Tempura Island

By Becky Shamen

Long before I knew of the Destination Guide, from my earliest days in SL, I have known of and loved this sim. Back before my first job, one of my longest friends invited me to come enjoy a visit to Tempura Island. It has remained one of my most valued LMs, to this day. It is only a single sim, but it contains more than just adventure. If you allow it's magic to work, it will open a gateway to the realm of soul. On May 25, 2013, Tempura celebrated it's 5th anniversary. In the three plus years that I have been going there, it has changed little. It doesn't need to change. It was always perfectly complete in doing exactly what it was meant to do. It has become so popular that, regardless of the time of day, you will find 40-50 people there. It doesn't need my help to promote it. Most people I know, unless they are new to SL, have heard of it. If you have never been there, it's about time you discovered why it has become so loved by so many.

Looking at the map, we see a large, central cross shaped structure. The circle at the bottom of the cross is the landing point. As soon as you land, you need to take a few steps forward, because you probably landed on top of someone and another will soon land on your head. Yes, it's that popular, so, if you need time for things to rez, find a nearby space to do it. If you like meeting new people and making friends, you will have many opportunities on Tempura. Returning to take a few photos, for this article, I made several new friends. The landing point is in a gazebo, located in the wooded hills of the southern part of the island. Paths lead through these beautiful woods, with it's many, peaceful sitting areas, You may find yourself thinking you aren't in Kansas any more and wondering where the yellow brick road is.

The center arm of the cross structure is a bi-level bridge, that leads to the large building on the northern part of the island and has stairs down to the East and West arms of the cross.

The right, or Eastern stairway leads to the Tai Chi isle. I have yet to meet anybody that did not enjoy this exercise. There are, at least, a dozen pose balls and I have never done it solo. It's a great place to chat and make friends and watching it is, somehow very stimulating to the soul. I know some ladies that tell me it also is somewhat of a sexual stimulant. Great place to take a date (smile).

The left, or Western stairway leads to the meditation isle. I've never seen any rules on meditation in SL, but for best effect have always done it in silence, for around 30 minutes per session. I can't say what this experience will do for others, but it led to a best friend and I meeting at noon, every Sunday, for years, here and at other locations, meditating together in silence. I have also provided two places, in my own home, for meditation.

A large, ornate building is located at the North end of the bridge. The central hall is a ballroom, with dance balls for singles and couples. On my last visit, a lady asked me to dance with her boyfriend, as her feet were getting tired. The two side wings have stairs to the roof and sitting rooms on each level. The Northern half of the island has scenic paths, beautiful trees and several points of interest, as well as places for couples to sit and chat.

My LM for Tempura is kept in a folder, called "Romantic Getaways." I'm sure you will find this location to be a great place to share with good friends or take your next romantic date. Even if you go alone, you will probably love it and tell others.

secondlife://tempura%20island/130/138

Becky "Sha" Shamen

Inspire Space Park

The Inspire Space Park has been around in Second Life for at least a few years. But it’s a location that continues to draw crowds every day. The park doesn’t represent a real place in space or in science fiction, but is more of a place of the imagination.

Upon getting there, change your environment settings to Midnight to get the best view of the space surroundings. The place may take a while to rez, as there are always many people here. Sometimes you may need to try twice or three times to enter. Even at odd hours, there are still a number of people around. But once everything comes into focus, visitors are rewarded with a visual treat.

Those arriving at the entry point will find themselves on a large asteroid’s flat surface. Smaller asteroids float nearby. Further away, planets and stars can be seen in spectacular views. A haze conceals the ground view, and from where you are it might as well be a nebula cloud. The easy music in the background adds to the atmosphere of the place.There are a few seats nearby one can relax on, including a circle with meditation poses. There is also a bridge of stones to another large asteroid.

One of the fun things about the place, you can hop to some wandering poseballs via green teleporter across the asteroid. Getting on one, you float around, slowly tumbling in orbit. One can do it alone, or with a friend. The park makes for a great place to take a date and quite literally sweep her off her feet, and slowly drift among the planets and stars in each others arms.

In the past, there were also teleporters to nearby locations. They’re probably still around, but I didn’t see them in more recent visits. One is a drive-in theater, the “Inspire Beach and Drive-in” at Shinda (105, 189, 26), near the highway. It used to have a 1950’s look, but more recently the tailfinned classic cars were replaced by space-age skycars. There is also a space-club, the “Inspire Dance Planet” in the Butsu sim at (217, 214, 1546). When I dropped by some time ago, it was a space-age club with bright neon colors. From outside, it looked like a star. Someone told me other larger planets and stars had hidden surprises inside.

There are occasional events held at the space park. Cypress Rosewood has on his website a film of him performing there. On a more recent visit, there was a particle show. The place was so full of particles, a friend had to leave due to an overheating graphics card.

The Inspire Space Park is a beautiful work of art, a stellar dreamland.

The entry point is at Shinda at (34, 211, 1559). The okace is owned by the Virtual Life Media group, and was made by Earth Primbee, Grafx Newbold, and Raphael Cremorne.

Bixyl Shuftan