From Japan to SL

  

There was a Halloween parade at Colorado SIM. Since it was in the early morning on Monday Japan time, I took a few pictures but was not able to stay until the parade starts.




It seemed to be a costume parade but most of them dressed up. I wore a phantom gray but nobody said about it. The SIM was heavy and there were several people crashed. I could be seen as a reading error.




Colorado is one of very active RPG SIMs. There are group messages almost every day and many new members introduction. Once I was attending but it was hard to participate due to time difference. I wish there were some RPG in Japan, but SL itself could be a kind of RPG in Japan.


  

After a long interval, I traveled abroad. I walked 10~15km every day, shops, parks, seashore, malls, and alleys… After coming back to SL, I was a bit shocked by the difference from the real world. Although how meticulously made they are, I cannot get the same throb as from the real ones.




Someone said, “People who needs second life does not have the first life.” But when I started SL. I had meant to experience things that cannot be done in real life. They are: things physically impossible such as flying, building floating in the air, or dream world, or things impossible due to expense, capability, or morality, such as airplanes, dancing, or photographing own nude.




Also there are photographs, three-dimensional arts, role playing games, or meeting peoples. I have met more than 2500 peoples so far. But almost all of them I feel I have done already. Of course it does not mean that I traveled every nook and cranny of SL. My major feeling might be that I cannot feel the excitement at the beginning that I was facing the endless world. It could be caused by the trip to Singapore which is like a real size SL world?

  

Sorry that I had introduced the Merlion as one of three biggest miss expectations. Though the guide said so when I visited there before. It could be said so regarding the one at the harbor, but the newer one appeals strongly with its height of 37m. They said the white one is female and this one is father.




There are many merlions in the city. Some of them are like cute mascots.




Now the three biggest disappointments in RL might return to the original, Mouth of Truth, Mannequin Pis, and Mermaid at Copenhagen. My three disappointments in SL were, Merlion, Mt Rushmore, and Vatican.




There was cloister also but it was small and the palace was only a wall paper.




The characteristic of RL Singapore might be architecture. A highrise with a gigantic ship on it, or a huge trees 50m high with a bar top of it. They builds rather innocent designs in reality that could be done in SL. An interesting country. Insilico a future city could have been imaging Singapore?

  

I will make a short tour to Singapore. So I tried to find Singapore in SL, but very few I found. I visited this Merlion several years ago. This is not too close to the real one. If this one were made now, sculpt or mesh will be able to make better ones. This could be an example that a new technology does not always mean to see better products.
Singapore: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Temasek/213/107/24




The explanation says. “The design of the fort is inspired by forts which the British built during World War II, to defend Singapore against the invading Japanese Imperial Army” Japan invaded Singapore. I think I have not learnt it in school in detail.




A small bright side is that this fort was made by British not by Singaporean. What Japanese did and what was wrong should not be excused by “It is a war”, but should be taught properly.




Are there such ones in WWII? It loos cool seemingly but it is a tool for a war altogether. I wish a world that does not need “right of corrective self-defense”…

  

The Bigtotoro’s SIMs since the era of Yakitori-shop Kikyo will be closed as of June end. Beautiful sceneries were prepared for each season. Now there is a wisteria trellis.
Totoro's blog: http://mat0630.slmame.com/ 　




It was a healing SIMs with playful mind in a calm surroundings that made me feel at peace every time I came here.




A rice paddy and a primary school which might be the one at the country in 1950s.




The school with one room for one grade each looks to be modified recently. Among the timeless things, there were several detailed changes.




I love the snowscape most. One of the SIMs was always with snow. Thank you Bigtotoro for the beautiful SIMs for a long period. Please come to Baba again. The followings are my previous articles regarding Totoro’s forest. The end picture in the second one is a rare one with Totoros in mermaid dance.

