Simploring 2022 (19) Paradise Falls

17 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

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

Just recently I noticed that Annie Brightstar (anniebrightstar) has restarted her scoop.it SL Destinations page. For my simploring tour on Sunday, August 7th, I picked “Paradise Falls” form her page as the pictures and the landmark description looked promising.

“Please feel free to explore our sim, all types of photography allowed including nudes, please join our group above for rez rights and be mindful to remove your objects.. No sex allowed! Please be respectful and enjoy :)”

Bird eye views on Paradise Falls

Paradise Falls is an adult homestead owned by Damien Bates and Asteeri. They own a couple of rental places, Paradise Falls is public though.

Impressions of Paradise Falls (1)

Paradise Falls looks like being located somewhere in the Mediterrean. It is an island with steep white rocks and sandy beaches. It has a harbour, a light house, lots of cafés and offers much to explore as well as many opportunities to take pictures.

Impressions of Paradise Falls (2)

If you walk up to the chapel, that is located on the top of one of the white rocks, you can enjoy a great view from up there. The town is embedded into the rocky landscape, hence you have to walk some steeper roads and stairs. There are several courts as well as countless places to sit and enjoy in the town and around the harbour, as well as in the gardens or at pools of residential homes.

Impressions of Paradise Falls (3)

Paradise Falls is surprisingly detailed considering how large it is and that it is built on a homestead. You can’t go inside of the house though, but the outside is nicer anyway. I enjoyed the beaches as well as the views. I liked in particular the fisherman’s memorial at the harbour. It seems to belong to a town like this, that might once have lived from fishing and is a tourist magnet nowadays.

Impressions of Paradise Falls (4)

I tried out some of the places to sit and watch the world go by and as it is an adult sim, I even spent time naked in a pool *winks*

Impressions of Paradies Falls (5)

Paradise Falls is just a picturesque, well built place to relax and wind down in a nice environment where you feel like being on vacation. Thank you Damien Bates and Asteeri for sharing the place publicly. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Paradise Falls
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bella%20Luna/139/140/22
Paradies Falls flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14828681@N22/

Simploring 2021 (32) Otter Lake

04 Nov 2021 1 Comment

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

I had a bit of time for a simploring tour on Tuesday, October 19th. I picked Otter Lake from scoop.it SL Destinations, as the picture with the entry looked promising and I wanted to visit an Autumn sim. It was the last time that I could select a destination from Annie Brightstar (anniebrightstar)’s SL Destinations, as Annie announced that she finishes her great work. Thank you for your great service over all these years, Annie!

Back to Otter Lake: “You just otta see Otter Lake nestled in between the mountains. Rezz a boat by the boat house, go fishing in the lake, drop by Otty’s cafe where you can sit relax and have a coffee.” (taken from the landmark description).

The landing point is on a pier next to a water airplane. I zoomed out first to get an overview. Otter Lake is a village or small twon somewhere in Canda. It is embedded into a mountain sim surround and it is located on the shore of a see. A road leads through the village and over a bridge to the other side of the lake. The road vanishes into tunnels at both ends. And as it is Autumn the trees glow in all colours – a scenery that I really love.

Otter Lake is a homestead, rated general, owned and disigned by sharon Hinterland: “My passions are shopping, listening to music, photography and modelling. I also really like to create landscaping and decorating“

Actually I had visited the “otter lake region” back in 2019 and I was excited and impressed about it (read here). Did I pick it as the name sounded familiar? It makes no difference as Otter Lake is very different from otter lake region that I visited in 2019. But again it is a masterpiece in design and fun to explore.

Impressions of Otter Lake (1) – At and around the landing point

I began my simploring at the landing point. There’s a habourmaster building which is fully furnished, a tank to fuel the water airplane, a boathouse and a diner. The scene is livened up with a few static figures. The landing spot is quite picturesque and I stayed there for a while taking pictures with several environment settings. It did remind me a lot of my visits to the North-East of the US.

