GD03252008

=03/25/2008=



GREEN BAY http://slurl.com/secondlife/Green%20Bay/128/128/23

After perusing our avatar pages (not just the ones for my group, the Untitled Misfits) I decided that my relative personal inactivity really wasn't that bad compared to some. Other people in our class, however, had been engaging in some amazing adventures and doing some serious research. My group has decided it wants to focus on the structure and formation of SL communities, and I have decided I want to look at expressions of individuality and isolation in light of the 'enclosure' of the SL public into these communities. One thing I have found about people's self-expression via their avatars is that they are highly egocentric. They like to have what, in real life, would be considered symbols of wealth and class. This 'palace' at Green Bay was a good example of such luxury. There really wasn't much to do here, but the fixtures were Byzantine in scope - gigantic rooms, arching ceilings, balconies, gossamer curtains with golden-toned brocade. This was high living for whoever lived here. The television did not work, though I believe it was intended as an interface with the background music streaming in the area.

Speaking of egocentrism:

Love thy avatar as you love yourself. This was looking off of the bedroom balcony. In the massive 4-post canopy bed there were a variety of 'sex balls' to allow your avatar to engage in all sorts of fun activity. The audacious thing is that by using the mouse view option, this person could be engaging in a virtual sex-act, and rotate their perspective to look at their virtual self on a virtual magazine cover whilest having foresaid virtual sex. Oh Brave New World!



CARRIBEAN CITY: GENERATION WEBPARK http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caribbean%20City/54/176/24

I needed people, and this wasn't the place to find them. The avatars you see above are engaging in camping, which is pretty much being in a single spot for a length of time to attract idiots like me and make some dough. The pretty colors mostly advertise scam campaigns in which one can make a little bit of virtual dough for taking surveys. Doesn't anyone donate plasma anymore? More examples of the search for virtual status abound in the commercial areas of second life - here is a place where one can buy SL Harley-Davidson choppers and cruise around... well.. the grid, I suppose and impress... well... whoever might actually be on SL (if anyone) and paying attention (if anyone). It seems like SLers are spending an awful lot of time and effort to impress each other when for the most part they aren't paying very close attention to each other. I wonder if there is a close connection between this virtual phenomenon and the way people reach for status symbols in real life?



Still in Carribean City, I came across this sign, which pretty much says it all "Vendetta: Because Looking Good is the Best Revenge". Hmmmm. Right. When I cut my hair and shave my beard I'm thinking 'this'll show them'. As you can somewhat see, this is a SL fashion shop which does not have a whole lot to offer except for a badass slogan.



More non-present people sitting around and looking pretty to attract business for an establishment. Garbage Dumpling is already as pretty as he needs to be - just as I intended it. The funny thing about camping is that it really does not incentify looking at the items for sale in these shops, it just brings the bodies in. In my opinion, a web presence and text-based advertising on friendly parts of the grid might be a more effective method of getting people into these virtual shops who might actually be interested in, you know, purchasing some merchandise? Camping just seems like avatar spam. Why use a harassing method like that when there are reasonable alternatives available? Next thing you know there will be tons of campers for the site of 'Barr. Edmund Oswego, reprsentetive of the Nigerion Princes Fiona' who would like to discuss a banking transaction with you...



ReMixXx Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/ReMixXx%20Island/212/223/57

This was a very pretty castle. They had Bill Hicks (my favorite comedian) playing in the background, so I felt like I was obligated to take a snapshot. This was also a private residence (see the whole rant about virtual status above).

Nexcom: Ord Mantell (an SWRP community) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nexcom/132/134/91

Ah, something of interest. The folks sitting above are yet another set of campers with nothing to say, just trying to make a buck or two, but they are sitting in a very different kind of area than those previously shown. This is the vestibule to a role-play area. SWRP stands for Star Wars Role Playing - hence the name Ord Mantell (ubernerds will remember Han mentioning to Luke his and Chewie's adventures at Ord Mantell in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi). The newspaper stand at bottom left is the role-play group's official rag, which was unavailable at this time. The area outside the window was the actual RP arena, which I could not enter:

Because Garbage Dumpling already has all the character he needs. The sign reads 'You Are Entering An In Character Area. Beyond this point you may be shot and killed. Keep your **** (garbled) on and your blaster or lightsaber at the ready. Good luck!' This looked like a lot of fun. There were places in Ord Mantell where for a hefty price you could buy storm trooper armor, lightsabers, droids, tie-fighters, and blasters. I personally thought Arrakis (Dune, the desert planet) was cooler, but these guys seemed to have a lot more going on:

Note that there are architectural rules as well as 'legal' rules which can clearly be enforced:



Ouch! Anyway, I couldn't find anyone to interview, but I know members of my group wanted to get some stuff on role-playing in so I took some pictures and grabbed a SLURL link. It is interesting to note that the GM (Game Masters) are separate from the owners of the space, but seem to actually control the most influence since they can decided what happens to peoples' avatar's character.

Southlands: Lilly's Irish Pub: Irish Villiage http://slurl.com/secondlife/Southlands/77/151/22

This was a spot close to Ord Mantell. It looked pretty but I was discouraged when I first arrived because it didn't look like there were any people actually here. Irish shops, landscape reproductions, and actual news and information kiosks abounded (in most SL areas the kiosks are 'take surveys for fake money' dealies). I messed around for a while: Tickled the ivories, Mr. Moo was not in shop at the time but pianos were in the thousands of Lindendollars, so I passed and went down the 'street' to the pub:

This was the DJ schedule for the pub, and at this particualr time no one was on - DJ Phineas had recently finished or was about to start his set. The interior of the place rocked:



One snapshot alone cannot convey how cool this place was. Lots of action-balls for dancing and interraction, none of them 'dirty' in any way. There was a cozy fireplace, dart boards, it actually felt like a real, live Irish pub. I wanted a Jamesons on the rocks with a fierceness.

Some new friends of mine, pub owner Jacomo is on the left. We discussed light hearted issues while our friend played the bagpipes. Every once in a while Jacomo would cut off and start speaking to others in French and German, but we had an interesting conversation about what the French and Irish have in common (dislike of the British, actually) and why Americans really aren't so bad once you get to know them. I told him I would return, and that his pub was awesome (which it was). These guys were really cool, but did not want to get involved in an interview or discuss serious issues as they were getting ready to log off and eat (it was around 7PM in their time when I was on). Hocking Radio http://slurl.com/secondlife/Geren%20Bay/167/96/25

Line dancing. I'm out of time so I'll talk about it later.