Bond as Moneypenny

Velvet, a spy thriller comic from Ed Brubaker. [Link]

In the opening issue of the comic book Velvet, the secretary to the director of an elite British spy agency decides to go digging into the mysterious death of a secret agent. This, she learns, is a mistake, and soon enough she finds herself standing over a dead body, and framed for murder. “This is as bad as it gets, secretary,” says one of the armed men who bursts in to arrest her. “No,” she answers, “it isn’t.” Seconds later, every secret agent in the room is writhing on the floor, and she’s leaping out the window in a stealth suit.

Turns out this isn’t a story about Moneypenny, the secretary waiting for James Bond behind a desk at MI6. It’s a story that asks, what if a 40-something secretary was secretly James Bond all along?

And this on casting:

“I loved the idea of flipping the typical male-oriented spy story, and doing one about a woman who was also a mature, middle-aged woman,” says Brubaker. He saw the character’s age as fundamental to the story; it helped cement her as mature, seasoned rather than a vulnerable young woman-in-danger, and it allowed her to have a deeper, richer history as a spy. “In the espionage field, it totally makes sense that someone could have a secret history; they could have a job for 20 years that turns out to be a front, basically,” says Brubaker. “But it has to be someone who’s lived a real life.”

When he started pitching the concept as a TV pilot, however, Velvet’s age turned out to be more controversial than expected. “The notes that we got from everybody were that she needed to be 25, and an agent-in-training learning from the cool male secret agent. I was just like ‘OK, this is… just appalling to me,’” Rather than a character that had lived a real life, they wanted a woman 20 years younger, stripped of Velvet’s expertise and maturity. “Imagine Taken, if Liam Neeson’s character were 30,” he adds. “It’s just not the same movie.”

Brubaker recalls one of his favorite actors, Diane Lane, talking about how all the good roles seemed to evaporate after she turned 40, leaving nothing but moms or jilted wives left for younger women. “How is it possible that nobody wants to write an amazing part for a woman that’s not basically a kid? Most of the [male] actors we see in the world are in their 40s, or late 30s,” he says. “You don’t see the person who chose to be James Bond but also happens to be a woman.”

Elon Musk to make James Bond submarine car a reality

He really is Tony Stark. [Link]

Musk plans to take the movie prop and turn it into an actual car that transforms into a submarine, the very thing it was built to portray in the movie.

"I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform," Musk said in a statement provided by Tesla. "What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."

Stylish Hovercraft

Wow, that looks really cool. [Link]

Hovercrafts have the distinct advantage of being just as comfortable on water as they are on land, but usually at the cost of a pretty ugly and utilitarian design. So the engineers at Mercier-Jones decided to take a crack at designing a hovercraft that was as lustworthy as a sports car, and from the looks of it they more than succeeded.

The Mercier-Jones hovercraft appears to take design cues from modern Lamborghinis, the Bugatti Veyron, and even the Audi R8. But the Frankenstein approach to its design kind of works, resulting in an amphibious vehicle that you might actually want sitting in your driveway.

It's not all about looks either. Mercier-Jones claims to have designed a new directional control system that will make its hovercraft as easy to drive as a car. And with a hybrid drivetrain that uses a gas engine to power a series of electric fans, the two-seater might not actually be deafening to pilot. It's just too bad that Mercier-Jones doesn't have a definitive ETA on when the hovercraft will be available for sale, though the company's hopeful it can produce a base model with a price tag under $20,000.

Instagram Bond Villain

Instagram is not SPECTRE. [Link]

“How dare they do this?!” “Do what?” “THIS!” “AHHHHHHH!!!”

I did what any rational person would do: I started making fun of those people. But it didn’t stop. It got louder and louder and louder. Soon celebrities were boycotting, people were threatening to go back to Flickr — Flickr! And then, naturally, came story after story after story after story — each more ridiculous than the last.

The only problem? No one actually stopped to think about all of this for a second. Worse, it seems no one bothered to actually read the terms of service changes and compare them to the old version. That only occurred this afternoon when Nilay Patel of The Verge actually did the legwork. As a lawyer, he’s perhaps uniquely positioned to do that. But really, anyone could have, you know, just talked to Instagram or Facebook to clarify. I’m sure some tried to and maybe they weren’t commenting just yet. But then maybe, just maybe, wait to publish those ridiculous stories?

