Saturday, March 29, 2008

EARTH HOUR IS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Earth Hour Newsletter






DON'T FORGET!





Don't forget! Earth Hour is tonight from 8-9 pm local time. Get ready to
gather your friends and family and "turn out" for this historic global
event!



Get creative and have some fun while the lights are out - host a "green"
party with organic snacks, battery lanterns, and live music, or relax and
read by flashlight. Have a romantic outdoor night picnic or backyard
campout. Or join in a public event being organized by a local organization,
government or business.



Whatever you choose to do, make your Earth Hour something special. And
while you're at it, change a light bulb or two to energy-efficient compact
fluorescents (CFLs). For more ideas, check out our list of

10 Things to Do
in the Dark
.




Just think, at 8 pm tonight, you and millions of others around the world will
come together and turn out the lights to call for change. Together we can
fight back and save our planet - and Earth Hour is just the beginning. One
hour for the planet. Earth Hour.








8pm, March 29, 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

Things to do at Wal-Mart



1. Get 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they aren't looking.

2. Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the rest rooms.

4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3' in housewares ..... and see what happens.

5. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll invite them in if they'll bring pillows from the bedding department.

8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. Look right into the security camera; use it as a mirror, and pick your nose.

10. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knows where the anti- depressants are.

11. Dart around the store suspiciously, loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.

12. In the auto department, practice your "Madonna look" using different size funnels.

13. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say "PICK ME!"

14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal position and scream "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"

( And; last, but not least!)

15. Go into a fitting room and shut the door and wait a while; and, then, yell, very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

UNDERSTANDING ASTROLOGY





THE FOUR ELEMENTS
Fire, Air, Earth, and Water; the Triplicities


Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, the four elements, sometimes called the Triplicities, play an important part in astrology. The term triplicities comes from the fact that there are three signs associated with each of the four elements.

Here are the signs divided by element:

Fire.....Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Earth.....Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Air.....Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Water....Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

When these elements are translated as personality traits or temperament, they become important features of the delineation. Here are brief readings of each of the four elements and delineations of a situation when one's chart contains two of the elements having similar strength. For the few who have a balance in elements, the concepts of elements should be considered balanced. That is they tend to reflect common sense (earth), action orientation (fire), thinking and communication skills (air), and the ability to feel and intuitively know (water) in reasonable proportion and don't rely overly on any of these traits at the expense of another.

Just as it is important to observe the element that is strongest in the chart, it is also important to note the element, if any, that is not significantly represented in the horoscope. A reading, that may be appropriate when such an absence is noted, is also provided below.





I AM A WATER SIGN, and i must say, this is EXACTLYYYYYYY EXACTLYY how i am....
A Preponderance of the WATER element
A heavy emphasis of Water element signs puts you closely in touch with your feelings, and in tune with the nuances and subtleties in your environment that others won't even notice. You approach life and understand it through your emotions, and you're really at your best when you "play your hunches." You don't intellectualize about things; you respond exactly how you feel. Water sign people are very attuned to their feelings. An intense sensitivity permits you to experience the heights of emotional bliss, but it can also take you to the depth of despair. Close emotional relationships are essential to your well-being and happiness. Superficial affairs are few, and less than satisfying. Romantic, sentimental, and affectionate, there must be a stable and secure bond between you and your partner. When you are happily situated in such a bond, you can be a very nurturing type. You can be "smothering" toward your children, and very possessive of your mate. You are not one who can subscribe to the code "live and let live." You communicate best in non-verbal ways; emotionally, psychically, or through forms as art, dance, music, poetry and photography. You have a natural feel and sense for the arts. You're apt to let the heart rule the head. Highly impractical and impressionable, you sometimes use bad judgment for you are unable to be objective and evaluate situations impersonally. You may change your mind as often as your moods change, but rarely do the facts sway your beliefs.

My Husband Is a FIRE Sign...
A Preponderance of the FIRE element
A preponderance of Fire signs planets exemplify high spirits, great faith in self, enthusiasm, and direct honesty. Your fire sign nature projects a radiant, vitalizing energy that seems to glow with warmth and exuberance. You need a good deal of freedom to express yourself naturally, and you will usually display a fairly unrelenting insistence on your own point of view. You put all of yourself in whatever you do. You are intensely assertive, individualistic, active and self-expressive. Fire sign energies stimulate people who are more lethargic, but often your energies overpower or exhaust the more retiring or more sensitive type. Good natured and fun-loving, you have many friends and you are generous with your time, energy, and resources. You place a far greater value on having a good time than on material possessions. For all the natural generosity displayed by the fire signs, they are also famous for the big egos they frequently demonstrate. You may believe so strongly in your own powers and abilities that you overlook and frequently fail to take advantage of the talents and abilities of others. You try to do it all yourself and don't delegate well. Despite this damaging flaw in your managerial ability, you belong to a group that is the most daring and capable inspiring in a management sense; the natural leaders. In battle, sports or business, it is usually the fire signs out front leading the charge. You are the type of leader that is very independent and individualistic, rarely consulting with others for advice. You are constantly out front or "on stage" and you need to be recognized and admired for your attainment and accomplishments. Appreciation is more important than money in your estimation. Nothing hurts more than being ignored. The fire sign sense of honesty is straightforward and often child-like. Thus, you believe everyone is, like yourself, an open book. You may be somewhat gullible and naive.


A Preponderance of the EARTH element
The heavy concentration of the Earth element in your horoscope suggests that you are cautious, premeditative, conventional, and dependable. You are the type of person who lives by a practical, common sense code; stable, and concerned with physical well-being rather than spiritual attainment. You are quite responsible, if a bit rigid, methodical and detail-conscious. The term "down to earth" may suit you quite well. It might be said that you are one of those people who is very well adjusted to life on this planet. A concern for the physical or material world makes you very much the realist. You are an organizer, a builder, and a hard-worker. The earth sign traits provide you with the skills and attitude necessary to succeed readily in the world of business. So pragmatic, you don't often gamble or take unnecessary chances. You understand the reality of a situation and you understand value, both in a material and in a human sense. Your approach to people is much the same as your approach to life. You are reliable and steadfast. You are predictable and you don't like surprises. Dependability, diligence and a pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to life are your greatest strengths. Lack of ideas or imagination, dullness, rigid conservatism, extreme materialism, and blind adherence to rules and regulations are your potential faults.

A Preponderance of the AIR element
The preponderance of Air signs suggest a strong emphasis on thought, ideas and intellectual pursuits of one sort or another. There is a detachment and a sense of objectivity associated with such a heavy influence in the element of Air. Air signs communicate and express ideas with mental agility. Your Air signs may not, however, always get the job done, and you need to be sure ideas are grounded in reality and put to practical use. You are probably more concerned with theory than with application. Often, individuals having a heavy amounts of Air signs become the impractical dreamers, constantly thinking, but not always following through as well as others. Rational and logical, you analyze situations fully, thinking them through and planning carefully before you act. While you may ponder and vacillate, you rarely make foolish mistakes. Detached and not overly emotional, you are almost always objective and fair-minded. You are people-oriented, but more inclined toward the group than the individual. Your interests are varied, and you're apt to be a life-long student.


wikipedia says:
In astrology, a triplicity is a group of three signs belonging to the same element. In Western astrology each sign of the same triplicity is 120 degrees apart, forming angles to one another called trines, which are each equivalent to the 360 degrees of the circle divided by three. Trines are considered to be very powerful and yet very comfortable, free-flowing connections. This suggests that the signs in each element are very comfortable and compatible with one another and tend to have many of the same qualities in common.

Each triplicity is governed by a planetary ruler, which varies according to the sect of the chart. Triplicity rulerships are one of the most important essential dignities of each planet.

Signs within each element's triplicity
Four Classical Elements; this classic diagram has two squares on top of each other, with the corners of one being the classical elements, and the corners of the other being the properties



In traditional Western astrology there are four triplicities based on the classical elements. Beginning with the first sign Aries which is a Fire sign, the next in line Taurus is Earth, then to Gemini which is Air, and finally to Cancer which is Water -- in Western astrology the sequence is always Fire, Earth, Air, & Water in that exact order (except in sidereal astrology, where currently Pisces is the first sign). This cycle continues on twice more and ends with the twelfth and final astrological sign, Pisces. The elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac (according to Marcus Manilius) are summarised as follows:


* Fire - Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius - hot, dry, ardent

* Earth - Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn - heavy, cold, dry

* Air - Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius - light, hot, wet

* Water - Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces - wet, soft, cold




Triplicity rulerships

In traditional astrology, each triplicity has several planetary rulers, which change with conditions of sect--that is, whether the chart is a day chart or a night chart.

