BOND BAZAAR!

BOND BAZAAR!

FROM DEBORAH LIPP OVER AT THE ULTIMATE JAMES BOND FAN BLOG . . .

Got together with some pals to place about 20 Bond lots on eBay for my 3rd annual Bond Bay Blast. Besides putting movie quotes and some gags with each item, we posted some good stuff…

..Items starting at $0.99 US.

..TOMORROW NEVER DIES Cell Phone Prop

..Sellers’ banned edition with Ian Fleming correspondence

..All 11 variant British Book Clubs, all 6 Sniper Cover Gardner Novels

..Piracy novels, 24 different Bond movie chips, Avakum Zakhov, ultra-rare martini bottles and shaker, DeVoe’s Into The Volcano, etc., etc.

Visit

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/spyevents to see all the listings on one page. And do please buy some stuff soon so we can afford some brand new Quantum of Solace collectibles!

LAUGH-OUT-LOUD CATS #698!

LAUGH-OUT-LOUD CATS #698!

FROM CARTOONIST ADAM 'APE LAD' KOFORD, HERE'S THE ORIGINAL DEFINATION OF FACEBOOKING . . .

THE DUKES!

THE DUKES!

CINEMA RETRO'S LEE PFEIFFER HAS A NICE POST ON ROBERT DAVI'S NEW FILM THE DUKES . . .

The Dukes is a moving and often very funny film that eschews car chases, violence and filthy language to concentrate on establishing strong characters. (Remember when most films took pains to do the same?). Davi and his pals are washed-up ex-Doo Wop singers who had a brief stint at the top of the charts in the 1960s but who have now fallen on hard times, working in menial jobs while desperately trying to find another gig on the nightclub circuit. When the financial burdens prove to be overwhelming, Davi and his partners decide to plan a heist that is as amusing as it is suspenseful. I won't make this a formal review of the film, because the version I saw has since been modified. Thus, I'll wait until I see the finished product. However, I do feel I can say that while Davi's performance is a real gem, it's his skill as director that has been responsible for the praise he has been reaping. He's an actor's director and willingly makes himself an ensemble player among an inspired and highly talented cast that includes Peter Bogdanovich, Chazz Palminteri, Frank D'Amico, Miriam Margolyes and even veteran actor Joe Campenella. The performances are all terrific, as is the oldies soundtrack that will have you tapping your feet throughout as you cheer on the loveable losers onscreen. (Davi should make every effort to get a soundtrack CD out on the film.)

TO READ THE COMPLETE POST CLICK HERE

JAMES BOND LIMITED EDITION COKE ZERO BOTTLES!

JAMES BOND LIMITED EDITION COKE ZERO BOTTLES GO ON SALE EXCLUSIVELY IN HARRODS THIS SATURDAY!

CINEMA RETRO tips us Coca-Cola has launched a major UK tie in with the James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, commencing with a super cool mini-trailer. In London, fans will be able to buy exclusive limited edition James Bond Coke Zero bottles from Harrods. The bottles go on sale this Saturday, October 25 - launched just in time to capitalize on the world premiere of the film on October 29.

25 CHEESIEST SYDICATED TV SHOWS!

25 CHEESIEST SYDICATED TV SHOWS!

I GUESS CHEESIE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. I REALLY LIKED AT LEAST HALF OF THESE . . .

JACK OF ALL TRADES (2000-2001)

STARRING Bruce Campbell

PREMISE The Evil Dead veteran plays an American agent during the 1800s who's sent to the South Pacific to help a British spy (Angela Dotchin) guard against Napoleon's naval advances.

REDEEMING QUALITIES As always, Bruce's chin. And the brilliance of casting Verne Troyer as Bonaparte.

QUEEN OF SWORDS (2000-2001)

STARRING Tessie Santiago

PREMISE Didja ever see Zorro? Young, attractive Spanish aristocrat sets up shop in Old California to fight injustice — personified by a power-abusing governor? Yeah, now imagine that with a woman in the lead.

REDEEMING QUALITIES Gosh, the show sure looked pretty, with all its Spanish location shooting and hot swordswoman action.

