Wednesday 28 September 2011

Tango in Second Life


Is it possible to be abandoned and controlled at the same time? I don’t know, but the other night I went to a tango club with my friend Boye Jervil, and if anything can create that kind of feeling, it must be the tango.

The Tango in Second Life sim, owned by  Adolfh Gustafson, replicates a tango dance hall, or milonga.
Depending on your mood, you can kick up your heels (literally) inside the intimate club, up on the roof, or outside in the garden.
 The music is fantastic, non-stop classic tango, and more than anything this creates the atmosphere of passion, sensuality and mystery (I’m sure it is no coincidence that the Masterpiece Mystery theme music is a tango).

The tango itself emerged in the 19th century and was originally danced by partners of the same gender, as a kind of competition. In 2009 the tango was declared to be a part of the world’s cultural heritage by UNESCO. So if you are a culture vulture or just want to have fun with some friends, Tango in Second Life is a great place to try.
Hibiscus Hastings

Thursday 17 March 2011

Old Europe Market Fair

Old Europe is holding a Market Fair from the 18th to the 31st March. There will be a great assortment of designer stalls to browse with some lovely bargains to be had. There will also be special events including a pajama party on March 23 at 6pm SLT, sponsored by Plowwies, with live music from the wonderful jazz singer Shasta Soulstar. I've been honoured by having my own stall there and I popped over to set it up today, the site looks fantastic already. Don't miss out on all the events, for further information contact Up4Dawes, Monica Zemnis or Rux Anatra.



















Janey Bracken

Monday 21 February 2011

Second Anniversary of Sarah's SKB Astrodroids Store


SKB Astrodroids is a very successful SL business owned by SarahKB7 Koskinen and this February Sarah celebrates the second anniversary of the opening of her great store. Sarah, who specialises in making robots, is very talented indeed, the detail in her work is just astounding. To celebrate the anniversary Sarah has opened up four mini sims displaying themed scenes based on the Star Wars films. You can find the teleport pad just inside Sarah’s store, and she kindly showed me around the exhibition. The scenes were really well done and fans of sci fi and the Star Wars films would love it for a bit of role-play, or just to have a look around. Sarah admits she doesn’t really role-play herself, but loves looking around other sci-fi sims. She also enjoys making some fun things as well, she once took on the task of building London’s Tower Bridge, and I can tell you she did a brilliant job. I asked Sarah why she liked science fiction so much, she told me “Because sci-fi is about expanding the imagination. Its geeky, but I don’t mind that.” Sarah as some lovely outfits too and she definitely has her own style, her avatar is eye-catching and a bit different to the usual fashionable, but a little more boring designs found in SL. SKB Astrodroids proves that you can run a successful SL business and I can only say that Sarah provides quality and good customer service. Go and see her exhibition, which will be running till the end of February. Congratulations Sarah on your 2nd Anniversary.








Janey Bracken



















Sunday 6 February 2011

Beautiful Ponderosa Ranch


If you fancy a bit of horse trekking, you couldn’t do better than visiting the Ponderosa Ranch by Serenah Raynier Creations. If you haven’t got your own horse you can get a free one by clicking on the saddle which you will find at the side of the path (turning left from the teleport welcome area). The sim itself is stunning, beautifully laid out and not too tricky to guide the horse along the open paths. I went over to have a look with friend Drax Ember and we had a lovely time exploring. Serenah has put a lot into the sim, the wild flowers, grasses and pretty trees along the way are very real looking. You can trek up over the hills and across a viaduct where you will be caught in a misty shower of rain, be careful of the crumbling road though as you cross over it.

You can buy horses at the Ponderosa, follow the sign to the store and the stables are on the right with the store directly in front of you. There are lots of nice things in the store as well and it’s worth taking a look. We loved the ranch and had a great time there, I can recommend it as a ‘must see’ on your list of places to visit.































































Janey Bracken

Sunday 23 January 2011

An Octopus's Garden In The Shade!


Ever wanted to dance under the ocean and swim with the fishes whilst you listen to some great music? well now you can! I dived under the waves yesterday to visit Oceanus, a fantastic water-world venue for live music. The setting is truly amazing, you are surrounded by sea life and coral as the singers take centre stage in a sparkling pavilion. The club is owned by Tia Foxtrot and Remy Farman. Both Remy and Tia sang live for us with a lovely range of songs from Remy's version of 'Always on My Mind' to Tia's 'Crazy' and 'Stupid Cupid'. It was great fun and the club has a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

I think Oceanus will be a big success and I'm looking forward to going back soon!





Janey Bracken













Sunday 9 January 2011

A Touch of the Blarney Stone is Very Welcome!

There seems to be a lot of new people arriving in SL right now, all those new computers for Christmas I would imagine, and a great place to meet people in the virtual world is in SL Dublin. Dublin has stood the test of time and has been one of SL's success stories for quite a while. The ever popular Blarney Stone Pub is usually packed out with people dropping in for a chat, a dance or attending the many live events they have on there. I stopped in for a glass of wine and met Boris the bar cat. Boris is very friendly and came and stood by me purring away. Casey, who was drinking in the pub, told me that Boris even has his own bedding on the bricks behind the bar! As I stood there chatting people began dancing to the great Irish music being streamed in, it was a warm and inviting place to be.