Triplicity rulerships are a very important essential dignity--one of the several factors used by traditional astrologers to weigh the strength, effectiveness and integrity of each planet in a chart. Many Hellenistic astrologers (for example, Dorotheus of Sidon[1]) considered triplicity rulership the most powerful and demonstrable of the several essential dignities of a planet.


Triplicty rulerships (using the "Dorothean system") are as follows:


Triplicity Rulerships Triplicity Day Ruler Night Ruler Participating Ruler
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): Sun Jupiter Saturn
Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): Saturn Mercury Jupiter
Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): Venus Moon Mars
Water * (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): Venus * Mars Moon




This table shows the planets of the solar system and the Greek and Roman deities associated with them. In most cases, the English name for planets derives from the name of a Roman god or goddess. Also of interest is the conflation of the Roman god with a similar Greek god. In some cases, it's the same deity with two different names.

Planet Roman deity. Greek deity Meaning
Mercury Mercury ʽἙρμῆς (Hermes) Messenger God
Venus Venus Ἀφροδίτη (Aphrodite) Goddess of Love
Earth Terra Γαία (Gaia) Goddess of the Earth
Mars Mars Ἀρης (Ares) God of War
Ceres Ceres Δημήτηρ(Demeter) Goddess of motherly Love
Jupiter Jupiter Ζεύς (Zeus) Leader of the Gods
Saturn Saturn Κρόνος (Kronos) God of Time
Uranus Caelus Ουρανός (Uranus) God of the Heavens
Neptune Neptune Ποσειδῶν (Poseidon) God of the Sea
Pluto Pluto Ἅιδης (Hades) God of the Underworld


History


Treatises on the ptolemaic planets and their influence on people born "under their reign" appear in block book form, so-called "planet books" or Planetebücher from about 1460 in southern Germany, and remain popular throughout the German Renaissance, exerting great iconographical influence far into the 17th century. A notable early example is the Hausbuch of Wolfegg of ca. 1470. Even earlier, Hans Talhoffer in a 1459 manuscript includes a treatise on planets and planet-children.

These books usually list a male and a female Titan with each planet, Kronos and Rhea with Saturn, Eurymedon and Themis with Jupiter, Hyperion and Theia with Sol, Oceanus and Tethys with Venus, Koios and Metis with Mercury, and Atlas and Phoibe with Luna.

The qualities inherited from the planets by their "children" are as follows: From Saturn, melancholy and apathy; from Jupiter, hunting; from Mars, soldiering and warfare; from Sol, music and athleticism; from Venus, amorousness and passion; from Mercury, money and commerce; from Luna, association with water and travel.


The seven classical planets are those which can easily be seen with the naked eye and were thus known to ancient astrologers before the advent of the telescope. They are Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (as mentioned previously, the sun and moon were considered by the ancients to be planets). Sometimes the sun and moon were referred to as "the lights" or the "luminaries". Vesta and Uranus can also just be seen with the naked eye, though no ancient culture appears to have taken note of them. The astrological descriptions attached to the seven classical planets have been preserved since ancient times. Astrologers call the seven classical planets the seven personal planets, because they are said to represent the basic human drives of every individual. Jupiter and Saturn are sometimes called the transpersonal planets as they represent a transition from the inner personal planets to the outer modern, impersonal planets The following are the characteristics of each of the seven classical planets.



The Sun ()is the planetary ruler of Leo. In Roman mythology the sun was represented by Apollo, the god of light. The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system, around which the Earth and other planets revolve, and which provides us with heat and light. The portion of the sky (or arc) that the sun travels in every year, rising and setting in a slightly different place each day, is therefore in reality a reflection of the Earth's own orbit around the Sun. This arc is larger the further north or south from the equator the latitude is, giving a more extreme difference in day and night and in the seasons during the year. The sun travels through the twelve signs of the zodiac on its annual journey, spending about a month in each. The Sun's position on a person's birthday therefore determines what is usually called his or her 'star' sign, this makes sense, because the sun itself is a star.

Astrologically the sun is usually thought to represent the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority; leadership qualities; and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality; the life force. The sun also involves creative enterprises that are a projection of the person, from art and business to having children and parenthood (especially fatherhood). It also rules the fun side of life from sport and recreation to holidays and social events. In short, any occasion that 'allows us to shine'. The first-century poet Marcus Manilius in his epic, 8000-verse poem, Astronomica, described the Sun, or Sol, as benign and favorable. In medicine the sun is associated with the heart, circulatory system and the thymus. It was considered benignly hot and dry in nature, co-ruled the choleric humour, and symbolised the vital spirits. In modern astrology, the sun is the ruler of the 5th house. In the tradition, the sun ruled the 4th and 11th houses - the 4th house of the father/paternal ancestry and the 11th house of goals; it had 'joy' in the 9th house of philosophy and travel.

The Sun is associated with Sunday. Dante Alighieri associated the Sun with the liberal art of music.

In Chinese astrology, the Sun represents Yang, the active, assertive masculine life principle. In Indian astrology, the Sun is called Surya and represents the soul, kingship, highly placed persons, father.


The Moon () is the ruling planet of Cancer. In Roman mythology the Moon was represented by Diana, the hunter goddess. The Moon is the earth's companion satellite, though some astrologers believe that it approaches being a planet in its own right. The Moon is large enough for its gravity to affect the Earth, stabilising its orbit and producing the regular ebb and flow of the tides. The Moon is familiar to us for its different phases, waxing and waning in appearance in an unchanging cycle. The Moon orbits the earth in about 28 days, spending a fleeting 2.33 days in each of the signs of the zodiac. By a strange coincidence, the lunar day syncs up with its orbit around Earth in such a manner that the same side of the moon always faces the Earth and the other side, known as the "dark side of the moon" faces towards space.

Astrologically the moon is associated with a person's emotional make-up, unconscious habits, rhythms, memories and moods, and their ability to react and adapt to those around them. It is also associated with the mother, maternal instincts or the urge to nurture, the home, the need for security, and the past, especially early experiences and childhood. The first-century poet Manilius, described the Moon or Luna, as melancholic. In medicine the moon is associated with the digestive system, stomach, breasts, the ovaries and menstruation (which does occur on a monthly cycle), and the pancreas. Despite Manilius' assignation, the moon was commonly associated with the phlegmatic humour; it ruled the animal spirits together with Mercury. In modern astrology, the moon is the ruler of the 4th house; traditionally, it ruled the 7th house, the house of partnership, and had 'joy' in the 3rd house of neighbours (associated with lunar themes of accommodation, change and the clan). The Moon is associated with Monday. Dante Alighieri associated Luna with the liberal art of grammar.

In Chinese astrology, the Moon represents Yin, the passive, receptive feminine life principle. In Indian astrology, the Moon is called Chandra or Soma and represents the mind, queenship, and mother. The north lunar node (called Rahu) and the south lunar node (called Ketu) are considered to be of particular importance, and are given an equal place alongside the seven classical planets as part of the nine navagraha. Also unique to Indian astrology is the system of 27 (or 28) lunar stations or 'mansions' called nakshatra which are believed to be of major importance in indicating the life path of the individual.



Mercury () is the ruling planet of Gemini and Virgo. In Roman mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, noted for his speed and swiftness . Echoing this, the scorching, airless world Mercury circles the sun on the fastest orbit of any planet. Mercury takes only 88 days to orbit the sun, spending about 7.33 days in each sign of the zodiac. Mercury is so close to the sun that only a brief period exists after the sun has set where it can be seen with the naked eye, before following the sun beyond the horizon.

