Crow Castle

At one time there were over 500 castles in Japan, but after the age of the shogun, the long series of civil wars came to an end and the country eventually unified under the ruling power of the Emperor. Most of the old feudal fortifications were either demolished or allowed to decay. Only 12 authentic Japanese castles survive to this day. 

This one is accessible without passport or jet lag... it's on Wolf Territories Grid.

The Daqtheion Empire

By light, we see light

It's a little bit Alice Through the Looking Glass, a touch Whovian, a smidgen Minecraft, and plenty Mobian; it will find worlds unique to your mind and echo them back to you, with interesting sidelights. But of course, whatever allusions fly, this is  the Daqtheion Empire, and the mindworm of Knight Knox, the creator of Phos, a region of crystals and cubes, space and sounds, towers and tunnels and teleports and trees.

If you want to fall in love all over again with Opensim, then take a trip to Mobius and visit this region; this is no game, it's an expression of art, on an imperial scale, in the magnificent opensim style of immense space coupled with total freedom of movement. HG Address, as always, at the end of the post... You make your own adventure.

Zoree's Season

  A popular myth suggests that Charles Dickens invented the classic English Christmas when, in 1843, his book 'A Christmas Carol' was published and became an instant bestseller. (Just as well, for Dickens at the time was in deep trouble financially, and gave himself just 6 weeks to write the book and get it out there to resolve his money woes!) While his book didn't really kickstart the festivities, it did crystallize many English traditions, and while Dickens is often condemned by writers as being the 'Commercializer of Christmas' in reality he wanted to promote the idea of helping those in need, without expecting to receive in return. The Victorian age was a time of wealth and technological breakthroughs, social upheaval and international unrest... anything sound familiar? 

The season is almost upon us, but before you begin to see palm trees laden with snow popping up on all the beaches of opensim, take a trip around one of the best made Christmas builds on the hyperverse, Victorian Christmas on OSGrid, by Zoree Jupiter - a great builder, although more famous perhaps for her wonderful singing voice.

Zoree is going to be a guest on the Mal Burns talk show Inworld Review on December 3 at 12 noon Grid time. You can watch the show online and add your comments and questions in the Live Chat, or watch anytime afterwards, to learn more about her story in music making, as well as her participation in the OSCC festivities during the weekend of December 9 and 10 this year.

Zoree with a snowman friend

The virtual offers so many possible iterations of the Xmas spirit - anything is possible here - the question has to be, why choose to represent Victorian Christmas?

Master of Art: Gianni Spada

Lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu 

'The sun, the sea and the wind' have shaped Apulia, the 'heel' of boot-shaped Italy. It's a peninsula of a peninsula, reaching out across the Adriatic towards Albania, a land of olive groves, rocky beaches, with mountains in the north and vast tracts of fertile farmland, timeless villages, and busy ports.  It's the home of Gianni Spadavecchia. His last name means 'old sword' in English but inworld, he shortens it to just Spada - way easier to type.  

Gianni Spada at the HIE conference in October.
Apulia is called 'Puglia' in Italian - don't let that g fool you, it's pronounced Pull-ya

Italy has the most UNESCO sites in the world, and there are 1.5k museums in the country. So much history! There are about 300 recognized archeological sites, but you'd have to add several zeroes to that figure if you were to count all the places with notable archeology. With so much out there, it would be completely impractical to make them all accessible. There just aren't the resources to preserve, protect, excavate and investigate every single one of them, so many of these treasures remain buried, or otherwise undeveloped in terms of a visitor friendly  destination. And of course, not all of us can take a day trip to Italy to check out these fascinating treasures.

The Breath of Shenn Tao

གཏོང་ལེན་

It is a place born out of balance, it is a home to harmony. In a world full of bitterness and so much focus on the self, to the detriment of others, it is a haven for the mind.

Shenn Tao's region on Virtual Worlds Zone takes its name from Tonglen, a Tibetan word meaning more or less 'give and take'. The sending and receiving in Tonglen meditation practice is exactly the opposite to the way most business is transacted. It's all about breathing, and the idea is that instead of trying to take in pleasure and stay away from pain, you aim to receive other's pain by breathing it in, and on each breath you exhale, you're trying to send out goodness and wellbeing to others. Imagine if everyone gave that a go for a little while.

