The Builder's Brewery

If you ever decided to join Second Life and you wanted to build things or buy things or you wanted a place to open up some boxes or learn how to take a photograph or you just wanted a nice sim filled with friendly people to sit at for awhile and you were to ask me what is the one place I would go to or the one group I would join....I would immediately, without hesitation point you in the direction of The Builder's Brewery.

I know I have mentioned them before in posts, but I thought I should actually dedicate a WHOLE post to this group and this Sim because it is so darn WORTHY. And yes, I realise that the majority of my posts gush about the great things I find in Second Life, but honestly...it IS that great. (and if you are getting all judgey and snarky because you want me to be a biatch and point out crappy things, what the heck is WRONG with YOU???????) OK...so now we have that out of the way, BUILDER'S BREWERY!!!!!

Since I first stepped into this world, this group has been an incredible source of information about anything from how to deal with griefers and trolls (report, block, evict and ban by the way....or if you are quick, drop a box over their head!) to Scripting and Blender. No question has ever been too stupid or asked too many times. No wonder they were voted....

Pssttt...I was one of the ones who voted for them!!!

Some of the builds in one of the sandboxes today. 

I pop into the brewery almost daily and can quite often be found building in a sandbox there.  Even though I probably have enough prim allowance and space at my own place now, I still prefer to build at the Brewery for a few reasons...1. There are ALWAYS other builders there making stuff and it can be really fun, inspirational and educational just to watch them. 2.  I have met some really lovely people at the Brewery, ones that just wandered up to see what I was making or building, and as a result, we got to talking. 3.  The brewery not only has a ground platform on which you can rezz things or build things, but they have MULTIPLE sky platforms as well which are really useful if you have a big build or just want a bit of space to tinker and think.

When I was new and had no place of my own, I used to use their free and private dressing rooms all of which are beautifully appointed and have everything you need. You can stay in these for up to 3 hours at a time and set who is allowed to enter while you are in there. They have pose stands and lots of space so you can cam all around your avatar to check out how fabulous you look from any angle and in different poses.

Dressing Room!

Southside Classroom

The Brewery holds classes in their classrooms regularly,  The calendar can be found on their website or on the boards located all over the Brewery. The classes can be on anything from in game photography to making mesh. They use both text and voice and they are highly practical in that you will be making something as you are being taught. The classes also cater for a wide variety of levels from beginners right through to advanced, some classes are one offs and others are part of a series. It's a really good way to learn.

Creators Village Shops

Located on the grounds is also a whole village of shops selling high quality items that are mostly full permissions.  You can find textures, scripts, furniture, building components and so much more at really reasonable prices.

Yeah...I can go on ALL day about this place and this group. So I will stop and post some pretty pictures for you after I say this last thing...
In the big world that is Second Life, this group and this place is a haven for creators that are and creators that would be. It is a place of respect, where ideas are shared freely with good humour and boundless patience. I have never heard an unkind word be spoken or a request for help unanswered. 

So, my friend, if you are looking for me in world, you know where you will find me. Hop in the group, or take the SLurl down below to Builder's Brewery and let me show you around and introduce you to some people.

Everyone deserves a rest after a hard day's creating right???

Many thanks to Sensuous Maximus for permissions for this post. :) 

Refs:
Builder's Brewery Website
http://www.buildersbrewery.com/

Builder's Brewery SLurl
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Brewery/130/191/23

A Sunday Afternoon Walk in Walden Pond

Well, it's Sunday afternoon and I have a little time to just take a wander and explore a little, so I opened up my destination guide and searched in the Nature and Parks category and came across Walden Pond. The description read, "This virtual recreation of Walden Pond provides a relaxing and inspiring walk amidst autumn trees no matter the weather or season." So I thought to myself, Well...Why NOT? So...

For those of you not in the know, On the shores 

of Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau lived for two years in a self-built house in order to focus on his writing. This area is based on that experience. The landscape is lovely but at times a little mis-aligned (some of the trees and leaves are floating significantly above ground level) and outdated, which plays with your immersion a bit. The falling autumn leaves and ambient music set the mood of the place beautifully though. And considering the notecards had a a date of 2008, the place isn't doing so badly really :) 

As you walk around the path, you touch the rocks and each one gives your quotes. Find all 11 landmarks and you get a prize (NO SPOILERS! Go do it yourself!) One of my favourite quotes I received while touching the landmarks along the path was this one...

"Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores. Do not stay to be an overseer of the poor, but endeavor to become one of the worthies of the world. From the chapter "Economy" in Walden"

All in all, a pleasant way to spend a little time on a Sunday afternoon. 

Refs:

Walden Pond SLurl

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Merlin%20Gardens/91/166/26

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!

GONG XI FA CAI!!!!

It's Chinese New Year's Eve and as someone who has some Asian heritage, this becomes a HUGE celebration for my family. So I sort of combined my (terrible) GIMP skills with my (equally terrible) in game photo skills and did a photo shoot at one of the most beautiful Sims I know, The Shinzen Japanese Garden at the Yosemite Sim made by the incredibly talented Jadyn Firehawk. Now I understand that TECHNICALLY this is a Japanese Garden and not a Chinese garden but...well...tough...work with me a little here you critical people!!!!!

I honestly didn't think this in world photography business was going to be so...time consuming and...demanding of my time and resources. When I first had the thought to just take a photo, I simply assumed I would pop into a place, whack off a couple of shots...DONE! I did not take into account that BEFORE I actually took ANY photos, I had to:
1.  Choose a location
2. Ask permission from the owner to be able to take photos there
3.  Get together an outfit
4.  Have a meltdown about outfit at least 5 times before just choosing one...any one.
5.  Accessorize. SERIOUSLY!!! What is going ON here?!?!?!?
6.  Have another meltdown because it all looks ridiculous
7.  Give up in exasperation at my complete lack of fashion skills and just teleport to the location already.
8. Trample all around the location in aforementioned ridiculous outfit (as there are no change rooms onsite, it was a case of wearing what I was going to be photographed in) seeking out picturesque locations

...and THEN....I spent AGES setting up each shot, waiting for the right pose to kick in, waiting for my facial animations to kick in, fiddling with lighting, putting the lighting settings back to what they originally were before taking MULTIPLE PHOTOS of which I would eventually only pick about a dozen. And of that dozen, I whittled them down to the four you see here. <deep breath>

So... I was first introduced to the Yosemite Sim through a member of the group, Ch'Know. I was looking for scenic Sims to wander around in and am so glad I was pointed in the direction of this Sim. Jadyn has not only left a plethora of gorgeous gifts EVERYWHERE for people to enjoy free of charge, but also has made some truly beautiful areas as well as some really fun places to visit. I have been base jumping off sky high platforms (don't ask...there was a lot of screaming involved...there may have been tears...I am a sook about heights even in virtual reality), I have gone galloping through fields on horseback, I I wandered trails up mountains and down valleys and have also sat quietly in peaceful places.  There is information about the RL Yosemite National Park in the visitors centre as well as more free gifts, prints and even a 3D map of the sim. If you are looking for a little holiday spot in beautiful surrounds with lots to do, there are even some gorgeous little cabins at really reasonable prices or homes in the Japanese village for rent. 

On top of all this, Jadyn runs a non-profit foundation. The mission statement reads, "The Pixel To Pixel Foundation's mission is to assist people in Second Life who are on disability. By granting them weekly Linden-dollar stipends, we help to make it possible for them to have homes, buy things, and pursue creative interests in SL that they might not otherwise be able to afford."

A truly worthy cause, a wonderfully talented and creative woman and a breathtakingly gorgeous Sim with so much to give, mentally, spiritually, virtually and really.  Thank you Jadyn, for your vision. And on that note...onto the pics! 

(Please note that all of the following pictures have not been altered with a third party program, Only the very first photo at the top was altered using GIMP to include text. The following photos are taken using the in Second Life camera tools.) 

SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/193/64/25

Head: CATWA head - Cami from the Mainstore

Hair:  CATWA hair - Leah Bounce from the Mainstore

Headpiece: Tribal Tiara Ember v.2 by MadMacit in the Marketplace

Body: Maitreya Lara from the Mainstore

Dress: Ex-Cheongasm Oriental Style Dress - Black with red and gold detailing by EXTAL in the Marketplace

Armband: Saturn Brass Bangles by TwosistersTreasureGirl in the Marketplace

Earrings: Saturn Brass Earrings by TwosistersTreasureGirl in the Marketplace

Shoes: .:KC:. KENDRA in the Marketplace

11. The New House Build and Learning to Reference Second Life Creators

I wanted to do a quick post today because I know it has been awhile since I posted but end of year madness descended upon my family and it still has not ended. However, I am still here and still posting and just wanted to share my building progress. I LOVE building. I rarely spend money on clothes or body parts or hair...but I will happily spend quite a lot of time and Lindens looking at textures and builders kits and house parts and animations. I am not quite at the stage of adequately using and importing items from Blender and Gimp yet, but I have been working through tutorials and will hopefully reach that point sometime in 2017.  For now, I am just thrilled to have set the goal of this project, worked it to the end and learned so damn much along the way.

