Brandi Streusel’s Custom Painting and Underwear Shops

By Grease Coakes

Brandi Streusel, the partner of Nydia Tungsten, owns two shops at Angels Haven (4/169/23). The first shop I looked around at was her custom skin shop for bikes and cars. Brandi told me that custom texturing and building was something she enjoyed, "I started out playing with logos and that was my first one, but I’ve moved on from there."

I took a look at her bike designs and she had a small showroom with many different bike colors and textures. If you don’t see what you like you can always contact her and ask for a custom job. In fact one of her bike designs was given out for RFL.

Brandi Streusel: "Nydia had me create the texture for the RFL motorcycle."

I told Brandi that probably raised a lot of money for RFL. She didn’t know how much but it was probably a lot of money.

Icebear a friend of Brandi’s stopped by to hang out. I asked him was he getting a custom job from Brandi and he said he was thinking on it. I asked Brandi if I wanted a custom job how much would that cost? She had this to say, "Well, that depends. Cost start out at L$500 for the first 5 textures and L$100 per texture after that. That even includes updates as required till the design is accepted. "

She said one of her customers was so happy with the results, that he paid 2,000L on top of the 500L that was already paid for the custom job.

Grease Coakes: "Oh I see they paid 2,000L on top of the 500L. He must of been very happy with your custom job."

Brandi Streusel: "(giggle) That is what they tell me."


Brandi showed me some pictures of custom jobs in her bike shop. She had this to say about one of her custom works, "But if you look at the photo of Legend Leeeroy - S10. Notice the front end? that was all flat but I textured it to look like the lights and grill were real."

After Brandi showed me the bike shop. She showed me her panties store. She mentioned her shop is part of SL wide treasure hunts which feature over 100 stores. She said it’s a good way for people to build up their inventory. There was also a lucky chair and midnight maddess at her panties shop. So you may get lucky if you happen to visit. Don’t worry she doesn’t leave guys hanging as she makes custom underwear for men too. She gave me some free briefs for men. We both agreed that it’s good business to make giveaways to promote yourself.

She showed me her private workshop. When I asked could I take a picture of her desk Brandi told me no. So her private workshop shall stay a secret to the public eye. If you want to view her work go to her shop on the SL marketplace at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brandis-Shop-in-Second-Life/113420045338613 .

Also Brandi is on Facebook with https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brandis-Shop-in-Second-Life/113420045338613 .

Whether you’re looking for something to make your bike or car look extra special. Or maybe you want some custom underwear for men and women. Brandi’s shops are right for you. Don’t be shy when I was talking with Brandi she was easy to get along with as I was interviewing her. So if you are looking for one of her  custom jobs just ask. And she can work her custom magic for you.

Grease Coakes

DrFran’s Alt Goes Shopping

By DrFran Babcock

Yes, I know that Second Life’s™ history is my obsession, but this grid is filled with so many things to do, and ways to be, that I can’t stand focusing on just one thing. With Bix as an editor, the writers are usually free to explore their passions, and that’s a great thing.

One of the things I had done for a while was to have a freebie blog, and it was relatively popular, but a lot of work to maintain. I have stopped that blogging, but I still felt the need to write about the better buys that are out there in this fabulous virtual world. If Hamlet can feature fashion (), so can this revered publication.

However, DrFran doesn’t have the time to go looking for freebies, so she sent out her secret alt, Livre, to hunt for her.  From time to time she will go out looking for items. The rules are that they have to be free, or no more than five Lindens.

The Fall enMeshed Hunt

Sadly, this hunt wasn’t completely set up by the time my alt went looking, but the first gift was worth showing you. It is a burlesque outfit that comes complete with everything including the skirted corset, panties, booties, and even black pigtails. The only problem with the outfit was the booties, in that the texture did not seem to render no matter what I did. However, at 0 Lindens, I am sure you could make use of the hair and outfit for Halloween, or for dancing at your favorite burlesque hall.

This picture was taken at the Moulin Rouge, a fitting location for a corseted lady. Credits:

enMeshed into Fall Hunt #1 Burlesque Outfit includes all you see, including the black pigtail hair (booties, too, but the texture wouldn't rez, so I didn't show it. Wasteland Clothing http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20Goblin/26/115/38

enmeshed into Fall Hunt: http://enmeshedhunts.wordpress.com/enmeshed-into-fall-2013-hunt-hints/

Taste the Rainbow Hunt

This hunt has a lot of really nice freebies, including hair, and some wild glittery lipstick. Today, Livre is showing you the Blacklace Beauty rainbow eyeshadow and lipstick. I think with the right outfits that this makeup can really add a nice finishing touch that is a little bit funky, and a lot chic.

