Six Years in Second Life

Time is standing still. We are measuring ourselves by how far we are going.

Debasish Mridha

It’s that time of the year!

No, not when we in the States cough up the dough to pay for the three ring circus that takes place down in Washington, DC.

I’m talking about when I sit down and look back on blogging for another about Second Life (SL).  (Significant Other looks surprised that it’s happened so quickly.)

This has been a difficult year to stay on top of my blogging.

A loss of a loved one in Real Life (RL) took me away for a while last summer.   

Since then, things have been a bit up and down.  But, not to worry, Significant Other and I are fine and the situation is under control.  (Significant Other asks, “Really?” but look relieved.)

There have been accomplishments!

First off, I passed the one million hits mark on my blog!  (And, no, this was not just my three loyal readers hitting my blog every day.  Don’t listen when Significant Other says I thought they asked for too much money.)

Since I wasn’t able to spend as much time as I’d planned originally, I fell back on discussing life inworld.

I blogged about travel, how we spend our time, and are we enjoying ourselves. 

Then there are my old favorites!

Mieville always has an active social life and Route 66 made a recent comeback. 

First UCC is still helping those in RL who need it and called out their pastor, Jerome Newstart, as one of the most interesting people whom I’ve met inworld. 

And, recently, one of SL’s most creative builders just opened two fantastic Star Trek exhibits.

Sadly, I sometimes feel the need to blog about the dark side of SL, like when I wrote about sexual harassment inworld.

Yes, I still have plenty to blog about in SL! 

What do I have to say about SL after six years of writing about it?

SL is alive and well! 

Change may be coming.  Sansar is on the horizon and Facebook recently announced that it’s getting into the virtual world game.  Maybe we’ll see renewed interest in SL. 

I still enjoy SL! 

I have family and friends.  It’s a wonderful place to wander about and marvel about what can be done online.  There are many great people to meet in these wanderings of mine.  SL is somewhere that I’ll be returning to often in the future.  (Believe it or not, Significant Other does enjoy having me near at hand.)

I plan to be exploring inworld and blogging about it for a long time to come!

My thanks to all who read my scribblings, my three loyal readers and all the rest of you!

If I haven’t met you inworld yet, I hope to soon! 

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Back on Route 66 in Second Life

Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.

Erol Ozan

           A number of years ago, while traveling across Second Life (SL), I came across Route 66.  My longtime friend, Perryn Peterson, had recreated the roadway as part of the summer festivities back then.  

          Well, he’s back on the road again!

          Perryn and his merry band in Mieville have brought back a bigger and better version of Route 66 just in time to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the famed

highway in Real Life (RL)!  (I’m always amazed at how Perryn turns into a major community event what most ordinary mortals don’t even know exists!)  

          Allow me to give you a little tour!

          First, a bit of history!  (Significant Other wonders aloud if anyone has ever warned Perryn that it’s a major mistake to let me talk about history.)  

          The original highway opened on November 11, 1926.  

          Route 66 was one of the first major cross country highways in America ultimately running from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.  Its course was across the American Southwest probably to avoid the harsh winter weather in the northern part of the country.  (Hadn’t anyone invented snow plows yet back then?)  

          The roadway became part of the country’s culture.  It was there at the end of the Roaring Twenties as the Age of the Automobile began.  It was there for the Great

Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II.  The great post-war expansion led to the development of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System which ultimately contributed to the decline of Route 66.    

          Route 66 became part of America’s culture.  There were songs (Get Your Kicks on Route 66), TV shows (Route 66, what else would you call it?), and novels (The migrants in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath traveled across it to get to California.) 

          Perryn’s celebration of Route 66’s anniversary will run from July 23, 2016 to August 14, 2106 and can be found here.  

          This rendition of Route 66 inworld is much larger and more detailed than its predecessor.  The latter was essentially a small town somewhere on Route 66 in the American Southwest.  This version seems to roll on across the sun blasted countryside seemingly forever.  (I should know, I walked its entire length!)

          More scenery is included this time from large rock formations to exquisite natural floral arrangements.  The attention to detail is there in the papers blowing around in the street by the wind.  The drive-in has to be seen!

          Perryn’s team has captured the architecture of the region both in the traditional Southwestern style so easily recognizable to anyone familiar with the area to the classic American highway style of the diners and gas stations along the way.  

          Walking into one diner with its counter service, booths, black and white Formica tiled floor, and juke box was like going back in time.  (Significant Other points out that I’m

not that old.  I rejoin by saying that I did watch TV growing up.)  

          Don’t forget to visit Georgia O’Keeffe’s residence too! 

          The festivities will include a dance, costume and titler contests, a mini-hunt, rides, classic cars that can be rented, a petting zoo, gatchas, freebies, Cheesehenge (Just go look at it for yourself.), and much more! 

          Over one hundred vendors will have their wares on display, many in a marvelous flea market.  The works of Acadia Asylum will also be available onsite for free!  

