Friday 28 December 2012

Exploring the grid: Goatswood

Goatswood is an RP community set in a rural English village. While not referenced in the notecards I wonder if the name is a tip of the hat to Ramsey Campbell's fictitious village of the same name. The build is loosely based on Castle Combe, in Wiltshire, but has a personality of its own.

You arrive at the train station of Mortchester. Large, Victorian and the initial starting point for all the various notecards and HUDs as well as a few vendors along the aisles.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/NeverlandX/33/52/2002

Catching the train to Goatswood you disembark at a little country station and move into the streets of the village.

And what gorgeous streets they are too. Discovering that Kora Zenakova and Baal Zobel are responsible for this sim after having visited the Venexia sim (which I detailed here) comes as not surprise.

The texturing is stunning and obviously made by someone with an understanding of Jacobean architecture.

Many of the buildings look perfectly normal from the outside but, like many things in Goatswood, appearances can be deceiving.

Bonus points are awarded for actually having the Church aligned on the east/west axis.It's minor details like this which make the realism of the build so impressive

Mushrooms hold notecards which tell the explorer some of the stories of the  location.

Houses are available to rent, even if you decide the RP is not for you but you just want to live here that's allowed as well.

 Little details like a crossing ford help sell the feel of the place.

The standing stones, a site of rumour and speculation.

The Gypsy encampment.

The village Maypole. The old traditions are very strong in the village.

The setting puts me in mind of Summer Isle from The Wicker Man. There's plenty of old magic in the history of the place and the residents are free to incorporate as much or as little of that into their own roles as they like.

While I don't have the time to devote to RPing in this sim it's a lovely build that I could quite happily spend time just strolling through. When I visited I was lucky enough to hear a gypsy woman practising her violin and just sat and listened for a half hour or so.

Thursday 20 December 2012

Christmas at the Seraph Club





Christmas at the Seraph Club!

Sunday night 6-9pm SLT

Music by Edward "the Duke" Pearse, with swing, jazz, Swing-revival, jive and a little electro-swing.

Prizes by The Curious Seamstress, Sonatta Morales, and Swank Menswear.

Dry clean the dinner jacket or book that hairdresser appointment now!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seraph%20City/66/78/106

Saturday 15 December 2012

Blackened Mirror End of Season 1 Party!


This Friday, the final instalment of this season of the Blackened Mirror comes to an end. Those of you who have been following this Noir Machinima story will know this episode leads to a showdown for Harland Quinn. If you haven't been following the story, you can catch up now! (And see my own modest screen début).

Join us on Saturday the 15th of December from 3-6pm at the Seraph Club, Champagne Street, Seraph City
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seraph%20City/66/78/106

Music provided by Edward "the Duke" Pearse.

Friday 14 December 2012

NeoVictoria Photo Contest for 2013 Calendar


Time: 5 December to 31 December 2012
Location: NeoVictoria Estate in Second Life
Organized By: Asil Ares

The Prizes:
~ 1st Place - L$5000
~ 2nd Place - L$3000
~ 3rd Place - L$2000
~ 4rd Place - L$1000
~ 5th Place through 12thPlace – L$250 each

Visit to the Koinup NeoVictoria project local for more details, at:  http://www.koinup.com/group/neovictoria/discuss/photo-contest-for-2013-calendar/15192/

Sunday 9 December 2012

Winter in Babbage

Clockwork Close in Babbage Palisade

Winter in Babbage would be my favourite time of year. People make the effort to add snow on all their buildings and the decorations go up.

Of course it also helps to offset the fact that my typist has moved into summer and is often dealing with high summer temperatures while looking at snow on the screen.

There's also lots of parties and events at this time of year. Much like real life.

Thursday 6 December 2012

Bedlam in Babbage: Christmas Edition!


The Last Bedlam in Babbage for the year.

You think the music in the Shopping Centres and Malls is bad, you wait till you get a load of this! From Red Peters and The Arrogant Worms to Scruffy the Elf, Snoopy, and the Muppets there's something for almost everyone.

You're just lucky I haven't found a Christmas version of Gangnam Style yet.

Join Edward Pearse at the Clarendon for the annual festive assault or tune it to http://steampunk.radioriel.org

Bring lots of Christmas spirit. Mine's a whisky.

Friday 30 November 2012

Swing Dance at The Seraph Club




Before the silly season is fully upon us.

Put on your tux or your gown and have the limo take you to the Seraph Club.

Two hours of Swing Revival, Jazz and a little Electro-swing, as only Edward Pearse can do.

