What book is Stephen King writing now?

In 1983, Stephen King began a book first titled “The Cannibals” which was also known as “Under the Dome”.  This book remained unpublished and unfinished.  According to Stephen King who appeared on CSPAN2 this evening on the program, “A writing Discussion with Stephen, Tabitha, and Owen King”, the book has come back to life.  He read an excerpt from what promises to be a very long novel entitled “Under the Dome”.  No publishing date was discussed.  It looks like Stephen King is digging into his trunk of long abandoned novels and updating them like he did with Blaze.  The short passage that King read dealt with the unexpected death of a small plane pilot and student.  In recent interviews, Stephen King has mentioned that he is working on a very long book set in Maine.  Stay posted for more updates…

  

 

Microsoft Surface: Hands-on First Look

The software giant has built a new touchscreen computer—a coffee table that will change the world. Go inside its top-secret development, then forget the keyboard and mouse: The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on.

Iron Man Rockets to $201M worldwide!

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios’ Iron Man exceeded all expectations, earning a massive $100.75 million during its opening weekend domestically from 4,105 theaters and $104.2 million since debuting Thursday night, averaging $24,543 per site. Internationally, the film has also earned an incredible $96.7 million in 57 countries since it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million after just five days! The comic book adaptation, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, was the 10th biggest opening of all-time and the fourth biggest for a superhero movie. Among nonsequels, it came in behind only the first Spider-Man, which opened with $114.8 million. As far as May openings, Iron Man came in at #8, just behind X-Men: The Last Stand’s $102.8 million when you look at the three-day figure (not counting Thursday night). Financed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount, the movie cost about $150 million to make and $75 million to market.

 

Who is Banksy???

Banksy is a well-known pseudo-anonymous English graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol and born in 1974,  but there is substantial public uncertainty about his identity and personal and biographical details.  According to Tristan Manco, Banksy “was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier engineer, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s.  His artworks are often-satirical pieces of art that encompass topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass who maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. His art has appeared in cities around the world.  Banksy’s work was borne out of the larger Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.

 

 

Who is Shepard Fairey

 

 

 

Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina) is a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene and became known initially for his “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today’s best known and most influential street artists.  He usually uses just his middle and last name.

Fairey created the “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign in 1989, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.   This later evolved into the “Obey Giant” campaign, which has grown via an international network of collaborators replicating Fairey’s original designs.   In a manifesto he wrote in 1990, and since posted on his website, he links his work with Heidegger’s concept of phenomenology.   His “Obey” Campaign draws from the John Carpenter movie “They Live” which starred pro wrestler Roddy Piper, taking a number of its slogans, including the “Obey” slogan, as well as the “This is Your God” slogan.   Fairey has also spun off the OBEY clothing line from the original sticker campaign.

Fairey graduated from RISD in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in illustration. After graduation, he founded a small printing business in Providence, RI called Alternate Graphics, specializing in tshirt and sticker silkscreens, which afforded Fairey the ability to continue pursuing his own artwork. While residing in Providence in 1994, Fairey met American filmmaker Helen Stickler, who had also attended Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a film degree. The following spring, Stickler completed a short documentary film about Shepard and his work, titled “Andre the Giant has a Posse.” The film premiered in the 1995 New York Underground Film Festival, and went on to play at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. It has been seen in more than 70 festivals and museums internationally.

In 2003 he founded the Studio Number One design agency.   The agency produced the cover work for the Black Eyed Peas’s album Monkey Business and the poster for the film Walk the Line.   Fairey has also designed the covers for The Smashing Pumpkins‘ album Zeitgeist,  Flogging Molly’s CD/DVD Whiskey on a Sunday, and the Led Zeppelin compilation Mothership.

His book, “Supply and Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey,” was released in July 2006.

Fairey currently resides in Los Angeles, California.   Fairey created a series of posters supporting Barack Obama’s candidacy for President in 2008.   He sits on the advisory board of Reaching to Embrace the Arts, a not-for-profit organization that provides art supplies to disadvantaged schools and students.

 

 

The New Dark Knight Trailer!

Warner Bros. Pictures has brought online the new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, hitting conventional theaters and IMAX on July 18. The Batman Begins follow-up stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.In the film, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good with the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart). The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.