STEAM 7 – The Wrap!

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.  

T. S. Eliot          

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  STEAM 7 is over and all we have are the memories.  (OK, and some great pix!)  And, the promise of future hunts from Perryn Peterson.  I blogged about the kick-off party for the event, I checked in midway through the Hunt, and now, I’m wrapping it up. (You’ve got to admit, I’m thorough!)

          For those of you joining late, STEAM 7, a steampunk themed Second Life (SL) hunt ran from September 1^st to 30^th inworld.  As usual the Hunt had a subtheme to the main steampunk one.  This time it was “Time & Space” honoring H. G. Wells.  Participating merchants incorporated this concept into their gifts to the hunters.  

          As is the STEAM Hunt tradition, a wrap party was held to celebrate the end of the Hunt and to give team members, merchants, and hunters one last chance to get together. Unlike prior hunts, this wrap party was held on September 29^th, and not the last day.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend.  (The attendees may say fortunately.)

           The party was held at Mieville Academy Asylum Library and Prof. Grey’s (AKA brian61 landar) prim handiwork was much in evidence.  Skeletons (with thirty-three prims each I’m told, almost as many as there are bones in a real skeleton) were numerous in the haunted cemetery theme used for the party’s venue.  The skeleton band really had things jumping I’m told. 

          Since the wrap party was not held at the conclusion of the Hunt, the Fave Five winners could not be announced at that time.  The Fave Five are the merchants voted by the hunters as best in terms of gifts, service, and whatever else it is that intrigues them.  But, the winners can now be announced!  Perryn just gave me the go ahead and here they are:

·       Gold (1^st Place) - Epic Toy Factory - Mayah Parx

·       Silver (2^nd Place) - Ghostraven's Steampunk and Pirates  - Marcel Ghostraven (No relation!)

·       Copper (3^rd Place) - Joy of Steampunk Museum - Knowledge Tomorrow

·       Bronze (4^th Place) - Land of Nodd - Noddington Schmooz

·       Iron (5^th Place) - Ankh Morpork - Janeel Kharg

Congratulations to all the winning merchants! 

          Noddington Schmooz of Land of Nodd designed the trophies for the Fave Five winners.  Each trophy is in the base color of its award (gold, silver, copper, bronze, and iron) with its place etched on the front.  A little zeppelin flies around each trophy.  No wonder he was one of the Fave Five! 

Once again, I come away impressed by the organization, commitment, and creativity of a group of SL residents who have been doing this for over three years.  This is neither a fad nor a flash in the pan.  Come look at the work done by these merchants and I dare you not to be impressed.  Come see people working and playing together and tell me this is only a game that happens to use pixels as its medium. 

Steampunks are one of the few communities in SL I’ve encountered where social life, scripting, and creativity are all equally evident and important.  I’m not faulting other communities just calling out what makes this one special, unique, and successful.  Very successful.  Of course, there’s Perryn Peterson. Leadership counts as much in SL as it does in Real Life (RL).  Maybe more.  (Yes, I’m biased here but I’ve been around Perryn and his team long enough that it’s hard not to be.) 

I want to thank Perryn for his time and assistance. I look forward to visiting with the hunters and merchants in future Hunts and can’t wait to what clever new ideas they present.  I would also like to thank Noddington Schmooz, and Prof. Grey for taking the time to reply to my queries.  I would also like to thank Prof. Gray for his permission to use the pictures indicated below.

STEAM 7 may be over but it’s only six months to the next one and I’m sure Perryn and his crew are working their magic for us!  And, let’s not forget the Renaissance Faire which will be soon upon us!  (I still don’t know how Perryn does it all. He must have a lot of alts.) 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

Below are a few pictures of the STEAM 7 wrap party and other people and topics associated with the event.  I hope you enjoy them!  Again, thanks to Prof. Grey for the use of his! 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 STEAM 7: The Hunt Poster (with credit to Tattoo Lane)

Photo No. 2 Perryn Peterson

Photo No. 3 Fave Five Trophy (with the permission of Noddington Schmooz)

Photo No. 4 Skeleton Band

Photo No. 5 STEAM 7 Wrap Party 1

Photo No. 6 STEAM 7 Wrap Party 2

Photo No. 7 STEAM 7 Wrap Party 3

Photo No. 8 STEAM 7 Guests 1

Photo No. 9 STEAM 7 Guests 2

Photo No. 10 STEAM 7 Guests 3

 

Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life I

Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions.

Woody Allen

 

           There!  Once again I’ve shamelessly caught your attention with the word “sex”.  (See my earlier story about “Sex in Second Life (SL)” to see how I did it the first time.)  Since I first started writing about nudity in SL then moving along to BDSM and bouncing into sex resorts, I’m learning that there’s a lot of sex inworld.  (If you’re wondering how this all happened check out my story about how I write.)  I mean I think there may be even more sex in SL than in Real Life (RL)!    

