It’s time once again for lovers of the spoken word to update their diaries for dates at the Seanchai Library SL, as storytellers there bring us a host of new tales to tell.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Sunday April 14th, 18:00: Magicland Storytime
Join Caledonia Skytower, as she again kisses the Blarney Stone and brings to life more tales from the Emerald Isle to mark St. Patrick’s Day at Magicland Park.
Monday April 15th, 19:00: Original Tales
Come join Freda Frostbite as she brings her own original tales to life!
Tuesday April 16th, 19:00: The Girl Who Married a Lion & Other Tales from Africa
Author Alexander McCall Smith (The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) brings together a beguiling selection of folktales from Zimbabwe and the Setswana-speaking people of Botswana.
A girl discovers that her young husband might actually be a lion in disguise, but not before they have two sons who might actually be cubs; a child made of wax follows his curiosity outside into the heat of daylight and melts, only for his siblings shape him into a bird with feathers made of leaves that enable him to fly into the light; tales of talking hyenas and milk-giving birds; stories of clever cannibals who nonetheless get their comeuppance, and mysterious forces that reside in the landscape. Rhodesian-born Alexander McCall Smith brings together a rich variety of tales from traditional African lore, as re-told by Shandon Loring.
Wednesday, April 17th, 19:00: “His Hollywood” & more adventures with Polar Bear the Cat
With Kaydon Oconnell and Caledonia Skytower.
Thursday, April 18th, 19:00: Myths and Legends of the Near East
In March and April Seanchai are inviting library guests to join them in supporting their featured real world charity Project Children! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.
It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff of the Seanchai Library SL. This week features the usual tea-time date at Baker Street, and a visit to the quirky world of one Frank Key.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
In March and April Seanchai are inviting library guests to join them in supporting their featured real world charity Project Children! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.
Sunday April 14th, 13:30: The Adventure of the Naval Treaty
The 19th on his list of nineteen favourite Holmes stories, Conan Doyle uses a letter received by Dr. John Watson as the springboard of this adventure.
Sherlock Holmes, as depicted by Sidney Paget in the Strand Magazine for “The Adventure of the Naval Treaty”, 1893
The letter is from an old friend of Watson’s, one Percy Phelps, now working for the Foreign Office. It appears that Phelps has been recovering at the home in Woking he shares with his fiancée and her bother after a most distressing incident at his place of work, which took place over two months previously.
While working on an important naval treaty at his place of work, Phelps had requested a cup of coffee. Unusually, the office commissionaire’s wife had responded to his summons, rather than the commissionaire himself, but she had promised to deliver the coffee as requested. When the beverage failed to arrive, Phelps left his office by one of the two entrances to find out why. To his surprise, he found the commissionaire – who would normally be watching the main entrance to the office – fast asleep, the kettle boiling and the commissionaire’s wife nowhere to be found. At that moment, the bell from his office rang, indicating someone was inside – and much have used the side entrance. Fearing for the treaty’s safety, Phelps rushed back to his office to find the treaty had vanished.
Holmes and Watson set out to investigate, first at Phelps’ place of work, then by visiting him in Woking. All the evidence points towards espionage on the part of the commissionaire’s wife – but Holmes is far from convinced; particularly as the treaty has yet to be divulged by a foreign power in order to embarrass Her Britannic Majesty’s government.
Then someone armed with a knife attempts to break-in to the room in which Phelps is still convalescing at his Woking home …
Once again, Caledonia Skytower brings us another tale from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Monday April 8th, 19:00: Classic Tales from Russia
Join Caledonia Skytower as she brings tales from the ródina to life.
Tuesday April 9th, 19:00: Selections from The Hooting Yard
Frank Key is an English self-published writer, blogger, broadcaster and voice behind Resonance FM’s long-running radio series Hooting Yard on the Air, a weekly show broadcast live and consisting almost entirely of Key narrating his own short stories and observations.
Frank Key’s prose reduces meaning to dust and then resurrects it in his own skewed image. But no creative genius is less godlike than Frank: his world is mournful, crazy, stupefyingly complex, hilarious and dark, peopled by characters at once engaging and perverse.
