soulful people in SL.!!! Hostess: Kristin Rexen

TUESDAY 7:00PM SLT :: DJ Marjorie Dibou @ The CityBar !! She will drop the NeoSoul we need to make it through this day. Come hear her favorite tunes and a few tunes from NEW CD RELEASES, and tunes from artists you may have never heard before! If you know, you know.... this music will feed the beats you need to nourish your soul. 􀀕

WEDNESDAY 8:00PM SLT:: DJ Dr. Kewl at the SugarHill Lounge .....DJ Dr. KEWL opens up the GROOVE and drops SUGARHILL deep DEEP inside! So DEEP the ear kandi will tickle your brain and cause you to have an EARGASM! So come on by and party to the DEEP, RAW, DIRTY sounds from Dr. KEWL. The KEWL Music will be pumpin.... cocktails will be flowin. THIS EVENT IS FOR GROWN FOLKS !!
WEDNESDAY 9:00AM SLT :: SPECIAL BROADCAST "COME AS U IZ HOUSE MIX" with DJ CLYDE on Black Soul Rhthms Radio. Listen on SugarHill Island or for from RL http://blacksoulrhythms.com or http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

Every Thursday is Jazz Thursday, streaming the best jazz recordings for 12 hours on SugarHill Island or for from RL http://blacksoulrhythms.com or http://bit.ly/uKOQ9
THURSDAY 7:00pm SLT JAZZOLOGIST DJ Miles 11th Hour.... Jazz w/ the Jazzologist DJ Miles Eleventhauer (11th hour) shares his extensive library of jazz ranging from Big Band, Bop, Contemporary, Vocal and Fusion. Come as you are but keep it sexXxy !
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FRIDAY @ 9AM SLT - Syndicated Radio Show "Soul Interviews" with singer ROGIER.
Soul Interviews is the brainchild of Swedish-born DJ Soulswede, aka Souly. His mission is to get back to the unifying art form and revive the "soul" in music.
Join us on SugarHill Island or from RL http://blacksoulrhythms.com or http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

FRIDAY 12:00PM - 2:00PM :: DJ Angelsmoon :: Drawing on his real life experience as a professional musician and DJ in his native Germany, Angelsmoon Jewell presents a unique perspective on music. His "World" sets have earned him the title of Music Ambassador with his mix of Latin, Indian, Arabic, African & Euro rythms. He has the ability to tailor his sets to suit specific tastes in jazz, funk, soul, disco, techno, house, historic and some unusual custom sets. Hostess = Waterflower Meadowbrook

FRIDAY 2:00PM - 4:00PM ::: DJ Jahman Blessed :: Reggae with a touch of Funk.

FRIDAY 5:00-7:00PM ::: DJ Suz-E-Q on the 1's and 2's takin' you wayyyy back into rhyme playing some old school rap classics! Come down to the outdoor stage and boogie to the bang with us! Hostess = MiaSweet Berry

FRIDAY 7:00PM - 9:00PM :: DJ Miles 11Hour ::: Nocturnal Souls Rock & hiphop music (GRAND OPENING WILL BE SEPT 11th)The home of the role play group NOCTURNAL SHADOWS Hostess = Dulcedosa Descenna

FRIDAY 9:00-11:00PM ::: DJ Entyce :: hip hop and R&B

@@@@ Saturday Hiphop Fundamentals on BSR Radio @@@
SATURDAY @ 11am - 2pm slt Fuse Box Radio Show w/ DJ FUSION & Jon Judah. A goal of the Fuse Box Radio Show is to bring back the spirit of Black Radio via the Internet and the World Wide Web. the radio show has a strong focus on bringing a diverse mixture of Hip-Hop & Soul music (and Black Music in general) from all over the world to our listeners along with interviewing guests and bringing news to the multi-faceted Hip-Hop communities.
Join us on SugarHill Island or from RL http://blacksoulrhythms.com or http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

SATURDAY @ 2pm - 5pm slt :: The Finest Underground Hiphop "Fireset Radio Show" with DJ Stress, Lex Boogie & MFSwayz (a.k.a. Rysan Fall)
DJ STRESS AND LEX BOOGS HAVE BEEN ON THE RADIO SINCE 2005 ON 90.7 WTCC FM SPRINGFIELD MASS. THE FIRE SET RADIO SHOW IS TO HELP KEEP THIS REAL HIP HOP ALIVE. TUNE IN FOR THE RE-BROADCAST ON BSR RADIO TO LISTEN TO THE NEXT ADVENTURE THEY TAKE U THRU. INTERVIEWS & THE BEST UNDERGROUND HIPHOP ON THE INTERNET....... BUT PLEASE DON'T GET AT US IF YOUR LOOKING FOR THAT COMMERCIAL SOUND WE AIN'T HAVIN IT
Join us on SugarHill Island or from RL http://blacksoulrhythms.com or http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

SATURDAY @ 5pm SLT :: DJ NISA at SugarHill Lounge pool. Join us for SL's Hottest Pool Party with the sexy DJ NISA spinning live for your listening pleasure. DJ Nisa will be on SugarHill Island spinning the best beats in Hiphop & RnB !! 􀀏

SATURDAY @ 7PM SLT :: DJ CLYDE from Bonnie & Clyde Entertainment at NOCTURNAL SOULS on SugarHill Island.

SATURDAY @ 10PM SLT :: DJ SIXES ::Late night Saturday night just got better! Black Soul Rhythms Radio presents DJ Sixes doin' it big every Saturday night 10pm SLT. With a unique mix of Classic R&B, Neo-Soul, Funk, Reggae, Jazz, and yeah, even a little Rock and Roll, we're changing the rules for Saturday nights. It's time to kick off your shoes, crank up the volume, and tweak that sub. Starting prompty at 10PM SLT. Come dance late night with DJ Sixes, adding that spice of life to your Saturdays at BrickHouse.
+++++++++ GOSPEL SUNDAY ++++++++
EVERY SUNDAY :: Gospel Sunday :: Streaming the best Gospel recordings for 12 hours on SugarHill or from your own land when you put our stream in your media player:

Listen for the new motivational moments called "This Is Your Wake Up Call" by Bishop Vashti McKenzie
SUN 6pm SLT :: DJ Cloud 9-One-1 "NEW GENERATION GOSPEL" Join DJCloud9-One1 and his lovely hostess Suzette for an evening of praise New Genegeration Gospel Style @ SugarHill Island. The best in .......
Rhythm & PraiseHip HopPraise & WorshipTraditionalContemporary ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

:: UPCOMING EVENTS::
Sept TBD @ 7pm :: The Parris Galli Art Show "Fall FLING" @ The Art Gallery on SugarHill
++++++++++++++++++++:: TRAINING ::Black Soul Rhythms Radio is accepting a select few students to attend the SugarHill DJ School. Training sessions are led by experienced BSR Radio DJs and RL teachers. When you complete the curriculum you will have the skills to demand a top salary as a DJ in SL. All DJ School students receive a discount on stream rental from BSR Streams.
+++++++++++++++++++++
****** Website ****** www.BlackSoulRhythms.comwww.BlackBeatsRadio.com---------------------------------****** Audio Stream *******sh1.bsrstreams.com:8000----------------------------------***** PODCAST *****http://BlackSoulRhythms.podomatic.com
----------------------------------***** TWITTER *****http://twitter.com/BlackSoulRhythm
----------------------------------****** FACEBOOK *****http://www.Facebook.dj/blacksoulrhythmsradio
----------------------------------***** BLIP.FM *****http://blip.fm/DJMarjorieDibou
----------------------------------**** LISTENER WEBSITE **** NEWSLETTER & BLOGhttp://blacksoulrhythms.ning.com
----------------------------------***** MY SPACE *****http://myspace.com/bsrradio
----------------------------------***** YOUTUBE *****http://Youtube.com/blacksoulrhythms
----------------------------------All music you hear at BSR Radio events can be purchased for download from the MUSIC STORE in RL:
http://www.BlackSoulRhythms.com/store
......or the MUSIC STORE on SugarHill Island:

Of Body, Spirit and Water

A new exhibit called "Of Body, Spirit, and Water: Early African American Healers," is opening today in a new venue at the Sunrise Mansion, which has also moved to a new location. The exhibit examines healers and practitioners of tribal Native American and early African American (Hoodoo) medicine that were precursors to modern natural herbal and holistic healing so popular today. At the new Mojo House, Indea Vaher will be hosting an opening reception, with music by DJ Bodenhall and an exhibit in the mansion upper gallery by Troy Silverfall, artist in residence at the Mansion. Of Body, Spirit and Water will be up at the House until October 10, so TP yourself and your friends to SRM ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM, ZoHa Islands WW (25, 194, 21)http://slurl.com/secondlife/ZoHa%20Islands/25/194/21/

Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge Has Moved!

Jewel Reyes welcomes everyone to the NEW SIM! If you have not checked out the amazing job WD Designs has done for the lounge and mall on a new sim, you need to get down there! Make sure you check out the lounge's garden area for relaxing and try your hand at winning lindens playing Zyngo, DMC and others! Interested minds should get ready for some old and new exciting spoken word. Rhythm and Rhyme is growing, thanks to all of the support the lounge has received these past few months; now they are doing even more events than ever before, and Jewel wants to see all of you at these events!! If you haven't already, you can join the mailing list and get in on the Profile Picks Rewards!
Upcoming events include a contest for live musicians who need a regular and appreciative venue to perform and the incentive of a great promotional and financial opportunity to share their talents. Poets, Spoken Word Artists, Musicians, Singers, Rappers, Hip Hop Artists, Instrumentalists, and others are invited to make submissions from Sunday, August 9, 2009 to Saturday, August 29, 2009 SLT. Those interested in participating should IM Jewel Reyes for more info or come by the lounge and fill out an application!

