Author Archives: David Rand

Posts by David Rand

Comments by David Rand

"Thank you for a great semester. -David Alexander Rand"
--( posted on Dec 19, 2010, commenting on the post A Semester’s Worth of Stubs )
 
"I found this article particularly interesting because my father is a dermatologist, who specializes in laser tattoo removal and runs the Tattoo Removal Center in New York City. For years, I have had conversations with my father about the influence of tattoos on American culture today. Until relatively recently, tattoos were seen as taboo, but as Beth rightly said, tattoos have become much more mainstream in recent years around the world and are a very popular form of art these days. And much like any art form, there are experts who have incredible talent, such as Mister Cartoon. However, there are also inexperienced artists who are less talented and make more mistakes. The thing about tattoos is that when the artist makes a mistake, it's stuck on someone's skin forever - unless of course they go to my dad. Even though tattoo removal does exist and works very well for some tattoos, certain ones will never be able to be removed. That is what I think is the most amazing thing about the great tattoo artists. They have the responsibility of putting elaborate murals on people's bodies that are irreversible. They can't simply throw out the canvas and start over."
--( posted on Nov 23, 2010, commenting on the post Mister Cartoon at the Marcel )
 
"Doron, great call on the Demetri Martin comedy skit, which happens to be my favorite comedy routine of all time! Tonight, a bunch of our classmates (including Clarissa, Corina, and Susan) and I went to see a stand-up comedy show in the, featuring Eliot Chang, in the Queens College Student Union Building. Chang, who has been featured on Comedy Central before, was absolutely hilarious. Check him out on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eliot+chang&aq=f"
--( posted on Oct 28, 2010, commenting on the post “Saying I’m sorry is the same as saying I apologize. Except at a funeral.”-Demetri Martin )
 
"Benny Goodman is clearly an incredible musician, but seeing Woody Allen playing the clarinet was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget! One thing that I forgot to mention in my blog post was that at the end of the concert, as Woody Allen was putting away his clarinet, he began to sing an old jazz tune along with the rest of the band. I was literally in awe as I listened to Allen casually singing a song right in front my eyes."
--( posted on Oct 28, 2010, commenting on the post Good Old Woody )
 
"After listening to both of his styles, I personally have a strong preference for his older work. I think that it may be important for him as an artist to try to experiment with different identities, but he is relatively much better at his original acoustic style that got him recognized as an artist in the first place. I believe that in general when purely acoustic musicians try to create a more electric style, they downgrade their music's quality. Another example of this is Jack Johnson. I love almost all of Jack Johnson's old acoustic songs. However, when he attempted to make a new identity with electric guitar, his music worsened too. It's not that I don't like electric guitar; I love it. I simply don't think that either Stevens or Jackson have been as proficient in their electric music as in their acoustic music. That's just my opinion."
--( posted on Oct 27, 2010, commenting on the post The Evolution of Sufjan )
 
"I really enjoyed your Vlog. I have hear of Muse before, but the only song I knew by them was "Uprising." I really liked the way you made half of it before the concert and the other half after. I also liked how you showed clips and pictures that you took at the concert. Because I haven't watched Twilight either, I never really looked into the band's music. I'm gonna check out more of their songs now."
--( posted on Oct 26, 2010, commenting on the post Vlog: Muse Live at Nassau Coliseum )
 
"I thought it was very interesting how Maureen Dowd shows that many of the ideas from Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" may have been directly influenced by, if not stolen from, the medieval German epic poem “Das Rheingold." However, I believe that the main idea of "The Lord of the Rings" stems back even further, and that "Das Rheingold" may have have not been the original. In my Philosophy 104: Ethics class, we read a chapter from Plato's "The Republic". Plato's book introduces the myth of the ring of Gyges, which allowed the one wearing it to become invisible and all-powerful. In fact, my philosophy professor mentioned that many modern stories, such as the "The Lord of the Rings," have been taken from Plato's classic book. I believe that it's worthwhile to recognize the idea of artists working off of each other's ideas, especially throughout time. While works of art can be unique, nothing is absolutely original."
--( posted on Oct 11, 2010, commenting on the post People Powers, real and imagined )
 
"While the video gets kind of monotonous after 30 seconds or so of walking, I think that the whole idea of it is amazing. Seeing it live must be pretty breathtaking. I also found it intriguing that it falls under the category of dance. I would never have classified this video as a derivation of dance before reading this post."
--( posted on Oct 8, 2010, commenting on the post Defying Gravity )
 
"Great reference to my blog post from September 13th!"
--( posted on Oct 6, 2010, commenting on the post Riddle Me This? )
 
"I happened to watch SNL this past Saturday night, and I agree with you that it is very interesting how Kanye is able to juxtapose the classical with the modern. I was very intrigued by the performance of the dancers, as well as with the unconventional lighting and set. That said, I believe that these two performances are yet another example of Kanye West's extreme narcissism. Look at his outfit, his excessive jewelry, and his crown. He has this erroneous belief that he is the most unique, influential individual to walk the face of the earth. While self-promotion is a common motif in rap, Kanye takes it to an entirely different level. His songs "Power" and "See me now" are perfect examples of his false sense of his importance. In reality, two of his other songs reflect his actual nature: "Paranoid" and "Heartless.""
--( posted on Oct 5, 2010, commenting on the post Kanye West and Modern Dance )
 
"First of all, I would like to complement Le Poisson rouge for serving me the best bottle of water and cup of plain seltzer that I've ever had! While these two drink orders were very plain, the performers were anything but plain. As others have said, their passion brought an excitement to the piece that goes far beyond what is written in the notes. Sitting directly in front of he stage not only gave me a neck ache, but also afforded me an uninhibited view of the performers. The thing that impressed me most about the performance is the same thing that caught my attention when we heard the classical guitar piece in class, which was the level of concentration required by each of the performers. It was truly incredible to see a regular person sitting right in front of me, playing such complicated notes on the piano, moving her fingers a mile a minute across the keyboard flawlessly. The same is true for the violinist, the classical guitarist, and all the other musicians that we've seen. When most of your music that you listen to is heard through iPod headphones, you miss this key aspect of the musical experience. One side note: Was anyone else as impressed as I was by the man whose sole job was to sit next to the pianist and turn the pages of her notes? While this may seem like a silly thing to say, it takes an entirely different type of focus to read every note while it is being played for minutes on end. Not to mention the pressure that comes with the fact that if he messes up, the whole piece gets thrown off. Overall, this was a great experience. See you all in Lefrak Hall (unintentional rhyme)."
--( posted on Sep 28, 2010, commenting on the post Le Poisson Rouge )
 
"I must have posted this blog post directly after the one before it because it was not there when I began writing it. Sorry for the repetition, but I believe that the two posts give different insights about the issue of graffiti."
--( posted on Sep 16, 2010, commenting on the post Art for Guys Who Hate Museums )
 
"I would definitely classify this photography as art. I believe that a photographer's use of a camera can be just as artistic as a painter's use of a brush. Before the photograph that we see is taken, it begins as a thought in the photographer's mind. The photographer's choice of focus, composition, lighting, color, and so on, is a very creative process that causes us to have certain emotional reactions to the final image."
--( posted on Sep 6, 2010, commenting on the post Art and News )