Lanai’s Diary: How would you have handled a Bull in a china shop situation?

The craziest thing happened yesterday and I wanted to share it in hope I can get some insight  from SLE fans on what could have been done differently or how you would have handled a situation like this.

In the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic many are staying home and limiting themselves to the people they come in contact with. It is becoming the norm for many people, especially those who work outside of the home. At the end of a long day, people just want to come home, shower, have dinner and relax to repeat the cycle the next day,

So, it is Monday evening. I just finished up dinner with the family and settled on the back deck to just chill and soak up the tail end of summer. I look through the sliding glass door to see a complete stranger waddling her way through my foyer, kitchen and to the back door like a bull in a china shop where she opens it and drunkenly asks where Marie was. Stumped by this display of a stranger's sloppy drunk debacle. My husband got up from his seats asking who she was.  I followed behind as he ushered her back out the front door. Mind you she was not wearing a mask, nor was she coherent enough to realize she just walked into the wrong house.  She reached for her car keys and attempted to get in her car which was in our driveway about 6 inches from the garage door. You can see she clearly hit a curb as her front passenger side tire was low on air.

The girl looked in her early to mid 20’s. My husband told her if she tried to drive off he was calling the cops. That was enough to make her sober up for a second and plead for him not to do that. He asked her to call someone to come pick her up.

By this time, I was on the front porch with my two adult kids who looked completely bewildered at this drunk woman swaying in the driveway. About 10 minutes passed by the time she was able to make out the numbers in her phone and call…. Her mother. I could hear her mother's voices freaking out but could not make out what she was saying. The woman then tried to hand the cellphone to my hubs who was holding his hand out telling her to keep her distance and put it on speaker phone.  He went on to provide our address to the woman on the other end.

Within 15 minutes an SUV pulls up at the edge of the driveway and a man walks out. It must have been her father who seemed to know exactly what to do as if this wasn't the first time he has bailed her out of a situation like this. Her mother was very thankful to us for making sure she did not get back in her car and revealed this was not the first time this happened. Apparently her daughter wrecked her previous car and has no memory of it.

The girl's father got in the car with his daughter. You can hear him scolding her through the closed window as he pulled out the driveway. Her mother got back in her SUV and followed them off. We watched until they disappeared around the curve of the road.

We all went inside to disinfect wherever she might have touched and feeling like WTF just happened.

After thinking about it, I wondered if we made the right decision. Hubs didn't want to call the cops because he felt this young person needed help from her parents and knew that being arrested for trespassing on top of fines and a possible DUI would not be the best solutions.

 I have no tolerance for drunk drivers or alcoholics. Period. They destroy lives and play the victim when their whole lives fall apart. They put the people who love them thru hell.  Some families and friends had enough of the bullshit and gave up on trying to help them. 

My husband handled it like a father who just wanted to make sure the girl was safe and left it in the parents hands to get the girl some help.

Me on the other hand wanted to call the police and get the ball rolling on giving this girl a wake up call.  Sometimes people need to hit rock bottom with no choice but to rise up and do something about their lives.

In my mind, this is a person who could do this again and  potentially kill someone being on the road in that state. This is someone who has no regard for herself or others. Not to mention coming into my home during a pandemic without a mask. Should I worry that this careless person could have been exposed out there and brought it into my safe place? I don’t feel any remorse for a person that has threatened my sense of safety.

How would you have handled the situation? Share your comments below.

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Examining Equal pay for live musicians in SL and the effects on venues- Fan topic request.- Lanai Jarrico Reporting...

An SLE fan contacted us suggesting a topic about equal pay for all live musicians and high priced singers vs lower priced singers.

Her argument was, “I know so many live singers, some real stuck up, some down to earth and easy going...then those [musicians] that think they are so much better than everyone else, when in actuality they are equal or worse”

My first thought was, Geez straight from the gate lol, She does have an interesting point but playing devil’s advocate; Who are we to decide the worth of a music talent? It would be like, wow this outfit is 750 Lindens… Nah... I think it's worth way less…like 150L. But go and buy it anyway.

If we all negotiated prices, we would be a culture bartering our way around. Just keepin it real by saying musicians are worth what venue owners are willing to pay. Even the broke club owners would scrap change from the couch to pay for an hour of entertainment.

According to what average venues owners pay, in reality the market sets the price. If there are buyers then there is a market for it and if business owners are willing to pay... then they are the ones who actually set the price.

