Early this week (?) the Discovery Channel aired a special on Dan Brown's ridiculously popular book, The Da Vinci Code. As what one might expect, the one-hour program had all the usual features regarding this literary phenomenon: a short summary of the storyline, a reinstatement of the subject matter, and of course, a rundown of historical facts and semi-facts that in their own way deconstructed the claims of the novel, as well as popular beliefs. It posed some new and interesting did-you-knows, and in the general sense had enough oomph in its advertising and content to draw the attention of people, whether or not they have read the novel.

Sans a few snippets of historical information, it was your usual Da Vinci special.

There was, however, one revelation that caught my interest: it was the claim that if anything, The Da Vinci Code has been responsible getting people on their asses and actually reading a freaking book.

In hindsight yes, this may be viewed as a positive thing, but one is forced to wonder about just how these people take in the claims of the storyline. Interviews with people who have read the book (regular people on the street) reveal that some still question the legitimacy of the claims, while some people have been convinced to the point where they seem to swear by it. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is where the unforeseen dangers of literature are displayed.

Allow me to present a theoretical situation:

A person who has never read any historical documentation about Christianity cracks the book open and starts reading. They are compelled by the story, and are blown away by the revelations. They finish reading the book with them having nothing but praises for the author. And with this, they reinstate their Christian beliefs (by cursing the church, maybe?), disown the Christ child from being their Lord and Savior, and start holding blasphemy conventions with other readers every second and fourth Tuesday.

I understand that what I have just stated is an exaggeration, a pre-supposed conclusion, a Slippery Slope fallacy -- but I am not entirely convinced that something similar has not happened (blasphemy convention aside, of course). Those who either have not had an appropriate amount of induction to the Christian faith, and or have longed to rebel against institutionalized religion but are crippled by the lack of a concrete purpose, might just run to the nearest church in the middle of a service, flip the bird at the choir, aim at the surprised priest/pastor, and heave the book at him.

[reader says: Get to the point, man . . . .]

The claims of the story might lead to off-tangent conclusions, and the book's popularity might make these conclusions spread like wildfire.

I am in no way demeaning any individual who chooses to read the book; neither am I saying that most of the people who do read the book are not intelligent enough to be able to discern the legitimate elements from those that are not. And most of all, I am in no way claiming that the book be banned from circulation. My argument is that although people have insisted that the book is mere fiction and that it must not be taken seriously, there have been readers who have been fully convinced of what Brown's novel speaks of. The book deals with Christianity in the sense that it challenges the given beliefs, and whether it is ficitonal or not, readers have been rallying behind its claims.

This is not a post that suggests a solution -- this is merely one that relays what I think. And by the way, let's suppose that the book's claims actually are real, and that there exist a marriage and a bloodline between Jesus and Mary Magdalene: so what? Why is it so ghastly for others to suppose that Jesus sired a child? I know there's a glaring answer to that somewhere, but at the end of the day, I just cannot understand why Jesus being married and having children is considered by others as an abomination. He was, after all, claimed as a god in the form of a man. If he can bleed and he can die, why can't he reproduce? And why can't he experience attraction towards the opposite sex?

Anyway there, this tabulas has officially become one of the millions that contain the words "The Da Vinci Code." Hehehehe. I'm staying neutral as to whether or not that's a bad thing (jumping into the bandwagon, aren't we?) or a good thing, but I do know that the book has generated enough interest at least for it to earn mention in at least one form of media.

The movie premieres the week before this one, with Tom Hanks playing the lead role. Advertisers have been swooping down on people with posters and tv ads as talons -- and the public has been responding.

I wonder what THAT will result to . . . .?

On a special issue, TIME Magazine published a 56-page feature on what it has selected to be the world's 100 most influential people. I don't think that the list is circumscribed to people of contemporary times, because they had a bit about Teddy and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Off of the 100, here are some who caught my eye. I have grouped them based on the magazine's categories:

LEADERS and REVOLUTIONARIES
George W. Bush
- Like him or not, he's powerful enough to tap an entire country's phone calls and have an entire news channel (I'm not saying) back him up on it.

Pope Benedict XVI
- The article says that while people came to "see" John Paul II, they come to "hear" Benedict XVI. It's not that easy to fill the shoes of the previous pope, but this one seems to be going in another direction: he's choosing to wear his own.

Bill and Melinda Gates
- They started Microsoft, and they give to charity. Nuff said.

