Midnight falls on the ABC Island

~ image ~ Sedja captures a last post


As midnight falls on the ABC Island in Second Life, Sedja captures a last post.

Exploring the Blake Sea

~ image ~ Sedja in port at the island of Halfhitch in the Blake Sea in Second Life

In the couple of years leading up to the founding of Space Pioneers, Stjarna and Hulda explored many places in Second Life, slowly discovering how the virtual world worked.

Some folk dive in and do much swiftly, but other people quietly explore to find out what is possible, as they learn the ropes of the virtual culture.

After exploring many of the separated regions, or islands, around the ABC, exploration of the mainland in Second Life was begun, both land and sea, where places like the little island port of Halfhitch were found in the vast Blake Sea.

There are many islands scattered around this sea, which are all open to the public, where visitors to Second Life can explore.

Beneath the waves are many sunken vessels and coral reefs and upon the water the hobby of virtual world sailing is pursued by many, including regular races.

There is a virtual wind in the Second Life air, which fills the sails of yachts, drives hot air balloons along and sends the smoke of a fire in the direction of the moving virtual air.

Free boats are available in many places, including in the harbour at Halfhitch, so denizens can practice the arts of sailing.

Beneath the waves in the Blake Sea ancient ruins begin to appear, especially around one particularly large island, which shall appear next on our tour following the trail of the Space Pioneers toward the launch of their project.

VOSS Tour Work Begins in InWorldz

~ image ~ Sedja with the beginning of the tour of the story of the VOSS in the VOSS

The first two boards are up in the VOSS, at the VOSS landing point via the teleporter, to tell the story of the creation of the VOSS.

The VOSS tour entries in the blog are also becoming the displays, with the text available as a Notecard from the board.

The VOSS (virtual orbital space settlement) is located above Sprite in InWorldz.

I have my first image ready to be displayed in the Sedja gallery in the VOSS.

Now to inspire Stjarna to build it.

Stjarna is the main builder at Sprite.

Having different forms in different virtual worlds leads to differences in character and a diversity in creative threads.

This diversity will inevitably lead to a different style of work with art in InWorldz.

Overtime, maybe the work of the worlds will merge and the vision become threads that, like the strands of a rope twisted together, merge to become a stronger whole.

Not too twisted, I hope.

The spirit will fly.

The Dream of the VOSS is Born

~ image ~ Sedga at the ABC Island in Second Life with an image of the founders of Space Pioneers, Hulda Vyper and Stjarna Szondi, on their Sedgeway scooters at the island in early 2011

Where to begin?

How about the beginning?

That'll do, for a start ~

and for Space Pioneers the start was on the ABC Island in Second Life, where Stjarna and Hulda had been learning how to function in the virtual world, venturing out on expeditions and returning to this safe haven.

ABC stands for Australian Broadcasting Commission and as the national broadcaster in Australia, is owned by the people.

It was in this setting that Space Pioneers was given its launch into the virtual world at the ABC Island on the 13th of August 2011 ~

and also in real life with an article published in the Tasmanian Times on the same day ~

http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/the-official-launch-of-the-space-pioneers-and-the-bifrost-campaign/

The leading light of the vision, Stjarna Szondi, had been involved in space advocacy since joining the L5 Society in 1976, when he became very familiar with ideas for building cities in space.

Stjarna was joined in this adventure by a scientist, Hulda Vyper, who stepped on board as the science officer with Space Pioneers.

The simple aim was to solve the problem of building an orbital space settlement in the virtual world, or find where this was happening, where an avatar could walk around the inside of a wheel shaped space settlement.

In space the wheel would be rotating and the outward force would generate gravity on the inside of the wheel.

A virtual orbital space settlement (VOSS) would allow a realistic space environment to be created and used, as if the avatar was in a city in space.

Space Pioneers Stjarna and Hulda were not imagining a large project, just a simple working model that could be used in education, science and for recreation.

When a dream begins with deadly intent, you never know what will happen.

So the dream began.

The Doomed Island of Hope

~ image ~ Sedja at the doomed ABC Island in Second Life

A visit to the ABC Island in Second Life revealed a growing protest movement, with a large board raised telling people where they could lodge a complaint directly with the ABC ~

http://www.abc.net.au/contact/complaints.htm

Even at 4am, Eastern Australian Time, the dedicated Rails Bailey was there with a placard, who has also launched a special site in an attempt to save the ABC Island from sinking beneath the virtual waves ~

http://railsbailey.com/

As the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) is ultimately owned by the Australian people, citizens can have their say by also writing to their political representatives, to suggest, or demand, that the nation maintains a proper presence in the virtual worlds for a growing number of virtual world users.

