2018 Safari Calendars

            This year, there are two Safari Calendars.
             As always, the calendar features many of the people and places who have made the past year so varied and vivid. From Furries and Burlesque, to literature and fine art, to racing and relaxing beaches, this past year has certainly proved that OpenSim is full of wide open spaces, and lots of friends too.
            Both calendars are available inworld as free, full permission items, at the safari clubhouse. hg.francogrid.org:80:hgsafari  and they'll be available at other venues over coming days.

You can also buy a real world version of both on Lulu.com  if you are so inclined, then you can feel like you are inworld even when your internet goes wonky.
The Women of Opensim                                     The Men of Opensim
           The calendars inworld come complete with the Landmarks for all the destinations photographed, so you can go and visit the lovely and in some cases little known corners of opensim. Inevitably, there are more destinations and more intrepid grid jumpers than there are months in the year, so all our models consider themselves representatives of the wider world of interlocking grids.
           A big thanks to all the models for their time and patience and trust. I leave it to you to pick up the calendar and see if you can identify all the victims...

Puzzles and Poles

                  A unique gallery and a brand new game were the destinations for this week's Safari adventure, the last for 2017. Both places you'll love, so look to the end of the post to see the HG Addresses.

Antonio Salamander

               First, we headed off to Antonio Salamander's region on OSgrid. It's called Art of Puzzles, which really tells you everything about the subject matter.                 It was a particularly international event, as Antonio speaks German and his native Spanish, while most Safari regulars are fluent only in typonese and gibberish. 

How the Groac'h Solved Christmas

On Francogrid, for the holidays, there is a beautiful winter hunt called Loureedia. Built by Nani Ferguson and Ange Menges, it's a little seasonal gift to all of opensim.

Groac'h is a sorceress who's not a fan of Santa.

The Jewels in the Crown

HGLuv and Creanovale were the diamond destinations for this the 170th weekly Safari trip. Both gorgeous, both worth your time, and oth HG Addresses at the end of the post.

Hyacinth Jewell

Hyacinth Jewell is at the heart of HGLuv. Hya and some of the Luv regulars were waiting for us on Luv Plaza, the Welcome sim and a brilliant sampler of the regions you can visit here.

HIE is today!

The Hypergrid International Expo is today!

The address is craft-world.org:8002:hieexpo

This multi language conference begins at 9.00am SLT, 18.00 CET (that's the time in Paris, Berlin and Rome, if you're wondering). 

The event is on Craft Grid, courtesy of Licu Rau. 

You can see the program of events on our website (courtesy Phaandor Pertwee) at https://hie.ddnss.org/2017-program/ 

The Auditorium build is by Mal Burns, with beautiful design details by Arielle Delamerlibre.

The Moderators for this event are Cheops Forlife, Tosha Tyran, Loru Destiny and myself, and along with xSiberiax Ilfreddupurifica, they've all done so much work to make this event happen - thank you!

Safari Repels All Borders

Borders, not boarders... this wasn't a Pirate event (another one of those is coming up in the New Year, though) but rather, two 'border' events, as you'll see... First up, a trip to 3rd Rock Grid, then, a load test on HIE. The HG Addresses are at the end as usual.

            Alpine, on 3rdRock Grid, is full of winter sports. You can ski, skate,  try the sled race, and throw snowballs here. We met up with the 3rd Rock crew, including Michel Farrell, whose real world radio show 'The Music Cafe' is a great feature the grid, and well worth a listen, even if you're not inworld!.

Safari Walks on Aire

Two francophone destinations you're going to love! The destination addresses are at the end of the post, as always.

This week we finally returned to Aire Mille Flux after almost three years, and it was well worth the wait to be able to meet up with Marc Moana aka Marc Blieux, on the welcome region of one of the finest art grids in all opensim. We sat on drawing pins and learned about the origins of this magnificent place.

Safari Struts its Stuff

           PC - that's the things you know the Safari can generate... Party and Crashing!
          This week, two eminently visitable destinations,  on nestlife-world, and on Counter Earth grid, HG addresses at the end of the post as usual.

          First, we were treated to a re run of the Fashion Show on Loru Castle. It was a great event, with about 32 people present, from a dozen different grids.
          Nextlife-world, owned by Achim and Dina Twisterling, is not a huge grid but it held up very well to our arrival on the glorious Loru Castle region,  home of the Queen of the Evening, Loru Destiny.

