Wait, so people with vaginas can't be journalists AND flippant? Girlcrushes are offensive, even when the piece is clearly respectful to the point of reverence? It's gotta be all moral outrage, all the time, otherwise it's "wanting it both ways?" Drat.

It's a freaking blog. They can have it both ways, that's the whole point.

Also, the news here is that the CIA is releasing the records. Some of us knew about her awesome spy past, some of us didn't, but the actual records being released is what's news. I'm sure the author is dreadfully sorry she robbed you of the thirty seconds it took you to read that one paragraph, but I think we'll all work through the injustice.

Also, it's her birthday (Friday)! Happy birthday, Julia.

I read about it on her wikipedia page the other day when this first hit the news. Filming started in March & I think Meryl Streep is the lead.

Wow, I always thought I was the only one who was completely smitten with Julia...who knew?

If we can have a movie about exploits (wink, wink) of Chuck Barris, then I want a Julia Child biopic!

Casting call: Sigorney Weaver, Susan Sarandon

I know, I know..... It's futile but something came over me seeing it twice in a couple of days.

She even has a plaque in the International Spy Museum in Washington DC!

While you are in DC, check out her kitchen in the Smithsonian.

Way to go, Julia

Lol... that's good enough for the "WORD" on the Colbert Report.

good one Sacajawea.

It has been known for years that Child and Sterling Hayden were members of the OSS.

You're wasting your breath. Broadsheet writers want to have their cake and eat it too. They supposedly want to be respected as "journalists", but at the same time they want to write breezy gossip pieces and lip-flappery in the style of teen-mag "OMG-SO-serious!" pieces. That way, when female bloggers get dissed, they can whine about how they aren't taken seriously.

Childish, but there you are.

P.S. Another voice for THIS IS NEWS?? I've known about Julia Child's spy career for, oh, thirty years or so. But again, another indication of the narcissistic nature of this column. They can't be bothered to do basic research, and thus embarrass themselves on a regular basis. Places like this give feminism a bad name. Feh.

so it is news to me. And I grew up watching Julia Child on Saturday mornings on PBS (along with Yan Can Cook and the Frugal Gourmet.)When my parents were asleep on Sunday mornings, I would whip up crepes and I ALWAYS read the recipe aloud while I was cooking, using a combination of her voice and the swedish chef. My father caught me once; needless to say, he thought I was a freak. He wasn't the most imaginative man.

But I didn't know she was an agent, or if I did, it didn't stick in my over loaded on pop trivia brain.

What makes this "news" however, is the fact that they government is releasing the files on what she actually did as an agent, or at least thats what I'm getting from the article.

1. Not news.

2. ENOUGH WITH THE "GIRL CRUSH." You're supposed to be writers. How about expressing admiration, respect, love, attraction, etc.? It's uncreative and it belittles real erotic feelings some women have for other women.

Because I knew about the OSS posting before, from her autobiography and interviews. Doesn't sound new, unless it adds details to what she has discussed before, which would be interesting, although it really doesn't take much to make Julia Child interesting.

I used to watch her show with my Mom when it first was on PBS, the old ones in black and white. We loved it. I saw the exhibit at the Smithsonian and I remember one clip from the continuous video of her interviews and shows that they had running where she was talking about how you should eat a little bit of everything, but in moderation and the interviewer asked her, "So, you believe in red meat?" and she said, "Oh, yes. Red meat and gin."

Julia's awesome.

Everybody loves Julia! The news about her CIA role has been out there for years. I've even heard Sara Moulton talk about it. So, this is nothing new.

Julia was just plain cool anyway you look at it. Even the famous Ackyroyd (sp) parody on the funny years of SNL was more a loving tribute than a cruel mocking. Julia gave us back fresh ingredients, taught us to love complex cuisine, and made it okay to have a glass of wine every now and then. Even in her later years, when she mostly stood there and observed while other cooks did the work, she always taught us something. She was just the Grand Old Lady of American food.

Her work for the OSS came at a time of high anxiety, while the West struggled with defining it's relationship to the Soviet Union and fought a surrogate war with both the USSR and the Chinese under Mao in Korea. Patriotism isn't bad by itself, blind patriotism is the problem. I doubt that Julia was ever blind about anything.

For myself, I miss her terribly, and I'm about as far from a girl as a human can get.

Julia talked about this in her autobiography or some other book I believe. Anyway, I've known about it for years.

At least have her do something both chef and superspy-like, like work with brulee torch.

Yes, I can just picture that. Thanks for the laugh!

(And rkscher ... if cilantro tastes like soap to you, don't eat it.)

and although I don't think she was a "hide in the closet with a camera and dagger" kind a spy (at least if the book is accurate) her life was unbeleivelbly fasinating!

Among many adventures in her life, she did work for army intellegence services and when stuck in a desk job, in India I think, got herself reassigned to more important and dangerous tasks... even ending up with the now famous flying Tigers for a while (I can't remember what her job was with them... hey it was the intellegence service... whatever they do.)

And that was just the beginning. I thought those years ago and you have reminded me that her life would make a great movie.