I just finished watching Julie and Julia, and while it made me immediately want to pick up someone’s cookbook and battle my way through it, and rekindle a passion for Paula Deen and butter, and start watching the Food Network again, and learn to cook beef bourguignon, and then blog about it, I probably won’t do the latter. It’s been done, and Julie Powell did a damn good job.
And I’m jealous. People took notice. She wrote a book. The book became a movie. A movie! Something Julie probably never dreamed of when she sat down and blogged about that first recipe.
But what the movie did teach me is that my life lacks direction. I need to find joy in something, one thing, and finish it. That’s my problem. I find myself pulled in so many directions and I just need to simplify. I work. I blog. I read. I cook. I eat. I watch movies. I sleep. I wake up and do it all over again.
I need one goal. One purpose, even if that purpose only takes a year to accomplish. It’s not like getting the groceries bought, or cooking one meal, or tackling the laundry. It needs to define me, even if just for a little while.
And I don’t care if anyone takes notice. The phone might not ring off the wall with agents and reporters, and that’s okay. I’ll take notice.
I just want to have the same passion as Julia Child had in cooking, the same passion that Julie Powell had in tackling all those recipes and blogging about them.
Any thoughts? What should I do? What should I live for, to blog about?
The first book of 2010 that I started reading was Wish Her Safe At Home by Stephen Benatar. But after 100 pages Iquickly decided life is too short to read boring books. I threw it down and picked up Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones and I’m so glad I did. I finished it in one week, and just in time for the movie which is what I was hoping to do. I’ve owned a copy of the book for a while, long before I knew it was even going to be a movie. The trailers of the movie look great though and enticed me to choose to read this book instead. And as I said, I’m so glad I did.
You probably know by now that the book is about a 14 year old girl named Susie who is raped and killed and then narrates the book from heaven. She views her family, friends, and neighbors and explores the effects her death has on each of them. She even follows her killer and explores what type of person he is.
Now, I’m the first to enjoy a good ghost story of any kind, but I actually wouldn’t label this a ghost story at all. Still, there are passages in this book that I found to be absolutely haunting. The first of many was where Susie’s father uses a Monopoly game to help explain to his four year old son where Susie has gone. Sebold writes with such finesse and poetry, and yet totally respects and captures the voice of her 14 year old narrator perfectly. It’s quite innocent, and quite intense.
The reader is also treated to a different view of heaven. Susie’s heaven is made up of the earthly elements that made her happy, but perhaps she took them for granted or overlooked them like smells she liked, trees, and even gazebos. People and pets come and go, and all the while, Susie watches the lives of her friends and family go on without her. The reader also gets the feeling that there is another place just out of reach, which may be that cloudy white heaven where we all have wings, but Susie has to let go of the ones on Earth to reach it. And she’s not ready yet.
This is a book that will probably make you angry at times. It will also make you sad, but it’s the kind of sad you want to feel sometimes. It’s the kind of sad that makes you want to call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while and reconnect, and tell them you love them. It’s the kind of book you’ll want to read out loud from and make others around you listen. I did. This is a book that will make you speak out loud to the dead who’ve gone before you, and it will teach you that you should listen because they’ve been talking to you too.
What a great way to start the year! Yet another great book that I will remember, and be recommending, for a long time to come.
So, when your Farmville game is loading on FB they show you a random pic of some farm that’s probably better than yours. Rub it in, Farmville, why don’t ya!? Rub it in! Anyhoo…check this one out that popped up on me today…
The Santa and the Seasons Greetings are made from colored hay bales stacked close to each other. Dass a lot hay!
Hmmm…fat people sweating or bad people singing. What should I watch on TV tonight?
Last night was the kick off of the Biggest Loser and American Idol, two of the big spring season reality shows. I opted for Idol, thinking it might actually be different without Paula there. But after one hour, I was bored to tears (just as I knew I would be). It’s useless to watch that show until the auditions are over and the show goes to Hollywood. It’s also painful.
But not as painful as fat people at a weigh in going to a commercial break each time right before the scale shows what they weigh.
Hmmm…what’s on Discovery channel. Moms with ten babies. Interventions. Midgets. Midgets with ten babies. Interventions with Midgets. Interventions with mom with ten babies who are hoarders. Oh, pet rescue! That looks good! How bout those men who build choppers? Men who rescue pets and build choppers, yeah, let’s watch that. Or those men who rescue dogs, build choppers, and bounty hunt midgets who have ten babies. Now, that’s a show! Oh, it’s not on tonight…
Guess I’ll stay up and watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.
