My wife and I saw Julie & Julia this weekend — and enjoyed it — but it's still a little weird to see Julia Child giving lessons on how to make primordial soup.
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More articles by PZ Myers can be found on Freethoughtblogs at the new Pharyngula!
Julia Child explains abiogenesis
Category: Evolution
Posted on: September 23, 2009 3:33 PM, by PZ Myers
Find more posts in: 
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Comments
Posted by: Glen Davidson
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September 23, 2009 3:41 PM
Ah ha, so it was a matter of design, apparently culinary design.
I demand equal time for my theory that life was created by Julia Child. I just might settle for teaching the weaknesses of evolution when compared with the cooking theory of abiogenesis.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: Kobra
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September 23, 2009 3:53 PM
@1: Haha. You win.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage
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September 23, 2009 3:58 PM
Especially considering she died five years ago.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM
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September 23, 2009 4:02 PM
Julia Child just fucking rocked. That's all there is to it.
Posted by: Qwerty
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September 23, 2009 4:16 PM
I still remember Fanny Flagg's spoof of Julie:
Now, remember anything flaming at the table is a plus; unless it's the table!!
Posted by: circusboy.myopenid.com
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September 23, 2009 4:16 PM
considering she had that degree in applied biochemistry, who better?
Posted by: pdiff
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September 23, 2009 4:28 PM
F'ing awesome! I love the "scientific pinch"! Need to use that sometime.
Posted by: vibise
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September 23, 2009 4:30 PM
That tape was made for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I think it was one of the original exhibits in place when that museum first opened. I thought it was so clever that every visitor I had was treated to a viewing (until they retired it). Thanks for showing it.
Posted by: mythusmage
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September 23, 2009 4:33 PM
Off Topic
Is Pharyngula crashing FireFox on your computer?
Posted by: Uncle Glenny
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September 23, 2009 4:34 PM
I was expecting her to open the flask at the end and exclaim "Oh! It looks like bouillabaisse!"
Posted by: AdamK
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September 23, 2009 4:36 PM
I just love it at the end when she says, "Who knows?" in her cheery way. Such an important part of The Answer.
Posted by: skeptical scientist
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September 23, 2009 4:38 PM
I like how she uses a big cooking knife to point at a diagram of the experiment.
Posted by: Algernon, elle sans chapeau
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September 23, 2009 4:41 PM
mythusmage:
I haven't been able to see this site in firefox at home for a good month at least.
Not to mention a host of other sites and the hang on exit glitch. I'm about to just give up on firefox. I can't use it at work and at home it's becoming more of a pain than anything else.
Posted by: RamblinDude
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September 23, 2009 4:57 PM
Nice. I never realized before, but Julia Child is a grandmotherly Shirley Temple!
Posted by: NewEnglandBob
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September 23, 2009 5:00 PM
Firefox is working just fine. It could be your OS, Ol'Greg and mythusmage.
Posted by: Gwenny
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September 23, 2009 5:04 PM
OMG! I saw that at the Air and Space Museum back in the 1970s! Blast from the past!! I've tried to explain it to my kids now I can show them. Thanks.
Posted by: Rjaye
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September 23, 2009 5:06 PM
I don't know why, but this rocked my world. Maybe we should emulate Julia Child when explaining science to the world? I don't know, but this was delightful.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM
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September 23, 2009 5:09 PM
I don't know, but this was delightful.
"Delightful" is exactly the right word. I was grinning the whole way through, and then when the music from her show came on at the end I just laughed. Just delightful.
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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September 23, 2009 5:13 PM
The odd popping you just heard, was the sound of thousands of fundies' heads exploding.
(Or do the fundies hate Child for promoting French cooking?)
I actually have Ponnamperuma's The Origins of Life next to me. Is it any good? Bought it used years ago, but haven't really read anything since then.
Posted by: chuckgoecke
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September 23, 2009 5:13 PM
It doesn't surprise me that Julie had a Science degree. I think most of the famous cooks were either biologists or chemists. I think I remember hearing that some of the most prestigious cooking schools required one of those degrees just to get into the door. Of course there are exceptions also. My mom got her master in analytical chemistry with emphasis on food, from Wellesley, and she weren't no Julie Child.
