[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: New Media, Old Message

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
New Media, Old Message
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1229749897.shtml


   What a wonderful age we live in! I sit in comfortable chair in my
   office at home, blogging on a laptop computer while "Scrooge" plays on
   my desktop PC via YouTube.
   The Internet has brought me back in time to the wonderful past of Old
   Time Radio, transcending the bulk and inconvenience of all those old
   16 inch transcription disks.
   And now, I watch old classics like this movie, transcending the need
   for the hassle of film and projectors. How crazy it might have seemed
   even a few years ago that such analog treasures could be recast as
   bits and sent around the world for reassembly at places and times we
   choose, on equipment worth less than $100, via an Internet connection
   well under $100 a month.
   Getting back to that grasping old sinner Mr. Scrooge, this 1951
   British version is my favorite. Only George C. Scott's 1984 portrayal
   comes close, but the supporting cast is so much stronger in the older
   version.
   Next week, I'll be listening to Lionel Barrymore's radio portrayal in
   bed, on a cheap MP3 player. To borrow a phrase, it's a wonderful life.