Running the Atoll’s Second Life RR, Part 3 of ? August 2, 2008

So to continue… for some of these pictures here we have to backtrack a bit. Actually, we’re backtracking with all of ’em, but let’s press forward. Here’s a picture of the Neumoegen station that I’ve mentioned before…

Yes, here’s something new (note: I’m having S-Bum fly back around to these locations as I write to check names, directions, etc.). Yes, this creepy graveyard is in Achemon…

… and this nearby tranquil pond in the Zen Gardens of Achemon, complete w/ some straylight effects it looks like, was a welcome relief after the walk through the land of the dead.

Thought I’d take a snapshot of this currently barren ridge right next to the railroad that I’d like to revisit when I can. A cluster of 3 rocks sits near the top, in view of, in turn, a purple cluster of 3 crystals (amethyst?) across the tracks. This is in the northwest corner of Jodis and northeast corner of Aplasta (thank you S-Bum!).

Speaking of 3’s, here’s a snapshot of 3 Linden eucalyptus trees in south Lunalis that I found interesting because of their close proximity. Give ’em some space!

Then it’s back to the Athetis station again and up the hill toward the almost sim-long but totally barren ridge I mentioned before. In the near future I’d like to hike/fly this whole range that extends far south and north of the Athetis sim, actually, and which the main track of the SL railroad gently curves around inside of.

There’s a look north, in the direction we’re heading next. Bigger mountains await!

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Running the Atoll’s Second Life RR, Part 2 of ?

Another station… from the Spini sim this time. Just so you’ll know, I usually leave the default environment setting on when exploring especially, so this is a “natural” night-time setting.

Baker Bloch finds a large open space to the left of the railroad in Athetis and can’t help but explore a bit. A completely tree-less, plant-less, rock-less ridge line runs roughly north to south across almost the length of the sim. Height at peak: 145 meters. This area can be accessed by stairs across from another nice little station in the sim pictured here. Elevation of station – 80 meters (hint: elevation will become a bigger issue in future rr-running posts!).

Things get even more interesting for Baker Bloch in Lunalis, where he finds, among other things, these big prim trees of unknown specimen.

Exploring a beautiful little natural area on the other side of the railroad leads him to this artist’s enclave. I think the offslanted windows are a nice touch — the art’s a *bit* expensive here, though.
“Am I undercharging for my own original art?’ Baker Bloch ponders upon viewing some of the price tags here. Maybe so.

Nearby abandoned motel viewed from a field of flowers. Watch the bees!

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Opening Day (!)

August 1st was opening day for the *one and only* Edwardston Station Gallery. Yes, there’s no other gallery by that name anymore. Actually, never was, and always remember that blog readers. So let’s just take a brief tour of the small gallery, shall we?

I won’t relate the whole story of how I found this gallery, or how I met and then befriended the owner, Zimmy Zuhal. But it’s a fascinating mall area, with lots of tunnels and secret passages. I can think of two right off that are in direct conjunction with my gallery, one I’ll get to in a moment.

The below I feel gives the best possible view of the gallery, from the top of the ramp leading inward. The entrance is quite small but the interior is perhaps 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, approximately. Not too bad for the price for sure, and seemingly perfect for what I needed a SL gallery to be at this point in time.

There are two notecards where I provide information about the gallery, one at the front giving general information, and then this one you produce when touching the back sign of the gallery giving more detail about the featured art, which is all about what I call the “10×10”. I’ll just give the text of the notecards in full to end this particular post.

Currently in the gallery there are 23 collages of the approximately 100 collage “10×10” hung on the various walls. Also offered for sale are these boxed sets of collages, one for each individual series of the 10×10 that I explain in more detail in the 10×10 related notecard.

Then a view around the only corner of the gallery. Small, as I said, but not too much so I don’t feel. Just right.

But the “gallery” really doesn’t end there and continues through the phantom wall I constructed here into one of those tunnels I mentioned. Passing between the two corner collages here…

…brings us quickly into the tunnel itself. That wooden floor below the entrance ramp is also technically part of the gallery, although I have few prims left to do anything with it, and also I would assume there’s really no traffic here anyway. But the possibility remains of opening the gallery wall at this point to give a little more space if/when needed.

A look down toward the south end of the tunnel. I’ll save a tour of the tunnels, though, for a future post. It’s worth a study in itself.

*****

GALLERY NOTECARD RE GENERAL INFO AT THE ENTRANCE

Edwardston Station Gallery was established in August 2008 by me, Baker Bloch. The gallery is presently featuring the various collage series from my long term project somewhat mysteriously termed the “10×10”.

Click on the sign in the back of the gallery for more about the “10×10,” including information concerning current showings.

Photography by Edna Blinker (rl: wife) and Klutzy Kamper (rl :co-worker) will also be on display in the gallery at some point.

IM me if you wish about my larger but private, non-commercial gallery in Gliese. Included in this private colllection are some world art, a permanent exhibit of the Hidalgo Collage Series, several rooms devoted to the photography of Edna and Klutzy, and the original Edwardston Station.

