Ziki's Blog

Tyrehl Byk

2012-01-29T21:37:00.005-05:00

If you ever hear that the brilliant artist Tyrehl Byk (pictured below) is presenting one of his particle shows, go. You're guaranteed to be mesmerized and amazed for the better part of an hour as a dazzling parade of particles move around and over you in a stream-of-consciousness sort of performance. Usually in partnership with a musician, Tyrehl's events are presented in something of an amphitheatre—it's essential that you take a seat as you watch the performance, because your camera control is relinquished, allowing Tyrehl to zoom your view around in space to see the animations from various perspectives, including way overhead. (You can see the audience in the image above—click to zoom in.)

This evening I had a chance to catch an event at MadPea, presented in collaboration with the musician Ultraviolet Alter. While for this performance Ultra was composing on the fly, Tyrehl by necessity pre-planned the elements of his presentation and then engaged in a live interplay with the music. "We did an hour jam friday night—just the two of us so she could see the new effects I created," he remarked. "She has more ability to improvise than I do—I can't create the particles on the moment. I have to use what I've set out and use the camera angles to make them look interesting." He has a wide assortment of options from which to pick: "I have two computers, one with a HUD with over 200 buttons, and this one with a HUD with about 50." Tyrehl was quick to credit Najure Ibor with lending a hand for some of the trickier aspects of this evening's show.

Tyrehl is an artist in real life, with a body of conventional photography and another of pure non-commissioned digital art. He's planning to have "a more conventional gallery exhibit of some particle sculptures" in the near future—stay tuned. If I hear of upcoming performances, I'll tweet them, but you can also contact Tyrehl inworld to get on his listserv.

(And—at risk of sounding like a broken record!—I'll mention once again that it's always essential to tip these great artists when you can.)

The Thing

2012-01-24T23:26:00.006-05:00

I decided to stop by Boudoir tonight—I love the originality of Precious Restless's creations, always so striking and unique—and immediately picked up "The Thing," a walking hand avatar for only L$250. I love this thing (no pun intended!)—it fits like hand in glove. *coughs* It's fun to try with different AOs, and I had a crazy time this evening at Flashmans dancing with the lovely Phideaux Mayo (below). I just loved how she wrapped her hands around my fingers. (Guys take note: the nails on this hand look pretty feminine to me, just sayin'.)

Treptower Park

2012-01-23T10:35:00.007-05:00

If you love urban decay, then Squonk Levenque has built just the thing for you: Treptower Park, inspired by an existing abandoned amusement park in the former East Berlin. It's a dark waterly world (use the suggested Windlight settings for best effect, although personally I like Glassy for the water better than Murky) featuring not only the broken down park, but also abandoned industrial areas. (It can be hard to see these photos at this size, so click on them to zoom in.)

Click on stuff as you explore the amusement park area—you can ride the still-functioning carousel, enter the jack-in-the-box and jump on the trampoline. There's a tombstone near the landing point that will drag you underground. Peppered here and there are a few freebies, and also some helmets for sale by Squonk's partner, Miuccia Klaar, around the northeast corner.

P.S. Thanks once again to my friend M for finding cool places like this! And please do make a contribution to help support Treptower Park if you can—there's a donation thing somewhere around the middle of the sim.

Crommhold

2012-01-19T22:57:00.015-05:00

When I saw a couple photos of Crommhold in the Blogging Elf's blog, I thought it looked promising, and I wasn't disappointed when I visited. It's a lush land of flowers, ferns and forests, open to the public but especially welcoming to non-humans—as its co-owner Cromm Slade says, "from mystics to elves and the fae in the woods, all the forrest kinn are welcome."

He emphasized to me that it's a non-roleplaying sim, although roleplayers are welcome. And he said he's always tweaking it—he toured me around, showing me many hidden spaces, but when I returned today one of them, the grotto, seems to have disappeared (and lovely it was, too!). There's a place for magic creation known as the Rune Keep (you'll have to move the disguised rock door to enter), and a place for mermaids under the waterfall (including a hidden bed chamber below) with an elven cove nearby.

Cromm's partner, Ava Verino-Slade, has created a companion sim, and to get there you'll have to find the teleporter hidden on the main Crommhold island. "Another realm even more beautiful—and my wife built it all from scratch," says Cromm. "I cheat a lot—buy and mould is my style," he quipped. If you find the teleporter, you'll arrive at her land, which is pictured below, also enchanting. (The unicorns you'll discover have fun poses.) Both sims are perfect for photos and provide lots of fun exploration.

North Yard

2012-01-17T23:01:00.007-05:00

When you arrive in a sim and the land description says, "Reaver Land. We Hate Everyone" and "No commercial photography/activity, EVAR."—well, you might have second thoughts about hanging around. But North Yard is worth the stay.

It's part of a group of sims known as The Wastelands, which were founded almost exactly five years ago, on January 19, 2007. (I guess I should have waited a couple days to post this!) The largest and oldest post apocalyptic community in Second Life, the larger Wastelands comprise the sims of The Wastelands, The Junkyard, The Great Fissure, Fort Stygian, Malady Bog, Hambone Slash, Ashvasta, Cormac, Kronbelt, The Rot, Burnt Oak and North Yard. Each is distinct in style, and I really love North Yard for its utter desolation. The Wastelands are more than a bunch of picturesque sims, however—they're a small gaming platform with complex rules, about which you can read here. (As far as I can tell, visitors are quite welcome.)

If you're not using a viewer that follows sim windlight settings, the suggested one is [TOR] SUNRISE - Defenderz 1, which produces the effect shown here. One of the larger structures in North Yard is the First Church of Gid (picture immediately above), where you can leave a donation on the offering plate. You'll also find little encampments such as Hannibal's Camp and the Crone's Shack. (And don't worry about coming across a Reaver—a resident manimal told me they're quite rare: "havent seen a reaver in. well ever" he remarked.)

P.S.: Thanks to M (a.k.a. MissMoe Requiem) for the suggestion!

The Avatar Machine

2012-01-15T14:49:00.003-05:00

Ready for a good laugh? Then head to the sim known as LOL and check out The Avatar Machine, a fun creation by pallina60 Loon. Here, just in case your legs are tired from walking and your arms are sore from flying, The Avatar Machine takes you on a silly little journey—your avatar will be bumped, whisked and jostled about until you complete the end of the fun ride. There are some free items you can pick up here too.

Down below on the main part of the sim, called Circo Loon - Meshtriciattolandia Editions, are installations by Gebedia Yoshikawa, Opensource Obscure, Miru Lane and Lila Iwish, in addition to some by pallina60 Loon. I'm not sure everything was functioning on my last visit, but it's an enjoyable place to explore and to pick up a few freebie items. (As always, I'll urge to you donate if you can.) :)

Thanks to Rose Borchovski for a heads up about The Avatar Machine.

Chouchou

2012-01-14T22:40:00.005-05:00

It's a delight that the Chouchou sims have returned to Second Life. Long a favorite of residents, the sims reopened on January 8th: the main sim of Chouchou, along with Chouchou V (known as Memento mori) and Chouchou XVI (known as The Babel). On Chouchou proper, one might say that less is more—a quiet and delicate water world is articulated by only a few objects, notably a ladder reaching way overhead (which one could climb in the last iteration of Chouchou, if I remember correctly), a tree and a piano.

When you arrive, you might want to grab the HUD that's available—it lengthens the ZoomTime with the intent that your camera movements might seem a bit more cinematic. Be sure to turn your draw distance up to 512, and by all means turn on your sound stream. This last point is important, because Chouchou is actually a more than a sim: it's the musical group of juliet Heberle and arabesque Choche, and the music you'll hear on the sims is all theirs. Take the teleport at the base of the ladder up to Chouchou's live performance venue, called Islamey. (Check their website or join the group to stay posted on performances.)

The sim subtitled Memento mori features a cathedral in the sky. Climb the staircases to reach to uppermost level, and be careful not to fall, as there are gaping holes in the floor! There's a large bell in the cathedral that chimes on the hour, although I've never heard it myself—I keep forgetting to be there at the top of the hour. :)

The last of the three sims is the most significant musically. The Babel is a fascinating installation populated with hundreds of small boxes, each of which contains a sound. The black boxes, bearing labels such as piano 156 or glidesyn001, are instrumental sounds, and the gray boxes, with labels such as juliet_F1, are the sounds of juliet's voice. A click on any given box will commence its sound, and there is some logic as to how the boxes are arranged. (You can read more about this in the book near the landing point.) Climb the stairs (which will seem endless!) to get up to a shop area where you can purchase the boxes for yourself.

And even if you don't purchase any sounds, do consider making a donation to help maintain these lovely sims. The band's music is also for sale, of course—more on their site.

Locus

2012-01-09T22:12:00.005-05:00

I don't even know how to begin to describe Locus, an extraordinary new build by DB Bailey (who in real life is the architect David Denton). Well, I can start with a color: red! There's plenty of that, in great brilliance and in many shades, punctuated by yellow, orange, neon blue, periwinkle and a touch of green.

Populating the center of the island of Locus are a countless number of latticed phantom building walls (some of which evoke Romanesque or Gothic churches (not that I'm well studied in architectural history)), structures reminiscent of Greek temples piled high on one another, a central statue of Atlas holding up the world, archways, caverns and a wealth of other forms, all amazingly blended with the textures of the tall walls that surround the sim, so that one can't really tell at first where the build stops and the wall begins. It's almost disorienting at times, and I find myself smiling at how marvelous it is.

The build occupies the entire sim, and you'll want to turn you draw distance up high enough that you can see clear across. As you hunt around you'll find some unusual spots—I was surprised to find a little red house surrounded by red palm trees near a waterfall. DB says he's always working on it—"I never know where this is all going," he remarked.

I learned of Locus through the brilliant machinimatographer NicoleXMoonwall—take a look here. Watch her stuff, it's great. :)

Alchemy Immortalis Sims for Sale

2012-01-08T19:06:00.007-05:00

Today a note rolled in from Alchemy Immortalis, the fabulous creators of homes, instruments, jewelry, sims and more—the duo of Alchemy and Immortalis Cyannis—that said, "Selling Our Sims," meaning the one full and three homestead sims that adjoin their main shop sim of Alchemy Immortalis: Empress and Hierophant, Ceangal, Inis Caiseal (full sim), and Saerlaith.

These are among the most photographed of Second Life sims—Empress and Hierophant in particular—and it's a tragedy that they'll likely be broken up, but Alchemy and Immortalis say that want to return to the development of the original sim, and need to be freed up from the administrative tasks that come with maintaining the other four (some of which have had short-term B&B style rental options). (Click here to see a map of the layout.)

With designs that reflect the feel of rugged rural Ireland, the windswept sims are populated with winding hills, peaks and valleys, coastal waterways, narrow roadways, occasional sheep, rain and breathtaking views. Having spent a good amount of time there, I know there are many who frequently visit. (Of course, I'm wishing now I had taken many more photos!)

To purchase a homestead you have to already own a full sim, and Alchemy told me that she didn't anticipate she would want the sims to stay adjacent to the Alchemy Immortalis sim, with the possible exception of Empress and Hierophant. "We're hoping they'll end up with folks who will enjoy them as much as we have. Labour of love they've been," she added. Thanks, Alchemy and Immortalis, for having shared these gifts with the Second Life community!

By the way, you can also purchase many Alchemy Immortalis products on the Marketplace, including the "Elements of Empress and Hierophant" package from which you can build your own similar sim, and the enchanting Gatehouse Cottage, which I'm happy to have had as my own home for nearly a year now.

Xen Closing

2011-12-30T15:30:00.004-05:00

Quite a few Second Life businesses have announced their closings recently, and a couple times I somehow missed them, along with the last chance to pick up some of their items. So today when Xenius Revere sent out a note that XEN is shutting its doors I thought I'd post a note. In addition to the lovely sculpted items for sale this is a cool sim to visit—a nice place for photos—so stop by to see it before January 5th even if you're just playing tourist. There are a few free 'thank you' gifts available at the landing point, and lots of lovely sculpted items—ranging from a fairy-tale-like prefab house to cyber club spaces to steampunk goggles to a florescent aquarium—still for sale.

Milvus

2011-12-14T14:12:00.008-05:00

Milvus is crazy, as if a hurricane has swept through it, leaving a bewildering array of things swirled about in its wake. And I mean that in a great way—creators Mandarine Scofield and Koad Sewell, who have built this place bit by bit, sometimes together and sometimes apart, provide one of the most dazzling sites in Second Life. "Rien n'est pas veritablement organizé," quipped Koan. How they've created this on a homestead sim is beyond me—there are only 3,079 prims here as I write, but you'd swear there were many more. And Mandarine tells me they built the entire place in just 10 days!

The sim is so packed with material that I struggled to figure out how to even shoot photographs (click to zoom in). As you explore, be sure to visit the interior of the globe, where there's a delightful spot to dance. Everywhere you turn there are richly textured sculpted objects, so much so that it's easy to lose your orientation. (Oh, and there's a tip jar, so please lend Mandarine and Koad a hand!)

Venexia

2011-12-06T23:49:00.013-05:00

Recently on Flickr, where I post a lot of Second Life images, I was thumbing through some by other people (there's a huge SL community there), and a photo by Ella Avro of a sim called Venexia happened to catch my eye.

I love great city builds. (I miss some old ones—I was really saddened that Virtual Krakow left, because it was remarkably true to the old town square.) So off I went to Venexia...and...wow. This is a masterpiece. This is the sort of place to which I'd drag any new Second Life resident.

I'm not into vampires at all, and this is a vampire roleplaying sim, but visitors are warmly welcomed. You can pick up a visitor tag (good for three days, and you can get more of them) at the entrance. The roleplay here is complex, based on interaction between gangs—there are a bazillion notecards you can pick up as you arrive—and the sim apparently has its own economy and currency.

Venexia, which opened on November 7th, is the creation of Baal Zobel and Kora Zenovka, who also created Kingdom of Sand, Golgothica and Nomos. Baal states in a note, "Venexia is gothic interpretation of Venice, a specific time period is not given. It is no earlier than middle ages, the times of the great plagues, and no later than pre industrial Victoria...This is a grey Gothic rather ugly interpretation of Venice. It is not supposed to look like Venice in the bright Italian sun light, where even the dirt and decay can look beautiful. It's more like Venice on a cold misty morning in winter, so bring a coat. At the very least we hope it is an original setting for role play. Leaving behind the standard dark city or fantasy castle set that is repeated over and over in SL."

I can't imagine attempting to building anything this complex (well, then again yours truly isn't exactly a builder). Baal says, "This was a killer, and I must admit to almost giving up many times, even nearing completion. This is possibly the last big project we will do before Mesh crashes in and changes the way in which big builds are done. This is rather regrettable as I actually came to SL to get away from that detached building style, where all the work is done off line in a dead cold 3D editor."

To get around, you walk by foot or teleport to one of several locations using the gondolas that are sprinkled about. The detail and complexity of Venexia is astonishing. I was so in awe of the place as I walked around and explored that I suddenly realized that I hadn't even entered any buildings. They're every bit as lovely and carefully executed on the interior. Above is a shot of an inn called The Slaughtered Lamb, and below is a large mansion library. (Click on images to zoom in.) If you want to get to the top of St. Mark's Campanile, the huge bell tower, there's a door on the first floor you can click to get a teleport up.

