Category: Events

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.

Sunday, March 15th

11:00: Seanchai Kitely: The Quiet Man

Released in 1952, John Ford’s The Quiet Man is regarded as a classic Irish-American romantic comedy / drama. Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara (and assorted members of their RL families!) and Barry Fitzgerald, it is a popular choice among critics and film-lovers.

The screenplay for the film was drawn in a large part from a short story of the same name originally published in 1933 in the Saturday Evening Post, and penned by Irish author, Maurice Welsh. Together with a number of other short stories by Walsh, The Quiet Man was gathered into a single volume of his short stories, The Quiet Man and Other Stories, which dealt with many recurring characters living in rural Ireland of the 1920s, and set against the backdrop of the civil unrest which affected the country at that time, while examining the complexities and occasional intrigues of life, love and Irish traditions.

Join Caledonia Skytower as she reads Walsh’s original tale of The Quiet Man, Paddy Bawn Enright. (grid.kitely.com:8002/InisArcain)

13:30: Seanchai SL: Tea Time at Baker Street

Caledonia, Kaydon OConnell and Corwyn Allen reconvene at the rooms of 221B Baker Street to this week read the story of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, which first appeared in The Strand Magazine in January 1892.

One December, Watson arrives at 221B Baker Street to offer Holmes season’s greetings and best wishes, only to find the Great Detective earnestly studying a battered hat. Holmes explains it had been delivered by commissionaire Peterson, who had witnessed a scuffle between some men, all of whom had run off, one of them dropping the hat and a Christmas goose in the process. Happy to let Peterson keep the goose, Holmes had found the hat to be of great interest, and by the time Watson arrives, had formed a quite clear set of deductions concern its owner, which he then proceeds to relate to the good Doctor.

Their conversation is interrupted by the return of Peterson, who presents Holmes with The Blue Carbuncle, a priceless jewel stolen from the hotel suite of the Countess of Morcar a few days previously. Peterson explains he found the jewel inside the goose. Having been quick on the case at the time of the theft, the police had already arrested known felon John Horner, who had previously been seen in the Countess’ suite cleaning the fireplace, and charge him with the theft. But Horner had from the start protested his innocence, and the police had been unable to locate the jewel, leading them to believe it is in the possession of an accomplice.

So could it be that the man who dropped the goose and hat was Horner’s mysterious accomplice, or is something else going on? And why hide the jewel in a goose? For Holmes and Watson, the game is once again, very much afoot!

Monday, March 16th

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 continues 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 March 17th, 19:00: Celtic Tales

With Aoife Lorefield.

Wednesday March 18th, 19:00: Gorak the Gobbler

An original tale written and read by Caledonia Skytower.

Thursday March 19th, 19:00: Celtic Myths and Magick

With Shandon Loring.

Sunday March 22nd, 12:00 Noon: Seanchai library SL’s 7th Anniversary

Mark the date in your diaries, and check the Seanchai Library blog for more news nearer the date!

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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 / early March is Project Children, teaching and building peace in Northern Ireland, one child at a time.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl
• Seanchai Library’s main Kitely World Page
• Seanchai Library in this blog

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.

Sunday, March 8th

11:00: Seanchai Kitely: Ireland – Land of the Poets

With Caledonia Skytower and Shandon Loring at Seanchai Library’s Celtic world (grid.kitely.com:8002/InisArcain)

13:30: Seanchai SL: Tea Time at Baker Street

Caledonia, Kaydon OConnell and Corwyn Allen reconvene at the rooms of 221B Baker Street to this week read the story of The Man With the Twisted Lip, which first appeared in The Strand Magazine in December 1891.

Whilst assisting a friend of Mrs Watson but recovering her husband, an opium addict, from a den in the East End of London, Watson is surprised to see Holmes, in disguise, also in the den, attempting to obtain information relating to a case.

It seems a respectable businessman Mr. Neville St. Clair has vanished, and his wife is convinced she she him at an upper floor window of the opium den. But when the police raid the place, Mrs. St Clair in their company, all they find is a dishevelled beggar known locally as Hugh Boone.

However, when a toy her husband had said he would buy for their son, together with some of St. Clair’s clothes in the room, a wider search is carried out, and St. Clair coat, loaded with small change is found in the Thames just below the den, foul play is suspected, and Boone is arrested.

Holmes is initially convinced St Clair has been murdered, although no body is found and Boone reveals nothing. But then Mrs. St Clair receives a letter from her husband, and the mystery deepens.

Monday, March 9th

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 March 10th, 19:00: Saint Patrick and Friends

With Caedmon Sharkfin.

Wednesday March 11th, 19:00: Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Morgan Llywelyn’s 1984 historical fantasy novel depicting a hypothetical 4th century migration of Galicians to Ireland, led by Amergin the bard.

Thursday March 12th, 19:00: Celtic Myths and Magick

With Shandon Loring.

—–

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 / early March is Project Children, teaching and building peace in Northern Ireland, one child at a time.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl
• Seanchai Library’s main Kitely World Page
• Seanchai Library in this blog