recommendations

Chopper and I both enjoyed The Station Agent, a charming, touching, and funny movie about a little person who just wants to be left alone and the people who won’t let him.

Chopper and I watched the PBS documentary The Natural History of the Chicken tonight courtesy of Netflix and absolutely loved it. The documentary includes some startlingly funny moments, including the stories of Mike the Headless Chicken and the fellows who grabbed a six pack to “watch the rooster” and Valerie, the poor hen whose creepy old lady owner left outside in a blizzard and then performed CPR on. Surprisingly touching was the story of Liza, the hen who protected her chicks at the risk of her own life. Definitely worth a watch.

Chopper will likely have something to add to this, but I have to say that if you ever get a chance to see Charles Ross’ One Man Star Wars Trilogy, for heavens’ sake, buy the ticket and go. Ross is an amazingly energetic performer and his interpretation of the character and action is amazing. Jabba the Hutt alone is worth the trip. I laughed so hard I hurt myself.

My iPod and I have become inseparable … and besides Audible, which I have talked about before with love, I’ve also gotten hooked on some podcasts. The geekier, the better.

Some recommendations:

• Buzz Out Loud from cnet.com, a tech-focused but personable and humorous daily show
• The World’s Technology podcast
• The official Lost podcast, which shares some insights from producers and cast
• Discovery Channel podcasts, including regular features and a news update
• The oh yes, I am a nerd favorite: NASA podcasts
• The Sims 2 podcasts, because some geeky stuff has to involve “fun”
• NPR podcasts (and yes, I pledged already)

For those new to the idea of podcasting … you don’t have to have an iPod, or even an MP3 player. In theory, you can listen just at your PC.

Enjoy … and mock me after you listen for a while.

If you have started podcasting, I have a recommendation for you. Quirks and Quarks is a weekly radio show from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that I have gotten seriously hooked on. The show brings science to the masses in a very accessible way. The first show I listened to was a question-and-answer show that included answers to (among others) why a bicycle is stable when moving and not when standing and why you get dizzy when looking down from a high place.

When I told Chopper it was a little like an audio version of Discover Magazine (another of my personal favorites), he groaned and said that Discover made his head hurt.