Wheedle Gallery in Coniston to Close

by Klaus Bereznyak

Wheedle is the upstanding example of a second-life gentleman, a creative avatar who has contributed much to our world, not least as the creator of excellent freebies such as the Zorgone avatars and vehicles and as well as unique and affordable artwork for our walls. In a press release on the 14th August, Wheedle announced that his tiny gallery overlooking the harbor at Coniston was to close, and that he was also moving out of the adjoining cottage.

With characteristic wry humor, Wheedle explained there were two reasons for his decision. First of all, his ongoing campaign for Second Life Governor has been taking up more and more of his time. Wheedle explained, "It is surprising how demanding the campaign trail can be." Secondly, he cited the commute to and from his main art gallery in Calleta, which was just getting impossible with all the lag.

He also reassured us that the rumor that he had been abducted by aliens is totally false and was possibly spread by someone in Governor Linden’s employ.

The Wheedle Gallery has been part of the Greater Coniston and Keswick community for years, offering a regularly updated selection of his artwork. He will be missed. Thankfully Wheedle will continue to maintain his much larger gallery at the beating heart of mainland transportation on Calleta in Heterocera. He is also a staunch contributor and supporter of the eclectic art space at Wanderlust and Bench Art Park.

Wearing many hats, but most often the clockwork one, Wheedle has been active in Second Life since 2013. This latest development by no means implies that he is getting ready to check out of SL. On the contrary, he disclosed, "There is so much depth to SL. I doubt I shall experience, let alone master everything it has to offer.  Although I have come so far from my newbie days of trying to dress myself, I find there is so much more to learn. I find it funny when people here claim they are bored"

The Wheedle Gallery in Coniston will be abandoned sometime in late September. All are invited to visit before that time. He expressed his appreciation to his wonderful landlord Rey and stated that it was a delight living and doing business in the area.

We wish him all the best with his future endeavors and look forward to seeing what he does next.

Main Wheedle Gallery in Calleta: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Calleta/106/121/30

Wheedle Gallery, Coniston: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Coniston/251/167/24

Wanderlust and Bench Art Park: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quentin/20/101/43

Klaus Bereznyak

Yosemite Sim to Close

By Gemma Cleanslate

One of my all time favorite regions in Second Life is Yosemite. This multifacited sim is just full of places to tour, horseback ride, look at art, relax in the cafe, or visit the shops in the mall, or the Magenda, Jadyn’s store .

 
There is the John Muir camping area where you can set down a short picnic and camp. There is also a memorial site for those who want to place a candle or another tribute to some one gone. 

Jadyn Firehawk has been improving and adding to her builds for years  to represent the real Yosemite, which she dearly loved. I have visited the sim  often either for events,  for breakfast meetings that are held once a month, or just roaming and looking at the art exhibits.

Now it is with sadness that I have learned that Yosemite will close, perhaps temporarily, or not.
I know all the members of the group will miss it. Jadyn sent a notice to the group:

 I regret to inform everybody that I have decided to close down Yosemite Sim, due to a combination of medical and financial reasons....I am hoping to be able to reestablish a Virtual Yosemite in SL as soon as I can, though it will probably be on a reduced scale, such as on a homestead sim. The main park, Yosemite Valley (Forever Wild), and the rental cabins have by far been the most popular things about Yosemite Sim, and so I hope to be able to bring at least those two things back to SL at a later date.

 P2P will experience no change.  Read about Yosemite and Jadyn here , and Deaflegacy’s interview.

If you want to visit to see this wonderful western America replica of the Yosemite National Park you still have time. The teleport board is so helpful getting you around to the various venues. I plan to visit several times for sure. I wish Jadyn so many best wishes and recovery soon. It is always sad to see a region go but hope for a quick return for the partial park soon.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/190/63/22

Gemma Cleanslate

“We Gotta Say Goodbye, For the Summer” - Bahama Beach Club Closes (2009)

By Bixyl Shuftan


In the Summer of 2008, I came across and made friends with the people of Woodlin, eventually joining the community in October. But over a period of weeks from January to March 2009, the place fell apart due to drama, the majority of us heading over to Foxworth, owned by Foxyfurman Kunami. But while Woodlin had it's own clubs, Foxworth didn't have one. It's entertainment was an open-air gaming hall with machines of Foxy's construction. Enter Rory Langdon, whom was one of Woodlin's DJs, and was the manager of it's short-lived "Margaritavile." Wanting to stay in the club business, he got some land in a sim separate from Foxworth that already had one, and went to work with help from Foxworth's residents. More of the club's history can be seen in this article of the place, that was published in August 23 2009, the day after its closing party.

