Cest la vie!

It is finished. Yet another quarter under our college-belts. Overall, I really enjoyed all aspects of this course.  I loved christening my blogging career. Of all types of writing Ive been asked to do, the free-form nature of blogging really allows me to incorporate my (probably only) strong-suit of good "voice" to each piece. I also loved the incorporation of discussion about current events into class, daily. I really think staying up to date with what is going on is paramount to being an intellectual member of society and not sounding completely ignorant whenever a topic (that should be known) is brought up. I plan to keep the NY Times tab in my standard initial-website-rotation (along with email, facebook, ESPN, etc..) everytime I open the computer.

As this may be the last post, id like to take this time to thank thank my loyal viewers for racking up an impressive 173 blog views. As I have nothing to compare that seemingly gargantuan number to, I dont actually know if its high or low, and as such, if any of you followers have substantially more page views, please keep it to yourself, and let me bask in the pride im feeling at this moment.

Cheers.

To the Tebowists

Kyle Sundman

Professor Leake

Writing 1122

1 March 2012

The Man, The Myth, and The Magic

     I’d like to start by saying that I am not a “Tebowist”. I do not participate in the act of Tebowing, nor was I one of the 94 million people to search John 3:16 after Tebow sported the numbers on his eye black during the 2009 BCS National Championship. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t say I have a problem with him. I recognize that he has “it”. Whatever “it” is, be it his leadership skills, his fearless broadcasting of his faith or the fact that he is one of the greatest athletes (notice I said athletes, not quarterbacks) ever to play the game, that man is in no short supply of “it”. These attributes mesmerize everybody and your mother and, for a while there, it seemed nothing could get Tebowists out of their warm stupor. In essence, Tebow was (and still is) a drug; a drug that addicts love and haters condemn. And that’s what the news feeds on; this drug that evoked the controversy of the year in the sports world.

     Being a news icon is no new gig for Tebow: he has been talked about since he was a senior in high school. His recruiting profile describes him as “[having] a strong arm and above average speed and elusiveness…shows positive leadership ability…” (Yahoo) Attributes like this got him recruited to the acclaimed football powerhouse, University of Florida, where the coaches had nothing but positive things to say about their new quarterback. Even ESPN college analysis’s raved about him, saying that he was “revolutionizing the position…as a dual threat quarterback;” (Person) a quarterback who can run and who can throw. This was the first stage of Tebow’s life of fame; the news loved him and he did nothing to disappoint his loyal fans. He first helped the Gators win the national championship during the 2006 college football season. The next year, he was named the Gators' starting quarterback during which he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In ’08, Tebow led Florida to a 13-1 record and its second national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, Tebow's senior year. At the conclusion of his college career, he held the Southeastern Conference’s all-time records in both career passing efficiency and total rushing touchdowns, appearing second and tenth, respectively, in the NCAA record book in these categories. (NCAA)

     But now we face an entirely new game: the NFL. Tebow was the perfect college quarterback; he had an incredible offensive line who could give him time to think and execute an accurate throw, should he choose to pass, or he could do what he does best and use his 6- foot -3, 235 pound hulk frame and plow through anyone in his way. But this is not the case in the NFL. Long story short, professional QB’s, by default, just don’t run the ball. Tom Brady, for example, has rushed for under 700 yards in his entire career; Tebow could get that in a season. Hence the skepticism about him; nobody questioned the fact that he was great in college, but almost everyone wondered if that could translate into the big leagues. Rick Reilly, easily one of the most decorated sports writers in the world (boasting a mere 11 titles as  “Sports Writer of the Year”) spearheaded the campaign denouncing the NFL version of Tebow. He says Tim looked like a man “being chased by bees in the pocket” and that he is a “nice kid, sincere as a first kiss, but he's not ready yet, and might never be ready.” He continues, “but if I were playing in a streetball game where the losing team has to move permanently to a time-share in Kabul, I'd take Tebow [over then-starter Kyle Orton] every time.” (Reilly, Tebow Prime Time) Wow. Harsh. I cant remember the last time a player dubbed “Best in the Nation” by way of the Heisman Trophy was ever criticized anywhere near this much. And Reilly is not the only one. Arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game, John Elway, who is Tim’s acting boss as VP of the Denver Broncos isn’t too sure about him either. “He has that unique ability to make something happen when the play breaks down," Elway says. "That gives him a great advantage there … but you have to win games from the pocket in this league. You can't rely on your improvising.” (Reilly, Tebow Prime Time) Keep in mind that these two individuals (Reilly and Elway) are extremely influential in the world of football, and because of this, why would any football fans, (save the die-hard Florida Gator-ites), think any differently? If Tebow weren’t such a perfect human being, im sure he would have had a couple choice words on my mind, the first starting with “F” and the latter with “Y”, especially after Reilly gave him one last slap in the face saying that “he is going to be a great cheerleader.” 

