Nordic tundra Heimen

Looking for a quiet place? Natthimmel, a creative open space photogenic spot kindly invites for a visit to Heimen, a place loosely inspired by Nordic tundra landscapes. Make sure to wear a warm sweater! 

I wish I had brought that sweater because the winds here are very chilly. It was not that bad, because I survived it and it is also good to have some furry friends close by. This is most definitely a very nice place to take pictures.

(The word “tundra” derives from the Finnish word tunturia, meaning barren or treeless hill.) Instead, the tundra has patchy, low-to-ground vegetation consisting of small shrubs, grasses, mosses, sedges, and lichens, all of which are better adapted to withstand tundra conditions.

I did not see any creatures here, but I am sure they were lurking around behind rocks and boulders. A tundra is a barren land but it is beautiful and calm other than the wind singing its song. The air smells like the ocean and you feel the Arctic cold come over you. It is breathtaking to be here. 

11/11 Portal

The number 11 is referred to as a master number and a potent manifestation number. That's November 2023's energy. It's interesting to note that the number 11 comes up when adding the day, date, and year of 11:11:2023. This month is very powerful for manifesting. 

Whether you believe it or not, numbers can have powerful meanings. Today is just one of those days you may want to try to wish for the things you want in your life. What do you have to lose? Other than negative energy. What I love about Second Life and the Retreat is that I can turn anything negative to make me feel great in Real Life by just creating what I dream of. We all can do this.

A year ago, I almost died from a pulmonary embolism. I survived the operation and had another chance to live and create. That alone is a miracle.  
This year's 11/11 portal is extra special thanks to numerology. Adding up the date 11/11/2023: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 11 results in what's known as a triple 11 day. This is a rare and powerful energy portal that is shifting your reality, creating space for new opportunities. You're entering one of the most influential periods of your life. What you say and visualize over the next few days will set the tone for the rest of your year. The energy of the 11/11 portal will help you become more self-aware and connected to your inner being, enabling you to tap into your spiritual potential.

Don't hold back. You can make your dreams come true, just believe. The creators of Second Life believed that this virtual world would be the place where people come and learn, work, meet and so much more. Here we are 20 years later and their dream did come true. So can yours. Every day is a day that you can create whatever you desire.

Peace my friends!!!

St Martin’s Day

Now that Halloween is over and Fall is in full swing, it is time to prepare for St. Martin's Day or Martinmas. According to folklore, if the weather is warm on St Martin’s Day, then a harsh winter will follow; conversely, if the weather at Martinmas is icy, then by Christmas it will be much warmer.

But what is Martinmas? Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In Germany we celebrate this with lanterns and a feast of goose, breads. It is a day to reflect on kindness. I remember that in school we often made lanterns and then walked around with them on the playground. In November the morning are still dark and everything looked so pretty with the illuminated lanterns.

‘If ducks do slide at Martinmas

At Christmas they will swim;

If ducks do swim at Martinmas

At Christmas they will slide’

‘Ice before Martinmas,

Enough to bear a duck.

The rest of winter,

Is sure to be but muck!’

We also sang lantern songs and as children walking the streets at night, sometimes we would ring doorbells and sang those songs in exchange for some sweets. Sound familiar? Kinda like Trick o Treat. Legend has it that, while in hiding, St. Martin was betrayed by geese squawking. He had hidden in a stall in order to avoid being appointed Bishop of Tours, and in revenge for the betrayal St. Martin ate a goose. Children nowadays play the game duck, duck, goose...!

November 11 is also the official start of Karneval, Fasching and Fastnacht. These holidays all begin eleven minutes past eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month! It is at this time that carnival clubs and neighborhood groups start their preparations for the carnival season. This fun season then culminates with huge Fasching (Mardi Gras) parades in February.

Middle of Nowhere

Here I was in the middle of nowhere enjoying some quiet place after the long Halloween season. 

"The Middle of Nowhere is a quiet expansive rustic prairie with peaceful music, horses, sunsets, and fresh air. Roleplay is welcome. Take a breath and feel at home."

This is a beautiful place and exactly as it is decribed. Here you never know who you might meet in those fields. I saw some naked man strolling around strutting his stuff like the horses around him. No, I did not take a picture of him, well actually I did.

The poor bloke wanted to impress this maiden,
 or maybe they were role-playing I do not know.
I just was not prepared to see this, so I airbrushed it away.

After all I came here to take pictures and that was my mission. I recently send some of my Second Life Postcards and real life art postcards to a RL person and I never got any remarks if they were good or bad. For weeks now I felt I do not have any talent and my PTSD skyrocketed. So I decided to start taking pictures again and do some new art and I landed here in the middle of nowhere in Second Life. 

As a wannabe artist you kind of need that feedback that you are good enough. So I thought. I do not need it and I can tell myself I am good enough. Anyway as I was scanning around I saw "him". No, not that naked guy, someone else. At least I think it was a him, nowadays you just do not know.

I just gathered all my courage and stood next to him and snapped away with pictures, one after the other. I was not going to be rude so I told him I wanted to thank him for letting me stand next to him and that I was taking pictures. Of course I also explored his profile and found out he is the owner of [KROVA], a very innovative store. I saw some super cool stuff, that you have to check out. The store and creations are by IRON FIST SOUND DOLPHIN (arken.soothsayer). You can also check out his twitter if you like and see some of the cool stuff.

