His Sense and Nonsense

Akash Marathakam

Monday, December 28, 2009

WISH ALL OF YOU A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR


WISH ALL OF YOU A VERY HAPPY 
AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR


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Let me suggest you a knol

Jesus in India....FACT OR FLAW!!


THE FIRST SIDE.....Jesus' Deliverance from the Cross & Journey to INDIA
I have written this knol so that by adducing proofs from
established facts, conclusive historical evidence of proven
value, and ancient documents of other nations, I might
dispel the serious misconceptions which are current among
Christians and most Muslim sects regarding the earlier and
the later life of Jesus.-
abhijith....



Contents

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Synchronized Sound Recording

Mammotty in his recent blog had discussed about the importance of sync sound.What do we mean by sync sound??Sync sound (synchronized sound recording) refers to sound recorded at the time of the filming of movies, and has been widely used in U.S. movies since the birth of sound movies. The first animated film in which sync sound was used is Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie. The characters and the boat dance in time with the music, and the gags are sound-related.
 History
Even in the silent film era, films were shown with sounds, often with musical accompaniment by a pianist keeping time with the screen action. The first synchronization was a turning recording device marked with a white spot. As the white spot rotated, the cameraman hand cranked the camera to keep it in sync with the recording. The method was then repeated for playback, but with the projectionist hand cranking the film projector."Single-system" sound recorded sound optically to part of the original camera film, or magnetically to a stripe of magnetic coating along the film edge"Double-system" sound used independent cameras and sound recorders. The first sync sound standard used recorders and cameras both powered by AC (alternating current) motors - essentially clock motors. Later the 50Hz or 60Hz sine wave, called a "Pilotone," was recorded on a second parallel track of an audio recorder.In double-system filming, speed variations of camera and recorder, as well as the elasticity of the magnetic recording tape, requires some positive means of keying the dialogue to its appropriate film frame.The inclusion on the sound recorder of a second, parallel, sync or "Pilotone" track, is the most common method in use today.If a location camera is driven by a DC motor, with some sort of governor control to hold it fairly accurate at 24 f.p.s., a sync pulse generator geared to the movement or motor shaft could be employed to provide the sync pulse output. A cable conducts the sync pulse from camera to sound recorder. The sync pulse is typically a sine wave of 50 or 60 Hz with an RMS amplitude of approximately 1 volt.This double-system audio recording could then be transferred or "resolved" to sprocketed magnetic film, with sprocket holes that match one to one with the original camera film. These two sprocketed media could be run through a "Moviola" or flat-bed editing table such as the Steenbeck for synchronous sound editing.With the introduction of the Bulova "Accutron" watch that used a tuning fork as a time reference (watches later used an oscillating electronic crystal), the camera no longer needed to be connected to the sound recorder with a cable. The camera speed was controlled by one oscillator, and a second oscillator in the recorder generated the Pilotone.This method was developed in the 1960s by pioneering filmmaker Richard Leacock. It was called Direct Cinema and was the basis for a "New Wave" of Cinéma Vérité films, especially in Europe, made by filmmakers who abandoned the studio and went out on location to film, often with hand-held cameras.In 1972 Bell & Howell brought out a consumer version of a double-system Super-8 sound filmmaking system called "Filmosound." A Compact Cassette recorder was attached to the camera with a cable that transmitted a single pulse to the recorder every time a new frame of film was exposed in the camera. On playback, the cassette recorder pulse was used to control the projector speed.A that time a professor in the MIT Architecture department Film Section, Ricky Leacock developed a Super-8 film production system with a crystal-controlled camera, a crystal-generated Pilotone cassette recorder, a sprocketed magnetic film recorder, a flatbed editing table, and a projector. The MIT/Leacock System was funded with a $300,000 grant from Polaroid founder Edwin Land.In 1973 the one-pulse-per-frame technique was used to control recording directly onto sprocketed magnetic film in the Super8 Sound Recorder.developed by inventor Bob Doyle. The Super8 Sound Recorder could also "resolve" sound that had been recorded onto cassette tape with this new "digital" sync pulse.Today, every digital video camera and digital sound recorder have very accurate crystal time references and so can be used for double-system video production.
 Sync Sound in Asia
In Hong Kong, sync sound was not widely used until the 1990s, as the generally noisy environment and lower production budgets made such a method impractical.
Most Bollywood films from the 1960s onwards do not employ this technique and for that very reason the 2001 films Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai were noted for the use of Sync sound. The common practice in Bollywood is to 'dub' over the dialogues at the Post-Production Stage, although people such as sound designer and mixer, Resul Pookutty, are endeavoring to change this. Although the very first Indian talkie Alam Ara released in 1931 saw the very first use of Sync Sound in India, and since then Indian films were regularly shot in Sync Sound till the 1960s with the silent Mitchell Camera, with the arrival of the Arri 2C, a noisy but more practical camera particularly for outdoor shoots, 'dubbing' became the norm and was never reversed. In malyalam "Loudspeaker" movies features with sync sound.Use of this technique has increased in recent times with development in film techniques and instrumentations like Arri Blimp camera.This system has been used in Hindi movie Jodhaa Akbar.

2012

SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that 3 years from now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it'll be humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who would press the stop button. The following are some likely arguments as to why the world would end by the year 2012.
The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things -- building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.
Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the earth will end on December 21,
2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they've got the end of the world right as well.

Reason two: Sun storms
Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse and calculations suggest it'll reach its deadly peak sometime in
2012.