Nah. What fun would that be?

Well, now we have Instagram’s actual statement on the matter, and it’s pretty straightforward: “To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos,” wrote co-founder Kevin Systrom. He goes on to note that: “The language we proposed also raised question about whether your photos can be part of an advertisement. We do not have plans for anything like this and because of that we’re going to remove the language that raised the question.” Not quite as straightforward — and I’m sure we’ll have 15 more blog posts on the matter — but clearly well-intentioned.

That’s the thing: why was the default thought here to assume that Instagram was out to do something nefarious? Because Facebook now owns the company? Why is it the default thinking that Facebook is out to do something nefarious?

Yes, these companies have business models predicated on serving up advertisements to you so that you can continue to use their services for free. Many others do this as well, most notably, Google. (As an aside, can you imagine the outrage if Gmail were to do something like roll out advertising based on the content of your email?! Wait a minute…) You can argue about whether this is a more or less altruistic model than selling goods and services, but the fact of the matter is that it exists because it works and people deal with it.

The problem with jumping to the conclusion that these companies are out to get you is twofold: 1) You sound like a delusional, paranoid jackass. 2) This would be the single-worst business model ever.

I’ve used the line somewhere before, but these companies are not SPECTRE out to do evil in an attempt to destroy the world. And yet, it seems that quite often people really believe that.

"Do you expect me to talk"?
"No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to take pictures and apply filters to them".

Sustainable Bond Villain Lair to start construction

 White Persian cat sold separately. [Link]

Remember that USS Enterprise-esque ocean research vessel we first ran across back in 2005? Yes, the one that was originally slated to hit the open waters in 2008 or 2009. After catching heat for its lofty ambitions for the last 12 years, the SeaOrbiter is finally set to begin construction later this year. The ship is slated to measure 170 feet (51 meters) tall, but to stabilize the vessel over half of the vehicle would stay below the surface, providing all sorts of collection systems and useful tools. Not only does it look like something out of Minority Report, but the SeaOrbiter is 100% sustainable. The ship's power is set to come from solar, wind and wave power with biofuel in case nature doesn't cooperate -- when the vessel isn't adrift via ocean currents.

Hmm, what does that remind me of? Ah, here we go...

Premade Villain Bases

Ready for use. [Link]

It's no secret: We love abandoned places. Maybe it's the tragic appeal of a world absent of society, or maybe it's the aesthetics of the vines reclaiming man's constructions, or maybe it's just because "squatter's rights" say that if you can stay put in one for two years it legally belongs to you -- that's like expert level, high-stakes hide and seek! But while some abandoned places are terrifying, and some are simply sad, some others are just begging to be filled with ninjas and to have a laser mounted on top of them. These ... are their stories:

The Iguana 29

A 10 seat motorboat with tank treads. [Link]

The Iguana 29 is a new take on amphibious vehicles, using retractable caterpillar tracks to deliver surefooted drive across extreme terrain at up to 8 km/h while on water it is quick to plane and has 35 knot speed. Most impressive of all is that the hybrid version of the Iguana can run in electric only mode in nature's most delicate areas. The Iguana 29 and its retractable caterpillar design looks to address an important need for boats capable of entering and exiting the water in complete independence. The Iguana has enough carrying capacity to be very versatile and could serve as tender, to land anywhere, as a leisure craft offering freedom from marinas, berths and other constraints, or for transporting goods and equipment.

Getaway Vehicle

Perfect for the nautical and aeronautical Bond Villain. [Link]

Yelken Octuri's no stranger to designing fantastic space aircraft or even insectoid-like flying yachts, but this time the designer's gone and outdone every other creation he's ever done before with his new flying yacht for three Masqat Airways corporate executive princes. Who said sails were out of style?

Powered by a Nissen & Brasseur engine with four dual propellers, the unnamed flying yacht can hit speeds of 242 miles per hour when its four enormous sails are lowered to become wings in plane mode. Imaginative as Octuri's flying yacht is, its beauty isn't only skin deep - it has just enough space to satisfy those looking for a weekend escape.

There are two main decks (perfect for tanning) and inside the yacht is a kitchen (for preparing all that seafood you will catch), a main room, presumably with a bed (for canoodling with those hot islanders), a toilet (because dumping into the sea is gross and generally frowned upon) and a storage room (scuba gear needs to go somewhere!). From the looks of it, the flying yachts main room windows are "level" and "just above the boat's waterline" making good times in the ship/plane feel even more aquatic.

At a first glance, you'd probably think this flying yacht is all CGI and and yet another concept render, but rest assured, unlike Octuri's other creations, this flying yacht is real and was manufactured by the Aerocoché plant in France. We've yet to see real photos of this thing out in the open sea and skies, but we're sure they'll surface soon enough.

Flying Yacht

Almost practical. For the Bond villain on the go. [Link]

From the designer:

The EkranoYacht is a hydrogen powered wing-in-ground effect vehicle for permanent residence — set for 2025… The craft performs at approximately 400kph [or 250 mph] in full flight. It can tackle waves of up to 3.5 m and can also be used as normal yacht when necessary. The 36.5m craft can house 6 people comfortably. The interior design was a very important part of the project, because if people are going to give up their static home living arrangements, there can't be any sacrifice moving on to the EkranoYacht. I designed for open floor plan living, with large windows for natural light.

Be sure to check it out in the gallery below — Dickson even made a scale model of the thing.

The Streets of Monaco luxury yacht only requires a Bond Villain

Seriously, wouldn't this be a great Bond Villain lair. As a side note, every time I see the word lair, I hear it in Dr. Evil's voice. [Link]

Now, this is one superyacht concept that demands attention and appreciation. The 155-meter “The Streets of Monaco” luxury superyacht by Yacht Island Design boasts a design that recreates a small section of the Principality of Monaco, known for the Formula One track and the Monaco Yacht Show. The yacht comes with its own fully functional go-kart circuit. The yacht is like a floating island, which exploits the benefits related with SWATH platforms. For the magnificent yacht that incorporates land-based architecture into the superstructure, Yacht Island Design has collaborated with BMT Nigel Gee. UK-based Yacht Island Design said…

The art of producing a themed yacht is to seamlessly weave a story into every element of the design and is achieved via extensive consultation with the client during the initial phases of the design process.

The Streets of Monaco has been divided into four major external deck spaces. The upper deck features the main swimming pool with swim-in Jacuzzi/bar and the Casino Square, where you have a large glass-bottomed fountain. You can benefit from the sport activities in the yacht’s multi-purpose courtyard, which also doubles as a helipad. There are open sundecks and BBQ facilities aboard the yacht. Other communal areas are “The Oasis” and “The Grand Atrium.”

Undersea Yacht

Perfect for the nautical Bond Villain. [Link]

At the first glance at pictures, it felt like there’s another addition to Sir Richard Branson’s luxury fleet to accommodate the rich and adventurous. However, Virgin is still to unveil something as innovative as this Undersea Yacht, dubbed U-010. This luxurious undersea vehicle is designed to explore the deep seas in complete safety and comfort. With an overall length of 66.5 m, the U-010 unit is a unique vessel for its quality to travel on the surface as well as underwater by simply passing from diesel to electric propulsion. Equipped with integrated systems of stabilization, the passage on the sea surface is slow and comfortable even under the worst conditions. Whether it’s luxurious trips to nearby islands or the stylish underwater adventuring, one thing’s for sure that U-010 will give new meaning to seagoing.

Hyper Sub

Time to die, Mr. Bond. [Link]

This model combines a speedboat with a sub, offering up a surface speed of 40 knots and a range of 500 surface miles thanks to twin diesel engines and a 525 gallon fuel tank. Once it dives down underwater, it can hit depths of up to 250 feet and offers amazing views thanks to a glass ceiling that lets you observe everything above you.

