Simploring 2019 (116) Hotel California – Off the Grid

18 Nov 2019 7 Comments

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

In April 2019 I visited Hotel California, an adult sim owned by Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) (see Simploring 2019 (46) Hotel California). When I looked for a place to visit at scoop.it SL Destinations for my simploring tour Sunday, November 17th, I came across Hotel California again, this time with the subtitle “Off the Grid” and the pictures indicated that it is about art. I read Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: Hotel California ‘Off the Grid’” before going there myself. Maddy wrote that he visits Hotel California regularly and that the sim is changed every 4 weeks. He also wrote that it is not only owned by Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) but also by Racey Boom (Raceyy). The name rang a bell. I visited Skull Creek, just last month (see Simploring 2019 (106) Autumn @ Skull Creek) and Skull Creek is owned by Racey Boom (Raceyy).

The current installation is described in the landmark description with “When the power goes out, you’re left with nothing but what’s inside your head” and is tagged with “Space, cyber, apocalyptic, photography, photo, art sim, art, photography sim“

Hotel California – Off the Grid: bird eye views

Hotel California – Off the Grid has absolutely nothing to do with the sim I visited back in April, the only combining element is that by then also some art was displayed. And now the whole sim is packed with art. Hotel California is an artifical island in the endless sea. It is quite flat, the ground is made of steel panels and 8 highrise buildings grow into the sky. You see power poles and some single trees growing through the steel panels (I counted 6 trees) – and art objects that are spread all over the place.

Each single object including the skyscrapers is worth a detailed look. Now the landmark description makes sense: “When the power goes out, you’re left with nothing but what’s inside your head“.

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The horses from Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii) did remind me of Mistero Hifeng. The woman laying on stairs is also created by Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii). The old coach nearby is from danielitosway

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: Another laying woman by Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii), the “elefants” with the long stilt legs are from Paco Pooley, the tree stumps with the hearts are created by Cica Ghost.

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The prison court with the watch tower is created by DRD (deathrowdesigns), the tied hulk of a man is created by Holy (Qutsal Alex), the couple is from Wasabi Yuki (wassaabii)

Impressions of Hotel California – Off the Grid: The phone is from danielitosway, the gear wheels from Noke Yuitza and the hourglass is created by Zelest (Zelest Fall) , the skyscrapers are designed by Nite Row (nitergloom) and look at the hands at 2 of the skyscrapers, these are from Groll (Groll Greggan)

Hotel California – Off the Grid is a thoughtfully installation of art objects together with objects usually used for other purposes. These objects were all created for the Second Life grid (from the grid). They are, I assume, a personal art collection of Lex Machine (schmexysbuddy) and Racey Boom (Raceyy). The power poles refer to the Landmark description …. when the power goes out…

Thank you Lex and Racey for making your this collection available for us all.

Landmark to Hotel California – Off the Grid
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hotel%20California/128/114/22/
Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: Hotel California ‘Off the Grid'”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2019/11/simtipp-hotel-california-off-grid.html

Simploring 2019 (106) Autumn @ Skull Creek

21 Oct 2019 1 Comment

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

For my simploring tour on Thursday, October 3rd, I picked Skull Creek, or more precisely Autumn @ Skull Creek, from scoop.it SL Destinations and I read Maddy Gynoid’s report about it on his blog “Echt Virtuell” – Simtipp: Autumn @Skull Creek (the post is written in German). Maddy’s pictures and his report were tempting to visit myself.

Autumn @ Skull Creek – overview and around the landing point

Skull Creek is a moderate full sim owned by Racey Boom (Raceyy Resident). Right next where you land is the headquarter of a group called Ghost Bullys 1% MC. The Ghost Bully 1% MC is a SecondLife motorcycle club that dedicates themselves to rescuing abused and abandoned animals. Racey Boom is heading the group. In the skies of Skull Creek is a huge race track. A part of Skull Creek is private. According to Maddy’s blogpost, the sim is changing with the season and I can confirm that its Autumn appearance is simply great.

Impressions of Autumn @ Skull Creek – trailer park, Roady’s and the dancing chosts

As mentioned above the landing is in front of a huge barn, that seems to be the headquarter of the Motorclub and also provides space for indoor events. Right next to it is a large outdoor event area. Already at the landing point you can almost smell the Autumn. The sim is literally glowing in red, green and yellow. The ground is coverd with leaves and while I was exploring I could see more leaves falling.

Autumn @ Skull Creek – the haunted house and the graveyard

A road is leading around the sim and besides the beach everything can be explored following the road. Skull Creek is also a bit weired, in a positive way. You will find some oddities. I came along trailer park, an ufo, an haunted house with a graveyard (it’s the season for that!) and a motel. I visited the beach and I rezzed a horse, right next to the motel and continued simploring riding a horse.

Autumn @ Skull Creek – the Ufo and the cows, the bear hut, the motel and the horse rezz

There are for sure more oddities, that I might have missed, but make sure to see the Ufo hoovering over a group of cows. I also think the 3 huge dogs next to the headqurter look a bit odd due to their size but considering that the group is engaged in rescueing animals they have another meaning. Or I think of the dancing couple of Ghosts. These elements add a funny and personal touch to Skull Creek.

Autumn @ Skull Creek – the 3 dogs, the beach and other impressions

I really enjoyed the Autumn at Skull Creek. Racey succeeded to make it almost perfect. For me it felt like a short visit to the Northeast of America during the foliage. And riding in this environment was simply fun. I enjoyed my visit a lot and took many pictures.

Thank you Racey for creating and sharing this spectacle of colours with the public.

Landmark to Skull Creek
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Skull%20Creek/192/115/22
Maddy Gynoid’s blogpost “Simtipp: Autumn @ Sull Creek”
http://echtvirtuell.blogspot.com/2019/09/simtipp-autumn-skull-creek.html
Skull Crrek Flickr group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/3357917@N24/