“Decoding the lost symbols” mini-conference…

Next Sunday (8th November 2009), $99 should get you into a one-day mini-conference in LA focusing on “hidden history, signs, symbols, and secrets”, hosted by Simon Cox, author of the brand new book “Decoding The Lost Symbol”…

OK, I’m sure you’ve rumbled the secret already: that it’s basically a one-day press launch for Simon Cox’s book, with a load of sort-of-relevant speakers doing their thing (and not a cipher mystery in sight, as far as I could see). I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy this, but I personally won’t be red-eyeing over to the West Coast for this. (But please leave a comment here if you do happen to go.)

All of which does raise the question of whether I should organize my own proper cipher mysteries / secret histories conference (not to promote a book, but just to have some fun) and where. After all, there are plenty of nicely evocative places in Ye Quainte Olde Londonne Towne that I could hire for the day at less than staggering expense, and finding places to put speakers up should be straightforward. The kind of stuff I’d expect it to cover should come as no big surprise:-

• The Voynich Manuscript
• The Rohonc Codex
• John Dee’s secret history (a perennial favourite!)
• Rosicrucianism and Alchemy
• Historical code-breaking – a practical guide
• Armchair treasure-hunting / Treasure maps / The greatest (real) treasures never found
• Panel: “Renaissance Symbolism – True or False?”
• The Secret History of Renaissance Astrology
• The Phaistos Disc (possibly)
• (…and so on)

Would that be your idea of a perfect day out? Feel free to tell me what’s missing from the agenda!