Thoughts… August 16, 2011

Work on labyrinth walking instructions tomorrow. The 7-circuit labyrinth now inside the Temple of TILE in Teepot faces north. One walks around the labyrinth, then, counterclockwise until ready to enter the meat of the thing. Purification. Getting in tune.

Here’s the position where you enter after this, and descend from surrounding blue into yellow, or a descent from the number 8 to the number 5 in other terms.

I gotta get a light for that place (!) Within the yellow band you are walking clockwise now, then working back out a bit again, red finds you turning in a counterclockwise way, then still working back out toward blue, within the green band or path you are heading clockwise once more. This follows the number pattern 8-5-6-7, and brings you to this point…

… where a second descent is found, this time into the tightly wound bowels of the labyrinth and the non-TILE colors of, first, blue-black, then violet then orange and then red-black before a final descent into the white epicenter. This would correspond to the numbers 4-1-2-3, leaving out the white center which would equate with both 0 (zero) but also 8 again (center and circumference as one).

Usually I just stop in the center and don’t try to work my way back out. Am I doing it wrong, though?

Baker Bloch meditating after reaching the center.

This makes the whole circuit 8-5-6-7-4-1-2-3. 8-5-6-7 corresponds with the 4 TILE colors of, in order, blue, yellow, red, and green within the labyrinth. 4-1-2-3, again, are non-TILE colors. Let’s bring in Hucka D. to see if he has any comments on the subject.

Hucka D.:

Good work baker b. The labyrinth is in a truer position than before, resting at the bottom of the Rubi temple. Nice. You forgot to mention that 8-5-6-7 is the four letters of TILE itself, but not in that order. Instead *that* would be E (8/blue), I (5/yellow), L (6/red), and T (7/green). This is also the colors of Easter (blue; yellow) and Christmas (red; green), with Easter pure and uncorrupted within the overarching system and Christmas singly corrupted within same. Jeez I’m talking a lot tonight. The inner part of the labyrinth, the non-TILE windings, further equate with Halloween or doubly corrupted, then July 4th, which is triply corrupted to end. Then as you said the center, white, zero is the same as the outside, blue, eight, where you can just meditate and stare up at the spinning TILE cube at the center of the temple if you wish.

Might be nice to have a picture of that to augment my talking.

bb:

Already done!

Hucka D.:

I seem to be possessed by your hands tonight. Hold on…

Picture of labyrinth from 2nd floor while I wait on Hucka D.

3rd floor…

Hucka D. (returning):

I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Sorry.

bb:

What was it?

Hucka D.:

A bell. For ringing.

b:

Hmmm… New year?

Hucka D.:

No. Thoughts.

Builds, 02 July 22, 2010

The other build I’ve been working on recently, and off and on since the beginning of June, is the new, updated Temple of TILE in Rubi. A pic of the subway system first, an Arcadia Asylum creation of course…

Then it’s up the single escalator to higher levels…

.. starting with Floor #1 of the temple proper. You have to take the left (north) half of the divided escalator to reach this floor; the other will dead end about halfway up. Get to that quirk in a moment-o.

The original version of this temple, which has been carried down through the months and now years, is a 30m x 30m x 30m cube, same dimensions that later became attached to the cube version of the Edwardston Station Gallery. And for a time after the creation of the latter, I tried to combine the forms of each into 1 rectangular box 60 meters high and 30 meter on each side. In other words, I stacked one cube on top of the other, same-size cube, with the Temple of TILE usually on top of the Edwardston Station Gallery. Symbolically, I still believe this is the best way to view the relationship of the two structures, perhaps the 2 most important I’ve developed in Second Life. They are perhaps viewable as 2 aspects of one thing, like a masculine (TILE) and feminine (ESG and the “Art 10×10”) cooperative. I’ve also related them to the Sun and Moon, which appear as the same, relative size as viewed from our Earth.*

But upon my move to Noru in May, 2009, and the expansion of my land to larger proportions than before, I decided that the 2 cube structures worked best separate from each other. Closely related still in a symbolic way but separate physically. And that is the way they remained up until the Big E Gallery of Aotearoa about 1/2 year later, when they were combined again but with many other elements, such as the Big E itself (created Summer, 2009) and also a considerable number of b_hivia modules. Big E Gallery was my largest, created structure in SL, and still is — a behemoth of sorts.

