Tag: Seanchai Library

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, May 1st

13:30 at Crazy Eights: Tea Time at Baker Street

Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street.

It was in the year ’95 that a combination of events, into which I need not enter, caused Mr. Sherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks in one of our great University towns, and it was during this time that the small but instructive adventure which I am about to relate befell us … any details which would help the reader to exactly identify the college or the criminal would be injudicious and offensive. So painful a scandal may well be allowed to die out.

So opens the Adventure of the Three Students, as related by Dr. John Watson. The scandal is that the galley proofs of a forthcoming exam have, after a most unfortunate oversight, been partially copied. The exam is for a generous scholarship, and should it ever come to light that one of the three candidates who would sit the exam earned his scholarship by cheating, it would forever blemish the college’s reputation.

Fortunately, and although only armed with the smallest of clues – a blob of clay into which is embedded some sawdust, a broken pencil lead and a cut in the top of a desk – are sufficient to inform Sherlock Holmes of the culprit’s identity.

15:00: LEA 8 Selections from Pride & Prejudice

Caledonia Skytower visits Jane Austen’s English Countryside at LEA 8 to read selections from Jane Austen’s novel beloved of television networks and film companies,

Monday May 2nd, 19:00: A Trifecta of Sci-Fi

Gyro Muggins reads Spider Robinson’s The Guy with the Eyes, Hobbits and – time allowing – Arthur C. Clarke’s Take A Deep Breath.

The Guy with the Eyes was the first story Robinson had published, and went on to  be the opening chapter of Robinson’s anthology, Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.

The titular saloon is a haven for lost souls; a place where the patrons come for one drink and a chance for a second – but only if they offer an unburdening toast at the fireplace. Mike Callahan, the owner, never judges but sometimes advises in as few words as possible.

Callahan thinks he’s heard it all until one day, The Guy With The Eyes comes in, spends an hour nursing his first drink, then steps up to the fireplace and unburdens himself with the news that he’s an alien, a harbinger of doom for Earth, who will be returning home in just a couple of hours. But when he does, his masters will destroy the planet, convinced human kind is a cancer. Only he’s no longer convinced that this is true, and no longer wants to see the world destroyed…

Tuesday May 3rd, 19:00: Dead Man’s Chest

Shandon Loring concludes reading of the second instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, Dead Man’s Chest.

Wednesday May 4th 19:00: Crazy Eights: The War that Saved My Life

Caledonia Skytower reads Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s children’s story.

It is the Second World War, and when nine-year-old Ada’s little brother is evacuated from London to escape the blitz, she is determined not to be left behind because her mother is too ashamed to allow her to be seen in public with her twisted foot.

So it is that Ada, experiencing her first time in the world beyond the house in which she has always lived, finds herself on an adventure, adapting to life with Susan Smith, the woman charged with caring for Ada’s little brother, and who unexpectedly finds herself with a second ward in her care.

As time passes, Ada learns to ride a pony, watches for German spies, and finds a bond forming between her and Susan smith, a bond shared with her brother, but over which hangs the shadow of what will happen when they have to return to London and the cruelty of Ada’s mother.

Thursday, May 5th

19:00: King Kong – Eighth Wonder of the World

With Shandon Loring

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

With Finn Zeddmore.

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

Additional Links

• Seanchai Library blog
• Seanchai Library in this blog
• Crazy Eights web page

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, April 24th 18:00: Magicland Storytime

Caledonia shares stories of delight and joy on stage at the newly remodelled Golden Horseshoe.

Monday April 25th, 19:00 at Fantasy Faire LitFest: The Orphan

Gyro Muggins reads Robert Stillman’s fantasy tale.

The werewolf is a creature of the night, a solitary, fur-covered thing. A wild-eyed, five clawed beast with a taste for blood and the soft crunch of bone between the teeth. But as little Robert, the werewolf has been adopted by a kindly farmer and his wife.

Neither Robert nor the monster could control the shifting of its form, and always, the emerged beast lurked within, ready to spring for the throat.

Tuesday April 26th, 19:00 at Fantasy Faire LitFest: The Witch’s Headstone

Caledonia Skytower and Shandon Loring read this Neil Gaiman short story which originally formed a chapter of  The Graveyard Book, 

THERE WAS A WITCH buried at the edge of the graveyard, it was common knowledge. Bod had been told to keep away from that corner of the world by Mrs. Owens as far back as he could remember.