If the ABC Island is still lost, the idea can live on, if people dream and seek ways to turn the impossible into history.

The flag on the board is the Eureka Flag from the doomed Eureka rebellion on the Ballarat gold fields in 1854. This symbol is also the Southern Cross flag, which became the inspiration for the stars of the Southern Cross on the Australian national flag.

Saturday 22 September is the last day, if there is no reprieve for the doomed ABC Island.

Spirit Rise to Meet the Stars

~ image ~ Sedja at the Greenman's Tavern at Sprite

It is with a little sadness that I must depart this shore, for a little while, to follow the journey of the Space Pioneers who began at the ABC Island in Second Life, founded a project on the island of Nautilus and then struck out across the void to launch the island of Sprite in InWorldz.

This story will include their development of a virtual space program and the key instrument for this, with the VOSS (virtual orbital space settlement), in which any number of people can become directly involved ~ as if in space.

They are very ambitious, aiming to build the first orbital space settlement in the Solar System, a city among the stars and a style of construction that may prove to be the basis of the first human migration to another star system.

Will they succeed?

If they do, it will have begun with a simple vision ~ to develop a working model of an orbital space settlement in the virtual world. 

I have lodged a note in the InWorldz Forums about this journey through the virtual worlds ~

http://inworldz.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=13285

Do you see the painting behind me?

This is a work by Stjarna, the co-owner of Sprite with Hulda.

The work is simply called ~ 'Clydes Island' ~ and is of a tiny rocky islet on the coast of the Forestier Peninsula in Tasmania, the southern island State of Australia.

The waters in front are called Pirates Bay, which is where Eaglehawk Neck is found ~ a sandy connection to the Tasman Peninsula, once guarded by fierce dogs. 

This area was once a rather big British Prison in old Van Deimen's Land.

Stjarna says the harbour at Sprite is a bit like Pirates Bay.

Now tourism is a bubbly affair for the peninsula, including at the iconic Port Arthur, which was once the main prison town on the Tasman Peninsula.

Ruins attract visitors and people have ever found the ruins at Port Arthur strangely appealing.

It was on one tragic Sunday in 1996, when Stjarna was completing this painting, that news came over the radio of events at Port Arthur.

It turned out that a mad gunman had killed 35 people and wounded 23 more.

Stjarna ever wondered about the connection of this painting with the Port Arthur massacre and how the rainbow was like the Viking bridge to the heavens, called Bifrost.

Why the vortex with those clouds?

Stjarna felt it just seemed right that it should be like that ~ and then events rolled out around a brooding land of pain and memories.

This is why Stjarna offered this painting to the people of East Timor, when they gained their independence from Indonesia in 1999 and it was accepted by their first president, Xanana Gusmao.

The people of East Timor had suffered the massacre of a couple of hundred thousand of their citizens, as a mad regime in Jakarta tried to hammer them into the Indonesian empire.

They refused to be hammered.

Now we see the tragedy in West Papua, which is a territory the size of France, the western half of the island of New Guinea, suffering a similar story to East Timor and for much longer, since the United Nations allowed Jakarta to move in as the new colonial power in 1962.

The story of West Papua will rise in this journey with the Space Pioneers, because it merges with many of the main events of space development, such as the launch of the Moon Race and the 1969 Moon landing.

This is the human story of tragedy and achievement.

Some events cannot be avoided, as we are tumbled through the vicissitudes of life, but at other times, we do have choice.

Space Pioneers wonder if we now have an option with expansion beyond Earth, that we have had that choice since 1969, but it may only happen when a large enough number of people rise to seek it.

Will the human spirit rise to meet the stars?

Will the World allow the West Papuan people to find freedom beneath their stars.

Maybe those two events are connected, in a strange kind of way, as with the rising of East Timor from tragedy, the freedom we come to win is not always the life that the powerful would have us live. 

On the Bridge at InWorldz Desert Island

~ image ~ Sedja lands at InWorldz Desert Island

Here I am, on the bridge at InWorldz Desert Island, where all new people first arrive and which is a popular gathering point for the denizens of Iz to catch up and share news.

And nobody is holding a gun at my head to be here (spot the cannon?).

Having many "Free" stores also draw people back, including a range of offerings in bodies, clothes, furniture, scripts and even a statue of the founder of Second Life, Philip Rosedale in his Linden avatar form, which can be found scattered around these territories, including at Sprite.

Did you notice the new skin?

Lilly told me about Abraminations, which I knew of from Second Life and all the fun things they sell ~ so off I teleported and found a neat set of metallic hides, the Wildcat Metalic Skins, created by Wildcat Snowpaw.

Now that is a name with claws attached.

The skin is described as Turquoise.

This may help with my equipoise.

