BMF'S FOOD COLUMN

Love is in the air at Pepsi U but we all know the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach. Pepa seduced Silvia with Jabugo ham, king prawns as well as friquito friquito vino and I think it’s safe to say her meal was a success. If words are not your strong point, then this seductive menu will be sure to romance the pants off that special someone in your life. I have incorporated so many aphrodisiacs in to this menu, that Aphrodite herself would be proud. On a more serious note, please do not hold me responsible for you actions after eating this....

Starter
Chilli crab cakes
The body's reaction to eating chilli is similar to the feelings you experience when.... (You know what), such as an increased heart rate and circulation and sweating. They also contain capsaicin which gives the body a temporary high.

Ingredients
15g (½ oz) butter

15g (½ oz) flour

125ml (4fl oz) milk

340g (12½ oz) mixed crabmeat, fresh or defrosted

1 lemongrass, finely chopped

1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped

1tbsp fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

115g (4½ oz) fresh breadcrumbs

1 medium egg, beaten

Sunflower oil, for frying

Salt and black pepper
For the red chilli garnish: 1-2 medium red chillies, deseeded and finely shredded

4 spring onions, finely shredded

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and cook for 2-3 mins until mixture thickens.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the crabmeat, lemongrass, chilli, ginger, salt, pepper and 30g of breadcrumbs. Mix together and leave to cool.

Using wet hands (no dirty thoughts allowed), shape the crab mixture into 10 cakes. Dip the crab cakes in the beaten egg and coat in the remaining breadcrumbs. Cover and chill for 20 mins. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Lightly cook the cakes for 3-5 mins on each side or until golden brown.

Serve the crab cakes alongside lime wedges and topped with shredded red chillies and spring onion

Main
Honeyed duck
Its sweetness and stickiness makes honey a very sensual food. This recipe also contains ginger which is supposed to be a sexual stimulant and it also warms up the body and increases the heart rate. Garlic improves blood circulation which boosts sexual performance and makes erogenous zones more sensitive.

Ingredients
2 medium duck breasts, trimmed

2tbsp sunflower oil

½ tbsp Chinese Five Spice

1tbsp acacia honey

1 inch /Alex Pina’s penis size piece of ginger, peeled and cut in to matchsticks

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

1 spring onion, trimmed and sliced in strips (how I would like to see “el gordo”)

225g (8oz) pak choy

Trimmed Coriander sprigs for decoration.
1. Brush duck breasts with 1tbsp oil, then rub with Chinese Five Spice.

Heat ½ tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and cook duck skin-side down first until crisp and golden.. About 4 mins. Turn over and cook the other side the same. With the skin side up, place in a pre-heated oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for 10 mins, or until cooked to preference, drizzling with honey for the last 5 mins of cooking.

Heat the remaining oil in the duck pan and fry ginger, garlic and spring onions. Add to duck in roasting pan. Meanwhile cook pak choy in salted boiling water until just tender. Drain.

Spoon ginger and garlic mix onto four warmed serving plates and put duck breasts on top. Serve with pak choy and decorate with coriander sprigs.

Dessert
Strawberry and vanilla cream sponge
Described as fruit nipples in erotic literature, strawberries are the symbol of passion, they're perfect for sharing, rich in Vitamin C and delicious!

Ingredients
175g unsalted butter

175g golden caster sugar

1tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs 175g self-raising flour
4 tbsp strawberry jam

284ml carton double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and base line two 18cm sandwich tins. Beat all the cake ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth. Divide between the tins and level out. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are well risen and spring back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack and peel away the paper. Cool completely.
Spread the jam onto the base of one sponge. Lightly whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds and spread half of it over the top of the jam. Sandwich the other sponge on top. Spread the remaining cream over the top with a palette knife.

PepSi Mia!

by Malbeca, MPep


Dear Dr. Pied Piper,

You know I have the greatest respect and admiration for you as my Professor at PepSi University. For weeks I’ve been struggling with a topic for my first lecture. Yesterday while I was driving my car I suddenly had this brilliant idea for my first lecture. You’ll either hate me or love me even more.