Reason three: The atom smasher
Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator. Basically, its a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They're predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in
2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

Reason four: The Bible says it
If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between good an evil, has been set for
2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

Reason five: Super volcano
Yellowstone National Park in United States is famous for its thermal springs and old faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple -- it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we're many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set
2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

Reason six: The physicists
This one's case of bog -- simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berkely University have been crunching the numbers.
They've determined that the earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they're claiming that their calculations prove that we're all going to die, very soon. They are also saying that their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 per cent; and
2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

Reason seven: Earth's magnetic field
We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun's radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call North and South have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so -- and right now we're about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30 kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is under way, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pazhassi raja-magnum opus



Mammootty as Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja
Sarath Kumar as Edachena Kunkan
Padmapriya Janakiraman as Neeli
Kanika Subramaniam as Kaitheri Makkom
Suman as Pazhayamveedan Chandhu
Manoj K. Jayan as Thalakkal Chandhu
Thilakan as Kurumbranaadu Raja Veeravarma
Jagathy Sreekumar as Kanara Menon
Nedumudi Venu as Moopan
Linda Arsenio as Dora
Suresh Krishna as Kaitheri Ambu
Devan as Kannavathu Nambiar
Lalu Alex as Emman Nair
Captain Raju as Unni Mootha
Jagadeesh as Bhandari
Peter Handley Evans as Major James Gordon
Harry Key as Thomas Hervey Baber
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Music by Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematography Ramanath Shetty
Editing by A. Sreekar Prasad

Narrated by Mohanlal (Malayalam)

                    Kamal Haasan (Tamil)
                    Shahrukh Khan (Hindi)
       Pazhassi Raja movie is a historical subject.The movie is all about a King who belong to Kottayam royal family, revolt against the Britishers.A movie on the life of one of the greatest of the rulers of Kerala has been in the rounds for the last two decades. In fact, MT Vasudevan Nair, one of the master scriptwriters of all times, had been on this thinking from the days of his ‘Oru Vadakkan Veergatha’ which came out in 1989. Now after 18 years from this epoch making movie, ‘Pazhassi Raja’ is slowly but steadily shaping up under the directorial ship of ace director Hariharan,to become the biggest epic movie of our times.
Production
The movie which was in the making since May, last year is into its last session which will get completed with another 25 days of shoot. Most of the important scenes of the movie are shot with four cameras working simultaneously. Gokulam Gopalan is the producer of Pazhashi Raj. The total budget of the movie is about INR 27 crores,which makes it the biggest historical movie ever produced in the South Indian film industry and the highest budget Malayalam movie. The entire movie was filmed in Panavision. In the movie no computer graphics are used in the stunt scenes, inspite the actors including Mammootty and Sarath Kumar made the exciting action sequences which uses the techniques of ancient Kerala martial art Kalaripayattu.The movie also includes extreme war scenes. The sound of these war scenes where done as live mixing.Hariharan, MT Vasudevan Nair and Mammootty, are sure that they are in the making of and a film that will become a milestone in Malayalam cinema
THE TEAM
But the legends are legends, and history is never complete unless they are given the right place.Mammootty plays the pivotal role of Pazhassi Raja. The role will definitely be a challenge for him. Tamil actor Sarath Kumar will make his Malayalam debut in the movie as Pazhassi Raja's trusted commander-in-chief Dalapathy. He has allocated special dates for this film and is fully focused on completing it as soon as possible. Venu handles the camera. Music maestro Illayraja creates music for the songs penned by O.N.V. Kurup. The film shot in and around Thalasserry.The freedom movement has not been recorded properly. That is my inspiration for writing the script for this film on the heroism of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja," Jnanpith award-winning writer and film director M T Vasudevan Nair told PTI. With a motley crowd of tribals, farmers and local people, Pazhassi Raja of Padinhare Kovilakam in Kottayam in North Malabar sprang an uprising against the mighty British, he said. "He was by then dethroned as King at that time and was not a Raja," Nair said.
"The Sepoy mutiny is considered the first organised revolt against British rule. Who knows that in the early 1800s a man fought the British, irked by the wrong revenue policy of the East India Company," said Hariharan, director of the film
SYNOPSIS
Pazhassi Raja’ popularly known as the Lion of Kerala isn’t well known outside Kerala, but he was one of our country’s first freedom fighters. He had to reckon with the armies of the Mysore rulers as well as the British. The British first used him against Tipu’s army and then reneged on their treaty. And more, the Raja was agitated by the unpopular revenue policy followed by the East India Company in Malabar .He then threatened to stop collecting taxes if the Company continued with this mode of revenue collection. Even before the much celebrated Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Raja spear headed an attack against the British who made a futile attempt to capture the Raja in his own palace at Pazhassi in April 1796.
The British company then made proclamations which forbid people from supporting the Raja, threatening to confiscate the property of all who are supporting Pazhassi. In 1797 the Raja’s men launched attack on the security personnel stationed at Pazhassi, and in continuous battles that were fought over three days, Pazhassi’s men were able to overpower the British forces, using swords, spears, bows and arrows . With an army of thousands of Nairs , Pazhassi inflicted such defeat on the British that they were forced to retreat and negotiate.
Raja tried to continue his warfare with the help of aadivasas and his loyal Kurichiyar tribe. Using guerrilla tactics and informers, he kept the British on tenterhooks for longer than any other regional ruler. But on November 30 1805, the Raja was surrounded by Thomas Harvey Babar, a young British officer on charge of suppressing Pazhaassi and was shot dead in an operation on the banks of Mavila Thodu.Pazhassi Raja’ once again revolted against the occupants when the British decide to take over Wynad in 1799, after the fall of Sreerenga Patanam. This time the British had an upper hand as they controlled most of the south. They confiscated Raja’s properties and proclaimed a reward for capturing him. Raja who fled from the palace, took refuge in the jungles accompanied by his wife and immediate attendants.Raja tried to continue his warfare with the help of aadivasas and his loyal Kurichiyar tribe. Using guerrilla tactics and informers, he kept the British on tenterhooks for longer than any other regional ruler. But on November 30 1805, the Raja was surrounded by Thomas Harvey Babar, a young British officer on charge of suppressing Pazhaassi and was shot dead in an operation on the banks of Mavila Thodu.
 Mohanlal dubs for Pazhassi Raja
Mohanlal has dubbed a prologue for Mammootty’s Hariharan directed magnum opus Pazhassi Raja!
It will be Mohanlal who would introduce Pazhassi Raja to the audiences through a 45 second prologue.
Says one of the producers of the film Praveen: “ Mr Mohanlal went out of his way to accommodate us when we requested him to dub the prologue. His introductory voice over has made the film richer.”
Meanwhile the producers are gearing up for the biggest ever release of Pazhassi Raja, on October 2.
Added Praveen: “We are planning to release in nearly 700 screens in India in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. In Malayalam alone we are targeting 250 screens worldwide.”
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Friday, September 18, 2009

