My 300th Story about Second Life

           A small confession.

          This isn’t actually my 300^th story about Second Life (SL).

          (Significant Other’s head shakes.)

          I wrote it a few weeks back but with stories on deadline and the fun ‘n frolic of Real Life (RL), I let the moment slide.

          But, on the other hand, I got to write this reflection on SL in a calm and contemplative

manner.

          (Significant Other wanders away mumbling something about excuses.)

          Three hundred stories after dropping into SL and never leaving, SL is still there.

          Although the implications of SL 2.0 from Linden Lab have yet to be felt!

          Activity inworld still goes on.

          We lose some residents, ones who have been away for a while return, and many new residents join each month.

          Not all that different from RL, eh?

          Communities like Mieville continue to thrive. 

          Sims are lost.

          Phaze Demesnes, many of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and some great

castles are now lost to us inworld. 

          SL appears to have been losing some of the more elaborate, older sims.  (Tier fees are expensive!)

          But, new ones are built to replace them. 

          I have noticed that the builds are less elaborate but there does seem to be more of a community feel for many of these new sims. 

          That being said, there are still some great builders around like Lora Chadbourne and

I’ve lost track of all the rebuilds in 1920s Berlin with Frau Jo Yardley. 

          There also seems to be more charitable activity going on inworld than before.

          Relay for Life seems to get bigger and better every year.   

          First UCC assists residents find help in RL and raises money for RL children’s education. 

          A good friend of mine, Marie, has a drive underway inworld to obtain funds for a service animal in RL. 

          Residents also have more options on the spiritual side as well now. 

          Looking ahead, I’ll still continue to blog!

          (Hey, did I mention that I now have three loyal readers inworld?  A 50% growth!  I’m gonna be a contender!)

          There will be new series in my blog.

          I’ll be doing a dungeon crawl through the various castles of SL and I’ll be looking at

the religious side of things more closely.

          (Yes, I know.  It’s a bit incongruous but I take them as I find them!)

          Old favorites will continue.

          Sex and the single avatar will explore a swingers’ club and I’ll continue wandering through the great castles of SL. 

          I’m determined to start and finish my voyage across the worlds of Mieville.

          (As soon as I get a crew that doesn’t jump ship on me!)

          And, who knows what else I may find as I go along?

          Thanks to all of you who read about my wanderings across the Grid!

          Many thanks to Significant Other for allowing the time and freedom to explore inworld. 

          (Not to mention some of the suggestions to try new things!)

          See you around the Grid! 

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!

 

Two Years in Second Life

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

 

               OK, I’ve blinked my eyes again and another year has passed.  About this time last year when I blogged about how quickly the prior year had gone by since my first blog in my Second Life (SL) journey, I’d written that the next twelve months would go by just as quickly.  And then, poof!  Here I am another year later at the second anniversary of beginning to blog about SL.  

          Since I have started the tradition of looking back and reminiscing about what I’ve done and haven’t done, I plan to meet expectations and do just that in this story.  (For those of my faithful readers who’d rather stick a needle in their eye than trip down memory lane with me, please go read my stories that you haven’t gotten to yet.  We’ll catch up next week.) 

          To recap for those of you who are just joining (or those of you who haven’t been paying attention), I began blogging about SL because I wanted to share with a larger audience my wanderings about the Grid.  Why was I even on the Grid in the first place?  Well, traveling about in Real Life (RL) is no longer an option for me as it once was.  (Significant Other still expects me home on a regular basis and quite rightly insists on a forwarding address those few times that I do get about these days.)  Also, I’d read the blog of Bunky Snowbear who had tried to walk across the SL grid before giving up.  I thought to myself, “Why not?”  (I’m still working with him to schedule an interview.  Bunky’s working in the SL film industry these days and has a great story to tell.) 

