Food, Friends, Family, Lovers – and a Little Chocolate Now and Then

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this week, which will see the continuation of two of their serialisations, together with a lot of other goodies.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 18th November, 10:00 – To  the Moon!

Join Seanchai Library’s founder, Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade at the Fruit Islands Plantetarium for tales of space and time to spark the imagination.

Monday 19th November, 19:00 – Kite Fighters

Gina Pralou-Maven presents a riveting narrative set in the fifteenth-century.

Seoul, Korea, 1473. Lee Young-sup and his elder brother, Kee-sup share a bond through their love of kites, Young-sup flying them and Kee-sup in making them. However, their father, a rice merchant, has designs on the family’s fortunes by having Kee-sup become a court official, forcing him to study for the position when Kee-sup would rather be making kites for his brother…

Linda Sue Parks’ The Kite Fighters is a touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting mixed with the pressures of upholding family traditions, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life.

Tuesday 20th November, 19:00 – Food, Friends, Family, Lovers – and a Little Chocolate Now and Then

Stories with a flavour with Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade.

Wednesday 21st November, 19:00 – Peter Pan

Illustration from “Peter and Wendy” by James Matthew Barrie, Published 1911 by C. Scribner’s Sons, New York

Caledonia Skytower presents the fourth (of 6) readings of novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s most famous work.

While Peter Pan first appeared in another of Barrie’s works, The Little White Bird, written for adults in 1902, it was in the 1904 stage play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in which he first came to widespread public attention. The play was later expanded upon by Barrie to form the 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy, which later became Peter Pan and Wendy and, eventually, simply Peter Pan.

Both the stage play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

Sunday, November 25th

16:00 – Community Virtual Library Fundraiser

Seanchai Library hosts a special fundraiser for the CVL, featuring jazz and blues singer Gina Gracemount performing her popular burlesque show

18:00 – Peter Pan, Part 5

Caledonia Skytower continues the story of Peter’s adventures with Wendy and The Lost Boys as she returns to the Seanchai Library to read part three of this six-part retelling of J.M. Barrie’s classic, this time reading at Magicland.

Please note that as this is Thanksgiving week in the US, there are no Seanchai Library events scheduled for Thursday, November 22nd

Unhinged

I have no idea how I missed this. I’d not seen or received any notification in advance, managed to miss any word of it looking around other blogs and had no idea there was even a call for bloggers. I’m not blaming anyone other than myself for not keeping eyes better peeled and ears more firmly to the ground and catching word in advance.

Unhinged – subtitled A Festival for Eku’s Head is a special, month-long series of events aimed at raising money to assist SL resident Eku Zhong, as organiser Nephilaine Protagonist explains in the Unhinged blog:

Her struggles started with MS. Then they found thyroid cancer, and through poor treatment it turned into bone cancer.  Over the last seven years, literally countless surgeries, radiation therapies, bone replacements and marrow transplants later, the stress of repeated surgeries has left her skull fragile and yet more surgery is needed.

The area where her zygotic arch meets the temporal bone is severely compromised.

Literally there is a risk that her zygotic arch could lift off the temporal arch and push the temporal bone into her brain. Actions as simple as chewing hard food or yawning the wrong way could cause this.

There is hope. Another surgery could correct this issue, but it requires the purchase of a prosthesis to replace the damaged bone. This is where myself and a group of people who love her dearly come in, and you as well should you choose to help out.

From November 15th through December 15th, we will be running a festival in SL- a festival to celebrate Eku’s titanium spirit. The event is called Unhinged. It will be a great big gacha fair with a skull theme, lots of DJs and super fun party time, in honor of this spirited and sweet person who is such an inspiration.

75% of the proceeds from gacha plays will go to the Eku’s New Bone fund, to help offset the substantial out-of-pocket cost for this prosthetic. We have a great group of vendors and entertainers lined up, but there is room for lots more, and every contribution helps!

A small part of the vendor area for Unhinged on Port Seraphine, leading around to the stage area

The even is taking place on two regions, with a large, open-area vendor area on Port Seraphine, with content creators who are supporting the event displaying their wares – some of which have been exclusively for Unhinged. The vendor area is simple, low-lag and highly effective for an event of this sort. It leads up to the party / stage area, which is just “over the border” in the region of WaterWorks and is very much in keeping with the overall theme for the event, as it features a large skull in which DJs are artists perform.

Unhinged stage

Unhinged kicked-off on the 15th November, and will run through until the 15th December. Events are planned throughout the month, with music and dancing taking place at the stage area, and people are encouraged to pop along, have fun, perhaps buy an item or two and help show love and support for Eku. Skull-topped donation boxes are readily available, or for those who prefer, there is also an Indiegogo fundraiser page as well.

The opening event may have taken place, but entertainment is always available at the stage area, where Unhinged hosts are waiting to welcome people, and there is plenty of time to browse the stores, grab some exclusives and help in the cause – so why not take a little time out of your day and pop all? It really is worthwhile – in every sense of the word.