That got me thinking about the imbalance in the SL Musicians vs. the effects on Venues. I wonder if equal pay for all musicians would even solve the real problem.


If you figure a RL night out on the town solo or bringing someone along, a good time or cheap date could cost about $100.00 USD for food, $152.83 if you include drinks and whatever else you like to do. For example, going to the movies, bowling or underwater basket weaving, things can add up. (Not recommended due to COVID)


The beauty of Second Life is avies get to concert hop and have a good ol time for an average of 300L a concert if there is a musician/venue tipping budget without the risk of catchin’ the corons. That saves SL concert goers a whopping $151.50 per event they attend! Now imagine that when you get to party 24/7 in SL without going bankrupt.



Now if you threw in a real lif concert to let’s say…… Beyonce, one night could cost you about $325 for a good seat ticket plus that $152.83. A little cheaper if you don’t drink or mind the nosebleed section. SL obviously a cheaper option. *sets down the calculator*


Live music in Second Life made its debut on the grid as early as 2007. It is a major staple of the SL community. Hundreds of talents from around the global have followed suit for over a decade. This form of entertainment can be costly to venue owners who count on live talent to drive traffic to their sims, shops and events. Many resort to DJ sets because it can be too expensive. Oftentimes these events don’t bring in enough traffic of regular tippers to cover half their overhead.


The Musicians who actively perform across the grid range in talent but all collectively provide a service that venue owners want to book. They are a vital part of concert halls and clubs not to mention giving avies something fun to do. Like dance, socialize and even interact with DJs, singers and musicians. From the range of talents, how do venue owners put them on a pay scale? I guess it is up to them to figure it out.


The average fee for a musician in Second Life ranges between 3,000L to 5,000L respectively. ($12.30USD-$20.50USD)


Another point brought up by the fan about why musicians charge, “4k may not be alot to some but we did not ask him to build a recording studio in his basement. we did not ask him to buy all the fancy equipment..that's on him..”


There are a handful of entertainers who take it to a whole new level with one hour concerts that cost upwards of $15,000L-$25,000L ($61.48 USD-$102.46 USD). Maybe some musicians do have a massive Radio Shack debt to pay and really need the lindens or their cat needs surgery for a bum tail.. Who are we to judge?

With fees that outrageous for a linden based economy, it is a bit much if I say so myself. Those types of fees literally double the cost of what venue owners pay monthly to keep their club running. All I can say about that is don’t hate the player, hate the game because they are livin’ their best SL. The only problem I see is with musicians who have a bad case of SLebrity with no RL substance to back up their visions of grandeur. One background track on a commercial for Ritz crackers back in 1992 doesn’t make you a star.

To the musicians who tour in RL, sell their music, get residuals and actually make a living performing. Do you, boo boo... charge whatever you want but at least stick around for groupie photo ops and autographs.


OK! Let's talk about venues now. Did you know an average venue owner pays a monthly tier ranging from 1250L-3000L/ wk ($5.13 USD/wk- $12.30 USD/wk) or $20.52-$53.20 USD a month. With an overhead to cover, venue owners count on tips and sales of products and services they may offer. If they also pay for just one event a week at a fee of 5k ($20.52 USD) that is another $82.00 bucks slapped on the grand total of approximately $100 USD a month just to run a venue, pay staff and musicians.


Without tips and sales, many of these venue owners never make a return on their investment and keep their clubs afloat for the love of Second Life and the live entertainment. The same venue owners spend countless hours managing their clubs and scheduling events. The struggle is real and that is why many venues come and go.

Musicians on the other hand who perform at least two events a day for seven days can make about $287+ USD a week. Cashing out $1,148.00+ USD a month. That’s great supplemental income to afford you 1 Lexus car payment, 2 pairs of shoes and a nice budget for Ulta per month….if you aren’t into those things, it would help with rent, food, child support, a weed habit or those Jordans you always wanted.

Then there are those singers who do it for free or tips only at karaoke night. Bless their hearts...

Weighing the pros and cons and looking on each side of the fence. There does seem to be an imbalance between musicians, their fees and venues who ultimately pay the price. But who really is at fault here?


My question is how do we gauge what a musician is worth? Do we rely on SL talent shows to pick off the shower singers from the ones who made a career of it. One might argue everyone has their own taste in music and the right to decide what they are worth and or what venues are willing to pay. The first musician who created the $5k fee set the bar. I wish I knew who it was so I can ask how he came up with that figure.


