Press Release: The Dickens Project 2020

 
**The Dickens Project presents the New
and the Familiar, beginning December 4**

Second Life – The Seanchai Library is proud to announce the opening of The Dickens Project 2020 Edition. The Project began as a special seasonal presentation of Seanchai Library in 2008.  It transformed into an interactive environment in 2012, then to a full region experience in 2017. This year's two regions are inspired by the Victorian world of A Christmas Carol and other beloved tales, offering a broad spectrum of opportunities to explore, discover, and participate.

The Dickens Project presented over 80 hours of events during the month of December 2019, and this year's schedule is just as ambitious. Information is available on Seanchai's website in addition to other information that will be released during opening week. This year's two-region creation opens to the Second Life community on Friday, December 4th and will remain open through Sunday, January 3rd.
 
http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/p/the-dickens-project-sl.html

"Every year The Dickens Project intentionally blends the familiar features of previous years with new things waiting to be discovered," said Caledonia Skytower of Seanchai Library. "It helps our loyal visitors feel like they are coming home, gets them excited about what's new, and encourages them to share the experience with their friends. That's our goal. Each year the Dickens Project is just a little different. This year, with a second region, there is a lot that is fresh and new."  
 
The Dickens Project is also about a community of Second Life individuals and organizations that come together for this month long celebration. That community will again include Radio Riel, and Innsmouth SL. The Community Virtual Library will feature aspects of Victorian life from clothing, workers conditions, Dickens in Spanish, to The London Exhibition in a dedicated information district. Idle Rogue Productions will return with a new edition of their "Midnight Dinner" show, and Misfit Dance & Performance Art returns with "A Very Misfit Christmas" filled with seasonal joy. These are in addition to the live story reading programs which are Seanchai Library's hallmark.  
 
Virtuoso Performing Arts joins the community this year, presenting their new "Tales of Beatrix Potter" show New Year's weekend; and the SL Hawks Aerobatic Team will present their "Ghost Flights of Christmas" air show in performances in the skies above Dickens Harbour. That's right: an air show based on A Christmas Carol.
 
For inquiring minds, there is "The Horse in Victorian London", and "The Mine" interactive experiences. The later experience includes a ride through a mine with Sultan the pit pony and his coal carts. "Sultan" is a tribute to the name of one of the last pit ponies in Wales. Like their predecessor, the Urchin Experience (on hiatus this year), these experiences seek to balance the view of Dickens' world. "It's not all plum puddings and prize turkeys," says Skytower, "not for children, the working poor, women, or for animals."
 
The popular "Carol Week" returns with a section of Dickens' novella presented live each day in a "Story Tour" to the sites on the region inspired by the story. Saturday, December 19th features Fezziwig's Ball in the Opera House. The week culminates in The Big Read on Sunday, December 20th at Noon in Dickens Square. The Big Read is a relay-style presentation involving 9-12 voices in a continuous reading of "A Christmas Carol" from the beginning to the end of it.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg," added Skytower, "We have art shows this year for the first time, and wearable horses and carriages that you can drive around on each region, and so much more. It's not a cliche'. It's really impossible to concisely summarize everything you can do, see, or experience at this year's Project. You just have to come and check it out for yourself."
 
Seanchai Library offers its thanks to Linden Labs and Patch Linden, our 2020 Region Sponsors.


About the Seanchai Library
Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means "Storyteller" in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: "We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds."  http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/


All times listed are SLT/ Pacific.

Love Made in Second Life : Meet Ruby & Adam

Yesterday on the Linden Blog was the first of this year's "Love Made in Second Life" stories, "Meet Adam and Ruby."

Meet Adam and Ruby - two Residents who met four years ago at the Sexy Brits club in Knightsbridge within the London Sim in Second Life. Strangely enough, it was a song request that brought them together! At the club, Ruby noticed that one of her favorite songs “Crucify My Love” by X-Japan had been requested -- so she had to find out who was behind it. 

“I had to know!” she says. 

When told it was Adam, she was surprised as she had assumed that his avatar was just a bot. So, she reached out to him in chat.

“I thought it wasn’t really a person because he was dancing in the same corner all the time,” says Ruby. “I absolutely thought he was a bot!... I never would have started talking to him if it wasn’t for that song.” 

 Read the rest of the story Here.

