S: Is for Planetary Shifts

Do you feel sluggish? Are those around you emotionally distressed and off kilter? Are your relationships reinventing themselves? Does it feel like you are in the eye of a hurricane and there is something headed towards you and you are helplessly tired, overworked and emotionally drained? Don't worry, it is planetary. I know that sounds like some trite explanation but the truth is if you talk to your friends everyone feels this way. I personally am beyond tired. So I went to the net and also contacted friends to find the best psychic predictions for August and dates to watch: 6: Changes implemented are now producing results. The destruction that occurred in 2001 is now manifesting the new and progressive changes that are necessary to pave way for a better future. Business makes a positive turn. Productivity is on the rise. The Real Estate market begins to rise, demand will increase
12: New Moon, intense controlling power. This new Moon is opposed Neptune indicating hidden agendas that will reveal the root of control and manipulation globally.
14: Confrontation from those who do not accept the truth. Make sure you back up your arguments with facts
15: Mental clarity and concentration
18-21: Serious thought and concentration can be the discipline necessary to get the job done. Leaders will be troubled with possible threats and disagreements surmounting into civil wars.
25: Love and happiness seem glorious now, but later you make a rude awakening. Be realistic!
28: Be careful traveling, plans will not go smoothly. Unpredictable time. Air travel can be very dangerous. Many threats are directed to world leaders.
31: Loss of leaders or leadership, possible assassinations, loss of the ego, this can be a very spiritualizing energy August 2007: *9th / #19th / +26th These dates are when important global occurrences can occur.

Devastating earthquakes in the US/Asia in August 2007.

2007 will see a great division between people listening to their inner voice and those that don't.

The Dow Jones will go over 13,000 but this is being driven by only 30 companies that are merging and buying each other out. This is not a good thing for the economy, and it will precede a global collapse. August is a month that will seem to try your patience. You may be noticing those that are living their life by greed and selfishness. Just realize that those people are falling prey to their internal fear and inadequacies.

But also look to where you might be using others to get your own needs met.

August forces us to take a look how unresolved anger and fear is destructive to us all.

It is not easy to have true faith and to believe that all things are happening for our evolution, growth, and conscious awakening. August reminds us that it is time to find meaningful, constructive ways to use our talents. In pursuing the dream we can only succeed with the advice and cooperation of others. As the dream evolves, it is important to have a good, grounded, sense of self, personal identity and purpose that eventually leads to helping others.

Tremendous clarity is required for this stage of the game. The world stands on a knifes edge and small things can make a tremendous change when the balance is that delicately positioned.

Just think that if you stay awake, you are going to be the witness to shifts that have never happened before and you can be part of them should you choose. The world is so connected that we all have to work together. There is no other choice. Whether we agree or like each other is irrelevant. We are required to work together and learn to accept each other, with all our gifts and challenges. It is time to let go of the egoistic thoughts that, “I am better than you.” Or, “My way is right and you are wrong?” There is no place for this perception in the new emerging reality. We are being forced to open and see each other as having valid perceptions and perspectives. This is wonderful. The sooner you can open to this possibility the sooner movement can happen and the sooner the world will find a place of peace.

With this I wish you love, light and peace and that's a F.A.C.T.

T: Is for things to do

Summertime is a wonderful thing in NY as there is so much to do for free that is fun. My favorite one is Shakespeare in the Park. Starting AUGUST 7 - SEPTEMBER 9 at 8:00PM you can catch Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Spelling Bee) and Martha Plimpton (The Coast of Utopia) reenact Midsummer's Night Dream. For those of you who don't know the plot: Four lovers flee to forest, unaware that their romantic squabble and parental difficulties will soon be overshadowed by magic. The King and Queen of the Fairies, Titania and Oberon, are also fighting and Oberon cast a spell that has Titania falling in love with an ass. The course of true love has never run smooth. Talk about a perfect place to see this piece. You can pick up free Shakespeare tickets on the day of the performance beginning at 1pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or from 1 to 3pm at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 layfette. Get there early as they are sought after.

Are movies under the stars your thing? A bottle of vino, fresh bread, cheese, a blanket and of someone to cuddle with as a classic film plays. Hmmm! Talk about a romantic date that will leave your wallet in tact. In Bryant Park Monday nights here's what you can catch: August 6 – Bus Stop Marilyn Monroe plays a cynical singer who falls for a naive cowboy. August 13 – Casablanca, Sigh. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. August 21 – Psycho Hitchcock's classic thriller about a man with mother issues and a woman who takes a fateful shower. All films begin at dusk (usually between 8 pm and 9 pm), but the lawn opens at 5 pm for blankets and picnicking. Get there early and stake out a spot if you want a good view of the screen.

What about opera? The 2nd Annual Little Italy Soprano Vocal Competition is scheduled for August 11 and 12th. Talented vocalists from the metropolitan area at the intersection of Mulberry and Hester Streets will convene so that music can fill the air. Soprano Cristina Fontanelli will host the Soprano Vocal Competition. David Maiullo, an acclaimed vocal coach and conductor will provide the piano accompaniment for all the contestants. Approximately one-dozen talented sopranos are expected to take part in the competition on Saturday, August 11, at 3:00 PM on the Sorrento Cheese Performance Stage. A panel of judges, will select the top two who will return the next day at 4:00 to perform a free concert. This is your chance to see what the future holds in store for you at the Met.

