Bond Tuesdays: SPECTRE (2015)

SPECTRE (2015) Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring Daniel Craig, Ralph Finnes, Christopher Waltz 148 mins, yes it’s even longer than the last one.

A cryptic message from James Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover the existence of a sinister organisation named SPECTRE. With a new threat dawning, Bond learns the terrible truth about the author of all his pain in his most recent missions.

If you liked 2012’s SKYFALL you’ll probably like 2015’s SPECTRE because its got virtually the same creative team. Danny Craig is back, Judi Dench is not and I miss her very much. It’s hard to believe Craig has been playing Bond for 10 years now and keep in mind this is the last Bond film released, NO TIME TO DIE, the latest episode, is slated to be released in 2021 which means Craig has been playing Bond for 16 years! Holy hannah!

Let’s compare this with the other Bonds, shall we? Their ages are in (when they started/when they ended) the number of films they did is in BOLD.

• Sean Connery (32/41) 1962-1971 - 9 years - 8 films

• George Lazenby (30) 1969 - 1 year - 1 film

• Roger Moore (46/58) 1973-1985 - 12 years - 7 films

• Tim Dalton (41/43) 1987-1989 - 2 years - 2 films

• Pierce Brosnan (42/49) 1995-2002 - 7 years - 4 films

• Daniel Craig (37/53) 2005-2021 - 16 years - 5 films

Okay so Roger Moore was Bond for a whole generation but Craig has crushed Moore’s record in terms of years. Connery holds the record for making the most films and it’s good to note that I listed him from 1962-1971 but he skipped 1969’s entry and he came back for 1971’s DIAMOND’S ARE FOREVER and then NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN in 1983 which was an unofficial entry in the Bond series. Lazenby is the youngest Bond at 30 but Connery was only two years older in his first outing. Moore was the oldest to take on the role and the oldest to stay with the role, but with the amount of time it takes for the Craig films to come out if he decides to do another one he could tie that record.

Craig, for all his years with the series has only made five films. His films have the largest gap between releases due to writer strikes, lawsuits and Covid.

All right so back to SPECTRE; Christopher Waltz is the villain this time, he’s a great actor, he’s a weak choice for grande Bond villain Ernst Blofeld, and the PR department (and Waltz for that matter) tried really hard to deny he was playing Blofeld in this movie marking the first time the arch villain has been seen in a Bond film since 1983’s FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.

Blofeld, in case you didn’t know, is the basis for Austin Powers Dr Evil, but that’s what made him great. If they had come full circle and had Waltz play him with a naru jacket, bald head, scar over his eye and a cat audiences would have fallen out of their chairs because they would have thought Austin Powers.

The movie is overlong, gives us yet more of Bond’s backstory and makes a connection between Bond and Blofeld that seems contrived. Critics didn’t like this one and I’m with them.

• BOND RATING: C+ It’s the worst of the CRAIG films, but looking at the track record we might see the bottom drop out with the next one.

• BOND will return, eventually, in NO TIME TO DIE, but I’m not sure I will. It’s been interesting over these many weeks to rewatch Bond and to realize I’m right back where I started. Bond is best trapped in the style and the gadgets of the 1960s when man was racing to get into space and villains were bald and carried hairless cats.

• OVERALL BOND RATING: ***

Tony Bourdain had No Reservations as he Travelled to Parts Unknown

Tony Bourdain was a writer, a traveler, a chef, a complex man with problems and a father. As a fan of good writing, travel and food I was with Tony almost all of the time. We may not have agreed politically and he made a lot of choices I never would. A former heroin addict, he struggled to overcome his demons and I was rooting for him when he had discovered the eastern religion of Shinto and had taken up Judo to get himself healthy. I was sad to see him get re-hooked on cigarettes and when he started dating a screwy Italian actress/director I was concerned that bad things would come of it.

He committed suicide in France a few years ago after what many would consider a very successful life doing what he loved, he left no note, he had no drugs in his system, and his best friend true chef Eric Ripert will spend the rest of his life trying to forget that he was the one who found him.

Suicide is the most selfish event one human can inflict upon another. I am a strong advocate for getting people with mental health problems help, but I am an equal advocate in stressing that we each of us make our own mistakes and have to own up and face them, and that we can never truly overcome any struggle until we ourselves alone make the decision to do so.

You’ll note that I listed Tony’s accomplishments as a father last, that was intentional. By all reports he was a doting father but leaving your 11 year old with the sad fact that your father just committed suicide doesn’t get you a spot on the Mount Rushmore of Fatherhood.

