On February 6th, residents and Lindens met in-world for what proved to be a challenge met with gusto and delight: the first in-world snowball fight involving Linden staff in a fair while.
As I was able to report from the front lines (when not picking myself up off the floor and dusting myself down after getting splatted by a certain Mr. Gibson Firehawk … several times 😛 ), the event was held in the Winter Wonderland created by the Lab and the Moles to help demonstrate the forthcoming experience keys / tools.
But will Strawberry “Snap Shot” Singh be on-hand this time? …
Well, with Winter Wonderland liable to be closing its doors in March, due to springtime arriving, the gauntlet has been once again laid down, with a challenge handed out to one and all for a further snowball fight – only this time it comes from the Firestorm team!
The challenge was given out in a Firestorm blog post, which reads in part:
The Firestorm team wants to do it again! Snowball fight pt 2! For those who couldn’t make it to the first one this is your chance to get involved and have some old school fun! We have extended an invitation to the Lindens as well and hope some of them will join in too.
February 6th proved to be a huge amount of fun for everyone involved, something which even recalcitrant weapons vendors and a healthy smattering of lag amidst the snow could do little to dampen.
… and who might find they’re in need of a bit of a sit-down amidst all the excitement? (And will hot cocoa also be available this time?)
So… if you missed out the first time around, or if you want to do it all over again, be sure to be in-world at the Snowball Warzone in Winter Wonderland by 13:00 SLT on Sunday, February 22nd!
It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in voice, brought to Second Life and Kitely by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library.
As always, all times SLT / PDT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island, or at their Kitely Homeworld.
Monday February 23rd
06:00: The Emerald Atlas
Cata Charisma continues his reading of John Stephens’ The emerald Atlas, the first volume in his fantasy trilogy for young adults, The Books of Beginning.
Having been passed from pillar to post through orphanages, three siblings, Kate, Emma, and Michael, find themselves lodged at the home of one Dr. Stanislaus Pym. Kate, the eldest of the three is driven by a promise made by her mother, that if Kate protects her younger sister and brother, then their family will be one day reunited.
But in their explorations of Dr. Pym’s house the three of them find their way into the basement, where they come across a mysterious door and a equally mysterious emerald-covered booth, entirely without text. When an old photograph touches the blank pages of the book, however, the three are immediately transported to the time and place depicted in the photograph. Her they find themselves in a realm populated by witches, henchmen, giants, dwarves and more – and one Dr. Stanislaus Pym, a good deal younger than when they last saw him in his house…
19:00: Starswarm
Starswarm Station is a remote research station established to study strange alien life. The planet on which it is located is the home of the starswarm, intelligent plants living under the planet’s shallow lakes and seas, and roaming bands of centaur-like creatures dubbed “haters”.
The station is also home to Kip, a teenage boy living under the guardianship of his “uncle”. However, as Kip begins to discover, he has another guardian: Gwen, an AI system his mother had been working on, prior to her death, and which communicates with Kip via a small implant placed inside his brain at birth.
Gwen knows far more about the planet and the lifeforms it harbours than Kip could imagine. It also knows a lot about the company that runs the station and, for all intents and purposes, “owns” the planet on which it sits.
Slowly, Gwen reveals these various truths to Kip, including his own destiny. But in doing so, it puts Kip, and potentially the entire station, at risk.
Join Gyro Muggins as he commences a reading of Jerry Pournelle’s 1998 novel intended for teenage readers but which offers an interesting look at subjects such as neural nets and living computer systems.
Tuesday February 24th, 19:00: The Cailleach is Back!
Aoifie Lorfield returns with more tales of the old hag, Cailleach Bhéarach of Irish, Scottish and Manx mythology.
Wednesday February 25th, 19:00: Selections from The Islandman
Born in 1856, and a native of the Irish-speaking Great Blasket Island just off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland, Tomás Ó Criomhthain heeded encouragement to write about his life and times as a fisherman and crofter on a (then) somewhat remote island.
By doing so, and despite only a moderate education (schooling only occurred within the island’s tiny community if / when a school teacher came over from the “mainland”, and even then, schooling would oft be interrupted when the teacher returned home to take a husband), he wrote with astonishing richness about ways of life which have long since passed into memory or have been changed forever.
His writings appeared in two books published during his life, published under the anglicised version of his name, Tomas O’Crohan. These were Allagar na h-Inise (Island Cross-Talk), which included his writing from between 1918 and 1923, and An t-Oileánach (The Islandman), from which Caledonia Skytower reads selections.
Thursday February 25th, 19:00: Lost Worlds
Travel back to 1941 and the pages of Fantastic Adventures with Shandon Loring, as he reads P.F. Costello’s short story, People of the Pyramids.
It started, as all good adventures often do, in Cairo’s bazaar, when Neal Kirby is encouraged, somewhat reluctantly, into a shop if trinkets and curios. Once inside, he discovers a knife of great beauty. But he’s not the only one with an interest in it; the beautiful Jane Manners appears to be able to lay claim to it.
Only she, in turn, appears to be in the clutches of the cold, calculating Max Zaraf, the man who had ostensibly offered to help finance her attempts to complete her late father’s work, but who now seems to be in control of things, much to her distress. So when she manages to pass Kirby a plea for help, who is he to refuse?
He may not have a fedora, a bull whip or an encyclopaedic knowledge of archaeology, but when it comes to ancient mysteries deep in the desert, untrustworthy businessmen lusting after power, and the rescue of a young, beautiful woman, Neal Kirby proves he’s every bit as capable as people going by the surname of “Jones”!
Explore the Great Gatsby: explore the installation one last time and then say farewell by dancing at Gatsby’s mansion
This special facility, built is a partnership venture with Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of The Great Gatsby draws to a close.
Take the opportunity to tour the locations, drop-in to the Fitzgerald Gallery and listen to selections of the story being read over the stream. Then be sure to attend a special closing dance at – where else? Jay Gatsby’s mansion.
Saturday February 28th, 12:00 Noon SLT, Second Life: Seanchai 101
Join Caledonia Skytower in this special Seanchai Library workshop, downstairs in the fireside room. Participants in this workshop should come with 100 to 120 words from a piece of literature, preferably written by someone else, not memorized and not prepared in any way. Please remember that Seanchai is on a moderate sim when choosing your material.
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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for January / February is Project Children, teaching and building peace in Northern Ireland, one child at a time.
But will Strawberry “Snap Shot” Singh be on-hand this time? … 
… and who might find they’re in need of a bit of a sit-down amidst all the excitement? (And will hot cocoa also be available this time?) 
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 