Moonwalkin... Second Lifers REPRESENT

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

5:09pm UPDATE: And here it is: The chosen segment live and... moonwalkin!

In a marathon session yesterday, at least twenty Second Life® residents moonwalked around the Bogon Flux at the Odyssey under the direction of Mescaline Tammas and his cheerful partner in crime, four Yip. The goal is to submit a filmed segment to Eternal Moonwalk (click, click, click), an everlasting virtual tribute to the late, great rocker, Michael Jackson.

Kindly click through and vote on your favorite segment here.



Animations were provided by Iron Serpente. The lovely ducky Ravenelle Zugzwang made a "the making of" machinima, too! We are so serious in Second Life. :P

Real Life illustrator four Yip has already submitted her clip, and it's a wowzer, of course.

Bryn Oh pokes fun at da boys

Artist Bryn Oh has discovered machinima, and we never know what she's going to do next!

Obsessed with Kubrick - In virtual worlds, your passions can materialize

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

UPDATE! The Kubrick Rooms have a new home. Teleport directly from here.

With a name like Rumpledink Robiani and a somewhat scruffy but nevertheless Hellenistic avatar to match (high forehead, tousled hair and piercing eyes), I already expected more than the regular fare from the character whose Second Life® installation I had just visited thanks to a tip from Impossible IRL'er Esther Shim. What I did know is that the person behind Rumpledink is obsessed with film, and in particular, the cinema of one director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor: Stanley Kubrick.


Rumpledink’s avatar, immortalized and illustrated by in and off-world artist four Yip

Now, I know a thing or two about film having been nearly as preoccupied with it as I am now with virtual worlds, but Rumpledink’s ardor easily exceeds mine. This born and bred Brit really knows his stuff and he’s made it possible for you to learn more about his idol with his meticulous creation and tribute to Kubrick’s films, the Kubrick Rooms (teleport directly from here).



I'm sure I didn't catch all the tributes and hints of your Kubrick Rooms. The orange bathroom… it is at the hotel (The Shining)? I'm not real good with horror.

Rumpledink: Yes, I'm the same. I'm not a big horror fan, but love Kubrick. Great scene. It is when he goes back in time and meets the caretaker, Delbert Grady. Grady spills a drink on Nicholson and takes him into the bathroom to clean up. He tells him "No, you are the caretaker here. You always have been."



Have you seen "The Killing" - an early black and white Kubrick flic? (I thought surely I’d stumped him)

Rumpledink: Yes, and will be showing it at my little Redrum cinema soon :) I’ve got a load of his early shorts, too.
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Indeed! It also seems that Rumpledink is not the only Kubrick fan on the grid. He and Violet Morellet were chatting one day and discovered that both of them were constructing a tribute to "A Clockwork Orange’s" more than zany Korova Milk Bar, where the milk served there is laced with drugs.


Violet and Rumpledink have thoughtfully provided animations on site so that you may become a coffee table. While researching for this post, I learned that there is a real Korova Milk Bar in White Plains, NY – This shot by Rumpledink

Rumpledink: She was going to stop making hers. I said, “No, finish and add with all my other rooms.”

What were the odds that you would both be doing it… and meet?

Rumpledink: I know… right! And the freaky thing was they (the rooms) were the same… the way we were building it.


Say hi to HAL and the Eva pod in the 2001 A Space Odyssey room

The centerpiece of the installation is the War Room from Kubrick’s 1964 insanely strange comedy "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," featuring Peter Sellers in three distinctly different roles.





I learned a few days ago that Rumpledink is going to lose the land the Kubrick Rooms sit on, so if you have 1,000 prims to spare and love Kubrick, here’s your chance to rescue one of the better virtual tributes we’ve come across.

Four Yip freaks us out

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

Four Yip is an Amsterdam-based illustrator and artist in Real Life who amuses herself (and blows our collective minds) by creating often-free virtual items that push the boundaries so hard that they must hurt.


