thank you pop princess for checking out that joystick image for me. I hoped for her sake that I saw wrong. This week should be entertaining but I wish her file had been pulled.

Loved your recap. And, yes, racism is racism. Maybe that's why Esther hasn't confronted KKK- because they share the same values of keeping things segregated. These people annoy me, and I've only read your recaps. I can't stomach watching an actual episode.

I can understand wanting to marry within your faith, which many Jews do, for religious reasons. But Esther must have realized that all the girls on this show would not be Jewish! I don't think she'd have a problem with a white, non-Jewish girl. So, yeah, racist.

I'm sure Erica is going to downplay her Penthouse posing as ancient history, indiscretions of youth stuff, rather than a career, which it seems to be. She has her own website, for gosh sakes. Did you notice how her breasts are much bigger in some of the pictures? Well, at least she could probably pay for her implants AND write them off her income taxes!

Ah, PopPrincess, you're really hitting your stride, can't stop laughing!

Except...well, keep in mind that Judaism isn't a race, it's a religion, a culture, a history, but ANYONE can be or become a Jew. Race has nothing to do with it.

They put in place that anachronistic 'mother has to be Jewish' rule because back in the day, a Jewish kid was as likely to be the product of a rape by a Cossack or a Tartar or what have you. So carrying the lineage through the mother's side became part of the culture's survival tactics. Makes for an awesomely strong --i.e., diversified--gene pool too.

Now Esther's mom knows full well that anyone can become a Jew-- it's as simple as converting. And once converted, one is completely and fully accepted as a Jew. No questions. Camilla ought to have asked the rabbi that, would have been excellent!

So I'm willing to give Esther the benefit of the doubt --and also a bit of understanding, since of course she's going to favor the one Jewish girl in the house. Especially since Lauren also seems to be one of the more level-headed girls.

And besides, she pulled the Holocaust card...you just can't go there. Sorry. There aren't many limits, but that's one. Esther's at least right in that respect-- there's a feeling of obligation to ensure that the culture doesn't die out. I see it as a way of saying a big fuck you to history.

Although my wife's not Jewish. Which definitely was difficult for my folks to accept. Doesn't stop them from loving my wife though. And my father almost accepts my kids. Sort of. Of course, I'm not a douchebag momma's boy, so I could give fuck all what my folks think about my choices. And I live far, far away...

Apparently, Rob's not too worried about this one either--so whatever Esther's own feelings, at least she didn't raise a racist.

So yeah, there's a similarity to KKK's racist idiocy (although I'm sure that has been edited to be much more extreme that what she actually meant) but the comparison remains very shallow.

Besides, KKK has shown us a delightfully multi-faceted idiocy. They could have left out the racist bit and she'd STILL be an asshole. Especially since she produced such a charming douchebag for a son.

All that said, it's pretty obvious that ALL of the girls are repulsed by Rob...as nice as they all say he is, they all winge when they have to kiss him.

Hell, I cringe when I have to look at him. Must be them Cossack genes... (just foolin'!)

I don't watch this show, but do enjoy the recaps.

There is one thing I'm confused about. When Bangs turned down Rob's invitation to go to the Virgin Islands, wasn't she risking getting sent home? She didn't know she would get picked by one of the other guys, right? Why not take the invitation and then hang out with the guy of your choice while there?

LisaMay, you are right in that Bangs was risking not getting picked by one of the other guys. However they stated that whoever you were invited by on the trip was who you would be spending your time with. So if she had gone as Rob's guest she would be expected to spend her time with him.

Nice job, PopPrincess, isn't it fun to have extremely assholish people on your show that do and say so many awesomely awful things? We could all hope that KKK is now viewing the show and realizing what a mega-bitch she looks like on TV, but I'm guessing she isn't at all ashamed of being all "whites-only" for the mini-David-Duke she's raising....

Instead of going to the Virgin Islands, I think it would have been more fun (and practical!) for the dates to be with an Apartment Hunter to show these loserboys some places they could live without having mommy checking their undies for skidmarks every 10 minutes.

I mean, I love my mom very much, but part of my life's greatest purpose (and joy) is to disagree with her about stuff, it's kinda like my job. And her mission is to try to guilt me into doing stuff I don't want to do (and she's an expert, Catholic moms are pretty damn talented at that... almost as good as Jewish moms!) and I think that's pretty much how it should be. At some point momma has to realize that along about age 20 or so, little boys to start to develop their own little personalities (they are like people that way)... oh yeah, and they start to play with their peepees a LOT more, too!

Great recap, much love to you!

love, J-Mo :)

@tadow: thank YOU for making us aware of it! The picture was a thumbnail, but I actually think she was testing out an "adult toy" rather then a joystick. Somewhat irrelevant, because either way you put it there is SOMETHING IN HER VAGINA.

@sheiney: thanks for continuing to read even though you are not watching!

@pixelated: Me and Mr. PopPrincess looked at Erica's pics together (what can I say, good quality time!) and that was the first thing he noticed, that her boobs are waaayyy bigger in the photos then on the show. Conspiracy!

@itchy: Thank you for the inteligent and funny comment. I initially had a line in my re-cap about totally understanding where Esther was coming from about wanting a Jewish girl due to her Holocaust lineage, but the more I thought about, the more it just seems like a justification or excuse then anything else. I dont know if I'm saying this the right way, but my point is she is basically acting like KKK by saying this girl and not the other, but she's using a better excuse (i.e. the Holocaust vs. just being a jerkass) Again, not trying to downplay her parents past, which is an amazing story, but like someone for who they are, not for thier religion or color. Also, isn't it more of a testament if someone converts for you rather then just inheriting?

