This is part 1 in my new series of Thai cooking Video Wednesday’s starring my mom and I. Today it’s all me, baby. Thanks to Cliff of Regensblog for being the camera man.

Today’s recipe is Thai Chickpeas with Sweet Mustard and Pickled Ginger. It’s a vegetarian dish and is quite delicious. You can get the recipe in English by clicking above, or here for the recipe in German: Thailändisch Kichererbsen mit Gong-Choi Gemuese und eingelegte Ingwer.

PS: I do realize my explanations are suboptimal. Next time we film, I’ll work on doing better. Hope you enjoy!

I’m so not ready to get back to real life.  So, go watch an episode of The Daily Show.  Yes, that’s right, in case you weren’t aware, you can watch full episodes of The Daily Show online for free.  Check out yesterday’s show with the dollar bill wrapping paper for some Euro humor.

Here’s the latest single from my favorite German band, Lasse Redn:

Die Ärzte - Lasse Redn

Hast du etwas getan, was sonst keiner tut?
Have you done something that no one else does?
Hast du hohe Schuhe oder gar einen Hut?
Do you have high heeled shoes or a hat?
Oder hast du etwa ein zu kurzes Kleid getragen,
Or have you worn a slightly too short dress,
ohne vorher deinen Nachbarn um Erlaubnis zu fragen?
Without asking your neighbors’ permission?

Jetzt wirst du natürlich mit Verachtung gestraft,
Now, of course, you’re punished with contempt,
bist eine Schande für die ganze Nachbarschaft.
A blemish on the whole neighborhood.
Du weißt noch nicht einmal genau wie sie heißen,
You don’t even know their names,
während sie sich über dich schon ihre Mäuler zerreißen.
As they’re running their mouths about you.

Lass die Leute reden und hör ihnen nicht zu.
Let them talk and don’t listen to them
Die meisten Leute haben ja nichts Besseres zu tun.
Most don’t have anything better to do.
Lass die Leute reden bei Tag und auch bei Nacht.
Let them talk by day and also by night.
Lass die Leute reden, das ha’m die immer schon gemacht.
Let them talk, that’s how they’ve always done it.

Du hast doch sicherlich ‘ne Bank überfallen.
You must certainly have robbed a bank.
Wie könntest du sonst deine Miete bezahlen?
How else could you pay your rent?
Und du darfst nie mehr in die Vereinigten Staaten,
And you aren’t allowed in the USA anymore,
denn du bist die Geliebte von Osama bin Laden.
‘Cause you’re Osama bin Laden’s lover.

Rasierst du täglich deinen Damenbart?
Do you shave your [female] facial hair daily?
Oder hast du im Garten ein paar Leichen verscharrt?
Or have you hastily buried a few bodies in your garden
Die Nachbarn ha’m da sowas angedeutet,
The neighbors have implied as much,
also wunder dich nicht, wenn bald die Kripo bei dir läutet.
so don’t be surprised when the police detectives come knocking.

Lass die Leute reden und hör einfach nicht hin,
Let them talk and don’t listen,
die meisten Leute haben ja gar nichts Böses im Sinn.
Most of them don’t mean to be mean.
Es ist ihr eintöniges Leben, was sie quält
It’s their dreary lives, that troubles them
und der Tag wird interessanter, wenn man Märchen erzählt.
And the day is more interesting when one tells fairy tales.

Und wahrscheinlich ist ihnen das nicht mal peinlich.
And probably they don’t even feel bad
Es fehlt ihnen jede Einsicht
They lack understanding
und wiedermal zeigt sich: Sie sind kleinlich, unvermeindlich fremdenfeindlich.
And again they show: They are nit-picking, undeniably racist.

Hast du gehört und sag mal wusstest du schon,
Have you heard, and say, did you know,
nämlich: Du verdienst dein Geld mit Prostitution.
Namely: you earn your money through prostitution.
Du sollst ja meistens vor dem Busbahnhof stehen,
Supposedly, you’re often standing in front of the bus station,
der Kollege eines Schwagers hat dich neulich gesehen.
The colleague of a brother-in-law saw you the other day.

Lass die Leute reden und lächle einfach mild,
Let them talk and simply smile,
Die meisten Leute haben ihre Bildung aus der BILD.
Most people have their education from BILD [newspaper].
Und die besteht nun mal, wer wüsste das nicht,
And it’s made up, who doesn’t know this,
aus Angst, Hass, Titten und dem Wetterbericht!
of fear, hate, tits and the weather report!

Lass die Leute reden, denn wie das immer ist,
Let them talk, like they always do,
solang die Leute reden, machen sie nichts Schlimmeres.
As long as they’re just talking, they’re not doing anything worse.
Und ein wenig Heuchelei kannst du dir durchaus leisten,
And you can afford to be a little fake,
Bleib höflich und sag nichts.
Stay polite and say nothing.
Das ärgert sie am meisten.
That irritates them the most.

Do you have a slightly different interpretation?  Feel free to (constructively, please) criticize my translation.  I found a couple of lines a tad bit difficult to change to English.

Here’s the band that makes teenage German girls’ heads explode. Check it out and tell me if you get it.

I don’t quite understand the whole appeal of androgyny now, but I guess I shouldn’t talk, I’ve still got my old Poison LP, the first record I ever bought (egads), back in my childhood room at home.

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the filming of the upcoming Thai cooking lessons. With Rainer out of town and us leaving on vacation shortly, I don’t think I’ll be able to edit the videos until we get back, so you’ll have to be patient. Unfortunately I can’t edit them while we’re away because I bought my laptop mainly for word processing and email. It can manage some photo editing, but I’m afraid video editing is just a little beyond it’s capabilities.

Finally, a big thanks to Tammy for providing the pictures and video for today’s post. It appears she is about to pop, so go wish her luck! We’re having breakfast this morning, so I’ll do my wishing in person.

And some stills…

Here we are cooking

And here’s the finished product. Clockwise from top: pork satay, sour apple salad, jackfruit, jelly belly beans, fried zucchini flowers, panang tilapia, green curry, shrimp basil, sweet mustard and garbanzo beans, stir fried pork with fried kale, vegetable stir fry

It’s a little old, but funny nonetheless. Here’s German late-night talk show host Stefan Raab singing and getting movement lessons from Will Smith just after Men in Black came out. I *think* non-German-speakers will be able to enjoy this too.

I’ve been having some writer’s block recently, but I’m starting to form some new post ideas. Unfortunately (for you, not for me), my mom is here visiting, so that doesn’t give me a lot of time to write. Hopefully I’ll have something more soon. I’ll try to get something written tonight or tomorrow.

This JCPenney commercial has absolutely nothing to do with Germany, but I found it so wrong on so many levels, that i just had to post it. What are they thinking? How can they turn one of my generations defining movies (The Breakfast Club) into a cheesy commercial? Watch it and tell me what you think!