          So, I found myself slowly getting drawn into SL.  After a fairly conventional start inworld, I began to push the edges of the envelope in my second year.  I began spending more time among nudists and naturists.  (There is a difference between the two communities.  Trust me they’ll let you know what it is.)  Significant Other claims that I just don’t like getting dressed.  (It does answer the what to wear question very easily.) I visited BDSM sims.  I started to blog about sex in SL (Who knew there was birth control inworld?)  which led to my new regular series, Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life. 

          For those who may be worried that I’m slowly turning into an oversexed, dirty, old avatar in SL, not to worry.  (Significant Other ROFL at the idea.)  I’ve been visiting and writing about other topics.  One of my goals has been to reach out to the various communities and experiences available inworld. 

          I found a community of pirates, visited Ancient Alexandria, interviewed two RL professors who had written a book about virtual worlds, wrote about the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the SL community, and visited several art galleries.  I also found time to enjoy myself and go out dancing with a friend. 

          What I’ve learned from all of this is that SL communities are real people who are in SL for their own personal reasons.  As I’m always reminded as I travel about inworld, there are real people with real feelings behind all those avatars.  I found this out myself from the outpouring of concern and well wishes I received from my inworld friends when they realized that I was literally in the eye of the storm of Hurricane Sandy. 

          I began another series, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life, in my blog where I visit recreations of ancient RL monuments in SL.  This has been an interesting project for two reasons.  First, the quality of work in creating these monuments is very high yet no one is ever around when I visit.  They are ghost towns.  Next, these stories are among some of my lowest read.  I guess the builders and I have to commiserate about here.  As I travel about inworld, I find this in many other sims, beautiful work deserted and empty.  In communicating with Bunky, he gave this as one of the main reasons as to why he abandoned his trek across the Grid.  No one was ever around as he traveled.  (Even in SL we’re social beings.)  I do worry about the long term implications of this for SL. How long will residents continue to pay for sims that remain unvisited?    

          I also spent time with my good friend, Perryn Peterson, and the steampunk community.  I’m still in awe of all the various projects and holiday celebrations he always seems to have underway not to mention STEAM: The Hunt the Renaissance Faire. 

          Spending as much time as I do inworld (Don’t worry about me losing touch with RL, Significant Other keeps me grounded in reality.)  I have a chance to think about some of the deep ideas about virtual life.  (Be warned, this is where things start to get heavy.)   I blogged about the communal aspects of life inworld.  Topics included friendship, social life, and the viability of SL as a civilization.  (I warned you.)  Humor was another one of looks at how we interact with one another inworld.  And, yes, fortunately we do have a sense of humor in SL. 

          These cerebral meanderings got me wondering about who we are in SL.  Do we have an identity?  Combined with my scribbles about the five senses inworld and I’m beginning to believe that there is a blurring of our real lives and our second lives.  (In RL, this is typically where my friends begin to leave the room.) 

          I then found myself blogging about trust and loss in SL.  After two years inworld, I’ve made friends and I’ve lost them.  Sometimes I know why.  Sometimes I don’t.  They just go away quietly.  We open ourselves up to one another in SL on a personal level when we stop and talk. We share feelings and thoughts.  RL issues sometimes come through. Family and economic concerns from RL are hard to miss even if the other party is not speaking of them specifically.  Their pain comes through. 

          SL’s dirty little secret got a lookover from me as well as the not so little dirty secret, bullying.  The former was bit tongue in cheek, the latter definitely not.  I was serious there.  Behaviors inworld parallel those in RL.  Good as well as bad.  We can’t look at SL simply as a game with no consequences. 

          I still look at the economics of SL.  I recently blogged about bitcoin and its availability inworld.  I’ve questioned the future of SL and Linden Lab’s (LL) responsibility for it.  One project on my drawing board is a new series in my blog entitled Shoemaker’s Children where I’ll blog about SL’s shortcomings and what LL needs to do to rectify them.  (I feel that I’ve finally arrived when I can criticize LL.) 

          As for my most recent attempt at a personal makeover inworld, probably the less said the better. 

          During this past year, I’ve lost touch with friends and communities because I keep traveling and moving along.  I’m juggling projects and schedules.  (I won’t even go into what RL is all about these days.)  I’m probably not the best friend to have inworld but to all who put up with me, I’m grateful for your support and friendship! 

