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International Intrigue – The 12th Virtual Symposium
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International Intrigue – The 12th Virtual Symposium When I think of International Intrigue the first thing that comes to mind are James Bond movies. The movies are probably the most international of any series I can think of, with on location settings in: London (MI6 HQ), Jamaica, USA, Yugoslavia, England, Turkey, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Bahamas, France, Hong Kong and Japan. That is just in the first 5 movies. One thing deeply imprinted in my mind from those movies are the songs. The primary, and most primal, one being the "James Bond Theme" with the ever-familiar blaring horns and guitar riff that start off the tune and the movies titles with the iconic gun shot / ‘naked’ women sequences. Then there are the sultry and suggestive songs from the Bond movies. One of them that I love most is "Goldfinger", sung by Shirley Bassey, whose distinct voice makes the song very memorable. To date Bassey has sung the most title songs from the Bond movies with 3, the others being "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker". “Goldfinger” is from the movie that featured Honor Blackman as “Pussy Galore” – only a Bond movie could have ‘gotten away’ with that character name. I loved it and it was an inspiration (if the story/movie is accurate) for a famous and internationally intriguing con man, Frank Abagnale Jr., in the beginning his career. Equally sultry and suggestive were "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon and "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton. On TV around the same time was the spy thriller “Mission Impossible”. It consisted of story lines in fictional cold war era countries. That program was the origin of the current movie series. The intro theme was a fast paced tune with a heavy emphasis on horns. On a more personal note, during the time when the series was on the air I lived 2 houses up the block from Martin Landau and Barbara Bain who were actors in the series. Landau’s replacement in the series was Leonard Nimoy who also lived nearby. His Julie was a classmate of mine in high school, we ran in different groups. Similarly intriguing is the Johnny Rivers classic song “Secret Agent Man”. It too is from the same era (early to mid 60s) when the Cold War was “raging” and international tensions felt higher, to some/many people, then they are now. This song has some really cool lyrics, which seem to be strangely apropos for this site: “With every move he makes another chance he takes.” and “Swingin' on the Riviera one day, then layin' in a Bombay alley next day. Oh no, you let the wrong word slip, while kissing persuasive lips. Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow.” There are also international “intrigue” movies that are not as dramatic as Bond. The funniest one for me was "The Pink Panther” movies with the instrumental theme by Henry Mancini. This too is from around the same era as the Bond theme. It starts with, and features, a very familiar and lighthearted saxophone solo that plays almost perfectly with the intro credits of the movies. I love sax solos like the one in “Traces” by the Classis IV and “Shotgun” by Booker T and the MGs. And Peter Sellers is insane as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Of course all of this Bond . . . James Bond, talk eventually winds up with the ever-familiar question, who was the best Bond actor. Me, being the old dinosaur I am, always go with the classic . . . Sean Connery. My second would be Pierce Brosnan. My least favorite is Daniel Craig who makes Bond look like an uncouth less than intriguing gorilla. I hope you enjoyed this brief musical interlude. This submission to the Virtual Symposium will self-destruct in 5 seconds. Good luck Jim. Note: Edited/corrected per Lala’s golden eyesight. For more international intrigue feel free to spy on the Symposium’s participants list Participants List For The Twelfth Virtual Symposium International Intrigue When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. |
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I'm with you, rascal. Connery was the best one. I like Craig, but not as Bond. Say, have you seen the BlogLand versions, yet? I was actually gonna do a parody of The Spy Who Blogged Me as my symposium submission, but I couldn't get the script up in time. In no particular order my favs are You Only Blog Twice, Live and Let Blog, For Your Blog Only, Bloggers Are Forever, and of course ThunderBlog. I thought OctoBlogger didn't have enough legs to stand on, and The Blog Is Not Enough was too much. Blogfall was ok, but there's that Craig thing. As for Moonblogger, everyone I know thought it was sheer lunacy. I never have been able to decide between GoldBlogger and Blogfinger, they're so similar. Which one do think was the best? All in all, the best one was the movie they patterned after The Venting Blog... The Man With The Golden Blog. You did know that was all about me, right?  blog on!  A suggestion, never say “I couldn't get [ anything ] up in time” on this site.  OctoBlogger didn't have enough legs, The Blog Is Not Enough was too much, Moonblogger, lunacy. I like those.  The Man With The Golden Blog, all about you? Are you telling me you dipped it in molten gold?  When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I'm with you, rascal. Connery was the best one. I like Craig, but not as Bond. Say, have you seen the BlogLand versions, yet? I was actually gonna do a parody of The Spy Who Blogged Me as my symposium submission, but I couldn't get the script up in time. In no particular order my favs are You Only Blog Twice, Live and Let Blog, For Your Blog Only, Bloggers Are Forever, and of course ThunderBlog. I thought OctoBlogger didn't have enough legs to stand on, and The Blog Is Not Enough was too much. Blogfall was ok, but there's that Craig thing. As for Moonblogger, everyone I know thought it was sheer lunacy. I never have been able to decide between GoldBlogger and Blogfinger, they're so similar. Which one do think was the best? All in all, the best one was the movie they patterned after The Venting Blog... The Man With The Golden Blog. You did know that was all about me, right? blog on!
