“Naughty Mole, Sylvian Mole, Opti Mole, Earthy Mole – these name might not ring out as mightily (or ’cause some need to offer up “innocent” explanations!) as does the name Magellan Linden, but they all pioneered many of the frontiers of Second Life, building roads, raising up towns, sculpting parks and rivers, fearlessly throwing bridges across deep gorges, taking the wilds of the Mainland and opening it for all who would follow.
“Until Pyri Peaks; those strange hills standing above the shoreline of North Forepaw, which the moles believed would be an idea spot to site a fun fair, high up on a plateau overlooking the sea, For a time it seemed as though all was going well; building work was progressing well, steam engines were shipped in to power the rides, the sideshows were taking shape. Then came the reports of caverns being found under the site of the fair, and then – nothing.
“I’ve no idea if The Powers That Be attempted any form of investigation or rescue (were one needed), but the way in which attention was suddenly diverted away from those strange hills and the remaining moles directed towards new projects did seem a little odd, although I’d hesitate to use the words “cover-up” (the Rodviks, after all, do have ears!). So, in the interests of journalistic endeavour, I set out to visit the now largely deserted fun fair and see if I could unravel some of the mystery…
“It is, one has to say, a strange place. North Forepaw is innocent enough…but the climb to the fun fair; that’s something else entirely, lined with strange, silent trees, which stand like sentinels, their trunks carved into strange faces, which seemed to watch me every step of the climb. Looking up at them, I had to wonder why, in passing them all those years ago, the moles still thought this an ideal place to site a fun fair.
“Nor did things get any better as I approached the entrance to the fun fair itself, seemingly guarded as it is by one more of these strange trees, a hand-like branch stretched out, ‘palm’ upraised, a single glowing “eye” in the middle. A last warning, perhaps, to turn back?
The Great Debate over the impact of the Marketplace on the in-world economy is not new; nor is it likely to run its course any time soon. Even with its bugs, quirks, issues and annoyances, the Marketplace is a convenient means of shopping for many of us; so much so that it is easy to dispense with in-world visits to stores at all, unless looking for something very specific which requires a visual once-over prior to purchase.
However, while the Marketplace may well be of great convenience, it does mean that often when using it, we can miss out on an important aspect of in-world shopping – which is that many stores are part of some really creative and eye-catching builds.
I was reminded of this while visiting Pure Dreams recently. The home of Amelie Knelstrom’s Vespertine Home and Deco is a beautiful sim currently lying under a blanket of snow, the water around it frozen, and the high mountains tinted blue in the fresh, crisp air.
The store itself features a coffee shop, where patrons can sit and chat if they so wish, and is surrounded by a beautiful winter scene worthy of a visit in its own right. This is a place where visitors are positively encouraged to take their time not only shopping, but in exploring and enjoying themselves.
Regular readers may have spotted that many of the destinations I’ve covered in this blog are actually connected to commercial ventures – Tatty Soup, The Looking Glass, Cerridwen’s Cauldron, Black Spot, Sleepless Nights – to name but a handful. There’s no coincidence in this – it’s because these regions are, to me, some of the most outstanding and photogenic places in Second Life, and are often a tour-de-force of what the imagination can create when given the tools available to us through the viewer. By turning to the Marketplace first, they are also places we can all too easily miss in the rush to find whatever knickknacks we’re seeking; and that’s a shame.
Of course, it could be argued that not all stores offer such enticing – even romantic, at times – opportunities to explore, and finding them is pretty much a case of trial-and-error. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Within the Marketplace there is an option for a merchant to provide a SLurl to their in-world store – where it is provided, why not give it a go before making a purchase? It may not always lead you to a winter wonderland or a spring garden or a similar place of beauty and imagination – but if you don’t try, you’ll never know. And it’s not as if you’ll have to waste time getting there; the teleport is a wonderful thing…
While the Destination Guide may not be perfect, it does at least offer something of an alternative to blind chance in finding a store in an eye-catching location. And never forget the value of perusing blogs – I’m far from alone in featuring the beautiful builds often associated with stores in-world, as a visit to the likes of Honour McMillan and Ziki Questi will demonstrate.
The effort taken to find places like Pure Dreams or the Cheeky Tiramisu Cafe and others is not only in finding wonderful places to explore, it is also in finding places you can share with friends, and can return to agin and again – Cheeky Tiramisu’s cafe has a warm and friendly run of patrons happy to sit and chat, while places like Tatty Soup encourage quiet contemplation.