 *  *  *  *  *

At 6 PM Saturday August 22nd, the Bahama Beach Club at the Goldrush sim held it’s final event. Club owner Rory Langdon was the DJ that night, playing classic rock for a “Back to the ‘60s” beack party, with some guests and staff in their swimming trunks and bikinis. Instead of in the club, the party was held on the beach sands.

Rory Langdon, or Joe Ward in real life, has been playing music for over 30 years, with experience as both a DJ and club manager. Experience he brought with him to Second Life, both DJing and club managing here. In March 2009, he decided to start up a club of his own, buying up some land that already had a nightclub there, “Club 9:30.” As it turned out, there really was a Club 9:30 in real life. So he kept the building for a while, setting up a small beach club next to it, poles holding up a thatched roof, with a danceball overhead with a particle streamer sending down a light show at times, with a picture of a blue parrot behind the DJ stand, which became known as “Flip the bird.”

With his partner Marai McMahon helping to manage things, Rory had planned to run both clubs with events in both every week. But problems in real life cut down on his time in the metaverse, and the prim content limit limited what he could do with both clubs. So they decided to take down the nightclub building, building a a bigger beach club. They also put a little more detail in the beach. adding rocks, a waterfall, palm trees and hammocks, a secret cuddle spot, and more. Some people dropped over between parties just to see the beach scenery and relax. The new bigger club was renamed the Bahama Beach Club, though sometimes simply called the “BBC” as a pun on the famous media company.

Besides himself, Rory had other music-makers performing. Bosco sang at the club for a time. Later on came DJ’s SonicBlu and Boo Gearhead. And throughout the club’s history, there was ScratchMusikatt the “Chaos DJ,” playing for the late at night while he also performed in real life.

The club and it’s grounds took up a quarter sim, but prim limits limited what Rory, Marai, and the staff could do. There was talk about buying up a half sim, or maybe a full sim in the future for things like a staff residence home. Then his old friend and former neighbor Foxyfurman Kumaki who runs the Foxworth sim offered a deal. Rory and Marai now have a section of the sim there for a club, which will be opened sometime in the near future. This time, it will be a nightclub to go along with Foxy’s casino next to the place. The land on Goldrush will be sold.

So, the Bahama Beach Club comes to a close, at least for now. It’s likely it will come back in some form, but the place at Goldrush will be missed.

As the final party came to a close, virtual champagne was passed around, and toasts were made.

“To this place being good to us, memories made here.”

“To memories old and new, to friends who shall never be forgotten.”


*  *  *  *  *

Rory never did open his nightclub. Events in real life intervened, and he was forced to take a hiatus from Second Life. While he was able to make occasional reappearances, he never could stick around for very long. Some months later in March 2010, Foxworth itself had to close down. Marai and a few others were able to relocate to a place they called Glen Meadows, but there was no room for me. But there was another group of friends I had with their own estate: The Sunweavers. ScratchMusikatt did end up meeting a special friend at the BBC, and their friendship continues to this day, as does his DJing.

Bixyl Shuftan

Phaze Demesnes to Close

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was a few days ago when Bay Sweetwater announced that the Phaze Demesnes sim would soon be closing down. Wondering what the place was like, especially as some of the goods it offered were now for free, I headed over to see what I could find.

Although the provided landmark for Phaze Demesnes (217/207/23) was for the northeast, I ended up in the middle of the sim instead, which was a better starting point in retrospect. I was handed a notecard with several locations. The next thing I noticed was a group of pigeons that would take off when I approached, then landed back down. Right next to me was a dock where a whale would occasionally stop and wait for a passenger. Getting on, I was taken for a ride through the river. Most of the trip was underwater, so in real life such a trip would have meant holding one's breath for a while. I didn't have my view focused on my avatar when the critter took off, so I ended up going into first-person mode, which showed quite a ride.