On Sundays at 3pm SLT Jewel will host a weekly contest for the BEST RHYTHM & RHYME ARTIST. Calling all spoken word artists, poets, singers, rappers to come share your creativity and compete! The first place prize is a $500 WD Designs Gift Card & 200$L. On Mondays from 11am-12pm SLT for all you early birds, there is a midday poetry session, hosted by Klannex Northmead. Show R&R's newest host some love as he leads a discussion about poetry that is read. So come with your pieces or someone else's pieces and share inspiration, your perception and overall thoughts! Later on Mondays from 5pm-6pm SLT the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge presents live musician SEBA SIDEWAYS. Seba's been playing Tenor Sax for more than 14 years; at the present time, he works in RL as a Session Player in Reggae, Rock, Funk and Latin Bands. His repertory in SL includes different music styles, as Jazz, Ballads, Bossa Nova, Blues, Funk, Reggae Roots. At his gigs, Seba pays a tribute to great Musicians like Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Thelonius Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, all of them highlights in North American Jazz History. Join R&R for an evening of jamming to the sultry sounds of his sax.
Klannex hosts another midday poetry session on Tuesdays from 11am-12pm SLT, and later on Tuesdays from 7-8pm SLT, Jewel Reyes, Dilana Llewellyn, and Kalli Birman co-host the Nightcap. They invite you to come sit and have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine as they dish on current events and anything else our minds can dream up. Anything and everything is up for grabs! Think Sex in the City meets SL....a time to sit around and discuss ...what topics you ask...well...what would you sit around and chat with friends about....relationships, love, last nights escapades, or just a good corn bread recipe. So sit back...smoke them if you got them...grab a drink and enjoy The Night Cap.
Feel free to join the discussion or simply grab a seat and listen!

On Wednesdays from 7pm-9pm SLT, the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge presents RISQUE/EROTICA CONTEST, hosted by Jewel Reyes and China Faith. If you missed the last Risque Event? Mmmmm be sure that they steamed the lounge up! Don't let it pass you by this time around; bring your racy, sultry, sexy, pieces down and steam up the lounge, or come and observe! Attire for the evening is SEXY! Umm not naked, but SEXY! We'll begin by watching a Risque Spoken Word Video, a review, and on to the sharing. Feel free to IM Jewel Reyes to guarantee your spot or for more information; a first place prize of 500$L will be awarded to the best spoken word artist, and 250$L for the best sexy attire.
Best Sexxy Attire: 250L

Thursdays begin with another midday poetry session from 11am-1pm, and the weekend begins with CHILL NITE on Fridays from 7pm-9pm SLT Hosted by China Faith, with DJ Star joining China from time to time to spin one hour of tunes from 8-9 p.m. SLT. Oh and yes there will be poetry and spoken word...so reserve your spot, observe, or share! Just be there. The weekend at R&R continues with Karaoke Saturdays in the lounge from 7pm-8pm SLT, so grab a drink and get that liquid courage up to belt some tunes out! Showing up is the best way to stay up to date on when R&R is having random 500$L contests for the best karaoke artist, sponsored by Chez Gabrielle; her satellite store is located right next door to the lounge and if you like classy, sexy, stylish fashion, you need to check her out!
Rhythm and Rhyme's new location is at Millennium Mall & Entertainment , Pinnacle Place (146, 115, 24) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pinnacle%20Place/146/115/24/

Pay Tribute to MJ on his Birthday

Thanks to Epiphany Zerbino for the notice, and the clever use of song titles: I REMEMBER THE TIME, a King was born. He went to school to learn ABC's. He came across a few PRETTY YOUNG THINGS, DIRTY DIANA AND BILLY JEAN, was the two that stood out, although Billy Jean was BAD, Dirty Diana gave him BUTTERFLIES. And soon BEN came into the picture, and SHE WAS OUT OF HIS LIFE, You see Ben was a SMOOTH CRIMINAL and kinda OFF THE WALL. The King asked Dirty Di, WHO'S LOVING YOU? and she replied, THE MAN IN THE MIRROR! DJ'S CERTA AND BONA WACO! Join us to celebrate the life of a LEGEND! Tonight at The Red Door, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. SLT, all are invited to show their love for the King!

Visit the Middle Passage Experience, Again

Treet.TV interviewed Tamsin Barzane because of the Middle Passage Experience that she built in Saminaka last month, and allowed us to relocate the Experience at their Designing Worlds headquarters for another month. With seemingly limitless prims, it is now surrounded by lush greenery and rich sounds, so come and take another look! See the full TV program here:http://archive.treet.tv/designing-worlds-middle-passage-experience. Go to the Designing Worlds sim at Northpoint (71, 67, 22) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Northpoint/71/67/22/. Tamsin has created a deeply moving and personal way to understand and explore an important historical experience.

Show Me the Green

The Museum of African American Experience is the site of an environmental exposition this week; the Green and Sustainability Expo will be running from July 12 through the 18th. Come by and learn about how you can consume more wisely at home and at work. There are practical and informative displays about ways to conserve water in your home, what square-foot gardening is and how you can use it to provide fresh produce for your family, how you can change your patterns of consumption and your buying power to be more green, and how to reduce your carbon footprint. A number of different organizations with a presence in SL are represented, and you can collect some landmarks to help you get involved: Public Policy Virginia, the Center for Water Studies, Code Pink, and EnergyTeachers.org.
Learn more about how climate change is impacted by the world's growing population, how to organize a community farm, the role of oceans in helping us to slow climate change, the impact of climate change on the water supply and on water quality, the impact of climate change on the food supply, and how our state governments can support technologies to produce affordable and sustainable energy. This expo is not just about how to make the world better; there are participants to help you be better physically and mentally too! The Metabody Community Health Center is an open, public and visible safe space for individuals and organizations such as but not limited to the African American, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Gay Friendly communities currently looking for individuals interested in being on the inital board of directors in order to establish the center as a non-profit group. You can also get some very useful tips about how organic beauty can make you look wonderful while you help the planet. Come learn about green architecture, environmentally friendly clothing, animal rights, and find out how people on the African continent are also using traditions to help them save the environment, as well as some of the particular challenges faced by the ecosystem of the continent. Sponsors include many of the businesses in SL that represent the Diaspora, so show them some love! http://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill%20Retreat/45/43/60/

Come Hear Some NEW CD RELEASES

On Tuesday, July 14, at 7:00 PM SLT, SL-world-famous DJ Marjorie Dibou will be @ The CityBar. She will be dropping the NeoSoul we need to make it through the day. Come hear her favorite tunes, including a few new ones from Chico Debarge & Joe, along with some other artists you may have never heard before. If you know, you know this music will feed the beats you need to nourish your soul. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Windermere/111/49/26/ Set your browser to http://bit.ly/uKOQ9

I'm Still Recovering

I'm still recovering from yesterday's memorial service for MJ, but I was so elated to see the Jackson family and the African American community as a whole offer definite push back to the prevailing media portrayals of Michael as a troubled celebrity whose fame was in decline. Yes, he may have accumulated a great deal of debt; yes, many in the white mainstream believed that he had committed criminal acts against (at least) two young boys, and yes, this same mainstream society was itself disturbed by the results of his cosmetic surgeries. But those of us who love him, and love his music and his spirit, united yesterday to pay tribute to his creativity and his generosity to all people, but particularly to children in Africa and around the world, and his determination to celebrate life despite the tensions created by the pressures of celebrity. Kenny Ortega and organizers of the ceremony, along with those many famous others who performed and spoke yesterday provided an immensely powerful message: that Michael as an individual and as an artist, and the Jackson family as a whole, remained grounded in the still fertile spiritual traditions of black religious worship, from the first hymn performed by the Andrae Crouch Choir, "Soon and Very Soon," and the first invocation given by Reverend Lucius Smith, through Reverend Al Sharpton's very emotional eulogy, to the final blessing Smith gave before sending us all back out into the larger world to continue celebrating our blackness. We heard the Church say Amen in Lionel Ritchie's performance of "Jesus Is Love," in Jennifer Hudson's version of "Will You Be There," and in the concluding performance of the song that Michael and Lionel wrote together, "We Are The World." We felt not only the deep mourning of Mariah Carey, Usher, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson, but also their own rich beginnings as successful and loved entertainers in the black church tradition, in the places where they first performed and first also experienced the beauty and power of singing for others. We heard Church when Martin Luther King III and Bernice King addressed the congregation, and we saw the political legacy of the black church recognized in Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee's announcement of the resolution to be introduced in the U.S. Congress by the Congressional Black Caucus. We saw people of many different backgrounds share in that rich tradition as they also performed in dance and song throughout the service, giving evidence that not only black people found inspiration in Michael's example. In addition, and closely connected to that spiritual awareness of a community and a tradition that historically has helped, and continues today to help, people of African descent survive political, social and economic inequality and oppression, we were reminded of the personal fulfillment Michael found as a father to the three children who are now being raised by his mother Katherine when we heard Paris Katherine speak about missing her Daddy. I will be singing along to his and his brothers' songs in my car and in the shower for the rest of the month, for the rest of my life, celebrating the beauty and power of black spirituality and the richness of African Diasporic culture.

