The Basement Club

I find comfort in knowing that this one dream and desire I had long ago is still here. The Basement Club still has the best music for those who love music and do not want to hear the newest of the new or the good old tunes. The Basement Club is different and unique.

I created it for the people who need to find a place of peace and comfort and I hope that is what the people who come here will find. You could come here with your sweetie on a Wednesday Night and have the entire club for yourself. (We have DJs M, T, TH, and F, and Wednesdays and the weekends off.) This club is not about making lindens like some clubs strive to make.

We are here to find comfort and maybe some laughter while we listen to the music.

Sometimes I am here listening to music and writing my postcards that go out into the world. Having the people whether a few or many makes each day a little better. Sometimes I feel detached from family and friends and I know it is the PTSD that is triggering this. At least I can get some joy even if it is just a few hours at a time.

A few week's ago I was in the fire zone of being evacuated from one of the BIG California Brush Fires and I thought just another thing on top of everything that has happened since December. Being able to express one's fears in a situation like this was very helpful. Second Life friends are always so helpful in making me work through this.

Grief

There are still so many things I grieve as the heat of summer keeps me indoors, but thanks to Second Life I get to see some nature, even if it is virtual.

It is like a painting that I am creating as I see grief acting like a scared mouse and hiding in the corner under my bed. Grief is such a thief of joy and laughter and just when you see the light and sunshine it comes and steals that brightness away. 

Grief is such a juggler of emotions. It can hold all of them and they spin around like a whirlwind of summer storms. Yet in my loneliest hours, I come back here like I did in the beginning. Here grief can be tongueless and does not need to tell me anything I already know. I do not need to speak to anyone at all. 

I am thinking of all the plans I still have in front of me and I slowly have started to work on them as I recover from grief and death and health and loss. I am still grateful that I can log on because you have to or you could lose your mind and that would be the last thing I want to give to grief.

Feel no guilt in laughter, she knows how much you care
Feel no sorrow in a smile that she’s not here to share
You cannot grieve forever, she would not want you to
She’d hope that you can carry on, the way you always do
So talk about the good times and the ways you showed you cared
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared
Let memories surround you.

Natthimmel

Natthimmel is a creative photogenic space that welcomes everyone to visit, take pictures, explore, and just enjoy it. The current installation is a mysterious planet Gliese 581e from a universe parallel to ours. Travel to the barren land of Gliese to experience the adventure, solve its mystery and meet ancient creatures.

En natthimmel tätt beströdd med stjärnor. (A night sky, packed with stars.)

I think it is a beautiful place that was created here. Most definitely perfect for picture taking.

What is Gliese 581c? Gliese 581c is a super-Earth planet that was discovered in 2007. It resides in the Gliese 581 system, which at 20 light-years from Earth is relatively close to our planet (in celestial terms). While early research suggested that Gliese 581c may have liquid water on its surface because it resides in its star's "habitable zone," more recent research suggests it may have a Venus-like environment.

I like the idea that when I visited this sim it made me research about this planet. I never really knew about it.

I hope you go beyond Second Life and find out more for yourself. It is never too late to learn new things.

"Planets of the Gliese 581 System"


William Wordsworth, ‘The Stars are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand’.

The stars are mansions built by Nature’s hand,

And, happly, there the spirits of the blest

Dwell, clothed in radiance, their immortal vest;

Huge Ocean shows, within his yellow strand,

A habitation marvelously planned,

For life to occupy in love and rest …

The Retreat in the early morning hours

The Retreat wakes up early in the morning. If you are into taking photographs in Second Life then this is a wonderful place for it. I like the tranquility of it all. It is quiet and beautiful and you won't get too many visitors that will disturb your picture taking. This is also the place where you can find the Retreat Gallery with a variety of exhibits. (As mentioned in the Second Life Movie)

I love trying out different wind lights for a misty sun rising. What are your favorite wind light settings?

The Retreat is open to all residents, you do not have to be a group member. My vision was to always share what I enjoy and so it shall be. 

 

The Next Chapter

Now with Second Life's 20th Birthday being over, what will be the next chapter in my second life?

I most definitely have more time now after retiring from my many years of teaching. In the last few weeks as it all sinks in I feel this absolute stillness but the hours are flying by faster. No reason to get up at 6AM and then when I do get up it is after 10AM. All these hours are gone and I have not done much at all.

I am making some plans on what I still like to do after all we are going into the Halloween season, my favorite holiday. I am thinking of different ideas and the annual hunt I will create here in Second Life at the Retreat. What kind of art will I think of that may have been inspired by something that I saw here in the virtual world. Oh, yes, then there are the many postcards that I will collect and may print of the amazing photography you can do here. As a deltiologist, I have the responsibility to expose the world to what can be done here. People have been collecting postcards for decades; they are a snapshot of time and give a wonderful insight into what life was like back then. They also generally keep their value, don't degrade and the longer you keep them, the more valuable they could become. And there is that word "snapshot", sound familiar? Yes, because you take snapshots in second life.

I am ever so grateful to all the people who show up at the Basement Club.  Sometimes it is a bunch of avatars and sometimes maybe only a few. Either way, these people have chosen to be here at the Basement Club at this particular time and that is amazing especially when Second Life offers many many other places to be.

The next chapter begins now and may it be filled with many new things to discover and may it hold the old memories alive.

You were long gone

My Dear!

But for some reason

I kept sending you

The Postcards

and now I know

Why they say

"Old habits die hard"