But back to the present. Many pictures that appeared in previous incarnations of the Temple of TILE have returned in the new version, including, first, those more directly related with TILE Creek of Frank Park, and then, sneaking in later, mostly Edna generated pictures concerning Ozland, the “Ruins in the Woods” exhibit first found in the Big E Gallery as well, and others. Missing still are Charleston related pictures — maybe later. But the main subject, obviously, is TILE itself, the game/philosophy/religion I’ve already talked about quite a bit in this blog here and there.

A collection of TILE Creek related pictures in a wing of the gallery.

Ozland related pictures, all by Edna, added to a corner of the gallery by the stairs.

Another quite exciting, new development to the temple is the addition of a downstairs bar and lounge, with objects (including the fabulous bar itself) courtesy of Tooter Claxton, all found free of charge at his store in Oculea.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oculea/193/220/49

And this barroom can only be reached through the half of the escalator heading *down*, to return to that quirk in temple navigation I mentioned before.

A look down from the Tyle cube still centering the new temple (as in all previous versions as well, if I remember correctly) toward the bar and the tipsy Baker Bloch perched on a stool there.

Another aerial view of the temple, which is a bit over 2/3rds the size of the 30x30x30, older version. It’s in its perfect, virtual spot now perhaps. More on that soon I suppose, when I have more time. TILE is very important to me if you haven’t picked up on that, loyal reader or readers.

But actually, the real star here, just speaking from a virtual standpoint, is the Great Rubi Forest. Amazing.

*****

* For various reasons, I also associate them with this:

“It’s Up To Us Now.” (DRAFT!) March 11, 2009

NOTE: This was originally planned as Jasper 07, but has been usurped in this position within the Jasper series by another, newer collage of the same name. See here.

“Strange Jasper 07 work, perhaps, Hucka D.”

Hucka D.:

Yes. Queer. 5 of you.

bb:

Baker Blochs, you mean.

Hucka D.:

Yeah. Sorry.

bb:

Should we attempt an interpretation tonight?

Hucka D.:

Feeling groggy still.

bb:

Just 08, 09, and 10 to start from scratch now, Hucka D. And, actually, 10 will make an animation with 1.

Hucka D.:

The next one will go further with TILE. Beyond this one.

bb:

This one may be obviously about Rubi Forest and the relationship to that fairly similarly sized Corsica Island forest that has since been derezzed. Now I find the expanded version of Corsica Island has a Rookwood sim, the greenest sim of the lot now. We know now this may refer directly to the Newborough Warren, with the similarly closely packed corsican pines.

Hucka D.:

There is a relationship. (pause) I think you should wait on this one.

bb:

Thank you.

Old;New December 19, 2008

Hopped over to Gliese to look over the old properties again. Forgot how much I missed the sunsets/sunrises here.

One last view of the Rubi properties before everything was deleted. This angle is interesting because it shows what I would consider the close relationship between my newer pipe system, and former neighbor Zarek Lock’s roller coasters. Although he would probably loath the comparison! (just joking) The main relationship here, or the earlier one, is between the temple and its four sides colored red, green, blue, and yellow, and Zarek’s four square platform system of the same colors standing just to the front/side of the temple (northwest direction). Our properties only bordered at one corner, but there was definitely a relationship.

Then the new location of the temple, and where it should be: way up in the sky. Here you can also see the sky forest now surrounding the temple… I’ll get more into that in a future post or series of posts. *And* I also decided just to perch the Tyta skybox gallery (formerly Wright House Gallery) on top of the temple now. Again just to remind, this houses the last 60 collages of the art 10×10 that I hope to complete this winter (w/ the Wheeler-Jasper series).

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.

Tunnels x 2, 2 November 25, 2008

After admiring the scenery for a spell at the grunge water tower, Baker Bloch retraces his steps back to the new stretch of subway on the properties, and walks the train track to this second pipe opening in the new system, located a little before subway section ends at the Azure tower containing the emitted particles from that mysterious blue orb, still silently spinning and generating inside the westernmost of the 3 belowdeck cargo rooms of The Arab. However, the square opening in the top of this room has been sealed up by the subway system now, although the particles still erupt through the barrier strong as ever, with many still making their way to the lower gallery floors directly above.

