Last night we saw Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World [1] and tomorrow night begins the next set of Hornblower [2] movies on A&E. Not a major female character in the lot, and for once I don't care.

And it's not just Russell Crowe and Ioan Gryffud in tight pants, either.

OK, that doesn't hurt.

But there's something about these old-fashioned "ripping yarns" and their ideals that get me going. Sure, the adventure is exciting, and I even enjoy the naval battles (what is up with me and naval stories these days?).

There's a sense of wholeness about the characters, especially in "Master and Commander." Watching the two leads, longtime best friends, charge into battle, and then sit down during quiet times and play violin and cello duets...ah, for men like that. These characters have a sense of honor, duty, purpose and civility that we seem to have lost. I don't long for a mythical golden age that never was--we in the first world are indeed the luckiest humans who have ever lived, especially us female humans--but I do wish we could hold onto the better parts of what has been in our headlong rush toward what may be.

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