Unnai Pol Oruvan Review

Banner: Raj Kamal Productions, UTV Motion Pictures
Production: Kamal Haasan, Ronnie Screwvala
Direction: Chakri
Star-casts: Mohan Lal, Kamal Haasan, Santhanabharathi, Anuja Iyer, Ganesh Venkatram and others
Music: Shruthi Haasan

Friday, August 21, 2009

KANTHASAMY- NOT UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS

Today Kanthasamy( 3 hours 12 minutes) Released and just it rocked the theatres.Trivanrum Athulya was absolutely filled with lot of fans on its opening day,opening show. Total tickets were sold out an i had to go BLACK fo its opening show.The power of Vikram fans in kerala was again proved here,Paper raining,huge claps and dancing in front of the screen etc etc... But what i feel is that it is just an average film. Second half,starting disapponted most of the viewers. I dont know what worth they have done the film for the last two years. Vikram has to think about this after this long break he is getting a movie at a below average level. The movie is techinically good in camera and location selection. There is some disappointment in the screenplay area. During first half there is stunning cordination but Something comes from here and there. The director have not concentrated on the screen play.Vikram, Prabhu, shreya, and all the characters done a good job.
ANY ONE CAN TRY IT ONCE BUT EXPECTED SOME MORE.........................
STORY LINE
Kandasamy opens with scenes showing ordinary people flocking to a Murugan temple which has become famous as all your wishes can be fulfilled at the temple. All those who submit their woes as petitions to Kandasamy (another name for Lord Muruga) on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree in the temple, their problems mainly financial are solved.Soon Kandasamy (Vikram) becomes a phenomenon, a caped crusader dressed as a rooster, takes up letters of ordinary folks from the petition tree, and in a Robin Hood way provides cash and succor. The local DIG of Police (Prabhu) suspects that there is something unnatural about it and starts investigating.
Meanwhile there is this brave and daring CBI officer Kandasamy (Vikram), who is on a mission to uncover black money and illegal wealth of rich and corrupt Indians stashed in foreign banks, which he believes is responsible for all the crime in our society. And our hero has the IQ of a genius, the strength of a bull and the speed of a cheetah.Soon he crosses swords with Pallur Paramajyoti Ponnusamy or PPP (Ashish Vidyarti), the man with a golden tooth and conducts a raid in his palatial bungalow and finds unaccounted cash and documents of various foreign deals worth over Rs 1000 crore! PPP is devastated after the raid and his only daughter Subbalakshmi (Shriya Saran) swears revenge and pretends to fall in love with the dashing IPS officer.
What is the connection between masked crusader Kandasamy and the CBI officer Kandasamy? Why is the CBI Joint Director Krishna Rao (Telugu actor Krishna) protecting Mr. Kandasamy? Can the villains- PPP, Rajmohan of RMG group, and Mexican Pitchumani (Alex) expose and bring Kandasamy to trial? Will the DIG succeed in proving that Kandasamy is no God? The underlining message in the film is, “Money (read black) is the root cause of all evil”.
Don’t ask the answers to all these questions, the idea is to have a chill out time. Watch the action which is fast paced even though slightly long , chew on your popcorn as the adrenaline goes pumping. The rooster Kandasamy introduction scene where he comes crashing through the dome of a police station, and plays around with the bad comic cop (Mansoor Ali Khan) is terrific.
But the highlight is Kandasamy dressed as a woman, a la Aishwarya Rai and teaching Charly and Mayilsamy a fitting lesson is hilarious. The verbal foreplay between the quarrelsome Kandasamy and Subbalakshmi is quite ticklish, and Kandasamy’s blindfolded action scenes in Mexico are stunning.Technically the film is chic with slick production values. The innovative camera angles and lighting of cinematographer NK Ekambaram makes the film visually stunning. He has given a different colour tone to the Mexico episode of the film.But it is slightly boring..Thotta Tharini’s set designs are fabulous, the luxury bedroom of the heroine and the interior of the plush bus used as villain’s hide out is fantastic. The VFX work of Movinstilz makes it picture perfect, the night effect scenes especially the fight scene in the corn field.Music of Devi Sri Prasad blends with the mood of the film. Two of the six songs, Excuse me Mr.Kandasamy… and Yen Peru Meenakumari have been well picturised and lavishly shot. There is grandeur and richness in every shot in the film, no wonder it took two years to complete. Susy Ganeshan who does a cameo in the film joins the big league of directors in Tamil for directing an adventurous film with an underlying message.
But the film indubitably belongs to Vikram and he rocks. He is mesmerizing and has given an extra dimension to the characters he plays in the film and steers it to the winning post. There are very few people in Indian cinema who can do the larger-than-life fantasy character as easily as Vikram.
Shriya sizzles throughout and carries the glamorous role with élan and the attitude. Prabhu fits the role of an investigative cop, while the villains are a bit clichéd. But moments with Vadivel‘s comedy track as Thengakadai Thenappan,What for I dont know..
In short, Kandasamy is a roller coaster ride of pure unadulterated masala. So go ahead, make your matinee.ANY ONE CAN TRY IT ONCE
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Monday, June 15, 2009