This lecture is solely dedicated to you.

Malbeca, Mpep
Graduate Assistant

The Swedish pop group ABBA is one of the most popular bands in the history of music. Their songs are famous all over the world. In 1974 the group won the European Song Contest with their hit song Waterloo. In 1999 Mama Mia the Musical premiered in London and has since been translated and performed in many different languages and countries. The universal lyrics make it easy to apply them to many situations. That is why I am bringing you my PepSi Mia through the words of ABBA.

Take a chance on me

Take a chance on me
(Come on, give me a break will you?)
Take a chance on me
Oh you can take your time baby, I'm in no hurry, know I'm gonna get you
You don't wanna hurt me, baby don't worry, I ain't gonna let yo
Let me tell you now
My love is strong enough to last when things are rough
It's magic
You say that I waste my time but I can't get you off my mind
No I can't let go
'Cos I love you so


Piper's Commentary: This song briliantly captures the beginning of PepSi - courtship, doubts, flirtation, vascillation, and finally, coupledom.

Mama Mia

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know,
My my, I could never let you go.


Piper's Commentary: Our PepSi went through heartaches and goodbyes in order to grow and realize how much they mean to each other. However, we can assume that instead of saying "Mama Mia", they would have said "Madre Mia"

Knowing me, knowing you

No more carefree laughter
Silence ever after
Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes
Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye

Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
We just have to face it, this time were through
(this time were through, this time were through
This time were through, were really through)
Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go
(I have to go this time
I have to go, this time I know)
Knowing me, knowing you
It's the best I can do

Piper's Commentary: This ABBA song poignantly says what Silvia must have been feeling every morning she woke up, reached for Pepa, and realized she's not there. The song sums up The Big Breakup: while we knew they would eventually get back together, we were heartbroken anyway.

I do I do I do I do I do

“Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me
I love you
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do
I can’t conceal it, don’t you see, can’t you feel it?
Don’t you too?
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do”


Piper's Commentary: And they finally got back together, stronger and closer, more sure of themselves, together and apart. And they know that no matter what the future brings, it will be okay as long as they face it together.

While Dr. Piper is on sabbatical, per approval by Dr Booker, for one hour at noon each day ABBA music will be played at the PepSi University Dining Room. And perhaps Dr. Piper you will be tempted to change your BBerry ringtone to Dancing Queen while you travel the world.

Piper's Commentary: Just like the musical and the movie spawned by the prolific songs and lyrics of ABBA's repertoire, so can the whole story of Pepa and Silvia be told, sung, and danced. I can just see it now: the marquee reading "PepSi Mia!" adorning the billboards of the Ambisex Auditorium. Broadway and West End scrambling to stage our musical, and finally, a Tony for Malbeca for the brilliant adaptation of a musical adaptation. And I will be on the front row, not warming seats, but looking on very proudly.

I am not a dreamer - that's the specialty of Dr. Booker - but I can still imagine how bright the future is for my Graduate Assistant.

Los Hombres de Paco

DR. BOOKER: A ROMANTIC FOOL?

 by Dr. Booker

Dr. Piper and I have had many late night discussions about romance. She often looks at me as if I am an alien and I can see she is trying hard to figure out what planet I am from. Before she left on sabbatical I told her how I became a romantic. I also asked her if it would be all right if PepSi University had some romantic fun while she was gone, so she would not have to face it while she was here. She agreed to my idea and suggested that I share my story.

But Dr. Piper also warned me that every time the LOVE word is mentioned by me, her Blackberry will ding--no matter where she is in the world. I suggested that she put her Blackberry on vibrate and she turned bright red and said she would not be comfortable with what "that implied." That is the difference between the two doctors: I would love that vibrating Blackberry and she would rather have a ding.

