THE BEST OF SL MAGAZINE MAY 2022 EDITION by The Best Of SL Magazine

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PHOTO: RAIN SAXONDALE

MODEL: JAMEE SANDALWOOD

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Reign Congrejo

FASHION EDITOR Shantal Gravois

CONTRIBUTORS Arya Braveheart Cara Paine Coco St. George Compe Lockwood GinPhx Jamee Sandalwood Rain Saxondale Rob Santana Shantal Gravois Tiyialic

COVER Magissa Denver

COVER MODELS Benji Bane

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BOSL Magazine May 2022 Edition

PHOTO: TIYIALIC

MODEL: LOLITA PARAGORN

CONTENT

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SMOCHAS FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE

THEY ARE COMING

SHOPPING IN THE VIRUTAL WORLD OF SECOND LIFE

SPRING INTO SUMMER

BOSL ARTS

BOSL FASHION TREND

BOSL AFTER DARK

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SMOCHAS

FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE Compe Lockwood

ublic service announcement: Do not continue reading this if hungry. SMOCHAS Fine Dining and Cannabis Lounge only makes food cravings worse— or better, as the case may be. Indeed, the restaurant now two years in the running is a happy place of food, fellowship, and— for those who partake —cannabis. First, let us savor the food: “We change out entrees a few times a year,” says SMOCHAS owner DarkEbony Mocha. “Currently, we are using the Beyou food primarily, but the new dishes will be SMOCHAS originals.” A customer favorite is Lobster Piquant, but every entrée is a work of art, literally. The designs are so real the lobsters could pinch –and with enough cannabis, they probably do. Or take the boneless heart-shaped premium center cut steak in a Roma seasoned sauce, cooked to the perfection of cyber dreams. The Chicken Mezzalune is creamed chickenstuffed pasta dough with Italian herbs and vodka sauce. For poultry submerged in vodka sauce never cries fowl. Those are but three delectable dishes from an equally delectable eatery. And then there is upstairs. The second floor takes one to a higher place by design. “After a great meal, if guests want to, they can go up to the lounge to enjoy our cannabis products,” DarkEbony adds. “There are people who come here just for the lounge. It is kind of like a happy hour feel. But most add the lounge to their dinner reservation.”

SMOCHAS was one of Ms. Mocha’s business but I wanted something different, too,” the owner recalls about the early days and the April 2020 start up. She entered the virtual dining experience with an innovative idea. Visionary. “Two things I know people love,” DarkEbony says, “eating and cannabis.” So why not offer both? Downstairs is the elegant restaurant, with formal or semi-formal dress required. Upstairs is a bar, booths, and tables. An array of cannabis edibles and smokes are displayed on trays for patron enjoyment. Some partake. Others are here just for the fellowship and ambiance. Ms. Mocha’s creative master plan was not easily implemented. “The hardest thing was bringing what I can think of in RL to the SL world,” she notes. “The challenge is bringing things in world without the most important parts getting lost in the translation.” There would be a trial by fire. Just as is the case in most in RL restaurant startups, SMOCHAS had opening day glitches, as well. “I had no restaurant experience,” DarkEbony recalls. “We learned so many things at the grand opening. Every table was full that day. The place was packed, and we could barely move. It was good seeing all of those people, but I was having a fit,” she laughs. Fortunately, the cyber restauranter was prepared. She and the SMOCHAS team learned how to reserve tables, work the crowd, and other culinary tips. She also learned about cannabis. “I have never smoked it,” she admits with a smile.But

SMOCHAS FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE

PHOTOS: CARA PAINE

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SMOCHAS FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE

she interviewed those who have. Her restaurant’s recreational cannabis animations are based on the experiences of others. “We have the details worked right down to the cough.” Today, SMOCHAS is bustling. The restaurant, design, layout, color scheme is bright and beautiful. Elegance is abundant in both patrons, employees, and the building itself.

evolving, changing, growing. New entrees are constantly added to the menu. Bon Appetit!

