True Grid

 Matilda Charron came on Safari!

Matilda Charron at the clubhouse

          Now that is true grit. The Safari begins at like 3 am, Mati's time, and we were so glad she decided to join the fun and games this week.
          And what a game of it we had.  Generally speaking, hypergridders like to be able to jump directly from A to B. Having to go through Welcome sims or make multiple leaps to reach one's destination is not a huge burden, but obviously, if somebody builds a region and wants people to visit, then it would be good if they made that as easy as possible. Is that dumbing down? I hope not. The 'idiot-proof' opensim viewer we're always being promised doesn't matter to me, mostly because I'm not that interested in meeting idiots. HG accessibility is, however, key to making it worth your while to build worthwhile, quality installations and regions.

Safari Turns Two

Truelie Telling

Two years of grid jumping, and to celebrate, we had a great party, thanks to many wonderful guests and some fantastic music! Sarah Kline said it best, seems no time at all since we were celebrating our first anniversary right here on Event Plaza.

A Hearty, Arty Safari

         Some seriously fun art in OpenSim this week for the Safari, on two excellent art-friendly grids. HG Addresses at the end.
          First up, Francogrid and Michaël Borras aka Systaime with his show "Curating Money" curated by Wrong Grid organizers Ellectra Radikal and Frere Reinert.

Nara's Nook Fashion Show

 'Flu time for your intrepid reporter, but that didn't stop the Safari! This week, just one destination, but plenty of fun on Nara's Nook grid, which is a writer's colony run by Nara Malone.

The idea for this event was to showcase many of the clothes made in opensim, for opensim. You can read more about Nara's show on the grid's blog here

This was an encore performance of the event held the previous weekend on a special sim. The organizers included Avia Bonne  knowns for her many splendid opensim builds as well as her real life paintings and drawings, and Jessie Campbell who is a fabulous manipulator of NPCs and has brought burlesque shows inworld up to the highest levels.

Lost Light

One of the giants of virtual worlds, Lumiere Noir, died about a year ago, on August 10, 2015. He had been ill for quite some time, but his passing came suddenly, sending shockwaves through the community of virtual worlds where he had long been revered as an inspirational educator for hundreds of builders. 

Lumiere Noir on Craft Grid in 2011

The expression 'Ivory Tower' was coined in 1837 by the French writer Sainte-Beuve and it means a frame of mind, or sometimes a place of scholarship and learning, that holds itself aloof from the less educated, everyday happenings. That's rather ironic, considering Lumiere's lifelong desire to inform and assist others to be part of the building community.

Safari Goes Lusitanian

For week 101 of the Safari, a special themed week celebrating Portugal! Lots of Lusitanian references, plus a concert by Joao Frazao, to enrich the evening.

Belem Tower, on NiSi Festival region, Metropolis

We began our adventure as usual on Francogrid, at the clubhouse. I don't know why we never actually 

g inside the clubhouse, I guess we just like fresh air. Tht big geometric shape is an invention of Wizard Gynoid, you can buy one from a 3D website service she has set up, and you too can have a RL copy (although not that big!).

Our first destination was Carlos Loff's project to build the city of Lisbon in opensim. He has a grid of his own, and his plan is to recreate the entire metropolitan area, with all the monuments and geographical features - that's quite an enterprise!

The 'is' and 'isn'ts' of Virtual Money

We love what you do when you do it with heart

Truelie Telling, the Safari song

It may have been Pathfinder who brought it up, at this week's Safari, the subject of some sort of hypergrid friendly virtual currency. His comment was to the effect that it would give him the opportunity to support content creators. There followed a little polite but determined chorus of 'hypergrid currency?? thanks but no thanks' from many of the other attendees. Why is it that? What is it that makes people like me feel so passionately that the predominantly no money culture in open sim is the better way?