Casey Jones

On the Isle of Moonlight, not only is there a Yard Sale, retail shopping, bumper cars, boats and other amusements, but there is also a train!

There are engineer hats in the vendor to the left.

The round-sim trip takes about 15 minutes with the train making whistle-stops at commercial points of interest and passing several scenic venues. Click the engine to start and stop.

Because it's a steam engine!

Please follow tradition and scream when you go through the tunnel.

The train winds it's way through the landscape and up a hill to pass the mysterious (and off-limits) Moonlight Castle. I also noticed a good deal of elevated track. When I say "elevated" I mean meters and meters and meters up in the air. I think a switch has to be thrown by the owner to take this dangerous and exciting high road.

The castle dominates the landscape.

As a bonus feature - there is a Geocache is in the area! Visit the official SL Geocaching website to find out more.

Isle of Moonlight (186, 117, 21)
Get your own train at Kitto's Toys, Webworm (33, 34, 92)

Guest Writer: Joon Kim

Endless Summer!
by Joon Kim

Is the weather getting hot? Do you want to get rid of stress and not worry about final exams? Many of us probably came back from Spring Break not wanting to do any work.

Want to keep that Spring Break spirit alive until summer? To enjoy views of the beach, nice weather, and fun surfing or swimming right now, head for Siggy’s Waterworks Island. This place is for everyone to visit and enjoy: it's not a nude beach.

On arrival, it's important to wear proper gear to have fun in the water. Swimsuits and beach-toys are for sale at the sim. Then take my advice: when you are ready to jump into the water, just hit the closest pool and cool down your virtual body. Swim around and enjoy the environment. Get on the diving board and try different styles of dives into the pool, then hang out with friends.

After spending some time poolside, I rode the water slides to plunge into the ocean. When that thrill got old, I purchased a surf board and enjoyed the waves. Then, when I was done playing in the water, I headed to the bar for free rum (and drank responsibly). If that was not enough, I also relaxed on the beach tanning and got in a hammock to relax while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

I finished my day at Waterworks with a jump in the hot tub to relax my muscles from all this hard work.

Siggy's WaterWorks Island, WaterWorks (240,243,21)

**Ida's Note**
Joon Kim is an RL student of Ignatius Onomatopoeia. As part of their course work this semester, Iggy's class took a "field trip" to Second Life (which, quite frankly, tickles me to death). Thanks for the article, Joon, Siggy's WaterWorks is one of my favorite places!

silent sparrow

Two of my favorite stores, silent sparrow and factotum dicassel, have moved to their own sim. Not only does the new local offer a great Neovictorian shopping experience, but Hyasynth Tiramisu and Jessica Ornitz have a developed the entire sim in classic dark gothic fashion.

The layout is one of a sprawling estate (or smaller town - take your pick). The impressive main building, reminiscent of an institution, houses the main shops and is surrounded by elegant smaller buildings, paths and woods.

The smaller buildings contain (among other things) art galleries and living environments.

Naturally, it is always night. While this adds to "Victorian Mystery Novel" ambiance and many areas take advantage of local lighting effects, it is not the greatest light for pictures. I offer these few to pique your interest.

The cemetery is just outside.

The green house off the main building.

There is a secret in Jessica Ornitz's RL gallery.

The hidden trap door leads to the hydroelectric facility that powers the sim. There must also be a back up power supply as the water wheel was not turning at the time of my visit, yet the electric lights worked perfectly.

There are many little nooks and crannies for visitors to discover: paths meander, ponds and streams hide secrets, wildlife abounds.

silent sparrow (60, 236, 32)
chapel, silent sparrow (144 185 32)
Jessica's Gallery, silent sparrow (152, 202, 32)

Guest Writer: Ignatius Onomatopoeia

The Mysterious Ape of Mauve
by Ignatius Onomatopoeia

A few meters (as the avatar flies) from the Dominus Motor Company, home of the impressive Shadow muscle-car, I found a mystery of SL: King Kong (the 1930s version).

There he was, cradling Fay Wray in his paw and as large as Willis O'Brien intended him to be. The great ape stands in "Crimson's Dig," a piece of land that, to this relative newcomer to SL, reminds me of an Englishman's mad folly. There is a fire-breathing dragon, Easter-Island monoliths, waterfalls and fountains.

Well, say no more. Time to start changing avatars and having some fun.

First I took off my skin and did my best to impersonate the great stone heads.

Next I did a hirsute "La Dolce Vita" pose in the fountain behind Kong, but to be honest I don't think Anita Ekberg has a thing to worry about.

Getting one's avatar to stand on Kong's head invites comic disaster. It's easier to jump into the water or sit on the dragon's head.

