Lawrence of Serenity

 Tosha Tyran: Hiya Lawrence, thanks for the invite

Thirza Ember: the bravery of this man is incredible

Lawrence Pierce

Lawrence Pierce: My pleasure

Forest Azure: are we dangerous?

Luna Lunaria: we iz

Tosha Tyran: lol, yes, we nibble

Lawrence Pierce: Well, just a brief introduction...I started using and building in Second Life while working on a master's in education, and then discovered Open Simulator and Kitely.

James Atlloud: Hey Lawrence, I did pretty much the same thing.

Lawrence Pierce: Yes, SL and education are regular portals to virtual living! Serenity Island was born August 29, 2011. I came here every day to create as a calming activity while going through a loss. It represents a variety of my interests through time.  After all this time, visiting Serenity Island now is like visiting a lifelong friend.

Tosha Tyran: how sweet

Dates with Destiny... and more

Opensim is such a great multi media and multi reality place and here are a few items that prove that statement. It's a great way to learn about other cultures and languages and ideas, so be sure to get out there and explore!

First of all congrats to Art Destiny radio which is 2 years old this month! 

It's a radio station with commentary by three opensim friends, Richi, Genie Fegte, and Loru - plenty of great music, great chat if you know German or want to practice listening to German and improve your accent, and either way a great choice for the soundtrack to your sim, perhaps. It's a fun way to bring together the diaspora of small grids with a people who know opensim inside out.

Give it a try! Here is their latest promo, which you can also watch on Youtube of course - and if you watch it there you can Like, Comment and of course subscribe to the channel.

More SGT

 SGT? That would be Self Guided Tours, or Trails, in Opensim.  But kind of fun a challenge too. Each of these self-guided tours is a collection of 6 HG addresses/LMs that will take you all over the hyperverse to see things linked  by a common theme like 'art destinations' (there are loads of separate tours for that, each one has the name of a color), or builds that are inspired by movies, or real places, and so on. It's not all of the builds that are out there, of course, just a sampling of the treats out there. 

Avacon portals

Lots of people set up HG hubs, a particularly good example was the one that late Rudy Backerly set up on Soul Grid some time ago, continuing the hard work of Spike Sols Weltraumbahnhof. 

HG Safari has a rather different approach. Instead of offering lots of portals to specific places, the idea is to make grid jumping even more portable - you can grab a pack of LMs and a notecard listing the destinations, use them at a later date, pass them to a friend and so on. 

Are You Ready to Mumble..?

Last week, on Inworld Review, we talked Murmur with two guests. Cyberglo Cyberstar, famous for his scripting prowess and many wonderful free items on his grid Cyberdatastorm, runs a Mumble server on his grid, and he told us a bit about it. Opensim veteran Snowbody Cortes shared some general information about how Mumble could revolutionize opensim, and here are the slides he showed us during the program.

Inworld Review Studio

Snowbody Cortes:  I first got interested in Mumble in 2009 but at the time I didn't really think about it in terms of an overall service for virtual worlds. Back then, Mumble was less evolved than it is today. I did some standalone experiments, and I created a Murmur server that I shared with some SL friends, just to be able to have a communication channel that didn't use the usual things like Skype or WhatsApp.

For a long time, it seemed like the voice element in opensim was covered by Vivox, so I didn't really dedicate any time to thinking about Mumble. I was aware that there were various projects that were aimed at integrating Mumble into opensim use, and of course over recent years, it is becoming clear that the vivox solution for opensim voice is not a long term and reliable thing, it could go away any time; and of course we are grateful to them that they have provided this service to us for free for so many years.

Snowbody Cortes: When I heard there was going to be an edition of Inworld Review talking about Mumble for Opensim, I began thinking about strategies for bringing Mumble into Opensim in a way that would be low tech and easy for users to figure out, maybe just as an independent tool to be used in parallel with the virtual world, which was the way I had used it all those years ago. The best solution would be if Mumble was integrated into the Viewer, of course, so that the user doesn't have to do anything. That seemed a big ask... 