Posted by: marie-annick
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September 23, 2009 5:26 PM
Posted by: RamblinDude
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September 23, 2009 5:35 PM
Wait a minute, Julia Child cooking up primordial soup, Oort Kuiper rapping about genes, sexy Cristina putting the slap-down on Kirk . . . science is a performing art!
Posted by: pinary.myopenid.com
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September 23, 2009 5:54 PM
Of course, this only serves as more evidence that a divine creator is necessary. Without a holy chef, life as we know it would never have existed! And since this much more resembles cooking than, say, animal sacrifice, we must assume that life, the universe, and everything is the creation of the most food-like of all deities- The Flying Spaghetti Monster!
RAmen.
Posted by: shaunotd
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September 23, 2009 5:57 PM
@Ol'Greg & MythusMage: Firefox is just peachy here - good luck tracing the problem.
Posted by: realinterrobang
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September 23, 2009 6:26 PM
I must be a little younger and/or out of the loop than most people commenting on this thread -- I couldn't really believe that was actually Julia Child at first; I had to click through to the actual YouTube page to see that it wasn't some kind of modern parody. I actually thought, "Who's this drag queen pretending to be Julia Child?" If there's any further evidence required for why 1970s clothing sucks, there you have it.
On the other hand, I have to say I really like the term "scientific pinch machine." There's a band name lurking in there somewhere.
Posted by: Speedwell
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September 23, 2009 6:35 PM
Thanks. I love Julia... I love this video... and I seriously needed the lulz today.
Anyone in Houston up for dinner? My apartment is too damn quiet since I parted ways with my useless, increasingly childish ex a month or so ago, and if I'm going to have to argue, I'd rather argue with sane, intelligent people over a meal and a glass of wine :D
Posted by: Algernon, elle sans chapeau
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September 23, 2009 7:17 PM
That sounds awesome Speedwell! I'd totally do it but I'm like five hours away from you.
*This is blueelm's MT name
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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September 23, 2009 7:22 PM
Yeah, I think my problem in the lab was a far too liberal use of the scientific pinch machine.
I, too, spent the first coupla minutes surprised at how well the dubbing was lipsynched - until the props showed up in the same frame as Child.
Posted by: wheatdogg.myopenid.com
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September 23, 2009 7:23 PM
@9 and @13:
What NewEnglandBob@15 said. I'm running on FF3.5.3 on Vista with no problems. What versions of FF are you running? With any FF, you have to quit the program once in a while to clear it from memory. FF is still a memory hog - it hit almost 512M on my machine recently.
Posted by: Jeff
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September 23, 2009 7:31 PM
There wasn't one part of that I didn't absolutely love.
I had the opportunity to meet her just before she retired to California, a few months before she died, and I blew it off. Kicking myself now. She was such a unique person.
If only they wanted to show this in science classes.
(Would they show this to school kids in Texas, I wonder? It's got evolution and French, and a woman is - gasp! - speaking authoritatively. On the other hand, she is in the kitchen, so she obviously knows her place!)
Posted by: Twopints
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September 23, 2009 7:42 PM
Fabulous, absolutely loved it.
Can she please do a similar video explainmig the difference between, Evolution, Abiogenesis and Cosmology for the retarded creationists out there who don't know the difference.
Posted by: Jeff
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September 23, 2009 7:44 PM
("Scientific pinch machine"! Heh!)
Posted by: Algernon, elle sans chapeau
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September 23, 2009 8:23 PM
3.5.3 here on a vista machine, but also have problems on a machine running xp.
Always have to end process from the tasks menu after closing the window or else I get the firefox is already running error when I open the browser again. Lag times are huge. I disabled greasemonkey and pared down all my add ins to see if that helped and it never did. I've turned to chrome or ie8 for most things in the last month or two. The adblock is nice, but it's a pain to close from the task menu every time and it's a pain not to be able to see comments on here or load certain webpages. Help at FF just said the hang on exit is "just one of those things" which is not acceptable to me. I mean, my program is great, except that part that doesn't work.
