Black Hills Forest

By Grey Lupindo

       The Black Hills Forest, located at Le Dome (36, 111, 21), is a beautiful and fun place that celebrates many of the best sights found in America.  Set in a beautiful park-like setting, it features statutes, photographs, and memorials from places found all across America, from the Atlantic coast to the Black Hills of South Dakota.  There’s even a zoo with animals from around the world.

      The first amazing thing I learned about Black Hills Forest is that its creator is French.   Benoit Lednev lives in Paris in real-life.  Because of time and language issues, we were only able to talk for a few minutes.  I wasn’t able to learn what motivated him to create such a beautiful tribute to America.   But It's a great site, and Benoit said that he plans to expand the zoo even more.               

        It is fitting that one of the most visible landmarks on the sim is a replica of the Statute of Liberty, which was a gift from France to the United States in 1886.  The real-life statute, which is located in the New York Harbor, was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi.  In SL the Statute is located at Le Dome (34, 26, 21).   Benoit Lednev has displayed a number of photographs of the real statute in a building next to the replica.    Nearby you can pick up a free souvenir t-shirt, too.   As soon as I put it on, I felt like a tourist on vacation.

       The sea’s edge is the main landing spot for the Black Hills Forest when you teleport to Le Dome (36, 111, 21).  There is a replica of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Memorial at the landing point.    The RL memorial was built in 1925 at the Stacy Esplanade in Gloucester, Massachusetts.   The SL replica includes memorial plaques that contain information and the famous inscriptions found at the real-life statute.    

      From this point you can go northwest to the zoo or walk straight ahead to the gazebo.  Inside the gazebo are pictures of the site’s attractions.  Click on the one that interests you to be teleported there. 

        The zoo is a great place to relax and have fun.   There are animals from all over the world, including  a Red Panda from China, polar bears and penguins from the ice caps, parrots and monkey from the jungle, giraffes, lions and tigers from Africa, and my favorites, a wolf pack from the wilderness.  There’s a small aquarium, too.  Unlike their RL counterparts, the SL animals don’t have to be kept behind bars.   The toucans and parrots fly, and the monkeys scurry around and get into things.  You’ll even find one or two species that are extinct in RL but living here in SL.

           On one of my visits, a woman and a little girl were visiting the zoo.  Ray Ray (rayleigh.toxx) had brought 11-year-old Teresa Amulet (keira.amulet) to see the animals. They seemed to be having a great time.   

      At one end of the zoo is a beautiful cafe where I was able to have some breakfast.   The setting is quiet, and the tables are set with beautiful dishes and a rose.  Orange trees grow here, too, so their juice is the freshest in SL. 

      After breakfast I left the zoo area and continued to explore.  I came across a replica of Mr. and Mrs. Frog Fishing.  The real-life statute was created by David Phillips in 2003 and is located at Boston Common Frog Pond.  Another interesting piece of art is the replica of the statute, “Menotomy Indian Hunter,” by Cyrus E. Dallin.   The original was created in 1911 and is located in a park near Arlington, Massachusetts.   Since the majority of us will never be able to visit these real-life statutes, the replicas are the next best way to experience them.  

       There are a few reminders of the worst times in America, too.  There is a memorial to the Salem Witch Trials, including a long row of headstones of men and women who were killed there.   The date was circa 1692.  In another area, photographs of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights workers are located in the building at the Black Hills display, locate near Le Dome (213, 165, 60).     

   

        As in real-life, the SL Black Hills has Mount Rushmore.  To get to this spot, you don’t have to travel for days to North Dakota either.   It’s located at Le Dome 213, 165, 60.  If you don't want to teleport, there's a chair lift you can ride to the Mount Rushmore site.   Catch the lift at Le Dome 246, 121, 21.    

  

         Inside the building at Mount Rushmore are photographs of many great Americans, from Alexander Graham Bell to Amelia Earhart.  Inventors, scientists, writers, and astronauts are featured, as well as a section that includes Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and other civil rights leaders.

        On the plaza there are benches where you can relax as you gaze at the four famous presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  There are picnic tables nearby, too, but watch out for the mountain goats.

 

         Many other treats are waiting to be explored in this beautiful park.  A tea house sits near a small pond that you can float in.   Trails meander through trees and over streams.  The sim has places for couples, too.  Among them are a campfire near the lighthouse and a nearby beach cottage.  The best couple’s spot, however, is the eerily beautiful Dark Romance section, located at Le Dome (229,49,21).  Best to visit it with someone you love.

           Like his fellow Frenchmen so long ago, Benoit Lednev has given a beautiful gift to SL residents to enjoy.   

Grey Lupindo

The First Sims: Zoe

By DrFran Babcock

Zoe is the third sim to come on line in Second Life™. After my trip to Ritch last week, I was a bit disheartened, and hoped that I could find more history and better use of the historical space. I was not disappointed.

A Little History

I started this story by looking on the internet, and again found little about the sim of Zoe. I have to guess that the creators of Second Life™, along with the earliest residents, had no idea that the world they had created would have the kind of staying power it has. Therefore, they didn’t think to respect the past, nor preserve it. The only way to find out might be to find and interview some of the early residents, which I will do, if I can find them.

