by Ian Punnett

 

"The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning."

That is the first line of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale,” published back in 1953.

I was reminded of that the other night when I was watching the most recent and the best of the three versions of “Casino Royale” starring Daniel Craig as James Bond 6.0 who just nails it as far as I’m concerned.    

On paper, the casting didn’t work for me because I couldn’t get Daniel Craig as the pyscho killer from “Road to Perdition” out of my head.

The second I saw the first trailer, I got it.

Same thing with Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Starke in “Iron Man.”  Had to shake my head when I first heard the announcement but from the second the movie trailer for “Iron Man” graced my laptop, I was hooked.  

On the other hand, I’m not so sure about this new “Star Trek” trailer I keep seeing.  Ay, I love the franchise and want to see it continue forever but I’m not sure I’m ready for James T. Kirk, Spock and McCoy as teenagers.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bs39zVqots

And I know that it’s a J.J. Abrams production and I’ve really enjoyed much of his work on Lost, Cloverfield and even MI3.

But from what I have seen so far, Star Trek XI really does look like “Star Trek 90120.”

I will reserve final judgement only because it has Simon Pegg in it as Scotty and I love him in “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” to name a few.

William Shatner has commented on the new casting in “Star Trek XI” and if you haven’t seen that yet, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fu656gGkhI

Speaking of remakes, have you heard this story?

A kitten with two faces that meows out of both mouths at the same time was born Wednesday near Perth, Western Australia.

The kitten was delivered in a vet's operating room after its mother had complications with the birth.

The two-faced feline was one of three in a litter and appears to be doing well.

It hasn't got a name yet, but the owner is thinking of calling it Quasi Modo.

Now, that’s just wrong.  To name the cat “Quasimodo” after the unloved title character in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” just seems mean.

If we’re going to make movie references, how about calling the cat “Harvey” in honor of Harvey Dent, aka “Two-Face,” from the Batman comics.

Or, better yet, just call the critter “Kitty Kitty.”  That way when you call it you can just say, “Here, Kitty Kitty.”

In other movie inspired Crypto-News:

The latest milestone in the quest for a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak has been reached: a way of bending the geometry of space so that light from all directions travels around an object, rather than hitting it.

Unable to interact with light, the hidden object is therefore invisible, a new study found.

But how real is the possibility of an invisibility device? Is it years, decades, or millennia away? Even the author of the latest study doesn't want to hazard too strong a guess.

Also, in the ongoing fight against pirates, 

Gone are the swashbuckling days of repelling pirates with cutlasses -- a British firm is spearheading use of a high-tech "sonic laser" to beat bandits on the high seas. 

About the size of a domestic satellite dish, LRADs blast the target with a precise beam of sound -- warning messages, noises, sirens -- which can be turned up to excruciatingly painful levels should an attacker get too close. 

"You'll be in absolute agony," company chief executive Nick Davis, a 38-year-old ex-army man.

"It's very effective up to 1,000 metres and excruciating if you get within 100 to 200 metres if it's at full power. It would give you more or less permanent hearing damage."  (Physorg.com) 

I know this makes me some kind of geezer but this excruciating sonic blast reminds of the old cartoon character “Peter Potamus.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foPcgr4javU&feature=related

I wish I could find some footage of Peter’s legendary “Hippo Hurricane Holler” to show the youngsters.  Peter Potamus didn’t need some jive Long Range Audio Device to blast pirates out of the water!

As of last report, those Somali pirates still have their own oil tanker with a $100 million dollar cargo and are demanding $25 million ransom.

Maybe the Saudi owners of the tanker won’t mind so much if drives the price of oil up!

Right now in the Upper Midwest, gas prices are already some of the lowest in the country.

http://www.twincitiesgasprices.com/

I have personally talked with people who have paid $1.49 a gallon but the price might not have lasted long.

If it’s true, it’s almost worth it to drive here and gas up!