Posted by: Dawn
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September 23, 2009 8:24 PM
@Mythusage and Ol'Greg: I use FF (version 3.5) at home on my iMac, no problems with Pharyngula or any SB site.
I remember watching Julia Child as a young'un. My mom loved the show. I never saw this display but was only in DC once when it would have been playing. Or, if I did see it, I don't remember it.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage
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September 23, 2009 8:36 PM
I've been using the latest version of Firefox, complete with a bunch of add-ons, for the past couple of years. I've never had a problem with Pharyngula or any other SB blog.
Incidentally, according to the ever-reliable wikipedia, Julia Child had a BA in English. She also had Le Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu and several honorary doctorates.
Posted by: Owlmirror
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September 23, 2009 9:11 PM
@Ol'Greg:
Using FF 3.5 and 3.0 on sundry operating systems. No probs recently, and most earlier problems were on the server end (like the broken stylesheet/page formatting a few days ago).
Have you tried disabling/upgrading Flash? I have had odd problems with Flash, and while I haven't had anything as bad as you describe, you might want to upgrade Flash, and install NoScript/Flashblock.
Posted by: Qwerty
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September 23, 2009 9:28 PM
When President Ford entertained Queen Elizabeth at a state dinner some years ago, PBS covered the event and had Julia in the kitchen. I still remember her telling a White House chef who was decorating a cake to do it so the television audience can see. Yes, she knew about cameras, cooking, chemistry as well as how to make the premordial soup.
Posted by: speedwell
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September 23, 2009 9:32 PM
Jeff Eyges: I did actually get to meet her. It was during the typesetting of her beautiful book The Way to Cook. i was a lowly college-student proofreader at the time but I had some higher-order cooking knowledge and some questions about what something should say. She was so nice to me on the phone I wanted her to adopt me on the spot. :)
Posted by: Charlie Foxtrot
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September 23, 2009 10:03 PM
Maybe if more profs used a frickin great carving knife as a pointer, there'd be less "controversy" in the classrooms?
Posted by: mythusmage
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September 23, 2009 10:17 PM
For all those who said they had trouble with FF on this site, how many of you use Macs?
Posted by: MAJeff, OM
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September 23, 2009 10:23 PM
Jeff Eyges: I did actually get to meet her. It was during the typesetting of her beautiful book The Way to Cook
So hating you. That book is my bible.
Posted by: JD Middleton
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September 23, 2009 10:31 PM
Julia Child... A woman with the key to my heart. Possibly the only woman who understands the subtleties of both abiogenesis and steak au poivre and can lay them out in terms anyone (except Ray Comfort) can understand. I feel certain that Ray enjoys his steak well-done, with catsup.
Posted by: antaresrichard
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September 23, 2009 10:46 PM
Maybe Dan Ackroyd could do the update.
Posted by: John Morales
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September 23, 2009 10:51 PM
JD @42,
Julia died August 13, 2004.
As for your fancy steak with peppercorn & other muck, I like mine plain¹ and properly cooked (no pink). No muck on it, either catsup or your sauce.
--
¹ i.e. meat-flavoured. Go figure.
Posted by: antaresrichard
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September 23, 2009 11:00 PM
Dang! I put a bloody "c" in Aykroyd's name. Save the Liver!
Posted by: JD Middleton
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September 23, 2009 11:00 PM
@ 44, I'm well aware that Julia Child is deceased. As a professional cook, I will tell you that a piece of beef without any pink has lost most of its beef flavor, and is not, in my opinion properly cooked. To each his own I suppose.
Posted by: kantalope
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September 23, 2009 11:13 PM
Odd this should show up today. My biology class started today and one of the assignments is to do an experiment of some sort. The exploding worms were soundly panned...so my next thought was maybe I could do something evolutionary.
Limitations: class is only 11 weeks. College Bio #1. I'm twice as old as the other students. My degree was in history. This is my first foray into the sciences.
