RandomDan Sanitizes Wayback Machine and other sites

I've learned that many of the links here, especially those to archive.org have been sanitized and/or no longer exist.

That's dishonest, sleazy and the work of a true lower life form that can't stand the truth

I suppose that's the RandomDan way. Trying to re-write history is a cheap, revisionist, intellectually dishonest act.

Fortunately, I anticipated they would do that. I have copies of every link they've been sanitized.

While I'm way busy with other projects more worthwhile than re-posting the misrepresentations, resume fraud and lies of a rich man and his richer publisher, I will FIND the bloody time to post the originals so that the truth will NOT be forgotten.

Diamonds may be forever, but sleaze surely outlasts them.

Another Biographical Fabrication Continues Pattern of Falsehoods

I suppose in isolation, the following item would be dismissable as an insecure person trying to spin an accomplishment into something far beyond reality.

"Dan's live performance experience includes a world tour with the renown ACGC and appearances in such venues as Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris), St. Marco's Cathedral (Venice), St. Stephen's (Vienna), the Acropolis (Athens), and the American Embassies in Delhi, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Seoul."

ACGC?

Given the pop/New Age nature of Dan Brown's self-published CDs, ACGC would hardly be a typo for AC/DC ... although you might find a Black Sabbath in one of Brown's books.

What IS ACGC?

Dan is certainly not talking, but the web does. Take this article about Dan Brown in an Amherst College publication which contains the following: "Activities while at Amherst: Squash and Glee Club"

The article also contains the following: "Fondest Memories of Amherst: "The world tour with the Glee Club in 1983. It was amazing. We went to 13 or 14 countries for a few months."

From another Amherst publication, we have more details: "During his exploration of writing at the College Brown specifically loved playing the piano and feels that he was able to focus in on creating an original sound while he was here. His experiences singing and touring with the Glee Club opened his eyes to new things on their World Tour trip in 1983.

“I never would have seen [them] otherwise,” he said of the was a life altering experiences for him, exposing him to new cultures and peoples.

"He continues to be grateful to have attended an institution like Amherst where he had the opportunity to travel and observe all the different nuances of cultures outside of the U.S. The impression left on him by the 1983 trip has heavily influenced his books, in which the plot frequently jets from country to country."

I located an alum of Amherst from this time period who told me that the stops mentioned in the "reknown ACGC" were stops the Glee Club made.

Certainly this would be dismissable as a pathetic effort if it was an isolated case. But it is yet one more piece in an all-too-familiar PATTERN of falsehoods and deceptions into which we can put his statements that he never heard of me or my books. And yet another reason why putting him under oath could be disastrous.

Sanitizing Digital Fortress

We have been wondering about Dan's contradictory stories on why he wrote Digital Fortress.

One version said he was inspired by reading a Sidney Sheldon novel in Tahiti and the other said he got it when the Secret Service raided the Philips-Exeter campus, an incident that we are unable to confirm.

The Doomsday Conspiracy

Dan's Web site once told readers: "In 1994, while vacationing in Tahiti, I found an old copy of Sydney Sheldon's Doomsday Conspiracy on the beach. I read the first page… and then the next…and then the next. Several hours later, I finished the book and thought, "Hey, I can do that." Upon my return, I began work on my first novel-- Digital Fortress -- which was published in 1996."

But today, the Digital Fortress reference is gone from that page.

Compare the archived page with what is up now.

Secret Service Raids Exeter?

The other version Dan tells for his inspiration can best be told by his own breathless prose:


Digital Fortress, Phillips Exeter Academy, and the true story behind Dan Brown's bestseller...

A prestigious prep school.
A powerful intelligence agency.
A minor indiscretion.
A major thriller.

In the Spring of 1995, on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, the U.S. Secret Service made a bust...

THE TARGET : A teenage student flagged by a government computer as being a threat to national security.

THE CRIME : Sending E-mail to a friend in which he said he thought President Clinton should be shot.

THE MISTAKE : The same mistake many Americans make every day...believing that what they say in E-mail is private.

In the wake of the incident, Dan Brown, an English teacher at the school, surprised by the government's apparent ability to "listen in", began researching the intelligence community's access to civilian communication"

There is another variation to this in a Q&A at this archived Brown page.

Q: A rather startling event inspired you to write Digital Fortress. Can you elaborate on what happened?

A: A few years ago, I was teaching on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. One Spring day, unannounced, the U.S. Secret Service showed up and detained one of our students claiming he was a threat to national security. As it turned out, the kid had sent private E-mail to a friend saying how much he hated President Clinton and how he thought the president should be shot.

