THE BEST OF SL MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2022 EDITION

PHOTO: RAIN SAXONDALE

MODEL: AVAJEAN WESTLAND

MODEL: ANGELINKA NEGA

PHOTO: GINPHX

THE BEAUTY OF WINTER IN SL

ARYA BRAVEHEART

This month I decided to do something very different. Rather than decorating a scene or house, I thought I would showcase the talented sim designers around Second Life by taking you on a magical winter tour of some of the areas I am loving at the moment.

These are sims that have created stunning winter or holiday-themed areas for us all to share and enjoy. They are fantastic places to visit, walk through, and take photos. I am loving discovering all the creative ways they are showcasing the winter season already!

Aoi-ike is a gorgeous area with wide-open spaces, a lake, and Japanese-inspired architecture and decor. It is on the Overland Hills sim and is modeled after an area in Hokkaido. I love all the wildlife that roams the space, including swans, bears, moose, owls, foxes, and the cranes you can see in this picture. I chose this shot because I really wanted to sit in that chair!

Echo Ridge is one of my fav sims whatever the season. This winter, as always, there are plenty of things to see and do. You can skate or toboggan, wander through the snow, tour the cabins, or just sit by the fire with a hot cocoa and enjoy the night sky. Make sure you take the time to check out this stunning lake scene.

I had not been to Le’eaf & Tinsel before, so I was keen to get on over and check it out. Absolutely love this town setting, and it even has a bookshop! I grabbed a Le’eaf & Bean coffee and had a fab time wandering the streets and more rural parts of this fabulous winter sim, admiring all the decorations ready for the holiday season.

Vita’s Village & Textures in the Lake Mountbatten region is also a new place for me, and I loved it. The store is on the sim, surrounded by a stunning public space for people to walk and enjoy. I love the lake and river with trees, cabins, and bridges to explore. This scene is at the river mouth and looks back up upstream, taking in these cabins and a very chilled cow!

Where Our Journey Begins is a year-round favourite place of mine for taking photos surrounded by awesome scenery and landscaping. I love visiting each season just to see what they have done with the sim. This is one of those places where you have difficulty narrowing down your photos to one spot as there are so many areas to choose from. It was the same when I went over to get this picture. Also, take your iceskates!

Holiday Magic is an action-packed sim, so make sure you leave plenty of time to enjoy all it has to offer. You can skate, pet the animals, race down the zip line, board a train, or just chill in the many gorgeous nooks this sim has scattered about. I am a sucker for all of the twinkling lights and Christmas decorations here as well as the lovely decor and builds. Make sure you take your skates and also check out the lakefront if you want an area to sit with a loved one and enjoy the view.

I discovered Winter Wonderland a few days back and am already a repeat visitor. The tree lined paths are so lovely, and you walk around corners to find wee houses, reindeer, and this fab cafe in the middle of nowhere. This is also a place of lights, so make sure you follow signs to find everything. This is definitely a sim to take your time to wander about. I will be going back again to see and find more!

Lastly, I just wanted to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season. Thank you for taking the time to journey with me throughout 2022 with all the builds, designs, furniture and accessories I could find. I hope 2023 is going to be a fabulous year for us all.

BEAUTY OF WINTER IN SL

BEAUTY OF WINTER IN SL

AS TIME GOES BY

ST. GEORGE

Another year is almost behind us, and we can’t help but wonder where the time goes. Nobody knows, of course. But we do know that if we lose time, we will never find it again– as Benjamin Franklin wisely warned us. Maybe nobody knows where the time goes simply because ‘time’ doesn’t go anywhere. Maybe time just stands still, and it is us who move along it, rushing towards some finish line we know nothing about. Was not that the idea of English poet Henry Austin Dobson when he said, “Time goes, you say. Ah no! Alas, Time stays, we go”?

The truth is, we do not know what time is. Do not let the word’s fourteen meanings in Webster’s Dictionary fool you: they are circular definitions, i.e., descriptions that use the same term being described, or that assume that the term is already known. For example: “Time is the measurable period during which an action exists.” A period of what? Of time, of course.

We should not take this ignorance too personally. After all, there are many things we know nothing about, and the sooner we accept time is one of them, the better. Or maybe we should just follow the advice Alice gave the Mad Hatter and “do something better with the time than waste it in asking riddles that have no answer.” And we know how things went down for Alice: she spent a lot of time trying to get out of Wonderland, becoming a giant and shrinking again, being chased by the Queen of Hearts’ minions while chasing the white rabbit which, although he had a big pocket watch, was always late for everything. We could say that time was not on his side.

Although we do not know what the essence of time is, we do know there are occasions when time is of the essence, like when you need to finish a job before a certain date. In those cases, we know we have a deadline, and the word “dead” is there for a reason. Some people even think they are prisoners of time, running not exactly in circles but inside a wheel, rushing and struggling to make the deadline without realizing that every job completed, every mission accomplished, is only the starting point of a new mission, a new job. That is why Einstein used to say that time is relative: it flies when we are having a good time, but it seems to be trudging along when the task at hand is boring.