“Why?” he asked.

“T’aint healthy for a living body,” said Mrs. Owens. “There’s damp down that end of things. It’s practically a marsh. You’ll catch your death.”

Mr. Owens himself was more evasive and less imaginative. “It’s not a good place,” was all he said.

Wednesday April 27th 19:00: Crazy Eights: The War that Saved My Life

Caledonia Skytower reads Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s children’s story.

It is the Second World War, and when nine-year-old Ada’s little brother is evacuated from London to escape the blitz, she is determined not to be left behind because her mother is too ashamed to allow her to be seen in public with her twisted foot.

So it is that Ada, experiencing her first time in the world beyond the house in which she has always lived, finds herself on an adventure, adapting to life with Susan Smith, the woman charged with caring for Ada’s little brother, and who unexpectedly finds herself with a second ward in her care.

As time passes, Ada learns to ride a pony, watches for German spies, and  finds a bond forming between her and Susan smith, a bond shared with her brother, but over which hangs the shadow of what will happen when they have to return to London and the cruelty of Ada’s mother.

Thursday, April 28th 19:00 at Fantasy Faire LitFest: Conan – Phoenix on the Sword

Conan, having overthrown the tyrant Numedides to gain the bloody crown of Aquilonia, is finding that being a monarch isn’t really the same as being a warrior.

While the people  of  Aquilonia might have originally cheered Conan as their liberator, they have started to turn against him, regarding him as impure by his Cimmerian blood, and increasingly seeing him as a bloody interloper who cruelly killed their sainted King Numedides.

Then the Red Four come together, determined to pass the crown to someone of royal Aquilonian lineage – even means assassinating Conan in the process. To achieve this goal, they recruit the outlaw Ascalante.

But while he is willing to put an end to Conan, Ascalante has no intention of passing the crown to anyone else once the Cimmerian is dead.

Saturday, April 30th, 11am @Seanchai Kitely: Explore Anton’s Stories

Selections from the short stories of Anton Chekhov with Caledonia Skytower – grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai .

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

Additional Links

• Seanchai Library blog
• Seanchai Library in this blog
• Crazy Eights web page

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, April 17th

11:30 Crazy Eights: A Celebration of Poetry

Founded by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month takes place every April as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.

To mark the month, Seanchai Library has invited ten Second Life Poets to share both their own poetry and their favourite works of poetry by other poets.

Taking place at the the Crazy Eights special events area, A Celebration of Poetry presents Dubhna Rhiadra, Sabreman Carter. Seersha Heart, Michael Romani, Stranger Nightfire, Morgue McMillan, Talkwithmarie Resident, Rosedrop Rust, Sangreal Arnica, and Klannex Northmead.

Monday April 18th, 19:00 at Crazy Eights: Silent Running

Gyro Muggins concludes reading Harlan Thompson’s novelization of the 1972 screenplay for Silent Running, by screenplay by Mike Cimino, Deric Washburn, and Steven Bochco.

In the future, all plant life on Earth has become extinct. A few specimens have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of space freighters, currently just beyond the orbit of Saturn.

Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard the freighter Valley Forge, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully preserves a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.

Then, orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes with nuclear charges and return the freighters to commercial service. Orders Lowell’s crewmates are only too happy to follow if it means a return to Earth. Lowell, however, is less than sanguine about this new turn of events.

Tuesday April 19th, 19:00: Year of Yes

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Shonda Rhimes’ bestseller.

Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator of television’s Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, as well as an executive TV producer. Despite her success and career, she is introverted and prefers to say “no” to invitations and engagements.

Then her sister presents a challenge to which Shonda reluctantly agrees: spend a year saying “yes” to unexpected invitations and opportunities.

This book is a record of that year, and how just saying one simple word – “yes” – had a positive and transformative impact on one woman’s life.

Wednesday April 20th 19:00: Dead Man’s Chest

Shandon Loring presents a reading of the second instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, Dead Man’s Chest.

Thursday, April 21st

19:00: Solomon Kane

Shandon Loring reads from the exploits of Robert E. Howard’s 16th/17th fictional Puritan, Solomon Kane.

A “tall, sombre and gloomy man of pale skin, gaunt face and cold eyes”, Solomon Kane travels through Europe and Africa, seeking to vanquish evil wherever he might encounter it, armed with a rapier, a dagger, a brace of pistols – and the Staff of Solomon.

