Casino Royale

When it was first announced that Daniel Craig was taking over the role of James Bond, I was among the many who weren't thrilled. He didn't "look" the part, I thought. He just didn't seem like a Bond actor.

But looks can be deceiving, so I went to see Casino Royale with what I hoped was an open mind. And was pleasantly surprised, if not shocked, at how good this movie was. Craig proved to be a strong, charismatic actor, portraying Bond with a mix of suave arrogance and vulnerability that in many ways transcended the usual treatment of the character.

I've heard it said Craig's Casino Royale was the best Bond movie ever. I can't say that, as I haven't seen all the entries in the Bond franchise, but it was certainly the best Bond movie I've ever seen.

Casino Royale was released on DVD this past Tuesday. Looks like it has quite a few extras--enough to justify a second disc. I haven't watched them yet, but I'm glad they put out a two-disc edition that was the same price as the usual single disc of other movies.

Knitting Pattern—Open Stitch Scarf

Here's a quick and easy scarf pattern I tossed together one afternoon when I was in desperate need of a new scarf that didn't clash with my new coat. It knits up nicely on large (8+) needles, with a worsted weight yarn.

Knit 4 rows.
On the next row, wrap each stitch 2-4 times around the needle, then knit.
Knit the wrapped stitches.
Repeat until the scarf is the desired length.

This scarf has a lacey feel, but is surprisingly warm.

Movies—Flushed Away

I took my kids to see this when it came out in the theaters and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it didn't do well up against such competition as Santa Clause 3, and the critics panned it as a painful mismatch between DreamWorks's CGI-based approach and Aardman's trademark claymation. It also proved to be the movie that broke up the pairing between these two studios.

While I could see the point, to some extent, of critics who felt the movie was too American for Aardman and too English for DreamWorks, and never the twain should meet, I found the fusion of off-kilter British humor with frenetic American action to be quite entertaining. I laughed out loud more than once in the theater, and my kids enjoyed it as much as I did. It's rare these days to find a movie the whole family can enjoy without the parents being occasionally uncomfortable with off-color humor aimed more at adults. Flushed Away was definitely a family movie, and we all liked it, critics be damned. And the singing slugs? Hysterical.

Music—Shearwater

Shearwater is a small-label band with a neat sound. I'm not really sure how to describe it--they use banjos but it's not country music, and they have a good solid driving beat but it's not mainstream rock, either. Whatever you want to call it, it's good music. Check them out at Misra Records.

Cheeses

I try to make a point of buying one kind of new cheese every time I go to the grocery store (although right now I'm suffering from Cheese Buildup, so I might should skip a couple weeks...).

The last two samples have been Morbier, a French cheese, and the infamous King of Cheeses, Stilton. Both of these can safely fall into the Stinky Cheese category. The Morbier smells just horrific. I mean nasty. But once you get it cut and stuck on a piece of bread, the flavor is creamy, a bit tart but sweet at the same time, and really quite nice. The Stilton, on the other hand, doesn't have quite as strong a smell, but the flavor is stronger than the Morbier, and I don't like it quite as much, King of Cheese or no. It's a bit like Bleu Cheese, including the threads of blue penicillin for color (I wonder if I'd catch less colds if I ate a lot of this...but I guess that's a virus, not a bacterium), but a bit more bitter. On the other hand, according to the Wikipedia article linked above, as well as an article from Scotsman.com, eating Stilton a half hour before bed can cause odd dreams. I'm really tempted to try that out.

Quotes

My Starbucks cups are trying to tell me something. Twice in a row I've gotten the following quote on my Venti nonfat half-caf caramel macchiato:

Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting.

You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.—Paulo Coelho