Snowbody Cortes: So, going from what would be the most simple way right up to the most sophisticated way to bring Mumble into opensim, I came up with 4 possibilities. That is what these slides illustrate, just to demonstrate the possibilities and to invite people to think about ways it might be made to work.
I'm not saying these are the only solutions, but more like a set of ideas that can be useful. Opensim is not a monolith. the people have lots of different needs and their own ideas about how they want to run their grids. and for sure, people with more detailed knowledge of opensimulator code may have a lot to contribute in terms of coming up with a module... but let me explain the basics first.

In the Abyss

 James Atlloud: i am mes-mer-ized

Imagine a drowned city, old as time.  Here creatures of the sea play among the ruins, while above the water a series of monumental bridges link land masses, no more than islands now, where a scatter of fine buildings, architecture ancient and modern, can be visited - even danced in and shopped in.

Mr Smokes and Nexus Storm

 From a landing point among coral and shoals of fish, Nexus led the intrepid group who made it to Aqua Abyss through the main points of interest at quite a speed. 

The Virtue of Paragon

Tosha Tyran: lately we seem to have full house a lot

Star Ravenhurst: Because this is FUN!

Forest Azure: yay!

Thirza Ember: OK time to go... see you at PARAGON PARK

Gabe Collingwood and Huga Bug

Huga Bug: Welcome all.   Paragon Park opened to the public on Saturday, June 10, 1905, transforming Nantasket for the better part of the 20th century. This park was built from photos of child hood & off the web. It is a wonderful Place to have spent summer fun. 

Star Ravenhurst: I am so excited!! I love theme parks, carnivals, fairs...anything with rides!

Paragon Park

Nara Nook: me too

Biker Bad

 Sons of Anarchy (often referred to just as 'SoA') portrays biker gangs in California - specifically the fictional NorCal city of Charming. The show garnered respect and a loyal following for both its gritty drama and its equally gritty soundtrack. Running from 2008-2014 on american TV, it's the story of a chaotic combination of family ties, dodgy deals, rundown roadhouses, violence and vendetta... not to mention, the Harleys.

CCI grid is the home of SoA Bad and the beautiful Siwas. They are both talented builders; the Safari has visited two Scandinavian builds here in the past. First, Siwas' charming recreation of the city landmarks of Tromsø, and then the exquisite and immensely detailed Viking village on their region Lofoten. Bad is such a fan of Sons of Anarchy, it's right there in his name. And here we are on their Sons of Anarchy inspired sim, Bikerworld. Full HG Address at the end of the post, as always. 

A Serenissima Safari

The nickname of Venice is 'The most serene' = La serenissima. Not an emotion one associates with the Safari, either in the preparation or the execution of our visit, and this was our first trip to a fabulous grid, Aviverse, so there was a lot at stake. Another big turnout this week, and it was all to play for with a tight schedule of tour and concert... would we make it? Read on and find out.

Isha Cullen: Welcome to Aviverse

Gin Leeder [it→en]: Welcome everyone!
snowbody Cortes: chi gha 'sciugà il canal?
KingScorpion Resident: buonasera a tutti
snowbody Cortes: sera King 

Gin Leeder [it→en]: if you want to visit the tower, remember to increase your viewing distance to be able to see the wonder of the landscape from above
Mal Burns: beware if you have vertigo
Nyx Breen: where is the gelatto shop?

Lavia Lavine: I know two whole words in Italian.....Spaghetti and Pizza.

Pati's Party

 Yesterday evening, Portugal time, was the grand opening of the new AI generated art gallery of Pat Babii on her sim Gavezdois.

Pat Babii

You may remember this interesting sim in another life, when it was located on Craft Grid. Now it has found a home on SharingIsCaring and over a dozen people joined the fun in the spectacular sky dance hall, with its constantly moving wall art. 

Gavezdois

Andron Rae DJ'd the event with all kinds of Ai generated music, mixing singers and styles and songs that created a colorful, curious,  crazy and sometimes quite philosophical. 

