Poe in the Present

Descriptions of dark rooms, rich red colors, and heavy fabrics fill the pages of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. After reading a number of them and also his poems, I've become familiar with the setting that Poe uses as the backdrop for his stories. The places seem haunted, old and mysterious. They aren't places I'd see in my day to day life unless I went to a museum. This makes me wonder, if Poe were alive today, would he keep his stories set in these Arabesque style, antique homes?

The setting of his stories adds a great deal to them. The lit candles add a spooky element even though that was the necessary means of light during the time period. I'm not one to enjoy anything that is remotely scary so even these small details alarm me. However, Poe's stories captivate me with their level of description of the setting. If the stories were in present day, in a normal setting, they lose much of what makes them so remarkable. There would be too many easy solutions to the problems the characters face if they were in a present setting. If it is a dark, scary night, just turn on a light and watch a movie. If there is a question about a woman in a coma, take her to a responsible doctor instead of burying her in your spooky cellar. If your friend is going crazy, simply call the police. These simple solutions would take away the scary aspects of Poe's stories. Even though it would solve all the characters problems if the stories were set in the present time I can't help but think that this would cause them to lose much of their drama and mystery.

Revamping Poe

I'm all for fairy-tale happy endings when it comes to movies or books. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" ended far from my ideal cheery conclusion or even a pleasant one for that matter. You can imagine that after reading about a man losing his mind and his twin rising from the dead, I wouldn't exactly be experiencing my ideal ending to a story. I'll admit, had the ending been less frightening, it would have taken away some of the drama from the storyline, but I'd like to think if I had been there I could have saved the night from being such a disaster.

Had I been a participant in Poe's story, I would most want to change the book the narrator read to Usher at the end. This may seem like a minute detail that wouldn't have had any affects, but I beg to differ. Reading "Mad Trist" of Sir Lancelot Canning just doesn't strike me as a well thought out book choice to read to someone exhibiting mad behaviors. Although, I do understand the idea to read to Roderick in order to calm him down. Had I been in the story I would have offered two simple solutions to the unfitting book selection. First, I could simply run and grab another book. If time did not allow for this, I would have taken the Sir Lancelot book and instead of reading from it, just pretend I was reading the words on the page and make up my own storyline instead. That's a trick my mom used on me when I was a child. Before I could read she would not read the words on the page, but instead provide her own shorter version of the story in order to get me to bed earlier. Needless to say, Roderick was not a child, but in his mental state it might have been possible to make up a new story that would be more calming and alleviate some of the stress of the night.

I think this simple task of not reading "Mad Trist" of Sir Lancelot Canning would enable the characters to relax. When in a stressful situation many people panic or react in different ways than if they had just taken a moment to relax and reevaluate the situation. Maybe if the story that was correlating with all of the scary noises in the house were different, the scary noises would be perceived in a different way as well. Maybe Madeline would even appear and be intrigued by the story and sit to listen alongside her brother. My hope for a fairy-tale ending may be a stretch, but it seems almost anything is possible in The House of Usher.

Second Life's Achilles' Heel?

Second Life may be a great place to meet new people and form online friendships, but as far as it being an everyday communication technology, like the telephone, I have my doubts. The biggest problem holding Second Life back as a communication technology is the lack of knowledge about the avatars you meet. You may think you met a fun, Pink Floyd loving person with an age similar to your own, but how would you ever know? Walking up to someone and chatting with him or her does not give you tons of information about that person. How do you even know they are being genuine or if they are lying to your avatar's face?

I find it hard to believe Second Life communication could lead to communication outside the virtual world. How would you ever know which avatars to trust enough to meet in real life? Even though there are safe and non-violent people on Second Life, potential predators do exist. It would be difficult to build up enough trust to meet someone in person if Second Life were the only means of communication.

It could be argued that Second Life would not lead to people wanting to meet in real life; they would just maintain online communication. There is no danger in this, but what happens when people start feeling real emotions of friendship or love toward their online friends? I personally would be miserable if I could online chat and walk around with an avatar of a person that I considered my true friend. Being face to face with someone creates different feelings than being with someone virtually. At least with AIM and texting you have met the person in the past and know them outside of that specific means of communication. That other form of interaction eliminates the problem of deception that Second Life encompasses. How Linden Lab addresses this problem could potentially change Second Life drastically, but it may be worth it to know the truth about those who you are encountering in order to make this communication technology stronger.

Spoiled by Second Life?

I'm very aware of the fact that patience is not a quality I possess. This was a problem in my first few minutes in Heritage Key. I had specific places I wanted to go, like the Nile River and became frustrated when I couldn't get there right away. While trying to find my way, I checked out the different layers of King Tut's sarcophagus. I enjoyed seeing the differences between each layer and the audio was very informative. However, in attempts to sit in front of one layer in order to take a picture, I ended up in some virtual space that had nothing to do with King Tut (pictured below). I'm not sure where I was or why I couldn't fly out of the area, but I do know that I had to teleport home and begin my journey once again. My ride on the hot air balloon may seem like it would be relaxing, but I would have much rather simply teleported to the location I was headed.

