The Power of Lonely - Boston Globe article

A recent article in the Boston Globe, written by Leon Neyfakh, discusses the benefits of alone time.  The topic interests me because I've always liked spending time by myself either reading a book, watching a movie, or spending time outdoors.  But there seems to be this social stigma attached to being alone, that somehow it's not natural, and must be a result of some social disorder.  Certainly having a balance between being social and having alone time is ideal and likely varies for each person.  But it's great to see an article that recognizes the benefits of spending time away from social interaction from time to time. I can really relate to the author's discussion of the enjoyment one can have when seeing a movie alone rather than with others, where "Sitting there in the theater with nobody next to you, you’re not wondering what anyone else thinks of it; you’re not anticipating the discussion that you’ll be having about it on the way home. All your mental energy can be directed at what’s happening on the screen."  And that idea can be applied to anything we do alone.  When we are alone we are not wondering what others think, and can better focus on the world around us.  That can be kind of liberating.

Movie Review - Rango

Think Pixar on an acid trip and you get Rango.  Rango may be in the category of "kids" movie but really it's just a great adventure/comedy that will appeal to everybody.  I haven't had that much fun in the theater since The Hangover.  Rango (Johnny Depp) is a fish...or ahem...lizard out of water that is thrown out of his aquarium home (quite literally) and left to fend for himself in the wild west.  Rango is not your average underdog hero, he is a quirky self-proclaimed thespian that is lonlier than he knows - since he is too busy living in his head to notice.

I guess it's a typical "kids" movie plot where an unexpected downtrodden character finds adventure everywhere he turns, and ultimately finds friendship and love along the way.  But unlike your average kids movie the laughs are bigger.  Kinda like Shrek they really push the adult humor - just out of reach of a child's comprehension.  Plus, the characters are fully-formed and not just your stereotypical plot fillers, which makes this much more engaging than you'd expect.

The whole movie takes on a sort of surreal look, starting off with the wierd-featured Rango, and all the supporting cast of misfit animals.  Plus, there are some really trippy moments when Rango is wandering through the desert, hallucinating, and asking that age-old question "who am I."  Does the "man with no-name" have the answer?  You'll have to watch and see.  4 stars.

The Golden Age of Radio - Suspense

I've been a fan of classic radio shows for a while, and fascinated by the era in this country when radio was the only in-home entertainment available.  At one point over 82% of all households had a radio. There were radio shows of every genre: suspense, comedy, mystery, adventure, sci-fi, drama.  Unfortunately, unlike old movies which get to live again on TV (e.g. Turner Classic Movies) most old radio shows are only available at online databases and only listened to by die-hard (and aging) radio fans.  So, occasionally I'll try and find some of the best of those old classics and present them here.  It's like listening to an audio book, but one that was recorded live with some of the best actors of all time, having fun with some of the best stories out there.

My favorite show by far is Suspense, which presented a weekly 1/2 hour long thriller that ran from 1942 to 1962, and logged more than 900 episodes. You can listen to nearly every Suspense show here, and hundreds of other classic shows too.  Suspense, along with all classic radio shows are best listened to in the dark, where your imagination can run free.

Sorry, Wrong Number -08/21/1943 
This is probably the most famous Suspense episode, which stars Agnes Moorehead as an old, invalid woman who overhears a phone conversation of a murder being planned.  Putting a crippled, defenseless woman at the middle of a murder plot gives a gruesome reality to this radio play that really got under the skin of 1940's radio listeners.  If you've never heard this one, you are in for a good thrill. Download here or you can listen below or at this site.




The Hitchhiker -09/02/1942
This one stars Orson Welles and his god-given radio voice.  It's a great, creepy mystery that keeps you questioning 'til the end. Plus, there's a great bonus after the play where Welles is warning the public that without their financial support we may end up in Nazi rule.  He asks the public to enroll in a payroll savings plan where 10 cents of every earned dollar will be loaned to Uncle Sam for the war effort, which he says will result at war-end with "war bonds in your pockets, instead of Axis bonds on your wrists."  Download here or you can listen below or at this site.