I’ve met a lot of celebrities over the years, but I never met Bourdain. We were slated to be at the same event with our mutual publisher Dark Horse Comics (he was the author of graphic novels and loved the art form) but he left this mortal plain before that came to be. I’m not sure I would have wanted to meet him, I was certainly a fan of his work both with his book KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL and his TV show’s, first NO RESERVATIONS and to a lesser extent his excursion at CNN with a slightly edgier version of the same show now called PARTS UNKNOWN. Not one to watch Travel Shows which before Borurdain were things like Rick Steves PBS Series which makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit, and Andrew Zimmer who has a show where he travels to a place and eats the strangest thing on the menu, Tony’s shows weren’t afraid to tell us that the hands down best most amazing food can sometimes be found at a LAWSON’S Convenience Store in Japan. Specifically the fluffy Egg Salad Sandwich but I’d also strongly advocate for or the pancake sandwich which is a packaged little pair of pancakes with a dollop of butter and syrup placed between the layers. Either one can be had for less than 300Y. Who says you can’t eat well and cheap in Tokyo?

I liked Tony’s style, an older guy with moxie, and although I find both Tattoos and Cigarettes repulsive I liked that during his travels he would admit if a bit of food was less than stellar rather than only choosing pre-selected items on a menu giving the viewer the impression that everything about an area was amazing.

It took me over eighteen months before I could go back and watch any reruns of his show, and I started with my favorite episode of NO RESERVATIONS in which Tony and his sometimes travel buddy Russian Icon Zamir visited Romania and the tourist trap known as Dracula’s Castle. It was one of Tony’s worst travel experiences and it made for what I consider the best episode of the series.
It’s painful to watch knowing Tony’s pain, as with all suicides those left behind are wondering what they could have done to make a difference, and Bourdain’s suicide emphasizes the impact that’s felt even among people who didn’t actually know him.

Tony’s weathered rock star appearance made for great television, and his writing, as I’ve said in other posts, is on a level with Hemingway and Chandler, two of my favorite writers, the first who wrote directly and with no nonsense and the second who often waxed poetic while maintaining a masculine feel to his writing. Tony seemed to combine both;

“The only other sign that anyone had ever lived there was a lone chef’s jacket on a hanger in one of the closets — like an artifact, evidence of an ancient astronaut who’d been here before me.” From Tony’s KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL

It’s his voice-overs, almost always written himself during the show which makes them stand out from other inferior travel shows.

I still can’t binge watch his shows as I used to. I hope that someday I will, but for anyone thinking the world would be better off without them I’d urge you to get some help, recognize the selfishness of this kind of thinking, and the untold damage you’ll do to countless people inside and outside of your own circles who will be affected.

Because they will be.

Buying a Remote Car Starter!

Look for the signs for HARVEY and the BASEBALL ACADEMY pull into the lot and swing around the back of the complex.

Another old post— I’m referencing my old convertible here— but since buying a new one I’m considering a remote starter for it so this is relevant.

It was a pretty mild winter and I was even able to take the Miata out a couple of times (once with the top down) but I admit I had times where I’d forget to start it. Once the battery was dead and I had to jump it. The battery for the car is in the trunk for some reason, I’m sure the japanese designers thought was a good one, but that worked out because I had parked it at the top of the driveway nose in.

Another time I drove it up to Church and left the lights on— had to jump it again. All of my cars since my beloved Pontiac have had automatic car starters but I didn’t think I needed one in the Miata because lets face it, it’s old. But after the mishaps of the winter and the fact that one of the two key fobs I have for it doesn’t work and to replace it was going to be $250 so I figured why not put it towards an automatic starter.

In the past I’ve gone to Sun N Sound for all my car starter and stereo needs but honestly the last visit was not amazing and when #2 son went on my recommendation to get his installed he wasn’t impressed, and later on he had troubles with it so I decided to turn to YELP and see who got the best reviews.

Enter MOBILE CAR PRO in Shrewsbury. I emailed them using the standard form they had and asked for a ballpark price. Rayco in the populated section of Shrewsbury was having a special of a $450 system installed for $300— but the reviews on YELP made me want to avoid Rayco. One of the perks to Rayco would be I could walk over to Whole Foods and wait for it* but again I wanted it done and done right so I opted to go with MCP.