I should also mention here that through the opening to the immediate right of the pipe entrance here you still can gain access to the superstructure of The Arab, as well as the ladder leading down to the cargo room with the energy orb.

The second leg of the second pipe system actually lies directly above the third leg of the first system, at least for most of its length. Where the two depart from parallel paths is at the east end of the superstructure of The Arab, where the new pipe abruptly takes a left turn, also skirting the edge of the Azure tower in the process, to allow access to the top of the new subway system, which Baker Bloch is just entering in the snapshot below.

Several chair ringed tables are positioned in this large, open area, and this particular part of the new look reminds me a lot of a similar area at the Azure Island version of the temple. I don’t have a concession stand, drink machines, or video games yet in this area, as on AI, but I’m working on it. Finding prims to do so remains a problem.
😦

At the other (south) end of this open area, Baker finds the 3rd and last leg of the new system, leading him to a secret entrance off a type of west porch of the temple cube itself. Quite a climb to reach it, though (about a 23 degree climb, if I remember correctly).

Baker Bloch holds his breath while temporarily being submerged in the water that fills this entrance, also a brand new addition to the temple. The watery condition quickly ends, however, as Blochs turns to his left down this new, “secret” passageway in the temple. Whether this remains just a “mere” secret passageway or turns into something else — storage area perhaps? — remains in the future. But for now the L shaped passage allows access to the 2nd floor of the temple from the pipe system, giving us now *2* ways to enter the temple in a secret way through these systems.

Baker Bloch has to ascend the branch of that huge tree in the northwest part of the temple to enter the passageway from the temple. Secret entrance indeed!

Tunnels x 2, 1

Well, some might say that it’s a condition of a little too much time on my hands, but at any rate I’ve created a whole *2nd* system of pipes for the Gallery at the Temple of TILE, which, in many ways, mirrors the layout and overall functions of the first system. Sort of.

Below, Baker Bloch has entered the first leg of the first system, using it to walk down to the new mural featuring Ozmo replacing you-know-who (you-know-who). In looking up, Blochs notices again the presence of additional pipes and other objects in the sky above him now.

Continuing to walk through the first system of pipes to its logical conclusion in the lowest level of the gallery proper (through that “phantom” Oz Christmas ornament photograph), he sees more evidence of the changes: a giant pipe now sits right outside the far window of the space he’s just entered; actually pokes through the window nearest the mouth part.

This mouth represents the beginning of the second system. Baker Bloch knows he can reach the pipe mouth very quickly by walking through the gallery room to his right and then heading through the opening in the wall to that outer foyer with the Blinkerton-style Land of Oz pictures, pictured here before the new pipe system was put in place.

Below is the new look with the open pipe end or mouth.

Blochs confidently enters the new system, but finds it rather dark and unlighted in comparison to the first. Where are Baker Blinker’s lights she promised to install in the new system, he wonders?

He finally finds one of these white halogen lights, but only when reaching this large opening to his left. Another subway system, and by appearances a little longer than even the one that’s, in essence, now part of the first pipe system.

Baker decides to ignore this subway for now and continue straight and then around a corner to…

The grunge water tower located at almost the extreme southwest corner of the Rubi properties. From here he takes in the spectacular view of the new-look temple and its vast series of pipes. Again, Baker finds the sight incredibly pleasing, although others may deem it too grungy or ugly in general. Whatever tickles your fancy, I suppose. I *am* glad I fixed the back side of the temple cube so the back of one of the Victorian houses within didn’t show through. Looks better now for sure with the smooth, continuous (blue) tiles returned, a look originally created for the temple at its Azure Island location. In fact, there are several things about the new pipe system that remind me of this old AI skybox, as I’ll get to in a minute.

The south view from the grunge water tower now looks out over some kind of new Christmas themed store. Quite a large and open winter wonderland!

Tunnels x 2, 2

Tunnels!, Couple Exterior Shots November 19, 2008

Related: second system of tunnels completed!

