Space Invaders

On Clipper.  Looks like he got the gun and bunker in Noe Valley (perhaps the old Nike Missile site on Mount Sutro?)

(Sorry if I am confusing this with an octopus or some other 8-bit cepholopod.)

Space Invaders Trivia from www.spaceinvaders.de – these are memed on just about every SI site I see, but fun nonetheless.

The game was so amazingly popular in Japan that it caused a coin shortage until the country’s Yen supply was quadrupled. Many incidents of juvenile crime surrounded the release of this game. A girl was caught stealing $5000 from her parents and gangs of youths were reported to have robbed grocery stores just so they would have money to play the game.

And then there’s Space Invaders the street artist, with elegant tile SI mosaics.

Interview from Swindle Magazine, via Kumo.

It wasn’t until I traveled to Paris that the full scope and scale of Invader’s work hit me. He started his project in Paris in 1996, and most of his 589-plus installations there remain. Everywhere I went, there were invaders, either jumping or peeking out. Some older, lower mosaics were partially removed, not by building owners but by fans hoping to collect a piece; to combat this problem, Invader devised an elaborate hanging system to place the invaders out of reach.

He’s has exhibits and public installations now — I love this one in Vienna.  Click the image for more pix.

I’d take SI art on any wall in the neighborhood.  Let’s get at it, Mission taggers — any bitch can spray paint, now’s the time to show some skillz and lay down some nice Murano tile and grout.

UPDATE: Reader Lauren notes this guy in Paris:

Or, if you’re feeling the need to redecorate the inside of your place, why not get Space Invaders decals from Blik?

For old time’s sake — insert ¥50 to play: