We boarded our ship on March 9.  This is now Day 51 on our Seabourn Odyssey cruise.  We left Honolulu on March 5, but lost a day.  Then we gained it back only a few days ago. We are moored off Lahaina.  Tomorrow, Kailua- Kona, with a return to Honolulu on Sunday.  How many of you have been on a cruise for more than 50 days?  In January of 2021 we were signed up for a 111-day around the world cruise, which was cancelled by the company.  I don't think we will ever be doing that in the future.  The worst part is the cost, aggravated by the additional $40,000+ we would need to pay 15 Craigside just to be away. Before the pandemic, I regularly went to movie theaters and ate out at restaurants.  Television was the normal local channels, plus of course we've long had cable, so we had hundreds of choices.  I also subscribed to Netflix and Amazon Prime, and for many years paid their monthly fee, but rarely streamed.   I largely wasted more than a thousand dollars. The pandemic drastical

Tomorrow I will focus on everything you might want to know about Japanese samurai, the real ones and films.  Today, simply the highest rated Japanese movies and series by Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes best Japanese films 100%   The Tale of the Princess Kaguya  (2013, animated) 100%   Seven Samurai  (1954), maybe the best movie ever made 100%   Still Walking  (2008), complete movie, wonderful family film 100%   Only Yesterday  (1991, animated) 100%   Tampopo  (1985), complete movie, with a younger Ken Watanabe 100%   Tokyo Story  (1953), complete movie, said to be about the best made, by Ozu ( frankly, I found this film to be drawn out and boring ) 100%   Grave of Fireflies  (1988, animated) 99%     Shoplifters  (2018) 99%     Jiro Dreams of Sushi  (2011), one of my all-time favorites, especially since  he once personally served me  , and only me, for the entire lunch. 99%     The Twilight Samurai  (2002) 98%     Your Name  (2016, animated) 98%     Rashomon  (1950), with Kurosawa, Mi

My streaming is limited to Netflix and Amazon Prime, and I avoid animated and comic book films.  I do more series watching than anything else, but now and then view available top movies. The  Top Ten Netflix films  currently are: #1   Your Place or Mine , about two best friends who are total opposites and live across the country from each other.  Stars Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kucher.  We enjoyed it.  However, I then went to  Rotten Tomatoes , and saw 31%/38%.  What a surprise.  It was weak, but somewhat entertaining. #2   The Woman King , starring Viola Davis and John Boyega.  I have avoided it because....well, just because.  Checked  Rotten Tomatoes  and saw fabulous 94/99 ratings.  I guess I now need to see this.  A historical action drama about an all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom on Dahomey during 17th-19th century.  This film was set in the 1820's, with Davis as a general.  An all-women production, also including Maria Bellow, who helped sell

I am somewhat unusual in that, for the past decade or so, I've watched around 50 films/year in movie theaters.  However, for the past 15 months all my viewing has been on TV at home.  While over time I will return for special screenings, the convenience of streaming on Netflix and Prime has forever changed me, for staying home is cheaper and safer. More recently, these two companies have taken steps to expand their influence.  Amazon Prime bought MGM for $8.45 billion, adding a ton of material for their audience.  Netflix is looking into acquiring or merging with 9 opportunities, including. Sony Lionsgate, which owns Starz ViacomCBS Discovery DAZN Pluto Tubi Roku Spotify Others like A24 and STX Entertainment. However, prowling around Netflix are Apple ( they have hundreds of billions in cash available) and Facebook. I should mention that in my international travels, I've noticed that places like South Korea and Bangkok have made American theaters obsolete.  Bigger and better