the buzz log

In the fine, upstanding tradition of 007, the 22nd Bond film opening today has a title that makes absolutely no sense.

It's called "Quantum of Solace." Quantum of whuh? For who?

James Bond fans went to their favorite gadget, the computer, for help, sending lookups on "definition of quantum of solace" up 500%. But we're sorry to tell you, understanding the title — which means a bit of comfort — isn't really going to help you understand why they chose that name for the movie.

The nonsequitur comes from a 1960 short story in Ian Fleming's "For Your Eyes Only." Great. But the film does not contain any elements of the original story. The plot centers around an evil organization named Quantum. Does that help? Not really.

The title is helpful in adding zingers for movie critics who were looking for ammo. The New York Observer seethed that the movie "sports a senseless title destined to be forgotten before it even reaches the shelves at Blockbuster." Forgettable? Consider the past Bond oeuvre, a collection of inexplicable titles that only a Bond fan could love: "Never Say Never Again." "Die Another Day." "Tomorrow Never Dies." "You Only Live Twice." They're so bad, they're good.

Not that the name of the movie has caused a damper on the enthusiasm of the international superspy. Au contraire, searches on the inscrutable movie title are blowing the other movies away with almost a two million percent increase.

The meaningless title certainly has caused chatter in the blogosphere. Facebook even opened up a forum on the topic. One fan site admits about the title, "Bond fans across the world have struggled to understand what it means and how it will play into the film." MTV reported that Daniel Craig, who plays Bond, had to explain, "We could have gone for a snappier title, but that's not part of the deal. It ties into the plot. It's not some random title."

You hear that, people? The nonsense title completely fits in with the senseless plot. That should provide a quantum of sense.