Where’s Garth?

August 28, 2009

self

I’ll start by apologizing for my abrupt disappearance. I never intended to go this long without posting, but a few things happened in RL and SL that caused me to get out of exploring mode for a while.

In RL, I joined the ranks of IT management, and getting used to my new responsibilities put me in a different mindset. Exploring, you see, is a time consuming thing. Normally, I enjoy it, but I’d set myself up for making it a chore by giving myself a goal of doing 3 -4 posts a week. Coming home after my newly stressful days, the last thing I needed was for SL to become work. So I decided to slow down ad post when I could.

Then… I got the building bug again. It’s something without deadlines that I can do where I’m accountable to no one but me, I can work as little or as much as I want to. But mainly I re-discoverd Caledon and I felt like just had to try my hand at building Steampunk items. So I did (though you’ll find them to be rather… quirky).  I’ve been building stuff ever since… I opened a store and even built a club next door where I run a weekly dance.

Anyway, I’m alive and well, I’ve got the hang of the new job and I’m much less stressed. I may even start exploring again

If you want to see what I’ve been up to, come visit the store (Goode Inventions) in Caledon SouthEnd. My new club, Sprockets, is right next door. I hold a Jazz Standards dance every Thursday at 7SLT. See you there!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20SouthEnd/172/166/23

6 Comments | cute, people | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode

Happy Holidays

December 21, 2008

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I’m taking a few days off for the holiday. I’ll be back soon with fresh explorations, so keep checking back. Cheers!

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Posted by Garth Goode

Tales by the fire

December 14, 2008

blackdove1

Many roleplay areas I encounter are rather bleak, so when I landed in Black Dove Heartland it was refreshing. It’s an old English village, populated by friendly and engaging folk. As I dropped in I could overhear (I mean read) some roleplay conversation, and I quickly changed out of my winter garb into something more appropriate, and attached the Observer tag above my head.

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If you don’t have appropriate clothes there are some freebies at the rez point. Whenever you’re exploring a roleplay area, be sure to blend in, respect the rules, act in character if you can, and wear the Observer tag.

The village is pretty, but  quickly wandered south to Black Dove Wilds, where I encountered some of the nicest rolling hills I have ever seen in Second Life. It made me want to explore more (but there are some private residences in the Wild, so be careful where you poke around).

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My presence was quickly noted and I was soon invited to join some of the residents around the fire to tell stories (in my guise as a traveler). The glowing mists around us and shooting stars overhead made for a perfect storytelling atmosphere. My tale of pushing undead “bots” out of a castle in the sky was met with the appropriate amount of incredulity. An adorable hobbit/dinosaurdragon hybrid alchemist then arrived and told us her tale (which somehow seemed not as as strange as mine).

The region is lovely, but the people are what make it work. If you’d like to play this type of role, Black Dove is definitely worth a stop.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Black%20Dove%20Heartland/46/152/27

3 Comments | builds, people | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode

Latter day avatars

February 10, 2008

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I’ll be up front: I’m an atheist Unitarian. But I’ve always had an interest in the history of Christianity an it’s varying sects. I’m one of those awful people who likes to talk about religion and politics at parties. I find meeting and talking with people of different religions interesting. What else are you going to talk about? Sports? Bleah.

Now, a year ago when I did a search for Mormons I found a small chapel on a 1024 square meter parcel run by a nice lady from Hawaii. She was trying to come to terms with the sprawling malls going up around her. That was pretty much it for Latter Day Saints presence in Second Life. (Now, I know some of you are going to say, “Mormons aren’t Christians!” but from where I sit it’s just another branch on that big crucifix-shaped tree).

A year later a set of islands dedicated to the Latter Day Saints has sprung up (independently of the woman from Hawaii, I think). I landed in the central square of Adam ondi Ahman where I found a nice group of people chatting away. They welcomed me warmly and told me about recent dances and events. The folks definitely wanted me to know that if the place wasn’t bustling while I was there, there are times when it is packed). They even liked my Remember: Pillage, then Burnt-shirt (though my sense of decorum made me put on a suit). It seems like a lively community. Certainly they are earnest, asking that I please make sure a picture of their recently deceased president make it into my blog post. (Done!).

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Near the temple (no, you can’t get in if you aren’t a member) is a of hedge maze that gives you a sort of Reader’s Digest condensed version of the Boook of Mormon and basic LDS beliefs. Not a bad way to spend an hour, if you’re interested in learning a little something about other people.

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The builds themselves are pretty standard Second Life fare. This is obviously a community effort. It looks like the regions are set up to support not just Mormon gathering places and businesses, but residential areas as well.  It’s a work in progress, and I’m looking forward to visiting again in six months or a year to see how they’ve progressed.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Adam%20ondi%20Ahman/186/128/26/

Leave a Comment » | people, religion | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode

In the not too distant future

January 26, 2008

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Apologies for the long delay in posting. I brought a cold back with me on my trip and while you might think that means lying in bed with the laptop exploring Second Life, well… no. I slept a lot.

I did find a lovely little Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) community. (If you live under a rock and don’t know what MST3K is, click here). I always enjoyed MST3K, but I never realized how much fun it could be to riff on bad movies with other folks (and the Satellite of Love crew, of course).

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Now I’m off in search of a Gamera avatar…

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Star%20Gazers/242/45/22/

1 Comment | people | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode

Welcome to the October Country

January 12, 2008

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“That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sounds like rain …”

- Ray Bradbury

Thanks to Nahasa Singh for pointing out The October Country to me. At first the sight of people sitting around a fire isn’t all that astounding. It looks like people camping. But instead, people had gathered to listen to a radio series (audio book?) together. In this case, we were listening to Crisis on Infinite Earths, hence why I put on the Superman costume.  While there is nothing that explicitly says so, I suspect the focus is on scary stories and science fiction.

In itself this may be unremarkable, but the people were surprisingly engaged, friendly, and interesting. We enjoyed riffing on the sometimes confusing and overwrought story. I was invited right away to sit down and felt right away like I fit in (which is not easy because, as you’ve figured out by now, I’m weird).

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There’s more to October Country than listening to stories. There’s a graveyard to wander around, a Lovecraftian roleplay village and some toys to play with. Hang, Superman, hang! Ha ha ha ha!!!

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Just be careful when you cross the bridge. You might have to share it with someone.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/October%20Country/221/222/21/

1 Comment | community, people, scary | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode

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