We continue with the video exploration of Asia, as well as my often cantankerous narrative. As we proceed, let’s talk a little bit about the splash screen above. It’s from the wonder 1960’s movie “Our man Flint”, which is a sort of parody of 007 James Bond movies.
Our Man Flint is a 1966 American action film that parodies the James Bond genre. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, and starring James Coburn as master spy Derek Flint. The main premise of the film is that a trio of "mad scientists" attempt to blackmail the world with a weather-control machine. -Wikipedia.
James Coburn stars as super-spy Derek Flint in this action comedy which takes the tongue-in-cheek wit of the James Bond series and shifts it into high gear.
Flint is an ultra-sophisticated operative of international intelligence agency Z.O.W.I.E.
He’s a master of martial arts, electronic gadgetry (his cigarette lighter can perform 83 special functions), languages both human and animal (he can communicate with dolphins in a pinch), and even gives ballet lessons to the dancers of the Bolshoi.
So when his fellow agents begin dropping like flies, Z.O.W.I.E. assigns Flint the task of finding out who the killers happen to be.
One of the things that I, and many others, enjoyed is the bevy of attractive women that secret agents always seemed to have surrounding them. It comes with the territory… that is, as long as you know your real purpose… heh heh.
Flint is the sort of fellow who meditates by suspending his life functions for a three hours, fills his spare time by compiling a dictionary of dolphin language or teaching ballet in Russia, and lives in a chic, gagdet-filled penthouse with four varied glamorous girlfriends.
It doesn’t pretend to be a serious thriller, though Coburn – the man who made silver hair and roll-neck pullovers into icons of cool – has some Bruce Lee-tought martial arts moves in acrobatic fight scenes which require him to toss stuntmen around the room.
By the time of the third James Bond film, 1964's Goldfinger, the spy craze had exploded across pop culture, spattering the walls with poison blow-dart ink pens and steely-eyed, ultra-virile heroes. Perhaps the Cold War fantasy adventures of "real men" ruggedly vanquishing godless Commies and other evil empires, all while bedding improbably beautiful women, were a meat-eating guy's antacid against the discomforting reflux from real global tensions — not to mention home-grown indigestion embodied by the Beatles, antiwar protests, and the Women's Movement. Plus, utilizing the Cold War for entertainment sure simplified things for moviegoers and TV-watchers. Head-throbbingly complex geopolitical currents were reduced to sprightly three-act suspense dramas that could be wrapped up within two hours. Guns, gadgets, and girls were the primary colors of the comic-book spy universe. Certainly there were serious-minded Bond imitators, such as the Harry Palmer series starring Michael Caine. But someone was bound to play the genre for laughs, and in short order the Bond spoofs outnumbered the Bond movies themselves. In fact, the film version of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale, hit the screen in '67 as a clowned-up comedy. Cocktail crooner Dean Martin starred in four mixed efforts featuring soused secret agent Matt Helm. Then as now, a Hollywood trend didn't end until it was well past tired, and titles such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, both starring Vincent Price and his army of lethal fembots, made sure that we all tired quite thoroughly. The best of the spy-spoof bunch was 1965's Our Man Flint, a hyper-kitschy and entertaining time capsule starring James Coburn as a Bond surrogate played so straight you could shave with him. This tongue-way-in-cheek action comedy garnered favorable reviews and became Fox's third highest grossing film of the year. Coburn — terrific with this dry, crackling material — is Derek Flint, ultra-secret agent aiding Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage). Our Man Flint made a shrewd move by sticking to the Bond template. The brilliant and resourceful Flint works alone, follows each clue to the next level, employs superhuman physical and mental prowess, beds gorgeous gals, gets captured, and prevents World Domination in an orgy of destruction at the evildoers' secret volcano island. However, instead of being a bozo-nosed vaudeville like the Austin Powers movies, Our Man Flint out-Bonds the Bond films by respectfully retooling the familiar Bond elements and then turning the knob to 11. -DVD Journal
The plot is the usual hokum and Edward Mulhare isn’t really eccentric enough to compete in the villainy stakes, but Coburn is plainly enjoying himself so much, and the trimmings are so stylish, that it’s impossible not to enjoy.
Jerry Goldsmith provides a jaunty, hummable score. Coburn and Cobb returned, in similarly lightweight style, in a sequel, In Like Flint, which took the super-agent into outer space a decade before Roger Moore got there in Moonraker. The character later reappeared, played by Ray Danton, in Dead on Target, a 1976 TV pilot that didn’t go anywhere.
This movie is a classic of the spy-genre, in its all-out parody glory.
Age has only added a new sheen of humor, as we guffaw at the retro aura such as the kung-fu grips, the 1960’s womanizing, go-go dancing, and ridiculous faux-buddhist upper-class chicness.