Impressions of Otter Lake (2) – At and around the landing point

I left the landing point and walked along the road. On the other side of the road is a residental house. The door was closed, hence I didn’t look into it, but I could see that it is furnished. Next to it is a police station, a chapel and a garage & gas station. It all looks perfect, a quiet small town along a road in a beautiful fall setting.

Impressions of Otter Lake (3) – Residentail house / police station / chapel / garage & gas station

I walked further along the road and came to a sawmill, obviously the main employer in this town and to a bar with a sportscar parked in front of it. The bar is worth a visit as it is furnished and decorated with love for the detail.

Impressions of Otter Lake (4) – sawmill and bar

The road ended in a tunnel and I walked back and over the bridge to the other side of the lake. Right behind of the bridge is Otty’s café. I took a short break there while overlooking the lake. There’s not much more to see … just another residential house on an island in the lake. The island is connected with a small bridge – and the residential house is fully furnished. Have a look inside.

Impressions of Otter Lake (5) – Otty’s café and the other shore of the lake

What impressed me most was that I felt like visiting the North East of America. I had many of these views in real life and the beauty of the landscape in Autumn is really hard to describe. If you have fairly good weather, it is just a dream – a dream we can live in Second Life. I really enjoyed my visit to Otter Lake!

Thank you sharon Hinterland for creating Otter Lake and for sharing it with the public.

Landmark to Otter Lake
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lanzarote%20Cove/61/98/21
Otter Lake flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14660289@N24/

Simploring 2021 (30) Beaufort Castle

24 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Tuesday, September 7th, I picked Beaufort Castle from scoop.it Sl Destinations https://www.scoop.it/t/second-life-destinations.

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (1) – overview

Beaufort Castle, or more precisely “Beaufort Castle Estate, Highlands of Scotland“, is embedded into other Scottish places. The landmark description is short but fitting very well and provides the basic information:
“A virtual recreation of Beaufort Castle in Beauly Scotland. The castle is a 19th century Scots Baronial castle in the region of Beauly, located in the Highlands of Scotland of SL. Built by Ethan MacAlpin, Earl of Evergarden. Outlander fans welcome!“

Beaufort Castle Estate, Highlands of Scotland is located in a moderate sim, the castle and the park consume 3750 prims, which may give you an impression how detailed it was built in Second Life. Actually it is the virtual counterpart of Beaufort Castle in Scotland.

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (2) – Beaufort Castle in the physcial world

I looked it up at wikipedia:
“Beaufort Castle or Castle Dounie (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùnaidh) is a Baronial style mansion built in 1880 and incorporating older building work. It is situated on the right bank of the River Beauly near the town of Beauly in Inverness-shire and is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Kiltarlity and 13 mi (21 km) west of Inverness. There has been a castle on the site since the 12th century. Beaufort was the traditional seat of the Lords Lovat until 1994 when it was sold by the 15th Lord Lovat to meet inheritance taxes.” (source wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Castle,_Scotland)

From the outside Beaufort Castle is already quite impressive and I took many pictures and tried several environment settings, which changes the character of the castle a lot.

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (3) – outside views

I walked inside and found a teleport and information quite next to the entrance inside. I grabbed the notecard about the castle:
“Beaufort Castle in the Highlands is closely modelled on the RL castle and features three main levels accessible by a tower staircase. It is currently the largest building in the Highlands of Scotland of SL and was built by Ethan MacAlpin (Ethan Evergarden), with select stain glass by Axaria MacAlpin (Axaria Evergarden). Enjoy a stroll through the informal gardens and glens around the castle or find the hidden doors and passageways inside. The Lord and Lady Evergarden welcome you to Beaufort Castle in the Highlands of Scotland! Be sure to visit our other regions-we have a total of seven now, including Beauly, Dornoch, Glen Coe, Greater Loch Ness, Inverness City, Loch Ness and Urquhart.”
(taken from the notecard availabe at the castle)

Inside the castle is almost completely furnished, although there would be space for more furniture. But the spacious rooms and hallways fit to the character of the castle.