Astrologically Mercury represents the principles of communication, mentality, thinking patterns, rationality and reasoning, and adaptability and variability. Mercury governs schooling and education; the immediate environment of neighbours, siblings and cousins; transport over short distances; messages and forms of communication such as post, email and telephone; newspapers, journalism and writing, information gathering skills, and physical dexterity. The first-century poet Manilius described Mercury as an inconstant, vivacious, and curious planet. In medicine Mercury is associated with the nervous system, the brain, the respiratory system, the thyroid and the sense organs. Traditionally, it was held to be essentially cold and dry, but variable in temperament according to its placement in the zodiac and any aspects to other planets. It was linked to the animal spirits, alongside the Moon. Today, Mercury is regarded as the ruler of the 3rd and 6th houses; traditionally, it ruled the 6th house, and had joy in the 1st house (the house of 'I' or 'we': Mercury facilitates self-expression here).

Mercury rules over Wednesday. In Romance languages the word for Wednesday is often similar to Mercury (mercredi in French and miercoles in Spanish). Dante Alighieri associated Mercury with the liberal art of dialectic.

In Chinese astrology, Mercury is ruled by the element water which is diplomatic, kind and intuitive. In Indian astrology, Mercury is called Budha, a word related to Budhi ("intelligence") and represents communication.


Venus () is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra. In Roman mythology Venus, was the goddess of love and beauty, famous for the passions she could stir among the gods. In the same way, the calm, beautiful surface of white clouds that the planet Venus presents hides its hot, dense atmosphere and intense volcanic activity![4] Venus orbits the sun in 225 days, spending about 18.75 days in each sign of the zodiac. Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky, the moon being the brightest.

Astrologically Venus is associated with the principles of harmony, beauty, balance; the feelings and affections, and the urge to sympathize and unite with others. It is involved with the desire for pleasure, sensuality, personal possessions, comfort and ease. It governs romantic relations, marriage and business partnerships, sex (the origin of the words 'venery' and 'venereal'), the arts, fashion and social life. The first-century poet Marcus Manilius,described Venus as generous and fecund, and the lesser benefic. In medicine Venus is associated with the lumbar region, the veins, parathyroids, throat and kidneys. Venus was thought to be moderately warm and moist, and was associated with the phlegmatic humour. Venus is the modern ruler of the 2nd and 7th houses, but traditionally ruled the 5th and 12th houses - the 5th house of play and the 12th house of self-undoing! Unsurprisingly, Venus was said to have 'joy' in the 5th.

Venus is the planet of Friday. In languages deriving from Latin, such as Spanish and French, the word for Friday often resembles the word Venus (viernes and vendredi respectively). Dante Alighieri associated Venus with the liberal art of rhetoric.

In Chinese astrology, Venus is associated with the element metal (or gold), which is unyielding, strong and persistent. In Indian astrology, Venus is known as Shukra and represents wealth, pleasure and reproduction.



Mars () is the ruling planet of Aries and, for many astrologers, Scorpio. Mars was the Roman god of war and bloodshed, whose symbol was a spear and shield (from which its glyph is derived). Both the soil of Mars and the hemoglobin of our blood are rich in iron, and because of this they share its distinct deep red color.[5] Mars orbits the sun in 687 days, spending about 57.25 days in each sign of the zodiac. It is also the first planet that orbits outside of Earth's orbit making it the first planet that doesn't set along with the sun.

Astrologically Mars is associated with confidence and self assertion, aggression, sexuality, energy, strength, ambition, and impulsiveness. Mars governs sports, competitions and physical activities in general. The first-century poet Manilius, described the planet Mars as ardent, and as the lesser malefic. In medicine Mars presides over the genitals, the muscular system, the gonads and adrenal glands; it was held to be hot and excessively dry, and ruled the choleric humour. It was associated with fever, accidents, trauma, pain and surgery. In modern astrology, Mars is said to rule the 1st and 8th houses; traditionally, however, Mars ruled the 3rd and 10th houses and was said to 'joy' in the 6th house of servants, chores and ill-health (all of these houses are associated with labour and energy expenditure: 3rd - schoolchild, 10th - worker, 6th - servant).

Before the discovery of Pluto, it was universally considered the ruler of Scorpio. Most modern astrologers consider Pluto the ruler of Scorpio, but many regard Mars as a co-ruler, while all traditional astrologers still regard Mars as the only ruler of Scorpio.

Mars is associated with Tuesday, and in Romance languages the word for Tuesday often resembles Mars (in Spanish, martes and in French, mardi). Dante Alighieri associated Mars with the liberal art of arithmetic.

In Chinese astrology, Mars is ruled by the element fire, which is passionate, energetic and adventurous. In Indian astrology, Mars is called Mangala and represents energy, confidence and ego.


Jupiter () is the ruling planet of Sagittarius, and, for many astrologers, also the ruler of Pisces . In Roman mythology Jupiter was the ruler of the gods (having overthrown Saturn) and their guardian and protector, and his symbol was the thunderbolt. In the same way, the planet Jupiter is the king of the other planets, a giant in size with spectacular, brightly coloured clouds and intense storms. Astronomers believe that it plays an important protecting role in using its massive gravity to capture or expel from the solar system many comets and asteroids that would otherwise threaten Earth and the inner planets.[6] Jupiter takes 11.9 years to orbit the sun, spending almost an earth year (361 days) in each sign of the zodiac.

Astrologically Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, prosperity and good fortune; and a person's inner sense of justice and morality and their ideals and higher goals. Jupiter governs long distance and foreign travel, higher education, religion and the law. It is also associated with the urge for freedom and exploration, humanitarian and protecting roles, and with gambling and merrymaking or 'joviality'. The first-century poet Manilius described Jupiter as temperate and benign, and the greater benefic. It was regarded as warm and moist in nature, and therefore favourable to life. In medicine Jupiter is associated with the liver, pituitary gland and the disposition of fats; it governed the blood / sanguine humour. In modern times Jupiter is said to be the ruler of the 9th and 12th houses, but traditionally Jupiter was assigned to the 2nd and 9th houses (the house of values and the house of beliefs, respectively) and had 'joy' in the 11th house of friends and aspirations.

Jupiter is associated with Thursday, and in Romance languages the name for Thursday often comes from Jupiter (for example, jueves in Spanish or jeudi in French). Dante Alighieri associated Jupiter with the liberal art of geometry.

In Chinese astrology, Jupiter is ruled by the element wood, which is warm, generous and co-operative. In Indian astrology, Jupiter is known as Guru or Brihaspati and is known as the 'great teacher'.


Saturn () is the ruling planet of Capricorn and, traditionally, Aquarius. In Roman mythology Saturn was the god of agriculture founder of civilisations and of social order and conformity. The glyph is most often seen as scythe-like but it is primarily known as the "crescent below the cross", whereas Jupiter's glyph is the "crescent above the cross". The famous rings of the planet Saturn that enclose and surround it, reflect this principle of man's limitations. Saturn takes 29.5 years to orbit the sun, spending about 2.46 years in each sign of the zodiac.

Astrologically Saturn is associated with the principles of limitation, restrictions, boundaries, practicality and reality, crystallizing and structures. Saturn governs ambition, career, authority and hierarchy, and conforming social structures. It concerns a person's sense of duty, discipline and responsibility, and their physical and emotional endurance during hardships. Saturn is also considered to represent the part of a person concerned with long-term planning. The Return of Saturn (Saturn return) is said to mark significant events in each person's life. According to the first-century poet Manilius, Saturn is sad, morose, and cold and is the greater malefic. In medicine Saturn presides over the skeletal system, skin, teeth, gall bladder spleen and vagus nerve. Saturn symbolised processes and things which were dry and extremely cold, and was therefore inimical to life. It governed the melancholic humour.

Before the discovery of Uranus, Saturn was universally regarded as the ruling planet of Aquarius. Many astrologers still use Saturn as the planetary ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius; in modern astrology it is accordingly the ruler of the 10th and 11th houses. Traditionally, however, Saturn was associated with the 1st and 8th houses (1st house = incarnation, 8th house = death; Saturn being the planet of mortality, and hence, why the Grim Reaper carries a scythe). Saturn was also said to 'joy' in the 12th house of self-undoing.

Saturn is associated with Saturday, which was named after the deity Saturn. Dante Alighieri associated Saturn with the liberal art of astronomia (astrology and astronomy).