It's not quite the exquisite blue crystal hide that I wear at Nautilus, but maybe it will do, along with the Gold.

Yes, metallic gold arrived in the set and now I can live as if I have felt the touch of ~ Mr Goldfinger ~ from time to time.

I wonder what would go well with a golden skin?

Shifting Shape and Form

~ image ~ Sedja in InWorldz starts to gain form and character

The first task in shifting shape is to find a shape and a "free" form from Pari Perenti was applied.

Anything identified as "free" here has come from the "free" store at InWorldz Desert Island.

Next came the skin and the one selected is a Blue Fairy from Timida Trejo, also "free". 

On the trail of a blue skin, maybe an ice blue skin will be found.

"Free" grey-blue eyes came from Bellamy DeVille.

The hair was purchased from EMOtions ~ the Noemi ~ and I think its quite neat.

Last but not least, the coat-hook got a "free" dress from Fuschia Nightfire at Wearable Art.

One last item ~ also "free" ~ is the Be Happy Smile Animation from Bob Peterson ~ but this one is just the smile.

Now the hunt is on ~ to find a really good face animation with a good range of expressions.

On the Wild InWorldz Frontier

~ image ~ Sedja in the tavern at Sprite on the wild frontier of InWorldz

This is terrifying.

Leaving my beautiful ice crystal form behind at Nautilus to go wild and explore the frontier lands of another virtual world, called InWorldz.

Everyone starting out here begins with the basic "Ruth" avatar form ~ and my challenge will be to match my other form, within reason.

I have leads and will go shopping.

For now I am hiding out in the Greenman's Tavern at Sprite, a wonderful build by Elwing Qendra.

I have an animation override on from Vista Animations, which creates a lot better appearance than not having an AO in these parts.

The next big challenge will be to head off to InWorldz Desert Island, where there are some pretty cool "free" stores to help get the new avatar up and presentable.

Will I launch a studio in InWorldz? 

Will I open a gallery?

Time will tell ~ how and where.

For now ~ I am an explorer on the wild InWorldz frontier.

Sailing the Dragon Sea-ways

~ image ~ Seeking the fjords

What a hoot it would be to sail on a real live Viking ship recreation through one of the grand fjords of Norway, just like the Vikings once did, as they sailed out to the open sea in search of adventure and new lands.

For now I must settle for the fine Viking ship in the Viking culture display near the studio at Nautilus and imagine what it would be like as the dragon ship rose up onto the crest of a wave and then went riding down into the dip, before rising up again.

To feel the clean salt spray on my face, to hear the sea wind blowing through my hair, all to be imagined, as I stand on the landed Viking ship at Nautilus.

Postcard from Sprite

~ image ~ Sedja with the postcard from Sprite

Don't you love to receive a post card with an image from a distant land?

In InWorldz our little tribe has an island called Sprite, where we have a most exotic 'Solstice Moon Garden' created by Julia Hathor of Creative Fantasy.

It is a great visual pleasure to spend time in the Moon Garden.

And now we have an exotic visitor in our Moon Garden, with the arrival of Lilly in her new look, which can be spied in the postcard image on the easel.

If you feel like an adventure, get a passport and visit InWorldz ~ another virtual world ~ find Sprite and near the landing place is the Moon Garden.

Don't be distracted by the tavern ~ the mead is a bit strong there ~ and visitors start thinking the images on the walls are moving and talking to them ~ silently.

Another surreal treat at Sprite is the Crystal Cave, but I will leave that story for another day.

The Art of Dream

~ image ~ Portrait of Sedja Vas

Sometimes it's simply nice to be

in the studio with a cup'a tea

letting life go tumbling by

to focus on the art of the dream

An island in space waiting to happen

~ image ~ Sedja hovers above a rather large model of an island in space

Would you like to live among the stars?

In the early 1970s the Princeton physics professor, Gerard K. O'Neill, worked out a way for any number of people to live and work in space.

A rather neat model of O'Neill's vision, made by Jimbo Perhaps, can be found at the Space Studies Institute island, not far from their landing place ~ just fly up.

The model of the island that could have been built in space, using resources from the Moon and asteroids, would have been ten kilometres long and the home of a million people.

The island in space would be like living on Earth, as an Earth-like gravity would be generated by rotation ~ and this model is rotating.

O'Neill estimated that the Asteroid Belt alone had enough raw material to build islands in space with a total land area equivalent to 3,000 Earths.

If the dinosaurs had woken up to this potential, they might still be around, looking down on us.

LAG Petition Delivered to Governor Linden

~ image ~ Sedja delivers the LAG petition to Governor Linden at the Second Life HQ in Battery Street, San Francisco

Sometimes I can't move and then I move too much. 

Do you know what I mean?

