Category: Exploring Second Life

One of my favourite places for meeting people in-world is the Cheeky Tiramisu café, owned and operated by Yasyn Azemus. I originally blogged about it way back in December 2012, and while I’ve met with many friends and interviewees since then, I’ve never actually written any more about it, except in passing. This being the case, I set out recently to rectify matters.

The region in which the café sits has divided into a number of islands, around the between which lay open water, all of which is enclosed by surrounding off-sim mountains. As was the case when I first blogged about the region, it is currently in the grips of a snowy winter; however it does change through the year to match the seasons.

The café itself occupies the largest of the islands, occupying the south-east quarter of the sim. here you’ll find a welcoming places to sit and chat with friends and acquaintances, either inside the beautiful brick-and-wood café building (designed by Yasyn), or out on the front terrace or the rear deck, both of which are warmed by blazing braziers. For those seeking a little more privacy, there are a number of seating spots and cosy areas to be found with the café‘s grounds, including a reading nook beside a warm spring.

Follow one of the paths through the grounds, and it will take you down a set of steps to the water’s edge and a floating deck complete with a pedalo you can use to explore the island from the water (you can also rez a rowing boat at a little wooden pier on one of the waterways dividing the islands). Or, if you follow the path onwards from the steps and across a rope bridge, you’ll find a sheltered garden with shine and, beyond it, a Japanese bath house

Walk inland from the café, and a series of bridges in varying styles will lead you to the other occupied islands. While these may at first appear to be residential in nature, all are in fact open to the public. The water mill, for example, houses a small tavern specialising in wine (and with dancing on the porch), while Kio’s little house built out over a pond offers another warm welcome to visitors.

Rezzing is allowed with the region (15 minute auto return), and those wanting to use a few props for photography are welcome to do so – but do please clean-up behind you, auto return notwithstanding.

As noted at the top of this piece, Cheeky Tiramisu is a quiet favourite of mine; so if you are looking for a little P&Q while in-world, why not pay it a visit?

Related Links

• Cheeky Tiramisu SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

Opening at 14:00 SLT on Saturday, January 10th is a new series of three regions aimed at encouraging Second Life users to consider the natural world around us and the wildlife that inhabits it.

Makeahla Jungle covers three homestead regions, provided by Makeahla alongside of her private home, all of which offer a semi-tropical environment with sandy ground, high rocky plateaus, deep gorges and a mix of tropical and more temperate trees, in which can be found a wide range of wildlife: elephants, hippos, monkeys, crocodiles, orang-utans, lions, giraffe, black rhinos… and more, all to be discovered and explored.

The regions have been landscaped by Mz Marville, who IM’d me about them and offered to give me a preview tour, which I was delighted to accept. There is no overall “theme” or intent within the jungle in terms of visitor activity, other than – as noted, to get people thinking about the natural world. so where you wander after your arrival is entirely up to you – there are some spots available for sitting and cuddling; but mostly this is a place for exploring and photography.

While there is no over-arching aim to the regions, there is something of a mini-theme evident in the arrival region – Makeahla East, which is dedicated to the northern white rhino, ceratotherium simum cottoni, a species of rhinoceros which is to all intents and purposes now extinct, there being only 5 left in the world. While all are kept in captivity or under protection from hunters, it is unlikely they will successfully breed, even with artificial assistance, due to a combination of age and health issues.

“When Makeahla Commisioned me to do this series of sims, the first thing I thought was to dedicate one of them to preserving the memory of these white rhinos,”  Mz Marville, told me as she guided me around the regions. That should a thought would come to her will be no surprise to anyone who knows her – conservation is very much at the centre of her thoughts, hence her involvement in projects such as the Matoluta Sanctuary, which I first visited in July 2014.

The crisis for the northern white rhino was brought to a head in 2014, when in September 34-year-old male Suni died at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, which provides a protected haven for rhinos against ivory poachers. Then, in December, Angalifu, a 44-year-old male died at San Diego Zoo. Nor is the northern white rhino entirely alone; It is estimated that the Javan rhino may number fewer than 60, and the number of black rhino has fallen to around 4,000 world-wide.

To help commemorate the species, the plan is to have a number of people present at the opening dressed in rhino avatars created by Rosie Dimanovic, who will be the special guest for the event, and also in the rhino avatar. “I have a flyer being made about the rhinos,” Mz Marville explained, “it will go into a note card for visitors.”

