“I feel like we’re at a moment where this might be our mainstream hit,” said Kevin Abner, the founder and one-man show behind Hamsa Club. “It’s going to take us from an underground speakeasy ‘if you know, you know’ brand and into the mainstream.” 

“It’s like our Drake ‘Take Care’ moment,” Abner continued, referencing the Jewish rapper’s sophomore album. 

Inspired by the growing popularity of streetwear and logo flips — parodying a famous logo or character — the new Hamsa Club collection takes tongue-in-cheek references to pop culture and makes them Jewish and cool, which is no easy feat. 

A central theme of Season Five is childhood nostalgia from the Gen Z/Millineal cusp — what Abner calls ‘micro Millenials.’ And, in following the success of season four’s “All Good Jewish Girls go to Heaven” design featuring the Powerpuff Girls, Abner wanted to produce more products catering towards women.

For example, season five will feature a Hello Kitty flip (“Shalom Kitty”), a Princess Jasmine flip, a Bratz flip (“Japz”), and a Betty Boop flip. 

But Abner doesn’t select brands or characters arbitrarily. 

“Betty Boop is actually Jewish,” Abner said. “And I did the Bratz-Japz flip because the owner of Bratz, Isaac Larian [CEO of MGA Entertainment], is a Persian Jew, and I’m a Persian Jew.” 

Abner honors his Persian-Jewish identity and other Jewish ethnic minorities in Season Five. 

The Japz flip features three characters: a stereotypical American Jewish princess, a Persian-Moroccan Jewish girl, and an Israeli, Tel Aviv beach girl. 

“I wanted to bridge the gap between identities and put a spotlight on this community of people,” Abner said.

Abner wanted to produce designs that celebrate his community — a first in the Jewish pop culture/merchandise sphere — and Jewish identity, as well as non-Jewish friends and allies. 

“[The designs are] digestible enough where your honorary Jewish friend who isn’t Jewish but comes over for Shabbat gets it,” Abner said. “We have customers that aren’t even Jewish and love our stuff, like our hats on Depop.”

Abner also acknowledges that it’s sometimes hard to design for Jewish identity because of politics. For example, one design features four Jewish comedians — Larry David, Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, and Jerry Seinfield — and references a famous Death Row Vibe magazine cover from 1986.  

Abner wanted to include Seth Rogen, but when he polled his followers on Instagram, most said no because of Rogen’s stance on Israel. “People would message me and be, like, ‘oh, no to Seth Rogen because he’s a fake Jew.’ Everyone has their own opinion, but I chose Jon Stewart because, you know, I’m trying to make everyone laugh here.” 

Season Five launches Friday, October 8 at 12 p.m. PST. Buyers should act fast — Abner anticipates designs like Drake, Japz, and the Death Row Comedians going fast. 

But be on the lookout in the future — when I asked if there would ever be a Hamsa Club x Jewcy collab, Abner responded with a resounding, “Absolutely.”

The post Hamsa Club’s Fifth Collection is Jewish Pop Culture Heaven appeared first on Jewcy.

It’s officially the Omer, the gap between Passover and Shavuot, in which Jews are commanded each night to count one more day. Excited? No? Well Jewcy has just the motivation: a Pop Culture Omer.

You see, there’s a pretty strict rule against mentioning the number of a certain day early or, you know, you’ve counted it. So we have combed through Jewish history and pop culture to find stand-ins for each of the 49 nights, and we’ve already started tweeting them (#PopCultureOmer). Think of it as an update of the above image, an Omer calendar from 1850.

Anyway, here is the full list in all its glory, questions and answers laid bare. Study up, and follow @JewcyMag for your daily cryptic reminder of what you’ll be counting any given night.

