He PROBABLY heard it from his FATHER

One thing I got for Christmas. The box alone makes it worthwhile:


The fudge itself is okay. But you gotta love that box.

Sabbatical Flashback 6: On "Julie & Julia" and the act of food blogging

My sabbatical is coming to an end, and I after my long break I'm looking forward to getting back into it. It's just felt so weird eating, cooking, baking, or reading about something food-related, and just relying on Twitter to relate my thoughts. It has made me a little more "zen" about having to relay absolutely everything I do and eat - in other words, I don't need to do that - but instead to focus on the things that really impress upon me the most.

To end the sabbatical, I wanted to repost a reflection I had a while back on the very nature of blogging. It's good to back and look again on why you do this in the first place, no?

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

On "Julie & Julia" and the act of food blogging

(originally posted Friday, August 14, 2009)

I went to see Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia this afternoon during a matinee. As many of you know, the film is adapted from Julie Powell's memoir of the same name and the book My Life in France by Child & Alex Prud'homme. It's a movie that shows the lives of the two women at seminal moments in their lives - Julia in 1949 and the decade after learning how to master the art of French cooking - and translating that for an American audience, Julie over a period of 12 months from 2002 to 2003 learning how to master the art of French cooking - and disseminating that experience in a new online format known as a "blog" (what's a "blog" anyway?).

Mrs. Child, with fish, taken by husband Paul

It's charming and much, much funnier than I expected it to be. It also has a few surprises, such as how utterly Meryl Streep transforms herself into Julia Child, and how Amy Adams only once reminded me of her Disney princess character from Enchanted, and how Powell's husband Eric worked for Archaeology Magazine (the issue blown up in the background in his office? I bought a copy of that issue).

Ms. Powell, with book, from 2005

The movie also made me hungry - not only that, but also made me want to get the damn cookbook and try this myself. I'm not going to do that, of course. It's already been done, and I don't have the time or money to do this anyway. But I will have to get a copy for my own cookbook library. That tattered little copy of The French Chef I found at the Book Thing doesn't stay open by itself anyway. At the very least, I want to make the boeuf bourgignon that partly inspired Powell to love food the way she does (did I interpret that correctly?), and that ended up getting Child's book published by Alfred Knopf in the first place. I might even try to debone a duck!

I don't have a whole lot else to say about the movie at this point. But I did take some time both before and afterwards to read Julie Powell's reflection on the movie itself, in a brief article she wrote for The Atlantic Monthly. She notes that the "Julie Powell" in the movie isn't exactly like the Julie Powell in real life. She's grateful - after all, how many people can say that their first book was made into a movie? All the same, she marvels at the self-awareness of it all. This passage from her article (no I haven't read her book) resonates with me the most:

I like to think I was more self-aware--just as narcissistic, maybe, but at least conscious of my narcissism and able to poke fun at it. In my experience--even if many contemporary bloggers might take issue with this--the blogging was, at least in part, an exercise in self-involvement. Cooking through Mastering changed my life on many levels. It made me a better cook and a more confident person.

I have to agree: I think the very act, er, art of blogging is a narcissistic act in and of itself. Why else would most of us be writing these blogs anyway? Certainly we wouldn't bother unless we just wanted to. Heaven knows there have been times I was just tired of doing this, and other times where I just had no time and literally had to scale back. But I always came back to it because I enjoyed it.

But then Powell turns it back around, and mentions some of the other things it gave her. To avoid quoting the whole piece, I'll specifically mention the "intoxication" she felt from reading her comments (including the deflation at her first-ever commenter being her mother). As she says in her article:

On the one hand, it gave me readers--passionate readers, involved readers, almost insanely devoted readers--who encouraged, cajoled, prodded, and harassed me into both completing the project and developing my voice as a writer.

Some of us have more commenters than others (I might have more if I was better at keeping up on reading more blogs!). But there's the rub: I know I don't just speak for myself, or just paraphrase Julie Powell even, when I say that writing this blog has also been an act of both narcissism and devotion to my readership. When I published my very first post in '06, I certainly didn't think I would have a book deal. Mind you, I still don't expect to, unless I give myself one through one of those self-publishing outfits.

A blog really is the end result of a desire to talk about yourself and what you enjoy. I would not have enjoyed writing about my crazy life - I'm too frazzled there as it is. But writing about food has focused me and given me sort of a place to stand out there and reveal myself. And yet, would I have ever finished that Beltway Snacking series had people not read it? (Still getting comments on that, by the way.) In a big way, I both did it and put so much detail into it for myself, but also for my readers. The comments were more than just gravy; they were the motivation to keep on doing it. To clarify, I don't mean the comments in and of themselves, but the interaction from readers sharing their own perspectives.