Venue owners who continue to pay keep the bar where it is. Either have the budget to do so or they genuinely love what they do and don’t expect a 100% return. Musicians on the other hand perform in Second Life because they genuinely love what they do. Many are willing to work with venues and bend their fees and others… well, they think they are a real star while adding to the problem.

One musician who wished to remain anonymous commented when asked about equal pay for all musicians said,  "As a musician I don’t agree with equal pay. If a musician wants more money they should step up there game. If nothing else just be better than the others. It is obvious on SL who is really an artist and who is just average with a big ego".


As a venue owner or a musician, What is your take on this topic? Please share your comments and suggestions below.

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Lanai's Diary: Entry 6/21/20- The buffoonery that is in SL Business work ethic is just ridiculous

Dear Diary, 

It has been a while since I’ve cracked open my diary and unloaded my thoughts about Second Life.  Sometimes I’m like… wow SL is still really awesome after all these years and other times I scratch my head at the buffoonery and think WTF….just WTF.

I’m talking about work ethics. Not morale ethics because we all know there are some questionable things going on in Second Life. I’m not a judge and jury but I would say a lot of activities are acceptable by the culture. I’ll leave that up to you to decide what is moral or borderline squint worthy.

One of the most important components needed to support Second Life’s economy is Business. To be successful you must build trust with the community. Have a great business and marketing plan put together and to top it off a disciplined work ethic.

I don’t have to be captain Obvious to tell you that.

Business is business no matter how you look at it. It doesn’t matter if it is in a virtual world manned by pixel CEO and employees. When a product or service is exchanged for currency. A business transaction has occurred. At that point, accountability and professionalism become a thing if you want to keep “earning” business.

Those are not the only things business owners need to succeed. Customer Service is the cherry on top for the best businesses and practices in the virtual world.

I’ve traveled the grid and have met many business owners through the years. The very first creator I encountered was in my noob days. There I was barefoot exploring and minding my own business when I stumbled upon an affordable shoe store.  I tried to put on some blocky heels. One ended up strategically placed up my backside. Thank goodness avies don’t feel pain I would have been hurtin!

 Anyway,  I was all bent out of shape literally and messaged the creator all frantic and accused them of playing a sick joke. 

I didn’t know any better and was paranoid of griefers.  It turns out the business owner wasn’t a griefer and assisted me in removing the footwear from where it did not belong. I was grateful for the help and it gave me a better understanding and newfound respect for virtual world business and how it is just like real business.

Customer service has been on a downward spiral with the introduction of bots greeters and automatic information givers that have taken the place of an actual Avie at the business location. Many are left standing around with questions or needing support and they are forced to leave an offline message or drop a notecard for help on something that could take 5 minutes but has now extended to 2 days with a follow up pending. It all becomes so frustrating.

Bad Customer Service 

Recently I was at a popular skins store helping someone try to figure out how they could get rid of the infamous “Dirt neck” situation that occurs when purchasing a mesh head and body with tones that do not match perfectly. For those who are familiar with mesh, skins help with the problem in some cases.

 Upon landing at this packed skin store, there was no customer service to be found. In desperation asking anyone who would offer some help and being led in all kinds of wrong directions. Something as simple as purchasing a skin or blender or whatever it was needed to solve the problem became a week long quest in search of alternative remedies to just fix the problem and still no response from the skin creator or other representative of the brand. That ish gotta stop. At this point just collecting lindens from avies but not really helping them is just not right.  Get it together or I’m taking names on  brands that have poor customer service.

Friend List Conference- Event Shoutouts.

Ok now this right here has got to be the most annoying feature to have when used as a group notice.  So imagine having 1626 friends and about a third of them insist on friend list conferences to spam events or carry on whole conversations. This can really light up your IMs like a christmas tree causing you to nearly have a seizure.

I try my best to just close it out since I don’t really want to unfriend them. At one point I even created a PSA to cut and paste in the conferences to promote SLE. That tactic didn’t work so I tried to make myself invisible. Sighs. I’m lost for ideas on how to go about this in the most professional way I can. If you happen to be a friend , please don’t include me in friend list conference spamming. Thank you.

If you come across this with groups you are in , you can easily solve the problem by opting out of receiving group notices.

Arrogance

In business, it is best to remember where you came from if you have any ounce of humbleness remaining once you hit “the big time”. If there is  one thing that gets under my skins it is those SL business owners who act like they don’t sit in the same infamous David statue “The Thinker” position whilst using a bathroom.

