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Tai'lahr · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:24 pm

Yes folks, this is really gonna happen... this Saturday.

You are cordially invited to join us at the Guild of Healers Outreach Retreat in Second Life this Saturday, July 3rd as D'niJ Ktahdn leads us on a narrated musical journey that follows the Silk Road from its origins in China, crossing the Asian continent to the Mediterranean Sea. We'll be leaving at 10am SLT (Pacific) and and plan to reach our destination by 6pm SLT (Pacific). Join us at any point along the journey. There will be dance interludes.

[spoiler=More Time Zone Start Times]US Pacific: 10:00 to 18:00
US Mountain (KI time): 11:00 to 19:00
US Central: 12:00 to 20:00
US Eastern: 13:00 (Sat) to 1:00 (Sun)
UTC: 17:00 (Sat) to 5:00 (Sun)
British: 18:00 (Sat) to 4:00 (Sun)
Central European: 19:00 (Sat) to 5:00 (Sun)[/spoiler]
You don't have to be in SL to listen to the music (although you will miss the text narration); tune in to Radio KTDN on any media player through the wonders of Shoutcast, server kindly provided by Ashtar. * hopes Ashtar has fire insurance on the server. *

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

Yes, it's going to happen. I have, however, never seen Ktahdn so nervous. He's in an interesting situation; a playlist that must be played for the public, but if it doesn't work the failure will be equally public. In its experimental nature, it's much like the first "Up On the Roof!" party, but that one was only 3 hours. Lots more potential for doing a face-plant in the sand on this one.

So, I asked him, "How do you define success here?"
"Good question. I'm not sure of the answer. Failure will be clear-cut: I'll be alone in the place Tai made for this. Does success demand huge numbers? I don't think so, really, but there's always the feeling that 'more' is 'better.' And we just don't know."

How do I know he's nervous? He never talks about these things normally.

Tai'lahr · **Posted:** Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:23 am

I think it's safe to say we can throw out both extremes. I believe there will be a small band of experienced travelers who will make the journey from beginning to end. Others will join the caravan in progress and stay until their saddlesores force them to leave. No matter what the numbers, success should be measured quite simply by the pleasure derived by the attendees for whatever amount of time they are able to participate.

IMO, success will be when the travelers who join us on this very special journey leave with an uncanny sense that they've actually participated in a caravan making it's way along the Silk Road... and bonded with friends they made along the way. And, hey, Ktahdn's already done that at least once before with this event; the extended playlist just gives more people the opportunity to join the caravan at their convenience.

Rudolfson · **Posted:** Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:11 am

What a wonderful journey.

Good luck!
/Frej

OK so the outlook for a family father in the central european time zone to participate is bleak, even bleaker since i don't play SL, but I can put the music on at home for a while. So even if you don't see me, think of me as present for a while at the start of the journey.

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

In preparation for this journey, I've been watching the Silk Road NHK production, and reading a history of China. Then I wanted to look more closely at the land, and I got a shock.

When people started using the Silk Road, there were no maps. You'd go by word of mouth, or perhaps a hand-drawn set of directions. When I got interested in the subject, around 2005, maps were common but those of central Asia were available only through National Geographic or specialty map stores.

In one of the Silk Road NHK episodes, they mention a city that was built in western China, taken over by Chinggis Khan, and then displaced a hundred years later by resurgent Chinese. The city was lost until French and Russian archaeologists went nosing around in the early 20th century and found... Khara-khoto, the Dark City. The NHK-China production team went in on camels in the early 1980s, guided by a local resident.

I just went there by way of Wikimapia. Enter the coordinates 41°45'50"N 101°8'36"E in the search field and you too can see this ancient city's ruin. I'm just astounded. The place leaps out of the book, out of myth, and is right there for anyone to look at in photographs taken from orbiting spacecraft... which Chinese scientists and engineers launch now from a site not far to the southwest..

Khara-khoto was said to be on the Silk Road, but to me it looks more as if it were an optional stop well to the north of the main track. Local topography might trump the map's crow-flight route. Marco Polo was said to have stopped there on his way through.

Edit: I got to thinking about this last night. While Khara-khoto doesn't look to be on the route to Chang'an, anyone in the 13th century who wanted to meet the Mongols would have gone to their capital (what Coleridge translated as "Xanadu"), which is north of the Yellow River beyond the big northward jog the river makes. So, Marco Polo might well have gone that way.

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

Ktahdn disappeared into the Secret Music Lab and hung a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door. He fired up the Shoutcast server for a test and everything is working, so in about an hour and a half from now we will set out for Istanbul. I recommend sunscreen, water and patience.

A reminder:

Code:

http://radioktdn.zapto.org:8025

This Journey will come to the Cavern, but I'm not sure when. For this test run we're meeting in Second LIfe at the Guild of Healers' Silk Road Oasis..