Shining Xzar

Star Ravenhurst: I JUST got nervous!  

Ms.Cal: hello Lucy,  Mal

Star Ravenhurst: Hugs Lucy! Thirza you may want to move. They will be landing on your head

Roffellos Kisses: she likes it

Star Ravenhurst: Welcome James, you may want to move. That thing will keep going off when you are near it

James Atlloud: A welcome message!  I feel very welcome. Do you recommend region environment or something else?

Tosha Tyran: wow, how lovely

Star Ravenhurst: Shared environment.  Some of the parcels have different EPP settings, so with Shared on, you will experience the changes in climate as we walk... Hi Marlon. Welcome. Hi Kelso. Hi Tosha

Lannorra's Bayou Bliss

Lannorra Sion: Hello and welcome!

Marlon Wayne: Hello, ty

Tutz Zabelin: helloo

Lannorra Sion: while you wait you can take some handouts if you wish, i especially recommend taking the map, they are all on this table near me

Tutz Zabelin: i must start my translator, my english not so good

Marlon Wayne: you have it in suitcase?

Lannorra Sion: your english is better than any other language that I cannot speak LOL

Thirza Ember: hi guys!  The group is just forming at the Clubhouse. There is a lot of lag here.

Lannorra Sion: yes i was worried about that, i see some errors on the map giver

Thirza Ember: it is best if you sit down, and maybe Lannorra the best thing is to not give out any items at all until the server has recovered from our arrival... I'm warning all to lower draw distance and be ready for the sim to be a bit slow

Lannorra Sion: I've never done any load testing here. This is one of the most resource hungry regions, but I was hoping it would be ok. I've had 6 or 7 people at once here

Thirza Ember: it will be ok i'm sure, best is if they just sit in here for a little while, then we can move on, moving is very crashy.

Jessica livestreams Safari trips so you can see real time what it's like

Lots of people on Safari this week! We began as usual at the Clubhouse on OSGrid, where we gather to check on the last-minute details, to friend each other so that anyone new has plenty of people to ask if they need help, and to enjoy a few moments of calm before the storm. With us on this trip was Jessica 'Lifted' Pixel who livestreamed the event - nice to watch in playback, and it's worth following her channel so you can 'ride along' if you can't get inworld to be part of the trip. Jess was a guest on Inworld Review last week, talking about filming in opensim, together fellow guests Petlove Petshop and Marcus Llewellyn - it makes interesting viewing.

Thirza Ember: about 9 more trying to arrive... oh hello Forest's dress!

Forest Azure: lol

Jupiter Rowland: Okay, someone try to sit next to me. Taarna, here's a seat.

Forest Azure: room for 2, here at my dress

Tutz Zabelin: hi Taarna, hi Tosha, James, hi Patnha

Tosha Tyran: before I need a seat, I need my body... got it - body, soul and seat

Taarna.Welles: Hello peeps

Tosha Tyran: Hi Tutz, and James and Taarna and, and, and

Tutz Zabelin: hi Kelso, hi Unadecal

Beth Ghostraven: Hello, all you assorted body parts and pieces of clothing!

Thirza Ember: ok i see maybe 2 more coming... wow Lannorra, 16!

Taarna Welles: <<<<<< APPLAUSE>>>>>>

Nothing's Nicer than Risa

Sun, sand, and spaceships. And some pretty big Horga'hns

Tutz and Treasure

 Pangea Grid has a well deserved reputation for being home to some spectacular art, and this week's visit to Treasure Island, a region built by Tutz Zabelin, is no exception! 

After our visit to the Cherry Manga installation on Craft grid mentioned in the previous post, we were all ready for some more atmospheric environments, and jumping to this region to meet with some of the Pangeans - Tutz and Marlon, Lampi, Karsten, Mys, and Kitty.

HIE - Art on Craft

 The Hypergrid International Expo is an annual event where people whose first language is not English get the chance to speak about their grid, their projects, their inventions and their opinion- in their own language - with subtitles for the rest of us - about places in Opensim.