Our hero, having just returned from teaching ballet at Moscow's Bolshoi, is called into service. Z.O.W.I.E. agents have been killed while seeking the mysterious masterminds behind G.A.L.A.X.Y, an organization controlling the world's weather and holding humanity hostage to a plan for a scientifically regimented (and otherwise wonderfully beneficial) new world order.
While enforcing The American Way, Flint performs impromptu surgery, stops his heart for prolonged periods, repeatedly annoys his flustered boss (Lee J. Cobb) with his undisciplined ways, invents a Zippo lighter with 82 functions ("83 if you want to light a cigar"), traces a poison through a bouillabaisse recipe served in only one spot on Earth, jump-starts a man's heart via a light bulb socket, wisecracks with British Agent "Triple-O Eight," judo-chops gangs of bad guys, avoids disintegration in an electrofragmentizer, and finds his four live-in lovelies ensnared within G.A.L.A.X.Y's Dr. Evil-like H.Q.
Supported by Jerry Goldmsith's way groovy musical score, Flint does it all while keeping his tux spotless, his demeanor cool, and his women satisfied.
Comparisons between Flint's pastiche heroics and the Austin Powers series are obvious. However, Our Man Flint and its sequel, In Like Flint, are exaggerated burlesques of their own time and the pop superspy tropes that flourished then. Therefore, we can more accurately compare the Flint flicks with Scream or Not Another Teen Movie, two sendups of contemporary conventions and clichés that had grown so familiar to audiences that laughter was the only response left.
-DVD Journal
Our Man Flint is an essential entry in the genre of parody, and actually manages to stand on its own without knowledge of what it is trying to parody in a way that the more recent (and less sophisticated) Austin Powers has managed to do.
Yet where Austin Powers is slapstick hilarity, Our Man Flint is buffoonishly mock-serious…. a parody style that fits the spy-film genre far more comfortably and more satisfyingly… and has aged remarkably well for a highly topical parody.
And guys, you may want to think twice about watching Our Man Flint with a wife or girlfriend. As part of their broad comedic approach, both Flint films unashamedly parade coprolitic sexual attitudes that would make even Mr. Powers wince. By their nature, '60s spy movies bared a phallocentric revolt against the era's "sexual revolution." Our Man Flint is giddy and harmless while still being sexist in ways that no one could get away with today. Flint's sybaritic lifestyle includes a Manhattan penthouse staffed by a quartet of pliant babes who, it's clear, exist to provide him with anything he desires. The sexy villainess (Gila Golan, Miss Israel 1961) likewise falls into his arms and bedsheets within minutes. The film's final third is an adolescent male Disneyland of bikini-clad centerfold models brainwashed to be smiling, willing "pleasure units" who "offer their bodies for the good of G.A.L.A.X.Y." Although played for good clean "Yeah, baby!" fun, the scenes of Joe Blow henchmen queuing up to enjoy the "units" like Happy Meals might even leave a few Maxim readers squirming. (Another raise of an eyebrow is occasioned when, as the space age lair self-destructs, we watch Flint and company cheer while hundreds of uncondemned people, including a crowd-scene's worth of those "pleasure units" we just saw, are blown to smithereens.) -DVD Journal
This is a great movie.
It takes you back to a time when it was fine to talk about sex, and sexual situations without offending anyone. As such, it is a precious look at a world that the United States has lost and may never recover again. I would suggest the reader go ahead and watch this movie. Watch it before it is either banned, or the person who views the movie get penalized by the up-and-coming social-scoring methodology.
Anyways, back to Asia…
Sword Dance Exercise – China
It’s perhaps a cultural thing, but the first time that I visited Asia, I went to Hong Kong. There, at the wee hours of 5 am (jet lag, don’t you know) I saw the early risers get up and do their daily morning exercises.
Some would exercise doing Tai Ji, others would do the group dances, and others would do various forms of martial arts. The most popular is a kind of Kung Fu with fans (the “fan dance”) and others using swords. Here’s a cute video of a girl who is obviously a master of this kind of exercise / kung fu / dance. Taken in mainland China…
Cambodian Singer
I came across this gal singing her heart out in this music video. It think it’s well done, but might sound a little strange to our western ears. I love how she is putting all her emotion and passion into the music and song. I also love the simplicity of it. You don’t have a lot of bling, and complex African-American rhythms with huge assed girls wagging their asses all over the place.
I think that this gal is from Cambodia, but she could as well be from Laos or Thailand. I do think that she is great and she is certainly worth a listen.
No it’s NOT easy.
I commented on an essay that I found on LinkedIN the other day. In it, Fionn Wright wrote his comments on a statement by one of Donald Trumps’ advisors. Who said…
“The Chinese economy is crumbling. It's just not the powerhouse it was 20 years ago." - White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow August 2019.
This is a pretty drastic comment. “Crumbling”? WTF. Ain’t nothing “crumbling” don’t you know.
