Category — Podcasts and Videos

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Some time ago, a friend of mine asked me a question: “What do New York, Ukraine, and Singapore have in common?” Why she chose these three places, I’ll never know, but I always assumed it was for variety. My mind scanned the possible answer choices, and one answer stuck out to me – one unusual answer. “Beggars,” I answered, “the homeless and beggars.” She seemed surprised, so I felt the need to elaborate. I explained that to every place that I have ever traveled, I have seen them, but New York had special ones with special talents. Our conversation continued with various anecdotes about some incidents we had encountered of these New York City beggars on the infamous New York City MTA. [Read more →]

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The Underground Arts of NYC

Subway: a seemingly simple and cheap way to travel. Cheap it is, but simple it is not. In fact, the subway system is a whole other city underground. There are numerous intricate turns, dark tunnels, and traffic lights that switch on and off. Only a true artist is able to navigate such tunnels. Strict instructions have to be maintained in order to ensure that no crash occurs. Subways are traveling back and forth, weaving around each other, to ensure that the passengers arrive to their destinations in a timely manner. The 6, the 1, the C, the B, the 4, and many more; numerous lines depending on the journey you want to take. [Read more →]

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Nature Built into Furniture

Everywhere we go, we always see furniture. Furniture is what makes our rooms unique and comfortable. Furniture comes in different colors, different sizes, and is made up of different simple shapes such as circles, rectangles, and squares. However, how often do we see furniture that incorporates nature into the design? [Read more →]

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*The pictures in this podcast were from Google Images, not my own*

“The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest running show on Broadway, is truly a spectacle for all ages. What makes this show such a booming success is not the props and the actors, but more importantly, the dramatic yet dynamic musical numbers behind each scene by the world famous musical composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. According to Broadwayworld.com, Webber’s music and “emphasis on lush romanticism, and the sympathy he’s able to create for the lead character, are all factors in it’s continued success.” [Read more →]

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After I introduced myself to Matt Hires when he opened for Paolo Nutini at a concert during the summer, I knew I had to go see him again; and this time I would have gone for the purpose of seeing him, and not just by some lucky accident.  Matt is a 23-year-old singer–songwriter from Tampa, Florida.  His father introduced him to many genres of music, and passed along his handmade acoustic guitar from 1977 – the same guitar Matt uses today – when he was sixteen.  He was inspired by artists such as Ryan Adams, Wilco, The Band, and Sufjan Stevens, as contrasting as they are.  Matt taught himself how to play the guitar, and by the time he was seventeen, he wrote his first song.  Soon after, he became the first artist to sign with F-Stop, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.

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Art captures the essence of something that is beautiful to an individual or a group of individuals. In this case, art captures the essence of a culture; a strong flavor that provides an ethnic background to the lives the people hold. I decided to spend this week’s “art event” doing something a little different. Up until now, I have explored the conventional art: a museum gallery where works are purposely displayed to be admired. This week, I’ve decided to venture out into the Delhi Palace— a delicious mixture of various types of art. [Read more →]

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Tyrone Wells, The Myriad & Matt Hires at the Highline Ballroom

Chelsea is a place that works hard during the day and rocks hard at night. It contains numerous art galleries, showrooms and warehouses, but something that stands out in this area is 431 W 16^th Street—the Highline Ballroom. The Highline Ballroom attracts numerous amateur entertainers. It happened that Tyrone Wells a Spokane musician from Washington State (similar to the one all Baruch College freshmen were assigned to read about in Reservation Blues) was going to stop here on his national tour. Tyrone Wells was joined by The Myriad and Matt Hires for a performance that rock’n’rolled the Highline Ballroom and all those that were there. [Read more →]

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*All pictures from online; none of them are my own. Background music – “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows” by Lesley Gore

Clear Animations with a Big Chance of Success

What could be better than free food? The answer is simple: free food falling from the sky. An adaption of the popular children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett of the same title, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (from Sony Pictures Animation in conjunction with Columbia Pictures) took the theatres by storm on September 18^th 2009.[1] Writer and director, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, expanded the book’s plot, and twisted it into a witty story with complex characters and great animation. This 3-D adventure is about Flint Lockwood, an ostracized want-to-be scientist who finally, despite the skepticism of many, invents a machine that converts water into real food. Soon, Flint finds himself the hero of his small town—an island just under the ‘A’ in ‘Atlantic Ocean’ known as Swallow Falls. Not only does Flint save the citizens of Swallow Falls from a life of endless sardines, but he also gets a girlfriend, a weather girl intern by the name of Sam Sparks.  This heart-warming, fun family movie is a clear example of how animated entertainment has grown. From the humble beginnings of a basic flipbook, the animation industry has evolved tremendously, bringing its animated characters closer to the viewers. [Read more →]

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“Ogre-Sized” Show May Be Too Big For Broadway

To all “Shrek” fans out there that want to experience the hit movie performed in person, “Shrek” on Broadway is the closest thing you’re going to get to it. Don’t get me wrong, the Broadway version of the originally animated motion picture is definitely a great show, but it seems as if this “Ogre-sized” show may be too big to be performed on stage. [Read more →]

“Disney On Ice Princess Classics: Who’s The Fairest of Them All?”

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Reporting By: Ariella Levian

When I was a little girl, I used to close my eyes and wonder about the beautiful princes and princesses whose fairytales I listened to before going to bed every night. I could hear my mother’s voice, reading me the magical tales. I could see the illustrations in my colorful books and videos. But the only place where these characters really came alive was in my own imagination.  Never did I think that eighteen years later, these characters that I grew up with and loved so much would manifest themselves in such a magnificent way. [Read more →]