     Fast forward a couple months, and Tebow is about to start his first NFL game for the Denver Broncos. Down 15 points with less than 3 minutes to go, it seemed all hope was lost. But then, by a stroke of God, or so it would appear, Tebow rallied the Broncos to an 18-15 OT win against the Miami Dolphins, ironically in the same stadium that he won a High School title in 2005 and a College National Championship in 2008, silencing critics and starting an era of what would be hence fourth known as Tebow Time. The ensuing news stories were a mix of joy, disbelief, and at the very least, acknowledgement of what this young quarterback had just accomplished. Most of the post game analyses noted the poor late game performance of the Dolphins mixed with strokes of luck for the Broncos as opposed to skill coming from Tebow. CBS’ Bill Cowher says, “He has limitations but ultimately can become a legitimate quarterback. But they won’t win a championship with him.” They give him credit…but not that much credit. (Jackson)

     Its now December 15, 2011, and Tebow has somehow managed to lead the struggling Broncos on a 6 game win streak. One cant help but wonder what negative nancy Rick Reilly thinks of the situation. Instead of another cheeky, contemptuous article, however, he writes of a tale of two quarterbacks. In regards to Tebow, many aspects are negative: “Tom is second in passing yards among NFL starters this season. Tim is dead last.” At least a few are acknowledging: “Tom finished his second season with a passer rating of 86.5. Tim's passer rating is about the same, 83.9.” And, (incredibly), there are a couple positive ones: “Tom has 24 fourth-quarter comeback victories in his 11 years as a starter, with a QB rating of 90.1. Tim has six in, basically, one, with a rating of 99.6.” (Reilly, Fox Broncos Hunt) Could the biggest hater in the game be coming around? Timmy went on to lead the Denver Broncos to an 8-8 season, and another come-from-behind OT win in his first ever playoff appearance against the powerhouse Pittsburgh Steelers. Not bad for a rookie.

     When I searched “Tim Tebow” on Google, an astonishing 91,600,000 results appeared at my disposal. Now I cant imagine all of these are entire articles about America’s new golden boy, but even so, he is at least referenced that many times. As a point of comparison, when searching for David Beckham, arguably the worlds most popular soccer player, a mere 75,000,000 results came up, despite the fact that soccer has a significantly larger worldwide following.

     I think there is essentially two ways that the news analyzes Tim Tebow. One is with logos, the other with pathos.  The use of logos is generally on the negative side, seeing as statistically, he really isn’t that great of a quarterback. (In his defense, this statement is comparing him to all current quarterbacks, including the many to-be hall of famers. His first year stats, compared to stats of even the best during their first season is respectable) According to a telecast of SportsCenter, Tebow had the lowest quarterback rating of all eligible players in the position. I wouldn’t generally associate someone with this ranking as being a winning quarterback, much less the most popular athlete in the America. (Rohlin) The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective is a “student-run organization at Harvard College dedicated to the quantitative analysis of sports strategy and management.” After all they hype on this young quarterback, they decided to figure out statistically how he should be doing. The article turned out to essentially augment the skepticism of Tebow’s success. According to their calculations, “for the last 5 weeks, [during which Tebow led the Broncos to a record of 4-1], taking into account strength of opponent and location of the game, the Broncos would have been expected to win 1.9 games over that 5 game stretch.” So, what, did he just pull the other 2.1 wins out of mid-air? The article uses the terms EPA and WPA, or Expected Points Added and Win Probability Added, respectively. They go on to say

