Adios Michael Jackson - The Pop Connoisseur

The pop connoisseur Michael Jackson's life was pulled to a tragic end on June 27, 2009. The world stood still when the king of pop Michael Jackson succumbed to a Cardiac Arrest. The death of Michael Jackson has left an air of mystery. The pop kings death came as a bolt from the blue to the rock-ribbed fans of Michael Jackson who were all set to enjoy Michael Jackson's live concert at London.

I am not a pop freak, yet I have a special liking for Michael Jackson. The reason for this is not just this music, but the fact that Michael Jackson was in one way part of my childhood memories. It was this pop king whom I tried to imitate in the very first fancy dress competition of my life! :) But today as I write this post on Michael Jackson's untimely death, I feel a rush of blood into my brain, a sort of hysteria taking over me. The fact that I am finding hard to digest is that Michael Jackson was a terribly unhappy man. But why? Why do the life of all celebrities end up on a tragic note? Why is a celebrities joy as short lived as a bubble? Why cant celebrities live happily ever after? I can now find the names of several celebrities rolling down my memory. The most striking celebrity fiasco was that of Heath Ledger, who was found dead in his room. Heath Ledger had committed suicide at a point when he was at the peak of his career. But why? All these "Why's" point to one single reason "Stress and depression". The celebrities get overwhelmed by their success that they find hard to cope up with the fame and success that comes to their side. At some point when they feel that they can no longer perform with the same zing start feeling the pinch of stress. They start pushing themselves to maintain their success story. Alas! They don't understand that success truly is short lived. In Hollywood and music, one day you are on top of the world and the other day you are just another old star. This was exactly what had happened to Michael Jackson.The celebrities always have theie own share of controversies that keep their press image healthy. But sometimes controversies also add up to the stress of celebrities. Michael Jackson had a series of controversies coming along his way. Finally Michael Jackson was found penniless,after he had paid all the sue amounts to get rid of the legal contoversies that we was pulled into. So, what happened to cause Michael’s sudden unexpected death? Since the autopsy was inconclusive, I think it’s reasonable to assume his death was drug-related, especially since police impounded his doctor’s car in the belief it may contain evidence, and especially since the Jackson family attorney says that he warned about that very possibility long ago. I personally suspected that his death was drug-related when the news first broke that he had suffered cardiac arrest, since a cardiac arrest and a heart attack are two different things, and since he was only 50 years old. What I find extremely unusual about this situation is that a physician was actually there with him, so a lethal drug overdose should not have even been a possibility. I therefore look forward to more news on that front.

I very much feel for Michael’s three children, who have lived an incredibly sheltered (and more than a little strange) life as a result of their father’s eccentricities and his fame, as well as his infamy. This is going to be terribly difficult for them, as they adjust to an entirely new life without their only parent. At the same time, they will be embraced by the world now, in a way they would never have experienced when their father was alive. I attribute that to what I call “Sins Of The Father Syndrome”, and it is, quite sadly, a phenomenon which is not unusual even among those who are neither wealthy nor famous. It’s just too bad that no one was willing to forgive Michael Jackson of his perceived sins when he was still here to enjoy that himself.

Rest in peace, Michael. I sincerely hope you have finally found the peace you were never able to find in this world.

Phoenix - The Mythical Inspiration

The word Phoenix is my favourite word in English. This is all because of the one poem on Phoenix that I had read in my Childhood. The poem had such a deep influence that I started relating it to most of the events in my life. The word Phoenix refers to a Mythological bird. It is said that the eternal Lnd of mystery, Egypt is the source of the Phoenix mystery too. Still contrary to the various other mysteries in the world, that have their root only in one part of the world, the Phoenix bird has cittaions in several different Mythologies. In the present day world, The Phoenix symbolizes rebirth, especially of the sun, and has variants in European, Central American, Egyptian and Asian cultures.

