Winter Wonderlands

Now that the store and venue is closed, I started exploring SL again.  We all know that the numbers of active residents has gone down.  However, I know that there has to be some great sims out there! Since it is still the holidays, I thought I would start with some snowy sims.

VISIT SOON!  I have no idea how long these seasonal sims will be around.

The Isle of Lyonesse - Let It Snow

The Isle of Lyonesse is a nice, snowy hideaway for couples.  The TP point is a dance floor with an animated band.  The isle has intan poles around the entire area.

The isle has many trees and landscaping features to make areas feel secluded.  Cottages are dotted across the landscape.  Many have cuddle animations to make for a romantic excursion.

Many other areas including gazebos and a sled also have cuddle animations.

Teleport to The Isle of Lyonesse - Let It Snow here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isles%20of%20Lyonesse/187/204/23


The North Pole Sleigh Ride Adventure

The North Pole Sleigh Ride Adventure really impressed me.  The sleighs are right at the TP point. Climb on and let the sleigh take you through the frozen wilderness.

The horse and sleigh takes you through the forest past wildlife, through wooden bridges, and even past a candy land area.

The ride ends at a Christmas town complete with Santa's Workshop, shopping, a chapel, and a big Christmas tree in the middle of town.

Okay, how could I not take advantage of seeing the "big guy"?  I had to tell Santa what I wanted for next Christmas.  :) 

Teleport to The North Pole Sleigh Ride Adventure at Steel Horses here:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Steel%20Horses/10/164/58


The Keys - Winter Wonderland

The Keys is a great place to here some of the best music in SL.  I was surprised to find a beautiful winter wonderland.  Even when live music is not being streamed, it is a cozy place to hang out.

There are also some activities including sledding, ice skating, dancing, and a Greedy table.

Teleport to The Keys - Winter Wonderland here:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Key%20Largo%20Island/121/9/1200

Sunset Event

We are saying adieu to the castle in an elegant way with beautiful music... just the castle... not Effie's Designs.  The amazing castle builder, Abel Dreamscape of Morphe Inc., is building a new establishment for Effie's Designs.  The new castle will be up sometime between now and June with music hopefully filling its halls in July.

Join us for a night of beautiful music with three of SL's very talented artists.

Click here to join us:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snow%20Crash/57/27/59

Effie's Christmas Party

Mark your calendar!  Effie's annual Christmas Party is Sunday!  Come enjoy three talented live artists, the company of friends, and gifts from Effie.

TONIGHT Live @ Effie's Designs....

SHAYE DEZNO & GARY JONSTONE
Double Trouble

...

5:00 Shaye
6:00 Gary
(And, expect some duals!)

Shaye and Gary Jonstone are considered the premiere country voices in Second Life. Their high energy and easy, friendly way with people make them extremely popular. Combine that with the best duet team you're ever likely to hear on the grid, and you have one of the most uniquely powerful shows anywhere!!

 

 

Join us tonight for the amazingly talented Blueron and Clairede!  It's going to be a great "hump day" party!

The castle is going to be ROCKIN tomorrow!

Save the date...

Parties at the Castle

I guess I am having party withdrawl.  Two parties over the next week at the castle.  Join us!

Join us for a ROCKIN start to the weekend...

Scratch That!

As wonderful as Facebook is, I am amazed that they treat accounts like they are still in college and can rule the world. Effie's FB account has been disabled. As my RL avie looks in the mirror and laughs at the thought of not being real, I wonder how real they want someone.

Every single RL avie in SL has a RL person behind the keyboard. A REAL LIFE person with REAL LIFE feelings. We have our social circles. We even have friends crossing from SL into our real lives. We have businesses in SL that we run with great customer service. Some of us are even educators in SL - REAL LIFE degreed educators.

Maybe someone should whisper in Mark Zuckerberg's ear that the beauty of the Internet is that people that do not want to give their real life identity should not have to. An alias can bring the most shy person into social circles and change their lives in a positive manner. I also have to wonder if Mark always tells everyone who he is. Or does he logon places with an alias because everyone would know who he was. An interesting thought to ponder.

Facebook, wise up! There are good people out there that do not want to use their real life names. They are good people that want to love Facebook.

Where is Effie?

If you follow my blog, I am sure that you have noticed a drop in postings for a while. With businesses in two worlds now (Second Life and InWorldz), a new partner in both, hosting live music events, and keeping real life in check, I have not had the time to keep up with the blog, too.

I have also noticed that I am always on Facebook. It is always on my computer and posting a message there only takes a minute. So, as my posts to this blog slow down, I invite all of you to friend me on Facebook. I have explored some great new places in Second Life and InWorldz and will be posting about them soon.