Powell also notes how the whole project is indeed a tribute to Julia Child, perhaps one of the main themes of the film (watch this hit home when she visits the Julia Child kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian at the end of the film). For me, blogging is obviously not a tribute to anyone in particular - I haven't done anything particularly "gimmicky" except for that Beltway Snacking thing. But it's not fair to call it "gimmicky" and that sounds worse than it is. Nothing wrong with a gimmick - it's just a modus operandi.

The poster

Perhaps the fact that this post about Julie & Julia has turned into a post about this blog is the best testament to the fact that blogging is indeed a narcissistic venture. Well, thank you, Julie Powell, for motivating me to reflect on that. I dedicate this post to you.

Separated through the Looking Glass?

I heard on the CBS Early Show this morning that Alice in Wonderland actress Anne Hathaway - whose White Queen is fascinating me much more than Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter or Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen - has a surprising inspiration for her character. It's Nigella Lawson!

Lawson and cupcake, care of the Daily Mail UK

Hathaway and dormouse, care of Celebuzz

Apparently, there is a cooking scene and the White Queen cavorts herself in a Nigella-like manner, adding luscious things to some recipe she is making in front of Alice. Oh, that excludes the loogie she hurls into it at the end. Somehow I doubt Lawson would do that.

Zombie Food Pyramid

Courtesy of Slashfood.com (from 2008), what might the Food Pyramid look like for our fine fetid friends? Wonder no more: the Zombie Food Pyramid is below:


In the spirit of all things zombified, I am trying to watch George Romero's zombie oeuvre this month, plus a few other standouts that came along the way. If you're curious or want to watch along, a list is below. Dates are not set in stone for you; this is just how it best fits into my calendar. Oh, and has anyone seen the new Zombieland movie that's out right now? I'm hoping to see it this weekend.

I know this isn't quite food-related, but this is too much for Twitter, so it goes here. And I'm sure the occasional non-foodie post can be forgiven. But hey, I did add a food pyramid!

Great Zombie Marathon

October 7 - Night of the Living Dead (1968)

October 11 - Dawn of the Dead (1978)

October 12 - Day of the Dead (1985)

October 14 - Return of the Living Dead (1985)

October 17 - Night of the Living Dead (1990)

October 18 - Land of the Dead (2005)

October 19 - 28 Days Later (2002)

October 21 - Resident Evil (2002 - just this one; the others suuuuucked)

October 24 - Dawn of the Dead (2004)

October 25 - Shaun of the Dead (2004)

October 28 - Diary of the Dead (2008)

On "Julie & Julia" and the act of food blogging

I went to see Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia this afternoon during a matinee. As many of you know, the film is adapted from Julie Powell's memoir of the same name and the book My Life in France by Child & Alex Prud'homme. It's a movie that shows the lives of the two women at seminal moments in their lives - Julia in 1949 and the decade after learning how to master the art of French cooking - and translating that for an American audience, Julie over a period of 12 months from 2002 to 2003 learning how to master the art of French cooking - and disseminating that experience in a new online format known as a "blog" (what's a "blog" anyway?).

Mrs. Child, with fish, taken by husband Paul

It's charming and much, much funnier than I expected it to be. It also has a few surprises, such as how utterly Meryl Streep transforms herself into Julia Child, and how Amy Adams only once reminded me of her Disney princess character from Enchanted, and how Powell's husband Eric worked for Archaeology Magazine (the issue blown up in the background in his office? I bought a copy of that issue).

Ms. Powell, with book, from 2005

The movie also made me hungry - not only that, but also made me want to get the damn cookbook and try this myself. I'm not going to do that, of course. It's already been done, and I don't have the time or money to do this anyway. But I will have to get a copy for my own cookbook library. That tattered little copy of The French Chef I found at the Book Thing doesn't stay open by itself anyway. At the very least, I want to make the boeuf bourgignon that partly inspired Powell to love food the way she does (did I interpret that correctly?), and that ended up getting Child's book published by Alfred Knopf in the first place. I might even try to debone a duck!

I don't have a whole lot else to say about the movie at this point. But I did take some time both before and afterwards to read Julie Powell's reflection on the movie itself, in a brief article she wrote for The Atlantic Monthly. She notes that the "Julie Powell" in the movie isn't exactly like the Julie Powell in real life. She's grateful - after all, how many people can say that their first book was made into a movie? All the same, she marvels at the self-awareness of it all. This passage from her article (no I haven't read her book) resonates with me the most:

I like to think I was more self-aware--just as narcissistic, maybe, but at least conscious of my narcissism and able to poke fun at it. In my experience--even if many contemporary bloggers might take issue with this--the blogging was, at least in part, an exercise in self-involvement. Cooking through Mastering changed my life on many levels. It made me a better cook and a more confident person.

