Happy 2010! (And New Tray)

A happy new year from Mechatiki Research!

And a brand-new Martini Tray too:
When touched offers a choice of Gin or Vodka Martini.
(Hands out smaller glasses than Martini Tray 1, which offers three different Martini Cocktails)

One Million L$ Sculpture

I present to you: Cheers an interactive sculpture that has been showing at places like SL6B, Brooklyn is Watching, CYlandSL and currently UWA Imagine Challenge over the last year. A (very) limited edition of one piece is available for purchase on the virtual shopping platform XStreetSL.

Originally I raised the price of this artwork to L$ 1000000,- on XStreetSL a few weeks ago as a reaction to their proposed listing fees - with an item description containing a paragraph on how I could keep all of my items listed for a good while if someone bought this piece for that price just once. (Whereas otherwise I will have to remove a lot of listings that don't sell frequently enough, but still generating occasional income as of now.) I changed the available quantity to one and removed it from other marketplaces, where it had been listed, but never sold so far.
After an intervention from XST authorities I removed all text not related to the work itself, which is fine, apparently the price itself proves to be attracting eyes to my works, and in the end I don't really want anyone to buy "Cheers" for other reasons than wanting to have it.
The price also seems to be attracting attention from startled users who are seeking clarification on the price in the item's discussion thread: https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=discussions&ItemID=1420408.

Guest at Brooklyn-is-Watching podcast

I had the honour of being invited to join #76 (or #75?) of the Brooklyn is Watching podcast to talk about SL artworks along with Pinkpink Sorbet, Misprint Thursday, Jay Newt ... and Dancoyote Antonelli (in RL: DC Spensley) who embarassingly enough had to remind me to credit him for the artwork shown in this video sneakpeak of the recording:

... In which the topic of proper crediting along with plagiarism and related issues were discussed at lentgh, triggered by a series of photos displayed showing SL sceneries that were at least in part recognizable artworks themselves, with an artist who's on record not welcoming fan-art. By a "photographer" who had the leisure to put a (c) in the picture's description. Without crediting the original artist, which has to be considered morally wrong if nothing else.
Not my fault your artwork covers all of the sim and is in the view at all times, DC! *shakes virtual fist*
(Actually the video ends with a tour of DC's installation we took after finishing the podcast ...)

The podcast will go live within the next few days, so keep checking the brooklyniswatching website regularly!

VCRA 1.0 Winner: Misprint Thursday

In a successful mixed-reality ceremony, Misprint Thursday was awarded the first Virtual Cocktail Robot Award for her creation Wodka Bot.
The RL ceremony of the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards was video-streamed into SL, and when the moment came to award the virtual prize the RL video projector was switched to show the inworld scene, where an illustrous round had assembled to celebrate - and witness another world's first: qDot Bunnyhug's RL cocktail robot being controlled from within Second Life. A former Linden Lab employee specializing in controlling sex-toys via SL, he wrote the needed code in 15 minutes as he claims.

Thanks to CYlandSL for hosting this event, Pinkpink Sorbet and 5tefan Negulesco for keeping the stream alive and everybody involved for making this work!

Update: qDot's mixed reality Rum & Coke contraption is featured on Hamlet Au's New World Notes blog!