The successful applicants are: Arrehn Oberlander, Artistide Despres, Chic Aeon, Cica Ghost, Daco Monday, Emily Darrow, Eupalinos Ugajin, Fae Varriale, Giovanna Cerise, Gracie Kendal, Ian Pahute, jjccc coronet, Lorin Tone, Nessuno Myoo and Kicca Igaly, Nino Vichan, Noke Yuitza, pixels sideways, Rose Borchovski, Seraph Kegel, and Tony Resident.
The applicants have all been informed, and are due to be given access to their assigned region on Saturday September 1st, after which they will have up to four months in which to develop their proposals prior to opening them to the public.
Over 50 applications were received by the LEA, and a number of those selected will be returning for a second time, although it is emphasised in the LEA blog that the majority of those selected will be exhibiting at the LEA for the first time. The selected projects range from full-sim immersions through augmented reality installations to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima projects.
The twenty regions used in the Land Grant have been donated by Linden Lab and are curated by the LEA. The four-month preparatory / build-out period is arbitrary, and exhibitors are not obligated to wait the four months prior to opening their installations – just so long as the public are able to visit for a minimum of two months. It is not clear from the announcement if the successful projects will be single events, or whether the artists will be using their region to host more than one exhibit during the six months of the grant period.
Further updates will follow as news on the various projects in forthcoming.
Chouchou is a Japanese duo formed in Second Life “to search for new possibilities of music”. In-world they are musician Arabesque Choche and vocalist Juliet Herberle, who have been together since 2007.
Together they have three regions in Second Life, centred on Chouchou itself, where one can visit and hear their music or attend their concerts. The regions contain unique and fascinating builds open to the public, and which are well worth a visit by SL explorers and photographers alike.
Before you pay a visit, however – and I hope you will after reading this article – please make sure you have your viewer set to use the region Windlight defaults and that you have media enabled in order to hear Chouchou’s evocative music.
Chouchou
Chouchou region at ground level is a minimalist build – just a series of sand bars in the water, interspersed with a few seemingly random items: a piano sitting under a lone tree, a cage of some description and a ladder leading upwards to the sky. Feel free to wander and listen to the music; Juliet Herberle has a wonderful voice when singing in both English and Japanese, and it forms a melodic accompaniment to your wanderings – which will no doubt lead you to the strange, heaven-pointing ladder.
Cage, and ladder
The ladder is actually a teleport, and will whisk you to one of three unique sky venues which are an essential part of any visit to Chouchou. Additionally, the teleport can take you to a store (on another region) where you can obtain an in-world radio which allows you to play Chouchou’s music on your own land as well as Juliet Herberle’s own radio show (presumably in Japanese – I confess to not having tuned-in).
Islamey
Islamey, one of the three skyborne venues, is a Japanese-themed garden and a venue for Chouchou’s monthly concerts. When not being used for these, it is a place of quiet contemplation where you can come when you want to give free passage to thoughts and ideas, or when you simply want to find peace and let Chouchou’s music soothe you gently. It would be nice to have a few more places to sit quietly around the garden, but this doesn’t detract too much from the serenity of the place.
Islamey
The Babel
This is a musical construct comprising boxes, elements and levels, which may at first glance appear completely random – but there is order. Each box is a sound – a note or chord – which is played when touched. Some will play once when touched, others work on a toggle – they will play until touched again.
Boxes themselves are arranged in musical elements, with the lowermost boxes in an element representing bass notes or chords, and the boxes above containing percussion or melody elements. By touching the boxes in an element you can create various harmonies – or, if you opt to stay with the lower boxes in an element, what amounts to a discordant noise.
A musical element (foreground) with others around it at The Babel
Elements come together in the levels of The Babel, with each level perhaps analogous to an album, and the elements the tracks of the album. It’s a fascinating idea and anyone with any interest in music will doubtless finding it enticing and spend time producing harmonies and melodies – I did.
Memento Mori
Literally “Remember your mortality”, this is a magnificent build styled after the great medieval cathedrals – hence, perhaps the name – sitting high in the sky. To stay this is a stunning build would be an understatement; it is magnificent. You arrive on stairs leading up to the cathedral proper – and it is worth not camming ahead to spoil the impact (Windlight allowing), as it is quite breathtaking to arrive at the top of the steps to see this magnificent build before you, arching high overhead, the wide nave drawing ones eye to the distant piano sitting on a raised dais.
Memento Mori
Here you can walk down the nave and past ornate pews awaiting an audience, or climb one of the many and spectacular stairways up into the high reaches of the cathedral and look down on those below. Several Windlight options are in use in the build, so don’t be surprised in the lighting levels charge as you explore.
Memento Mori lends itself to be photographed, whether using the default Windlight settings or those of your own. In fact, it is next to impossible not to take photos, and if I’m totally honest, there are times when the build is slightly spoiled by being too saturated by the local ambient lighting, so some experimentation on your part might be required to achieve the perfect result.
