Aiden Windlow has been in Second Life 9 years. He came over from IMVU and wasattracted to the vast freedom of movement it offered over the other. A long time RPer he got involved in superhero RP, taking the role of Batman and also became a GM for the RP. The game went through several versions before finally ending. Aiden also took up SL photography establishing his SL studio, Seasons of Serenity. Through the studio, he offered logo design, AV custom drawn artwork, and other art commissions along with the photography services. He is now staff photographer for The SL Parade magazine along with still working from Seasons of Serenity.
His studio can be found at The SL Parade home offices. Please click here to pay a visit: Seasons of Serenity Art and Photography.
In RL, Aiden has worked full time for over 20 years in graphic design and illustration under his studio banner Technicolor Raccoon Studios. He has done much work for recognizeable companies such as, Upper Deck, Image Comics, Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Pinnacle Games, West End Games and many publishers of comics and gaming products. He is currently working on several creator-owned graphic novels. Samples of his work can be seen at his inworld studio as well as online here: http://tecraccoon.daportfolio.com/
As many may know, I have not been as active in my writings due to Real Life bereavement. I lost my mother on May 24, 2017 and the grief I have been experiencing has been overwhelming. Yet, in the midst of my grief, I want to thank the SL community for being patient with me. I also want to thank all of you for your support during this difficult time…with a special thank you going out to John Brianna and his wife Eles, Hunae O’Neil, Monrocie Core, VP Sandalwood, Mark Taylor, Nita Wunderlich, Luchenpur Darwin, Belyabee and Krystali. There are countless others that I need to thank, so please forgive me if your name was not included in this article.
Though I have not been writing articles, I have been doing a lot of things behind the scenes to create a more inviting atmosphere at the SL Parade Headquarters. One of the things I recently implemented was the creation of The SL Parade game room. This game room features three bowling alleys, an engaging Connect Four game, a checkers board, pool table, and an air hockey table. Though this items are free to the SL game playing public, The SL Parade encourages donations to help with the upkeep of the website as well as The SL Parade Headquarters. Thus, there is a donation box located in the game room, and I encourage all who come by to donate what you can.
In addition to the game room, I have also installed a garden at The SL Parade’s entrance. This acts as a gateway to another feature at The SL Parade Headquarters: A permanent kind of Spring. Because Spring signifies renewal and growth, I wanted to make The SL Parade Headquarters a reflection of all things pertinent to Spring. I have installed two pools–one in front of the new SL Parade Dance Hall, as well as one located in the open seating areas designed for patrons. In addition to the pools, there are swaying trees and other foliage designed to convey the newness often associated with spring.
The SL Parade Headquarters still has an informal cafe designed for upcoming listening parties that will happen via our partnership with SBE/Kulturezine Media, an RL music distribution company that specializes in Hip Hop, Gospel and an array of other music genres. Inside the cafe, there is a small stage, a bar and dining tables for patrons to sit. This, along with an open floor for dancing, allows a more intimate setting to insure full enjoyment of the services offered.
Because The SL Parade has hired Aiden Windlow as our SL Parade Photographer, we have allocated space for his photo gallery and studio. Windlow’s biographical information will be featured in another article, but I must say that I am very grateful and excited that he is on board! Aiden Windlow’s gallery is a few doors down from three stores that are available to rent at the SL Parade Headquarters. If you would like to set up a business at The SL Parade Headquarters, please feel free to contact me inworld or via Facebook.
I also want patrons to notice the element of romance intrinsic at The SL Parade Headquarters. In addition to being all about renewal and growth, Spring is very representative of budding and new romance. Because romance (in my opinion) seems to be becoming a lost art form, I wanted to recreate space for those interested in recapturing what seems to be a lost art. One key element of romance is courtship; the act of taking someone you are interested in out on a date, as well as checking on their well-being, should be a constant fixture between those interested in becoming more romantically involved. To facilitate courtship, I have created spaces on my sim where couples can picnic, dance, and even shop.
Besides the available store space for those interested in setting up business at The SL Parade Headquarters, I planning to set up a flower and novelty shop specifically designed for budding couples. This flower and novelty shop was inspired by two things: (1) The belief that couples should offer flowers and/or other items to convey their love and affection to one another and (2) my personal desire to honor my mother, who loved flowers immensely. In addition to the latter reason, I have personally always wanted to own an RL flower and novelty shop because, like my late mother, I have always loved the smell of flowers and freshly turned soil.
Like the purple-umbrella’d tables designed for virtual dining and conversation, there are two tables by the tentative floral shop that serve ice cream. Those tables are conveniently located at the ice cream parlor connected to the flower and novelty shop. Please note that any donations made to The SL Parade can also be made at the registers located inside the flower and novelty shop, as well as at the ice cream parlor.