I have to agree: I think the very act, er, art of blogging is a narcissistic act in and of itself. Why else would most of us be writing these blogs anyway? Certainly we wouldn't bother unless we just wanted to. Heaven knows there have been times I was just tired of doing this, and other times where I just had no time and literally had to scale back. But I always came back to it because I enjoyed it.

But then Powell turns it back around, and mentions some of the other things it gave her. To avoid quoting the whole piece, I'll specifically mention the "intoxication" she felt from reading her comments (including the deflation at her first-ever commenter being her mother). As she says in her article:

On the one hand, it gave me readers--passionate readers, involved readers, almost insanely devoted readers--who encouraged, cajoled, prodded, and harassed me into both completing the project and developing my voice as a writer.

Some of us have more commenters than others (I might have more if I was better at keeping up on reading more blogs!). But there's the rub: I know I don't just speak for myself, or just paraphrase Julie Powell even, when I say that writing this blog has also been an act of both narcissism and devotion to my readership. When I published my very first post in '06, I certainly didn't think I would have a book deal. Mind you, I still don't expect to, unless I give myself one through one of those self-publishing outfits.

A blog really is the end result of a desire to talk about yourself and what you enjoy. I would not have enjoyed writing about my crazy life - I'm too frazzled there as it is. But writing about food has focused me and given me sort of a place to stand out there and reveal myself. And yet, would I have ever finished that Beltway Snacking series had people not read it? (Still getting comments on that, by the way.) In a big way, I both did it and put so much detail into it for myself, but also for my readers. The comments were more than just gravy; they were the motivation to keep on doing it. To clarify, I don't mean the comments in and of themselves, but the interaction from readers sharing their own perspectives.

Powell also notes how the whole project is indeed a tribute to Julia Child, perhaps one of the main themes of the film (watch this hit home when she visits the Julia Child kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian at the end of the film). For me, blogging is obviously not a tribute to anyone in particular - I haven't done anything particularly "gimmicky" except for that Beltway Snacking thing. But it's not fair to call it "gimmicky" and that sounds worse than it is. Nothing wrong with a gimmick - it's just a modus operandi.

The poster

Perhaps the fact that this post about Julie & Julia has turned into a post about this blog is the best testament to the fact that blogging is indeed a narcissistic venture. Well, thank you, Julie Powell, for motivating me to reflect on that. I dedicate this post to you.

Food, Inc.

I saw Food, Inc. last night. It didn't tell me much that I didn't already know - especially after reading Michael Pollan's excellent In Defense of Food (Pollan also appeared in the documentary a few times). And still, it disturbed and angered me - specifically the things I did not know. I won't write a lengthy post about it now, except to say that (Oops, looks like I did write a lengthy post about it after all!) After spending 90 minutes at the Charles avoiding all the Brüno traffic, I now have better insights into:

• Just how many things have corn products in them (diapers!?!?);
• Perdue and Tyson (and probably the other one or two megacompanies in "Big Poultry") do a pretty good job of mistreating not only its chickens - to make them much bigger in half the time - but also its chicken farmers - who have to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to upgrade their chicken houses, even though they make about $20K a year;
• I now know why unionizing workers at Smithfield's Tar Heel, NC, plant are so pissed off;
  
• I also now know about food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk and her efforts to pass Kevin's Law, named after her son who was killed by E. coli tainted beef that was recalled - a month after her son ate it, and two weeks after he passed;
  
• And after finding out how thoroughly Monsanto - the same chemical company that holds a patent on a genetically modified soybean - harasses those independent soybean farmers who refuse to use their soybeans, and considering how pervasive soy products are in the American food supply, I don't know if I can ever drink soy milk again (not that I did very much to begin with);
• If you want to grow corn or soy in this country, you pretty much have to roll over for the big corporations and do what they want;
• The organic food folks are pretty torn on corporations like Wal-Mart starting to sell organic food, even though it is the very type of change they are seeking. The documentary features one Gary Hirshberg, maker of Stonyfield organic yogurt, who points out that most formerly independent organic companies are now owned by the Big Guys. Tom's (that you see often at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods)? It's now owned by Colgate.
  

