The Rule Of Four - another historical folly......?

OK dudes, if you intend to read The Rule Of Four and have not yet done so, or still have not read Da Vinci (groan) Code or Angels and Demons, you may wish to skip this posting.

I have just finished The Rule Of Four, and yet again it is a book that heads for the trustable Raiders Of The Lost Ark ending. this follows in the path of Dan Brown's mega selling works, the mentioned Da Vinci and of course Angels and Demons.


all three are damn enjoyable reads, right up to the end. when it cannot have any conclusion but the Indiana Jones one of having the ark of the covenant (or the equivalent in the three books) 'mysteriously' boxed up and kept a secret. the problem, peeps, with manipulating history to suit your story is that you have to either :

(a) have "but it was all kept a secret still" as the ending

or

(b) come up with such an outlandish ending that it undermines the whole book (something that Angels and Demons flirts well with)

or

(c) have Pam wake up, find Bobby in the shower and declare it all to be a dream.

the "big" titles of literature at the moment are filled with astounding stories and incredible thinking, blending fiction and fact with relative ease. I do love this kind of fiction, the kind that turns around conventional thinking.

could I reccomend that Mr Brown, and indeed the two authors behind Rule of Four, take my advice and consult the great weaver of fact/fiction literature? that would be the late Anthony Burgess, of course. he came up with some unusual and certainly unconventional twists to history by leading the authour to question how we interpret actual historical conclusions, and not by playing with the steps taken to those conclusions. a slight, but effective, twist to this latest publishing craze.

if i have to read one more book which reminds me of Professor Jones being assured that the "top men" are looking after the conclusions of a great deal of time sacrificed by reader/audience, i will give it a real hiding on this page. that said, Dan Brown's Deception Point could well be my next read. you have been warned in advance.

ho hum, Lunar Park by the great great great great Bret Easton Ellis should be with me soon, as well as "Haunted" by Chuck Palithinuck (or however you spell his name, sorry), and indeed My Side Of The Mountain and Farenheit 451. some works of literature that I can trust and read with joy!!

right, off to bed!

be excellent to each other!!!

down with the Makems, you're going down with the Makems

here's Mick McCarthy, celebrating Sunderland's 100% record this season, which would be played four, lost four :)

that's 19 top league losses in a row for the Makems, and long may this record grow.

someone at work has very kindly put the Sunderland logo as my desktop wallpaper, and indeed added the Makem "Black Cat" logo to my image on the notice board. how kind.

i will find who did it and they will pay.

be excellent to each other. but not to Sunderland fans.

now i have a scanner ha ha ha

nice one michele, thanks for the scanner!! here's my first scan, a copy of the postcard my Aunt, Uncle and two cousins sent me of the last ever match at Ayresome Park. nice one!!

i am not 100% sure what exactly i will be scanning, but i felt this overriding need to have a scanner, so there you go.

should i scan anything class, and suitable to put here, i will put it here!

otherwise, i picked up Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure on videotape for a mere R25 yesterday. a wise investment, although i believe Spiros has the DVD on the way.

be excellent to each other!!

baby update

hello everyone! well, here's the latest pic for you. if you are smart and sharp of eye, you can see the forehead, the left eye, the cheek, the mouth and a hand!!

still no clarity on a name as of yet; Michele says James Robert Liam, I say Napoleon Elvis Ghengis. I think I will lose!

that's all for the time being!

be excellent to each other!!

a couple of good movies

DESCENT is one the most mindblowing, terrifying, stomach churning films i have ever been lucky enough to see. it's also very difficult to give much in the way of a plot or description as i would hate to spoil anything. it had both of us jumping in our seats.

if you ever saw the same director's first film, Dog Soldiers, you will know just how good he is. i believe this film is getting a very limited release. if you can see it, please do so, often!!


THE FANTASTIC FOUR, meanwhile, happily takes the approach of Spiderman, Batman Beings and The X-Men. this means that it is a quality film in its own right as well as being (i suppose) a good comic book adaptation, and is not The Hulk, a film which failed on every imaginable level.

it is really good fun - see it if you can!

been a while

hi anyone still checking

well, no excuses for not updating, at least i am updating now!!

all is well on this side. Mrs R & baby are doing very well. sorry if you were hoping for a surprise, but I must release the info - it is a boy on the way. we think we know what he will be called, and i know we are not going to be naming him Napoelon Elvis!!

the due date we have is December 15, but i am convinced that it's not quite so an exact science as to say that for fact. i guess we had better start getting ourselves ready and prepared, although Michele has started buying nappies and things!

it's our second wedding anniversary this weekend, well sort of. Tuesday is the actual day, but as that is a public holiday we have taken the Monday off and decided to make a long long weekend of it. we were planning on going away, but things always change. as mentioned above, i guess we are getting ready for the baby! not sure what we will be doing, just chillin' i expect.

otherwise, i have finished off reading another Dan Brown novel, Angels and Demons. not too bad, but still it seems his best was placed in Da Vinci Code. i shall be reading Deception Point at some stage, however......

we are mere days, ladies and gentlemen, away from the return of Bret Easton Ellis. Lunar Park is due to be published on August 16. I never did find the "bootleg" version on the internet, and i am glad that i did not. i cannot wait to get my hands on it!!

there have been a few good films lately, but let me put up some seperate reviews!

be excellent to each other!!