The outpouring of female interest in Jason led to hundreds of women calling into ABC to request that he be made the next Bachelor. And it worked: on January 5^th all of the many adoring and mostly female fans got their wish. Jason started off with 25 beautiful women, many of whom had watched Jason get his heart broken by DeAnna and felt like they knew him already. Take, for example, stalker Shannon who seemed more enthralled by getting to meet a pseudo-celebrity then actually developing a genuine and organic bond with the man himself. She, along with many of the other women, seemed to come on too strong (there was one woman who admitted she’d made an Oprah-inspired "vision board" covered with pictures of Jason so that she could visualize their life together). There was also my initial favorite Jillian, a bubbly brunette from Canada who caught Jason’s attention with her theory on how you can tell everything about a man by what condiments he puts on his hot dog.

But, in the end, there were only two women left standing hoping to get that final rose. In one corner stood Molly, an initial front-runner who shared the first overnight date with Jason in a tent early on in the season. It was clear Jason was digging her. She was extremely confident and poised seeming always to be reciting words she had memorized from a "How to Win the Bachelor" handbook, rather than speaking from the heart. In the other corner stood Melissa, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who laid her heart on the line and admitted to always being the "dumpee." Melissa was cute and petite and seemed to be the most genuine and least psychotic of all of the women.  Most viewers seemed to be rooting for Melissa – myself included.

Now what happens next is all a blur. ABC chose to make a few very strategic – and in my opinion, very selfish  and inappropriate – choices all in the name of drumming up viewers.

For the last two months we have awaited the much-hyped return of DeAnna, which was promoted like crazy in ads for the show. Every week I tuned in wondering which week would be the week DeAnna would magically appear and beg Jason to take her back, throwing a monkey wrench into the whole scenario. Instead, they saved DeAnna for the last 15 minutes of the finale, and all it amounted to was a mere five minutes of DeAnna proclaiming that Jason should follow his heart ("or let his heart lead him" as she all-so-profoundly stated). So with that Jason, chooses Melissa and all is right with the world. He sends Molly on her way back to wherever the heck she is from to wallow in her waspy-ness. Molly shows more emotion in the limo ride after he lets her go, then she does in the entire time she was with Jason, and this is only because she lost. She even tries to play into Jason’s insecurities by proclaiming "that she thinks Melissa isn’t right for him and is likely to break his heart the way DeAnna did" but Jason sends her home anyway and gets down on one knee Neil Lane diamond ring in hand for Melissa. All was right in reality-TV land and the Jewish dad we all fell in love with finally found true love.

That is … until the obligatory "After the Final Rose" followup/reunion show. In a matter of minutes, Jason Mesnick went from the most adored man on television to scum of the earth. Jason solemnly reveals that after six weeks post finale spent with Melissa, he is having doubts and has been thinking of Molly constantly. Without a studio audience present "to protect those involved" (the producers’ words, not mine) Melissa is brought out for Jason to break up with in front of live television.

Now, with all of the sleazy talk shows in which lovers confess their infidelity, there is something fake about it all. This definitely did not seem artificial. Melissa seemed truly devastated that after six weeks of dating off camera Jason is breaking up with her because he wants to choose Molly. Now, the whole excitement behind reality television is that real people can watch other real, non-paid actors live out their lives on television often times putting themselves in humiliating and vulnerable scenarios sometimes for money. But something didn’t feel right about watching this. It was too much. This nice, sweet girl thought she found Prince Charming and had her entire extravagant courtship down to the romantic proposal only to have it later snatched viciously out from right under her on camera. In my opinion it was cruel on the part of ABC and Jason to bring Melissa on television to have her heart broken for the all the world to see. Her life became a side show and we all had a front row seat. It was absolutely despicable to do such a thing. I can understand Jason having a change of heart and wanting to end things with Melissa (after all, none of the Bachelors in all thirteen seasons have managed to make their courtship last), but to do this on television was simply cruel and unnecessary. On a personal level, this just echoed the sentiments that I already knew (from years of dating experience) that not all Jewish boys are Good Jewish Boys. And they are no less incapable of breaking your heart.

Adding insult to injury, after Melissa (awesomely) called Jason a bastard, asked him never to contact her again, and stomped off the set, Molly was brought out. Jason told her he was still in love with her, she admitted she still had feelings for him, and then they made out. On the couch. On television. Five minutes after the guy had just dumped his fiancee. And yet they expect us to believe they hadn’t been in contact at all since the show ended. Right.

Well, Mr. Mesnick, looks like you have a lot to atone for on Yom Kippur this year.

The post The Bachelor: Jason Mesnick Breaks Our Hearts appeared first on Jewcy.

