My Top 100 Movie List

I have attempted to make a list of my favorite movies. By favorite I mean movies that I want to see again. There are lots of great movies that I like, but I never care to see again. As a general rule, I don't like old movies. Citizen Kane comes quickly to mind as an example; so call me shallow. Nothing by Hitchcock on my list. Sue me.

 I tried to put the list in order of preference, but that became complicated very early on so don’t put too much credence in the numbers.

A casual glance at my list shows that I heavily favor crime and gangster themes and that I prefer newer films. My list is pretty much a fucking bloodbath, and I can only wonder at how many homicides are portrayed in all these films. As the Dude says, these are just like my opinion, man.

1        The Godfather (1972)

2        The Godfather II (1974)

3        Amadeus (1984)     

4        Goodfellas (1990)

5        The Pianist (2002)

6        Groundhog Day (1993)

7        A Prophet (2009)

8        Margin Call (2011)

9        The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

10    Michael Clayton (2007)

11    Vision Quest (1985)

12    Tapas (2005)

13    Un Franco, 14 Pesetas(2006)

14    Cousin, Cousine (1975)

15    The Boxer (1997)

16    Au Revoir les Enfants(1987)

17    Rushmore (1998)

18    Moneyball (2011)

19    Limitless (2011)

20    The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

21    Jean de Florette (1986)

22    Manon des Sources (1986)

23    Fever Pitch (UK) (1997)

24    The Big Lebowski (1989)

25    High Fidelity (2000)

26    La Torre de Suso (2007)

27    Lone Star (1996)

28    True Grit (1969)

29    True Grit (2011)

30    Alien (1979)

31    The Bounty (1984)

32    The Road Warrior (1981)

33    The Wizard of Oz (1939)

34    Apocalypse Now (1979)

35    Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

36    West Side Story (1961)

37    Say Anything (1989)

38    Munich (2005)

39    Training Day (2001)

40    Super Troopers (2001)

41    The Lives of Others (2006)

42    Street Kings (2008)

43    Duck Soup (1933)

44    Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

45    Snatch (2000)

46    RocknRolla (2008)

47    Pulp Fiction (1994)

48    Volver (2006)

49    Reservoir Dogs (1992)

50    Layer Cake (2004)

51    Das Boot (1981)

52    Life of Brian (1979)

53    The Princess Bride (1987)

54    Barry Lyndon (1975)

55    Boiler Room (2000)

56    The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

57    The Untouchables (1987)

58    The English Patient (1996)

59    El Lobo (2004)

60    Gladiator (2000)

61    Tempest (1982)

62    Master and Commander (2003)

…to be continued 

For Being So Smart Doctors Say Some Stupid Stuff

After a lot of very contradictory information from the medical community on what we should and shouldn’t eat, what will and won’t give us a heart attack or cancer or gout or whatever, I feel vindicated in my lifestyle which has basically been eating whatever the hell I want while being on a first-name basis with the dudes at the local bike shop. 

My Mediterranean Diet is the oldest fad in recorded human history. I am fond of saying that if you start every recipe with "2 Hour Bike Ride" then your body can probably do just fine with whatever else you throw in. 

So high cholesterol equals a heart attack and low cholesterol makes you retarded. Got it.

Free at Last: One Man's Quest for a Laurel Tree

Laurus nobilis

I have finally pulled myself out from under the crushing tyranny of the bay leaf industrial complex by finding my own tree. Well, it’s not my tree but I can reach it from the bike trail south of town. No longer will I have to pay out as much as 40 cents for a slim bag with enough leaves for a few months’ work in the kitchen. I owe it all to a cycling friend who pointed out a laurel tree to me on one of our outings. I have ridden by this spot a million times, just past the railroad bridge on the way to Pinedo.

Bay leaf is a strange herb because I really can’t define the taste but I sure can tell when you leave it out of a dish. “Taste two plain tomato sauces side by side, one of them cooked with a bay leaf or two,” says Laurie Harrsen, McCormick’s director of consumer communications. “The difference it makes is amazing. It’s a ‘foundational’ flavor, a workhorse — not the star.” I would never think of making a tomato sauce or any type of stew without two or three laurel leaves. Just remember to discard the leaves after cooking. If you eat them you will die...or something. I've never been stupid enough to ingest them as common sense would tell you that a leaf that doesn't break down after 40 minutes in a pressure cooker isn't about to dissolve in your intestines.

The laurel is native to the Mediterranean, or was brought here from the east but you don’t seem to find it just anywhere. It always seems to have been planted for the purpose of harvesting. In one spot where I've discovered a laurel tree there is a ruined farmhouse near it. The laurel tree is an evergreen and the leaves can be harvested at any time.