1.  How many Jewish women have held the title of Miss America?
2.  Count the bestie broads on Broad City.
3. How many Oscars does Steven Spielberg have?
4. Brian Epstein was the manager for the most famous band in history, known sometimes as the Fab _.
5. How many Marx brothers were there (don’t forget Gummo!)?
6. How many productions of Fiddler on the Roof have played on Broadway?
7. This year of the Tony Awards was great for Jews, with Arthur Miller winning best play for The Crucible and lots of Jews winning for musical Wonderful Town.
8. How many Jews have served as U.S. Supreme Court Justices (sans Merrick Garland)?
9. How many seasons of Seinfeld were there?
10. For this answer, fill in the blank for the title of the Paddy Chayefsky play: The ____ Man.
11. How many Olympic medals (of any rank) did Mark Spitz acquire in his career?
12. The Producers holds the record for the Broadway musical with the most Tony Awards. How many?
13. What’s the name of a Jason Robert Brown musical involving a kid prepping for his Bar Mitzvah?
14. How many studio albums does Bette Midler have to date?
15. At this age Drake’s career began, with his acting role on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
16. This was Natalie Portman’s age when she played Anne Frank on Broadway.
17. Joseph Gordon-Levitt celebrates his birthday this day in February.
18. This was Aly Raisman’s age when she won an Olympic gold medal.
19. At what age did Barbra Streisand make her Broadway debut (in I Can Get it for You Wholesale)?
20. How many seasons of Judge Judy have there been (so far)?
21. The age at which an American Jew can have a legal L’Chaim!
22. How many feature-length films did one or both Coen brothers write and/or direct?
23. How many years has the Notorious RBG served on SCOTUS?
24. Barbra Streisand celebrates her birthday this day in April.
25. Rashida Jones celebrates her birthday this day in February.
26. Mel Brooks (may he live until 120) was born in 19__.
27. How many novels or novellas has Philip Roth written?
28. How many films has Judd Apatow produced to date?
29. What is Sheldon Adelson’s net worth, rounded to the nearest billion?
30. At what age did Marilyn Monroe convert to Judaism?
31. What is Scarlett Johansson’s current age?
32. What was Sandy Koufax’s baseball jersey number?
33. How many countries voted for the 1947 U.N. partition plan?
34. How many studio albums does Barbra Streisand have to date?
35. How many years ago did Simon and Garfunkel record their famous Central Park concert?
36. Keeping Up with the Steins had this (unfairly low) percentage on RottenTomatoes.
37. What was James Franco’s age at his Bar Mitzvah?
38. What is the number of the next World Zionist Congress, scheduled for 2020?
39. What was the number of weeks The Chosen was on the New York Times bestseller list?
40. What was Yentl‘s Box Office gross, rounded to the nearest million?
41. How many years ago did Jewish-directed films Funny Lady, Young Frankenstein, and Jaws all premiere?
42. In the Hebrew numerical code of gematria, what is the value of Google? Hint: It’s the answer to the Life, the Universe, and Everything.
43. How many years ago did the Jewish film The Way We Were premiere?
44. How many years ago did Bette Midler release her debut album, The Divine Miss M?
45. What is Idina Menzel’s current age?
46. What is Jack Black’s current age?
47. Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches won Best Play in this Tony Year.
48. What is Judd Apatow’s current age?
49. Not to end on a low note, but how many years ago did Paul Muni die?Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The post The Pop Culture Omer appeared first on Jewcy.

Speaking at an event at 92Y in New York City on Sunday night, Ruth Bader Ginsburg made a supreme confession: she has “quite a large supply” of those ‘Notorious R.B.G.’ tees (for which we can thank the eponymous Tumblr page), which she gives out as party favors to departing brunch guests.

[Wait—real talk—she said she gives them out as gifts. She said nothing about brunch. But I imagine that these garments are stored in her house, and that occasionally people come over for brunch, and that as they’re walking out the door she comes rushing down the porch steps with a bag of bagel and lox leftovers in one hand and a Notorious R.B.G. tee in the other, saying something like, “Elissa, dear, I almost forgot to give you your brunch party favor! See you next week at Middlemarch book club!”]

Here’s what transpired during R.B.G.’s chat with NPR’s Nina Totenberg. Come for the kvelling about the grandchildren, stay for the bit at the end where she nods like the boss that she is.

Totenberg: On a somewhat lighter note, I want to ask you about the Notorious RBG t-shirt. [Applause, Cheers]. I gather there are some people here who’ve worn them. I wear mine on the weekends all the time. And people will occasionally—The guy at the drug store said to me last weekend, he said, who is that woman, she looks very familiar, but who is she? I said she’s a supreme court justice. He said, oh good, I’ve learned something today. So how did you find out about the notorious RBG t-shirts.

Ginsburg: I think a law clerk told me about this tumblr and also explained to me what Notorious RBG was a parody on. And now my grandchildren love it and I try to keep abreast of the latest that’s on the tumblr. I have—and in fact I think I gave you a Notorious RBG—

Totenberg: Two of my three. I bought one.

Ginsburg: I have quite a large supply.

