Whether or not their case has merit is for the courts to decide. But I do have an opinion about The Da Vinci Code. I've read both books. I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail first. Which in large part explains my extreme dislike for The Da Vinci Code.
Nearly every plot twist and informational cliffhanger that has made The Da Vinci Code such a thrilling book to read for so many was for me a source of frustration and anger, as I already knew what was going to happen and what was yet to be revealed, because I had already read Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
I don't know whether it can be legally be proven that Dan Brown stole from Baigent and Leigh, but for all practical purposes, he did. He wrote a fictional story based on their quasi-historical research.
And as much as I disliked The Da Vinci Code, fictional stories based on another person's historical research is how historical fiction gets written. Without it, there would be no Autobiography of Mrs. Jane Pittman, no Amadeus, no Name of the Rose, no Braveheart. Writers of historical fiction depend on the work of historians to be able to tell their stories.
My story, "Long Pilgrimage Home" (published in Paradox magazine), would have been impossible without a variety of history books, including a wonderful book on Templar history called Dungeon, Fire and Sword by John J. Robinson. My interest in the Templars was kindled by... you guessed it - Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
I dislike the popularity of The Da Vinci Code. I think Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a better book by far - they tell a more interesting story without all the asinine cliffhangers and three page chapters and two-dimensional caricatures. I think Dan Brown went too far in his borrowing of their research. His book is lazy and uninspired and written by template and filled with literary cheats and cheap tricks. And it's selling millions of copies, so go figure.
But I can't agree with this lawsuit. It's wrong. Baigent and Leigh should get over it and be happy with all the extra copies of their books that would never have sold were it not for the popularity of The Da Vinci Code.
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New Videos
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Streaming Video
'THIS DIVIDED STATE'
"I am extremely angry at what they have done with that video footage. I
plan on suing them..."
-Sean Hannity on
THIS DIVIDED STATE
Starting today
(Thursday, Feb 23rd), Minority Films
is offering, for free, the horrendous
speech Sean Hannity gave at Utah Valley State College in the
documentary film THIS DIVIDED STATE
.
It is 10 minutes of pure infuriating numb-skullery and is completely
upsetting to anyone who has a sense of civility.
Everyone should see this footage! It is unbelievable that Sean Hannity
can get on Fox News every night and claim "balance" and "civil
discourse".
The footage is now streaming at THIS DIVIDED STATE
Steven
Thanks, Steven!
Check out 'THIS DIVIDED STATE'!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
PAUL KRUGMAN: Graduates Versus Oligarchs (The New York Times)
What we're seeing isn't the rise of a fairly broad class of knowledge workers. Instead, we're seeing the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite.
BOB HERBERT: Ike Saw It Coming (The New York Times)
Early in the documentary film "Why We Fight," Wilton Sekzer, a retired New York City police officer whose son was killed in the World Trade Center attack, describes his personal feelings in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11.
Ron Russell: Moonstruck (sfweekly.com)
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon has opened an unexpected front in his struggle to win a broader audience for his messianic pretensions: African-American churches and their preachers.
Lisa Rab: Golden Years (clevescene.com)
While Cleveland axes hundreds of teachers, "retired" administrators rake it in.
Nat Hentoff: The CIA's 'Black Sites' (villagevoice.com)
What are we going to do with the secret prisoners who cannot be tried in our courts?
Robert Scheer: In Defense of Free Thought
Sentencing a Holocaust denier to prison -- and the lack of protests in response -- should raise alarms among everyone who values free speech.
Zillions of Games
Loremo: The Ultra Efficient Car - 157MPG!
zEN mAN
Show of Photography
3 - 31 March, 2006
San Francisco Zen City Center
300 Page Street (at Laguna)
San Francisco
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
WHO WOULD HAVE A BEER WITH THIS GUY?
WHAT DIDN'T HE KNOW AND WHEN DIDN'T HE KNOW IT?
MOONBAT VS WINGNUT
THE RUTHLESS MARCH OF FASCISM IN AMERICA
HOME OF THE TORTURERS AND LAND OF THE RIGHT WING FASCISTS
THE "OWNERSHIP SOCIETY" OF GEORGE W BUSH
THERE IS NO GOD IF THESE TWO REPUGS DON'T ROT IN HELL!
