Christopher Knight

The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasonry, and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus
$18.95
This book was ok, but not what I expected. It didn't tell me anything that I couldn't have found by reading Wikipedia. For the cost I was disappointed. The writing was slow and very hard to get into.

Puccini: Madama Butterfly
$32.98
This exquisite 1978 studio recording of Madame Butterfly stars Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Gillian Knight and Ingvar Vixell, singing their respective roles with breathtaking realism and melodic richness. Quite possibly the best Butterfly on record, and a must have for devotees of Renata Scotto. Ciao-Ciao San is considered her signature role and one she was sadly associated with all her operatic life - though she had sung terrific Toscas, Violettas, Norma, Mimi and other traditional Italian opera heroines. On recording, her Butterfly never compared to the electrifying performances on the stage but this recording benefits from the experience of the principal singers. For both Placido Domingo and Renata Scotto, this was not their first Butterfly and had sung their roles numerous times. Only a few years earlier, Domingo sang Pinkerton in a film under the baton of Herbert Von Karajan opposite Mirella Freni. Scotto had already recorded Butterfly on another label. Their experience with their roles make for a superbly dramatic Butterfly in this recording.

Conductor Lorin Maazel and the Philharmonia treat the score to Butterfly with a grand style and reverence, as if Puccini was evoking an old Japanese legend. The music is harmoniously mixed with American themes like "Star Spangled Banner" and Mikado marches. The Humming Chorus is beautifully rendered. Placido Domingo's Pinkerton best vocally portrays the discriminatory American bravado and carelessness of the romantic lead. Pinkerton is given beautiful and romantic arias but they are quite frankly dishonest and Domingo sings with a kind of shallowness as he is a terrific actor. Renata Scotto is a strong Butterfly, too strong too fully convince as a fragile, love-sick and youthful teenager. Ciao-Ciao San is supposed to be a fifteen year old, naive girl who sees everything as either black or white and who is foolish to believe in the false promise of love of Pinkerton. Scotto instead approaches the character as a woman who has a strong will but who has made a grave mistake. Truthfully, we cannot simply dismiss Butterfly as weak. She was strong enough to defy her age-old familial traditions and abandon her native Shinto or perhaps Buddhist religion and converted to Christianity for love of Pinkerton. She is steadfast and strong in patience, even stubborn in her love. Scotto makes the final scene truly dramatic and electrifying, maintaining excess within control and never bordering on hysteria. When she commits Hari-Kiri she is wholly convincing. As for the other singers - Ingvar Vixell is a serviceable baritone as Sharpless, the Consul, but his voice is seductive, masculine and audially beautiful to hear. If only they had contracted Samuel Ramey for this one. The Susuki of Gillian Knight is gorgeous. She is a British or Welsh soprano who has sung in Gilbert and Sullivan among her many repertoire. She sings with clear diction, fluidity and a ravishing mezzo forte. Her Susuki is one of the best I've heard, and she seems to be on equal grounds with Butterfly as far as acting.

Before the Pyramids: Cracking Archaeology's Greatest Mystery
$24.95
A very important extension of previous analysis of megalithic sites. Makes a solid case that the ancient measuring system was an integrated system for lengths, weights, volumes, and even temperatures, and was based not only on the circumference of the earth but also its mass, as well as basic properties of our moon and, most surprisingly, the ratio of distances (366:300) between the three stars of the Belt of Orion. This study on megalithic measures, and the comparison between Thornborough Henge in England and the Giza Pyramids of Egypt represents the long-sought "smoking gun" of the so-called Atlantean culture of pre-historic times.

The construction of Thornborough around 3,500 BC was the high-water mark of megalithic construction in England. It is also the carbon date of Khufu's boats found buried beside the Great Pyramid at Giza. In 3,500 BC, the ocean levels were the highest they have ever been since the end of the last Ice Age, and were 14 feet higher than they are today (according to the brand new book, "The Complete Ice Age", Brian Fagan, editor).

The authors' discovery that Megalithic standard units were used extensively to form the "sacred architecture" of Washington DC proves that the founding fathers looked to the distant past in order to distance themselves from the oppressive dominance of royal rule and inspire progress in the New World. This discovery also makes for a timely companion to Dan Brown's latest thriller, The Lost Symbol.

-Charles Pope
[...]

Knights of Bloodsteel
$19.95
My answer to some of the other reviewers: is it a story that copied the Lord of the Rings, clearly the answer is yes. Yes a counsel is called that decided to form a fellowship which is needed to fight the source of great evil. The main member of this fellowship will give her life in the fulfillment of quest, though she does not do so in the end, she clearly is a Frodo type. Sir John is very much an Aragorn look alike. Is this a one for one copy of the Lord of the Rings? NO! It is a story in its own rights. Is the story influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien? Greatly. What modern fantasy is not? What modern Sci Fi is not influenced by Star Wars?

Was the Lord of the Rings influenced by other works, or did J. R. R. Tolkien work in a vacuum? The answer is J. R. R. Tolkien took his ideas for the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings from Die Nibelugen the story of Siegfried. In Tolkien own words The Hobbits were the English peoples. In the Hobbit Tolkien is saying Siegfried, i.e. the German people, killed the Dragon but it was due to the effort of the Hobbit, the English people. He carries this idea on into the Lord of the Rings, which is drawn from his experience in World War I and II. The point being, all stories stand on the back of other stories.

The question is, is this movie a good movie, i.e. worth watching. The answer is YES. It is well made, good story, the photo work is great, and good acting. Buy it, enjoy it.