Castles in Second Life VII – Kumamoto Castle

 When you look at Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its relationship with nature. You can actually live in a harmonious, close contact with nature - this very unique to Japan.

Tadao Ando

 

          I return to the highways and byways of Second Life (SL) with this story as I go looking for more castles to explore.

          A new friend inworld, Lelani Carver, suggested I visit Japanese castles for a change so I did and I found one!    

          (She also suggested I visit the Great Wall of China inworld as well.  Look for that story in the future.)

          To date my visits have been to castles drawn from European history or the imaginations of their creators.

          It’s time for some diversity!

          Kumamoto Castle is what I found and here’s my story of my visit there. 

          The castle is located in a contemporary Japanese town occupying its own sim.

          The town is located here and the castle can be rezzed to directly here. 

          Take my advice and rezz into the town’s main landing zone and walk over. 

          You’ll get a feel for modern Japan in Real Life (RL) and appreciate the contrast with the much older castle when you arrive. 

          (Significant Other nods approvingly.  I’m accused of not getting about enough in RL!  For the record, I’m not some overweight slacker hunched over my keyboard surrounded by empty potato chip bags and pizza boxes!) 

          Kumamoto Castle sits on a small island bordered on two sides by the sea.  The other two sides are separated from the mainland by a canal.  Access to the castle is by footbridges over the canal on these sides. 

          (What’s with castles being built on islands in the sea most of the time in SL?)

          The dark colored keep and other buildings loom over the surrounding town and contrast its lighter color scheme.

          Following Japanese castle building tradition (chikujo-jutsu), the foundation is of stone and the buildings themselves are made of wood while the rooves appear to be made from slate. 

          The central keep (tenshukaku) dominates the site. 

          It is approached via a grass covered ramp rising from the central courtyard or bailey

located at the rear of the castle.

          Lower outer buildings in the same style as the keep partially surround the courtyard. 

 

          A small, red and white shrine is at the side of the castle in the front. 

 

          Unfortunately, the builder has not built an interior to Kumamoto Castle expect for the top floor of the keep which affords awesome views of the surrounding town. 

          (I know!  How could a view not be awesome inworld?) 

          The castle offers amazing potential to recreate the samurai age inworld and I hope it happens someday!

          (Yes, yes, I know all about prim restrictions but I can dream can’t I?)

          Overall, Kumamoto Castle and its surrounding town is well worth a visit! 

          Maybe if we leave enough donations in its tip jars then the owner can complete his

masterpiece!

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

          I’d like to thank Lelani for suggesting that I visit a Japanese castle and I look forward to visiting and blogging about her other ones as well!   

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!

 

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!

 

More about an Old Fashioned Halloween in Second Life

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

John Donne

 

          Recently, I blogged about this year’s Old Fashioned Halloween in Second Life (SL) hosted by Perryn Peterson and the good folks of Mieville. 

          While I wrote this last story, I felt the need to write another about this festival. 

          Why you may ask?

          (Significant Other wants to know why I ask that question because I’m going to tell you anyway.)

          First, because I’m taken with the spirit of the Mieville community and the effort that they put into these events.

          Next, new merchants and team members are always joining to participate and to help out.  This tells me that this is a dynamic and growing community.

          All these reasons got me wondering about the motivations behind all these folks so I decided to find out more about them. 

          I sent out a short questionnaire to members of the Mieville community and this is

timed to start with the mini-hunt in the Old Fashioned Halloween festival.

          I received almost a dozen replies. 

          My thanks to all of you!

          What follows is a summary of those replies.

          The questions were:

1.     Why do you participate?

2.     What satisfaction do you receive by participating?

3.     Do you have a favorite story about this event?

 

And for those free spirits out there (You know who you are!) I gave them an option to tell me what they thought in their own words. 

The replies to the first question went along the following lines.

People enjoy being part of a lively, vibrant, and unique community in SL. 

They love steampunk.

They love, one said adores, Perryn Peterson who was described by one respondent as an “excellent and affable hunt manager.” 

(No, that reply wasn’t from Perryn!)

          Others said that they like getting out of their stores and being with others.

          For some, it’s a chance to make a little money and to assist in the branding of their products. 

          Several replied that Halloween was their favorite season in Real Life (RL) and this was chance to get out and enjoy it with others.

          My favorite reply came from Brian Landar who designed the haunted house for the

event and said that Halloween is RL wife’s birthday and he goes all out because of her. 

          Happy birthday to Mrs. Landar wherever you are!

          People had different answers to the second question but in similar vein.

          They love the people of Mieville.

          Their best friends inworld are in Mieville. 

          They enjoy the freedom and the challenge of the event and give full credit to Perryn for this. 

          The hustle and bustle along with the fun appeals to some. 

          Interacting with the other merchants and learning new things appeals to others.

          In replying to the last question, no one had any stories about this event but that didn’t stop them from writing replies! 

          Some were amazed that a community could put on one successful event after the other so flawlessly. 

        

  Others enjoyed the fun and the “low pressure” environment.

          People see things they haven’t seen before and might not have but for this event.

          Finally, people enjoy making new friends at this event.

          And, isn’t that what this is all about? 

          Looking over the replies I received I’m struck by how there wasn’t one word of complaint.

