Category: Events

Holmes, sci-fi, poems and original stories

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, April 7th:

13:30 Tea-Time with Sherlock Holmes’ Greatest Hits

As voted for by Seanchai fans, followers and listeners. This week: The Adventure of the Speckled Band, which first appeared in The Strand Magazine in February 1892, and is notable for becoming the basis for a 1910 stage play written and produced by Conan Doyle, and which starred H. A. Saintsbury as Sherlock Holmes and Lyn Harding as Dr. Grimesby Roylott.

Dr. Grimesby Roylott confronts Holmes and Watson at 221B Baker Street (Sidney Paget, 1892)

Helen Stoner lives with her stepfather,  Dr. Grimesby Roylott, last survivor of what was a wealthy but dissolute and violent tempered aristocratic family. Roylott himself is known for his violent temper, and served time in India for the murder of a servant.

Miss Stoner’s visit to Holmes is prompted by Roylott’s demand that she move into a room at his country estate where her twin sister died under mysterious circumstances two years previously, her dying words being, “the band! the speckled band!” Helen is unwilling to occupy the room as there is something decidedly strange about it; thus she seeks Holmes in order to confide her fears in him.

After her departure, Roylott arrives and forces has way into Holmes’ presence, demanding to know what Helen has been saying. Failing to gain any information from Holmes, despite a show of brute physical strength intended to intimidate, Roylott leaves. However, his actions have now firmly established himself at the centre of the Great Detective’s attention…

18:00 Magicland Storytime: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Have you heard? Willie Wonka is releasing five golden tickets in candy bars! Charlie Bucket may have a chance to find one as Caledonia Skytower continues Roald Dahl’s classic.

Monday, April 8th 19:00: The World’s Best Science Fiction 1969

Gyro Muggins read from this anthology of science fiction short stories, edited by Donald A. Wollheim, featuring nineteen authors, including such names as Brian Aldiss, Poul Anderson, Samuel R. Delany, Fritz Leiber, Robert Silverberg, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

This week, Hemeac by E.G. Von Wald, the story about a student dealing with life in a university run by defective robots; and Street of Dreams, Feet of Clay by Robert Sheckley. Can an imperfect man find happiness in a perfect city?

Tuesday, April 9th 19:00: Two Houses

Caledonia Skytower shares another of her original tales: a young American couple on their honeymoon find their ties to Irish heritage are far more insistent than just a simple perusal of genealogies. As the past disturbs their future, Mark and Cate must unravel the mystery of two houses that suffered very different fates, but that are somehow connected.

Wednesday, April 10th 19:00: Bring Your Own Poem  Night

bring a favorite poem of yours, or one you like, to be shared fireside in The Glen.

Thursday, April 11th 19:00: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Part 2

With Shandon Loring. (Also in Kitely grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

Supporting Parkinson’s Awareness Month in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Oasis – via Creations for Parkinson’s

April 11th, 2019 is World Parkinson’s Day, intended to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, promoting a greater understanding of this condition and how it can affect a person. To mark it, many countries are marking April as Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month. In Canada and the United States, this is being supported by the Parkinson Society Canada and American Parkinson Disease Association. Other countries around the world are holding more focus events. In the UK, for example, there will be a Parkinson’s Awareness Week (April 10-16th), supported by Parkinson’s UK.

Within Second Life, Creations For Parkinson’s/Events For Parkinson’s have partnered with Miss Globe Universal Charity Foundation to also mark Parkinson’s Awareness Month, with The Oasis, which opened its doors on April 1st, 2019, and which will run through until Sunday, April 21st.

Over twenty merchants and creators have signed-up for the event, which is being held at a special Egyptian-themed setting. In addition, there will be two fashion shows to accompany the event:

  • Sunday, April 7th, 2019 at 10:00am SLT.
  • Saturday, April 20th,  2019, at 10:00am SLT.

