Bond… James Bond

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure why he didn’t jump on the bandwagon sooner! What bandwagon… Well the “rate your favorite James Bond” bandwagon of course. All the best blogs are doing it. Sir Basil. FLiG.

So here you go:

1. Sean Connery - is there really any doubt of this? He could even pull it off wearing that horrid rug in “Never Say Never Again.”

2. Daniel Craig - Heresy for putting him so far up the list? No. Your Maximum Leader really thinks he nailed the role. The upcoming film might affect this rating… But for the moment here he is.

3. Pierce Brosnan - Now we are getting towards the dregs. Brosnan was a less-Roger-Moore than Roger Moore Bond.

4. Roger Moore - Sure he did “Moonraker”… But he also did “For Your Eyes Only.”

5. George Lazenby - “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” would - without a doubt - be the best James Bond film made if it had anyone but George Lazenby starring in it.

6. Timothy Dalton - Always looked constipated. ‘Nuff said.

And for those of you who care… Back in November of 2006 your Maximum Leader rated his favourite Bond girls… That list still stands…

Did your Maximum Leader mention that he received the new James Bond novel for his birthday this year? He did. He read it. “Devil May Care” by Sebastian Faulks The “big deal” about this book was that Faulks was going to “write in the style” of Ian Fleming. The “style” was a decernable attempt to replicate the way in which Ian Fleming turned a phrase or wrote action. Alas… The story just seemed to wear thin on your Maximum Leader. Indeed, he’s now sat for a few minutes just trying to remember the plot at all. There are a few parts of the book that he could remember (bombers blowing up a big hydrofoil in one part). But on the balance the book was completely forgettable.

Your Maximum Leader just might sit down tonight with a scotch and watch “From Russia with Love.” (Or he might sit down with a scotch and watch Tivo’ed episodes of “Burn Notice” and “Penn & Teller’s Bullshit.”)

Carry on.

The latest on E

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is sure that you all know that he is a big Elvis fan. How big an Elvis fan? Well let us just say that in the Mike World Order he would exert Charles V-like pressure on the Vatican to accept Elvis as at least “Blessed.” Heresy it is… But that is your Maximum Leader… (He’d be willing to erect edifices and schools and orphanages, and hospitals as penance…)

Anyhoo…

So… Your Maximum Leader sees that one of his least favourite Elvis jumpsuits sold for a whopping $300,000 at auction recently. According to the news article:

The online sale by auctioneer Gotta Have It! ended at 3 a.m. The pre-sale estimate was $275,000 to $325,000.

The white outfit with a plunging V-neck and high collar features a blue-and-gold peacock design hand-embroidered on the front and back and along the pant legs.

It is cinched at the waist by a wide belt decorated in gold medallions in a design resembling the eye of a peacock feather.

The auctioneer described the seller as “a big Elvis collector” and declined to say who bought it.

Presley paid $10,000 to have the outfit made by Los Angeles designer Bill Belew, who created all of The King’s stage wardrobe between 1968-1977. It captured the rock ‘n’ roll legend’s fascination with peacocks as a good luck symbol and the auction house said it was among his favorite Belew designs.

In case you are not curious enough to click through to see the obligatory pic… Here tis:
Elvis’ Peacock Jumpsuit

Your Maximum Leader’s favorite Elvis jumpsuit… The rising phoenix jumpusit. Alas, your Maximum Leader can’t find good photos on the web to share with you. He thinks he might have a photo of his own to post from one of his many trips to Graceland… If he can find it he’ll post it.

Carry on.

RCBfA Project

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that the membership of the RCBfA may soon be growing and a number of august sites are doing what they can to promote art on the interwebs. He has decided that he must - as it is an imperative - follow suit. Some selections (upon which you can clicky to embiggen):

Thomas Couture’s “Decadence of the Romans” (1847 - Musee D’Orsay)
Roman Decadence
Is there any decadence quite like Roman decadence? Your Maximum Leader thinks not…

Felix Trutat’s “Girl on Panther Skin” (1844 - Musee D’Orsay)
Nude Girl on Panther Skin
Your Maximum Leader has often suggested that fur becomes a lady.

