our year end panel: 6 diverse members of the global sl family, talking over each other with drax rambling in between, ca 90 minutes: our christmas gift to faithful listeners!
enjoy:
now read on and happy holidays:
- our guest nadine artful
- our guest cube inada aka larry rosenthal
- our guest strawberry singh
- our champion guest arduenn schwartzmann
in case you could not follow the conversation: we were jumping between different topics in a somewhat hectic manner so here is the breakdown of questions and a link to contextualize:
- what about vr?
- what about a world where trump calls the shots?
https://twitter.com/strawberrysingh/status/799053733397168128
- what about sl though?
- and what the heck about sansar now?
- only in sl?
- sl works in vr [with your smartphone and google cardboard]
![SL VR works on Lumiya [pic by doug hynes].png](https://draxfiles.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/sl-vr-works-on-lumiya-pic-by-doug-hynes.png?w=1000)
- happy holidays from the team at the files = enjoy reruns and see you in 2017 ! ! !
the drax files radio hour [with jo yardley] is a weekly production of basicdrax entertainment.
the show is supported by time portal, slartist, warbug, bay city you know for kids, zero-one heavy industries corporation, hextraordinary, ionic, maven homes, gizza creations, botanical, strawberry singh, abranimations, humanoid animations, aeros avatars, the cube republic, {what next}, landscapes unlimited, fallen gods incorporated, feroshSL and death row designs.
thumbnail by arduenn schwartzmann
music by bd @ spotify_drax
contact the show via skype draxfiles, avatar draxfiles or email radio@draxfiles.com
the drax files radio hour 
Reblogged this on KULTIVATE MAGAZINE and commented:
Another Drax Files Radio Hour:
Thanks for a fun and insightful show!
I do however have to disagree with the notion that VR is going to make it easier still to disengage from reality and, for example, not vote.
First of all, escapism and indifference are always going to be there, regardless of technology and platforms.
More importantly: In the recent US election, the biggest fault line was education (with race and economic opportunity placing second and third.) A better educated electorate would have a) voted in greater numbers, and b) been less likely to vote against their own best interests, because they would have had the facts and the mindset to critically judge the claims and promises made.
If VR can live up to a fraction of its promise in education, it will help, not hurt, people’s ability and inclination to participate in informed and thoughtful ways.
If VR fails to live up to its potential, it may be a wash — at worst. But I don’t see how it can have any negative impacts on the struggle for an engaged and enlightened electorate.
Well put Cain! However: the recent US election also shows disengagement = 90 million people did not vote! I am enthusiastic about creative virtual spaces as I ever was but given the track record of humanity and even the specific example of SL: the majority of folks – presented with freedom and creative tools – choose to zone out of everything… also: the wonderful internet which was supposed to bring us closer together, bridge gaps, break down walls seem to have accelerated the [very bad] human instinct to “otherize” the other and separate further into “gated” [yes ZUCK I am looking at YOU ! ! !] communities…
That’s right: voter turnout was a paltry 56%, which unfortunately is pretty much par for the course in modern US elections. It wasn’t always this way — in the 1876 election, 82% of eligible voters show up to elect Rutherford B. Hayes. The decline started in the early 1900s and have now seemingly stabilized at the current, low levels.
I’m not sure why this happened, but it clearly predates most technological advances; even Facebook. It seems likely this the cause is more systemic than technological — it is probably more closely linked to the structure of the Republic than any amusements or distractions such as motion pictures, television, or the Internet.
You’re of course right that the Internet failed to turn us all into a global village of tolerance and love. Instead, we went tribal and sought confirmation of our biases by other, like-minded netizens. (Human beings really are intellectual cowards sometimes.)
Yet, I’m optimistic that VR at least has the potential to push us in the right direction. The leap from the screen to the headset is greater than from the printed page to the screen; immersion and presence are powerful building blocks in what can and should be learning experiences that inspire reflection and empathy.
That’s not to say that VR won’t also be used for mindless escapism and entertainment — I promise to do my part — or even evil. Then again, that probably was true of the telegraph, as well.