It's that new Usher Remix

I'm sure that when you read the title of the blog you were expecting something about a remix Usher's smash hit song "Paper". Yet this blog is about something extremely different than the Usher Raymond's crooning. Nineteenth century American literature (yes you read that correctly).

My professor has made a simulation in Second Life of Edgar Allen Poe's tragic tale "Fall of the House of Usher." In this simulation, you first go to the Welcome Center at University of Richmond Island and then you must change into the Victorian attire that is there waiting for you. As you wait to ride the hot air balloon up to the House of Usher, you receive letter from Roderick Usher telling you about his sickness and that is sister Madeline is also very ill.

For those who don't know how Fall of the House of Usher ends, here is a spoiler alert. Roderick buries Madeline alive because she is in a comatose state from the medication that Roderick has given her. He knows that she is still alive, yet his mental sickness drives him to bury his sister. Many days later, Madeline comes up from the family crypt and dies in front of Roderick and then he too dies.

In the simulation. your objective is to make sure that Madeline does not get buried alive by her beloved brother. There are actors and actresses that pose as different characters from the story and you have to convince them that the medicine Roderick is giving Madeline is making her so ill, not a real sickness.

This simulation was honestly the most fun that I have had in Second Life because I felt completely immersed in the House, almost as though I were actually there. I almost felt like Madeline and Roderick were truly my friends and that I needed to save them from their demise.

A couple of things that I absolutely loved included the mural that was in the cellar that looked very old. It created a feel that the Ushers had been living there for many many generations and the something obviously happened to make their demise so imminent. Also, I liked the black smoke that came out the of coffin when Madeline was in it. It added a very spooky feel to it and I could just imagine the smell of dead flesh that would come out with the smoke.

One thing that I would improve on the simulation would be how hidden a lot of things are. When we finished the simulation, we found many cool different things we could have done, like use a gun or set something on fire to distract the Ushers. If some of these were more readily available, people would be a little bit more creative with the way that they decide to save Madeline and Roderick.

To add realism to the depiction of the mid 1800s medicine and the lack of mental-health care, there could be a time where Roderick could discuss how he has never talked to anyone about his illness because no one understands. This would show how medicine was slow and lacked a lot of necessary things to help people. Also, a person should be able to take one of Madeline's pills to be able to feel what she feels when she is ill. This creates a better relationship with Madeline because you will then feel her pain.

Overall, the simulation was absolutely awesome!!

Changing the Ushers

Recently for my English class we were assigned Edgar Allen Poe's work "The Fall of the House of Usher". Then I was asked to think about what I would change as a participant in the story and not as just a reader.

Naturally, my first instinct was that I would seek medical attention for Roderick and Madeline because they are so gravely ill. Yet, I'm not sure how plausible this really is because there weren't extensive psychological treatments available to them. As I was thinking about this I also realized that I was still looking at this from an outsiders perspective.

When you delve into the story, the narrator and Roderick are very good friends and it may have been hard for the narrator to cope with the fact that his longtime friend was sick and had many psychological issues. With this natural tendency to dismiss things that we don't like, the narrator could have just passed his sickness off as something that wasn't as great as it was. So how can a person help their friend when they don't accept the fact that he has an illness?

So to answer this question, I would have to find someone that would be able to help them so that they don't go crazy and bury someone/get buried alive.

If I were an active participant in the story, I probably would have tried to figure out if Madeline were truly dead. Even though she would fall into death like trances, her heart would still be beating. Even if it just beats slowly, it still beats and that makes her still alive.

Open Your Mind with your Video Chats

The biggest problem the Second Life faces as a source of communication is the barrier that it puts between people and avatars, and the skepticism of many people about virtual worlds.

When two avatars are talking on Second Life, a barrier is placed between the two people because they are talking as avatars, rather than being face to face. To fix this, Second Life could add a video feature that would allow people to talk face to face, especially in academic situations. This would allow residents to not only hear the person they are talking to, but it allows them to also see the person they are talking to which brings another one of the senses into the mix. This would increase the opportunities vastly for education because meetings can become lectures and classes could even be held in Second Life.

