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Valley Swim Club Racism

By: Billy BeerSlugger

You may have heard this story about a group of 60 kids from a day camp in Philadelphia which was bussed to the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley PA only to be told not to come back a day later after an emergency board meeting by the swim club.

The story is all over the news and reached national levels even moving Actor/Director Tyler Perry of the Tyler Perry movies to pay for a 3 day stay in Disneyland. There’s no denying that the kids in the day camp are primarily black and that the clientele in the swim club is primarily white. There’s where the story comes from; the sensationalism of racism.

Now the swimming club says they had legitimate crowd concerns which may or may not be true. One of the campers,  Dymire Baylor, commented, saying, “I heard this lady, she was like, ‘Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?’ She’s like, ‘I’m scared they might do something to my child.” Two other campers reported strange comments, prompting one to ask, “Am I too black to go into the pool?”.

Well you might just chalk that up to what Obama might call being a “typical white person“. As in there is an inherent reaction to white people that’s “been bred into our experiences that don’t go away and sometimes come out in the wrong way and that’s just the nature of race in our society”.  (And he’s right we do have to break through it).

But I digress, the issue here is that the summer camp paid $1,900 to have the 60 kids go to the pool every Monday for 90 minutes for the duration of the summer. I did some math and it essentially breaks down to $2.64 per visit. Now the swim club supposedly received multiple complaints from members leading to the emergency board meeting that terminated the Day Camp membership. I think the economics of this decision are pretty easy. A swimming membership for the summer for one person can range from $300 to $350 in the area for a single person and a family of four can be around $600 – $650. So from an economics standpoint if you lose 5.5 singular memberships or 3 family’s of four due to the kids being there the swim club takes a bit of a bath.  Not to mention dealing with the other “typical white” people who don’t relinquish their membership but complain constantly.

This is all conjecture but I’m thinking from a economical and “dealing with bullshit” standpoint, you say let’s give the kids back their money, keep our “typical white” members happy that are our bread and butter. You cite crowd concerns/safety and that’s your alibi.  Seems to work for me except maybe the alibi wasn’t airtight and you didn’t count on the national news coverage on your ass and the racist label hung over your Swim Club sign.

There really was no winning angle to be played here. Either lose money and reputation with your members and let the kids stay the summer or refund the money and take whatever the parents, media and Tyler Perry throw at you. It’s sad but the real wrong move was to invite the group at all.  Every private swim club board in America has now been served up a lesson in how not to get into a Public Relations nightmare and possibly a $50,000 fine; don’t go out of your way to try and do a good deed and give some underprivileged youngsters a place to swim. So in effect what may seem like a win against racism and anti-civil rights actually just made it ten times harder to get underprivileged kids into nicer private swim clubs. It’s a double edged sword but it looks like the kids are at least going to get $50,000 minus lawyer fees.  Hopefully it all goes right to a college education fund, I could get my Michael Phelps on with that scenario. Of course that’s not going to happen.

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This Guy and That Guy’s Cooking Corner – Shrimp Scampi

Fucking Delicious
Fucking Delicious

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne pasta

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 pound medium uncooked shrimp, peeled, and deveined

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

• 1 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes cut in half

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 cup white wine (the rest can be given to Mrs. Wineslugger)

• 1/3 cup clam juice

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm – el dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp and set aside.

Add the sun dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, clam juice, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the cooked shrimp, the cooked pasta, and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated.

Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.

Great date night idea. You can give your Wineslugger the rest of the wine which pairs perfectly with the meal and you can enjoy a nice summer ale (Sam Adams Summer or Sierra Nevada Summer) or a crisp refreshing beer such as a Warsteiner.

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Warsteiner – Not your ordinary brewery

warsteinerBy: Luan Zuccarello

Warsteiner has been brewing beer since 1753, and is the largest private brewery in Germany. Located right outside of Warstein Germany and in the Rhine Valley, this brewery remained unscathed during the bombings of WWII. The owner Albert Cramer has used the company’s success and good fortune to start a competitive hot air ballooning league in Germany.

I don’t know about you but I would love to see Hammacher and Schlemmer chugging Das Boot and racing hot air balloons. Their Flagship Beer is the Warsteiner Premium Verum and is a pilsner style that is exported to over 60 countries. With an alcohol content of 4.8% it makes for a refreshing and delicious session beer. I have had the privilege to taste more beers in the Warsteiner catalogue and not one of them disappoints.

I tried their Oktoberfest recently, and was quite surprised that is was so light and crisp. Stay tuned for our ROK-toberfest countdown of the top 10 beers of autumn.