Current Zoe Usage

Zoe is a very pleasant place, despite its lack of written history and residents. Again, I found a very empty sim each time I visited. Natoma, to the north, has many residents on it all the time, because of its status as a sandbox and it is the home of the Ivory Tower of Primitives, but few folks seem to venture into Zoe. This is a shame, because the sim really is a lovely place.

The main owners of land on Zoe are Myck Tackleberry of the Ridgeview Group, and SuluMor Romulus, almost as old as Second Life™ itself, of Zoe Garden Associates. Luckily, both groups seem to be invested in creating and maintaining a park-like atmosphere on the sim.

Myk’s land is a museum, strewn with works of art by Second Life’s™ creators. The Bryn Oh statue is immediately recognizable. Myk, himself is a lovely, understated builder. I have been fond of his slate gray and brick “clubhouse” for many years. The building is deceptively simple, impeccably assembled, and makes a great platform for the gathering of sofas and chairs. Go there and find the coffee table books in the central room. They are two picture books, one of which contains photos (by Yana Kawasaki) of beautiful places in Second Life™. I browsed through the volume and was both delighted and saddened. So many of the places in the book are just memories. The other book depicts a sim that you can still go see: Verdigris and the Vintage Village. Vintage Village is the home of The Golden Oriole, built by Oriolus Oliva—a delightfully mad antique store. The creator/owner must have some connection with the folks on Zoe, because aside from the coffee table book, several of the builds on the sim are by Oriolus. The huge Breughel Castle sits on the edge of the gray mountains that fill the middle third of the sim. It lords over the sim majestically.

What makes the original sims so special is their terraform ability. Zoe is one of the sim blessed with plus and minus forty meter terraforming. What that means is that these sims have tremendous landscaping ranges. Huge mountains and deep gorges are possible, and are often present on these early parcels.

There is much to like on Zoe, and a bit of humor, unintentional I think, on the sim. There is a small parcel to the southwest of Sulumor’s land, and it’s called The 50Linden Store. However, as soon as you land, there’s a big sign advertising a furry  avatar and some digipants each for 125L. Huh? The other odd parcel is a 512 parcel owned by Ravenglass Rentals—a company owned by long-time resident Prokovy Neva. It is leased by Luka Peck, and has some iridescent sculptures in it. I have never seen anyone on the parcel, and I am in the neighborhood often.

Stewardship

All in all, the lands of Zoe are in good hands. Avi Arrow, Myck Tackleberry, SuluMor Romulus, and the Ivory Tower Group, headed by Lumier Noir. These are the names one sees when exploring this park-like sim. The owners seem determined to keep things looking pleasant and attractive, and they have succeeded in their goal. Traveling around Zoe is a delightful experience. Go up on the mountains and find the hidden meditation spot, with the luscious rock fountain. Find the bridge over the gorge and stare in wonder. It’s all there to explore.

One More Thing

Zoe is next to the sim of Clementina, home of Governor Linden’s mansion (one of the oldest objects in Second Life™), and there is a build that overlaps Clementina and Zoe on the southeast corner. The build is a fascinating recreation of a Thai water market, colorful and realistic, down to the boats with different objects for sale. On the Zoe side, there are rice paddies, and stalls with vegetables and other items. Electricity poles dot the build, adding more authenticity to the area. The build is by Areal Loonie, but the land is owned by SuluMor, who has had it since the beginning of SL time, I imagine.

It’s interesting that Clementina, which is not one of the first sims, seems to have more history on it than the surrounding original sims. This seems to be just another mystery of the early days that may never be solved by me. What I need is some oldbies to tell me some stories. If there are any takers, I would love to hear from you.

Visit Zoe: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zoe/245/241/26

DrFran Babcock 

Rust and the Goonies

By Bixyl Shuftan

One of the LEA sims was given a new look and a new name, Rust. A surreal-looking land of abandoned machinery, it was described in the destination guides,  "Rust is a world with a strange mix of machines, chained trees, rusty mushrooms, birds, balloons, butterflies, spiders, elephants, and gear flowers. Watch as the corrode, flake, and sway in the gentle breeze." Credit for the build goes to Cica Ghost.


Dropping by for myself, the place was quite an experience. The sim had a look of abandonment and decay, as if the people who made the place were no more or having to move due to some unknown disaster. There were various buildings and structures around. While rusted, there was no shortage of movement as gears still turned around, conveyor belts still moved parts, and other examples of mechanical motion. There were also metal animals there, or rather statues of. There were rusted metallic elephants one could stand and pose on, in addition to metallic birds. There were also rust color trees with metal bands and chains on them, and grass swaying in the wind, also the color of rust.

I was still close to the entrance area when I heard some youthful-sounding chatter nearby. Looking around, I noticed a number of child avatars rezzing. "This place is full of tots," one lady commented. I wasn't sure what was going on until I noticed a couple names: Everest Piek and Loki Eliot. The Goonies had dropped in.

