Friday? Yeah, it's Friday. Have these thoughts on me:

[capri0mni]

One: I really feel like I ought to get in the habit of posting here, alongside / before my Tumblr.

Two: When I'm feeling down, I find myself seeking refuge in thinking about Shakespeare. I've been thinking about him a lot, this week. As usual, I end up wishing I could chat with his wife and daughters, 'cause I have a whole passel of his words to engage with. And the women in his later plays are a whole lot more complex, and drive more of the story, than the women in his early plays. He must have gotten his inspiration from somewhere.

Three: If humans ever colonize Mars, the different environment probably means the colonists will evolve into a new species within a handful of generations. If so, they'll be the first newly named species (after us) who'll have a say in what they should be called.

Four: Speaking of Shakespeare, Ben Crystal -- my favorite contemporary Shakespeare scholar -- did a TEDx talk on what he's learned from using the methods of theater from Shakespeare's time: Original Practice -- Shakespeare's craft (17 minutes). I've watched it three times, and each time, I get misty-eyed, and lumpy-throated.

Five: Have you seen the (apparently) recent trend of "unicorn" cakes? Two or three layer round cakes with a cartoon set of eyes and vaguely horsey mouth drawn on one side, and a fondant rainbow horn sticking out the middle of the top. One of my mutuals on Tumblr rightly described this as unicorn body horror. I recently got an idea for a more subtle unicorn cake:

Frost the whole thing in chocolate ganache, and after it's cooled and thickened, imprint tiny cloven hoof marks in a "trail" over the top. Brush those hoof marks with edible silver luster dust, and then cover the top (and sides, if desired) of the cake with candied mint leaves (or other herbs) to be the dew-covered foliage of the forest floor. That's the magic of unicorns.

Comments

[vilakins]

I found it hard to eat the bird and cat-face cupcakes the SPCA were selling. Those unicorn cakes sound worse, but in a different way: horrific distortion, rather than looking disturbingly cute and alive. I like your idea MUCH better.

[capri0mni]

Plus: candied mint leaves and chocolate ganache!

Now, a cake that is shaped like a full-bodied unicorn, such as something using one of those traditional 3-D lamb cake molds used at Easter, wouldn't be too bad.

Here's an Amazon page showing example of that, plus the horror/nightmare accessories under "related products": Unicorn cake using a lamb mold (we had one of those lamb cake molds when I was growing up -- the cake that goes into them is a wonderfully rich and dense vanilla cake, and then we'd frost it with buttercream and shredded coconut to make the lamb's wool.

Novelty cakes are best if there's something unique beneath the frosting, too...

[vilakins]

I'm not usually fond of icing (your frosting) but ganache (or cream cheese icing) is FTW! And mint leaves would totally make it.

That lamb / unicorn cake is very cool! Dense, richly flavoured cake rocks, esp compared to the tasteless sponge usually used. (And what, eyelashes and a horn on a squat cylinder a unicorn makes? Oy.)

I never heard of a lamb cake mould! It's certainly not a tradition here. Hot cross buns are everywhere at this time though: spicy, fruity, citrussy, toasted and buttered, and very tasty (here). They're meant to be eaten at Easter but basically appear not long after Christmas, the usual story. Do you have Easter eggs too? Of course the Pesach (Passover) traditions are the same here as everywhere in the world. Matsos overload!

[capri0mni]

Well, Easter where you are is autumn... so it's not usually associated with lambs.

(also, I think it was a tradition originally of Germany, brought to America by immigrants, who wouldn't have gotten to the antipodes?)

Anyway, here's a blog post about a 1953 recipe from "The Joy of Cooking" -- I think our family had the 1962 edition. This particular blogger didn't like the cake very much because it was too dense and not sweet enough for her tastes -- which is exactly why I liked it!

http://www.midcenturymenu.com/2012/04/the-joy-of-cooking-lamb-cake-the-eight-days-of-lamb-cakes/

[vilakins]

We had huge numbers of Dutch and Dalmatian (as it was then) refugees early on, but it probably wasn't something they made. And yes, it's early autumn; good point.

Our local German baker makes Poschweck (an Easter specialty from Aachen, #2 here) and I'd buy it but for having to pick out the sugar lumps baked into it. The Dutch baker also sells a great Easter loaf, fruity and citrussy, not sure of its name, but I might nip in there for one. It's coated in sliced almonds, mmmm. Aha, here it is: Paasstol.

