Second Wynd

SecondLife: WyndWyre News Break - "Foyle Gully Errupts As Simple Misunderstanding Sparks War With Charles II"

Hostilities arose last Sunday, November 11, 2007, between two castles located on the southeast corner of Foyle Gully on the mainland of the SecondLife grid. The castle located at Forever's End has been the home of the House of Daimeion, an old family rumored to be vampires with Heavy Metal leanings, for the last year. This castle hugs the shore of the mysterious Meteor Lake that graces the very center of Foyle Gully. It is rumored that the lake is haunted by strange creatures that only come out at night.

The stately castle situated at Kia's Home Land, next to the castle at Forever's End, occupies the very SE corner of Foyle Gully and is owned by Lady Kia. The rumor of the occupation of the castle at Kia's Home Land seems to have stemmed from the presentation of the Coat of Arms of Charles the Second above the castle gate.

When first alerted by the obvious halt on the construction of the additional tower behind the castle at Forever's End and the beginning of building a fortified east wall between Forever's End and Kia's Home Land the theory then was that maybe there was actually a battle over water rights fuming since the holdings of the House of Daimeion block Lady Kia's access to Meteor Lake.

This theory was soon put to rest after days of fighting between the close neighbors by the following statement released by the Count Gavin Merlin of the House of Daimeion:

Count Gavin Merlin, Elder Trueblood of the House of Daimeion, and Owner of The Vampire Club approaches a podium stationed on the roof of Castle Forever's End, overlooking the southern border between Daimeion Territory and English Territory. Count Merlin of typical prestige that comes with noblehood was well dressed in his royal attire flanked by two flag carriers waving the Coat of Arms of the House of Daimeion.

   "People of Foyle Gully, residents of Meteor Lake, due to the nature of conflict, specifically those whom would resort to negative propaganda at their enemies, I am compelled to provide a statement explaining my military action against my neighbor King Charles II.

   It all started Six days ago, honoring my love for my neighbors, I found it necessary to bring a gift to King Charles II , celebrating his kingdom and its rich history. This is typically customary for good neighbors, to welcome them to the community. The construction of his castle was complete for quite some time, but as I have been busy with matters in far away lands, I recently returned to Castle Forever's End and made the time to welcome the good king. However, when I arrived to bring Charles II his gift, I was let into his castle by his castle guard, and then when I proceeded to follow a servant of the king further into the castle I was told to leave! Much to my astonishment, this was after I already cited the purpose of my visit and my gift and myself inspected like pieces of luggage! No sooner than ten seconds after I was warned to leave I found myself flying from the nearest window and into the my forest at the southeastern edge of Charles II's castle territory. I was shocked! Is this how King Charles II treats his guests? The next day I declared war on the king and I set up camp on the southern border. No sooner than two days later his majesty fortified his castle and called in his army. On 11-13-07 in the morning, as the Sun rose, and I retreated into the safety of my castle, the war began. Charles II's counter-offensive was impressive but not enough to stop the power of my vampiric cast. The House of Daimeion retorted with a FREEZE TIME spell that has locked Charles II's forces in place, while my vampire underlings assault the castle without any recourse. Poor Charles II, should have demonstrated respect to my lineage. I may not be a king, but I have fought for and against kings, and in my own right, I have given back to the people what I have taken away. Can Charles speak for this? Hardly? Thus, in the essence of "Perdurbo" I will carry on until the end. The Draco Army assists me in my war, yes the old family, the truest of bloods, their banners trim my savagery, their bloodlust is like a hammer falling on the bug that is Charles II."

   With that, Count Gavin Merlin leaves the podium by bursting into a thousand bats and flying away.

Lady Kia was seen surveying the damages under the cover of darkness. Though she could not be reached for a statement at this time there is hope that word will get through to find the status from the Lady's side. Charles the Second has not been sighted, though his coat of arms still remains above the gate.

At the moment the there is quiet between the two castles while the wounded and dead are tended to. Will there ever be peace between these two neighbors or will the southeast corner of Foyle Gully continue to be the site of misunderstanding and turbulence?

SecondLife: Software or a Mental Construct?

To quote a man-made alien philosophy, "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Configurations". One of the beauties I have found is that there is infinite diversity in infinite configurations to be found in SecondLife.

I started in SecondLife as an explorer, that is what brought me great joy; the serendipitousness of SecondLife is the biggest thrill. Then one night, looking at the big map and trying to decide where to go next, I realized just how long it might take to spend quality time exploring every sim possible. That's when I purchased my first land and started a crash course of learning building, scripting and textures by taking every free class available. Whole days would be spent just transporting from one class to the next with hardly a break in between. (Visit Foyle Gully and check out the green tent by the lake for a sample of some of my class projects).