As a denizen of the virtual world, I am plagued by poor control ~ and it really needs to be fixed up.

Attempting to get the right angle for a photo takes an absolute eternity ~ and often second and fifth best have to be snapped.

Better and finer control systems are needed for we avatars ~ and better camera controls too ~ EVER SO URGENTLY ~ so that we can actually work properly and live a more realistic second life.

Is that too much to ask?

So I shot out of the pixel landscape and hit the streets of San Francisco to deliver the LAG petition at the Second Life HQ ~ but as the doors were firmly locked ~ I think they're terrified of activist avatars ~ I have placed the LAG petition by the main entrance, reading ~

"Petition to Governor Linden ~ We, the undersigned, denizens of Second Life, beseech Governor Linden to apply some serious investment into developing improved avatar movement, working tools and remove the lag that deprives virtual world builders of valuable work time. For the virtual world to really work, it needs to really work, so that real workers can do real work."

How would human beings like to suffer from the same level of LAG suppression and overshoot suffered by we avatars???

What was that???

~ image ~ Sedja at Zooby's where cat avatars can be adopted

A green dot could be seen approaching on the mini-map and then it was next to me ~ and what was that?

Looking around, yes it was ~ it was a person with a cat avatar behaving like a cat ~ brushing against legs ~ moving around ~ entwining ~ being feline.

A little black kitty was visiting my studio ~ and it had a beautiful purrr.

This is the first time I have seen a really excellent cat avatar ~ and like a cat on the move ~ it shed a little love and fur ~ and moved on ~ and was gone.

Just like a cat ~ they either stay forever ~ or are gone in an instant.

Do you love cats?

Now you can be a cat ~ in the virtual world.

A hunt into the Second Life Marketplace revealed a suspicion as to the maker, especially when the ad boldly read ~ "ZOOBY'S offers the very first MESH CAT AVATAR to ever exist in SL. He moves exactly like a real life cat. He randomly relaxes, lays, kneads and sits. He purrs, meows and naps. He runs, jumps, leaps and eats. He is the perfect size for a domestic kitty."

The Marketplace revelation was followed by a foray onto the pixel ground of the Zooby's store and the finding of the cat to adopt, for all who would like to run as a mog, form prides and be able to respond to delicate questions, like ~

"What's new pussycat?"

The ABC Island to sink like Atlantis

~ image ~ Sedja reacts to the news that the ABC Island in Second Life is scheduled sink like Atlantis

It came as quite a shock to discover that Australia's government owned national media network, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, commonly called the ABC, is about to abandon its presence in Second Life and allow its hugely popular island to sink beneath the waves like a second Atlantis.

Launched on the 19th of March 2007, this is where I made my first baby steps as an avatar, ever so gingerly finding out how the virtual world worked, getting the computer settings right and finally breaking out only a year ago to explore virtual world prospects at Nautilus, then venturing into InWorldz and onto OSGrid to see how the growing pantheon of virtual worlds worked.

A report from the day of the launch describes how ~ "The island has been developed collaboratively with 3D, sound and design students and staff from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), with creative writing from Jackie Turnure (AFTRS/LAMP) and direction and significant building from SL expert Gary Hayes. Interested Second Life residents known as 'ABC Friends', Lisa Dethridge (RMIT) and renowned artist and animator Nathan Jurevicius were also key collaborators in the project."

http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s1874876.htm

After a massive griefing attack in May 2007, the ABC Island was described as the third most visited commercial site in Second Life ~
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/abcs-virtual-site-griefed/story-e6frfmq9-1111113593638

Now the landscape appears to have changed and the ABC is avoiding the virtual worlds in all shapes sizes and forms like it is a carrier of the plague.

Gabby Shaw, Acting Head of Strategic Development @ ABC Innovation recently wrote about the pending death by drowning of the ABC Island ~ "The ABC’s experience in Second Life has certainly exercised our imagination, but we feel there’s not much left to explore. We don’t see any new virtual worlds either by start-ups or a major web presence on the horizon. We do recognise though the continued growth in Second Life’s earnings since it started nine years ago, with one million people logging in each month and earnings of over $75 million a year for the founder Linden Labs. It’s obviously working for some but by all accounts it’s cyber-sex, gaming and virtual real estate that are the real drawcards, so it’s time for us to go."

http://abc-innovation.tumblr.com/

Seeing reference to "cyber sex", one can but wonder if there has been any political influence over the withdrawal of ABC funding for virtual world activities.

This is not a sudden decision, as ABC support for their island in Second Life as been scaled back to a volunteer level for some months, with all the amazing old builds removed and the new less impressive constructions never completed. 

The process appears to have been a slow strangulation, by cutting funding, before the final act of drowning the island.

