Sunday, August 31, 2008

ThinC Press and ThinC Book need your vote on the Jira! I was trying to create a ThinC Book for Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries.

HVX Silverstar: Hi there,
This came up today for me as I was trying to make a ThinC book for Abbey and Lori and found that my antiquated ThinC press for making multiple copies would no longer work. It seems that none of the versions are working properly now due to this bug.
Please vote on the bug that is currently causing havoc with Toneless Tomba's very cool (librarians love it) ThinC Press.
https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-2938?ticket=ST-2289-cNk4hs9jYBCfWPLpCcnDhNmURfIvlzvzYpe-20

[20:49] HVX Silverstar: You will need to log into the Jira server using your SL name and password. The log in link is at the top right of the page.

You will find the "Votes" link at the left of the page in the margin. There are currently 95 votes and 22 people watching the progress.. well, we hope progress.

Don't forget to order the book for your library: http://infotoday.stores.yahoo.net/viworeli.html

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Second Life and Public Health: machinima by Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan



Here's a super machinima from the Health Sciences Library at University of Michigan, August. 2008.
"The University of Michigan's Health Sciences Libraries have produced a video highlighting Second Life and Public Health. Second Life is a virtual world through which an active public health community is simulating disaster scenarios, creating interactive health games, offering people with disabilities a place for support and social networking, and providing a space for professionals to view presentations and attend international conferences. This video showcases the potential of this new media." Anne Perez

Friday, August 22, 2008

Come with me as I log into Second Life for the Grand Opening of the Virtual Ability Island to celebrate real possibilities virtually




Welcome to the Grand Opening of Virtual Ability Island.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%2...

Funding came through an initial grant from the National Library of Medicine to the Alliance Library System and is sustained by the generosity of individual contributors to Virtual Ability, Inc.

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a Non-profit, Tax-Exempt Organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and is
based in Colorado, USA.

Their mission is to enable people with a wide range of disabilities
to enter into virtual worlds like Second Life®, and provide them
with a supporting environment once there.

Your donation is deductible as a charitable donation
for federal income tax purposes in the United States.
Heron Sanctuary, Alliance Library System (Alliance Virtual Library), and a million thanks to all of the donors, volunteers and visitors.

Funded in part through a grant National Institute of Health (NIH)
and sustained by the hard work & generosity of donors and many volunteers.

Your generous contribution of $100, $50, or even $20 will allow us
to expand our services supporting people with disabilities in virtual worlds like Second Life.

100% of funds raised go toward the costs of operating and providing
the services of Virtual Ability, Inc.

http://www.virtualability.org/

info@VirtualAbility.org

Music:
Skyward ~ Big Dog Music
WarriorDance ~ Dorje Productions
Benediction ~ Lynne Publishing
Exploration ~ Cassidy Bisher

2008
Creative Commons Attribution
Share Alike 3.0 (by-sa)

Machinima: HVX Silverstar
Machinima Institute
in the very beautiful Second Life®

Location:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%2...

Contact:
Carolina Keats or Eme Capalini and Gentle Heron in SL, for more information.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

View of the Virtual Ability Grand Opening through Final Cut Pro

HVX logs into Second Life to attend Virtual Ability Grand Opening. Eme Capilini in the foreground honoring the talented builders, Sabine Stonebender, Sambivalent Spork and Anhayler Lycia.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Virtual Ability Ribbon Cutting by Gentle Heron

Today was the opening of Virtual Ability Island in the very beautiful Second Life. I use "very beautiful" rather loosely in many of my posts... but today was beautiful, inspiring and extremely moving. The auditorium. The ribbon was cut by Gentle Heron (also of Heron Sanctuary on Eduisland 4) in honor of The Sojourner who passed away just recently. Take a moment to meet the people of the Virtual Ability community: Dusty, Kat and Namrav: http://www.virtualability.org/page9.html
The project was begun with a grant to the Alliance Library System (now Alliance Virtual Library in SL) from the National Library of Medicine. The project has been able to continue on by the generosity of individual contributors to Virtual Ability, Inc. , a non-profit W(3)c organization.

