Monday, October 5, 2009

Extinction isn't permanent you know

In the Second segment about my adventures in Second Life, I've been to a number of places that were interesting. Last time I went to a lot of educational places so this time I thought that I should go to some areas of cultural interest.

The first place I went to was the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel that is at Vassar Island. Admittedly, I was very skeptical about this replica because I have been to the real Sistine Chapel and I didn't want to be disappointed. When my avatar walked in, I looked around and it is almost exactly like the real Sistine Chapel. Though it wasn't as grand as the real thing, it was still extremely realistic (and it wasn't hot and I wasn't crammed in with tons of other people). It amazes me that the builders at Vassar Island did such a great replica of the model that captures the beauty that Michelangelo created while lying on his back for years. I am very impressed by that.

chapel_001

From there I went on to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. I remember back in the eighth grade when I first learned about the Globe Theatre; I always wished that I could travel there and see a Shakespearean play there. Even though I knew the Globe no longer existed it always seemed to be a great place to go. Now that I've discovered Second Life and all that it has to offer, I could go to the Globe Theatre. First I walked around and I saw a skull laying in a pit of dirt, so I decided to sit down and get my Hamlet on. Then I explored some more and I found that they have Shakespearean plays performed in Second Life. My lifelong (well...since the eighth grade) dreams have been fulfilled.

hamlet_001

globe_001

From there I hopped across the pond to Harlem, New York. This is a replica of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Many of my favorite poets and musicians contributed to this fantastic point in history. I have always read books about the Harlem Renaissance, but I never thought that it would come to life so vividly as it is in Second Life. As I explored, I found the historic Cotton Club. This club was familiar to me because I knew that two of my favorite musicians, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, both performed there during the Renaissance. So I decided that I would hop on stage and try to do what Duke Ellington would do. Needless to say that I'm no Duke Ellington.

harlem_001

After a long day of traveling, singing, and performing, I needed to go to a local club to relax and dance.

dancing_001

1 comment:

  1. Very enjoyable post, and at last you found other avatars! Of course, we see a woman on the left side with a skirt like a belt and a guy on the right who looks like a refugee from Mad Max meets Gold's Gym.

    Welcome to SL's social scene.

    ReplyDelete