What Should You Worry About?
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
published: 10/18/2009
Identity theft? Killer sharks? Disease? We're bad at assessing risk—we panic about the wrong things.
Humans are good at many things—typing, inventing stuff—but we're quite bad at assessing risk. Day after day, we get bent out of shape over things we shouldn’t worry about so much, like airplane crashes and lightning strikes, instead of things we should, like heart disease and the flu.
So how can we find out what's truly dangerous? Economics. Upon hearing the word, most people think of incomprehensible charts and jargon and promptly change the subject. However, we can use the field's powerful ideas and tools, along with huge piles of data, to understand topics that aren't typically associated with economics. Topics like shark attacks.
Think back to the summer of 2001, or what the U.S. media dubbed the "Summer of the Shark." The prime example was the story of Jessie Arbogast, an 8-year-old who was playing in the warm, shallow Pensacola, Fla., waves when a bull shark ripped off his right arm and a big chunk of his thigh.
The media was full of such chilling tales. Here's the lead paragraph from one article published that summer: "Sharks come silently, without warning. There are three ways they strike: the hit-and-run, the bump-and-bite, and the sneak attack. The hit-and-run is the most common. The shark may see the sole of a swimmer's foot, think it’s a fish, and take a bite before realizing this isn’t its usual prey."
A reasonable person might never go near the ocean again. But how many shark attacks do you think actually happened that year?
Take a guess—and then cut that figure in half, and now cut it in half a few more times. During all of 2001, there were 68 shark attacks worldwide, of which just four were fatal.
Not only were the numbers lower than the media hysteria implied, but they were not much higher than those of previous years or of the years that followed. Between 1995 and 2005, there were on average 60.3 shark attacks worldwide each year, with a high of 79 and a low of 46. There were on average 5.9 fatalities per year, with a high of 11 and a low of three. In other words, the headlines during the summer of 2001 might just as easily have read "Shark Attacks About Average This Year."
Elephants, meanwhile, kill at least 200 people a year. Why aren't we petrified of them? Probably because their victims tend to live far from the world's media centers. It may also have to do with our perceptions gleaned from the movies. Friendly elephants are a staple of children's films like Babar and Dumbo; sharks are typecast as villains.
There are any number of topics about which our fears run far out of proportion to reality. For instance, whom are you more afraid of: strangers or people you know? While "strangers" is the obvious answer, it's probably wrong. Three out of four murder victims knew their assailants; about seven of 10 rape victims knew theirs. While the public is justifiably horrified when a stranger snatches a child off the street, the data show that such kidnappings are extremely rare. As for the crime of identity theft, most of us fear nameless, faceless perpetrators—say, a far-off ring of teenage hackers. We try to thwart them by endlessly changing our PINs (and forgetting them). But it turns out that nearly half of identity-theft victims are ripped off by someone they know. And fully 90% of thefts happen offline, not on the Internet. Fear sometimes distorts our thinking to the point where we become convinced that certain threats are so enormous as to be unstoppable. Every generation has at least one such problem—the plague, polio. Today, it's global warming. The average global ground temperature over the past 100 years has risen 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or .74 degrees Celsius. But even the most brilliant climate scientists are unable to predict exactly what will happen to the Earth as a result of those atmospheric changes and when anything will happen. We humans tend to respond to uncertainty with more emotion—fear, blame, paralysis—than advisable. Uncertainty also has a nasty way of making us conjure the very worst possibilities. With global warming, these are downright biblical: hellish temperatures, rising oceans, a planet in chaos. But instead of panicking and collectively wringing our hands, it might help us to look at other "unsolvable" problems humanity has had to deal with. Like, well, horse manure. As urban populations exploded in the 19th century, horses were put to work in countless ways, from pulling streetcars and coaches to powering manufacturing equipment. Our cities became filled with horses—for example, in 1900, New York City was home to some 200,000 of them, or one for every 17 people. Unfortunately, they produced a slew of what economists refer to as "negative externalities." These included noise, gridlock, high insurance costs, and far too many human traffic fatalities. The worst problem was the manure. The average horse produces about 24 pounds of it a day. In New York, that added up to nearly 5 million pounds. A day. It lined the streets like banks of snow and was piled as high as 60 feet in vacant lots. It stank to the heavens. And it was a fertile breeding ground for flies that spread deadly disease. City planners everywhere were confounded. It seemed as if cities could not survive without the horse—but they couldn’t survive with it, either. And then the problem vanished. The horse was kicked to the curb by the electric streetcar and the automobile.
Virtually every unsolvable problem we've faced in the past has turned out to be quite solvable, and the script has nearly always been the same: A band of clever, motivated people—s cientists usually—find an answer. With polio, it was the creation of a vaccine. If the best minds in the world focus their attention on global warming, hopefully we can handle that, too. Yes, it is an incredibly large and challenging problem. But, as history has shown us again and again, human ingenuity is bound to be even larger.
Adapted from "SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance," by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, 2009. To be published by William Morrow.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Why I'm No Longer The Same Yankee Fan That I Once Was
I’ve been a Yankees fan since the day I was conceived. I’ve especially been following them rigorously since 1996. Those are my earliest Yankee memories. (I guess you can say I’ve been pretty spoiled over the last 14 years). My Bar Mitzvah party theme was the Yankees. I’ve been to hundreds of Yankee games. I’ve seen them play in such cities as Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Tampa, Philadelphia, and of course New York. I attend spring training every year and I was written up in the New York Post last year. I’ve worked in Yankee Stadium (until I got kicked out for snooping around and trying to get autographs) and I’ve met numerous of current and former Yankees at shows and dinners. I guess I can be classified, as a big Yankee fan to say the least, and as a big Yankees fan it is my right to have many opinions about the team that I’m so passionate about. Lately over the past couple of years I’ve become very conflicted about how I feel about the Yankees. I am currently in a very difficult/uncomfortable state with my feelings towards the Yankees. The reason why I’m in such an uncomfortable state is because although I love the Yankees so much, I also hate them. I hate them to the point that I’m not sure if I’m going to be a Yankee fan after the Jeter era is over. I hate them for the following reasons:
I hate the new Yankee stadium
I hate the new ownership
I hate and I mean hate Joe Girardi
These are 3 strikes and the Yankees might be out on my watch.
Nothing sickens me more than the opening of the new Yankee stadium and the closing of the old/real Yankee stadium. This is a huge tragedy. The Yankees selfishly “sold-out” when they built this new stadium. All of this just to earn a few more bucks Their was no need for this new stadium to come about. This new Yankee Stadium is totally unnecessary. The Yankees were doing just fine financially and the fans were not complaining about the old stadium. The Yankees have been breaking attendance records every year and were the richest team in baseball yet they still went ahead and selfishly built this new stadium (without any fans opinions involved) just to earn a few more bucks. They raised the prices because they can. Because they know that they have a huge fan-base and people will still show up no matter how expensive tickets are. Not only are they a sell-out when it comes to raising ticket prices, but they are also a sell-out when it comes to what they are really doing. The Yankees are all about History, Tradition, Pride, Mystique, and Awe, so how can they go ahead and move out of and destroy the building where that all took place. Their going against everything they stand for. It’s supposed to be ‘The House That Ruth Built” not the house that Steinbrenner built, and they’re going ahead and throwing all that history in such a holy ballpark down the toilet. Granted the current Yankee stadium is not the same as the original (it underwent a facelift in 1974-75), however it is still the same field. It is still the same dirt. Home plate is in the same location where Babe Ruth used to smack home runs from. Center field is in the same location where the great Joe DiMaggio once snagged fly balls. It’s the same field where guys like Gherig, Berra, and Mantle would play their hearts out. And now their throwing it all away so that fans can now watch replays on a big screen TV and have wider seats to sit in. Is that why we go to the ballpark???!!!, To sit in wide seats and have a plasma HD jumbo tron??? This is what we are throwing history out for??? Is that what it’s all about?? Gimme a break. What upsets me the most is that I feel like I’m the only fan who cares. Fans don’t see what’s going on. Fans cannot see that they are selling their Yankee souls for the glitz and glamour of wider seats and a big screen in center. They are being tricked by the ownership who are promising a great future in a new ballpark. I can’t understand the stupid/fake fans who are happy to sell their Yankee pride for a lavish new ballpark. What saddens me the most is the thought that when the day comes when my grandson asks me where “The Babe” used to smack home runs, I’m going to have to point across the street to the parking lot. It’s supposed to be “The House That Ruth Built”, not the house that Steinbrenner built. They would never build another stadium in Boston. Or Chicago (cubs), so why here? They love Fenway and Wrigley. It’s holy to them it’s a place that they take pride in, which they’ve called home for almost 100 years now, and its unheard of for them to replace their stadiums. So why Yankee stadium? If anything Yankee stadium is 20 times holier and more magical than those ballparks. So how could we replace it? How could we be replacing and destroying such a beloved ballpark here in New York? Let me tell you something people the ghost of Yankee Stadium are not moving across the street. They are staying put in the hallowed ground where they belong. So good luck Yankees. I was so comfortable in the old park I felt at home. I felt like I was a somebody. This new ball-park is just the opposite I feel lost and confused. My usual upper deck seats are farther up and further back. I feel like I’m in corporation land and rich people land. This new stadium has no energy, it’s like watching a game in a freaking Starbucks. The reason why this is so is because its filled with rich corporate businessman pricks who aren’t real fans, don’t know how to make noise, and don’t show up to the games when the weather is bad. I miss the cracks of the old stadium. Each crack acting like a wrinkle on an old mans face representing so many years of great memories and tradition. I miss the thunderous roar and the way the old stadium would shake when the Yankees would play well.
