James Bond: Quantum of Solace!

I went to see the new James Bond movie, Quatum of Solace, last night and here are my initial thoughts on it! And please remember ... my initial thoughts! I tend to need at least three or four viewings of a Bond film before being able to make a proper assessment of it!
!! Spoiler Warning for those of you who haven't seen it !!

As of now, I felt that Quantum of Solace was quite uneven. Some things were really good, while others didn't impress me at all. I appologize if the review seems confused, but that is bascially because my impression of the movie was rather confused.

I really like the fact that it picks up right where Casino Royale left off!! Casino Royale did end with a cliffhanger, and it was great to see that cliffhanger picked properly! I also have to say I like the basic storyline - going after this very powerful organization nobody's heard of and know nothing about takes me back to the early days of SPECTRE ... and that is just to my liking! :) Also, the motive of Bond being almost a rogue agent is appealing! It has been done (or tried?) before, in Licence To Kill, (and to a certain degree in the beginning of Die Another Day) but I have to say this time, it's way better!
I also enjoy the fact that it is a true agent-story - we never loose that perspective which is really good. Since Bond really is on the verge of crossing the line, the questions of what happens when a secret agent goes over to the other side (since it appears that's what Bond has done) is really dealt with here, and dealt with in a very realistic way ... except for maybe one thing: Would the head of MI6 really travel around the world to check up on agents? In this movie we see M on at least two locations, and while I really enjoy Judi Dench's performance, is that really realistic?

Moving on to not-so-greats. My first impressions of the main title and the title song was: Terrible! I'm sorry to say it, but it didn't feel "Bond" at all to me! I wasn't thrilled about the main title in Casino Royale either, but I really like the title song - here, none of them appealed to me.
Also, while I think the action-and-fight sequences are impressive, without a doubt, they are much to long for me! I can't help but get the feeling the movie has come in short, so they have to add as much fighting, car chasing, boat chasing, chasing on foot, as they possible can, just so the movie will be long enough! Like I said, it is impressive, but when it goes on for too long, I just get bored with it ...Daniel Craig does make a nice James Bond, even though I wasn't quite comfortable with him at the start. There has been a trend of making Bond more "human", going back all the way to Timothy Dalton in the late 80's, but I think it's basically Craig that can pull it off ... Pierce Brosnan did a pretty good job of it in Goldeneye, when he ended up fighting his life-long friend Alec Trevelyan, but the opening of Die Another Day - which also was supposed to show Bond's more vulnerable side - didn't sit quite right with me. But Daniel Craig does bring something to the part when it comes the human side of Bond - very impressive!

I am less impressed with the "Bond girls" (yeah, I know it's not politically correct to call them that these days, but it's just old habit ... sorry) - to be frank, I didn't get the sense of their characters at all. Bond's first meeting with Camille (Olga Kurylenko) just felt very confusing, and even though we later on got some insight to her character, she felt rather flat to me. The other lady, Fields (Gemma Arterton), didn't make much of an impression either - although her part was rather small. I did like the way they portrayed her death - nice homage to Goldfinger!!

Dame Judi Dench as M is wonderful as ever! While keeping her in this "new" series does make things confusing, she certainly fits the part and does an amazing job with it! I also enjoyed seeing
Giancarlo Giannini again, once again a nice look-back to Casino Royale.

As of now, I don't want to make some definite statement on the movie, as I have to see it more times before - but like I said in the beginning: It felt quite uneven. Some things really good, some things, not at all so good.

Drastic Actions!

Well, I didn't get much response to my post on my websites and such, and since I've had a pretty rotten day today, I decided to get a bit drastic tonight!
I haven't finished going through everything (currently downloading the stuff from the websites I'm removing, to at least have some backup), but I have decided what will stay and what will go! :) I will make a separate webpage with the URL to all my websites that are current and active, when I've finished everything - naturally you will get the link here, so you can have everything in one place.

