SL Drag Race

There's a lot of variety in SL for gay men: there are clubs, beaches, bath houses, and whole residential communities, far more locations than you'd find in any large RL city. There is, however, a distinct lack of at least one aspect of gay life in SL: drag queens.  I love drag queens: the first gay people I ever knew were drag queens, and I've always regarded them with a mixture of awe and fear. Their relative absence in SL has always been a bit of mystery to me.

Happily, Francois Muircastle has seen his way clear to correct that deficit by organizing the first SL Drag Race. Based on the reality TV show hosted by Ru Paul, contestants will compete for the top prize as decided by a panel of judges. The results will be recorded and will be viewable at http://blip.tv/SLDragRace.

Francois is seeking sponsors for prizes and contestants to audition, so get in touch with him in-world or visit the SL Drag Race website for more information.  http://sldragrace.webs.com/ Do you have what it takes to be Second Life's top drag queen?

Seven Nights, Seven Clubs - Starfall

The second in my series of "Seven Nights, Seven Clubs" features a place that's dear to my heart, for several reasons.  I got my start as a SecondLife DJ there, and, uncommon in SL, this club was a true product of "community," forged by a group of like-minded individuals who suddenly found their favorite dancing and socializing venue closing down, and decided to build their own.

Starfall 3.0, The Refuge of Awesome, today

The place?  It's "Starfall", now celebrating nearly four years of existence, and going strong, despite humble roots and a spontaneous "birth" from an unfortunate circumstance.


Some will remember "The Wharf", a venue operated by Finnegan Chesnikov and Chester Howley, several years ago, and which became popular almost overnight, with a crowd of cantankerous "regulars" who made our hours of dancing and conversation a real treat, with events often evolving into pure fun, like running popgun battles and silly avatar distortions and clowning-around of the first order.  Go AFK in this crowd, and you usually found yourself returning to an avatar 20 meters underwater, pushed offshore by the pranksters who'd let no opportunity for such mischief go unattended.

When the Wharf was suddenly closed, this little group of alternative music fans and creative minds were adrift, and promptly decided, practically within an afternoon, to "roll our own" club, and continue our gatherings in a venue of our very own.

The usual questions ensued.   Where do we go?  This was quickly solved by the donation of a bit of land from Koen Whitfield, longtime "kliraton" sim owner and operator of "Camerade", a beautifully crafted Neko-centric sim and shopping venue.   What do we call it?  Well, that came about in a funny and interesting way.

My memory of "the day" of Starfall's creation is scrambled... it was a mad, two-day rush, with Kyne Tigerpaw and myself and a relatively new resident and budding DJ, Merrick Ying, as the key "builders" in the effort, Kyne constructing the main structure of the build, and myself and Merrick Ying adding many decorative textures, plants and trees, and a water-feature consisting of a waterfall into a pool, with stars afloat in the moving water.

These are a few of my favourite things

There’s lots to love about SL, and I love lots about it. But some of the things I love best are small things or silly things or run-of-the-mill things that don’t really seem fantastic on the surface. This is the first of a semi-regular series on Case’s Random Likes.

1. The crate at Hubs’

If there’s not a dent in this crate the shape of my pixel ass, well, there ought to be. I’ve spent hours in this spot, in IMs with friends who are off doing what they’re doing, organizing my inventory, or just reading the profiles of others as they drop in at the landing point in front of me. It’s the perfect location in a cruisey place: within chat range of the action on the pier, but not quite involved in it, near enough to seem approachable without being too obviously interested, and right across from the landing point so you see everyone as they arrive. I’ve met some of the best men in my SL seated in this very spot, interesting, intelligent people who charmed and challenged and impressed me. Places come and go quickly in SL; your favourite spot could be there one day and gone the next, with no forwarding address. Maybe it’s that precariousness that makes them, and the memories they hold, so special. 

Best seat in the house.

Cockring! at Boots Beach

Dagon Harrison works on his "incarceration" build as Misha Hellershanks and mtd1952 Timeless look on.

A dozen people gather on a beach on a Saturday around an outsized piece of toast bearing the burnt outline of Christ and what ensues? Cockring! Perhaps better known as Primtionary, Cockring! is a game in which the player is given a word and must create a prim structure to communicate the word to the other players. The player who guesses the word first takes the next turn at building.