Well, the Buggles were quite right with their song…..media is a short lived creature and easily consumed by some new species.
So I apologize for being “off the air” for such a long period of time.
I have honestly no idea whether I will have more time for the blog again as the birth of my twin boys draws nearer, but who knows?
Anyway, here’s just to let you know I am still alive, altough someone else is doing the kicking at the moment…..
Aprongirl
I loved the Gilmores, seriously. But my brother kept telling me I should be ashamed for watching that kind of crap. Well, thankfully the world is quite a fair place sometimes and I eventually got my revenge. One boring evening I was talking about the latest developments in the show with a friend when he revealed some rather geeky insider knowledge…….or how would you call it if someone recalled that the Huntsberger Mansion featured a painting by Velazquez? Well, the laugh was on him that evening. Definitely. But let me get to the point of this post.
The finale of the show made me so angry. Usually I’m not the kind of person who has strong feelings about TV shows or movies. I mean o.k. George Lucas really ruined the Star Wars saga with the new numbers I-III, but what the heck?! As long as I can still watch Princess Leia hop around with the weirdest hairdo ever, he can do whatever he pleases with the story beforehand. I am cool with that. I mean it. But Gilmore Girls….that one really got to me.
And the thing is, it has to do with the message it transmits to young women out there. It tells them flat out that in order to live life your way, you have to sell your own grandmother. In order to get the job she wants Rory has to dump her boyfriend. And what does the mother advise? “The pain will fade.” How dysfunctional is that?
There are so many TV shows out there that only encurage women to be pretty and readily available. The Gilmore Girls on the other hand presented active women who took their carreer in their own hands. But at the end the show has not succeeded in keeping the usual stereotype about succesful women at bay. At the end all those prejudices about the lonely women at the top have been proven right.
Now, let me vent a bit……
Firstly, why for heavens’ sake do women get involved with men which they do not consider husband material? Isn’t that just an aweful waste of time? I mean why invest in lost cases? Why do we not transmit that message to young women? Girls, if you can’t picture the guy you want to get involved with as the father of your future children then he is not the right pick. He might be a great flirt, but that is it. No need to move in with him, no need to pick furniture or get mutual friends because at the end all these knots will just have to be undone again. Painfully. Why do most women out there chose their outfits more carefully than their partners? Is it just hormones or bad examples as well?
Well, the mother sure is not a good example in this case. But up to the final episode there was at least still hope for the daughter to be a real human being and not just a brainwashed career girl. But we all know better now. We know what would happen if these were real life persons. The daughter would go on to have just as many wrecked relationships as the mother and find herself thirty something, alone and with so many bad experiences tying her to her past that she is unable to find a present day partner of value.
The secod point is that a relationship is never a win win situation. Actually it’s a lose lose. You lose freedom, time, choice, money and many other things. But that is the case with all kinds of compromises. Each party loses a bit and at the end both find out that they can still be happy with it. Doesn’t sound very modern, does it? Nowadays we want it all and we want it now. But that is not how it works. If in a relationship only one person is able to give, it will end eventually. Logan was able to give. He did change for her and he offered her a home. But that was obviously more than she was prepared to give in return. Great example for the girls out there. If you come to the point where you have to invest…back out! No wonder relationships don’t work out any more. And I am not saying that it should be women only to invest. No way. But is it really wise to tell women that in order to lead happy emancipated lives they have to ruin their relationships completely?
Third. Be honest with your partner. If you don’t think he is your Mr. Right, tell him. Maybe in his eyes you are. At least one shold be fair enough to give the other half the chance to reconsider. And for that he needs the basic facts. It is not exactly noble to keep your partner dreaming about your future wedding day when you at the same time think about touring the country as a journalist, alone. That’s not a relationship, that is a desaster waiting to happen. One does not just out of nowhere get to the point where one partner wants to get married and one does not. That involves one party fooling the other in some way for quite some time. Have I mentioned yet that men, contrary to popular belief, have feelings, too? Maybe we should tell young women that in order to expect fairness they have to live fairness.