Nyx by the Numbers

 You have to admire a man who's bold enough to wear short shorts and if his shorts are short, that's the only thing he's short of. Space, time, energy and talent - Nyx Breen has got a lot of all of it.

This is Zahlensymbolik, on one of the Immersive VAR regions of Pangea grid, one of 6 grids where Nyx has a presence in opensim. Zahlensymbolik is a German word that suggests a lot of ideas - numerology, the symbolism of numbers or aspects of mathematics, the magic in counting. Deep stuff! However, never fear, this is not a superstitious sim, more a place where numbers are made to dance and delight.

Nyx Breen: The name sounded fun after I had used google translate English to German, more of play on the sound of it than the meaning. I'm a numbers person, yes - but more on the math side than the numerology side.

Nyx Breen

 Zahlensymbolik (let's just call it 'Z')  started as a sim months ago, and then the effects took on a life of their own, with fewer prim and more effects. There are 8 sections here, each different. 

Three Pieces of Karima

Karima Hoisan provides a little life lesson in the midst of an impressive career of creativity on Kitely, in the form of her YouTube channel. Memory is important. You probably already know that Karima shares poems, personal reflections, and anecdotes on her website the Digital Rabbit Hole, but perhaps the most enduring and accessible record of her work on almost two dozen regions - called rather grandiloquently 'worlds' on Kitely -  is Karima's YouTube channel.
It's fair to say that Karima Hoisan has always posted wonderful content on Youtube over the past 12 years, as it's an ideal locus for her multimedia presence, in intimate collaboration over the years with Dale Innis, and, before her untimely death, Natascha Randt. Recently, she has begun expanding her video repertoire. Here are three pieces of it.

Karima and Nat

Much of Kitely is inaccessible to the general visitor, making it a bit of a black hole of creativity from the point of view of the hypergrid explorer - there's probably good stuff happening but it's too difficult to get to, so one just shrugs, and moves on. Karima is one of a handful of residents who have consistently made out-of-town  tourists like the Safari group welcome. Our first visit to one of her builds -Vector's Vortex - was nine years ago today, in November 2014. Yet despite repeated Safaris to builds by Dale, Nat and Karima, - with contributions by other pals, from time to time - we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the range of imaginative chapters they have put together in the past decade or so.

A Scientific Safari Finale

Our final stop on this final Safari of 2023 was on OSGrid, at the home of Caro Fayray. Caro is a long time resident, and also a volunteer administrator,  of the grid often dubbed 'the crossroads of Opensim'.

Caro Fayray

 Each year Caro takes responsibility for organizing, displaying, labelling, and promoting the original content that is donated for OSgrid's Auction - people can buy for real money content that is not available anywhere else in opensim, and the funds they pay go toward the maintenance of the OSGrid servers, which as everyone knows, are entirely funded by volunteer contributions.

On Echo Rock, we took our places in a comfortable meeting area.

Caro Fayray: Hello everyone and welcome to ECHO ROCK - FUN SCIENCE This region has shared environment, take a seat or pose on a column:) Local Chat is simwide to make interaction easier. Feel  free to  explore  if you want. Many are interactive so don't just cam:) In  your  invite you say  'art' thirza... I  never thought  of this as art:) 

Alex Salamander: Hello

Tosha Tyran: Hi

Kelso Uxlay: Hello Caro... camming around... Volcano erupting

Telling Tales on Nara's Nook

We began the 30th and final Safari of 2023 on Nara's Nook grid - although to many it looked awfully like another place - the Opensim Community conference keynote regions, and for good reason. We were there to help the Next Dimension group to road test their OSCC presentation. Siobhan Muir, Dorena Bree, and Nara 'Nara Nook' Malone, have been developing their unique storytelling system where you become a 3D component in the plot. They plan to show off their progress so far at the December conference.

