Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 5-10-2022— You Know My Name.

5th October, 2022.

Right … 

12:30 is — possibly — D-day.

Or T-hour, what have you!

At any rate … ?

I’ve got an online interview: for a home working job.

Hopefully?

It’ll go well.

Here’s hoping!

~≈Î≈~

Did I mention my nephew was over, on Monday?

My nephew, Jude, was over on Monday: a good long chat was had, pizza was had … 

And another video made.

Would you mind liking and sharing?   Cheers!

~≈Î≈~

No Time to Die — A Review

22nd December, 2021.

I’ll be frank: I made that introductory video, yesterday.

When, indeed, I’d had homemade spaghetti bolognese.

Although I don’t think anyone who’s genuinely  Italian would know what they’re looking at!

Tonight, on the other hand?

I had fish and chips.   Just to be different.

The intention’s much the same.

Have something to eat, then watch a movie … and then tell you about it: tomorrow night, at the latest.

Now, if you’ll excuse me?

I’m going to take the teabag out of the mug and watch No Time To Die.

~≈M≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 28-5-2019: Fleming!

28th May, 2019.

Yes, it’s true. 

Occasionally?

I read a book, or two.

And have to confess that my bedtime reading, at the moment … ?

Is Ward Moore’s1953  Bring the Jubilee.

I’m about four chapters into the alternative history novel.

And frankly?   It’s rather good.

To the point where I’m hearing the main character, Hodge Backmaker, talk.

At least, I’m hearing him talk, while I’m reading it: in what sounds like a late nineteenth century southern US citizen.

If I’m hearing the characters talk*?

That’s writing … !

~≈§≈~

Licence to Kill: a Review

23rd January, 2019.

There are times I’m glad I’m out of work … 

There’s times … I’m frankly not.

Frankly, money his possibly the tightest bits: although that’s always the way, I think.

Debts and payments expand as the income we receive, does.

If that makes sense?

What I’m trying to say … ?

Is simply that there’s pros and cons to being out of work.

The downside?

A lack of cash: and some extremely tight budgeting.

The upside?

Simply that I have time on my hand: and a large collection of media to watch.

Last night?   I was in a mode for some Bond… 

Actually, no: I was in the mode for some of Timothy Dalton’s Bond, as I’d not seen his second outing in the role for many years.

Last night?   I got myself good and befuddled: mixing up titles, to see The Living Daylights … !

Tonight … ?

I managed to remedy that, and watch … License To Kill … !

Hmmm … I think we’re looking at a very different film.

~≈§≈~

The Living Daylights: A Review.

22nd January, 2019.

Yes: I was definitely feeling grotty, this morning.

Frankly?   Too much cooking oil, last night … ?



All day, now I think of it.

Triggered my IBS.

I really should I’m not a seventeen year old — with a seventeen year old’s cast iron stomach — any more!

Thankfully … ?

Thankfully, I managed to stay in, all day: I really didn’t want to go too far away from the toilet.

Equally, thankfully?

I had an old friend over, picking up some backed up files … 

Who turned up with some really good home made bread.

That made for some great old-fashioned doorstop toast, with Marmite … 

~≈§≈~

At any rate … ?

At any rate, I’ve been in, all day.

Thinking I’ve movies in storage I’d like to see.

And thinking … that I’d never actually seen Timothy Dalton’s second outing as James Bond.

The menacingly named Licence To Kill.

What did I end up doing?

Watching The Living Daylights!

Fancy a mix up, any one … ?

~≈§≈~

SPECTRE: James Bond Goes Hmmm …

*SPOILERS*

You get earworms, don’t you … ?

You know, a song that plays its way around your head.

THAT’S an earworm.

Right now?

The tune in my head is this one … 

The familiar James Bond them music originally used as the theme for Dr No, back in 1962, and used, in some way, shape or form, ever since.

The reason I’ve got it worming it’s way through my head?

Is because I and my two sisters, Anna and Ruth?

Went to see the latest theatrical James Bond release, SPECTRE.

