Important Note: except for Magicland Storytime and Seanchai Late Night on Thursday, April 27th, all events for the week take place at the Fantasy Faire LitFest at Kakushi Pasu.
It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT.
Sunday, April 23rd 18:00: The Wind in the Willows
Meet little Mole, wilful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they’ve become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures-in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood-continue to capture readers’ imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up.
Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame to his son, The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie – although some in current times unkindly see it as a kind of allegory for the privileged ne’er-do-well upper class (in the form of Toad) with the aid of the middle class (Badger, rat and Mole) to keep the proletariat (weasels and stoats) in their place.
I suggest you join Caledonia Skytower for Magicland Storytime, and go with Mr. Grahame’s intention with the tales – as a ripping yarn for young hearts and minds.
Monday, April 24th 19:00: A Miracle of Small Fishes
Gyro Muggins reads this 1974 short story from Alan Dean Foster which offers something of a mix of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1951) and Theodore Thomas’ The Weather Man (1967) in that it involves a mix of aged fisherman locked in a daily battle (albeit it trying to earn a living from the sea, rather than a giant marlin as is the case with Hemingway’s classic) and the mix of sentiment and environmental care / ecology witnessed in Thomas’ tale.
A little girl dreams of the day that her grandfather’s efforts will be rewarded with a massive catch of sardines. But the oceans have been overfished and the new stocks are now carefully managed; there seems to be no hope that the old man’s stubborn persistence will ever meet with success.
Tuesday, April 25th 19:00: Selections from Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology
With Caledonia Skytower.
Wednesday, April 26th 19:00: Tolkien Tales
Corwyn Allen, Aoife Lorefield, Kayden Oconnell read selections from Lord of the Rings to mark Tolkien Day at the Fantasy Faire Literary Festival. Also presented in Kitely.
Thursday, April 27th
19:00: Monster and Myth: The Chimera Part 2
With Shandon Loring.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
With Finn Zeddmore, presented at Seanchai Library’s headquarters at Bradley University.
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for March April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.
Dawn’s Promise by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee, Fantasy Faire 2017
We sit between the darkness and the light; between youth and age. Ours is a place of times past and times present; where the promise of that yet to be awaits.
Ours is a world of the crumbling and of the beauty of rebirth. We are eternal. Life’s energies flow through the waters of our realm, and the gift of renewal and creation float on the breeze. Our houses speak of the Old Times, the past, and the wisdom and grace of Age. The blossoms on our trees, the blooming of our flowers speak of present time and the vitality of rebirth, the richness of Life Anew.
Dawn’s Promise by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee, Fantasy Faire 2017
This realm offers all who seek it rest, respite and renewal. We ask naught in return. We do not demand adherence to rules or the invocation of arcane rights. We do not require you follow a mystic path or give obeisance to icons or gods. We ask only that you walk our grassy streets, and between the shadows of our homes and the light of the easterling Sun with open heart and mind; that you do not judge nor fret nor fear; that you simply Be.
We have been here since before others learnt to count the passing of Time; we will be here long after such counting has ceased. We will not always be visible to the world; we choose to make our presence known now, and for a brief span. But even when we can be no longer been seen, we will be here. Watching. Waiting. Our bridges will remain open to those who seek; the renewal of our waters are here for those who thirst.
Dawn’s Promise by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee, Fantasy Faire 2017
Our streets, our paths our bridges, our homes. All are yours to explore. Peace as rest can be found throughout our lands, under bough, atop rock, and under dome. Drink from our waters; eat of our fruits; let our lamps light your way.
There are those in the world who look to the West, to the setting of the Sun. They see the closing of a day as a time for reflection and endings. But we look to the East and the rising of the Sun; because Dawn is the time of Beginning, the time of Promise, when things are made new, and life opens fresh and bright, like the flower opens to greet the day’s new light.
We are the people of Dawn’s Promise, and we will take your lost and aged energies of the past and make them young again, as young as when the World was new. This is our Promise, our gift to the open of heart and mind.
Dawn’s Promise by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee, Fantasy Faire 2017
SLurl Details
Dawn’s Promise (rated: Moderate) Fantasy Faire, April 20th-30th, 2017
The following notes are taken from the Content Creation User Group meeting, held on Thursday April 20th, 2017 at 1:00pm SLT at the the Hippotropolis Camp Fire Circle. The meeting is chaired by Vir Linden, and agenda notes, etc, are available on the Content Creation User Group wiki page.
