SMELL Essay

Snickers has a unique ability to capture the viewer's attention in many of their commercials, and this one is no exception. The sender of the commercial is obviously the snickers company. In this commercial snickers is trying to market their product towards the younger crowd. The commercial creates a completely unrealistic scenario where a man stumbles across Patrick Ewing, a former NBA all-star, on a basketball court in an alleyway. The message of the commercial is simple, the commercial is encouraging people to eat snickers, because if you do something like this may happen to you. The only emotion that the commercial may evoke in the viewer is happiness. The commercial is meant to be humorous and this is what makes the commercial memorable. The viewer is drawn in not only by seeing Patrick Ewing but when the backboard explodes unexpectedly. Loud noises and explosions typically attract attention. There is very little talking in the commercial, but there is a lot of action which viewers today are attracted too. The commercial is memorable because of both its humor and its action, which is normally not expected. This situation is completely irrational because it is highly improbable that this situation would occur in real life. Not only is it ridiculous that Patrick Ewing is lurking in some back alleyway, but it is also surprising when Ewing actually knows the name of the man he runs into. The basic message of the commercial is, if you buy this product then ridiculous and funny things will happen to you, and who wouldn't want that. One final way this commercial sets itself apart is in the end where the senders use diction to rearrange Ewing's name into Patrick Chewing. It is not easy to forget a commercial like this, and that is why I still remember it months after I saw it. 

Song Explication

Kenny Rogers

"The Gambler"

On a warm summers evenin on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin out the window at the darkness
til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, son, Ive made a life out of readin peoples faces,
And knowin what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
So if you dont mind my sayin, I can see youre out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey Ill give you some advice.

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, if youre gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.

Now evry gambler knows that the secret to survivin
Is knowin what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
cause evry hands a winner and evry hands a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.

So when hed finished speakin, he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count you r money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.

Kenny Roger's song "The Gambler" teaches a simple yet important life lesson. Kenny Rogers compares the game of poker to the "game" of life in which you have to play your cards right in order to become successful. Your success in life depends on your outlook on life and many people give up when things become too difficult. Roger urges people to hold out even when things are tough because sooner or later you may stumble upon an "ace" that may turn your life around. Life is full of uncertainty just like the game of poker but if you understand the rules of the game and play your cards right you can make it to the top.

The setting of the song is set on a train going nowhere during the middle of the night. This represents a low point in the man's life when it seems he has lost his direction. The night represents the little hope for the future and for an improvement in the man's situation. The man soon meets a stranger who seems to be in the same situation. The man is unable to sleep because he is unsure of his future and is not at peace. Soon the gambler tells the man that he can read peoples faces and tell where they are in life. The Gambler knows that the man is out of aces and has nowhere to go. The Gambler then agrees to offer the man some advice. In this stanza the gambler is characterized as the old wise man who people come to for advice and the man who has seen it all. The writer of the song uses setting to portray a lack of hope and uncertainty about the future.

The next stanza describes the gambler as he prepares to give his advice to the other man. It describes how the gambler lights a cigarette and looses all expression. The words "and the night got deathly quiet" reveal the seriousness of the situation. The tone of the stanza is melancholy and dark representing the man's current position in life. The scene can be imagined easily and the author makes good use of imagery to help the listener imagine the scene. After the pause the gambler finally gives his advice. The gambler uses poker terms to describe certain situations in life. He says that you have to know when to hold out and wait for things to get better. You have to know when to give up or walk away from something. You have to know when to run from dangerous situations. He advises the man to never count his money at the table. In other words don't show off in front of people because no one respects that. The truly wealthy people are the ones who you could never tell are wealthy. Show offs are often just borrowing money or have little money to begin with.

After the chorus the gambler imparts some more advice on the man. He says that the secret to survival is knowing what cards to keep. He says that every hands a winner and every hands a loser". This shows that every situation in life has the potential to end in a positive or negative aspect it just depends on your attitude towards the situation. He also says that the best thing you can hope for is to die in your sleep. Ironically after he finishes that line the gambler fades off to sleep. His cigarette goes out representing the dying embers of life. The gambler died in his sleep which is the best thing you could have asked for. After that it says that "somewhere in that darkness the gambler broke even" showing that even though there seemed to be little hope the gambler was at peace. Many people are not at peace when they die and this is why the gambler broke even. After this the man's outlook on life immediately begins to improve because he gained some valuable advice.

