August 7th witnesses the premier of a movie I am looking forward to with relish…with bated breath…with the anticipation of watching a pot trying to come to a boil…ok, enough culinary metaphors!  Julie and Julia will hit the theatres to throngs of adoring fans.  ‘Throngs’ you say?  Adoring fans?  Oh, yes, even 40 years after she first went on the air, Julia Child still holds the premier place in the hearts of women cooks everywhere.  I grew up watching Julia on tv, first in grainy black and white, and later in color, in her famous tv kitchen, in various studio kitchens, and finally in her older years in her own home kitchen, accompanied by many lucky chefs there appearing on Julia and Friends. 

Julia Child paved the way for women to enjoy cooking.  She advocated fresh food in a time when the post WWII industrial complex was turning its peace-time efforts to canning, freezing, and packaging foods so they could sell housewives on the idea of ‘freedom from the kitchen’.  Julia didn’t want us to see the kitchen as a prison sentence, but rather as our own personal laboratory to create great experiments to astonish our families and guests from.  My father and I had a rather rocky relationship throughout my life, but our one real constant was Julia.  We loved to watch her shows and then try to create some of the dishes she talked so glowingly about, often mimicking her one-of-a-kind voice when dropping something on the floor, having a drink of the wine intended for the sauce, or using a “lovely rock” to hold down a pot lid on a poaching salmon. 

Personally, I don’t think you can do better for an inspirational figure in the kitchen than Julia, not one of today’s television personality chefs can hold a candle to her (although each and every one of them owe their livliehoods to her pioneering presence).  She taught us that fresh food is best, food made with love from your kitchen shows the highest regard for your guests, and that women can certainly make great chefs. 

I’ve heard about something happening around the country associated with the movie’s premier that I’m going to try and arrange for myself and my friends as well.  The idea is to get a group together to go see the movie, and then retire to someone’s home for a pot-luck; each person bringing a dish cooked from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (the book that is the central point connecting the characters in the movie).   I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the movie with friends, eat fantastic food afterward, and to honor the legacy of a woman that has been one of the primary role models of my life. 

Take it upon yourself to arrange your own Julia and Me party, even if you don’t have access to Mastering the Art of French Cooking, you can find old copies of her many years’s worth of television shows online (Hulu is a great resource).  Encourage your friends to join you and try something they’ve never cooked before, go outside of their comfort zones and be adventurous the kitchen.  Then, go and watch Julie and Julia before unveiling your creations. 

Above all, have fun, try new things, and enjoy what looks like one of Meryl Streep’s best character representations of the dynamic Miss Child. 

Bon Appetit!

Now you can enjoy workshops at The Learn Shop on Saturdays and give your children the opportunity to create a one of a kind art project. Phillis Bostar, an art instructor with many years of experience teaching art and creative skills to children will be offering art classes to children. Each month we will select a theme and each week we will explore an aspect the theme. August will be Impressionists month. Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, and Degas will be the artists we will learn about and create an art piece in their style. Visit my website: www.paintedzebraartists.com to learn more about my art classes and to view some of my art.

If you missed last Saturday’s workshop, you missed all about manipulated stairs. We covered vertical circular: we added stairs, tweaked them, cut openings in the floor added shafts and rails. Don’t worry, it you missed it and would like to view the webcast, we can make that happen.
We will be taking a break next Saturday and will start again fresh on August 1. Same time, same place. Mark your calendars and reserve your spot now. See you then.

We are near the end of this series of Revitshop classes. Webcasting is now available if you are not able to join us on Staurdays. Last week we covered FF&E and a brief overview of setting up sheets and basically starting a job for new project from scrap. We also did some interior elevations, added levels and showed some camera views. If you missed it you are able to view the recorded session.
This Saturday we will be covering stairs, elevator, and ramps in plans and sections.
So join us either in-person or online and find out everything you ever wanted to know about stairs.

With the sudden withdrawal of Sarah Palin from public life, a vacuum has emerged in the heart, and I use the word ironically, of the Republican Party.