Further down in that Interview we find another interesting statement: "…what I found out absolutely floored me. I discovered there is an intelligence agency as large as the CIA... that only about 3% of Americans knows exists. It is called the National Security Agency (NSA), and it is home to the country's eavesdroppers."


One wonders how he could possibly be floored by learning about the NSA? The NSA figures prominently in Sidney Sheldon's Doomsday Conspiracy, which Dan said he had read in 1993 or 1994 in Tahiti. Didn't he?

In addition, no online newspaper archive has any record of a 1995 Secret Service raid at Exeter. The Manchester Union-Leader did, however, have the following on January 23, 1997:

"Profile Students Threaten Clinton; Computer E-Mail Gets 2 Suspended; Third NH Incident:

"BETHLEHEM - Two Profile High School students have been suspended and their Internet access privileges revoked for the remainder of their high school years after they sent an electronic message threatening the life of President Bill Clinton.

Secret Service Agent Jim Fitton said it is the third e-mail threat made against the President by a New Hampshire juvenile in the past two and a half months. The other cases, he said, occurred in Keene and Salem, one from a home computer, the other from a computer in a public library."

One might think that the Secret Service would have mentioned Exeter.

Can We Find Some Truth Here?

Let's take Tahiti. Well, we know he DID go, at least according to this web site maintained by some very nice people from Georgia. The Georgians said 1993, Dan says 1994, but that could just be a memory thing.

Then Dan says another curious thing: that Digital Fortress was published in 1996. The U.S. Copyright office offers us this:

Registration Number: TX-4-715-459
Title: Digital fortress / acDan Brown.
Edition: 1st ed.
Imprint: New York : St. Martin's Press, 1998.
Description: 371 p.
Claimant: Dan Brown
Created: 1997
Published: 5Jan98
Registered: 26Jan98
Special Codes: 1/B/L

Maybe he just doesn't remember writing the book. I have a feeling that if we ever get Dan Brown under oath, he just won't be able to remember very much. Funny about that.

Portland vs. Exeter: Who is Plagiarizing Whom?

I am grateful for help being offered now by many people out in the blogosphere who are devoting an enormous number of hours to helping me dig for facts. The following came from the most energetic of all those:

Can YOU find the differences?

From Portland writer Margo Finke's Secrets of Writing for Children

All readers (editors & agents included) love to learn as they read. Whenever possible, place your action in a setting that treats your readers to a locale about which they know very little. A dairy farm, a secret intelligence agency, a coalmine, even another time in history are all settings that have the potential to transport readers to new worlds. It's no secret that the success of medical and legal thrillers is due in large part to their "settings" (we all love to learn about the inner workings of hospitals and courtrooms.) Readers love to learn, so choose settings that teach.

From Dan Brown's "Getting Published: 7 Powerful Tips"

All readers (editors & agents included) love to learn as they read. Whenever possible, place your action in a setting that treats your readers to a locale about which they know very little. A dairy farm, a secret intelligence agency, a coal mine, even another time in history are all settings that have the potential to transport readers to new worlds. It's no secret that the success of medical and legal thrillers is due in large part to their "settings" (we all love to learn about the inner workings of hospitals and courtrooms.) Readers love to learn... so choose settings that teach.

And if you think that excerpt is a bit too identical, visit the web pages to see more. The entire documents are nearly word for word.

There is a current version of this page on Brown's web site that is similar, but has been edited and is no longer word-for-word.

I have emailed and left a voicemail for Ms. Finke, but her web pages says she is on vacation.

A 2001 post on Ms. Finke's web site indicates that the piece in question was based on a talk given by Portland educator and editor Linda Zuckerman at a writer's conference.

I also emailed Ms. Zuckerman, but have had no reply.

Did Brown copy from Finke?

Did Finke copy from Brown?

If any of the links go dead, please email me. I have archive copies I can post.

Too Many Indiscretions for an Affidavit, Part 2: Brown Fudges More of His Music Career

In most of the same places that Dan takes credit for the work of the real Olympic song writers, he claims to have had 4 CDs of his music published. But it's tough to determine who the publisher is.

The following circuitous route leads to a vanity, pay-for-play music publisher.

(After we finish this tour, we'll look at his claim of a world tour with "the renowned ACGC.")

