It has been incredibly busy around the office, but I wanted to take the chance to answer some of the great emails that have come this way in the last few weeks. There have been emails about the historical election, some about sports, some pop culture stuff, and other random topics. Here is a taste:
1. Hi Ollivander! I recently read that with Obama becoming our 44th president-elect, most of our economic woes will be washing away. Where should I be looking for improvements in my life?
- Justine from Lower Marion, PA
Great to hear from you, Justine. I think that the most obvious place to look for improvements from the Bush regime (note the use of the word regime, and not administration) is dramatic price difference behind the gas pump. During the height of the war of gas prices, I was paying upwards of $3.84 per gallon. With a 16 gallon tank on a fuel-efficient Toyota, I was paying approximately $61 just to fill it up. Add that up, and here is what you get: $61 per week, $244 per month, and $2928 per year; with my car's shelf life at about 10 years, that is $29,280 in gas for the life of the car. This is a bit absurd, and I blame much of this on Bush's fundamentally broken foreign policy. This is a consequence that we have had to pay, and I did not ask for this. As a result of Obama's win, prices have dropped to about $1.89 per gallon. Let's do the math again: to fill up my 16 gallon tank, it now cost about $30 per week, $120 per month, and $1440 per year. The difference between a Bush administration receipt at the pump and a soon-to-be-Obama administration is $1448. I should add that this is not even full-court-press Obama: he is only in transition. Justine: President-Elect Obama does not even need a stimulus package; Obama has single-handily crafted an economic scheme to trickle down from the pumps to the pockets. Our wallets will be bigger from the savings in gas prices, which will allow the number of foreclosures to decrease, and for the prices of commodities to drop when demand and supply reshift its equilibrium to a state that is both sustainable and efficient. And, it is only November.
2. Ollie-- what do you think about Peodria winning the MPV award hands-down over Yoooooooooouk? Would you be pissed if you were Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk?
- Sam (President-Elect of Red Sox Nation) from Needham, MA
Sam, what a great question. I think the biggest thing that the beat writers were looking for was attitude. Numbers help, don't get me wrong. Pedrroia led the AL in hits, runs scored, and was second in batting average. Granted, Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk was in the top 7 of every single offensive statistic in the AL (literally, every single offensive statistic), but what did he lead in? Nothing. Perdrioa hit steadily in the 2 hold all season, while Youuuuuuuuuuuuk was asked to shift around the batting order to make up for the devastating injuries and gaps in the lineup, and did so batting above .300 for every month of the grueling season. I'd also like to mention that Padrioa was the AL Gold Glover at 2nd base: Youuuuuuuk was not. Even though Youuuuuuuuuuuk was a former first base GG winner, his 4 errors in 125 games at first didn't quite cut it, and his 3 errors at 3rd base in 36 games there hurt his overall game. Despite his ability to play hard-nose defense on both infield corners, his 7 errors gave a clear message against Perdia's 6 errors in a 157 games at second. I can't imagine Youuuuuuuuuuuuuk would be upset: he's making $3 million dollars a year as one of the league's premier corner infielders and building a reputation one of the game's most patient hitters that can advance runners and has plenty of power. That is enough to make this star sleep cozy in his bed at night.
3. Seriously. Seriously. What is the buzz behind the movie and book series, "Twilight"? Is it legit, Ollivander??
- Deedee from Mintein, MO
I have to be honest, I have not read or seen "Twilight". From what I know, I think it sounds legit in every sense. It is about forbidden teenage love, which we can all relate to. I think back to our feuding families of fair Verona, where the Montagues and Capulets longstanding battle disallowed and disapproved of Romeo and Juliet's love affair. The only twist in "Twilight" of course, is that the girl is a teenager. She wants to love, but can't. The teenage girl is terrified of what may become of their love: that she will get her neck bitten because her lover boy is a vampire. At one point in the series, apparently, she is also pursued and courted by a ware wolf. I had to think to myself: would I rather love a vampire or a ware wolf? It's like choosing to watch "The Wonder Years" or "Family Ties": both are different in genre, but equally satisfying.
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Keep the emails coming, and mailbag #2 will be on its way soon.
Cheers.
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