Collection of British Art

RORY: Grandpa, that art gallery was amazing. Thank you.

RICHARD: Yale has one of the finest collections of British art in the world.

Richard refers to the Yale Center for British Art, which houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the UK. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare books, and manuscripts reflects the development of British art and culture from the Elizabethan period onward.

It was established in 1966 by a gift from philanthropist and Yale alumnus Paul Mellon, together with an endowment for operations of the centre, and funds for a building to house the works of art. It is across the street from the Yale University Art Gallery [pictured], and no doubt Richard has taken Rory there as well – this could well be the amazing art gallery she speaks of.

The Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses an encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on Yale’s campus. It was founded in 1832, after patriot artist John Trumbull donated more than 100 paintings of the American Revolutionary War.

It turns out that the art gallery at Yale was one of Richard’s favourite places to bring girls on dates, in order to impress them with his knowledge of art.

Kierkegaard

LORELAI: Wow, does that guy look smart. I mean it, he’s got the smart look down. The glasses, the furrowed brow, the ticky walk.

RORY: The Kierkergaard.

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Danish theologian and philosopher, widely considered to the first existential philosopher. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a “single individual”, giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. By the mid-20th century, his thought had exerted a substantial influence on philosophy, theology, and Western culture in general.

Rory Takes Off Her Bracelet

[Lorelai finds the bracelet that Dean made for Rory on the dresser]

LORELAI: Oh wow. I guess this means there really isn’t a Dean any more, huh?

RORY: Yeah, that and it broke in the shower this morning. Though I probably would’ve taken it off anyway.

When Lorelai finds Rory’s bracelet made for her by Dean on the dresser, she realises that Rory and Dean really have broken up and aren’t getting back together this time. Even though Rory says that it broke in the shower that morning, she says that she probably would have removed it herself anyway. In fact, she wasn’t wearing it at Friday night dinner the previous week, so it seems as if she had actually stopped wearing it almost immediately after breaking up with Dean.

This leads to a discussion between them about Jess, with Lorelai snarking about him, and Rory asking if Jess is always going to be demonised by Lorelai. Lorelai does not pretend to be thrilled about Jess, and admits she felt Rory was safer with Dean (I don’t think Rory always felt perfectly safe, but Lorelai never seems to think about that). However, she is willing to endure Jess for Rory’s sake, and says Rory and Jess won’t be forever, anyway.

The Amazing Kreskin

LORELAI: The way you survive a road trip with my mother is to make sure you have all your bases covered, leave nothing to chance. Never give her the opportunity to give you a thirty-minute lecture on how, if you’d brought the second bathing suit like she told you to, it wouldn’t have mattered that the first one’s strap broke in a freak pool slide incident that no one, including the Amazing Kreskin, could’ve predicted, you would’ve been covered.

The Amazing Kreskin, previously discussed.

Tacos and Tortillas

RORY: We like tacos …

LORELAI: “With homemade tortillas, it elevates this fast finger food to the level of haute cuisine.”

A taco is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small corn-based or what-based tortilla topped with a filling then folded around the filling, and eaten by hand.

Corn (maize) tortillas are a thin, unleavened flatbread that have been made in Mexico since prehistoric times, although it was the Spanish who gave them the name tortilla (“little cake”). The Nahuatl word for them is tlaxcalli, meaning “something baked”. Wheat-based tortillas developed in northern Mexico, and are often associated with California, since it was once part of the Mexican Empire. In North America, most tortillas are made from wheat.

Common taco fillings include beef, pork, chicken, seafood, beans, vegetables, and cheese, and they can be topped with condiments such as salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, and garnished with vegetables such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, and chillies. The meaning and origin of the word taco has been much debated.

Hector’s

LORELAI: Anyhow, I looked through it and it just so happens that one of the best taco places on the East Coast is ten minutes from campus … [reads] “You haven’t had a taco until you’ve spent some time at Hector’s, crisp and meaty … not greasy”.

There isn’t a taco place called Hector’s in New Haven, but there’s a popular Mexican restaurant called El Carpintero run by a guy named Hector in Burbank, Los Angeles – across the street from Warners Bros and much frequented by people who work there. This seems so suspiciously similar that I think it must be the inspiration for the fictional Hector’s in New Haven.