Art in Second Life 2020 (54) VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery

31 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

I was up to visiting a gallery or exhibtion on Wendesday. I scrolled through scoop.it SL Desinations and came across VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery. The entry was referring to a post from Maddy Gynoid “Die VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery von Vroum Short” (post is in German).
The names rang several bells. I know Vroum Short as an artist and she had several appearances in this blog already. I also know her as owner of VeGeTaL PLaNeT. I peeked at it several times but never found the time to really visit it and to write an extra blog entry about it. The VeGeTaL PLaNeT also hosted Aneli Abeyante’s La Maison d’aneli for about a year. I visit La Masion d’Aneli regularly.
By Maddy’s post I learned that VeGeTaL PLaNeT is gone since March 2020. The place existed for 12 (!) years. But it is back now as a gallery :-).

VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery – the building

The VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery ist owned by Vroum Short. It is a big scifi buliding in the sky of 1/4 of a full region. The building itself would be worth a visit! On the landing level you find a lot information. There’s a big board announcing the next exhibtion at La Maison d’Aneli. There are group joiners, ads of other galleries and a shelf with gifts from artists. I grabbed them all and I had a look at them afterwards. Some really nice art for free! Thank you 🙂

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (1) – around the landing, ad for La Maison d’Aneli and for other galleries, the gifts, Le Chat Noir event area

Below of the landing level is a big event area called “Le Chat Noir”. On the landing level itself are 2 large exhibition rooms featuring Vroum Short’s art. The art is sorted by colour and theme. Vroum Short is a French SL artist since 2007. As mentioned above she created VeGeTaL PLaNet, the location of the old La Maison d’Aneli.

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (2) – Vroum Short’s art

Vroum’s art is often animated, in fact at VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery I found only animated art of her, so what I capture are just snapshots. Her art develops its effect way better when you look at the animation. Everything moves, everything changes. One room has more technical art objects in silver, other rooms contain very colourful fantasy artwork, also permantently changing.

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (3) – Vroum Short’s art

 

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (4) – Vroum Short’s art

The two rooms at the landing level did already impress me. But that’s by far not all. More of Vroum’s art, other colour themes, can be seen on the 2nd level and also on the 3rd level, the top level. Here I liked in particular the red themed art.
On the 3rd level is also a room featuring Aneli Abeyante’s art. I think I saw most of it before as part of other exhibtions of her.

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (5) – Aneli Abeyante’s art

Aneli creates objects in 2D and 3D, colourful, steadily moving, and with particular light effects. Aneli writes about herself: “I love geometry and mathematics. So after much practice, I managed to clear structures and shapes. In reality I practice painting, I do not have precise style but I always seek harmonization.” Also Aneli’s artwork follows geometrical rules, it is constantly changing, again my pictures are just snapshots.

I went back to the 2nd level. There are two more rooms. One features the art of Eylinea Seabird. Eylinea’s art fits perfectly into the character of all showcased objects and pictures at VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery. Eylinea is quite new to Second Life and explores for herself a broad variety of artistic possibilities in Second Life: painting, photography, sculpture and even soon tattoo creation. At VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery she shows some geometrical displays that reminded me of Spirograph. I think the pictures aren’t animated like the ones of Vroum and Aneli, but they seem to change nonetheless depending on the viewing angle.

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (6) – Eylinea Seabird’s art

The other room seems not to be fully opened yet. At least the artists name is not displayed outside. The room festures the art of Adwehe, who’s work I saw twice so far at La Maison d’Aneli. Adwehe is quite new in Second Life. It seems to that Adwehe is experimenting with different forms of art. What I saw so far were objects and some (animated) pictures. At VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery are only animated pictures, hence fitting to the overall theme of the gallery.

Impressions of VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery (6) – Adwehe’s art

What you see at VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery is a broad variety of animated art, mostly geometrical forms, but also other variations, in particular some very colourful abstract art. The currently showcased art is really impressive and the gallery is really huge. You can spend easily several hours there.

Thank you Vroum Short for your VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery and for your art. Thank you Aneli, Eylinea and Adwehe for your contribution. I enjoyed my gallery visit!

