One of the features introduced to Fantasy Faire 2015 was the opportunity to nominate and then vote for the King and Queen of the Fairelands and their (strictly non-human) Chancellor.
Nominations came from across all realms of fantasy, with the top five nominated for each of the positions of king and queen (human or human-looking nominations only) and chancellor voted upon through the course of the Faire, with the winners announced at the Fantasy Faire May Day Masked Ball.
The duly elected king, queen and chancellor for 2015 were respectively Havelock Vetinari and Granny Weatherwax and Greebo the cat, all of which marked a fitting tribute to the late Sir Terry Pratchett, who passed away in March 2015,, and whose life and works were celebrated and commemorated as a part of the 2015 Fantasy Faire.
The Fantasy Faire 2015 King and Queen, and their Chancellor – who will it be in 2016? Nominate your choices!
But now, a year on, the first duly elected king and queen have put aside their sceptres, and the chancellor his chains of office. It is now time for the Fairelands Folk to elect those they feel should be elected king, queen and chancellor of Fantasy Faire 2016.
In order for this to happen, there must first be nominations! So who do you think is deserving?
Use the form below (or if you prefer, go directly to the same form on the Fantasy Faire website) and nominate your choices for king, queen and chancellor. Any character from the worlds of fantasy is eligible; the only major requirements being that nominations for king and queen must be human (or human-type) characters, whilst nominations for chancellor are restricted to non-human (or non-human type) characters.
As with 2015, the top five nominated individuals for king, queen and chancellor will go forward for public voting at this year’s Faire. The winners will then be announced at the May Day Costume Ball on May 1st. So make sure you nominate your choices today!
Note: last year’s winners, Vetinari, Granny Weatherwax and Greebo the cat, all from the works of Terry Pratchett, are NOT eligible for election this year.
The Hope: A Relay for Life Photo Exhibition opened it doors on Saturday, April 9th, and will run through until Saturday April 16th, inclusive. For the event, 25 Second Life photographers have paired with 25 cancer survivors and caregivers, to provide an exhibition of extraordinary portraiture coupled with deeply personal stories about dealing with cancer.
The exhibition has been organised by Catalina Staheli, and builds on her 2015 exhibition entitled Stand (which you can read about here). Greatly expanded, Hope is featured in a magnificent gallery set within a landscaped area on Saint Kitts Isle (making it reachable by water for those who like to sail the Blake Sea and points north, and who are looking for a destination).
Built around a central courtyard garden, the gallery provides two floors of exhibition space, with each featured caregiver and / or survivor featured in at least one wall-mounted portrait, their stories available from free-standing signs, the details of the artist who created their picture(s) available from plaques on the wall alongside each display.
With broad hallways, a glass roof, and plenty of opportunities to sit and admire the work on offer as well as tour the various display spaces, the gallery offers a bright, light space, rich in colour courtesy of the plants and the RFL of SL purple. All of which presents visitors with an exceptionally eye-catching environment without detracting in any way from the images on display.
Throughout the exhibition halls are RFL of SL donation kiosks, information givers on in-world support teams, the work of the ACS, and so on. To further help raise funds for RFL of SL, a silent auction is running throughout the exhibition period, with each of the exhibiting photographers offering a portrait package / photo-shoot opportunity to their respective highest bidders. In addition, there will be the opportunity to bid on a place in the autumn course with Visionaire Institute of Photography, and single portraits by special guest artists Skip Staheli, Magissa Denver, and Natzuka Miliandrovic.
Alongside of Skip, Magissa and Natzuka, the artists participating in the exhibition are: Tempest Rosca, Addison Summerwind, Grazia Horwitz, Calypso Applewhyte, Wendz Tempest, Isa Messioptra, AlexAvion, Roxi Richez, Polly Elan, Pam Astonia, mysterr resident, Lam Erin, Roy Mildor, Cubito Smit, Annie1111, Caitlin Tobias, Kaelyn Alecto, Wildstar Beaumont, WrenNoir Cerise, PinkRayne, Reya Darkstone, and of course Catalina.
It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street.
Holmes (c) with Waston (r) and Lestrade (l) near the scene of the murder (Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1904)
It appears a vandal is at large in London, and has Inspector Lestrade somewhat baffled. Someone is going around smashing busts of the Emperor Napoleon. Three have so far been broken, one from a shop and two following break-ins at the home and office of one Dr. Barnicot.
Holmes is intrigued by the fact the all of the busts come from the same mould, suggesting that this is more than a simple case of someone having a deep-seated dislike for the dead Emperor.
When Lestrade brings word that there has been a further incident, this time accompanied by a murder, Holmes is more than intrigued. The bust has been stolen from the house of a journalist, one Horace Harker, who also discovered the dead man on his front doorstep.
It’s unlikely the dead man was responsible for taking the bust, as the remains of that are found shattered in the garden of an empty house up the street. The dead man has a photograph of another man in his possession, and things take a further strange turn when the deceased is identified as a member of the Mafioso, and the photograph he was carrying is that of an Italian immigrant…
The Storytellers’ Sandbox at Crazy Eights is designed to provide a forum for new stories, new storytellers, and new ways to present them. This week, Seanchai library welcomes to the Sandbox: Bryn Taleweaver, Virginia (UnderstandingComplexity Resident), and Boudicca Amat. Three voices with three unique stories to share.
