According to The James Bond Dossier, we do not want to share dinner nor engage in any sort of conversation with James Bond. Rather, we want to be James Bond. [1]
If so, tonight is surely a night for indulging that fantasy to the fullest. As highlighted on our own Calendar, the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Regional Chamber (“A2Y Chamber”) Year-Ender Gala will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm this evening at The Kensington Hotel. [2-4]
Its theme for 2019 is “James Bond 007.” [5]
Apropos of his MI6 organization and Q-Branch backing, the timing couldn’t be more spot-on. Teaser for first full length trailer dropped this past Sunday, followed by the promised promotion itself just yesterday. [6,7]
“James Bond” is also a brand replete with local connections. Eight years ago, Lewis Jewelers of Ann Arbor provided one of the real-world watches worn by author Jeffery Deaver for the character for his 2011 Ian Fleming continuation novel Carte Blanche. Four wristwatches from their store are currently on display in two separate ongoing exhibit centers in the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia Pennsylvania. [7-11]
Materials for pre-production of 2015 “James Bond Wore the Quartz Revolution” gallery in the Pennsylvania museum were sourced from Junga’s ACE Hardware in Eastgate Saline. [12,13]
It’s an association that clearly resonates with area A2Y Chamber membership as well — with two dozen sponsors having stepped up to provide attendees with a free experience slated to include live entertainment, hors d’oeuvers, beverages, and networking.
At the same time, the spirit of Giving Tuesday will continue here as well. In this case, as in past years, Chamber staff will greet people as they arrive with a place to drop off donations of non-perishable food items for donation to Food Gatherers and EMU Swoop’s Pantry. [14-17]
As Kingsley Amis further observed in The James Bond Dossier, “Clothes probably don’t make the man, but they can tell us a lot about him ….
So our fantasist can say to himself whatever he feels like it and without any special preparation: Under this fiendishly clever bank-clerk (etc.) disguise lurks intrepid ruthless 00999 ….
Any fantasy in which the subject is saying, in effect, I am not as other men are is obviously very powerful ….
As the new No Time to Die trailer makes clear, however, those words now must be equally applied to women — as Daniel Craig’s James Bond himself serves to emphasize when he encountered a Double-O now two years into her job. [18]
Look for this to be channed tonight at the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Regional Chamber Year-End Gala as well.
References
- The James Bond Dossier, Kingsley Amis (1965) The New American Library of World Literature.
- “A2Y Chamber Year-Ender Gala” Dell Deaton (December 5, 2019) Saline Journal.
- A2Y: Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Regional Chamber (home page).
- The Kensington Hotel (home page).
- 007 (home page).
- “No Time to Die Teaser” James Bond 007 (December 1, 2019) YouTube.
- “No Time to Die Trailer UK” James Bond 007 (December 4, 2019) YouTube.
- “There Are Local Connections to James Bond and Historic Watches” Janet Deaton (November 13, 2017) Saline Journal.
- “One of the original James Bond watches displayed in Ann Arbor” Dell Deaton (December 3, 2011) The Ann Arbor News.
- “James Bond Wore the Quartz Revolution (exhibit)” Dell Deaton (June 1, 2015) Vimeo.
- “Breitling for Bentley James Bond Chronograph / Carte Blanche 2011” Dell Deaton (December 10, 2013) Vimeo.
- “James Bond watches 2015 exhibit teaser video” Dell Deaton (April 4, 2015) Vimeo.
- “Internet Predicts Death of Brick-and-Mortar; Junga’s ACE Hardware Building New Store” Dell Deaton (May 8, 2019) Saline Journal.
- “‘Giving Tuesday’ 2019 is your chance to help less fortunate in Saline get their family coffers into the black, too – twice over” Dell Deaton (November 29, 2019) Saline Journal.
- Food Gatherers (home page).
- EMU: Swoop’s Food Pantry (home page).
- “Deadline: ‘Rockin’ for the Hungry’” (December 8, 2019) Saline Journal.
- “Daniel Craig” IMDb.
- “No Time To Die: First trailer for new James Bond film debuts” Steven McIntosh (December 4, 2019) BBC News.
