Happy and Safe Halloween

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Halloween

Shhhh….

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life

I’m laughing at my human. She’s been quite busy this past week. She automatically does the SLT + 1 time thing for what I want to do but has also done that more than once for her own first life activities recently. Known for her promptness and attention to not being late for others, she’s in no way wanting to explain the real reason for her lapses.

Burn2 ~ part five

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BURN2, virtual destinations

There’s a Literary Camp at Burn 2 for writers–poets–with scheduled events, including today, Saturday and Sunday the 27th, the last day of the Burning Man event in Second Life. 

Here’s a few more photos of my visits to Burn2. There’s a huge number of events going on in Second Life at this time as well as in real life this weekend. 

We have to choose. 🙂

 

 

Burn2~ part 4

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BURN2, virtual destinations

Eight more images from my visit to Burn2. This skillet is where I landed after a wild ride.

Burn2 ~ part 3

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BURN2, virtual destinations

I took a friend with me to several places I like to go to and she was surprised at how empty they were. Carefully I suggested that just as she spends a lot of time in her skybox, others do so as well. Sometimes it takes an effort for me to go out too but I usually would rather not log in at all if that’s how I’m feeling. The photo above was taken at Burn2 where I got my awesome gas mask and tinfoil hat.

I got trapped in one of those boxes for a while but eventually got out. By clicking “stand” of course.

When I’d previously gone alone, I noticed that the alien place in the photos above was near the camp of someone I know. She wasn’t at home so I got a couple of beers out of her fridge and rested a while by the campfire in front of her trailer.

Nearby is a temple with lots of great food.

That evening I got tired of walking around looking for the places I wanted to go back to so I appreciated being able to hop on and off of the balloon rides.

I was safe at all times, protected by my hat, no doubt.

Visit to Burn2 ~ part two

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art, BURN2, virtual destinations

Here are more raw shots of my visits to Burn2 of which the SLurls and other details can easily be found on more widely read blogs. In the above photo I’m meditating and if you look closely you can see my protective aluminium foil hat with an electrical charge between the antennae.

There are lots of places to rest including a grouping of caravans with soothing colored tapestries.

There are interactive things and lots of dances to engage in.

There were plots still available. I noticed that some builds were on those 512 plots with 117 prims and I’m curious about whether people can use their premium membership for this. I remember reading that there’s an application process but this seems more accessible than other things in Second Life. Not everything here goes along with the theme and I was puzzled by some things. All skill levels seem to be represented and some areas have avatar’s names and nothing’s there yet.

There are some things that weren’t here on Saturday evening but were added later.

There are many free gifts including textures. There’s information about volunteering for Burn2 and resources for learning to build. One person to contact is Huntress–um I forget her last name. It often seems overwhelming to take steps to be more creative in Second Life but  this event seems more reasonable than most.

One of the things that keeps me in Second Life is the idea that it can be inclusive and that diverse people can express themselves. It’s awesome that some people are really skilled but I would lose interest if it were all about a few SLebrities that we all follow and are in awe of. The photography, blogging, art and making things–when we have an interest and are willing to invest in it, that should be enough.

Our lives are to be participated in instead of keeping our eyes on Stars too much of the time. My opinion and I’m sticking to it.

In the above photo I’m getting sucked up into a space ship along with other things including a cow.

I researched online to see what the theme for Burning Man 2014 will be; at first there was mention of “19th Century”, which I would love but looking into it more, I learned it was a joke.

This is one of my favorites here. You can pose on the circus ball and move the curtains and scenery. When I returned on Sunday night with a friend, she liked it too. The resident who put this one up was there and took a photo of my friend and me and gave us copies.

There are notably friendly and generous people participating in Burn2.

Visit to Burn2 ~ part one

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art, BURN2, virtual destinations

The Burning Man theme this year was Cargo Cult which is also the theme for Burn2. SLurls and overviews can easily be found on widely read blogs. Most of the time I had my sun on the LL viewer set to midnight. I had to teleport out several times to attend to other things and changed the sun so I could see better. Frankly, I wasn’t paying much attention to photography. Avatars ought to experience this in person.

A more detailed view. If I’m recalling correctly, the balloon rides actually go into this huge building. There are frequent balloons going by and you can click on the seat and ride. There’s four seats on each balloon. Also there are ample opportunities to rez vehicles to get around more quickly. I tried one because it looked interesting but I had the usual difficulty steering.

Here above we have a burning pumpkin man. This is actually my second Burn2 post; yesterday I did one on the “Inside Art” plot.

There were a lot of old cargo planes as well as spaceships. This one has a chicken in it.

I can rarely resist getting some stimulation from this monster-maker whenever I come across it in Second Life. I actually own one of these which at the moment is in the basement of a hospital on a Victorian roleplay sim I play in.

There’s a large photo booth where you can click on the background to change it. Up to four people can pose. You’re supposed to be able to drop your full-perm photos in frames near the booth or also into a movie screen. It wasn’t working for me so I sent a notecard to Megan, who has the display plot. She’s aware of the issue and is working on it. You can also send her an url of the photos for the frames and so it isn’t necessary to pay an uploading fee, which goes along with the principles of Burning Man.

There may be a photo album available for those who want one and she may start a flickr group. Her project is about community.

There are lots of pretty lights and also places to do cool and interesting dances. You can see one of the tour balloons in the left of the photo.