Loru Destiny Fashion Show

Tomorrow at about 9.30 am SLT, 18.30 Central European time, Loru and Art Destiny are holding a  Fashion event, compered by Spike Sol, on Nextlife-world grid, owned by Achim and Dina Twisterling. 
The HG Address of the event is  nextlife-world.de:8002:loru castle

The gala will be held in the grounds of Loru Castle, a beautiful recreation of a real-world small German castle.

         It's a gem of a schloss,  really a summer pavilion from the 1600s, with lots of photo realistic textures...

Safari goes to Dallas

           On November 22, 1963, shots rang out in Dealey Plaza. President John F Kennedy was assassinated, and for many, it seemed the world had changed forever. To mark the anniversary of this event, the Safari visited AAcme Fall's remarkable reconstruction of the Plaza, on 3rdlife grid, to experience this world-famous place and time, and to learn more from AAcme, a recognized authority on the event.
           This is the second of two posts about HG Safari 166. 
           The HG Address for this wonderful place - a must-see in opensim - is at the end of the post.

JFK Memorial in Dealy Plaza

           Looking sophisticated in her Secret Service sunglasses was AAcme's wife Sunbeam Magic, waiting for us at the arrival point.

Safari Learns All About Eva

                 This week, two posts about two great builds with strong ties to the real world... this is the first post, please don't miss the other.  HG Address, as always, available if you scroll down to the end.

               We began this trip with a trip to 3DLES grid. The visit had a bit of a slow start, as the grid tried to digest our many HG germs. This scenario is exactly why we begin our trips at the clubhouse, not at the first destination, because it gives us a place to sit around and chat while we waited for our heroic host to get the server back online. And yes, that is a penguin. Dabici Straulino is back inworld, working on a winter Creanovale build.
Aime Socrates: many hunters for this safari tonight !
Thirza Ember: while we're waiting, who knows what Aphasia is?

An Undead Safari

        It was a scripting, dancing, shooting and scoring Safari this week. Our first destination didn't quite work out (more about that wonderful place in a future post) but Thai Low, owner of Endivatomic Grid, welcomed us over to his new region EZombie slightly earlier than usual, for a festive load test and general giggle.  The HG Address to this highly visitable region is at the end of the post.

        Ezombie region on Endivatomic Grid is a  first person shooter game set in a landscape of tunnels, streams, lawns, and cliffs.  You get a choice from half a dozen weapons at the beginning of the game, and there are 'go faster' bottles, first aid kits, and other bombs and gems that can help your score.  It's a work in progress, by Thai Low - definitely more progress than not. With about 15 of us on the region, those who chose to play had no problems moving about, there was no chat lag or difficulty dancing. 

Safari goes from Expo to Arthur

In 1889, Mark Twain wrote a novel about a Connecticut Yankee who falls asleep and wakes up to find himself transported back through history to a time where the clothes, the rules, and the technology are all vastly different from what he is used to. A great adventure, new friendships and challenges ensue... much like opensim, then. This week we went to two places where big plans for the future are coming to fruition, you should definitely visit and get involved... HG Addresses at the end of the post as always.

           First up, we went over to HIE grid, with a presentation and a concert by Whirli Placebo. Whirli is a talented musician... but what is HIE?

A Collector's Safari

       There's no end to the great builds in opensim, and this week our troupe visited two more great destinations, that cannot be too highly recommended. If you like collecting things, whether it be freebies, or knowledge about the world around you, these are both unmissable. Our second stop, on VIBE grid, is described in the next post, Nova's Vibe, As usual the address for our trip to Kroatan is at the end of the post, and hopefully this article will inspire you to go and visit soon, don't delay...

      The exhortation 'Don't delay' is particularly valid for our first stop, on Kroatan Grid. Last year the Halloween Hunt was a spooky hospital, this time it's an equally spooky small town,  steeped in atmosphere and good ghoulish humor, called Abbandonato. The build closes on November 5, so get your skates on! 

Nova's Vibe

 Our second stop this week was another collector's item, on VIBE grid. As with all our destinations, the HG Address or URL is at the end of the post.

