123123 the last day

What is so special about this date 12/31/23? Other than it only happens every 100 years, it doesn't mean anything. Of course, many numerologists may argue otherwise. 

Here are some differences from 100 years ago:

1. Second Life did not exist in 1023 nor did we

2. There was no internet

In a way, we are so much luckier in 2023, even if the year was hard for most of us. I know the new year will bring new exciting adventures for all of us. So, get ready for 2024 and mark the date 123123 as a date you experienced :)

What is coming in 2024?

The Basement Club will celebrate 8 years of being here. That is a big deal if you think about it because many clubs in Second Life will kind of vanish. So we will celebrate this in April with a special set I built. I am not sure yet what the theme will be but I know it will be fun and since I am OCD I look for all the details to be precise.

The Basement Club is just a small little Club that caters to those who like the eclectic sounds of Indie and Alternative. We strive to be unique and different.

We wish all of you who have ever come to the Basement Club a very Happy New Year and if you have never been here why not try it out.

I will also add some new drawings and paintings in the Retreat Gallery and I would love to feature an artist here as well. If you have any art you have created then contact me and you can display some art here.

 

In BetweenThe Years

Many German offices shut down on Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) and don't open again until after Neujahr (New Year's Day). That means everything must be done on December 23rd! Since they won't be back to work until the new year has begun, they have finished one year of business and are truly "between the years" when they go home on December 23rd! In German it is called "Zwischen den Jahren" and most people do not work during this time, at least not in offices, schools, and so on. Germans sure do know how to take a break, that's for sure.

Friends gather here at the Basement Club. 2024 will be 8 years. Time flies and memories remain.

That is of course the perfect time to log into Second Life meet up with friends and chat about the past year and the plans for the new year. Relax and reflect and do not worry about the upcoming year. 
With all these nasty superstitions, you may want a lucky charm to ward off any potentially unpleasant stuff. Germans consider the following items as bringers of good fortune:
1. Chimney sweeps (Schornsteinfeger) – You may have to settle for a miniature likeness, sold with clover pots around New Year’s in Germany.
2. Ladybugs (Am.), ladybirds (Br.) (Marienkäfer) – Not only are these insects good at devouring aphids, but they are also considered lucky – perhaps because they are so helpful and beautiful.
3. A lucky pig (Glücksschwein) – It doesn’t have to be a real live pig. A wood or plastic piggy charm will do just fine. Pigs were once a symbol of wealth and prosperity. If you had pigs, you were doing well. (get some pigs in Second Life for luck)

One of my very good friends Draki (what a deer) came to visit me.

4. Four-leaf clover (Glücksklee) – Many cultures consider clover, particularly the four-leaf variety, to be lucky – Germans included.

5. Penny coin (Eurocent) – Symbolic of money, but not too expensive. Back in the days of the Deutsche Mark, it was a Pfennig. Even further back: “Wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert.”

I hope you will come and make some memories with all of us here at the Retreat and the Basement Club, especially in between the years. We have a feeling you like it and will stay for the rest of the year. The Retreat is open all year round for all residents to enjoy and hang out at.

You can also read up on some old superstitions that I wrote about a few years back. They still exist. 

Guten Rutsch! (Have a happy, prosperous New Year!)

CRMC

Looking for that perfect gift for your loved one? But you are short of linden dollars? I found the perfect place where you can get a quality out-of-this-world gift and maybe pick up one for yourself as well.

Cosmopolitan Regal Motor Company is owned by Devon Reggiane and offers a vast range of inexpensive, high-quality, modern SL cars that ANYONE can afford.

Flying over the Retreat

I love these cars because they also can be used for flying and they can be changed into many colors. The main part is that they are so cheap. How does he do it? Now cheap does not mean they lack quality, not at all. I own several cars from different makers but CRMC is really the best for the price.

Make sure you join the group because you can win some free cars. Just me being there for 15 minutes I got three of them free. It is that easy. You can also win gift cards and get the daily sale of a car for cheaper than your shoes.

I think this is good news when the creators of Second Life also give regular people a break. I know it takes time to create something and you want to get paid for that time. I totally get it, but I also LOVE it when I get things for free or almost free and it isn't junk.

Thank you Devon Reggiane and CRMC for having such wonderful cars.

The Holidays means music from around the world

It was always a tradition in my home to include music as I grew up in Germany. December was such a cold and dark month and having music around made it much warmer.

Here in Second Life, you can find that music all over because there are so many sims you can visit and enjoy music for the holidays.

So many clubs and places have special music playing during the holidays. It is hard to pick a favorite because they are all unique and special in their own way.

I enjoy sitting around the fireside with people that I have met from all over the world. It is music to my ears. This is where you can share how you celebrate; even if you don't, it is all so special.

Here at the Retreat I also enjoy the music, the DJs are all playing their favorite music and not all are holiday tunes. Of course, it is always nice to hear holiday music from around the world. What is your favorite song for the holidays?

One of mine is "Kommet,ihr Hirten" from 1870 but a 1912 English version of the song by Mari Ruef Hofer is known as “Come, All Ye Shepherds.”

Mixed up Traditions

I always have to chuckle when I think about that pickle in the Christmas Tree story. In Germany, we never placed a pickle ornament on the tree, and it may be the German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch) who invented this to create their own tradition. Whatever it is we did not have a pickle.