(Here is the link the Julia) One thought was that maybe I could try to replicate the Stanley Miller experiments with more recent guesses at primordial atmosphere? The original experiments only lasted a week and I could make multiple attempts. But on second thought - that would involve vacuum and I would have to be real careful to not contaminate the apparatus. It seems a little daunting. And kind of expensive - materials wise. And the Jacobs ladder running in the den....I don't know if the wife would dig it.
Next thought was maybe I could grow some bacteria in a very selective environment over several weeks and then compare it to a control. I heard that e.coli was stinky, so maybe yeast?
It is not a lot of the grade so it should not be too hard but I really don't feel like seeing if talking to bean sprouts really makes a difference.
back to lurking....thanks
Posted by: John Morales
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September 23, 2009 11:20 PM
JD, fair enough. You did write about Julia in the present tense...
I hope you got that I was making a little dig at your own dig at Comfort, which also applied to me; how one likes one's steaks says nothing about their subtlety or acumen in other areas.
PS As a professional cook, I presume you prepare your own cuts from a side of beef, and make them even in thickness, and know how to keep well-cooked meat tender.
(My stepfather was also a cook.)
As for the flavour, well... I have tried it both ways, you know. That 'extra' flavour to which you refer, I call 'raw' flavour, and dislike.
Posted by: tamakazura
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September 24, 2009 12:58 AM
I get a lot of script failures when I use google chrome at work under windows xp, and it's probably the same issue as what you are having. It's not anything to do with Firefox or Chrome or your OS, but with the actionscripts that individual ads run. This is why it crashes on some people's machines with firefox but not others--they're viewing different ads.
I am going to guess that the person who wrote the little animated ad made some call to a function that is only supported by internet exploder, since it's still the standard in browsers (god knows why). Coders at ad companies generally aren't the brightest crayons in the box as anyone who has ever used wildtangent or had the misfortune of getting gator installed on their machine (whether they wanted it or not) will tell you.
So, my suggestion is to try using internet explorer or google chrome. I know chrome just displays an error and asks you if you want to disable all script objects if one of them fails.
Posted by: Susan
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September 24, 2009 1:46 AM
I adored Julia, but never knew she'd done this for the Smithsonian, which makes her even more awesome.
And will you ever think the same way about cannelloni again? Julia was certainly lucky in love... as was her husband.Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 1:49 AM
I also love JC, and grew up watching her in bush Alaska when PBS was the only available channel in the early 80s. Still an avid cook, largely thanks to her wonky warbling.
On a more depressing note, Ken Ham will be blathering a mere half-mile from my house this coming weekend:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/Events/details.aspx?Event_ID=6387
Good thing that this is supposedly the most "unchurched" region of the country.
Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 2:04 AM
--Oops, that should have been the early 70s in the foregoing comment. Still not very accurate stabbing at the numbers way up there on the keyboard.
Posted by: Jing-reed
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September 24, 2009 2:20 AM
In the 70's when I was still living in the US, my dinner guests always knew what what would be served - since my menus were always based on what Julia had prepared that week on PBS.
Though until today I was unaware of her 'Primordial Soup'. Probably just as well.....
Posted by: Frankosaurus, Cupcake of Death
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September 24, 2009 2:22 AM
is she the inspiration for dame edna? eerie
Posted by: Oregonian
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September 24, 2009 2:23 AM
Greetings Fellow Oregonian!
What a motto - "Grab your nuts at Wanker's Corner!"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankers_Corner%2C_Oregon
Posted by: JD Middleton
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September 24, 2009 2:35 AM
@JM, I do understand the dig. People do truly like their steaks prepared to varying degrees of doneness. The main points that I was trying to make were 1.) I love Julia Child, past or present. and 2.) Ray Comfort is an ass.(which has nothing to do with this topic but I enjoy poking fun at him as often as possible.) I did not mean to insult you or anyone elses' meat meat cooking preferences.
Posted by: Oregonian
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September 24, 2009 2:46 AM
romyboo - Are you going to see Ken Ham?