So far though, it looks like ending up like this:
Blogs:

• Another Day - Another Destiny
• Ytterligare ett försök - version 2.0 (Swedish)
• Att leva med social fobi (Swedish)
• Stargate SG-1 (will have a new look and a new URL)

Forums:

• The World of 007 (looks like the activity might pick up there now, so I'm keeping it for a while at least)
• Possibly a Forum connected to my Flying Doctors site

Websites:

• Jessica's Flying Doctors Page (will go through a make-over and a move to a new URL first)

That's it!! I've removed a number of blogs, will close at least two websites and have deleted two forums ... yup, I'd say that qualifies for a drastic evening, wouldn't you?
Still, websites and such are supposed to be fun, right? Mine was only causing me stress and trouble and problems, so no use in keeping them, right?! :)

Oh yeah, I downloaded this really cool digi.scrap-kit earlier, and found out it would work very well for graphics! :) What do you think?





Like I've said, I've had a pretty rotten day today, but I hope it was a temporary set-back and that I can be back-on-track tomorrow again! :)

---------------------------------------
My Life At The Moment!
Currently reading: The Brotherhood of the Rose (David Morrell)
Currently watching: The Simpsons
Currently listening to: Bring Him Home, Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert
My Plans for tomorrow: Very confusing, no idea!

Websites, Forums and Blogs!

Since I am about to start the most demanding semester I've ever gone through on Monday, I figured this was as good a time as any to try to figure out what to do about all my websites, blogs and forums - because I seem to have a ton of them and I have no idea what to do with them! (Currently mostly thinking I'll delete everything except this blog, but that might be a tad too drastic ...)

I'd really like to hear my visitors opinion on this, wether you visit any of my blogs/websites/forums and in that case which ones, if you want me to keep some in particular or if you don't really care which! ;) Comments are usually rather scarce here, but I want to point out that I'm really giving you a chance to say what you think here ... otherwise I'll just decide on my own! :)
Some things regarding this I already KNOW, so I will list them here (they are non-negotiable!), but with regards to everything else, I really welcome your opinion!

Okay, this is what I really know:

• This blog - Another Day Another Destiny - will stay in its current form! It seems to be getting visitors and I'm happy with the way it's working now.
• I will also keep my Swedish blogs Ytterligare ett försök - verison 2.0 (which hasn't officially even started yet!) and Att Leva Med Social Fobi.
  
• My Stargate SG-1 blog will move to a new location and undergo some changes, but will stay and will hopefully be updated on a regular basis.
• Jessica's Flying Doctors Page will move to a location as well as get a new layout, and I will also start up a Flying Doctors Forum to replace the crappy Bravenet forum that currently exists.

That's what I've decided so far ... but there's lots more to decide upon! What is left of all my "projects" (and I appreciate your thoughts and comments on these ...) are:

• Zorro: Master of the House - Zorro's Swedish blog
• Tänkvärt - my Swedish blog with lyrics, poems and quotes
• ~Jessica: TV, Film och Annat Smått och Gott~ - TV, movies, books-blog
• Les Misérables: Beyond the Barricade - my Les Misérables blog
• The ABC Café - My Les Misérables Forum
• ~*~ Carpe Diem ~*~ - My 'general' forum
• The World of 007 - My James Bond forum
• Jessica & Zorro's Website - my personal website
• One Day More! - My Les Misérables Website (currently down)

I'm hoping to reach a decision about this fairly soon - so comments are very much appreciated! Yes, I'll stop nagging you know, sorry! :)
Hope you're all having a great Saturday!

General Update - Again ...

Oh my, I really am a bad blogger these days ... shame on me!
I remember the times when I was dead set on writing one entry every day ... I wonder whatever happened to that concept ...
Ah well, one can but try, I suppose. And I think I'd better give you a general update ... again ...

