I want a William and Kate souvenir toothpick, please. I received an email a while ago asking me to look at the chart of Catherine Middleton, who is to marry the heir to the British throne, Prince William, in April. Well, her birthday’s on the 9th of January, so why not look at it today [...]

A priestess of the goddess Vesta, “tutelary deity” to Capricorn.Here imagined by 19th century painter  Lord Leighton. Capricorns is a dull sign, ruled by that old curmudgeon Saturn – right? It’s all about status and work and dads and being sensible bla bla bla. [...]

  Captain Beefheart (far right) and the long-suffering Magic Band, back in 1969. A creative visionary died this week. Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) (born January 15, 1941 at 4.25pm) was a legendary avant-garde musician and performer and a damn fine painter. In both his chosen [...]

Steel Orchid. She stands, tiny and fragile behind the iron fence, then graciously she accepts the gift of a flower and puts it in her hair. The people of Burma are cursed to have such terrible governance, but blessed with such a leader. Aung San Suu Kyi is indomitable, indefatigable, brave, [...]