[zopa]

It's called a deceptive cadence -- that's the I V vi part. The IV is warmup for the V - I cadence that ends it all. "Deceptive" because vi is one note away from I, but in minor, not major.

It's a well-known pattern; sorry the internet let you down.

[fferen]

Perhaps my google-fu was weak back then; searching now I see posts about it on several sites. Ha, there's even a Facebook group called "Stop using the I V vi IV chord progression" (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-using-the-I-V-vi-IV-chord...).

[AblyExitNewtons]

You can switch to the sensitive female chord progression: http://sixfouronefive.blogspot.com/