A Very Viking Visit

If you've watched the TV adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok - and even if you never did - you are going to love the Viking build by SoA Bad (call him Bad) as it is one of those atmospheric builds that will thrill you and make you slip on your hangerok, finish your drykkju, and reach for your skeggøx. It's just that good! The region is called Lofoten, complete HG Address and so forth at the end of the post, of course. 

SoA BAD and SITWAS, our hosts on CCI Grid.

 The region the Safari visited this week has one thing in common with pretty much every place we see - there is way more going on, way more details and clever scripting and masterful construction than can possibly be seen in the mere hour that we get to spend on the sim. 

The grid is also home to a Sons of Anarchy biker build, with all the bells and whistles and music that entails... modem Vikings maybe?

SoA BAD: Hello welcome to the Vikings, Will will have a short tour with explanation about the life of the vikings in the 8th to 12th centuries.

SIWAS S [de→en]: Hello everyone nice that you are here, Soa Bad is your host today

whirli placebo: thank you for the invitation :)

Heart Box

 There are places - and people - that have been on the Safari radar forever, as examples of enormous talent combined with wicked humor, and endless heart - Frankie Rockett is a case in point. After many years, the Safari finally got a chance to meet up with him and experience the iconic build Art Box, now transferred to LFGrid, where it has found a stable and permanently open venue. Full address as always at the end of the post.

Armed and dangerously talented 
Frankie Rockett

 There is something of the Willy Wonka about Frankie - with one caveat, none of the annoying 'follow the rules or else' in Frankie's ethos. 

A charming, brilliant, yet somehow elusive figure, Frankie's build Art Box - the fruit of well over a decade of creativity - speaks for itself, it is a chocolate box full of sweet treats. 

The premise of the build for those few people who haven't experienced it over the past decade or so, is that you can be 'part of the picture' - be it a well known poster, photo, album cover, oil painting, watercolor - in short, famous artwork from all genres and time periods. 

It's both fun and philosophical as you put yourself quite literally in the picture, thus inviting thoughts of 'what is going on here.... or just a lot of giggles, depending on your mood of the moment. It's flexible.

Nyx, Tricks, and Jazz Pics

Nyx Breen

Nyx Breen: welcome all. Make sure MIDNIGHT MAX DRAW AND PARTICLES for next part of the Tour

James Atlloud: Ooo, max draw.  I'll get a cool towel for the GeForce!

Thirza Ember: ok, let's try to break Pangea Grid with max draw distances...

Nyx Breen: no way! lol, this is a 4x4 immersive - we are set for this!

Landing point on the Jazzland build

Once again, Nyx Breen pulled out all the stops to create a purpose built immersive experience on Pangea Grid for this weeks Safari, dedicated to the celebration of Jazz, and once again, his build didn't disappoint. It is another huge creation - celebrating both the music and the freedom that builders have in opensim to make something with a huge prim count and acres of space, where the public can be truly wowed. It's a place of movement, so when you arrive, be ready to move! If your draw distance isn't high, you may miss some of the best bits, including the jazz club with dance ball and musical instruments, not to mention all the faces from the past. HG Address and so on at the end of the post, as per tradition.

Forest and All That Jazz

This Sunday is International Jazz Day, first celebrated in 2011 to honor one of the most idiosyncratic and evocative genres of music. The term Jazz has an uncertain, but sensual and vibrant roots and was first found in print in the USA in the early 1900s, read more here if you're curious. Since Safaris happen on Wednesdays we felt free to move the annual festival up a few days, and have an all Jazz extravaganza this week.

Our first stop was on Virtual Worlds Zone, and grid owner Kashi Takeshi welcomed us to All That Jazz (HG Address at the end of the post, as always) which is a club on its own dedicated sim. We were lucky enough to have Forest Azure performing for us, she sings with a rl Jazz combo, and came up with a song list that was a beautiful blend of classy jazz, blues, and more. Songs were in Stream, and her commentary between the numbers was in Voice, which sounds complicated but actually worked as smooth as a Sinatra serenade.

Kashi Takeshi: welcome! Hope all is rezzing fast and okies... You can toggle the stream if the audio does not work.

Forest Azure

Forest Azure: funny to be 'on the other side' for a change

James Atlloud: It's good for the soul Forest (heh heh)

Youca Godel: A nice jazz club sounds wonderful.

Tosha Tyran: yes, it really has a lot of atmosphere

Kashi Takeshi: I built this club some time ago with the plan to start DJing nice Jazz tunes here. I was quite busy last months but will soon start every Sunday, Asha from Sunvibes will also jump in and hope Azure and other Jazz singers will like to perform here too.

Two weeks in Seville

 It takes place a couple of weeks after Easter, and was first celebrated in 1847. It's held in Seville and is a festival all about booths, lights, food, fun, family, friends, and fancy dress - specifically flamenco dresses, and Andalusian traditional costumes. But wait, you say, I can't get to Seville tonight! No worries, you can celebrate Feria de Abril without even leaving your couch.
Traditionally tonight is the lighting ceremony, and on you can be a part of the event, right down to the handsome devils dressed as country gentlemen and dancing divinely. This event in RL started as a horse trading event, so naturally equines, and the appropriate carriages, are peppered all over the region.

This minigrid, owned by Don Javi and hosted by Unadecal Masala, offers a home and venue for the Spanish speaking part of opensim, together with their fans and friends. 

Light and Drama on Pangea

Another fun event on Pangea for all who love art and enjoy good music in a vibrant, fun loving atmosphere.

 Nyx Breen's show is called 'Everything Flows and is in Motion".

Safari Goes Under the Mountain

The second destination for this week's Safari was on Kinky Haven grid, run by Wendie Blackthorne who was there to greet us, in her cute spelunking outfit - surprisingly un-grimy considering the fiendishly difficult tunnel and cave system she had invited us to experience, the creation of her friend Lizzy Borden. No, she didn't have an axe. I know you were wondering. Well, that might not be entirely accurate...

Wendie Blackthorne, front, and Lizzy Borden behind her.

This is a huge region, so of course we were limited in how much of it we could see in our short visit, but the girls had organized themselves in such a way that we were able to get a good idea of the variety and magesty of the build without being rushed too much. 

The tunnel style build is one of the most difficult of all to pull off, as it's a tricky game of proportions when you are trying to create a closed-in atmosphere that is also cam friendly. The labyrinth needs to be at challenging but not so frustrating and cramped that the immersive feel is lost for the player-visitor.

Lighting, textures, sounds and objects all come together to surprise, spook, and delight throughout this enormous build, where every tunnel suggests more discoveries - and does not disappoint.

We met on the big plaza outside the mountain.

Lizzy Borden: Welcome to The Mountain. This is The Mountain of the Ancients who attempted to build a tower to Heaven in the shape of a pyramid.....but it collapsed along with their civilisation. What you are about to see is the remnants and evidence of attempt at restoration by the descendants.