Category: Reviews

I’ve recently received several suggestions / invitations for region visits, which I’m trying to work my way through in some semblance of order – thank you to everyone who sends them by IM, note card or via the blog itself.

One of the locations passed to me a couple of weeks back was for ChicLand. It came via Morgana Carter after I wrote about Poison Rouge (see: Sampling some Poison Rouge in Second Life), with a note accompanying it to explain that like that region, ChicLand is both the home of a store – Lilo Denimore’s ChicChica  (I’m using the region’s formal designation in this piece to differentiate it from the store) – and a landscaped public setting open to visitors, so might I be interested in taking a look?

A Full region, Chicland is a setting of multiple parts. The store itself is located in the sky, reached via a teleport in the from of a large arrow at the main landing point. As such, it does not intrude into the multi-faceted landscape that flows outwards from the landing point to offer a rich assortment of locations and ideas to explore, appreciate and photograph.

At the foot of the steps leading down from the landing point is a broad French  boulevard, lined by the façades of tall town houses and places of business, vehicles parked at the roadside and under the shade of the richly blossoming trees that march down either side of the road.  Blossom petals drift on the breeze that’s gently funnelled by the height of the houses, the fluttering of the petals attracting the attention of a local cat. Static NPCs provide further depth to the scene, the mother and daughter in front of the ice cream kiosk particularly grabbing attention thanks to the upturns cone on the path nearby its former topping now oozing over the concrete suggesting a slight accident has prompted a return to the kiosk to stem the resultant upset.

The road winds on to pass under the single span of an elevated walkway (that it goes nowhere makes no difference, it acts as a unique form of gateway) to arrive at a fresh produce market that offers a view across the region whilst remaining separated from it by the surrounding wrought iron fence; to reach the landscape beyond the fence it is necessary to either jump it or, more easily, re-trace steps and find an alternative route – thus encouraging exploration.

One of these alternate routes reveals the cleverness in parts of the design: one of the façades of town houses is double-sided. On the one side it forms an aspect of the street scene first encountered on leaving the landing point, whilst on the other it offers another row of of house fronts overlooking a marvellous walled garden space (one of two in the region, in fact, the other being alongside the produce market). The use of the façade in this way thus gives the impression the urban aspect of the region is much larger than its actual footprint.

The walled garden here offers a lot to take in, including a path through to the rest of the region – although you do have to pick your way through the flowers growing around the borders of the garden space in order to reach the gates. Beyond the garden sits open countryside through which a stream meanders and which is watched over on the far side by a Tuscan style farmhouse sitting atop a low butte of rock and reached by a rough park.

A dusty track winds across this open landscape from the bridge connecting it with the town’s garden. This passes along the side of an orchard that straddles the path up to the farmhouse, and points the way to more places to discover: a little pergola where tea from a samovar might be enjoyed with some sweet desserts, and also a vine-enshrouded garden bar where a more varied selection of refreshments might be had. There’s also a playground and a Romany caravan to be enjoyed along the way, each offering views across the stream to two eye-catching terrariums.

From the end of one arm of this dusty track, a grassy trail points the way onwards to the lee of the rocky table on which the farm house is perched. It leads to a cosy vineyard where the freshly decanted produce of vine and fermentation might be sampled in comfort.

Lightly furnished and sitting slightly above a walled courtyard, the farmhouse offers another retreat – although how to reach it from the courtyard may initially have you guessing, given it appears to sit on a sheer-sided block of rock with no visible steps cut into it. But check around to one of the sides, and you’ll find a steep, grassy slope provides the means to scramble up to the house. The courtyard itself is home to a little vegetable garden and cows and geese, both of which make it a little noisy, but for those who do not mind and farmyard noises, further freshly press grape juice and nibbles at a table are awaiting enjoyment.

All of this and several more elements I’ve not mentioned in the piece make ChicLand a joy to explore. Each of these elements stands both as a part of and a part from, the whole, offering both a continuous setting and a series of individual vignettes that can uniquely catch the eye and / or camera lens. However, what I found particularly attractive were all the little touches awaiting discovery that give the region a sense of life.

There’s the mother / daughter vignette at the ice cream kiosk I mentioned earlier, complete with dropped cone. It is balanced by a woman holding up a small boy, both of them looking to the same point, inviting the suggestion they are posing for a photograph. There are also little touches of humour awaiting discovery – and I do mean little! – as anyone who spots grandpa gnome, his audience and his clearly less-than-happy wife will doubtless agree!

Rich in detail throughout whilst avoiding overly taxing the viewer, ChicLand has much by which to commend itself to the casual visitor and the Second Life explorer alike, with the teleport up to the store offering the chance to mix a little shopping with exploration and photography.

Slurl Details

• ChicLand (rated: Moderate)

A tweet from Second Life blogger and photographer Rig Torok concerning one of his recent region outings set a bell clanging in the back of my head when it showed up in my time line. It featured an image of, and URL to, a place called The Divide,  was sure we’d visited in the not-to-distant past, but which which failed to show up on my listed of blogged destinations.

