No Time to Die, the hotly-anticipated 25th James Bond film and Daniel Craig’s last stint as the famous fictional spy, is truly an end of an era.
Craig is officially the longest-serving Bond, having filled 007’s shoes for 15 years, and was also probably the most unique Bond, too. Craig’s Bond wasn’t a skeevy womaniser or decadent bon vivant: he was a tortured, brooding, intense killer, with an icy-cold wit and no time for nonsense. It was a different, more mature take on Bond that stands worlds apart from previous characterisations.
With Craig now bowing out, there’s been a huge amount of speculation as to who will fill his shoes and what they’ll bring to the role. While some actors like Tom Holland and Idris Elba have been rumoured to be taking the helm, some actresses have, too. Lashana Lynch, who played Nomi – the MI6 agent who inherited Bond’s 007 designation after his retirement at the end of Spectre – might very well be the next Bond. I mean, she kind of already is.
Many fans have fiercely rejected the proposition of a female Bond – but if they didn’t like that idea, they’ll really dislike the latest revelation about the next James Bond.
Barbara Broccoli, the daughter of Albert R. Broccoli and both the producer and rights holder for all the modern James Bond films, revealed during a podcast interview that she’d be open to the idea of James Bond becoming non-binary, with the only proviso being “we just have to find the right actor.”
We break down the odds on who’s likely to be the next Bond below.
This has incensed some fans, with some particularly choice comments shared on TMZ: “yeah, so completely destroy what the character has embodied for almost 70 years, sure”, “get woke, go broke”, and perhaps most pointedly, “create a different franchise – and leave this alone.”
And that’s sort of the heart of the matter, isn’t it? Rather than trying to ‘rehabilitate’ the image of such a historied and well-loved character, surely it would just be better to come up with a different character who’s non-binary, or female, or queer… From the get-go.
It’s something the comic book industry has experimented (and struggled) with, for example. Marvel Comics, over the last two decades, has launched a wide variety of titles that have seen diverse figures take up the mantle of various famous superheroes, such as a black, female Iron Man and a Muslim Ms Marvel.
While some titles with fresh, diverse takes on heroes have been very successful – take Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino teen who’s the new Spider-Man – many have been quite unsuccessful, and have attracted criticism from fans. This EW article gives you a bit of a taste of the debate.
The core argument is that introducing diversity means nothing without good writing – and indeed, it’s better to just write existing characters better rather than try and change an essential aspect of their character.
Bond’s gadget-master Q (Ben Whishaw) is revealed to be queer in No Time to Die, a subtle and clever way to modernise the character that doesn’t mess with his essential attributes. Image: MGM
Now, is this all much ado about nothing? Broccoli has previously voiced her opinion that Bond should always remain male: that as long as Bond is British and has XY chromosomes, everything else is open to discussion. It seems her comment about a non-binary Bond was designed to spark debate and court coverage, and well, it’s worked.
We’d say this endless speculation and ugly culture wars over James Bond are more damaging to the character and the films than the actual movies. Making Bond non-binary is one thing, but dangling that worm just to get Twitter fingers flying doesn’t do anyone any favours.
Both writers and fans need to come to some sort of consensus as to what is truly essential about Bond’s character. Male and British seem like two core prerequisites. He ought to have a naval background. More importantly, he needs to dress well and have exceptional taste. But his ethnicity, age, upbringing and sexual preferences? Are they really that important?
Or do we do away with Bond entirely? Is he a relic of a less enlightened age? We don’t think so. As Daniel Craig was able to show, Bond can be more than just an outdated stereotype of masculinity, and he’s a character that still has plenty of stories in him.
We don’t really care who James Bond is – as long as the films remain fun, high-budget and well-written. That’s what’s most crucial.
The supply of total Bitcoins in circulation is capped at 21 million, and we have now hit 18.8999 million Bitcoin currently circulating on the network, as of Monday morning, according to Blockchain.com. This is 90% of all Bitcoins.
The very first Bitcoins were mined on January the 9th, 2009. That means it has taken twelve years for Bitcoin miners to hit the 90% mark.
According to Coindesk, despite there now only being 10% left, “the remaining supply [of Bitcoin] is not expected to be mined until February 2140, based on network activity estimates and Bitcoin’s halving schedules.”
Yahoo Finance reports that Bitcoin was being traded for less than $0.10 when 10% of the supply was mined in early 2010, and traded for $7.50 when 50% of the supply was mined in December 2012.