Fourth. Talk. Problems never get solved by evading the talk. Never ever. Not in a thousand years. And also not if you chew it through with your girlfriends or mothers. Because they are not your partner. Let me give you an example: Have you ever watched Sex and the City? I did. Shortly. But it’s not worth the worry. I just kept thinking all through the fourty some minutes that if those people would actually talk WITH each other instead of ABOUT each other they would all be married by the end of season one. But maybe that is just me. Besides, do they finally get married in the movie? Just out of curiosity.
Fifth. If your mother can’t work out her life, maybe be more cautious with her advice.
Sixth. Never change a winning team. The show changed quite a bit in style when the Palladinos left. But that just from the geek point of view.
Seventh. Maybe it’s time that we uproot the ideas of post-sixties feminist society and insted implant some that have come to terms with “the female side”. If you want to be a real woman you cannot live the life of ruthless Amazon at the same time. It just doesn’t make sense. But obviously women have come to believe that if they can’t have the cake and eat it their case is lost altogether. In order to get “the life” they want they have to get rid of any person interfering with their plans, no matter how heartless this may be. But does it really have to be so? Why could Rory not have married the man she obviously loves and still be a journalist? Maybe not one touring the country, but still a very successful one. What an aweful message to all women out there…..you could actually end up with nearly what you wanted and find yourself to be tremendously happy with that………..preposterous!
Here is a pic of my new sheitel. I purchased it from a friend who is building up a sheitel-business. In case you need a very moderately priced human hair wig with french top just e-mail her (esthi@sheitel.ch).
I’ll wear it first time for Rosh ha Shana and I bet everyone will comment on the color! But I just couldn’t go for something darker. Whatever I tried on, I just kept looking like Morticia from the Addams Family. Must be my “death becomes her” facial color…… Well, now I am officially a fake blonde! 
PS I customized it a bit by sewing here and there a few stitches and removing three wefts to make it less bulky. (Many thanks to Rebbezin M. for the suggestion!) Now it really fits like a glove. But I am thinking of having bangs cut in nevertheless, as I am not to fond of all the hair in my face. I’m rather the ponytail girl, which is, except for specialized or rather high priced wigs, not really an option.
PPS After wearing the Sheitel at the Jamim Tovim, some people were disappointed to see me back in a hat. I take that as a really good sign
Here comes a quick “yewish survival guide” for Bangkok, Thailand.
Firstly, if you’re the kind that get sick from only looking at chaser, this is no place for you! You will bump into pig’s heads all over the city, either lying in front of ghost houses as a sacrifice or as decoration next to some food stand. Probably the city has the silhouette of a little piggy when looking down from space…..will have to check on that one next time I google for satellite pics 
Secondly, if you are male and stroll around on your own…..well, you do know how advertising via catalogue works……the same holds true for women there. They come well assorted in glossy pics and explicit poses. No matter how you are dressed or who you are, at some point someone will push the babe-catalogue in front of your nose. Also, try not to get lost looking for some night market…….you will find a lot of intresting stuff, but not fake handbags The vast dimensions of this business allow for some conclusions towards the percentage of tourists looking for those services. I’d say one in three. You’ve been there? You should be ashamed!!!!
After this has been said and you have been warned, let’s continue with the more pleasant things.
There is, baruch haShem, Chabad in Bangkok. They not only cater to lost yewish souls, but also to hungry yewish tourists. Their website is: www.yewishtailand.com. There are three synagogues in Bangkok,a Mikwa, Chabad house and a kosher restaurant and a bakery. The restaurant will cater to your apartment or hotel. A full Shabbos meal will cost about 30 USD per person and will include wine, challah, starters, main course, dessert and breakfast after your choice. It comes in a huge styrofoam box to keep it warm well into Shabbos. The servings are rather sizeable and we ended up freezing one person’s share for the next Shabbos. You can also register for kosher Shabbos dinneers or for seuda shlishit at the some of the communal locations. For some additional info on Jews in Thailand see: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/thailand.html.