To start the trip, visite: http://988.com/authors/brown_dan.php

Which has the following listing:

CMC: Dan Brown
Dan Brown. Dan Brown is one of the most impressive writers I've heard in the last five hears . John Braheny, Author, The Craft and Business of Songwriting .
http://www.aimcmc.com/browndan.html

Extractions: A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Amherst College, Dan Brown is a member of MENSA, an internationally published novelist, and the composer/producer of four CD's of original music. His single "Peace in our Time" was recently performed at the Atlanta Olympics. Dan's live performance experience includes a world tour with the renown ACGC and appearances in such venues as Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris), St. Marco's Cathedral (Venice), St. Stephen's (Vienna), the Acropolis (Athens), and the American Embassies in Delhi, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Seoul. He's also performed as a solo piano/vocalist at The Rojo y Negro in Spain and in Hollywood at the National Academy of Songwriters Acoustic Underground. DGB Music, ASCAP Close on the heels of his LA production deal with British Record Producer of the Year and one of the most respected producers of pop music today, Barry Fasman, Dan Brown has come out with an album industry heavy-hitters are definitely talking about. Gregorian chant, mandolins, synthesizers, and lofty lyrics..."

It's apparent that Braheny gives Dan a good blurb here, so why can't we listen to them? And where does this text come from? It sounds like something from a news release.

Well, we can wonder or we can click on. Unfortunately, http://www.aimcmc.com/browndan.html returns the infamous "404 Not Found" error message.

The results are better when we go to the home URL , http://www.aimcmc.com/ which gives us the home page of the Creative Musicians Coalition (CMC). It looks like a well-done indie music site.

So if we click on over to the Artists Index link at: http://www.musicdiscoveries.com/music/artists/artistindex.html and click on "B" we don't find Dan Brown.

BUT, this page tells us to "Visit our store for more "B" Artists" and when we surf over to that page (which CMC describes as a " sister organization"), http://www.musicdiscoveries.com/music/artists/artistindex.html, we DO find Dan Brown's name, but that link:

http://creativecenters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=BROWND

alas, gets us a blank page. DANG!

Okay, Dan: your footprints are all over here. But where are your CDs?

Well, if you surf back over to the CMC site and make a logical but UNfounded (and as yet UNverified) assumption that Dan's four CDs were published by CMC and sold at its sister site, the next question would be, how do you get these guys to sell the music? Clicking around the links, we find a "Join With Us" page at http://www.aimcmc.com/artist.html that offers a sign-up page that promises to get back to you.

I filled out that page and ... sacre bleu! They got back to me with the following forms: http://www.davincicodex.com/CMC-Music.exe (This is a self-extracting file with a built-in viewer. Just double click on it from Windows Explorer ... I use this format because it is a LOT smaller than .jpgs and downloads a lot faster.

As you can see, CMC is strictly pay for play. You pay; CMC sells, then sends you a piece of your action.

Back on Lee Goldberg's blog, a few more interesting things came out of this trip. Take that aimcmc.com/browndan.html page that gave us the 404 error ... Well, thanks to the Internet Archive (also known as the Wayback Machine) the page still lives at:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030216121324/aimcmc.com/browndan.html

An emailer wrote: "Dan Brown's CD that was listed by CMC was called "Angels & Demons" and the company that released it was DGB Music. (Presumably, that's Dan G. Brown Music.).... This appears to be the music equivalent of a vanity press. I wonder why CDC removed the listing for Brown. I would assume that he made them do it -- if it were up to them, presumably they'd be trying to cash in on his name, now that he's semi-famous.

"Interesting side note," the lurker continued, "the cover art "ambigram" for the album was created by John Langdon, whom you can read about here:

http://www.johnlangdon.net/New_Pages/Angels_Demons.htm

"Sounds like Dan gave John a tip o' the hat with the
name of his protagonist."

I went to the page and am still going over things ...interesting that one of his top blurbs is from Blythe Newlon -- his wife.

You can also download some of the clips. Have a listen. Express your finely tuned music critic's opinion.

No Affidavits: Too Many Indiscretions in the Closet?

I previously mentioned the "It Isn't Easy to be Dan Brown" thread on Lee Goldberg's Writer's Life blog, but it -- and other data that is coming in from various sources can offer us some perspective on Dan Brown's statements and why there is no affidavit from him. Or Jason Kaufman. Or Blythe Brown.

There is, of course, Dan Brown's often repeated statement that he wrote a song called "Peace in Our Time" that was played in the 1996 Olympics?

His repeated statement can be found here:

Boston Globe

Dan Brown's web site

Author listing

Melbourne Post

But Brown's statement is at odds with the following record obtained from The U.S. Copyright Office?