While I know Anna and Ruth are possibly going to disagree with me?

I think an appreciative — but not necessarily enthusiastic — “Hmm” noise is the best description.

~≈Ê≈~

The Daily Teaser — 5-10-2015: The Name’s Bond …

Right … 

Did you see where I put my iron … ?

More to the point, did you see where I put my posh trousers?

I think I’m going to need both, frankly … !

“OK,” I hear you ask.

“Why DOES Paul want me to find his trousers?”

Well … 

I’ve got an interview, today: at my local post office.

Which, of course means, I’ll be needing my posh shoes and trousers.   And need an iron, so I can iron a shirt.

Oh … 

And will possibly need to print out a copy of my CV and references.   I just hope the printers at the library are working, today.

I think I’m going to need them … 

~≈Ê≈~

The Daily Teaser — 12-8-2013: The Name’s Fleming …

It’s got to be said, I love Radio Four at this time of the morning.

Really.

The Today programme’s usually insightful, the religious programming at this time surprisingly soothing to an agnostic, and the news bulletins have set the basic format for the BBC for years.

And it’s got to be said, Today has just played a blinder, as far as I’m concerned.   They’ve just had the ever garrulous — and ever passionate — comedian and mental health activist, Ruby Wax, on speaking about GPs overprescribing antidepressants.

Fascinating listening, I should add.   And very worth a listen, if you get the chance.

With that in mind … ?

Let’s move on … 

~≈§≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser was another quiet day.

So let’s see who’s up for trying today’s Ian Fleming themed questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 12th August saw the death of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.   What was the name of the first James Bond novel … ?

Q2) Bond is — famously — a member of Britain’s Secret Service: which is also known as what … ?

Q3) Fleming, himself, on the other hand, served with which intelligence operation, during World War 2 … ?

Q4) What was the name of Fleming’s one children’s novel … ?

Q5) Fleming’s Jamaican home has a James Bond movie named after it.   Which James Bond movie … ?

Q6) And finally … What was the last James Bond novel to be published during Fleming’s lifetime … ?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 11th August, 1804, saw Francis 2nd named as the first Emperor of where … ?

A1) Austria.

Q2) More to the point, which title did he hold, until 1806 … ?

A2) Holy Roman Emperor.

Q3) Francis 2nd was ALSO the Apostolic King of which ‘H’ … ?

A3) Hungary.

Q4) Which language is the main one, spoken in Francis 2nd’s country … ?

A4) German.

Q5) And finally … In which year did Francis 2nd die … ?

A5) 1835.

Enjoy those: I’ll leave you with Fleming’s own suggested recipe for Bond’s signature tipple† …

“‘A Dry Martini*’, he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’ ‘Oui, monsieur.’ ‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordons, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemonpeel. Got it?’ ‘Certainly, monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.”

From Casino Royale.

And … 

Well, if you’ve done a Teaser about Fleming, what other tune can one use … ? Do-do-DAH-do … 

*        Noel Coward’s martini recipe was ‘filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy’.

†        Fleming dubbed it the ‘Vesper’.

Skyfall: Bond’s Birthday Bash …

It has to be said, sometimes.

That anniversaries can be a lot of hot air.

No, really … !

I spent last night, watching Skyfall, Eon Productions’ latest entry into their James Bond franchise: the 23rd film in the series had a cinematic release that heavily trumpeted the fact it was the 50th year since the release of the original film, Dr No.

Hmm … 

This possbly sounds like I’m going to tell you about a film I’ve seen and how I’ve possibly not enjoyed it it.

Not quite.

Hmmm …  let me try and tell you about Skyfall … 

~≈M≈~

The Daily Teaser — 5-10-2012

Random Tiger screenshot

Hmmm … 

Know what I’m thinking … ?

I’m thinking two things, actually.

Firstly, that winter’s slowly coming in.

When I got up, this morning, things were looking decidedly dark: dark enough to have the lights on.