FOR THE COMPLETE LIST CLICK HERE

A tip of the fedora to BILL CRIDER

THE CAT'S MEOW!

COCKTAIL NATION PODCAST TONIGHT!

COCKTAIL NATION PODCAST TONIGHT!

It's spring in Sydney the weather is crazy but the music is cool as tonight we take a look at the life of Henry Mancini, a cool beatnik website to take a look at ...Bond news, the death of a celebrity fashion critic.....the world of swank and a whole lot more as we crank up the hi fi in the penthouse in the city of Sydney.

www.cocktailnation.podomatic.com
www.myspace.com/loungelothario
email thecocktailnation@gmail.com

Clouseaux-Le Nuit
Frank Bennett-You're Just too Hip Baby
Mancini -. Alright ok you win
Esquivel-It had to be you
Lushy-Tiki
Martinikings-Brief n Breazy
Martin Denny-The Enchanted Isle
Lea Delaria-Welcome to my party
Lexotica-Sand
Sergio Mendez & Brasil 66 - Bermbau
Bobby Hackett—Mood Indigo
Ella Fitzgerald-Mas Que Nada
Lenny Dee -Lover come back to me
Pink Martini-Sympathique
Mantovani - Perhaps perhaps perhaps

IF THE POLLS HOLD!

IF THE POLLS HOLD!

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL RECENTLY PUBLISHED A CHILLING LOOK AT WHERE A DEMOCRATIC VICTORY IN THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN COULD LEAD . . .

If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.

Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven't since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.

TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CLICK HERE – BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID . . .

NOISY DRINKING CAT!

IF YOU HAVE THE SOUND OF YOUR MISSING 95% OF THE FUN!

SIX BONDS IN WHICH TO INVEST!

SIX BONDS IN WHICH TO INVEST!

Deborah Lipp and her ULTIMATE JAMES BOND FAN BLOG tip us to artist Michael Bryan’s new poster with all six Bonds. 34" X 24″ it is only $125.00 postage paid!

TO CHECK OUT BRYAN'S WORK CLICK HERE

TALES FROM DEADWOOD #4!

TALES FROM DEADWOOD #4!

WRITER AND BLOG BUDDY JAMES REASONER (ROUGH EDGES) SENDS ALONG THIS NOTE WITH THE ABOVE COVER FOR HIS LATEST WESTERN - JAMES ALWAYS DELIVERS A GREAT STORY.

Here's the cover for the fourth Tales From Deadwood novel, THE TROOPERS. It won't be out until next spring, but don't worry, I'll remind you of it again between now and then. At this point I don't know if there will be a #5, but I hope so. I read the page proofs for this one recently and thought it was a pretty good book, if I do say so myself.

ROY OF THE ROVERS!

ROY OF THE ROVERS!

COMICS EXPERT AND WRITER STEVE HOLLAND REVIEWS THE LATEST COLLECTION OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE BRITISH STRIPS OVER AT HIS COMICS BLOG BEAR ALLEY . . .

This one brings back some memories. This is 120 pages of solid Roy of the Rovers footballing goodness drawn from the old Roy of the Rovers Annual with a few contemporary adverts from the pages of Tiger thrown in to give it that authentic 1950s/1960s feel—deliberately pandering to the nostalgia of middle-aged blokes who remember tearing at wrapping paper to get to the annuals we used to get every Christmas as kids. Not the thin things you get nowadays that masquerade as annuals but large hunks of books that would take you until New Year to read all the way through.

Strips, text stories, hints and tips about how to play, features, the Bobby Charlton story, training with Roy, a trip round Melchester Stadium... it's all here. The paper even has that rough feel of old newsprint and being slightly off-white it has, I'm sure, helped with the reproduction of these old strips as the artwork doesn't need to be digitally bleached quite so far, which causes fine lines to disappear along with the yellow tint of aging paper.

