Cooking For Zodiac Signs: Astrology Cookbook

Dating a Scorpio, Aquarius or Sagittarius? Is your Pisces girlfriend joining you for lunch? Or maybe your in-laws are coming for dinner and they're a Capricorn and Virgo couple. Then comes the big question, "So what's for dinner?"

According to "Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns" written by Sabra Ricci, you can make your next luncheon or dinner event a big hit simply by focusing on the Zodiac signs of your guests. This creative astrology cookbook can help you design the perfect meal by tapping into some age-old astrology insights.

Jenny McCarthy is a big fan, she wrote the forward for the book. So let's dive in and take a peek into what makes the perfect astrological stew for all you would-be witches and warlocks out there.

What I Liked About This Book

The first thing that impressed me about this astrology cookbook was the size. It's not one of those giant hardback books with 500 pages that becomes incredibly overwhelming when you go to actually put it to use. This is a nice, compact yet incredibly comprehensive astrology cookbook that gets right to the point. You'll locate all of the signs, food selections and recipes with ease.

The next thing that impressed me was the way Sabra went about choosing the food selections and recipes, which is via the body rulership of each Zodiac sign. For instance, Aries is ruled by the head. So what better way to approach cooking for an Aries than via their mind. Scorpio rules the pelvis, therefore, logically aphrodisiacs are the way to go. Cancer rules the stomach, so it's best not to serve them dishes that can cause embarrassing digestive issues.

Your Zodiac Sign in the Kitchen

Next, Sabra, whom you can find on Twitter @Mauichef and on Facebook at Sabra Ricci, covers a bit about the tendencies of each of the astrological signs in the kitchen:

". . .you have to know that if your Aquarius friend ever wants to have a dinner party, you must volunteer to help. Or maybe you should just take charge. This is not to say that Aquarius doesn't like to entertain and serve a wonderful meal to a wide group of friends. It's just that they can't seem to focus on all those pesky details long enough to make it happen on their own."

So for all of you residing with roommates, live in lovers, husbands and wives, you receive the opportunity to gain insight into their behavior and culinary tendencies in the kitchen. For those of you residing with an Aquarius, now you're on notice (that is, if you haven't already recognized this tendency about them) - you're assistance is needed when it comes to preparation, planning and details.

Your Zodiac Sign As A Guest

The book then moves into the area of guest by zodiac sign:

"You should serve sumptuous prepared for a king, exotic, flavorful dishes anyone would expect to find served at a palace. Be sure to save the head of the table for your Leo guest, where they will be the center of attention.

When Leo is truly in his element, he can't help but be gracious and your other guests won't even realize that the limelight isn't focused on them."

To me, this is perhaps the most insightful part as well as the most helpful when entertaining. Throwing a fabulous dinner party can create lots of excitement along with lots of anxiety.

Sabra takes all of that anxiety away by exploring what each of the Zodiac signs is like as a guest in your home so that you know what to expect.

Foods By Zodiac Sign

This part was a nice inclusion due to the fact that you can either choose one of the many recipes provided in the book for each sign of the Zodiac or you can pick a few food items recommended for each sign and then simply create your own concoction.

So if you're not good at following directions or you don't have all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand and it's a "last minute" type of event, you can easily toss something together using one or more of the recommended food items and still leave a big impression on your guest.

You might not have been prepared, but your guest will be none the wiser.

Recipe Suggestions by Zodiac Sign

This is my favorite part. The minute I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, it just so happened that I had a conversation with a Pisces girlfriend that same afternoon about recipes of all things. I decided right there that I wanted to test Sabra's suggestions in the real world.

I explained briefly to my Pisces friend that I received an astrological cookbook for review and then threw out two of the suggested recipe titles for the sign of Pisces, "Crab Cakes with Julienned Mango and Red Pepper Aioli" and "Zesty Chile-Cheese Cornbread."

I wasn't sure what her response would be because the first recipe sounded a tad "involved." Surprisingly, she didn't hesitate one moment and her immediate response was:

"Wow, that's right up my alley, that's so me!"

So you see, there's something for everyone here. And what may seem like or sound a tad involved to one, is music to another's ears.

Which leads me to my next point about the book, another one that I really liked, is that Sabra thought of everything. She doesn't just provide one or two recipes for each sign, she provides many. Some are simple recipes while others are meant to be a big hit outta' the park. So the choice is yours. If you don't feel like necessarily going all out for your guest, you can choose one of the simpler recipes. However, if you're finally dating that Virgo guy you've been gunning for for over a year now and there he is - sitting at your dining room table - you can choose one of the more impressive recipes and hit a home run.

And the same goes for other types of guests in your home. If you've got a Scorpio mother-in-law coming over that's stung you recently, you can simply set out a tray of "Triple Ginger Chocolate Shortbread Cookies" and call it a day. However, if you've managed to get through that tough outta shell of hers and she's welcomed you into her inner circle, you can go all out and serve "Asian Honey Chicken Kabobs."

And did you notice the cookie mention there? Yes folks, desserts and cookie recipes are included as well.

An Appetizer Preview For You

Aries: Honey Walnut Shrimp

Taurus: Zucchini Bread with Toasted Brazil Nuts

Gemini: Cantaloupe, Tomato and Basil Salad with Feta Cheese

Cancer: Green Tea, Pineapple and Ginger Martini for Two

Leo: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Virgo: Grilled New York Strips with Portobello Mushrooms and Horseradish Sauce

Libra: Cranberry Pistachio Scones

Scorpio: Malpeque Oysters with Ginger Mignonette Sauce

Sagittarius: Chocolate Dipped Coconut Biscotti

Capricorn: Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Glazed Apples and Cloves

Aquarius: Chicken Katsu

Pisces: Chipotle White Bean Grilled Chicken Chili

DISCLOSURE

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review. However, my opinions of this book are not tainted by the fact that it was free. For those of you who may not know, I'm a Taurus female with four planets in the sign of Aries, a woman on the Aries/Taurus cusp. If I don't like something, you'll know.

Experiences With An Aries Male

I'm a female Taurus and I'll be honest, every new friend, male or female, I seem to make over the years is . . . you guessed it, an Aries.

It's a funny thing and many say that Aries, in particular, seem to be inexplicably drawn to Taurus folks. Anyone who is versed in mythology knows that Ares (Aries), the God of War, and the Goddess Aphrodite, a.k.a the Goddess Venus (planetary ruler of Taurus), bore a child together - Cupid. Being familiar with the Aries personality, many times I can't help but think it's because they underestimate the Taurus personality and tend to think Taurus is someone who will put up with them - and their giant egos, both male and female.

Anyone who truly knows the Aries personality realizes that I didn't just insult them there. Many an Aries will readily admit that it's all about them and this is especially true for the Aries male.

A previous post about experiences with a Taurus male has generated so much interest and discussion that I thought it'd be fun to explore the world of the Aries. But first, I'd like to note that I'm going to tread into some murky waters here and before all you Aries that are in denial begin to bash me for it, let me just say that I know plenty of wonderful Aries, men and women both. So as you continue to read this, please keep that in mind.

The Aries Male

The Aries male is a "mans man" for sure. A macho type that perceives himself as a knight in shining armor. If you ever hear a damsel in distress wailing for assistance, you can be sure that the men charging towards her are going to mainly consist of the Aries breed. And why is this you ask? My opinion is that it's because of their inflated sense of self. In their mind, if they rescue that damsel, she'll be so thankful for him having done so, she'll place him on that pedestal that he feels he so deserves.

You see, Aries men love nothing more than to be the center of someone's universe. Err, let me correct that. The Aries man loves nothing more than to be the center of - the entire universe. And for those of you close to an Aries male, I'm sure you can agree with that statement and your Aries man, most likely, will too. Aries men carry quite the sense of entitlement and many will readily admit to "deserving" things. Especially anything that they feel they've worked hard for. And work hard they do. The Aries male is no slouch. They like to enjoy the finer things in life and they aren't afraid to work for them. As a result of this tenacity and determination, the Aries man is generally a successful man - and they aren't shy about that. They love to hear themselves talk - about themselves and their successes.