Despite my initial frustration, I finally found a place I could choose where I teleported. I'm glad I found this before I gave up on finding the Nile River. Once at the Nile I flew around looking at the different animals. Hippos, ostriches, and alligators all sat around in the area added to the river setting by making it seem more real. The plant life also captured nature in a way that I have not yet experienced in a virtual world. After exploring the area I went in a building and was able to change my clothing into Egyptian looking clothes which put me more into character and made my trip that much more enjoyable. Once I get more familiar with Heritage Key I'm hoping it will become easier to maneuver and I will be able to enjoy the cites and information more than in my initial experience.

Storytelling Experience

I've come to realize that I need to expect the unexpected while logged into Second Life. When I heard the title "Story Hour: West of Ireland's Shandon Loring" I expected to see something much different than what took place. The word "Ireland" automatically made me think that there would be a man dressed in Celtic attire, maybe cracking a beer while he told his story in a dim lit bar. Boy was I far off! When the space ship arrived and an alien creature walked out I laughed out loud at how different this event was than what I had pictured in my head. Shandon's voice was the only thing that was exactly what I had expected. I was worried that since he was storytelling via Second Life there would be a disconnection from the audience, but his humor and the interactive chat during the performance made for a unique experience. Definitely not one that I would have had in the real world!

This also was the first time I had been around a fairly large group of avatars. I had another preconceived notion that some of the avatars would be rude and uninviting. I had this terrible scenario in my head that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to turn on the sound in Second Life and no one would help me, therefore causing me to miss the event. Again, I was completely wrong. The exact opposite occurred actually. As soon as I arrived I was greeted and felt very welcomed. I was also given a very organized instruction sheet on how to turn my sound on in the appropriate manner. That wasn't all though; once the storyteller arrived he was sure to ask numerous times if we were able to hear him. I suppose this makes sense because he would want anyone attending to be able to hear his performance, but it put me at ease and made me realize if I had needed help it would not have been hard to find. The more I experience Second Life, the more I can learn form my experiences and allow my ideas about it to change and develop.

*Special thanks to Ignatius Onomatopoeia for the photograph

Second Life Field Trip

I've always been a fan of hearing stories. Whether they are made up, folklore, or true, they are very entertaining. There are so many different ways to tell a story. People can share their stories and experiences in any way they choose, which makes story telling expressive and much like an art form. My love for stories made me want to attend the story telling of "The Lifeboat Mutiny" by Shandon Loring. This particular story sounds especially interesting because in the description it describes a "lifeboat that runs amok". This indicates to me that there will be humor in the story. Who doesn't love a funny story? I hope not only to be entertained, but also to learn from this event how stories can be told in a Second Life atmosphere. Is it possible to still engage with the audience when the storyteller is only virtually present? I think its possible but it seems it could be more of a challenge. The audience would not feel rude getting up and walking away from their computers when they might have stayed because they felt obligated at a real life story telling event.

In addition to learning about and experiencing the actual event, I'm interested in observing others that also are attending. I love to "people watch" and haven't been able to do that yet on Second Life. Having more people go to this event would enhance the experience so I'm hoping there will be others there. I'm excited to see if once the storytelling is over if discussion occurs between the avatars on whether they enjoyed the performance or not.

Scavenger Hunt Part II

Have you ever met anyone that doesn't like to travel and go new places? Some may not enjoy the trip to the place they are headed due to traffic or airplane fears, but once on location it would be hard to have a bad time when in a place of interest. In Second Life travel time isn't even an issue because of teleporting. One of the places I traveled was the Garden Center below, which is just a store of various flowers and plants, but it wasn't such a terrible place to travel once I found these beautiful waterfalls. Some people spend their lives traveling and experiencing new places in the real world as well as in Second Life.





Despite the love for travel, I don't know if I would be able to do it all the time. After a long trip I love the feeling of coming home. Sleeping in my own bed, bathing in my own shower, and spending time with my friends and family. Knowing this, it causes me to ask, is there a place avatars call home? It seems to me if you spend all your time going from place to place, especially if you were online for an extended period of time, it would be discomforting to not have a "home-base". The closest place I can call home on Second Life is Iggy's Office or the University of Richmond area. What is it though that makes these places seem like home to me?





I have not been in these places for any longer than any other place, so that cannot be why they seem like home. There is no place for me to sleep, or a space of my own either so that can't be the answer. It might be because I've been there when first starting Second Life and I know these areas are safe places. Knowing that I might run into other classmates here also helps bring the friendship aspect of home to Second Life. However, it is hard for me to believe that it is possible to have a home in Second Life and in that sense it is not Second Life, but rather "Second Traveling Life". When a gamer wants to go home, they just log their avatar offline. Despite the great traveling that can be done on Second Life it seems to be lacking in sense that there is no real way to go home when online.