Simploring 2019 (96) { P A P P A D O }

15 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Sunday, Augut 25th, I picked { P A P P A D O } from scoop.it SL Destinations and I read Inara Pey’s blog post “On the waterfront at Pappado in Second Life” before I visited myself.

{ P A P P A D O } is built on 1/4 sim but the plot is long and narrow. This layout is used to build a land waterfront, with a long beach, 2 lighthouses at both ends, one street along the waterfront with shops and cafés and a nice promenade.

{ P A P P A D O } – overview showing the unusal layout

Behind the houses at the waterfront is a second row of houses that is built against the steep rocks that limit the the parcel. With the right setting for your drawing distance you don’t see anything of the neighbour parcel, but even is you do, you just see some trees, so this is not really disturbing the impression of being at the waterfront of a lille town in …. ?

Impressions of { P A P P A D O } (1)

I can’t answer this question and Inara couldn’t answer it as well. There’re some European cars parked, there’re vespas which indicates that the picturesque town is somewhere in Europe, maybe in Italy as the group, who is owning { P A P P A D O }, is named “La Vita E’ Bella”. But at the other end of { P A P P A D O } where you find a residential home, a shop for surfers and some sheds, you see American cars. And the colourful houses would fit to the Caribbean… Be it as it is – { P A P P A D O } is a nice and beautiful place …. somewhere.

Impressions of { P A P P A D O } (2)

There’re (of course) a lot of possibilities to sit at the beach and to enjoy the environment, or to sit in a cafe and to look over the waterfront and beach. I personally like the lane between the front row and the second row. There you find some shadow and it looks really cosy, neat and peaceful.

Impressions of { P A P P A D O } (3)

At the pink (!) bus stop I found a model pose and I had to try it out. That was fun. For my pictures I kept the given windlight setting “Barcelona”, which provides a very colourful, blueish light.

Impressions of { P A P P A D O } (4)

As mentioned above { P A P P A D O } is owned by a group, which was founded by Lana Doux (Svetlana Pexie). I suspect that she owns the place. The design was made by Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington). I enjoyed my visit and had fun exploring! I really like this layout. It was another short vacation.

Landmark to { P A P P A D O }
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Duat/215/233/23
Inara Pey’s blog post “On the waterfront at Pappado in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2019/08/20/on-the-waterfront-at-pappado-in-second-life

Diary 2019 (135) September 6th – The Apostasy is gone

13 Sep 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Diary, Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apostasy (/əˈpɒstəsi/; Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia)), “a defection or revolt” is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. In Second Life it was the name of a sim occupied by a community of Dominas where slaves were slaves, not “subs” and were trained to serve….as rubber dolls, sissy maids, ponies and cows with full rlv control.

We have visited The Apostasy regularly, in particular while Angelique was working there in the Bound Maids manor, which was owned and operated by Boundy (boundmaids). She was almost addicted to her work there and got up in the maid statistic quickly and inexorably. We watched her and we even took slave Flo there several times, yet she preferred to dust at home (well, we do prefer that too obviously). Considering that only about 50% to 60% of Angelique’s working hours were registered due to lag it is almost incredible that she worked almost 400 hours there. She must have cleaned about 750h for this result! and you can’t do anything else while cleaning. Chapeau, Angelique!

Gone September 6th, 2019 – The Apostasy: The maids office (upper left) / Bound Maids manor (lower left) / The Bound Maids rules (upper right) / Working statistics of the maids – look at Angelique! (lower right)

The Apostasy was not only home of the Bounds Maids manor. Some other people had their home there and sometimes we found fun there. What caught our eye was also another mansion with ha high fence around it with lot’s of warnings signs attached to it. Caming inside we could often see tightly encased rubber slaves, tied out into helplessness. Once we saw the owner with her rubber slaves at DeLust and she was very nice and gave me a full description of the outfit and restraints she selected for her slaves. To tie up one of our slaves into such a latex encasement is still on our list of things to do.

