feature code

Code of the Goddess
$15.99
"Code of the Goddess" takes the characters of the "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown and breathes musical life into them. After enjoying the book so much the songs in this CD bring another element to the people and storyline of the book. No vague instrumentals and noodling here--These are songs that stand up on their own and to repeated listening. Opus Dei, The Mystic and the Muse, and the lovely "Heart in Winter" (Sophie's song is in both French and English--I recognize Pachabel's Canon in the song) are standouts. If there is no audio here I found sound clips on the artist's website. Well done--packaging is nice, too.

Breaking the Code [VHS]
$19.99
I first heard of "Breaking The Code" as a play, with the same actor, Derek Jacobi, in the PBS mini-series "The Machine That Changed The World" (from 1992). Part 1 of TMTCTW showed a couple excerpts of the play, and it gave me the impression that the story really got into Turing's theories about computing, explaining them in a way that people could understand. These ideas have validity even today. I looked forward to this same depth in the TV production, but was disappointed. The TV version was more of a "message film". It emphasized Turing's homosexuality, which no doubt is an important part of his life. No telling of it would be complete without talking about it, particularly how it caused conflict with his government, which motivated his suicide. His mastery of mathematics is used as a jumping off point to show what a brilliant man he was and what a shame it was for the British government to oppress him. A valid POV, but I wanted more. The video version of the TV production (perhaps it was just the PBS version) contained another disappointment (it was no fault of the seller). A key scene showing how Turing was inspired to come up with his first theory on computing was trimmed and spliced together such that the train of thought was entirely lost. I know because I saw the complete version of this scene in a clip on YouTube. It felt insulting. The message of the video editors was "You don't understand mathematics. So we're not going to bore you with this." It felt as though Turing's unique contributions to our world (aside from the fact that he helped the allies win WW II) were completely swept aside, and instead he was used as an archetype of the oppressed gay man. It reminded me that TV is often dumbed down. Still, it's a powerful story. The climactic, tragic ending makes it worth watching. Aside from it disappointing my expectations it's a good story from a generalist perspective.

Webkinz Series 1 Trading Cards Box - 36 FEATURE CODE Cards for Online Pets!!
$28.99
Secret online codes for FREE Webkinz online pets, 'Fancy Coach Beds', and other great items for your online Webkinz pet! Look for RARE codes to push your pet to the next level!I 36 packs of 6 cards per pack. 1 Online Feature Code Card per pack. Sealed.

Code of the Streets vol.5 "The Features"
$8.99