ARYANS & DRAVIDANS

Some people contend that there was a race called dravidans who were the aborigines of Indian Subcontinent (while some say they too migrated into India) and the aryans migrated towards India from central Asia pushing the dravidans to the South. There are very many variations of this story. But in many of these dravidans are supposed to be of black complexion, short, acquainted with urban culture, worship Lord shiva shakti (pashupati). The aryans in contrast (the real contrast things are put forward, why !!) white in complexion, well built, rural inhabitants and worship the nature. There were fights between dravidans and aryans in which aryans pushed down the dravidans living in the banks of river sindhu Southwards and settled in the Northern plains of India.
There are lots of problems with the above said visualizations. The latest findings on the Indus valley civilization show that it is actually Saraswati valley civilization and the river saraswati which was the lifeline of the people living in those areas dried up, which would have caused them to move out of that area to the more fertile East and South. Also if the epics like rAmAyanam are the victory of aryans over dravidans, how will one justify a black rAmA to be an aryan and a brahmin rAvaNa to be a dravidan (dravidans by the theory put forward did not have castes and only aryans had it) ! So is KrishNa the hero of the other epic is black ! Further Lord shiva is depicted in the flame like color who was worshiped by dravidans. The vEdas which were supposed to be written by aryans by this theory hails the God as pashupati, which is the name of the God of dravidans !!
Then what could have been the truth ? Both these words are found in the scriptures. Then who are they ? The word aarya is used as a respectable title than a word to indicate the race. If people call in English the kings and the royal family with respect as sir, could one say long time later in future that there was a race of "sirs" who ruled over the race called peasant race and other races ? And the word dravida is a term used to indicate the land, which is the southern part of the Indian subcontinent than any race. The word aryAvarta thus means the place where noble thoughts rose than the place of settlement of a race. (Obvious as here is where the pioneer university of nAlanda stood, this is the place where the Himalayan rivers flow throughout the year making peaceful places for the sages to stay - even today). So what appears is a complete misinterpretation of the Hindu scriptures. Whatever it is, this theory has been used in the past to divide and corrupt the minds of the people especially the Hindus and to make them feel faulty of the history of their religion while in reality they have to be proud of a real glorius ancient origin and history.
If the puranas which were compiled very many centuries ago when there was no controversies of Aryan or dravidan present, to be taken into account they describe that the Hindu discipline and the worship of Lord shiva, Lord viShNu and other devas were present throughout this globe in all the seven Continents (sapta dvIpAni). If this is the case then there is no question of which people introduced this Hinduism onto others as all were practicing the same. While in the other parts of the world the roots have got lost in a later period in bharata varSham (India) it stood strong in the spirit of the people.
But accoding to foreign version the separation of Indo-Aryans proper from the Iranians is commonly dated, on linguistic grounds, to roughly 1800 BCE.The Nuristani languages probably split in such early times, and are classified as either remote Indo-Aryan dialects or as an independent branch of Indo-Iranian. By the mid 2nd millennium BCE early Indo-Aryans had reached Assyria in the west (the Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni) and the northern Punjab in the east (the Rigvedic tribes).
The spread of Indo-Aryan languages has been connected with the spread of the chariot in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Some scholars trace the Indo-aryans (both Indo-Aryans and European aryans) back to the Andronovo culture (2nd millennium BCE). Other scholarshave argued that the Andronovo culture proper formed too late to be associated with the Indo-Aryans of India, and that no actual traces of the Andronovo culture (e.g. warrior burials or timber-frame materials) have been found in India and Southern countries like Sri Lanka and the Maldives
Archaeologist J.P. Mallory (1998) finds it "extraordinarily difficult to make a case for expansions from this northern region to northern India" and remarks that the proposed migration routes "only [get] the Indo-Iranian to Central Asia, but not as far as the seats of the Medes, Persians or Indo-Aryans" (Mallory 1998; Bryant 2001: 216). Therefore he prefers to derive the Indo-Aryans from the intermediate stage of the BMAC culture, in terms of a "Kulturkugel" model of expansion. Likewise, Asko Parpola (1988) connects the Indo-Aryans to the BMAC. But although horses were known to the Indo-Aryans, evidence for their presence in the form of horse bones is missing in the BMAC.Parpola (1988) has argued that the Dasas were the "carriers of the Bronze Age culture of Greater Iran" living in the BMAC and that the forts with circular walls destroyed by the Indo-Aryans were actually located in the BMAC. Parpola (1999) elaborates the model and has "Proto-Rigvedic" Indo-Aryans intrude the BMAC around 1700 BCE. He assumes early Indo-Aryan presence in the Late Harappan horizon from about 1900 BCE, and "Proto-Rigvedic" (Proto-Dardic) intrusion to the Punjab as corresponding to the Swat culture from about 1700 BCE.
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Aryan Rama Killing Dravidan Ravana?????????????
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Saturday, May 9, 2009

About the Church of Satan..

Religious Satanism is a valid religion, generally followed by adults. It is essentially unrelated to teen Satanic dabbling and to various other beliefs and practices that have been described as Satanism.The largest of the many traditions within Religious Satanism is the Church of Satan (CoS), which some people believe was founded on Walpurgisnacht, 1966-APR-30, (I Anno Satanas) by Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997). It was actually founded later that year.
The CoS, shares one property of the Church of Scientology: it is so controversial that many versions of "the truth" have sprung up over the years.

It is impossible to separate reality from fake history. The following essay is our best shot at describing CoS history.
The beliefs, practices and rituals of the Church of Satan have few, if any, points of similarity with the Christian or Muslim concept of Satan. The CoS' Satan is pre-Christian, and derived from the Pagan image of power, virility, sexuality and sensuality. Satan is viewed as a force of nature, not a living quasi-deity. Their Satan has nothing to do with Hell, demons, pitchforks, sadistic torture, demonic possession, and profound evil. There are references in LaVey' writings to having conducted a few Black Masses for publicity purposes, in which the Roman Catholic Mass was ridiculed. But, it is unknown whether these references were satirical or reflected actual rituals. Assuming that the black masses were fictional, all of their rituals have no connection to those of Christianity or of any other religion.

Some of their beliefs and practices are:
They do not worship a living deity.
Major emphasis is placed on the power and authority of the individual Satanist, rather than on a god or goddess.
They believe that "no redeemer liveth" - that each person is their own redeemer, fully responsible for the direction of their own life.
"Satanism respects and exalts life. Children and animals are the purest expressions of that life force, and as such are held sacred and precious..."
There are probably fewer than 10,000 religious Satanists in North America. The best known Satanic organization is the Church of Satan. Associated with the CoS are many local grottos. CoS membership is kept secret within the group. 9 Many Satanists prefer to work alone as solitary .
Many rumors have grown up about Anton Szandor LaVey's (1930-1997) life before he founded the Church of Satan: that he was a lion tamer, sideshow barker, police photographer, student of criminology, "official church organist", etc. It appears that none of this is true. The persistence of these rumors are a testimony to Anton's extensive publicity talents.
The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth by Anton Szandor LaVey
1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9. Do not harm little children.
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

