Anybody know how to contact Starax Statosky?

Um, hey everybody, can we stop arguing about whether Starax's work can be duplicated and get back to talking about how we're sad that he's gone? Maybe agree to disagree on the former point?

Aimee, I doubt they'd do that... Really, to LL, a resident is a resident is a resident. (except for those who aren't.)

I'm guessing he got suspended for posting that 'non PG image', (funny, people get suspended for a non-attacking post, but cadres of folks in world with pointed, attacking builds and projects sail by without so much as a warning) and figured if that was the way the game was going to be played, he wasn't going to play it anymore.

The more time goes by, the more SL is going to change away from what it was.

I know I'll miss the guy and I only 'knew of him', not knew him. Not to say he wasn't talked about (in a positive manner) pretty often.

What worries me most is that he said nothing... just left.

Has anyone checked forums at SLUniverse and such to see if he's posted there? Does he have a web page perhaps? Email address? AIM/ICQ?

After looking up all the threads with his input since 1.11, I can sense a thick sense of dissatisfaction with the whole temp-on-rez situation. And the constant fixing up of exploits. But the few times I talked to him before, and judging by many of his recent forum posts... it could be just simple disillusionment from SL. I can feel it myself... the atmosphere is more stifling than encouraging these days.

Michi's right - This ain't the SL it once was.

Although I've never met Starax, his work looks extremely creative and interesting. It's not doubt SL lost a creative force in him.

Perhaps it's a signal to appreciate those who create and their works while they are here, for tomorrow is yet unwritten. Or as Yeats wanted inscribed on his grave, "Here lies one who name was writ on water".

I was going to buy one of his wands a day or so ago and then I saw that his shop was closed. Very sad. And to comment on what has been said about recreating the wand on this thread:

Technically, anyone who can read a book and hold a set of tools can build a rocket and send it to the moon, and the same thing can be said about Starax's wand and his creations, but because you have the skills doesn't mean you'll ever be an astronaught. On the technical level, quite a few could match Starax's builds.... what they don't have is the patience, dedication, or the mindset of a great artist like Starax. That's what makes him different from me and everyone else. And that is something which will not be replicated in Second Life anytime soon. I never knew Starax personally, but I've seen his work all over Second Life from one end to the other.

As much as someone says they can match Starax's work, if they haven't done so already, they can't.

Well, he's still not back, and it looks like the thread is turning into more of a memorial. So here's mine.

Its not the fact that anyone could do it, its the fact that Starax did. And did it amazingly, inspiringly well.

If SL sticks around another ten years, we'll probably see people of his technical caliber. But it won't be the same, because Starax was as much an artist as a builder. Ideas are great, skill is important, execution is vital. Being able to combine the best of all three areas repeatedly, again and again, is rare indeed.

He may not be the last, but he'll always be the first, and probably the one by which those that come after him will be judged by. Beautiful work for its own sake is art, and Starax was an artist of the highest caliber. Thanks to him for being an example of the creativity that SL can unleash in all of us.

Yesterday I came onto the forums for the express purpose of asking what happened to Starax.

I had been looking for the cool whale, jumping orca for months
and there is some technical glitch that has prevented me from accessing SLEX.

I had pretty much given up then a couple of days ago I literally
stumbled over one of his whales at a friends house, noted
creator and almost immedialtely went there to buy one.

So I did, placed it at my waterfront place, came back a few
hours later and it was gone. I asked around and heard a few
possible reasons, but was bummed.

My friend with the other whales told me to just contact him.

I left him an offline message, not asking for a replacement just
asking what I might to check to find the one I lost.
Yesterday I logged into to find I had a new whale, which
made me happy. The I went to my house and my original
was back.

So I told my friend who suggested giving the other one back, which is how I found out about this.

The idea that so few people know what the deal is, seems
very mysterious, the completeness of how quickly his presence
vanished is troubling.

It sorted of reminded me of the movie "the forgotten",
which does'nt really make sense because clearly you guys have not forgotten him.

I used ot have a wildlife preserve which featured his critters. I'll have to put it back up somewheres -- maybe around the Phoenix Spa. I already have his octopus in our underwater garden there.

damn i knew i should have got a wand a while back. sigh.

Well said. I've admired his cat before, sitting on a fence at Riverwalk... I always wanted to put his giant Cthulhu on the roof of my old house, but assumed my neighbors would hate me. Just a few days ago I was admiring some really beautifully made sheep in Caledon and checked the creator... it was Starax.

I'll miss his work, cherish my cobra, and honor his memory by doing my best to perfect my own building skills. I hope he's out there somewhere as a newbie alt, reading this thread and smiling.

Hopefully he has gone to a better place.

Starax had a wonderful wry wit and ability to see through the BS. His postings always made me chuckle.

Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo

My Starax wand is one of my most favorite objects in my inventory but more than that, it's sad to see such a cool friend not be around for one of those 'Oh god I've been up all night again" chats.

The best thing is in my opinion is to wish him luck good luck with the next step in whatever it is he has chosen to do, after all, dreams are what you make them.




RUN>>>>The BUFFALO are coming!

hehe

I never knew Starax. I'd been casually saving up to buy a wand - but it looks like that time has passed now. I've only admired his work, without knowing the artist as a person.

One thing to remember (And I hope Starax reads this): No exit from Second Life needs to be a permanant one. The door is always open, regardless of how much time has passed.

Possibly a break away will provide some clarity. I agree with Michi and some of the posters above that SL is not what it was when I started. But one thing that hasn't changed about SL - is that its all about the change. Its been changing since beta, and it will continue to change as the years progress.

You can see change as something lost, and wistfully pine for days long since past. But I prefer to see change as something gained. It all depends on your perspective

I have multiple copies of all his sculptures, animals and avatars. I was for sure his biggest fan
Then we became neighbors somewhere in Dreamland and i got to know the real man behind Starax.
In SL he is talented in many ways but i love the goodhearted sweet man behind it all. He has been a true friend, made me laugh out loud in rl with his funny english humor.
See you in another form, smart cookie

Could very well be! Still ..that thought doesn't help...I'll miss him!

Starax, we hardly knew ye.

Rest in peace, my brother.

Well, maybe he didn't want to announce it for fear of the dozens of people begging him not to go. That just makes it harder.

coco

Not to mention more annoying.

That is exactly what would have happened.
I hope he has logged in using an alt
he deserves to hear all the good things people have to say

I believe he has

One of my happiest evenings -- full of pure, blissful, child-like joy -- in SL was stumbling upon a fortunate Starax wand-owner in a meadow. She very generously set it so it would listen to all of our commands and a random group of us spent the longest time laughing, giggling, making magic rain from the sky.

There are many delights in SL, many sights and sounds and moments that take us, absolutely, out of RL and into another dimension. Whether we each build amazing things -- or shop for them -- Starax certainly provided some amazing standards of creativity and whimsy to aspire too.

I treasure my encounter with that amazing wand, and will keep my eyes open for the next wonder. And the next. And the next.

Ernest: She's dead!
Madelyn Ashtonhe is?? *tears in her eyes* These are the moments that make life worth living....

It's not me if that's what you're thinking. I'm way better looking than Starax. Just FYI.

I hear you give good blow jobs. Well, being a blower and all.