Another thing about this new stadium is that ticket prices have soared as much as over 100%. There are tremendously fewer affordable seats (when I say affordable I mean $30 and under). The only people benefiting from this new stadium are the big companies and rich executives who have no respect for tradition and pride. They are the ones who will be receiving more and more money each year on behalf of every single fan who attends a game. The Yankees built this new stadium and are charging more for tickets without any regard to those who cannot afford to pay more. By raising prices, they are only catering to their rich clientele who don’t mind spending more because they can afford it. They are totally disregarding the smaller guys who can no longer afford to take their family out to the ballpark. They would much rather have new wide seats and a big scoreboard then to satisfy ALL their fans.
Reason number 2 why I hate the Yankees is because these new owners (hank & Hal) are a joke. George Steinbrenner was a man of integrity who was respected and feared. These new owners are nothing more than just DNA lottery winners who are extremely unprofessional with their comments, that they make Mike Tyson look like a genius. Hank Steinbrenner is known to make foolish outrageous comments perhaps for the reason that he wants to live up to and replicate his dad. However there will never be another George Steinbrenner. George Steinbrenner built himself through hard work and perseverance. Hank and Hal cannot become him overnight. They should flat-out stop trying to become him because those are shoes that they just wont be able to fill.
Reason number 3 why I hate the Yankees is because of Joe Girardi. I happen to think that he’s an awful manager who is arrogant, unintelligent, impatient with the media, and stubborn who plays way too much by the books. I rant much more about Girardi in rants # 1 and 2.
Ever since the season of 2004, I’ve lost my passion, my fire and desire,my mojo for the Yankees. The reason why this is so is because Boston beat us and went on to win the World Series. Not only did they beat us, but they did so in dramatic fashion winning 4 straight games against us after having their backs up against the wall being down 3-0 in the ALCS.
2003 was the highest point of my baseball career. When Aaron Boone hit that home run in the 11th inning to knock Boston out of the playoffs, I was ecstatic. That was without a doubt the most exciting game and the most exciting series that I’ve ever seen in my life. That series was highlighted with such heated competition and a famous brawl where Pedro Martinez beat up Don Zimmer and was beautifully capped off with Aaron Boone’s shot deep to left. I didn’t even care that the Yankees went on to lose to the Marlins in the World Series. Nobody seemed to care. We were still celebrating our victory over Boston. That was our World Series as far as we were concerned. It was such a higher stage than the actual World Series against the Marlins. However, the fairy tale ending did not last long..
I went from such a high in 2003 to such a low in 2004 when Boston got their revenge by beating us in the ALCS. I was more upset that Boston went on to win the World Series than I was about them knocking us out. The reason why this is so is because that ended the “Curse of the Bambino”. They finally won. After 86 years Boston were now champions and there was no more curse. No more chanting “1918”. To me as a Yankee fan, I took tremendous pride in beating Boston every year and defending the curse. My goal for every season was to make sure Boston doesn’t win. Defend and protect the sanctity of the curse. Of course I also wanted the Yankees to win every season but more importantly was just to make sure Boston doesn’t win. We had bragging rights for 86 years until 2004. After they won I had a feeling of “GAME OVER, now what. They won. What’s there to play for now?”. Boston finally had bragging rights over us for the first time. I had and still do have a feeling of worthlessness when it comes to Yankee baseball. I feel like “what’s the point now”. Every year each team regroups and tries to accomplish the same goal and each year there’s a different winner. Yeah I get it. It’s kind of clichéic to me now. There used to be more than just trying to win every year. It was trying to win so that we could shove it in Boston’s face. That was our sense of baseball pride. Now Boston is shoving not 1 but 2 rings in our face. We are now equals with Boston. We used to be only superior but now they finally got a piece of the pie and I cannot deal with that. They knocked me out as a fan. They succeeded.
That my friends is why I am no longer the same Yankee fan that I once was
I hate the new Yankee stadium
I hate the new ownership
I hate and I mean hate Joe Girardi
These are 3 strikes and the Yankees might be out on my watch.
Nothing sickens me more than the opening of the new Yankee stadium and the closing of the old/real Yankee stadium. This is a huge tragedy. The Yankees selfishly “sold-out” when they built this new stadium. All of this just to earn a few more bucks Their was no need for this new stadium to come about. This new Yankee Stadium is totally unnecessary. The Yankees were doing just fine financially and the fans were not complaining about the old stadium. The Yankees have been breaking attendance records every year and were the richest team in baseball yet they still went ahead and selfishly built this new stadium (without any fans opinions involved) just to earn a few more bucks. They raised the prices because they can. Because they know that they have a huge fan-base and people will still show up no matter how expensive tickets are. Not only are they a sell-out when it comes to raising ticket prices, but they are also a sell-out when it comes to what they are really doing. The Yankees are all about History, Tradition, Pride, Mystique, and Awe, so how can they go ahead and move out of and destroy the building where that all took place. Their going against everything they stand for. It’s supposed to be ‘The House That Ruth Built” not the house that Steinbrenner built, and they’re going ahead and throwing all that history in such a holy ballpark down the toilet. Granted the current Yankee stadium is not the same as the original (it underwent a facelift in 1974-75), however it is still the same field. It is still the same dirt. Home plate is in the same location where Babe Ruth used to smack home runs from. Center field is in the same location where the great Joe DiMaggio once snagged fly balls. It’s the same field where guys like Gherig, Berra, and Mantle would play their hearts out. And now their throwing it all away so that fans can now watch replays on a big screen TV and have wider seats to sit in. Is that why we go to the ballpark???!!!, To sit in wide seats and have a plasma HD jumbo tron??? This is what we are throwing history out for??? Is that what it’s all about?? Gimme a break. What upsets me the most is that I feel like I’m the only fan who cares. Fans don’t see what’s going on. Fans cannot see that they are selling their Yankee souls for the glitz and glamour of wider seats and a big screen in center. They are being tricked by the ownership who are promising a great future in a new ballpark. I can’t understand the stupid/fake fans who are happy to sell their Yankee pride for a lavish new ballpark. What saddens me the most is the thought that when the day comes when my grandson asks me where “The Babe” used to smack home runs, I’m going to have to point across the street to the parking lot. It’s supposed to be “The House That Ruth Built”, not the house that Steinbrenner built. They would never build another stadium in Boston. Or Chicago (cubs), so why here? They love Fenway and Wrigley. It’s holy to them it’s a place that they take pride in, which they’ve called home for almost 100 years now, and its unheard of for them to replace their stadiums. So why Yankee stadium? If anything Yankee stadium is 20 times holier and more magical than those ballparks. So how could we replace it? How could we be replacing and destroying such a beloved ballpark here in New York? Let me tell you something people the ghost of Yankee Stadium are not moving across the street. They are staying put in the hallowed ground where they belong. So good luck Yankees. I was so comfortable in the old park I felt at home. I felt like I was a somebody. This new ball-park is just the opposite I feel lost and confused. My usual upper deck seats are farther up and further back. I feel like I’m in corporation land and rich people land. This new stadium has no energy, it’s like watching a game in a freaking Starbucks. The reason why this is so is because its filled with rich corporate businessman pricks who aren’t real fans, don’t know how to make noise, and don’t show up to the games when the weather is bad. I miss the cracks of the old stadium. Each crack acting like a wrinkle on an old mans face representing so many years of great memories and tradition. I miss the thunderous roar and the way the old stadium would shake when the Yankees would play well.
