Hair Today and Gone Tomorrow?

When I first joined SL back in March 2007, hair was a very dodgy issue. I used to have long red hair on my avatar then, and like with most avs, hair was a very important feature in respect of my SL appearance! Well I say it was a dodgy issue because I would be going out to a virtual party or dance thinking my av looked like a million dollars with my nicely styled red hair only to have someone at the party give me the bad news that I was, in fact, bald to everyone else! Oh the shame!! everyone else seemed to have their hair, and the fact that I could see mine, but no one else could, only made it worse, oh the insecurity of not knowing if you are bald or not!!

My friend Drax Ember was so cruel, he would simply don a pair of sunglasses and complain about the glare from my scalp and I knew it had happened again, SL leaving me looking a right state with my sticky out ears and shiny egg shaped head! Well over the months things improved, no one seemed to say I was bald anymore and I got really complacent, changing my hairstyles from one day to the next, not a care in the virtual world, the bald days were a thing of the past!

Then it happened again, I went to a meeting at the CNN Island yesterday and sat there quite pleased, once again secure in the fact that I had long black hair with nice red highlights. I joined in the group chat, colleagues Ed Follet and Hibiscus Hastings joined me, Ed even sat next to me and I just carried on, happy as you like, answering CNN Producer Nicole Saidi's questions! Then Drax came over and directly he set eyes on me mentioned that the glare was back and I could see him looking in his pocket for his sunglasses as he spoke! Ed said he had not wanted to tell me in case it put me off the discussion and Hib said she could see my hair from the other side of the arena where she sat, but another ireporter Latok, who sat a little way away also told me I had no hair!

Looks like we, or I, am taking a backwards step and now have to worry about being a baldie again, I might get my head tattooed with a big sign that says 'Well I can see my hair even if you can't' or I might just get some hair tattooed on my scalp, oh well back to the drawing board Linden Labs!!




Janey Bracken

Semana de Muertos at Instituto Espanol

A friend of mine, knowing that I have an interest in art, suggested that I visit the Instituto Espanol sim which had been decorated for the Semana de Muertos. The Instituto Espanol is a sim where avatars can take Spanish language classes. It has been constructed so that visitors can also learn about the culture of Mexico and includes a pyramid, a church, school rooms and market place. Some of the buildings can be used to display art, so during the Semana de Muertos artworks that are related to the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) were being exhibited. As well, information on the Day of the Dead was provided.

According to the notecards, it is believed that it is easier for the souls of the dead to visit the living on the Day of the Dead. Families visit cemeteries and build private altars at the grave. These altars can include pictures of the deceased, favourite foods, drinks, memorabilia plus blankets and pillows so the deceased can rest after the long journey. Some families may also build altars in their homes
In Mexico the Day of the Dead is observed at the beginning of November. In most regions the Dia de Muertos is observed over two separate days. November 1st is set aside to honour children, and is called “Dia de los Inocentes” –Day of the Innocents or “Dia de los Angelitos” - Day of the Little Angels. November 2nd is the day for remembering adults and is called the “Dia de los Muertos” or “Dia de los Difundos” – Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced back 2500 to 3000 years ago to the indigenous peoples of the region. Originally the festival fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, which corresponds to August in our calendar but now occurs in November and corresponds to the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd).
As well as altars and other decorations related to the Day of the Dead, the works of José Guadelupe Posado (February 2, 1852 – January 20, 1913), a Mexican engraver, illustrator and artist were on display. He began his career as a political cartoonist, eventually moving on to commercial work and illustration. His work was often meant to make a satirical or religious point, but after his death it became associated with the Day of the Dead.
The Semana de Muertos has ended now and all the decorations have been taken down. However,this is a lovely , colourful sim and an excellent place to be introduced to Mexican culture and the Spanish language.

Hibiscus Hastings

The First Date

Gloria left Mr. Stoneyheart’s home and returned to her apartment, falling into a deep sleep after her tumultuous day. She woke up the next morning much lighter of heart than she had felt for a long time. Clearly, meeting Mr. Stoneyheart had helped her distance herself from the pain of the past couple of months and the breakup with her boyfriend.

Mr. Stoneyheart, too, was feeling unusually cheerful. Always an energetic person, there was an added jauntiness to his step as he went off to work that day. He had enjoyed his time with Gloria and wanted to continue seeing her, so he sent her a notecard asking her to go dancing with him later that evening. Gloria accepted his invitation and they both spent the next few hours in happy anticipation of the evening to come.


