The Story of Second Life, 1999 - 2017, At The LEA

By Gemma Cleanslate

Hi all. I am on my way back from a health hiatus, slowly. I got a chance to get over to LEA 25 to visit the spectacular exhibit put together by گиіρєя (Sniper Siemens). If you love to reminisce about the early days of second life and all the fun of learning , visiting the Ivory Tower, camping, crashing, this is the place to go. If you just got here and would like to find out about the early days and the massive changes since the beginning, who is who and where , this is the place to go. 

The installation is fun and interesting. When I arrived, after greeting Philip Linden, I took the train car, which wound all around, showing you historical parts of Second Life and when and how they came to be.

 

 

The history of the Ivory Tower is there.  That is where anyone can go and learn about prims and what to do with them to build. It is still relevant today regardless of mesh. Do you know the first name for Second Life? Do you know what 'primatars are’? I always wonder who the first resident was....now I know. The very first years were fraught with problems including financial being the most but to see what came out of it all amazes me still.

 

Read about Mrs Chung, the first real life millionaire from Second Life holdings. She is still here today, as you know with numerous  holdings. 

I finally got the real story behind the closing of the casinos. I have heard so many! 

 

 

The closing of camping was one of the saddest recollections of my memory. I was a huge fan of camping... sitting around in shops  or in the woods of a sim that wanted to show traffic. I met some good friends doing that and made lindens for shopping. There are many road marks along the way

  
Burning Life and Burn 2 are displayed.. so many memories as I was a Ranger there for several years. I  looked at the earliest maps and ,wow, what a difference today

 The Greenies house is depicted. What a great place that was to visit and hang out. Imagine more than a huge house where you could skitter along the floor while the cat , about 500 times your size watched with interest. We fished in the kitchen sink for prizes and Greenie avatars.I still have several  and get to wear them once in a while. The humans living there never caught on about the mischievous Greenies.

You can see the origin of the Linden Bears, and the beginning of the Linden dollar. This place will keep you busy for a few visits.It was so enlightening as to how and where Second Life really got started and the determination to keep it going. I asked Sniper why she did this region . Her answer is “ This is an old idea. I was Mentor LL in 2006. I've always helped users in SL and this sim I think is helpful to everyone.” I agree! You have until June 23 to visit and enjoy.http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA25/120/126/22

Gemma Cleanslate

The Brooklyn Bridge at LEA25

By Gemma Cleanslate

I think almost everyone in the world may have heard of the Brooklyn Bridge. If not, it is a very famous bridge that connects a Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, to Manhattan. It has a rich and interesting history.  It is always busy with foot traffic, taxis, cars, buses and other forms of transportation. People often try to sell it to an unsuspecting target. 

The Bridge has been beautifully recreated in Second Life, in LEA25. There is a lot going on over there that you should see and experience. It is the collaborative effort of a group of SL  artists and each has inserted their own pieces next to, or on the bridge and in the sky.  At the landing point you will find information cards with all the artists information. Misprint Thursday sent me  the artist’s names : Alpha Auer, Bibbe Oh, Maya Paris, Mikati Slade, Simotron Aquila, and of course Misprint herself. You can find out all about each one and their past art in the notecards.

“The Bridge is a mixed reality project which will happen in two phases.  The first phase of the project includes the installation of virtual art on the virtual Brooklyn Bridge. The second phase of the project includes mixing the images of the virtual view with the real images and views of the Brooklyn Bridge.” is the description of the project as a whole. 

It is all interactive so be sure as you cross the span you touch all that you see. Be careful though! I wondered why I  touched "OohBabyKittyCatYeah" as I dangled high above the span upside down! I will let you read about part 2 yourself.( I have to figure it all out) 

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA25/220/29/2

Gemma Cleanslate