Widow's man

A widow's man was a fictitious seaman kept on the books of Royal Navy ships during the 18th and early 19th centuries in order to make payment to the families of dead crew members. This financial arrangement helped widows from being left destitute following the death of their seafaring husbands.

Practice

The number of widows' men on a ship was proportional to the ship's size. A first-rate might have as many as eighteen, while a sixth-rate might have only three. The ratio was reduced by Admiralty order on 25 October 1790.

The existence of widows' men served as an incentive for men to join the Royal Navy, rather than the Merchant Navy, as they knew that their wives would be provided for if they died.

Historical research

This procedure can lead to some confusion to modern students of history. For example, the sloop Discovery carried 153 men on its voyage exploring Puget Sound, but the widow's man brings its official complement to 154. Reportedly, in 1738 the sloop Wolf discharged its widow's man when the company was reduced, but whether this was an accident or an attempt to maintain crew strength is difficult to determine.

Spider-Man 2099

Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 comic book line. His secret alter ego is Miguel O'Hara, a brilliant geneticist living in New York in the year 2099 A.D. who is attempting to recreate the abilities of the original Spider-Man in other people and later suffers a related accident that causes half his DNA to be re-written with a spider's genetic code. O'Hara is the first Latino character to assume the identity of Spider-Man.

Publication history

Spider-Man 2099 was one of the many Marvel characters to be re-imagined for the Marvel 2099 comic book line that showed future versions of classic Marvel characters living in the year 2099, a century after the current Marvel Universe time period (the Marvel 2099 timeline began its run in 1992, approximately 107 years prior to the year in which the new books would take place). Spider-Man 2099 was first featured in a five-page sneak preview of the first issue of his then-upcoming series in the 30th anniversary issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. The Spider-Man 2099 series' first issue appeared shortly afterward. When originally published, the Marvel 2099 stories were meant to depict the official future of the Marvel Universe: a dystopian America governed by corrupt megacorporations with a number of cyberpunk elements.

S&Man

S&Man (pronounced as Sandman) is a 2006 pseudo-documentary film that examines the underground subculture of horror films. It contains interviews with indie horror filmmakers and other horror experts, including Erik Marcisak, Bill Zebub, Fred Vogel, Carol J. Clover, and Debbie D., as well as a scripted plot that comes into focus in the film's second half.

The film discusses why some people enjoy underground horror films involving fetishes. Although the film is classified as a documentary, there is a fictional subplot which helps advance the film's theme by showing what some people really think about the genre.

S&Man was shown at the reRun Gastropub Theater in New York City, film festivals, and released on home video. The film has received praise and criticism; although some reviews are strongly against the nature of the film, most reviews were positive.

Summary

S&Man is about voyeurism as it relates to underground films. Interviews with horror film directors and Carol J. Clover, a writer on the horror genre, are weaved between clips from horror films. In the beginning of the film, clips show the directors and Clover commenting on a horror film that is not shown onscreen and with the title not mentioned. The film then moves on to Petty's meetings with Eric Rost (Erik Marcisak), Bill Zebub, and Fred Vogel. He interviews these men and actress Debbie D., while clips from horror films and facts and opinions provided by Clover about the genre are interspersed.