The Seven Wonders in Second Life

Ed has decided that he would like to see the Seven Wonders of the World. That's not possible in the real life now of course, but is it possible in Second Life?

There are two or more different list of Wonders of the World to consider, one is the seven wonders of the ancient world, and another the seven wonders of the medieval world. The first thing to decide is whether to use just one of the lists, or a combination of locations from both.

While Ed was thinking about that PBK started searching SL and found a full scale representation of Stonehenge , an ancient monument sure enough and one that is on the medieval wonders list. By a coincidence, Monday December 21st was the Winter Solstice in the real world. Ed grabbed his camera and TP'd over for a look.

The Pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The Solstice was also known as the‘Yule’ and this is the origin of many customs and traditions of Christmas.

In real life the winter solstice this year occurred at 5:12pm local time, after the sun had gone down. Ed was able to use SL's magic to create a sunset to photograph, he also reported the solstice for 'Our virtual Trilogy', have a read for more information.

Remembering

Ed had a solumn duty to perform to-day. PBK wanted to spend some quiet time reflecting and remembering, so they returned to Ed's home on Ambrose. There Ed has been building a model to serve as a memorial to 5 young lives lost on this day 30 years ago. The model is of a 24 pounder muzzle loading gun, mounted on a Koehler depression carriage. This was a weapon used by British artillery batteries during the Great Siege of Gibraltar from 1779 -83, it has a special meaning to PBK.

Keith, Alan, William (Paddy), Simon and Peter Grundy

Ordinary guys who did an extraordinary job.

To-day Is The First Day ...

Today is the first day of the rest of your life', a famous wall poster used to proclaim. Ed was 'hanging out' at the UGC Cafe as had become a habit of late. He was feeling a little bit sorry for himself and thinking he had become a rather sad avatar. He seemed to be spending all of his second life within the 5 London sims, an area of little more than a quarter of a square kilometer. This wasn't what Ed was about, this isn't what Second Life is about. Ed needed to get out more.

Ed selected a location at random from the Showcase menu and TP'd there straight away. It was called Artic Greenhouse and what a lucky and inspiring choice. Ed had never before seen the Aurora, the incredible celestial display of moving streamers and bands of coloured lights, greens, reds, blues and violets. These are caused by particles of the solar winds striking the gravity fields in the Ionosphere high above the Earth. This was the kind of unnatural beauty that Ed knew existed in Second Life, but he had been looking in the wrong place.

The greenhouse at the centre of the sim also contains beauty of a smaller, more exquisite type. It is a retail outlet selling flowers, each one an genuine original work of art. Also available are green plants in pots for both inside and outdoors use. The creator of this wonderful place is SL resident Logan Bauer.

Today had indeed turned out to be the first day of the rest of Ed Follet's life.

Big Musical Weekend

With the final countdown to Christmas under way, all the stops are being pulled out in the London sims to provide quality entertainment for visitors. On Friday night Ed went along to the first of the seasons parties being held in the new Westminister sim. The venue was a club called 'Comptons' and musical performances were from an all UK line up which varied from blues guitar to jazz saxophone.

The Underground Clubs new cafe was officially opened on Saturday evening with a gig in the club from singer/guitarist Maximillion Kleene. Max has played London before and is obviously very popular with his distinctive voice. This was followed by the weekends main event, a Bon Jovi tribute from SL’s Bad Ampitude virtual rock band. The venue was a stage rezed 500 metres above the UGC in the Knightsbridge sim.

Bad Ampitude are a group of friends in SL, some are RL musicians, who act out live performances in tribute to a number of RL bands. They have already performed a Queen tribute in SL London back in October and will be doing a Beatles tribute next weekend. Ed reported on the Bon Jovi gig for Virtually London (lite).

One Sunday in Second Life

On Sunday morning Ed received a SL London Group notice which said that a soapbox was being placed at ‘Speakers Corner’ in the Hyde Park sim. There was an invitation for residents with something to say to make use of it. In RL for more than 150 years, on any Sunday morning, people gather in small groups near the Marble Arch. There are those with opinions to air, those that want to listen and those who are just plain curious! Here you can see grassroots democracy in action. Previous patrons of Speakers Corner have included Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, George Orwell, William Morris and many politicians.

Ed headed over and mounting the soapbox immediately became very animated (as you would expect!). He started off with a grumble about the holes in the roads at sim boundries, then went into a full rant about the 'tier' has to pay Governor Linden on his property, a stealth tax on prims he calls it.

Besides reporting SL London news on Virtually London (lite), Ed is also a contributor to the Our Virtual Trilogy blog. Having posted his first article about the Desired Dreams Air Museum, he decided to follow this up with an item about the largest airship in SL, The Pegasus Zepplin, and went to have a look on Sunday afternoon.

