Carol Wilson & Her Free-Range Chickens

Carol Morison raised chickens for Purdue for 23 years. A 2007 corporate upgrade expected her to get rid of the screened-in buildings her chickens lived in and replace them with airless, lightless warehouses. She stood up to Purdue for change. Purdue dropped her contract in 2008. She began raising free-range chickens in 2011. Here's a short video:

Mountaintop Removal and Pornography? No Way! Really?

I just read that Maria Gunnoe, an environmental activist winner of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize, testified before the US Congress about mountaintop removal surface mining and the toll it takes on residents of the Appalachians. She was detained by police after her testimony to be questioned about child pornography because she submitted a photo of a 5 year old girl sitting in a bath of polluted water.

Aaron Bady, who grew up in West Virginia, writes a compelling article about it, http://thenewinquiry.com/blogs/zunguzungu/obscenity-i-know-it-when-i-see-it/.

I invite you to visit Etopia and learn more about how we CAN live and also visit Deep Down, the virtual mine in SL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Mine/128/221/63 . You can also learn more about it and the PBS project at http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/deep-down/virtual-mine.html

Valentine Day at Etopia

I don't know if I've ever been so excited to celebrate Valentine's Day. This year, though, is (like last year, really) filled with love and joy and well... hearts and flowers every day. Etopia reflects this joy today and this evening's festivities are just a part of it.

Join us for the live sounds of Kaklick Martin (known in RL as Bryan Baker). His acoustic guitar and amazing voice take you on journeys of love and loss, fantasies, dreams, and themes that range from traditional to futuristic. Truly a metaverse experience not to be missed.

Be sure to check out the tunage at http://ka-klick.com. Give a listen and hear for yourself an amazing singer songwriter.

  

Kafe at the Cafe

I'm often asked why I use a virtual platform for real work. I like it because I can bring together friends, colleagues, and clients for collaboration, updates, building prototypes, and planning new projects in a cost effective yet rich and robust setting. For example...

It was a Sunday like every other on Etopia. Sun shining, flowers blooming, and the waters clear enough to see the bottom of the river. I enjoyed my bike ride along the coast and across the trail to the coffee shop on the plaza. Frankie and fate were seated at a table with steaming cups of coffee and fresh pastries. I was so glad to have a moment to spend with them and pulled out a cup of joe from my inventory, but left the pastries alone. I wouldn't want all that virtual exercise to be trumped by virtual carbs.

The conversation went from virtual carbs to virtual causes and the ability for virtual environments like Second Life to facilitate discussion and create change. I shared how working with clients has gone from traveling across the United States to collaborating here, at the coffee shop. The last presentation I did was in the Training Center and a client of mine used the conference room for a planning meeting.

By the time we were done I'm not sure we solved the world's problems, but we certainly hit upon useful ways to continue working and growing at Etopia. Yes, I so enjoy coffee with friends at the coffee shop on Etopia Island.

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co-operative business is not business as usual

Co-operatives transform communities. That's not hype, folks, that's real. This video, Co-operative business is not business as usual (http://gu.com/p/34g6b) celebrates 2012 as the year of the cooperative. This video from The Guardian shares how co-operative business models offer more to the communities they operate in. Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, talks about the economic benefits and scalability of the co-operative business model.