After work Mr. Stoneyheart went home and changed, then TP’d to Midnight Reflections, a beautiful sim perfect for a first date. He IM’d Gloria at the appointed time and then TP’d her over. They began their evening at the main dance floor but after a while moved away from that area, walking along the pathways until finding a more private place. They began to dance again, but this time without the distraction of other avatars and their noisy chat. Only the sound of the waterfall and the music could be heard as they danced and occasionally chatted, but much of the time they spent in silence, delighting in the comfort of each other’s presence.

As the sun began to rise they wandered on, strolling through the sim and enjoying the scenery. They started ascending one of the hills, stopping part way to look out over the water. Gloria, feeling relaxed and contented, spontaneously hugged Mr. Stoneyheart.

Continuing on they came to the top of the hill where there was a bench placed for avatars to rest after the steep climb. They sat there together and Mr. Stoneyheart, who perhaps surprisingly had a love of poetry, quoted the words of WB Yeats to Gloria, whispering softly

O CLOUD-PALE eyelids, dream-dimmed eyes,
The poets labouring all their days
To build a perfect beauty in rhyme
Are overthrown by a woman's gaze
And by the unlabouring brood of the skies:
And therefore my heart will bow, when dew
Is dropping sleep, until God burn time,
Before the unlabouring stars and you.

Hibiscus Hastings

The Cube Gallery Opens

We have some extraordinary artists in SL and it’s my pleasure to know one of the best, most creative ones. Cher Demonge has used his talents many ways in SL and in real life too, his immense skills at designing, architecture and imaginative art and graphics have all come together to create his latest and most successful venture, The Cube Gallery!

Even outside the gallery, the huge rust stressed cubes in the central walkway are striking and somehow awesome with their size and dominance. I asked Cher about the cube theme, he told me “well I have always had a thing for cubes, the lines and shapes and they always come into my mind when I’m creating things so that’s where that came from and it grew from there. A simple thing but a strong shape.”

Cher has many of his works of art on display; he uses graphics to give the pictures depth and his own particular urban style impression to everyday scenes and objects. His work is easily recognizable and unique, it would suit any modern environment as a central feature. I particularly loved one of his sculptures, his cube style again, but this time translated into a smaller arrangement on a metal frame that complimented the straight lines and angles of the cubes.

Cher has a lot of space in the gallery and his intention is to display other people’s work for free. He already has a couple of rooms put aside filled with 5 artists work and they range from SL art work to real life art brought in-world. The standards are very high and I should imagine Cher would make sure that all the work on show has to be of a certain grade. One of the artworks, a large lit sculpture, was interactive, you touched it and the light could be altered to suit your mood, a great idea!

One of Cher’s pieces of art distracted me a lot though, a ball in a box with continuous motion, it bounced around and I felt drawn to it to keep watching, it was something quite different to his other artwork and very nice to see.

The Cube Gallery is a brilliant meeting place for people and Cher tells me that it already has quite a community. There is the Cube Café inside the building and also a waterside area where you can sit and chat. The whole building is beautifully designed by Cher and is in fact a piece of art on it’s own.

If you have any artwork that you wish to display in this top gallery contact Cherish Demonge in-world.

Janey Bracken

For Sale, The Best Castle In SL

There are some things in SL that you see and want to own really badly, buildings are something that rarely make me feel that way, but I have just seen a truly awesome castle, not just any castle, but a study of how a Medieval castle would have been in the Middle Ages. This amazing structure with all it’s furniture, fixtures and fittings is going on the market for just L$5000 and, if only I had the land, I would, without a doubt be buying it!

Fitting nicely into any Medieval sim, the possibilities for role play, renting out parts of it to tenants, or even just having the luxury of the whole thing as your home are endless. It would suit a King and Queen with its opulent throne room and guarded doors. A Gorean Master or Mistress would relish in the layout, even using the dungeons where they could keep their slaves and prisoners. Dare I mention it? yes I will, even BDSM fans will have plenty of room to add their instruments of torture too! It’s easy to get lost when you tour the buildings, there are so many passages and walkways leading off into different rooms, trap doors with staircases going down to the next level and each room looking like you stepped right back into the 14th Century.

I met the creator Johnnytreadlightly Nightfire who is still in the process of adding a few finishing touches and I asked him some questions about his excellent castle. I wanted to know how many rooms there were overall, he told me “I'm counting 14 above ground. Some are very, very large, like the castle master bedroom, and the main castle floor. That's not counting the outside areas like the market and the streets. Johnny is still completing the master bedroom, but told me “There's one 'barracks' room, a guest bedroom, three apartments, and a two story keep. Any of these could be deemed liveable.”