In Chinese astrology, Saturn is ruled by the element earth, which is patient, hard-working and reliable. In Indian astrology, Saturn is called Shani or "Sani", and represents career and longevity. It is also the bringer of bad luck and hardship.

Modern planets

Since the invention of the telescope, Western astrology has incorporated Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto and other bodies into its methodology. Indian and Chinese astrologies have tended to retain the ancient seven-planet system. Meanings have had to be assigned to them by modern astrologers, usually according to the major events which occurred in the world at the time of their discovery. As these astrologers are usually Western, the social and historical events they describe have an inevitable Western emphasis. Astrologers consider the 'extra-Saturnian' planets to be 'impersonal' or generational planets, meaning their effects are felt more across whole generations of society. Their effects in individuals depend upon how strongly they feature in that individual's birth-chart. There is also a great discussion going about what Ceres should rule in astrology. Some western astrologers hope that within a few years, astrological rulerships will be changed in order to include Ceres. The following are their characteristics as accepted by most astrologers.


For some modern Western astrologers, the planet Uranus () is the ruling planet of Aquarius. In Greek mythology Uranus was the personification of the heavens and the night sky. The planet Uranus is very unusual among the planets in that it rotates on its side, so that it presents each of its poles to the sun in turn during its orbit, so that one hemisphere is bathed in light, while the other lies in total darkness. These strange traits reflect its astrological significance as the breaker of convention.

Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the sun, spending about 7 years in each sign of the zodiac. Uranus was discovered only in 1781 by Sir William Herschel.

Astrologically modern interpretations associate Uranus with the principles of genius, individuality, new and unconventional ideas, discoveries, electricity, inventions, and the beginnings of the industrial revolution. Uranus governs societies, clubs and any group dedicated to humanitarian or progressive ideals. Historically it was associated with the principles of the Enlightenment and radical political ideas of equality and freedom, among other things. Around the period of its discovery in 1781, the idea of democracy and the human rights was prevalent, with the breakaway of the American colonies from England and a few years later in 1789, the French revolution. In art and literature, the discovery of Uranus coincided with the Romantic movement, which emphasised individuality and freedom of expression. In medicine Uranus is believed to be particularly associated with the sympathetic nervous system, mental disorders, breakdowns and hysteria, spasms and cramps. Uranus is considered by modern astrologers to be co-ruler of the 11th house with Saturn.



For some astrologers, Neptune () is the ruling planet of Pisces. In Roman mythology Neptune was the god of the sea, and the deep, ocean blue colour of the planet Neptune reflects this. Its glyph is taken directly from Neptune's trident. Neptune takes 165 years to orbit the sun, spending approximately 14 years (13.75) in each sign of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846.

Astrologically modern Western astrologers associate the planet Neptune with idealism and compassion, but also with illusion, confusion and deception; with religions, spirituality and mysticism, the mass media, creativity in art and music, drugs, extreme sensitivity, fantasy and imagination, psychic phenomena and altered mental states. Neptune governs hospitals, prisons, mental institutions, and any place, such as a monastery, that involves a retreat from society. Its appearance coincided with the discovery of anesthetics and hypnotism . In political terms Neptune was linked to the rise of nationalist movements throughout Europe in countries like Germany, Italy, Hungary, Ireland and Serbia, seeking independence for their nations inspired by an idealised past of legend. It was also linked to the rise of socialism and the beginnings of the welfare state. Neptune also coincided with the utopian ideals of Communism, when Marx and Engels first published 'The Communist Manifesto' in 1848.

In art, the impressionist movement began a trend away from literal representation, to one based on the subtil, changing moods of light and colour. In medicine Neptune seems particularly associated with the thalamus, the spinal canal, and severe or mysterious illnesses and neuroses. Neptune is considered by modern astrologers to be co-ruler of the 12th house with Jupiter.

Nowadays modern astrologers considers Neptune the ruler of Pisces, but prior to the discovery of Neptune, was Jupiter the one considered as the ruler of Pisces, even some modern astrologers consider Jupiter a co-ruler of Pisces. Some astrologers do not believe that Neptune rules any particular sign, even though they may use the planet in interpretation.


The dwarf planet Pluto

To most modern Western astrologers, Pluto () is the ruling planet of Scorpio. In Roman mythology Pluto was the god of the underworld and of wealth, hence the coin-and-chalice glyph. Pluto and its moon Charon form a unique pairing in the solar system because Charon is so massive relative to Pluto. This means that they revolve in a 'dumbbell' formation around a common point in space lying between them, permanently locked in a 'power struggle' for dominance.[8] This is symbolic of the role Pluto has come to represent astrologically. Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun, spending on average approximately 21 years (20.6) in each sign of the zodiac. However, Pluto's orbit is so eccentric that this can vary dramatically, from 25 years in Cancer (1913 - 1938) to a mere 12 years in Scorpio (1983 - 1995), when its orbit was actually closer to the sun than Neptune's. In 2006 Pluto was reclassified by astronomers as a "dwarf planet" and therefore is no longer considered a planet in astronomy, although this has not reduced its astrological significance to astrologers who had previously considered Pluto important.

Astrologically Pluto is called "the great renewer", and is considered to represent the part of a person that destroys in order to renew, through bringing buried, but intense, needs and drives to the surface and expressing them, even at the expense of the existing order. A commonly used keyword for Pluto is "transformation". It is associated with power and personal mastery and the need to co-operate and share with another, if each is not to be destroyed. Pluto governs big business and wealth, mining, surgery and detective work, and any enterprise which involves digging under the surface to bring the truth to light. Pluto is also associated with the day Tuesday along with Mars.

Pluto is also associated with extreme power and corruption; the discovery of Pluto in 1930 coincided with the rise of fascism and Stalinism in Europe, leading to the Second World War. It also coincided with the Great Depression and the major proliferation of organized crime in the United States. Its entry into Cancer in 1913, the sign in which it was later discovered, coincided with the First World War. It is also associated with nuclear armament, which had its genesis in the research of the 1930's and 40's. Later on, it gave rise to the polarised nuclear stand off of the Cold War, with the mass consumer societies of the United States and other democracies facing the totalitarian state socialism of the USSR. The discovery of Pluto also occurred just after the birth of modern psycho-analysis, when Freud and Jung began to explore the depths of the unconscious. In art, movements like Cubism and Surrealism began to deconstruct the 'normal' view of the world and reassemble it in new and sometimes disturbing ways. In medicine Pluto seems to be associated with regenerative forces in the body involving cell formation and the reproductive system. Pluto is considered by modern astrologers to be co-ruler of the 8th house with Mars. Many traditional astrologers do not use Pluto as a ruling planet, but do use the planet for interpretation and predictive work, obliquely making reference to projections of influences from higher to lower dimensional spaces.



Ceres () is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on January 1, 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi, and is named after the Roman goddess Ceres, the goddess of growing plants, the harvest, and of motherly love. It was thought to be the first asteroid discovered and is the largest asteroid of all, taking up about 1/3 of the entire mass of the asteroid belt. The classification of Ceres has changed more than once and has been the subject of some disagreement. Johann Elert Bode believed Ceres to be the "missing planet" he had proposed to exist between Mars and Jupiter, at a distance of 419 million km (2.8 AU) from the Sun. Ceres was assigned a planetary symbol, and remained listed as a planet in astronomy books and tables.

In astrology, to get an understanding of the nature of a planet the astrologers analyze the name given to it. In mythology Ceres was the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Demeter. She was the goddess of agriculture & when her daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Pluto in an attempt to force her to marry him, Demeter became so distraught looking for her daughter that she neglected the Earth which became cold and most plants died. This was the first autumn and winter season, which came back every year even after Persephone had been saved by Hermes because she had eaten a pomegranate that made her Pluto's wife forever, and he demanded she return to him once a year. These myths, including the fact that Ceres is the roundest object in the asteroid belt (it resembles the Moon) signify that in astrology the placement of Ceres in a birth chart is said to show what the native needs to feel loved and nurtured.[9] The planet is also associated with the reproductive issues of an adult woman, as well as pregnancy and other major transitions in a woman's life, including the nine months of gestation time, family bonds and relationships. As we can see, Ceres is very connected with the Moon, and with the emotional status. While the moon representes our ideal of "motherhood", Ceres would represent how our real and nature motherhood should be.[10] It also indicates places where enmity and grief is felt, as in the story of Persephone's imprisonment and Demeter's misery. In these same ways, plus it's glyph being an upside-down version of Saturn's, Ceres has a malefic, gloomy nature, similar to a mixture of Saturn mixed with the Moon.[citation needed] The status of Ceres is unknown at the moment in astrology, due to its new definition as a dwarf planet. The possibility exists that it isn't involved with any sign, but it has been suggest as the ruler of Virgo or Taurus. For some modern astrologers it is the ruling planet of Taurus and the 2nd house with Venus, and for some others the ruling planet of Virgo and co-ruler of the 6th house with Mercury. In any event, it can almost definitely be attributed to the Earth element. As in all cases of newer discoveries, for some, like Vedic astrologers, it will never be used.




