Out of class early and no work! It's a beautiful spring day, sunny and warm. I'm listening to the Fantasticks, making lunch while a batch of brownies cook in the oven. I'll take the mountain bike out for a spin, and later, Spiderman, which opens nationwide today.
Fresh from the Spiderman File; Peter Parker!
Occupation: Adventurer, photographer for the Daily Bugle
Group affiliation: Formerly a reserve Avenger
Base of operations: New York City
First appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)
Height: 5'10" Weight: 165 lbs.
Eye color: Hazel Hair color: Brown
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: American citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth: New York City
A few facts about the new film:
Factoid #1. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio were both considered for the role of Peter Parker
Factoid #2. Before William Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, both Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were offered the role.
Factoid #3. David Fincher (Fight Club and Panic Room) was offered the chance to direct, but turned it down.
Alternate Versions: The original trailer for the movie depicted a theft of a bank, with the robbers making a getaway in a helicopter. A close-up of the helicopter was shown, until the helicopter stopped, apparently caught in mid-air. As the camera zoomed out, it was shown that the helicopter was caught in a spider web, suspended between the two towers of the World Trade Center. After the attacks on the towers 11 September 2001, however, the trailer was changed.
Directors Trademark: Sam Raimi owns a yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 which he tries to place it in his films at appropriate moments.
Spiderman's Known Relatives: Richard Parker (father, deceased), Mary Parker (mother, deceased), Benjamin Parker (uncle, deceased), May Parker (aunt),Mary Jane Watson-Parker (wife)
Best Friends: Harry Osborn (Deceased), Gwen Stacy (Deceased), Flash Thompson, Johnny Storm (Human Torch), Matt Murdock (Daredevil), Liz Allen Osborn, Betty Brant, Joseph "Robbie" Robertson, Randy Robertson.
Worst Enemies: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Carnage, Electro, Vulture, Sandman, Lizard, Mysterio, Kingpin, Chameleon, Kraven, Scorpion, and many more.
Spiderman Story: Peter Parker, a Senior at Midtown High School, receives his powers when bitten by a previously mutated radioactive spider (Achaearanea tepidariorum) in a science demonstration. Technically speaking; The radioactive, complex mutagenic enzymes in the spider's blood that were transferred at the time of the bite triggered numerous body-wide mutagenic changes within Parker. After discovering these powers Peter hires an agent and tries to make some money in television. One night he had the chance to catch a burglar fleeing from the T.V. studio, but he refused because he didn't think he should try and be a hero. A few days later the aforementioned burglar killed his Uncle Ben. That night, as Spider-Man, Peter apprehends the murderer of his beloved uncle but is plagued with guilt. During his time of turmoil Peter remembers something Uncle Ben once told him, "With great power, come great responsibilities." Peter took this to heart and decided he should use his extraordinary powers for good instead for selfish reasons.
Origin of Comic: First introduced by Marvel in Amazing Fantasy #15, a comic that was on its last leg. For the final issue, The powers at the time which included Stan Lee, decided to 'try-out' a character deemed 'too scary' for young readers as the publisher, Martin Goodman� thought that 'You can't call a book Spider-Man, People hate Spiders!'
Who Created Spiderman? Steve Ditko was the first artist brought on to design the 'look' and 'feel' of Spiderman, that exists to even this day, it is somewhat a mystery to who gets the credit for the creation of Spider-Man...Was it Stan Lee? Steve Ditko? Jack Kirby? Rob Liefeld? Who knows? The first three are most often credited with the invention of the character and comic.
2:14 PM :
Wednesday, May 01, 2002
The collision of the normal meets the paranormal in a suburban shopping store. I admit it, I love Target, or 'Tar-Jay' to be exact, it's the ultimate Pop-Art shopping experience, one that would have had Warhol foaming at the mouth. All the items I didn't know I wanted but now I want, calling to something deep and primal inside, something that tells me to stock up on large boxes of 'Tide' and 'Hello Kitty' soap dispensers. A hidden seductive display agenda of color and shine, taking ordinary products blowing them up, supersizing or offering those items in combinations or colors that have me salivating. The diversity of products, the bold aggressive and expansive nature of stock is extravagant, not just one or two but fifty or so, I no longer see the product, I see color, or shape, I see the ordinary redefined in a new context-it's so neo-geo, so post-modern, so jeff Koons. Sensory overload, repetition of great painterly swatches of 'Bounty' paper towels and 'Rubbermaid Daisies', they merchandise their asses off, multiples everywhere that create a bold graphic statement. There is the towel aisle, storage aisle, battery aisle, candy aisle, lamp and chair aisle, amassing an endless quantity of item and merchandise. The future is about 'possibility' the tooth brushes match the towels that match the toothpaste and so forth, reorganize, and Tar-Jay will help you reaccessorize, create order from chaos and do it all so cheaply. I'm effectively manipulated and it somehow feels honest, as if I'm part of a grand scheme of diverse retail therapy, enhanced by choice. Accent lamps and 'Glade Plug-Ins' provide enough material for a new series of silkscreens or photographs, it's big, it's today, it's 'Tar-Jay' and there is no ordinary, at least not for me.
