Friday, June 18

{Twenty Interesting Facts About...Bond...James Bond}



Due to some outside influences in my life, I've recently been re-exposed to the James Bond empire of books and movies. Both entertaining, and easy on the eyes, it's easy to see why Mr. Bond has been popular for so many years.  

James Bond was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Flemming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. 

Mr. Flemming, who in addition to the 12 James Bond novels write 2 short stories about 007. 

The first of 22 Bond films, Dr. No was released in 1962, two years before Flemming's death. 

Commander Sir James Bond, is an officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

How old is James? Well, in "You Only Live Twice" Tanaka tells James he was born in the year of the Rat (1912/13 or 1924/25). Although the books were written over a 12 year period, and his age, when mentioned is around forty.

The Bond Family motto is "Orbis non sufficit", which in "On her Majesty's Secret Service" we learn means "The World is Not Enough".

The Highest Grossing James Bond film is Thunderball staring Sean Connery. It grossed $141,200,000 in 1965, which today is over $966,400,000.

Of the actors to play the British Bond all but one (D. Craig) were over 6ft tall.  By the way, he's 5'11!

After S.Connery quit the role of 007 after 5 successful films, producer Albert. R Broccoli wanted 23 year old Timothy Dalton for the new Bond character. Dalton declined as he believed himself too young for the role.

Roger Moore was also considered to replace Connery, however was too busy with his television role in "The Saint". (Interestingly enough both Dalton and Moore would go on to play the Secret Service character.)
 
The role was ultimately given to George Lazenby after he impressed Broccoli with his ability to display aggression, when he accidentally punched a professional wrestler (acting as stunt coordinator), in the face. 
 
 
At the time of the release of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"  Lazenby's performance received mixed reviews. Lazenby was dismissed by critics who cited him as a brave but disappointing successor to Connery. Over the years his performance has been viewed more favourably, and OHMSS rankes among the top three Bond films with fans.
 
Corgi, the producer of highly collectible scale model die-cast vehicles, released a collection of 007 Mission Arsenal replecas in 2008. They include: Secret Sender Cell Phones, Nano Surveillance camera, GPS Tracker, Crypto Decoder Device, Pen Set.

The "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman in 1962.

The only Bond theme to reach number one on the pop charts in the U.S. was Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill." 
 
When Bob (2004 film, "The Incredibles") approaches Syndrome's lair at night the music and shots match the opening scenes of Goldfinger, as Bond approaches the oild storage tanks. 

Michelle Yeoh, who played Wai Lin in "Tomorrow Never Dies", performed all her own stunts.

At 37, Honor Blackman was the oldest woman to play a Bond girl.

The two most recent 007 films "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" broke with numerious Bond film traditions. Such as: The actor had blonde hair, the phrase "shaken, not stirred" was not used, the line "Bond, James Bond" was never uttered, and there weren't really any gadgets.

Casino Royale, premiered on Nov 14, 2008, and was released in Asia and the Middle East the following day. It is the first Bond film to have been released in China.

Monday, June 7

{ Twenty Interesting Facts about...Pigs }



If you only visit this blog to read about knitting, spinning dying and the occasional sheep or Great Dane story it will be best for you to stop reading now. Go visit the Yarn Harlot, or Never Not Knitting. They will provide you with your daily dose of fiber. 

Over the weekend when I was happily knitting socks in front of the wood stove at JAP's parents farmhouse, I was recruited move some (2) pigs. 

This adventure resulted in a splinter, bruised knees and a great sense of accomplishment. 


So, in honour of my piggie adventure here are twenty interesting things you may not know about the common Pig.
(Please jump in with any additional information you may have) 

  • The first domestication of the Pig is thought to have taken place in China  around 4900 BC.
  • Pigs are the only mammal found all around the world.
  • The 9 species of Pig live on every continent except Antarctica.
  • Groups of pigs are called sounders or herds.
  • A male pig is called a boar.
  • A female pig is called a gilt if she hasn't had piglets yet and a sow if she has.
  • Pigs are very intelligent and learn quickly. They rank 4th in animal intelligence. Piglets learn their names by two to three weeks of age and respond when called.
  • Like humans, Pigs are omnivorous; eating both veggies and meat.
  • The pig's nose is called a snout, big boars like to use it as a weapon.
  • Pigs can have either straight or curly tails.
  • A pig can run a 7 minute mile.
  • Pigs have 44 teeth.
  • The lifespan of a pig is up to 15 years.
  • Due to the position of the eye on the head, Pigs have excellent eyesight. They also have very good hearing and a keen sense of smell.
  • Although Lean by nature, pigs are often overfed by their owners.
  • Very clean by nature, pigs keep their toilets far from their living or eating area.
  • The well known phrase "Sweating like a pig" is not accurate. As Pigs have not sweat glands they are incapable of sweating.
  • To keep cool, Pigs roll around in mud or water. The layer of mud protests their skin from the sun.
  • Pigs are fantastic swimmers. In fact the Pig Olympics which occur annually in Shanghai China include swimming races.
  • Pig insulin is used to control diabetes.

Bonus!

Many places around the world are names after the Suinae mammal.

  • When driving through Boarhill Scotland you can see the remarkably plain church built in 1866. 
  • Let's not forget about Hog Head Ireland,  which is known for its excellent bass, cod, dab, dogfish, mullet, pollock and ballan wrasse fishing.
  • Then there's the Sow River in England which is a tributary of the River Avon. 
  • What about Babe Island Guam which is known for it's beautiful beaches?
    Note: The movie Babe has no direct connection to this area.
  • Finally and the most tragically popular is the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. This area located 150 kilometers southeast from the Cuban capital city of Havana played host to the USA's unsuccessful invasion, which attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro.




Oink.


Tuesday, June 1

No Camera Necessary



It is with great pleasure I'd like to announce JAP and I have successfully encountered and conquered what many call
the test of a relationship, the "dear John letter" of vacations you might say...

not Disney,


not sleeping on your second cousin's pull out chesterfield,


none of those horrid eco learning adventures that are so popular,



I'm talking about something worse,



Wilderness camping. With tents, and no running water, and black flies, mosquitoes, the whole bit.


We saw many majestic views on our 3.95 hour (should have been 3) hike of Mt. Bailey. {
Latitude : 47.4295Longitude : -66.9473}.

I learned to trust JAP and have a good attitude despite being lost, and tired, and hot...

...and out of shape.

I learned all about JAP's room-mate woe's and now understand the sun does not set at 4:30.

Despite a forgotten air pump, forgotten towels rendered useless due to fridgid showers, no camera to commemorate the set up of the tent and salsa left in Drummond, it was a great trip. We didn't need our camera, as it's a trip I won't ever forget.