The American Film Institute chooses its top 10 genre movies...

The AFI, an organization increasingly fond of ranking movies' greatness, had just named its top 10 genre films.

According to the AFI, the best animated film of all time is...Snow White. I would have picked The Nightmare Before Christmas. The full list is available here.

The best romantic comedy of all time is...City Lights. I would have chosen Romuald Et Juliette. Full list here.

The best western is...The Searchers. Me? Unforgiven (AFI ranks it # 4). List here.

The one category I agree with the AFI on - best sports movie. The winner is...Raging Bull (of course). Full list here.

Here's a weirdish category, best mystery movie. Their pick - Vertigo. Mine - Blue Velvet (their # 8). List here.

For their next category, the AFI chose "fantasy." Now, when someone says fantsay, I think of LOTR, Spider-Man, etc. The AFI categorizes it as anything which isn't real - which, if you think about it, is any non-documentary movie, but, whatever. Their best is The Wizard of Oz. I don't know really how to score this one. For example, if you're talking about straight fantasy, it's probably going to be LOTR:FOTR (which the AFI rank as # 2). But, they also include classics such as Oz and It's a Wonderful Life, in which case my pick would be the latter. It's a strange list, for sure. See it here.

The best sci-fi movie is...2001: A Space Odyssey. I can't argue too much with this one. Again, though, the AFI included A Clockwork Orange on their list which I wouldn't count as sci-fi (if I did, it would be number 1, no question). My personal fave sci-fi? The Abyss: The Director's Cut. Full list here.

Best gangster film is...The Godfather. I would have picked Goodfellas (their # 2) which is, incidentally, my favorite movie of all time. The whole list here.

The best courtroom drama ever is...To Kill a Mockingbird. My pick would be 12 Angry Men (their # 2). List here.

And finally, their number one epic of all time is...Lawrence of Arabia. Mine would be Spartacus (thier # 5). The full list is right here.

...and there you have it. Thoughts? Opinions?

Now I may have to re-think my vote...

The baby boy is here!!!!

My son, Finlay William Rodriguez (or Finn, for short) was born at exactly 3:08 a.m. June 5, 2008 at Keesler Medical Center, Keesler Air Force Base, MS. He was 9 lbs (!) and had a full head of hair. Both Mother and child are doing exceptionally well. We left the hospital today at noon and have been playing/sleeping/eating/pooping all day since then! Below are some pics of Finn by himself and with his big sister, Cate. Go here for the full set.

Eating his blanket

Looking just like his Dad, the handsome devil!

Gettin' a kiss from big sis!

I think she likes him!

Either that's his first smile, or he just farted!

It's just so convenient!

C'mon Americans...thie is just the logical conclusion of your professed love for "convenience".....


New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less