5 year Anniversary for the Basement Club

This will be a fun week, so mark your calendar. I will also give some of my art to selected visitors...it might be you?

Take some pictures at the Basement Club...and have a chance to win some Lindens...
 

Skrunda 2

Recently when I found out that 30 % of my DNA is from Eastern Europe & Russia which includes Belarus, Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania. I was happy to find Skrunda-1, also known as Skrunda-2, is a ghost town and former Soviet and Russian radar station located 5 km (3 mi) to the north of Skrunda, in Raņķi Parish, Latvia.

That is what I love about Second Life you can actually find a place that exists in Real Life. Skrunda remains a ghost town and is now officially closed to visitors. Read more about this sim on Inara Pey's Blog. This place is worth a visit and perfect for all sorts of picture taking.

As I wandered around I felt like I was in the midst of some Russian undercover project looking for some hidden spies. I always find it interesting the things you can learn in Second Life. This is all about the history and people in the United States may have never heard of this place and I myself cannot recall ever hearing of this town. I enjoy researching about the real-life places I visit in second life so this was quite educating to me. I imagine the place at one point had its charm and beauty and now just sits to decay way. Let me know what your thoughts are on the place.

You can also join the Skrunda 2 Flickr group that has pictures taken at the sim.

Enjoy your travels and stay safe!!!

There is society, where none intrudes

Sometimes I just go and explore places and hope nobody is around and I can have an entire Sim to myself. I sit there and enjoy the silence because the silence has become familiar. I don't always have to have people around me, I enjoy the solitude.

Solitude is not a way of running away from life … from our feelings. On the contrary. This is the time we sort them out, air them, get over them, and go on without the burden of yesterday. I like to be able to look around as I sit there and take a picture. It is kind of like painting a picture in real life and here every pixel, every prim is important for the composition of the picture.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more
~George Gordon Byron

There is a difference between solitude and loneliness and it is important to recognize it. Why do I choose Second Life to find solitude? It is quite simple, I can find this place anytime I am home and use it as an escape from the loud echoes of people talking and expressing their opinions on what is right and wrong, but never let you express yourself.

I can build beautiful gardens on my land and I do not have to worry if anyone will like it or not. It does not matter. For me, it is the perfect place to express myself. Here at my place I renew myself and replenish what I may have missed because laughter dried up or a person went a different way. Don't be afraid to sit awhile and think!

Stop by the Retreat if you need a place to sit down and think and find some solitude. 

Be unique and have fun...

Here at the Basement Club, we value music that is unique and superb just like the colorful visitors who come here on a daily basis.

You are free to express yourself or come as you are. Be a positive energy trampoline – absorb what you need and rebound more back. It may not always be easy, but the people who come here understand what it means to be different. Different is the new norm and here we took out the judgemental attitude you may get somewhere else. Don't let someone else's opinion become your reality. Make your own. 

It does not matter what you look like here. We all have one thing in common and that is the love for music and the humor a bunch of people can bring.

“Fear of what other people will think is the single most paralyzing dynamic in business and in life. The best moment of my life was the day I realized that I no longer give a damn what anybody thinks. That’s enormously liberating and freeing, and it’s the only way to live your life and do your business” — Cindy Gallop

I like the fact that the people who come here feel that they are valued because they are. It does not matter if some revealed their real-life identity or others are hidden behind their avatar. I value the time people spend here and that means more to me than anything else. I feel that at this moment that they are here we are connected to each other. We are experiencing the same dialogue and hear the same music and see the same unique people.

It is amazing to me that the Basement Club will celebrate 5 years of existence on April 2. We have done changes and what we have now is a nice venue to come and spend some time in. Maybe even meet some new friends.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day may not be that romantic when you look back at its origins. Actually, the origin of the holiday is not really clear but it may date back to the Romans who around that day celebrated a day of hitting women which was thought to bring them fertility. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

“Love is a smoke rais’d with the fume of sighs;
Being purg’d, a fire sparkling in a lover’s eyes;
Being vex’d, a sea nourish’d with lovers’ tears:
What is it else? a madness most discreet,
A choking gall and a preserving sweet.” Shakespeare 

Of course, flowers and chocolates are still the most popular gifts, but if you want to be creative and really impress your loved one here in Second Life, why not pay their tier for a month or two. Maybe you can create a prim and texture it, it is the thought that counts, not the value of the gift.