What times do we live in? We all live in modern times, of course, if only because ‘modern’ comes from a Latin word that means ‘recent’ or ‘current’. That is right, even our ancestors Pookie and Sook, dwelling in a cave, lived in what they considered modern times. In his movie Modern Times, Charles Chaplin gave us an exceptionally fitting description of what modern times and progress were like one century ago: a time ruled by giant machines which operated oblivious of our human nature, to the point of uncaringly crushing anyone who dared to cross their path. But for us, citizens of the 21st century, progress went in the opposite direction; what best symbolizes the days we happen to live in are the tiny devices we carry in our pockets. But only because they are tiny, do not think they are less oppressive than the ginormous gears that ruled our parents’ and grandparents’ lives. Think of them as a leash that keeps us under the control of our true overlords: social media, with its cutthroat system of likes and shares.

COCO

But by asking what time is, we are considering the wrong question. Yes, it is possible that what really matters is not so much what it is, but what we do with the time allotted to us in the relatively short span of our lives. And instead of worrying about where the time goes, perhaps we could start thinking about where we want to go in the future, that fabled time when– we’re told –anything is possible. Really? Yes, because if what the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges stated is true, that “time forks perpetually toward innumerable futures,” that means we have an infinite number of futures from which to chosse. As the year approaches its end, this is a suitable time to think about the kind of future we want for ourselves and for the next generations. In the meantime, I wish you a merry and safe holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year!

Although we do not know what the essence of time is, we do know there are occasions when time is of the essence.

ARTISTS OF SECOND LIFE

COMPE LOCKWOOD

If art is what you seek, in any form, genre, or medium, United Artists of Second Life (UASL) should be your first stop. You won’t need a second one.

These creative folks– craftspeople, sculptors, artists, and more –interact with visitors. They stage formal exhibitions, small group gatherings, and impromptu meet and greets. UASL is an artists’ community that welcomes the rest of us.

The full-region site of cyber canvases adheres to its goal as expressed by the owner, Riannah Avora.

“UASL is an artist group in SL that shares and communicates regarding various art events and opportunities open to the artist community,” she notes, explaining her endeavor. “We may not be what some would consider a ‘typical art gallery’, nor do we wish to be.

We are simply artists that host opportunities for other artists. We encourage people to use their imagination and to continue to learn different methods of creating art. We provide a full region for artists to exhibit their 3D or 2D work as well as a building platform to assist artists with a place to actually create their work.”

Seeing is believing, and seeing this site is eyepopping. “It is a full region,” says Riannah, as she and partner Chelo show BOSL visitors the many levels of creativity. “We are always tweaking things and exhibitions. Shows are ever-changing.”

This is not a typical art museum/gallery with permanent fixtures offering a safe refuge for spiderwebs. Most UASL exhibits have a threemonth term. It is never stale.

“We have opening events for almost every exhibit,” Riannah notes. “Some are solo displays. Some are group-oriented projects of two or more artists.

New artists like to participate in group exhibits first, usually because it allows them to get a good feel of what exhibiting is like, without being thrown into the spotlight by themselves. For artists, exhibiting their work can be overwhelming, especially when they are just getting started.”

She adds, “Our purpose here is two-fold. We provide resources for artists to exhibit and sell their work, of course, but we also assist other galleries. New gallery owners ask me questions regarding how to get started, how to do things.

We help them. In return, they often post notices in the UASL group about opportunities and exhibits they have at their galleries for our artists. Everyone benefits.”

She believes firmly, “You cannot fully support the artists if you don’t support the other galleries as well.”

Upon landing at the site, walk up to the hexagon which offers teleport options and other information, including: Main Station, Galerie Principale, Pequena Galleria, and Lotus Plateau Islands. In addition, the 6-sided disc is the gateway to supporting merchants, recreation, a 2D Multiplex, and even a café. Have an expresso with a future Picasso? How cool is that?

The Art Community and Resources of SL’s board are helpful, too. On this visit, the cyber panel lists 30 art resources that anyone can access. Current galleries are displayed.

I chose Art Korner Main Gallery and poof! There I was– they even offered me a cup of coffee.

Riannah adds, “We have a platform where artists build and help others. Artists as well as art lovers come to look at all of the amazing art we have here.

Tour shuttles transport visitors to view the exhibits on the ground level. That’s a fun way to see the art here.”In addition, UASL has vehicles people can play on and see the exhibits on their own. “We have a game room below Galerie Principale with several games. We invite anyone to come and hang out any time!” Riannah says.