This is all for now and I just realized there are no photos of me with my aluminium foil hat. That shall have to wait for another day.

Inside Art at Burn2

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art, BURN2, virtual destinations

“Inside Art” is one of my favorite areas at Burn2 which is filled with amazing creativity and friendly people. All the links and detailed information are very well covered on other blogs. This is about my subjective experience. “Inside Art” has large pieces of art displayed on huge crates. Your avatar can “sit” in the art.

I easily recognize my silhouette in these pictures.  I cropped and softened them, corrected exposure and put a frame on them in picmonkey software.

I’ve taken a lot of photos of Burn2 which I intend to post this week. Most of them will be raw shots; I didn’t take notes and will be writing from memory. My visit was mostly for my own enjoyment but I haven’t seen a lot of blog coverage yet other than overviews. I also haven’t searched images on flickr but I want to share what I have.

I highly recommend checking out Burn2 and perhaps some of my photos will spark an interest in those who think they’re too busy to make time.

Fair warning–regular readers of my blog know I often include myself in the photos. In many of the raw shots I’ll be posting, I’m wearing an awesome tinfoil hat with antennae connected by an electrical charge. I want to wear it for a long, long time.

I went to Burn2 last year. I was only a little over a year old so it was the first year I was aware of it. I also visited and blogged about several Halloween sims. I’m not going back to check my archives but I don’t recall these two going on at the same time.

And things seemed to go on longer last year. Something’s different and more lowkey now; I’m not sure what. Maybe it’s just my perception. Of course everything’s changing rapidly; anyway I’m pleased I’ll have some pictures to throw in here and that I’m getting to experience such an ephemeral event.

Some of these scenes were at an angle and I wasn’t going for perfection; this one above amuses me.

There was some lag and several things didn’t quite work but it was so well worth it for me that I was able to easily have patience. way more so than usual.

I found SL10B to be interesting by I’m enjoying Burn2 much more. And I really love my aluminum foil hat!

Ancient and Future Magic

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RolePlay, shopping, WhiteRaven Designs

When an avatar engages in roleplay and wants something they don’t see in existence, their human can learn to create it for them. That’s what one of my SL friends has done, making Elven items, Cyber-Punk decor and also jewelry for humans like me.

I don’t have the skills to do this yet, but I ask questions about the process of Winter Illios and also visit her inworld store, WhiteRaven Designs occasionally. I’ve tagged along with her when she’s looked for locations for her shop and  have several of the items she’s made, including some that aren’t sold in her store. These have all been gifts, not review copies. 

The photo above was taken at her main inworld location.  I’m not a fashion blogger; you’ll have to click on the photo to make it larger to see the Seraph necklace I’m wearing.

Usually I don’t wear jewelry because I’m lazy and can’t really see it but I like these. They’re available in several different stones and metals. When I asked if she’d make a more simple pairing, a brushed silver metal with a moonstone-like setting she did and named it after me, Pearl Grey. 

The photo above shows the outside the main WhiteRaven Designs store.

Winter has also made several different Asian Tea Houses; I have one of those. There are Rune sets as well.  These items can also be found at her marketplace shop.

One of her favorite items are her Systems Displays. I’ve seen these on the Shadowrun roleplay sim of New Gomorrah. All these different things might seem like an odd mix but they’re useful for roleplay. Winter has played Elven characters on several sims that I know of.

One of her items which she’s gifted me with is a set of low land impact Celtic stepping stones. There are seven different patterns in the set. The photo above was taken in the backyard of my friend Kate’s house which I’ve kind of taken over since she’s rarely online.

I’ve also put them in front of my art cabin where I read sometimes.

She offered me a choice of pattern for a room screen; I liked the Alien Deco 3 the best. Here I have it in the boarding house room I stay at In Wendigo Lake roleplay sim.

Wendigo Lake, which is still in beta. (/me sighs.)

When I learn to create things I might first make replicas of some real life antiques that my typist owns. I don’t know why we like multiple copies of items but I’m not going to over-think that one.

A while back I came across one of Winter’s stores inworld after having been coerced into joining someone who was doing a hunt; it was nearby to the store that was actually in the hunt. She’s since left that area.

The main inworld WhiteRaven Designs has quiet places around it to hang out; the Elven and Celtic influences can be seen.

Veil of Darkness

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Calas Galadhon, Halloween, Veil of Darkness, virtual destinations

Veil of Darkness is this year’s Halloween offering from the creators of the Calas Galadhon Park sims. There’s so much to see and I’m glad I made time from my usual Second Life shenanigans to check it out.

I used the region settings for light but kept my graphics low. It needs to be seen in person to be appreciated. Going with friends would be enjoyable as well as exploring alone like I did. You’ll find you aren’t really alone as the area is populated with the undead, severed remnants and all sorts of other interesting things.

Some of the things you’ll encounter are amusing and some are gruesome.

Here I’m caught in the web of a giant spider. I managed to escape.

I didn’t get too terribly lost in the maze-like interior of the castle; I believe I saw most of it. I made it to the top and rested proudly for having survived the quicksand and ogres and such I endured on the way to the castle. But I couldn’t find my way out and had to teleport.

Yesterday I posted some photos of the swamp raft tour. Attention to the sound details are very well done as are the visuals treats.