You know the old Charlie Brown cartoons? Remember how it would sound when the teacher would speak? "Wah, wah, wah." That's what the Aries male generally hears when others are speaking - nothing but background noise. But when it comes his turn to steal the floor, and steal the floor they will, the spotlight comes on.

If dating an Aries man, on his good days, you'll encounter quite the gentlemen. He prides himself on this but watch out ladies! Aries men are quite the charmers. He'll be happy to have you by his side, he may lather you up with plenty of wonderful compliments and he'll always pick up the tab. After all, he's "the man." The Aries male will watch out for you, he'll defend your honor, and he'll open doors for you. But there's a price to pay for all of this - and that is that you will be his and only his.

Aries men can go so far with this entitlement behavior that you may find yourself unable to have a friendly conversation with any other male on the planet - ever. When the Aries male rings your phone, you'd better answer and you'd better make yourself available to him. You could be meeting with the Pope and it wouldn't matter - your Aries man had better come first. These guys need lots of attention, from you and from the rest of the world. You see, he's the superstar in his universe and you'd better be his biggest fan at all times, or someone else will move into your worshipping position and right quick.

And my last point leads me into those murky waters I referenced earlier. What's worse than an Aries not receiving the attention that they feel so deserving of? Absolutely nothing!

Being the first sign of the zodiac, you can liken the Aries personality to the babies of the zodiac. Watching an irritated Aries man act out is like watching a two year old throw a temper tantrum. It's like that old saying, "The bigger the man, the harder the fall." This is particularly true for the Aries male.

Aries Male Game Playing and Story Telling

Which leads me to my next point concerning the Aries personality in general, male and female alike - game playing. Just as children love to play games, so does the Aries persona. As a matter of fact, it's admittedly one of their favorite ways to pass the time. It's almost as if the world exists simply for their entertainment and everyone in it is a character that can be easily manipulated by them for their own enjoyment. Many times, without giving any thought to the fact that these people they're toying with are human beings, with real feelings. They don't mean to be mean, it's just that they're so caught up in their own world all the time, they don't ever seem to take much time to consider others.

All the Aries head games we're about to delve into won't come as a shock if you understand astrology. You see, their body rulership is that of the head. Eyes, ears, mouth, brain. So it comes as no real shock that head games are so intriquing to them. And one interesting observation is that many an Aries male keeps his hairdo top o' the list. Many sport the "jar head" look - a crew cut or very finely tuned crisp cut, a military look of sorts. I'd venture to guess that Aries men visit the barber twice as often as the average man.

I have a great example of their zany game playing that's just for kicks. I met this one particular Aries male about 5 years ago during a business encounter. He was from the neighborhood so I was somewhat already aware of his background. I already knew what he did for a living and, as is typical of Aries men, he had a great job and a successful career. You'd think that'd be enough to tout about, right? Wrong.

This chap happens by my house one day and we get to talking on the front porch. Nothing heavy, just friendly small talk. And out of nowhere, he says to me, "I used to be a DEA agent down in Chile." (Really? That's funny because I already know that you were a trouble shooter for a big company nearby.) Before I can get one word out, he's elaborating on this fib and watching my reaction closely. Me, being a Taurus, I chose not to call him on his ridiculousness that particular day. I just let him dig himself deeper as this story of his became more elaborate and dramatized by the minute.

But before I go on, let me back up here a minute. I actually hired this fella to do some work on my home. (Hmm, an undercover DEA agent that moonlights as a contractor - interesting, LOL.) Anywho, the day he showed up to do the job, it was about 58 or 59 degrees out, a breezy Spring day. I saw him go up on the roof, fully clothed, and about an hour later, he was knocking at my door, clipboard and invoice in hand - shirtless. Yes folks, shirtless and half naked on a 58 degree day - in the clients living room. He's standing there with a big grin on his face and when he sees me approaching, he lets himself in, in typical Aries fashion, before I even make it to the door. And I swear, when he stepped inside the house it was like the Flight of the Valkyries was blaring in his head. "Da, da, da, da, DAH - da, da, da, da, DAH." It was like he saw himself as the lead character in his own movie about to perform his Oscar winning performance. Needless to say, we were never involved other than business and my friends and I now affectionately refer to him as "the naked contractor."

Ok, now back to the DEA story. At a later date, he ended up boppin on by again - another infamous Aries male trait - coming over when they're not invited or expected (to spy on you). Only this time, I decided to confront him in typical Taurus fashion about the DEA bit. I said, "Tell me again what you do for a living?" (Aries translation: Talk about yourself more.) His response? A big smirk began to display across his face, he looked down at the ground like a little boy kicking stones (awe shucks), and said, "I was a trouble shooter." And he just about cracked himself up over the whole thing.

You see, it was all for kicks, a game, and he was gunning for a big reaction to stroke that giant ego of his. "Oh wow! Really?! You were a big, bad DEA agent in another country (which doesn't even make sense in and of itself) - oh boy!! You must be the worlds most interesting man alive!" That's what he was shooting for anyway. That isn't the reaction he got from a Taurus, however. We rarely ever play our cards on the first few rounds.

The Aries Male Dark Side

That particular story is one that relates to playful Aries games. However, they do have a darker side, as do we all, and believe you me, they love nothing more than a good skirmish with someone. A girlfriend of mine that was involved with an Aries for more than 40 years claims that a heated debate can be much like foreplay to them. Like one of those scenes in the old fashioned black and white movies where the woman's telling this guy what she really thinks of him, she's really letting him have it - and then he suddenly and unexpectedly grabs her and lays a long, passionate kiss on her. That's the stuff of Aries mens dreams. If you want to see an Aries man come alive, start a heated debate.

But a hurt Aries male and the games that will ensue afterwards are something of an entirely different nature indeed. Ladies, beware. These guys can be downright cruel, especially during a breakup. The Aries male motto concerning love and relationships just has to be, "All is fair in love and war." And to the Aries male, love IS war.

I've seen many an Aries man, within days of a breakup, strut another woman in the previous womans face - and with great delight, like they just won the World Cup. I've seen them come up with ways to make the previous woman jealous that you wouldn't believe, gunning for that big reaction. You know, the kind where the woman just looses her mind and goes all crazy ape on the guy. An Aries man won't be put off by that behavior, he'll be thoroughy entertained by it and he'll be sharing that story with his buds. "You shoulda seen her, she went nuts. It was great! I wish you could've seen it!" Yes ladies, these guys will "stoop." They'll play dirty and throw all the rules of etiquette right out the window - and into your face.

Speaking of games, other favorite dating past times of the Aries male include doing silly things like sending a slew of texts and then - poof, disappearing for hours once they get you to respond. They also get a big kick out of making plans and then cancelling at the last minute. Much of this is to test your emotional strength. Will you go ballistic? If you do, they got your number - let the games begin! If you don't, you're a challenge. Again, let the games begin!

Maybe some of the above has happened to you and, dare I say, you seek revenge on an Aries. If so, play it careful, ladies. Once you engage these fellas, it's on.

Aries Male In A Nutshell

Are you getting what I'm throwing down yet? See the theme developing here? Games, challenges, conquering and warrior like behavior tinged with worship. It's even better when it all ends with a "rescue" of sorts. The Aries male is a true gladiator and when you think things may be going badly, chances are - he's having the time of his life. This one loves a good bit of drama. Which I believe is the reason you see so many Aries/Gemini pairings. We all know the Gemini personality tends to be a split personality of sorts. The continued drama, worry, nervousness and indecisiveness of the Gemini persona seems to keep the Aries interested and continually challenged over the long haul.

Drama, drama, drama and a pure love of the thrill of the chase. So much so, that once they catch you - all too often, they then quickly disappear. Why behave like this, you ask? It's about the challenge. If that disappears and they've figured you out, as much as I hate to say it, you become boring to them. If you're gunning for an Aries male, my advice to you if you'd like to snag him would be to run in the other direction. Just run, run and then keep running from him. He'll chase you like there's no tomorrow and he'll love every minute of it.

