Hey There, Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology (CoS), died January 24, 1986.

An odd way to commemorate this death anniversary is an all out attack on the organization by a group calling itself Anonymous.

And it all boils down to CoS using its legal muscle to remove the leaked videos of Tom Cruise on YouTube where he talks about being a Scientologist. Lots of people took offense, and war was declared. I guess the idea is to vigilantly "expose" CoS in response to CoS' vigilance to protect its name, reputation, and if you believe their detractors, protecting opportunities to make more money by requiring people to be paying members before they have the right to see the Tom Cruise video.

The clip is basically an interview with the latest winner of the CoS Medal of Valor (Tom Cruise, who else?). I could paste a link to the video here, but it would be a waste of effort since I'm pretty sure that link will be gone in 24 hours courtesy of the CoS patrol. If you want to watch Tom Cruise ramble, use a search engine like Google to find the latest upload of the video.

I'm not kidding ... Cruise just rambles in that clip. It's precious for the tiny bits about CoS that Cruise mentions, but generally yawn-inspiring. Ofcourse if you idolize Cruise, you're welcome to drink in every word. CoS will probably be glad to have more members in the Philippines.

Oh yeah, Scientology has already reached this Land of the Morning. We keep inviting David Pomeranz every year to hold Valentine's Day concerts here ... it was inevitable he would not only bring his music, but Scientology as well. Scientology registered as a religious organization in the Philippines in 2003. I think their local center is somewhere in Greenhills. The government has welcomed their assistance in helping out with illiteracy and drug problems. The group doesn't believe in psychology or psychiatry as we know it, and thinks itself a better solution to the psychs, but I guess the government takes what works especially if given for free - including a series of pamphlets based on the Scientology handbook.

Funny, huh? A controversial organization such as CoS who would sue the pants off of anyone who divulges its "scriptures" to the rest of the world is actively distributing a handbook in a third world country.

-----edit-----

Holy S**t! Pages on the official Scientology site were not available or disappeared one by one from the moment I started writing this post. And now the site is totally down ... again! Anon's work, definitely.

Developments on this would be fun to watch.

Bits and Pieces

Milk

A movie about California's first openly gay elected politician, Harvey Milk (picture on the left), is in the works. Milk will be directed by Gus Van Sant and will star Sean Penn (picture on the right) in the title role. Reportedly playing Daniel Nicoletta is Lucas Grabeel. Ah... so now you know why I'm writing about this movie.

To know more about Harvey Milk, read Time's profile on the man: http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/milk01.html

Danny Nicoletta started as a clerk in Harvey Milk's Castro Street camera store in San Francisco. When Milk ran for office, Nicoletta worked on his campaigns as well. After Milk was gunned down, Nicoletta and other friends of the politician formed a group dedicated to preserving Milk's legacy. Apart from keeping the memory of Milk alive, Nicoletta is also a well known photographer specializing in documenting the gay and lesbian community of San Francisco.

Young Daniel Nicoletta	Daniel Nicoletta now	Lucas Grabeel

James Franco is rumored to play Milk's lover, Scott Smith, while either Matt Damon or Josh Brolin will play Milk's killer, Dan White.


OK Magazine

OK magazine just published an interview with Lucas Grabeel too, with a companion write up on its website. The topic is High School Musical, the fame that came with it, and working on the movie Lock and Roll Forever.


Monique Lhuiller

Her website: http://www.moniquelhuillier.com/

Nice and simple, but I totally hate having to turn off the music every time I go back to the homepage. This Filipina has done well. Like Vera Wang, Lhuillier has made a name creating wedding gowns of Hollywood celebrities, and she has branched out to evening wear and RTW. Her gowns have been worn by actresses strutting the red carpet on award shows. Lhuillier has also designed a line of dinner ware. There are rumors that she may come out with her own line of fragrance.


Michael Copon

I didn't watch Power Rangers, and neither do I watch One Tree Hill, therefore I haven't seen or heard about Michael Copon till I read his name being mentioned in the same paragraph as Monique Lhuillier and Vanessa Hudgens. Googled him and he's quite the hunk. This Filipino/German-American's current project is starring in the latest Scorpion King movie: Rise of the Akkadian. The movie is based on the video game of the same name.

Duwayne Johnson passed on the chance to reprise his role.