 A Positive attitude is always a good thing so leave the big head at the door, or you might get stuck in the door frame. Like a well known swinger beach club owner with a sandal wedged up his (BLEEP) sideways…. I won’t go there but he knows who he is. Or that makeover service provided who goes rogue buying the wrong stuff with their client’s lindens and somehow blames the patron for an unsatisfactory job done.

I think I let out what I needed to say on this topic for now. If you have suggestions or comments about business ethics please feel free to comment in the box below and please use your avie name, anonymous seems so stupid when the comment is nasty.

Lanai Jarrico

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SL Conspiracy Theories- Stacey Cardalines Reporting...

SL is a world devoted to unusual and often fantastic things. I have a friend who is a 6 foot tall human cat, for instance. I can teleport to anywhere in the world, carrying everything I own, effortlessly. You h

ave to work hard to astound someone on SL. Fortunately, there are people out there, working hard.

A grey area between the crazy real world and the not-reality-based crazier world of SL encompasses may odd practices and beliefs. One realm of this area involve Conspiracy Theories. These are explanations for situations that involve a sinister collaboration working in secret. They range from harmless things like "New Coke was a marketing ploy to increase demand for original Coke" to the more apocalyptic "Space lizards are embedded in our government." 

A common denominator among them is that the situations the theory is supposed to explain can be explained by more mundane events. Perhaps it was Hillary Clinton who murdered Seth Rich, but it was more likely just a common street murder by Annie Thug.

SL reflects reality, to a point. From colleges to armies, you can find many RL entities animated by the Lindens. If someone has an interest, someone most likely has a sim for it. It is a sound business practice to identify things from real life that can make you money on SL, and it only stands to reason that somebody in some dark corner of SL is peddling conspiracy theories.

As a seasoned SL journalist, I always have my ear to the ground. I'm an excellent snoop... if I'm looking for it, I usually find it. If I don't hear it directly, I know somebody trustworthy who heard it directly. My people and I put in work, and we'll share the juicier theories we've heard.

Keep in mind, the thing to remember about conspiracy theories is that they are almost always bat-ship crazy. I wouldn't waste a lot of energy worrying about most of these things. For all you know, I have a deadline in 12 hours and I'm just making things up.

However, the world is more fun if you are fighting a sinister cabal. A fantasy world somewhere between Snoopy on his doghouse pretending to fight the Red Baron and Walter Mitty smoking on a street corner while- in his mind- staring down a firing squad is preferable to a life slingin' eggs or fixing some rich guy's lawnmower. As fine a job as it is, no kid ever dreams of being an Accountant.

That applies to SL as well. Some people want to be a vampire, some people want to prove that Woody Allen stole the Lindbergh baby. If it's out there, it's my job to bring it to you. You can make up your own mind, once I've messed around with it some.

Second Life Will Someday Become A Nation

May as well lead off with the good stuff. This one, like many conspiracy theories, has some basis in reality. It is also a variation of the Cyrus speech from The Warriors. 

Second Life is estimated, by Linden Labs, to have between 800,000 and 900,000 accounts. This is down from a million in 2013. That one million number is a nice one to put up against actual real nations. It gives SL more "people" than Cyprus, Cape Verde, Suriname, Samoa, Luxembourg, Guyana, Montenegro, the Bahamas, Iceland, Bhutan and 50 other nations, territories and dependencies. We would be the 157th biggest nation in the world. "Can you count, suckers? Cannnnnnnnnnn you dig it?"

If SL were organized and dare I say weaponized, we would have UN-worthy numbers. We'd have agents in almost every country in the world. We could vote in election-tipping blocs. We could move information and finances along strange, hard to track channels... a theme we'll investigate further in a different theory once you scroll down a bit.

This leads to a series of difficult questions, ranging from "Does an avatar have rights?" to "If SL gets UN membership, do we send an actual real person to meetings or just set up a computer screen and have the avatar bellow threats at Iran or Canada or whoever?"

The Ghost Avatar

With the paranormal, remember that it is no stranger to claim a house is haunted than it is to claim a sim is haunted. You have equal proof and equal reason for doubt in each case. 

The ghost avatar story involves variations of The Ring, FearDotCom and even The Crow. A woman dies, either murdered by a man she met on SL, or by suicide following a failed SL relationship. Her body died, but her spirit lives on in her avatar. Unfortunately for us, it is an evil, sadistic and vengeful spirit.