Landmark to VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oreo/64/100/501
Maddy Gynoid’s post “Die VeGeTaL PLaNeT Gallery von Vroom Short”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/08/die-vegetal-planet-gallery-von-vroom.html

Simploring 2020 (56) Grauland – Summer 2020

22 Aug 2020 1 Comment

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

For my simploring tour on Sunday, August 16th, I picked once again “Grauland” from scoop.it SL Destinations. I had visited Grauland the first time in Summer 2019 (read here), then again in February 2020 (read here). What I saw at scoop.it SL Destinations indicated that the sim has changed again.
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 next to the landing. Jim seems to change Grauland quite regularly.

This time Grauland is something totally different. It is a half island used as a bi- or even trimodal logistic center. The landing is on a beach, next to a beach volleyball field. Not far away is a motel. The rooms are furnished. Well, it looks as this motel has had its best days already, yet the pool behind the motel is quite nice and there seem to be at least 2 rooms occupied as cars park in front of them.

Impressions of Grauland in Summer 2020 (1) – Beach volleyball and motel near to the landing point

I explored the beach first. There’s a long promenade with 3 art objects: “Marching On Sculpture” by JimGarand, “Angel” by Wiona (dx61005) and “Tiki Head Statuette” by ChiMia (chimiastore). The art is a bit out of place with the long wall of the logisitc center with all its graffiti as a background. But then it makes it even more outstanding. The beach is nice and invited to take a bath in the sun.

Impressions of Grauland in Summer 2020 (2) – Art promenade and beach

I visited the little event area on a wooden platform not far from the landing and then went towards the logistic center. On my way I came across a scrapyard – and saw more graffiti.

Impressions of Grauland in Summer 2020 (3) – Event platform and scrapyard

The logistic center is for road and railroad transport. Both can be loaded at the center, goods can be stored in the storehouses. There are two large tanks for fluid goods, maybe petrol at the logistic center. The railroad and the trucks transport the goods away from the center through seperate tunnels. A bit aside is a pier and a ramp. There’s no ship but it looks as if goods could also be transported with ships, making the logistic center not only bimodal but trimodal.
Again I admired some graffiti, this time on a railroad waggon.

Impressions of Grauland in Summer 2020 (4) – The bi- or trimodal logisitic center

Besides the beach, there’s still more to explore and enjoy at Grauland. There’s a lighthouse and the house next to it is furnished. On its porch you can sit and enjoy the view over the sea and the beach. I also had some fun using the jet ski, that can be rezzed at the beach again quite close to the landing. And I dared to speed along the concrete bricks protecting the shore.

Impressions of Grauland in Summer 2020 (5) – Diomita enjoying the Summer

Grauland offers some different backgrounds for taking pictures, it offers fun (jet ski for example) and the combination of beaches and a logistic center is quite outstanding. Once again I enjoy my visit.
I appreciate it a lot when shop owners combine their business with a place to visit. Thank you Jim for creating this place and sharing it publicly.

Landmark to Grauland
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mobile/168/189/26

Simploring 2020 (55) Chapel Imagination

20 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Saturday, August 1st, I picked Chapel Imagination from scoop.it SL Destinations. The entry led me to another “Simtipp” from Maddy Gynoid “Simtipp: Chapel Imagination” (in German).

Chapel Imagination is a moderate homestead designed and owned by ARNICAR India. The landmark description consists of a poem who’s author is not named:
“i´m quiet. / it´s because i have / so much to say. / but i just / don´t / know / how / to say it.“

Chapel Imagination is the successor of another sim by ARNICAR India named “Lighthouse Imagination”, which has been closed. I didn’t see it though.
Chapel Imagination is formed like a cross and the landing is in the center of the cross under a huge tree. On all four flanks of the cross you find ruins of churches or chapels quite completely overgrown by plant and tree. At the landing point you are close to a group of cranes. You fing more of them an the sim.

Chapel Imagination – overview and landing point

I started my visit with the ruin that I named “Wedding Chapel” in my little overview map. I choose this name as inside you find a wedding dress, ready to be worn. You also find some places to sit. The nature and the atmosphere is quite peacful yet a bit melancholic. Right outside of the wedding chapel is the before mentioned group of cranes and I took a picture of one couple. For my pictures I used “Annan Adored Dusty” and “Annan Adore Realistic”. I personally like the dusty pictures more as this windlight fits better to the atmosphere in my opinion.

Impressions of Chapel Imagination (1) – the “wedding chapel”

I walked over to one of the short flanks. The ruins there are also overgrown. In the center is a fountain, with a ficure watering flowers. The chapel ruin seems to be used as an artist atelier. You find a photo camera, a screen, several frames, a picture and places to sit there.