Tebow [compared to Kyle Orton] has a much worse EPA – meaning that he has objectively produced worse results over all of his plays – but a significantly better (though still negative) WPA – meaning that his plays have contributed more to the chances of his team winning. While Tebow’s plays have produced much fewer expected points than Orton’s, Tebow’s positive plays have come at crucial points in the game, when they have a much larger impact on the final result. (Bruce)

Unfortunately for Broncos fans, however, “the vast majority of players who started their careers with similar characteristics (a relatively high WPA given their EPA) eventually regressed towards the mean and saw their numbers come in line with expectations” (Bruce) So what does this mean? The news coverage that utilizes logos as the primary way to analyze Tebow seem to suggest that he is really no more than a lucky, albeit mediocre quarterback. But this isn’t what brought Tebow into the spotlight, and it’s definitely not what kept him there.

     The stories using pathos to analyze the star are much more interesting and revealing about how he came to be the most compelling story in sports. Chuck Klosterman, a contributing author to the widely read blog Grantland, explains the unorthodox divide between those who like him vs. dislike him most eloquently. In this, he notes that the people who dislike him, dislike him essentially because he is “too good of a person”. The people who like him like him because he “succeeds at his job while being uniquely unskilled at its traditional requirements.” For the life of this story, Tebow has never been a great passer. And everybody from SportsCenter to church blogs has acknowledged that. But, like I said earlier, he has “it.” Tebow is more than football. And people across the nation are just starting to realize it. He has a knack for saying just the right things at just the right times…all the time. Our boy Rick literally hired a lip reader during one of the games to try and catch Tebow swearing or doing something that could prove that he wasn’t perfect. What kind of dirt did he get? “A very spirited, arguably angry, ‘Lets GO!’” (Weed Against Speed) Yes, his interviews always include arguably obnoxious references to his “lord and savior Jesus Christ”, but maybe, as much as we moan and gripe about him shoving his faith down everyone’s throats, we have a subconscious appreciation for his antics.

The crux here, the issue driving this whole "Tebow Thing," is the matter of faith. …His faith in God, his followers' faith in him — it all defies modernity. This is why people care so much. He is making people wonder if they should try to believe things they don't actually believe. (Klosterman)

What is going on here? Are people starting to realize that Tebow is more than just a football player? Are they starting to realize that although Tebow would chew through a cement wall to win a football game, what he cares about most is not the game, but living a life of valor, and generosity, and faith? Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts. (Reilly, I believe) Is it this that landed Tebow an entire hour long special on SportsCenter, a very rare occurrence that puts him in a class with the likes of LeBron James and his “decision?” Probably. And for those of us who don’t shut the door on Tebow because we are “annoyed” by all the talk about him, we must turn back to our friend Rick Reilly, who, despite ripping on Tebow for months, has finally come around with the perfect summary of how I expect most onlookers are feeling:

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too."

(Reilly, I Believe)

Works Cited

Bruce, Chris, and Andrew Mooney. "A Statistical Analysis of the Miracles of Tim Tebow." The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective. 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://harvardsportsanalysis.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/a-statistical-analysis-of-the-miracles-of-tim-tebow/>.

Jackson, Barry. "Tebow Mainia Upstaging Miami Dolphins vs. Denver Broncos." The Miami Herald. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/21/2464362/tebow-mania-upstaging-miami-dolphins.html>.

Klosterman, Chuck. "The People Who Hate Tim Tebow." Grantland. 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7319858/the-people-hate-tim-tebow>.

NCAA. "Football Bowl Subdivision Records." Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

Person, Joseph. "Dual Threat." The State. 10 Nov. 2007. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://web.archive.org/web/20071111084832/http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/225436.html>.

Reilly, Rick. "Fox Has Broncos in the Hunt." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7326446/rick-reilly-john-fox-leading-broncos>.

Reilly, Rick. "I Believe in Tim Tebow." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow>.

Reilly, Rick. "Tim Tebow Not Ready for Prime Time." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6846531/tim-tebow-not-ready-prime-time>.

Rohlin, Melissa. "Poll Names Tim Tebow Most Popular Athlete." LA Times. 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/poll-tim-tebow-most-popular.html>.

"Tim Tebow." Yahoo! Sports. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Tim-Tebow-31436>.

