Live Long and Gridjump

          This week's Safari event had plenty of competition, and that is a great thing. It's a tangible sign that OpenSim is far from a collection of empty grids. From the inauguration of the new Hypergrid sim on Francogrid, to the VWBPE Conference on Avacon to the weekly dance party on Metropolis to 3rdRockGrid's regular live music concert hosted by Zinnia Frenzy,  there was plenty to do. 
          But for the Safari, this week was Spockfari, a chance to honor and remember Leonard Nimoy, and to visit two extraordinary Star Trek builds in OpenSim, on 3rdRockGrid, and LostWorld. 
          URIs of each region are at the end of the post.

USS Davy Crockett

          First stop was on 3rdRockGrid, the home of the USS Davy Crockett, which is ... Fascinating.

Selenmoira: Ladies and Gentlemen Welcome aboard the USS Davy-Crockett. If you like, we have prepared a champagne bowl over there.
Truelie.Ellen: just a sip... must stay rational
Fuschia.Nightfire: champagne!  oh cool, it gives you the whole tray. That should keep me going for half an hour or so.

Pick and Choose

It's time for you to give back!
Please help us with a new project, Safari Suggestions. The idea is to give every hypergridder the chance to name five memorable places in open sim, and share their thoughts and Landmarks with others. This is not a popularity contest, but more a chance for you to let us know a bit more about you and your tastes.

You can suggest your own sim, or not, there's no rule against self promotion. Don't feel you have to put the five most 'important' places, or limit yourself to Safari destinations. Maybe you like art, or education sims, perhaps let people know about some good free shopping regions, or tell them about community or music events. It's up to you.
It's harder than it sounds! Can't remember the name of a place we saw while on Safari? 

Looking back through this blog may jog your memory, or the Safari Archive inside the clubhouse may also help.
Once you've chosen five places, what next? 

Safari crosses over

            Institutions. We all love them, and most of us belong in one. This week three SL/opensim crossovers were our destinations, each one an epic in its own way. First up,  Seanchai Library which this month celebrates seven years since it was founded in Second Life. That's a big deal when you think of all the performances that this group has put on, and all the money they have collected for charity too. We met on sim Inis Arcain in Kitely to hear the short story 'The Bard' performed by Caledonia Skytower. This is a tale of druids and warriors and ancient angst, and one of the most memorable menacing laughs in the metaverse.

          Caledonia set things up so we could hear her via streaming anywhere on the sim, making it possible to go wandering around the build without missing any of the story, also making it easier on those of us who find that Voice does not work well when

Fun with the Frenchies

          What keeps a grid alive? A sense of place, a sense of purpose. That is the secret behind Francogrid's longevity. The grid is founded on good old French ideals like Liberty and Fraternity, and they mean it. Freedom is paramount on the grid. A free exchange of knowledge. Creativity given the freedom to grow. And free space. The grid has an impressive history of sims donated to creative people. Freedom too from the humdrum cookie cutter architecture of the past.

Accueil, Francogrid's welcome area, with TP parlor. Build by DJ Phil and Cherry Manga

The English language is, obviously, a crushing force for communication in the metaverse. In Francogrid, just about everyone makes an effort to speak English if they meet a non-francophone, however, this grid does a little bit to push back and remind us all that there are other languages out there. 

Taarna Welles

             Our final  stop on this week's trip was to a fashion designer with her own grid. From Indigo to Bubblesz, Taarna Welles' little grid. Taarna chatted in voice as Mal Burns asked her a number of questions on behalf of the group. 

Taarna explained that her grid began just a couple of years ago. She had been active on a number of grids, including OSgrid and Metropolis, before she started Bubblesz with her husband. She has been making sculpty objects for years, and with the advent of mesh she's been busy making even more stuff, notably the BEST footwear in opensim. 

Blue Safari

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who do, and those who don't.

          This week Safari began with music and a big ole crash. Wolem Wobbit played the blues for us on the dance floor on hgsafari sim. Wolem is working on a great performance sim on Metropolis grid, called Chicago Blues. 

Go visit if you get a chance, you'll like it.

It took a while for stream to kick in. Wolem did back flips while we waited. I was thinking of all the signage I should have put up to make it easier for people to understand where we are and where we're going, but let's face it, nobody actually reads anything. 

Safari gets corny

This last week of February is, has been and, perhaps, will forever more, be Cornflakes Week in OpenSim. It's a celebration that transcends the rivalries of individual grids, that doesn't require any special outfit or costume, loosely based on the memory of Cornflakes Woodcock's zany, gaudy art, but not limited by his freebies. Anyone can do anything, as Virtual Christine pointed out, no-one's in charge! The week long celebration was publicized in facebook and in G+ and for a first year, seems to have been a modest success. It owes nothing to real life or second life traditions, it is wholly ours, and perhaps as time goes by it will be embraced by all those who love silliness and the mad variety and independence of OpenSim.

Franzi, Nara, Wizard, Mal and Apmel Fransson await the arrival of the latecomers

We celebrated with a few stops this week, picking up birdy nam nam shoulder pets, or