Friday was actually a big day for me!! I think that for the first time in my life (and yes, this is pathetic, you don't need to tell me!!) I actually had invited friends over for a meal and a chat ... just like a casual get-together. Anyway, I had invited two girls from Uni, whom I've gotten along with great, and to say I was nervous is a HUGE understatement!
The fact that I was totally late and not at all prepared when they came didn't help ...
They were just AMAZING though, made themselves at home right away (one of them had been here before), started fixing up the desert, helping me with things ...
According to me it was a really successful evening, and from what I understand, I think they enjoyed it a lot to, and that of course means a great deal to me.
I'm pretty used to things going bad right now, so everything they actually turn out right, I'm more than happy about that.
We mostly ate, talked, ate more, and laughed ... and ate ... and talked ... and ate ... *lol* I guess none of us needed a mid-night snack that night, that's for sure! *lol*

Otherwise ... well, not much went on during the weekend, I seem to have gotten back - mood wise - to a somewhat more optimistic view of life. No, not really optimistic, but I think I have accepted the fact that I will experience bad things, but that is not the end of the world. I have coped with SO much misery in my life, I will be able to cope next time as well. And somehow that thought gives me energy to at least try to get things done ....
Study-wise ... well, it's not going as great as I had hoped, but at least it's going in the right direction! I had a real down-turn last week, but I seemed to have recovered fairly well from it.

Today has been very confusing - which also explains this confusing entry, sorry about that! ;)
Some stuff has been really good, and felt 'wow - this is actually working out!', and other stuff ... let's just say, not good at all.

One bit of good news is that I have manange to completely rebuild my James Bond Forum, which crashed .... Unfortunately all the info, all posts, all members, has vanished .... I am however eager to start working on it again. I completed the layout this afternoon, and it's open for visitors and hopefully members *hint hint*! :)
Check it out at http://007secretagent.proboards83.com
Also, don't forget my other - more general - forum, which you'll find at http://carpediem2007.proboards60.com

Enjoy!


Jessica's Websites

Back Again!

Yes, I think I am back again! At least I hope so! The past month has been pretty awful, but I hope things might start going better now ...
This will definately be a "recovery-entry" where I will try to make some general update, and let you know where I am in life at this time ...

Celebration: 2000 visitors!!

Well, I meant to make a celebration entry to thank you all for visiting my blog, when I reached 2000 visitors - and now I've reached nearly 2100!! Wow!!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, it seems like you might enjoy it, and I'm very happy to hear that!

General Update

Generally, this past month, or closer to five weeks now, has been very very tough for me. For some reason or another, I have gotten in a downward spiral which never seemed to end. Part of it is my own responsibility, I am not denying that, because at certain points I definately let anxiety take over and take control over my life, and that is never ever good! At other times, I found that I couldn't be held responsible for the fact that things went to Hell. Such as the worst possible migrane attack! I was down for about 18 hours, and I can honestly say that I have never experienced pain like that before in my life! But that also meant that I missed at least two lectures ... and I don't really know what else I could have done? We also had a winter storm here ... which meant that neither trains nor buses were running ... what was I supposed to do about that?
I will try not to sound way depressing, but I must admit that this has been a very rough time for me, and I have felt worse these past weeks than I have in a very long time.
I finally decided on some 'alternate solutions' ... I have depended on them so much in the past, that I really don't want to use them at all, but I came to the conclusion I really had NO choice whatsoever! I think that this has meant somewhat of a turningpoint (starting yesterday), even though naturally all problems aren't solved. Still, I have good faith that I might be able to turn this negative trend around!
But I do hope that I managed to get around to this in time, as it is only four weeks to our big exam ... I really hope I can be able to work my way back as much as possible, and hopefully I will pass my exam! I know this sounds like the usual stuff - you feel insecure about an exam and says 'maybe I won't pass', but I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever been this far behind in my studies on any course before! Guess all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and work like crazy, right?

Internet projects

A bit of shameless promotion for my latest internet projects here!
My James Bond Fourum always welcomes new members, check it out at:
http://007secretagent.proboards83.com - take a look!
I haven't been that frequent in updating my James Bond blog, but I am keeping it in mind!
http://007secretagent.blogspot.com

Also, don't miss my new Forum, called 'Carpe Diem!' where you can just hang out and talk about pretty much anything you like!
Check it out here:
http://carpediem2007.proboards60.com

Winter ... for three days!