I picked up my freebie copy of her "Waldemar Twins," a most unusual avatar and set, at the Freakshow organized by Loglady Loon, which opened earlier this week.

You wear the avatar and then throw your arm over the shoulder of the photographed twin on a set. Genius.

Four explains it this way: "I made one part of the twin (and) the "other-half" is lost. Only a portrait of her other-half is left. You can pose with the other-half's portrait if you put on the avatar (sit on the poseball), and soon you will find 'the freak' inside you."


Get yours and see the rest of the Freakshow by teleporting from here.

See also:

* four Yip's improbable tableaux + you
* Folks love four Yip
* Hotel accomodations to dance about
* A birthday present from four Yip
* four Yip's Lune-acy
* The four Yip Fashion Blender a la Alpha Auer

The four Yip Fashion Blender à la Alpha Auer...

Posted by Alpha Auer ;-)

I totally love dress up games!

Here I have taken it upon myself to play around with four Yip's clothes (with her gracious consent of course). I have added things from my own ridiculously voluminous virtual wardrobe, and left out other items from some of the original outfits - with a particular eye on making these ensembles thoroughly NPIRL.

four's clothes are funny, in fact some of them are absolutely hilarious. And then, they are romantic, whimsical, elusive. In short, they are a treasure for any female to possess. So, my objective here was really not to improve upon what was already there but simply to take a personal look, make an interpretation...
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The shoulder rats and head bats come from four's latest piece lune-acy. I combined them with the hybrid skin by Vry Offcourse (available here), a clock belt by Phantom Kabuki (available here) and boots by LuizHernandez Slade (available here). The skirt actually belongs to four's Happy Hour ensemble, I simply increased the transparency a tad.
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The French Souvenir chambermaid is a lusty wench who is most certainly no better than she should be. Here she is frolicking around, broom in hand, hefting a shiny black scarab jetpack complete with wings (available here) by Ryan Snook. She also sports what I think is one the funniest hairdos I ever saw in Second Life®, a strange breadloaflike appendage created by Sunnivah Jiutai (available here). The roller skates are actually Bett's input, telling me of an old mate of hers who apparently roamed the streets of Real Life, dressed as a chambermaid on roller blades.

And while we are on the subject of roller skates or roller blades, I feel that paying homage to that so totally not possible in Real Life personage, Rollerina is also in order here on this post... NPIRL? It is all in a state of mind methinks...
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No, I have not decided to become a Furry. A close friend of mine has graciously helped me with these photos. She would also prefer to maintain her anonymity, so I will respect her wishes and not disclose her name...

The outfit is largely made out of four Yip's Roly Poly ensemble, from which I used both the skirts, the flower belt and the bird bow, the roly polies on the chest and the flying birdies. The top garment is by June Dion and is part of a Victorian dress called Vanessa, (available here). The furry avatar (of which my friend is only using the head) is created by Miaka Amat and can be obtained here. This is truly one of the most beautiful furry faces that I have seen to date. Instead of obliterating all expressiveness in the usual jumble of prims Amat has utilized the top part of the human shape and added prims only to the cheeks and chin. Finally, the boots are by LuizHernandez Slade and can be found at the Freebie Dungeon (here).
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I have combined four's wallflower skin with a Cherry Tree Hair by Ameshin Yossarian of Curious Kitties (teleport from here), a ladies jetpack by Vincente Shepherd of the Gaslights Emporium (teleport from here) and Steampunk leather boots by Thomus Keen of Steam Powered Nuts (teleport from here). The skirt is something I cobbled together.
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The Happy Hour outfit is I think one of the funniest that four ever put together. I have merely underscored the highly obvious here of course: Mademoiselle Demure whips off the gray two piece suit, only to emerge from under the table as Madame Voracious! Everything else used here comes from four's "four is a bird" package - except for the hair by Lola Marquez of Armidi (teleport from here) and the high heeled shoes by Lost Thereian of Naughty Enterprizes (teleport from here). The Feline skin was created by my newly found furry friend, who has asked for her identity to remain undisclosed so sadly, I am not allowed to share the information regarding that with you.
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And alas even the best of good times must come to an end at some point... So, For a grand finale: I am anxiously hoping that four agrees with me that nobody can possibly be as good as her virtuous white bird. So, for a bit light relief, I am toting that angelic headdress of white feathers, headband and the cuffs from her white birdy wings package - coupled with an ominous piece of lingerie called Innamorata, designed by Devyn Grimm, of Chaospire (teleport from here), Tekelili Tantalus' very aptly named Fleurs Du Mal boots (teleport to Tekelili's shop from here), and just in case I need to do some unexpected heavy duty construction work, a pair of steel paws designed by June Dion of the Bare Rose (teleport from here).