I look forward to keeping up with everyone in another social media form. :-)

Hugs, Effie

You are invited to a rockin' Christmas Party!

Let's celebrate the season with great friends and great music. Effie's Designs has been decked out for the holidays to create a fun place to be.

Here are the details:


Join the party by CLICKING HERE. (Snow Crash 37, 110, 45)

SL Music LEGENDS Live @ Effie's Designs

Join us for another rocking event at Effie's Designs!

Two great SL Live Music Legends will be joining us for their debut at Effie's TOMORROW! Maximillion Kleene & Sojurn Rossini are two of SL's best. Here are the details:


To join us, CLICK HERE. (Snow Crash 37, 110, 45)

Live Show in InWorldz

Come join us on Sunday in InWorldz for our first live show. Lightnin Lowtide is going to entertain us. Here are the details:

Effie's Designs Enters a Brave New World

Last year a friend of mine talked me into testing a newer virtual world. Effie's Designs was there for a short time. It did not end well due to poor management. However, during that time I made some new friends that I have continued to keep in touch with.

About two months ago, one of these friends invited me to InWorldz. She had already set up a store for me. I just needed to move in. I find it extremely heartwarming that Nox has so much faith in me that she knew I would come.

So, Effie's Designs is also now located in InWorldz. Although the whole product line is not there, many of my items are. I will be working on getting some more current products as well as new products there.


Did I really need a Third Life? No... lol. However, I thought this would be a good time to diversify.

If you would like to visit us in InWorldz, the coordinates of the store are:

Isle of Darkmoon
53, 130, 22

*** Ultimate BLUES Evening ***

Friday, October 15, 2010

It's a party that you will feel in your soul...

****Ultimate BLUES Evening****

Your limo to the event: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snow%20Crash/38/49/46

-------------------------
4:00 KelvinBlue Oh
-------------------------
Born in 1953 in Houston, Texas, Kevin got his first guitar when he was 9 years old.

But Kevin's epiphany came one day when his father grabbed his guitar, wanting to play. Then he took a bottle and started playing slide and when Kevin heard that, He told himself, 'Man, that's what I wanna do.' And it's what I've been doing since."

While much about Second Life, including the live music scene, is about experimenting and pushing the limits, Kevin, or Kelvinblue Oh, and his beloved Fender Strat, Miss Blue, have proven that even in this virtual world, it is still soul that counts.

From lowdown roots blues to boogie woogie to flaming covers of his idol Hendrix, Kevin has become a real star in Second Life, which has allowed his honest performances and down home humor to instantly connect him with an international audience that knows and holds on to real talent when they see it.

And most everyone who watches him knows his many original songs by heart and "sing" along with him. It isn't unusual either for someone in the audience to say they're jamming along to Kevin on their own guitars or keyboards or some other instrument in RL or real life.

-------------------------
5:00 Lightnin Lowtide
-------------------------
Lightnin Lowtide is a singer songwriter with his own unique style, he covers songs of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Elvis and many more, as well as his own original songs. Deep in his soul, Lightnin, loves the blues.

His sidekick is his Red Fender Stratocaster, Ruby, which he talks sings and dances with at each show. It may make you wonder about his sanity; however, you will definitely know his love for music and sharing goodtimes with friends.

Lightnin's RL avie is a Southern California performer that has been playing clubs, bars and festivals since 1994 with Bands and Solo performances like the ones in Second Life.

Our hostess, Miss Effie, is so impressed with this talented live artist that she occassionally helps Lightnin out by hosting some of his shows.

-------------------------
6:00 Clairede Dirval
-------------------------
Clairede Dirval has been a RL musician for over 25 years. Her powerful, amazing, sultry voice is accompanied by her guitar. She sings a variety of songs and styles from country to rock to blues.

Clairede gives a sensational performance that is funny and a tad naughty. And, her music just finds its way to your soul.

Shop in 8 of the World's Glamourous Cities & Support Relay for Life - Clothing Fair 2010

Today is the opening of the SL Clothing Fair to benefit Relay for Life. The event runs today at 3 p.m. SLT through Sunday, March 21 at 9 p.m. SLT. Explore 8 of the world's hottest fashion cities while browsing through clothing shops of over 150 SL designers.

There are nine sims. The center sim is host to the Clothing Fair events. Surrounding it are 8 sims themed in the fashion cities of:

London
Melbourne
Milan
New Delhi
New York
Paris
Rio
Tokyo

Events occur all week long including live music artist, DJs spinning tunes, fashion shows, and a photo contest.