_________EXTERNAL LINKS_______________________________________
bulletAbout apocalyptic writings
bulletThe Revelation of John:
bulletUnderstanding Revelation, Topics covered. Jesus in Revelation.
bulletWho wrote Revelation?
bulletInterpreting Revelation
bulletSignificance of the "number of the beast:" 666 (or perhaps 616)
bulletControversy over its acceptance into the official cano
bulletRevelation 22 -- perhaps the most misunderstood biblical passage
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"We are not evil. We don't harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we are from looking at T.V. We are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a sense of humor. You don't have to be afraid of us. We don't want to convert you. And please don't try to convert us. Just give us the same right we give you--to live in peace. We are much more similar to you than you think." Margot Adler

Thursday, April 16, 2009

EXCEPTIONAL ALLU

Let me introduce you Allu Arjun. Many of you Know him... An excellent actor ..... with good expressions ,good body with fighting and dancing skills....all most all his movies ends eith exagerated climaxes but dont bother ,its apart of south indian filim,especially telugu..His dubbed movies are big hits in malayalam too..Arya,happy,bunny, hero etc
Allu Arjun,born April 8, 1983 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India is a Telugu film actor. His father Allu Aravind is a Telugu film producer. He is the nephew of a famous Telugu actor Chiranjeevi. He is also the grandson of the Telugu comedic actor Allu Ramalingaiah. His cousin Ram Charan Teja is also a Tollywood actor.He has two siblings - an older brother named Allu Venkatesh, and a younger brother named Allu Sirish. He now lives in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh with his family.
Allu Arjun's debut as an actor, was in a Telugu movie named Daddy which was produced by his father. His first movie where he played the lead actor was Gangotri which was directed by K.Raghavendra Rao. His second film Arya, which was released in 2004 was a hit at the box office. It was Arjun's first major hit.In 2005, his third film Bunny was released. His fourth film Happy which was released in 2006 did not prove to be as successful as his previous ones. [3] The film managed to make a decent profit in the Indian movie scene in the U.S. He is best known for his dancing skill and style.Allu Arjun Has got cancer in his hand [dont know which hand or both]...
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There is a rumour that Has got cancer in his hand [dont know which hand or both]... he was Infected due to the usage of steroids[drugs used to increase Muscles] during the shooting of the movie HERO...!!! Doctors said His hands would have to be cut apart to prevent further spreading of the cancer and to save his Life...!!!
But there is no other reference to this news.
Lets pray that its only a rumour
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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sagar @ Jackey. RELOADED

Cinema is a medium for entertainment...Visual aspect of cinema is exploited to add richness, style and grandeur in SAJ , is creating right ambience for a scene and leave remarkable impact...
So highly entertaining..... Any one can try it once
Director: Amal Neerad
Producer: Ashirwad Cinemas

Cast: Mohanlal, Suman, Sampath, Bhavana, Sobhana, Manoj, Jagathy

This film promised to be the mother of all stylish films made in India. But sadly, director Amal Neerad clearly lacks a story and the skills required to turn that idea into an engaging film.
STORY LINE
Indu requests Sagar to bring back her husband who is held in Goa by the notorious gangsters Rozario brothers (Tamil villain Sampath, and the long haired bearded guy who played main villain in Big-B). Sagar flies in to Kochi, in his personal jet along with his 4 member gang. They take on the Rozario brothers; rescue Manu which leads to more trouble with a host of baddies like Rahul Dev and ends with a final shoot out in a resort. That fight is terribly amazing...But do sniper aims and get it shots high..??For some romance and songs there is a television news reporter Aarathy Menon (Bhavana), who tries to investigate and expose Sagar and ends up falling in love with him and paying a prize of her life.At the end stunning gun shots just like HITMAN infront of redcurtains.. Some people say that the climax is not good...
I believe it was the stunning climax ever made in Malayalam cinema

Lively Music.
There are 4 tracks of SAJ on audio and the 3 of them on screen have been picturised well. Jyotirmayi sizzles on the beach in 'O sama'. 'Vennilave' is foot thumping. The Final SAJ title song is nice watch during end credits. The background music is almost well done especially the use of the signature tune throughout the movie. It jars in some scenes when the BGM 'Sagar Sagar' is repeated in hollow sound.

The Ultimate Cool Dude.
Lal rocks as SAJ. As the pillar stone around which the movie revolves, he carries the role with elan. He looks comfortable looking the stylish DON. The role doesn't demand much of his acting skills but he does complete justice and looks great!!. Only looks wooden during the ‘Vennilave’ song. The Action scenes have been convincingly done. But he looks bulky in the intro scene walk. Undoubtedly, a style icon performance.Other notable performances are from Shobhana and Bhavana. Sampath Kumar is the best among Villains.

Lack of a Tighter Screenplay.
Screenplay falters at many portions mainly due to the Camera which seems to be having its on life. The Audience has to wait for the camera to finish its antics and the real scene to be started. Many a times u are ready for action but the camera has still not finished its antics. A tighter screen play which could have overcome these faults with the director could have made the movie racy.

SAJ is a almost fine for a one time watch. It won't hurt you or make you feel completely sorry for having seen it. Its no racy, edge of the seat action either, if you like Style, Rich Locations, the SAJ songs or even Lal, then you may have scope for a second watch also.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

RAAVAN??

Is Maniratnam's movie retelling Ramayana?
After directing 'Dalpathy' based on the relationship between Karna, Duryodhana and Arjun, director Maniratnam is said to be eyeing the tale of Ramayana in his next bilingual.
Said to be a simple story of Ram, Sita and Ravana, the movie has real life couple Abishek and Aishwarya in the lead in Hindi, with Vikram playing the role in Ravana. In Tamil, Viram will play Ram and Prithviraj, Ravan.
Music for the movie is, expectedly, by AR Rahman and the camera is handled by Manikandan.
The movie, yet to be titled, is expected to begin next month..
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SAGAR @ JACKEY ON MARCH 26TH....