As I have a soft spot for Roy and his adventures (see my earlier review of The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1980s), I think this was always going to be a winner as far as I was concerned (and, yes, I even have some of the original annuals from which these stories come from); it's from an era far earlier than the days when I couldn't wait for Saturday to come around to find out how Melchester Rovers had performed that week and I suspect that will be true of a lot of fans who feel that Roy's heyday was the 1970s and 1980s when he had his own comic.

At £12.99 it's a good deal pricier than the earlier book... maybe a reflection on how many Titan expect to sell (although you can get 40% off by following the link below). But if you like Roy, this is a great sampler of the Roy your Dad followed back in the 1950s. It bodes well for the upcoming Archive volumes.

The Bumper Book of Roy of the Rovers.

Titan Books (ISBN 978-1845769581), 24 October 2008, 120pp, £12.99.

PALM SPRINGS A LA CARTE!

PALM SPRINGS A LA CARTE!

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MEL HABER - THE MAN BEHIND MY FAVORITE PALM SPINGS HIDEAWAY, THE INGLESIDE INN AND IT'S JAZZ CLUB MELVYN'S.

PRICELESS!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

U.N.C.L.E. PLAYING CARDS ON E-BAY!

U.N.C.L.E. PLAYING CARDS ON E-BAY!

HERE'S ONE FOR COLLECTORS. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT A FULL SET, THE PRICE IS RIGHT.

TO SEE THE AUCTION CLICK HERE

THE ULTIMATE JAMES BOND QUIZ!

THE ULTIMATE JAMES BOND QUIZ!

Bond is back as Daniel Craig gets ready to unleash Quantum of Solace — the anticipated addition to one of the most successful film franchises in history.

Are you a Bond fan? Test your knowledge with our 30-question quiz from Deborah Lipp, a lifelong Bond fan and expert on the James Bond movies. She is the author of The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book. She blogs at blog.jamesbondfanbook.com

TO TAKE THE QUIZ FROM PARADE MAGAZINE CLICK HERE THEN COME BACK AND BRAG ABOUT YOUR SCORE!

FREE QUANTUM OF SOLACE MOVIE TICKETS!

FREE QUANTUM OF SOLACE MOVIE TICKETS!

Purchasing the exciting new Casino Royale 3-disc set on High Defintion or Blue Ray DVD yields a free ticket to see Quantum of Solace!

Stores including Best Buy, Wal-Mart, SAM’s Club, etc. are hosting the specially labeled disc sets. $22.99 with a free movie ticket! What a deal!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

UNDECIDED?

UNDECIDED?

DAVID SEDARIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CRUMUDGEONS. RECENTLY HE HAD A PIECE IN THE NEW YORKER GIVING HIS DECIDEDLY OFFBEAT TAKE ON UNDECIDED VOTERS . . .

I don’t know that it was always this way, but, for as long as I can remember, just as we move into the final weeks of the Presidential campaign the focus shifts to the undecided voters. “Who are they?” the news anchors ask. “And how might they determine the outcome of this election?”

Then you’ll see this man or woman— someone, I always think, who looks very happy to be on TV. “Well, Charlie,” they say, “I’ve gone back and forth on the issues and whatnot, but I just can’t seem to make up my mind!” Some insist that there’s very little difference between candidate A and candidate B. Others claim that they’re with A on defense and health care but are leaning toward B when it comes to the economy.

I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention?

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

TO READ THE REST OF HIS PIECE CLICK HERE

WORST JAMES BOND CINEMATIC MOMENTS!

WORST JAMES BOND MOMENTS!

THE TIMES ONLINE HAS A NEAT LISTING OF THE WORST CINEMATIC MOMENTS IN THE JAMES BOND FRANCHISE . . .

THE RAPE OF PUSSY GALORE

Look, we know gender politics isn’t Bond’s finest point, but forcing yourself on a woman like this in the hay was surely unacceptable even in the 1964 of Goldfinger?

Watch the Goldfinger trailer

THE SWANNY WHISTLE

The first car stunt in cinema history to be calculated by computer, the stunning corkscrew jump in The Man with the Golden Gun is ruined by the addition of a swanny whistle to the soundtrack. It is preceded by Roger Moore imitating an American accent, and J. W. Pepper (qv) gawping in the passenger seat.