What woman is the woman that usually captures the Aries man's heart? This is funny, but most times, a woman that's been with an Aries man for a while will tell you, "When I first met him, I didn't like him." And he knew it - and that's when the chase began, he stumbled - and then fell in love. These chaps are funny, the more you dislike them, the more they like you and the harder they set out to change your mind. And don't let the macho masculinity of this sign throw you - they love a woman that speaks her mind and isn't afraid to put them in their place every once in a while. You may think you're going to upset them by speaking frankly, but the fact is, they'll be thoroughly entertained by your tenacity and find you even more intriquing.

All that being said, generally, you can always count on the Aries male, regardless of your history together, friendship or otherwise. And once all the game playing and worshipping comes to an end, 90% of the time, you can look back on it together and have a laugh. When you've reached that point, feel free to poke fun at the Aries male for all his zany behavior and crazy story telling - I do it all the time with my Aries friends, male and female alike, and they can, indeed, laugh at themselves.

And then eventually will come the day they actually admit to "the game" - and they'll be quite sad it's all over.

"For Zeus wept when there were no worlds left to conquer."

Occupy Movement: Are You In or Out?

It’s on the television, it’s being discussed in forums, on social media sites, in newspapers and across the Net. And one thing shocks me about all of this discussion – that many people are ridiculing and mocking the protesters.

I hear people like Newt Gingrich saying silly things like they need to “get a job” and “take a bath?” Seriously, Newt? They WANT jobs, that’s part of the movement. So you tell me, where can they get one? At McDonald’s? Or maybe the local gas station?

And take a bath? Wow, you really left yourself open for this one, Newt. You know who needs a bath? Some of our filthy dirty politicians, that’s who. To ridicule American citizens that just want to be able to put food on the table just goes to show you the arrogance and elitist attitude of people in positions of power nowadays that are unaffected by the conditions of our economy.

Another thing I’m hearing repeatedly is that these protestors are on private property. Newsflash, folks. Public parks are not private property. There are only two privately owned parks in the entire city of New York and if you have a right to be there, so do they. Many are saying the same thing about the students at UC Davis University that were pepper-sprayed by police. Again, newsflash. That is a taxpayer funded institution, they were on taxpayer property.

Frankly, I’m amazed this movement didn’t start years ago when the American taxpayers bailed out large corporations and financial institutions that then proceeded to reward themselves for a “job well done” with gigantic bonuses. Bonuses that were taxpayer funded. And when it was all said and done, collectively, these institutions made $13 billion (yes, I said billion) that they freely pocketed from the bailout. If you're somewhat confused regarding what the movement is about or what some of their complaints are, check out this video that explains the "robbery" that took place by the 1% from the bailouts and see what the Feds didn't want you to see:

Regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement, I’m glad those people are out there bringing attention to the unethical trading behavior that has taken place which, ultimately, brought the housing industry to its knees. One of these behaviors took place within Goldman Sachs. Let’s take a look at this one example. Goldman played both sides of the fence with sub-prime mortgages.

Here’s how it worked: Goldman Sachs underwrote CDO’s which are securities created from pools of sub-prime mortgages. When they began to plunge, Goldman’s customers suffered some serious losses. However, in the year 2007, Goldman’s itself made millions and boasted $4 billion (yes, I said billion) dollars in profit.

How did they do this? Here’s the kicker – they bet AGAINST you paying your mortgage. They bet AGAINST the sub-prime mortgages they themselves underwrote. While Goldman continued to peddle CDO’s as profitable investments to their customers, they themselves BET AGAINST them – they placed bets, just like in Vegas, that you would fail at paying that loan. And the financial institutions began issuing mortgage loans to people that they knew really couldn’t pay them back because either way, there was money to be made. And when that happened – voila!

Millions in the pockets of Goldman-Sachs:

“Goldman's mortgage department underwrote collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, complex securities created from pools of subprime mortgages and other debt. When those securities plunged in value this year, Goldman's customers suffered major losses, as did units within Goldman itself, due to their CDO holdings.

The question now being raised: Why did Goldman continue to peddle CDOs to customers early this year while its own traders were betting that CDO values would fall? A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the issue.“

How is this all legal? You’d have to pose that question to our government, particularly the Clinton administration. They lifted all of the restraints on the operations of large financial institutions:

“An agreement between the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans, reached during all-night negotiations which concluded in the early hours of October 22, sets the stage for passage of the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history, lifting virtually all restraints on the operation of the giant monopolies which dominate the financial system.”

Legal, yes. Ethical, no. Which begs me to ask the question, why is it that ethics do not play a part in business in this country? Clearly, many people are “in bed” together here and the corruption runs deep. And the answer to my own question: The reason ethics do not play a part in business in this country is because too many people in positions of power are making too much money by separating the two.

And for those of you who do not see that our government is threatened by this movement, those of you mocking and ridiculing it out there, just an FYI – The Huffington Post reported that one of its editors spotted two Homeland Security vans observing the movement:

“A Huff Post editor said he saw two Homeland Security vans parked near the Brooklyn Bridge during Thursday night's march.”

Our leadership doesn’t want American citizens speaking up, they want them to shut up and just “drink the Kool-Aid.” An example of this is the treatment of the UC Davis students that were pepper-sprayed while enacting Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Speech on taxpayer property. That’s what leadership thinks about your Freedom of Speech.

And a little known fact about this particular incident, not only did they spray peaceful, unarmed American citizens at point blank range – they pinned several of the students down and forced them to ingest the toxic irritant by spraying it directly down their throats. One student was coughing up blood some 45 minutes later.

Is this how you want your children treated on a college campus by our authorities? Umm, can anyone say Kent State? There is now a full investigation taking place and the police chief along with two officers on the scene are now on leave.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, I would advise you to watch the documentary titled “Inside Job” which Matt Damon narrates. Even if you don’t back the Occupy movement, I ask you to give it a watch anyway:

And a freaky video started going viral recently by an anonymous group. It’s somewhat bizarre, but the message is clear. They’re calling for a world-wide revolution against the powers that be. Not sure what I think of this one, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

One more thing. Many have been claiming that the businesses surrounding the areas where these protests are taking place are against it. I have a friend of a friend that actually works on Wall Street – and she’s FOR the movement. She works there and she sees what takes place there. And she has personally witnessed many of the restaurants in the area supporting the protestors by giving out some free food and drink to them.

And now we have former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Procter & Gamble director Rajat Gupta facing criminal charges. Gupta allegedly leaked confidential information about Goldman and P&G to hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted of criminal insider-trading charges in May.

I again ask Newt Gingrich – who needs a bath? American citizens protesting and exposing men in positions of power behaving nefariously? Or could it be that the men in positions of power need that bath just a little bit more, Newt?

So now I ask you, regarding the Occupy movement, are you in or out? Or are you taking a big ole’ chug o’ the Kool-Aid right now?

Natural Disaster Cell Phone Outages

Don’t ask me why, but this is a topic that I feel compelled to write about. Strange, isn’t it? Cell phones and natural disasters – you’re probably thinking, “What?”

I’ll get right to the point here. It simply amazes me at how many people are completely, 100% relying solely on their cell phone for communication. Many people no longer have access to a landline in their home. And I get it – why pay two phone bills, right?

Well, there are several things to consider here and one good reason, especially:

Natural disasters.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to begin running around like Chicken Little here, screaming that they sky is falling. And as far as the apocalypse is concerned . . . I feel that the “end of the world as we know it” will mean just exactly that. The end “as we know it,” meaning that with which we are familiar with. Not an end to mankind, but an evolutionary leap forward into a new, more aware, more evolved way of living.

Ok, enough of that. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s face it – we may have been living through the apocalypse for the last 10 years or so and just didn’t know. Ever consider that? Tsunamis, earthquakes, rampant large scale wildfires, hurricanes, civil unrest, mistrust of political leadership, financial crisis, terroristic attacks, flooding on grand scales . . . sounds apocalyptic enough to me.

