Second Life 3

Ce qui embellit le désert, dit le petit prince, c'est qu'il cache un puits quelque part…

(“What makes the desert beautiful,“ said the little prince, "is that somewhere it hides a well...“)

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Yes, the desert is a strange place. These are the never-ending places of the sand dunes and also of moving sand, which gives downfall. This is the place, where the torrid sun troubles the tired wanderers. This is the place, where the sky is full of the stars so closed to anyone like never. Sometimes the wail wind runs around and the sand tempest comes. What is constant, these are only “ships of the desert” – the camels and the fata morgana. This is an optical phenomenon, which owes its own name to mythic Morgana La Fey. It is hopeless to search the lost cities in the sand. Maybe only the silent oasis can wet the dry lips and strengthen the body before the further wandering.
Is it a fiction or a reality? It is a question. Maybe such desert exists in RL and maybe not. Angara Desert is another desert at Angara. Some ghost city was built there as an apocalyptic vision of the total loss and of the vainness inspired by the The Resident Evil phenomenon. It is both the Role Play Area and the shopping area. It is:

Being and Order

Downfall and Chaos

Army and Transport

The Crash and the End

Elsewhere Far Out of Us

The Death in the Sand

The Tower Break Down

The Explosion

The Contact with the Outer World

The Three Sisters

Time to Fight

The Tunnel

The Lights in the Darkness

The Quiet Oasis

The Way of the Being

The Inside

The View to the Eternity

The Destroyed Life

The Last or the Lost Train?

Second Life 2

Everybody is born and Second Life is not an exception of that. Although the avatar is not born naked, unlike the real world, anyway he/she would like to belong somewhere. To be a part of something, to be a member of some community, to find friends, anyway to belong somewhere. Same or similar history befell also me after my materializing in the world of Second Life. I also groped a lot of, but I learned myself, but as I wrote elsewhere I had absolutely excellent mentor. One could expect that it shouldn’t span long time and I found the community of Czech and Slovak (CS) here, as I am Czech even though from Moravia. However, something was still missing. Some strong point, where I could return and where the main gross of CS avatar is concentrated. There was nothing for long time, no place and no island. However, then it happened something what all awaited. The mists of Avalon disappeared. Word for word. The city called Bohemia rose on part of island behind the AVALON DESIGN shop behind the rock. However, it is necessary to search Bohemia in Second Life under the old name of my country – Czechoslovakia, but only temporarily. This city doesn’t exist anymore. It is only in memory of them that was there or in a form of ones and zeros as pictures in PC. What was there then? Watch the video here.

AVALON DESIGN SHOP


Avalon

So, back to Avalon yet. Do you know that Avalon or also Avignon are two names of mythic island of apple trees and Celtic priesthoods? The Celtic word abal means apple. In fact, it is the island, where the human souls come. They say that the mythic island Avalon is rest place of the legendary king Arthur and of his wife and where the sword Excalibur was forged. By the way, the shop AVALON DESIGN is still at the Avalon island a and it is excellent shop with skins. The owner name is known for Czech and Slovak community. It is Vilem Beaumont. He is also the author of SL fantasy adventure „Catacombs of Avalon“. The mists of Avalon covered up Bohemia for some time to appear in new beauty at new place after that. The new island Czechoslovakia with city Bohemia appeared. The Old City and New City expanded on flock of other nice places and buildings as the time goes. A little remained, a little changed or was changed and a little disappeared forever. What remains are the inhabitants of the city, who have taste here to stay and live. On the other hand, also the invisible men those care for city and so on. The following pictures maybe are not the characteristic sample, but look over.

Old City Place


Old City Place


Chapel in the park


New City - Radio Building


New City - O₂ Telefónica


Old City - pub


CR Police Station


New City - Infopoint


(Zdroj: Wikipedia)

Second Life 1

This is the first contribution that begins the series of contribution, which would deal with some for me interesting place in Second Life. This place could commonly known or found by me or somebody recommended it me. I should begin with the place that I know the best and where I am very often, so Bohemia, but maybe next time. Since this idea to write such contributions occurred me three days ago and I was invited at one such me pleasant place, I will write about it.
How I already mentioned above, I didn’t find this place, but I was invited there. It is a shop called Gransy Fashion. It is focused fashion in Neko style. I always said myself, which sort of avatars looks as cats have lived in SL. But no literally, they have kittle ears and cat tail, but otherwise human appearance. Afterwards I remembered that such creatures could be seen in Japanese cartoons in manga. Really, the word “neko” means domestic cat in Japanese language. And kitties and cats and probably young tomcats and tomcats, they all like to dress too. This shop is for them and also for others. What do they have to offer? The fashion in style Neko of course, but also Punk and Urban fashion. There are many pieces mostly for cats, but you can find here also three ones for tomcats. The prizes range from 55 to 299 $L.
And if you don’t wish to shop, there is the Japanese garden with maples and lake in the middle under the open sky. Sit under one maple, listen something nice for you or meditate under the rustle of butterfly wings.

You are welcome and finally some pictures.

Music Festival

This weekend was rich in both sport and cultural events in Brno, Czech Republic. As every year, The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic was organized at The Masaryk Circuit. There were about 250.000 visitors. At the same time, the so-called Brno’s Day took place. This event is organized every year as the remark of the important historical thing from history of Brno and the remark of the heroism of the Brno inhabitants in besiege a town by Swedes during Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648 in Middle Europe) in year 1645. The small group of the defenders with help of city inhabitants resisted to the attack of the huge superiority of Swedish army of the general Torstenson and Brno was never captured. The 400th birth of the marshal Louis Raduit de Souches was celebrated this year. He was the army commander of Brno then. This year was also open public his crypt in St. Jacob church.
The third event, which has begun last Thursday, was the 9th International Spilberk Festival organized by Brno Philharmonic every year. I was also there and the Hollywood Night was on program, i.e. movie music. The following ones had the big success: C'era una volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West) and The Phantom of the Opera.

