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One of the greatest landslide victories in any election for U.S. President was Ronald Reagan’s in 1984. He got 54 million votes, 17 million more than his opponent. On the other hand, Reagan’s total was only 31 percent of all the Americans who were eligible to vote. So his “landslide” consisted of fewer than one […]

Last June, Neculai Ivascu was re-elected mayor of Voinesti, a Romanian town he had led for almost two decades. The only problem was, he was dead. “I know he died,” said one of the villagers who voted to return him to office, “but I don’t want change.” I hope you won’t go that far in […]

If you’re average, you blink about 17,000 times a day. But I’m urging you to reduce that number for the foreseeable future. Why? Because the coming days will put you in the path of meaningful, interesting, and useful sights that will be fast-paced and transitory. You might miss them if you blink too much. So […]

A Serbian beekeeper shares his deep religious fervor with the insects he spends so much time with. Slobodan Jeftic builds beehives shaped like churches because he believes bees have souls, too. I urge you to draw inspiration from his example, Taurus. Get together with your favorite animals for a rowdy prayer session. Bark or purr […]

“Never keep up with the Joneses,” counseled author Quentin Crisp. “Drag them down to your level. It’s cheaper.” But I don’t recommend that approach, Aquarius. To do so would be as big a waste of your energy as trying to match the consumerist folly of the Joneses. The same holds true about any situation in […]

Do you have a negative opinion of clouds? Are you inclined to regard them as symbols of gloom or malaise, interruptions in what you wish would always be clear blue sky? If so, I’ll ask you to revise your view. Consider the fact that in Chinese mythology, there are xiangyun, or “lucky clouds” that are […]

Long-time conservative writer Christopher Buckley, son of rightwing icon William F. Buckley, voted for Obama. Though he was once a speech-writer for John McCain, a man he admired, Buckley was aghast at how the presidential campaign unfolded. “I didn’t leave the Republican Party,” he said. “The Republican Party left me.” I urge you to be […]

It’s a ripe time to work on fixing any neurosis that chronically disrupts your economic karma. Can you afford sessions with a psychotherapist who’ll help you improve your relationship with money? Just in case you can’t, I’ll offer two exercises that might propel you toward financial self-healing. Twice a day for five minutes, visualize yourself […]

You’ve been hiding a part of yourself from your conscious awareness. That’s why I’m going to ask you to take off the mask you wear when you’re alone with yourself. You might be surprised when you actually gaze upon your secret face. But I believe it will ultimately prove to be an intriguing breakthrough that […]

A year ago, I had a vision that your experiences in 2008 would boost your heart’s smarts — maybe not up to the same level as your head’s intelligence, but much closer than before. I predicted you’d have a growing ability to master your own moods and emotions, and speculated on how that would in […]