Avatar Review: The KzK "Will o' Drake"

By Foxiethejamie

The Will o' Drake, a kzk exclusive, is an avatar resembling a bug, saytr, and human. It, like all of their avatars, is a furry avatar, but this avi takes it to the next level.

The avatar comes in many colors and each version is cleverly named. For example I bought the black version which is named Dark Matter. But the name isn't what gets people talking. The many factors that came together to make this avatar make it a great one.

Let's start at the head and make our way down shall we? Starting atop the head we have a set of horns and antennae. We then have large ears and a uniquely shaped head. On the face we have large solid eyes and a short, but cute, snout.

Just below the head we have a tuft of fur covering the neck and perhaps providing warmth for the avatar. Just below that on the back we have small shell plating with wings protruding from the openings. The wings are nearly invisible and are doubled up. Just below that we have special markings on the belly of the being.

Then we have a stinger like tail coming out of the back of the creature. Inside this carapace you can easily see a large orb like object inside it, most likely the egg sack or some poison pouch. Just below the tail we have uniquely shaped legs that start out at the thighs and then taper down. The feet of this small creature are small with four claws on each foot.

Now lets take a look at the abilities of this avatar. One of these include the wings actually moving as you fly. Another one is this avatar could be a shining beacon in a very dark place.

Inside the hud you have the classic moving jaw, and changing textures for certain parts. However you can also change the claws on this one from black to white and back. And it even allows you to change the color of the carapaces.

All in all, this avatar is one for the history books. For only 600 L, it's practically a steal. In my opinion this would have to be the best avatar I have ever seen.

"Jenny"

Down South

By Kelly Bloodykitty

Welcome to the sim called, "Down South".  This lovely place is the new land of where I used to work which was the Horse Saloon. Even though I haven't been to this particular sim a lot of times, I find it still beautiful in a sense. This club is basically one that centers around country and is group owned by the staff of Down South. It is located in the region of Heracles and is a moderate sim. The reason why I'm doing an article on basically a revamped version of the Horse Saloon I work in is because I wanted to touch on the new land and give a lot of credit to my friend Cheene for showing me the ropes in hosting and for being apart of both teams!

Like it appears this is of course centered around country, and has a strong vibe, especially with the nature as well as the building, which of course is a barn. In front is the sign signaling as a sort of ad, and a tractor too. There's something going on with my mesh settings or whatever it's considered, so it doesn't appear until I get closer to it. The inside is very wonderful too and right now is decorated for the Christmas season but is still in the theme with the barn with some small animals and such. They have a stage for the DJ and hosts, as well as a bar to sit at. 

Overall I have to say I love this sim despite me only being at it once or twice for a visit. I suggest you go down to the location and come and dance and chat with anyone who may be there! When you are there be sure to give props to Cheene for being quite awesome and for being apart of the Down South staff. Besides that I hope to see you too if you come along because I may be working there as a host, especially if I don't have to resubmit an application, so make sure to say hi to me too!

Heracles (30,45,22)

Kelly

Arcadia Asylum

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

In the article, "Saving Prims," we said, "... Arcadia Asylum, on the Mieville Pond sim.  Be prepared for an adventure there". A conscious effort was made, to keep that sim from taking over the article, because it was worthy of an article of it's own. Returning there, to take notes and pictures, we realized just how understated the line was. It's more than just "an adventure". This sim is a must see, Great Adventure and should be on everybody's to-do list. Aside from the 1,328 free items, there are several fun adventures, to be discovered there.

The landing point, for the sim, is a courtyard, in front of the Cog & Grog Freebie Center. On the other side of the courtyard, we find a teleporter that goes to the various areas on the sim. The areas include; Tropics, Steam Fair, Graveyard, Hobo Town, The Deeps, Space and The Library. Most of the areas can also be reached by walking, flying or just jumping into the water.

The Deep covers as much area as the surface sim and can be reached in three ways. Within the Cog & Grog, there is a stairway that leads under water. On the dock, next to the Chinese Junk, there is an entrance to Cap'n Nemo's Underwater Observatory, which uses tubes to connect to chambers beneath the surface. You can also just jump off any of the docks, to reach the sea floor. In the deep, you will find underwater habitats, plants, sea creatures. You can even get your own whale or even a kracken. One of the most interesting nautical items, the whirlpool, proved to be be a fun ride. I got one to take home, but, unless I terraform, won't get put out from my inventory any time soon. It has a lot of prims, but can be reduced by removing some of the items that circle the top.

 Taking the teleport to the Space area, we find spacesuits, spaceships, planets and asteroids. The most interesting "space" item is found at the courtyard of the sim landing. There, we find a giant cannon, which shoots a bullet shaped capsule to the moon. I had actually been back to this sim several times, before deciding to click on it and see what it does. Next thing you know, the camera switches to an exterior view of the projectile, with your av inside and stars zipping past. We end up on a lunar surface, staring at our crashed ship, with the earth in the distant background. Fortunately, there is a teleport, near by, to take us back down, but, as long as I'm on the moon, I look around for any other interesting things to explore. Sure enough, among the lifeless rocks there is one that has some color to it and there's a large hole at the base, with a churning mist within. Looking in, it seems to go down to a cavern with large gems on the walls. Naturally, Miss been there, done that, had to go into the cavern. All I will say is that, yes, there is an adventure and I went several times, to learn the way out of the conflict with the lunar inhabitants.

Now, safely back home, on my keyboard, I find myself wondering what other hidden adventures are yet to be had at Arcadia Asylum. You can be sure that this writer will return there many times, in the future. 

