Sand Castle

It is an island, and yet it it not. It is an important religious seat, and yet only sometimes. It is a unique place, and yet not exactly. It is a place of sanctuary, and yet not always. It is a piece of ancient architecture, and yet not entirely. Mont Saint Michel, on the Northern coast of France in a sandy bay where Brittany meets Normandy, is a spectacular paradox in space and time. 

Mont Saint Michael, Serenity Grid

Erwan Elan has reconstructed Mont Saint Michel on his Opensim grid, Serenity, and it's a realistic piece of magic. The island takes up an entire sim, and is walkable in a way that creates a perfect sense of place. There are gaunt defenses and soaring vaults, dizzying heights and a warren of narrow streets. It is a tour de force, and most of the images here come from Erwan's build. Why not make the trip to see it for yourself, the HG Address is, as always, at the end of the post.

RL Photo of  Mont Saint Michel in the late 1800's

The White Stuff

A three dimensional mandala, a work of lace and light, a fragile skeleton hanging weightless between the sea and sky, that is Ivory City by Tosha Tyran based on an idea by Lumiere Noir.

If there is one point in the hyperverse that might be defined as its spiritual heart, this build is it. 

The location of Ivory City has not always been the same, and the configuration of the

Conference Call Ten

 This year is the tenth annual OSCC, and you're invited. Great! But what is that?  Who's behind it? What's happening? How much do I have to pay to go to this thing? Where is it held, and when?

Conference Hall, OSCC

Let's start with when and where. The OpenSim Community Conference is held on a dedicated grid with the snappy address cc.opensimulator.org:8002. The grid is online all year round but it is most

Outgoing and Upcoming

 After 60 destinations - well 62, if you count the two special Safari trips to the seasonal Hunt builds of Ange Menges and Nani Ferguson - over three seasons in 2022, the Safari is taking a break for a bit. 

Mandjelia on OSGrid was our first destination this year

In 2022 we went to 36 different grids, from Kitely to CopyKat and back. At last count, somewhere between 60 to 70 people joined us in person as Safari tourists, forming part of the group that gathers at the Clubhouse before setting out on the adventure - plus many more who came along to support their friends, our Hosts, at each destination. 

Safari trips begin at the Clubhouse -  last minute information, gossip and jokes

Aether Way

Air or sea? Light or dark? Either way, our final stop for this season of the Safari is an oasis for the senses. 

Nico Kailani invited us to visit sim Aether, whose definition defies simple terms. Part art sim, part clothes collection, part gallery, part party place, it is all worth seeing. HG Address, as usual, at the bottom of the post. Check out that EEP!

Nico Kaliani: So, anybody got a notecard? Imbedded in it is "The Story of Aether" Read it if you like. Alot of cool stuff about the Greeks and all

Forest Azure: yes... yes...yes...yes

Wizardoz Chrome: yes

Tree Kyomoon2: this is an excellent place to be hit with the epiphany that Hypergrid works, we already have a metaverse. Thanks everyone!!!

Fallingwater Finale

 Camryn Darkstone is a gem of a builder, and this her version of Fallingwater is a triumph in every way. It's beautiful, it's harmonious, it's informative, and it's fun. 

Together with Littlefield grid owner Walter Balazic, she ported the sim from its original place of creation in SL to their grid almost ten years ago, when Littlefield opened.

Walter and Camryn 

The Fallingwater logo is not, as might seem, a Japanese ideogram. Instead it represents the shape of the house and its cascade, although perhaps you can see a F and a L in the pattern also.

The house is primarily a prim build, indeed, it was begun before Mesh was even a thing in SL. Yet the quality of the construction is so perfect that the house, as it does in RL, seems to float above the torrent.

Dead Fall

 Three days in Autumn throw up some contrasting ways to think about the spirit world. Halloween kicks things off - it is the most widely publicized and also perhaps the most disagreeable of the three events, having been reduced by its secular, money-making possibilities to a world-wide rigmarole of ghoulish gore, with a lot of sugar and spite thrown into the mix. In Catholic countries, the morning after has a very different feel.  November 1 is the day when the cemeteries are bright with potted plants and bouquets, as people remember their loved ones en masse. The atmosphere in the graveyards of Europe where this holiday persists is generally serene, neither somber nor spectacular, just a time of quiet recollection and resignation, with flowers - and like Mother's Day, it's the time when florists finally get back into the black. 

But then comes November 2, the Day of the Dead. Not to be confused with either of the other two events, The Day of the Dead has its origins in Aztec traditions, particularly the figure of Chicunamictlan, the Aztec queen of the underworld. Its trappings are unique, and beautifully portrayed by Nyx Breen in Opensim.