Welcome to Club Corazon

Club Corazon, located at Plaza De Corazon http://slurl.com/secondlife/Isla%20del%20Corazon/188/63/33/, offers a wide range of music including top of the chart hits for 80's & 90's Party Dance, Classic Rock, Motown, 50's Sock Hop, Love Songs on Formal Nights, 70's Disco, 60's Hippie Night,Old Soul, R&B, Latin and several more. Events are held every Thursday through Tuesday from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm SL Time, except Saturdays, which is 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm SL Time. Owners and Managers WOW Nightfire and Annetta Decosta invite you to pick up your free Club Corazon T-Shirts which can be found just inside the club entrance, and after dancing to please visit and shop their many nice shops featuring clothing for men and women. They hope you enjoy the classy & romantic atmosphere of SL's No.1 party dance club with heart and soul. This week, events include Classic Rock nights featuring Elton John on Thursday, Fleetwood Mac on Friday, and Billy Idol and Guns'n'Roses on Saturday. Sunday is Disco Fever night. On Tuesday, July 21, Club Corazon will be having a Wizard of Oz costume contest and giving away Flying Monkey door prizes as well as a L$500 prize for Best Movie Character Costume. Club Corazon is PG RATED, so come out and have a good time with grown folks.

Missing Michael Jackson, Again and Always

My typist finally had to turn off the TV; she just couldn't take one more word of speculation about the fate of Michael Jackson's money, his children, or his final resting place. She did laugh herself to tears watching Jamie Foxx be a brilliant, MJ-loving fool on the BET Awards, and now, reading, finally sitting down to read Greg Tate's excellent article in the Village Voice on why we are missing Michael so much, and The Jackson Five on replay, she's really about to cry. It's finally sunk in--The Gloved One is gone, he's joined the Celestial Choir with his own idols, jamming up in heaven with James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke--that our childhoods are truly over...I suppose that the television will have to be turned on again tomorrow to share in the memorial tribute at the Staples Center and the media hype will ratchet up another level, but as my typist and I listen again to the brothers' youthful harmonies and sweet love songs, she remembers the daily crushes on each of the boys in turn and the playful arguments with childhood girlfriends about who was going to marry whom when they grew up, and the absolutely pure joy of seeing them dance and sing together at every variety show appearance, looking so happy and so perfect! Well, she's singing along again to The Love You Save; we won't be able to get the song out of our heads for the rest of the month, at least. And seeing Michael's glowing smile and smooth moves in those early videos for Rock with You and Don't Stop Until You Get Enough reminded her of those first crushes on real boys, practicing dance steps in the driveway with his voice soaring from friends' boom boxes, and joining Janet on backup, wishing that she was old enough to go to his concerts, and finally being allowed to that year Thriller won all those Grammys. He truly will be permanently on the soundtrack of her life, marking so many important moments, including this one, this time of mourning, memories, tributes and celebration of all the things Michael Jackson represents for all of us. (It will be a miracle if she is able to write about Second Life this week!)

Black Soul Rhythms Radio

Tonight at 5 p.m. SLT DJ Nisa will host the premiere of the Black Soul Rhythms Radio Machinama at the home of Marjorie Dibou. Listen to DJ Nisa & the best hiphop & RnB as you watch a short film which introduces you to the Black Soul Rhythms Radio DJs and the music they play during their live broadcasts. Find out the many ways to keep in contact with BSR Radio and how to tune into our broadcasts. This machinema was created in Second Life by Rysan Fall, CEO of Fall Films - July 2009. Marjorie has some of the best DJs on SL that I have ever heard, and gives the best parties, so come in and cool off from the barbeque and fireworks! http://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill/220/101/37/
Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 pm SLT BSR Radio Gospel Sunday streams the best gospel recordings for 12 hours on SugarHill or from your own land when you put their stream in your media player. To tune in from SL, set your media to http://sh1.bsrstreams.com:8000 To tune in from RL, open your web browser to http://bit.ly/uKOQ9 In addition, listen for the new motivational moments called "This Is Your Wake Up Call" by Bishop Vashti McKenzie throughout the day!

A Cool and Mellow Nightspot

Nat's Jazz Club at Shadyside on Ephesus Island really is the place for classic jazz, fusion, R&B, and neo-soul tunes for the sophisticated listener and music lover. Designed in the style of the classic jazz lounges of the 1950's and 60's, this club, owned and managed by Linda Sautereau and Ricky Tuncsik, features TWO private streams playing when the regular DJs (among them, DJ Isaack) are not scheduled for a show, and Nat's is open 24/7 for your listening and dancing pleasure. They've installed a bar, a line dance, a dance ball for singles and couples dance balls on the floor. Have a romantic evening in our lounge area or dance the night away on the main dance floor. Sit and chat with friends in the lounge area as you listen to the soothing sounds of classic jazz, soft R&B and blues tunes for the discerning jazz afionado. Stroll across the green to the yacht, MS Ephesus, for a romantic, moonlight rendezvous, a swim in the pool, a sit in the hot tub, or just relax at the bar. While here, take a look at the houses for rent at reasonable prices. Play where you live, live where you play, at Shadyside on Ephesus Island. Come find romance, good folks, and great music at Nat's Jazz Club, definitely one of the best jazz clubs in SL. It's a great way to start or end the weekend....http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ephesus/142/162/21/

Solylence Presents New Fashions

FashionStarModels manager Mariella Spitteler and announcer and model monica Dieterle presented their star team of fashion models wearing designer Solylence Houston's summer line for Solylence Creations, inspired by her travels in Africa and Asia, and including fashions for women and men. Cafee, Ruben, Lorac, Tesan, Shona, and Babi demonstrated their professionalism and talent in displaying the designer's work, a variety of outfits perfect for casual days of shopping and hanging out with friends, and hot steamy nights of dancing and dinner, and all your SL social events. There were a number of different denim washes available for men's jeans, with nice complementary colors for casual and dress shirts and tees, allowing your man to go from a summer wedding to a gallery opening to a club or two (or three), while the looks for girls favored short-skirted but classy and tasteful dresses with flirty ruffles and accessorized with high heels (we love that they don't hurt the feet in SL, all the better to lengthen already long shapely legs!), but also included short sets for the beach, and gowns for more formal evening events. My favorite was Temador, a deep teal, full-skirted evening gown with a white gardenia accenting a single asymmetrical shoulder and a fitted bodice to compliment a toned torso and every single curve from every angle, with a subtle brocade-like texture. Cafee wore it well, and managed to make the sweeping train seem very easy to maneuver. At the end of the show, the designer appeared in one of her African wax prints shaped into a dramatic strapless gown, a signature that I wish had been retained for this current collection. Perhaps she will work with some ethnic woven fabrics again for her fall or winter or resort collections; in the meantime, I do have many of them in my inventory already that are perfect for summer and summer-into-fall wear as well as for resort season (which is all the time in SL, right?). I applaud Solylence for her past and ongoing contributions to African Diasporic creativity in SL, combining the best aesthetics of different African ethnic traditions with the inspiration of cosmopolitan styles, and I look forward to her next show, which I know will be as well-attended and enjoyable as today's show.

Old School Hip Hop at the Boom Box

Friday has finally arrived and as per usual my friends Asra Pera and Nox Winkler are throwing one of their usual weekly Hip Hop Parties over at the Boom Box, a club dedicated to and specializing in old school hip hop and underground. Starting at 11 a.m. SLT, and continuing over the coming hours, their regular DJs Jaw, Zaz, Satomi & Sheeba will be on the Wheels of Steel and tearing up the place with a mixture of classic old school, breakbeats and B-Boy tunes for your listening pleasure. If you like your Hip Hop real and are looking for a fun party then head on over to the Boom Box and join us! http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gift%20/223/25/22/

A Plug for My Home in SL

I find myself rarely talking about New Toulouse here, not because I don't love it, but because I love it so much that when I start, I can't stop. I thought I should announce that this weekend is a special one because of the way we celebrate a very special son of New Orleans on the day he claimed for his birthday. The Fourth of July is not just the birth of the U.S., it is also a symbolic birth of jazz as we celebrate the anniversary of Louis Armstrong's birth. In honor of the opening of the Louis Armstrong exhibit this weekend at the Toussaint L'Ouverture Library in New Toulouse, Radio Riel New Toulouse is playing nothing but Louis all day Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Tune in for some Satchmo this weekend, 24/7, at http://newtoulouse.radioriel.org ! Listen in and enjoy! And pour a cold, tall one for Louis while you enjoy the lovely exhibit created by my wonderful and hard-working colleague GallateaSu Beaumont. http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse/206/49/25/

Tonight, Tuesday June 30 at 6:30pm SLT, Acuminous Watanabe will facilitate a discussion of the feelings aroused by reliving the past. Acuminous is a skilled counsellor and director of the long-running SL/RL Relationships discussion group, and provides an inviting arena for conversation.
The discussion will take place at Safe Haven Landing, after a one-time guided tour by Tamsin Barzane of the experience at Saminaka, followed immediately by Indea Vaher at Safe Haven Landing, which begins at 5:30 pm SLT. Invite your friends to participate, then join us for the discussion.
Thank you again for being a part of this remembrance of the Middle Passage. Future Experiences coming later this summer will include The Return (about 19th c. returnees from Brazil, Africa and the U.S. to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Benin Republic) and To the Sea (about 19th c. Nupe and Yoruba wars and enslavement within Nigeria).
5:30 pm SLT Tues June 30--Guided tour of Middle Passage Experience, beginning here at Saminaka: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/66/90/32
6:30 pm SLT--Discussion of the Experience at Safe Haven Landing http://slurl.com/secondlife/Isla%20del%20Estrella/233/37/26 on the ship's deck