Copon is also starring in another movie: The Kentucky Fried Horror Show.

Speaking of Scorpion King, the movie that started it all, The Mummy, will also have its own sequel this year. Brendan Fraser has reportedly agreed to reprise his role. Fraser being one of my favorite actors, there's no question that I will watch this movie.



Scream

Keri Hilson and Filipino-American Nicole Scherzinger is featured in Timbaland's "Scream".

The audio's not that good in this video, but the beat is still good. Song's currently stuck in my head.


Raisin in the Sun

Sean Combs aka Puff Diddy is promoting the movie made for TV: Raisin in the Sun. Raisin in the Sun is a 1959 play that was revived on Broadway in 2004, during which a couple of cast members won Tony awards. Sean Combs is part of the 2004 cast that performed the play in Broadway. Got to hand it to Sean Combs for his decisions on WHERE to branch out. Music label, clothing line, scents, and now acting. By the way, this is the first TV movie to be accepted to the Sundance Film Festival.


Ready, Set, Don't Go

Miley Cyrus's songs as Hannah Montana are definitely teen pop. Bubble gum pop. This duet with her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus is a refreshing change. One of those lovely country songs.



Wicked Guitar work

John Mayer trying out the interlude of "I Think She Knows":

Novel: The Third Secret

	Author:	Steve Berry
	Genre:	Suspense, Thriller
	Publisher:	Ballantine Books
	Year Published:	May 17, 2005

Berry may have started writing this novel in 2000, when Pope John Paul II revealed the third secret of Fatima and a number of Catholics began questioning if everything was revealed. After all, after hints from Sis. Lucia and then Cardinal Ratzinger of the apocalyptic theme of the third secret, people were disasppointed with what was ultimately released to the public, accompanied with an interpretation that dwelled on the attempted assasination of the pope. There were even accusations of forgery and a Vatican cover-up that prodded the Vatican Secretary of State to respond.

After a few years, the controversies surrounding the Fatima secret took the backseat. By a stroke of luck, however, Berry's book was released a month after Pope John Paul II died (April 2, 2005). For a brief moment, Catholics around the world revisited the prophecies of St. Malachi, wondering if by choosing to be called Pope Benedict XVI, Ratzinger is the 2nd to the last pope labeled "Gloria Olivae". Berry's novel has become "current". What is uncanny though is that Berry's Pope Clement XV and the current pope are both Germans. Even Berry found the similarities uncanny.

In this novel, Berry invested more time discovering his characters and digging into his faith rather than using plain logic to string together events. I cared about the characters in this book more than the Romanov Prophecy characters.

More than telling its readers about the Third Secret of Fatima and the St. Malachi prophecies, this book tackles the questions of celibacy, women priests, abortion and homosexuality. These are issues that divide the Catholic church.

If you are aware of the movement Call to Action (CTA), then you would know the seriousness with which radical reforms in the Catholic Church are being pursued by some Catholics. In fact, the reforms this group is calling for are all included in Berry's "real 3rd secret": optional celibacy, ordination of women as priests, rights over one's body which includes the choice of abortion, and total non-discrimination - which means active homosexuals are accepted. These are incompatible with Catholic teachings, and have earned the group excommunication.

There are other groups like CTA. There are just as many groups on the other side of the fence - ultra-conservatives who hold on to the old form of Catholicsim. A number prefer and attend only the Latin mass. Some consider any form of feminism heresy. Some of them even list Sis. Mary John Mananzan, the Mother Prioress of St. Scholastica's College (SSC) Manila, as a heretic for being an active feminist (for starters, she is the chairperson of Gabriela). Ofcourse, finding out the latter made me wonder if the same groups would also brand students of SSC heretics for being taught Mananzan's brand of feminism.

I find it interesting that Berry's version of the "real" 3rd secret has in effect proclaimed that CTA, and similar groups, are on the right path. A lot of Catholics, including most Filipinos in the Philippines will find CTA, and Berry's conclusion, too radical. I do. But Berry is a lawyer and a Catholic in North America, where the movement for Catholic reform is strongest. I respect the fact that for someone like him, his story makes perfect sense.

