A disclaimer and then some

Let’s get something out of the way from the very start. Then we can just get on with it.

This is not a new idea. In fact, it’s completely derivative.

But really, what isn’t? Art, literature, music, fashion, advertising, etc.—all derivative of some earlier work in some way, shape or form.

This isn’t meant to be a justification, simply a disclaimer.

So what’s my inspiration for this blog (which seems so early aughts, by the way)?

I just got home a short time ago after having seen the latest by the queen of chick flicks, Nora Ephron. Julie & Julia delectably intertwines the lives of Julia Child (no descriptor needed here) and Julie Powell, who cooks and blogs her way through Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking over the course of a year.



No, that’s not why I’m here. I don’t plan on chronicling my way through my Better Homes and Gardens Anyone Can Cook. Though the movie did make me consider turning on my stove and oven more than a few times a year.

What was inspirational about the film was Julia’s passion for life and Julie’s dedication to her “deranged assignment.” Meryl Streep’s Julia devoured life like it was her famous Beef Bourguignon and treated people as if they were (non-edible) delicacies. As for Amy Adams’ Julie, what I appreciated about her was that “The Julie/Julia Project” was not really about cooking at all. It was about writing, for she was a writer trapped in a government drone’s body.

Bear with me. Another movie reference: about two weeks ago, I rented Yes Man, a film about a man who is at a “standstill” until he discovers the “magical power of yes.” Played by Jim Carrey, Carl Allen challenges himself to say “yes” to everything and sees his life turned in a positive direction as a result.

None of these characters was limited by what could be considered their limitations: Julia by her age or gender, Julie by her current job circumstance or crappy outer borough kitchen and Carl by his loneliness, low self esteem and recent divorce.

So what does this have to do with me or anything for that matter? Not much other than my own challenge. “A Year of Yes” is about me sipping in life like a fine French wine, like Julia; being more open to people and possibilities, like Carl; and using this project as an excuse to write regularly and stick to it, like Julie.

In Hollywood parlance, it’s Yes Man meets Julie & Julia, sans the over-the-top Jim Carrey antics and 365 days worth of cooking.

As with anything, it’s a work in progress. It will evolve, as will I.