Why does SecondLife have to be one why or the other? Let there be land barons, freeloaders, great landlords, bad landlords, open sandboxes, newbie orientation stations of all different types, islands, mainland, the good builds, the bad builds, the lag and all the other little things. There is room I'm sure for anything and everything imaginable.

SL can be all ways with if we have respect for each other and ourselves. This is not a game, it is software, it is networking, it is server space, it is hardware and it is also a "mental construct"

It is a 3D Internet where everyone gets a free webpage, the avatar. You do not need land to express yourself.

The avatar alone expresses so much of the RealLife person it represents. This little token of our RealLife self in SecondLife is one of the greatest blank canvases awaiting transformation and provides... infinite diversity in infinite configurations for every new resident. There are plenty of free classes on clothes, basic knowledge, attachment usage and other subjects, at all hours of the day for new residents to learn how to recreate their self anew via the avatar. Just like with the 2D Internet there will be the good, the bad and the ugly of webpages... err avatars, but hey, so what, it's a person's expression, and I have a great interest in being exposed to new ideas. Wow me, surprise me, scare me, make me go eek, make me laugh till diet soda comes out my nose, make me die in the beauty of the avatar.

Now if you want a website in SecondLife you have to buy your first land. This means the need to upgrade to and paying for a premium account. This allows the purchase of land and gives more option for creativity allowing one to show off building, scripting, landscaping skills or just how smart they are at shopping for accessories, how cozy or cool their 'home' is. Hey, if you don't like it you can change it, no problem, and start over, or improve, or just never change it. Though the First Land program is now history, buying your first chunk of land is still experiencing First Land. I suggest starting with the tier free 512m, I learned a lot with my first land and you will too.

Looking at SecondLife as a 3D Internet can be more freeing of the old stereotype that it's a game. It is no more a game than I am a bonfied Martian freshly smuggled to earth by the crew of the International Space Station on the last shuttle mission. Like the saying goes, all Collies are dogs, not all dogs are not Collies; SecondLife has games in it though it is not a game. Just like the 2D Internet we all know and love, it has businesses and game sites, only better because it is 3D and we, the residents, create it.

Calling SecondLife a game puts limits on it, like there's got to be this goal, a prize to win, or something to complete. Calling SecondLife a 3D Multimedia Internet leaves it open ended so that anything and everything is possible. Give a nod to SecondLife's unusual aspects and break out of the box of RealLife by exploring creatively your own imagination. Find inspiration in the differences between the realities and comfort in the similarities. Glory in the chance meetings of people you otherwise would have never met who are now within that close circle of people we call friends. Allow yourself to be awed by the sudden moments of beauty that can be found in both realities.

Exploring SecondLife opened up a new way of viewing RealLife, as though through virtual reality the senses long overwhelmed by the stresses of real life where suddenly cleansed with a new perspective, what was old is made new again. The real world is seen in a different light, as though through the eyes of a child.

So this explains somewhat the reason Wyn always tries to wear the "kol-ut-shan". It is to remind me to always remember to delight in the differences in life and yet to recognize the similarities. It will be interesting to see how SecondLife will evolve if allowed to keep the nature of it's makeup based on creativity, openness and imagination. All things are possible until they're not.

Serendipity Second Life - Grand Pianos

A basic pleasure for me that keeps me in Second Life is the serendipitous discoveries.

So I am not surprised that while following a pick from someone's profile that I end up in Intemptesta Nox in front of Serendipity Studios which has a sign that says just that, Serendipity Second Life.

Not to pass up such an obvious clue that inside might be something, well... serendipitous, I wondered in. Low and behold, Christmas in August! Or so it seems inside this store, with pianos, candles, candelabras, snow globes and sheet music.

There are are also handpainted gramophones that play tunes from the 1900s.

The decor gives such a winter holiday season aire to the place that one has to sit down and try out the piano animations. They are excellent, so much so I bought the beautiful green baby grand piano, the Tannenbaum Edition, after all... Christmas is coming, and the Del Sol French Silk for a special house I am building in a friend's sim. Oh and I also got the Fiona Fair Edition Gramophone filled with lovely old Irish Victrola tunes for my hideaway.

If you love pianos, gramophones and winter early, check out Serendity Studios in Intemptesta Nox. They are having a grand re-opening sale, so hurry over to check them out.

Pianos & Music by Sue Stonebender @ Serendipity Studios.