– Edmund Baxter
Join Crap Mariner as he presents a selection of Key’s writings.
Wednesday April 10th, 19:00: Spring Into Stories
Spring is sprung, the grass is ris. I wonders where the birdies is. They say the birds is on the wing. Ain’t that absurd? I always thought the wing was on the bird.
(Ogden Nash or ee cummings)
Gina Pralou-Maven and Faerie Maven-Pralou get together a rich bouquet of Spring Stories to delight your fancy. The trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, the bees are beginning to buzz and all the world seems bursting with new life and new possibilities! Presented live in voice.
Thursday April 11th, 19:00: The Darkside: Tales of Guy De Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th Century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form’s finest exponents. During his life he authored some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse, prior to his premature death.
Here Shandon Loring brings some of Maupassant’s dark tales to life; stories of the supernatural which explore the furthest reaches of the macabre and at the same time parallel de Maupassant’s own descent into madness and death.
Marianne McCann brings word that the Bay City Fashion Week 2013 will be held from the 20th through 29th April 2013.
The press release on the event reads in part:
Mid-Century Designers welcomed back
BAY CITY, SL (2nd April, 2012) – Bay City is again welcoming back designers of mid-century fashion for their second annual Fashion Week. The event seeks to show off the best of fashion that typifies Bay City’s theme: the American urban experience, between 1940 and 1965, perhaps best typified by Chicago circa 1950 and marked by a distinct deco influence.
Established designers will be provided with a space in the Bay City Fairgrounds, in the North Channel region, from April 20-29 to present the best in mid-century modern fashions for all Second Life avatars. Runway space and other amenities will be provided to help them highlight their designs.
According to the press release, designers already planning to present at the event include: 1-800-BETTIES, Vita Bella, Delicate Sensibilities, Electica, Fin, Ingenue, Sonatta Morales, Rhapsody, Schadenfreude, Volstead, and Robin (Sojourner) Wood.
About Bay City
Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab™ and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life™ and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.
For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann in-world.
The fifth Second Life Fantasy Faire will be held from April 20th through 28th 2013. There has already been a call for designers – which has been very well supported – and on April 1st, the organisers opened registrations for bloggers.
Once again, those wishing to blog about the event can do so in one of two ways:
Become an “official” blogger, complete with certain requirements and benefits
Remain a “casual” blogger, but enjoy access to the regions on the press preview day.
To qualify as an “official” blogger, a blogger must (among other things) have been blogging for at least 2 months, update their blog at least weekly and be required to blog about at least one item designed specifically as a RFL fund-raising item for the Faire, as supplied to them by each of the four stores to which they’ll be assigned. In return, the blogger will be listed on the Fantasy Faire website.
Full details on the requirements can be found on the blogger application form. Note that applications must be received no later than Friday April 5th.
One of the stunning official Fantasy Faire 2013 posters – picture: Tamzin Xiglia; design: Alia Baroque; logo: Marcus Inkpen
First Regions Announced
The first three regions for this year’s event have been announced, together with their sponsors and participating designers. They are:
Crimson Fields: sponsored by T R I D E N T; featuring: lassitude & ennui; [ContraptioN]; Satyrs Moon; FallnAngel Creations; meadowWorks; Unzipped; and with themed stores: The Muses; Vengeful Threads; Psst…Here Kitty, Kitty; Kishi Creations; ImpWerks; – NaLa –; MysticHope Design; TempT; The Elegant Goth; De La Soul
Evensong Woods: sponsored by Roawenwood; featuring: Boudoir; ~*Star Kindler Designs*~; Illusions; Mystique; Mindgardens Creations;ThatChick; and with themed stores: Swings Paradise Furnitures; Unique Obsession; Kotori; +Half-Deer+; {Lemon Tea}; An Lema; EagleHeart Designs; ~Sa-eela~; ~ Mystic Sky ~; .:EMO-tions:.