          What have I learned in the past year?  Primarily, that SL is all about the people.  The RL people behind all those avatars.  The clothes, the bodies, the prims, scripts, and all the rest of it is secondary to the real people with real lives who make it all happen. 

          Going forward, I’ll continue my weekly blogs.  (I’m surprised I’ve been able to keep it up for as long as I have.)  I try to post more frequently.  I’ll also try to add to the variety of stories and I’m always open to ideas from my readers for new stories. 

          Next month is the tenth anniversary of SL’s launching. I’ll be dropping by the inworld celebrations.  As a rule, I generally avoid events like this but a tenth anniversary is an important one and I’d like to join everyone for the festivities and look forward to another ten years inworld. 

 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 couldn’t possibly list everyone but you know who you are and please accept my humble thanks.  For those who have left SL and may not see this, you’re still remembered and I hope to meet up with you again.  May your real lives be happy and secure! 

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.                            

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World V in Second Life: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. 

Frank Gehry

         

          This is the fifth story in my Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life (SL) series.   My last trip was to the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.   So far, I’m three for four in trying to find the long gone Wonders of the Ancient World.  (One of the nice things about virtual worlds is that things and places long gone in Real Life (RL) are invariably around somewhere in the Metaverse.) 

          For the late arrivals, my rationale for this series about the Wonders of the Ancient World is that I’ve been blogging about a variety of topics in Second Life (SL) lately.  Fashion, steampunk, sex, pirates, and friendship to name but a few.  (I’m nothing if not eclectic.)  However, I feel I’ve gotten away from my roots.  My original intention was to travel across the grid to see new places and meet new people.  I think I’m doing pretty well with the latter but the former maybe not so much. 

           A group of places that I’ve always wanted to visit in RL and have been frustrated mostly by time and to a certain extent by distance is the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.   Given that only one of them still stands and that unfortunately seems to be surrounded by a swirl of political turmoil which looks like it won’t be ending any time soon, SL seems to be a pretty good bet to go looking for them.  (Significant Other also likes the idea of me not clocking up any more frequent flyer miles in RL.) This is the fifth in what will be a series of seven stories. 

The ancient world has always had a certain fascination for me.  Maybe because I grew up in a country where we seem to have more people who are over one hundred years old than we have buildings and monuments that old has something to do with it. 

           Working from Wikipedia’s list of the Seven Wonders, I was able to locate all seven within SL.  (Or, I thought I had.)  This was a good sign and I have my marching orders.  I’m going to visit all of them for my own sake and to bring the places and stories back to my readers. 

This time, I’m visiting the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.  The Mausoleum was built by the widow, Artemisia, in memory of her late husband and brother, Mausolus,   (Whom am I to judge?)  during the fourth century BCE.  BTW, where do you think the word mausoleum came from?  The tomb at Artemisia built at Halicarnassus  (modern Turkey) for Mausolus was renowned for its architectural beauty and hence made it onto list of the Wonders of the Ancient World early on.  Only ruins and fragments in a few museums are left today. 

I TP into Museum Island where a short walk takes me to the Mausoleum.  In front of me is a three tiered structure.  A staircase guarded by two lions leads to the ground floor entrance to the tomb proper.  The second tier is a grouping of columns which in turn holds up the roof. 

Being the curious person that I am, I enter the tomb and see the actual sarcophagus sitting in the middle of a plain, unadorned chamber.  When the doors close behind me there is a feeling of solitude.   Despite the closed doors and lack of windows, natural light fills the space.  (Virtual worlds are wonderful, aren’t they?)  The designer has succeeded in creating a space that mimics its RL equivalent.  Some might suggest that when that occurs, one has moved from craft to art.

And, yes, for the morbidly curious out there, I do try and remove the sarcophagus’s lid and peek inside.  However, it was locked firmly in place.  (What?  Everyone knows I’d have tried even if I didn’t write about it.  At least I’m being honest and permit my readers to live vicariously through me.) 

