140 of 365 When one door closes another door opens, and other cliches

Yesterday a friendship in SL that has come to mean a lot to me ended. Sometimes people just have to part ways and it can be sad, even if it is the right thing to do. Today I had not one but two great writing opportunities presented to me.  One door closed, another door open.  Life can be funny that way.

What does any of that have to do with the surreal art sim "Zed" you ask?  Nothing!  Its surreal, silly

There are large scale art works, places to explore on the land, under the water and in the sky. Zed is a sim that lends itself to fooling around with windlight, most definately. There are lots of places to dance and cuddle making this sim a great place for a date with your special someone.

I love how the artist created this dance floor.  No boring old club here folks!   Dance on a floor suspended from chains in the sky and held up by slowly spinning propellers.  This is Second Life!  Stretch your imagination!

 This sculpture spins slowly and the image does not do it justice. Look around for the teleporter and you can dance under the shadow of a big spinny, surreal thingymabob.  You know you want to...

Yes, a green apple in a cube under a glowy waterfall.  What did you expect?  A 2D picture of a fruit bowl?  Not at Zed. Thankfully.

 ZED is dedicated to romance and art in a surrealist, poetic ambiance.  There are many places for chatting and dancing with your partner or friends. Some are designed for small groups, others for couples. There are also two places dedicated to group tai chi. Do not  hesitate to left- or right-click some objects, this is how you can find those TPs that lead t secret places 

Azee Resident, owner & designer

Visit Zed! 

139 of 365 Music Benefit for the Japanese Red Cross

Help raise money for the Japanese Red Cross and attend live music performances for over 46 acts at MadPea Aid, a three-day musical event held April 1-3. Many of SLs best musicians performing original work will be there as will top DJs who will be spinning music for your entertainment. For a full calendar for the three day event please follow this link.

GIVING BACK TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Did you know that Hoshi is a Japanese word for a Star?
Hoshi Island - just like Tupol Island and MadPea Base are generously sponsored by Cha Klaar who is a Japanese rl surgeon. With his contribution and passion, MadPea Productions has been able to create amazing adventures and make a difference in Second Life.

It's time we give back and make a BIG difference in real life. Thousands of people have lost their lives and even more are struggling without water, food and shelter. The imminent danger of a nuclear disaster is hovering over their shoulders every minute of the hour. They need hope. They need our support.

Reach out and give your donation during our three day musical event. Many talented artists and performers from all over the world have joined their forces to raise awareness and donate to the victims of the horrible natural disaster.

All proceeds will go to the Red Cross in Japan via Cha Klaar - straight to the heart of the emergency state, where it makes a difference immediately.

Go to the Benefit and please give generously.

Follow this link to arrive at the sim.

138 of 365 Virtual Decay Quarantine

Lots of people in Second Life are into roleplay and it seems many sims cater to post apocolypitc story lines. Virtual Decay Quarantine is a new RP sim in this genre and while I cant speak for the story or the roleplayers I can tell you this sim is ultra realistic and very well done.

(Please click on the images for a larger view. It is worth it, I promise)

For more information about the story and how to get involved in this new roleplay sim go to the Quarantine Role Play website at this link.

If you are not interested in getting involved in roleplay you can still enjoy a wander around this dark environment if you grab an observer tag at the landing point.

Little was known at the time of the lock down or even during the present day. Some say it was a virus, some will tell you that it was the end of days – God judging mankind for their sins. Many will simply say they don’t know but they wish it was over. The rumors about the strange island facility as the point of origin were denied by the government and they claimed little to no responsibility for the incident and calling the area a “contaminated hot zone”. Of course, they reported that casualties were minimal and that the civilian population had been evacuated and taken care of, this being said whilst cell phones and other means of outside communications were terminated. The Army was stationed outside the city, sealing it in as if it were a coffin.

Interested?

Visit RP Sim Virtual Decay Quarantine

137 of 365 Craving a visit to the beach

Sometimes virtual sand will have to do.

Caribbean Resort in Second Life

136 of 365 "Roche"

Roche is one of those sims that is simple yet powerful. The sim itself is a homestead which means the creators have a limited supply of prims and the traffic is expected to be light. In the hands of some builders homesteads lack that certain something that makes the visitor go "wow" partly due to the limits of the land. Not so with Roche. Not at all.

The island is sparse and open, to be sure, However through creative use of sound and a fabulous eye for detail, the creators have made an evocative landscape that absolutely gives the visitor a feeling of time and place.

The wind whistles and a dog barks and the island feels a bit lonely. If you rez the free bicyle and go for a ride, you hear the tires crunch against the gravel path and you can almost feel the wind against your face and your heart rate go up as you climb the hills.

Go to Roche and enjoy a bike ride around the island

Sabrinaa Nightfire Memorial

Please come to a memorial event commemorating the life of Sabrinna Nightfire. The memorial will take place on Sabrinna's own island of Erato on April 3 at 1PM SLT.

Mommaluv Skytower will perform live for the occasion after which there will be speeches by some of Sabrinaa's closest friends on Second Life and a chance for everyone to share memories of her.