The skepticism of many people may still block the potential that Second Life has as a mode of communication. I think that many people don't use virtual worlds for communication or networking because it is so new, and new things and ideas tend to scare people. For example, in the 1920's when cars began to become common all throughout the United States, many skeptics thought that they were a nuisance and added to the corruption of youth. Some even called them "rolling brothels". Yet, the car has become the most commonly used form of transportation amid the skeptics that tried to stop it.

I have no doubt that virtual worlds will become a ubiquitous form of communication, and that it will find commonplace in the daily lives of many people. Once many of the barriers and skepticism have settled, virtual worlds will become a place for people to meet and do many other things.

Heritage Key...Are you Serious???

For my English class we are beginning to use a new virtual world called Heritage Key that specializes in education. It has a simulation of the Valley of Kings and King Tutankhamun's tomb. They're beginning the works of other places in the Valley of Kings and other places like the Stonehenge and many other historic and prehistoric areas throughout the world. Given that I love history, I was very excited to be able to explore some of the things that Heritage Key had to offer.

But I am HIGHLY disappointed in the performance of Heritage Key.

I sat down at my two month old Dell Inspiron notebook and began to go through the process to open my account with Heritage Key and the registration and picking the avatar went very smoothly. Then came downloading the software, I waited for nearly 20 minutes for the software to download and load. Once the software downloaded even more problems came.

When the screen for Heritage Key opened, I was prompted with a window that said that my graphics card did not fit the minimum requirement and I remember getting the same thing with Second Life so I figured that it wasn't a big deal. Apparently Heritage Key must have extremely different system requirements than Second Life because SL works pretty well on my computer. So I then began to walk around the visitor's center and the help area and I began to change my avatar's appearance to wear a blue T-shirt, a black jacket, and white pants (a less complex outfit than my avatar in SL). Apparently this didn't work out well. After I finished editing my avatar's appearance it wouldn't turn around and walk in that extremely awkward fashion. It would just float backwards with his arms out like he was on a crucifix. Then while he was floating backwards his jacket turned into a striped mess that looked like a zebra at a pride festival. So I figured that I would sign out and try again.

Well that still didn't work.

I signed back on with hopes that my experience with Heritage Key would be salvaged. But no, I was let down and problems persisted. My avatar still looked like a zebra in a gay pride parade and then his face began to turn gray. So I tried to ignore the odd pigment of my avatar and continue to walk awkwardly through the Heritage Key simulation. When I got to King Tutankhamun's Tomb, I wasn't very moved by it because it wasn't interactive at all. It was just me and my oddly pigmented avatar looking at a mural. I felt no emotion from it. I didn't feel as though I was really there. I felt like I was looking at a painting in a lackluster museum.

Clearly I'm not satisfied with this virtual world. This is such a disappointment to have one of the best content creators make such a sub-par simulation and virtual world. I don't know how I will be able to do any of my work for English in Heritage Key with all of these issues...

Wild Weekends in Second Life

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to travel to the Burning Life Festival in Second Life. Originally I wanted to go to the Opening Ceremonies, but I was in a wireless connection and the lag was terrible, so I rushed off to one of the computer labs to use wired internet. By the time I could get back into Second Life, the fireworks were over. Even though I missed the fireworks, there was still lots of fun to be had.

I teleported myself to the Pop/Soft Rock Party with DJ Iknow Tomorrow. There were probably about twenty or so avatars at this party. As my avatar danced, I noticed someone with a great top hat with fire spewing from the top of it. Since I assumed they were a seasoned Burning Life attendee, I decided to go talk to them. When I got over to the avatar, I soon found out that it was my classmate Cinderella Caffarelli. We chatted about how we were actually having a great time at a Second Life party.

