Posted 3:00 PM by Gerald So
YouTube brought up last week's episode of military thriller author Jack Carr's Danger Close podcast, "What's next for James Bond?", with guest David Zaritsky, curator of The Bond Experience:
In the clip below, Carr and Zaritsky discuss the new editions of Ian Fleming's Bond books, which have been edited for sensitivity:
Carr and Zaritsky pan the editing and yearn for the books as originally published in the 1950s and '60s. While this stance is valid, it's very narrow-minded. It denies the Bond films, books, and trappings since the '60s have outgrown Fleming.
It's valid to revere Sean Connery as the first actor to play Bond in major motion pictures, two even in Fleming's life. I wonder, though, how many of those so-called purists have refused to watch or accept George Lazenby's, Roger Moore's, Timothy Dalton's, Pierce Brosnan's, or Daniel Craig's take on Bond. Have they also refused to read the post-Fleming Bond books?
Bond persists in the public consciousness because he's been allowed to change with us. If not, the audience at large would've left him behind. A handful of superfans would be trying to make a movie, struggling with funding for lack of interest. I doubt that's really what Carr and Zaritsky would prefer.
The new editions show Bond's value is independent of Fleming's sexism and racism. Surely true fans agree.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Friday, January 24, 2025
Clear and Resin Danger
Posted 6:30 AM by Gerald So
Here I am three days after the latest snow, wearing the best-named of Goodr's new line of jewel-themed aviators, CLEAR AND RESIN DANGER.
Less a fan of mirrored and blackout lenses, I think the new line shows my eyes just right.
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| Photo by Gerald So |
Less a fan of mirrored and blackout lenses, I think the new line shows my eyes just right.
Monday, January 20, 2025
A Good Day
Posted 10:30 PM by Gerald So
At 1:00 AM, I shoveled most of 3-4 inches of snow off our driveway so my brother would be able to get out for an 11:30 AM doctor's appointment. I blissfully ignored Trump's inauguration doing some touch-up shoveling and salt-spreading. I recommend the Snow Joe Shovelution, by the way.
My brother was back by noon, and we drove an hour to St. Louis de Montfort in Sound Beach to attend the visitation for Rev. Msgr. Don Hanson, who served as second pastor of our parish, Our Lady of Hope, 1999-2007.
I remember Fr. Hanson for his professorial demeanor, which I appreciated as a teacher myself, and for his tech savvy. In the days of eGroups/Yahoo! Groups, he had a mailing list of his homilies. He hired a similarly scholarly music director, Raymond Henderson, who stayed through the next pastor's term.
Fr. Hanson also visited my father and celebrated his funeral mass in 2001. In 2005, he helped my cousin's fiancee convert to Catholicism and marry.
It's not lost on me that several friends around my mother's age have died recently, that that part of my life has passed. I'm glad to have recognized how special it was as I lived it.
At 1:00 AM, I shoveled most of 3-4 inches of snow off our driveway so my brother would be able to get out for an 11:30 AM doctor's appointment. I blissfully ignored Trump's inauguration doing some touch-up shoveling and salt-spreading. I recommend the Snow Joe Shovelution, by the way.
My brother was back by noon, and we drove an hour to St. Louis de Montfort in Sound Beach to attend the visitation for Rev. Msgr. Don Hanson, who served as second pastor of our parish, Our Lady of Hope, 1999-2007.
I remember Fr. Hanson for his professorial demeanor, which I appreciated as a teacher myself, and for his tech savvy. In the days of eGroups/Yahoo! Groups, he had a mailing list of his homilies. He hired a similarly scholarly music director, Raymond Henderson, who stayed through the next pastor's term.
Fr. Hanson also visited my father and celebrated his funeral mass in 2001. In 2005, he helped my cousin's fiancee convert to Catholicism and marry.
It's not lost on me that several friends around my mother's age have died recently, that that part of my life has passed. I'm glad to have recognized how special it was as I lived it.
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Test Run
Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So
My left leg is somewhat shorter and thinner than my right, not so much I need a different shoe size for each foot. Maybe it's natural I love running, more for the self-test than to compete. Until recently, though, I let the selection at shoe stores and wholesale clubs determine wnat I bought. I didn't study whether they were road shoes or trail shoes, whether they had stability features that might help me.