Gone September 6th, 2019 – The Apostasy: sim overview (upper left) / The maids office (lower left) / highly secured home of the rubber slave (upper right) / sim overview with the Bound Maids manor in the foreground (lower right)

There are several posts with pictures taken at The Apostasy in this blog. Just search for the tag “The Apostasy”. Sadly, the Apostasy has gone September, 6th. The sim owner is missing for several months already and Boundy (boundmaids), who continued running the Apostasy, had not enough ressources to keep it further alive. Many thanks to those who were active there. We, and in particular Angelique, will miss this place. But that’s also Second Life.

Friday, September 6th, I met with Mistress Jenny in the afternoon. She had changed into a black latex suit with a corset. This way we were dressed alike. Mistress was in a dominant mood. At home I was allowed to get my fix and to lick Mistress. Then she took me to Lock Without Asking and later to club Domme a Domme. Mistress is wonderful and I truely submit to her. I really enjoyed an hour at her leash, under her control and at her feet. I had missed that during the last weeks.

September 6th: Mistress Jenny and Ehesklavin Diomita at home

September 6th: Mistress Jenny and Ehesklavin Diomita at Lock Without Asking and at club Domme a Domme

When we returned home, we shortly met slave Gwendi. Her new tattoo is healing and it’s great to watch how she settles in as our slave.

And Friday night we had our regular party again …. Virgo picked the theme “Let’s have the last of the summer wine and dance to it.” We had fun starting our Weekend with great music and some teasing and banter in main chat. And Mistress Jenny and I both had a longer chat with slave Gwendi.

September 6th – Friday night party: Mistress Jenny, Baroness Capelo, Diomita, Claven Albatros, slave Gwendi, Virgo Babii, Sophia (saradawn2018), Diable (Orson Neutron), Alaun (ams684), Starbright Wingtips, Della Randt, papafox57

 

Simploring 2019 (95) The Far Away

12 Sep 2019 3 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

I decided to do a quick simploring tour on Monday, August 19th, and picked The Far Away from scoop.it SL Destinations. It is a real classic sim, a place that I visited several times, particularly during my first years in Second Life, but I didn’t write anything about it.

The Far Away – Impressions (1)

The Far Away was created in 2006-2007 (!) by AM Radio and is maintained by Ziki Questi and Kinn (Kinnaird), Ziki Questi has her gallery in a seperate skybox above the sim. And what is it? Well …. a large wheat field with some oddities. Most outstanding is the big railroad engine in the midst of the wheat field. The plane above the wheat field reminded me of the film North by Northwest from Alfred Hitchock in which Gary Grant is running through a field chased by a plane. But I doubt that the plane is a reference to the film.

The Far Away – Impressions (2)

What else? A table with some radio equipment, a windmill, a diner table for two with a closet amidst the wheat field. And that’s about it. The horizont seems to be endless and you can recognized some farm houses far away. The Far Away is an art installation and everybody has to get to their own conclusions and interpretations. Considering that The Far Away exsists since 2007 and that the possibilities of building with mesh and sim surrounds were far more limited than they are today, it is still great and intriguing. A sim you should have seen! Oh and don’t forget to turn on your music and to listen to music from the 1920 and 1930, very fitting to The Far Away.

The Far Away – Impressions (3) / lower right is a view into Ziki Questi’s gallery

I also visited Ziki Questi’s gallery above The Far Away. She’s a SL photographer and has an eye for great motives. The pictures look great in the lights of the gallery and the rooms as large enough so that the pictures can develop their atmosphere. I just picked a few examples of what you can see there.

Pictures taken at Ziki Questi’s gallery

Thank you Ziki Questi and Kinn (Kinnaird) for keeping The Far Away available for so many years!

Landmark to The Far Away
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamworld%20North/220/130/22
Landmark to Ziki Questi’s Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamworld%20North/198/121/2002

Simploring 2019 (94) Silly by Cica Chost at Yasminia

09 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Sunday, September 8th, I got an invitation to visit Cica Ghost newest installation called “Silly”. I visited right away. The first thing though that caught my attention was the name of the sim where Silly is located: Yasminia!