The usual mulitlingial crowd assembled on Nara's Nook grid!

The set for New Dimension Tales presentation

Yara Eild: Hello @  all

Victoria Logan: abrazos

Remembrance at Georgetown

To mark the passing of one year since the end of hostilities in the First World War - still called the Great War at the time - a new annual event was organized, called Armistice Day. The War had officially ended on 11 November 1918. In London a new temporary memorial, pale and austere, had been set up in 1919. It was called the Cenotaph, literally meaning "empty tomb", to symbolize all those who had lost their lives in the conflict. The permanent version of the monument, by Lutyens, was completed in time for the 1920 commemoration. 

It was an Australian journalist, Edward Honey, who proposed possibly the most important part of that first Armistice Day... the idea of a minute's silence in respect for those who had died. The suggestion was picked up by the authorities, who made it a central part of the ceremony, at eleven minutes past eleven. All were agreed that the event should not be a celebration of military might, but a 'devout invocation for the utter necessity of World Peace.' This solemn and deeply meaningful tribute to those lost in conflict has endured for over 100 years, and is marked throughout the Commonwealth and beyond as Remembrance Day.  

Tig Eberdene of Neverworld Grid has a special event coming up on the Friday before Remembrance Day (because naturally the real thing needs to be celebrated in the real world) but her tribute to the fallen is no less poignant and well prepared for being in the virtual. You can visit her region over on Neverworld and see her recreation of a military base, Canadian style, and get a sense of what the day and the armed forces in general mean to her.

The region is called Georgetown and it's part military base, part township, and all very much Canada.

The glorious fall colors feature here, alongside a carefully constructed collection of historic architecture, modern buildings, woods, and mountains - and even a set of military trenches! Tig hasn't been on Neverworld all that long, but you can tell immediately that she is a seasoned builder, and this is not her first rodeo - the general build and all the little personalized details make that clear.

Happy Birthday Neverworld!

 Neverworld Grid is celebrating eight years of fun and creativity this week. on a platform famous for the ephemeral nature of so many virtual places, what a milestone that is!

If you missed all the parties, you are still in time to check out the excellent Birthday Build on the nattily-named NWBB8.

Lorenza's Women

 Lorenza Colicigno [it→en]: Welcome to The City of Women

Unadecal Masala: The City of Women??? I'm coming to live here

Arriving on NoiLab

This beautiful region is made up of historical backstories and fine Mediterranean architecture representing layers os history going back several thousand years. As usual the full HG address is at the end of the post. This is an opportunity to expand your knowledge of western culture, with a feminist bias, while being entertained by so many sights and animations, you'll barely realize you're learning something! Our hostess, Lorenza Colicigno, who together with Tonino Lane has put together one of the most uniquely useful and attractive builds on the hyperverse.

Timeless Ariadne

 This week we were able to visit another super region on Groovyverse, by Sam Timeless. His creative skillz are many and varied, this time it was a perfectly proportioned Safari-sized stroll in and around a volcanic lake. As usual the HG address is at the end of the post.

Ariadne on GroovyVerse

But first... If you've ever wondered what happens before the Safari gets started, we all basically sit around the fire and talk nonsense. Like this.

Tosha Tyran: can't anybody set the poor little lama free?

Thirza Ember: he's a drama llama, he needs to stay put, Don't feel sorry for him.

Nara Nook: poor baby

Tosha Tyran: look at its sad, sad eyes, and the bucket is not full of water - its full with his tears

Nara Nook: I used to do a website for a llama farm. They spit at you when you try and get their picture... after all the spit and trouble, turned out no one wanted to eat llama burgers so the job didn't last long

Tosha Tyran:  oh... but aren't they normally used for therapies? the people cuddle them and go for walks with them. I think they are just the friendliest looking, nicest animals - next time I come with some signs and start a demo: free the animals

Thirza Ember: not if they spit, I suppose... walk and wash all in one

Nara Nook: lol

Halloween Haven

 So much happening on one build, thanks to a foursome of builders - Wendie Blackthorn, Johanna Haven, Freya Blackthorn, and Lizzy Borden - you may remember Lizzy's Mountain build we visited a while back - with that devilish maze, and Wendie's magnificent recreation of Dalaran..