The infamous scene recreated for BBC's Top Gear

JAMES BOND CHEATS

It’s the climax of The Man with the Golden Gun, and Bond (Roger Moore) and Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) are about to duel to the death in Scaramanga’s hall of mirrors. Bond wins by pretending to be a waxwork and gunning down Scaramanga. Insert your own Roger Moore waxwork joke here.

The Man with the Golden Gun trailer

FOR THE REST OF THE LIST CLICK HERE

PRISON BREAK -- THE K9 VERSION!

BODY IN A BAG COSTUME FOR HALLOWEEN!

BSO ON DANCING WITH THE STARS!

NEXT SEASON'S DANCING WITH STARS CONTESTANTS!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

THE GAME'S AFOOT!

THE GAME'S AFOOT!

This Christmas, Sherlock Holmes will celebrate his 121st birthday. Since Arthur Conan Doyle first created the detective in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been paraded on the big screen, parodied, dissected, but most of all beloved by millions. There are dozens of official fan societies and countless offshoots. So there have to be some loyal mental_floss readers out there who can don their deerstalker hats and solve this one in no time flat. After all, it’s elementary.

TAKE THE QUIZ: THE GAME’S AFOOT

A tip of the fedora to MENTAL FLOSS

REAL-LIFE CELEBRITIES WHO SHOULD BE BOND VILLIANS!

REAL-LIFE CELEBRITIES WHO SHOULD BE BOND VILLIANS!

TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE’S WEBSITE CONTINUES ITS CELEBRATION OF BOND MONTH WITH A LOOK AT REAL-LIFE CELEBRITIES WHO SHOULD BE BOND VILLIANS – LIFE IS MUCH MORE DANGEROUS THAN FICTION.

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

BOND’S MOST HEINOUS FASHION FAUX-PAS!

TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE’S WEBSITE IS CELEBRATING BOND MONTH WITH A LOOK AT BOND’S MOST HEINOUS FASHION FAUX-PAS – WHY ARE SO MANY OF THEM FROM THE ROGER MOORE FILMS?

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

BOND GIRLS YOU NEVER NOTICE!

BOND GIRLS YOU NEVER NOTICE!

TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE’S WEBSITE HAS A COOL LOOK AT THE BOND GIRLS WHO GET NO RESPECT – THEY MIGHT NOT BE THE BIG STAR OF THEIR GIVEN BOND FIM, BUT THEY ABSOLUTELY ADD TO BOND’S WORLD.

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

THE CAT'S MEOW!

CHARLES ARDAI AND HARD CASE CRIME ON NPR!

CHARLES ARDAI AND HARD CASE CRIME ON NPR!

HARD CASE CRIME PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR CHARLES ARDAI WAS RECENTLY INTERVIEWED ON NPR’S FRESH AIR . . .

Fresh Air from WHYY, October 17, 2008 • Edgar Award-winning author Charles Ardai is founder of Hard Case Crime, a pulp-fiction publishing group that reprints classic crime stories and publishes new pulp. All Hard Case novels come out in mass-market paperback editions, much like the classic crime novels from the '40s, '50s and '60s, with cover art inspired by images from the genre's heyday.

Under the pseudonym Richard Aleas — an anagram of his own name — Ardai writes crime fiction, too. His novels Little Girl Lost and Songs of Innocence detail the exploits of private investigator John Blake.

Blake is no hard-boiled, flint-eyed detective. He's haunted, damaged, often a little off-balance. Ardai, a one-time literature major who studied the English Romantic poets in his undergraduate career, tells Terry Gross that he's drawn to pulp fiction's tradition of wounded heroes.

TO READ MORE AND LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW CLICK HERE

VOTE!

VOTE!

Other than the occasional humorus shot at both sides, I usually refrain from taking a political stand on my blog, which is primarily filled with pop culture nonsense of no particular value.

Also, under current social conditions, if you take a stand outside of the liberal, Democratic, Obama is the answer rhetoric, you open yourself up to ridicule and hate driven comments.