I connect a lot with this sim. It was the homeplace of Yasmin’s brat pack, the family of my first owner Yasmin Heartsdale. It was the place where I spend most of my time in 2011 and 2012, a place with which I associate many fond memories and many friends. That Yasminia is long gone and I revisted another Yasminia in 2016, when it was a pastoral peaceful place. I wrote a blogpost about my visit in 2016 and added also links and a picture of the first Yasminia here: https://themaurers.me/2016/09/16/yasminia-2/

And now Yasminia is the place where Cica built Silly! What a coincidence!

Silly by Cica Ghost – inviatation Card / at the landing point

Silly by Cica Ghost is great fun. Those who are familiar with Cica’s art and her animals and beings, sense Cica’s humor at once. The environment is kept in green, blue, purple and yellow. Huge mushrooms provide some shadows, at the corners are huge (green) cooling towers (well, that’s what these objects looked like to me *winks), there’s a lake and there are many of Cica-ish huge animals and beings with their big eyes. They are looking at the visitors with curiosity and as always, they are peaceful and bear with the visitors.

Impressions of Silly by Cica Ghost (1)

Instead of flowers, arms and feet grow out of the ground, they wave and move up and down, just as if humans would live under the surface, some of them sticking their arms trough the ground to feel how it is outside and others as if they are stuck in the ground upside down and stick their feet out. Silly .. and funny.

Impressions of Silly by Cica Ghost (2)

At Silly by Cica Ghost you can be childish or simply have fun. You can grab a gift, a purple bug, sit on it and fly around. You can sit on some of Cica’s beings. For that just hoover your mouse over the boxes which you find close to some of them. But be careful, some of these boxes are traps and you vanish in them, just your feet stick out, so that you can be a part of the above mentioned feet and hands sticking out of the ground. I had fun!

Impressions of Silly by Cica Ghost (3)

There’s a lot more to discover or to look at, like the butterflies that fly around. Or you “sit” on the big Cica-being which lives on a seperate island next to one of the cooling towers (the one that is shown on Cica’s invitation card). Or you watch the Cica octopussy who lives in the lake. As always, Cica provided also a short idea in the landmark’s description:
Q: What is a cat’s favorite color?
A: PURRRR-ple.

Silly by Cica Ghost is what the name implies – silly. For me one of her best installations. I had great fun. Thank you Cica!

Landmark to Silly by Cica Ghost
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yasminia/200/122/37

Simploring 2019 (93) Highland Hills

07 Sep 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Following Inara Pey’s blogpost “Wandering Highland Hills in Second Life” I selected Highland Hills for my simploring tour on Saturday, August 17th.

Highland Hills – overview

Highland Hills is a quarter of a full sim rated moderate. It is owned and created by Elo Moon (eloiseblake). The landmark’s description provides already an idea what to expect: “Haste Ye Back – Highlands of Scotland. A forgotten era. Ruined, rural and rustic. Where nature has claimed it’s home. Photography. Castle. Nature. Beach. Wild. Explore. Photos. Ruins.“

Impressions of Highland Hills (1) – around the landing point / at the “cow beach”

The landing point is by a cow stable close to the beach, which I named “cow beach” because someone must have forgotten to close the gate and the cows enjoy beach life. Highland Hills is a very green and fertile place. From the landing point you can follow different paths. I first explored the cow beach and then walked to the only residential house at Highland Hills. There were many animals around and along my way: deers, goats, cats, birds and many more.

Impressions of Highland Hills (2) – the cow stable, the shoreline, the rain Island and the seal’s island

From the house I went to the tower, that offers a nice background for taking pictures and you can enjoy the view on the seal’s island from there. Highland Hills is fully packed with things to discover, be is all the spots where you can sit and relax, have a picnic or just enjoy the peace or be it details like the sign “Watch your head” before entering the tower. Exploring Highland Hills I came across a whole battery of beehives, I saw spots with blooming flowers and a broken wind mill, that is next to the path from the cow stable to the house.

