Awesomeness

Yesterday, I was at Sunday School and saw an awesome poster lying around. Ya see, I'm a student aide in the 3rd grade Hebrew class, which meets in what is a social studies classroom during the week. (Coincidentally, the high school where my Sunday School meets is my actual high school- so I go there 6 days a week). While aiding, I noticed a poster with some Capitals pictures on it. I'm pretty sure it was a project for a sociology class, and here's what it said:

(In big letters): OVECHKIN
Tribe: Emveepea
Clan: Eagle
Primary Food Source: Penguins
Housing: Verizon Center
Weapons: Slap Shot and Wrister
Colors: Red and Blue
Clothing: #8 Jersey

I have no idea what the requirements for the project were, but this deserves an A. For Awesome. And since I left a complementary sticky note with my name and grade- maybe, just maybe, I could get an interview (but probably not, especially since I don't personally know the person who made it, and she's not in my grade)

[Update 10/27: The project (for a class/unit about Native Americans) was to pick a real Indian and fill out the above categories. After doing that project, the student made a Caps-themed one because the teacher is a Penguins fan. The poster I saw lying on the shelf is a year or two old; the teacher kept it, and the girl who made it has since gone on to college.]

Random Idea I'm Throwing Out There: Ump Tourney

Ironically, this was used on insidesocal.com last April. April! It's not from this postseason, but from APRIL! Then again, umps get villainized regardless of month.  

Well, the MLB playoffs aren't going too well. And not just because my Red Sox got swept and the hated Yankees are in the World Series (and on that note, Go Phils!). There have been a lot of blown calls this postseason, and the issue has gotten a lot of media attention. Everyone knows (and has to accept) that umps are human and thus not perfect, but there do seem to have been a relatively high number of bad calls lately. With something as important as a championship on the line (as well as all the media coverage and scrutiny that comes along with the playoffs), Major League Baseball has taken action- they've changed the World Series umpiring crew to have umps with more experience.

This brings up an idea- what about having the best umps in the regular season call playoff games, the same way that the best teams make the postseason? Instant replay and strike zone technologies can be used to evaluate umps, so how 'bout sending the most consistent/accurate regular season umpires to the postseason crews? (Of course, it's not that simple, but the main idea sounds okay in theory) And it doesn't even have to stop there- the best umps during a particular round of the playoffs could go on to call the next round (except that 3-7 games is a way too small sample size for umps).

Do these ideas sound ridiculous? Or does this seem like it could be plausible after necessary minor (and major) details are worked out? And why am I asking questions on a blog that hardly anyone reads?  

Fun With Google Translate, Part 1 of ?

Today's edition of FWGT focuses on sports quotes, and what happens when they're translated to (I dunno, let's say German) and back a few times. (Quotes from BrainyQuote)

"We talked to the referees before the game; there's always new situations to adjust, for the refs and for us as well. Even on the ice, it's good for players to talk and interact with the referee." --Peter Bondra
Translated to German and back once- "We spoke with the referee before the game, there are always new situations to adapt to the referee and also for us. Also on the ice, it's good for players to talk and interact with the referee."

Okay, so that's pretty close to the original. Let's try another:


Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours. --Yogi Berra
Translated to Finnish and back once- "Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they will not come to you."
Twice- same translation

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." --Yogi Berra
Icelandic and back once- "A nickel is not worth a dime anymore."

Wow. The translation is more grammatically correct than the original.

"We picked the Red Sox because they lose. If you root for something that loses for 86 years, you're a pretty good fan. You don't have to win everything to be a fan of something." --Jimmy Fallon
Greek and back once- "We chose the Red Sox because they lose. If you root for something lost for 86 years, you are very good fan. We need to win everything to be a fan of something."
Twice- "We chose the Red Sox because they lose. If you root for something lost for 86 years, will be very good fan. We can win everything to be a fan of something."

Well, that definitely changed the meaning of the last sentence.

And last: "You know, a lot of people say they didn't want to die until the Red Sox won the World Series. Well, there could be a lot of busy ambulances tomorrow." --Johnny "Benedict" Damon 
Hindi and back once- "You know, a lot of people say they win the World Series until red sox did not want to die. Well, there could be a very busy ambulances tomorrow."
Twice- "You know, a lot of people say they win the World Series until the red sox did not want to die. Okay, there could be a very busy ambulances tomorrow."

Wait- I win the World Series until the Red Sox don't want to die? What?!?

"The Leval-Shelay Devices", Complete Version

(When I originally posted this story, I didn't know how to add a "jump". So here's the story in its entirety, because splitting it up can make it kinda confusing to read.)