Update: The Merchant Application Form is now available – click here if you’re interested.
Fantasy Faire, the largest fantasy-related event to take place in Second Life, has announced both the theme for the 2019 event and its dates.
Once again raising money for the global work of the American Cancer Society as a part of the Relay for Life of Second Life 2019 season, Fantasy faire will this year have the theme of Builders of Hope.
2019 marks the eleventh year for Fantasy Faire, which has traditionally been slated to run eleven days each year, but this year it will be a little different, as the press release announcing the event notes:
Fantasy Faire has always officially lasted eleven days, and in recent years we’ve been fortunate to have a few extra days added. This year we’re making it official: our formal programming will still conclude with our One Team dance party marathon on Monday, April 29th, but now we invite you to join us for an additional week of shopping, questing, and exploring as the Fairelands will be open through Sunday, May 5th. That’s a total of eighteen days of the Faire – and you never know when something unexpected might happen in that final week!
So in total, Fantasy Faire will run from Thursday, April 18th through until Sunday, May 5th, 2019, inclusive.
Fantasy Faire 2018: Aetherea (Alia Baroque)
As with previous years, Fantasy Faire 2019 will comprise 10 shopping regions hosting 200 of Second Life’s top Fantasy Creators, offering the most comprehensive opportunity for fantasy shopping. In addition, there will be a further six regions focusing on entertainment, the Fairelands Quest, art, the Fantasy Faire Literary Festival, and the Worldling Collection.
All of the regions will be designed and themed by some of Second Life’s top designers, making the event a must-see even if fantasy isn’t a major part of your life. And throughout it all, there will be opportunities to show your support for ACS and the global work of cancer treatment, care and prevention via direct donation or by purchasing some of the many items participating merchants will be selling, with all or part of the proceeds going to RFL of SL and the American Cancer Society.
As always, I’ll be doing my best to provide updates and relay news on Fantasy Faire through the pages of this blog – but to keep right up-to-date on things, be sure to visit the Fantasy Faire website, and follow the event via the social media links below.
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, February 17th,
13:30: Tea Time with The Saint
Adventure came to him not so much because he sought it as because he brazenly expected it. He believed that life was full of adventure, and he went forward in full blaze and surge of that believe…
So reads The Man Who Was Clever, billed as the first graphic novel about Simon Templar, aka The Saint, aka The Robin Hood of Crime, as it describes the man himself.
The creation of Leslie Charteris, Templar first arrived in literature in 1928, his career in print spanning almost six decades, with later books and stories being written in collaboration with other writers. Templar’s career in other media started in 1938 with the release of the motion picture The Saint in New York, and in radio in 1940 – with none other than Vincent Price most famously providing him with a voice from 1947 to 1951, on no fewer than three US radio networks.
However, it is probably as personified by the late Sir Roger Moore on television between 1962 and 1969 that Simon Templar is familiar to most. This series actually added to the library of The Saint’s literature, with a number of original scripts for the series – with Charteris’ approval – becoming short stories using his name as the author.
The Man Who Was Clever first appeared in 1930 as a part of the first collection of short stories about The Saint published under the title Enter The Saint. In it, Templar, the man who robs from the evil and heartless rich, and gives to the wronged and deserving poor, entered the world of graphic novels thanks to a story adaptation by Mark Ellis with David Bryant serving as illustrator. It marks the start of a new series of Tea Time adventures for Seanchai Library, with David Abbot, Corwyn Allen, Kayden Oconnell, and Caledonia Skytower.
Caledonia shares selected tales from the Classic Fairytale past: Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, live on stream at the Golden Horseshoe in Magicland Park.
Monday, February 18th 19:00: Hanta Yo: An American Saga
Gyro Muggins reads Ruth Beebe Hill’s extraordinary novel that is either loved or hated – and has certainly proven controversial since its first publication.
Lyrically written, the story is, at its core, a multi-generational saga follows the lives of two Indian families, members of the Mahto band of the Teton Sioux, before and during their first contact with the white man and his “manifest destiny.” Within its sweeping story, Hill attempted to fashion an epic, Native American version of Alex Haley’s Roots.
Allegedly based in part on writings translated from a Lakota Sioux winter account translated by a First Nation Sioux, the story is certainly cohesive and vivid. For those unfamiliar with the lives and rituals of the Plains Indians of North America, it makes for a fascinating and enlightening read.
However, to some in the Lakota, the book is seen as demeaning and misrepresentative – a fact Hill herself finds baffling. Whilst she fully acknowledges the story is a “documented novel” – a fictional story based on actual events – she also notes that she spent some 20 or more years researching Hanta Yo and carrying out hundreds of interviews with representatives of the Sioux, Kiowa, Omaha, Cheyenne, and Navajo tribes, including allowing them access to her manuscript to verify the historical elements from their standpoint.
