Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life IX – Still Nude Inworld

Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. The nude is condemned to never being naked. Nudity is a form of dress.

John Berger  

               One of the things I like about Second Life (SL) is how people help one another even when they might appear to be competitors. 

          Recently, I blogged about a new nude resort inworld, Naked, owned and operated by The Cat (AKA Cat).  A short while ago, Cat dropped me a note card with a referral to a new nudist club, Utopia Naked Isle Resort, that was opening in SL.  She said it was different from her own but was a nice place and suggested I write a story about it.

               Now, I consider myself lucky when people just read my stories let alone calling me up and referring story leads to me.  I always chase down leads from readers. (Hint, hint.)  Maybe they will lead to a story, maybe not.  But, I’ll check them out. When someone like Cat refers me to her competition then I really want to go and take a close look.  This time it paid off.  I hope my readers think so too. 

               So, I undressed and went visiting.  (I know that I’ve been doing a lot of this lately.  What between Cat’s place and my visit last week to the nude BDSM resorts, I haven’t been dressed a lot lately.  But this is what I do for my readership.  I know some of you live vicariously through my travels.) 

               I arrive at the main LZ for Utopia which opens onto the common area for visitors.  Behind me is the entrance to the forest or VIP area of which more about later. 

          The look is tropical.  Palm trees are everywhere with colorful tropical flowers profusely line the walkways.  Stepping out of the arrival building I can see Max’s Topless Bar straight ahead.  To my left a stone pathway leads to a beach with nearby waterfalls.  On the right, another path leads to more beaches and waterfalls.    The layout is natural and reminds me of tropical gardens in Real Life (RL).  (Contrary to popular belief, I sometimes do get out of SL and get around in RL.) 

          Walking straight ahead, I pass Max’s (Are topless bars in a nudist resort a sign of conservative leanings?)  and come upon the dance floor overlooked by a DJ’s booth.  Dance pose balls are scattered about.  Typically, the owners, Dai Aloix, Lori66, and Max are here when onsite. 

          I continue my walk along the beach where I hear waves crashing on the breakers.  Another piece of realism that enhances audiovisual experience of being in Utopia. 

          Which brings me to another interesting aspect of Utopia.  Besides being a nudist resort where guests can come, dance, and hang out.  There are facilities for couples or whatever number, who am I to assume, to go off and be by themselves for some privacy if you know what I mean.  (Of course the exhibitionists can stay out on the dance floor if they like.)  I spy a gazebo with a comfortable, round settee with some particularly attractive features (I’m talking about its menu).  A nearby pier also comes with functions not usually associated with such devices in RL.  

          The atmosphere is aided by tiki torches, beach chairs, and other beach resort furnishings scattered about.  Ancient ruins back in the jungle add a certain mystic aura. 

          My walk takes me on a circular path around the island and back to where I started at the LZ. I pass through the building into the VIP area, the forest  (It costs $300L to join and, yes, I paid the fee.  I want to keep my autonomy.) 

          The VIP area has an Asian theme.  TP’s are available near the entrance to take VIP’s to the themed skyboxes.  Unlike other resorts, VIP’s pay a small fee for use of these facilities. These range from $1L for sixty minutes to $4L for one hundred and fifty minutes.  (Hey, costs have to be covered somehow.)  

          Utopia contains the beach area, the forest (VIP area), play areas, and rental skyboxes which form the community. 

          At another time, I’d had a chance to meet Dai and Lori66 to talk about Utopia and why they’d established it.  I began by asking why they opened this club when there are so many others inworld.  Dai replied that they weren’t as much opening a club as just offering events at their sim.  What they offer will depend on what their guests want.  We were speaking at their grand opening which was a lot of fun. 

          When I ask what besides quality does Utopia wish to be known for, Lori said for the beauty of being able to come here and relax and play, to be able to share our vision of just some fun.  Dai added as a relaxing… no stress just friendly environment. 

          Lori66 continued saying that they wanted to do this for a long time, a beach that is open to the public, to come hang out (I was picking up a theme here) without a lot of distractions from stores, ads, etc. Just a beautiful place to come enjoy.  Dai giggled, adding that they just meshed really well to get it done together.  Lori66 retorted that the VIP area was done for Dai loves forests and wanted to offer their guests choices. 

          I asked about issues running the resort, Lori66 replied only the usual SL ones, griefers and such.  They work to keep the sim free from hassle for the enjoyment of the guests. 