21:00: Whispers from the Abyss

Shandon Loring opens the pages of this anthology of 33 short stories inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, edited by Kat Rocha.

“On the subway, during lunch, or even under the fluorescent glow of your cubical—there is no escape! Now your slow descent into madness can follow you through the day.”

Created as a ebook to be read by people on the move, the stories each present concentrated spine-chilling terror by the likes of Greg Stolze, Nick Mamata, Tim Pratt, Dennis Detwiller, Greg Van Eekhout, A.C. Wise, David Tallerman and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

Additional Links

• Seanchai Library blog
• Seanchai Library in this blog
• Crazy Eights web page

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, April 10th

13:30 Crazy Eights: Tea Time at Baker Street

Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street.

It appears a vandal is at large in London, and has Inspector Lestrade somewhat baffled. Someone is going around smashing busts of the Emperor Napoleon. Three have so far been broken, one from a shop and two following break-ins at the home and office of one Dr. Barnicot.

Holmes is intrigued by the fact the all of the busts come from the same mould, suggesting that this is more than a simple case of someone having a deep-seated dislike for the dead Emperor.

When Lestrade brings word that there has been a further incident, this time accompanied by a murder, Holmes is more than intrigued. The bust has been stolen from the house of a journalist, one Horace Harker, who also discovered the dead man on his front doorstep.

It’s unlikely the dead man was responsible for taking the bust, as the remains of that are found shattered in the garden of an empty house up the street. The dead man has a photograph of another man in his possession, and things take a further strange turn when the deceased is identified as a member of the Mafioso, and the photograph he was carrying is that of an Italian immigrant…

15:00: Crazy Eights: Storyteller’s Sandbox

The Storytellers’ Sandbox at Crazy Eights is designed to provide a forum for new stories, new storytellers, and new ways to present them.  This week, Seanchai library welcomes to the Sandbox: Bryn Taleweaver, Virginia (UnderstandingComplexity Resident), and Boudicca Amat.  Three voices with three unique stories to share.

Monday April 11th, 19:00 at Crazy Eights: Silent Running

Gyro Muggins continues reading Harlan Thompson’s novelization of the 1972 screenplay for Silent Running, by screenplay by Mike Cimino, Deric Washburn, and Steven Bochco.

In the future, all plant life on Earth has become extinct. A few specimens have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of space freighters, currently just beyond the orbit of Saturn.

Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard the freighter Valley Forge, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully preserves a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.

Then, orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes with nuclear charges and return the freighters to commercial service. Orders Lowell’s crewmates are only too happy to follow if it means a return to Earth. Lowell, however, is less than sanguine about this new turn of events.

Tuesday April 12th, 19:00: Year of Yes

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Shonda Rhimes’ bestseller.

Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator of television’s Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, as well as an executive TV producer. Despite her success and career, she is introverted and prefers to say “no” to invitations and engagements.

Then her sister presents a challenge to which Shonda reluctantly agrees: spend a year saying “yes” to unexpected invitations and opportunities.

This book is a record of that year, and how just saying one simple word – “yes” – had a positive and transformative impact on one woman’s life.

Wednesday April 13th 19:00: On Stranger Tides

Shandon Loring commences a two-part reading of On Stranger Tides, the inspiration for the 4th instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

Thursday, April 14th 19:00: Batman in Nighttown

From The Further Adventures of Batman, edited by Martin H. Greenberg comes this tale penned by husband and wife team, Robet Silverberg and Karen Haber.

At a fairly early point in Batman’s career, a large charity masquerade event takes place at Wayne Manner. Bruce Wayne (wearing a red devil outfit) is surprised when an unknown guest arrives wearing, of all things, a Batman costume. Then the lights go out, jewels disappear, and the chase is on.

Saturday, April 16th, at Crazy Eights:  Story Forest Tour II

A guided exploration of the Crazy Eights Story Forest with select stories shared live in voice. Guests meet at the Welcome Plaza and join Tour Guides or a walk and a talk featuring some of the 20 stories from around the world found in the Crazy Eights Story Forest.

 

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

Additional Links

• Seanchai Library blog
• Seanchai Library in this blog
• Crazy Eights web page

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, April 3rd

13:30 Crazy Eights: Tea Time at Baker Street

Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street.

The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, first published in 1904, but thought to be set in 1899, sees Holmes and Watson retained by wealthy débutante Lady Eva Blackwell, who is being threatened by one Charles Augustus Milverton.