Novel: The Romanov Prophecy

	Author:	Steve Berry
	Genre:	Suspense, Action & Adventure
	Publisher:	Ballantine Books
	Year Published:	Aug. 31, 2004

Taking the cue from Dan Brown, Steve Berry writes novels using themes that have been circulating in urban legends or among conspiracy theorists.

In The Romanov Prophecy, Steve Berry decided to tackle the question of whether some royal Romanov had survived the massacre in Yekaterinburg on July 1918, especially when several women began claiming to be Anastasia. This question has taken the fancy of many, and has even given birth to movies.

The premise that Berry uses in order to start the action is that Russia has finally decided to return to monarchy, and anyone who can claim blood ties to the late Nicholas II is a candidate. The closer the relationship to the murdered tsar, the better the chances of getting the throne.

As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, given that people in other countries with existing monarchies consider their royals as mere figureheads and interesting topics in gossip or lifestyle magazines rather than people who actually run their governments, I doubt if Russians would really want their tsars back - Romanovs or not.

The first 2/3 of the novel was a very slow read. There was action, but they were scattered here and there. If you'd graph it, the action would rise a little then go down ... no momentum building that would have spurred me to keep turning the pages.

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons may have lamer premises, but those books definitely had the kind of action that made them page turners.

The difference may lie in the fact that Berry is a lawyer whereas Brown is an English professor. Berry spent too much time building his "case" that I feel little for his characters.

To Berry's credit, the last 1/3 was good.

Thanks to this book, I learned that Rasputin supposedly left some prophecies about Romanovs and Russia in general. Take note though that in August of last year, some scientists found the remains of two bodies which they believe could be Alexei and one of his sisters. Tests to identify the bodies are not yet finished:

Read the International Herald Tribune article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/23/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Czars-Son.php
Read the Interfax article: http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=4136

Amazing Race Asia and Blog Pet Peeves

Watched the replay of Amazing Race Asia - again. Started watching it around 3 weeks ago. I usually don't watch Amazing Race but an officemate kept referring to it and my friend Sam asked me on the phone why the hell didn't I ask an autograph when I had my picture taken with Marc Nelson during the ICAP Charity Day. Needless to say, their interest in the show made me curious enough to watch an episode. I haven't become a fan, but it's entertaining enough that when it's on and nothing else better is being shown on other channels, I watch it.

Marc and Rovilson have so far managed to retain the #1 spot in this week's episode, and I like watching team #2 try their best to displace them. The fighting couple are still last and it's amazing they haven't been kicked out after having placed last for the last two legs of the race. Kinda scary to think the couple fight that way and that often when not in a stressful situation like this race.

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Been reading blogs today and I must say that I totally hate it when the embedded music starts playing when I open the site. Would be helpful if the mute or music off button is easily located. Oftentimes, blogs have a lot of widgets that I have to scroll down a lot of them before finding the music off button.

--------edit--------

He he he! Looking at blog posts about Amazing Race Asia (TARA 2), and although most Filipinos are rooting for Marc and Rovilson, it looks like a lot of non-Filipinos have pure hatred over the two. A number of females from other countries find them "hot", but the men just want them out of the race. Now THAT is funny.

Discovering the Malu Fernandez Incident

I was Googling for some other topic yesterday and among the results was a load of blog posts reacting to a certain lifestyle article by a Malu Fernandez. Ha! I had no idea that last June to August of 2007, a lot of Filipino bloggers AROUND the world have banded together against this woman because the said article was condescending to Overseas Filipino Workers. Click the images below to view the scans from the magazine.

Speaking as a Filipino: Ouch!
If I am an OFW: Really Ouch!
If I am an OFW in Dubai: Major Ouch!

Half a year may have passed since this topic have graced many a Filipino's blog, but I am still compelled to write my thoughts on what she wrote...especially the words that made her the Filipinos' most hated woman of 2007.

However I forgot that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) were stationed there. The duty-free shop was overrun with Filipino workers selling cell phones and perfume. Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them. Of course, everyone in economy class was yelled at for having overweight hand-carries.
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...so I heaved a sigh, popped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sounds of gum chewing and endless yelling of "HOY! Kumusta ka na? At taga saan ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?" Translation: "Hey there? Where are you from? Are you a domestic helper as well?" I thought I had died and God had sent me to my very own private hell.
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On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more. This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air.