Either way, have yourself a wonderful day and feel loved if not by anyone else then be kind enough and love yourself.

Ein dreifaches "helau-helau-helau"

 

Sometimes people do not understand my German way. I do not like to sugarcoat people when they do wrong. Sure it would be easier to just be quiet, but trust me when you keep it all stored inside sooner or later it will all explode, and then the situation is much worse.

The people tell me to be more tolerant. Ok, what does that mean to just say yes and amen, go and kick me some more? I am sorry I am going to refuse. It is not fair that only one side gets to express their opinion and the other side needs to be oppressed.

Right now in Germany, it is Fasching time, which means you dress up and watch comedy shows and parades. All this is not possible this year...it is sad because like I wrote in earlier posts that humor cleanses the soul from all those aches of hurtful words and wrong-doings that we have been "tolerant of" over the past year.

Therefore I will get the comfort of this old traditional Fasching song...

Das Leben ist kein Tanzlokal, Das Leben ist sehr ernst, Es bringt so manche Herzensqual, Wenn du es kennen lernst, Doch brich nicht unter seiner Last,

Sonst wärest du ein Tor, Und trag was du zu tragen hast, Geduldich mit Humor, Und denk dein ganzes Leben lang, Ans Lied das dir die Mutter sang: 

Heile, heile Gänsje 

Es is bald wieder gut, 

Es Kätzje hat a Schwänzje 

Es is bald wieder gut, 

Heile heile Mausespeck 

In hunnert Jahr is alles weg

Hier is a Corona version, which is very fitting:

De-Clutter

Routines are what keeps us safe and confident because we are familiar with them. It is important to try a few new things and if you are unhappy about your current circumstances, then put on your dreaming cap. Imagine your new world. You are the architect of your life and your dreams are the blueprints. Use your imagination and the power of visualization to expand your potential -- and then take action.
 

Remember, you don't have to do anything. Everything is a choice. Every moment is an opportunity to create the life you want. Whether you're shifting your thoughts or changing your environment, the power is in your hands. Some things may be bigger than others, so pick what fits you well.

I redecorate the Retreat in Second Life every season. It does not always look the same. There are a few things that remain the same, but some of the landscaping may be different. It is that fresh look that we need ever so often, so life won't get stale. I compare it going through your closet at home and throwing out the stuff you have not worn in years. Maybe you kept them because you thought you would fit into them or you kept them as a memory. It is ok to let them go. 

Just jump right into your new plans. Spring is coming and it is time to explore your creativity and learn something new. De-clutter not only your living environment but mentally as well. I love making a new environment in Second Life because it helps me be creative and often I cannot create my real life with luscious gardens, here in Second Life I can.

Feel free to stop by and enjoy my lake and garden here at the Retreat, it is for everybody to enjoy. I will be adding some more sitting places so you can just relax and take pictures. Or use this time to clean out your inventory of the hundreds of items collected from events.

The Covid Exhibit

 

The Covid exhibit holds some of my drawings and paintings I did as I was thinking of what it looks like. Some of the key points that became important to the world, like masks, toilet paper, and vaccination.

It is here to maybe bring a chuckle or two, but never to take the pandemic lightly or to disrespect those loved-ones that have been lost or have been affected by the virus. Use the hand sanitizer when you enter the exhibit and don't worry about a thing. The motto here is to stay safe and stay at home, but be here in SL. I will have this part of the exhibit open for another few months, so you can come and visit as often as you like. 

Here are some quotes I found to maybe bring you a smile:

The World Health Organization announced that dogs cannot contract COVID-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.

How did the health experts lie? They said a mask and gloves was enough to go to the grocery store. When I got there, everyone else had clothes on.

What do you call panic-buying of sausage and cheese in Germany? The wurst-kase scenario.

Please do stay safe out there and do what is needed to keep the virus from spreading. Let's hope by next year around this time this will all be a thing of the past.

I know some people may think that making humor out of such a serious event, but you know I keep thinking of the movie " Jakob, the Liar" in where Jakob tries to combat the overwhelming depression and suicide that pervades the ghetto, Jakob invents fictitious news bulletins about Allied advances against the Nazis. These lies keep hope and humor alive among the ghetto inhabitants, spirits are lifted, hearts are refreshed, and optimism is reborn.