Press Release: The Dickens Project 2018 Edition Returns to LEA 7

Second Life – The Dickens Project celebrates its sixth year in Second Life with a return to Linden Endowment for the Arts Region 7, where the annual celebration of Charles Dickens' seminal work first was realized in full region form a year ago.  Offering four weeks of exploration, storytelling, music, dance, a new "Urchins in Dickens London" experience, this Second Life holiday tradition will be open to residents November 30th, through December 30th.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA7/129/127/22

"What's new this year? There is no short answer to that," said Caledonia Skytower, "In almost every conceivable way, the Project has flourished in the full region format. This year was a team effort - our first real foray into collaborative build creation.  We learned a lot, and we are confident people will enjoy the results."  Skytower, along with long time Dickens creator Aoife Lorefield, Gloriana Maertens, and Dagmar Kohime worked together to transform prims and textures in a regionscape that evokes the spirit of Dickens' beloved work.          

Most evident to Dickens Project fans will be the new "Urchins in Dickens London" experience.  Created by Lorefield, the Urchins Experience invites residents to explore what life was like for a poor child in Victorian England. It's a game that combines elements of an SL hunt, free form (and optional) role play, and an invitation to create (and share) stories that the experience inspires.

"Charles Dickens was ever a champion of children, writing stories about those who were poor and unprotected," says Lorefield, "His child characters are often triumphant, finding ways to build lives of purpose and sometimes even happiness in a difficult time." Residents of all ages are welcome to participate, and will find information and the Urchins HUD near the main landing point in Dickens Square.  Inquiries should be directed to Ms. Lorefield. Additional information can be found on a special webpage http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/p/urchins-in-dickens-london.html .

To experience another new aspect of this Edition, just by turn on "sounds" in your Second Life Viewer.  A soundscape created by Dagmar Kohime will enhance the immersion of the region-exploring experience. Sounds of all kinds can be heard all over the region: a fiddler plays at Fezziwig's warehouse, the sounds of Nephew Fred's party guests wafts into the street near his home, and the Merchants Alley rings with sound of urchin laughter. The soundscape includes a special "Voices of the Story Path" hud that visitors can wear to hear short selections from "A Christmas Carol" in locations which corresponds to that selection from the story.

The 2018 Edition will include the customary presentations of A Christmas Carol in a variety of adaptations, in sections and in its entirety, and at different times to make the live readings accessible to residents from different parts of the globe.

Other works from within the author’s vast canon are featured in the weeks leading up to "Carol Week" (December 17-23), which climaxes in a marathon “Big Read” presentation of A Christmas Carol performed by a relay team of Seanchai staff and storytelling friends, scheduled for Sunday, December 23rd. 

Performances by Idle Rogue Productions, Misfit Dance and Performance Art, Russell Eponym, Wald Schridde and a host of other performers will add up to over 40 hours of events on LEA 7. In addition to these, communities participating in The Dickens Project 2018 Edition include: Ce Soir Arts, The Community Virtual Library, Elite Equestrian, Innsmouth - H.P. Lovecraft Inspired, Octoberville, and Radio Riel

"And we're not even done scheduling yet," Skytower points out.  Non-Dickens ghost stories, the Urchin Extravaganza, and a DJ Challenge will round out the days between Christmas and December 30th The schedule in-progress will be available weekly on the Seanchai Library website http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/p/the-dickens-project-sl.html. The daily schedule, information on all aspects of the Project, and calendar links will also be available on information kiosks at the main landing point.

In 1843 Charles Dickens prefaced his classic tale with these words: “I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.”  He began the novella in October, completed it in less than six weeks. It went on to become the most successful book of the season, selling six thousand copies by Christmas and continuing to be popular into the new year. It is a book which has never been out of print.

The Dickens Project is produced by Seanchai Library (Shawn-a-kee, which means "Storyteller" in Irish), which was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. Thousands of stories, and hundreds of authors later, the program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: "We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life."

Reader Submitted: "My Most Functionless Decoration Ever"

Submitted by Melody Highnote. She had been working on a Monopoly board, but made it a British version, substituting the names of New York City streets for London ones, such as Whitechapel. Contrary to her opinion, if someone could make moving pieces, working dice, added play money, and found a way to make the cards work, the game would be fun.

Honoring London, Manchester, and Beyond

Just as the recent radical Islamist suicide bombing of an arena that killed 22, mostly children, in Manchester England was starting to fade from world news headlines, Britain was struck again with another terrorist attack, this time in London. The Islamofacist killers ran a van into people, then stormed out slashing everyone they could find with machetes, killing seven.

The dead of these two attacks and others are honored at the "Memorial to Victims of Terrorism Across the World," located in the Iris sim in the mainland atol continent. At a shrine, there are a number of flags representing a number of assaults across the world. This includes the Middle East, where most incidents of terrorist murders on civilians have happened. Some flowers have also been left.

The shrine itself is owned by Jessica Ornitz, The flags were provided by someone known to longtime Second Life residents, Prokofy Neva.