          Our Grand Sponsor is Emedea Morgenstern of Rag Dollz.  Other merchants include Unalunaqat Resident and Stangbo Resident, who live in Mieville and are selling kittens.  SunQueen Ginsberg of Where Worlds Collide, her whole shop will be dedicated to Southwestern wares. Plato Novo of "%" Per Cent who started three years ago at the last

Route 66 event has returned. Liam Metaluna, of Panda, Panda who specializes in creating music boxes, furnishings with an Asian feel, and all with detailed textures.

          I encourage all to come and have a great time!  There’s something for everyone!  

          This is also a great chance to see a part of America that unfortunately is slowly disappearing.  

          Maybe you’ll even run into me there!  (I don’t care what Significant Other says about me scaring off visitors! I’m telling everyone that I’m coming!)

Additional pictures from my visit can be found on this flickr page.   

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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. 

          Open roads and kind fires!

On the Road: Route 66 in Second Life

 

I was surprised, as always, be how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.

Jack Kerouac, On the Road

                Recently, my good friend, Perryn Peterson, invited me over for a sneak peek at his next project in Second Life (SL).  Perryn has recreated Route 66 inworld.  (Or, at least a small portion of it.) 

          And, with today being Independence Day, July 4^th, in the States, I thought that this would be a good time to go tripping down memory lane.  (At heart, I’m very nostalgic.)

          Now, many of you, especially outside of the United States and probably most Americans under the age of fifty, are probably what Route 66 is and if you happen to know, why should you even care.

                U.S. Route 66 is a famous transnational highway that runs across the United States to the West Coast.  (Whether or not this region’s name should be capitalized is an internal debate comparable to that on the Second Amendment.)  Originally constructed in the Twenties and was removed as an official road designation in 1985. 

Route 66 has always had special place in American sensibilities.  There was a TV show, a song, and a movie.  (What else would you expect in America?)  Books have been written for years on this subject.  (Barnes & Noble has nine pages alone of them.) In the days of 21¢ a gallon gasoline and big gas guzzlers, the open road stretching all the way to California and the Pacific Coast seemed attractive. 

          America’s Manifest Destiny was based on moving west.  First by covered wagon, then steam train, and finally the internal combustion engine on highways.  (Let’s not forget aircraft but they don’t help my story.) 

          Route 66 brings out nostalgia in many Americans (including this one) because of an appeal to a simpler time.  (Given how that simpler time included the Great Depression, World War II, and the Vietnam War to name but a few topics, gives you some idea how bad things are now.)  Also, the appeal of the open road which has been part of American literature as shown in the works of Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Jack London, and Jack Kreouac to name but a few.  This last one especially appeals to me as I wander across the Grid.  (Significant Other suggests that I’m merely lost.) 

          I arrive in the Route 66 sim when all is quiet.  It’s not open to the public yet but I wander about.  It’s eerily quiet and the streets are empty.   Given how Route 66 has receded into the mists of history in Real Life (RL), the atmosphere seems appropriate. 

          I walk through streets with architecture reminiscent of times gone by.  The southwestern style of older shops and buildings contrasts with the Art Deco look of roadside diners.  Gas stations with pumps that look older than some European countries stand by the side of the road waiting for vehicles to stop to be filled. 

          Once again, Perryn has outdone himself with his attention to detail based on his thorough research. (Perryn’s longtime friend and collaborator, Mike Olbracht, has been ill in RL and was unavailable to help him.  Perryn was on his own with this one.)  Let me give an example.  Like on any U.S. highway, Perryn has included the Route 66 road markers.  What he has done is to add the bullet holes to them that are seen in many rural (and a few urban) areas in this country.  (I’ll bet my overseas readers didn’t know that.) 

          Another example of the sim’s authenticity is the period advertisements and movie posters which are placed along the highway.  What Perryn also has managed to accomplish is to show the passage of time.  WPA posters from the Thirties, Burma-Shave road signs can be seen as one walks down the roads.  (Come to think of it, I should have driven down Route 66.  I’ll take this up with Perryn the next time I see him.)  Cars and trucks are parked along the road but no one gave me any keys.  (Significant Other says that’s because they probably heard about how I drive.  I don’t know what the problem is.) 

          The Mother Road Route 66 Celebration arranged by Perryn runs from July 27 to August 4, 2013.  Perryn’s functions are always fun, have superb gifts from the participating vendors, and are well attended.  I recommend participating and dropping by to see Route 66.  As in RL, it won’t be around for long and soon will only be a memory. 

          Please find below links to pictures that I took on my visit.  As always, my crude efforts do not do the sim justice and I recommend all to go see Route 66 for themselves. 

          I would like to thank Perryn Peterson for his time and hospitality in showing me around his sim.  I wish Mike Olbracht well and a speedy recovery! 

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

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   Route 66 Landing Zone

Photo No. 2   The Road

Photo No. 3   Route 66 Roadsign (with bullet holes)

Photo No. 4   Roadside Diner – Interior

Photo No. 5   Gas Station

Photo No. 6   Only an American Would Understand

Photo No. 7   Period Advertisement I

Photo No. 8   Leftover from an Earlier, More Innocent Time

Photo No. 9   Route 66 Shop

Photo No. 10 Two American Classics

Photo No. 11 Route 66  Flea Market

Photo No. 12 Mieville Motor Hotel