These photos only give you a glimpse of one of this year's highlights in terms of Safarying. The address is as always at the end of the post, and of course, don't delay, Halloween season is limited.

Wendie and Johanna on Welcome duty!

Wendie Blackthorn: you see the burning wicker man we have here, those will be placed all over Kinky Haven on the 5th of november for bonfire night

Ankhtyfy Fun

Our first stop this week was on OSGrid, a Hunt by Francophone creators   Nani ferguson and Ange Menges. It began with a bit of a hiccup, as the region kind of threw a loop when 20 people showed up. This almost never happens on Safari any more, luckily we could easily regroup at the Clubhouse and just jump back after a couple of minutes when the server pulled itself together.

Arriving on Ankhtyfy

Lucy Afarensis: Interesting start today

Thirza Ember: lol that was a quick safari!

Forest Azure: maybe i should do some exercises meanwhile, since i'm dressed for it

Thirza Ember: lol Forest you are ready for a quick getaway

Taarna Welles: In the meantime I'll make a cup of tea. Brb

Mal Burns: all i found was a TP gate which unleashed loadsa monsters when i touch it, this quest gonna be hard I think... hope reboot wait is not part of quest lol

James atLLOUD: isn't it all though? Ankhtyfy is fairly close to the region.  World map doesn't show it offline.

Thirza Ember: osgrid map is notoriously slow, James

Ange Menges: Sorry for the problem . So we are late

James atLLOUD: I don't think avatars were harmed tho

Forest Azure: /me's toes are hurting from standing on them all the time

Minord Loup: re bonsoir a tous

Halloween Treats

There are always so many things to do at Halloween in Opensim, it brings out all the ghoulish genius of our many builders. Even if you're not generally a Halloween type person, there is plenty here to admire - and if you love the scary stuff you'll be in heaven!  (Or should that be the Other Place?)

The pumpkin patch on Themed region of escape2reality

Here are three suggestions of fun ways to enjoy the spookiest time of the year. All HG Addresses and hops are, of course, at the end of the post, and the links to the region's pages on Opensimworld are posted as links - so don't forget to click on the links, Like, Review, and Bookmark if you're so inclined - it's a great source of positive feedback for our wonderful creators.

Safari visits the Strawberry Fields

The arrival point on Strawberry Fields sets the scene for a Beatles build that takes you through the major sites associated with the Fab Four, and it's by JohnWinston Vandyke,  who came inworld to show us around, and thank goodness he did, because this build is as full of detail as it is ingenious.

This trip was made possible by Dorena Verne, of Dorena's World, without whose assistance we probably would never have been able to meet JohnWinston in person. Thanks Dorena!

JohnWinston Vandyke: wow..I am impressed. Hello everybody

Jupiter Rowland: Hi everyone!

Dorena Bree: Hello

Thirza Ember: wow quite a quick rez for me! impressive, dorenas world

Mal.Burns: faster than last for sure

Thirza Ember: everyone please meet JohnWinston he made this build all about the beatles

Juno Rowland: Hello!

Tosha Tyran: Hi John

Thirza Ember: hey Archetyp

Archetyp Jung: Hello! :-)

Jupiter Rowland: You may want to turn on the music stream. It's always worth listening to on John's sims.

Whirli Placebo: great idea, thx jupiter

Thirza Ember: I have been in love with this build for about a year! it is a really clever use of space.

Star Ravenhurst: Made it! I had to go to the club house first.