To tell the truth, I find her trend of thought disturbing, and if this is indicative of how her crowd thinks, then it is appalling.

The article definitely looks down on OFWs. No doubt about it.

To be fair, overweight hand-carried bags and loud chattering in planes are cliches associated with OFWs. Some have even successfully made endearing jokes of these observations in e-mails that make their way around the globe as chain letters. If Fernandez was attempting to make joke, then she failed by declaring she wanted to slit her wrists because she was trapped with the OFWs doing activities that she associates with being sent by God to her very own private hell.

I couldn't say much on the overweight hand-carried bags. I could however point out that talking loudly on a plane is not a behavior peculiar to OFWs, or Filipinos in general. When I was flying to Hong Kong last November, the noisy people on board were Chinese; years ago, the noisy people onboard my plane trip to Boracay were Korean. This behavior comes out when people are in a pack. You get too many of any type or race of people in one place, and you will inevitably hear the yapping - unless there are rules for staying silent in that area.

Now, pondering what makes it a private hell for her would be interesting. Is it merely the noise? Or, given the number of negative observations, most probably the fact that they are made by OFWs? To feel like you're in hell when surrounded by OFWs shows uneasiness, and an itching need NOT to be associated with them. A probable fear that by looking so much like the less privileged people around her, she'll be mistaken as one of them. She is not comfortable with this image of the Filipino, and consequently not 100% comfortable with being Filipino.

Fernandez was just being true to herself. Sadly, though, her self image is confined to being the socialite, and preferably the socialite akin to those found in developed countries. It is an image that has distanced and wishes to disassociate itself from the Filipino struggling to make a living.

What is sadder is that Fernandez is just one of many people who think this way. I have met her kind in the exclusive girls' school I studied in, at the university I attended, and in the workplace. Youd'd probably meet her kind in any place in the world.

Movie: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Studio:	Walt Disney Pictures
Release:	December 21, 2007
Genre:	Action/Adventure, Thriller and Sequel
MPAA Rating:	PG for some violence and action.

My Yahoo! Movies Rating:

Overall Grade:	B-
Story:	C+
Acting	B-
Direction:	B
Visuals:	B-

The protagonists and antagonists race to find a fabled Native American city of gold by following a set of clues. This time, even mom is along for the ride.

Now, although the characters here have to use their brains to solve clues, the movie audience should refrain from thinking too much (for starters, the race itself was stupid since the "villain" could have just asked Gates' help).

Typical of adventure movies, the fantastical is mixed with the truth, which raises the likelihood of the story's improbability.

It's much better to just sit back, feel the adrenalin rush, and have some laughs. This movie gets a high grade for entertainment ... if only it was part of the criteria in this site's rating system.

Regarding Beauregard

When HSM2 actor Lucas Grabeel said he has set up his own company 14341 to make the movies he likes, he wasn't joking. Apparently, he started his first project, Beauregard, in the last half of December 2007. I think he directs this movie and maybe he does a little cameo. I'm guessing it's got something to do with a family and a dog.


This shot reminds me of the social bunny NPC in Sims 2. I so want to play that videogame now, but I haven't replaced my busted hard disk, so now I don't have enough memory to play it (I was using virtual memory instead of paying for an additional chip). Reminds me... Lanie has asked to borrow my Sims1 CDs because her Sims2 is taking up too much memory.

Back to the movie. Emily, Marc and Mike - Lucas' friends - are involved here too ... Emily's an actress, and Mike's an editor - so I assume he'll do the same kind of work in this movie. Apart from Emily, other people who've appeared in Disney movies or TV shows are part of the cast: there's Mark Taylor who plays Mr. Fulton in High School Musical 2, and there's Phill Lewis who plays Mr. Moseby in Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Jeff Braine, who appears with Grabeel in the Adventures of Food Boy indie movie, is also part of the cast.

All photos on the set are by Marc. Click the cast and crew photo below to see more Beauregard pictures on Marc's website:

Today's Dose of Randomness

Ricky Carandang's recent blog post discusses his thoughts on the recent Iowa caucus. It's a nice read ... especially his observations on discrimination in USA.

The Metro Manila filmfest is finally over, which means that movies released in the US during the filmfest time will finally be shown in local cinemas. Looking forward to seeing National Treasure. I know the plot/story will be as silly as the first one, I'm watching it for the thrill ride.