For those who don't know, "The Goonies" was a movie in the 1980s about a group of kids who go on an adventure in search of a pirate treasure to save their parents' homes. While the SL Goonies home in the Escapades sim is just fine, they still have a great love for exploration and adventures on the Grid. Gemma Cleanslate wrote about them a couple years ago (article here), and they're still going at it, led by Loki.

Everest saw me and greeted me, "Hey Bixyl, what's new? … We're just on a Goonies adventure. …. gotta run, c'ya around." He smiled and left. The kids then began looking over the place, "Helephants!" "I think we found Loli's old trumpet." "Really?" "It's inside." "Great to have you on the adventure, bro, even if you are still asleep, hee-hee." 

It wasn't long before they were on their way again, their leader Eliot saying, "Goonies second location, meet you all there, Tamarillo Island." And they all began heading there, "GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!" And just as quickly as they appeared, the kids were gone. And Rust reverted to it's usual quiet.

If you have the time, even if its just five or ten minutes, Rust is a must-see location, located at LEA 13 (212, 49, 22). Draxtor Despress recently visited and made a film of the location (below).



As for the Goonies, their sim Escapades is welcome to visitors. They do take occasional new members, any child avatar interested should talk to one of the group about initiation. Loki has been recording their adventures on blogs. While his more recent site seems to have crashed, his older one at (http://lokiboy.blogspot.com/ ) is still up. He's also know as a builder in Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan

The First Sims: Ritch

By DrFran Babcock

Ritch is the second sim to come online in Second Life™. I couldn’t wait to go and explore, because I figured I would run into a lot of history and layers of builds and famous avatars who had left behind a little prim piece of their inventory. I couldn’t have been further from the reality of Ritch.

Before I start one of these explorations, I look to see what has been written about the place, so I can come from a different angle, and not duplicate content. I was surprised that there was so little written about Ritch. Further proof of its almost anonymous past came when I looked for pictures of the sim on Snapzilla, a website that has documented pictures of Second Life™ since 2005 (http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/Search.aspx?Sim=ritch). There were 27 pictures in total that had been taken on Ritch! That’s very little compared to other sims, but not surprising with the lack of history information about the sim. Even the Second Life Wikia, where I often go for historical information was woefully inaccurate in most of its accounting for the space on Ritch. This seemed a mystery, so I decided to do a little investigative reporting.

The sim of Ritch seems to be composed of two large parcels: Exotic Park by Sapphire Moon Entertainment, and Casa Del Sol Fleamarket. The Exotic Park is a mystical place composed of mostly violet trees, benches and crystals, which are probably familiar to anyone who has ever looked at the Second Life™ map. There are no stores and no clubs—just peaceful paths that meander through the purple surroundings.

Inspecting things in Second Life™ is no difficult feat. A few right clicks, and the owner and creator of any object becomes apparent. Ameshin Yossarian is the creator and owner of this sapphire park. The name seemed so familiar to me, and in fact belongs to the creator of the great clothing of Curious Kitties, a store that I continue to frequent. Speaking of curious, it seemed odd to me that so much land was left to just be a park. As I explored, I started to encounter prims with teleports to a place called Sapphire Moon. Just out of curiosity I clicked, and was given a landmark that I took, and ended up on a sim named Sapphire Moon. It seems that Sapphire Moon is a casino. The only history I had been able to find about Ritch was that it had housed a casino in its early days.

Gambling in Second Life™? I’m Shocked!

I know that I have seen the gambling machines creeping back into Second Life™ over the last few years, since it was banned, but I had no idea that casinos could be around with such impunity. I noted that the machines are played with “stars” not money, but the stars had to be purchased with Lindens, and the stars could be traded in for goods in a redemption center. It reminded me of Skee Ball. Is this gambling? To me it seems to be so, because you pay Lindens and you get a payback or not. That is a game of chance.

Back on Ritch

For the most part, the sim is just comprised of the two parcels. Aside from the Sapphire Moon Exotic Park there is a Casa del Sol Fleamarket. This parcel is just as curious as the other one.

I made several trips to Ritch while writing this article. In all the trips there was never another resident on the sim every time I was there. Which brings me to the flea market. The market is empty; there is not a single shop in the entire space, which is about half a sim. Besides the market, there is a home, a bizarre satellite building, a park and some open space. There is so much open space, that it made me wonder. Dix Donovan, who is almost as old as Second Life™, and according to his profile actually builds for Sapphire Moon, owns the parcel. So, Ritch is all one big, happy and empty family. I wonder how long it’s been since either of these owners visited Ritch? There is one large store on the Casa del Sol Fleamarket plot, Curios, and it sells a small assortment of old-fashioned, prim built bracelets, mostly low in price. Not sure anyone would buy anything as outdated as these objects seem to be. I inspected them and they dated from 2004. Now I know why the place is called Curios.

So, in conclusion, Ritch is not a place to come and explore and find souvenirs of the early days of Second Life™. However, I will continue to visit the First Sims, because I know they are not all like this. They couldn’t be—right?