I will spend some time in the new year with a proper "What I went through to get to this point in building" post...but for the moment, I just wanted to share this with you and credit the designers and creators that are featured in these photos so I can get used to referencing them in this way because they are ALL artists. In real life, if I took a photo of someone's work, and showed it to people, I would definitely not hesitate to credit them, and the artisans of Second Life certainly deserve no less. So...here we go...this is my Second Life Home.

This house is part mesh, part prims. There are a few considerations I had in mind while building it...
1.  I live on an L shaped, 1024sqm land space. It is basically two 16m x 32m pieces of land joined together. In order to fit it on the land, it has to be either "L" shaped, which my first build was, or narrow enough to fit the space. The footprint of this build is 14m x 31m. 

2.  I have a Land Impact (LI) allowance of 351. Which is not really very much. So, any build I do MUST be low LI, so I can still fit furniture and things in it. This build is 37 LI in total. 

3.  It has some really lovely views as I live on a bit of protected riverfront in the Snowlands across from an ONSR rail station. Therefore, it was important that I have lots of big windows in the right spots in order to be able to enjoy that.

Front view

This is the front view of my house. I built it, therefore I am the creator of this one :D BUT I would like to mention these creators...
Stained Glass Window:  *REMEMBERS* 
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/174631?id=174631
Roof: Dachs 
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/roof-dach-mesh-builder-edition/7837571

Front Conservatory Area

Plants:
Simply Shelby Hydrangea (Coral) 
Simply Shelby Fall Hortensia (Purple Plum)
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abbey%20Glen/155/110/758
Storax Tree Vintage Plant Stand
Chair: Storax Tree Royal Heritage Monarch's Armchair
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21
Fireplace:  LAQ Decor Tile Stove
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/LAQ-Decor-Tile-Stove/5487036

Kitchen Area

Kitchen: ~BAZAR~
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21

Loft Bedroom which converts into...

The Loft bedroom is able to be converted for different uses through the use of a fantastic and really easy to use holo rezzer (Yes like in Star Trek). I use the 'Optimus' MultiRezzer v1.3 by Low Industries
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Optimus-Multirezzer/4908598 The idea for which I first got from THIS BLOG POST, in the Blog The Digital Pasture by Penny Patton. Since I read it and it completely changed the way I thought about virtual spaces, I have been playing with the holo rezzer quite a bit. A note here is that all furniture is set with certain permissions for use. This allows a creator to sell unique items, or items that can be completely modified, or ones that can be copied. So, the permissions are Copy (which allows you to make copies of a piece as many times as you like), Modify (which allows you to change a colour, or the size, or whatever you like) and Transfer (which allows you to give away an item). To be used in a holorezzer, an item MUST have the permissions Copy/Modify. Without them, the items get eaten up by the magical world of Second Life. I learned this the hard way....and then read the instructions more closely. so word of warning in both Second Life and First Life...ALWAYS read the manual!!!!

Stockholm Bed, Stockholm Bedroom Lamps, Traveler Writing Desk and Stockholm Typewriter:  ~BAZAR~
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/L%20A%20Dreams/79/170/21
Fireplace:  Simply Shelby Wood Stove
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abbey%20Glen/155/110/758

A steampunk themed sitting room/workshop area and...

Old World Terrestrial Globe, Workshop table, Steampunk Computer and Mad Scientist Lab Interrossiter:  Aley at Arcadia Asylum
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Pond/129/57/21
Gyroscope: Simply Shelby Vintage Gyroscope
SLurl 
Chairs: ~Hare Couture~ French Wingback 1-Prim Chair (Navy)
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Hare-Couture-French-Wingback-1-prim-Chair-Navy/2695698
Submarine: Gustav's 1920s Submarine Toy in Silver
I actually have NO idea where I got this one from but if anyone out there does, if you could provide me with the SLurl or URL, I would be very grateful! 
Soapbox Airplane: Gustav's Soapbox Airplane
The same as above goes for the Soapbox Airplane!

