The Stars of Exupery

 There is a kind of law of the shortest distance to the image, 

a psychological law by which the event  to which one is subjected 

is visualized in a  symbol that represents its swiftest summing up.

                                        Wind Sand and Stars, A. de Saint-Exupéry

He fell out of the sky in 1935. 

Antoine de Saint Exupéry was born into a noble but impoverished family of Lyon, France in 1900. He became a pilot in the years between the world wars, transporting people, mail, and goods around North Africa and the Med, frequently flying over the Sahara. That desert, and its peoples, were so far from the modern hazards of life in Europe in the 1930's, that they captured his imagination and, along with his other adventures in far flung places, gave life to a series of books, rich with limpid prose, exquisite descriptions, and timeless reflections on life and love. 

It was in the Egyptian part of the Sahara that De Exupéry crashed, during a race from Paris to Saigon, in 1935. Of his many plane crashes, this one - and the 4 days that it took him and his copilot to be found - were the most influential on the rest of his life. Hope and fear, mechanics, mirages, and hallucinations, coffee and oranges, and a passing Bedouin got him out of the situation, and no doubt led to Saint Exupèry's career as a writer. 

The best loved and most widely distributed of his works is The Little Prince. It's one of those books that everyone should have read, and once read, you will probably decide to read it again. It's a short read, most people can get through the whole book in about an hour.

The planets

Tina on Pangea

Tina Bey's life has been one of art for just about forever. The person behind the avatar is an award-winning artist with a wealth of academic knowledge of Fine Arts, and a long experience of working with galleries, patrons, students, teachers, and lovers of art in general. She got her first region on OSGrid eleven years ago.

Tina Bey: My first region was called "Araucana" (Antarctica in English) thanks to someone generous who lent me his server. I wanted to create futuristic constructions floating on the seas. Later I had, for many years, the "Araucana" region also in Osgrid. It had a purely science fiction theme, which I continued with for several years... until I started seeing and attending exhibitions, galleries and museums dedicated to art in the metaverse. It was almost a replica of my real world, in which I had navigated quite successfully, with a good resume, awards, scholarships, commitments with galleries and contracts to fulfill... too many things. When one has already gone through all that, the 3D virtual world opens up as a great breath of freedom, where a canvas can be walked and walked on literally without restrictions.

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.

Planet A with Tina Bey

 Tina Bey is one of those outstanding artists who make opensim a joy.

In OSGrid since 2010, Tina's an enthusiastic supporter if opensimulator's Test grid, and this year once again she is contributing to the  Auction event at the end of September (here's a blog post about the auction).

Tina's sometimes perceived as being a little shy, not the loudest voice in the room for sure, but she has always impressed with her willingness to explore opensim, encourage others, learn what is going on out there on the HG, and make stunning original creations. If you're a safari oldbie you may remember our visits to Arcauana back in 2016, and Waterworld in 2015. Tina's from Argentina, so her first language is Spanish, but of course, the language of her art transcends all that.

Tina's art is deeply rooted in real world cultures and issues

Auction objects are sold for real money and won't be free to copy - but that's a huge exception from Tina's usual practice.

Tina Bey: Usually my sculptures are completely free, since the spirit of opensim has been free since its beginnings. That is why I benefited from working here and moving from Second Life to work better and more freely in all aspects, including economics. This "Antarctica" region generously lends me Mazzo Ganitano, a Spanish gentleman I don't even know personally but who gives many of us the possibility of having a region free of charge. I am very grateful for so many people who have given me their regions since I started, and that is why I generally put my created objects free, like in different shopping centers, among others LANI Mall. free copy.

The Gift

– Adieu, dit le renard. Voici mon secret. Il est très simple :

on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur.

A secret, a heart, a book, a voice, a concept, a collaboration, and a sim. A gift.

It began with Unadecal Masala. He runs a region hosting service, where you can rent a fast, efficient region connected to OSGrid, and I think other grids too, but you should ask him. He has always been a supporter of the Safari and Opensim Arts in general, and he offered a space for a project by and for the Safari. 
The idea of doing an event  this season to mark the 122nd birthday of Antoine de Saint-Exupery was already on my mind. His most famous text is The Little Prince, written in French but translated into over 250 languages and dialects, making it one of the most international and best loved books in the world.

But who to take on the job of imagining the book for opensim? It could only be one person, Wizardoz Chrome, machinimer, conceptual artist, word lover and a brilliant and delightful collaborator, not to mention one of the founding members of the Safari. She soon involved others, including Tina Bey, Art Blue, Venus Adored, and Cherry Manga, who presented each of us with a white animesh rose, freshly invented by her, on our arrival on sim Exupery. A truly international group to celebrate these sublime words that have resonated in hearts all around the planet.

Smokin' Safari

        It's that time of year when we are all subjected to a sort of mass hallucination that the whole world is knee deep in presents and snow, family and mistletoe. 
         That makes it refreshing, not to mention healthy, to take a minute to realize that not all cultures, lifestyles, or climates, are the same. 
         Safari began as usual on Teravus Plaza.