Article 2/23 - Not the hominy!

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304675504579391143240721978?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304675504579391143240721978.html

This article from the Wall Street Journal is a comedic critique of today's man and how he needs to earn back his manhood. The article starts out with how we live in an age of convenience and everything is at our fingertips. By having things so easily, we become helpless without our numerous internet devices and such that makes our lives run smoothly. For example, he states when a cash register is not working no one can do the mental math to figure out change needed because, to his point, we do not use our brains very much. He then goes on to define what real manliness is, being the things settlers and mountain men did to survive in the wilderness, not spinning classes and working on core. He then goes on to give a guide on what all men should know how to do including, cooking a steak on a grill, how to survive in the forest, and how to jump a car that is not starting. The purpose of this article is to critique as well as amuse. The intended audience are men, specifically those who are not "manly". The author uses satire in his section on knowing how to do manly things, by giving steps but in these steps are critiques of today's society and that do not actually giving helpful suggestions. For example in the section on how to survive in the wilderness, "23. If you are anywhere in North America, within 20 minutes you will come to a Starbucks." By doing this he makes the point that men today do not know how to do any of those "manly" things that our predecessors completed before. Overall, I found this article amusing and enjoyful to read especially the section where he mentioned the spinning classes and doing core, because being a runner, that's a lot of what I do.

Artilce 2/16 - Dunder MIfflin

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303704304579379431532672924?mod=trending_now_4

This article from the Wall Street Journal talks about the common complaint of a poor work environment and how it can surprisingly be beneficial. The article starts out by naming the classic problems of the workplace that everyone can relate to: the narcissists, the passive aggressives, the gossipers, and the workaholics. Everyone has the same problem that they love their job but they hate their coworkers. The article continues though to state that each of these personalities actually does have a benefit to the workplace by providing evidence through research done in previous years. The article then concludes with the statement that by realizing that you could be a disruptor yourself, you become a better worker as well as worker. This article's purpose is to inform about the positive effects of having a diverse personality workplace. The intended audience is those who work which is the majority of the adult population. This article first uses an allusion the the television show The Office which allows an easy understanding of the point the article is trying to make. Then the article uses a series of deductive reasoning. The author points out a common stereotype office worker and then refutes the reasoning of no benefit with data from conducted studies. Overall this was an interesting and informative article to read. 

Article 2/2 - And it's a wagon

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303519404579350732473411304?mod=trending_now_5

This article from the Wall Street Journal is a review of the new, quirky station wagon from Mercedes Benz. This is not the normal old Subaru Forester or Volvo wagon we all remember as kids; this is "a family hauler as 'roided-out as the company's performance division, AMG, can feasibly make it." The AMG goes a maximum 186 mph and 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. It's engine is a 5.5-liter biturbo direct-injection V8 producing 577 hp. Despite a few downsides, this car is a supercar in a wagon's body. The purpose of this article is to inform and review a new car. The intended audience is those who are interested in cars or other readers of the WSJ. What appealed to me most about this article was the author's style and tone. His purpose appears to be both informative and comedic. His use of vivid descriptions as well as humorous comparisons makes the reader want to keep reading even if they are not a car nut. For example "In this car you leave the grocery store with eggs in a bag and come home with an omelet," which makes you laugh a little to yourself while reading. Overall, the author uses description, similes, metaphors, analogies, and logos to write a comedic but effective review of a new Mercedes station wagon.