In keeping with the lounging theme:
Titian’s “Venus D’Urbino” (1538 - Galleria degli Uffizi)
titian_venusdorbino.jpg
Your Maximum Leader loves Titian. (So does Christine apparently…)

Or perhaps:
David’s “Mars disarmed by Venus and the three Graces” (1824 - Musees des Beaux-Artes, Brussels)
Mars disarmed by Venus et al
Allow your Maximum Leader to go on the record and say that it would take a bit more than a sea-foam girl and her three skinny friends to disarm your Maximum Leader. He packs heat enough for the four of them…

Carry on.

Those wacky Wagners

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader found a short moment last night to just do some random searching of the interwebs for interesting stories. Well… He found one.

As you might know, your Maximum Leader is a dedicated Wagnerian. He is a great fan of Wagner’s Operas. One of his goals in life is to see The Ring at Bayreuth. (You can even find a link to the Bayreuth festival over on the right side nav bar.)

Well… The Wagner Foundation and the Festival are in the middle of some turmoil right now. Wolfgang Wagner (Richard’s grandson) is going to retire as head of the Foundation and Festival. And there is a catfight to succeed him.

To wit from Reuters:

The curtain may be rising on the final act of an epic leadership battle at Germany’s Wagner Festival after family patriarch Wolfgang Wagner said he was ready to go if his two daughters took over jointly.

In what media have called the “war of the cousins,” three great-grand-daughters of Richard Wagner have fought for years for the right to succeed Wolfgang Wagner, his grandson who, at 88, has led the opera festival since 1951.

Wolfgang Wagner indicated to sponsors last week that he was willing to step down if his daughter from a first marriage, Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 63, and her much younger half-sister Katharina, 29, took the reins together.

The two rivals, who media say had not talked to each other in years, are to submit a proposal to the Richard Wagner Foundation in the next few weeks on how they intend to lead one of the world’s top opera festivals.

Katharina said they had grown closer since last year’s death of Wolfgang’s second wife Gudrun, Katharina’s mother.

“We have realized we get on well and we actually don’t think that differently,” she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper this week.

“There is some sisterly affinity.”

In 2001, the foundation chose Eva, a theatre manager, as Wolfgang’s successor, but he refused to step down, insisting his contract was for life.

Foundation members will meet again on April 29, when they are likely to discuss the half-sisters’ proposal.

Richard Wagner himself inaugurated the purpose-built opera house at Bayreuth in southeast Germany in 1876 after searching in vain for a venue big enough to stage epic operas such as his four-part Ring cycle.

Devotees of his works have famously included Hitler. Demand for the annual festival is so high that fans can wait up to 10 years for a ticket.

“BLACKMAIL”

Whether family tensions will wane under an Eva-Katharina duo remains to be seen, as the half-sisters’ cousin Nike, 62, also aspires to run the festival.

Nike, who runs an arts festival in the city of Weimar and is the daughter of Wolfgang’s brother Wieland, said she and Eva had already handed in a proposal to lead the festival together, and that she would be disappointed if her cousin switched sides.

“Wolfgang Wagner is blackmailing the foundation: Only if his own blood gets the ok he will think about resigning,” she told the Berliner Morgenpost daily.

Katharina Wagner, a statuesque blonde, had her directing debut at the Wagner festival last year and received mixed reviews for “Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg.” Some critics say she is too young and inexperienced to lead the festival.

Nike called her work “childishly harmless, popular and tabloidy” in a radio interview this week, saying she did not know how Katharina would work with Eva, who was a “serious person.”

She ruled out the idea of all three women heading the festival together, saying it would lead to “endless disputes.”

Of course, in this whole piece the words “Katharina Wagner, a statuesque blonde,” did jump off the page. Your Maximum Leader, being a hormonally normal man - in addition to a Wagnerian, had to do ye olde google image search to see just how statuesque.

The answer… This statuesque:
Katharina Wagner…  Hubba Hubba…
Clicky the pic-y to embiggen…

For a slightly different take on the story, check out the Sydney Morning Herald.

Let your Maximum Leader express his strong and vocal support for whatever Katharina wants to do. Frankly, your Maximum Leader will give Katharina this advice: take whatever power-sharing agreement you get now and then start to work behind the scenes to force out the half-sister and cousin. They are old anyway… You have time on your side Katharina. If you need a copy of Machiavelli to borrow (which your Maximum Leader seriously doubts she does), call - that can be arranged.