Well, we don't get much winter down here (I live in southern Sweden) but when we do, we certainly do!! It's about a week ago now, I guess ... (could be more, could be less, it feels like I've been living in a void the past month, so I haven't been that aware of things going on around me)
It started snowing on Wednesday night! And it snowed and it snowed .... I had lectures at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, and this was one morning I had really convinced myself I should attend, despite all my problems! I tried checking the trains, and there didn't seem to be major delays, so I figured I'd get to Uni. Yeah right! I need to take a city bus to get to the railway station, so at 6.45 I made my way through knee-high snow ... no ploughs had been out of course. I stood at the bus stop waiting for my bus for about 20 minutes (I figured the buses were late) ... when two people came up to me and said that the buses didn't go at all ...*sigh* Nothing I could do but go home again ...
The next day I really kept an eye on the traffic, but with about 45 minutes notice it was announced that the only train I could take (that wasn't cancelled all together) would be so late, there was no point in me going anyway ... This made me feel really bad, beacause I had missed several lectures and once I had really worked hard at trying to go, I couldn't even get out of town!
That night, I was invited to an informal party with some friends from Uni. Those of you who know me, know that I have great difficulty with my social life, and I need to take every possible chance I can in order to get it to work at all. I was really happy to have been invited, because my horrible self-image keeps telling me that nobody would ever want to hang out with me ... and with this invitation they actually showed that they did want me to be there (there was absolutely no need for them to invite me, so the fact that they did really proves that they did want me to be there!!)!! I was sooooo nervous about the trains, and practically lived in front of the computer to check out the latest. When it came close, it seemed only one train would go in a sensible time ... I would be a little late, but had contacted my friend in advance. This train would depart at 5.45p.m. I went to the railway station and tried to figure out something from the announcement signs ... in a horrible snowstorm ... Apparently the 5.45 train had been cancelled, because the 4.45-train would arrive at 5.45 instead. I waited and waited and waited ... and they announced one delay after another. The last one I heard was that it would arrive sometime around 7.15 or something, and then I gave up ... I didn't even know if I'd be able to get back home... but it felt really horrible!
I had been soooo filled with anxiety all day, these are the things I find most difficult of all in my life right now, and yet I know that I can't skip any chance given to me ... so I worked sooo hard to actually be able to - and talk about anti-climax when I had to wait for the city bus to back home again ... (I am planning to invite the two girls I know best from Uni to some "informal thing" next weekend, so I really hope that can undo some of the "damage" that was done in the snow-storm).
Below you'll see evidence of the fact that we did have winter, although practically all the snow had melted after three or four days ...






Zorro

I have to make a mention of Zorro here as well. I have been feeling like Hell for the past week, and he's just the best friend one could possible have!! I know I won't have him forever, and I dread the day I will have to say good-bye to him, but the fact is I don't think I could have handled my life without him these past years. He's very active and wants his own way, and sometimes he more or less drives me completely crazy ... but when I am really down he's absolutely remarkable!!
When I realize something in my life has gone completely to Hell and I just crawl up in the couch, I can't stand to have any lights on, or the TV on or anything ... I just sit there with tears pouring down my cheeks ... And Zorro jumps up in my lap, puts one paw on each shoulder, starts purring and licks the tears from my cheeks ... it's a comfort beyond describing!!

Some recent pictures of my treasure!





A Good Day

Well, finally we're up to present day! :)
For once I have had a really good day today! I don't know when that happened last, because these past weeks I have been happy as long as I haven't had a complete disaster.
We had lectures this morning, and although I am not happy about having to use these 'alternate solutions' (sorry about being a little vague, but since this is a public blog ...), but I have to say that they worked better than I had hoped, and I really hope that this could be the start of something that can work out!!
Straight after lectures, I went to a rather large mall, and managed to make some finds! I bought a present each for my little sisters (okay - time to once and for all have this sister-name-discussion! I will not name my little sisters online, but I will use initials, to make it easier! My oldest little sister, who is born in the summer of 2004 is 'M' and my youngest sister, who was born this winter is 'I'!!).
When M was born I made a habit of buying her a present every month, to celebrate her "month-day" (instead of birthday!) during her first year! I wanted to do the same with I, but I can't very well send a present for I and not include anything for M!! Lucky for me they are born exactly 2 years and 6 months apart, on the day, so they celebrate the same "month-day"!! Anyway, I did get some gifts for them (naturally it's just small things, since I send them every month!), found new shoes for me ... don't know if they really fit, but they were on a huge sale (they had been priced to 199:-, which is about $28 - £14.50 but were down to 49:- --> $7 - £3.50!!!!), so I figured I'd take a chance! I also bought Dan Brown's book Digital Fortress rather cheap which was nice! I have read The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and Deception Point before, and I enjoy them a lot!

