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I finally got a chance to see "Food, Inc.," a documentary by Robert Kenner which reveals a behind-the-scenes look into the food industry in the US. 

Mr. Kenner raises several questions:  Why is it that cows are being fed corn instead of grass?  Why are chickens being raised in darkness?  How do they grow chickens to be twice as big in half the time?  Why is meat being processed with ammonium & chlorine?  Why are there so many cases of E. coli poisoning from food?  Who's in charge at the FDA, EPA, and other agencies which are responsible for protecting consumers?

The answers are eye-opening.  & There are negative effects on our health, environment, economy, and workers' rights.

How can we affect change?  Viewers are encouraged to vote with their dollars and to buy organic, locally-grown food with little or no pesticides.  Stop drinking sodas and eating junk food.  Eat at home instead of eating out.  Tell schools to promote healthy meals.  Read labels.  Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.  Demand job protection and fair wages for food workers.  Visit Food, Inc. for more information.

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Congratulations to Meryl Streep for her Golden Globe nomination for Best Perfomance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical in the movie "Julie & Julia".  The movie itself was nominated for Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical, as well.  I was lucky enough to catch this movie while on a plane last month.

The movie is based on the true story of a woman named Julie Powell, who decided to blog about cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in 1 year.  The movie crosses back and forth between Julie's disasters in the kitchen at home and Julia's adventures in France.

What I enjoyed most about the movie was watching Streep show bits and pieces of Julia Child's life:  her journey to Paris, her excitement in learning how to cook French food, her struggles to prove herself in an elite French cooking school, and her wonderful relationship with her always-supportive husband.  It may not all be true, but it made for a great movie. 

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I went to see The Blind Side with my sister this past weekend.  The movie is based on the life of Michael Oher, a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens. 

Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy working mom of 2, who sees a homeless teenaged student from her children's school walking in the cold without a coat one night.  She brings him home, feeds him, buys him clothes, and gives him a bed in the guest room. 

Michael's mother was a drug addict.  He never knew his father.  He had been in and out of a number of foster homes his entire life.  He had never before had his own bed.

Michael becomes a part of the Tuohy family.  He has trouble with his schoolwork until one of his teachers takes an interest in helping him.  Once his grades improve, he's able to start playing football.  His remarkable athletic skills bring recruiters from several nearby universities, and his life is about to be changed forever. 

Overall, this is a light, uplifting, feel-good movie.  It does make you pause and think about the challenges that some people have to face and the kindness that some souls have to offer.

We just got back from a quick trip to Vegas (without the kids).  It was a fun time! 

We went up & down the Strip, looking at the various free entertainment spots at each of the hotels:  the Bellagio fountains & conservatory, the volcano at the Mirage, the "Sirens of TI" at Treasure Island, & the lions at the MGM Grand. 

My favorite part was going up the Eiffel Tower of Paris ($10 per person) and seeing the wonderful nighttime view.  Just beautiful!

We also caught the 3-D movie at M&M's World, the CSI experience at the MGM, and "O" at the Bellagio.  Cirque du Soleil's "O" was just fabulous and amazing--the acrobats, synchronized swimmers, divers, & fire twirler--Wow!  Don't miss it!

As always, I did my research before going and found the Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas to be a great resource.

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Just wanted to thank Fourth Breakfast for including Asianmommy.com's business card in her Business Card Extravaganza post.  There, you can read about how we came up with the design for the Asianmommy.com card and see a variety of other cool business card designs.

For all of us science geeks out there--I got a kick out of this Atoms & Electrons T-shirt.  

Found this from Guy Kawasaki, who tweeted about Coty Gonzales' 101 T-Shirts for Scientists, Science Geeks and Nerds! a couple of weeks ago.

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We went to see the movie "Public Enemies" last week.  It's the story of the Feds going after the notorious 1930's gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd.  

Johnny Depp usually does a fine job in his acting, and his portrayal of John Dillinger is no exception.  I especially liked the performance given by Marion Cotillard, who plays his passionate and devoted girlfriend, Billie Frechette.  Melvin Purvis (played by Christian Bale) is the FBI agent assigned to capture Dillinger.  We follow along and see that Dillinger's world of jailbreaking and bank robbing doesn't come without serious consequences for himself and his gang.

Overall, the movie is good, but not great.  The set and the costumes are fantastic, complete with classic cars from the period.  It's an interesting film--filled with scenes of jailbreak, bank jobs, gun fights, and romance, but somehow the movie fails to be truly compelling.

I’ve been hearing about Shredheads from fellow bloggers for the past several months.  Kristen Chase of Motherhood Uncensored had started a Shredheads blog giving readers advice on losing weight & getting into shape.  She recommends eating healthy & doing the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels, trainer for “The Biggest Loser.”

Just recently, I was reading on Pop Discourse, by Christine Koh, that the 30 Day Shred workouts are available on Comcast On Demand.  Hey!  I have that.  & I realized that I’m already paying for these workouts, & I'd better start doing them.

So, last week I did the 30 Day Shred 20-minute Level 1 Workout using the 3-2-1 Strength/Cardio/Ab training circuit:  3 min strength, 2 min cardio, & 1 min ab work.  It’s mostly basic moves that everyone can do—jumping jacks, lunges, jumping rope, stomach crunches, biceps curls, push-ups, etc.  There’s really no choreography to learn or any worry about starting out on the wrong foot or being half a beat behind everyone else.  The music could be more interesting, & the moves could be more exciting, but it’s over in 20 minutes, and it’s a good, solid workout.  Definitely something you could manage to squeeze into your daily routine and expect to get results.  I'm a little sore today--but I'll keep you posted on my progress.

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I went to my first BlogHer conference this past weekend in Chicago.  Wow—what an experience!  I met the most amazing bloggers and learned so much from them.

My favorite portion of the conference was the BlogHer Community Keynote, where several bloggers were given the opportunity to read the most beautiful and moving posts of the year.

The critical take-home points for me from BlogHer ’09 were:

• to value your skills and your worth as a blogger
• to have a strategic plan & not to be afraid to ask for what you want
• to package yourself, differentiate yourself, & make yourself visible--you are a brand
• to be true to your passion--know your brand and be consistent with your brand
• to be selective--know when to say “No” if an opportunity doesn’t suit your brand
• to outreach to other bloggers in your community and to help one another
• to use Twitter to have a conversation, build relationships, conduct research for your ideas, and have a space to talk about other things that don’t fit on your blog

Most of all, I loved getting the chance to meet so many of the bloggers whose blogs I have been following over the past few years, and getting the opportunity to meet so many wonderful new bloggers, too.

BlogHer ’10 will be in New York next year, and I can’t wait!