Totenberg: Do you have the one—what’s the one ‘you can’t have truth without Ruth’”

Ginsburg: Without Ruth. [nods]
[h/t Time]

(Image: Portrait by Simmie Knox, under commission of the United States Supreme Court)

Related: Justices Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Share Personal Trainer, Mutual Admiration

The post Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has “Quite a Large Supply” of Those Notorious R.B.G. T-Shirts appeared first on Jewcy.

Sukkot is probably my favorite Jewish holiday because we get to build a temporary structure, a sukkah, to live in—and decorate!—for a week. (More about why we do that here.) Traditionally, Jews adorn their Sukkot with posters of the ushpizin, the seven biblical “guests” who we invite to join us on each night of the festival. Not surprisingly, the ushpizin are all men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David; the most revered dudes in the Torah. No ladies—until now.

Rather than invite seven biblical men to my sukkah, I decided I’d invite the Jewish female comedians and characters I’ve been most into this year, and throw together some posters to honor them.

I think the temporary/pop-up nature of Sukkot lends itself to a pop-culture influence, where the guests you welcome one year might not be the same ones you welcome the next. Last year I honored the cast of Girls. This year I’ve been pretty obsessed with Broad City, and continued to cultivate my enduring love for Lena Dunham, Sarah Silverman and others.

So without further ado, here are my ‘Ushpizienne: Class of 5775’: Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Abbi Jacobson, Jenny Slate, Ilana Glazer, Sarah Silverman, and Yael Stone.

Don’t forget to ‘hack into booth city’:

And—why not—the cast of Girls, from last Sukkot:

Download large versions of all images for your sukkah (or permanent four-walled residence) here.

Ari Perlow is an antipodean Jewess who is obsessed with vegan analogues and digital media. She co-hosts the podcast Yeah Nah But and tweets at @ari_perlow.

The post Decorate Your Sukkah With Your Favorite Jewish Comediennes appeared first on Jewcy.

So, when Jewcy was briefly offline this morning I was wiling away the downtime on YouTube (uh, not that the site needs to be down for me to get trapped in a YouTube vortex) and stumbled across Postmodern Jukebox‘s awesome klezmer cover of Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me.”

Now, I know I’m a bit late to the game on this one (it came out in March) but it’s so clever and fun I thought I’d post it here, just in case y’all had missed it too. Singer Robyn Adele Anderson actually translated 2 Chainz’s rap into Yiddish. Bitchin’.

Amazingly—because Jews, internet—there’s another Yiddish cover of “Talk Dirty to Me,” aptly titled “Talk Yiddish to Me.” This one was recorded by Hasidic comedian Mendy Pellin, the force behind Jewish humor site Jewbellish, back in April. The delightfully silly Yiddish and English lyrics satirize Orthodox Jewish life and reference the two major food groups, fish sticks and cholent.

But you can’t really assess the merits of these covers without comparing them to Derulo’s hit single, which has accrued a mind-boggling 215 million views since it was uploaded in August 2013 (still, that’s peanuts compared to Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which just hit the 2 billion mark). And you can’t really appreciate Derulo’s hit single without listening to Balkan Beat Box‘s “Hermetico,” the Hebrew language Klezmer/Gypsy track sampled throughout (they’re the ones behind that catchy, sexy horn riff).

See what I mean? YouTube vortex.

(Image: Jewbellish / YouTube)

The post Jews Love Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me” appeared first on Jewcy.

You know it’s Monday night when The Bachelorette is trending along with Gaza on Twitter. Keep being you, world.

Chris Harrison introduces the final episode of an overall tepid tenth season in front of a live studio audience. Wait, did he just say it’s a three-hour show? Good lord. I get some dark chocolate peanut butter cups and settle in for a long night.

“This is the first week [where] I don’t know what could happen,” chirps Andi. Oh, well, it’s not a major week or anything, so that’s good. I’m glad uncertainty has only reared its head during the most important episode of the season, and possibly the most important moment of her life.

It’s time to meet the Fockers—dad Hy, mom Patti, and sister Rachel and her husband—only Andi’s family isn’t so Focker-ish. Their Jewish heritage has barely gotten a peep all season (more on this later). Nick’s up first, and he exchanges the most awkward hug of the season with Patti. Everyone remarks on Nick’s obvious nerves. “He seems a little reserved,” says Patti to the camera, moonlighting as Captain Obvious for the episode. He stumbles over recounting his feelings of true love, but goshdarnit, he does seem genuine and Patti agrees. “For someone to say that about my daughter is very special,” she says, tearing up. Get your tissues, Patti, because someone else is about to say the same exact thing to you tomorrow.