Humidor:GothixGrafx Humidor Smoking Stand #4a
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Humidor-Smoking-Stand-4a/2812880

An Art Studio

Art Studio Storage Shelves, Art Studio Paint tubes, Art Studio Brushes in Jar on Wall and Art Studio Easel Medium Canvas by Artisan Fantasy. 
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Artisan%20Fantasy/191/110/2001
Just as an aside about Artisan Fantasy, I went to the 7 Republic event and played the gacha to get all the pieces from Artisan Fantasy. I managed to get all except for one. The gacha items are given with the permissions Copy/Transfer, however to be able to use them in the holorezzer, I need the items to be Copy/Mod. Artisan Fantasy offered to exchange the Copy/Transfer set to customers provided that they had acquired the full set with each piece being acquired specifically through the gacha (and not bought off another player). As I had not received the full set, I did not qualify, however I contacted the creators anyway, explained the situation and what I was using the items for and they graciously sent me the Copy/Mod items in exchange for the ones I had. My experience with Artisan Fantasy was pleasant and delightful. Art was just the nicest person and I would thoroughly recommend this store not only for the quality of their products, but also the quality of their service. 
Mannequin: :FANATIK HOME: Mannequin (Wood)
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/FANATIK-HOME-Mannequin-mesh-clothing-mannequin-mesh-display-dummy/4444179
Workshop table with grid: R(S)W Workshop Table - Ash- by Robin Sojourner at the Builders Brewery Creators Village
SLurl http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Resource/168/41/24

There is still a lot of work to do with decorating, but by getting in and building I have learnt SO many things. I have learnt not just about the actual construction of things, but also about placing and fitting textures. I have learnt about Land Impact and how certain things affect it. I have learnt to not only link an object together but to lock it down so I don't accidentally delete bits of it. I had to have conversations with many people in builders groups with regards to HOW to do these things and most of all, I have learned great respect and admiration for the artists and creators of Second Life who are able to do the most incredible, delightful and wondrous things in ways that inspire and amaze me.

10. Fighting the prejudice of bad press

Ok...let's just get this out there. Second Life has a terrible reputation. Whenever I mention it to gamer friends I am met with snickers and innuendo. Comments like, "Second Life? Sexy life!", "Are you going to get all furry now or turn into a Bronie?" Seriously...sometimes I think people get stuck in adolescence and ignorance. Most of these people have never set foot inside Second Life. All they have to base their opinions on is gossip and rumour and press from YEARS ago. 

So I would like to dispel these rumours for my readers. SECOND LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. When you close your mind with ignorance and prejudice you miss out on the truly beautiful and wonderful and amazing and GENEROUS gifts that other people have brought to the world. 

You miss out on the fairytale

You miss out on learning

You miss out on the quiet moments in beautiful places

You miss out on the laugh out loud ridiculous

You miss out on the creative thoughts of other people

You miss out on classic references 

And you miss out on the opportunity to look at the world in a different way

I don't care about other peoples sexual practices. Each to their own and what happens between consenting adults is absolutely none of my business. For me, Secondlife is so much more than the sensationalised bad press that people seem to want to hold on to. I hope that by showing you the world through my eyes, that you will also look at it in a different way and maybe, you too will see the people behind the avatars and the wonder in all that was dreamed and delivered by these incredible people, past, present and wherever the future may take us.

9. Byrd Island

This Sim is done by LICK Sim designs and it is exquisite. Excuse me if I gush a little but this is the first Sim I have been to (that wasn't an art installation) that I have loved every moment, from the time I landed to the time I regretfully teleported away. The music was laid back and moody which perfectly fit the ambience of this Place. The lighting, the effects….the BIRDS. You just can't help but wonder what happened to the inhabitants of this house.

You teleport in on a jetty overlooking a beautiful bay. As you walk off the jetty you come across an old rickety wooden elevator and a ladder. I chose the ladder and climbed to the top of the sim, turned around and physically gasped in real life. The scene was so….Jane Austen. I wish I'd worn more Austenesque clothes but there was no way I was going to get changed now (That and I don't have any!). Tearing myself away from the view, I walked a short distance and spent some time just sitting on a lovely bench and admiring the view. The sun going down, the muted colours, the gentle music playing in the background…it was just so peaceful.

I walked through fields of long grasses and wildflowers. Sat quietly and watched the birds circling overhead. Explored houses that were beautifully and tastefully decorated in old farmhouse styles and left as if their occupants had just disappeared suddenly.