A bright red carpet offers a welcoming path through the facility. Rooms and nooks are at every turn as if waiting discovery. Seating accommodates large parties down to intimate dinners for two. Approximately 8 to 10 servers await. SMOCHAS staffers immerse themselves in the roleplay experience. “I have been the Operations Manager at SMOCHAS since its inception,” says J. Ziporiah Monroe. “My SMOCHAS management experience is something I take special care with and personally value.” She adds, “Being a native introvert, I find that I am socially nourished by my contact with staff and customers, because my level of service directly impacts the amount of joy to be had in the SMOCHAS experience. SMOCHAS client-base is incredibly diverse, and the exposure to so many cultures and languages is rich and interesting to me. A SMOCHAS experience adds variety to opportunities of social engagement on the grid and pairs some of any human’s favorite things: food and herbal elevation!” In addition, there is live entertainment including “Elevate at SMOCHAS,” a monthly live event with real singers and dancing. The restaurant is open Thursday – Sunday, 5 – 8 pm SLT, and their walk-in hours are 5- 7 pm on those nights. Reservations are required. Today, DarkEbony leaves the day-to-day operations and serving to managers and staff. “I’m more of a backup,” she says. “If I am needed, I am here. But Lord knows I’m not half the server they are,” she smiles, referring to her excellent staff. As for future plans, SMOCHAS menu is ever

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THEY ARE COMING COCO ST. GEORGE

ou knew it all along. Ever since your first neighbors showed the early symptoms of contagion, you’ve been waiting for this day. And it’s finally here. You go through the house, making sure all windows and doors are securely locked. You are so used to doing this, the task is completed in a few minutes. You also make a quick check of the pantry. How’s your food supply? Cans, bags, bottles… they seem enough for a few weeks more if you use them sparingly. You pause to remember how you got most of this food. That was an epic battle! Apparently, the bodega down the street had been stocked shortly before the outbreak, because you found everything you could ask for. You grin. Oh, simpler times! All you needed to fend off your enemies back then was a baseball bat to crack open their skulls. They walked so slowly you didn’t even need to run from them. You could calmly walk to them, wielding your baseball bat, mentally calculating the height you’d need to swing it at to hit their skulls, and— wham! Yes, in the first few days and weeks you kept a tally, remember? How many? You can’t remember. You stopped counting at more than 300. What was the point? Everybody expected somehow, some scientist, some pharmaceutical company would come up with a cure, a vaccine of sorts, that would stop the ever-growing contagion and save the human race from extinction. And sure, they did produce a vaccine. In fact, some months after the first detected outbreak, several vaccines from different companies and countries were vying for the market. What was at stake was huge, of course: the very future of humankind. But also, substantial business, as the goal was to vaccinate the entire human population.

THEY ARE COMING

But along with the solution came the people who compounded the problem. Citing obscure and unverifiable sources, they claimed the whole outbreak was a hoax schemed by Big Pharma in order to reap huge profits and, at the same time, to control the population through some mysterious and diminutive chip allegedly embedded in the vaccine. How that chip was supposed to work was something they never talked about, much less explained. But hundreds of thousands of people, millions even, refused to get vaccinated. They were, of course, the first to get infected. The first to spread the virus as they bit other unvaccinated people. The first to become living dead. As was to be expected, the virus mutated, and the new strains proved immune to the first vaccines. New vaccines came about, and new strains appeared in a war of attrition whose outcome was clear from the beginning. You hear a noise outside, on the street, and dare to take a peek through the shutters of a window on the ground floor. A herd. Yes, it was inevitable. The successive mutations of the virus have made them a tad smarter. Not smart-smart, just enough to walk faster— some even can run now —and to realize they are better off in big numbers. How good you have become at calculating their numbers! How many are there? You look at the width and length of the parade and somehow your brain comes up with a number: 120. They are fast walkers; it would be impossible to take down all of them. You’d need an automatic gun for that. And ammunition. Lots of ammo. No, it’s better to lay low and wait for the herd to walk past your house. You decide to go upstairs and try to take a nap. Falling asleep with a herd marching in front of your doors proves to be harder than you thought. With your PHOTOS: COCO ST. GEORGE

