It’s been a while since I posted about my SL adventures, mainly because I haven’t been having many thanks to school and work, but it’s all soon about to die down. In the meantime, I’ve found some time to actually get back on Second Life and decided to write up some shorter posts about my crazy exploits! Since my hiatus, I’ve taken up a small 512 plot of land amidst Pixel’s new sanctuary in a region called Chilispoon and, well, I felt the urge to do some landscaping after a silly turn of events. You can probably guess from the title of this post what I set out to buy!

It all started with something completely unrelated (as it always does). I was looking for pose animations so that I might spruce up my screenies with some striking stances when I came across some cool looking topiaries at Natural Expression [slurl]. I checked for the maker (Kriss Lehmann) and off I went to Straylight.

Straylight, home to the Botanical “shop”, is easily one of the pretties places I’ve seen on SL. Lehmann let’s his creations speak for themselves throughout the sim – it’s a great sales pitch! The trees I found there looked great. I wanted to sample all of them on my plot, but my pockets weren’t willing :( Nevertheless, everything’s very reasonably priced for the amount of detail and functionality put into them. After testing out the floor displays, I opted for the bundle of 4 season changing trees shown in the picture. Pretty spiffy! I almost got a trio of Japanese Maples, but they don’t have the season changing function. (Do Japanese Maples even change?)

Unboxing my freshly uprooted trees revealed the 4 trees as expected, 4 tree shadows, each made specifically for one of the trees, and the season changing HUD. Not bad! The season changing feature works perfectly, with little falling prim leaves in the autumn cycle. They seem to completely change the feeling of my plot. I may head back to FluffyGreen Meadows to find some grass and flowers to go along with my new landscape.

If you want to learn more about Kriss Lehmann and Straylight/Botanical, you can check out their blog or go to the sim directly with the slurl at the start of this post. Even if you’re not buying anything, it’s worth looking at all the cool stuff!

As always, have fun and happy detouring.

PS: I decided to go back to Botanical and pick up one extra tree for only L$99. It has two trunks entwined and a big heart carved into one of them. It’s scripted so that you can put a 30 character message into the heart :) Here are a couple of pics:
[ love tree 1 | love tree 2 ]

[ all photos | slideshow ]

More like a funky steampunk styled space station than a circus, the 109 Prims Circus [slurl] emanates its own cerulean galactic field. Around it protrude quaint mechanical odds and ends, and below it, where the galactic field ripples outwards from the circus’ core like the wake of a water droplet piercing a calm surface, is a dance floor that’s sure to give you that lighter-than-air feel.

There is a refreshing combination of oddness and tranquility here; then again, I may be confusing oddness with genius. I’m a big fan of steampunk, and the 109 Prims Circus holds its own in providing an unstressed, natural steampunkish look worthy of the genre. The circus and everything in it are the creations of Onakagoo Epin; I have to imagine that it all took quite a while to create, what with the great compatibility between the intricate detail and overall vision.

While it is mainly a shop, the circus has several notable attractions. You might guess from the cover shot (of Pixel and me dancing) that they’re mostly couples-oriented :) There is a big merry-go-round with a whole stable of celestial horses ready for the riding on the main floor (which I call the core, because it reminds me of a warp core. You know, from Star Trek? Bill Shatner? ANYway…) On the roof, you’ll find a carriage ride through the stars. The course is pretty restricted – it basically just goes in a small circle – but very cool visuals nonetheless. And it’s always more fun to take the ride with a special someone :)

Also on the roof is a smaller merry-go-round that can potentially fit in a small room. You can buy varieties of it for under L$1000; I think I prefer the Pegasus version over the regular horsies. Going over to the other end of the roof you’ll find that notorious crescent moon dozing off as if it’s the king of the place… and it probably is >:O

Now if you go back downstairs to the main floor and find the teleporter to go to the dance floor, you’ll find yourself on a platform in the middle of open space! No worries though, as there is an invisible floor that runs over that whole ripple effect :) Regardless of how safe it is, I couldn’t help but feel as if I were going to somehow start free-falling. Keep in mind, this whole build is pretty high up in the sky. But whatever dizziness you suffer, it’s well worth the atmosphere, not to mention the spectacular snapshots you can catch.

