Virtual Artifacts

 This is the last full week of 2021. Hooray! Just when I think we've taken two steps forward with dealing with the latest iteration of COVID, we take three steps backwards. We significantly reduced the amount of people we saw this year for Christmas and avoided non-essential outings - although I am quite tempted to make a run out to the craft store to pick up items so I can scrapbook.

My immediate family and I spent a lot of time together, hanging out, playing Animal Crossing New Horizons and chatting. One topic that came up was the introduction of new vocabulary. My husband taught me about AWFuLs (Affluent, White Female Liberals) and about NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens). 

This is my husband's explanation to me: A NFT is a digital asset that represents a real-world object (e.g. music, videos, illustrations, or in-game items). NFTs are unique or have a limited amount of them in existence by design. The example my husband gave is when Vincent VanGogh painted "Starry Night". Someone owns the actual painting of "Starry Night". A NFT is a digital equivalent to that. That doesn't mean that people can't obtain prints or copies; it is just that the original item is owned by someone and worth something. Some see it as ridiculous and frivolous as collectible trading cards, whereas others see it as the next evolution in art acquisition and production. It has similarities to bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

I myself don't pretend to understand all of this, but I can relate to sentimental value being placed on digital creations. I've been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons and the special DLC (downloadable content) Paradise Planning. I've created over forty virtual vacation spots for various villagers. As one of my November blog post said, I've really enjoyed making these digital places. Unlike my scrapbooking, I won't print physical copies of the photos I've taken - but I can enjoy and share them via this digital means (my blog). Having said that, I always print out a copy of the year's blog posts in a bound book (thanks Blog2Print!) so I guess I will eventually have a physical copy of all of these builds. Be forewarned - what will follow is a ton of screen shots! (Some of the homes I have remodeled, so I will only include the most recent versions.)

1st = Eloise Relaxing Reading Room

Apple's Apple Orchard

Julia's Guitar Music Room

Cherry's Fashion Show Runway

Cleo's "Bathed in Elegance" Home

Nov.15/21 = Truffles' Game Show Program

Nov.16/21 = Patty's Grilling Place

Nov.19/21 = Pizza Power Island Restaurant

Nov.20/21 = Bianca's Winter Wonderland

Nov.21/21 = Ken's Dojo

Nov.21/21 = Second Sip Island Café

Nov.23/21 = Winnie's Stable of Stars

Nov.24/21 = Kevin's Planet Peace Force HQ

Nov.26/21 = Frobert's Bingo Hall

Nov.26/21 = Bertha's Basket Bungalow

Nov.27/21 = Shino's Japan Rock Concert

Nov.28/21 = Alice's Elegant Cottage

Dec.1/21 = Lucy and Brie's Toy Place

Dec.1/21 = Goose and Peewee's Muscle Mansion

Dec.2/21 = Alphonso's Cake Sky Castle

Dec.2/21 = Deidre's Little Slice of Fall

Dec.2/21 = Northern General Island Hospital

Dec.3/21 = Keaton's Beachside Cafe

Dec.3/21 = Prince's Robot Battle Arena

Dec.5/21 = Renee's Blank Slate

Dec.8/21 = Vivian's Dance Workout Place

Dec.9/21 = Harry's Messy Manor

Dec.11/21 = Poshingtons Island Boutique

Dec.12/12 = Cesar's Half-Built House

Dec.14/21 = Ketchup's Tomato House

Dec.16/21 = Ione's Diva Residence

Dec.16/21 = Melba's Fairy Tale Forest

Dec.17/21 = Phoebe's Flames

Dec.18/21 = Analise's Saint Eligius Sanctuary

Dec.19/21 = Elmer's Sock Store

Dec.19/21 = Julian and Timbra's Cloud 9 Chalet

Dec.20/21 = Egbert's Number Niche

Dec.21/21 = Olaf's Matador Ring

Dec.21/21 = Hazel's Comic Illustrator Corner

Dec.22/21 = Sasha's Moon Manor

Dec.22/21 = Velma and Ozzie's United Sq P.S.

I haven't yet uploaded photos taken after December 23 (and I missed Mallory's November 30 house because it wasn't pasting in chronological order), but you can see that there's a lot!

I'm not the only one thinking about digital properties. The Association for Media Literacy recently announced an exciting collaboration about digital estate planning and the importance of arranging for what happens to your virtual assets when you die.

https://q107.com/news/8386984/canada-planning-digital-inheritance/