DrFran Babcock

Queen of the Sagitarian Sea Revisited

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

I noticed when DrFran wrote about the first place she visited in SL, I had memories of mine. Revisiting is not always the same. Somehow the place survives but, the heart is gone. One of my first favorites was Svarga Svarga. I go look once in a while just for memories. The story however, did send me to reminiscing about old places where I still go and love. 

One I have written about for years that still holds the same fun for me is the three sim ship, the Galaxy. I wrote about it back in my early days at the SL Newspaper. I covered the 3rd anniversary in 2010 and also covered it when the ship was moved to a new sea location . That was exciting to watch!

I thought I would take a walk through the ship to show you the varied activities you will find if you visit. It is also a good place to take a vacation since there are so many things to do on board when you want to get away from your regular life here. I have two friends who have made the Galaxy home for periods of time, renting one of cabins or suites available. There are eight decks to explore so plan ahead or move in. “The SS Galaxy is 3 sims 650 meters long and 32,000+ prims.  Only two mega prims were used in her construction, and they are the smoke stacks.  It is the longest single build in SL.” it says in the website. 

 

You can take a rafting ride along the side of the ship that will tell you all the sites on the ship you might  like to visit. I had never taken that before so it was fun. I also found a new rock climbing wall that looked like something new to try. I learned how to play miniature golf on the sports deck years ago and still go back to try and improve, and clubs and balls are provided for rental. Of course the Galaxy hosts fishing contests with some nice prizes. Jump on the skydiving pod and shoot up into to the air, but make sure you wear a terrashoot!   

 

I looked in on the various restaurants and stopped at the gorgeous wedding chapel. It looks like a wonderful place to have a wedding, and they have a great catering service for the reception in one of their fine restaurants. Djs provide music for dancing every day, or you can dance at any time you want to the music of the radio. The shopping area has some really elegant clothing for you. I made my way up to the bridge, but everyone was at lunch so I sat down at the controls and studied the route and looked out over the calm Sagitarian Sea. There are maps all over so you will have an idea where you are. There is also a map hud available for you to wear that helps navigate the massive ship.  

 

One thing I love is the "Ports of Call" teleport board where you can choose to visit the various sims the ship passes.  For some activities you must be a traveler  which seems logical for the paying customers to enjoy more for the price, but you can find so much to do if  just visiting. Know there is a great spa for exercise but I could only peek in since I was just a visitor. Check out the wonderful swimming pool.You can use that anytime Jump in or lounge on the deck. This gives you an overview of the Galaxy. There is so much to explore.  

 

To find out more about the history and events visit the website where you can check out the pricing and rooms available, daily events, and answers to  so many questions . http://www.ssgalaxy.net/. Have a wonderful time ! Say hi if you see me along the jogging path,  my sl exercise lol!  Here is the boarding gangway:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Galaxy%20AFT/66/53/21

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Exploring eLab City

By Grey Lupindo

      While on another assignment for SL Newser a few weeks ago, I met Froggy (sanfroggy) a SL photographer whose home is located in eLab City.  She invited me to tour the city, which is located at eLab City West (103, 141, 33).  Froggy took the photographs that accompany this article. 

SL resident Professor Lax, who in RL is Professor Thomas P. Novak, started eLab City as a research project to study behavior in virtual worlds.  He conducts his RL academic research at the University of California at Riverside.  The eLab City project began in 2008, and it soon involved over 5,000 SL residents as visitors and participants in the research.    To create the city, he contracted with SL developers to create two regions where a true community of living, working, and playing could be conducted.   Professor Lax, through his RL persona, wrote that “...eLab City’s primary functions were to be a working laboratory and a mechanism for building a subject pool of participants for academic research studies.”       

     Although the research project has ended, eLab City remains as an interesting urban/university site to explore.  A good beginning point is the eXpress kiosk located at eLab City West (103, 141, 33).    When the research was going on, SL residents could sign up for study panels if they wanted to take part in the research project and earn some Lindens.  Since the research has ended, ignore any of the signs about signing up.  But do step inside the eXpress building and pick up a free messenger bag that is hanging on the wall.  It’s a stylish and free souvenir, and it’s filled with some freebies. 

      From this point you can get a view of the river and many of the buildings that make eLab City a realistic and fun place to explore.  Inside Building E is the student lounge.  A little grimy, with out-of-date mags, games that don’t work, and a snack shop with lousy service.   Just like I remember my college student lounge.  If you need an old computer or desk, you can pick up a copy of one here for free.  

      If you go out the back door, you can walk down to the river or explore some of the buildings and shops.  Although there appears to be some things to buy, many of the shops are decorative only now that the research has ended.

       On the street level you can borrow a car to drive.  Or take a walking tour.   Since the site allows flying, it’s fast and easy to tour.  There are also a lot of interactive maps that show key locations in eLab City.   A built in teleport system provide quick transport, too. 

      Like all good cities, eLab City has apartments, shops, gardens, a theater, a library, and places to meet and work.  The Library and Theater can be found at eLab City East (136, 83, 22).   The Library has some interesting note cards about companies that had been in SL in the past.   I was especially sorry to learn that I had missed the Ben & Jerry sim.   I bet they gave out great freebies.    Another display shows books and movies that have a presence in SL and offers a teleport to them.  