And secondly … ?   Secondly, I got watching a film, last night: believe it or not, on the aging G4 I’ve dubbed Dirty Gerty.

Which didn’t actually come out looking too bad.

But let’s move on, shall we?   Before this turns into a technical breakdown.

~~~~~

As Debbi’s off to , this weekend, yesterday’s teaser saw no-one putting their answers.

Let’s see who we can interest in today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 5th October, 2011, saw the death of businessman, Steve Jobs: which computer company did he co-found?

Q2) More to the point, in which year of the 1970s?

Q3) Equally to the point, name either of the people Jobs co-founded that company with.

Q4) Jobs famously owned and ran the animation company, Pixar: who did he buy Pixar from … ?

Q5) What was the name of the company he founded, when fired by Apple in 1985?

Q6) Moving on … 5th October, 1947, saw who make the first Presidential address, from the White House … ?

Q7) And finally … 5th October, 1936, saw the start of the Jarrow March: to where … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 4th October, 1957, saw the launch of Sputnik 1: by which country’s space agency … ?

A1) The USSR’s.

Q2) More to the point, what does Sputnik mean, when translated into English … ?

A2) Satellite.

Q3) As a final Sputnik 1 question: which car company produced the a Sputnik model?

A3) Lada.   (You can imagine Jeremy Clarkson’s comment, can’t you … ?)

Q4) Moving on … 4th October, 2004, saw which spacecraft win the Ansari X prize for being the first privately owned spacecraft into space … ?

A4) SpaceShipOne.

Q5) 4th October, 1927, saw Gutzon Borglum begin work on which sculpture … ?

A5) Mount Rushmore.

Q6) And finally … 4th October, 1227, saw the assassination of Caliph Abdallah al-Adil.   Which north African country was he caliph of … ?

A6) Morocco.

Enjoy those, everyone: as today’s Sir Bob’s birthday, I’ll leave you with this song from the Boomtown Rats*.

And with this quote from the late Steve Jobs …

“People think it's this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Steve Jobs, February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011

Oh, and as it’s the 50th anniversary of the start of the Bond film franchise … 

*        Despite the fact it’s about a girl who hangs herself at a party, Diamond Smiles is a personal favourite of mine.

Quantum of Solace: A Measure of Peace, for a Penny

I’ve got to admit, Adrian does manage to work the library system; he manage to get hold of Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig’s second screen performance as James Bond.

And it’s definitely one to watch.

It doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the series, which Casino Royale — by going back to the novel, as far as possible whilst keeping the story as modern as possible — did, but Quantum of Solace does keep to the darker feel brought to the franchise by its immediate predecessor. Saying that, it does have its lighter moments.

It’s not one of the bouncier Roger Moore entries, though, by any stretch of the imagination: more Goldfinger than Octopussy. And decidedly darker than most.

But possibly a touch lighter than its predecessor.

There’s a scene at the end, where Bond confronts Vesper’s former lover that got my attention: sympathetic to the young woman involved, promising nastiness to the ex-lover, and reaffirming Bond’s loyalty both to the service and to M.

And, given the body count of the film, one that both remind us how potentially violent Bond is, and how he can be capable, not of forgiveness, but of restraint.

It’s also a film that shows us exactly how murky the underworld of the world’s intelligence agencies are; one of the sub-plot’s shows us how the CIA is prepared to do something of a very pragmatic deal with Dominic Greene, the villain of the piece: with only Felix Leiter – played again, by Jeffrey Wright – as the Agency’s conscience, and an informal ally of Bond.

One thing it does do is offer another twist on the Bond Girl, by giving us Olga Kurylenko as the revenge driven Camille Montes. While she’s no Vesper, she’s also not a traditional Bond ‘Good Girl’: one that ends up in bed with him, in other words. It’s a nice change, actually.

And, while we’re talking of changes, that’s something that hasn’t.

Or maybe I should quote Quark’s last line, in tonight’s final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same…”.

Something I noticed is Quantum of Solace’s introduction of Quantum, the shadowy organisation that Dominic Greene — played by French actor, Mathias Amalric — is a major figure in.

