The State of James Bond

Above, George Lazenby took over as Bond for only one movie.

Well, we're five years since No Time To Die in which the movie ended with James Bond seemingly blown to smithereens by the Royal Navy.  

Much has happened since then, though.

Amazon now owns the Bond franchise and is still searching for a new James Bond as Daniel Craig has ended his stint as 007. The word is that Amazon plans to reboot the series. This will be the second reboot as the Daniel Craig movies, starting with Casino Royale, was the first reboot. 

Frankly, I think they should hang up the Bond movies unless they come up with an inventive way that Bond survived the missiles (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes but brought him back due to public demand). To me, reboots are cheats. The ending of No Time To Die is too firmly tattooed on people's minds. I will give the new Bond movie a chance, but if it turns out to be a POS, then I am done. 

Esquire posted an interesting article on the state of the Bond series. (By the way, a new Bond novel, King Zero, is set to be released in September.) They look at some contenders for the new Bond. 

They begin their article with:

So, here we are. Still. No Time To Die came and went, Daniel Craig has ducked out of MI6. It is now a number of years since his Bond was – spoiler alert! – terminated with extreme prejudice by Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, we’re still no closer than we were then to knowing who will be the next James Bond.

A director has been appointed in the shape of Oscar-nominated French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. In a statement, the Dune franchise director said was a "die-hard James Bond fan" and intends to "honour the tradition" of the franchise. "I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr No with Sean Connery," he said. "To me, he's sacred territory". Meanwhile, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has been enlisted to write the script.

But who will play Bond himself?

Well, we know that the new Bond is very probably going to be in his thirties (the Bond hierarchy has pondered a much younger Bond but ultimately threw it out) because if he's too old, he loses sex appeal; and too young, he loses credibility.

Traditionally, it’s been a role which elevates actors to the A-list rather than being an A-list vehicle. Sean Connery was an undistinguished jobbing actor best known for fighting leprechauns in Disney’s begorrah-and-blimey Irish tale Darby O’Gill and the Little People. George Lazenby was a car salesman turned chocolate advert mascot who bumped into Cubby Broccoli at the barbers. Pierce Brosnan had a perm.

But now that Amazon has wrestled control of the franchise, honestly: who knows?

Good question. Only time will tell.

To read more, go here. 

Amazon Disarms James Bond

Above, James Bond with guns photoshopped out.

If one had hopes that the acquisition of the James Bond franchise would continue with the traditions set originally by Cubby Broccoli and Harry Salzman back in the 1960s, the following should have one pause.

Amazon acquired the franchise when they bought MGM and the rights from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. 

I have been a 007 fan ever since my parents to me to see a double feature of Dr. No and From Russia With Love in 1963. 

In an article posted by The Gateway Pundit, Amazon altered photos of well-known Bonds from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. Guns they were holding in the original pictures were photoshopped out.

They wrote:

Amazon has quietly photoshopped firearms out of the promotional posters for every single James Bond film available on Prime Video.

The alterations, a clear war on traditional masculinity and Second Amendment values, affect classics from Sean Connery’s era all the way through Daniel Craig’s final outing in “No Time to Die.”

This is a terrible sign of what’s to come from James Bond 007 at Amazon. They digitally removed the guns from the posters on Amazon Prime. The snowflakes don’t belong anywhere near 007. pic.twitter.com/Nnu7d7yjqV

— Comics Cuts (@ComicsCuts) October 3, 2025

 As it was said by Han Solo in the Star Wars movies: "I have a bad feeling about this." Is the 007 logo next?

To read more, go here.

"Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West"

It hardly seems possible that already two months have passed since my trip to Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota (along with Colorado and Utah on the way).

One place visited on the trip was Deadwood, South Dakota for a few nights.

Above, the location where Wild Bill Hickok met his demise. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As things strangely happen, a book on Deadwood has been published. It is titled, "Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West" and is by Peter Cozzens.

According to the posting at Amazon:

Sifting through layers and layers of myth and legend—from nineteenth-century dime novels like Deadwood Dick, to HBO prestige dramas to the casino billboards outside of present-day Deadwood—Peter Cozzens unveils the true face of Deadwood, South Dakota, the storied mining town that sprang up in early 1876 and came raining down in ashes only three years later, destined to become food for the imagination and a nostalgic landmark that now brings in more than two and a half million visitors each year.

This seems to be an interesting book for history buffs.

To read more, go here. 

Winchester 94 Book On The Way

The other day, I spotted this book on the Winchester 94 (or 1894) being offered for sale at Walmart. Unfortunately, they had none available.

Instead, I did a search and spotted one at Amazon and ordered it. It has been shipped and will be arriving by Friday.

Ian Fleming's Foundation Seems Pleased

The Ian Fleming Estate's publishers seems to be pleased with the Amazon MGM take-over. 

They issued this statement:

 

Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise

Above, my Daniel Craig autographed photo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This can't be good news.*

Even though Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have taken some heat in killing James Bond in No Time To Die, the announcement that they are giving Amazon MGM creative control over the franchise is being met by fans with shock and disapproval.

The main concern for fans of 007 is that Amazon MGM will run the franchise into the ground with poor quality movies as Disney did with the Star Wars franchise. The last Star Wars trilogy was shit.

Variety reported:

Amazon MGM Studios is set to take creative control of the James Bond franchise.

The shock announcement — which is sure to shake and, indeed, stir the industry — was made Thursday, alongside the news that long-time producers and custodians of 007, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, would be stepping back.

As per details of the historic agreement, Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli have formed a new joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights. The three parties will remain co-owners of the iconic franchise but Amazon MGM will have creative control.

I have been a 007 fan ever since my parents to me to see a double-bill of Dr. No and From Russia With Love in 1963. 

