Week 4 Entry

The Unstoppable Range Rover Sport

2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged 

The 2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged is one of the most luxurious SUV’s on the market today, and also has impeccable off-road capability. Although there’s not much new for the 2011 model it still comes equipped with all the bells and whistles from the previous year. Although this vehicle is well suited for urban driving it’s best performance comes through quick acceleration and near perfect off- road skills. The range rover sport offers full time four-wheel drive, all around great city driving, or for the adventurous driver seeking a little more thrill with top notch off road skills.

V8 supercharged engine

            The performance of this supercharged model is astonishing. It comes equipped with a 5.0-litre V8 engine, cranking out 510 horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque and can tow up to 7,700 pounds. This model is equipped with terrain response and has a dynamic mode option. The terrain response system is what makes this a great off road vehicle. The option offers increased traction in snow, gravel, rocks, sand, grass, and mud as it optimizes powertrain and suspension.

Terrain response and dynamic mode

            The supercharged model offers many great safety features including front and side airbags, traction and stability control with rollover protection. This model also comes with Brembo breaks; these are known to be the fastest stopping breaks in the automotive industry. The safety feature that really blew me out of the water was the adaptive cruise control. This feature uses radar to sense other cars in front of you while in cruise control, and can slow you down if you come to close to the vehicle in front of you. In emergency cases if the vehicle senses that the vehicle in front stops suddenly it will stop the Range Rover for you. This option makes this vehicle one of the safest SUV’s on the road.

Leather interior 

            The interior comes equipped with leather seats, dashboard and armrests and is accented with your choice of wood.  Almost everything on this vehicle is customizable whether it is red interior or proximity cameras surrounding your new 2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged, making this one of the top SUV’s on the market. Along with the smooth ride, luxurious interior, and unbeatable off-road capabilities this vehicle comes with a hefty MRSP starting at $80,000 and will run up to $115,000 depending on the options.

What autoweek reviews had to say:

“… Breaking power is substantial, whether clamping down from speed or merely stopping short in boxed-in traffic. Excellent control.” – Bob Gritzinger

 “It's a beautiful place to be, with soft leather-wrapped surfaces and comfortable seats.” – Jonathan Wong

(http://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews/2011-land-rover-range-rover-sport-supercharged-autoweek-drivers-log-car-review)

Photo's by: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com

Week 3 Entry

Photo 1: Let's Play Ball!

I hope nobody reading this blog post thinks that I took this photograph, considering it is over 50 years old. Honestly I have no idea who may have taken this, but it looks like it was professionally taken considering cameras weren’t popular for people to have like they are today. You might be wondering, “What’s the point of putting some old baseball team photo in his blog?” Let me explain. 

If you’re looking at the photograph to the left, the first row far right is my grandfather Rooney, (the one holding his glove up). He passed away in 1965, long before I was born. This photograph means a lot to me because it is one of the few pictures I have of my grandfather, and he’s playing sports. It’s not hard to tell the love of sports runs in my family… 

Photo 2: No Goal

This picture to the left is of me playing the sport I love, hockey. Hockey is by far my favorite sport, pastime, and hobby. My position… well I’m the goalie, the guy who stands in front of the 3x1 inch round black rubber puck. So if you’re looking at the image I’m the guy in the white jersey diving across the net. I started skating when I was three and started playing hockey when I was five and started playing goalie when I was about seven, and have played the position ever since.

Obviously I didn’t take this picture either, but JP Photography took it using a camera that was placed in a plexiglass box inside the net. Although hockey is not something I plan on making a career out of, it’s something I love to do and that is why I wanted to share it with you on my blog.

Oh, and just incase you were wondering… the puck never went in the net.

Week 2 Entry

"Hey There Delilah"- Plain White T's 

                         LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/plainwhitets/heytheredelilah.html

“Hey There Delilah”, by Plain White T’s is one of my favorite songs, but today was the first time I understood the deeper meanings that lay within. Listening closely and reading the lyrics, the song contains many poetic devices. When looking at the lyrics to the song, the verses contain a main rhyme scheme ABCBDDD.

 For Example:

“Hey there Delilah (A)

What's it like in New York City? (B)

I'm a thousand miles away (C)

But girl, tonight you look so pretty (B)

Yes you do (D)

Times Square can't shine as bright as you (D)

I swear it's true” (D)

A refrain in poetry is something that is repeated. In the song the chorus is repeated 3 times throughout, making it the refrain.

Oh it's what you do to me

Oh it's what you do to me

Oh it's what you do to me

What you do to me.”

When it comes to stanza organization, every verse had a similar layout and almost identical meter (syllable count). When analyzed, the layout of songwriting has a similar layout as poetry.

The speaker of the song is a person (songwriter) who’s singing to another person (Delilah) who is in a long distance relationship talking about their future plans. Listen to the song and you can tell they’re distanced from each other by the second line, “What’s it like in New York City?” The tone of the song is romantic, but sad at the same time. The song conveys emotion and feeling as the songwriter writes about Delilah, who’s moved away, but wants her love. Towards the end of the song, the listener realizes that maybe Delilah isn’t as in love as the songwriter is, when the song states, “The world will never ever be the same, / And you're to blame.” Other examples of figurative language in the song include personification, metaphor and imagery. An example of personification from the song is, “I’ll pay the bills with this guitar.” This example is considered personification because the guitar is given human characteristics, as a guitar is unable to pay the bills itself. Secondly, is the use of  a metaphor. When the lyrics state, “Listen to my voice, it’s my disguise,” it compares two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”. The songwriter compares the voice to a disguise making it a metaphor. Another literary device found in the song would be alliteration. This was easy to spot in the phrase “We can do Whatever We Want.” With a close listen and paying attention to detail in the lyrics, it doesn’t take long to realize the complexity of the song and the figurative language used to create imagery in it.

The content of “Hey There Delilah” is a love song wrote to Delilah. The purpose of the song was to be romantic and draw the connection between the songwriter and Delilah and convince her to keep faith and keep their love strong. A social implication that may arise within the song is it really a guy writing the song to a girl, as it could be a guy to guy or girl to girl. On a social aspect, we assume it’s a guy writing to a girl. The reason I like this song so much is the “catch” it has. The rhyme and rhythm that the songwriter used makes the lyrics stuck in my head every time I hear it. In my opinion it would be near impossible for another artist to cover this song, and make it as powerful and the Plain White T’s made it. The message would still be the same, as a romantic love song, but there’s only one person writing to Delilah and that was wrote by the Plain White T’s. 

Who am I?

Welcome to my blog. My name is AJ Rooney and I was born and raised a "Townie" in St.John's Newfoundland. I left home in grade 10 to move to Ontario to pursue my hockey career, and lived there for two years. I soon realized, "was it really worth all the time and effort?" I realized it wasn't and moved home in grade 12 and attend Bishops College High. When living in the mainland I never traded in my Newfie "BY" for "EH" but I did pick up a love of country music when I was there. The past two years being home I've been working in the family business and developed a love for it, which brought me to the MUN business program. My plan is to get my Bachelor of Business Administration.