Of course, the film points out some things that both Pollan's book and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation already discuss that I already had realized:

• The fundamental changes in the food industry over the last 50 years in order to quickly make cheap, tasty, though not always sanitary food (again, Kevin's Law);
• The pervasiveness of high fructose corn syrup and other many and varied corn products and soy products in our food;
• Because we'd rather prosecute illegal immigrants instead of the corporations that hire them, a lot of food corporations are getting away with some very bad things;
• Our nation's FDA and USDA are much more ineffective than they ever were, especially since food industry big wigs have served in the upper echelons of both organizations on and off for decades, under Democratic and Republican presidents;
  
• Perhaps the most important thing in the movie for me: so many people are too impoverished to even be able to buy the more expensive produce - they only have enough money to buy the junk food, keeping them trapped in a cycle of obesity, diabetes, unhealthy food and - again - poverty.

Mind you, it's not a paean to vegan eating. The movie visits Polyface Farms, an independent farm in the Shenandoah Valley where chickens, cows and pigs are roaming around eating the grass and not being cooped up. One guy traveled for five hours just to buy some of this farm's poultry! You will see owner Joel Salatin slit a chicken's throat on this farm. Of course, if you're a vegan you will never consider this humane. Apart from the slit-throating bit, though, this is more humane for the animals, for the workers, and for the consumers.

It's also much more expensive. Which made me realize as I left the Waverly Farmers' Market today: if you are able to buy this kind of produce, you are paying more for quality and humane farm conditions, especially for the meat, which you shouldn't be eating that much of anyway. But spending more for it will probably force me to both buy less of it, and to waste less of it. And this will probably work out to be less expensive for me in the long run, because I'll be buying less (albeit pricier) food at a higher quality, which is therefore more conducive to my health. Will I still stop at Wendy's or the Fractured Prune? Of course, but not often. And Eric Schlosser comes right out at the start of the movie and admits: it's not going to be easy to avoid all the crap in our food in this modern day and age (unless you take up a life of hunting and gathering). This goes for everyone from the ravenous meat-eaters to the uber-zealous vegans.

So what do we do? The movie may be preaching to the choir. Nevertheless, it urges the viewer to do a few things:

• Write our Congressmen and Congresswomen to get the gears moving to change the system (the producers use the regulations on Big Tobacco as an example);
• Go to farmers' markets and independent farmers much more often - and ask them to accept food stamps, so it's not just open those who can afford to go;
• Grow your own damn food! That justifies my new upside-down tomato grower hanging off my porch railing.
• If you know people that hunt, fish or crab, get some of what they bring back with them.

I've written a lot here. But please don't take my word for it, y'all. See the movie for yourself (the trailer is below). And if it's not playing locally (which it probably isn't for some of you), wait for it to come out on Netflix. It's a pretty damn enlightening documentary.

Bengie's in Time Magazine

Bengie's Drive-In in Middle River is in an article about the resurgence of the drive-in theatre, in this week's Time Magazine. No I haven't been before, but I do remember my parents smuggling me and my sisters into the drive-in that existed on Washington Blvd thirty years ago in Elkridge - which is now, I think, a half-finished high-priced housing development. Mom would boil a package of Esskay hot dogs and put them in a large metal thermos with some hot water, then bring it along with us. The most exciting part was Dad telling us to BE QUIET! as he made us cover up and hide while they paid for the two of them, then we popped up after we were parked safely away from the ticket booth, and fell asleep somewhere between The Black Hole and Sleeping Beauty. I don't think I ever saw the inside of their snack bar. Well, maybe.

I know I did twenty-five years later when I went on a date to the Van Buren Drive-In in Riverside, California. Freddy vs Jason and Jeepers Creepers 2 were on the bill, but I was more interested in the conversation, and the two of us riffing on those horrible, horrible movies MST3K-style. I think I bought a tamale or an enchilada - much Mexican food at this drive-in. Not sure whatever happened to him. We kept in touch for a few years but he just stopped getting back to me.

From the "People can still afford to go to the movies?" Department

The latest tidbit to warn us about what we're eating at the movie theatre comes to us from Men's Health (via Yahoo!). It warns about six nasty things that will put on the pounds and take years off your life at the movies. These are no-brainers, of course. A large popcorn - what's that going for these days, seven, eight dollars? - will add almost 1,300 calories to your waistline - less if you share, even less if you don't drench it in "butter". That's why I don't eat popcorn at the movies anymore. Well, that and the cost of the popcorn. Well, that, that and the cost of the movie. Okay - that, that, and the other thing, plus the cost of gas.

Best to just go to Tapas Teatro and then see whatever's playing at The Charles (if anything good is playing, that is). Just to note: the Charles and the Senator (okay, Senator and Rotunda) have the cheapest small popcorns of any movie theatre in the area, $3 at the Charles and only half a dollar more at the Senator and Rotunda.

It must be festival season...

I tried to stop by the Charles Theatre yesterday evening to buy tickets to a movie for this evening for the Maryland Film Festival. Silly me, thinking there might actually be parking within walking distance. I thought I might try to drive through Mount Vernon until I saw all the booths lining the streets, and just gave up. I didn't even realize that there were so many things happening this weekend alone. Good luck driving around in the city today:

• The 10th Annual Maryland Film Festival, through Sunday at the Charles, UB and MICA.
• Flowermart 2008!!! Until 8pm yesterday and today. Unless you're Doctor Who, better scratch yesterday off your plans and just try to check it out today.
• The Baltimore Visionary Arts Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race is going on in Patterson Park today.
• I can't even get around Towson today, because of the Towsontown Spring Festival, going on until Sunday.

Also in town is that big-tech Walking with Dinosaurs show at the Baltimore (sorry: First Mariner Bank) Arena until Sunday, The Color Purple at the Hippodrome for the next few weeks (prompting Oprah to come back to WJZ via satellite for a brief interview with her buddy Richard Sher*), and too much more for me to mention.

One last thing to note by the way. If you are hungry at the Flower Mart or even the Film Fest, you can get some delicious home cooked Greek food at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation from 5 to 8 tonight for just $10 ($6 for children). I mention it not because I am a parishioner (this Catholic boy hasn't been inside an Orthodox church since the Greek Festival last year). I mention it because it's open to the public. So hey, give some money to the church and get some delicious food in the process!

As for those tickets, I'll try again tonight.

*If you're reading from outside the Baltimore viewing area, I'm not kidding about this. I was watching Oprah as a child on my grandmother's TV screen here in Baltimore when she was just one half of People Are Talking with Richard Sher.

UPDATE - Here, have a look: Oprah and Richard with their psychic friend James Randi, on People Are Talking, sometime in 1980.

Here's to the ladies who dust

The Stepford Wives - the original, that is, featuring Katherine Ross as a title character - is an excellent, creepy and fundamentally frightening film. The recent remake - featuring Nicole Kidman in that same role - was just plain dumb. But anyway, ever wonder what the women of Stepford do for fun? I did, too, until I accidentally stumbled upon this clip of a few Stepford queens who run into each other at the supermarket.





("Stepford Lives" video courtesy of YouTube user Kaliopy from Yuckfest Productions.)

Sweeney and Zombie: Separated at Birth?

This is somehow related to food, I promise, but...

I am one of those extremely rare fans of both musical auteur Stephen Sondheim and horror groundbreaker George Romero. And with the recent releases of the movie adaptation Sweeney Todd and the recent Diary of the Dead, it struck me (again) that there are a few parallels between the two masters of their respective crafts:

• Both are, as I just said, masters of their respective crafts - Sondheim is a leading figure in musical theater, Romero in horror;
• Both have people eating disgusting things in their musicals - Romero's characters eat people, Sondheim's eat, well, people in pies (at least in Sweeney Todd);
• Both put out some bloody product.
• Romero's movies are, by their very nature, bloody - all these zombies eating people (Night, Dawn, Day and Land of the Dead, and now this one)...
• Sondheim's musicals are somewhat bloodier than the average musical, as seen in Sweeney Todd (where unsuspecting people are made into meat pies), Into the Woods (where half the cast is killed by a giant, who even eats one of the characters I think) and Assassins (which is about successful and unsuccessful presidential assassins);
• On a specifically foodie angle: Sondheim has a baker-fetish: three of his musicals feature bakers as important characters - Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods (two bakers in that one, a husband and wife team), and Sunday in the Park with George;
  
• They kind of look alike:

Romero

Sondheim

Separated at birth, no? I think I want a meat pie now.

UPDATE: Apparently Romero is a Sondheim fan - he has Sunday in the Park with George in his car and listens to it all the time.

Holy Frijoles

I was quite impressed with the fast service I got last night at Holy Frijoles in Hampden, which is pretty close and easy to get to from the Rotunda - where I saw the Simpsons Movie (mini-spoiler: Homer's lust for donuts is a central catalyst in the plot). I'd see it again. Anyway, I got there, in, out and back in the course of one hour! There were a few places I could've gone, but my dress for the evening - shorts, sandals and an "Italia" tee shirt - sort of limited my dining options. I could've eaten at a nice place, but I'd feel kind of, y'know, out of place.

Anyway, I parked about 7:00, walked down the Avenue and got to Holy Frijoles about 7:05 or so. By 7:10 I was seated at the bar. After ordering their three soft taco platter ($9) - my choices were chorizo, chicken and black beans and corn, in small flour tortillas - it hit me that I didn't have enough cash on me. The bartender directed me to the BofA next door. I bolted out, got out enough money and ran back to the bar, all in the space of five minutes. About a minute after I sat down, there was my food, along with the Dos Equis on tap (about $3.50 if my math is right) that I ordered to wash it down.

The chorizo was definitely my favorite. I've eaten lots of chorizo in my life (no smart alecky remarks, please). The best I've ever had was in Morelia, Michoacán, at a Carlos O'Charley's (or was it a Señor Frog's?) near a McDonald's. Don't exactly recall the address. It was part of a taco bar I visited in 2000 (aviso: never drink 7 1/2 shots of tequila unless you really, truly want the mother of all hangovers in the morning). Next best was in Toluca, Edomex., the self-appointed world capital of chorizo. Toluca, at least in 2000, prides itself on its wonderful chorizo and its relatively safe taxis. Unlike Mexico City, where hailing a taxi on the street is asking for trouble (even in 2000), Toluca tells its visitors (in Spanish, of course), "Hey, you can hail our taxis off the street and never have to worry about getting robbed or kidnapped!" I don't know if that's changed in seven years; I hope not.

The chicken taco was tasty, though dry. I was satisfied with it. But the black bean taco had me scratching my head - where was the corn it advertised? Oh well. After two and a half tacos, lots of refried beans and Mexican rice, and most of a pint of Dos Equis, I was stuffed. I paid up about 7:35 and drove off to the Rotunda, where I arrived around 7:45 -wow, time to spare! I still had time to deliberate getting popcorn or not (it's what Homer would do - wait, is that really a motivation to do anything?). I did - $3.50 for a small one (as cheap as the Senator, 50 cents less than the Charles).

But I didn't finish the popcorn either. Only enough room to get a Corona ($4, lime, as always, is complimentary) at the Grand Central after the movie. And to my amazement, their upper level of their bar is now closed! It was quite easy to seclude yourself from all the noise and smoke up there. No more.

You Can't Stop the Beat!

Saw the critically-acclaimed Hairspray remake last night at the Charles (it really is a Senator sort of film, but oh well). I dunno. I couldn't help comparing it to the musical. I've long since stopped the comparison with the original movie - the two are different creatures altogether. It is a little different, with some situations that just didn't feature into the musical (Velma Von Tussle seducing Wilbur? Umm, interesting...) But I enjoyed it, and laughed enough that by film's end, I got tired from it and couldn't laugh anymore. That happens on occasion. And there were one or two new songs. There always are - after all, they want something that can be nominated for an Oscar (original music only, nothing pre-existing). Yahoo! Movies averages the critic and audience reviews to an A-. I'd say that about sums it up, a B+/A-. I can never choose.

Before hand was dinner at the Zodiac. It was what I usually order: their standard burger with cheese and fries, with as much Guinness - on tap - as I can stand and afford (that's about 2 pints to get me slightly buzzed by the end of the meal, and the start of the film). With tip, this usually costs me about $21 (I left an extra tip this time - the waitress did put in a rush order, which I appreciated). I love their cheese choices: mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, fontina, bleu, and - I think - cheddar. I got mozzarella, which is just lovely on a hamburger. My last burger at the Zodiac fell apart; this one didn't. Actually, the mozzarella kept it from doing so. And far from being shriveled out and gummy, the fries were memorably crunchy and tasty. It's not only one of the cheapest dinners you can get there; it's one of the most consistently tasty ones (avoid the braised duck barbecue - nothing to write home about).

I know they say the place is haunted. It's part of their "mystique" in fact. I've never felt it. But I did feel like someone was standing right behind me before I got my meal, like I was being watched. Nobody there. I feel that way once in a while. Curious, very curious.

Mmmm. Donut.

I made it down to the Kwik-E-Mart in Bladensburg finally. I just was not motivated to go until I saw THG's trip yesterday. This was also the inspiration for my new Flickr account, where I was geotagging New York photos while watching the new Doctor Who last night (yes I'm geeky, so what. Not hatin' on Billie Piper at all, but I do love Freema Agyeman as the new companion. Rather looking forward to John Barrowman's return though).

Since the movie comes out next week, time (and 7-Eleven empolyee) patience is running out. So if you want to see the only Kwik-E-Mart in the Capitol Region, here's what you do (if coming from Baltimore; if from DC or Virginia, just take the Capitol Beltway to Exit 22B towards Washington):

Go down the BW Parkway (or down 95, to the Capitol Beltway, and then the BW Parkway) and take the MD 450 Annapolis-Bladensburg exit. You'll bear right, and then turn right at either: 48th St (which merges into Kenilworth; the Kwik-E-Mart is on your right), or Edmonston Rd (the parking lot for the Kwik-E-Mart is on your left, just before Tilden, which is the first street after you turn; I took this route).

I have never equated a 7-Eleven with a carnival festival, but that's what it was. All these "tourists" taking photos of everything. This was me, too, taking photos of everything. You can see them all on Flickr, but a handful are here. This includes the hefty promotions, like the delicious Krusty-O's and sugary Buzz Cola (I wonder if out-of-state Kwik-E-Marts are selling Duff Beer, too).

I ended up buying a box of Krusty-O's - just Froot Loops in Simpson's clothing - and a six-pack of Buzz cola, plus two Simpsons-esque pink donuts with technicolor sprinkles, a Big Bite and a Squishee in a Marge Simpson souvenir cup that I could actually use someday. I dumped out the Squishee - too much sugar for me to stand - but polished off a donut and the hot dog. The rest is sitting at home, waiting for me to put it away.

Some other goodies:

Our dogs are guaranteed to sit no longer than five and a half days according to official Kwik-E-Mart health regulations.

Under the watchful eye of Chief Wiggum...

And how will this not exacerbate my stomach-ache?

I just read about this on Time Magazine's website. The first zombie/slasher film in Pakistani history! Wait, you say: Pakistan has a movie industry? Barely, it seems. But "Lollywood" (the much bigger Bollywood is to Bombay, India as the much smaller Lollywood is to Lahore, Pakistan) is alive and kicking with Zibahkhana (Urdu for "Slaughterhouse", but the English name is Hell's Ground), about five Lahore teens (yes, boys and girls) taking a shortcut while the city is overrun with a mysterious illness that turns people into flesh-eating zombies.* Then there's a Freedy Krueger-esque character called "Burqa Man." That's all I'm saying.

Here's a compilation of trailers:



* This is the very loose tie-in to food

Date with Your Family

My God, YouTube is just wonderful! I found my most favorite short from Mystery Science Theater 3000 of all time - showing exactly how a "typical" American family should act at dinner.

Hee hee! I'm glad my family wasn't like this. We're Irish-Italian, so we were "ethnic" people. And emotions are for "ethnic" people like us, as Crow T. Robot says!

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Just vegging out right now watching my all-time favorite movie of all-time, Shaun of the Dead (here's the louder Paramount UK site), on Comedy Central. It makes me laugh harder every time I see it! And it really is a classic when you think of it, taking that most hallowed of horror genres, the zombie flick, and just making it all funny. And not in a sarcastic Scream way, but instead you can tell that the auteurs really love this genre. Simon Pegg (Shaun) is perhaps a bigger George Romero fan than I, though I am a pretty big one - the original Dawn of the Dead is my next most favorite movie of all-time. Sort of puts my love for food in a whole new, slightly disturbing perspective.

While I don't particularly like eating people, there are a few other tasty things in the film.

• There's that Cornetto and Diet Coke that Shaun gets from the local grocer (Oh I wish I knew what that Hindi radio station was saying in the background).
• Of course, Shaun failed to make reservations for himself and girlfriend Liz to eat at "that place that does all the fish" - was it Italian or Portuguese? I don't know, though Shaun did suggest Thai at one point.
• And of course Shaun's mum Barbara greets Shaun with the promise of tea, without two lumps of sugar (he hasn't taken it that way for years).
  
• And there's the most favored meeting place of Shaun and BFF Ed, the Winchester Pub. When I went to London this past December I tried to find the actual pub they used, but I just didn't have the time, so I shrugged my shoulders and decided it was as good a reason as any to come back. Were I not sequestering myself indoors tonight (supposed to be rain, and I spent too much this past week anyway), I would go out to my local pub and have a cold pint of Guinness. I'll pass on the bar peanuts and corn nuts.

So my next question is: are there any good English pubs in town? This is a very important question because it may be this type of establishment I visit before I go see the new Simon Pegg movie Hot Fuzz (directed by Shaun director Edgar Wright and co-starring Shaun co-star/BFF Nick Frost). The movie is already doing gangbusters business in the UK and is opening here next week.

So to answer my question, I did a Google search for "british pubs baltimore" (it works whether or not you capitalize everything), and the City Paper website came up with a list of (gasp) British/Irish pubs. The lack of distinction would irritate some, at least some Irish-Americans. Maybe it should irk this one, but I don't know. It seems that only one of the pubs on the list was British, the Red Brick Station in White Marsh. A little out of my way, though definitely worth a trip in the not-too-distant future. But I think next week will be my time to try out Mick O'Shea's, per so many commenters' recommendations.


Here's hoping no rampaging zombie outbreak strikes Charm City. At least these guys can lend a hand.

Senator II: Dreamgirls

After my delicious lunch at Atwater's I shuffled over to the Senator. Walking over all the sidewalk panels displaying various movies premiered (for our town, if not the world) at the Senator, I snapped a photo or two. Okay, I had done that earlier in the day when I bought my ticket, but one or two more never hurt.

I walked in and noticed only a few people milling about. Maybe this was because most people were done with Dreamgirls, so only a few had come to see it again. There was a short mix-up with my ticket, which was easily exchanged - not a long line for tickets (another odd thing, I thought), but again perhaps this was due to most people having already seen the movie. Even my friends that I saw it with before said they were pretty much done with Dreamgirls. They headed to the Charles to see Venus instead.

I wanted to get a photo of the concession stand. Neither that I took turned out very well, but I did get some of the inside of the actual viewing room. No, not during the movie. I was still waiting for it. Nobody tried to stop me, which was odd - or perhaps it was because nobody saw me. To be sure, few people seemed to give a damn tonight. They didn't even do the obligatory announcement before the show started. You may know the one: they thank you for coming to "the Historic Senator Theatre" and whatnot. Tonight they just weren't into it enough. And the audience wasn't as inspired either. That really stuck with me. I figured that, if anything, there would be more people there tonight. But no, and when the movie hit that critical Jennifer Hudson piece that won her all those awards (hopefully one more), one person applauded. That is different from the first time I saw the film, when many people were getting into it. I even almost applauded. I didn't, though - I mean, it's not like she could hear me.

Forgive me for saying, and I doubt the owner feels this way (he's spoken passionately on WYPR about saving the Senator), but it honestly seemed for a little while as if the Senator herself was ready to give up the ghost. Just for a little while, like she had gotten despondent.

The popcorn was pretty average, too. It was cold, unlike what I usually get at the Rotunda (that other Senator-related theatre). And the extra butter wasn't terribly buttery. It was almost on par with the buckets that pass for small popcorn at most megaloplexes, and a bit less the cost, but it didn't seem like anyone cared to make it hot. Still, it was a hell of a deal, with a small soda totaling $6 for the soda and the popcorn. I can spend $9 or $10 getting much the same thing at Arundel Mills.

I stuck around for most of the credits for Dreamgirls - they show production sketches at the end, which is fun if you want to get into the crew's minds. At the end I snapped a photo or two more (yes, in the lobby and outside the theatre), and headed to my car. Perhaps it will be the last photo I take of the Senator all lit up, hopefully not. And if the Senator is despondent, I hope she gets out of it quickly.

A truly non-food-related post - unless I get popcorn

I always try to see all the Oscar-nominated films before the Oscars. Maybe I have that "Oscar gene," I dunno. At the very least, I try to see the five films nominated for Best Picture - this year, that's Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen.*

Here's something odd. I've noticed that a whole lot more Oscar-nominees are out on DVD or will be before the big night (February 25, mark your calendars). Sure, Little Miss Sunshine is out on DVD by now. But usually there really isn't much you can get through Netflix until well after the awards are given out. Not this season! Look at Babel. I was planning to see it this weekend. Then I just happen on the information that it is coming out on DVD on Feb. 20! Why the hell see it when I can go see it on my own time?

Sure, a cursory review of the nominees for acting, directing, picture, etc., shows that most of these films are still in theaters. But just a few years ago, you'd hardly see any of these movies out at Blockbuster before March.

Of course, I don't have tons of time to see all these films. So that is something I just won't realize this year. Oh well. I've already seen The Queen (very good) and Little Miss Sunshine (even better, but it's a comedy so it will not win). I saw a little bit of The Departed on a flight but I lost interest (too much violence for my tastes - and I am the kind of person who will eat chicken tandoori during a zombie film). So that leaves Letters from Iwo Jima and Babel. And because Babel is out on DVD soon, I'm just seeing Letters from Iwo Jima sometime this weekend, or next week if I get sidetracked. I usually make it up as I go along.

One thing I usually don't do anymore, I admit, is popcorn at the movies. Too many strange and unnatural things (I mean that not in a "Whole Foods" kind of way, but merely in an "ew, ick" kind of way). Maybe I will do popcorn at the Senator - I still plan to see Dreamgirls again, I just don't know when. It is the second-cheapest bag of movie popcorn in Bawlmer, tied with the Rotunda (which, of course, has the same owner). The cheapest bag of movie popcorn? That other independent, the Charles, but only by 50¢. But at 500 calories per 7 cups (as much as in a small bag) - well, you do the math. Phew, am I glad I've cut that out of my diet!

Oh, just a little trivia: the last food-related films to win the Oscar? The 77th Academy Awards (for 2004, given in 2005). Two of them: the wine film Sideways, for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, for Best Makeup, (No, it's not a food-related movie, but there is a food in the title, so it's loosely food-related).

* Here's something interesting. Almost all of the nominees for our Best Picture are the same as the nominees for the "British Oscars" - the BAFTA's.