Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Museum of Metaverse announces Art & Poetry Project


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Event-Exhibition: Art & Poetry Project
by Rosanna Galvani (aka Roxelo Babenco)
Locations: Physical Places and Virtual Worlds
Period: 22 September 2011 - February 19, 2012
Opening: September 22, 2011
Hours: 22.00
museodelmetaverso@gmail.com

It opens Thursday, September 22, 2011, at 22.00, in  Piazza Plebiscito Napoli in Second Life, and Friday, September 23, 2011, at the Museum of Metaverse in OpenSim Craft, the first of twenty-two exhibitions of the project Art & Poetry.

22-poems, 22 weeks, 22 sites, 22 exhibitions, 132 works.

1 permanent exhibition dedicated to the poet Carmen Auletta (aka Margy Ryba) and its "painted poems".

The event is the continuation of the activities of Museo del Metaverso, in the already marked direction, in the belief that virtual worlds are spaces, albeit with a strong emotional component, however, suitable for construction of complex cultural events”

The initiative will be immersed in an international dimension, the cross-media and mixed reality, with the activation of a network that, through the social networks, virtual worlds and physical locations, will seek partnerships and collaborations with various subjects, internet players  and the world of culture and art in general. 

The first link  with a place of art will take place in the second week of exhibitions, specifically from September 29 to October 2, 2011, a period in which a live streaming will be enabled with Cannes, the Croisette, where from 27 June is in progress a personal exhibition of Patrick Moya. In the same day will be a link with Bogota, Colombia, for the presentation of performance by Pyewacket Kazianenko, Kai Steamer and Jo Ellsmere.
The initiative aims to focus attention on the art, through poetry, by linking new media art, born and developed in virtual worlds and the Neapolitan dialect poetry, born from the rich vein of contemporary poet Carmen Auletta. Two art forms that arise "from below" who meet in this project, communicating with each other.

Poetry and art have value in itself, it will be interesting to see the meeting of the two kinds and the story that will emerge, will not be relevant different interpretations of Carmen's poems by the artists, will be important only the poems and the works on display and suggestions that they evoke.

The aim of the project is to let the two kinds talk and watch the story that poetry and art, in this case poetry in Neapolitan language and new media art, will do.  

Contributors:
Paolo Valente
Carmen Auletta
Thirza Ember

Partners:
2lifecast
Koinup
Mondi Virtuali

Press Office:
Annalisa Cameli
SL Crazy Press di Marjorie Fargis
Nella Capasso
Grazietta Cazenove
Viola Tatham
Alice Mastroianni

Programming language:
Salahzar Stenvaag
Vittorio Vais
Andrea Hunghi Lacoonte
Snowbody Cortes

Building
Nicola Reinerman
Rumegusc Altamura

Videomaker:
Alexandra Shepherd
Carl Velde

Photography & streaming:
ChrisTower Dae
Sergey Zarf

Musicians:
Lollo String
Eddie Santillo
Voices:
Giuseppe Zapatero
John Farris

Monday, August 22, 2011

Exhibition Opening at Aneli's Gallery on August 22nd

On Monday the 22nd of August, a new exhibition opened at Aneli's Gallery. The exhibit features the work of Daco Monday, Briawinde Magic, Talullah Winterwolf, Asperix Asp and Solkide Auer. There are five floors to the recently re-built gallery and with a teleport very near the landing point, it is easy to get around and see all of the works by these talented artsists. Aneli told me that the exhibit will be open for one month.

BURN 2 Selects Art and Theme Camps From Submissions


Burning Man- Deep Hole, August 20, 2011 - As BURN2 starts up, one of the most looked forward to pre-BURN announcements of the selections for juried theme camps and art plots. BURN2 follows the BURNING MAN 10 principles and gifts plots on the virtual ePlaya to groups who have submitted proposals to the BURN2 Art Team. These groups will be amazing us, engaging us, and energizing the ePlaya with their work Oct 1 - 9 when BURN2 opens Gate Road!

So with a textual drum roll we would like to announce the selectees for the 2011 BURN2 Burn!

*Cosmic Circusality* by The ChangHigh Sisters Fireshow of Light, Life and Love, Yman Juran

*TRANSITORY THRESHOLDS*, Caro Fayray

*Skelly-Mer*, Maya Paris

*Verisimo*, Cienega Soon

We are very excited to see what these camps and art installations look like! We aren’t giving out exactly what these camps will be..just that we think they will be amazing!