Oprah Winfrey
- The frontliner for the bringing of women's rights issues to the public. Probably the richest celebrity in all of celebrity-dom. I like her compassion for the people of Africa, especially the children. Not a big fan of her romanticizing though

Condoleeza Rice
- Apparently, a lot of influence shoots out from that gap between her teeth. Hehehehe. The second African-American to hold the position of National Security Advisor, and the first woman to ever serve as such. You gotta admire the fact that she's taken a lot of blows from the public, yet there she still stands. Much like a sub-Bush, with power that in some instances seems to even surpass that of the original. For those who scorn her, beware: she may be unappealing and hatred- and ridicule-worthy at times, but I have a feeling she can send troops to your front yard, lock you in your own house, quarantine the entire area with a bunch of illegal immigrants from Mexico, and keep you there for as long as she wants. Of course I'm just speculating, but who knows -- she might.


SCIENTISTS and THINKERS
Zahi Hawass
- The Secretary for (and Indiana Jones of) the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. The Discovery Channel did a week-long feature on Egypt a year ago, and he was in almost every show. His presence was most felt in the show that focused on Egypt's quest to get back the smuggled and "stolen" Egyptian antiques that now reside in foreign museums. It's a big fight, from what I've seen. Kudos to him for his persistence and guts. I too believe that Egyptian antiques belong to Egypt, and they must be returned. Forget tourism for a moment and keep in mind where these artifacts belong. Have respect, dammit.

Jimmy Wales
- The man behind Wikipedia. Whowuddathunk: a website that grows on its own, because of its visitors? Built a titan of a website from a small collection of encyclopedia entires (twelve, to be exact). His website rocketed up to monstrous popularity thanks to three words:

Edit this article

The customizability of the entries seemed(?) to spark the interest of millions of people, resulting in a collection that is now ten times bigger than that of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Ma Jun
- The man who proved that if armed with a pen, one person can change the world (or in his case, get China to get off their asses and start taking more notice). A journalist-turned-environmental advocate, Ma Jung has gunned the accelerator and botled China into the next step in the solving of its environmental crisis. Labelled by Ed Norton (who wrote the article on him for TIME) as "The Man Who Would Save the People's Water", Ma Jung is presented to the world as living proof that you only have to care enough and be brave enough to slap a tight-ass country across the face, make it take notice of the problems, and then make it do something about it.


HEROES and PIONEERS
Michelle Wie
- She has bagged the #2 position of the women's world golf rankings. Sponsors have been jumping at the chance to acquire her as spokesperson, resulting in her pocketing approximately $10 million a year in endorsements from names such as Nike and Sony.

She aims to break the gender barriers in the sport of golf, refusing to stop at the ladies' events; she has set her sights to becoming the first woman to participate in the Masters. Although still title-less, she believes that this is the year for her to finally make the ultimate mark on the face of golf and claim her place in history as one of the greatest and most respectable players ever to be remembered.

Oh and by the way: she's 16.

Bono
- Rock fused with humanitarianism -- can't have it better than that

One of the most highlighted figures in contemporary music scene, as well as today's movements for world reform, U2's Bono has become to me one of entertainment's most inestimable contributions to the world. Aside from putting out songs that rivet the mind as well as the heart, he has stepped off the red carpet and onto the dusty trails of Africa to help in the provision of medicine and care for countries crippled by poverty and AIDS.

His -- along with Bob Geldof's -- most recent contribution has been the launching of the worldwide musical movement Live 8. An internationally-organized series of free concerts performed simultaneously in countries all over the globe, the main goal was to raise not funds for, but awareness of the poverty and debt situation in many African countries. The concerts were collectively an address to the presidents of the 8 most powerful countries, all of them set to meet at the annual G8 summit to decide on actions to be taken regarding world concerns. Live 8 was launched when it was announced that world poverty was on top of the agenda of the then-upcoming summit.

Bono has moved himself beyond a rock icon, and has become a pioneer for global awareness backed up with action. And as history unfolds, it might be that his trademark sunglasses come only second to his contributions to today's humanitarian causes.

Paul Simon
- Widely known as half of the Simon and Garfunkel duo, Paul Simon has become one of the most noted musicians today. Even after the duo's run, Simon has continually been active in the music scene, working with Mexicans, South Africans, and Brazilian drummers for the incorporation of an added level of flavor to his work. His new album Surprise alludes to the tragedy in New Orleans, and retains the same melody, thoughts, and sentiments for which the world has come to know him.

Steve Nash
- All hail the two-time MVP of the NBA. A proud member of the Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash is anything but proud. Despite the stardom that he has obtained, he still emanates as the nice guy who works to makes his teammates better. Along with his star-quality performances, this is probably the reason why he is this revered in the first place.

