Lunar Eclipse Portal

Yes it's eclipse time again. Lunar at that! Oof. To ease you through the inevitable stress, drama and emotion of the squares, grand crosses and just plain weirdness here's a list of great resources.

Of course the DayKeeper Journal on the Pisces Lunar Eclipse.

Also insightful is the Mooncircles website.

Alas, poor weather prevented inhabitants of the Far East from witnessing the event this year.

A Little Levity

Don't know about you but I'm pretty exhausted by the antics of the universe these past few months. So I've decided to focus on nothing but fluff and levity today. Bill Murray provided much of that in this news item on the Huffington Post
Bill Murray Pulled Over In Golf Cart, Smells Of Booze, Refuses Breath Test in Sweden. How can you NOT love that? Apparently scoring high on a breath test in Sweden could result in a prison sentence, much like the sentence for kissing a member of the opposite sex in India, so beware you western smoochers! Detective-Inspector Christer Holmlund of the Stockholm police indicated that most likely the Lost in Translation star will get fined. Talk about Caddy Wacked...

On Friends and Psychics

No I'm not talking about psychic friends network. (speaking of, whatever happened to Dionne and her buddies?) I'm talking about people who possess and practice tremendous skills like Reiki, Angel Consultation, Energetic Healing, traditional spa therapies, non traditional spa therapies, psychic consultations, past life regression and so on! This weekend was steeped in many of these practices. Since I had such a faboo time thought I would share the services here:

Reiki healing and classes. My friend Lourdes Lebron teaches and practices 3 types of Reiki; Usui, Traditional, Karuna. You can reach her at 201-341-6083.

Julie Lindh, the gorgeous lady in the pix is not only an exotic looking chick (Swedish and Indonesian), she has developed the regimes for many of New York's most acclaimed spas. Check out her website or one of the spas at which she works Townhouse Spa. She will launch a new product line shortly, look for lindhlogix soon!

Danny Amaral is an international spiritualist that uses angels to guide him in his meditations. Check out his site . He does workshops in the NYC area which I highly recommend. Based in Montreal, Danny is available for phone readings and group sessions. Ask about his house cleansings! Will clean any clutter, past or current life away.

Last entry to this list is a newly discovered talent that blows me away. Laurie Bloom is an integrated healer who uses tools for personal transformation such as Hypnotheraphy, Soul Technology & DNA Activation. Not to mention the more mundane (in comparison!) disciplines of tarot reading and relationship RX. All electrifying and promised to yield inspiration, no matter where you are in your life. She can be reached at laurie.bloom@gmail.com.

Farewell Turd Blossom

Fun and games in the White House this week. Dubya's contracted Lyme disease. The French First Lady Sarkozy stood up Bush and Laura during a luncheon. Rove resigns! Newsweek devoted pages of commentary and critique to the life and times of the Satan seed. Did I yell that out loud? Only regret? Took too long coming. And now
YouTube's running a fascinating video taped in 1994 depicting Dick Cheney warning the US about going to war with Iraq.

300 At Last

Finally caught the much hyped movie 300 and have to admit, it was a stunner. The visual effects, the stop photography, the lush settings set against an eternal sepia toned world was remarkable. But let me not forget what will undoubtedly be the biggest draw for the female audience - the beefy, Mars-driven insanely hot men. These boys are not just sporting guns, they've got cannons for arms and hams for thighs which are conveniently displayed in tota thanks to the Spartan 'uniform' comprised of a itty bitty leather brief and a red cape. Which makes me wonder, were Spartans so damn confident of their military prowess or were these outfits historically inaccurate? I'm guessing the latter. But no matter. It doesn't hurt that the teeth baring, apple chomping King Leondies played by a very unGrecian actor sporting a Welsh? Scottish? accent swaggered into the role with arrogance befitting a king. The soundtrack was also evocative. Orchestral with fantastic Middle Eastern tracks and the obligatory heavy metal guitar during the battle scenes.

In all, a totally fun time, despite the headcount and blood loss. Gather your girl friends, serve pita pockets, hummus, red wine and savor this homage to the strength and violence that is manhood.

In Defense of Arranged Marriages

Having been raised a fundamentally Christian Indian, the dating scene was basically jinxed for me. As an Indian girl I wasn't allowed to 'date'. As a Seventh Day Adventist, I wasn't allow to have pre-marital sex. What chick was worse off than me? So understandably when I came to the permissible dating age - 35 - I made quite a few mistakes due to the lack of chops. Which is why I will endorse the practice of arranged marriages. Now I don't mean arranged in the sense that my Mom heads off to India and scouts Andhra Pradesh for suitable husbands for her finicky daughter. Actually, if memory serves correctly I recall that my grandmother used to collect lists of marriageable men for my surveillance. It was quite touching, that is when I wasn't laughing my ass off. She was quite resourceful, my maternal grandma. Capturing the man's stats on the back of a glossy 8 1/2 x 11 color picture. One guy in particular I remember vividly. He was a dentist that lived in Switzerland who cherished cats and had a passion for Jayaprada, a popular Telugu actress. I don't recall his name but I do recall the glossy photo of him. A 30 something man (keep in mind, I was only 17. ewwwww) with a crest of black hair, big bucky teeth and, wait for it, a monstrously hairy chest. Wirey black hair sprang from under his long sleeved shirt, under his chin. Now this wasn't any old hairy chest, this guy would make a Yeti proud. This guy was a Brazilian bikini waxer's virgin dream! But unfortunately for the poor sot, not mine.

Although I passed on every single one of the hand selected men Grandma sent for my perusal, I now look back at that interval wistfully. Because they were guys she took time to hunt down, investigate and finely filter through her rigid criteria. Did he come from a good family? Was he educated? Did he hold a good job? What was his religious background? Did his community speak highly of him? What were his interests? What were his goals? All these inquiries factored into a single goal: Would he be a good husband for me.