I asked Johnny what is included in the L$5000 and he said “That's everything, and there's going to be a lot more than what you see now. I'm also selling each piece separately, and packs. Say you liked the castle furniture, but aren't fond of the castle. You could buy that pack.” Johnny continued “I'm going to put up a beta version for sale. Anyone who purchases will be entitled to the completed version when it is finished as well. It is fully functional now though, and I have a LOT more planned. Hence the beta version. I just wanted to release it to the public. It’s a lot of fun to play in and I've had a lot requests for the release.” Johnny passed me the list showing the prices for each individual piece of furniture and fittings, and these would suit the pocket of any avatar, an example is the luxurious four poster bed, which is just L$300, complete with full cuddle, erotic and single poses, you also have the bonus of it only being 3 prims. Everything on the list is very affordable and is made to the highest quality.

I wanted to know about the specifications that people would need to know about before purchasing the castle. Johnny explained “611 (prims) for the whole building. That's the walls, tavern, 2 story keep, 3 apartments, market area, stable, well, common area, barracks, two levels of dungeon (lots of passages and it covers the whole build), and a 4 story main castle. I think that's it. The building is approximately 50x60x50 high. It was designed to fit on a 4096 sq M plot. Furnishings do vary. I got a little carried away with it, but it is all very low prim. I used a lot of sculpties. Fully packed (that’s a lot of furniture), I'm at 1250 right now.”

Johnny told me “I am still working on this. Let me just say, I have some big plans. I know it’s vague, but I don't want to ruin any surprises either. I am in a very fortunate position building wise. I've made buildings, furniture, armour, weapons, and gadgets all in the past. I've toyed with the idea of some hidden gems inside (unique freebies for your guests). I'm a firm believer in rewarding the adventurous. Sl is about exploring and everyone likes good freebies :-)”

I went into the large communal area of the castle with Johnny and he told me that the items are all scripted, for sitting, cooking, even the drinking vessels set out on the counter are animated, taking a tankard of beer from the counter and drinking, I could see my avatar was getting a little tipsy, as we stood chatting. Johnny has not based this on any particular real life castle, but he has read a great many books on the subject and admits Medieval times have always fascinated him, he says it’s “Great stimulus for your imagination.” In respect of the furniture, although he has studied museum pieces, he has made everything with his original touch.

Going back to the castle next day to take photographs, I met a couple of people who were looking around and already considering buying it, Cajundarlin and Krypton were exploring the rooms with great excitement. Cajundarlin clearly loved it and Krypton said it had “damn good textures and (was) a hell of a build.” Krypton told me “Johnny does good work, I have a lot of his stuff.”

Later on friends Drax Ember, Hibiscus Hastings and Ed Follet joined me and we enjoyed another tour. I still found areas that I had missed before and we all agreed how fantastic the whole thing is.

Johnny’s store, JTL Designs also sells all the items anyone could wish for, for their own personal needs, an array of weapons, armour, clothing and much, much more! If you want the very best castle in the whole of SL this is the one! Contact Johnnytreadlightly Nightfire in-world for details.

Janey Bracken

Old Bert's Day Off

Old Bert quickly settled into his new routine, going off to work, playing trivia and continuing to explore the metaverse. At the end of one workday (and a very jolly workday it had been since it involved testing beer!) Old Bert decided to take a peek at the Nation of Victoriana, a sim he had found while checking profiles. He enjoyed thematic sims, so he was very much looking forward to this little outing.

The Nation of Victoriana is a collection of sims created in the style of the Victorian period. It is a beautifully built place, done with great attention to detail by the owner and mayor, LittleBlackDuck Lindsay. Old Bert tp’d to Victoriana Square, the heart of the sims, arriving at the train station.

Facing the station and right in the center of the square was a large community hall. Surrounding the square were shops, galleries and a pub. After everything had rezzed Old Bert began to stroll around. As he got to the far side of the square he came across the start of a fox hunt, one of the monthly events held in the sim. It was a colourful scene; Old Bert made sure to stand off to the side so as not to be trampled as the hunt began. He happened to be next to an art gallery and since he was something of an aficionado he entered and had a look around, admiring the many fine artworks on display. Finding himself to be rather tired after his full day at work (!) Old Bert decided to return home and explore Victoriana more thoroughly another time.

On his next day off, Old Bert returned to Victoriana. Being a person drawn to the sea, he started off at Victoriana Harbour.

