Art and animation in 3-D, Second Life

Artists of all kinds have found Second Life to be a powerful new medium for creative expression.

Dancers; theater artists; painters; graphic designers; photographers; interior designers; fashion designers; and architects use the Second Life platform to develop exciting new work and expand their audience. One can become any of these artists by creating their own objects in Second Life.

Second Life is an internet-based, 3-D virtual world mostly "created by it's residents" or users.

The game was developed by Linden Research, Incorporated in Davis, CA.

Since opening to the public in 2003, Second Life has grown explosively and today has millions of users from around the globe.

Second Life has infinite possibilities using computer art and animation. One could also create a computer-animated movie called Machinima.

Machinima is a word derived from the words machine and cinema. It is the creation of a movie from within a virtual world.

On any given day there could be someone hosting a machinima-movie screening or hundreds of in-world galleries and museums are host to shows by artists from around the world, displaying everything from photography to paintings, the real to surreal.

For an up-to-date list of art galleries in Second Life, see http://sl-artgalleries.blogspot.com.

Groundbreaking Ceremony For Sac State's Recreation and Wellness Center

Groundbreaking ceremonies for Sac State's Recreation and Wellness Center began at 10 a.m., Wednesday, October 1st. The event was free for the campus community to enjoy.

The groundbreaking ceremony was in honor of the new 150,000 square-foot recreation and wellness facility. The ceremony was located where the new facility is being built-- on the north end of the Hornet Stadium and behind Tahoe Hall.

Groundbreaking ceremonies included lunch, live music by “The Pets,” a show by the Taiko Dan Japanese Drumming Ensemble, a rock climbing wall, and a BMX show in the parking lot.

Large, yellow tractors dug at the site while students walked by the festivities. Some stayed to watch the events; others were just passing through.

There were even students catching a view of the BMX show from the parking garage floors.

Students have paid for this new center in their University Union fee each semester since about 2007, along with other donations, such as from Sac State Alumni. The state will not pay for student recreation buildings such as these.

However, Sacramento State is in need of an updated fitness and health facility.

The Recreation and Wellness Center will be part of the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex, which includes the stadium and the newly completed 26,235-square-foot Eli and Edythe L. Broad Fieldhouse located at the south end of the stadium. The fieldhouse is for the football and track and field programs.

The new Recreation and Wellness facility will feature a fitness center, an indoor track, racquetball courts, a rock climbing wall and the student health center. There will also be massage therapy, a baby-sitting center and space for Peak Adventures.

It is estimated that construction should be completed by September 2010. The center will be available to students, staff, faculty and alumni, which is great for those graduating before completion.

Images and other schematics of the Reacreation and Wellness Center, as we as the Alex G. Spanos Complex can be found at
http://www.spanossportscomplex.com/recwellnesscenter.htm.