“We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” ~ H. P Lovecraft

Blog Entry Warning: Lots o’ Photos and Personal Blather. Run.

A few years back, when my SL businesses were flourishing, I officially opened The Freudian Slip. It was little more than some decking, beanbag chairs, and waaaaay too many poseballs, and my musician friends had been playing on it before the launch, but it was a good enough reason for a shindig and it netted me the blonde wench, so I call that worth it.

The Freudian Slip: First Draft

Back then, the Slip was parceled and planned to add to the dwell and traffic of my texture store, Esprit Decor, which, at the time, combined with ads for Linden Lifestyles, covered tier, musician fees, and still provided me with a healthy supplemental income. I paid L$5000 per hour to musicians who brought in 25+ and L$3000 per hour to those who brought in less than 25 listeners. We hosted concerts 4-5 days a week. It turned into a lot more work than I wanted, but what developed was a community that I was not expecting; the little gaggle of folk have been the main pleasure of my SL existence ever since.

Unlike a lot of venues, the Slip is about camaraderie. We prattle a lot. Sarcasm is our native language and there is really no end of it. Although we are fundamentally there for the music, we are also there for the repartee. As such, the etiquette of the place balks at text blocks of “woo hoo” and focuses on actively engaging those around you in humor and ranting. This tends to intimidate newcomers, and I only half-regret that; while I want strangers to feel welcome, I don’t want to change our habits to accommodate those who want to copy and paste scrolling blocks of text. There are lots of places out there with the typical club atmosphere; I believe there’s nothing wrong in establishing a venue that instead recognizes the unique opportunity SL offers to the live music community. IRL if you’re talking during a musical performance, you’re a dweeb, but in SL it’s just the opposite and I think that should be embraced.

As my circumstances changed, I retired the Slip from being a fully operating music venue. For one thing, I was unable to offer the fees I felt worthy musicians deserve for their time. Second, there stopped being a wealth of people I wanted to listen to. So the Slip became focused exclusively on performances offered by Grace McDunnough and Lyndon Heart, with old friends occasionally tossed into the mix. Although I still get regular requests from musicians to play, I generally decline them. Until I can come up with a profitable model to run a music venue, I don’t want to appear to be back “in business.” And keeping the place a delight instead of a job is fundamental to maintaining the pleasure of it.

When I redesigned the Slip, I wanted to keep its charms in mind while also providing a lush, immersive atmosphere. The grid is exhausted with ugly, cookie-cutter, mall-draped music venues; I wanted a showplace. Dwell and traffic now being all but useless, I moved the venue away from the stores and, with the help of a good friend who has terraform-fu, was able to seclude it. Starting with a blank slate of sand and hills, what developed has become something I am genuinely thrilled to share with friends and visitors.

The Freudian Slip - Bird's Eye View

The “center” of the Slip is still a dock where the main congregation of sits and dances are within chat range of each other and the stage. Nearly everything is sit-able — from the sacks and barrels of goods to the rivets and posts of the deck. The large pile of lumber serves as a dance machine with a simple “sway to the music” animation people can opt for.

Freudian Slip : Main Deck

I tried to get rid of all poseballs, with only couples dances being the monkey wrench in my gears. In the spirit of compromise, I changed the dance balls into butterflies (on land) and fish (underwater).

Freudian Slip - Fish Disguised Dance Balls

Freudian Slip - Butterfly Disguised Dance Balls

Placing an emphasis on couples (which I’m not sure is warranted, but we’ll see) I tried to make sure there were plenty of couples sits. I placed them into coils of rope and bags of jewels so that those coming to listen and lounge could snuggle and still banter if they wanted. For those who wanted to listen, but move off from the group, there are snuggle hammocks on the main beach, as well as up on the hill top over the cave.

Freudian Slip - Hammocks

Freudian Slip - Couples Ropes

Admittedly, I went a little crazy with landscaping. The “Slipwreck” provides an amazing off-Sim backdrop, trapped upon rocks with breaking waves. I can’t stop taking photos of the damn thing.

Freudian Slip - Slipwreck Stormy Day

Freudian Slip - Slipwreck Sunset

Freudian Slip - Slipwreck Aurora Nights

Moai stand like sentinels from the shore, and there are runic stones and other tribal markers amid the tiki posts and lush foliage. I filled them with “fly” animations for fun, and I have to say, they are some of the best sculpts I’ve ever seen.

Moai @ The Freudian Slip

Freudian Slip : Birds of Paradise

Freudian Slip : Menhir Tribal Monument Stones

I wanted to keep a hint of the old Slip, so I placed our pet Squid (he’s actually an octopus named Squid) out lurking in the water and kept the compass rose cog-style stage, even though it no longer rotates.

Freudian Slip - Stage

Although I was bullied into disposing of my music monkeys, flamingos, and toucans, I added “Skelebard” propped up on the cannon behind the stage — as a warning to those who need to be kept in line.

Freudian Slip - Skelebard

There is even a hidden treasure cove for explorers who want to find a little nook to sequester themselves into.

Freudian Slip - Cave Exterior

Not a gifted builder, I’m much more of an assembler. Pulling from the depths of my inventory and from some of the more gifted content creators on the grid, I was able to create my own little slice of paradise.

Eventually, I may be offering the space for event rentals — I put a Tiki Hut DJ pavilion on the main beach for casual parties and such, but for now, I’m just genuinely happy to have a music venue that looks different from the rest and that feels, once more, like home.

Freudian Slip - Party Pavilion

Freudian Slip - Tiki Hut Hammy & Birdcage

It’s a public space, and anyone is invited to explore, snuggle or hang out. The music stream is set to a Beatles-only channel and I recommend sunset until the aurora borealis appears in the sky, at which time, midnight is mandatory.

Where Did She Get Those Wonderful Toys?
(In No Particular Order)

Dock Crane
Fish Buckets
Fish Traps
Menhir Tribal Monument Stones
Net Maker Rack
Runic Dolmen Stones
Rustic Warning Bell
Sail Maker Rack
Laufey Markstein
T R I D E N T

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nordmaar/110/125/500

Assorted Palms
Palm Hammock
Tobias Novi
Tree House Designs

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mycenae/102/91/32

Lock Stocks
Rustic Suspended Cage
Suspension Post
Treasure Chests
Ashade Sinister
Shade Fantasy Outfitters

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Crooked%20Earth/182/81/38

Shipwreck
BETLOG Hax

https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&MerchantID=84453

Naima Coraline Barrier
Naiman Broome
Las Islas

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Las%20Lagunas/233/220/22

1 Prim Wildflowers
Birdcage
Hammock Tree
Oriolus Oliva
The Golden Oriole

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Verdigris/63/68/71

Mermaid Sculptures
Pumpkin Tripsa
Chakra Nova

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rafail/128/66/2508

Birds of Paradise
Logan Bauer
Arctic Greenhouse

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alternate%20Reality/142/141/55

KALAMA Palm With Egg Swing
POIPU Tiki Hut Dancefloor & DJ Booth
Hatzfeld Runo
Tiki Tattoo

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tiki%20Tattoo%20Cove/10/173/421

Aurora Borealis
Various Plants
Kriss Lehmann
Botanical

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Straylight/183/52/25

Tiki Posts
Sally Seattle
REZOLUTION

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Deco/241/23/21

Moai Sculpts
Astolpho Majestic