So after the first painful hour of Idol, we watch Psychic Children and Paranormal State instead, in case you were wondering. I actually like those shows.
J and I have recently gotten on a Judy Garland kick. We always liked her and love watching Meet Me in St. Louis every year during the holidays, but we decided we wanted to branch out and see more. So, he started collecting her movies on DVD. Yesterday we had a mini Judy marathon starting with her first movie, Pigskin Parade, which was made in 1936 when Judy was just 14. It was a cute little film. Judy, of course, was awesome in it. And it was fun to see Jack Haley, who later starred as the Tin Man with Judy on the Yellow Brick Road.
Next up, we watched The Harvey Girls from 1946. It’s a fun “out west” film, but several musical numbers were scaled back as we learned from the extras on the DVD. Had they left them in, Judy wouldn’t have definitely been more front and center. It was fun to see a young Angela Lansbury though. Ray Bolger also played a comedic character role; he was the Scarecrow in Oz with Judy in 1939.
A young a beautiful Angela Lansbury in The Harvey Girls
After this, we watched a movie called The Clock, directed by Vincent Minnelli. Vincent, of course, directed Judy in Meet Me in St. Louis where they fell in love. They had a child together who you might have heard of, Liza. The Clock was made in 1945 and I really enjoyed it because it’s a non-musical so we really got to see a different side of Judy. She stars opposite Robert Walker, who died just six years later at the age of 32. It was an amazing film that really captures a side of war time soldiers on leave which we don’t see too much in films. I highly recommend it. It kind of reminded me of Sleepless in Seattle in a way. Great film!
Lastly, we watched Summer Stock. This film was made in 1950 and has a Green Acres feel to it since it takes place on a farm. Lots of laughs and catchy tunes. Gene Kelly stars with Judy. They first shared the screen in a film called For Me and My Gal which we watched a few weeks ago. Gene, and Judy, are both amazing together. The extras on the DVD share a sad story that Judy was very tired during this film and it was delayed quite a bit due to her health. Costars said she was always late or never showed up, or worked just a few hours. But that it was totally worth it because she was amazing. They really supported her during this film, especially Gene because Judy had helped jump start his career. There’s a tap solo Gene does with a newspaper that was just amazing. One of Judy’s most well known numbers, Get Happy!, is also in this film and was the last number she did with MGM. And I admit, it was brilliant!
It was also great to see Marjorie Main in 2 of these films. She was in Harvey Girls and Summer Stock. She was the maid in Meet Me in St. Louis. Marjorie, Ray, Jack, Gene, and so many others shared the screen with Judy in several films so I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see them in different roles. What a pleasure it must have been to get to work with her! Her talent and joy for her singing definitely shines through. She’s absolutely one of the best performers of all time!
Megan Phelps, apparent heir to the hate-mongering throne of her grandfather, Pastor Fred Phelps, shows off these signs she planned on hoisting last night in front of the Fox Theatre. Obviously in need of a GaGa makeover. Honey, even Wal~Mart sells better clothes than what you are wearing. Does God approve of that tight shirt? I know he must hate that haircut, because I sure do.
Lady Gaga was in concert last night at the Fox here in St. Louis. Fred Phelps and his clan from Oklahoma had planned to protest outside the Fox. In retaliation, gay groups were going to be there in defense of Gaga to protest Phelps. Rumors were that Perez Hilton and MTV would be here too to catch it all on camera.
Then, God sent the snow and Phelps listened. He and is inbred clan members backed down and decided not to come.
And the gays went to a bar and had a cocktail and put their nails away, so sayeth the Queen.
Remember Phelps? He and his crazies protest the funerals of marines. Oh, and they also showed up at Matthew Shepard’s funeral with hate signs. They live in a big commune in Oklahoma with an upside down American flag waving overhead.
I wish they’d all get on a cropduster and crash it into a silo in the name of their God because this country sure would be a better place without them.
Jesus loves you, Fred, it’s the rest of us that know you are an asshole.
But St. Louis thinks you for keeping your hate out last night! God bless you!
J and I watched What Dreams May Come this past weekend. He’d never seen it before, but I had. It’s not the best movie ever but I think it’s an interesting concept and a very inspiring way to view Heaven and Hell and reincarnation, if you believe in such a thing.
way through it, and rekindle a passion for Paula Deen and butter, and start watching the Food Network again, and learn to cook beef bourguignon, and then blog about it, I probably won’t do the latter. It’s been done, and Julie Powell did a damn good job.