We want to thank EVERYONE who submitted an application for one of the plots. Your ideas ARE AMAZING. You made it incredibly difficult! We want to encourage you to grab your own plot now and build that camp! If you need sponsors to get that plot please reach out to us info@burn2.org and we will give you a few suggestions!

There is a BIG announcement still to come..who are the Invited Artists of the BURN???!! What ART has the ART team found in SL, new discoveries, new expressions, things that make you laugh, cry, weep, or put on your dust mask? Stay tuned..that announcement is coming shortly!

About BURN2: BURN2 follows BURNING MAN’s 10 Principles to spread Burning Culture through volunteerism and the celebration of Community, Art, and Fire on the virtual ePlaya. A place for SL residents and Burners alike to radically participate in one of the most loved events in Second Life.

Contact:

Emcee Widget

BURN2 Communications

info@burn2.org

Sunday, August 21, 2011

A Presentation on Intellectual Property Respect at Virtual Ability Island


On Monday, the 22nd of August, Virtual Ability will play host to Zinnia Zauber's presentation on "Intellectual Property Respect." The event begins at noon PDT/SLT and will be repeated later that same day at 6 pm PDT.  In the notecard I received about the event, Ms Zauber explained that attendees will , "Learn about how protecting and respecting Intellectual property makes us all successful and safe". She also recommends use of viewer 2 or one that is compatible. The presentation will be in both voice and text.

Zinnia Zauber's Bio:

I am an artist, instructor, and superhero (arts advocate) promoting the importance of creative education and community.

I am a college instructor and arts advocate promoting the importance of creative education and community participation in the arts that are active and inclusive. My superpower is expression through color.
I teach with the University of Washington Virtual Worlds program, Peninsula College, Nonprofit Commons, and my own smart art instruction.

Friday, August 19, 2011

SpotON3D Sponsors Content Creator Expo Begins Today

Late yesterday evening, I received an event invitation to the Content Creator Expo from SpotON3D co-founder Tessa Harrington. The expo is scheduled to begin today, the 19th of August at 11 am PDT/SLT with introductory remarks by Ms Harrington. There are events planned throughout the course of the weekend and it will wrap up on Sunday evening the 21st of August. A full schedule is reprinted below and further details can be found on the Expo Site.


FRIDAY  - August 19th, 2011 :: 11am/SLT to 5pm PDT/SLT/MVT

=================================================================

11am :: CCEXPO INTRODUCTION with Tessa Harrington: Learn about the BIG PICTURE from SpotON3D’s CO-Founder and the lead architect for the vision of their 3DWeb focus.

12pm :: SpotON3D’s GEEKSPEAK: Ask the SpotON3D TechTeam Your Questions

1pm :: SO3D Developer Program Discussion Group with Philippe Pascal: Learn more about our Developer Program and ask your questions.

2pm ::  Concurrency: Should the number of users be your sole reason for expanding? A fresh look at why concurrency might not be he most accurate or smartest way to determine what grids hold the most promise for your expansion opportunities

3pm :: Scotty Bevill of Bevill Edge®:

Scotty has 19 years of experience in the Supply Chain, Information Technology & Project Management industries on a diverse set of projects within the active duty military, government, and commercial contracting. Today Scotty focuses on business strategy and process leaning, PMO deployment, and Agile Adoption risk mitigation.

       1. Reality … because you ask? Virtual is a misnomer.  Same people, same psychology

        2. Serious Games - Making work and Learning Fun

        3. Distributed Cognition -Travel doesn't have to kill co-location

        4. The Facebook Plug-In: It's a Big Deal

        5. Pulling Ownership over Assigning Responsibility

        6. Web Plug-In: User Centered Design

4pm ::  Music

5pm ::  SpotON3D ‘s Patent Pending Plug-in: Is it a threat or a benefit?


SATURDAY - August 20th, 2011 :: 11am/SLT to 5pm PDT/SLT/MVT

===================================================================

11am ::  CCEXPO INTRODUCTION by Tessa Harrington: SpotON3D's Web Worlds, Community Security & Privacy and "RESPONSIBLE TOLERANCE"

12pm ::  RESERVED

1pm ::  Amleth McCallen performing

2pm ::  Vardasilver Spearsong about RP

3pm ::  SpotON3D Office Hours - Explaining Double Dutch Delivery and it potential for content creators.

