First posted 12/11/2016 as The Night Bobby Found Christ in an Abandoned Subway Car
I read the Nativity story as the story of a God who decides to incarnate as an outcast among the poor and oppressed people of a barbaric civilization with a static class system.
Life was brutish and short for the poor.
The warrior God of Israel takes flesh as an impoverished Jewish outcast whose
life is in danger from the moment of conception.
It’s a great story!
I wondered how it might look today and saw a homeless youth who finds
the abandoned Christ child in an unused subway car.
Will he accept the burden of this gift?

I used VR to make a video of it.
I got the idea for the subway car from Dark Days, a documentary made in the 1990’s about a tribe of homeless people who live in the abandoned subway tunnels of New York.
I use two photo-shopped frames from the documentary as an homage to it.
I first came up with this idea in 2011 but didn’t have the skill I needed
to make it work the way I envisioned it.
I’m going to remake the video for next Christmas.
Merry Christmas to the World!
May we find our way back to the light.
The video is a series high-resolution panels staged and shot in virtual reality and processed in multiple apps.
I cropped a cover of Silent Night found at the Internet Archives.
To the best of my knowledge the recording is in the public domain.
Great post. Merry Christmas to you
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Thank you for the visit and for leaving a comment! Happy Holidays to you!
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You welcome and happy holidays to you too
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Thank you. Merry Christmas to you too! 🙂
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Beautiful and extraordinary, Robert. The video made me gasp…in the best way. And yes, hopes for finding our way back to that light. All the best to you for a wonderful holiday.
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Thank you my friend. As I learn I see flaws in the video that I now know how to correct. I’m going to re-make it for next year. I’m glad you like it!
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Most impressive video showing the longing most of us have for things good, kind and loving and not only during Christmas.
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Thank you Paula. I appreciate the comment. This is an idea I’m still tinkering with. I’d love to fully animate it.
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Absolutely brilliant, Rob. So glad you shared it. It was very moving to watch and I loved the music.
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Thank you Hugh. I appreciate that you said so. There is quite a bit of my heart and faith in this piece.
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Reblogged this on Edwina's Episodes and commented:
I just had to share this….beautiful!
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Thank you for the re-blog! I’m glad that you like it. I’ve decided to learn more about making video in VR. Perhaps one day I will redo the shoot as a video.
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Oh, I really think you should 🙂
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I’ve got the hardware for it…my problem is that I have to be careful about using VR because it image requires a ‘controlled’ use of my symptoms or alternates. If they become completely autonomous again life in the real world is hellish. So I limit the use of VR to twice a month. But I’d love to learn how to make a good high resolution video — If I didn’t have DID I’d be endlessly fascinated with Virtual Reality as a means of making art and performance.,
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You have such a talent Rob, and I loved the way you put all of this together. I wouldn’t be able to stand using VR that much either so can understand why you have to limit your time with it 🙂
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Thank you for your comment. It’s fun to use VR for projects like this. I can’t think of any time in history when so many people have had so much access to so many tools for creative expression.
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We are very lucky to have them all at out disposal. Still, it takes a creative mind to be able to use them successfully 🙂
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Yes. Although it sounds judgemental of me; I will never understand people who see a tool like VR as nothing more than a way to indulge in ersatz consumerism. That could also just be my inability to understand the gaming mentality.
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Well it takes all sorts, I suppose Robert 🙂
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And that we are…:) Thanks for the comment.
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This is absolutely wonderful. I love the concept, the art and the carol too!
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This version of Silent Night is gorgeous.
I used the second verse for my clip.
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Fantastic, brilliant post. Love your mind, Man.
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Thanks. You comment makes me smile. 🙂
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Love it. A must-share.
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Thank you!
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This is, I’m struggling to find the right words, Rob, astonishing, moving, thank you. And thank you for bringing this, sharing it with those who visit my blog party. Hope this week treats you kindly. 🙂
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It’s nice when something works in such a way that it touches people emotionally. That’s such a satisfying feeling.
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Wonderful visual poem! Thank you for the dedication. Who could have expected that post to prompt you? Glad it did. 🙂
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I was really stuck until I found your posts. Suddenly I saw how the panels fit as I read them.
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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Thank you for the re-blog!
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Reblogged this on Nutsrok and commented:
Re logged from Robert Goldstein.
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Thank you for the Re-blog my friend. Happy Holidays!
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Robert, what you created here is deeply touching. It went straight to my heart and I still have goosebumps. It is basically a very interesting thought how Christ would incarnate today. I can absolutely go with your idea and again. That video says more than thousand words! Thank you for this!
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I’m glad you like it Erika. It’s an interesting process to learn how to squeeze a narrative into a minute long video. It’s another video poem and a Holiday greeting for my friends. 🙂
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It is most beautiful, Robert!!!
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Thanks Erika!
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😊😊
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Really liked this.
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Thanks. It’s closer to my vision of it. Maybe in a couple of years I know how to make as I see it in my mind. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Survivors Blog Here.
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