Milverton has obtained compromising letters written by Lady Blackwell, and is demanding £7,000 (around US $700,000 today) in order not to reveal them and so put an end to her engagement, and bring shame down on her family.

Holmes regards Milverton as the “king of the blackmailers”, and more repulsive than any of the fifty or so murderers he has brought to account in his career. He resolves to recover the letters by any means necessary…

This is one of Sir Conan Doyle’s more unusual tales for the Great Detective, as it is believed to be based on a real-life blackmailer, Charles Augustus Howell. Howell was an art dealer who preyed upon an unknown number of people, including the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He met his end under mysterious circumstances in 1890, when his body was found near a public house in Chelsea, London. His throat had been posthumously slit and a ten-shilling coin placed in his mouth. The presence of the coin was known to be a criticism of those guilty of slander.

15:00: Stories at the Park – Holly Kai Park

Kayden and Caledonia share stories and poetry written for the exhibition at Holly Kai Park’s Art in the Park outdoor gallery which currently features the work of visiting artists Io Bechir, Goodcross, Hana Hoo, Mistero Hifeng and Sisse Singh.

Join us in the stone gazebo (just up the hill from the landing point) surrounded by virtual nature and art. Consider coming a few minutes early, or plan to linger after and explore the sculpture, painting, and photographic art of the featured artists.

Read more here, and visit the Holly Kai Park blog.

Monday April 4th, 19:00 at Crazy Eights: Silent Running

Gyro Muggins commences a reading Harlan Thompson’s novelization of the 1972 screenplay for Silent Running, by screenplay by Mike Cimino, Deric Washburn, and Steven Bochco.

In the future, all plant life on Earth has become extinct. A few specimens have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of space freighters, currently just outside the orbit of Saturn.

Freeman Lowell, one of four crewmen aboard the freighter Valley Forge, is the resident botanist and ecologist who carefully preserves a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the domes, both cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.

Then, orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes with nuclear charges and return the freighters to commercial service. Orders Lowell’s crewmates are only too happy to follow if it means a return to Earth. Lowell, however, is less than sanguine about this new turn of envents.

Tuesday April 5th, 19:00: Echo

Caledonia Skytower reads Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Newbery Honour novel.

Three entwined stories focusing on a magical harmonica, start with the tale of 12-year-old German boy Friedrich, growing up in the time of the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Already an outcast because of the birthmark that disfigures his face, Friedrich discovers the harmonica, and with it, hope for the future.

Two years later, 11–year-old Mike Flannery finds himself in possession of the harmonica, and with it, the opportunity to prevent his younger bother being sent away to a state home by the woman who adopted the boys to suit her own purposes.

In the final story, Ivy Lopez, whose parents are migrant farm labourers. It’s a year after Pearl Harbour, and her family find themselves running a farm after the Japanese-American owners are placed in an internment camp. Forced to attend “Americanisation” schooling, Ivy encounters institutional racism, and also strength and refuge when the harmonica enters her life. But soon enough, her family’s ties to the Yamamotos put them in crisis, and Ivy finds herself keeping what she fears is a terrible secret.

Wednesday April 6th 19:00: Night Off

The Seanchai Library folk are taking a break for the day.

Thursday, April 7th

19:00: International Dragon Stories

With Shandon Loring.

21:00 Seanchai Late Night

With Finn Zeddmore.

Friday, April 8th, Seanchai Kitely: Explore Anton Chekhov and the Absurd

Seanchai Library extends its real world-virtual world partnership with Tacoma Little Theatre with a new Explore the Art immersive environment on the Kitely OpenSim grid. Funded, in part by a grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission, Explore Anton Chekhov and the Absurd will use a mirror image environment to juxtapose a classic country dacha to house information on the Russian dramatist against the present day Bucks County, Pennsylvania farm setting of Christopher Durang’s play, Vanya and Sonia and Misha and Spike.  

Seanchai Library will present readings from the Chekhov’s short stories as well as host tours and visitors from Tacoma Little Theatre’s audience and supporters. The Explore environment will be on a large wall display screen in the lobby during performances, with a computer station, inviting patrons to take a spin through the virtual environment during pre-show, intermission, and after the curtain has come down.

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

Additional Links

• Seanchai Library blog
• Seanchai Library in this blog
• Crazy Eights web page