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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Secrets and bizzare facts from Dan Brown

Read my previous blog for the full plot of the ANGELS AND DEMONS Also http://theessentialdavincicode.blogspot.com/ and http://thefreebookshelf.blogspot.com/for more downloads
Click on the following links from Dan Brown for Pictures
The Da Vinci Code
Angels & Demons
Author Research Trips
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ABOUT DAN BROWN
Dan Brown is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Da Vinci Code -- one of the best selling novels of all time. In early 2004, all four of Dan Brown's novels held spots on the New York Times bestseller list during the same week.
Recently named one of the World's 100 Most Influential People by TIME Magazine, Dan Brown has made appearances on CNN, The Today Show, National Public Radio, Voice of America, as well as in the pages of Newsweek, Forbes, People, GQ, The New Yorker, and others. His novels have been translated and published in more than 40 languages around the world,Dan is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher before turning his efforts fully to writing. In 1996, his interest in code-breaking and covert government agencies led him to write his first novel, Digital Fortress, which quickly became a #1 national bestselling eBook. Set within the clandestine National Security Agency, the novel explores the fine line between civilian privacy and national security. Brown’s follow-up techno-thriller, Deception Point, centered on similar issues of morality in politics, national security, and classified technology.

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GALILEO'S MIDDLE FINGER

Galileo's middle finger (photo on left) was detached from his right hand in 1737 by scientist Anton Gori and the "Cult of Galileo." Many historians now believe these "fanatical and cult-like" scientists swore a vendetta against the Catholic Church in retribution for the Vatican's crimes against the great astronomer. Although the Church actively hunted these men, few were found, and it is now believed that many took refuge deep within the secret brotherhood of the Illuminati.

PROJECT AURORA Overhead at 3,000 Miles Per Hour.. (Right Now)
The Aurora is one of those secret aircraft that nobody is supposed to know exists, but everyone does. Even the Discovery Channel has covered Aurora and its testing out at Groom Lake in Nevada. Whether the security leaks have come from the repeated “skyquakes” heard as far away as Los Angeles, or the unfortunate eyewitness sighting by a North Sea oil rig driller, or the administrative gaffe that left a description of Aurora in a public copy of the Pentagon budget, nobody will ever know. It hardly matters. The word is out: The U.S. military has an aircraft capable of Mach 6 flight, and it is no longer on the drawing board. It is in the skies overhead.
Built by Lockheed, the Aurora looks like a flattened American football. It is 110 feet long, 60 feet wide, smoothly contoured with a crystalline patina of thermal tiles much like the space shuttle. The speed is primarily the result of an exotic new propulsion system known as a Pulse Detonation Wave Engine, which burns a clean misted, liquid hydrogen and leaves a tell-tale pulse contrail in the sky. For this reason, the Aurora only flies at night.
NEW YORK TO TOKYO IN AN HOUR
The United States now has an aircraft that can travel at Mach 15 (over 10,000 mph.) The X-33 space plane cruises at an altitude of almost 100 miles high, on the edge of space. Although the X-33 is no longer classified, specifications of the X-34 (pictured to the left) remain secret. Aerospace specialists predict civilian passengers will be riding in planes like this by 2006.
THE "ALL-SEEING EYE" CONSPIRACY?
Much has been written about the origins of the Great Seal of the United States on the back of the one dollar bill.* Why a pyramid... an arguably un-American symbol?
* Why a Latin reference to a "new secular order" (in stark contrast to "In God We Trust.")
* And what about that eerie floating eyeball?

ANTIMATTER...
THE MOST VOLATILE SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN
A single droplet of antimatter contains the explosive power of a ten kiloton bomb (Hiroshima.) Antimatter is extremely unstable and explodes when it comes in contact with absolutely anything (even air.) Nonetheless, antimatter is now being produced at CERN in Switzerland, where anti-particles are accelerated around a 27-mile-long circular tunnel... traveling so fast that they complete the enormous circle over 11,000 times per second
Some facts about the birthplace of antimatter... European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN)
Antimatter is routinely produced at CERN (more than 10 million particles per second.)
The World-wide Web was invented at CERN. The world's largest magnet, weighing more than the Eiffel tower, is at CERN. CERN's biggest accelerator is 27 kilometers around, and particles travelling near the speed of light lap it over 11,000 times each second.

PRESS RELEASE European scientists create first antimatter atoms GENEVA (Jan 4, 1996 7:04 p.m. EST) - European scientists have managed to create fleeting atoms of antimatter for the first time, bringing a dream of science fiction a step closer to fact.

The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) said Thursday nine anti-hydrogen atoms were created in experiments last September, although each lasted only about 40 billionths of a second before being annihilated by ordinary matter.

"If you watch 'Star Trek', you'll know the USS Enterprise was driven by antimatter power," said CERN spokesman Neil Calder in a reference to the U.S. cult television series. "We're not there yet, but this is a major step."
Physicists have known about or suspected the existence of antimatter for more than 60 years and the first anti-particles were created in laboratories in the 1950s.
But they had never been able to bring those particles together to form actual atoms of antimatter.
The experiments at CERN, which straddles the Franco-Swiss border by Geneva, were conducted by a team led by German Professor Walter Oelert of Nuremberg University and including scientists from the University of Genoa in Italy.
Since the gas hydrogen has the simplest atom of all, consisting of a proton and a single electron, they set out to create anti-hydrogen by combining an antiproton with an anti-electron or positron.
The team whirled previously created antiprotons through a underground circular atom smasher, passing them through a xenon gas jet every time they passed around -- about three million times a second.
Very occasionally, CERN said in a communiqué, an antiproton converted a small part of its energy into an electron and positron while passing through a xenon atom.
"In even rarer cases, the positron's velocity was sufficiently close to the velocity of the antiproton for the two particles to join -- creating an atom of anti-hydrogen," it added.
During a three-week period, nine anti-hydrogen atoms were created in collisions between antiprotons and xenon atoms. Each one existed for only 40 billionths of a second, traveling at nearly the speed of light for about 33 feet before being annihilated or canceled out by ordinary matter.
The only sign the scientists had that the anti-atoms had ever existed was the energy produced by the annihilation. Science fiction writers have long considered the explosion of matter and antimatter to be the energy source of the future.
Calder said CERN had not wanted to release Oelert's findings until they had been "checked, double-checked and triple-checked" by other scientists and accepted for publication in a respected physics journal.CERN specialists say the next step is to develop techniques to store antimatter for seconds, minutes or weeks. They could then compare anti-hydrogen atoms with ordinary hydrogen atoms,Because antimatter technology is changing so rapidly, links provided here would become outdated almost overnight. For the most recent information on this topic, enter "antimatter" into your favorite search engine.