Memento Mori
Taken individually or as a while, Chouchou have provided a series of builds that represent one of the great strengths of Second Life: freedom of expression. Beautifully themed and executed, framed by Chouchou’s own fusion of traditional Japanese music with modern styles, this is a place one should visit – and savour.
The latest Premium gift arrived yesterday, together with yet another push for people to up to Premium. In keeping with the transportation / vehicle theme that has marked the majority of the gifts to date (the last two being a sailboat and a railcar respectively), this quarter sees a dune buggy as the offering – so no-one can accuse LL of not trying to get people out and around SL in order to use their gifts.
As with previous gifts, the buggy is mesh, with a total LI of 58. The level of detail on it is OK, if a little basic texture-wise. It seats two, and the promotional blog post makes a big point about taking friends along for the ride, although the buggy is restricted to owner-only driving.
The Premium gift dune buggy
Driving-wise, it uses the usual controls either the WASD keys or the arrow keys. It has a “turbo” feature – doubling-clicking the W/up arrow accelerates the buggy and produces a green glow under it, and you can use this to pull wheelies. Use the SHIFT key in combination with the A or D / left or right arrow keys, and you can produce tight hand-brake turns. The front wheels don’t turn when turning the buggy, but a particle dirty / dust effect is given off from the rear wheels when in motion.
Once seated in the vehicle, you can call-up a menu allowing you to change the colour for various parts of it: frame, seats, wheels, etc., allowing a degree of customisation. A help card can be accessed from the menu, although the vehicle really is simple enough to get to grips with without it.
As with the railcar gift from May, the notecard includes a number of places where people can go drive their new toy, although one of these is on a time-limited basis and “may disappear after the promotion period for the buggy”.
Personally, I’d actually suggest this 4-region, Premium-only area potentially represents more fun / value than the buggy itself. It offers plenty of space for people to race vehicles, fly aircraft and generally socialise. If you’re listening, LL, consider expanding it by a couple more regions rather than packing it up in the future, it’s a place where users can do what they do best – make their own fun.
The Premium-only (and possibly sort-term) 4-region driving area
Opinion
Of the three vehicle-related gifts supplied by LL to date, this is potentially the weakest in terms of appealing to established users. Anyone with any interest in vehicles is liable to have at least one sitting in their inventory already. However, for the curious / those new to SL who signed-up to Premium, then the buggy may well have appeal. Certainly, there were a fair few trying their gifts out in the 4-region driving zone. How long the appeal lasts, however, is questionable.
It’s a shame LL opted to restrict the buggy to owner driving only. Giving at least an option to set it to group access / driving would have offered the potential for people to have far more fun with friends, Premium and non-Premium alike, at any of the major race tracks and driving zones around SL.
For my part, and being a bit grouchy, the buggy is another “meh” gift; I have a beautiful car in the form of a Classic 43S GT which, while not as efficient as the buggy in terms of resource use, is actually a lot better looking and far more fun to drive – and I can share it with friends, as it has the option for “guests” to drive. It’s also available for free on the Marketplace).
The buggy (mesh) compared to my Classic 43S GT (prims and sculpts)
The major issue with this gift, again, is it’s hardly an incentive to take-up (or even maintain) Premium membership. And in that respect, if LL really do want to get more people to jump the fence from Basic to Premium, they would probably have more success overhauling the entire Premium package. Although quite how they do this without upsetting something, somewhere (and doubtless a lot of a people in the process), is something of a L$64,000 question…
I’ve just learned, via Chestnut Rau’s blog (and curse me for not paying attention these past several weeks!), that Claudia222 Jewell’s installation at Art Screamer will be closing at the end of August.
Regular readers will know, I’m a huge fan of Claudia222’s work, and had the opportunity to interview her back in September 2011. I was also fortunate enough to receive an invitation to preview Spirit at Art Screamer prior to it opening in February of this year. Since its opening, the installation has received more than 17,500 unique visitors – many of whom have later returned again to enjoy the surreal and entrancing work.
If you’ve not done so already, or if it has been a while since your last visit, I urge you to go see Spirit before it departs Art Screamer for ever!
You can also see Claudia222’s work at Mesh Mellows – use the teleport sign and make sure you set your sun position to midnight!
There have been many jazz clubs and jazz lounges in Second Life, so much so that those of us who frequent them all tend to have our favourites. There are a number I have permanently landmarks in my inventory, all of which I have enjoyed spending time at over the years.
But there is only one that has ever stolen my heart – as it did for just about everyone who ever visited it. That club was Birdland. Part of the reason many of us fell in love with it was down to the music: a wonderful mix of jazz and the Great American Songbook, spun into a wonderful and romantic fusion by Alma Fushikizoh, the club’s creator and resident DJ.
But it was not just the music that made Birdland special; the build itself was simply stunning: a true labour of love beautifully crafted to create the perfect ambience for romance and long evenings of dancing and conversation. As Alma once told me back in 2009, “Birdland is a Romantic Lounge; a place to dance with your loved one – a place to flirt, a place to meet extraordinary people”.