Impressions of Chapel Imagination (2) – the “fountain”

Walking back to the center and heading towards the other long flank, I sound another hint for a wedding. Another dressing dress and wedding suit besides a table with two doves. I won’t try to interpret what I saw, but for sure Chapel Imagination is a romantic place. Walking through a hallway of arches you come to the next chapel ruin – with 2 giraffes in the center of it. The giraffes look a bit misplaced at the first glance.

Impressions of Chapel Imagination (3) – the “giraffes” and the “fantasy pier”

Walking further you get to a wooden pier. There’s a boat with a couple, flying fishes, blooming flowers and a lighthouse at the horizont. Because of the giraffes and the flying fishes, the bubbles and light particles, the figure of a man with an umbrella I named the pier “Fantasy pier”. It is a mixture of fantasy and surrealism, yet nonetheless a lovely place to be.

Impressions of Chapel Imagination (4) – the “fantasy pier”

I went on to see the second short flank. On my way I came across another crane couple. Chapel Imagination seems to be their place for romance. I named the second short flank “The nuns” as in its center is a group of nuns walking in a circle and most likely praying. You hear bells. There’s also a monk who watches the nuns. And there’s a candle table where you can light a candle for a loved one. What surprised me is that either one the nuns or the maid who is scrubbing the floor next to the nuns whispers “shit” every once in a while *shakes her head “cursing at a place like this”
Again you also find nice spots to sit and dream an I used one of them to take a break.

Impressions of Chapel Imagination (5) – “the nuns”

Chapel Imagination is a romantic place, a fantasy, a place with many symbols and I’m sure that ARNICAR could tell stories about the different scenes and what they mean for her, which story they tell. As a visitor without this knowlege, I just enjoyed the peace and the great background for taking pictures. I do like the loving cranes, that I didn’t see before in Second Life. The sim surround, that Maddy mentioned in his blogpost, was gone when I visited.
Thank you ARNICAR for providing your place to the public. I enjoyed my visit!

Landmark to Chapel Imagination
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Everlong/120/124/22
Flickr Group
https://bit.ly/2ITSxiL
Maddy Gynoid’s “Simtipp: Chapel Imagination”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/07/simtipp-chapel-imagination.html

Simploring 2020 (54) “The Coasters Club”

14 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Sunday, July 26th, I picked “The Coasters Club” from scoop.it SL Destinations. The netry led me to another post from Maddy Gynoid “Simtipp: The Coasters Club” (in German). I read it before my visit and Maddy’s pictures were really good. One reason more to visit.

The Coasters Club is a moderate homestead owned by Yeya Zuta. The sim is completely flat and flodded by water, yet the water isn’t really deep, hence you can walk or use a bicycle (free to rezz) for your simexploring tour. Upon landing you get offered a folder that contains a notecard in English, French, German and Japanese, an head umbrella and a sound attachment (Rubber Rainboots Sound). The umbrealla makes sense as it is raining at The Coasters Club and as it is worn on your head it doesn’t restrict you in anyway or conflicts with your animation.

With these two accessoires the landmark description makes a lot of sense: “Grab your umbrella and rain boots, come explore The Coasters Club. Try to find the hidden spots in a minimal flooded waterlandscape. The tram awaits for you“

Impressions of The Coasters Club (1) – landing, tram and pile of office chairs

Well … I did get the umbrella and the notecard when I visited a second time. Sunday morning, I was restricted from my inventory and were just wearing a latex dress, no shoes, no pantyhose. Almost perfect for simploring The Coasters Club. Instead of rain boots – bare feet *winks*. And the dress was not bad for a rainy day.

Impressions of The Coasters Club (2) – the open-air pool

Yeya Zuta writes in her notecard that the sim design (flat and flooded) was inspired by the Netherlands, which lies below sea level in wide parts. Well, you usually don’t get wet feet there, but it is very true that the Netherlands are f l a t. The Coasters Club is intended for exhibiting art objects or smaller installations or to be used as a venue for art performances. If you seek a place for your art that would fit into this environment, you should contact Yeya.

Impressions of The Coasters Club (3) – the cubes

Back to The Coasters Club as I saw it on July 26th. The landing is at a tram station admist the floods. A tram line cuts the sim into 2 halfs. There’re 3 stations, the landing is in the middle. The tram is fully operating – and it looks (intentionally) really surreal in this environment. There are several spots to discover at The Coasters Club right now.