Impressions of Highland Hills (3) – at the shore, at the tower and at the beehives

Surrounded by other ruins the castle is the main building at Highland Hills. The walls are that thick that nothing could tear them down. I didn’t find much exciting inside but you can walk up to the roof for the view over the sim. This is also the place an artist has choosen for painting. On the roof I encountered a funny little cat carrying 3 blue birds. The 4 jumped and walked happily around. Two more details caught my eye, firstly another sign at the main entrance to the castle “Once upon a time” (you can spin your own fantasy around that) and secondly a plant pot in the form of a butt.

Impressions of Highland Hills (4) – the castle and the ruins, the particular plant pot and the cat with the birds

The ruins around the castle are great for taking pictures as well as the nature around the waterfall. From the waterfall I climbed up to an unfinished house. Just 3 walls were built, then the owner moved on or decided to built the house somewhere else. Next to this unfinished house I noticed an umbrella that got tangled up in power lines. All these little details add to the fun of exploring Highland Hills. I was also intrigued by the “rain island” opposed to the cow beach. Dark clouds hang over the island and it is raining. I played a bit with my windlight and made several pictures.

Impressions of Highland Hills (5) – the Castle, the unfinsihed hosue, the broken wind mill, the waterfall and the entangled umbreally

Highland Hills is a very well made place with a lot to discover. I sensed all the work and love for the detail that went into this sim. I’m still amazed about all the creativity within Second Life. Thank you, Elo Moon (eloiseblake), for creating and for sharing your place with the public. I had fun exploring and enjoyed the peace and the nature of the Highlands of Scotland. “Haste ye back!” is Scotish and means come back soon … I intend to came back.

Landmark to Highland Hills
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Crossroads%20Event/232/86/26
Inara Pey’s blogpost “Wandering Highland Hills in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2019/08/15/wandering-highland-hills-in-second-life/

Simploring 2019 (92) Annabel Lee – A new experience at Daphne.Arts

04 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

The newest art installation at Daphne.Arts is about a famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe: Annabel Lee. I had the opportunity to visit it before it opened officially on September 2nd. At the landing you have to follow some instructions regarding the setting of your viewer and you have to accept a HUD that will add a black strip on the top and the bottom of your screen and that will provide background music and sound and most importantly the poem, you’re going to experience in a particular way at Daphne.Arts.

Annabel Lee – A new experience at Daphne.Arts / Landing at Daphne.Arts and at the art Installation itself

Once you arrive in the installation you’re surrounded by a foggy, dense atmosphere. The wind is blowing quite strong, you look over a bay and see some light above the mountains, a building and something on the op of a mountain. Candles lead you to the nearby shore and when you walk further, a way builds up leading you over the water… and vanishing behind you… so move on.

In the meanwhile you hear the poem ….

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes! – that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Impressions of Annabel Lee – A new experience at Daphne.Arts (1)

Reaching the other shore across the bay the candles lead you to an old manor that is abandonned for many years. Inside you see the remainings of a once luxury life, clearly long gone, but you can still almost sense the former inhabitants. On the backfront of the manor you can walk to another shore and have a view back to the manor. It’s place was selected very smart providing perfect views in a quite rough mountain environment.

Impressions of Annabel Lee – A new experience at Daphne.Arts (2)

The candle way leads up to the sepulchre of Annabel Lee. Two angles guard her grave.

Annabel Lee is the last complete poem by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849). Like many of Poe’s poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman. The love of the narrator and Annabel Lee is strong enough that it extends beyond the grave and the narrator believes their two souls are still entwined. (taken from wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabel_Lee)

Impressions of Annabel Lee – A new experience at Daphne.Arts (3)

The installation of Annabel Lee at Daphne.Arts was created by Sheldon Bergman (sheldonbr) and Angelika Corral, who also own DaphneArts, opened in March 2016. Angelika reads the poem for us. Her voice, the hazy atmosphere, the many pictures let us literally dive into the particular love between the narrator and Annabel Lee.
I was impressed.