The meeting was live streamed / recorded by Medhue Simoni, and that video is embedded at the end of this update, my thanks to him for providing it. Timestamps in the text below will take readers directly to the relevant point in the video (in a separate tab) where topics are discussed.
Supplemental Animations
This is an idea to overcome issues of animations states keyed by the server-side llSetAnimationOverride() conflicting with one another. This problem has been particularly noticeable since the arrival of Bento, and a typical example is that an animation to flap Bento wings, if played to have natural wing movement while walking, results in a conflict with the walk animation, causing the avatar to slide along the ground.
Again, this is only an issue with the server-side animation triggers; older scripted animation overriders, such as ZHAO, which use the scripted llplayanimation function are unaffected.
[03:41] This is still under discussion at the Lab, and if anyone has specific views / ideas, they are invited to attend the CCUG meetings and discuss them.
Scripted Avatar Skeleton Reset
[05:45] A question was raised (via chat) on whether it would be possible to reset the avatar skeleton via script (rather than replying on the local Reset Avatar options in the viewer), as bone offsets defined within some meshes are not resetting when the mesh is removed (see BUG-11310).
Vir indicated that having a means to do this via script may well be useful, but is unsure of where it might slot into the work priorities were it to be adopted, particularly as it would require a new server-side message for passing the update notification to all surrounding viewers.
Skeleton Reset on Region Entry
[13:52] The above spawned a question on having the viewer automatically perform a Reset Skeleton function on entering a region. to try to also combat problems of avatars appearing deformed.
There are some cases where this might be useful. If you run an animation just once to trigger a deliberate avatar deformation, (e.g. from human to quadruped), that animation is not persistent, so if you enter another region, there is a chance other people will see you as deformed. However, trying to fix such situation through an automated skeleton reset is seen as problematic. For example, an automatic skeleton reset by the viewer on entering a region could conflict with the receipt of animation updates intended to deform an avatar in your view so it looks correct, resulting in the avatar being unintentionally deformed (again, as in the case of an avatar which is supposed to be a quadruped appearing as a deformed biped, as the Viewer has ignored the necessary appearance information as a result of the automated reset.
Projects Under Consideration
The last several Content Creation User Group meetings have included discussions on two potential projects for the Lab. Neither has been as yet adopted, but are under possible consideration by the Lab, and Vir offered a recap of both.
Applying Baked Textures to Mesh Avatars
[20:57] This is essentially taking the ability of the default avatar baking service to manage compositing and baking system layers (skins, shirts, pants, jackets, tattoos, etc), onto a default avatar, and extending it to be used on mesh avatars, potentially reducing the complexity of the latter (which have to be built up in “onion skin” layers in order to be able to handle things like tattoos, skins, make-up options, etc.), and thus making them more render-efficient.
As mentioned in previous Content Creation updates in this blog, there are some issues with doing this: the baking service would likely need to be tweaked to handle 1024×1024 textures (it currently only support up to 512×512); it does not handle materials (although this is not seen as a major issue, as it is felt among those at the CCUG meetings that the primary use of the baking service would be for compositing skins + make-up / tattoos into a single texture for mesh application), etc.
Animated Objects / NPCs
[25:17] Animated support of object in-world could be used from a wide variety of things, from non-player characters (NPCs), which do not require a link to an active viewer / client, through to animating things like tree branches swaying in a breeze, etc.
This work has various levels of complexity associated with it, and were it to be adopted, might actually result in a series of the related projects. NPCs in particular would be an extensive project, as it would need to encapsulate a means to define what the NPCs are wearing / have attached, how to make NPCs customisable through something like the avatar shape sliders, etc.
As such, were the Lab to decide to pursue animated objects, decisions would need to be made on overall scope for the project, what might be initially tackled, what might be seen as a follow-on project, etc.
How To Encourage the Lab to Adopt Projects
[28:03] Supplemental animations, bakes on meshes and animated objects have been the three major topics of discussion within the Lab in terms of possible major projects. Until they actually get on to the Lab’s roadmap (*if* they get that far), it is not easy for specific time frames, etc., to be discussed at meetings.