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (4) – inside views

There’s all you would expect: Historic RL pictures of the Beaufort Castle and pictures of the virtual counterpart at the walls, pictures of the the owner family in Second Life – Ethan MacAlpin (Ethan Evergarden) and Axaria MacAlpin (Axaria Evergarden), knights in armour standing alongside the hallways, fireplaces, seating opportunities, a music room and a room with wine, a library room, an everyday dinning room and a real big event and dinning room over 2 floor with a decorated ceiling.

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (5) – inside views

Visiting and exploring Beaufort Castle was pure fun. There are some hidden doors and rooms, which provides a little bit of adventure for the visitor. I really enjoyed my visit and going to the other places that are mentioned in the notecard that I grabbed is now on my to do list (I need a 3rd and 4th life to cover all of my passions!).

Impressions of Beaufort Castle (6) – a view back when I finished my visit

Thank you Ethan MacAlpin (Ethan Evergarden) for building Beaufort Castle and for sharing it publicly. Great work!

Landmark to Beaufort Castle
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beauly/109/102/30

Art in Second Life 2021 (84) Numb by Lex Machine

09 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When I was looking at scoop.it SL Destinations  for a place to visit on Sunday, August 29th, I came across the latest installation of Lex Machine (archetype11 Nova), named “Numb“.
Lex Machine (Archetype11 Nova) was formerly known as Schmexysbuddy Resident and created the Hotel California sims, which I visited in 2019 (read here and here). I saw Lex Machine’s installation “Isolation’s Passengers” last year (read here) and his installation Bermuda Locket earlier this year (read here). The last installation I saw from Lex was “The House that Love Built”, which I saw end of February 2021 (read here).

Lex’ installation Numb is a collection of art objects of different artists. His art is arranging them in his own way and setting them into a context and into an intriguing environment. To get an overview I once set environment to “Midday” to create an overview. But to get the full experience you have to use the shared environment. In this environment the installation is quite dark and bloody.

Impressions of “Numb” by Lex Machine – overview and first pictures

I started my visit with the blood licking heads wearing top heads. The heads as also quite some other objects in the installation “Numb” are from Stabitha (what88 zond). The bloody gears are from Noke Yuitza, an artist who I covered in the blog already. In the center is a nurse distributing pills. Put together the scene is quite depressing. It is best seen from the chess board, where Lex has placed a piano and a cello.

Impressions of “Numb” by Lex Machine (1)

Quite dominant are the flying captured hearts as if someone has ripped them off the bodies. The flying hearts are from Rebeca Bashly. And there are quite some dead bodies hanging on balloons, surrounded by dead trees. There’s also a scene with playing kids. As if they don’t mind all the misery around, open to begin something new, being just curious.

Impressions of “Numb” by Lex Machine (2)

Lex was present during my visit and I had the opportunity to talk with him. “Numb” wasn’t built with happy thoughts, he told me. Lex was a soldier and just recently lost another brother in arms to suicide. In the end more veterans commit suicide than are killed in action. They have memories of things that used to kill people and the pictures drive them nuts. Far too often the only cure given are drugs … with the known results.
Lex’ anger with that and his own struggles with recovering from what war has done to him is the basis for the “Numb“.

In the light of this background “Numb” is quite depressive, but it is also a very artful way to express feelings. Art can be healing, expressing yourself in art can be healthy: “There’s a pill for everything these days…. none of them actually cure what’s wrong”

I dicovered a little girl on the palm of a creepy figure sitting on the ground. For me the girl expressed hope and it made me smile in all this darkness.
What else? A scene with a mermaid (created by Ginger Chevalier) surrounded by floating fish. I also saw two faces by the artist Wassa (wassaabii) almost buried in the ground. I saw objects from Frank (meshmastermind), Raya Jonson, Runa (alrunia ahn), Krys (krystali rabeni), C. Edo (cory edo) and Paco Pooley. But there might be more…

Impressions of “Numb” by Lex Machine (3)

Oema (Oema Resident) made a video on “Numb” which is really very well made and she must have changed the environment setting as the pictures are quite brighter and she selected a fitting music. Great work, Oema!