       The apartments can be found at  eLab City West (84, 115, 25). The apartments were originally built for the RL students/SL residents who were working on the research project.  The buildings were labeled Building A and Building B.  One of the interesting things that Professor Lax discovered was that the students/residents “quickly displayed a sense of ownership. For example, when the first set of student residents moved in, they changed the name from the non-descript ―Building A‖and Building B --to ―Oceanside Suites North and Oceanside Suites South.”   

      Most of the office buildings are empty, although they are quite detailed and contain conference rooms, auditoriums, visitor centers, and other space.  An exception to this, however, is the Design Center, located at eLab City East (44, 143, 28).   A collection of animated art work by Peter Stanick, titled “Virtual Virtual”, is on display here.  A note card by Stanick explains the origins of this collection.  “... I decided to put together a program that basically took all of my existing images and generated an animation from those images. ... Basically that program produces an animation, but a secondary function of that program is that it does produce secondary images which are part of this exhibition here at eLab.  And ...what we're dealing with here is a series of images that are really produced on the computer and shown online and therefore exist in a virtual reality before they become an actual reality. ... so what we have is a virtual reality within a second virtual reality of the eLab project.”    

        There are many other sites within eLab City East and West to explore.   Unfortunately, the third sim, Northwest Island, is not going to remain.  It can be found at Island of the Lost - NW, eLab City Northwest (16, 129, 30), although how long it will be there is not known.  It was not part of the original plan.  Unlike the rest of urban  eLab City, it is a nature lover’s delight.  There are miles of rocky coasts, and plenty of sea life.  Orcas and sea lions can be found at NW, eLab City Northwest (104, 226, 21).  

        As to the future of the original eLab City, Professor Lax told me that he is “exploring some ideas for using it in new academic research projects.”  The research is on hold at the moment, but Professor Lax said that  eLab City East and West are funded through 2014.  “SL remains unique in its combination of a dedicated user base, outstanding collection of user generated content, and a functioning virtual currency,” he said.  “For me, these three factors make SL very useful for academic research on user behavior in virtual environments.”

           He stated that he is “interested in connecting with like-minded others who might be interested in forming a research community centered around eLab City.”  He pointed out that “it could serve as a virtual campus for a community of Second Life researchers who are looking for a common home in which to explore ideas. “   

Grey Lupindo

The First Sims: Da Boom

By DrFran Babcock

I just bought a small plot of land on Varney, one of the first of the sixteen sims that made up Second Life™ when it first came on line in 2002. I had been hoping for land like this that was wildly terra-formable (plus or minus 40 meters), and the original San Francisco sims have this added benefit. There are a few other sims like this on the mainland, but they are rare. I am happy to be a part of old Second Life™ history.

Second Life™ is about to celebrate its 10^th anniversary! With that thought in mind, and because I am a history buff here, I thought it might be nice to do some exploring of the earliest portions of this vast virtual world. This article will be about the first sim: Da Boom.

With each installment of the First Sims, I will cover what remains of the original sim (not much in most places), what there is to see and do, shopping, sites, and points of interest. I hope you will read and learn with me. If you have any additional information, I welcome it.

It would be naive of me to think that I am the first one to write about the early sims. Both Lalo Telling (http://lalotelling.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/seconderth-a-deep-map-da-boom/ ) and Alex Hayden (http://walkingwithavatars.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/a-deep-map-revisited-da-boom/) have recently visited and written blog posts about Da Boom. I will try to point out some of the things not covered by these two wonderful fans of Second Life™.

Welcome to Da Boom

If you search for Da Boom on the World Map, and take the teleport offered, you will land in the Linden Playground, an amusement park. This must be  a more recent build, because it was created by Sunny Mole. The Moles, who work under the supervision of Michael Linden, came into being to be the Linden Department of Public Works. They create infrastructure and other builds throughout the mainland. The playground has many rides and activities on it, and it is fun to explore. What is interesting to older avatars, is that the vast majority of textures come from the Second Life™ library, which makes them easy to rez, because they are often cached by many avatars. Take your choice, and swing on a pirate ship or an octopus’ tentacle. There’s lots of innocent fun to be had in the playground.

I am not so sure about the next parcel I encountered. The Christian Church of Da Boom, is a lovely Fatima Ur built church that sits on an almost void 3456 meter parcel. It was acquired March 16^th of this year, and provides audio and video about Christianity around the clock. In front of the church is a teleport that takes you up to a huge ballroom in the sky. The only thing in the ballroom is links to watch media on a prim, and these prims link to videos about religion. The one I watched explained the necessity of tithing to the church. The land is owned by Erwin Solo, who is seen preaching in some of the videos. Go, and look for yourself, and let me know what you think.

One of my favorite places on Da Boom is Seifert Surface’s sculpture shop. Seifert uses math for all of his constructions, and I had to teleport my friend Lomgren Smalls over to explain some of the things to me. However, you don’t have to be a mathematician to appreciate the beauty of the forms.

