Roaring Twenties Roleplay in SL Chicago

When I'm not touting the wonders of New Toulouse--my home in SL with its wonderfully creative and friendly people and an extremely beautiful Jazz Age setting--I'm always on the lookout for other builds with the vintage spirit.  On Rich Island, you can step back in time to 1920s Chicago.  As a historian, I find one of the best things about SL is the way in which roleplay can motivate research and reading into different periods and places in time, making studying history immersive fun.  Visit here and come play gangsters and FBI agent while you listen to jazz at the Fiume Club; come outfit yourself properly with period day dresses, night gowns, hats, gloves and stockings from Zan's Closet, Cill'angel's Boutique or Eclectica if you want to be a gangster's moll.  If you would rather be like Al Capone, Swank Brothers has the suit and hat for you.  Monarch features car designs that are also true to period, so you don't have to make your way down Michigan Avenue on foot if you don't want to.  The shopping area is RP-optional and combat-free, but cross the river and you will be warned that you have entered a combat area.  At the corner of Willow and Morgan you can catch a taxi that will take you on a guided tour of the sim, and you will feel like you just stepped into the frame of one of my all-time favorite movies, The Sting, as you find yourself stepping over streetcar tracks and dodging falling cigarette butts from the El.  The builder (and local Police Chief), Shepham Moorlord, has included a church and cemetary, Cook County Hospital, a gas station, a hotel, a movie theater, a deli, a barbershop, a bookstore, a police station, and (of course) City Hall.  And since the 1920s means Prohibition, gun-running and illegal liquor, there are speakeasies on every corner, and a new casino.  All the urban amenities are there for the playing!  Keep up with the happenings and fashions in SL Chicago by reading The Chicagoan(http://slchicagoan.wordpress.com/).

London--Knightsbridge, Kensington, Mayfair, Hyde Park and Westminster/ Camden, West End and Soho

I was recently cleaning up my massive inventory, trying to impose some control, when I was inspired to investigate some of my many LMs.  It seemed to be a good idea to revisit a few landmarks from my earliest days in SL, see if anything had changed, see if anything new and interesting was happening,  For as long as that idea may hold some interest for me, I suppose I will devote a few posts to it.  When I first came to SL, the idea of living in a virtual London seemed to be a ready-made fantasy for my new virtual life.  Since that first time so many years ago,  the London sims do seem to have grown a few more regions.  In addition to the landing hub at Hyde Park, there are shopping and residential areas on Kensington, Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Westminster.  Tonight, I did actually find a few people hanging out around the Hyde Park hub, but what I would really like to see are some events, and especially some events with flavor!  It is pretty, and it seems visually faithful, at least to some of the architecture, so maybe it's just the time difference that explains why it still seems so empty on this particular visit. To the credit of the estate managers and builders of the sim, the Hyde Park sim is set up as an orientation space, and it is a fairly attractive and useful place for new avatars to practice moving in virtual space.  As to considering renting a first apartment there, it sounds like a wonderful fantasy, and perhaps as good a place as any to start.  Surfing the Web, I find out that Camden, West End and Soho regions have been added recently to also represent the metropolis that some still consider the center of the world, and that many events have been sponsored, including recent parties for Christmas and New Year's Eve and a Holiday Hunt.  I'm not sure that the sims are owned and managed by the same people (probably not), but Mainland London has its own blog http://mainlandlondon.blogspot.com/p/london-soho.html

and very detailed information for orientation at its landing hub.  Although the Underground entrance does not lead to a working train, the curious explorer will find some free outfits for clubbing, another plus for newbies, both male and female.  (And I was also pleased to see those women's fashions modeled by an attractive brown-skinned Lizzi Klaar!) I suppose that if SL is truly going to live up to its potential as an inclusive place and immersive experience, it is up to us as residents to occasionally step outside of our comfort zones and regular hangouts to find those new places, experiences and people!  Mainland London is in the Destination Guide, so check it out!

Images of New Orleans Musicians

The Art on the Horizon Gallery at Blue Horizon is featuring a show by artist Theresa Jones with her paintings of New Orleans musicians in French Quarter scenes.  Although the RL art cards that were advertised for sale do not seem to be available any longer, you can still purchase the individual images for your SL home or purchase a catalog of the gallery's show.  The collection includes 20 pieces; some of the titles include "Mama Singing Out," "Doreen on the Clarinet," "Sax at Fritzel's," and "Blues Charmer."  Her vibrant colors and rich textures capture some of the energy of contemporary New Orleans Jazz, as her subjects reveal the creativity and dignity of the many street musicians who perform in the French Quarter.  The artists pay tribute to the traditions of music so important in New Orleans history:  the benevolent societies and social clubs of the nineteenth century sponsored brass marching bands that continue to second line at funerals today; in the twenty-first century, the blue notes and syncopated rhythms of saxophones and trombones reverberate along the same streets where jazz was first created in the twentieth.  They are not simply making a living entertaining the Crescent City's tourists; they express the strong spirit and deep cultural roots that allow the city's residents to survive and endure as they continue to recover from Katrina. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blue%20Horizon/200/161/27

Get Your Groove On Tonight!

