Secret Sects
If Dan Brown can earn zillions claiming all sorts of secret sects within the Vatican or the Masons, then why can’t we? This week we’re looking for people whose names share a strange ‘puzzle logic’, allowing us to claim the discovery of a secret society.
The challenge won’t be easy. Don’t expect these shadowy cartels to jump up and expose themselves! We have to look between the lines and through the cracks to find these clandestine worlds.
Okay, so there are two ways of finding such sects. The best will harvest from the one tribe or profession, such as:
The Colour Code Sect of Literature: Dan Brown, Amy Tan, Patrick White, Graham Greene, Rose Tremain
(See how you can be loose with spelling – such as Greene – or rely on first names too – as with Rose.)
You can also be partial too, like:
The ALP Fish Cartel: Kevin Rudd, Julia GILLard, Peter GARrett, KatE ELlis.
The other approach is freestyle. Don’t worry about profession or common factors, but pick and choose from around you, past and/or present, like:
The Brewery Society: Arthur Miller, Stella McCartney, Bud Tingwell, Tiger Woods
The Unholy Hole Club: Don Burrows, Brad Pitt, Fred Hollows, Nick Cave, Bill Leak
Covert DA Vinci medals to be awarded in two categories – AAH and OOH – where AAH is the most creative or funniest sect of the week. OOH on the other hand could be so good that it will make us all wonder if you haven’t stumbled on a guarded truth, one that could yield a few Brown billions.
Be brave, be lateral, and get cult-busting. The mason’s mallet falls late Friday.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:53 am
One conspiracy I became aware of via a recent cryptic crossword answer was the “Allen’s only” cabal of comedians: Woody, Dave, Tim, Gracie, Steve and Flanagan &
October 20th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Further investigations have led me to stumble on the starters in the 100 metres finals at the nominative Olympics. From lanes 1 to 8 they are:
Usain BOLT
Geoffrey RUSH
ARUNdhati Roy
Greg FLEET
Malcolm SPEED
RACE Matthews
David GALLOP
Jonathan SWIFT (from the special Quick and the Dead category)
October 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Now that’s an event I’d pay to see.
Then you have The Quizlings:
Bill Whyman
David Wenham
John Howard
Richard Wherett
Harry Houdini
October 20th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Wow, when you start investigating it turns out there’s shadowy plots and cover-ups everywhere ! Now it seems the 7 Dwarfs have started industrial action for better working conditions in their mines and Disney has replaced the lot of them with the following strike-breakers from the world of fiction:
SHYlock (Bashful)
Albus DUMBledore (Dopey)
Aeon FLUx (Sneezy)
Alex CROSS (Grumpy)
MaxiM De Winter (Doc)
BuZZ Lightyear (Sleepy)
The GRINch (Happy)
October 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am
The Luminati?
Madeleine Albright
Martin Sheen
Green Lantern
Colonel Light
Jim Beam
Sun Tzu
Ringo Starr
October 20th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Then there’s the celebrity Bathurst 1000 featuring:
Harrison Ford
Mark Holden
Prince Valiant
Jenny Morris
Mike & Mal Leyland
Rover Thomas
and a joint entry from actresses Mercedes Ruehl and Julie Benz
October 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Who knew? The internet has been among us for longer than we think. Of course I refer to the Cybernaut Society:
Karrie Webb
Emily Post
AnNETte Bening
Grant Hackett
Liz H-URL-ey
and the mysterious Joe Bloggs
October 21st, 2009 at 8:56 am
I guess Ray Charles is probably a Luminati as well
October 21st, 2009 at 9:31 am
Secret Oscars Scandal Revealed ! Forget “our Cate” being ripped off by weepy Gwyneth. The following celebrities are lodging a class action alleging that they were cruelly denied their golden statues due to faulty name-checking by the Academy (plus the films they “won” for):
George Washington (Training Day)
Chuck Berry (Monsters Ball)
Alan Jones (The Fugitive)
Gerard Manley Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs)
Agatha Christie (Darling)
Rex Hunt (As Good as it Gets)
David Lange (Blue Sky)
Kevin Andrews (Mary Poppins)
Serena Williams (Good Will Hunting)
October 21st, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Seems we’re having more a dialogue, X, than a forum, but hey…
Almost have an OOH nominee, with one missing from the Rule of Four. I dub this cartel the Comic Babblers:
Joan Rivers
George Burns
Mel Brooks
October 21st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Could the final Comic Babbler be Lucky G-RILL-s ?
October 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Better than Orson Welles – lovely work.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
or Jerry SPRINGer
October 21st, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Wait, isn’t that a German dog…?
October 21st, 2009 at 9:40 pm
The secret is out; these guys are NATURAL actors:
Woody Harrelson
Oliver Reed
River Phoenix
Rock Hudson
Sharon Stone
Forrest Whittaker
Brooke Shields
Sally Fields
Lorne Green
Claude Rains
Harrison Ford
Billy Bob THORNton
October 21st, 2009 at 10:04 pm
More Luminati:
Gary Glitter
Sonny Bono
and one for both Luminati and Quizlings:
Naomi Watts
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:42 am
Fascinating, to think our own Naomi is double-dipping her kabbalas. Could she be the poster girl of the next Brown blockbuster?
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 am
It the seems the following celebrities have started their own fan club for that 80s teen flick “The Breakfast Club”:
Kevin Bacon
Simon P-EGG
OJ Simpson
Marlon BRANdo
with Associate Homophone members:
Captain Oates
Kofi Annan
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
One more shadowy conspiracy revealed – The true list of the world’s wealthiest individuals:
Tyra Banks
Johnny Cash
Ezra Pound
Viv RICHards
Daddy WarBUCKS
GOLDa Meir
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Can we count Venus Williams and Sol Trujillo among the Luminati? And what about the torch-bearing Victor Chang?
And one more Quizling: the Earl of Sandwich.
Of course – homophonically – the money trail also leads to Bart Simpson, Groucho Marx and Mike Nichols. (And don’t neglect Ayn Rand.)
Any more kabbala in our midst? Late Friday (Oz time) is your last chance to blow the conspiracy.
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 am
Mr X, I think your Breakfast Club fan club is terrific!
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:01 am
Thanks Robskee – The tricky thing about putting that list together was that everytime I started thinking about it I got Simple Minds “Don’t You Forget About Me” stuck in my brain.
I was thinking of adding Generalissimo Franco to the Rich List but then thought that he’s probably not eligible any more without changing his name to Francisco Euroo
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 am
… or even Euroisco Euroo