She lurks in dark corners of SL, looking for those who would love a girl and then leave her. She is a player hater. She is not gender specific, as will she hunt women as happily as she hunts men. She is impossibly beautiful, quite forward and has a gentle, caring nature... until you bail out on her, at which point she climbs through the computer screen into real life to rip out your lungs and beat you with them.

She is the third rail of cybersex... touch it and die.

Celebrity Avatars

Geena Davis is into archery. Tim Duncan plays Dungeons and Dragons. Taylor Swift collects snow globes. Mike Tyson raised pigeons. Is it really beyond belief that some or perhaps several celebrities play SL?

It is an odd thought. Everyone wants to be famous (for the right reasons, of course.... few people want to be famous for "caught on video accidentally castrating themselves"), with the possible exception of people who are already famous. Perhaps they seek new, more anonymous interaction with people who don't also have agents and Tonight Show appearances scheduled.

I bet that everywhere Steven King goes, someone stops him and asks him about his books. King is a country fellow, raised in rural Maine, and most likely yearns for regular conversations about baseball and rock music. Instead, it's all "In 'Home Delivery,' is Maddie really the Virgin Mary?"

If King becomes Steven2502 Resident on SL, that problem goes away.

Of course, the hard part with this theory is identifying the celebrity. I hunted around some, and rumors pop up.

The big name is Drew Carey. He referenced a SL designer on Twitter once, and is said to be a fan of SL Steampunk stuff. Michael Stackpole, who is an author in some field, is said to be a player. Suzanne Vega, who I think wrote the song "Luka," is also said to be an avatar somewhere. The guy who wrote the Ready Player One movie was a player, although he said in a 2012 interview that he hasn't logged on "in many moons."

One guy claims that a member of Duran Duran is a player, but who knows?

The guy on The Office with the glasses (the character he plays, not the actor) is referenced to be playing SL in at least one episode. I'm not sure if that carries over into RL.

I also saw references to Mia Farrow, the late Kurt Vonnegurt, Will Smith, the late David Bowie, the later Steve Jobs, the Pet Shop Boys, Tim Burton, Daft Punk, Sharon Stone (I may have fought her), LeAnn Rimes and Ricky Gervais.

Five Feet Of Fury

This is my favorite one, as it involves me. 

I'm as short in RL as I am on SL, five feet nothing. You get used to it. I was an athlete in high school and college, and in high school- 1992, to be exact- someone hung "five feet of fury" on me because of my bloodthirsty soccer-playing style. It went to college with me, was good for a laugh or two, then was used exclusively by my husband until I started playing SL.

On SL, I took up professional wrestling as a hobby in about 2010. Small girls are useful there, as I am generally scheduled against teens and Asians. All wrestlers need a nickname, and I already had "five feet of fury" hanging off of me. I also get called "Smurf" a lot, but that is a different story.

In 2013, the WWE introduced Alexa Bliss, a vertically challenged wrestler. She, like all wrestlers, picked up nicknames. "The Goddess," "Little Miss Bliss" and- I should sue- "Five Feet Of Fury."

I'm pretty sure that Bliss isn't an avatar, and thus didn't stumble across and steal my nickname. I have read that WWE writers decide the wrestler's names, acts, tendencies, etc... There is a famous story about a wrestler from India who the WWE decided would make a good Rampaging Muslim Terrorist character. The Indian asked to not be cast that way. "I am from India, we have fought three wars against Muslim Pakistan, my grandfather died at a Muslim's hand, and I will not be able to return home if I play a Muslim villain on television." WWE CEO Vince McMahon thought it over and huffed, "Put the goddamned towel on your head and shut up."

While blonde, beautiful and very busy Alexa Bliss most likely doesn't play a short wrestler on SL after playing one in real life, it is not beyond comprehension that a WWE writer has an avatar lurking around somewhere. Maybe he plays for fun, maybe he is doing research on wrestling sims, but he would be the easiest direct link between my 1992-2020 nickname and the one Bliss began using in 2016 or so.

So, Bliss gets a million a year with the nickname, while I write for the SL Enquirer and get paid in Lindens. Life's fair.

FBI and CIA Surveillance of SL

Just because they say you are paranoid, it doesn't mean that people aren't out to get you. Likewise, not all conspiracy theories are nonsense. This is one of them.

