The Facebook Hagaddah (click here)

This is actually kind of funny...enjoy!

Do You Remember...? Power Rangers Wannabes

Power Rangers. Is there any show that better represents our childhood? They're Mighty, they're Morphin, and they are Super Awesome. We all spent Shabbos afternoons fighting over who would be the Red Ranger in our imaginary Power Ranger battles in the backyard (that was of course before Tommy, the Green Ranger, came along). We emulated our colorful heroes (Subby's mom didn't let him and his brother watch the show because one time his brother kicked his mom in the shin while pretending to be the blue ranger). Now, its one thing for children to want to be the Power Rangers, but it isnt ok when there are too many Power Ranger Wannabe shows on television. Some of these shows didn't make any sense. I would like to discuss the premise behind some of these terrible mock-ups.

(1) VR Troopers - The show focused on three teenagers, Ryan, Kaitlin, and J.B. One day, Ryan's search for his long-lost father led him and his friends to discovering a strange labaratory. Inside, a digitized head of Dr. Horatio Hart, a friend of Ryan's father, explained that he had created new virtual reality technology. "VR" is a secret dimension which includes mutants and monsters bent on destroying both worlds. The main ruler of these creatures is a creature known as Grimlord, who, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, has a human identity as the Millionaire Karl Ziktor. It is up to the three teenagers to save both worlds from destruction. Ok, what in the world is going on? This show doesn't make any sense? These kids just stumble upon a virtual reality lab? Seriously, what in the world is going on? Someone explain this to me.

(2) Big Bad Beetleborgs - Three typical average kids, Drew, Jo, and Roland, enter the supposedly haunted Hillhurst Mansion, after accepting a dare from some snobby rich friends. The teens bump into a haunted organ, and it releases a phantasm named Flabber, who looks a lot like Jay Leno. In return for saving him, he grants them one wish, and they wish to be comic book superheroes, the Big Bad BeetleBorgs. However, this also leads to the release of the Beetleborgs arch enemies, the Magnavores, led by the evil Vexor, who would summon monsters from the comics to fight the Borgs. Again, what the heck? Why would they choose to be superheroes? They had any wish they wanted! What is the deal with teenagers saving the world?

(3) Superhuman Samurai Cyber Squad - High School student Sam Collins leads a band, and programs video games. Nerd Alert! During a recording session, Sam is zapped by a power surge and dissapears. Are you serious? He reappears a moment later with something attached to his wrist. Nex time he is zapped, he turns into one of his cyber creations: Servo. He travels into the computer to fight computer viruses. Nuff' Said.

Did you know...

...that you can customize your settings on g-chat to allow you to text someone's phone directly? Simply put the cursor on top of the name from the chat list you'd like to text and click the 'videos and more' icon. A dropdown menu should appear with a tab reading 'Send SMS'. Click it and enter the person's phone number in the empty field. Save it in the database and you can text from your computer to someone's phone any time. You can also switch right back to g-chat or aim with the click of a mouse.

We knew. Now you do, too.

Do You Remember...? Central Avenue

In this issue of Do You Remember, I'd like to discuss some old memories of Central Avenue when we were young. The face of "The Avenue" has changed greatly since we were in elementary school. For example, do you remember when Ruthies used to be Baskin Robbins? Do you remember Burger Nosh? My good friend, who was in the Israeli Army, claims that Burger Nosh closed down because he found a pebble in one of his chicken nuggets. There seem to be two locations on Central Avenue that used to have a curse, but were recently broken. Dave's Pizza went through many changes until we were fortunate to have our favorite raspy Israeli Pizza owner grace us on Central Avenue. At one point, it was Talia's (they had an incredible cheese sauce on their fries), and was then Pizza Cave, and until Dave came along, no one was able to hold ground. The other cursed location was the present Off The Grill location. At one point it was Anise, Loris, and then Hapinah. One of my saddest memories was when KB Toys was turned into Washington Mutual Bank! How about Oh Goodie? The predecessor to the now very succesful Oh Nuts. And perhaps one of the best, underrated restaurtants, the Dairy Revue (which was originally located where Jerusalem Mini Mart is now, and then moved to the Dougies/Carlos and Gabbys location). Commerce Bank used to be Pearl Carpet. Borders was Waldenbooks (I love the Irish acents). Tea for Two was Abigael's, and then the Cedar Club. Remember the cheese sticks in Pizza Professor? And the cinnamon and sugar sticks with the custard sauce.
How about Karl's? Stride Rite? The drive-thru supermarket on the corner of prospect and West Broadway?

