May 3rd 2000, at 5.54am GMT, the last piece of an amazing cosmic jigsaw fell into place. The picture will remain intact till the evening, at 8.18pm GMT. During those historic 14 hours and 24 minutes, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will ALL be passing through the same zodiac sign at the same time. Hardly ever does the sky produce such a potent portent. Astrologers, all over the globe, see this as awesomely auspicious. If you want to see why, think of the sky as a cosmic pond. The planets, as they travel in their orbits, usually cast small, symbolic "pebbles" into this pool. By aligning so closely together, they are creating one gigantic boulder. It is about to land with an almighty splash. The ripples will reverberate for decades. And, for most of us, they will not so much be ripples as tidal waves of change. First though, we must look at the way in which it will influence the world as a whole. We are talking here, about a conjunction with the power to unleash energies, options and possibilities which people have long dreamed of yet never been able to reach. During the next twenty years, the human race is going to journey further than it has done in the last 200 years. Science will continue to stretch our imagination. It has been doing so for a long time now. None of us are surprised any more when, thanks to technology, impossible things suddenly become possible. But so far, our stunning advances in science have not been reflected socially. Seemingly impossible social changes (such as eliminating poverty or ending war) remain as remote as ever. We say, half in jest and half in sorrow, that we may be able to put a person on the Moon but we can't feed all the hungry people in Ethiopia. And we accept that this is just a fact of life that will never alter. Yet it is THIS very attitude of hopeless resignation which is about to alter as a result of today's big cosmic conjunction. For finally, after countless centuries, people are going to lose their pessimism and redefine their relationship with life itself. The seven fold conjunction of 531AD caused both Christianity and Buddhism to spread like wildfire across the globe, causing millions to redefine that same relationship. Both teachings invite reflection on an 'eternal spirit' and suggest that existence, here on earth, is but one of many possible states. The seven fold conjunction of 1962 coincided with the famous Cuban missile crisis. It placed millions in a state of fearful apprehension. In reaction, we started racing to the Moon and experimenting, en masse, with ways to reach alternate states of consciousness. Once again, human beings became keenly aware that existence, here on earth, is but one of many possible states. Now, here comes the next seven fold conjunction and the last for many centuries. It has the same basic message for humanity. "Existence, here on earth, is but one of many possible states." But this time, because the conjunction is taking place in a practical Earth sign, it carries a rider. "Do not, therefore, wait for another lifetime - or try to escape to another world. Recognise that future existence, here on earth, does not HAVE to reflect the pattern of past existence. Anything is possible. Anything you can imagine. Anything you can find the strength, wisdom and courage to reach for. The dream you are dreaming today will be the reality you find yourself living in tomorrow." This, by and large, is how astrologers are interpreting the current message from the cosmos. Hence the reason why all our predictions must be about preparing for a time when things we once considered 'unimaginable' become perfectly feasible. And hence too, the reason why all our advice must encourage people to start reaching for the brightest, most hopeful dreams they can envisage. The Future Starts Here Historic cosmic events are rather like buses. You hang about for a thousand years or so and none take place. Then suddenly, two come along in less than half a century. The world has been waiting a long time for a seven fold conjunction to reshape history. Since May 31, 531AD, to be precise. That event set a religious revolution spinning across the globe. Buddhism came to Japan. Christianity came to Europe. We can hardly imagine how deeply moved people must have been by the intensity of their new spiritual discoveries. But it is clear that, around this time, something shook millions of people into a new state of awareness. And that crucial values changed as a result. Since then, there has been a further sevenfold conjunction. It took place on Feb 4, 1962 - within hours of President Kennedy declaring a trade embargo against Cuba. This was to take the earth to the terrifying brink of global, thermonuclear war. It shook millions of people into a new state of awareness. And crucial values changed as a result. During the next few years, all over the world, young people began to question conventional belief systems. The Swinging Sixties gave us The Beatles, The Youth Revolution, The Permissive Society, The Hippy Dream - and the First Moon Landing. Spookily, if you trace back the social history of most modern attitudes, you can find a clear turning point just after that last seven fold conjunction of 1962. This though, was just a curtain raiser; part one of a two part sequence which culminates, May 1st, with one further sevenfold conjunction. Against the backdrop of history, those last four decades have passed in the blink of an eye. Now, the cosmic eye is blinking once more. By the time it opens again, the world is not just going to be exploring a new belief system. It is going to be embracing a different set of more enlightened values. Values which will dominate global culture for a further fifteen hundred years.

Happy birthday to Jim!
Your flower is Lilly of the Valley.
Your stone is Emerald.
Your existence is a blessing.

Patti Smith with Joey Ramone and Ronnie Spector

HOBOKEN FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE UPDATE
Patti Smith & Ronnie Spector Headline Hoboken Festival Roster

The City of Hoboken and Cablevision present the Hoboken Spring Arts & Music Festival on Sunday, May 7, from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Washington St. (from Newark to 7th St.)

FIRST STREET STAGE
12:00 p.m. Scott E. Moore - acoustic
12:30 p.m. The Demolition String Band - country/bluegrass
1:15 p.m. Bob Delevante - roots rock
2:15 p.m. Skanatra - Sinatra Ska
3:15 p.m. Ronnie Spector
4:45 p.m. Patti Smith (w/ Joey)

Since this has come up a few times lately, here's the best Area 51 resource I've ever seen (complete with side by side analysis of ALL aerial/satelite photos, plus a very insightful commentary on the U.S. post cold war security apparatus.)

a valid reason to read playboy. theyve got the elian wassup scoop down tight. the guys that thought it up work for them. the associated press even backs off from their original bluster as they wade out deeper into the net.

also, i think it was on a playboy page or something i clicked on recently that had a sound ad that was related to the banner on the page. although it was annoying, it didnt seem like a bad model for insuring that your message was heard if you were a company advertising a product.

i just went back to the original wassup page that jim linked to and i refresh it about every five seconds and watch the counter fly. its getting like 20 or 30 hits a second. whoa!

southpark pulls an allnighter to parody the elian uprising. now if i only had cable i could see it.

im not sure what the hell boomerang is but it sure looks cool.

