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

What's been up

Well, it's been just over a month since my last post. Been extremely busy to say the least. Working two jobs sucks. Combine this with the fact that on the nights I'm not working, I'm taking Catie to T-Ball (where I've been unofficially volunteered as one of the main coaches!) and I've had little time for anything.

Courtney's due to give birth to Finlay any day now (her Mom arrived on Thursday for two weeks in anticipation of the big event) and I've been up to my eyes in it at work.

One of the big things going on at work recently was the 2nd Air Force change of command (a two-star taking over from another two-star). Public Affairs has to coordinate all media (send out press releases, escort them on base, etc.), film the event, write articles (three to be exact) and post the finished articles and video to the public website. And yours truly was tasked to do it all!

Here's the video I put together for the change of command (original link here):

I (at last) sew on Staff Sgt. on June 1st (I get to wear it for a whole nine months before I get out!!!!) but will probably not be at work on the big day to bask in the glory of NCO-dom because Finn will probably be here and I'm taking three weeks off when he finally arrives!

I've also started to write for the paper a whole lot more in recent weeks and I don't know why. I'm chief of community relations and not on the newspaper staff. While I'm not crazy about the extra work it's piled onto my desk, I am glad that I'm getting more and more chances to write and improve my journalistic skills.

Some of my new articles can be found here (the 2nd Air Force story), here (a great sports story - even if I do say so myself) and here.

The last story is one I'm particularly proud of. For starters, it has a great lead (opening sentence or "hook"), I got called out in the evening while I was about to eat dinner with my family to cover it and I took the accompanying photos, one of which is, imho, AWESOME (see below)

So that's what's been going on. In amongst all of this, I've had little time for movies. I did, of course, go and see Iron Man which, like most everyone else, I loved. RDJr was the tits, obviously, and there was a much appreciated use of Air Force stuff in it (if I was working in the public affairs LA office - and yes, there is such an office - my responsibility would be to coordinate all AF presence in the entertainment industry. That. Would. Be. Cool.). Haven't seen Prince Caspian (ho-hum) or Indy 4 (will probably see it at some point). Am glad that Speed Racer tanked (not because of the Waschowski [sp?] brothers, but because the whole concept is wank) and would rather drink Rush Limbaugh's vomit than watch What Happens in Vegas. Am looking foward to Sex and the City (no, really. I loved the TV show), The Happening and Hulk for the immediate future.

I'll close by saying that even I'm getting tired of the whole Hillary/Obama nomination process. I love them both, but want Obama to get it (which he will). My only saving grace is in knowing that either one of them will trounce Oldie McFuck (not that it matters too much to me as I'll be out of the country before the new president even takes office - looking at Jan 15th, bitches!).

Bill Maher's Best Closing Monologue Ever!

This whole "New Rules" part is awesome, but for the real goodness, start watching around 2:15. Maher states EXACTLY how I and so many other people I talk to feel about the current state of the U.S., the right wing, the current administration, Bush, etc.

I don't always completely agree with Maher (though I pretty much always think he's funny and/or interesting), but with this closing, he's right on the money. Enjoy!

This girl is awesome!

This 10-year-old girl plays Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" note-perfectly on a synthesizer. Must be seen to be believed...

10 Things You Should Know About John McCain

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

Fox News - Thank you, America

New Boot Goofin'

I. Love. This. Clip.