Impressions of The Coasters Club (4) – the club building

At one end of the tram line is a pile of office chairs. You can sit on it and yet several animations. It is funny and bizarre. Not far from there is an open-air pool. Once again you find there animations to enjoy yourself, or you just step back and use it as a surreal background, a pool admist the flooded environment.

The Coasters Club itself is in the largest building, a nice club, fully decorated. It has a stage, a bar, a piano, sofay, space to dance and of course a Dutch flag. Next to is are some cubes used to exhibit either pictures, or art or ads for a shop. Next to the club building is a boat in a wooden dock, another nice motif.

Impressions of The Coasters Club (5) – boat in wooden dock / tea-house de vecht

The standard windlight for The Coasters Club is “Midday” yet I used a darker windlight more fitting to the rain “Annan Adored Dusty”. I tried a few pictures in “Midday” also, for example at the little garden next to the tea house de vecht.

Close the the tea house is an open tent, a place to sit and gather. There’s also a swordfish fishing contest, but I didn’t understand how to join it. What I saw though was a jumping swordfish landing behind the little stand that sells fish. As if the swordfishes jump right in there *winks*. Finally I visited the Water Rock garden with the two seals which lie there enjoying the peace.

Impressions of The Coasters Club (6) – Fisher’s tent / Water Rock Garden

The Coasters Club is a very varied, surreal sim to showcase art. I bet it will change over time and I should come back there more regularly if I find the time for it. I had fun exploring it and … taking many pictures. Thank you Yeya for sharing The Coasters Club with the public.

Landmark to The Coasters Club
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Va%20Pou/122/121/21
Maddy Gynoid’s “Simtipp: The Coasters Club”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/07/simtipp-coasters-club.html
Flickr The Coaters Club
https://www.flickr.com/groups/thecoastersclub

Simploring 2020 (53) Edge

10 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour Sunday, July 19th, I picked “Edge” from scoop.it SL Destinations. The entry led to a post from Maddy Gynoid “Simtipp: EDGE” (in German).

Edge is an adult full region. The owning landgroup is founded by EdgeResident (an alt or an avatar created just for this reason?). Edge is designed by Lady Bug (liloneladybug). In the landgroup I found three owners: EdgeResident, Cookie Bug Clut (juniperdreamer) and Katie Bug (Katiebug Wumpkins).
The landmark description consists of a list of tags: “Adult voice hang out- Live Singers, Karaoke, Dj’s, events, Photos, Bloggers, Games, Discussions, Nudity, Clubs, Harbor, contests, Storytime, Stories, Live Readings, Sex, strippers, Secrets, Swinger, Movies. Come Get away at the edge with so much to offer“

Remark: Lady Bug (liloneladybug) told me later that my assumption was correct: “Cookie (juniperdreamer), Katie Bug (Katiebug Wumpkins) and I are the owners. I am the sim designer as well. We created EDGE resident together for the sim management as it is easier to run that way.”

The landing at Edge is between a large greenhouse and a small gazebo on a large rock with several waterfalls. The greenhouse is used as a large event hall. Right at the landing you find a list of upcoming events, the invitation to a photo contest and a teleporter sign post to 10 locations: Edge Venue (the greenhouse), The Harbour, Town Centre, Games, Pebble Beach, Smoke Lounge, Storytime, Tea House, Stables and Nude Beach. I decided to simplore on foot though.

Impressions of Edge (1) other overview perspectives (left pictures) / at the landing point (Edge Venue)

Although Edge is an adult sim, you do not necessarily notice it (if at all). Edge is a lovely designed sim, offering countless places to hide away, to cuddle or to simply enjoy. You do notice though, that it was built as a community home. I started my visit at the harbour, which is really picturesque. I was more or less alone during my visit, only once there were 3 other people. Nonetheless the sim has a problem, I suspect due to high script load. My frame rate never reached 40 fps and was often below 10 fps and I didn’t use shadows. That’s a pity as you could make better and great pictures of Edge with using another windlight settings and shadows. The textures loaded very slow and it wasn’t easy to get pictures without blurry areas. Maddy had the same problems using another viewer (I use firestorm).

