I am of course referring to Spiderman and Julie Taymor.

I have been casually following news of the recent Spiderman musical. At first it sounds like an interesting train wreck waiting to happen. Big media companies trying to exploit another venue to sell their content. Marvel Comics sees how well Wicked is doing and decide that there is a spot for them at the table. And how else to succeed than to get the director that Disney used for their Broadway success? Now, Julie Taymor is an amazing director and designer, of both stage and film. I can’t wait to see her version of The Tempest. Like her Titus , she had previously produced the piece on stage. But the conversion to film involves a complete re-imagining of the piece for the new medium.

Taking that into consideration, Maybe Julie Taymor is the right candidate for a theater version of Spiderman. Other designers haven’t done well with swinging (on ropes) cartoon characters. Bob Crowley tried this with Tarzan, and it flopped. But he does not have the strong background in leading adaptations and directing theatrical productions.

I was apprehensive when I saw this article . It seemed like they were rushing things, the first preview performance had numerous stops and mishaps.

But ultimately I am optimistic that it will be great show. Mainly because Ms. Taymor doesn’t accept anything but success. Reading this article (Last one I promise)in the New York Magazine reassured me enough that I am suspending judgement until it opens in January.

But it all comes down to to great things…

Can’t remember where I found this really cool stop motion video. It is a journey thru a the pages of a book, making pop up dioramas out of the pages. Pretty great.

YouTube – Going West.

Today is my birthday, and of course in many ways it feels like just another day. Which of course it is. But of course it has the job of marking your time in increments. And when you are younger it is a very momentous occasion. McKelvey in particular loves having her birthday be a holiday that ranks with Easter and christmas. You get so much attention, presents, cake and you get to choose what we have for dinner, it’s pretty awesome. And getting older was important when you’re a kid. You always want to be older when you’re younger and younger when you’re older. McKelvey is looking forward to turning ten and being in double digits. But that is not that big of a deal when you get older. Especially once you get past those important years, like turning 18 or 21.

And as for marking the passage of time, I don’t really think about birthdays as what marks the year. I don’t even think of January 1st either. For me it is about summers, meaning summer theater gigs and not being in school (whether as a student or teacher). Or marking the years by august and school starting again. That is the rhythm of the year, not birthdays.

As far noticing the passage of time, I have noticed some more grey hairs today, mostly in my beard. My hair on the top of my head is a little thinner I guess. And I did notice a new wrinkle on my face, but it only shows up when I’m smiling. But I don’t actually pay attention to the passage of time that much. This was the first time in a while that I actually looked at the face in the mirror, mostly it is a quick check of hair or appearance to make sure I am not a complete slob.

In case you were wondering, I did have a great birthday. My family rocks, I got some touching thoughtful gifts, and Ann made an amazing dinner. The birthday cake is so chocolatey you will have to brush your teeth after just looking at it, it is so decadent. I said ‘is’ because there is still more than half left. It was so rich that no one could finish their piece. That of course means cake for breakfast with a big glass of milk…

All in all a great day, a good year that had it’s ups and downs. And I am Avery lucky man to have the family I have and a job that I find meaningful and enjoyable, even if I don’t get to be as creative as I would like.

Tilt shift photography is:

the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital postprocessing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically.

It is a neat way of making an image. Someone applied it to a bunch of Vincent Van Gogh paintings:Tilt-Shift Van Gogh. Fun.

This to me is a scary set of videos edited together. A series of near misses involving traffic. But I couldn’t stop watching.

The luckiest bastards alive.

I found this amazing INfo-graphic on a blog I read. Scroll down and be amazed.

Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.