Good morning, it’s Monday.
I am a big fan of spy and/or detective movies and novels – a trait I inherited from my father. I have a few favorite characters, including (in no particular order) the rough and tumble Harry Bosch, the intellectual yet ruthless Gabriel Allon, and, of course, the epitome of cool James Bond.
Bond, AKA 007, a creation of British author Ian Fleming, was introduced to reading audiences in 1953 with the publication of Casino Royale. The character was inspired by – but, the author insisted, not based solely on – Fleming’s own experience as a member of the British naval intelligence.
Fleming took the name “James Bond” from an ornithologist who was a Caribbean bird expert. (Not only was Fleming an avid bird watcher himself, but he wrote his first novel while at his estate, Goldeneye, in Jamaica).
Bond was immortalized on the big screen with the release of Dr. No on this date in 1962, which launched one of the most successful film franchises in history. All told, the 25 Bond films released by Eon Productions (until the rights moved to Amazon MGM last year), have grossed more than $7 billion.
Dr. No was actually the sixth novel in the Bond series. It finds 007 investigating the disappearance of two fellow MI6 operatives, who had been working on a probe into the mysterious Dr. No, a Chinese-German operator of a guano mine in located on a fictional Caribbean island called Crab Key.
The novel was actually not terribly well received in Britain – one critic memorably dubbed it “the nastiest book I have ever read” – due to its focus on both sex and sadism, though it was more warmly embraced by readers in the U.S. (Not sure what this says about American tastes – you be the judge there).
Dr. No is perhaps not the first or best choice for the inaugural Bond film, but it was chosen out of convenience. The producers, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, only had a relatively modest budget of $1 million to work with, and the narrative of Dr. No was in one – admittedly exotic – location, which made shooting logistically and financially easier. Also, the rights to the book they wanted to adapt, Thunderball, were tied in in a legal dispute.
It might be hard for Bond fans to believe now, but the star of Dr. No, who went on to shoot five more 007 films, Sean Connery, was not Fleming’s first choice. The author thought Connery was an “overgrown stuntman”, and not suave enough to play the spy with the license to kill. He preferred someone higher profile, like Cary Grant, for the role.
But Connery eventually won Fleming over – in no small part due to the public’s love of seeing him in the role – so much so that the author eventually gave Bond Scottish ancestry in an homage to the actor who first portrayed the title character.
All told, there have been six official Bonds (more if if you consider the TV, radio, and non-official film portrayals). Roger Moore appeared in the most films, with seven official titles to his name. The latest Bond, Daniel Craig, is done with the franchise after six films, and work is now underway to find his successor.
A note about Fleming’s treatment of women throughout the Bond series, which was, in short, pretty shitty. These books – and subsequently the movies – are definitely sexist and misogynistic, with the women unendingly objectified and sometimes given derogatory names like “Pussy Galore” and “Honey Ryder”.
Though Fleming’s family removed the racist language from his novels when they were reissued in 2023 in celebration of the 70th anniversary of his first book’s publication, the sexist stuff all remained. (Fleming himself was long gone by then, having died at the age of 56 in 1964).
For all their flaws, I still love the action, stunts, and sophistication (albeit ham-handed and stereotypical) of a good Bond film. And I am admittedly eager to see who steps into Craig’s shoes. Happy James Bond Day!
It will be partly cloudy today with high temperatures topping out in the low 60s. Almost true sweater weather, just a few degrees cooler and we’re there!
In the headlines…
The U.S. Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a U.S.-run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base.
The withdrawal was highly unusual: Such moves are rarely made so quickly from an allied air base in a peacetime country thousands of miles from a combat zone.
With Election Day less than a month away, President Donald Trump is touting two federal cash-payment programs already underway while renewing a much larger $5,000 check promise contingent on Republicans retaining Congress.
While political observers expect Democrats to pick up House seats in November, Trump will still be in office for two more years. So Democrats’ ability to move their agenda may rest on Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ ability to cut deals with the president.
FBI Director Kash Patel, 46, is engaged to his country singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, 27, the pair revealed in an announcement Sunday.
Democrats are eager to win back subpoena power if they retake Congress, but they’re split on how hard they’ll go after corporate America.
Voter dissatisfaction with the economy, concerns about political extremism and frustration with Trump have Democrats within reach of flipping four GOP-held governorships, according to new polls by The New York Times and Siena University.
The US Supreme Court opens its new term today with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, gun rights and the fate of climate change lawsuits on the docket.
Brazil’s heated presidential election was forced into a runoff on Sunday, according to election officials, with the right-wing challenger leading over the leftist incumbent in a narrow race that may have sweeping consequences far beyond the country.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for early elections after his left-wing governing coalition, which lacks a majority in Parliament, lost a parliamentary vote to pass a package of emergency housing measures. The snap election will be held Nov. 29.
A medical transport plane lost contact near Nantucket early Saturday. It prompted a federal and state search to find the aircraft and the six people who were on board that lasted nearly two days. A debris field was located hours after the plane went missing.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff addressed national scrutiny over Cornell’s handling of the alleged 2024 Chi Phi gang rape in an eight-minute video released to the Cornell community Saturday afternoon.
Kotlikoff said “this has been one of the most difficult weeks” in the University’s history and announced support for AG Tish James’ appointment as a special prosecutor. There will also be an independent review by an outside law firm hired by the Cornell board.