There are also two fun hunts. In the first, look for miniature pyramids in the stores. Purchase them for L$15 each (all donations to the charity). In the second, visit one of the two Great Pyramids. The camel guide you through the dark entrance into the stunning treasure house of the ancient Pharaohs. Find hidden treasures among the gems. Don’t be fooled though, some of the jewels are a trap.

In addition, the second Great Pyramid contains a mysterious maze – can you find the hidden entrance and make your way around the interior and discover artefacts and locate magnificent Golden room at the heart of the tomb?

The Oasis

About Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition. In Europe, approximately 1.2 million people have their lives impacted by the disease, and in the United States it is the second most common neuorlogical disorder after Alzheimer’s.

“Neurodegnerative” is a term referring to a progressive loss of nerve cells (neurons) and/or their function. Neurodegeneration from Parkinson’s disease can give rise to a wide spectrum of symptoms which vary among sufferers depending on the severity of the disease’s impact, what’s more symptoms can be unpredictable and can vary on a time scale as short as one minute. As the disease progresses, symptoms can worsen; for example, over time a person may not be able to move, speak or swallow. This can often arise 4-8 years after the initial onset of Parkinson’s disease.

The cause of the disease is unknown, and there are no known successful treatments which can delay or stop its progression. To further complicate matters, because of the broad range of symptoms, Parkinson’s may be initially misdiagnosed. In addition, while it is most often seen as a disease affecting people of 50 or older, a form of Parkinson’s disease can strike people at a much younger age, and one in twenty of the 8 million Parkinson’s sufferers worldwide is below the age of 40. Known as Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD), this differers from older onset Parkinson’s, both because genetics appears to play a stronger role in it, and the symptoms may differ, as does response to medication.

Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month is intended to raise public awareness of the disease, its impact, and to encourage people to help support those affected by Parkinson’s by encouraging them to donate to organisations carrying out research into finding a cure or adequate treatment for the disease. As noted above, these organisations include the likes of the Parkinson Society Canada, the American Parkinson Disease Association, and Parkinson’s UK.

The Oasis event in April, also as noted above, aims to raised funds to help with the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has to date raised some US $800 million for research initiatives.

SLurl Details

VWBPE 2019: overview

Posted on by Inara Pey
via vwbpe.org

The 2018 Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) conference takes place between Thursday, April 4th and Saturday April 6th, 2018 inclusive. A grass-roots community event focusing on education in immersive virtual environments, VWBPE attracts 2200-3500 educational professionals from around the world each year.

As with recent years, the conference is focused on the 8 core VWBPE regions in Second Life, centred on the VWBPE Gateway.

VWBPE 2019: Main auditorium

Event Calendar

The best way to keep abreast of the full schedule is via the VWBPE 2019 event calendar. By default, this displayed in posterboard (shown below), but can easily be switched to agenda, month or stream views via the drop-down menu in the top right corner. Individual events can also be added to a number of personal calendars – Google, Outlook, Apple – making it even easier for attendees to track the events and activities they particularly want to attend at this year’s conference.

VWBPE 2019 calendar

Event Selection

The following is a (personal) selection of events those curious about VWBPE 2018 might want to attend. All times SLT:

Thursday, April 4th

  • 14:00-14:50 – What’s New At the Lab with Patch and Grumpity Linden in the Main Auditorium.
  • 16:00-17:00 – The Making of Our Digital Selves: My Avatar and Me: at the VWBPE social plaza.

Friday, April 5th

  • 09::00-09:50 – Keynote: Teacher Training with Virtual Worlds – Main Auditorium: Dr. Tuncer Can, Istanbul University looks at how training teachers within Virtual Worlds could enhance innovation in the class and change the lives of real people by ensuring them.
  • 10:00-10:50 – Non-Profit Commons Past Reflections, Future Directions – VWBPE 2019 Quadrivium.
  • 11:00-11:50 – Perspectives on virtual professional learning communities – VWBPE 2019 Lecture Area A.

