TOW #13- "ISIS Cancels Plans for Fnatic CS:GO Sponsorship" (Written)

ESEX, better known as eSports Express, is a satirical news site that posts articles pertaining to electronic sports or video games. This specific article was written about one of the most popular current first-person shooter games, Counter Strike:Global Offensive. Some backstory necessary to understand this satire is needed.

About a week ago, CS:GO had one of it's three major tournaments of the season. DreamHack Winter took place at Elmia in Jönköping in the southern parts of Sweden. All of the best and the biggest teams compete at DHW one of those teams being fnatic. Fnatic, a local Swedish organization, used some highly questionable tactics in the quarterfinals of the tournament. While facing of against LDLC in a best of three series on the last match, fnatic used a boost that allowed their player to essentially see the entire map. From that vantage point olofmeister, a member of fnatic, was able to see LDLC's setup and where they were going to attack. Olof could also shoot many players while they couldn't see him at all. This boost that fnatic used utilized something known as pixelwalking, where the player in game is walking on an invisible ledge. Fnatic went on to win the map but then withdrew from the tournament because of all the backlash they got from fans across the globe.

ESEX uses this occurrence to their advantage to joke about an issue that the majority of the CS:GO community completely despised. The article revolves around the fact that even ISIS a terrorist organization dropped their sponsorship for fnatic due to how the community reacted. The author then also went on to make fun of flusha, one of fnatic's players who has recently done some shady things in game that make it appear like he is cheating. "ISIS had already reaped some benefits from the potential partnership, as Fnatic professional player Robin “flusha” Rönnquist was sent to train ISIS insurgents in Iraq, increasing their weapon accuracy by 40% through smoke and walls." ESEX intertwines a virtual video game with a real life terrorist organization and joke about how a video game hacker was able to teach and improve a terrorist's gun skills with real life cheats.

(http://esportsexpress.com/2014/12/isis-fnatic-csgo-sponsorship/)

TOW #12-"The Week 14 Mailbag" (Written)

This week I decided to read and analyze an article published by Grantland. Not only was it published by this famous sports analytical and statistical site, but it was the founder himself, Bill Simmons. Simmons is an American sports analyst who is featured on many of ESPN's shows such as NBA Countdown, SportsCenter, and is the visionary behind 30for30. Every week so far this year of the NFL season, Bill Simmons does something called a mailbag where he attempts to answer as many questions as possible sent in to him from all different audience members. The questions range from on the field actions, coaching decisions, locker room disputes, best candidates for a position, postseason outlook, and more. Simmons typically has a main focus or topic that he hits upon the most in the article each week although a kitchen sink of stuff is covered.

This week Bill Simmons focused on all-star defensive end JJ Watt of the Houston Texans. It's important to understand Simmons as an author and what his intentions are for this piece. Instead of just discussing the same old boring facts that any analyst can spit at you, Simmons takes a humorous yet factual approach. After discussing issues presented about Watt's performance and how he will fair up against Demarco Murray, Simmons goes on to talk about a hypothetical fight to the death between Watt and Gronkowski. As this article is obviously intended for sports enthusiasts as myself, we understand the humor in that joke and not the morbid death-fight some might see in it. Gronk and Watt are two beasts of the game and both their statures are immensely large. It'd be entertaining to see something like that go down as Simmons suggests. Simmons also gets tech-savvy inserting various YouTube clips and gifs to go along with his responses to the questions he receives. This interests and engages the audience even more so that they aren't just reading a wall of text.

(http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-week-14-mailbag/)

TOW #11-"Burger King axes 89 franchises over scandals" (Written)

After previous reports and documentation of the condition of the lack of hygiene at Burger King's in Germany, Burger King finally decided to put it's fist down and end this problem once and for all. Burger King terminated contracts for eighty-nine of it's franchised outlets because of continued poor treatment of staff and workers. German franchise holder Yi-Ko is the man behind this scandal. After being uncovered from an undercover report, Ko allegedly withheld pay from employees for months at a time, and bonuses and sick pay were received only with an extreme delay. Expired food products were also labeled as fresh ones and burgers were often kept warm for hours, instead of being freshly made on the grill as the fast food corporation advertises.

This article regarding the termination of Burger King's in Germany was written by a news site known as The Local. The Local is a news source that publishes Germany's news in English. The Local does independent daily reporting from all around Europe.

Although the news article contained a very formulaic and boring approach, it did achieve it's purpose of providing intriguing news and supporting that with evidence and saying how this could impact society. "This move affects eighty-nine of the fast food chain's almost seven hundred German outlets, and three thousand employees now face an uncertain future"(3). The Local presents the idea of unemployment and how this toll will affect all those who lost their jobs undeservingly.

(http://www.thelocal.de/20141120/burger-king-axes-89-franchises-after-scandals-hygiene)

TOW #10-"7UP Advertisement From 1984" (Visual)

7 UP is a brand of lemon-lime flavored soft drink that is owned by corporation giant PepsiCo. This advertisement created by 7 UP showcases some of the greatest athletes from a variety of sports at that point in time. This marketing strategy is known as a celebrity endorsement, which utilizes a well-known person to help promote a product or service. Using Magic Johnson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, and Sugar Ray Leonard as promoters of the product on the advertisement, helps appeal not only to logos as in the fact that it is expert testimonial, but also Pathos. Athletes are big figures in American society. They are regarded as people we look up to and admire. When the audience views this advertisement and see's their favorite athlete drinking a 7 UP, they feel compelled and excited to go buy, drink, and look just like them. The use of these athletes also helps to establish the credibility of the product. As a consumer I don't know whether the product is good or bad but after seeing these world-class athletes enjoying the product, I know that it must be good. If they enjoy it, I will enjoy it, is the mindset that 7 UP is creating. The slogan "Feelin' 7 UP" invigorates a feeling of energy and excitement just by reading it. This also plays on the audience's emotions to inspire them to buy one of their drinks.