The Secret Life of Leonardo da Vinci
A prankster and genius, Leonardo da Vinci is widely believed to have hidden secret messages within much of his artwork. Most scholars agree that even Da Vinci's most famous pieces—works like The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna of the Rocks—contain startling anomalies that all seem to be whispering the same cryptic message…a message that hints at a shocking historical secret which allegedly has been guarded since 1099 by a European secret society known as the Priory of Sion. In 1975, Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci. French President, Francois Mitterrand, is rumored to have been a member, although there exists no proof of this.
An Unbroken Code
There exists a chapel in Great Britain that contains a ceiling from which hundreds of stone blocks protrude, jutting down to form a bizarre multi-faceted surface. Each block is carved with a symbol, seemingly at random, creating a cipher of unfathomable proportion. Modern cryptographers have never been able to break this code, and a generous reward is offered to anyone who can decipher the baffling message. In recent years, geological ultrasounds have revealed the startling presence of an enormous subterranean vault hidden beneath the chapel. This vault appears to have no entrance and no exit. To this day, the curators of the chapel have permitted no excavation.

243 Lexington Avenue, New York
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has become controversial recently due to allegations of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has recently completed construction of a $47 million, 133,000-square-foot American Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.

NRO: More Secretive Than The National Security Agency
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) encompasses six U.S. installations, employs over 10,000 agents, and has operating costs of over ten billion dollars per year. The NRO maintains an astonishing arsenal of cutting-edge spy technologies—worldwide electronic intercepts, spy satellites, silent embedded relay chips in telecomm products, even a global naval-recon network known as Classic Wizard…a secret web of 1456 hydrophones mounted on seafloors around the world, capable of monitoring ship movement anywhere on the globe.

Sea Shadow: Stealth Ships
Built by Lockheed in total secrecy inside the famous Hughes Mining Barge, the Sea Shadow is the nautical equivalent of the F-117 "stealth fighter". The Sea Shadow is a SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessel with all above-water surface sloped radically inward. She is 160 feet long, 70 feet in beam, 14 feet in draft, displaces 560 tons and her diesel-electric propulsion gives her a top speed of 13 knots. She is invisible to shipboard radar, even at close range.

Special Ops Forces That Answer To No One
The U.S. Delta Force is made up of three 150-man squadrons and is the sole fighting squad whose actions are granted complete presidential immunity from the law. Presidential Decision Directive 25 (PDD 25) grants Delta Forces “freedom from all legal accountability,” including exception from the 1876 Posse Comitatus Act—a statute imposing criminal penalties for anyone using the military for personal gain, domestic law enforcement, or unsanctioned covert operations. Delta Force members are handpicked from the CAG (Combat Applications Group) — a classified organization within the Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Delta Force soldiers are trained killers—experts in SWAT operations, rescuing hostages, surprise raids, and elimination of covert enemy forces.

Someone is watching you...or are they?
The Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the longest buildings on earth. Walking around the entire perimeter of this horseshoe-shaped edifice is a three-mile journey. Even so, the Louvre's collection of art is so vast that only a fraction of its works can be displayed on the walls. Inside the galleries, a multitude of security cameras watch over visitors. The number of cameras is so great that a staff of several hundred wardens would be required to monitor all of them. In fact, most of the cameras are fake.
Da Vinci's slap on the wrist.
Da Vinci's original commission for his famous Madonna of the Rocks came from an organization known as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, which needed a painting for the centerpiece of an altar triptych in their church of San Francesco Grand in Milan. The nuns gave Leonardo specific dimensions and a desired theme—the Virgin Mary, baby John The Baptist, Uriel, and Baby Jesus sheltering in a cave. Although Da Vinci did as they requested, when he delivered the work, the group reacted with horror. The painting contained several disturbing "un-Christian" anomalies, which seemed to convey a hidden message and alternative meaning. Da Vinci eventually mollified the confraternity by painting them a second version of Madonna of the Rocks, which now hangs in London's National Gallery under the name Virgin of the Rocks. Da Vinci's original hangs at the Louvre in Paris.

Angels and Demons- Movie release on May 15, 2009.

Angels and Demons is a book that once you pick up you won't want to set it down. This book is an adventure that keeps the reader constantly thinking, guessing, and amazed at the outcome. It is action packed and full of obstacles! ...

Angels & Demons is a bestselling mystery novel by American author Dan Brown. The novel revolves around the quest of fictional Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon to unravel the mysteries of a secret society called the Illuminati, and preclude a plot from annihilating the Vatican City using destructive antimatter. The story recounts the conflict between science and religion that brought the establishment of the Illuminati, and, after centuries of non-existence, the group is thought to have resurfaced for retribution against the Roman Catholic Church.

Published in 2000, it introduces the character Robert Langdon, who is also the principal character of Brown's subsequent novel, The Da Vinci Code. It also shares many stylistic elements with the latter, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Roman Catholic Church. Ancient history, architecture, and symbolism are heavily referenced throughout the novel
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The plot follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, as he tries to stop what seems to be the Illuminati, a legendary secret society, from destroying the Vatican City with the newly-discovered power of antimatter.

CERN director Maximilian Kohler discovers one of the facility's most respected physicists, Leonardo Vetra, murdered in his own secured, private quarter at the facility. His chest is branded with a symbol—the ambigramatic "Illuminati"—and his eye is dislodged. Instead of calling the police, Kohler researches the topic on the Internet and finally gains contact with Langdon, an expert on the Illuminati. Kohler requests his assistance in uncovering the murderer.

What Langdon finds at the murder scene frightens him: the symbol appears to be authentic, and the legendary secret society, long thought to be defunct, seems to have resurfaced. Kohler calls Vetra's adopted daughter Vittoria to the scene, and it is later revealed that the Illuminati has also stolen a canister containing a quarter of a gram of antimatter—an extremely dangerous substance with destructive potential comparable to a small nuclear weapon, a potential unleashed upon contact with any form of normal matter. When charged with electricity at CERN, the canister's magnetic field controls the drop of antimatter to float suspended in a high vacuum, ensuring safety; but when it was taken away from its electricity supply, it automatically switched to its back-up battery, which will only power it for 24 hours. The horrible truth is that the Illuminati has put the stolen canister somewhere in Vatican City, with a security camera in front of it as its digital clock counts down to the explosion.

