Super Marilyn Clouds

You know what I'd do this weekend if I lived in Atlanta? I'd drag the hubs to the Emily Amy Gallery on Saturday evening so I could take in Ashley Anderson's "Shinobi Marilyn" exhibition, that's what.

Why did Anderson call his first solo show, "Shinobi Marilyn," you ask? According to the Emily Amy Gallery's website, he chose the strange moniker because he was "inspired by an online discovery of imagery embedded in a classic Sega video game from 1987 (Shinobi). Convinced the appearance of Marilyn Monroe in the game was a posthumous tribute to Andy Warhol created by the game designer in 1980s Japan, Anderson sought to explore the subject further."

(For more on what prompted Anderson to focus on this head-scratcher of a subject, read Henry Detweiler's informative interview with him over at burnaway.org.)

A series of 10 digital collages will be featured as part of the "Shinobi Marilyn" exhibit, including the following trio:

According to Anderson, the second of the three pieces above was inspired by fellow artist Cory Arcangel, whose most famous creation also incorporated cloud sprites pulled from the first Super Mario Bros. (On a related note, I'm pretty sure the third piece is made up of coin sprites taken from the same game.)

Want to know more about this Atlanta-based artist? Check out his blog, his Facebook page and his Flickr photostream.

So, what are the odds that we're all going to turn down the volume on our trusty 3DSes after playing New Super Mario Bros. 2 for a bit?

I ask because it just hit me that although I'm likely to have a blast collecting coin after coin after coin while playing New Super Mario Bros. 2, I'm also likely to go completely bonkers due to the constant "ching! ching! ching!" that will be coming out of my 3DS' speakers as I do it.

That said, I'm willing to risk my sanity in order to traipse (yes, traipse) through some of the levels revealed in the latest trailer for this cash-obsessed platformer.

My favorite moments in the trailer below (and here): That never-before-seen nighttime-ish stage shown at the 14-second mark, the rainbow-filled one that follows (at :22) and the rampaging Mega Mario that pops up at :40. Oh, and the golden Big Boo that's given the spotlight at :52.



All that said, I'm not as excited about New Super Mario Bros. 2 as I'd expect to be. Maybe that's because I'm days away from getting my hands on copies of Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Or maybe it's because I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Paper Mario: Sticker Star sometime later this year.

Another possibility: I'm just into the whole "collect a million coins" thing that seems to be this game's raison d'être.

Are any of you also feeling similarly ho-hum about New Super Mario Bros. 2? If so, are you planning to pick up a copy of it anyway or are you going to pass on it in favor of something else?