The ancient Egyptians linked the myth of the phoenix with the longings for immortality that were so strong in their civilization, and from there its symbolism spread around the Mediterranean world of late antiquity. The Bennu bird was usually depicted as a heron and this is the bird that gave way to Phoenix in the Egyptian Mythology. Archaeologists have found the remains of a much larger heron that lived in the Persian Gulf area 5,000 years ago.

The Bennu was associated with the sun and represented the ba or soul of the sun god, Re. In the Late Period, the hieroglyph of the bird was used to represent this deity directly. As a symbol of the rising and setting sun, the Benu was also the lord of the royal jubilee.

This Egyptian phoenix was also associated with the inundation of the Nile and of the creation. At the close of the first century Clement of Rome became the first Christian to interpret the myth of the phoenix as an allegory of the resurrection and of life after death. The phoenix was also compared to undying Rome, and it appears on the coinage of the late Roman Empire as a symbol of the Eternal City.

In addition to this Egyptian mythology on Phoenix, there are citations of Phoenix in Chinese, Arabic and Japanese Mythologies too. The Arabian phoenix was a fabulous mythical bird, said to be as large as an eagle, with brilliant scarlet and gold plumage and a melodious cry. It was said that only one phoenix existed at any one time, and it is very long-lived with a life span of 500 years, 540 years, 1000 years, 1461 years or even 12,994 years (according to various accounts). As the end of its life approached, the phoenix would build a pyre nest of aromatic branches and spices such as myrrh, sets it on fire, and is consumed in the flames. After three days the birth or as some legends say a rebirth, the phoenix arises from the ashes.

In Chinese mythology, the phoenix is the symbol of high virtue and grace, of power and prosperity. It represents the union of yin and yang. It was thought to be a gentle creature, alighting so gently that it crushed nothing, and eating only dewdrops. It is also quoted in the renowned Feng Shui book - "A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration." - The Feng Shui Handbook.

The Ho-Oo is the Japanese phoenix, the Ho being the male bird and the Oo being the female. The Hou-Ou greatly resembles the Chinese Phoenix the Feng-Huang in looks. The Ho-Oo is often depicted as nesting in a paulownia tree and was thought to only appear at the birth of a virtuous ruler and was said to mark a new era by descending from the heavens to do good deeds for people only to return to its celestial abode to await a new era. The Ho-Oo has been adopted as a symbol of the royal family, particularly the empress.

Amidst all these mythological notes on Phoenix, there is also a poem on Phoenix written by H.C. Andersen. This is a very famous poem and has a magical quality. The poet has used a wonderful Metaphor style that relates the secret of life, the origin of life and the mystery of phoenix. All mysteries are intertwined in the poem to create a mystical truth and revelation. Here i would like to quote some excerpts from this awe inspiring poem.

In the Garden of Paradise, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, bloomed a rose bush. Here, in the first rose, a bird was born. His flight was like the flashing of light, his plumage was beauteous, and his song ravishing. But when Eve plucked the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when she and Adam were driven from Paradise, there fell from the flaming sword of the cherub a spark into the nest of the bird, which blazed up forthwith...

This poem is a must read and deserves a careful study. It has very well portrayed the relationships between Mythology and the origin of life. Finally, it is the rare qaulity about Phoenix that it burns to ashes and again reform from its own ashes to live anew, that has allured me so much. The myth of Phoenix has given me an inspiration that no matter what failure we come across, no matter how exhausted we get in our endeavour, if we are determined, then even the most fatal destruction can be overcome. We can surely succeed from the ashes of our failures!

Willy The Wizrard - Willy or Harry?

Willy The Wizrard is a children's fantasy book penned down by Adrian Jacobs. This book had been a hot favorite among young readers in 1987, which was when the book was first launched. This book is about a kid who ventures into magic and wizardry and ends up as a master wizard.

The story is a pure fantasy and all rosy with seemless scope for imagination. The story revolves around magic land and wizardry schools. Sounds similar? Having a dejavu? Do you feel you have read a similar story? Dont worry, its how I too felt. This feeling among the readers is costing hard for the Fictional Wizard "J.K.Rowling".