4pm ::  Sunny Salamander, SpotON3D Chief Developer, Business Tools : HOTSWAP

5pm ::  AgileBill Firehawk/ AgileBill Krebs

Agile Dimensions LLC was founded by Bill Krebs to serve distributed teams and coaches. By using Agile Software Development methods and practices such as Scrum and Lean we can reduce risk, improve quality, and delight our customers! We match teams with the right tools and ways to use them. Agile since 2001, Bill holds certifications in both Scrum and Virtual Worlds.  Why Creating Content for Business & Education is a Smart & Sexy Move


SUNDAY - August 21th, 2011 :: 11am/SLT to 5pm/MVT/SLT/PDT

==================================================================

11am :: CCEXPO INTRODUCTION by Tessa Harrington: SpotON3D's Private Label Worlds & "We Sponsor Your Dreams" Program. If you've got a great idea for an online community, game, or social network in the 2D or 3D Web, but couldn't afford it, learn how SpotON3D PAYS YOU To build your dream.

12pm :: SpotON3D Chief Developer - Business Tools :: BoostCLOUD Severs

1pm :: Lesley Scope aka Light Sequent  :: Cybergogy for a 3D Educational

2pm :: Maxmillion Kleene performing

3pm :: Phoenix DaVinci  - What’s it's like to create HotSwap Scenes

4pm :: GridWrap -  Hosted by Tessa Harrington & Wildfire/Raine Morgwain - Guest Sandy Adams:

Sandy Adam in real life and Georgianna Blackburn in Second Life®. Her company, 21C Interactive, was established in 1998 to meet the new demands for creative solutions using new media strategies. At that time she was working with website development and CDRom projects. In 2007, she made the transition to working with the emerging industry of virtual worlds and virtual goods. Combining over 15 years in marketing and advertising, she is currently researching how social networking and marketing take place in a virtual world.

5pm :: Wildfire Morgwain - Virtual Entertainment- The Next Great Cinematic Frontier?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Choices - An Immersive Art Installation at UWA

Earlier this evening I arrived at the site of the immersive installation "Choices", created by June Clavenham. It is one of a trinity of creations now at the Virtlantis. As I waited to fully rezz into the site, I clicked to open a notecard and read about this and the other two installations. This trio appears to be, judging from from JJ's notecard the last of the UWA Full SIM Art Series. He goes on to explain that, "All of this could disappear anytime after the 18th of August, as the SIM hosting the art series, will, like the isle of legend it is named after, disappear off the face of the multiverse." 

Second Life being second life, the site took an inordinate amount of time to rezz full and when it did, I found the virtual me standing inside a dark and large rectangular room. Directly in front me at the point of arrival is a set of immense doors with the word "Resistance" emblazoned on the floor in front of it. I used the right arrow key to spin my view and found three more doors. The next is labeled "Dreams" and then "Fears", with the last doorway called "Memories". 

Before I made a choice, I re-read June's statement about the installation in which she tells us that she believes, "Our choices are sometimes not the most wise, but they are the best we can do at a given moment, and at the end we will be able to find what brings kindness and peace to our hearts."  The statement brought a smile to my face and I decided that I would explore dreams first. So I started the virtual me off in that direction.

Before I clicked on the door however I released the arrow key and my avatar came to halt. "Maybe I should start with fears", I thought. Being the pragmatic kind of guy that I am, I'd generally thought that one should confront one's fears head on … the wrestling with demons that we all do, some more frequently  then others, but it is a shared human affliction.  So I spun around and started in the opposite track. As I neared that door however, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the word resistance and once again, my finger tip was raised from the arrow key as my avatar began it's iteration through the cycle of poses in the animation over rider.

"It is something that has taken many forms in my life … some of which had an external source but most often it appears to come from with in me", I thought. It was than that a memory popped into my mind of when I'd begun writing Lane's List nearly four years ago.  I had resisted writing for most of my adult life. It was a fear of not being good enough to be read … this is the devil I wrestle with most often.  I had prior to my arrival in Second Life, conveniently used that as my resistance to put my thought to paper. The memory of that first post I wrote came to mind. Not the subject, but the after I wrote it. I had clicked the button to post and then copied the link. Before I sent it out to my friends in second life, I put the virtual me at the bottom of the deep end of a virtual swimming pool where I hoped the water over and around me would cushion me from the criticism. As I started to receive instant messages from my readers, the resistance seemed to melt away rather quickly, they liked it.