Another thing about this new stadium is that ticket prices have soared as much as over 100%. There are tremendously fewer affordable seats (when I say affordable I mean $30 and under). The only people benefiting from this new stadium are the big companies and rich executives who have no respect for tradition and pride. They are the ones who will be receiving more and more money each year on behalf of every single fan who attends a game. The Yankees built this new stadium and are charging more for tickets without any regard to those who cannot afford to pay more. By raising prices, they are only catering to their rich clientele who don’t mind spending more because they can afford it. They are totally disregarding the smaller guys who can no longer afford to take their family out to the ballpark. They would much rather have new wide seats and a big scoreboard then to satisfy ALL their fans.
Reason number 2 why I hate the Yankees is because these new owners (hank & Hal) are a joke. George Steinbrenner was a man of integrity who was respected and feared. These new owners are nothing more than just DNA lottery winners who are extremely unprofessional with their comments, that they make Mike Tyson look like a genius. Hank Steinbrenner is known to make foolish outrageous comments perhaps for the reason that he wants to live up to and replicate his dad. However there will never be another George Steinbrenner. George Steinbrenner built himself through hard work and perseverance. Hank and Hal cannot become him overnight. They should flat-out stop trying to become him because those are shoes that they just wont be able to fill.
Reason number 3 why I hate the Yankees is because of Joe Girardi. I happen to think that he’s an awful manager who is arrogant, unintelligent, impatient with the media, and stubborn who plays way too much by the books. I rant much more about Girardi in rants # 1 and 2.
Ever since the season of 2004, I’ve lost my passion, my fire and desire,my mojo for the Yankees. The reason why this is so is because Boston beat us and went on to win the World Series. Not only did they beat us, but they did so in dramatic fashion winning 4 straight games against us after having their backs up against the wall being down 3-0 in the ALCS.
2003 was the highest point of my baseball career. When Aaron Boone hit that home run in the 11th inning to knock Boston out of the playoffs, I was ecstatic. That was without a doubt the most exciting game and the most exciting series that I’ve ever seen in my life. That series was highlighted with such heated competition and a famous brawl where Pedro Martinez beat up Don Zimmer and was beautifully capped off with Aaron Boone’s shot deep to left. I didn’t even care that the Yankees went on to lose to the Marlins in the World Series. Nobody seemed to care. We were still celebrating our victory over Boston. That was our World Series as far as we were concerned. It was such a higher stage than the actual World Series against the Marlins. However, the fairy tale ending did not last long..
I went from such a high in 2003 to such a low in 2004 when Boston got their revenge by beating us in the ALCS. I was more upset that Boston went on to win the World Series than I was about them knocking us out. The reason why this is so is because that ended the “Curse of the Bambino”. They finally won. After 86 years Boston were now champions and there was no more curse. No more chanting “1918”. To me as a Yankee fan, I took tremendous pride in beating Boston every year and defending the curse. My goal for every season was to make sure Boston doesn’t win. Defend and protect the sanctity of the curse. Of course I also wanted the Yankees to win every season but more importantly was just to make sure Boston doesn’t win. We had bragging rights for 86 years until 2004. After they won I had a feeling of “GAME OVER, now what. They won. What’s there to play for now?”. Boston finally had bragging rights over us for the first time. I had and still do have a feeling of worthlessness when it comes to Yankee baseball. I feel like “what’s the point now”. Every year each team regroups and tries to accomplish the same goal and each year there’s a different winner. Yeah I get it. It’s kind of clichéic to me now. There used to be more than just trying to win every year. It was trying to win so that we could shove it in Boston’s face. That was our sense of baseball pride. Now Boston is shoving not 1 but 2 rings in our face. We are now equals with Boston. We used to be only superior but now they finally got a piece of the pie and I cannot deal with that. They knocked me out as a fan. They succeeded.
That my friends is why I am no longer the same Yankee fan that I once was
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Ultimate Yiddish Words
Yiddish is an unbelievable language. It has been a language of the Jewish people for about 1000 years. Unfortunately since WWI and WWII and our integration into American society, the language has been slowly disappearing with only few grandparents from the old country who are still alive today speaking it. It will soon be an extinct language after the last generation of European Jews die out. However, all is not lost Yiddish has influenced American culture and language and especially our Jewish culture. Many words from the Yiddish language have been adopted by Americans and are now fluently used in western American language by Jews and non-Jews alike. Here is a list of words, which I like to call the “Ultimate Yiddish Words”.
This list is not in any order:
1. Shtick- one’s theme usually comical, someone’s act (That’s his shtick)
2. Shpeil- a story or a play (That’s my shpeil)
3. Shlep- to carry with difficulty or annoyance (I don’t want to shlep all those bags to the airport), or (Its such a shlep)
4. Shlump- a discombobulated person, who’s clothing is usually wrinkled, shirt is half tucked, yarmulke is falling off the side of his head, and who’s very disorganized. Usually also heavy (Look at that shlump)
