Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, October 11th
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Current release viewer Love Me Render #4 RC viewer, version 6.4.9.549455, containing just the fixes for EEP, released on September 24th, promoted, September 28th.
Walsh County, October 2020 – click any image for full size
When we first visited Walsh County, the Homestead region designed by Randonee Noel, back in August, it had not long opened. Following that visit, it got stuck in my list of places to write about, and so prompted a recent re-visit.
The region takes as its inspiration Walsh County, North Dakota, a place that describes itself as “a land of prairies, croplands, river valleys, and rolling hills.” The primary source of income for the county comes from farming, predominantly small grain, cash crops, forage crops, together with beef, dairy cattle and swine. It’s the first of these – grain crops – is the focus for the region design.
Walsh Country, October 2020
Cupped within a region surround that folds itself into the the setting to give a look and feel of gently rolling prairies with distant hills, the region is given over to a broad field that takes up most of its area, bordered by a the dirt track of a public road along its southern edge, and cut by a farm track to the north. Within this expanse is a small pool of water and a single tree, what might be a mid-field picnic area extending a short distance outward from the tree’s leafy shade.
When we first visited in August, the region was in an early summer setting: a young crop covered the land in a green carpet, whilst a crop duster making periodic passes across the field, painting it in stripes of pesticide – or perhaps in fertilizer, if the aircraft was engaged in aerial topdressing.
Walsh Country, October 2020
Seeing the ‘plane repeatedly passing over the field immediately put me in mind of Cary Grant being buzzed by a crop duster in Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest, and suggested plenty of opportunities for photographs playing homage to the movie. So much so, that I was surprised not to come across any in the region’s Flickr stream, which made me a little regretful of not producing such a photo myself 😀 .
That said, it is really small details – coupled with the open rezzing (with a 30-min auto-return limit) that meant people could make their own scenes within region – that made, and continue to make, the region so attractive. These range from the poses on things like the boards that cross the stream bordering the field, to the paper boats that periodically pass under it to float by the ducks paddling downstream, to the paper aeroplane that can be thrown into the air with a simple touch (“/3 stop” – minus the quotes – will settle it back on the ground), and more.
Walsh County, October 2020
Since that first visit, time has moved on; the crops have grown and and the harvest is due. And this has brought with it another touch with the region: the fact that it can change not only with the season, but also periodically. The harvester (complete with its own poses), for example, might on one day be engaged in cutting the crop, on another it may be off-loading its grain tank into a tractor-towed trailer, then on another – as with my most recent visit – sitting on the farm track waiting to commence work.
Other details have been added for the time of year as well – geese fly overhead, presumably getting an early start to a southern migration, whilst the little picnic area offers a touch of Halloween with a pumpkin patch. In another touch – which may have been there from the opening, and I simply don’t recall from our initial visit – a small family grave plot marks the fact that most of Walsh County’s farms are family-run.
Walsh County, October 2020
Engaging from the start, Walsh County presents – as numerous bloggers have already noted – an attractive offering for photographers and explorers to visit.
With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare for the original pointer to the region.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Monday, October 12th: Running from the Deity
Gyro Muggins reads the 10th (chronologically speaking) story of Alan Dean Foster’s Pip and Flinx series.
Continuing his pursuit of an alien weapon’s platform, the Krang, Flinx finds himself heading into the Blight. However, his ship, Teacher, announces it is in need of repairs and that while its autonomic systems can handle them, it will nevertheless need raw materials from a planet. Flinx therefore opts to land on the nearest world – the planet the “Arrawd”, place roughly equivalent in technology to Earth in 19th century – and therefore normally forbidden as a destination within the Humanx Commonwealth.
The planet has a lower gravity than more Humanx worlds, something that benefits Flinx physically – but things go awry when he injures himself and is forced into the care of a local couple, who find his abilities and technology – if the expression might be used – out of their world.
