The Popes again

It seems that Pope Benedict has again annoyed some Jews - this time over his decision to have the late Pope Pius considered for election to sainthood. On a prior occasion it was due to his lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who was forever denying the Holocaust. Then, there was the deal with the Latin Mass. And his visit to some Jewish site (where he did not mention the murders at the concentration camps or something to that effect) also annoyed them. In the meantime, Benedict has perfected a way of just brushing the complaints to one side and pushing forward. One of these days, Benedict will propose a merger of Church and State as a realistic solution to tensions around the world. That might annoy everybody, except perhaps this topless woman.

Hans Rosenfeld

No, that's not Hans Rosenfeld on the left - that's a movie star from another era. Anyway, as I was saying, Mr Rosenfeld had one of his ideas stolen by Hollywood bigshots - the idea for the movie ROBOTS. Remember that movie??? It wasn't just the idea itself - it was the entire script and the design for the robots. Imagine you talk to someone about an ingenious new invention. Next thing you know, they manufacture it and make lots of money and you're left standing there wondering how they could do this and get away with it.

Stealing an idea

Flash of Genius is a new movie which depicts an injustice which is not unheard of. Big people are always trying to steal ideas and inventions from little people. Sometimes they succeed. Almost always they succeed. Little people have no weapons with which to fight the unfairness of large and powerful businesses or corporations. As a matter of fact, I have a friend that suffered the same fate as the guy in the movie. His name is Hans Rosenfeld.

Do you remember the movie "Robots?" It's a very nice movie. It was a hit, especially with children. It made a lot of money for Hollywood. The big thing is that there is something very sinister about Robots. Very sinister. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS STOLEN. If you saw Flash of Genius, about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, you know how easily that can happen. Robots was stolen. Just like that. History is full of fortunes that have been made on the backs of others - others who never received a dime for their inventions or intellectual property. Hans Rosenfeld is one such artist. 20th Century Fox stole his script for the movie Robots. Please help me correct this unjustice. We just might make history.

A Rose

Here's a picture of a movie star of a bygone era. Because her image is rendered in the style of the forties, she will not be familiar to my eight readers, though she acted in some well-known productions. Take a wild guess. There's no way you will be right. I was very surprised when the name was finally revealed. As they say, "a rose by any other name....

Copyright infringement (theft)

As I was saying, my friend Hans Rosenfeld - theatre producer, artist, and inventor - wrote the script for a fabulous theatre production. He created all the characters - all of them robots. He called the production by another name (which I will reveal later). Then, along come some smart people from Hollywood who proclaim to be very interested in the production. The fundraising begins in earnest. The project is sidelined by 911 events. Next thing you know - the movie ROBOTS comes out - almost an exact replica of Mr Rosenfeld's project. What is he to do????