          When I first started blogging about SL I thought that sex in SL would be an occasional aside, nothing too big.  Boy, did I ever get that wrong.  (Significant Other claims not to be surprised.)  So, being the investigative journalist that I am (apologies to 60 Minutes) I’ve decided to write about it more regularly in a series entitled Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life. 

          Don’t worry, as my friend, Glorf Bulmer, would say, this won’t become that kind of blog.  (Anyone desiring that kind of titillation should check out Literotica instead.)  I’ll try to blog monthly about what’s going in the world of sex in SL.  I’ll do my best to be informative and, as always humorous.  As Bette Davis once said, “Sex is God’s joke on human beings.”  But, for anything else, like I just wrote, check out Literotica. 

          For now, I just want to go over how much sex is in SL. There are a lot of places dedicated to it, all sorts of practices, and, of course, people merrily engaged in sex. 

          What kinds of places?  Well, there are clubs like Exxotic Pleasures and Cleo Beach.  Dancing and music with rooms off somewhere where people can go and do what people do when they’re all alone in a room with furniture programmed for a variety of sexual experiences.  (Not to mention the freely available pose balls.)  Large numbers of BDSM dungeons do business across the grid.  Then there are resorts such as Turtle Coast and The Island of Bare Naked Angels.  Many of these require nudity and come fully equipped for whatever sexual experiences or preferences are desired.  Then there is the recently opened SL adult continent, Zindra. 

Finally, no discussion of places associated with sex in SL would be complete without talking about the stores.  Shopping for sex in SL has a couple of additional twists not found in RL.  For example, one can go and replace one’s sexual organs complete with a HUD for whatever options one may need.  And, of course what avatar would be complete without birth control, Viagra, or pregnancy test kit?  Who knew? 

Clothing, furniture, BDSM equipment, restraints are but a few of the other accessories available for purchase inworld for those with the necessary Lindens.  (Although, many of these items are freely available in SL as well.) 

          Sexual practices?  Everything from the missionary position to whatever one can imagine or script is possible.  It’s wonderful what can happen when the laws of physics can be ignored.  Then there’s BDSM.  In fact, I think BDSM may be the largest lifestyle community in SL based on my informal, unscientific survey.  For those who are either too tired for intercourse or merely curious, there are sims for those who are feeling a bit voyeuristic.  And, of course, I can’t talk about sex in SL without at least mentioning the practice of collaring. 

As for the people?  They come in all shapes and sizes with all types of practices, straight, gay, BDSM, swingers, and group enthusiasts to name just a few.  For some, sex is a totally uninhibited experience inworld.  I ought to know.  I walked by some of them while they were going at it.  Others are more private.  Engaging in whatever they engage in behind closed doors.  Some are shy about meeting new partners.  Others work as escorts.  Interestingly, when I visited a recently opened sex sim, I noticed many avatars roaming about who were just one or two days old. Makes me think that some aren’t as daring as me when it comes to walking about inworld. Many people are join into groups around whatever their particular interest may be. 

Sex in SL also goes beyond the grid.  Both Barnes & Noble and Amazon sell many fiction and non-fiction ebooks about sex in SL.  (Although, admittedly, most of them seem to be by the same author, Misty Crimsonlay.) Some are about the social aspects of sex in SL, others are memoirs, and some are simply erotica that is SL themed. 

          So what’s this all about?  Besides the sex?  Finding out more about the people and communities that make up SL.  SL is about more than just builds and role playing.  Just as sex is part of everyday life in RL, whether people admit it or not, sex is part of everyday day in SL as well.  I just think people may use the anonymity of SL to experience things they might not otherwise in RL.  Hey guys, do you really think that there are real women behind all those good looking female avatars in SL? Or, that RL women aren’t checking out what it’s like to ill-mannered and rude for a change? 

          In future stories in this series, I’ll write about these different aspects of human sexuality in SL.  And, yes, I do mean human because as many continually remind inworld there’s a real person with real feelings behind that avatar we’re interacting with. 

          I welcome anyone who would like to share their experiences or opinions of SL sexuality with me.  I’d like to include these in my future stories in this series.  I look forward to hearing from you! 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

Below are a few pictures of the places I visited for this story.  And, no, there is neither nudity nor activity of a sexual nature contained therein.  If you want to see that then you’ll have to go there yourself! 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Turtle Coast

Photo No. 2 The Island of Bare Naked Angels

Photo No. 3 Exxotic Pleasures

Photo No. 4 Cleo Beach

Photo No. 5 Zindra