From the wheeler collection. "Click on the black dot." Thanks Mike.

This is totally stupid, but I'm posting it anyway. My least favorite media story, combined with the most over-referenced add campaign of late (with a dash of really poor flash programming thrown in,) makes for... wassup elian. (unless you have a crazy fast connection this won't play right the first time through - due to the poor programming. Wait for it to end, and then rewind (control click on the image to get the flash menu) and play again.)

heres some wraslin noos from salon.

Speaking of Birds…
Someone (remember, the pop up posting boxes on Jim & my pages don't identify the poster) mentioned Killer Swans as a vaguely remembered "ironic" band name. All I could find was a song with that title by Flying Saucer Moonship, on this buggy site. As far as irony goes, a lot of what passes for irony these days is just static experienced by people whose reality receivers are a bit out of tune. Swans may be pretty, but they are large and powerful, as well as territorial and protective. People know that geese and ostriches can be aggressive, but a graceful white swan? Well, remember that birds are descended from dinosaurs. At least that's currently the most popular theory, which just received a boost from this amazing development. Scientists believe they have found the first fossilized dinosaur heart, and it appears to be much like a bird's, which adds to the evidence for endothermic (warm-blooded) dinosaurs.
And while we're on the subject, I saw the Louisiana Waterthrush yesterday. Did Jim Louis(iana) have anything to do with that?

Been trying to post this, for bill since his birthday.

I haven't had time to check these out, but here's a list of flash sites that Gavin sent me. (I'm going to get back into this stuff.) And speaking of Flash - I met a guy in a bar last night who is a Director programmer (Director is like Pro Flash) and he said he did his taxes with it. That must be the definition of being a Macromedia geek. Anyway:

http://www.goultralightsgo.com/
http://www.torisukoshiro.com/
http://www.lovethelife.org/
http://www.shift.jp.org/
http://www.spumco.com/
http://www.lukeworld.com/
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/
http://www.fractaldomains.com/html/gallery.html http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/micro/gallery.html

The thing I hate most about the NY Times is their smug tone. I get the impression that more editorial capital is expended on maintaining the image of accuracy than on actually achieving it. Everything is presented as if it's coming down from Mt Sinai, but every time I read a story on a subject I actually know something about, I find it's full of inaccuracies, biased viewpoints, or just plain crap.
I never have that problem with the NY Post. I know it's full of crap to begin with, so I'm not disposed to take its veracity for granted. Not being saddled with the Time's noble pose, the tabloid often goes straight to the heart of matters that are not "fit to print", but are really more apropos than what passes for news. The Voice once call Post cartoonist Sean Delonis a "monster from the id" (Forbidden Planet reference) and that might be said of the paper as a whole. This story actually did provide a little information, which sparks doubts about the image being projected of Elian's "surrogate mother". I'm starting to wonder exactly how many children are being abused in this affair. The Post did make one concession to good taste, or more likely expediency; in the paper, this article was accompanied by a nice photo of Marisleysis sucking on a popsicle.
(Oh yeah, the Post doesn't make you sign in, either.)

SNAFU @ area 51 pic site

The shittin' web site at the web address published by the NYT yesterday for aerial photos of area 51 has been down since I posted it.
Thanks for D.F.s comment with link to a Yahoo news story on possible reasons why.

the coelacanth has been added to endangered species list.

The “Full Cleveland” as I remember understanding it from a guy I knew who grew up in St.Louis (Missouri folks need someone to look down on) is it’s merely the conspicuous matching of white belt and white shoes in male attire. However there are several tack-ons associated with the phenomenon. As per Alex Wilson (of Detroit) “It’s always better if the belt and shoes can be shiny like patent leather (but not leather) or even the wet look”. It is the ubiquitous accessory to the leisure suit (preferably one in tan or light blue with darker same color contrast stitching) with open collar (no tie) and also as per Alex , gold chains. Alex add’s “The sporting party can be characterized as a used car salesman type”. My favorite sighting is TV’s Herb Tarlich of WKRP Cincinnati. Radio spot salesman Herb sported the look all throughout the series and I recall he once mentioned that he had to go to a special golf pro-shop in Kentucky to get one particular model leisure suit. Alex mentioned he found a couple of links which bear out his points, although I couldn’t find them. I spoke today with my brother just to make sure I had it right too.

Also looking for Area 51.

wasnt someone talking about absinthe awhile back?

Here's two links to blogs covering the big DC ruckus set for tomorrow, April 16th. The first is from the Monkeyfist folk, and I don't know who this second one is by, but they seem similarly aligned. You've got to love the anarchist soccer league challenging world bank and IMF leaders to a high stakes game of football.

If you should know this, you probably already do, but just in case: Diti's opening is tonight at the Boesky gallery. (Is there a jpeg we could post? Steve?)

What's the deal with Blogger? Has it been down lately?

looks like I can add kottke to the small list of sites to which I have made some modest (and I mean modest,) anonymous, contribution. Check out the April 12th entry where he gives the results of a question he asked about the name for a monochromatic style of dress. I supplied the incorrect but favorite answer. Now if only I had a page I wasn't embarassed about, I might have gotten a link out of that from the mighty jason kottke.

Sixty-fifth anniversary of the Great Dust Storm.

Where's Chuck?