My buddy Nate Dawg might be into the gadgetry of Bond and having his own theme music, but for me, I dig the Bond girls most.

Their names and attitudes say it all.

Where else can you get away with any legitimacy as a character named Pussy Galore?! I once saw an interview with Honor Blackman (a.k.a. Pussy Galore in the film “Goldfinger“) on TV or in a DVD featurette, and she said that because they played the use of her character’s name so seriously in the film many people have approached her over the years and asked her if she and the rest of the cast and crew had any inkling as to the not-so-subtle double-entendre the name implied. She laughs and says, “Of course!” Although they had to be careful of the era’s censors, she said behind the scenes they penetrated, I mean perpetrated, every joke and gag they could, making the most of a once-in-a-lifetime character.

Pussy Galore is only the tip of the…um, iceberg just doesn’t seem to be the right word here… Bond-world feminine ideal. The Russians relied on sexy Agent XXX in “The Spy Who Loved Me.” There is Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) in “Dr. No,” Plenty O’Toole in “Diamonds are Forever,” Dr. Holly Goodhead in “Moonraker,” Mary Goodnight in “The Man with a Golden Gun,” the title role of “Octopussy,” Xenia Onatopp of “Goldeneye,” and Christmas Jones of “The World is Not Enough.” Okay, so Christmas wasn’t a sexualized name, but Bond does get a great line after seducing her: “And I thought Christmas only comes once a year.”

Despite the series’ chauvinism, not all of the women in these movies are ditsy bimbos. Pussy Galore gives as good as she gets, and Agent XXX was no pushover. The villainess Rosa Klebb of “From Russia with Love” was one of the most delightfully sinister henchwomen of the franchise. Modern good girls and female villains have really toughened up, pushing the envelope for James. Halle Berry’s Jinx was bad @$$ in “Die Another Day.” And Michelle Yeoh from “Tomorrow Never Dies” can beat up a room full of Bonds without breaking a sweat.

Yet the greatest Bond-girl anomaly seems to be Camille from the latest film, “Quantum of Solace.” She’s decidedly…oh, what’s the word…real. She’s a spy, so she’s tough and intelligent. But she’s human and fallible. She has emotions, but she isn’t emotionally deranged or hormonally driven. She has a nice body that doesn’t appear to be plastic or silicone. Bond doesn’t even sleep with her. Oh my goodness, Geppetto, she’s a real girl!

The Daniel Craig line of Bond movies have done so much right, I am curious to see what they’ll do next. I’ve heard rumors of homage back to the Roger Moore years, which could lead to another airhead chick, but I’m hopin’ they take the high road for a third film in a row.