The Writing of Bill Lucey, Journalist

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Papi 3

Boston Red Sox Team Motto:
“Find a Way!’’


Elias Sports Bureau: “
Teams with a 5+ run lead in a postseason game are 459-14 (.970).''


ESPN STATS: “The [Boston]
Red Sox win probability was as low as 3.8 percent with 1 out in the 8th.''


Predicted Headline in
Monday's Boston newspapers: “GRAND PAPI!''


ESPN Recap of Dramatic Game 2 of the ALCS


http://is.gd/4ayjv5  




****

STATS of the Day:

  • 91% of Americans own cell phones, 56%
    own a smartphone.

    There will be 100 to 150 million
    new high-end smartphone users annually over the next two years,

 

  • There are 218.3 million monthly active users on
    Twitter.

 

  • Almost three out of four U.S. adults (71%) watch local television news, 65% view network newscasts, and 38 %
    view cable TV news
    over the course of a month, according to Nielsen
    data from February 2013. About 38% of Americans access news online at home via a
    desktop or laptop computer.

 

  • With output of more than 10 million barrels per
    day for the last two quarters
    , its highest in decades, the United States is set to
    become the largest non OPEC liquids producer by the second quarter of 2014,
    overtaking Russia.

 

  • The
    U.S. holds about 30 % of the world's financial assets.

 

****

 

Surveys/Polls

  • Gallup Poll http://is.gd/BMvWqf : Amid the government shutdown, 60% of Americans say
    the Democratic and Republicans parties do such a poor job of representing the
    American people that a third major party is needed.

 

  • Biggest Reasons Women Have Abortions?
    Financial reasons (40%); timing (36%), partner
    related reasons (31%),
    and the need
    to focus on other children (29%)
    Source:
    BMC Women's Health 2013 13:29 http://is.gd/rJkrF2

 

  • Financial Conditions of U.S. Cities?
    A majority of city finance officers (72%) report
    that their cities are better able to meet financial needs in 2013 than in 2012,
    according to the National League of Cities: http://is.gd/403ocG

 

  • Levada Centre Poll http://is.gd/rFYSVm  : Russians' attitude toward the United States
    is worsening. 71% feel the U.S. are “hypocritically'' trying to
    make other countries observe the rules of international law, while they don't
    always obey them itself
    ." 50 % of respondents have a negative view about the United States ‘role in
    the modern world in general.

 

***

 

Controversy continues
to hover around the word
Redskins'' in Washington's
football team, ever since President Obama in an interview with the Associated Press said if he were  the owner of the team, and knew the term (“redskins’’)was
offending “a sizeable group of people'' , he'd think about changing it.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder,
however, remained defiant, saying he will “NEVER!'' change the name.

On NBC’s Sunday Night Football
halftime show last night, Bob Costas
fired a missile at the team name:

“Think for a moment about the term “Redskins,”
and how it truly differs from all the others. Ask yourself what the equivalent
would be if directed towards African Americans, Hispanics, Asians or any other
ethnic group. When considered that way, “Redskins” can’t possibly honor a
heritage or noble character trait, nor can it possibly be considered a neutral
term. It’s an insult, a slur, no matter
how benign the present day intent.’’
 

So what's the origin of
the word “redskin''?  Has it
always been considered a racial slur?

 

Ives Goddard,
Senior Linguist in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural
History argues the following points in a 2005 journal article.
http://is.gd/Y6ym5N

 

  • The quotation "I am a Red-Skin" in the title is from a speech
    made by the Santee chief French Crow in a formal council with President James
    Madison in the President's House in Washington on August 22, 1812,
    as interpreted by John A. Cameron and
    officially recorded.

 

  • The same expression was used by the Potawatomi chiefs Topinabee and Metea
    at a treaty conference in Chicago in August, 1821
    , as interpreted by Whitmore Knaggs and
    recorded by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.]

 

  • The word redskins reflects a genuine Native American idiom that was used
    in several languages
    ,
    where it grew out of an earlier established and more widespread use of “red''
    and “white'' as racial labels.

 

****

 

Halloween Costumes, 2013

 

What's Trending?

 

  • At Beyond
    Costumes in Yonkers, N.Y
    http://is.gd/rSvgo3
     : “With the release with The Great Gatsby, all of the 1920 looks are trending; also “The Fox'' has been huge since the music video. Some of the creative costumes
    are those looking to recreate the Edward Gorey illustrations, a dark Victorian
    look
    . Movies like Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland and other
    fairy-tale characters are still very popular along with superheros pirates and
    gladiators.''

 

  • At the
    Garment District in Cambridge, MA
    http://is.gd/1jI4fO
     : Among
    all of the classic costumes, some of this year’s trends so far have been
    Breaking Bad, Miley Cyrus, and Game of Thrones.
      We
    have a giant section of pre-owned costume elements, so a lot of customers have
    been piecing together their own costumes in order to have a totally unique
    costume (as well as save some money!).
    One of my favorite customer costume ideas so far this year has been a
    mother and her young son – she got a costume for Daenerys from Game of Thrones,
    and got a dragon costume for her son
    .''

 

  • At
    Mallatt's Pharmacy and Costumes in Madison
    . WI  http://is.gd/sinIAc
     : Cannot keep enough fox ears and tails
    as well as fox colored makeup on the shelf
    . The most requested look for men is "Heisenberg" persona of
    Walter White from the TV show "Breaking Bad", especially the facial
    hair and glasses
    . The second favorite looks are the boys from "Duck
    Dynasty." Women are sticking with
    the classics like zombies and other dead and undead creatures
    , these
    looks are easily created with stage quality makeup and a trip to goodwill,
    followed by renaissance/medieval dresses reminiscent of the "Game of
    Thrones." Katniss Everdeen from the "Hunger Games" also remains
    popular.''

 

  • At Ricky's NYC in Manhattan: http://is.gd/AShX83  : Adults-Women: Wonder Woman, Flapper, Wizard
    of oz, Ninjas, Sexy superhero/Men: Prisoners/Jailbirds, Superman, Spider-Man,
    Kenny Powers, Mad hatter
    .

***

 

Today in History:

10 Year Anniversary

October 14, 2003:
In the 8th inning of the NLCS between the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins at
Wrigley Field with the Cubs staked to a 3-0 lead, a 3 games
to 2 lead in the best of 7 series and just
five outs away from
winning their first NL pennant since 1945
, Marlins second baseman
Luis Castillo lifts a fly ball down the left field line. A star-crossed fan, Steve Bartman, lunged
for the ball, preventing Cubs left fielder Moisés Alou from catching it. The
Marlins ended up scoring 8 runs in that nightmare of an inning, beating the
Cubs 8-3. They beat the Cubs (9-6) again the following night to secure the pennant
and advance to the World Series against the New York Yankees.

                See video of the infamous
catch
: http://is.gd/YejW6M

 

 

Word Origin

Sticking to your guns’’
(refusing to compromise); Originally a military phrase, when in the field of
battle: “sticking to your guns’’ meant remaining at your post despite being
under constant siege.

 

Looking For a Good
Quote?

Always forgive your enemies-but never forget their names.''

-Robert F. Kennedy

 

 

  -Bill Lucey

 October 14, 2013

 WPLucey@gmail.com

2 responses

  1. Bob Daniels Avatar
    Bob Daniels

    Nice job with the blog, Bill.

  2. Bob Daniels Avatar
    Bob Daniels

    Nice job with the blog, Bill.

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