Postcards from the SLedge

While pouring through the snapshots I have taken since I began my second life I realized that those with my avatar in them were much like postcards. Of course, when thinking of postcards I think of that wonderful book, and then movie, by Carrie Fisher of Star Wars and Blue Brothers fame. So when naming the album that holds samples of these 'snapshots' of my avatar and Second Life locations that I found interesting, the title screamed out at me and so is born the Second Life album -- Postcards from the SLedge.

Several of these snapshots were actually taken with fake backdrops at some open photography studio I stumbled on while exploring. Others are builds found in Second Life.

When I take snapshots I rarely jot down their locations or what and who they might be mainly because to do so seems to bind the serendipity of Second Life to the doom of no longer being a mystery and a surprise of discovery.

If you recognize some of the locations please feel free to comment about them. If you do not recognize the locations I am sorry that I cannot steer you towards them. Some may even not be around to be visited as things can change in Second Life as quickly as a thought.

On the back of each image imagine, "Thinking of you. Having a great time! Wish you were here. Love, Wyn*."

 

Casual Everyday Science Fiction

I am not usually a blog reader or a blog writer though lately I have tried to remedied this flaw in my geekness by starting Second Wynd. It is a slow start. With this in mind I have begun reading other blogs based on SecondLife, just to see what it is rattling around in the thoughts of the world.

Today I happened to be catching up on SL Offical blogs and came upon the "I, for one, welcome our new avatar overlords" by Torley Linden. Being a gamer from the early days of computer games, when everything was text-based and the glimmer of Windows was not yet in Mr. Bill's eye, Torley's title caught me by the imagination and I just had to began reading.

While glancing at the included images, one being a fantastic landscape shot filled with deep blues and oranges, cracked ground with a centered upshot of a cluster of greenish crystals and I was struck at how much it looked like the cover art from one of the science fiction magazines I read as a teen. This image from SecondLife could easily grace the cover of an issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, Galaxy, Fate, Asimov Science Fiction or any other scifi magazine. Then I saw the caption for that picture which said, "(Another raw shot taken inworld, with no post-processing.)" and I realized at that moment why I feel so comfortable and at home in SecondLife, it is the scifi art coming to digital life.

Then I happened on the quote I used as this entry's title that hovers over the top of that image. "Science fiction is becoming the casual everyday." I remember a time when every rocket launch was a momentous occasion, nations watched launches into space and walking on the moon. Now the shuttle launches and landings are common place, ho hum, well, that's nice, another successful safe space mission.

What was science fiction when I was 12, is ho hum now. Torley said, "Science fiction is becoming the casual everyday." As Torley says, "casual everyday", just everyday stuff like brushing teeth, a crew jumps in the shuttle and takes a little trip to space. And almost everyday now I enter a virtual world and admire the beauty and wonder of the imaginations of so many people. It is a world of ponderance, possibilities and, of course, problems.

In my lifetime man has created a world that was science fiction not so long ago.

Lovely, informative and colorful afternoon meetings at Torley's office.

References:

"I, for one, welcome our new avatar overlords"

Learning about SecondLife

SecondLife is a 3D virtual environment that has been called a 3D Internet, is the creation of Linden Labs. Some people think SecondLife is a game, well, just as all Collies are dogs but not all dogs are Collies and like the Internet most people are familiar with SecondLife has games, but it is not a game. SecondLife presents a new way for people to communicate and interconnect with each other in interesting and creative ways.

Contrary to some beliefs, you do not have to have a premium (paid accounts) to be successful in SecondLife. All accounts can build and script, free to create value only restricted by the imagination of the creator. With that ability one can create items and sell them, making Lindens, the currency of SecondLife.

Linden Labs has put together another feature that some may not know about that is useful for learning the bigger picture of what SecondLife is all about. All employees of Linden Labs that are in-world have the last name of Linden. No one else has that last name. Some Lindens have office hours in-world that are available to anyone who is a user of SecondLife. That means free accounts or paid premium accounts, anyone can attend a Linden Office Hour.

You do not have to have a question to attend an office hour and meet the Linden leading it. I have learned valuable facts and met other residents that I would not have met just roaming around SecondLife at these meetings. Even though wandering around in SecondLife can bring serendipitous results that are amazing, meeting the Lindens and those that come to the meetings is a valuable exercise that I recommend to all SecondLife residents.

Here are links for more information and a calendar for Linden In-World Office Hours:

Linden Office Hours Google Calendar
Linden Office Hours Wiki

The beginning...

Everything has to have a start, even a second wind begins with a first wind. So this is the start of this SecondWynd. Here I may talk about alternate realities, role-playing games and anything else that might strike my fancy. Welcome to all. And now we begin...