One thing that is sad to me is that Linden Lab and the early residents really didn’t have any idea of what they were creating, and thus, did not take pains to preserve some of the early builds. The Alt-Zoom Disco, built by Philip Linden is nowhere to be found. It would really be nice to have that preserved. There is the Governor’s mansion on Clementina, but it’s a later build.

Transportation

Although none of these rides are original Da Boom builds, they are great fun. There are many ways to get around on Da Boom. At the base of the Da Boom Building, which is a more recent build, is a Whirly-Putter rezzer. (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Da%20Boom/164/249/40 ). When touched you can fly a two person vehicle, which crosses sims so well, I flew it all the way back to my land on Varney. In addition, there are water tubes to rez, and a riverboat that gives tours. All of the rides worked really well when I tried them, and the lag was low. 

Even if you don’t like or appreciate history, Da Boom is worth a teleport from anywhere. Lots to see, and fun to be had. I recommend it highly, which I am not sure will be the case with some of the other original sims. Stay tuned, dear readers.

DrFran Babcock

Shockwave's Alien Egg Hunt Maze

By Grease Coakes

 

When people think of Easter a lot of people think of the Easter bunny and chocolate. For religious and spiritual people the death and rebirth of Jesus comes to mind. What Shockwave Yareach of the sunweavers had in mind was one of his fun mazes. Instead of you eating colored eggs from those egg coloring sets you played with as a kid, Shockwave thought what if the eggs ate you?

 Shock to celebrate the Easter season instead of making Easter bunnies created an excellent maze based off the "Alien" movies with Sigourney Weaver. When you warp to the LM that Shock gave out in the Sunweavers notice, you see a massive building shaped like a long rectangle. Click on the nearby square to get your HUD. There’s an egg outside the maze to shoot at to make sure your gun works. 

 

Picking a gun at random, I found a plushie gun I bought year ago and forgot about. I told Shockwave this and here’s what he had to say: "Kill them with cuteness!"

 

Apparently it works with the HUD on I get a message saying you have slain this egg it cannot harm you as I hit the dangerous egg with a plushie. When you open the door I hear the star trek sound from whenever the holodeck doors open. The inside of the maze looks realistic as if you’re in a science fiction movie or reading a book.

 

Don’t be fooled however. Even with my deadly plushie gun in hand this maze is no mere walk in the park. Like the NES game contra one hit you’re dead the same is true for Shock’s maze. I’m walking around the maze lalala ... AHHHHHHHH FACEHUGGER!!! And your avatar goes back to the start of the maze with a facehugger on your screen losing your score. Shockwave himself said his wife was getting on him in real life for yelling in terror as his wolf avatar got killed in the maze.

 

The maze is cheat proof too if you try to walk in without the HUD the door won’t open. So walking around the maze with no HUD to not experience death is a no-no. I said then the maze wouldn’t be a challenge.

 

Shock said it’s fun to build in Second Life as to build a real life maze would be way too expensive. I commented that it’s very easy to buy a furry avatar for 800-900 Linden. In real life you would have to build one yourself or pay someone a large sum of real money to build a fursuit to walk around as a furry in real life.

 

Shock may not have a Hollywood budget in real life to make the next Aliens movie, but he certainly did a great job making a great maze to entertain the Sunweavers or anyone else who likes shooting things. Next time you eat or paint eggs this Easter season be careful that it doesn’t explode and hug your face like when I visited Shock’s fatal Alien maze.

 

Shocky's Lair, Sunweaver Space (191, 135, 61)

 

Grease Coakes

Tribute City

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

 

I have been fishing at the Tribute City sim for a while. At first we fished from the steps of the canal. But now there are three new and interesting venues, a wooded area with ponds, a moon venue,  and a seaside beach. There are also weekly contests where you can just hang out and fish and hope to have the highest points for a prize. The venues are hosted by Johannes 1977, known as John, and he does two fishing contests daily, morning and night.  

 

I looked around the sim and thought this looks like an interesting place to visit so took some tours around the entertainment and shopping district to see what was there. It was part of the Flying Tigers sims which closed in 2012. Club Capital management, owned by Jessii2009 warhol, (jessii) and Guarocuya Giano, now has  a very pretty sim reminiscent of Venice with lovely canals and walkways. You can hop on a gondola that will take you through the canals, by lovely shops and buildings as the gondelier sings to you, or you can rezz a segway and go around the streets and walkways. 

 

 There is a lovely church building that is great for newbies. Not only is there a good collection of freebies necessary to start SL properly, but also tutorials to help orient the new arrivals.   Right now there is a Green celebration going on through out the region through March.

 

There are four clubs for partying : Club Capital, Amelias' Pilot Lounge, Club Nation, and xTreme CT Rock Club. The sim is always busy with visitors and partiers. I attended two parties that were packed and rocking!  There are contests and special activities for the month of March in honor of St Patrick’s day. You will see pots of gold at the end of the rainbows  arching over the main canal.  The green shamrock decorated kiosks along the canal offer clothing from several of the shops and other goodies for sale. I found a gazebo that offered a free shamrock hat for St Pat’s day and also a glass to green beer to wear with it for the 17th. There is a Green Festival Raffle  for 1000L . Look for it in a windowed building near the church facing  the kiosks and the canal or in the clubs. 