Weed Against Speed. "Rick Reilly Tweets That He Hired Lipreader To See If Tim Tebow Swore During Game." Sportress of Blogitude. 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/2011/12/08/rick-reilly-tweets-that-he-hired-lipreader-to-see-if-tim-tebow-swore-during-game/>. 

The Man, The Myth, and The Magic

The Man, The Myth, and The Magic

     Id like to start by saying that I am not a Tebowist. I do not participate in the act of Tebowing, nor was I one of the 94 million people to search John 3:16 after Tebow sported the numbers on his eye black during the 2009 BCS National Championship. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t say I have a problem with him. I recognize that he has “it”. Whatever “it” is, be it his leadership skills, his fearless broadcasting of his faith or the fact that he is one of the greatest athletes (notice I said athletes, not quarterbacks) ever to play the game, that man is in no short supply of “it”. These attributes mesmerize everybody and your mother and, for a while there, it seemed nothing could get Tebowists out of their warm stupor. In essence, Tebow was (and still is) a drug. And that’s what the news feeds on; this drug that evoked the controversy of the year in the sports world.

     Being a news icon is no new gig for Tebow: he has been talked about since he was a senior in high school. His recruiting profile describes him as “[having] a strong arm and above average speed and elusiveness…shows positive leadership ability…” (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Tim-Tebow-31436) Attributes like this got him recruited to the acclaimed football powerhouse, University of Florida, where the coaches had nothing but positive things to say about their new quarterback. Even ESPN college analysis’s loved him, saying that he was “revolutionizing the position…as a dual threat quarterback” (http://web.archive.org/web/20071111084832/http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/225436.html) A quarterback who can run and who can throw. And Tebow did nothing to disappoint his fans. He first helped the Gators win the national championship during the 2006 college football season. The next year, he was named the Gators' starting quarterback during which he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In ’08, Tebow led Florida to a 13-1 record and its second national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, Tebow's senior year. At the conclusion of his college career, he held the Southeastern Conference’s all-time records in both career passing efficiency and total rushing touchdowns, appearing second and tenth (respectively) in the NCAA record book in these categories. (http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf)

     Fast forward a couple years, and Tebow is about to start his first NFL game for the Denver Broncos. Nobody knows what to expect. He has been both raved about and criticized for weeks before this deciding day. Down 15 points with less than 3 minutes to go, it seemed all hope was lost. But then, by a stroke of God, or so it would appear, Tebow rallied the Broncos to an 18-15 OT win against the Miami Dolphins, ironically in the same stadium that he won a High School title in 2005 and a College National Championship in 2008, silencing critics and starting an era of what would be hence fourth known as Tebow Time. The ensuing news stories were a mix of joy, disbelief, and at the very least, acknowledgement of what this young quarterback had just accomplished. Most of the post game analyses noted the poor late game performance of the Dolphins mixed with strokes of luck for the Broncos as opposed to skill coming from Tebow. CBS’ Bill Cowher says, “He has limitations but ultimately can become a legitimate quarterback. But they won’t win a championship with him.” They give him credit…but not that much credit. (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/21/2464362/tebow-mania-upstaging-miami-dolphins.html) Tebow went on to lead the Denver Broncos to an 8-8 season, and another come-from-behind OT win in his first ever playoff appearance against the powerhouse Pittsburgh Steelers. Not bad for a rookie.

     When I searched “Tim Tebow” on Google, an astonishing 91,600,000 results appeared at my disposal. Now I cant imagine all of these are entire articles about America’s new golden boy, but even so, he is at least referenced that many times. As a point of comparison, when searching for David Beckham, arguably the worlds most popular soccer player, a mere 75,000,000 results came up, despite the fact that soccer has a significantly larger worldwide following.