And even casual visits can help a business or merchant – even if you don’t drop in and buy something, there are always opportunities to show appreciation, both through telling others about your visit and the build, and in dropping a few lindens into any handy tip jar or donations box.
The Marketplace is great for the quick grab-and-go when you’re looking for something very specific or have limited time; it’s fast and convenient for most of us; but in an age when instant gratification tends to over-rule other considerations, it’s sometimes good to remember that window shopping can also be rewarding, can be shared – and may even lead to some wonderful discoveries.
I stumbled over nostos deer entirely by chance recently – it was literally a case of paging through the Destination Guide and then clicking on something that set a small bell ringing. It wasn’t until I arrived and started exploring that I realised why: Honour McMillan had posted on the region last year (I swear I’m going to have to superglue her shoes to the floor and hide her teleport button one day 🙂 ).
The region is home to Dora Nacht’s Little Hopper store (located inside a rock floating high in the sky), with the sim itself landscaped into a delightful park rich in whimsy and with just a touch of eye-catching surrealism, both of which make it an ideal destination for the foot-wary Second Life explorer who is looking for a place to rest and recuperate, and which offers to bring a smile to the well-travelled face. Indeed, given “nostos” is the Greek word for “homecoming” and the idea of returning home from a long journey, perhaps it is the ideal destination for those wanting a break in their SL meanderings …
nostos deer is one of those places which is full of things to do in a not-really-doing-things kind-of way, something which greatly adds to its charm, as even doing nothing will leave you smiling and wondering. You can, for example, sit on the beach and relax, look out to the sea, and watch the fish serenely swim above the waves (which should not be taken as a sign they’ve been incorrectly placed – nothing within nostos deer is the result of wrongful placement).
You can roam wherever you will on the island – old sleepers mark what appears to have once been a busy tram service. Only one set of tracks now remains, running from a little station overlooking a river valley and out towards the sea – literally!
If you tire of the beach, there’s a little kitchen serving sushi, or there’s a walk up the hill to a small church where you can sit in quite contemplation with other members of the rather unusual congregation…
Take a walk over the bridge spanning the river valley (gorge?), and you’ll find more to see and maybe do. Dara’s own swan boats sit against a waterfront pier on the west side of the island, waiting for you to take a ride, while further south is an inviting campfire and chairs offering warmth and a chance to sit and chat – although not entirely without a further measure of the surreal! Down at the river itself you can grab a canoe and go a-paddling or, if you’re up for a little surrealism on your own part, you can sit in the middle of the river and enjoy some time in a rocking chair, hovering serenely above the water…
Teleports up to the Little Hopper store can be found around the island, notably as pictures hanging on walls, although I much prefer the mineshaft teleport. The store shares a similar sense of the whimsical, with Dora’s swan boat displayed atop a forklift truck, and the entrance to the “underground” store is guarded by a LandRover and a tricycle.
nostos deer is, in every sense of the word, a delight and more than worth visiting. Should you decide to go and have a little wander, make sure you give yourself a little time – while the region is open and apparently lightly built-out, there are a lot of little details which can be so easily overlooked but the hurrying traveller.
And besides, to hurry through would be to miss the point; nostos deer is about unwinding from the need to hurry, and giving oneself a chance to breathe, smile, and linger …
I recently had the opportunity to return to into Aero Pines Park, Cindy Bolero’s multi-region recreational / residential / training estate.
For those unfamiliar with the estate, Cindy offers a rich environment where visitors can partake of a range of activities – horse riding, flying, canoeing, motorbike riding, show jumping, balloon flights, rodeo bull riding, etc., as well a providing open spaces and some fabulous homes which people can lease from her through her region sponsorship system.
Currently comprising six regions, Aero Pines is, rather interestingly, modelled on the area in which Cindy grew-up in RL: the Aero Pines Air Park in the Northern California Sierra Foothills. The impact of these childhood environs is very clear as one explores the SL parklands – all of the pursuits Cindy enjoyed growing up are reflected in the park’s activity options, and there is much that goes on which is related to the larger community surrounding the RL Aero Pines Air Park.