JohnWinston Vandyke: I am sorry, I neglected it for a long time, because I built my star wars planets the last 2 years... so let me tell you about this place a few things. Since I was a young boy I am a huge Beatles fan

Whirli. Placebo: love the reprise best

JohnWinston.Vandyke: Well I started to play the guitar, I always wanted to sound like John Lennon, in the end it turned out to sound like Bart Simpson 

Kitely's Cave Man

Lascaux, in Perigord, is one of those amazing places that says so much about humanity. Everyone knows the cave paintings, their size, vivid colors, and pure artistry speak to us across the gulf of ages. The tragedy of the caves, discovered during the Second World War, as their fate. They were monetized and rendered world famous in 1948, when a staggering 100,000 visitors flocked there every year for a while. The germs, humidity and light that all those tourists brought with them soon left its mark, and within 15 years the fragile environment was irreparably damaged. Undaunted, however, work began on copying the art, and today you can go to Montignac and take a ...dare I say it, virtual tour ! Today with all the mod cons of the 21st century traveller, you can absorb the prehistoric mood in a full-size, mathematically precise replica of the caves and their contents. 
Lascaux on Kitely has the same starting point, but a different configuration, and a very different and intriguing purpose. The Safari went to see what was what.

lifted pixel: some of you are missing bits and pieces but they're rezzing in now

Roffellos Kisses: if anyone lost some boobs they just shot past me

Angelic Kisses: Hahahaha

Tosha Tyran: if somebody finds my body - please return it to me - I need it, sniff

Forest Azure: gimme back!

Roffellos Kisses: strange wildlife here

Aba Brukh: ahhhhh, there I am

Cooper Swizzle

Thirza.Ember: applause for Cooper Swizzle - Kitely's own Cave Man

Cooper Swizzle: Thank you Thirza... Hello and welcome to The Lascaux Cave. I am Cooper Swizzle, and it is my pleasure to share my interpretation of the Lascaux Cave located in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac. I am a consultant and train adults on Leadership Soft Skills using 3D immersive environments in collaboration with Carla Kincaid-Yoshikawa, owner of Training in the 21st Century. As you will see, this is a sample of how we use the environment to train people. 

Ankh - st

 It's almost Halloween, and in Opensim that means ghouls and ghosties - big time angst! or in this case... ankh-st.

For creators, All Hallow's Eve is The Festival par excellence, because it offers the possibility of all kinds of visual cues, jump scares, and jokes, not to mention tricks and treats for friends and strangers, leading to a positive building boom all over the hyperverse. 

Art of Azure

All change at the gallery on Forest of Azure once again, with another selection of photos in this unusual and attractive landing point. Ten images taken in virtual worlds, expressing the intimate, colorful, and personal world of Forest Azure.

Forest Azure: I change the exhibit in my gallery on a regular basis, so this was one of the usual changes. The theme is essentially always the same: pictures that I see as erotic and of which I hope others see them that way too. On occasion I do a different theme, like portraits of people in SL and more ‘artsy’ pictures, like pictures with poems or more surrealistic pictures. One thing is consistent though: my pictures are always ‘what you see is what you get’ , that is, I don’t edit them, except to add text to the poem ones. 

It's a clever contextualization of the region, bringing together in ten canvasses the themes and values of the build below while offering a discrete destination all to itself for any art lover, easy to find and to appreciate. If you enjoy Forest's work, and want to compliment it to her in person, don't forget that she's holding a belated housewarming party at her inworld house on November 5 in the evening Euro time!

HG Address: hg.osgrid.org:80:Forest of Azure

MdM - Rededicated!

 The ribbon was cut today at the rededication ceremony of an old friend, the Museo del Metaverso on Craft Grid, now sporting a brand new look!

In a dark sky, just above the black waters of the sim, the new structure floats like a glass cage, full of movement and color, history and innovation.

Neo Rome

 Nexus Storm is a great builder! But you knew that already. Also, that the Neverworld family like to collaborate on builds - perhaps you remember the Total Recall region the Safari visited a while back. This time, we went to Rome -with a twist, a Neo twist.

Many people wonder, sure, when you read in this blog Safari people saying things like "I will definitely come back and explore" - do they really mean it? Well yes. Here's photographic proof. There were about 15  to 20 of us on the enormous region, and that of course made a certain amount of lag, even with all the possible precautions taken by the very skilled Neverworld teams - including turnings off their fabulous NCPs. Despite all their best efforts, Whirli found he couldn't move. So he simply waited for us to all leave, and for the region to be restored to its complete glory, and then he went back. Only to be eaten by a bear.

