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During the last month, when Shelby Robbiani and I were shopping for Costa Rica Sim’s Halloween Ball, we stopped by Rustica to browse. As it happens, Maxwell Graf is on her friend’s list, and halfway through our spree, she asked if I wanted to meet him. Of course, I wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity, and within a few moments we were whisked away to a sim called Rune … and what appeared to be a mountain raceway. Graf was more than happy to rezz a vehicle and give is a personal tour, and since I wasn’t so rude to take pictures that evening … I went back today to snap a few pics of what promises to be the next step in gaming within virtual worlds.
When it comes to vehicle-based gaming in SL, we think of slow-moving vehicles ambling jerkily along predestined tracks, with visible rezz-balls, etc. Or … “bring-your-own-vehicle” race tracks where one comes to try out the max speed on that thousand prim single-server-powered vehicle you have to wear. Alpine Deathrace 2000 isn’t about a fancy vehicle, or Coney Island-style amusements … it’s about the game, and the obvious influence on the vehicle and landscape is … well, what it should be … video games.
A simple set of instructions and a rezzing pad get you started (his low prim/low lag vehicles … not yours). Hopping on, you immediately notice the ease of vehicle maneuvering … this thing was built to turn on a dime, something that’s an immediate obvious need around the corner.
Leaving the starting area, you cross a bridge … and at the smallest suggestion of an incline, you realize this isn’t going to be as easy as you might have imagined. This vehicle has “physical” elements, which means it isn’t going to sit where you stop … it will obey our virtual world’s physics, and rest only at the lowest possible point.
There’s only thing worse than two ladies wearing the same dress to the ball … and thankfully, with over 100 guests throughout the evening, we did managed to avoid that during Saturday night’s Costa Rica Sims Ladies’ Society’s “Phantom of the Opera – A Halloween Masquerade Ball.”
The absolute WORST thing you can do is take one lady’s photo … then attribute it to someone else. Shortly after I had uploaded the post to the PR and CRS website, our estate webmistress, DzinWiz Babii, sent me an IM telling me that the glorious outfit I had attributed to her … well … wasn’t her.
I was still really busy finishing up things related to the party, and so I said I’d change it later … until later that evening, when Ms. Gloria Marchant commented on the blog that SHE was the mysterious mislabelled fine lady in mauve.
So, to both, I offer my humble apologies! You were both extremely lovely Saturday evening, and my only regret now is that I didn’t get a full photo of Dzin (she is slightly behind Gloria to the right – hence my name-bubble confusion). I couldn’t amend the old photo (I hadn’t saved the layered version after building it – BAD BLOGGER!), so I thought the absolute best thing would be to feature Ms. Merchant in her own posting … and here it is.
What do a bleeding skull, a crashing chandelier, and an enormous pipe organ represent? … A great excuse for a party!
Last evening, the Costa Rica Ladies’ Society hosted “Phantom of the Opera – A Halloween Masquerade Ball,” which turned out to be the most successful party on the entire Costa Rica Sims estate so far this year. At one point, nearly 86 people were partying on the sim at one time.
Guests ported into the main entrance of their normally formal opera house … now filled with mist, creepy trees, and a reminder to dim the lights on their viewer. And, the only way in was to follow bloody footprints into the lobby of the auditorium.
Entertainment for the evening was provided by crooner Clairede Dirval who sang the blues, some pop and alternative classics while strumming her guitar. By the second hour, we were moshing to the heavy beats of DJ Azu Catteneo … well, almost … our thick layered costumes prevented much crashing into each other!
As mentioned, the crowds were enormous for an SL party. We were afraid at one point the Sim might crash … and although many of us did (I did more than once), it wasn’t too terrible getting back inside the party that never stopped.
(For more coverage, and to find out who attending … take the jump!)
High noon in Second Life was a great time of day for the townsfolk to gather in the square to see the new Sheriff ride in. The Square: the Fashion Venue of the Costa Rica Sims. The town crier: Clyde Saunders of Costa Rica Sims Productions. The Posse: Models Florentine Rau, Wipster Baxter, Donald Feld, TraLove Pinazzo, and Hollee Zhora. The new Sheriff? Fashion Designer Extraordinaire … Nardya Rousselot, with a piping red-hot branding iron that lets everyone in town know which ranch she started …
…Nardcotix…
The show started off with the lovely Florentine Rau wearing Nardcotix‘ Frank’s Jazz in Crimson, a lovely strapless gown gilded with deep black patterns against deep red, with an explosion of fabric over the thighs and legs.
Next, Wipster Baxter wore Madeline in Blue, a fun slightly oversized dress that gives contemporary textures to a retro feel.
Donald Feld came out in Nardya’s new men’s line, wearing a Neron Striped Shirt in Purple, over her 641 Denim Jeans.
(Click HERE for more Nardcotix outfits … plus the interview!)
Mid-autumn … that period of the year where you embrace the extra inches of fashion, but are still reluctant to let go of the fun colors of the warmer seasons!
I started this ensemble at Meriken Co., one of my absolute all-time favorite stores. After getting the top and denims together, I thought it would be awesome to have Amara tag along and dress up, too, and before long, we were mixing the colors of summer and fall before the cold winds of winter blew away our fun.
A quick stop at Emery for her, and then we both got to accessorize! Then, off to the Picnic area of the Costa Rica Sims for some snapshots of the fading day.
