Lost in the woods…
… soon to be in an even darker place (Mouse drops his cane!).
Category Archives: Natural World
00450401
My study of Osamu Sato’s 1998 LSD Dream Emulator game and the setting up of this mini-museum to it in the attic of my Aisle of Palms “Big Victorian House” seems so long ago now. It was only April. So seems my heavy involvement with Our Second Lyfe, whose influence is undoubtedly fading from this here blog and attached photo-novels, 44 1/2 in number now (a long journey!), as more modern and much better looking games like Grand Theft Auto V, Witcher 3, and especially Cyberpunk 2077 and its humongous Night City take more and more of both my daytime and nighttime attention. But also, My Second Lyfe is not dead. Just *concentrated*. Think that’s the best way to put it. It glows bright blue to me, a square in the middle of everything still, a house-like home base sitting in the center of a large yard, with GTA V lying green to the west, C2077 red to the east, and Witcher3 yellow to the south (also taking the shape of a square unattached to the first (like a garage or large shed?)). This what-we-can-call expansion is happening now, but it also happened long long ago, in what seems like a different lifetime over 50 years back now. Aisle of Palms is my virtual village that represents the launching pad for exploring these post-Second Lyfe worlds, beginning, really, with Red Dead Redemption earlier this year, before the influence of the 3 likewise newer games I mentioned really started kicking in. A link from this far far past to the present in this way is MONKEY.
Monkey City = Lost Sanos
There I said it, Mother. Monkey City *is* relevant to all this. But I think she sees that now.
This is probably where I’ll first virtually incarnate beyond Our Second Lyfe in the near future. A good guess, given this snapshot of GTA V’s original monkey mosaic 1 1/2 photo-novels back taken by Trevor (beginning of 44) coupled with a snapshot of a *different* Trevor — recently dead — wearing monkey brand underpants in the Badlands desert of C2077 from later in the same photo-novel. Maybe hard to explain but I definitely think the two images from two different games are linked.
Why GTA V (Lost Sanos) over C2077 (Nightsity) then for the incarnation? I’ll have to think about that explanation and get back to you.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0045, 0401, Big Woods, Bright Moon Cottage, C2077, GTA, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, Oooo, RDR2, Witcher
00430405 (Proj. 2025)
Newt sits down beside the trash heap on the dirt mound underneath the red light. Oh my God, he thinks. Is this a map? Is this… LSD Dream Emulator??
He explores and explores and finally finds her at the end of a long and winding tunnel, hidden away from the day. Too many people all around, she complained in explaining her current status. But she relents and decides to show him her apartment more in the light. And the dolls. She ran so far.
“It’s Independence Town, because everyone is off for the day and are having fun with each other. Watermelons.”
“Cantaloupes,” I chipped in.
“Chickens,” she said.
“Apples,” I said.
Pause as we look for other things to talk about in the scene.
“The last one,” she then said.
“Yup. Freedom gone next year.”
“Enjoy,” she said down to the people below and then went back to her hiding place. Old White Man’s Corner.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0043, 0405, C2077, HANA LEI, LSD, Natural World, NIGHTSITY, Pennsylvania
00420607 (05 and 06)
Perhaps the last major building has been manifested in Aisle of Palms: the original version of the Edwardston Station Gallery, holding the entire “Art 10×10” of 100 collages I created in 6 series from 2004 to 2009. Not the prettiest of structures with its plain cubic form, admittedly, but effective in its role. 6 floors, 6 series, with all but 2 and 5, or Rose Hill and Hidalgo respectively, holding 20 collages apiece. Those 2 floors/series contain 10 in contrast. I’ll get to what occupies the other 1/2 of the 2nd and 5th floors in a bit.
The immediate prompt for me rezzing this structure is that I wanted to show Newt (or whoever) that the fox-to-dog conversion of Jim Randolph the Bastard Pirate in St. Dennis recently was seemingly preordained. The Yale-*Newt*on series of the “Art 10×10,” its 3rd, dates from 2006, going on 20 years ago at this point. Gosh, where have the years gone (!). Anyway, when we reach the 4th collage of that series we come to this dualism again: fox vs. dog or, more precisely, fox against dingo, for the orange dog of the work, titled “Outfoxed?”, is suppose to represent such, as the orange-ish dog in St. Dennis is in kind.
Then in the next two collages of Yale-Newton, making a type of animation with each other, we see the fox and dingo again, the in-taking of water if you will (“Diamond Dog”)…
… and then the release of same back into the atmosphere (“Coasts is Clear”), as the original Diamonds sign on the roof of the depicted restaurant bearing the same name is multiplied 16-fold and becomes a country unto itself, let’s say — our country, built up from the middle, this Diamonds Restaurant in a central state of Missouri, until it extends ocean to ocean. A seed becomes a tree.
And then in the next collage, the 7th of the series (“Here’s Lucy”), we come to another depiction of the word “diamonds”, now in connection with the initials LSD like in the famous John Lennon song we saw Shelley Struthers singing earlier in her band audition at Bull’s Bar in this here blog and attached photo-novel, 42 in number now of course. So I have a feeling this could reference Osamu Sato’s LSD Dream Emulator game on top of the drug and Lennon song — additional foreshadowing. More on this aspect soon, I’m predicting.
That bubble topped mound in the middle of the 7th collage being threatened by bulldozers is actually where it all starts to kick in, the whole “Art 10×10” and my journey into the world of digital collaging. Looks like fellow collage artist Barry De Boy will be our observer here instead of Newt, perhaps gaining inspiration for a jump start of his own art. Wendy is a muse!
He follows The Beatles’ yellow submarine between Greenup 05 and 06 as it floats downstream, into the tunnel of night lights, illumination in darkness.