Lex told me the installation “Numb” shall be available a few days more although it was already set up one month ago. I learned though that it was closed down on September 6th to make room for another temporary installation:
“I will build a short lived installation to remember 9/11/01. This event changed my life and others I know personally and I always remember it with a build every year. On 9/12 the sim will be closed again and re-opened as soon as the new build is completed.”
Hence when you go there right away until Saturday, September 11th, you can see Lex’ 9/11 installation.

“Never Forget” by Lex machine

Thank you Lex Machine (archetype11 Nova) for the installation “Numb” and for our open conversation laying out your thoughts. I did enjoy our talk and my visit.

Landmark to “Numb” by Lex Machine
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Solveig/103/119/22
Lex Machine (archetype11 Nova)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sorrythatnameisinuse/
Oema’s video of “Numb”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkAZyOTpBTs

Simploring 2021 (29) Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery

18 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

I picked Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery from scoop.it SL Destinations for my simploring tour on Thursday, July 22nd.

Are you up for something spooky? Are you up for some fun? Can you bear seeing blood? If you can answer all this with a “yes”, then the Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery is a place to explore for you.

The landmark description is already intriguing: “He has visited your home. Have you visited his? Come & experience the Very NICE & Very EVIL home and art gallery of the Bellisseria Slenderman. If you can find it, take a ride on “Slender: The Eight Pages” THRILL RIDE!“

The Slenderman? I looked him up on wikipedia: “The Slender Man (also spelled Slenderman) is a fictional supernatural character that originated as a creepypasta Internet meme created by Something Awful forum user Eric Knudsen (also known as “Victor Surge”) in 2009” (source wikipedia).
I also read Inara Pey’s post “The Slender man gets arty (and more) in Bellisseria” and I recommend to read this post before visiting. Inara summarized the background very well. Hence I won’t go into more details about the Slender man here anymore.

The parcel is owned by Mouse Mysterious and the parcel’s group was founded by Bellisseria Slenderman (Slenderman Bellisserian). But you can’t communicate with Bellisseria Slenderman, all communication go through his spokesmouse Mouse Mysterious *winks*

The Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery

Actually the Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery is really a gallery. The house is full of pictures, all showing appearances of of the Slenderman or scences on the occasion of his appearance. And there are many pictures shown in the gallery. But the intention is not to exhibit artful pictures. At the entrance of the gallery you can grab a notecard with things to do at the Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery:

1. Take your time to look around and see the NICE & EVIL artwork of the Bellisseria Slenderman.
2. Find the Slender: Eight Pages Roller Coaster
3. Find the creepy Bellisseria Slenderman basement
4. Find The Bellisseria Slenderman BBB Stamp Machine… YES it is HIDDEN because the Bellisseria Slenderman is EVIL… Once your passport is stamped he can see you… EVERYWHERE
5. Participate in the Eight Pages Bellisseria Slenderman HUNT! Can you find ALL 8 Pages? Each one can be bought for 0 L and contains a special almost one-of-a-kind Bellisseria Slenderman GIFT (ALL 8 Pages are on the parcel somewhere. And yes some are hidden in an EVIL way)
6. Try to make it out alive

Have a NICE & EVIL Day!

Ok, I did as instructed and I had fun. I first looked at the artwork and to be honest – I was not excited of it nor intimidated at all. Once you leave the house things become more intersting. In the backyard you find a hut with some bloody bags, you walk over chains and hands reaching up trough the wooden walkway. And…. there’s the entrance to the basement. In fact you need to enable experiences and to walk into the entrance, then you get teleported to the basement.

Outside of the Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery, lower left is in the basement

To get to the roller coaster you need to walk into a big “Slenderman board” right next to the entrance of the gallery. The roller coaster is big fun and well made and best experienced in mouselook.

Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery – Eight Pages Roller Coaster

And finally I had fun searching the 8 gits, the eight pages. They are really very well hidden and it takes some time to find them, I just found 2 easily. The pages are very small. Hint: use your mouse to hoover over everything to see the “buy” symbol.
The gifts itself are not really a reasom to hunt, but the hunt itself is fun.

