The Art of Story-Telling

October 30th provided opportunity to hear some very fine story-telling. Events were held in Caer Blanco and in Steelhead.

As previously reported in this journal, Baron BardHaven read 2 stories, which were broadcast to the audience via media stream with discussion before and after each reading. BardHaven's event was well attended and monies raised toward the medical clinic build. Those in attendance seemed to enjoy hearing the stories as the emotions were vocally conveyed well.




Then later in SLT, Steelhead hosted the continuation of their Spooky Story Festival with Hotspur O'Toole and Elgia Underwood mesmerizing us with their tales by Ambrose Bierce, Robert Howard, and Anatole France told both in text and voice. They were all well told and well received.




Grand fun. My typist called me away from the event at around Midnight so she could follow another story type that has really caught her attention. True Blood on HBO.

They Bring Up Valid Points

Words from Tensai and Lunar and Kamilah.

Some other thoughts on the current Openspace Sim issues.

The Voice of the People

The Spirit of 1776:

From the article linked above by Taturo Nino of Massively

Since yesterday's announcement the Second Life blogosphere has lit up with angry posts, the titles of many of which we won't reproduce here due to crude language concerns. Many users are definitely angry.

Second Life users, and various Linden Lab staff are referring to this as 'a revolution', likening it to the original Second Life Tax Revolt in 2003, which was in a large part responsible for the formation of the modern Second Life economy as it stands today.

Wagner James Au in one of his large blog review posts has links to several worthy articles and commentaries. The reader may locate this HERE. You will note that a few of Caledon's citizens are linked, including Ordinal Malaprop, Otenth Paderborn, Hotspur O'Toole, and Eladrienne Laval.

Upcoming Events in Caer Blanco

Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 8am SLT on the Castle Rooftop in Caer Blanco

Join Zealot Benmergui for a reading of

The Man Who Collected Poe by Robert Bloch and They’re Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson

This will be streamed over the audio channel in the sim with Lord BardHaven present for some conversation before and after the event.

Lord Zealot Benmergui, Baron of BardHaven, Ruffian King of Caledon, Last Defender of the Dark Hope, Keeper of the Shadow that Sings and Magus d’Calamatia Majora was born at the age of 6 in a speeding carriage somewhere on the Italian/Swiss border.

His parents, a morbidly sentimental English debutante with a taste for the intellectual and the excommunicated and an elderly Italian nobleman with a weakness for somber ladies and erotic pastry, died in a tragic Mongoose stampede when he was still at school at Eton, leaving him the only heir to the vast holdings of BardHaven.

Embarking on a successful career as an international businessman, adventurer, evangelist and agent provocateur, the young Baron soon was a familiar face and community leader in some of the more unusual and disgraceful circles in Europe, Asia and Latin America before returning to the family seat in Mayfair at the legendary House of Three Graces.

Since returning to Caledon, he has become well known as a writer, fashion reviewer, gothic savant, betrayer of innocent strumpets and torch singer performing under the name Miss Monique Borgia, the Iron Chanteuse.

***

Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 1pm SLT - Live Musical Performance

Harper Messmer

HARPER MESSMER EXPERIENCE
Warning: You might like it.

It’s HME time again! Be sure to partake in the Harper Messmer Experience. This eclectic, eccentric bard will delight you with his soothing blend of rock/jazz featuring his own songs and those by some of today’s popular artists. These artists include John Mayer, Snow Patrol, Matchbox 20, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, and the Dave Matthews Band.

Harper has been playing guitar and singing since 2002.

***

Friday, October 31, 2008 at 6pm-8pm SLT in the Castle Grounds

Halloween Costume Dance - Edward Pearse will be spinning your favorite Horror and Halloween tunes.

***

Caer Blanco is a special sim, created specially for Halloween by some of Second Life’s top designers. There is a fully furnished haunted castle, a crooked cottage, a ghostly ship, and a ruined monastery to explore. There are also silent auction items avaialable and many special events planned. All this will raise funds for a small medical clinic in Lesotho, Southern Africa, through the charity Partners for Others.

Unexpected News From Linden Labs Regarding Open Space Simulators

I arrived in world late this evening to the sound of ISC channel buzzing with the latest news:

We need to therefore take some steps to improve their performance and better reflect their actual usage levels in our pricing so that we can maintain the best performance level for everyone. As a result, we will be implementing a pricing change effective January 1st along with some policy changes effective immediately.

