Giving in to the bunnies

Someone gave my alt an Ozimal Bunny and it got lonely so I had to get it a mate. You know what happened next, I'm sure. Above is me with Hare-iette. She lives with Ozzie and Oreo. Probably two more bunnies soon. Three (plus?) live in the Bunnyarium at the Isle of Lesbos (women only; SLurl) with more outside in the flower pasture.

You can meet Ozzie, Hare-iette, and Oreo on Dolce Valentina (an Adult sim with a nude beach; SLurl). If the SLurl doesn't take you right there, use the Teleporter at the entrance for "Earth Park," one of two areas in the region where street clothes are permitted.

Free Easter Display!

It looks like The Lab won't be sponsoring an Easter Egg Decorating Contest this year so the display I made is being given away FREE at Dolce Valentina (SLurl; Adult region). Enjoy!

Developing Earth Park

The Dolce Valentina islands are formed by a rugged landscape in an early stage of succession from the bare rock of an extinct volcano to -- well, no one knows. That is the wonder of natural development. This process is being aided by the residents with the introduction of trees much earlier than they would have appeared in their own right. One corner in particular is much further along than the rest of the area thanks to extra special attention. The residents call it Earth Park ...

So goes the informal background mythology of the sim that my wife, Angela, has for our stores and our home (SLurl). I find that when I landscape and create infrastructure I have to have a history ... geological, sociological, etc. ... in mind, otherwise I might as well leave everything a flat plane. As mentioned in an earlier post (Web) I used a template of sorts and the pattern formed by the ground textures to create the landforms. It was Angela's idea that all this came from a volcano. Earth Park was her idea, too, but I've been allowed to run with it, for the most part, and I've been slowly developing it. She would like to promote it as a destination for folks to visit and actually handed the marketing job to someone so I thought I might have to get cracking on a texture that shows in About Land and in Landmark panes.

My first idea is based on some art I found to created a gift that will eventually be given to visitors. But it distorted badly when morphed from one image size ratio to another when used as a Profile Pick image, a parcel ID image, and other formats. A shame, as it I think it is a great image, both in it's own right and as a core theme of the Park.

Instead, I decided on the image at the top of this post, using a texture from the Element art I have at the region's landing zone (SLurl). It seems to lack something, though I'm not sure what. It ties in with the idea that the area represents the element Earth (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth) but still ... I dunno. Ideas? Feel free to leave a comment.

Stargate!

Updated the Stargate in Dolce Valentina (SLurl). Changed it to a higher-prim, cooler-looking Pegasus style gate at the wife's request. It's network profile (Web) has it's dial codes or go to most any gate and say /d Earth Park to access it.

Heaven over Earth

It's probably complete, but as I told my wife, the tweaking begins. Welcome to Heaven over Earth, a new spot for relaxation at Dolce Valentina (SLurl, use the teleporter sphere when arriving). This huge rock in the sky embodies all the elements -- Earth, Air, Fire, Water -- that are the region's theme (more about this in a later post). It floats above Earth Park, the corner of the region that we call home but is open to the public. In the park you can snuggle, swim, fish, relax, ride a boat, and other things to come.

In Harmony I plan to have a simple gathering area for a group, but there is a snuggle cave and some individual poses, too. Mostly this area is for relaxing and enjoying nature. Come visit, stay as long as you like, and have a great time.

New Home > Earth Park @ Dream Images

With my Dream Home gone (see previous post here) I have to wink at the spectre of Irony that my new home is hosted by Dream Images, the group that occupies the Dolce Valentina sim (SLurl). Disclaimer time: Angela Seale, my wife, owns Dream Images and the sim hosts our stores as well as our home. One corner is Earth Park, a peaceful place to relax and play (7Seas fishing, swimming, diving, cuddling, socializing, etc.). It incorporates many elements from my previous home, such as the gazebo, ocean dock, trees, and tire swing. As you can see in the picture it also has a Stargate (#75314 on the Pegasus network) and a few surprises for explorers.

Angela has been very good to me with this sim right from Day One. For example, I've always wanted to see this image made into a Second Life^® region so she let me run amok. I laid down a sim-sized megaprim and with this texture so I could carve and sculpt away. Practical needs required some changes, but with some custom textures from Angela my goal was pretty nearly achieved. That little island you see in the bottom left is Earth Park. Between us an informal mythology of the region grew: An extinct and time worn volcano in the late stages of land succession. Fairly low in all but the hardiest of vegetation except for Earth Park, an area obviously in the process of guided landscaping.

This corner is just one of four, the others being Air, Water, and Fire. The landing zone welcome area features wonderful art depicting the Four Elements as beautiful women and ramps leading to large decks with more art in elemental themes. My shop is in the Water corner and has a nice fish pond with a beautiful Torii gate made by Angela (it may be replaced with a lower prim version so drop in and look soon; SLurl). I made a sculpture for the Air corner and Earth Park features a huge, functional globe made by Pumpkin Tripsa (SLurl). The best art, I think, is the volcano in front of Angela's shop (SLurl). When she finishes her shop the whole complex will be a work of art.

The passion she put into her builds and the trust she shows in letting me design and build the rest of the region is quickly making me feel at home. I'll miss Whispering Big Pines for quite some time, but I'm learning that most any place you give your love to can be a home.

Now that I'm done (LOL ... like I'm ever done) with Earth Park I need to get moving on an actual home. Angela suggested that we could use my airship but she also mentioned something about a huge waterfall coming off a huge, inverted mountain over Earth Park. I'm kinda leaning toward getting a Rezzbox or two (Web). I guess we'll have that discussion sometime. First, she has to finish her shop. Mine has been ready and actually had a couple sales yesterday.

Homesick

My home, July 22, 2008. This is the snap that the Second Life^® viewer took when I set my Home point on that date. The land and it's contents changed little since then having evolved from some pretty humble origins into a warm, comforting place with a bit of whimsy.

This is my home today. Took all that was No Copy back into inventory, deleted all the copyable items, and changed the landscape. Now I'm a little dragon in a big world. I'll miss you, Whispering Big Pines. You were more than a home. You were a dream.

Thank you, Threshin. For everything.

My new home is located near my shop (SLurl) in Dolce Valentina.