Category: Reviews

Eris Isle is a full region design by Pablo Nova and Karma Koppel that is currently gaining a lot of attention courtesy of a MadPea Hunt – although the fact is, the region deserves recognition in its own right, although a visit can come at a little cost.

A Full private island making use of the full region land capacity bonus, Eris Isle actually feels a lot bigger than a single region, thanks to a considered used of elevation. This breaks up the land to make some of the paths more circuitous at ground level whilst naturally concealing various locations, allowing them to come as a surprise to explorers (assuming people refraining from camming too much!). The raised elements of the landscape also provide additional space both on – and under – them.

It is on the central uplands that visitors arrive, an expansive table of rock that is home to a broad deck built partially over water. It is backed at one end by the cliffs of the island’s peak area, whilst the other falls away to waters that break up the land with a series of navigable channels. Grass tracks to the east and west offer starting points for explorations.

Take one of these, and you be taken down from the landing point and you can either pass over a rope bridge and continue on to a waterfront park area, or cross a second bridge and over a ridge line to where it descends to a farm  converted to house weddings within its large barn. Take the second grass track and it will lead down to where a covered bridge also provides access to the farm wedding venue.

It doesn’t matter which is taken, both offer a lot to see: a greenhouse and gardens, waterside paths running beneath ridges and cliffs and that lead to hidden places to sit; waterfalls that tumble from other high ridges and cliffs to arrive at rocky pools watched over by more seating areas and topped by lookout points, and so on.

Beyond these, more paths await discovery, some passing beyond the aforementioned gardens to reach northern headlands, bays and waterfront cabins (and a cottage) or wind their way up into rocky areas otherwise hidden from view, and / or reach the highest peaks and ridges of the island. The later include the lookout point mentioned, places to mediate and where Tai Chi can be practised.

It is finding all of the rocky routes that makes exploring the region particularly attractive. The care with with the region’s highlands have been built up means that these paths have a natural look and feel, so much so that in places they may not actually appear to be paths at first; even where they sit as steps, there is a natural cast to them entirely in keeping with the lay of the land as the lead the way to parts of the setting that might otherwise at first appear to be inaccessible, such as the west side camp site or the south-west horseshoe cove.

All of this still only scratches the surface of Eris Isle. There’s still the caverns to be found, either on foot or via the pedal boats off to the east side of the region. If boats aren’t to your liking, then a hot air balloon ride around the island might be. This can be found on the north side of the island (unless the balloon is in use) and is honestly hard to miss when moored.

Art also plays a major – and subtle role within the region, with sculptures to be found through the landscape (particularly around the garden area), and more can be reached via the gallery / ballroom teleport board at the landing point. Located in the sky over the region, at the time of our visits, the gallery was home to exhibitions by landscape photographers Charly Keeley-Keating, Pavel Stransky, Rawnie Lane and Shasta Laval.

Admittedly, all of the detail within the region does come at a cost, as mentioned at the top of this article. There is a lot of mesh and texturing that can hit viewer performance – particularly if there’s a large number of avatars present (numbers sat between 15-22 during our visits); with shadows enabled, I found my system running in single digit FPS. However, mitigating the potential hit by disabling shadows when walking / investigating, reducing the number of non-impostered avatars the viewer renders, etc., is worth the effort, as Eris Isle does have a lot worth seeing.

SLurl Details

• Eris Isle (Shijima, rated Moderate)

Pony Box is a half Homestead region designed on Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fortherington) on behalf of the Pony Box group as a location for them to offer DJ and live performer music to group members.

We are a community of Music Lovers. Where music speaks to the soul. Underground electronic sounds is what we are about.

– The Pony Box About Land description

The setting is that of a stretch of coastline backed by cliffs from which dual waterfalls tumble, the water from them cutting a path through the lowland grasses and shingles to reach the sea, while sandy beaches lie to the south and north sit as book-ends to the land.

The land between the northern beach and the stream is home to Pony Box’s main structure: a warehouse converted into a pub. It sits in the middle of broad wooden decking, one arm of which stretches out over the beach on legs that dip toes into the blue waters at the deck’s far end. This decking is home to two of the setting’s DJ music venues; one at the end of the pier-like stretch, the other nestled alongside the warehouse-pub.

Steps descend from the stream side of the deck, providing a way to reach the shingle bank, home to a set of white bleachers. These face a live music stage sitting on the humped back of crooked finger of shingle that reaches into the stream, partially blocking it.

Two bridges span the lower extent of the stream, providing the best route to reach the southern extent of the land. This is a low, rugged landscape marked by the tall fingers of fir trees and the rounded, squatter spread of crab apple, oak and walnut trees that shade the island’s second major building. Empty at the time of our visits, this suggested it might be intended to become a club house or perhaps an indoor venue for music.

We aren’t open all the time for music. We currently have a DJ who spins tunes every Friday at 1:00 pm SLT. We also do parties advertised through our land group, which I organise. The best way to find out about events is through the group.