That prompted me to rifle through Windows Explorer, and sure enough, there was a folder from December 2019 with a couple of photos of the setting, some rough notes  – and nothing else; so we’d clearly visited, but for whatever reason, had either never fully explored or I’d simply forgotten to go back for photos and write-up thoughts for a post. Hopefully, this piece will therefore make up for things.

The work of Xen (Xenia Nordberg) and Coriel (Coriel7766), and sitting on a sky platform over a Full private region that leverages the Land Impact bonus, The Divide is described as a study of contrasts, an expression of duality inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki.

For those unfamiliar with Miyazaki, he is a Japanese Anime artist, writer, director and producer of animated films. He is internationally regarded as one of the accomplished film-makers and story tellers in the history of animation. His work is characterised by a range of recurrent themes, including humanity’s relationship with nature and technology, elements of which are evident within The Divide, both directly and indirectly.

Humanity’s relationship with nature is perhaps most clearly shown in the divide within the setting: to one side, and containing the landing point, sits a very Japanese theme town or village. To the other lies a sinuous, climbing valley, the separator between the two a narrow river channel spanned by bridges.

On the one hand, these two settings speak of both more prevalent aspect of our relationship with nature in our standing apart from it in our towns and cities of concrete and glass whilst constraining its presence to parks and gardens. On the other it represents our underlying need to embrace nature and the escape it can offer in its open spaces and amongst its flora and fauna.

The town itself is a marvellously compact affair that packs a lot into it, which  admittedly can make moving through it a little heavy going thanks to things like texture loads; I found it easier to disable shadow rendering entirely other than when actually taking snapshots, just to get the textures to load in a little faster and to offer smoother walking / camming. Streets run between an assorted collection of buildings, bunting and lanterns stretched overhead as if for a festival, a subway station hinting at a connection with places further afield whilst hiding a surprise.

While a good number of the town’s buildings are simple façades, others offer interiors to be explored, adding depth to the setting’s sense of place. Little side gardens may also await discovery, again harking back to the idea of our relationship with nature in the manner they offer retreats from the hustle of the street life just a few metres away. An interesting curio sits on the west side of the town: a mushroom-like rock rising above the surrounding buildings, topped by an ancient ruin that is itself home to a able-top D&D style game.

The human / technology reference is also much in evidence throughout, from the very obvious – all the neon signage, the vehicles, and so on – to the more subtle (anyone spot the reference to a certain film franchise focused on technology?). There’s also the pointers to the speed of modern life such as the “fast food” kiosks for grabbing a bite while on the move, countered by little temple-like places where life can be put on pause and more spiritual matters addressed.

Across the water, the valley and parkland offers the means to escape and explore and presents an interesting mix of themes and ideas. There are Chinese elements such as the of pandas in their bamboo copse, for example, and more studies in our relationship with nature, notably typified by the little shrines along the path that climbs up into the hills.

To the south of the setting, beyond a bamboo curtain sits a ramshackle home. Reached via a concrete bridge, it again echoes the ideals of relationship: humans living within nature, with our relationship with technology represented through the use of a converted shipping container for the house – the same kind of contain that is used to transport all our little electronic and computerised gizmos around the globe aboard massive ships guided by satellites circling the world high overhead.

Some of the landscaping along the valley and its climbs could perhaps do with a little tidying up, but as long as you follow the paths and steps, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue in finding your way around. Make your way all the way to the top of the steps that wind up through the head of the valley, a zipline awaits to offer a faster way back down – just mind the trees on your way!

Rich in detail, expressive in design, The Divide presents a lot to be discovered and enjoyed. My thanks to Rig for the reminder.

Slurl Details

• The Divide (Radiator springs, rated Adult)

Enchanting Small Town is a homestead region design by Nataly Moonwall that opened earlier in the year, but which I’ve only recently managed to hop across to and see. For those seeking something of a urban setting for photography (albeit sans props, as there is no group available for rezzing rights), it could be a useful place to visit.

Step away from the stresses of life and chill in this realistic small town. A place to hang out & explore. Take great pictures. Beautiful, relaxing beach. Café, Playground, Jazz Club and more! Enjoy.

– Enchanting Small Town About Land description

Compact in size and easy to explore, the setting very much has a US West Coast vibe to it, set out as a waterfront location overlooking a sloping beach and backed by taller buildings and hills and suggest it could be part of a larger coastal setting.

The beach and the waterfront are the focal point, the latter comprising a main road that doubles as parking for the beach, being a dead end. Behind it sits a large, modern house that appears open to the public – although the sign on the main gates offers a stark warning to trespassers! The general design of the house, complete with infinity pool to the rear (which may have worked better facing the open sea), oozes wealth. But for me, it wasn’t the house – as excellently furnished as it is – that held my attention.

Bracketing it are two pedestrianised areas that caught my attention the most. One is fronted by what looks to be a recent development of boutique shops adjacent to a subway entrance and small newspaper kiosk. This area runs around to an older part of town with apartment houses and narrow streets that is fronted by a motel entrance.

The entire layout here suggests that at one time the waterfront road may have continued around to the motel, but the construction of the boutique shops prompted the broader pedestrianisation and the opening of the subway station entrance / exit.

