User:Stone Semyorka
Stone Semyorka b. 19 November 2006. Lived out of Morris welcome area [1] until 2 January 2007 when he purchased First Land [[2]] in Dotbyeul region and built a small home [3] there. His property was near a large point of land jutting out into the ocean. After he acquired several large parcels of land in the area, the territory became known as Stone's Point.
First contemplating a nice garden for his backyard, Stone Semyorka's vision expanded to a large public park after he spent inspirational time at such lovely Second Life public parks as the Lost Gardens of Apollo [4], Intimate Moments [5], Siren’s Grotto at Dragon Castle [6], and the former Dyna’s Cottage, now just a cherished memory.
Stone's Point Park
The park, which is developed, yet still developing, is situated on 88,000 sqm of land adjacent to the ocean, principally in Dotbyeul, and extending into the Taerae, Dasom, Myungsimbogam, Dotoorak and Similrae regions of the mainland.
It features a 100m tall lighthouse [7] at the point guarding the bay, a handsome visitor center [[8]] atop the highest point of land, a water slide waterpark [9], numerous romantic gazebos [10], an expansive and restful English-style garden [11], a recreation of Boot Hill, sky cabins, dance floors [12], ponds, streams, waterfalls, paddleboats [13], animals including a popular llama ride [14], and numerous other attractions. The park also is served by a Star Trek holodeck in Dasom.
Attached to the park and standing in the ocean at Taerae is Stoneflower Gallery [15] composed of two large buildings displaying Semyorka's collection of nature and scenic photography from SL and RL and his gallery of portraits of SL residents.
Dotoorak is Delta Quadrant
His reconstruction of an humongous Borg Cube [16] dreadnought Aggressor menaces the skies over Dotoorak [17] where the long-range reconnaissance craft works to locate and prioritize SL species for assimilation by the Collective.
Political reporting
Semyorka has been active in SL education, politics and various social circles.
He assisted a blogger covering the in-world political activities of the 2008 American presidential campaigns. To that end, he attended meetings of the Democratic Party of SL, the Republican Party of SL, and those campaigns that were active in SL for Wesley Clark, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Barack Obama and Ron Paul.
Commitment to education
Semyorka's deep commitment to public education led him to provide space on his land in Dasom for construction of a campus for an RL university. He assists faculty from that university in hosting classes in SL. Several students have been provided new learning experiences through courses at the virtual campus.
Stone's Point Academy
He also started a private facility nearby in Dasom called Stone's Point Academy to support the scholarly activities of the Second Life Center for Scholarly Research in Social, Political, Economic, Scientific and Literary History.
The best known work to date by that research center probably comes from its state-of-the-art deep-sea bathysphere [18] operated by the SL Society of Oceanologists on the floor of Stone's Harbor in Myungsimbogam and Taerae. Stone's Harbor Bathysphere Research Station is dedicated to the study of undersea marine life, including the many colorful species of fish and coral on the ocean floor. Marine biologists and other kinds of scientists devote multi-day tours of duty on the bottom observing the flamboyant life of all kinds in the SL ocean.
The academy historical researchers compiled the best-known history of pirates who pursued lawlessness off the coast of Dotbyeul, Taerae and Myungsimbogam during the Golden Age of Piracy (1689-1718) [19]. Their report was compiled in conjunction with historians at the Ivory Tower Library of Primi in Natoma from information in seven old memoranda, said to be in the notorious Redbeard's own hand, found in sealed bottles aboard the sunken sloop Sparrow off Stone's Point land in 1934.
Stone's Point Spelunkers
Semyorka founded Stone's Point Spelunkers [20], a recreational club of exploring enthusiasts in the sport of caving. The members work out in a large cave training center inside a mountain custom built for the group on Dasom land. They are into original exploration of virgin cave systems in SL and understanding their physical or biological science. Unknown caves are some of the last unexplored regions of this virtual world and Stone's Point Spelunkers are searching them out. Gaining access to new caves requires digging, diving, climbing and crawling, and ropes are used extensively. As you might imagine, the spelunkers are challenged by pitches, squeezes and water.
Home Sweet Home
Semyorka's Home Sweet Home [21] project recovers those hated little bits and pieces of ad-farm land and repurposes them into homes for the homeless in Dasom, Myungsimbogam and Dotoorak. His Home Sweet Home group shelters homeless SL residents who have suffered prejudice, harassment, griefing and abuse. Unfortunately, because they are not land owners, their only retreat in troubled times is to their newbie welcome area where the cycle of harassment and abuse starts all over. Semyorka's group provides an alternative escape.
Second Edition blog
Second Edition [22] is Semyorka's blog describing the passing scene. Having traveled the virtual world north, east, south and west, and scaled its heights and plunged to its depths, he has thoughts about what he has found in-world that he shares with his readers.
"There’s an emerging society with millions of residents displaying personalities, spawning controversies, and generating innovations," he says. "Together, they have cultural identity, social norms and a loose-knit global organization. As in real life, cultural expression is of the utmost importance to the residents of Second Life.
"That’s where I come in, tracing the society and culture, politics and economics of Second Life -- the intertwining of the lives of people, both public and private," he explains about his blog.
"I have seen in this extraordinary virtual realm the full range of emotions: joy, gratification, interest, elation, good humor, happiness, pride and pleasant surprise, but also there is sadness, fear, anger, guilt, frustration, aggressiveness, stress, irritation, shock, disgust, helplessness, indifference, anxiety, boredom, contempt, panic and shame. Of course, there also is neutrality, pondering and reflecting," he says. You name it, it’s in-world."
In Second Edition, Semyorka traces the society and culture of Second Life and tells readers what he finds.
"I fly the sunny skies, dive in the warm oceans, hike the cool mountain trails and walk the warm sands on our countless beaches in search of optimism and openness," he says. "But, I also lift up rocks to see what's underneath, look to see what scurries in the dark corners, climb down in the cesspools to see what floats there. If it’s in-world, I find it and tell you about it.
"SL residents successfully complete a vast amount of creative and useful work," hes says. "I write about those triumphs and exciting moments as well as failures and tense times. I look for patterns, connections, hidden information and stimulating ideas."
What is his point of view?
"Even though I am in-world," he explains. "I will hold firmly to an outsider’s skepticism and the professional belief that the ordinary residents of Second Life need complete information. If there’s an interesting story in-world, I will find it and tell them about it."