Ever notice what the first thing to go in one of these scenarios is?

You guessed, it – cell phone service.

One minute into a potential large scale crisis situation and BAM – service crashes. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for days on end. So for those of you relying solely on cell phone service as your mode of verbal communication, you may want to rethink that.

I realize landlines may crash in the event of a grand scale disaster, but you may at least get in touch with a family member or two first before it happens. If you’re relying on a cell phone to do so, chances are – you won’t reach ANYONE.

We recently had an earthquake in Pennsylvania if you can believe that. And a fairly significant one. I believe when all was said and done, it was deemed a 6.1. A friend of mine lives in Virginia, which was much closer to the epicenter. I tried contacting them immediately. No go. Within moments – absolutely no service whatsoever. In the end, she was without service for hours that day, unable to reach her spouse who was in Washington, D.C.

And when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 . . . I don’t need to remind you that cell service was down immediately and for quite some time afterward. Most of the people getting through to loved ones that day were the ones telephoning home via office landlines from inside the building.

And there are other scenarios to consider as well. Cell phones need charged. What if your cell is low and God forbid, you’re the victim of a home invasion? As much as we hate to think it’ll happen to us, these things do happen, folks. What if someone is attempting to break into your home and you forgot to charge your cell? What if someone has broken into your home, and you’re in a room where the service is sketchy for whatever reason and calls tend to drop? What if you’re hiding under the bed or in the closet in this dreadful scenario? Does your cell receive a signal from there? The answer may be “no” – but I bet your cordless landline does.

It’s a sign o’ the times . . . and if you ask me, these are some very uncertain times we are living through. It stinks to have to think like this . . . but to think otherwise is unrealistic to me. And to think it can’t happen to you is. . . well, arrogant. Bad things can, and do happen, unfortunately.

Once again, just some food for thought, folks.

But I’m curious, have any of you experienced any of these scenarios and perhaps thought better of relying solely on cell phone service as a result? How many of you have experienced cell phone service outages in a crisis situation?

I think this could be a topic for some interesting discussion . . .

GoDaddy CEO: Guns Down Elephant

I, along with many others, am outraged at the latest antics of the GoDaddy.com CEO, Bob Parsons, who is very unapologetic about his nightime slaughter of an elephant. Bob seems to think that the end justifies the means here - hundreds of villagers were fed. However, upon further investigation, another video has been uncovered that features Bob gunning down a leopard. And I highly doubt the leopard ended up on anyone's dining table.

Apparently however, there is hope for mankind as Bob's slaughter has caused some 20,000+ people to leave GoDaddy.com. Could it be that justice will be done here once it hits ole Bob in the pocketbook? One can only hope. It's almost as bad as Sarah Palin, who gunned down a mother bear with two cubs trailing behind her from a helicopter. Wow, that's some real feat there, Sarah. She saw the two cubs, shot the mother - and then the cubs were gathered and sent to a sanctuary. Gee, thanks Sarah. You've taken two wild bear cubs and relinquished them to a life of captivity. You can see Sarah's love of nature here.

I don't know about you, but I am outraged and what is taking place on our planet. After all, this is MY planet, too. I am a member of the NRDC and I have just recently been notified, along with thousands of others, that Congress has recently behaved nefariously regarding the gray wolf population here in the states. Somehow, in the dead of night mind you, Congress managed to override the endangered species act and opened up the gray wolf population to slaughter.

Additionally, the buffalo population near Yellowstone National Park has also come under fire as well as the wild mustang population out west. They are now rounding up hundreds of buffalo that wander outside the sanctuary of the park and slaughtering them. They have also just rounded up some 400+ wild mustangs and sent them to China. Their future? Dog food.

Again, reminding everyone that this is OUR PLANET, too . . . do the people not have a say in this senseless slaughter beginning to take place in this country and elsewhere? Personally, I do not have any children, however, if I did - I'd like for them to see wild buffalo, wild mustangs and wild gray wolves roaming free. Do you not want the same for your children?

And for those complaining about damage being done by these creatures, which they feel somehow justifies their slaughter, might I mention that if we did not continually encroach and spread like cancer across this planet into these creatures free roaming territories - we might not have this problem. If you're going to farm in gray wolf territory . . . why do you feel that you should not have to deal with the gray wolf repercussions of that? Why is it the wolves fault and not the fault of man? Why are the wolves bearing the sole responsibility instead of man - the one's encroaching upon their territory?

It's a sad day when wild, free roaming creatures that have every right to be here, just as we do, are being slaughtered to make man's life easier. Not only are they being slaughtered, they're being forced to live their lives in very small territories where it's safe - which is usually park lands.

You know, there once was a day when the buffalo roamed the entire western territories free. There once was a day when witnessing wild mustangs frolicing on the prairie took your breath away. There once was a day when the gray wolf roamed free and wasn't on the endangered species list. And who is responsible for all of these devastating changes? Man. Plain and simple. Mankind. If it's in our way, if it's hindering us and our cancer-like spread over this earth, if it's creating any kind of problem - we simply do away with it. We don't look for remedies for everyone and everything to live in harmony - we simply push the delete button.

I firmly believe that it is possible for a society to live as one with nature and I can only hope that I live long enough to see that day come. And again, I don't know about you - but I am sickened by all of this. If you'd like to make a difference, please consider joining the NRDC as they fight the good fight to keep man and this planet in balance. And for those of you that believe that money is necessary to do so, well in many cases, you're correct, donations are needed.

However, YOUR VOICE is sometimes all it takes. Speak up, be loud, be heard - power to the people, folks.

Our power is in our numbers and our voices can rise above the din. I've included this video in a previous article, however, it seems fitting to be included here as well. Power to the people . . . stand up and be heard.

Leave The Dark Age And Enter The Light

Last night, I was enjoying my first issue of a new magazine subscription I just received, Shambhala Sun, and in it, there was a piece that struck me titled, "Just Leap!" written by Sakyong Mipham. The first sentences read:

"This current Dark Age, to put it very simply, has come about by people not properly being on the spot. We have ended up in a distracted, mindless state . . . "

Something about those first four words really resonated with me - "this current Dark Age." To be honest, it was somewhat of an "Ah ha!" moment for me. Yes! We are in a Dark Age. Finally, that's it! That's the perfect phrase to describe exactly what I've been personally observing of mankind.

We are in a Dark Age, folks.

And by that, I mean this - as a race, Sakyong is correct, we've lost our focus. What gives us the greatest pleasure in life is to love, accept and assist your fellow man. I mean let's face it, we are a social species. We need acceptance, we need to love, we need to be loved, and we need to assist and be assisted by others. Yet those necessities seem somewhat further out of reach than they ever have before. We have a lot of technology that keeps us "social" and connects us with others. But is that really the type of connection that feeds our souls? Do you feel all warm and fuzzy when connecting with an avatar in a social forum? I'd say, no. It's an impersonal connection at best and a virtually anonymous connection at its worst. It's what I term a "superficial social."

And when it comes to support, love, assistance and acceptance – I wonder, is that really even possible these days? That's a tricky one because some would say that they do find those necessities in the real world and the virtual one. But how can someone really support, love and assist you via your laptop or mobile device? Isn't a face-to-face connection really required to “feel” for someone in a genuine manner?

In the real world, frankly, it just seems that such matters are relatively unimportant to most people these days. Everyone’s more worried about getting the next best gadget or updating their Facebook page than they are about how people perceive them, or how they can help, support and assist others, or things such as integrity, reputation, compassion, kindness - those somewhat esoteric concepts that they cannot grasp or feel in their hands. Those are the concerns of days gone by. Matters that held much more importance with previous generations, but not much weight with today’s society.

Remember the days when someone’s word was everything? It wasn't that long ago.

These days, people are busy, they're in a hurry, and they're generally focused on "self" instead of "others." Add to that a need for instant gratification, which makes everyone a tad more selfish, abrupt, arrogantly expectant and thus, ugly and somewhat cross in nature.

