Great Daze – a true supporter of all Arts in Second Life

In Second Life, people from all corners of the world come together not just to showcase their talents or passions, but to share their knowledge and inspire one another. Some offer more than just their art; they offer their time, their encouragement, and their willingness to help others grow. You get to know people from whom you learn something, and sometimes they surprise you in unexpected ways by the strength of their character and by the way they reach your soul. They are that kind of people “to put on the wound“- an expression often used in my country that refers to people endowed with a very kind and generous soul – and their stories can be a real source of inspiration and motivation for all of us.

Today I would like you to meet – if you haven’t already – one of the most constant and passionate supporters of all kinds of art in Second Life: Great Daze. A really friendly, generous, easy-to-talk person who finds in the happiness of others pure food for the soul.

“Pain can have a positive influence on life, depending on how it is treated.” Great Daze

Great Daze joined Second Life while dealing with difficult times in real life, after losing his parents at a young age and his fiancée, unexpectedly, in a traffic accident. At that time, for Daze, SL was a way to deal with pain, so he looked for healing. He started to dedicate his SL time trying to bring residents together and make their days spent here as enjoyable as possible.

Since I’ve known “The Dazes” they’ve always working on something: looking for a new movie for the Iris Cinema; cooking at the very friendly interactive Jonny’s Pizzeria where people could “eat” their favorite pizza and “drink” the best win made also by them, at the Vineyard of the Nido in Amalfi; treating their guests with special Chinese dishes and drinks at the Shan Shui restaurant – and so much more. They both gave a special meaning for Second Life and the activities that can be done here.

One of the things that will always recommend them because they have really raised the bar quite a bit, is RP dining. In Second Life, this job doesn’t necessarily require following a scenario – it seems to be rather much more, and feels important to understand the work behind what we see and it can seem to us, sometimes, just a simple game. First of all, SL RP dining requires a real dialogue, adapted according to your guests, their concerns and interests, to be ready to answer the questions they would have about you or your work, and to have the presence of mind to surprise them with a little “artifice”. In addition, Great Daze`s process to prepare the plates, drinks or desserts once again shows his true dedication and passion in giving a special experience to SL residents. To quote Great Daze:: “It is more a question of time management and how much time one is willing to put towards each restaurant.”

The process from the main idea of ​​a menu – to the moment of serving – is one that requires time for research and attention to details, as explained by Great Daze:

“Part 1: Planning – this involves the type of food (nationality and genre), time period, the courses, drinks, and tableware needed for the theme.

Part 2: Research – food and object authenticity is priority 1 when creating the menu and utensils needed for a dinner. One needs to study the culture, time period, and personalities in some cases of the foods being selected. textures can then be obtained for use in the dinner creation.

Part 3: Creations of foods and drinks – Once textures and objects have been procured, they can be used in the creation of each course. Depending upon the food, each course could require between an hour and half a day to create. To do an 8 course meal, at least a week is needed to compose all the courses.

Part 4: Scripting – to be consumed by the avatars, our foods are scripted to enable the diner to touch and consume the food. Scripts are obtained from our goat meat, namely “pinchos.” The eating script is extrapolated from each pincho. For an 8 course meal, 6 of the courses are scripted. That would mean that 1 diner requires at least 6 scripts for the entire dinner. For 20 people, for example, you would need 120 scripts. It takes 30 minutes to create 50 scripts.” Great Daze

What does actually RP dining experience in Second Life means?

Great Daze is doing RP for a long time in Second Life, so i asked him to share more about what would be the most important details for a successful RP dinner in Second Life, that could help residents who want to open their businesses in this field:

“A RP dining experience is one where the participants engage in eating a meal consisting of food objects made by a chef reflecting real-life edibles. Food, conversation and sometimes music accompany the experience. The most important detail for a RP dinner is the willingness and enthusiasm of the dinner participants. Without them, there would be no purposeful RP. 

There are all different degrees of RP. I would consider dining RP as the least demanding because it does not require constant RP for an extended length of time. The RP will usually last for the duration of the meal itself. In another type of RP, such as period re-enactment, participants are required to RP the entire time. For example, in Old West RP, participants assume a character role and maintain it the entire time they are online. Some RP comes in the form of plays or skits where participants assume a role for a shorter period of time. Once the scene is completed, the participants stop or pause the play.” Great Daze

Great and Jonny Daze are both members of the Royal Orchestra since its beginning – 2020, April 25. And to be honest with you, the connection and the moments spent together on the virtual stage of our performances are so strong for me that I could never see Royal Orchestra without the two of them – and this especially for their positive and always encouraging spirit.

“I am a huge supporter of the arts not only in SL – but also in my RL community. Music makes people happy and music is an art. Being around others with similar values is an honor for me. The experience the Royal Orchestra provides for the public is transcending – it makes them feel good and triggers good memories. The Royal Orchestra has done much good for the entire VdC community and may it continue to do so for a long time to come in SL.” Great Daze

The Italian Cultural & Community Center (ICCC) opened by Daze in Amalfi enriched even more the cultural side of Ville de Coeur. The ICCC’s purpose was to focus on a person of Italian nationality or on an individual whose roots could be traced back to the Italian peninsula. In addition, this person stands out as a soul who has contributed measurably to the betterment of humanity – culturally, scientifically, politically, athletically, artistically, culinarily, and/or musically.

Great Daze has been also the main contributor of  “The Voice” magazine for 4 years – considerably enriching each edition with articles from cultural or culinary domain. When we had our first interview for The Voice, i remember i asked him what would be his choice if he would have the chance to be a public person from whatever era and country – more or less famous, and here is what he answered:

“G. Eleanor Roosevelt. I admire her fidelity to standing up for what is right despite what others think. She accepted all people for who they were. In addition, she helped bring back life and fame to a remote village of the Finnish Lapland called Rovaniemi. She has a cabin dedicated to her located about 8 miles from the Santa Claus village and post office. She was the very first person to send a U.S. President (Harry Truman at the time) a post card from it. She is one of Santa Claus’ heroes.” Great Daze

As for a role in a movie, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird would be his first choice: “Atticus took on society and prejudice and fought for what was right despite the profuse negativity surrounding him in that southern community.” Great Daze

For the future, Daze has only great wishes: the health of our world to get much better, as well as the climate because: “If we cannot change the current meteorological trends, life as we know it on earth will be gone.” And the message he would send to all of you would be: “Cherish those you love and tell them. Make the most of the time we have together. Time is precious and we have to prize what we have now.”

I don’t remember ever hearing Great Daze to say “No” in all these years, but rather “Sure, we can try.” He has a strong sense of justice and well-being, and he is a very smart guy with a very generous heart. There is no room for prejudice in his life, he knows the value of moral support and doesn’t hesitate to say a word of encouragement whenever he gets the chance. More, Great Daze has been Ville de Coeur’s biggest financial supporter for almost 10 years, something that he never talked about. Many of VdC residents have supported the sim financially or through fantastic events, but Great Daze ensured that Ville de Coeur remains alive. What touches me and feels to be a lesson we can all learn from is that he never shared a thing about, never boasted, never made demands, never imposed rules. It is just his way of being, of a nobility and generosity beyond words. And around the Holy Christmas holiday, it seems to me to be that kind of a story we would all like to read about.

In the end, it’s these human connections, driven by passion and kindness, that truly make Second Life a remarkable and inspiring place to be.