Beyond New Babbage: Heaven4D Ultra Dome

Tonight I took Emerson to what my friend Kenna dubbed "the trippiest place in SL."  It's like a rave club on MDMA; a totally immersive experience of music and lights and colors.  You can't see a ceiling or floor or walls - only the imagery of which you're a part.  It's what a RL rave aspires to.  IMHO, this is the kind of innovative  use of SL that makes it such an powerful (and important) 3D platform.

All that's missing are glowsticks.

I took a lot of snapshots.  This one is my favorite.

At home with Kaylee and Kenna

I was going to go check out a trampoline someone had set up in North Fells, but sometimes all you want to do is spend time with your friends.  Kenna and Kaylee kept me company at home tonight.  Here we are, upstairs in my study. Kenna lying on the floor, me dancing, and Kaylee waiting to catch me if I happened to trip over Kenna.

Fortunately, we all survived.

The Engineer's Ball

Tonight was the annual Engineer's Ball at the newly-reopened Piermont Landing.  The new build is pretty amazing.  I'd not seen much of it when I first rezzed in, but when I walked out I saw how majestic it is.

Kaylee asked me to dance while at the ball, which we did for quite some time, before I asked a newly-arrived dark stranger from Mondrago if he would dance with me.  Apparently in New Babbage, the women need to be direct when they want to dance, otherwise they're going to be dancing alone or with other women.  Which isn't always a problem, but....well, sometimes you want to dance with a gentleman.  *shrug*  At least some of us do.

In any case, this particular gentleman is from the land of Cala Mondrago, a Middle Eastern steampunk culture that has recently been revived in exile.  Long story.  The short of it is that it's an exquisite and exotic environment compared to my sooty hometown, and one of my best friends, Bianca Namori, happens to be the Sultana.  This particular gentleman is very close to Bianca and her fiance.

Following the ball, I met him on a rooftop in Mondrago, where we drank wine and discussed our homelands. At some point he popped back to New Babbage to show me a new business being prepared to open, and I took this pic before I joined him:

It was a lovely evening, but alas, everyone in the world seems to be in a timezone where it is later than here. Eventually everyone dropped out and I found myself alone on my wall, watching leaves fall in the park.

*insert sad horn here*  "Wah-waaaaaah"

But not to worry!  Kaylee is in my timezone, so she and I sat on the wall together for awhile and then popped off to more cheerful locations.

Stupid globe.  Interfering with my social life.  Pfffft.

Bad in Babbage

For better or worse, I wore the fez and danced with abandon:

My only complaint about the villains' ball is that it was too short!   But Ms. Bianca Namori was, I think, out of all the events I've attended so far, the DJ who played the most songs I love.  Including the version of "Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge. 

*happy sigh*

As I write this, I still have strains of the song wafting through my head.

Pleasant dreams, villains...

The Rubble Ball, and I'm a landowner!

Well, I didn't end up purchasing that property I mentioned in my last entry, nor did I pursue my clever idea. It's still bouncing around in my head though, and I might drag it out at some later point.

Instead, I took a tour of the city with a new friend I met during The Rumble Ball at Piermont Landing.

Let me back up.

On Saturday night, Ms. Breezy Carver held a magnificent ball at Piermont Landing, which had recently been destroyed by the dastardly villain, Dr. Obolensky. The venue was tremendous - rubble, fallen columns, still-burning fires and the like. A great many people were there.  A dashing gentleman named Mr. Matthieu Manamiko, who is new to New Babbage, invited me to dance. We spent the evening whirling around the detritus-strewn dance floor.

Later that night Mr. Manamiko and I met for drinks and then wandered through the city. We are both relative newcomers; he just moved here, and I am still becoming reacquainted with New Babbage.  It was quite pleasant to walk and explore with a new friend.

At some point I began looking at the available townhouses that were listed in the most recent real estate card, but didn't fall in love with any of them.  There were things I liked about all of them, but there was some drawback to each that prevented me from wanting to rent.  All of this looking made me long for a real home in New Babbage though, more than just a room at a tavern.

Then we happened upon a lovely plot of land  abutting a quiet park in the Academy of Industry sim. I knew I wanted it almost immediately.  I contacted Mr. Tenk, who sold it to me the next morning. And now here I am, overjoyed to once again be a landowner in New Babbage.

Now to the work of building myself a real house!

The Pearse Anniversary

Friday night was Edward Pearse and Christine McAllister Pearse's 4th anniversary celebration.  It was held in a beautiful location in the Vernian Deep, where I'd not yet visited.

The Vernian Deep itself is a marvelous set of builds, all running along the sea floor.  I didn't spend any time exploring, but just the walk between the elevator and the ballroom was enough to raise my interest.  Imagine an underwater Victorian steampunk city - this is the flavor of the Vernian Deep.

This was the first event at which I was asked to dance.  I spent a great deal of time dancing with Dr. Kristos Sonnerstein, who was quite charming and well-mannered.  The chatter in the room was festive and enjoyable, and I stayed until the end.

Dr. Sonnerstein asks me to dance:

Whirling around the room:

When I got home to the tavern, I stood on the balcony for awhile and contemplated my hardware troubles, and took some comparison snapshots.  On the left is what I usually see with the viewer set to levels that allow me to actually function in-world.  On the right is what I would see if I had hardware capable of displaying the highest quality graphics.  (Well, to be fair, I suppose that my hardware is capable, I just can't do anything when rendering is set so high.)

I feel like I'm missing so much.  Something must be done!

Grand Opening of Porthead Tavern

I'm tipsy with excitement, and perhaps a bit too much lager.

Tonight I attended the grand opening party of Ms. Tesla Tripsa's Porthead Tavern in Port Babbage.  Mr. Vic Mornington DJ'd the event. It's the first social event I've attended since returning, and although there were many times I felt awkward, the overall experience was pleasant. 

Rather than operating in wallflower mode, I danced.  Rather than leaving as soon as the party was officially over, I stayed at the bar with several others to chat for a long while.  I had the opportunity to meet several new folks, and perhaps make some new friends.  Hopefully I didn't make a fool of myself.  It's been a long time since I've been social.

Although I tried to take several pictures while I was there, my graphics card being what it is, many of those present were, well, unrezzed.  So I took this silly snapshot of myself dancing:

I came away from the event with a lovely gift from Mr. Mornington:

I think it makes me look a bit sad, but I like it nonetheless.