Landmark to Annabel Lee at Daphne.Arts
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Honeyoe%20Falls/244/193/4002

Simploring 2019 (91) Nevgilde Gaard

26 Aug 2019 5 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Friday, August 16th, I picked Nevgilde Gaard from scoop.it SL Destinations. Nevgilde Gaard is 1/8 of a full sim, rated moderted. It is owned by Neaira Allegiere (Neaira Aszkenaze). The landmark description implies that there has been another place before: “Nevgilde Gaard is the second chapter in The Nevgilde Story. And as it’s predecessor is inspired by Norwegian nature and heritage.“

The name Nevgilde rang a ball. I visited Nevgilde Forest December 2018 (Simploring 2019 (3) Nevgilde Forest). According to my own notes, Nearia was co-owning Nevgilde Forest at the time of my visit. Anyway, I checked and found out that Nevgilde Forest is gone. Is Nevgilde Forest the above mentioned predecessor sim?

Back to Nevgilde Gaard. It is a comparably small place but packed with beautiful views and nice seperated from the surrounding plots, so that you don’t see them when your at Nevgilde Gaard. The landing is on the almost highest point of the plot on a plateau in the woods. Nevgilde Gaard is designed like a section of a shoreline of a Norwegian fjord. There’s just a lot of forest in the background, a rocky shoreline, one single residential house, a short beach, a beck … and that’s it.

Nevilde Gaard – overview and around the landing point

From the landing point I walked across the beck to the house. I had a lot of beautiful views. Nevgilde Gaard is designed with love for the detail and everythings looks quite well fitting together. I just had some minor problems with getting all textures loaded.

Impressions of Nevgilde Gaard (1)

I visited the house and also had a look inside. It didn’t surprise me at all that it is nicely furnished. From the wooden terrace of the house you have a lovely view over the ocean (or fjord). A bit below of the house is a small beach with some more possibilities to sit and watch. Just opposed to the beach is a small island with a place to camp and a nice view over the shoreline.

Impressions of Nevgilde Gaard (2) – the residential house

Nevgilde Gaard is a showcase for Neaira’s passion: landscape and design. She’s specialized in Nothern European nature and style.
In a skybox above Nevgilde Gaard is Neaira’s shop “NS Thrift Shop & Poses“, that offers decor, furniture, jewelry and couple’s poses.

Impressions of Nevgilde Gaard (3) at the beach, view from the small Island on Nevgilde Gaard and NS Thrift shop

Nevgilde Gaard is a very beautiful corner of Second Life. I like the atmosphere of peace and nature of it and I had kind of a little time-out while I explored and enjoyed. Thank you Neaira Allegiere (Neaira Aszkenaze) for sharing Nevgilde Gaard with the public!

Landmark to Nevgilde Gaard
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cocteau/46/113/37
Landmark to NS Thrift Shop & Poses and NeaScapes
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cocteau/25/59/4021
NS Thrift Shop & Poses on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/66708

Simploring 2019 (90) Alternate Reality

22 Aug 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

For my simploring tour on Friday, August 9th, I selected Alternate Reality from scoop.it SL Destinations. Alternate Reality is a moderate homestead owned by T (thisismyaltsalt). That is a funny name and it tempts to speculate who might be behind it.

Alternate Reality – overview

Upon landing you’ll get a message by a group inviter: “Welcome to Alternate Reality. We hope you enjoy your visit and everything the sim has to offer. Should you need any assistance here or have any issues please contact Thisismyaltsalt for help and I’ll get back to as soon as I can. Have an Awesome Day!”
You have to join the group in order to visit the sim, joining is for free though.

Impressions of Alternate Reality (1) – around the landing point and the fishing hut

Alternate Reality is an island with a vegetation that seems to be a mixture between an island on the Northern hemisphere and a Caribbean island with palms. At least you see beach grass and different kinds of palm trees growing close to each other. According to the few buildings I would categorize Alternate Reality as an island somewhere on the Northern hemisphere.

Impressions of Alternate Reality (2) – private residential house and enjoying some time on the yacht

The landing is close to a water tower and a small fishing hut. From there I began exploring the island. It is quite inviting for taking pictures and there’re many opportunities to sit at the beach. You can also “sit” on the yacht that anchors at the shore of Alternate Reality.