Recently Allegations have popped up that author J.K. Rowling copied "substantial parts" of a book by another children's author when she wrote "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The Book referenced to as other book is "Willy The Wizrard". These allegations included that the plot of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire copied elements of the plot of Willy the Wizard, including a wizard contest, and that the Potter series borrowed the idea of wizards traveling on trains.
Both Willy and Harry are required to work out the exact nature of the main task of the contest which they both achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers, in order to discover how to rescue human hostages imprisoned by a community of half-human, half-animal fantasy creatures. It is alleged that all of these are concepts first created by Adrian Jacobs in Willy the Wizard, some 10 years before J.K. Rowling first published any of the Harry Potter novels and 13 years before Goblet of Fire was published.

However, the reading population has had a very great time reading both these stories. Still the pathetic part is that while J.KRowling's series is fetching millions, Author Adrian Jacobs whose stories had a striking resemblance to the current day Harry Porter series died "penniless" in a London hospice in 1997. Still the allegations are under scrutinization. Lets hope that the allegatations prove to be false so that our love for Harry Porter will stay untouched forever.

Father's Day 2009

Heyya are you all preparing to surprise your father on Father's Day this year? Then I am one of you too :). Father's Day is a day honoring fathers, celebrated on the third Sunday of June in the United States and on various other days in many places around the world. It complements Mother's Day, the celebration honoring mothers.

Father's Day has its roots in a Celebration organised in the 20th Century so as to complement Mothers's Day. This Celebration was organised so as to celebrate fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities.

Nowadays celebrations have become common place for all festivals. None of the festival is left uncelebrated. Making use of this practice are the gift and card producers. So for fathers day too, shops have come up with a whole lot of concessions and offers on their services so as to impress one's loved dad. Among the various services on offer for this special occasion are "A Dad and Son combo meal at half rate" and many more. :). Sounds alluring! Still the point is the commercialization of down to earth celebrations. Gone are those days when one used to prepare a card or a bouquet all on their own with specially collected flowers for their loved ones. These days one prefers ready made cards and bouquets available at stores, that can be bought in a jiffy. Still the existence of such celebrations lets one rejoice the joy of Father child relationships and express the unconditional love, that forms the basis for all relationships.

Deja vu

Have you ever felt that the things that are happening around you have happened before? Have you felt that the situation you are in now has been faced by you before? Then it means that you have experienced Deja vu. Recently when I was watching Barack Obama's mesmerizing speech at Cairo, I experienced Deja vu. It was then that I decided to digg more into Deja vu and here I would like to share whatever I have realised about Deja vu.

Deja vu is a French word that means "already seen". It is also called paramnesia, which in turn has been derived from Greek word "para," meaning "near" and "mnēmē" meaning "memory". Deja vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously (an individual feels as though an event has already happened or has happened in the near past), although the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain.

The term was coined by a French psychic researcher, Émile Boirac (1851–1917) in his book "L'Avenir des sciences psychiques" ("The Future of Psychic Sciences"), which expanded upon an essay he wrote while an undergraduate. The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity, and also a sense of "eeriness," "strangeness," or "weirdness." The "previous" experience is most frequently attributed to a dream, although in some cases there is a firm sense that the experience "genuinely happened" in the past.

Scientifically theories state that the most likely explanation of déjà vu is not that it is an act of "precognition" or "prophecy," but rather that it is an anomaly of memory giving the impression that an experience is "being recalled." This explanation is substantiated by the fact that the sense of "recollection" at the time is strong in most cases, but that the circumstances of the "previous" experience (when, where, and how the earlier experience occurred) are quite uncertain. Likewise, as time passes, subjects can exhibit a strong recollection of having the "unsettling" experience of déjà vu itself, but little or no recollection of the specifics of the event or circumstance they were "remembering" when they had the déjà vu experience.