Up on the main floor again, going off onto one of the walkways, you’ll find the shop which, despite all the great attractions, was the reason for my coming here in the first place. I was looking for a particular present that would wow Pixel on her birthday, and my search brought me to Onakagoo Epin’s hoverific steampunk ridable hovercrafts! (I don’t know what else to call ‘em!)

These great little wonders attach to your spine and are scripted and animated to float around on an industrial sized hover-fan. There are separate movement animations when walking, running and jumping, but you don’t move any faster or slower than if you were moving around without the attachment. Furthermore, it doesn’t aid you in flying above the normal SL altitude allowance, which is a minor Awww… of disappointment. You probably want to stay low to the ground to show one of these things off anyway :) Shown below are different models you can buy.

 
 
(Click on each picture for prices and descriptions)

I eventually got the Flying Crescent Moon for Pixel because it just looked too awesome to pass up, but I have to add that I had a little bit of trouble when transferring it to her. Most of these hovercrafts come in two versions: Transfer (GIFT) and No Transfer. The GIFT item itself is transferable, but I found out that the script inside it (which I think is written by someone other than Onakagoo) is not.

We sent a few notecards back and forth despite the language barrier, and both Pix and I received copies of the Flying Crescent, and then some! Ona is extremely kind and generous, and seems to be a very stand-up chap. I think the whole non-transferable script thing was just a mishap – maybe I was the first buyer to find and report it. In any case, I’m more than pleased with the experience :) Hehe, and just to note, Onakagoo’s English is pretty solid after all.

Some of the hover riders might seem pricey, but you have to give it up to them. They’re totally worth the cost! And I am so getting the Jack O’ Lantern one for this year’s Halloween.

Well, there you are, the 109 Prims Circus at a glance. But why is it called the 109 Prims Circus? Drat, should’ve asked while we were still in dialogue :) But maybe you can find out for yourself. So go on, I know you want to visit ;) Here’s that [slurl] one more time.

Have fun, and happy detouring!

follow-up: They make very cool bumper cars :D

  

The above picture was taken at Consequence [slurl], a sweet shop and club brought to you by Islara Moon, Zero Ethaniel and Vencenza Aeon. I’ll have more on Consequence in a later article; for now, I’d like to talk about STARMEN.

Pixel showed me one of these starmen that Islara and Ven had introduced her to, and I was mystified to say the least. I wanted one too! And this prompted a quick adventure. Our first stop? Comet Corp.

[all photos | slideshow]

Comet Corp [slurl] is a little open-air sky shop known mainly for its SYMMETRIZOR, a spiffy tool that makes “reflected builds with just one click!”, according to its description. (It takes an object and replicates a backwards-reflected version of it.) But I will always forever refer to the place as the starman factory! You can grab one of the little guys here as a L$1 “freebie”. At that point, I had my starman, but the journey wasn’t over…

Check out the spiffy looking landscaping! Up close, it kind of has an ethereal look to it – the flowers, dandelions and high grass. It also seemed to swirl and sway as if from a breeze. Pixel and I sat around for a while before figuring out that they’re actually particles! After searching around, I found the center of one of these swirling flower bunches, and discovered that each “meadow” consisted only of four prims… very impressive. We had to know where they came from.

[all photos | slideshow]

Our search brought us to FluffyGreen Meadows [slurl]. Leendert Meriman, the creator of the the particular meadow I saw at Comet Corp, seems like a fun and interesting kiddo. He and Lalelu Kidd sell a few different kinds of meadows in their “shop”, which is really more like a grove or clearing in the woods. The innovation involved in what they create is too cool!

After shopping around a bit, Pixel and I settled on the dandelion patch as the best in the bunch. But um… seeing as how we live on a beach front, we weren’t sure how we were going to incorporate it into our land :p When we figure something out, we’re definitely going to go back and pick it up!

If you’re a landscaper or if you just want to spruce up your land with a nice patch or field of fluffy flowers, you should definitely stop by the shop and check out the products they have to offer. Or even if not, stop by to check out how cool they are :) Also note that there are freebies here! (The L$0 kind.)

If you don’t know what the Exploratorium is, in real life it’s a “museum of science, art and human perception” in San Francisco, California. (Link provided above) I haven’t been there myself, but Pixel has, and she tells me it’s one of her favorite places to visit :) After having discovered their base of operations in SL, I can understand where she’s coming from.