What will he find there, a fox or a dingo? I’m guessing both. In fact, make that a certainty.
Filed under ***collages 2d, **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0607, Art 10x10, Big Woods, ESG, Greenup, Jeogeot, Lake District, LSD, Natural World, RDR2, United Kingdom, Yale-Newton
00420605 (immobile (paying the price))
Day 042:
I manifested on an island in the void I couldn’t move away from — no bridges — so I took a picture before the dream ended. Crystal (at the peninsula’s tip). Have to look that up.
Yes, there it is. I’ll just place a little (red) pin on that island to remember…
—–
“Remember what?” Wheeler tested later, looking at the pin with him.
“I… forget!”
“Gray Man, hmph,” exclaimed Wheeler to this. “Wiped you out again. You’ll have to start over.” She looked at him instead of the map to emphasize her point. “Stick to The Natural World as much as possible, Newt. He doesn’t go there. You won’t be as, um, *abstracted* there.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“Now sit back down here and let’s begin Day 043 while I watch and advise.”
“Alright.” He sits back down like a good boy.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0605, Big Woods, Bright Moon Cottage, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, RDR2
00420602 (rockstars)
On his days off, Grant (aka *Fred*dy) Price likes to roam the streets of Lost Sanos, sucking up people’s dreams to replenish needed energy for his various security assignments. This unsuspecting guy walks right into it.
Meanwhile, on another planet altogether (most say), Arthur sees horses at the end of a tunnel.
“We got a second one!” shouts Newt from beyond the 4th wall as Arthur reenters the light.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0602, Big Woods, Bright Moon Cottage, GTA, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, RDR2
00420508
Damn. Wrong turn again! she thought. *There’s* Newt’s Victorian townhouse. Just gotta find the in-between path now to the bar, pheh.
Newt watched her once more from his downstairs computer desk, even though he was on the wrong side of the house this time. The *right* side of the wall, though. Outside.
The Natural World.
This was big, he knew. Very big.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0508, Big Woods, Bright Moon Cottage, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, Violence District
00420506
The attic space of Newt’s 4 story Big Victorian Townhouse has been turned into an LSD Dream Emulator mini-museum, namely for objects and spaces found in the central building of the game called Bright Moon Cottage, pictured on Newt’s computer here also located in the attic. Newt noticed the structural similarities between the 2 virtual buildings shortly after first learning of LSD through Youtube algorithmically generated video suggestions about 3 weeks ago now.
Here we peer down through the invisible ceiling of the place, much like Arthur did earlier at the St. Dennis gallery from his phantom room above. Let’s take a look at the individual rooms while Newt finishes his dinner. Gotta eat sometime in Our Second Lyfe!
In the immediate area of dining Newt are, left to right, a bookcase similar to that found on the 3rd floor of Bright Moon Cottage, a futon with sleeping figure inside, and then the most detailed topographic map of The Natural World Newt could find, the largest location of LSD Dream Emulator and one acting as a connector between all other major locations, 5 in number. These include the Bright Moon Cottage itself, situated on an “island” in the center of the map, the game’s ground zero of sorts as individual dreams of its 365 day dream cycle most commonly start here.
And then just around the corner we have a Television, Teddy Bear, and a Pterodactyl figurine on a fireplace.
Next room down the hall of the attic comes Giant Head and Book.
And then in the final room we have Dying Woman with Giant Astronaut looming over her. The layout of the objects in Newt’s townhouse is not exactly the same as found in Bright Moon Cottage, as I’ve smushed the several floors there together to condense. However, I feel the, er, space vibes are similar.
Now I just gotta go to the marketplace and find some bird cages to finish.
—–
There I suppose. Let’s call it a night.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0506, Big Woods, Bright Moon Cottage, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, RDR2
00420416 (Natural World/ Rainbow Falls)
“So I think we can make a home here, Sepisexton. Get away from it all, talk about the tomorrows and yesterdays to no end. Dreams we’re talking about here my love. And no Gray Man around to erase the memories. He doesn’t come into The Natural World.”
“So I’ve heard.” She takes another bite of her ant beignet and mulls over possibilities. Amos T. Sandman points in the distance, over the waterfall.
“See those fish floating over there. Plenty more where they came from. I tested it yesterday. You can just go up to them and grab them with your bare hands and then another one spawns. Fish spawns — get it? I was running back here to tell you no tackle was needed. This isn’t football or even angling — no sport to it atall. Free food!”
Wheeler, currently playing the role of Sepisexton to Baker’s Sandman, took the inept humor in stride. Yesterday they had found the North, this place where Okama Majo came from, at least in comparison to St. Dennis (more on that soon). He said he sucked at a video racing game while living there and thus made his own where the walls don’t matter and there’s no shooting allowed, no target whatsoever to the game. A game about nothing. But at the same time: everything. Here we have the answers we needed. We’ll continue photo-novel 42 into its section 05 while keeping this in mind.
“Let’s go up beyond the waterfall to the sunken ship to end again,” requests Wheeler, last piece of beignet in her mouth, somewhat muffling the request. Ants, thinks Sandman to this. Sepisexton got rid of the last to save him from becoming fused superhero Santman forever and ever, a walking talking copyright violation. She’ll always be golden in his book for this.
Time for the dreamer to awaken.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0416, LSD, Natural World
00420415
“Is that a fin over there? Or just another mirage, like with the camels?”
“One way to find out.”
—–
“Yup, it’s a fin. Must be in Finland, ha.”
“The North, right,” spoke Wheeler back, not laughing or grinning atall about the notion.
—-
But it took them 14 more dream days to finally follow a fin home. Things had changed in the meantime, new set of textures kicking in.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0415, LSD, Natural World
Sunklands 