Impressions of Edge (2) Edge Venue / The Harbour

Close to the harbour is the Smoke Lounge and a club called “The Garage”. This club has an adult atmosphere but is stylish in it’s own way. The lounge is furnished nicely and I could imagine to sit there after a party or during a break.

Impressions of Edge (3) Smoke Lounge (upper pictures) / The Garage (lower pictures)

I continued my simploring tour and came to another meeting area with a café and several market stands. This place is called “Town Centre”, next to it is a very large games area and below of it is the “Nude Beach”.

Impressions of Edge (4) The Harbour (upper left), Town Centre (lower left), Games (upper right), Nude Beach (lower right)

A place without a seperate teleport spot is next to the bigger lighthouse, quite cosy and away from the rest of the sim. I didn’t swim over to the large lighthouse, therefore I can’t tell if there’s anything to see. Did I mention that all houses at Edge are furnished? Have a look inside! I went to “Pebble Beach” another nice spot, I visited “Tea House” and “Stables” and I went to the “Storytime” sky platform, which is obviously used for story telling events.

Impressions of Edge (4) at the bigger light house (left pictures), Pebble Beach (upper right), Tea House (lower right)

Edge is a nice adult place that offers a lot of nice and cosy spots as well as larger areas to meet, dance, discuss or listen to stories. I liked the sim design and I hope that the performance issues can be resolved quickly (most probably it is just one or a few items that cause the lag). Thank you Lady Bug (liloneladybug), Cookie Bug Clut (juniperdreamer) and Katie Bug (Katiebug Wumpkins) for providing your place to the public. And thank you Lady Bug for the design. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to EDGE
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clover%20Field/46/83/65
Maddy Gynoid’s “Simtipp: EDGE”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/07/simtipp-edge.html
EDGE BDSM Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/edge_sl/pool/

Simploring 2020 (52) Voodoo Land

06 Aug 2020 2 Comments

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

For my simploring tour on Friday, July 17th, I picked “Voodoo Land” from scoop.it SL Destinations. The entry led to a post from Maddy Gynoid “Simtipp: Voodoo Land – (Juli 2020)” (post is in German, Maddy took some great pictures too)

Voodoo Land is a moderate full region owned by Sofie Janic and Monkey Wonder. Vegas (jrvegas) contributed to the design. The sim is home for 2 big stores: The Voodoo Community Mainstore, that sells spolders and security tools for clubs and events, and the Vegas Tattoo mainstore owned by Vєgas (abaracdabra).

Impressions of Voodoo Land (1) – around the landing point

The landmark description refers partly to the Voodoo Maintstore: “A community of people from around the globe. Our platform is a tool to enhance your experience in virtual worlds by improving security, and creating opportunities to gain money and traffic while you have fun. Anti-bot & Sploder systems, Trivia, Dance.“

Voodoo Land and Little World – bird eye view and orientation map

Next to the the Voodoo Land full region is a moderate homestead, that is connected my a brige – “Little World”. I didn’t explore it (yet), but it seems to be the playground of Sofie Janic and Vegas. “Always in > Under construction 😛 … by Sofie Janic and Vegas and a big thanks to Megan Prumier \o/”
Megan Prumier is also involved in Voodoo Land, for example the Irish Pub contains objects from her.

Impressions of Voodoo Land (2)

Back to Voodoo Land. The landing leads directly to the Voodoo Mainstore. From there I began simploring. Voodoo Land is – besides the two big stores – a huge modern mega city at night. It is full of illuminated advertisings and has all you’d expect from a megatropolis. Most stores and shops are just facades but in particular bars and entertainment are accessible, just try yourself. I liked in particular the above mentioned Irish pub.

Impressions of Voodoo Land (3) – view on Little World (lower left) / The Irish Pub (upper and lower right)

You will also find lots of graffiti, some are huge and remind more of a big art exhibition *winks*. You find video billboards and raceways, little oasises, a skateboard park and a basketball court. And some little details made me smile. I want to mention the “WcDog’s Hotdog sign”, a sign I never saw before yet in Second Life.

Impressions of Voodoo Land (4)

The whole environment invites for roleplay or is just a great background for taking pictures in an urban night setting. Or you could visit one of the bars with your friends.

Impressions of Voodoo Land (5)

There’s also a video of Voodoo Land, that provides a perfect impression of this mega city.