Taste the Rainbow Hunt information: http://chanimations.deviousmind.net/2013/08/09/taste-the-rainbow-hunt-2013/


Blacklace Beauty: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blacklace/146/148/31

Group Gift Goodies

These were Livre’s favorite finds of her mission for freebies. The exquisitely detailed turquoise blouse was a group gift from Ruby’s Closet, and the group is free to join! The detailing of the buttons pulling over the chest is one of those things that makes me cry with joy. My only criticism of the shirt is the Nehru-like collar. I would have preferred a lower neckline. This did not detract Livre from wearing it all day, along with her group gift hair from Eater’s Coma.

The hair is a very nice gift from another group that is free to join. Your gift hair is actually a HUD that gives you every single color that the hair comes in. The mesh rigging is superb, and the braid moves along with your body. Livre chose the platinum, and it looked just right with the aqua top.

Credits:

Ruby's Closet Aqua Layer Top Group Free to Join http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blacklace/146/148/31

Hair: Eaters Coma Group Gift This amazing hair comes as a HUD and will give you every color made just with a touch. This is the light Platinum. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SIXTY%20NINE/126/126/501

Me’LanGe Store Hunt

Livre’s last treat is a store-wide hunt for gemstones that contain all kinds of outfits and gift cards. I will show you two of them. One is a ballerina costume in lavender, and the other is a she-devil costume. Each of them comes complete with all the stuff you need, including boots or shoes, and cost only one Linden. The hunt is going on until August 30^th, so you will have to hurry!

Me’LanGe: http://huntsl.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/melanges-treasure-hunt/

So, that’s it for this installment of DrFran’s alt goes shopping. If you like this, let Bix know, and maybe he’ll put Livre on the payroll. Just kidding, of course.

DrFran Babcock

Art Gallery HUD

By Gemma Cleanslate

Since I had a day off in real life  and did not have time to visit the Louvre, I took out my Gallery Hud and decided to see what was going on in the art exhibit world. The Gallery hud is a great way to find and visit lovely art places without much difficulty searching for them. You have a choice of large extensive exhibits , like the Rose Theater and Art Gallery. You can spend a long time at this venue , massive in build and absolutely gorgeous in itself. There are rooms and rooms of art exhibits by various sl artists to enjoy. Or you can arrive at a the Palais Orleans , a three gallery site that I visit often because Morgana Nagorski has two of the galleries exhibiting artists that change every few months and she always has grand opening parties. 

Right now there is an exhibit called ‘After Dark’ in Gallery1 that is worth a visit. The University of West Australia is another huge exhibit area where there are always challenge exhibits to be found. They are all amazing to see, so much creativity in these pieces. Every time I go there I am floored by the diversity. Space for Art is another wonderful place to visit. You will find a number of lovely builds scattered about the whole area. I took a tram ride and stopped off at a whimsical installation by Haveit Neox . Well worth a tour at this region. One gallery that I visited for the first time was in Elven Realm  called Kaleidoscope,where the whimsical art of many artists , best viewed at midnight ,  is displayed in wooded groves . It was a pleasant visit.  I made a stop at the virtual Chelsea Hotel at Gallery 23 to check out the art pieces there . I took a quick look at some of the smaller galleries in the hud. My last visit was to Serendipity to the Art of Judilynn . It is a lovely little gallery filled with her own art. She is a real life and SL artist. I have seen her art at several places in Second Life. 

The art hud is a creation of Sasun Steinbeck. It is a random selection hud that
“will take you on self-guided tours of locations in SL. Simply click on the left and right hands to go to the previous/next location. Click the little map icon in the middle to see the currently selected location again. Click the stars below the navigation controls to rate the gallery you are at.” It gives you a choice of types of galleries to visit also. If you are into paintings and sculpture , chose Gallery , or you may choose Photography , or Erotic, depending on your fancy. Sasun has extensive hud systems at her SasTech HQ but you can go there to pick up a hud and information about the Galleries of SL at her office ( http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vertigo/244/147/48 ) or, you can send an IM to me and I will pass you a hud. 

This is a great way to do something different in Second Life when you need some quiet time , or with a friend, to visit the art galleries of sl and see the amazing creations that exist here . There is another possibility with the hud. You can take a bus tour if you like. Wear the hud and click  bus tour on the menu and you will receive an invitation to teleport to some gallery somewhere on the grid . Other bus riders may join you as you travel.There is another choice , events, that will tell you about a party going on at one of the galleries . It is great fun to use.   Consider it a staycation in Second Life. Often people say to me “I need to do something else for a change”. Well, here you are. All free. 