But first, it’s time for a sisterly heart-to-heart. “He makes me feel like a woman,” Andi tells Rachel, and I half-expect Aretha Franklin to break out in song here, but no dice. Nick and Hy speak next. “My whole job is Rachel, Andi, and Patty,” says Hy firmly. “I got one daughter taken care of. My job now is Andi.” If this is supposed to sound sweetly paternal, it doesn’t. It makes Andi sound like a helpless floundering female waiting for her father to secure her a husband—not a self-sufficient woman with a kick-ass career. “It would mean a lot to me to have your approval,” Nick tells Hy nervously. Hy falls silent for a moment. “I feel exactly about Andi the way you do,” he begins (I hope not exactly the same way, considering last week’s fantasy suite shenanigans), and then reluctantly gives Nick his seal of approval should Andi choose him.

I must interject here to make mention of the worst installment of the weekly Suave shampoo commercials featuring the Bachelorettes of Christmases past. This week’s ad features Andi talking stiltedly with Catherine and Desiree, who literally squeal when they wave around their ring fingers, appropriately adorned with baubles, so that Andi can see what her future might hold. Betty Friedan, I’m glad you’re not around for this.

Next up is Josh, and Andi’s family just loves him. Josh, who has thus far shown himself to be loud, dim and hot, is appropriately charming as only former athletes can be, and he lays it on thick for his one-on-one with Hy. “She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” enthuses Josh. (Really? She’s cute, but in the way that my cashier at Pathmark is cute.) Hy tells him that marriage is sometimes hard work, and wonders if Josh is prepared for that. “It already hasn’t been all roses,” Josh assures him quickly. From a sharper man, this would be a quippy one-liner referring to the show’s recurring motif, but I’m afraid any wit is wholly incidental here.

On their final date, Andi and Josh muse aloud about their confidence in each other. “I have no questions,” Josh coos. “What, you have no thoughts?” exclaims Andi. Yes, that’s it, Andi: no thoughts whatsoever! Absolutely inane conversation ensues for five minutes and is concluded when Josh reads her a letter and hands her a baseball card with her ‘stats’ on the back. “Drafted: first pick,” Andi reads, giggling. It sounds cheesy but it’s actually kind of cute.

The final date with Nick involves fewer giggles, and finally, at long last, there’s a mention of religion: “We’ll figure out whatever it is, where to live, religion…” he says obliquely. It’s the first time in the season, to my working knowledge, that Andi’s Jewishness is even referenced.

It seems bizarre that The Bachelorette never shows potential couples discussing the sorts of things marriage-minded people speak about, like religion or politics. Obviously, there’s a good chance such discussions would alienate large swaths of viewers, so the choice not to air these moments—if they happen at all—is undoubtedly calculated by ratings-minded producers. But for a show that purports to be all about helping the lovelorn find their true match, these are glaring omissions of substance, and it’s disingenuous to exclude mention of major issues that actually impact the longevity and ultimate success of any resulting relationships. However secular and non-practicing a Jew Andi might be, one would think it would behoove a woman on the cusp of marriage to someone who is not Jewish (Nick) or someone who is Jewish but was raised Catholic (Josh), to at least initiate conversation on where she stands in terms of her Judaism. No?

Nick gives Andi a necklace with a vial of sand from the beach where they had their first date, which is simultaneously creepy and thoughtful. And like sand through the hourglass, so is this day of my life: When is this freaking show going to end? Good god, there’s 45 minutes of self-doubt to go before we even get to After The Final Rose. I get more chocolate.

Back from commercial break. “It’s coming down to the final moments,” says Chris. Promise? Andi awakes on the day of reckoning. Josh meets with Jeweler-to-the-Stars-and-Trashy-Reality-Show-Contestants Neil Lane to pick out a ring. When Nick gets a knock on the door and we assume it’s his turn to meet with Neil, it’s not Neil at all but… Andi!? This can’t be good. And it isn’t: Andi proceeds to tell Nick that something didn’t feel right when she woke up that morning—and it wasn’t last night’s sushi. Nick looks stunned, and they bid each other farewell. It begins to rain as Nick looks pensively out on the patio, unless that’s actually a producer pouring down buckets of water from the roof. Either way, we get the point: Nick is a sad panda right now.

