In a media landscape filled with so much “sameness,” it is peculiar when a show succeeds over a similarly themed program. Why do some singing competition shows perform consistently well, while others struggle for good numbers? This season, the divide is apparent. The Voice is hitting series highs and spearheading NBC’s rising success, while The X Factor is hitting […]
Category: Arts & Entertainment
Frank’s Pop Culture Watch: A Performance Update on TV Teen Shows
It is often hard for new shows to gain traction and build audiences; the effort proves fruitful for some and grim for others. Nothing showcases this hard fact of show business better than this fall’s teen TV shows. Two of the biggest networks for teens are the CW and ABC Family, so I will examine […]
iPad Mania!
Somewhere a college student has just defeated a level of Candy Crush Saga. This student is gaming, using social media, navigating web pages, listening to music, watching movies, reading books, and taking pictures, all from one device—not their iPhone or any other smart phone, but their iPad. Like a large touchscreen computer that can be […]
What Banksy Can Teach Us
When British artist Banksy’s self-declared New York residency first began creating a buzz, I was excited. To me, it presented a comforting realization that masses could still care about art not just in a I’m-going-take-my-biannual-trip-to-the-Met–to-refresh-my-understanding-and-appreciation-for-good-art kind of way (don’t get me wrong, I love the Met), but in a not-all-important-art-is-in-museums-and-I-am-willing-to-travel-all-around-the-city-to-follow-an-obscure-artist-to-see-what-his-work-is-about kind of way. But as the talk around Banksy […]
Frank’s Pop Culture Watch: ABC Family Boasts Highest Tuesday Ratings Ever
This past Tuesday, ABC Family broke its own records with their highest Tuesday ratings in the network’s history. Which shows propelled the network to this victory? Pretty Little Liars and the premiere of its spinoff, Ravenswood. PLL and Ravenswood destroyed other teen-targeted shows in their time slots—The Originals and Supernatural on the CW—though both CW […]
Frank’s Pop Culture Watch: Strong Debuts for CW’s The Originals and The Tomorrow People
The CW, the network that spawned such cult hits as The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Arrow, struck gold again this season with two of their freshman series. Diaries’ spinoff, The Originals, and sci-fi thriller The Tomorrow People have both premiered to strong ratings and favorable reactions from fans. The Originals follows villain-turned-leading man Niklaus Mikaelson […]
The Greek Yogurt Fad
Stroll down the dairy aisle at your grocery store and you’ll see colorful stacks of Greek yogurt on the shelves, calling out for you to buy them. Although Greek yogurt has actually been around for many years, it has only recently surged in popularity. Now part of the healthy food craze, the trend is present […]
Five Pointz Demolition Disconcerts CUNY Students
Five Pointz graffiti center, one of the largest collections of street art in the world, will be demolished by the end of this year in order to put up two residential towers, according to the Long Island City Post. “Five Pointz was a really awesome experience that my Arts in New York City class told […]
Author Colum McCann Visits Queens College
I left my Biology lecture early to head to the beautiful music building, the Samuel J. and Ethel Lefrak Concert Hall, on September 24. The program had already begun and I silently entered and walked up to the top right section. The impressive 487-seat recital hall at Queens College was mostly full, but not with […]
Bookworms in Brooklyn
On an exceptionally sunny and warm first day of autumn, book lovers from all over the city came to Brooklyn for the eighth annual Brooklyn Book Festival. Brooklyn’s enthusiastic Borough President, Marty Markowitz, created the event to celebrate local writers, though it has expanded to include writers from outside the borough. At “Bookend” events, held […]