                Overall, I’m impressed with Utopia.  The layout brings guests together in the center and permits them to wander off into the jungle and the beaches for privacy.  The atmosphere is realistic and fun.  The owners are friendly and helpful.  Other guests have been friendly and sociable when I’ve visited.

          Utopia differs from other nudist resorts inworld by being more intimate and chummier than some of the larger ones which can be more crowded.  The resort is not just open spaces sparely populated by a few prims scattered about.  The owners have put a lot of thought and effort into creating a nice effect. 

          One thing for male visitors, erections are frowned upon so gents please respect the rules!   

          Another thing, donation jars are scattered across Utopia.  If you visit regularly please use them especially if you’re not a VIP.  (And it wouldn’t hurt if VIP’s kicked in a little extra from time to time!)  Sims are expensive to run. 

          Below please find links to some pictures that I took during my visit as well as a few that Lori66 sent me.  Since as Glorf Bulmer  would say we’re not that sort of blog, everyone has their clothes on.  Visit Utopia itself if you want to see anything else! 

          I’d like to thank Dai and Lori66 for taking the time to meet with me and answer my questions.  I’d also like to thank Cat for giving me the lead and caring enough about the SL community to refer me! 

 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  Main TP Arrival Zone

Photo No. 2  Pathway I

Photo No. 3  Max’s Topless Bar

Photo No. 4  DJ Booth and Dance Floor

Photo No. 5  Waves Breaking on the Rocks

Photo No. 6  Gazebo

Photo No. 7  Swimming Pool

Photo No. 8  Ruins

Photo No. 9  Flowers

Photo No. 10   Waterfalls

Photo No. 11  VIP Area I

Photo No. 12  VIP Area II

Photo No. 13  VIP Area III

Photo No. 14  VIP Area TP’s to Private Rooms

Photo No. 15  Classified Ad

Photo No. 16  Seaward Beach Shot

Photo No. 17  Aerial View

Photo No. 18  Logo

Photo No. 19  VIP Forest

Photo No. 20  VIP Forest, Another View

Photo No. 21  Dai Aloix

Photo No. 22  Lori66

Another Art Exhibit in Second Life

Works of art often last forever, or nearly so. But exhibitions themselves, especially gallery exhibitions, are like flowers; they bloom and then they die, then exist only as memories, or pressed in magazines and books.

Jerry Saltz

 

          Morgana Nagorski, my Second Life (SL) friend and an inworld artist and gallerist, is at it again.  Fresh off her successful exhibition dedicated to the lyrics of Leonard Cohen, she has launched another exhibition entitled Aspects of Solitude where the works of two SL artists, Amona Savira and Harbor Galaxy, are on view. 

          Aspects of Solitude opened on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in the Palais Orleans Gallery Complex.  Morgana was there along with the two artists and the guests.  I arrived as the opening started.  (Hey, I don’t want to miss the food and drink, I’m a struggling, starving writer after all.)

          Other guests came and went as the night progressed.  As always, I’m as much fascinated by the guests as I am the art hanging on the walls.  Clothing styles range from formal to casual grunge (more my style).  One guest looked like she was auditioning for a role as a Borg in a Star Trek episode. 

           The mood is light and jovial.  The conversation is friendly banter.  The exchanges of friends about how they’re doing and how much they’re enjoying the show.  During the time I’m there several dozen people come and go.  A good turnout for an art exhibition opening. 

          Despite guests coming and going, Amona and Harbor make time to speak with me.  Both have extensive portfolios of SL works available.  Amona’s works can be seen on Pinterest and Flickr.  Harbor presents her work on Koinup. 

          Harbor explained to me how she viewed this exhibition as a collaboration not only between herself and Amona but the entire SL community.  Their joint statement about the show sums up their thoughts behind the show, “The images are about all the lonely nights, waiting for nobody . . . in solitude.  And those early morning hours when sleep escapes us and the mind wanders, reviewing the decisions that define our waking life.”  

          The gallery itself is a large two story building with the main entrance in the front. The artwork hangs on the walls on the walls in two rows from floor to ceiling.  A staircase goes to a walkway which permits visitors to view the art hanging in the top row.   

          Morgana has done her usual exemplary job as the curator of this exhibit.  Her use of the written word with the visual image is appealing and unusual for a SL exhibition.  A visitor to the show has a total experience which draws on the strengths of SL. 

          The pictures themselves catch my eye as I view them.  I must warn everyone that I’m not an art critic.  (Significant Other says it’s a good thing because I’d be in even more trouble than I am as a writer.)  Several pieces I noticed in particular are Amona’s Solitude and Fear of Flying and Harbor’s Loss of Balance and Reflection on Water.  (And, no, it’s not because I’ve been hanging around with a lot of naked people lately.) 

