A virtual museum done right

So there’s always been lots of talk (and perhaps somewhat less action :) ) about how virtual worlds are potentially great delivery vehicles for education, and schools, and museums, and all like that there.

There are a number of different ways to approach the idea, from wild “pretty much Not Possible In Real Life” things like that amazing and/or disturbing Virtual Schizophrenia build from the other year, to simple “upload my 2D art and put it on the walls of a virtual room” galleries, to novel interactive things that are about other things and that are yet to be built.

As an example of how to build a virtual museum about real-life artworks and artifacts, I can’t recommend highly enough the Peter Vos Museum in Second Life, as covered briefly in these two notes in NWN, and as covered most visually and memorably in this Yesikita Coppola machinima:

The machinima is very well done, and if for some reason you can’t get to the museum itself, by all means watch it.

But if you can get to the museum yourself, I’d suggest doing that first! Or at least second. :) I went the other day (and then got sick and almost forgot that I’d wanted to weblog about it), and am glad I did.

I knew nothing about Peter Vos before visiting the museum, and now I feel both fascinated and well-informed, as well as having come home with some nice souvenirs. The museum is a lovely build, perfectly fit to the purpose, and taking advantage of the SL environment in subtle but effective ways; the lighting is dark with focused lights, as a museum should be, the synchronized slide projectors are definitely synchronized slide projectors, making just the right soft sounds, the little peepholes that let you examine some of the smaller works close up are perfect little peepholes, that zoom your default camera position right in where it ought to be, while making your avatar bend in just the right “museum visitor peering into one of those little peepholes” pose.

About the art itself I won’t say much; it should be experienced. :) Nothing conventional, many many birds, and considerable surreality.

(The story behind the museum, the connections between the artist, the museum builder, and the machinimatographer, are quite a story in themselves, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself also!)

I would commend this both to anyone as a museum to be visited, and to anyone thinking of building a virtual museum (or gallery, or school, or…) as an example of one very effective way to do it. It’s just one point in the (big!) space of possible approaches, but it’s a very well done one, and definitely worth a visit.

A poem, and a painting, come alive

It’s been my pleasure and privilege to be part of another of Karima Hoisan’s amazing Kitely sims, based this time on one of her lovely poems.  (See previously The Hudson Line, based on the Hudson line, and In Your Head, based on your head (well…).)

The poem is here, and the artist’s own posting on the sim is here; I urge you to follow both those links, and then experience the Kitely sim for yourself, if you do the Kitely thing at all. (And if you don’t, maybe you should; it turns out you’re still allowed to use SL, too! /grin ).

And in the meantime, here are a couple (more) pictures, as further incentive:

Doing the scripting for this sim was great fun, and I hope there is at least one thing that makes you scratch your head and think “How did they do that?”.  Most likely it is the result of Ms. Hoisan and I racking our brains for a few days trying to figure out how to get a particular effect, and then when it seemed impossible her saying “I don’t suppose we could…?” and me smacking my forehead.  :)

Follow Your Road…. All The Way To Success!!

I know I mostly reblog other people’s things these days :) but it’s because they are cool. This is another Karima and Nat machinima, this one with a great RL aspect to it. I was one of the actors again (in a bigger role even, he said modestly), but what those two, and the RL band, have done with our actors’ posing about is really amazing; watch and enjoy!

Digital Rabbit Hole

Costa Rica’s Own..Home-Grown Band

(Version en Español aquí)

  This isthe case of the hottest new Latin Musical group,” El Combo Style,” from my home country, Costa Rica. Really, just keep doing what you’re doing and share your talent with the world!
I love a good cause, and for me, people with artistic talent, dedication and humility are always a good cause.
The first time I heard this group, was in some studio recordings from the University of Costa Rica.
Even though the quality was not the best, I saw, felt and most importantly heard, the talent of this very tight and charismatic band.
David Mendez who plays trombone and maracas, (blind since early childhood) and David Jimenez (singer-guitarist) are part of the backbone of this band. D. Jimenez writes all the songs and lyrics and D. Mendez  along with Gerson Rodriguez on keyboard make all the musical arrangements…

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The New Gallery again

Wow, I haven’t posted here since April? At least it was April of this year. :)

So the other night a friend and I wandered downslope from the Rise into Mooter, where Gee Blackadder has some nice stuff, and in the nice stuff we discovered this piece of art for sale (“Afrodita”, by Kyra) that I thought I would buy a copy of and put up in the Gallery, so I did; here it is up in the New Gallery:

I really ought to put a little TP to the gallery somewhere, or even list it in Art Galleries of Second Life or something, as it’s kind of as nice little place (I say modestly) with a slowly-evolving set of pieces by various people, mostly not me.