Finally there are the BBB Stamp machines. They are not really “hidden” and easy to find. Clicking on them you get a text in main chat like:
BBB Stamp Terminal @ Slenderman Gallery ( white ): He is behind you… RUN…
BBB Stamp Terminal @ Slenderman Gallery ( white ): This really was the one… just watch your passport it will appear… really it will… Have a nice day…
BBB Stamp Terminal @ Slenderman Gallery ( white ): Bellisseria Slenderman is now deleting all your previous stamps… Have a nice day…

I have no idea what the stamp machine is for – did I miss something? Inara writes about it: “For those with a Bellisseria passport, the opportunity to have it stamped (or maybe “unstamped!”) by the Slender Man.” It made me curious and after some reasearch I found a video about the Bellisseria passport that is also available on youtube. Anotehr activity discovered :-).

Anyway I had fun exploring the Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery and wanted to share. Have fun exploring yourself. And don’t believe any conspiracy stories (in RL and SL)!

Landmark to Bellisseria Slenderman Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Birchbark/222/195/52
Inara Pey’s post “The Slender man gets arty (and more) in Bellisseria”
https://modemworld.me/2021/07/03/the-slender-man-gets-arty-and-more-in-bellisseria/
Video about Bellisseria passport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99xyGhVQU8&t=89s

Simploring 2021 (28) Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu

17 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Thursday, June 24th, I picked “Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu” from scoop.it SL Destinations.

Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu: overview and orientation map / at the landing point

Luane’s World is a full adult region and consists of several sims: Le Monde Perdu is on the ground and in the skies you can find stores, the Magical World and 4 residential sims. Le Monde Perdu is the main sim: “a beautiful, romantic island far away from everything. A place where you can find inner peace, enjoy and relax.”

Impressions of Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu (1)

Luane’s world is owned by LuaneMeo and has been designed by and LuaneMeo and Gorba McMahon.
I visited Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu

Impressions of Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu (2)

Le Monde Perdu is an island in the form of a horseshoe. In the center you find a lot of waterfalls. You can walk around the island along the shore and beaches – and you can walk up on the mountains from where you have beautiful views on the island.

Impressions of Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu (3)

There’s not that much to write about Le Monde Perdu. It offers countless beautiful spots to sit and enjoy. It has a few houses with different characters, all of them are furnished. I walked around the whole island and tried out at least some of the spots to sit. For photographers like me, the sim offers great backgrounds. There are quite some animals at Le Monde Perdu, mainly birds, but I also saw some deers.

Impressions of Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu (4)

I took a lot of pictures – instead of writing a lot. You have to see it yourself *winks*

Impressions of Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu (5)

Le Monde Perdu is a sim just to enjoy – and I did enjoy my visit!

Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Le%20Monde%20Perdu/135/25/21
Luane’s World – Le Monde Perdu flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/luanes_world/

Simploring 2021 (27) Ilha Do Sol

13 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Monday, June 21st, I picked “Ilha Do Sol” from scoop it SL Destinations.

Ilha de Sol is Portugese and translates to “Island of the sun”. It consists of 3 connected moderate homesteads – Taal Lake, Norton and Peace. Ilha de Sol is owned by Syx Toshi and his partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch).
The landmark description wraps it up in just a few words:
“Island of the sun. A beautiful Mediterranean Island. Come and enjoy our town, vineyards and beaches. Surfing, horseback riding, bicycling and much more.“

Ilha Do Sol – overview and orientation map

The landing is right in the center of a small town, that radiates the atmosphere of the Mediterranean. The town is livened up with quite some static figures, hence you’re not alone there. Tourists and photographers stroll through the town. And on the central marketplace there are also dealers at the stands. I sat down at a caf´e from where I could watch and enjoy the atmosphere.

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (1) – in the town

At the market you find the entrance to a tunnel. The tunnel leads to the surf beach. It is a very long beach. Along the beach you find several camps of surfers as well as a few buildings. But the main purpose of the beach is – surfing. at the end of the beach is a surf board rezzer. You can see the 2 big waves on the ocean, that are “surfable” in Second Life. I never surfed so far and hence I postponed it.

