100 Master Words!!

Our very own Lizzie participated on Crap Mariner's 100 Word Stories podcast at podcasting.isfullofcrap.com. This is a Weekly Challenge where he posts a topic and then challenges you to come up with a 100 word story based on that topic. The topic this week was "I Don't Know" and Liz did a surprising and wonderful job, congrats babe you are awesome!!Click play to hear the story!!

Not everything is Black and White!!

After being the UWA's 7th award winner last year with the piece Zebras, artist Fuschia Nightfire was invited to make a full sim installation. She had to come up with an idea that would fill all that space and found a piece called "Not everything is plain B&W" which led to the thought of taking things further along that line. Searching in her inventory she found out there were other pieces sharing the same black and white or shades of gray look and although they were not connected in any other way, she thought it would be interesting to put together a show of all of them.

The show is composed by a series of installations all in black and white and shades of grey, where the viewer travels around of the surreal, dreamlike creation. It is even possible to blend in the piece fully by grabbing and wearing the skins and clothing found for free at the landing point. The show is very involving and it is recommended to just take some time, let everything rez, and jump in the hole in the floor in the landing area to explore. There is a clear path to follow but it is nice to stray outside of it and find interesting features you may miss if you don't.

This is a very beautiful creation, I recommended you to see with friends or just by yourself. It was elected to be in SL's destination guide editor's picks even before the project was opened to the public. As Fuschia said to LNL, "I feel like this is the absolute highlight of my SL art", and we believe it is definitively a must see and truly a highlight in our Second Life!! To visit the show just click this --> LINK it will run until the 20th February 2012.
Take a lot of pictures and have a lot of fun!! And if you want to share your pictures with Fuschia, just add your shots to her flickr group here. Thanks Fuschia for your help and congratulations, this is a wonderful experience!!

S in Prims by Suzanne Graves at UWA exhibit

Sometimes Second Life catches you by surprise, even after all these years. This time, it happened in the shape of a self-portrait. I am not a big fan of self-portraits. For some reason, people tend to either go too abstract or too realistic. And, let's face it, in Second Life it is even easier to fall onto either end. When London teleported me to the UWA sim to check the installations of the current exhibition, I was far from imagining what I would see; "S in Prims" by Suzanne Graves. 145 prims of magical and captivating grace, transformed again and again by discreet movement, bold colors, and the eye of a mesmerised watcher. When you stand in front of this self-portrait, you understand. It's right there. No explantions needed. No doubts, no interpretations. Beauty in it's most uncomplicated and simultaneously intricate form. Exceptional. Enjoy and do drop by UWA to vote for this piece.

London at the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES!

We have great news! London, the co-owner of LnL Square, has been selected to take part in the LEA Full Sim Art Series! He was atributed the month of November with "Project Guernica"! Congrats! The LEA Full Sim Art Series started in October 2011 and will run till the end of 2012. The resources are extremely interesting; a full sim including media and up to 15.000 prims, plus all the creativity the artists have!

The lineup for 2012 is as follows:

JAN 2012: Astistide Despres ?Where I found my Ivory Tower Surrounded by a Huxlevan World, Which Turned out to be an Orwellian World.'
FEB 2012: Romy Nayar & Ux Hax, 'An Interactive History of Life'
MAR 2012: Kicca Igaly and Nessuno Myoo, 'The Labyrinth of Absurdity'

APR 2012: Athena Bedrosian, 'Mulligatawny Light -- A Journey'

MAY 2012: Fae Varriale, 'Mirror Worlds'

JUNE 2012: David Denton (DB Bailey: SL), 'In A Tizzy'

JULY 2012: Lolito Larkham, 'Walter's Dream'

AUG 2012: Cajska Resident (AKA Cajska Carlsson & previously Snubnose Genopeak, 'Whispers in Code'

SEPT 2012: Mary Wickentower, 'Cinema City'

OCT 2012: Solkide Auer, 'Architectonic Build'

NOV 2012: London Junkers, 'Project Guernica'

DEC 2012: Nish Mip, 'Animals'

The LEA committee is composed by Bryn Oh, Dancoyote Antonelli, Dekka Raymaker, JayJay Zifanwe, L1 Loire, Sasun Steinbeck, Solo Mornington, Werner Kurosawa and PatriciaAnne Daviau (advisor).

We'll bring more news about London's projects as they come up! :)

Rezdays and of how time flies!

Rezdays are always special. They celebrate the beginning of an amazing experience, renewed every day by unexpected discoveries, new friends and magical moments. Both London and I, after four years in Second Life, still find new ways of being captivated by this astounding virtual world. This past January 23 and 24 were mine and London's rezdays respectively! We started off having different views and experiences in Second Life; then we moved on with a common project, LnL Square, that has been quite an unbelievable journey, from a group to gather friends first, to a store next and a huge area to enjoy with several locations and varied activities now. We have so many friends who throughout time walked this journey with us. Some have drifted away back into RL. Others are still inworld with us after all these years. New friends have joined us as well. To all, we owe the joy of having made our SL a much more interesting life! Thank you!

Year of The Dragon Hunt Prize!

