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In a favorable review of Badger Mountain Riesling wine, Winelibrary.com said, “The sweet succulent aromas of bosc pears are woven with lilacs and just a hint of petrol.” Meanwhile, Allure magazine named Sécrétions Magnifique as one of the top five sexiest perfumes in the world, even though its fragrance is like “floral bilge.” Petrol? Bilge? […]

The baseball game was over. TV announcer Mike Krukow was describing the “ugly victory” that the San Francisco Giants had just achieved. The team’s efforts were sloppy and chaotic, he said, and yet the win counted just as much as a more elegant triumph. He ended with a flourish: “No one wants to hear about […]

Here’s the really good news: CIA director Leon Panetta says there are fewer than 100 Al-Qaeda combatants in Afghanistan. Here’s the utterly confusing news: The U.S has over 94,000 highly trained human beings in Afghanistan whose express purpose is to destroy Al-Qaeda. I bring this up as a prod to get you to question your […]

The liberation movement kindled in the 1960s wasn’t all fun and games. It ushered in expansive new ways of thinking about gender, race, sexuality, spirituality, music, and consciousness itself, but it was fueled by anger as well as by the longing for pleasure and meaning and transcendence. A key focus of the rage was opposition […]

The Italian word terribilità was originally used by art critics to describe the sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo. According to various dictionaries, it refers to “a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur,” “the sublime mixed with amazement,” or “an astonishing creation that provokes reverent humility.”  In my astrological opinion, terribilità is a prerequisite for the next chapter […]

I like the way you’ve been contradicting yourself, Taurus. I appreciate your ability to be inconsistent, paradoxical, and upside-down. It has allowed you to wriggle free of the rut you had been stuck in. You’ve stirred the affections of people who had been frustrated about your narrow focus. Yes, it’s true that you have also […]

We’re all in ‘sales,’ selling our personalities, our accomplishments, our charms. That’s a quote from Richard Grossinger’s new book 2013. I share his view of human nature. Is there any interaction between people that doesn’t involve a bit of hustling? The subtext of every encounter includes at least one of the following: 1. “I want […]

In the next few weeks, the odds are higher than usual that you’ll inherit an amusement park or a tropical island or a profitable pig farm. There’s also a slight chance that you will win a Dutch lottery, find a diamond ring on the sidewalk, or be picked to star in a new reality TV […]

Have you added some bulk and stability to your foundation any time recently, Aries? Have you grown your roots deeper and asked for more from your traditional sources and recommitted yourself to your primal vows? I hope so, because this is a perfect time, astrologically speaking, to strengthen your link to everything that sustains you. […]

So it turns out that the “blemish” is actually essential to the beauty. The “deviation” is at the core of the strength. The “wrong turn” was crucial to you getting you back on the path with heart. I have rarely seen a better example of happy accidents, Capricorn. You may not realize it quite yet […]