A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE

Just forced myself to finish reading The Da Vinci Code. To me, it is a poorly written version of The Name of the Rose. Where the Umberto Eco book was challenging and dense, Dan Brown's is light and patronizing. Written with 'best-seller' and 'movie rights' blocking his view, the book is adept of the principle of teaching by repetition. And repeat it does. Over and over. The ideas it touches are interesting and particularly interesting to me: the bible we have access to today has been re-written to serve the Vatican's purposes. Masonry and secret societies. Maria Magdalena as Jesus wife and as one of the 13 apostles, with a lineage that still exists today. Symbolism throughout the ages... Secrets...
But it's like history lesson for teenagers made interesting by being disguised behind a treasure hunt adventure.

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Liza, stop it, stop it!
Talk About a Powerful Drink
"A sworn document filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan posits that Liza Minnelli -- a major star of 'Arthur 2: On the Rocks' -- actually gained physical strength from the ingestion of vodka.
It worked for Popeye with spinach and Bruce Banner with rage, but this is unheard of. Right?"
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