Party in BlueBerry Hill

Yesterday’s evening; I have popped in Second Life for a while, only to look what is happening, how things are going. After long time, I have flown to London to one club in Kingsbridge. I was welcomed kindly by long-time friends. So, we have talked like every time about everything. I have told about my spend weekend and than I have received another notice to other club. So, I said goodbye.

It was written in the notice that somebody another is seeking to dance at a dance pole. It has interested me, because sometime I danced at the pole in former club on Slovakia. But this one was another. There were ten poles there! However, the people have danced only for an amusement and every body could dance at these poles. We have listened super music, so I had a good time. Well, Andie Rau and Rg Papp can do it!

How it has looked there, it shows the pictures below. The lighting is original like it was set in the club.

(SLurls: BlueBerry Hill, London Kingsbridge)

Herbert Tobias (*1928 – †1982)

Actually, I do not know how I should begin. I am on the trip to Prague again (Sunday 24, 2010). This time I am going by train through the white snow cowered plains of my country. In spite of that, my journey could be different, to Vienna shopping. However, it was canceled and I traveled how I initially planned.

Today’s morning I have woke up very fast and left my home in deep darkness and bitter cold outside. There is some supermarket shopping car in front of our house?! Tobacco shop is closed and so I do not buy some newspaper. Some slightly drunk gambler is coming out from a gambling club and we are passing each other.

Finally, I am sitting in Eurocity train Carl Maria von Weber. Surprisingly, I am alone in the first class coach. Is that due to the global crisis? No, I think, it is not. Only red sun shining at sunrise on the horizon is driving me to the reality.

We are passing the train stop called Bezpráví (Injustice) and a lonely man there and some kilometers another stop (Uhersko). So we arrived to the city of the gingerbreads – Pardubice.

We have stopped unexpected in some field again, lost between a civilization and nobody. There are only light, shadows in space and reflections on snow that evoke some atmosphere that I had first time if I had seen the pictures of Herbert Tobias on his website. And now, I am going to visit his exhibition.

However, reality has overcome all my expectations. The retrospective exhibition of his 150 pictures from his the best era (50’s and 60’ of 20th century) is to see in Prague in Gallery Rudolfinum till March 28. It is hard to describe it. Each picture is another story that presses you to think about it, not only to run through the exhibition without any think. Those are the pictures of Andreas Baader, young Klaus Kinski, Amanda Lear, playing children in Berlin 50’s or fashionable pictures in Berlin ruins right to male portraits.

It is not possible to name all, it just must be seen. I fully recommend this!

(Sources: Gallery Rudolfinum, Herbert Tobias)

Reincarnation

The term reincarnation means word for word translated “repeated embodying”. It is an idea that life or an existence of something repeats more times. In Buddhism, it does not mean the embodying of something form one body into the second one. They use term “repeated rebirth”. It is a flow of repeated birth and death of mind. In Hinduism, our personal “I” transfers to new born body. What with we become, it depends on our karma, so on our last deeds. In spite of that, Hindus try to break out this passing of occurrences. According to the tradition, there are three paths leading to the liberation (moksha):

Path of Knowledge – Jnana Marga or Jnana Yoga
Path of Deed – Karma Marga or Karma Yoga
Path of Devotion – Bhakti Marga or Bhatki Yoga

Someone adds the fourth path:

Royal Path – Radha Yoga

I do not know if I have experienced my own reincarnation. However, I have unexpectedly reincarnated myself in Second Life at the last weekend. I was with my friends on one sim, where we talked and watched a new building. I wanted to ask for something, but at the same time I explored setting Advanced in SL client. I clicked something and then it happened.

I changed fully myself – shape, hairs, eyes, and my whole body. Further, I was in public and naked! Even my clothes were away. Nobody around me noticed anything. In arisen panic, I automatically pushed ctrl + h and teleported home. My Home is a place close to New Square in city Bohemia. OMG, it is another crowd of people! Somehow I chose randomly some LM, but I finished totally elsewhere. I was never there before yet.

Lagomorph is curious name for sim. It is nomenclature for big rodent of Lagomorpha order that has two pair upper gnawing teeth. For example, rabbits or hares belong to here. There were none of them around me, only many trees and grass. I was cold. I was there alone. So, I lay up into the roots of one tree.

My mind wandered and sought answers unexpressed question. How did it happen? Where am I? Whose face is it? I search in my memory this face. Memory cells are not as memory places in some computer. You cannot only set Search and it offers you all possibilities. Meditation helped me to explore the deepest places and then I recalled. This is me, but me in earlier times as a newbie.

So, I had to return. However, it sufficed only one magic click fort in my inventory. I do not know how many reincarnations happen daily in SL, but I like this embody and I would hate to change it. Somewhere the reincarnation, even if not wanted one, good for something. It is new knowledge, new feeling or new interesting place like Lagomorph.

SLurl: Lagomorph

Urbanica

So, I am bit sad about it. Again one project finished and Urbanica city disappeared from the Second Life surface. Shiny Iceberg always makes some surprising. OK, it is his decision. For us only these shots remain.