Friday night 30th November 7:00 - 9:00pm SLT

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seraph%20City/64/80/106/

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Seraph City sim surround


For years the edge of the Seraph City sim headed off into water. But being a pushy sod I bugged Pumpkin about it and finally said I'd give it a whirl myself. They're probably a bit primmier than I'd like but it may be that rerendering them in mesh may reduce the land impact further.

Until then we at least have an immersive feel to being inside a city. I think it will help a lot with photography too.

Eastern sim wall looking north.

Southern sim wall looking west

Northern sim wall looking west

Ronald's Rayguns. Might need a bit more work

Llama Cigarettes. Inspired by the billboard ad from The Shadow

Lucky Break Cigarettes. From a Lucky Strike original

Monday 12 November 2012

Babbage Travelogue: The Fells

North of Babbage Palisade, this sim was until recently called The North Fells, now simply The Fells.

It is essentially a postcard view hiding the Babbage Engineers' Sandbox high above.


There are highland cows, occasional sheep and wild ferrets to be found in the area. Thankfully the Aether crabs have been exterminated.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Breakfast in Babbage: Literary Edition!


Songs based on or inspired by the written word. From Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights to Leonard Nimoy's Ballad of Bilbo Baggins. More often than not song get based on the movie adaptation of a book, rather than the book itself. This month we take you through some songs where the authors were so inspired they wrote music about it. Rachel Bloom even wanted to do things to Ray Bradbury that would probably have given him a heart attack.

Join Edward Pearse at the Clarendon, now on the new Winterlight Savings Time!

2:00 - 4:00 pm Saturday AFTERNOON, SLT

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Grand Re-Opening of the Seraph Club


Seraph City's classiest nightspot is, after some minor renovations (that involved moving the entire building), finally ready to reopen to the public.

Maria has been upgraded to attend to your beverage requirements and we serve a wide variety of tea *wink*

Dust off the dinner jacket and buff up the bead work.

Join Edward "the Duke" Pearse for some swing revival and help bring the Seraph Club back to life.

7:00pm - 9:00pm SLT Saturday 10th November.

295 Champagne Street, Seraph City

Monday 5 November 2012

Babbage Travelogue: Academy of Industry

The Academy of Industry sim is in it's second incarnation. Originally a sim by the same name went in shortly after Wheatstone rezzed but it was short lived. The current sim landed in 2009 and has helped Vic Mornington in his OCD need to rebuild his hotel every 6 weeks or so.

Kusshon Furniture and the garden

Savory Street Shops

Pelham V. Shockley Biologics Institute

Whitfield Hall - Poetic Colors artificial eyes

Brunell Hall. Or at least this week's version. Seems to be updated every couple of months.

The Academy of Industry, from which the sim takes its name.

The Coco-Java Cafe

Mr. Panache's work in progress

Sovereign House - home of Mornington Photography

Mr. Franklin's home

Miss Ginsburg's Home

Ruthorford Park

New Babbage Literary Academy

Ms. Junie's Clackerspace and Mornington Fangirl Headquarters

New Babbage's third cemetery

The Palisade Wall, looking east.

Rear shops for the Coco Java

Laboratoire Paderborn

The Forsythe Estate

Thursday 1 November 2012

New Babbage Travelogue: Babbage Palisade

Babbage Palisade was the 5th of the New Babbage sims to arrive. Over the years it's been home to a bordello, the original spot for Coco-Java, Stormhaven, and Gatsby Szuster's original house before its burnt remains were replaced by the gasworks.

Palisade Gate and the airship mooring tower and Mr. Collins' balloon.

The Wall's clockwork guards

The weaponry really makes you wonder what enemies are out there

Primbroke Manor. Home to myself and Christine since the closure of Edison

Miss Ying's Gardens

Gatsby Szuster's gasworks

Gatsby Szuster is one of the few people brave enough to live outside the city walls. Mad cows, rogue weasels and all sorts of terrors abound.

The main Railway station of New Babbage. "Never get off the train in Bump."

The Lubezki Mansion

Her Dark Materials

The Wulfenbach Consulate for New Babbage

Ying Research Company

The Void park. Technically not IN the sim but you can rest on the benches if you need a little personal time.

Pearse'd & Cut. Flagship store for a fine gentlemen's clothier. Based on the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney.

Graves Investigations. Home to Miss Wallis Graves

Victory Hall Theatre

Bec Janus' house, Maison Horta inspired by the Musée Horta in Brussels.

Kiergarten Armoury

Clockwork Close. Home of the Brass Monkey pub, the Minions Union, and the Automaton Service Centre

The Aether Salon. Built on the border of Babbage Palisade and Academy of Industry allowing for equal distribution of lag.