Julie & Julia

I wasn't overly excited about watching this movie. I vaguely remember hearing it was boring or dull or slow or something along those lines. There's just something about women finding and following their passion that sounds like it belongs in the same category as an "extraordinary true story" or a "heartwarming experience" or . . . or . . . I don't know, some other sappy cliché about inspiration that would be used to describe The Blind Side.

So I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed this movie. And even more surprised to feel I could not stop watching it. I was sure there was something wrong with me. Because it actually was inspiring to watch Julie and Julia find and follow their passions, and under normal circumstances I don't do inspiring.

Speaking of inspiring, how could this movie not make me want to blog again? And really (I swear!) this had nothing to do with harboring an absurd hope that my blogs will ever turn into anything more than a trivial pursuit for me. Instead, it was all because I was reminded of how much I enjoy blogging purely for the sake of blogging alone.

An observation: Meryl Streep is so affected in this movie. It would have been really annoying if her portrayal wasn't so perfect an impersonation of the real Julia Child.

And something I learned: Did you know that if you don't dry meat, it won't brown properly? Now I know why I've been rinsing my chicken and patting it dry all these years.