Thanks for your interest,

Baker Bloch
Owner, Edwardston Station Gallery

GALLERY NOTECARD RE 10X10 ON BACK WALL

08/13/08 revision: see following link for updated version of this notecard.

https://bakerblinker.wordpress.com/2008/08/13/3773/

Running the Atoll’s Second Life RR, Part 1 of ? August 1, 2008

So it seemed appropriate that since the Great Second Life Railroad almost makes a complete loop around the Heterocera Atoll continent and my shop/gallery was set up almost at the southern terminal of such, that I start at my shop, right?, and run the entire almost-loop. So that’s what started to happen even before the gallery was open.

Just to the north of the sim my gallery is located in, we find what’s called on the SL map “HOBO”. I’ve already mentioned and provided a picture of the Arcadia Asylum mecca in the former post that’s found in the sim directly north of mine (Caletta). A little further north in Oculea the hobo/urban grunge related derilects continue with structures like this shack in a wheat field, complete with cows and hobo campfire and also one of those rusty metal windmills that my neighbor on AI1 has. And of course some of this is Asylum created, as is rampant in the area. Nifty.
/.

Then right next to the wheat field shack we have this huge structure called Unity Station that looks like something straight out of communist Russia circa 1950s. Floor after floor, 9 in all, of pure emptiness with alternating straight and spiral ramps connecting them, and with literally hundreds and hundreds of tiny windows on each floor arranged in a checkerboard-type pattern. I took a picture of a fist sculpture positioned on the bottom floor near the entrance to the whole thing– maybe this means something obvious in relationship to the whole building but I couldn’t figure it out. Tooter Claxton is the name of the fist’s creator.

Above Oculea in Neumogeon we come to more open space and breathing room, which was admittedly welcome. I mean, I like urban grunge stuff obviously, but I prefer to contrast it with more natural settings. I inserted a snapshot of the Neumogeon Station here in this post above — there are beautiful little stations, all very different in structure and feel, positioned all along the railroad, and I”ll be presenting pictures of some more in future posts as well. Btw, there is a forest of simply towering trees (redwoods?) just across the railroad from this station.

Speaking of towering, here’s some really big flowers growing near the railroad, but not as near as this photo would indicate. That’s how big they are.

Another station, this time for the Eppirrhoe sim.

Baker Bloch continues north. Still a longs ways to go, with many stops along the way!

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News

Like the Temple of the Velvet Underground before it, now the Land of Oz is gone as well. Interesting border of rocks and hills now, though. Bye Oz!

Out with the old, in with the new — a new life on the mainlands. Rented a store/gallery. Love the space. Made friends with the owner ZZ. Commited myself now to probably 4-5 months there. Hope to get listed on the Art Gallery Owners website but unsure of that still; need to pass inspection. 🙂 But one can’t say that I didn’t try, and I’m sure there are other lists I can submit the gallery to. I see it as a *gallery*, though, and not a store. A small one but still a gallery.

So the blog now becomes, at least for a bit, a history of this gallery in a way, and my reintegration into mainland living after the peace and quiet of Azure Islands. The owner said they don’t get a lot of traffic here but to me it’s a pretty happening place, just in comparision mind you. And what place in SL is really hopping except nightclubs and the like? Anyways, I feel very good about owning a gallery and adding just a tiny bit to the cultural millieu of SL.

One of the attractions to renting the space is the proximity to Hoboland and this Aracadia Asylum mecca just to the north in the Calleta sim (pictured below). And there’s also a freebie shop of her creations almost within sight of my front door. It all seems so appropriate somehow.

Brainstorm February 23, 2008

I’m sure many of you hard core and/or long in the tooth Second Lifers remember LL’s promotion of the great, second continent to follow the first (Sansara) in 2005, which turned out to be the Heterocera Atoll. In studying up on SL history and this atoll in particular, in trying to broaden my knowledge of SL beyond just the first continent that had dominanted my explorations up to this point, ran across these promotional items heralding the event on SLebay. One or two of you reading this may even have a set of these at your RL home, perhaps laying forgotten in the back of a basement closet. Have to check how many were sold. I just love the way the pillow representing Sansara holds up a 1 and the smaller pillow, shadowing the new, then planned-to-be interlocking continent, flashes a 2 with its tinier hand. The actual relationship turned out to be a little different — they are actually separate land masses, divided by a strait several sims wide.

When I saw the oddly pointed bushes in the faux Baker’s Island forest, my mind shortly returned to these promotional items. What was it that made me relate the two together? I kept asking myself. Last night, in trying to think of a follow up post for “Chance Upon Bushes”, it hit me: ragged, triangular jags verses smooth, rectangular lines. The bushes were all about the former, these pillows the latter. But there was more; the interlocking part. The bushes I captured in my snapshot below did not overlap, but somehow I knew they did nonetheless. I used the paint program that came with my windows system to isolate these bushes from the background and then color them differently. I chose orange and yellow-green because they lie between the red and green of the pillows. It seemed to fit. When I did this, and then combined the two shapes in a logical manner, merging one common, prominent angle to form a new whole, the following resulted…

A simple 50% reduction of the width of this image gives us the outline of something that looks a whole lot like our Baker’s Island.

I don’t think I’m reaching here, but to clarify further I’d have reveal preliminary conclusions that would make me seem quite mad to some. One obvious link is the keyword “Low”. Small steps with this, but I will say that I am now convinced my chancing upon, as well, the Baker’s Island image in the telescope at the 8-worshipping island was no accident. Not in the least.