Power to Change » kimu

The Da Vinci Code opens to lukewarm praise at Cannes

Wed, 17 May 2006 19:11:52 +0000

The Da Vinci Code movie was screened Tuesday night at the 59th Cannes Film Festival in France for hundreds of journalists from around the world. Initial screenings opened to some ?lukewarm praise? as Reuters reports, but much of the response has been very critical so far.

The Hollywood Reporter headlined its review, ” ‘Da Vinci Code’ an unwieldy, bloated puzzle.” And Stephen Schaefer of the Boston Herald writes, “It seems like you’re in there forever. And you’re conscious of how hard everybody’s working to try to make sense of something that basically perhaps is unfilmable.”

?At a news conference, Howard and Hanks defended the film, calling it a piece of fiction. British actor Alfred Molina, who plays a Machiavellian bishop in the movie, blamed the media for creating controversy where there was little or none.

At a screening late on Tuesday in Cannes, members of the audience laughed at the thriller’s pivotal moment, and the end of the $125 million picture was greeted with stony silence.

Howard had some advice for those who objected to the story.

“There’s no question that the film is likely to be upsetting to some people. My advice is … to not go and see the movie if you think you’re going to be upset.”

Artwork of The Da Vinci Code: Adoration of the Magi

Thu, 04 May 2006 16:36:34 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci (1481)

Artwork of The Da Vinci Code: Mona Lisa

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 21:00:25 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci (circa 1503?1507)

Artwork of The Da Vinci Code: The Last Supper

Thu, 04 May 2006 16:23:41 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci (1495-1497)

(for a larger version of this image click here)

Artwork of The Da Vinci Code: Virgin of the Rocks

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 21:00:28 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci (1483-1486)

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So Dark the Con of Man

Wed, 24 May 2006 18:07:38 +0000

…and so-so the movie of Dan, especially the anagram portions, wouldn’t you agree? They were all solved in a matter of seconds! It reminded me of when my wife looks at those MagicEye 3D puzzles and says, “Oh yeah, do you see the sailboat?” and I’m still trying to figure out what color the picture is supposed to be.

It turns out Dan Brown was onto something when he used anagrams as clues in The Da Vinci Code. According to Wikipedia,

Jews are often credited with the invention of anagrams, probably because later Hebrew writers, particularly Kabbalists, were fond of it, asserting that “secret mysteries are woven in the numbers of letters.” Anagrams were known to the Greeks and also to the Romans, although the known Latin examples of words of more than one syllable are nearly all imperfect. The Romans called the art of finding anagrams the “ars magna” (great art). Interestingly, “ars magna” is a perfect anagram of the word “anagrams.”

Furthermore,

Indeed, the right to lampoon royalty and politicians via anagram was enshrined in English law in 1215, when King John, albeit under duress, signed the Magna Carta (Magna Carta = Anagram Act) at Runnymede, in Surrey?W. Camden (Remains, 7th ed., 1674) defines “Anagrammatisme” as “a dissolution of a name truly written into his letters, as his elements, and a new connection of it by artificial transposition, without addition, subtraction or change of any letter, into different words, making some perfect sense applyable (i.e., applicable) to the person named.”

Some interesting anagrams for you to ponder from Anagram Genius, Da Vinci Code anagrams:

“The Da Vinci Code” -> “The candid voice.” (by Frank LaRue using Anagram Genius) (2003)
“The Da Vinci Code” -> “Convicted. Die! Ha!” (by Stanley Accrington by hand) (2006) (pending approval)
“The Da Vinci Code” -> “Addictive con, eh?” (by Mick Tully using Anagram Genius) (2006) (pending approval)
“The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci” -> “Reputable and splotched visionary.” (by Barzin Barry Sabahat using Anagram Genius) (2005)
“Mona Lisa” -> “Mail a son…” (by Shayon using Anagram Genius) (2005) (pending approval)

Some other anagrams for you to ponder:

“Jesus Christ” -> “Chess Jurist.” (by Anantha by hand) (2005) (pending approval)
“Christian” -> “Rich at sin.” (by Joe Fathallah by hand) (2002)
“Christian” -> “Rich saint.” (by unknown by hand)

Anagrams are interesting because they bring new words to the original word, and sometimes they connect. The word “Christian” has various meanings in our culture. How has this word influenced you… what do you think a Christian is?

The Jesus Papers.

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:23:50 +0000

Micheal Baigent was recently interviewed on NBC about his latest book, The Jesus Papers. Baigent is one of the authors suing Dan Brown claiming he took material from an earlier publication.

The Jesus Papers is based on factual information that disputes some teachings of the Bible. Baigent even claims Jesus survived his crucifixion and calls it the greatest cover up in history.

In the NBC interview, there is an excerpt from his book and also a video interview with Baigent about his book, along with a rebuttal from a NBC correspondent/priest.

Does Baigent come across as trying to be a real life Robert Langdon? Anagram Baigent and you get Teabing. Or is this all just a giant marketing facade meant to boost sales for both authors?