Ethnic Avatar Packages at Kiko Life

Kiko Life offers some new complete ethnic avatar packages that are one of the best values for your Lindens in Second Life. In any package purchased you get a shape, a set of eyes, a pair of eyelashes and a collection of manicure/pedicure options and the package also includes a voucher so that you can choose the exact makeup you want in your favorite tone. Kiko Mileno and Osuntomi Melendez' s store also offers tons of choices, with 180+ skin options in gorgeous tan and ebony tones, including Butterscotch, Caramel, Cafe au Lait, Toffee, Tea and Cocoa, and 30 Complete Avatar packages, including Aziza, Nyoka and Meria. Demos are always free, and you can come into any store and try one or all of them out! Kiko and Tomi are also working on new releases of styled shapes for both men and women, and new makeups for the ladies. Now is always a great time to send Kiko and Tomi feedback. Is there something you'd like to see in particular, such as particular colors, eye options, or other default options with the skins? Do you have requests for custom work on skins? Kiko Life offers a wide range of custom makeup options, as well as piercings, tattoos, bikini lines, freckles, wet/sweat options, braces, wounds and more. Please drop a notecard in the main store at the specially provided drop box with your requests. They want you to help them make even better skins. Kiko Life has stores at Kiko http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kiko/194/30/28/, University City http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20City/51/171/21/, Nederpoont, Sankt Marx http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sankt%20Marx/162/139/21/, Tranquility Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tranquility%20Island/230/89/22/, and they are participating in the main store in the Discovery and the Bedtime Stories Grid-wide Hunts going on until the end of June. That means, how many days are left?

Because We Support President Obama

We support Saturday's National Day of Service and Volunteerism, and I'm sharing with you a press release I recently received announcing Helen Keller Day in Second Life. The 24-hour event PDT will be held all day Saturday, June 27 at the four The Ye, Olde, Supporte, and Faire sims. ((http://slurl.com/secondlife/Faire/20/222/38), and it is a community event exploring how and why to employ, educate, entertain, and engage through virtual worlds like SL.
Check out the details on the Wiki @ https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Helen_Keller_Day
Linden Lab is collaborating with and assisting Virtual Helping Hands and a coalition of community volunteers who are proud to announce Helen Keller Day in Second Life. Helen Keller Day is a community-event exploring how and why to employ, educate, entertain, and engage everyone through virtual worlds. Helen Keller Day is a day that is set aside for information acquisition, education, exploration of employment opportunities, social engagement, and enjoyment of arts and entertainment. There will be vendors, employers, presentations, and pure, unbridled fun. It’s a day dedicated to raising our level of awareness for our fellow Second Life residents who cope with disabilities. At some time in our lives, we’ve all felt what it feels like not to be able to participate, not to be included. Knowing how to include someone with a disability, and make them feel welcome, is an important social skill, and a small but significant kindness that we can all benefit from and feel good about.
Participants will meet people, learn things, get freebies, and be entertained for their efforts.
You will hear keynote speakers Keller Johnson Thompson, the great grandniece of Helen herself, and Linden Labs Education and Healthcare Developer, John Lester, aka Pathfinder Linden. You will hear from experts in the fields of virtual education, employment, social engagement and entertainment. There will be building contests featuring skilled builders doing accessible builds before our virtual eyes. There will be a world premier “movie” featuring “Max,” the virtual guide dog developed in Second Life for SL users who are blind or sight impaired. Also featured will be an exhibition of Max's abilities, a fashion show, chess, a Braille chat display, dancing, singing quests and storytelling, and even a virtual goldmine!
There will be experiences designed to spark the imagination and “see” and “hear” the world with all the senses in new and thought provoking ways. Join the pioneers in virtual worlds who are inspired by the spirit of Helen Keller to explore ways in which everyone can participate and create a world that is richer for all.
Please come and learn, connect, explore, be entertained, and pick up freebies while sharing this positive and uplifting experience with us. Contests including Vision QuestPoster, Building, Scripting, Flickr, 3D Wiki categories and more are open now; some close on the 24th. Get involved now! More information about contests, contacts and other forms of support and participation, including a schedule of performers, are available on the wiki, or contact Saxet Uralia.

Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge

Jewel Reyes, owner and manager of the Rhythm and Rhyme Lounge http://slurl.com/secondlife/Phoenix%20Determined/32/232/21/ invites aspiring and experienced poets to come out for future spoken word events at her place, and asks us all to get ready for some old, some new, all exciting poetry! R&R is growing, folks, and thanks to all of the support the lounge has received, Jewel is doing more and she wants to see all of you at these events! (If you haven't already, join the mailing list and get in on the Profile Picks Rewards!) Jewel offers a special thanks to sponsors WD Designs, Samahi Couture, and H&H Property Inc., whose support makes it possible for R&R to hold these contests on a regular basis. If you are a live artist, whether poet, spoken word artist, rapper or singer, the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge is looking for you! IM Jewel Reyes for more info or simply pick up an application at the Lounge to participate in the contest on Sundays at 3pm SLT for the best Rhythm and Rhyme Artist, hosted by Jewel Reyes. Come share your creativity and compete! Sponsoring business WD Designs (the designer and creator of the TJA mall where Rhythm & Rhyme is located), also makes skins, shapes, textures, furniture, plants, custom builds and designs....Let's not talk about how they pimped out Jewel's Pro Promotions and completely redesigned the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge a couple of weeks ago...If you want proof of how awesome they are go check it out, or come to the lounge and see their handiwork. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Phoenix%20Determined/123/237/32/
1st Place: $500 WD Designs Gift Card & 100L
3rd Place:$250 WD Designs Gift Card and 100L
I don't know about you but that could buy a lot of outfits, animations, gestures, and stuff we all want (but don't really need)! So dust off those notebooks, get inspired, write and come on down to the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge to show off your talents! On Wednesdays from 7pm-9pm SLT, the Rhythm & Rhyme Lounge presents the CIRCLE OF EROS CONTEST, sponsored by NXT LVL Magazine, covering SL fashion, nightlife, sex, entertainment and culture so you can take your business, your shopping, and your partying to the NXT LVL! Each Wednesday evening will begin by watching a relationship-themed Spoken Word video, a review, and on to the sharing. Get your relationship-themed material together and compete for the prize -- winner take all! 1st Place: 1000L On Thursdays from 11am-1pm SLT (for all you early birds), there is a midday poetry session hosted by Gangus Nubalo. Jewel invites participants to show her newest host some love as he leads a discussion about poetry that is read. So come with your pieces or someone else's pieces and share with us the inspiration, your perception and overall thoughts! The week wraps up with yet another poetry event on Fridays from 7pm-9pm SLT -- put this in your book--a 2500L SLAM CONTEST, sponsored by Wethaman Winkler. Get your best angry, heartfelt, assertive pieces together and mark this date on your calendar. Pieces should accurately reflect strong feelings about any subject. 2500L just for speaking your mind? Where do I sign up? Spice up your weekend on Saturday evenings for our CHILL NITE as R&R plays Mob Mentality XXX-- the hottest adult game in SL! Don't miss your chance to win Ls by answering sexy questions with the MOB getting the final word. Become one with the mob *lol* and join us for some fun! ***NEW!! Word Blender & Bee Keeper. The lounge is now the perfect spot for the A.D.D. ! The more people who play, the bigger the pot, so TP those friends in and let's get the weekend started off right! (Oh, and yes, there will be poetry and spoken word, too. Reserve your spot, observe, or share! Just be there...http://slurl.com/secondlife/Phoenix%20Determined/32/232/21/
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Need more information? Want to guarantee your spot? IM Jewel Reyes.

Reppin' 4 the Cure

Kemijah Renegade invites SL residents and friends to participate in a fundraising event, "Reppin 4 The Cure" w/DJ Barack on Sunday, June 21, from 2 to 4PM @ Diamond City's Nia Greene Memorial Park. Join DJ Barack (aka Barack Clowes) and WJAY 106.9 The Experience at Diamond City to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Celebrate Father's Day and bring your family, your clique, your sorority or fraternity and/or your club as we raise money in hopes of a cure for juvenile diabetes. All are welcome to attend!
Make a pledge of 1,000 Ls or more & you can participate in the contest for a chance to be crowned the hardest reppin group in SL. The hardest reppin group will walk away with prizes from our sponsors Aalionna Destiny of Millions Media and Zelly Zadoq of BLANG!
Slurl:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Style%20and%20Elegance/60/85/22
If you can't be there, listen in on the stream: http://gold.neostreams.info:12254/

Cozy Cafe Expo and Car Show

The owners and managers of Cozy Cafe invite you to participate in their custom car show and couples' dance contest to be held this Saturday, June 27. If you are interested in entering a car for the show, you should fill out a notecard with the following information to serve as your registration: include your name and the number of prims in your car, and return the registration form to SIEDAH GRAVES OR PHYSTEE SLADE. Each car owner will be allowed to put out their own tip jar, and each entrant will be allowed to display only one car (or motorcycle) per person, and a panel of judges will select the winner. If you are interested in entering the dance contest, register by sending a notecard listing your name and your partner's name to Siedah or Phystee. The dance contest will be held during the final hour of the expo, from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. SLT, and each pair of contestants in the dance contest will have a five-minute time limit in which to show their stuff. Competitors in the dance contest will also be allowed to set out a tip jar, and a panel of judges will decide the winners based on originality and appearance. Siedah and Phystee also encourage everyone to come out and have some fun on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. SLT. http://slurl.com/secondlife/DeLuca/111/184/22/

Join the Treasure Hunt at Saminaka!