You just never know what you find by traveling around different Sims. Do travel to the middle of nowhere and take lots of pictures, it is a serene place and who knows who you might run into.

I know he was smiling. I saw it from behind!!!

Happy Halloween or is it?

You know what I find really scary that even in Second Life it is all about shopping, shopping, shopping. Buy this and buy that and come to this shopping event. The events also get bigger and bigger. It is a constant bombardment of goods to buy.

Damn machine took my lindens.

Some years ago I would see ads to go and visit certain sims and see them for their beauty and experience. I loved that very much. Those places gave me inspirations to create my own space. Now I do not see this as much anymore. Blogs now are filled with shopping and where to get the best goods. Is that what Second Life has become now? A giant shopping place?

I understand the creatots of goods want to sell their stuff and I am sure they welcome these events. After all it took time to create things and time is money, even here. I used to enjoy a monthly magazine that concentrated on Second Life photography. It featured certain artists and had lots of ads of creative places to visit. I know the magazine would charge for the ads and that is how they were able to fund the time consuming effort of a creating this magazine. I am not gonna mention the magazine here, but now they want you to pay lindens to read the magazine and look at the ads. I say no thank you to that.

We live in times where money is tight for everybody and trying to have a getaway like Second Life should not cost you a pixel and a pixel.

I just hope this will cease a little and we are going back to the somewhat basics of the experience of what Second Life is. What is the solution? I really do not know. I am just a consumer and I am looking out for what I can afford to spend on this entertainment. I like the gacha idea still when you buy an item you can at least sell and trade it after you are done. I mostly buy gachas and then resell them according to their value at that time. This also helps my inventory of thousands of things I have and no idea what they are.

 Happy Halloween everybody. Stay safe out there!!!!

SHADOWFELL II

If you have not visited this place it is an absolute must. 

Continue the journey as Calas Galadhon creators Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith reopen the dark Elven gates of SHADOWFELL, this year traveling by elven boat or on foot into a 3rd new region of swamplands and dark forests. 

The colors and athmosphere sets you right into the forrests deep where shadows lurk. You can spend hours here just looking into every corner and discover something new. I totally forgot about time when I was here, it is an amazing place. The soundtrack helps and sets you in the mood. Elven law dictates whom shall pass, and whom shall not.

The walls of our high order are built by giants who live in the mountain passes to the west of our Shire, a place of goullish retreat guarded by trolls.

“You are dark and I am light, so keep away
From the night!”

What are elves? Clearly they are not those we see at the North Pole with Santa? 

Elves are supernatural beings in Germanic mythology and folklore, elves were first attested in Old English and Old Norse texts and are prominent in English and Scandinavian folklore. They can be good and bad and it all depends. When you are here at Shadowfell, see if you can find any elves, I know I found the troll who guards the gate and is very firece.

What does shadowfell mean? 

In terms of primary meaning, I would say that "fell" here primarily is an adjective meaning "fierce; cruel; dreadful; savage". Since the Shadowfell is a rather harsh place, and filled with shadow creatures, I would the authors were using that as a primary meaning. On the other hand, your interpretation of "Place where Shadows Fell", could also be correct, as the whole land itself is shrouded in a gloom.

Let your imagination run wild and create your own story. 

“Every man or woman who makes a stand
helps keep the flame of freedom burning.”

Eiter way you will love to explore this place, it has every magic and mystery you may be looking for. Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith are masters of creating places of pure imagination and the best thing about it, it makes you feel like you are right there. I just love this about Second Life. Go visit with a friend or by yourself.

(Second) Life behind Bars (not the drinking places)

When you first made your Linden Lab account you agreed to the terms of service before you enter the fabulous world of the virtual world. I know most of us never read the fine print and I understand why, it is a lot to read and understand here.

Second Life is generally for adults 18 years and older; however, if you are 13 years of age or older you can use Second Life with some restrictions. So, I do not recommend that anyone under 18 logs into Second Life. Not all people behind the avatar are looking out for your best interest. I do think Second Life is very good of following their terms of service, so be good and follow the rules just like everywhere else.

Double Trouble

Of course you can roleplay the good and evil here, in fact Second Life has a large community of Role Playing, just look around and find what you like. Only if you like of course. 

Do not disclose your personal information to people unless you fully trust them. It can have consequences and I know this from my own experience. I had twice an angry wife (2 different wives) from the same man call me and cuss me out. So keep your phone number private. I am not saying this happenes to everybody. Many people have met in Second Life and actually met in Real Life and then got married. Just be cautious like you would be in Real Life.

Exercise common sense and your best judgment in your interactions with others.

Ok, so you are still here and have not been frightened away. Good! Go make your account after you read the terms and when you are ready have some amazing fun whether it is music, art, photography, role playing, building and creating, real estate, commerce and so much more. It is all here. No wonder some people have been here for 17- 20 years. 

Always BE GOOD!!!

Dandy wanted to take some Linden Dollars from a bank but that landed us here "behind bars" Crime never pays anywhere.