How did I become a romantic? It didn't come naturally to me, and I admit I had to work at it. I lived in a home that had two parents who never smiled at each other, never touched hands, never hugged and certainly never kissed. I thought this was normal behavior, until I started watching old movies on television. I mean OLD black and white films and they introduced me to romance. Two films stand out to me: It Happened One Night (1934) and Random Harvest (1942) and they are two of my favorite films of all time. These films showed me that couples could laugh and tease, they could share intense longing looks, and they could kiss like they have been waiting a lifetime to do so. I knew then that I wanted that kind of love, and not the kind my parents had or didn't have.

When I discovered Pepa and Silvia, it was like the old movies had been updated. Here we had flirting, fighting, seduction, and the long awaited kiss. I loved these two women and was hoping their love would last forever.

A student recently asked me, "Dr. Booker, what is the best thing about being in love?"

Not surprisingly, I couldn't give one single answer, but here are my top five answers for today:

1. walking into a crowded room and making eye contact with your partner and you just know everything...you just know
   
2. holding hands while walking out of the movie theatre
3. waking up early and seeing her sleeping next to you, and she is smiling
4. she makes you a cup of tea before you know you want one
5. kissing her after she has the hiccups, holding and kissing her after she has cried, kissing after you have danced the slowest dance in the entire world. Kissing...just kissing.

Being a romantic allows me to have a happy outlook on life, without being in denial. Romantics see the world clearly, but we do know two things: that there is much to hope for and that someone is there to greet us at the end of the day.

Dr. Piper's Blackberry must be dinging all over Europe by now. While she is gone we will be silly and romantic. Just like Pepa and Silvia. We have been inspired by these two women and we are going to dance, frisk, eat and kiss. There is a reason that we have chosen to work or attend PepSi University, and now is the time to celebrate that decision.

Dr. Booker

BMF'S FOOD COLUMN

 by Chef BigMarianFan

Fudgy Brazil nut brownies

There is nothing better in life than chocolate. Mind you I am only 22 years old, so maybe there are better things in life than chocolate. I am yet to discover them. The fact that it is the only food to grace our lips that melts at exactly human body temperature, could explain its addictiveness.
So I woke up this morning /afternoon, looked out the window and surprise surprise, the sky was grey and it was raining. For those of you who don’t know me, I live in England and this kind of weather is standard. So I hopped into my car dressed in only my pijamas and drove to Waitrose to pick up some unsalted butter and some dark, bitter chocolate. (The rest of the ingredients, I had at home).
Now the recipe I am about to give you is a recipe I have used religiously for years and it never lets me down. I have tweaked a few things according to my taste and by all means, you can do the same. The great thing about brownies is you can serve them warmed up as a dessert with some vanilla marscapone or ice-cream OR you can have them as a snack with a nice cup of tea.

Ingredients

375 g soft unsalted butter
375 g dark chocolate (66% cocoa solids or above)
6 large eggs (free range obviously! An unhappy chicken= an unhappy egg= horrible brownies)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
500 g caster sugar
225 g
plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
300 g chopped brazil nuts

Firstly, line a baking tin (33 x 23 x 5 1/2cm) with non-stick parchment or foil and butter the sides of the tin well.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bain marie or heavy based saucepan until they form a glossy brown liquid. Please refrain from eating the mixture, I know it is tempting but you can lick the saucepan clean later.

Leave this mixture to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. (If you put the eggs and sugar in to the chocolate when it is too hot, you will end up with chocolate scrambled eggs.)

Beat the eggs and caster sugar together for a couple of minutes with a whisk (if you are feeling energetic) or an electric mixer (if you already have muscles like Pepa's and don’t need to tone them any more). This basically adds a bit of air in to the mixture resulting in a lighter tasting brownie.

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, add it to sugary egg mixture, followed by the flour, salt, vanilla extract and the chopped nuts. Stir this mixture together until the flour has been incorporated and pour in to the baking tin. Pop it in the oven for 25 mins and hey presto!

The top should look well crusted and cracked but the centre should be slightly wobbly, giving it a fudgey texture. I took the liberty of photographing the only brownie I had left over because someone (little brother), ate them all !!

Tips/suggestions:
If you don’t like nuts or are allergic, replace them with white, milk or dark chocolate chunks.

This recipe makes A LOT of brownies so if you are catering for a smaller crowd or just yourself (no shame in that!) then halve the quantities and bake for 18 minutes instead.

Swap the Brazil nuts for pecan nuts, walnuts, hazlenuts, almonds…I could go on but I think you get the picture!

DO NOT EAT ALL THE BROWNIES IN ONE GO! (Remember how poor Marianno felt when he ate all those doughnuts!)

Piper Sabbatical

by Dr. Pied Piper 

Effective Oct 1st, I am going on sabbatical for an undetermined period of time (could be a week, could be 100 weeks). I trust that the university will be in good hands with my provost, Dr. Booker, and our esteemed lecturers.

This is a business-related, not-all-play sabbatical. I will be taking lecture materials and poll results with me as I traverse the globe. I am attending a marketing meeting in Madrid with the executives from Antena123 and SnowGlobomedia, during which I will also admire the Wall O'Postcards adorning their offices. The Transcantabrico train will take me to near and faraway places in comfort and in style.

I will post sporadically in between business meetings and clubbing with Marian Aguilera.

Please do not ever forget the Pepsi University maxim (from the "Man from La Mancha"): "To love pure and chaste from afar"

Dr. Piper's Suite @ the Transcantabrico

Silvialogy 3x26

by Dr. Pied Piper 


LHDP 3x26

(If you want to watch the Silvia-only clip without downloading it, the link is at the end of the post. You can also download the full episode here.)

From last episode: Mr. Chipmunk is in the holding cell with Don Lorenzo who is determined to do a Dick Cheney just to get a confession out of him. Paco sends Mariano home for a time out because his pain about Bernarda's death all rush back upon seeing Mr. Chipmunk. Lucas and Sara are planning a getaway to Madagascar for Sara's 18th birthday. Since Mariano is home, Paco asks him to tail Lola whom he suspects of having an affair; the two end up flirting. Ruth The Mole activates Plan B and sends the bad guys to the comisaria to "rescue" Mr. Chipmunk (although she herself has carried on the facade of being another innocent bystander). They get in by pretending to be bad cops and cadavers in a body bag - Silvia is Ground Zero for this operation.

Silvia is being led down the stairs by the bad guys to take her place amongst the hostages. Great acting from MA when they throw her down the floor. Drama School pays off. Curtis, who was shot (AGAIN!) when he went to the holding cell and was used as a negotiating pawn instead, is dragged next to Silvia.

Silvia calls Quique over to assist her in stopping the bleeding. Silvia proceeds to remove her SUJETADOR to use as a torniquet. At which point I too want to get shot just so Silvia can patch me up with her bra.

Bad Guy asks what Silvia is doing. Really? Can't you just enjoy the show? Silvia carefully removes her bra and waves it at Bad Guy to prove that there aren't any hidden weapons.

Really, there's no weapon, and if I were you, Bad Guy, I'd prostrate my self in front of that piece of clothing, because I know the sacred place where it just came from.

Hello, nipples! Okay, carry on then. Silvia uses her bra as a torniquet to try to stop Curtis' bleeding. Curtis, you're one lucky sonofabitch. I want to be that bra in my next life.

Silvia looks at Paco - DL needs his insulin shot or he could die (or go on a diabetic coma). Before she crawls over to Paco, et. al., she asks Quique to apply pressure to the entry wound and tells him not to be afraid.

Silvia talks to Ruth, Montoya, and Paco about her father. Paco looks over to the Bad Guys and sees the body of Eva Internal Affairs, who was killed earlier before she could testify against Mr. Chipmunk. (Pove, who was standing near by, got sprayed all over his face by Eva's blood, hence his 2-episode red face makeup)

Paco cowboys up and decides to talk to the bad guys. He wants to negotiate: give DL his insulin shot and Silvia will patch up Uriarte's gunshot wound in the leg.

Silvia stands up when she hears Paco pimp her name: "Dr. Castro can save the life of your boss."

Bad Guy points a gun at Silvia, who remains calm and brave. She says that their boss will die without medical attention, and she is the only doctor on the floor.

