Plane Meets Cakeplate...

...and the cakeplate proves surprisingly sturdy.

(No, that's not me piloting the plane - I could never accomplish anything so graceful. Thomas Z invited me on his vehicle test run and he is the skilled pilot - great fun!)

Mah-jong!

Thank you, Loki, for my newest obsession... I'm hanging out in Fuschia.

Recipe for Fun

1 cakeplate in the sky
2 Watermelon Launchers
1 Fun-loving buddy (in my case Thomas Z)
Yourself
Courage and conviction
Willingness to be suddenly thrown a sim away via watermelon

Vehicular World Tours I Have Known

I have attempted to view Second Life by vehicle, practically since the day I arrived in this place and with VERY limited success, until recently...

I am the first to admit that I seem to be a bit dangerous in or around an SL vehicle... I've crashed motorcycles into walls, driven hoverboards off the end of the world, fallen out of planes, ridden off roads, gotten a plane stuck in someone's living room TWICE and had to abandon it or certainly its ghost (sorry to the homeowner who came home to that one - if you're reading this I would love to make reparations... :-) ), and seem to exhibit a general lack of control that is clearly unskilled and quite embarrassing...

Certain people know this fact: don't even let me near the helm of a yacht!

But the last couple weeks I have been in a few vehicles, piloted by others, that have given me rare and wonderful glimpses into the regions that make up the world of Second Life...

A half-world sea voyage with Trimming and Myradyl a couple weeks ago, starting in Stillman and ending in Ganymede, revealed waterways completely new to me and stunning waterfront builds... The company was sublime as well... while Trimming (expertly!) captained, and occasionally portaged, the yacht, Mermaid Myradyl regaled us with bawdy deep sea poetry... we inspected pirate lairs and majestic mansions and had a generally boisterous good water romp... Everyone should experience SL by water, at least once!

A bit more dangerous and yet, oddly exciting was a late evening Blimp ride... With Aeg Ritter at the controls we lurched our way through several sims... After a number of close calls and occasional collisions with buildings and sundry unexpected objects, we were suddenly followed and targetted by a giant psychedlic orb, that forced an abrupt blimp landing. The orb engulfed first TinaStar Dawn and then me in flame and attempted to immolate us before we were heroically rescued through tp moments before our certain doom...

And the very same evening, the frazzled Blimp-riders changed plans... a peaceful, though somewhat technically-challenging (for me) hot air balloon ride commenced at the Ahern Welcome Area. Trimming picked up all interested parties, and drifted through many, many lands before reaching our charted destination - the snow sims... I had a bit of a visual problem during this voyage, but I could sense (and often hear) the world below... Snippets of music and conversation, often one or two words, reached us - an odd and rather amusing patchwork of the ongoing activity in the world below... Although I didn't see the volcano as we drifted by, I felt its ominous presence and a shiver ran down my spine as I recalled my own personal sacrifice a few weeks ago... but that's another story.

Snow sims from air are an icy sight to behold! And this air expedition ended at the top of the ski lift in Kanin where vehicles were exchanged for snowboards and some spirited downhill fun...

I highly recommend an SL World Tour, By Air, Sea or both - it offers unique insights into and unparalleled views of our everchanging world plus the chance to get to know fellow adventurers... If you're planning a trip and are willing to drive, I'd love to join you...

Day of the Dead aka Gun Day

Popping over to Ahern yesterday I was startled to discover two *gasp* corpses. How could this be, I wondered? Mayhem in SL? Blood pooled on the walkway. The hilt of a knife clearly protruded from one fallen body.

I sat down and began a vigil, hoping to gain greater insight into the carnage and the events that may have preceded it. Shortly I discovered that the Dead(ites) occasionally make pithy statements. I attempted to gain knowledge of life after death, to no avail. The dead remain strangely silent on that topic.

A few more bodies fell suddenly in ever-growing pools of blood. Bloody corpses at Ahern seem to attract the well-armed. Several gun-toting individuals came by at intervals, some more threatening than others.

A corpse slithered behind my bench and attempted to gnaw my ankle. Unfortunately for him, the bench leg proved to be uncircumnavigable.

A young girl with a binky came out and accosted one of the corpses with a pillow. Suddenly he rose from the dead and a wild chase ensued around the WA benches. The corpse sat down, saying he didn't want to attack a little girl. She claimed a triumphant victory and ran off. The corpse returned to his previously dead position.

Masses gathered. A lawyer came by and offered a corpse legal advice. Some mention was made of Mr. Green in the Library with the knife.

I didn't see what happened but suddenly I, too, had joined the legions of the voluntary dead. The living continued to mill about. My blood seeped into the earth to the side of the walkway. A couple times my corpse was desecrated. But the dead don't care about such things.

You may wonder about the after-death experience, as I did. But on that topic I will remain strangely silent.