Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld
Second Life, virtual worlds and virtual realities
On February 14, 2013, for 24 hours starting at midnight Pacific Standard Time, Second Life residents will join with activists around the world in a spectacular 24-hour dance event for ONE BILLION RISING, the largest day of action in the history of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.
This week sees activities for the 2013 Relay for Life of Second Life well and truly get underway with the return of Relay Rap and the opening of this year’s Team Registrations.
As with previous years, activities will be held across the grid in the months and weeks ahead of the Relay for Life weekend in July, and will also follow-on from the weekend through until the end of the year, and participating teams are being encouraged to join-in, organise events and raise money for the fight against cancer.
On Friday 8th February, Team Registrations for RFL of SL opened. To quote from the official documentation on the role of RFL of SL Teams:
Forming a Relay For Life team in Second Life is an important undertaking. It will be a lot work and a huge commitment, but one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have in Second Life. You and your team will become part of the Relay family, and together we will raise money and awareness in the fight against cancer!
Teams require both a Captain and a Co-captain as well as a name. There are no restrictions on the overall size of a team, but both the Captain and Co-captain must be prepared to give up a sizeable amount of their SL time throughout the 2013 RFL season, leading and motivating their team and keeping everyone focused on success in fundraising. There will be Team Captain training and informational meetings held throughout the season to assist Team Captains, and all Captains are encouraged to attend.
Teams hold events throughout SL with the aim of raising funds for the cause, can have camps at the Relay Weekend regions and of course participate in the Relay Weekend itself. For further ideas on team and activities, see the RFL of SL team roster, and example of events already being organised by teams can be found on the Team Events webpage.
There are a few basic rules and guidelines to go with group formation and applications:
Once a team has been registered with RFL of SL, a member of the Teams Coordination Committee will pass along information to help get things started, including contact details for the RFL of SL Coaches Committee, to whom teams can reach out to with questions and requests.
The team registration form is now available on the RFL of SL website.
This year’s Fashion for Life runs from Sunday March 9th through until Monday March 17th. With the theme of “The Seven Wonders of the World”, the event will take place across seven themed regions and two event regions, and shop reservations are now being taken. The following should be noted if applying for a store:
For further information on Fashion for Life, please refer to the Best of SL blog.
There are still some RFL of SL sponsorship opportunities available. Sponsorship brings with it special recognition and promotion, and is open to organisations and business both inside of and outside of Second Life, as well as individuals and teams.
Details on the available sponsorship opportunities can be found on the RFL of SL website,, which includes details of who to contact in the RFL of SL team.
Sunday February 10th marks the return of the Relay Rap radio show. From 16:00 SLT on the 10th February through until 10:00 on Saturday July 13th, Relay Rockers proudly present a weekly talk show for and about Relay For Life of Second Life, The American Cancer Society, The Teams, The Events, and YOU-Relay World and an hour of fun and information.
The show is open to the public to attend the broadcasts, which will be held at the Relay Raps stage on Arinultra Cay every Sunday through until the Relay Weekend.
Once again, the Seanchai Library will be presenting a round of stories and readings in Voice this coming week, with the continuation of a number of stories and also delving into Longfellow’s classic narrative poem.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Holmes himself recounts the tale of the very first case in which he employed his powers of deduction to solve a mystery.
In his college days, Holmes was invited by his friend, Victor Trevor to spend a month at the family’s estate in Norfolk. While there, Holmes amazed Trevor’s father, a justice of the peace, with his powers of reasoning by correctly identifying the elder Trevor had made his fortune in the goldfields in Australia and was once connected to someone with the initials “J. A.” whom he wanted to forget.
Holmes himself is somewhat surprised when the elder Trevor passes out in shock at the accuracy of his deductions, and is less-than-convinced by the older man’s explanation that Holmes had touched upon a sore spot, and that “J.A.” had once been a lover.
Perceiving he was making his host’s father uncomfortable with his presence, Holmes opts to leave, but before he can do so, he witnesses the elder Trevor inebriated after receiving an unexpected guest – a shipmate he had known some 30 years before. This shipmate, called Hudson, came seeking employment. Seven weeks after his departure, Holmes is contacted by Victor Trevor and learns that things at the Norfolk estate are very much amiss, that Victor’s father is near death – and everything seems to revolve around Hudson, the former shipmate and now estate employee. Thus, Holmes returns to Norfolk and embarks on his first adventure – that of the Gloria Scott.
Caledonia Skytower returns to bring us more from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes continues!