Can't help but notice that Crank That by Soulja Boy is going back up the Billboard Hot 100 chart again. It's now #5, being in the 11th spot the previous week. That's one resilient, addictive piece of music.

Saw A Knight's Tale on cable yesterday. I't a fun film to watch. I actually have a DVD of the movie. I still have the opinion that Alan Tudyk's character could pass for a grown up Ron Weasley (a Harry Potter book character). The short fuse, the loyalty to his friend despite knowing he will get into trouble, the red hair ... that's Ron Weasley.

I believe Paul Bettany was initially noticed by Hollywood in this film. Hard not to notice an actor who walks into his first scene naked. His acting wasn't bad either ... he actually won the London Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actor because of "A Knight's Tale".

The movie's plot is silly to start with, but it is a glaring oddity that the character of Chaucer is Ulrich von Liechtenstein's herald, and that Ulrich's men were betting against Frenchmen that an Englishman will win the jousting tournament in Paris. It was in the context that the French knew Ulrich and his men were English. If Will the thatcher's son is bent on keeping his disguise as Ulrich, wouldn't he be careful about discrepancies such as being English when you're supposed to be from another country?

Actually, the title von Liechtenstein from Gelderland should be glaringly bogus to any character in the movie. The current principality of Liechtenstein is near Switzerland (I once came across a brochure from its embassy - the place has high quality of living by the way); while Gelderland sounds Dutch. Let's say Liechtenstein is a relatively new principality ... I should think that any reference to older Liechtensteins would still locate them near Switzerland or neighboring countries like Austria.

Ignoring those bits of info, the movie is enjoyable because of its characters and the music.

Andy Swan took down the latest "Unauthorized" Gubler video. Wonder what made him change his mind. Would he post the future videos on http://www.bankruptpictures.tv/ only instead of YouTube?


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Passed by Portkey.org's forum. Read nothing interesting to give me reason to log on. My last post there was months ago. Harry Potter discussion is basically dead. The only reason I signed up there was because my friend, a moderator on that board, asked me to. Nothing much going on in lg.org either simply because most of Europe and North American tweens are not yet online (sleeping or in school).

Not in the mood to visit TWOP. One may find the most hysterical/funny discussions there, but members on that forum can be mean critics. Not much into negative vibes now. Need to find another forum to hang out in...

A-ha! Ashley Tisdale's website is a barrage of stuff that I realized only now that it actually has a forum.

I'm a Sharpay Evans fan, so ofcourse I signed up. Liking it ... simply because there are members my age in there, and not just tweens. Ha ha ha! I'll probably start hanging out there more as the topics of discussion are more varied. As usual, you'll find me in the "other topics" area.

Random Updates

Writers' strike = off time for actors.

Jay Leno got some flak for resuming his talk show using his own scripts ... the issue is that Leno is a member of the writers' guild and therefore shouldn't be writing. Doesn't matter if he's writing for his own show. Rules are rules.

Matthew Gubler and friends made use of their spare time digging up footage and finally posted a new "unauthorized documentary" on YouTube.

It's the first of "Season 2". Can't wait for more. Love Gubler for his sense of humor. Hoping he gets more and better projects, not only in acting - but in other aspects of the business. He has already directed a music video for a rock band. He has promise: his film projects in college are good, and considered noteworthy by his school ... although his stuff, if you find them on YouTube, leaned towards the bizaare.

Hate it that Studio23 isn't showing new episodes of Criminal Minds yet. I keep tuning in every Friday at 9:30PM, hoping to see an episode I haven't seen before. No such luck. At least they're not showing the same episode two weeks in a row ... which is what C/S is doing with Heroes Season 2. Aargh!!!

Was asleep on the bus ride home, as always. Still, the following entertainment news registered ... Jennylyn Mercado is 6 weeks pregnant with Patrick de Guzman's baby. Well, at least she's already 20 and not 16 like Jamie Lyn Spears. Speaking of Spears .... saw Britney on TV laid out on a gurney, rushed to the hospital for OD. Oh yeah, it's not all the time that I use words that rhyme, if I keep this up someone would accuse me of committing a crime.

