Where will you be tomorrow to celebrate history in the making? Some of us will be in Washington DC, others at local events, and yet more of us will be working and hoping that (a)the DVR works; (b) the boss doesn't notice the streaming video underneath the spreadsheet; or (c) Youtube does in fact have it all uploaded by the end of the day!
For the Inauguration itself, I am taking Kid Brillig to the local middle school to watch the swearing-in with our neighbors and friends (school's closed tomorrow, professional development day).
When I get back home, I'm off to check in here at DailyKos, my sanity- saver these last four years, and also my other progressive home...
which happens to be in Second Life. Let me tell you a bit about what I found there a bit over 18 months ago:
I was introduced to Cafe Wellstone, a progressive community and gathering spot created by Jesus' General himself. Many Wellstoners are also Kossacks- so the political passion, intelligent discourse AND snark and fun were there. I felt at home immediately. Unlike here, though, you can in fact be a pootie if you want :-).
Weekly gatherings to dance (we all can dance there, even brillig of the two left feet can tango with finesse!) led to a desire to do more. There is a full schedule of events every week, and impromptu things pop up every day that keep us informed, thinking, educated and laughing. We support each other's political activities, brainstorm ways to be more effective, and remind each other that the progressive community extends worldwide. It's an international group, giving a wonderful perspective on national and world events.
And here you thought from the stories you saw that SL was only about the sex. Nope!
There's more though... did you know that for the last two years there has been a virtual Netroots Nation running concurrent to the real-life one? Yup. I was involved in this year's, and that moment in Chicago when thanks to the tech wizardry of Kossacks mik and careerdoctor we had a two-way connection between a conference room in Chicago and a ballroom at Netroots Nation Island. We're planning even more for this year's NN, and the planning starts tomorrow AFTER tomorrow!!
Tomorrow, though- members of Netroots Nation in SL and Cafe Wellstone have been working their collective behinds off to organize a full day of activities in SL celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama! From streaming the ceremony live to an afternoon of live music to a night of dancing to photo exhibits to more.. we've got it all. And you can join us!! Yes you, even if you've never been in SL before, YOU can be there too!
Rather than duplicate perfectstormer's excellent diary last week, go there and follow his concise steps to get yourself inworld. Definitely stick around Orientation Island (the place you find yourself in when you enter SL for the first time) long enough to figure out how to communicate with others before you click the link Stormy provided and join us at NN.
Oh.. so you would like some names to look for, so a friendly voice in your chat box can guide you to us! Drop me an email (address is in my profile here) and I'll send you a list.
I hope to see you there!!