I’m sort of pleased about this.

One thing that I think does help in a Bond film is a nice big Evil Empire to fight against. In the original Bond novels and films, Bond had both SMERSH and SPECTRE to contend with: something that, these days, Eon Productions can’t use, as the Cold War has … thawed … to say the least.

But, in the two Craig fronted movies, Eon feel they need a replacement.

After all, in the novel of Casino Royale it’s a SMERSH agent, not the character of Mr White, that shoots Le Chiffre.

Which means they needed something to explain what’s going on.

So it’s nice to see the introduction of an old plot element, in new clothes, and viewed through a pair of blood tainted spectacles in order to keep the deep gore-covered feel that the Daniel Craig fronted members of the franchise are aiming for.

And, although Adrian has a point – that it would have been very interesting to see a really retro* Bond film – it’s good, from where I’m sitting, to see how the Bond movie franchise evolves.

Whatever one thinks of it, the films and the original Fleming novels, have gone very different ways, after all.

CAST
Actor	Character
Daniel Craig	James Bond
Olga Kurylenko	Camille Montes
Mathis Amalric	Dominic Greene
Judi Dench	M
Giancarlo Gianini	Réne Mathis

* That’s actually a point; we should maybe dig up the recent Bond novel by Sebastian Faulkes, 2008’s “Devil May Care”. Could be something to read.

Apparently, one of the characters is called Scarlett Papaver.

Deary, deary me …

Casino Royale: You know My Name …

Phew; A mid-week movie night … !

And what a movie to have …

As you know, by now, something of a cheap night in for me, Adrian, Paul and/or Allison – and whoever else would care to join us – is catching a film on DVD.

There’s advantages to this over a cinema trip, although that’s nice.

It is cheaper: and those of us who smoke, can of course smoke indoors …

Which is possibly beside the point,

At Any rate, tonight’s film was the 2006 EON Productions version of Casino Royale.

Which is a bit special, to say the least.

For a start?   It has more than a grain of the the original Ian Fleming plotlineº to it.

Considerably more than many other of the Eon movies, from what I’m given to understand.

I should know; it’s one of the few of the Fleming originals I’ve read.

There’s minor updates to the plot: the world has moved on since the late 1950s, when the novel was published*.

But, essentially, what one sees on screen is justified by what’s in the text.

Making this a rare Bond film, sharing that distinction with – to the best of my knowledge – only a few of the earlier entries in the franchise; most notably On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  

The Bond with the one and only appearance of George Lazenby in the central rôle, in case you’d forgotten.

The other reason I mention the latter, is it does share some similarities, although I feel these may be minimal.   The big one – something I’m sure many will know by now – is that, in both movies, there’s a doomed love interest.   The other worth mentioning, is the look and feel.

Both Casino Royale and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service have a gritty feel to them, although that’s more noticeable with Casino.

A sign of the times, I think, and one that, to me is welcome.   It reminds us of exactly what James Bond is;  a well educated, intelligent, well-educated killer.

Charming, capable of hurt, possessing a tender side.

But a killer, none the less

We tend to forget that, given most Bond movies lighter touches.

But, none the less, Casino Royale is exactly that: a Bond film, one that show us the darker, edgier side to the character, and that strips out the conventional formula parts that we’ve been used to, in order to wind the clock back, and breathe life into the franchise.

Complete with the tradition chases – a fun to watch Freerunning sequence – gadgets – although these are kept to the bare minimum, and there’s no Q to hand them over – and one hell of a car crash.

I can’t believe they did that to a DB12!

And the familiar “My names Bond … James Bond” is used right at the very end.

An ending that left Adrian, Paul, and I wanting to see Quantum of Solace …

* And I should add, since the making of the 1954 TV version, and the 1967 film with David Niven.

º Don’t even ask about The Man With The Golden Gun.   There’s a certain character in the film, who’s definitely NOT in the book …