I have tried various lifts and orthotics and feel most comfortable and agile barefoot. I thought barefoot shoes might be right for me, but they sound too unsupportive. I bought a pair of zero-drop Altra Provision 7s and decided they should be my home gym shoes. I was going to buy Altra Paradigm 7s as road-runners, but I heard they were too heavy to go fast. Instead I went with the recommended Saucony Tempus. And what about everyday sneakers for long walks or hours standing? ASICS Gel-Kayano 30.
Driveway-testing these shoes against their predecessor Fila Westmount trail shoes, they deliver as promised. Thanks to Run Moore, Doctors of Running, The Run Testers, and Ryan's Running Reviews for the insight via YouTube.
My left leg is somewhat shorter and thinner than my right, not so much I need a different shoe size for each foot. Maybe it's natural I love running, more for the self-test than to compete. Until recently, though, I let the selection at shoe stores and wholesale clubs determine wnat I bought. I didn't study whether they were road shoes or trail shoes, whether they had stability features that might help me.
I have tried various lifts and orthotics and feel most comfortable and agile barefoot. I thought barefoot shoes might be right for me, but they sound too unsupportive. I bought a pair of zero-drop Altra Provision 7s and decided they should be my home gym shoes. I was going to buy Altra Paradigm 7s as road-runners, but I heard they were too heavy to go fast. Instead I went with the recommended Saucony Tempus. And what about everyday sneakers for long walks or hours standing? ASICS Gel-Kayano 30.
Driveway-testing these shoes against their predecessor Fila Westmount trail shoes, they deliver as promised. Thanks to Run Moore, Doctors of Running, The Run Testers, and Ryan's Running Reviews for the insight via YouTube.
Friday, January 17, 2025
Behind a Logo
Posted 4:30 AM by Gerald So
I refreshed the logo for my public Matrix room Fans of Robert B. Parker. My design choices may interest you.
Previously the logo was the intials RBP in red, standard-spaced Allerta Stencil Bold. Wanting to make it more eye-catching and unique, I put each initial on a different layer of the image. This let me overlap them while keeping each letter legible.
For the colors, I wanted to evoke the Boston Red Sox uniform. I made the R white, the B red, and the P blue. Writing the ALT text description of that image, I thought it better each initial stand for its color.
Parker's middle name being Brown, I considered brown for the B, but red for R and blue for B making purple for P is one for the ages.
 |
| Logo by Gerald So |
Previously the logo was the intials RBP in red, standard-spaced Allerta Stencil Bold. Wanting to make it more eye-catching and unique, I put each initial on a different layer of the image. This let me overlap them while keeping each letter legible.
For the colors, I wanted to evoke the Boston Red Sox uniform. I made the R white, the B red, and the P blue. Writing the ALT text description of that image, I thought it better each initial stand for its color.
Parker's middle name being Brown, I considered brown for the B, but red for R and blue for B making purple for P is one for the ages.
Saturday, January 11, 2025
"Blackjack!"
Posted 4:00 AM by Gerald So
This blog, my first, turns 21 today. I purposely picked an unexciting day to start and didn't know I'd go this long, but blogs remain the least problematic format to have my say in full.
The audience for blogs may never bounce back to what once was, but my style of blogging is meant for the person who happens to find me.
This blog, my first, turns 21 today. I purposely picked an unexciting day to start and didn't know I'd go this long, but blogs remain the least problematic format to have my say in full.
The audience for blogs may never bounce back to what once was, but my style of blogging is meant for the person who happens to find me.
Friday, January 10, 2025
Shifting Gears
Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So
Premiered on ABC January 8, SHIFTING GEARS is a new sitcom starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings as combative father and daughter Matt and Riley Parker, reunited after Matt has been widowed and Riley's marriage has broken up.
While I can and have left Tim Allen, my esteem for Kat Dennings is boundless. I also like the show's supporting players Seann William Scott and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.
Embed from Getty Images
Premiered on ABC January 8, SHIFTING GEARS is a new sitcom starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings as combative father and daughter Matt and Riley Parker, reunited after Matt has been widowed and Riley's marriage has broken up.
While I can and have left Tim Allen, my esteem for Kat Dennings is boundless. I also like the show's supporting players Seann William Scott and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.
Embed from Getty Images
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