Beginning 1st January 2009

We will increase the monthly maintenance fee from USD$75 to USD$125 per month. This price increase will apply to all owners of Openspaces on January 1st as well as new purchases after that date. There will be no grandfathering of Openspace maintenance pricing.

For anyone owning class 4 Openspaces on January 1st, they will be upgraded to class 5 by end of January, to further improve the experience people have on those regions.

At the same time, we will be increasing the upfront fee for brand new Openspaces from USD$250 to USD$375.

excerpted from The Second Life Blog

An urgent State Meeting was called and ~65 of us answered that call. There was much discussion, many questions, and the blowing off of a bit of steam. Desmond, exhibiting the wisdom of Soloman, noted that he would not be make rash decisions, and would be talking with many folks including some Lindens so that he might learn more.



Wait and See.

I have a number of concerns as a void owner. Things running through my tired brain are things like this:

• Is Loch Avie valuable enough as an open space to remain so? Or will she be converted to a full sim with 3 others?
• What do all these things really mean for Caledon as a whole?
• If I cannot host my events, will I enjoy SL as much? Is that my primary source of creativity and enjoyment?
• Should I spend the additional monies per month given the price increase if my void sim still exists?
• Why are the Lindens not providing guidelines to the void (openspace) sims along with metrics monitoring tools if overuse is the problem?

Desmond rightfully stated: As the world goes....so goes Caledon.

And by extension, I would say: As Caledon goes...so goes the world.



Additional reading:
Massively
Patent Pending
Tenth Life
Hibernia on the Skids
(will add more as I become aware of them)

First Report from 2omb Raiders

It has been an extremely busy, but good RL day after a phenomenal night in Loch Avie. Thanks go out to Lord BardHaven, Lady Kate Nicholas, Professor Adso Krogstad, and Lady Kiralette Kelley for all the hard work put into this event.

BardHaven has made a wonderful post, which I link for your enjoyment. I will be editing photos tonight and tomorrow. Hope to come up with a post adequate to show you what a fun evening was had at the BardHaven Ball: 2omb Raiders.

Muah!

Gypsy Tribe in Caer Blanco

A good evening in support of the Caer Blanco charity events!
Many thanks to Diamanda Gustafson, our fabulous DJ for the night, and to all those who attended and donated their Lindens to the cause.

Tales of Fear

The event in Caer Blanco went very well last night, I am pleased to report. Our story-telling session led by Mr. Hotspur O'Toole was attended by a very enthusiastic audience. Maximum attendance was 17. Donations collected directly were over $8000L, unsure of others made in the kiosk near the teleportation site.

There were four stories told by Mr. O'Toole.
The Foundations of Our Traditions: a zombie invasion short story
The Tell Tale Heart: Poe's story of obsession and murder
The Bowmen: a story about a supernatural salvation
Dey Ain't No Ghosts: done in dialect,and edited for language

And now I shall let the story of the evening unfold through pictures.

Skusting Dagger and Breezy Carver from New Babbage along with Miss J. Dagger.

Miss Serafina Puchkina and Mr. Gatsby Szuster (foreground)

A motley crew: Miss Nabila Nadir, Colonel Exrex Somme, Eva, and Mr. Hotspur O'Toole

Miss CeAire DeCosta

Madame Bing, and Miss Quintessa

Master Jimmy Branagh, Mr. Mosseveno Tenk, and Dr. Augustus Dayafter

"Oooo. Did you hear that, Somme?"

Spinning the tale

The Ruins

The teller of the tales.

Thanks to Hotspur and to all who attended and were so generous with their hard earned (or purchased) Lindens.

Note to self...

Never plan/schedule events while feeling ill. Particularly when on medication.

I made a mistake on the Caer Blanco schedule. My prior post (just below this one) has been corrected. Please note the ACTUAL dates of the events.

Story-telling: TONIGHT, October 22nd at 7pm

Gypsy Ball: THURSDAY, October 23rd at 7pm

(There may be a more Euro friendly Gypsy Ball planned for mid-late afternoon SLT on Friday. Stay tuned.)

Announcement of Three Special Events This Week - DATES CORRECTED

October 22nd at 7pm SLT ~ Story-Telling Event On Grounds of the Monestary in Caer Blanco.

Caer Blanco is a special sim, created specially for Halloween by some of Second Life’s top designers. There is a fully furnished haunted castle, a crooked cottage, a ghostly ship, and a ruined monastery to explore. There are also silent auction items avaialable and many special events planned. All this will raise funds for a small medical clinic in Lesotho, Southern Africa, through the charity Partners for Others.