Janey Bracken



Saturday 25 December 2010

Gemma and the Angel - A Christmas Story for 2010


“Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings” Oh how Gemma loved that old Christmas movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ starring James Stewart, she had sat watching it again last night as the child in the story quoted the famous line at the end; tears streamed down Gemma’s face, it got her every time! It was Christmas morning and she was up early to put the turkey in the oven as the rest of the house slept on. She had set the alarm for 5am to make sure that the large bird would be cooked through so she didn’t have to worry about it later in the day, especially if her guests arrived early. Gemma always felt a little bit uneasy this time of the day in her big Victorian home, there were cold spots in the house, and a few times in the past she thought she had seen a shadowy figure, just fleetingly, in the hall.
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Once again her parents and in-laws were coming over for Christmas dinner and although she looked forward to Christmas, sometimes she wished that someone else would volunteer to cook, just for once! It was the same every year, she had a house full, her elderly parents, her husband’s parents, her brother and sister with their partners, plus her brother-in-law and his girlfriend usually came too. Although Gemma was happy to greet them she seemed to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen whilst they sat chatting in the lounge, sipping their Pims and glasses of wine and having little digs at each other like families do. Her husband Mick and son Johnny weren’t much help either, they just got under her feet, so she packed them off to the lounge as well, telling Mick to make sure the guest’s drinks were topped up. Gemma hated to admit it, but deep down inside she resented the family coming to her house each year, she felt very taken for granted and would be glad when they finally went home, leaving her to chill for the rest of the night with her husband and son.
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Taking the prepared turkey from the fridge, she placed it into the hot oven and glanced at the clock. It was still early so she decided to log into Second Life to see if any of her friends were there so she could wish them a Happy Christmas. She logged straight into her SL home, a place where she felt safe and happy. She looked at her friends list and there was only one name highlighted as being on-line, it was her best friend Jo, so she was pleased to call her for a chat. Jo was busy at home in real life too, and she and Gemma only talked for a few minutes and then Jo had to log out.
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Not wanting to return to real life yet, Gemma thought she would have a look around SL’s New London Village, it was the ideal place at Christmas, a snowy London site with quaint little shops and beautiful town houses as well as all the famous capital’s landmarks. She teleported over and set her computer to midnight to make the most of the SL fairy lights in the sim. Gemma headed for the West End area of New London where she could look in all the shops, her friend had a gallery there selling fine art and another friend had a Christmas shop with colourful xmas trees and snowmen for sale. As she got there she noticed someone on the steps of one of the houses. The man whose name was Oscar Pembrose looked a little bit shabby and sad and Gemma decided to say hi.
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“Hello Gemma” he said, “I’ve been waiting for you” “You have?” Gemma answered, wondering what was going on. “Yes” he said “Can you help me please?” Gemma was curious now, why had this avatar been waiting for her, she had never seen him before, but there was something familiar about him. “How can I help you?” Gemma asked. “Well” the man said “I’m looking for my family, they always gathered here in this house for Christmas, but you seem to be living here now Gemma, and I don’t know where my family have gone!” He seemed very upset and in trouble, Gemma was taken aback at what he had said. “Oscar I’m sure you will find your SL family have just moved to another place” she said trying to console him. But he looked at her with sad eyes and said “Gemma I can’t find them, they were here and now they are gone, I wished I had told them how much I loved them all. I thought they were bothersome when we were together, always bickering and fooling around, but now I realise what a good time we had together and how special they are to me.”
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Gemma asked gently “Is this your real life you are talking about Oscar?” He didn’t answer, he just opened the door of the house and beckoned her to follow him inside. Gemma climbed the steps and entered a familiar room, the walls, the furniture, the carpets were a copy of her real home. Gemma shivered as she sat at her keyboard “what is this?” she asked Oscar. He turned and looked at her, “This is where they should be, my family, and I can’t find them, I miss them so much” he said, a tear rolling down his face. Gemma felt aware of someone standing behind her in real life, turning quickly she could see it was Oscar and she gasped in shock. Strangely enough she didn’t feel frightened, he was just unhappy and needed her help, somehow he had contacted her through SL and here he stood, a shadowy ghostly figure in her kitchen.
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Gemma was shaking, but managed to talk to him “What year is this Oscar?” she asked. Oscar replied “It’s 1950 of course Gemma” “But it isn’t Oscar, it’s 2010 and your family, just like you, must have passed on” Gemma had no idea where she had the strength from to talk to this ghost, but she felt so sorry for him, he must be the figure she thought she had glimpsed now and again since her family had moved here two years ago. “Passed on?” Oscar whispered. “Yes” Gemma said “Your family must be waiting for you to join them Oscar, you need to go to them” Oscar’s expression changed from a frown to astonishment as suddenly the room filled with an eerie light. Oscar started to fade from view and Gemma noticed that he looked younger and no longer seemed sad. In the blink of an eye Oscar and the light had gone leaving Gemma stunned and shaking. She looked back at her computer screen and Oscar’s avatar had vanished too, the SL house was empty, not a stick of virtual furniture remained. Gemma looked in the search menu for Oscar, but she couldn’t find him listed. She opened Google and searched for the 1901 census pages. Looking down the list she could see her street and house number and then she looked across to the occupants names. There it was, Pembrose, Mr Eric Pembrose, his wife Emily and their children Oscar and Elizabeth. Gemma made herself a coffee and sat wondering if she had just imagined it all. Then she remembered, she logged all her conversations from SL into one of her folders on her hard drive. Opening the chat folder she searched the bottom of the page and there he was, Oscar and everything he had said to her in-world.
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Later that day Gemma answered the front door to the first of her guests. As her Mum and Dad stepped into the hall she gave them a big hug and told them she loved them. The draft from the opened front door rustled the branches of the Christmas tree in the living room and Gemma could hear the ornamental bells softly tinkling. Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings, thought Gemma, “Happy Christmas Oscar” she whispered quietly to herself ………this will be the best Christmas ever for me with my family!

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Janey Bracken
WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS