Five Underrated James Bond Films

When you’ve been chasing bad guys, driving fast cars, drinking vodka martinis and bedding hot babes for the sake of Queen and country for more than forty years, it’s only natural that the details might start to run together. Ian Fleming’s classic superspy James Bond has appeared in 21 films (and that’s only the official ones) with a 22nd, Quantum of Solace, on the way. It’s had its ups and downs, but four and a half decades after Sean Connery created the screen character in Dr. No, the series is riding high again. We’ve seen a hugely successful reboot in Casino Royale and, some will argue, the best actor to ever wear the tux in Daniel Craig.

But with that many movies, some will naturally get lost in the crowd. Ask someone to name a James Bond movie and they’ll pick the newest, or a classic like Goldfinger. Some Bond films don’t get the recognition they deserve, and some are unfairly pilloried. Here, in no particular order, are five Bond films that deserve more love than they get.

Read more at AC…

Spaced Makes it to North America on DVD

Now this, I’m excited about.  I did a piece on the NTSC DVD release of Spaced for Telewatcher, and now I’m going to go out and see about finding a box.  (And, if you click through and read it, I really did discover the show because I met some people from England who had literally hauled their PAL videos and TV over here when they came and insisted on showing it to me.)

Short version, Spaced is the British comedy series that launched Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), but it was never aired in North America, so they never released it over here on disc.

Read more at Telewatcher…

Review: San Pellegrino Sodas

Italian bottler San Pellegrino is best known for its sparking mineral water, available in Italian (and other) restaurants. But San Pellegrino has expanded beyond simple water. By mixing the water with various fruit flavors, the company has created a line of sparkling fruit sodas. Originally available only in Europe, the sodas have been picked up by Nestle for worldwide distribution. They’ve found an audience through coffee shops, which often carry at least a couple of the brands. You may even be able to find them in six-packs in your local grocery store. This review will cover the three flavors I’m familiar with – Aranciata, Chinotto and Limonata. There’s also a bitters-derived flavor called Sanbitter, but I haven’t come across that one yet.

Read More at AC…

Salmonella Infected Foods and Your Cat

The recent outbreak of Salmonella infected tomatoes and other produce has once again raised fears about quality control and contamination in imported food. (The source is believed to be Mexican produce, but this remains unproven and Mexico insists its own inspections have turned up no salmonella contamination there.)

For cat owners, the scare raises unpleasant memories of the cat food poisonings that resulted from melamine contamination in imported Chinese wheat gluten. Given that, cat owners can be forgiven for wondering if the current rash of salmonella outbreaks could also affect the pet food supply and once again put their pets at risk.

Read More at AC…

What Starbucks’ Store Closings Mean to You

I did a small business article for Bizcovering about Starbucks’ recent announcement that they’ll be closing 600 US stores.  I don’t think big company schadenfreude is the right response to the news.

Starbucks changed the coffee business in truly fundamental ways – some it intended and some it didn’t. Starbucks certainly tried to become the 800 lb. gorilla of the industry, but it actually ended up helping the independent stores that everyone feared it would destroy. Conversely, its closing of 600 stores may signal the end of the good times for mom and pop coffee shops.

Read more at Bizcovering…

A Guide to the Vancouver Fringe Festival

The Vancouver International Fringe Festival takes place every fall. For about ten days it unleashes a dizzying array of one act plays, one person shows, performance art, cabaret, standup comedy, audience participation, puppet theater and more. Basically anything you can think of can be found at the Vancouver Fringe Festival, along with a lot of things you would never think of. But thankfully, someone did

Read More at AC…

See British Columbia by Seaplane

(A travel piece I did.  I don’t know what it is, but I love the idea of planes landing on water.)

British Columbia offers some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world – and some of the most rugged. If you want to see the gorgeous, still unspoiled interiors of British Columbia, the best way is still the way pioneering bush pilots have done it for more than half a century: by seaplane.

Read More at AC…

Do the Suits Know Best After All?

I just did a piece for Cinemaroll on an experience I had showing Firefly to friends who hadn’t seen it, and talking about how the studio had destroyed the show by meddling with it.  What happened next surprised me.

Studio “suits” have a horrible reputation for meddling in movies and TV shows and ruining them. Firefly is a prime example. But is it possible that the suits are actually right more often than not?

Read more at Cinemaroll…

How To: Become a Bounty Hunter in North Carolina

(Come on, you know you always wanted to…)

North Carolina is one of many states that have cracked down on the bounty hunting business in recent years. Bounty hunters or “bail runners” must be licensed and face other restrictions. But, unlike some states, North Carolina has not outlawed bounty hunting entirely and, if you want to be a bounty hunter, it is possible to become one in North Carolina.

Read More at eHow…

Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape 21 Out

Following on the heels of Mixed Tape 20 – which has proved to be the Experience’s most commented post ever!! – Mercedes-Benz has released Mixed Tape 21.

The new edition, like the previous one, includes ten tracks.  These seem to veer in kind of a Nu Soul and Trip Hop kind of direction, at least in the beginning.  The later tracks are a little more standard indie pop.

So far, I’d have to say my favorite track is a new version of “I’ve Lost My Language,” by the appropriately named My Awesome Mixtape.  Stereo Inn’s “Rockshow” is nice and poppy too.  But the collection’s pretty good overall, and a worthy addition to the series.