     I think there is essentially two ways that the news analyzes Tim Tebow. One is with logos, the other with pathos.  The use of logos is generally on the negative side, seeing as statistically, he really isn’t that great of a quarterback. (In his defense, this statement is comparing him to all current quarterbacks, including the many to-be hall of famers. His first year stats, compared to stats of even the best during their first season is respectable) According to a telecast of SportsCenter, Tebow had the lowest quarterback rating of all eligible players in the position. I wouldn’t generally associate someone with this ranking as being a winning quarterback, much less the most popular athlete in the America. (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/poll-tim-tebow-most-popular.html)

The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective is a “student-run organization at Harvard College dedicated to the quantitative analysis of sports strategy and management.” After all they hype on this young quarterback, they decided to figure out statistically how he should be doing. The article turned out to essentially augment the skepticism of Tebow’s success. According to their calculations, “for the last 5 weeks, [during which Tebow led the Broncos to a record of 4-1], taking into account strength of opponent and location of the game, the Broncos would have been expected to win 1.9 games over that 5 game stretch.” So, what, did he just pull the other 2.1 wins out of mid-air? The article uses the terms EPA and WPA, or Expected Points Added and Win Probability Added, respectively. They go on to say

Tebow [compared to Kyle Orton] has a much worse EPA – meaning that he has objectively produced worse results over all of his plays – but a significantly better (though still negative) WPA – meaning that his plays have contributed more to the chances of his team winning. While Tebow’s plays have produced much fewer expected points than Orton’s, Tebow’s positive plays have come at crucial points in the game, when they have a much larger impact on the final result.

Unfortunately for Broncos fans, however, “the vast majority of players who started their careers with similar characteristics (a relatively high WPA given their EPA) eventually regressed towards the mean and saw their numbers come in line with expectations” (http://harvardsportsanalysis.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/a-statistical-analysis-of-the-miracles-of-tim-tebow) So what does this mean? The news coverage that utilizes logos as the primary way to analyze Tebow seem to suggest that he is really no more than a lucky, albeit mediocre quarterback. But this isn’t what brought Tebow into the spotlight, and it’s definitely not what kept him there.

     The stories using pathos to analyze the star are much more interesting and revealing about how he came to be the most compelling story in sports. Chuck Klosterman, a contributing author to the widely read blog Grantland, explains the unorthodox divide between those who like him vs. dislike him most eloquently. In this, he notes that the people who dislike him, dislike him essentially because he is “too good of a person”. The people who like him like him because he “succeeds at his job while being uniquely unskilled at its traditional requirements.” For the life of this story, Tebow has never been a great passer. And everybody from SportsCenter to church blogs has acknowledged that. But, like I said earlier, he has “it.” Tebow is more than football. He has a knack for saying just the right things at just the right times. Yes, it’s intertwined by his arguably obnoxious references to his “lord and savior Jesus Christ”, but maybe, as much as we moan and gripe about him shoving his faith down everyone’s throats, we have a subconscious appreciation for his antics.

The crux here, the issue driving this whole "Tebow Thing," is the matter of faith. It's the ongoing choice between embracing a warm feeling that makes no sense or a cold pragmatism that's probably true. And with Tebow, that illogical warm feeling keeps working out. It pays off. The upside to secular thinking is that — in theory — your skepticism will prove correct. Your rightness might be emotionally unsatisfying, but it confirms a stable understanding of the universe. Sports fans who love statistics fall into this camp. People who reject cognitive dissonance build this camp and find the firewood. But Tebow wrecks all that, because he makes blind faith a viable option. His faith in God, his followers' faith in him — it all defies modernity. This is why people care so much. He is making people wonder if they should try to believe things they don't actually believe. (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7319858/the-people-hate-tim-tebow)

Is it this that landed Tebow an entire hour long special on SportsCenter, a very rare occurrence that puts him in a class with the likes of LeBron James and his “decision?” Maybe. And for those of us who don’t shut the door on Tebow because we are “annoyed” by all the talk about him, columnist Rick Reilly sums up the feelings of the fans quite well.

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too."

(http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow)

Giving a Reteat

Of the three chapters, Id have to agree with other classmates in saying that it was probably the most jumbled and poorly written. Although, eventually after a little bit of re reading, I was able to figure out the jist of the chapter. Id be willing to chalk up the poor performance to Harris' editor having the stomach flu during the week designated to revise this chapter and due to their extremely tight schedule, they were not able to go back and take a second look at it.

Ultimately, what I drew from this chapter, "taking an approach" is taking somebody elses work and giving it your own signature flare to appeal to whatever audience you are trying to reach. The best example of this would be the cover of a song. There is a station on XM radio that my mom (thus, in turn, I do as well during road trips) called the Coffee House, whose entire agenda is to play acoustic music covers. Take John Mayer covering the late great Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry". When I think of Bob Marley and John Mayer, I think of weed smoking musicians with glorious voices. Not at all the same style, though. But in his cover, John Mayer takes Bob's song and his signature reggae style and turns it into a piece of his own acoustic brilliance.