My friend Tamsin has been very busy adding new amusements and displays at Saminaka, Nigeria in SL. To celebrate the creation of an interactive exhibit on animal life in Nigeria, a Treasure Hunt started yesterday. This is one hunt that has its own unique and culturally appropriate touch, because she had a scripter make calabashes the participants wear on their heads to show they are participating in the hunt. As you make your way around the sim (balancing your calabash carefully, of course), bright, juicy oranges holding a variety of prizes accumulate in the calabash as you find the 20 markers which are set out in and around the new exhibit. Clues are contained in the slideshow exhibit itself; come by and get yours! And before you even begin the hunt, Tamsin has some generous gifts waiting for you in the hut right at the landing point at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/79/61/30 to make all visitors feel right at home. When your calabash is towering full of oranges, you should return to the starting point to collect a grand prize! I learned how much the flora, fauna and geography of Nigeria resembles some of what I grew up with around the Gulf Coast, so I did feel right at home. More importantly, contrary to all those Tarzan and other fake Hollywood movies, THERE ARE NO TIGERS IN AFRICA! In addition, today Tamsin is launching The Saminaka Compass, a virtual weekly newspaper for the Diasporic community in SL. If you go to http://saminaka.blogspot.com/, you can catch up on all the events at Saminaka, and also learn even more about RL Nigerian culture, with direct links to YouTube videos about Nigeria, news stories from the Web about Nigeria, and some photos (that I expect will become a slideshow over time). And to top it all off, this coming weekend, on June 13, Tamsin has planned a Remembrance for the Ancestors ceremony. She invites everyone to participate in the experience honoring those who were forced to take the Middle Passage. From Saminaka, take on the role of an African from the past who survived that painful journey from the continent, losing your people, identity and culture; as you arrive at the beach, you will reach America, the New World, the place where a new life, a new identity and culture has been forged. That new life of creativity and struggle will be symbolized by a live ceremony of drumming, libation and prayer to be held at Sunrise Mansion 12 SLT, also beginnining on June 13. Go to Safe Haven Landing, Isla del Estrella (219, 15, 21),( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/94/69/30 ). Tamsin suggests to all participants that if they wish to immerse themselves in the whole experience, they should arrive at Saminaka at 11:15, going directly to the Remembrance NIGERIA IN AFRICA starting point, Saminaka (50, 90, 28), ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/94/69/30 ). I'm looking forward to this event, and I hope everyone will come out to be a part of the African Diaspora in SL!

Virtual Harlem is Growing

Virtual Harlem is an educational sim representing Harlem, NY as it existed during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and early 30s. This environment is designed to encourage interaction between students, business owners specializing in items related to the period, educators and researchers working on a team to add educational and experiential content to the environment, developers working to make the environment more efficient while offering the widest set of possibilities, entertainers interested in exposing an audience interested in early 20th century Jazz Culture, who are all interested in working within a representation of American, African American and Parisian Jazz culture.
Virtual Harlem has expanded to a second sim! Come by and visit this historical recreation of the site of the Harlem Renaissance, and see the streets of the Manhattan neighborhood where artists and writers like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and James Weldon Johnson walked and worked and partied. There are lovely brownstones available for rental, equipped with fireplaces and charming hardwood floors, and commercial spaces as well, perfect for galleries or designers of vintage clothing and antique furniture. Enjoy the educational displays on all facets of this important and vibrant African American cultural movement--the literary and visual arts, performance in dance, jazz, blues, dramatic plays, musicals and early independent motion pictures--and the people whose commercial and creative talents helped make the Jazz Age possible. Slip into your best flapper dress or vintage tuxedo, and stop by the Apollo Theater for poetry slams and other live performances; celebrate in more sacred ways at the Abyssinian Baptist Church where Adam Clayton Powell once preached. This space serves as a welcome center for Virtual Harlem 2 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Harlem%202/177/189/30/
The National Black Programming Consortium/Black Public Media.Org has exhibit space here, and live music performances are also staged at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club has a very elegant retro vibe perfect for making visitors feel like they are experiencing the best that SL has to offer; a dance floor is well-equipped with couple dances, and a HUD is available for teleporting across the Harlem sims, as well as the planned addition, Montmartre. This new addition represents the close connections between Harlem's political and artistic elites with those in France, students, musicians, and writers, both American expatriates and French colonial citizens pushing for independence, who would go on to create a movement of their own, Negritude. Right on Seventh Avenue across the street from the Cotton Club, my friend Eladrienne Laval pays tribute to her grandparents in her store atELier, featuring her beautiful designs for dresses perfect for stepping out when stepping back in time! I am looking forward to seeing what the manager here, Candace McMillan, will be adding next, and if you are interested in having an event here or renting commercial or residential space, contact her by IM or notecard. Upcoming events include an in-world class on African American culture on June 22 at 0800 SLT and a Second Salon book club discussion on June 28 at 1230 SLT. Look for historic characters who reside in Virtual Harlem: W.E.B Dubois, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Charles S. Johnson; the Virtual Harlem Trolley Tour is ongoing... just sit on the trolley in order to take the tour around Harlem. See the Lafayette Theater, the Savoy Ballroom, and the Schomburg Library, all places rich with history!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Harlem/204/78/30/

The Red Door Lounge and Lupus Fundraiser

The Red Door Lounge is a wonderfully elegant space for dancing and socializing, but don't let the gloss fool you. The owners and managers, including Cleopatra Kellman, Yali Magic, Jewel Twine and Angel McMullen, also have their feet on the ground, and their ears open to the RL needs of the black community, and this includes their awareness of lupus as a disease that disproportionately affects black women in the US and globally. They are currently holding a fundraising auction and are also accepting donations on behalf of the Lupus Awareness Foundation. Lupus (SLE) is a serious health problem that affects mainly young women. Nine out of 10 people who have lupus are women, and typically, seven of those are of African descent. This group's purpose is to increase awareness, support survivors & fundraise for Lupus Charities around the world; so far, they have reached 50% of their goal of $50000L. Among the items available for auction: a portrait session with Elegant Images, the stylish Grayson prefab home, which uses 208 prims (furnished) and requires a 1028 lot; the Eden Waterfall, "a spectacular cascading waterfall, softly illuminated in moonlight and featur[ing] crystal clear water tumbling into layered pools that are draped in flowering vines and ferns," modifyiable to allow terraforming landscaping options; a romantic waterfall garden designed by Amethyst Jetaime; and a two-hour event package DJ'd by and OX Radio affiliate, along with a two-day live broadcast on 101.7 FM promoting the event. Get your winning bid in by Sunday the 25th; prizes will be awarded during a formal party to be held from 4 to 6 pm SLT on Sunday. Kellman, as a Lupus survivor, knows directly how debilitating this illness can be, and invites visitors to the Sister of Eden sim to drop by the Information Center sponsored by The Red Door Project. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sister%20of%20Eden/251/127/22/

Dreamings--A New Exhibit at Sunrise Mansion

Sunrise Mansion Art Gallery & Museum is featuring DREAMINGS by SISTAGRLRO WEI. The exhibit is an awesome collection of 30 abstract works by Wei, who is an Aboriginal Australian of the Weilwan and Gamillaroi Nations, and the show runs from May 17 to June 14, 2009.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Isla%20del%20Estrella/225/187/21/

Second Pride Festival and Black Business Owners in SL

The Second Pride Festival is a festival of the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transexual) Community. The concept and idea is similar to the well known Gay Pride celebrations around the world. This event does not involve people joining together anywhere in the real world, but in the virtual world of Second Life®, created by Linden Lab™.
For the duration of the event, anybody with a Second Life account can connect to the Festival's location and join the celebration. Various activities are available on site, such as visiting of the many vendor stands available to promote businesses or charities, GLBT locations and causes, discussions, debates, parties, amusement rides, and more
SP09 is working with AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL this year and their movement called Outfront to support freedom of expression of LGBT people and the community around the globe.
We want the voices of the black community to be heard during this event. If you would like to be a guest speaker on behalf of Black Business Owners of Second Life, and be a strong voice for the black community at this event by sharing your story, please get in touch with Diamond Meness in world by IM or notecard. The Second Pride 2009 HQ is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dombersnark/195/72/39/

Rainy Season in Saminaka Begins!

Bring your umbrella (just because it looks beautiful to have one, not because you actually need it in SL); the rainy season has started in Saminaka. Among the new features, Tamzin Barzane invites you all to help weed and water the new interactive farm that has been planted. After helping the community welcome the new season and celebrate the fertility of the land, you can refuel at Eleko, a new restaurant with information about the variety of Nigerian foods and links to websites with recipes. Enjoy relaxation under a shady tree with poses set for making your scenic screenshots; watch the surf and enjoy lightening storms from the lookout rock at Anioma. Share a kiss with your sweetheart while soaking in the Wikki Warm Springs; swing under a tree or stretch out for a massage. Come and bring your friends for fun and frolic in an authentically African atmosphere--touch the talking drum, dance to Nigerian music videos, but watch out for the leopards lazing in the trees! (They will leave you alone if you leave them alone, watching their grace and beauty from a safe distance.)http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saminaka/54/160/22/

Happy Mother's Day from Sunrise

SunRise Mansion Art Gallery is having an impromptu showing of a collection of paintings by artist Indea Vaher with a tribute to mothers as the theme, on the new Safe Haven Church grounds. Please visit the church to light a candle and get your FREE MOTHER’S DAY GIFT of the African Madonna hand painted by Vaher on papyrus. This gift will be available all day Saturday & Sunday! Safe Haven Church is collecting the LM’s and information on groups that provide support and inspiration to others in SL, so if you know of any please let Indea Vaher know so she may add them to her listings. The Church is sooo cute; it’s small and perfect for quaint weddings and christenings, and can be decorated to suite any theme. The adjacent garden is a beautiful place for a reception or party. Contact Indea Vaher for more information.

