For Christmas I received a brilliant calendar with movie posters from the classic age of cinema. Each month I have decided to have a dinner party culminating in a viewing of that particular month's movie.

Recently, I had lunch with the human resources director at my place of employment. Both she and the chief operations officer were down to my office for the day and I invited them out to Cracker Barrel (it was a cheap maneuver as my boss was out of town, and I knew they'd pay for the food). I needed the COO as a buffer between me and HR because last time I had lunch with Human Resources I got drilled on my opinion on everything from our company values to how the janitorial staff is doing.

It worked perfectly, I got a good meal paid for, and the COO kept us distracted by trying to win that little triangle peg game all Cracker Barrels leave on the table. It's quite a thing to see your boss's boss's boss cursing at a children's game because it says he's an "ignoramous."

The toughest question I had to field from HR was about my favorite movie. I chose Casablanca, much to the surprise of my questioner. Now, at 30, I'm not anywhere near a young whippersnapper, but I guess I'm still pretty far removed from an ancient classic like that.

The thing is, I really dig the old movies. I'm the kind of guy who goes to Blockbuster and heads for the center rows, not the outside aisles with new releases. I suppose this is a strange thing, when kids today haven't even seen Star Wars much less The Third Man.

Seriously, the first time I found out someone at work had never seen Star Wars I nearly fell out of my comfy office chair. It is as bewildering to realize that a film that means so much to me and my generation could be a relic to a new generation.

But maybe this is just me. I prefer Turner Classic Movies to HBO. I'd rather watch Humphrey Bogart than Tom Cruise. Black and white is much sexier then high definition super color.

Watching a movie like this month's Calendar Movie, North by Northwest I'm struck by the notion that it's not so different from your summer Hollywood blockbuster these days.