Ruling planets of the astrological signs and houses



In Western astrology, the symbolism associated with the planets also relates to the zodiac signs and houses of the horoscope in their various rulerships. For instance, the description of Mars is masculine, impulsive, and active. Aries is ruled by Mars and has a similar description, representing an active, masculine archetype. Similarly, the first house is also ruled by Mars and deals with a person's physical health and strength, and the manner in which they project themselves.


HOUSES:
Most horoscopic traditions of astrology systems divide the horoscope into a number (usually twelve) of houses whose positions depend on time and location rather than on date. The houses of the horoscope represent different spheres of life, described in terms of physical surroundings as well as personal life experiences. In delineation the placement of a planet or zodiac sign in a house will determine to a large degree the area of life in which it acts, and the goals and activities on which its drive or impulse will be focused.

The houses are divisions of the ecliptic plane (the path of the sun across the sky) as seen from the earth at the time and place of the horoscope in question. They are numbered counter-clockwise from the position of the eastern horizon (the cusp of the first house) at the time of the subject being charted. Houses one through six, are below the horizon, while houses seven through twelve are above the horizon.

There are a range of approaches to calculating these divisions and different opinions among astrologers over which house system is most accurate. To calculate the houses, it is necessary to know the exact time, date, and location of the event being charted. In natal astrology, some astrologers will use a birth time set for noon or sunrise if the actual time of birth is unknown. An accurate interpretation of such a chart, however, cannot be expected.

The twelve houses

The Babylonians were the first to set out the twelve houses used today by the majority of astrologers. [1] The houses were numbered from the east downward under the horizon, and represented areas of life on the following pattern with their areas of influence. These are their traditional Latin names first with their translations followed by other associated influences: 1. Vita, Life ; 2. Lucrum, Profit and loss; 3. Fratres, Brothers; 4. Genitor, Parents; 5. Nati, Children ; 6. Valentudo, Health and illness; 7. Uxor, Spouse; 8. Mors, Death; 9. Iter, Journeys and journey-like undertakings such as religion or education; 10. Regnum, Kingdom and dignitaries; 11. Benefacta, Friendship; 12. Carcer, Prison and enmity. These represent the basic outline of the houses as they are still understood today.

The twelve houses are usually interpreted as follows [2] :

1st House (Aries) : The self, one's appearance, the body, physical characteristic etc. The Ego. The start of anything.

2nd House (Taurus) : Money and possessions, values and priorities. Growth of anything.

3rd House (Gemini): Communications, siblings, neighbors and neighborhood matters, local travel and transport, education, everyday matters.

4th House (Cancer): The home and family, the mother or mother figure, caring for someone or something; place of retreat. Conservation. Imagination. All things that cycle.

5th House (Leo): Pleasures and leisure, holidays, games and gambling. Children. Creativity. Love affairs and sex for fun rather than a deep relationship.

6th House (Virgo): Work, duties and chores. Employers, employees and one's job. Health and well-being. Service to others and to animals.

7th House (Libra): Relationships, marriage and business partnerships. Agreements and treaties. Beauty and looks. Also open enemies and war.

8th House (Scorpio): Birth, death, beginnings and endings. Sexual relationships and deeply committed relationships of all kinds. Joint monies, taxes, legacies, and corporate finances. The occult and psychic matters. The house of self-transformation.

9th House (Sagittarus): Foreign travel and foreign countries and cultures. Religion, the law and higher education. All things which seek to expand one's experience. Freedom.

10th House (Capricorn): Aims and ambitions, direction in life. One's status in society, one's career.

11th House (Aquarius): Detached relationships such as friends and acquaintances. Groups, clubs and societies, especially with a charitable or humane aim.

12th House (Pisces): Mysticism, the occult, psychic matters. Places of seclusion such as hospitals, prisons and institutions. Retreat and reflection and self-sacrifice. Childhood problems.

Many modern astrologers assume that the houses relate to their corresponding signs, i.e. that the first house has a natural affinity with the first sign, Aries, and so on.

However, the discovery of a document called the Thema Mundi, or chart of the world, by Project Hindsight, suggests something different. In the chart of the world, the sign Cancer is on the ascendant, Leo is on the 2nd house, and so on. The Thema Mundi is the chart that is considered the key to the Helenistic system of astrology, from which much of modern astrology is derived, though at times inaccurately.

In quadrant systems houses are classified as:
Angular (1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th)
Succedent (2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th), and
Cadent (3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th).
Angular houses are points of initiation and represent action.
Succedent houses are points of purpose and represent stabilization.
Cadent houses are points of transition and represent change and adaptation.

Further, houses are grouped together by Triplicity, one of four elements (fire, earth, air, and water) in which the zodiacal sign that rules the house is placed. There are three zodiacal signs that fall within one of these four elements, hence the moniker, "The Triplicities".
The Fire Houses are: the 1st House (the house of Aries), the 5th House (the house of Leo), and the 9th House (the house of Sagittarius).
The Earth Houses are: the 2nd House (ruled by Taurus), the 6th House (Virgo), and the 10th House (Capricorn).
The Air Houses are: the 3rd House (Gemini), the 7th House (Libra), the 11th House (Aquarius).
The Water Houses are: the 4th House (Cancer), the 8th House (Scorpio), and the 12th House (Pisces).




Triplicities by season


In ancient astrology, however, triplicities were more of a seasonal nature, so a season was given the qualities of an element, which means the signs associated with that season would be allocated to that element. The seasonal elements of ancient astrology are as follows:

* Spring - Earth - Aries, Taurus, Gemini
* Summer - Fire - Cancer, Leo, Virgo
* Autumn - Air - Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius
* Winter - Water - Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces

These associations are not given any great importance in modern astrology, although they are prominent in modern Western Neopaganism, Druidism and Wicca



Elements in modern astrology


In modern astrology, the elements have become associated with different personality types. These are summarized in the following table:


Element Horoscope Description
Fire---Aries, Leo, Sagittarius---These signs are fiery, bright, ardent, enthusiastic, leaders, confident, proud, spontaneous, self-sufficient, and romantic.
Misused... They can be very arrogant, self-centered, bossy, forceful, and hungry for attention. These signs don't have time to sympathize and comfort others; they have no patience for emotionalism or heaviness. They also tend to take credit for things that others have also taken part in.

Earth---Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn---These signs are practical, stable, consistent, rigid, determined, dependable, patient, conservative, and sensual. They love material comforts and have good recuperative powers.
Misused... They can be dull and too materialistic.

Air----Gemini, Libra, Aquarius----These signs can talk and communicate well; they tend to be intellectual, and they are able to handle abstract reasoning. They are logical, objective, talkative, social, spontaneous, flexible, cautious, idealistic, and unprejudiced.
Misused... They can be cold, superficial, and impractical. These signs fear something new and hunger for freedom.

Water---Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces---These signs are feeling, sustaining, and receptive. They are emotional, intuitive, responsive, sensitive, psychic, and deep. They tend to be susceptible to mood swings, and it takes a while to get to know them. They are also nurturing and base many actions they take on sense.
Misused... They can be self-protective and like to spoil themselves. If their emotions become too strong, these signs can become addicted to drugs, alcohol, food, or anything that keeps them from being overloaded. Along with their empathy, also comes a tendency to actually absorb the emotions of others.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

RETRO DUO CONSOLE!!


Tired of blowing on cartridges and lighting candles to the ancient Nintendo goddess in hopes that your old systems will work?
The Retro Duo console might be your solution, since it combines the technologies of the NES and the SNES into one slick package.
Unfortunately, the Duo doesn't work perfectly with both systems' full libraries, but it will play a lot of your favortie titles like: Metroid, Castlevania 2:Simon's Quest, Legend of Zelda, Star Tropics, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, F-Zero, and Star Fox, to name a few.
You can purchase this nifty and pretty console for $49.99 !
www.innexinc.com

Its Official!... Rock Band On Wii

Harmonix and MTV Games today confirmed what EA CEO John Riccitiello perhaps inadvertently leaked last month: Rock Band is coming out on the Wii, joining the ranks of the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It’s set for a June 22 release date with a suggested price of $169.99 for the special-edition bundle. Better still, standalone instruments will be available that day, too, so people only interested in getting their drums on won’t have to splurge and buy the whole setup or wait for individual gear, like evOf course, the big question we had last month was how the game would handle downloadable content, one of the game’s main selling points. We spoke with an MTV Networks representative and was told that the game wouldn’t include any DLC functionality. Ultimately, Wii owners can expect to see a game similar to the PlayStation 2 port, which removed much of the character customization and stripped away the Band World Tour mode’s RPG-light elements. Still, the official announcement teased that the game would feature 63 songs, including “five bonus songs for Wii gamers to enjoy.” Could that mean remixes of classic Nintendo tracks? Stranger things have happened…eryone else had to when the game shipped last November.

The PSP Turns 3..and Efing AWESOME--An Interview With Sony's John Koller


Today the PSP celebrates its third birthday, and what better way to celebrate than speaking with John Koller, Sony’s senior marketing manager for the platform. Since getting off to a rocky start, the system enjoyed a rebirth of sorts in 2007. After a price cut and slimmed-down redesign, the system has been flying off shelves—85 percent over last April, according to Koller. A steady stream of firmware updates has enhanced the system significantly, allowing users to talk to friends worldwide via Skype or listen to online radio through the nearest wireless hotspot. Koller is quick to point out that games remain the focus of the PSP, but that consumers are picking up on its other uses, too. We talked to Koller about upcoming features, sometimes-troublesome firmware updates, what took so long for colors to come to the U.S. and much more.

Game Informer: What’s going on with the PSP now that it’s hitting the three-year mark?

John Koller: We’re entering the third year of the platform, and we talked about it really being the biggest year, and it turned out to be so. Ever since we launched in 2005, we’ve been talking about the multifunctional aspects of the PSP, but really centering on gaming. I think what a lot of the consumers found last year to their liking was really an expansion in gaming, unique genres, unique games, but the price drop certainly helped us target a whole new demographic, going after that teen consumer group with a little bit less discretionary income than maybe the 20-something consumer. They were able to get into the market and really adopted the PSP as their own. The PSP hardware SKU we launched in September, the PSP-2000 made the PSP more portable, and a lot of consumers started adopting the PSP for music and for video and for some of their portable travel use of Internet browsing. I think what we saw was the price drop really assisting, but that the new hardware SKU pushed sales over the top. Our sales for the holiday season were spectacular—we actually couldn’t keep it in stock. We were in a really in a very good position; from a demand perspective it was very, very strong, and as we go into this year it’s remaining very strong. We’ve seen a real uptick year over year, a significant uptick—we’re up 85 percent in sales since the price drop last April. It’s a platform that’s got a ton of momentum, a lot of wind on our back. I think as we embark on our usual trip to talk to publishers and other people about the platform, I think it’s a lot easier conversation when you’ve got the strength of a very solid install base at this point. This year, I think is going to be another very good year, and we’re looking at a number of key launches—both software and peripheral—to really aid the momentum that we’re seeing now.


GI: The PSP really does seem to have a dual personality. It’s part device and part game machine—it’s in a pretty unique position in the marketplace. How had that been, positioning it in the marketplace, the fact that it can be used for so many different things?

Koller: You’re bringing up exactly what we wrestled with when we first launched the PSP. What it’s centered in, and how we positioned it in the market, is that it’s a multifunctional device with a gaming heart. It’ll always be a gaming system. We have such a solid lineup of games and will continue to do so, highlighted most recently by God of War. It’s primarily centered as a gaming machine. That said, the multifunctional aspects really round our what the PSP is and differentiates it from any competitive platform—and that’s including the DS and the iPod, the Zune and the Zen and all the other handheld products that are available in the market, inclusive of mobile phones.

The way that we market the product is to continue to promote the gaming portion, but add ancillary messaging about the multifunctional area—the addition of Skype and Internet radio. You can play your music and your movies on the PSP. It makes for an all-in-one device. I think as consumers start to find that there’s this integration of functionality between their various mobile devices, they want one or two screens to bring with them. We’re finding in a lot of our research that the consumer’s using the PSP because of its gaming but then also because it has these other elements as some of the other devices they own, but they don’t want to bring four or five devices with them in their pocket. The PSP solves all of those multifunctional demands in one product.

GI: The PSP seems to be getting better and better with each firmware update. How much of the recently added functionality—like Skype and Internet radio—was actually on the radar while the PSP was being designed? Were those always planned to be a part of the system eventually, or were they added because they seemed suitable for the platform?

Koller: That’s a really good question, and it’s actually pretty insightful. The way that we planned the product, to have these firmware updates and to be able to unleash new aspects on the consumer set—we didn’t always plan some of these since March ’05. Some of these are the result of consumer demand, quite honestly. Skype’s one of those. We had a real groundswell of reaction in a lot of our quantitative research and a lot of consumers asking for VOIP or a way for them to communicate with the PSP. As they brought it around and found that more and more wireless hotspots were available and becoming a little more ubiquitous, I think a lot of consumers were saying, “Let’s be able to communicate with this so I can talk with someone while I play SOCOM or while I play Madden or whatnot, and I can meet them online.” When we saw that interest, we took it back to Tokyo and met with the product-planning group, and Skype was added. It’s something that we’ve noticed in the few months since its been launched, we’ve noticed an uptick in consumers who have bought the headset and remote control. I think we’re seeing the results of that demand. Not every firmware update is something that was originally planned. I think a lot of those were the result of consumer demand in our territory and I think some other territories globally.
GI: Can we expect to see more PSP and PS3 cross functionality in the future? Is that something you’re going to continue to be putting a big focus on?

Koller: Yeah, absolutely. Remote play is very, very important to us, especially as the PS3 install base grows, and you’ve seen the numbers—the PS3 is on fire as well. We look at the PS3 as the console for the home and the living room, obviously, and we look at the PSP as the travel console or device that you can use to bring content from your PS3 with you. We’ve expanded that in recent firmware updates. That’s going to continue to expand this year. That’s a big, important emphasis point for us.

GI: Are there any plans to call out content that lends itself well to remote play? A fair number of people are playing PixelJunk Monsters on their PSPs through remote play—is there a way to let consumers know, “Hey, this game works really well with remote play,”?

Koller: Yeah, and I think that there will be a lot of messaging around remote play. You bring up one area, and that’s an area where we’re going to place a lot of significant marketing behind to make sure that consumers are educated. But there’s the video component and the music component. One of our sales reps works in Dallas but his family lives in Cleveland, and every night they place the music on the PS3 that he can listen to when he’s in his hotel room in Dallas. The uses for these are many, and I think they’re used in ways that were never thought of. For us, it’s excellent. Tying together the units is something that helps the PlayStation brand overall.

GI: One thing that PSP users and potential PSP users may have noticed is how fragmented the marketing strategies are between the U.S. and the Japanese markets—all the different colors that are available in Japan versus here in the states, being able to watch television on the PSP, et cetera. Why are those two markets treated so differently? It seems reasonable that gamers and users are ultimately going to want similar things, overall.

Koller: It’s a great question, and the short answer is, “Not necessarily.” The situations are quite different in many, many ways—not just in consumer demand. We look at consumer demand as one element, but there’s also a retail component and there’s also a technical component. The TV element that you mentioned isn’t possible in North America, it’s something that’s possible technically in Japan.

