Skyfall - Diappointed

Skyfall - Disappointed

It took me several months to decide to watch the latest in the James Bond movies, "Skyfall." All I can say is I'm glad I didn't spend $30 to see it when it was at the theater.

At times, I almost fell asleep. It seemed to drag on. However, it did have some action, but not like the old James Bond movies with Sean Connery or even Roger Moore. I can understand why it grossed so much. At the time, not much of a selection for movies existed.

The new James Bond, Daniel Craig, does not have the good looks, suave sophistication or soft voice of Sean Connery. Too many rough edges with the new Daniel Craig. I used to think that Roger Lazenby was the Bond I disliked the most, but with Daniel Craig, I feel that Lazenby has moved up the list to number four after Pierce Brosnan. With several pictures behind Craig, he already looks a little weathered and aged as old as Roger Moore's tenure as 007.

Will I every watch another James Bond movie? Maybe. I just wish they would find a clone of Sean Connery or at least a better actor to play Bond.

The Heck with the Diet

The Heck with the Diet

Today was a busy day. I helped a friend of mine, Taylor Michaels, move his wine to a new wine cellar. By the end of the day I was so tired that it didn't take much to convince me to share dinner and a good wine.

For several weeks, I have been on the Nutrisystem diet in order to lose ten pounds. Today was an exception. I don't even want to think about tomorrow. Today is still fresh in my mind as I sip my 20-year Sandeman port.

The wine I had with my salmon dinner was a 2010 Clos Vougeot from the Chateau de la Tour. It was a great wine and was rated a 91-94 on JJ Buckley Wines. By the wine, JJ Buckley has a good selection of wines. However, the 2010 was a little young to be drinking. It was a little on the tannic side. It will be better, I'm sure, several years from now. However, any wine was great to me after not drinking any for the last couple of weeks.

Reality or Fiction?

Reality or Fiction?

My writing has slowed a little this month in favor of my Investigative Principles course. However, I am learning procedures the police use in their investigations that will help in the writing of my Rachel Christie series.

The fine points of collecting evidence and the procedures to get that evidence is a lot stricter than one is led to believe when watching television or reading novels themselves. A lot of it is just downright boring and time consuming. I guess that figures since most jobs have their boring elements.

In conjunction with my course, I read a true crime account of a falsely accused man who spent eleven years in jail until DNA evidence freed him. It was an emotional account and gave the viewpoints of both the wrongly convicted man and the victim. Eyewitness is not always reliable. Our memories do not work like cameras. We cannot recall all the subtle details a month or, as in this book I read, three years from the crime.

Although I wish to get back to writing, I feel that the application of the principles learned in this class will make my books more believable to the reader. Since I haven't taken a course in a while, maybe after a few weeks things will settle down and my writing will once again take center stage. I'm glad I finished "Murder Along the Blue Ridge" before the semester began.