Calling all Dancehall Queens & Hooligans, Ladies and Gents, Boys & Girls!  The Lion's Den is now reopened on a fully revamped & fun sim with spectacular views & rides.  Come by and browse the land and shops. Staff will be on premises for any type rentals.  Opening ceremonies will be orchestrated by the top dancehall king himself DrScott from the Kinky Sound Crew.  Hurry down and join in the festivities,  today from 3 to 5 pmSLT!  There is a L$1000 prize for the Loudest Kinky fan, with voting starting @ 420pm.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Edgecliff/125/128/85

Calling All Dancers!

Greetings & Salutations!






Chocolate Entertainment Inc., home of Chocolate Boyz and Chocolate Gurlz Entertainment, is a high class group of dancers and escorts catering to the special and sexy needs of our clientele.  Their clients are set to host some of the best and most memorable ladies nights and bachelor parties here on Second Life, and Chocolate Entertainment is looking for dancers.  Each dancer will be hired for $1800L each PLUS tips for a two hour PRIVATE event. Dancers will recieve $500L plus tips earned for the event.  Each host will be paid $300L for each event they host plus tips.  They are hiring male & female human avatars that are at least one month old in SL age, with upgraded skin and quality clothes.  English Speaking is mandatory, while additional languages are definitely a plus :)  Their recruiters also ask that:

ALL STAFF MUST BE ABLE TO EMOTE EXCELLENT ACROSS THE BOARD NO MATTER THE AMOUNT OF A TIP OR SITUATION

ALL STAFF MUST NOT WORK FOR ANOTHER SL CONTRACTED PRIVATE DANCE TROUPE AND/OR COMPANY.

ALL STAFF MUST OWN AT LEAST 5 PERSONAL DANCES OR A CHIMERA TO USE DURING EVENTS

YOU MUST BE AGE VERIFIED AND USE PAYMENT INFO as LL is changing to a 3 tier rating system. PG, Mature, & Adult.



Drop by their offices at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dysomia/202/122/900/ to fill out an application, and drop it into Godiva Rugani's profile OR drop it into the mailbox.  Good luck!

Help for Haiti--SHOP FOR A CAUSE!!!

Please join in the effort to help the people of Haiti.   Today is the last day of the Project Tents HAITI Benefit Expo organized by Project Tents and Peace Train Charitable Trust for ShelterBox – May 21st through May 30th, 2010.  Special designs including clothing, jewelry, shapes, shoes and poses are available, featuring items by:

Aimesi, Angel Dessous, ABJ – Aurora Borealis Jewelry, AZUL, Bamboo Soup, Baubles Boho Jewelry, BELLISSIMA!, Body Talking, C’est Moi! Boutique, Callie Cline, Di’s Shape Design, DmD Poses, Ear Candy, Essential Soul, Faster Pussycat, Fellini Couture, FK Virtues, Gabriel, MiDis, Moonbeam Fashions, PRISM, Premiere Modelling Agency, R.A. Crystal, Shiki, , Styles of edo, Tres Beau, Tukinowaguma Hair Style, U&R DOGS, Vamp Shoes, wonderkids, W&Y Hair

To learn more about the event organizers and sponsors, please visit:

* Shelter Box: http://www.shelterbox.org/

* The Peace Train Charitable Trust: http://slpeacetrain.org/

* Project Tents: http://sltents4haiti.wordpress.com/

* Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1989131,00.html
 
To Visit the Project Tents HAITI Benefit Expo, use one of these 9 Project Tents HAITI Landing Points listed below, with SLurls:


Project Tent Central Plaza:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/129/127/30

Project Tent North Central:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/128/177/31

Project Tent North East:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/183/177/31

Project Tent East:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/183/126/31


Project Tent South East:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/182/76/31


Project Tent South Central:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/126/75/31


Project Tent South West:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/70/75/31

Project Tent West:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/71/128/31

Project Tent North West:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Project%20Tents/71/178/31

Happy Memorial Day

Please visit Sunrise Mansion & Art Gallery's fascinating display of history and a recreation of the famous cemetary and monument dedicated to 251 black soldiers exhumed from a Charlotte, NC mass grave. Pay tribute to the sacrifices made by men of African descent to demonstrate their patriotism, in pursuit of freedom.  Come learn about our current holiday's origins as Decoration Day and a commemoration of black Union veterans of the American Civil War, especially these most recently acknowledged, who finally have the resting place that they deserve.  The installation will be on display until June 1st  at

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Diamond%20Serenity%20Caye/241/154/22/