Spectators and NBA players alike describe Steve Nash to be one of the most unselfish players in the league. He boosts up the entire team not through flashy dunks and glittery press ops: he does this by being an all-around support and backer who only wants to push his entire team to be the best they can be in every game. Call it a cliche, but it works: the Suns came out of a 3-1 playoffs record against the LA Lakers to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Kobe needs to seal his yap for a while and watch how basketball is played with less ego and more class.

Just goes to show you: nice guys go places, despite what people say.

[N.B. No offense to all Laker fans]


BUILDERS and TITANS
The Flickr Founders
- Most of us are probably familiar with Flickr, the website that enables photo-sharing with no charge. It has become for photos what Blogger is to blogs, with the site gathering more sign-ups every month.

While it is agreeable that there's nothing that new about the idea, you have to hand it to these guys: they managed to round up the attention as well as the enthusiasm of internet users everywhere. Although saying this only from a personal perspective, I am certain of my accuracy in claiming that the website has had overwhelming response since its launch. And it one-ups other trend sites by providing for people a basic need: some place to put and share their photos.

Kudos to them.

The MySpace Men
- Although at first glance MySpace lacks the popularity that Friendster started out with, the notable aspect of this website is the fact that it started out as a site that enabled musicians to share their music to people worldwide. A surprising and far-off picture from how it is now, MySpace has to be commended as being a medium that encourages the free spreading of the art of music, as well as being an enabler for musicians to put their creations out to the world for the sake of exposure. Can't say anything bad about artistic encouragement

Omid Kordestani
- "Who?"

The man who raised Google from a tiny critter to the goliath that it is now.

"Oh."

Kordestani has never gotten recognition the same as that of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, or Google CEO Eric Schmidt -- but this guy is the reason behind Google's growing popularity. The titanic brand name's vice president for global sales and business development, he is the brains behind the phenomenon that Google has become. Through huge pushes in deals with other companies and generation of big bucks through advertising, Kordestani earns the right for his name to be attributed to every email received on Gmail, every search item brought back by the Google search engine, every ice cream store located by Google world, every appointment saved on Google calendar . . . .

Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum
- This chap dreams to turn Dubai into the next Singapore. As its leader, this man has pegged the future of Dubai as something that outshines the expectations of every person from whichever country across the globe.

I have been told that despite what people might imagine, Dubai has advanced in its, well, advancement: it has continually developed into the business haven that this man dreams it to be. Upon establishing things such as "a blossoming financial center, regional headquarters for global brands, mega shopping malls, amusement parks, a world-class airline and an airport to go with it, luxurious hotels that play host to 7 million tourists annually and the world's largest man-made islands," he now sets his sights on the Burj Dubai skyscraper -- a structure intended to become the world's tallest building.

Not bad for a poet/champion horseman/UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Defense Minister. Oh and by the way, literary sources say that he has named himself the CEO of Dubai Inc.

Shuts you up, don't it?


ARTISTS and ENTERTAINERS
Reese Witherspoon
- I'm not a fan of movies of a nature such as that of her Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2, but I do give my recognition to Reese Witherspoon simply because of her attitude towards hard work, as well as her intention to grab only the most profound roles. Sure, Elle Woods was anything but profound -- on the surface. But you have to recognize the process of her overcoming social branding and rising to the occasion as a worthy graduate of Harvard Law (I was told of it, I didn't see the movie. Hehehehe)

Her cinematic character aside, Reese exudes with the intelligence and confidence that I think is needed by women today. She does not try to eat up the entire male species, and she does not try to surpass it. She only works to become a cultured, dignified individual who does not have to go to great extents to prove her worth. A very hard feat to accomplish in the world of Hollywood, yet she is successful at it. And I respect her for that, I truly do.

Howard Stern
- The human textbook definition of the statement "I don't give a rat's ass."

With his popularity pushed to the top by his overly-honest attitude in his radio show, Howard Stern has been identified as one of the most fearless media figures in contemporary America. Not precisely because of undaunting passion to cover the latest controversies and air them to the public, but because of his fearless, expert operation of the leathal weapon that is his mouth. Known to criticize celebrities on air (celebrities who are his guests, mind you), Stern perfects his craft by just giving people the crap he thinks they deserve by telling them the kind of crap he thinks they are (he means well, I think).

Although he is reportedly really a nice guy, one has to admit that there is not much guts in the world similar to those of Howard Stern. The humor of his show stems from a tactless honesty that can neither be defined nor contained.