          People were enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed being part of this event.

          So, if you have time check out an Old Fashioned Halloween!

          It can be found here!

          My thanks to all who took the time to reply to my questionnaire and especially for all their hard work to make it all possible in Mieville!

          More pictures from my visit to an Old Fashioned Halloween 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!

 

Television in Second Life

Bart: Dad, what’s the point of this story?

Homer: I like stories

The Simpsons

 

 

          No, I don’t mean watching TV in Second Life (SL)!

          (Although, I’m sure some do it!)

          I mean the builds created in SL based on Real Life (RL) TV shows.

          Thanks to my good friends at First UCC , I’ve met a talented and gifted builder inworld who recreates some of the world’s most memorable TV shows in SL. 

          (Significant Other says they only let me hang around so that they can have good material for their sermons.  Personally, I like to think it’s because they feel no one is beyond redemption and they enjoy a challenge.) 

          Lora Chadbourne is the builder of whom I speak. 

          I first met Lora when I interviewed her for my story about the Garden Tomb in the Holy Land now residing at First UCC. 

          Recently, I met her and her new husband, Mazz, in front of her latest build inworld for another interview. 

          (Yep, folks are still getting married in SL!)

          This latest project of Lora’s is nothing less than a faithful recreation of the Simpsons’

home from Springfield! 

          Lora has been inworld for nearly ten years and began building after about six months.  She says the learning curve was very steep so it took her a while to sort things out.

          Her work includes different creations in many genres, some historical, most fictional. 

          Lora’s first major project was an Apollo lunar module, which was on display at the International Spaceflight Museum.

She’s done builds of the Alamo, which was for the University of Texas and is still available for visiting (And has made the SL Destination Guide), and of Central Park with a Manhattan surrounding of apartment buildings and shops. 

There is a build of the Mayflower, which will be on display at a friend's sim through Thanksgiving. 

Other builds have included locations from Tron, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Doctor Who, and other science fiction properties.  (BTW there will be several more stories coming along in this blog about Lora’s work.  The Mayflower and Central Park will happen this year.  Next year will start with the Alamo and watch out for a special story on the works of Irwin Allen in SL!)

Lora likes to create, it's an outlet for her and she usually build things that strike her fancy.

(Hey, isn’t this what SL is all about?)

She researches her subjects then starts in and makes a lot of changes along the way! 

Now, for a tour of the house itself!

Standing outside, I’m impressed immediately but the cartoonish and colorful effects that Lora has achieved.

This is not one of those simple polygon piles (I may have invented a new term here!) that one comes across so frequently inworld. 

Homer and Marge are almost expected to appear in the doorway at any moment. 

Entering the residence, I’m in the foyer with the living room to my left and the dining

room to my right. 

In front of me are the stairs to the second floor.  (Or the first floor for the benefit of my European friends!)

At the back of the house is the kitchen, the playroom, and the family room.

(They seem to have a lot of leisure time in Springfield!)

There is also a half bath on the ground floor.

A side door opens into the garage. 

Upstairs are Homer’s and Marge’s master bedroom with its own bath room; Bart’s and Lisa’s bedrooms, Maggie’s nursery, and another bathroom.

All the rooms are fully furnished and there is also plenty of closet space! 

The outside grounds are well maintained and in line with what’s seen on the show.

The backyard has plenty of room for Santa’s Little Helper and Snowball to run around in. 

Overall, the effect is very realistic and Lora gives visitors the sense of actually being in the show and no in SL. 

I ask Lora about her subject choice and how she built it.

She replies that she loves the Simpsons and just wanted to see if she could do it. 

The house was tricky because, since the show is animated, the writers take a lot of liberties, she explains.  Different episodes have its rooms in different places inside the house, and they add rooms that were never there.

(Does anyone remember the world’s longest living room from The Flintstones?)

So Lora had to pick and choose how to present it, she used a lot of detail to add realism.

 She was also careful to include shadows and to texture things properly and realistically which contributed to the RL effect of the build. 

Lora believes she has a good eye for composition builds almost exclusively from pictures of the subject matter.

The results certainly speak for themselves!

Lora took about a month to complete this build.

In RL, Lora is a writer and graphic artist for print media and I believe she is definitely leveraging her skills! 

 Lora used mostly standard prims with a few sculpts here and there to build the Simpsons’ home, and those are made inworld using the tools that can be found on Marketplace. She did use mesh in this one and says she has only included mesh on one build so far and that to a limited extent.

At this point, wanting to be mindful of Lora’s and Mazz’s time, I ended the interview, thanking her for her candor and time, and letting them get back to their honeymoon! 

The Simpsons’ home created by Lora is a fabulous build and demonstrates what a talented builder can do in SL. 

The build will be taken down by Lora at the end of this month, October, to free up the prims for others. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have a LZ that is usable so you’re probably going to have to settle for this story!

If you’re interested in more of Lora’s work then keep an eye on this blog because I’ll be writing about all her new, and some old projects, as we go into the winter!

I’d like to thank Lora and Mazz again for meeting with me and wish them all the happiness inworld in their future lives together! 

All pictures used in this story were taken by Lora and are used with her permission.

More pictures by Lora from my visit to the build can be located 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!