          I also had one of those fun moments in SL which happens from time to time. By pure chance, I ran into another friend at the opening.  The Cat from Naked was in attendance buying new pieces for her already extensive collection.  (I didn’t recognize her at first, probably because this was the first time we met while being fully clothed!)  If you have time I recommend dropping in to see part of her collection at Naked West.  I’d recently blogged about Naked. 

          After a few more spins around the gallery, I take my leave of Morgana, Amona, and Harbor, thanking them for their hospitality and time. 

          Aspects of Solitude is an excellent example of how SL can be used to hold an event like an art exhibition.  Virtual worlds and their tools also permit artists to create art and explore possibilities not possible in Real Life (RL).  SL also makes having permanent galleries to exhibit artwork.  My earlier stories about Seductions by Hitomi and the Doors Gallery are give examples of these. 

          I encourage everyone to drop and see Amona’s and Harbor’s work.  Morgana’s presentation and organization make for an enjoyable experience.  It is time well spent and you won’t regret it.  You may even want to acquire a piece or two for your inworld home!  The exhibition runs until June 16, 2013.

          I’d like to thank Morgana, Amona, and Harbor for taking time out from their opening to meet with me.  I wish them well and look forward to seeing more of their work in the future. 

 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  Aspects of Solitude Poster

Photo No. 2  Morgana Nagorski

Photo No. 3  Amona Savira and Harbor Galaxy

Photo No. 4  Aspects of Solitude – Opening Party I

Photo No. 5  Aspects of Solitude – Opening Party II

Photo No. 6  The Cat (Dressed)

Photo No. 7  Solitude

Photo No. 8  Loss of Balance

Photo No. 9 Fear of Flying

Photo No. 10 Reflection of Water
                              

Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life VII - Naked in Second Life

Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities.

C. S. Lewis

          Gotcha!

          If you’re this far into my story then you’re probably looking for another one of my stories about being naked in Second Life (SL).  (I do seem to be developing something of a specialty in that regard.) 

          Well, you’re half right.  I will talk about being nude in SL but this story is also about a nudist sim inworld that oddly enough happens to be called “Naked”.  Believe it or not, until just recently no one has been using that as a sim name in SL.  A couple of enterprising folks, one of whom is an old hand at nude resorts came across this fact and appropriated the name for themselves.

          The old SL hand is The Cat.  (Formerly known as Cat Lassally.) She is the designer behind Naked which opened in January 2013.  She was also the original designer behind Bare Naked Angels (BNA), another highly regarded SL nudist resort which closed recently after new owners had taken it over from Cat (as she is known to her friends). 

          I was referred to Cat by her business partner in Naked, Devorax.  I ran into him while researching Naked for a possible story.  (Tough work but someone has to do it, these stories don’t write themselves.)  I later met Cat and we agreed to meet later for an interview.

          When the time for our interview arrives, I TP into Naked and join Cat at a bar for our session.  (Yes, we’re both naked.  Naked has a strict nudity policy.  These are the things I do for my readers who are too shy to go walkabout in their birthday suits on their own.) 

          We begin with my asking Cat why she started and then left BNA.  Her motivation was that Wild Coast, another highly popular SL nudist resort, wouldn’t let her wear shoes even if she was otherwise déshabillé.  (Rules are rules after all.)  Cat couldn’t find any decent SL feet (Cat’s actual word is that Linden feet are “ugly”.)  at that time and couldn’t see how she could let the wonderful fact that SL was the only place where stilettos wouldn’t sink in the sand go to waste.  I learn that the woman is an entrepreneurial pragmatist. 

          So, BNA was born.  By coincidence, I’d been to BNA many times (Like I said, somebody has to do it.)  hoping to do a story.  It was a beautiful, little nudist sim with a tropical island motif and very friendly people.  I made many friends there.  There was a sexual component but it wasn’t overt and threatening like some sims are unfortunately. Cat couldn’t make the tier payments (A story I hear too often these days.)  Others offered to make the payments which meant they had to take the place over and Cat had to get out of the way.  She packed up her shoes and left which was a horrible experience for her. 

           Being the stalwart person that she is, Cat soon found herself talking about her next project inworld which would become Naked with a neighbor, Devorax, in Eden who became good friends with her.  She describes him as “the generous spirit behind the whole thing.” 

