End of Time comprises four regions in Second Life: Crow, Eotia, Tide and Wabe. It offers wide open spaces to explore and enjoy, complete with water on which to sail. Wabe carries an Adult rating, otherwise the regions are all moderate. All four are open for people to visit, although there are some private residences on Eotia, and visitors are asked to respect people’s personal space around these.

Teleporting to End of Time will deliver you to the North-east corner of Crow, with the backdrop of the sea behind you, from which rises the tall finger of a lighthouse. Before you lay rolling hills, meadows, beaches, walks, and places to simply sit and enjoy, either on your own or with a friend or loved one.

Where you go from here is up to you – there is a teleport board if you want to hop around the main sights, or you can set off at random or follow the signposted paths. If you’re not up to walking and the teleport doesn’t appeal, take the steps down from the arrival-point and pick up a bicycle, which can be a fun ride – and the nice thing about it is that it doesn’t immediately de-rez on dismounting, so you can actually get off and walk around a spot for a few minutes before resuming your ride. Be warned, however, that the bicycle doesn’t handle going up slopes very well! For my part, I like to wander when I arrive, although I have a few favourite spots I enjoy, and sometimes go directly to one of them.

Several of the beauty spots in the regions are within their own parcels, which have parcel privacy enabled, allowing people to sit and talk without being overheard from outside, or having to rely on IMs.

Wildlife is very much a part of End of Time, with rabbits, birds and butterflies all around the main teleport arrival point, deer in the woodland glades, ducks on the water, and more butterflies flittering around meadow flowers.

Butterflies is also the name of an art exhibit by Feathers Boa, and which can be found in – or rather under – Eotia. It features seven images by Feathers depicting the seven ages of woman. The pictures carry one from babe to old age, each stop along the way marked by words which encapsulate the age being depicted. Given my own position in the seven stages, I find it an evocative piece which causes me to recall past years and give thought to the future. If I’m honest, it also raises the question as to why I devote a fair amount of my time sitting in front of my computer using a virtual world – but that, perhaps, is something for a future post in this blog.

To the east of Eotia and Crow lie Wabe and Tide, both of which are largely devoted to water. Both have open rezzing, and visitors can, if they wish, rez their own boats and sail in the lagoon-like waters (please remember to take back anything you do rez when you’re done!). For those without boats of their own, a sailing skiff can be found at the quay at the north end of Crow, which you can (with a little cheating) sail into Wabe and Tide.

All four regions offer a relaxed approach to exploration and places to share with others. There are a number of dance anywhere systems among the places to visit, allowing the romantically inclined to dance some of the time together – and the music stream lends itself to romantic dancing. All four are also well-suited to photography as well, and lend themselves very naturally to a wide range of Windlight settings.

End of Time is one of those places that provides exactly what it says on the bottle: a place to relax and a place to explore. Enjoy!

Related Links

• End of time Teleport Crow SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• End of Time website
  

 

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Related Links

• Chouchou in-world SLurl (Rated Moderate)
• Chouchou blog
• Chouchou’s You Tube channel
• Chouchou on Facebook

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.

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.

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”.

Related Links

• Svarga teleport point (Rated General)
• SL Destinations in this blog

Update: Neva River is currently closed to public access

I’ve previously written about Wendy Xeno’s work in Second Life, having covered both Hazardous and Humanoid in these places. So I was intrigued to learn that she had helped with the design of Neva River, owned by Atteris Amarth and Neva Crystall.

Those who visited Humanoid will find Neva River somewhat familiar in terms of broad themes and tones: the same use of water and warm colours. The region offers a contemplative setting, with two houses designed by yacchan Clip and interior fittings by Neva Crystall which are open to exploration. Visitors are welcome to wander around the ground level areas and the houses, take photographs and simply pause and reflect in the last rays of a setting sun as clouds skitter overhead and birds wheels around the tree-tops before settling as the night draws in.

Use the local Windlight environment settings and enjoy.

Related Links

• Neva River
• In-world destination reviews in this blog