That was it.  Mausoleums don’t have a lot to keep me around once I get past the architecture and whatever else of an artistic or historical interest there may be especially if I have no relationship to the interred. 

Like my four previous trips, I didn’t have any interaction with anyone.  No one’s around.  I guess that’s probably true of most burial sites.  This brings me back to that idea that’s been forming in my mind since I began this journey that maybe some places in SL are just meant to be viewed and not occupied.  This may also explain the low readership I’m having with this series.  (OK, maybe it’s my writing but I’m working on that!)  I’ll explore this idea in future stories and with other residents. 

My first visit had left me worried about whether or not I was wasting my time with this series of stories.  My second visit reaffirmed my original enthusiasm for the project.  The third was a disappointment because I couldn’t find my goal.  The fourth trip was a hit.  This time I was successful too.  I hope that the remaining two Ancient Wonders meet or exceed my expectations.  (Assuming that I can find them again.) 

As I wrote earlier, my travels across SL have brought me to many different places.  Admittedly, many of these journeys were random.  Now, I’m moving along on a journey with a purpose.  (Maybe I’m growing up?  Significant Other may have another opinion here.)  Searching for the famous sites from antiquity seems like a worthwhile thing to do. 

My reasons for this journey still stand.  First, how much of the ancient world can I find inworld?  Second, how well has the ancient world been reconstructed?  My travels to date have brought me in contact with many residents who are either building worlds in SL or are living their virtual lives there.  The Great Pyramid, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, and  Mausoleum at Halicarnassus are just the first stops on this journey and I have two left. Anyone who would still like to join me for part or all of it, please reach out to me and we’ll work out the calendars.  I’d be glad for the company! 

I’ve included links to several pictures I took of the sim I visited.  But check the sites out for yourselves.  Pictures, especially when I’m the photographer, are never as good as being there. 

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.

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 Frontal View

Photo No. 2 Entrance

Photo No. 3 Ground Floor Interior

Photo No. 4 Tomb Close-up

Photo No. 5 View from Front Steps

Photo No. 6 Second Floor Columns

Photo No. 7 View of Mausoleum Top

Photo No. 8 Aerial View

Photo No. 9 Museum Island Landing Zone

 

2013 in Second Life

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Bill Vaughan

          My 2012 year end meanderings in Second Life (SL) are drawing to a close.  I’ve already blogged about looking back into the year that’s past and I’d like to look ahead a bit to the New Year and see what the future holds as I write my last story for the year.

          I’ve been able to achieve some goals this year, missed a few (OK, who didn’t?) and overcame a few challenges. 

          Peering ahead, I see more opportunities and challenges in 2013 and look forward to them. 

          I plan to continue blogging and pushing the edges of the envelope about my travels and adventures in SL, to write more stories than I did last year, and to work on my blog’s format to improve my readers’ experience.  (There have been a few glitches.) 

          Other tasks I hope to undertake are reconnecting with old friends, following up on previous stories, and making new friends (less strain on existing ones that way).  As for stories, I’ll blog as always about exploring inworld, trying to complete my avatar’s ill fated makeover, and continue my two series, Sex and the Single Avatar in SL and Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.     

          New stories will be about SL and Real Life (RL) relationships (I missed this one in 2012), a new series entitled Shoemaker’s Children where I’ll write about misses by Linden Lab (LL), and new places and experiences in SL that I haven’t blogged about yet.  My Holy Grail will be to meet at least one Linden inworld.  (Someone said I had a better chance of getting an interview with Newt Gingrich inworld.) 

          Then there will the unknown, things that right now I don’t have a clue about and will go after as they arise. 

          So, as I put this year to rest, I’d like to thank my readers who have followed my journeys through SL and stuck with me even when I had a few issues earlier in the year.  I ask for your feedback, both criticisms and story ideas.  (And, should you have any compliments about my writing, it’s always welcome.)  Or, better yet, join me on my journeys.  It gets very lonely out there sometimes! 