Anti-paparazzi shield

For the discerning Bond Villain who desires privacy. [Link]

Now Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, appears to have come up with a novel solution to protect his privacy.
In a move that could eventually be copied by all discerning billionaires, Abramovich has installed an anti-paparazzi shield on his newest vessel, the world’s biggest and most expensive private yacht.
The high-tech system on Eclipse, a mega-yacht measuring up to 557ft, relies on lasers to block any digital camera lenses nearby.
The boat, which has reportedly more than doubled in cost to £724m since it was commissioned three years ago, glided out of port in Hamburg last week on its maiden voyage. On board were 150 engineers and maritime experts who will put it through its paces over 10 days. One witness described the boat as “a great white castle on water”.
The yacht — the fourth in Abramovich’s private fleet — drips luxury. It boasts two helipads, two swimming pools — the larger of which doubles up as a dance floor when drained — and 6ft-wide home cinema screens in all 24 guest cabins.
The master suite features a retractable roof, allowing the Chelsea football club owner and his girlfriend, Daria Zukhova, a former model, to sleep under the stars.
Mindful of a rise in piracy on the high seas, the yacht has a hull and windows capable of withstanding a missile attack and a mini-submarine for emergencies. Once it leaves the Blohm + Voss German shipyard, it will be fitted with a missile defence system in France.

...

However, the boat’s most unusual feature is perhaps the anti-paparazzi “shield”.
Infrared lasers detect the electronic light sensors in nearby cameras, known as charge-coupled devices. When the system detects such a device, it fires a focused beam of light at the camera, disrupting its ability to record a digital image.
The beams can also be activated manually by security guards if they spot a photographer loitering.

For the Bond villain on a budget

The Carcamp. When being chased ditch the camper and escape in your Opel Astra. [Link]

The somewhat bizarre looking Carcamp is the result of coupling a specially fitted housing unit with a standard Opel Astra, which is probably not the first car to spring to mind when looking at motor homes. The housing unit is attached to the car by two “sideways” towbars, to give a snug fit between it and the car. This flush fit results in an aerodynamic profile that Heku claims gives the Carcamp its stability and the ability to travel safely at speeds of 120-140 km/h (75-87 mp/h). The aerodynamic shape also assists in the vehicle’s fuel economy.

Although the Carcamp looks like it could be hard to maneuver, by placing the rear axle of the housing unit as close to the rear of the car as possible, Heku says it has been able to provide handling similar to a large sedan. And since the housing unit isn’t welded to the car, it is just a matter of removing a few screws to leave it behind and scoot around town in a regular car. As an added bonus Heku says the Carpool is considered as one entity, so there shouldn’t be any additional tax or insurance costs.

Porsche Megayacht for Bond Villains

Very nice. Large, roomy, and fast. [Link]

Worlds apart from the speedboat which Porsche Design penned for Fearless, the RFF135 is a massive twin-hull design measuring 135 feet in length (hence the name) with a 41-foot beam. That's enough space to accommodate 10 guests and 10 crew members below decks in 472 square meters of area, with another 208 square meters of deck space up top.

That's almost unfathomably large, and to propel the vessel up 35 knots (about 40 mph), the catamaran will be equipped with twin V16 turbodiesel engines from German manufacturer MTU, each producing a massive 4,600 horsepower. Don't ask about miles per gallon – this puppy will drink down 750 liters of diesel every hour, but at least you're bound to look damned good doing it, right?

North Korea starts space program

Insert Bond Villain joke here. [Link]

NORTH Korea has declared it is actively pursuing a space program, amid reports from US and South Korean officials that Pyongyang is preparing to test fire a long-range missile.

Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the ruling communist party, said the North had every right to develop a space program, as a member of the international community.

“The DPRK's (North Korea) policy of advancing to space for peaceful purposes is a justifiable aim that fits the global trend of the times. There is no power in the world that can stop it,” the newspaper said in an editorial.

“As long as developing and using space are aimed at peaceful purposes and such efforts contribute to enhancing human beings' happiness, no one in the world can find fault with them.”

It noted that Iran on Monday successfully launched a satellite carried by a home-built rocket, setting alarm bells ringing among Western powers because of the implications for the range of its ballistic missiles.

Rodong said North Korea had long been working on space research and development.

“Currently, our scientists and engineers, in keeping with the international trend, are actively pushing ahead with projects aimed at utilising space for peaceful goals,” it added.

Officials in Seoul and Washington say there are signs the communist state is preparing to test its Taepodong-2 missile, which has a range of 6700km.

The missile was initially launched in 2006 but failed after 40 seconds, according to US officials.

A Seoul government source told Yonhap news agency that a missile recently spotted by satellite photographs was believed to be a modified Taepodong-2.