However, the best way to actively encourage the Lab to continue looking into such potential projects is to attend meetings like the CCUG and discuss them. Despite using them in the past, polls aren’t seen as particularly useful, whereas direct discussion through meetings like the CCUG tend to bring a consistent set of interests / ideas / suggestion to the service.
At the start of April 2017, I wrote about Melusina’s World of Details exhibition in Second Life. She’s now opened a second exhibition for the month, and it might be considered something of a companion to it, presenting something of a joint visit opportnuity. .
American Icons is a celebration of the great symbols of Americana in Second Life, all portrayed through Melusina’s signature close-up style of photography which is so distinctive and so creative.
In writing about the exhibition, she notes, “Since SL is a world made by residents, the choice of things they reproduced in this world looks like a catalogue of that can be called ‘icons’. That includes typical landscapes, historical symbols, daily life objects and places, roadside architecture, vintage objects and much more.”
So it is that we’re presented with 29 images of items and locations which are so emblematic of America and American culture. Sky scrapers, roof-top water towers, tower cranes, plains or wheat, roller coasters, motels, hotels, the diner and perhaps the greatest symbol of America of all – the motor car – are all gloriously celebrated.
But given this is Melusina, there are not simply postcard snaps of Americana in Scone Life; these are considered studies, where the beauty lies not in sweeping vistas or ranks of gleaming gas-guzzlers, but in the detail: and flash of sun reflected off of wheel rim and polished chrome; the gaudy brilliance of vinyl upholstery and steel-edged tables with their Formica tops; the blast of steam between an old rooftop water tank and the silhouette of a construction crane.
Each piece offered is evocative and eye-catching, and the exhibition itself is being held in one of the most iconic American-style regions in Second Life, the outstanding The Last Forever. Itself a work of art, the region encompasses so much about middle America, it has become a popular feature of SL photographers and blogs. As such, both the exhibition – which you can find at the Marfa Contemporary gallery, just across the road from the main landing point – and the region make for an excellent visit.
The largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, Fantasy Faire brings together fantasy enthusiasts, creators, performers and designers for eleven days of commerce, special events, live music concerts with special emphasis on fund-raising for Relay for Life of Second Life.
This year, the gates opened on Thursday, April 20th and will remain open through until the end of the month of April, presenting 15 regions (including the entertainment and Quest regions) to be explored and enjoyed. I’ve had the good fortune of having early access to the regions as a Fantasy Faire website writer (although one of my articles got trounced upon by another on the same subject), so I’ve been able to see things as they’ve been built – and try some bits out; more on that soon!
One of the things that is fascinating about this year’s event is the broad range of the Fairelands region themes. In one or two cases, these go beyond what might be considered “normal” fantasy and into realms perhaps not so well visited in the past. The is a definite urban grunge bordering on a post-apocalyptic feel to San Mora, for example; while The Rose is clearly inspired by the plazas, buildings and canals of Venice as we see it today.
Darkness also has something of a theme as well – not so much in the “evil” kind of darkness per se (although there is that – or at least a foreboding deepening – as well. No, by darkness, I mean just that: several of the regions have opted for a twilight or night-time theme. Anansi, meanwhile has a twist of Something Wicked This Way Comes about it – in a very steampunk-ish way! There is even a touch of science-fiction through one of the role-play stories!
You can find the background notes on all the 2017 Faireland regions either via Sonya’s official welcoming post, or by visited the individual pages on each – and as time allows, I may well be offering thoughts on some as the days of the Faire progress.
Of course,as well as all the best in fantasy shopping, Fantasy Faire offers just about something for everyone. There’s the Literary Festival, which is based at Kakushi Pasu, and which I previewed earlier in the week. There is also the Fantasy Faire Quest – which opens on Friday, April 21st to avoid the initial rush to the Fairelands, and about which I will hopefully have a lot more to write about in due course!
Then there are the auctions. The silent auction takes place at the two auction houses at Kakushi Pasu (here and here), and the auction runs through until 17:00 SLT on Saturday, April 29th. The Live Auction will take place on the final day of the Faire, Sunday, April 30th, at Opal Flight.
Role-play! There will be plenty of opportunities for role-play throughout the Faireland regions (follow the links provided to find out more, SLurls at the end of this article):
As a part of the entertainment, there will be dance shows from the top dance troupes from across Second Life, including the Changhigh Sisters, The Monarchs, The Night Theater, Sky Fire, the Misfits and more. Together with cabaret shows, burlesque – everything you could want in fact!