5. Meshugana- crazy (What are you? meshugana?)
6. Oy vey/Oy gevalt- oh god (What? we lost the baseball game! Oy vey)
7. Kinderlach- children (oy, look at the cute kinderlach)
8. Nebuch- a helpless, hopeless, incompetent person (He’s a nebuch)
9. Gut vucht- have a good week. Usually said after the Sabbath. (Hello Shlomo, Gut vucht!)
10. Gezuntite- god bless you. Said after someone sneezes. (hachoooo,…. Gezuntite)
11. Shluf- nap, sleep (I’m tired, I’m going to take a shluf)
12. Kvell- to beam with pride/pleasure. (Oy, I’m kvelling)
13. Veshtunkin- smells, foul odor (your veshtunkina)
14. Shmutz- dirt (you have some shmutz on your face)
15. Gezunte hey- so be it, whatever (If that’s what he wants to do, gezunte hey)
16. Tsai gezunt- synonym for Gezunte hey
17. Kainehara- good for you, god bless you (he’s 95 years old and his mind is still sharp, kainehara)
18. Shmuck- idiot, negative word to describe someone (you stupid shmuck!!)
19. Yuntiff- holiday (Good Yuntiff)
20. Yasher koach- good job, usually said to someone after he lead the prayer service (Yasher koach Mr. Hurowitz!!)
21. Mishpaca- Family (I have such a big Mishpacha)
22. Shvartza- black person (he’s a shvartza)
23. Nudge- annoying, pest (stop being such a nudge)
24. Kvetch- to complain (stop being such a kvetch)
25. Shnoz- nose, usually referring to a big one (look at the size of that shnoz!)
26. Rachmanus- pitty (have some rachmanus on him)
27. Mamish- really (this is mamish amazing)
28. Chutzpa- nerve (what a chutzpa he is to not bring a gift!)
29. Nachus- joy, pleasure (you should bring lots of nachus to your entire family)
30. Hoodlum- street punks (a bunch of hoodlums were chasing me down the block)
31. Tsarus- grief, hardship (we should hear of no more tsarus)
32. Yenta- female gossiper (don’t tell Fannie, shes such a yente)
33. Schnur- begger, moocher/freeloder (the schnurs are now collecting)
34. Schtickle- a alittle bit (“Suzy, give me schtickle of fluoride”-Tim Watley (SEINFELD)
35. Shvitz- sweat (I’m schvitzing over hear)
36. Bissel- a little, very similar to schtickle (give me a bissel of matzo ball soup)
37. Bubbe,Zaide,Mami,Tati- Grandma, grandpa, mother, father
38. Goy- non-jew (hes a goy)
39. Klutz- clumsy, Steve Erkle (don’t let him carry the glass, hes a clutz)
40. Mentch- good boy, well behaved, good manners (what a mentch)
41. Schmooze- talk (moishe is such a schmoozer, he can talk for hours)
42. Shikse- non jewish woman (what!? He’s marrying a shikse?)
43. Chachke- a souveneir, goody, usually crap (I bought a few chatchkes from my trip)
44. Tuchus- butt (look at the size of that tuchus!)
45. Shiduch- blind date, dating match (that’s a very good shidduch)
46. Nosh- to snack, eat (I’m going to nosh on some chips)
47. Faigela- gay (he’s such a faigela)
48. Shmendrick- fool, jerk (you stupid shmendrick)
49. Macher- big shot (you know Bernie? He’s a real big macher in the company)
50. Shmekle- penis (nobody wants to see your shmekle)
51. Shtup- either to tip with money, or to have sex with (shtup him $20 and he’ll let you in)
52. Sheitle- wig (oh my, that’s a beautiful sheitle your wearing)
53. Frum- religious (the mendelson’s are a frum family
54. Shtark- very religious (eitan is a very shtark boy)
55. Bubkes- nothing usually describing money (I don’t want that job, it pays bubkes)
56. Vus Machten- whats new? (nu vus machten?)
57. Faklempt- emotionally choked up, overwhelmed ("Talk amoungst yourselves, I'm alittle faklempt") -Coffee Talk (SNL)
58. Shmatah- dirty rag which is used to clean (wash it off with a shmata)
59. Bubba Maisa- bullshit, not true (that story is such a bubba maisa)
60. Frabrengen- celebration, party with songs and joy (lets frabrengen!!)
61. Shvach- so so, not good (the party was very shvach)
62. Heimish- old school, homelike, warm (the food is very heimish)
63. Laibadik- lively (everyone was so laibadik)
This list is not in any order:
1. Shtick- one’s theme usually comical, someone’s act (That’s his shtick)
2. Shpeil- a story or a play (That’s my shpeil)
3. Shlep- to carry with difficulty or annoyance (I don’t want to shlep all those bags to the airport), or (Its such a shlep)
4. Shlump- a discombobulated person, who’s clothing is usually wrinkled, shirt is half tucked, yarmulke is falling off the side of his head, and who’s very disorganized. Usually also heavy (Look at that shlump)
5. Meshugana- crazy (What are you? meshugana?)
6. Oy vey/Oy gevalt- oh god (What? we lost the baseball game! Oy vey)
7. Kinderlach- children (oy, look at the cute kinderlach)
8. Nebuch- a helpless, hopeless, incompetent person (He’s a nebuch)
9. Gut vucht- have a good week. Usually said after the Sabbath. (Hello Shlomo, Gut vucht!)
10. Gezuntite- god bless you. Said after someone sneezes. (hachoooo,…. Gezuntite)
11. Shluf- nap, sleep (I’m tired, I’m going to take a shluf)
12. Kvell- to beam with pride/pleasure. (Oy, I’m kvelling)
13. Veshtunkin- smells, foul odor (your veshtunkina)
14. Shmutz- dirt (you have some shmutz on your face)
15. Gezunte hey- so be it, whatever (If that’s what he wants to do, gezunte hey)
16. Tsai gezunt- synonym for Gezunte hey
17. Kainehara- good for you, god bless you (he’s 95 years old and his mind is still sharp, kainehara)
18. Shmuck- idiot, negative word to describe someone (you stupid shmuck!!)
19. Yuntiff- holiday (Good Yuntiff)
20. Yasher koach- good job, usually said to someone after he lead the prayer service (Yasher koach Mr. Hurowitz!!)
21. Mishpaca- Family (I have such a big Mishpacha)
22. Shvartza- black person (he’s a shvartza)
23. Nudge- annoying, pest (stop being such a nudge)
24. Kvetch- to complain (stop being such a kvetch)
25. Shnoz- nose, usually referring to a big one (look at the size of that shnoz!)
26. Rachmanus- pitty (have some rachmanus on him)
27. Mamish- really (this is mamish amazing)
28. Chutzpa- nerve (what a chutzpa he is to not bring a gift!)
29. Nachus- joy, pleasure (you should bring lots of nachus to your entire family)
30. Hoodlum- street punks (a bunch of hoodlums were chasing me down the block)
31. Tsarus- grief, hardship (we should hear of no more tsarus)
32. Yenta- female gossiper (don’t tell Fannie, shes such a yente)
33. Schnur- begger, moocher/freeloder (the schnurs are now collecting)
34. Schtickle- a alittle bit (“Suzy, give me schtickle of fluoride”-Tim Watley (SEINFELD)
35. Shvitz- sweat (I’m schvitzing over hear)
36. Bissel- a little, very similar to schtickle (give me a bissel of matzo ball soup)
37. Bubbe,Zaide,Mami,Tati- Grandma, grandpa, mother, father
38. Goy- non-jew (hes a goy)
39. Klutz- clumsy, Steve Erkle (don’t let him carry the glass, hes a clutz)
40. Mentch- good boy, well behaved, good manners (what a mentch)
41. Schmooze- talk (moishe is such a schmoozer, he can talk for hours)
42. Shikse- non jewish woman (what!? He’s marrying a shikse?)
43. Chachke- a souveneir, goody, usually crap (I bought a few chatchkes from my trip)
44. Tuchus- butt (look at the size of that tuchus!)
45. Shiduch- blind date, dating match (that’s a very good shidduch)
46. Nosh- to snack, eat (I’m going to nosh on some chips)
47. Faigela- gay (he’s such a faigela)
48. Shmendrick- fool, jerk (you stupid shmendrick)
49. Macher- big shot (you know Bernie? He’s a real big macher in the company)
50. Shmekle- penis (nobody wants to see your shmekle)
51. Shtup- either to tip with money, or to have sex with (shtup him $20 and he’ll let you in)
52. Sheitle- wig (oh my, that’s a beautiful sheitle your wearing)
53. Frum- religious (the mendelson’s are a frum family
54. Shtark- very religious (eitan is a very shtark boy)
55. Bubkes- nothing usually describing money (I don’t want that job, it pays bubkes)
56. Vus Machten- whats new? (nu vus machten?)
57. Faklempt- emotionally choked up, overwhelmed ("Talk amoungst yourselves, I'm alittle faklempt") -Coffee Talk (SNL)
58. Shmatah- dirty rag which is used to clean (wash it off with a shmata)
59. Bubba Maisa- bullshit, not true (that story is such a bubba maisa)
60. Frabrengen- celebration, party with songs and joy (lets frabrengen!!)
61. Shvach- so so, not good (the party was very shvach)
62. Heimish- old school, homelike, warm (the food is very heimish)
63. Laibadik- lively (everyone was so laibadik)
64. Shvitz- to sweat (that boy is shvitzing from playing sports)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Republicans vs Democrats
What’s the deal with Republicans and Democrats. Their views and beliefs are not consistent with each other. (more so with democrats then republicans which we’ll get into in a minute) their ideas do not match up consistently with themselves. Sometimes, they even seem to be hypocritical and contradictory in comparison with everything else they believe in. For example: Democrats care all about the environment and want to save the planet and are obsessed with global warming and put billions of dollars into these issues, yet they are pro-choice/abortion. They care so much about saving the trees but are okay with killing unborn babies.
Republicans are anti many things and are strict and rigid with their rules. They seem to have the reputation of being disciplinarian/no fun/old school party poopers. So why are they pro-guns? Why guns? Democrats are the opposite. They are liberal/free spirited/anything goes type people. So why would they be anti guns? Because the republicans like them? Their cool with everything else, so why anti-guns?
These things just don’t make sense to me. Another point I want to make about democrats and republicans is that it seems to me that democrat/liberals are very intimidating over republicans. Its almost as if republicans are accused of being racists. Republicans are not nearly as open about being republican as democrats are. (at least in the northeast where I’m from) you see a million Obama bumper stickers and you don’t see a single McCain one. It’s almost as if people are scared to put a McCain bumper sticker on their car out of fear of vandalism.
