UAV fleet swarm.

The Brits are developing a swarm of UAVs that might be controlled from the cockpit of a fighter jet, in tandem with the functions of the jet itself.

Looking for a Fix?

This addictive and completely pointless timewaster could be your next need.

Film: Casino Royale.

There are two questions which must be asked when considering a new James Bond movie:

1. Was it good?
2. Was it Bond?

With regard to Casino Royale, the twenty-first installation in the 007 franchise, the answer to the first question is yes. This is not only a good film, it is one of the best of the Bond films. Not the best, mind you, but one of them. Tight plot, good action and good acting help this film out quite a bit, but it's the director's understanding of and appreciation for the history of the series that tips the scale decisively. This film harkens back to a time when a little bit of sophistication wasn't too much to ask of a popular action movie. Something that worked out quite well for this movie is its attention to the history of the James Bond franchise. From a directorial standpoint this is more of an homage to the stylings of earlier Bond films than recent efforts have been, as well as late 60s and early 70s filmmaking in general. There are no obvious CGI tricks here, and no gimmicks. Both action and interaction are directed with equal care and directness.

For Casino Royale, more than any other Bond outing, it is the second question which has become a major concern. Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, fairly drips with boyish charm, and one glance at his face will tell you that comparisons to Steve McQueen are inevitable. This has caused many to wonder if Casino Royale is really a James Bond film at all.

In order to answer that question completely, it is first necessary to visit another long standing American franchise: Batman. By the early 1980s, Batman was a franchise which had grown somewhat stale, and which had disolved over a period of years into self-parody, helped along by the campy 1960s TV show of the same name. Sound familiar? By 1986, when Frank Miller introduced "The Dark Knight Returns", the franchise was well overdue for a revamp. Batman remained moderately popular due to one simple fact: Batman is, was, and will always be an iconic archetype, a simple formula which appeals to everyone at the gut level. An orphaned child, strong themes of revenge and honor, a strong sense of discipline. Batman fights powerful enemies using only his wits and his willpower.

When anyone thinks about Batman these days, they're more likely to call up an image of the 90s cartoon series version, or the Michael Keaton or Christian Bale versions, all of which bear more than a passing resemblance to Frank Miller's Dark Knight, thus proving that a character of iconic quality can change with the times. Characters such as James Bond and Batman are iconic precisely because they are simple enough that they can reflect society's current temperment without compromising what makes the characters work.

With Casino Royale, James Bond has succesfully undergone this transition. Daniel Craig is not Ian Flemming's James Bond, any more than Micheal Keaton was Bob Kane's Batman, but the interperetation works because Craig retains the elements which drew us to the character in the first place, while paring away the more frivolous elements that seem out of place today.

So what has changed with Casino Royale? James Bond is now blonde. Get over it. Also, there is far less emphasis on gadgetry in this film, an excellent choice by the filmmakers. After all, who is really going to be impressed by a bow-tie camera in the day of the ubiquitous cell-phone digi-cam? Also we see a younger, less experienced James Bond than we are used to seeing. Part of the effectiveness of the movie lies in its careful dissection of who Bond is, and how he does what he does. We see Bond's human side. He makes mistakes, something we would rarely have seen from previous incarnations of 007. Normally, this would be a mistake, but it works here because with each mistake he makes, we get the sense that the new Bond will never make them again, paving the way for his later exploits. All of this serves to add an extra dimension and a layer of depth that is rare in this series (though it has been seen before, most notably in "From Russia With Love", and "The Living Daylights", IMHO).

What hasn't changed? Well, Casino Royale is still just an action movie. There's nothing really new here, but this time out it's action done well. Go see this movie, just for fun. When all is said and done, it really is Bond, James Bond.

Update: It has been brought to my attention that the new Bond is in some ways closer to the original Flemming Bond than earlier film representations. Some of the things included in Casino Royale were simply not acceptable to a public audience in the 60s, including a particularly painful torture sequence, and a much colder Bond character overall. I guess I'll just have to read Casino Royale for myself.

Global Warming?

According to Slashdot, the Global warming debunker which I posted about here has been, himself, debunked.

Marriage as social mechanism.

This New York Times article discusses the possible ramifications of overemphasizing the marital relationship and undervaluing relationships external to one's family unit. A very interesting read.

Global Warming.

Is the global warming trend an overstated political maneuver? One acclaimed British reporter seems to think so.

Film: Marie Antoinette.

First of all, let me preface this review by saying that I love the films of Sophia Coppolla. Her last two movies have been modern works of startling beauty and intelligence that have placed her voice firmly among the choir of my generation. So, it with deep regret that I must pan her latest effort, 'Marie Antoinette'.

For anyone unfamiliar with the context, the story of Marie Antoinette is the story of the fall of the aristocracy in France, and this is a setting that places Coppolla a little out of her depth. Eschewing historical accuracy for identification, she makes creative decisions which add 1980s pop culture into the mix, giving the film a distictively American slant. Coppolla portrays Antoinette as a child pushed rapidly into the role of Queen with little preparation. And what would you do if you were eighteen and suddenly queen? Party like a rock star, of course.

Unfortunately, Coppolla's trusted technique of sparse verbal exchange and contextual inference does not serve her well in the Court of France. Largely bypassing the issues of the political realm, Coppolla instead concentrates on the trials of a teenaged Marie, growing up in the world of palatial decadence. The fact that the anger of the French people goes largely unmentioned until the last few minutes of the film proves an awkward jolt. Neither is Kirsten Dunst able to carry Marie from the tender age of 14 to her historical death at 38, which leaves us with the impression that this story takes place within a few short years. The guillotine is only mentioned once, in the form of a gesture.

Coppolla also mixes elements of 80s culture into a few scenes: Ballroom dancers frolic to the sounds of 80s pop music, and Marie acquires a pair of Converse Hi-tops during a shopping spree. These blatantly incongruous elements however, are few and far between. Why Coppolla would chose to ignore much of history in some areas without pushing these choices to their fullest creative potential remains a mystery.

Despite all of its various problems, Marie Antoinette does successfully retain the beautiful momentary pauses for reflection and the tight integration of soundtrack and narrative that have become trademarks of Ms. Coppola's style The script also does a good job of illustrating the point that, despite Antoinette's status as Queen, she was very naive and was insulated from the reality of her situation by her courtiers.

All in all, this is a flawed gem: Beautiful, but clearly broken.

Comic: Perry Bible Fellowship.

This comic runs in the Portland Mercury on a weekly basis. The author, Nicholas Gurewitch, is completely weird and completely hilarious. Hit random a few times and you'll see.