Australian artists active in the virtual world became alarmed in 2009, when there appeared to be a real prospect that access to the virtual world would be blocked under proposed censorship laws. 

In her letter to the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, the virtual world Australian artist ~ Juanita Deharo ~ wrote in June 2009 ~ "You are probably aware there is concern amongst the virtual world community regarding the possibility of virtual world sites becoming inaccessible due to the possible introduction of filtering. The issue has been somewhat sensationalized and there is now a great deal of concern amongst the virtual world community about the future. I am writing to you to seek clarification of the government’s position and future intentions."

http://juanitadeharo.blogspot.com.au/2009_06_01_archive.html

In her letter Juanita declared, "I represent a group called ‘Australian Artists’ which is a group of artists working within virtual environments, most commonly the virtual world ‘Second Life’, but also including Open Sim, Open Life, Legend City, and others."

The virtual world has come to reflect the interests of people on the street in real life and for some, this is offensive. There will always be members of society who find real life offensive, where art often finds itself in the firing line, as an easy target for offence attacks.

We all have choices and just as in real life, we can decide what we do.

We can build a safe environment for children, but we can also build a mature world, where visual art can be explored in all its dimensions, just as happens in the art galleries of the real world.

If the whole society is forced to become a primary school environment, then youth will never learn to handle the adult world, making forbidden fruits all the more attractive.

This form of morality warps judgement and creates a secret society without moral judgement.

Considering the growth in virtual worlds and their increasing use in education, it is bizarre to see the ABC running away to hide under a bush and as a national broadcasting service, neglecting the needs and rights of a growing number of virtual world users.

A Delightful Adventure

~ image ~ Sedja sketches Jaqi Bluh in the studio ~ on the new couch

A good model can at times be hard to come by and at present I have a good friend living nearby at Nautilus to call upon, with Jaqi Bluh.

The new couch is handy too, as a place to work on, snooze, dream and generate impossible visions.

Nautilus is a very happy place to have a studio, with its echo of history and with the Space Pioneers nearby presenting ambitious designs for our future beyond Earth.

Hopefully we won't get another Earthquake at Nautilus any time soon, as sunken ruins and collapsed walls around the coast show has been the fate of the island from time to time.

Jaqi has the old Bohemian gallery, next to the general store, where she displays odd pieces of art to admire ~ and wonders about that great novel that hasn't been written yet.

Now to ponder upon the exhibition pieces for the gallery over yonder, all finished and ready for some artistic action.

It is all quite a delightful adventure.

The Arrival of the Immaculate Gifts

~ image ~ Sedja stands before The Arrival of the Immaculate Gifts by James Gleeson

It is the pleasure of an artist to be a pilgrim to the great galleries, often built like ancient stone temples, defying time with their immortal treasures.

On one visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1986, I came upon an amazing work by the Australian surrealist painter James Gleeson, entitled The Arrival of the Immaculate Gifts.

For most of his career as an artist, Gleeson painted as if living in Europe, creating works that did not look or feel like Antipodean art.

The master of paint served a long apprenticeship, as it was only when he reached the age of 65 and retired from employment as an art critic, that he was gripped with a new vision which finally revealed that he had grown deep roots into the Australian land and sea scape.

The Arrival of the Immaculate Gifts was one of the first works in this newly invigorated style in 1985, when Gleeson was 70 years old.

Look closely and you will see that it is in part drawing inspiration from Turner's The Shipwreck and taking the story forward in time onto the fatal shore of the Australian land and sea scape, where many have perished on the ocean attempting to reach the land Down Under.

Upon returning to Tasmania, I was delighted to discover another Gleeson gracing the wall of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, called The Nest of Premonitions, which I would spend time with during visits to the city and ever find some new element to wonder upon.

Having been in an ocean cave where the innards of the living sea had been tossed up and revealed, I could feel what Gleeson was saying with his surreal imagery in paint.

I knew this story of the land and sea and sky flowing through his story spread with colour upon canvas to echo through time for others to find.

In 1993 I would have bought that Gleeson in the Watters Gallery in East Sydney, though I know not its name now, if I had the $7000.

It was like a work of devotional art, that would ever inspire, that would ever reveal some new element, as if a hidden program was renewing its form when not seen.

When I see art that draws on the sap of the land, I am left wondering if I am seeing and feeling the dreaming that we hear of in Australian Aboriginal culture, telling the story of the Earth through the dreams of the elders.

Gleeson is gone now, having passed on at the ripe old age of 92, but from his hands there are hundreds of works in the new style of an elder artisan, gifting something immortal to the world and the lovers of art.

The Shipwreck

~ image ~ Sedja in the studio with 'The Shipwreck' by William Turner

One of my all-time favourite paintings is 'The Shipwreck' by William Turner, who proved his metal in this 1805 oil painting for all to see.

