Scenes from a Second Life

We're in London, continues...

Since there's nothing to blog about today I decided to bore you all with my Second Life. I've been spending a lot of time in Second Life, as always. The last few weeks have been particularly fun and productive; I've made many additions to my islands.

First of all, I revised my avatar. I've always wanted long, flowing hair. Check. Got it. I'm also wearing more makeup and bought some hot new clothes. Yea, baby. I particularly like the photo of me standing in front of my modular moog synthesizer. I'm a total hottie. And I'm finally that size 0 I've always wanted to be.

Last week I redesigned my art gallery and doubled its size, so it holds more exhibits, including sculptures in the surrounding lawn.

A few weeks ago I added some gorgeous horses that use the new "sculptie" technology in Second Life, creating more realistic shapes and textures.

I've had a car for a while, a BMW, and yesterday when I was driving it around my island I accidently ran over my squirrel. Yikes!

A couple weeks ago on a shopping excursion, I found a morphing sculpture and just had to have it. It's gorgeous. It is a sophisticated script that creates the shapes mathematically and changes, making new shapes. Anyone visiting can also change the color and texture by clicking on the menu. It also plays a beautiful ambient music loop while it rotates and shifts its shape and color. It's completely mesmerizing.

Also in the ingenious artwork category is a "Whisper Box" by the same Second Life artist who created the video for Kirsty's song recently. As well as making beautiful Second Life films, he makes amazing virtual musical instruments. When you stand in the Whisper Box it takes the Second Life text chat conversation and turns it into rhythms. It reacts to different letters or words and the rhythm changes: sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. It also remembers previous conversations which it displays above the speakers, which you can click and change the rhythm. It's incredible and also totally mesmerizing.

Next are photos of a little building I made that I call "Weightless." When you walk in, it animates your avatar so that you are floating. The interior is all black, with floating particles that look like snow, or outer space, depending on your frame of mind. I also streamed some of my electronic music in it, so you float around in the darkness while electronic music pulses and shifts. It's also hypnotic and strangely soothing.

After the amazing Mozart concert we went to recently, I decided to revive the Mozart Piano Concerto I recorded years ago. I love that concerto. Performing all the orchestral parts, plus the piano, was incredibly fun (and amazingly difficult) and I decided it deserved to be heard. So I put a grand piano and some lawn chairs on my island so people can sit and relax and listen to a music stream of my concerto. I'm stunned by the enthusiastic and postive reaction I've gotten from visitors to the island.

Lastly, I furnished the lighthouse I put on my island a while back, including a white harpsichord which the creator in Second Life based on my Real Life harpsichord in California including photographs of the soundboad and keyboard to make it look more real. Lovely. And also lovely is the view from the top of my lighthouse.

Second Life continues to be one of the most amazing things I've done in years and I really enjoy it. My islands get many visitors, some of whom visit every day, and I have met some incredibly nice people. Stop by my islands and say hello, anytime!

Comments

[KFH Pooraka]

Hey Janford, I have to say that the 'weightless' box, is one of the most fun and inventive things you have done and yet the most simple. It is amazing... I might re-build the Trance club - am missing it loads :(.

wonderful new things for people to come and enjoy :)

hugs

kxx

[Jon Maloney]

Hi. I'm visiting via a link to your blog that John posted in the BookMooch forum.

I have seen references to Second Life for years but never bothered to find out more. Your post and pictures prompted me to go read the Second Life article on Wikipedia. Wow. I could see Second Life being real addictive, time-consuming, costly... and lots of fun. As I read your post I had dozens of ideas of things I'd like to try if I lived there. I like your space -- the weightless room, concert on the lawn, lighthouse, etc. My favorite picture is the screen capture of you sitting on the grass with the horses and blooming tree. Second Life seems quite primitive and restricted by processing and bandwidth, but the seed has been planted. Imagine how far virtual worlds will evolve in the next fifteen years or so. Fun.

Thanks for the tour.

Jon