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The Foodery – Northern Liberites

The 2nd Street Establishment
The 2nd Street Establishment

By: Billy BeerSlugger

The Foodery is really a beer store that also has a deli. Though when I say beer store, we’re talking about six packs and more so singles of the best beer you can find in Philly. There’s 10 or so coolers that have some of the finest imported beer from Belgium, Germany, England and anywhere else that makes stuff worth drinking.

You can sit down and have a beer and a sandwich there, it’s not a bar but they will give you glassware.  And I believe it’s open until 10pm which is crucial for those for a halftime beer run on a Monday Night Football game or a Tuesday night when you’ve just had a really bad day.

So overall, one of the best selections of beer I’ve ever seen in one place. The bad part is that most of the single beers there run $4.50+.  Yes imported beer is a little more expensive but it’s more or less a 300% markup for single beers. I walked out of there with a $20 dollar sixpack last week. If I was smart I would have went to the beer store earlier in the day and had at least 18 more beers but such is life sometimes.

Overall though you can’t really knock the price given the selection and trendy 2nd street location in Northern liberties. Maybe the City has a tax on single beer?

Another great thing is that I didn’t see any Budweiser or Coors there. Kudos to you friends. Viva le Beer!

837 north 2nd street (2nd & poplar)
(215) 238-6077
philadelphia, pennsylvania 19123
hours: sun-thurs 10:00am to 10:00pm
fri-sat 10:00am to 12:00am

They also have a location at:

324 south 10th street (10th & pine)
(215) 928-1111
philadelphia, pennsylvania 19107
hours: everyday 9:00am to 12:00am

I wish I had frequented that establishment a little more when I was living near Broad and Spruce St.

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Total Eclipse of the Heart – Literal Version

This parody video showcases how completely avant garde and ahead of their time that 80’s Music Videos can be. Lots of hidden meaning, metaphors and symbolism out the ass.  If you listen to the regular version which was immortalized in my generation by the movie Old School and a cursing wedding band, you know it’s classic 80’s ballad. However, with this dubbed version of the song on Youtube, the words and visuals mesh so well that I figured you needed to see it.  So here it is for your viewing and listening pleasure.

The video also reminds me of how obsessed our culture is with looks. There’s no way (even with a dynamite voice and flowing locks of teased blonde hair) that Bonnie Tyler gets airplay today. Maybe on the John Tesh radio program but that’s about it.

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Craigslist and Craig Newmark

The Guys Behind The Website
The Guys Behind The Website

By: Billy BeerSlugger

A friend emailed me today about Craigslist with an intriguing article on how it could be fixed and or make it better. While there were some worthy considerations in there about drill down searches, opening up an API for developers and reducing anonymity among posters I would actually argue that Craigslist is not broken and does not need much “fixing”.

The article does touch on the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mantra Craigslist seems to employ at least covering that side of the story.  However, what the author seems not to realize is that Craigslist probably has a plan for most of the things touched on in the article that are supposedly “broken”.

Craig Newmark, for all his quirks, his liberal political leaning and social awkwardness, is a hero of mine.  A man sitting on a billion dollar empire who sneers at people who want to buy it, invest in it or sell advertising on it.  It’s not like he’s broke or anything because it seems like Craigslist made over 100 million last year but Capitalists would argue much more can be made if Craigslist “sells out” and becomes overrun by corporate types and “policy”. Newmark doesn’t seem to want to stand for that and in my eyes that’s admirable. Not only that but Newmark pioneered the means of making money off of free services, something laughable only a decade ago.

You have probably been on Craigslist no doubt. Putting something up for sale, responding to an advertisement or looking for a “Casual Encounter”.  What drew you, me and millions of other people there a month is the “Free” aspect. No more dealing with newspaper fees and deadlines to get your apartment rented, you could now realistically have it rented in 24 hours, for free. Not that Craigslist was the only reason but Newspaper Classified Ad revenue is down 50% from a decade ago.  A shift from paper to digital for the medium and a “free” concept that neither newspapers or the Yellow Pages were willing to accept.

The reason why it works is that there’s so many people on it. It’s also the reason why startups with the Classified mentality will not work, Craigslist has cornered the market in most if not all major American cities. Nothing offered in terms of user interface, searchability or openness of code will ever be able to compete with the numbers Craigslist brings in monthly (the chicken or the egg principle). I for one have never not found a product or service that was on Craigslist that I was looking for.

