HAPPY HOLIDAYS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol 

PART ONE ~
Monday, December 23rd at 4:00pm, & 9:00pm Pacific 
(NOTE:  The 9:00pm session is by special request an on strem only. I will have the system up and running at that time.  If you log in after 9:10pm and there is nothing running, it will mean those who requested the reading were not able to log in.  Apologies in advance if that inconvenience occurs)

PART TWO ~
Tuesday, December 24th at 4:00pm Pacific

IMPORTANT NOTE . . . In order to be able to listen on your computer or device, you may need to use an enabling application. Don't wait till story time!: CLICK HERE for links to helpful sites to make certain you are able to listen to streaming audio on your computer

 . . . CLICK HERE to be connected to the Shoutcast stream, which will go live 10 minutes before the posted start time.  

NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

Available in Paperback just in time to fill your last minute gift-giving nooks and crannies. Click Here to go directly to the Amazon page

Short Story Author Judith Cullen presents a collection of collections!  All of the Trio Tales series of fiction monographs published in 2013 (Irish Tales, Cat Tales, and My Father’s Tales), plus additional short stories.

Visit the clueless, techno-savvy teenager from The Shadow by the Gate; experience the horrors of moving from a cat’s perspective in Travels with S; and be amused at a military convoy missing the mark in Flying Down to Coeur D’Alene.  Add to that the sensual delight of a toddler experiencing the world around him in Walking to the Music, and the award-winning ghost story Her Own Words in the additional material.

COMING IN DECEMBER . . . A Christmas Carol Live!

Have you ever heard Charles Dickens' classic in its entirety? . . . no dialogue excerpts, no rewrites, no commercial breaks?  Probably not. It takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes in total.  I know, I have presented it in live readings every year since 2009.  I usually present it in two (roughly) 90 minute sessions. This year, in addition to offering it in Second Life, I will be streaming it in live sessions in the days before the holiday itself.

Think of it!  The immediacy of a live reading in the comfort of your own home.  You don't have to make me tea, make sure I have a place to park, or worry that I'll be offended if you have to nip into the next room to shift the laundry.  You can tune in on your computer just like you would a radio and listen in while you deck your halls, wrap presents, finish your cards, or just sit back with the favorite holiday beverage or snack of your choice. You might even share it with your holiday guests!

Help me by taking my poll in the right margin, and let me know what time you might be most likely to listen in. It will help me decide how to program my time.  Then check back here after December 15th ti-o check the performance time(s).

The session will be offered freely, I have no resources to make it otherwise.  I am an artist, author, and performer trying against all odds to make ends meet.  If you enjoy the performance, I hope you will consider a tip into the donation button on  my page.  Every little bit helps keep the stories coming, and a roof over my head.

Happy Holidays, and Blessing to you and yours where ever you may be.

COMING IN DECEMBER!

The next phase in last year's beta test of The Dickens Project is officially happening for 2013:  an expanded "next step" environment with more to explore, and a simultaneous performance in the real and virtual worlds, live .. to live audiences!

We even have a fresh new blog out about the performance!  The Dickens Project ~ Tacoma!

I am proud to be the host of the Tacoma audience, greeting them live in the historic Knights of Pythias Commencement Lodge #7 in downtown Tacoma.  While voice talents Kevin Lee and Shandon Loring will be performing with me, live from the virtual world of Second Life.

It is an exciting next step in the vast potential I see to use the virtual world as a tool for real world interfaces, not just for personal entertainment.

THE DICKENS PROJECT!

Where have I been?  Immersed in design projects, story projects, and audiobooks!  Check out the pictures on my Design site of the beta test of The Dickens Project, whose ultimate realization would be an interactive virtual environment where you could walk in the steps of Ebenezer Scrooge through a detailed virtual environment, guided by a live storyteller and the words of Dickens ... all of them!

The Dickens Project - Virtual Immersion in Literature

 

FYI : I will be reading the entirety of A Christmas Carol Live in two sessions (half the novella each) in Second Life (c) as I have for the past several years - December  23rd at 3:00pm Pacific Time, and December 24th at 3:00pm Pacific Time. 

The Dickens Project is free, donations accepted to benefit the Community Virtual Library.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/179/204/23

DECEMBER 6th: "Meet Ebenezer Scrooge"

"Old Marley was dead..."  begins Charles Dickens' classic ghostly tale of discovery and redemption.  From a previous post you'll not that I am working on a Dickens Centenary event in Second Life (c) called The Dickens Project.

Dickens was written to be read aloud.  In fact the author diligently read his work to family and friends.  Remembering there were no radios, televisions, vhs or dvd, much less internet in those days.  Gathering to hear stories read or told was a common social activity.  In fact all those things I listed are also storytelling tools, though one might argue that they are getting more and more impersonal.  But that's another conversation.  Dickens was meant to be read and read aloud.

The language is delicious, and while I might not give it the same quality that a Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney, or Ian McKellen might, it is still a grand story beautifully if not economically told.  I have read it out loud every year for the past four years and every time I discover something new.

Consider reading it yourself!  It can be gotten free at several online sites, including Project Gutenberg.

"Meet Ebenezer Scrooge" from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Recording (c) 2012 by Judith Cullen
NOT for Commercial Use

THE DICKENS PROJECT ~ December 14 - 27 in Second Life (c)

For years, I joined those who scoffed at annual productions of A Christmas Carol ... I admit it - guilty as charged! Maybe that's because there are so many bad adaptations and productions out there. It is easy to get lost in the superficial moments of the story and lose the depth it has.  At around 28,800 words it is about a three hour read out loud (less if you are reading it to yourself), and totally worth it.  Dickens packs so much into those words.  From savoring plenty and embracing poverty and need, he covers a lot of ground.

For the last four years I have presented the entire text in voice performance in Second Life (c) and it has given me a refreshed perspective. I now realize why there are people who do not feel their year is complete without some exposure to this story. Every time I read it, I find something new that touches me.

This year, I am developing an interactive virtual venue called The Dickens Project (because other names just became too damn cheesy) which is a beta version of a hopefully more expanded interactive project in the future. It is coming along well with a great group of folks involved from all over the world. It is based around a variety of live readings of A Christmas Carol as well as other works by Dickens.  Check it out!

THE DICKENS PROJECT in Second Life (c)