The build is an incredible mashup of all the best styles - roman bones, but its sinews and muscles taken from many fictional genres.

All Things Must Pass

Thirza Ember: this week, it would have been the 73rd birthday of John Lennon, so I was looking for a beatles destination for us... the first destination today is the RL garden of George Harrison. It was designed and built by Mudpuddle Cleanslate, I hope you will enjoy it.

Star Ravenhurst: Sounds awesome Thirza

Thirza Ember: you may remember Mudpuddle's other build Pepperland and Pepperland 2... they are also here on Littlefield as is his build for Van Gogh, called Arles.

James atLLOUD: OH yes, very much.

Thirza Ember: he is very particular about the details

SIWAS S: (de:en)  I am excited 

Thirza Ember: welcome to Friar Park, this is a real house just outside London. Mudpuddle Cleanslate is a big Beatles fan - he built this; he is a professional at graphic art... as you can see

Star Ravenhurst: Nice entrance!

Forest Azure: some dog!

Whirli Placebo on HIE

Our second destination was a preview of the HIE build. The Hypergrid International Expo is coming this weekend, with 3 musical guests on the Friday (starting at 11am SLT and then two days of talks and artistic performances, starting at 9am SLT on Saturday and Sunday.

HIE Welcome.  Join the Group best for your language,
and then walk through the portal to the Auditorium

You can find the whole schedule here - HIEOPENSIM - and also read about the artists and the speakers. The event gives an opportunity for people whose first language is not English to be able to give a talk to a wide public. As they speak, the main points of their talks will appear in 'Subtitle' form. Join the Language group right for you and just read the subtitles in the Chat.

Free Life in the City

This week's trip took us first to FreeLife Grid, the home of Victor DeAngelo. Our handsome host, noted for his many freebies and his kind and helpful spirit, awaited us on his Central City region. The HG Address is of course in the usual place.

James takes a seat at the arrival area on Central City

As you know, the Safari generally avoids malls because the combination of thousands of textures, a dozen avies, and less than an hour to take the tour makes for a lag challenge of immense proportions, so you may notice some of the pictures - and Jessica Pixel's livestreamed video walkthrough - had a few details missing here and there. 
If you are interested in having the Safari come visit your grid? Please, read this page it's just for you! And then come on a couple of Safari trips - there is no better way to get a feel for the dynamics of group tourism in virtual worlds, and it will help you plan your own hosted event.

Ange Menges: Bonsoir à tous

Ayla Alvarez: Bonsoir, Ange

Victor DeAngelo: i am seeing everyone pretty much.....rezzing is happening and you all look amazing

Hands: FeliX at Pangea

"Hands" is a new installation on Pangea Grid, and the opening party yesterday was a delightfully relaxed party, attended by - among others - the two artists who collaborated in the making of the build, FeliX Ringtail and Lampithaler Artist.

A grey-green misty environment elevates and unites the elements of the build, creating a far-away feel, so appropriate when you think of Lampithaler's love of fairy tales. 

Going, Going...

 ... but not yet gone!

 The OSgrid auction is happening today! Lots of unique items on sale for the fundraising weekend in aid of OSGrid's expenses. The grid relied on donations to keep its servers going, and on a fabulous staff of volunteers who spend endless hours keeping the place and its residents going. 

This Auction was first mentioned in the Safari blog back in June when the Auction viewing platform on Echo 1 was still empty - things have changed!

Luna-see

Madness? Well if so, mad in a good way! Yes, it's that lunatic Luna Lunaria with some more mind-blowing creations! Today was the opportunity for many of us to take a first dive into Luna's Luxor build on Wolf Territories Grid - HG address as always at the end of the post - and really absorb the out-of-this-world quality  that makes up this colossal build. It's Egypt with a twist, the sci-fictional version of the place in all its iterations.

Since "scifiegyptology" is too difficult to say, why not just call it "heka", the  ancient Egyptian word for magic, and be done with it.

It is, after all, a heck of a great build. Ouch, sorry, stopping right there. 