Impressions of Alternate Reality (3) – at the beach

Alternate Reality offers a nice bar with a really outstanding old bar keeper and nice decorations. I tried the posing at the pinball, my first picture playing pinball *winks*. Next to the bar is an event decking with a dj’s desk.

Impressions of Alternate Reality (4) – at and around the bar

There are many more places you can visit to sit or to pose for a picture, like the beach rentals or the little snack bar by the beach or at the campfire. Just the area around the only residential home, quite in the center of the island, is set to private and protected from entering.

Impressions of Alternate Reality (5) – at the beach, the beach rental and at the campfire

I like the name “Alternate Reality” as it really fits to Second Life in general. And I enjoyed spending a lovely hour in the afternoon taking a short vacation in this alternate reality. Thank you, T (thisismyaltsalt), for sharing your sim with the public. I had fun visiting.
Landmark to Alternate Reality
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Five%20Fathoms%20Deep/214/181/23
Flickr-group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/alternaterealityffd/

Simploring 2019 (89) Grauland

17 Aug 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Tuesday, July 30th, I selected Grauland from scoop.it SL Destinations https://www.scoop.it/t/second-life-destinations. Grauland is an adult homestead owned by JimGarand. The landmark description doesn’t reveal much “Photogenic sim and home to M-1 ART POSES“.

Grauland – overview

The landing is right next to a piece of art, a fist (Fist Statue – Marble inWorldLight) made by Korazen. Also close to the landing is an auditorium, but it has no stage and the audience looks at a painted wall. Let us imagine that in the case of an event, there’d be a screen installed. I began my exploring tour looking at the heap of stones which is also close to the landing point. The heap looks a bit like a breakwater wall. It is for sure a very interesting motive for pictures. And because of the magic of Second Life it is not covered with bird droppings although there’re lots of birds at Grauland.

Impressions of Grauland (1) – around the landing point and the heap of stones

I crossed the bridge that connects the landing island with the main island, that has the form of an hoof. I visited the cannabis greenhouse first. There’s also a pier for ships with a petrol station. Obviously the cannabis yield is very high so that they use ships for transport *winks*.

I continued my tour at the beach. It is a lovely large beach and the waves in the background are impressive. Again you find a lot of birds here and some places to sit and relax and to enjoy the beach. The beach has a very natural atmosphere.

Impressions of Grauland (2) – the cannabis greenhouse and the beach

I visited the old factory building, that seems to be abandonned for many years already. There’s no roof nor a door but it might be still a bit more protected from wind inside. You can see that someone is living here, there’s a sofa, a few pictures, garbage, a shopping cart and a litte cage (yes we’re on an adult sim). Continuing my simploring tour I sat down at another abandonned hut and I walked to the other end of the island, where you can enjoy a lovely view over the whole island from a rock. On the top of the rock is another little hut, that looks a bit like a bus station from outside. But inside there’re two chairs and a few pictures and it looks like someone really loves being here.

Impressions of Grauland (3) – at the beach, the old factory, the abandonned hut

But the most outstanding piece of Grauland is the field of concrete blocks that covers around a quarter of the whole island. The concrete blocks are also in the bay and on a small island in the center of the hoof. This island is connected with a wooden footbridge with the main island. The concrete blocks did remind me of the holocaust monument in Berlin. I have no idea what they express here or if there’s any intended interpretation. On the fist view the distribution of the single blocks seem to be random. I managed to jump on one of them and to have a better view. The field seems to be endless … does it continue under water?

Impressions of Grauland (4) – the field of concrete blocks and the outlook

On my way to the outlook I found a teleport sign for the above mentioned M-1 Art Poses shop and I came across a single modern bar stool, that stood in the midst of nothing and almost screamed “Try me”. Ok I had to try it. The stool has some really nice and tempting poses and I ended up makieng a seflie photo session. I had fun.

 

Impressions of Grauland (5) – at the outlook, the tp board to the M-1 Art Poses shop, and Diomita in a spontaneous photo session

And the spontaneous photo session was reason enough to have a look at the M-1 Art Poses shop that is located on a platform in 2000m height. I tried the poses with the bike and got two other great selfies.

