synthespians on the rise: image metrics out of "uncanny valley"
Synthespians (Gibson's version of personality constructs) are on the rise thanks to Image Metrics, the guys behind GTA's animations. Their artificial construct, Emily (on the yt above) is controlled by a new system that takes facial control down to the pixel level - that, the extreme focus on the perfect timing of eye movements and the subtle imperfections and asymmetries make the constructs into real humans. Sites fantasize about chatbots and CG movies that pwn live-action ones. Yes please. Longer history on synthespians and idorus later, on the new version of PD. (via Times Online via Technovelgy via IO9)
thursday zen buttons: cyberpunk from australia
Long live the Sydney axis and two re-interpretations of cyberpunk. Above, industrial metal band NEW PROJECT promoting their 2006 EP Primal.Logic.Slave, below, another production diary by ANGELSPIT.
csak kibomlott a hologramrózsa, a jelen a legjobb jövő
A D4m4g3 blogja legalább két ok miatt kilóg a listából. Félig angol, félig videó, a maradék meg magyarul van. Japán és távol-keleti vizuális kultúráról ír, nem törődik bele, hogy a cyberpunk túl van a legjobb napjain (mondjuk ezen én sem tudok felülemelkedni), és borzasztóan csípős dolgokról ír olyan lelkesedéssel, hogy az embernek kedve támad napalmot inni felmosóvödörből. (Kelt, SFportal.hu)
Dehogynem tudok felülemelkedni. Játsszunk egyet, adjunk nevet a jelenünknek megint. A retinákra égő hi-tech-low-life cyberpunk a jackdugókkal meg a loákkal már hálószoba faláról vakolattal együtt hámló tiniposzter, a cyberteret már túlideologizáltuk, a cyberspace 3d rácshálójából 2001-ben iskolázott le mindenkit a Rez, a szintetikus drogok, a hi tech low life, a mindent alternatív módon, a hogyan legyünk urban surviver fiúk, hologramdíszes ruhák, utcasarkon állvakínaizás, corporate különhálók, sőt, a misztikum és a technológia katonai fúziója: minden megvalósult. Amíg ezt a mondatot leírtam, körülbelül huszonöt különböző üzenetet kaptam a képernyő különböző pontjaira, féltő gondoskodással őrzöm kordában tartott, előnyökre szabott ADHD-met.
A jelenünkről írok, mert a jelen a legjobb jövő, amit megkaphatunk.
mazer mayhem: kenta cho strikes again
Mazer Mayhem, the latest 360-degrees spin-around arcade shooter by wireframe aesthetic god Kenta Cho is another reason why I should invest into an Xbox360. (Come to think of it, this and Rez could be the two main reasons, as GTA4 is arriving on the PC platform soon with all the other blockbuster titles. Apart from Force Unleashed.) BTW, dear readers, show me how to port XNA2.0 code onto PC platforms and my problems will be neatly solved. The graphics are not yet on par with oldschool Rez - but the music is definitely getting there. (link)
coign of vantage / fez
Assemble 2d pixel graphics by turning a cloud of 3d pixels with your mouse. Amazing piece of browser zen game. And what you see above, that's really, really a cow. If you like the idea, check the Fez trailer below - it's a platformer with basically the same premise. And hell of a lot of bad Engrish, by the way. (link, via tigsource)
sculpting light with turntables
Because sculpting light is relatively easy, just check up on Christian Cerrito's blog for more pictures and also details, such as "EL wire + Armature Wire + Solder + Clear Heat Shrink + Turntable + Inverter + Batteries + Base Block + Hot Glue" and then some. (via sir, i exist!)
vincent chai wages world war: robot kung-fu from the forties
World War's a new CG short directed by Vincent Chai, recent graduate of University of Hertfordshire, UK: brimming with pre-Hiroshima era urban landscapes, gritty bullet-time robot kung-fu, Wolverine claws and an atomic bomb. Given that it's really an amateur project, it's amazingly fun (all done with Maya, Photoshop, Premiere and After Effects). Check the bonus features on Chai's site! (via dvice)
stratosphere messenger tee
Zoetica meets Plastik Wrap. Stratosphere Messenger, the Coilhouse mag poster girl finally finds a new life on tee's, now sold on Etsy. When you read this, it might be very, very sold out. (link, via warrenellis)
gibson admits he's not in on "neuromancer"
The guys at QuietEarth do a decent reading up on Gibson's blog (which I admit not reading, partly because of the emptiness that Spook Country left in me) and the entry on the 1st of August finally drives the point home: it's not Gibson who's working on the movie script for the Neuromancer film project.
I see that I was too gnomic, yesterday, as some people now assume that I, like Warren Ellis, am holed up doing things related to screenwriting. Some even assume I'm doing something related to the mysterious Neuromancer film project, but in fact neither is true. I'm actually holed up (or anyway "distracted") in the early stages of a next novel, and the recent web-advent of that interestingly monochrome one-sheet for the putative production was the first I'd seen of it. Suffice it to say that I am not much in the loop on that one. But then again I am somewhat the opposite of Alan Moore, in that I regard screen adaptations of my work with little more than simple childlike curiosity. (via quietearth)
friday candy>> zoetica / dipetra
Fridays really should be like this. On the pic, agent extraordinaire and Coilhouse staffer Zoetica. (photo: Karen Hsiao, wardrobe: Antiseptic Fashion, hair/makeup/model: Zoetica Ebb). (via biorequiem)
casshern sins: coming in september
Classic anime Casshern (and its live-action adaptation by Kaz Kiriya) gets a new blood transfusion that feels half Ergo Proxy (colors), half Inhumanoids (how Madhouse depicts fights). Please accept our lacking but enthusiastic impressions with monkey gratitude. Series starts in September. (link, via twitch)
anime eyes: extrawide contact lenses for that watery look
Companies like Geo and Dueba are behind the new trend of extrawide contact lenses for the anime eyes look. The extrawide lens don't change Japanese girls that much and I haven't seen any pics with Europeans, so that's just basically a dailykawaii post for today, allofya. Lens cost $30-$50 per pair. (via investorspot via boingboing)
angelspit's devilicious video production diary
If Kill Kitty wasn't enough for you, here's a new lo-fi video production diary of Angelspit's new album, Blood Death Ivory.
cyberpunk movie news zen
Rapidfire cyberpunk newsflash straight from the movies, safety belts and enema diving kits in action!
