Whitechapel 1888

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!