Despite his protestations, Flinx finds himself increasingly the centre of attention and the idea that he is some kind of deity – and while he finds himself drawn to the less complicated life on Arrawd and the fact it separates him from all the cares and worries he faces in the Commonwealth, he realises he must leave.
Unfortunately, by the time he arrives it this conclusion, three of the governments on the planet have decided to wage war in order to “earn” his blessings and claim him as their deity. And so, reluctantly, he has no other option but to both get involved in matters whilst simultaneously trying to escape the world view that he is some kind of god.
Tuesday, October 13th:
12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen
Music, poetry, and stories in a popular weekly session at Ceiluradh Glen.
19:00: Odd and the Frost Giants
Willow Moonfire reads Neil Gaiman’s story, originally written for World Book Day.
Winter isn’t coming – it’s refusing to go away, but no-one understands why.
Not only that, but Odd has run away from home, despite the fact he can barely walk and has to use a crutch. Nevertheless, he finds his way to the forest, where he encounters three animals: a bear, a fox, and an eagle, and they have a strange story to tell. Listening to them, Odd realises he must now embark on a strange journey, one he can barely imagine.
For he must now set out and save nothing less that Asgard, City of the Norse Gods. For it has been invaded by the Frost Giants, and while they hold it, winter will not pass away.
It’s going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and free the mighty Gods. A boy who is resolute, cheerful and infuriating and clever…
On All Hallows Eve, young Pipkin is due to meet his eight friends outside a haunted house on the edge of town. But as runs through the gathering gloom, Something sweep him away.
Arriving at the house in expectation of meeting Pipkin, his eight friends instead encounter the mystical Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who informs them that Pipkin has been taken on a journey that could determine if he lives or dies.
Aided by Moundshroud and using the tail of a kite, the eight friends pursue Pipkin through time and space, passing through the past civilisations of the Egypt, Greece, Roman, the Celts … witnessing all that has given rise to the day they know as “Halloween”, and the role things like ghosts and the dead play in it.
Then, at length they come to the Halloween Tree, laden with jack-o’-lanterns, its branches representing the confluence of all these traditions, legends and tales, drawing them together into itself…
Thursday, October 15th, 19:00 The Book of Kindly Deaths
Seeking clues to her grandfather’s disappearance, Eliza Winter finds a hidden room in his Gothic house and finds a hidden room. Within it, only moonlight falls through the stained glass of the window, no matter what the time of day, to illuminate a tome that awaits a reader – The Book of Kindly Deaths.
Believing the book might hold a clue to her grandfather’s whereabouts, Eliza opens it to find it filled with tales dark and sinister – and through its pages, discovers that nothing in the world is quite what it seems and the darkness of tales can be terrifyingly real.
Before long, Eliza finds herself forced into battle against her darkest fears to save her family from the book’s guardian, the horrifying ghoul Grim Shivers. And as the pages turn, she finds herself tumbling into the heart of the Grimwytch, a haunted world of terrifying monsters where it’s forever midnight.
Offering a rich mix of dark fantasy, original storytelling, sprinkled with a touch of Lovecraft and a soup·çon of Gaiman, and finished with an author’s name superbly suited to the weaving of dark tales, The Book of Kindly Deaths is a tale that has never failed to please lovers of mystery tinged with dark happenings.
Saturday, October 17th, 13:00 The Baba Yaga at the Haunted Hollow
Caledonia shares adventures from Folk lore, and some more modern version, of the famed Russian Witch, at Haunted Hollow. There will be a teleport from the main landing point of this month-long Halloween event.
October sees Akim Alonzo’s Itakos Project gallery host an exhibition of art that chimed a strong bell with me, thanks in part to my cosmological interest in astronomy, space exploration and science fiction. Located in the Black hall of the gallery, Space Oddity features a selection of 14 images that are predominantly monochrome in tone, with just touches of colour that give them an almost heartbeat-like splash of life.