In one house I had an Edgar Allen Poe moment and had to read "The Raven" all over again...

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, 
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. 
"Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this and nothing more." ~Edgar Allen Poe  

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing further then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered— Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before— Then the bird said “Nevermore.” ~Edgar Allen Poe

This Sim has been taken down now. Such is the transient nature of some of the most beautiful places in Second life. However, LICK is currently in the process of making a new Sim and I for one can't wait to see it.

Refs:

Poetry Foundation. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/48860

8. My First Apartment

PLEASE NOTE: If you are new to my blog from my Facebook Art Page, please read THIS post first before you get confused as to why I am blogging Second Life :) 

Ok, so up until now I have been living homeless, plonking down each time I log off in a beautiful sim called Botanic gardens. Sometimes I log out in the glowing plants part, other times I lay down, read a book and watch waves.  It is a truly lovely sim and I've walked all over it and tried everything there…The piano (I have real talent ya know!), meditation (I think I need some classes).

I spend a lot of time in the Noonkin Café in Alba Estates because the deck is so lovely at all times of day and the music feed is exactly to my taste.  I won't include pictures here of Alba, but only because I am going to gush about it in a later post I have planned. But just allow me this little fount of delighted digression...
The owner of the Sim, Douglas is just a delight. I IM'd him once to tell him how much I loved his sim and asked him a few questions about whether he made it all (The answer is yes) ….then another time he IM'd me to thank me for my (poor and pitiful) donation to his tier payment and we had a conversation that just made me smile. He has a great sense of humour and I would like to chat to him again, but I am just a bit wary of intruding in people's busy SL lives and annoying them.  Soooo… I often just park myself down there while I am drawing or working on an art project in real life. I would love love LOVE to rent a house there. There is a beautiful little cottage by the water that has a little beach and a gorgeous estuary flowing past it and the most wonderful little sitting spot out the back. Sadly, I just can't afford it. Having said that, the prices of the gorgeous little houses and land are more than fair and reasonable...I am just watching my...errmm...lack of pennies at the moment. I spent a day wandering around that little house imagining what furniture I would put in it and sitting on the bench on the beach reading and wishing I could actually live there….maybe one day.

Standing at the front door and looking into the apartment

For now though, I rented a little skybox from Manor Suites Apartment. I just wanted to feel a bit…grounded you know? Less like an itinerant and more like I had a home in the world. It was very cheap. It is fully furnished because I didn't want to have to actually think about decorating and buying furniture and getting into that just yet. I am still too busy exploring and working out the simplest things….like where IS everyone? How do you get to engaging people in conversations that last more than a few sentences and don't just involve the best places to shop?

Looking down at the living room from the loft bedroom.
TV is on the wall. Woodland scene out window.

So, a skybox is like a little apartment…umm…in the sky. If you want to see how one is made, you should check out the video by Beau Hindman here.  It is one step smaller than a sky dome. Same principal, but a skydome is usually bigger and has an outside area, sort of like a private parcel of land placed in the sky. I have picture windows. The scene changes depending on the time of day. Sometimes it is a city skyline at night, at other times it is a woodland in the day. But I can't go outside and sit in a yard. 

It has a loft type bedroom, a bathroom complete with toilet

Splish Splash I was taking a bath...

(what would I need THAT for….honestly my avatar neither pees nor poops!!!!!), a kitchen and a lounge. I can change the music that streams in my apartment and it even has a TV, which to me is a mind bending concept. You can watch YouTube on it or stream TV I guess through whatever website you choose.  It's not something I plan on using at the moment as I much prefer the ease and size of my actual computer browser or my RL tv for that.

Drinking an ENORMOUS glass of wine in my kitchen

But the biggest advantage to having the apartment is that it is somewhere I can get changed without embarrassment or having to rely on the goodwill of the Builder's Brewery change rooms.  And it actually makes me FEEL like I am more a part of the world. Like I am here to stay rather than just here visiting.  And I guess that is an important distinction between being part of a world rather than just looking into a world. 

Refs:

SLurls

The Botanical Gardens

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Botanical%20Gardens/66/62/22

Alba
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Alba/228/90/21

Manor Suites Apartments
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/RarIR/18/29/899

YouTube
Beau Hindman:  Building a Skybox in Second Life with Beau
https://youtu.be/rNQSN-2J69g?list=PLse3ptg3wOKzG9TV42bBEWN8urmbRPOzN

Websites
Alba Island Estates
http://www.alba-islands.com/