In the real world, this all creates a mentality that's somewhat of a, "Hurry up, tell me what you can do for me. . . I don't have much time." An abrupt and somewhat cross type of attitude. Many people sense this type of overall “disgust” mentality so they withdraw from it and plug into their electronics and settle for "superficial social" bonds instead. There they can find an instant superficial connection that they really don't have to invest much of themselves into.

Let’s face it, making bonds and forming satisfactory relationships in the real world is much more difficult when compared to the virtual world because you have to actually make investments into those relationships. You have to be present, you have to be available, you have to be understanding, you have to be supportive and you may, at times, even have to do things that you otherwise would not choose to be doing simply to make the other person happy and balance the bond.

Give and take is required. People love to take but giving proves a bit more difficult these days. None of that is required in the virtual world. There, you make an instant connection, you are instantly accepted, you receive instant support in the form of texts, tweets or emails, and you're not required to be physically present. It's a lot less work. It's the easy way out. Besides, when you've used up that connection or you just don't want it anymore - it's much easier to get rid of someone in the virtual world than it is to stand in front of their face and reject them or push them away.

I’m a child of the 70’s and my teenage years were spent enjoying the headbanging days of the 80’s. We didn't end friendships or break off relationships via text or email or by changing our Facebook status from “In a Relationship” to “Single” or by “unfriending” someone. Me and my peeps spent just about every single day together, hanging out, conversing, enjoying life and each others company. Because of that, many of my friendships extend back some 35 years - to my first day of kindergarten. The bonds are so strong that to this day, many of us are in touch regularly, still get together and the children of my peeps are now forming those types of relationships with one another. What you could call a “second generation” bond has resulted from those earlier bonds created.

I wonder, will today’s youth be able to experience those same types of strongly bonded, long lasting relationships and friendships? The kind that possibly even get passed onto the next generation? Hmm . . .

Real relationships require real work. Whether it's a friendship, a romantic connection, a neighborly connection, a working relationship - it doesn't matter, real world relationships take real work. And in the end, they are the much more satisfying type of "social" that we seek. So why are so many people investing in "superficial social" relationships rather than doing the work required to maintain a real world relationship?

Why are so many people living in the dark?

Let's be honest with ourselves, this really isn't our finest hour:

• We're polluting our planet at a previously unseen rate of destruction;

• we're placing the important people in our life on the back burner because there's always something more pressing;

• we're not spending quality time with our children because we're too busy, (that's what daycares and grandmothers are for);

• we're quickly judging people at a superficial face value rather than investing the time to get to know them on an inner level;

• we're moving through life at the speed of sound and making quick, erroneous assumptions all over the place;

• we're not volunteering our time to those in need;

• we don’t give things such as compassion, integrity, reputation and character much value;

• we prefer superficial, unsatisfying social relationships because real world relationships require too much time, effort and understanding – too much work;

• we're generally ignorant to one another, even though we don't realize this and it's not our intention;

• if we do a favor for someone, it’s a big damn deal that’s really put us out, it’s not the kind courtesy of assistance anymore;

• we're behaving as cowards who cannot seem to face one another directly;

• we have very little compassion or patience for one another;

• and the only connections we're investing in are those that can benefit us somehow.

Indeed, it is a dark age for mankind.

Many of you may disagree with my observations above and you're certainly entitled to do so. If you're finding that being "superficially social" is working for you . . . well then it works for you. But in that case, I'd have to ask that you read through the above bulleted points and ask yourself, "Can I identify with any of these?" I bet you find that the answer to that question is, "Yes."

Turn on the light and pull yourself out of the dark.

None of this makes us bad people perse'. . . it just seems that we've lost our focus and we've forgotten what this life is for – for living, interacting, loving and experiencing – both the good and the bad. Instead of "we" many are coming at life from a perspective of "me." That thinking needs to be reversed if our species is to survive and evolve further. That arrogant mentality is the type of mentality that exists right before a great fall – just ask the Romans if you don’t believe me. Abundance, luxury, self-importance, lack of compassion, and a false sense of security.

When you focus too much on yourself and your superiority, your narrow lens doesn't allow you to see your downfall rushing towards you.

Web Bot: Latest Report Flood Warnings

For those of you hungering for more information regarding the Web Bot Project, created by Cliff of Half Past Human, you'll be happy to hear that the next ALTA report will be available for purchase on January 25, 2011 for a minimal fee of $10.

While interpreting the latest report, Cliff was asked a question by a reader in Australia about the current floods there - so he decided to take a closer look at the immediacy data sets. Cliff explains that the immediacy data sets are:

". . . effective from 3/three days out to 3/three weeks (more or less), and as a rule contain some of the higher level emotional linguistics to be found, which are frequently the most freakishly accurate."

Here's a tidbit regarding what Cliff discovered about the floods:

"Our data sets over the past year have had lots of instance of descriptors for the kinds of flooding activity that is now overwhelming the humans and animals and plants in Australia.

The damage has already reached serious and impacting levels. The nasty part of the forecasts from both 2009, and 2010 relative to [floods in places that NEVER flood], is that we had also seen references within those same data sets for [dams failing]...and also curiously, for a [dam saved].

This last set included specifics going to [at the last minute], and [through (close/detailed) attention]."

And he further states:

". . .the data suggests yet more [torrents] will be forth coming."

To read the full disclosure of Cliff's findings on the Australian floods, visit his latest post titled, "Oy! Mate! Look over there....!"

And be sure to visit Cliff's site on January 25, 2011 for the next Web Bot ALTA report titled, "The Shape of Things to Come (2011) - Issue Nine (9)."

And, as always, please be advised that the Web Bot ALTA reports are, as Cliff states, "Not For Children of Any Age."

2011 Horoscope: Personal Growth

The skies are indicating that this is the year for major leaps and bounds of personal growth for many of the signs. Jupiter (luck) and Uranus (surprises) are on the move and in the picture bringing along with them some surprising good fortune.

And when it comes to horoscopes, I know that many of you are seeking the love and relationship aspects above all else. Therefore, I've decided to touch on the love and relationship patterns trending for each of the signs in the year 2011.

So without further adieu, let's get on with it!

Aries

The pattern of stagnation that Aries has been in the past few years is going to lift. Kick off those cinder-block shoes, Aries! All those foundations you've laid? This is the year to build upon them. There are big and very fortunate surprises in store for your career this year as well as love and relationships. However, nothing is for free and you will need to learn to slow down, think things through and take notice of others around you - taking their feelings into account as well. If you want the big payoffs that await you this year, you have to take the big risks involved in attaining them. That means opening up to others, revealing your true self, and acting with good will and honesty as your guides. Challenges will appear in the early part of the year and the key to overcoming these challenges will be to work things through - not to bolt and run for the hills as you normally do.

Taurus

Friends are key this year for support and encouragement. And the good news is that this is the year for Taurus to shine! Taurus is entering a "golden phase" in June of 2011 that will be one for the history books. Love and relationship matters will be flourishing at an all time high. You are now acutely aware that success depends upon your ability to open up and connect with your partner and trust is critical to this matter. It's time to begin trusting, Taurus. The key to overcoming this challenge will be to take it slow. Remember, a bull only moves when it wants to. You can't push it, pull it or run it over. Slooooow. Plenty of new faces are headed your way this spring so steady and ready yourself for the influx. Be prepared to shake some old faces to make way for new ones. This year, the choices will be yours as you now take control of your destiny rather than grazing and waiting for what comes along. Use all that you have learned, to make wise decisions for yourself.

Gemini

Decisions, decisions. . .isn't this familiar territory for you Gems? Indecision abounds and fretting may be the name of the game this year as you ponder pros and cons. In the early part of the year, there are pangs for major transformation but what to do? Stress will run high but every cloud has a silver lining. Friends and family provide great support and it's high time you take notice of it. Try something drastic and invest in these relationships. Stop daydreaming in unrealistic manners, life isn't a fairy tale. You have all the love you need right in front of your face. If you take notice of that this year and learn through those relationships how to invest yourself genuinely and show your appreciation - your other relationships will follow suit.