Hotspur O'Toole will lead the group in a story-telling session whose theme is Inner Fright. Come prepared to listen to several short-stories in this theme - and perhaps to share your own.
What scares YOU? Vampires? Spiders? The economy? Success?



October 23rd at 7pm-9pm SLT ~ Gypsy-Themed Dance on the Grounds Surrounding the Castle of Caer Blanco.

Diamanda Gustafson will DJ and I will provide hostessing assistance.
Theme: Gypsy
Muscial Style: Flamenco and Gypsy



There are other possible events, including a live musical performance, for this charity for this week as well. Once I have confirmation I will post the information on that.


And Finally....

It seems that my own dear friends in the Royal Society in their zeal for knowledge performed a survey of the grounds of Loch Avie. Professor Krogstad was quite beside himself when he discovered "something" underneath one of the smaller hills in my lands. So of course, he and Professor Nicholas immediately began digging (in their most I'm-not-going-to-let-the-thrill-of-the-possible-discovery-of-something-HUGE-get-in-the-way-of-scientific-process manner). They tell me that they believe they are on top of a large vault of some sort, but it will be a few days before they can safely break-through what they believe is the opening given the resonance that is showing up on their steam powered sound bouncing device.

But while they have been charged with excitement, I have had an increasing sense of dread. Something is not right. I have the feeling that something evil is approaching, but I cannot run nor hide. I must meet this evil face-to-face.


Meh.....Perhaps we'll dance.

Once again, the BardHaven Ball is coming this Halloween to grab Caledon by the throat and sacrifice it upon a dark and funkadelic altar.

This year BardHaven, the Duchy of Loch Avie and the Royal Society have joined forces to investigate rumors that the scholars have dug too deeply into the dark and twisted history of the House Bellambi. In their zeal to uncover the secrets of the past the intrepid adventurers of the Royal Society have set into motion a terrifying sequence of events.

An ancient tomb has been defiled.

A deathless curse has been invoked.

A multitude of decadent secrets have arisen.

A cornucopia of surprises have been scattered.

A vast array of gifts and door prizes have been assembled.

An unspeakably well-dressed horror has been unleashed upon Loch Avie and all of Caledon.

On Saturday Night, October 25th from 9 PM to 1 AM SLT ~ Caledon Loch Avie

Join Baron Bardhaven, the Duchess of Loch Avie, Dr. Kate Nicholas, and DJ Kiralette Kelley for a party the like of which Caledon and Winterfell have not seen since the LAST BardHaven Ball.

BardHaven Ball: 2omb Raiders…Stop Screaming and Dance.

adapted from BardHaven's post

The Tomb of Marcus Nonius Macrinus FOUND

The discovery of an 1,800-year-old stone mausoleum on the banks of the River Tiber was hailed by experts as "extraordinary" and one of the most important Roman finds for decades.

This tomb was built to contain the remains of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a proconsul and a favorite of Marcus Aurelius, who ruled as emperor from 161 AD to his death in 180 AD. Macrinus was appointed a proconsul in Asia Minor and was known to describe himself as "chosen out of the closest friends".

The video below from the Telegraph in the UK give us a quick taste of the wonderful find (whilst linking it to Hollywood).




There is also more information at National Geographic's site. I actually like this video a bit better, but they are not sharing the code to embed in this manner. Do go have a look.

The Steelhead Adventure Series

I am honored to have been included in this Steelhead Adventure series. You'll find my first entry into the entwined stories over at Scéal an Ghamhna Bhuí, which is a collaborative blog much like The High Tea and Adventure Society has been.

However, before you head on over there, you should - if you have not already been following the stories in the blogs - do a little reading.

Links for your use as you see fit:

The Background found in Sheriff Ortega's Journal
The First Entry - Steelhead Adventures: Problems Begin. Written August 5th.
The List, The Surprise, The Reply
After the the posts above, the rest of Fuzzball's posts may be found with more frequency in August, September, and October in The Ortega Chronicles

Purdie Uggla, Fuzzball's Cousin, also tells part of the tale in his blog. The first entry from Purdie was written on August 7th.

(*for continuity's sake you may wish to keep both blogs up at the same time and bounce back and forth based on dates the entries were written)

Just a few weeks ago as the plans were being hatched on this collaboration, Scéal an Ghamhna Bhuí was created in the hopes of maintaining some continuity with these as well as other stories.

An Old Enemy Resurfaces was posted on September 25th by Hotspur O'Toole. Further entries are easily found, including the one I wrote today: On The Trail of a Missing Agent.