Republicans may be viewed as racist and unfair but in reality they are rational and realistic as opposed to democrats who are optimistic idealists. Democrats are more emotional and don’t exactly add up all the ramifications to what they want to achieve, while republicans are realists and go by what facts and history tells them not by what their heart tells them and therefore they might unfairly be accused as being cynics/party poopers when in reality their just trying to be smart and rational as possible, which is what’s good for our country!! Its what makes sense!!! Its what really gets things done!!!
Republicans are anti many things and are strict and rigid with their rules. They seem to have the reputation of being disciplinarian/no fun/old school party poopers. So why are they pro-guns? Why guns? Democrats are the opposite. They are liberal/free spirited/anything goes type people. So why would they be anti guns? Because the republicans like them? Their cool with everything else, so why anti-guns?
These things just don’t make sense to me. Another point I want to make about democrats and republicans is that it seems to me that democrat/liberals are very intimidating over republicans. Its almost as if republicans are accused of being racists. Republicans are not nearly as open about being republican as democrats are. (at least in the northeast where I’m from) you see a million Obama bumper stickers and you don’t see a single McCain one. It’s almost as if people are scared to put a McCain bumper sticker on their car out of fear of vandalism.
Republicans may be viewed as racist and unfair but in reality they are rational and realistic as opposed to democrats who are optimistic idealists. Democrats are more emotional and don’t exactly add up all the ramifications to what they want to achieve, while republicans are realists and go by what facts and history tells them not by what their heart tells them and therefore they might unfairly be accused as being cynics/party poopers when in reality their just trying to be smart and rational as possible, which is what’s good for our country!! Its what makes sense!!! Its what really gets things done!!!
One more thing about democrats/liberals. They care so much about global warming and give it so much attention with media coverage and put so much money and energy into it. Fine, I agree that its important, but shouldn't we be worrying about other things, like Iran and other terrorist countries that want to kill us. shouldn't we be worried about whats gonna happen with the world tomorrow as opposed to whats gonna be with the world in millions of years from now. By that time we'll have the technology to defeat global warming anyways. So lets worry about the state of the world TODAY and not worry about the world when our great-great grandchildren times 100 are roaming the earth.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Judaism Is A Race
Dear ladies and gentlemen, If Judaism is supposed to be a religion and not a race then why is a Jew categorized as being a Jew instead of being categorized as an American or Polish or German? Christians aren’t categorized as being Christian. Their categorized by what region their heritage is from. (Irish or Italian). So why are Jews categorized and defined and labeled by their religion while everyone else is categorized by country? Its Because Judaism is treated as a race that’s why.
The Death of The Encore
An Encore is the act of a band coming back out on stage to perform one last song after they’ve already finished the show. This is done out of the reaction from the fans who cheer and refuse to leave the venue until the band comes back out. An encore is basically one last free bonus song for the fans. It’s a reward to the fans for being so great and so energetic, and it’s a testament to the band for rocking their hearts out.
However real encores are dead and gone. They’ve been replaced with predictable clischéic encores, which are now part of the show. There is no such thing as a real encore anymore like there was back in the days of Woodstock. They are now part of the act, which degrades and puts a damper on the true definition of an encore. The lights don’t even turn on after the “band finishes” but before the fake “encore” (for Pete’s sake at least make the encore look real). The band would still come out for an encore even if the crowd didn’t make a peep, because its now part of the show.
An encore is supposed to be something that the band earns for being awesome and rocking the venue. But these fake/predictable/clichéic/trite encores ruin the spontaneity and integrity of what a true encore should be.
Shame on you people.
However real encores are dead and gone. They’ve been replaced with predictable clischéic encores, which are now part of the show. There is no such thing as a real encore anymore like there was back in the days of Woodstock. They are now part of the act, which degrades and puts a damper on the true definition of an encore. The lights don’t even turn on after the “band finishes” but before the fake “encore” (for Pete’s sake at least make the encore look real). The band would still come out for an encore even if the crowd didn’t make a peep, because its now part of the show.
An encore is supposed to be something that the band earns for being awesome and rocking the venue. But these fake/predictable/clichéic/trite encores ruin the spontaneity and integrity of what a true encore should be.
Shame on you people.
School Is For Losers
The reason why I am adamantly anti-school is because I truly believe that its bullshit. There’s no reason why we need to spend 1/3 of our lives sitting in a boring classroom to prepare us for the world. We are overeducated as a nation.
Idealistically, the point of school is to create smart intelligent people who will be beneficial to society. However most people are not smart and intelligent. In fact most people are downright stupid. So then what’s the point of making them go through the entire educational system? The point of making everyone go to school is so that the small percent smart kids can get discovered and go on to become successful members of society. So what about the other 90% of stupid kids? They have to suffer through the school system without getting anything in return. So basically we make everyone suffer through the educational system just so that the smart kids can get weeded out.
Another part of the educational system, which I am adamantly against, is College. Yes we need doctors and lawyers. But there’s no reason why they have to waste 4 years of their lives in undergrad learning about sociology and anthropology. It’s a waste of time. College is also a waste of time and money unless your going to major in the business field. Certain majors such as anthropology, sociology, and philosophy are pointless. What’s a major in sociology going to do for you? I never met a sociologist before and I’m pretty sure the philosophy business died out about 500 years ago. I’m not sure how profitable these degrees are. In my opinion people should go out into the workforce after 8th grade. I’ll even settle for 10th (let them grow a bit more in physical stature). The only thing that high school and college does for you is to train you to cheat the system and take the easy way out. It teaches how to cheat and be deceitful. (at least from what I’ve seen in my experience).
You may be wondering why I’m attending college if I’m so against it. The only reason why I’m currently in college is because it’s become a sociological requirement. If more people from my background didn’t go to college then I wouldn’t. I’m not willing to be the first pioneer (the Martin Luther king of anti-education), however I will write about it like I’m doing here. Let me tell you this. I am not an ounce smarter after attending college. It was a waste of time and I only did it because I had to. I never understood those kids who go to 50 thousand dollar a year colleges. Unless you’re a straight A student and your going to eventually get into Harvard Law then it is the biggest waste of money. Instead of giving away the 50 G’s a year to a college, wouldn’t you rather want to invest it. Over the course of your 4 year college education you will have spent 200 thousand dollars in school. Wouldn’t you rather take that 200 G and build yourself financially with that money instead of giving it away? Instead of going to NYU for 50 thousand a year, go to Queens for 4 a year and put the rest of that money in your pocket.
And to all those who say “well I go to college because I like learning and education and knowledge”. To that I say: watch a fuckin documentary on whatever topic your interested in. you don’t need to take an in depth course which delves into a topic rigidly, and tests you on it, and make you write pain in the ass papers about it. If I’m interested in something I watch a documentary on it or I wikipedia it. I don’t sign up for a course that’s going to end up being a pain in the ass burden for me.
Idealistically, the point of school is to create smart intelligent people who will be beneficial to society. However most people are not smart and intelligent. In fact most people are downright stupid. So then what’s the point of making them go through the entire educational system? The point of making everyone go to school is so that the small percent smart kids can get discovered and go on to become successful members of society. So what about the other 90% of stupid kids? They have to suffer through the school system without getting anything in return. So basically we make everyone suffer through the educational system just so that the smart kids can get weeded out.
Another part of the educational system, which I am adamantly against, is College. Yes we need doctors and lawyers. But there’s no reason why they have to waste 4 years of their lives in undergrad learning about sociology and anthropology. It’s a waste of time. College is also a waste of time and money unless your going to major in the business field. Certain majors such as anthropology, sociology, and philosophy are pointless. What’s a major in sociology going to do for you? I never met a sociologist before and I’m pretty sure the philosophy business died out about 500 years ago. I’m not sure how profitable these degrees are. In my opinion people should go out into the workforce after 8th grade. I’ll even settle for 10th (let them grow a bit more in physical stature). The only thing that high school and college does for you is to train you to cheat the system and take the easy way out. It teaches how to cheat and be deceitful. (at least from what I’ve seen in my experience).