To my inworld friends, thank you for your friendship, help, time, and candor.  You’ve all helped me to learn and to understand that SL is not just a technical phenomena, it’s a community of people who have come together to share their lives with one another and I feel truly fortunate that you’ve permitted me into them. 

I want to give a special thank you to Significant Other who has supported my blogging efforts (Even when it involved my avatar running around nude to get the story.) and permitted me to set aside time for the research and writing. 

In closing I wish all a very Happy New Year!  Make you achieve all your goals and be with those you know and love!

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.

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.

Reminisces of 2012 in Second Life

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. 

 J.M. Barrie

            2012 is coming to an end and I’m trying to wrap up things in Second Life (SL) before the New Year.  Christmas is a time when in Real Life (RL), I stop to take stock about things and look back on the year that has passed.  From there I look ahead and begin planning for the New Year.  (Significant Other says this is the most terrifying part of the year.) 

            So, this year, I’m expanding my approach to SL.  Why not?  SL is part of my RL (Not to worry I know how to maintain balance, Significant Other sees to it should I not.)  

            RL and SL sort of came together earlier this year for me when I had a minor health glitch probably because I spent too long at a computer for my Twenty-four Hours in Second Life series.  (Never sit in the same position and location for an extended period of time.)  Then my computer went on the blink and had to be replaced. 

            Somehow, despite all this, I managed to keep writing.  (Hey, I’m nothing if not hardcore.)  Health improved and until I sorted out my hardware, my time in the Wilderness, I wrote about the world of SL outside the grid. 

            The new in SL has always interests me which is why I go exploring inworld. New friends, places, and experiences await me every time I TP into a new sim and sometimes when I go back to one previously visited. 

            This year I wandered into the nudists and BDSM communities.  (Read the stories if you’d like to know what happened.) I met a tarot card reader and pirates.  I made friends with a mad scientist.  I visited the ancient ruins of Manchu Picchu.   I went for walks in my neighborhood, Nowaki. 

            I also began two new series within my blog, Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life  and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life. 

            While doing this, I revisited old friend and places.  Perryn Peterson kept me abreast of the steampunks and his new projects.  Showing that there is continuity and growth among communities inworld.  I went back to 1920’s Berlin.  In fact that’s where I first encountered nudists inworld.  (See what you’re missing when you don’t read all my stories?) 

            One thing I keep coming back to in SL is the idea of change. Things change.  People change.  Sims that I’d visited regularly are now closed with no clue as to where their members went.  Friends have just blinked out of existence.  All one is left with is that in RL they are fine but have just moved past virtual worlds.  But new sims arise and new friends appear.  Maybe there is something to the idea of the great circle of life and not just in RL. 

            As for my blog itself, I’ve managed to increase the frequency of my writing and readership is up!  (Thanks to all my faithful readers!)  I celebrated my first anniversary as an explorer and blogger in SL as well as writing my one hundredth story. 

            I didn’t get around to everything I wanted to complete this year.  The blog needs work, my makeover is far from complete, and I didn’t get around to that series on SL/RL relationships that I’ve been meaning to write.  Well, that’s why there’s a New Year!  I’ll be writing shortly about my plans for it shortly. 

            I’ll stop here for now, I’ve enjoyed being out and about inworld this year and meeting with everyone this year.  I hope to see everyone again in the New Year and have some new adventures to write about when I do!

            Below are links to a few pictures from my visits this year.  They give a sense of what they’re about.  But you really have to see and experience them for yourselves.

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.

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 Manchu Picchu

Photo No. 2 Nowaki

Photo No. 3 1920’s Berlin Bath House

Photo No. 4 Ancient Alexandria

Photo No. 5 Turtle Coast Nudist Resort

Photo No. 6 Paradise Sex Beach

Photo No. 7 Great Pyramid at Giza

Photo No. 8 El Dia de los Muertos

Photo No. 9 View from the Top of Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Photo No. 10 Christmas at Winter Holiday Village