Digital Dust

Wore my Circle of Dust (COD) fleece into the digital domain and it transformed. Looking forward to the next COD album.

https://twitter.com/insilentpassage/status/947945360714076160

Copyright 2018 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

My5: Exquisite Melancholy

Copyright 2016 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Lines of Exploration (Expanded Version)

-click image for larger version-

 

About

Original version: The Lines of Exploration (2016.03.13).

Image (capsule) portion (only) inspired by Circle of Dust's "Exploration (Redux)," available at FiXT.

"The Lines of Exploration (Expanded Version)" poem/text is not related to the CoD track.

Soundtrack (for the capsule image portion of the piece)

• "Exploration (Redux)," Circle of Dust (Remastered), Circle of Dust
• "Exploration (1992)," Circle of Dust (Remastered) [Deluxe Edition], Circle of Dust

Copyright 2016 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Updated 20210515

This visual-and-text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, contexts, scenes, scenarios, symbols, glyphs, iconography, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

The Lines of Exploration

Reality is the exploration of the lines that we draw—

Within our hearts,
To complete a task,
For the sake of balance,
As the scaffolding of dreams,
At the intersection of fact and fiction,
Around the highest of priorities,
To connect the unseen dots,
In the logic of appearances,
Among the living (and the dead),
Between the heavens and the hells,
Along the stitches and staples of memories,
And on the pages of our lives...

 

About

Image (capsule) portion (only) inspired by Circle of Dust's "Exploration (Redux)," available at FiXT.

"The Lines of Exploration" poem/text is not related to the CoD track.

Soundtrack (for the capsule image portion of the piece)

• "Exploration (Redux)," Circle of Dust (Remastered), Circle of Dust
• "Exploration (1992)," Circle of Dust (Remastered) [Deluxe Edition], Circle of Dust

Copyright 2016 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Updated 20210515

These visual and text compositions are works of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, contexts, scenes, scenarios, symbols, glyphs, iconography, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Four Questions for Today

-click image for larger version-

Copyright 2015 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Sonic Verse: 5 that Go to 11 - Vox (Batch 2)

Copyright 2015 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Sonic Verse: 5 that Go to 11 - Vox (Batch 1)

When these tracks come on, the volume goes up.

About: Sonic Verse™ (SV) at insilentpassage.com highlights the music, music artists, and associated elements that I enjoy (e.g. release artwork, packaging, mythos). SV is also the container for my creative explorations related to the concept of "sonic verse."

Copyright 2014 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

We Come in Peace

-click image for larger version-

 

About

If I had an alien Metal band, then this is what it would look like. (That's me in the middle.)

 

Soundtrack

• Ghost, Anup Sastry
• The Space Between, Intervals
• Epicloud (Deluxe Edition) (disc 2), Devin Townsend Project
• Plains of Oblivion, Jeff Loomis
• Engines of Creation, Joe Satriani
• Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head, Vol. 01, Celldweller

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Metal Day 11.11.11

 

About

Thinking about "Metal Day 11.11.11" in the weeks following the event inspired this piece. In particular, I wanted to do something based on a popular Metal emoticon, "\m/\m/".

Metal Day helped raise awareness to Metal music as an art form (and it is an art form), a discipline, and a deep expression of the self.

Soundtrack

If this image had a soundtrack, then it would come from Iced Earth, Devin Townsend, Dream Theater, Pantera, Metallica (pre Load), Megadeth, Crimson Glory, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Dragonforce, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Kamelot, Nevermore, Symphony X, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Primal Fear, Demon Hunter, Fates Warning, John Arch, Arch/Matheos Queensryche, Tony MacAlpine, Stryper, Amaranthe, Klay Scott's Metal moments, Jeff Loomis, Charred Walls of the Damned, Judas Priest, Halford, David T. Chastain, Chastain (band), Living Sacrifice, Deliverance (Jimmy P. Brown II), Testament, Ozzy, Rainbow, Dio, Vicious Rumors, Apocrypha, Soilwork, Perfect Symmetry, Savatage, TNT, Iron Maiden, Into Eternity, Fifth Angel, Toxik (Think This), Anthrax, and many more, past and present.

© Copyright 2012 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Never Surrender (2011)

 

About

* Original version: Late September 2001; posted September 27, 2001.

* 2011 version: August 2011; posted August 26, 2011.

