Ask And Receive

Remember the Starry Night van Gogh exhibit? Remember the vibrance of color, the thrill of immersion? I was just commiserating with friends a couple of days ago about how much I miss that particular build. I sent Ann out to find some art and after she got all depressed by what was on offer from the Destination Guide she saw a teleport to some van Gogh. There are some galleries and, as if in answer to a prayer, a van Gogh village. Ann had never been to the old exhibit, but was blown away by this one. You could spend hours there.

Ann waits in vain for the painting to rez.

But it isn't all just a series of reconstructions of paintings. This is a total environment with walks, a dance area, and beautiful scenery. It is definitely worth turning the render quality way up and suffering a bit of lag. Be sure to leave a tip so exhibits like this can continue.

Ann found this one of the most relaxing places she's ever visited.

Ann asks, "Is it shallow of me to really enjoy 'pretty'?" Well, let me think about that. ... Naaah.

A Lesson

Wagon 1: rez in edit. Just sayin'.

Interior, Wagon 1.

Where did these come from? Wagon 1 accessories.

Alb/Lamu group gift (to the left of the main desk) of a gypsy wagon (actually, there are three in the folder - with different art etc.) campfire, rocks, and drums!  Very colorful merchandise at Alb Dream Design! See some of the group gift clothing at the Unslutty and Undead blog.

We Are Our Own Art

Visit Inside Art for one of those immersive experiences. There are a couple that take 4 avs and one for petites. Take friends!

Add9

It's still winter at the +9 mainstore, so dress warm. Lludmila is amazed by all the things that are free there: shoes, tsochkes, food, poses.

If you find yours is "locked" - unlock it and it's modifiable. 

Make them whatever size you want!

 She did manage to find two things that were actually for sale, so you have to look carefully, but it's worth a trip.

Find the food that actually costs something!

Join the group and get gifts sent to you and a chance at the group lucky boards.

... but watch out for that vegetable patch.

Leave a tip on the stuffed bear if you find some freebies you like. Or just wander around. It's just a small skybox, but there's plenty to look at.

Pick up a free cushion with 6 sits. Ooo, that soup looks good!

Cozy up with some friends.

Gah! This water is cooooold!

A little back support. More tea, please!

+9 is more an experience than a shop. Find the teleport and visit Cafe Cherbourg where there are more lucky boards.

Set to 3 minute intervals!

Visit the pond area, where winter still clings on like grim death. But not far away is a beach bar.

Skate a bit, or trip next door for a bit of summer.

Just be careful about that "swimming" animation.

Rubber Ducky didn't want to "get involved."

I Warned Y'All!

"Cottage"? "Cottage"?! This thing is eNORmous! But at least you can shrink it a bit.

Lludmila is a sucker for houses. She stalked the Collabor88 sim by map until the avatar count dipped below 50, took off all her prims and tp'd in for a purchase. She went to the demo afterwards to look it over, because that would have just taken time out of dancing with her friends (and the teleport sign was last to rez). Now she has this enormous tree house and nowhere to put it. It's silly to use it as a skybox.
But she warned you folks at Trompe Loeil! It's cruel and unusual punishment to produce these things and then sell them at such a low price. You were warned. We have no recourse but to punch your -

Late addition to March Collabor88.

Awwww, shhhhugar. You guys think of ev'rything.

Ya Sure, You Betcha!

I'm not sure. Are these really free?

Free at Ya's: sisal rug, Japanese furnishings, stepladder and potted plants, and a set of 3 terracotta jugs. Ooo, that snow looks refreshing! Might be worth visiting the mainstore, too!

Kathy's already starting to deploy some.

It's Not Too Late!

A little feature for the garden ...

The Lady of Sorrow Temple at Chrome Armory was on sale for 55L for the Fifty 5 Thursday sales. It still is!   You save 95%! Or something like that. [Math, shmath!] Follow the path (past the icky clown) to the right to see it live and in-person.

Tudor Tustory

Also available at Chrome Armory at ridiculously low price, this two-story Tudor house for the 60L Weekend sale! A 500L value!

Right, I didn't have time to take this home and put it up somewhere to take pictures so you'd have time to pick up that temple before someone figures out it should go back up to 1299L. Yes, blogging is happening while still shopping. You see the dedication? Feel the love!

And, while the blogpost is still open, what a fabulous Twisted Hunt prize from Zinnia's - one of our favorite, favorite stores. It's the southwestern psychiatrist's office! What fun animations! Chair, couch, talking parrot (well, it squawks anyway), rug, wall hangings (including one of Freud)! And there's actually a hint! We love you, Zinnia's!

Kathy's outfit is a lucky board prize from May's Soul. Boots from Duh!

Recursive Online Viewing

Making a tablet sexy.

JubJubs Stuff has this mod/copy tablet for surfing the 'net while in SL for 20L. Just rez, type in the url and there's your website! Kathy is admiring Cal's revamped website: Weaseltrap Records, home of the Harmonic Capo. Cal is a musician, inventor, and entrepreneur in RL(tm). It's almost impossible to make a living as a musician, so he has to do other things.

This tablet hearkens back to when Lludmila's typist first started in SL 6 years ago and the first place she went was the library on Info Island. At that time it was still a physical building with two floors. There were tiny computers where you could look things up on the internet. Absolutely hilarious! You get online, log into SL, and then go somewhere to search the internet? How does that affect bandwidth?

Info Island is now gone. Mystery Manor, where Lludmila did a few mystery discussions, was burned down last night.

You thought it was an exaggeration?

In just six years the Information Archipelago expanded and then shrank again. Bits of it are still around in the information diaspora, but it seems like the end of an era, if a very brief one. Once again merchandise has won out over information that is handed out for free. We are in the middle of what might be a huge transformation in how economy works. SL has been an experiment on  many levels, but especially on an economic one - not Linden Labs, but inworld. There are many types of participants in the virtual world: landowners, entrepreneurs, paying "players,"  non-paying - and they all contribute. Even the griefers contribute something. There was a griefing today at a shop that Lludmila just had to attend because she hadn't seen a prim bombing in absolute ages.  

Well, they're willies when they finally rez and ... Oooo!
Tiny panda av for only 50L! Must have!

Just as in Real Life(tm), everyone contributes some way. You might think people aren't paying their way, but sometimes that payment is hidden. Renters contribute when their rent helps to pay the taxes the property owner owes. Anytime someone buys something with a sales tax on it, they are contributing two ways. A great deal of our RL(tm) economy is based on crime - criminals have to eat, pay rent, buy stuff - which is obvious, but think of all the peripheral jobs that are dependent on crime: police, lawyers, and all their gear. And then the police and lawyers buy stuff and (just assuming about the lawyers) pay taxes. 

In the virtual world, "crime" mostly consists of copying something someone else has designed and made and selling it or perhaps just giving it away. In RL(tm) up until the internet and filesharing, that was something that could be almost controlled. Now with 3-D printing it seems there is absolutely nothing that can't be copied and distributed for free. Except maybe food. At the moment. So the virtual world is the arena for developing new strategies ... or perhaps a whole new world. 

What would a world where everything was copiable and free be like? If you could have anything you wanted, and not have to pay for it, what would you need money for? Well, other than repairing the 3-D printer. If you don't need money, you wouldn't have to work at the horrid mickey-mouse jobs that just fill space and provide a paycheck. What would you do? What would you have? 

In SL, Lludmila has a file folder full of houses and furnishings. She can change them as often as she wants. She got tired of clothes (acquire clothing, take photo, blog, discard clothing). She's getting tired of houses, too. Things have to be really special to be of interest. Would RL(tm) become like that? 

Something to think about.