It is the sheer range of activities available at Aero Pines which can serve to make them very attractive – and well worth a visit for those seeking “something to do”. Exploring the regions of the park present all of the activities mentioned above, plus a range of other options, all of which are landmarked through a notecard “brochure” delivered to you on your arrival in the park (if it doesn’t arrive automatically, click the green sign).
Where you go from the arrival point is up to you – just pick a road / path and follow it; the scenery is more than inviting, and there is a lot to see around the place. Or if you want to try your hand at something specific, use one of the landmarks contained in the notecard.
Aero Pines Park is designed to be low-lag, so it is appreciated if you keep your script load low, and most of the region crossings are relatively stable – I’ve only ever encountered the odd problem of sinking into a road surface on crossing between regions, other than a lone occasion of being thrown into the sim boundary on the edge of the estate and ending up stuck until I relogged.
One of the attractive elements of the estate is that, while there are some vendors on public display – the ones alongside the jeep rezzer, for example, and others at the airstrip and around the centre of the equestrian activities, most of them are indoors, or completely hidden from view – such as inside hills – which helps maintain the rural feel of the regions.
As you explore, keep in mind this is also a residential park, and while the stores, etc., are all regarded as public places, the homes which can be found scattered across the regions are not. These are pretty easy to identify, although some have helpful “Private” signs on the fences surrounding them, and it is asked that residents’ privacy is respected,
In terms of residency at Aero Pines Park, Cindy offers a rather interesting approach: rather than renting out properties per se, people become sponsors. On the surface, this might sound little different to renting – at the end of the day, you have a parcel of land, a home and pay a monthly fee.However, by promoting the idea of sponsorship, Cindy is also promoting the idea and ideals of the Aero Pines community as a whole, and that someone is effectively investing in the community itself.
Parcels come complete with themed houses – although sponsors are free to replace them with one of their own, so long as it fits with the theme of the estate – all houses cost towards the prim allowance in the parcel. Prospective sponsors will also go through an interview process prior to taking up residence, again to help ensure the look and feel of the park will not be adversely affected. It’s also worth pointing out that parcels come at cost; Aero Pines Park is a non-profit park, and there is no additional mark-up on land above covering tier costs.
As well as offering visitors the opportunity to partake of a range of activities, the park also holds events throughout the year, some of which are themed to the season (there has recently been a Valentine’s Ball for example, and the pond at the centre of the estate is still frozen over for ice-skating).These events also help foster a sense of community and encourage visitors to spend time in the park exploring and enjoying themselves.
For those wishing to use their own form of transport rather than those provided through rezzing systems, visitors can join the Aero Pines Park group and obtain object entry rights within the park. However, whether taking to the road or the water – please keep in mind that this is a park, not a racing circuit. Visitors are expressly asked not to rez road vehicles (especially not emergency services vehicles or military vehicles) but are welcome to rez their own horses, traps, etc. No such restrictions apply to using the waterways or the Aero Pines airstrip.
If you’re into caves an caverns, Aero Pines Park also offers you a treat with the chance to go underground – just make sure you set your viewer to midnight when you do.
There is much on offer here for role-play groups, photographers and even machinima makers. Role-play groups should refer to the park’s brochure notecard, and machinima makers would be best served contacting either Cindy or one of the park rangers about filming. For photographers, the park offers some beautiful scenery and works well with a wide range of windlight settings.
All-in-all, Aero Pines Park is a great place to visit and explore. At six regions (currently), it offers plenty of room to make exploring interesting while avoiding tripping over other visitors / explorers, but it is not so big as to be overwhelming.
I discovered Song Bird, JadeYu Fhang’s wonderful homestead region, entirely by chance during my random roamings in SL. Part art installation, part gallery, part store, part photographers dream, Song Bird is perhaps best summed-up in a single word: exquisite.
The are three distinct parts of the region. There is the ground-level art installation, which is both a veritable tour-de-force of sculpture and artistic expression in SL, and also visually stunning when taken as a whole work of art in itself, complete with windlight settings. Overhead, and high in the sky, are JadeYu’s store, Dark Tears, and her art gallery – both of which should very much form part of anyone’s visit to Song Bird.
I cannot fully express how marvellous the ground level installation is. I’ve no idea how often JadeYu may change it (if she does at all), so if you’ve not seen it already, you should. Amazing really doesn’t cover it.