A quick visit to the M-1 Art Poses shop at Grauland

I appreciate it a lot when shop owners combine their business with providing a place for the public to enjoy, like Jim did with Grauland. The sim is outstanding in it’s own way. The enviroment is meagre, but still beautiful, the field of concrete blocks offers a lot of different interpretations and for sure a great background. And the beach is just great being that natural. Thank you Jim, for providing Grauland to the public. I had fun exploring the island, the art and last but not least trying out the poses.

Landmark to Grauland
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mobile/102/197/23
M-1 Art Poses inworld shop
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mobile/193/132/2028
M-1 Art Poses on marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/204042

Simploring 2019 (88) Antiquity and Regency Buckingham

13 Aug 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

For my simploring tour on Friday, July 26th, I picked a place that I visited before back in 2016, Regency Buckingham (Recreating Buckingham Palace in Second Life). But I didn’t land at Regency Buckingham, instead I landed at Antiquity Visitors Center and I admit reading the offered notecard there and seeing all the different teleport pads did confuse me first.

Antiquity Welcome Center

Antiquity is made up of two full sims and thirteen homesteads, in total 15 (!) sims that are spread over 3 levels, the ground level, the Forest level at 2000m and the cotswolds level at 3800m. It exists for over 11 years now and has developed over time. Antiquity is a roleplay community for the time period of 1730-1830. The sims are owned by Jacon Cortes de Bexar (Jacon Cortes).

Antiquity orientation maps

Besides or within the roleplay you can follow different activities in Antiquity and you can visit several historical buildings. There are equestrian facilities, sailing facilities, markets, taverns and inns. And of course there are quite some regular and special events. At Antiquity you will find the Buckingham palace, the Texas Capitol building, two manors, historic parks, and permanent and rotating art exhibits. This would be enough material for 10 blogpost if I only had enough time for visiting and writing. I think I’ll never get bored in Second Life *winks*

Regency Buckingham – public tour map

I decided to visit Regency Buckingham as I had intended. At the entrance you can grab a very elaborated notecard for a public tour with a description and history of what you see. First of all it is not the Buckingham palace as we know it in this day and age, but rather it is what George IV. intended to build when he ordered the architect John Nash to build the palace instead of the Buckingham house for him in the 1820s.

Regency Buckingham – Grand Entrance (1) (upper left) / Bow room (3) (upper right) / Green Drawing room (9) (lower left) / Blue Drawing room (13) (lower right)

All of the art you see within, and much of the furnishing and other aspects of the decor, have been selected or created on the basis of the extensive resources provided online by the Royal Collection Trust. The Regency Buckingham in Second Life is the result of 3.5 years work of Jacon Cortes with the help of Crotian Egerton, Twelfth Night, Leandro Malaspina, Cathryn Beaumont and Gaianed Francisco di Cremona. Art has been curated from the Royal Collection by Jane Ixtar and Tiamat Windstorm.

Regency Buckingham – Throne Room (10) (upper left) / Music room (14) (upper right) / Throne Room (10) with Queen Diomita (lower left) / Grand Staircase (7) (lower right)

I made the tour of Regency Buckingham following the orientation map, that is also enclosed in the notecard. For every room you get very detailed and specific information about the background, the use of the room and the exhibited art. Most of the art, like in the halls, are collections from certain kings. None is painted after the 1840s.

Regency Buckingham – State Dining room (12) (upper left) / Ministers Staircase (16) (upper right) / King’s Gallery (11) (lower left) / Diomita with the “tour guide”
(lower right)

It was once again a very impressive experience to visit the palace. It’s also good to see that there’re very strong and passionate communities in Second Life that do exist for more than a decade – and that the Regency Buckingham is still in this virtual world. I personally think, if you’re in Second Life, Regency Buckingham is one of the places you must have seen. Thank you Jacon for your dedication and for enabling this really outstanding piece of Second Life.

Landmark to Antiquity (Visitors Center)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquity%20Texas/160/51/2002
Landmark to Antiquity – Regency Buckingham (Forest level)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquity%20Texas/154/179/2002

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