With some of the other elements and peripherals, North America and Europe have launched slower than Japan. I can speak for North America, the reason being we have limited shelf space here in North America versus in Japan, which is a different retail environment. We also have a different consumer-demand equation, where the consumer is asking for different things. For example, we announced that we’re going to launch GPS this year. The reason we’re going to launch GPS this year is because now it is at that tipping point as a consumer-electronics product. It’s starting to see the fruits of a lot of momentum behind that particular product. We looked at the overall consumer demand. It wouldn’t have been ready two years ago, although the peripheral was ready. In North America, we would not have been ready, and a lot of our retailers probably wouldn’t have carried it longer than a year, and would probably be sitting on a lot of inventory. We have to look at a lot of different market realities before we launch a product.

Colors are another thing. Last year was the first time we got into colors, and the reason for that was that consumers were saying, “I’m OK with the current black model, but I want other things. A price cut is one priority. I want to have a smaller, slimmer line.” We had those elevated as priorities, and then we brought the colors over to launch with the PSP-2000 model, and obviously we’ve seen a big lift—and I think part of that is because of the colors. I guess the short answer is, “Not necessarily,” and the long answer is, “There are a lot of market realities that factor into the equation when we launch a product.”

GI: Are we going to see movie downloads straight to PSP this year?

Koller: The video-download service is something that we’re working on down here for the PlayStation Network. PSP will be a part of that. We don’t have a firm date, but it’s shortly—I guess that’s the best way to put that. Consumers will be able to take short-form and long-form content and place it on their PSPs and take it with them.

GI: Going back to those firmware updates, every time one hits you can’t install it if you don’t have a fully charge battery—even if you’re connected to AC. Are there plans to revisit that?

Koller: Probably not in the short term. Longer term, possibly. It was an absolute requirement when we first launched in 2005. We lifted that requirement for a short time and found that so many PSPs were bricking that we had to reinstate the full-battery-charge requirement. It turned out to be a technical issue, and we were dealing with a significant amount of bricked returns.

GI: Looking at 2008, what kinds of goals does Sony have for the PSP—aside from obvious things like maintaining momentum and all that marketing speak?

Koller: Continuing very strong hardware sales is I think an obvious one. We have a couple of significant plays with cards we’re going to lay down in the next few months and as we go into E3. We have a number of packs that I think are going to be very impactful this year, leading off with God of War, which launches in June. The peripheral area is going to be of particular interest to us, the GPS, which we’ve talked about, we talked briefly about the camera, the upcoming keyboard—I think all of those will be very relevant to the consumer as we go through the calendar and fiscal year.

And I think an area that we work hard on and will continue to work hard on is the game area. We want to create the most compelling content and work with developers to make sure that these aren’t PS2 ports or console ports, and that they’re priced appropriately. I think we need to get more of the God of War and Final Fantasy types—strong brand umbrellas that have very good gameplay underneath and are unique from the PS2, but maybe have some of that storyline. I think the continued momentum of the platform is very important, and we don’t see any signs of it slowing down. It’s a red-hot market for the PSP right now.

Pit Bull needs good home

Reposting


A poster boy for cruelty, this sweet dog Ben was scheduled for Monday's euthanasia list and we got him another day. He is a very special boy and we have wonderful thoughts about him being in a loving home and getting fattened up. Ben is extremely sweet and trusting, a very nice one year old dog who just needs some TLC and some protein and rice mixed into his kibble to help him gain back some weight. We will help with any expenses for him, but need a loving foster home to give him the chance he so deserves. Any and all vet costs will be covered in full. Ben is already neutered.









Please call 212 912 1251 or reply to this post to help sweet Ben.








Thank you!
Photobucket

Sunday, March 23, 2008

confusion with easter


Nope. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. Complicated enough for you yet? So this year the first full moon after spring equinox is Friday (I think) making Easter this Sunday.

Won't be this early again for another 100+ years.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

DO NOT flash your headlights!!!!!!!

Bullein from D.A.R.E Officers


DON'T FLASH HEADLIGHTS AT ANY CAR WITH NO LIGHTS
> ON!!
>
> Police officers working with the DARE program have
> issued this Warning:
>
> If you are driving after dark and see an on-coming
> car with no headlights
; &nb sp; > on, DO NOT FLASH YOUR LIGHTS AT THEM! This is a
> common 'Bloods' member
> 'initiation game' that goes like this: The new gang
> member under initiation drives
> along with no headlights, and the first car to
> flash their headlights at him is
> now his 'target.' He is now required to turn around
> and chase and spot that
> car, then shoot and kill every individual in the
> vehicle in order to complete
&nb sp;> his initiation requiremen ts. Police Departments
> across the nation are being
&n bsp; > warned.
>
> Their intent is to have all the new bloods
> nationwide drive around on Friday
> and Saturday
> nights with their headlights off.
>
> In order to be accepted into the gang, they have to
> shoot and kill all
> individuals in the first auto that does a courtesy
&n bsp; > flash to warn them that their
&nbs p; > lights are off.
>
> Make sure you share this information with all the
> drivers in your family!
> Please forward this message to all your friends and
family members to inform
them about this initiation ritual. They are also known to drive with high beams on and will do the same as indicated above.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

STAND UP for a cause

Be Counted and be a part of the Guinness World Record. Join millions of others in calling on world leaders to honor their commitments to end extreme poverty by 2015 and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. You can take the online action right here ...org anytime between 9pm GMT on Oct. 16th and 9pm GMT on Oct. 17th and be counted towards a Guinness World Record for the most people to Stand Up and Speak Out for a cause.

How to be Counted:

1. Read the short pledge and physically STAND UP wherever you are:

I am standing now with millions around the world to show my commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and inequality. I am standing because I refuse to accept more excuses in a world where 50,000 people die every day as a result of extreme poverty and the gap between rich and poor is getting wider. I am standing to ask the world’s leaders to keep their promises to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Today, and every day, I will stand up and speak out against poverty.

2. Click ’Make this Committment,’ enter your information, click ’Submit’ and you will be counted for the Guinness World Record.
http://www.change.org/changes/actions/view/873?event_id=15753





Can Not Cry, Can Not Forget...





END HOMELESSNESS

Want to affect CHANGE in a Presidential election?

If anyone out there is planning on attending a Q&A with the Candidates ask them this one question.
I’ll make it even easier on you because you and I both know that a Republican would never help a poor person in this country if they can possibly help it so just ask Obama and Clinton this.

Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them. If you aren’t attending a political event and would still like to know the answer to that question I am asking you to post it everywhere on the web you visit. If we make it news they will have to answer it one way or another.

I propose this in order for us to pick the right person. Even if they both contribute the poor will still benefit and they both will have proven they are worthy of being our President. I think we have all heard enough "talk". It’s time to show us who the better person is, as in, put your money where your mouth is.

Do you live on the Gulf Coast or in New Orleans and want a house for yourself? Walk up to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolies door, knock, and hand them this note.
"Dear Ms. Jolie, Would you give your new baby pictures to The Benefactor Project first in order for me and many others to get a job and a house?"

According to the EPA there are 300,000 house demolitions a year here in America. The median cost of a house is $225,000.00. Multiply those two numbers together and you get $67.5 Billion Dollars worth of wasted housing opportunities. What if we put those opportunities together with people in all underprivilaged circumstances of life and created homeowners?

It’s do-able, I’ve already done this sort of thing, on a small scale, it’s basically just carpentry on steroids. I de-construct wood framed houses of any size and lay them flat on a trailer and then are able to move it to anywhere in the country by pulling it behind a pick up truck. Forget what you think you know about house moving and buying. I buy the salvage rights for $1.00 and take the whole house and rebuild them as houses. You can do it too.

What can happen if you help? We can reduce crime and recidivism. We can help the environment. We can lower tax burdens. We can create thousands upon thousands of opportunities for the underprivileged to become homeowners instead of being on public tax roles.

Think of this, what can a person do with his or her life if they didn’t have a house payment and had financial security? Think of the companies they could open and the people they would hire. Yes, I’m talking about starting a new industry designed to raise this country back up to one where we can go forward. I really think it’s up to us though. If we leave it up to whoever we elect I believe they will soon forget about us when they get into office.

We can make a very interesting webcast series to show others how to get a free house for themselves.

If you are willing to help I have ideas that each of you can do from home. Writing emails is the main thing. Spread the word, ask philanthropists to chip in. Raising money.