Gemma Cleanslate

Siden Survival/Horror Sim

By Theonlyjohnny Resident

    Siden is an amazing sim, filled with creatures to kill, as well as a vampire castle, a pirate ship, an abandoned town, an elf cave, a place to relax with your partner, and even a hell world. Adding all of this, along with the hud, the weapons, the staff, and the visitors, this is a place a lot of people should check out.

    Siden is mainly a creature killing sim, using a hud, along with a lot of weapons. Like most places, that allow guns, Siden has its own set of weapons, and also allows other weapons. The Siden weapons, unlike most weapons, in SL, are scripted to a minimum. This means they use as little scripts as possible. In fact, they don't even have a draw and sling script. They do, however, have a safe mode. When the weapon is attached, it is automatically put into safe mode, meaning you cannot fire it accidentally. To remove the weapon from safe mode, simply click it. Clicking it again will put it back into safe mode, of course. These weapons don't even have the many mouselook fire scripts that guns usually have. While you can still fire in mouselook, it is not needed to fire/swing these weapons.

    The Siden creatures are affected by nearly all weapons, in SL, but are damaged more by the Siden weapons. This causes more people to want to use the Siden weapons, which reduces lag, a lot. The weapons have a safeguard against griefers. You cannot buy the major weapons, from a vendor. The major weapons are all scattered around the sim, but require a certain level, on your hud, in order to get them. These weapons require ammo, which can be found around the sim, and you must have your weapon, in your hand, in order to pick up ammo. The minor weapons, however, do not require ammo, and can be bought, either around the sim (for free), or at the landing point (using credits). The minor weapons bought, around the sim, are only bats, bloody bats, and crowbars.

    The creatures found here are, rats, minor apparitions, apparitions, strong apparitions, angry ghosts, elder ghosts, hell apparitions, guardians, and then there are the bosses, the Blade Lady, Death Tree, Ghost Lizzy, Flesh Lizzy, and the Siden Van (Siden Mini Event). Of course, the bosses are difficult to defeat. It wouldn't be fun if it was easy. There are also zombies, but killing them does not help you increase your EXP on your hud.

    The Hud is what makes it so you can collect resources, buy things with credits, and level up. The hud is a circle, surrounded by 4 meters. The top meter is purple and it keeps track of your body condition. Each time you die, your body condition will decrease, however there are ways to raise it again, but that is something you need to find for yourself. The right hand meter is cyan, and it keeps track of your Nourishment. There are ways to keep your nourishment high, but what is the fun in me giving you all the answers? The yellow meter, under the hud, keeps track of your Life Style points. And the left hand meter is your health.

    Inside the circle, of your hud, are three rows of words, followed by the menu button, and then there are three circle buttons. The rows of words, in order from top to bottom, are your level, then your cash amount (I like to call them credits), and then there are your experience points (showing how much you have, and the number needed for the next level). The menu shows you, well, the menu, and it is how you can switch between different pages in the hud, of course you will have to figure out them for yourself. The three buttons, on the bottom of the hud, are another thing you will need to figure out for yourself.

    The look of the place is amazing, as so much detail was put into it, and so much work. It is hard to not be impressed by it all. Even the placement of the creatures is amazing, as if they have a plan for everything. This is truly one of a kind, and is a place really worth paying a visit to.


The Siden Survival horror - Elven/Pirate RPG , is at Emata Almarae (115, 8, 656)

Theonlyjohnny Resident

The Art and Jewelry Show at the Panorama Art Gallery

By Grease Coakes

When I randomly IMed Timo Dumpling to invite him to come see me DJ, I was surprised when he said yes. Not many humans venture into the wilds of a furry club. He stayed for a short time and tipped me and said he had to go to bed as he lives in Australia. His night time is the morning of the east coast US. He later IMed me and invited me to a jewelry and art show at the same sim. I said sure his event was 3-5pm SLT.

After a break away from SL, I logged on shortly before the event. I ran into Samantha again who greeted me and welcomed me to the art show as she said there was two new artists to display their artwork at the gallery.

One of the two artists I ran into almost instantly was Wanda Muggins. The artwork on the top floor was all computer animation from Photoshop using the flame effect on a black background. Her art work was incredible to look at, especially the fire horse and the picture of the minotaur. I said that computer artwork is an art medium all on its own. Pixar is a good example of that. But there’s still regular artwork today used by Studio Ghibli the Japanese animation studio that created Howl’s moving castle. In fact the cover picture of my children’s book was drawn by hand, not by a computer program.

