Conspiracy Theory Update

I may well be the last person in this city to see "Gloomy Sunday", but I am no longer the last to have read "The Da Vinci Code". I started it on Saturday, and finished it on Sunday, cos it was SO FUCKING GOOD I could barely put it down. READ THIS BOOK!!! DO IT!!!
I really couldn't give a flying fuck about these American style conspiracy theories about aliens and government coverups and all that crap, the conspiracy theories I'm fascinated by are much older than that, and usually are based in France, for some reason. "Foucault's Pendulum" is the one that really got me started, and then the movie "Pi", and now "The Da Vinci Code". The premise of the book is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, and when he died, she was pregnant. Because the nasty Roman powers that be were chasing after all those associated with Jesus, she was in danger, so some of the remaining apostles helped her escape to France, where she gave birth to a daughter named Sarah, who's descendants continued the blood line of Jesus and Mary up until the present day. The Big Bad Catholic church knew about all this carry on, and were determined to destroy all evidence of Mary's child's line, so a secret society (and heres where my interest really got caught!) was formed by a bunch of important people to protect the family line, and the documentation proving their ancestry. Their reason for doing this was because a conference in Nicea in the 4th century hosted by the emperor Constantine had agreed that Christ was the Son of God. Note, this was 300 or so years after the fact. It was decided by a narrow margin that the nature of Jesus was divine, therefore he could not have had earthly relations, therefore any evidence of Mary Magdalene and her child must be destroyed. This is where the Magdalene smear campaign comes in, making out that she was a prostitute, coming up with the story of Eve and the original sin and all that crap that has made women secondary citizens for thousands of years. According to the documentation behind "The Da Vinci Code", its all a big pile of steaming turd, established years after Jesus died to keep quiet all the pesky "pagans", ie those who didn't hate and fear women, and who respected and cared for the earth.
A lot of the stuff in the book is based on historical documentation, and the book opens with a note that all descriptions of secret societies, rituals and documentation is completely accurate, which really gets the old brain ticking over. I'm intrigued by religion, really. I think its fascinating that people can accept what they're told, and base their lives around it, and in some cases, give their lives for it.
The book is loaded with symbolism, the main character is an expert at this sort of thing, and there are some interesting alternatives to popular interpretations of the Star of David, the devil's horns, the Mona Lisa, the stripes that armies use to denote rank, the Last Supper (the painting, not the dinner party) and my particular favourite, sex. Thats right, nookie itself recieves a mention. I really despise the traditional Church take on sex, that it is inherently evil and a sin. WTF? At its most base level, the purpose of sex is to make babies, so how that can be evil is beyond me, really. Someone said to me a while ago that when she was married she was "pure", ie a virgin. Thats fine, if thats what you want to do, personally I believe that being with a person physically is an important part of a relationship, but thats just me. Also, try before you buy, but what ever makes you happy, thats fine. But the notion that never having had sex makes you "pure", more so that a person that has, really gets my goat. It implies that there is something inherently dirty and defiling about sex, that by physically expressing your love for your partner you are reducing your own value.
Look, I think I've made my point, but here is the Reader's Digest Version, cos its after 2am and I'm tired.
Read "The Da Vinci Code", for it is good.
Sex is not a bad thing, and does not reduce your resale value.
Question everything.
You can never trust an organisation that has as much blood on its hands as the Christian Church.

I really didn't intend for that to be a big rant, but I'm tired, and given that I have had a whole glass of wine (you party animal!!), am feeling unable to edit what comes out of brain and through fingers and onto page.
Also, while I'm dishing out advice; plant more trees, use suncream, always check the oil in your car, get a smear test, don't smoke, teach your children about dogs, don't hide from the rain, read "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco, drink lots of water, save half of what you earn, eat breakfast, stay away from nasty cheap wine, wear clothes that fit you as you are not as you want to be, and don't stay up all night blogging when you should be sleeping cos you have an appointment in the morning and then have to go and do lots of work!!!
Note to self: Follow own advice.