let's start with a metaphor, shall we?: THE "JULIE & JULIA" CONNECTION

bee my guest?

Howdy Beezers! I'm excited to share something new with you... Over the upcoming months, most of the content you'll be seeing here will be from special guest contibutors! This is sure to add a new texture to this thing we've been weaving over the years. I know that many of my readers (yes, you!) are writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers. PLEASE feel free to contact me if there's something you'd like to contribute! I'd be most honored to pollinate... send me a note: m.mckinley@rocketmail.com

June 23, 2009

THE "JULIE & JULIA" CONNECTION

For those of you not familiar with Julie Powell's story, here's the Readers Digest condensed version...it started with a deep personal FRUSTRATION, that spiked an IDEA, which turned into a PROJECT, that inspired a BLOG, which spawned a best-selling BOOK, that has now been turned into a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. I just finished the book [which by the way is an absolutely marvelous read], and I have to say that I can't help but feel Julie Powell's soul and love of butter, and am drawing some serious parallels....

A year and a half ago I was very FRUSTRATED professionally [okay, so I still am]. Blogs were really beginning to make news, not only for their sheer numbers but their growing popularity. I was on my way home from 7-Eleven after spending my last 8 bucks on Chicago cigarettes, and I thought "I KNOW! I'll start a BLOG!" An hour later, I had myself a blog. I named it "Killer Bees Make The Most Delicious Honey", based on a metaphor I'd thought of to be the basis of a BOOK I wanted to write. Then I sat on it for nearly a year, figuring out what exactly I wanted to do with it. The book went on the back burner, I wrestled up some talented friends, the IDEA eventually became a PROJECT, which evolved into a quartet of blogs, and now we're filming video for an EPK [electronic press kit] to try and sell it to television as a 4-host talk show! We have readers [or as Julie refers to them, bleaders] in Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, New York, Italy, and Argentina. All since we officially "launched" on January 1st. I'm kinda thinking WOW allot these days...

While it's unlikely that Meryl Streep will ever play me in a movie [but seriously, if anyone can, Meryl can], Stacey, Cassandra, Cherrie, and myself all feel like we're on the verge of a journey that's way, way bigger than the "personal growth" project we started with. I'm sure that when Julie Powell began her quest to conquer 524 recipes in 365 days she never dreamed that she'd end up with Amy Adams in her back pocket. She was just trying to maintain her sanity. But today her story is screaming in my ear, telling me to remember that life's possibilities are only limited by one's ability to BELIEVE.

I'm also strangely craving Fricadelles de Veau a la Nicoise...

To watch the trailer for Julie & Julia click here:www.julieandjulia.com/