Julie & Julia, or (more appropriately) Julia & some-random-girl-named Julie

Sunday, I finally convinced the hubby to for the successful new film Julie & Julia.

First Impression: Good (Great? I'm so bad with praise) movie.Why? I absolutely loved Meryl Streep here, her uncanny voice, and addictive awkwardness which (I'm going to have to gather because, frankly, I've never heard the voice of Julia Child, to my memory) must surely be a dead-on impression of the magical woman. In all honesty, Julia, if this IS accurate, reminds me of said hubby, who was being very quirky and fabulously awkward the entire weekend. So it could matter who is sitting next to you (slouched in his seat, fiddling with a pair of Ray-Bans like a baton twirler from Britain's Got Talent. Ok, so maybe not quite like that...I digress.

Verdict: See it. Theater-viewing optional. It's a perfect Saturday afternoon flick to get you motivated to cook something delicious for dinner. Actually, you probably DON'T want to see this movie UNLESS you have time to cook afterward. It's that appetizing (can I even say no pun intended here, is this a pun? Help me Englishy people out there...)

Reservations: My only issue with the film is based off my background. I'm a writer, so books-come-movies always are a difficult genre to, um, swallow. This spring I had, coincidentally, bought off a rack of "$4.99 Bargain Books" the first 2005 edition Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (which I have to say has the most hideously bland yuppie cover for such a multi-faceted narrative...bad editor, bad, BAD!). I later discovered a book was being made about the film, and vowed to read the book before the movie, in case anything was going to get "spoiled" by the film (how many freakin' food metaphors can I accidentally use here...another post surely). And oh how the film spoiled so so much.

Poor Julie looks like every aspiring writer, aspiring cook, aspiring wife, sometimes even aspiring ADULT. One friend, C., who didn't read the book ask, "What was the whole point of the story, though?" Exactly.

First Words Out of the Theater: "I'd be pissed if this was the movie that they made out of my book. She comes across like such a whiny bitch." Such a departure from the at-times-tear-inducing Julie Powell of the book.

Ultimately my beef is with the marketing of this film. You think, oh, it's a movie version of the book. FALSE. It's a combination of TWO BOOKS, Julie Powell's memoir, and Child's autobiography, My Life in France. So of course Julia steals the show. You can't put a budding NY writer up against the tour de force that was Julia Child. And especially never can you cast Meryl Streep without full knowledge that her character will not be overshadowed by, no offense, a newcomer.

And frighteningly I just made the connection that this isn't even the first time Amy Adams and Meryl Streep have shared a screen (2008's Doubt, also starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, also recommended). That's how much this movie has dazed me!

There's an A.V. Club review that point out the same problem, but I'll take it a step further. Maybe I didn't see the narcissism, since Julie Powell comments on her awareness of blog-as-self-idolatry. It just seems so damnable to criticize someone who already beat you to the punch with self-criticism.

Wishful Revisions: What do I wish the movie really portrayed? Powell's memoir is more than just a cutesy romantic-comedy blog. I was really struck by the metaphor of what's missing. Julie doesn't have the sense of direction all her friends seem to have. The memoir is her finding of inspiration. But Julie works for an organization that deals with the fallout from 9-11, and the conference room looks out over "Ground Zero."

In my eyes, it's a subtle post-9-11 narrative told through the eyes of a woman who may or may not realize that she's being so universal. I wanted to see THAT type of collective literary catharsis, the connection on the screen of food and soul and loss and being lost. I wanted JULIE to shadow Julia, the real triumphing over the mythic. Ephron's film to me is a Bifteck Sauté Bercy that's missing the marrow and the rich, meaty, intensity of a "life, well lived" (Powell's description) that deeply richens the original memoir.

I thought I'd share part of an old poem of mine that seems a fitting close...