So, Fionn Wright wrote…
What a simple Google search tells us: Chinese Economy: 1999 GDP: 1.09 trillion (nominal) Figure for 2019: 14.2 trillion (nominal) That’s 13X 1999 GDP per capita: $3,800 (PPP) 2019 GDP per capita: $19,520 (PPP) More than 5X The #ChineseEconomy has also surpassed the US in terms of PPP and is #1 in the world Larry Kudlow is the “Economic” Advisor to the #WhiteHouse So I have to assume that he knows this If he is referring to the #GDP growth slowdown, it’s still 3X the US That would lead me to the conclusion that he is consciously misleading people The main problem here is not that he’s lying (or really incompetent) It’s that a lot of Americans will actually believe these kinds of “absurd” statements as Ian Bremmer puts it (People in Britain do too - welcome to #Brexit) Business Insider, CNBC, MSN and a host of other media sources publish this as if what he is saying makes sense. If this isn’t #FakeNews I don’t know what is? 🤷♂️
And, you know what? He’s right. Compare the numbers.
So I wrote…
The propaganda is flowing hard and fast. Do not think that the recent upsurge in HK protests is organic. Trump is involved in full-scale passive-aggressive economic warfare. But, you know what, the Chinese are the toughest on the planet. I hope that things ratchet down a peg or two.
All in all, pretty benign.
I just agreed with him, and argued that there are forces bigger than us that are taking place. Donald Trump is fighting this war on behalf of the American people, and China is striking back. Both are formidable forces, and I hope that it gets resolved soon.
To which case, this Mr. Caspar Smeets (A pro-Gay Activist, who works as a design director) responded to me most aggressively…
Could you not promote the Chinese Dream in its own right without your political rants and America-bashing; on LinkedIn out if all platforms? You tell us zero news, sound so childish, unnecessary, uninspiring, and boring for someone claiming to help people achieve their Chinese dream, which incidentally is of course based on an American concept. Go play on Twitter or something where you can start your own private trade war.
Pretty uncalled for. But that’s a Jack-Ass for you.
He’s from the UK and living in Oman. He knows nothing about China, never been to China, and comes at me out of the blue with this kind of response.
I’ll tell you what, it’s disheartening. For me, as the target of such shit, it hurts. It’s sort of along the lines of this…
Well, then out of the blue, a fellow comes to my defense. He writes…
Caspar, got out of bed the wrong side this morning?
The conversation continues. With sparing banter back and forth from the antagonist, who eventually admits to why he was so nasty responding to my rather bland opinion. He says…
Don't get me started on happy go lucky western people getting all smart about a totalitarian, repressive, rascist dictatorship over the back of America.
- Totalitarian, I can understand. There is one party. The traditional party. If you want anything other than conservative, traditional China, you will suffer.
- Repressive, it depends on who is being repressed. I’m not gay, transgender, I’m not a SJW trying to force other people to do things such as banning straws, or turning playgrounds into “safe spaces”. I’ve been living here heading towards two decades. So far, I’ve never been repressed.
- Racist? China has over 65 minorities, and invites everyone into the nation (provided they have something to contribute). They have enormous public work projects all over the world and are almost single-handedly building up a middle-class in Africa.
This Jack-Ass doesn’t even realize that I am a conservative, American-expat, Trump follower who lives in China. That I wish peace between both nations. That I recognize that both sides have valid arguments and are engaged into a trade war that I hope, will soon be resolved.
He just shows just how off-the-wall insane these progressive democrat Marxists are. They really, really are just like those NPC meme’s you see on the internet.
At which point, my rescuer replies…
Well, at least we're all in agreement about the US being a totalitarian, repressive, racist dictatorship. That's something we can build on.
Ugh!
Moving away from the nonsense…
In case you are all wondering, I dropped out of this nonsense a long time ago. Every nation has it’s strengths and weaknesses.
- America = Oligarchy. With citizens treated as serfs for profit. Maintains the appearance of a Democracy (Modified Republic into a Democracy) with zero accountability. The Oligarchy control the mobs by offering social re-engineering efforts via propaganda outlets.
- China = Single party, traditional conservative Chinese.
Which is better?
It depends on who you are and your role within the stratified communities that make up those two nations. Different people have different situations and thus would have different points of view on this.
Certainly if you are wealthy, America is best for you. There are two sets of laws, rules, public discourse, and juridical systems that favor you. They favor you to a point that the government will pay you at tax-time rather than you owing money to them. They favor you to a point that you can commit treason, sell of American assets, get people killed, and break just about every law in the book including the systematic rape of children, and be allowed a pass.
Also, if you are dirt poor, illiterate, lazy, slothful or have addictions, America is also better. As you will be taken cared for and given special treatment than the rest of society. Thus people with mental illnesses, the gender confused, and those misfits that are not trying to fit within society will be cared for with “special” treatment.