The purpose of this text was to persuade the audience to go out and buy a 7 UP. I personally believe that 7 UP did a great job marketing their product and was successful at achieving their purpose because of their rhetorical strategies, I now have a hankering for a 7 UP.

(http://i.imgur.com/MZjkSdx.jpg)

TOW #9-"How Unexpected Was Cleveland’s Shellacking Of Cincinnati?" (Written)

Neil Paine, one of the main writers of a famous statistical blog known as FiveThirtyEight reflected on the Cleveland Browns total annihilation of, a supposed to be good team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Paine goes on to statistically explain the likelihood of such an outcome by elaborating on Hal Stern's findings almost a couple of decades ago. Stern found that the margin of victory over the point-spread can be shown by a normal distribution with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 13.86. When adjusting this scale to the pre-game predicted ELO ratings, Paine found the same result and therefore showing that the likelihood that the Browns would beat the Bengals 24-3 was only a minuscule 1.5%.

Paine's most prominent rhetorical device present in his article is statistical evidence to help support his claims which falls under an author's logos. Neil Paine writes this article not only to intrigue the audience by showing just how rare that game was but his overall purpose is to show that surprisingly enough that isn't the most unlikely to happen outcome of a game so far this season. Paine goes on to prove that last week when the Miami Dolphins faced up against the San Diego Chargers the Dolphins had a slim 0.3% chance of beating the Chargers by a 37 point margin. Paine is trying to prove that these absurd and rare outcomes of games are becoming more frequent in the NFL nowadays and that it wouldn't be a surprise to see one in this upcoming week of games.

I thoroughly enjoyed Paine's article although some may find it nonsensical. The reason why I cherish and appreciate such brilliant articles is because of my strong passion for sports and my knowledge of statistics which allows me to understand the loquacious mathematical terms Paine throws at the audience.

(http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/how-unexpected-was-clevelands-shellacking-of-cincinnati/)

IRB Intro #2- "A Room of One's Own"

It's kind of funny actually the reason why I chose to read this non-fiction text. I decided that the best way to improve my writing ability both as a reader and a writer, would be to challenge myself with the most difficult task. I thought about what that would pertain, and indeed that's how I came upon "A Room of One's Own." The reason why this is challenging for me is because, well for starters I'm not a woman, which is the basis of all of Woolf's writings which are based on lectures she gave. The text as whole is regarded as feminist which as an individual I am not a big believer or supporter of. Please don't misconstrue my words and think that I mean to objectify women, no I simply feel that the way feminists attack society is less of "women need more rights" and more of "men have too many rights". This will certainly be a text that will put me outside of my comfort zone. I know that if I can handle this appropriately, I can take on the real thing in May!

TOW #8-"In Cold Blood" (IRB)

One down, three to go. I just finished my independent reading book, "In Cold Blood", this afternoon and all in all I was rather pleased with the book.

In the second half of the book Capote delved deeper into the history and the background of the killers Dick and Perry. We learned about their motives for the heinous crime and we learned about where they ventured after the murders took place. From Kansas to Las Vegas to Mexico City to deep on the Gulf Coast of Mexico and then back up into California and back to Nevada, Dick and Perry traveled just about everywhere trying to start a new life after their fortune turned up short at the Clutters. After detective's Dye and Dewey worked tirelessly on this case for the matter of a few weeks, a piece came forth that brought the puzzle together. Floyd Wells an inmate hears the news of the Clutter's and hears about the reward they are offering for anyone who can step forwards with information. Wells was a cellmates with Dick whilst he was in jail and revealed to Dick that Mr. Clutter was a wealthy man. Dick became greedy and spoke of the crime he would commit once he got out of jail but Wells thought it to be all talk. Dick and Perry were found in Vegas, detained, and brought back to Holcomb where they would face trial. It was revealed the perverted intentions Dick had for Nancy and the full clear story behind what took place.

The first rhetorical aspect of Capote's writing that fascinated me the most was the way that he structured and organized the story. In the first chapter of the book Capote told two different story lines; one of Dick and Perry and their mischievous behaviors and the other of the Clutter's and their daily life all of which were activities prior to the murder. The murders then takes place, but Capote does something very interesting where he never really shows the murders happening rather just the police looking over the seen and Dick and Perry reflecting on it as they drive away. In rearranging the facts of the Clutters' murder, Capote was able to not only just retell the true story of them but also put new meanings behind it. Capote's opinions in the story become evident later on when talking about the death penalty as he shows his strong opposition for it.

Capote's purpose in writing this informative yet creative work was to illustrate the complexity and the true improbability of the "American Dream". Mr. Clutter had a wonderful life, with a beautiful family and a great and successful business. Mr. Clutter's and his family's dreams are unexpectedly ended when two criminals do whatever it takes for just money. Capote did a brilliant job illustrating his purpose through the organization and structure of "In Cold Blood".