18. Registration Number PA-454-455
Title Peace in our time / A. Hill, P. Sinfield.
Note Performed by aJennifer Holiday.
In 1988 Summer Olympics album/One moment in time. 1 compact disc
Claimant Virgin Music (Pubs), Ltd.
Created 1988
Published 26Sep88
Registered 1May89
Author on © Application words & music aPete Sinfield & aAndy Hill.
Miscellaneous C.O. corres.
Special Codes 3/M/L

To verify the information, you, dear blog reader, can go here: http://www.copyright.gov/records/cohm.html

Then search for Peace in our time (use the music option. No need to use "")

Next check the box for Peace in our time, click the radio button for "full record display" then hit submit.

Scroll down to #18 to see the listing above.

THEN, use your browser's "search in this page" function to look for "brown" as you load each of the three pages of listings.

Then ask yourself: how is it that there's not a song by Dan Brown listed here?

The other question would be how songwriters Pete Sinfield & Andy Hill feel about having their song misappropriated.

The Blythe/Saaddoodeen/Affidavit Connection

Because comments on this blog require people to register first, I get many, many more emails than comments to the posts.

For that reason, my email inbox has hummed with theories about why Blythe Brown would be associated with the most-likely-fictional Ahamedd Saaddoodeen. Some are relatively plausible and being investigated.

Some of the emails -- which have raised more questions than answers so far -- include things like:

"Saaddoodeen is an anagram. Maybe some kind of cryptography. Maybe B.Brown is the one interested in cryptography. Maybe she wrote the book. Maybe with Kaufman's help?

"Maybe that's why no affidavit. Technically maybe Dan never read your books, but somebody else did? Maybe just a wild guess."

Just a guess, for sure. How wild it is will be for the investigators to follow up on.

Saaddoodeen Is Stranger Than I Imagined

I have reports now from four of the better, premium online database and investigating sites that makes me believe that Ahamedd Saaddoodeen is not really Ahamedd Saaddoodeen.

The data comes from People Data, Intelius, US Search and USA Trace.

Before I describe the data, it is important to realize that databases often contain incorrect information which is why I paid FOUR of these services to try and independently cross-check and corroborate each other. Despite this, there is no guarantee that all four are not relying on faulty data. However, they all returned different reports with somewhat varying data that indicates they were accessing different sources.

I had my own guesses about Saaddoodeen but was not prepared for what I received. The online documents -- which include a list of residences occupied (both apartments and single-family dwellings) for the past 26 years and continuing to 2005 -- show Ahamedd Saaddoodeen continuously as a resident at the same address as Ms. Brown since at least 1979 and continuing to the present day.

As part of the search, the investigative services ran a check on the Social Security numbers and Dates of Birth for Saaddoodeen and Ms. Brown. The documents they sent me indicate that the birth date (December XX, 1952) and SSN are the same. I do not have nor did I ask for, nor do I want the whole SSN. I have also XXed out the actual date of birth to avoid exposing sensitive personal information.

I will post the investigative services' documents as soon as I black out the exact addresses, phone numbers and other data that I am not comfortable posting here. It may take a while because there are nearly 70 pages worth of data. I'll post them in hopes that some reader will be able to make a connection.

So, for whatever reason, these investigative reports indicate that "Ahamedd Saaddoodeen" is not a real person, but probably an alias for Blythe Newlon Stafford Brown -- Dan Brown's wife. And that Saaddoodeen predates her relationship with Brown. I make that conclusion since the Blythe/Saaddoodeen connection as indicated by the data, dates back at least to 1979 - a year that Dan Brown was just 15 years old.

So, that leads us back to my original statement in this post: Ahamedd Saaddoodeen is not really Ahamedd Saaddoodeen.

It is NOT reasonable and totally beyond the realm of belief to entertain the notion that the Saaddoodeen writing to me is Brown's wife. So, ruling that out leaves us with another mystery: WHO could the fake Saaddoodeen be? And how would they know this?

I am sending the investigative services back to dig deeper in search of this answer. I'll let you know what they find.

What is Jason Kaufman's Role in All This?

The always mysterious Ahamedd Saaddoodeen writes often now, and each email contains a further bit of information -- always intriguing and each time taking a further step to color in a bizarre picture accompanied by a page of documentation here and there.

"What you seek is found in Jason Kaufmann's head," Saaddoodeen writes. "He is the one who knows almost the entire story. That which Mr. Kaufman does not know, Blythe does. Poor Dan Brown is unaware of many things that have swirled about him. But that of which he is unaware is now closing in on him."

"Poor Dan Brown?" As if!

