Various… October 5, 2009

Baker Bloch flying near the northwest tip of Corsica Prime. Thought this snapshot worthy of inclusion in this blog because of the nifty play of shadows on the checkerboard landscape.

Back on Big. I, looking at the Victorian House (now full of Chesaw/Pieland related pictures) from the still empty Econo apartment (modified). This structure, although I almost invariably rez it onto any land I’ve rented in the past half year or so, always seems to remain empty. Same story now with the new property at Aotearoa (I’m behind in writing this text, once again!). But a really nice view here; I’ll miss Big I. for sure.

Amazing developments happening on Azure Island No. 1, then. The island is being deleted sim by sim! Almost commiting suicide, it seems. Baker stands on the land he and Baker Blinker once owned in Gliese, looking toward the now empty void that use to be filled by the lovely forest they once loved so much. It’s not just happening on AI #1 (although that’s where it appears most dramatically, perhaps). It’s all over the islands, 1-5. Even though Azure Islands may stick around for a while in SL, it will not be the AI I once knew and loved. It will be different; I will not be a part of it. In the meantime, I must admit that the homestead sims of the Comet Archipelago are pretty darn nifty. Definitely worth a stay there, despite the brevity. Got a good story out of it! (Trivia Ratsuit and attachments).

More shocking pictures from Gliese.

Thought I’d include a snapshot of an Earl Dinkin work. Now Earl is someone both my friend Flynn and I discovered independent of each other. But one perhaps cannot say this is synchroncity, simply because he has so many galleries in SL: 8 at last count according to the latest SL gallery list. This particular gallery, The Man Against Eternity Tour, is in Keswick on the Sansara continent. In quickly checking, it looks like his galleries extend over the 3 oldest continents of Sansara, Heterocera (Atoll), and Jeogeot.

More Comet Archipelago pictures, this time of a green sim, Tuttle. Was *this* where Hucka D.’s reputed Money Pit located?

Big Island S., Part 2 September 22, 2009

The next day, well night, Baker Bloch decides to fly over to one of the larger Azure Islands he is more unfamiliar with. This would be the relatively new island — let’s call it Azure Island #6 — wedged between the largest of these islands to the west, or Azure Island #1 in this blog, and the Comet Archipelago to the east. In other words, it’s between my old Azure Island homes on #1, and my new AI home, although there’s no land bridge between this newish, large island and Azure Island #1 as yet. But you can reach it directly from Comet Archipelago, which Baker accomplished this night.

Below shows a flying Baker heading away from Big Island centering his archipelago and toward Azure Island #6. You can still see that sandy knob even from several sims away. So surprising since it’s only several meters high.

Baker safe and sound on Azure Island #6, which is centered by a protected sim. I’m sure Baker will be visiting this island again in the very near future; tonight he’s just scouting around. The island, like several of the majors ones of AI, is obviously volcanic in origin.

He finds a double to his first, real SL house on the western side of the island. Inside is arranged quite differently, though. Interesting way that the owner has opened up the walls in the back.

And Baker also teleports over to Azure Islands #1 this night, just in time to see the sun rising while standing on its familiar, central mountain range. This is over the still intact forest in the Vasyutin sim. Unfortunately, most forests on the island, the ones I certainly enjoyed when I lived there, have been heavily logged, we’ll say. As I said, it’s not the same place that I knew, and I probably will not move back.

Back to my *new*, presently cheerier Azure Island home and the beachfront Hucka D. claimed he lived on. You can see that Flynn’s house is gone now, and I also wanted to show the prominent, round knoll in the water just offshore. This can act as a guiding landmark for re-finding the position of Hucka’s old haunt. Maybe this knoll even has its own story to tell.

The clump of palms, Hucka D. claims was positioned right behind his old beach house on the island. Hucka D. is now also claiming that something is buried in this mini-grove, but hasn’t clearly indicated what yet. Can’t wait.

Close up of a plant growing directly into the trunk of one of those palms.

Is this the same, possible trail that Baker Bloch found the day before? Anyway, this, again, leads away from the beach at Hucka D.’s claimed, old homestead. I wonder if he had a name for it?

Cabron (Final Snapshots); AI1 June 18, 2009

I’ll perhaps have more to say about Cabron and a “remembrance” soon (see cover of current Toy Avatar Weekly as well). Again, it was an illegal build, planned to be a small art gallery, that has now been deleted, just like the case with the similarly illegal, proposed gallery of Just Call Me Ernie Banks in the Cub sim from last spring, along with the later Cub beehive. The new proposed gallery, again a Hucka Doobie creation, was set to be called the Beehive of Truth.

The final shapshots, then. I suppose the parcel was cleared probably within 24 hours of these.

