LEA2 : The History of the Vehicle

By Gemma Cleanslate

I am so absolutely blown away by the exhibit that Sapphire Hotaling, Chief Exhibit Builder & Designer,  has put together in LEA2 . It is The History of the Vehicle in Second Life. According to Sapphire’s notecard, “Thank you for your interest in this 6-month long project; hoping you enjoy it and have as much fun as we all did in the build and creation of this exhibit.  Feel free to invite friends, and share the notecard through your groups.” At the entrance you will see the names of some of those involved in the project.

After taking the TP in the police box, I landed in front of the Museum building and found in there exhibits of the early forms of building vehicles , prim and texture and sculpts. Even then the vehicles were very impressive. Moving out into the parking lots you will be amazed at the cars, trucks and other forms of transportation. On one side of the museum building you will see the cute shopping cart and even Flintstones' roller car where I took a seat, and some other oddities. On the other side wonderful early trucks and cars. There is a sections of parts and shells. These are all from various companies in sl that are identified on signs near the builds. The racing section has some absolutely spectacular vehicles . The effort and work put into the cars is amazing . 

When I have gone to a race I have not really taken the time to examine and admire what I am seeing in the cars or whatever is racing. I am there for the race itself.  This exhibit is giving me time to really examine and appreciate them. The parts themselves are "wowing," (not sure that is a word but fits).  One whole section is for the Giant Snails with so many examples of the variety of the snails themselves . There are giant cutouts of all those involved in the snail racing fun. 

All along the way you will find notecards with information on what you are viewing. Go out into the grassy area too where you will find some more to see.  Those who are older in Second Life will have lots of nostalgia and laughs, and those who are new will really find so much to help understand about the background of building moving objects in sl from the early days to now. There are a few air vehicles around, but I think there might be another exhibit sometime for air and water moving objects. 

This exhibit will be open until the end of May . I will certainly be going back for several more looks. It takes time for so much to rezz . There will be events every weekend so pick up the schedule at the entrance. 

This is  the best set of history exhibits I have seen since Marianne Mccann’s build at the SL10B. Do not miss it!  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA2/129/127/1501

Gemma Cleanslate

Viss Bunny Review

By FoxytheJamie

An avatar built different than others. This av is built in 10 parts, unlike the other full mesh avatars, which are made up, usually, of the head, and body. Not only that, but the legs are all one piece, literally, both legs are one entire piece. The hands are the same way.

The only thing that is similar between this av and others is the head and jaw. The head is all one piece, and the jaw is all one piece. You do need to wear them both, unless you lost your jaw in the war.

The hud is built differently as you have an eyelid hud, eyeball hud, eyeball color hud, eyebrow/blush hud, and jaw hud. Making it one of the most extensively editable avatars, without having to go into edit mode.

The avatar is a bit expensive at 1900L however it is a great buy, because of how high quality it looks, and how well it's made.

The avatar is a bit lacking in the clothing variety however. Mainly, people make texture shirts for this avatar, as it has a strange shape that's pretty difficult to make a mesh shirt for. However it's quite easy to find mesh pants for it. In fact you really shouldn't count this av out, due to the shirt problem.

All in all, this av is one of the best, and one of my favorites in all of second life. I would say, if you have the lindens, you can't go wrong with it.

Jamie

The Kemono Avatar

By FoxytheJamie

 The Kemono av is an anime based, furry avatar, with a bit of human mixed in. This avatar has become one of the more commonly owned avatars in Second Life, and is one of the best avatars on the grid.

Not only can a furry wear one and still be in a furry avatar. But a human can wear one, and they too will still be in their avatar choice, of human. It is literally the best of both worlds. From customizable skin, to hide-able body parts. Literally, you can hide individual parts, like the upper part of your right thigh, and so on.

Not only does the top hud allow you to customize expressions, it also allows you to customize individual eyes, your mouth movement, and even eyebrow movement.

The bottom hud is just as good or maybe better. It allows you to hide your neck, chest, arms, thighs, knees, lower legs, and ankles and feet. And that's just in basic mode. In advanced mode, you can hide a total of 40 individual pieces. As well as allowing you to change your hand position, skin, tail movement, leg type, and allowing you to turn on and off PG parts.

Not only that, but this avatar boasts at least 200 unique clothing articles, that can make, creating an outfit a breeze. All in all, this avatar is truly one of the best in Second Life.

Jamie

Bryn’s Lobby

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Bryn Oh is one of the most prolific artists in Second Life. Her creations are well known across the grid for many years. Her latest, Lobby Cam, opened Sunday,  March 28. I had some difficulty getting there at first. That is okay with me because Bryn is limiting the visitors to a low number at one time so everyone will be able to appreciate the installation in its fullest. 

 

Admire the real-life art of Bryn Oh before you leave the lobby.  Pick up a HUD at the entrance for a pleasurable visit and I suggest you read the directions on the wall and floor to aid you.  Walking down the hallway,  I found a special picture on a wall ... I walked into to it as it opened, and found myself in a lush wheatfield with the golden grasses waving in the breeze.  A singing red winged blackbird sat on a fence post . I found a paper on the ground and clicked it, and it entered a page into my diary hud beginning the story.

 

I wandered across the wide field to find a large grain elevator with an outside patio.  I crossed the railway tracks to the  charming patio with umbrellas and chairs for relaxing. A delightful old fashioned bicycle caught my eye and I tried to sit on it, but found myself “goofing around” in a  crazy dance. I entered the doorway into a kitchen area and sat down for a few minutes for a shot of whiskey. If you don’t like whiskey there is a can of ginger ale in the ice box.  I climbed the stairs where I found a sleeping area and on up to an attic where a television was blaring. There were birds that had entered the room through holes in the walls chirping on the floor. All through the walls of the stairwell there are paintings from Bryn’s real life and on one floor under the attic you will find an easel where Bryn may paint. Be sure to click on the art  to get a good closeup view. 

 

Outside again, I went along the walkway next to the rails, passing a dropped book with loose pages. It looked like the diary so I clicked it. Out on the field I spied a truck and made my way there. All along the way I looked for more pages to click to add to my diary hud. It is important to watch for these where ever you go here . There is a story for you in your hud when you collect them all. 

 

I ran into Bryn who was watching over the field and greeting visitors, listening to their stories and helping out with questions. There is so much to see and visit. This installation is as amazing as her others that I have visited and will take more trips to locate all the secrets for the story. Be prepared with hud and the directions so you won’t miss the whole thing. But, as Bryn told me “  its open ended so you can go and do as you wish. Some will just like to see the sim. Others will want to find the story. And still others will do the secret bits.“
 

I had some trouble collecting pages at first, but they did appear in my hud diary . I need to find the secrets,one of which I do have with Bryn’s help. Wave if you see me in the field or on the hills walking , or in the kitchen with my whiskey. Join me. 

 

Here is a sneak peek:

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d0p44ng5rvM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0p44ng5rvM

and here is the lobby   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Immersiva/15/104/21  

 

It is a real adventure. 

 

Gemma Cleanslate