All in all, I am feeling a lot better now, and I hope that will have the strength to change my life around to something more positive now!!

Also a BIG THANKS to all my online friends who have been very supporting during these horrible weeks!
Thanks guys!



Jessica's Websites

Melancholy ...

Not quite sure what's the matter with me tonight, but I just feel generally very sad and depressed. A lot of very hard thoughts going round and round in my head, and I just can't seem to shake them off.

I do hope I get a good night's sleep now, and can start preparing myself for tough times tomorrow. Things have not exactly gone well during the start of this semester and I feel I have fallen behind on my studies ... as well as ... well ... oh, God it's complicate to explain! Anyway, the whole Uni-situation isn't the best at the moment, and we have our fist exam in 9 days! *gulp* I pretty much figure that I'm getting my last chance to try to make a go of this semester now,by giving it all I have!!
Of course, should any new disasters occur, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to focus completely, but if I pretty much get "left alone" (when it comes to panic attacks, general embarrassment or illness), I'm hoping I can make a go of this course.

I'm still working on getting my James Bond Forum going:
http://007secretagent.proboards83.com
As a break today, I also re-designed by Les Misérables Forum:
http://abccafe2006.proboards105.com/

Take care!


Jessica's Websites

Bad Blogger!

I feel like a terrible blogger now ... since started this, my "new" blog here on 20 september 2006, I had written one post every day that I had the oportunity to get hold of a computer ... and now it's several days that I haven't written anything! *shame on me*

It's not because I just feel totally horrible, because even though I definately don't feel great, it's not as bad as all that. I guess I haven't written here because things are VERY confusing in my life right now.
I basically know what I want to do, but I can never be left alone by the PTB (Angel-fans would know this, but for the rest of you: PTB: Powers That Be) to just try to do what it is I want to do. Instead other things and issues and general stuff (yes, I know I'm vague, you don't have to tell me!!) pops up all the time, and while trying to deal with them, I can't really deal with doing what it is I want to do.
Oh God, I sound like a complete lunatic, don't I??? I think I'd better just shut up right now ... needless to say, things are confusing.

In the tiny breaks I try to get from the chaos of my life, I try hard to get my James Bond Forum going ... The few members I have are great at posting - thanks for that guys! - but it's still a bit lop-sided with so few members posting! I try to "advertise" as best I can, but still - not much luck!
A temporary banner is up now at least, although when I make more caps I will probably do another one ...

Jessica's Websites

Hanging in the Balance!

It feels like my entire life is hanging in the balance at the moment! Either it can start going right, and things will start to work out, or it can go wrong, and everything will collapse. It's quite a strain living like this, and I do work hard at getting things to turn out right ... bt from past experience I know that just because I work hard, it might not get better anyway ...

Ah well ... Guess all on can do is try hard, right!!

Any minute I have to spare from my studies, I spend on my James Bond projects! Not that it's doing much good though! *sigh* Four members of the Forum ... although they are active - which is GREAT - it takes more than four members to make it a Forum that works out ... I've done pretty much all I can think of to gain more members, and the only thing left is to BEG two other major James Bond Forums if I link them, they will link me ... don't put much hope into that though ...
Still, what can I do? I can't very well FORCE people to join and be active, can I??
( http://007secretagent.proboards83.com )

Sorry, this turned out rather depressing ... guess it's because my entir life feels very "unstable" and "insecure" at the moment, and I really don't like that one little bit ...


Jessica's Websites

Working Hard!

