TOW #24- Me Talk Pretty One Day IRB

TOW #24

            This week I concluded reading Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. This book is a collection of short stories. Before I began reading it, the concept of having a book with a bunch of short stories made me skeptical of how well the book would naturally flow. However, I now know that not only was this book a smooth read, but also very enjoyable.

            The book has a lot of comedic relief, which is much needed when discussing the serious topics covered. The anecdotes allowed for Sedaris to touch on and explore these issues in an appropriate and meaningful way.  Even though it was a collection of short stories, each anecdote was long enough to focus just enough on these topics. Because he writes about his life in bits and pieces, Sedaris effectively gives the reader space to think about the various things that have affected his life.

            Usually, it is intimidating to begin a book, starting from page one. However, the way Sedaris splits Me Talk Pretty One Day into manageable chunks makes it far less imposing. Also, they are in chronological order posing large and small events in his life. The short stories reveal that the author knows he isn’t too important or arrogant, thus making it much more enjoyable.

            Before beginning Me Talk Pretty One Day, my idea of anecdotes were a small part of a larger whole. They were just a small contribution to a greater meaning or purpose. Now, however, I know that they can be used effectively and entertainingly as an entire story.

TOW #23- NBC Article

Credible author Rachael Rettner of NBC News wrote an article concerning sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) in the United States. The article explained information of SUID such as why it may happen and how it could be prevented. The exigence and purpose of this article was to inform an audience of babysitters and parents about the infamous SUID. Rettner used the rhetorical device: balance, in her article which helped accomplish her purpose of this infamous “disease” by presenting a problem in an organized and understandable way because balance allows readers to flow through the article without having to stumble across an abrupt, disorganized change in topic or examples. For instance, Rettner first described an interview with a mother, Dearea, whose son suffocated from an unknown cause known as an SUID. Then, Rettner goes in depth with SUID but concludes with more information about Dearea which helped balance the difference between Dearea and SUID. Rettner also used reliable information from people of the SUID Case Registry, Michigan Public Health Institute, and the American Academy of Pediatrics which appealed to ethos by presenting multiple reliable sources to support the purpose. For example, after describing Dearea’s situation, Rettner went on to describe the “Unclear Cause of Death” and “Prevention Strategies” of SUID according to reliable sources. Rettner gained knowledge from sources allowing her to provide suggestions such as to never let an infant sleep with toys, heavy blankets, or another being. The use of ethos and balance allowed Rettner to achieve her purpose.

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/09/__utma=238145375.1249601239.1352668705.1352668705.1352668705.1&__utmb=238145375.1.10.1352668705&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1352668705.1.1.utmcsr=worldnews.nbcnews.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/_news/2012/11/11/15078957-sweeping-child-abuse-scandal-shakes-bbc-and-other-british-institutions&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc|health=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=265963980

TOW #22- John Legend: Let every child’s light shine

In present day, it is not common to hear about people opposing the way the education system works as a whole. Maybe it just isn’t publicized to keep people thinking there aren’t many people opposing it, however this article did exactly that. It is called John Legend: Let every child’s light shine. John Legend wrote the article, which gives it a lot of ethos. He uses his success to prove that he knows what he is talking about. He also uses personal anecdotes. He talks about his own experiences with discovering his true passion. He says he was a regular kid going through college planning on going into business but he always had a love for music. When he finally got a job outside of college, he wasn’t happy. He realized he wanted to pursue his passion for music. This made him not only extremely successful but also happy. He states that the only way to truly be successful is to love what you do, and his story directly proves that. Legend introduces his main point after this story. He says that the education system doesn’t allow students to find their passion. There needs to be more student-centered environments that help students discover what they love. After the author states the goal he also goes through many things people are doing to help. There are fifteen non-profit organizations joined with Understood.org to support parents whose children have learning and attention issues. Another organization is called Peace First, which is aimed to identify and support the next generation of peacemakers. He goes through many more including the one he was involved with, which was launching tonight. His hidden agenda, one could say, was to present his project known has LRNG to the world. He goes through how each person can help, which is what most articles similar to this lack. This article altogether was very convincing and made me want to do something for the cause.  
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/opinion/legend-education-passions/index.html

TOW #21- The Dress (Visual text)

      Over the weekend the internet exploded with debate over the color of a dress. Oh, it’s obviously white and gold, ask the person sitting next to you, and they say blue and black. All of the sudden, everything in life was a lie. Were colors the same for everybody? Did everything change colors? Are my Instagram edits ugly to some people? This story was on the national news. My father has no social media link and he even knew about “The Dress.” To summarize, there is a photograph of a dress that can either be seen as blue and black or gold and white. After this eruption, the company that sells the dress got massive exposure. It is an online story from the United Kingdom called Roman Originals. Soon after this explosion, they released an advertisement that naturally also went viral. It says “#thedress now back in stock” with a photograph of the blue and black dress. This company uses the already viral trend in order to help advertise their product. The internet was divided into two sides, black and blue versus white and gold. When the people who saw blue and black found this advertisement with a photograph of the actual dress, it immediately went viral to prove the naysayers wrong. It was smart of the company to act fast and quickly get a simple advertisement up. The simple quality makes it more likely to catch on because it gets straight to the point. Also, the company is now getting its name out there as the owner of the dress. They deserve recognition and will get a flux in sales in result of this sensation.