The reports come amid rising tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul and stalled six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programs.

Experts disagree on whether the impoverished communist state is technically capable of fitting a nuclear warhead to a missile.

Henchman's Helper

What every Bond Villain needs. [Link]

Today's Very Short List reviews Henchman's Helper: a webpage filled with live video cams and weather information from around the world.

The site’s attractions include 42 live webcams from around the world, 9 constantly updated weather graphics, and a large, ominous-looking infrared satellite image of North America.

Soviet Nuclear Lightouses

Cool. [Link]

So, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to build a chain of lighthouses to guide ships finding their way in the dark polar night across uninhabited shores of the Soviet Russian Empire. So it has been done and a series of such lighthouses has been erected. They had to be fully autonomous, because they were situated hundreds and hundreds miles aways from any populated areas. After reviewing different ideas on how to make them work for a years without service and any external power supply, Soviet engineers decided to implement atomic energy to power up those structures. So, special lightweight small atomic reactors were produced in limited series to be delivered to the Polar Circle lands and to be installed on the lighthouses. Those small reactors could work in the independent mode for years and didn’t require any human interference, so it was very handy in the situation like this. It was a kind of robot-lighthouse which counted itself the time of the year and the length of the daylight, turned on its lights when it was needed and sent radio signals to near by ships to warn them on their journey. It all looks like ran out the sci-fi book pages, but so they were.

Then, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the unattended automatic lighthouses did it job for some time, but after some time they collapsed too. Mostly as a result of the hunt for the metals like copper and other stuff which were performed by the looters. They didn’t care or maybe even didn’t know the meaning of the “Radioactive Danger” sign and ignored them, breaking in and destroying the equipment. It sounds creepy but they broke into the reactors too causing all the structures to become radioactively polluted.

Those photos are from the trip to the one of such structures, the most close to the populated areas of the Russian far east. Now, there are signs “RADIOACTIVITY” written with big white letters on the approaching paths to the structure but they don’t stop the abandoned exotics lovers.

Perfect for a super villain hideout.

Bond Villain Megayacht will eat you

Cruise the high seas, then chomp an oil tanker in half. [Link]

Oculus is the first "design launch" of Schöpfer Yachts LLC. This 250-foot vessel was designed by E. Kevin Schöpfer, founder and owner of his namesake company. Designed to accommodate 12 guests in extraordinary comfort and style, Oculus is a long distance cruising yacht capable of speeds upwards of 25 knots. The exterior styling is representative of the jaw and eye socket bone structure of large oceanic fish and mammals. Featuring a dramatic reverse bow configuration, the yacht's armature balances an elegant expression of symmetry and structure. In addition to the bow, Oculus also features a "low rider profile". This slightly lowered surface allows for new side recreational areas, alternate dockage access and light cruising openness.

Lateral retractable side panels close this area when heavier wave action is indicated. The interior features of Oculus focus on a 12 foot high ceiling in the main salon, a cylindrical double height dining room, central stair and elevator tube, and seemingly anatomical ceiling and floor lighting extensions giving definition to the seating areas. The second level is the dedicated Owner's suite.

Where to put your secret lair

Lair [Link]

Doctor Moreau had one. Syndrome from The Incredibles had one. And if you want to perform your morally questionable experiments, you should probably get one, too. Remote islands allow you to build killer robots, death rays, or societies of human-animal hybrids in peace and privacy, without attracting the unwanted attention of the outside world. Luckily, several real-life islands offer a secluded setting where you can advance the cause of science.

The British archipelago of Tristan da Cunha offers not one, but several island retreats, in the most remote locale on Earth.

Tristan da Cunha sits 2,816 kilometers from the coast of South Africa, and 2,430 kilometers from its closest neighbor, the island of St. Helena, where the Emperor Napoleon lived out his final days in exile. The main island of Tristan da Cunha does have a small permanent population: roughly 270 people living mostly in the capital city of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.

A team of six weather researchers study on far off Gough Island, but the other specks of land, Nightingale Island, Middle Island, Stoltenhoff Island, and the aptly named Inaccessible Island, remain uninhabited. And, the islands are so tiny (the main island is just 98 square kilometers), that they show up on very few maps, although they cannot escape the all-seeing eye of Google Earth.