While the emphasis of the presentations is to give non-English speakers a voice, the HIE Park is full of publicity booths that celebrate and inform you about all kinds of places in opensim. 

Tosha's Bilbao Wow

Wow, just like that, from Louisiana to the northern coast of Spain, and some of the most interesting modern art remade in the virtual, all thanks to the spectacularly talented Tosha Tyran. Craft grid veteran and self-confessed 'bricklayer' Tosha has created some of the most amazing opportunities for opensimmers who want to tour world heritage sites without ever leaving the house. From her Taj Mahal to the Hopi Indian village, her interest in architectural heritage is truly global. We arrived on sim The Caravan on craft to a nice welcoming bit of graffiti on the plaza. 

Thirza Ember: i find it so fascinating how art could change a city and change people's lives

Tosha Tyran: yes! for example that wonderful Zubizuri, and all the new metro stations, they really are like this, and a new university building, and a lot of art and theater and music all over the city of Bilbao.

Forest Azure: was fighting with the terms of agreement

Unadecal Masala: having to sign gdpr... for what, there is no personal information collected beyond an avatar name, a mac address and an IP address. People need to get off thinking that an IP address is in any way private information

Lucy Afarensis: what is a GDPR ?

NOLA Treat

 Ms Cal: Welcome to the Magical World of Jackson Square Walking Tour! I'm your guide, Cal. I am thrilled to have you here today as we embark on a journey through this iconic location that holds a special place in the heart of New Orleans.

Taarna Welles: Woot woot

James Atlloud: I was here (RL) to celebrate new year's eve 1999!

The first Safari of 2024 began in style - NOLA style! on a new grid that has exploded onto the scene with some of the most realistic reconstructions of real places and spaces

Safari Calendar 2024

 Another splendid year of opensim fun has drawn to an end and another is just gearing up - grid hopping in virtual worlds has never been more rewarding or reliable!  To celebrate the new year, here's a calendar that celebrates just a few of the loveliest people and places. 

This calendar is an inworld object, available at the HG Safari clubhouse, and if you hit the Calendar Info button, you will receive a Notecard that gives you the HG addresses and LMs to each of the places featured in the pictures. A big thank you to all the artists and builders who agreed to pose for the calendar, and to snowbody Cortes for invaluable help on the script. 

So who and where does this year's calendar feature?

Our cover artist is Luna Lunaria, seen here on her region Luxor, on Wolf Territories Grid. An absolute genius when it comes to texturing Luna is well known for her

Xmas Mission on 3rd Rock

This Sunday, December 17 at 10am Pacific time is a huge milestone for a very special group, and you're invited to the adventure, and the party!

Starfleet Infinity celebrates one year on 3rd Rock Grid. It's a scifi roleplay group that is based on the format, structure, and values of the TV show and film franchise Star Trek. 

But wait a minute, first anniversary? Hasn't there been a Star Trek inspired roleplay place on 3rd Rock for years? Astraios... Lyonesse Colony... all that? 

Yes. For a long time, this group was an opensim colony of SL's United Federation Starfleet. Last year, the decision was made to break away, and form something new, dynamic, and vaster than before, right here on 3rd Rock, taking advantage of the talent and energy of the locals - in particular Alia Soulstar, builder, art curator, not to mention Captain of the USS Feynman, who has stepped up to create a fabulous website as well as inworld goodies. 

The move was a good one, they doubled their numbers overnight, and the past year has been an ongoing success story. Safari celebrated 'First Contact Day' with many of the crew and creative contributors of Starfleet Infinity last April and it was a delight to see how committed and organized and fun-loving they are.

Name Check

 Yeah, what is in a name?  Full Name, Default Name, Display Name, Username, Modern and Legacy... 
Originally when you joined Second Life, you chose a first name - it could be anything you wanted that wasn't wasn't too obviously rude or copyright infringing. Then you picked a last name from a list of about 50 possibles. This surname list was gradually refreshed, so that people who joined around the same time would often find they had 'cousins' - think of the improbable art trio of Selavy, Bryn and Saveme Oh, all linked by that surname, if not much else.  

