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

Morgan Straits

"Aye, There Be Pirates Among Us"

No you haven't fallen through a time portal and landed in the age of the rebellious, but you're darn close.

On Morgan Straits you'll find role players from the United States, France, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, Scotland and England. The original five sims were created January 2010, by owners/founders Dizz Darkstone and Migizi North, who according to Julia had an idea to create a place, with few rules, but common sense.

"It's a place where logistics disappear. You can see what's over the horizon and obtain it," explained JuliaThePirate Buccaneer, a role player member who is deep into the magic of what the 19 sims offer. "Anything you can imagine you can execute. The only thing we require is that you dress pirate, navy, native or mer."

"The people here are friendly and fun. They take care of their own and are open to anyone who wants to visit," said Leessens Mistwalker, a pirate, merman and owl, who "sails fer the pirates, fights fer the pirates and swims in the seas with the mer." He runs two of the sims in the NE and just rebuilt them.

"We wanted to have an estate that was built for sailing. There were more than two of us in the beginning, five or six, each bought a homestead, and Dizz bought the full sim for the estate," Migizi explained. "Now there are 19 sims which are owned individually. We sell to people and they pay tier to Diz. Morgan Straits is the main sim.”

Roni Foxdale added that it’s a pirate infested region, but the New Brunswick Navy does its part to keep the waters safe.

“And if you stumble upon people sitting down and having a drink they'll scoot over and find a crate for you to sit on, pour you a drink and have you join in. I like it here because there is always room for one more,” said Renate Marchionne.

Here you'll find the marketplace, which has a collection of vendors where you can get everything from clothing, weaponry, TSS, SCS and SSS ships, furniture and there's even home rentals.

Roleplay is everywhere, but isn't forced 24/7 in this estate which follows the Golden Age of Piracy 1650-1750. Dizz does most of the historical research in this pre-steam ship era. There are two Harbor Masters, who are battle coordinators: Kayseer Voss and Peeble Oh. A special note of recognition is that Chandra Pelazzi of Shack N Chateau Designs, has worked for a year rebuilding nine sims in the estate, and welcomes custom build requests.

The following is Morgan Straits Event Schedule

Battles:

Monday:
Alternate Monday 11 AM Events
Ship Wreck Battle Race 11 AM SLT
Rum Race 11 AM SLT

Navy vs Pirate 8 PM SLT

Tuesday:
Blood Bath Tuesday 3:30 PM SLT
Cargo Shipment from NB 7 PM SLT

Thursday:
Alternate Thursday 2:30 Battles
Defend Yer Arses Ye Bastids! Melee/Sea Battle
2:30 PM SLT
FFA Sea Battle 2:30 PM SLT

PE - Defend the Tower Melee 4:30 PM SLT

Weekly Events:
Tilted Kilt - Open 12 PM SLT Mon - Friday, closing times are determined by battles.

Sea Shanty Tuesdays! 5-7pm SLT -Nobody's Inn
New Brunswick with DJ Alleykat

Morgans Market - Wednesdays 12-3 PM SLT

Special Events:
Men In Kilts - Saturday, September 24th 3 PM SLT @ Salty Crab -Morgan Straits
DJ - Flamia

Halloween Costume Party - Saturday, October 1st 2 PM SLT @ Morgan's Docks

Mer Ballet Performance Sunday, October 16th 1 PM SLT @ Morgan's

Formal Ball - Saturday, November 5th 2 PM SLT
@ Pirates Keep
Bosun DJ

Here's Morgan Straits Points of Interest!

There are beautiful sims and caves for you to explore freely.

The Tilted Kilt - Saber Point:
A pirate tavern with a Scottish theme. Live dancers to entertain you, with a feisty
bartender to keep yer mugs filled.

Hours of Operation

Monday
12-4 PM SLT
Tuesday
12-3:00 PM SLT
Wednesday 12-3 PM SLT in the Morgan Straits Market
Thursday
12-2:15 PM SLT
Friday
12-4 PM SLT
Hours reflect Morgan's Battle Schedule. The Titled Kilt often stays open longer, if yer there, we are!

Morgan's Market Day Wed 12-3 PM SLT:
Wednesday's 12-3 PM SLT. There are free stalls for your items, come in before 12 to set up, 50 prims, remove all items at 3, and remain on site during market hours. Dance with the Tilted Kilt gals, 'ave a pastry from the baker, get a free hat from the hat maker, or a bath if ye smell a bit off! All welcome! Cheers!

The Salty Crab - Morgan Straits:
A pirate pub located on Morgan Straits Docks
Without regular hours of operation, but used for parties and gatherings by anyone in the estate. See Migizi to book dates.

Dead Man's Tales - Skeleton Reef:
Thursday Nights 8 PM SLT
An evening around a Rebel campfire, listening to pirate stores that will tingle your senses and tantalize your mind.

Teagues Tavern - Dead Man's Reach:
A feisty tavern where the Rebel Pirates and friends dance the hours away. No set hours of operation.

The Tatr'd Sail - Pirates Keep:
A open air venue for live music located on Pirates Keep Docks. Event notices sent out for events.

Morgan Straits Battles:
Most battles start in Morgan Straits Sim. Battles are announced through group notices.

Sacred Lake - La Dominique:
The heart of Dominica is a little lake called "Sacred Lake" by the Kalinagos the last Caribbean native tribe! Take care and be respectful, in character you'll be savagely hunted! Never a pale face that has seen the Sacred Lake has sailed away alive!

Smilla Fredriksson, Artist - La Dominique
Visit our island and keep your eyes open, you will find some of the more than 1,000 pictures she’s done so far in SL.