The music here is refreshingly appropriate too: Telemann, Mozart, Vivaldi...a nice mix of Baroque and Classical repertoire. And windlight settings—well, the creators suggest ShadowSet, but for photos the ones I found were most fun were [TOR] Sunrise - Farmatronic sepia, [TOR] Sunrise - Frenlite, AnaLu - Outdoor City, and, well, lots of others—experiment. :)

No wonder the Lab is promoting vampires. As always, please tip if you can—there are places here and there for contributions.

Old Second Life: Governor Linden's Mansion

2011-12-01T18:07:00.008-05:00

A long, long, long time ago, before there was Second Life, there was a place called Linden World. And one of the residents of Linden World, one Steller Sunshine—who later became the first resident of Second Life back on March 13, 2002—built a remarkable house, or at least remarkable for the time. Linden World, as it was known, was the alpha for what later became Second Life, you see. And this house was one of the very few things ported over from Linden World to Second Life. So, if you want to get a glimpse of that era, there's no better option. A gift from Steller to the Lindens, it's known as Governor Linden's Mansion, located in the old sim of Clementina. (I actually remember being at demonstrations here!)

If you saw someone building a house like this now, in 2011, you'd probably laugh and say, "Go learn to work with textures!" But back then, this was the most cutting-edge work you could imagine. Over the years, many things have been lost from the mansion, and some restored. There's something of a museum in the basement, complete with a bunch of archival photos, a copy of a 2003 time capsule and some other goodies. On the upper floors you'll find a kitchen, a living room, a game room, an outdoor pool, and so on. On the one hand, there's not much to do here, but on the other hand it's a remarkable place to reflect on how far virtual worlds have come in ten years, and to appreciate the great debt we owe to people like the early Lindens, Steller Sunshine and the many other early residents who paved the way. Plus, it's nostalgic as hell.

Primordial Soup and Sandwich

2011-11-28T16:04:00.008-05:00

I'm a total sucker for crazy avatars, especially ones that are as far from being human as possible. It's not so much being a dragon or a mosquito (for those I always go to Grendel's, of course!), it's more being something that's totally different, not even remotely human. I've collected a good number of those from Yeti Bing and Yoa Ogee (hmm, about which I should write a post!), and also from Cutea Benelli at Grim Bros.

A couple days ago I was hanging around at The Far Away, waiting for the infamously AFK AM Radio to wake up, and this uber-cool avatar wandered in, so of course I had to find out where he got his looks. And the answer is: Primordial Soup and Sandwich, a new place to me, designs by Madcow Cosmos. (Or maybe also Nowhere Phobos, who may well be the same person, not that it matters.) Off I went and bought twelve different avatars. (There are dragons and things like that here, too.)

Among my favorites is the one just above, a skeletal pair of fingers that do your walking for you. (Hello, Yellow Pages.) And the drum avatar below plays tons of music—you control the output by clicking on different parts, and I gather you can even sync with other avatars. From top to bottom here: Mole and the Far Plunger, Magic Hat, Handy, and Major Drum. Have fun!

Roche

2011-11-25T20:58:00.006-05:00

I was pretty surprised to discover a couple days ago that I've never blogged about Roche, because it's one of my favorite places in Second Life, and it's also one of the most popular places for photographers. The creation of ddsm2 Mathy, the island of Roche is breathtakingly picturesque, its slightly rocky terrain rising up out of the sea, embracing the aged and weathered (but often cozy) buildings peppered around the space.

I think the traditional entry point for Roche is in the northwest corner, where you'll go if you click on the slurl above, although you can really come in anywhere. There you'll find a number of small structures, including a refreshment stand, a bus stop (which you'll find elsewhere, even though the notion of buses here seems incongruous with the island) and a bicycle rental stand, where you can rez a bike to speed you about the little paths or roads that wind around Roche. And a friendly little black pug. Also near here is Roche Station, an apparent rail terminus alongside the water, with tracks that fade away into decay, suggesting a place that hasn't seen a train or rail car in a very long time.

But for now head in the opposite direction down the path to arrive at the Misaki Bakery, where you can warm yourself with some toast from the toaster, or a baguette or a boule. At the bakery there's a fork in the road, with the left side heading inland around the central pond (perhaps you see some sheep in the distance), and the right side hugging the coastline. Take the right fork, along the bare winter trees, to the next fork, where you'll find the cozy Cafe Gallery 414 (shown in the photo just below—click to zoom), greeted by two black cats at the door.

Here the jazz music and wood stove are sure to warm you up (if not, there are some cigarettes you can grab outside near the front door (not that I smoke!)). Right now there are some photos and works on art on display by several artists—Yurin Wirefly, natsu Serevi, yutaka Densmith and happyrose Lyle. There are some nice places to chill out or cuddle up here.

But, explorer, you're determined to press forward, to discover the rest of this sim. Head back and out and continue around, walking (or biking) around the south side of the island, where you'll take a bridge over the swamp that connects the pond to the ocean. Now you can see, up on the eastern ridge overlooking the sim, a modest one-room stone farmhouse. (It's below, in a photo I was trying to make look like a daguerrotype. :) ) Watch your step in the yard—there are chickens and a donkey here, you know.

If you complete the circle, you'll pass by an old fishing shack and a group of grazing blackface sheep. And off the main island you'll find some smaller islands that are equally quaint. Be sure to play around with windlight settings in Roche for some real delights—this place is just perfect for photography. And it's one of those sims that shows how much is really possible on a homestead with only 3,750 prims!

The Mask Redux: Machinima

2011-11-18T13:40:00.008-05:00

Back in mid-October I blogged about The Mask, a remarkable performance piece by Jo Ellsmere, Pyewacket Kazyanenko and Kai Steamer. You can now watch that performance in this archival machinima by Pyewacket Kazyanenko, which gives you a conceptual sense of the piece, although you can't see much detail. (I always start to try to zoom around when watching stuff like this, as if I'm watching inworld!) A better version for really seeing the effect of the three dancers can be had in the video immediately below, although you're going to hear Regiment from the David Byrne/Brian Eno collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts rather than Morton Feldman's magnificently ethereal Rothko Chapel. (In both cases the music works brilliantly, and sure gives a completely different experience!) Hopefully we'll see more opportunities to see this performance live.

Jo IM'd me inworld a couple days ago to alert me to her new machinima, Hegira, which I love for its simplicity and beauty—take a look at it right below. There's an additional Mask-like work on her on Vimeo stream entitled concurrence 1 if you want to see even more. Open these up in Vimeo to see them in a larger format. Enjoy!

Jopsy Pendragon's Ethereal Lands

2011-11-13T15:55:00.005-05:00

When I was new to Second Life ("A good while before Ziki's rezday," says my human, although how could that possibly be?) one of my favorite places to visit was Jopsy Pendragon's land in the sims of Teal, Slate and Hina. I stopped back a couple days ago and was really delighted to see everything again, although Jopsy has clearly given the entire area a facelift (maybe several).

The lovely Cloud Chateau (pictured above) certainly had a "wow" factor way back when, and even today it's mesmerizingly lovely—you take a seat along the edge and just watch the always-changing show of particles. I remember going here with friends, watching and watching. And particles are really what things are all about here, because not far from the Cloud Chateau you can visit the Particle Laboratory (immediately below) to learn all about particles.

To travel around Jopsy's lands (Ethereal Teal, Ethereal Slate and Ethereal Hina), you hop on one of the many transport balloons and simply click where you want to go. The balloon will whisk you to your destination, and there are many from which to choose. There's a Vehicle Laboratory, Jopsy's Store, the Caverns (photo below—once there you can take a gondola ride through them), a Theatre (where you can try The Porgan 1800 "particle organ"), a Fireworks show, a SkyCoaster (sort of like a roller coaster in a tube), a link to the Great Second Life Railway, and a bunch of other cool things—tons of fun stuff. So grab a friend and do some balloon-hopping! Thanks to Jopsy Pendragon for these captivating spaces.

Dare2Bare

2011-11-12T15:40:00.001-05:00

I recently blogged about the Choice!2011 hunt and the Halloween Hunt at Toyland, so I would be remiss in not mentioning the Dare2Bare Hunt, especially since my store, Babele Fashion, is participating! There are 77 shops in this one, a pretty huge list, and we're #27, so hang in there! ;) Really, you can start from any location, but you're searching for a dark violet "2", and some shops have hidden theirs pretty well. The Dare2Bare website gives you a hint for each location. Ours is: A fountain points the way.

Founded and managed by Julya Lykin, Dare2Bare, as its name suggests, is for those interested in exploring the more decadent side of fashion in Second Life, and I'm sure many of the outfits are more than a little revealing! Our hunt prize is in the top photo, although it looks a lot more interesting from the front than the side haha. Have fun ... I haven't even visited most of the shops yet myself.

David Rumsey Maps

2011-11-07T22:46:00.012-05:00

There's nothing quite like David Rumsey Maps in Second Life. Spread out on four sims are some remarkable cartographic treats—and I really mean spread out! The gargantuan map above is one of New York City from 1836, stretched out to be 200x100 meters, allowing one to literally walk around the neighborhoods (we're standing in lower Manhattan—click to zoom in). That's the Brooklyn Bridge around the center of the photo, spanning the East River. Most of the upper part of the island seems to be farmland, large estates, and military installations. But already, running way up the West Side, is Tenth Avenue. :) If you would like to get a smooth overhead experience, sit on one of the map viewers (brightly colored arrows) to pilot yourself around.

Elsewhere is an even more immersive map of Yosemite from 1883, above, which has been transformed into a three dimensional experience. A staggering two sims in size, the map shows the topography of the Sierra Nevadas in great detail, and hidden just underneath (you can dip down, as the prims are phantom) is the original map in two dimensions.

Two globes allow you an "inside" experience. One, pictured above, is a Celestial Globe from 1792, showing a map of the heavens, and there's also a World Globe from 1790. Both locations have seats allowing you to spin around. (Try them in mouselook.)

Near the landing point is the World Push Pin Map, where you can, well, stick in a pin in your home town and leave a comment (and read everyone else's). Other cool things include the Map Walk, a selection of over 150 maps (at a more normal size) from different places and time periods; the Tower of Maps, a huge cylindrical experience; a Japanese Scroll Map; a Grand Canyon Panorama (in layers to give a sense of depth—shown at the bottom of the post (and I'm there, a tiny dot on the left part of the walkway below the map!)); and the Museum, which is your not only your hub for teleporting around but also is a place where you can get tons of free maps for your Second Life decorating and enjoyment—40 in all—plus free orreys and spheres! If you want even more information—as this is in large measure an educational place—there are links to Rumsey's website, a rich resource.

P.S. Set your draw distance way up at David Rumsey Maps—512 meters if you can.

"Project LR" - And now for something completely different...

2011-11-05T09:27:00.014-04:00

Yes, really, really different! Alert (and lovely) blogger Alicia Chenaux got a peek Wednesday at the new experimental game sims on the Second Life grid, and thanks to Bryn Oh (there we are, below) I had a chance to pay them a visit last night. And this, my friends, is something unlike anything we've seen in Second Life. There's no sense that you're not in Second Life, but there's also no question that you're in a game, in a completely different kind of environment.

Here's what happens. You teleport in from a Linden sandbox location, and you arrive at a sim called LR 28. (At least I did—I notice on the map that there are three identical groups of 12 sims, all set up to play the game, so maybe you'll end up in one of the others.) (LR? There isn't any other information, but I'm guessing it stands for Linden Research.) [Edit: It's Linden Realms.] You're automatically fitted with a HUD—it simply appears on your screen, as shown on the screen shot in the top photo (click to zoom in)—that gives you a goal or task (the instruction bar running across the bottom of the screen) and some crystals on the top left.

Your first task is going to be getting to the workshop at the basecamp, and the fun begins right away because there are rock monsters that will try to catch you, and they're fast. There's a picture of one at the bottom of the blog post. You can outrun them, but you have to move quickly and constantly. (If you get caught, you get dumped at a safe spot from which you begin again.) There are wayfinding signs here and there, and eventually you'll reach the workshop, shown below—I'm there with Patti Daviau.

After you reach the workshop, you'll be given the task of gathering crystals, building a flare, finding a mountain peak, and setting off a cannon. As you gather crystals the totals are shown on the upper left of your screen. (Below, Bryn, Patti and I are at the cannon, just as Bryn set off her flare.) That's as far as I got, after maybe an hour or two. I really have no sense of how much time I spent, but it was immersive, addicting, and, we all agreed, very well done.

This place is a ton of fun. It's also remarkably free of lag, even when running full tilt from sim to sim, although there weren't many people there when I visited. The implications of this experiment are significant—I can imagine some amazing games being developed using the toolset that the Lab is assembling for this project.

If you go: word has it that only premium account holders can get in. You have to use a mesh enabled viewer—I didn't at first and soon realized I wasn't seeing most of the terrain! Use the region windlight settings to get a sense of the foggy, dark environment. And be prepared to run like crazy! :)

So how do you get there? Head here to Sandbox Exemplar and walk through the gate! :)

Update: I forgot to mention that the game is designed to provide rewards as you reach certain goals. If you manage to get your red flare to shoot off the cannon, for example, you get paid L$1 (woo woo! lol) and get a link to the SL Marketplace.

And ... the game saves your current status, so you can return and pick up where you left off.

The Far Away

2011-11-03T08:46:00.006-04:00

Even though AM Radio's masterful builds at IDIA Laboratories are now gone from the grid, we can still enjoy his smaller though no less beautiful artwork at Dreamworld North, entitled The Far Away. I must admit I hadn't visited in a while, and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people enjoying this quarter-sim space, a field of waist-high wheat shining in the sun, enveloped by distant horizons. AM's ability to work in a small square while still achieving a sense of panorama and depth is remarkable.

The interior of the space is defined by two large objects—a rusted, abandoned locomotive and a windmill with neighboring silos—as well as smaller items set incongruously in the field—a desk with wireless equipment, a dinner table and china cabinet, all exquisitely textured. Telephone poles and a barbed wire fence stretch into the distance on the north and east. From time to time, a cluster of chairs might reach up into the sky. As always, interacting with objects provides rich rewards: have fun on the locomotive (a classic spot for photos), ride the wind near the windmill, and investigate a map of Union, Illinois, where we seem to look down on rusted train cars. Hopefully this build will stay with us for a while, but I don't know what AM's plans are, so be sure to take advantage of the time to visit.

Two Fish: The Susa Bubble Story

2011-10-31T17:00:00.008-04:00

Rose Borchovski's brilliant installation, Two Fish Art Landscape: The Susa Bubble Story, is a complex immersive space that, as it suggests, tells the story of Susa Bubble. Clearly a young female—asexual despite her naked portrayal—Susa goes to bed one night and wakes up with a double. As time progresses, more and more Susas come to be, forming something of a community.