It was a golden age of witty and punny creativeness, and a huge dose of crass daftness also. Many of the Last Names invited a play on words, and people rose to the challenge with great choices like AM Radio, Hok Wakawaka, or Rolling Shuffle. I bet you can remember a few good ones, put them in the Comments if you want. 

It's painless and quick to change display names in SL

So far in Second Life's impressive 20 year lifespan, there have been over 11,300 Last Names (here's a list of them). That includes both the ones suggested by the Lindens, and custom names people have requested. Some of the earliest Last Names were Baskerville, Prudhomme, Jetaime, Sideways, and Binder. Interestingly in the first four years of SL, only 360 different Last Names were available, each being retired after a few days or weeks, apparently at whim.
Back in 2010 some big name changes happened in Second Life. New account holders had to pick just one name, and whenever legacy form-filling required a second name, they all used the same one - 'Resident'. 

Xmas Hunting at Whitemeadows

It's that time again, so pull on your warmest jumper and get grid jumping! Ange Menges and Nani Ferguson are about to unveil their latest Seasonal Hunt region!

It's on OSGrid and it's called Whitemeadows, and the big opening party is on December 20 at about 12 noon SLT.

The look and feel of the region is very different from the last Menges/Ferguson Hunt "Ankhtyfy" in October, which was all about aliens and monsters. This time, it's a classic winter wonderland with more of a real world approach, a pronounceable name, and cozy corners in which to sit and drink in the beauty of the sim. And, why not, a snowmobile to speed up your race around the region, following the clues.

This treat has a whopping 40 clues to solve, as usual with help from the handy HUD that combines a photo with a clue. Last time, the game was devilishly difficult, and few finished it. This time, not only there are a lot more rewards, but it's also slightly easier to navigate the build. So drink your egg nog and get your reading glasses, this is one challenge you'll be glad you took up. 

Here's the statue at the start, her light points you in the right direction, but don't rush off quite yet. Beneath the 'How this Works' sign, you will find a box with the HUD in it. Without that, you can't play.

Five Bits About the OSCC

1. Eleven years The Opensimulator Community Conference  returns this weekend for another opportunity for everyone who enjoys virtual worlds to discover new friends, interests, projects, and tech tips. It is the annual gathering from across the hyperverse on a dedicated grid cc.opensimulator.org:8002 and this is the 11th edition of the event, which is a very long time in virtual worlds! The opening festivities are on Friday 08 December, and then on Saturday and Sunday, December 9 and 10, there will be talks and presentations from 7am until 6.30pm Pacific Time (SLT) - with breaks for meals, and all kinds of opportunities for socializing throughout the weekend. You can find the full schedule here.

The main seating area at the OSCC

2. Registration Around and about on Social Media, you may have seen notices about registering to attend the OSCC - and, oh boy, I can see from here your Opensim hackles

Coming Up Roses

It's December and what better time to start thinking about ...Carnival Season... wait, what?  The Xmas tree still hasn't been decorated! But you know, it's never too soon to begin thinking about your creativity for the coming year. What better way to kick it off, and to kick away the winter blues, than by entering a nice float in the Carnival Parade.

Sim Koeln

Why on Pangea grid? 

Well, it's one of opensim's premier arts grids, with spectacular regions by Tutz Zabelin, Lampithaler Artist, Nyx Breen, Bink Draconia and more. 

The grid owner Marlon Wayne is based in Cologne, where Carnival gets started way earlier than it does in most countries.  Consider this -  Mardi Gras, which is the big Carnival date for most people will be February 13 next year, but for the people of Cologne - in German,  Köln - the carnival season begins on November 11 at 11 minutes past eleven. Pangea has a region called Koeln, which is how you spell Köln when you can't use an umlaut. It's a cityscape that the Pangeans use for all kinds of community art events and a visit at any time will reward you with one  collection or another.

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