@LisaMay: Good point, and BlazerGirl is exactly right. Bangs dumped Rob and was pretty much hedging her bets that Michael would ask her, otherwise her ass would be going home, which I hope we see soon!

@J-Mo: I super heart you and your re-capping, so thanks for the comment and for making me laugh!

xoxox

PopPrincess Welcome to the site!! I meant to post last week, but life got in the way...Thanks for taking on this show and all of it's mother/son dynamics. Oy veh!! You're doing a great job.
Hugs,
Yenta

Well, I still suspect that KKK got a nasty edit -- I think she's more of an idiot than a racist, really, and that the producers jumped at the chance to make television with part of the things she said.

And let's face it, the show would be a real snoozer without her around to stir things up. I mean, the fireboy isn't actually Mr. Interesting. And no one's ever going to believe one of these hot girls would truly fall for Rob if it weren't for the cameras.

As for the religion thing...I can understand why people wouldn't want to marry outside of their faith. As a deeply committed non-believer, there's no way I could ever seriously hook up with someone who actually (preteds to) believe any of that hoo-haw. It just wouldn't work.

Which is what I believe both Esther and KKK were really trying to say.

Oh yeah, and I kind of like Bangs. She's one of the few who actually seems like a real person, with all her charming lil' faults, bad hair, funny teeth and all. And I give her credit for not trying to get a free vacation under false pretenses.

I believe that, for a lot of Jews, it is not a religious belief but a cultural or ethnic thing that makes them want to marry Jewish. I have seen non-religious Jewish people who feel this way. (Remember Harry on SATC? And it was his mother who wanted him to marry Jewish.)

Also, some sects of Judaism (Orthodox and some conservative) believe that you have to be born a Jew. There are also Jews who are descended from the original tribes of Israel, And they are prohibited from marrying someone who is not also descended from those original Jews. There is a name for these folks (who are descended from the original tribes) but I can't remember it.

It's true that a lot of people believe that you should marry "your own kind" whatever that may be: white, black, a certain religion or ethnic group. However, neither Rob or JoJo seems to feel this way. (Or maybe they just want to get laid by a hot chick.)

Pixie, you got it, of course they're only looking to get laid-- they're just kids after all. Well Rob seems to be more in founding-family mode. Jojo is just looking to make like a rabbit... to match his teeth.

As for the conversion thing: this may be surprising, but there's actually no such thing as being 'born' a jew -- that's where circumcision (and later bar mitzvah) come in. And this is ESPECIALLY an orthodox/fundamentalist interpretation of the law. Judaism, believe it or not, remains a choice.

A lot of people forget that.

In that respect, it's no different at all from being christian. There's a strong cultural component, obviously. But really not fundamentally different from being Catholic, Protestant, or what have you.

Now, rabbis ARE required to resist initial conversion requests--it's not a thing to be taken lightly after all. Especially since being jewish remains a dangerous thing to be in much of this idiot world we live in.

As for the 'lost tribes' thing...you might be referring to the Ethiopian Jews, who are by definition of African origin -- makes it difficult to convert your skin color! But they're jews, albeit with their own interpretation, like any of the other currents. If you agree with them, I'm sure they'd be happy to take you in. ;-D

There are cults out there that call themselves 'lost tribes' etc. Most of these are not considered religions, let alone have anything to do with judaism. The whole idea of the 'lost tribe' thing is that the tribes were....lost. A lot of these groups are actually neo-nazi fronts!

And of course there is tons of infighting --the problem with all religions is that there will always be a new idiot who pretends that only HE hold the Truth. As if religion has ever been about truth!

Anyway, I hope I'm not being overbearing about all this...obviously it's an issue I've always had to deal with (it isn't easy growing up atheist in a religious household!).

And I have to say, I really cringe at the jewish stereotyping on this show. Even though, yeah, Esther is so much like my mom, watching her on the screen is like a phone call home...[sniff]...Hi ma! :-D

Back to the snark!

Itchy, whether we like it or not, there are definite grains of truth in all stereotypes. People just take them more personally when it's about a group that they belong to. I love your comments... you should start recapping the next time they do an audition!

PopPrincess: I LOVE that picture of the cat with the machine gun! I LOVE it! When I first saw it I died laughing! I don't even watch Momma's Boys but I have been faithfully reading your recaps. They are hilarious! Keep up the great work!

Ugh, yeah, Fucking Esther. As someone who, to, is a deeply committed atheist (Wanna go on a date, itchy)? I would find it hard to marry out of my belief system.

But, as someone who has grown up in an extremely Jewish household, I see this kind of discrimination against Jews all the time, and my grandparents are Holocaust survivors, no less.

And, I love how the guys on this show are the most NON-CHARISMATIC people in the world. And, want love, at like, 24. I mean, I'll bet you my life JoJo, at 21, just wants to get his dick wet.

Even the Jew, who by TV standards, should be "smart talkin,'" or like, witty, or something, has the personality of wet cardboard. Write on!

I didn't watch this nor read the recap, but... I'm curious why there have been no new recaps for nearly a week now. Are the writers out on strike, or what??

Just curious. Hope all is well!

HEY!! there have been new recaps but we updated the software and now can't get anything to work right. OY. we are on it i swear. this is nuts. the new recaps are listed on the main page at tvgasm.com. hopefully we will have this recap page up and running within the next couple of days! thanks for your patience! xo

Thanks! There are pages and pages of new listings this morning! (Monday)