Not far away to the northeast was the castle, described in the notecard as "the home of the Blue Adept and the Lady Blue." Outside it looked well done. On the inside, it looked quite exquisite, with many decorations and furnishings around. In the center of the place was a cuddle couch. There was also a freebie painting there (if there were others, I missed them). Further in was a wedding chapel, as well as a dungeon, though I never did venture down to see them. I never did see the free teddy bears described in the notecard.

Leaving the castle and walking on to Dragons Isle, I never did find the freebie dragons described in the notecard. What I did find was a few figures, including a stone fighter, an ogre-like being, and something demonic, around a portal entrance. This led to an area with a red floor with a pentagram etched in. One is invited to pick up a sword and shield, either green or blue. Whether or not you do, demons soon appear, with one set up numbers representing your health, and another for theirs. They head to you, and every time you whack them, their health goes down while the number for your health drops when they touch you. When theirs reaches zero, they vanish and after the last one disappears another round with more monsters begins. If yours reaches zero, the game ends. I didn't do too badly when I fought one at a time. But soon they were coming at me two at a time, so I tried to keep away from one while fighting the other. Three at a time, and it was soon game over. Maybe they didn't like losing to a mouse avatar dressed up in Christmas red and green (grin).

The notecard described a "silversmith game" underneath the castle, so I used the landmark provided, and arrived at a smithing area, with an anvil and tools along with a few silver objects on the counter. It turned out this was a puzzle, and one had to click on things and do a few actions in a certain order. The reward was a box of goodies that contained vases, bracelets, cloaks and a silk, and other items.

There was an underwater dome, "Translucent Demesnes:  a beautiful underwater world ruled by the Translucent Adept." Getting there, one had to figure out how to get inside. While drowning was not a worry, one is warned about hungry sharks and piranha in the vicinity. To those who figure out how to get in, they're invited to sit on the throne.

Other places included the Proton Dome, "a science world full of unique free items," where the notecard stated one could pick up a free translator and "free birds that perch on your arm, fly with you, and live in your homes and gardens." There was also a fairy area described with a magic potion game and a unicorn ride. Another area had free equine mounts, as well as free coats.

The sim was created by Ferd Frederix (Fred Beckhusen) and Wavingirlsav Voom (Debbie Edwards). For those who wish to keep up with their work, they will be soon opening their own place in Opensim. They also have a blog at http://www.outworldz.com/secondlife/ (caution, some nudity and language).

If you're reading this article while new, once again, you can get there by clicking the SURL (here).

Bixyl Shuftan

Enchantment Island: A Sim Close to Closing

By Fritter Enzyme

There is a place that we are going to lose in Second Life.  There are many if we don’t support the sims we go to for our entertainment.  The average amount given to Ronald McDonald a week, by those who enjoy a certain sim, could run it, expand it, and pay for advertising it.  You can make your own coffee and sandwich in the morning, but most cannot make a wonderful virtual experience for so many to enjoy.

Right now I am at Enchanted Island, one of my favorite places.  It has a main landing site to lead you to a plethora of places to explore and have fun.  Most are one of a kind.  My favorite museum is there, the Museum of Surrealism.  And the Museum of Illusions, for those interested in magic tricks.  Learn about your favorite magicians and their tricks.  Participate and purchase props for your own.

All the building are beautiful prim works, some with reflective floors and fine chandeliers.  A Tornado Gallery in an over turned house.  A Marine Superstore, low prim and price, with a pirate’s cove and treasure hunt nearby.  A ride to an Egyptian skybox is there, look for the reed boat and sail away.  It is also home to the Mega Bubble ride, the largest one I have seen in Second Life.  Many of the things you see are for sale, and there is a store with great animated signs gearing towards Halloween and cat lovers.  A unique animated mesh jacket is there, very nice work on that.  I bought it, might go back for the fat pack.  Several places to shop are offered.  Tiny animated worlds in a bottle, prices are very reasonable on everything.

