baker Blinker's Weblog

First and Second Life at least.

Out & About, 02 July 23, 2011

Continuing in the marvelous Forest of Kahruvel, with loving attention given to such spots as this small grove of pine trees. Second Life residents should make much greater use of Linden grass like this, IMOHO.

Campfire on a ridge overlooking the sea which Baker Bloch accidentally walked too close to and caught fire (!) I omitted the actual burning pictures I took to save Mr. Bloch further embarrassment. Actually, I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned the incident at all. At any rate, a quick teleport to another location within the forest fixed all.

Another great scene with mystery stone pillar in foreground and the islet tucked in the northeast corner of the Rodeo sim in back.

Switching now to the supposedly resonant island to the Rodeo one in the Baker sim, as described in this old, old blog post. 3 1/2 years I’ve been doing this now! Not surprisingly Baker’s Isle, as I believe I called it, has changed much even since I rented the land beside it last fall.

Shifting back to the Jeogeot continent, we come to a shot of the low but picturesque Six Minute Hill in the sim of the same name. This would be between Sunklands and the southern coast, but closer to the latter. Much of the land around the hill is owned by Upshaw Properties, offering some rental houses in the area (left).

Yet another continent: Maebaleia, and the still nicely wooded ridge to the immediate east of Rubisea. And yet another general aera Baker has contemplated buying land recently. Or renting land.

Back in Taernil’s Bluff overlooking the Maebaleia Lake District body of water with the very similar size and shape of Rubisea. Are they psychically/mythologically related as well?

Looking northeast from the same room of the TB skyscraper toward more mysterious grounds simply and enigmatically called “Igor”. I’ll perhaps have more to say about all that soon enough.

Fairly nearby and to the west lies this odder, small urban area with a section of it shaking violently, simulating an earthquake. Interesting — Baker thought it worthy of a snapshot or 2.

Then let’s head to what remains of the old Noru Heights homestead, or Mashed Potato Hills. Actually part of the Crystal Cave Ridge still remains as well, but the two regions aren’t connected now through the Noru Heights urban area, as they were before. However, the land between them is still up for sale as I’m presently checking; there’s a possibility, in other words, for the city’s return and a relink between the 2 parks. Something of a possibility at least.

Noru groundside. Great shots of rising sun. Baker continues to contemplate a return while taking these shots.

 

Out & About, 01

Seascape west of Ruuster’s Peninsula, as I’m calling it in this blog. Is this a place of potential mythological importance to said blog?

Nearby, substantial forested area in Molvena, just below this peninsula. Another attraction to perhaps renting land in the area.

Then a pic from a nightclub on the peninsula itself called “MASH”, I believe, that seems to have resonance to some deeper themes of the Baker Blinker Blog, such as the idea of carrcasses and shut. Connected with this, and perhaps not coincidentally I might add, the sea to the southwest of Ruuster’s Peninsula lies within a grid of sims with names coming from M*A*S*H TV show characters such as Hawkeye, Potter, Trapper, and a good number more.

Maebaelia now: Crabwoo “double” in Maklovar as described in this post.

More of same.

Quickly moving now to Sansara and its central, newly updated Sea of Fables, Baker is surprised to run into the Neptune statues first seen in Nautilus City in a rather randomly picked place to teleport within.

View from a porch located in a walled, urban area of Helvellyn, part of the East River Community. Baker doesn’t think he’s going to be renting here now, though.

Chilbo and the site of Baker’s former rental on the west edge of town, currently an open air art gallery of sorts. I believe Baker has now ruled out renting here again as well.

Another potential rental parcel on the northern slopes of the Finsteraahorn sink of upper Maebaleia.

The still wonderful Forest of Kahruvel near the oldest parts of Second Life on the Sansara continent. Baker stands on the islet in the northeast corner of Rodeo which has such a rich story to tell for so small a virtual piece of real estate.

More Kahruvel.

 

What I sort of have… (outside Noru) July 3, 2011

 

ARCHEOEXPO 2011 July 1, 2011

Filed under: Kahruvel Forest,Sansara continent — baker Blinker @ 2:02 am

I can’t be part of it (on vacation Sat. in West Virginie, most likely), but thought I’d drop a plug here. Looks like fantastic fun! Can’t wait to see the relics on display in Cowell when I return. Luv that village.

http://web.mac.com/salazarjack/Site/ArcheoExpo2011.html

11/14/11 Update: My old bud Headburro Antfarm has created a post on the subject here!:

http://headburroantfarm.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/sl-salazars-archeoexpo-2011/

 

About… November 20, 2010

Filed under: Aotearoa Sink,Kahruvel Forest,Rubi Forest — baker Blinker @ 9:55 am

Rubi’s Temple of TILE: still there!

Heavily logged Forest of Kahruvel, but actually still quite a wilderness of sorts. This view comes from Stinson, looking east toward Cowell.

