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This is the last of this series of blogs from Better World Island. I have spent this vacation in a house specially build by Riversong Gardens, the owner of Better World Island, so it seems appropriate to conclude with a brief tour of this extremely attractive house.
Starting at the outside:
The clean vertical and horizontal lines, combined with the use of a dark wood texture, give the house its distinctive and appealing Japanese look. Builders will probably also note that these simple lines help to keep the prim count down!
There are two sets of doors, one set opening on the living area, the other on the bedroom. A couple of views of the living area first:
Once again, the clean simplicity of the lines gives the room a consistent look, relieved by the Japanese prints and bas-reliefs. This same approach extends to the furnishings, which are again minimal but attractive, and show the attention to detail that marks a good build:
Going through the side doors we enter the bedroom:
The bedside lamp and the patterned bed cover prevent this from looking too austere or uncomfortably angular. Instead, there is a relaxed, peaceful feel to the room (and indeed the whole house), which fits well with the intent of Better World Island itself.
If you like this house, Riversong Garden intends to start selling it from her store — I’ve included the SLURL for the store in the links below.
And finally
I’ve had an excellent vacation on Better World Island. It’s been fascinating, informative, and engaging. If you’ve been following these blogs, I hope I’ve given you a taste of what Better World Island is all about. If you’re a resident of Second Life I hope I’ve encouraged you to visit it yourself!
I’ll conclude by thanking Saffia Widdershins of PrimPerfect for providing this prize, and Riversong Garden for providing a lovely house and a fascinating island.
My vacation might be over, but I don’t doubt that I shall be paying return visits to Better World Island in the future. I hope to see you there!
Links
My time on the island is drawing to a close. There are still places that I haven’t covered, so I thought that for this blog I would take you for a quick run round the island and point out some of the other areas.
If you teleport to the island, you will arrive at the main hub, which conveniently has local teleports to some of the main areas. Instead, though, step onto the wooden walkway that runs round much of the coast, and follow it counter-clockwise.
Not very far from the hub, you will pass a windmill, and just beyond that is a large blue-walled building. This is Quixote’s, a relaxing place to sit with your friends, listening to the Spanish guitar and eating burritos. There are tables downstairs, and comfortable sofas and chairs upstairs.
Leave Quixote’s and continue along the coast. Just across the sea to the right is the small island of the Center for Water Studies (see my earlier blog), and on the left you will see the Peace Tiles project (and a small wishing well just up the hill).
Further along the coast you come to the back of the Centre for Performing Arts. If you wish, you can leave the path and explore the centre, though at the moment there doesn’t seem to be much to see there.
As with a number of places on the island, the Performing Arts Centre overlooks the central lake. On the far side of the lake you will see rabble.ca, the independant news broadcaster.
The lake itself is well worth a stroll around, just to enjoy the peace and stillness. Try not to disturb the deers!
With that, I will end this tour of Better World Island. I am going to do one more blog relating to the island, because the house that I have been staying at deserves a post all of its own.
Links
As before, here are links to my snapshots from my own visit to the center, along with the other areas of Better World:
A Better World Island snapshot album
And to visit the Better World Island itself (if you have Second Life installed):
Colours to the mast: this particular blog entry was a little awkward to write, because although I sympathise with the sentiments expressed in this area of the Better World Island, I don’t actually agree with them. For what its worth, my own view is that the US and UK should never have gone into Iraq in the first place, but now that they are there it would be wrong to just pull out (I believe that if they do so, Iraq is likely to collapse into civil war, making the situation even worse than before). If my blog comes over as less than enthusiastic (I hope it doesn’t), this is the reason.
The Peace and Justice Center overlooks Better World Island’s central lake, a peaceful location that only underlines the message of the center, which is that the world — and at this specific moment, Iraq — is anything but peaceful.
Along with the calls for action (although some of these seem to be out-of-date), there are many, many notecard givers with extracts from on-line chats and emails with ordinary people in Iraq. To read them is to have a glimpse of what it is like to live in such a war-torn country. They do not make easy reading — which is, of course, the whole point. The center is not designed to make you feel comfortable, it is designed to make you think, and to think hard.
A nice touch is a small area of cushions inside the center, for the express purpose of letting you sit down and think.
Whatever your views on Iraq, you owe it to the people who live there to read what they have to say about their life, and about the profound and painful impact that the past years have had on them.
Links
As before, here are links to my snapshots from my own visit to the center, along with the other areas of Better World Island:
A Better World Island snapshot album
And to visit the Better World Island itself (if you have Second Life installed):
In contrast to the previous two locations, the Center for Water Studies was a much more relaxing time. There is a still serious intent behind the area, though — the word “Studies” should be a clue to that!
The Center for Water Studies is dedicated to increasing the understanding and appreciation of water habitats. There are several builds here, each depicting a different water system, from the ocean (surrounding the island) to a mangrove swamp. The main island is quite small, if rather rugged, and you quickly move from one habitat to another – each one signed with floating text to let you know what area you are now in.
The builds are very detailed, and active. Badgers swim round their dam, ducks paddle round the pond, dolphins and shoals of fish swim in the ocean, and if you look up you will see birds circling the island.
There is also an event venue – a platform floating above the ocean just beside the island.
A notecard is available from the beach area which gives much more information and background about the Center – don’t miss the chance to read it. And if you visit the event venue, do make a donation there for the work of the Center.
Links
As usual, there are snapshots from my own visit the island, along with the other areas of Better World:
Better World Island photo album
And of course you can visit Better World Island if you have Second Life installed:
A View From Another Life 