Visit Sabrinaa's land on Erato of Caerleon

and enjoy her art and tributes left by her many talented friends

135 of 365 "Wolfenstein"

I am not really into combat, being the kind always sweet, never have a cranky moment sort of person that I am....but.....occasionally I get a slight urge to blow people away. Of course, I only get this urge about those who so richly deserve it and only in SL where the worst thing that happens is you get teleported home, of course.

All kidding aside, I have never actually shot a weapon in SL, well, at least I have never handled a weapon that shoots bullets. I will admit to shooting guns that fire pies and watermelons and pigs.

There are lots of combat groups in SL and I am mostly unfamiliar with them, except to suggest that from a far distance these groups seem to be hotbeds of testosterone-driven drama. Combat for fun=tribal conflict over real and imagined slights. Hard to believe, I know.

Having said that Wolfenstien, which is the home of the Vanguard Armed Forces, is a fabulous sim. I was there early in the morning when the army was sleeping off last night's conflict so no one shot me or took me prisoner. Its a good thing no one was around because I was exploring in a new short dress and stilettos. I would not have been able to run all that well and I hear these virtual prison camps are no place for pretty little avatars like myself.

All cynical, bratty commentary aside, this sim is absolutely beautiful. They ask you to use a Windlight setting when you TP in, which is becoming quite a common practice. I always accept the request to allow the region to control my settings because I want to see what the creator had in mind.

Visit Wolfenstein

Be prepared to be teleported home should the Army be feeling feisty.

Welcome to Antartica, the icy home of the Vanguard Armed Forces! This is a notecard given out to all who visit and its aim is to inform about the Vanguard Armed Forces, and what we stand for, as well as who we are. First of all, I'd like to make a few things clear as a summary.

- Wolfenstein and Leviathan are linden damage based combat sims. We are a group of 300-350 dedicated individuals who attack other organizations of the same nature. Careful, if you get shot you will be teleported home!

- These sims are classed as 'Neo' based simulators. The Vanguard Armed Forces is a futuristic based army.. and you're currently standing in the cold dark future of Antartica at one of the Vanguard's primary Earth facilities.

- You are allowed to walk around the simulators. But there are sections that are prohibited to civilians. Most of the time, you will be approached and offered an escort!

- You are not allowed to be armed here, unless you are apart of the military or assaulting us.. In which case, do it at your own free will!

* What is this place? *

Now then, the first question after you've entered the sim, for the most part if you're seeing us on the Destination guide, will be "What is a military combat sim?". A military in second life is a dedicated group of people that do not 'sell' the gear they use, nor give it out to just anyone. A military group in Second Life consists of an organization with a ranking structure, and a purpose of fighting with unique and original weapons in all mannerisms of places against other militaries.

A lot of you may be curious as to if our gear is sold.. and as stated above, it is not. There's a saying that applies in this situation, and that is 'time is money' - To get the cool weapons, gear, and armor you see all of my fine soldiers wearing, you must enlist into the organization using the application terminal in front of you, get accepted, and then serve while following rules, timelines, and procedures.

So the concept is simple.. Join, serve, fight, get gear for your service! See, that's simple!

134 of 365 "Thinking about Sabrinaa"

133 of 365 Artist Miso Susanowa

Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of meeting talented artist Miso Susanowa. She generously showed me her work space and some of her art. Miso's work uses sound to stunning effect so I would ask that you follow the links below to see her creations. Sound is such a big part of her work that a 2D image doesn't really convey the depth of the experience.

The piece below is called City. Miso said it is not usually displayed in world so I was grateful she allowed me to see it. It consists of layers of colorful moving images inside a space made up of changing black and white images of California. There is a cacophony of sound that at first is interesting but fairly quickly gets disturbing.

I felt like a city was surrounding me and swallowing me whole as I sat inside the space. As a New Yorker, it sort of made me feel the way I do when I am in a crowd and can't get away fast enough.I honestly have no idea if that feeling is what Miso intended, but that is how I experienced City. It is intense and compelling.

I absolutely loved the prim woman in a red kimono called "Lady with a Fan." There is something lovely and simple about this statue, which I believe is created entirely from tortured prims. Miso said a lot of people want copies of "Lady with a Fan" and I resisted the urge to ask where I could buy her since it seemed this lovely Lady is quite limited in number.

The floral piece below caught my eye and I played with windlight to see how it looked against different colors. I liked it best against a simple background but it changed dramatically when I played with the sky.

This is an angel which Miso said is placed in many houses of worship across the SL Grid. Much of Miso's work has religious themes, including several that challenge the Church. When she showed me those pieces I was so busy chatting I neglected to take pictures, sadly. Miso said she might have an exhibit of her work inspired by religion and if she does I will be the first one in the sim. Her thought provoking take on organized religion challenges basic ideas, and I very much look forward to seeing that exhibit when it occurs.

Visit Miso's Garden, which she describes as a refuge from LA.

Her work is also exhibited at the University of Western Australia

132 of 365 Abstract Soul Gallery

SLurl to Abstract Soul Gallery (Alien Art-ifacts)

by Methias Kira

Set against the backdrop of a deserted Nevada town...something is stirring. Visitors come, but some never leave. Rumors abound that there's something in the air and they're right...alien Art-ifacts that is.