She asks Bad Guy to let her get the medical instruments she needs and she can save his boss' life. For someone who was just shot by these very same fuckers (and boy, were we reminded over and over via slow motion flashbacks), Silvia remains brave and defiant in front of a loaded gun pointed at her head. I love you Silvia! Will you Marry me?

Silvia is at the holding cell applying a torniquet to Uriarte's leg to stop the bleeding while DL still has him in a choke hold with a gun pointed at this neck.

When Silvia attempts to give DL the insulin shot, Uriarte stops her, and with his goons all pointing their guns at Silvia, Paco, and DL, Silvia has no choice. DL tells her not to worry about him and to take care of Curtis and Rita (who, as anyone can expect from LHDP, goes into labor).

Uriarte wants to escape and demands a helicopter for a clean getaway. DL says No Way. Chipmunk says that if they don't comply, his goons will throw a dead body outside the window every 10 minutes. And then I tuned out because Silvia has left the building! Nah, not really, only the holding cell.

Next, Silvia is at the shooting-range-turned-maternity ward. She's giving clean towels and instructions to Povedilla because she has to go attend to Curtis. There's a scene when Pove was panicking and talking to Silvia where MA was trying hard not to laugh (7:03). Next scene shows a completely serious Silvia.

Silvia goes back to the floor to check on Curtis. He is still bleeding and being held by his secret lover Quique. Montoya comes over to assist.

Silvia cuts Curtis' shirt to reveal the really bad fake blood smeared all over his hairy chest. He is still bleeding profusely and Silvia says he needs a transfusion. WHAT? HERE? NOW? HOW? We learn that Curtis' blood type is O positive.

Silvia crawls over to Paco and suckers him into giving blood. Et voilà, instant blood transfusion. Paco tells Curtis he's also receiving his cholesterol... Small talk, blah, blah, blah, Small talk.

Back Stories

There are SO MANY! Lucas and Aitor are outside fighting over Sara (what else is new?) while trying to rig the comisaria's ventilation system. Lola and Mariano's innocent flirtation is no longer so innocent; daydreams, heartaches, expectations, attractions, and all those other messy stuff are already in play. They almost kiss but are interrupted by Carlota and her little sheriff star necklace. Later on, Mariano and Lola realize that written on the pendant are coordinates. They enter the numbers into a GPS which leads them to the cemetery - the grave of Lucas' mother. They go down the crypt where (gag!) Lola and Mariano think it is the best time and place to talk about their feelings, the impossibility of their situation, etc. And they kiss. AND KISS AGAIN! In a crypt, in front of an open grave with a skeleton inside - THEY KISS! What the FUCK is wrong with these fucking writers? Seriously! I thought they would start making out right there and then if not for the lapida (grave marker) falling over revealing another grave. Inside they find all sorts of documents which include pictures of Ruth all lovey-dovey with Mr. Chipmunk.

Meanwhile, Bad Guys take Ruth to the holding cell. At this point, the comisaria still doesn't know that she's the mole, so Montoya tries to defend her and he gets smacked. Ruth "pleads" to "Loren" (remember, they used to date, so she can forego the formality of calling him "Don") to let Uriarte go or the bad guys will kill all of them, including her and his grand daughter - all the while with a gun behind her ready to shoot DL if needed. Just as she says that "sometimes, in order to free a life, you have to take another", DL's cell phone rings. It's Mariano, who tells him that Ruth is the mole. At this point, Ruth surreptitiously pulls the gun behind her ready to shoot DL, but DL pulls his gun and shoots her first. And shoots her again. And again.

The clusterfuck that is San Antonio is highlighted by a series of montage: Ruth dying, Montoya crying, Pove panicking, Rita crowning, DL crying, baby coming... Quique craddling bleeding Curtis on this lap... I am now half-expecting everyone to break into a sing-a-long of Se Me Olvido Otra Vez

DL faints from lack of insulin and Chipmunk is freed from his choke hold. Bad Guys lead their leader out of the holding cell, but the comisaria is surrounded and they have to find a way to get out of there. So they corral everyone into the main floor and start to choose hostages. Just then, the ventilation sytem starts working, Lucas knows that Aitor has succeeded in doing whatever it is he is supposed to do, and winks at Sara.