Pre-Order this Book, and Help Save a Newbie!

The Teach Yourself series from UK publisher Hodder Education has published Irie Tsure's new guide, Getting Started in the Second Life World. Written by a successful Second Life resort owner, this resourceful and comprehensive guide will accompany new residents on the tricky journey from ‘Newbie’ to seasoned resident in the virtual world of Second Life. Intended to cover every skill required to enjoy and prosper within the Second Life experience, the book will follow the development and provide support for a new character, from deciding to download the software right through to proficient use of the modeling tools needed to be really creative within Second Life. Authored by an established, popular, business savvy and creative SL character, areas covered include: -What and where is Second Life (SL)-Glossary for ‘Newbies’-What can I see and do in SL-Vital skills-Modelling tools-Exploring SL-Creativity-Shopping -Land-Starting a business Most other books are written by techies or tourists, not by an author who has actually made the SL experience work for themselves, and claims to be packed with practical advice for the Second Life 'newbie'. This guide covers all of the things you need to know to live in Second Life from creating your persona to socializing and shopping, including a color plate section to show clearly the colour-coding required for the 3D modeling tools in Second Life that could be very useful to aspiring builders. There are specific chapters on preparing for, arriving in, and exploring Second Life. I suppose lag is unfortunately a big enough problem to deserve its own chapter, but more hopefully, Tsure goes on to offer advice on interacting and socializing in Second Life, because isn't that why we're all here? Budding virtual entrepreneurs can also get Irie's advice on owning virtual land and earning money in SL, while ambitious designers can get inspired by her advice on building, texturing and understanding scripting in Second Life. As a successful entrepreneur in Second Life, Irie Tsure owns and manages the popular Irie Vibes Reggae nightclub and resort. The best recommendation for buying the book and following her advice is that Tsure's Second Life activities currently create a significant real life income. What better credential does an author on SL need?

Art Opening Today at Sunrise Mansion

Indea Vaher invites you to the opening of an art exhibit mounted at her lovely Sunrise Mansion on Isla del Sol. Come enjoy High Tea in your spring frocks, straw hats and seersucker suits while enjoying the beats and tunes of DJ Bro Cos. Show your love and appreciate the vibrant visual works by Lucky Barak, Spirit Wingtips, Dmitri Tharnaby, Darque, Ivory Rexen, Orchid Easterwood and Chriscloud Loon, which include RL photographs from around the Diaspora, SL screenshots from around the metaverse, RL paintings, and SL portraits of interesting and beautiful avatars. If you are looking to start an art collection for your SL home, or just want to add a little additional color to your SL environment, you will certainly find something here to fit the bill. Thanks to Indea for opening her home and her heart to black art and culture in SL, and I can't wait to see what she hosts next!

Strange Fruit: A Tribute to Billie Holiday

I don't know if I would have found this machinima made totally in SL if I hadn't dropped by Dancing Liberally tonight. Fall Films produced this lovely short film, creating a Billie Holiday avatar, and setting the whole performance in the Cotton Club in Virtual Harlem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Wo4RAmJcU

Sunhead Mind Cafe

I had to return to Kiko Life to do some more shopping after swooning over my demos, and I was glad that I took some time to also check out the teleport system on the sim. I discovered high in the big tree hovering over the stores Sunhead Mind Cafe, billed as Second Life's first and only black bookstore. The cafe holds live events, is connected to the web so that visitors can buy books in RL and get free books for your SL. Owner Osuntomi Melendez also invites visitors to join the bookstore's group, and link your Facebook account with your AV; you can also purchase SL versions of RL artwork and much much more. There is a second location of Sunhead on Publishing Island, so black books are being represented in the larger reading community in SL, too. What other surprises does Tomi have in store for visitors? I recommend you TP by and look...

Kiko Life

A notice from Fashion Consolidated invited me to visit another skin maker promoting their creations as the best and most glamorous offerings in SL, so I felt a responsibility to follow up on the invitation and check out what was being advertised. I was not surprised to find that this was yet another store where the darkest skin available for female AVs was presented as a Latina skin, or at least implied by the name given to it, Eva (as in Eva Longoria Parker). No, I was not surprised, but again, I am disappointed to find that people of color continue to be an afterthought in the minds of so many creative people in SL, at the same time that the parameters of acceptable or available skin tones that can be created within the combined software interfaces of SL as a virtual world and Photoshop as a space where images are processed for digital use make it so difficult for a true variety of skin tones to be designed. Needing my faith in the vision of a multicultural SL restored, I remembered that I had spent the previous evening in-world quite pleasantly fascinated with the African Diasporic shapes and styles available for purchase at Kiko Life. The main store is on a sim also named Kiko (204, 23, 28), and there are currently satellite locations at University City, Rosewood Piazza, New Jack City, Atlantislove, and most recently, Saminaka--I certainly hope more are on the way. From the names of the different shapes available for demo to the style cards included in the packages available for sale, my faith was definitely restored! For example, shapes for female avatars are named for Adenike, Amira and Ayo, Lucayan, Niara and Nyoka, among others, and the style sheets show vibrant and contemporary urban fashions defining each AV's style, along with many textured hairstyles (also for sale on the Kiko sim, in neighboring stores Street Dermatology, Twist Out, Shelly's Bootylicious Gear, and Divahtoos). The hair styles included cornrows, finger waves, twists and Afros. The shape demos that I sampled offered a true variety of sisterly bodies--full-hipped, thick-thighed, and high, rounded behinds, along with a real range of breast sizes and proportionate shoulders. I was also very pleased to find that the designer Osuntomi Melendez had taken the time to give each of the shapes distinctive facial features that include noses that are not all tiny and narrow, nor arms that are just sticks. When I visited, 30 different shapes for women were on offer, along with about half as many for men. Kiko Life's men and women look strong and sexy and really, genuinely, beautifully black, and I can't wait to see what shapes and styles will be added next!http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kiko/193/29/28/

Skinthesis

Skinthesis is dedicated to providing you with quality hybrid skins in a wide range of looks that will work with almost any shape! Cane Sutter is pleased to present to you the first wave of products, the Mindi skins, which come in 6 tones and a growing range of makeups to suit your every fashion need. Skinthesis skins are created using both handpainting and photo-sourcing from Cane's own collection of personal images to achieve a nice balanced look that will provide a touch of realism to your avatar without going overboard and making it look out of place in Second Life. Cane does custom work if you're interested, so if you have a specific makeup request, or want your own personal distinguishing marks such as moles, scars, or tattoos, please state your interest in a notecard so Cane can get back to you with details and a price quote. Among the demos that I tried out were these really cool metallic skins; if you are inspired to make your own Bond-style Goldfinger video for You Tube, for example, you could wear the Gold Dust Woman version of the new Mindi line. In an imaginative fantasy tribute to my own name, I might just have to rush back to the store and get my own copy of the Bronzed Goddess, which sounds and looks so perfect! There is also the warm, coppery Lucky Penny, which made me feel like Beyonce, and the truly cosmic Silver Lining, which makes for a wonderful opportunity to create a very interesting and playful costume. The Mindi line also comes in Dark and Ethnic variations which suit women of African descent; although it would be nice to have more designers take on the challenge of representing a greater, more realistic range of skintones for women of color, Sutter has created some lovely makeups that have face-flattering dimension and gloss. Mindi in Dark or Ethnic skins has fourteen options for day and evening, plus the Revelry Collection, which is a great foundation for special events, even more interesting costuming such as 17th-Century French courtesan roleplay, and very dramatic runway shows. For all of you looking to reminisce about the 80's when you pop in to the themed parties with your miniskirts and mohawks, leggings and tunics and rubber bracelets, there is the makeup of the Radical Collection. You too can have shiny fuschia lips and deep slashes of blush, just like Robert Palmer's model-perfect video vixens! A recent addition to the store is the Flapper Collection, so you can be Daisy to your Gatsby with heart-shaped deep red lips and a charming beauty mark right where it should be. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sterling%20Pointe/148/150/22/

Shapes and Tats at Divahtoos

Divah Latte makes tattoos and shapes and takes portraits; her shop Divahtoos has locations at Tahitian Dreams' SuperNova Enterprises Complex and the Hot Tropics sim. Divahtoos are perfectly and dramatically visible on darker skins, and themes range from the sweet (butterflies, hearts and swirls, and stars) to the sexy (Lick!) for women, and totally thuggish for the guys--tear drops, anyone? Her Everyshape line includes pregnancy shapes and voluptuous plus sizes as well as a child shape; the adult women are grown-ass, sweet-faced sistas--no snobby, twiggy models here! Divah offers thirteen Everyshapes currently that have hips and breasts and thighs, very hourglassy, very curvy shapes that your special friend will love to hold, and I expect that more are on the way, as what she has displayed is listed in ABC order, so there is room for thirteen more, at least. she also makes custom shapes and custom tats. Her portrait studio offers a number of choices for combinations of textures and poses at affordable rates with stylish personalization on display. I can't wait to see what she makes next!http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20City/228/144/282/

Call to Diaspora Artists--A Contest!