Carry on.

Radio Thoughts, Part the First

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader and Villainette #2 were going out for ice cream tonight. We were going to Carl’s. Which is the best place to get ice cream in these parts… But your Maximum Leader digresses…

So… A tune comes on the radio and Villainette #2 starts singing “Can’t touch this. Da na na na. Da-na. Da-na. Can’t touch this.” Your Maximum Leader starts to sing along… But the song wasn’t “Can’t Touch This.” by MC Hammer. It was “Superfreak” by Rick James. Your Maximum Leader almost blurted out “I’m Rick James, Bitch!” But he realized the audience and restrained himself.

He also turned the channel… In case Villainette #2 was trying to listen to the lyrics…

Carry on.

Sex, Flannel, Firearms

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that the lovely Phoenix has chimed in on his recent Valentines Day post. Your Maximum Leader would like to get Phoenix and Mrs Villain together for a little while. Perhaps Phoenix’s love of firearms can somehow be transmitted to Mrs Villain. Alas, your Maximum Leader’s lovely wife is not a big firearms fan. Although we did go shooting at Nemacolin Resort not too long ago. She claims to have enjoyed it - although your Maximum Leader has his doubts.

And just in case you were wondering… Yes… Men do love flannel. It is special enough and sexy enough to be a Valentines Day gift. Frankly it is special enough and sexy enough to be a suitable gift any time. (Although your Maximum Leader would say that it is a better gift in fall and winter.) You know what is sexy ladies? Allow your Maximum Leader to tell you. The most sexy thing out there is (obviously) a woman wearing a Naked Villainy t-shirt, tank top, or even a Naked Villainy sweatshirt. If you are not going to wear the Naked Villainy swag… The NEXT most sexy thing out there for a woman to wear is her man’s flannel shirt. And just in case you aren’t clear on your Maximum Leader’s meaning here. The ONLY thing the woman should be wearing is her man’s flannel shirt. Since there might be chirren readin’ this here blog, your Maximum Leader will not go into further detail. But you can see where this is going? Can’t you?

By the way… Your Maximum Leader is fond of LL Bean’s (poorly named) Scotch Plaid flannel shirt in the Lindsay tartan. Your Maximum Leader likes Lindsay because his own clan is very close to Lindsay (but not Lindsay). He further says that the shirt is poorly named because “Scotch” is a distilled beverage and “Scottish” is the adjective that one would use to describe things from or invoking being from or like Scotland. So it should be a Scottish Plaid shirt…

Anyhoo…

Robbo also is on-board with disliking the consumerist spin to Valentines Day. But in good Robbo fashion he puts forth his assertion in true Oxford Union fashion. Speaking of the Oxford Union… Have you read about the recent presidential election held by the Oxford Union? Sexism. Racism. Voter irregularities. Good stuff… Go and read all about it.

Carry on.

Rabbie Burns Day.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been so busy of late that he just now realized that today is Robert Burns day. As he just now realized the day, he’s not made plans. It is unlikely that he will have a big Burns Supper. It is likely, however, that he will consume some of the water of life (as it were).

After dinner (whatever that may be) he will crack open his book of Burns’ poetry and read some to the family. He may read this particularly well-known Burns poem (which his daughters particularly liked last year).

To A Mouse (1785)

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie,
Oh, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I was be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

II

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion
Has broken Nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion
An’ fellow-mortal!

III

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave
‘S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
And never miss’t!

IV

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
Baith snell an’ keen!

V

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell.

VI

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,
An’ cranreuch cauld!

VII

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft a-gley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

VIII

Still thou art blest, compared wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I cannot see,
I guess an’ fear!

Your Maximum Leader suspects he’ll also get out the kilt and wear it to dinner. Perhaps he’ll even post a photo if there is a clamor to see your Maximum Leader’s knees.

Carry on.

Operation Bannanarama will be huge.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been feeling rather funky the past few days. Not terribly motivated to comment on any of the many happenings in the world around us. Perhaps it is the rush to get everything in order for Christmas. Perhaps it is just him…

Anyhoo… Your Maximum Leader awoke this morning and “heard” this song playing in his mind over and over.