Since then, I've written many posts for Lane's List, along with articles for the SL Newspaper, Avenue Magazine, Second Arts and one or two other publications. Many fond memories of the people and places the virtual me has met and seen.  The ding of an instant message arrived and took me out my reverie. I glanced at the clock and realized that I'd spent nearly thirty minutes here and all that I'd done is spin the virtual me around in a circle. With pleasant memories fresh in mind, I approached that door and raised a virtual hand to click on the door to enter.

Beside June's installation at Virtlantis, one can also see, "Immanentize The Eschaton" by CHUCKMATRIX Clip and "CHILDHOOD" by Silene Christen. But hurry before it vanishes  after the 18th of August. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

UWA Announces the Winners of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge for July 2011

ARISTIDE IN HARMONY AS FUSCHIA TAKES FOUR: WINNERS OF THE UWA 3D OPEN ART CHALLENGE (JULY)

Aristide Despres creation, 'Harmonies in C Great (+)' whose power exudes a sense of grandeur has taken  the L$10,000 1st Prize for the July Round of the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge. Artee, as she is known, doubled the winnings as she also won the CARP Prize and the Nordan Art Prize. Fuschia Nightfire almost topped those winnings with 'Not Everything is Plain Black & White' by taking home 4 prizes and a total of L$17,500. She won Joint 2nd Prize, alongside June Clavenham & Gleman Jun, she also won the People's Choice Award as well as the Tornado Gallery and Pirats Group Prizes. Typote Beck with 'The Superheroes Breakfast' emulated a feat achieved only once before by taking out 3 Group Awards (Odyssey Prize, S&S Gallery OFA Prize & Project Z Prize).  An unprecedented night saw yet another creation take 2 Group Awards with Miso Susanowa's 'Down on the Data Farm' also gaining direct entry to the Grand Finale winning both The Workhouse & Art place d-oo-b Prize and the Phi Designs Prize. The Non-Scripted Prize also resulted in a tie with RazorZs 'Tunnel With Light at the End of It' deadlocked with Corcosman Voom's 'Hurdle', while Toughlove Sabra won the Curator's prize with the deceptive and surprising 'Inside A Troubled Mind'.








Monday, August 1, 2011

A Preview of Alizarin Goldflake's "Acquarella Fable" in InWorldz

Alizarin Goldflake Hugging her Pink Seahorse



"Maybe you noticed - or maybe you didn't  - that I haven't had much of a presence in SL lately."
That was the opening line to a note card I'd received when I'd logged into Second Life recently.  I read through it when it had finally rezzed and afterward thought, “Of course we'd noticed Ali". The notecard then went on to explain her absence from Second Life as, "The reason is that Jeri Rahja lent me a SIM to develop in InWorldz". She concluded with an offer for a "sneak preview" and so I took her up on it. We exchanged messages and set a date and time to meet at the site of her InWorldz build.
"Ali" is of course Alizarin Goldflake (aka Martha Jane Bradford), a professional artist for most of her life she has had her work shown in prominent galleries and included in many museums, corporate, and private collections. And that is the non-virtual world side. The list of virtual world exhibits is long, as she has been hosted at many of the major art venues in Second Life including; Ars Simulacra, Art Gallery Diabolus, Pirats, Caerleon and UWA. Oh, and lest I forget, her own studio, Atelier Alizarin where she has delighted us with her art and intricate builds.
I'd forgotten where I'd left the virtual me when I'd last logged out of InWorldz, but it didn't matter much because as soon as I had rezzed, Ali did as well. We exchanged instant messages and she sent me a teleport request. As I arrived the scene immediate scene looked familiar, dark and foreboding and I recalled from her notecard that, "Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi was extracted from the environment at this landing spot". I had visited the build in Second Life.
A message came up on my screen to tell me that ‘Alizarin Goldflake has entered chat range (1.3m)’ and I turned the virtual me in her direction.
“We don’t look quite like ourselves.” She said with a laugh and then added, “Shopping is still primitive in InWorldz.”
“True.” I said in response to her first statement and then added, “I think this is a freebie skin and hair, but this is the Nazz shape … same as in Second Life, Craftworld and Open Grid … I paid for a custom shape.”
“You copied the numbers over from Second Life … I did to, but they don’t create quite the same look, you have to tinker a bit.” She said and then continued, “Caren McCaw did me a custom Ali skin.”
Her avatar had fully rezzed for me now and I noted that she appeared very much like the Ali I had met nearly two years ago in Second Life. I complimented her on her appearance and she thanked me.
“So this SIM is my Acquarella fable from the machinima, laid out in four rooms or quadrants. Set your environment to midnight and max particle count.  Also make sure you have local sounds on.” She said as I first did as she recommended, set the environment and particle count and sound before I spun my camera view around to take in the scale and scope of the area where our virtual selves stood. As I did so she added, “This quadrant was the source for the Fukushima Daiichi build in Second Life.”
“When did you start the build here?” I asked  and with the camera focused I snapped a few pictures.
 “Around Valentine's Day I think.” She responded.
“So you been at it a while then ... this is the first full SIM you've done, isn't it?”
“Yes, my first SIM sized build … quite a growing experience, an opportunity to really expand my vision. Jeri Rahja is just a patron saint to support virtual art this way.” She replied
“You've moved toward more immersive work of late.” I commented.
“Actually I have been doing environments for several years, but on a smaller scale in Second Life. This quadrant represents a post-apocalyptic future … humans have destroyed the world through greed and war and pollution.” She said in response.
“That is a different theme for you.”
“No it was in the Chantal Harvey Acquarella Machinima that went to the world's fair in Shanghai last fall … This is an expansion on that machinima”. She said and then passed a link over to me.
Well you’re certainly on a roll here Nazz with those last two comments, I said to myself as I copied the link she’d provided to a note file for later viewing. I listened for a few moments to the sounds that came from the build. They seemed to fit the theme of this area well and so I asked. “Did you do the sounds as well?”
“The sounds are downloads from the net that I mod a bit in audacity, a few I have recorded myself but mostly they are freebies.” She replied and then added, “So this is part one of four. This is where the fable starts with what's left after the destruction. Then the goddess Acquarella sets about repopulating the ocean … that’s the second room, so save time for all four parts.”
“What’s the source for the goddess ... western mythology?”