This is designed to be Open Source Philanthropy 2.0. All money coming in or going out is to be posted in public online.

Also; We are going to do this without administrative costs from donations. All administrative costs are paid for by income off of the webcasts.

Do you want a house?
I need you and your help. Where do you fit in?
To get involved in this little project just visit the website www.thebenefactorproject.com and contact me.

Thanks
Tom Canavan
The Benefactor Project
Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them.
Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them. Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them. Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them.
Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them.
Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them.
Dear Senators, If it would mean putting $67.5 Billion Dollars into the American economy to help the disadvantaged would you LEND a project One Million of your own Dollars to make that happen?

If they answer YES then tell them the founder of The Benefactor Project is waiting to hear from them.

A DOG USED AS ART, TIED UP, STARVED TO DEATH

In 2007, Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, a supposed artist, capture an abandoned dog from the street, tied with a short cord to the wall in an art gallery and left him there to slowly die of hunger and thirst.
For a few days, not only that "artist" also all the cruel gallery visitors viewed the agony of the poor animal until finally the dog died
of starvation after having experienced so much pain!

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And that's not all, now the Honduras Biennale Centro de Arte, after they decided that was art, they invited Guillermo Vargas Habacuc to repeat this cruel action for the 2008 Biennale.

HELP TO STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Please sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html

If you want to Google the "artist" you can see pictures of it and see it is true.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

EARTH HOUR!!

I was just invited to join an event through facebook - It is called Earth Hour and below I have quoted from the invitation description:
"On March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time Earth Hour will commence ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a POWERFUL MESSAGE about the need for action on global warming."

I checked out the event's website and thought it was an interesting idea and quite effective. I like the idea of inviting people to do something small and simple enough in an effort to raise awareness (a symbolic gesture, if you will). The funny thing is that if everyone does the same small thing, it becomes a huge thing and has a meaningful impact which can be felt & measured. The awareness campaign instantly becomes an action that contributes to alleviating the problem - awesome. You can read more about it at:
http://www.earthhour.org/
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http://www.everydayhero.com.au/victoriacupcakes

Monday, March 3, 2008

Berne Do Brasil! ewww

One Brazilian creature that I‘d never heard of before is the Berne. They aren‘t very common but many people have come across them, possibly because everybody remembers their Berne encounter. Mine came courtesy of Blondie‘s sister, Go, whose apartment we were cave-sitting while she was away in Bolivia and Peru. After a month seeing the sights of the Andean Plateau from the inside of a bus, Go came back with eyes wide open and tales of travelling that wouldn‘t surprise anyone who had been through those two countries. They are entertaining stories but they are hers and I‘m not going to steal them. Travelling from Sao Paulo to Cusco by bus is quite an undertaking, and a Brazilian girl can be far away from her favourite waxing salon. As no self-respecting Brasileira would submit to being waxed in a country whose depilisaçao is inferior to her own (and they all are, we´ve heard it many times), one of the first things she needed to do was pay a visit to the salon. As she turned over to have the back of her calves waxed, her friend doing it started to scream.

Now, some time before she left for Bolivia, Go had been bitten by some unknown creature. This bite hadn´t disappeared, and in fact had grown and caused her pain throughout the journey, sometimes feeling like it was scratching the itch itself. Living in an area of many dogs, much grass and many insects, a little hole from a bite had been invaded by the Berne fly, which likes to lay its larvae under the skin of cattle, dogs and occasionally humans. The larvae stay under the skin for 4-6 weeks, growing fatter on the flesh that they eat. They can grow to around the size of a little finger eventually, and have a fairly sickening design. The larva has a rounded back end, with three small rings covered in spikes towards the front. The idea is to make them difficult to remove or scratch out. They also have a pair of pincers at the front end, perhaps similar to an ant. After a gestation period, the larva will use the pincers to work their way out from under the skin, and soon make their way into the big wide world as a fully fledged Berne.

As Go was lying face down chatting to her friend, Bernie the Berne decided to see what all the gossip was about. He opened the skin and popped his little dark head out for a breather. This was when the depiladora screamed - "Aiiiii! Go! There´s a bichinho in your leg! I can see his little black head moving!"

Go left the salon still half-hairy and headed to the pharmacist. He applied a substance to encourage Bernie to come to the surface and told her to come back the next day. Go went. The pharmacist squeezed Bernie out from her leg, carefully, gently, making sure not to upset him too much. Half a Berne will cause more problems than a full one. After so long together, Go couldn´t stand the idea of being separated from Bernie. They´d been through the Pantanal, the Chaco, the Altiplano, Salar de Uyuni, La Paz, Titicaca, Cusco and the Sacred Valley to get to Machu Picchu, and came back all the way too. Hardy creature that he was and about the size of the nail of my little finger, he was still wriggling when she brought him home to show off possibly the best travelled Berne in history. Prazer, Bernie the Berne.

She toasted him a few minutes later though. Possibly because he hadn´t paid his half for the trip.






Brazilian Booby Bandits

Armed bandits in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil robbed a vehicle carrying more than 400 breast implants, officials said Tuesday.

“It happened last week, but we only learned about it recently as our clients started complaining. It is the hottest period of the year in terms of implant sales,” said Margaret Figueiredo, director of silicone implant manufacturer Silimed.

A spokesman for the state postal service confirmed that assailants, apparently men, robbed the postal van with implants Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro. Each Silimed breast implant costs nearly $400.

Natural Murder Vs Natural Weed

Thanks to:..
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U.S. HEMP
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Mood Meds..
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On January 14, 2008 @ 8:25 AM CNN was finally forced to release the information that the ....Georgia.... hiker was murdered and decapitated by a man on anti-depressant drugs (Psych-meds). It is NATURAL to murder; we have killed each other for thousands of years. However, it is UNNATURAL for parents to throw their kids of bridges or eat them, Men don't burn their beautiful homes with their families inside, they don't cut heads off and mutilate hikers, they don't walk into their high schools and malls and start killing anything that moves. ....

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These murders are not natural; they are a result of synthetic medications and stress. I remember the beginning of these experimental mood and mind-altering drugs from my time in federal prison in the 1970's. The military and combat accounts of psych-med use from ..Vietnam.. to ....Iraq.... are well documented but it just isn't reported. The Army started experimenting with LSD on combat troops in 1954 before that it was meth-amphetamine. ....

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Psychiatrists know that playing God with a person's mood is dangerous and unpredictable but they just can't help themselves. Variations of these mood drugs are being passed out like candy for anything from a bad day to covert military operations. Charley Manson was a product of these strange synthetic drugs and a product of Terminal Island Federal Prison.....

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When (CNN Reporter) John Roberts was interviewing the Omaha Mall Murderer's best friend last month; he told John Roberts that his friend started getting weird about 2 months before the murders because he was taking anti-depressants. John Roberts of CNN immediately changed the subject on camera (December 5, 2007 @3:25 AM). This is the same exact story of the ....Georgia.... hiker murder from the killer's employer. You would wonder why we aren't raising an Amber Alert and reporting these Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatrists and Publicists like CNN. Who would report it?....

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I have witnessed the horrors of these synthetic psych-drugs from inside the Federal Prisons and county jails before they hit our streets and watched the latest evolved drug murders closely. These mood drugs make people lose contact with their souls, their conscience and minds. Whether they are using them at the time or trying to get off them or suffering the long-term effects of them; these fake drugs make people go crazy. Psych-meds, mood drugs, anti-depressants and all their many variations, brand names and street names are being prescribed casually by doctors and being sold (black market) across the border in quantity. Many of ....Mexico....'s "psyche-med casualties" are getting dumped across our borders anonymously and compounding this terror.....

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We need to "stop the presses" and start holding the media accountable for this cover-up on behalf of their corporate sponsors. This Drug War has raged for over 40 year. Virtually everything we have been told about this war and these drugs is a lie. People are smoking marijuana to relieve stress because it works. It does not come from a test tube and little voices don't tell you to kill your kids when you smoke it. How long do the government and their corporate handlers think they can hide the effects of these deadly laboratory drugs. They must think we are all high on anti-depressants.....

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Sincerely,..
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....U.S..... Hemp
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http://www.myspace.com/ushempcd