Cancer

Please hold on to the bar! The first part of the year will have it's fair share of challenges. If you've been trying to repair or breath new life into a deteriorating relationship, stand back! It could all blow up in your face. Your reactions are the key to overcoming these challenges. The measure of the man/woman is not by how he/she acts, but how he/she reacts. Capish? And if you want true love, you've got to make a large and risky investment to see that it happens for you. This is the year to toughen up, soft Cancers. Life will seem intriguing and slightly scary at times, however, if you shine up that hard shell of yours and place your bets appropriately - the rewards reaped will have been well worth the risk taken. Come out, come out, wherever you are Cancer!

Leo

Mirror mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all? Tsk, tsk, Leo. Everyone knows your great, but you know that you have to be the greatest of them all. The bad news is that the first part of the year will contain challenges along this theme and the key to overcoming these challenges is for you to take the spotlight off yourself and shine it on your nearest and dearest - it's time to give back. While you've been a bit preoccupied with matters of self, your significant other or possibly those closest to you are feeling an empty spot where you once stood. It's time for you to return to your pride and when you do, all that admiration, accolades and kudos that you so love and live for will come back to you and the kingdom will be set to rights again. This year, it's all about balance and restoring your fan base of admirers.

Virgo

In the early part of the year, rocky roads are the name of the game. Stress and challenges abound in your closest relationships and the key to overcoming these challenges is for you to take the time to aid in resolving them. Perfection is a thing of beauty to a Virgo, however, we live in an imperfect world and it's high time you acknowledge that. Things cannot always be your way and sometimes, Virgo, you are wrong. Your friends and group associations will be key to helping you maintain the walk on this tightrope. Lean on them for necessary support and ask them for direction at times. By June things will be restored to a harmonious pattern again. However, 2011 is not the year of much excitement for Virgo. There won't be much to write home about. But that IS the good news - there will be peace in the valley again.

Libra

Peace and stability abound and that's just the way you Libra's like it. But love and romance is hot, hot, hot! Sometimes so hot, you get burnt. Keep 911 on speed dial, you may have to call the fire department once or twice as the tendency this year is to cling tightly to passions that run deep - control. The key for your to overcome these challenges is to "hold on loosely" as .38 Special puts it. This year, you may find yourself overwhelmed by love and trust is necessary for you to see the success you'd like to see in these realms. Many paths will present themselves and you need to be open to each and every one of them. Regardless of which you choose, if you use the tools given you, the later part of the year shows that good things come to those who wait.

Scorpio

It's a pleasant year for Scorpio this year. Someone, somewhere along the line this year, may ask you to open up. If they do, you better do it. This year your creativity and passions run high and it can take your personal relationships soaring to new heights - if you let it. As uncomfortable or possibly dangerous as this may be for Scorpio, you need to ride out the storm to reap the rewards. Someone will come along and the connection will be electric. Connection is the name of the game this year for Scorpio and it's high time you make some. Don't be scared! Remember, you're the black widow and anyone squirming in your web this year is, most likely, happily doing so. Show your appreciation and you won't believe what happens next!

Sagittarius

Same old, same old just isn't going to cut it this year, Sags! It's time to shake things up - namely, how you handle and react to things. This is a year of great personal growth and if you play your cards right and avoid nefarious behaviors, by the end of the year, you just may find yourself in a loving, supportive relationship. You're coming into yourself and as a result, you will shed many friendships and relationships that you've outgrown. Stresses in relationships or friendships may result as they fear being left in the cold, however, by the end of the year - you will know who your true friends are. Pick and choose wisely, Sags, and with only the best in mind. Shed that dead weight you've been dragging around and as the pounds fall away, the new you will sparkly shiny and new.

Capricorn

This is the year things finally begin to take hold. However, Mars is making you cranky and introverted. Life may seem dull and boring but this is a time for regeneration. It's time to recharge those batteries from the beating they may have taken in 2010 in terms of the stresses and challenges that were imposed. This is the year to work on balance in your personal life and your relationships. You may desire much more alone time this year than you have in past years and, as a result, hefty social pressures may exist. The key to overcoming this challenge is to expel some of those demons that are hanging on. There may not be tons of forward motion this year, but the work that is done is necessary for the brighter years to come.

Aquarius

You remain an enigma this year and seem preoccupied with mystery and analyzing data to unravel secrets or obtain information. But be prepared, this is the year to rise! As independent a creature as you may be, this year, you find yourself longing to be in a committed relationship. Passions run deep and pleasure abounds in the form of intimacy. It's so strong that this fall, some of you may consider "taking the plunge" into very serious romantic territories. Risks are required so be prepared to take a few. And if you feel like someones pecking at your brain with a pick axes, don't fret. Why not try simply letting them in rather than expending your energies fighting them off? Just sayin, Aquarius!

Pisces

Your social relationships are sparkling this year. Your intimate, romantic relationships? Umm, not so much. Come July things get a bit bumpy. It's time to assess the situation and reevaluate your circumstances. Challenges are coming from within and your job is to figure out where they're coming from and to determine if they're worth fighting for. If they are, put on your gloves and get down to some serious work - on both the relationship and yourself. If they aren't, then it may be time to compose Plan B. And while you're at it, this time, think about what you need and how you need to go about getting it. Remember, you get more bees with honey and vinegar only makes things sour.

Psychic Kids: Witnessing An Evolutionary Leap?

This has been a topic that's been on my mind for quite some time - psychic kids. I'm specifically focusing on the children born within the last 15 years, from 1995 onward. For lack of a better term, supernaturally gifted children are commonly referred to as "indigo children." These are children that posses special abilities or supernatural gifts such as clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, healing abilities and the like.

We all know that mankind is due for an "evolutionary leap" of sorts. But what will that leap actually be? What type of a leap does Mother Nature feel would benefit mankind, particularly, it's survival?

As for me personally, I feel we are witnessing an evolutionary leap right now - particulary, in the last decade and a half. We've all seen the rise of paranormal popularity and we've witnessed New Age thinking take some serious roots in the last 30+ years. What was once easily dismissed by the masses is apparently becoming more difficult to ignore. And why is that? Lets think about that for a moment.

Bear with me here, but could it be. . . could it just be, that because people have been cracking open their minds in the last 30 years - they've created a catalyst of sorts for this evolutionary leap to take place?

By that, I mean this. Say 35 years ago, a man and a woman started expanding their minds during the late 60's era. This couple then bears children. They have already expanded their thinking and therefore, they will pass this expanded way of thought down to these children. Because they are children and because they are children of expanded thought, their minds are really much more wide open than the previous generation. So lets refer to them as "generation one" here.

Now, years later, two children from "generation one" become a couple and bear children of their own. The grandparents are open minded, the new parents are open minded and their children, whom we'll refer to as "generation two," are really open minded.

Years have passed and now "generation two" is coupling up and begins bearing children of their own - and in comes "generation three." This generation is very special because they are hailing from three previous generations of expanded thinkers. Three generations of people who have not closed the mind, but encouraged opening it. These children hail from a generation that was told "that doesn't exist" or "this isn't real" a whole lot LESS than previous generations. So for them, topics that were completely dismissed 40 years earlier are on the table - being discussed openly and explored honestly.

The human brain is like a computer. If you load a program into a computer, your computer runs it. If you never loaded the program, your computer won't be running it. Get what I'm saying? If you tell someone "they can't" or "that doesn't exist" then their brain is immediately programmed with that code - and BAM, the door is shut. Even though they have the ability to run that program, they never will, thus the birth of the closed mind. However, encouraging expanded thinking and believing that anything is possible can yield some astonishingly successful results - purely because you believe. At that point, your mind is open and anything is possible. And if you're like me and you believe in the Law of Attraction, if you believe that when you think - you produce, then you get where I'm going with this.

If you have three generations of "believers" and expanded thinkers . . . and if you believe that when you think, you produce . . . then it only makes sense that by the third generation, we'd begin to see those open minded thought results manifesting into being. We'd begin to see the results of three generations of open minded, expanded thinking and believing.

And What Might the Ultimate Outcome of that Be?

