Happy Holidays Everyone!

A very Happy Holiday season to you all!

A Silly Moment

One thing about SL is that sometimes you can have truly silly moments..like me riding a rat car around the ballroom in Steelhead.

Metaplace Closing

I got a notice that Metaplace would be closing on January 1. I took part in its beta months ago after signing up on a whim...
I've heard it described as "retro" and coming from SL, it certainly had that kind of feel to it, but for some reason I kept returning. I enjoyed exploring all of the little worlds that folks created out of simple graphics and items pulled from Google's 3D warehouse. Browser-based and very easy to use, but it really did have a throwback feel to it though. The fun for me was finding worlds were people were doing interesting things, like this Victorian Jack the Ripper mystery-based one called Whitechapel 1888...And you know that I could not resist visiting "Steampunk"...There are/were a lot of creative folks in there who pushed the boundaries of what could be done in there, such as the "Wonka" world by Xue Mei...Whose "Happy" was also a standout to me...My own little place evolved during the time that I was in there and I essentially rebuilt my beloved gardens that I used to have in SL. I truly enjoyed creating this and I am sorry to see it go...

An Evening Chat

I had a very nice time chatting with Lunar and fellow Steelhead resident, his friend Redsonja Congrejo. I teased him that I was shocked he had furniture for once.

And He Played the Violin

I was in a pretty bad mood and stopped through my shop to pay my rent and adjust some things when a man walks over to me, violin in hand, and asks if he could play me some songs. A wandering musician, he told me that he travels the Grid, playing for those who will listen. I felt much better afterwards.

Caledon in Blue Mars

Well, I suppose I can finally talk about this now...

Desmond Shang has announced Caledonia, Caledon's "colony" in Blue Mars. Reactions about the upcoming 4 million sq m Caledonia have ranged from "What?!" to "Oooo" to "Whatever." Its preview will be available in a few days. As Caledon is one of SL's significant "showcase" regions and he is one of its most well-known land owners, this is a big deal.

I've been a part of this project since May and for me, it has been interesting to see the evolution of a brand new virtual world. I've been exploring Blue Mars in general due to the fact that checking out other virtual worlds is what I like to do. I will not sit here and tout it as the end all to be all, because as I have said in previous posts, it still has quite a long way to go until it's truly ready for primetime. In the meantime though, it is the possibility of what it can do that is intriguing.

Will Blue Mars be a SL killer? No. I don't think so. SL has more danger of killing themselves off due to their company's practices and general perception than another virtual world popping up. And I seriously doubt SL is going to go anywhere for quite a while. Its draw--as it was for me and for others who are content creators--is still the ability for anyone to be able to make something using its built-in tools. I've always loved SL and still believe in its possibilities as well. Those who like SL will continue to be in SL, or they might be like me and check out both worlds. Right now, the two worlds are like apples and oranges and it's still way too early to guess at an impact one way or the other. In the meantime, can't blame a person for checking out the other options out there.

Groovy Man! Raglan Shire's Wootstock Festival

For two days, the tinies of Raglan Shire had their Winter Wootstock music festival featuring live musicians, DJs and lots of fun...
Ohh groooovy man...don't bogart the wootberries...Musician Gina Stella returned to Raglan and finished the weekend's performances with her tiny crowd pleaser "Wafflelujah"...All of us even had our lighters out. Nobody parties quite like tinies!

Kenroku-en Gardens

Sometimes I like to wear an avatar that makes me really happy and go to a place inworld that seems...peaceful. Tonight, I wore my "Wabi Sabi" Ollipog tiny steampunk Japanese doll avatar and went to Kenroku, the sim of the Able Seed garden shop. Here I am at a re-creation of the Ishikawa-mon Gate...
Based upon the 300-year old Kenroku-en gardens in Japan's Ishikawa prefecture, the gardens are beautiful and the architecture has fantastic texturing... Here is the Kotoji stone lantern that sits on the pond, which is named Kasumiga-ike in real life. The gardens are considered one of the most beautiful in Japan. This is one of the wonderful things about SL--being able to visit wonderful re-creations like this inworld!

Chaffro's Wedding in Raglan Shire

My friend Chaffro is getting married in RL. He and his fiancee Kitti thought it would be fun to have an inworld ceremony in Raglan Shire as well. Here is the nervous bunneh groom...
All of Raglan turned out, including tinies creator Wynx Whiplash herself, to hear their genuinely sweet exchange of vows...Afterwards we all went to the reception and partied like only tinies can!Congrats to the two of them in both lives!!!

Laval Point Decked Out for the Holidays

Mrs P made some beautiful holiday wreaths and swag, so I thought I'd make Laval Point a bit more festive. I was going to set out the mistletoe again this year. Hm...

New Steelhead Sim

Steelhead's latest sim, St Helen's landed. Lunar and Tensai are hard at work on it, but it is already shaping up to be a really pretty rustic sim. I'd say that it is the most rugged looking of the six so far...Lots are still open in it, so if you are interested, please contact TotalLunar Eclipse...And of course I explored it as a ferret and chased after the deer...

Writing in Both Lives

I am particpating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in RL, so I thought it'd be fun to have a writing desk at my home inworld.

For those of you who are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, you essentially have to knock out a 175-page, 50K words manuscript in one month. I've fallen a bit behind, but I think I'll at least come close this year compared to back in '05, when I only got to 161 words. I've become much more efficient as a writer since then.

I think there's something nice about SL me writing while RL me is too...

Raglan Tinies Fashion Show Video

The tinies of Raglan work the runway in the recent Raglan Fashion Show! Thanks to Daveypup Nirvpaw for creating this video showing off the talented designers! Work the runway!