Nassau County [bad] News (click here for article)

We weren't sure whether or not to put this one up but we think it's important to know that we can never be too careful. This may have been something expected to happen in Harlem or Jamaica but not as much somewhere so close to Woodmere and Lawrence. But as it turns out- it did. 

Our hearts go out to the family and friends...

Sesame Street Recollections...

Welcome to our newest feature: Sesame Street Recollections. Sesame Street holds a very special place in my heart. My mother always tells me that I learned to read and write by watching countless hours of Sesame Street as a child. While Sesame Street was primarily made to educate children in a fun way, the creators decided they needed to add content that would also cater to those parents who watched the show with their children. There are so many pop-culture references in the show that children don't get, but when you get older, you realize how brilliant Jim Henson and his staff were. Besides these references, there is an endless amount of great memories, songs, characters, and moments that were provided to us by this groundbreaking program. In this feature, we will discuss some of those timeless memories, and dissect the content of Sesame Street:

For now, we will discuss one of the most peculiar, and mysterious characters on Sesame Street: Snuffy. Born Aloysius Snuffleupagus, Snuffy, as he is better known, is one of the largest muppets in Sesame Street's history. In the beginning of the show's tenure, Snuffy was only seen by Big Bird. The other characters on the show teased Big Bird, because they didn't believe that Snuffy existed. On November 18, 1985, the adults finally met Snuffy, and they were all embarrassed of teasing Big Bird for all those years. Burn! In Your Face Bob and Gordon! Snuffy remains a prominent character on Sesame Street to this day. What makes Snuffy most mysterious, is that no one is quite sure what type of creature he is. Muppet characters are usually either animals (like Kermit, or Miss Piggy), Monsters (Elmo, Telly, Herry), "Humans" (Ernie, Bert, Scooter), or Aliens (The Yip-Yips). It is very rare to find a character that doesn't have a defined species (Gonzo is the only other that comes to mind, but I think he is a Whatever, and in Muppets in Space, his species comes to earth). Snuffy is a strange character. It looks like perhaps Snuffy's ancestors began as offspring of an Elephant and a Wookie like Chewbacca. He is not a mammoth, because he doesnt have tusks. His eyes are incredibly large. If anyone has an ideas, please share them with us.

1961-62 NBA Season

Let's travel back in time a few decades, shall we? The NBA season was not 82 games yet but it was at 80, up 1 from a year prior. How a league with only 9 teams managed to play 80 games is interesting enough; that the Knicks were in 4th place in the East with a record of 29-51 is unfathomable unless I told you that there were only 4 teams in the entire Eastern Conference. Now you know. Hershey, Pennsylvania was not famous for Hershey Park and its rides yet, but there was an even awesomer event that made Hershey famous. I'm talking about Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game. [Let's take a quick detour here and talk about that game. Something quite ironical happened during that game. Normally, a team facing defeat in the final minutes will play 'hurry-up offense' driving the length of the court and putting up a shot as quickly as possible, and then foul the other team right away in order to stop the clock and hopefully give up only 1 point (if not none) as opposed to 2 or 3. This was not the case against New York that night. The same way there is somewhat of a gameplan for a losing team in the final minutes is there a gameplan for the team that's up: keep the clock running as long as possible / kill time. The exact opposite happened that evening. The Knicks, out of fear of embarrassment that they would give up a buck to Wilt, actually tried killing time themselves despite having a large deficit with time running out. On the other hand, Philly (Warriors) wanted to get the ball to Wilt as quickly as possible allowing him to score, after which they would subsequently foul the Knicks in order to stop the clock so as to give Wilt more time to score a 100. I found that very interesting...now back to the topic at hand.] That same season, the Celtics-Lakers Rivalry was in full swing as Beantown beat the Lakers 4 games to 3 in the championship giving the Celtics their 4th straight championship. Russell was named MVP that season. This was also the year that the "Big O" averaged a triple-double THE ENTIRE SEASON. [Bill Simmons doesn't find it as impressive as everyone makes it out to sound but I still think it's THE ultimate sports record.]

