Etc...

YOU ALMOST HAD ME THERE

So there was Rick Perry, all set to serve on a six-person municipal court jury in the case of an Austin, Texas, woman who was contesting a speeding ticket. He'd answered a summons, completed the required forms, and even officially been designated Juror No. 1 for the trial. But since counsel for both sides may veto those they don't want weighing the evidence and arguments, the Republican governor soon was dismissed. It's not known which side objected to the idea of his helping to decide the woman's guilt or innocence.

Speaking of trials, there's word from Mexico that Humberto Fernandez is in a federal lockup, awaiting one on narcotics and weapons charges. That's because a search of his locker turned up quantities of cocaine and other illegal substances, plus a cache of bullets for a firearm. Where was the locker? In Atlacholoaya Prison ... the same facility where he was employed as a deputy superintendent.

"Citizen Kane," the Orson Welles classic tale of ambition, greed, and loneliness that tops many critics' best-film lists, lost out to director Francis Ford Coppola's mafia epic, "The Godfather," in a new survey by Zagat Survey LLC. Better known as a New York-based publisher of restaurant guides, the company asked more than 5,000 avid moviegoers – not necessarily critics – to rate 1,000 films. The top 10 favorites, with the year each was released:

1. "The Godfather," 1972
2. "Casablanca," 1942
3. "Star Wars," 1977
4. "Gone with the Wind," 1939
5. "The Shawshank Redemption," 1994
6. "Braveheart," 1995
7. "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001
8. "Citizen Kane," 1941
9. "The Godfather: Part II," 1974
10. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981
– Reuters