BULLETIN FROM HELL! REPUGS ARE CAUSING OVER CROWDING CRISIS! GOD RULES THAT LIMBO IS NOT AN ALTERNATIVE
I GUESS KILLING IS A REPUG FAMILY VALUE
SUPER McCLOSKEY VERSUS THE EVIL POMBO MONSTER
FOR REPUGS THEIR MONEY TRUMPS OUR SECURITY! HELLO FUCKING AMERICA
A PORTRAIT OF J D THE MADCAT
THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR THE REPUGS
FAMOUS REPUGS
THE CHIMP AND POODLE SHOW IS GETTING BAD RATINGS
DESPERATE REPUGS
UN-FUND-ED
THE BUSH "FUCK THE VETERANS" BUDGET. MISION ACCOMPLISHED
Ark Of Darkness
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny & damp.
No new flags.
Tonight, Wednesday:
CBS starts the night with a FRESH 'Still Standing', followed by another FRESH 'Still Standing', then a FRESH 'Criminal Minds', followed by a FRESH 'CSI: The 3rd One'.Scheduled on a FRESH Dave is Sarah Jessica Parker.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craig are John Larroquette, Idina Menzel, and Big & Rich.
NBC opens the night with a FRESH 'Deal Or No Deal', followed by a RERUN 'Law & Order', then a FRESH 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Leno are Jason Lee, Chad Hedrick, and Dwight Yoakam.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Gisele Bundchen, Bill Bellamy, and Belle & Sebastian.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Milla Jovovich and Supergrass.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH 'George Lopez', followed by a FRESH 'Freddie', then a FRESH 'Lost' (runs 3 minutes long), followed by a FRESH 'Barbara Walters Special' (starts 3 minutes after the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Jamie Oliver and OK Go.
The WB offers a FRESH 'One Tree Hill', followed by a RERUN 'Beauty & The Geek'.
Faux has a FRESH 'American Idol', followed by a FRESH 'Free Ride'.
UPN has a FRESH 'America's Next Top Model', followed by a RERUN 'Veronica Mars'.
A&E has 'Cold Case Files', 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', still another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', yet one more 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', followed by a FRESH 'Spying On Myself', then another FRESH 'Spying On Myself'.
AMC offers the movie 'In The Heat Of The Night', followed by the movie 'For Your Eyes Only', then the movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.
BBC -
[2pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes To the Bathroom;
[2:40pm] 'The Mighty Boosh,' - Episode 3;
[3:20pm] 'The Mighty Boosh,' - Episode 4;
[4pm] 'At Home with the Braithwaites' - Episode 5;
[5pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 4;
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Blackburn, Lancashire;
[7pm] 'The Benny Hill Show' - Episode 20;
[8pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Geoghegan;
[9pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Episode 1;
[9:30pm] 'Increase Your House Price by Ten Grand' - Episode 1;
[10:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Episode 13;
[11pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes To the Bathroom;
[11:40pm] 'Comics Unleashed' - Episode 1;
[12:20am] 'Comics Unleashed' - Episode 2;
[1am] 'Cash in the Attic' - Episode 1;
[1:30am] 'Increase Your House Price by Ten Grand' - Episode 1;
[2:30am] 'Changing Room's - Episode 13;
[3am] 'Cold Feet' - Episode 1;
[4am] 'Cold Feet' - Episode 2;
[5am] 'Cold Feet' - Episode 3;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Project Runway', another 'Project Runway', still another 'Project Runway', and a FRESH 'Project Runway'.
Comedy Central has 'Comedy Central Presents', 'Reno 911!', an old 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Chappelle's Show', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'Drawn Together'.
On a RERUN Jon Stewart (from 2/23/06) is Roger Ebert.
Scheduled on a FRESH Colbert Report is Arianna Huffington.
History has all 'Modern Marvels' all night.