A new generation of mankind. A new generation that is a group of open minded believers and expanded thinkers. Their brains can do more because they've not been curtailed in any manner of thought. Their brains are allowed to form the neural connections necessary for an evolutionary leap - the leap into the precognitive era of mankind. (If you'd like a visual reference to what I'm speaking of, check out this graph and notice that it moves into the "emergence of the precognitive era" of mankind leading up to the year 2012.)

It probably comes as no surprise that I watch "Psychic Kids: The Children of the Paranormal" on A&E. And while I watch, I'm always making note of the age of the children. And what I've found is that the group born from 1995 onward really seems to be making the big leap, the children leading up to the new millennia. These children are beginning to experience their gifts as young as 3, 4 and 5 years of age. And unlike generations previous, their parents aren't scoffing at them and telling them "that's a bunch of BS" or "that doesn't exist." Their parents are witnessing things that can't be denied and many want to help their children. Particularly, many want to help their children help others.

Ahhh, compassion. It feels good, doesn't it? I watch that show and I feel the compassion in these children. I sense their desire to make sense of their gifts. I sense their desire to make use of their gifts - in the form of helping others. Finally! A generation that's focused on compassion and helping their fellow man. It's about time.

I think that it could be quite possible that the New Age era of the 60's and 70's was the seed that planted the catalyst for mankind's next evolutionary leap into it's precognitive era. Humans have always had the gift of sense buried deep. However, with those gifts now being encouraged over the last 30+ years, we're seeing a whole new generation that's quite different in their thinking from previous generations and most importantly, a generation that's motivated to help others.

Once again, just some food for thought, folks. Have faith in the future . . . the best is yet to come.

BP: Betraying People With Brown Poison

Have ye no shame? BP CEO, Tony Hayward, recently told commented to a news reporter, "I'd like my life back" and "it's a big ocean." After looking into it, I'd like Tony's lifestyle, too. One that includes sailing through the tropics, skiing in Vail, no working weekends and all Holidays off, just to name a few - and all this is supported by his $4.6 million dollar salary. Gee, I can see how this whole Deepwater Horizon thing could be a real inconvenience.

He wants his life back? Well, as many others have already said, I imagine the families of the 11 people killed in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon would like the lives of their loved ones back as well.

Folks, it's the ego and attitudes of men like this that are going to do us all in. Why do we follow them? Why does society revere them? Why do we listen to them? Men of power that is. Why do we automatically assume that because they're powerful and that because they're men - they're also smart and of pure intention, with everyones best interest at heart? The reality is more like this. Men of power, as admirable as they are, also have their demons like all humans do. Only powerful ones can be worse -bigger, greedier, wealthier. Greed, power, money, ego, control - it's a breeding ground of evil and evil intent.

If you want to grow evil, folks - plant those 5 seeds and stand back.

The most troublesome aspect of this is that many big business CEO's and top executives seem to develop this unsympathetic and egotistically driven mindset once they've reached a position of supreme power. From oil company executives, to health care industry executives, to pharmaceutical executives, and on down the line. I'm quite sure chaps like this have left many a deep wound on people's backs clawing their way to the top.

Don't think evil is present? Let's take a look and ask ourselves, "Why is this happening? How could a country as advanced as this be so stupid and blatantly careless with human life and the environment we depend on?" To begin to find the answer, let's look at the Bush Administration - particularly Vice President, Dick Cheney. As many of you know, Dick Cheney once led the worlds second largest oilfield services corporation as CEO of the organization from 1995 to 2000. After becoming Vice President, he claimed to have severed all ties with the corporation. However, a report by the Congressional Research Service saw things differently and uncovered an ongoing relationship with the Halliburton Company. The report said that "a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company." As it turned out, according to Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure report, his Halliburton benefits included three batches of stock options comprising a whopping 433,333 shares, a deferred compensation account valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000.

Now, let's look at the politics preceding this event - particularly, reckless deregulation and corruption under the Bush administration. It appears that Dick Cheney’s private energy meetings and his "running interference" with the Department of Minerals Management Service led to lax regulations, increasing annual profits, tragic environmental destruction, loss of animal life and human life. It was ultimately determined that the one thing that could've prevented such a catastrophic event - and acoustic trigger - was "not recommended because they tend to be very costly." How costly you ask? What is too high a price to pay for human lives and clean oceans teaming with life? That price would be approximately half a million dollars ($500,000 USD). That number, however, seems but a drop in the bucket when you see the astronomical profit numbers in comparison, "BP fourth quarter of 2009, before non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, was $4.4 billion – an increase of 70% on the same period in 2008."

Ironically, "The National Energy Policy Development Group was a group, created by Executive Order on January 29, 2001, chaired by Vice President, Richard Cheney. The group, commonly referred to as the "Cheney Energy Task Force," produced a National Energy Policy report in May 2001. In a cover note to George W. Bush, Cheney wrote, "we have developed a national energy policy designed to help bring together business, government, local communities and citizens to promote dependable, affordable and environmentally sound energy for the future." ~ SourceWatch

George W. Bush wrote, "America must have an energy policy that plans for the future, but meets the needs of today. I believe we can develop our natural resources and protect our environment."

Oh really? Seems to me that if they really cared, they would've put their money where their mouth was. They would've tightened things up and put their focus where it belonged - not on profits, but on people and the environment - for the good of all. If they really cared it would've been a no brainer to put a plan B in place instead of the deregulation they both pushed for that led us to where we are today. If they really cared, cost wouldn't have been such an issue when compared to profit. The value received would've been worth the initial expense.

And then there's the company itself, BP, British Petroleum. At first, they reported only 1,000 barrels per day spewing from their debacle and not surprisingly - their main concern was recapturing their gold. As that number slowly crept up, scientists began looking into the matter soon realizing that somebody was attempting to pull someones leg here. It took over a month for BP to release grainy video footage for inspection and it wasn't until last week, some 50 days after the disaster, that they finally released the high definition footage they've had all along to scientists so that they could better determine how many barrels per day are poisoning our ocean. The exact flow is still undetermined, in part, because BP has refused to allow independent scientists to perform accurate measurements. Some are now even speculating, after reviewing the high definition footage just released, that the spill rate could be as high as 20,000 - 40,000 per day. That's a big difference from the miniscule 1,000 barrels that BP first reported.

So why all the nefarious behavior on the part of BP attempting to betray the people? That's easy - because they're going to be fined on a per barrel basis. With any luck, this catastrophe will force the corporation into bankruptcy. A deserved end if you ask me.

And for those of you who will claim that we are just as responsible for this as our leaders and powerful corporations, due to our high demand for the oil - remember this: they've given us no other viable options. The powers that be have MADE us dependent, addicted. Everyday we're rolling up our sleeves and slammin oil. They could've began developing other viable forms of energy 30 years ago - but they didn't. Nor did they see the value in exploring other options or such things as "plan B." Why? Because it wasn't going to make everyone as much money as all of us being dependent on oil did.

That, folks, is certainly evil and evil intent.

It's clear, to me at least, that evil was and IS present in this situation. And while all of this shuckin and jivin is going on . . our ocean is being poisoned, it's life forms are perishing, human lives have been lost, livelihoods are being lost . . . how much loss are we going to stand for? You know, this is our planet too. How much more of this are we going to listen to? How much more of this are we going to take?

Folks, the ramifications of this could be disastrous, depending on when or IF they get this gusher under control. Just because they're powerful doesn't mean they can manhandle the earth. Talks are now pushing things back to August of 2010. That will be four solid months of pollution as we work, eat, sleep and dream flooding into our waters. It's already making it's way to our beaches and our coast lines, it's being found as far away as California . . . and it could even make it's way into our freshwater eventually. If it does - where do you think that leaves us?

