Upon arriving at the Macaulay  honors college for Thursday night's common event, I was surprised to see that it was a reading of poetry, not of literature or of any other more scholarly subject. I was quite happy to find that Macaulay common events were not as conservative as I previously thought. It was refreshing to see and hear a young group of people express themselves through poetry, and it was an event that was very contrasting to any other Macaulay event we've ever been to. Overall, the experience was good.

On Friday I decided to accompany my friend to watch her favorite musical artist, Ryan Leslie, perform at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. To be honest, I wasn't exactly excited to go because I hardly listen to his music and I didn't think much of him as a musical artist. I thought he was an excellent musical producer but that was about it. After the concert on Friday, I have to say my whole perception as him as an artist completely changed. He is extremely talented not only did he sing beautifully but he also played multiple instruments such as the piano and guitar really well.

The event on Thursday was pretty interesting to say the least. Each poet who recited their work had a different style and way of delivering their poems. My favorite from all of the artists at the event was the second one, Jamal. He recited his work with such a fast pace that it almost seemed like he was freestyle rapping. I enjoyed this aspect of when he read and it made me pay attention even more closer. I loved how his poems touched on the subject of war and those effected by it because it was completely uncensored and felt like it was an "in your face" type of poem.

I'm looking forward to seeing The Hard Nut in class. After reading "Irony and Sincerity," I have high hopes for Mark Morris's production of the classic Nutcracker ballet. The reading addresses the meaning behind The Hard Nut and how Morris attempted to combine the classics with popular culture. Morris was an unconventional rebel artist, and I admire his thoughts and visions that put his play in motion. His beliefs and ideas about the "common human fate" are provocative.

 This past friday I went to visit the Museum of the City of New York. I learned about the history of public safety in New York as well as viewed photographs of different New York locations, focusing on nature in particular. One fact that I learned was in that 1904, there was a huge fire on a ship in which only 110 of 1331 people survived. This was due to the lack of crew being prepared for the event of a fire. Moreover, the lifejackets and life boats that were on board were so old, they could not properly do their function.