$ 2000L 1st PRIZE
Sunrise Mansion Art Gallery & Museum, Isla del Sol (176,223, 22) is now accepting submissions from SL artists for its April Show!! Le Chapeau, The Hat, The Crown, The Bonnet, All mediums and all levels of experience welcome--paintings, photography, sculpties, etc.--to present fashion photos of the best and most stylish hats and head wraps of the African Diaspora. In addition to the awarding of Lindens, the opening of the exhibit is going to be celebrated with a southern-style HIGH-TEA!!! Interested participants should contact Indea Vaher or Aletha Inaka directly to submit their entries, before the deadline of March 27th, 2009. Good luck!

Glowing Skins for Ethnic Girls and Boys

I spent over an hour happily and enthusiastically collecting demos of skins and hair and shapes to sample in Shiloh Jun's store Shybooty, and it's a wonderful place for women of color who are not at all shy about having generous booties! Now I am back at home trying on my new stuff, and I'm definitely seeing faces and bodies that remind me of my momma, my aunts, my sister and my girlfriends. Distinctive facial features were complimented by vibrant, glowing and flattering selections of makeup looks, and subtle details to the shading and freckling of skins overall gave them a realistic depth that pops on the screen. I found the shapes a bit too top-heavy for my personal tastes, but if your lover likes his or her hands full, well, you might like Shiloh's shapes too, and she also has a line of BBW shapes and kids' shapes available too so that a genuine family can be represented. Among all of the interesting offerings in the store is also a line inspired by the looks of Miss Universe contestants representing a true United Nations of feminine beauty, including Misses Brazil, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Trinidad, and Miss United States. They look so lovely, I hope more are on the way so that we can really play, maybe have our own SL pageant! I haven't even tried on any of the hair, tattoos or clothing I bought, let alone any of the men's shapes and skins, so when I do, I'll try to remember to report back! Even though I love my own shape and skin, the one I've been in since I first came here nearly two years ago, I plan to be playing with these new, fun, very authentically black pieces for a long while. If you want to look like a sista should, I encourage you to explore Shybooty too.http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marqi%20Global%20HQ/89/217/24/

Black Entrepreneurs Historical Exhibit

We have a brand new exhibit at the Federal Reserve Underground, a rented space on Jokaydia SLurl http://slurl.com/secondlife/jokaydia/161/245/22, and organizer Oothoon Ogg would love to get feedback from others interested in education and black history in SL. She is in the process of designing a program for the exhibit and would like to get a sense from other people how easy it is to grasp the content, how interesting is it, what is missing, and any general comments. My friend Jaque Quijote did this lovely build, and it is a smaller version of an exhibit in RL that has just opened at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and will soon open in a second location at the Museum of African American History in Boston. his exhibition focuses on enterprising black entrepreneurs of the 18th and 19th centuries in New England.

Since the Colonial era African Americans have contributed to the economic development of this country. They have engaged in small-scale and large-scale commercial enterprises -- ranging from home-based businesses and small shops to regional, national, and international companies. Like their mainstream counterparts, African Americans have developed products, selected markets, created economic networks, invested strategically, and sought to balance risks and rewards, costs and profits.
In America blacks built on African economic traditions in the context of the New World economy. Many had participated as producers, brokers, traders, and merchants in the complex market economies of West and Central Africa before their involuntary arrival on American shores. Blacks seized opportunities to create enterprises and to participate in the commercial life of a developing nation. Despite challenges posed by slavery and racism, African Americans' entrepreneurial activity has been sustained in America for almost five centuries, from the agrarian economy of the seventeenth century to the contemporary post-industrial economy.

This exhibit introduces visitors to such significant figures as Harriet Jacobs, who was one of the first published African American authors in the United States (her semi-biographical novel is listed on a brief list of suggestions for further reading and sources that the creator of the exhibit used), and Paul Cuffe, a philanthropist and investor who began as a sailor and merchant. The exhibit is visually rich and distinctive, as well as informative and inspiring in these difficult economic times. It is a powerful reminder of the long history that African Americans have of uniting their pursuit of freedom with the pursuit of financial security, not simply for the betterment of the individual, but for the betterment of the black community, and of the country as a whole.

Club Zion

Jamaica's ladies were out in force on a Saturday night when I dropped into Zion on the Excellens sim to see what was happening. With DJ Flight on the turntables, the dance floor was hot, and the dance hall girls were smokin', and somehow it didn't matter that it was mostly a girls' night out! (Where, oh where, are all the men tonight?) On Friday nights, from 7 to 9 SLT, the club presents a mix of lovers' rock, dancehall, roots and reggae with DJ Lion4zion, and on Tuesdays, DJ Jah-Jah focuses on a lovers' groove, also from 7 to 9 SLT. Come out and enjoy the 360 degrees of good vibrations, and share them with your friends. Owner jaja windlow invites visitors to join the VIP group to get regular updates to the calendar of events; this is definitely a place worth landmarking. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Excellens/86/76/34/

Mardi Gras in SL

I've been neglecting to put in a plug for my own homebase in SL, the New Toulouse community. If you want to get a real feel for what Mardi Gras is like, this is the place to go! Louhi Gothly, Gabrielle Riel and my neighbors are working hard putting the finishing touches on their floats and throws for a parade on Sunday the 22nd, and everyone in New Toulouse and Algiers is really looking forward to the celebration. Right now, a Mardi Gras hunt is going on too, so stop by and have some fun! http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Toulouse/144/174/23/

Greeks in SL at Virtual Harlem

On a Friday in April 2008, I attended an evening fundraiser for MS sponsored by the members of Delta Omega Phi, and held at the Cotton Club in Virtual Harlem; compared with the party I had attended at Mr. Bigg’s club on a previous Sunday, this group was a bit more sedate and sophisticated with the flirtatious talk, (but only a bit). It was good to see an event going on in Virtual Harlem, because it had seemed quite desolate when I first found out about it in November, and there were quite a few AVs in attendance at this event wearing resident tags, with a total of about 60 people listed in the group in the search tool. On this night, funds were being raised by a date auction, and of course, as is typical for most SL events (let alone RL events among black professionals) the women up for auction outnumber the men, but the ratio is not nearly as imbalanced as it could be, or as much as it was at the aforementioned party, where there were only 4 men in attendance. The theme was “Love Jones with a Touch of Brown Sugar,” with a total of eight men up for auction, and 12 women, and about 30 people in attendance all together. Looking at the body shape choices being made by these black women in SL, I have to wonder what exactly we are doing by not simply exaggerating butts and thighs to represent an authentic black femaleness, but also sexualizing those body features.
Is it a more authentic way of representing desire as a form of female autonomy, or are we simply making ourselves over into objects that men want to look at in SL as in RL? And compared with the way white female avatars are idealized, black female AVs really are very large visually, stretching the glitch pants to their limits. Of course, this may not mean that something is wrong with us as black women, but that something is wrong with the construction of clothing and the standards that are used to determine the “typical” size of the “average” avatar, so that in the case of many of the women here, the skirt prim layers actually expose the glitch pants when the AV is standing still because of the AV's body dimensions.
This fundraising event was also secondarily billed as an open-mic poetry reading, and Neven came forward to perform, and many others, both men and women, with love poems, and angry political poems. The best I heard that night was a pop culture play in which the poet made Batman into a baby daddy with Catwoman as the third leg of the romantic triangle; it was a great mashup not only of familiar pop culture tropes, but also a comment on the SL experience of romantic drama, which led to accompanying chat with women drooling over Green Lantern, Superman, and Aquaman. In response, some of the men moved to claim Wonder Woman as the superhero that they wouldn't mind spending a little time with. Did no one think of Storm? It shows us that the superhero pantheon could use a few more heroines! I found another example of RL pop culture being reinterpreted in SL style in the men’s style of dress for the formality of the occasion, which was heavy on the gangster-pimp tip, while coming up a bit short on the sophisticated tuxedo as the evening wear of choice. Enjoying much of the entertainment in voice, I found that most of the attendees also sounded very young, as if they are still on campus or only very recent graduates who are part of the sorority or fraternity; some tags were Omega Prospect or Delta Pledge, with some of the usual titles on the ranking members such as Big Sister or Big Que demonstrating their leadership positions in the social organizations. The club gradually emptied as the time drew closer to 8 pm SLT, and as successful bidders went on their dates for the evening, which really was truly beginning. This event was just one of a number of activities organized by black Greeks in SL; as with their RL counterparts, they successfully combine their interest in giving to the larger community with their interest in having some fun, and I am sure to have more fun and more giving to report on in the near future.

Explore Gullah Culture in SL

At the newly-opened Sunrise Mansion and Gallery on Isla del Sol, you can chill while watching YouTube blues videos in the inviting landing area, or make your way downstairs to the opening exhibit of work by artist Indea Vaher. Vaher’s inspiration is Gullah culture, and like the Low Country, the Mansion and Gallery is warm and beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. Help yourself to the greens and black-eyed peas, gumbo, ribs, cornbread and pecan pie kept warm in the kitchen, but before you sit down to enjoy your sumptuous feast, be sure to ladle yourself up a glass of champagne punch. Indea has furnished the whole house with much care and attention to detail; each room really feels as if you have just stepped off the ferry from the mainland to enjoy the slower pace of life and the rhythms of the sea. Looking around, I really feel like I’ve stepped into my great-grandmother’s kitchen, with its freshly scrubbed checkerboard linoleum, the cabinets filled with shiny, gleaming glassware and simple, sturdy stoneware, the serving table covered with a clean oilcloth. Indea pays tribute to the creativity of the Gullah with the woven baskets on display in the kitchen; in RL, of course, such creations are put to practical use, as serving trays and for storage, as well as for aesthetically pleasing decoration. The paintings on display show vibrant, colorful portraits of the men and women of the Sea Islands going about their daily lives, shrimping, fishing, selling and buying in the market, gossiping and playing music under the moss-covered oak trees, airing out homemade quilts, and working in their gardens, or dancing in the moonlight. Vaher provides visitors with an informative notecard that introduces visitors to the history and culture of the Gullah people as a distinctive African retention, and she invites all visitors to sit down by fireplace in the parlor or chat with a friend on the balcony overlooking the beach. A display in the side yard reminds visitors to the Mansion that the Gullah historically cultivated indigo and made their own dye to create the batik fabrics that the area is still known for, and in the front yard, a display informs us of the major role that the Gullah played in survival of the European and African settlers in South Carolina by cultivating the rice that is still a staple of the cuisine there (as it is in New Orleans, in the Caribbean, and along the West African coast). Sunrise Mansion and Gallery tells the story of some of the cultural traditions that connect people of the African Diaspora.