You may be wondering why I’m attending college if I’m so against it. The only reason why I’m currently in college is because it’s become a sociological requirement. If more people from my background didn’t go to college then I wouldn’t. I’m not willing to be the first pioneer (the Martin Luther king of anti-education), however I will write about it like I’m doing here. Let me tell you this. I am not an ounce smarter after attending college. It was a waste of time and I only did it because I had to. I never understood those kids who go to 50 thousand dollar a year colleges. Unless you’re a straight A student and your going to eventually get into Harvard Law then it is the biggest waste of money. Instead of giving away the 50 G’s a year to a college, wouldn’t you rather want to invest it. Over the course of your 4 year college education you will have spent 200 thousand dollars in school. Wouldn’t you rather take that 200 G and build yourself financially with that money instead of giving it away? Instead of going to NYU for 50 thousand a year, go to Queens for 4 a year and put the rest of that money in your pocket.
And to all those who say “well I go to college because I like learning and education and knowledge”. To that I say: watch a fuckin documentary on whatever topic your interested in. you don’t need to take an in depth course which delves into a topic rigidly, and tests you on it, and make you write pain in the ass papers about it. If I’m interested in something I watch a documentary on it or I wikipedia it. I don’t sign up for a course that’s going to end up being a pain in the ass burden for me.
Yuntif Is Abuse
Holiday Yuntifs are pure abuse, physically, mentally, and emotionally. How much can a man sleep, eat, and keep himself cooped up in his house staring at the wall for? Its ridiculous! Yuntif is especially abusive when it falls out connecting with Shabbos. When that happens one cannot do anything fun/healthy/normal for up to 3 straight days. Jesus Christ!! We need a break!! It’s not healthy to be a couch potato (without TV nonetheless) for 3 straight days! You go out of your mind. Your family ends up driving you nuts after spending 72 straight hours with them. Maybe it was nice in Poland 200 Years ago, but not in America in 2009. Whether you like it or not, that’s the reality.
A separate issue, which I’m not going to delve too deeply into, is that the second day of Yuntif is fake. It’s pointless and unnecessary. Why we are still practicing it is a mystery to me. We now know what the correct day of Yuntif is which is why they practice the correct 1 day of Yuntif in Israel (not 2), but I have no idea why were still holding 2 days here. And don’t give me that crap about being punished for not living in Israel. The only reason why were still keeping 2 days is because crazy rabbis is Brooklyn like Yuntif so much that they wanted to keep 2 so they instated that we keep the 2 day Yuntif without any regard of the fact that most normal Jews don’t like it and its mamish suffering for them. These Brooklyn Jews live shtetle type lives and don’t care about those who go to work and live normal lives (us). We are sinners, so who cares that we don’t want to keep 2 days. The real holy Jews want it so we’ll keep it at 2. In reality 2 days is primitive and unnecessary.
A separate issue, which I’m not going to delve too deeply into, is that the second day of Yuntif is fake. It’s pointless and unnecessary. Why we are still practicing it is a mystery to me. We now know what the correct day of Yuntif is which is why they practice the correct 1 day of Yuntif in Israel (not 2), but I have no idea why were still holding 2 days here. And don’t give me that crap about being punished for not living in Israel. The only reason why were still keeping 2 days is because crazy rabbis is Brooklyn like Yuntif so much that they wanted to keep 2 so they instated that we keep the 2 day Yuntif without any regard of the fact that most normal Jews don’t like it and its mamish suffering for them. These Brooklyn Jews live shtetle type lives and don’t care about those who go to work and live normal lives (us). We are sinners, so who cares that we don’t want to keep 2 days. The real holy Jews want it so we’ll keep it at 2. In reality 2 days is primitive and unnecessary.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Obsession With Packing
What is this obsession that people have (mainly old people and mothers) with packing for a vacation or trip? Example: “did you start packing yet” (for a trip that your going to go on in months from now) usually old people and moms ask this question. Why they obsess over this and discuss this is a mystery to me. Perhaps it gives them something to talk about. But if you actually think about it, discussing about packing is utter nonsense and stupid. All packing is, is the act of placing clothing from your closet to your suitcase which should take no longer than 10 minutes, not 3 months the way old people and moms make it out to be. I understand that women need more time to pack then men. They have their makeup and creams and other beauty supplies. But for a man it should take no longer than 10 minutes. Underwear, pants, and a shirt, that’s all we need folks. It’s not something to make a big deal about. It’s not rocket science.
YOUR ALL SUCKERS!
One thing that many people get suckered into (including people who I once thought were smart) is the obsession with airline miles through credit card/financial purchases.
These credit card companies offer rewards such as airline miles as well as other prizes and gifts. They do this so that suckers like you buy things with that credit card. And everyone obsesses over these miles. They say “use this credit card, I get miles!”, causing people to spend their money freely and haphazardly, because they get miles in return.
Do you know how much these miles/prizes are worth money wise? 1%. One percent!!! You know how much one percent is? Its nothing! It’s not even worth talking about let alone obsessing about. It would cost you $50,000 dollars of credit card spending for you to earn a roundtrip airline ticket. Your wasting more money by using your credit card to buy things which you otherwise wouldn’t buy. These airline miles are an extra incentive for you to buy something, which you’re not sure about purchasing. You think to yourself that “hey your gonna get miles so what the heck” but the miles aren’t worth anything! Wake up people! The cost of rewards that you receive compared to the amount of money you had to spend to get that reward is like piss in the ocean. (piss being your measly reward and the ocean being the amount of money you gave away to get such a crappy reward, which you think is amazing).
All I’m saying is that people should stop obsessing over miles from credit card companies because its not nearly worth as much as you think, and it doesn’t deserve praise. Don’t allow these credit card companies to persuade you into using their card and to purchase more. They want you to subconsciously enjoy spending money. All these rewards are, are a psychological trick, its an illusion that makes you think that your winning by spending money on the credit card, but in reality they’re winning, and YOUR LOSING! Cause your all suckers!
These credit card companies offer rewards such as airline miles as well as other prizes and gifts. They do this so that suckers like you buy things with that credit card. And everyone obsesses over these miles. They say “use this credit card, I get miles!”, causing people to spend their money freely and haphazardly, because they get miles in return.
Do you know how much these miles/prizes are worth money wise? 1%. One percent!!! You know how much one percent is? Its nothing! It’s not even worth talking about let alone obsessing about. It would cost you $50,000 dollars of credit card spending for you to earn a roundtrip airline ticket. Your wasting more money by using your credit card to buy things which you otherwise wouldn’t buy. These airline miles are an extra incentive for you to buy something, which you’re not sure about purchasing. You think to yourself that “hey your gonna get miles so what the heck” but the miles aren’t worth anything! Wake up people! The cost of rewards that you receive compared to the amount of money you had to spend to get that reward is like piss in the ocean. (piss being your measly reward and the ocean being the amount of money you gave away to get such a crappy reward, which you think is amazing).
All I’m saying is that people should stop obsessing over miles from credit card companies because its not nearly worth as much as you think, and it doesn’t deserve praise. Don’t allow these credit card companies to persuade you into using their card and to purchase more. They want you to subconsciously enjoy spending money. All these rewards are, are a psychological trick, its an illusion that makes you think that your winning by spending money on the credit card, but in reality they’re winning, and YOUR LOSING! Cause your all suckers!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Unnecessary Technology
Technology is a great thing. It has developed us as a world and has made so many things, which we once thought were impossible, possible. However along with technology comes something, which I like to call “unnecessary technology”
Unnecessary technology is confusing and flat out annoying. Why in the world do we need a car which doesn’t require you to put a key in the hole? Is it really such a nuisance to take the key in your hand and turn it?
Do we really need a cell phone/camera/internet/shaver/wipe your ass for you handheld device? All these technological unlimited options may be nice for the technologically advanced man. But I’m old fashioned (I still use disposable cameras and take notes in a notebook) and I hate unnecessary, superfluous, customizing options, which comes along with our technology. These options are confusing me and require me to use a lot of mental energy just to figure out how to use it. While the intention of this technology is to simplify our lives, its actually doing to opposite. I don’t need a phone with 20,000 buttons on it. I just want a simple phone that works, although I’m not sure if they make those anymore. Were not robots people, so lets stop acting like them.