Back at the live studio audience, Chris elaborates on Nick’s shame by telling the world that he’s tried repeatedly to sit down with Andi “to chat” since filming ended, but she’s always refused—until now, because she is contractually mandated to. “But first, let’s see how the show ends,” he says, but duh, we already know how this ends. Josh approaches Andi and offers a fast-paced hodgepodge of tidbits pulled from romantic movies into one mawkish speech. Andi tells him she loves him, he proposes, and she happily accepts. And they’ll for sure live happily ever after, or at least until after she finishes filming a season of Dancing With the Stars. The end.

Note: There was an After the Final Rose special, but nothing of note happens except for the continued exploitation of a wounded man (Nick), who also tells Andi that it was wrong of her to make love with him if she wasn’t in love with him. Despite the fact that we all know they’re not crocheting in the fantasy suite, such a direct admission of its inner workings is actually (and literally!) “hitting below the belt,” as Andi tells Nick, looking positively green. The audience lets out a collective gasp and Twitter explodes. Okay, now it’s the end.

Catch up on all the previous Bachelorette re-caps here.

Image: ABC/The Bachelorette

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The late, great Estelle Getty—best known for her performance as acerbic octogenarian Sophia Petrillo on “The Golden Girls”—would have turned 91 today. She was born in New York City in 1923 to Sarah and Charles Scher, Jewish-Polish immigrants who worked in the glass business. Getty aspired to act from a young age—she tried her hand at vaudeville, Yiddish theater, and Borscht Belt comedy—but didn’t get her big break until she was in her fifties, when playwright Harvey Fierstein cast her in his autobiographical Torch Song Trilogy as his mother. (Panicky millennials, take heed: success comes to those who accost famous writers backstage, as Getty did.)

Writes Beth Kander for Jewish Women’s Archive:

It was the “Torch” that shined the way to Estelle’s “Golden” opportunity. When she first auditioned for the role of sharp-witted, unapologetic Sicilian octogenarian Sophia Petrillo, she was told she was too young [Estelle was, in fact, more than a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played Sophia’s daughter Dorothy]. But Estelle wasn’t letting this role pass her by. She got herself a gray wig, old-age makeup, and dowdy old-woman clothes, and made sure NBC knew that she was the one for Sophia. She was right. She wound up not only getting the part, but also getting seven consecutive Best Supporting Actress Emmy Award nominations for her role as Sophia, finally snagging a win in 1988. Sophia led to several other snarky-senior roles for Getty. Finally, in her sixties and seventies, little Estelle Scher’s lifelong dreams were coming true.

She went on to become one of the most beloved comedic actresses of all time, winning two Golden Globes (in addition to the Emmy) for her turn as Petrillo from 1985-1992. When she died in 2008 at the age of 84, the tributes flowed. “Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her,” said Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy Zbornak.

Estelle Getty was part of the fabric of my childhood—I watched re-runs of “The Golden Girls” religiously with my mother and sister, too young to understand most of the political subtext and sexual double entendres, but old enough to be thrilled by Getty’s eviscerating wit and precision timing—and a sitcom full of hilarious, post-menopausal women who talked frankly about sex. (Would a major network back such a premise today?) (Don’t answer that.)

Anyway, there’s a lot to lament about the state of the world right now, but a few minutes of Estelle Getty-as-Sophia Petrillo is a fine way to start your morning. Then at least one good thing has happened today, right?

Picture it: Sicily, 1922!

http://youtu.be/9lH9_rbDQF0

The post Remembering Estelle Getty, Who Would Have Turned 91 Today appeared first on Jewcy.

Ahhh, the fantasy suite episode: where The Bachelorette finally stops pretending it’s a classy enterprise and pimps out its star for numerous sexual encounters that are all but broadcast on television.

Against the gorgeous backdrop of a resort in the Dominican Republic, Andi reminisces about her romances with the three remaining guys, for all of us at home: Josh, the too-good-to-be-true athlete/family man; Chris, the sweet, strapping farmer/entrepreneur; and Nick, the skeptic with whom Andi has a deep mental connection. And now, it’s time for one-on-one dates with each guy, because nothing helps you figure out just who you want to marry than a careful process of elimination.