LOCATION: CITY OF LOST ANGELS

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THEY ARE COMING

eyes fixed on the ceiling, you try not to count for the umpteenth time the number of beams. There are eight. You’ve known that since the very first time you walked into this room. Eight beams, two windows, one door to the bathroom, and another to a closet. And two people; two people slowly walking toward you, trying to bite you. You swung your bat with precision and strength acquired through practice. A practice that is especially painful when that meant putting down members of your own family. You try to wipe out those memories and instead start counting the beams on the ceiling. Did you fall asleep? Wake up! What’s that noise? Yes, that noise downstairs, like a door being banged with multiple fists. Is that your front door? Did the herd smell your presence in the bedroom? Don’t tell me you forgot to lock the door! We all know there are no zombies in Real Life, but few of us would like to live in a world where not even the idea of a zombie apocalypse existed. And luckily for us, we can always count on Second Life to live out our dreams. Yes, zombie killing is a time-honored sport in Second Life. Who hasn’t visited a sim plagued by the walking dead only to enjoy watching how the life-threatening zombies explode every time you shoot them? Of course, it may be the other way around: it’s you who loses points and gets sent back to your base over and over.

of fantasy and adventure, be sure to check out Z Invasion, a medieval-themed sim where you’ll be assaulted by living skeletons, orcs, and even vampire bats. And remember the weapons you got at Grimly? Well, the good news is they will be useful here, as well, since both sims use the same Grim Combat System. A twofer! Now, if you are not in the mood for fighting but still want to enjoy the toxic fumes of a postapocalyptic environment while engaging in some roleplaying with your friends, then by all means go to The Wastelands, a venerable estate made up by 10 sims established in 2007. Another classic in the realm of postapocalyptic places is the City of Lost Angels, which, unlike The Wastelands, is an adult location and thus adult activities are allowed. Don’t wait for me to tell you how the story ends: go and live the story yourself. Then come back here and tell us how it went.

There are several places where you can practice your marksmanship, hone your survival skills, and have a blast shooting zombies. Pay a visit to Grimly’s Bloodbath & Beyond Zombie Apocalypse Main Store, whose name doesn’t leave room to misunderstand: You’re looking for a bloodbath, and that’s what you get. You’ll land at the visitor’s center, where you must accept the experience to go further. You’ll be provided with free weapons if you only want to have a taste of what a zombie apocalypse is about. If you find that’s your thing, you’ll be able to buy all the weapons your fantasy may want and your purse may afford. If you’re looking for something more in the line LOCATION: Z INVASION

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LOCATION: THE WASTELANDS

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LOCATION: GRIMLY’S BLOODBATH & BEYOND

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SHOPPING IN THE VITURAL WORLD OF

SECOND LIFE Rob Santana

ne of the most fun relaxing things for some avatars in second life is to GO SHOPPING in the virtual world of Second Life !! Waking up on a rainy Saturday morning going to your pc in your pj’s with a nice cup of coffee and logging into Second Life for some shop therapy is a regular thing for some! Sure you can shop on Marketplace however, you can’t try on the demo, and you won’t know for sure how it will look or fit. Trying on the demo is one of the many good reasons to do your shopping “in world.” and a lesson you might take to real life as well. Trying on the clothes you buy makes all the difference. Avatars are constantly recreating their look, fashion, or surroundings. There is always something new to find in Second Life in world stores, after all Second Life is about creating a life you dream about and want to experience. Just a quick tip before you set out shopping in the virtual world you may need to adjust your graphics settings so things will rezz quickly when you go from place to place. If you are using the Second Life Official Viewer or Firestorm open preferences, graphics tab, set your graphics to MID and your draw distance to 128m. If you want to see how the area you are in is performing hit CONTROL+SHIFT+1 to open the statistics bar. Anytime your FPS (FRAMES PER SECOND) is 10 or lower you’ll want to reduce your graphics settings so you can move about freely without getting dragged down by the lag on the sim. Also using the statistics window is a good way to check if the changes to your graphics settings improved your FPS (Frames per Second). Some avatars shop by standing outside the store and using their

camera to scan the entire store without ever going in. This is another effective way of handling things if you are experiencing lag making it difficult to walk around. Hopefully this doesn’t happen very often but if it does adjust your graphics settings. Whenever you tp to a new location have a bit of patience to allow everything to load in your viewer so you can see what everyone else see’s. Experiment a bit to see what helps improve the speed you can move around and view things, detaching huds you don’t need and not wearing too many accessories also helps.