You can obtain all of four's wonderful outfits at one of her two little shops here. You can see larger sizes and alternative shots of the photos that I took for this post here.

four Yip's "Lune-acy"

I am currently having a complete blast, preparing a post on the outfits of four Yip, however with a twist of my own ;-). So, this mini-post is a sort of a fore-runner of that one, I guess.

four's newest creation, Lune-acy was shown recently at Crimson Rezzable. I am not sure if four has this one up at one of her two little stores already, but sweetheart that she is, I am sure she will not keep her fans waiting for too long.





Says four:

"when the moon is full ,..her dreams become nightmares.........."

Lune-atic Yipsie comes with skin and shape
with red horns ,..with and without candles
red hair,..with and without flowers and bats
with her bodytied skinsuit and her rats around her neck
she can be found being lune-ing around (touch pumpkin on table for lune-atic yipsie move)

strange songs she sings and hides under her table in a state off sleepwalking
(rezz her nightmare so it becomes yours,....)"

You can check on all of four's clothes and installations at her two little stores here. You can see larger sizes of these photos here and here.

Magical retail destinations - Even in Second Life, they are rare: The 109 Prim Circus

Via one of our favorite content creators (and illustrators) of all time, four Yip, we learned of one exquisitely magical store that, were it not for the fantastic items for sale there, would still be a destination in and of itself.

The 109 Prims Circus is a steampunk/fantasy store created by Japanese Onakagoo Epin (rez: 11/22/2006). Unlike most stores and malls in Second Life® - sadly and exceedingly unimaginative and boxlike - this retail outlet is a jewelbox containing all sorts of lovely things.

These photographs do not do the place justice because I had to crop the heck out of them due to a bug in the latest Release Client viewer.




Housed within a sphere megaprim, the store is its own environment


Two functional merry-go-rounds with crystalized and ghostly horses go round and round


Steampunkish pods contain the store's offerings, and oh what delightful items they are, worthy of many more blogposts


One gorgeous item for sale, and very reasonably priced, is a steampunk crescent moon

Teleport directly from here.

Les yeux très NPIRL....

I have to own up to this with considerable shame, but it took me an awfully long time to discover the charms of Second Life® eyes. In my newbie days I put on a plain dark brown pair and gave the matter no further thought whatsoever until way beyond my first rezday anniversary. They were simply too small of a visual component to make much of a difference to the overall Gestalt of the avatar; you could not even really see them unless you fully zoomed into a face... And who zooms into people's faces like that to begin with, would have been my justifications, I suppose.

I am not sure at what point it began to dawn on me that I was seriously missing out on something here. I think it must have been when I saw my first pair of neko cat's eyes. Quite a few neko designers have these, I want to show my very favorite ones in the image below. What differentiates them from human eyes is the shape of the pupil, which, cat-like, is elongated.