Oh well! Nothing like a good conspiracy theory from a strange person with an anagrammic name. I'd dismiss it all out of hand along with the other crank emails if not for the bits and pieces of data that Saaddoodeen doles out each time. Each piece adds to the others and is beginning to accumulate into a hefty dossier of sorts that I'll begin to publish here as the final confirmations happen.

Saaddoodeen's data may have a lot to do with why Random House does not want Dan Brown under oath and why theyare trying to avoid a trial at all costs.

Interesting Dan Brown and DVCode Posts

Prominent Los Angeles television producer and novelist Lee Goldberg has hosted two very interesting threads about all this on his blog, A Writer's Life.


It Isn't Easy Being Dan Brown

Perdue vs. Brown

Who is Ahamedd Saaddoodeen.?

I have a question for readers: Does anyone know the significance of a person's name: Ahamedd Saaddoodeen.

There have been some posts on my blog by this name and I have received some very interesting information relevant to my case from this person.

However, the repeated letters make this name seem like an anagram or some other puzzle.

Does anyone have any insight?

Breaking the Da Vinci Code - Airing on PAX Tonight - May 11

Grizzly Adams Productions will be airing a new prime time special -- Breaking the Da Vinci Code -- on the PAX-TV Network on May 11 during the May 2005 Sweeps.

From the Grizzly Adams Description:

"Everyone wants to know. Is Dan Brown's best selling thriller The Da Vinci Code really fact or fiction? Was Jesus really married to Mary Magdalene? Was she one of his disciples? Did they have a child together that became France's royal bloodline? Did Catholic secret societies hide these and many other secrets about Jesus? Were famous people like Leonardo da Vinci and Sir Isaac Newton in on the secrets? Did Leonardo try to warn us through The Last Supper painting? Based on three best-selling books-Breaking the Da Vinci Code, The Da Vinci Deception and Cracking Da Vinci's Code-this program solves a 2000 year old mystery! Breaking the DaV inci Code answers all the lingering questions and finally sets the record straight-through interviews with book authors and the world's leading experts in archeology, theology, art history, philosophy and science. Generous Bonus Features. Approximately 60 minutes"

More information here from the promotional material (.pdf)


Warning, shameless self-promotion ahead!

I have a cameo interview on this program. You can own a DVD of it even before the PAX airing by heading to my eBay store.

The proceeds from the sales will go to help finance my plagiarism law suit against The Da Vinci Code.

Check For a New Posts on Da Vinci Crock

I've posted an update on Da Vinci Crock (and will follow with more) on the court hearing and the fact that the Random House lawyers have been called on their questionable behavior.

I'm primed for the fights here, folks.

If I don't get a jury trial at this level, we will appeal. That is something that you can take to the bank. I will not stop until I'm either dead or get justice. I don't go away. My wife and I have talked about what happens if Random House bankrupts us with this. We know that is a risk and she's right there with me.

Bankrupt or not, nothing that Random House can do will prevent me from publishing facts that are provably true in a court of law: facts about the plagiarism, facts about Dan Brown or facts about the behavior of the Random House lawyers.

We've had crackers try to bring down the site and Random House shills posting on this and other blogs.

Because of the danger of losing the posts through cracking the site or other means, I upload a daily archive of everything to 11 friends in four countries. If Da Vinci Crock goes dark here, it lights up other places.

There is a lot more to say about Dan Brown, his "extensive research" and other issues connected with The Da Vinci Code.

The truth will come out.

Et Tu, Angels and Demons?

This blog is the continuation of The Da Vinci Crock. Check out the top post on that page for why.

In addition to the reasons stated there, I wanted a place where I was freer to express pure opinion and/or to rant. I could not do that as much on Da Vinci Crock because of the need to point out the specific ways that Random House's lawyers were engaged in some pretty ethically borderline things.

Anyway, I got an email last night that said:

"I finished Angels & Demons and am amazed that the Camerlengo is revealed to be the pope's child after he kills his father unknowingly, and then he dies in flames. I've read that before in another novel: yours."

I've received quite a few emails over the past few months telling me that I should take a closer look at A&D for plagiarism.

I am struck by how this situation so closely resembles the early stages of the Da Vinci Code issue. Then, as now, I was too busy to deal with the issue and chalked the similarities up to things that probably were not protected anyway.

That did not change until I read DVCode. I have not read A&D, but the more emails I get, the more I think we may have the same issues here.

Once again, the more people read, the more similarities they find.

You have to wonder why Dan Brown's books are so phenomenally similar to mine.