Related Links

Tales from Imagination Island and beyond

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this week. I missed putting out an advanced notice last week as I was going around in ever decreasing circles at the start of the week, so missed being able to cover the first part of a couple of the presentations on offer.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 11th November, 18:00 – Peter Pan

Illustration from “Peter and Wendy” by James Matthew Barrie, Published 1911 by C. Scribner’s Sons, New York

Caledonia Skytower presents the second (of 6) readings of novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s most famous work.

While Peter Pan first appeared in another of Barrie’s works, The Little White Bird, written for adults in 1902, it was in the 1904 stage play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in which he first came to widespread public attention. The play was later expanded upon by Barrie to form the 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy, which later became Peter Pan and Wendy and, eventually, simply Peter Pan.

Both the stage play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

This part of the tale will be told at Magicland.

Monday 12th November, 19:00 – Kite Fighters

Cover of The Kite Fighters, first edition

Gina Pralou-Maven presents a riveting narrative set in fifteenth-century Korea.

Seoul, Korea, 1473. Lee Young-sup and his elder brother, Kee-sup share a bond through their love of kites, Young-sup flying them and Kee-sup in making them. However, their father, a rice merchant, has designs on the family’s fortunes by having Kee-sup become a court official, forcing him to study for the position when Kee-sup would rather be making kites for his brother…

Linda Sue Parks’ The Kite Fighters is a touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting mixed with the pressures of upholding family traditions, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life.

Tuesday 13th November, 19:00 – More Steampunk Stories

Stories with a distinctive Steampunk theme, brought to one and all by the Seanchai Ladies.

Wednesday 14th November, 19:00 – Peter Pan

Caledonia Skytower continues the story of Peter’s adventures with Wendy and The Lost Boys as she returns to the Seanchai Library to read part three of this six-part retelling of J.M. Barrie’s classic.

Thursday 15th November, 19:00 – Letters from Home

With Shandon Loring.

Sunday 18th November, 10:00 – To  the Moon!

Join Seanchai Library’s founder, Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade at the Fruit Islands Plantetarium for tales of space and time to spark the imagination.

What the Dickens? An interactive Carol for Christmas!

Incredible to think it is November already, and December is peeping at us over the horizon with the promise of Christmas festivities to come, with the year-end on their coat-tails.

the young Charles Dickens

This year has been the Dickens Bicentenary Year, which has seen celebrations of the life and works of Charles Dickens take place across the UK and around the world.

Commencing in Mid-December, StoryFests SL, in collaboration with their sponsors, Stories Unlimited! (the subscription group for Seanchai library (SL)) and the Community Virtual Library, will be hosting The Dickens Project, an interactive environment for a special presentation of A Christmas Carol.

This will be a special presentation of Dickens’ seasonal classic, and features Voice presentations of that work in whole, part, or adapted (as long as it is true to the original story) beginning December 14th through December 26th. On December 27th, the last day of the Project, the venue will be open to “alternate version” presentations and tributes to the classic.

The event will be hosted on land donated to the project by the Community Virtual Library at their home region of Info Island.

The Dickens Project SL

Currently, the organisers are seeking performers interested in participating in the event, which will be in live and in Voice. Presentations may be solo, duets, or larger groups of voices. StoryFest Events will take care of booking time slots and promoting (though presenters are encouraged to promote through any avenues that have as well). Those interested in participating are requested they contact Caledonia Skytower in-world and via notecard to apply for a presentation slot. Applications should include an outline of the presentation, including preferred dates and times for the presentation to be given (see the provisional schedule below for an outline of the event).

All applications for performance slots must be received no later than the 5th December, 2012.

Provisional Schedule

The project timeline (including actual presentations) is still being developed, and anyone interested in participating / attending should keep an eye on the StoryFests SL website. However, here’s a summary of the proposed activities:

  • Wednesday December 5th: Deadline for Presenter Requests
  • Monday December 10th through Thursday December 13th:  Venue available for presenter preview
  • Friday December 14th: Opening Day
    • Saturday December 15th OR Sunday December 15th: A.R.T. Partnership Presentation (exact date TBA)
    • Monday December 17th, 09:00-21:00 SLT: Celebrate Stave One – A Visit from Marley’s Ghost
    • Tuesday December 18th, 09:00-21:00 SLT: Celebrate Stave Two – Christmas Past
    • Wednesday, December 19th, 09:00-21:00 SLT: Celebrate Stave Three – Christmas Present
    • Thursday, December 20th, 09:00-21:00 SLT:Celebrate Stave Four – Christmas Yet to Come
      Friday, December 21st, 09:00-21:00 SLT: Celebrate Stave Five – Scrooge Awake!*
    • Saturday, December 22nd: TBA
    • Sunday, December 23rd, 16:00 SLT: Caledonia Skytower reads A Christmas Carol Part 1 (90 minutes)
    • Monday December 24th, 16:00 SLT: Caledonia Skytower reads A Christmas Carol Part 2 (90 minutes)
  • Dec 27 – Alternate Versions Day and close.