Native Area - Shanshara
Shanshara offers a message of peace and tolerance! For the Sanatos tribe, even if Kalinagos allied, the Shanshara (mother earth) is open to everyone who come in peace!


Aztex Palace:
You are also welcome to visit a realistic Aztec palace!

Mer Art Gallery - Ashlands
A beautiful underwater tour through tunnels, which feature artwork. It leads to ancient ruins and private hideaways. A must see.

Blood Red Flamia - Pirates Keep
In a remote little house in the swamp, the owner has a den and artistic studio.

Netera Landar

Noah’s Ark

I was recently told about a Noah’s Ark build in Second Life. Handed an LM, I later used it to head to the Necros sim. Arriving there, near me was a huge ship on a hill, both taking up much of the length of the sim. Getting inside is via a long ramp, walking past the title “Noah’s Ark” on the side. Three decks high, one enters the ship on the third.

Written on the wall is a brief overview of the story of Noah and the ark. On the table is a list of instructions Noah was given about the construction of the ark, including it’s dimensions of 300 cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits in height. There are a number of tables full of tools around, as well as some gardens. There’s a potters’ wheel here which you can sit on to use, and receive a pot after a few minutes. You can also use a plane on a board or scrub the deck.

Deck two is where the animals are. In the middle are cages with birds and insects. on the edges of the room are stalls with various animals. There’s also a picture of extinct animals, and a pen with dinosaurs in it, a rainbow on the pen when clicked revealing a notecard, the writer feeling there were probably dinosaurs on the ark, referring to the “behemoth” descrbed in God’s conversation with Job (Job 40:15-24). Only a small area of deck three is accessible, the builder of the sim feeling it was used tor storage of food, water, other supplies, and ballast.

Outside of the ark, the path leading down a hill leads under a rainbow. Further away is a picturesque scene with various trees, waterfalls, ponds, and more. A number of these items were up for sale. There’s also a small church, named the “Greenwood Chapel,” next to a cross and a number of bells. People can go into the church and sit on the pews. On the church was a notecard dispenser. The card revealed the creator of the place as a Dragomir Greenwood.

Here I am known as Dragomir Greenwood, on the Internet at large I am BountifulKnight, but at home and church, I am simply George. So why am I in Second Life? When I saw a preview about it on a television show, I had a very strong feeling that if people were coming to this place, then Christians needed to be here too. I determinied that I would come, learn about it and build a prayer chapel here... and so I did. Secondly, I saw some potential here to earn some income to support my family. As of the moment, I'm still in the beginning stages of that venture having learned some lessons the hard way, but it is beginning to show some promise. As the apostle Paul made tents to earn his own keep, so I make things here in SL.


An interesting Biblical build on the Grid.

To get to Noah’s Ark, head to Necros (191, 175, 68)

“May God bless and keep you and draw you close to Himself that you may live in His abundant Love.” - George (Dragomir/BountifulKnight)

Bixyl Shuftan

Railway Stopover at Jopsy's

As I was tooting along the GSLR railway I saw a familiar sight in the distance. A hot air balloon I visited probably about 4 years ago. I decided to go back to renew my acquaintance with Jopsy's Pendragon's delightful particle places. There is a chair placed before a choice of TPs that will take you off into the sky in the balloon.

I took the ride, first, to the Cloud Chateau in the sky. After debarking I sat and enjoyed a spectacular particle display. This is listed as one of the oldest particle shows in Second Life. You are offered ”peace and welcome to all,” and can enjoy the music while you watch the show. It is a kalidiscope of exploding motion and ever changing color as it evolves before your eyes. It looks even better than I remembered. I think it is a relaxing place even though it is vibrant.

On my next balloon ride I took off to visit the Particle Lab in the sky. The last time I wast here I had no clue of what was going on . Now, I could never use the information but I at least understand now that Jopsy has made a “university” for those who want to major in particles . I can see that all the information here guides those who are fascinated with making particles and using them properly. There is a sandbox for practicing also. Green arrows will direct you on your way around the lab. I made my way back to the hot air balloon after my walk around.

My next flight brought me to the Vehicle Lab. A sign there told me that it is ”unfinished and opening soon," but that I was welcome to visit. It is another section of the university I see, with information for building all sorts of vehicles for a variety of movement around Second Life. I might be able to try building one of these from following the processes laid out here. After looking at the dates on the notecards, I wonder if this part of the university will ever be finished. But there is plenty here to keep one busy learning. The building is massive.

My next destination took me to “The Whale.” As I entered I was invited to join the Cycle of Life experience and enter into the grotto of lost souls. It is an introspective experience that I enjoyed. The next part of my voyage I had to work. I was handed an oar at the entrance of the caverns and had to guide myself through the maze while admiring the sights. It was a more extensive and interesting trip than I thought! As I took any easy way out by mistake I found myself in Jopsy's secret sandbox where there is work going on. There I found a lovely map of the entire balloon rides. There are many.

Again, this is a place that I will have to leave before I finish the tour or you may never read about it! I think you will enjoy a visit to Jopsy's place. If you like some of the articles you see don't miss the store you can shop for them before you leave. Jopsy describes himself as "a mix of Puck, Pan, Puff, Kringle, Elric, & Giger. He lives to tinker, create, teach, and flirt." I have to agree, though I have never met him. I recommend starting here to catch the hot air balloon and then you can choose your own route to adventure. It is right next to the railway in Slate (20, 183, 41)

This is not my last stop! Off on the rails to future fun!

Gemma Cleanslate