http://youtu.be/-0PZzrMkReE

Our group USSR is (Ultimate Serge Steven Raymond). For our project, we chose to study the different art works throughhout the NYC Subway system. We will be focusing on some graffite, drawings, mosaics from tiles, and any other things we’ll find.

We chose to focus on the Subway because pretty much all New Yorkers take the subway and they spend a significant time of their day commuting. Many of the art works in the Subway are taken for granted and sometimes not even seen at all. We thought it would be interesting to bring forth the various artworks in the subway and bring them to life.

Most teenagers in the United States who are on Facebook (which is mostly all) have either played or heard of the game FarmVille. Though I have never played it, I have heard that it is an incredibly addicting game which when started, is impossible to stop. This is one of the connections made in the article, A Game to Make Zynga Nervous by Seth Schiesel.

The article is about the new Facebook game, Sims Social, which is becoming perilous competition for the maker of FarmVille, Zynga. Schiesel explains that it is much like all the other Sims games in which you make your own character and control his/her actions and the world around them. The social aspect of the game is that fact that it is on Facebook and as a substitute for spending money, you can ask your friends to for example, give you a wrench to build a table.

The article is a general description of the game but what I found intriguing was the amount of connections that Schiesel was making to different games, shows, and other art mediums. For example, in the beginning he explained that over the last month about 65 million people have played Sims Social, which is more than double the audience that watched the new season of “Two and a Half Men”, roughly twice the number of copies of “The Catcher in the Rye” sold during the last 60 years and other comparisons. Later in the article he even makes a connection to one of the Nintendo Mario games.

I have been noticing a ton of connections in the recent articles and once I noticed them, they have been coming up everywhere. Essentially all these connections are made to further make the reader interested in the article. I, for one, loved the show “Two and a Half Men” while Charlie Sheen was on it and I tuned in for the new episode to see what direction the show would take. Now I feel part of the article because I was one of the 30 million people who watched the first episode. I feel like these connections are made by the authors to draw their audience and eventually leads to the reader clicking links and following more articles.

People are usually defined by the choices they make and some of these choices result in the person never being the same again! This is a podcast of the major turning point in my life. Enjoy!

The play of The Barber of Seville illustrates the struggle of the Count when he was trying to get Rosine to fall for him in different personas with the help of Figaro. Dr. Bartholo attempts to stop him an every turn but the lovers inescapable love drives them to marry in the end. The opera generally follows an incredibly similar plot to that of the play but there were some changes that I noticed. First, just like any opera, most of the dialogue is in a singing manner, which brings up emotions less through the actions of the actors but through their voice. Second some of the scenes were slightly altered. In the play, the Count bribed the lawyer for him to sign the marriage paper to marry Rosine. However, in the opera, Count threatens the notary with a gun. This in turn adds even more drama and emotion to the opera. Another great difference was the role of Figaro. In the play Figaro acted as fate, driving the Count and Rosine to be together, much like in the opera. He was mostly just a side character that made things happen. However, in the opera, Figaro may be considered as the main character. The opera becomes more of a story of the struggles of Figaro attempting to help everyone around him.

In tragedies, Fate usually forces the characters against their will and positive intentions and eventually they die miserable deaths. On the other hand, in a comedies, fate usually aids the characters through hardships and eventually the characters end up having happy endings. This is especially true in Beaumarchais’s Barber of Seville, where the Count falls in love with Rosine and in the end they marry. Though it was inevitable that they will marry all the way from the beginning, Count wanted to make sure that Rosine fell in love with him for him and not his money. He disguises himself as a poor student named Lindor and tries to meet her as Lindor, though his plan is quickly halted by Dr. Bartholo who also loves Rosine and wants her all to himself. Fate presents itself as Figaro, who used to be a servant for Count and Figaro helps the Count devise clever plans to meet with Rosine as different characters.

In this play, Figaro is like fate because he successfully aids and pushes the Count in his plans to meet Rosine. Even when the Count’s plan was shot down by Dr. Bartholo, fate stepped in as Figaro and made the inevitable when Rosine and the Count finally marry in the end.

Since I can remember, my favorite show in the world was Family Guy. I remember before an episode, they would say, “Viewer discretion is advised. May be inappropriate for children under 14,” and I thought to myself, “WOW, imagine me being 14!” That is how long I’ve been watching the show!

“Channel Surfing: ‘Family Guy’ Returns, Zingers Intact” by Neil Genzlinger is an article in which Genzlinger tells the reader of the new season of Family Guy and gives a brief intro to the new episode this Sunday. He begins the article by talking about Seth MacFarlane’s role I the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen and relates his amazing success with hilarious jokes to his cartoon shows. For readers like me, who know a great deal about the show, this article does not bring much insight but for readers who have never seen the show, this introduction of Seth MacFarlane is an incredibly effective one.

Genzlinger continues his article by telling the reader of some key parts in the new upcoming episode. He explains that Peter wins the lottery for a sum of 150 million dollars and eventually shoots someone’s eye out. While this information is very short, I believe it definitely draws the reader to set their DVR to record this new episode!

All in all, Genzlinger does a fantastic job in drawing the reader to watch this new season of Family Guy. With his relation to the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen and the brief but intriguing intro to the new episode, Genzlinger delivers an amazing review of what is to come.