Next he went to Victoriana Carnivale, a great funfair. There were lots of games and rides for him to try – he played the coconut shy, tried the SLeeBall at which he scored 220, not bad for a first try, took a turn on the Big Wheel and went for a ride on the carrousel. He felt a bit dizzy after that and decided it was time to continue on, so he walked through Victoriana Forest and came to the entrance of the big maze at Victoriana Hedgemaze.

Old Bert spent quite a bit of time trying to find his way around and at the end felt a bit tired and hungry. As he emerged from the maze he noticed a pretty young woman tending the flowers next to a building, which fortuitously turned out to be a tea room.

Old Bert asked her if the tea room was open and was happy to hear that it was. He went inside and chose from the delectable array of food on display which the young woman brought to him along with a reviving cup of tea. Much fortified, Old Bert then continued on to Victoriana Square and the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery which he had visited the day he had seen the hunt.

As Old Bert approached the gallery he noticed a sign in the window saying “Help Wanted”. This gave Old Bert pause. He had enjoyed his time in the gallery and was quite familiar with the art on display. While he liked the work he was currently doing he found it to be physically tiring. Walking into the gallery Old Bert began to wonder “What if I applied for this job?”

With thanks to Boye Jervil for the pictures of Old Bert.

Hibiscus Hastings

The Amazing Enchantment Island

Many of the places you visit in SL have nothing much going on, although a lot of work has been put into making the sims eye catching and pretty, most are just nice gardens or beach resorts. It was with this thought in mind that I teleported over to somewhere called Enchantment Island, but how wrong could I be about this sim!

Enchantment Island has so many sights and things to do that you will have to go back time and time again in case you have missed something. Owner BambiTwice Nitely must be one of the most creative people in SL, she has crammed so much into the Island and all of it well worth seeing.

On arrival, as you click the notice board which shows all the attractions, you are given a notecard with a list of the places and landmarks to use, so it's nicely organised and you can visit each place without getting lost (which was helpful to me, because I usually get totally lost whilst exploring!).

On the Island there is the Great Marine Adventure with a Treasure Hunt and a large selection of marine life to see, including some free gifts on the way too. You can also visit the Swampy Marsh, The Museum of Amazing Illusions, go on a Sub-aqua Tour, visit the Ghost House, Alchemist's Grotto, Cave of Dreams, The Eerie Woodland Glade, the Museum of Surrealism, plus you can experience a Mega-Bubble-Mania ride. Also on the Island there is the Club Tornada and Community shops, which sell some mystical and wonderful items.

I went over to the haunted house and instantly fell down into a trap just outside the front door, it was a ditch full of spiders, not for the faint hearted! I climbed out and went into the haunted house, which was fun. Inside there is an entrance to an 'Adult' rated crypt which lies below the house, and I ventured down there with a little apprehension in respect of what I would see. You have to be age verified before you can enter this part, and choosing one of the three doors, I fell down into what looked like the inside of someones gullet. I was met with some gruesome sights there! It was more difficult climbing back up, but I made it in the end. Just outside the haunted house there is a small graveyard with some wacky headstones bearing inscriptions such as 'Not Over My Dead Body' and 'Bye' etc. There's also a memorial to Michael Jackson as well.

I moved on to see what the Museum of Amazing Illusions had in store, and this was fantastic. Bambi is exhibiting other SL inventor's works in the museum and there are many interactive things to do. I became a giant spider in one illusion and in another I lost my head in a bowl of fruit and hoped no one else came by fancying such an odd looking apple!

I met one of the museum security guards, Alf Brun, who was having a nap, or I thought he was, but he was very alert when I spoke to him. It did cross my mind that he might want to go out for a drink with our very own Old Bert, as they looked a similar age, I will have to introduce them one day! Alf told me about the other Museum on the Island called The Museum of Surrealism and he said that the Mega-Bubble-Mania ride was also great to go on. Saying goodbye to Alf, and letting him nod off again, I went on my way and came across a Hall of Mirrors. This was really nice, lots of things to look at again, including a little train travelling around the room with it's deep reflection in the shiny marble surface of the floor.

I had to go back to real life, but came back later with my friend Drax Ember who liked the sim as well. We explored the Museum of Surrealism, which had some amazing exhibits including a copy of Andy Warhol's sofa, shaped like a pair of red lips. We had a little sit down before moving on to the caves and finally to the Mega-Bubble-Mania ride. Alf was right, this ride is not to be missed, it was very exciting and well done, Drax and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Give yourself plenty of time to go and explore BambiTwice Nitely's incredible SL world. I promise you, you won't be bored wandering around Enchantment Island!

Janey Bracken