The other day I took some time to walk around the annual Raglan Shire Artwalk in Second Life. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend checking it out before it closes on the 29th (that’s Sunday) — there are literally hundreds of art pieces displayed around the Shire, some of which have been created in world, and some of which are uploaded images of paintings and photographs from “real” life. There are even “hedgeboat” rides to take you on a tour through the hedges where the 2-d art is displayed and through the forest where the sculptures are.

A couple of years ago I helped to set it up, but I was so busy working behind the scenes at the time I hardly had a chance to enjoy it. Last year I wasn’t playing at all, so this is the first year I got to stop and smell the waffles, as it were. I decided to make some of my own art by taking pictures of the sculptures displayed in Heron Forest — art within art! It’s so meta!

As with all my Second Life photography, none of these are post-processed in any way. Please click for a larger view; you can click anywhere inside the enlarged photo to go through them slideshow style.

Danu, by Pumpkin Tripsa

L'atomo della vita by Solkide Auer

Sirio by Solkide Auer

Harp and Cello by nessuno-Myoo, through water

Owl Ephemeral by Kobuk Farshorer

Owl Ephemeral by Kobuk Farshorer

Poseidon by Sledge Roffo

Steps dance by Kicca Igaly

Dream Ball by Betty Tureaud

Dream Ball by Betty Tureaud

After nearly a year away, I’ve decided it’s time for me to come back to SL. Though I doubt I’ll ever have the time to be as prolific a creator I once was, I miss SL and my friends there so much that I simply must make the effort to be in-world regularly again.

Raglan Shire began their Medieval Festival today, so I created some Health Services for Tiny dragons and the knights which battle them. I assure you, I’m completely unbiased against the knights… You can get a free first aid kit that gives out Tinysporin and band aids on touch, and also fill out a free application for my totally awesome, totally affordable (and totally fake) health insurance policy. As a special service, I’m also providing free Super Duper Protective Armor for knights! You can find it all in the purple tent at the Raglan Shire seasonal area (across the square from the vendor area).

Tiny Health Services

It’s Winterfest in Raglan, and we kicked it off with some early Tiny Caroling.

Raglan Tiny Carolers on YouTube

I left the group to do some scouting of new locations, and by the time I finished, everyone seemed to be doing quite well without my herding– er… leading, so I decided to do some decorating at the Cave. It looks quite festive! All that I need now is some winter stuff to sell!

New items currently free to subscribers or from trick or treating or my lucky chair.

Hello again, Raglan! Nothing like Halloween to get the building bug a-biting! Below are my first ever pants, accessorized with spooky Halloween belts and fun chain fobs. Built with my ::Anytiny:: system, they will fit most Wynx and Flights of Fancy avatars with just a touch, and color change on command. It’s like having a bunch of pants in one!

I love Raglan. Where else can you find a virtual community that respects and honors another’s loss enough to hold a small ceremony for it? One of our community members’ lost his mother last week, and he made a lovely flower in her memory. Zayn planted it in Heron Forest and gave a short eulogy. Afterwords, we Riverdanced in her honor to celebrate her life. You can visit the flower here: Raglan Forest.

 

Unfortunately, do to RL I couldn’t make the Linden office hours today to protest about the chat bug (grrr!), but I heard it went well and that the Tinies of the Shire really made the point. Apparently LL has assigned a team to work on the bug. Go Tinies!!

Uploaded to Flickr on June 8, 2009
by Mental Dinks

Alexa Linden added a comment to JIRA 1509 – 08/Jun/09 02:36 PM
Group chat failures are a complex problem. There are many possible
ways chat can fail. Here’s how you can help fix the problem.

As a first step, please collect a list of all error messages you see
when using group chat. Copy the errors exactly as you see them, and
put them on a page located below:
https://wiki.secondlife.com/w/index.php?title=Group_Chat_Failure_Messages

* Create the page if you’re the first one with information.
* Don’t worry about adding lots of details. This should be a short
list without repeats or lots of extra notes.
* Give everyone a few days to add their errors, since different resis
often experience different problems.

Once we’re sure we have a list, we can create a survey to collect more
information. We’ll ask about the computers, internet connections, time
of day, and other factors common to these errors. If we’re lucky, we
can help the dev teams better understand what’s failing.

Looks like Raglan is getting a spot at the Second Life 6th Birthday celebration, though we don’t know what size parcel we’ll be approved for. Yay!

Too bad I’m seriously annoyed at LL right now due to the all pervasive chat bug. D:<

green trees at home_001
Originally uploaded by Shards Of Blue

Here are the pictures of my lovely new trees. They add a touch of something that was previously missing, I think. I’ve also added some dripping water sounds inside the cave and switched to a different outside sound. Let me know what you think of the changes. :D

tiny picnic blanket
Originally uploaded by Shards Of Blue

The parks on Raglan needed some picnic blankets, so I made this and put a few down. It’s also available for sale and demo at the shop. :)