There is a Haunted House, Star Wars land, Lunacy Joke Shop, Nutty Fireworks, Goblin land, Tiki World, more than I can mention to be seen, but only if you come.  And it will only last if supported.  BambiTwice Nitely, the owner and creator of much of it, with help of others, is making it known that it is failing.  Lack of funds will shut it down, the same reason many wonderful  sims have. 

Second Life can be free.  If you want nothing to do or see there, keep it that way.  If you want an immersive, imaginative world to play and explore in, then you need to buy less hamburgers and give some lindens to those who work hard, and pay out a lot to keep us entertained.  I urge you to come see Enchantment Island, and please, to support it.  Nothing can replace the sims we have lost.  Help stop these horrible loses.  Import some money and give lindens to those that give joy to you.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Enchantment%20Island/108/119/36 

Fritter Enzyme

The Queen of Hearts' Farewell

By Bixyl Shuftan

It's always a little sad when a club closes down. Each represents an idea and a dream, to provide others with a place to have a little fun. Many last less than a year, sometimes just weeks. One, however, lasted for about sevreal years. For eight years, the Romance-themed sim of Mystery entertained visitors in Second Life, with the Queen of Hearts riverboat club as the main area of events for most of this time. It's owner Tygeria Mirabeau and it's manager Amythe Moonlight kept it going year after year through many happy times. But in late June, Tygeria announced to her staff that problems in real life were making her unable to keep up the sim. Friday June 27 would have the last events. So it was with heavy hearts that the staff prepared for one last day of music and dance.

10AM SL time was the start of the "Memory Lane" event, a "come as you are" party, with Amy herself DJing the music. And people came in, not just the regulars, but people whom hadn't been over for a while, including former staff whom had moved on. "Black, I missed you." But they still took things with a little humor, "Aim better next time." Moria the hostess called out, "TP your friends, your man, your girl, your eye candy, and anyone in between."

Amy told everyone, "We are having some dedications to the club and the family we have here tonight ... how I feel about what we build and have built - it's the journey where you meet all the people and help them on the way- that's what makes it special. ... The Queen has been a home to many of us for a long time and some of us for a short time but it's the YOU the people that make it special. ... TONIGHT IS FOR THE PEOPLE!!!!"

The normally 250 Linden prizes for best male and female were raised to 500L each. There was also a jar of candied gummi frogs for anyone to take one. Once in a while, fireworks were placed on the ground, to lauch and explode near the ceiling.

At 12 Noon came the second and final show, and Amy turned over the music to DJ Mac and hostess Aislinp for the "Best in Red" event. There were all kinds of outfits in theme for it. Mac wasn't showing any red at first, so someone joked that it was his underwear that was red. The playful banter continued, between two ladies, "pour some sugar on me." "If you pour sugar on your underwear dear it will not be nice at all, though it will be sweet." "Sugar on underwear....yikes."

Eventually, Mac closed things off with the Club's adopted tune, the last song for an official event here.


Miiiiidnight,
and I'm a-waitin' on the twelve o' five, 
hoping it'll take me,
just a little farther down the line.

And moonliiiiight,
you're just a heartache in disguise,
won't you keep my heart from breaking,
if it's only for a very short time.

Playin' with the Queen of Hearts,
knowin' it ain't really smart,
the joker ain't the only foo-ol,
who'll do anything for you.


"Thank you Mac for a wonderful send off!" Amy told the DJ, then she turned to the crowd, to both the staff and the regulars, "Keep your eyes peeled for notices and IMs. Just give me a couple of days to sort things! We have the staff meeting on Sunday and maybe there will be news then. On Monday we will go to my sim Condunrum as a temporary home."

"Thank you everyone. Look after yourselves and I'll let you all know soon what's happening."

And so ended the last event at the Queen of Hearts riverboat club. As of the day I was writing this, the club was still around, just with no one aboard. It has seen much over the past several years from live music events by a number of singers to costume balls, and of course the scene of romance as couples came for parties both while dating and committed. Then there was the "masked lover" whom for months pursued the object of his affection while still keeping his identity hidden.

The Mystery sim remains up, for now, and there is much to see across the place from the "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit, to the train ride, to the little village tucked away in the valley. But eventually it will fade away into the virtual nether, leaving nothing behind but memories.

