IRB Intro Post #3

For my third IRB, I have chosen to read the book Hockeytown Doc: a Half-Century of Red Wings Stories from Howe to Yzerman by Dr. John Finley.  I was introduced to this book by my dad.  He was at a medical conference in Colorado and befriended a doctor from Michigan.  This doctor's father was the team doctor for the Detroit Red Wings for ~50 years.  He wrote this book chronicling the stories from his exciting job.  I think this will be a very fun book to read since I am a huge hockey fan myself.

TOW #16 - How Soccer Explains the World (second half)

I have just finished the book How Soccer Explains the World: an Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer.

When I picked out this novel, I was expecting something eccentric and unbelievable.  I expected that Foer would explain all the theories of globalization by using an extended metaphor of soccer.  For instance, maybe the 4-4-2 formation represents how China’s nation building creates a threat to the Unites States of America, or maybe the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona represent the civil wars raging in Africa.  Unfortunately, this is not the novel I received.  Instead I read a book about globalization with a couple references to soccer in the places of interest.  I felt, during my reading, that this was a recount of what and how globalization happened with some references to soccer.  I think the biggest failure by Foer was his failing to connect the ideas of soccer and the ideas of globalization.  I feel as though Foer wrote two separate books: one on the history of some soccer clubs, and another on the theory of globalization. 

Don’t get me wrong, the writing in the book was very good.  Foer has a nice style of writing that made for an entertaining book.  If you want to learn about globalization, this book is a very good one to read.  My biggest complaint may have been a self-inflicted one: my expectations were far different from the result.  Regardless, Foer used an interesting and advanced diction to truly get his point across.  For instance, he writes, “No longer do these moguls really have to compete with state-owned television networks, r fight for market share against state companies, which have been enfeebled by privatization and deregulation” (Foer 172).  The big words such as enfeebled and deregulation clearly make his point without any confusion.  While it may scare off inexperienced readers, most educated people can understand his writing without any trouble.

TOW #15 - Bruce Arians' aggressive approach pays off; take note, Packers

Last night, Saturday, January 16^th, 2016, one of the most memorable and incredible football games of all time took place.  The Green Bay Packers traveled to Arizona to take on the Cardinals in the NFC Divisional playoff round with a berth in the NFC Championship on the line.  After a long first three quarters, two hail maries in the last minute, an coin flip that didn’t flip, and a 75 yard pass on the first pay of overtime, the Cardinals walked away victorious.  In his article commenting on the coaching styles of the two teams, Bill Barnwell uses anaphora and statistics to make a very compelling argument for aggressive coaching.

            Barnwell employs anaphora during his article in order to accentuate the amount of aggressive play calling and personnel moves that the Cardinals organization has made.  The Cards, he says, “are where they are, in part, because they have a pair of brash leaders (including general manager Steve Keim) who take risks. Who trade for Palmer when his value is lowest and draft Tyrann Mathieu. Who throw downfield and blitz more than anybody else in football. Who attack first and trust their ability to succeed. That seems noble, not naïve.”  This repeated use of “who (verb)” shows that the Cardinals have a pattern of making choices with a high risk and high reward.  The implied argument is that it works.  One need only look at the Cardinals record this season or how they beat the Packers last night.

            In addition to anaphora, Barnwell incorporates lots of statistics to prove his point.  He considers his audience, sports fan, and recognizes that many of them understand the value of statistics and would be more persuaded by statistics than a pathos-based approach.  He uses statistics of all kinds, including, “They blitz more frequently than any other team in football: 46.3 percent of opposing pass plays, since the start of the 2013 season. The average team blitzed on 31 percent of pass attempts over that same timeframe.”  These stats cement Barnwell’s argument in a logical, number-filled world.

TOW #14 - Neighbors

It seems almost a little bit silly, doesn’t it?  A TV service provider is airing commercials on TV about their TV service.  That’s like advertising a Toyota Corolla in the cabin of a Honda Civic.  However odd the concept of this commercial may seem, Direct TV delivers a fantastic visual text that is extremely effective.  In Direct TV’s new advertisement “Neighbors”, the writers utilize a play on words and common references to the westward expansion of America in order to evoke laughter in the audience and thus make their audience more inclined to purchase their service.

Most of all, this commercial is funny.  The word play truly made me chuckle the first time I saw this advertisement and every other time I’ve seen it since then.  The premise of this advertisement is that there is an old time settler/pioneer family living in a modern suburban neighborhood.  The settler family “settles” for cable while the modern neighbors all have Direct TV.  The father is in is front yard plowing the dirt when his son comes out and asks his superior “why can’t we have Direct TV?”  His father replies along the lines of “Son, we are settlers, so that means we settle for cable.”  This word play of “settler” to “someone who settles” is quite clever and one that I had never thought of before.  It’s ingenuity and cunning structure made me laugh.  By making me laugh, Direct TV achieves its goal because I now buy in to what Direct TV is saying.  I am on their side, and now much more inclined to listen to what they are saying with seriousness.

This commercial also utilizes common references to the settlers’ well-known (and stereotyped) way of life.  Including quotes such as “Hey Jebidiah, how’s it going” “working the land, hoping for a fertile spring” makes the audience laugh while watching the commercial.  These obviously exaggerated and stereotypical remarks are funny but remain civilized and not offensive or rude.  They merely serve the purpose of making the audience laugh to get them much more eager to listen to Direct TV’s service proposals, which they end the advertisement with.