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (2) – the surf beach

Instead a visited the surf shop. It is not an inworld store for surf boards and accessoires. The shop is just very decorative and looks “real”. There’s someone at the register, there are customers in- and outside, there’re a lot of surf boards, a shop to repairing boards and a lot of decoarations and details. It’s a great place for taking pictures as well as just to explore and enjoy.

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (3) – the surf shop

I left the beach of Ilha Do Sol and took another way back in the direction of the town. The road led me into the countryside. I came by a little garden with fruit trees, sunflowers and a few chicken. And I came by a hut with a horse rezzer in front of it. I took a horse and rode into the contryside.

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (4) – the countryside

I visited the vine terraces and came to a private residence, most probably the home of Syx Toshi and his partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch), who own the sim. The rest of this homestead (the private residence is on the homestead “peace”) is free to visit and offers real countryside, a bit meagre but typical for the Mediterranean. I for my part liked the natural beauty of the landscape a lot. And there is a large and lonely beach. As rezzing is allowed you could bring your beach gear with your and enjoy the loneliness. You’d never get that in RL *winks*.

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (5) – the countryside, vine terraces, lonely beaches

Somehow I felt like I should try the surfing once being here. Hence I changed into my swimsuit and rezzed a board. I got a quite detailed notecard with instructions. Surfing in SL can be tricky and needs practice. But there’s also an option for beginners and an easy mode – and I tried that. It was real fun! YAY!

Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (6) – Diomita surfing

I had a great time at Ilha Do Sol. It was quite like a short virtual vacation. I could almost smell the Mediterranean. Thank you Syx (Syx Toshi) and Bryn (Bryn Bulloch) for sharing your great and lovely place publicly. I really enjoyed my visit like a short vacation!

Landmark to Ilha Do Sol
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Norton/146/128/24

Simploring 2021 (25) Missing Melody – June 2021

28 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Thursday, June 3rd, I picked Missing Melody from scoop.it SL Destinations. I had visited Missing Melody before on New Year’s Eve 2018 (read here) and later in May 2019 in a total different layout (read here). The entry on scoop.it SL Destinations led to a post of Inara Pey “Reacquainting myself with a Missing Melody in Second Life“.

Missing Melody is a moderate homestead owned and designed by Bambi (NorahBrent). Inara wrote in her blogpost that “Bambi is now back and once again offering her region as both a home to her store“. I missed visiting the versions of Missing Melody that were also home of a store, the two version I saw so far had no store. Missing Melody in June 2021 is also home of Bambi (NorahBrent)’s store named “Oh Deer“.

Bambi wrote about Missing Melody in the landmark profile:
“Once Broken and Forgotten. Stuck in nostalgia. A cool wind strolls in a daydream between the trees. Leaves dance with the salty water’s waves. A place to breath fot a moment.
Photographer and Blogger friendly with a romantic touch. Everyone is welcome.”

Missing Melody consists of two islands. One is dedicated to farming and to the “Oh Deer” store, on the other island you find a nice café, a waterfall, a romantic pond and a village. You land at a zebra crossing for chicken (very cute!) on the farming island.

“Welcome to Missing Melody. Please enjoy your stay. I would warmly suggest if possible for you to hit that ultra and enjoy the sim fully. Missing Melody was built out of a lot of love and emotion. I hope you will feel it too as you stroll around.”

Impressions of Missing Melody June 2021 (1) – close to the landing point, the “Oh Deer” store and the beach

Close to the landing is a barn that is used for the “Oh Deer” store. “Oh Deer” offers original mesh rustic knick knaks, from a letter box to a vane, from a Zen garden to a golf bag. A great store to find nice decorations making your own place unique.
Right behind the store is the beach. No surprise that you can sit and enjoy the view there.

The rest of the island is occupied by large flower fields: a tulip field, a subfower field and a lavendar field. The three fields offer great backgrounds for pictures. Flowers as far as you can look. Again there are nice little details to discover and I enjoyed exploring. Over the island flies a sports aeroplane with an ad for Missing Melody.

