Giant House at Oxygen

By Gemma Cleanslate

“A place to forget all your worries and simply have fun ! Enjoy! “- Justice. So says Justice, and so I went to see if I would.

I heard this site was reminiscent of the old Greenies home. I loved that old place and had a lot of fun there exploring, hiding,  searching out all the interactive fun, shopping in the store and fishing in the kitchen sink. I have still Greenie avatars  I won in that sink and those I bought in the store too. I put myself in more than the usual pictures so you can see the size of the house decor.

Getting there was a trip into the olden days probably of the 30‘s . The entrance takes one in through a sewer track ( go with the flow) into a back lane and then into a rat hole and lands one in the kitchen to be greeted by a cat. This kitchen is really older than the kitchen of the Greenies, I think, and a little tighter. But has more rooms and there is a lot of fun to be had exploring the house, finding the oddities  and listening to the music there. Walk or fly around to explore for interactive activities in all the rooms.

In the kitchen I  checked out the refrigerator and the stove and took a float across the kitchen sink on a sponge. No fishing in this sink... too bad. Eduardo Minghuang and  Romie Vella  were enjoying the whipped cream bowl on the table while I was there .

This house not only had a greeting cat but also a hyperactive doggy protecting the house.. Naughty dog has made a mess so be careful in the laundry room.

There are several interesting playful sites to have fun with in the deteriorating bathroom. Don’t miss them . The living room also has sites to visit and leaves one wondering how did the computer setup get into this era. Be careful around that table though. There is more than one way to get around in this room other than flying. I took a ride in the pick convertible I found in the kid's room.

Strange anomalies await one in the kid’s room too. I recommend taking a second look at everything in the house. On my second visit I discovered many items to play with that I had missed before. The TV in the kid’s room is playing scenes from the old Greenies home if you have never seen the greenies before take a good look. Though quite different from the Greenies home of the past , this house brings back many memories and I hope it stays around for a long time. It looks like the family that lives here will be back any minute for breakfast or lunch!

 This whole installation is the creation of Justice Vought, owner of Oxygen . I asked him how long it would be here and he told me,”well it was a simple project i worked on ..thinking just for fun but its a huge success... if i took it down now SL might kill me....a few months maybe more”  Thanks Justice!
Do not miss it!  

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/River/164/110/1534

Gemma Cleanslate

Two Giant Places. Happiness Giant Rooms and Simpsons Giant Kitchen

By Bixyl Shuftan

For longtime residents one of the classic sims many miss is the Greenies Home. Early in Second Life's history, a group called Rezzable created the place, and for a time had a number of spinnoff areas as well. But they soon began taking them down, and in June 2010 Rezzable announced Greenies Home itself was closing. Since then, there have been a few attempts at creating giant areas. Recently the Newser heard about two, at Happiness and Athen Shire.

The first I found out about in Nance Clowes "Fun Rides and Amusement Parks" group. Nance described the place in a group announcement, "Most long time veterans of amusements in SL fondly remember, and wont shut up about, a long ago place called Greenies. Well, there is a NEW place somewhat modeled on it, and its as close as any newer people are going to ever get to it. There is also a FULL amusement park nearby and a SECRET extra greenies area. "

Checking the place out, I found the cabinets could be opened, but what was revealed was just a flat picture rather than three-dimensional objects. But looking around, there was an open air vent I could duck into. There, I found rezzers for a couple vehicles. One was a mouse-powered cart that went about on the floor for a while. The other was a bug that when ridden would carry you up a pipe that most would not have noticed unless they looked up, and out through another air vent.

Checking around the large show, I found a couple portal doors. One led to a "toy room." Once more, there were drawers one could open. This time the objects were three dimensional. There was also a Lego brick fun ride one could rez a car, get on, and go on a short fun little roller coaster ride.

The Happiness Giant Rooms are at Happiness (115/84/1005).

The second is the creation of JanosX Resident of the Raglan tiny community. One can find a portal to it at ground level at Athen Shire (226/101/22). Going in, one finds themselves in what looks like a room with no exit aside from a portal back down to ground level. But clicking on the walls, eventually a door opens to outside. And stepping through, you see a giant cartoonish kitchen. Looking around, you see clues to whose it is. There's a drawing on the fridge by a "Lisa," the Microwave is from "Kwik-E-Mart," the beer on the table is from "Duff," and clicking on the phone, you hear someone call out, "D'oh!" It's a tribute to "The Simpsons."

Hamlet Au had a few words with JanosX, "It covers 2 of my parcels, and it's several maximum size meshes, some made in SL and meshed with a mesh generator, some with Blender... it's all optimized meshes to get the lowest land impact possible, [you] can make giant meshes with low land impact if you play good with the physics shape types." JanosX also did a video of the build.

Unfortunetely, Hamlet also reports the Simpsons Kitchen will be gone by sometime on Monday. So you may want to drop by quick, especially if you're a fan of Homer Simpson and his family. Otherwise, you too will be going "D'oh!"