Nearly 22 hours before the alleged gang rape occurred, the Cornell University Police Department made a drug-related arrest at the same fraternity house and referred an individual to the Office of Student Conduct, according to CUPD’s Daily Crime Log.
Pressure is building on Gov. Kathy Hochul to call the state Legislature into emergency session to close a key legal loophole that favors accused rapists such as the “Cornell 7.’’
Hochul said Friday she’ll seek to change a section of state law that makes it difficult for prosecutors to pursue rape charges when a victim voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs.
Summaries obtained by The New York Times offer a detailed look at the discipline meted out to the men accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student at Cornell University.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is too political, biased and unethical to fairly investigate the seven Cornell University fraternity brothers accused of raping a female classmate, pols and other critics said.
James is facing a call to step aside from the investigation into the alleged Cornell sexual assault after an attorney for one of the accused students questioned whether she had publicly accepted the allegations before taking over the case.
Hochul’s decision to intercede in the Cornell scandal by appointing James as special prosecutor has raised questions of impartiality as both face re-election.
The woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Cornell University fraternity members has received threats pressuring her to drop her lawsuit, her attorney said Sunday.
Buffalo-area Assemblyman Patrick Burke is apologizing for an admittedly “careless and insensitive” description of a proposal to change the state’s rape laws that drew harsh criticism from Western New York to a nationally televised talk show.
Key unions representing Nassau County police officers and New York City firefighters are backing Long Island Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi’s re-election bid.
The nonprofit agencies that serve the vast majority of foster care children in New York are facing an unprecedented crisis as rapidly rising insurance costs threaten to strain their finances and, they say, could ultimately force some providers to close.
A New York City deli unveiled a new sandwich named after Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman Friday — as the pol vowed to bring down the hard-to-stomach cost of lunch.
Blakeman generally kept pace with Hochul on campaign fund-raising and spending over the summer, but has a very small amount left in the bank for the final month of the race, new records show. She has $18.5 million on hand, while he has just $178,000.
With a month to go until Election Day, the Nassau County executive doesn’t have a policy section on his website. On the campaign trail, he’s opted against making detailed policy prescriptions in favor of mounting all-out attacks on Hochul.
Anti-Trump “Will & Grace” actress Debra Messing is snubbing Democratic incumbent Hochul and instead backing Blakeman’s gubernatorial campaign.
President Trump’s trip to upstate New York this week is a bid to help his pal Blakeman — but also to help prevent Republican House seats from slipping away.
In one of their only areas of consensus, Hochul and Blakeman agree that the state faces an affordability crisis. Their plans to address it are very different, however.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Hochul gathered with other local pols at Reverend Al Sharpton’s weekly rally in Harlem Saturday morning to celebrate the civil rights leader’s 72nd birthday.
Mamdani held hands with his one-time political rival, Curtis Sliwa, as they got their flu shots in a Fort Greene, Brooklyn, medical office on Friday.
Mamdani plans to take a swing at one of New York City’s most intractable problems: its dysfunctional, century-plus-old system for hiring workers.
Jakarta and New York are discussing a potential visit by Mamdani to the Indonesian capital following a meeting with Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung in New York last month.
More than 25 grassroots organizations, local school groups, and nonprofits signed a letter criticizing Mamdani’s strategy to combat antisemitism, arguing that it “falls dangerously short” and ignores the primary threats facing Jewish residents on the ground.
Ken Griffin’s record-setting donation to Carnegie Mellon University for a new campus in Miami — months after being dragged by Mamdani to promote his pied-à-terre tax — is “a loss” for New York, the head of the city’s business advocacy group said.
Chip City, the cookie chain born in Astoria, Queens in 2017, announced it has closed all its locations nationwide this week amid a legal dispute with its former CEO and co-founder.
A tractor pulling about 20 people on a hayride in a small village near the border of New York and Pennsylvania flipped on Sunday afternoon, leaving at least six people seriously injured.
The Latham restaurant Taste of Italy has closed and been replaced by La Famiglia Pizza & Pasta, a sibling of La Famiglia Pizza in Colonie. Whether Taste of Italy’s controversial owners, Frank and Alyssa Cappello, have moved out of the Capital Region is unclear.
The Colonie Police Department is investigating the cause of a crash in which one of its officers crashed into a vehicle Saturday afternoon on Central Avenue, causing minor injuries to an elderly driver.
Albany Med Health System President and CEO Daniel T. Pickett III was placed on paid leave Saturday, after an ex-girlfriend publicly accused him of sexual assault in a civil court case he characterized as a “malicious” attempt to smear his reputation.
Lorenz Kraus’ televised confession in which he admitted to killing his parents nearly a decade ago will be allowed as evidence in his murder trial.
Opponents of drive-thrus in downtown Schenectady believe that adding one word to a zoning proposal could make a difference.
Schenectady Councilmember John Mootooveren declined to participate in a fact-finding investigation into a heated exchange he had with Councilmember Doreen Ditoro last December, according to an internal report.
City lawmakers voted last week to advance the nomination of John Reilly Jr., Mayor Dorcey Applyrs’ pick to lead Albany’s Law Department.
A federal grant to the Underground Railroad Education Center in Albany has been restored after it was canceled in a round of cuts targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives.
Private colleges in the Albany, Schenectady and Troy area almost universally enrolled fewer students this fall, they said in enrollment reports. The only bright spot was Maria College, which focuses primarily on nursing.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
