A Note on Terrorism

Terrorism is a huge problem in society and this article addresses where the world is headed with all of these attacks. It also compares terrorism to Earthquakes which is an odd comparison as one is a natural disaster and what is simply a disaster.

http://bigthink.com/endless-innovation/why-do-terrorists-blow-up-shopping-malls

Kiss Me Kate Rehearsal Update

Today, I had my third rehearsal for Kiss Me Kate. We worked on "We Open In Venice" and the rehearsal was fantastic. We learned the song very quickly and we all had a great time while working on it. The Pit Orchestra happened to be rehearsing and happened to be practice the same song and we practiced together and it went really well. I had my doubts about it going well, but surprisingly, we were in sink and it was fun. I can't wait for the next rehearsal!

Looks May be Deceiving

http://bigthink.com/dragons-and-pandas/no-quick-fix-corruption-in-china

China may be economically doing well but the people on the other hand, are not doing as well. It goes to show you that even if a country is doing well overall, the people inside the country may still be struggling.

Kiss Me Kate Table Read

The table read went smoothly, as they usually go. I was told I did well reading the Shakespeare parts for the first time, I pronounced most of the words correctly which was a surprise to me. I have a better feel for the role of Fred Graham now as I have spoke all of the lines. Now, it's a matter of rehearsing everything, memorizing it, and having it flow naturally. I am looking forward to this show as it is an operetta and will most likely be challenge and I will hopefully learn something new!

Crowdsourcing Research

Branding: Part I http://www.nbcnews.com/science/wildfires-expected-double-2050-west-warms-8C11122981?ocid=msnhp&pos=1

Each logo is very distinct from other companies’ logos yet all the logos under Google have a very similar style so they all “Google-like.” They are all kept very simple, modern, and quirky which makes the logo appealing, recognizable, and memorable. Some logos are symbolic and some are literal. So, based on this, the STAC logo should be simple and visually appealing.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Google-Visual-Assets-Guidelines-Part-2/9084309

The icons should represent what their purpose is. For example, “liking” something would be a thumbs up, saving something would be a floppy disk, etc. This will allow the user to know what the icon is without having to scroll over it and wait for it to say what its purpose is. Ultimately, this link says that things should be easily navigable.

Branding: Part II http://www.palantir.com

“Engineering Culture”

This is very visually appealing to people, it’s colorful, friendly looking, full of pictures, both of drawings and of smiling employees so it makes you want to delve into what the program is all about and what each person does. The colors are all bright and fun. They talk about their mottos and use inspiring quotes. People aren’t exactly into reading about work but when it looks colorful, fun, and adds a hint of inspiration to keep you wondering about what life is like there, they’ll be reading.

“Life at Palantir”

They make everything sound very adventurous as they say you will make your own adventure. They describe Palantir life as very relaxed and laid back. They mention gym memberships, three luxurious meals by executive chefs, doctors, chiropractors, and showers all on the site. They mention special guest speakers for Palantir Live Night events. They don’t actually mention much about the actual JOB at Palantir. They ony mention the fun, relaxing, beneficial, interesting things. Basically whatever people want to hear/read, is there, and what they don’t, isn’t. Everything is extremely colorful, once again, the logos and texture of the page, very distinct and filled with happy faces of employees at these special relaxing events.

“What We Do”

They make their job sound like the most important one in the world. They exaggerate everything, how building their software will change the world forever, how they combat crime, stop hackers, and a bunch of other things that may or may not actually be happening. They do not mention a single negative thing they do, for one, and they make everything on this page, colorful and fun as well. It gives the effect that what they do is important, but really fun at the same time. They make everything seem really amazing and really important is the main thing I get from this page.

Crowdfunding: Part I http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/11-tips-for-crowdfunding-how-to-raise-money-from-strangers/

This website makes crowdsourcing seem very simple, easy, and fun. It gives helpful tips and out of them all, I feel knowing your target audience is the most important (besides actually pitching your idea). You can pitch your ideas all you want but if you pitch it the wrong way, no one will like it. If you’re trying to pitch something to children, it’s going to be fun, colorful, and friendly. If it’s adults you’re pitching to, it’s going to be a totally different animal. All of the other tips I feel are common sense. Pitch passionately, plan ahead, etc are things that you should know instantly but pitching appropriate to age group is something that is commonly forgotten.

http://gogetfunding.com

You don’t even have to click on a link to start feeling something on this website. The pictures and they’re little captions immediately catch you. A picture of a baby that has some disease and needs help funding an operation, an old person that needs help funding an operation, someone needs money for an abroad education program, etc. This entire page is about getting to your emotions, making you feel bad or making you feel happy and you want to help give them that happiness.

http://gogetfunding.com/project/fund-s-for-beautiful-miracle-emily

I decided to actually click on a link from the gogetfunding.com and as I predicted, was an immediate appeal to your emotions. The idea is to try to get you to feel sad or sorry for the person, and make you feel like you can do so much by donating and helping. Of course, I picked on something sadder and more serious but the other links are full of aspiring students who need an education or someone who wants to make a major movie but the point is, they make you feel powerful and that your donation will go into something productive.

