Shutting down the year: Thanks to you all!

My last task of the year is to send a special greeting and a big thank you to all the people who supported my work over the year and/or proved to be reliable companions in our common projects:

Thanks to my Nova co-editor Olaf G. Hilscher, to our editorial assistant Sven Kloepping and translator Tommi Brem, to all our authors and artists – too numerous to name them all here – and to our new publisher Jürgen Eglseer who made the survival of our magazine in its twelfth year possible. Thanks to my Second Life companions, especially Thorsten Kueper aka Kuperpunk Korhonen, Johanna Düffel, Moewe Winkler and Asmita Duranjaya. Thanks to my publishers Uschi Zietsch of Fabylon and Harald Giersche of Begedia for their enthusiasm and patience. Thanks to all my fellow writers, especially Horst Pukallus and Oliver Kemmler. Thanks to my friends Katharina and Bunga, Tomas Juriga, Albert Hoch, Sigrun Schmidt, Gisela Diederichs, Ela & Andreas Brenger. Thanks, last not least, to my cousin Martina for her day-to-day help and support.

A last greeting is reserved for my daughter Juliana: wherever you are and whatever you do, I hope you’re happy and that we’ll meet again one day.

Afterthought: An exhaustive Second Life weekend

Toward the end of the year I usually invite friends and fellow writers to my home for a pre-Christmas celebration. This time I tried something new and extended our gathering last Saturday into a hybrid world party. While tending to my guests in real life, I also moderated the official opening of my two new projects, the World Culture Hub and The Turing Galaxy, in the 3d Internet world of Second Life. I hope it has been an interesting experience for both sides. While the guests gathered around my computer screen could follow the guided tour, the exhibitions and the readings by Nova authors Marcus Hammerschmitt and Guido Seifert, the visitors inworld may not just have heard my comments but some wicked remarks in the background.

Burkhard Tom-Bubb, the fastest Second Life blogger known to mankind, has again been the first to put a report on the event with an extensive picture gallery online. Another report with a lot of pictures can be found at Hydorgol’s website.

The Second Life weekend wasn’t yet over for me with that. On Sunday night I took part in a scenic reading of Thorsten Küper’s story “Der Hummer vor den Toren”, recently published in the anthology Tiefraumphasen (Begedia). Set designer Barlok Barbosa created several settings of the story exclusively for the reading. Four of Thorsten’s aka Kueperpunk Korhonen’s fellow writers took speaking parts of some of the story’s characters. It was an interesting and, as I hope, trend-setting experiment that worked remarkably well (even I didn’t manage to miss my entry). I guess we all agree that especially Bernhard Giersche’s performance as the dying corporate big shot Cronstetten was worth listening.

Opening of The World Culture Hub and The Turing Galaxy

I have just set up a new static page about my two new projects in Second Life, the World Culture Hub and The Turing Galaxy (see main menu on the right). Both projects will be officially opened on Saturday, December 13th. The following events are planed:

10:00 SLT / 19:00 CET
Introduction & a guided tour of the World Culture Hub
Entry Hall, World Culture Hub
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kreativdorf/68/33/22

10:30 SLT / 19:30 CET
Vernissage:
Harter Fall – Images and objects
Marcus Hammerschmitt – Photographies
Christian Günther – Science fiction illustration
Sky Center, The Turing Galaxy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kreativdorf/108/28/501

11:30 SLT / 20:30 CET
Marcus Hammerschmitt – Guido Seifert
Science fiction reaging (German)
Seminar room, The Turing Galaxy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kreativdorf/113/79/23

2:00 SLT / 23:00 CET
Michael K. Iwoleit: Electronic ambient music, live
Main stage, World Culture Hub
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kreativdorf/67/23/34

3:00 SLT / 0:00 CET
Aftershow party
Club, World Culture Hub
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kreativdorf/67/29/35