Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Looking Glass in Second Life - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Flying Eyes Art Museum  (moderate)

I admit that I've been dragging my feet (as it were) when it came to visiting The Looking Glass.  I wasn't ready for another Alice In Wonderland themed build ... there have been quite a few over the years.  I was wrong because, although there are references to the classic story, this is not another plunge into that narrative.  Do not hesitate - if you have not yet visited this wonderful island you really should.    It's actually a town with quirky buildings, shops (there is still space for rent) and a terrific castle on the hill which has been refurbished as a beautiful art museum.

The Looking Glass  (moderate)

Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee are the designers behind The Looking Glass and I'm in love with their textures and creativity and building.  I won't talk too much here because I want you to watch the two videos at the end of the post - they do a much better job of showing you the wonders of this new destination

I will point out that even in the short life span of the town something catastrophic seems to have occurred in the theatre.  I hope they had insurance.

The Looking Glass  (moderate)

I also noticed some flying islands with fabulous homes on them (and a very cool Wizard's retreat) - maybe you'll be lucky enough to live here.  I never made it to the previous incarnation of their build but I'm very glad to add this one to my permanent landmarks folder.

Check out these cool videos. Even if you won't take my word for it they should make you want to go experience The Looking Glass for yourself.  The first is by the talented ColeMarie Soleil.




The second machinima is by Hypatia Pickens who used The Looking Glass as the backdrop for her work.  Once you've watched go see the great art in the museum, look for those hidden spooky places under the castle and stroll down the cobblestone streets.  You'll be glad you did.


7 comments:

Uccie Poultry said...

/me shakes a fist at you ... "Dang you, Honour! I was just there yesterday for a quick peek and blog post and was gonna go back today for an in-depth post ... and you beat me to it! Curses'!!"

*giggle* Very nice, as always.

Honour McMillan said...

@Uccie um, sorry?

Caliburn Susanto said...

I'm assuming she had a momentary attack of seeing place-posting as a competition sport. I can understand that, I've had to fight against it myself on certain down days. Very much of what people post online (anywhere, pictures, forums, et al.) is ego-driven (notice me, talk to me, agree with me, look at what I did and stroke me, like me ... love me).

You have a large following for what appears to be the antithesis of the above, and it can frustrate the insecure (I should know). :-D

Great find as usual and I can't wait to go see it and then get my undies all in a bunch being furious at the new craptastic WL controls in Viewer 2.

Honour McMillan said...

@Cal Nah I know Uccie was teasing and I should have included a smilie or something in my response to her.

Having said that - there are time when I encounter a real sense of competition from other travelers but it's pretty rare.

And about the photo thing - I'm pleased Torley is fussing with the larger picture and I'd love to see a bunch of the issues grouped together in a "project". Of course I am an optimist. :)

Caliburn Susanto said...

Mostly in the past I've seen what I was attempting to describe amongst the fashion blogger crowd (of which I was, temporarily and very peripherally, a member).

I've decided with the !@#$%^! new WL process that the best way to save my temper is to take (waste) time creating some basic NEW presets that don't require much tweaking so they will be more handily available in the Environments section, then settling for those most of the time (grudgingly and with irritation).

But the whole process of separating using from editing (now you can no longer edit easily on the fly) is going to be a permanent downer -- and making the panels smaller (or disappear) is not the solution. The presets need to be quickly choosable and editable in the SAME panel (as before), WITH SLIDERS (sorry for shouting).

[grumble]

Honour McMillan said...

@Cal Oh I agree with you completely - about both topics. Luckily I have absolutely no way of entering the world of fashion blogging even if I wanted to. The guffaws of laughter would follow me into my nightmares. :)

Uccie Poultry said...

Of course I was kidding! In fact, I've sent LMs to Honour for her to investigate and post about, if she wished.