I had a lot of fun exploring Voodoo Land and taking pictures. I always appreciate when shop owners not just have a store inworld but also gice something back to their clients or to the whole community. Thank you Sofie Janic, Monkey Wonder, Vegas (jrvegas), Vєgas (abaracdabra), Megan Prumier and whoever else was and is involved in realizing Voodoo Land.

Landmark to Voodoo Land (Mainstore)
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Voodoo/148/133/30
Maddy Gynoid’s “Simtipp: Voodoo Land – (Juli 2020)”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/07/simtipp-voodoo-land-juli-2020.html
Video – Second Life Destinations: Voodoo Land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UhBAzVRoNU
Flickr for Voodoo
https://www.flickr.com/groups/4533239@N21/pool/
Sofie Janic’s Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/154984823@N02/
Voodoo Community store on marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/40780/
Vegas Tattoos
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/206452
Little World Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14723516@N22/

Simploring 2020 (50) Carolina 2020

24 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

For my simploring tour on Sunday, June 28th, I picked “Carolina” from scoop.it SL Desitination. The entry led me to a blog post from Maddy Gynoid “Simtipp: Carolina – Juni 2020“.

Carolina is a moderate homestead owned by Arol Lightfoot. I had visited Carolina in July 2019 and wrote a blog post about it (read here). Arol Lightfoot was also involved in La Vie, a place that I visited 3 times, but it was always different (Simploring 2018 (1) La Vie in Winter / La Vie in Second Life / Simploring 2017 (83) La Vie in Autumn).

The Carolina of Summer 2020 is a completely different setting than the one of 2019. What they have in common is a lot of wildlife.

Carolina Summer 2020 – Orientation map and Overview

The most outstanding feature of Carolina are two large rocks with a high plateau. The rocks are connected by a rope bridge. The landing is on one of these rocks right next to a zip lane leading down to the ground level. As there’s no other way to get down to the ground except of flying or jumping down the waterfalls on the neighbour rock, I took the zip lane and landed next to the Lighthouse. I found a nice place to make a first little rest then I walked to the beach.

Impressions of Carlina Summer 2020 (1) – Landing with zip lane / at the lighthouse / view from the beach

I walked all along the beach, took a couple of pictures and reached the waterfall. On my way I encountered a bear with its baby. I didn’t dare to disturb the two *winks*. Close to the waterfall is a campsite.

Impressions of Carlina Summer 2020 (2) – along the beach / bear with baby bear / campsite

I continued my tour walking around the rock with the waterfall and came into a thicker forest that opened up to a pond where I saw two huts. Both are furnished. One of them had a nice porch with some dogs gathering there and I noticed a board “Wetland protection area”. The other hut seems to be something like a Summer residence. Overall the wetland pond is really a nice spot to enjoy nature and to take some pictures.

Impressions of Carlina Summer 2020 (3) – forest / wetland / Summer hut

From the Summer hut my exploring tour led along the shore with wide meadows, a really very tall ancient oak and a group of wild horses to the only residental house at Carolina. This house is not furbished.

Impressions of Carlina Summer 2020 (4) – ancient oak / wild horses / residential house / romantic pond

Returning to the large rock with the zip lane there’s another larger pond, which I called “Romantic pond” as it offers nice places to sit and enjoy the nature and the birds.
On my way back I also came across an old VW beetle which is nice for posing (and I did). And in the end there’s a trail with many bushes that are cut in form and with flowers. Another great motif for pictures.

Impressions of Carlina Summer 2020 (5) -romantic pond / VW beetle / botanic trial

I spent a nice and relaxing hour of simploring Carolina and I enjoyed the nature, the wildlife, the views and the peace. Just the right thing to do on a Sunday morning. Thank you Arol for your newest refurbisment and in particular for sharing it publicly.

Landmark to Carolina
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Margarita%20Isle/136/61/44
flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14671177@N22/
Maddy Gynoid blog post “Simtipp: Carolina – Juni 2020”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2020/06/simtipp-carolina-juni-2020.html

Simploring 2020 (49) Mimmo

22 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

For my short simploring tour on Friday, June 26th, I picked Mimmo from scoop.it SL Destinations.

Mimmo is an adult homestead, the landmark description is short but very precise:
“Photogenic spots. Beautiful stream, take photographs, explore, collaborate – Hang out. RENTALS Available!“

Mimmo – orientation map and overview

Mimmo is group owned, founder of the group is Eli (Elise Sirnah), who is partly owning Mimmo. I couldn’t find out, who else is owning Mimmo.