What on earth is this abandoned theme park about? I can tell the curious reader this: one day Kong's eyes are open and the next, closed. Attempts to edit him or wear him like a skin have failed me.

So have my attempts to seize control of Kong and run amok in SL, or even free Fay from his grip. So if the King is not some huge robot, who IS opening and closing his eyes? And why are there other slight changes between visits? 

Crimson Sunchaser, a SL Charter member, is still playing with these digs, I think. One note: the Digs crash a bit. It's a complex piece of real-estate.

Dominus Motor Company, Chartreuse (68, 26, 30)
Crimson's Dig, Mauve (47, 169, 31)
Read More of Ignatius Onomatopoeia's adventures ...In A Strange Land.


**Ida's Note**
Great find, Ignatius! To the right of King Kong is a series of waterfalls built by an individual named CrazyMonkey Fever. Coincidence? I think not.

All These Worlds Are Yours

Except Europa.

Back in the day (2004), the first auctioned land in SL became available as 20 empty sims. One of the sims was called Europa. Lordfly Digeridoo spent the better part of an hour sliding a monolith from a build-enabled area to the empty sim of Io (Really. Read his full story here). When Io sold, Lordfly purchased a small plot in Europa and faithfully recreated the 8-prim landmark.

dum dumm dummm DUM DUM

While you are in Europa, pay a visit to another interesting location, Slice of Atlanta.

DoteDote Edison will make a souvenir-size recreation of your place in SL!

I was lucky enough to run into DoteDote Edison while I was admiring his Nano Chair.

A miniscule three-prim chair.

He confirmed that he had lived there since his rez day. Now an heirloom, a portion of Slice of Atlanta is his First Land plot. DoteDote kindly directed me to the SL Historical Museum in Phobos.

Open Air Museum - lucky it doesn't rain much, might be bad for the artifacts.

I've mentioned the museum before in one of my early posts about Second Life History, and I still recommend it as a "must visit" to those of you who have never been. Not only are there pictures and models the Olden Days, but you can pick up a Primitar avatar and mascarade as our early ancestors.

If you don't know what this is, you really need to get to the History Museum. Or watch this informative video.

The Monolith of Europa, Europa (210, 152, 88)
Slice of Atlanta, Europa (29, 185, 79)
SL Historical Museum, Phobos (220, 167, 33)

7,000 Oaks

The Real Life 7,000 Oaks project was undertaken by German Artist Joseph Beuys in 1982. His goal was to plant 7,000 trees (5 varieties of trees were used in spite of the project's title) each paired with a basalt column in an effort to raise ecological awareness. His project took five years to complete.

Begun on March 16th of this year, the Second Life 7,000 Oaks project is a virtual recreation of Beuys' historic project.

Pairs of trees and stones dot Cosmos Island.

Pei Twang and Pei May (real life artists Eva and Franco Mattes) have placed 7,000 one-prim basalt stones on their island along with several oak trees. Residents are encouraged to participate by requesting a stone and oak tree pair to plant on their own land. As the stones are claimed, the pile of prims on the island will diminish to illustrate the status of the effort.

The number of columns is rather awe inspiring.

Judging by the 4643 objects currently on the parcel (I checked) the Second Life project will probably not take the 5 years of the original to complete. Many of the one prim columns have already been claimed. Each of the oak trees is 10 prims and the building is 12.

To collect your stone and oak tree, simply IM Pei Twang or Pei May with a request.

For more information about this and other projects in the "Synthetic Performances" series, please visit www.0100101110101101.org.

7,000 Oaks, Cosmos Island, (193, 118, 24)

My thanks to Osprey Therian for mentioning the project on her blog.

Caffinate Me

I was in the market for an air conditioner (it gets hot in the summer) but all I could remember about the shop was the sim name. I found the Tu Amor Marketplace in search->places and figured that had to be it. I landed right in front of Addison White's Java Joe's Coffee House. Not what I was looking for, but I never let things like that stop me.

I smell caffeine!

Java Joe's has an authentic coffee shop atmosphere.

Although there is a wide selection, all drinks are self-serve unless you bring a friend.

Mmmm, peppermint coffee. My favorite!

It's one of those coffee shops that encourages you to just hang out. For hours.

I was so inspired that I made a second RL pot before purchasing my air conditioning unit from Screw This Appliances at the end of the block. I also acquired some Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup. Syrup tastes better when it is in a bottle shaped like a woman. It's scientific fact.

Tu Amor Marketplace, Tu Amor (61, 132, 24)
Java Joe's Coffee House, Tu Amor (75, 98, 23)
Air Conditioner, Screw This Appliances, Tu Amor (27, 21, 24)