[all photos]

Most (if not all) of the exhibits on the Exploratorium sim are related to astronomy – my favorite discipline of scientific study! They have many interactive displays, my favorite of which is the simulation of a meteor crashing into the surface of Mars. I guess it’s not strictly interactive… you’re expected to stay in your seats, but after the meteor hits, gigantic lava rocks go flying everywhere! Singed my ear :) Then, of course, you can also see what a head on meteor impact feels like by running out into the simulation field after hitting the button.

A good wayside stop with plenty of fun facts always makes for a good SL (and RL) detour.

by Detourist
Pet Handsohn

“Where the fun lives!”

This funky little shopping district is more than just a wayside distraction. It’s an amusement park on the outside, but delve into the buildings and you’ll find a colorful assortment of high quality clothes and accessories. The topnotch stores simply vomit forth style and sophistication, and while it isn’t a very dense shopping area, you’ll still find a little of everything. I’m only highlighting a few places in this post, but rest assured, there’s plenty to see :)

Gritty Kitty a one-stop shop for neko gear – very much Pet-approved. You’ll find everything from geeky glasses to astro zappers to “deady” bears you just wanna gnaw on until your gums bleed! On your way out of Fishbone Flats, you’ll come across Kasey’s Lookout, a boardwalk of smaller shops and EtchD. It’s the only place I know where you can get some tats carved in ya AND chow down on a bucket of chum. Mickey D’s, make some way :D

There are also other nice shops along the way, a bunch with freebies and all worth a look. You can find a listing of the shops at Koreshan from their website. I picked myself up a spiffy panda helmet with Pixel at Chicanery. Adventure helmets!!!

[all photos]

Coming out the other end of Kasey’s Lookout, you’ll find yourself in front of a store which, I must say, deserves some honorable mention. Mina Junk is a place where you can find a fine collection of unique hand drawn skins. Mina Jun, the artist behind the product, combines realism with artistry, making these skins must haves for SL models. Of course, at L$1,000 a pop (no fat packs available), they may not be for the every-day shopper. If you do come this way, be sure to check out the freebies above and to the side of the entrance!

Tears of Mermaid, Courtesy of Mina Jun

Another attraction you can’t miss is the theater around the corner from Draconic Kiss, which plays old, old cartoons non-stop. I mean seriously, I can sit here watching Popeye and Betty Boop all day. But then I’d never get to my next destination :)

Koreshan’s a real offbeat gem that my cutiepie found while hair shopping, and I’m glad she showed it to me. Come by and take a look around – there’s some cool architecture to behold, and if nothing else, come grab some freebies!

NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Chicanery · Draconic Kiss · EtchD · Gritty Kitty · Happy Bivouac (freebies) · Kasey’s Lookout · Mina Junk (freebies) · Scribbles · Winter Moon (freebies)

by Detourist
Pet Handsohn

Refered to by Kitari Elfenbeim

Definitely not for the faint of heart. INSILICO is a very detailed cyberpunk sim (certainly the most intricate I’ve seen), like something out of Blade Runner or Neuromancer… only not as gloomy. As dark as it may seem, the place is entirely alive with animated neon, holo-vids and green laser sights that follow you until you make a wrong move and tempt the gun turrets to start firing on you. Ok, not really… but would have been cool!

The lights are tantalizing to say the least, and they drew me to just about every nook of the place. There are many little spots to discover, but if you do look around for a while expect SL to slow down some. Completely worth it though.

[all photos]

As you can probably tell, the shops are geared more toward cyberpunks, but the high quality items are definitely not to miss out on. You’ll find everything from mobile suits to tech weapons to neko gear. Aside from shops, there are several hangouts, most notably the Blue Ant Bar, the Red Strip Club and Club Aftermath (the last of which has disappeared for construction since my previous visit I think). While the area is new and continually growing in appearance, you can expect to find a good amount of traffic here. There may even be more as INSILICO owners/builders/visionaries Skills Hak and Cinndreia Messmer have intended it to be a RP sim.

In an interview with REZ Magazine last month, Skills notes that it all simply started with a place where she wanted to sell her products. She had so much fun building it, that she bought her own sim and made everything that is currently INSILICO from the ground up. You can tell from the moment you TP in that there’s a lot of soul behind the project, with innovations like the interactive web browser view-screen. Skills seems to always be building, and the city is yet young, so you can probably look forward to much more in the coming months.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS