Snow Crash

Today a dramatic, streamed audio reading of the first three chapters of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash kept me spellbound for over an hour.

Aside from the fact that I am reading this book in RL, so the event had exquisite timeliness, the reading was great and the parallels between Snow Crash and Second Life, which many sources say was originally based on the book, are quite astounding.

CrowCatcher Valen read the chapters while we all sat in Jai Nomad's stunning, ultra-modern auditorium, an unusually silent, riveted crowd. On the huge display at the front were a quad of ever-changing slides created by Jai, very techno Metaverse-y, the perfect visual accompaniment.

Philip Linden even put in an appearance. I felt like a celebrity gawker, eyeing him. But he appeared normal and down-to-earth, listened to the end, chatted for a minute, then took off to solve some in-world problems.

Crow will be repeating this one and continuing further readings of the book for the next few weeks. He'll have to hurry - I'm already up to Chapter 37, reading the old-fashioned way...

I love New York

It's exciting to experience a bit of the Big Apple right here in SL. I had popped over to the Empire State Building for a gander and was thrilled to discover that the city streets were wet! A bit of a rainstorm was brewing and the city felt dank. I could smell the wet pavement. Sent a quick note to Chase, crowing about the unexpected sprinkle, then ducked into the ESB lobby, hoping to save my divine curls from the rain.

The ESB is quite magnificent. A sumptuous lobby... a virtually instantaneous elevator trip to the top floor yields dizzying skyscraper height view of Manhattan and beyond. The photography studio penthouse suite was an unexpectedly risque photographic extravaganza. Artists studios and luxurious apartments are contained on other floors of the ESB.

A quick peek at the Cortland subway stop revealed a somewhat neater-than-expected platform, lacking only a wino or some musicians. I waited for the train a bit, but it must have been off-schedule, so I popped back up to the ground level.

A plethora of art, often dark and moody, permeates all of Manhattan, as though the inhabitants of The Village and Soho have escaped their regular boundaries and oozed throughout. I was admiring a gallery when Chase came by and gave me a personal tour.

We pulled up barstools at a seedy, yet endearing neighborhood bar (the Bellevue) and chatted for a bit about city life, life in general, in SL and beyond. Chases's friend Maxx arrived and occupied his personal barstool for the duration. The bar stands next to some currently available loft-style apartments, with airy, brick-lined apartments, city and water views.

We meandered over to Club Limelight, a nightclub, complete with roving, color-changing spotlights, contained in a gorgeous, stained-glass embellished church. Clearly this is the place to see and be seen.

I loved my taste of city life SL style and will be back to sample the wares of some very talented SL designers. Evil though she may (or may not) be, Chase has certainly assembled a glorious, art-filled city in Hawthorne.

Snow!

I happened to be in the area when the news came in - there were new snowy sims to explore!

Like a kid listening to the radio on a Thursday morning in winter, I felt that Snow Day surge of joy! A quick check of my wardrobe showed virtually nothing adequate to protect me from wintery elements. I donned a long black jacket, jeans and some red high-tops and was good-to-go.

Checked the map and saw crowds forming in various regions to my south. Atlas isn't too far from the snowline, as it turns out. My friend L agreed to join me for a minute and we popped over to a remote, snowclad mountaintop - just mountains, trees and snow. Serene, beautiful and completely unprecedents here in Second Life. I was awestruck. And chilly.

L had to leave but I continued to explore. Another map-check showed crowds forming in a couple locations so I flew off to join the excitement. Followed a highway for a while but realized I was getting into a more temperate zone so I pursued a course due south to a very craggy mountainous region.

A chalet appeared in the distance - the perfect place to toast your chilly toes in front of the fireplace and drink hot chocolate. I vowed to return but pressed on. Snow Day Fever was in full force!

I discovered some lift lines and followed them up a very steep mountain slope. At the summit was the impromptu SL party of the day. About 30 people were clustered at this summit, chatting and glorying in the beautifully flaky snow currently falling. Giant flakes materialized and drifted to the ground. A supreme winter wonderland.

Snowballs flew. A snowman was constructed. Someone created a huge snowball and offered rides down the mountain on it. How could I refuse? We plummeted down the mountain in a furious flurry of rolling snow, arms and legs. Exhilerating!

At the bottom, by the operational ski lift, people were assembling and trying out snowboards. Crop-top clad snowboarders are not something you see every day. Again I felt the chill.

Finally I had to head out with a vow to return as soon as I had sewed up some suitable winter gear.

So happy to finally be enjoying some seasonal (off-seasonal?) weather in SL!