– Mr Frosty (JackFrosstt), Pony Box co-owner

The highlands to the est of the land aren’t direct accessible, although there are also signs of old habitation on them to give a further sense of depth to the vista as the land rises to form a natural barrier between Pony Box and the rest of the region.

There are one or two rough spots in the landscaping – some of the lowland rocks have been stretched so that their physics shapes no longer match and so you can end up wading through them rather than walking on them, but on the whole, the setting offers good scope for photography and he beaches offer places to sit and relax, as does the pub in the old warehouse.

So, if you’re looking for a place to visit or a new place to find music, why not keep an eye on the pony Box in-world group, and hop over to the island and take a look?

SLurl Details

• Pony Box (Bonaire68, rated Moderate)

It’s been several years since we last visited Aspen Fell in Second Life. A homestead region managed by Jessica Marabana, it’s a place that periodically undergoes transformation by designer Aspen Fell to offer visitors something new to appreciate whilst exploring, in taking photographs of and in writing about. However, I have to admit my curiosity was particularly piqued in reading the latest description provided with the region’s entry in the Destination Guide:

The Notebook is inspired by the movie ‘The Notebook.’ Stroll through the streets of Seabrook, South Carolina, have a seat in the movie theatre, and feel the love Noah and Allie, through all the ups and downs, had for each other.

– from the Aspen Fell Destination Guide description, July 2020

I have to confess that The Notebook is not a film with which I was familiar prior to reading those words, so I made a call to a friend (aka Netflix and a couple of hours in front of the telly) to learn more – although as I found out on making my return trip to take the photos seen here, the landing point does offer a note card with a fair synopsis of the film to incoming visitors, which I may have accidentally discarded on arriving for our exploratory wanderings.

In short, the film – itself based on the 1996 début novel by Nicholas Sparks – is a decades-spanning love story about a young man of humble origins who lives and works in Seabrook Island, South Carolina. During a night at the local carnival, he becomes smitten with a young socialite who is vacating in the town with her family. His persistence eventually wins her over – although her family doesn’t precisely approve. In part due to their objections and the interference of the woman’s mother, and in part due to America’s entry into to World War Two, the two separate and remain apart for several years until a chance sighting whilst Noah is visiting post-war Charleston brings the two indirectly back into one another orbits, and eventually leading them to renew their relationship.

As simple as it sounds, the film – like the novel – is nuanced it the way it presents its story. We see the unfolding relationship of two main characters – Noah Calhoun and Allison “Allie” Hamilton – in flashback, as an elderly patient in a nursing home, referred to as “Duke”, reads their story from a journal to an elderly female patient. Through the intertwining of the modern-day storytelling and the flashbacks we discover that not only did Noah and Allie’s love eventually endure, but the the elderly man and woman are Noah and Allie, and his reading of their journals is itself a poignant act of love for her, stricken as she is with dementia.

I know you feel lost right now; but don’t worry, nothing is ever lost, nor can be lost. The body sluggish, aged, cold; the embers left from earlier fires shall duly flame again.

“Duke” / Noah Calhoun, quoting in part lines from Walt Whitman’s Continuities

Within Aspen Fell, notable elements in the film in which the story of younger Allie and Noah’s relationship are played out are presented as vignettes. There is the main street of Seabrook Island itself; the carnival where they first meet; the lumber mill where Noah works; the abandoned house he shows her, which she describes once it his been restored to its former glory and which he eventually renovates in accordance with her vision in the belief it will bring her back to him.

And there is more: in the town you can dance in the rain or watch the changing traffic lights in reflection of Allie and Noah; in the carnival you can try the rides, at the house you can explore Noah’s renovations and make yourself at home, or close by, you can visit the boathouse and take a canoe out on to the water and get caught in the rain, just as they do.  Thus, as a homage, the region’s vignettes are all nicely framed and gently linked by a winding path.

Just how much love for the film has been put into Aspen Fell can additionally be seen in the smaller details. For example, the movie theatre is promoting Albert S. Rogell’s 1940 version of Li’l Abner, starring Buster Keaton just as it does in the film. Elsewhere, the dilapidated house contains the old piano Allie sits at and plays (and in respect of this and the piano solos featured as a part of the film’s soundtrack, the region’s audio streams features piano solos). Look hard enough and you may even spot a copy of Allie’s journal the elder Noah reads to her to frame the story.

The introductory note card states the region is open for rezzing to allow for props, etc., but during our visits, I found this not to be the case, even with membership of the local land group. However, this isn’t really an issue; there is more than enough to see within the region, and a fair number of poses available as well.

A labour of love, a photogenic setting and – for those not familiar with the film (or the novel) – and education, Aspen Fell – The Notebook makes for yet another engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Aspen Fell – The Notebook (Yasminia, rated Moderate)