Spring ski: http://temisirbu.slmame.com/e1428922.html
Snow at Totoro's forest: http://temisirbu.slmame.com/e1188613.html　
Road of petas: http://temisirbu.slmame.com/e1147689.html

  

I noticed that the Tempura Island was included in an article, “Top 10 popular SIMs”, so I visited the listed ones. Since the article was three years ago, five out of ten were impossible to visit now. This is the second one, London. That is different from the London SIM that I visited before where my first crush had a shop.




What they had in common was heaviness. This London was gray for a while.




This is one of the ten. It seems that there is nothing special but there are many visitors. What is a popular SIM? Could be beautiful, gathering many people, games, or some special setting? The second one, many people could be either the cause or the result. The Yakitori shop Kikyou that had more than 800 group members and 10 to 20 companies every day had nothing than “people”. There should be something at Tempura that keeps so many guests for six years.



Special setting could be shop, event, membership club, RPG, or nudist beach etc. I read an article, 70% of SL players tend to stay at one place and do not walk around. A blunderer like me might be minority…

  

Visited the 6th anniversary concert at Tempura Island. The SIM soon reached the limit.




It was a solo vocal recital by Lisa Brune, a famous singer in SL. The chair seats in front of the stage soon became full and most of us stood to watch.




There were few special decoration for the anniversary but elegant snack catering on a side table.




The aureate dome on the hall like the palace of Ekaterina. There are more gorgeous rooms and corners at Tempura Island in addition to the main hall.




A bridge from the TP point to the main hall. There are many beautiful areas in SL other than this, but there are many guests coming here every day although there have been neither significant change nor fancy event. The reason why it attracts so many people could be the good concept or management, but it should be a miracle in SL to have kept it for 6 years. I come here not so often since it makes me feel lonely if coming alone. On the day I had an appointment with someone but he was AFK at the time…

  

While looking for Angkor Wat, I ran into a temple in a jungle. It is dark even at noon, but it is good in SL to be able to let in the sunshine.
Temple in a forest: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Azrael/49/196/78




The buildings were blended into the jungle and it is not easy to find them. The real ruin of temples could be covered by woods.




The real Angkor Wat is in an open space but there might be some temples or ruins in a forest like this. It is also nice thing in SL that there is no bug or snake while strolling around.




There was an oriental corner. There are other temples below ground in the water.




The vegetation looks like that at Pandora. I miss the Navi world that had many SIMs before.




For a change I wore Navi avatar for a portrait. It is bad that this avatar that I edited the shape is useless now. Next thing to come might be a frozen world and The Snow Queen?

  

This time I used midnight setting as recommended.
Pyramid: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kalepa/97/137/1966




The entrance coming in with a torch. I have never visited real pyramid but there might not be such a gorgeous entrance on the real one.




As I said before, this is not a reproduction of a real pyramid but a museum with pyramid shape. The wall paintings and statues inside are so real and nice as if I were in the British Museum.




A room of Anubis. This shape can be seen other places but it appears more strongly here.




A room of Bastet. There are many big ones in this room.




There are other figures, Sebek with crocodile head and Horus with falcon. There were so many gods with animal head in Egypt. Sekhmet with lion or Khnum with sheep. Looking on the internet, there are more than ninety kinds of them. It could be interesting to look at the wall paintings in detail.




A list of gods that was seen in other SIM.
Egypt: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Terra%20Egypta/193/227/23

  

Aska took me to a pyramid. The height is 73m, a half of Great Pyramid of Giza.
Pyramid: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kalepa/97/137/1966




There is an excavation site near the pyramid. Some free gifts are available in the sand.




There is a tour ride with a boat on a canal.




I do not know if there is a canal or cave near the pyramid, but the tour is joyful.




The boat is with pomp and splendor to sit and talk leisurely.




There is also a hand-steering boat in the pyramid. The inside of the pyramid is not a reproduction of the real one but a museum or a dungeon in an adventure game. Since I was there as a part of dating, I visited there again to shoot pictures. The inside will be reported next time.