Made famous through the hugely successful 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews and a wobbly accented Dick van Dyke (albeit an adaptation despised by Travers herself), and more recently the focus of a successful West End and Broadway stage production, the adventures of the famous umbrella piloting nanny need no real introduction here in terms of their story.
First published in 1934, Mary Poppins was actually the first in a series of stories about the character written by Travers between 1934 and 1988, all illustrated by Mary Shephard, the daughter of Winnie the Pooh and The Wind in the Willows illustrator, E.H. Shephard. Mary actually took the job on account of her father being too busy with other work, and later became regarded as a co-author of the tales.
Join Caladonia at Magicland Park as she continues with Part 3 of this magical tale.
Crap Mariner returns with a host of 100 word stories with a theme to suit this romantic time of year…
Faerie Maven-Pralou bring us the conclusion of Cornelia Funke’s young adult which forms the second part of her Inkworld trilogy. The books chronicle the adventures of teenager Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that she and her father, a bookbinder named Mo, have the unusual ability to bring characters from books into the real world when reading aloud. Mostly set in Northern Italy and the parallel world of the fictional Inkheart book, the central story arc concerns the magic of books, their characters and creatures, and the art of reading.
In Inkspell, a year has passed since the events related in Inkheart, the first book in the series. Not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, a book that has characters that come to life. Resa is back. The fire-eater, Dustfinger, wants to go back to his wife daughters-who are in the story. When he finds a crazy, self-absorbed psycho storyteller, Orpheus, who can read him back into the book, he goes into the pages. Soon Farid convinces Meggie to read him into the book so he can warn Dustfinger of Basta. But Meggie has figured out how to read herself and Farid into the book Inkheart.
Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White’s commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia.
Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town’s women. Meet Roger’s ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster.
Kayden Oconnell is joined by Caledonia Skytower as they continue to read from the novel.
Thus for a while he stood, and mused by the shore of the ocean,
Thinking of many things, and most of all of Priscilla;
And as if thought had the power to draw to itself, like the loadstone,
Whatsoever it touches, by subtile laws of its nature,
Lo! as he turned to depart, Priscilla was standing beside him.
Written in 1858 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and set against the backdrop of a fierce Indian war, this narrative poem tells the tales of a love triangle between three Pilgrims: Miles Standish, Priscilla Mullens, and John Alden.
A work of fiction, or a tale handed down over generations? Longfellow claimed he was relating oral history handed down through the generations of his family. Mullens, Standish and Alden were the names of real-life Pilgrims, but skeptics dismiss the poem as folklore, and the historical evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, the poem was very popular in nineteenth-century America, immortalizing the Mayflower Pilgrims.
Join Shandon Loring as he presents Longfellow’s poem for Valentine’s Day.
Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and additions to the week’s schedule.
Note that throughout January and February, all donations to Seanchai Library SL will go to the real-world charity, Doctors Without Borders! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.
One Billion Rising in both RL and SL will be taking place on February 14th. Work is well underway for a in-world events, including a number of regions dedicated to the day.
To further mark the event, the organisers of One Billion Rising in Second Life are hosting a special photo contest and this weekend will also launch the official One Billion Rising In SL dance video.
The photo competition, which opened on February 3rd, will see the five winners entries displayed on the official One Billion Rising blog, and will be featured through the day itself. The rules are requirements are straightforward:
Break the Chain is the official anthem of One Billion Rising, and is featured in a specially commissioned video. To mark the event in Second Life, a group of volunteers have been busy working at locations across the grid to present an in-world interpretation of the OBR dance, using the anthem itself, with special choreography by Pyper Dollinger and Tatiana Kurri.
The video is due to be premiered this weekend through the One Billion Rising In SL blog. In the meantime, here’s the original video.
One in three women on the planet is raped or beaten in her lifetime. That is ONE BILLION WOMEN violated. One billion daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, lovers and friends. On February 14, 2013, V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men to dance across every country.
For more information go to http://www.onebillionrising.org/
V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2012, over 5,800 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $90 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, reopened shelters, and funded over 14,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. Over 300 million people have seen a V-Day benefit event in their community.
For more information go to http://www.vday.org/
Branwen Arts and Stories Unlimited have announced a call for performers at the Third Annual Storyfest event, to be held on Sunday 24th March, 2013.
The aim of the event is to present a day of stories presented in a variety of live performance forms – traditional telling, readings, theatre, dance, and so on.
The event will be hosted at Here Be Pictsies in Bran, commencing at 10:00 SLT on Sunday 24th March, and running through until 17:00 that day.
