after reading heartburn, i decided to check out more of nora ephron's writing. i decided to start with wallflower at the orgy, don't worry it has nothing to do with an actual orgy but its based on a saying about journalists. thus, wallflower at the orgy, is a collection of articles, ephron wrote between 1968-69. not only did i learn a lot of pop culture history but also that pop culture history does in fact repeat itself.
"the food establishment: life in the land of the rising soufflé (or is it the rising meringue?) discussed a foodie history was unaware of. the article discussed the cattiness in the food establishment primarily between two individuals, michael field a cook and cookbook writer and craig claiborne, a restaurant/cookbook critic. i must be honest i was unfamiliar with them. i did know julia child, of course, and it was interesting to read about james beard the person and not the award. due to that i wasn't into all the gossip that ephron divulged but i will say that i wasn't surprised. from what i have learned via top chef and hell's kitchen, chefs are egotistical so not surprised by this type of cattiness. what i enjoyed learning about was this rise of the gourmet explosion due to "the traveling fighting men of world war two, the postwar travel boom, and the shortage of domestic help, all of which . . . [drove] housewives of america into the kitchen." this resulted in dinner parties and the hostess trying to serve the mostest. though ephron believed that attention to be called to development of curry as a dish at dinner parties that went along with the gourmet explosion. i found all of this interesting because i think reality tv shows like top chef and hell's kitchen plus the food network had resulted in a second gourmet explosion for the every man. i am example of that i grew up in the middle of nowhere where red lobster and olive garden were nice meals out to worry about michelin stars, james beard awards, celebritiy chefs, etc. plus sites like yelp makes everything thing they are food critics. so it was interesting to see what had came before all this. and it's interesting how cookbooks were what spread the first gourmet explosion. though i love food, i have never picked up a cookbook in my life to cook. so we are very definite generation of gourmet seekers. i also found the predictions on where the food establimsnt was headed interesting. poppy cannon believed it would last because "it is a basic art." while others believed it was on the out since "food of the future will be quite different: precooked, reconstituted, and froze dishes with portion control." oddly enough both are right. fine dining is different an art, especially with new developments like molecular gastronomy, fusion trends, etc. but also fast food definitively rule too, though american so not know what portion control
is. i feel like ride the line between the two, i go out and have nice menus but am not above the dollar menu at mcdonalds. but an interesting article, and i wish i could learn about the food establishment history.
i also enjoyed "if you're a mouseburger, come with me. i was a mouseburger and i wil help you", which was about helen gurley brown. i only recently learned of helen gurley brown and sex and the single girl via cnn's "the sixties" series. i definitely want to read that, so was excited to read this article. the article gave background to helen gurley brown and also talked about how she transformed cosmopoltian. i was never a cosmo reader, i have read it but never picked it up faithfully. and though helen gurley brown was a bit of a mess, with all the crying that ephron described her doing, she was amazing based on her dedication to help women. the one thing that i found shocking was the fact that she wanted to help women know that they could shower while on their period. i can't imagine a world in which women didn't, but i am sure it happened, i remember being worried as a kid but can't imagine being an adult and worried. and i am glad helen gurley brown made sure women knew that they could. and that is the great thing about women's magazines like cosmo is that its a venue to discuss all the embarrassing things that happen to us women and we are able to see how we aren't the only ones self-conscious about our bodies. again, i found it interesting how pop culture history repeats itself or maybe in this case stays the same. today we women do need tips about our hairpieces (though nowadays we call them extensions), false eyelashes and how to get bigger boobs (or at least look like we have bigger ones), and how to have a great orgasm. it's funny because one forgets how these things have been around forever, you think your generation is to have all of these beauty and sex secrets but they have been around for years! and i mean how amazing was helen gurley brown for wanting to make sure our boosoms were treated right! i also adored her spunky way of talking (see: the title). i am going to start using her "hot-fudge-sundae-kind-of-pleasure". another favorite was
self-help . . . i wish there were better words, but that is my whole credo. you cannot sit around like a cupciake asking other people to come and eat you up and discover your sweetness and charm. you've got to make yourself more cupcakeable all the time so that you're better cupcake to be gobbled up."
brillant! i am now excited to read sex and the single girl.
"makeover: the short, unglamorous saga of a new, glamourous me" was a hilarious read especially considering my time on how do i look?. (quick story, i was on it for wearing too much sequence but got a complete makeover, which included the chopping of my hair!) ephron's description of the makeover is spot-on especially the reactions to the make up. i remember once i got my make-up down at a mac counter and my friend's first reaction was "wow! that is alot of make up" which kind of sadden me cos i thought it looked. this friend said the same thing about the how do i look? make-up but he was spot on. they caked it on, i mean tv make-up is insane. they kept telling me that i had great skin but they still caked it on. (i do have great skin, they weren't just being polite). ephron was really on pointe with the after. it is true, once i was done, i realized i couldn't do that make-up or style my hair and extensions like they did. also know one gave me a tutorial so all i was left with was how i could be tv beautiful with only the help of specialists. lol
loved the article on women's wear daily "women's wear daily unclothed". i also loved that i could google the picture of greta garbo that was discussed. i had never heard of women's wear daily, but i would have loved it. it was a great bitchy magazine, like the "tmz" of fahsion. and again a demonstration of how pop culture repeats itself, prior to people loving the trash of "tmz", "keeping up with kardashians" actually anything on e! or bravo. also louis fairchild, who turned women's wear daily into what it became reminded me of andy cohen. prior to andy cohen making housewives legitimate via his shows on bravo, fairchild made the ladies legitimate via his magazine. again interesting how pop culture repeats itself. also loved how they called on a young caroline kennedy, so mean but hilarious.
also enjoyed reading about mike nichols because i loved the graduate. it was also great to read about how much fun they had on the set of catch-22. though i have to say that sadly the movie wasn't that success because people do not revere it nowadays like they do the graduate. but i plan on reading the book and watching the movie.
those were my favorite articles and just some random other thoughts about the other articles.
the ayn rand article. i will probably never read fountainhead but that is partially due to mitt romeny and his love of atlas struggled. i was tired of hearing about that book during the last election. but more proof of pop culture repeating itself.
the article about erich segal and rod mckuen. can't say they were as revolutionary as they thought they were. i have never heard of mckuen. i have heard of love story but that was because it was an amazon daily deal and saw it in tim burton's dark shadows (i have a thing for reading books alluded to in movies though this was more like the characters read it during a montage). though this whole idea of teens practicing sexual abstinence comes and goes, recently it was jonas' brothers and purity rings and twilight (i think bella saved herself for marriage.)
the bill blass article. i remember him from like the 80s, i think, but i saw on wikipedia that his brand dissolved.
jacqueline susann article. love machine reminded me of 50 shades gray especially with ephron's talk of masochists but i think her talk was more about women who have no backbone when it comes to men versus actual chains and whips. but again pop culture repeating, both are poorly written novels that get women reading! also i want to read valley of the dolls. i have seen the movie.
fommer article. interesting to see how frommer travel books got started.
and her fiction. a fun little story.
all in all, an enjoyable read. i look forward to reading more of works.