This exhibit begins at a dilapidated shack now abandoned by it's missing owner who used to peddle alien sighting souvenirs, remnants of strange objects found in the desert, and snazzy foil hats. Where is he now you may ask? Who knows, you'll just have to follow the trail and see...

Nestled between the surrounding mountains are watering holes, thirsty flora, hungry fauna, and oh yes...an abduction site where our missing shack owner has met an unfortunate fate.

Methias Kira's amazingly vibrant and colorful 2D & 3D pieces of glowing artwork will be set among this theme- some floating in the air (Fly up!) as alien Art-ifacts that hovering spaceships have come to collect as well as some being left strewn on the ground marking their visits in the thick of the night.

131 of 365 On living a life in public

A lot has been said about preserving personal privacy on the internet. People have legitimate concerns about protecting themselves from data mining and some shun services like Facebook because of these concerns. What with the RedZone fiasco in Second Life and new data mining efforts (read "games") like Empire Avenue becoming popular I have been thinking about what it means to me to live an online life. What do I care to keep private? What am I willing to share? How do I participate in social media and at the same time insulate my somewhat fragile self from all that comes from living a life in public.

I really don't have any good answers and I am convinced that no one really does. Some create internet personas as completely divorced from their "atomic" personas as they can. Others are 100% transparent about everything down to their bodily aches and pains, toilet habits and sex lives. Most people I know try to find some middle ground. How much of our personal information is being bought and sold over the internet without our knowledge is something I wonder about. "Too much" is a safe bet.

So what is a geeky blogging addict to do? How much of myself can I safely share on this blog and on social media streams without feeling like I have crossed some imaginary line in the sand where I have gone from "this is who I am" to "too much information thank you very much?"

I started following a musician on twitter the other day. I love his music deeply and hearing what he had to say every day had a certain appeal. After three days of twitpics of the beer he had after the show and the food he ate with his smokin hot girlfriend (insert sexual innuendo here), I unfollowed his twitter stream. Why? Somehow knowing about his personal life took him off the pedestal I had put him on as an artist. I didn't like it AT.ALL. I liked the pretend world I created for him in my head better than the reality of his world.

Woah.

Think about that for a moment. I actually was sad to lose the pretend little world of what it is like to be famous I created in my head. I suppose, I prefer to think of this artist as an unknowable force of creativity and beautiful music instead of a real guy who drinks beer with his girlfriend while eating oysters.

The internet allows us to see into the mundane details of the lives of people, which makes them more "real" and less of a mystery. Surely this is a good thing, right?

Maybe not?

What do you think?

130 of 365 "Dinky World"

As a general rule, I am not really all that enamored of "cute" things. Precious creatures with big eyes and sweet childlike ways and environments full of primary colored clowns blowing cartoon bubbles as big as my avatar are not what I seek out when I am looking for a place to explore. But, sometimes I happen across a sim with an overdose of cute and I just fall in love. Such a place is Dinky World.

The island is set up with separate spaces with different activities. Here the bears enjoy the beach in all the ways you might expect. Sunning themselves reading a magazine, building sand castles, riding a banana boat, para-sailing and dancing on a floor made for sandy bare feet. Of course you can join the natives in these activities.

If you wander to the other side of the island you will find a clown circus. I would not recommend going to this attraction if you have a fear of clowns. See the tall clown to the left in the image below? He is huge! And I do mean huge. My avatar came up to the bottom of his massive shoe. Maybe. I think I might have a clown nightmare tonight. That is if I sleep, of course.

Inside the circus tents there are lots of smaller clowns doing clown-like circusy things as you can see. It is a colorful explosion of clown. Less cute than bears, more nightmare inducing.

Keep walking and you will find a drum circle which is watched over by this enormous gorilla. Of course. Come to think of it now I remember why I usually stick to creative, unusual art sims. All this cute is kinda scary, no?

Visit Dinky World

129 of 365 Visit Costa Rica in Second Life

I have known about the Costa Rica sims for a long time and I always thought of the place as a residential community. I knew there were events like dances and such for residents but in the back of my head I always thought Costa Rica=Residential.

Well, yes...but.....

The scenery is absolutely lovely.

There are fun spots to chill and talk.

You can hang glide above the trees. A warning -- please be careful if you try to take a picture as you fly. You might just crash into the trees and find yourself hurtling to the ground in an uncontrolled spin of epic proportions. Just sayin...

There are cool bridges which you can use to get from place to place.

You might just happen upon some locals as you meander your way through the rain forest. There are lots of birds and other creatures, none of which seemed to want to eat me for dinner. I think. But when I spotted the jaguar I did not stick around long enough to take a picture. Just to be on the safe side, of course.

I spent a short while in Costa Rica and I can tell you I did not even begin to touch all there is to see and do. You can take a free hovercraft ride around the waterways or you can teleport from place to place using a taxi HUD that you get free at the LM below. Just click on the sign that says "please click for notecard" it will give you information about Costa Rica and a copy of the free HUD. Enjoy!

Visit the Rain Forest in Costa Rica in Second Life