The man gained an ace from listening to the gambler's advice. Even though the advice is very simply it is relevant to everyone. The message of the song is timeless and would still be relevant years into the future. The song shows man's potential for good or bad depending on his outlook. You can have bad cards and still win at the game of poker if you know how to play right. Some of the most successful people in life have been born into bad situations and come out on top. That is what the gambler's message is all about. 

Sestina

This is the moment he has been waiting for.

As he slowly walks onto the court

He thinks how far he as had to travel

To make this a reality.

The crowd cheers and then he waves,

The fun part is over, time for the work.

New strings on the racquet are a good perk.

He concentrates while looking at the floor,

He thinks about all the energy he gave,

But he still loves the sport.

He has to get into the right mentality, 

He can't afford to let his game unravel.

Before the first serve he looks down at the gravel

He looks at his opponent who has a smirk,

He knows that he can't loose his vitality.

In the first set he's already down by four,

He needs some support,

It feels like he is digging his own grave.

His face is grave

He wishes that he was at home playing scrabble.

Slowing down the pace is his last resort.

The ball hits the net again and he goes berserk.

Soon his hand starts to get sore.

He can't leave the court, he is a slave.

It's time to be brave.

Shadows begin to lurk

Across the clay floor

At which he marvels.

He does everything to try and save

The match. He is getting fed up with the sport.

For a while it looks like he might not fall short,

His opponent looses his temper and misbehaves.

He is starting to act like a jerk.

A victory is what he craves.

Soon he cannot hear the crowd babble

And everything he starts to ignore.

He just realized that he wrote the poem 

wrong but has too much homework

so will fix it later.

Fem/Mas Poem

One day a man got an idea when he looked at his ferrari black

Car. He put on his callvin klien jeans got in the car and 

Backed it out of the driveway. On the horizon he could see 

The tangerine  joy of the sunset. The sky was a rich red velvet

Color. When he got on the street he accelerated to five miles per hour.

Then he did something crazy.

Hoping to become a one man show and impress his friends,

He put the car on cruise control. He took hold of the aqua chrome 

Handle and opened the door. The smell of diesel fuel entered the car.

Slowly he lifted himself out of the seat and prepared to put his feet on

The moving ground. This part was essential. All he could hear was 

His heartbeat, then in an instant he jumped out and tried to run alongside 

The car. Before he knew it he was on the ground,

Watching his car riding off into the rising luminous moon.

The recovery process was long and arduous. One day he decided

To try again. Against the blue sky he and his friends set out. 

Once he got onto a good street he set the car in motion. He

Pressed on the sandalwood paneling and opened the door.

Raising the stakes he set the cruise control to seven miles

Per hour. In contradiction with his friends' wishes he 

Began to exit the car.

He let a taxi pass by and then he jumped out. He hit 

The ground running. For a moment he stumbled and

Caught a glance of his coolwater blue sneakers. He

Regained his balance and ran alongside the car. He could see

The pink diamond lights on his dashboard. With growing confidence 

He jumped on the hood of the car. He had mastered the 

Essence of ghost riding.

It was a majestic day and the sun was ablaze

When we set sail for the far off water. It was

Early in the morning and you could feel the

Icy air brush against your skin as the boat moved

Through the water. The water was calm and there

Was no wind. The journey to the spot was very

Quick. Afterwards we arrived to the destination.

After a while we began to notice an intoxicating

Smell that lingered in the air. After a tame twenty

Minutes or so the rod bent almost all the way over

And the passionate fight began. The waters became

Tumultuous as the boat struggled against the fish.

Soon many onlookers gathered and watched the

Battle take place. Suddenly the silhoutte could be seen

Emerging from the gloomy water. When the monster

Emerged we were mesmerized. We had just caught

Our first goliath grouper.