Monday April 11th, 19:00 at Crazy Eights: Silent Running
Gyro Muggins continues reading Harlan Thompson’s novelization of the 1972 screenplay for Silent Running, by screenplay by Mike Cimino, Deric Washburn, and Steven Bochco.
In the future, all plant life on Earth has become extinct. A few specimens have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of space freighters, currently just beyond the orbit of Saturn.
Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard the freighter Valley Forge, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully preserves a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.
Then, orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes with nuclear charges and return the freighters to commercial service. Orders Lowell’s crewmates are only too happy to follow if it means a return to Earth. Lowell, however, is less than sanguine about this new turn of events.
Tuesday April 12th, 19:00: Year of Yes
Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Shonda Rhimes’ bestseller.
Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator of television’s Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, as well as an executive TV producer. Despite her success and career, she is introverted and prefers to say “no” to invitations and engagements.
Then her sister presents a challenge to which Shonda reluctantly agrees: spend a year saying “yes” to unexpected invitations and opportunities.
This book is a record of that year, and how just saying one simple word – “yes” – had a positive and transformative impact on one woman’s life.
Wednesday April 13th 19:00: On Stranger Tides
Shandon Loring commences a two-part reading of On Stranger Tides, the inspiration for the 4th instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.
Thursday, April 14th 19:00: Batman in Nighttown
From The Further Adventures of Batman, edited by Martin H. Greenberg comes this tale penned by husband and wife team, Robet Silverberg and Karen Haber.
At a fairly early point in Batman’s career, a large charity masquerade event takes place at Wayne Manner. Bruce Wayne (wearing a red devil outfit) is surprised when an unknown guest arrives wearing, of all things, a Batman costume. Then the lights go out, jewels disappear, and the chase is on.
Saturday, April 16th, at Crazy Eights: Story Forest Tour II
A guided exploration of the Crazy Eights Story Forest with select stories shared live in voice. Guests meet at the Welcome Plaza and join Tour Guides or a walk and a talk featuring some of the 20 stories from around the world found in the Crazy Eights Story Forest.
Take the Crazy Eights Story Forest tour on Saturday, April 16th
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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 March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.
The 9th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) conference took place between Wednesday, March 9th, 2016 and Saturday, March 12th, 2016 inclusive in both Second Life and OpenSim via the AvaCon Grid,
The conference featured a rich a varied programme of keynote presentations, workshops, panel discussions and social events across the VWBPE regions, with a highlight of the conference for for many Second Life users being an open Q&A session with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg (transcript and audio available here).
Journal of Virtual Studies: Proceedings for the 2016 VWBPE conference
Following the conference, the Journal of Virtual Studies complies, edits and publishes a special edition featuring the proceedings of the VWBPE conference, and on Saturday, April 9th, Rockcliffe University announced the 2016 edition is now available.
At just over 100 pages, the proceedings include peer-reviewed papers, along with those from the Quadrivium sessions, featured speakers at the conference, together with summaries of the topics presented during the general sessions, and a special feature paper by Dr. Karl Kapp about using virtual worlds for instruction.
The journal is available for reading on-line via the link above, and the PDF file can be downloaded using the same link.
In addition to the journal, the full set of video recordings from the 2016 conference are also available on a dedicated YouTube playlist, allowing those who missed the conference or who wish to revisit specific presentations / discussions to catch up with them.
The 10th Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference will take place between Wednesday, March 29th, 2017 and Saturday, April 1st, 2017 inclusive, with the theme of Legacy and an invitation for attendees to “Play * Explore * Engage * Immerse * Learn”.
It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street.
Watson (l) and Holmes (c) confront Charles Augustus Milverton (Sidney Paget, Stand Magazine, 1904)
The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, first published in 1904, but thought to be set in 1899, sees Holmes and Watson retained by wealthy débutante Lady Eva Blackwell, who is being threatened by one Charles Augustus Milverton.
Milverton has obtained compromising letters written by Lady Blackwell, and is demanding £7,000 (around US $700,000 today) in order not to reveal them and so put an end to her engagement, and bring shame down on her family.
Holmes regards Milverton as the “king of the blackmailers”, and more repulsive than any of the fifty or so murderers he has brought to account in his career. He resolves to recover the letters by any means necessary…
This is one of Sir Conan Doyle’s more unusual tales for the Great Detective, as it is believed to be based on a real-life blackmailer, Charles Augustus Howell. Howell was an art dealer who preyed upon an unknown number of people, including the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He met his end under mysterious circumstances in 1890, when his body was found near a public house in Chelsea, London. His throat had been posthumously slit and a ten-shilling coin placed in his mouth. The presence of the coin was known to be a criticism of those guilty of slander.