In particular, this may result from an overlap between the neurological systems responsible for short-term memory (events which are perceived as being in the present) and those responsible for long-term memory (events which are perceived as being in the past). The events would be stored into memory before the conscious part of the brain even receives the information and processes it.

On the other hand there are people who have a whole new perception about Deja vu being related to vision. As the theory suggests, one eye may record what is seen fractionally faster than the other, creating that "strong recollection" sensation upon the "same" scene being viewed milliseconds later by the opposite eye. However, this one fails to explain the phenomenon when other sensory inputs are involved, such as the auditive part, and especially the digital part. If one, for instance, experiences déjà vu of someone slapping the fingers on his left hand, then the déjà vu feeling is certainly not due to his right hand experiencing the same sensation later than his left hand considering that his right hand would never receive the same sensory input. Also, persons with only one eye still report experiencing déjà vu or déjà vécu (a rare disorder of memory, similar to persistent déjà vu).

Coming up with a whole new idea are people who believe déjà vu is the memory of dreams. Though the majority of dreams are never remembered, a dreaming person can display activity in the areas of the brain that process long-term memory. It has been speculated that dreams read directly into long-term memory, bypassing short-term memory entirely. In this case, déjà vu might be a memory of a forgotten dream with elements in common with the current waking experience. This may be similar to another phenomenon known as déjà rêvé, or "already dreamed." However, later studies on mice indicate that long-term memories must be first established as short-term memories.

And now if you are a person who beleives in rebirth then you may be allured to know that some scientists have also related Deja vu to reincarnation. Those believing in reincarnation theorize that déjà vu is caused by fragments of past-life memories being jarred to the surface of the mind by familiar surroundings or people. Others theorize that the phenomenon is caused by astral projection, or out-of-body experiences (OBEs), where it is possible that individuals have visited places while in their astral bodies during sleep. The sensation may also be interpreted as connected to the fulfillment of a condition as seen or felt in a premonition.

Despite the existance of numerous theories and viewpoints on Deja vu, there has not yet been a clear cut idea on Deja vu. Research on Deja vu is not a cakewalk since, creating the feel of Deja vu under laboratory conditions is next to impossible. Still there are vigorous researches being conducted on this mystfying phenomena of the mystic brain. As of now Deja vu is yet annother addition to the list of mysteries in this perplexing, mysterious Universe.

WInd Chimes - Winds Of Melody

Have you ever heard those melodious rumblings from Wind Chimes ? If not then I'll let you know how it feels. The Wind Chimes generate the softest and the sweetest music in the simplest manner, just by rumbling in through soft and heavy winds. The sound of Wind Chimes brings up a special joy and pep into me. Wind chimes are universally thought to bring good luck and are highly valued in Feng Shui as well. The pleasant tinkling sounds of a wind chime are always soothing to the ears.

Let me now tell you, what a Wind Chime actually is. Wind chimes are chimes constructed from suspended tubes, rods or other objects and are often made of metal or wood. Wind chimes are usually hung outside of a building or house and are intended to be played by the wind. Sound can be produced when the tubes or rods come in contact with a suspended central clapper, in the form of a ball or horizontal disk, or each other. Wind chimes may be used to observe changes in wind direction, depending on where they are hung.

There are several kinds of Wind Chimes available in the market these days. Ranging from luxurious Wind Chimes made of Crystals, Platinum to the down to earth simpleton Wind Chimes made of thin metals.