A new hunt is about to start at LnL! This time, it's the Year of the Dragon Hunt, celebrating the Chinese New Year. A symbol of both good fortune and string power, this is going to be an impressive year and LnL has decided to offer as a prize for the hunt an isnpiring black hat with a tribal dragon decoration and two black silk roses. This hat is unisex and resizable so you can adjust to your avatar. The Year of the Dragon Hunt starts January 23 and ends February 23. To receive a hint, click the red "i" (hint giver) by the hunt posters. Happy Hunting! And Happy New Year!

Quote Chat with Muse!

Our dear friend Muse is moderating a new event called Quote Chat at Tripician Center. Each month, there is a theme; this month's is "light". Each week, a quote will be put forward to help trigger the discussion. Yesterday's quote was “There are no paths to enlightenment; only journeys from it”. It was a very lively and interesting discussion with the moderator doing a fantastic job by making everyone feel welcome and pushing the limits of the topic further in a very attentive way. Everyone was encouraged to share thoughts, ideas, feelings even. Do drop by! It takes place every Tuesday at 1.30 pm SLT hosted by Muse Starsmith. A perfect time for people on both sides of the big pond! :)

The Delestra Quest!

Taking a bit of a break from all the work we have done lately, moving the whole store and creating all the different environments for you to enjoy, London and I decided to take a look at the Destination Guide and find something interesting and different to do. We stumbled upon a game called the Delestra Quest. It is said that Delestra is a sim with a secret. The aim of the game is to find this secret by exploring the floating dockyard, the gothic castle, the temple, the Oriental village and the labyrinth, finding as many clues as possible. Talk to anyone you come across!

"Welcome stranger. If you are ready for the Delestra Quest touch me for a HUD and other information...please come close so I can see you!!" says the Demon merchant. As you are about to start the game, talk to him and grab all the information you can. Beware, he will try to sell you a few items, but you will most likely find them at a cheaper price elsewhere!

One of the clues you receive at the beginning says: "You have found yourself in a dockyard used for ship repairs, restocking of supplies and recreation. Delestra is famed for its dark sky and it can be an intimidating place full of strange cultures and places.

There are many legends of old times including stories of pilgrims, Enscharys elves, and unicorns but also demons and dark forces."

This is a fun game, that will probably take more than one session to finish. It is very interactive even taking you outside of Second Life to check for clues!

And at the end you receive a prize composed of several prizes! We won't reveal what so we don't spoil the surprise! ;)

A few tips:
* Be careful, the sim has a lot of objects around that are for sale. When you click something for a clue, do it intentionally and paying A LOT of attention!
* Walk around and get close to things; the clues are triggered by proximity. You'll hear a sound and the clue will appear both in local chat and on your screen.
* Every now and then, unwear and wear the HUD to update it.
* Check if the item indicated as having been loaded in your HUD is there. If not, repeat the step and it will appear without any further issue.
* Save a few LMs of key locations! Just a thought! ;)

This game is very well organised and rich in detail. It's a lot of fun to do by yourself or with a friend. Great job! To play the Delestra Quest, click --> here! Have fun!

New LnL Haunted Store!!!

LnL has a new store! Sweetsister Silverstar opened a new Haunted and once again invited LnL to take part in her project. Thanks! Haunted is a great place to hang out; it has many spaces to explore and fun activities. Check the stores area and explore around! To visit LnL at Haunted, click --> here!

New release in Gothic Collection, G38-O127!

LnL G38-O127 is a black unisex outfit. The top (worn as a shirt) is decorated by a laced jabot with an ivory bat over a black crystal background brooch. The black pants (mod) have a rich criss-cross effect. This outfit is completed by a pair of black gloves matching the outfit, a Gothic collar and a ballroom gown skirt open in the front for the female avatar and a coat bottom for the male avatar. All accessories are resizable for a perfect fit. To go to the store, click --> here!

New release in Main Collection, Fantasy O-62!

Outfit 62 is a fantastic dark fantasy outfit in tones of black and brushes of blood red. It brings a top (worn as a shirt) with a three button detail and belt in the front, pants (mod) and gloves. This outfit is complemented by a coat bottom for the female and one for the male avatar plus a sculpted collar. To go to the store, click --> here!

The Path, an exhibition to visit!

London and I have visited a very interesting project called The Path. In cooperation with the Lindens Endowment for the Arts (LEA), Bryn Oh gathered eight of Second Life's (SL) artists and gave them quite an interesting challenge. The theme was the corpse concept often used by the Surrealists.
On a pre-established sequence, the first artist composed a start to the story and passed it on to the next artist who did the same passing it forward. The Path begins in a dark room where you find some introductory information about the exhibit. Click the jar (above) to receive a folder with a landmark and a notecard. The key to moving forward from scene to scene is the head of the inventor. We took a few photos (click to enlarge them) to bring you just a small taste of the unexpected you will come across. This narrator will be silent till the end of the post, so you can enjoy the photos with no interference.