Kayden and Caledonia share stories and poetry written for the exhibition at Holly Kai Park’s Art in the Park outdoor gallery which currently features the work of visiting artists Io Bechir, Goodcross, Hana Hoo, Mistero Hifeng and Sisse Singh.
Join us in the stone gazebo (just up the hill from the landing point) surrounded by virtual nature and art. Consider coming a few minutes early, or plan to linger after and explore the sculpture, painting, and photographic art of the featured artists.
Monday April 4th, 19:00 at Crazy Eights: Silent Running
Gyro Muggins commences a reading Harlan Thompson’s novelization of the 1972 screenplay for Silent Running, by screenplay by Mike Cimino, Deric Washburn, and Steven Bochco.
In the future, all plant life on Earth has become extinct. A few specimens have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of space freighters, currently just outside the orbit of Saturn.
Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard the freighter Valley Forge, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully preserves a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.
Then, orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes with nuclear charges and return the freighters to commercial service. Orders Lowell’s crewmates are only too happy to follow if it means a return to Earth. Lowell, however, is less than sanguine about this new turn of envents.
Three entwined stories focusing on a magical harmonica, start with the tale of 12-year-old German boy Friedrich, growing up in the time of the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Already an outcast because of the birthmark that disfigures his face, Friedrich discovers the harmonica, and with it, hope for the future.
Two years later, 11–year-old Mike Flannery finds himself in possession of the harmonica, and with it, the opportunity to prevent his younger bother being sent away to a state home by the woman who adopted the boys to suit her own purposes.
In the final story, Ivy Lopez, whose parents are migrant farm labourers. It’s a year after Pearl Harbour, and her family find themselves running a farm after the Japanese-American owners are placed in an internment camp. Forced to attend “Americanisation” schooling, Ivy encounters institutional racism, and also strength and refuge when the harmonica enters her life. But soon enough, her family’s ties to the Yamamotos put them in crisis, and Ivy finds herself keeping what she fears is a terrible secret.
Wednesday April 6th 19:00: Night Off
The Seanchai Library folk are taking a break for the day.
Thursday, April 7th
19:00: International Dragon Stories
With Shandon Loring.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
With Finn Zeddmore.
Friday, April 8th, Seanchai Kitely: Explore Anton Chekhov and the Absurd
Seanchai Library extends its real world-virtual world partnership with Tacoma Little Theatre with a new Explore the Art immersive environment on the Kitely OpenSim grid. Funded, in part by a grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission, Explore Anton Chekhov and the Absurd will use a mirror image environment to juxtapose a classic country dacha to house information on the Russian dramatist against the present day Bucks County, Pennsylvania farm setting of Christopher Durang’s play, Vanya and Sonia and Misha and Spike.
Seanchai Library will present readings from the Chekhov’s short stories as well as host tours and visitors from Tacoma Little Theatre’s audience and supporters. The Explore environment will be on a large wall display screen in the lobby during performances, with a computer station, inviting patrons to take a spin through the virtual environment during pre-show, intermission, and after the curtain has come down.
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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 March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.
Over the last few months, it is has been my pleasure to re-launch Art at the Park at Holly Kai Park, work on the development of Holly Kai Art Garden. and together with Caitlyn, launch Caitinara Bar with a weekly programme of music.
Now, I’m very pleased to announce that on Sunday, April 3rd and 15:00 SLT, a new monthly series will be launching at the Park, courtesy of Seanchai Library.
Stories at the Park, presented by Seanchai Library will coincide with the Art at the Park exhibitions at Holly Kai Park. Each month, members of Seanchai Library will select pieces of art by the artists participating in the current Art in the Park exhibition, and write either a 100-word work of fiction (referred to as a “drabble”) or a 100-word poem about each piece, which will be read live in Voice during Stories at the Park events.
Stories at the Park will take place at the stone gazebo located in the heart of Holly Kai Park’s hilltop art display area (walk up the hill from the waterside arrival point), and will feature stories and poems by Caledonia Skytower and Kayden Oconnell, based on the works of our current Invited Artists, Io Bechir, Goodcross, Hana Hoo, Mistero Hifeng and Sisse Singh.
A poem by Kayden Oconnell, inspired by Hano Hoo’s “Alice is Watching”, and produced for Stories at the Park
“I know, for me, looking at the work of visual art gives me an inspiration to let out thoughts of my own. I suspect the same is true of Kayden,” Caledonia Skytower said of the new series. “We have written 100 word stories and poetry, which could be either haiku or free verse as long as it did not exceed 100 words, and we have deliberately both written about a few select works because we believe that a really good work of visual art (and there are plenty here) speaks to each person uniquely.”
For my part, I’m thrilled to see this launch of this new series at Holly Kai Park, and look forward to seeing it grow alongside our Art at the Park and Art at the Garden events, and hope that you will join us.
Should you plan to attend, you might want to visit the park ahead of the start time (or over the weekend) and enjoy the exhibits by our artists prior to listening to the stories and poems by Caledonia and Kayden.
We look forward to welcoming you to this new event at Holly Kai Park on Sunday, April 3rd.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 