Stephen Colbert
- Primarily a "correspondent" on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert has managed to earn his own position as an anchor of a fake news show aptly named The Colbert Report. I haven't really seen an episode of it, but I do remember seeing him on The Daily Show: his sarcasm and humor are of a different kind, and I swear to God, I miss watching him. Although I've heard that his show has currently been toiling at the task of gathering decent ratings, Colbert has been described as a decent figure of news parody, and I say that's good enough.

And apparently, so does TIME Magazine.

Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Aside from the fact that I had premiere tickets, I rushed to see Mission: Impossibe III for this guy.

Forget Tom Cruise, I wanted to see Hoffman on the big screen again. After watching his Oscar-winning performance on the movie Capote, I was enamored. I only regret not being at least a gofer for the crew of the movie, for if I were I would have seen the transformation that this guy went through in getting into character. He was AMAZING in the movie, and that one performance has managed to leave me awestruck by his acting ability. I remember first seeing him on the movie Twister and I think that was back in 1995. A so-so performance, it has become a factor of comparison between how he was then and how he faces the camera now.

I have no idea how to describe how good an actor this guy was in Capote, so I'll just say this: that one movie landed him a spot on TIME's 100 "People Who Shape Our World".

If anything, go see the movie for his acting. It matters not if you know who Truman Capote was, or if you even care: his performance was good enough to not only make you pay attention, but also understand why he went home with the Oscar.


[For the entire article, visit this link.]

CanNOT wait to see x-Men 3. Although I haven't really read the comic books themselves, I've been a huge fan of these mutants ever since I was a kid.

I want to be a mutant; I've wanted to be Weird, I know; but I'm not ashamed to say it, dammit! And call me crazy, but when the Discovery Channel showed this one-hour special on how science can replicate the closest thing to superhuman powers, I was glued to the screen wondering how possible it was for a person to obtain these "powers".

How cool would it be to have these superhuman abilities? And not the usual conjuring shit that fairy tales have exposed us to; I'm talking about the kind of powers the X-Men have. If I could have my pick of what abilities to be born with, I'd want a combination of those of Nightcrawler's, Professor X's, Jean Grey's, Pyro's, and Storm's. In addition, I'd also want the power to manipulate electricity. It would be nice to be able to conjure up a lightning bolt in my hand without my eyes turning white and rising up in the air (if that IS how Storm originally does it). I also want to be able to transfigure, with the option of manipulating either my entire body or just parts of it.

I may even consider having a totally different appearance as a mutant (Mystique looks cool, I don't care if she's blue), but to a certain extent. Sorry, but I'd rather look normal than look like Toad. It would be cool to have different-colored irises (although that's possible without mutant genes), or wings just like the ones Angel has. And call me crazy, but I think Nightcrawler's tail is hella cool.

The third X-Men installment deals with what I think is a very good angle of the conformity issue that the X-Men deal with. From the preview I've seen, there is now involved a "cure" that the government has formulated against the mutant gene. After watching the 30-minute preview on Star Movies, I was like "Oooooh, this is gonna be good."

The subject sparks my interest based on personal concerns as well. I was never a big fan of making oneself up with the sole purpose of fitting in. Sure there's something to be said about being part of a community but goddammit, who cares if I like being different? Call me weird and I'll thank you for it; call me strange and I'll buy you coffee (you have to mean it though ).

I remember my dad telling me once that nonconformists never succeed in life. I'm taking that by "life" he means the corporate kind, and by "succeed" he means landing the highest position in a company (which he has managed to do). And thinking about it now, I'm guessing that what he meant was that a person has to learn to follow the rules in order to get somewhere; I don't think he quite understood that nonconformity does not always equate to rebellion. And relating it to how he knows me, I just have to say that I am not one who will break the rules just because I want to, or just because I am inconvenienced by them. I will, however, not agree with them if I find them, well, disagreeable. I may follow, but I won't suck up

If I had mutant powers and I was presented the option of "curing" myself, I'd probably just laugh. Leave me alone, normal person! I'm different and I like it. There is so much to be said about the saying "You laugh because I'm different; I laugh because you're all the same." Who wants to be drop-dead-boring normal anyway? Support uniqueness, I say. Individuality is on the way to extinction, and I for one think it's such a tragedy. That's why I'm really looking forward to the third X-Men movie: it advertises the fact that it's good to be different. I for one thing don't want to be the kind of person who disappears in a crowd; only drones do that, and I refuse to be one. Ew.