For now Amy's sim of Condunrum will take over as the new home for the Queen of Hearts staff and fan group, the Cape Hope club at Conundrum (213, 10, 22),  But for the fans, there's only one true "Queen of Hearts," and she will be missed.

Bixyl Shuftan

Life Cycle of an Island

By Grey Lupindo

 In August, 2010, my community of Syzygy decided to expand.   We had been a large community surrounded by water, and the expansion gave us more islands and even more water.   Many of us liked to fly and to sail, and the expansion would allow us to do both in style.  

 An island named Corvus was created, and I was fortunate to be able to build my fantasy home there.   It was an exciting day when the frozen land emerged from the sea.   For about two weeks, I watched the island go through an ice age, a volcanic era, and finally a cool down phase.    While this was happening on Corvus, other islands were being built and land expanded on the original Syzygy.   New people moved into our community, too.   We had great parties, and many of us created temporary exhibits to showcase our art and interests.   It was a heady time.

For over two years I lived in my dream wilderness home, the Aspen Loft cabin from Stonewood Homes.  I filled the land with wild animals from many creators in SL, too.   It was exactly what I wish I could have in RL, which is the wonderful thing about SL.   Here I could walk among the wolves and not worry about becoming their dinner.

 Unfortunately, the last year brought health, financial, and time challenges to many of the residents of Syzygy.   In January the community was faced with the prospects of closing down totally unless some adjustments were made.   One of the residents, Celtic Infinity, took up the challenge of trying to keep as many of us together on Syzygy as she could.   With the help and assistance of Samantha Glume, our long-time CEO, Celtic raced against the clock to protect and save our island community.   

 For a while it didn’t look like anything could be done.  I spent many hours last month looking for a different place to live.  At first I thought I would take a long cruise to get over the loss.   But I soon realized I couldn’t afford to do that.   So I began looking at other communities, and I was amazed at the diversity on SL.   There really is something here for everyone, although for a long time I wasn’t sure there would be anything for me.  

I enjoy Steampunk, and there are a couple of great communities in SL for that.   But my wolves weren’t going to be happy there.    Too much clanging of metal and hissing of steam vents.   I looked at renting a boat dock and living by the water.  But the industrial ones were too scary, and the resort ones were too hot.  

I began looking at apartments in beautiful foreign cities, but they didn’t seem like home.   I looked at apartments in cities more like home, and realized that I just don’t like cities.   No matter what country they are in. 

It was a sad Sunday morning when I logged into SL and found that Corvus had totally disappeared.   I knew it was coming, and I had packed up all my things a few days before.   But it was still a sad and empty without my island.   I missed the birds singing and peacefulness that I felt when I walked through the woods and listened to the waterfall.   Most of all, I missed my friends. 

So I was very happy when Celtic told me that she and Samantha had a plan to keep at least some of Syzygy alive.   They are working on the details now.   I’m not sure how much or who will remain there.   But as of today it appears that I will be able to move back to the original Syzygy.  My neighbors will be my very good friends-- Grjandomore Greene, whom we call Gri, and Muse Nishi.  Gri and I were neighbors on Corvus, and he is a great person to share land with.   He never once complained about my wolves howling or disturbing him.   Muse Nishi was the first person I became friends with in SL, many years ago.   She’s very creative and fun, and I’m glad she will be a neighbor.

The island of Corvus was a wonderful place while it lasted.   I will always have happy memories of it.   Until my new place on Syzygy is finalized, I have rented a temporary apartment in a place that seems to be much more suited to me—a tree house in a forest.  I’ll let you know how the wolves adjust to live among the branches.

 Grey Lupindo

Virtual Museum of Architecture Closing It's Sim

 By Grey Lupindo

On October 31, 2012 the Virtual Museum of Architecture plans to close its sim, located at Purdue University (69, 55, 35).   The VMA will still remain in Second Life, however.  Djinn Dasmijn, Co-Director  of the Museum, said the group plans to focus on the educational aspects of architecture through lectures and Build-offs.   
 