 

I asked Jessii about the sim and she told me “My goal when setting up the sim was to have a nice and friendly place for all residents. I also wanted shopping and clubs where people could enjoy, dance, listen to good music and be away from drama. We do have a newbie area on sim, that has freebies and SL help information. The Torch SL Guide, a blog and inworld help center for newbies, is also located on sim, for newbies who need help and resources.” 

 

The owners maintain a  wonderful website for Tribute City that will keep you up on all the activities  http://www.club-capital.info/  If you like the sim you can rent there also. Have fun exploring! 

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Bible Study at the "House of Prayer" Church

by Grease Coakes

 

Bixyl mentioned that he wanted an article about a church in Second Life, so I thought I’d check one out. Using a random search I found “God’s House of Prayer Church,” which showed a high level of traffic, about 10k. When I warped into the sim, I was inside what seemed like a real-life church that may be in your neighborhood. I looked around and saw a schedule which showed that when I warped to the sim a Bible study was about to start in 5 minutes! 

 

 Walking inside the church I felt positive energy as I followed a lady up into a large room with artwork you might see in a church. I found a seat as I was surprised that it wasn’t 4 or 5 avatars came in attendance but about 20 or so not including the Bible reader Jehoshabeath.  Before the Bible study started Chanasitsayo sang a song with a live acoustic guitar over voice chat. She sang the song “My Life Is in You Lord.” He stopped reading and asked the group do they as individuals feel they are more or less Christian then others? Agape Scorpio said that it depends on family and your upbringing whether you are in a Christian family or not. She certainly makes a strong point as family does help make you a good person along with being a good Christian.

 

Moka, another lady at the Bible study expressed, that she felt as if she wasn’t always perfect at being a Christian. It sounded to me as she was talking over voice chat that she was being hard on herself. I told her to take your time and, “So Moka you should learn about Jesus at your own pace ^.^ .” Moka also said that she wasn’t good with hard things as challenges that God presents to her “Not good with hard things  :s” I answered back to her,“Moka the hard things will still be hard but you will still be able to accomplish them”.

 

The Bible study leader asked a second question about why does Paul say to see God with your heart and not with your eyes? Lots of people answered in various ways. I answered, “God is pure love you can't see love with your eyes or your brain." Another question was how large is God? I answered that he is infinite while Moka said infinite at the same time I answered. I chuckled at that.

 

A lot of the Bible study was discussion based and it was neat to hear what everyone said. I commented that Moka was hard on herself for not knowing so much about God. But also she was participating a lot which made me think that she knew a lot more about God then she may admit or realize. A question that was asked was “Why is praise important?” I answered that God wants to receive love just like we do.

 

The Bible reader Jehoshabeath said he has no kidneys and that will continue to keep serving God until he is called home. Moka’s voice comment about she thanked Jesus of how she is alive and well every morning. That made me think that not everyone in life has the ability to walk that most people take for granted. Not everyone has the ability to walk and that’s something to keep in mind as I worked for MDA aka Jerry’s Kids as a telemarketer in real life.

 

Chana offered an ending prayer and sang a song called “Even If” by Kutless to end the Bible study. As Jehoshabeath quietly said that the bible study was meant to be short but ran over time anyway.

 

God is praised in many ways in Second Life and real-life. I can’t speak for whoever reads this article whatever way towards God is best for you. My experience at “God’s House of Prayer” church was certainly a positive experience. If you are feeling down and out this church seems like a good place to express yourself to God. There seemed to be lots of people there to share their experiences with God. When I wrote this article their Bible study was on 6pm SL time on Tuesday. That seemed like the right time to stop by.

 

When I mentioned I was writing for the SL Newser, Agape Scorpio was thrilled! She also said that tonight’s Bible study happened to have a lot more people than usual. I’ll be glad to share this bible study and the group’s love for Jesus in this article as I had fun.

 

House of Prayer (72, 113, 38)

 

Grease Coakes

Reflection Island

By Grey Lupindo

Reflection Island is a beautiful place where residents can live or visit.  Reflection Island (206, 14, 22).   The island is lush, with lots of trees and waterfalls.   Exotic sounding birds sing and call to one another and add to the tropical atmosphere.  While my home on Syzygy was being transitioned, I rented a tree house apartment there from Spirit Rock Rentals.  The island is a mix of fantasy and nature. There are dragon tours, lakes, lots of meditation places, volcanos, and more.
 

        I especially enjoyed the dragon ride, found at Reflection Island, Reflection Island (95, 147, 24).  This is an excellent way to get a first look at the island.  As his wings swoop up and down, he flew me on a tour.  Don’t be alarmed by the fire and growls.    