During the Arab Spring protests, Lanai sent me off to cover a "riot" in a Muslim-based sim. The riot wasn't that menacing. People were friendly, and I ended up playing Yahtzee with them. No one was threatening to hijack a Boeing or eviscerate Donald Trump or anything. I also covered an Austerity Dogs riot in London where they did burn a building.

However, it came to light that the FBI and the CIA had embedded avatars into online multiplayer games such as SL, World Of Warcraft and XBox Live. Remember that Edward Snowden guy? All those stolen files he released? One of them concerned surveillance of SL by organized Law. While I was playing Parcheesi with Khalid during the Arab Spring SL protest, there was probably some CIA spook nearby, taking notes. 

In theory, terrorists or anarchists could use SL to transfer money, recruit new adherents, plan attacks and/or just be a menacing subculture. The CIA has to worry about stuff like that. So, they embedded agents into the games, and were snooping on whatever Arab protesters were up to.

This most likely doesn't touch you or (maybe) I, but the potential is there. Linden Labs denied letting the government have access to all of their information, which, as you know, means that they let the government have access to all of their information. The government could have a file on me, or perhaps You.

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Music Venue Ownership and A Popular Singer: Scarlet and Jeffah- Fynnyus Resident Reporting

This is just a hunch, but I believe that most of what we do in Second Life is pretty haphazard. It’s a place to escape, have fun, and get away from reality for a while. It’s rare for me to make plans or set a time or date to do anything. I kind of like the serendipity of not having a plan and just going with the flow, so to speak. And so it was on a Monday morning in early June. It was then that I received a group announcement from Scarlet (scarletexiles) who owns Scarlet's Ranch & Resort. A popular singer would be performing there in the next few moments. The message said: "Canadian born-and-raised, Jeff has performed all over the RL world, and quickly became a fan favorite in SL. His attention to detail and explicit emotion in each song will bring you back show after show. Whether you like rock, pop, jazz, etc. Jeff will sing your requests. Come and experience a musical journey as this multi-award winning vocalist performs songs the way they were truly intended to be heard! Join us for an hour of great music." Being a newly minted music writer for the Second Life Enquirer, I thought I would go and see what’s up. So, off I went and teleported to the venue.

Upon arrival, the singer was just starting. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I messaged Scarlet to get some information about music venues and what it was like managing and owning a virtual place for music. Here’s how the conversation went:

Fynn: Hi Scarlet, is this your place?

Scarlet: Yes Fynn, it’s one of 3 I have here on this region primarily for music, but we do some weddings, too. I have Red Rocks and Scarlet's Aquarium here also.

Fynn: I'm curious about what it's like to run a music venue.

Scarlet: You have to love music and have deep pockets, at least for live artists. It's fun, I do it for the fun.

Fynn: If I might ask, what does it cost?

Scarlet: Well, you have to have land obviously, you don’t have to have as much as I have but you need a decent spot and then you build or buy a club. The cost of artists varies but if you’re going to have very many your looking at a nice amount of dollars going out. I have had over 35 live artists that sing at my venues. Some don’t cost, but not many work just for tips these days. The better known they are the more expensive they can be.

Fynn: Is Jeffah well-known?

Scarlet: Yes, he has been with me both at Red Rocks and here, but he is an entertainer who promotes his shows and has decent crowds come to listen. I just enjoy the music, building, and fun. I've been doing this a little over a year in SL now.

Fynn: You seem to have done a lot in a year.

Scarlet: I'm just ambitious and I don’t like people telling me I can't do something. I started out with a DJ club and a second venue with occasional live events. DJs have gotten harder to build on, but good live performances bring the people.

Scarlet was busy during the live performance managing patrons, greeting new arrivals, and such, so I didn’t get to talk with her as much I would have liked to, but it made me think I might delve into music club ownership and management at some point.

Then my partner, Misty, happened to log in so I teleported her to come and dance with me. Misty is really smart about music and has played guitar her whole life. I asked her what she thinks. She always impresses me with her understanding of music history, and he’s always honest as hell. I love that about her. We dance and listen and talk about the singer and other things. Her perspective is in this writing. She’s an inspiration and influences my thoughts as I write.