Total Circulating Bitcoin over the past 12 months. Image via Blockchain Explorer
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $46,923.40 ($65,782.1 AUD), having declined substantially from its peak of $69,000 ($96731.44 AUD) earlier this year.
As the world’s first and most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has led blockchain technology revolution since the beginning. Bitcoin blazed a trail when it initially broke into popular consciousness in 2017, and in the years following it consequently afforded all other cryptocurrencies the possibility of succeeding in its wake.
Bitcoin relies on miners who, Coindesk explains, “continually process transactions and validate blocks in a process broadly referred to as mining. Such participants provide their computing resources and hardware to solve millions of complex calculations on the Bitcoin network each second, receiving Bitcoin as rewards.”
Image Credit: Dado Ruvic, Reuters
According to Coindesk, “Miners currently receive 6.25 Bitcoin for each block they mine, which would drop to 3.125 bitcoin after the next halving in 2024.”
It’s also worth noting that not every Bitcoin will be available on the open market, even when the remaining supply has been completely mined.
According to Decrypt, 3.7 million Bitcoin are probably gone forever, due to Bitcoin sometimes being lost, burned, or just plain forgotten by its owners.
Decrypt also reports that Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto “may have mined around 1.1 million BTC in the first few months of its existence,” writing that “since then, it appears that Satoshi hasn’t touched his stash, indicating he, or she (they? it?), cannot or will not move these coins into the circulating supply.”
Bitcoin is down 6,36% today and down 25% over the last month. Bullish investors are still pointing out there is typically always a slump after an all-time high, while bearish investors are taking a step back, after individuals like big wig investor Louis Navellier have recently warned that things like Federal Reserve tapering could see Bitcoin fall to $10,000 USD per Bitcoin, a stinging decline of 80% from its all-time high set last month of almost $70,000 USD.
When Ford announced back in 2020 that they were reviving the storied Bronco name with a brand-new, super-tough 4×4, Australian motoring fans were ecstatic. Aussies love off-roading, so the prospect of a cool new ‘Jeep killer’ entering the market – especially one with such a high level of customisation and serious capabilities out of the box –was a tantalising one.
Sadly, Ford Australia has since revealed that they won’t be bringing the car Down Under – consigning the Bronco to be yet another cool Ford, like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles, that Aussies are set to miss out on.
Never fear, however: one enterprising firm has stepped up to the plate, and is importing and right-hand-drive converting Broncos themselves, to help fellow Aussies get their Bucking Horse fix… Although there’s a catch.
Melbourne’s Crossover Car Conversions, which has been converting LHD US-made vehicles for the Aussie market for years, have recently opened up their waiting list for new Broncos. CCC has already imported at least one Bronco, with the
Melbourne Car Spotters Instagram page sharing a photo of an orange Bronco Wildtrak parked at the Westfield Southland shopping centre in Cheltenham earlier this week.
So what’s the catch? Well, they won’t be cheap. Depending on the trim level, you’re probably looking at anywhere between AU$90,000 and $150,000 for a Bronco. The import duties and cost of converting the cars to right-hand drive take their toll… As do the price shenanigans US Ford dealers play.
“The problem you have with America is the prices are overinflated by the dealers so you can’t buy them cheap, so they end up being so expensive just like a Shelby is right now… The price [demanded by dealers] will always be $10,000 to $15,000 over, maybe even $20,000 over the MSRP because of the demand over there,” CCC owner Craig Dean tells Chasing Cars.
The Bronco’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imported US domestic market vehicles are becoming increasingly common on Australian roads, with a number of firms around the country specialising in the whole import/RHD conversion shebang having popped up in recent years.
Ford Broncos aren’t the only American off-roaders being brought Down Under. Check out this right-hand-drive converted Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ. Image: Practical Motoring
Popular candidates for importation/conversion include sports cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, as well as full-sized pickup trucks like the Ford F-Series and GMC Sierra, which are prized by locals for their towing capacity and imposing on-road presence.
As for Ford Australia, they’re probably not that fussed by third parties wanting to bring Broncos to Australia. The Ford Ranger ute and Everest SUV, both of which were designed and tested in Australia and have formidable off-road capabilities, are still best-sellers.
Ironically, the new Bronco actually shares the same T6 chassis as the Everest and Ranger… So unless you really want a soft-top, you’re probably better off saving your money and buying a Ranger. But that’s just, like, our opinion, man.
Sydney plays second fiddle to Melbourne when it comes to nightlife, comedy, laneways and livability.
But it has just claimed a shock victory over Melbourne, with two Sydney bars featuring in the recently released world’s best bars for 2021 rankings, and zero Melbourne bars making the cut.
