Bond? James Bond?

Yes, that's Ursula Andress, the original Bond Girl. No, she has nothing to do with the rest of the post... why?

Bond fans are all aflutter over the casting of a blond actor, Daniel Craig, as the new James Bond. Some have even started a website as part of a "Stop Bond" movement. C'mon, give the guy a fucking break. Who cares if he's blond? Craig might turn out to be a really good Bond, a return to the original Bond persona as exemplified by the Best Bond, Sean Connery. That's what it all boils down to, isn't it? Connery or Moore? If Roger Moore was your prototypical Bond, then you probably are up in arms about Daniel Craig. If you prefered Sean Connery you probably don't see the big deal.

Moore was urbane, handsome, elegant; but Connery, while sophisticated and handsome (so my wife tells me), exuded a wiff of danger, of the unpredictable. Sean Connery's Bond would shoot a man just to watch him die. Roger Moore's Bond needed a better reason.

Craig appears to be more in the Connery mold. He's even been described as having a "thug-like" face. Good! Some of his photos remind me a bit of Robert Shaw, and Robert Shaw would have made a great Bond. I was a little taken aback to hear that Craig cannot drive a stick. That's a situation that will have to change pretty fast. I mean, yeah, Bond is many things, but all of them can drive a stick shift.

Hey, pissed-off Bond fans- just be glad that Steve Martin decided to embarrass himself this month by impersonating Inspector Clouseau instead of James Bond... now that would have been something to yell about.