Paste the SLurl into your browser's address bar:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/128/128/23

For further information about this wondrous project, contact Carolina Keats or Eme Capalini in SL.

Machinima Sandbox One...


Slide2, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

So how will a sandbox help me with my filmmaking skills in SL? Well, we can start with basics such as streaming video into SL, or trying out the streaming audio feature that you may want to use in your machinima. And how about trying out various gestures and that great scripted furniture or mini sets we're seeing in SL. The other instructional islets a the Machinima Institute include Camera Controls One and the Machinima Factory.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Watching Bottle Shock trailer at the Golden State Garden Cafe

Watching Bottle Shock trailer at the Golden State Garden Cafe on Eduisland 3 in the very beautiful Second Life. Happy Birthday, Hyacinth!

Avatar PowerPoints....


TuesAug12Class, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

Hi Bill, we love PowerPoint... well, in Second Life we do! It's a great tool for creating images that can be shown on screens, placed against the dark skies of midnight.... and super for signage.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibraries/sets/72157606685932797/
This set includes Class #1: Camera Controls, and Class #2: Machinima Workflow & much more.
Held on Camera Controls 1 Islet, Machinma Institute Island in the very beautiful Second Life.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Pan, Orbit, Alt-zoom and feeling the breeze in your hair...

Am I that transparent? Extreme concentration while navigating Daruma Picnic's extraordinary interactive/immersive art experiences on the Camera Controls I islet, Machinima Institute... as always... "in the very beautiful Second Life"

Monday, August 4, 2008

SLURL for Machinima Institute Camera Controls One islet


SL MachinimaInstituteSLURL, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

Pipsqueak Fiddlesticks and I (HVX Silverstar) will be covering the following topics in the University of Illinois continuing education class being offered in Second Life through the Graduate School of Library & Information Science and the Alliance Virtual Library in the very beautiful Second Life.
www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/VW/tech.html

Class: Technical Skills for the Virtual World of Second Life
Dates/times: (Tuesdays, August 5, 12, 19, and 26) to be held from 6-8 pm Second life time.
The first two classes, Aug 5 and Aug 12 to be held on Machinima Institute Island. Teleport directly OR IM me for a teleport: slurl.com/secondlife/Machinima%20Institute/218/114/23
You will land on the Camera Controls One island where we will be working.
Location: Weeks 1 & 2: Machinima Institute Island
Weeks 3 & 4: Eduisland 3 (next to Machinima Institute). IM us for a teleport or use the SLURLs.

Let's begin on Camera Controls One

IM me for a teleport if you need it.
On Machinima Institute Island, I have 3 of the 12 islets populated with prims of all sorts to be used for introductory machinima classes. Take a look around: Krull Aeono's wonderful virtual reality environment is at one edge of the island; the Machinima Factory and Cafe is at the other end (complete with lots of junk scattered around on both floors). Try out the machiniAlliance Virtual Library, building, camera controls, Education and Machinima, GSLIS, HVX Silverstar, libraries,ma sets by Pendullum on the lower level and second story of the factory.
Class slides: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibraries/sets/72157606554895495/
Find out more about the class offered by UIUC GLSIS Continuing Education series with Alliance Library System: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/VW/tech.html
Look forward to more classes from UIUC/AVL in the autumn!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Avatars Love Endnote X2: celebrating the completion of my ACRL Immersion instructional scenario in the wee hours of the morning...


Snapshot_013, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

So, I'm waiting for the Mac version of Endnote that's supposed to be coming out in September. Hmmm that would mean teleporting to RL to use it. So, hoping for a Second Life version for my birthday. That would be in December, oh, Marketing Deparment at Thompson Scientific Endnote!
Snapshot taken in the snowy interior of the old Machinima Institute site. On location in the very beautiful Second Life.
Pictures from ACRL Immersion 2008, University of California San Diego (UCSB):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibraries/sets/72157606451119833/