Johann Adam Weishaupt, Founder of the Illuminati Source: Art of Charm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Everyone loves a good mystery. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. And, if you happen upon a good mystery interwoven with a good conspiracy, then you’ve got a best seller on your hands.
Just ask Dan Brown. He’s made a career writing trendy books that allude to the mysteries of the Illuminati. These include The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, both of which, along with Brown’s Inferno, have been made into movies starring Tom Hanks.
Brown writes of a popularized vision of the Illuminati. He is not alone in painting a picture of the clandestine group as a nefarious conclave set on world domination. Through the ages, many have used the Illuminati as their favorite punching bag. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Illuminati was “credited with activities ranging from the instigation of the French Revolution to the assassination of U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy.”
Josef Wages, author of The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati and a board member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, explains the reason for this. He says, “There was a nice convenient vacuum and, until my book was Continue Reading “How Banned Cartoonist Scott Adams Became The American Illuminati”
On The Oscars, Bank Runs, And Picking Winning Stocks
But I do watch movies. Mostly old ones. Although for the first time in a long time, I actually saw one of the movies nominated for best picture. Only one of them. And I’m probably not alone in that category.
Top Gun: Maverick did something Hollywood really needed. It made people want to go to the theater again. You can count me among them. Granted, that was the only movie that compelled me since the last James Bond fiasco (see “Abandon Bond All Ye Who Enter,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, November 4, 2021).
In return for this gift, the powers that be nominated Top Gun: Maverick for “Best Picture.” It would never win, of course, but they truly believe it’s an honor merely to be nominated. But to make them feel less guilt, they’d have to nominate the film for a few other Continue Reading “On The Oscars, Bank Runs, And Picking Winning Stocks”