When you arrive, make sure you're listening to the ambient sounds of the sim. To start your exploration, head over to read the story itself, either by winding your way east along the watery path or by clicking on the door that says Door to Susa Bubble Story. You'll find an illustrated narrative, beginning with:

This Is the Story
Of Susa Bubble
Who went to bed single
And woke up double

Woke up as two
In her single bed.
Who are you? Who are you?
She said, she said,

There was no holding on after that
Some were happy, others sad
They all came in the same tiny size
Had short little fingers
And blue round eyes

All of a sudden it stopped finally
And they ended up with thirty-three

What happens at that point in the "savage but sweet" story is more than a little disturbing, because the anticipated Susa 34 doesn't arrive. What does arrive is puzzlement, sadness, suspicion, fear and eventually violence. (I'm not going to give it all away, either.)

Rose's telling of the story employs recurring elements that you might see in other works by her—eyes, fish, water, chairs, trees, flowers, writing, numbers, occasional pigs, and, of course, Susas. This is a rich sim that deserves more than one visit to explore, and in fact the story has grown such that you can find continuations elsewhere in Second Life—some are listed on the notecard you can obtain as you arrive.

From the landing point there are some other teleport opportunities, including one to SaveMe Oh's space higher up overhead and another extraordinary installation by Eupalinos Ugajin, Someday my Cow will Come (both worth a visit on their own).

Oh, and I always say this: please leave a tip if you're able to! :)

The Path

2011-10-25T21:19:00.013-04:00

Many bloggers have already written about The Path, the beautiful new collaborative artwork on the LEA2 (Linden Endowment for the Arts) sim. In particular my friend Inara Pey offered an extensive post that excellently summarizes the delights in this three-month-long installation. But just in case you haven't seen any of those write-ups, I'll say it here: go!

Featuring artwork by Bryn Oh, claudia222 Jewell, Colin Fizgig, Desdemona Enfield, Douglas Story, Marcus Inkpen, Maya Paris, Rose Borchovski and Scottius Polke, The Path was created using the "exquisite corpse" concept whereby each artist worked in turn, a story or concept handed off one to the next. Your guide is the inventor (pictured above)—a click on his head will teleport you to the next installation. Be sure to have your sound turned on, and, if you can, set your windlight settings to change as you move from place to place. To begin your journey, click here.

And as you travel through The Path you might want to zip back and forth a little—or come back to revisit favorite places—so here's a handy teleport guide for your travels.

#1 - Bryn Oh (pictured here) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/213/131/21. You'll have to walk a little ways to the main area, and then you can also step outside to the watery tree world.

#2 - Colin Fizgig - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/113/165/2874

#3 - Marcus Inkpen - my personal favorite because it reminds me of dreams I have :) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/37/173/1003

#4 - Desdemona Enfield and Douglas Story - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/55/124/525

#5 - Maya Paris - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/134/112/1214

#6 - claudia222 Jewell - wow - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/223/50/39

#7 - Scottius Polke - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/154/49/2005

#8 - Rose Borchovski - and be sure to zoom out and look down from the platform - http://slurl.com/secondlife/LEA2/56/64/1423

So there you have it. Plan to go back—I sure have, many times. And thanks to both all the artists who have shared their amazing work with us and to the Linden Endowment for the Arts. If this is a harbinger of things to come, we're no doubt in for some incredible artworks down the road.

Cherry Manga's Aerie

2011-10-20T20:54:00.007-04:00

In the great art sim of Per4mance MetaLES ..O.., curated by Ux Hax, Lanjran Choche and Romy Nayar, we are currently treated to a stunning installation by Cherry Manga entitled Aerie, on display through November 7th. (The sim's exhibition changes on a regular basis, offering women artists in Second Life the opportunity to have the full sim for a month at a time.)

On the ground of the island, tranquil grasses sway gently in the wind while a huge tree towers overhead, its branches occupied by mysterious and surreal shapes. But central to the entire installation are the birds (swallows, perhaps), which quickly swoop around the tree in an astonishing cascade of movement. There are spots where you can click to catch a ride amongst them, as my partner Lexi is doing above (you're looking up at her). Don't miss the opportunity to catch this remarkable work before it disappears!

P.S. A special thank you to Draggy Convair for tipping me off to this lovely exhibition. :)

SL Flickr Pic of the Day

2011-10-19T14:33:00.004-04:00

Back on September 6th I was fooling around at AM Radio's The Quiet, working with Shoji Kumaki's Camera Lock HUD, and took seven images that I later combined, producing this photo. (Click to zoom in.) I thought it was neither very interesting nor representative of my best work, but I posted it on flickr anyway.

I was surprised (I'm honored, really) that the photo was selected today as the SL Flickr Pic of the Day. But...this sim is closed, SL photo editor! The posting on Second Life's Facebook page even gives an SLURL, saying, "Visit inworld at http://pdx.be/f13a." :)

I do hope though that you enjoy my flickr stream—I don't usually cross-post photos between here and there, so go take a peek.

Halloween Hunt, Toyland Style

2011-10-18T11:03:00.005-04:00

I do hope you've been to Toyland, about which I've blogged before. Your childhood will come roaring back as you explore a huge sim of games and toys, all enormous and brightly colored.

The Humdingers, keepers of Toyland, have announced a Halloween hunt, Toyland style: Pacman. It's easy to do and runs until November 5th. Just look around for the "power pills" or pulsating little yellow spheres. Clicking on any one of them will then let you click on a corresponding Pacman ghost (they're wandering around), each of which gives out a different prize. (Hint: the ghosts aren't far from the spheres.)

The impressive list of creators who have contributed to the hunt include Cutea Benelli, Gfresh Botha, Scottius Polke, PeanutbuttahJellehTime Magic, Jeanette Doobie, Huntress Darkfold, Thumper Boucher, Yohane Rockett, Lakhesis Nikolaidis, Photon Pink, Yohane Rockett, Green Hawks and Blueboy Huckleberry. Click here for a teleport to a good spot to start, and have fun! There's also a Halloween Bash on October 29th from 12:00 to 16:00.

Choice!2011

2011-10-17T14:04:00.008-04:00

I'm glad I discovered the blog of Alicia Chenaux, Ch'know? (after being entranced for some reason by this photo on flickr—I love how natural she looks), because that's how I found out about Choice!2011, a cool hunt that lasts only another week, until October 24th.

Twenty different shops have banded together for this event: Body Language, Love Soul, Feather, Picnic, DP yumyum, Vooner, Edelweiss, mocha, Ninoko, Yabusaka, Sick, chronokit, HPMD, grasp, Zero Style, Y's House, Kami-Hitoe, Honey kitty, Hanuata and tram. I knew most of these shops already, but a few were new to me, and that's often the fun of participating in a hunt.

The process is simple: you get a card at any one shop (catch: you have to buy something to get a card, but it's all cool stuff), then carry the card to all the shops and get it stamped at the little machine you'll see at each place. When you're done, you can collect your choice of a prize. I grabbed three I had me eyes on—a hugh mesh dollhouse (which I haven't even rezzed yet!), a cool Chemical Light AO from Kami-Hitoe (it's really fun, believe me—top photos) and the Floating Jar from HPMD (pictured below). Plus in the process I did some shopping, of course!

You have to get one card completely stamped for each prize you want, but if you're sneaky you can carry around more than one card at a time. ;) Have fun!

Gracie Kendal's 1000+ Avatars

2011-10-16T22:03:00.013-04:00

Last year a Second Life artist, Gracie Kendal, embarked on a project called 1000 Avatars: portraits of a thousand avatars, all shot in the same surroundings, and all from the back. The human behind Gracie, Kristine Schomaker, published these as a printed volume in real life, but they're also available for viewing in the sim Coyote, and they're a remarkable sight. Having some time ago reached her goal, she decided to keep going, and as of this evening hit 1,613 portraits.

I stopped by today to be included, and then I hung around for quite a while, watching. It's an interesting situation: You've got one opportunity to have your avatar photographed—so who are you, and how would you like to appear? Gracie will select one photo of you (you pose however you would like, she shoots and then selects whichever photo she likes). The guy right before me came out with two huge guns firing, one in each hand (we covered our ears, and my partner Lexi quipped, "No one uses silencers anymore these days"); I danced a dance called Kiss My Buttons (pic below, click to zoom in); and then Lexi did a one-armed handstand for her photo. It takes maybe around ten minutes for each person, and although you might have to wait a bit it's fascinating to observe. Some people need a little coaching from the very friendly Gracie, and others come in knowing exactly how they want to show themselves. Many of the photos, of course, aren't of "human" avatars—there's even one of a plywood prim.

Looking at the photos on the walls is mesmerizing. (Mine's on the west wall near the northwest corner and is of course the best of the 1,613 haha.)

Gracie is interested in trying to capture the essence of each person in those brief ten minutes and does a remarkable job. She's written much about avatar identity both on her own blog, My Life as an Avatar, and on the project blog, 1000+ Avatars, which also includes a history of the project, an artist statement, and links to some of the many articles and interviews that have been published about Gracie and her work.

Everyone is welcome to be included. You don't need an appointment, but Gracie's shooting on an irregular basis, so the best thing to do is to join her mailing list by touching the subscriber board at the project landing point. There's also a donation box, so please chip in if you can. Oh, and if you want a printed image in real life you can even buy one from her: just head here, and you even get your portrait from the front too!

The Mask: a syncronicity

2011-10-15T23:11:00.008-04:00

This evening when Rose Borchovski urged people to head over to the Odyssey Arts and Performance Simulator for an event called The Mask, I happened to make the right choice by going. There are so many arts events in Second Life that it seems impossible to attend them all, but this was something else, something extraordinary. Created by Jo Ellsmere, Pyewacket Kazyanenko and Kai Steamer, "The Mask: a syncronicity" is a multimedia performance utilizing movement and music to express the theme of Carmen Auletta's poem, "The Mask."

It's a stunning piece of choreography that last about eight minutes. Three dancers, one white, one black, one red, do something that can't be done in real life: they occupy the same space at the same time, their bodies melding in an intersection of textures, and then break apart, sometimes completely or sometimes only partially—an arm or leg for example will leave the fold for a moment and then return.

Judging by the accolades from the audience, I wasn't alone in my reaction—I was enthralled. But this piece is only here through Sunday, October 16th—you have to go right now! Click here for a teleport link—you'll arrive on the ground and will need to click on the nearby box for a tp up to the platform.

Although the performance this afternoon used "live" performers, Jo and her colleagues have set the entire piece on a continual loop using bots—you'll see a note in open chat as it begins and ends. When you arrive, change your Windlight setting to [Euphoria] monochrome, and make sure the media stream is turned on, which provides Morton Feldman's haunting Rothko Chapel, fitting beautifully with the choreography.

New door at HuMaNoiD

2011-10-10T22:25:00.006-04:00

If you haven't been to Wendy Xeno's HuMaNoiD recently, it's time to return! Every now and then she adds a new door at the landing point, opening into another little world to explore, and this time offers "cirque"—just look for the door with the raven perched on top. An elaborate display (pictured above, as best as I could capture it) offers you a chance to swing, pole dance in a cage or just relish in the brilliant red textures.

I found as I looked around at all the doors that there were a couple others that were new to me too, including "lost generation" (below), which requires media to play to really see it. I love this sim.

Kitty redux

2011-10-09T21:32:00.004-04:00

This evening when I logged in, I was greeted by this message from Gogo: "hi there! ... I'm sendin you my extra girl cat"—and yes, there in my inventory was a kitty named Pinky Spice. (If you've been reading my blog, you'll know I recently purchased a cat from blogger Gogo of JuicyBomb.com, not that I had any intention of acquiring another!) Plus, it turns out Pinky Spice is sick! ... "she's a bit sick, (starving) but she's getting better," calmly remarked Gogo as I rezzed the kitty, who appeared in a basket with a thermometer in her mouth. I was already laughing pretty hard before that fact came out, but I'm happy to report that Pinky Spice—who looks exactly like Kool-Aid, the famous JuicyBomb cat—is recuperating and should soon be back to health. While I was really delighted to receive this unexpected gift, a word to the rest of you: don't even think of it. :D

Rodvik's ... pony?

2011-10-06T21:34:00.008-04:00

Everyone knows that each Linden creates a bear, and some of us have quite a little collection of these oddities, which exhibit remarkable variety and craftsmanship. So it was a curious moment yesterday evening when Jayjay Zifanwe, the esteemed owner and curator of the University of Western Australia sim, piped up and asked to the UWA group, "ummm did anyone receive anything from rodvik linden?" and then, "Rodvik Linden has offered you 'Rodvik's Pink Pwnie' in Second Life. Log in to accept or decline the offer." To which the masses, suspecting trickery, shouted, "Don't rez it!" "Place it in a Linden sandbox!" "Throw it away!" and so on. (Yours truly included.)

Undaunted, Mr. Zifanwe rezzed the item, which turned out to be "Rodvik's Pink Pwnie" ... whatever that was! Upon further investigation, Rhett Linden confirmed with Jayjay that this is indeed Rodvik's "bear"—so clearly there's a radical at the helm, threatening to buck tradition! A pony?! (And hopefully Jayjay will accept this as Rodvik's entry to the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge!) :)

If you want to go investigate the critter, head over to the UWA sim—Jayjay has rezzed her (or him?) for all to see!

UPDATE: Jayjay and others have now started a little collection of bears there, including M Linden's bear, Philip Linden's bear and Governor Linden's bear! Read more on his blog.

Thanks, Steve.

2011-10-05T22:13:00.002-04:00

It wasn't unexpected news, but was of the saddest variety. I feel silenced for the moment. What can one say?

soror's Boogaloo

2011-10-04T21:09:00.005-04:00

We haven't seen much of soror Nishi (pictured below) in Second Life lately, as she's been busy in Inworldz, where she maintains two sims. So it's nice to see her back by way of invitation from Dividni Shostakovich, the curator of owner of the Split Screen Installation Space, which occupies half the region of Beleza. Usually artists here are granted a quarter-sim space for a month, but this time Dividni has offered a half-sim, and soror has created Boogaloo: A Visual Mash-Up, which, as soror put it, is "a bit of a mash-up of some of my bigger builds ... one was called Magoo ... and Boogaloo sounded good."

Most of the items you see here—the trees, plants, and so on—are actually for sale, and since soror closed her Second Life shop some time ago this represents a rare opportunity to acquire some of her creations. Don't wait too long, because this lovely place is only here through the month of October! Please make a contribution if you can to ensure that other exhibitions continue here. (And this place is on the Destination Guide, so of course lots of new residents are arriving and wondering what to do, so it's a great opportunity to lend them a hand too!)

Cutea's Halloween Special

2011-10-03T21:22:00.009-04:00

Boooo! Yeah, it's only October 3rd, but why not get in the mood, huh? Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore the work of Cutea Benelli, the mastermind behind Grim Bros., and how much her stuff makes me laugh with delight (literally with the "murdered bunny toy"—what is going on in that brain of hers?). For Halloween this year, Cutea has already rolled out a special place to explore, with two sides: turn right for "Harmless Halloween (you know, pumpkins n cauldrons n stuff" or turn left for "Really Scary Halloween (you know, with severed heads etc.)." And I was even more delighted when turning left (of course dear readers!) to discover a big ol' haunted house designed by my bestest pal Martin Ren, architect extraordinaire and former proprietor of the original Flashmans.

Of course there are some things for sale up here too, and I'm sure you're going to be delighted with anything you might happen to select. If you're in the mood for even more, don't hesitate to visit the main Grim Bros. store just below—there's a teleport right there at the, um, merry-go-round if that's what it is! (Oh! It is ... just have a seat and then click the main pillar!) :)

P.S. As I'm exploring, I'm discovering that some things are for free, too, so click on stuff! Almost everything is for sale.

