Review on an episode of Family Guy
With nine seasons in so far, Family Guy finally joins a Simpson’s tradition and makes a Halloween special episode. "Family Guy" is an animated series created by the infamous Seth MacFarlane. It is a show that either one loves or hates; there is no in-between. The show also exploits stereotypical comedy, focusing on topics and events that are usually regarded as to off limits to comedy sitcoms, and even pokes fun at religion. Family Guy treats relevant matters in an unusually humorous or satirical manner while actually retaining their seriousness.
The main characters in this episode include The Griffin Family, Glen Quagmire, and Joe Swanson. Brian is the liberal, atheist, talking dog of the Griffin family. Brian stands upright, is portrayed as intelligent, and dates beautiful human women. Stewie is the baby, but behaves as an adult. He speaks in such an unusual manner, similar to a British man with a large vocabulary. He also carries weapons, and invents new technology. Meg is the only daughter; she is the hideous self-conscious teenager. Chris is the older teenage son. He is unintelligent and obese, partial to his dad Peter. Lois is the mother and wife. She stays at home and takes care of her husband (Peter) and the kids. Peter is the husband and father. He is an idiotic, irresponsible, overweight, lush. Quagmire is the sex-addicted, pedophilic, next-door neighbor to the Griffin family. He is also Peter’s friend. Joe Swanson is a paraplegic police officer that lives next door to the Griffin family as well. Joe is also Peter’s friend.
This episode, “Halloween On Spooner Street,” was a particularly hilarious episode. There are three story lines to follow. The main story line, which was also the most funny, included Brian taking Stewie on his first Trick-or-Treating experience. There were various jokes such as:
Brian: “How do you not know about Trick-or-Treating?
Stewie: “How do you not know that your reflection in the patio door isn't another dog?”
Brian: “Hey… that guy is a dick!”
And
Stewie: “It's True Blood.”
Brian: “Yeah…No one knows what that is.”
Stewie: “Rich, gay people do.”
During Brian and Stewie’s Trick-or-Treating session, Brian wanders off and leaves Stewie alone only to be harassed by some older candy stealing kids. Stewie and Brian spend the rest of the episode trying to get his candy back but run into hardship and ending having to ask Lois for help.
The other two story lines consisted of Meg and Chris attending a high school costume party and Joe and Peter playing pranks on Quagmire. In the two story lines there is more of the traditional edgy crossing-the-line humor that Family Guy usually displays. Humor such as, Chris and Meg’s accidential incestual makeout session, which was awful yet still funny. Also there was the Trick-or-Treat prank which involves Joe fooling Quagmire into thinking that he was a woman so that they could sleep together.
Gallery: The River North Galleries; Stephen Daiter Gallery
To judge from the many other photo galleries of The River North district, the Stephen Daiter Gallery was the most eye-catching because of the Paul D’Amato photography. D’Amato section was entitled “We Shall.” His photography captured the pulse of urban Chicago’s social spectacle. D’Amato is drawn to Chicago’s nitty-gritty parts, particularly the west side of the city, where African Americans reside. His photos were emotive and presented hidden messages within them. These portraits were taken from a close but not intimate distance. Most of them featured the direct daunting gaze of the subjects who seem okay with being photographed. The imagery displays political messages such as poverty and/or homelessness. The emotions go as far as to show a sense of struggle and hopelessness. Not all the messages are negative though; some show a small sign of optimism, strength, and faith as well.
Paul D’Amato was born in Boston, and currently lives and teaches in Chicago where he has been photographing for decades. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded him a Fellowship in 1994 and a Subvention Grant in 2004. The Illinois Arts Council recognized his work with Grants in 1989 and 2005.