(Sources: Wikipedia, www.brno.cz)

Several pics from the Spilberk castle.

Vypustek Cave

Today I would like to give some information about Cave Vypustek in Moravian Karst. I have visited this cave recently for the first time. Vypustek Cave is the fifth cave that is open to the public. The others are Balcarka Cave, Katerinska Cave, Punkevni Cave and Sloupsko-sosuvska Cave.
Vypuste Cave is known already from the 17th century, when the quack doctors were coming into the cave. They were looking for the bones of prehistoric animals here. The count Hugo Frantisek of Salm (full name Hugo František Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz) visited the cave at the beginning of the 19th century. He belongs to the prominent Moravian figures of this time and he became the most outstanding member of Rajec’s lineage of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz. Nobody before or after him overshadowed him. He was modern and skilful industrialist, scientist, art lover, collector, sponsor and last but not least philanthropist. He was also first of all by the founding of The Moravian Museum in Brno in 1817. Later in the 19th century, Dr. Jindrich Wankel, Dr. Karel Absolon or Dr. Martin Kriz explored the cave.
In the 20´s of the 20th century the cave has been affected by the exploitation of the phosphate clays as the rests of the prehistoric beasts. Since 1938, the Czechoslovak army has got the munitions magazine, but the German army (Wehrmacht) established here the factory for production of the aviation engines during The Second World War. After that, the speleologists again explored the cave, but the Czechoslovak army built here secret base at 60’s of 20th century and it stayed here till 2001, when the base was declassified. Since 2008, the antinuclear shelter and part of the cave labyrinth is open to public.
Since I served here as the soldier of compulsory military service, I was very interested in. The whole area is changed now. Only main building is maintained. Here are several pics.


Main Building



Shelter Enter



Water Recycling



2 Diesel Engines



The Cave

SL contra RL

Today’s article is my reaction to thecontribution of Pavel Stransky at the www.secondlife.cz blog (Author’s note: This contribution is in Czech.). Pavle, you are my soul mate. You described aptly and exactly something, what I am already convinced for long time. More or less, I understood this shortly after my entrance into Second Life. Identity of an avatar is given by someone, who is sitting in front of PC screen and are using of her/his own keyboard. The brain cannot be cheated. We bring from RL to SL everything, what the nature give us. Our own mind, our own habits, our own spleens, our own depressions, etc. For sure, it can be enumerate lots of them. Then we influence due to this our surroundings and first of all ourselves due to communication with others. And we may not forget that this feedback works also into opposite direction to RL. You find new friends and then you meet them also in RL.

SL is just this in sense of definition of word “sociology. Sociological experiment.

„ Sociology is the scientific or systematic study of society, including patterns of social relations, social stratification, social interaction, and culture. Areas studied in sociology can range from the analysis of brief contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social interaction. Numerous fields within the discipline concentrate on how and why people are organized in society, either as individuals or as members of associations, groups, and institutions. Sociology is considered a branch of social science. “ (Zdroj Wikipedia)

Yes, SL is also addiction. I know this from my experience. However, one can only switch off PC and set out somewhere in RL. It is only a decision of anyone. SL is also about help. I think such help that everybody of us needed at our beginnings. I speak about selfless help. I would wish everybody to meet somebody here as it happened me at my beginning. Your own sermonizer or teacher. It was he, who helped me so much, who taught me about SL. We worked together and then each of us went one’s way, but our friendship never finished. And today, I myself help others. SL is finally a space for the learning. I tell an obligatory example – languages. This place is the best for learning or for the improving your own language knowledge. This opens gates to others sims, where avatars speak other language then mother tongue. Just language barrier between avatars can keep from communication and finally can lead to misunderstanding. I witnessed such one, but it is other story. Next time.

Library

The word ”knihovna” in Czech, in general, may indicate different things. First, it is a piece of , where books are stored. Everybody certainly has got such a bookcase in various forms at home. It may be also a room, e.g. in the castle or in the monastery. Absolutely unique combination of both meanings of the words can be found in the library of the Premonstratensian monastery at Strahov in Prague. Native Dobšice and artistic woodcarver Jan Lahofer made the monastery bookcases originally for the monastery Louka by Znojmo, South Moravia. He worked on them 10 years. The monastery, however, fell victim to the reforms of Austrian Emperor Joseph II and in 1784 it was cancelled. It is very ravaged; there were military quarters here till 1993. Nowadays only 1/25 of monastery area is commercial used. The company Znovín Znojmo place its seat. It deposits bottles here. The small wine shop offers wines from own production and you can find here also small wine museum. Lahofer personally moved the monastery library to Strahov and the visitors can admire it till now.





The other meaning of the word library comes from computer terminology. Library is a binary file that is attached to the executable program. The last meaning is library as institution for the preservation of books. And this is exactly the meaning for which I decided to write this post. Enter of new institution to Bohemia – Karviná Regional Library – was my inspiration. Its virtual branch is in Bohemia second sim (Czechoslovakia 2) immediately after the building of the sections of the Czech Police and close to Villa Tugendhat here. The building is interesting and with impressive design. It offers on the ground floor, the floor and on the open terrace classic library services and through the weblinks one can enter to te webpages of the library. If you climb up to the terrace, you can see a nice view of the Bohemia or try another view from the opposite side from the terrace of Villa Tugendhat. Appearance and shape of the building bears witness to the great creativity of builder (Zuza Ritt) and offers visitors a turn something new interesting than only a copy of reality.