Impressions of Mimmo (1) – at the landing / community area

The landing at Mimmo is quite at the highest point on a high plateau next to a fence area with an exhibition. It looks like there was a photo contest just recently. From the exhibition area stairs and a road leads to the open community area with places to sit and chat, a big open house, more places to sit, several huts and a really nice oldtimer that offers poses for photographers.

Impressions of Mimmo (2) – community area

Impressions of Mimmo (3) – the oldtimer / fish&chips stand / one of the many spots to sit

I saw 4 residential houses for rent, three of them are a bit apart from the mainland and hence offer privacy. The rest of the sim is public and provides many lovely spots to sit and cuddle or to take pictures for example at the fish&chips stand or at the painter’s hut on the beach.

Impressions of Mimmo (4) – fish&chips stand / residential houses

Mimmo is just what the description promises – a beautiful home that offers many photogenic and romantic spots. It’s just a joy to wander around and to explore it. The concept with the large community area and the seperated residential houses is not unusual but the rental area and space is much smaller than the public area. The focus of Mimmo is clearly not business. At the time I visited, there was at least one house available.

Impressions of Mimmo (5) – more romantic spots / the painter’s hut at the beach

I enjoyed my short tour. Thank you, Eli for providing this sim to the public.
REMARK: Graice Shade Keela (graice2) is the other owner of the sim as Eli told me after this post was published.

Landmark to Mimmo
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pomerania%20Park/100/200/39
flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14673647@N22/pool/

Simploring 2020 (47) Paracosm

15 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

I saw a picture of Paracosm on scoop.it SL Destinations. The landmark description tempted me: “Paracosm is a D/s sim for immersionist dominance and submission, a platform for SL users who wish to facilitate the expression of our first life selves and meet others. Realplay, not roleplay.”
Hence I went there spontaneously, Thursday, July 2nd, late morning.

Paracosm – A detailed fantasy world – overview and orientation map

I didn’t know what Paracosm is and looked it up on wikipedia: “A paracosm is a detailed imaginary world. Paracosms are thought generally to originate in childhood and to have one or numerous creators. The creator of a paracosm has a complex and deeply felt relationship with this subjective universe, which may incorporate real-world or imaginary characters and conventions“

Impressions of Paracosm (1): The manor and the town (lower right)

Paracosm is run by a team, Sliye is the caretaker and the owner of Paracosm. It is not the more common D/s sim with places to stand & model or with lots of gear and dungeons. Paracosm is a place for Immersionist SL users who empathise with their avatars. That said, mutual respect is expected at Paracosm and there is no strict hierarchy nor are there house slaves available for everybody’s use. All is based on mutual respect as it is in a D/s relation in RL. Paracosm is intented to provide a place to immerse into a D/s world yet free of the fear of being a simple sex toy or object.

Paracosm – A detailed fantasy world: Diomita at the board starting the hunt

I had the pleasure to meet Sliye who welcomed me and she advised to do the Paracosm hunt to get familar with the sim. To attend the hunt you have to take a HUD and search little piles of acorn. You get a starting clue. Find and click each of the piles of acorns hidden sneakily around the sim to receive one digit of a pass code and the clue where to find the next pile. When you are finished you have to return to the start board and with the passcode you can open the chest with the prize. Sounds easy – is easy.

Impressions of Paracosm (2) – Smutsmith’s cottage (upper left) / at the lagoon (lower left) / the Asian garden (upper and lower right)

Yet the hunt didn’t take just 15 minutes. I spent over an hour searching the piles of acorn. The hunt has the side effect, that you explore and discover Paracosm. It is a beautiful setting, offers nice clubs with style, great D/s gear – but nothing to obvious. All fits, all has style. I simply enjoyed exploring and trying out one or the other piece of furniture.

Impressions of Paracosm (3) – classroom (upper left) / Noveau Club (upper right) / Diomita at the ballet school (Companion Guild) (lower left and right)

There is a bit for everybody: a classroom, a ballet school, a dungeon, a beach, a ballroom, a scifi bunker and many nice places an stylish furnished rooms. I really enjoyed my visit. It’s quite probable that is was not my last visit. Thank you Sliye and the whole team for Paracosm!