The Rocks cocktail bar Maybe Sammy slid in at number 22 in the world, while CBD watering hole Cantina Ok! was named the 23rd best bar in the world.
Maybe Sammy is Art Deco, decadent; damn well put together. The three owners (Andrea Gualdi, Martin Hudak, Stefano Catino and Vince Lombardo) hail from a variety of places. This is evident in Maybe Sammy’s style.
According to The World’s 50 Best Bars, Maybe Sammy is reminiscent of: “the great hotel bars of Europe; the swinging sounds of 1960s Las Vegas; bartenders with backgrounds from all over the world; and a very Italian way of hospitality that is nourishing and bold, loud and – most importantly – a lot of fun.”
“Maybe Sammy does all that a grand hotel cocktail bar does, but with more vibrance and whimsy (and without the hotel).”
Cantina Ok! is a little more specialised. It’s a 20-seat cocktail bar (in a garage, in a laneway), which specialises in rare spirits from Mexico. It’s staffed by, as Broadsheet puts it, “three jovial and variously bearded barmen in white aprons” and its “earthy-pink and pine-lined room [is] adorned on almost all sides with bottles of clear spirits, an ornate Nepalese ice-carving machine, a few tubs of homebrew liqueurs and not a single stool or chair.”
Yellow teeth. Colour blindness (at red lights). Infidelity. Verbally berating Americans. Loving cheese and wine. Being arrogant. Loving a dinner party discussion.
There are a lot of offensive stereotypes associated with French people. But what about someone who isn’t French, but who has lived in France?
A TikTok video by travel blogger and “Australian in Paris” @lilidebois recently showed off one habit you tend to pick up if you live the land of Carrefour and Croissants for long enough.
That habit? Eating the end of your baguette before you get home.
“To bite or not to bite? Personally, a whole baguette has never made it home,” Lili captioned her video. Watch Lili’s video (and controversial baguette eating technique) below.
TikTok user @stellacastets agreed, but pointed out a petite error: “Yes! But I’ve never seen someone biting into it directly. We take a piece of it and then eat it.”
Another TikTok user, who seems to be French, wrote: “That’s why buy two baguettes.”
TikTok user @parisianlights, however, called Lili’s baguette eating method “culturally insensitive” and demanded an apology. Though
@parisianlights looks to be trolling, they were far from alone in their outrage.
Many people in the comments section pointed out that you are (apparently) supposed to break the end of the baguette off with your hand, not your teeth. Some even claimed Lili’s light-hearted video almost gave them a heart attack.
Comments beneath Lili’s video on TikTok. Screenshot by DMARGE.
Further comments included: “WHO EATS THE BAGUETTE LIKE THAT OMG NEVER AGAIN,” as well as “Yes but rip it with your hands” and “
What your doing it’s the same feeling an Italian can have when you cut spaghetti.”
Not to be outdone, further TikTok users wrote things like: “DON’T EAT IT LIKE THAT” and “
yeah but you’ll never see a Frenchman eating from the baguette directly, that’s like unholy.”
When you go to sleep at night, you most likely do so in a comfortable bed with quilts, throws and an ungodly number of pillows. But, is this the way we should be sleeping or simply a case of us all conforming to what society has projected upon us?
According to muscle mountain and proponent of the ancestral lifestyle, Liver King, we should be sleeping on the floor. Or at least, as close down to the floor as possible. In the comments of one of his recent Instagram videos, one user asked, “Can you tell us your sleeping regime and do you sleep on a mattress? Having some issues getting the 8 hours.”
Liver King responded with a list of suggestions as to how the user could improve his sleep quality, all of which relate back to the teachings of the ancestral lifestyle.
“What are you missing from this list?” he begins, “Get morning sun exposure (at the same time every day) to regulate sleep/wake cycles.”
“Finish your last meal at least 3 to 4 hours before bed. Earthing…plant your bare feet directly on the earth. Make your sleep temperature between 64 and 68 [Fahrenheit]. Use blackout blinds….room needs to be pitch black. No battery lights, no night lights, nothing!”
“Use Himalayan salt lamps at sunset instead of regular lighting. Wear UVEX safety goggles at least 2 – 3 hours before going to bed. Shut your mouth… breathe through your nose (use mouth tape if you need to train this habit). Take my sleep concoction 30 minutes before bed…400MG of magnesium threonate, 2g Redmond sea salt and 6g Glycine.”
And, finally, “Last but not least, sleep on the floor like our tribe does.”