Now these are all amazing feats which are pretty well known in the sports world. There is one ridiculous stat from that season though that I want to put out on the table. It may be less known but I still think it's just as ridiculous. According to Basketball-Reference's stat sheet, Wilt Chamberlain averaged about 50 points a game to go along with 25 rebounds a game. WAIT- I haven't even gotten to the Big Shmopper yet. You ready?....He averaged 48 AND A HALF minutes per game when a game is only 48 minutes in total! I looked at the numbers and did some math and it's actually true! I'm ending all of my sentences now with exclamation points and I can't even stop myself! Wow! [We'll delve into the exclamation point some other time (and its overuse by girls in text messages).] Basically what I'm saying here is that The Stilt played a whole 30 seconds on top of the standard 48-minutes allocated. Did he play that many overtimes that season? Did they add 15 seconds before and after the game just for him to take some extra layups? Maybe that's how he scored 100 points in a single game- who knows?

My point is that I want everybody to know this stat as well as the Trip-Dub by the Big O, the 50-25 season Wilt had, and the famous 100-point marathon run by him.

Maybe I'm making too big of a deal but I had to share it with someone.

Random Short Thought #2

Wouldn't it be cool if instead of elevators going up and down, the building went up and down?

Birchas HaChammah

We are all hearing about Birchas Hachammah, a rare event that only occurs once every 28 years. What exaclty is Birchas Hachammah? Where are its sources in ther Torah, and what do we need to know about it Halachically?

The Gemarah in Brachos discusses different Brachos that one makes when he experiences different things. A Baraisah is quoted that discusses one such Bracha which is made when one sees the Sun in its Tekufah. Abaye explains that the Gemarah means that when the Sun is in the same position it was in at Maaseh Bereishis, it is back in its originial Tekufah. This happens once every 28 years (contrary to popular belief, it isn't true that Birchas Hachammah fell out on Erev Pesach only 3 times in history before this year).

The Yerushalmi has a very different take on the Baraisah in Brachos. The Yerushalmi understands the Gemarah to mean that if one sees the sun for the first time in a while, he should make the Bracha of Oseh Ma'aseh Bereishis. In other words, if it is very cloudy for s given amount of time, and then the sun comes out, a Bracha should be said upon seeing the sun. One Girsa says it is enough to not see the sun for 3 days in order to say the Bracha, while another Girsa says the time is 30 days. (Many Acharonim explain that the reason behind the time of 3 days is that it took 3 days before the sun was created). Both the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch pasken like Abaye in the Talmud Bavli, and this is how we are noheig.

When does one say Birchas Hachammah? The Rambam (Hilchos Tefilah 10:18) states that one should say it "BaBoker," "in the morning." The Magen Avraham understands this to be referring to the first 3 hours of the day. The Noda B'Yehuda disagrees with the Magen Avraham, and states that the Rambam wasn't necessarily saying it must be done in the morning, rather the Rambam meant to say that one should do it as soon as he can: Zerizin Makdimin L'Mitzvos. However, the Rambam would admit that it would be ok to say Birchas Hachammah even until Chatzos. The Mishnah Berurah records this Machlokes, but leaves it hanging.

