Today I want to turn the world off.

I’m sick of hearing and reading about Trump, COVID, Brexit, the lockdown and all the other depressing news. (But ecstatic over Biden’s win.) It’s time to change the narrative and tune out all the background noise. Just for a day; a rainy day.

Wednesday November 11 is a national holiday here (Armistice Day), so I took the Monday and Tuesday off to make a long 5-day weekend. Back to work on Thursday. Earlier this afternoon I diligently filled out my Attestation form allowing me to leave my apartment for a brief period while staying within a one kilometer radius of my building. I had local errands to do. But when I stepped outside, it was raining and I didn’t have an umbrella. I ended up in the convenience store at the foot of my street, the Attestation not needed.

I guess there are a lot of things to do on a rainy lockdown day depending on who you are and what kind of life you lead. But if you’re feeling lazy and hungry like I am, there are only two things to do: make a lemon drizzle cake and watch an old black and white movie.

Watching these old movies from the 1940s and 50s is one of my great pleasures (there’s a good selection on YouTube). I love the music, the dialogue, the clothes, the big cars, the interiors, the glamorous women. Austrian-born Hedy Lamarr was one of the most beautiful women in film.

In 1937, she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer, and secretly moved to Paris and then onward to London. There she met Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood. But she wasn’t just a pretty face, she was also an inventor. During World War II she invented a radio-controlled torpedo and had it patented.

What I find surprising about some of these old movies is they’re not old at all, they’re remarkably modern. Take a look!