Here’s another little freebie I made for you… a lickable flagpole, a la “A Christmas Story.” Just don’t get stuck. Grab a copy right outside the entrance to the store.
Lick the flagpole
December 15, 2008
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silly | Tagged: christmas story, freebies | 
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Posted by Garth Goode
Tales by the fire
December 14, 2008
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.
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).
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: medieval, rolplay | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Withdrawal symptoms
December 13, 2008
Santa Cthulhu…. eating the souls of bad little boys and girls since 1,000,000 BCE.
I’m back from a 24-hour power (and heat, and water) outage due to an ice storm. Needless to say, I was distraught when the Internet connection didn’t come back with the lights. But it’s back now and I’m all right. I managed to get in-world for a few minutes before taking a shower (priorities! Okay, my wife got first dibs on the shower) and the twitching has nearly stopped.
5 Comments | silly | Tagged: christmas, cthulhu, santa | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Free parking
December 10, 2008
When the Japanese decide to build something that isn’t weird, or tacky, or unintentionally funny, they end up making some really lovely stuff. The park on Kenroku is meant to show off the trees for sale in the nearby store, and to great effect. Their claim to fame is that the trees change with the seasons, giving you a reason to come back every few weeks.
The park comes off as The Most Stunningly Well-Tended Park You’ve Ever Seen. There’s nothing out of place, and yet the paths are twisty and hilly enough to keep it from being boring. Climb a bit and you get a great view of the nearby fort.
Like I said, it’s like a model park. I wonder if real-life Japanese parks are this clean?
The fort is impressive from the outside, but turns out to be unexciting from the inside. There’s a few empty buildings and not much more.
Senroku, the region next door, is dedicated to a set of massive bridges that will take you to Sengoku (which will be looked at i another post).
There’s a free boat ride on the beach in Senroku that needs a little debugging. Luckily, it’s short enough that if you hold your breath you should survive until you resurface. I think.
Back on Kenroku, take a look at the bus out on the street. You can’t drive it, but it’s an interesting piece, meant to promote the bus company. The door slides open realistically, seats swivel, the DVD player comes down. It’s a nice piece of work.
1 Comment | builds, international, retail | Tagged: busses, gardens, japanese | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
I will not stare
December 10, 2008
“I will not stare at the boobies, I will not stare at the boobies, I will not stare at the boobies…”
7 Comments | silly | Tagged: staring | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Ways to keep me out
December 7, 2008
Leave a Comment » | cute, international, silly | Tagged: japanese, signs | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Holiday casuality
December 6, 2008
By way of an early present for you, stop by the store, right-click on the chalk outline and buy one of your own for L$0.
Cheers!
1 Comment | silly | Tagged: red-nosed, reindeer, rudolph | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Happy second rezday to me
December 4, 2008
In what appears to be becoming an annual tradition (and something that will make you say WTF), here I am parading around in my birthday suit, complete with my homemade “pixelated privates” attachment. Because I’m all about class, don’t you know.
4 Comments | silly | Tagged: birthday, nudity, rezday | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
December 3, 2008
Edelweiss makes some of the nicest quality maid / governess / Japanese schoolgirl uniforms I’ve come across in Second Life. Not that I’m in the market for those things, you know, but I’ve seen that stuff in my travels. Really.
What makes Edelweiss really interesting, though, is that it takes up a veeeeeeery small portion of Mont Saint Michel island, the rest of which is devoted to a magnificent Swiss city on a hilltop.
The interesting thing is that this is a Japanese creation. Okay, that’s not so interesting, but it is kind of odd to see what appears to be a Japanese ode to The Sound of Music. Then again, there are probably Swiss fans of Akira, so I suppose this serves to keep the universe in balance somehow.
You can fly around, but you’ll be most rewarded by walking around and getting lost. And get lost you will, just like in any old European city. The build is sometimes not very detailed (many of the houses are boxes with no windows or entrance), but turn a corner and you find yourself in a graveyard or a garden.
The cathedral at the top of the hill is definitely worth looking at. Inside it you’ll find on of the oddest things I’ve ever seen..
It’s a little skull in a golden case. I’m guessing this is supposed to be a kind of holy relic. Maybe it’s the skull of Saint Ruprecht the Very Tiny.
You have to fly up to the tower, but it’s worth it for the view.
And waaaaay up top you can get a look at the sculpture on the spire. That’s quite a bit of detail for something you can barely see from the ground. It’s a nice touch.
Oh, near the rez point there’s a Japanese version of one of those photo booth thingies. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual one you see around.
3 Comments | builds, international, retail, wow | Tagged: edelweiss, japanese, sound of music, switzerland | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
Burn, baby, burn
December 2, 2008
In what must be one of the ultimate examples of niche marketing in Second Life, I happened upon a store selling cremation devices. Where do you go after cremation roleplay? Afterlife roleplay? Reanimation roleplay? (Just add water!)
Okay, I’m sure that there are some clubs and roleplay areas where this actually fits in well. Still, I wonder if it isn’t telling that in all my travels the first place I’ve run into this setup is in the store where it’s sold.
That said, it’s actually a nice piece of work, along with the morgue and autopsy equipment nearby. And outside they sell tombstones. If you’re into death, they’re really trying to… urn your business.
1 Comment | retail, sick | Tagged: cremation, death | Permalink
Posted by Garth Goode
