They're Going to Announce the New Doctor

They're going to announce the new Doctor in an hour. My SL IM window is pinging like a game of "pong" on amphetamines - Whovians in both RL and SL are in a state of near hysteria waiting for the news. Russell T Davies and Stephen Moffatt control us and they love it. Pah. Need to do something constructive or I'll get swept into the conspiracy theories.

I decide to look at someone else's travel guide and visit a few of their recommended sites. Samu Lorefield is one of my SL contacts, so I take his notecard from a nicely rezzed box on MUVEnation Island. I'm immediately impressed by the way he's actually managed to put clickable landmarks on his notecard rather than "longhand" SLURLS. Gold star to Samu! I click on the DELL Island link because my laptop's a DELL so I'm curious. After teleporting I am immediately struck by two questions: what's the point of the island and why does it feel like a generic small fishing village on the Amalfi coast? I really like the ambiance - and the way the island shape is based on the universal "power" icon. Indeed, aesthetcally there's a lot to like - but again, I need to ask what the point is? That's the thing with so many places in SL- and something I discussed with Uncle Writer before Christmas: people are obviously very skillful at rezzing so there's a ot of areas that bleed style over substance - but just don't really do anything. Just show the owner's rezzing prowess. Whoop de doo. I've already used, visited or recommended the other links on Samu's guide, so move to another.

The chestnut group's LifeArt Gallery link on Eduversa Island looks good and I spend some time looking at rez-based sculpture, and marvelling that there are some areas that really aren't designed for any purpose but DO work nonetheless. The island is German, so I don't fully understand all the texts available to me, though it seems to be a generic education area. Linked to the gallery is an area called "xyz" - an airborne sculpture garden enclosed in an "Eden Projectesqe" dome. Very zen - in an Escher / fractel / geometric way. I am immediately transfixed and sit for a while.

Back to MUVEnation - why are there loads of bizarre looking trees here? Which group is responsible for this and why? I take photos becasue they all look really cool - there seems to be some sort of purpose: to link to educational materials / areas / websites / web 2.0 tools that can be used in teaching in SL - each branch / twig forming a link. Can't fathom out the creepy tree with Feldmanesque eyes that follow me everywhere, but like it anyway! Must do more investigating...

Anyhow-Matt Smith is the new Doctor. Never heard of him. He's only 12. I think he could work though...