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WqmO2046uP8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Source: New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Lady Lorelle's Giant Purple House

By Bixyl Shuftan

Recently, a friend sent me a landmark to a noteworthy location, "Lady Lorelle's Giant Purple House" at Bahia Island. Giant houses in Second Life are nothing new. Early on in the virtual world's history there was "The Greenies," a sim that was a giant kitchen and living room that made visitors look mouse-sized, wowing residents until it's close in June 2010. While there have been a few since then, such as the "Land of the Giants," none have gotten the acclaim of the object of the little aliens' exploration. With them in mind, I decided to take a quick look at the place.

Upon my arrival, I found I wasn't alone. There was a tall fifty-foot huskygirl nearby. She was Away-From-Keyboard, so she didn't answer my questions, but it was a sign early on the palce had attracted some fans. Going inside meant hopping up a few steps, opening the door, and walking in. As expected, everything was giant-sized from the furniture in the living room, to the sink in the kitchen, to the bathtub in the bathroom. And yes, there were a couple giant-sized mousetraps if one wanted to tempt fate to get at the cheese bait.

There were also a few mouseholes in the wall. Some were simple shortcuts to other rooms. Others led to secret passages. One led to a secret room filled with posters of classic movies featuring giant monsters. as well as a small bar (guess mice have to have a drink too, at least those with opposable thumbs).

Looking up her profile, Lady Lorelle described herself as, "I'm... big, and I'm an even bigger fan of giant avatars! If you'd like to see one of my many giant avatars don't be afraid to just ask," and invited people to drop by her place, giving the location out. She had also founded two groups, "Lorelle's Giant Purple House Group" and "Mega-Giantess," the latter for fans of giant female avatars.

I was a bit occupied with other matters at the time, so delayed in writing about the place for a couple weeks. Going back for a quick peek before writing about it again, I found to my sorrow the place was gone. The land had been sold, and in it's place a new club.


So sadly besides a story about the interesting things people can create in the virtual world, the tale of Lady Lorelle's Giant Purple House is also that of how fleeting in time such places can occasionally be.

Bixyl Shuftan

Grease Coakes in the Land of the Giants

By Grease Coakes

Ever imagine what it would be like if you were small? Like that cartoon "The Littles" about the family of small people. Or there was the movie that came out a few years ago from studio Studio Ghibli, "The Secret World Of Arrietty." Once in a while there’s a movie or TV show you may have seen that explored the possibility of being small in a big world where a mouse or small bird would be a real threat to you.

Here in the Land of Giants at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Random/130/148/4018 you could fulfill that wish as the sim is created as if it was populated by giants. As you enter the sim you’ll see a large set of stairs and green arrows to lead you inside. To the right there’s a horse and carriage to ride around in. There’s a living room a little farther ahead where unless you have a giant avatar already you’re just the size of a squirrel or mouse compared to the massive pieces of furniture.

I sneaked through a tiny door filled with furniture made for small avatars like myself and there’s a huge pool table. Up above is a shiny ball of lights and glow dust that must be a small dance area. Also bumping into the pool balls moves them around like you’re kicking or pushing them forward with all your might. There’s also a TV screen which isn’t on a TV channel but instead it’s tuned into a NES game or Nintendo entertainment system. The game on the screen is super Mario bros. To add even more realism there’s a NES console sitting right there with a couple NES games. It’s just inviting you to play mega man or any other classic game.

On the floor like a mouse hole there’s a light up sign that says bowling alley. I sneaked inside before any giants can get me and there's a little bowling alley with a gummi bears wallpaper. The hotdog guy is funny looking. Every Wednesday there’s a contest for first second and third place with Linden prizes.

I read the easy directions and give bowling a try. You’ll see a percentage of your power as you mouse look and aim the ball. Hold down the mouse button for power and let go when you think you have enough power. I wandered in with no one around and played by myself. The gameplay is simple as I got a fairly good score being in the middle of the score board. You’ll hear voices and sound effects as you bowl adding to the virtual game.

I saw a warp pad and discovered a toys room. It’s fun to look around as I saw a carousel and bumper cars, but there’s also a canoe ride. I figured why not. The canoe slowly drifts on a river of soda as you see spiders and other scary things. As the canoe trip ends you end up on a kitchen floor. To the right is an "Alice in Wonderland" themed room with tea cups and the white rabbit.

At the start of the sim where you climb up the stairs is a carriage ride with a white horse. If you want to take a stroll through the sim knock yourself out. Sit on the carriage as it whickers and trots in your headphones giving you a slow tour around the sim.

All in all if you want to be lazy and see something new for an hour or two here in the grid you should check out the land of the giants. Even if you’re not a fan of the genre of being small in a giant’s world you should at least check it out for something to do if you’re bored silly.  I was impressed by the level of detail here and I think you would be as well readers of the Second Life Newser.

Grease Coakes