Event today, in the year of the 40th anniversary since its first publication, Hanta Yo divides opinions. So why not settle down with Gyro to hear the tale first hand?
Tuesday, February 19th 19:00: The Mouse of Amherst
Faerie Maven-Pralou reads Elizabeth Spires’ inspired tale designed to introduce young readers to the works of Emily Dickenson. Regarded as one of America’s most prolific and significant poets of the 19th Century, Dickenson’s work only gained public recognition following her death, as she was very private about her writing.
In Spires’ tale, a mouse finds s a place to live behind the wainscoting of Emily Dickinson’s bedroom. however, Ms. Dickenson’s constant writing at her desk becomes a source of fascination for her new “lodger”. Venturing forth when it is safe, the mouse – Emmaline – make her way to the writing desk and discovers Emily’s poetry.
Inspired by what she reads, Emmaline writes a poem of her own, leaving it on Emily’s desk. On finding it, Emily replies, and thus a poetic correspondence between the two is established.
Featuring eight of Dickenson’s actual poems, together with seven “replies” from Emmaline, Elizabeth Spires gently draws young readers through a charming story into the power of poetry to express our deepest feelings, and perhaps start them writing poems of their own.
Wednesday, February 20th 19:00: The Jennifer Morgue
Corwyn Allen reads the second volume in the Laundry Files by Charles Stross.
Bob Howard is an IT expert and occasional field agent for the Laundry, the branch of Her Majesty’s Secret Service that deals with occult threats. In this second outing, Bob Howard finds himself dragged into the machinations and conspiracies of megalomaniac multi-billionaire Ellis Billington, The Black Chamber and The Laundry…
Dressed in a tuxedo (what else for a globe-trotting British Secret Agent?) and sent to the Caribbean, Bob must infiltrate Billington’s inner circle via his luxurious yacht. His mission? Prevent the Billington from violating a treaty that will bring down the wrath of an ancient underwater race upon humanity’s head.
Offering a wonderful pastiche on both the world of James Bond and a wonderful mimicking of Ian Fleming’s style of writing, Stross produces a novel that also evokes Lovecraftian overtones that is delightfully entertaining to read. In true Bond style, Bob is (reluctantly) partnered with an American agent – in this case a stunningly beautiful woman who also just happens to be a soul-sucking succubus from another dimension. Which, being the case, marks Bob’s mission somewhat differently to those of Bond: not only must he stop the bad guys and come through this at best shaken, he must totally avoid being stirred towards getting the girl…
Thursday, February 21st:
19:00: The Call of the Wild, Part 1
First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London’s masterpiece.
Based on London’s experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.
With Shandon Loring. (Also in Kitely grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).
21:00: Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary science fiction and fantasy with Finn Zeddmore.
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, a special event running from April 1st through April 21st, 2019 inclusive.
Right now, through until February 25th, they are seeking merchants and bloggers to support the event, which is described thus:
We plan to provide a beautiful Egyptian themed region for invited brands, bloggers, and guests for a fun shopping experience, music, theatre entertainment, twice the hunts and much more during the wonderful time of the Spring season in the era of Ancient Egypt. We also want to raise more awareness for this amazing charity through education for guests. Lending your support to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, we are forever grateful.
Merchants wishing to participate in the Oasis event are asked to register their interest in participating in the event by completing the Merchant’s Application Form. Note that details of the four merchant packages and their prices are available on the second page of the application form.
Bloggers wishing to cover the event are asked to complete the Blogger Application Form. Applicants are required to write a minimum of 2 posts covering the event, and posts must be recorded using the event’s blog management reporting system.
Media sponsors wishing to support the event are asked to contact DjRoseAthena, either in-world or via Facebook. If she is not available for those preferring in-world contact, interested parties are asked to contact the event’s co-coordinator, Nola Hellershanks.
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 encouagring 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.
One Billion Rising in Second Life will once again be taking place in Second Life on Thursday, February 14th, 2019, with the event officially commencing at just after midnight SLT on the 13th/14th February, with DJ Kess Crystal launching things. Activities will then run right through the 24 hours of the day with music, dancing, art and events.
When launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, One Billion Rising (OBR) was the biggest mass action in human history; a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls who are at risk. OBR aims to bring people together, raise greater awareness of the plight of those at risk the world over, and bring about a fundamental change in how vulnerable and defenceless women and girls are treated.
One Billion Rising 2019
This year’s event follows past OBR events in Second Life, with four regions laid out to offer a central music / dance arena, around which sets and sessions will move throughout the 24 hours of the event. In the surrounding park lands, and linked to the central stages and one another by trails and paths, are art exhibits, gardens, and additional event areas, such as the Poetry and Prose area.
Also to be found within the regions is the pavilion honouring the work and courage of the joint Nobel Peace Prize winners in 2018, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee announcement on October 5th, 2018 in Oslo, Norway.