Glimmering in a golden dress with uncharacteristic dark hair, to fit the Pharaonic theme,  Luna Lunaria awaited us at the landing place on Luxor.   

Luna Lunaria

Luna Lunaria: Welcome to my home everyone! As the blurb said when you entered, this is not only my home but it was also created to be a place of meditation, mystery, and peace for spiritual pilgrims. As a visitor you are more than welcome to explore Luxor however you wish, whether by flying, camming, boating, walking or using the teleport boards. Keep in mind that some parts of the region reward those who actually go to that location. Some areas have quiet songs playing, like the one you're hearing now at the landing located inside the glowing lavender object. That song is from Blade Runner 2049. Those songs are not streams - just turn up your sounds to hear them. Other areas can only be found by walking or boating. We'll see a couple of those today. The EEP environment and the lighting here are as much a part of the total experience as the structures themselves. If you are not using shared environment and advanced lighting model, the region will appear washed out and much less interesting. As the sign here says, this is optimally how your view should look if your system will allow it. By touching the sign, you can get instructions on changing your graphics settings. And by all means, if you can extend your draw distance, you'll be glad you did.

Hairy's Style

He is a bit of a rock star for his amazing work maintaining a beautiful and diverse grid, Bridgemere. The stylish Hairy Thor - one of the coolest guys in opensim - kindly agreed to meet with the Safari band and tell us a bit about the Dreamgrid experience. 
For anyone unfamiliar with DreamGrid, the invention of Fred Beckhusen aka Ferd Frederix, you can't do better than to check out the information available on Fred's website Outworldz.com .  

We met Hairy at the Welcome region of Bridgemere - HG Address as always at the end of the post. It's a 30+ region grid, where you can walk or sail from place to place, giving a strong sensation of connectedness, as befits the name of the grid.

Mal Burns with our host Hairy Thor

Hairy Thor: Welcome everyone to Bridgemere

Mal Burns: hiya hairy one

Kitely's Fifteenth

From brainchild to booming platform, 15 years is a big deal for any grid in opensim. Our second destination for this week's Safari was Kitely Welcome, to meet with Ilan Tochner and learn more about the motivations, interests, innovations, and passion that has kept the man and the grid so central to the opensim community for so long.

Ilan Tochner: We started working on Kitely in Sep 2008. We opened our doors to the public on Mar 27, 2011.

Lifted Pixel: 15 years of Kitely? is that right? I remember when it was new and the whole 'spawn an instance when needed' was the new hotness. I assume the grid still uses that?

Ilan Tochner: Yes it does, Lifted. Though we do offer one always-on option (the Dedicated Server option).

Thirza Ember: what do you think is the secret of your success?  

Ilan Tochner: I think our attention to technical details and ability to modify OpenSim code when needed had a hand in it. Also, I've been told that my personal involvement in the day-to-day needs of the people who use our services helped :-)

Safari In the Den!

In the middle of a wild work week, a peaceful enclave is just what the doctor ordered. This week's safari took us to exactly that - an African themed region called Lioness Den on Genesis Roleplay Grid, as guests of Lavia Lavine. As always the full HG Address is at the end of the post.

Lavia Lavine: You're very welcome and if this is everyone we'll get started. 

Tosha Tyran: let's  ...whoever comes late, will serve as a dinner for the lions

Safari goes Tropicana

To OSGrid for our second stop on this week's Safari. On hand were some Tropicana residents together with Tropicana's Mike Townsend and Blancanieves Levee, dressed for the weather - and the wildlife! 

Blanca and Mike

Mike Townsend: Thank you everyone for joining us

whirli placebo: thank you for being here!

Mike Townsend: Thank you for visiting the Tropicana Safari region on the OSgrid. Today we will take a look at this region but please feel free to come back and explore our many other regions. The Tropicana group consists of around 700 Second Life style regions. There is plenty to do and see. Most regions are 3 x3 in size so they take a while to explore. We also have two 10 x 10 regions with tropical islands and city landscapes.

