Around the Grid

I have been doing a little bit of exploring lately and found a couple of places I thought were of interest.

The first is called Zenescope. Linden Lab has partnered with Zenescope Entertainment, a comic book and graphic novel publisher, to create a region with a quest – to find Cinderella Monroe, aka Cindy, who has been wreaking havoc by breaking into shops and stealing merchandise, amongst other things.

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The entrance to Zenescope. You can see on the right where Cindy has crashed in ice cream truck into one of the buildings

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You enter the sim through a portal and if you wish to follow the quest to find Cindy you can pick up a HUD right at the entrance which gives clues and guides you throughout the sim. By using the HUD you will be able to gain credits which will allow you to pass through a second portal once it is open. You can also feel free just to explore but it is fun to follow the clues and pick up some prizes and credits.

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A mansion and gardens
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To take a break from the quest you can have a quick game of golf. Note my excellent form!
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Inside a maze which contains some very helpful signs.

A second discovery I made is a wonderful exhibition at the Cape Able Art Gallery where the work of Tucker Stilley is on display.

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Tucker Stilley is an American artist born in California in 1961. The art on display at the Cape Able gallery is part of a collection of his works he calls calls “Palimpsessed” which derives from the word “palimpsest”. Palimpsest originally meant “a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text” (dictionary.com) Parchments were extremely expensive and so were often reused after the original writing had been erased. Because of this previous layers would sometimes show through. Now palimpsest is used in a more general way “something that has a new layer, aspect or appearance that builds on its past and allows us to see or perceive parts of the past” (dictionary.com) In the same entry on palimpsest there is a quote “Memory is a palimpsest that is continually being written over, but never perfectly so” (dictionary.com) While looking at Stilley’s works you can see the multiple layers making up the picture, revealing and covering each other, so that one image comes from a few other images which are not completely visible in themselves.

The Cape Able Gallery displays exhibitions by deaf and/or disabled artists. Tucker Stilley has been creating art his whole life but in 2005 he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and so now uses adaptive technology to create his artworks. To see an interview with Tucker Stilley by Draxtor Depres click here .

Happy New Year!

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With best wishes for a happy and healthy 2021!

The North Pole

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Since it is Christmas Eve day I thought I would drop in on the North Pole to see how Santa is doing and as one might expect things were busy.

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The North Pole sim is a lovely wintery sim, you can go skating or ride a horse around and enjoy the beautiful vistas, or just sit and contemplate. The only negative I found, and this seems to be happening in many of the winter sims, is that the roads aren’t terribly well ploughed.

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I found one truck delivering Christmas trees that had gone off the road and was partially buried in the snow. Apparently someone had tried to dig it out, but given up.

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However, I had come over specifically to find out about Santa and I found him running around doing all sorts of last minute things – filling stockings,

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driving snowfriends around (those roads are tricky!) and giving the reindeer some last minute instructions.

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It was nice to see Santa as once he sets off on his journey I probably won’t catch a glimpse, I shall be tucked up in bed fast asleep to make sure that he drops my presents off! Good luck Santa!

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‘Tis the Season Winter Wonderland

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Sometimes when I want a little break from RL and all the busy-ness of this time of the year I like to explore the winter sims; they are so atmospheric that entering one is like stepping into a Christmas card or a Hallmark movie. One sim I found recently, ‘Tis the Season, is a perfect example.

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After arriving in the sim there are various paths to follow, leading to all sorts of delightful scenes and spots. The first time I arrived I followed a path that took me across a covered bridge to a very well appointed Christmas market and hot drink stand.

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I sat for a few minutes with a drink which, as the sign said, was a “hot drink for cold hands”. Much appreciated.

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After that I continued on and found a sleigh tour, so I sat back and was driven all around the sim. There are little seating areas scattered around where you can relax, skateif you feel more energetic and places for taking the perfect photo. I even found a friend, a shy little snowman!

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‘Tis the Season is a lovely place to get away from it all.

Vernissage at Le Manoir de Provence

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There are a few words that I have never in my wildest dreams expected to be associated with me and one of them is part of the title of this entry. Vernissage! In English “opening” is more commonly used but since the one I am referring to here took place at the Michiel Bechir Art Café in the Hotel-Le Manoir de Provence sim I am using the French term.

It was a wonderful opening party. The sim itself is lovely, who doesn’t want to be in the south of France, and the Grand Salon (where the Art Café is situated) is just off a beautiful swimming pool area, where most of the dancing took place. Owner Manu Beaumont (ptitmanu Beaumont) had the happy idea of putting a see-through floor over the pool so we could dance safely without ending up in the water. Great music was provided by DJ Joss Floss. My thanks to Michiel Bechir for inviting me to exhibit and for organizing everything, Manu Beaumont and Karly Kas (Karly Twine) of Le Manoir de Provence, DJ Joss Floss (Jossinta Resident) for playing the atmospheric music and to DJ Joss Floss and Myhra Lindman for the musical choices. And of course I would like to acknowledge the wonderful people who came to the event and were so kind with their comments. I had some very interesting conversations. Thank you all so much.