Impressions of Missing Melody June 2021 (2) – the flower fields

Walking over a narrow bridge you get to the “Oh Deer” café. The café is full of decorations, so many little details to see. I was not alone in the café and sat down and let my mind and eyes wonder – a very romantic place to be.

Impressions of Missing Melody June 2021 (3) – “Oh Deer” café

I visited the village next. The village is quite a contrast to the rest of Missing Melody. It’s white facades and blue shutters and the blue round dome of the church makes it look like a Greece village, very Mediterrean. The houses are not furnished inside, but the outdoor decoration, the courts and cosy backyards invite to have a closer look at the details. There must have been a wedding recently as there’s a big bow of balloons and many hearts at one court close the shore. You have to be a bit carful walking around. I myself got lost when I tried to sit down (I fall through the ground).

Impressions of Missing Melody June 2021 (4) – the village

Finally I went to the waterfall and the romantic pond above it. Again a place where you can sit and enjoy or take pictures. Missing Melody is a lovely place to explore, to enjoy togetherness or just for taking pictures.

Impressions of Missing Melody June 2021 (5) – the pond, the waterfall and other views

“What is a Missing Melody? It’s that song in your head that you can’t get out but not sure how it really goes. It’s that temptation you want to have in your life so you can fight to resist. It’s that place in your heart that is always waiting to be filled.“

Thank you Bambi (NorahBrent) for creating this sim. I enjoyed my visit a lot!

Landmark to Missing Melody
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Angel%20in%20Heaven/69/63/26
Missing Melody flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/ohdeercafe/pool/
marketplace link to “Oh Deer” store
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/184485
Inara Pey’s blogpost “Reacquainting myself with a Missing Melody in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2021/05/29/reacquainting-myself-with-a-missing-melody-in-second-life/

Simploring 2021 (24) Wision

19 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Tuesday, May 25th, I picked “Wision” from scoop.it SL Destinations. scoop.it SL Destinations is a directory of pictures and blogs about Second Life places, major events, galleries and exhibtions run and filled with content by Annie Brightstar (anniebrightstar). The website was down for a few days and not filled with content for a few weeks, but is back now luckily. Thank you Annie!

Wision is a full region, rated general. According to the landmark description “Wision is a sim in which virtual projects are created for the real world. In this period the sim hosts conferences and art exhibitions, but is available to photographers of the metaverse or to those who wish to stop in its suggestive quiet corners.“

Wision overview and orientation map / the glass sphere at the landing point

Wision is owned by an avatar named valexius who is also founder of the sim group. The empty profile of valexius brings me to the conclusion that it is just an account used to told the sim.
All objects on the sim belong to Mexi Lane, who seems to be the real owner and creator of Wision.

Wision is a very well made sim that offers a lot of spaces for bigger events. The first event area is right at the landing point, a humongous glass sphere at the shore reaching out into the sea. Inside are many big, comfortable chairs arranged to listen to a presentation. Outside is catering and a small wooden outdoor stage.

From there I went along the shore, through an iron gate and go to the only residential house on the sim. It was open and as I found no “private” sign, I dared to have a look inside. The house is named “Mexi’s Atelier” and is nicely furnished inside.

Impressions of Wision (1): The glass sphere at the landing point / Mexi’s Atelier

Not far from the house is a large old factory, Wision Factory. Somme walls of the building are completely made of glass and thus there’s a lot of light inside of the building, that has just 2 very large rooms. Again there’s some furniture. One room is furnished for an evening event with a lot of comfy sofas and chairs and nice decorations on the walls opposed to the glas front. The other room is almost empty, but seems to be a multi purpose room with some chairs along the wall and some bicycles, perhaps for team events.

Impressions of Wision (2): Wision Factory

The largest building of Wision is in the center of the sim, a cinema, café and shop. Again it is an old storage house or plant building with a new usage. Inside you find a large event area with many seats for dinner, a bar, many posters of well know films like Hitchcock’s The Birds and Psycho or Federico Fellini’s La dolce vita.
Another wing of the building is home for a shop, yet it is not a shop where you can buy goods. It looks more like a training facility. And there is a bigger and a smaller cinema. A real multifunctional building.