I'm really struggling to deal with the fact that I do have a heavy day tomorrow ... which I cannot get out of!
Things have NOT been good here lately (in case you didn't notice ), but I really need to start dealing with a lot of things tomorrow! And that's not going to be easy ...
I have been going up and down mood-wise all day today, right now I'm kind of okay, but I also know that can change at any minute!

I have been trying to do some studying today, rather a lot, but I still don't feel great about it. Some stuff, I know, are up to me to just LEARN, but there are quite a few things that don't seem logical at all, and I just don't understand them. Which is VERY annoying!

Okay, moving on to funnier topics now! Don't forget to check out my James Bond Forum! I have actually spent quite a lot of time trying to organize it, fix graphics etc, so I really hope it will work out! We do need more members though ... :) :) *hint hint*
Check it out here:
http://007secretagent.proboards83.com

Wish me luck tomorrow - I'm gonna need it!



Jessica's Websites

Kind of Confused ...

Today has been another mix of Hebrew and James Bond ... fun, but somewhat confusing! :)

I think I have gotten off to a rather good start with my James Bond forum, I have changed the graphics quite a lot fixed some welcome tables, rearranged boards etc and I'm actually quite happy with what I've got! :) Now all I need is memers! *lol*

As for studies, I'm not quite so happy there! I do feel better regarding the studies than I have done before, but it's still not very good. I seem to catch up, at least a little (I have managed to learn some stuff, but should have learned even more *sigh*), but I'm still not looking forward to next week.
I know I've been completely down for about a week now, and I really feel "out-of-it" when it comes to Uni ... and now I'm supposed to rush back in again! I know I REALLY have to, there's no question there, but that doesn't mean I have to feel happy about it, right?! I know our professor keeps his thing of "read-out-loud -- translate -- analyze grammar", and that is of course what terrifies me. First of all, I don't ever feel prepared enough for such a thing, and second, I don't feel great with this group ... it's rather large, about 25 students, and since I've been so up-and-down lately, I don't feel I've become a true part of the group yet ...

Ah well, I guess I should wait until tomorrow night to have a panic attack over this ...

Oh, don't forget to spread the word about my James Bond forum ... feel free to check out the updates : http://007secretagent.proboards83.com



Jessica's Websites

A Strange Mix!

I am living in a rather strange mix at the moment. For the most part, I live in Hebrew grammar ... which is about as exciting as it sounds!
It's not really difficult per se, it is rather logical and all that, but it is a lot! Where in Sweden we have one form of a word, Hebrew has ten!! It takes a lot of time to go through everything, and since this semester hasn't started out in a great way - I feel hopelessly behind! I really hope I can get a lot done during the weekend and feel better when next week starts!

The other part of the mix is Bond, James Bond!
So far, I'm not having much success with my project, but I will give it time. I don't mind so much if the Blog isn't very "active", since I will only update once in a while (and since I haven't even written a proper post yet *ooops*), but I'd REALLY like to get the Forum going! For now I'm in there all alone, trying desperately to come up with exciting and fun topics! Any help - ANY HELP - is widely appreciated! :)
Also, since word-of-mouth (whatever that is translated to online-talk!) is a great way to attract visitors and members, should you have friends or people around you who are into James Bond, let them know about my Forum, won't you?! ;)
*thanks*

I'm going to bed soon, I need an early Hebrew-morning tomorrow!
Good night!


Jessica's Websites

Generally Chaos!

My life seems to be just generally very chaotic at the moment, and for once I'm not going to be completely boring by telling you every little detail!
Instead, I will show some pictures, and make it a short entry tonight! I've been keeping busy with studies today and tonight I've finally started my latest internet project! You can read more about that - and find the relevant links - in my previous entry ... just scroll down the page and you'll find it!

Moving on to my pictures. First a cute picture of Zorro!! Where he is just about to fall asleep next to my Bible! *lol* I wonder if he's trying to tell me anything ... :) :) Anyway, he's just wonderful, especially at times like these, when I don't feel great! It's absolutely fantastic to know that there is someone there who doesn't care what you do or think or feel, he just loves me unconditionally ... and that is a true comfort when times are tough!

