Kannonji Zen Retreat - An Online Sangha in Second Life®

New zendo using mesh and new mall (Snowlion Mountain Mall)

Caspian Inglewood — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:17:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the website. For anyone who has been to the sim in the last week or so you will notice our third incarnation of a zendo, this using some of Second Life’s more recent mesh features. While this should not be an issue for some, those using older viewers might want to make the switch to a more up-to-date viewer that allows them to see the visually improved building (otherwise, you might just see a blob or nothing at all).

We’ve also made Kannonji Imports much smaller, now adjacent to the zendo. This was done for three reasons: we wanted to reduce client lag on the sim by not having the massive store so close to the meditation hall, we wanted to make the sim even more natural feeling, and we wanted to replace it with a mall in the sky (read on for more on that). We’ve accomplished both. Where Kannonji Imports once was, there is now a forest area with picnic tables. In addition to downsizing and relocating Kannonji Imports, we also removed the desert area and discussion area, two nice areas that just never received much use. It was time to make wiser use of our prims.

Myohoji Nichiren temple was also removed from the sim. This has nothing to do with any kind of falling out or anything. The temple has simply been inactive for well more than a year and it was time to make better use of the land. To replace it, we’ve added two new rentals, which help us finance the place better.

In a skybox far, far up on the sim, we’ve added Snowlion Mountain Mall, as well. The mall features 12 shops representing a great group of SL creators. The vision is different from Kannonji Imports as we felt it was time to be more selective about who sells at our location, and what we sell. We’re not about finding only Asian goods anymore. Instead, we feature the best SL has to offer in mesh, sculpties, clothing, and more. We’ll update you on the stores participating. 25% of every purchase made at the mall helps finance the Kannonji sim.

Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone so when they came in world they’d not know where anything is. Thanks for your patronage of this wonderful sim!

Warmly,

Caspian Inglewood (Adam Tebbe)

Thunderfoot Lorefield fund drive (updated)

Caspian Inglewood — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:43:14 +0000

Staff here would like to see everyone chip in and help one of their own. Thunderfoot Lorefield (real name Jerry Griffin), a campfire musician and one of the directors here at Kannonji, is in need of some new hardware. His Mac is 8 years old now and he is struggling to cover living expenses at times, making it difficult for him to upgrade his hardware.

Thunderfoot does a lot of work for us here at the sim, from training new meditation leaders, to sending out morning notices, leading meditations, and more. Without him (and his wonderful partner, Tay), this place would not function nearly as efficiently as it does. His sweat helps make the nuts and bolts work.

So, let’s get Thunderfoot a new Mac! Please consider purchasing $25 USD worth of Lindens and coming in to the sim to make your contribution. There are special donation boxes for this purpose throughout.

Update: We have currently raised 34% of our target goal.

Thank you!

Signed,

Friends of Thunderfoot

Visit us in SL to make a donation

March 18 & 19 – Kannonji Earthquake Relief Concert

Caspian Inglewood — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:15:38 +0000

Japan is in dire need of global assistance after the tsunami waves caused major destruction in northern Japan. Thousands are confirmed dead and thousands more are reported missing, with much of the damage leaving entire villages looking like deserted ghost towns. Japan needs everyone’s assistance, right now. Kannonji Zen Retreat in Second Life® has organized a two-day Kannonji Earthquake Relief Concert for this weekend, March 18 & 19 to raise funds for GlobalGiving’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, a project which will disburse funds to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. GlobalGiving is working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground. 100% of concert proceeds will be given to this organization.

Photo © US Navy

GolbalGiving: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/

Please come, enjoy the entertainment, and give your Lindens to an excellent cause. We have a roster of top-notch live Second Life® musicians donating their time and energy to help make this a successful fund-raising event. If you would like to play the event in one of our available slots, please contact Caspian Inglewood. See the schedule below.

FRIDAY (March 18)
4PM (Pacific) Woodsong Zaperto
5PM (Pacific) Geos Copperfield
6PM (Pacific) Thunderfoot Lorefield
7PM (Pacific) Strum Diesel
8PM (Pacific) Beth Odets
9PM (Pacific) Jaoquin Gustav
10PM (Pacific) Quinton Diavolo
11PM (Pacific) ZeroOne Paz

SATURDAY (March 19)
4PM (Pacific) Dusty Smythe
5PM (Pacific) OneSummer Oh
6PM (Pacific) LaidBack Celt
7PM (Pacific) ReggieSunset Rookswood
8PM (Pacific) Rara Destiny
9PM (Pacific) Lehmann Shinn
10PM (Pacific) Jaoquin Gustav
11PM (Pacific) ZeroOne Paz

