Happy Birthday Emily & Henry!

Today, June 30, is the birthday of two famous people - of course, many famous people were born on this day, but I'm think of only two. They're an unlikely pair - an English writer who died young after catching a cold at her brother's funeral and an American inventor who revolutionized the workforce and made reliable automobiles affordable to the masses. Can you guess? The latter, of course, is Henry Ford. The former may be a bit trickier, so here's a hint: Heathcliff. Just the name is swoonsome, isn't it? And he sprang from the creative mind of Emily Bronte.

Bronte was born in 1918, the middle of the three Bronte sisters. She is best remembered for her brilliant novel, Wuthering Heights. It's been quite a few years since I've read WH or watched the classic film version with the unforgettable Laurence Olivier, but I think it's time to revisit one or both! If you've seen the movie, but not read the novel - or vice versa - be warned, the endings are quite different. And what would Emily think of the Hollywood ending? Possibly not much!

Fifteen years after Emily's death, Henry Ford was born just outside Detroit, Michigan. He became a household name with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. Just ten years later, half of all cars in America were Model T's. My husband and I spotted this antique Ford last winter. It's not a Model T, but it's certainly from Henry's era.


And, if these colors are authentic (well, the chartreuse is doubtful) this was made after Ford's famous directive that customers could have any color they liked, as long as it was black. Ford's innovations didn't stop at the drawing board, he initiated a 40 hour workweek and minimum wages, and was quite the visionary. His interests included plastics, engineered wood, airplanes, and ethanol (Ford's first ethanol-powered car was produced in 1942!). And like most famous creative-types, he had his quirks as well. I mean, who else would want a test tube containing Thomas Edison's last breath?

So happy birthday to Emily & Henry - and thanks for the entertainment and transportation. And you can celebrate in your own way by driving your hybrid Fusion to your local bookshop and purchasing Wuthering Heights - it will make a great read for the upcoming holiday weekend!

Too Much Cheerwine During 'Julie & Julia'?

No, this isn't a review of 'Julie & Julia' - although I highly recommend it. Enough has been written about it without me adding my opinion here. It's also not a review of Cheerwine - that classic North Carolina soft drink - although I also highly recommend it, and I don't even like soda. No, this is about something more fundamental - the need to "go" during a movie. I know, not exactly the most polite topic, but a universal one. Who hasn't washed down handfuls of popcorn with overpriced soda during the painfully long previews? The result is inevitable - you want to go, but don't want to miss a key moment in the film.

Your worries are over - now there's a website that tells you the best time to leave the theater. It even tells you how long you have before the next big kiss, car chase, etc. Check it out: http://www.runpee.com/, print it out, e-mail a reminder, or read what happens while you're taking care of things.

As for 'Julie & Julia', 42 minutes into the movie is your potty break - just after the lobster scene!

To close, in case you were worried, the NY Times reports that no lobsters were harmed during the filming of the movie - that's cool mist you see rising from the lobster pot & American Humane Assoc. reps monitored the filming.