Crowdfunding: Part II http://www.kickstarter.com

Colorful, full of pictures and near success kickstarter events. Each event has a picture, of course, colorful and a little caption pitching their idea. It’s not too much information so people won’t get bored, and it’s not too little that they don’t get the purpose of the event.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1835178575/the-will-of-captain-crown-a-hardboiled-pirate-comi?ref=home_spotlight

This gives you every single aspect of what your money is going into. Not a single detail of the project is left unsaid. It’s full of pictures of the project, videos of the starters and the project itself, etc. It’s essentially every way you could sell your idea all on one page.

Crowdfunding: Part III http://www.gofundme.com

I’m not very fond of this website set up. It gives you a bunch of links to click on but very little information on all of them. It tells you the project, and how many have people have raised the amount of money listed. It doesn’t make me want to click on anything. It leaves me hanging in a sense, almost as if I am going in blind, searching for a worthy cause.

Abbot and Costello "Who's on First" with Accents

For the talent show/presentation this upcoming Friday, Brian Brew and I will be preforming Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First" in a Russian accent (Brian as Abbot) and in an Italian accent (myself as Costello). We have figured out which portions of the script we would like to do as we have a small, limited time period and there are many different versions of this scene. So far, Brian and I have our accents down. Now it's a matter of letting things happen naturally and getting the script down without questioning a beat. And if you do question a beat, make sure we know the basis of that part so we can cover ourselves appropriately.

Worried about Failing? Well Worry Less!

http://www.businessinsider.com/26-successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2012-7?op=1

Here is a link to 26 stories of people who have been through many, many failures and came to be some of the most successful people ever. Never stop chasing your dreams! I'll never listen to those who say, "Be careful in the theatre business, it's too rough!" I'll always chase my dreams of becoming a Broadway actor and eventually branch into film as well.

Them Heavy People

They clear the windows that were always fogged
They guide me through glory and hell
They test my mind and break my will
We all are tempted to go through

Artist's Biography

            Andrew Greiche was born in New Hyde Park, New York on May 21^st, 1997. He lived in Fresh Meadows for three years then he moved to New Hyde Park.  Greiche first picked up acting when he was in Kindergarten when he went to Disney World, Florida with his parents where he participated in a children’s production of Beauty and the Beast as Gaston.

            Later that year, his parents, Kathy (a high school World Languages Chairperson), and Michael (an auditor), signed him up for acting classes and participated in various classes from 2002-2011. When he was seven years old, he landed his first job as Harry in Dirty Laundry which starred Loretta Divine. When he was eleven years old, he discovered his passion for singing in his elementary school production of Surviving the Applewhites: the Musical as Swami the Guru. Greiche has acted in numerous college films at NYU, New York Film Academy, and SVA. At age twelve, Greiche worked with Morgan Spurlock as Jake Williams in Spurlock’s documentary of the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt. Throughout Greiche’s time in Herricks Middle School and the time he’s had at Herricks High School, he’s played as Harold Hill in The Music Man, Captain Georg (George) Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Motel Kamzoil in Fiddler on the Roof, Lieutenant Joseph Cable in South Pacific, J. B. Biggley in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. In 2013, Greiche participated in the NATS Competition (National Association of Teachers of Singing) in the lower high school division for both musical theatre and classical singing and won first place in both categories. He was also a semi finalist in the classical high school division in the Classical Singer competition that same year.

            Greiche’s philosophy for his passion is to keep trying and never give up on your dreams and he has to thank his parents for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Currently, Greiche is studying voice with Tammy Hensrud, a professor at Hofstra University and a professional opera singer. He is also studying acting with Luke Delalio at Herricks High School in a program called STAC (Student Television Arts Company) which is a multidisciplinary program for students passionate about the fine and performing arts. Greiche is also studying dance at American Theater Dance where Natalie Portman also studied dance. Greiche plans on pursuing musical theatre and film acting as a profession in the future and wishes to major in musical theatre when he goes off to college.