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

Saturday evening I was sitting calmly, reading ("Winnie-the-Pooh," since you ask) when I heard a sort of squeak, some rustling, and then a heavy thud. This kind of sound isn't normal from the Secret Musical Laboratory, so I put the book down and walked over to check. Maybe a heffalump--I certainly hoped it wasn't a woozle--had gotten into the place.

The red "ON AIR" indicator wasn't lit so I knocked softly on the door, then a bit more loudly. No response. There'd been no further noise but I was still concerned, so I quietly opened the door.

On the floor lay Ktahdn, illuminated by the glow of an old CRT. The chair was scooted back against the wall. Apparently he'd fallen asleep and the chair graduallly rolled out from under him.

He was smiling. He's too big for me to carry, so I just made sure no limbs were folded awkwardly, put a couple of blankets over him, and left him be. It looks as if the Silk Road Journey worked, if more taxing than expected. Even after a 10-hour Roots! party he didn't fall out of the chair.

Donahoo · **Posted:** Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:25 pm

It was a wonderful program and I found some silk road albums to sample on Rhapsody. Thanks for expanding my musical world.

Tai'lahr · **Posted:** Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:46 pm

Bravo! Bravo! *standing ovation*

When Ktahdn awakens, please pass along my gratitude for taking me on this amazing journey. Oh, and also tell him "I told you so!" It was just as I expected - a wonderful day spent sharing a unique experience with great companions.

Amazingly, my saddlesores didn't last long and I'm now looking forward to the next journey whether that be a repeat, a return, or a branch from this one. I'm ready to go!

mszv · **Joined:** Wed May 10, 2006 5:28 am **Posts:** 2266

Sadly, I could not be there the whole time, but I was there much of the time. It was wonderful!

Rudolfson · **Posted:** Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:55 pm

Had silk road on the 'radio' until about 2 in the morning. very nice thank you.

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

I'm pretty sure we'll be doing this journey again. Ktahdn has been holed up in the Secret Lab, and from what I hear through the door he's making some changes to the west end. I also think there'll be some additions to the Istanbul part.

The question is where to do it. The Watcher's Sanctuary has the advantage of simple access. Minkata has the desert feel but is more of a hassle, especially for the host, to reach. It's also somewhat unstable. Besides that, not all of the journey is through desert, so perhaps the less suggestive environment of Watcher's would be better. I know that when we did Silk Road in SL last year we were in a nice living room environment, which was no limitation at all to people's imaginations.

Thank you for the comments. Doing public events is a rather strange thing for the idiosyncratic artist. Please the artist, or please the audience? Fortunately, both can be done, and we're glad.

Tai'lahr · **Posted:** Tue Jul 06, 2010 8:16 pm

I've been holding back on this suggestion because I know how Ktahdn likes atmosphere, but since he's acknowledged that a less suggestive environment is a good idear... I think this could be done quite well in a Bevin community room. IMO, it has several advantages, not the least of which is that it's less "crashy" due to it's lack of sounds and moving parts. Also, it's "semi-private/semi-public" that is to say, the hood can be made public and open to all, but it's not public in the same way the Watcher's Sanctuary is in that people might have a reason to be there other than for the event. The community room being away from the link-in spot would also help to reduce distractions from latecomers and curious folks. We can hit them with the KI message as they link in (and post it on the imager) so they know what the event is about and they can get their music link (or leave if they decide it's not their cup of tea) before joining the travelers upstairs. Lastly, Yahvo forbid, if there should be some "issues" with individuals, we have some control by being able to lock the hood if necessary.

Lord Chaos · **Joined:** Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:57 am **Posts:** 1337

You make a good case for the Community Room, Tai. So, Kt and I went in to look around.

Aspects for the idear are pretty much what you said.

Aspects against are the odd camera angles you get in there, and the lecture-hall atmosphere with the room's design and most sightlines concentrated on the podium.

We've come to like circles. No beginning, no end, no "professor" nor "students," just people. Circles can be done in the Community Room but such fight against the nature of the room.

Well, maybe none of that matters. We could include that in the experiment.

We went on to look at Eder Delin, which is a tad distracting. Access is a bit more troublesome, too.

Thank you for the recommendation, Tai. Right now... we're torn. Can't decide.

ghaelen · **Posted:** Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:54 pm

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest Memorable Musical Event in the Retreat. What fun sitting around the fire, listening and talking (except when Daisy the Wonder Camel misunderstood that she was, in fact, a camel).

Looking forward to the next phase in the ever developing audio journey.

I also enjoyed the latest RVG non-meeting where no one didn't attend. There was much discussion of geometrical patterns (fusses with the circular clay bowl she is making) and we all put in our (circular) cents worth. We closely examined all the possibilities that explorers would approve of, and although there was no firm decision, there was a LOT of talk going around and around (turns the bowl while remembering).

Not that I'm particular to any one all-inclusive geometrical form or another....

I am interested to see just what the group will decide. I'm sure it will make the best all around Radio KTDN Musically Melodic Journey ever!

:wink:

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