IFC -
[6AM] Our Song (2000);
[7:45AM] Short: Seven's Eleven;
[8AM] Proof (1992);
[9:30AM] At the IFC Center #11(2006);
[10AM] Ulee's Gold (1997);
[12PM] IFC Short Film Collection I: March (2006);
[2PM] Proof (1992);
[3:30PM] The Run of the Country (1995);
[5:30PM] Ulee's Gold (1997);
[7:30PM] Walking And Talking (1996);
[9PM] Auto Focus;
[11PM] The Rules Of Attraction (2002);
[1AM] Auto Focus;
[3AM] The Rules Of Attraction (2002);
[5AM] BaadAsssss Cinema (2004). (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has all 'Ghost Hunters' all night.
Sundance -
[6:45AM] Safe Men;
[8:15AM] In Search of Gregory;
[9:45AM] One Of Those Days;
[10AM] Detained;
[11:15AM] The Battle Of Algiers;
[1:30PM] The Tesseract;
[3:15PM] Satin Rouge;
[5PM] In Short: In Short: Festival 3;
[5:30PM] Safe Men;
[7PM] The Battle Of Algiers;
[9PM] Kath & Kim: Kicking Up a Stink;
[9:30PM] Personal Goals;
[10PM] When Night is Falling;
[11:45PM] Me, Myself and the Universe;
[12AM] Ichi the Killer;
[2:15AM] Welcome to Woop Woop;
[4AM] When Night is Falling;
[5:35AM] In Search of Gregory. (ALL TIMES EST)
TCM:
[7AM] Rhapsody In Blue (1945) [View Trailer];
[9:30AM] Imitation Of Life (1959);
[11:45AM] The Singing Nun (1966);
[1:30PM] Divorce American Style (1967);
[3:30PM] Lover Come Back (1961);
[5:30PM] Strike Up the Band (1940);
[8PM] The Bridges At Toko-Ri (1954);
[10PM] From Here To Eternity (1953) [View Trailer];
[12AM] So Proudly We Hail (1943);
[2:15AM] Action In The North Atlantic (1943);
[4:30AM] Of Human Hearts (1938). (ALL TIMES EST)
Thursday - 03/02
TCM:[6:15AM] Our Town (1940);
[7:45AM] Woman Of The Year (1942) [View Trailer];
[9:45AM] The Magnificent Yankee (1950);
[11:15AM] Blackboard Jungle (1955) [View Trailer];
[1PM] Lonelyhearts (1958);
[2:45PM] Raintree County (1957) [View Trailer];
[6PM] Magnificent Obsession (1954);
[8PM] The Lost Weekend (1945) [View Trailer];
[10PM] Love Story (1970);
[12AM] Paper Moon (1973) [View Trailer];
[2AM] The Last Picture Show (1971) [View Trailer];
[4:15AM] Mighty Joe Young (1949). (ALL TIMES EST)
Any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
A dancer performs during the parade of Viradouro samba school at the sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006.
Photo by Silvia Izquierdo
Moose & Squirrel - The Blog
Comic Strip Going on Hiatus
'Boondocks'
The Boondocks, the black comic-strip family living in white suburbia, are going on vacation.
Aaron McGruder, the cartoonist behind the strip syndicated in about 350 American newspapers, said Tuesday he would take about six months off beginning in March.
"Every well needs occasional refreshing," he wrote in a letter to be sent to editors of newspapers carrying the strip. "I hope that this fall you will agree that the time away from the demands of deadlines has served the strip, your readers and me."
McGruder offered no further explanation and declined interviews. His editor at Universal Press Syndicate, Greg Melvin, said McGruder simply needed a break.
The last new comic before the hiatus will appear March 26. Papers can run old "Boondocks" strips or a replacement until it returns in October.
'Boondocks'
Honored by NASA
Walter Cronkite
Veteran newsman Walter Cronkite was honored Tuesday with a moon rock from NASA in recognition of his decades covering the space program.
Cronkite, who anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 until his retirement in 1981, is the first non-astronaut and only non-NASA individual to receive the Ambassador of Exploration Award.
The moon rock is part of 842 pounds of samples brought back to Earth during the six Apollo lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972.
Walter Cronkite
Dressed in drag portraying Paula Abdul on 'American Idol,' San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds participates in a rookie hazing spoof of the hit television show prior to a Major League Baseball spring training workout, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Photo by Ben Margot
Olof Palme Prize
Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar's imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Olof Palme Prize in absentia at a ceremony in Stockholm marking the 20th anniversary of the murder of the Swedish prime minister after whom the award is named.
Suu Kyi, who has either been in jail or under house arrest for more than 10 of the past 16 years, was honored "for her outstanding persistent work to let democratic order be established in Burma," Palme's widow Lisbet said as she handed over the prize to the head of Myanmar's government-in-exile, Sein Win, on Suu Kyi's behalf.
Suu Kyi has had virtually no contact with the outside world since her last detention period began in May 2003. Her house arrest was last extended by six months in December.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Joins National Archives for Video
Google
The National Archives and Google are teaming up to allow unprecedented access to historical film properties for free with just the click of a mouse.
Through a pilot program, U.S. archivist Allen Weinstein has collaborated with Google Video to compile an online library of 103 films, including movies, documentaries and other cinematic creations formerly unavailable to those who can't make the trip to Washington, D.C.
The diverse assemblage of titles can be accessed via Google Video as well as the National Archives Web site. They range from U.S. government newsreels documenting World War II to NASA-produced documentaries on the history of the space program. The earliest film preserved in the archives, 1894's "Carmencita -- Spanish Dance" featuring the famous Spanish gypsy dancer, also is included.
Google
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Secret Trove of Music Donated
Juilliard
A commodities trader who secretly amassed manuscripts handwritten by the titans of classical music has donated his collection to the Juilliard School, the conservatory announced Tuesday.
The 139-piece collection ranges from Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas," dating to the 1680s, to works by Schnittke written in the 1990s. Also included are works by J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, Mahler, Stravinsky, among many others.
Bruce Kovner, chairman of Juilliard's board and founder of Caxton Associates LLC, acquired the items during the past decade of anonymous purchases at auctions.
Juilliard
List of Works in Juilliard Collection
Director Richard Donner arrives at the movie premiere of '16 Blocks' in New York, Monday, Feb. 27, 2006.
Photo by Shiho Fukada
McCartneys To Protest Seal Hunt
Heather & Paul
Paul McCartney and his wife will travel to the ice floes off the Canadian Maritimes this week to observe seal pups before the country's annual hunt opens, the Humane Society of the United States said.
The former Beatle and Heather Mills McCartney, both longtime animal-rights activists, will head out to the frigid ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Thursday and Friday in their bid to prompt Ottawa to end the annual hunt of seals.
Heather & Paul
I'm Pissed
(formerly 'The Vidiot')
CBS Radio Sues For Breach of Contract
Howard Stern
CBS Radio on Tuesday sued ribald U.S. radio host Howard Stern and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., claiming breach of contract and fraud related to Stern's move to Sirius earlier this year.
The suit, seeking compensatory and punitive damages of hundreds of millions of dollars, was described by Stern as "a personal vendetta" launched by CBS Corp. chief Les Moonves in response to the network's sagging radio fortunes since Stern left for satellite radio.
The 43-page suit filed in State Supreme Court claims multiple breaches of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and misuse of CBS Radio broadcast time. The suit seeks damages from Sirius for unfair competition and interference with Stern's CBS contract.
It also seeks all the revenue gained by Sirius from adding more than 1 million new subscribers obtained between when the deal was announced and when Stern left CBS. It also demands Stern repay CBS Radio all the compensation he received from them during the 14-month period.
Howard Stern
New Orleans resident Neil Daniels wears a hat satirizing U.S. President George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina before walking in the Mardi Gras parade of the Mistick Social Drinking Club of Comus in New Orleans February 28, 2006.
Photo by Jeff Zelevansky
Nuns' Account Frozen By Patriot Act
Holy Name Monastery
Nuns of Holy Name Monastery say ridiculous Patriot Act scrutiny led their bank to freeze the St. Leo, Fla., religious order's main account. I think the Patriot Act is unwise, said Sister Jean Abbott, the Benedictine order's business manager.
"If it happened to us, it can happen to anybody," she told the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune. "I think people need to know that nobody is safe from, in some cases, really ridiculous scrutiny."