The main entrance to the subway lies beyond the motel, where the West Coast feel starts to merge with a sense of the the other side of the United States: the signage for the station (and that over the smaller entrance / exit) would clearly be more at home in New York. While there may not be a station under the entrance, it points the way to the local jazz club, a cosy place that sits within a neighbourhood that again perhaps suggests New York than Santa Monica, further adding to the region’s mix of West Coast / East Coast vibe.

To the other side of the main house is a further pedestrian thoroughfare that leads to to a small recreational park. It is home to one of those small community supermarkets together with a bubble tea café for those needing some refreshment; it’s the kind of place someone might come to people watch, although it is currently more home to the local pigeons and doves.

Whilst most of the buildings in the region are façades, places like the café, the supermarket and jazz club, as well as the furnished house, add depth to the setting by providing places for people to go to and spend time within. Further depth is added by the inclusion of areas of the setting including props such as cars, etc., but which are not currently directly accessible, suggesting things could be moved around to present different areas to explore.

With the beach awaiting swimmers and sunbathers, a beach bar waiting to serve cocktails and opportunities for photography throughout, Enchanting Small Town makes for an easy, engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Enchanting Small Town (NCD, rated Moderate)

We were drawn back to Lam Erin’s Cherishville on the advice of region super sleuth Shawn Shakespeare, who noted to me the region has relocated since our last visit in mid-2020, and has been redressed for the spring season.

The last time we visited, Cherishville has been given a look of tropical splendour that mixed a splash of the Caribbean with a twist of the Mediterranean, whilst also carrying a sense of timelessness. For the new setting, the region – now referred to as Cherishville II – has moved to a somewhat more temperate climate in terms of its setting. However, while sporting a new look, it retains that air of timelessness.

I say this because as you explore the region, elements pop-up that give cause to consider it to be in a certain period, but then others appear to suggest something else. For example, on arrival I felt I’d dropped into a coastal setting that is in the immediate post World War II era. A 1940s Citroen is parked at the roadside, whilst a worn-out 50’s style car is slowly being overtaken by grass and weeds. Similarly, a boat moored close by has that 40’s / 50’s styling about it, whilst across the water the ruins of a large house look as if they are the result of ordinance of some kind having struck it. But then, in looking around, other details surface that suggest the region is placed in a more recent period.

Take, for example, the ruined house; it sits on one arm of the local harbour’s cove, the east and west ends still standing, the middle long gone, the wreckage having been cleared so that the space created might be used as the outdoor forecourt to a café-bar. This sits slightly set back from the ruin as you look at it, and is of a distinctly modern architectural form – that of a giant coffee mug, complete with handle, its brickwork almost pristine – suggesting it belongs to more recent times then the post-war years. Similarly, the two motorbikes parked outside of the old walls to the property suggest they are far more recent than the 40s or 50s, particularly given the off-road looks of one of them.

These dichotomies extend to the overall design of the region, which tends to suggest it might lie somewhere along the Atlantic coast of France (allowing for the presence of the surrounding mountains, hardly a feature of the western coast of that country!), but which can also awaken thoughts of the more remote parts of the North American continent, or in my case (again allowing for the off-region mountains)  in places brought to mind thoughts of Cornwall or Ireland. Thus, a further layer of magic is added to the scene.

The bay mentioned above is home to both the landing point and a small hamlet that might have once seen fishing as a potential mainstay, although those times may well have passed. While there is a fishing boat present, it is out of the water and up on stocks; whether it is undergoing repairs or restoration is open to debate, but it’s ageing condition matches that of the buildings close by, suggesting that it and they no longer see regular working use.

The hamlet’s presence spreads beyond the curve of the region’s inlet, extending eastward from where the café bar sits on the northern coast. Here again, the buildings offer a sense of age as they huddle around the foot of a narrow hill to reach an old stone built farmhouse. The flank of the hill directly behind this farmhouse has neat rows of lavender marching up it, as if going to war against the remnants of an ancient fort the crowns the hill. With its circular walls standing without evidence of ever being part of a larger structure, this put me in mind of the promontory forts of Cornwall and Devon – although similar ruins may well be found elsewhere in Europe.

While the slope from farm house to fort can be climbed, the best way to reach the latter is via the road that points south from the harbour and the landing point before meandering its way around the landscape. This is ideal for exploration on foot or – if you have one – via a wearable horse.

Running under tree and beside more lavender neatly arrayed in a field, this is one of those roads that, while you know you are confined to a single region, has the feeling of genuinely going somewhere. As you follow it, the bay and the buildings around it are gradually and naturally obscured by the trees and the lie of the land, whilst what lies ahead is similarly gently revealed as you explore.

It’s possible that at one time the fort offered a commanding view over the bay and the surrounding landscape, but the passage of years have seen the slopes around it become the home of trees that now match and exceed it in height such that whatever command it once had has long since passed. Now it sits with stones worn by weather and moss, a memento of a bygone era and, perhaps, the setting for lover’s trysts.

Beautifully laid out and presented, this iteration of Cherishville ensures the region retains its reputation as a photogenic highlight of Second Life.

SLurl Details

• Cherishville II (London Village, rated Moderate)