The pieces of the installation are on a grand scale, towering over a landscape which is covered in places by ghost-like dandelion seed heads which tower over you, or hanging in the air with a surreal precision. Such is the scale of things here that is some respects it is easier to look around via camera rather than explore on foot – but if you opt for this approach, be sure you do so carefully, as there is much here on more “normal” scales which can be easily overlooked when camming between the larger pieces.
Several of the pieces feature repeated motifs, which give a sense of theme to the various pieces, while other pieces appear to stand entirely on their own, leaving one with a very mixed set of impressions; JadeYu doesn’t provide any descriptive notecards for the various pieces, so the mind is free to offer-up its own interpretations – or to simply admire.
Many of the pieces are themselves vendors – hovering the mouse over them will display the L$ icon, and the prices at which they are offered are not going to break anyone’s bank – so those looking for sculptures and pieces with which to decorate their own regions / larger parcels with some very striking pieces of art may well find a visit to Song Bird more than worthwhile.
Overhead, the gallery displays a range of JadeYu’s striking paintings, which are also offered for sale as well and which would more than grace most homes. The pieces are all uniquely evocative and eye-catching. One thing I would perhaps recommend is that you turn your sound down before entering the gallery building – there is a background noise which I have to admit I found almost headache-inducing.
Also reached via teleport is JadeYu’s whimsical store – where having the stream active is liable to have your foot tapping (well it did mine, as I can’t resist the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Artie Shaw and Billie Holiday). Here you’ll find her skins and shapes, horns, wings and clothing, all in a cosy house atop a hill in a Halloween-style setting, and with the aforementioned music tripping out of a lovely pre-war radio by Lauren Bentham which is a delight in and of itself.
All-in-all, Song Bird is a real joy to visit, which anyone with a love of photography and art is going to find appealing.
Thoroughly recommended – just don’t forget the donation points and tip jars scattered around the region and at the gallery and store :).
A year ago, I visited Hazardous, an evocative build by Wendy Xeno and Mandingo Quan on Mandigo’s Homestead region on Misali.
After an extended period of being under construction, the region has just re-opened (and my thanks to Ziki Questi for the nudge that it had through her blog) and, while I’m often given to superlatives when exploring SL, it really is stunningly spectacular.
The fact that you’re in for a treat is evident from the start. The arrival point, hovering in the sky over the region, offers show very unique “teleport” stones. I’m not going to spill the beans on what happens – suffice it to say it is a very novel means of arriving in a region!
When you arrive at ground level, you could easily be in the rural county of Anywhere – all around you is grassland and tress, a few buildings and other bits. In fact, on my arrival, I couldn’t help but think of the grasslands of East Africa. Around you are several wooden signs welcoming you and warning you of several point of importance: that unattended child avatars will be sold to the circus, for example, and that the region has sharp edges…
It is this last sign which hints at why the new rendition of Hazardous is so spectacular: when you reach ground level, you are actually standing atop the most magnificent plateau rising over 30 metres above the surrounding sea, and which is cut through from one side to the middle by a deep gorge.
At the top of the plateau the grassland offer much to see and do, and is a veritable delight for anyone with a photographic bent, whether the default windlight setting is used, or one opts to experiment. Here you can wander through the grass, explore the old buildings scattered around, sit and pass the time with friends or dance away the hours, playing records on a portable record player (remember those?).
The attention to detail is, as ever, wonderful: the edges of the plateau blend perfectly with the uplifted terrain, the fences, telegraph poles, buildings and seating are all ideally located and speak of considerable time being taken in framing the entire region such that it presents a truly natural feel while offering scores of opportunities in which photographs can be framed.
Nor is the detail constrained to the plateau. There is also much to see down in the gorge and at sea level. The former, in contrast to the grassland above, is a lush, watery setting in which sits a show home reached by a boarded walk. Overhead, but below the lip of the plateau, birds wheel in tight flocks, as if seeking a resting place among the scattered tree-top before the sun sets…
Sea level can be reached via a set of steps, which also lead to a walk and a piano and places to simply sit and look out over the sea and … think …
Words really do not do justice to the way Mandingo has developed and landscaped Hazardous – it is something which has to be explored and experienced, and I really cannot recommend it highly enough as a destination really well worth visiting. When you do, keep an eye for clickable items – one of them will take you to the hidden pond.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 