All the items featured on the sim were created by a slew of talented creators…all of which will be featured in The SL Parade. I have the interviews completed, and I look forward to publishing them for your reading pleasure. This, along with introducing my newest staff members, will completely be in sync with my intent to create the permanent feel of spring at The SL Parade Headquarters.
Restorative growth and renewal is what The SL Parade is all about. It is my hope that you come by and visit the sim, and partake in embracing the sentiment of Spring. After all, in SL we can create a season of permanency no matter what season we are currently experiencing in RL. To visit the SL Parade’s Headquarters, please click the following link: The SL Parade Headquarters, Cafe and Garden Entrance.
Walk the SL Parade’s Red Carpet and join our Big Band Party!
Reminder: Don’t forget that tomorrow, The SL Parade will be having a BIG BAND party from 2 PM SLT – 4 PM SLT at The SL Parade’s Headquarters. Come in your formal best, and be ready to strut your stuff on the Red Carpet and have Luna Morandiere take your photo!
Be sure to come out to the Big Band party on Sunday, April 9, 2017 from 2:00 PM SLT to 4 PM SLT! Click here for your limo: Limo to The SL Parade’s Big Band Party!
VP Sandalwood discusses the day he got shot in Second Life…
On February 20 2017, I was standing in The SL ParadeHeadquarters living room, minding my own business. I remember being a tad bit annoyed because it was President’s Day, and thinking to myself, “Sheesh, this is more like ‘Celebrity President’s Day’ because of Trump being in office.” Anyway, I decided to distract myself from said national holiday by listening to some music on Youtube.
Vp Sandalwood stands in the area where the griefing took place…
I began to relax, and even sing along…that is, until my sister ReRe IM’d me. She got in my box and told me to friend one of her sl friends; I remember feeling honored by my sister’s request because I know how important her SL buddies/business partners are, so I happily added the suggested avatar…which meant that I now had a new friend to talk to.
I was still trying to relax though, so I continued to listen to the music playing on The SL Parade Headquarters Youtube screen. Then, all of a sudden, there were two random avatars standing in the living room! I had never met, nor heard of neither the male avatar standing in front of me, let alone the female one that was standing beside him. While I know The SL Parade Headquarters is open to the public, I never expected anyone to rezz directly in front of me while I was watching Youtube.
For this reason, I initially dismissed their presence as being part of the video I was watching….until they started to independently move away from the screen. I continued to stand there in disbelief, wanting to convince myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me.
One of the griefers that invaded The SL Parade’s Headquarters…
As they continued to move in a haphazard fashion, a million emotions began to baffle me. Like, who the hell were these avis, and how did they get in with the security system up? Though my emotions were going haywire, it didn’t matter at that moment because then, they started talking to each other!
Still in shock, all I could say was, “What are you doing in my house?!” I then froze and stayed silent, but was still slightly curious, not to mention a bit infuriated by their presence.
It felt as if two minutes had went by as I continued to stare at them, but in actuality it was really about 10 seconds because, within that 10 seconds, the male avatar SHOT ME! I didn’t initially realize what had happened until I saw that there was a splatter of red stuff all over the carpet and on the walls.
In the meantime, I continued to stand there, completely confused by what I was seeing. However, I still managed to take a slight step back and was able to better see the red stains on the carpet. It was then that it finally dawned on me: OMG that is supposed to be MY BLOOD!
Yet despite being shot, my initial calmness related to the realization of what had happened instantly turned to PURE RAGE. I thought to myself, “I was just shot in my own sim!”
I then locked my attention on the male avatar, and remembered what ReRe told me a few weeks prior: I have the ability to eject avatars from our home and ban them from ever coming back. I initially doubted my own ability to do this, and asked myself, “….but how? I have never done this before!” Yet somehow, I thought quickly and clicked on the avatar. With I sigh of relief, I noticed that there was an option to eject him in what seemed like a blink of an eye. It was then that I proceeded to eject him first by pressing that handy ejection button. I smiled as I watched his avatar disappear from the sim, and even began to do a mental “happy dance” as evidence of my accomplishment.
I then turned to the male avatar’s female partner in crime; I initially paused for a moment because I realized that while yes, she was this guy’s partner and all, but she had not attempted to shoot me like that male avatar did. That thought must have went through my head for a split second though, because I still ejected her in the same way that I ejected her partner.
Once I kicked and banned them both, the horror and anger slowly began to fade away…not totally, but just enough so that I could regroup my thoughts and alert my SL sister about what had just occurred.