Then there are the DJs, the art galleries – so much to see and do, in fact, that you’re going to want to bookmark the Fantasy Faire website (as if you haven’t already!) and keep an eye on the event calendar (use the Agenda view for easier, daily viewing!).
The Monarchs will present Draco Eternum throughout the Faire, as well as other top dance troupes and entertainment being on show as well!
“I want to give the feeling that you’re an explorer, only having the tale of one man, written in a little book, to guide you,” Gem Preiz says of his latest installation The Anthropic Principle, which Caitlyn and I have the privilege of exploring ahead of the official opening on Thursday, April 20th. And truth be told, hat’s exactly the feeling he has created.
As one might expect given the focus of Gems work, fractal art plays a role within the installation, and visitors do undertake a journey through various spaces to view them. But the familiar journey and the art itself are only a part of things. The AnthropicPrinciple is a piece which binds together many parts: storytelling, a contemplation on religions, extra-solar life, the nature of human origins and philosophy, in a world which has a highly effective, TRON-like feel to it.
In particular, and as the title suggests, it draws upon the anthropic principle, a philosophical consideration that observations of the Universe must be compatible with the conscious and sapient life that observes it. In particular, the installation draws upon the weak anthropic principle as Brandon Carter, an Australian theoretical physicist, first employed the term in its contemporary form.
If this sounds terribly dry – don’t be fooled. Gem utilises the anthropic principle as a foundation upon which to build a story, a story visitors use as a guide to their travels through a series of cityscapes. Broad in scope, the story encompasses the recent discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system (which you can read about in this blog here, here and here), and well as touching upon one of his previous exhibitions, Wrecks (which you can read about here), to present an installation which is both fascinating to explore and which gets the grey matter working!
A journey starts with some simple instructions: on arrival, set your viewer to midnight, make sure you have Preferences > Graphics > Advanced lighting Model checked and particles turned up (you don’t need to set draw distance to 400m, the spaces are all relative enclosed, and half that distance works fine). Then, grab the story from one of the cubes on the floor (English and French versions available), enable the audio stream, have a read (recommended) and – when you’re ready – head for the Stonehenge-like structure where a teleport awaits.
This will carry you to the first destination – a city on one of the distant worlds of TRAPPIST-1. You’ll learn about the first journey to this world through the worlds of an original explorer, whose tale is related through the words of the story’s protagonist. In doing so, you’ll also find clues to the route you should take through this maze of buildings and subterranean vaults, a place built be a civilisation remarkably similar to our own, and with similar broad religious beliefs, prompting questions on origins.
The story guides visitors through these places, each rendered in that TRON-like style, bright lines of colour – orange, yellow, white, blue, red – although the way is not always obvious. Within these realms are galleries (sometime one, sometimes more than one – look for the deep blue lines on floors and in entrances to rooms) where hang Gem’s magnificent fractal art pieces, all of them an integral part of the unfolding story.
From the city through to Hell and thence back to the city and onwards to Paradise, visitors are gently exposed to Gem’s take on the Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP), an interesting and thought-provoking idea that not only will a universe capable of supporting give rise to living beings capable of observing and reflecting upon it, but that those lifeforms, wherever they are spawned in our universe will pass along an almost identical evolutionary path, up to an including forms philosophies and religious ideals, architecture and more, which all stand as a reflection of our own civilisation through the centuries.
This really is a journey worth taking rather than describing. Not for the ideas that Gem gently puts forward, but because whether or not you’re in the mood for philosophical conjuring, the various environments are really worth seeing, and the fractal art within them is, as ever, mind-blowing; each piece a story in and of itself.
And when you do visit, do make sure you have the accompanying sound stream playing. The selections of Hans Zimmer’s music are remarkably apt, and Gem has clearly chosen the pieces with care: time and again both Caitlyn and I were struck by the perfect fit of music with our own rising expectations as we ascended ramps or descended stairs towards the waiting light of new rooms…
All told, a fascinating exhibition and another selection of stunning fractal art. When you have completed a visit and found your way back to the landing point, you can touch the poster there to visit No Frontiers, another of Gem’s installations (which you can also read about here), which is running concurrently with The Anthropic Principle through until the end of June.
Meet little Mole, wilful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they’ve become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures-in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood-continue to capture readers’ imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. 
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 