Day 31: Word is Bond

Spoiler alert:  the car doesn't survive.  Bond, however, does.

I think we're a little behind the curve here but last night V. and I finally went to the movie theaters to watch the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.  I had seen some reviews that said it was perhaps one of the better Bond movies in recent times, so I went in with pretty high expectations.  I'm not so sure that those expectations were met, but I have to say there was a lot to enjoy about the movie, and a lot to think about.

The Daniel Craig-era Bond continues to be a cold and brutal assassin, a very stark contrast to the more polished Pierce Brosnan and the nearly comical Roger Moore.  He shows significant compassion or at least respect to his fellow MI6ers but everyone else is viewed as a means to an end.  There are a few moments in the movie where you see his actions and start to wonder if he is such a good guy after all.  There are movies where you have a likeable character who plays something like a soldier or spy and although they may have to do some regrettable or violent things you get the final takeaway that this person is a good person, someone worth cheering for and liking.  The Craig-Bond is not that kind of guy.  There is the occasional comedic moment and wry commentary by Bond as he makes light of a serious situation, but make no mistake about it, this Bond is not your buddy, he's not your role-model, you don't want to invite him over for dinner and cocktails (unless you're some overly confident archvillain who underestimates him, or some well-heeled or well-connected politico who needs his protection).  Bond is a trained killer, he's an alcoholic, and aside from his penchant for bedding hot women, using them to get to the next bad guy, and then leaving them to die, he is, as he said in Quantum of Solace, "only motivated by [his] duty".  He pauses and watches as another hired assassin kills a target, and only steps in once it's done.  He shows little to no remorse when the archvillain he is after kills the female "asset" he used to find him.  Nothing stops him from achieving his mission, whatever that happens to be:  whether it's drinking a tequila shot without being stung by a scorpion to win some bar bet, or chasing some villain across the world and through some of the most crowded cities.

So it's the ultimate escapist fantasy for many men and women:  who wouldn't want to be (or be with) the international spy with zero remorse who travels to exotic locales, fights terrorism, beats bad guys senseless and wears finely tailored suits and is equipped with seemingly unlimited budget and gadgetry?  Not to mention the coveted 00-Section's "license to kill".  It's definitely not the moral compass or feel-good movie of the year.  But having read so many of the original Ian Fleming 007 books, and a few of the John Gardner continuation books, I have to say this version of the Bond seems very, perhaps too harshly, close to the James Bond depicted in the original stories.  He's no upper-class gentleman with polo and cricket as his favorite pastimes.  He's a thuggish strong-willed bloke who'd probably enjoy watching rugby or MMA matches when he (if he) ever gets a day off.  Well he actually does get a few days off in this movie when he is assumed killed, and he spends it... drinking heavily, walking along the beach (to the bar) and sleeping with hot brunettes.  He's an unapologetic hedonistic bastard.  And oddly, people love that about him.

Hmmn why aren't my 37 days being spent like that?  OK I don't have many days left in my vacation but I'm going to try to be more Bond-like.  Whip my body into better shape so I can cling to the bottom of elevators climbing dozens of stories high.  Spend more time driving sports cars, and shooting (photos and guns).  The killing and the bedding of multiple femme fatales, yeah that isn't going to happen.  But I may work on being a lot less apologetic.  New Years Resolution:  Be a bad ass.

Happy New Year, wishing everyone a better 2013.

Day 17: loss of traction

I have to admit I haven't been very diligent about keeping this blog updated for the last week. Perhaps that's a good thing because that means I've been keeping busy. But I'm going to try and keep things updated regularly because otherwise too much may have happened and I may have forgotten some of it.

So let's see what I've been up to? Well I went for a few drives and brought my Subaru into the dealership to have the GPS repaired so I was without my BRZ for a few days. I took advantage of some of that downtime to visit the Blackhawk Auto Museum. I hadn't been there in many years and it was nice to come back and see some great classic cars that they have in their collection. I didn't bring my Nikon DSLR with me but I did take quite a few pictures with my iPhone and I have to say it did a pretty good job especially with the HDR function. Link to my auto museum photos here.

One of the many gorgeous cars at the Blackhawk Auto Museum

This thing is massive.  And made of wood!

Sunset at the Blackhawk Museum

I've been going out and having lunch with coworkers or with V for a few days so I haven't had much opportunity to cook anything fantastic. Just a few pasta dishes and grilled sandwiches that Sort of thing.

I got the chance to watch The Hobbit in an advance screening sponsored by my firm. I have to admit I'm not much of a Lord of the Rings fan so The Hobbit was a bit of a strange movie for me. I had a hard time distinguishing the trolls from the goblins and so on.  It definitely felt like the movie was too long and the entire story could have been told in far less time. I got the sense that they were stretching it out just to make it another three-movie box office cashcow.  Oh well, the nice thing was the firm covered all concessions for us, so we went to town on the popcorn, candy, snacks and drinks!

Last weekend V and I attended my firm's holiday party. It was at the Stonybrook mansion in Los Altos Hills which is a very nice place for a party or gathering. I wish I could say I have some nice pictures from the event but unfortunately my stay there was cut a little short. I was chatting with some coworkers when I suddenly felt faint and actually passed out in the middle of the reception area. They called an ambulance and ended up taking me to the emergency room at the nearby hospital where I received a bunch of tests and x-rays. The results were fairly inconclusive as everything looked normal but it appears the most likely cause was dehydration. I'm doing much better now but I have to say it was a very interesting experience riding in an ambulance for the first time to be taken to the hospital. And surely I made a grand exit from the party on a stretcher.  One thing's for sure, I'm going to be drinking plenty of water from now on.

So I've been taking it easy last few days but today I'm back on the elliptical. In fact I'm on the elliptical now as I speak and my iPhone is taking down my words so that I can update this blog using the blogger app. The accuracy is pretty good and I've only had to make a few changes here and there to fix some weird word recognition issues. Ain't technology grand?

That's it for this update. Stay tuned for more stories later this week.