I finally won the beauty of a gacha. The ultra-rare tree from Bee Cauldron

The Christmas Tree was introduced in the United States by German settlers in the 1800s. It rapidly grew from tabletop size to floor-to-ceiling. There are some stories of the Christmas Tree starting in Alsace, France but that territory was Germany in those days, so that makes the tree German :)

You can find so many beautiful trees in Second Life, absolutely amazing.

Are you ready with your shopping?

The tradition of gifts is believed to have started way before Christmas, but one reason may be because the three Kings (Holy Wise Men) came to give gifts in honor of the birth.

St. Nikolaus would also bring goodies to those who were on a so-called nice list which later we incorporated into Santa Claus. Different countries have different ways of how and by whom those gifts are delivered. Of course, now that gift-giving is so big you will find sales for the holidays everywhere, even in Second Life. It is big business.

Looking for some free gifts? 

You can find an Advents calendar in the Basement Club and it will give out a free gift for every day in December until the 24th :)

You will also find live DJs M- F starting at 6PM playing some fantastic music from a variety of genres.

Advent Calendars have all of a sudden become a "hot" thing, at least in real life. It is all about the commercial money-making thing.

Everybody stops to spy the Christmas star up in the sky
The Christmas carols now begin
With everybody joining in
And all the doors are opened wide to welcome in the Christmastide!

Let's make a new tradition about love and peace no matter what you believe in.

Deutscher Treffpunkt MITROPA Gaststaette

Sometimes on the mainland, you see some interesting spots and creations. This one is next to the Retreat, so I had to go over and check it out.

The creator of this place is Lorelai Lefevre.

The parcel reads: "A little reminiscence to the long-gone German Democratic Republic. GTFO Hub with German Meeting Point, Deutscher Treffpunkt MITROPA Gaststaette. Nonpolitical attitude. Route 12 North Nautilus. Pilots use small planes like D-TREL or  STOL. Approach 18 @78m."

I had to do a little research because second life makes me want to get smarter. I found out that Mitropa was a catering company best known for having managed sleeping and dining cars on different German railways for most of the 20th century. Founded in 1916, the name "Mitropa" is an abbreviation of Mitteleuropa (German for Central Europe). The railway carriages displayed a distinct burgundy-red livery with the Mitropa logo.

The Mitropa here in this second life parcel has the Mitropa as a meeting stop for little planes.

In the picture to the right, you can see the Retreat in the distance all covered in snow.

I have to travel around my neighborhood a little more. You never know what you find on the mainland.

Perhaps you want to check it out and if you have any information you can add please do so in the comments. I am curious. I grew up in "West" Germany and I never heard of Mitropa and my father worked for the railroad. Stuff you learn here. 

DDR GDR Deutschland Ost Treffpunkt GTFO!Hub & Wandlitz Airstrip

feel free to ask Lorelai Lefevre, the creator. 

Read the comments :)

Once upon a December

...and I leave it to December to teach me that new beginnings don't really require new calendars. Just new thoughts that these Winter months will grow big and tall enough to let the sadness know it has no place in the days ahead.

The month of December is a hard one for me. One year ago my sister left this place and on Christmas Day my mother left. My daughter left yesterday to begin her new life away from here, but this month also brings great joy. We scattered our thoughts like snowflakes into December, now lost until the snow melts.

I have lots to be thankful for because it has also been one more year that I was able to survive. As you may recall last year I was in the hospital in real life and let's see almost was deleted. I am so thankful to be here. Second Life helps me in many ways to make the Retreat look festive, to host different events, and hopefully to bring some laughter and joy to people.

We can't always look at all the dreary events that happen around us, because there are so many more cheerful things that happen unnoticed (or we take for granted). December should be the month when we reflect on the year's events. Oh, by the way, that story about Germans and the pickle in the tree is made up. In Germany, we NEVER put a pickle in the tree.

However you celebrate in this month remember to make that phone call or send a card to those who are lonely and have nobody to share the joy of the holidays with. Trust me there are many out there in Second Life and in Real Life. Some people do not have Second Life, we are the lucky ones.

Come and visit the Retreat, pose with the holiday car and take pictures, skate on the ice skating rink, and get some free gifts in The Basement Club from the Advent Calendar.

Adagio Gardens Karaoke !!!

 Are you looking for a place to sing your little heart out? Adagio Karaoke community focuses on friendly, no-stress singing and socializing. Besides the karaoke, you find gentle waves and soft breezes with idyllic places to lounge or photograph. If you tire of the seas, there are many other locations nearby. Use the region's teleport system. Old Town, Winterland, Ice Skate, Snow, Christmas, romance, horse, mermaid, rentals.

This is a lovely place and all singers are applauded and encouraged no matter what their skills are. I have heard some amazing talented people here as they sing live or almost live. Grab an info sheet and it will explain it all when you get there.

Here are some times:

Almost Live Karaoke takes place weekly and currently has three show times
Saturdays are "Hybrid Karaoke, a mix of Live singers, and "Almost Live":

5:00pm SLT Mondays your Hostess is Maddy Magic 
Alternating Wednesdays
5:00pm SLT Wednesdays. Your hostess is Eva 
5:00pm SLT your Host is Malcolm Magic 
3:00pm SLT Saturdays your Host is A.S. Melodious 
The karaoke streams live through the region's sound, so be sure to have your world music on!

Devon Reggiane is one of the talented singers there, he is amazing and you really need to check him out.

The Adagio Gardens region has an M rating, however, our show is G-rated. Please dress appropriately. As Second Life itself says, don't wear anything you wouldn't wear to visit your dear Grandmother and Grandfather.