Langdon and Vittoria make their way to Vatican City, where the Pope has recently died, and the Il conclave has convened to elect the new pontiff. Cardinal Mortati, host of the election, discovers that the four Preferiti, cardinals who are considered to be the most likely candidates in the current Il election, are missing. After they arrive, Langdon and Vittoria begin searching for the Preferiti in hopes that they will also find the antimatter canister in the process. Their search is assisted by Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (the late pope's closest aide) and the Vatican's Swiss Guard, including Commander Olivetti, Captain Rocher and Lieutenant Chartrand.

Convinced that the Illuminati are in some way responsible for the disappearance of the Preferiti, Langdon attempts to retrace the steps of the so-called "Path of Illumination", an ancient and elaborate process once used by the Illuminati as a means of induction of new members; prospective candidates for the Order were required to follow a series of subtle clues left in various landmarks in and around Rome. If the candidate followed the clues properly, he would be able to locate the secret meeting place of the Illuminati and be granted membership in the Order. Using his extensive knowledge of religious and occult history, Langdon sets off on the Path of Illumination in hopes of uncovering clues as to the disappearance of the Preferiti and the location of the antimatter canister.


The Path leads Langdon to four major locations in Rome (Vatican City is within the city of Rome), each associated with what the Illuminati believed to be the four primordial elements of all things in existence: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Upon arriving at each location, Langdon finds one of the Preferiti murdered in a fashion appropriate to the location's respective element: The first cardinal was buried and had soil lodged in his throat (Earth); the second's lungs were pierced (Air); the third was engulfed in flames and burned alive (Fire); and the fourth was drowned in a large fountain (Water).


After finding the bodies of the first two Preferiti (Earth and Air), Langdon hurries to the Santa Maria della Vittoria Basilica and finds the Preferiti's abductor in the act of setting the cardinal on fire. The kidnapper, who is also responsible for the Leonardo Vetra's murder and the theft of the antimatter canister, is an unnamed Hassassin who is working under the orders of the Illuminati master "Janus", whose true identity is unknown. Commander Olivetti dies and Langdon is nearly killed himself in this encounter with the Hassassin, who manages to kidnap Vittoria. Langdon manages to escape and meets the Hassassin yet again at the final element's landmark (Water), but is unable to save the fourth cardinal.

Langdon nevertheless attempts to complete the Path of Illumination in order to find the Hassassin and rescue Vittoria. His search leads him to an abandoned castle-like structure with an underground tunnel leading directly into the Pope's chambers in the Vatican. Langdon frees Vittoria, and together they send the Hassassin falling several hundred feet to his death. The two hurry back to St. Peter's Basilica, where they find that Kohler has arrived to confront the camerlengo in private. Langdon and Vittoria fear that Kohler is Janus, and that he has come to murder the camerlengo as the final step in his plot against the Church. Hearing the camerlengo scream in agony, the Swiss Guards burst into the room and open fire on Kohler. Just before he dies, Kohler gives Langdon a videotape that he claims will explain everything.


With time on the canister running out, the Swiss Guard begins to evacuate the Basilica. As he is exiting the church, the camerlengo apparently goes into a trance and rushes back into the Basilica, claiming that he has received a vision from God revealing the location of the antimatter canister. With Langdon and a few others in pursuit, the camerlengo ventures deep into the catacombs beneath the Basilica and finds the canister sitting atop the tomb of Saint Peter. Langdon and the camerlengo retrieve the antimatter and get in a helicopter with only 5 minutes to spare. The camerlengo manages to parachute safely onto the roof of St. Peter's just as the canister explodes harmlessly in the sky. Langdon's fate is not immediately known, as there was not a second parachute on board the helicopter. The crowd in St. Peter's Square look in awe as the camerlengo stands triumphantly before them. Because of this "miracle", the Papal Conclave debate whether exception should be made to elect the camerlengo as the new Pope. Robert Langdon survived the explosion by using a window cover from the chopper as a parachute and landed in the Tiber River near Tiber Island, which is famous for its reputation as an island blessed with miracles of healing. He is hurt, but not seriously.

Langdon returns to St. Peter's and views Kohler's tape with the College of Cardinals. Langdon, Vittoria, and the cardinals confront the camerlengo in the Sistine Chapel, where the truth is finally revealed. Shortly before the events of the novel, the Pope was scheduled to meet with Leonardo Vetra concerning his research at CERN. Vetra, a devout Catholic, believed that science was capable of establishing a link between Man and God, a belief that was manifested by his research on antimatter. Vetra's beliefs caused great discomfort to the camerlengo, who firmly believed that the Church alone, not science, should dictate the moral creed of the Christian faithful. While discussing Vetra, the Pope reveals that his support is due to science having created him a miracle: a son conceived by artificial insemination. Horrified that the Pope has fathered a child, the camerlengo plots to "rectify" the situation. He poisoned the Pope and, under the guise of an Illuminati master (Janus), he recruited the Hassassin, a killer fueled by the same zeal and animus towards the Church as his ancestors during The Crusades, to kill Vetra, steal the antimatter, and kidnap and murder the Preferiti just as the papal conclave was set to convene. The camerlengo planted the antimatter in St. Peter's and feigned his last-minute "vision" from God in order to be seen as a hero and the savior of Christendom by those who witnessed his brave acts. The Illuminati thus had no actual role in any of the novel's events, and its "involvement" was merely a plot engineered by the camerlengo to cover his own plans. As Langdon suspected from the very beginning, the Order of the Illuminati was indeed long extinct.

As one final twist, it is revealed that Camerlengo Ventresca was the birth son of the late Pope, conceived through artificial insemination. Suddenly overcome with grief and guilt at having caused so much death, especially that of his own father, Ventresca soaks himself in oil and immolates himself before a crowd of onlookers in St. Peter's Square. The conclave elects Cardinal Mortati as the new pope. In an ironic twist, through a quibble, a loophole in the papal election process known as election by acclamation, two popes were chosen - Ventresca by all the cardinals cheering his name before he lights himself on fire, and Mortati through normal means.

Langdon and Vittoria retire to the Hotel Bernini. Lieutenant Chartrand delivers a letter and package to Langdon from the new Pope. The package is the 'Illuminati Diamond' brand, which is loaned indefinitely to Langdon.