Munchkins Followed By Live Jazz

Suitably attired in munchkin regalia, I returned to Oz with my trusty companion, Spumoni. (I had visited a couple days ago but had to leave prematurely.)

Oz is an astounding wonder. Leaving Kansas and the tornado, a meander down the yellow brick road reveals the homes of the various characters, lions/tigers/bears, candyland, the witch's castle, culminating in the majestic Emerald City.

Greeted cheerily by the Good Witch and the Wonderful Wizard, Spumoni (let's call him Toto for now) and I proceeded almost directly to Emerald City for a rendez-vous with my munchkin goddess friends. We munchkins explored the city, tasted the cake and watched the powerful Wizard melt the witch. This general hilarity was capped off by an Oz trivia contest, not my strongpoint, but Toto did clue me into one answer "hot dog", the thing he steals at the start of the film.

Just as the quiz ended, I was invited to a live jazz concert, and it was a wonderful, soothing and magical finish to my evening. Live music in SL is amazing in itself - and Astrin Few was outstanding. Friends gathered at Faerie Muse's. Dancing, singing, hushed conversation. It was an amazing evening and a dramatic contrast to the almost-frenetic munchkin activity which preceded it.

Yesterday I Made a Bra

and it fit!

A Tour of Jessie Incognito

A rather motley crew paid an impromptu visit to Jessie on Monday.

We had been wondering what the fuss was all about and with time on our hands, Helen, Ellen and I decided to see the potential warzone for ourselves.

We realized we would be flirting with death, so we prepared for the worst. Helen donned her chicken suit, Ellen her astronaut uniform and I my cavewoman gear, complete with club.

Rather amused at our appearances, but feeling suitably camouflaged, if a bit apprehensive, we teleported to the nearest hub and eagerly took off for the perilous flight into Jessie. We landed on what appeared to be a high-tech turret, with assorted tank-like machinery perched high in the air. We explored the turret cautiously and felt elated at our continuing existence.

After about one minute in Jessie: "We're not dead yet!" exclaimed Ellen. "This is so cool," said Helen. We continued to look around.

"We have company," Helen announced, as our arrival had apparently been noticed and a soldier arrived to welcome us. We exchanged friendly greetings and the kind soldier allowed us to continue to look around his fortress. It appeared that we were relatively safe at this juncture although we proceeded with caution and ubiquitous escort from here on in.

As is my wont, I somehow fell from the turret and plunged into some icy waters nearby. Forbidden from flying I was forced to hike by some fearsome Jeep relics and others discards as I made my way back to my fellow explorers.

Emerging from the oceanic depths, I could neither see nor hear Helen and Ellen. A quick IM established that they were adjacent to the drug cartel, a sight I never did witness for myself.

Our kindly escort continued to pave the way for me and I examined a "ministry" building and some other fascinating structures. Several other heavily armed soldiers flew around us at various points but our fair guide reassured them of our welcome and we remained unscathed.

Having toured for a bit, we fell into conversation, hovering in the skies over Jessie.

"Have you ever died?" Helen wanted to know. "Many times... when you live in Jessie you expect death..." was the reply.

"Would you kill us?" queried Ellen - virtually begging for a shot in the head... but death was not in our cards that day.

A weapon was brandished and a few jokes were exchanged about being hungry and wanting chicken for dinner or possibly killing the astronaut, but as it turned out these were gentlemen soldiers who obviously stop at killing innocent female civilians in costume.
We thank them for such hospitality in their obviously troubled realm...

Of Americana and Other Vacation Excitement

In vacation mode yesterday, I set out for a day of fun and adventure.

First I toured the Americana exhibit in Lime. What a fascinating display! I especially enjoy it when they resurrect buildings and displays that I may have missed in the past due to my tender SL age. I met up with Helen and Ellen there and we took a brief fly around. I especially loved the Chrysler building.

Then Helen left and Ellen and I went looking through Plum for more exhibits. We happened upon the Beta Wall of Fame (my name, I think - not sure what it's called officially). There we met Artemis who took me on a surreally wild Go-Cart ride and then we crashed a motorcycle into the middle of a wall somewhere in the Lime Americana exhibit!

I played 5 rounds of Bingo which was fantastic, high-speed fun. Didn't win anything though. And as a bonus, I took myself mini-golfing - fun! Can't wait to do that with friends. Thank goodness an onlooker took pity on me and gave me some pointers about how to actually get the golf ball somewhere near the hole!

I ended my fun on Helen and Ellen's cobblestone parque central in Atlas, with sparklers in both hands, celebrating with friends.