Posted by: shaunotd
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September 24, 2009 2:51 AM
@John Morales #48
Surely 'plain' & 'meat-flavoured' both imply absence of heat-treatment, as well as absence of condiment?
(PS - good Argentinian steak, bleu - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!)
Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 3:06 AM
I've certainly given some thought to checking out Ham's act this weekend, Oregonian. In fact, we've been meaning to attend one event or another at that megachurch right up the road, just to marvel at how the other (insert percentage) lives.
Don't know whether we'll actually bite the bullet and show up though-- the weather is awfully nice, and backpacking on Mt. Hood might be an irresistible alternative.
I'm lucky in that I have no political or religious nutsoid relatives or acquaintances, and for the sake of mental health it might be better to preserve that firewall of denial.
Posted by: llewelly
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September 24, 2009 3:11 AM
On my windows box at the job I just left (they weren't paying anybody), I had to do restart FF about once every two days.
On my linux box at home (which has half as much RAM) I restart FF about once every two weeks.
Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 3:23 AM
The Intertubes are a wonderful thing indeed: post an offhand comment with a vague reference to one's geographical location, and just like that, a link to Wanker's Corner shows up!
I had no idea that Wanker's was prominent enough to earn a Wikipedia entry! Fond memories of slogging a mile through the foot-deep snow for ales and pub-grub last winter...
Posted by: JD Middleton
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September 24, 2009 3:35 AM
@48 or anyone else. Try this. The best steak is an inch and a half thick ribeye, bone in if you can get it. Put a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove on medium high heat, err on the side of high. Let it get good and hot. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the skillet. Cook for no more than two minutes and then flip. Cook another two minutes. Remove from the heat and rest for at least ten minutes. Serve with creamed spinach and a big pile of pommes frites. Enjoy!
Posted by: Oregonian
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September 24, 2009 3:41 AM
@61 Speaking of snow, I'm looking forward to winter. Oregon's wet snow is great for making snow people/creatures. :)
Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 3:47 AM
That reminds me: I bought some cross-country ski boots dirt-cheap from (GI) Joe's when they went out of business earlier this year, and need to find some bargain skis to match before the season gets into full swing.
Also, I have photos of an awesome snow-phallus erected in our backyard last winter. (Fumbling through files)
Posted by: romyboo
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September 24, 2009 3:57 AM
'Kay, it's finally curtains for even this owlish West Coaster.
G'night, Pharyngulads and lasses.
Posted by: John Morales
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September 24, 2009 4:04 AM
JD @56, I've not been exposed to Julia until now, but have done some reading. Sounds like a truly remarkable woman and a pioneer.
Also, her clear comprehension and elucidation of the experiment illustrating possible principles thought to have applied to the precursors for abiogenesis, as shown in the featured video, is impressive.
I apologise for my nitpicking, too. You've been gracious about it.
--
shaunotd @58, touché! Serves me right.
Posted by: clausentum
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September 24, 2009 4:06 AM
Seems like she was the US answer to Joyce Grenfell - real shame that types like this no longer seem to exist.
As AdamK @11, said, her honesty about what we still don't know was disarming, and the correct way to present things, even at the risk of providing creationists with ammo.
No problems with FF under Gnu/Linux debian squeeze.
Posted by: wowbaggerau
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September 24, 2009 4:18 AM
Okay, I'm fighting with registration right now. Apologies; this has nothing to do with the thread - I just want to see what happens.
Posted by: devnull73.myopenid.com
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September 24, 2009 4:38 AM
JD Middleton@46:
Im fortunate enough to work for a multi-faceted company that, amongst numerous other things, produces Wagya beef.
Intensely hot BBQ + wagyu = fat rendering/flaming goodness......... until medium/rare. Best....steak....ever.
Anyone who cooks steak past medium has most likely never tried *good* steak. I used to be part of the "well done" set. Couldn't do it now.
Posted by: maxamillion
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September 24, 2009 5:46 AM
Reminds me of Dame Edna.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc1e4kpXiyg
Posted by: shaunotd
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September 24, 2009 5:53 AM
@ JDMiddleton #62
I was with you right up to the creamed spinach...blech!