Will copies all the posts migrate to the single location? Not sure yet. But I must say that I find the stories very interesting and enjoyable. Congratulations, Fuzzball! You, Purdie, and Hotspur have done very nice work on this. Thanks for asking me to join in.

National Mammography Day

A reminder that we must take care of ourselves. Take time to schedule your mammogram today. And remember to feel those boobies monthly!









http://www.cancer.org/



National Mammography Day- The third Friday in October of each year is National Mammography Day. On this day, or throughout October, radiologists provide free or discounted screening mammograms. The event is sponsored by the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization.



And another great press release with very good information may be found here.

A Little Robert Browning For The Day

Thought I would share just one of the poems I've been reading from the first edition book that I found a few months ago.

MEETING AT NIGHT
by: Robert Browning (1812-1889)


The gray sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon
large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets
from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its
speed i' the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three
fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp
scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud,
through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!

Well This Seems Pretty Consitent With My Persona

I found this latest meme on Princess Ivory's blog - she is the newest member of our Second Life Secret Library group.

Nothing here really surprised me save for the accuracy of the reflection.

Yes - I'm a lady; however, there is more underneath the surface than most ever imagine. *smiles softly*

A lady. One interested in music, culture, and literature, but also defense of home and clan. One who spans the hierarchy of any given situation. One who likes to have fun for fun's sake, but also will work hard on behalf of others.

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Harlequin

You are a mystery, a jack-of-all-trades. You have the king's ear, but also listen to murmurings of the common folk. You believe in the value of force and also literature. Truly you are the puzzlement of the age.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

October Starts With A Bang

Fox Hunts, Autumnal Balls, Burning Ships and Burning Life, Boobie-Thons and Boobie Balls, and Mad Scientists everywhere!

Hope you'll enjoy this bit of photo montage set to music.

Not fossil fuels! Not steam! HUMAN Power!

For my commuting friends!!

For Zealot

Now is the time when distance from friends becomes very difficult. And given recent events in my own life, I feel this more acutely now than ever.

Digression of Grief

I am with you in your sorrow.

Falling water all around, the sound filling the empty spaces,
Echoing.
Streams flowing all around us,
Yet not quite consuming what we are.

We are brought low.
Covered glass,
Strips of cloth,
How can it be explained?
Life is ever changed.

Falling water
Streaming down our faces

I am with you in your sorrows.

Tenuhamu min Hashamayim, Zealot.


**

Boobie-Thon Breaks Record!!

Thanks in large part to all of you who donated at the Boobie Ball, and to those who donated directly on the Thon site (who got the pass for Pay Per Boobies).

The week long event closed at $9300.00 US.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

And many thanks to the founders, Chief Boobie Officer, photo submitters, and other fine volunteers at Boobie-Thon! See you again next year!

The Duke and Duchess of Middlesea
Podruly and Kiralette

Part of the crowd

Mr. Subghoul Epsilon looking fabulous in his pink waist coat and tie.

Soliel Snook

Hypatia, me, and JJ dancing the evening away as the donations just kept pouring in.

Lord BardHaven - having lost his shirt for charity, inspires the men to bare and feel their own chests.
Men get breast cancer as well. It was a fact of which many at the ball were not aware. Thankfully the educational resources were at hand.

A Vicereine and Two Duchesses - work the dance floor for the cause.

Boobie Ball Donors and Boobie Ball Press

Thank you!! You all made this possible!! Our final total for the Ball was $2821 US.

Our WONDERFUL donors:


Adelyn Hansen
Adianna Price
Albemuth Dilweg
AliceWendy Bookmite
Annechen Lowey
Avariel Falcon
Ayuki Setsuko
Breezy Carver
Bryndal Ellison
Cat Lunasea
Ceidru Gothly
Charlene Trudeau
Cuznit Oh
Darlingmonster Ember
Delilah Nephilim
Desmond Magic
Dracona Lisle
Eiden Ember
Eleanor Anderton
Elrik Merlin
Eva Bellambi
Fallacy DeCuir
Fatima Ur
Fogwoman Gray
Gabrielle Riel
Galactic Baroque
Hotspur Otoole
Huff Huldschinsky
Hypatia Callisto
Illdoran Nightfire
Jameson Despres
Jenilicious DeCuir
Jia Janus
JJ Drinkwater
Kaffe McMahon
Kamilah Hauptmann
Kara Timtam
Katrina Pugilist
Kellan McKenna
Kiralette Kelley
KlausWulfenbach Outlander
LadyFire Sands
LeeLu Anatine
Lianndraa Gothly
Liz Gealach
Loki Mahana
Lumina Elvehjem
Marie Michel
Merry Calliope
Mickey James
Midnyte DeCuir
Misery Moonlight
Molly Montale
Muse Carmona
Mykyl Nordwind
Nerilka Quandry
Nicolae Adamski
Nix Sands
Nyre Gray
Oolon Sputnik
Otenth Paderborn
Phnx Mubble
Podruly Peccable
Pooky Amsterdam
Radslns Hutchence
Reghan Straaf
Rhianon Jameson
Riven Homewood
Saffia Widdershins
Samantha Poindexter
Serra Anansi
Siri Woodget
Southsea Rockett
Star Fairymeadow
Stefanik Dagostino
Subghoul Epsilon
Touma Yoshikawa
Verde Otaared
VictorianLace Goodliffe
Wildstar Beaumont
Yanik Lytton
Yasmine Alvord
Yezdia Miles

