Blogging

I saw the movie Julie & Julia yesterday. 

Friends now understand blogging a little better, but they all probably wonder - who cares? or ... who reads what you write?

Julie Powell does what we'd all like to do (well, those of us who fancy ourselves as writers or journalists) ... write ... and then write a book ... get it made into a movie ... and then write another book ... and get PAID to do it. She's done two books ... and she still blogs.

I remember an interview with John Grisham. Bryant Gumbel asks - "does it bother you they changed things from your book to the movie?" "No," Grisham replies with that Southern boyish twinkle in his eye, "the check cleared." And in Grisham's case, there's lots of 000's on that check. Writing and getting paid. What a concept!!!

Julie and Julia was well done ... one of the kinds of movies I like. It's semi-factual, funny and serious ... and it made me wanna do something. I left the movie and bought butter at Sam's Club. Four pounds for $6. The movie did not seem 123 minutes long. It was well paced.

It also made me wanna write more. I looked up Julie Powell on the internet ... read the articles, bookmarked her blog.

It got me misty eyed ... twice. Once, where Julie puts a pound of butter by Julia's picture in the Smithsonian (as close as Julie came to meeting Julia). When I visited Jack Buck's grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in July, someone had left a 2009 Cardinals schedule at his grave. The other time ... well, that's personal.

You'll enjoy this movie more if you like to cook, I think. Or have ever tried a recipe from the paper or PBS or the Food Network and failed.

I always tell my photo students, if you are afraid of taking bad pix, don't pick up the camera. Julie and Julia had accidents in the kitchen but it didn't stop them from cooking. They adapted and had fun.

And maybe THAT is the moral to the movie ... don't worry about failing ... do what you love ... and have fun!!! Blogging!