Shaoshan Llanfair's Star Eyes (top and second row) come in many colors. In addition to the sine qua non elongated pupil the sclera is dark, setting off a delicate starburst surronding the pupil and the iris. BastChild Lotus' Evocative Neko Eyes (bottom) are set against an almost black sclera and come in many hues, my preferred one being the orange since it comes very close to the cat's eye gaze. Second row from the bottom is my favorite: These eyes created by Philo Sion react to Second Life light. Sadly, your personal time of day settings will not affect them, however if you use the default Second Life day cycle you will see that these eyes expand as the environment dims, becoming fully dilated at night and then contract when daylight returns, precisely the way feline eyes do as well. This is achieved through tiny prims which become attached to your eyeballs and are somewhat tricky to adjust - but well worth the final effort I find.
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Another collection by Philo Scion is the one of the haunting Mythic Eyes (top), huge irises which make for a vulnerable avatar face if ever I saw one. A wonderful huge iris eye called Merged has also been created by AlterEgoTrip Svenska (bottom).
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eko Merlin is a man on whom I shall be writing quite a bit more before too long. For now, I would like to just whet your appetitie by showing you two of his highly NPIRL eyes: Bio-X above and Black Magician below.
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Aoimizuno Meili's intricate avatar objects were featured on this blog only a few days ago and now I want to add her Doll's Eyes to the material that I talked about then. These are indeed so lovely that Bett has already blogged them here previously. Two of these eyes remind me of a world atlas globe, superimposed with a radar scanner (maybe?) while the third one is more of a huge iris eye, textured with a lovely blue blur.
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And of course a mini post of NPIRL eyes in Second Life would certainly not be complete without showing four Yip's eye collection, two of which are inspired by Magritte's paintings and the third a gorgeous floral fantasy.
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You can find Shaoshan Llanfair's Star Eyes at Night Sky (teleport directly from here and BastChild Lotus' Evocative Neko Eyes can be seen at Lapointe and BastChild (teleport directly from here. Philo Sion's Light Responsive Neko Eyes as well as her Mythic Eyes can be found at her store Hybird (teleport directly from here. I have not been able to locate an in-world vendor for AlterEgoTrip Svenska, however her eyes can be obtained on her page at shop.onrez. eko Merlin's store Blitzed can be reached by teleporting directly from here. four Yip's eyes can be obtained from her little store reachable directly from here.

You can view large sizes of all the eye photos on my Flickr feed here.

Virtual fashions: recycle and reuse that scrap metal in times of economic and environmental woes

With the global economy (and my own) getting slammed every which way, most of my near-future fashion pleasures will likely be derived from the works of virtual designers because, among other things, I'll be spending more time in-world and not going out in Real Life as much, pixelated clothes don't suffer from wear and tear, and I can generally mod them if I grow weary of them. But the #1 reason, for me, is that I love, love, love the new directions that several designers are taking in Second Life®.

One such designer is German cutea Benelli (rez 3/10/2007) who's Grim Bros shop delighted surreal artist and humorist four Yip so much that she thought to share her find.

cutea's brainy collection - she calls it "cyberpunk thingies" - couldn't come at a better time. We must recycle and reuse every scrap...



cyberscrap

These days we aren't just recipients of information anymore. We are the information, and we must be plugged in.




synapses enhancer


information overload - cyan

Be sure to check out her many backpacks and accoutrements for the avatar who's in a special mood...


neuromechanical activator

Notably, cutea was also blotto epsilon's co-creator for the recent zany bogon flux build - a wonky, wonderful building that rezzes and destroys itself...



...and is also the co-creator - together with Giuseppe Spicoli - of the fun 15 Second Poetry Generator (teleport directly from here). When you play it, keep in mind that there are values assigned to the phrases and you lose points for collecting the clichés.

Teleport to Grim Bros. directly from here.

Max Newbold (aka Beth Harris) of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and I are still looking for more designers of quality NPIRL fashions.

A birthday present from four Yip

No sooner had I published my blogpost about four Yip's chocolaty room at the Hotel Dare, than she shared a photograph with me of a birthday gift she had created for one very fortunate friend.



As I understand it, when you rez it, feathers appear that carry you and your darling up in the sky to a love nest of your very own.

four made this romantic and dreamy gift exclusively for her friend, and will not be selling it or gifting it.