This is chump change compared to a more recent post, however, where Liver King purges himself of the evils of modern bedding by blowing up a bed with a tank. Yes, you heard that right.
“Making your bed everyday will change your life,” he captioned the video. “If you want to truly transform your life, you can do far better, primals!”
“Destroy it! Sure… you don’t have to go all out like Liver King… I’ll do almost anything to make a good point!”
“The point is this: step out of the chemical ladened man-made cast (your bed). And find a spot on the ground… just like the biologically-robust caveman!”
“Our early ancestors triumphed because they avoided danger. So avoid hormone-disrupting chemicals and off-gassing flame retardants found in modern-day beds.”
“Take massive action… take it to the ground Liver King style and only use 100% native materials like cotton and wool. Recover, rebuild, restore!”
In a comment beneath the video, Liver King shared more information about how, exactly, he sleeps, and what he recommends.
“The Liver King tribe (wife and boys) use a thin 100% wool pad. This is to simulate the local plants that our early ancestors would have used to build their beds because it sure as hell ain’t ancestral to sleep directly on hard ass wood or tile, or even off-gassing carpet.”
“Titrate your way down from 12 inches of blankets to 10 inches of blankets over the course of a week. Then you can titrate down further from 10 inches of blankets to 8 inches over the next week, and so on until you find the perfect amount of padding for you. For Liver King and tribe, we like 2 to 4 inches.”
“Don’t forget to replace your petrochemical polyester sheets with 100% native organic cotton and wool. Trust Liver King… you can’t afford not to.”
Many of Liver King’s suggestions we’ve discussed before. The importance of regulating your circadian rhythm (your body’s 24-hour biological clock), for example, whereby you go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time the following morning, is one of them.
We’ve also looked into the importance of breathing through your nose and your nose only when sleeping, with mouth taping proving to be a common method to help instil it.
As for sleeping on the floor, however, you may be thinking that’s a step too far. After all, how could you possibly give up the safe space of your bed and substitute it for some hard ground?
If you need some inspiration, check out the Instagram of the man himself giving a tour of his house, revealing his bedroom setup and showing what his unconventional bed set up looks like.
Check out Liver King’s bedroom in the video below
Although, admittedly, they’re not exactly Californian king-size four-poster beds. Instead, they are much lower to the ground than your average sanctuary of sheets.
Liver King explains, “First thing that you’ll notice is that our beds are on the floor. They’re really just built on top of some wooden boxes, just enough room to let the ventilation flow underneath, so that being in Houston, with high humidity, you don’t get any mould or nasty things like that.”
He could be implying that were he to not live in such a humid climate, he would actually place his mattress directly on the ground.
He also uses sheets and quilts (perhaps he doesn’t live a completely ancestral lifestyle), but he emphasises the importance of choosing the right fabrics and materials.
“Everything is 100% pure organic cotton. If you’re gonna wrap yourself in something when you’re sleeping, when you want to get deep sleep and where you can recover and restore, you want it to be as pure as can possibly be.”
He goes on to explain that his walls, ceiling and floor are all grounded and shielded to block out radio waves and cellphone reception.
It’s worth pointing out Liver King is a jacked dude on the internet, not a health expert. So with this in mind we got in contact with a sleep coach and Australia’s number one sleep expert, Olivia Arezzolo, to find out how good (or bad) sleeping on the floor really is for your health.
Olivia admits that there can be benefits to sleeping on the floor, particularly for those who experience any discomfort when sleeping on a mattress, “Some may find it more comfortable, especially for those with back pain – often poor posture from unsupportive mattresses can exacerbate back pain and sleeping issues.”
“However, this isn’t always the case – some may find it more uncomfortable. It is also helpful for those who overheat, as heat rises – especially in lieu of air conditioning.”
Indeed, Healthline adds weight to Olivia’s comments relating to the fact there isn’t any real scientific evidence to suggest if sleeping on the floor is actually better for you. The only evidence comes from personal accounts, with some saying sleeping on the floor has improved their sleep quality.
“There’s some merit to the idea [that sleeping on the floor provides relief from back pain]. A soft mattress doesn’t have a lot of support. It lets your body sink down, causing your spine to curve. This can lead to back pain.”
“In fact, if your mattress is too soft, Harvard Medical School recommends placing plywood under your mattress. The institution also suggests putting your mattress on the floor.”
However, it’s not to say sleeping on a firmer surface, such as the floor, really is going to provide greater benefits. Healthline goes on to cite a 2003 study published in The Lancet which “found that firmer surfaces were associated with fewer benefits.”
