I didn't sleep last night, so bear with me if my thoughts seem a little disjointed.
I know there's a ton of new folks who have no clue who I am. It's been a long time since I've been here. I feel like a complete and utter stranger, but because today marks 50 years since Dr. No first premiered, I thought I'd check in and look around. No telling if I'll be stick around for any length of time. We'll see.
Luds and a few others of you may know that not too long before the old forum was demolished, I began working as a pastor. Among other things, I remember writing a little at the time about how my faith intersected with my view of Bond. If that topic still interests anyone, I've posted on my blog today about lessons Christians can take away from Diamonds Are Forever.
CLICK HERE to read that post. If you have feedback on that, I'd love to hear it.
Besides that, though, I'd just like to hear from anyone who remembers me. If I haven't talked to you in a while, let me know what's new with you. Let me know you're out there!
BTW, the one and only trailer I've seen for Skyfall looks good, so I'm starting to get excited. Don't spoil it for me!
;) I haven't seen any stills, read any plot points, looked at the cast list or listened to the theme song yet - trying to go in as clean-slate as possible!
Comments
A hearty welcome back, my friend. Good to see you here. I didn't know you'd become a pastor, but then I suppose there's a lot we never know about our fellow members.
Interesting that you talk about faith and Bond. Bond's faith is often tested and he's often forced to do something immoral for a greater good. He sometimes has the role of God's agent, if you will - the only person who can stop a nefarious plot. Which is why I prefer a more human interpretation of him, because it should be a regular person who should be tested, not a superman - otherwise the test means nothing if you have nothing to lose. Anyway, I will read your post.
You're in good shape for a spolier free Skyfall. Just keep your eyes out of the picture and video threads.
Anyway, I know we didn't always see eye to eye, but I never had any bad feelings. I'm glad to see you back.
As for Skyfall, well be weary of venturing into any of the Skyfall topics. They are laced with spoilers.
Always got the older movies to discuss, and as far as I know, no-one has started a Pink Panther thread yet ???
Nothing like a shot in the dark...even from a blast from the past.
;)
Going into Skyfall as you are, should really be a thrill. Well done for keeping clean all this time.
I'm doing well, as one of the only long serving members left who isn't a mod. Everyone else jumped ship.
You'd be welcomed back by many, if only to be our search engine again. :)
I hope to see you around.
As you've brought the whole 'Blast from the Past' up - I myself have only just started to return to this forum since the whole revamp, whatever happened to the likes of folks like 'Luds' and 'SimonTM'? A lot vanished from the site because of their dislike of the revamp (like 'B.Brown'), but they have accounts in MI6 community, but even they went the way of the Dodo all of a sudden - and 'Luds' is still classified as a Mod on here...
PS - I like how you've kept your original avatar!
Well you certainly made this Bond day special! Nice to see you again. :)
But welcome back.
I think all areas of life have something to do with God, whether we recognize it or not, but we often just don't see it or choose not to. Ultimately, though, whether Fleming had something religious in mind or not, I just try to point out truths we can glean from him. That's basically the whole point of my blog anyway - I take what's often not considered to be Christian movies/music/TV, and I just try to show some of the Biblical truths I see in the stories. It's like I see most things as parables, and I'm just trying to explain the parables as I understand them.
Either way, glad to meet you, and if you don't see it like me, no reason we can't get along. ;)
@doubleonothing, I agree that Bond's no Superman. He at least raises some questions for us about how we would handle the same situations, eh? Coincidentally, I've also written about Superman on my blog! :) And you're right - no hard feelings. Never were here.
Nice to see some familiar names, even if the avatars don't all match! I couldn't change mine after all this time if I wanted to! :D
As an Atheist, I'll never see it like you do mate. But I totally respect everyone's right to their own opinion. Which is why I gave mine above. Good to meet you, I'm sure we'll meet again down the road somewhere. ;)
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
I think that was after Moses had just watched The Spy Who Loved Me or something. Humming Nobody Does It Better sycophantically while god was chiseling out the ten commandments.
:D :D :D
This really made me laugh.
I think the Biblical truths I listed might still be helpful to you, even if you aren't a Christian. You just have to strip them down to their bare essences. Maybe look at them this way:
#1) It's not always easy to know what's right or wrong, so you have to be careful.
#2) People can influence you toward good or bad, so be careful who you follow.
#3) Good things lead to good results; bad things lead to bad results.
#4) Education and knowledge are good because they can help us to do good things.
#5) You should rely on friends you can trust (so try to know who they are) to help you in hard times.
#6) There is value in being honest about who you are and what you believe.
#7) Persistence and patience pay off in the end.
To me, you lose a lot by trying to cut the Scriptures out of those points - God makes them so much richer, IMO - but truth is still truth. Hope that's helpful to you!
In any event, thanks for reading through my post!
Hello to you others! :D
Edit: Excellent Bondian blog posting Keyvan! A short, sweet, easy read, made that much more enjoyable in that it was entirely devoted to the entertainment spectacle that is DAF, the film. I've always maintained that there is no shortage of inspired thematic tidings permeating this tour de force of Connery/Barry/Bassey/Hamilton/Mankiewicz/Saltz/Cubby, Bondian brilliance. btw your grasp of scripture is inspired. Look forward to reading more of your postings.
After all this time, I'm still searching for mine online!
No need to worry. We've found the secret tip to solve the problem. :)
@JamesStock I remember you. Thanks for your kind words, too. I always thought my "thoughtful, in-depth postings" were so long-winded nobody bothered to read them! ;) :D
@mathis007 and others who commented on my avatar, when the old forum was demolished and they made it available for just a couple days, I rushed over and saved one thread I had worked hard on and I copied my avatar and put it up here, and that was all I got before it was gone again!