Breakin the Rules

Today I went to visit Anya in her lab. We were chatting and then she decided to paint my nails. It was a girly sort of chat so I decided to agree with this girly sort of thing. Then I looked at my nails--they were red. I can't remember the last time I have worn a darker color than "butterscotch"-perhaps it was ninth grade when nailpolish rule came into existence. I think after today I will go back to no darker than "butterscotch" but for now...I broke the rule :).

Sabotage and Samoas and Another Word that Starts with Sa...

Today after much apprehension-I did not give my journal club presentation. Something was wrong with the projector. The joke of the lab was that somehow I must have clipped a wire this morning so that when the all the technicians and electrician people came to try and turn the thing on-they couldn't--and now my talk is postponed until next week.

I did not clip any wire.

In other news: Today I bought a deliciously tasty flavor of ice cream: Edy's Girl Scout's Samoas Cookie--Limited edition--I could not resist.

Also, what would be a word for a volley of gunfire? It's a five letter word starting with "sa...".

Munch Exhibition at MOMA

I'm not sure at this point if I can exactly express my reaction to the Edvard Munch exhibition that I saw today. I have never left an exhibition so emtionally drained.

"The mood is the main thing and nature is simply the means"-A quote from a description of one of his paintings...not quite the Impressionist approach!!

Above are a few of the pictures that I can't get out of my mind...

Matisyahu Moment and What Chabad Is Not

Two thoughts I thought I would share today:

1. I was sitting at Starbucks-sipping my caramel macchiato-grooving to the background music-when a song from Matisyahu came on. King Without a Crown is a wonderful song-just kinda amusing to see how mainstream it has become.

2. What is role of Chabad in far off places like Prague? It's not so tourists can have a place for shabbos. I am not saying that it can't be...but after consulting an official member of Chabad yesterday C. told me that while many people who run Chabad all over the world offer their food and homes and company to those Jews/tourists-the tourists are not the main concern. The focus is on the people of that community in which they live-to bring Judaism to thoses who are disconnected from it.

But what happens when you have a tourist who is disconnected from Judaism and seeks out Chabad?

Note: This is not a criticism-just a response to a story I was told of yesterday of somehone who had a negative experience. I know that Chabad does wonderful things for communites and people and tourists too-

B's Rant

Just passing it on...

To the folks at American Apparel:

Whether thigh high socks are the next "in" thing or not is irrelevant compared to the utterly demeaning advertisements you feel are the best way to get your message across. Nearly every advertisement that I have seen by American Apparel screams its message loud and clear. "Wear American Apparel clothing, look like a slut."

It's easy to draw customers with sex. But by doing so, you turn every single woman into a sex object. Isn't there a way American clothing stores can sell their clothing without objectifying its female models? (Do you even have male models??). This particular advertisement (Feb issue Urbanite Baltimore 2006) was particularly disturbing,"Vanessa, a Cubana... manages one of our stores.." Ok. So now your customer knows a couple of things. One, women from Cuba have small brains and are willing to take off their clothes to make a few bucks. Two, store managers at American Apparel are women with small brains, who will take off their clothes as part of their job description.

As a woman, I value my body, my image, and myself too much to step into an American Apparel store in any city. I value all the women out there who are victums of sexual violence, of sexual discrimination and of verbal abuse. It is attitudes like those at American Apparel that perpetuate those messages that lead to these behaviors.

As one woman, I will do my best to continue to spread the word to friends and family that until you, as a company, begin to show some respect for women as human beings, American Apparel is not a store that needs our business.

Green Bean Recipe

So there isn't really a theme to this blog-I post things that I find interesting-or random thoughts for the day when the mood strikes me-but I do know that most of the time this blog is not for recipes-I have other blogs sites I visit that are specifically devoted to that such as 101cookbooks .

However, my dear sister did not have a pen and because I love her and she is the kallah I will post the recipe.

The following if from Jamie Oliver's cookbook "Jamie's dinners" but according to B. it's Sara's green bean recipe-but I can only take credit for finding it and sharing it. If you like the tangy mustard/vinegary sort of flavors then I recommed this highly-BUT-it is much better served warm than cold.

4 handfuls of green beans
2-3 heaping tsps of good French mustard
2 tbls of white wine vinegar
7 tbls* of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 med. shallot
1/2 clove of garlic

Bring to boil a pan of water, add the bean, cover with lid, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, but mustard, vinegar in a bowl and all the olive oil (*I don't add all the oil-just until I like the consistency and taste). Then add the salt, pepper and chopped shallot, and garlic.

Drain the beans and when they are still hot add the dressing.

Now if you must serve them "not hot" make sure to take them out of the fridge to get them to at least room temperature-but really-eat them while hot-they are very very tasty!!

Enjoy!!