Nick is up first. He and Andi take a helicopter ride to a private island, and while they sure look pretty, the conversation is stultifying, with a lot of nervous “uhhs” from Nick. Dinner isn’t much better. But then Nick shows Andi the fairy tale book he made for her of their love story. “It was childish, in a cute way,” Andi tells the camera later, and she loves it so much she grants Nick the key to the kingdom, so to speak. “I can’t wait to talk with you all night,” Nick tells her. Yeah, sure. He then tells Andi he loves her and they start groping each other frantically. Save it for the suite, guys.

Next up is Josh, wearing a shirt that’s basically a picnic tablecloth, but still managing to look ridiculously hot. Josh auditions for “Best Future Father Who Speaks Passable Spanish Award” by playing ball with some local children. He also tells Andi that he loves her, which he admits to having said before, without actually meaning it. So wait: he’s said it and not meant it to other women, then? What a turd. But what does Andi care for other women’s broken hearts? Josh gets a key to the Fantasy Suite as well.

Andi’s third and final date of the show—horseback-riding—is with Chris. “Is it your first time riding a horse?” asks Chris. “Yeah, I’m really nervous. You gonna teach me?” says Andi, giggling. Weird pause. Err, they are actually talking about horses here, are they not? Then they discuss last week’s hometown date in Iowa. “I loved when you hopped on my lap in the tractor and went to town,” says Chris. Okay, that’s it: can you really blame me for reading the erotic subtext here?

But alas, erotic subtext and all, it’s just not meant to be: Andi starts crying as they hang out after dinner, which is never a good sign on these dates (or any date, really). Sure enough, she breaks up with him. “I have too much respect for you to blame it on Iowa,” she tells Chris. Instead, she tells him it’s Iowa and his boring personality. No, just kidding, but she does say that she just can’t see a foundation for something serious forming between them.

Chris, who is so absurdly polite that he would probably apologize to the thief taking his wallet for not carrying more cash, takes it in his stride. “It’s not what I expected,” he tells the camera softly, and then he slips out into the night to return to his tractor. Tonight, Chris is plowing a different kind of field than he expected.

Andi insists on having the rose ceremony so that her final two could actively decide to stay and continue pursuing her, as though there’s a chance they might actually chuck it all in when they’re so close to fifteen minutes of—um, eternal marital bliss. They both accept and the three of them clink glasses with starry eyes. Next week: The Men Tell All. It’s not everyone’s favorite special episode until somebody cries.

Catch up on all the Bachelorette re-caps here.

Image: ABC

The post The Bachelorette with Andi Dorfman, Episode 10: The Fantasy Suite Dates! appeared first on Jewcy.

The Hometown Date episode: it’s everyone’s favorite—except for the premiere episode, the one with the fantasy suite, and the finale, that is.

First up: Nick and his ever-present, artfully-draped scarf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They go to a brewery, because Wisconsin, and sip an assortment of beers including one called “Nick & Andi.” No wonder alcohol is associated with an increased risk of vomiting. Next, it’s time to meet Nick’s family. Ten siblings and he still couldn’t figure out how to get along with others! But his little sister Bella sure is cute, especially when she’s sent to interrogate Andi with carefully recited lines, while Andi fumbles for kid-friendly answers. Finally, Nick has a heart-to-heart with his mom, and they both cry as they discuss Nick’s love for Andi.

Next: Arlington, Iowa, where Chris the farmer is waiting to greet Andi with open arms and one giant tractor. “Hottest farmer ever,” says Andi, like she really knows a wide array of farmers and can safely make such a conclusive assessment. The whole idea of urban, high-powered, professional Andi seriously considering making a home in Iowa is a joke, but a narrative that the show really wants us to believe in. “What would I do here for work?” Andi asks Chris. “There’s an opportunity here to be a homemaker,” jokes Chris—but is he really joking? They take a tractor ride and look gleeful (well, she is sitting on his lap) and then an airplane flies overhead with a banner that proudly declares: “Chris loves Andi.”

Chris introduces Andi to his family, and Chris’s mom—I now fully comprehend the meaning of the word homespun—steals the show with her straightforward country sass. “You need gumption to live on a farm, and you have it!” she tells Andi. “And you’d have such beautiful babies. I’ll baby-sit!” But this one is just silly: “There’s no limits for a woman on a farm nowadays.” There are limits for everyone on a farm, because it’s a farm. Still, Chris makes quite a lucrative living, and his sisters tell Andi how amazingly successful he is. The whole family gives off a really good vibe as they joke around with each other, and Andi loves it. “This is a great family,” she marvels to the camera.