AMARA: Top – Emery – Shirt Plaid Plan B| Skirt – Emery – Skirt Black High Waist | Shoes – [*RG*] London Heels -Black by Redgrave | Purse – Emery – HandBag R.F. #Sailor | Hair – >TRUTH< Melanie – strawberry| Skin – :GP: Petal [Light] Pin Up-Jitterbug 1 by Curio
PHANTOM: Shirt – Meriken Co. polka-dot pink | Denims – Meriken Co. Jeans #103 | Shoes – [ hoorenbeek ] All Star – Low Top – Pink | Scarf – Gritty Kitty: Stripes and Plaids Scarf | Glasses – Gritty Kitty: Velma Glasses [B] | Hair – Uw.St Reed-Hair by UncleWeb Studios| Skin – .::. REX .::. TONE 1 by Signature Skin Lab
Poses by Essential Soul Studio
Want a great excuse to dress extravagantly and have a great time on Halloween this year? Consider yourself invited to the blow-out double event at the Costa Rica Sims …
Bring a friend, or two, or three to our Halloween Masquerade Ball / October Rezz Day Celebration! While our theme is “Phantom of the Opera,” you can wear anything formal (and a mask), so now’s the time to show off your favorite high-goth gown or suit as you party in grand style.
Put it on your calender! Don’t miss it!
Yesterday, Simple Spad, creator of the number one men’s skin line in SL, IM’d me to see if I’d like to try out a new skin. Of course, I wasn’t about to say anything but “hell yeah,” and within a few moments I received his latest “about to hit the shelves” product … which I’ll show you in a bit.
After I trying it on a bit and chatting about it, I instantly felt a bit guilty. After acknowledging his primacy of craft a few months ago in my Best in Men’s Skin list, he sent me his entire new men’s line to try on and review … and as of yet, I hadn’t posted it.
Bad blogger! Okay, I had good excuses … new SL job … just started school in RL … but, still, the number one men’s skin creator wanted me to review new product … and I didn’t. Soooo … without further ado, here’s a small small taste of what the greatest etcher of men’s skins is waiting to sell you in his ever expanding sim (and yes … you’ll wait till the jump to see the “sneak peek!”)
When I tried Jayden on, I immediately got a taste of what was yet to come. I’ve worn a Signature Skin as my primary skin for the better part of a year, but this face blew me away. Instantly, I noticed how much clearer the features were, how well defined the body was, and how well it laid against a variety of body types. Simple’s in-house shapes are generally beefier and more rugged than I like to wear, but it fit over my custom shape beautifully … keeping the “feel” that I like Phantom to portray, while creating a completely unique appearance.
Kalil further illustrates what I’m talking about with unique faces against the same shape. I haven’t changed my shape at all in this second picture, and yet Simple has created a completely new face from scratch … whereas other skin creators simply change the shade or alter an existing product and call it something new. If Simple puts out a product with a different name … rest assured that the face is absolutely new and unique, not a variation on a theme.
Kamron blasts out with a fresh sun-kissed personality … ready for the surf-boards, or breaking out his baby-face smile at objects of his affection in the nightspots of Second Life. Closing in on the face, you almost forget this isn’t a real face … it’s one of Simple’s most realistic painted faces to date. Although, like his other skins, Kamron comes in a multiple shades and facial hair packs … to me, he screams college-age beach bum, and I wasn’t about to make him look like he had done anything but just jumped out of the shower!
(Five more faces, and Simple Spad’s ALL-NEW yet-to-be-released male skin … at the jump!)
Harper Beresford rezzed into SL two and half years ago, and since then has become a creative force in SL photography, blogging, and fashion criticism.
Her SL photography has been displayed in RL in Berlin, Florence, and San Francisco. Her work has appeared on SLNN.com, and she currently covers SL fashion and philosophy on her two blogs, A Passion for Virtual Fashion, and Harper’s Bizarre.
Other things that keep her busy include her positions wtih RFyre, where she serves as CMO and Business Manager … plus blogging for them as well.
There are so many things I could say about Harper, but I’m mostly proud that she joined our team as Senior Blogger, covering Women’s Fashion.
I know I speak for our whole team when I say this … Thanks for joining, Harper!
Phantom’s Republic
Fashion | Lifestyle | Entertainment
The Art of Living in SL
Phantom’s Republic, founded in June 2008, is a team blog exploring the best of “living” in virtual worlds, focusing on fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment — particularly in SL. Currently, we are also the official fashion blog of the Costa Rica Sims.
We are currently hiring experienced bloggers in the following areas:
- Women’s Style Blogger
- Men’s Style Blogger
- Entertainment (Clubs/Live Music) Blogger
Bloggers will be compensated “per post” at competitive rates. Bloggers will be expected to post at least once every week or two. Reliable bloggers may also receive assignments from our network of merchants and venue owners, if interested.
REQUIREMENTS
- Relevant blogging/writing experience preferred
- Creative writing skills, with a good grasp of the English language,
- Excellent high-rez SL photography/graphic-editing skills
- Have been in SL for at least 90 days.
Please send a NC to Phantom Republic which includes your experience, with URLS, samples, etc. of your work. For aspiring bloggers (first-timers), please include a sample article, including graphics with at least a 500px resolution, and the name of your graphics editing program.
Please just return the notecard (including supporting materials) … no follow-up IMs. If we are interested, we get back with you within 5 business days to schedule an interview.
Respectfully,
Phantom Republic
http://phantomsrepublic.com
A trip to the various pose shops in SL can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Whether it’s to take pictures with a special someone or for commercial purposes, getting just the right pose that will bring out the personalities of those to be snapped can be more time consuming than taking the pics and processing them.
If you’re tired of going to the major pose vendors … I’ve got a nice fun surprise for you! aDORKable poses … for couples and individuals! Fun, warm, romantic … poses you’ll LOVE to use, and laugh while using them!
If you’re in the mood for great poses, come check out aDORKable in the Costa Rica Sims! More pics, and an interview with creator Adorkable Peapod after the jump!