And now ... my cutie Eyeore!! I got him from a dear friend of mine for my birthday and I just adore him!! He's even gotten a special place - for now he doesn't live with my other stuffed animls on my bed!! :) Even Zorro gets along great with him!! :)

And last ... my beloved James Bond DVD box!! *yay* I collected it this afternoon, and was completely terrified that I'd drop the huge package on the bus and damage it! Luckily both me and the DVD box (or Attache Case, which is IS!!) made it home safe and sound! I haven't managed to check out a lot of it yet, but I have started watching Dr. No - I NEED dvd caps *lol* - and I have to say that both the picture quality and the sound are WAY better than what I've seen and heard before! *me very, very happy now ... and very, very poor* :)

Well, that's it for tonight, I'm gonna start thinking about getting some sleep now!


Jessica's Websites

Project : Bond, James Bond!

Well, it's time for me to launch my next internet project - in the middle of all the chaos of my life right now!
Those of you who know me well, know that I tend to have lots and lots of ideas of funny new projects online ... although they don't so often turn out very successful! I wonder if launching yet another project makes me persistent or just plain stupid?!

Anyway, I am launching this James Bond project now! Since I have been a Bond-fan since I saw my first Bond film, which was Octopussy when I was seven years old, and I now finally managed to get the huge James Bond DVD box, I decided to give this project a go!

The project is in two parts.
One part will be a James Bond blog, where I will write down information and thoughts on everything relating to Bond; the movies, the books, actors and characters! This will - as you probably understand - not be updated on a daily basis, but I do hope it won't be too long between entries! I will also try to add pictures, maybe some funny trivia etc. to the blog.
The blog is called "The Name is BOND, JAMES BOND!" and you will find it here:
http://007secretagent.blogspot.com

The other part of the project is a James Bond Forum which will be launched together with the blog! I don't have much success in keeping forums going, there's usually me and one or two other members posting, but I will at least give it a try (*trying to be optimistic here!*) I hope I can get the Forum going too ... you can check it out at:
http://007secretagent.proboards83.com

I do hope you enjoy my project! :) :)


Jessica's Websites

Good Or Bad :-: Bad Or Good ??

He sees you when you're sleeping

He sees when you're awake

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness' sake

("Santa Claus Is Coming To Town")
Well, I doubt wether even Santa could figure out if I've been good or bad now ... Things are complicated to say the least ....
I didn't go to lecture today either! *sigh* I'm really very confused about this myself, because the reasons for going are naturally obvious! But since I have had a more or less AWFUL weekend, I feel a strong need to have a day when things really work out, before tackling something difficult again. Right or wrong - I skipped today's lecture.

I have been in a much better mood today, absolutely, and regarding this ... what shall I call it ... "personal, mental and psychological come-back" (if anybody has the slightest idea what I'm talking about!!), this day was a true success! I do feel a lot better, and I don't have the accute antipathy against Uni as I have had all weekend.
Regarding the more practical matters, it was not such a great decision! I'm trying to study - now on my own since I've missed two lectures - and it really is very difficult!!
It's exciting, absolutely, and I'm not at all sorry I chose these courses, but they certainly are very difficult!
The language in itself is very complicated and it get worse by the fact that you don't have anything to rely on! You don't have letters or an alphabet, or phonetics or anything, you have to start at the very beginning! Things are moving along very quickly too, and throwing in grammar into sentences which you can barely pronounce - or understand - is very hard!

I'm definately not giving up, but I need to find a routine in my life, with quite a lot of disciplined studies, and I find it very difficult indeed to find this routine ... Guess all I can do is keep trying, right?!

Moving on to the good news then! I finally made up my mind ... and I bought the James Bond DVD box!!! *feeling happy although slightly guilty* It's a great deal of money, but I figured this is a real collector's item, and I have been a Bond-fan for over 20 years now!! :) I'm gonna have to work really hard on my "figure-out-a-daily-routine"-thing from now on though, so that I can get an acceptable balance between Hebrew and James Bond.
Hey, actually that sounds like a pretty cool combination!



