NEVER SAY NEVER

Looks like an interesting film...

clipped from www.imdb.com The year 1983 saw a strange phenomenon; two rival Bond films. "Octopussy", starring Roger Moore, was part of the official Cubby Broccoli Bond franchise. "Never Say Never Again", made by a rival producer, is, apart from the awful "Casino Royale", the only Bond movie which does not form part of that franchise. Its big attraction was that it brought back the original Bond, Sean Connery; its title reputedly derived from Connery's remark after "Diamonds Are Forever" that he would never again play the role. Some have complained that Connery was, at 53, too old for the role, but he was in fact three years younger than his successor Moore, who not only made "Octopussy" in the same year but went on to make one further Bond film, "A View to a Kill", two years later. The film owes its existence to the settlement of a lawsuit about the film rights to Ian Fleming's work. It is perhaps unfortunate that the terms of the settlement included a clause that the new film had to be a remake of "Thunderball", as that was perhaps not the greatest of the Connery Bonds. (A remake of "Dr No" or "Goldfinger" might have worked better). The plot is much the same as that of the earlier film; the terrorist organisation SPECTRE, acting together with a megalomaniac tycoon named Largo, have stolen two American nuclear warheads and are attempting to hold the world's governments to ransom by threatening to detonate them unless they receive a vast sum of money. It falls to Bond, of course, to save the world by tracking down the missing missiles. The film is fortunate in that it has not just one but two of the most beautiful Bond girls of all, Barbara Carrera as the seductive but lethal Fatima Blush and Kim Basinger as Largo's girlfriend Domino who defects to Bond's side after learning of her lover's evil plans. A number of the Bond films have a plot that hangs upon the hero's ability to win over the villain's mistress or female accomplice- there are similar developments, for example, in "Goldfinger", "Live and Let Die" and "The Living Daylights". In the official series, Bond's ally is normally regarded as the female lead, but here Carrera, playing the villainess, is billed above Basinger, who was a relatively unknown actress at the time. Basinger, of course, has gone on to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, whereas Carrera is one of a number of Bond girls who have somewhat faded from view. Of the villains, Max von Sydow makes an effective Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE, but Klaus Maria Brandauer seemed too bland and nonthreatening as Largo, except perhaps during the "Domination" game, a more sophisticated variant on those violent computer games such as "Space Invaders" that were so popular in the early eighties. Brandauer can be an excellent actor in his native German, in films such as "Mephisto" and "Oberst Redl", but he does not comes across so expressively in English. One of the film's features is that it both follows the normal Bond formula and, at times, departs from it. There is the standard world-in-peril plot, chase sequences, a series of exotic locations, glamorous women, sinister villains and a specially written theme song based on the film's title. There is, however, no extended pre-credits sequence, and we see some familiar characters in a new light. For example, Bond's boss M becomes a languid, supercilious aristocrat, his American colleague Felix Leiter is shown as black for the only time, and the scientist Q is portrayed by Alec McCowen as a disillusioned cynic with (despite his characteristically upper-class Christian name of Algernon) a distinctly working-class accent. There is also an amusing cameo from Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling British diplomat. Although Connery was perhaps not quite a good here as he was in some of his earlier films in the role, this ringing the changes on the familiar theme makes this one of the more memorable Bonds. 7/10 A goof. Rowan Atkinson's character states that he is from the British Embassy in Nassau. As, however, the Bahamas is a Commonwealth country, Britain would have a High Commission in its capital, not an Embassy.

HE'S A GONER

Great! Just right before I am going to work on a football project! :-s

clipped from www.tribalfootball.com Schuster slams Real Madrid's Capello: He's a goner Getafe coach Bernd Schuster has slammed Fabio Capello's Real Madrid and says the Italian's days are numbered. Schuster, who is favourite to succeed Capello in the summer, said: "It is practically certain he won't be coach of Real Madrid next season. "Capello only wants to win, it does not matter how, and with that philosophy you will never succeed at Real Madrid." On his own future, the German added: "I have not maintained any direct talks with the president of Madrid. I only know that I am on the list of candidates to replace Fabio Capello."

GOD

God is good.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org Theologians have ascribed certain attributes to God, including omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, a source of moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent.[1] These attributes were supported to varying degrees by the early Christian, Muslim, and Jewish scholars, including St Augustine,[3] Al-Ghazali,[4] and Maimonides,[3] respectively. The name God refers to the deity held by monotheists to be the supreme reality. God is generally regarded as the sole creator of the universe.[1] As of 2007, a majority of human beings are classified as adherents of religions that worship a monotheistic God, usually the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.[2]

BEGINNING OF THE END

Never saw this movie before... and never want to see.

clipped from www.imdb.com Beginning of the End (1957) This is one of the most enjoyable of the 1950s "big bug" movies. Filmed in 1957, in the middle of my favorite sci-fi era, this film enjoys a better than average cast than you would expect for B science fiction. People begin to disappear in the surrounding communities outside Chicago. Photographer/journalist Audrey Aimes, portrayed by the lovely Peggy Castle, stops to visit Dr. Wainwright, the Dept. of Agriculture scientist who has used radiation on his plants to make them larger, only to discover that grasshoppers have feasted on them, thus making an army of giant sized locusts. This sounds pretty lame by today's standards but this was standard fare for 1950s science fiction, in the days when we were scared to death of having a nuclear weapon dropped on us and being taken over "from within."