In the party, DJ Iknow Tomorrow played lots of current songs and some rock songs from the 80s. Some of the songs that I remember were numerous songs by ACDC, Hot 'n Cold by Katy Perry, and many other contemporary artists. A little later in the party, the fiercest resident of Second Life, Fierce Soulstar, joined me in the festivities. We decided to test the DJ to see if he would take requests, so we asked DJ Iknow Tomorrow if he could play a favorite of ours called Ice Cream Paint Job by: Dorrough Music. Within two songs he first gave my avatar a shout out and then played our song. With our avatars dancing along, we had no choice but to get up and dance for ourselves.

One of the main things that I noticed in the party was the great diversity of the avatars. They were all of different races, genders, and sexual orientations. I thought that this diversity of beautiful because it shows the inclusive community that the residents of Second Life have created. I noticed two men dance together and then passionately kiss, and there were two women that were dancing together throughout the entire party. This was so striking because people didn't ridicule them because of the sexuality, but they just accepted them for who they were. Because of a lack of tolerance in real life, some people could really learn a lot about life through Second Life.

I have to say that I never thought that I would have fun in Second Life, especially like I did this weekend. It was great to see all of the avatars dancing and having a good time, but its even better when you have a friend around to share these fun times with. I think that I had as much fun as I did because I had my classmate along for the ride.

Festival of Fire??

For my English class we have to go on a field trip in Second Life. Our fearless leader, Ignatius Onomatopoeia, told us about an annual festival that is held in Second Life called the "Burning Life Festival". The "Burning Life Festival" is a festival that celebrates art and community; it comes for just one week in October and then disappears until the next year. It seems to have become a very popular event for other Second Life residents.

I intend on going to the Opening Ceremonies of the festival with my dear friend and fellow fierce resident Fierce Soulstar. We are going to the Opening and Fireworks at Fire Stage and the Pop/Soft Rock Party with DJ Iknow Tomorrow. Both of these events start at noon Second Life Time. (Who knew the virtual worlds had standardized time??)

In going to this event, I hope to learn more about the culture of Second Life. I've been to many places that are of interest to the academic community, but I have only once been to a place where other avatars are, and even when I was there, there were only very few avatars. This time, I will be able to interact with avatars that are outside of the academic community and come to Second Life just to have fun or meet people from different walks of life.

I must say, I'm looking forward to meeting other avatars that aren't in Second Life for academics because I can learn about a brand new perspective about Second Life society and culture.

Extinction isn't permanent you know

In the Second segment about my adventures in Second Life, I've been to a number of places that were interesting. Last time I went to a lot of educational places so this time I thought that I should go to some areas of cultural interest.

The first place I went to was the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel that is at Vassar Island. Admittedly, I was very skeptical about this replica because I have been to the real Sistine Chapel and I didn't want to be disappointed. When my avatar walked in, I looked around and it is almost exactly like the real Sistine Chapel. Though it wasn't as grand as the real thing, it was still extremely realistic (and it wasn't hot and I wasn't crammed in with tons of other people). It amazes me that the builders at Vassar Island did such a great replica of the model that captures the beauty that Michelangelo created while lying on his back for years. I am very impressed by that.

From there I went on to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. I remember back in the eighth grade when I first learned about the Globe Theatre; I always wished that I could travel there and see a Shakespearean play there. Even though I knew the Globe no longer existed it always seemed to be a great place to go. Now that I've discovered Second Life and all that it has to offer, I could go to the Globe Theatre. First I walked around and I saw a skull laying in a pit of dirt, so I decided to sit down and get my Hamlet on. Then I explored some more and I found that they have Shakespearean plays performed in Second Life. My lifelong (well...since the eighth grade) dreams have been fulfilled.

From there I hopped across the pond to Harlem, New York. This is a replica of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Many of my favorite poets and musicians contributed to this fantastic point in history. I have always read books about the Harlem Renaissance, but I never thought that it would come to life so vividly as it is in Second Life. As I explored, I found the historic Cotton Club. This club was familiar to me because I knew that two of my favorite musicians, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, both performed there during the Renaissance. So I decided that I would hop on stage and try to do what Duke Ellington would do. Needless to say that I'm no Duke Ellington.

After a long day of traveling, singing, and performing, I needed to go to a local club to relax and dance.