Just a quick post to say Im exited to say that Im starting up work on Virtropolis again. Im ripping out the old code, and trying to get the thing to work with a new framework called Vertex Form 3D. Ive put together a rudimentary website to have that separate.
Click to Enter!
Also I still have my old installation with the old code, so today I made a quick Runthru. This is what I have to get to work in Vertex. Some things will have to be different, but most will turn out better I think. I really hope I can influence a bit what direction they take when developing this framework. I think I might because Im one of the first to try it.
So I had this idea for a story, a crime story, told Hilde it. Then suddenly she sent me an interesting link that the Norwegian publishing house Aschehaug were having a Crime writing competition. So I wrote it and entered!!! Theres lots to do, but the idea is ok. Ill need a huge white board to map it all out, which will suit the Crime genre. Its “techno Crime” though, so…
So this month I finally got around to testing out Gelli printing. Hilde had got me all thats needed for Christmas, but I needed some time ot really get stuck in. After a few false starts I finally got some good results, with even the bad stuff kind of looking pretty good. Ive been posting on my Instagram about it.
Ive been researching ChatGPT for a while now, using it to help me write various things Im working with, and brainstorm with myself. Ive found it fascinating and very fun, and Im not that worried about it taking over and killing us all just yet. But obviously there are alot of issues. Like ALOT. So Ive had quite a bit of fun testing it out. Getting it to talk about contentious issues, testing its factuality and if it makes mistakes. Ive also tried out a google product called notebookLM thats also a lot of fun, and can makes extremely cheesy AI podcasts, so Ive done a bit of that too. Anyway Ive dumped them all on Substack now, so rather than go into detail here, just head over there and subscribe.
The Backrooms is a popular internet creepypasta and urban legend that describes an eerie and seemingly endless series of empty, monotonous rooms and hallways. The concept began with a post on 4chan in 2019, where users were encouraged to imagine what it would be like to “noclip” out of reality and end up in a strange, liminal space.
The original Backrooms image posted on 4chan, of a HobbyTown under renovation.
The most common depiction of the Backrooms features:
1. **Endless Rooms**: The backrooms are often described as consisting of endless yellow-tinted rooms with stained carpets, buzzing fluorescent lights, and an overwhelming sense of isolation.
2. **No Escape**: Once someone finds themselves in the Backrooms, the narrative suggests that escape is nearly impossible. The rooms and hallways seem to stretch on forever, making navigation disorienting.
3. **Entities**: Various entities or creatures are rumored to inhabit these spaces, adding to the horror element. These beings can be hostile, and encounters with them heighten the fear of being trapped.
4. **Liminal Spaces**: The Backrooms evoke feelings of nostalgia and unease, often representing places that are familiar yet unsettling, like abandoned buildings, empty malls, or deserted office spaces.
The Backrooms have inspired countless stories, artworks, and games, contributing to a growing subculture of horror and exploration of the unknown in digital and real-world spaces.
Kane Pixels, a YouTuber and filmmaker at age 16, created a widely acclaimed series based on the Backrooms, a popular internet creepypasta concept. His series, titled The Backrooms (Found Footage), debuted in January 2022 and quickly gained attention for its cinematic quality and compelling storytelling.
How it started: Kane Pixels was only sixteen years old when he launched the series, blending 3D animation and live-action footage to craft a surreal, unsettling world. The series begins with a found footage-style video of a cameraman accidentally “noclipping” into the Backrooms—a seemingly infinite maze of yellow, carpeted hallways. The eerie realism and immersive sound design captured viewers’ imaginations, leading to millions of views and sparking intense fan speculation.
Where it’s going: Kane’s Backrooms series has evolved into an expansive narrative exploring the origins of the Backrooms. Later episodes introduce the “Async Research Institute,” a fictional organization conducting experiments that inadvertently connect to the Backrooms. The series delves deeper into the lore, including hints about the dangers lurking within and the motivations behind Async’s experiments. Kane has indicated plans to continue developing the story, with fans eagerly awaiting new installments.
The project has been praised for its creativity, world-building, and the young creator’s talent, setting a high standard for independent horror storytelling on YouTube.
Some people have tried to figure out the whole “lore” behind Kanes internet series.
I have personally been interested in the idea of “liminal spaces” for a long time, and I only wish I have photographed some that are often found in many of the customer offices I have visited. You are collected at reception and taken your meeting room, which is often through various floors or offices that are in the middle of renovation or downsizing. They can often be a huge empty room, blinds down with just a sofa, a plant and a printer, “it’s this way” the customer will say leading you through room after the room of weird Erie empty spaces.
Maybe this is the reason I have recently become very interested in the rough photogram scanning of spaces. It’s a quick way to grab a three dimensional version of a place for reuse in 3-D, or VR.
The inspiration for my film Tales from the Towers, came from reading about Kowloon city. This city block, since demolished, in Hong Kong was an anarchic dark dangerous place to live, that had been unregulated and unpoliced for many years. Despite the disgusting living conditions, and almost Bladerunner-esque appearance, when it came to be demolished, many residents refused to leave.
I have been fascinated by this place for many years, and I slightly regret never having had the chance to see it in real life. For the film, “ twilight of the Warriors, walled in ” which was set partly in Kowloon city, they re-created part of it and this part is now on display in Hong Kong airport..
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In revives the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City and brings back the life of its residents in the 1980s, presenting the collective memories of a generation of Hongkongers on the silver screen. It follows a troubled youth, Chan Lok-kwun (starring Raymond Lam), as he accidentally enters the Walled City, where he becomes close friends with gangsters. Under the leadership of Tornado (starring Louis Koo), they vow to protect the safe haven of Kowloon Walled City.
We have now struck a deal with Skull Print in the UK, and you can now buy 5 different Electricity T-Shirt designs. Either from our Bandcamp page, (why not buy a CD at the same time?)
Or our new Big Cartel shop, which offers many different coloured shirts. Don’t know WHY you would something other than black, but you might? (Actually you can have coloured shirts from the Bandcamp shop too, it just doesn’t have the clever drop down option, so you need to tell us you want a pink one somehow.)
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Terry Carter earlier this year.
I don’t know why Terry popped into my head today, but I googled and found out he died earlier this year. I was very sorry to hear that. I met him later in his life in the period when he lived in Oslo.
As a corporate film-maker, I came across his name as an available english speaking actor here in Oslo, and having not heard of him, offered an embarrassingly low fee. He came back with, “OK, but I have passed through Hollywood you know” He came into my project for fun I think, a strange Sci Fi information film for the national telephone company and I think he had a lot of fun.
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We worked again many times in the following few years, on low level and, for him, simple assignments. He was always a professional, always prepared, a gentleman, and came with rambling stories of Hollywood and film stars, that could have the production happily stretch way past planned schedules.
I of course went back and looked at his impressive career, even accompanying him one time as he surprised his young wife at a student showing of his slightly fruity role in 70´s blaxploitation action film “Foxy Brown” opposite Pam Grier, the film that Tarantino later based Jackie Brown on
It was always a pleasure working with him, and although I couldn’t offer him nearly the wages he should have commanded with his skill and reputation, I think he had fun, working again, maybe a little after he expected to.
I had heard that he had returned to New York, and was not surprised, but was upset that I was certainly not going to see him again.
