Buffet 66 and James Bond Games

Above, the new Buffet 66 restaurant in Route 66 Casino Hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, I knew I should have eaten either at Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina or somewhere in Albuquerque.

Instead, I took a chance (appropriate, since I am at a casino) and tried Buffet 66, a new buffet restaurant that opened at the Route 66 Casino Hotel this past year. Normally, whenever I am staying at their RV resort, I'll dine at Thunder Road.

To say that the food at Buffet 66 was bland would be an accurate description. The shrimp cocktail sauce was tasteless, as was the blue cheese salad dressing. The chili rellenos were fair, but on the dry side. The only thing that tasted halfway decent were the enchiladas (with red sauce).

At $18.00 per person, I would have expected better. Well, I'm crossing this eatery off my list. Hospital and courthouse restaurants serve better food.

My grade: C-.

Above, the James Bond 007 gambling machines. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After eating, wandered around the casino a bit. There was one new (actually two games at the same spot) giant gambling machines  with a James Bond theme. They seemed to have been added since my last visit in July. On the left was a game with a Casino Royale theme. On the right, was one with a Thunderball theme. Each featured those movies's respective James Bonds (Daniel Craig in Casino Royale and Sean Connery in Thunderball) on video.

Personally, I wouldn't play either, but they were fun to watch as others were playing.

Remastered and Expanded "Thunderball" Soundtrack Album

Above, the 2003 remastered and expanded CD of Thunderball. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in late 1965 or early 1966, I bought the original soundtrack LP album for the fourth James Bond (Sean Connery) movie, Thunderball. I still have it.

The album had only about half of the movie's music as John Barry was still composing the soundtrack and the producers were in a rush to get the album on the shelves in time for Christmas 1965.

Above, the original 1965 soundtrack LP and the remastered and expanded edition. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Until now (rather, at least since 2003), that has been the only version available. Thankfully, the "missing" music has been added to the newer edition, which I just bought and am listening to now.

Amazon's description:

If Goldfinger proved that the James Bond franchise was box office dynamite, 1965's Thunderball cemented the British super-spy's international appeal--and further forged a set of pop culture cliches that both inspired and endured even Mike Meyer's modern, multi-chaptered Austin Powers spoofing. While Goldfinger also marked composer John Barry stamping his enduring influence on the series' music, this fourth installment finds his big band and jazz-inspired arrangements pulsing with confidence, stripped down rhythmic tension and exotic elegance. Tom Jones follows up Shirley Bassey's previous larger-than-life title track performance with a worthy rival of his own, its dramatic, Barry-composed melody interpolated throughout the composer's masterful score. Songwriter Leslie Bricusse (who co-wrote "Goldfinger" with Barry) also returns, teaming with the composer on the emblematic "Café Martinique" and delightfully kitschy "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (originally intended as the film's Bassey-sung theme song, but abandoned and replaced by the film's producers). This new, digitally remastered and expanded edition notably doubles the running time of the original album with selections that bristle with Barry's haunting string and wind arrangements, including two suites comprising 20-plus minutes of the film's concluding underwater intrigue. It's one of Bond's--and Barry's--best. --Jerry McCulley

The Return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld?

Above, Blofeld in "Thunderball" (1965). Photo: Eon Productions/ United Artists.

James Bond's "friend with the cat" may be coming back, according to an article posted at Japan Today.

According to the article:

LOS ANGELES —Could Blofeld be back? 

The archvillain from the James Bond films — who’s often seen stroking a white cat — might be making a return to the big screen following a settlement announced Friday between studio MGM, production company Danjaq and the estate of Kevin McClory. 

McClory was a co-writer of the 1965 movie “Thunderball” with Bond book writer Ian Fleming but was embroiled in a legal dispute over the movie rights for over 50 years. 

On Friday, the three parties announced that Danjaq and MGM had acquired all of the rights and interests relating to James Bond from the McClory estate and family. 

Terms weren’t disclosed.

The McClory family’s law firm said McClory created the iconic character, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the global terrorist organization he headed, SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), which were not part of the original novels.

To read the full story, go here. 

Andy's Coffe Shop, Pasadena

Following my successful visit to Book Alley in Pasadena this morning, where I finally found a copy of Thunderball to complete my Ian Fleming book collection, I found a nearby diner to have breakfast at.

The diner is Andy's Coffe Shop (no, that's not a typo) at 1234 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106.  It was a block west of Book Alley used book store.

The diner is decorated in photos of celebrities including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and others on the walls.  (One celebrity who should have his photo there: George Reeves.  Reeves grew up in Pasadena and was an actor at the Pasadena Playhouse. Maybe I'll suggest it to them the next time I stop in.)

I had their chorizo and egg breakfast.  Along with chorizo mixed in scrambled eggs, the meal also included refried beans, rice and a choice of flour or corn tortillas (I chose flour).  The portions were generous and tasted great!  They are a little pricey (it was around $10 for the breakfast), but the portions were generous enough for me to overlook it.

If one is in Pasadena during the breakfast or lunch hours, I recommend stopping in for a meal.

Found "Thunderball" - Collection Complete

My Ian Fleming James Bond 007 book collection is now complete!

I discovered another used bookstore in Pasadena this morning and found the last Ian Fleming novel that I needed to complete my collection.  I found most of the others at the Iliad Bookstore in North Hollywood.

The book I needed was Thunderball (right).

The bookstore I bought it from was Book Alley at 1252  E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106.  Telephone (626) 683-8083.

Book Alley is a nice little bookstore and well-organized. I was able to find the section that contained the Fleming books pretty easily.

They have their own website at www.bookalley.com.

After leaving Book Alley, I had breakfast at a diner a block away.  More on that in another blog post.

About Thunderball, the story is essentially the same as in the 1965 movie with Sean Connery.  The story is not original to Ian Fleming, however.

To make a long story short, Fleming, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham came up with a screenplay of Thunderball.

According to Wikipedia:

Thunderball was associated with a legal dispute in 1961 when former Ian Fleming collaborators Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham sued him shortly after the 1961 publication of the novel, claiming he based it upon the screenplay the trio had earlier written in a failed cinematic translation of James Bond.

The lawsuit was settled out of court with McClory and Whittingham retaining some rights.  Fleming's novel continued to be published, but credit to McClory and Whittingham had to be given.  In the edition I bought, credit is shown on the title page as:

This story is based on a screen treatment by K. McClory, J. Whittingham and the author.

A remake involving the basic plot of Thunderball was produced in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery. 

"The Man With The Golden Gun"

Above, the book I read over the weekend.

I read Ian Fleming's The Man With The Golden Gun over the weekend.  Actually, I read it all in seven hours.

The story starts with James Bond, who was brainwashed by the Soviets, attempting to kill his boss "M."  After the attempt fails he undergoes rehabilitation and is sent on a mission to Jamaica kill Francisco Scaramanga, the man with the golden gun, to prove himself fully fit, mentally and physically.

It is a fast-paced book, and the last by Ian Fleming.  The movie version is totally different.  I feel that had Eon Productions followed the book, it would have been a much better movie.

I have one last Fleming book to buy and read: Thunderball.  I am holding off on reading For Your Eyes Only until I get and read Thunderball.  For Your Eyes Only is a collection of short stories.