In all honesty… He hadn’t thought of The Alan Parson’s Project since, probably, 1987. (Okay, he did think about them during “The Spy Who Shagged Me” - but other than that nuthin.) But, thanks to the magic of iTunes, this song (and “Eye in the sky”) now reside upon your Maximum Leader’s iPod.

Carry on.

The happiest place on earth is also sorta dirty

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader directs your attention to Miceage.com for an interesting little piece about a new craze at Disneyworld/Disneyland. (Your Maximum Leader has Tommy to thank for that link.)

The story… People are dumping the cremated remains of (presumed) loved ones in Disney rides. Here is more:

Speaking of vandalism, there’s been a growing list of incidents perpetrated on attractions at Disneyland that are not only illegal but that are increasingly, well… let’s just say disturbing.

The big problem isn’t graffiti or hot-to-trot teens in a back row, it’s park visitors smuggling in the cremated remains of their loved ones and then spreading the ashes inside a favorite attraction. The Haunted Mansion is by far the most popular location for this, but you’d be surprised where else people are dumping cremated remains at Disneyland.

[…]

Sometimes however the cremated ashes aren’t found until the end of the night when the Cast Members close down the rides and walk the tracks looking for lost and found. Just last month that situation occurred when a Cast Member at the Haunted Mansion found several piles and a trail of ashes alongside the ride track. The Anaheim Police and Disneyland Security were summoned, and judging by the large amount of ashes this deposit was likely a small group of deceased people, or perhaps a very large married couple. The police identified the substance as human remains, and the custodial crew came in for the clean up.

To respond to this growing problem, Disneyland’s custodial department recently had to purchase special vacuums with very sophisticated HEPA filters that can capture the gritty ash of human remains while also capturing the small bone fragments that can also be present after cremation. The Cast Members who work in Attractions know the code words when calling the custodial hotline, and they tell the custodial dispatcher that they need a “HEPA Cleanup” as soon as possible.

[…]

The residue is often found at the end of the night however, and most of the people who carry out a last request by spreading a loved one’s remains at The Happiest Place On Earth likely don’t know the less-than-reverential end they meet at the hands of the ultra-efficient Disneyland Custodial Department.

Eeeeewwww. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t know what to make of this other than this is yet another sign of people growing more rude and coarse as our civilization slowly declines. Of course, in addition to being rude, this is downright unsanitary. Your Maximum Leader isn’t exactly what one would call a germaphobe; but tossing around Auntie Ruthies remains while sitting through a Disney ride is just disgusting…

Carry on.

Churchill painting to auction

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, if he was made of money — which sadly he is not — would fly to London this December to try and score for himself a Winston Churchill painting. According to the news wire services, Margaret Truman is going to sell at auction a painted rendered by Churchill and given as a gift to President Truman. The auction will occur on December 13.

The painting is of Marrakesh and the Atlas mountains in North Africa. If your Maximum Leader is correct, this particular painting was completed during the war while Churchill was conferring with Allied leaders (including FDR) in North Africa. Your Maximum Leader is a little too lazy to check into his many books on Churchill (including two on Churchill as a painter) to confirm this.

This little piece of history would be a great Christmas present.

(Hint hint)

Carry on.

This makes all those visits to the Headmaster’s rooms a little dicey…

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader read that J.K. Rowling has just outed Albus Dumbledore. Yes, you read that right. The Hogwarts Headmaster is gay.

Frankly, this doesn’t change the fact that your Maximum Leader tremendously enjoyed the whole Harry Potter series. Indeed, he doesn’t really care. It doesn’t change the arch of the story for him. Your Maximum Leader does wonder if this revelation will affect other’s view of the story.

Of course, your Maximum Leader supposes that this announcement will cause a flurry of revisionism concerning how people will interpret what is (or is not) in the story.

Ah well…

Carry on.

Been Busy

I’m sorry for the dearth of posting.

I’ve been busy.

So busy, in fact, that I have totally not been paying attention to entertainment news. For instance, I have no idea who won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy.