The wind chimes have their origins in Indian wind bells. By the second century CE, these wind bells were being hung on the corners of large pagodas with the purpose of scaring away birds and evil spirits. Later, wind bells were introduced to China and were also hung in temples, palaces and homes. Japanese glass wind bells known as "Fūrin" have been produced since the Edo period. Wind chimes are thought to be good luck in parts of Asia and are used in Feng Shui. Now, SInce many countries hae started taking up the Feng Shui pronciples in constructing homes, Wind Chimes are now used widely in several homes.
If you are wondering how these pieces of pipes could produce such mesmerizing melody, then let me tell you that a lot of scientific work has gone into the construction of WInd Chimes. Chimes produce inharmonic (as opposed to harmonic) spectra, although if they are hung at about 1/5th of their length (22.4%), the higher partials are dampened and the fundamental is brought out. This is common practice in high-quality wind chimes, which are also usually hung so the center ball strikes the center of the wind chime's length. Frequency is determined by the length, width, thickness, and material. There are formulas that help predict the proper length to achieve a particular note, though a bit of fine tuning is often needed. Huh! These simpl looking WInd Chimes do have a complex background.

So, next time when you go out shopping for some home decor, dont miss out the pleasing WInd Chimes. Hang in a Wind Chime and feel the joy of the melodious music with every gust of wind. :)

The Pink Sweet Strawberry Festival

I have heard about many festivals, but it was today that I read about the "Strawberry Festival". The name itself brought up a riot of imaginations in my mind and I was hungry to know more about this sweet named festival that brought up all pink sweet thoughts.

The Strawberry festival is an annual event conducted by the members of the Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis. For 44 years, members of the Christ Church Cathedral have been putting on the festival to raise funds for local and national mission work and outreach from the Indianapolis area all the way to Nigeria.

The Strawberry Festival aims at serving the hungry souls in Nigeria and similar areas with food supply. The people in the adjoining areas are invited to participate in the festival and enjoy the strawberry delicacies like fresh sweet strawberries, shortcake, ice cream and whipped toppings. In return, the people have to get some canned food that can be sent out to make ends meet in Nigeria. This festival has been fetching food supply for the Nigerians since the past 44 years.

On a whole the sweet toothed Strawberry Festival is a breakthrough charity method. People are allured by the sweet strawberries and are voluntarily pulled into donating canned food. :) Collecting canned goods isn't a solution to the hunger problem, but it is a start. "The real solution to hunger is jobs and ending poverty," Altmeyer, the founder of Gleaner's food bank, Indianapolis said. "However, with one in ten people unemployed in central Indiana and over 80,000 children living in poverty, we have to do something in the interim." However, this festival is a small initiative to clean up hunger and poverty. Many such charity events need to be organised on human grounds so as to eradicate hunger all over the world. I hope this festival provides an inspiration to all the people out there and inspires them to indulge in charity for a good cause. Its only through the joint effort that all the anomalies in this world can be corrected. So lets all do our bit for the world and indulge in charity.

Adieu Rajeev Motwani - The Page Rank Man

Rajeev Motwani, a man of spirits and inventions, is a milestone in the history of computers and Internet. The Silicon Valley is still trying to come to grips with the loss of the "Silicon Valley Giant" Rajeev Motwani. By profession Rajeev Motwani was a professor at the Stanford University. Rajeev Motwani's research focused on theoretical computer science. He is well known as the "Google Mentor". Rajeev Motwani was an early advisor and supporter of gigantic etablishments like Google and PayPal, and a special advisor to Sequoia Capital.

The Google mentor, Rajeev Motwani was born and brought up in the paradise on earth "Jammu". Later he had his B.Tech in Computer Science from the posthumous IIT Kharagpur. Adding to his list of merits was a Ph.D from U.C. Berkeley. It was then that Rajeev Motwani's flair for computers started gaining global attention.

As a child, inspired by luminaries like Gauss, Rajeev Motwani wanted to become a mathematician. Then Rajeev was allured by Algorithms, Computations, Discrete Mathematics and Databases. His vast knowledge in Computing and algorithms helped the world gain one of the foundations of Interenet - "The Page Rank". PageRank is a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page, used by the Google Internet search engine that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references.

The name "PageRank" is a trademark of Google, and the PageRank process has been patented (U.S. Patent 6,285,999). However, the patent is assigned to Stanford University and not to Google. Google has exclusive license rights on the patent from Stanford University. The university received 1.8 million shares of Google in exchange for use of the patent; the shares were sold in 2005 for $336 million. Rajeev Motwani was one of the key brains among the network of brains who came up with Page Rank Algorithm.

