How can we not mention the big news that Paula Abdul won't be returning to "American Idol"?

The split is about money, of course, but the fact that the Simon-Paula flirtfest had become more annoying than Gilbert Gottfried on helium must have been a factor, right? Still, "Idol" without its wacky den mother won't be the same. Abdul broke the news Tuesday via her Twitter account. ...

Apropos Twitter: We received a ton of positive feedback from our tweeps about last week's TGIF story on Twitter.

@Roar tweeted: "never thought I'd read an article about Twitter in hon ad. this is weird. and cool." Um ... thanks?

But we kind of suspected we'd have the Twitterverse on our side. What really thrilled us was the response from our readers for whom Twitter is still unchartered territory.

@IIZIEIROII tweeted: "just finished reading ur Twitter piece! Awesome. I'm a noob and got some tips that were helpful! Much Mahalo."

That was our goal — to put something out there for the "noobs" (that's "newbies") because it wasn't all that long ago that we were the ones trying to navigate the weird world of truncated geek speak, retweets and hashtags. ...

The most charming film of the summer (if we do say so ourselves), "Julie & Julia," about Julia Child and her influence on a stuck-in-a-rut home cook named Julie, opened today, and we promise you this: You WILL leave the theater with serious cravings for good French or French-ish food.

So when chef George Mavrothalassitis (better known as Chef Mavro) says, "Movie cravings satisfied here," that's your cue to pay attention.

Chef Mavro has created a "Julie & Julia"-inspired tasting menu of dishes that are featured in the film, including boeuf bourguignon (burgundy beef) and tarte tatin. The three-course dinner is $59 and will be served tableside by Mavro himself every Friday and Saturday in August. Call 944-4714 to reserve a table. ...

Tomorrow marks the start of nonprofit Kanu Hawai'i's "Eat Local Challenge" (see details in the dining section), and we're taking it. The Advertiser's Kawehi Haug is going to eat only locally-grown and -produced food for one full week. She's going to keep an Eat Local Challenge diary on her blog at http://honolulu.metromix.com, and will write about her seven-day experience in next week's TGIF.

Emptied from the minds and notebooks of the TGIF and Metromix staff.