Any gratuities received during the event will be donated to the Community Virtual Library in SL.

“It’s ectoplasmically evident, my dear Dodgson.”

Update 31st October: The week’s offerings from Seanchai Library (SL) have been added to! At 19:00 SLT on the 31st October, Caledonia Skytower will presetna reading from Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and perhaps even an original tale based upon one of the five Irish Haunts within the Library’s grounds. See the Seanchai Library (SL) blog for more!

I’m a day behind myself, news-and-events-wise due to reasons I’ll not go into here. Instead, let me get straight into an overdue update on SL storytelling from the Seanchai Library SL. This week rounds-out the haunted month with a few more ghostly tales and haunting happenings.

Tuesday 30th October, 19:00

Bear Silvershade brings to life The Whistling Room by English author William Hope Hodgson, who wrote in a number of overlapping genres, including science-fiction, fantastic fiction and horror. Perhaps most widely known for the novel-length  The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, Hodgson also wrote numerous short stories, often revolving around a recurring central character. The Whistling Room is one of the latter, and the supernatural detective, Thomas Carnacki.

In all, Carnacki originally appeared in print in six tales by Hodgson, all published between 1910 and 1912, with The Whistling Room being the third in the series. Following their initial publication, all six stories were brought together to form the anthology Carnacki The Ghost-Finder, to which three further stories were added in 1948, one of which had never previously been published, and two had been published posthumously following Hodgson’s death in 1918 at the Battle of Ypres.

Carnacki himself is inspired by two other fictional characters, the Great Detective himself, Sherlock Holmes, and the supernaturally inclined scientists, Dr. Hesselius, created by fantasy writer Sheridan Le Fanu.

As with all the Carnacki tales, The Whistling Room is narrated by a friend of Carnacki – one Dodgson who is, like three other close friends, is often invited to Carnacki’s batchelor home to share dinner and hear of the detective’s latest case. As such, and unlike Holmes’ Watson, while Dodgson narrates, he generally plays a minimal role in Carnacki’s own tale.

On this occasion, Carnecki tells of a case wherein he is asked it investigate a room in a mansion which emits a loud,eerie whistling. After carrying out a very thorough search of the room and finding nothing, he is not altogether convinced of the supernatural nature of the sound. Not convinced, that is, until he takes a ladder to the side of the house, climbs it, and peers into the room from the outside…

An illustration from The Whistling Room, as it appeared in 1910 in The Idler magazine

Wednesday 31st October, 19:00

A Night in the Lonesome October

A Night in the Lonesome October reaches its long-awaited climax. Originally intended to be a tale in four parts, Seanchai Library has extended its adaptation of Roger Zelazy’s satirical novel so that reaches its thrilling climax on night in which all things come to a head in the novel itself.

Featuring the voice artistry of Shandon Loring, Gyro Muggins, Caledonia Skytower and special guests, the story once again focuses on the deadly Game and its mix of archetypal characters from Victorian Era gothic fiction, all with occult knowledge, seeking either to throw open the very doors of reality itself and allow the Great Old Ones into this world and bring about the destruction or enslavement of the human race – or to hold to doors closed in the face of calamity and protect life and civilisation here on Earth.

Through the eyes of the participant’s familiars, led by Jack the Ripper’s faithful dog Snuff, we’ve seen alliances formed and betrayals played out as the game moves inexorably towards its climax. And now the night itself is here. Who will prevail? Is the world to be saved for at least another few decades before the Players once more to resume their deadly Game, or is all to be forever lost?

Thursday November 1st, 19:00

Dark, daring, utterly haunting tales of lost lovers, predatory demons, and vengeful ghosts from the pen of John Connolly, as told by Shandon Loring.

All stories in voice and take place at Seanchai Libray on Imagination Island, unless otherwise noted.

Related Links

Burn2 extended by a week

The organisers of BURN2 have announced the event is to be extended a further week. The PR notice announcing this reads:

BURN2 2012 Extended For More Fun!
Virtual festival extended by one week

In an unprecedented move, BURN2 — the only regional Burning Man festival held within a virtual world — has been extended by an additional week! This will allow even more people to visit the event, enjoy the art and have fun on the virtual playa.

While the second week will not have the extensive organized performance schedules of the first, all camps are welcome to host their own events, and are welcome to remain open and active through the 4th of November. Center camp and Osiris stages will be open for performers on a first-come, first-serve basis.

There may be additional, Hallowe’en themed events at BURN2 on the 31st of October.

Thank you all again for making this the most fun, most memorable BURN  ever!

Burn Schedule Revised

As a result of this, the burning of the Man and the Temple have been pushed back a week and will now take place as follows:

  • Burning the Man: Saturday, November 3rd at 04:00, 12:00 noon and 20:00 SLT
  • Burning the Temple: Sunday, November 4th at: 04:00, 12:00 noon and 20:00 SLT

Related Links