I don't know what happens next, I guess the vent system starts pumping carbon monoxide CO2 into the air, and everyone starts fading. Pove puts headsets into Rita with Pachelbel's Canon in D playing to calm her down and also to provide for the dramatic music as one by one, everyone starts falling down. VERY CHEESY SCENE, especially when the last 2 standing were Lucas and Sara and of course they fall into each other's arms. SOMEBODY, PLEASE SHOOT ME NOW BEFORE I SHOOT THESE TWO!

Just then, Aitor walks in with a mask to see everyone on the floor, and the scene before him is kinda like the morning after one of the parties at the University 24/7 Bar. The cops and SWAT team barge in. THEY AREN'T WEARING ANY MASK! WTF?

THE END?

Uhm, NO. It's a cliffhanger and you don't know who dies and who survives, who goes to jail and who gets their heart broken. The story arc will go on for another 5 episodes or so before El Kaiser comes in.

Watch the episode in HD

Piper's Commentary: For some reason, some folks pick this episode as one of their favorites and I don't really know why. The whole episode fails in the realism category. It's like someone presenting you with a loaded baked potato with all the goodies like sour cream and chives and bacon and cheddar. WITHOUT THE POTATO. Well, this episode is that loaded baked un-potato.

First of all, how can a police station, you know, WHERE THE COPS ARE, be held captive by a band of hoods? Really. How could Curtis survive after this? How could anyone not miraculously recover after being patched with Silvia's bra?

AND that fake blood! Good gawd! Whatever it was, it didn't look anything like blood, which is kinda distracting afterwards especially the way it's smeared on Pove's face.

And all these triangles: Luca-Sara-Aitor, Paco-Lola-Mariano, Silvia-Curtis-Quique... yeah, yeah, we get the point. And we all know the only triangle I understand can be solved by the Pythagorean Theorem a^2 + b^2 = c^2

So this is the end of this semester. I just have one last lecture to post, then I am leaving the podium temporarily to my colleagues who I'm sure will not miss me. There are still a few pre-Pepa episodes in the next season, but they can wait. I can also go back to the first 2 seasons and give more comprehensive lectures (and pictures), but that too can wait.

Sabbatical, what a novel idea... and after the 54th episode, she rested...

Maybe Everything's Right with the World

Don Lorenzo's Struggle

angie005, MPep


Elisabeth Kubler-Ross defined The 5 Stages of Grief aka The Kubler-Ross Model in her book titled “On Death and Dying”.

Stages:

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

The model was first applied to human illness suffering but future development found these stages can be applied to any catastrophic personal loss.

Kubler-Ross noted that the stages do not necessarily come in order, nor will humans go through all said stages.

Don Lorenzo discovering the world he once knew was changing is no exception to the Kubler-Ross Model.




Pepa and Silvia’s First (Second) Kiss also known as the infamous Bathroom Scene was the “wake-up” call to disrupt Don Lorenzo's content life.

“When you get to a certain age, it becomes increasingly difficult to accept when you're wrong, and much more difficult to change your values.”

After witnessing that his adult daughter Silvia was intimate with a woman, Pepa Miranda, he experienced his stages:

Anger - After Don Lorenzo processed what he had seen between Silvia and Pepa, and after the initial shock was dealt with, he turned to the emotions he was most comfortable with: anger. Except his anger was dealt within himself, instead of verbally expressed as per his norm.

“The juice? The juice that I’m going to squeeze from your BRAIN. You...bitch. (Despotenciada)”

Denial - When Paco approaches DL on the subject of Pepa and Silvia, DL was quick to dismiss the event ever happened.

Bargaining - As comical as this scene was, it showed that was DL was willing to do anything to make his daughter change her feelings for Pepa.

What father would set up a surveillance, wasting thousands of dollars of police equipment and demanding an employee to do his dirty work? Only on Los Hombres de Paco.