It is such a tragic scene, with the death of a ship in a fierce storm and the desperate attempt to rescue survivors.

So many lives were lost to the ocean over the centuries and still are, when people take their fate in their hands on the waves.

Turner did not just observe, but also immersed himself in the experience, as when he had himself tied to the mast of a ship in a storm, so he could feel the experience that he sought to paint.

Such was the movement of light and elements in his art, that he broke the old ways of painting Nature with a new vigorous experience of the land and seascape.

His later art heralds the vision of the Impressionists that were to follow and in many ways, Turner's work is the dawn of the modern art movements that blossomed in the wake of those magicians of light.

Turner's 'Shipwreck' still looks back to an earlier time when art was more formal, but as if the ocean is released through the canvas, a new vision is washing through and a new adventure in art is upon us.

The Man from the Moon

~ image ~ Sedja with the Earthrise

Explorers from the planet Terra ventured to the Moon to challenge infinity and looked back to discover the Earth, floating like an emerald in the velvet night of space.

For a moment the vision echoed around home planet with the words of the explorer from the Sea of Tranquility, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

Then, like Narcissus falling in love with his reflection in the water, the human spirit fell for the Earth and fell back from the Moon

For some the love was with the beauty of the emerald orb, the spaceship Earth on its endless journey through the cosmos.

For many the love was for the black coal and oil that enabled a mighty civilization to rise and deliver wealth to many, but not all.

For a few the flickering flame of expansion among the stars lived on, but such was the magnetic attraction of Narcissus for the waters of Earth, most people remained blind to the glittering stars.

The man from the Moon has now left the stage, along with many who challenged infinity, but his memory will live on like an echo through time, of a mythical age when Narcissus looked up and reached for the stars.

Should we kick the water, should we splash the face, should we break the trance that has Narcissus' gaze locked upon the shimmering Earth?

Those who dream may sing their song of space and might be heard, that we can, if we will, rise up and reach for the Sun's unlimited energy and build far greater dreams than can ever be known on Earth alone.

Instead of slowly killing home planet through obsessive lust, we will have the energy to save the Earth from Narcissus' trance and liberate the human spirit among the stars.

If enough people awaken, to beat the drum of action, to return to the Moon, to press on to Mars, to reach for the stars.  

Just Dreaming

~ image ~ Sedja on Stjarna's couch ~ just dreaming

At times it is sublime just to dream, to float on the river of time in the sun and wonder about all that might be.

That is the role of an artist in life ~ to dream and to wonder ~ and then to create the wonder that makes others wonder.

The artist may go out into life ~ even for years ~ to experience the strife and the sublime ~ and then return to a safe haven to dream.

And out of the dreaming the form can emerge ~ from the memory of strife and sublime ~ of excitement and beauty ~ of places beyond the touch of sight or depth of reason.

And so it flows from the artist's dream, from the depths of imagination, a new flower of creativity may blossom in the light of the sun.

From the heart of the dreaming ~ through the hands of the making ~ into the creating and sharing. 

And then people passing by may stop to see the flower of art and wonder at this dream now taken form ~ and be moved by the experience ~ and be inspired to wonder and dream of what might be.  

The Mysterious Ross Bridge Art

~ image ~ Sedja with a snapshot from Sprite of Van Demonian and the Ross Bridge display

Today we look at one very intriguing historic mystery concerning an 1836 stone bridge with carved art upon its arches that simply should not exist.

Tasmania is the island State of Australia and was once a notorious destination for convicts, when the place was the British penal colony called Van Diemen's Land.

One felon who escaped the noose in England for highway robbery, Daniel Herbert, was sent out for the term of his natural life in 1827 and put to work in his trade as a stonemason.

In 1830 the township of Ross needed a new bridge for traffic north and south over the island and a convict gang began work, but no bridge was built, as the materials kept disappearing into the local construction industry.

Convicts were treated like slaves, sometimes in chains, often whipped and free settlers saw it as their natural right to enjoy the fruits of convict labour.

In 1833 the former ruler of Iceland, Jorgen Jorgenson, was sent to Ross to solve the bridge thieving spree, but was met with a solid wall of silence and still the bridge did not get built.

Unable to contain the free radicals of colonial private enterprise, in 1835 Daniel Herbert was offered his freedom, if he built the bridge.

No worries, mate ~ the bridge got built, was duly opened in 1836 and began its long life as a working bridge, which continues to this day.

But two historic puzzles remain concerning the Ross Bridge to taunt any Sherlock Holmes of historic investigations. The first mystery concerns the 186 stone carvings along both sides of the three stone arches. 