Tunnels!, 3

Understanding that there’s no other way to walk off The Arab except to dive into the pipe mouth on the the edge of the deck he just exited from, he takes the plug into the pipe system once again.

He exits the system to the right at the bottom of the first turn to enter what he knows is Esbum’s provided new digs, very similar in feel and look — kind of — to her old room in the Azure Island TILE temple. Since creating these snapshots, Esbum herself has looked around the room and “porch”, with its viewing chair [her beloved “First Chair”], and tentatively given the thumbs up to the Bakers. Mind you, she still has some reservations about the more open air aspect to the space than with her old room. But at the same time it’s about as far out of the way as you can get on the property space but still be in basically the center of things. She has easy access to both the grounds, as we’ve seen, and also the gallery itself, as will be apparent shortly. So overall it is a positive review by Esbum.

Below, Baker Bloch looks around Esbum’s new room, complete with her slum bed, slum dresser, and Elvis picture (also transferred from the old temple). She personally requested the Elvis picture be included in the new digs — the younger Elvis picture of his two in the Azure Islands temple.

In the below snapshot, Baker Bloch is also standing to the left of the entrance to the third and last section of the Rubi gallery pipe system. As in the second section, the slant is again upward at around a 20 degree angle or so.

Baker Bloch looks back at Esbum’s First Chair from inside the newest passage. That’s the hull of The Arab poking through the pipe wall to his right, as well as a section of the giant spearhead cypress tree that use to be in the Temple of TILE during its Azure Island incarnation.

You actually walk around the front of The Arab here to proceed, with the ship poking through on either side of the front. Here’s the pokey-through part on the other side, with even a bit of the deck sticking out this time. Not really a big enough slice to walk upon, and even little Hucka D. could only manage to squeeze down less than half of its approx. 10 meter length. But on the other hand if it was much wider you’d have trouble getting past it on the pipe side to continue.

By the way, Baker Bloch is now in the longest straightaway in the pipe system, measuring over 40 meters in length.

Then when visiting the system a little after Baker Bloch pieced it together, Baker Blinker decided, on a whim, to rez this Uncle Milton Ant Farm she’d had in her inventory for forever and place it on the deck slice here, just because she hadn’t had an opportunity to display the rather neat object yet in any build. The narrow deck seemed a decent enough place to start. Weird thing: my good friend Headburro *Antfarm* was, on that very day, celebrating his 2nd *Rez*day in SL, but I only found out about the latter Antfarm-rezzing conjunction several hours later, when HBA sent me a notecard on the subject. Strange how oddities like this happen with such regularity in SL.

Then at the end of the long straightaway — surprise! — you will find yourself entering the lowest level of the Gallery at the Temple of TILE, staring directly at an Edna-style Blinkerton photo.

But when you walk into the gallery here and turn around, no trace of the tunnel can be seen. This illusion was created, in the main (in retrospect anyway), to make Esbum’s room inside The Arab a more private place. You can get back through the wall into the tunnels, but you, of course, have to know it’s there in the first place to do so.

And with that we’ve reached the end of our Rubi gallery/temple tunnel tour! Hope you enjoyed it.

Couple of exterior shots to finish.

Tunnels!, 2

The second pipeway is about the same length as the first Baker has already walked through. Blochs quickly enters a straight passageway very similar to the first encountered, except we have about a 20 degree upward slant here instead of a downward slant.

Passing some interestingly placed green hued rocks, Baker Bloch rounds another corner and finds this opening to the left, much like there’s an opening to his left in passageway #1 at about this point, leading into what remains of the subway area. In fact, the first opening lies almost directly below this particular opening. But just as before, Baker decides to ignore this left opening for the moment to see what lies in the passage that continues around another quick corner.

Taking him up a final steep, short section to…

…the deck of The Arab. This is one of the functions of the pipe system, then: to allow easier access to this ship, including the deck, superstructure, and the 3 belowdecks cargo rooms.

I’ve already covered The Arab’s strangest and most apparent quality in this earlier post, so I’ll just finish this particular post off with some snapshots of Baker Bloch on the deck region looking at various parts of the pipe system, some he’s explored but with obvious stretches of pipe yet to be examined.

Tunnels!, 3.