[capri0mni]

Oooh, yummy!

I love citrus and almonds together.

[vilakins]

Aaaaugh, look what I found on a local shopping site. Noooooo! (Not that I was looking, or even would have noticed but for your post on unicorn distorted body horror.)
https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/elodie-unicorn-ramen-bowl/26826199

[capri0mni]

Ack! (I like your icon choice for this)

All of this is a secondary reason why I've always hated (since my age could be measured in single digits, at least) the "sparkly rainbow poop" version of unicorns: it robs them of their dignity, and makes it easier to warp them like this.

My primary reason for hating that version is that it transforms an embodiment of Cosmic life energy and makes it a docile pet.... which I wrote about here.

[vilakins]

I don't get the whole kawaii unicorn thing (or My Little Pony for that matter) or why so many things are unicorn-themed these days (like cosmetic brushes, WHT?). It is the reduction of the magical to something powerless and babyish, as bad as the hunters, men of course, wanting to kill what they don't understand.

[capri0mni]

Exactly.

And that unicorns are simultaneously infantalized and seen as "girly" also diminishes women's power, and makes it something easily consumed by the male gaze.

Grr.

capri0mni Smash Stab!!

[igenlode]

I've never heard of lamb cakes here in England either, though I imagine they got the hot-cross buns from us...

Traditionally we have Simnel cake at Easter, which has marzipan in the middle.

[capri0mni]

I do love marzipan!

Haven't had it in ages, though. ... I think people (Especially in the States) are wary of the raw egg whites in it.

[igenlode]

I'm not sure the stuff they sell as commercial marzipan here has ever seen an egg in its life! It's mainly sugar paste with a small percentage of ground almonds, plus almond flavouring -- expensive shop-bought marzipan gets up to 40% almonds if you're lucky. I don't like artificial almond flavouring (the actual nuts are fine!), so if I'm using marzipan I always make my own; we don't have castor sugar, so it comes out slightly crunchy from the granulated sugar, but I like the texture of it like that.

But the filling in Simnel cake is cooked in the centre of the cake, so raw egg wouldn't be an issue anyway :-)

[igenlode]

Given that Shakespeare's female roles were written for boy actors, is it possible that the level of acting expected of the boys in his troupe simply grew more sophisticated over the course of his lifetime?
(Obviously they wouldn't have been the same boys over that length of time, just as it's not the same gymnasts competing long-term in the Olympic Games and producing ever-more-demanding routines, but presumably there was a continuity of training.)

I came across an item that advertised itself as a "unicorn" something-or-other being marketed to young girls recently. I can't remember what it was - possibly a purse - but it was completely circular, and while it might have passed muster as a cat's head it bore no conceivable resemblance to a horse (or even a goat) whatsoever. If it hadn't been for the label I wouldn't have had the faintest idea what it was supposed to be. That was the first I'd come across of this new concept...

[capri0mni]

Given that Shakespeare's female roles were written for boy actors, is it possible that the level of acting expected of the boys in his troupe simply grew more sophisticated over the course of his lifetime?

Absolutely. Shakespeare's career spanned 20 years, and cultural expectations can change a lot over that time, even without the high speed of the Internet driving it. Also, I remember learning some time ago that the trend of "Boys' theater" -- where all the actors were prepubescent boys became a trendy entertainment in Elizabethan England (and competition for Shakespeare's own productions), so by the time of "The Winter's Tale," more boys were getting more serious training in the craft of acting than when he began.

Still -- there's a mighty chasm between Sylvia and Julia in "Two Gentlemen of Verona" and Lady Paulina and Hermione in "The Winter's Tale," and in the latter play, the relationship between wives and daughters between husbands and fathers is pushed front and center. And there's some who believe W.T. is actually the last play Shakespeare wrote, even though the Tempest is often given that credit -- the dating of those two plays in relation to each other is murky, at least.

So even if Anne, Susannah, and Judith were not Shakespeare's only -- or even primary -- inspiration for writing stronger women, I'd still be more interested in talking with them over bread, cheese, and ginger beer, than hearing the Famous Man put forth on his philosophy.

If it hadn't been for the label I wouldn't have had the faintest idea what it was supposed to be. That was the first I'd come across of this new concept.

*groan* *Facepalm*

[igenlode]

Yes, I think it's very likely that with maturity Shakespeare had acquired more experience of actual women, rather than just seeing them as routine plot devices/romance objects from a play-construction point of view...