People will criticize it’s layout, monotone colors and whatever else they can to knock it but you are getting more than you are paying for, which in most cases is nothing.  Remember beggars cannot be choosers and while articles like the aforementioned and this one from wired magazine maybe are trying to just suggest things for the betterment of the site rather than cry that they are not available I would have to think that the Craigslist team knows what they are doing just like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates know what their next moves are.

Craigslist gets 41 million unique visits per month and has a total of 30 employees liken that to Amazon.com and they have 20,000 employees and have less traffic, Ebay less traffic and 16,000 employees. I’m not sure what that tells you except that Craigslist does more with less.

That’s not to say Craigslist doesn’t have problems with spam and the like. Newmark actually prides himself on “breeding the perfect spammer” and that seems to be a pretty full time job for a site that doesn’t require registration or payment for most services. However, opening up Craigslist to an API could be a daunting task for those 30 employees over there in San Francisco.  Not to get it up and running but to keep it running and everyone happy plus have the customer service part (which has never been great at Craigslist) on the up and up. Essentially that means a lot more employees.

Probably what I’m getting at in this post is that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” does still apply in the digital age though Craigslist is not untouchable. It will just probably take another pioneer along the likes of Newmark to topple Craigslist just as Newmark has toppled Newspapers and The Yellow Pages. It won’t be because of fancy graphics or easier searching though, but because of concept. Though it’s going to be hard to top “Free“.

Note: This post was written while listening to The Strokes album Room on Fire

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Contradictory Medical Reports

By: Billy BeerSlugger

You know seems like every week I read or hear something in the about what is or is not good for your body that is completely contradictory of a previous medical study.

Yesterday it was that diet is indeed a factor in kids having Acne. The study suggests that a diet high in chocolate, potato chips and low in vegetables is linked to Acne. Which is complete bullshit because a potato chip comes from a potato which is a vegetable and they’re cooked in Vegetable oil. Previously I was told by the media and medical world that diet had nothing to do with acne and previous to that I was told to avoid chocolate and salty foods like potato chips.

I was told that a glass of wine a day was good for your heart which is great because I then convinced myself that beer has the same effect. Now a study comes out and says that any kind of alcohol for women increases their chance of breast cancer.  Awesome.

Coffee is good for you… wait a minute coffee isn’t as good for you as they previously thought. An aspirin a day is beneficial to the heart… oh but wait a minute it’s not good for the stomach lining… or the heart possibly.  Vitamin E prevents cancer.. oh but only in people that don’t already have cancer. Antioxidants are great for you… Vitamin C is great for you… You need to get a full days supply of Calcium.  I’ve seen studies to the contrary on every single one of these things.

So what are we supposed to believe? The Scientists or the Scientists? Do we go by who got the more prestigious degree from the best known University? Pick out of a hat? Do you believe the one that best suits your needs, ie. I’m going to drink my glass of wine every night no matter what they say?

Who’s got the agenda and who is doing the actual non-biased work? I think in the 80’s the tobacco companies funded studies to conclude that smoking had no direct link to Cancer so one thing to look out for is who is funding the study. Another thing to look at is the sample size. If the study has 14 people taking Vitamin E and 13 taking a placebo you can’t really conclude anything except that you need a larger sample size. Another thing to look at is assumptions based on a study.

Consider this: One study suggests a link between drinking alcohol and developing lung cancer. However, the newscaster that reads the findings conveniently leaves out the fact that a good portion of people that drink alcohol also smoke cigarettes. Yes there may be a link but is alcohol a direct cause?

I think what i’m trying to say is that studies and statistics can be manipulated pretty much any way a person or entity wants. Take for instance a Phillies game where some obscure stat will be shown on the jumbo tron as a player walks up to bat: “Carlos Ruiz is hitting .421 in home day games with a runner on 2nd base when facing left handed pitching”. Now shorten that to Carlos Ruiz is hitting .421 and that’s essentially what we are being told about these medical studies in the media. The shocking statistic but none of the details.

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Swine Flu Redux

It's Science
It's Science

By: Billy BeerSlugger

Oh, you thought that shit was dead? Think again.  This H1N1 Flu strain is here to stay people and the media is going to whore the shit out of it to keep you watching and reading the news. Apparently half of the United States is going to have it at some point this cold and flu season. Teachers are told to take extra precautions in cleaning and kids hand sanitizing. I’m sure you’ll see a newscast about “What You Can Do To Avoid Swine Flu” and or the effects of Swine Flu when you do get it because… IT’S INEVITABLE!!!!!

The CDC gives out weekly updates and I can’t go a day without seeing H1N1 on my iGoogle page with my newsfeeds. Don’t say I didn’t warn you because this thing is going to make a comeback bigger than Robert Downey Jr.’s. Be prepared to be scared and please by all means believe everything you hear on the news! Those fuckers are infallible.

