Latest polling shows him leading in Iowa. That's among Democratic candidates in the primary race.

Actual caucus voting is Jan. 3. Lots of time to go.

No, just the movie: "Love in the Time of Cholera," which is a Hollywood film version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's historical romance. (Cholera figures into the plot because the entire time period of Colombian history was marred by intermittent outbreaks of disease and warfare.) We saw it last night, and it was much better than I had been led to believe. Funny in parts, pathetic in parts, Javier Bardem's performance as the smitten, heartache of a lead, is very good.

Any critics that I have read all dislike the film, but what did I think of it? Good acting, not much happens. Unfortunately, if you know the basics of the story (young man falls in love, girl marries another, he dedicates his life to her anyway) then you know the whole story. Roger Ebert mentioned that they miscast the female lead, because they have Giovanna Mezzogiorno playing the love interest, Fermina, while Catalina Sandino Morino plays a cousin. Yes, I agree, the film does take on a certain sparkle when Morino is on-screen, and she would have made a better Fermina. She is just much more vivacious, and the main character's dedication to her would have been more understandable.

The film version is said to be true to the novel's plot structure (haven't finished the book, so I can't comment), but I would have changed things a bit. I would have accelerated the waiting years (which in the novel amount to 51 years) and given the couple more time together, allowing them to reconnect perhaps in their 50s (instead of their 70s). I think it would work better with a modern audience. However the producer promised Marquez, who is still alive, that they would remain faithful to the novel. Apparently, remaining faithful is a big deal to him.

But I didn't just see the film to "see" the film, I was listening too. Because the soundtrack includes two original songs written by the world's favorite Colombian. The songs are glorious, and they do have an impact on screen paired with lush visuals of Colombian river valleys and mountainous interior. I am hoping to see an Academy Award nomination, because not many films have original songs anymore anyway, and these were striking in an otherwise not-that-memorable romance.

Anyone who might be here on a wild one-handed search for Hugh in a Speedo? Sorry he has been deleted.

I personally have nothing against Hugh. And nothing against Speedos. Even the combo was pleasant enough. Hugh towelling off, nothing much showing.

However a link to the image has been picked up by several different entities interested in good-looking guys in Speedos. (I suppose if I looked as good as Hugh I might not mind as much, but it has become a little disconcerting over the past two weeks or so). Because more than half of the hits on my site are looking for Hugh in all the wrong places.

I sent him back where he came from. That's Australia, isn't it?

If anyone can enlighten me (via leaving a comment) about how or why my last entry received a very strange & rambling comment (see the last entry immediately below) PLEASE do so.

I am in a quandry. (It's pretty much like a small uncomfortable space with a limited view).

I don't know if I can actually make a definitive list of my top favorites of all time, but I can make some general comments:

1. any film with Jimmy Stewart in it will be worth watching. He is most famous for his Hitchcock films and his Frank Capra films, so if you want a brief sample of his career watch:Rear Window first, then Vertigo (those are Hitchcock's) and It's a Wonderful Life followed by Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Capra).

2. The greatest Hollywod legend of all time: Humphrey Bogart. Be sure to see Casablanca. Every writer should memorize that script. Each line is like a good punchline. Also watch how the film uses music, nobody does it anymore. And then just watch every scene in which Ingrid Bergman shows up. For a second Bogart film I would probably recommend African Queen (it's a riverboat, not a character). No, wait, make that Treasure of the Sierra Madre. No, no, no, scrap that! You'll want to see why he fell in love with Lauren Bacall. So watch To Have and Have Not. (She's 19, by the way).

3. Audrey Hepburn fans: Roman Holiday (she's a princess, but wants to be a commoner) & Sabrina (she's a commoner, but wants to be a princess) & My Fair Lady (she's a commoner turned into a princess). I guess it's a theme.

4. John Wayne was a much better actor than he was given credit for: see The Searchers (he's a mean, mean Duke in this one); and The Quiet Man (boxer in Ireland), and Hatari (big game capturing in Africa & famous Mancini music for the Baby Elephant Walk).

5. For a fun "road film" see Sullivan's Travels. It is the film that the Coen brothers' wacky O Brother Where Art Thou? comes from. Veronica Lake is priceless.

6. The two best westerns ever, IMHO, Shane (Alan Ladd as a gunfighter trying to forget) & High Noon (Gary Cooper as a sheriff trying to retire).

Only three more to go: Out of the Past (Robert Mitchum); Bridge on the River Kwai (William Holden & Alec Guiness); Errol Flynn's Adventures of Robin Hood.

Of course: I am assuming that everybody has already seen The Wizard of Oz.

And if you click on the left on Mar 22 2006 there is a little more about some of these, and why I like them. Along with a modern up-to-date film that you can pair them with.

Anyone allergic to Black & White: avoid Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith, Casablanca, Treasure, To Have and Have Not, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Sullivan's Travels, High Noon, Out of the Past. All the others were filmed in color.

And don't forget to see Hitchcock's Psycho. Watch it at night, straight through without stopping, but with someone else in the house.

I am looking forward to one of the pleasures that kind of goes along with fall and winter seasons: we watch more movies around my house. When it gets dark early (generally not a good thing for me) it seems easier to just sit back and enjoy a movie. We watch a fair amount of TCM, Turner Classics, on cable.

Tonight they are showing Out of the Past (Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas) from 1947, a b/w film noir gangster-on-the-run type story. The story starts out slowly with Mitchum tending a gas station in rural California when his past catches up with him. He starts telling his girl what is really going on, a long flashback ensues, and the story becomes so convoluted that when it is over you will wish you could rewind and watch it again, because you'll swear you missed something.

Jane Greer plays the baddest bad-girl you'd ever want to send you into a dark alley, & Kirk Douglas a cheerful, upbeat murderous thug. Everybody pretty much deserves what happens to them, and at the end you're not sure what's changed.

Great film. Done again in the 80s, with Jeff Bridges, as Against All Odds. The remake's not even close.

My back is finally starting to feel somewhat normal. This has been almost six full months of hoping to get better. I have to credit the acupuncture & chiropractic treatments that I have been doing the past several weeks. It's made a tremendous difference, and now I feel like I can start to do some of the things that I have had to avoid.

Today we walked almost six miles on a gravel nature trail. In bright sun with warm temps and fall colors, it was a great afternoon. I haven't done an hour and a half of exercise straight through in several months, so I am very hopeful that things are now getting really better.

Tomorrow, some weight lifting. I have been doing that all along except for the worst couple of weeks, but I have cut back quite a bit on the amount of weight and the number of reps. So I am hoping to start building up again. Mostly because of the boost I get in my mood. During the spring and summer I am almost always in a pretty good mood, but when daylight savings time ends and the afternoon is already getting toward dark by the time I get home, then my mood does suffer. It really helps to be able to exercise like normal.

I am also missing the running that I had been doing before hurting my back. I had built up to half-marathon which was only two weeks before my back got messed up. This month I might start a bit of jogging and see if it feels OK.