How to reduce lag by adjusting your viewer settings:

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PHOTOS: ROB SANTANA

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So where to shop? You can learn alot about Second Life Creators and Stores from attending events, So I’m going to explain how to find them and get the most of it it.

Weekly Shopping Events Where to begin you might ask? Well one in world resident has done a pretty amazing job at putting together a website where you can see exactly what’s on sale and where. The website is:

www.seraphimSL.com

This is a very comprehensive website and truly a great starting point to begin to explore in world stores. Thee amazing sales that happen throughout the week. are all listed here. Regularly visiting this website can save you tons of time and searching so take my word for it and try it at least once. If you truly enjoy shopping I promise you will use it again to help you navigate where you want to go. Every item features the teleport location of the item on sale. At Christmas time some creators publish advent calendars and you can find them all listed on the Seraphim website in December. Seraphim also publishes sponsored Hunts where you can visit places to find hidden gifts which can be alot of fun.

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Seraphim also created an inworld store called “THE OUTLET” that features some of th might find something you want or discover a creator you want to visit. You can find the Search. Some very good creators have put some express mini stores around that sim wh SHOPPING IN THE VITURAL WORLD OF SL

he best creators in second life with 50% off everything, Taking a walk through there you landmark to this discount store either on the website or by searching for seraphim in SL hich you can also visit.

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One creator that offers really great deals for the “The Saturday Sale” is Scarlett Creati sale. The discount is usually 500 lindens or more so its a good idea to stop in and check to and it’s nice to see some of the most popular creators contributing to the discount sales. Second life regularly change and decorate their home so this might be something you fin SHOPPING IN THE VITURAL WORLD OF SL

ive. You can usually buy one of her houses for just sixty lindens when it’s featured on this o see if it’s a house you like. Scarlett Creative has been doing this for a very long time now It’s always worth dropping in to see what might be offered that week. Some residents of nd you enjoy doing.

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Monthly Events Shopping for Men in second life can be really tough if you don’t know the creators that are popular. A good starting point is to visit the monthly events for Men. Just use search to find “The Mens Dept”, or “The Man Cave Event” and from there you can start to visit the stores featured in these events. This will keep you engaged with the latest trends and best creators on the grid.

Yearly Events: Lastly I’m going to talk a bit about the Yearly events. These are usually a big deal for the creators to put out all their newest creations. The Hair Event, or Skin show is a significant time to go out to update your avatar look. These shopping events can be difficult to get into or even walk in because of the popularity.. Some people do their shopping at these events with an invisible avatar, or even subscribe to receive the demo’s automatically to try at home first. The yearly Hair Fair has a group called “HAIR FAIR DEMO GROUP” To give this a try, join the group to receive all the demo’s which will be sent out on JUNE 24, so for 2022 Be sure to get into this group before this date to be ready., and set your viewer preferences to automatically accept new inventory items by going to PREFERENCES, PRIVACY, GENERAL TAB, then check this off. There are many ways to find out about places to shop that I haven’t mentioned here so talk to people, visit landmarks and continue to read BOSL magazine to find out about some of the best things going on in Second life in 2022. Cheers !!

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SPRING INTO SUMMER

SPRING INTO SUMMER Arya Braveheart

ay is here, and that means we have one more month of spring before summer hits. So, let’s spring into summer with some camping and get in before the rush!

SL. You can live in a fabulous camper or a tent with nature all around you. Break the mold, branch out, and use your imagination. Why fit in when you can stand out?

There is nothing worse than going camping to get away from it all and finding yourself next to 5,000 other people. What is the point of that? That is why I created this little camping ground that only holds a few people. It could be for family and friends or just to meet some new people. It is peaceful, beautiful, and a great place to relax. So, grab a glass of wine and some cheese, and let’s explore.