I logged onto YouTube to see the amusing shibashi video by Sr. Mary John Mananzan. Saw this in my subscription box:

That would be the Marc Blackwell that everyone in LG.org is familiar with, plugging his photography business. He could do better in my opinion... he rarely looks at the camera in this clip. What I find amusing is that the fangirls at LG.org have now added his voice to their discussion. Tired of discussing Lucas' boxers, socks, tongue/teeth and his other body parts ... the girls have lately ventured onto discussing Marc's facial hair. When I first saw that thread, I found it creepy yet hilarious at the same time.

Hopefully Marc doesn't get stalked. When Billy Boyd's website still had a forum, his friend and the web administrator then, "Steelso", had a creepy experience of one fangirl actually stalking him. Dunno if the girl already lived in Scotland, or if she lived in another country and just went there to see him. I really don't know the details.

Ah, bb.net. I miss that forum. Of all message boards related to the Lord of the Rings movies, bb.net was the friendliest, which is why I hung out there a lot. LG.org is close ... but I easily get tired of Lucas talk, and most members are tweens. In bb.net, members range from 10 to 40. I usually hung around threads that discuss LOTR and anything about Middle Earth. I participated more in threads that talk about other stuff not related to Billy Boyd or LOTR though. The bb.net forum closed shortly after the last LOTR movie came out. The members created substitute forums, and I joined a couple of them. The atmosphere weren't the same as the original however, so I stopped logging onto those forums.

Back to the clip... Marc mentions that Lucas will work on his own project, "Beauregard", after "Lock and Roll Forever". Speaking of Lucas... an RSS feed alerted me to the new, official website of the independent film he shot: The Adventures of Foodboy.

On another HSM star: Vanessa Hudgens is on Seventeen's February issue ... AND she consents to talk about the unfortunate nude pictures incident.

HSM3 will start filming soon. Wonder what the movie will be like. When it comes to musicals though, what I'm really looking forward to is the movie adaptation of the play Mama Mia! ABBA may have been popular during my sister's "time" (she's 20 yrs. older), but I still like their music.

Another movie I'm looking forward to is Hancock. It's a comedy about a superhero in crisis. Starring one of my favorite actors: Will Smith. I know I'll enjoy this movie because Will Smith is in it. I was already watching this guy when he was just the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Trying to get through Steve Berry's Romanov Prophecy

Steve Berry's Romanov Prophecy isn't much of a page turner. Have had it since Christmas and I haven't even read half of it. If I really found it interesting, I would have finished it in 2 days... that includes having 3 full meals a day, having bathroom breaks and getting enough sleep.

It isn't exactly like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, and thank God for that!

Funny thing. Jeng and Menchie tried to sell the book to me by saying Berry's books are like Brown's... except that - according to Menchie - Brown's approach is logical while Berry's approach is historical. Whatever that means.

Making Brown a standard isn't a good idea if you're talking to me ... his two books that I just mentioned have only one plot: 1) mysterious murder; 2) hero meets woman who will be helping him on the case; 3) a secret organization is involved; 4) hero meets someone whom he thinks is a friend but 5) said friend is actually the enemy; 6) there's one secret that will be revealed that may shatter people's beliefs; and 7) the reader has already guessed what the secret is or who the bad guy is a good many chapters before the hero does. Apart from the predictable plots, I also couldn't care less if Jesus' blood line or the Illuminati do exist.

What hinders me from devouring the Romanov prophecy? 1) I'm already familiar with the story of the Romanovs, so there's no pull on me to learn something new - apart from bits like the supposed Rasputin prophecy and top secret files that Berry mentions and have yet to be verified if true. Amusing to note that apart from supposedly predicting that he'll die before 1917, Rasputin also said Jesus will emerge in 2005, followed by the Loch Ness monster in 2006. 2) I do not believe the premise that was used to justify the necessity of bringing back the Romanovs to head Russia. If some British already think that they don't need the Windsors, do you think Russians would overwhelmingly want the Romanovs back, and in power? Ofcourse, they may already have a tsar in Vladimir Putin if you listen to CNN's special reports. he he he! 3) The assassins are so dumb, they make the villains look stupid.

After I finish this book, I'll try to read The Third Secret. Hopefully that one's a better read. If so, then maybe I'll be interested enough to buy the latest Steve Berry book for myself (with Jeng and Menchie waiting for me to finish reading it so they can borrow the book).