Meta_Body: Delicatessen

2011-10-02T21:14:00.009-04:00

If you're like me and enjoy changing your appearance in major ways from time to time—I don't mean putting on the latest awesome hair from Truth, I mean transforming into something really different—then pop over to Delicatessen, where CapCat Ragu and meilo Minotaur have not only made a ton of cool avatars for you, but also they've made them available for free. Delicatessen itself is a trip, but these "Meta_Body" avatars are just sheer delight, and a real gift to the Second Life community. I grabbed all of them (I count 18 unless I missed one!)—each is a complete package with shape, skin and all attachments. There's a Meta_Body flickr group, so be sure to post your images there, and don't forget to leave a tip at Delicatessen for these uber-generous creators!

Boobie-Thon!

2011-10-01T11:37:00.006-04:00

Yes, it's Boobie-Thon time! Organized by artists Rowan Derryth and PJ Trenton, the inworld Boobie-Thon is an opportunity to raise awareness of and contributions for breast cancer research, with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 37 Second Life artists have contributed artworks that go up for auction later today, with bids closing on October 6th. Stop by the RoHaus Gallery in Magna Carta today (Saturday, October 1) at 7:30 SLT for an opening reception, and please consider placing a bid on one or more items! Many of the items are one-of-a-kind, and the artworks vary from 2D photos (like the one I offered) to gorgeous 3D and/or animated works—I love the one by Glyph Graves in particular. Click the poster for a larger view.

Here, Kitty, Kitty

2011-09-26T17:41:00.005-04:00

74444444444444444444 <-- You see that? My real life cat typed that (really!) just as I started to write this.

So ... the other day I'm going through blogs I read all the time—Dwell On It (Tateru Nino), Daniel Voyager's Blog, Living in a Modem World (required reading from Inara Pey), and Juicybomb. And there on Juicybomb is this post about Gogo and her kittycat ... and she's selling him! So, out of curiosity, off I went to Sleepy Bay, where the kitty was for sale via Khea Karas. I had often seen references to Meeroos (and had ventured across one or two), Amaretto Breedables, Sion Chickens and the like, but had never bothered to check any of them out. Not my thing, really.

So I arrive at Sleepy Bay, and there are like a bazillion cats there, and this particular cat for sale set on a pedestal. Price tag (I'll say it): L$5,000, and with a hovering text that said, "I'm Famous! - JuicyBomb Cat." Not that there weren't a few others for, say, L$1,000 nearby. And I'm thinking to myself, "Well, what do you do with a cat?" But, flush with cash, I pulled the trigger ... "[2011/09/25 14:38] You are now the owner of object KittyCats - I'm Famous! - JuicyBomb Cat" ... and my partner Lexi, who was standing there, thought I was out of my mind. (Although she often thinks that anyway.)

I thought to myself, "Great, I can see the headlines now: 'Ziki Questi purchases Gogo's kittycat and it starves to death.'" So in half a panic I dashed off, bought food, milk, a scratching post, a bed, and started reading all about these kitties. Plus I got it that you have to give some emotional care, so I'm holding him, playing ball, making sure he's ok. Kinda cute, this guy, and can tell why they're so addicting, because they are. I chatted with Gogo (she's waiting for a girl kitty) and sent her a pic to let her know he's in good hands (I hope!). So just like that I own a virtual pet, and I'm delighted: he's fun and I'm happy.

Exhibition at the Isle of Dee

2011-09-20T20:47:00.004-04:00

How did I manage to not even mention my exhibition at the Town Hall at the Isle of Dee? Well, thanks to the generosity of Merthyn Vintner and Rhea Vintner, I was offered the ground floor for the month of September—so you don't have long to catch it! It's not a huge show, but there are some large pieces in the gallery that capture some of Calas Galadhon, Abbey Island, The Abyss, Zigana at Sea Salts and tram in the region Camomile. Sometimes when I visit I teleport right to the gallery, but other times I have to wind my way through the sim to get there, which isn't the least of problems because it's such a beautiful place. If you're hunting for the Town Hall, the coordinates are 53, 151, 22. The Isle of Dee is a Medieval roleplay sim, but you don't need an observer tag—just be polite and explore!

Thank you, AM

2011-09-19T20:05:00.006-04:00

A week ago AM Radio logged in, and I went over to IDIA Laboratories to say hello. I hadn't seen him inworld in a while. "I am surprised the sim is still here," he said, in reference to the announcement back in April that the sim would close in six months's time. I had always taken that to mean October, and had slowly been taking photos and footage for machinima, some of which you can see on my flickr stream.

Today the IDIA Laboratories sim closed, and with it some of the most striking places in Second Life. They weren't just places, but were works of art that invited us to reconsider our sense of self, that engaged our perceptions of space, solitude and community ... our sense of relationships to one another. Maybe AM didn't think of his work as art, but as Mel Bochner beautifully put it, "Art is a way of thinking about things."

They were also wildly beautiful places. It's funny, but I've always thought of AM's work more in relation to postmodern dance than visual art, reminded of how Merce Cunningham was our master of depth on the stage. Perhaps in time we will see AM's full sim creations again, or something like them. But until then, I would like simply to say: Thanks, AM Radio. And thanks also to John Fillwalk and the team at IDIA Laboratories at Ball State University for having had the vision to support AM's work.

Then it was time for him to go. I was taking these photos, and he left. It was 5:30 SLT on September 12th. I don't think he got another look.

****

[2011/09/12 17:00] AM Radio: i dont know how to use viewer two
[2011/09/12 17:01] AM Radio stares at viewer two wondering where the hell the menus are
[2011/09/12 17:01] Ziki Questi: well, it's best to download firestorm
[2011/09/12 17:01] AM Radio: available for mac?
[2011/09/12 17:02] Ziki Questi: oh yes
[2011/09/12 17:02] Ziki Questi: i have macs and run it
[2011/09/12 17:02] AM Radio: nice

****

Japan Dream Kenjin

2011-08-19T14:38:00.008-04:00

Among my favorite places in Second Life is the marvelous sim known as Japan Dream Kenjin. Allow yourself to be transported back in time to a small Japanese fishing village ("Shouwa") in the 1960s. The village has probably seen better days, or maybe never saw them at all—it's an endless maze of narrow twisted alleyways and staircases, tiny shops and buildings, lighthouses, piers and concrete quays, all decorated with a dazzling array of distressed signs (mostly in Japanese, of course). Seagulls swoop overhead as small waves lap the shoreline.

Shouwa is bright and colorful, stunningly picturesque, but evocative of tough subsistence living and maybe a touch of squalor. There are some small shops here and there, too—one of them being that of the city's creator and owner, clubkenjin Loon (visit hers, "boss shop," here). There are builds under the water, too, so don't forget to take a look down there.

Adjoining Japan Dream Kenjin are two homestead sims. The first, Malandi (pictured above), is a mountain that juts out of the sea, again piled with small shops, houses, buildings and especially picturesque windmills. Here, take a seat to view the touching machinima, Never Give Up Japan: Pray for Japan Second Life, which was created in response to the tragic earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. You can also view this worldwide expression of sympathy on YouTube. Also on YouTube is another extraordinary piece of machinima by clubkenjin Loon called Girls in the SKY, filmed at Japan Dream Kenjin.

To the south of Japan Dream Kenjin lies the sim of Asian Dream Kenjin (above), owned in part by heroin Allen. It's a touch different and features a modern-looking nightclub, Cordelia (or Nomandie as it says on heroin's picks). It's a "techno trance dj mix" place that seems to often feature the work of RollpanCake Mode (about whom more here and here). But also in this sim there is more from clubkenjin Loon, apparently under construction.

I often say this but I'll say it again—do make a contribution when you can. There are tip jars here and there as way for you to support the colossal amount of work it must have taken to create Japan Dream Kenjin. (And, as always, click on the images to zoom in.)

Exhibition at Serenity Gallery

2011-08-03T00:15:00.003-04:00

Eliana Zaytsev, the curator of historic Lauk's Nest, has very kindly invited me to exhibit some of my recent photographs at the Serenity Gallery in the Arcata region. During the month of August you are welcome to visit, and an opening reception will be held on Wednesday, August 3 at 6 p.m. SLT. There are some new items on display, including photos of creations by Wendy Xeno, AM Radio and others.

Whitechapel 1888

2011-07-23T13:10:00.007-04:00

Little did anyone suspect when the body of prostitute Mary Ann Nichols turned up on the streets of Whitechapel at 3:40 a.m. on August 31, 1888 that it was anything more than a random—although extraordinarily violent—killing. The seedy, impovershed neighborhood in the East End of London was a tough place that only the most downtrodden called home. But the knife that slashed through Mary Ann Nichols's throat and abdomen quickly found a string of other victims, murders all attributed to the unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper.

Mr. Spooks Whitechapel (a.k.a. Spooks Blackburn) has given life to this place in his great creation, Whitechapel 1888. Here you'll see each of Jack's victims—discreetly covered by bloodied sheets—along with information about them and their unfortunate ends. The streets and shops are peppered with informational signs that describe the life, people and history of Whitechapel. You can see, for example, The Ten Bells, a pub many of Jack's victims seemed to have patronized, at the corner of Goulston and Commercial (which is not quite historically accurate, as in real life the two streets didn't quite intersect—the original Whitechapel was a maze of narrow alleyways—but Spooks would have needed several sims to recreate it literally, and this is a pretty impressive place, brilliantly done).

Also here can learn about another famous Whitechapel resident, Joseph Merrick, who sadly became known as the Elephant Man. The poor guy was actually exhibited here at a shop.

So ... go have fun at Whitechapel 1888, but keep a eye over your shoulder. And don't forget to leave a tip! ;)

Gallery at La Galleria

2011-07-20T08:40:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the graciousness of my friend Pamela Galli, proprietor of the fabulous La Galleria brand of furniture, homes, rugs, plants, and everything else for your domestic enjoyment in Second Life (her stoves even cook food and hand it to you!), I've opened a gallery of photography at one of her four sims. Stop by to browse or to make a purchase—everything is copy/mod. And while you're here, teleport down to the ground to spend some time exploring Pam's extensive creations!

Lemondrop's Forest

2011-07-16T13:33:00.006-04:00

You know those sims where you can explore for hours, continue to be amazed even after all that time, and then find that you're still discovering new things? Lemondrop's Forest is just such a place, an astonishing cascade of colors, corridors, candy wrappers and a cornucopia of everything else. The main structural feature (photo at the bottom of the post) is an enormous 300 meter tall tree, underneath which, around which, inside which and on top which is a seemingly endless series of delights created by Lemondrop Serendipity and Photon Pink.

Grab a car tour for a quick initial look, and have fun with the gondola too, but you'll need to set out on foot and by air for a complete exploration (there are gliders on high). Below, in the watery world under the tree, visit the shops, try to avoid getting eaten by alligators (oh, but what fun is that? go ahead and get munched on—that's my friend Lexi getting devoured while I nonchalantly look on), and visit the "First Prim in SL" (which says it was created by Philip Linden on 29 April 2002). As you head up into the town level, there's a fascinating exhibition—everywhere—of Russian candy wrappers. Hidden away but worth finding is a little shop with wonderful things for sale by Rachel Breaker. Also here is Poopsburgh, a lighthearded scatological (do those words go together?) town populated by, um, poop. I'm not sure what else to say about it, but hold your nose and go visit.

And remember, please donate when you visit these places—they're not inexpensive to maintain, and we all benefit from having these remarkable creations to enjoy. :) I'll be posting some more images on my flickr stream.

Amore Perduto Gallery

2011-07-08T00:59:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the very kind invitation of Daisy Haefnir-Braveheart and Captain Braveheart, some of my works will now be on display at the Amore Perduto Gallery, a huge place with a ton of outstanding art on display, so stop by to visit. The sim below is lovely, and I understand there's even a ballroom here. I'll be rotating images here every couple weeks—for now some images from Innsmouth, Deviant and Abbey Island, and tram.

Joining the AM Radio Exhibition at RoHaus

2011-07-06T11:48:00.003-04:00

Sadly, the excellent photographer Raven Halaan has abruptly left Second Life, and was one of four whose works were shown at the Radio Days: An Homage to AM Radio exhibition at RoHaus, curated by Rowan Derryth. I'm flattered to have been asked to step in, and my work is now up on the walls, so please come stop by! We're up through July. Works by Stephen Venkman, PJ Trenton and Rowan Derryth are also on display, as well as a special build by AM Radio just next door.

Toyland!

2011-07-04T18:53:00.006-04:00

Feeling regressive? Then zoom back to your childhood by heading over to Toyland, Home of Humdingers, a jumbled mess of building blocks, crayons and childhood games of every description (the names changed, of course!)—each of which will resurrect some fuzzy memory of days gone by. You're going to go, "Oh, I remember that thing!"

The creators say, "So, what's there to do here? Well, here in Toyland, there isn't a thing you cant have a good time with! Battle your friends in a intense game of Four in a Row or try your luck at Tic Tac Toe. Run on the wheel of life or make music on the keyboard or xylophone. The limitations are endless! Not up for the fun and games? Maybe you'd rather lounge around and just enjoy the view? No problem! Find your way to many hang out zones located around the sim."

There are a bunch of stores hidden here and there in the place too, including my favorite Grim Bros.—click on the chalkboard (or blackboard—what are those things called these days?) to get a directory. Thanks to my friend Naxos Loon for tipping me off on to Toyland—he's on the left below; I'm on the right in an alpha.tribe outfit. And thanks to "The Dingers" as they call themselves—Eolene Uralia, Blueboy Huckleberry and Dingle Doigits—for this cool spot to visit.

AM Radio at IDIA Laboratories

2011-07-03T13:16:00.016-04:00

Back in April, AM Radio announced that he will be closing his space at IDIA Laboratories this fall. If you haven't been there, go, because they're among the most remarkable environments in Second Life, and they're pristinely beautiful. To me what is most striking, even now after many, many visits, is AM's use of depth, a reorientation of our sense of distance and space. His textures, sounds and animations are superb. Much has been written about his work (see for example Rowan Derryth's interview on Prim Perfect), so I won't say more here, but I will provide a brief guide to the five spaces at IDIA, all at different elevations. You'll want to turn your draw distance up when you visit if it isn't already well over 200. And have fun, too...there are intentional opportunities for playing around and being silly here. (Click on the images for closer views, and click on the headers for slurls.)

The Quiet: Further Away and Further Apart
On the lowest level of the sim, visit The Quiet, a wintery world where snow delicately falls and crunches under your feet. You'll receive an offer of a few things as you arrive to help you enjoy your visit. Do click on things and try sitting here and there—you'll discover some unexpected surprises (as you will in some of the other spaces too).

The Ferry
When you visit The Ferry, which is modeled after a real life location, you'll explore the ferry itself, a small house on the water, and maybe the little rocky island. But do click on the boat on the ferry's deck to get one of your own, and then race it about! Jump down a few blog posts here and you'll see a video of me crashing into various things (including AM) as I try to navigate.