They’re also in Shrewsbury but on Route 20. Route 20 is one of the longest highways in the United States, stretching from Boston to Newport, Oregon— 3500 miles of road. For such a major road there are a lot of areas that are pretty desolate and MCP sits in one of those sections. Located just past the Hebert Candy Mansion if you’re coming from Worcester or some ways past the Christmas Tree Plaza if you’re coming the other way there is nothing around it besides the Baseball Academy, Harvey Remodeling and a Dance Studio— so unless you’re in the market to improve your fastball, buy new granite counter tops or do some basic toe spins you’re out of luck. MCP is hidden in the back of the complex, you won’t see it from the road but as you pull in you’ll see their flags down around the back guiding you to their location. There is a Honey Dew Donuts in the gas station at the lights about a ½ mile away but you can’t walk Route 20 even on the best day.

I opted to swing by and grab a coffee and an egg wrap which I brought with me over to the shop. I pulled in and they quickly came out and took the keys and got the whole process going. Now Sun N Sound has a pretty elaborate waiting area— with so much James Bond type stuff for your car that you can be pretty entertained while you wait. There is also stuff nearby so you can walk over and wait at any of three coffee shops.

Not so here.

The waiting room is pretty sparse— it’s got flyers and a few demo models but not much else. I did bring some work with me and I made myself comfortable at the table and stools in the corner while they worked.

The process took about two hours and when it was done the owner came out and walked me through how the new Key Fob works. It’ll start the car, it’ll lock and unlock the car, it’ll open the trunk, it can make it so I can keep the car running while I take the key out to pop into a store on cold days. He also set it so the radio wouldn’t come on until I put the key in the ignition. This was above and beyond because the car has an antenna that rises up when the radio comes on, and I’d rather that’s not standing up in the cold wind and snow while it’s warming up.

The bill was shy of $400 and I was really happy with the work— highest recommendation. Let me tell you, from experience, there is NOTHING like getting into a warm car on a cold day— it makes scrapping much easier if you remember to leave the heat and defrosters cranked— and ditto on a hot day getting into a nice cool car— yeah even though it cools off pretty quickly when you put the top down it still gets hot on the warmer days.

Convention Report Jet City Tacoma Washington, Part IV: The Show Wraps

Rick Hoberg’s first issue of Batman

One of my favorite shows…

CONTINUING OUR TACOMA ADVENTURE…

After dinner we took a short walk around town, Tacoma is very much like Worcester only bigger with larger buildings and a lot more hills. The Crime used to be out of hand, and we were warned not to go near the overpasses which were very dark but the view of Mt Rainier was breathtaking from all of downtown so we did what we could to get some good photos.

Back at the hotel we worked a bit more on pages and then turned in for the final day of the show. Sunday’s breakfast was just as good as the day before— and I ran into former Batman artist Rick Hoberg in the hotel elevator on my way to Starbucks. The convention was held on the fifth floor of the convention center and Veronica opted for the stairs again— no thanks. I took the elevator and like an episode of Twilight Zone once again Buck Rogers himself, Gil Gerard, rode with me. Mr. Gerard is easily one of the nicest celebrities I’ve ever met.

The show itself was pretty busy for a Sunday but like most shows commission sketches were minimum on the final day. I spent a few minutes talking to Rick Hoberg, Batman’s last artist in my mind, and he was extremely nice. We talked about careers and watching out for yourself since publishers don’t. He signed his first Batman comic book for me and told me some great stories about working with some really difficult editors and writers.

The promoter swung by and gave us Uber Fare for the airport the following day and thanked us for coming out. We returned the well wishes and headed out. Originally we were going to dine with Jay and the crew again, but since they had a whole booth to break down and would be about two hours we decided to go our separate ways.

Veronica and I walked downtown and checked out a few of the really cool stores. One was a reclaim store that took old stuff and reused it. I picked up a pile of John Buscema Tarzan comic books.

Mt Rainier over Tacoma

We decided to check out Happy Hour at Pacific Grill which was a beautiful restaurant where we sat at the huge oak bar and talked a bit with our bartender Helen and the busboy Jon. We ordered a gin and tonic (her) and a vodka tonic (me) as well as a flat bread and some street tacos with Osso Buco. Really stunning. We followed this up with some Impossible Meatballs which were also very good and contained no meat whatsoever (impossible!). For dessert we had another Gin and Tonic and another Vodka Tonic.

After dinner we took another walk and ended up back at the room at 8pm although it felt like it was 11— and it was with the time difference. Jay texted us to see if we’d eaten yet- and they were going to Pacific Grill too! We gave them food recommendations and turned in early.