In recent years, Second Life has seen a number of inworld memorials to the dead from terrorist attacks, Paris 2015, Nice 2016, Orlando 2016 , Egypt Flight 804 2016, and others. Amazingly, in the past there was a sim built by people justifying terrorism, but was gone some time later, possibly taken down by Linden Lab.

Iris (197/200/21)

Bixyl Shuftan

Easter Weekend in Second Life

Last weekend was Easter time, and there were a number of Easter-related activities on the Grid. With the Relay For Life going on, these events were somewhat overshadowed. But they weren't forgotten. And so before the week is out, here's a few scenes of Easter-related happenings in Second Life.

Read more in Events.

London City to celebrate 2012 Olympics

One of the more popular places in Second Life is London City area, which offers a number of events. And when the real London has a celebration, it's often reflected here, such as the Queen's Jubilee earlier in the year.

On Friday July 27, the 2012 Summer Olympics begin in the real life London. In London City, the place has been decorated with Olympic symbols, and a stage has been set up for Olympic themed events. The opening ceremonies will be covered live, and presumably live coverage will continue throughout the games to their closing on August 12.

Live coverage of the start of the London Olympics. Cash prize, the Parade and races for atheletes as they compete on the racetrack and Olympic sized swimming pool. Non-Stop party in the open air amphitheatre with top DJ's and acts. With competitions and prizes!

We hope you will join us on Friday, from 11am SLT (7pm UK) as we prepare ourselves for a month of fun activities, events, concerts and other special entertainment.

Is it true that London City will be holding an Olympic Egg'n'Spoon race? Of course.

The landmark for Friday's events is at London City (133, 113, 24)

More information at http://mainlandlondon.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Also check the article and screenshots at Daniel Voyager's Blog.

Last Day for the Diamond Jubilee in London

A view of the London area in Second Life, all decked out for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. Today is the last day for the real-life event brought to Second Life.

"Join the London Sims ... as they celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth of England. Events include contests, live djs, events, street parties and a special merchant's fair in Hyde Park! Check out our blog for events and more information: http://thelondonsims.blogspot.com."

London England UK, (219, 38, 21)

Memorials to Veterans in Second Life

Memorial Day is a time for those in the United States to remember those veterans who died in service. And in a number of places on the Grid, there are memorials to the fallen. Some are fairly simple, others took a little time to make. But the message behind all is the same.

See the list of memorials in Places.

Happy New Year

Numerous locations run in the New Year last night. Two places I was able to check out were Madpeas (above) and London Hyde Park (below) which rung in the New Year at 4PM SL time.

Happy New Year from Second Life Newser

SL8B and a Tour of London

Today, Netera Landar reports on her trip to Second Life's London area, which started out as a trip to the Second Life Eighth Birthday celebrations. Talking with one of the people, she was given a tour of the sims there.

Read more in Places.

The Royal Wedding

The RL wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton took place Friday at Westminster Abbey. Here in SL, our British friends are celebrating the wedding at St. Mary's Abbot, located at KENSINGTON W8, Kensington W8 Lon, Kensington W8 London (73, 240, 21). An image of the happy couple, who are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is positioned in front of the SL church.

The site has lots of information about all of the Royals, including Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana, and William’s grandmother, the Queen. Even more interesting to me were the links to the official UK websites. One link has everything you would want to know about the wedding, including video highlights in case you want to watch it again. Another site tells about the palaces and shows their locations, and the link at the rear of the church tells about the Crown Jewels, which are the crowns and other ceremonial objects worn by their royalty throughout England's history.

As you probably know, both The Duke and Duchess were born in 1982. They met at the University of St. Andrews in 2001. William is second in line to be King of England. He is in the Royal Air Force, co-piloting Sea King search and rescue helicopters.

After you’ve looked at the wedding info, you can explore the area around church. Just outside, past the guards, is a carriage where you can pose for pictures with your friends. Then you can take a walking tour of London, maybe even catch a concert by the Queen tribute band. This is a fun sim, with lots of free items to take home as souvenirs, too.

The official web site states that the Duke and Duchess delayed having an official honeymoon and instead spent a quiet weekend in the UK. The rumor is that they are honeymooning in SL.

Grey Lupindo

Sunday Cartoon

"Six days of boredom, six minutes of 'interesting times' "
by Bixyl Shuftan

Royal Wedding Exhibit in SL

Today in Britain, the much talked about Royal Wedding between Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton will take place. In Second Life's London area, one can find an exhibit at Kensington W8 London (69, 241, 22).

And no, no matter how much the girls teased the guards before this picture was taken, they didn't say anything.