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...