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This was a very enjoyable post dahlinc. Sean Connery will always be James Bond for me. I really like Shirley Bassey "Gold Finger" and "Big Spender" from Bob Fosse's "Sweet Charity". When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I much prefer the early Bond movies but I won't include On Her Majesty's Secret Service  I haven't even watched the last three Bond movies. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I'm not a huge Bond fan, but I watched the 007 movies when I was young, and I agree- Sean Connery is James Bond. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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Thank you LadyL. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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While the times and tech have made the older Bond movies dated the character and movies are still classic. Thank you for joining in. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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Thanks for catching the error - it has been corrected and credited.  Daniel Craig - meh. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I much prefer the early Bond movies but I won't include On Her Majesty's Secret Service I haven't even watched the last three Bond movies. 
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I'm not a huge Bond fan, but I watched the 007 movies when I was young, and I agree- Sean Connery is James Bond. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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My favourite James Bond is Roger Moore. My favourite Bond girl is Honor Blackman. My favourite Bond theme song is Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger. My favoyrite Bond baddie is Jaws.  When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I am so happy you decided to take an attempt at this symposium. I loved the old James Bond movies... Roger Moore was my favourite actor. hugsssssss V Mystery and excitement those movies had.. Great post! Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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I love old Bond movies and their musical themes. But, of all international intrigue films "The Pink Panther" are the best. Peter Sellers is one of my most favorite actors. I'll never forget him as Chance in "Being There". When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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How does it feel to have given the entire blogosphere an earworm or two? I think you've referenced enough catchy themes to have us humming -- and cursing your name -- for the rest of the day... Good take on international intrigue! Welcome to the virtual symposium... if you would provide a link to the list of other participants, your readers will be able to enjoy a number of different takes... and maybe get those damned songs out of their heads to boot... Link is done . . . the damn songs stay (insert evil laugh here). When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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My favourite James Bond is Roger Moore. My favourite Bond girl is Honor Blackman. My favourite Bond theme song is Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger. My favoyrite Bond baddie is Jaws.
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Boom! Ka-pow! Whammy! Oh wait, those were from the original Batman, not Bond, James Bond. Good take on the topic. Oh, your 5 seconds are up, BOOM!!! When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I love old Bond movies and their musical themes. But, of all international intrigue films "The Pink Panther" are the best. Peter Sellers is one of my most favorite actors. I'll never forget him as Chance in "Being There". Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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How does it feel to have given the entire blogosphere an earworm or two? I think you've referenced enough catchy themes to have us humming -- and cursing your name -- for the rest of the day... Good take on international intrigue! Welcome to the virtual symposium... if you would provide a link to the list of other participants, your readers will be able to enjoy a number of different takes... and maybe get those damned songs out of their heads to boot... Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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Boom! Ka-pow! Whammy! Oh wait, those were from the original Batman, not Bond, James Bond. Good take on the topic. Oh, your 5 seconds are up, BOOM!!!
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