• Three federal judges ruled against three families seeking compensation from the Federal vaccine-injury fund for their autistic children. This ruling declares that autism is not caused by vaccinations.
• Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway will be starring as Viola in a Central Park production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in June. 
• Prince Harry will be taking classes in diversity and equality. After recent racially insensitive remarks were made by the ginger-haired Prince, The Royal Family and British Army are finally fed up. It’s about time. It just goes to show you, that wealth cant buy brains.
• Where in the world was Joaquin Phoenix? Because, physically the new-bearded wannabe rapstar was technically on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, but mentally he was in an entirely different world. His Jewish mother must be so proud of this horrendous publicity stunt, err…I mean appearance. 
• If you are feeling a bit generous and have sympathy for "Octo-mom" Nadya Suleman for bringing 14 babies into the world while unemployed. You can visit her website that her publicists so kindly set up and make a donation using your credit card or Paypal account. 

The post Jewcy Zeitgeist: Autism Not Caused By Vaccinations, Joaquin Phoenix Is On Something, and Octo-Mom Seeks Donations appeared first on Jewcy.

• President Barack Obama’s economic recovery stimulus plan has passed in the Senate. The plan is believed to seek close to $1 trillion in relief.
• General Motors Corp announced 10,000 new job cuts expected for this year, while most of the additional employees will see their pay cut.
• Athletes in the dog house: New York Yankee Alex Rodriquez’s admission to steroid use may result in loss of sponsorship money. The people at Nike and Guitar Hero are considering severing their ties with the star. Ironically, Michael Phelps and A-Rod appeared together in the Guitar Hero ad.
• Jewcy featured artist/T-shirt designer Christopher Sauve‘ received a cease-and desist-notice from celeb-stylist Rachel Zoe’s lawyers. They claimed that the skeletal stylist has the terms "I die" and "Bananas" trademarked and he must stop selling his t-shirts immediately.  
• Singers and couple Chris Brown and Rhianna were noticeably absent from Sunday’s Grammy Awards as details emerge that the night before Chris Brown assaulted Rhianna and is currently facing charges.

The post Jewcy Zeitgeist: Rachel Zoe Needs a Reality Check, A-Rod Steroid Scandal and GM Cuts More Jobs appeared first on Jewcy.

Chicken soup has maintained a longstanding reputation in the American lexicon as being the hearty, home-cooked soup that serves a various array of purposes. The combination of the chicken stock with various other ingredients such as noodles,carrots, celery, or any and every other garden vegetable that suits your fancy makes this not only healthy but is thought to restore one to tip-top health on a cold winter day when you are feeling sick.

Well, at least for me. However, I am fairly certain that the mere mention of chicken soup will rouse memories in a fair percentage of Jewish minds. My love affair with chicken soup (and soup in general) began with my grandma. She made the best chicken vegetable soup the South has ever tasted. And by South, I mean South Brooklyn.

As a child my mouth would begin to water as soon as we got off the Belt Parkway onto Pennsylvania Avenue, anticipating the chicken vegetable soup that awaited my taste buds. My grandmother has since passed, and I am very angry that in the chaos and grief of having to sort through her apartment, I forgot to save her recipes, particularly her chicken soup recipe. But, even if I had, I know it wouldn’t be the same as when I was a kid and she made it for me.

Chicken soup is comfort food. When there is nothing to eat and I cant seem to make a decision on what my tummy is desiring, I know I can always turn to my good, old-fashioned,trusty chicken noodle soup. But, in those instances it comes out of a can. There is the chicken soup that comes from a diner or a Kosher deli, often mixed with Matzah balls which give it that extra Jewish soul food treat which is my personal favorite variety. When searching "kosher chicken soup recipes" on Google, 624,000 hits come up. That is a lot of Jewish mothers and bubbys! Either way you cook it, boil it, or buy it, there is something undeniably comforting about chicken soup.

Which brings me to this nifty little contest: "The Better Than Your Bubby’s Chicken Soup Challenge," which is a search for the best chicken soup recipe in America! It is in affiliation with the National Jewish Outreach Program. If you have a delicious or new and exciting recipe for this Jewish comfort food, I totally encourage you to send it in. And besides, this blog has the cutest name and banner logo.

The post Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul appeared first on Jewcy.

• Actor Christian Bale was caught on tape throwing a profanity-laced temper tantrum at a Director of Photography on the set of the upcoming film Terminator:Salvation. And we thought only women were divas.
• Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services after it has been uncovered that he has failed to pay more than $120,000 in taxes.
• Iran claims to have launched its first domestically-produced satellite as part of an effort to build a space industry.
• Ford Motor Company has announced that their United States sales for the month of January fell 40 percent.
• Kobe Bryant broke Madison Square Garden’s scoring record by scoring an astounding 61 points last night for the Los Angeles Lakers, with a victory of 126-117 over the New York Knicks.

The post Jewcy Zeitgeist: Belligerent Bale, Ford Sales Down, and Kobe Bryant Breaks Records appeared first on Jewcy.

Amira Hanania is one such individual. She is the only lead female journalist working for Ma’an News Agency, which is Palestine’s only independent news source. Just as surprising is Amira’s age, she is all of 26 years old. I found the video below on feministing.com. It was taken from a clip from the forthcomming documentary Live from Bethlehem. Despite the conflict on both sides, there is no denying that Amira Hanania is surely a feminist in the truest sense of the term.

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