Impressions of Wision (3): Cinema Café

I continued my simploring tour and went to “Valexius’s office”, a nice building built on poles at the shore. The door of the building was open and again I found it nicely furnished inside, a place where you’r like to make yourself comfortable. Not far from is is a small greenhouse with a few chicken running around. I had fun exploring and enjoying the lovely peaceful setting.

Impressions of Wision (4): Valexius’s office

Wision offers also a lot of nature, in particular in the area around the tower. here you can hike, relax or just enjoy the nature or the little river that winds down to the sea. Or perhaps it is a area for team events .. who knows? I liked it as a perfect place to take some pictures.

Impressions of Wision (5): Rocks and wilderness

What else? Returning to the landing point I found some nice places to sit and enjoy along the shore and I simply enjoyed the view. Last but not least you can also sit down in the glass sphere and enjoy the views (I did).

Impressions of Wision (6): Places to sit and enjoy the nature

Wision is a well made sim that fulfills every probable need for (virtual) team events or conferences. But it is also a publicly accessible sim where you could retreat to and enjoy. I was alone during my visit, no lag, no other visitors.
Thank you Mexi Lane for creating Wision and for opening it to the public while it is not used for events. I enjoyed exploring it.

Landmark to Wision
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wision/31/70/21
Mexi Lane’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mexilane

Simploring 2021 (17) Grauland April 2021

07 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

I came across Grauland again when I scrolled through scoop.it SL Destinations. I have visited Grauland in 2019 the first time (read here) and three times in 2020 (read here, here and here). Each redesign was worth a visit so far. And I was not disappointed this time once again.

Grauland April 2021 – Bird’s eye view and orientation map / at the landing point

Grauland is an adult homestead owned by JimGarand. He runs a shop for poses (M-1 Art Poses) in the skies above the sim. You can reach the shop by a teleporter right at the landing point.

Impressions of Grauland April 2021 (1) – Stonehenge, Easter island stone heads, the tropical forest, panarama house

The current setting consists of two tropical islands that are connected by a bridge. The island on which you land has a circle of stones – Stonehenge – on a high plateau, the famous Easter Island stone heads nearby. It has several nice beaches, a tropical forest and a large spacious modern bungalow overlooking the sea. I called this island “Stonehenge island”

Impressions of Grauland April 2021 (2) – The villa island

The other island, which I named “Villa island”, is the homeplace of someone rich. It is a paradise created in Second Life. A place you’d dream to call your home. THe good news it: in Second Life such a place is affordable.
How would someone rich live? In a large mordern and very individual house – it is there.
There would be a garden, nicely layed out with a gazebo, maybe a bit enclosed for privacy – it is there.
There has to be a pool, a large pool, maybe with a fountaine and also providing some exclusivity – it is there.

Impressions of Grauland April 2021 (3) – The villa island with garden, pool and motoryacht

What else? Yes, a pier with a yacht. It is not there *winks*. But there’s one of these old motoryachts that are used by the super rich people at the Cote d’Azure just to drive around a bit. And there is a seperate helicopter landing point.

On the villa island is also the wreck of a plane, hidden under trees and bushes. A perfect place to take pictures. And of course you find also a few opportunities to sit and watch.

Impressions of Grauland April 2021 (4) – The villa island – plane wreck, helicopter landing, Diomita enjoying the view

I went back to the Stonehenge island and amde a tour with a jet ski. That is always fun and provides other views on the island. I also tried some of the nice opportunities to sit and watch and enjoy the environment.

Impressions of Grauland April 2021 (5) – Stonehenge island – Diomita enjoying jet ski and being lazy

Once again Jim (JimGarand) created a nice and outstanding new place. I did enjoy my visit. I appreciate it a lot when shop owners combine their business with a place to visit. Thank you Jim for creating Grauland and sharing it publicly. Great work!

Landmark to Grauland
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mobile/38/169/21
Flickr group Grauland
https://www.flickr.com/groups/4560078@N24/pool
Landmark to M-1 Art Poses
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mobile/205/131/2028

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