Now that Palin has proved the appeal of the no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip, hockey mom on the campaign trail, where will the GOP turn for its next female media star? Luckily there is no shortage of candidates within its own ranks.
Take for example, Missouri State Representative Cynthia Davis who, in explaining her opposition to a program subsidizing lunches for poor children in the summer, explained “hunger can be a positive motivator.”

But how does she stack up against the woman who assured us of the depth of her foreign policy knowledge with the words, “I can see Russia from my house”? Davis is a mother of seven, a former Christian book store owner and current chairwoman of the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families. Not only that but, unlike Palin, her crazy remarks come as the result of carefully considered thought.

Representative Davis’s comments came in a written commentary issued in response to a press release about the program issue by the responsible department. In other words, this was not a “slip of the tongue” or “poorly expressed thought” this was a considered reaction that was presumably written, edited and checked by Davis and her staff before release.

Among her objection to the program Davis cited that people up to the age of 18 could qualify. “Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?” opined Davis. ” Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break,” she added helpfully.

“Who’s buying dinner? Who is getting paid to serve the meal? Churches and other non-profits can do this at no cost to the taxpayer if it is warranted. [...] Bigger governmental programs take away our connectedness to the human family, our brotherhood and our need for one another,” she continues apparently unaware that most of the summer feeding program locations are actually hosted by churches and last year the program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fed 3.7 million meals at a total cost of less than $9.5 million last summer($2.56 a meal), according to the St Louis Dispatch.

I must at least offer praise for Davis on one count – she says what she means and is not concerned with how it makes her look. It is even possible that she believes it will make her look good in the eyes of her constituents in O’Fallon, Dardenne Prairie and unincorporated St. Charles County, Missouri.

However, by taking her beliefs to the logical conclusion, Ms. Davis has spoken the unspeakable and she doesn’t care who knows it. In fact it has brought her 15 minutes of fame and if she is clever she could parlay that into a Palin-like rise from obscurity.

Her natural talent for the wider stage can be seen in her ability to see through the smokescreen that feeding the hungry is the goal of the subsidized meal program. Davis knows the truth about such programs,” It really is all about increasing government spending, which means an increase in taxes for us to buy more free lunches and breakfasts.” in other words feeding kids may sound like a good plan but it is all part of a giant conspiracy to raise your taxes.

Representative Davis may not be the front runner to take Palin’s crown but she has made a memorable entrance into the wide public awareness and remember this time last year none of us could name the Governor of Alaska.

“Eco Tourism” and “Green Vacations” represent some of the fastest growing trends in the Hospitality Industry.  Guests are looking for travel opportunities, lodging, entertainment and food that has a more earth-conscious base to it.

For me, nothing says ‘green’ more than eating locally produced food at the peak of its season.  Summertime is so marvelous with the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables available to us.  Make sure when you are shopping that you look for foods that have been produced closer to home when possible.  A head of lettuce that has been shipped from California has rung up quite a large tab with its cross-country trip!

Buy from local roadside stands and farmer’s markets when you can and support the growers directly.  Learn to love the vegetables that come out of the ground in abundance at this time of year, regardless of what they are.  I joined a CSA a few years ago (Consumer Supported Agriculture – a subscription service that provides fresh local vegetables weekly) and was determined to eat everything that came my way.  My first real challenge was the red radishes, which have always had too much bite for me.  I found that cleaning them and putting them in a shallow dish with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then roasting them at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or so took the harsh bite out of them and left them with a wonderful mellow radish flavor!  YUM!

Our bodies have evolved to need the starchy vegetables such as winter squash and potatoes during the winter time, and cooling foods such as watermelon in the summertime.   While it is possible to get foods from South America or father away that provide you with grapes in the winter or apples in the spring, try paying attention to what is available from local sources in their seasonal times of abundance.  It will be healthier, less expensive, and make a really positive contribution to a ‘green’ lifestyle!

Bon Appetit!