It's billed as a residential and vacation airship, offering a mature and sophisticated environment for relaxation and a romantic get away. Though visually impressive, it consists largely of accommodation and there was not a lot going on, most of the action happening inside the cabins no doubt. The designer/builder is SL legend Bill Stirling who is also responsible for the fabulous SS Galaxy cruise liner which Ed also plans to visit soon.

On Sunday evening Ed, Hibs and Janey went to the re-opening of the Greyhound Pub in SL Kensington, just a stones throw from the VL(l) office. The new host/landlady is Cutewillow Carlberg, a popular hostess from the Underground Club. Also along to offer support were UGC regulars Nils and Hotstuff, and Wiccy and Evie from the Coach & Horses pub in the Mayfair sim. Seany the Kensington sim manager, got everyone into the mood by giving away free samples of the entire cocktail menu. Amid much falling about even Janey ended up flat on her face, lol. Eventually guitars were produced, and Ed joined Hotsey and Wiccy jamming to the streamed rock music with Nils on the mic. Great fun and the first of many good nights hopefully to come at the 'Dog'. Best wishes and Good Luck to Cute and thanks to Janey for letting me use her photo below.

The Life of a Reporter In SL London

Ed returned to the SL London sims on Friday after an absence of just over a week. He insists that there's no truth in rumours circulating that he was banned from Hyde Park for wearing a loud shirt or 'banged up' for fishing off Chelsea Bridge without a license. Actually Ed has been having connection problems, so you could say that he's been imprisoned in cyberspace. In fact it is possible for avatars to do porridge in SL. A quick SL search revealed 'The Terminal Island Correctional Facility', described as being ‘immersive prison role play in the ultimate setting of an island prison for women’. Ed is a long time fan of ‘Cell Block H’ and he's wondering if they need any extra staff. It could be a new twist to the story of the ‘Bird Man of Alcatraz’ lol. Ed reported on the Nickelback Tribute Concert on Saturday night for Virtually London (lite) . He was joined at the venue in SL London's Knightsbridge sim by his friends Janey and Hibiscus (also VL(l) reporters). Virtual pop concerts are becoming a big feature of SL London. So far Ed has seen Guns’n’Roses, Def Leppard (twice), Queen (briefly due to problems) and now Nickelback. More concerts are planned for the near future including the tribute bands of The Beatles, Abba, the Bee Gees and a return gig for Guns'n'Roses.

After a hard day chasing stories in SL London, with occasional forays to more distant sims, Ed likes to ‘chill’ at the ‘Underground Club’ (UGC) in SL Knightsbridge . The club is open every night, usually from 8 pm till 2 am, with 3 DJs each playing a 2 hour set. The club is very popular, with a regular crowd that Ed feels part of and everyone there, both staff and patrons are friendly and welcoming. Visitors are constantly popping in to see what's happening and then moving on, some returning later. You will hear a lot more about the UGC because it’s very much at the centre of Ed’s social life. He was in the club last night with Janey and Hibs, admiring the talent when a party of ‘Bunny Girls’ teleported in. Poor Ed's computer crashed in the mad scramble to get good snapshots, lol. Just one of the perils of being a news reporter in SL London.

This is Ed Follet

This is the journal of Ed Follet, an avatar in the virtual world called Second Life (SL). Ed has been a member or 'resident' of SL since March 2009 and spends much of his time in the London regions (simulations known as sims). This is where his avatar was first rendered as a 3D object - 'rezed' in the SL vernacular. Ed has made friends in London and has found employment as a reporter for Virtual London (lite) - a news blog.

Like all SL avatars, Ed has only artificial intelligence. He is guided in the things he does by an anonymous benefactor who ensures Ed has enough Linden dollars (L$), the SL currency, to spend on the things he likes. The benefactor is known to Ed as PBK and has also provided him with a 'parcel' of virtual land and a house to call his home. Here, and on a second parcel of rented virtual land, Ed can pursue his interests.

Almost every object in the SL virtual world has been created by its residents using tools available to them all. This content creation or 'building' is considered very important by Linden Labs (LL) the owners of SL. Ed is a creative avatar and aspires to become a competant builder. He is particularly interested in vehicles, especially aeroplanes and motorbikes.

Ed also has an eye for art and is grateful for the beautiful objects that abound in SL. He thinks nothing of traveling from one end of 'the grid' (the SL world) to the other in order to capture them with 'snapshots' or simply to appreciate and enjoy.

Ed is generally a quiet, thoughtful and observant type of avatar, unlike many of his male peers, who he says are overdeveloped extroverts. He spends much time pondering the meaning of his second life but can also be humourous and enjoys music and dancing, good discussion and banter with his friends.

In this journal, PBK will be recounting Ed's experiences and adventures with some of his observations and ideas. He hopes the reader will find them perhaps thought provoking and maybe amusing but certainly entertaining. He welcomes your comments.