R.I.P. Umberto Eco.

Insofar as The Name of the Rose is concerned yes; the novel is far better than the movie, and Foucault's Pendulum is superior to both.

Ironically, Umberto Eco's name came up only a few months ago.

On Che Guevara and semiotics.

Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. It is the study of how meaning is created, not what it is.

Imagine living in a country where public use of the term "intellectual" isn't cause for derision.

Umberto Eco, Italian novelist and intellectual, dies aged 84 (The Guardian)

The celebrated Italian intellectual Umberto Eco, who shot to fame with his 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, has been remembered as a master of Italian culture following his death at the age of 84.