Find more videos like this on Puppy of Raglan

Steelhead Shanghai featured on Treet TV "Designing Worlds" show

Steelhead Shanghai was featured on the "Designing Worlds" show. Hosts Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin joined Lunar, Tensai and resident Elegia Underwood on a tour of the sim. For those who might have a problem viewing the video below, you can view it HERE...

World of Goo

I got 2DBoy's "World of Goo" game through their recent promotion, thinking it looked fun and cute and boy, was I right. One of the most quirky and original games I've ever played. For those of you who have played it, you will totally get this video...

Elle in Farmville: Chickens and Peppers and Squash...Oh My!

Screw it. I'll admit it...I play Farmville. You've already read about why I think people really get into games like YoVille (which I've found that I'm disinterested in), and I like this one even more. Essentially, you are a farmer (obviously) and plant crops with a certain harvest time, like 2-day squash or 4-hour blueberries. When planting or harvesting you get currency coins and XP. You can also harvest trees and collect from your livestock. Like other Facebook-based Flash games, your friends can send you gifts for your farm and vice versa. You can help out on their farms for XP. It's simple as hell and really easy to use and fun...I've found that I don't care very much about levelling up quickly. I just like having the plants grow? I had created this little heart out of hay bales even before I knew there was a whole forum devoted to FarmVille art out there!Recently, its parent company Zynga has been called out on lead-gen scams. What's that? In FarmVille, you can buy coins or FV bucks outright. For those of us used to MMOs like SL, no big deal. It's like buying Lindens. Seems FB cracked down on it and Zynga removed the option, but there used to be things like "Get 15 coins if you sign up for a subscription with so-and-so", which I thought was a ripoff since you could just go ahead and buy the currency.

Despite those issues, I still think Flash-based games like this are worth a watch...especially if they become more interactive. And you have better believe I'm keeping my eye on City of Eternals, which is still in its testing phase.

Watching the Clouds

There are times when I am happy just to sit with Phin at our place in Caledon Mayfair and just watch the clouds go by...

Just Another Night in Steelhead

There's nothing quite like logging in to presents, and this time a really pretty necklace was awaiting me...Lunar had just put down the new train station in Steelhead, based upon this one, so I went over to check it out...While inside, he asked me "Did you just see a big robot go by?" I said "This is SL. Anything is possible." But sure enough, the large robot peered into the Steelbucks coffee shop in Harborside and continued to explore the town...
Lunar asked me to join him on a quick errand. We both looked down at a deer sprawled out on the ground in Port Harbor. We figured it strayed from someone's property and he returned it to its owner to graze some more. I joked that the evil tiny kitty next door would've been eating venison for days if she found it first...

C'mere Fishie Fishie

What's a tiny bunny do to relax? Sit on her dock and fish, that's what...

Transformation & Transcending

Bettina Tizzy decided to cease posting on her NPIRL blog yesterday. It was always one of my faves because being an explorer like I am, I enjoyed visiting a lot of the places she discussed. It was also a great showcase of the imaginations of SL's content creators. She also gave me the opportunity to participate in the Rezzable Garden of NPIRL Delights last year. I know I was thrilled to be among some of the most creative folks on the Grid. She has said that she will continue to tweet what she finds and the inworld groups themselves are not disbanding. She has been busy in RL and I also get the feeling that she is working on something else great.

I can absolutely understand the feeling of wishing to move on to something else in a way. Blogging and keeping up with the social media of SL in addition to your RL can be demanding. I know that my friend and virtual sis-in-law Zoe Connolly recently did the same, deTwittering and dePlurking and unblogging. I do believe there is a point that one has to make a choice as to how much they wish to manage their time on SL-related activities, even if it means leaving SL altogether like Eshi did recently.

SL--and virtual worlds in general--are meant to be a complement to one's RL. We change. Our needs and wants, both inworld and out, do too. We transform and sometimes transcend them. And there is nothing wrong with that. I wish much luck for all three of them in their future endeavors, and I'm sure it's not the last any of us will hear from them.

Friendly Greetings from Torley's Tiny Bunneh Heaven!

Everybody in SL knows Torley Linden. He who loves pink and green watermelon-y goodness. I had never been to his sim Here Island, and thought it'd be fun. At first I had my own little raincloud, but it soon went away...
Due to the sheer crazy fun of the place!Watermelon monster! YESH!Even the water was filled with things to see...And just when I thought I had found tiny bunny heaven...I REALLY found tiny bunny heaven!!!!

Um...

I can assure you that I am unable to walk on the walls, and my tiny bunny AV isn't wearing suction cups on its feet.

I have no idea how this happened...

Learning is Fun in Raglan

Heading over to Raglan U. for the second part of the machinima class in preparation for the big Raglan Machinima Festival in February...
Daveypup Nirvpaw's goal today was to teach us about basic editing in Movie Maker (since it's free and most of us have it anyway)...
Looking at my fellow tinies in attendance was a lot of fun too. I noticed Bith's rings on her horns. Very chic! I had the pleasure of meeting Bith in RL at the Baltimore Comic Con recently. She was there with her husband, who is an artist, and both of them were very nice!
I noticed zoe Reymont's toilet paper roll and wondered what she had been up to...
And Teal, well...I am probably not going to post it as it was just a godawful test, but my practice machinima that I made was called "Bloodsucking Squirrel." Yup.

Elle in Blue Mars: Golfing & Shade City

Was exploring Blue Mars today and well, let's just say that I need to practice my golf swing...
I also stopped by Shade City and walked around...I don't know if the sky above the main area is really like this or this was just my computer on the blink, but I like it...