Wanda also commented that she had many old photos from the era of World War 2. She asked, "I have a lot of original photos that I would like to display from World War 2. Do you think people would be interested in them?"


I answered, "I'd think so WW2 is a big time and period in history. I remember talking to a WW2 survivor over the phone."

Wanda said in real life she had 100 or so photos from World War 2 from a photo album in real life, "I have a book here on Antwerpen. It was given to my Dad before he left there. It has 100 pictures of the bombings and stories in it. (There are) very few of those in the world today. I scanned all the pages and hope to put them in a book."

The other artist was Sandafina Birgisson her niche was jewelry. She showed me her secret to make lovely jewelry with blender which can be found at http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-266/ free of charge. I asked Fina as (As Sandafina’s nickname) why she made jewelry. She answered, "Oh fashion mostly. Who could argue with that? I love using the program blender to make things I learn all the time."

She said right now she just makes jewelry, as blender is hard to work with. Fina had this to add, "O M G, sometimes I wake in the middle of night with an idea, and I have to turn it on."

When I was talking to the two lovely lady artists a DJ showed up around the start of the art show. Isabelle Mavendorf played a variety of genres to a large crowd on the lower floor with Fina’s jewelry display. She played a classical music song and some random electronica and pop music.

All in all it was fun to see the art displayed around the art gallery and I fun talking with the two very talented artists. The DJ played some interesting music and I had fun socializing with the humans there.

Maybe that’s what art and music or one of the two is all about. To express yourself for others to enjoy and to have a good time. I think any human or furry always loves a fun time.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Velequez/215/87/24

Grease Coakes

Magellan’s Grid

By Gemma Cleanslate

Magellan Linden, a traveler in Second Life who used to blog about his findings on the SL continents a long time ago has surfaced as the guide of a new inworld game called Magellan’s Grid. I would say it is a spin off the the Linden Realms ( http://slnewserplaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/game-on-at-linden-realms.html ) . Magellan is trying to help Tyra, custodian of the crystals in the realm. Evidently there are mole people (not Linden moles) who seem to be controlled by an evil mole named Dr Talpia. He is trying to gain contol of the Rock Monsters and use them to gain full control of Second Life. You will get the story if you join the quest to gather parts from around the gid to make an anti-mind control machine to foil the evil Doctor. For some reason only premium members are invited to do this. I decided to try to help Tyra since I still roam the realms occasionally collecting crystals which I exchange for Linden dollars. It is good exercise and still fun!

To begin, I visited the Isles of Ice where I collected a Monacle HUD and went through a tutorial on how to proceed safely. I saw the Laboratory where the machine will be built and checked out some  of the other structures on the Isle. I found the Ice Hub where there is also a full list of the places on the grid I must visit. My first quest took me to ANWR channel to search for the ANWR crystal.I put  on my hud which is very helpful as it tells you how far you are from the item you are looking for. I landed on the Oil platform where I heard a raspy voiced  Magellan tell me that he didn’t usually pull switches but go ahead and do it and he would “wait over there. “

Wandering around down stairs, I located the purge crystal switch at the conveyer belt and saw the prims change to crystals. By the way, while you are doing the quests, Magellan’s voice comes to cheer lead you on the way. “Eureka!” He shouted. The monacle directed me to get to the Region Periscope, part of the Ice Isles and deposit the crystal in a crate in one of the buildings there. After it was done I was directed to go find a new quest at The Ice Palace.

I took the next quest to blow up the Lost Crystal Mine. It was on a lovely island that has walking trails across bridges and around and around. Finally, I left the trail into a deep cavern where a mine entrance appeared and I was able to blow it up and return for a new quest.

This visit to Pyri’s Funfair can be fun or no fun. A ticket to ride took me deep into caverns filled with explosives, barrels of supplies and tricks to defeat me. This is a maze that has many hazards that can send you home, or kill you and then send you home to begin again at the ride. I am, will be working on this one - LOL. I have died and resurrected at least five times so far, but I will not give up!

This is a quest not to be taken lightly. I have started and finished another two quests, but I f I wait until I have completed all the eleven you will never read this story. So I will leave you with that much so far and if and when I have worked my way through the last one I will let you know, if I am still alive!  I have decided that Magellan drinks quite a bit and wants company.  You can visit the grid to take a look at the tutorial and get your monacle here. You may run into some others along the way who are willing to give you tips,  or some who are not.  Let me know if you finish it all! Or you can call me for a few tips on your quests as you go along.  Good Luck!!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crankshaft/197/124/70 exploration team. 

Gemma Cleanslate