Surface
Train tracks that extend off into the distance are bordered by fields (some on fire!) and a house, with freight cars seemingly abandoned on the tracks. Here, click on the spray paint can to actually decorate the sides of the train! Your images will be uploaded to the surfacegraph stream on flickr for posterity (these are great to look through!), and will also appear on the cars, at least until someone else comes along. Again, click on things—you'll get a gift inside the house.

Superdyne
A more surreal space with a sewing machine out of control (or perhaps doing exactly what it should be doing!), this is a great place for driving around as if you're on some salt flats. There are some exquisite small creations here—I love the microscope.

A Little Further Than Before
The most minimal of all the spaces, A Little Further Than Before is a vast expanse with a solitary house, but it's no less beautiful than the other environments. There's a lovely quietude here. [Update on 4 August 2011: This level has now closed.]

The Corn Field

2011-07-02T23:32:00.001-04:00

A long time ago, if you were very, very naughty, you'd get sent to The Corn Field ... a bit of a banishment, like being sent away into temporary exile as penance. And you couldn't leave. The Corn Field still exists today, and you can go visit it (it was closed for a long time, so who knows how long you've got!). What's there is, well, corn, and lots of it. The Lindens began opening The Corn Field for some Halloween parties a few years ago (some pics are here and there in my flickr stream), and so if you visit you're likely to find a few Halloween things here and there, and, oh, lots and lots and lots of corn.

HuMaNoiD

2011-07-01T14:45:00.005-04:00

Every time I visit HuMaNoiD I fall in love with it all over again—and I don't want to leave. Created by Wendy Xeno, it's one of the most extraordinary sims on the grid, a dream-like world with a sexy soundtrack and gorgeous windlight settings. I've been wanting to blog about HuMaNoiD for a while but have been at a loss for words...a new 5-day-old resident I just met here who seemed in a mesmerized daze remarked, "I think this place is wonderland." It's just exquisite in every detail, a photographer's dream—you can see some additional images on my flickr stream. Be sure to head through the doors at the landing point for even more cool spaces. Thanks to my friend MissMoe Requiem for introducing me to the place!

Art show!

2011-06-26T18:29:00.004-04:00

Rowan Derryth has invited me to show some of my photography at her Avalon Arts Initiative space, and it opens today, Sunday, June 26, at 4 pm slt! So if you're free please stop by and say hello! The show will be up for a bit—I'll post an update as soon as I know the closing date. The images are mostly new ones documenting works by AM Radio, Wendy Xeno, Elizabeth Tinsley, Saigye Lotus and others!

Bumperboats at The Ferry

2011-05-30T22:19:00.004-04:00

A couple nights ago I spent a very silly and delightful evening at AM Radio's installation The Ferry, zooming around in a 1951 runabout, as AM Radio and Hitomi Mokusei did the same, and MissMoe Requiem (who had originally hopped in my boat) rezzed an ambulance. Enjoy! ;-)

Bumperboats at The Ferry from Ziki Questi on Vimeo.

Visit The Ferry.

Sextan at Liberty Cove

2011-05-12T12:10:00.000-04:00

Master builder Sextan Shepherd has been quietly creating things at his new sim, Liberty Cove, and it's open to the public—click here for a limo. Upon arriving you will discover some new items such as the Stellar Supernova (sit down to experience), the Verne Globe Revision II and the breathtaking "Clock-art-deco-B2"(click to experience!). From that spot, walk across the drawbridge, which can be raised and lowered, over to the Oracle, a mysterious installation with moving parts and an animation. (Pictured above, but obviously photos can't do it justice.) Look to the south, over in the distance and across the water, and you will make out a little town of shops that sell some of Sextan's lovely textures, flying machines and other curiosities. But looming overhead is an enormous robot, seemingly attacking the town (maybe not without a touch of humor!)—a build still in progress as I write this. When I first saw the robot it had only an elbow, and now it's waiting for a head—stay tuned! :) You can see some additional images on my flickr page.

Eggs and Legs

2011-04-22T12:53:00.005-04:00

Just in time for Easter, Autumn Teardrop came out with the playful A.T. Easter Basket (click to zoom). Wear the alpha layer to hide your top, the panties to hide your naughty bits, and the basket of eggs and—voilà!—you're now ready to walk around in style. You and your friends can click on the basket to receive free edible chocolates, animation included. Visit Autumn's store to get yours for only L$159!

Here I'm wearing a skirt from a lovely new Lady Thera outfit (not included of course), and at my feet is a grim little Easter freebie sent by Cutea Benelli to the Grim Bros. group.

Nemo! Yay!

2011-04-03T13:43:00.006-04:00

Hooray! Sanity has prevailed! Now I can say run, run to Nemo Revisited, where the ground texture problem has been fixed (thanks, Ozz Seattle), and you can enjoy Nemo in all its intended splendor. The House of Mirrors is also there! ("I'm gonna make you my official lawyer!" Sextan quipped.) ;)

Nemo Catastrophe

2011-04-02T15:28:00.009-04:00

I'm going to say this because Sextan Shepherd is too much of a gentleman to say it. Like lots of people, I was thrilled to hear that Sextan was rebuilding Nemo, his underwater steampunk city, for the Fantasy Faire. With a few subtle tweaks here and there, it's pretty close to the same thing as the original. But ... what's this outside the window? Well, until a couple days ago, just as Sextan finished his build, it was a nice sandy underwater look, perfectly appropriate to the build. But whoever runs this sim for the Fantasy Faire decided to change the ground texture to make it look "more steampunk" from what I understand, with the result that it visually destroys Sextan's entire work. So if you go, you're going to have to hold your nose as you look out the windows. It's absolutely hideous, and it's a shame that the integrity of an artist's creation has been so destroyed without any consideration. Plus, the organizers asked Sextan if he wanted a store to market his creations, and when he said yes he was informed he'd have to pay for it. So: shame on you, Fantasy Faire people, for being so arrogant as to take advantage of a well known SL artist and then to destroy his work by changing the setting after it was completed. My recommendation—don't visit Nemo Revisited if you have any inclination to hold on to your memories of the original build. This is a disaster.

Adieu, Boughan's Chance

2011-03-27T22:23:00.005-04:00

All the time I've been writing this blog I've never written about Boughan's Chance at Walkaloosa, a lovely sim, and now: too late. This precious place, which has been my home for the past three years (although I was but a squatter in a skybox), closed this morning, a victim of cost. My warmest thanks to Mr. Boughan Humphreys, its owner (heavily steampunked (or something!) below), who provided many moments of laughter and merriment over the years. I'm going to miss those huge Sue Stonebender trees swaying in the breeze, the curios dotting the island, and the wry sense of humor that permeated the region. One of my favorite things to do in Second Life has been to just fly in circles around and around the island, somehow so relaxing. Now it's time to move on.

Silly Stuff: The Mad Tea Party

2011-03-12T14:22:00.006-05:00

One of the things I love most about Grim Bros. is that when I walk around the store I sometimes burst out laughing. And that's good medicine for anyone, right? Cutea Benelli's tragically warped imagination continues to come up with some of the most delightfully absurd items in Second Life, and today, dear readers, I present to you The Mad Tea Party, a gown obviously inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Click the photos to zoom in.) Just the checkered dress, you ask? Oh, no, I answer: it's everything you see, including the table, chairs, teapots (of which there are many, including quite a display on my hat, and even attached to my upper arms!), the March Hare, the Dormouse, a house of cards and a clock (plus probably a few other things I've yet to notice). Mind you, this striking assemblage has a considerable avatar rendering cost, but its Linden dollar cost is only 520, a steal! Run to Grim Bros. at Clematis Island and shop to your heart's content.

Silly Stuff: June's Dollhouse

2011-01-30T21:34:00.005-05:00

The other day I logged in to find my Second Life avatar, above, playing around in Third Life. Well, no, actually, what yours truly is playing with is just an amazing little creation by June Trenkins, a stunning wearable dollhouse—which is great because you can "wear" it anywhere, even in no-rez sims—that's for sale for only L$1 at Kattastrophe, a store in the sim Calypso that June shares with her friend Katta. A 256 prim miniature build, the dollhouse includes dolls and even little poseballs (see the downstairs sofa and chair, the upstairs bed, and the chair in the upper library!). It's a terrific conversation piece, and comes with a children's version that gives you a sitting pose (doesn't work for large avatars, sorry), and also includes a doll ("real" sized) and a wearable swing. What more could you want for a buck? Plus, if you visit Kattastrophe you'll find a ton of other delightful and crazy items.

The Cod Supper Club

2011-01-23T11:43:00.009-05:00

Devoted blog readers will be familiar with the venerable if seedy establishment known as Flashmans about which I've written a couple times, and yesterday many old Flashers, including yours truly, had a blast at its 4th anniversary party in the sim of Esoterica. The original proprietor of Flashmans, Martin Ren (a man of many qualities), was on hand to help spin some tunes.

Of late, however, Martin's attention has been focused on his new watering hole, The Cod Supper Club, which quietly opened its doors a few months back in Olberlos, site of Flashmans Mark 2. Martin describes the Cod as "an eclectic and relaxed hangout for eclectic and relaxed people, specialising in retro music just off the beaten track," by which Martin means just about anything under the sun—jazz, lounge, folk, beat, soul, world, classical, roots, anything from the 20s through the 70s. Music aside, it's likely to be the esoteric, eccentric and wide-ranging conversation that will captivate your attention.

When you arrive at the Cod you'll never know what to expect because the space features several distinct architectural designs or modules that Martin can change in the blink of an eye. At my last visit, shown here, we danced in a darkish club scene, but you might very well arrive to find trees and a field of grass. Martin says he's completed four of these sets so far and is working on more. (Above, that's Martin second from the left, with me on the far right, and below, Martin with the lovely Sophie DuCasse.)

Silly Stuff: Om Nom Nom

2011-01-20T13:56:00.005-05:00

Crunch, crunch, crunch ... those wings are tasty! Yes, it's the Oops! Munch Faery (or what's left of it), a nice little creation by Evangeline Miles, owner of Evie's Closet in the region Oubliette, and if you're hungry you too can obtain one at her shop for only L$50! (Mine is an older violet model, but now for sale is a newer Monarch-winged creature—a little better I think.) She also sells a Goldfish Mer Munch for those of you who prefer to live underwater or just like a little seafood in your avatar's diet from time to time.

Now, I was going to also post a link for where to get the lovely razor shown below (CoG Design Shave GuM), but sadly its creator, mariesophie Vita, has pulled it from sale. I had already taken the photo, so there you go. And you can still visit her store, CoG Design, here. :) (No little winged people or razor blades were harmed in the creation of this blog post.)

Silly Stuff: Walking Drinks Tray

2011-01-18T12:30:00.006-05:00

I collect a lot of silly things in Second Life (I like to make people laugh, as my friends might tell you), and I thought I'd start blogging about some of those crazy items from time to time. So here's the first one (for no particular reason), the Walking Drinks Tray created by Autumn Teardrop. This is a complete avatar—an alpha layer hides your top, and you wear the drinks tray—simple enough—and the tray even dispenses drinks to people who click on it! Panties are included, but you can wear anything you'd like on the legs, or just show them off (they're your usual legs, of course). With a good AO you'll be strutting around handing out champagne in no time, and it always makes people laugh.

Go Get Lost

2011-01-13T07:34:00.011-05:00

Yes, go get lost, literally. My newfound friend Connie Darcy (whom my partner Barbie and I met with her partner Bib Aabye at Babele Fashion) has constructed a colossal maze in the region Cloverfirld—two mazes, actually—by far the largest I've ever seen in Second Life. Click at the entrance to receive an optional HUD that will give you an overhead view as you walk along.

The upper maze, which Connie nonchalantly calls the "easy" maze (aaargh! NOT!), exits into a central tower, atop which you can see me and Barbie in the photo above. (If you click on the photo to zoom in, you'll see that the lovely Barbie was so traumatized from the experience that she pulled out Ernie teh Sock Monkey—a super-handy item for those moments of stress, created by BaileyMarie Princess—get one for only L$100 at Abbey Island.)

It's not easy to find your way, believe me, and to make matters worse we gave up and cheated. ;-) I haven't had the energy to try the lower, harder maze yet, but if you spot me wandering lost in there, please lend a hand!

Venturing Out

2010-12-09T12:57:00.006-05:00

I'll be the first to admit that I often revisit the same places in Second Life over and over, even though I do try to make a point of seeing something new once in a while. And I'm over-reliant on event notices from groups to which I belong. So I decided today to fearlessly strike out to see what else is happening around the grid, and the very first spot I happened to pick—Builder's Brewery—gave me a real "palms-to-face" experience, as I wondered how I could have ever not known of its existence. I've recently discovered the joys of building (thanks in large part to Sextan Shepherd and Nemo, although I'm far from having anything like Sextan's technical proficiency!), and Builder's Brewery is just the place for me: "Our goals are to help improve the visual and structural quality of SL, by encouraging intelligent builds, textures and innovations, thru education, sharing and support."

One of the cool things about Builder's Brewery are the events—lots of free classes, and I certainly plan to attend some this weekend. Here are a few that caught my eye—these are all free:
Thursday, December 9th (today):
   Scripting a fireplace, 1 pm, Auryn Beorn
   Texture Change via Menu, 3 pm, Auryn Beorn
Friday, December 10th:
   Bonsai Tree, 12:30 am, Zophya Galaxy
   Intro to Rokuro, 5:30 pm, Gramma Fiddlesticks
Saturday, December 11:
   Basic Roofs, 5:30 am, Jayden Firehawk
Sunday, December 12:
   Complex Roofs, 5:30 am, Jayden Firehawk
   Blender: Mirror Modifier, 4 pm, Eleanora Newell

I see other classes from earlier in the week that I'm sure will be repeated—Easy Spiral Stairs, Scripting for Beginners, Seamless Textures and more. So stop by and enrich your mind and skills!

Not into building? If you're the literary type, venture over to Circe's Sanctuary at Laurel Arts Isle, owned by Circe Broom-Merricks, for some live poetry on Saturday at 11. DonJuan Writer, whose first name is a reference to Carlos Castaneda's mentor Don Juan Matus, will read some of his works—he's been writing poetry for a number of years and has been a featured poet/performer throughout SL.

Of course, the biggest bunch of events this weekend—starting tomorrow and running and throughout next week—is Winterfest, a cornucopia of music, winter sports and silliness. Be sure to bring your mittens! I'm most looking forward to the Linden-Resident snowball fights on December 16th at 4 pm and December 17th at 8 am (Chamonix City's Kerry Gretzky tells me that Torley Linden promises to be at snowball fight #1), but between now and then don't miss the Hockey All-Star Game, which starts at 3 pm on Sunday, December 12th (also viewable on Treet TV if you prefer), and lots of other stuff from a Snowman Building Contest to Snow Maze Races! See the Winterfest blog post by Delby Linden for more info.

Virtual Museums Incorporated

2010-12-04T21:59:00.008-05:00

I had been meaning for some time (this always happens...) to blog about the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum, an extraordinary museum located in Second Life, licensed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to display the architect's works, supplemented with displays about his life, his philosophy, and a modest shop. As someone who works in and around the museum world in real life, I wasn't expecting much when I first set foot here a couple months ago, but I was not only surprised by the elegance and care of the installation—how beautifully done!—but also the dedication and sense of mission projected by the staff, who were clearly knowledgable, engaged and moving forward. The virtual museum had created replicas of several of Wright's best known works, including Fallingwater, which in real life is located in southwestern Pennsylvania. I've not seen the "real" Fallingwater, but I have to admit my breath was quite taken away when I saw the virtual one. "This is why people are so amazed by it!" I thought to myself as I cammed around, admiring the water and the flow of the architecture. (It made me want to get in a car and drive to see the real thing!) Also at the museum are thoughtfully executed installations on Wright's work and life.

