WHACKO-TV brings back the Book Nook to prove that we actually still read books. Catch Lumber Jack Bob's cryptic analysis and critique of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, or was that The Lost Cymbal, because without a good cymbal, you can't have an effective marching band.WHACKO-TV brings back the Book Nook to prove that we actually still read books. Catch... more
Blessedly, Angels Demons is more entertaining and less self-serious than its predecessor, the dense and dreary yet enormously successful The Da Vinci Code.Blessedly, Angels Demons is more entertaining and less self-serious than its... more
Since its 2003 publication, "The Da Vinci Code" has caused quite a stir. Since its debut to glowing reviews, it has sold more than 40 million copies in at least 44 languages [ref]. In addition to being a bestseller, it's sparked a lot of controversy. It's a work of fiction, but it presents itself as based in fact, and many critics have raised questions about whether those facts are accurate.Since its 2003 publication, "The Da Vinci Code" has caused quite a stir.... more
"The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown has finished a new book based on the fictional Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, television show "Entertainment Tonight" reported on Thursday.
Movie director Ron Howard, who made the 2006 film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code" with Tom Hanks playing the central role of Langdon, told "Entertainment Tonight" the author's latest work features the same character, but details were scant."The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown has finished a new book based on the... more
A Catholic priest is fighting for his life after he was stabbed in the throat by a man obsessed with The Da Vinci Code.
Father Canio Canistri, 68, was among three people attacked by Marco Luzi, 25, after he burst into the church following the screening of Dan Brown's blockbuster.
Police searched Luzi's house and found a picture of Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper - a vital part of the plot in the controversial thriller.
He also told detectives he had watched the film the night before.
The attack took place at the Santa Marcella church in Rome and left two other worshippers needing treatment.
Hero police officer Luca Gori, 41, who disarmed Luzi, suffered knife wounds to his stomach as he struggled with him on the floor of the church.
Witnesses said Luzi had burst in armed with two knives, and carrying a set of rosary beads.
He is said to have shouted that he was the ''Antichrist'' as well as talking about the Da Vinci Code.
They also found several notes and documents with titles like 'The Hidden Truth', 'I, the Antichrist', 'Predictions' and 'Apocalypse'.
Next to the painting of The Last Supper was a note saying:''This is the hand where the knife is hidden.''
Published in 2003, Brown's The Da Vinci Code has caused controversy around the world.
It follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he investigates a murder in the Louvre.
He then goes onto discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to and fathering children with Mary Magdalene.
Senior Cardinals critcised the book and called on Catholics to boycott it as a ''dishonest attack'' on the Church.
"There certainly seemed to be a link between the film and the attack. He said he had seen the Da Vinci Code on TV the night before. Then he said he had heard voices in his head telling him to carry out his mission, and we also found a copy of Da Vinci's Last Supper at his home."
Vittorio Rizzi, of Rome's flying squadA Catholic priest is fighting for his life after he was stabbed in the throat by a man... more
Killer claiming to be the "Anti Christ" left messages involving the Apocalypse, Satan and robots
A Rome priest is fighting for his life after being stabbed in the neck and stomach by a deranged man who had just watched The Da Vinci Code on television.
Eyewitnesses said that Marco Luzi, 25, asked to see Father Canio Canistri, 68, parish priest at the church of Santa Marcella in the San Saba district on the Aventine Hill, and then attacked him with a knife hidden in a cloth. An elderly parishioner who came to the priest's aid is also in serious condition.
A Peruvian childminder and a policeman were also injured as the assailant fled through a nearby park. Police said Luzi, a former medical student with a history of psychiatric problems, had admitted watching the film version of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code on television the night before the frenzied assault.
At his flat nearby, where he lived with his mother Paola, investigators found material on the Apocalypse and the Anti Christ, and the telephone number of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. There was also a large reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper", which is at the heart of the mystery in the Da Vinci Code, with a note pointing to one of the disciples reading "This is the hand in which a knife is hidden".
Police also found a box on which was written "In here are the keys to the Sixth and Seventh Seals, closed by order of Satan and Jesus Christ. Give all these things to the Pope." A rambling note read: "Between my death and my return many grave events will take place, years will pass, perhaps centuries. Christianity will be reviewed in the light of the new alliance between Jesus and the Madonna". Other notes referred to Islam, Satanism and robots.
Luzi told police "I am the Anti Christ", and said he had heard voices telling him to attack the priest, adding "I have carried out my mission". In his pockets investigators found a rosary and a note reading "This is just the beginning: 666", the mystical number said to refer to Satan..
Neighbours said Luzi was "a loner, a solitary introvert who sometimes quarrelled violently with his mother". Doctors said Father Canistri was in intensive care, while the pensioner who went to his aid at the church, Antonio Farrace, 78, a retired policeman, was also "in serious condition".
The Peruvian nanny, Rosemary Sotero Rivera, 37, was attacked by Luzi as he ran through a park after fleeing from the church. Witnesses said she threw herself on the three year old girl in her charge to protect her, and was stabbed in the shoulder.
Luzi was then chased by two policemen on motorcycles who dismounted and tackled him. "We couldn't fire our weapons, there were too many bystanders" said Luca Gori, 41, one of the police officers, who was lightly wounded in the stomach during the struggle with Luzi, who was covered in blood and still armed.
Parshioners on the Aventine Hill said Father Canistri, like many other parish priests, had repeatedly expressed concern over breaks ins and thefts at the church, and had asked his congregaion to be "vigilant". Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, congratulated the police for capturing the attacker, and said the assault "once again shows that mental disorders amount to a social emergency".
Killer claiming to be the "Anti Christ" left messages involving the... more