My husband at Silom Road
Two brand new recipes and with pictures! Besides I have inserted some new pictures in old posts as wordpress has made it easier to deal with media uploads.
My husband and I will be leaving for Bangkok next week and won’t be online much so have a real nice Shavuot!
Aprongirl
It is milchig season and it seems I have a real liking for all things “au gratin”……
Here comes a way to use some dry leftover challa or other white bread that is not exactly soft any more. It is a real grandma recipe from the old days when bread was never thrown away. It might not sound like something very fancy when reading through, but I just love it. It is prepared very quickly and can be kept warm on the plata.
Baked bread:
- bread (2 small loaves or one big)
- sugar
- vanilla sugar
- flaked almonds
- butter (to grease the oven pan and some more for on top at the very end)
- diced dried fruits or chocolate drops (optional)
- milk (about 1 liter)
How to:
Remove some or all of the bread crust if it is too hard. Cut the bread into thick slices or cubes.
Grease oven pan well with butter.
Put bread slices into a bowl filled with milk one after another. Let soak well, drain only a tiny bit.
Arrange first slice in the oven pan, sprinkle with sugar and vanilla sugar, proceed like this until all bread is in the pan. If you use the bread diced just fill in bread and sugar in layers. (You can also add dried fruits or chocolate drops now, but I prefer it very plain.) On top of all the bread slices sprinkle some more sugar, add some flakes of butter and quite a bit of flaked almonds. Bake at 180° Celsius for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. (Beware of the almonds…..they should not get too dark!)
Serve with home made jam, apple sauce or even ice cream.
It is time to add some nice milchig recipes for Shavuot. The following is mashed potatoes with a topping of tuna fish and sour cream au gratin. You might wonder a) about the name and b) about the combination of mashed potatoes and fish.
Well, the name……I saw something resembling this recipe in a cookbook years ago and as I usually only consult the pictures and not the recipe I just concocted something that resembled the picture. Since then the recipe has somehow evolved and is now one of my husbands favorites. I have therefore no idea whether it really is some variety of a sailor’s pie, but the name stuck. Lets keep it that way
About mashed potatoes and fish. Yes, first I was a little bit hesitant, too, but by now this dish has won the hearts and stomachs of quite a few people…..I’m therefore quite sure you will come to find that it matches just perfect.
The feasibility of this recipe depends on whether you have the custom to cook fish and milk products together. If not you can substitute the fish chunks with some diced carrots or some other vegetable you like. At the end you will find some more hints for a completely pareve variation.
The mashed potatoes:
Prepare mashed potatos after one of your own recipes or use the following:
Peel about 1-1.5 kg of potatoes, dice, cook in salted water until very done. Drain water, mash potatoes with a fork and add some chunks of butter. Mix well. Add some cream, salt, nutmeg and keep mixing until it has a thick and not too wet consistency.
Topping:
- 2-3 tins of white tuna (net weight all together about 300-350 grams (or else substitute the tuna with some other white meat fresh fish freed from bones and cut into small pieces)
- 250-300 gr. sour cream
- 2 fistful shredded cheese
- chopped parsley
- chopped chive or dill, whatever at hand
- white pepper
- salt
Combine all above mentioned ingredients (but leave one fistful of shredded cheese aside). Put mashed potato in an oven pan, layer the sour cream mixture on top. Add the rest of the cheese on top of the sour cream mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200° Celsius.
Here the pareve Italian variation:
Prepare mashed potatoes without cream/butter. Instead add some pareve margarine and if desired some thick soy cream. Prepare a very thick Italian tomato sauce after your liking, add tuna fish (pink tuna). Proceed as described above but leave away the cheese. Enjoy!