Sadly, all this has come to naught, as the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which had previously granted a license to the SL museum, has now, because of stupidity, short-sightedness or greed (or maybe a combination of all three) sent a cease and desist letter, revoking all rights to Wright's work. So the virtual museum will close at 6 pm SLT on December 5th, a great loss to scholars and students of architecture and anyone who loves Wright's work. (I'm fortunate to know a couple members of the Wright family, and although I haven't talked with them about this I can't imagine they would want to see this remarkable virtual museum close its doors.) Remarkably, my friend Ethan Westland, the chairman of the virtual museum, says with optimism, "There are always possibilities...We will rebuild the campus as something new...The outpouring from the virtual world has energized us all." More power to you, Ethan. And shame on you, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation!

The Man — Oldest Object in Second Life

2010-11-08T22:40:00.012-05:00

Yeah, it's sexist as hell that the statue The Man (sometimes called The Statue of Man) is the oldest object in Second Life. Nonetheless, you can see all ten prims of it in old Natoma, and it's remarkably simple if exceptionally ancient, built on Friday, June 19th, 2002 by oldjohn Linden. From its position on what's called Philip's Hill, overlooking the Ivory Tower of Primitives, you can't help but feel some reverence for it (or, in our case, simply sit on it *grins*) and think back to how impressive it must have looked. "Let's push it over," quipped my partner Barbie. ;-)

a Petrovsky flux

2010-11-07T13:10:00.008-05:00

One rule of thumb in Second Life: whenever blotto Epsilon (pictured below) and Cutea Benelli are up to something, it's worth investigating! This time it's a Petrovsky flux, a remarkable build hosted by the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas (and I've given up trying to think up quips about "We're not in Kansas anymore!"—but kudos to the Spencer and other college and university art spaces that offer artists the opportunity to develop new works in virtual environments). As with blotto's and Cutea's previous creation, Bogon flux, a Petrovsky flux remarkably and continually builds itself and self-destructs, changing its form each time as it extends into the sky, although certain elements are permanent enough that you can safely stand on them. Jean Tinguely would have been delighted.

Do explore. Near where you arrive be sure to click on the welcome sign to grab your "petrovsky noggin protector" and flying sheep (explore in style!). Some of the standpipes are actually teleport hubs that whisk you around the sim, and you'll find things like a little café in the sky, platforms connected by stairways or rickety ladders and, on the ground, a traversable tightrope. If you click quickly enough, you can hop a ride on one of the big flying sheep. As I'm writing this, the sound stream in the region is playing Gene Krupa's Wings On My Shoes, adding an additional touch of humor to the already delightfully silly (but oh so serious) build that a Petrovsky flux is.

Two excellent pieces of machinima are worth mentioning: one simply credited to SpencerArtKU, and the other by Toxic Menges. Enjoy.

Nemo Destruction

2010-11-02T23:25:00.003-04:00

One last machinima on Nemo—this one is the end, the destruction. Captured throughout the day on October 29th, while the sim was closed except to four of us, this is more of a documentary than an art-piece. To see this in higher resolution, head over to my Vimeo page.

Second Life: Nemo Fin/End from Ziki Questi on Vimeo.

Nemo Machinima

2010-10-31T20:05:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone. Over the past week I've made some machinima about Nemo and would like to share the links on Vimeo with you. I've never really made any serious machinima before, so I'm sure I'll improve over time. Enjoy. (And there's one more on Nemo on the way.) To see these in higher resolution, head over to my Vimeo page.

Second Life: Nemo I, the underground city from Ziki Questi on Vimeo.

Second Life: Nemo II, Northelia from Ziki Questi on Vimeo.

Second Life: Nemo III, Alnitak, the flying city from Ziki Questi on Vimeo.

Good-Bye, Nemo!

2010-10-27T22:37:00.005-04:00

People keep trying to reassure me and calm me down, but I'm still chagrined that the incredible steampunk city Nemo, created by the amazing Sextan Shepherd, will close its doors on October 29th, in just a couple days. I've been busy shooting some machinima of this fabulous place—truly one of the gems of virtual worlds—and will post that on Vimeo, but it's not much compensation. Sextan assures me that he's planning to build something even more remarkable, so I'll try to be an optimist! (Could I include any more superlatives?) In the meantime, RUN to Nemo and enjoy it before it's gone! http://slurl.com/secondlife/FRANCE3D%20Futuna/89/148/21

UWA Forest & Metallic Sea, Strangers Also Dance

2010-09-15T21:52:00.005-04:00

Kudos to the University of Western Australia for using one of its three regions for visiting artists—in this case installations by Soror Nishi, quadrapop Lane and Glyph Graves. Soror's work, entitled Forest, is quintessential Soror—as I said somewhere or other I always think of Dr. Suess on acid. (I mean that in the nicest possible way, no offense intended to the Geisel family.) Soror's work, shown above, is a substantial sprawl of her curious vegetation, while quadrapop's contribution, Metallic Sea, is much smaller but wonderfully elegant—metallic grass that sways in the wind (shown below, although you'll have to see it in person to really enjoy the slow and subtle movement).

Glyph's contribution, entitled Strangers Also Dance, provides some instructions here, and you have to follow them to really see the artwork. (Otherwise you're going to think ho-hum, nothing here.) Head over to the structure in the water, and sit ... and then be transported up to the main body of work. All I can say about my attempts to capture any of it in photos: epic fail. It's a world in constant motion. So go see it for yourself. :)

Dirty Cute? No — Filthy Cute!

2010-09-14T21:55:00.009-04:00

Alert blog readers will recall a post from the past, Dirty Cute, about Fade Lei's spectacular build in the Hachiman region, one of my very favorite spots in Second Life. I stopped by recently to see it, and—*sob!* it's gone! I knew that despite the early party scene at Dirty Cute (and some wild parties there were) it had become more of a shopping destination for Fade's great skins (the brand is Ugly Duck), but somehow I wasn't prepared for the loss. As I ventured forth with trepidation, however, I saw that Fade had not exactly deleted Dirty Cute—Dirty Cute is now Filthy Cute, a completely new build that partly embraces the old but now branches out in a new direction. The dirty white and gray concrete of the old build has been replaced with a much darker palette, and it's more clearly defined as a cool place to shop rather than a club that was converted into a store. A blast of grime and neon! :)

Even if you're not planning to shop for any of Fade's cool skins or other items (creative and distinctive designs—join the Ugly Duck group and get a ton of free stuff!), you can spend a long time here exploring layers, levels, corridors and—true to the earlier iteration—hidden panels and entrances. Fade tells me that she's not really completely done building—she has plans to add more of a maze-like experience in the tunnels and to open up some of the boarded-off areas. If you really want to explore, set aside some time, or plan for multiple visits, as it's truly easy to get lost (and "camming's cheating" says Fade, in case you're thinking of doing that to find your way out!). Looking for some secret places? Try clicking on what appear to be solid walls as you go ... you might find something.

Update on 18 October 2011: If you want to see the build as opposed to the store, where you'll land, wind your way through Fade's shop and look for a hidden door in the wall. :)

Sneak Peek: Steampunk Jewelry from Sextan Shepherd

2010-08-28T20:49:00.004-04:00

When I told Sextan Shepherd I was going to blog about his flying machines he casually remarked, "Did I tell you I was working on a steampunk jewelry collection?" Since then he's been sending me photos, and I can assure you the pieces look stunning, complete with moving parts and real clocks. For now you'll have to be enticed by the glass case above, but he says he'll be ready to roll on September 17th! Stay tuned.

Sextan Shepherd's Flying Machines

2010-08-25T18:19:00.011-04:00

If I were really thinking ahead about my blog posts, I would have worn some cool steampunk stuff for this photo shoot. Oh well. Let that not detract from the real topic at hand, the ingenuity of Sextan Shepherd, one of Second Life's most amazing designers, and the creator of Nemo, Northelia and Alnitak, fantastic steampunk cities in the region FRANCE3D Futuna. Now when you visit Sextan's cities you can take something home with you, because among Sextan's marvels are a series of personal flying machines, all very modestly priced and available at his shop in Alnitak (you'll find it—keep looking!). Sextan was kind enough to give me the «M. Meriman» Mechanical Flying Boat shown above (as always, click to zoom in), which features spinning spirals overhead and a huge outlay of creaking, rotating gears to keep it afloat. If passengers are your thing, you're going to want something that holds more than one person, so pick up the «DA-VINCI» Aerodyne, shown below, which is smaller but can hold up to two friends, one on either side of the pilot. In addition to the spinning top that propels the craft, gears inside the case constantly move. Earlier today I had the pleasure of flying the «DA-VINCI» Aerodyne around Abbey Island, doing my best to control the craft while chatting—not easy!

The «TESLA» Aerodyne is probably the smallest of all the vehicles, and therefore probably the most maneuverable. Like the Meriman, it's a personal craft, and its, um—I don't even know what to call them!—those electric things on top are constantly changing with dramatic electrical effects. (Oh, "electro cynetic movement" Sextan tells me at this very moment as I write.) Here it is:

But my favorite of all—the one that really made me smile with delight!—is the «Bestmomo Lagan» Flying Machine. At least it's called that on the box, but in my inventory it's named, probably more appropriately, the Pteronosphere. As it soars through the air, its wings open and close just like those of a pterosaur—"really wild!" says my partner Barbie Pomilio. It's a 31 prim, single person flyer shown below. There are a few more of these amazing ships available in Sextan's store, and they look every bit as good as these. (Plus, there are tons of other ultra-cool items for sale.) To try the ships out before buying them, be sure to visit the Steampunk Air Museum in Alnitak—and say hi to Sextan if you see him!

Bryn Oh: no love

2010-08-22T15:20:00.014-04:00

Once in a while Linden Lab does exactly the right thing. Like for example when, a few months ago, artist Bryn Oh approached the Lab with a request for spaces for a project connected to the World Expo Shanghai 2010, the Lab responded by providing five sims. Bryn, along with Glyph Graves and Marcus Inkpen, created some fabulous works at those locations that I hope stay with us for at least a while longer. Arriving at the first of these sims—Island one by Bryn Oh called "no love"—you will encounter instructions for adjusting your windlight settings. I'd recommend that you turn your draw distance way up—far enough that you can see clearly across the entire sim. Like most of Bryn's work, the region is filled with metallic and sometimes spidery-like insects and humans.

As you set out on your journey, a smile will certainly cross your face as you discover that a walkway opens before you—it's absolutely delightful. Go slowly, and if you fall into the water try starting over ... eventually you come to the place shown just above, where the walkway seems to end (not first without some absurd silliness as objects appear, collapse, and you fall through a floor!). Be sure there to walk into the rectangular prims lying on the ground. Bryn made this island especially for machinima, and it's truly time-based art that has to be experienced in time—still photos simply don't convey what is most exciting about the place. And here and there you will find objects that link to web pages that broaden your experience.

If you take a dip in the water, which you'll have to do at some point to get to some locations, you'll find things hidden here and there. Around 82, 82 there are some stairs that will form from the ocean bottom, leading you up...I'll let you discover where! The figures above are near the base of the tall tower, which you should enter at the base, below the water. I found that climbing the tower was frustrating, as I often fell and had to resume from below (flying is prohibited in the sim, as are point to point teleports). But if you're able to get to the top, you're rewarded! ("Lots of people give me hell for that build," Bryn told me. "It's good to do with a friend, so if you fall they can tp you back up.") On one of the figures shown below, at the very top of the tower, zoom in and click (oh, didn't I say to zoom around and click on lots of things? yes, please do) to be teleported up to another area.

And quite a different place it is, too—a blinding white space high above (I'm not going anywhere with the obvious implication!) with widely separated objects. Everything up here, as below, is part of a story or narrative, ever-present in Bryn Oh's work. By now, exploring the region, you've seen poems, clues and other hints as to its meaning, and make sure when you arrive at the Stand-by Girl (below) you click on her face and listen carefully to what she has to say.

As the region was built for machinima, you might want see a couple of examples by Pia Klaar and Volker Meitz in addition to that from Bryn herself. Not surprisingly, there are many photos from this build sprinkled around the web. More on the other four regions in upcoming blog posts!

Philip, Go Shopping!

2010-08-20T15:49:00.004-04:00

When Philip Linden recently announced a contest for his makeover, two thoughts jumped to my mind. The first was: Philip, you're missing a great chance to explore Second Life's amazing assortment of hair, skin, clothes, and everything else! (Although probably Philip has an alt or two he can use for that.) The second was: Ziki, you're as wedded to your old skin as Philip is to his! It's true that I do change my appearance once in a while, but when I do it's to switch to a totally crazy or fantastic avatar, like something from alpha.tribe or a wild thing from Grim Bros. I always switch back to "me" after a while. And it's not that I haven't tried on demos now and then. So lest I end up just like Philip, I set out with more determination than usual and came up with the above ... at least an alternative I'm happy with. (Though, knowing me, I'll be sliding back into my old skin quite often!) The skin and shape are Shy'm from Allure by Naela Carter; the hair is Faith from Exile (blue velvet); and the eyes are 2010 bright blue eyes from EDDESIGN. (Plus a tux from Babele Fashion!)

And it was fun (always is, actually). So PL, get out there and enjoy yourself! :D

Juanita Deharo

2010-08-04T12:39:00.005-04:00

When I visited the region Svidler to pick up a few of Soror Nishi's about-to-disappear trees, I decided to fly down to see what was there, because the land belonged to Juanita Deharo, whom I had seen a few days earlier and whose blog I've followed for a while. I arrived at her art gallery and was absolutely delighted by two installations. The newer one, When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky, is a water world surrounded by mountains, filled with dark figures, platforms, cages and giant mushroom caps imbued with a subtle palette of organic textures in grays, browns, and greens. Certainly this haunting work will touch people in many different ways—some of Juanita's thoughts on it here.

Take the teleport up to Man the Hunter, an earlier and smaller (though certainly no less beautiful) creation. Juanita characterizes the work as "a large environmental installation that operates on various levels. It comments on man's destructive nature, the glorification of killing, our need to capture and control, and the relationship we have with natural and living things." Take time also to go through the gallery, where many of Juanita's artworks are for sale. She also designs entire sims and sells waterfalls, caves, rivers, garden screens and lots more, so be sure to visit her profile for links to all her work!

Last Call for Soror?

2010-08-01T21:53:00.007-04:00

Things have been disappearing lately, from Greenies to Soror Nishi's Beach, to, um, Lindens themselves. But I'm an optimist at heart, so when Soror Nishi decided a couple weeks ago to close her unreal and incredible beach, one of the jewels of Second Life, I ran over and started buying up as much of her stuff as I could afford, determined to preserve some of it. Now there are a couple of quick little sale locations that have popped up, so if you're a fan of Soror's work you'll want to visit—they seemed destined to disappear soon! Above I'm at Juanita Deharo's land in Tkachiev, where Soror has set out a variety of trees and plants (cam around—there are two levels), and there's a slightly larger display at Prism Lila courtesy of Oona Ra (again, several stories tall—take time to fly up).