The DragonSpire: sponsored by: The Arcanum; featuring:Dark Goddess Designs; Curious Kitties;Favourite Genes; Black Veil Outfitters;The Golden Thorn; ~Refined Wild~; and with themed stores: Niekra’s Dreams; Wilds of Organica; Tayren’s Fantasy Fashions;
Sparkle Skye Designs; Elvenbreath; Dysfunctional Designs; *.:!Completely oBVious!:.*; Talevin’s Designs; Whatz; Analog Dog Hair.
We’re still over two months away from the opening day of the tenth anniversary celebration for Second Life – but that doesn’t mean people are sitting around a-waiting. Oh no. We’re already looking for volunteers.
Applications for volunteers, performers and exhibitors open on April 15th, and will remain open until May 20th. As I’ve already looked at this year’s theme and what it could mean to exhibitors, it’s time to hand over to Mistletoe Ethaniel, who has put together a video for all those DJs wishing to spin a spot at the celebration…
As the Prim Reaper has decided to take a break from things this year, The Boys In The Back Room have sought long and hard to find a spokesperson for the event.
… Looks like they’ve succeeded …
Update Your Bookmarks!
As Triangle Head notes, there have been some changes to various URLs for the celebration, so if you’re blogging about the Community Celebration, please make sure you update your links accordingly:
While it may seem hard to believe, 2013 marks ten years since Second Life first opened its doors fully to the public. While SL has been around a little longer than a decade when you take into account the closed beta programme of 2002/03 and, even before that, Linden World, 2013 is nevertheless an important milestone in the platform’s history.
That’s why the organisers of this year’s Community Celebration have chosen to celebration SL’s “tenth birthday” with the theme Looking forward, looking back.
But what does that mean? Well, as mentioned above, SL has been around a long time. Some of those who were there right back at the start – as long ago as 2002 – are still here. People like Dr. Fran Babcock, who is already recalling those very early days, when Second Life was just 16 regions, and taking a look at them as they appear today. Many more of us will no doubt recall 2003 or the magical boom period of 2006 / 07, when Second Life was the media darling of the world.
Looking back: the birth of Second Life – Linden World – with video footage by Andrew Linden, who is still with the Lab today
And that’s what Looking back is all about: looking back over our involvement in Second Life and celebrating what it was that drew us here and what has, over the months and years, kept us engaged in-world since taking those first few hesitant avatar steps. Whether we’ve been involved with the platform for six months or six years, it is an opportunity to celebrate our time with Second Life: what we enjoy in-world, the communities and clubs we’re a part of, the things we love to do in-world and how Second Life has been a part of our lives as it has grown from a mrer 50-or-so regions in June 2003 to the digital world it has become today. Ten years is also a long time for
Second Life as it appeared on opening the doors to the public in June 2003
The Community Celebration theme is designed to be a launchpad for ideas and opportunities in which we can all express how we personally regard Second Life and what it means to us, and the hope it that it will lead to many fascinating builds and displays which reflect our memories of times past and our enjoyment with, and enthusiasm for, the platform.
At the same time, the looking forward part of the theme give all of us, no matter how long we’ve been involved in the platform the chance to consider what Second Life might grow into or give rise to in the course of the next ten years. Right now, we’ve only scratched the surface of what immersive 2D worlds might bring by way of entertainment and practical use.
Just what will Second Life look like in 2023? What might it have given rise to a decade from now? Will it be purely immersive, or will it be augmentive – or a mix of the two? How might immersive 3D works better entertain us and how will 3D environments augment our everyday lives at home and / or at work? Let your imagination run free and bring your vision of the future of SL and virtual worlds to SL10B, and let us see where you think we’re headed in the years to come.
Bruce Branit’s moving glimpse of a possible immersive 3D world of the future (2009).
Applications for Exhibitor space on the Community Celebration regions will open on April 15th. So why not use the time between now and then to mull over ideas and seek inspiration – perhaps by visiting some of the earliest locations and builds in-world or for peeking into the future of Second Life and virtual worlds – and then apply to be a part of SL’s tenth anniversary?
Author Alexander McCall Smith (The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) brings together a beguiling selection of folktales from Zimbabwe and the Setswana-speaking people of Botswana.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 