Then Karoz found himself on Azure Island #1 for some reason, and wandered onto this interesting parcel Baker Bloch told him about, a former neighbor when he lived in Neith last winter. Karoz thought the view outside to the now barren Inland Sea of that island was worthy of a snapshot or two. Very sad, though, for me, his user, since I remember the forest from before.

‘ll

Forest *GONE*! January 17, 2009

First another shot from newly discovered Pluto/Moon of SL, showing a wave mysteriously “crashing” quite a ways inland away from the actual water. We think it has something to do with the interaction of the two trees here… pretty sure of it. BUT… well, first things first…

Beamed over to the Neith temple, which I was still emptying out at the time, and to my utter amazement the forest in the neighboring sim of Pictor had been essentially removed!! I couldn’t believe my eyes. This the same forest that I tried to extend on the ground through my properties. Erased… just like that. I did find out, from the horse’s mouth, what has supposedly happened. AI management claims that they couldn’t support the prims on the Pictor sim because of the new openspace or void sim rules, which feature a huge jump in both upfront and monthly fees. If you’ve been involved in SL very much in the last several months I’m sure you’ve heard about this, because it’s caused a sort of mini-revolution. Me?: I try to keep out of the political and economic matters of SL, just because I feel rather stupid talking about such issues. I’d rather chat about art, creativity, and exploration. But on the other hand, this has now directly impacted my ability to create and explore.

These are sad pictures to me. I thought this land and forest would be perpetually protected, or at least until Azure Islands and/or Second Life went away.

So there’s no going back to the Neith properties, at least until this situation is rectified. And, really, Azure Islands as a whole. This is a BLOW. Unconciously, though, I must have seen it coming, because I was quite happy to move there and then, on just a whim, I decided to pull up stakes and head to Otherland. But… how will Otherland be affected as well?

Hiking, 1 January 1, 2009

The ground area far below the Ubertemple, sans Victorian house. Still amazed.

That’s the broken tv also present on the Rubi properties straight ahead, perched near a bank just above what I’m currently calling Lac Baker (just out of sight looking from this direction). Hope I’ll be able to keep all these trees and the lake.

View of the ground and the lake from further up.

Baker Bloch sits on the bank of the lake, attempting a type of meditation. He is one with the lake, and so on.

Interesting unintentional alignment of ferns just south of Lac Baker.

The lake from a ridge to the south.

‘Nother overhead view…

Blochs then heads into the Vela sim to the west. He forgot how beautiful the vistas are here.

One of the many high prim, physical (non-phantom) trees dotting the Vela landscape. I’ll attempt to make a list of these types of trees soon.

Another of the wonderful snapshots Baker Bloch took yesterday, this one in the Circinus sim. Must remember to ask Hucka D. about the Sylver Forest and the relationship to the central sims of AI#1. In fact, I’ll just create a new post now.

Walk Around Neighborhood… December 19, 2008

Baker Bloch’s first venture around the neighborhood as a new owner…

First a shot from one of the two ground porches. This seems to be almost a perfect home for Baker Bloch. As far as SL goes. Doesn’t get any better than this.

Just like in the old Gliese neighborhood, the house is situated on a road that forms a dead end loop. Not a lot of houses on this loop either — there’s more lots for sale than are occupied. I was disappointed but not surprised to see than many of the houses had those awful ban lines around them, which don’t see any real point to have, especially way out in this neck of the woods. But I’m now use to owning a commercial venture.

But the snapshot below is of a property that Baker Bloch was allowed access to. Blochs takes advantage of this by sitting in a rocking chair for a small spell, taking in the view of part of AI#1’s only inland sea. You can see the bridge over the narrow sea behind him. This is the road that quickly leads to the dead end loop where Baker Bloch now lives.

Another view of the bridge, with a nice little waterfall in front of it. Baker here is just a stone’s throw from the ocean beach at the east end of the inland sea. Just to note: the new house lies only a little over 100 meters from this same sea.

And I should also note here that I was glad to find that owner Adam Zaius has been making some improvements to the island apparently, including the refining of the above waterfall (according to inspections of the material anyway).* I actually may have a picture of how this waterfall formerly looked somewhere in this blog. I’ll check when I can.

I dont’ think I’ve mentioned that I actually ran into Adam Zaius (avatar of Azure Islands RL owner Adam Frisby) in a deserted plaza in the commercial district of the islands. I didn’t speak to him, but we were the only two avatars in the plaza so I assume he was aware of my presence. Maybe. It was quite exciting to me, and the equivalent of meeting a Linden for sure! (which I’ve met two of now).

Then Baker Bloch is able to sit in another beauty spot on the opposite side of the sea from the deck with the rocking chairs. And, yeah, he couldn’t help noticing those lemon trees! But he stayed away from the proffered wine here… only after dark!