“Nope … I made her up. An acquarella is a small body of water in Italian, and I used to have an aquarium as a child … so the goddess Acquarella starts repopulating by establishing aquarium outposts.”
“So rebuilding the planet after the apocalypse?” I asked.
“Exactly, starting in the ocean where conditions are not as severe.“ She said.
“I recall from prior conversations that you've drawn inspiration from the sea ... some of your work was inspired by what you'd seen on the sea shore in Maine.”
“Yes very much so, all the seaweed drawings are based on actual Maine seaweed.  I did digital drawings with Corel painter software and then imported them as textures.”
 “What do you think would be the key features visitors should be drawn to when they arrive?” I asked.
“The point is the overall atmosphere and the psychic effect it has on you.” She replied.
“I get a sense of earth at a primal time.” I commented.
“I hope people look at the details … the textures and lighting and particles. I think of it as scorched earth, except it is underwater.” She replied with a laugh.
“All the textures are ones you created?”
“Yes these are all my drawings. This dappled shadow texture comes from a landscape called Corner Garden … fire in the lake is an I Ching hexagram.” She replied.
 “Have you crafted a background story to go with the build?”
“Yes, I am kind of spinning it out now but I have it written in a notecard to … only in VR can you have fire in the lake.”
“Have you thought of doing a book ... the self-publishing route?”
“The machinima is my book equivalent.” She said and then asked, “So want to see the next quadrant?”
“I'm ready if you are.” I replied and with the arrow keys followed her through and past the fires until we approached the next quadrant.  As I was about to enter, I saw what appeared to be a large snake blocking our way.