Continued next week

BOND TUESDAYS: SkyFall (2012)

SKYFALL (2012) Written by Neal Purvas, Robert Wade, John Logan Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Naomi Harris, Albert Finney. 143 Minutes— yes you read that right it’s over two and a half hours long.

James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

We’re in the third Danny Craig Bond film now, the series started with the idea of revamping Bond, the first true Reboot in the long franchise history and it was successful for the most part. Critics liked the first one, really didn’t like the second one (I did) and liked this one almost as much as the first one.

If the description of the plot sounds familiar it’s because it is. To me it seems like every Craig Bond finds him on the outs with MI6 and his boss M. I feel like Bond has already resigned a couple of times for various reasons, he’s even been killed a couple of times and has returned from the dead and basically spends a lot of time running around or getting tortured, all the while seeking revenge.

Two and a half hours is too long for any movie and while this one gives us some insight into Bond’s history, his family life, and what makes Bond Bond— and a lot of people liked that look into the family album. I don’t share the love, I think Bond is a character best served with an element of mystery about his past.

Craig is still good, although he seems to be tiring of the role.

• BOND RATING: B What can I say I don’t like long movies or origin stories and this is both, but it’s still good action.

• BOND will return in SPECTRE, but the Craig Bonds take a long time to come out.

Why Do I Hate Watching Videos? It Looks Like I'm Not the Only One.

In looking for a good TO-DO App I decided to try CLICKUP which got good reviews, I went through the hoops to get it set up and then BAM— here’s a video for you to watch to see how this works.

Ugh.

I don’t like watching videos. Or I should say I don’t like being FORCED to watch videos. For a long time I thought I had a mental deficiency (and I realize about half of you are saying ‘no duh’ right now) when it came to videos but it turns out I’m not alone. Here’s a thread on a message board to show that many other people feel the same way.

In doing further research it appears this dislike is because of a lack of control. There are certain people whose personality makes them pushback against being told what to do, and apparently having someone ask you to watch a video feels too much like that.

Now the video above is 90 seconds, so I’ll probably be able to get through that, but I can’t help that my first reaction upon a video being offered to me causes me to want to opt out of the app altogether.

This might be the same reason AUDIBLE and I don’t get along. I’ve signed up for AUDIBLE more times than I can remember because I read a lot of books and I have a lot of time either in the car or walking the dog and it makes sense to fill that down time with books I want to read, but then the narrator starts reading me the book and I just zone out. I LOVE reading but I HATE being read to. Wow, I don’t know how I get along so well with myself.

TRAVEL ADVICE...

Got a request for making travel better, specifically air travel— here’s what I have found.

1- Get TSA Precheck— I don’t care if you fly once every three years it’s totally worth it. Multiple times it’s saved me from missing a flight. The idea that I don’t have to take off my shoes, my blazer, my belt or remove my laptop from my carry on bag makes the process effortless.

2- Upgrade - Extra room, first class, early boarding— I don’t care what your particular choice is but upgrading is always worth it, even on short flights.

3- Avoid alcohol — sounds crazy right? If you don’t like flying have ONE to take the edge off, but don’t go above that— you’ll get dehydrated in that cabin air and increase your jet lag. Go with water but avoid ice— they don’t wash the scooper.

4- Travel with your passport. Recently a flight from Puerto Rico to Miami was diverted to the Bahamas, anyone with a passport was able to leave the airport for the extended delay. Trouble was because it’s a domestic flight NO ONE had their passport. I did, I was able to get fresh air and real food. I always travel with my passport because I can keep it in the breast pocket of my blazer and I don’t have to keep pulling my wallet out to get my Driver’s License.

5- No carry on bags - I travel only with one personal item, it’s my briefcase. I refuse to be one of those people pushing luggage onto the plane and struggling with a back-pack. I either check my bag (and yes I have had bags lost— don’t check them on American Airlines) or I mail my bag to the hotel via FedEx and I make sure I purchase a return label as well— the hotel concierge will happily take care of it for you provided you have everything filled out.

6- I get plenty of $5 and $10 bills for tips, doormen, said concierge, people who help you out. You want the best service this works.

7- Don’t skimp on the hotel. I won’t stay at anything less than a 4.5 hotel— the line that “you’re only going there to sleep” is total BS— you are going there to unwind after a hectic day. You are going to want to be able to sleep and if you’re staying at some kind of budget place good luck with that.