Back on the loop, this is the largest piece of property owned by anyone on this loop, but no access to the land is allowed. Wonder if they dye that water to make it so blue? And — what is that in the background? — yes, it’s a wooly mammoth! Maybe it’s not a place Baker Bloch wants to walk around anyway. Can you imagine accidentally stepping in… well, never mind.

Speaking of extinct giant animals, this cardboard-like cutout of a Tyrannosaurus Rex sits almost across the road. I know I have some pictures of this place in my blog here, but at the time of former visits I was afraid to go onto the land itself. This time I wasn’t as worried, and when I reached the door there was an invitation to walk around the place, which Blochs took advantage of. I’m still unsure of what is going on in this place, but it’s a complicated layout. And colorful!

And view up into the giant tree on the property. Reminds me of Chakryn Forest a bit.

As I said, I’m not sure exactly what is going on in here yet. But I have some time to figure it out, since this is one of my nearest neighbors. And seemingly quite friendly as well, judging from a follow-up im to my im complimenting his place and introducing myself in general, and inviting him to feel free to come poke around my own land in return.

Back at home. Gotta get a name for this hill just behind the house.

* A-hah… was right about this.
http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/pic.aspx?id=330301&sort=newest

Return… December 18, 2008

Behind on text generation again… a couple of days ago, I bought land on AI#1 again, as I’m calling it here once more, at least for a while. Shopped around for a nicer house until I settled on this newer Victorian one, again a Fatima Ur creation, just like the old Victorian house that use to sit on the Gliese lot and was later used in a revised Temple of TILE (the shell of the two duplicate houses are still there in its present form). But this is a more solid design. Really like it, although the house will just be a place that I, as Baker Bloch, sit and look out upon the forest and wilderness surrounding it. Also I want to hang a few pictures in the house, perhaps even, eventually, the projected Wheeler-Jasper collage series coming up.

Backyard of the house here, a small open space in the forest.

View from across the road to the east…

… then up high from the west…

About 1/2 those trees you can see in the snapshot are ones I planted. I simply copied the 4 types of trees that grow in the “natural” forest in the sim just below me and used them to populate my own land. I think it works swell… natural thing to do, as I said.

And then way up in the sky now, we have the transplated Temple of TILE, back from its mainland journey. As I’ll explain in posts to come, there’s now a larger sky complex surrounding this temple, with maybe more to come (!)

p.s.: this thing was a bitch to move, because of the size and multiple creators involved.

Velvet Underground Temple Gone (Hey, temple disappears and another appears!) June 21, 2008

Verdigris: Nearer An End And Beginning May 25, 2008

More volcano views.

Interesting, perhaps, that the sim immediately west of the volcano centered one disappeared for a while during a Baker Bloch visit. In trying to assertain from various island avatars what happened, he was called a pervert and, in a separate incident also banned from a parcel. Then later on that very day Baker Blinker was sexually harassed not once but twice (by the same avatar, though) in the relatively remote water sim where she frequently rezzes objects. To me, baker b., this reinforces some of the pitfalls and limitations of SL in general, and that avoiding people, whenever possible, is usually the right path to take.

Here Hucka Doobie flies far above our Azure house. Nice editing out of most of the neighbors by the clouds!

I see… May 19, 2008

“What exactly is TILE Mr. Bloch?”

Baker Bloch:

I’m here for you again, Hucka. TILE is a game/philosophy/religion but which always has to be at least 51% philosophy in order to keep it from being either mostly a game or a religion.

Hucka D.:

Why is it present in the Oz synchronicities?

Baker Bloch:

You mean Dark Side of the Rainbow and SID’s 1st Oz?

Hucka D.:

Yeah.

Baker Bloch:

It just happened that way.

Hucka D.:

I am interested in Tik-tok, the first robot of literature. I wish to become Tik-tok or be closely associated with him/it from now on. In SID’s 1st Oz, according to your and Baker Blinker’s literature concerning this synchronicity, Tik-Tok is described as being the same as a Bee. At the time of the overlap in SID’s 1st Oz, Tik-tok has created a red-green-blue mobius strip like paradox. He has lost groundedness. He has lost yellow. Y. This is what I can give him.

Baker Bloch:

This has something to do with Tronesis, doesn’t it? Your analysis. Is it not going well?

Hucka D.:

It’s going as well as possible without the attachment to Tik-tok, see?

Baker Bloch:

Have you searched for Tik-tok avatars on the SL Exchange Marketplace? Do you want me to help you here?

Hucka D.:

I wish to know more about TILE for now.

Baker Bloch:

Then ask away and I’ll tell you what I know. We’ll bring in Baker Blinker if necessary. I’m here to help, Hucka.

Hucka D.:

Thank you. I have notes (Hucka D. pulls some folded up papers out of his pouch — insert rustling noises). Tik-tok is a tetractys?