In terms of writing, this could be seen when news stories are stretched to evoke a different emotion from the audience. I feel like this would be much harder for an publication such as the NYT, seeing as they have an image of professionalism and honesty to uphold, but for something like the Onion, I think taking an approach fits right in. They are transforming headlines and articles to appeal to a different audience. Just like a cover of a song, the Onion takes the story from a reputable publication and then generally tweaks it just enough that its obvious what the first story was on, but leaves the reader with something completely different than they would have gotten if they had just been boring and read NYT.

Hmm..On the Contrary

This is a tough post. It seems like it should just be reading a given blog post as a rough draft and revising it into a final copy. But, for whatever reason, it doesnt seem to work that smoothly in blogging. When I blog, I pride myself on the fact that what I write first is what stays. I dont generally think too much about writing entrys in a way such that they can be revised. 

If I needed to revisit one post, however, It would probably be the most recent one on "countering". At first, I was thinking of countering as tool used solely in writing, as opposed being used in conversation to push forward a discussion. People counter every day-- thats how discussions last longer than 2 sentences. (Kids, take notes for first dates. Use countering throughout the awkward dinner and it fly right by) I mean I guess everybody could agree on everything...but how fun would that be?

I suppose I didnt necessarily understand the whole idea of countering while writing that first post, seeing as I said that the Onion doesn't use all too much countering. On second thought, it seems they absolutely do. They present a biased and satirical side of a story which is just the thing to push the discussion forward. They (although not always in a completly truthful way) make observations about a story which absolutely provokes discussion. If nothing else, their articles start conversations. The headlines are so absurd that people go up to one another and say, "Did you see that article in the Onion?! HAHAHA" The ensuing conversation doesnt necessarily always relate back to the specific article but at the back of each parties mind, they know at least one side to the story, and how at least some people feel about a given issue.  

What Lovely Marble

Countering: the act of installing a formidable platform in a kitchen environment on which one can place countless items?

Maybe not so much. Harris, as the author of this lovely book, describes countering as "not nullifying, but rather suggest[ing] a different way of thinking." Unlike an arguement, where each party is trying to point out the flaws in the other's defense, this idea of countering is more of a constructive criticism of sorts.

In a debate, it is generally accepted that every point each person makes is either an attempt to defend their stance or attack the other persons. Countering, however, suggests that "ones own position has evolved in response to ideas and findings."

The Onion doesn't necesarily do this. They are pretty biased on their stance in a given story. Its not that any of their points are necessarily condescending, but rather they dont offer both sides to the story. Its hard to envision there being another side to an article titled "Hampered Kevin Garnett To See Age Specialist..."

Eat Fresh

The word forwarding has been used in many a context, however Id be willing to bet most in my generation associate "forwarding" with email and maybe the occasional text. It offers a quick, mindless way to get the information you've just read to a vast audience, that being anyone in your email contacts or phone book. Harris goes a step farther and uses the term as a writer "forwarding a text by taking words, images or ideas from it and putting them to use in new contexts." Its a way of taking someone elses ideas and expanding on them, or writing about the topics in a way that offer a new angle in the analysis of the situation/text.


The blog/online newspaper The Onion exemplifies this concept of "forwarding." They take a standard issue news headline and tweak it in a brilliant, satirical kind of way that appeals to everyone reading it. Obviously, much is lost in translation; The Onions whole agenda is to take just a small part of a story or idea and make ridiculously exaggerated points about it. So most of the truth part is gone. As in anything that is "forwarded", Harris argues that "although you may gain readers for a text [thanks to the internet], but you lose control of it once you send it to the public sphere." He references Plato in that he thought that
"texts can become fatherless, detached from their authors and interpreted recklessly." But its not all bad. In the example of The Onion, whats lost in the information not being completely truthful is gained by the piece being so funny! The best part is that its not only funny, but incredibly witty at the same time. As such, it has more of an intellectual vibe rather than just the likes of a comic strip.