It’s an exhibition that apparently grew out of a common interest both Caly and Akim share for the beauty of deep space, and also a mutual love of the music of David Bowie. Given Caly’s attraction to things like cybernetic enhancements and the use of prostheses in her avatar images, these interests combine to present a selection of 14 pieces that are framed by two stanzas from Bowie’s 1969 single, Space Oddity, released just five days ahead of the launch of Apollo 11 and which itself drew inspiration from the Kubrick / Clarke masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This is Major Tom to Ground Control I’m stepping through the door And I’m floating in the most peculiar way And the stars look very different today
– David Bowie, Space Oddity, 1969
These 14 images take us on a voyage, one that wonderfully encompasses several elements, all of which could be said to be reflective of thoughts of space – inner and outer – whilst touching on elements of identity and of human progression and the state of the world around us.
Itakos Project: Space Oddity by Caly Applewhyte
Intentional or not, the offered images appear to be split into three groups, each with its own story, each of which it turn goes beyond the subject our deep space.
On entering the hall and turning to the left, the far end features a series of avatar images set against backdrops that seem to offer up views of who we are and what we might become, indicated by the various cybernetic and machine elements evident in some, and also by the almost tribal-like markings, some red and some blue. They also frame both the reality of our place in the cosmos (star fields and black voids suggestive of endless space) and the conceit that once attempted to put us at the centre of the universe (a head at the centre of an orrery, the planets orbiting around it).
A further set show a hardsuited figure on a planetary surface, mechanical hands clutching a posey of daisies. These again perhaps offer a mix of themes. On the one hand, they could indicate the wonder of the universe that somewhere out there, one day, on another world, we may well encounter the beauty of life (represented by the daises), that we will cherish. But might they also tell other stories? One perhaps that not matter how far we progress in space, Earth – as represented by the daisies – will always call to us? Or another that stands as a warning that if we do not start nurturing the world around us, the only way we might come to see its open spaces is from within the confines of hardsuits, the promise of life a scarce an precious find within its barren fields?
Itakos Project: Space Oddity by Caly Applewhyte
For here am I sitting in my tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do
– David Bowie, Space Oddity, 1969
The final group of images take us to the original theme of the exhibition as discussed by Caly and Akim: that of floating in space. But here again the interpretation of the images is mixed.
On the one hand, the presence of the odd little fish, with their translucent scales revealing their skeletal forms suggest some of these images don’t represent outer space, but the inner space of an ocean. But is this again the ocean of another world, and the fish its strange inhabitants? Or is it a reminder that there is a vast “cosmos” around us on this very planet within the oceans that make up the majority of its surface, there is much that we have yet to discover – including the wonder of lifeforms of which we’ve remained ignorant for so long? It is, again for you to decide the narrative – although, as with the other images, selecting one story does not exclude any of these others.
Itakos Project: Space Oddity by Caly Applewhyte
Multi-layered, beautifully presented Space Oddity is a marvellously engaging exhibit that should be seen by all who appreciate art that stirs both the heart and the mind.
Time Remains, October 2020 – click any image for full size
Travel through Time along a beach side woodland.
So reads the description forTime Remains, the Hometead region held and designed by Aura (Akiko Tripsa). It’s a place we dropped into back in September (thanks, again, to the pointer from Shawn Shakespeare), but which I’ve just got around to writing about – so my apologies to Aura for the delay.
Time Remains, October 2020
Bracketed in a couple of corners by curtains of rock, the setting is generally low-lying and split into three islands, two of which lie to the east side of the region and run north-to south, separated by a narrow channel of water. The third occupies the south-western side of the region, a bay of restless water to its north.
A small south-facing headland on the southernmost of the east side islands is home to the landing point, a large gazebo offering group information and a nearby sign informing you that you’re about to enter someone’s dream. Pass through an arch beyond the sign, and you’ll find yourself in an area enigmatically called Past – the remaining islands forming Present and Future.
Time Remains, October 2020
To what these labels might refer is open to personal interpretation. Could they designed to trigger thoughts of our own lives and relationship? Are they more general labels simply to distinguish the three islands, or do they have more of a personal meaning for Aura? These are questions that visitors might ponder as they wander under the shade of trees, over the short grass and along the occasional paved roads and paths.