I remember after the funeral, playing hide and seek

with my brother, and crawling under the bed finding, alone,

my grandfather’s reading glasses. Surely, they could have only

fallen from his face as he collapsed, here, beside the bed. It was

too much of the past to stomach, like a funeral banquet grander

than any wedding feast because the caterer knows we must

always fill ourselves against a loss: the meal itself, a new story,

the first bite an opening line repeated like a chorus for hours.

from "Doggerel"
© 2009 Lindsey Gosma Donhauser

Marketing Tools - Restaurant Menus

I recently had the opportunity to redesign the entire set of menus for the Coronado Cafe, a restaurant near Downtown Phoenix. I love this place so much, I work here a few days a week. It's a great spot for dinner and cocktails, and the staff is amazingly fun and courteous.

Some of the revised design elements were an integrated lunch/dinner/brunch/drink layout; landscape orientation for a more appealing table-presentation; more modern/retro feel to go with the funky personality of the cafe itself.

I think the final product turned out quite nicely.

If you've got feedback, especially from a customer's point of view, please leave comments, as I'm always up for a critique toward a revision!

Sweet Tooth - Cuisinart Elite Die-Cast Food Processor

So I officially put my order in for the new Cuisinart Elite Die-Cast Food Processor. It involves an unspecified waitlist-wait and an ominous phone call from the local W-S. Who knows how long this will take, and I'm practically foaming at the mouth for this one.





For those of you familiar with the old-school Cuisnarts, this handy guide (which I happen to think is a fabulous marketing tool...it's practically dripping with WIIFM, and it's audience-centered for those who only need to know "why it's BETTER than what I already have") should do all the convincing--8 new features.

Honestly I only need 3 of the new features to shell out $300 for this baby:

1. Three (count 'em 3) Bowl Sizes - I love my little Mini-Prep, but seriously, 24 ounces does not a true "food" processor make. I have a "sauce" processor and a "nut" processor, but nothing that in and of itself resembles a full serving of "food" comes out of my Mini-Prep, at least not in less than a few,messy batches. I've longed to upgrade for several months, and have often borrowed my friend J.'s Prep 11 Plus (a very strategic wedding gift from me to her, haha), but I still like how when I just need a little chop-chop, the smaller bowl on my Mini-Prep is perfect (and fits comfortably on my dishwasher's top-rack). So what's better than having two food processors, in appropriate sizes? Having one that does the work of a mini and a maxi. (Oh, and did I mention they are NESTING BOWLS, so yay for more cabinet/counter space for additionally fabulous small electrics!)

2. Spill-Proof Blending - I like to make saucy things in my food processor. With any older version, you get the "slosh factor," especially when you're pulsing. (Like, how many times in a row can I possibly fling some brightly-colored sauce base all over my kitchen counter? And do remember I have grouted tile countertops.) With a new rubber gasket on the lid, I have no fear of any "slosh factor." Bring it.

3. Cord Storage - Three words: Retractable Power Cord. 'Nuff said. (And for those anal-retentive kitchen-keepers out there, you don't need another reason, period.)

Given that there are 50 reviews on Williams-Sonoma's website (with an average rating of 4.9 stars), I think this is a true cook's tool, with a battery of new "revisions" to make this piece of equipment a beloved staple in a serious kitchen.

Let me know if anyone else has experiences with food processors and/or Cuisinart. Let's share the love!

Infusions - Spicy Globe Basil Vodka

I've been enamored lately with vodka, especially of the "additionally flavored" kind. I've come to discover that many cheaper vodkas contain chemical cocktails that taste like berry/melon/lemon/bubblegum/etc, but often don't contain anything remotely close to the original "flavoring substance." Most of the higher-end liquors don't call themselves flavored, but "infused," a term that implies a gentler, natural process of extracting flavors from organic material.

With a little background research though, I realized that even this naming was a marketing ploy. How much "faux flavor" vodka/soda have I been drinking at the Recovery Room, thinking I'm getting something that's less, how do I say it, "concocted."