Africa in SL

Africa in SL is 65440 square meters of open skies and open land for horse riding, dancing under a tent, enjoying a magical adventure of the mind while you and your sweetheart take a romantic hot air balloon tour, or go out on the lake for an innertube ride. You can have fun dancing in the warmth of a campfire on the beach, or dive into the waterfalls. Relax while enjoying the natural landscape inhabited by wildlife. The sim is a showcase for Dreaming African/Flora Prims, a collection of African plants by Vlad Bjornson, the principle artist and landscaper responsible for creating the Africa sim, which features some examples of native flora. Vlad initially created many custom flowers, plants and trees that cannot be purchased or seen anywhere but in the Africa sim, and according to the owner/manager Rain Husar, now he is growing a new group of plants that you can buy and use to decorate your own builds. These exotic flowers, bizarre succulents, and other African beauties are all based upon their RL counterparts. Mother Nature has a wild imagination, and she has provided an amazing variety of life in Africa from which Vlad draws his inspiration. 40% of all sales of these plants will go towards maintaining the African sim and donations for charities such as One.org.

Ebony and Ivory Skins at Little Africa

Tura Sitbu’s Little Africa has expanded into Ebony and Ivory, billed as an interracial meeting place. It has a number of intimate spots for romance, some more secluded than others, including a lovely Arabian-inspired tent, bonfires, and some beach shacks. Enjoy the rhythm of the surf while you share a table for dinner for two under the stars; share a relaxing massage or more adventurous options; slow dance on a balcony overlooking the open sea or nearby waterfalls, or hit the dance floor at Babes Paradise. You can also shop Tura’s skins and shapes lines; she recently developed some specialized shapes for teen girl AVs (for those who want to be 18 years old again), and continues to create a variety of skins in different tones for male and female AVs, including Nubia, Melli and Nandi for the girls, and Chandu, Ngabe, and Deo. The demos of her skins that I tried on have not yet met my high standards for achieving a natural and flattering tone; there is a grayish undertone to the Melli skin that is not improved by the use of face or body lighting, although I did appreciate that the nipples were actually brown in color, and not orange-y. In its natural-look, no-makeup version, the coloring is warm and pink with nice freckling, so I assume that this is an attempt at a mixed-race look. Some of the warmth of the makeup needs to be added to the skin’s overall look in order to really effectively convey a suntan or healthy skin tone. The demo shape that comes with the skin made my hips completely disappear, and turned my chest from a comfortable C cup into some DDs threatening to topple me over, and made my eyes even larger, while fleshing out my jawline, but still maintained a feminine look to my face. I can say that the shape and skin did compliment each other; I was able to see a distinctly different person looking back at me. In the pink makeup version, the Melli face looked even warmer and more realistic, and the red tone makeup heightened the contrast of the freckles across the bridge of the nose. Tura’s Diva demo shape has wonderful cheekbones, nicely rounded and lifted breasts, and a booty to match! Unlike the Melli, Diva has some hips too. This skin comes with vibrant makeups to accentuate the large eyes, those high, sculpted cheekbones, and the velvet brown skin tone; the demo also includes moss-green eyes that remind me of Tyra Banks. Jiro is an Asian skin with an ivory glow; the demo shape included is small-waisted, with nicely balanced breasts and hips that are not too large. The geisha makeup is particularly playful and flirtatious, with touches of blue in the eyeliner that make the look more dramatic. The Leila skin comes much closer to the warm, sandy brown look that I was hoping to achieve with the Melli; the evening makeup gives the face a touch of gold shimmer that really compliments the green eyes; her demo shape is slight of hip and somewhat in the butt, while giving a fullness to the breast that is not over-done. The Nandi shape is for women who want that hourglass look, and the men who love them! The Nandi skintone is like a tanned version of the Melli, and comes out with a nice convincing warmth that the Melli is lacking, and the Nubia II skin is just slightly darker and browner than the Nandi. I appreciate this designer’s contributions to representing a variety of versions of virtual blackness, and look forward to what she may make in the future.

Soukous Cafe

Soukous Café is a wonderful hangout with African music 24/7, a dance floor, club house, sea, sun and starlight. Everything is free, and they never close! Regular weekly events include Dance Africa with DJ HarleyMC Homewood, every Friday 2-4 pm SLT, and African Roots Heartbeat with DJ Yannis Martynov, every Sunday 10 am -12 noon SLT. The music stream here is energetic and uplifting, so turn it up while you work on your taxes, your other finances, your blogs or your photo albums in your internet browser! New features are being added to the new location, but in the meantime, there is plenty of space for dancing and hanging out on the verandah of the open-air clubhouse. Learn about the many different styles of music coming from the continent; owner Caramba Vella provides direct links to some introductory information available on wikipedia, so while you listen to popular music genres such as Afrobeat, mbalax, highlife and other styles, and modern adaptations of the ancient instrument, the kora, you can also learn more about some of the influential artists performing and touring in Africa and Europe. Vella also invites visitors to share any other relevant and interesting websites about African music. Hopefully, this cafe will be hosting some live performances soon!

Celebrate Black History Month in SL

Part of the Sugarhill Retreat build, the Museum of African American Experience has mounted a wonderful exhibit just in time for Black History Month. The third floor features portraits of a variety of twentieth-century entertainers in music and in film. While expected faces are there, for example Motown artists from the 1960s and 1970s like the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five, representing the commercial pop of those decades, visitors are also reminded of the many other artists and genres who have so deeply influenced American music and represented American identity and creativity around the world. The display recognizes R&B artists from the 1950s and 1960s such as Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, and the Platters, jazz artists from the 1930s and 1940s such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie, and blues artists such as B. B. King and Bobby Blue Bland. I was particularly pleased to also see other, more recent influential figures included as well, such as DJs Grandmaster Flash and Grand Wizard Theodore, recognizing the continuity of black creativity in the arts. Among the stage, film and television stars also being paid tribute are such major historical figures as Hattie McDaniel, Pearl Bailey, Flip Wilson, and Dorothy Dandridge, helping to make their faces known to a new generation. More contemporary milestones are also acknowledged, most importantly, the Oscar winners Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, and Forest Whitaker. The second floor of the museum introduces visitors to significant events in African American history, documenting them in photographs as well. One wall recognizes African American contributions to military history, including a profile of the Tuskegee Airmen, and portraits of Benjamin O. Davis, and photographs of WWII servicemen in action, as well as portraits of black astronauts. Another wall pays tribute to black sports achievements, with portraits and photographs of Olympic athletes including Jesse Owens, Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell, and champions of many different sports, such as gymnast Dominique Dawes, figure skater Debi Thomas, NHL players Willie O’Ree and Fred Braithwaite, and tennis players Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, and Venus and Serena Williams. A third wall features black political milestones and leaders, including photographs of members of the Black Panther Party from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as some recent portraits of those who survived the persecution of that era. Finally, the first floor also features a historical narrative of survival and resistance, documenting some recent developments in South Africa, and reaching back through the civil rights movement, Reconstruction, slavery and the Middle Passage. Black inventors and entrepreneurs such as Madam C.J. Walker, Elijah McCoy, Benjamin Banneker and others are also recognized. Much thanks are due to owner Will Wellman for providing a visually rich educational experience by creating this interesting space. It comes highly recommended when you want a place for a quiet and thoughtful conversation!

Free to be Virtual

Robben Island is an educational project of Uthango Social Investments intended to promote different social philanthropy projects in Africa with a focus on Human Rights; Uthango also manages Virtual Africa as a place for SL’s global visitors to explore the people and possibilities of the continent through learning about a number of RL non-profit development iniatives. Robben Island’s 52288 square meters include a marketplace, and a number of educational exhibits. One of these pays tribute to Nelson Mandela’s 40 years of struggle against apartheid with an exhibit that features artwork inspired by him, and moving thoughts quoting Mandela’s speeches and essays about freedom. Signs posted across the sim feature the different articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of a Human Rights Discovery Tour in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Declaration. A larger African Arts and Culture Center in a lovely open space connects Mandela’s work to international struggles for social justice, with different exhibits of photographic and other work documenting the lives of working people not only in South Africa, but around the world. There is also a very beautiful memorial to Miriam Makeba, which includes a space where visitors can listen to her music while viewing portraits of the late activist at different stages of her life and career. Another display identifies from their search profiles other groups existing in SL that feature aspects of African culture. You can tour the region by taking a free balloon ride, and by purchasing a virtual bicycle to get around the sim, or renting one of eleven virtual campsites, you can donate directly to the Uthango project. African Voices Lounge provides an additional space where visitors can relax and socialize, enjoying a beautiful build that represents the rugged landscape of South Africa.