Certainly, there is nothing specific is terms of décor that might tie one of the islands to its label – Present, for example, has a building that his hints of the 1960s and 70’s about it, while Future is firmly rooted in the décor found throughout all three islands. All of this adds to the enigmatic attractiveness to the region as a whole.
Time Remains, October 2020
Buildings lie scattered across all three islands, some in better condition than others. They all offer multiple places to hang-out when visiting, each uniquely dressed with its own identity. Some appear to mix periods, as noted above, others lie as simple places to sit and cuddle with a few added accoutrements of comfort, still others of suggestions place places in regular use – artists’ corners and the like. All are engaging in their design and set out in such a way that even when two or three are gathered together, the spirit of privacy sits between them.
The beach mentioned in the About Land description skirts the edges of the two eastern islands, forming a ribbon along one and almost encircling the other. Comprising shingle rather than sand, it forms a natural edge to both islands that neatly separates their green coast with a colder cast of the waters around them without being too bright a marker of the division, as might be the case were it to be sandy in nature.
Time Remains, October 2020
While bushes may in places indicate set routes through parts of the islands, together with ladders focusing visitors towards certain points when move between different elevations in the slightly undulating landscape, this is really a place where the feet can pretty much carry you where they will. This is turn allows for natural discoveries to be made along the way – such as the field of aged pianos – to be made quite naturally. Not even the short stretches of road and sidewalk found with some of the buildings demand people necessarily follow them. Thus, Time Remains invites open and free-form exploration, the individual buildings an locations found throughout not only offering places to sit and pass the time, but also for photography and posing.
Engaging, photogenic, rich in small details that catch the eye, Time Remains makes for an ideal visit for both the Second Life explorer and photographer.
The October 2020 exhibition at the Third Eye Gallery, curated by Jaz (Jessamine2108), brings with it a selection of art by Poppy (Popikone) and a second by Thus Yootz, both of who present pieces that are captivating to the eye and rich in narrative.
Poppy is a physical world photographer who discovered Second Life somewhat by chance: whilst entering various physical world photo challenges presented through Flickr she came across the work of Second Life photographer and became entranced by what she saw to the point of signing-up and getting involved. Since joining, she has become deeply involved in in-world photography to the point that she notes she has a backlog of around 2,000 images she has yet to process and upload.
Third Eye Gallery: Poppy (Popikone)
Despite this, Poppy has never publicly exhibited her work in SL until Jaz approached her about this exhibition. Within it, she presents 26 images that are somewhat thematically defined as you view them, with some focused on water and boats, others on landscapes, and others on avatar and art. These are presented in a number of styles, some of which are mindful of painting styles (Girl in Blue) for example, with its Neo Impressionism overtones), others of which might be said to lean more towards Expressionism or Abstract). Many have a rich vein of narrative within them, some quite captivatingly so, while her use of colour brings her landscape images very much to life.
Third Eye Gallery: Poppy (Popikone)
Narrative is also very much present within Thus Yootz’s work. With an MA in art, Thus has no fear in experimenting in style and genre, and here she presents a total of nine pieces, each individual and unique, encompassing a range of themes as well as artistic styles. Within some, there is a sense of abstract expressed through the use of colour (I Wish the fog would Lift and Sunny Summer Filled with Colour). Others offer rich studies, and I found myself particularly drawn to Sola Festa and – most particularly – Fantasy Garden Statues, which has a stunning depth and richness of story to it that is remarkable.
This is only the third time I’ve witnessed Thus’ work on display, and as the first two times her work was part of a larger ensemble exhibition, it is the first time I’ve been able to study it in the depth it deserves – and I hope to see more in the future as it is genuinely evocative.
Third Eye Gallery: Thus Yootz
Similarly, I hope that following this exhibition, Poppy will accept further opportunities to display her work – and gallery owners will seek her out as well, as she is richly deserving of the opportunity.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 