As for my growing collection of Soror Nishi creations, I really don't know where to put all of it! I've dumped a lot of trees (dumped being the operative word, as I've made no attempt to landscape—there they are in the photo below) on a sky platform at Babele Fashion Island, but I'm not sure where their permanent home will be. If you're in the mood, stop by and gawk. :)

P.S. If you dig this shirt shouting out SL's new unofficial brand—Fast, Easy, Fun!—you can grab one for free at Boom. Thanks to Gogo for blogging that. (And I'm not even going to try to look so sexy!)

Thanks, Ex-Lindens!

2010-06-16T09:55:00.005-04:00

It was a sad farewell party yesterday at Dublin 2 for those Lindens who lost their jobs last week. Touted as the "Ex-Linden Independence Day Party" and kindly hosted by Ham Rambler, it drew a throng of well-wishers. I wasn't there at the very outset and so I may have missed a few appearances, but was glad to see Aimee, Babbage, Byron, Lotte, Molly, Teagan and Teeple Linden pay a visit, along with Whump who came as Whump Stickfigure. A couple of older ex-Lindens also stopped by—Neuro Guillaume and Hamlet Au. (I'm sure there were some of whom I wasn't aware!) Bittersweet for many, I'm sure, and cathartic for me. (I found myself in tears at the end, silly as that may sound!) Thanks, all of you, for helping to build Second Life, and best wishes for your future endeavors. There are some more photos on my Flickr stream.

Greenies, but not for long

2010-06-14T22:38:00.019-04:00

For a long time I had considered blogging about Greenies Home Rezzable, but then I'd think, "That's just so obvious. Surely everyone has seen Greenies already." Then came this past week, with the horrible and staggering layoffs at Linden Lab (see here, an article by Tateru Nino at Massively for the best take on that I've seen), and on top of that came the chilling news that Greenies was going to close. As Rezzable, the creators of Greenies, had already closed all their other SL sims, this wasn't entirely a surprise, but it's terribly disappointing—Greenies is a crown jewel of virtual worlds, and has been such a fixture in Second Life it seems a shame to see it go—it's really very upsetting. June 23rd looks like the death knell for Greenies in SL. But today, at least, people were still celebrating ... above I'm next to my pal Naxos Loon, dancing the time away with a prim on his simian head.

What, you may ask, is so cool about Greenies? You'll soon discover when you arrive, at first in a tunnel (above)—where are you?—that the Greenies are tiny little creatures that have been spacewrecked, but fortunately all survived and have ended up ... here. Turn your draw distance way up (at least 300 meters) and head down the tunnel, but even here begin clicking on things ... you might well discover some surprises! As you exit the tunnel, and find yourself in a small house ... well, hmmm, I shouldn't divulge too much, because as you exit the house you're likely to experience quite a shock.

But read on if you must. The shock is, as you'll discover, that you're in a house that's the size of a sim ... it is a sim actually! ... and that you're now about the size of a mouse—perhaps a bit larger than the Greenies, who seem alternately curious (releasing the bird from her cage or plucking the guitar string), mischievous (look under the sink (photo below) and in the drawers around the room) or unfortunate (ummm, the bottom of the iron, anyone?). The whole place can't help but bring a glowing smile to your face, and it's conceptually brilliant, just amazing. Down on the floor you will find what is surely the iconic symbol of this sim: the black cat suspiciously eyeing a Greenie.

Find the bottle rocket? The safe? Keep looking. There are often car races around the floor (watch out!) and some general craziness going on. (If there were a good candidate for the Linden Endowment for the Arts this would be it, but I'm not sure Rezzable, which has built its own virtual world, Heritage Key, would be too keen on the idea.)

Greenies is the kind of place where you can spend tons of time, and it includes many hidden away spots such as the one below ... can you find that one? If you head into the store, you'll find a ton of Greenies items for sale—mostly small things like little avatars and such, but also bigger works like the entire cat sculpture and the dollhouse, both of which have a proud place in my inventory. (It's important to patronize the arts, you know!) My outfit in these photos is a complete avatar from alpha.tribe called Monsieur Rousseau's Panther, with added hair from Helena Stringer's The Stringer Mausoleum (Thunderdome).

Nemo II Sneak Peek!

2010-06-04T20:23:00.012-04:00

The incredibly industrious Sextan Shepherd, master of steampunk textures and creator of Nemo, has been quietly at work on a new project: Nemo II! It opens tomorrow, Saturday, June 5th, but Sextan was kind enough to give me a sneak peek of this great new place. It's on the same sim as Nemo, and exists largely above ground. Pictured above is a centerpiece of Nemo II, a massive new creation, the Nautilus—Captain Nemo's submarine!

Access to Nemo II is actually through the tunnels of Nemo—you can see above that Sextan and I have entered Nemo II in a mine, the Orichalcum mine. Orichalcum, an especially rare substance that—according to Plato—powered Atlantis, also supplies the energy for the entire Nemo installation. Trams lead you out of the mine and around Nemo II, and one of the destinations is the planetarium, crowned with a massive telescope (below). I can't give a landmark from Nemo II (no way to get there right now!), and I'm not going to post more photos yet, but when it opens you can find it by visiting Nemo. Enjoy! (P.S. Sextan said to me, "Then I will start to build Nemo III!")

Minute Papillon

2010-06-02T21:21:00.008-04:00

Anyone who thinks magic can't be created with the 3,750 prims available on a homestead sim needs to head over to Minute Papillon, right now! This enchanted spot, the name of which might be translated as "little butterfly," is owned by Jade Koltai. Turn your draw distance up when you arrive, as the sim might remind you at first of the vistas created by AM Radio—a far off horizon of purple mountains and skies encircles Minute Papillon, and you won't catch the effect with your distance on the low side. The landscape here, mesmerizing fields of dried wheat, is beautiful and quiet, the chirping of crickets punctuated by the occasional hoots of an owl. The bronze, copper and russet hues of sprawling wheat fields give way to the darker earthiness of the ground in spots, out of which leafless trees rise. But that's not all that's here—there are signs of habitation, a few buildings and small structures dotting the sim, including something that might pass as a saloon, although its permanent inhabitants comprise a giraffe, a giant rabbit and an elephant. (Try climbing on them and clicking on everything else, too.) Far off in one corner of the sim is an apparently deserted chapel and graveyard.

Listen carefully and you'll hear other sounds ... off in the distance ... like a carnival ... and if you search you'll find the source. Incongruously located in the sim is something of a cave containing nothing less than a miniature amusement park, featuring very colorful little toy cars rides and flying vehicles (try them!). (I must admit that I had to clear out of there after a while because of the incessant amusement park music haha!) Every corner of Minute Papillon is lovely, and every spot the best of photo opportunities.

My outfit in these photos includes the New Yippie Orange top by Baiastice, Brown Suede Pants from Ce Cubic, Han Hana beads from (luc) fashion jewelry, and Real Toe Studded Wedge Sandals from J's (sadly not visible in the photos, but a nice match!).

Deadly Danielle

2010-05-30T12:25:00.005-04:00

A couple days ago there was a post on New World Notes called How Do You Want Second Life Fashion Blogs to Improve? With such complaints as "little explanation why the highlighted fashion is high quality or original," I thought maybe I should dip my toe in the waters, as I usually post about places, there being so many good fashion blogs out there already. Cutea Benelli of Grim Bros. released this gorgeous skin-shape combination, Deadly Danielle, which is one of the most lovingly made creations I've seen. Blemishes, scars, burns, bruises and scrapes are treated with the utmost care. Although you can't see Deadly Danielle's ears in this photo (I'm wearing colorful curlers by June Trenkins), skin tones are a perfect match, and the skin shows virtually no seams. With Emerald's enhanced breast physics turned on, Danielle's shape makes quite a statement as she saunters along, especially if she's running or engaged in any kind of strenuous activity.

What I'm wearing:
Grim Bros.: Deadly Danielle shape and skin
Grim Bros.: desertsand grampas tank shirt
Grim Bros.: jeans green and blood
June Trenkins: Curlers / Lockenwickler :D multicolored
Wednesday Grimm: Cigarette (not shown in either photo, but she looks great with it)

(And yes, I'm just poking fun at all of us...but Deadly Danielle gets lots of heads turning and is loads of laughs!) ;)

The Abyss

2010-05-28T22:48:00.007-04:00

The Abyss is a hauntingly beautiful sim: desolate, remote and atmospheric. It's in part a commercial establishment, the creative outlet for Khai Sinister's lovely skins, hair, clothing and accessories. But beyond the shop areas and the walkways lies an amazing city, and it's completely untouchable, at once representing something we can see but can never really experience. You can view it from the walkways and the windows, camming and zooming, but you can't walk or fly there: it's elusive and forbidden. (I found myself thinking of Invisible Cities by the brilliant Italian novelist Italo Calvino.) But I so want to visit it! ... to walk among those wild buildings, breathe the air out there ... so somehow for me it evokes a feeling of yearning, and I really can't think of a similar place in Second Life, literally a place I can see but cannot touch. (And what fun you can have with Windlight here!) Thanks, Khai, and thanks to Jamie Holmer at INDI Designs for listing this on her Beautiful Places in Second Life list.

Retropolis and the Last Voyage of "La Gata"

2010-05-28T16:47:00.017-04:00

It's truly impossible to capture this place in a photograph, because everything is moving. When you arrive at the Last Voyage of "La Gata" you'll find yourself in a driving rainstorm, with howling winds whipping around you—and you're on the deck of "La Gata," a creaking hulk of a ship that seems on the verge of disintegration. As you're tossed this way and that—literally, and I hope you're not prone to seasickness—you can virtually hear the old girl starting to come apart, as wood and rope struggle against the forces of nature. It's really quite an amazing experience! The worst thing facing the little ship isn't actually the rain...it's "the beast," a leviathan that rises from the deep and whose tentacles encircle the hull, about to swallow the ship at any moment. (The presence of the beast you can turn on and off by clicking on the lantern.) But not all is dark and serious here...bring a friend and sit down at the arm wrestling table, or, if solo, swing on the mast, walk a tightrope, or hang in the cage. Now, say goodbye to Nell the Parrot, and walk to the bow of the ship. Open the door, and click to teleport to your next destination...

The doomed ship and the Retropolis Adventure Sim as a whole (of which the ship is a part) are the brilliant creations of Tricia Farella, who modestly says, "Welcome to my workspace and lab. Home to my various experiments. Please feel free to look around. hope you enjoy your visit..:)" With a lovely use of Curio Obscura's Anywhere Doors, you'll find yourself jumping from one part of Retropolis to another—but sometimes having to solve a puzzle along the way. Above is one of your next stops, a fantastic mushroom swamp or forest populated by dragonfly-like creatures and slowly moving plants. (This space one reaches after first exploring the caves below.)

At the top of a high tower you might encounter one of the three gryphons that stand guard...

...before finding your way down to a massive and mysterious chamber, through which, thanks to a brilliant use of a shadow megaprim, you can't see. To get to the other side of this space, which is your eventual goal, you'll have to walk across the floor. But the floor isn't your friend, as it's a maze—only some of those large stone can be traversed; the others give way and sink into the ground, taking you with them, and you have to begin anew. But eventually you will get there, to the other side, and, after answering a riddle, you'll open another door...

...leading to a small room containing a bed, bookshelves, a desk and other objects. Here is a substantial puzzle, and you'll need to take your time. Put on the HUD (there's a sign on the wall) and search the room for the clues you'll need to find to get through the next door. Cam around very carefully, checking surfaces and under things. Eventually you'll unlock it! I'll save the rest for your imagination—there's plenty more to see in Retropolis!

And my outfit, shown best right above (click to zoom in), is the absolutely mad "Vanitas" avatar from alpha.tribe, which has more parts and pieces than I'm wearing, and even comes with its own AO and sets of poses! Quite a fabulous creation.

By the way, you can even purchase the Retropolis "Rocking Junk Boat" on XStreet here. And thanks to my friend Crow DeVinna, who had Retropolis listed in her picks.

Viral

2010-05-18T17:29:00.008-04:00

A couple days ago my human had brunch with a friend, and after the second or third mimosa mentioned to him that I make money in Second Life. (Yes, there I am, above, at Babele Fashion's main store.) He's a business entrepreneur and a sharp guy, and just then he looked like he was going to choke on his omlette. "You make money in Second Life!?" he said, looking at me incredulously. I could see his brain was scrambling hard and fast trying to make sense of this improbability, because on the one hand his fuzzy memory equated Second Life with something from a BusinessWeek article from 2007 and Monopoly play money ... but on the other hand I had clearly and simply stated that I was really making money, real money, and he could tell I wasn't kidding around. I explained to him how people buy stuff in Second Life, how there's a real economy, how Linden Dollars are a convertible currency, how I just transferred some more money to PayPal and dumped it in my bank account, and so on. "It's kind of like the Wild West," I said. "If you ever want to check the place out, let me know." I could see the wheels in his head already turning.

And then just now I was reading Wagner James Au's New World Notes (with which I have a love-hate relationship but read every day), and many of his posts have to do with marketing: with the recruitment and retention of various constituencies, with demographic studies, with SWOT analyses, even if he doesn't use those terms. Often I disagree with his reasoning, but I do I agree with his goal: Second Life, let's face it, needs to grow. It's an absolutely incredible place—amazing!—but those of us who are residents are probably not its best evangelists. And, the big question: Why is that? Why aren't we, the users of Second Life, out there pounding the pavement? We have the potential to be SL's most important communicators, salespeople and representatives in real life. Perhaps my perception is skewed: maybe most Second Life residents are indeed chatting it up on the other side, but I'd be surprised. I suspect, rather, that for many of us this place is some sort of secret hideaway—notwithstanding Wagner's assertion that those people who "connect" their real life and Second Life identities are more likely to be retained in Second Life, an argument which I find dubious—I suspect that on some level we're reluctant to admit our devotion to the place. How can Linden Lab gain the enthusiasm of its patrons and market base sufficiently that we, the residents and users of Second Life, would earnestly help market the platform? That is, after all, what Apple managed to do with brilliance.

It's all part of the brand experience. Now, back to the shop.

Abbey Island

2010-05-17T16:55:00.007-04:00

I always enjoy stopping by Abbey Island & The New Abbey Island Dance & Sex Resort. (How can you resist, with a name like that?) Like the nearby sim of Innsmouth, you'll see the handiwork of owners Darmin Darkes and BaileyMarie Princess throughout, ranging from the incredible build of the Abbey—recently renovated—to the striking landscaping. As you arrive, you'll find yourself at the southern edge of the sim, bordering Deviant, which is also well worth a look. Before you head up the walk to the Abbey, make sure to turn up your draw distance, and also make sure your RenderVolumeLODFactor is turned up (which it should be anyway—read the worthy blog post from Bax Coen there), because there are lots of sculpties that can otherwise refuse to rez. You'll arrive at the charming mall area, and be sure to turn right and buy something from my Babele Fashion shop (haha!) and visit BaileyMarie's DP Fashions and Darmin's A2 Design shops, along with all the other merchants (yes, we help support the sim!). If you hunt around a little, you'll discover where you can get your official Abbey Island Waffle and Creepy Sock Mousie.