To read more, go here.

*I hope I'm proven wrong.

Shoddy Binding On 2024 Whitman Coins Red Book

Above, the 2024 Red Book. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The 2024 A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book) by Whitman Publishing, LLC arrived in today's mail.

I hadn't purchased one since the 1976 Bicentennial Edition.

Well, I have to say I am very disappointed in it without even reading about any coins. 

This review I posted at Amazon explains it all:

The guide book arrived, but the spine of the book was not bound onto the pages. It appeared that no glue or stitching was used on the binding. Not what one would expect for a new hardbound book. Very disappointing.

Above, after gluing the cover onto the spine. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I gave it two stars because of this. After posting my review, I noticed that other purchasers had similar problems with their book purchases.

They also pointed out whom they feel is the culprit: China. The book was made in China.

Above, "Printed In China", that should tell you something. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Larry Lucier (who was with me when I opened the shipping box) and I glued the cover onto the spine. We shouldn't have had to do this. At least the book is usable now.

Whitman Publishing had better find a book company to make their books in the U.S.

I sent Whitman a complaint message.

Eclipse Glasses and Merchandise

Merchandising for the upcoming annular solar eclipse in Gallup, New Mexico has already started.

Good ol' capitalism!

I saw a merchant offering Gallup-centric annular solar eclipse t-shirts at Amazon. I did get a t-shirt in Idaho in 2017 when the Great American Eclipse took place.

Here's a photo:

 

On the other hand, there are some merchants who are selling eclipse safety glasses. Walmart is one. I would presume that Gallup Walgreen's and supermarkets are selling them as well. I would recommend calling around and ask before going on a "wild goose chase" to get some. I already have some.

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is offering free eclipse glasses. Go here for more information.

Found Chase & Sanborn Coffee After 20 Years

Above, finally, after 20 years I'll be having my favorite brand of coffee. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For 20 weeks in 2003-2004, there was a supermarket strike in Southern California against four supermarket chains by the  United Food and Commercial Workers union. One of the affected chains was Ralphs Markets (Kroger), were my mom and I shopped.

During the strike, some products were not available. One of them was Chase & Sanborn coffee, my favorite coffee brand.

When the strike ended, some products returned but Chase & Sanborn coffee didn't. It wasn't available anywhere. I had to switch to Maxwell House coffee. It was pretty close to Chase & Sanborn in flavor. I haven't seen it any Chase & Sanborn since.

The other day, I thought about it and did some searching to see what happened to it. Well, I never did find the answer, but I did find that it was still available and found some at Amazon, of all places. So I ordered a 30.5 ounce can and it arrived yesterday and I picked it up from the post office this morning.

As soon as my current batch of Maxwell House is gone, I'll be making myself some Chase & Sanborn coffee. I hope it is still as good as it was 20 years ago.

Pee and Have Fun With Pee-Litical Targets

 

Just in time for Christmas!

Want to give His Fraudulency something that he deserves while you're in the loo taking a whiz? 

This fun item hooks onto a toilet seat and projects an image of Biden (or others) down into the toilet. Then you can pee on his face to your heart's content!

Above, the projected image of His Fraudulency.

I suppose women would have a bit more difficulty in pissing on the image.

I've seen these available on both eBay and Amazon. Have fun!

Counterfeit RV Books

Self-publishing authors (which I am one with The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan) need to be mindful of crooked people out there who will counterfeit their books and sell them on Amazon.

This apparently has been a problem for years and it hit RV-related publications.

RV Travel reported (snippets):

A chronic problem with Amazon that has plagued authors and publishers for years has finally made its way to the RV industry. We’re talking about counterfeit books.

David Cattelino runs a small publishing house called Roundabout Publications just outside Kansas City, Kansas. It specializes in writing and publishing how-to books, trip guides, and websites for outdoor travel enthusiasts. Some of their most popular titles include RV Camping in State Parks, RV Camping in National Parks, the Rest Area Guide, and the RVers Guide to Dump Stations.

But it’s their RV Camping in Corps of Engineers Parks guide that has been caught in a counterfeit web on Amazon.

“We recently discovered that there was a pirated copy of the Corps of Engineers Park Guide being sold on Amazon,” Cattelino said. “It even had a different author’s name and was selling for less than our regular cover price in both print and in three digital Kindle editions.”

Counterfeiting on Amazon isn’t new

Self-publishing authors can submit their works to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Their e-books will then be posted for sale on the site. It’s a simple matter for a counterfeiter to create a PDF of the original digital work. Or they scan all of the pages from a traditionally printed book. The thieves then submit the work back to Amazon as their own and reap the profits.

To read more, go here. 

Congressman Calls For Racketeering Probe Into Big Tech

Even before I saw this story, I was thinking that the moves by Google and Apple against Parler smelled of racketeering.

Well, sure enough, one congressman is calling for a racketeering investigation against the Big Tech companies.

From The Epoch Times:

A top Republican in the House of Representatives on Sunday called for a racketeering probe into large technology companies who over the weekend took action against Parler, a social media website.

“This is clearly a violation of antitrust, civil rights, the RICO statute. There should be a racketeering investigation on all the people that coordinated this attack on not only a company but on all of those like us, like me, like you, Maria,” Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo.

After Twitter banned President Donald Trump and some other users, Parler saw its traffic explode. Soon, though, Google announced it had removed Parler from its online store, a move followed by Apple. Then, Amazon announced it was suspending Parler from its web hosting services.

Parler CEO John Matze told The Epoch Times his company is prepared to take legal action, but in the meantime authorities should investigate the possibly-coordinated actions, Nunes argued.

Since Amazon is suspending Parler, I have cancelled my Amazon Prime Membership effective immediately.

To read more, go here.