Hotel accomodations to dance about

Given the choice between a five star chain hotel and a smaller, stylish home-away-from-home, I'll go for the latter every time. Conceived and built by Gattina Dumpling, Hotel Dare is the grid's only chic boutique hotel that I am aware of, and with several unique rooms designed by artists, there's something for everyone and every mood.

The room designed by Amsterdam-based illustrator (click this link, click this link!) and artist four Yip, is pure, undiluted and chocolaty fun.

Take a shower and you will find yourself dancing, have a friend hop on a pillow opposite you and you'll mirror each other's antics, jump on the bed, have a pillow fight, dance - like Cinderella - with your ballgown, and munch on some chocolate flowers (white or milk), too. And you get to take many of these goodies home with you! Now tell me, how many hotels let you do that? Four tells me that lots of people assisted Gattina with the creation of Hotel Dare, including Meat Carver, Mijn Boa, Teddy Whitefield and more.




Teleport directly from here.

Introducing Eln Alter

AM Radio wrote... "Look up Eln Alter. Check out the house there. Wild." Of course, I did.

Every now and then, a fresh and strikingly original creator hits our radar, so rich with possibilities! Such was the case of Bryn Oh and four Yip, and they certainly haven't disappointed. Notably, Eln rezzed on 11/1/2007. Such work and concepts are unexpected from someone so new to the grid.


Eln, wearing one of her avatars

Her little house serves as a shop. I'm particularly fond of the stilts that it sits on.





Inside, more whimsical items, many of them for sale.



On the ground beneath the house, Eln has also created a "museum," though she hasn't yet decided what it is about. Her vases there are indicative of an intriguing tangent I hope she'll continue to evolve.



Teleport to Eln's shop from here.
Teleport to Eln's Museum from here.

Get in touch with your quirkiness with the help of Vooner Voom

News travels fast on the grid. Today and within minutes, both surrealist four Yip (her avatars! Her installations and wings and furniture!) and uber extreme adventurer Naxos Loon , alerted me to Vooner Voom's quirky store (teleport directly from here). This is a place to stop by for madcap and eccentric avatars (want to be a school of fish, all by your lonesome? This is the place!) and toys (rubber ducky, I love you!), but when you are there, be sure to touch the door on the back wall to be transported into an odd little room.



Vooner is Japanese and while he just celebrated his first rez day, his sculpty work is fantastic.



He certainly has a different perspective on things...

Garden freebies to die for... and yes, you have to go to heaven or hell for 'em

UPDATE - June 24, 2008: The Garden of NPIRL Delights has closed. Thanks to everyone who created it and to those who visited it, and special thanks to RightasRain Rimbaud and his team at Rezzable Productions for sponsoring it.

The Garden of NPIRL Delights will end on June 23rd, and several of the very gifted content creators have decided that their work should not disappear. Just look at what they are giving away! Hurry hurry!


DB Bailey's Purgatorio (Take everything home!) - slurl
Photograph by Ka Rasmuson


Eladrienne Laval & Kheph777 Enoch's Tower of Industrial Judgement (Steampunk Bosch Wings) - slurl
Photograph by Alpha Auer


Tezcatlipoca Bisiani's Laberinto de Mictlan (You get the prize - the puzzle box and the postcard!) - slurl


Bryn Oh's Steamgarden (Several items from her build! If you put the structure on your land, send her an IM and she will come and place the beetle and the carousel on it) - slurl


four Yip's Elevator Angels (everything! - touch the panels at the entrance to choose) - slurl
Photograph by Azwaldo Villota


Alpha Auer's The NPIRL Garden of Delights Public Baths- (Her monochromatic and health-inducing jellyfish!) slurl


Madcow Cosmos' Heterotroph (avatars) - slurl


Yoa Ogee's Happy Humans! (avatars) - slurl


Yeti Bing's Perfect Universal Companionship (avatar) - slurl
This video by Crap Mariner


Gore Suntzu's "Tame a Thorn" sculpture : (This beauty could be yours!) - slurl