Still, the coming election is of vital importance, and while I will clearly be voting yes on California’s Prop 8, I have found myself strugling to find a presidential candidate I can fully support.

Both of the below articles helped me to see my way clear to make a decision – even though it is far from a perfect choice.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY ACTION NEWSLETTER BY JAMES DOBSON

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MEDIA BY ORSON SCOTT CARD

SKIPPED!

SKIPPED!

EVERY NOVEL WRITER, PROFFESSIONAL AND WANNABE, SHOULD CHECK OUT AND READ ANDREW WHEELERS' BLOG TODAY ON THE CHAIN BOOKSTORE PRACTICE OF BOOK SKIPPING . . .

Greg Frost was skipped by Borders. Toby Buckell was skipped by Borders. Pat Cadigan was outraged. Gwenda Bond was more thoughtful. Many other people examined their liberal guilt about buying from a chain store, and were vaguely uncomfortable about the whole thing. And I'm sure there are plenty of other authors who heard that their new hardcover or trade paperback was getting skipped by Borders without going on the web to tell everyone about it. Nobody's jumped up to say that they were skipped by B&N yet -- probably because B&N has more cash and is in a generally better position than Borders, so they're less likely to be tightening their belts that much -- but both chains skip books every single day. Every buyer for both chains skips books all of the time.

By the way: that's what it's called when your book isn't picked up by a particular bookseller. Your book is "a skip," and they have "skipped" you. We don't like it very much on the marketing end, either, though I have to tell you that my already skip-filled list has gotten even worse lately. I already tell my authors -- accounting and finance guys -- that bookstores are mostly a lost cause for their category, so the thing to do is drive sales to online retailers in any way possible.

TO READ THE COMPLETE POST CLICK HERE

CRIME SCENE SCARF!

CRIME SCENE SCARF!

For the mystery fan who has everything, help them create their own crime scene with this extra-long, extra cozy, knit scarf.

The Fuzz, designed by Michelle Kempner, is acrylic with a touch of spandex for extra oomph; it’s just shy of five feet long; and it’s packed all rolled up in a clear drum gift box for gifting. $14.95 + postage.

TO GET ALL THE DETAILS OR TO ORDER CLICK HERE

NATE HELLER / QUARRY NEWS!

THE RAP SHEET, recently returned from Bourchercon (the annual World Mystery Convention), has a great post today with news from one of my favorite writers Max Allan Collins . . .

Max Allan Collins (HAD) some pretty exciting news during the convention: He’s working on two new interlocking novels featuring his popular historical private eye, Nathan Heller, last seen in Chicago Confidential (2002). The first of those will deal with the apparent suicide of film star Marilyn Monroe in 1962, while the second will concentrate around President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, which occurred just over a year later. (Wow, Collins doesn’t mess around when it comes to incorporating real-life controversies into his fiction, does he.) The Monroe novel, to be published by Tor Books, could appear as early as spring 2010.

And there’s more news concerning another of Collin’s enduring characters . . .

Meanwhile, Collins says that, after publishing The Last Quarry (2006) and his new paperback novel, The First Quarry, with Hard Case Crime, he’s just signed with Hard Case again to bring hired killer Quarry back in at least one more novel. This one will be titled--what else?--Quarry in the Middle.

TO READ THE COMPLETE POST CLICK HERE

PULP MUPPETS!

A tip of the fedora to ATOMIC PULP

HEADSHOT!

HEADSHOT!

Warner Bros has acquired the big screen rights to Headshot (Du plomb dans la tête which roughly translates to “Lead in the Head”), a three-book French graphic novel series by Alexis Nolent (aka Matz).

The series tells the story of two killers, two cops, and a journalist. In a Bronx apartment, Jimmy and Louis, two hired killers, slaughter a senator and the prostitute. Perry and Carlisle, two New York City cops, investigate and find evidence that points to the killers. Things go wrong and both their partners are killed. The Hitman and Cop decide to form an alliance, and on their road to revenge they realize that the enemy isn’t the only thing they have in common.

A tip of the fedora to /FILMS