What should one do if it is cloudy outside? Some Brachos were instituted to be said when one goes through an experience, or performs an action, while other Brachos were instituted on an event. Does one need to see the sun in order to say Birchas Hachammah, or can one say it since it is atleast shining in other parts of the world? The Panim Meiros believes that one need not see the sun in order to say the Bracha. The Chasam Sofer writes that in 1785, his first Birchas Hachammah, he was being meshamesh his Rebbe, Rav Nosson Adler, and they were waiting for the sun to come out to say Birchas Hachammah. It was a cloudy day, but once R' Adler saw the outline of the sun, he said the Bracha. The Chasam Sofer writes that he learned frmo his Rebbe not to say the Bracha until one sees it himself. Some Poskim mantain that if it is cloudy, one can say Birchas Hachammah without the Shem Malchus.

Thought: What occurs more often, Birchas Hachammah or a Blue Moon?

Do You Remember...? Grandpa's Magical Toys (click to see Movie)

"Good Morning, Good Morning, and How Do You Do? Good Morning, Good Morning, I'm Fine How Are You?"

There are so many great movies that remind us of our childhood, but none better than Grandpa's Magical Toys. This movie is nothing less than a classic! I think if we made a secret favorite movie list, Grandpa's Magical Toys would be in our top 5. Who can forget classic characters like Punchinello, the Pretty Little Dutch Girl, Laddie and Lassie, the Muffin Man, The Sailor, and Cuckoo? And who wasn't deathly terrified of the large cookie Jar?

If you think about it, Grandpa's Magical Toys is the predecessor to another classic film: Toy Story. Leave it to the wonderful people at Wee Sing to come up with the idea of toys coming alive first. Have you ever thought that maybe our toys do come to life when we're not in our rooms? We'll really never know.

This movie introduced us to so many classic songs like "Farmer in the Dell," "A Sailor went to Sea Sea Sea," "Hambone," and of course, "Say Say Ol' Playmate." Let's all admit that none of us ever knew the actual words to that last song, so for all of your help:

Say Say Ol' Playmate, Come Out and Sing with me,

And Bring your Dollies Three, Climb up my Apple Tree,

Slide Down my Rain Barrel, Slide down my Cellar Door,

And we'll be jolly friend's, forever more!

What are your favorite GMT characters and moments? Please share with us!

Do You Remember...? Pogs!

Welcome to our new feature entitled: Do You Remember...? In this post we will reminisce about things from our childhood.

This week's memory: POGS!!! HAHA POGS!! Perhaps the silliest fad of all time. Small collectible cardboard discs! We used to go crazy about these things! Do you remember...those pog tubes? Do you remember the Slammers? There were heavy metal discs that were used to flip the cardboard pogs over. I also recall there being lighter platic slammers. Were there actually rules to the game? Was it a game at all? If you flipped over your friends pogs, you get to keep them? What was the deal with the poison pogs? We'd love to hear your memories as well...

Next time on Do You Remember...Grandpa's Magical Toys!

Random Short Thought #1

Wouldn't it be funny if instead of names, we all had noises for names? Like "Erp" or "Spfft." But then, I guess thats what names are. Just noises. Especially Chinese names like "Wong," or "Lee." How Long is a Chinese Name.

Movie Review: Mighty Ducks 2 - The Best and the Worst of the Three Movies

I think we can all agree that the Mighty Ducks series is one of the greatest movie trilogys ever made. How many times have we seen these movies? How many great quotes and legendary movie moments has this amazing franchise blessed us with?

In my opinion, Mighty Ducks 2 stands out as the most entertaining and memorable of the three. In this sequel we witnessed the birth of the Bash Brothers, we were introduced to the Knucklepuck (how many times have you tried to perform the Knucklepuck in your driveway? It completely breaks the laws pf physics), we met Wolf the Dentist Stanton, and who can forget perhaps the most memorable line of all three movies: "GOOOLDBERG?"

