Monday, January 24, 2011

The King's Speech

Colin Firth, interviewed by David Mermelstein of the Wall Street Journal, about the role he played in The King's Speech:
"My profession can so often be completely frivolous, which is one of its virtues. But whenever I play someone who suffers, I feel that there's a danger that I'm an impostor. So it's a relief that people who stammer haven't felt misrepresented. The reason why people tell stories and read stories and see films is to feel less alone. And if there's a story that takes everyone through something like this, it's a way to say to others, 'Now you live through it and see how it feels.' And if my profession gets that wrong, we've lost that opportunity. So it's a great relief not to have dropped the ball.''
J loves all things Colin Firth, and I have promised to take her to see the movie, and the above quote makes me want to see it even more. Even if it figures to be drama at the highest level.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Overheard on the radio this morning...

My commute to work is a manageable 15-minute drive whirling like a dervish through a maze of snow-bird traffic. I typically favor listening to NPR or my favorite smooth-jazz station, KYOT on the drive to-and-from work, and this morning I turned to KYOT after quite a while of staying away from that station.

True to their form, they played an impeccable selection of music that helped smooth the drive to work, and then it happened. They went into a break, and the host announced - "one hour of commercial free radio presented by Hyundai", and then went straight into a commercial break featuring ads for, amongst other things, bankruptcies, IRS liens, wage garnishments.

Now, it is highly likely that they were advertisements for non-profit (which I believe are exempt from the commercial-free hours that radio stations often run), but the impeccable timing of the entire thing had me in splits, and set me up really well for the work week. Especially the first week back from the holiday season.