And then at the top you can sit on the viewing blocks and just bliss out staring into the ThingMaker (which is by me) and listening to the SomaFM music on the stream (assuming I haven’t changed it to something else).

Some random Thingmaker-as-art snapshots, with Shadows on, taken just at sunset. Or perhaps sunrise.

That LM again! :)

(Hm, I really ought to install some instructions in the little ball-controlling game that’s outside the gallery, if I’m going to tempt people to go there. Or maybe it’s sufficiently intuitive…)

My acting career continues! :)

Marvelous talented friends Karima and Nat have another movie out, Drink Me With Your Eyes; another rendering of one of Karima’s poems (a passionate piece in mixed English and Spanish), in amazing visuals of dancers and horses and eyes and… well, go see it. :)

I got a little bit part in the bar scenes (expertly sitting on a poseball!), and also in the horses-running-about scenes (as the Slightly Confused Horse), and got to contribute a little miscellaneous scripting also. But mostly just watched Karima and Nat and wondered to myself how they do it.

I will stick to scripting. :) Although I understand some people find that mysterious also!

“Festival of Love” Comes to LINC Island Friday Oct. 18th 1:30-2pmslt

This is just to reblog this post of the same name on Digital Rabbit Hole, ’cause this sounds awesome, and it’s tomorrow already, and I may or may not be trapped out in RL where my selfish atomic self is like changing employers or some silly RL diversion like that.

Extremely talented friends Karima an’ Nat will be hosting a half-hour segment of this German-based virtual-worlds Culture and Art event, and showing two (and possibly a teaser for a third) of their wonderful Machinimas (Machinimae?).

Oh, just go over there and read all about it! And attend! :)

Moving Trains

That title is a pun, since these particular trains that move scriptily down the track are in a video that is itself quite moving in the emotional sort of way.

As the official announcement from Karima Hoisan says, Karima and Natascha Randt’s “Window on a Train” is now up for general viewing an’ admiration.

Here it is on the “You Tube”:

and note that per Director Randt “Watching our film without being in full-screen and HD (720p) is Prohibited!” :)

I don’t want to say anything specific about the movie itself, because I think it has the most impact when viewed with the least preconceptions. Do prepare to be touched…

Machinima in general is so cool. I am not a visual person myself, so generally I can only sort of gawk (or make pictures with math), but I am pleased to say that in this case I was able to contribute, in the form of some scripts to provide smooth and mostly consistent motion in three objects (an engine and two cars) that were far too primmy to make physical, and also far too primmy to link together.

If I can gather up the energy and time :) I will post about it (the one-word giveaway is LLSetKeyframedMotion, which having been added to LSL later than 2007, is for me a Strange New Thing in the world, which proved Just Right for this particular use-case).

But anyway! Watch the movie! :) It is good!

Rust

Great pictures of a neat place; you should go!

Michele Hyacinth

A funny thing happened on my way to a blank wordpress post…instead of writing, I logged inworld and looked up the New Destinations listing.  I’m really good at avoidance when it comes to writing.  And this time around, that’s lucky for me because I hopped the slurl to a build called “Rust” and found myself immersed in the creative expression of  C i c a Ghost.  Things move in “Rust.”  The ground cover undulates.  Giant chickens dance.  Metal mushrooms pop up when you sit on a tractor.  I love the build, the lighting, the playfulness, the surprise in just about every corner.  I took a few photos (see below) before logging off and returning to the WordPress screen (where I actually wrote some words, believe it or not, huzzah!).  Check them (the photos, that is) out.  Better yet, head over to Rust if you haven’t yet…

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Reflect On This: Dactyls Are Dharma,Too

Y’all know how shy I am and reluctant to blow my own horn :) but I can’t resist passing this along. I did National Poetry Writing Month in my RL weblog (maybe I should post them all here too!), and shared some of the results (one poem a day for a month) with a few SL friends. Karima Hoisan (see prior post) liked the rhythm in one of them, and to my enormous surprise she and her frequent collaborator Nat made this extremely neat machinima around it. From little nuts do mighty oak trees grow! :)

Digital Rabbit Hole

Where to begin?
I will not make this post too long or long-winded..I really just invite you to scroll down and see the YouTube at the bottom hopefully in HD and Full screen.
I use this little creation as another perfect example of crazy creatives getting together to produce a few minutes of visual and vocal insanity. As those who read my blog regularly know, one of the things I most love about our Second Life, is the possibility to collaborate on artistic projects.
The first time I read Dale Innis’s poem about dactyls, and caught the “dactyl beat” and the idea, I knew I wanted to perform it. Without mentioning that, I wrote a piece of music and background voices and noises, and recorded it, and sent it off for approval. I got the green light from Dale, so I tempted my favorite visual genius, Natascha with yet another…

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Fishing, Shopping, and Art

I have been doing lots of things, just not weblogging about them. :) I did some tiny bit of the Twisted Hunt, and Steam Hunt 8, and I’ve been building some houses for fun. Might even put some of them up on the Marketplace or in a store or something. But that’s for another post. :)

This one is about fishing while shopping! And Art!

That is me fishing! While shopping! Or actually while waiting to see if any Ds will come up on the lucky boards. As it says under the picture on Flickr, Sn@tch is one of my favorite guilty pleasures in SL. It’s a big sprawling clothing store, not high couture in the slightest, a bit punky and trashy, but a huge variety, much of which I love (I have to ration my trips to the outlet annex for the sake of my clothing budget).

AND they have this great Game Room with lucky boards and mobvends and gatches, and a 7Seas fishing pool where you can catch not only the usual 7Seas fish and stuff, but also parts of special Sn@tch outfits. A great place to just veg out in consumer mode.

And where but SL could you fish casually while waiting for your letter to come up in a clothing store?

:)

Then less rabid-consumery, here is a great short film about Gracie Kendal and her RL self and their art: A Comfortable Skin. Definitely worth watching!
 

And that is all for now, off to fiddle with houses more.

became a blur, because they moved so fast…

Here is a machinima (machinema?) of a poem by v talented friend Karima.
 

 
I am happy to brag :) that I contributed in a tiny way by providing scripted examples of ways to make papers sort of blow around, one of which ended up in the video. Yay me!

Nat (the videographer and cat) and Karima (the poet and voice) do all various neat things; you should “check them out”.

Objectification ain’t the half of it…

So there’s this Single Frame Stories thing, which has a weblog and a flickr group and everything, and once a week they post a Prompt, like “grave mistake” or “depth perception” or (this week) “objectification”, and everyone (well, not everyone, but…) either emails their pictures or posts them to the flickr group, and the picture is allowed to have One Standard Tweet’s Worth of text along with it, and they all go up on the weblog for everyone to admire, and there’s no lame “voting” or “winners” or anything (I don’t think), they are just there.

And I’d known this was going on because I admire botgirl and Whiskey Monday for (their hawt AVs, and) their enormous creativity, but I hadn’t been doing it myself because really it was good enough that other people were doing it, and I was busy leveling my DK’s Inscription skill and dancing in random Australian sims’ dance clubs, and similarly important things.

But then there was some popular demand from one of the very creative people who was doing it, and I am nothing if not a pushover, so…

My (first?) entry for this week, “Objectification ain’t the half of it”:

Best viewed larger, of course, and just what the heck is actually going on is left to the reader and/or viewer.

But there we are! I am pretty much pleased, and may do it again some decade. :)

The Cube Project: 20 sims, 5 days!

Pictures! Very few words! Click through for bigger! Etc!

(Friend Michele an’ I happened to be wearing mostly black and white; very in-theme!)

(Dancoyote Antonelli’s enormous thing is made of cubes that mysteriously vanish as you get close (mostly) so you cause entertaining dents by your very presence. Also, those cube-shaped frames were schooling about everywhere.)

(Speaking of mysteriously vanishing, that is a phantom Oberon Onmura! (Click through his name there to his flickr stream for lots more pictures.) He was not actually there; even though I could see him, Michele couldn’t, and when I right-clicked on him he suddenly disappeared. Very amusingly SL!)

And several of the enormous cubes had a QR code on one or more faces, leading to the web page.

Many of the enormous whole-sim-scale constructions of cubes were great fun to fly around in, watching the Windlights changing, walking up the steps, being surprised and/or delighted by the interactive things, admiring the creativity, and generally it was all a Good Time.

Go while it’s still open! Go go go!

Live poetry readings highly recommended! This one is probably too early in the day for me, but I’ve heard Ms. Hoisan elsewhere, and she is Teh Awesomes…

(Also: what does this “reblog” button actually do?)

Digital Rabbit Hole

I want to cordially invite you to my upcoming reading this month, at Poetry Reflections on Costa Rica Sims of Dream Seeker Estates. Those who have attended before, know what a beautiful venue it is, a true Arabic Salon for poetry, and I promise you a full hour of my best poetry, music, and imagery combined. I will be reading for the first time, three new ones, that I hope you will enjoy. It will be an eclectic mix as always, of my verses, and I invite you to dress up in the theme (but no obligation) and be ready for some after reading belly dancing, to get the circulation re-flowing after sitting so long.
If this sounds appealing to you, please invite your friends, as there is lots of room, and I hope you will join me for my monthly reading at Poetry Reflections.If you have never come…

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Lt. John “Pepper” Pike

We interrupt the combat-scripting exercises :) for this important bulletin. This must-have item is now available in the Marketplace, apparently for the very affordable price of 0 (zero) Lindenbucks:

(If anyone doesn’t know the story of “Pepper” Pike and his elevation to memehood, see for instance this HuffPo piece.)

I saw this by the side of the road and knew I had to have one. :) Not being swift enough to look in that there new-fangled Marketplace for it, I left an IM for the creator, who very kindly not only gave me a copy, but pointed me to the Marketplace link.

So spread the word! Defend SL against dissent and nonviolent protest! Or even just annoying weeds!

For something like a second

She stands before you naked
you can see it, you can taste it,
and she comes to you light as the breeze.

Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
it don’t matter how you worship
as long as you’re
down on your knees.

So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
at the cradle of the river and the seas.

And like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
I was healed and my heart
was at ease.

O baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.

And you’re weak and you’re harmless
and you’re sleeping in your harness
and the wind going wild
in the trees,
and it ain’t exactly prison
but you’ll never be forgiven
for whatever you’ve done
with the keys.

O baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.

It’s dark now and it’s snowing
O my love I must be going,
The river has started to freeze.
And I’m sick of pretending
I’m broken from bending
I’ve lived too long on my knees.

Then she dances so graceful
and your heart’s hard and hateful
and she’s naked
but that’s just a tease.

And you turn in disgust
from your hatred and from your love
and she comes to you
light as the breeze.

O baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.

There’s blood on every bracelet
you can see it, you can taste it,
and it’s Please baby
please baby please.

And she says, Drink deeply, pilgrim
but don’t forget there’s still a woman
beneath this
resplendent chemise.

So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
I knelt there like one who believes.

And the blessings come from heaven
and for something like a second
I’m cured and my heart
is at ease.

— Leonard Cohen

With thanks to Calli. :)

New Originalia show opening tomorrow

I got an invitation to, and then got confused about dates and so missed, a blog-o-sphere preview of tomorrow’s opening of a three-artist show on the Originalia sim. But I have snuck in :) between the preview and the opening, and can confidently recommend that you go.

(I notice that it’s currently an Editor’s Pick in the Official SL Destinations (which is possibly a bit premature since it doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, but hey), so it’s not like they’re going to be hard up publicity-wise, but still…)

Here is also Chestnut on the show.

Here is The Official Poster:

And the Announcing Notecard, lightly edited for weblogifying purposes:

‘Travel to Originalia’ is the newest art exhibit on Amase Levasseur’s Originalia sim.

The show includes three exciting exhibits by award winning artists. In keeping with the theme of the sim, the exhibits include fresh new work that has never been seen before in Second Life.

‘Travel to Originalia’ includes “Postcards Home” by Callipygian Christensen, “Adapt or Perish” by Cherry Manga and “Gateway to Hell” by Fuschia Nightfire. As a special treat, visitors will also be treated to a reprise of the much loved exhibit “The Docks” by Scottius Polke.

‘Travel to Originalia’ opens to the public on Saturday 10/22 at 1pm SLT

Follow the SLurl below and enjoy your “Travel to Originalia”.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Originalia/38/154/21

All of the creations are well worth a visit. Calli Christensen has some lovely SL landscapes intriguingly cast as postcards home (we only get hints of what’s written on the backs), and “Gateway to Hell”, “Adapt or Perish”, and “The Docks” are all, well, not to spoil the experience… all builds eminently worth seeing.

So go! Tomorrow at 1pm or later, that is!

(And don’t mind the newborns who clicked on it in Destinations and are now wandering randomly or standing in Edit Appearance for hours; they’ll get the idea eventually…)

The Secret Project proceeds apace

MU hahaha!

The Dance Queens’ Dance Festival IV

This from Slappy Doobie of Virtual Burlesque, one of our very favorite SL venues; but it will also be of interest to folks who like dancing that doesn’t necessarily involve disrobing:

Ladies and Gents…..
This weekend, we would like to make you all aware of a wondeful weekend long vent…

THE DANCE QUEENS DANCE FESTIVAL IV
23 Jul 8:15am to 5:30pm and
24 Jul 9:45am to 5:00pm
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Not2z/17/17/1251

Featured among some of the best troupes in SL is our very own Viva La Glam – Virtual Burlesque Dancers!!!
**Sunday @ 2:45pm – 3:30pm…

We have a brand new, over the top feast for you that you wont want to miss!!!!
See you then!!!!! XOXOXOX

Sounds like a Good Time! I will have to try to remember… :)

Another random Thingmaker video

Just ’cause I was playing around with it the other night. Enjoy!