There’s lots of ways to categorize music in Second Life. Two broad types are those who accompany themselves while singing, usually with guitar or keyboard, and those who use prerecorded background instrumentals while they sing. The latter, a karaoke-style of performance, is quite popular in Second Life and it is what we hear at this performance. Jeff (Jeffah24) has a very distinctive vocal quality. It’s quite unique and he is very engaging with the fans who have shown up, and for a Monday morning there’s quite a few (of course it’s not “morning” everywhere in the world, lol). He sings works by Elton John, Aerosmith, Adele, Neil Young, Roy Orbison, and more. During the performance, Jeff actually explains what he’s doing: he has a microphone with software for background accompaniment. He can add reverb and other voice altering techniques, which he uses proficiently. And then there’s the karaoke background music, some with choral background vocals in some songs. It all makes for a fun show.

Doing my research, I find out that Jeff has been performing in Second Life quite a while. In fact, he was interviewed for the Second Life Enquirer a few years ago when he won Second Life’s Got Talent Award in 2015. His profile describes him thusly, “A six-year veteran of the SL live music scene, Canadian-born Jeff has spent his entire life devoted to music. He has performed solo all over the RL world, and tours with an internationally recognized band. His SL shows often feature Rock, Pop, Jazz, and many other genres. Experience who fans have dubbed the "Human Jukebox" as this multi-award winning vocalist takes you on a musical journey!”

Also, “Outside of SL, Jeff toured for over 4 years with the internationally recognized Fiddle Rock band FIDDLESTIX, playing keyboards, Irish whistle, sax, and vocals. He spent a further 3 years living in Lisbon Portugal, and just recently returned to Ontario Canada and has begun touring with Fiddlestix again. His vocal recordings on SoundCloud have surpassed 2.9 MILLION plays, averaging over 6000 plays per week, or 850 plays every day.” 

Very Impressive, in my opinion! I spoke with him after the show:

Fynn: Generally, why you do this? 

Jeffah: I've been a professional musician most of my life.  it's second nature to me to be an entertainer.... and SL is one of many avenues that allow me to do that and reach a wide spectrum of audience members from around the world. :)

Fynn: Where has music been and where do you think it’s going?

Jeffah: I can only speak for the past 6.5 years -- but I know that SL live music started a very long time ago as a platform for solo instrumentalists to play music for each other. It has evolved over many years to include all forms of live entertainment from instrumentalists, to vocalists, to bands and even spoken word and  stand-up comedy.  Only time will tell where the scene goes from here on forward. :)

Fynn: Tell me a little about your style.

Jeffah: I don't really have a single style.  I love and greatly appreciate all genres of music and love to perform Rock, Pop, Country, Romantic Ballads, Jazz/Swing, Broadway, Disney,...

Fynn: I am curious about the karaoke style, there seem to be those who play guitar or keyboard, and others like you who use karaoke-style. Maybe there's other ways, but those seems to be two main ways musicians accompany their vocals.

Jeffah: I'm a musician who plays almost every major instrument class.... but I perform in a band in RL several instruments, and so in SL I choose to be a vocalist.

Fynn: What's it like to be a SL musician?

Jeffah For me, it's quite a lot of work.  I don't have a manager making all of my bookings for me, seeking out new venues, keeping in touch with the venue owners, or handling all the administrative work... I do all of that myself.  On average, a one-hour show takes about 3 hours of my time.  There is promotion to be made, advertising to be posted, multiple forms of communication to my fans and followers letting them know the show details for each day, etc.  Usually the one-hour show is my time to finally relax and have some fun, provided there are no technical issues during the show!  lol... and there have been countless technical issues over the years.  I have way more to do and take care of during my show in SL than I do as a singer/musician performing in my RL band.  Not only am I the performer, I'm also the sound technician, the lighting controller, the request manager and the problem solver.... I wouldn't be able to survive a show without my amazing assistant!

It was at this point that Jeff had to return to reality for dinner. We said our goodbyes and I thanked him for his time and his insights. And hey, another success with serendipity! Give it a try, I swear it works! Until next time, I remain your Wannabe Music Critic, Fynn!

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AVIE POLL: IF YOU ARE MARRIED IN REAL LIFE, AND PARTNER IN SL, IS IT CONSIDERED CHEATING? - JOSH (THOMAS1 BELLIC)

So...this question has been asked at least once, and probably a couple dozen times, by every married guy or gal shortly after setting pixelated foot on the SL Grid. In keeping with SLE’s desire to remain relevant to the population we serve, we thought it would be interesting to make this ubiquitous question the subject of this month’s SLE Poll.  This proved to be a particularly easy question to ask, but difficult to get answers. Almost universally, whenever I posed the question, people had an opinion, but very few were willing to share it. So, My hat’s off to those intrepid few who dared to answer, and even more so to those who wished to be identified with their answer. So then...with that in mind….Let the Games Begin!