Saturday, April 6th

  • 11:00-11:50: Keynote: Crossing the Horizon together: Scanning, transforming, and sharing “What Works” in Immersive XR – Main Auditorium: Dr. Jonathon Richter, Salish Kootenai College and Executive Director discusses the Immersive Learning Research Network facilitates collaboration between computer scientists, game developers, educators, learning scientists, and others.
  • 12:00 noon-12:50: Blue Mars on Virtual Harmony for agile mindsets –  VWBPE 2019 Lecture Area B.
  • 12:00-12:50: Re/visioning virtual education – VWBPE 2019 Quadrivium.
  • 14:00-14:50: Catching up with Thinkerer – Main Auditorium.
VWBPE 2019: Lecture Area B

Getting About

VWBPE takes place across 8 regions (including the exhibitors spaces). While exploring on foot is fun, the quickest way to get to event / activity venues is via the VWBPE Gateway and using the teleport boards there, and similar boards at each of the primary VWBPE events areas.

Additional Links

SL16B: applications open for exhibitors, performers and volunteers

Posted on by Inara Pey
Courtesy of Linden Lab

June 2019 marks the 16th anniversary of Second Life fully opening its doors to the public (and, as I’ve previously mentioned, Linden Lab’s own 20th anniversary as a company). As is the tradition, the anniversary will be marked by the Second Life Birthday event, marked by exhibitions, music, entertainment and more taking place across the SLB regions.

On Monday, April 1st, 2019 Linden Lab opened the doors to applications from exhibitors, performers, presenters and volunteers, with the blog post reading in part:

SL16B is coming this summer … This year, we are excited to return to being more involved in the organisation of all the events. In addition to the official Music Fests, costume parties,  and Shopping events, of the last few years, we’re also returning to our roots and participating more in the development and planning of the main SLB celebration.

The 2018 SL15B Auditorium

Those wishing to apply to be involved in SL16B as exhibitors, performers or volunteers should follow the links below.

Notes for the above applications:

  • When entering times in any of the above forms, please ensure you used Second Life Time (SLT).
  • The closing date for all of the above applications is Wednesday, May 15th, 2019.

In addition, on March 14th, 2019, Linden Lab announced the SL16B Shopping Event (read here for more). Those wishing to apply to be a part of this event as a merchant should complete the Merchant Application form, no later than Saturday, June 1st, 2019.

The SL16B Shopping Event: scheduled to run throughout the shopping period, this multi-region shopping event is now accepting applications from merchants. Those wishing to participate should ensure they have applied by June 1st, 2019.

Le Cirque de Nuit in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Courtesy of Idle Rogue

April is upon us, and with it comes a variety of events across Second Life, including Idle Rogue’s Le Cirque de Nuit. Opening on Friday, April 19th, this is one of the most popular of Idle Rogue’s productions, loosely based on Erin Morgenstern’s novel, The Night Circus. 

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazement. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

– Cover copy of The Night Circus

Directed by Blaze DeVivre with the assistance of Sho Kyong, Idle Rogue’s production is described as a steampunk circus in black and white, and uses the novel’s setting as a background. Within the show, Idle Rogue presents dance acts with steampunk, illusion and circus themes. Each is built, as is the Idle Rogue tradition, by the dancer performing it; some of the acts are carried forward from the previous year and some are new to this year’s performance to offer a unique and new presentation for audiences.

A bunch of us in Guerilla Burlesque had read the book, just based on each other’s reading recommendations, then cherryblondscribe (Executive Producer of Idle Rogue and ) and Glorianna Maertens got together and said let’s do a production that draws from the circus at the centre of the story … Acts each take on themes from the novel and putting the individual performer’s twist on it, some that are circus inspired more generally, and some that are a fantasy all their own.

– Blaze DeVivre, Le Cirque de Nuit’s director

True to the novel, the Circus acts, props and costumes are created in black and white. Dance acts are interspersed with viewings of art installations constructed in blazing colour, with both Bryn Oh and Cica Ghost among the artists supporting the show.

Also joining the production once again is Seanchai library’s Caledonia Skytower, who will present selected readings from The Night Circus.

You can read more about the 2018 and in interview with director Blaze DeVivre, as conducted and written by R. Crap Mariner in these pages.