Baker Bloch:

He is a summary of 1-2-3-4 in terms of Queen tiles within SID. He is the first whole track of Queen in the synchronicity. He is the first “good” machine of those present in all of these 4 Queen tiles…

Hucka D.:

Excuse me to interrupt, but what is the difference between TILE and tile? I don’t want to get off on a wrong track.

Baker Bloch:

In SID’s 1st Oz?

Hucka D.:

Sure.

Baker Bloch:

In SID’s 1st Oz, a tile is a single cued region, as all tiles are in audiovisual synchronicity. In SL it all begins with a cube, as they say. In audiovisual synchronicity it begins with a *cue*. Clever, eh?

Hucka D.:

What is TILE, then?

Baker Bloch:

TILE is actually unique to SID’s 1st, because this particular synchronicity has 26 total cues, or the same as the number of letters in the English alphabet. Tile, little letters, is a cue attached to a single letter of the alphabet. TILE represents the summary of all tiles in this way, as the alphabet is a summary of all single letters of the alphabet.

Hucka D.:

You said it was in Dark Side of the Rainbow as well, though.

Baker Bloch:

Well it is. That’s where I first discovered the association.

Hucka D.:

How? And what is the difference of the presence of TILE in Dark Side of the Rainbow and SID’s 1st Oz?

Baker Bloch:

In SID’s 1st Oz, all tiles are of a different length [w/ each the same as 1 cued region], and in DSotR they are all the exact same length [and are, in summary, "merely" part of a part of just one whole cued region that is the same as DSotR]. They are 111.

Hucka D.:

111?

Baker Bloch:

Yes.

Hucka D.:

I don’t understand. You said something about the alphabet being divided at the switch from black-and-white to color in Dark Side of the Rainbow. This is MaN… fall of.

Baker Bloch:

That is correct, and that’s where the two parts of TILE divide off from each other. The 1/2 TILE of Kansas, which comes before this transition, remains perfect, as it were, or retains the perfection of the original TILE. The 1/2 TILE of Oz directly after the Kansas scenes becomes singly corrupted away from this perfection, losing one letter in the process to devolve from 13, present in the Kansas region still, to 12. This is the loss of the “N” of MaN. This is where the two synchronicities Dark Side of the Rainbow and SID’s 1st Oz link up, because this loss represents also the loss of Ozma from the Land of Oz. She is the true ruler, its rightful center.

Hucka D.:

What does this have to do with the Oz of this island? — which I want to go see, btw.

Baker Bloch:

I think that has to do with Veach. And Kansas City Life. We know now, more recently…

Hucka D.:

We being you and Baker Blinker.

Baker Bloch:

We know, Hucka, that K.C. Life has something to do with Second Life. It stands for Second Life because Kansas City is the second city of Missouri. It stands for the perfection of Second Life at the beginning, when it was Linden World. The Man stood in the center of the square of Linden City in the center, in turn, of Linden World. When The Man was shifted more toward the corner of the inclusive sim then the fall occurred. And this is where you-as-CNB came into play. Your *Lemon* World was shifted as well because it was inside The Man. You experienced the Fall of Second Life directly. You felt the pain as much as anyone, perhaps.

Hucka D.:

But it wasn’t called Second Life then.

Baker Bloch:

At the end, it became a *cross* of Lemon and Lime for you. Vertical and horizontal. Painful.

Hucka D.:

But now I am healed. Unified again.

Baker Bloch:

It seems so.

Hucka D.:

I’m still not exactly sure what this has to do with the Oz synchronicities. And how they fit in.

Baker Bloch:

Kansas City Life represents perfection, but at a cost. There is a 2 minute hole in the center that is called Centerville. Suspendering of opposites. Reed and Zappa. At the end, the rivals extend an olive branch toward each other. This would be in Veach.

Hucka D.:

Can we go there directly? To give the scene some needed vibrancy?

Baker Bloch:

Sure, Hucka, you can go right now.

Hucka D.:

What has [delete name] got to do with this? Baker Blinker became very upset today when I mentioned that name. She slapped me at first, and then I asked her why she slapped me because I said the name [delete name] and she slapped me again so hard this time that my head was actually knocked off. She apologized over and over, saying she was so sorry, but I was able to retrieve a new head from my inventory and speak to her once more, saying that it was ok and that I would never say that name while with her again. I promised this; crossed my heart. But you do not seem to be so upset to hear this name, Baker Bloch, which pleases me.

Baker Bloch:

I have to edit it out of our post here, though. And you shouldn’t use it a lot. I would agree with Baker Blinker in that it is a dangerous name to throw around.

Hucka D.:

Who is he?

Baker Bloch:

He is the creator of Kansas City Life.

(to be continued)