When asked, “If you are married in Real Life, and partner in SecondLife, is it cheating?, the first respondent had a very thoughtful answer.

Anonymous, SL Resident, (9 years 11 months; 3650 days)

“I feel my partner in sl just adds more enrichment to my real life.  Perhaps in many ways it fill in little little holes that even a happy marriage can have.  I have a very happy rl marriage, and my adventures in sl bleed out into my rl marriage. My exploration of bondage has lead to me exploring that with my husband, who was eager to take part.  He must wonder and realize what I may be doing in sl, but he knows I am happy and continue to make him happy. I in no way have a partner in sl to replace what I have in rl. Its a balance one has to be mature enough to engage in and have a big enough heart for, to keep that way.”  

Another respondent was equally circumspect.

Lora B. , SecondLife Resident, (12 years 8 months; 4643 days)

“I am happy to tell you my answer....  SL is an alternate existence, we can live by the same compass we use in RL or we can treat this world the way some people treat a video game.... there are video games where you engage in war and pretend to kill people... and video games where you pretend to steal things... I think those people are not truly murderers or thieves.... any more than the married people who are partnered here are unfaithful.... I dont agree with people who believe any division of the heart or mind away from a lawful spouse is infidelity...”

The next two responders brought a unique perspective to the question, since they are actually a RL married couple, as well as SL partners.

Kale Rayne, DJ, Owner Teaser's Lounge & Den (8 years 4 months; 3052 days)

“We are married in both RL and SL Delilah and I. To answer the question, I state this: I encourage her to play at her choosing whether I am present or not. The only thing I ask is that she tell me of her adventures if I am not present or online. She has told me every time therefore she is not cheating on me since I encourage her to play. Our relationship is defined as a Stag and Vixen whereas she may have different lovers and I do not touch any other woman , at times I may watch or even join in if all are willing. Now if at anytime she hides her adventures to me then yes that is cheating, but the trust I have in her is what she cherishes most . We have been together for 8 years plus in SL and she has never cheated.”

Delilah Rayne, Hostess, Co-Owner Teaser's Lounge & Den,  (8 years 11 months; 3270 days)

“No it is not cheating if your RL partner knows about it and is okay with it.  If its done behind your RL partners back and they are not aware then yes its considered cheating in our opinion.

This next couple were also in complete agreement

Richh Devin,  Builder of Dreams, Club Owner (11 years 10 months; 4345 days)

Alexxxa Devin) SL DJ and Hostess  (9 years 5 months; 3447 days)

“As long as both are on same page about SL, then no, it is most definitely NOT cheating.   Communication is key in both worlds.”

This next answer come from one who was holding one of those Magic 8-Balls.  She repeated my question for the benefit of the ball, and responded accordingly with a very reasonable and straightforward  response.

Hunnydumpling  O'Magah, SL Resident (8 years 7 months; 3140 days)

“After consulting my oracle I believe that partnering someone is cheating while just screwing them is not. TYVM”

While the responders answered some variation of the “it’s not cheating” theme, there was one particularly outspoken proponent of the opposite view.

Lisa Icandia,  Renaissance Woman, (9 years 2 months; 3364 days)

“Of course it is cheating unless you have lost all morality from sight. You are emotionally cheating on your real life partner. She/He may be sexually uninspired or fat or old but you're married. You are giving laughter, joy, fun, understanding and time to a total stranger who is a well made and sexy cartoon and is only made of pixel dust. And 9.5 times out of 10 it will end in one of you leaving SL or blocking the other person or cheating on that avatar along with your real life partner. But we ignore that it's cheating, don't we, because we love the thrill of the chase and we love feeling loved and as if we are young and beautiful and viable. There are no real obligations in here to mow the lawn or cook or clean house or bathe or go to work each day so we can always be charming and perfect spouses in SL even though we are not in real life. It's ALL an illusion!”

Often times when I asked a potential respondent, several answered that they did not feel comfortable answering the question, but would love to read the final poll results and asked that they be notified when it went to press.

S  male, (4 years 8 months; 1727 days)

“ummmm...I suspect if you are married in RL and partnered here the odds are that you are going to say no to cheating but I look forward to seeing the results.”

So there you have it folks...as many different answers as there were individuals who answered.  So then. What do YOU think? Leave a comment.

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