Okay, I leave in the AM for ten days on the high seas with the NR cruisers. I assume/hope/pray that I’ll have access to the web while I’m gone. So I should be checking in from time to time.

Meanwhile allow me to say a few words about movies. Lots of folks have been writing me in defense of Citizen Kane. I didn’t say — or didn’t mean to imply — that I hate the movie or always enjoy watching Roadhouse more than CK. However, I do think when you subtract the historically significant stuff Citizen Kane, as a movie, is a bit disappointing.

Moreover, a great many people have gotten their dander up about the idea of me not enjoying arty or significant films in the first place. Several have decided, for reasons that elude me, that I don’t like “The Seven Samurai.” Where did that come from? (maybe there’s a blog out there making this charge?). None of this is true. There are some historically significant or just plain old artsy-fartsy movies that I love. I don’t just mean the easy ones like “Lawrence of Arabia” or “The Warriors” (“Caaaaannnnnnn Yooooooouuuuu Diiiiiiiiiiig Iiiiiiiiit?”). “A Face in the Crowd” is certainly one of my all time favorite films. Yes, I liked “Seven Samurai”, though it takes some work to watch it more than a few times. I’m sure I could think of others, but I’ve got to pack.