Still in Stinson but out of the forest proper, Baker discovers a small island to the north covered top to bottom with a single type of non-Linden tree. Here’s the name of the tree according to the description: “-/_ & !< Tree" No joke. Baker’s currently counting about 50 such trees on this approx. 100 meter long by 50 meter wide island.

Back in the Kahruvel Forest, Baker encounters a mysterious sphere with no apparent purpose except to befuddle.

His mind saturated by Sansara perplexities, Baker decides to head back home to Sunklands, emptying his thoughts by staring into the the void that is the Aotearoa sink.

 

Wiltshire (RL UK County) September 26, 2010

Tonight the wife and I were watching the 3rd episode of Season 3 of Jam and Jerusalem (stateside: Clatterford), and I noticed that two of the locations mentioned in the show were homes of 2 famous Wiltshire white horses, namely Westbury and Pewsey. In the episode, called “Dinner Party”, a train carrying most members of the aforementioned party was stalled by floods in Wiltshire. At first, the host of the party was rung up to say that their train was in Westbury, then a second ring up gave news that their train had actually moved backwards to Pewsey.

Both of these locations are also mentioned in this March blog post concerning white horses. The Westbury horse is actually a part of the alignment weirdness described therein. The Pewsey horse, one of only a few horses left out of these alignments, is still shown in the map at the end of the post.

Purposeful nod by Jam and Jerusalem to the famous white horses? Might be. I’m researching Jennifer Saunders, who both co-wrote Jam and Jerusalem (and thus “Dinner Party”), and also starred in this particular episode as the host of the dinner party in question, and also the wife of the man who kept ringing her up about the train progress through Wiltshire. Saunders is probably most famous for her portrayal of Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, and is also well known as half of the French and Saunders comedy team. Dawn French also stars in Jam and Jerusalem, and both French and Saunders have expanded roles in “Dinner Party”.

I basically only mention this because Wiltshire was brought up in my post from last night (immediately below), stating that The Bakers have left the company of The King and Queen in that county now that the 2010 UK crop circle season is apparently over. The King and Queen’s house in Rockley is very near another white horse at Hackpen Hill.

Instead of creating another new post tonight I’ll just chat with Hucka D., if he wishes, in this one. “Hucka D.?”

Hucka D.:

Train. Stall. Flood. Wiltshire. Pewsey, Westbury. White. Horses. All white horses are one white horses. Horse. Golden Horse. Eye eye. There was something in Wiltshire that the host of the party should have been aware of. White Horses. One. Eye. Opening. Closing.

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bb:

Hmmm… that’s from a very old post of this blog about an eye found in the northeast corner of the Rodeo sim, even before Baker Bloch was born in this Second World. Let me find the post in question. (pause) Oh here it is — you left it open for me (!)

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Hucka D.:

Your wife Edna thinks that you shouldn’t talk to me as much as you do, and that you should go back on your medication.

bb:

*You* are my medicine (smiles).

Hucka D.:

Right-o. So… you understand…

bb:

I understand that I may have to stay in Baker, Hucka D. Here’s a picture of what I created tonight there.

The Edwardston Station Gallery, larger version, seems to work quite well there. *But*, if I do stay in Baker, I’m going to have to downsize elsewhere. And that means Otaki Gorge, since that’s the only place I have to downsize from now.

Hucka D.:

I never liked you leaving the ESG behind, baker b. That is most closely identified with you as Baker. That is where you are *from*. The Blue Feather is an extension beyond yourself in an attempt to contact others. You need both: you need to be constantly reminded of where you come from and also where you are going. You need both past and future converged in the present.

bb:

Thanks, Hucka D. What of Wiltshire and The King and The Queen? The Queen and The King as well?

Hucka D.:

The season is over. There was a place of ultimate contact but only in the future will the past be revealed. You also had several communications from The Queen/King in Second Life.

bb:

Yes, the key hole shaped crop circle in Wiltshire, obviously, but also another Wiltshire crop circle that appeared to form a hole between 2 parts of Second Life or Second World, or between Magicland of the Bracket sim of Comma Islands and, on the other side, Ratcliff of Heterocera. That is a strong remainder of the grid before the Linden Lab grid. Reminder. Mickey’s hole, a mouse hole but perhaps also one for a rat. A particular Rat. Map Rat.

Hucka D.:

Map Rat, yes. Gang of Willard. Gang of One.

bb:

The Bill again, then.

Hucka D.:

Yes. (pause) Careful.

bb:

What of Bracket Jupiter, then?

Hucka D.:

He figured this[ part] out. He let the LL grid pass through Comma Islands but got rewarded in the process. Rat Hole. Mouse Hole/Rat Hole. Gang. Willard.

Marion Crane resurrected after her shower stabbing as doppleganger (“sister”) Lila Crane in Psychogumma (2000)

 

About… July 29, 2010

 

Forest of Kahruvel: Severely Downsized??? May 6, 2010

Filed under: Kahruvel Forest — baker Blinker @ 12:24 pm

TEXT SOON.
http://web.mac.com/salazarjack/Site/Trust_Plans.html

http://web.mac.com/salazarjack/Site/Rodeo_Incident.html

http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/108/0c/25531/1.html

 

Kahruvel Forest > Chilbo November 4, 2009

Filed under: Jeogeot Chilbo,Kahruvel Forest — baker Blinker @ 7:46 am

Karoz attempts to get some shut eye in the tent and await the morning light for further exploration.