Summer is just around the corner, so get shopping and enjoy some decorating or renovation.

You have two options for accommodation here: camper or glamping tent. The tents sleep two and the caravans can sleep up to 3 singles. There is also a grill for cooking, picnic tables, showers, and outside toilets. Or if you really like camping without the hassle, you can order in and let someone else do all the cooking for you. I would choose that option. With the accommodation sorted, you will be wanting something to do. In this scene, I have your recreation sorted. You can canoe on the lake, use the bicycles to go for a ride around the camp and surrounding countryside, or play some volleyball. If that all sounds a bit sedate, then you can take the pontoon racer for a spin, ride a motorbike, or take the scooter for a jaunt to the local pub. Or, if you are like me, you will curl up somewhere comfortable with a book and snacks and enjoy the peace and quiet until you fall asleep listening to the cicadas and birds. Sounds perfect. I hope this scene has given you some ideas for your land. You don’t need to live in a house in PHOTOS: ARYA BRAVEHEART

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C re d it s :

DECOR ST YLE CARD

Trompe Loeil - Jetje Vintage Camper, Jetje Vintage Camp Chair, Backcountry Camp Tent Denali, Backcountry Camp Tent Acadia, Moosehead Lake Firepit, Moosehead Lake Camp Chair, Moosehead Lake Canoe, Camp Canoe Summer Breeze,

Muniick - Lowell’s Ice Cold Beer Bucket

22769 - Garden Bench, Game of Chess, Outdoor Toilet, Bowl Of Popsicles

{what next} - Vacanza Scooter Set 2, Pizza Boxes Decor, Pizza, Camper Cooler, Orange Juice (wood), Caliente BBQ, Caliente Hotdog, Burger, and Kebabs and Sweetcorn Plates, Lawn Chair, Malibu Drink Cooler

3D Trees - weeping willow, mossy double oak with ivy [777-lite] - Strike - Black ACORN - Bicycle -Peacock Artisan Fantasy - Picnic 7 - Fruit & Cheese ::BeetleBones:: - Manga Garden Trees BAZAR - Traveler-Bag 2 Botanical - Beach Boardwalk Straight (no ground) CHEZ MOI - Blackstone Barbecue Grill, Blackstone Beer Barrel, Woodland Campfire, Applewood Food Basket, Basket with Bottle Juice, [CIRCA] - “Highland Meadow” - Rustic Fountain Pump & Wildflower 1, Trees w/ Field Flowers (assorted colours), Flower Grasses (assorted colours), Stone Path, Sit Logs - Muted Moss floorplan. - outdoor shower / white (Fundati) - Summer Oak Trees Hayabusa Design - Eleutherococcus M7-1 KOPFKINO - Tranquility Water Garden Tub (Rust). MadPea - Pontoon Racer - Dark Blue [Merak] - Summer Bicycle Mintae. - Late Night - Charcuterie Board and wine MishMish - Mini Summer Fridge (mint) SPRING INTO SUMMER

Serenity Style - Spring Picnic Table, Volley Set, Elisabeth spring bicycle, Spring Picnic Suitcase [SURPLUS MOTORS] - Tento-mushi v7.0

{Your Dreams} - towel basket

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BOSLArts BAMBOO BARNES

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EXHIBIT HAPPENING NOW

THE KOND OR ART CENTER

Metaphysics Though I’ve never drowned. There is a sense of drowning. In a crowded train. You are the only one on the train. In the life of the person next to me. His parents, whom I will probably never cross paths with, his family, whom I have never met, his childhood memories, joys and sorrows. His family’s very separate friends, jobs, partners, and the loneliness and past they carry with them. I am alone in the midst of it all, like a spreading ant’s nest. I drown in it, the dark and bright air constricting me, and I gradually become a black spot. Unable to open my eyes, I continue to watch the black dots disappear. Bamboo Barnes April 2022

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B O S L FA S H I O N T R E N D STYLE AS A SUMMER SONG

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