I guess I can safely assume it was not “she of the enormous forehead,” or the Maximum Leader would have let us know.

Another sign of the end of civilization as we know it.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, as you may know, has two young Villainettes at home. They are aged 10 and 8. The older one (annonymously objectified on this blog simply as Villainette #1) likes Hannah Montana. For the uninitiated, Hannah Montana is a show on Disney Channel. Disney, always cashing in on their successes is having a Hannah Montana tour… And that is where this comes in

Forget The Police, Justin Timberlake or Bruce Springsteen. The undisputed hottest concert ticket of the year is for 14-year-old pop star Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” TV show.

Fans are so desperate for seats to her 54-date tour, kicking off later this month, that venues have sold out in as little as four minutes and scalpers are getting four to five times the face value — creating a torrent of complaints from frustrated parents.

“We knew it was hot, but we had no idea it was this crazy,” said Debra Rathwell, senior vice president of AEG Live, which is handling her tour. “It’s like the Beatles.”

About 12,000 seats for the Memphis show were gone in 8 minutes. It took 15 minutes in Columbus, Ohio, and swift sellouts have been reported across the country — Nashville, Miami, Lexington, Ky. The Kansas City Council is investigating the matter.

One ticket for the show in Charlotte, N.C., sold for $2,565.

Your Maximum Leader is now, officially, throwing in the towel on civilization. One seat for a Miley Cyrus show selling for more than $2400! Miley Cyrus is compared (seriously) to The Beatles! Gad it is bad out there.

Carry on.

Italian to English

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been suffering from a nasty backache for the past few days. He’s not sure what he might have done to cause this. But it has made blogging a little difficult - because sitting and typing is not terribly comfortable.

Anyhoo…

Your Maximum Leader decided to pick one of the groups of sidebar links and start checking them to make sure they all still worked. He decided to verify the “Villainous Culture” section. For those of you who have never ventured to that part of the right-hand sidebar, the Villainous Culture section links many museums or other cultural institutions that you might find interesting and edifying.

So… He’d gotten down to his link to the Uffizi in Florence and brought up their home page. The home page had a lovely warning in pink about half way down. Here was the warning:

uffizi2.jpg

Damn those precarious museum workers! Daring to go on strike on September 16th. If only they knew how precarious their situation was! Then they wouldn’t strike…

Of course, this poor choice of words is likely just the result of someone telling the I.T. guy (or gal) to put up a warning on the site about the impending strike — and don’t forget to do the English language site too…

Of course, if this poor I.T. person is in fact a gal and needs a little tutoring in English… Your Maximum Leader is happy to help however he can…

Carry on.

Salome

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has a Bible. In fact, he has a number of Bibles around the Villainschloss. The Bible in question is a large “Family” style Bible. It probably weighs 15 lbs. It is bound in leather and gilt. It was purchased by his maternal Grandmother from a sale of such Bibles held at the family parish (St. Michaels for those of you who care) after Vatican II wrapped up.

This Bible was always the source of wonder and amazement for your Maximum Leader when he was a young villain. Alas, he didn’t read it quite as much as he should have (although he did read quite a bit). He was fascinated by the reproductions of great art throughout the Bible. Every great story had some work of classical art to illustrate it. Sometimes the artist chosen to represent a particular story wasn’t what your Maximum Leader would have liked. But often the art was some Renaissance master work.

One particular image always captivated your Maximum Leader. It was the image of Salome and the head of John the Baptist by Caracciolo. (Here is a link to the work.) It captivated him in a number of ways. First off, the subject matter itself if pretty gripping. Captain of the Guard presenting a human head on a silver platter to a beautiful woman is not your daily fare of imagery. This painting’s most gripping element is Salome herself. How she looks at the viewer. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t see lots of emotions in the face of Salome that he finds in other renderings of the image. In this painting he sees knowingness in the face of Salome. She looks at you and her expression and eyes call out and say “See what I’ve done? Do you know my power?” Her mother’s face is smiling, she is pleased (of course) to see the grisly trophy. (Afterall, it was Herodias who convinced Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist.) In Caracciolo’s painting, Salome is collected and completely nonplussed. In a way that makes her quite terrifying.

Quite terrifying indeed.

Carry on.

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