But alas, the person whose brains power the Google Search is no more. Rajeev Motwani was found dead in his pool in the backyard in his Atherton home on June 5, 2009, after apparently falling in, but the cause of death is not certain. He could not swim, but was planning on taking lessons, according to his friends. Still Rajeev Motwani's contributions to the world will be remembered forever. With his algorithms and developments Rajeev Motwani has made a mark in the Computing World. So lets all feel grateful to this pious man whose brain powers the Google Search and wish that his soul rests in peace.

Tetris Anniversary

Lets all wish the evergreen game tetris, a very happy birthday! Today, June 6, 2009 is the 25th anniversary of the simple yet entertaining game Tetris. The word "Tetris" has its roots in the Greek numerical prefix "tetra" which means "four". Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov. It was created on June 6, 1984,while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow.The name Tetris was derived from the Greek numerical prefix "tetra" and that is why all of the game's pieces, known as Tetrominoes, contain four segments. It is also believed that Alexey Pajitnov's fondness for tennis, fetched the neame "Tetris" for the game designed by him.
Tetris is one of the simplest game that the world has ever seen. Eventhough the game is simple, it has the rare ability to keep players glued to it. It was a revolutionary game in its early days. But in the present day hi fi world where gaming has jumped to several high technology levels like motion controlled games, Tetris has still managed to have a mark. It is still a basic accesory game in mobile phones and is widely available as a built in game in most consoles.
Tetris is a simple puzzle video game where you move blocks around (called tetrominoes) to create horizontal lines of blocks to eliminate rows and gain points. The game gets tedious with the various levels. One has to eliminate blocks faster and faster so as to proceed to the next level. Finally if the player fails to eleiminate blocks for a long time and ends up with a pile of blocks filling the gaming window, then the player faces a "Game Over".

While versions of Tetris were sold for a range of 1980s home computer platforms, it was the hugely successful handheld version for the Game Boy launched in 1989 that established the reputation of the game as one of the most popular ever. Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100th issue had Tetris in first place as "Greatest Game of All Time". In 2007, Tetris came in second place in Gaming Giant Site, IGN's "100 Greatest Video Games of All Time".It has sold more than 70m copies.

The long history of Tetris resulted in a Guinness World Record awarding the franchise nine world records in the Gamer's Edition. These records include, "Most Ported Video Game", "Game With the Most Official and Unofficial Variants", and "Longest Prison Sentence for Playing a Video Game", which is held by Faiz Chopdat, who was jailed for four months for playing Tetris on his cell phone while on a flight to Manchester, England. He refused to stop playing after being repeatedly warned by the cabin staff. This incident is a testimony to the addictiveness of this tiny game. So today lets all wish a very "hApPy BiRthDaY" to the lovely Tetris. :) Even Google celebrated Tennis anniversary by setting out the google logo in the form of a collection of tetris blocks!

Obama's Hieroglyphic Tale

Barack Obama, the 44th and the current President of the United States is all set to create new milestones in the history of America. America has always been held up as an enemy of Muslim countries. There has long been an air of hostility between USA and Muslim nations all over the world. But Barack Obama's recent visit to Egypt has tumbled up all the opinions on USA's outlook on Muslim nations.

First of all Barack Obama sent out ripples of fraternity to the Muslim community through his wooing speech at the Cairo University. Barack Obama flattered the masses with his opening words "Asalam-u-Alaikum". There were whoops and roars as Barack Obama continued his speech with this captivating air of confidence.