4:23 PM :
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Silent mayday as hundreds of Internet radio stations plan to go silent Wednesday to protest proposed record-label royalty payments they say would endanger their industry. If the Librarian of Congress accepts the recommendations of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel on May 21st, Internet Radio could be killed for everyone but the biggest corporate interests. The proposal sounds small � 14/100ths of a cent � but it's per song and per listener, stations would be required to report 18 different pieces of information for every music performance and a restriction on how many times a certain artist could be played in an hour. Conventional radio is exempt-Congress decided years ago that performers and labels weren't entitled to royalties due to the promotional nature of the medium. Spotting a possible revenue stream the Recording Industry Association of America lobbied Congress to pass a law that would protect labels and artists from broadcasting items that would make 'perfect digital copies'. Problem is that the law dates from 2 years ago when Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, hoping to update and protect copyright laws for e-commerce. In my opinion, it is ridiculous to force this unstable business model based on old data and should be reexamined. Pity as we lose independent programming before the potential has been realized, this includes college radio that broadcasts on the internet and classical music stations serving a loyal and diverse population of listeners. More information can be obtained from the Save Internet Radio site, and if you are so inclined contact your member of Congress, or House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property.
11:00 PM :
Happy accidents, fate, serendipity, coincidence is an unseen force at play. The idea of an item cast off into oblivion, seemingly lost for ever, completes that journey by being 'found' or recovered. Impossible moments are made possible through a re-examination and transition of contextual meaning, their curious elements reside within as an interlocking evidence of another time frame. 404 Object Not Found, a collection of found photos, odd shots, postcards, and letters. View and reassign now, evoke anonymity and the randomness of modern life.
1:58 PM :
Monday, April 29, 2002
Smoky Miss Miho Hatori's (Cibo Mato) a mix from Tokion Magazine Online, Miss Miho scores a groovy transglobal session complete w/heavy tribal drumming and chanting. See also 'Keepntime Jazz Drummers' and 'Money Mark live from the Keepntime Premiere Party'. Interesting interviews with Sebastien Tellier, Japanese artist Kami, and a feature on their Neo Graffiti Project. Pick up Tokion hard copy #28 for their not to be missed 'Sports' issue and photo essay with ballerinas and rather raw looking high school wrestlers, stunning! Go Tokion now!
Twiggy Twiggy fantastic 'Fantastic Plastic Machine' icons at the delectable United Bread site. Pleasing array of visuals, movements, condiments and other luscious goodies. Don't miss 'Poohman' inspired by 'the variety of crap affecting our daily lives...There is a plethora of poo, a myriad of cacca folders to organize all of your shinola in'. Word.
5:00 PM :
Sunday, April 28, 2002
Text huggers, I have a little freshness, I deconstruct it when I need to, I play aesthetic guru when I want to, I supersize it when I get the chance, volumize it, play with it, mix it up, then start it up. Enter pin number, pull here, lift tab, dial up, hot swap, analyze then synthesize. This isn't static, it's decidedly kinetic...be sure to cut to size here_ take your receipt, release clutch, this completes your transaction, thank you for shopping. More really is better, more time that is, for electronic non static kinetic constructions and deconstructions. Routine although comforting, gives way to mental constipation, apathy, boredom, loss of inspiration, a head like a hole. Lack of voice, lack of vision, until (the pause that refreshes) something hits and reality suspends for a moment, and at the tone, please leave a message, a reminder, a post-it note to the brain, oh yea, that's right, that's it. It's my restraint vs. exuberance question nagging, frivolous, erratic, unfocused, damn multi-tasking that translates into answers like; 'I work in a variety of mediums', at which point, I throw up. No, no, it's my fault, not seeing the invention of the everyday, method to madness, where the versatility is stretched and pulled, where reality and self are suspended, at least for a little while.
6:23 PM :
