Contest #1--Quantum??

Well, it's time to spice things up with a little contest, eh?

Greene may have answered all of Bond's questions about Quantum at the end of Quantum Of Solace, but the movie chose not to share those answers with us.

So instead of waiting two years, let's make our own answers, shall we?

At present, we don't even know how to properly spell Quantum, let alone what it is.

Is it Quantum, or QUANTUM, or Q.U.A.N.T.U.M., or something else?

Is it a word that has no more meaning then a name, a la THRUSH in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.? (yes, I know some of the novels made it into an acronym, but it was never on screen during the series...for our purposes today, let's just agree that THRUSH wasn't an acronym, OK?)

Is it a contraction or conglomeration of two words, as SMERSH comes from the Russian phrase "SMERt' SHpionam" ('Death to Spies in English). (Yeah, there are alternate ways to transliterate that from Cyrillic...worry about that another time)

Is it an acronym, just as S.P.E.C.T.R.E stands for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion?

Well, this is (more or less) an open democracy around here...so you, the readers, get to decide what--if anything--Quantum means.

So I'm giving away a prize--a brand spanking new copy of the QoS soundtrack to the best explanation. Send in what you think Quantum stands for (if anything), and whatever (BRIEF!!) explanation you think necessary.

You can post your entry in the comments section if you seek public acclaim (or ridicule!), but to be an official entry you must email it to me at snell27 AT excite.com. One entry per person, please. Deadline--Wednesday 12/3 by noon EST.

Fair warning: any decision I make will be purely arbitrary--maybe it will be the one I think actually works best, maybe I'll just pick the one that makes me laugh the most. Who can say? So don't take it too seriously, and let's have fun with this.

And who knows--maybe Broccoli and Wilson will be reading this (yeah, right) and decide to use your entry as the official explanation for "Quantum." How cool would it be to have your name up in the (very very very) end credits in Bond 23??

Not likely, but it's fun to dream. Now everyone go have a good Thanksgiving.