Courtesy of Idle Rogue

Performance Dates

All times SLT.

  • Friday, April 19th and Friday, April 26th: 22:00.
  • Saturday, April 20th: 14:00.
  • Sunday, April 21st: 19:00.
  • Saturday, April 27th: 19:00.
  • Sunday, April 28th: 14:00.

Bookings

There is no admission fee for attending a performance, but seating is limited and must be booked in advance. This can be done by contacting  Saturday Melody in-world stating the date on which you would like to attend a performance. You will receive confirmation of your booking once it has been processed. Timestamps of messages received by Saturday Melody will determine the order in which bookings are processed.

Rituals, aliens, poems and a rebellious rogue

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, March 31st: 13:30 Tea-Time with Sherlock Holmes’ Greatest Hits

As voted for by Seanchai fans, followers and listeners. This week: The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, first published in 1893 in The Strand Magazine, and re-published in 1894 in book format as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

From The Adventure of The Musgrave Ritual, an illustration by Sidney Paget, 1893.
From The Adventure of The Musgrave Ritual, an illustration by Sidney Paget, 1893.

“There are cases enough here, Watson,” said he, looking at me with mischievous eyes. “I think that if you knew all that I had in this box you would ask me to pull some out instead of putting others in.”

“These are the records of your early work, then?” I asked. “I have often wished that I had notes of those cases.”

“Yes, my boy, these were all done prematurely before my biographer had come to glorify me.” He lifted bundle after bundle in a tender, caressing sort of way.

“They are not all successes, Watson,” said he. “But there are some pretty little problems among them. Here’s the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife. And here — ah, now, this really is something a little recherche.”

Thus Holmes introduces Watson to one of the cases his took on before the two became friends, one involving an old acquaintance from Holmes’ university days, Reginald Musgrave, a vanished butler and maid and the mysterious Musgrave Ritual. Just the Seanchai Team in the Fireside room to learn more!

Monday, April 1st 19:00: The World Of Ptavvs

Gyro Muggins returns to Larry Niven’s Known Universe to read the first novel Niven ever set within it  – given it was actually he first full-length novel. Within it, he lays many of the seeds, human and alien that would come to define that universe, its characteristics, traits and races.

A reflective statue is found at the bottom of one of Earth’s oceans, having lain there for 1.5 billion years. Humanity’s experiments with time manipulation lead to the conclusion the “statue” is actually an alien caught within a “time slowing” field.

Larry Greenberg, a telepath with highly developed and honed abilities is asked to participate in an attempt to make contact with the alien. This involves Greenberg and the “statue” being places within a single time slowing field, the effect of which is to nullify the one shrouding the alien.

The the new field in operation, Greenberg finds himself in the company of Kzanol, a member of a race called the Thrint. Powerfully telepathic, the Thrint once rules the galaxy pure through their mental powers and the ability to bend the minds of others to their own will. However, in the time that Kzanol has been trapped the result of a malfunction aboard his ship which forced him to abandon it and fall to Earth protected by the stasis field of his space suit, the Thrint were facing a revolt by all the races they had enslaved.

As a result of this, the Thrint had determined to wipe out every race in the galaxy using a thought amplifier. Now, his own mind mixed with that of Kzanol, Greenberg sets out with the alien with the aim of using the weapon to enslave every mind in the solar system…

Tuesday, April 2nd 19:00: The Fairy Tree

An original story written and read by Caledonia Skytower.

Wednesday, April 3rd 19:00: It’s Poetry Month!

Join Aoife Lorefield, Corwyn Allen, Kayden Oconnell, Ktahdn Vesuvino, Caledonia Skytower and possibly more in a celebration of National Poetry Month as they read some of their favourite poems and verses. Have a favourite of your own? Bring it along and one of the team will read it!

Thursday, April 4th

19:00: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Part 2

With Shandon Loring. (Also in Kitely grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

Late night Sci-Fi-Fantasy from some wonderful on-line ‘zines and podcasts, in a relaxed late night atmosphere with Finn Zeddmore.