His name is Bond, James Bond.

Recently Jaci and I went to see the new James Bond flick, Casino Royale (we had a coupon). I have since been doing some reflecting; and thought I would share some of these reflections with you, my readership. Just in case you wanted an untrained opinion.

So I have been a Bond fan as long as I can remember. Some of the many things I have enjoyed about the franchise are as follows:

a. The gadgets. How awesome are they!?! Watch lasers, phone tasers, and all things uber-cool.
b. The cars. Sleek, sexy, fast cars that are loaded with, you guessed it.....more gadgets!
c. The know-how. Bond can out fly, out drive, out shoot, and out anything to anybody.
d. The fighting. Guns, knives, fists, tanks, whatever. He can fight with anything!
e. The women. 'Nuff said.

I have also liked that the movie producers don't allow swearing (good for them) or nudity (darn it) or grotesque violence (ewww). Granted there is always a lot of violence, but it's old school violence. No dismemberment, gushing blood, etc. Not to mention that he's a good guy spy and spies are just awesome!

So how does Casino Royale compare to other movies? Well, there's very few gadgets for one thing. I got over that because Daniel Craig is far and away the most physical bond I have ever seen. I wasn't overly fussy on the romantic stuff (not typical for Bond) but it does help to explain part of the Bond psyche.

As to which Bond is best? Tough question. Everyone has their favorite and most will say Sean Connery. Not I. I liked Connery but I thought that Brosnan was a much better Bond than his predecessors.

Between Brosnan and Craig? Brosnan pulls off the middle aged Bond very well and Craig does very well as a younger Bond. In the grand scheme of things Brosnan is a better actor, no question about it. However, Daniel Craig is a better Bond.

Bond fan or not, I highly recommend seeing this movie on the big screen. Bond fans will not be disappointed and Jaci is still gushing about Daniel Craig without a shirt on. She says, and I quote "(she couldn't actually speak because of the mouth full of drool)"

There's my opinion.

Be well all.

Lest We Forget

In the 11th month, on the 11th day, at the 11th hour, 1918, the guns fell silent. Each year we remember, and honour, those that have served and are serving still.

I have been inspired to blog this day from three primary sources: Natasha who posted about a world famous poem, Sam who wrote a (fast becoming) locally famous poem, and Jen who posted about a veteran she remembered.

Jen's in particular got me to thinking the most because she asked "Who do you remember?" So I'm going to tell you about those I remember most today.

My grandfather, Richard O. Chadwick (my namesake). Served in the Royal Ordinance Corps 1939-1946.

My other grandfather, Harold H. Robinson, served in Royal Artillery and Military Police thoughout Europe and North Africa 1939-1945.

My uncle, William Daugherty, served 26 years in the United States Marine Corps. Retiring in the 1980's healthy in mind and body.

My uncle Douglas Berry, served in the Royal Canadian Navy for a time during the cold war. Also left the service healthy in mind and body.

No soldier starts a war, no soldier wants a war. All of the conflicts over the past century have been started by politicians who send their soldiers to enforce a political stance. Yet with few exceptions it is the soldier who faces public opinion.

It makes no difference if you support the reasons soldiers are sent into harms way, we should all always support the men and women who are sent into harms way. These are men and women who decided that they wanted to serve something greater than themselves. These are men and women who believed so strongly in a free way of life that they decided to pick up a rifle and stand a post.

In case of today, we remember those from the first and second world wars in particular. Even though there was a draft to make men fight, most volunteered. These were men who heard their country's call to arms and stepped forward. Their memory is sacred, their sacrifice even more so. Even those that didn't believe in fighting signed up because when the weak are being exterminated, someone has to stand up and stop it. Even pacifists signed up. Many front line medics were pacifists because medics are not required to carry firearms.

What does the bible say on the topic? I don't know, but it is interesting to note that one of the few Hamiltonians awarded the Victoria Cross (the highest award for bravery) in World War II was an army chaplain in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry; LCol John Weir Foote, VC, CD. The armoury on James St. N. is named for him.