The order said its account was frozen without explanation or notification for a week in November, causing checks to bounce and taking three months to straighten out.
Holy Name Monastery
Man Finds Hundreds In American River
Buddhas
History or hoax? That's the question many people are asking in the Placer County town of Colfax after a local prospector claims he found hundreds of little Buddha figurines along the American River.
Herman Henry says he found about 400 of the Buddha carvings in a washed out sandbar along the River more than a month ago. The thumb-sized, white carvings may be hundreds of years old. And now federal and state investigators are looking into the discovery and are looking for Mr. Henry.
Fellow Colfax resident Jim Bowers bought more than 200 of the heads and was selling them at his convenience store. Bowers made some very public attempts to try to find out more about the Buddha's may have launched the state and federal investigation. On Wednesday, federal authorities seized what was left of the Bowers' Buddha collection. "I asked them what right do you have to seize them? Do you have a court order? Do you have a search warrant? What are my civil rights?," Bowers told CBS 13's Patti Lee, "And he said, 'we can arrest you or you can turn over everything you have."
Buddhas
A Tibetan Buddhist monk blows a conch shell during early morning prayers to mark the first day of the Tibetan new year at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. Losar, the new year celebrations will last for three days beginning today.
Photo by Ashwini Bhatia
Acrobatic Cats Visit New York
'The Moscow Cats Theater'
Russian clown Yuri Kuklachev has a troupe of cats who do handstands, crawl along high wires and balance on balls and he says the secret to training them is realizing that you can't force cats to do anything.
"The Moscow Cats Theater" came to New York in September and did so well at a small theater in the Tribeca neighborhood that it recently moved uptown to a bigger venue near Times Square, where it is close to Broadway giants such as "The Lion King," although not the musical "Cats," which closed in 2000.
Kuklachev started working with cats more than 30 years ago after adopting a stray kitten he named Koutchka. He now has 120 cats in Moscow and has brought 26 of them to New York.
Kuklachev said the breed of cat made no difference to their abilities, although Persians tended to be lazy. He adopts cats from shelters and trains the offspring of the cats he has.
'The Moscow Cats Theater'
Musee d'Orsay
Cezanne-Pissarro
"By Jove we were inseparable," Camille Pissarro wrote of his two-decade friendship with Paul Cezanne. Now the similarities and differences in the vision of the two French artists are examined in a Paris exhibition.
"Cezanne-Pissarro 1865-1885" opens on Tuesday at the Musee d'Orsay until May 28 and is one of the major events in France marking the 100th anniversary of the death of Cezanne (1839-1906), today considered the father of modern art.
Some 60 canvasses spanning some 20 years have been brought together by the museum, including many on special loan from private collections rarely seen by the public at large.
Cezanne-Pissarro
Revellers attend Lundi Gras along Bourbon Street in New Orleans February 27, 2006. Due to Hurricane Katrina, many of the Mardi Gras parades throughout the New Orleans Metro area will be shorter and fewer.
Photo by Sean Gardner
Giving Penn Commencement Address
Jodie Foster
Academy Award-winning actress Jodie Foster will be the commencement speaker at the University of Pennsylvania's 250th commencement on May 15.
Foster, who graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1985 with a literature degree, will receive an honorary doctor of arts degree.
Jodie Foster
Shares Workout Tips
Condoleezza Rice
Obsessive about staying fit, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will share her workout tips on morning television this week, pumping iron and sweating on a stationary bike.
The top U.S. diplomat was filmed last weekend at the State Department's gymnasium by a local affiliate of television network NBC. It will be aired on the NBC4 Today program on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the network said.
Rice has a punishing travel schedule but usually rises long before dawn to do 45 minutes to an hour of exercise each day, no matter where she is.
Condoleezza Rice
California Department of Fish and Game officers use a blanket to secure a tranquilized mountain lion Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, that wandered into the backyard of a home in the residential community of Altadena, Calif. The 2-year-old, 65-pound male mountain lion was removed in a blanket to be transport by truck back to the Angeles National Forest. No one was attacked, but a nearby elementary school was placed on lockdown.
Photo by Nick Ut
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