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Power Rankings Week 2

Sports with Bob McFlurry

The latest ESPN NFL Power Rankings have our Philadelphia Eagles ranked at #4. I would love to know what these people are smoking. We’re talking about the Philadelphia Eagles right? In Philadelphia? Ranked ahead of the Colts, Chargers, Titans and Vikings? Hell half the league could beat us on Any Given Sunday and that’s being realistic even if McNabb is at QB and healthy.

I don’t know why people were so high on the Eagles this year. All we got was a starting tackle and guard (who is coming off major knee surgery) in the offseason.   We picked a WR in the first round of the draft who was supposed to be dynamic and figure in the return game and this guy might have 20 catches this year and doesn’t seem to be getting any reps at punt returner. We also got Shady McCoy in the draft to spell Westbrook and it seems like a good fit. We finnally have a true fullback which is great.

However, is the team that drastically different from the one that needed a miracle to make the playoffs last year? We may have gotten younger on Defense but did we get better? Nothing on Offense changed except the Tackles, the backup running backs and backup QB. I don’t see how or where we got significantly better on either side of the ball.

Desean Jackson is great and has worked out better than I have expected but is he a true number one receiver or just an overall game changer from either special teams or the receiver position. Is the guy going to go for over 1,000 yrds and 8 TD’s? Only time will tell.

Yes the NFC is wide open, yes we trounced Carolina in the First game but we also spanked the Rams on opening day last year too. All this being said I’d rather be the underdog or middle of the pack than be in ESPN’s Top 5.  I’d rather people be surprised at the Birds play than be disappointed by it and given their Ranking and no real upgrade in talent that’s probably what’s going to happen. Plus the Eagles are really good at disappointing us.

Now, I’m talking about a world even with Donovan McNabb fully healthy, it’s the same team as last year with a few more injuries and some unproven guys taking over for some veterans. I’m just not sure how you measure these things but whatever the apparatus or reasoning they’ll be out of the top 10 by week 5 and shouldn’t have even been in the top 5 in the first place. How many question marks does one need to convince you that there’s at least 10 teams better than the Eagles right now even before McNabb’s injury.

Not to say they won’t make the playoffs or make a run at a Superbowl but an elite team the Philadelphia Eagles are not right now and you will probably see a defense picked apart by Drew Brees this Sunday at the Linc.  Only time will tell but I think I’m smarter than the guys over in Bristol right now.

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The Inside Track with Ace Rothstein 9/18

Quick recap from last week – 2 wins and 2 losses. We were so right about 2 games even predicting the final margin of victory in the Nebraska game, and we were so wrong about the other 2. Anyway let’s get back on track and win some money.

Clemson – 6 ½ over Boston College

Death Valley is one of the greatest and most intimidating stadiums in all of college sports. Boston College is starting a freshman here on the road! Boston College is going to have a rebuilding year with many new faces. Clemson is supposed to be in the mix for the ACC Championship game and should come out on fire after last week’s loss to Georgia Tech on the road. Clemson also has had a couple extra days to prepare for this one because they played on Thursday of last week. Look for the Tigers in Death Valley to destroy this young quarterback – Clemson by at least 10.

California -14 over Minnesota

Now I usually tend to stay away from Road Favorites that are in double digits but this one is just to intriguing for me. California is one of the best and most explosive teams in the nation. Some people even say they are going to give USC a run for their money. I look at this Minnesota team and see a team that should have lost against Syracuse and against Air Force. We all saw last week how much bigger and stronger the teams in the PAC 10 are against the Big 10. California rolls big in this one.

New England -3 ½ over the Jets

I know New England is coming off an emotional win on a Monday night but I don’t think the New England players are going to treat this as a let down game. Rex Ryan has been running his mouth all week and it has got some attention from New England. In the second half of the Bills game, Tom Brady was flat out awesome. Belichick made the necessary adjustments at halftime and their offense was clicking. I will take my chances against a fraudulent rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez to lay an egg.

Bonus Pick

I don’t like any other NFL games so I am going with a Bonus 7 point teaser

Green Bay Packers teased -2

Atlanta Falcons teased +1

The Cincinnati Bengals do not have the veteran leadership, or the coaching to go on the road and win a tough game after last weeks’ heartbreak. Green Bay is for real this year and they will win the game.

I don’t even know where to begin with Carolina.  This is a team in disarray after last week.  The Georgia Dome will be rocking for which ever quarterback the Panthers decide on.  This line might be a little inflated because of last week but Atlanta still wins this game.