Landmark to Paracosm
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Peaceful%20Sanctuary/29/36/44
Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/185921689@N02/
Blog
https://paracosmsl.art.blog/

Art in Seocnd Life 2020 (40) “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang

11 Jul 2020 1 Comment

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

When I scrolled over scoop.it SL Destinations on Tuesday, June 16th, I came across a new installation of JadeYu Fhang. The entry led to a post on the The Sim Quarterly blog “Welcome to “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang“.

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (1) – arrival

Sim Quarterly is a sim and initiative of Electric Monday:
“Art and the virtual world, Second Life© are very similar — you are able to both find yourself and immerse yourself (and maybe even lose yourself) in something totally unlike what you already know. The experiences you gain help you grow and form new opinions about the world. That is what I hope this sim can provide over time. I am very excited to bring to you a quarterly art project by way of The Sim Quarterly.
The project features one creator every 3 months (every quarter) as an artist in residence. The purpose of the sim is so that residents can experience something new and even create a community.”
The current installation “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang will stay opened until until Sept 14, 2020.”
Learn more about Sim Quarterly at their website.

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (2) – a broader view at the installation

The above mentioned blogpost “Welcome to “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang” provides a perfect start for a visit to this installation:
“Upon arriving at Le Déraciné you will notice a village with sounds, lights, and dancing animesh characters. The ritualistic dance is only the beginning of your journey here. Just beyond these dancers is where you will discover a door or portal to transport you to JadeYu’s full creation.
Once you arrive at the main landing spot, you will immediately notice JadeYu’s use of light and sound. You will discover many ways to wander this vast, sim-wide installation from walking, flying, and discovering “paths” made simply from light and transparent mesh.
There are many ways to interact with the works, and since it is still so very early in the time of the residency I do not wish to spoil the treasures you should discover with your own experience there. Just make sure you click on objects to find out what is in store for you!“

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (3) – at the beach and in the “forest”

And I had this experience! “Le Déraciné” is French and means something like uprooting. In the center of the installation is a huge tree that has a human body in itself, particularly an head. From the tree ligths and branches reaches down to the ground. Right where you land an human lays on the beach and animesh figures dance around the human. Also this human is surrounded by branches and lights.
Looking up to the big center tree you see two platforms (I think it is one platform) with buildings that look like the village at the landing point from where I came. Lights rise from there into the sky, lights reach over to the center tree.

I went to what I would call a forest first. It is on the ground and you can really get lost in it. The forest might stand for the young trees, it might also have no meaning at all – it is a very artful background for sure.

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (4) – some poses at the center “tree”

It is possible to fly at “Le Déraciné”. It is also possible to walk on the lights but not on all and you may fall down (I did several times). I sat on the center tree and got several poses offered. One is holding an apple – did I steal the apple? Other poses take you to sit on a branch or to almost hug the tree trunk. Other poses bring you close to the head.

I went over the the two (or one) platforms and from there you have another great view on the installation. You also find more animesh figures dancing around another human figure and you can join their dance.

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (5) – on the platform

I do not dare to interpret what I saw, I just enjoyed the art and the lights, I had my own thoughts about roots and uprooting, about the human body and head integrated into the tree. Trees have many symbolic meanings to mankind, starting from the story of Adam and Eve. Trees are the symbol of life, they provide homes and heat, and nowadays we know about their function for our climate. Art and what it means is in the eyes of the beholder. I can just say: A great piece of virtual art, JadeYu!

“Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang at The Sim Quarterly (6) – Diomita posing / another zoom out / close to the head

JadeYu Fhang writes about herself:
“Living in Paris, France, i followed the evening classes in academic drawing at Fine Arts School of Paris and was trained at the Applied Arts School of this city.
After these studies I completely stopped all artistic work. My journey is atypical made of multiple experiences. I returned to artistic work when I was able to get rid of all the academic rigidity that had been taught me.
My experience on Second Life since 12 years allows me to continue and improve my work and extend it to 3D.”

It is not the first time that I came across JadeYu Fhang and her art and I hope it won’t be the last time either. I enjoyed visiting “Le Déraciné” at The Sim Quarterly. Many thanks also to Electric Monday, who provides the space for the art.

Landmark to The Sim Quarterly and “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Sim%20Quarterly/7/10/1403
Post on The Sim Quarterly blog “Welcome to “Le Déraciné” by JadeYu Fhang”
http://thesimquarterly.com/2020/06/14/welcome-to-le-deracine-by-jadeyu-fhang/
Sim Quarterly website
http://thesimquarterly.com/
Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/thesimquarterly/

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