Artists’ numbers vary, depending on exhibitions and schedules. “Currently we have over 20,” Chelo adds. But he recalls that 150–200 artists have displayed their works at UASL exhibits. Several of them exhibit multiple times a year.

Riannah’s partner also works here. “He’s my slave–” Riannah laughs. “Just kidding. Chelo built the gallery you just saw.”

He adds, “I just try to help with everything I can.” And he smiles. “I do what she can’t.”

Christ Craft is an artist primarily of 3D work. He is also on the administrative team. “Riannah and UASL gave me a corner to do my weird stuff,” he explains with a smile.

Riannah corrects him, “It is not weird.”

The two met back in the days of the now defunct Linden Endowment for the Arts. LEA provided 20 regions for artists to network and create. It was fun while it lasted.

When Linden Labs closed LEA, Riannah saw devastated artists no longer having “a place to be.” She rented one-fourth of a sim and brought in a lot of former LEA patrons. The fledgling community from humble beginnings became UASL, one of

the metaverse’s largest art sites. Typically, 20 artists are exhibiting here at any given time.

As for the future, UASL looks forward to the New Year. “We constantly evolve,” says Riannah. “It is never boring here. I am sure there will be a lot of exciting things going on as always. We will get better and better!”

And better it is at UASL, the complex encompassing patrons, friends, and fans through sculpture, paintings, 3D and 2D, and a world of pixel pallets.

Artists that host opportunities for other artists.

NEW SECOND LIFE PREMIUM PLUS EDITION

Is it worth upgrading?

This past summer Linden Labs announced an enhanced Second Life Premium Plus and I’m going to share here what’s good about it and whether you think you might want to upgrade your account to this enhanced version of Second Life.

First off it gives you the ability to purchase outright your very own homestead. I explained all about homesteads in my August Article about Serena Estates. Until now, it wasn’t possible to purchase a homestead unless you owned a full private region in second life. However, now if you are a Premium Plus member and as long as you maintain that membership you can purchase a homestead from Linden Labs and name the region whatever you like. To be clear you are only getting the ability to purchase a homestead, you still have to pay monthly rental fees. Owning land directly from Linden Labs has the convenience of being able to pay tier without logging in. You still have to pay the monthly tier and keep up your Second Life Premium Plus membership to keep it.

The cost of renting a homestead at Serena Estates is $120 a month and from Linden Labs is $109 a month. In contrast renting from a Second Life Estate manager gives you the convenience of 24/7 help, landscaping help, and no need to actually purchase the land. If for some reason you some time away from Second Life you simply return the land to Serena Estates and you don’t have to worry about unloading your homestead and attempting to get your purchase price back. Most likely you won’t get the full price you paid considering you will be paying tier while you try to sell it and it just adds to your losses the longer it takes to sell.

On this I recommend renting from an Estate because you’ll need to own it a year to get your purchase price back and there’s no need to buy it if you rent it instead.

The next thing to clear up is, what if you already have a paid annual Premium membership and you want to buy the Second Life Premium Plus Annual Membership? If you do this Linden Labs will deduct the current value of the remaining days of your annual membership from your new Premium Plus membership. So if you pay less than the annual membership cost it’s because you still had some months left on your current premium account and it was deducted from the total price of your new Second Life Premium Plus account. So upgrade anytime, Linden Labs will charge you only the difference needed to upgrade.

ROB SANTANA

As far as the 2048 square meters of land go, to get this credit you should search Linden Land and use the map to discover land for sale. As long as what you buy is less than 2048 sq meters it will not be charged extra on your Linden Lab account. You can still get a linden home, however it’s limited to 1024 square meters, at this time. I personally own 4 parcels of 1024 square meters on Linden land so I can get half of that paid for with a Premium Plus account.

If you rent from a Second Life Estate you can’t apply your free land credits. They only work on Second Life Mainland. I will write about how to buy mainland in my next article so you’ll have some tips on how to hunt down a 2048 square meter parcel.

One last thing to check out:. In October there was an announcement that Second Life Premium Plus members would have unlimited access to a MOBILE phone viewer for Second Life called SpeedLight. It’s available on Iphone and Android phones. It enables you to simultaneously log multiple accounts into Second Life. As a Second Life Premium Plus member it states you can enter the 3D world and interact with others. The drawback is your avatar is just a “PIN” showing your position as you walk around. I have not tried this so I can’t give any opinion about how it works, but I do know that the ability to at least log in, chat, send money, or check messages can be very useful when you are on the go. Go to the APP Store and download the SpeedLight App so you can see for yourself what you can do.

If you don’t have a premium plus account, I don’t think the SpeedLight app is worth it because it’s not free without it.

So, if you get the annual membership you are saving money if you own 2048 square meters of land and you spend 2500 lindens monthly because the monthly cost is $21 dollars and the actual cost of the Premium Plus monthly benefits is $25 dollars a month. Also let’s not forget that Second Life is a great way to socialize from the comfort of your home and the savings on that can be ALOT. It cost alot to go out and meet people, attend a concert, get your shopping fix in, build your own model home...you get alot for your buck if you really use Second Life and participate.

