Thor and I met for the first time in March this past year when he approached me about joining the Namiko Surf Team. His enthusiasm and excitement were undeniable… he wanted to be the first-ever blue-haired, tatted and pierced punk surfer on the team. I could not have been more proud to have Thor as part of our team. He was passionate about surfing in both SL and RL and was the only person to have surfed in every single surf contest in SL. Just seeing (and hearing) Thor at an event, whether it was a ...]]> Words fail me now as I write this, so deeply saddened by the loss of our friend, brother, husband, fellow surfer, team rider, and all-around inspiring spirit, Thor Bishop. Thor passed away unexpectedly at his real life home in New York on Tuesday, October 9th.

Thor and I met for the first time in March this past year when he approached me about joining the Namiko Surf Team. His enthusiasm and excitement were undeniable… he wanted to be the first-ever blue-haired, tatted and pierced punk surfer on the team. I could not have been more proud to have Thor as part of our team. He was passionate about surfing in both SL and RL and was the only person to have surfed in every single surf contest in SL. Just seeing (and hearing) Thor at an event, whether it was a surf contest or a regular night at the club, brightened the mood and made everybody laugh.

I will remember Thor ragging on me for making him wear a seafoam puke green rashie for one of the surf comps… and then him being randomly selected to wear the hot pink rashie for the next comp. He totally saw the fun and light in everything and got the perfect pink mohawk to match his pink rashguard. I said it was a coincidence… he said it was karma and laughed.

Thor introduced me to his lovely kitty, Sierra Sugar, when we were looking for an MC for the first surf contest. He was absolutely smitten with her and spoke so highly of her talents. Thor and Sierra were inseperable and it was obvious that their love transcended any medium, any distance. I loved hearing them on air together, playing off each other, laughing, giggling… Thor teasing Sierra and Sierra giggling away. I am sure I am not alone when I say that they felt like my family. Thor and Sierra’s friendship and love touched all of us.

So energized and motivated, Thor designed the first shortboards in SL and started his own company, Big Dawg Boards. The release of his shortboards spawned two shortboard-specific surf contests. His contribution to the surfing community is immeasurable but what I will miss most about Thor is his boundless energy, enthusiasm and spirit. Just hearing him yell, “Hey Miss Strudel!” brings a smile to my face.

Our deepest condolences to Thor’s RL fiancee, Sierra, Thor’s family and friends. Thor, you will always be in our hearts and thoughts.

Keala Mimistrobell
On behalf of Namiko Surf Co.

You might notice there’s a new little photo board on the beach at Quan Li. There’s photos here of Quan Li locals… surfing, dancing, being neko, chatting, goofing off, getting hitched… and everything in between. The latest ones are of beach regulars, Desne and Xinalina as nurses (you gotta see it), Paper Foil, and Rip… the tiny surfing puppy dressed as a samurai. Yeah, you gotta see it.

Feel free to add your own shots to the board, or drop them to me in-world and I’ll add ‘em for you. OR, if you’re a flickr addict like myself, add ‘em to the new groups:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/quanli/ http://www.flickr.com/groups/surfingsecondlife/

[13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: erm, what IS that Max? [13:30] Maxwell Eclipse: It’s our carriage out of here ;P [13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: lol [13:30] Kiana Foxley LAUGHS [13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: I get the “moon” bit, but wheres the honey?

Thank you to all of you for your friendship, ...]]> To our friends and family, we, Maxwell Eclipse and Keala Mimistrobell, are happy to share that we were married in a very small, private wedding on Saturday the second of June 2007 at 1 pm SLT by the waterfall at Quan Li.

[13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: erm, what IS that Max?
[13:30] Maxwell Eclipse: It’s our carriage out of here ;P
[13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: lol
[13:30] Kiana Foxley LAUGHS
[13:30] Jimbo Cardiff: I get the “moon” bit, but wheres the honey?

Thank you to all of you for your friendship, love and support these past few months. Thank you to Kou for being our officiant on such short notice (!), to Vivienne for designating yourself as our wedding photographer, and Dweedle for bringing the seating. And thank you to Jimbo and Kiana for coming, armed no less. We could never have made it this far without our friends.

