They’re ruining James Bond

Roger Ebert writes a savage review of the new Bond film. He says what we’ve known for some time:

OK, I’ll say it. Never again. Don’t ever let this happen again to James Bond. ‘Quantum of Solace’ is his 22nd film and he will survive it, but for the 23rd it is necessary to go back to the drawing board and redesign from the ground up. Please understand: James Bond is not an action hero! He is too good for that. He is an attitude. Violence for him is an annoyance. He exists for the foreplay and the cigarette. He rarely encounters a truly evil villain. More often a comic opera buffoon with hired goons in matching jump suits.

Read the whole thing — it’s awesome.

Yes, Bond is not the same Bond I grew up with — and it’s a shame. Go back and watch “From Russia with Love” and you’ll realize how far the latest Bond films have strayed from their roots. These new films lack the wit and playfulness that made Bond fun to watch. They’re dark and depressing and seem to think mindless violence can make up for engaging plots.

And Ebert’s right — Camille is not the name of a Bond girl. Cam Shaft, maybe.

Free wallet from Burger King

Burger King’s scattering wallets around with $5 gift cards in them. Clever viral marketing campaign. You can read about it here.

The economy

Wow. A pretty gloomy assessment of the looming economic troubles:

The U.S. will experience its most severe recession since World War II, much worse and longer and deeper than even the 1974-1975 and 1980-1982 recessions. The recession will continue until at least the end of 2009 for a cumulative gross domestic product drop of over 4%; the unemployment rate will likely reach 9%. The U.S. consumer is shopped-out, saving less and debt-burdened: This will be the worst consumer recession in decades.”

Apocalyptic predictions are a dime a dozen. But they tend to be right every once in a while, just like a broken clock.

That said, I’m expecting this downturn to last a while — I think our current situation is untenable: An enormous government debt with no politicians admitting that there’s no money left to spend, a nation of maxed-out consumer creditors, and business institutions (like the Big 3 automakers) that really need to fail, not get a bailout.

Should be an interesting ride over the next couple of years.

Video game marketing

Marketing for video games sure has changed a lot.

Phony War Heroes

So, this guy’s serving three years for claiming to be a war hero and getting disability benefits:

Randall Moneymaker’s claims to collect more than $18,000 in disability payments were numerous. In a Veterans Affairs compensation and pension medical exam, he claimed he ‘had been involved in numerous combat situations, including RPG attacks and firefights,’ according to the federal indictment against him.

Topping his claims, Moneymaker said he had the scars from combat service, but federal authorities said the scars match a liposuction procedure he had done. Moneymaker has been sentenced to three years in jail, according to the Army Times.

Liposuction wounds aren’t nearly as exciting.

Amazing Incredible Potato Chip Pac-Man – eBay

Better act now if you want to win this potato chip that looks like Pac-Man on eBay. I’m told it came out the bag that way — no mechanical intervention at all.

Incredible.

Interesting topic

Raising taxes during the Great Depression apparently did little good.

Roberto Clemente

Didn’t know this about Roberto Clemente, the baseball great:

Clemente spent much of his time during the off-season involved in charity work. When Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, was affected by a massive earthquake on December 23, 1972, Clemente (who had been visiting Managua three weeks before the quake) immediately set to work arranging emergency relief flights.[35] He soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of the Somoza government, never reaching victims of the quake.

Clemente decided to accompany the fourth relief flight, hoping that his presence would ensure that the aid would be delivered to the survivors. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve flight, a Douglas DC-7, had a history of mechanical problems and sub-par flight personnel, and it was overloaded by 5,000 pounds. It crashed into the ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on December 31, 1972. A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane. Teammate Manny Sanguillen, a catcher and Clemente’s best friend, was the only member of the Pirates not to attend Roberto’s funeral. He chose instead to dive into the waters where Clemente’s.

Tragic.