Unnecessary technology is confusing and flat out annoying. Why in the world do we need a car which doesn’t require you to put a key in the hole? Is it really such a nuisance to take the key in your hand and turn it?
Do we really need a cell phone/camera/internet/shaver/wipe your ass for you handheld device? All these technological unlimited options may be nice for the technologically advanced man. But I’m old fashioned (I still use disposable cameras and take notes in a notebook) and I hate unnecessary, superfluous, customizing options, which comes along with our technology. These options are confusing me and require me to use a lot of mental energy just to figure out how to use it. While the intention of this technology is to simplify our lives, its actually doing to opposite. I don’t need a phone with 20,000 buttons on it. I just want a simple phone that works, although I’m not sure if they make those anymore. Were not robots people, so lets stop acting like them.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Annoying Department Store Cards
What’s the deal with these CVS cards and Shoprite cards and Waulbaum’s cards etc.. These cards are just an excuse for these companies to steal from you. They claim to have all these “great deals” but only if you have a CVS card and if you don’t then they charge you enormous amounts for products.
First of all, who the hell is carrying these cards around with them all the time so that in the event that they go to these stores, they have them readily available. Unless you carry around a pocket book with you, you’re not going to be carrying this card. We have enough crap to carry around already; wallet, cell phone, keys, and we don’t need more clutter/crap to carry around in our already bulgy uncomfortable pockets. These companies know this and realize that they have the opportunity to rip you off with most people not even noticing. They create an illusion by making the public think that these cards are beneficial you.
Second of all, how can these companies justify their wanting you to carry around their stupid cards besides for ripping you off when you don’t have them handy? What benefits do they get and what benefits do you get? Only one side benefits from these cards and its not you. The only benefit that you get by carrying the cards is being able to pay retail price and not retail price times 2. Why don’t these companies just give these “deals” to everyone with or without the card? Anyone can acquire the card. Its not like it’s an exclusive thing for special people. So what’s the point? What? None, besides for them being able to charge you more? I rest my case.
Girardi’s Gotta Go
Girardi’s gotta go. This Yankee team has been underachieving and underperforming for 1 year and 1 month now, and Girardi is responsible. Enough with the injury excuses. Every team has injuries (just look at the Red Sox and Angels) and their not bitching and moaning. Even with all the Yankees injuries, they’re still putting an all-star team out on the field. So nobody wants to hear the injury card being played as to why the Yankees aren’t performing. It’s getting old. You’re always going to have injuries.
An answer that I hate, which many players say in response to questions about their manager is “ well don’t blame the manager, he doesn’t hit the ball and he doesn’t catch the ball”. That statement is true, the manager doesn’t hit the ball or catch the ball however, the manager is responsible for those who do. The manager is supposed to create lineups and make logical in game decisions. He is supposed to keep things cool in the dugout and in the clubhouse. Whenever players give that stupid answer that “managers don’t hit the ball or catch the ball” I think top myself what are they saying? What does that mean? Then what does a manager do? So could I be a manager?
It’s time to push the panic button and Girardi’s gotta go. He is an arrogant manager who doesn’t know how to handle his players or the media. His baseball strategy is perhaps the most mindboggling thing of all. He refuses to make normal in game decisions. I feel like he has to make every decision based on his stubborn unintelligent baseball mind. He’s trying to rewrite the book of managing. He makes every absurd/questionable move with the mindset that if it works then everyone is going to point to him and say “wow what a genius”. But thankfully all his stupid moves backfired and he was unable to receive the recognition that he so desperately wants.
What pisses me off more than Girardi himself are the Girardi defenders. These emotional/unintelligent/stupid fans who don’t know anything about baseball. They love him because he was on the ’96 Yankees. So what?? Who gives a shit? He wasn’t even a great catcher, he just happened to be on the team that year. That doesn’t make up for being the worst manager of all-time. He shouldn’t be entitled to a get out of jail free card because he was on the ’96 Yankees. But he does because most fans are emotional and love him for no good reason at all.
I believe the answer to Yankees problem is Buck Showalter. He’s been around the game for years He’s a respected veteran unlike Girardi. He knows how to manage unlike Girardi and he’s the best guy available. He took the Yankees to the playoffs in ’95, their first time there since 1981 and he was quickly booted out of New York by George Steinbrenner for their early dismissal from the playoffs against Seattle. By the way under George Steinbrenner’s rule Girardi would’ve been out on his can a long time ago.
One more thing about stupid fans is that only now are they are first starting to question and rethink all of the off-season signings. Now they are starting to rethink? Hello? I’ve been ranting since day 1 that CC Sabathia is not worth 7 years at $161 million dollars. You don’t give a guy who’s fat and out of shape a 7 year deal at $23 million a year. He’ll give you 2 to 3 years at most. So basically your spending $161 million for 2 years. Unless the Yankees win the world series in the near future (which they won’t), it’s not worth it. He’s an overrated, yes I said it, overrated pitcher who had a great second half of a season which made his career contract.
AJ Burnett is the next Pavano. Plain and simple. He is super injury-prone and he’s not that great. His career ERA is 3.86 with a record of 89-77. Basically he got an amazing contract for himself out of the Yankees desperation for pitching.
Teixeira is not as great as everyone makes him out to be. An 8 year contract is way too risky for any player. I hate these huge contracts. No single player is worth 8 years at $22.5 million a year. For that same price, I would rather have 5 mediocre players rather than 1 superstar name. I truly believe that 1 person is not worth that much. Perhaps the only player who has the talent to match such a contract would be A-rod (with steroids of course). I would much rather have 4 Javier Vazquez type players on my team that one CC Sabathia. It is just so much more valuable and much more money efficient. It may not look as pretty as a superstar but it’s much smarter.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Season of Judgement for Girardi
This is Joe Girardi’s time to shine if he wants to be a true Yankee. This upcoming baseball season is not only a crucial one for the New York Yankees franchise, who are coming off a disappointing season, but it is also an even more crucial one for manager Joe Girardi. Girardi’s Yankee and possibly baseball future lies on what he accomplishes in the 2009 season.
2008 proved to be a very poor year for Girardi. Coming into the season I was very optimistic and excited about Girardi, however after 1 month into the season I began to question Girardi’s leadership. I soon discovered that he wasn’t the manager I thought he would be. I started to question his lineups, his timing of when to play small ball, and his answers in postgame interviews. Towards the middle of the season I was furious with Girardi and wanted him out. I was more angry about the fact that I felt like I was the only one who was questioning and criticizing him. I was angry that the press wasn’t pounding him the way they have no problem doing with A-Rod. Perhaps the only one who stood out in my mind who was man enough to criticize Joe was Michael Kay, (the play by play announcer for the Yankees on the YES Network). A couple of examples where Michael Kay necessarily questions Girardi’s decision making would be on July 1st ’08 after a game against Texas. The Yankees were down by one run in the 9th inning with a runner on first and no outs. Melky Cabrera was coming up to bat. He was holding a .241 average and was 0 for 18 in his last 18 at bats. And rather than opting to pinch hit Melky (with Jeter available on the bench) or do the obvious of bunting him to move the runner over into scoring position with the top of the order coming up, he chose to let him swing away, and the unsurprisingly expected happened. He hit into a double play and the Yankees ended up losing by one run. More questions were raised about Girardi’s leadership specifically a few games earlier against the Mets when Girardi created a lineup without a healthy Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreau. Instead he chose to start Justin Christain and Brett Gardner with the reason that they were righties and would therefore perform better against a lefty Oliver Perez. It turns out that the plan backfired and they went a combined 0 for 8 and the Yankees went on to lose the game. Another head scratching Girardi decision was on August 11th against Minnesota when he decided to sit Johnny Damon while he was in the middle of a hitting streak. He was hitting .406 on the road trip, had five straight multi-hit games and was leading the American League with a .322 average. These are just a few of the countless head scratching decisions that Girardi made, which I believe caused the Yankees to miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. And to all those who blame injuries for the cause of the Yankees not making the playoffs, let me tell you this. Most of the significant injuries were pitching injuries with the exception of Posada and Matsui, and pitching was not last year’s problem, if anything the pitching surpassed expectations. The problem for last year was hitting with runners in scoring position. The Yanks ranked 10th in the American league in hitting with runners in scoring position, with a .261 average. Therefore you cannot point to injuries if you want to talk about last year’s failure. The problem was scoring runs. I blame the manager if there’s a runner in scoring position with no outs and they are unable to bring him in. each player (including A-rod and Texiera) must know how to execute a bunt. And the manager must make wise decisions as to when he should call for them. About 4 years ago I had the privilege of hearing Joe Torre speak at the learning Annex in Manhattan. He was speaking about the horrific 2004 collapse against the Red Sox, when someone raised an interesting question. Torre was asked why he didn’t bunt against Curt Schilling in game 6 of the ALCS. Schilling had a makeshift surgery on his ankle the day before the game, his sock was bleeding (which is now famously known as the bloody sock) and he was walking gingerly on it. He was clearly in a vulnerable state. Therefore bunting against him would seem to be the obvious thing to do because it would have to make him run off the mound, which he was clearly unable to do and would eventually knock him out of the game. Torre responded to that question with an answer that left me very puzzled and disturbed. He said that he can’t take a bat away from one of his players. To me that was another way of saying ’I care more about personal stats then I do about winning the ballgame’. My philosophy is; to do whatever you have to do to put runs on the board. Play for the run, even if it means bunting A-rod. If the situation calls for it, do it. Play conservatively when the game is close. Don’t just rely on the home run ball. If I were a manager I would start off spring training with bunting drills before any batting practice. Every player must know how to bunt.