Love you all,
Max and Keala

Call me sentimental, but Quan Li is not just a great surf spot (which it is), it is the place to meet your friends, to check your IMs, to relax, to become a Master Fisherman, to have a super-long fireside chat, or a super late random drum and mini-gun party… like I’ve said, I’ve practically lived there since day one. I picked a *few* ...]]> Quan Li. It’s no secret that my first and favourite surf spot is Quan Li. I came to this beach in my first few days and fell in love with it and the people here. So several weeks ago, when Seb offered me the opportunity to take over the island (he’s crazy busy in RL), I said “yes” immediately. We just confirmed the transfer last night and Namiko Surf Co. can now really call Quan Li “home”.

Call me sentimental, but Quan Li is not just a great surf spot (which it is), it is the place to meet your friends, to check your IMs, to relax, to become a Master Fisherman, to have a super-long fireside chat, or a super late random drum and mini-gun party… like I’ve said, I’ve practically lived there since day one. I picked a *few* photos from my albums… and amazingly enough there are tons more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/namikosurf/tags/quanli/

So, Quan Li is my home away from home, and it can be your home too (yeah, actually you can set Quan Li as your Home Location if you are in the “Namiko Surf Co.” group). Respect the beach, love the beach, take care of this beach. And thank you to Seb, Pixie and Heather for creating and developing this island for us.

Congratulations to you both! Wishing you a journey filled with happiness. More photos here…

Congratulations Aries and Heavin!

OMG. Every single item in my inventory is now missing. Every photo, every notecard, every Namiko product I’ve ever made… GONE. Wiped completely from my SL existence. It’s a situation that’s already been documented by a couple people:

» inventory-wipe-not-an-isolated-incident/ » ll-acknowledges-inventory-issues/

/me sighs

What a way to start my RL surf trip. Well, I’ll be back on May 5… rebuilding all my inventory. Woot.

And we thought the tsunami waves were big. Heather and Seb of Surf Systems Inc. designed these new, big waves for The Weather Channel!

“The surfing attraction is still under construction, and will not open until March 11. The area will offer epic deep sea storm waves. The sandy beaches conjure visions of bikinis and beach parties, while hot boys and beautiful girls surf. Though here, too, hazards will be found.”

Read the rest on the Metaverse Messenger site ?Ǭª

We’re paddling out with the new boards as well… boards that you can actually duck dive with. That way, you can pick and choose your waves. Not this one, duck, and head to the farther set. Woot.

KK looks so serious here. We are contemplating the epic proportions ...]]> Damn, so how was your Friday morning?!

And we thought the tsunami waves were big. Heather and Seb of Surf Systems Inc. designed these new, big waves for The Weather Channel!

“The surfing attraction is still under construction, and will not open until March 11. The area will offer epic deep sea storm waves. The sandy beaches conjure visions of bikinis and beach parties, while hot boys and beautiful girls surf. Though here, too, hazards will be found.”

Read the rest on the Metaverse Messenger site ?Ǭª

We’re paddling out with the new boards as well… boards that you can actually duck dive with. That way, you can pick and choose your waves. Not this one, duck, and head to the farther set. Woot.

When you get barrelled, the new scripts automatically zoom in on your AV, making it easier to take pics… and just enjoy the quiet solace of the green room (too quick for me, though!).

The Weather Channel sponsored a couple other extreme sport projects including skiing and mountain biking. Go see, go see…

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Weather/2/157/26

The island officially opens on March 11, but you are welcome to go visit and send your feedback to Seb and Heather in-world.

Catch ya.

Namiko released new bikinis and boardshorts, including a collection inspired by Laguna Beach itself. We also released the new wetsuits and pics of these will come in the next post. All the new items are available for sale at the Laguna Beach Club location ...]]> We came, we saw, we modeled. The fashion show at Laguna Beach Club yesterday saw an incredible turnout and it was exciting to see so many people out! We filled the sim! Here are some of the shots Surferjoe Wind took for us at the event:

Namiko released new bikinis and boardshorts, including a collection inspired by Laguna Beach itself. We also released the new wetsuits and pics of these will come in the next post. All the new items are available for sale at the Laguna Beach Club location for our shop for this week. After that, they will be available in all the shop locations. Come check it out!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Laguna/184/85/23

Photos of the show on Flickr

Check it out: http://www.howsyourworld.com/2007/02/child-of-wave.html