Posted by: Dawn
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September 24, 2009 6:19 AM
@ Mythusage: I'm on a mac (actually have 2 at home), and no problems with FF/Pharyngula on either one. Good luck figuring it out.
Posted by: Jeff
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September 24, 2009 6:27 AM
Can she please do a similar video explainmig the difference between, Evolution, Abiogenesis and Cosmology for the retarded creationists out there who don't know the difference.
Wouldn't work. She said the one thing they can't tolerate - "We don't know". Also, there was a lot of "Scientists think..." In other words, there's no absolute certainty - the most terrifying thing in the world to them.
Posted by: devnull73.myopenid.com
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September 24, 2009 6:48 AM
@ Mythusage:
I use firefox on OSX (leopard and snow leopard), ubuntu and windows (XP and vista) and have no issues.
Posted by: Blondin
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September 24, 2009 8:15 AM
...Like some kinda weird cross between Dame Edna Everage and Professor Julius Sumner Miller. Gotta love it!
Posted by: Rorschach
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September 24, 2009 9:27 AM
Dame Edna of science yay !!!!
Posted by: Stephen Wells
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September 24, 2009 9:47 AM
@62: Nigella Lawson has a great steak recipe where you prepare a marinade with lemon juice, olive oil and herbs, and you put the steak in it _after_ lightly grilling, so that it rests and marinades all together. Then slice it up and devour. Mmmmm.
Posted by: Heaventree
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September 24, 2009 10:02 AM
Man, I love that giant butcher knife she whips around while she explains the Miller-Urey experiment. Maybe if Neil DeGrasse Tyson or Richard Dawkins were wielding similarly deadly implements, the dimwits would understand that we mean business.
Posted by: JackC
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September 24, 2009 10:49 AM
Great video. Did you ever notice? All the best people have my initials....
JC
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/mike_kc_wagner#29178
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September 24, 2009 11:10 AM
Warning: This product contains no nuts. Just science.
A nice alternative label :)
Posted by: Phro
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September 24, 2009 11:30 AM
I guess I'm either to young or too uneducated to appreciate the awesomeness that is Julia Childs. But when she started pokin' that picture with the knife...I started to wish I could have three grandmas.
That said, I'm not having any trouble with Firefox, but I'm also using 3.0.14. Are you using 3.5? I found 3.5 to be a bit unstable on my system, but I'm running ubuntu 9.04 on a laptop with that well known 9.04-doesn't-like-onboard-Intel-graphics problem. But 9.10 comes out in a month, so I'm just waiting for the update.
And as for meat: I'm one of those folk who really can't appreciate fine food (I'm not being sarcastic, I really have no refinement of taste), so I like mine well done, but still juicy. If that makes sense. Pink makes me feel queezy. (Which is odd, considering how many pigs' throats I've seen cut open...)
Posted by: MikeM
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September 24, 2009 11:31 AM
I watched this last night at home, and my daughter walked into the office... Since she's 15, everything associated with youtube fascinates her. She saw Julia talking and asked, "Is that a man?".
{Sigh.}
I guess some kids aren't quite as cool as they think they are.
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/mike_kc_wagner#29178
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September 24, 2009 11:39 AM
@Heaventree
Ha! I was thinking the same thing. "Science at the point of a sword! We've been doing it wrong!"
After all, look how successful Christianity and Islam were with that methodology :)
Posted by: Peter G.
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September 24, 2009 12:45 PM
Qwerty@5 Or Andrew Sullivan
Posted by: Qwerty
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September 24, 2009 12:48 PM
Heaventree, that's not a butcher knife, but a French knife Julia is wielding about. If PZ used a French knife as a pointer in his classes, perhaps students would pay more attention.
If there was a heaven, I can imagine Julia up there helping God make some "premordial soup" for a uninhabited planet.
Posted by: Peter G.
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September 24, 2009 12:50 PM
@9 Apparently they have issues if my experience is similar to yours.