Bryn Oh

Colin Fizzig

Markus Inkpen

Markus Inkpen

Scottius Polke

Participating artists: Bryn Oh, Coling Fizzig, Marcus Inkpen, Desdemona Enfield/Douglas Story, Maya Paris, Claudia222 Jewell, Scottius Polke and Rose Borchovski. If you would like to read more about each one, please visit Bryn Oh's blog.

London and I have selected four of the eight artists. We strongly believe that the surprise effect would be lost if we posted each scene. The photos above try to be representative of the exhibition and simultaneously not too revealing. Enjoy the extraordinary creativeness and an extremely unusual experience - The Path!

Deep Blue Sea Hunt to start tomorrow!

January brings another new hunt to LnL. This time, the Deep Blue Sea Hunt. LnL has prepared an amazing wetsuit for you a complete set of diving gear - flexible fins, weight belt, air bottles, mask and a watch (see detail on pic)! If you click the air bottles, your avatar will be animated in a very cool and realistic swimming movement (thanks to Jo Querrien for the fantastic job on the animation). The prize will be available later on today at the store! As always, click the red "i" (hint giver) by the hunt posters for an updated hint! The prize is marked 1L, but it is worth it. You can go to LnL's garden to test the prize! Have fun swimming around and exploring the underwater world! Click --> here to visit LnL.

LnL: January Group Gift!

This month, LnL is offering a fantastic unisex black cowboy hat decorated by a skull and bones detail over silver wings. This hat has a resize feature. Wear your LnL group tag and click the box by the LnL logo (see pic) To drop by click --> here! Enjoy!

Featuring LnL: The 'Copter!

Today we present the LnL-Copter. When you walk through the garden, you may not see it immediately, but it will rezz when you are close. Hop on and enjoy travelling over the whole sim! It is very easy to manouver and you can be joined by others as well in the same flight. Have fun exploring!

LnL's discussion going on vacation!

The discussions will take a break of 2 weeks, so we will resume January 19th for a new topic! In the meantime, LnL invites you for a visit. Explore around! The best way to move from one place to the other is to use the teleport system (shield-like prim with the LnL logo). For inspiration on where to go in LnL, click the LnL Info tag (to the right, scroll down)!

UPDATE: Discussions will resume Feb 2! Yay!

At LnL New Beginnings Hunt prize!

LnL is taking part in the New Beginnings Hunt and this time we went outside of our comfort zone and created one prize for guys and one for girls specifically! Check the photo! The elegant tuxedo makes guys look very sharp and the stunning ballroom gown for girls will make them feel beautiful and sexy! Drop by to grab these amazing gifts! Click --> here! Oh, and don't forget to click the red "i" (hint giver) by the hunt posters for an updated hint!

Discussions: Of Alts and New Year's!

In the past two Thursdays, despite the holiday season, LnL has gathered its dicussion crew and did something we do so well... discussed! It was a lot of fun, as always!

The first Thursday, it was all about alts. Why have an alt? To test permissions in creations, to explore different aspects of ourselves, to be able to work without interruptions, to play HUD games, to create traffic (as questionable as this could be, in the opionion of some), for Roleplaying, to backup things, to be vaults for money, or even to hide from someone or spy on someone. Oh, and let's not forget griefing! Some alts are nothing but empty beings, but others gain a life of their own and could actually become more important than the primary avatar. The group agreed, that regardless of the characteristic of the alt, it must be very stressful to manage in proficient manner multiple alts! Whichever the case may be, SL is a fascinating world with multiple and enriching experiences, and alts are a part of that!

This Thursday, LnL met to make a sort of a balance of 2011 in SL. The group talked about the new viewers, mesh, physics (which caused a lot of laughter when the discussion went to things like flapping and bouncing, and I will say no more!), joining the teen and the adult grid, modifications in the Dashboard, and some of the unresolved problems such as lag, sim crossing issues, group chat/conference borking, and the creation of SL Realms. Everyone agreed that, as interesting as covering new grounds is, old problems should be fixed first. The 2012 wishlist included no lag (wishful thinking, yes, we know...!) or a more user-friendly viewer, among other personal plans such as learning mesh and enlarging business ventures. As London said: "Whatever the New Year brings us, there's a bright future ahead, new experiences, new friends, new beautiful moments. This past year was full of them too, and the only thing we can say here at LNL is thanks to all of you for being so wonderful. It was a joy to share these moments with you guys!! We wish you a very happy 2012 and hope to see you around many times!! Thank you for your participation, you have been awesome!! :) ".

Featuring LnL: The Bar and game room!

The LnL Bar is ready and look how cool it is! It has lounge areas and a few fun games you can play alone or with others such as pool (8 ball or 9 ball), Parcheesi, BlackJack (no money, just the thrill of it!) and Mahjong (the puzzle version). There is an oil lamp on the bar. Click for detailed information about the different games and have fun! Click --> here to drop by for a visit!

LnL: Discussion this Thursday at 2pm SLT!

The year is gone, long live the new year!! Being the last days of the year we want to see in retrospective what have been the best moments and new additions to sl during 2011. From bouncing boobs to mesh, teens and new viewers. How has this year soon to be gone been for you? Join us for a lively discussion about this hot topic in LnL's Discussion Area at 2pm SLT! Looking forward to seeing you! London Junkers (Moderator)