TRAVEL DIARY

Oh how I wish I was in some remote island now!

clipped from www.travellerspoint.com Are you about to set out on a trip and want to keep your friends and family at home informed? Or do you just want to keep a personal record of your experiences as you go? Keeping a diary online is a great way to both keep in touch with your loved ones back home, while recording your experiences for your own pleasure. Not only will you be doing your friends and family a favour by not filling their email inboxes with massive, photo-filled emails, you'll also be creating an online record of your movements, that you can re-read weeks, months or even years later! Travellerspoint Travel Community

HAIL CAB

clipped from www.fodors.com How to Hail a Cab in NYC Yellow cabs are everywhere in Manhattan, cruising the streets looking for fares. They are usually easy to hail on the street or from a cab stand in front of major hotels. Still, finding one at rush hour or in the rain can take some time. Even if you're stuck in a downpour or at the airport, do not accept a ride from a gypsy cab. If a cab is not yellow and does not have a numbered aqua-color plastic medallion riveted to the hood, you could be putting yourself in danger by getting into the car. You can see if a taxi is available by checking its rooftop light; if the center panel is lit and the side panels are dark, the driver is ready to take passengers. Taxi fares cost $2.50 for the first 1/5 mi, 40¢ for each 1/5 mi thereafter, and 20¢ for each minute not in motion. A $1 surcharge is added to rides begun 4-8 PM and a 50¢ surcharge is added between 8 PM and 6 AM. One taxi can hold a maximum of four passengers (an additional passenger under the age of seven is allowed if the child sits on someone's lap). There is no charge for extra passengers. You must pay any bridge or tunnel tolls incurred during your trip (a driver will usually pay the toll himself to keep moving quickly, but that amount will be added to the fare when the ride is over). Taxi drivers expect a 15% to 20% tip. To avoid unhappy taxi experiences, try to know where you want to go and how to get there before you hail a cab. A few cab drivers are dishonest, and not all know the city as well as they should. Direct your cab driver by the cross streets of your destination (for instance, "5th Avenue and 42nd Street"), rather than the numerical address, which means little to many drivers. Also, speak simply and clearly to make sure the driver has heard you correctly -- this will save you time, money, and aggravation. A quick call to your destination will give you cross-street information, as will a glance at a map marked with address numbers. When you leave the cab, remember to take your receipt. It includes the cab's medallion number, which can help you track the cabbie down in the event that you lose your possessions in the cab. While plentiful in Manhattan, taxis can be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find in many parts of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. As a result, you may have no choice but to call a car service. Always determine the fee beforehand when using a car service sedan; a 10%-15% tip is customary above that. There are several differences between taxis (cabs) and car services, also known as livery cabs. For one thing, a taxi is yellow and a car-service sedan is not. In addition, taxis run on a meter, while car services charge a flat fee. And by law, car services are not allowed to pick up passengers unless you call for one first.

EASTER BUNNY

It snowed in New York today. I wondered if bunnies were out and play?

clipped from en.wikipedia.org The "Easter Bunny" is a traditional holiday character in the form of a giving rabbit which is said to leave gifts, usually Easter baskets for children at Easter (or at springtime). It originates in Western European cultures, where it is a hare rather than a rabbit, and in the eastern half of the continent it also has a long tradition in Hungary. The Easter Bunny is an example of folklore mythology. Other prominent characters are Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Origins Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity; since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth (to large litters) in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox. The saying "mad as a March Hare" refers to the wild caperings of hares as the males fight over the females in the early spring, then attempt to mate with them. Since the females often rebuff the males' advances before finally succumbing, the mating behavior often looks like a crazy dance; these fights led early observers to believe that the advent of spring made the hares "mad". Rabbits and hares are both lagomorphs; they are prolific breeders. The females can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first (the two are born separately); this phenomenon is known as superfetation. Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the saying, "to breed like bunnies"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore; however, the notion of a rabbit that lays eggs has an uncertain past. It may have simply arisen from a confusion of symbolism but, like much of the holiday of Easter itself, it could be a direct heritage from older traditions. In Germanic and Slavic languages, the word "Easter" comes from an ancient pagan goddess of the spring named Eostre. According to legend, Eostre once saved a bird whose wings had frozen during the winter by turning it into a rabbit. Because the rabbit had once been a bird, it could still lay eggs, and that rabbit became the modern Easter Bunny[1]. The precise origin of the custom of colouring eggs is not known, although it too is ancient; Greeks to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red, the color of blood, in recognition of the renewal of life in springtime (and, later, the blood of the sacrificed Christ). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long "dead" time of winter. Other colors, including the pastels popular in the United States and elsewehere (possibly symbolizing the rainbow), seem to have come along later. German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time. The idea of an egg-laying bunny came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase". "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. Only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. A hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.