     The VMA celebrated its achievements and allowed its friends and supporters a final party on Saturday, October 27.   Bluemonk Rau served as DJ.   The plaza area was decorated for Halloween, with ghosts, spider webs and a revolving pumpkin dance floor.   Most partiers came in costume, and many participated in the best costume contest.   A lot of residents attended, including my former neighbors and friends, Erin Fensen and Asana Trudeau.   Asana had initially worked with the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum.     

      Like many organizations in Second Life, the VMA has been struggling with the high cost of maintaining a sim.   The reorganization will allow it to continue with its prime objective of education.   Rosalie Oldrich, who is the other Co-Director, stated that Builder’s Brewery is providing space for the lecture series that will accompany future Build-Offs.   

      During the party, Djinn Dasmijn and Katsii Tennan invited supporters to take a final tour of the sim. The next day I decided to do that.  I went back to the Museum to take a closer look at the offices and snap a few photos.   The offices are in a three floor structure that is a model for what real-life offices should be.  There are skylights and large windows to let in light, fountains to provide soothing water sounds, and even a small urban garden.    The interiors were modern, yet warm and inviting.    

      While I was there I ran into Sandi Glas, who has been a long-time supporter and builder.   She had also been associated with the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum.   Sandi has participated with the VMA since its beginning.  She told me she competed in their first Build-off and has continued to compete in all of them except the “green” build-off.   But she jokingly said that everything she builds has a 0 carbon footprint.

        The next Build-off is scheduled for March 1, 2013.   Djinn Dasmijn will be announcing the theme soon.

Grey Lupindo

Cartoonimals Sim to Close

Daniel Voyager had some unhappy news on his blog the other day. The Cartoonimals sim would be closing in about a month. Owner Duggy Bing had put the region up for sale, saying “real life projects” were taking up too much of his time to keep the place.

Cartoonimals was a store, but its creations are so funny and whimsical the place is well worth a stroll through just to chuckle at the goods. There’s a wide variety of items from virtual pets, wearable and grounded, tip jars, novelty items, and more. The place is arranged in a circle so the sections are fairly easily accessible. There's also a roller rink in one corner, presumably designed for social events at one time.

Duggy will still be selling his items on SL Marketlace, plus his vendors will still be up in various places. He stated some details in a notecard:


I’m dropping you a note to let you know that I’ll be closing Cartoonimals in about a month. Real life projects have been taking increasing chunks of my attention and I simply haven’t had time to devote to creating new products and attending to marketing (never was too good at that). It was a terrific couple of years and a very rewarding experience. Not a single customer issue that could not be easily resolved….in SL that’s saying something! I want to especially thank those of you who helped with ideas, scripting, building and support.

I’ll continue to offer my stuff on Marketplace, as well as through affiliates. I will be inworld at least once a week to assist customers and replace missing items. As always satisfaction guaranteed.

So again, thanks so much. If I ever find a Third Life I hope you are all there!!!!—Duggy


Treet TV took a look at the place in 2009, and the video is still in the archives. But it’s no substitute for visiting the island yourself. Head to Cartoonimals (162, 157, 24).

Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes from Alien Isle

Pictures taken on the Alien Isle sim before it's fading from the Grid.

The Alien Isle from a distance.

The free gift package at the scene of Madpea's party.

An illustration of some of the 7Seas fishing pets available at the place.

That's gonna leave a mess on my feet.

For the story, Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes from The Lost Gardens of Apollo

Last weekend was the final chance for people to stop by the Lost Gardens of Apollo before it vanished. Here are some of the pictures I took.

A sculpture near the entry area, showing a demonic being reaching from a tar pit to grab an angel-like being. The wing and skull on the ground suggest one other angel wasn't able to escape.

Samlowry Hawks, one of the sim staff, sporting a white suit and pair of wings, leading a tai chi group.

A shopping area, now devoid of customers.

A spot for couples to relax. The place had a number of them.

One of the towers of Apollo, with a cuddle spot high over the ground.

The towers of Apollo, seen from below.

A few people spending one last chance to dance at one of Apollo's platforms.

I had been chatting with friends during my looking around. A couple came with me, and we decided to check out one of the pools.

Apollo was truly well built sim. It was a shame to see it go. Perhaps it will reappear in some form in the future.

Bixyl Shuftan