In the end, I realized how precious life is, because a situation like that could very well happen in Real Life, too: like me, a person could be chilling out, minding their own business in their own home watching television. Then, with no warning, criminals can simply bust in and kill you for no legitimate reason at all.
Life is precious and what I hope that if you are reading this, that you will take a moment and tell the people in your life that you love them. This might be SL, but I still take the time to tell ReRe how much I care about her…with her big-headed self.
Arreba, the woman behind ReRe Sandalwood, has taught writing classes for over 20 years. She holds a Masters of Literature degree in Literature, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Language. Arreba specializes in teaching English Language, Literature, Composition and English as a Second Language, and has been involved in the Meadowbrook Writing Project and written for various publications. She also brings an array of real life classroom experience, while still maintaining an easy, down to earth demeanor. If you are interested in enrolling in The SL Parade’sJournalism In Second Life: The Basics course, please contact ReRe Sandalwood inworld, or via email at reresandalwood@theslparade.org. Please remember that seating is limited to eight students, so please make sure to register by or before June 30, 2016. Also, please feel free to leave a note in The SL Parade’s Mailbox located here.
The SL Parade can not exist without your support. To prove this, ReRe Sandalwood is planning a Masquerade Charity Ball, and kindly request your presence there. The ball will take place on October 30, 2015 from 5 pm to 7 pm SLT.
The Masquerade Charity Ball is being held to raise money for all related to The SL Parade…from paying our writers, to insuring that our land’s tiers are paid for, we ask for your support not only during this important charity ball, but also throughout the year!
The ball will be held at The SL Parade Headquarters, and will feature DJ B Smooth and a host to be announced. Because this is a formal event, ReRe kindly requests that everyone come in their formal best, and to be sure to wear a masquerade mask in honor of the occasion. You are also welcome to bring a date to this gala affair!
We accept donations via Pay Pal, as well as inworld via our donation center located outside TheSL Parade’s Headquarters Building. To donate inworld, please pay a visit to Egret Key here: The SL Parade Headquarters.
Halloween is fastidiously approaching, and since Halloween is all about the kids, SMR Productions has asked various organizations–including The SL Parade–to sponsor a Trick O’Treat Trail on October 24, 2015. SL Companies that agree to be a part of the trail will have to set up an area on their land that gives out whatever they would like to give to SL Children. Items that can be given include, candy, lindens, gifts….whatever the company on the trail likes. SMR also asks that they be allowed to display their promotion board on the organization’s land so the SL children will know that it is safe to stop by and grab their designated goodies.
In order for this promotion to smoothly work, an organization’s land has to be open to children; thus, be sure to talk to your land owner and neighbors prior to agreeing to participate in this promotion.
There is a ghost holding the cupcakes, and a Sweet Tots gift awaits…
Because The SL Parade has agreed to be a part of the SMR Trick O’Treat Trail, there are cupcakes available for all SL children. In addition, Sweet Tots founder SweetiePie Riggles has graciously donated FOUR outfits to The SL Parade to give to SL children who visit The SL Parade Headquarters. These outfits are wrapped in orange and black boxes throughout The SL Parade Headquarters, so please be sure to peruse around the office and look for them. The SL Parade Headquarters is located on Egret Key, but if you are interested in visiting the SIM right now, please feel free to click here: The SL Parade Headquarters.
Be mindful that while ReRe Sandalwood is fine with children drinking the Arabian Coffee, she wants all SL children to shy away from the Pink Champagne, “That’s only for the grown folks…” she adds.
Also, ReRe Sandalwood wants all the children to be mindful to stay on designated SL Parade Headquarters land, and to be sure to only grab the cupcakes and Sweet Tots packages available. The pink champagne that is out is only available to adults, so please refrain from grabbing that. However, all SL children are welcome to grab a cup of Arabian Coffee if they want.
If your organization is interested in being part of the SMR Trick O’Treat Trail, please contact Missyluve Resident or Robien Moonshadow inworld.
SMR also has a Haunted House set up if you want to be scared out of your wits for Halloween. If you want to pay a visit to their sim, please click on the following link: SMR Haunted House.
All SL children and adults are welcomed to sit on top of the pumpkin and take pictures…on the right is a designated Sweet Tots gift for all SL Children…
Aiden Windlow has been in Second Life 9 years. He came over from IMVU and wasattracted to the vast freedom of movement it offered over the other. A long time RPer he got involved in superhero RP, taking the role of Batman and also became a GM for the RP. The game went through several versions before finally ending. Aiden also took up SL photography establishing his SL studio, Seasons of Serenity. Through the studio, he offered logo design, AV custom drawn artwork, and other art commissions along with the photography services. He is now staff photographer for The SL Parade magazine along with still working from Seasons of Serenity.