The original Birdland, circa 2009
There was also the fact that Alma and her partner (both in SL and in RL), Blysse Biondi, regarded everyone who frequented Birdland as being part of their extended family in SL; imbuing the club with a very special atmosphere that, for most of the clubs “regulars”, made it a genuine home-from-home in Second Life.
Sadly, Birdland vanished from the grid when Alma and Blysse had to retire from Second Life due to personal reasons – and its absence was sorely missed. For my part, I’ve never come across another club that combines the same measure of look, ambience, romance, friendliness and fun.
I was therefore surprised when I logged-in to SL back in June to find Alma and Blysse both on-line and to get a bright, sunny, “We’re back!” IM from Alma. Just having two long-time friends back was reason to celebrate – so it was with a sense of stunned surprise that I accepted an invite from Alma to be one of the first to see that not only were they both once more settled in SL – but also that Birdland itself is back as well and is being readied for a Grand Re-opening!
Birdland today
Birdland today is exactly as it was on the last day I saw it before Alma and Blysse had to depart SL; only the setting has changed. Seeing it brought back a wealth of memories; this was a place I’d spent some of the most satisfying evening of my entire Second Life, simply relaxing with the music and enjoying the company of friends in a manner that no other club has, in all honesty, managed to match for me.
Here is a place you can dance under the moonlight (the club is specifically designed for viewers with the time set to sunset or midnight), or sit and chat with friends, watch the sunset from the broad wooden deck, or sit on the beach and cuddle while being serenaded by some of the finest songs every recorded by some of the world’s greatest voices.
Touring the club in its new location with Alma and Blysse, I couldn’t help but feel I’d somehow come home again. Looking at the familiar marble-finished dance floor with the inlaid logo, lit by the rafter-fitted spotlights, wandering the deck overlooking the sea and passing among the tables and chairs overlooking both the dance floor and the sea, I felt the years melt away. With some people only too willing to spread doom and gloom about regions closing and stores vanishing in SL, I couldn’t help but feel something precious has returned to Second Life.
The dance floor and stage at sunset
There is still some work to be done before the club formally opens its doors; and Alma and Blysse are wisely not rushing things; the formal opening will take place in September, giving them more than enough time to finish-off the details here and there.
In the meantime, the club informally opened on August 2nd, and will feature a range of weekend events between now and the end of August to start warming things up. Alma will again be putting together sets for each weekend and will be mixing them with requests from patrons and guests at the following times:
Fridays: 17:00 SLT
Saturdays: 11:00 and 17:00 SLT
Sundays: 11:00 and 17:00 SLT
Live entertainment will very much be a part of the new Birdland as well, and updates on performers and performances as well as DJ sets from Alma will be available through the Birdland in-world group.
I’m certainly looking forward to spending evenings there with friends old and new, dancing to some of the greatest music ever written and listening to some of Second Life’s finest entertainers. I hope to see some of you there are well.
Please note that Birdland does operate a formal / smart dress code with gowns and tuxedos preferred.
Svarga is a place of legend among those who have been active within Second Life for more than four or so years. Created by Laukosargas Svarog in 2006, in a time before sculpts – or even flexiprims – Svarga was a place of mystery and beauty; a must-see destination within SL.
Svarga
In its heyday, Svarga was famous for its rich design and unique artificial ecosystem, as well as a number of other features which allowed for a very immersive experience. Then, in 2009, the region became unreachable in-world and remained that way for some time. In March 2010 the sim made a “return” after Linden Lab had apparently purchased it from Laukosargas Svarog in a move “To provide a way for this high-quality experience to live on in the ever-changing world of Second Life.” At the time, the move was largely welcomed within the community, simply because Svarga was – and is – regarded as so unique among “early” builds, although some did express a certain discomfort at the idea of the Lab stepping-in to preserve regions in this way and where it might lead.
When Svarga initially returned, elements were missing: the ecosystem was only partially restored, the tour system had gone, as had the ambipod and light show. Since then, a new tour system has been added – using giant wasps, which is entirely in keeping with the feel of the region, and Svarga remains very much a testament to all that could be achieved just through the use of the humble prim.
Nor does what has been lost in any way detract from one’s visit; the spires and walkways remain, complete with torches, flags and the small library of old books referencing SL. The offshore glade still provides a rich lavender carpet of flowers where you can sit and think alone, or share time with a friend or loved one. For the keen-eyed, the underground caverns lie waiting to be explored, and birds and bees can still be seen among the flora as footpaths lead you between the strange plants and trees and over rope bridges, or to the door of the hexagonal house where you can sit among the cushions or play the waiting drums. Take the wasp tour, and you can learn more about the history of the region, and its roots in old Slavic mythology.
Svarga: ideally suited for Windlight experiments in photography
If you’ve never visited Svarga before, I recommend you do. It has a mystique and mystery that makes any visit worthwhile. As it came at a time before Windlight, it doesn’t utilise any special presets of its own – and thus presents itself as an open canvas for the imaginative SL photographer, as there is nothing to influence the choice of sky and water presets. For the romantic or those seeking a place to sit and share company with a friend or small group of friends, Svargat offers a calming, gentle environment in which to spend time and perhaps reminisce about the “good old days”.