ALIENS: No more Alien(s) sequels, at least that's what industry expert Cecelia from filmindustrybloggers.com sez, basically because almost all scripts are so full of clichés. BABYLON AD: IO9 has a few new clips from the movie. Just occurred to me that the Mélanie Thierry (the psychic girl) was also a key character in Julien Leclercq's suberb medical cyberpunk SF, Chrysalis. GHOST IN THE SHELL 2.0: According to Twitch, there's going to be a Blu-Ray version of the movie that features both the graphically updated 2.0 and the original versions and English dub will be included only on the original.
DEADLAND: New post-ap movie where Florida slides into the ocean and main character Sean Kalos crosses the radiation-plagued land to find his missus - no zombies and no gorgeous flesh-eating this time. ROBOCOP: Officially confirmed, it's going to be Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) who's gonna direct the remake. THE ROAD: A new post-apocalyptic movie featuring Viggo Mortensen (with a son) and a bunch of cannibals hot on their trails. TERMINATOR 4 - SALVATION: While rumor has it that Linda Hamilton will be featured in all three Terminator movies currently in (various states of) production, Helena Bonham Carter is definitely cast and she sez her character is a very, very bad person. TR2N: Original screenwriter Steve Lisberger's script that's been worked on for years has been ditched.
digestive system, out the window
Gyorsan visszakötünk az előző napok tabasco/habanero-szószos ebédjéhez, itt a bizonyító értékű kép. Dawe gyomra itt lépett rá biztosan a pokol haragosan cseresznyepiros útjára, én fél nappal megelőztem, a verseny immár nem arról szól, hogy melyikünk tud csípősebbet enni, hanem hogy melyikünk tud kevesebb időt bentlenni a belgyógyászaton (vagy ahogy elnézem magunkat, a traumatológián), ha már bekerültünk.
repo! the genetic opera: mark it up!
We have a new teaser from REPO!:THE GENETIC OPERA, the scene Mark it Up! featuring lovely (really) Paris Hilton, and a gorgeously eccentric Ogre from Skinny Puppy. Grotesque, tinted fuckerily and with brains.
UPDATE 1: Eftelsander removed the Mark It Up scene and replaced it with a behind the scenes video - with more insight and unfortunately, more talk. Enjoy.
habanero: chili, but with more horses coming into your mouth
"Megvan az a fajta csípősség, amikor beleszagolsz az üvegbe és csak puszta, elemi fémet érzel? Az a tabasco", gesztikulálok, a tegnap esti beszélgetést imitálva, szemközt illetődött office ladyk ülnek, erőltetik, hogy nem figyelnek ránk. "És van az a tabasco, amiben a fémen kívül halott állatok és hangosan élvező lovak szaladnak rád az üvegből, na az a habanero special hot tabasco." Feszült csend. Felállnak, elmennek.
angelspit's kill kitty video production diary
I have Angelspit's BLOOD DEATH IVORY here with me, the CD looks amazing, the music rocks and now we have six minutes of actual music production documented by Zoog. No comments, it's just so pure crystal effort.
radar magazine: the life of breyer p-orridge
Interesting how I got back to some old roots just in a day - found a long interview with one half of Breyer P-Orridge, Genesis P-Orridge - whom a couple of you might know from Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and its direct transfiguration PTV3, Thee Majesty and lots of other cooperative works (from XPK to Download, and then some), then found myself digging through longish histories of The Process and TOPI as well. The Radar Magazine interview is an insanely touching piece of work that got me interested in the sheer will and love that formed Breyer P-Orridge into life. So much more to say, so much silence. (link, via technoccult)
angel wings: new fashion statement for the scene
Haven't really updated my street fashion knowledge since The Dose time and man, it's been two years now, so it's time to get back to the business and see what you dirtygrrlz and dirtyboiz are up to. One of the main impulses is Artifice Clothing's [cybertek wings] that's been recommended to me by m1k3y/grinding.be. A thousand-bucks price tag is definitely something that's gonna set aside the cream from the plebs but hey - fashion's always been like that. For those who can make do with less - and I mean less - go for the Leeloo PVC costume. Dig deeper. (via grinding.be)
alan moore: advice for young artists
I've met so many people recently who cannot cope with the shit around or in their life but they only need one spark to let it go, I mean really start things going. This is for them, told by none other than world-acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore, who's behind Watchmen and V for Vendetta.
repo! the genetic opera: more footage available
"The comic value is a murderer and a rapist." Seriously. Repo: The Genetic Opera! has been one twisted piece of work that we've been expecting for quite some time and thank God, heaps of smart and relevant footage appears on YouTube, thanks to user Eftelsander who started posting excerpts and trailers like *snap snap* rapidfire. Surgery graft fetish boytoys, Paris Hilton cunt injections, future sluts and sleazy kink all the way. Check the "Zydrate Anatomy" scene above, below, a brief behind-the-scenes with Ogre of Skinny Puppy.