The goal of the photo contest is to mix and match the exclusive items available from the RFL-kiosks during RFL Clothing Fair to create a composite style. Prizes will be given to the Best Male and Best Female composite. Each winner will receive a 5000L gift card to Glitterati and a wonderful gift bag from the designers. More details of the photo contest can be found by CLICKING HERE.


A fashion show will occur for each of the 8 cities during the course of the week. The staff from Royal Elite magazine has been organizing the shows. Here is the schedule for the shows:


New York - Sunday, March 14 - 2:00 p.m.
New Delhi - Monday, March 15 - 8:00 a.m.
Rio - Tuesday, March 16 - 5:00 p.m.
London - Wednesday, March 17 - 11:30 a.m.
Milan - Thursday, March 18 - 12:00 p.m.
Melbourne - Friday, March 19 - 6:00 p.m.
Tokyo - Saturday, March 20 -6:00 p.m.
Paris - Sunday, March 21 -12:00 p.m.


While shopping enjoy the entertainment provided by live music artists and DJs. Kim Seifert will be the first live artist at 6:00 p.m. tonight. Come join Kim help celebrate this grand event that profits a great cause.

As you browse around the Clothing Fair, look for the outfits in the Relay for Life vendors. The proceeds from the sale of those outfits benefit Relay for Life.

For more information regarding the SL Clothing Fair, please visit the Fair's blog by CLICKING HERE.

To visit the SL Clothing Fair, CLICK HERE. (Clothing Fair 2010 128/127/33)

Rock the Castle 6

Join us for another ROCK THE CASTLE at Effie's Designs:


CLICK HERE to join the party. (Snow Crash 38/111/46)

Security and Privacy in SL?

While exploring places in SL this morning trying to find places blog-worthy, my partner and I encountered some difficulty with stepping over someone's security orb. Keep in mind that this place is listed in the Hot Spots of the SL search. One would think that highlighted builds to visit would have a requirement of being public access.

The owner was upset because we were booted three times. Well, if I'm booted and I fly and the security orb covers the area above where I was ejected from, it will probably boot me a few times. Even as an experienced avie in SL, I have to figure out where I can go.

We flew to the other side of the build and cammed in and sat. We didn't get a warning, so we figured it was okay to be there. Wrong. The owner appeared and was not pleased.

To be fair, I have to admit that I had a private apartment in my previous castle that housed Effie's Designs. But, that also gave me insight of how to do security right.

There is no privacy in SL.

Unless you own an island and have the land set for no public access, there really is no privacy in SL. You can put up ban lines, place security orbs, and hang signs; however, there always seems to be a way to get around things like the camera's ability to go most everywhere.

Most people are good.

Because of being a veteran builder in SL, I have very good camera skills and use the cam and sit procedure (especially in laggy places). That does not mean that when I do these things I am trying to be malicious. Most people care about others feelings and will not go where they are not welcome.

Also, relax about avies showing up on your private property. What can they really do there? Sit on a pose ball? Unless you have build abilities turned on or give them your building rights, avies visiting your property cannot do much of anything except look.

I had a number of newbies show up. All they did was marvel at how beautiful my castle was. I was kind and gracious and slipped in how this was my private apartment. I tried to make the encounter not traumatic for them because I hoped that one day they would come back as customers. I happen to know that few did come back.

How security/privacy should work.

Try not to mix public access with private areas. Keeping your private areas separate gives you land controls to set security.

If you do want or need to have private areas on a public lot, here are some ideas to help it work:

1. Put up great signage. Outside the doors to my apartment, I put up signs that said "Effie's Apartment - Please respect her privacy." People react in a more positive way to signs rather than just being booted by a security system.

2. Know what your security system is covering. Read the instructions. Rez prims to measure and know exactly that is being covered by the system. If your system does not cover all areas to be off limits, know that avies may show up there.

3. Put private areas behind a locked door. If avies miss the signage, the locked door is an indicator that they are not welcome in an area. Again, people would rather encounter a locked door rather than all of a sudden being ejected from the property.

4. If avies do show up on your property, be gracious until you know that the visit has malintent.

Of course, these are all my views of security/privacy in SL. If you have other ideas, please feel free to comment.

Effie

Rock the Castle 5 - Come Party!

We are going to start Rocking the Castle again at Effie's Designs! We have three great Rock artists on tap this week. Hmmm... you know Colt Arun as a country crooner? Well, you're in for a surprise! Colt can rock with the best of them!

I hope to see you there. Here is the info:


CLICK HERE to join the party! (Snow Crash 38 111 46)