On to Tampa, Florida, where Josh greets Andi with a friendly game of baseball. But really, Josh’s hometown date is defined by family and football, and his younger brother Aaron’s upcoming NFL draft fills about ten minutes of screen time. Josh quit baseball, apparently, to devote himself to helping Aaron succeed (an actual career is never mentioned). In fact, the whole family is determined for Aaron to succeed, and if I wasn’t a huge devotee of the best TV show ever, Friday Night Lights (sorry,Bachelorette!), I might find this family’s obsession with football a little weird. To the camera, Andi pretends to be annoyed at the prospect of watching Aaron play football every Sunday, but her face lights up when Josh’s dad asks her if she’d be willing to attend weekend games. “I’d love to!” she says earnestly. They all play a football game together outside, and it’s a little much already but gosh darn they do seem very affectionate with one another. I guess the family that punts together, stays together.

The final hometown date is Marcus’, in Dallas, Texas. Marcus takes Andi for a quick jaunt around town before stopping at an empty nightclub to reenact their first “date,” when the guys stripped for charity. For someone who claimed to be so shy before his first striptease, Marcus sure has grown surprisingly fond of the pastime. And Andi definitely loves it, though she does express some hesitancy about whether her feelings match the fervent emotions that Marcus declares. The seediness of this date is offset by the family portion of the evening, when Marcus introduces Andi to his mother and siblings. To match his striptease, Marcus lays his emotions bare too, tearfully thanking his brother for stepping up as a father figure.

Later, Chris Harrison gathers everyone at his own house to reveal some news. When the gang is assembled, he tells them about Eric Hill’s fatal accident. Andi breaks down; the guys sit there looking dumbfounded. After a moment of loud silence, Marcus has to go outside to collect himself, and Andi follows to comfort him. The whole thing is terribly sad, with shades of creepy voyeurism: I can’t shake the niggling feeling that the producers chose to air this segment because they knew it would pull viewers.

The following night is the rose ceremony, and after Andi takes a moment to collect herself at the beginning of the ritual, she chooses Josh, Chris, and Nick. Marcus looks stunned, and I don’t blame him: he seemed like a sure thing, at least from the way the show was edited. Andi leads him outside and cries, lamenting that she couldn’t keep him there knowing her feelings didn’t match his. Darn. I liked him, and looking at him.

Next week: the fantasy suite. Stay tuned for tasteful shots of rose petals on bedspreads, champagne on ice, and lights being turned off.

Catch up on all the Bachelorette re-caps here.

Image: Matthew Putney/ABC

The post The Bachelorette with Andi Dorfman, Episode 9: Andi Meets the Families, Tragedy Strikes appeared first on Jewcy.

Ever wondered where the iconic Seinfeld phrases ‘yada yada,’ ‘shrinkage,’ and ‘double-dip’ originated? I mean, can you believe there was a time when ‘double dip’ wasn’t part of America’s vernacular? How did grumpy couples passive-aggressively chastise each other at parties before the concept entered our cultural consciousness? (The Jews have actually been double dipping for centuries (see: Passover), but I guess the word ‘matbilin’ doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so easily.)

Anyway, wonder no more! The answers to those questions (OK, some of them) can be found in Vulture’s fascinating interview with Seinfeld writer and producer Peter Mehlman, the man who coined the phrases ‘yada yada’ and ‘double dip,’ among others. Apparently he once heard ‘yada yada’ used by the editor of a women’s magazine (heyyy ladies!), then decided to adopt it as a catch-all term for things you can’t be bothered explaining:

… A couple of times she used the words yada yada and I don’t think I had even heard anyone say it after. And I don’t know why, but it just popped back into my mind. At first, I just thought of it as some little quirk that I could throw in, but then all of a sudden, I started thinking of all of the things you could just gloss over using yada yada.

Seriously, what a goddamned gift to the world. To Mehlman’s surprise, the popularity of ‘yada yada’ quickly usurped ‘anti-dentite,’ which was his personal favorite: “I love when Kramer goes, ‘You’re a rabid anti-dentite!’ I really liked that one more than ‘yada yada.'”

Alas, an ironic professional slur which pokes fun at Jews’ preoccupation with anti-Semitism is no match for a phrase which can mean anything from “we had sex” to “my fiancée died licking our wedding invitation envelopes.”

Related: ‘Seinfeld’ Saw the Future, And it Was Facebook
Now You Can Take a Virtual Tour of Jerry Seinfeld’s TV Apartment

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