Walk up the steps to The Abbey, an amazing structure that hosts the club, where you can often find and hang out with an eclectic group of people and occasionally find some live music as well. There are games to play here (at least I think they're all playable!)—chess, puzzle games, cribbage, U-Know, Clued Up!, mahjong, as well as some art exhibitions. But cam below the floor and you will discover several levels of spaces available for more devious activity! Everywhere, though, you'll be captivated by the incredible detail—from the subterranean waterway to way up in the attic! Dotting the island around the Abbey are a beach (where part of a crashed plane has been transformed into a bar), cottages, waterfalls and some gorgeous foliage. To the east is the sim Paradiso, and then further east the glorious sim of Innsmouth.

Wanderstill

2010-04-26T21:55:00.011-04:00

Back in December, 2008, I took a series of photos at the incredible installation Wanderstill, and I'm using them here—not because I'm lazy—there's hardly a more photogenic location in Second Life!—but because I still look back on them and think about them from time to time. Wanderstill is certainly one of the most cherished romantic spots I've ever come across, and I know others share my passion for it. An immersive art installation created by Random Calliope and owned by Elizabeth Tinsley, it is, in the words of Elizabeth, "An eruption of color. A cascade of blossoms. Where by day the sun sparkles off the wings of bejeweled butterflies and by night the light of the moon guides wish filled falling stars to earth."

Yes. And it's breathtaking, a place where you can wander through flowers, practically getting lost in them (some might be taller than you are!), and find hidden and surprising places amidst the blossoms to cuddle, dance or more. There must be tens of thousands of flowers here—it's really quite staggering—fields and fields of them—blue, white, red, amber, turquoise... It is wonderful, inspiring, and cannot help but bring a smile to your face. On the eastern edge of Wanderstill stands a horse barn, where you can add your photographic memories to the large bulletin board. Thank you, Random and Elizabeth, for creating and maintaining this treasure. More photos from my flickr set here.

Atrum Votum

2010-04-21T13:47:00.009-04:00

I can't think of many places in Second Life that are parks ... I mean, just plain old parks ... rolling landscapes filled with trees and vegetation, places you can just stroll around in, where the landscape itself is the object of beauty. Atrum Votum is one such place—I visited it yesterday after not having ventured there for maybe a year or so, and was surprised and delighted to discover it intact (as many places disappear, you know!). If you come with a friend, there are dances and cuddles (and a few more risqué opportunities) throughout the island, including a modest little dance floor tucked into the landscape. (As always, click on the photos to enlarge them ... they're so tiny on the blog page!)

The trees are a mix of oak, birch, pine, olive and other species. Toward the center of the island are mountains (topping out at 66 meters) that you can reach partway by traversing rope bridges and climbing ladders through rock-strewn hillsides covered with ferns. Be prepared to do some walking, as flying is turned off in this sim (appropriately, I might add). On the southeast corner of the island lies an old cemetery (containing a memorial to avatar Teri LaFollette), and near the campfire on the beach, on the eastern edge of the land, a hidden tunnel runs out toward north toward the next corner edge. Whether you choose to just roam, or to dance, or sit by the sea and listen to the waves crash against the shoreline while watching the sunset, this sim is a hidden gem and a photographer's dream.

Atrum Votum is owned by Silkn Stormwood and Chavo Raven, and contains many design contributions by Anthea Thereian. To the north lies the sim Chavo, home to—naturally enough—Chavo's, an animation shop that probably thrived in years past. Much of Atrum Votum seems to been built in late 2006, with some additions in 2008—the About Land info says this romantic hideaway was claimed way back in June 2004.

P.S. After posting this, I received a nice note from Silkn Stormwind saying that she will be updating the isle soon (no changes, just additions!).

Babele Fashion's Ultra Sexy Beach Set Pois Brown

2010-04-20T12:11:00.006-04:00

Very minimal, extremely sexy, and I keep wearing it over and over ... three good things to say! The "Ultra Sexy Beach Set Pois Brown" by Babele Fashion's Pinco Janus was released in January—part of her "pois brown" series, which uses the same texture on a variety of outfits—and as summertime approaches it seems even more appropriate. I like to wear it without the included miniskirt—just the top, the "perizoma" bottom and the leg wrappings, flashing a not inconsiderable amount of my ass. ;) ... It certainly tends to elicit comments! If you're looking for something similar but not quite as skimpy, Babele's Summer Set Pois Brown is probably your best bet.

These photos were taken at the picturesque sim Atrum Votum, about which I'll have more to say soon!

Imagine Nest

2010-04-18T09:51:00.008-04:00

Imagine Nest, an installation in the sim Four Bridges North, is filled with swirling shapes, zooming particles and ... love. Its creator, AuraKyo Insoo, says, "Imagine is Life, is Change, is Revolution. Imagine is Love," and throughout the installation, with acknowledged inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi to Victor Hugo to The Beatles and others, are expressions of love and the opportunity for you to express your own, through messages you can leave: "Come and drop your messages inside the universe!"

There are places here to dance (solo or with friends), to jump into one of the twisting, whirling eddies and become one with the space, or simply to lie down and look up. The environment is dynamic, always changing, and so these still photos hardly do it justice. It appears as if there's also a "Light Theatre" where performances are occasionally held. My avatar is these photos has donned the Monsieur Rousseau's Panther design from alpha.tribe, with hair—the incredibly inexpensive Thunderdome mohawk—from The Stringer Mausoleum.

Linden Lab (or, how I tried to restrain myself)

2010-04-14T19:02:00.007-04:00

I've tried to steer my blog clear of comments concerning Linden Lab's "business plan" (at least from what is visible to me) for Second Life, and from LL's marketing. (I've posted plenty on SL's own blogs, and there are many other cogent opinions out there in the blogosphere.) As a marketing professional in real life, Linden Lab's strategies often strike me as bizarre and more than a little absurd. (I mean, really, how can a company with the potential that LL has be so f'ing stupid sometimes? Pardon me.)

First of all, there is this absolute disaster of a viewer shown above. The unrelenting wave of criticism concerning this Viewer 2 — **un-re-lent-ing** — you would think would give LL would take some hint as to its complete and dismal failure as an interface. But nooooo... 'Nuff said, there's plenty posted elsewhere on the debacle that Viewer 2 is.

Then ... today I was browsing around the web and saw this post on Virtual World Notes, a quote from John Lester (aka formerly as Pathfinder Linden), in which he said in part: "I think the challenge Linden Lab faces is the challenge that any online platform faces at this point, which is how to integrate with the constellation of social networking environments that are out there — things like Facebook and Twitter" .... no no no no NOOOO! He continues: "Linden Lab has been and is continuing to work on that right now. People use more than one platform. I think the path to success is figuring out how to get everything to work together — not be an island." Aaaaaaaaaugggh!

The great potential in Second Life is **that it IS an island**! It's a place where we can all escape, we can create alternate realities, we can create alternate possibilities, we can create ourselves anew! It is NOT Facebook, is NOT Twitter, is NOT real life! The most breathtaking creations in Second Life show us, indeed, what is not possible in real life, to borrow Bettina Tizzy's old blog title.

All right, enough ... Time for me to step down off my soapbox, log back in with Emerald, and enjoy blogging again.

The Destruction of The Abbey

2010-04-12T16:00:00.008-04:00

Today marked the end of The Abbey—or should I say this incarnation of The Abbey—a beautiful sim created and owned by Darmin Darkes and BaileyMarie Princess (left and center in the photo above—click to zoom in on any photo). Earlier this morning large portions of the structures on the island were already gone, and by the time I returned this afternoon the demolition of the castle, situated on a hilltop overlooking the island, was well underway. Most of the roof had collapsed, and as the small group of us inside ducked and jumped out of the way, huge stones—the remainders of the walls and roof—occasionally crashed down around us. Some pieces tumbled dozens of meters down to litter the beaches surrounding the island.

I managed to snap a few photos in a sort of time-elapse sequence as things went flying in every direction, and I hope get them up on my flickr stream later today. It was quite a spectacle, although with a mix of emotions—it's never easy to say good-bye to something as exquisite as this place.

But it's not entirely a sad story: Darmin and BaileyMarie plan to rebuild the entire sim within a few days' time, and I'll certainly be writing more for the grand re-opening. They're two of the most creative designers working in Second Life, and I look forward to seeing their latest.

Kowloon

2010-04-10T11:41:00.007-04:00

If you've spent much time in Second Life, you've probably visited Kowloon, a spectacular Japanese sim owned by kowllon Yoshikawa. I hadn't been to Kowloon in a few months and revisted it today, spending some time wandering through its crowded streets. It's a massive jumble of dark and dirty stairways, corridors, ledges, rooftops, neon lights and even a subterranean shop with shark-infested waters. (Hmmm, isn't Kowloon in Hong Kong in real life?)

The splendor of the textures make Kowloon one of the most photographed of sims, and it's a fantastic place to explore. There are hidden rooms here, and mysteries—for example, see the photo at the very bottom of this post (as always, click to zoom in)—have you found that curious place? The cameraman, who emerges from behind some David Lynch-like red curtains, was created by magnum Yoshikawa, but if he has a purpose it's unclear to me.

Throughout Kowloon are scattered many small shops, almost all Japanese, filled with clothing, gadgets, textures, avatars, food, and all sorts of tiny items, many at very low prices. And if you speak Japanese, you're eligible to rent a room here, too. Far off in one corner of the sim is Panda Park, a contrastingly peaceful and clean area where you can take a ride on a little panda.

The more time you spend in Kowloon, the more you realize there's more to see, as if you could spend days here and not quite be sure you've seen everything.

My outfit in these photos is the "Kate" ensemble by Jamie Holmer, the brilliant designer and owner of INDI Designs. Her work is always a delight, and she recently moved her main store to its own sim—go take a look!

The Cellar and Cellar Proper

2010-04-02T12:50:00.006-04:00

I love places imbued with an atmosphere of decay, and Outy Banjo's paired sims, Cellar and Cellar Proper, are among the best. Arriving at the latter (teleport here), you find yourself inside a hallway at the Von Cellar Public School, which clearly hasn't seen students or teachers in a number of years. Its classrooms are a jumble of desks, broken windows, graffiti and dust. Venture around and you'll find a gymnasium that's literally falling apart, some really filthy bathrooms, long corridors, and lots of mysterious closed doorways to enter and exit. Outy's textures (which are for sale at his shop in the neighboring sim, Cellar) are superb.

Exit the school and walk down the road to find Aunt Mrytle's Halfway House, and, as you enter Cellar to the south, some other cottages and bungalows (in one of which you might encounter Outy himself). Be aware that many of these are private homes, as Outy offers rental space. The major landmark in Cellar Township (which is essentially the sim of Cellar) is the enormous wood waste incinerator, shown in the background below. In the northwest corner you'll discover an delightful roadsign graveyard (watch your step!), and southwest a few shops, including Outy's. I love the vista on the hill to the east. The entire area is very much fun for playing with windlight settings.

This dress is the Fontana Green Silk designed by Pinco Janus of Babele Fashion.

Sistine Chapel Re-Creation

2010-03-31T08:50:00.009-04:00

We all know of the magnificent Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 to 1512, but if you're like me you may not have seen images other than in books—I've never visited the Sistine Chapel in real life. It was a delight therefore to discover that Vassar College's Stan Frangible (whose human is named Steve Taylor) has re-created the chapel in Second Life in astonishing detail, using exact dimensions and reproducing every piece of artwork. The chapel is much smaller and more intimate than I had somehow anticipated, and seeing the artwork as a whole is a completely different experience than leafing through the glossy pages of an art book.

Along the lower walls of the chapel are some blank spaces, but if you click on them they spring to life with tapestries by Raphael, commissioned in 1515. Unfortunately in real life the originals were destroyed in the Sack of Rome in 1527, but a duplicate set (made at the same time as the originals) was re-hung a few years ago. So here you have the option of seeing them or not, as you please. (They're showing in the top photo here—click on the photos to zoom in.) Not all of the artwork in the Sistine Chapel is by Michelangelo and Raphael—visit and you will also see works by Bernini, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and others. (If you go into edit and click on the paintings, most will tell you the name of the artist and the name of the work.) To explore the Sistine Chapel Re-Creation in Second Life, click here.

My outfit in these images is the Monocrom top and bottom from Sweetest Good-bye and Pinto boots from INDI Designs.

Embryo

2010-03-27T13:33:00.009-04:00

Embryo is a lovely sim created by siestabril Nitely (whose shop on the sim is called un Jour) and ruki Ragu (whose shop is called rucott). The vistas are captivating in this "flooded" sim—you'll end up walking through lots of water—the perfect place to play around with windlight settings (these photos are in sunset-pevensie). A phantom ladder reaches up into the clouds—make sure you fly up to see what awaits at the top! An elegant use of transparent floral textures, particles and chairs (something of a motif here) provides a great atmosphere. un Jour sells some beautiful ladies clothes and accessories, while rucott, located on the opposite corner of the sim, offers everything from pre-fab houses to a windmill. Embryo is also enhanced with its own website.

My outfit in these photos is the new Corset Leather Girl Black by Babele Fashion.

Nemo

2010-03-26T16:05:00.010-04:00

Every once in a while, someone creates something so amazing, so breathtaking, that you just have to be there to marvel at its beauty. This time it's the new installation by my friend Sextan Shepherd (pictured just below), a fantastical underwater steampunk world called Nemo. Although it's now open, it's still a work in progress. Nemo has become an instant hit with Second Life residents ... the place is always swarming with new and old people alike. When I first discovered Sextan's work—he has a shop that sells stunning steampunk clocks and celestial gadgets—I was so floored that I sent him this: "hi sextan ... excuse the IM out of the blue ... but ... your work is GORGEOUS!" He revealed to me then his plans for Nemo, so I got at least sneak preview sense of what was to come.

What these photos don't capture is that things in Nemo move, and they move a lot ... lights zap across the ceiling, sparks fly, gears turn, robotic parts rotate ... it gives you the sense that you've descended into the laboratory of a mad genius, strewn with plans and diagrams, mysterious mechanisms and half-built experiments. The textures are astonishing—this is certain to become one of the most photographed places in Second Life. When you go, make sure you don't miss the chance to visit Sextan's store, SXS Design, where you can actually buy a lot of his amazing work!

My outfit in these photos is (appropriately!) the Steampunk Apocalypse ensemble from League.

Babele's New Majakowsky Mini and Dirty Denim

2010-03-25T18:37:00.005-04:00

Babele Fashion's designer Pinco Janus rolled out two new designs today, adding to her great "leather girl" series with the Majakowsky miniskirted outfit, above, and her capri series with the Dirty Denim Girl, shown below. The Majakowsky is splashed with images of the early 20th century Russian poet and playwright who became known as a founding figure in the Futurist movement. The skirt, which comes in both an Xcite! compatible version and tamer PG variety, has a built-in resize script, as do the tall boots. As for the Dirty Denim outfit ... are those bloodstains? Sort of hard to tell, but they don't look like they're going to come out in the wash! The top comes in both jacket and shirt layers, and I love the jeans and lace combination on the pants. Matching denim shoes are included.