     Reflection Island is owned and managed by longtime residents, Ka Brevity and her partner, Seth Haalan.  Ka has been a resident since 11/10/2006, and Seth since 2/23/2009.  Their group is One World, Many Paths.  Their notecard states, “There is something deeper behind all the magical and metaphysical teachings in spiritual traditions and philosophies. Our vision is that by bringing people of diverse but sympathetic views together, these deeper truths can emerge and become more clearly evident to all involved.“   

        Chakra spheres and meditation sites are located throughout the island-- in water, underwater, beside fire pits, in a volcano, and many others.   One meditation tower, located at Reflection Island (225,119,28), offers an ocean view.  Jump off the tower, and you’ll splash into a refreshing pool.  Climb through a little door at the edge, and you’ll be transported to a maze-like structure in the sky. I explored this build and found a beautiful book on alchemy and a life-size chess set.    

     On the island, near the dragon tour, there is a library to explore and get items at, some of them free.  Many other places can be explored, too.   For example, The Nest, a treetop platform, is located at Reflection Island (190,70,148).   A beautiful underwater park is located at Reflection Island, Reflection Island (206, 220, 8).   Sea turtles and sea horses, lovely coral, schools of fish swim by.     There's a bathing pool with lavender water for residents, too.  Mermaids will love this place. 

        For SL residents who are interested in exploring  spiritual and philosophical ideas, Seth holds discussion groups and maintains a library of writings on his webpage, www.dragonintuitive.com.   I attended one of the lectures, which are held in the Hall of Creativity, located at Reflection Island (128,123, 2036).  Six or seven of us participated in the lecture that Seth led on the topic of “Fun”.   I had to leave before the discussion was concluded, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the exchange of ideas.         

Grey Lupindo

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

Laura Liberty’s Valentine Town

By DrFran Babcock

You may, or may not remember my story about the wonderful Christmas Town that I wrote for this esteemed publication. (http://slnewserplaces.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-town.html ). Well, it seems that Laura Liberty, a builder I have admired for many years, does a build for most of the holidays, with themed building activities, and shops. I figured it would be worth it to see what she had in place for Valentine’s Day. I was not disappointed. Valentine Town (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Elizabeth Town/151/170/36/ ) is a joy for all whether or not you have a loved one.

The Build

Laura Liberty is the creator of Valentine Town. Of course, the color palette is what you would expect, reds, pinks, purples and baby blues. What was uncanny to me is how well Laura works with her prims and her colors. I was sure that the cartoony houses that surround the perimeter of the sim were made of mesh, but I was told that was not the case, as I found out. I had the great fortune to run into Laura Liberty when I dropped in to do my story. I gushed like the fan I am over her work, and asked her what program she used to do her meshes. Here is the exchange:

DrFran Babcock: what do you use for your 3d software? Your stuff is always so coordinated and well done?
Laura Liberty: I use Photoshop Elements, and thank you.
DrFran Babcock: But the 3D??

Laura Liberty: 3d textures?
DrFran Babcock: no the building It's not all regular prims, is it? It has to be mesh.
Laura Liberty: the buildings are just prims and some other bits are sculpts. I think I have one or two small mesh things.
DrFran Babcock: you are even more amazing then.

You simply must come to Valentine Town to see this build, and tell me if you thought it was mostly regular prims. The secret, I suppose is in the carefully thought out color scheme which cannot help but lift your spirits and feed your eyes.

The Activities

There is a lot to do at Valentine Town once one is through wandering around and admiring the look of the place. In the center of the village square stands a huge gumball machine spitting out giant colored spheres. There are two ways to dive in here. You can sit on any of the dark maroon gumballs and “mosh pit” your way around, or touch the sign and get a bunch of free, floaty gumballs. On my last visit, an international assortment of residents was rolling an laughing all around.

You can also leave your mark on Valentine Town by taking a photo of yourself there, and sending it, full-permissions, to Laura Liberty. She will put it up on the Snapshot Board located near the giant gumball machine. In addition, you can get a free face emoter HUD, so you can be smiling in all your pictures.

There are two fountains in the central square, and both of them have great animations for hanging out and chatting, or taking pictures to give to Laura. I spent some time dangling my feet in the water while I tried to speak Italian with a handsome guy.

Shopping

Valentine’s Day is a day that is often about gifts and flowers, and jewelry and lingerie, and…love. There is no shortage of all of this at Valentine Town. Absolutely anything that you can think of that relates to Valentine’s Day is on sale here: Animated furniture with models to try, full perm textures and sculpt texture maps of valentine-related shapes, flowers, landscaping, decorations, clothes, lingerie, sweets, balloons and cards. Everything you’d expect, but with a special twist. My favorite store was the LOL Anti-Valentine Gifts. There’s a certain someone who is going to get the blow-up doll with curlers that is in the shop.

Are you pining for someone, still in love with your ex, or do you have a secret crush? Well. Laura Liberty has a solution for you. No, she won’t get that person for you, but you can send them an anonymous gift. All you have to do is buy something on the sim (just about everything has transfer rights), put it into a folder along with a notecard with the recipients name and the date you want it delivered, and give it to Laura Liberty. Gee, I think I have about five of those to send out.

But, Wait, There’s More

When you love someone, sometimes you hold on to a little suspense to keep the tension going. Therefore, I will wait for another time to tell you about the little corner of the sim, hidden away and cloaked in yellow, purple and green. Can you figure what holiday uses those colors? Stay tuned for more about this astonishing builder, and the holiday sims she features.

DrFran Babcock