Anyone who is currently presenting stories in Second Life in any manner of live performance (i.e. not pre-recorded readings / performances), are welcome – and encouraged – to apply. Performances should be timed to fit a 30 or 60 minute slot, although there are limited slots for more elaborate presentations. Multiple performers can share a single slot, so long as the organisers are aware of how many and who as a part of the application. Note that not stream will be available for individual performers.
The organisers are also seeking volunteer hosts to help organise and run the day’s events.
Those wishing to participate as either a performer or volunteer host should contact either Caledonia Skytower or Dubhna Rhiadra via notecard, giving their SL name and role (performer / host) they are interested. Those wishing to help with hosting should provide times at which they can be available on the day. Performers should also provide the following:
All submissions should be received no later than midnight SLT on Monday 4th March, 2013. successful applicants will receive confirmation by Thursday 14th March, and a schedule for the event will be published at that time.
Once again, the Seanchai Library will be presenting a round of stories and readings in Voice this coming week, with the continuation of a number of stories and also delving into the origins of the fairy tale. Forget the Brothers Grimm – discover the world of the French salon!
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Hall Pycroft, recently made redundant from a stock broking firm, consults Holmes and Watson over worries about his work situation. Not that he is particularly worried about being out-of-work – he isn’t. Quite the reverse in fact; he’s troubled because he seems to have had perhaps one too many offers of employment.
Having departed his former employers, Pycroft managed to secure a position with the prestigious stockbrokers of Mason and Williams, based in Lombard Street in the City of London. So far, so good.
However, he was also approached, entirely out of the blue, by one Arthur Pinner, who, with his brother, Harry, has apparently established a new hardware distribution business. The oddly-similar Pinners, the one in London, the other in Birmingham, persuade Pycroft to accept the mangership of the new business – complete with a £100 advance – but oddly, asked not the resign his former position at Mason and Williams on account of a bet relating to him. As he settles-in to his new position, Pycroft starts noticing other aspects of the business which convince him that all is not well, and to seek the assistance of the famous Great Detective.
Join Corwyn Allen as the journey through The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes continues!
Famous for his more exotic locations and stories such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Red Dog, Louis de Bernieres used England for the setting for a series of short stories written early in his career.
Located in and around the fictional village of Notwithstanding, which is somewhat based on the village of Worley in Surry, where he grew up, the stories were various published in newspapers, etc., prior to being brought together into this single volume in 2009. Semi-autobiographical in places, the stories are rich in English rural detail and contain references to many real-world locations in Surrey, and allow de Bernieres to ruminate on a part of English life he believes to now be vanishing.
Join Caledonia Skytower as she dips further into de Bernieres’ England.
Faerie Maven-Pralou continues Cornelia Funke’s young adult which forms the second part of her Inkworld trilogy. The books chronicle the adventures of teenager Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that she and her father, a bookbinder named Mo, have the unusual ability to bring characters from books into the real world when reading aloud. Mostly set in Northern Italy and the parallel world of the fictional Inkheart book, the central story arc concerns the magic of books, their characters and creatures, and the art of reading.
In Inkspell, a year has passed since the events related in Inkheart, the first book in the series. Not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, a book that has characters that come to life. Resa is back. The fire-eater, Dustfinger, wants to go back to his wife daughters-who are in the story. When he finds a crazy, self-absorbed psycho storyteller, Orpheus, who can read him back into the book, he goes into the pages. Soon Farid convinces Meggie to read him into the book so he can warn Dustfinger of Basta. But Meggie has figured out how to read herself and Farid into the book Inkheart.
Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White’s commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia.
Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town’s women. Meet Roger’s ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster.
Kayden Oconnell is joined by Caledonia Skytower as they continue to read from the novel.
Regarded as the best way to access an English translation of Madame de Villeneuve’s original and entire story of Beauty and the Beast, itself a novella-length story in which the beast is actually precisely that – a beast, Jack Zipes’ gathering-together of fairy tales from the French Salon era is regarded by many as perhaps the definitive English language volume on the subject.
Within its covers, the book has 36 tales, readers can also find the works of Charles Perrault, original author of works such as Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots) and La Barbe bleue (Bluebeard). Madame Le Prince de Beaumont’s derivative version of Beauty and the Beast, the version with which most modern audiences are more familiar, can also be found here.
The book is complete with a fascinating introduction by Zipes which examines the French salons and their role in the development of the genre of the fairy tale, and also looks at some of the women who dominated both the salons and the growth of the genre itself. As such, it is a marvellous door through which to explore the topic.
Join Shandon Loring as he delves into the world of tales fantastical, both fair and dark, both familiar and perhaps new.
Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and additions to the week’s schedule.
Note that throughout January and February, all donations to Seanchai Library SL will go to the real-world charity, Doctors Without Borders! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 