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.

Being the flickr addict that I seem to be, I take a lot of photos in SL. Lots of photos. Lots of photos at Quan Li. Now, you’ve seen a ton of mine… let’s see yours!

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/

Mmm… so, let’s see your shots!

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