Shidduch Sightings & Other Observations at Liberty Science Center
This past Sunday, we had a family outing to Liberty Science Center. It is one of the places we get free admission to through the reciprocal membership of ASTC of our Brooklyn Children's Museume Membership. While LSC charges $200 for family membership (that's a regular family of up to 4 children; there is also a "large family" membership for up to 10 people at a higher rate).
There is a small new exhibit on the space exploration program and a very elaborate visiting exhibit called "The Science of Survival." The latter is really geared toward children with warnings that by the year 2050, things may be seriously altered on earth due to environmental changes exacerbated by the carbon footprints of human activities. While it does generally push for conservation along the lines of the "eco-house" game my daughter enjoys playing on the computer, there is also one character among the British animated people that suggest technology can be a positive forcce in the environment.
Of course, some of the ideas for recycling are very old, indeed. For example, the suggestion that old clothes can be cut down and put together to form new ones -- that was the usual practice for all but the richest people back in the days when clothes were handmade, costly items. But individuals generally did them for themselves to save money. The examples of recycled clothing shown in this exhibit, on the other hand, are fashion statements that require a lot of sewing as the patches of recycled fabrics are sewn into an elaborate design. Consequently, these clothes would be very labor-instensive, and that labor would have to be paid for. As "fair trade" is another one the values advocated by this exhibit, that labor should be paid for at fair market rates, which would result in a very costly garment, indeed. And really, wearing a rather heavy strapless gown put together by patches of blue jeans makes a very particular type of fashion statemetn that is not appropriate to all occasions.
But there are some interesting ideas, like the solar oven, which is supposed to need nothing but the sun's heat alone to cook the food placed in it. If there is really no transference needed for this to work, it may not be forbidden on Shabbos. Certainly, that is something worth looking into; perhaps it could replace the crockpot for chulent.
Now about the shidduch sightings: while there were frum people around all day, around 3 pm, I noticed a small handful of couples who had the appearance of people on a shidduch date. Now, the LSC closes at 5, so I wonder is this a deliberate ploy, you know, get to a place just 2 hours before it closes so that you can terminate the date early on the basis of the time. And if the dater chooses to extend the date, it will be continued over dinner out. For those who have been in that situation, is that the planning behind the timing?
There is a small new exhibit on the space exploration program and a very elaborate visiting exhibit called "The Science of Survival." The latter is really geared toward children with warnings that by the year 2050, things may be seriously altered on earth due to environmental changes exacerbated by the carbon footprints of human activities. While it does generally push for conservation along the lines of the "eco-house" game my daughter enjoys playing on the computer, there is also one character among the British animated people that suggest technology can be a positive forcce in the environment.
Of course, some of the ideas for recycling are very old, indeed. For example, the suggestion that old clothes can be cut down and put together to form new ones -- that was the usual practice for all but the richest people back in the days when clothes were handmade, costly items. But individuals generally did them for themselves to save money. The examples of recycled clothing shown in this exhibit, on the other hand, are fashion statements that require a lot of sewing as the patches of recycled fabrics are sewn into an elaborate design. Consequently, these clothes would be very labor-instensive, and that labor would have to be paid for. As "fair trade" is another one the values advocated by this exhibit, that labor should be paid for at fair market rates, which would result in a very costly garment, indeed. And really, wearing a rather heavy strapless gown put together by patches of blue jeans makes a very particular type of fashion statemetn that is not appropriate to all occasions.
But there are some interesting ideas, like the solar oven, which is supposed to need nothing but the sun's heat alone to cook the food placed in it. If there is really no transference needed for this to work, it may not be forbidden on Shabbos. Certainly, that is something worth looking into; perhaps it could replace the crockpot for chulent.
Now about the shidduch sightings: while there were frum people around all day, around 3 pm, I noticed a small handful of couples who had the appearance of people on a shidduch date. Now, the LSC closes at 5, so I wonder is this a deliberate ploy, you know, get to a place just 2 hours before it closes so that you can terminate the date early on the basis of the time. And if the dater chooses to extend the date, it will be continued over dinner out. For those who have been in that situation, is that the planning behind the timing?
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