Red's Interview with Second Life Poet Bonchance Longfall

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing bonchance longfall, a prolific poet/writer in second life. Poetry is thriving in second life. On any given day, there are events happening all over the grid but many of us have declared Sunday "Poetry Day" in SL because you can attend poetry readings from morning to midnight.
Since I rezzed in sl, I've been enjoying meeting new poets and listening to their inspirational writing.
It is no surprise that Bonchance is one of my favorite poets and can listen to him read for hours. So, it is a special treat to chat with him one on one about his poetry, hosting open mics in SL and the topics he explores in his writing. You can hear bonchance reads at several venues in second life. Every Sunday at 2pm slt, I co-host the Helios Casual Reading with him. We always have a great time and read beyond the one hour time slot. We are fortunate to hold our readings in an elegant comfortable home thanks to our gracious host, Olorin.  Once a month (last Saturday), bc is at Sea Turtle Island to host an open mic at 8am slt. He also reads regularly at my open mics on Sundays at 11am slt at the speakeasy and NPC. There are many opportunities for new and seasoned writers to connect and share work at their own pace.
I hope you enjoy the interview and will join us in second life to experience the love of poetry and support writers of all genres.

Check out the site below to hear Bonchance's poems:

http://soundcloud.com/bonchance-1

MrMulti Writer Perfoms Live@NPC!

On Sunday, February 26, MrMulti Writer dazzles our guests after an hour of poetry at the Aloft Non -Profit Commons sim. The aloft multipurpose area is currently deorated all in red for our recent CommonGround Theme Party. This color fits me quite well since it is a favorite of mine. I decided to take advantage of the decor and space by holding two open mic poetry readings (2/20 & 2/26) and a live music show to bring people to the sim and discover all the non profits house there, including my own.  This was the perfect opportunity to bring Mic back to NPC and perform after our open mic poetry by the campfire with champagne. I couldn't find any marshmellows and its Sunday, so champagne from the  VIP seatings on the dance floor was the next best thing.
One of the reasons I love MrMulti's shows is his ability to have so much fun on stage while engaging the audience, playing multiple instruments, singing and dancing. I recently learned he even writes poetry. He is truly multi-talented! It's been a pleasure listening to his covers, originals, improvs at various venues. I first invited MrMulti to perform after our 1 hour poetry reading at speakeay/four bridges. He then joined us at NPC on my rezz day to celebrate with me and friends at my org.'s headquarter on the NPC sim. Mic as many call him often performs duets with several other musicians including Annan Dreamscape, another fabulous singer in second life. I plan to invite MrMulti to more events as he is a true entertainer and fun to be around:)
To learn more about MrMulti Writer (Michael Wells) and his music, go to his website, www.micwells.com

Special thanks to: Mic's awesome Manager, Meetu Hannu-Writer for her continued support. Also, thanks to Par for setting the campfire for the open mic reading and being there for me with all my crazy requests.

Red's Interview with Gentle Heron, Virtual Ability, Inc.

I had the honor to interview Gentle Heron, Co-founder of Virtual Ability, Inc. in Second Life. This is an award-winning non-profit organization that continues to increase awareness about the needs of people with disabilities. Its mission is to enable people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in online virtual worlds like Second Life^®. There are many opportunities for you to learn and get involved. Stay tuned for upcoming notices about educational presentations and trainings held in Second Life. For more information, go to

http://virtualability.org


Healthinfo Island
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/25/60/32

Shannon Oherhily Returns to Speakeasy/Four Bridges

Singer/songwriter Shannon Oherhily is one of the first musicians I met in second life.  I've attended many of her concerts in the past few months. On May Day 2011, I invited Shannon to 4B for a special celebration with friends and to bring awareness to the work of The Four Bridges Project. That event officially launched my regular open mic poetry and live music hosting in second life. Shannon has been performing on the first Sunday of the month since last year after our open mic poetry readings. She is one of SL's favorite musicians at Four Bridges. In May 2009, Shannon’s song “The Test,” was the winning song in a songwriting contest for Amnesty International. Any1, a 4B member reminds us of that coveted honor during our concerts. Shannon often dedicates that song to activist/4B founder millay freschi when performing at speakeasy. It's hard to choose a favorite Shannon's song since the lyrics are so poignant and truthful.

Shannon's soothing and angelic voice has a way of calming my nerves and yet lifts my spirit at the same time. At the last show, one of my friends (who mostly speaks French) described Shannon's voice as "jolie." If you've never heard her before, I encourage you to come over on "First Sunday" at speakeasy to experience her originals and covers while she plays guitar. She's been honing her skills since she received her first guitar at the age of nine. Shannon has followed in the foot steps of many great contemporary folk singers like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, to name a few. We are honored to have Shannon with us on "First Sunday" and invite you to join us at her next live music show. To learn more about Shannon and her music, check out her website, http://www.shannonmcmahonmusic.com/

Red's Rezz Day Celebration with MrMulti Writer, Annan Dreamscape & Tukso Okey

On January 29, I celebrated my 1st SL Rezz Day at my organization's headquarter housed on the Non-profit Commons sim. Our cozy space or as I like to call it the "purple palace" was built by my friend Devi who also has a nonprofit  (SATOBS) in Second Life and a fabulous builder/decorator. We started the day at 10:30am slt with an open mic poetry reading. Sevi, one of my sl friends set out the prettiest floor pillows for guests to lounge. We had tons of colorful balloons and of course a huge cake with candles. I enjoyed a great deal in second life, in addition to promoting my non-profit and television programs, poetry and live music are the two activities that have engaged me in virtual world. So, it was fitting to have both during the celebration.
After our hour of poetry, MrMulti took the stage with his keyboard and guitar and sang a beautiful original. One of my favorite song that he often does for me is "Lady in Red" which is quite a pretty song and just love his  rendition. Once I heard that song, I was ready to dance the day away. Everyone was on the dance floor after a great time. I must admit as much as I was enjoying myself, SL was doing its usual antics to turn my day upside down. For a good part of the day, I was a misty red cloud! Of course, I looked fine on my screen but all my friends were dancing with a glowing cloud.
MrMulti performed a great set the 3rd hour of the party before passing the mic to the fabulous Annan Dreamscape. I first heard Annan at Pannie's during one of her shows. At the end of the concert, we were invited on stage to dance and sing "We are Family." She closed the show on such fun high note that I had to make it to another show. She has a stunning voice and sang a lot of cool pop songs like "the lazy song" by Bruno Mars which is a favorite of mine. Naturally, on my Rezz Day I just wanted to dance and listen to poetry with my friends. We requested a lot of covers from Mic and Annan that day which those two encourage at their live shows. I must also share that Annan and Mic have also done duets and are quite a pair on stage. Nor, Annan's sound Engineer is a hoot on stage as well. They have awesome chemistry and make us laugh throughout the concert. All in all, I had the best Rezz Day a RedGoddess can ask for:)
I was surrounded by good friends, poetry and music all day long. The live music continued at Tukso Okey's concert that night. OMG! It was amazing! That's all I will say for now. I'll talk about my love for Tukso's music among other things in another blog:)
All the musicians who performed that day are online, have sl groups and great web sites/blogs. Check out the links below to learn more about their music and where to buy their CDs. Special thanks to all their managers (Meetu, Brookee & Padula) for bringing us these amazing artists.

MrMulti Writer
www.micwells.com

Annan Dreamscape
http://annandreamscape.wordpress.com

Tukso Okey
http://www.nimbitmusic.com/tuksookey
http://tukso-okey.blogspot.com/