Blogday Updates

The new viewer, with Caliah's handy windlight help

- The harsh light of Windlight can again be conquered by following Caliah's tips over at Soigne. She also has a handy slurl to her store Muse, where you can pick yourself up a facelight. I'm always curious to see how other people play with their settings and Canimal's also got some settings you can download and tinker with yourself.

- Elysium Eilde, talented photographer and [ida] staff member, has taken some wild bitchfight shots at Photographing SL. Apparently there was some argument about who's taking the wardrobe home after a shoot, and all hell breaks loose.

- If you're looking for somewhere new to visit, or just feel like tp'ing around, stop by b-places a site which accurately lists the most popular places in SL. Forget the Popular Places tab, as New World Notes has reported, the listings on it are usually manipulated by camping chairs and bots. B-places is a slurl list of sims voted worth visiting byr esidents who have actually been there, no cheating involved.

- Cory Edo has done it again, with new release furniture designed for the Arc Luxury Lodge. Gorgeous, low prim pieces at a very affordable price, see the Arc set at Content Confessionals, where you will also find gorgeous prefab stores and houses.

Arts - Shoshana Epsilon

Photographer and mentor, Shoshana Epsilon has a strong passion for her art, constantly striving to show the beauty in SL® and sharing her skills with anyone willing to further their own. Fomerly a curator at the Cannery, Shoshana is a well-respected and loved member of the arts community, with permanent homes in several galleries across the grid.

You'll get to see her latest works when she becomes the official featured artist for the Avatrait gallery this month. Avatrait is an interesting company that recreates SL® photography into RL prints, and their gallery at Simuality is becoming one of the grid's most popular, with associated artists such as Kimberley Mirabeau, who was previously featured, and Stephen Venkman and Codebastard Redgrave, who serve on the advisory board.

Specializing in in-world photography with no post-processing, Shoshana's showing will open April 12, 1pm SL® and all pictures will be available for one-off sale, meaning once you own the picture you will be the only person to do so. The exhibition promises to be raw and a bit daring, and will be open for viewing for the rest of the month. A visit is highly recommended, and if you're curious, you can see some of Shoshana's current works at Artropolis.

Destinations: Time for Quiet Reflection

Rest, relaxation. Sometimes we just want to get away from it all. A little space to unwind, and just detach from the busy day for a while. Let's face it, the constant updates from favourite designers and new ones through Fashcon, the juggling of IM's from friends, customers, and perfect strangers, the little things you simply HAVE to do inworld, meetings, building, scripting, testing designs, it all builds up and before you know it logging in one morning becomes a chore. A holiday spot would be nice, even just somewhere pretty to go where there's no death metal or Kenny G making your ears bleed and you can just cruise.

I have a little place for you. I was looking around, sightseeing, and came across the Virgin Islands. More specifically, Hosoi Ichiba. When you land you will notice the Japanese architecture, of an old-style market built within luscious gardens, and itself surrounding a peace garden. In the mood for some relaxation, I at first turned around and walked through the gorgeous wooden roofed bridge to investigate a village I could see not too far away.



Walking through the village, I admired the huts and purchased one of the sweet chimes hanging from the gate. Blowing gently in the breeze, the soft chimes were soothing and I figured I could use some soothing at home. Backtracking down the path I took a turn and spotted a Samurai house. What attracted my attention was not the house itself but the onsen, a hot spa, right on the water. Perfect for some time to pause and think.



After a soak, I headed down another path, and after passing by some scenic lookouts decorated with meditation pillows, came across a clearing. There was a fishing village here, complete with a few boats, and some of the latest catch hanging outside one of the huts. I sat on the bank, watching the sun sparkle on the water, and after a pause, decided to see what was inside the market.

What is great about the market is that it incorporates itself into the garden, and the overall atmosphere of the place. Surrounded by garden, and in turn surrounding a small peace garden, the markets do not interrupt the calmness, the buildings themselves are well crafted which only enhances the atmosphere. I headed back to the main entrance and walked inside. Straight ahead I noticed a tea room, and sat down for a humble drink. Glancing around I noticed a few people were actually doing Tai Chi just outside, and decided to give it a try. No-one spoke, and before long I saw a stunning red tower I had to investigate.



A cute surprise was the Japanese rock garden I happened through on my way, perfect to sit by and reflect on, if they work for you. I headed through and over to the tower, which was in fact some kind of temple, complete with shrine and tools for worship. Browsing around I saw some well crafted rickshaws, and took a look at the homewares available in the market. If I'd been a little less poor after emptying PC yesterdayI would've bought a lot more.

I still haven't finished exploring properly, but around each corner I found something else to enjoy, a quiet spot to sit, a small garden, or a beautiful decor piece I wanted to buy. The construction and layout of the sim is wonderful, the texturing colours are bright and beautiful but not garish, and the design looks well thought out and built, but still keeps an element of wilderness and a root to nature with it. Hosoi Ichiba is a tranquil haven to relax and take a break, and I thoroughly enjoyed my all too short visit.

Blogday Updates

With our change of venue, a lot of new features will be coming online over the coming weeks, and one of our first little forays will be showcasing highlights of the SL blogworld. Each Saturday I'll show you what I've been reading and I welcome feedback! So let's get the ball rolling:

- Spring for the north is here! Celebrating the changing of the seasons, Paper Couture's new spring collection is finally here, and still moderateley priced! I've already scooped up the exquisite new hair and a few stunning ensembles.

- High style meets Street with The Lady and the Tramp. Chic high fashion meets dressed-down casual when Valena Glushenko and Rachelle Slade take a fashionable item and show you different ways of incorporating it into your style. This is a very new blog but I'm keen to see what the girls make of it.

- If you haven't made it back to the Mean Girls blog lately, run back and learn a few things, like the 'How to Leave SL' guide for every starfucker and attention whore who wants to make a grand temporary 'departure' for a while.

- Why not do something charitable while inworld today? Intel will donate $1USD (up to $10,000USD) to the Conservation International FOundation for every sunflower planted over at Intel Island. More details are at Counting Sheep, basically go plant a seed or 10 and you'll be doing a small bit to help. Quick, painless, and check the terms and conditions but most US residents will go into the draw for a laptop!

- See what's new at Appearance Mode, which has been refurbished as a community blog for resident designers of the sim. Random has just had a huge release of stock, and take a look at Garbage's cute promo video!