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James Bond: Casino Royale

I've just come back home after seeing the premiere of the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale. I know I promised I'd write a review, but in advance I have to say that it's very hard to after only having seen it once. I will give it a try, but I might change my mind about certain things later on ... :)
I will also try to not give away far to much, but a certain amount of "spoiling" will probably be unavoidable if I shall give a fair review. Therefore, if you don't want to know anything at all about the movie before seeing it yourself - I advice you do not read this review ...

Okay, here we go! :)
Daniel Craig as James Bond ... not perhaps my first choice. He's a very talented actor, and he's got a very intense look, but I have a hard time really accepting him as James Bond. He does grow on you a bit, he felt a lot more believable in the part in the end of the movie than in the beginning - so I might get used to him given time! :)

Unfortunately it's been a long time since I read the book, but I certainly remembered some things, even though a lot has changed too.
One little thing, and this might be considered a spoiler, for those of you who hate those *lol* ... This movie is really a "pre-Bond" movie ... which feels rather strange. It actually takes place before all the other Bond movies, and before you come to terms with that, it tends to be a little confusing!
Some of it is made in a great way though, for instance you find out where Bonds original Aston Martin comes from! *lol* And also where he gets the scar over his eyebrow (which is more evident and important in the books than in the movies, but still ...) - although I think the make-up department was a little less than consistent with this. This little "time-warp" did however create some problems as well, and I know I have a hard time accepting some things. This might change when I get a chance to see the movie a few more times, as it tends to be rather confusing the first time.

Mads Mikelsen as villain Le Chiffre was really good! Very, very impressive, and totally creepy! Wonderful casting indeed!!
Eva Green as Bond-girl Vesper Lynd was also quite good, although she's not one of my favourite Bond women. I remember not feeling to fond of her when I read the book either, so it might the character that I don't really get along with.
Dame Judi Dench did a wonderful job as M again, of course! She's such a talent, and she brings so much to every scene. She really played out this time-thing, she acted with a little less authority around Bond than in previous movies, and you could really understand that she was not so certain of either her own position or of Bond himself!

The storyline in itself was of course not the same as the book, as that never would have worked. Still, I found the storyline quite believable and not bad at all.
However, the "time-thing" was confusing, I can't help that. I don't know if it gets clearer if you see the movie a few more times, but there were things about it that I felt didn't quite add up ... I'll have to get back to you on that when I've seen it a few more times! :)

The ending was quite good! Definately surprising and different, and I always like that!
I won't go into trying to 'grade' the movie, I simply can't do that after only having seen it once. However, I think it works, definately! I think that true hard-core James Bond-fans may have a hard time accepting some of the inconsistancies, but it definately works!!

Hope you enjoyed the review! :)





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Am I Insane?

Today has been slow, to say the least ... which comes from the fact that I woke up with a migraine! I'm not very surprised by it, I've been under a lot of strain and pressure lately, and I could somewhat relax yesterday since at least the written part of the project was finished! But it meant that I had to spend most of today in bed ... I really should have started a heavy study session today, to prepare for the oral presentation on Thursday, but there was no way I could study today! Guess I'll have to make up for it tomorrow!!

I'm seriously thinking of doing something that I'm afraid is completely crazy too!!
In order to "celebrate" the 21st James Bond film, there's been a release of all the previous 20 movies, in a lovely box set, each film has been digitally restored, with lots of extra interviews and special features - each movie is on a two-disc dvd ... I soooo want it! But it's soooo expensive of course!! Now I got this offer, with actually quite a large discount, but it's still awfully expensive - and I don't know if I'm gonna buy it or not!!
The entire box, with 20 movies (that is, 40 discs!!) normally costs 2995:- (~US$414 or ~£218) ... but with discount it would be 2495:- (~US$345 or ~£182)
It's a fairly good discount - but it's still a lot of money!!! "What do I do? What do I do?" I know I don't have to decide tonight, but it will be a tough decision to make! After all, I've been a devoted James Bond fan since I was ten years old - I saw my first Bond movie ("Octopussy", if anybody's interested...) when I was seven!! It would be SO cool to have the complete collection ... but it IS totally expensive ...
Yeah, I'm rambling - sorry about that!

Since I've been in bed most of the day today, I don't really have much more to write about there ...
Take care guys!


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