Mike Townsend: Tropicana consists of a main hub and privately owned regions who all work together for the benefit of the community. You can find out more about us at www..tropicanaestates.net

A Spirited Safari

 The spark that sets alight creativity in Opensim can come from lots of sources. A desire to celebrate favorite movie or fictional character, a vivid dream or memory, or perhaps to walk through famous landmarks from around the world and meditate on their history and culture, or relive an idealized holiday landscape. And of course, there are those who eternally orbit the interior of their underwear. 

Our first stop on this second Safari of the season was on Ignis Fatuus grid, and the build we visited is by Nadir Rae, who didn't join us, but instead the lovely Max Well, owner of the grid, took us around the build. 

Magic in Panthalassa

Kayaker Magic, armed and dangerously clever

Our first Safari of the season continued on Discovery Grid with a... Safari destination! Lost World Safari is just one part of the vast Panthalassa region developed by Kayaker Magic. 

Take a moment to Favorite his Website, it's full of treasures, explanations, and hints.

 As you might expect the scripter extraordinaire had endlessly entertaining details for the group to enjoy, as we gathered together at the Lodge, perched high above the dinosaur enclosure. Panthalassia isn't the first 8x8 var region we have visited, but it's the first on Discovery Grid, so that may have contributed to the cloudiness, and - interestingly - selective nudity, that the group enjoyed. 

Weefolkenshire

A hillside village on the edge of the sea was the first destination for the Fall 2023 season of HG Safari. We're on Discovery Grid, one of a handful of grids that require you to make a quick trip to their website to accept the terms and conditions before you teleport over. It's a small and painless step, and you only have to do it once, on your first visit, but interestingly, the idea can be off-putting for some grid jumpers. That's a shame because Discovery Grid contains some gems well worth seeing. We were on Discovery for both destinations, something that rarely happens on Safari where we tend to jump about like crazy. 

If you're thinking of opening your region to a Safari trip, that's great news! Please don't hesitate to get in contact. Please also read and review carefully the 6 main points explained on this page. They are the fruit of many years experience of group hypergridding, and will offer some simple low tech tips that will improve the Safari experience for both yourself and your visitors.

Here we are, a cloudy but enthusiastic crowd, in the main town square of Weefolkenshire

ShalHeira Nailo: I want to thank everyone for joining us today, it really means a lot

Getting Hie in Opensim

 October means beer, pumpkin spice cheesecake, leaf peeping, and gearing up for Halloween with outrageous sims and costumes. This year, add HIE to that list.  

HIE = Hypergrid International Expo
It is a weekend event from October 6 - 8 and it's part conference, part performance, part exposition. oh, and part party. It's not a music fest, although there will be music. It's not an art show, although there will be art. This is a conference and Expo where opensim residents - not 'hobbyists' or 'amateurs' but everyday users - Natives if you will - share their experiences of  life on the grids.

Maybe you know that for over a decade, each year, the English-language Opensim Community Conference allows folk from all over opensim to tell about their projects, art, inventions and work experience in opensim. 

The HIE is kind of the same, but focused on Opensim residents who are more at home in other languages - French and German, Italian and Spanish.

Safari in the Fall!

 Back on the trail! Here are some commonly asked questions or curiosities.

When is the Safari?

HG Safari returns next Wednesday, September 6 with another stellar lineup of destinations in OpenSim. We visit two different places each week, staying for an hour with each of our two hosts.

Each season of the Safari is 10 weeks long, this season will end on November 6.

Our trips begin at 12 noon Pacific time - called 'SLT' or 'Grid Time' by some. That works out as 3pm Eastern US time, 8pm in the UK, and 9pm in most of Europe.

Angkor Wat on Craft Grid

How long are the trips?

Nyx's Numbers

 From ancient runes to modern architecture, through fortune telling and religious bliss, the mysteries of the natural and supernatural, number symbolism is a potent and pervasive thread running through so many forms of creativity and mystical thought. 

On Pangea, Nyx Breen's latest creation Zahlensymbolik - German for 'number symbolism' - places you directly on a stone hand, the palm uppermost, in a sort of nest of light.