Those attending the opening are not required to wear animal avatars – although if they wish to, there will be no objections, and Rosie’s store might be a good place to start when looking for something appropriate. Unlikely Matoluta Sanctuary, there will be no formalised role-play within these regions, although I understand from Mz Marville that any spontaneous free-form RP that occurs while not be frowned upon.

For the photographer, there is much to offer within the regions, which avail themselves to a wide range of windlight settings. Rezzing was open during my preview tour – although whether this remains the case for the opening or beyond is unclear; if it does remain open, please make sure you pick up any props after you. I also understand that there are no plans to offer any form of group membership for rezzing rights, as Makeahla would like to simply encourage anyone interested to visit and explore.

Related Links

• Makeahla Jungle SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

In September 2014, I visited The Chamber Library, the literary project undertaken by Storm Septimus which presents visitors with the opportunity to relax with works of literature and poetry from a wide range of authors, including TS Eliot, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, Voltaire, HG Wells and The Brothers Grimm – with more titles and authors being added.

However, a lot has changed wince that first post, and so I thought I’d start 2015 off with a return visit – or rather, a visit to the Library’s new location. Because that is perhaps the biggest change wrought; rather than sitting high over a mainland region, the Library now occupies a homestead region of its own entitled Decay (aka Hall of Heroes).

The Library is still located up in the air, but there is now a ground-level location to visit as well, centred on an ageing conservatory. This lies in the midst of a flooded land, a place where the sea has already laid claim to the lowest level of the local lighthouse, a place canted at an angle, perhaps broken and tipped by the ebb and flow of tides washing away the sands around its base. Close by, stranded on its side lies the hulk of a trawler, long deserted.

Slowly being encroached upon by water on all sides, the conservatory nevertheless offers a place to sit and pass the time, or dance for a while. Clues to the Library’s presence can be found – a typewriter with faded pages scattered around it, a small pile of books on a table, and a chaise lounge with bookcase behind it, watched over by two ravens. Should you find yourself landing in the conservatory whilst trying to reach the Library – look to this bookcase for assistance.

The overall design of the Library remains as it was during its incarnation at Hugues, the main difference being that it currently comprises just two levels (a third was in development at Hugues), and each level (I think) has more chambers than previously. Some of the décor has been changed, and not every chamber (yet) offers bookcases, but all present opportunities to sit and read, or chat quietly with a friend. Teleporters in the form of wooden doors link the levels of the Library and the Library to the ground, but do be aware they can be a tad bit bouncy!

Short stories and poems are preferred, and Storm is always looking for contributions; there is a large section devoted to resident’s own original writings, The INFO sign on the floor of the arrival chamber offers details on the Library, and pointers for those wishing to provide material. Reading matter can be obtained by clicking on a bookcase of interest, browsing the list of available titles and then picking something you’d like to read, which will be delivered in note card format.

In September 2014, I noted that The Chamber Library offered an interesting addition to Second Life; with this move, it will hopefully become even more of a feature, and one people will both visit and make use of.

Related Links

• The Chamber Library SLurl (Rated Moderate)
• The Chamber Library on Storm’s blog

 

Storybrooke Gardens, Baja Norte (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Lauren Bentham has brought a fairytale winter to Storybrooke Gardens, high over her Baja Norte region (which I last wrote about more than 18 months ago!). Snow falls across the garden’s trails and paths, layering them in a soft blanket as sunlight slants through frosted white branches of trees, and lanterns drift on the breeze.

Along the tracks and paths circling around and cutting through the gardens, a variety of animals and fairytale folk can be found, some sitting or standing on their own, others forming delightful vignettes, such as the little chipmunks gathered in a tiny field, or the bears and raccoons looking like they’re trying to deal with the excesses of Christmas one way or another.

Storybrooke Gardens, Baja Norte (Flickr)

There is a wonderful attention to detail here; so much so that a casual visit may not reveal all there is to see. To help you take everything in, there are a number of places to sit, either on your own or with a companion, if visiting together.

Tucked away in the south-east corner of the gardens is a little snowbound cottage which is more than likely a photographer’s delight (I confess to snapping it from several angles and then having a play around in GIMP, as shown in the topmost image here). Nearby, and whom you might encounter first depending on the path you follow to the cottage, little fairy folk hover around bright hued mushrooms across the road from a little camp site …

Storybrooke Gardens, Baja Norte (Flickr)

If you are still seeking a little P&Q after the excess of Christmas, real or virtual, Storybrooke Gardens might be just the ticket.

Related Links

• Storybrooke Gardens direct SLurl (Rated: Moderate)