Nova Saunders on VIBE grid

          Up next, a trip to a wonderful part of VIBE grid, as guests of Nova Saunders. 
        Nova's regions on the grid are dedicated to archaeology.  VIBE stands for Virtual Islands for Better Education, and in her day job, Nova is Marion Smeltzer, MA, a Practicing Public Archaeologist ad the president of Indiana County Archaeological Society. Her work in Vibe is creative on many levels, since it's not only bringing students into contact with  dozens of different historical sites, but also helping Government Agencies see the benefit of virtual worlds for teaching.

A Consuming Safari

This week the Safari visited two destinations this week,  and both the Halloween Hunt on IMA Outpost on Metropolis and Avatarfest will only be open for a limited time, so don't delay your visit!
HG Addresses as usual at the end of the post.

          First up, the IMA Outpost Alpha on Metro, which has been decorated as a Halloween Hunt by Lisa Laxton and friends. The attractive layout includes an ancient tower on the coast, and a number of semi distressed houses and bars, and some nifty zombie scripts to keep you on your toes, along with a large number of take-awayables. The region Windlight is appropriately ghostly, adding to the appeal of this well-put-together sim.
          This week rl events meant I couldn't be on Safari, so big thanks to Szavanna Sunshine and Wizardoz Chrome and Truelie Telling for being such good sports.

IMA stands for Infinite Metaverse Alliance. they have a G+ Group you can join

Gates and Skates

            Two places you MUST visit, in Opensim, one, a long-standing icon of hypergridding, the other, a relatively new grid with all the bells and whistles... and more. The HG Addresses for these places are at the end of the post, as usual.

          Shaun Emerald is an opensim hero. If you haven't met him, you've heard of him. His grid, Sanctuary, has been a haven for hypergridders since the sport became possible. Back before they got rid of the 4096, which meant you couldn't jump more than a 'distance' of 4096 regions in a single leap, and had to sort of use stepping stones to get to places, hypergridding was more of a zig zag than a LM-and-go activity. Sanctuary was and is a perfect place to land not only when you are struggling to get where you're going, but also as a place of discovery. The gates lead to grids, well known and lesser known, so that even an experienced grid jumper will learn something here.  

Safari goes to Counter Earth

        Our middle destination in Week 160 was to the Gorean grid outer Earth. Most opensim people have heard of this grid, it is famous for the Turia market regions, where many an avatar has gone in search of skins, hair and furnishings. In recent months, the Counter Earth grid has begun undergoing a period of increased growth, with about ten new regions being developed. It is an exciting time, and  this visit was just a prelude to, we hope, many more visits. HG Addresses, as always, at the end of the post. And of course, there are loads more pictures of our visits, take by glorious safarians, on G+ and in Facebook

           If you would like to read about the first and last stops on this trip, please look for the post titled Safari and the Ladies of Legend
          Havoc Rau and Kindra Turian kindly invited us, but there were many other residents on hand t meet us on the default region, Sardar Faire. The plan was to send us off in groups of five to visit

Safari and the Ladies of Legend

         This is the first of two posts about this week's hypergrid trip. The other post talks about Counter Earth grid.  This post is about the first and last stops on our trip, HG Addresses are - as always - at the end of the post.

            Our first stop was on the Cherry Freebie region, where you can see - and copy - an archive of Cherry Manga's creations. We had one or two problems getting to the region...

Week 160 Details

Here's the lineup for today's trip around the hyperverse. 
As usual, if you arrive a little later, or get lost and need help, jump over to the clubhouse on Francogrid (that's hg.francogrid.org:80:hgsafari ) where there will be someone to help you. Or at least, that's the plan. 
Three stops this week... so all hold hands and travel light 

DESTINATION 1 Beautiful Cherry Freebie. Not only can you admire all the glorious 3D art of Cherry Manga, you can even take it home and play with it....
hg.francogrid.org:80:cherry freebie

DESTINATION 2 Kindra Turian and Havok Rau welcome us to explore some more of Counter Earth

Tabuks Ford

There are about ten new projects in the works on Counter earth, we're invited to learn more about their expansion, and to visit two 'worlds' - Tabuks Ford and Iron Walls The tour begins on Sardar, the Welcome region of Counter Earth 
jand.dyndns.biz:7002 

DESTINATION 3 Zia Frimon! Meet one of opensim's most admired creators, see her newly refurbished region, and pick up some more great free items. This is a Var region - so hypergridders may avoid problems by jumping first to LBSA on osgrid, then going to melodies garden 

hg.osgrid.org:80 is the address for LBSA, then look for melodies garden

Safari Does the Math

          Learning your sums has never been more fun! 

