Julia's View of Martha Stewart

Yesterday, I compared the two great ladies (Julia and Martha) of style and cooking and posed the question: "Who would you rather have had a beer with?". Here is an excerpt from a reporter's interview of Julia back in 1997. Julia's true no-nonsense goodness comes through like always. Link to full text follows.

"MR: What do you think of Martha Stewart?

JC: We know her. She's a very special person. And I think she's also a perfectionist. She came to our house when we were doing the baking series. She was very professional and pleasant to be with, and she did a beautiful job.

MR: She has been lampooned and parodied somewhat mercilessly, alas.

JC: Yes, and I don't know why. People are probably jealous of her because she's so good-looking and capable, and anything she sets out to do she can do."

Julia Child, on Marijuana and Martha Stewart by Michael Rowe

Julia Child's Kitchen / Salad Spinner

". . . above all have a good time." Julia Child

vs.

"Life is too complicated not to be orderly." Martha Stewart

Who would you rather have had a beer with?

Film Julie & Julia opens Friday, August 7, 2009

The 'New Vintage' Life, NY Times Home & Garden

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/29/garden/20090730-PREWAR_index.html

Home & Garden
The ‘New Vintage’ Life
Michael Weschler for The New York Times
Published: 20090729
A look inside three Brooklyn apartments decorated with the taxidermy, antique skeletons and other Victoriana that are making their way back into home decor.

Garden Update Part Two

The Elepahnt Ears (Colocasia) finally broke trough the top layer of mulch. Due to the cool June, they didn't find the time to do so until July came around. The Coleus blumei did not thrive during the many cold nights in May and June. Normally, the plants would be thick and bushy with many colorful leaves. Perhaps, they, too, will show better in August.

Update from the Garden

Warmer weather has come at long last after much fog and rain. The clematis is finally blasting off and adding a dramatic splash of color against the house's buttery exterior.

Plant stand from Martha Stewart's K Mart collection. Neat design but quality is not the best.

Close-up of Juncus effusus 'Curly-wurly'

Public Enemies Globe Review

'Public Enemies' movie review - 'Public Enemies' showtimes - The Boston Globe

Posted using ShareThis

I read this after seeing the movie and find that most of my complaints regarding the film were addressed. The film could have been excellent but did not manage to turn that corner. Depp was great but he alone did not grant the film the direction and purpose required. We are definitely living in an environment where people would enjoy identifying with a character who sticks it to the Man. Cinderella Man and Seabiscuit are also set against the Great Depression backdrop but the directors of both films connect the viewer to the protagonist's struggle. However, the connection between the audience and the Enemies' Robin Hood-like characters is not allowed time to take hold.

Seabiscuit Trailer

June was a Wash Out Month

As months go, June will be remembered as a wet soggy mess of a month that has now spilled over into July. Where is the justice? Every day there is either mist, fog, rain or all of the above. The song A Foggy Day(in London Town) has come to mind more than once. Alas, the clip from The Big Sleep above shows how interesting Bogey could make a rainy afternoon. Would you have closed early and let your hair down just for Bogey? Only in songs and in movies does someone suddenly appear that makes the "sun shining everywhere". If you have a story that counters this point, please, share and spread the joy.

A Foggy Day (in London Town), by George Gershwin, song from film, Damsel in Distress starring Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine, 1937

A foggy day in London Town
Had me low had me down
I viewed the morning with such alarm
The British Museum had lost its charm
How long, I wondered, could this thing last?
But the age of miracles hadn't passed,
For, suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London Town
The sun was shining everywhere.