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However, he couldn’t settle in, and quickly arose to look over the ruined tower base…

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… and reexplore the airport itself more, with its nifty blue neon trim leading him through the various spaces.

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Then it was back to lands further west, even beyond Rosedale this time to Georgean, the site of a Vehicle Sandbox according the land description. In fact, the sandbox and sim appear to be one and the same.

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And over the mountain to the south is a “sandbox sandbox”, 4 adjacent sims worth, in fact. I remember Baker Blinker sitting on this high vantage point at times and viewing the various builds being executed. She also use to sit on a smaller, wooded ridge just north of the Cowell lighthouse and watch the flying vehicles coming and going from Abbotts Aerodrome. All this happened mainly before I started this blog about one month into my SL existence. By the time I started the blog, I had essentially left the forest behind to explore other areas of Sansara, and also beyond. But I’ll never forget finding Kahruvel — also a nighttime event. I was amazed, in flying west through sim after sim, that such a large, relatively natural area existed so close to the oldest, much more built up areas of Second Life just to the north. How could such a chunk of land remain protected all these years? Kudos, once more, to Mr. Jack and his immediate family for the idea of a Kahruvel trust.

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But, as it turned out, Karoz quickly got homesick, and returned to Jeogeot even before dawn could arrive in Second Lyfe. What a home body; even worse than The Bakers! Below he sits on a bench in one of his favorite Chilbo parks, soaking in the warmer air, as Karoz later put it. Was it really warmer? Perhaps to him it was, and although SL has no defined equator that I know of, Jeogeot is considerably south of Sansara. Hmmm… have to think about that warmth issue more.

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Big Sink > Kahruvel Forest

Filed under: Kahruvel Forest,Sunklands — baker Blinker @ 7:43 am

Hopefully I’ll have more to say about Big Sink very soon. For now, I’ll leave you with this waterfall picture taken in Craggen Maw once more, but on what was clearly private property according to a prominently placed sign.

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Moving on to a more recent night of exploration, then, this time through the eyes of my green friend Karoz Blogger. I believe this might be his first visit to the oldest SL continent, Sansara, but not sure of that. Oh… of course not… he’s visited the Healy gallery a number of times. But this is definitely — I think — his first teleport into the *older,* old continent, the Forest of Kahruvel in this case. He finds the location very, very attractive, and wonders why Baker Bloch doesn’t spend more time there. Just before he takes the below pictures, he wanders around Salazar Jack’s famous seaside village in Cowell. Nice to see Headburro still has his digs there.

Below is an overhead shot of the great waterfall in Rodeo (Rodeo Falls?), a 25 meter cascade originating from a spring about 25 meters further up the mountain. If you haven’t been to Rodeo during your Second Life existence, then you’ve been missing something. Don’t wait; go now!

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I don’t remember this giant stone head being there when Baker Bloch and Baker Blinker use to visit. But as Baker Bloch is checking behind Karoz today (for a change), he finds that it is over 3 years old. Probably just missed it before.

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On a nearby cliff overlooking the sea, Karoz clicks on an open book, which turns out to be a “linking book” taking him to another well known location in the forest: Phyneas Jack’s Lookout, also in Rodeo. Karoz is standing in front of Phyneas’ portrait below. More on his story here. That’s Salazar Jack’s great grandfather, in case you didn’t catch it, and the namesake of the trust that protects the forest, spreading out not only over Rodeo but neighboring sims such as Cowell, Stinson, Noyo, and even others.

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On a whim, Karoz teleports over to the narrow strip of land marking the western boundary of Rosedale, one sim west of Stinson. He’s not in the great forest any longer, but he can dimly see the cliffs over the intervening sea. Admittedly the dark and jagged distant silhouettes in the two pictures below rather gave him the creeps, because he wasn’t sure what they were at first.

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Karoz also took the time to visit Abbott’s Aerodrome, another famous site of the area. Again, this is not in the Forest of Kahruvel proper, but it’s just west, and the huge airport sits on the same mountain range running through the center of Kahruvel.

More on the Abbotts Aerodrome from the Second Life Wikia.

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Very interesting that it’s supposedly built on top of an older airport now in ruins. In fact, it was an area around some of those very ruins that most attracted Karoz’s attention last night, in particular a camping site near of the base of a dilapidated tower, still in Abbotts but very near Kahruvel indeed now, a mere meters away.

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The campsite included a tent w/ sleeping bag, a log fire, and also several stumps to sit yer rump on. What wonderful stories must have been told around this campfire down through the years now, he supposes. Could this make a good base from which to explore the forest and general area? Could Karoz actually spend a night or two or three away from his precious Jeogeot?

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Next!