Years ago I promised myself that I'd revisit and revise my "Never Surrender" image (and its associated commentary) that I created in the weeks following the September 11, 2011, terrorist attacks on the United States of America.

I didn't forget.

And I never will.

The original (and lengthy) commentary suited the moment.

And now, nearly a decade later, all I want to say is this—

– Never forget the images or the pain.

– Never forgive the terrorists (or those that harbor them).

– Never become like the enemy.

– Never give in to fear for the sake of comfort or ease.

– Never be lulled into a false sense of security.

– Never surrender to terror.

– Honor all those that have sacrificed so much (and sometimes everything) in order to preserve the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

– Vigilance, resolve, and liberty remain.

– DON'T TREAD ON ME

Soundtrack: "When the Eagle Cries," Iced Earth, from their album, The Glorious Burden. (I consider TGB one of the finest Metal albums of all time.)

P.S. The core of the original image remains: a photo of Old Glory that I snapped one morning, several days after the attacks. The flag looked so beautiful and I found comfort in its stars and stripes. I still do.

© Copyright 2011 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Sticks and Strokes [image and short story]

 

Sticks and Strokes (Companion Vignette)

-Place: A cathedral-like atrium in a metropolis
-Players: Two unlikely friends, sitting on a stone bench
-Proximity: An indoor harmony stream
-Time: Lunch hour
-Topic: Same old, same old

        "Don't be absurd," said the futurist to the calligraphist, in a tone and manner that was as smug as smug could be. "Penmanship, print, and paper are all dead. You're living in the past. You are the past. I've got thousands of books in the palm of my hand; barely a finger tap away. Plus, I can download more whenever I want, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I'm a library incarnate! Ha and ha! And I don't have to sacrifice precious living space to be that library. There are no dusty, musty smells to deal with. No overpriced first editions or 'special' editions. The way it should be."

        With a deep and dramatic sigh, the calligraphist replied to the futurist, "Your bits and bytes are transient at best—cached today, deleted tomorrow. You're living on borrowed time, my data hording friend. Hard drives are nothing more than anchors and arrogance; landfill waiting to happen. Books, however, are individual things of beauty, to be admired and held, and given a place of honor upon the shelves of our hearts, minds, and homes. What you fail to grasp is that a book—a real, physical book—is a commitment, not just to yourself, but to the art of writing, and to the adventure that is reading. Every book has a familiar-yet-distinct form, a wonderful weight, and a strong spine, unlike the apparitions haunting your little virtual world."

        "Hmph!" grunted the technologist and returned to the pages of his smartphone.

        "Hmph!" grunted the calligraphist and returned to the pages of his book.

        And for the remainder of their lunch, neither said a word to the other, nor heard the flow of the harmony stream.

 

Soundtrack

If the image had a soundtrack, then it would contain the following Steve Vai tracks:

• "Whispering a Prayer," Alive in an Ultra World
• "Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways)," Alive in an Ultra World
• "The Bodhi Tree," VaiTunes #7

© Copyright 2011 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Dawn Once More

 

Soundtrack

If DOM had a soundtrack, then it would be Bill Nelson's "A Bird of the Air Shall Carry Thy Voice," from the two disc release, Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights (1988, Enigma/Cocteau).

I've lost track of Bill Nelson's work over the years, but for a period of time I really got into his instrumental releases, because they were unlike the Metal and guitar-oriented instrumental music that I enjoyed (and still enjoy — I love the shred and furious dexterity of the "guitar gods").

"A Bird of the Air Shall Carry Thy Voice" remains one of my all time favorite instrumental pieces.

This piece is an offshoot of the sessions related to "Monarch in the House (Monarchia in Domus)."

© Copyright 2010 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Golden Ratio Guy

 

About

This work is a branch from the sessions that produced the piece, The Golden Ratio (ASCII Face) (TGR (AF)).

Soundtrack

If this image had a soundtrack, then it would be "Supercrush!" from the fantastic album, Addicted, by the Devin Townsend Project.

© Copyright 2010 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

At the Core

 

About

A visual remix of the 2001 CD album artwork that I did for Howard Hart's guitar-oriented instrumental album, Banquet on Mars.

© Copyright 2010 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

In Mental Streams

In mental streams I swim.

 On sky-swallowing tornadoes I ride.

Beneath starlight black I dream.

 Between Heaven and Hell I slide.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.