Venturing Out

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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.