However, if you are a working “stiff”, middle class, with ambitions to move up the social ladder, then most certainly China will offer you more opportunities, take less of your money, and provide a much healthier place for you to raise your family within.
That’s just the way it is today.
The United States, being an oligarchy, is perfect for the massively wealthy, or the incredibly poor. The nation has systems in place for people within those two spheres of influence to prosper within.
China however, provides advantages for the vast bulk of the citizenry, say 80 – 90%, though it is an environment where the poorest and the wealthiest may find disadvantage.
Looking at the nations as automobiles
Here’s a fun exercise for those of you who don’t like to read charts, tables and look at numbers. Think of each nation as a car. That’s it, think of each nation as a wonderful car.
Now, the United States started off with the most pure and perfect automobile design ever conceived in the history of the world. God created man. Men creates governments. The governments serve man so that they may serve God.
Wonderful. Pure and simple.
So this is America as it was designed and forged back in 1776…
But, you know, times change. People want to make “improvements” and game the system for their own benefit. You know, like ignoring the tenth Amendment, setting up “free Speech restriction zones”, and of course going “Red Flag” on gun laws. Sort of like this post…
Anyways, all these changes has resulted in America looking quite different from it’s original intent. Indeed, today America looks something like this…
Of course, other nations would look quite different.
China, where I live, would be more direct, traditional, conservative and functional. It’s rather harsh on the rules and doesn’t throw money away on trivialities. So, for China, it might look something like this…
To better understand the point that I am trying to make, you can check out this link below (it opens up in a separate tab)…
Sex Doll Technology is really advancing…
In China there are two industries that you (the reader) should keep your eyes on. One is the robotic industry, and the other is the sex-doll industry. Both industries concentrate on specific features, function and utility. However, both like to use human appearing body structures.
As both industries lie within close proximity of each other geographically, I can well anticipate cross-over technology advancements within the next five years. Just like how China took the personal drone industry from zero to the powerhouse it is today.
El paso shooting survivor’s mother left her gun home the day of the mass shooting by a radical progressive Bernie Sanders follower…
OMG! I just read this today. Check it out…
“Christopher Grant said he recognized the sound of gunshots, “So I ran toward my mother to try to shield her and I’m like, mom — cause my mom, she’s a gun-wielding grandma. She carries a snub nose Smith & Wesson, .38 special with a built-in scope in it, everywhere she goes,” but she did not have it on her.
“An hour before we went to Walmart, she decides, ‘We’re just going to Walmart, I’m going to put it in my room.’ So when I went to her, no gun. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, you got to be kidding me.’”
Grant ran off and saw the shooter in the Walmart parking lot and started to throw bottles at him to distract him. The shooter then started to fire his rifle at him, hitting Grant.”
Not the best way to make money…
The police broke up this counterfeiting ring. Here’s a video of their operation. I found it interesting.
OK, let’s move on…
I have many more videos, but I just cannot put them into a single post. It will bog down your computer terribly. So to watch the rest of the videos in this post, please continue…
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
Here are some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader, might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.
China and America Comparisons
As an American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Who doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in China.
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and enjoyment.
Parks in China
The parks in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events, while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
What is China like?
The purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world, outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank you.
And while America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources, and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
Summer in Asia
Let’s take a moment to explore Asia. That includes China, but also includes such places as Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and others…
Articles & Links
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The video of the girl singing here, you wrote maybe cambodian or lao or thai, is actually singing Esarn language. It is the language they speak in the north-east of Thailand. It is more Lao than Thai and my favourite to listen to, it is very emotive and expressive of the difficulties they face. Esarn was part of Cambodia that was exchanged in a deal between the French and Brittish colonials, Brittain gained a part of southern Thai territory which was incorporated into Malaya. Thailand gained Esarn and the French got part of western Cambodia.Overall I think the Thai got a very good outcome, Esarn was sparsely populated and the Thais populated it with migrants from southern Lao. My favourite place in Thailand purely because of their way of speaking and singing and dancing, and pretty girls of course.
Thank you for this. Very interesting and informative.
The video in question brought a tear to my eye, so beautiful, do you have the complete video ? I have one for you of a young Esarn girl singing a heart -rending piece.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhE55C5x_g )
I am sorry that I do not have the full video. But the name of the song, and where it cam from is flashed about half way through the video on the center-left side. It is in a language script that I cannot read, nor understand. Maybe that can point you in the right direction. But, aside from that, wasn’t she great? What a heart rendering song. My goodness!
Yes thank you, and I did see the info on-screen of the video but alas I may be able to speak and understand Thai, Lao, Cambodian languages to varying degrees, I never learn’t their written forms, as a lot of these peoples themselves can’t either. Neither am I on any social media platforms, never mind It was just on the off-chance.