Obama's speech was watched keenly by all Muslim citizens. It is reported that people in Muslim countries stayed glued to their Television sets while Obama's speech at Cairo University was aired. The aftermath of the speech was astounding. Newspapers and television cheannels flooded with reports on Obama's approach towards Muslim Nations and responses from Muslim citizens on America's all new amiable attitude.In his speech, the U.S. president had numerous messages for several countries and several sides. And he criticized the Iraq war. The U.S. president reiterated the need for the creation of a Palestinian state and negotiations with Iran. Amidst all these, the heart of Obama's speech was his constant references to the citations from Quran. No matter whether Obama was talking about war, society or woman welfare, the citations of moral sayings from Quran added life and zing to his speech, leaving the audience spell bound and content.
Amidst all these, Obama's comments on Hieroglyphics has sent out ripples all over Egypt. When visiting a pyramid after his speech in Cairo, Obama saw a hieroglyphic which caught his eye. He described it as mans face with big ears and declared that it looked like him. This comment has seen lot of liking from the Egyptians who seem to have got a feel that Obama is trying to be just one of them. So is Obama's visit to Egypt a new beginning in US - Muslim nation history. The Muslim community has given mixed reactions to Obama's thoughts. So will the world see an air of peace and fraternity between US - Muslim Nations soon? Nevertheless, that is what I hope and believe that majority of the people believe so too!

Mystic Prophecies Of Nostradamus

I was in school, when I first heard about Nostradamus. Since then I have had a wild interest in Nostradamus and his mystical predictions. I heard about Nostradamus at an age when a child sees mystery in everything and has a mind that is hungry for resolving mysteries. Having been allured by Nostradamus's predictions, I had developed great liking for all his works. It was then that I realized that the predictions of Nostradamus were in the form of cryptic poems that were hard to decipher. This revelation had yet another impact on my life :), arousing in me a great liking for poems with hidden meanings and made me a novice poet. So, now years later when I recall the ways in which the mystic predictions of Nostradamus has affected my life, I would like to share all my exploratory results on Nostradamus.
Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and a reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties ("The Prophecies"), the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted an enthusiastic following that, along with the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events.

Talking about the Literary works of Nostradamus, his poetic yet cryptic quatrains are claimed by some to conceal information about future events. He completed a total of 942 quatrains which he organized into Centuries - groups of 100 quatrains (one Century only had 42 quatrains). There were certain portions in his text that were interpreted to indicate that India will be a super power in the 21st Century, that the world would be destroyed by the end of 21st century and many more such shocking claims. It was all these prophecies that gave way for my hunt into Nostradamus's prophecies.

The most shocking prophecy of Nostradamus was his predictions on the 911 Attack. In the heightened days following September 11, 2001 there were a lot of reports that Nostradamus had predicted the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York!

You may have even read about the quatrain below:

In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two brothers torn apart by Chaos, while the fortress endures,
the great leader will succumb,
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning.

First off, let's say straight out that this was not written by Nostradamus at all. Yes it superficially resembles his style, but there is no such quatrain and he didn't write it. In fact, some sites that reference this verse state it was written in 1654 which would be an impressive feat for someone who died nearly 100 years before! This is deciphered to mean "In the city of gods, two brothers will be torn apart and a whole city will be burning, giving way to third war". When all is considered we are left with is a verse which is so ambiguous on every line that you could with little effort match it to many different possibilities.

So who wrote this quatrain and what was their point? This quatrain was actually created by a student called Neil Marshall in an article called "A Critical Analysis of Nostradamus". His point in writing the above was to highlight that some Nostradamus quatrains are so vague as to be open to any interpretation after the fact.

The truth is that this was a hysteria created to boost up the sales of Nostradamus books following the 9/11 attack.

But still there are several other mystical poems by Nostradamus that have come true. Nostradamus is said to have predicted his own death. When his assistant wished him goodnight on July 1, 1566, Nostradamus reputedly pronounced, "You will not find me alive at sunrise." He was found dead on July 2, 1566. Ans oh What a coincidence, I am posting this entry on June 1, exactly one day before June 2, the day on which Nostradamus passed away. So, after a cursory glance on the prophecies of Nostradamus, if one likes to read his text in detail and try deciphering its meaning, then one can find the whole text at http://www.sacred-texts.com/nos/index.htm.