(Sea) Biscuit on a Sunday

I was feeling a little achey on Sunday so I stayed in. I was unsure whether those little quirky pains and pulls were from too much workout on Saturday, or perhaps I was coming down with the latest plague (H1N1 "swine flu") so I thought I should keep it to myself.

I raided the household DVD rack during one of my rare vertical moments and found a copy of "Seabiscuit." You remember the movie? Released in 2003, it bears watching again. It is about giving the nation hope after in the midst of The Great Depression.

Sometimes, it seems like we're never going to get out of this trouble. For me personally, writing at Voice of America and seeing news stories about economies around the world that are poised perhaps to come out much better than we are, it can seem very dark.

The movie depicts a smaller-than-average racehorse owned by a somewhat inexperienced owner who hired an older than average trainer and a larger than average, half-blind jockey. Yet somehow the combination worked.

The sight of that horse, running its heart out in races against much more physically compelling rivals, is somehow... heartening. I think for me to say more would really waste the impact.

The next time you feel a day of shut-in coming on, maybe you'll take the time to watch it. Or perhaps watch it again.

The Marti/Julia Project

I want to go see "Julie & Julia," which judging by the buzz it is generating, will likely be one of the top movie releases for this weekend. The other new release this weekend is "GI Joe," (I refuse to link this movie in. Google it yourself, if you must know more.) and nobody knocks 'tweens and teens out of their market-making position.

"Julie & Julia" is the real-life story of Julie Powell, a young newly-married resident of Long Island City, NY who wants a writing job and needs to learn to cook, so she begins the "Julia Project," which is year-long effort to cook her way through Julia Child's classic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," and blog about it the entire way. Clever, huh? If you read her posts, it actually is very clever.

Then her blog became so popular that she got a book deal. And a movie deal. Life gets better and better, doesn't it? Good for her!

The movie is being relished by fans of Meryl Streep, who plays Julia Child, as she does all her roles, with aplomb and gusto. (So tempted by write "a-plum" but I stopped myself.)

The cinematic release plays back and forth between both women's lives. Watching Meryl Streep play Julia Child is more visual candy for my gluttonous little movie-loving soul. So I have promised myself that I shall get there.

In counterpoint, the portrayal is not pleasing to actual friends of Julia Child, who say that the lady herself (who passed in 2004, two days short of her 92nd birthday) didn't like the "Julie/Julia Project." She felt like Julie Powell was usurping her name and brand for personal benefit. She didn't approve or appreciate the little upstart from New York. Sigh.

I've not seen the movie. But I will. Until then, I've decided to begin the Marti/Julia project. I've decided to walk around in very tall shoes (Julia herself was 6'2"), trilling in a high falsetto and using words like "marvelous souffle-y concoction" and tossing the word "bechamel" into every third sentence.

Hmmm, "Marti/Julia Project." It just doesn't have the same ring, does it? Oh well. Bon appetit!