What It's Like: Yo-yoing With a Yoyo That Is Smaller Than a Quarter

I recently got a yoyo that is smaller than a quarter from my sister for my birthday. First off, I want to clarify that the yoyos that I am speaking about are full metal and have ball bearings on which the string rests; these are no child's toys. In addition, my usual yoyo is about the diameter of a tennis ball, is made of aluminum, and weighs about 66 grams. This yoyo, the Mighty Flea, might have a diameter less than that of a quarter, yet it still weighs 67 grams because it is made of stainless steel. Below is a picture of the two next to each other for comparison: 

While to someone who has never or barely yoyoed, this difference may not seem very significant; however, this change is detrimental to how well I am able to yoyo with the Mighty Flea. 

For this reason, yoyoing with the Mighty Flea is like trying to play pingpong with a spoon. Especially when you first try, it seems impossible. The amount of precision that is necessary in both cases is near impossible. In the case of yoyoing with the Mighty Flea, this precision is needed in order to land and thread the yoyo onto multiple strings in rapid succession. On the other hand, when trying to play pingpong with a spoon, the curved surface of the spoon causes the ball to bounce at often obscure angles that restrict the ball from landing on the table. However, in both cases, it is possible to achieve proficiency despite the increased precision; all that is needed is large amounts of extra practice. 

In case you have never tried playing pingpong with a spoon here is a link to a quick video:

http://youtu.be/pB7JSo7WYk8

Also, below is a link to a video of a promo that shows someone who has, in fact, mastered the Mighty Flea:

http://youtu.be/LO1Tkp4ALME

Finally, here is a picture of the Mighty Flea next to a quarter:

What It's Like #1: Showering after a hard work out

Everyone knows that gross feeling you get when you come home from a hard work out or a long day working hard and you are covered in dried sweat and grunge. This is especially true if you were at a sports practice; it was raining; and you are also caked in wet or drying mud. You can try with all your might the slime go away by wiping it with towels and your shirt, but that is always to no avail; the only thing that will work is a shower. 

I found that the below scene from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers depicts this perfectly. It is the scene where the ents march on Isengard. The orcs littering the ground are like the sweat and mud on your body. There are too many of them to take out individually. Hence, the ents are like you using a towel or your shirt; no matter how many times you swipe, there is some left and it will continue to bother you. When the orcs start to set the ents on fire, this is you being pushed to the breaking point of standing the discomfort. Then, the ents break the dam, which is you taking a shower. The water then flushes all of the orcs and their structures out as well as extinguishing the fires. This is the shower washing away all of the muck on your body and extinguishing your discomfort. Just like Isengard was cleaned of orcs, you are wiped clean of all the dirt and sweat. 

Below is the link to the scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: 

http://youtu.be/l8WyXv7hQvE

Litotes in Mini Commercial Campaign

The following is a link to a YouTube video of the main commercial in the campaign: 

http://youtu.be/6R_D4V-Ns3Y

In 2013, Mini produced a group of commercials and videos that proclaimed their cars to be "Not Normal."  This is a direct use of litotes for they are emphasizing the fact that their cars are in fact amazing and special. In the videos, things seen as normal are presented before the ad transforms into a sequence of video clips showing Mini Coopers performing various acts that are amazing. By doing so, the spectacular flourishes seem even greater compared to the mediocre activities displayed before. This ad series is in fact based almost solely upon the emphasis created by litotes.  

Litotes in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

Litotes is the use of understatement, often through double negatives. The word comes from the Greek word "litos," meaning small or meager. Hence, the word is describing something as smaller or less valuable even if it is not. A writer might employ litotes in order to emphasize a particular characteristic of an object or person. It is also commonly used in social language when people say things such as "not bad." Especially when said with emphasis or enthusiasm, it is employed to actually mean incredible or outstanding. 

In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad has Marlow employ litotes in his language to emphasize particular characteristics of places or people he describes. For example, when Marlow is first presenting his idea to go to Africa on a steamboat, Marlow states, "“You understand it was a Continental concern, that Trading society; but I have a lot of relations living on the Continent, because it's cheap and not so nasty as it looks, they say" (Conrad 11). Marlow is employing litotes when referring to Britain with a double negative: not so nasty. By doing so, he brings attention to this statement. While Britain is often described as great or other such terms, Marlow uses litotes to emphasize that many, including him, believe it to be nasty while still stating what others have said. Conrad uses litotes to bring the impurity of imperialism to the forefront of the language. 

Procatalepsis in Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's

The following is a link to a video of the song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaT6WXUV_M

The Plain White T's employs procatalepsis multiple times throughout the song in order to strengthen the theme of the song Hey There Delilah in saying that there is nothing that can get in between the love present. At the beginning of the song, the singer proclaims, "Don't you worry about the distance/ I'm right there if you get lonely/ Give this song another listen / Close your eyes/ Listen to my voice, it's my disguise/ I'm by your side." The singer brings up the problem of distance and then immediately explains of one way to overcome this potential problem. Later in the song, the singer states, "I know times are getting hard/ But just believe me, girl/ Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar/ We'll have it good/ We'll have the life we knew we would/ My word is good." The conflict of money is brought up, yet it is put down right away with the idea of making money through playing the guitar. He is sure that they will be able to live the life they want to even through the hard times. Finally, the singer once again brings up the argument that the distance between them could separate them as well as the problem of what other people will think of them when he exclaims, "A thousand miles seems pretty far/ But they've got planes and trains and cars/ I'd walk to you if I had no other way/ Our friends would all make fun of us/ and we'll just laugh along because we know/ That none of them have felt this way/ Delilah I can promise you." After bringing up both critical points, he denounces both by saying that he will do anything he has to to come to her and that what other people think does not matter because their love is stronger than that. The Plain White T's repeatedly use procatalepsis in order to support the theme of the strength of the love described. 

Procatalepsis in Heart of Darkness

Procatalepsis describes when the author brings up the counter argument only to immediately discredited it. The word comes fromthe prefix pro-, meaning in support of, the component cata, meaning contrary and the suffix -lepsis, referring to an attack. In all, an attack against the contrary in the support of something else. 

           

An author would use procatalepsis in order to strengthen their argument. It denounces the oppositions argument before the opposition can even bring it up. This allows the author to discredit it prior to the opposition building it up. Procatalepsis deals with the counter argument before it can even be supported. 

In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad has the character Marlow employ procatalepsis. While describing Romans Marlow states, “He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination—you know. Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate...Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this. What saves us is efficiency—the devotion to efficiency. But these chaps were not much account, really. They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect..." (Conrad 4). By doing so, Marlow is immediately discounting the argument that his fellow crew members might bring up: that they do not feel like Marlow has described Romans. After quickly discrediting the counter argument with procatalepsis, Marlow is allowed to move on with his argument. 

Caloric Analysis of Chris McCandless

The following documents represent my caloric analysis of Chris McCandless. 

Based on these calculations, McCandless definitely could have died of starvation. In fact, my calculations indicate he could have eaten up to 454 more calories everyday from either vegetation or hunted meat that he did not document. Even eating 454 more calories, his average calorie deficit per day would have been 287 calories. This would have resulted in the necessary calorie loss of 32500 calories over the entire period. Hence, he would have lost 65 lbs. This allows him to be down to 67 lbs after losing water weight and slight decomposition when found. All in all, McCandless could have died from starvation.