Avatar

Actually it began as every usual day. My alarm clock ringed. I was “extortionate hour”, 5 am. I am sorry. Nevertheless I got up. It was Friday, January 8 this year. Outdoors behind the windows was snowing. In fact it was not snowing, only so small, slow and slight falling of the snowflakes from the sky.

I stood on the platform and awaited a train to Brno. The gates fell, but my train could not arrive yet. After that however one train passed. It only whizzed by us and then more one in opposite direction. Snow settled in rails took off like mighty, wide and silver curtains, which glittered in twinkling light of railway station lamps. This snow fluttered, spun around and then it hit our faces with its massive power.

Maybe some main thing happened in the evening. Such a waiting for whole day was unbearable. I got together with my friend in city center and we wanted to go some eat up. Unfortunately, the nearest pub was closed. So we went to McDonald’s. I do not like them, but it was OK.

So and then it got dark, of course figuratively speaking. Cinema lights loosed their brightness and shine. The most discussed, the most expensive, the most sold, the most visited, maybe the most successful and on the other hand, maybe the most cursed, unoriginal movie began. Was it a time loss or only a scream into the dark?

No, it was not! I think something from that maybe yes and something from that no. It is not easy to write about something what was so much described and discussed. Is that a hit of this season? My opinion is yes and even no.

This movie achieved many things mainly due to marketing. The story, it is a question. Is it original or not? The idea, when human or being can connect itself with other object using technology whether in actual world or in virtual world, this idea is not new. Sci-fi literature already found it long time ago. What it is different, e.g. in the case of Second Life, this is immediacy, perception, emotions and other features given to human or being.

The second aspect is an existence of male and female principle, respectively. So it is not such as Ying and Yang or matriarchal and patriarchal archetype both in contrasts, rather some domination of female one. I know several examples, when female principle plays the main role – Eve in Paradise, Alma Mater (in Latin it means “Nourishing Mother “, also one's old school, college, university) or Gaia – Earth Mother.

What fascinated me in this three-hour epic was following: except movie effects just Pandora nature with all plants, beings and nation. Their (Na’vi) artistic depiction, moves and facial expression are fascinating. I am not fun of Neko or Furry style in SL, but the moves of Na’vi’s tails and little ears was super. It was pity that one had known more or less from the beginning, how it would finish – old good Hollywood cliché.

Rose Theater

(Notes: Today’s contribution was originally written in Czech for Second Life in-world magazine Globe long time ago. I have the permission of both authors. Boren Ragu wrote it and Michaela Klang made the snapshots. The picture set placed in this blog is my personal selection. The complete set is on Koinup.com here.)

The Arts is sometimes wrongly omitted in Second Life. In today’s article we visit Rose Theatre that is famous due to its architecture and rich decorations. Theater creators really thought of every detail. In front of the theater there are the gardens, which look as Versailles gardens. You can found there also the arbours and the interesting sculptures. I was fascinated by the Venus de Milo sculpture, which is very beautiful. In front of the theater entrance itself you can found the board with information about the events for the next days.

The whole is so huge that it covers practically ¾ of the sim. After entrance into the theater you are welcomed at the reception, where you can join Rose Theater Group yourself. There are also the cloakrooms, if you would want to change your clothes into the formal. The creators thought of everything, because there is one free formal close to the cloakrooms – one smoking for gentlemen and one evening dress for ladies.

I was fascinated by the decorated columns and ceiling in the foyer. The big crystal chandeliers dominate practically in every larger room. On the left there is a shop with the period furniture. You can buy here armchairs, chairs, sofas or paintings. Even they sell here some fireplace and treasureable vases. There is another wall and ceiling decoration in every room, which you notice first during passing through them.

On the second floor in some rooms there are on show the paintings, which you can buy as well. Some of them are very good and original in their own way. The painting in one room images young Japanese woman, probably she is a geisha. While in the next room you can find some work with half-dressed woman at Big Ben.

The wedding room is really beautiful. On the ceiling there are different paintings together with the gold decoration. Not only the weddings, but also the parties, and other events take place here. For romantic souls it will be surely a hot candidate for the wedding ceremony.

All passageways are decorated by the flowers and the sculptures. On the ground floor there is the large dance hall with some stage, where the artists perform. The opera adjoins the dance hall. On the opera ground floor there are the armchairs and the loges are upstairs.

Behind the theatre there is garden full of the flowers and the sculptures again. Two peacocks move around and show us their beautiful tails. The garden is full of sounds. If you only want to have rest, then this place is just for you. You can also sit with your intimates at the sea and only to look at the horizon. The theatre surrounding is masterfully designed in the same way as the interior. The swans swim in the small lake and the birds fly in the sky. Simply it is an idyll for lovers.

The theater has its own web, where you can find all new information about new events. More is here. When I joined Rose Theatre Group, I had received very often Notice Group. So I think, in the theatre it is still something happening.

SLurl: Rose Theatre