Exhibition at the Michiel Bechir Art Café

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My good friend Michiel Bechir, who is very active in the SL Art Community as an artist and a gallery owner, has invited me to show some of my works at the Michiel Bechir Art Café in the Hotel Manoir de Provence . This exhibition contains some of my older, historical works (at 13 I feel like Historical Hibiscus) as well as recent pictures. The opening party is Dec. 12 at 12 pm slt with music by DJ Joss Floss.

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The Hotel Manoir de Provence just opened a couple of weeks ago. It is a beautiful establishment with lots of amenities – dining room, exercise room and a swimming pool and beach area that just invite you to dive in, the perfect place for a relaxing getaway, particularly for those of us in the north, where the days are now so short and chilly.

The Art Café is in the Grand Salon facing out onto the swimming pool. Come say hello, have a look at my works and enjoy the atmosphere of the sim.

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Little Things Mean A Lot

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A few weeks ago I had an exhibition of some of my photographs at Tango With Nottoo ‘s gallery “Art In My Heart”. Tango With Nottoo is a great club, lots of fun for those who enjoy the tango, as well as other Latin dances and I highly recommend it.

While I was preparing for the exhibition I went through photos I have taken over the years, starting in 2008! What a wonderful trip down memory lane that was; I am very fortunate to have met some brilliant and inspiring people during my time in SL and I thoroughly enjoyed looking back and re-experiencing some fantastic times.

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One thing that became very clear is how much more sophisticated bodies, hair and clothes have become. A very pleasing and fun aspect of SL has been playing with my appearance. My clothes always fit! I can mountain climb in the winter wearing a cocktail dress and stilettos! I can actually do the tango! I have been rather slow to adopt mesh heads and am still exploring this new technology. I have yet to make the leap to BOM or the pro heads, but I am getting there.

This all leads to a discovery I made recently after I acquired some hair from Stealthic. When looking back at some of my older pictures the hair looked as if it had been made out of extruded modeling clay, but that has changed dramatically. Hair is much more detailed and delicate now, in some cases there are even fine baby hairs as well as longer hairs. But the “little thing” that I am referring to in the title is not only the beauty of the new hair but the ability to style the hair. And not only can I move the hair about but when I do so my hands flick the hair back and forth! So much fun. It won’t win the Nobel prize, but it certainly adds a little je ne sais quoi to my day.

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Lights of Arkon

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If scary Halloween sims aren’t your style or you would just like a break from them, the Lights of Arkon is the perfect option.

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Lights of Arkon is a sim containing light displays, artworks, music and sculptures which can all be viewed while being taken on one of three tours atop your own star shaped taxi.

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You just sit back and enjoy the sights.

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You can stop wherever you want and there is even a romantic dance floor if you visit with someone special.

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Halloween – Return to Darkwood

Return to Darkwood is a sim created by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith of Calas Galadhon fame. It is described the rebirth of their 2014 Halloween region, which unfortunately I never saw, and as might be expected by anyone who has ever been to Calas Galadhon, it is an amazing sim.

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It is very large and detailed so I have made a few visits. The first time I went I took the elven boat and allowed myself to relax and leave the driving to someone else.

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You settle in so comfortably and cozily that you almost forget this is a Halloween sim. Almost.

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While you drift along you pass scenes of great beauty and etheriality, every once once in a while catching glimpses of places and creatures that seem to come from another land. However, your boat continues on undisturbed, even by the giant spiders, crocodiles and menacing snakes so that you eventually make it to The Portal which whisks you away to the Darkwood Pavilion.

The next time I returned I decided to make my way on foot, stopping and exploring whatever caught my eye.

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This really revealed the much spookier side to me, getting much closer to the creepy crawlies and nightmare creatures I had caught glimpses of during my boat ride.

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I visited an abandoned (sort of) swamp community,

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Note the giant spider

walked into a cave guarded by a snake

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where I happened upon the devil.

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I made a quick escape, let me tell you!

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Fortunately I was able to calm myself down by finding a campfire and roasting some marshmallows before going on. Not too long after that I found The Portal and made it up to the Darkwood Pavilion safely.

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There are scenes of sadness and pain hidden throughout but to quote the elven tour boat narrator at the end of the visit “We hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s Halloween tour and that it lifts the heart, if just a bit out of some of the darkness we’ve all experienced this year. All that is sweetness and light triumps in the end. Be a butterfly!”

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Halloween – Captain Crunch Halloween Town

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The grim reaper can be found in the cemetery

Today I visited the Captain Crunch Halloween Town. What drew me to it was the name, I expect anything to do with Captain Crunch to be fun and I was not disappointed. There are lots of things to see and do here.

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Hayride

There is a fun fair at the landing spot which includes mini-golf,

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Bumper cars

pumpkin bumper cars (they make a lovely squishy sound when you bump into something with them),

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Ferris Wheel

a ferris wheel, movie area and a hay ride which takes you around the rest of the sim, which is a haunted village. A fun and scary time to be had by all.

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Happy Halloween!