Saturday, August 18, 2012

Veni, vidi, vici: Be In A Music Video

"Veni, vidi, vici."

It may come as no surprise that I love music.  If it does, well I just spoiled that one.

If you know me, you know the love runs pretty deep so when a friend asked me to be in a music video for Austin-based band, Dead Waiter, I jumped on the chance.  I am also a huge fan of interesting and old architecture and the video happened to be filmed in an antebellum home, Ravennaside, in Natchez, Mississippi.


It was shot in Natchez, Mississippi in 2005...which also happened to be the same weekend that Hurricane Katrina hit.

We had just wrapped shooting and had barely any communication with the outside world and I suggested we check what the TV had going on -- little did we know that it would have a devastating impact. We were in the hideous, desperate, standstill traffic with other evacuees and made it to Lake Charles, LA.

I will never forget the director (the amazing Sharad Patel) asking if it would be ok to order a sopapilla for dessert. I glared at him and said we needed to get back to Houston! We're still friends but...come on! That sopapilla didn't even look that good, Sharad!

This music video had even more interesting ties as Dead Waiter was on 99x100 - a record label by my friend and a favourite musician of mine, Roger. Neither of us knew the other was linked to the other, so it was cool to take part in. The video would be shown in a few film festivals.

So happy I had the opportunity and will never forget it. The music is also perfect for this rainy, stormy day in Houston.

"Veni, vidi, vici."*- a collection of things I've done and am glad I did. I try to do and experience as much as possible...as long as it hurts no one and is legal. Even my horrible acting. ;) And, I despise the term, "bucket list."

*"Veni, vidi, vici" (Classical Latin: [ˈweːniː ˈwiːdiː ˈwiːkiː]Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈvɛni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi]; "I came, I saw, I conquered.") is a Latin sentence reportedly written by Julius Caesar in 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela (currently known as Zile, in Turkey). Veni, vidi, and vici are first person perfect forms of the three Latin verbs venirevidere, and vincere. From Wikipedia.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Happy Julia Child Week! Celebrating the cooking maven's 100th birthday

August 7 to 15, 2012, has been deemed Julia Child Week for what would have been the doyenne of French-American cuisine's 100th birthday. Her publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, chose 100 restaurants in cities around the nation to officially produce a Child-inspired menu for the celebratory week.  Houston has five of the 10 in Texas and they are:

If you can't visit any of those, get inspired via her Facebook page, Twitter or Tumblr.  Archival footage, recipes, pictures and more will be shared and feel free to share your own.

For those desiring a more hands-on approach to celebrating the cuisine Julia Child made famous, check out Sur La Table's Celebrating Julia Child cooking class where the instructor will guide you through some of her most famous recipes.  You can also celebrate on PBS by streaming her classic shows.

Bon Appétit!