          Cat describes Naked as a chance to make BNA again, or something like it, and she does adore making places like this.  She adds we all have an idea in our heads of what would be the loveliest place in SL and we look for it, and probably never find it, and she was really lucky and had a chance to make my dream sim and and here it is - two of them!

          Cat had noticed that there's a real shortage of classy nudist places in SL. She finds Kaiya's sims (Wild Coast and Turtle Coast) to be lovely, as is Lupe’s Magic Forest  and Teresa Korhonen's Naked Dreams sim.  These are all lovely, but most nude beaches are so tacky and Cat wanted BNA and Naked to be elegant and pretty.  She smiles as she tells me this.

Right from the start Cat and Devorax kept the rules very liberal and the idea was just to let people enjoy the sim.  Visitors can be ejected and banned for two reasons only (other than age-play, which would have them abuse-reported as well). These were refusal to be naked or being rude.  (Shoes, of course, are permitted along with hats, jewelry, and wings.  Bikini bottoms are also permissible if someone really wants them.) These were her guiding principles at BNA and have been continued at Naked.  If someone is rude or impolite then Cat'll ban them.  (She will, I’ve see her do it.) 

Recently, a neighboring sim was acquired and is now known as Naked West. The sim has more of a natural look about it and utilizes skyboxes more than Naked does. 

Naked and Naked West are feminine sims Cat explains to me. She feels that so many sims are designed for boys to use women as property. Cat uses the Gorean concept as an example.  (Definitely not one of her favorite lifestyles inworld.)  But Naked is really for men who like women.  That may sound obvious, but Cat believes it really isn’t.  She continues that lots of men ‘like’ women, but only as sexual objects, and Naked is really designed for the guys who like to spend time with women, who like chatting with them and know that the quickest way to their heart is to make them laugh.  Certainly a very healthy outlook!   Cat wants men who really like women. Not the men who see women as merely sexual conveniences. 

Cat also became really fascinated by the SL art-scene along the way which is so vibrant, but sort of not really well known, so with Devorax's help she put together a collection of original art-works and they're scattered all around the sim. She hopes people who come here will see them and perhaps go and buy some for themselves.  (Supporting artists and sim operators is important.  I encourage my readers when they can to either purchase from original creators or contribute to the upkeep of sims that they enjoy.  This is my public service announcement.) 

Finally, Cat adds that it is a sex-sim, of course!  Naked has “LOTS” of toys and she surmises that's why most people will come. Interestingly, she doesn't think nude sims are the sexiest in SL. When Cat wants to be “sexy-sexy” she will wear clothes. (Isn’t that the way it is in RL too?) For her, nudist sims are places to meet and there's a sort of bare honesty about it she explains. Cat loves seeing people making love all over the sim and thinks of it as a place to meet and make friends above all. She believes if  people are given a classy and elegant sim then they'll behave in a classy and elegant manner. That's her hope, anyway!

          Cat asks that visitors be kind, be respectful and be polite!  She and Devorax are trying to make Naked into an elegant, tranquil and slightly naughty resort, so they don't want it spoiled by boorish behavior. 

          Naked itself has an imposing sense of grandeur somewhat akin to the classical civilizations in the ancient Mediterranean world.  Cat uses off the shelf scripts to build her sims wishing that she could code.  Still, the effect created is very unique and does not have a déjà vu feel about it which sometimes occurs in other cookie cutter sims.  The underground caves in Naked West have to be visited.

           I’d like to thank Cat for her time and candor in answering my questions.  She has done a magnificent job in constructing and managing Naked. For anyone looking for a classy nude experience in SL, I strongly recommend Naked.  (Please don’t hold it against them because they let me in.  Freedom of the press, you know!) 

          I’ve included several photos (No, no nude people!  I’m still not that kind of blog.) of Naked from a recent visit. My puny efforts do not do Naked justice and it has to be seen for itself.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll run into me there! 

          Also, I mentioned a few other nudist resorts and I plan to visit them for more stories.  So keep an eye on the Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life series for my future visits to these nudist resorts! 

 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 Cat

Photo No. 2 Devorax

Photo No. 3 Building I

Photo No. 4 Building – Interior II

Photo No. 5 Artwork I

Photo No. 6 Artwork II

Photo No. 7 Building III

Photo No. 8 Piano Room

Photo No. 9 Beach View

Photo No. 10 Building IV

Photo No. 11 Obelisk

Photo No. 12 Coastal Ruins

Photo No. 13 Underground Waterfall in Naked West

Photo No. 14 Sunrise