The study used a participant group of 313 adults with “chronic non-specific low back pain” and were assigned to sleep on either a medium-firm or firm mattress for 90 days.
“The group that slept on the medium-firm mattresses reported less back pain compared to the group that slept on firm mattresses. This included pain in bed and during the day.”
Olivia ultimately suggests you try it out for yourself and see whether your quality of sleep improves. Various factors can contribute to this, so it’s going to be a case of trial and error. For example, some people may find sleeping on the floor with pillows to be the best course of action for them, while for some others, no pillow, or at least a very flat one, may prove to be more comfortable.
“No one has your sleeping profile, so no one can tell you if it’s good for you; only you can,” Olivia relates.
As for Liver King’s other suggestions to help improve sleep, Olivia agrees strongly with the processes he puts forward.
“Mouth taping can be helpful for those with sleep apnoea – it’s been found in clinical research to reduce fatigue and snoring. However, outside of those individuals, it’s yet to be proven in scientific studies as beneficial for sleep – not to say that it doesn’t have the potential to.”
Olivia also provided us with her signature bedtime routine to help you get the best night sleep you’ve ever had.
“Block out blue light, two hours before bed: An academic paper found regular room light, from dusk to dawn suppressed melatonin by 71%. Less melatonin = you find it harder to fall and stay asleep.”
“Take lavender capsules – a clinical trial found lavender improved sleep quality by 45%, and reduced anxiety by 59%. Set a goodnight phone alarm, 60-minutes before bed: the time you are to disconnect from all tech – label the alarm ‘SLEEP BETTER.'”
“Have a shower: the drop in core body temperature as you emerge from a steamy shower into a cooler bathroom is a cue for melatonin synthesis. Have a magnesium-based sleep supplement: a clinical trial found magnesium could reduce anxiety by 31%.”
“Read: a study by the University of Sussex found reading could reduce stress by 68% – and the anti-anxiety effects eventuated in just six minutes. Finally, use an eye mask – protecting you from sleep sabotaging blue light while you sleep.”
So, if you feel your sleep could be better, perhaps try throwing out the bed frame and move your mattress closer to floor. Better still, you could even invest in a lightly-padded camping mat, helping you to get closer to the ground.
Black ceramic watches are all the rage this year, it seems, with many of the world’s top luxury watch brands unveiling exciting black ceramic versions of their most iconic watches. Audemars Piguet dropped a ‘murdered-out’ 34mm black ceramic Royal Oak. Tudor surprised fans with their Black Bay Ceramic. IWC Schaffhausen revived an icon with their ‘Tribute to 3705’ – and has kept the hits coming with their TOP GUN releases. The list goes on.
Not to be shown up before the year draws to a close, Italy’s favourite horological sons, Panerai, have also joined the ceramic watch action with a rather handsome flyback chronograph: the Luminor Chrono Flyback Ceramica (ref. PAM01298). Stealthy yet imposing, complex yet refined, it’s a stunning watch that nicely footnotes a year of exciting releases from the Florentine watchmaker.
The black colour scheme, punctuated by the pops of red from the chronograph seconds, minutes and hours hands, looks amazing, but it’s not just a pretty watch. Because ceramic weighs substantially less than most metals, it makes this rather hefty 44mm watch wear remarkably light. Needless to say, ceramic is also far more scratch-resistant than most metals too, which is a real boon for a tool watch.
As the name implies, it’s a flyback chronograph, meaning you don’t have to stop the chronograph function to reset it. Interestingly, the dial features calibrations for nautical miles, in line with Panerai’s nautical focus. On that note, it also features 100m of water resistance.
L-R: the Panerai
Luminor Chrono Flyback Ceramica (ref. PAM01298) and the Panerai
Luminor Chrono Flyback Verde Militare (ref. PAM01296).
Of course, the other big watch trend this year has been green dials, and Panerai hasn’t disappointed in that regard either. Alongside the
ref. PAM01298, Panerai has also released the Luminor Chrono Flyback Verde Militare (ref. PAM01296), which features the same movement as the former, a more conventional stainless steel case, and a rather unconventionally beautiful military green dial.
These two pieces represent the latest entries in Panerai’s Chrono Complicazioni collection – a watch family characterised by a combination of high-tech materials, complex calibres and limited quantities. Accordingly, the ref. PAM01298 is limited to only 500 pieces, while the ref. PAM01296 is further limited to 110 pieces and is an e-commerce and phone sales exclusive.
Find out more about these two cool chronos at Panerai’s online boutique here.