All who have read the historic documents, whether government decrees, letters or diaries, will tell you that there is absolutely no mention of any carvings on the bridge.

The colonial government was very anxious for this bridge to get built, as it was years over-due and the last thing that they would want is any further delay with a vitally important upgrade of the main road running north to south across the colony.

Other than occasional keystones, carvings were never made on the arches of stone bridges, making the Ross Bridge the only one in the world to have them.

So why would anyone allow convicts to chisel very elaborate carvings, when the main task was to get the bridge built?

As if that were not enough, there is also a mystery about the meaning of the carved stones. Some have claimed that it is Celtic art, but it doesn't look like any Celtic art that can be found.

Maybe one day someone will solve this double-banger mystery. 

Maybe.....

Here is a recent article on the mysterious Ross Bridge ~ 

http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/the-mysterious-art-of-the-ross-bridge/

Ross Bridge Display ~

For anyone keen to see more and unable to fly to Tasmania just yet, there is a Ross Bridge display in the Tasmanian Heritage room on the lower level of the Sky Gallery above the island of Sprite in the virtual world called InWorldz. Call in and examine the mystery and if you wish, help solve it. Enquiries can be sent to the historian in InWorldz, Van Demonian ~

Vandemonian.devil@gmail.com

Forgotten City's Rusty Robots

~ image ~ Sedja gets no words from rusty robots in the Forgotten City

Some robots around the Forgotten City have gone to rust and may even be beyond hope of what a good long soak in oil could do.

If ever the people of this city return, they will have to invest in a robot repair program, as their machine servants are not so hot at keeping their metal selves well sprung.

As our own civilization lives through the dawn of the robot revolution, will the time come when, like the Forgotten City robots, we will fill the land with machine servants to do all manner of work, liberating people for creative roles in life?

Creative liberation was the dream of automation, but it didn't happen, as society failed to design an economy to match the changes. Now wealth flows to the few that would once have been paid out in wages to the many.

There is nothing wrong with more wealth flowing to the few, but when children are left hungry, there is.

What use is a society if children are not fed, or raised in a healthy environment, or offered creative options in life?

A long time ago we had the agricultural revolution that led to cities. Then more recently the Industrial Revolution arrived to change the world and currently automation is changing the world of work, even on farms, as machines move in.

Dairy farmers love the thought of not having to get up in the ungodly hours before dawn, but unless there is a creative revolution to build a new society fit for all children, the dawning robot revolution may simply repeat the past and another amazing opportunity be lost to send poverty on a long, long holiday into the distant past.

Lurking around the Forgotten City may make a person wonder if this SteamPunk society got the mix right.

Forgotten City Toy Train

~ image ~ Sedja is enthralled by the Forgotten City toy train

The people are long gone from the Forgotten City, but the toy train still runs in the museum, watched over by one of the robots left behind to keep the city running.

Maybe the people will return ~ Maybe they have gone to Mars ~ Maybe they are flying among the stars.

Maybe we can imagine what could be, if we had a choice.

Could we fly among the stars? ~ We flew to the Moon ~ We could have flown to Mars.

We make a choice ~ or accept the choice that is made. ~ That is our choice.

If enough people in this world decided we must fly among the stars, it must happen.

I feel that in my bones.

That it is our choice.

The Forgotten Cities Mechanical Cat

~ image ~ Sedja meets the Forgotten Cities mechanical cat in the museum

A company in Second Life called the Mechanical Toy Factory builds an unusual line of abodes, seven of which can be seen near the studio at Nautilus and an old style red car they built also, across from the studio entrance.

The shop for their diverse range of wares in the SteamPunk style can be found on a sky island, located above the Forgotten City that they built, which like Nautilus, is a place that the original inhabitants have abandoned, but left their houses and machines behind.

In the Forgotten City museum can be found a rather wonderful mechanical cat and I am very sad to report, this metal mog cannot be bought.

A larger propeller powered vision of the mechanical cat can, from time to time, be seen moving through the canals of the city.

There is much to explore in the Forgotten City, where mechanical men stand vigil from a forgotten time when this town bustled with activity.

All that is left now are the machines grinding away among the stone buildings and that sound of a train is a model, still working, watched by the mechanical cat in the museum of the Forgotten City.

My New Sky Studio

In science its called Serendipity, which is a bit like the goddess of discovery, when the unexpected appears from the misty shadows to surprise the observer. 

Having created a sky box above the visual art studio yesterday and applied some basic textures, a little fiddling with one-way transparency created a view out through one wall and a rather amazing visual effect.

Thanks Serendipity.

The image of this vision from the sky is now hung in the visual art studio at Nautilus.

To the right another sky box can be seen ~ which is the sky gallery ~ where the best creations will be exhibited.