And for all of you who see absolutely no value in the prophecies surrounding the year 2012 . . . you may want to rethink that. Hurricane's, Tsunami's, floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, changing weather - and now poisoned water. Poison water leads to poisoned life forms and poisoned crops - something that the web bot has actually predicted. And according to the web bot, the year 2011 seems to be a climax of sorts to these events, leading us right into the year 2012 - the peak of this transformational (not apocalyptic) energy. (Have you seen the newly released movie, "The Road?" You may want to check that out for a glimpse of what could come if plant, animal, and ocean life on this planet were to perish in large quantities and all at once.)

Our power is in our numbers. Leaders are few, followers are many. Will you follow the leader - or will you become one?

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

Remember, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Peace. And as John Lennon sang, "Power to the People" . . .

Web Bot Project: 2010 Latest Report

For the last three years, the Internet has been buzzing with talk about the Web Bot Project, a technology developed in the late 1990's to assist in making stock market predictions. However, much to their surprise, the program's operators noticed that the web bot began to correctly predict forthcoming cataclysmic events.

One of the first predictions came in June of 2001 when the program predicted that a life altering event would take place within the next 60-90 days. An occurrence of such proportion that it's effects would be felt worldwide.

Regrettably, the program's prediction proved accurate and the Twin Towers fell on 9/11/2001.

I had previously reported that the Web Bot Project was over and for sale. However, much to my relief, Cliff, the web bot project's creator, has had a change of heart and decided to continue on with the project.

For those of you who may not know or understand, Cliff has a brilliant mind, indeed. Peoplenomics reports that he was "a senior programmer with a software company in the Pacific Northwest and besides being an SQL ace, he was also heavily into linguistics and a language called Prolog, which is more like an artificial intelligence language than anything else. After looking up the patent he held for the technology, I was convinced that this fellow was for real and might be on to something with the method of looking for linguistic shift on the Internet as a tool to forecast future events."

It should be known that the web bot project's ALTA reports are being published and plagiarized all over the net and even worse, many fraudulent sites are selling fake ALTA reports. There is only one, folks. The real ALTA reports come from Cliff's site, Half Past Human. And the costs for running the project are heavy:

"The costs of the web bot project run in excess of $20,000 per month and we'd been counting on revenue from sales of the web bot reports to pay for bandwidth. . . and we're trying to figure out what to do with an $850 electricity bill."

These hefty operating costs mixed with the fraudulent sales of ALTA reports or the ALTA reports being openly published online almost brought the project down to it's knees. I know many of you are intrigued by the web bot project technology and I'd like to show my support to the project and to Cliff by directing readers to the proper source - to purchase the original ALTA reports and help raise funds to see the project continue on.

Take a peek into the "collective unconscious" that the Internet has become for mankind and check out The Shape of Things To Come ALTA Report, Issue Four for 2010/2011 which was released March 12, 2010. There's a minimal fee of $10 for a 40 page PDF report. This issue covers from July 2010 through mid 2011.

Cliff warns, "Reader Beware: Very very grim material indeed. NOT necessarily life enhancing."

Defend Against An Aggressive Species

It never ceases to amaze me, the true horror, terror and destruction that man is capable of. With television, video games and the movie industry consistently promoting violence as entertainment - it doesn't help. Violence is NOT entertainment, it is "bloodsport." It seems everyone these days, including our children, is becoming somewhat desensitized to it.

But let's face it, violence has been sold as a high form of entertainment since well before Roman times and the popularity of the Coliseum. What's terribly troubling about this fact is that . . . over the course of thousands of years of human evolution - we have yet to put a stop to that mentality. Violence is as popular a form of entertainment these days as it was 2,000 years ago. Maybe even more so.

Frightening isn't it?

It says alot about our species. Instead of evolving into positive, healthy mindsets - those of "brotherhood of man" and "live and let live" - we have yet to pull ourselves out of the primordial mud on this one. Hmm. . . something's clearly wrong here. Is it our genetics? Is it our primal side? Is it a mental condition? A human condition? Are we all just a bunch of neanderthals in drag?

Or has mankind simply ceased to evolve?

I support many causes as much as I can in small ways. I have donated my time, my money and my support to several. And each time I do, I am again provided with information regarding those in need of assistance. People, animals, the environment . . . the list just goes on and on. So many out there need help, support and assistance - it's overwhelming. And what are many suffering from? The hands of man, of course. Our own kind - mankind. One of the most violent, aggressive, warring species on the planet.

I'd like to direct you to a few causes. Many are "bloodsport" and/or inhumanely cruel in nature, so please be forewarned. Others are environmental or humanity issues.

ALL are in need of assistance from the direct result of the involvement of mankind:

Bear Baiting in Pakistan ~ The bears suffer the agonizing removal of their teeth and claws without anesthetic. They are then tethered to a pole while as many as 4 dogs, trained to attack, are unleashed upon the terrified, helpless creature. This is all done for entertainment value at fairs in Pakistan. They are forced to fight for as many as 75 days per year and up to 6 -7 fights per day. The price to watch - equivalent to 50 cents.

Bear Farming ~ Bear bile is used in traditional Asian medicine. Bears are "farmed" and confined in tiny cages. They can't move, hibernate or lie down. Bile is extracted in inhumane ways by inserting a tube directly into the gall bladder by untrained farm workers. The wound is reopened up to 3 times per day. Infection runs rampant and the suffering the animals endure is incomprehensible.

Bear Dancing ~ A tradition in India that is passed from father to son. Sloth bear cubs are poached illegally and often taken from the mother after witnessing her brutal death. They each suffer the piercing of their nose or palate and then a rope is passed through it. The rope is tugged throughout their lifetime to control them. Their destiny? To dance for crowds in India, being drug from village to village while nutritional needs are not even considered.

Dogs Being Used as Shark Bait ~ Golden Retrievers, one of the most popular dog breeds in the America, are being used as live shark bait. The evening before the fishing expedition, they are forced to endure a 7" fish hook inserted into their nose or paws so that they are sufficiently bleeding before being tossed, helplessly, into the ocean. The thrashing attracts the prize - a shark. Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is Destroying Our Forests ~ You know that iconic red and white packaging that serves up this famous chicken? Their "clear-cutting" practice is directly contributing to the destruction of our Southern forests. "Despite repeated attempts to engage KFC in discussions, the President has refused to match his espoused values with the company's iconic packaging." Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Campaign for the Rainforest ~ It's no secret, the rain forest is disappearing faster than the mist on an early morning river. I don't think people have any idea of the ripple effect and global catastrophe that man's interference here can cause. Additionally, we are being robbed of the opportunity to find medical cures and new species of plants and animals that may actually be beneficial to mankind. Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Stop Sex Trafficking ~ The ECPAT (End Child Prostitution And Trafficking) is conducting a campaign, "Stop Sex Trafficking" and raising funds to mobilize change in cooperation with The Body Shop. Purchase their Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream or their Bag For Life to help. All net proceeds from the sale of these items is donated towards the cause.

Rape as a Tool of War ~ "In every armed conflict investigated by Amnesty International in 1999 and 2000, the torture of women was reported, most often in the form of sexual violence. Violence directed against women is often considered an attack against the values or "honor" of a society and therefore a particularly potent tool of war. Women therefore experience armed conflicts as sexual objects, as presumed emblems of national and ethnic identity, and as female members of ethnic, racial, religious, or national groups." Donate to Amnesty International to help to stop this NOW.

Female Genitalia Mutilation ~ "Traditionally practiced as a ritual signifying the acceptance of a woman into society and establishes her eligibility for marriage. It is believed to inspire submissiveness in young women. There is a belief that it reduces a woman's desire for sex, therefore reducing the chance of sex outside marriage. In practicing societies, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to marry if she has not undergone mutilation." Donate to Amnesty International to help to stop this NOW.

Fight Against Child Pornography ~ "ASACP offers a secure, anonymous reporting system for the general public to report questionable content who may feel uncomfortable contacting government agencies. ASACP has the knowledge and technical ability to review submitted reports and forward suspect sites to the authorities who consider our Red Flag Reports to be high priority." If you see it, REPORT IT!

Mankind refers to itself as "civilized" . . . but based on the few examples I've provided above - that seems quite a stretch, doesn't it? Please help. Defend the helpless against this aggressive species we call mankind.