One Billion Rising 2019
The art installations this year include work by the team at 2Lei, Storm Septimus, Krystal Rabini, iSkye Silverweb, Slatan Dryke, Darkstone Aeon, FionaFei, Isadora Alaya (Otcoc), and Marcel Mosswood. The full event schedule is available via the OBR in SL website.
The Rose Challenge
Once again, gifts will be available to those attending One Billion Rising, and there will be a further Rose Challenge.
On offer is a beautiful pink-tipped rose, designed by Kilik Lekvoda, as a mark of both the event and to salute Nobel Peace Prize winners Murad and Mukwege.
The pin can be obtained by travelling around the One Billion Rising regions and counting the number of white rose bushes (kindly provided by Lilith Heart of Heart Botanicals) which are scattered around the four regions of the event, including between (but not a part of) the art installations and in the corner parks.
When you think you have the number (of bushes, remember – not individual flowers). Go to one of the four OBR landing zones and use the mail box there to post your total – your name will be automatically recorded with your total.
Why Dance?
A critique sometimes levelled at OBR / OBR in SL is that the issues it raises cannot be solved by dance. Well, that’s absolutely true, just as marching through the streets carrying placards and banners is unlikely to have a lasting impact on whatever it is people might be marching about.
However, like marches and protests, dance and music does serve to draw attention to matters. It provides a means by which people are encouraged to stop and think, and for information and ideas disseminated. What’s also important is that it’s a lot harder to see dancing as a threat than might be the case with an organised march or protest – something to take into consideration with countries in which the right to march or protest freely does not exist. Hence why, as well, OBR in Second Life is marked each year with a dance video to the event’s theme song.
Practical Support
OBR in SL is not itself a fund-raising event, but exists as a means of raising awareness of violence against women and girls. If you’d like to show your support for organisations that work tirelessly throughout the year to bring about change, please visit the OBR in Second Life Non-Profits page for a short list of organisations.
Annie Scott-Siegel (claera) and Nils Urqhart have announced the “First Annual International Photography Festival” to be held at the Art’e Gallery in Helvellyn.
Running from Saturday, April 13th through to Sunday, May 12th, 2019, the festival will highlight physical world photography submitted by Second Life artists and photographers. It is open to submissions meeting the following criteria:
Submissions must be photographs taken in the physical world – no images from Second Life or other games or 3D platforms or digital art or renderings.
All content must be family friendly. Images can depict the human body in all of its forms, but any nudity must be presented tastefully.
No sexually explicit imagery will be tolerated (and will be returned).
Any lewd depictions of under-age subjects will be rejected and reported (even if they are not nude).
Images may be offered for sale, and participants can advertise their involvement in the festival. There is no fee or commission for any sales.
Submission Details
The deadline for submissions is 23:59:59 SLT on Sunday, March 31st, 2019 no exceptions.
Submissions must be in the form of a texture with a minimum size of 1024×1024.
Do not send a box or NC containing multiple submissions.
No more than 15 images per artist.
Each image must contain the photographer’s avatar name (not Display Name) as part of the submission’s Name field, and the photograph’s Description field.
Submitted image textures should have the following permissions: No-Modify/Yes-Copy/No-Transfer for review.
Any frame submitted for use with textures should be a single prim, set to the same permissions.
Please do not use scripts in a submitted frame.
Artists will be responsible for the layout of their own installation at the gallery ahead of the festival opening.
All submissions should be made directly to Nils Urqhart or Annie Scott-Siegel, in-world. Questions or enquiries should also be directed to Annie or Nils.
Now open through until Sunday, February 17th is the Harvey Memorial Ensemble ALS Awareness Week, a charity event intended to both raise awareness of ALS and funds for continued research into the disease.
Dedicated to the memory of ALS victim and Second Life resident Harvey22 Albatros, the week focuses on music and art, with both live performers and DJs offering sets throughout the week, and a number of SL artists offering pieces for auction, with all proceeds as well as donations during the week going to AISLA, the Associazone Italiana Sclerosi Laterale Amiotrofica.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes also referred to as motor neurone disease (MND) or by the synonyms Lou Gehrig’s disease and Charcot disease, is a specific disorder that involves the death of neurons that control voluntary muscles. For about 90-95% of all diagnosed cases, the precise cause of the disease is unknown; for the remaining 5-10% of diagnosed cases, it is inherited from the sufferer’s parents. There is no known cure, and symptoms generally first become apparent around the age of 60 (or 50 in inherited cases). The average survival from onset to death is three to four years. In Europe and the United States, the disease affects about 2 people per 100,000 per year.
The event, which features a daily schedule of music running from 07:00 SLT through to 18:00 SLT, comprising a mix of live performances and DJ sessions lasting between one and three hours. A schedule board (seen above) is available at the event location.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 