Which is why I'm a proponent of utilizing dating services. These folks take on the duties of Moms and Grandmas, sifting through the streams of potential mates based on indepth questionnaires, compatibility criteria and age/income/location demographics. The questions they ask are akin to something a parent might want to know for their offspring. Like: What's the candidate's ability to resolve conflict?
It is important for him or her to take time to "smell the roses"? Not to mention specific interrogations as to sexual principles. Is chemistry important? If so, how much? This is a sticky point for as writer Regena Thomashauer suggests, there is no such thing as chemistry. There is only desire and dedication know your partner and learn what pleases them most.

More likely than not, the couples who unite using these dating services are so thrilled at finding a compatible partner that they worry not one whit whether 'chemistry' exists. They create it. Take for example my friend Julie who met her beau through one such service. She's been so happy since she met her jet-setting guy that she can barely contain her joy. To extend her happiness she tries her hand at setting me up using her own psychic algorhithms, which I'm sure go something like: Does he like to eat great food? Can he keep up with Rekha's energy level? Does he like wiggley puppies? I just wonder if she throws in glossy pix like my Grandmother did.

Thank God it's August

Don't know about you but July was a brutal month. Found out my finance might be deported. Had to postpone our wedding. My car was stolen. Lost a good chunk of change to an ex-friend. My mother was diagnosed advanced with rheumatoid arthritis of the lungs. Experienced the crazy energy of 7/7/07. Experienced the transcendant but disturbing energy from Fire the Grid on 7/17. Did I mention having to postpone my wedding?

Come August and yes, hotter days, but hopefully calmer energy. Good news for those Sagittarians out there. Jupiter goes direct after 4 months of retrograde action. Venus has been retrograde in Virgo of all places, Ick! But goes direct on the 8th so all those misunderstandings between you and your beloved should begin to iron themselves out. Expect a lunar eclipse on the 28th to highlight any emotional issues on your radar. And everyone, can we have a little less drama?

Another Hawk Tale

A colleague of mine, Erin told me this hawk story in the midst of a chaotic, heart-wrenching week.

His bride of 2 weeks called Erin at work, informing him that a baby hawk had crash landed in their backyard. The little guy (dubbed Beaky) lay on his back, fluttering but unable to right itself. He messed about during the day until Erin returned home from work. Worrying about predators, Erin gently righted the fledgling and allowed it perch on his arm. Now Erin is a guy with a penchant for winged creatures, you might call them his totem. So the companionship of a wee hawk destined to be a magnificent creature with a wingspan exceeding 6 feet thrilled him to his toes. In his droll manner Erin described it this way: It exceeded expectations for my day.

Despite the bonding and mutual admiration between hawk and man, the little guy was still unable to take flight. Summoned were the ASPCA people who arrived to inspect his physical state - bones, pinions, feathers and make sure he was hydrated and fed. They plan to release him in the same location tomorrow. Hopefully Mama or Daddy Hawk will spot him and assist in his ascent back to the nest.

If I hear more, I'll let you know.

SAJA News

As a South Asian (the politically correct way to call an Indian in America) I'm always seeking organizations with like-minded/colored participants. 7 years ago I came across SAJA, the South Asian Journalist Association while browsing the Columbia University Graduate Writing Program. I had the opportunity to speak with the founder of SAJA - Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of students & Professor in addition to being a Tech Reporter for WNBC. Not only has he established one of the most powerful forums for South Asian Journalists, he happens to be a remarkably gifted networker.

One of the forums Saja has created is the Saja annual convention. This year conducted July 12 - 15 on the campuses of Columbia and CUNY. Keynote speakers were Bill Keller, Martin Bashir (infamous Michael Jackson interview), Rena Golden - CNN International. I had the chance to join a seminar wtih Bruce DaSilva, award-winning writing coach for AP, in which Mr. DaSilva reinforced my favorite dictum: it doesn't matter what you write it's how you write it. Best of all for you Heroes fans was the guest appearance of Sendhil Ramamurthy, otherwise known as the dishy Dr. Mohinder Suresh.

Other resources of note include blogs such as UltraBrown with homages to Apu of the Simpsons and UberDesi.

Simpsons Mania

Good news for fans of the Simpsons. Lots of treats coming your way in anticipation of the Simpsons movie, debuting July 27 this month. We always knew the writers of the show were brilliant but who knew they had such advertising chutzpah? To celebrate (and largely advertise the movie) the publicity team had an artist create the granddaddy of all tributes to Homer Simpson, right next to the pagan, time honored Cerne Abbas Giant.

ABC News reports.

"The Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk outline of an aroused, club-wielding man dating to at least the 17th century, is a revered symbol of fertility among pagans. It is Britain's largest chalk drawing, carved into the natural chalk rock beneath the turf. Its new neighbor is Homer Simpson, proudly wielding a doughnut and clad more modestly in an enormous pair of Y-front briefs in the adjacent lush, green field.

While keeping with the Simpson's cheeky shenanigans, other publicity efforts include the tranformation of 7-11s into the fictional Kwik eMarts of the show. I've had the opportunity to witness one such one in New York City on 42nd Street and between 8th & 9th Avenue. Wanna visit one yourself? Have a look at the locations. Rumor has it that the owners of the 7-11s, who are largely of South Asian descent are working closely with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, owner of the show's Kwik eMart and voiced by Hank Azaria.

But wait, it gets even better. On Wednesday night, the Daily Show proudly featured Matt Groening, Simpson's creator. To say Jon Stewart was excited is an understatement. You might say he giggled like a little girl. Catch the interview.