Arts

A Splash of Paint

ELVEN FALLS Art Collective

Nina Camplin is an artist based in Neath Port Talbot, Wales.

From the mid 90’s until recently, she painted murals, specializing in trompe l’oeil. She was interested in challenging perceptions of space and creating scenes of faked realities, such as windows, doors and broken walls that open up the flat surface of the wall to give the viewer the optical illusion of an additional dimension beyond.

Over the past few years, she has developed arthritis in both her hips, which makes it difficult for her to climb scaffolding, stand or sit for long periods. She felt it was time to take her art into a new direction.

She is now exploring new areas, including wildlife, landscape, portraiture and current events (particularly Covid related subjects).

Her work varies from abstract to photo realistic, depending upon the current project she is working on. Most recently she has been using recycled canvases to work on, mixing the realistic with the abstract, allowing snippets of the original painting to show through in the final work.

Nina decided to display her work in Second Life in order to reach a new audience, much of the work on show here is also available to buy in real life too. If you are interested in buying the original piece you can contact Nina at ninacamplin@aol.co.uk

You can see some of Nina’s work by visiting her website at ninacamplin.co.uk

a christmas tea party

BOSL FASHION TREND

PHOTO: SHANTAL GRAVOIS

BOSL FASHION TREND

PHOTO: SHANTAL GRAVOIS

PHOTO: GINPHX

BOSL FASHION TREND

PHOTO: TIYIALIC

BOSL FASHION TREND

PHOTO: SHANTAL GRAVOIS

PHOTO: GINPHX

CREDITS

BOSL FASHION STYLE CARDS

LIAM NETIZEN

Hat | ::K:: Chunky Watch Cap

Scarf | ::K:: Chunky Scarf

Blazer | [Deadwool] Sean jacket

Sweater | [Deadwool] Ghost sweater

Gloves | NOCHE. Knit Gloves Essentials

Pant | Lapointe & Bastchild - Swear Bryson Plaid Pants

Shoes | [Deadwool] Oxford shoes - brown

MILA BLAUVELT

SKIRT | Tres Blah - Sweetheart Skirt (Green)

TOP | -ISON - lace crop top (red)

ARM SWEATER | MOVEMENT- Knitted sweaterWinter print

STOCKINGS | Mangula Summer Party Socks

ANKLE BOOTS | Azoury Bottine Droite

EARRINGS | MG Jesica Santuary

HAIR | TRUTH Adore Xmas - Essential

LIPS | Nuve. Candy Lipgloss pack 8

DESIREME FALLEN

Dress | MOGUL - Labeija (No longer available)

Purse | Majesty - Bedazzled Heart Bag Black Silver Shoe | PixelFashion -Clara (No longer available)

Hat | Poison Rouge - Felurian

Hat | Burton Style Hovering Teapot & Cup (modified)

Hat | Fluffy Stuff - Shiny Disco Ball (modified)

SHANTAL GRAVOIS

Hat | ERSCH - Joyful Season

Hair | S.E - SUNDAY BEST

Earring | Izzie’s - Snowman Pearl

Shawl | erratic - red trees

Outfit | dami - merry merry christmas gacha RARE

Bag | AMITOMO - merry & bright

Tights | Planet Lumyai - Christmas & Winter Snowflake

Boots | Pure Poison - Tanya with Garters

LOLITA PARAGORN

Skirt | DEAD DOLL - Holly Skirt Corset | DEAD DOLL - Sweet Corset Jacket | UNITED COLORS Merry Stokings | The Secret Store - Lace Tights Belt | DIRAM - KIM Belt -& -Lamu Fashion-Brooch Poinsettia Shoes | N-core NOA Fur Gloves | RE Bianca Jewels | KUNGLERS - Yasmine , Orsini Jewelry COCO & set ODYLE Hair | S.E NAIVE Bag | Orsini Jewelry Sandy

ANGELINKANEGA

Hair | S-CLUB JULIA - 030922

Dress | {Le’La} - Lisa Vintage

Shawl | Lace - v.2 Gloves | Moon Elixir x MUSE - Femme Fatale Panties | [BB] - Pamela Stilettos | [Gos] Haute Chic

Earrings | G&D - Christmas Tree Necklace | .::Supernatural::. - Bailey Anklet | Slavia - “Julia” Hair accessory | S-CLUB JULIA - 030922

Eyeshadow | ::SG:: BOM 103 - ADVX 02

Eyelashes | WarPaint* - Charmed Lipstick | LUCCI - Iconic Matte

BOSL AFTER DARK

Victorian Tidings

BOSL AFTER DARK

PHOTOS: RAIN SAXONDALE