I never understood last year’s strategy. Girardi would play conservatively when it came to making up the lineup card everyday by obsessing over the lefty righty business and over resting players. But when it came time during the game, he didn’t. He didn’t bunt and play for the run when situations called for it. Girardi must also stick with a consistent lineup, and not change it around every other night.
Other questions, which can be raised about Girardi would have to be his handling of his pitching staff. By that I mean pitching inexperienced rookies in crucial situations. But one that really made me scratch my head was the way he handled the whole Joba situation. He slowly turned him into a starter by getting most of his pitches in, in unimportant game situations while reducing his number of pitches when the game was on the line.
Girardi’s 2008 season is one, which can be summed up with over managing and obsessing about this lefty righty business. He acted as an actuary and not a coach. You don’t need a coach to make decisions based purely on numbers and statistics. You can save yourself a lot of money and just have a computer make those decisions for you. A coach is supposed to make decisions based not only on statistics but also with what he sees on the field as well as his gut feeling. This upcoming season is filled with optimism as well as skepticism, and its up to Girardi to utilize the tools that he’s been stocked with over the offseason with the acquisitions of Texiera, Sabathia, and Burnett. It’s up to Girardi to prove that he’s able of holding one of the greatest jobs in the world. Managing a team filled with superstars in New York is not an easy thing to do. However it is up to Girardi to prove whether or not he’s worthy of steering the $223 million dollar ship called the New York Yankees.
2008 proved to be a very poor year for Girardi. Coming into the season I was very optimistic and excited about Girardi, however after 1 month into the season I began to question Girardi’s leadership. I soon discovered that he wasn’t the manager I thought he would be. I started to question his lineups, his timing of when to play small ball, and his answers in postgame interviews. Towards the middle of the season I was furious with Girardi and wanted him out. I was more angry about the fact that I felt like I was the only one who was questioning and criticizing him. I was angry that the press wasn’t pounding him the way they have no problem doing with A-Rod. Perhaps the only one who stood out in my mind who was man enough to criticize Joe was Michael Kay, (the play by play announcer for the Yankees on the YES Network). A couple of examples where Michael Kay necessarily questions Girardi’s decision making would be on July 1st ’08 after a game against Texas. The Yankees were down by one run in the 9th inning with a runner on first and no outs. Melky Cabrera was coming up to bat. He was holding a .241 average and was 0 for 18 in his last 18 at bats. And rather than opting to pinch hit Melky (with Jeter available on the bench) or do the obvious of bunting him to move the runner over into scoring position with the top of the order coming up, he chose to let him swing away, and the unsurprisingly expected happened. He hit into a double play and the Yankees ended up losing by one run. More questions were raised about Girardi’s leadership specifically a few games earlier against the Mets when Girardi created a lineup without a healthy Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreau. Instead he chose to start Justin Christain and Brett Gardner with the reason that they were righties and would therefore perform better against a lefty Oliver Perez. It turns out that the plan backfired and they went a combined 0 for 8 and the Yankees went on to lose the game. Another head scratching Girardi decision was on August 11th against Minnesota when he decided to sit Johnny Damon while he was in the middle of a hitting streak. He was hitting .406 on the road trip, had five straight multi-hit games and was leading the American League with a .322 average. These are just a few of the countless head scratching decisions that Girardi made, which I believe caused the Yankees to miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. And to all those who blame injuries for the cause of the Yankees not making the playoffs, let me tell you this. Most of the significant injuries were pitching injuries with the exception of Posada and Matsui, and pitching was not last year’s problem, if anything the pitching surpassed expectations. The problem for last year was hitting with runners in scoring position. The Yanks ranked 10th in the American league in hitting with runners in scoring position, with a .261 average. Therefore you cannot point to injuries if you want to talk about last year’s failure. The problem was scoring runs. I blame the manager if there’s a runner in scoring position with no outs and they are unable to bring him in. each player (including A-rod and Texiera) must know how to execute a bunt. And the manager must make wise decisions as to when he should call for them. About 4 years ago I had the privilege of hearing Joe Torre speak at the learning Annex in Manhattan. He was speaking about the horrific 2004 collapse against the Red Sox, when someone raised an interesting question. Torre was asked why he didn’t bunt against Curt Schilling in game 6 of the ALCS. Schilling had a makeshift surgery on his ankle the day before the game, his sock was bleeding (which is now famously known as the bloody sock) and he was walking gingerly on it. He was clearly in a vulnerable state. Therefore bunting against him would seem to be the obvious thing to do because it would have to make him run off the mound, which he was clearly unable to do and would eventually knock him out of the game. Torre responded to that question with an answer that left me very puzzled and disturbed. He said that he can’t take a bat away from one of his players. To me that was another way of saying ’I care more about personal stats then I do about winning the ballgame’. My philosophy is; to do whatever you have to do to put runs on the board. Play for the run, even if it means bunting A-rod. If the situation calls for it, do it. Play conservatively when the game is close. Don’t just rely on the home run ball. If I were a manager I would start off spring training with bunting drills before any batting practice. Every player must know how to bunt.
I never understood last year’s strategy. Girardi would play conservatively when it came to making up the lineup card everyday by obsessing over the lefty righty business and over resting players. But when it came time during the game, he didn’t. He didn’t bunt and play for the run when situations called for it. Girardi must also stick with a consistent lineup, and not change it around every other night.
Other questions, which can be raised about Girardi would have to be his handling of his pitching staff. By that I mean pitching inexperienced rookies in crucial situations. But one that really made me scratch my head was the way he handled the whole Joba situation. He slowly turned him into a starter by getting most of his pitches in, in unimportant game situations while reducing his number of pitches when the game was on the line.
Girardi’s 2008 season is one, which can be summed up with over managing and obsessing about this lefty righty business. He acted as an actuary and not a coach. You don’t need a coach to make decisions based purely on numbers and statistics. You can save yourself a lot of money and just have a computer make those decisions for you. A coach is supposed to make decisions based not only on statistics but also with what he sees on the field as well as his gut feeling. This upcoming season is filled with optimism as well as skepticism, and its up to Girardi to utilize the tools that he’s been stocked with over the offseason with the acquisitions of Texiera, Sabathia, and Burnett. It’s up to Girardi to prove that he’s able of holding one of the greatest jobs in the world. Managing a team filled with superstars in New York is not an easy thing to do. However it is up to Girardi to prove whether or not he’s worthy of steering the $223 million dollar ship called the New York Yankees.
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