Okay, I just have to share this situation! I was having breakfast with a few friends at Cracker Barrel when I noticed a large party which seemed to be maybe a graduation celebration or something of the sort.  There was a long table of approximately 20-25 people ranging in age from 11 to adult.  Once their food was served I watched in total shock two of the women apparently the Mom’s get up from their seats at one end of the long table walk to the opposite end where all the young people were seated, and procede to cut the pancakes of two of the boys who appeared to be 12 or 13 years old.  

I was horrified, it was all I could do to keep myself from interupting the Mom’s and explaining to them the big picture. Here’s the deal, although it seems to be a very innocent simple task being done by well-intentioned Moms it clearly sends a message.  What are they teaching their sons? The unspoken message is, “You are not capable of cutting your own food, you need me. You are helpless without me.” I am certain there are numerous other task that these Moms are not allowing their sons to carry out as well. At their age they are fully capable of feeding themselves which entails cutting their own food.  These boys will grow up to be men who depend on their wives and girlfriends to do everything, because their Moms set the stage, set a pattern for the way things should be done.  

Parents owe it to their children to teach them how to care for themselves,  and there should  not be gender separation, for certain chores, or responsibilities.  We must begin to see our children as men and women and not children. See them as the husbands, wives, moms, dads, business owners, etc. that we want them to become, and begin to train them while their at home to full fill those roles in life. Teach them, then let them loose to implement all your valuable knowledge.  What is the point of training them if you are not willing to let them experiment and venture out.

We say we want independent, successful, well-rounded children,  then we treat them like they are  still babies, which totally contradicts our desires. So think about the unspoken messages you are giving your children on a daily bases, is your behavior HELPING or HINDERING your child’s future?  

The LearnShop Parenting Classes the third Wednesday each Month 12pm.

Next Shop 7/15/09

Something to think about from Darlene, Mother of Pearls

For more helpful parenting tips check out my web site. http://web.me.com/parentingpearls

Register to receive a license in a state that allows you to sit for the ARE without completion of IDP. There are 30 states which allow early testing!  State requirements are listed on the NCARB website at  http://www.ncarb.org/stateboards/MBRfaqinitial08.asp .  This allows those un-employed, in transition, under-employed or just over-motivated, as the case may be, to begin the ARE exams now!

Listed below are the requirements per state not requiring full IDP completion:
AK (NA)
AL (Six months)
AZ (Six years of ed. and exp.)
CA (5 years of educational equivalents)
DC (Follows NCARB’s Resolution)
FL (235 training units)
GU (-)
IA (NONE WITH NAAB DEGREE AND NCARB COUNCIL RECORD)
IL (When the change is enacted, a professional degree with concurrent enrollment in IDP will allow the taking of the ARE)
IN (none)
KS (None)
KY (235 Training Units verified)
MA (ACCREDITED DEGREE)
MD (contact the Board)
MO (IDP enrollment)
MS (NAAB degree, 235 IDP training units, 6 months of work under an architect post graduation)
ND (We follow NCARB)
NE (No minimum req’d)
NM (Professional Degree required)
OH (None)
OK (Can begin prior to training)
OR (enrollment in IDP only)
TN (None)
TX (6 months)
UT (IDP Enrolled/Degree Received)
VT (8)
WA (NAAB Degree)
WI (6 years of education/experience with at least 1 year of IDP completion)
WV (none)
WY (Registered in IDP)

As we all are viewing our favorite television shows we may notice how quickly what we see changes. That is the eye of the director. He or she is responsible for what the viewer sees, and hears, as the story unfolds. One minute you are looking at a close up of the main character and then just as quickly you get a view of what she may be looking at.
It may look like the shot changes effortlessly, but this requires the creativity and vision of a complex thinker. The director always has to be several steps ahead of the action.
The job of the director is exciting and fast paced. Next time you watch your favorite television show, take note of different shots and changes in point of view.
For more in depth information on the exciting world of television directing, check out The Learn Shop workshop “Interview with a Director”.
The next workshop is on 7/23/09 @ 1:30 pm. If you have any questions about the workshop,or any opinions about you what you see on television today, you can e-mail me, Rick Johnson at rjohnson@thelarnshop.org.