            The Safari visited Blanes on Craft grid this week (HG Addresses at the end of the post as usual). Themed around a Pirate Hunt game, Blanes is one of the regions where Edu3D bring fun and virtuality into education. 
         Craft grid is famed for the number of institutions that use its resources for academic purposes, and they have garnered a fine reputation for both security and stability.

         

Week 159 Details

This week just two stops, each 90 minutes.

 DESTINATION 1 is on Craft Grid, we visit the Edu3D group who organize learning activities on a number of regions. Our hosts are Giliola Giurgola, Salazhar Stenvaag, with Eva Kraai and Safari's own xSiberiax Ilfreddopurifica. The starting point for us today is Blanes, a sort of Pirate Island, where there is a hunting game. The presentation of Edu3D, its aims and plans for the future will be in English, the game is in Italian, so something for everyone there.
craft-world.org:8002:blanes

DESTINATION 2 is on OSgrid. Last week, the OSgrid admin and residents organized a fundraiser to try to replenish the coffers of this iconic grid, often called the Crossroads of the Metaverse. We drop in on the regular weekly dance party on Event Plaza to talk to Albertr Landar and Aussie Envee, to hear the DJ stylings of LaNani and Peter. Bring your questions and comments. How long have you had an OSgrid avatar and how have you seen the grid changed since your first arrival there? What's the most important aspect of OSgrid that you appreciate? What changes would you like to see?
hg.osgrid.org:80:event plaza

A Bumblebee Safari

          They are large, noisy, and it was once thought that bumblebee flight defied the laws of physics. So, very much like the Safari experience, where anyone who is lag intolerant is going to fall at the first hurdle, but those brave souls who push through the freeze/chat lag/slow rez/crash/lost aspects of group hypergridding are rewarded by destinations that are positively blooming. This week we visited three destinations that are ripe, one might say, for cross pollination. Addresses at the end of the post, as always.

         Firstly we headed to Ignis Fatuus Grid. This francophone grid is without doubt one of the loveliest in the hyperverse. You could easily spend a month visiting the landscape and fantasy regions here, and still not see it all.

Week 158 Details

Three destinations, so brace yourselves... if you get lost or crash a lot, come back to the Clubhouse on Francogrid, and we will help you get back into the game!
Each destination lasts just 60 minutes.

DESTINATION 1 Versailles - a work in progress. 

On Ignis Fatuus, Max Hill, Harthelie Deux, Chip Angelvi, and Jeff Kelly are working on a mega project to build a virtual Versailles 
Four stops on this tour of Versailles:

• Arrival in the Courtyard, with presentation
• Salon des Glaces
• King's bedroom and other interiors
• The gardens

Super large build = lag for the group, so we begin on the grid's Welcome region, to load, then use the portal to go to Versailles 2 .

Ignis Welcome region

HG Address:   ignis-fatuus.no-ip.biz:8002
 ...and then look for the Versailles regions on your Map 

DESTINATION 2 How much do you know about TanGle? 

Meet Leslie Kling, ask questions, dance on the Grid's HG Station, and take a quick visit the Steampunk Expo. 

HG Address:  tanglegrid.net:8002:HG Station 1 

DESTINATION 3 Racing on VarTown 
Hans Nerido invites us to his new grid, Vartown, for a super Load test. 

Part of the fun, RACING on his famous racetrack, ported to the new grid after 5 years in OSGrid, where over 3k visitors enjoyed the free cars and great curves.

HG Address:   vartown-grid.ddns.net:8002 ...and then we go to the racetrack!

Avatarfest 2017 Begins!

          AvatarFest begins today, it's a weekend of poetry and music, freebies and entertaining builds reflecting the creativity of Opensim. 
          The festival is the fruit of the hard work and imagination of Eryn Galen and Han Held, along with many notable opensim contributors...

Han Held

... like Arielle Delamerlibre, who set up the Avatarfest Event in Facebook, Danko Whitfeild,  the folks of Metropolis Grid, and the wonderful Neovo Geesink, an OpenSim hero - you have to go see his build, which has a bunch of useful script tools that you need!
The Fest is at avatarfest.net:6000

Safari rolls with it

The transition is a keen one, I assure you, 

... and requires a strong decoction of Seneca and the Stoics 

to enable you to grin and bear it. But even this wears off in time. 

- Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1: Loomings

          In his introduction to Moby Dick, Herman Melville explains the etymology of the word 'Whale' - it comes from a Teutonic word meaning 'to roll'... and we certainly were rolling all over the place on this week's Safari.

In the foreground Vivienne Clary, our hostess on PSSMG Sea, and Spike Sol

   It was Pirate week, and as part of the celebration,  we had a reading from Moby Dick by Emil Jannings of New Media Arts Inc (catch him soon at Avatarfest). The famous novel is a tale of obsession, disaster, and hardship, but also of friendship, resilience, and survival... something grid jumpers in opensim can heartily relate to.     

Pirate Week - today's lineup

Yesterday was Talk Like A Pirate day, so we're doing the Pirate thing on Safari this week...

DESTINATION 1 Pirates on Dereos
Vivienne and Victor Clary welcome us to their seafaring regions, for a dance (and maybe some freebie shopping!)
dereos.org:80:pssmg sea

DESTINATION 2 Pirates on Digiworldz
Strannik Zipper invites us to come dance on his region, Pirates Atoll, and also to hear a Dramatic Reading by Emil Jannings, taken from Herman Melville's famous novel, Moby Dick
login.digiworldz.com:8002:pirates atoll

Futurelab and Fairies

            It's been a while since the Safari visited Futurelab and South Horizon, regions that form one of the best art and performance regions  on Metropolis, and our return was a veritable four course feast of words, colors, music and remarkable images. 

             Juliette Surrealdreaming, the perfect hostess, led us seamlessly from place to place as we sampled a literary tribute, an original installation, a curated show of 'rl' art, and a fabulous light show. HG Addresses of the places we visited at the end of the post.

Safari 156 Details

Here are the details of today's Safari trip
Two spectacular destinations this week
DESTINATION 1 (90 minutes) 
Snow Crash on Metropolis, by Art Blue and Juliette Surrealdreaming
This is a performance to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the novel Snow Crash, which gave rise to the vw use of the word 'metaverse'.
This performance was originally part of a Second Life event.
hypergrid.org:8002:futurelab




DESTINATION 2 (90 minutes) Here Comes The SUN! A party to celebrate the contribution of Sunbeam Magic to the opensim community, with music, dancing, and more. Our host is Bill Blight, and there will be lively music and dancing. 
Wear your wings!
grid.opensim.life:8002:fairy sunbeams

What I Learned from Miney

             Some people step away from their online presence with a big, drama filled dust-up, or do the shock-overnight-exit; some make a long fond public goodbye, and others disappear gracefully. It's a choice all of us eventually will make, and there is no right way to do it, for behind the screens and scenes, a life our virtual friends can only hazily perceive is going through concrete changes. When someone moves on, we, the friends left behind, have a duty to respect and remember.
           One of the most intriguing parts of virtual life is to muse on the names people pick for themselves. It is a little romance about the character behind the avatar. 
           Minethere Always, or Athanasios, is one of those names full of hidden meaning. You know you're dealing with a poet, with a life full of incident and feeling. That's the first thing I learned about Miney. 

Safari Breaks the Code

            Well, maybe not the code, but for sure we broke Neiferleaf, at least for a little while. Yet, would it really be a Safari if there was no crashing?
             Exactly.

             Back after a two month break, over 40 people joined - or tried to join - the Safari this week, a sign that the interest in opensim destinations remains as strong as ever. Two really interesting places were our goals on this our 155th outing - Vibel grid, and CitizenFour on Osgrid - complete HG addresses at the end of the post.

Safari Restarts

          Today is the first day of the 2017/2018 season of Safari trips around the hyperverse, so welcome back to the crashy, crazy, creative and often semi-nude adventures of group hypergridding.
         There are some new features of the Safari. 

Mobius Grid Safari base

         We have a new base on Mobius Grid, courtesy of Serra Royale. The new base was put together by Wizardoz Chrome, and contains some information about our trips and some freebies.
         Spike Sol has added some HG Safari information, in both English and German, on the Weltraumbahnhof, the hypergrid portal base on her grid, Soloton.

Weltraumbahnhof