At 300 metres up, the tree on the left is not on the ground, but in another sky box, which is a retreat for the little people ~ the petite elves and micro pixies ~ which is accessed via a magic door in a tree stump on the ground near the visual art studio.

Now, onto the next step in this amazing visual adventure, where Serendipity is an artist's friend.

~ image ~ Sedja with the new work ~

Opening to the Light of Art

Sedja stands on the wall at Nautius before another of Alia Baroque's fascinating buildings.

The way is now open to further the light of art at Nautilus, with the purchase of a second building from Fallen Gods, also created by Alia Baroque, to serve as the entrance to an art gallery located in a sky box above.

Art will be displayed at ground, with sculpture in the park beneath the trees.

The gallery building is within sight of the studio, on the high ground, where once a villa may have stood, before the people of Nautilus mysteriously vanished, leaving evidence of their world across the whole island, including some ships on the coast.

The gallery will compliment the studio delightfully in the creation of high quality art to share with all who love the dance of light in the visual element ~ the play of ideas that tumble like clowns through the mind ~ the lightning bolts of inspiration that reveal hidden meanings.

The immediate task is to capture images of interest to an artist's eye and set these out in the studio, as stepping-stones toward the more considered gallery creations.

Why is Nautilus different?

Nautilus is quite unlike much of Second Life, where there may be a main road running across the continent, but blocks are jammed in and may be subdivided down to a couple of square metres and where development can extends across the water where the sea floor has been sold.

Often the result of this ad hoc development is absolute chaos and frequently quite ugly, where out-of-control terraforming can leave landscapes looking like a well-bombed world.

At Nautilus there is a protected coastline and large areas of protected public land and buildings.

All lots are 32 by 32 metres in various configurations ~ sometimes 2, 3, or 4 in a row ~ sometimes 4 in a square ~ with access ways running around the blocks.

Land on Nautilus can be sold and purchased, but never subdivided or the ground terraformed.

This limits the forms of development to a consistent pattern of smaller shops and private projects, like as a house.

It is impossible to have any building project happen on Nautilus larger than 64 by 64 metres, which limits the scale of development, but not too much.

In this way the created classical character of Nautilus is essentially maintained, along with it's interesting environment, as if it is a protected heritage site.

At the western end of Nautilus, by the docks there is a free store, where buildings, objects and even clothing in the style of old Nautilus can be obtained, which some residents make use.

The result of this mix is a swing through time from historic origins, to modern development and then a return to more historic styles, depending entirely on the choice of the landowner, or those who rent.

All in all, Nautilus is a fascinating project in managing the virtual life environment, using controlled development that offers freedom of choice, but limiting excesses.

This is often the way good environments are maintained in the real world.

Another boon for Nautilus, is being entirely surrounded by ocean, including the very expansive Blake Sea, which is used extensively for sailing, has many islands to explore and treasures beneath the waves to explore.

A test of the success of Nautilus is the release of land at auction by Governor Linden (Second Life) ~ which ever results in a frenzy of fierce bidding, especially by real estate agents.

And after the hammer falls, Nautilus returns to its sleepy mist of a place lost in time. 

Creative Heart of Lava Flows

image ~ Sedja and the visual arts studio ~ a building created by Alia Baroque. 

Working on other projects had for too long taken this artist away from the visual practice and creative pressure was building within like a volcano that's time had come round again. 

Having selected a really neat avatar body by Fallen Gods for a robot some months back and with that project not growing legs, a thought sprang out of left field like a wild cat twisting through the air.

Swooping off to Fallen Gods, the Ice Crystal form was acquired and upon departing that amazing enterprise bristling with creativity and art, a sign caught my eye for buildings to see on a sky platform above.

So up the teleporter went I, chasing curiosity and found a couple of rather neat builds ~ but didn't buy ~ not then ~ not yet.

A block of land had been available for rent at Nautilus for months, which led to wondering how one of the Fallen Gods buildings would look set out there.

This was last Wednesday 15th ~ and I rented the block ~ and I bought this fabulous building created by Alia Baroque for a studio ~ and the game was on.

No robot involved here ~ but the real beating heart of a human being primed and ready to explode with artistic expression.

When the image shown in this blog entry was taken, the virtual Moon was seen rising in the east and a rather interesting composition was irresistibly captured with Sedja and the Moon.

This haunting image has now been hung in the studio.

Thus ~ a red hot visual art project was born ~

and also launched into the blogosphere.

Sedja Visual Art Studio

Shahar on Nautilus

Entering upon a new adventure as a visual artist in the virtual world of Second Life, to create works in the visual environment and meld real world observations into the visual creations and from this cauldron of creativity, new visual art will be released back into life.