Now, putting aside all the great things about the sequel, I can't help but express my discomfort with a few details in the movie. Let's paint the picture. It is time for the Junior Goodwill Olympic Games in California. Teenagers from all over the world will represent their country in the Games. Now, America has to decide how to choose the best team to represent them, and what do they do? They choose the Pee-Wee Championship team from Minneapolis, Minnesota? The Pee-Wee Mighty Ducks? Are you serious? There was no one better in the whole country? Do you really think Lester Averman should be representing the U.S.A?

But it gets worse. Don Tibbles decides that he will add the five greatest players from around the country to assists the Ducks in the competition. Five greatest players? One of them can't stop. One of them is a Cowboy. One of them is a Figure Skater!

And Charlie, for G-d sakes, stop whining about not being a Duck! How old are you? "Wahhhh, we can't be Team USA, we're the Ducks!" Some captain.

Some Thoughts about Air Travel

Airplanes, Air travel, and Airports are strange places. There are so many things that have always confused me:

1)Many drug stores sell "travel toothbrushes," for trips. I dont understand this. Are regular toothbrushes too large to travel with?
2) During takeoff, passengers are instructed to turn off all mobile and electronic devices, including MP3 players and Game Boys. How safe are you supposed to feel knowing that your Game Boy can tamper with the Airplane's radar system? What exactly is the problem with using a game boy during takeoff? Does the pilot hear the music in his headpiece? Does he see flying turtles and mushrooms in the radar?
3) One time I saw a luggage store at the gate. Now, who in the world is buying a piece of luggage at the gate??? Maybe someone needs some new luggage for his extraordinarily large toothbrush?
4) I was once on a JetBlue flight sitting in between two large passengers. I saw two empty seats across the aisle, and asked the stewardess if i could switch seats. She said that I couldnt, because it would disrupt the weight balance in the airplane. ARE YOU SERIOUS? If I have to walk to the bathroom, do I have to make sure to put some weight on the other side of the aisle so the plane won't shift?
5) Why does everyone only like Tomato Juice when they're on an airplane?

L I double R: HEWLETT!

Next time you're taking the Far Rockaway line out of Penn Station on your way home for shabbos from YU or Stern, make sure to pay attention to the tonality of the automated 'Station-Approaching-Megaphone' guy. [We'll call him Sam for short.] For some odd reason, Sam gets kicked in the shin every time the train gets in near proximity of Hewlett. Everything from Penn Station down to Jamaica, Valley Stream past Lawrence seems to be of normal reverberation. Fall asleep as you're passing Locust Manor though and you'll almost definitely wake up to the sound of agony and pain Sam lets out as you approach HEWLETT! 

There is good news though. Sam does seem to rehabilitate and proclaim in a very untroubled manner 'Ahh, Woodmeeere' almost as if he is letting out a tremendous sigh of relief; there is consolation and reassurance in Sam's tone telling us, "don't worry guys, we got past Hewlett. I think we're gonna be okay tonight."

LIdoubleR-ed

What is a Shmopper?

Many people have been asking us: What exactly is a Shmopper? Well, the origin of the Shmopper begins when Subby and I were in High School. A Shmopper is a Kosher cheeseburger, made from the delicious Morningstar brand Veggie Burger, lightly toasted bun, and slice of melted American cheese. Subby also added his famous secret sauce (which was later discovered to be a simple mixture of Ketchup and Mayo). Every Monday, our chevra would go to Subby's house for a lunch of Shmoppers and leftover Shabbos chulent. The Shmopper is a cornerstone of a relationship between a group of closeknit friends. Long live the Shmopper!

Here It Is...

Welcome one and all to Home of the Shmopper! One day, two good friends decided that they wanted to share their crazy thoughts with the world, and the Home of the Shmopper was born. The purpose of this forum is to share any enlightening, interesting, random, and weird thoughts with our friends and families. Please feel free to share anything you'd like with us. We appreciate your suggestions and thoughts.