Posted by: puseaus
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September 24, 2009 12:57 PM
That is one dangerous wom... recipe to play with.
Posted by: BdN
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September 24, 2009 1:36 PM
about the FF issues :
I run 3.5.3 on XP pro. I had issues last week (or week-end, not sure) on SB : comments wouldn't appear or only some of them with weird red fonts. But right now, it is alright.
But I often get font display problems in Hotmail and the icons fail to appear since yesterday in my Inbox.com account (while they do in IE 8).
I've disabled NoScript and Adblock : still no luck.
Posted by: lordshipmayhem
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September 24, 2009 1:57 PM
Latest version Firefox on Mandriva Linux 2009.1, no problems.
I never saw much of Julia Child when I was a young'n. Mom was not into cooking, her favourite recipe book being the Yellow Pages. She loved it when Dad got the barbecue.
Posted by: darvolution proponentsist
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September 24, 2009 2:31 PM
vibise@8
Thank the FSM that "coveting thy neighbor's employment" is not a sin. I'd be in deep shit otherwise.
Posted by: Heaventree
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September 24, 2009 3:08 PM
Thanks for the correction, Qwerty. My spouse is the cook in the family and would have known the difference. How about "that big goddamn scary knife"?
Posted by: SaintStephen
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September 24, 2009 3:19 PM
That was GREAT! Thanks for including that link, PZ.
Emailing that one directly to Mum right now...
Posted by: The Pint
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September 24, 2009 3:19 PM
I love Julia - cook, spy and now science teacher! I have many fond memories of having our small black&white TV in the kitchen tuned to her show on PBS (with Julia's voice made even more wobbly thanks to the crappy speakers) while my mother followed along attempting her recipes - and mostly succeeding, lucky for us then, not so much for me now, since the experience was the foundation for my current food-snobbery. If my mom were still around today, I imagine that this clip would have only made her even more of a fan, since my mother was a BIG booster of making science education fun and more accessible. The use of the butcher knife as a pointer is just awesome.
As for John Morales, JD Middleton and the rest of you lot throwing down about the proper way to cook a steak, thanks a lot! I was going to be healthy today at lunch and get a mango & shrimp salad, but reading your comments triggered the inescapable beef cravings and I went out and had a tender juicy pepper-crusted filet (just this shade of medium - I like pink but not bloody) with skinny battered & fried onion strips & mushroom demi-glace and parmesan-whipped potatoes instead. And now I'm trying NOT to fall asleep at my desk. harumph!
Posted by: JHS
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September 24, 2009 4:48 PM
Julia was awesome...she is sorely missed.
Posted by: Quine
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September 24, 2009 5:20 PM
This video took her up 1000% in my esteem. I will be emailing this link to all my science doubting friends who cook.
Posted by: Jim1138
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September 24, 2009 7:23 PM
Primordial Soup with Julia Child now linked in her Wikipedia article
She's a SPY!
Posted by: candela
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September 25, 2009 1:07 AM
romyboo@64
After your comment, this image came to mind.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grrlscientist/323320156/
Thought you might enjoy!
Posted by: skylyre
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September 25, 2009 12:10 PM
I don't read the blog for two days and I miss the whole post on having to sign in, which has been a nightmare. I'm going by skylyre now, I used to go by Laura but I noticed another Laura so I'll stick with this one.
I'm pretty young and I had no idea Julia was so wonderful! I would catch her cooking show as a kid but never paid much attention. I too now want to see Julie and Julia.
Also love the knife as a pointer, resourceful!
Posted by: Cath the Canberra Cook
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September 26, 2009 12:42 AM
Julia Child is awesome, and so is Julie Powell. I followed Julie's blog as she did her one year project. I'm seeing the movie as soon as it opens here - next week!
(And when, oh when, will PZ turn off the registration requirement? Yeah, I know, Mabus. But the amount of trouble I've had signing in...)
Posted by: silenoz | November 30, 2009 12:30 AM
stop foolin around, i need the book which prove the statement, can smebody tell me the name!