“I hope you are not afraid of snakes … a mother sea serpent guarding her eggs.” She commented and I made my way past the serpent carefully, so as not to disturb the eggs.
“Acquarella thinks that she can keep disaster from happening again by having everything very pure … peaceful white fish minding their own business, no competition, no vanity, no greed. The whiteness symbolizes that spiritual purity … cam in on these jellyfish. They have a great texture and a neat scripted motion.” She explained.
“It reminds me of Glyph (Graves)”. I said and then moved my camera view around the space. The jellyfish she had mentioned along with the swimming fish, the lace like seaweed floating in an invisible current. There was so much to see that I found it difficult to focus in on any one thing. I spotted her sitting on a branch of seaweed and I added; “This is extraordinarily detailed … very nicely done Ali … congrats!”
“There’s a throne over here to sit and survey the situation … oh, don’t miss the snail family.” She said
“Does mouse view work?” I asked.
“Yes, that is a good idea. Park your av and examine things. I find that seat very calming.”
I did as she suggested and pointed, clicked and sat on the perch she had vacated. I slipped into mouse view and let the animation take me around. She had mentioned that I should check out the snail family and so I sought them out. They were easy to pick out as they inched their way across the sea floor. After the circuit was completed, I stood and followed her toward one of the walls where she pointed out to me a set of shells that appeared to be a set of stairs.
“So these are limpets stuck to the wall. It is a navigational obstacle course. It’s very hard to climb all the way to the top without falling, but there is a pavilion at the end up there where you can survey the whole SIM.” She said as we made our way toward the passage that led to the third quadrant.
“So the upshot of Acquarella trying to have everything pure is that she strangles the life out of things … that is the third room.” She commented.
I had preceded her into the passageway and stopped when I saw that a multi-legged, multi-eyed creature blocked the way. “Now that’s scary.”
“It’s funny what eight snake eyes can do … they look down and up. If you cam under they still look at you. It is a rotiferous tentacled fungus.” She said with a laugh before she continued, “So ... please continue on. So here we are in the middle of everything being dead, the opposite of purity. This is all decay … all the fish are black and belly up accompanied by thunder sounds and moans.”
I gingerly made my way toward the creature and as it had the passage completely blocked I sort of walked right through it. There was indeed a distinct lack of life in here as opposed to the prior quadrant as I cammed around the lifeless forms of fish and other creatures floated past me. As I closed in on to where she had stopped, I asked. “So the goddess in her experiment has extinguished life?”
“She strangled it by trying to be too pure … so she tries again. And this time she allows individuality and competition and self-interest, represented by color in the next room.  This way …“
I followed her once again toward the passageway to the last quadrant and noted the colors which were easily distinguishable as they poured out through the passage way. Near the entryway now, she paused and I did as I stood right next to her. I commented with a smile. “Signs of life and color.”
“Yes, more signs of life. You are at midnight … cause this last room doesn’t work at midday”
It was breathtaking and I simply exclaimed, “Oh wow! …” as I took it all in. I spun my camera view around and through this last quadrant, the sea full of life and rich with a diversity of color and creatures. “This is gorgeous Ali.”
“The orange fish eggs represent fertility, sex … and there is color everywhere. But there is a downside even here … such is life. Come this way to see downside number one.”  With arrow key pressed I followed her further into the room and we made our way toward a structure. When we arrived she continued. “The sushi pavilion … buy the sushi for 0 and wear. Wear both the sushi of your choice and the soy sauce bowl. So the downside is the big fish now eat the little fish … no more purity and peace … but yummy sushi … I got hungry and ordered more sushi when I was making this.”
“So when do you think you'll open?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” She replied and before I could press her for more information she said. “Come look at my blender triumph … these sea horses, aren’t they adorable and they’re ride able.”
“You did them in blender and yes they are.” I commented as she clicked on one to sit.
“I used blender and prims and textures … the pose looks like snuggling” She said and I tried to snap a picture of her as she rode around in a circle. I did but so did she and passed it along to me. It was a much better picture then what I had taken and I decided right there to use it in my post.
“Okay, what do you suppose that search beam is doing?” She asked as she drew my attention to the beam that emanated from the ceiling. She then added, “Follow it up to the source.”
“Scanning for danger?” I asked and I then I saw the snake eyes watching I added, “We’re being watched.
“Yes … all is not safe in paradise.” She replied and then stood up from the sea horse. She started to move her avatar but paused long enough to say, “Follow me.”
I stood up from the seahorse and followed her as she moved her virtual self to my left. As I neared where she stood, I noted that we’d gone nearly full circle around the build. Ahead was the area in which we’d begun. I still had my sounds turned up and I caught the faint sound of something familiar. I was about to ask her about the sound I was hearing when she sent out a line of chat.
“So what happens next?” She asked
Before I could answer, the sound I had been hearing triggered a memory and I blurted out in chat, “Carny sounds … it sounds like a carousel to me.”
Judging from her laughter (ROFL), I figured I’d missed the mark, but I stood by my assessment.  She then said in answer to her own question. “The cycle repeats itself …. Yep like a carousel … a merry go round. In other words, repetition … around and around and guess what? You never get the gold ring … only the other guy … but you keep trying.” She said and then added after several moments. “Hmm… I didn’t realize i was making a Buddhist build till just now. Nazz you do bring things out! You pay attention and that is a rare quality.”
I meekly commented, “A curious mind…”
“So there you have it … the last 5 months of my virtual life … it has been so much fun!”
The tour over, we stood and chatted for several minutes longer before she excused herself for dinner. I took one or two more pictures and I was about to hit quit … but decided to give the carousel sound one last listen before I logged out.