A quick quiz...

quote:

---

"The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true."

---

Question: who said this and which book was he/she talking about?Hint: contrary to what you might think, it's not the Bible.

Who: Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa
What: The Da Vinci CodeWhat do I win?

You get to watch Dan Brown grow richer and more famous with each comment from the Vatican.Things should really get interesting when the movie comes out next year. Here's a Link

The Golden Google. Which is a particle of gold, the weight of which I define as the inverse of the current number of pages searched by the google search engine, in grams. Therefore, its weight is ever dwindling. You are lucky to win it now, while it is still about 1.24 x 10^-10 grams. It is google-shaped. I have it right here, somewhere on my desk. I'll send it to you right away. If I can find it. Before I sneeze.Atchoo!{added by edit:}By the way, who's Alex?This message has been edited by Parasomnium, 16-Mar-2005 07:38 AM

am i the only person who hasn't read the da vinci code, and doesn't care to? half of the stuff i've heard people say it talks about is all stuff i've known about for a long time.also, "the of vinci code?" the guys name was leonardo. he was from a town called vinci. vinci was not is name any more magdala was mary's.

No, you're not. I have the book in my possession, but I haven't read it yet, and I doubt whether I will anytime soon, if ever. When things become a hype, I tend to grow a little weary of it. I bought this book when it wasn't buzzing in the media yet.Having said that, the way the Vatican reacts to it, is in itself very interesting. I posed the question of my little quiz because of the irony of the cardinal's statement. Well, they were probably afraid that if they called it "The Leonardo Code", Joe Sixpack would immediately think it was about Leonardo Pisano (aka "Fibonacci"). Sounds reasonable, or not?

---

We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. - Richard Dawkins

Amusingly, the same is true in reverse. The Vatican is raking in a considerable benefit from the book, as are other locations used by Brown. There is a huge tourism industry ignited by this, with tour groups taking people to see the various places mentioned in the books. And the collection boxes in the churches are running hot.See Hunt for 'Code' clues in France at CNN. I've read other similar stories in my own local papers. This story focuses on the irritation of the church, but the increased number of visiters does also have a positive financial side as well. The museum guide cited has the right idea. "There is no bad reason to come to the Louvre." They are enjoying the opportunity to discuss questions with the influx of tourists, and turning them on to the messages of the artists; not necessarily those of Dan Brown.Google for "da Vinci Code tourists" to get lots more.I've read the book. It was fun. Then I read also "Angels and Demons". It's the same story! Just change the secret society involved. Robert Langdon is brought in to investigate a bizarre murder, and ends up with a beautiful young relative of the victim, chasing up a sequence of strange clues from some mysterious secret society dating back to ancient times while bad guys are on the same trail. Lots of action, great settings; but formulaic.Amusingly, this time many of the misrepresentations are directed at scientists.I now feel I have read the same book twice; I won't bother to read it a third time. Dan Brown is off my reading list.Cheers -- Sylas

I just had another look at the story as it was told by the BBC, and noticed another amusing fact about it. The BBC filed the story under "Entertainment". I can't help but wonder if they did that solely because it's about a novel...(I also checked the cardinal's site: they file it under "Ufficio Cultura".)This message has been edited by Parasomnium, 16-Mar-2005 02:25 PM

Chalk up another, but then, I'm weird. I'm sure the book is great fun, I'm sure I'd enjoy it, but not as much as my usual reading diet of science magazines and books. I hate the Harry Potter books (which except for book 1 in short excerpts as part of the "putting the kids to bed" routine I haven't read) and find the movies (which I'm forced to watch as part of family time) boring.I listen to books-on-CDs on the way to and from work, so I'll definitely give this a listen if it shows up at the library. Hmmm. It just struck me that neither of the libraries I patronize has a single Harry Potter book on CD or tape. Well, that's a good thing! --Percy

I didn’t read The Da Vinci Code, but did read Angels and Demons and liked it very much.If these books use basically the same literary formula, then I could see why the Vatican is upset. In Angels and Demons the author is clear that the book is a work of fiction, but he does say in the prologue that references to art, architecture, and even the secret brotherhood of the Illuminati is factual. Mixing fact and fiction is compelling.

quote:

---

The Vatican is raking in a considerable benefit from the book,..

---

Yes, the Vatican does have a financial benefit which is all the more reason why they should be more saavy with their handling of the situation. The initial reaction was a repudiation that one could predict the Vatican to bring forward. In addition to the OP, Cardinal Bertone has claimed that the novel was a deliberate attempt to discredit the Roman Catholic Church through absurd and vulgar falsifications.Don’t they realize that this only adds fuel to the fire? Their approach should be more reasoned. Get some sharp media people in there to help plan and organize their responses. Brute force objections will not persuade anyone, (except maybe the faithful who hasn’t read Dan Brown).The battle may already be lost. I had to chuckle at this comment by the Cardinal in reference to his discovery that even Catholic bookshops were selling the book:

quote:

---

We are clearly facing a formidable distribution strategy here

---

If you DO want to read the argument, but can't be bothered to read fiction, read the Holy Blood & The Holy Grail. It will be a cleaner discussion of the thesis, unencumbered by the needs of narrative structure.Most of the reports I have seen about tourists have been quite caustic - people hassling the curators to show them secret doors, or trying to take floor scrapings to look for bloodstains, or fondling the relics. But sure, someones coining it, no doubt, mostly the travel companies I would expect.

Alex Trebek, host of the long running American quiz show Jeopardy (where contestants always say "I'll take subject for $xxx Alex").

---

Confused ? You will be...

You hate the Harry Potter books even though you haven't read them?I actually loved them to death. Of course, they are kid's books, but great page-turners, I thought. And funny.Oh, and PLEASE do not judge the books by the movies. Except for the latest movie, the others were pretty terrible.

nah. ask anyone on the street who they think of when you say the name "leonardo." 99% of the time, you'll get one of two answers:1. 2.

you know i won't touch the thing.