While I personally would never support war, I will always support and honour the men an women of the Armed Forces. I will leave you with th following thoughts that I first came across in my days as an army cadet. The author is unknown.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who gives us freedom of speech;
It is the soldier, not the politician, who gives us freedom of assembly;
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press;
It is the soldier, not the clergy, who gives us freedom of religion.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag who allows the citizen to burn that flag in protest.

Never forget.

Be well all.

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

Leadership.

Simplistically defined as "The art of influencing human behavior in such a way as to accomplish a task in the manner desired by the leader." Such a simple definition that teenagers have no difficulty with understanding or practicing it (when they put their mind to it).

In my reasonably short life I have been actively involved with leadership for about twenty years now. I have lead and been led, been under and in command, and existed at various rungs in different chains of command, often at the same time. Now before anyone asks if I think of myself as a good leader, I will only say that it isn't for me to judge. Usually when someone is in charge, their effectiveness is measured against those that came before, by those that will come after.

Because, or maybe in spite of my experiences, I have looked at leaders at different points in my life and measured them against my own personal yardstick. Leaders in different fields ranging from military to civilian, sports to academic, professional to political. I tend to look at anyone in a leadership role and evaluate my perception of their abilities or lack thereof.

So what's got me all hot and bothered about leadership today? I've been kicking around the idea for the blog for a week or so now; partly because of what's going on in the political arenas; and partly for other reasons.

At the federal level our elected leaders have taken leave from running the country to get into a he said/she said argument over name calling. Incidentally, the subject of the name calling (the "dog" in the dog and pony show) is doing an admirable job of trying to stay focused on the issues. Provincially they are still stuck in the Caledonia quagmire, and locally they are frantically gearing up for a municipal election on November 13th.

Locally in the mayoral race their are only two real candidates. The incumbent Larry DiIanni, and the challenger Fred Eisenberger. You may recall Mayor DiIanni recently plead guilty to taking illegal campaign contributions in the 2003 mayoral race. Yet he still says his integrity is intact. How exactly I don't know because he only plead guilty when it was obvious this issue wasn't going away. What leadership example is that showing? It is not a "pick yourself up when you're down" example I assure you. He did something wrong, denied it, lied about it, and fessed up only as a last resort. I have no respect for the man.

Is Eisenberger perfect? Nope. I do believe he's honest though; and a better leader. As a "for instance". Eisenberger doesn't believe that candidates should take campaign contributions from corporations, even though it is legal. I think Fred makes a good point because it wouldn't look good for an elected official to appear beholden to any group. So he doesn't take donations from corporations. As a consequence he doesn't have nearly the money Di Ianni has, but he is showing a better leadership example.

If you stop and look, there are leaders all around you. Good and bad. From coaches, work supervisors, and union reps to police officers, polititians and a host of others. If they are our leaders, whether we want them there or not, do we have the right to question them? You bet your butt you do. Not only is it your right to question those in leadership but it is also your responsibility.

As a personal example. At work the method for picking vacations has changed since last year and the new method is to say the least contentious. Because it's a union issue I sent an email seeking clarification from the union executive. This prompted a series of emails between myself and the local president on this issue. The local president returned each and every one of my emails promptly (usually the same day) and answered each one of my questions. Nothing was changed but I didn't expect anything to; that wasn't the point. The point was I had a burr in my saddle and wanted more information as well as making my opinion known.

We should never fear asking questions; truly the only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked. We should never fear questioning those in authority be they a Member of Parliament, a religious leader, or even your soccer coach. No leader worth their salt will ever have difficulty explaining their actions or their stance on any issue that comes from their leadership position. The caveat to that being that if the matter is private and has no bearing on the professional, we do not have the right to stick our noses in.

So to sum up. The mantle of leadership is an awesome responsibility; and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. If you can't do it, or even do it effectively, then you shouldn't have it.

Like I said earlier, this has been on my mind lately.

Thanks for stopping by.

Be well all.