Spider-Man 3 and Me

This week Spider-man 3 opens nation wide, and we are excited. I grew up reading the Spiderman Comics and watching both the cartoon and the live action shows. The 1st time I was exposed to Spiderman was the during the 70’s watching The Electric Company TV Show. (Morgan Freeman was one of the shows stars.) The show employed sketch comedy and other devices to provide an entertaining program to help children of primary-school age. One of the sketches they had were sorts of Spiderman during each episode, witch were very campy. Later in the 70’s there was a short lived live action TV show called The Amazing Spider-Man. the show only lasted a year. As a kid in the 80’s, every Saturday morning I had to see Spiderman and his Amazing friends. Then as a teen and as an adult I have collected the comics. I currently have 3 long boxes full of them.

Today the movies are the best way for one to get their Spider-man fix. These films are the 1st to really show how to make a superhero film. I own both of the 1st two films and I love to watch them with the boys. David really loves them so much so a week doesn’t go by with out him asking to watch one of the movies. He even has two pairs of Spiderman pajamas.

Now the new film will be out on Friday, however we will be in Milwaukee for a wedding. Hopefully we will get to see it wile we are there. The movie is already being said that it is one not to be missed this summer. One reviewer liked it better than the other two. I would have to say out side of Star Wars, Spider-man is the best.

David dressed as his favorite superhero

Spider-Man 3 Trailer

the Amazing Spiderman opening

A busy Weekend

Pheeeew, it was a busy weekend for us. It all started on Saturday when Amy attempted to go a new ACIM group in Ferndale, Michigan, but it was cancelled. Wile she was gone the boys and I took advantage of the great weather, and worked outside in the yard. I mowed the lawn as the boys “helped” with weeding the garden. The best part of “helping” me, for them, was using the leaf blower to clean the drive way of clippings. David was raking the grass in to the drive way and Rodney was blowing it back. So when Amy got back she took the boys to the library (so I could clean up the yard) to pick up some books she had on hold and let the boys pick out some of their own books. How ever having two boys in tow makes it hard to think. So she forgot the books.

Amy came back home and we had dinner as a family. We decided, after dinner, to go back to the library to get the books and go get the boy’s tuxes for my cousins wedding next week end. When we got the library in was closed, we had forgotten it closed at 5pm on Saturday. So we headed to the tux place, and wouldn’t you know it to was closed. So since we were in the area we went to Pier 1 and Boarders. We were good and only got a “few” new books.

Sunday we went to Sunday services at Interfaith and our new facilities. There was a special speaker for scurvies, Mark Handler. Mark gave a talk on Tibetan toning bowls and meditation. After his talk he played many of his bowls as we meditated. We even got to try some ours selves.

After “church” we came home for lunch. Amy went to a scrap book party and I had the “joy” of taking the boys back to the tux place. Let me tell you it was “fun” we had to wait for about a half an hour to get in to a changing room. So Rodney and David entertained them selves with the mirrors. Then boys loved how they looked, David especially. He was dancing around it reminded me of James Brown. After getting them round up in to the van we went home. When Amy got back we all decided to enjoy the 75 degree weather and go eat dinner in the park and let the boys run around. So we will be spending the next week getting ready for the trip to Milwaukee next week end. I should have lots of photos by then.

John Singer Sargent & the Flint Institute of Art

Self Portrait, 1906, oil on canvas, 70 x 53 cm

Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

One of the best parts of growing up in Flint, Michigan was the Flint Institute of Art. Form the time I was ten my parents lived only a mile from the museum. The FIA is one of the best in Michigan, with its art classes and gallery. I took classes there all the way until I was in my mid 20s and spent a lot of time in the galleries as well.

I was there I found one of my favorite artist, John Singer Sargent. John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist. Sargent was born in Florence, Italy to American parents. He studied in Italy and Germany, and then in Paris under Emile Auguste Carolus-Duran. In a time when the art world focused, in turn, on Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism, Sargent practiced his own form of Realism, which brilliantly referenced Velázquez, Van Dyck, and Gainsborough. His seemingly effortless facility for paraphrasing the masters in a contemporary fashion led to a stream of commissioned portraits of remarkable virtuosity.

Here are a few selections of his work:

Garden Study of the Vickers Children, 1884
Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan

Madame Pierre Gautreau (Madame X), 1884

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Newton Phelps-Stokes, 1897
Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892-93
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Daughters of Edward D. Boit, 1882
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-1886
Tate Gallery, London

Chuck E. Cheese fund raiser

Today the boys had a fund raiser for their school at Chuck E. Cheese. Rodney had been working so hard to keep him self under control so that he could go to there. Both boys had earned extra tokens from their teachers for good behavior as well. We all had a good time, we ate pizza, played video games, played pinball, and won tickets playing skee ball. Amy and I split our winnings with the boys.

Earth Day 2007

It’s Earth Day today! We took Rodney and David to this years Earth Day Festival at U of M’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We met up with our scout troop and enjoyed the afternoon of 80 degree and sunny weather. We could not have chosen a better day.

The boy’s all got to enjoy all the exhibitor tables. They had stations about the environment, about recycling, about wild life and conservation. Some of the tables were handing out all kinds a free stuff for the kids, some gave out free food, and others had crafts for them to do. This was our 2nd year going and we all enjoyed our selves

Here is the rest of the Images click to enlarge.