DL was hoping he could change Silvia's feelings for Pepa in exchange for his self worth. He needed to know his values were still the same and that he was still right.

Depression - Depression and Acceptance came quickly for DL. First, he had realized that he had lost this battle; his daughter was truly happy to be with a woman and he couldn’t change that. His values, morals and ethics and everything he believed were diminished.

Acceptance - Even though DL's timing was horribly off, it was also most memorable. He begins to tell a story about Silvia’s mother - manuals and the important things in life. He had come to terms that happiness comes within the person and basically gave his blessing to Pepa and Silvia.

Don Lorenzo’s acceptance was handled in such as positive outlook that it should be a reference to all parents and people in general that who other people love should not matter. Values and morals should not play a factor on how to judge others.

With a pivotal moment as Don Lorenzo’s acceptance, it is a stepping stone further to educate the world to do the same.

“But even if you think you know how things should be, the reality is that things are simply how they are. Life isn't like a tractor that sows virtue wherever it goes, and in that you find happiness...”

angie005 MPep Commentary

Now that I have your attention, I’m pleased to announced that PepSi University has a PepSi Student Council.

Our first order of business is the new PepSi University Student Cards!

All PepSi Students are encouraged to apply for their Free PepSi Student Cards!

The Student Cards will allow access in and around the PepSi University, including the Frisking Parking Garage. It also has a 10% discount at the 24/7 Bar and University Bookstore. Other promotions and deals will be added all year round.

Piper's Note:

Angie005, MPep's lecture title came from a song by Barrie Gledden called "Planet Earth". Please download and listen to it and realize how poignant that whole song is.

THE CONFESSIONS OF SILVIA

by Dr. Booker 

Heterosexual men and women have never had to face this moment: the decision to tell someone that they are....straight.

For gays and lesbians it is a defining moment. Whether you do it in person, online, by telephone, or in a long rambling letter, it is one of the most memorable moments in your life.

It is usually a terrifying time and the fear is justified. Many times, this "confession" is not welcome news by family and friends. Many times, young people and adults are turned away by the people who are supposed to love them unconditionally. And there are times when they are embraced and supported.

I truly wish we lived in a world where every person who ever came out would have a Lola or a Jose Luis to talk to. Silvia Castro was a very fortunate woman.

There are two scenes that are basically confessionals for Silvia.

At this point in the Pepa and Silvia story line we have never heard Silvia talk about her feelings concerning Pepa. Each week we saw Pepa discreetly flirting and we hoped that Silvia would respond. But Silvia never verbalized her feelings, as I don't think she knew how...the scientist in her was still sorting out these clues:

1. Why did Silvia get flustered when Pepa got near her?
2. Why did she smile and laugh so much when Pepa was around?
3. Why did it bother her to see other women giving Pepa attention?
4. Why can't Silvia stop looking at Pepa? Why did she agree to go undercover? Why did she pretend to need dance lessons? And why did she almost pass out after dancing with Pepa?

All these questions lead to the kitchen scene with Lola. Silvia has come to her sister for advice. Lesbians (and all PepSi fans) around the world popped the champagne because FINALLY Silvia said the words: "I believe I am flirting with Pepa." She admitted to wanting to be touched by Pepa, that she wanted to be near her and that she actually got jealous.
Lola, who became a hero to anyone who ever had a doubt about speaking the truth, was honest and loving. "We can't choose whom we fall in love with. And if we let them go, we may regret it all our life." Corks were popping from Madrid, Amsterdam, Bangkok, and too many American states to mention.

This scene reminds us of what life should be. That someone can sit across from a loved one at a kitchen table, and tell them about whom they love. And know that when they are done, they will still be loved.

The second confessional is part of the funny and poignant scene between Jose Luis and Silvia. With Lola out of town and Jose Luis being the only one who knows about Pepa (Silvia doesn't know that her father is eavesdropping, and just wait until she finds out he is also a lookieloo). Towards the end of this scene, Silvia talks about what Pepa gives to her. She says that she loves the smell of her hair, how she holds her and when she is with Pepa she is where she is supposed to be.
She then confesses to Jose Luis that fear has always paralyzed her. This is a powerful moment because we know that Jose Luis has been raped and when he tells her that he knows about fear, we believe him. Silvia believes him. And he urges her to get past the fear and be with Pepa.