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND SEE YOU NEXT YEAR**

And I will be posting as many sites as I am made aware celebrating the huge success of the Ball.
PLEASE send me others that you may be aware of by commenting on this page.

Posts:
News From BardHaven
Boobie-Thon
A Caledonian Journey
Ramblings of a Silly Elf Girl

Your Generosity Has Blown Me Away!

Serra and Eva

The Boobie Ball, hosted by Miss Serra Anansi and me, has been a HUGE success.

There will be many more pictures and the final totals along with the story tomorrow. But let me just say this. When I left the ball 45 minutes after it's scheduled end time, donations will still coming in, and the total on the board was about 230,ooo Lindens. Now that in and of itself is completely incredible!! The total will triple when we send our money to Susan G. Koman via Boobie-Thon, since Miss Serra and I are both matching your funds, and we'll have 690,000 Lindens or more than $2600.00 US.

Serra and Eva in front of the donation board, which was smokin' by the end of the ball. :-D

THANK YOU!! Thank you, friends from Caledon and Winterfell. Thank you friends from Steelhead and Antiquity, and Leaf Roller. Thank you Europans. THANKS to ALL of you for dropping by, dancing, showing off those wonderful avatarian breasts and chests, and most of all for caring enough to donate money to help save women from breast cancer.

Much love to all of you!
Eva

Boobie-Thon continues...

and the donations are coming in!

Thanks to everyone for your on-going support for Boobie-Thon and the Susan G. Koman Foundation. My typist and a couple of her friends may be found on the pages of the Thon. Perhaps a few of my readers have submitted pictures for the cause as well. ???Who Knows???

At any rate, I encourage you to visit the site, and make a donation. I also invite you to The Boobie Ball in Winterfell. It's TOMORROW at 12pm SLT in the Taure En Lor Ballroom. My sincere thanks to Miss Serra Anansi for all her work on this and to our vendors. So far generous Caledonians, Winterfallen, and some of our neighbors from Steelhead and Antiquity have donated over 14000L. (So that adds up to ~52000L by the time both Miss Serra and I match the donations. That's $200 USD. ) We know how generous you are and that more will be coming in via our kiosks in Winterfell and Caledon Loch Avie tonight and tomorrow.

BoobieThon has our advert for the Ball on the main page hoping that anyone who visits their site AND is in SL will choose to come join us.

Cheers everyone!! FEEL THOSE BOOBIES!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In the event that you have not realized this by now, I am a strong supporter of breast cancer prevention, research, and treatment. As well, I understand that patients and their families/caregivers need to find the solutions and support that are best for them. Throughout this month you will find articles here on my blog - from the ridiculous to the sublime - about this particular topic.

Yes - my typist is part of the Boobie-Thon blogger effort to raise money for the Susan G. Koman Foundation. Does she do this because she is an exhibitionist?

No.

She does this because it is a novel way to raise awareness as well as money in the battle against one of the top killers of women. One in eight women will develop breast cancer. It's hard to grab (pun entirely intended) and hold the attention of the populace these days, and I think this is one effort that actually gets people thinking while they enjoy the beauty that is the female form.

Another unique education and prevention group that I am fully supporting (including a magnet on my car) is Feel Your Boobies. Take time to watch their video. It's well worth it. Then check out the site.



Don't forget to donate to Boobie-Thon!! We'd love to see you on Saturday at the Boobie Ball in Winterfell where your donations will be matched by both Miss Serra and me, but if you cannot join us, due to RL commitments, please make your donation directly. The link is to your right here on the Red Rose.