Once piece in particular stood out among the rest entitled “Girl With Laundry.” This piece shows a young girl that looks to be on her own or perhaps homeless. The details of the photograph are raw and uncut. There is no photo retouching or anything to make her look better. This adds a sense of realness to the photo. The girl’s hair is uncombed and her skin is very dry. The expression on her face is melancholy as she gazes directly at the camera with an intimidating stare. One may notice that she keeps a tight hold on the laundry bag as if someone were going to try to steal it from her. She also could be holding it tightly because it may be all the clothes that she owns. The color that she is wearing is a warm bright red that coincides well with her deep chocolate skin tone. The background is kind of blurry but the girl is very clear. This makes her pop, emphasizing her as the focal point of the portrait. She is also centered in the composition balancing it, especially with a building on each side. D’Amato’s aim is to create imagery that refers beyond visual specifics to larger truths about the dynamics of the neighborhood and he does that quite well.
Review of Thank Me Later "revised"
Twenty-three year old, Toronto-born Aubrey “Drake” Graham’s highly anticipated hip-hop album of 2010 “Thank Me Later” isn’t exactly what hip hop fans expected. A lot of fans have a bittersweet feeling towards the album. Prior to releasing the album, Drake released left and right really hot mix tape tracks with amazing metaphors and catchy lyrics that one couldn’t avoid seeing or hearing, whether on a Facebook status or blasting in someone’s car. “Thank Me Later” was so highly anticipated because Drake’s mix tape tracks were on every hip-hop lover’s itunes list without even having an album out yet. With experiencing an unsuccessful singing career, Drake turned to rapping and with the collaborations of his mentor, Lil’Wayne, he became a phenomenon. “Thank Me Later” is a very personal album. He talks about his life, women, fame, family, and his notoriety. His album is reminiscent of a musical journal or diary. On a positive note, Drake portrays himself as a normal, down to earth, self conscious, imperfect, regular guy rather than an overrated cocky jerk (cough, cough Kanye West) like most famous people. Drake claims that he wanted fans to feel the different layers of the debut.
One thing that a lot of people notice is that Drake shines the most whenever he has a veteran hip-hop artist featured on the song. The best songs on the album are “Over,” “Up All Night” featuring Nicki Minaj, “Fancy” featuring T.I. and Swizz Beatz, “Shut It Down” featuring The Dream, “Show Me A Good Time,” and “Unforgettable” featuring Young Jeezy. They are the best songs because the cameo appearances. Drake’s album would not be the same if he had done it all by himself.
In “Fancy,” a lot of women would get a sudden boost of confidence when listening to this song. Everyone who had there hair, nails, and everything done were considering themselves fancy. Swizz Beatz sets things off with a crowd-hyping “Go, go, go, go ahead” chant and T.I. eventually jumps in with a relaxing, yet easy type of flow. Mary J. Blige isn’t credited, but her voice is faintly heard in the chorus.
“Over” and “Show Me A Good Time” seemed to re-energize the album. The opening beats of both songs are head nodding. Perhaps it has something to do with the tracks being produced by Kanye West. Although “Over” was overly played and was highly popular, Drake dropped simple, yet sharp crowd-pleasing bars. The tempo of the song goes from low to medium with a modern hip-hop beat for the verses.
In “Shut It Down,” the Dream heats things up and slows things down in this smooth ballad. It is seven minutes long but is mood setting music so the length is not bad. This song is dedicated to a particular woman in Drakes life at the time and he says so a little after the middle of the song. The song pretty much ends after the five-minute mark but Drake singing over the very slow drumbeat is relaxing.
“Up All Night” has that classic sound with the deep and extended electronic pulse. It leaves you with no time to prepare while he opens with “Kush rolled/Glass full/I prefer the better things.” The message is about having fun, but still has that bit of reality to it.
Drake is one of the artists who can transition between an R&B sound and a hip-hop flow, and he does it well on this track. The tracks on this album were hits and misses. There a few favorites but the ones that weren’t favorites were skipped. It’s not an album where you can sit and listen to without skipping around. Arguably, “Thank Me Later” is an album that successfully balances commercialism with true hip-hop.