Scenes like these are rare in television. Here are two characters just talking and they are stripped bare. The characters only have their emotions and their words. These scenes were important for us to see the development of the character of Silvia. The wide audience needed to hear Silvia say that she loved a woman and why. The Jose Luis scene was really the launch of PepSi--the following week we had the famous hangar episode.

And here is my confession: I have always thought that there was a scene missing from this season. There should have been a scene where Silvia comes to Pepa, after talking to Jose Luis, and says "I am yours. You are what I want." To me, it is a big gap in their growth as a couple. What would a Dr. Booker lecture be without a comment about Marian's beauty? She is stunningly gorgeous in the scene with Jose Luis, just stunning.

Finally, to all of you PepSi fans who have not told your story, I want you to know that you are safe at PepSiU. If you are thinking you are gay or you know you are gay, I hope you have someone in your life who loves you because you are you, with no rules or conditions. Choose someone who will not only accept your secret, but someone who will bake a cake in honor of your announcement. Sharing a secret about who you are is reason enough to celebrate. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You do not need to be embarrassed. You need to be embraced for who you are. One of the most powerful things the Internet does is give people from all over the world a place to be who they are, without restrictions. If no one in your daily life knows about you, at least you can be at home here. If you are not ready to make an announcement, you know that there is fun to be had here. Pepa and Silvia brought us all together and we are not going anywhere.

"...And Maybe Then You'll Know What Love Is"

 by KalikeCA, Esq

As we saw in the last lecture, love can give a person courage and strength. However, it can also make a person act irrationally, as even Pepa acknowledged that there are a lot of "shitty things that a person does thanks to love."

This was certainly true in Pepa's case. After one too many shots of tequila, Pepa, in an inebriated state of love, told Silvia that she wanted to have children with her. Once sobriety set in, Pepa unintentionally humiliated Silvia while venting her frustrations to Paco and literally got her mouth "busted open for love" as a result. But Pepa was so in love and wanted so desperately to make the woman she loved happy that it led her to genuinely believe that if she found a man to impregnate herself, Silvia would see how much she loved her.

Although love clouded Pepa's judgment and only exacerbated the situation, it was also love that prevented Pepa from walking away even when Silvia asked Pepa to let her go. Pepa's love for Silvia was so strong that she literally couldn't "stand the thought of being more than 2 centimeters apart" from her and it was this love that made her fight for their relationship. And if this meant that Pepa would have to file a bogus mobbing charge against Silvia and pretend to be pregnant and dating someone else, then Pepa would do it. Because love had convinced Pepa that she couldn't be, and never wanted to be, just friends with Silvia.

Love sustained Pepa's faith in her belief that she and Silvia were always meant to be together. Faith that they would eventually reconcile. Faith that she didn't need a Top 5 list of fantasies, because "the only star (in her life) will be (her) redhead: (her) fiance, the one who's going to be (her) wife." Faith that if Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Raphael and Natalia Figueroa and other celebrity couples can be happily married, then so can Pepa and Silvia.

Upon her return to San Antonio, Pepa was socked in the face with love, and from that point on, she let it become the driving force behind her major life decisions. Love got her to stay in San Antonio. Love allowed her to believe that she and Silvia could be more than friends. Love motivated her to fight for their relationship even when it seemed like a lost cause. And love overpowered her fears, erasing them and leaving only joy. The pure joy that can only be experienced from staring into the eyes of your true love. A love that leaves you with a million-watt smile and a feeling you can't get rid of and, you realize, you never want to get rid of.

Because once you've been socked in the face with love, you know what love truly is, and you realize you'll do anything you have to in order to hold on to that feeling.

kalike

*The titles for these first two lectures are based on lyrics from the song "Sock You in the Face with Love" by The XYZ Affair.