 

Hope we see you there,

 

"Sha"

 

From "Sha's SL Stories"

The LEA 3 Entrance

By Gemma Cleanslate

You know that I visit the LEA sims often to check out the installations in each of the artist regions. Sunday I got a notice that Eupalinos Ugajin installed a bar near the entrance . Knowing his fun loving ways I went over to take a look. Though  looking like a normal drink serving one  it gives some interesting items when you click.  I say go see and collect. The ‘drinks’ are from friends of Eupalinos.  He also dropped some of his other pieces in the area that are interactive so click away. He always has fun items where ever he builds. I had fun opening the gifts and using them. 

I love his artist statement “My work explores the relationship between postmodern discourse and skateboard ethics. With influences as diverse as Kafka and Joni Mitchell, new insights are synthesised from both simple and complex layers. Ever since I was a student I have been fascinated by the traditional understanding of the human condition. What starts out as triumph soon becomes corroded into a carnival of futility, leaving only a sense of unreality and the inevitability of a new reality. As shimmering forms become frozen through diligent and diverse practice, the viewer is left with an insight into the darkness of our world.” Food for thought. 

 

I took a picture of the entrance to the LEA welcome area that shows most of the regions that are complete and  are open for visiting and this is how it looks when you start from the entrance . I enjoy doing that because you can tp right from the posters for each sim by clicking to get the slurl. You can choose your site to visit.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA3/130/117/22

Gemma Cleanslate

Saving Prims

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

In December, 2015, this writer will celebrate six years in Second Life. For much of that time, I have been an active member of the Sunweaver Community. Being an active member entails more than just showing up for all the social events. A good citizen receives much from being a member and, in return, gives back his services to the rest of the community. They do this by helping those in need, showing a positive and joyful attitude and enhancing the local economy, by renting homes and shops on the community's sims.


Aside from location, key factors for renting are how much will it cost and how many prims will be allowed in the rented area. Regardless of how many prims are allowed, by the time your home starts feeling like your personal piece of heaven on earth, you'll be wishing for a few dozen more prims. Over the years, I have found a number of ways to save prims, while still decorating to get my home to be an extension of my personality. I'd like to share some of what has been learned, in this article.

A good way to personalize your home is to add pictures on the walls. Pictures of your friends, adventures you have been on, things you have built and classic paintings you love can say a lot about the resident, but, at one or two prims each, will quickly eat up your prim allowance. One of the first ways to reduce the number of prims is to make a texture that contains multiple pictures, frames and the transparent space between them included. Doing this, you can cover an entire wall with pictures, using only one prim.

Nice furniture also takes up prims. Fortunately, many shops offer low or one prim furniture, complete with animations. One of my favorite vendors is "Primpossible" and they have a number of great items for furniture and landscaping.

More recently, I have discovered other ways to save prims on displayed pictures. While researching an article, about the Lionheart Community, I walked around all the sims, to take in the atmosphere, chat with the locals and do a bit of shopping. While on the Ahadi sim, I found a shop, called "The Frame House". They have a large assortment of ornate picture frames. Each frame costs L$200 and is only 2 prims. You can edit the contents of the frames to contain dozens of your own pictures and it will then display them, like a slide show. I bought one, then, and have yet to find any limit to the number of pictures that can be added. When I returned to the Frame House, to research this article, I decided they would be a good way to display some of the countless avatars and costumes in my inventory, so I bought another frame. The Frame House also has two photo back drops, for singles or couples. Each has many background photos and poses. I go back often, just to take more pictures.

There is another slide show, that I have, which serves the same purpose while adding a social gathering place. It's called, "Victorian Magic Lantern Show" and is 7 prims. It has a fancy projection screen, 6 benches (seats 12) and a steam powered slide projector. The best part is, this slide show is FREE. You can find it at the Marketplace at the AleyMart merchant. They have 1328 items and they're all FREE. If you want to see their products in world, head on over to  Arcadia Asylum, on the Mieville Pond sim. Be prepared for an adventure there. Everything is unique and interesting. Every time I visit there, I come home with a dozen new toys.

"Sha"

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

Garden of Dreams

By BloodyKitty Resident

Welcome everyone to this sim, which is called, "Garden of Dreams" or *GOD* for short. This land is owned by a group of the same name, and is located in the region of, Garden of Dreams, ironically. Now there isn't any specific event or true theme going on but it's simply a place to relax and enjoy the beautiful Fall scenery. Whether your alone or with friends there are special places to sit with and without animations, basically poseballs. My friend basically brought me here so kudos goes to them for showing me this beautiful place. 

From what it seems this sim is a good size and has a good amount to explore if you like taking slow walks along the trails and green grass to find new things you may of seen or may not of. Now while I haven't explored it all, I still recommend it as a hangout place for yourself or even bringing a few friends along who can appreciate scenery and relaxing music. The awesome thing I find is that in the description of the tp you can buy Skyboxes as well as shrubby like shrub, landscape, trees, flowers, and all kinds of architecture in general. While I haven't bought anything from Garden of Dreams due to me not needing it yet I still recommend looking at the items on sale as a gift for yourself or someone else.

Like I said before, this is one beautiful place to go if you want to escape the hassle of annoying people on voice chat, trolls, or even just everyone in general if you are going alone here. Now while I have nothing against people who are on voice chat, I find them to be annoying sometimes and it's very awkward when your typing and their using their mic. Besides all those small problems of my own you should come on down and take some time to lay in the grass!

 

Garden of Dreams (126/35/91)

 

Bloodykitty