The Red Balloon: Anniversary

Today marks an important day in history:

The Anniversary of The Red Balloon!

What began as an idea years ago has grown into a reality ~
               

                                                            

Here's to dreams taking flight!

Love Letters

"I feel most alive when I'm holed up in some corner, writing things down. I pick up a pen, and almost immediately everything seems to take shape around me. I love to write. I love writing my parents because then I become the ideal son. I love writing essays for English, because then I am for a short while a true scholar. I love writing letters to the newspaper, notes to friends, Christmas cards, anything where I have to put down words. I love writing you. You most of all. I always have. I feel like a true lover when I'm writing you. This letter, which I'm writing with my own hand, with my own pen, in my own penmanship, comes from me and no one else, and is a present of myself to you. It's not typewritten, though I've learned how to type. There's no copy of it, though I suppose I could use a carbon. And it's not a telephone call, which is dead as soon as it is over. No, this is just me, me the way I write, the way my writing is, the way I want to be to you, giving myself to you across a distance, not keeping or retaining any part of it for myself, giving this piece of myself to you totally, and you can tear me up and throw me out, or keep me, and read me today, tomorrow, any time you want until you die."
                                                                                           ~Andy, (read by Ryan O'Neal)

The above is among one of the Red Balloon's favorite quotes from last evening's opening night performance of Love Letters in Boston.

If you have the opportunity to see Love Letters in person, the performances by Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw are exceptional. The chemistry between the pair is unseen in between actors and actresses in most modern day films. The electricity between them leaps off the stage. Interestingly enough, the two never actually look at one another. Sitting side by side, reading letter after letter, the two speaks volumes without exchanging so much as a glance in the other's direction. What is so powerful is both the performances by the pair and the script, A.R. Gurney's everlasting romance, each line written so poetically. Experience the poetry for yourself, just in time for Valentine's Day!

Love Letters is playing at the Boston Shubert Theater through February 7th.

                         

Year in Reflection: 2014

I've been writing this Year in Reflection in my head for quite a while now. And now we arrive at the time to finally actually type it all out. I have to admit that it was easier whilst it was "in my mind."

But alas, I do have the Golden Rules, which I started during last year's Year in Review and would like to now continue the same time honored tradition. [To review the first two Golden Rules you can always go here: http://theredballoonreport.blogspot.com/2014/01/year-in-review.html]

The following are the lessons that we all learned this year along the harsh road called "life."
Here they are ~
Golden Rule #3: Do Not Enter an Elevator with Solange.
I think that Golden Rule #3 doesn't really need any explication.
I saw Solange in concert back in 2013 and I had the foresight even then to take the escalator. What can I say, I've always been ahead of my times.

Golden Rule #4: Always be prepared.
For this one The Red Balloon need sto update an old biblical message. In the biblical message the saying is that if the man had known the hour at which the burglar was coming, he would not have left his home to be broken into. So that of course is still relevant today. However, the updated message reads: if you know the hour at which you are going to meet said celebrity you put on something nice, maybe get your hair done and Voila! But no, the hour at which you will meet said celebrity just had to be a big surprise : )

Now, this year The Red Balloon is thankful for:
1) Family and Friends. This is so clearly numero uno.

2) Anniversaries: For whatever reason The Red Balloon has been getting a ton more anniversary cards in the mail then ever before. Just the other day, a card from Macy's arrived that read, "Happy Anniversary!" It was particularly surprisingly to know they've been keeping track of the day The Red Balloon started spending oodles of money there. In any event, it's always nice to be recognized.

3) The fact that The Red Balloon's camera died two seconds after meeting Jake Gyllenhaal. True story.
Seriously how else would The Red Balloon have been able to capture this gem:

Words of wisdom gained that day: You can't yell, "Jake Gyllenhaal" in a crowded theater...perhaps another update of an old phrase.

What The Red Balloon is looking forward to in 2015:
1) New Year's Eve and the morning of January 1st celebration on a boat. The Red Balloon can't actually recall the last time seeing midnight fireworks live and being able to see them on a boat is well...just an incredible way to kick off 2015.

2) The Second Interview. of all the films that opened this month, the one that The Red Balloon didn't see was: The Interview. But, let's face it, what does Hollywood do best: make sequels. You can bet they'll be a "Second Interview." And, as with all second interviews, everyone will ask the same question, "How did they [Seth Rogen and James Franco] get a SECOND interview????"
Answer: Absolutely no idea. We're still questioning how they got a FIRST!
And, more importantly, they'll play both films together in one bundle so for everyone who didn't get to see the first film [cue: all of North Korea] we'll be able to easily catch up!

3) More quality time writing; really looking forward to 2015 being the year for that.

4) More fun. This one needs no explanation folks.

Here 's to an amazing 2015! Feel free to leave a comment on The Red Balloon with what you are looking forward to in the new year.

Stay tuned for more adventures in the new year...til then The Red Balloon wishes you a year full of wonderful memories, good health, and more happiness than can be contained in 365.245 days!