Fridays @ 7:00 PM PDT Strum Diesel LIVE MUSIC CONCERT

Caspian Inglewood — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:17:19 +0000

Strum Diesel began playing guitar and writing songs at 13. A year later he landed his first gig at an old rundown Daytona Beach, Florida gas station turned biker-bar dubbed Charlie’s. After receiving the approval of a presumably tough audience, Sean began to realize that being a performing songwriter was his destiny. Sean performed in a number of outfits throughout high-school and college. Entering his 20′s in fall of 1997, he went solo and found himself in more coffeehouses than classrooms and left college to deliver pizza and perform as much as possible. Within six months he garnered a diverse following in central Florida. By the end of 1997, he moved to Buffalo, New York, where he would test his material on unfamiliar audiences. By the summer of 1998 he was included on a compilation CD sponsored by Stimulance Coffeehouse. At the opening of the disc, you hear the host announce Sean as Buffalo’s finest import from Florida. Sean embarked on his first DIY east coast tour (in tandem with fellow folkie Kim Rheul) that same summer.
Sean performed his song “… and I failed social studies that year.” at the 1999 International Conference on Non-Violence, which was held at the Doctor Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The song is a narration of childhood experiences growing up in a predominantly racist community in Lake County, Florida. Personal experience is the primary source for subject matter in Sean’s work. When he’s not lamenting his heartbreak, or the heartbreak he has created, his voice is dedicated to explicating socio-political issues that are constantly perverted or altogether ignored by mainstream media.

The 21st-century found Sean writing and performing consistently. To gain exposure in the Atlanta market, he began playing cover gigs in local venues. These frequent 3-hour shows helped refine Sean’s performance technique, while providing him with an opportunity to expose his original material to larger audiences. He won ’Best Male Musician’ in Southern Voice’s Best of 2007 issue (2nd in 2005, 3rd in 2008).

In 2008, Sean entered the world of Second Life as Strum Diesel upon recommendation from a friend. Within 3 months of participation at open mic’s and live shows on the virtual reality commerce game he has amassed a devoted following with fans hailing from California to Germany. Unlike profile based sites like myspace and facebook, Second Life allows ’Strum’ to share his craft through full live sets, where listeners can hear what Sean is really all about. Sean has found a renewed sense of purpose as a performer and writer. This renewed sense not only involves having the time of his life performing as much as possible, in as many places as possible, but also truly being a part of what will help mankind enter into an elevated state of awareness of what it means to be human. Now that’s purpose!

Press quotes:

‘Whether he’s singing about growing up next to the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, surviving Hurricane Katrina, or getting beat up as a kid for not having a dad, there’s always a sense of hope behind even the most heartbreaking words.’ – Jen Cray, Ink 19

‘Simply put, his talent will blow you away.’ – Kim Frazier, gophertunes.com

‘Kagalis possesses the strong talent of presenting everyday life issues in his music, without losing the power of the melody and the impact of his guitar work.’ – Shawn M. Haney, Southeast Performer

Fridays @ 6:00 PM PDT Thunderfoot Lorefield LIVE MUSIC CONCERT

Caspian Inglewood — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:52:03 +0000

Thunderfoot Lorefield was the first musician to start the campfire tradition at Kannonji every weekend. Raised on classical music and the Methodist hymnal, Thunderfoot Lorefield began to find his voice by delving through his parent’s Peter Paul & Mary and Simon & Garfunkel collections. Soon he was absorbing jazz, rock and country repertoire ranging from ABBA to ZZ Top, from Hank Williams Sr. to Ravi Shankar, from Mahavishnu Orchestra to Nickelback.

Besides singing in SL, he plays drums, guitars, bass, keys and other instruments.

More details @ http://www.artgriff.com/jerry.

Saturdays @ 10PM PDT Joaquin Gustav LIVE MUSIC CONCERT

Caspian Inglewood — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:44:18 +0000

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Joaquin Gustav is a guitarist, composer who has gained national popularity with his gifted guitar playing and agile musical imagination. He is the lead guitarist and arranger for Quijotes, a well known Latin rock band in Argentina.

His recent collaboration with percussionist Andrea Alvarez resulted in the award winning CD – Asado y Sidenafil. He has collaborated on the musical scores for a number of hit theatre productions including: “Enrulados Derechos”, “Buga” and “Donde estan las chcas?”

His formal musical education included graduating from the Music Popular School E.P.M., S.A.D.E.M. in Argentina. Since 1999, he has taught music focusing on jazz, rock and South American genres such as tango, milonga and candombe.

Performing live in Second Life as Joaquin Gustav he has charmed fans with his unique brand of Latin sizzle.

For more information on Joaquin’s music go to:

http://www.purevolume.com/joaquingustav