I came across instructions for infusing spirits, so I'm trying my hand at a truly infused spirit. I had some leftover Smirnoff in the freezer and a potful of basil in the backyard (variety: spicy globe). I snipped 2 good size springs, filled a "sun-tea" pitcher with about 700 mL of Smirnoff, tossed in the basil and gave it a hearty good shake. I figured this would be a good experiment, since I can't stomach Smirnoff, even with soda, and my article reminds us that

just as during Prohibition, when mixers were born to make bad liquor more tolerable, flavoring makes a cheaper vodka more tolerable.

I'll let you all know how it turns out, 3-5 days from now. If it works, I think I'm going to have on well-stocked, organic-herb-infused-vodka bar.

Out of Sight, but Still Shaping...

Ack! I've been on end-of-semester-grading hiatus and have totally spaced on my blog. Since I'm also about to run out the door yet again, I thought I'd give you all an interesting link. I found another Sales Machine post that just reiterates what I've been teaching in ENG 301 - Writing for the Professions for the past few years. You have to think about your audience--what they know and what they want--and give them a message that's clear, concise, and somehow unique at the same time. In other words, write something that's momentarily evocative, then shut up. Sounds like a good flash fictions piece, doesn't it? Enjoy!

How to Write a Killer Sales Message

Baked (Not Fried) Cheese Puffs & Product Packaging

Just shopping at Fresh and Easy on 19th and Glendale and I was rendered speechless by the packaging on their new Baked (Not Fried) Cheese Puffs. The bag is the EXACT color of the powdery cheesy goodness that covers your fingers. (See photo, case in point). I could not resist. I came home and ate half the bag. I thought I'd research why this happened to me. I came across the following article that made me feel better:

Food Packaging | Packaging gets psyched | Food Processing Shared via AddThis

And a highlight:

Some marketers contend that of all the visual cues a package incorporates, color is the single most important. Consumers have only seconds to make a purchasing decision in the supermarket, and color registers much faster than text or complex graphics.

Colors are associated with various emotional states and need to convey an appropriate mood for the product and/or brand. In some parts of the grocery store, like the cereal aisle, the colors on the packages “are screaming ‘buy me,’ but not all products want to do that,” says Ed Cristman, design director at Axion Design (www.axiondesign.com), San Anselmo, Calif.

Needless to say I am just another victim of some genius kid-marketer at corporate. I love-hate you, kid!

What's in a Name? - Note on the title of this blog

As a developing writer and poet, I was obsessed with metaphors. And etymologies. But most especially homophones.

Trying to name a blog is like trying to name a new puppy. What can I imagine saying out loud that won't make me gag in 2 years time. Or alternatively, what doesn't sound like a generic dog-name, or in this case, blog-name, but still works as a functional title.

I ran the gamut of boring titles and overly-syrupy metaphors. Why? Because I have a thing for threes. I built a collaborative arts project around the number three, and I realized my blog needs to cover three near-and-dear topics:

1) Composition
2) Marketing
3) Food

Now, pick any two (like a lunch-counter combo) and you're fine for titles. But "adding on" makes the title buffet get awfully picked-over, awfully fast. Food metaphors aside, I've spent a lot of time working over the title in my mind, like dough, and I finally turned to an old standby--the Wikipedia disambiguation pages--and stumbled upon what is the linguistic equivalent to a slap in the face: PROOF.

I teach students to do this, I've made a living fixing colleagues' errors on junk mail, and I've had a hankering to learn how to make a really good artisan loaf. Let's face it, my past, present, and future are all based on this little word. PROOF, to save you the lengthy definition, serves my blog in, let's see, three ways.

3) It's the process of leavening, it's the "rising" that makes bread a food of texture, not just taste.
2) It's the process of copyediting and of revision, it's half of the time you spend creating a written piece.
1) It's the process of establishing of the truth of anything, it's the demonstration that leads others to knowledge.

It's the PROOF, the action, that gives meaning and fullness to the SHAPE, the original form and the idea(l).