The subject of Dave Barry's Batting Clean Up and Striking out is the difference that men and women see in different things like cleanliness and sports.the first part of his piece is devoted to a discussion on how women can see dirt and dust on a microscopic level, he even includes a humorous anecdote about Pompeii. The second half of the piece is a anecdote about sneaking out of a dinner party to watch the World Series.
     Batting Clean Up and Striking out was written in 1988. We could infer this from the essay by either reading the forward, or by using clues from the piece itself. you can tell it is from the late 20th century because of the cleaning supplies he mentions in the story about cleaning his son's bathroom. Windex is a name brand that was costly to produce and uncommon until at least the middle of the century.
     The audience for this piece would probably have been middle aged couples. they would fully appreciate the humorous situation with cleaning the Son's bathroom. there is also a certain amount of humor within the dynamic between him and his wife that only people who were married would understand.
     Dave Barry's purpose in this essay was to , in a humorous light, outline the way that men and women disagree over things. He wants us to understand that these differences are okay and part of life. In the Story about the Dinner party, although the men and women are separated by their conflicting interests, everyone seems to enjoy themselves anyway.
     Dave Barry, celebrated humorist, believes that there is humor in the world and that you just have to point it out. He was born and raised in New York and works as a humor columnist.
     We know his tone is sarcastic and humorous because of the way that he presents his information. The obviously false story about Pompeii is very funny and used to set the stage for the rest of his piece.

Voice

Voice is the way that someone speaks or sounds that is unique to them. A statement in my voice would be something like, "sometimes things don't go your way, but its alright. This sounds like me because I try to use easy to understand words and I am usually an indifferent optimist. Something I would talk around would be telling my parents I impregnated someone, I would beat around the bush so as to not deliver all of the shock at once. Voice can change the way that we understand facts in non fiction. A good way to improve your voice is to talk a a lot and go over your sentences in your head. The more intelligent things you talk about the better you will be able to tell what you really sound like.

Sign Language

That he really enjoys his life. He seemed Cheery even though it was cold out. He got very involved in the community of  the whole things. The signs were more than just advertisements. They were a way to communicate. I changed the city streets to an office and it seemed like he was kind of desperate.

Good Old Desk

S the desk he likes O unknown A his listeners P to about how good and dependable his desk is S Harry Nilsson T proud/content He is talking about how his desk is always there for him. Its understandable that he thinks god would be as dependable as his desk.
"to keep my hopes alive" It's always there
"Good Old Desk"

Kandinsky vs. Pallack

I like the Kandinsky because its use of line and shape make for an interesting composition. My brain looks for patters in the jumble and finds it beautiful. Plus the Pallack reminds me of  beef stroganof coming back up, Kandinsky however presents many interesting pieces. The Pallack is more pleasing though because it uses gentle earth tones and organic shape and pattern. It is far less edgy