Checking out SL23B Exhibits
Volunteering at SLB is a lot of work. It's basically 10 days of non-stop events. I put in about 23 hours of actual logged "volunteer" time, not counting the time spent helping out before and after my shifts. With that over, though, I've been able to spend some time really exploring SLB.
Ima be real, there's a ton of ugly-ass AI slop at SLB. But here's a few gems I've found. These aren't the only gems, just a few I've decided to bring awareness to because they deserve it.
Second Life Topography, by Erik Mondrian
Those of you who explored SLB last year might remember Erik's 3D models of Sansara and Heterocera. Well, this year, he's done a 3D terrain map of all of mainland. It's seriously impressive. The pic in the header of this post is a closeup of the snowy mountains of Sansara, but it's all there in all its 3D glory.
And he's got bigger models too! He could fill a region with these on a much larger scale and more detail. Maybe one day the Lindens can give him space for it, because he's done incredible work with these. Collecting the terrain data alone must have been a huge effort, for each and every region.
He's been talking about it at the User Groups, but seeing it in-person is a whole different story. And if you click on a continent, it'll tell you which continent it is, in case you haven't been attending SL geography classes. He's even mapped out where each Linden Home theme is on Belli, which is neat.
I'll be sad to see this go at the end of SLB. I hope Erik finds a permanent home for it! It belongs in a museum!
Also, if you go down the stairs, there's a neat little underwater reef, with some prim coral and plants, provided by the maker of the next parcel!
Primstar, by Snowlord
This thing is so fucking trippy. Go watch it for a while. It's weird. Love it! SO MANY PRIMS! I haven't met Snowlord in person yet, apparently they're friends with Erik. But this shit is nuts. Erik also showed me some of their previous builds and the stuff people can do with prims never ceases to amaze me.
Hope, by Raven Anton
This exhibit by Raven Anton of Morph Productions had the biggest emotional impact on me. Raven has actually done a few of my favorite builds, like the Kaleidoscope Monarch Education Project (which I fell in love with before I ever met her), and I'm always excited to see what she's got up her sleeves.
But this... Fuck. To be real, I'm transgender, and I've lost a lot of friends to suicide. Hell, I've been there myself. It's rough out there. Seeing this build brought me to tears.
Like real, ugly crying tears.
This is just three screenshots. They don't do it justice. Walk through it. Keep your music on. Read the signs, listen to the music, and just take it in. 💚
Over the Rainbow - Munchies Land, by Saucey Sinister
Alright, so it wouldn't be SLB without a cake build. And there are like, several dozen of them. A lot of them are kinda sloppy. Like the giant Philip cake for example, or a certain alice-in-wonderland themed cake that's just like... omg so confusing. This cute lil cupcake icecream kingdom on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air.
It's very very very cute. Makes sense since I guess the builder/mesher also owns Kawaii Couture. Check her primfeed!
A Small Measure of Peace, by Mitsuko Kytori and Akiko Kinoshi
I was actually done writing this post, then my good friend Dreamsphere invited me to an event at this parcel. Somehow, I had missed it in previous visits. It's such a cute little tranquil location, and very well-landscaped. Makes sense, since Mitsuko also works on Hayabusa Design, where she makes really cool animesh trees, and Akiko owns the Akipelago islands.
I'll warn you, there's a lot of alpha-blended grasses and leaves, so the frame rate isn't great. But, it's fucking gorgeous and worth a visit and some pics.
They held a lil event here today, with Nuvolino and TaccaExotic DJing, which was a good time. Some great tunes in a beautiful environment.
Anyway, there's so much cool stuff to see at SLB. People have put in a ton of effort, and I'd highly recommend roaming the regions, not just hitting the shop and hop and bailing. This thing goes til July 19, so you've only got a few more weeks, then all this stuff goes poof!