Well here's a list to start you on the way. I will add more next week. Before I go street fairs are a staple of New York living. Here are the ones coming up: Sunday, August 5 Columbus Avenue from 66th to 72nd Streets and July 18-August 10 Harlem Week
West 135th Street between 5th and St. Nicholas Avenue. Summer adds to the flavor of big city living and that is a F.A.C.T.

C: Is for the Harry Potter Collection

72 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold out worldwide in just 24 hours. This last installment to the Harry Potter series was coveted by the lines that made Barnes and Nobles the hippest place to be last Saturday. After seeing the latest movie I was informed that I needed to read the series so I spent last week reading all 7 of the series. I can now tell you why you should proceed to the nearest bookstore and hibernate in your room. This is not the shortest of reading either. The last book is 759-pages long and it is not the shortest. It is interesting that one of the world's best-known authors writing for today should choose to show the world as it is through magic and a quest for spiritual peace. Saving many from imprisonment, death and to recognise that there is something sacred in us all. Harry Potter's quest comes down to a battle between good and evil, life and death and how love can overcome anything. Potter faces rebellion, isolation, hormones, loss, his search for identity, a government conspiracy to discredit him and an evil wizard bent on his destruction. Harry like all of us is broken down so everything that he thinks about himself is intertwined by a prophecy. The world has become a much more dangerous place, going from a kind of innocent state with evil lurking in the background, to a few people against all odds trying to stand up for what’s right. Chivalry and bravery live in us all. The Order of the Phoenix is a secret society formed to oppose evil. Voldemort Harry's nemesis using Harry as a conduit, shows our overwhelming belief in a system has gone array. Harry’s decision to teach his fellow students Defense Against the Dark Arts represents a turning point where knowledge needs to pass on to others to help them defend themselves. The people in charge are the ones who are now more dangerous because they refuse to deal with reality which leads to rebellion. These books are insightful to help today's society deal with something that looms like a destructive disease over humanity. Like the Holy Grail these books light the way. Read to be awaken, and that is a F.A.C.T.

A: Is for the Asian artistry

Last week at Heidi Cho's along side Michael Souter a young Asian artist named Joyce Y Lee evoked natural imagery within her abstract compositions. The mental landscapes that house the tension between Nature and a manufactured Culture are themes here. Chaos comes out of control, while inner turmoil verses outward poise. She investigates graphic "color forms" and fictitious beings that inhabit a flattened visual plane of the surreal. Unpredictable Eden's and apocalypses are in the foreground. Her newest paintings push the translucent color forms obscuring them from their environments. The feeling is at 1st sight jarring and at the same time uniquely harmonious. Emotions mirroring the uncanny violent but beautiful intrusions into human life reflect spiritual displacement. The result is a cosmic and intimate view into her soul. You can catch Joyce's solo exhibition “Microkosmos | Macrokosmos” on view at the Grace Institute (1233 Second Avenue, NYC) through July 27th and at Heidi Cho's 522 West 23rd until August 18th. This talented young artist is also exhibited in group shows at Sikkema Jenkins, Art Gotham, Cooper Union Great Hall, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Phyllis Harriman Mason and Tower 49 galleries here in NYC. This is one artist who knows how to get her work out there and be seen. A 2006-2007 Henri Matisse Merit Scholarship recipient, and a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Joyce has 3 degrees, Communications, Psychology and Fine Art. Growing up in Texas (OK the girl had to have some flaws) she was born to first-generation Chinese immigrants that had an unconventional bent towards the arts. Besides being highly talented she works for a non non-profit organization, International Arts Movement (www.iamny.org), which fosters dialogue between the arts and faith. Her work is a remnant of her emotions and I for one was drawn in and that is a F.A.C.T.

F: Is for Final Fights and such

We live in a time where conspiracy theories are popping up all over the place. Maybe its the sign of the times. We are after all in the eye of a hurricane started long ago. The entertainment industry has always been a barometer for the horrors that seem to be facing us. On the big screen we had "The Matrix", "X-Men" and the "Harry Potter" series. I recommend reading the books. I read all 6 last week and have started the 7th. See Wednesday for another column on this. On the smaller screen "X files", "The Untouchables" and now the "4400". I have been hooked on this series every since I went to a party and received the 1st year on DVD in my gift bag. I originally thought, this is crap but Tom told me to watch it. He was right. I put the DVD in my player and was instantaneously riveted. The series had already been on two years and I caught up just in time to start season 3. The plot consists of a comet depositing 4400 people, all who have disappeared at various times starting in 1946. None have aged, all are disoriented, and remember nothing between the time of their disappearance and their return. The National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is in charge. Attempting to settle back into their lives the returnees begin to manifest paranormal abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy, precognition, as well as other "gifts". The government, afraid of what this large group would do with such power, becomes violent. Yes its complicated but well worth it, just ask the 4.2 million viewers tuning in. Tonight in season 4 episode 6 untitled "The Marked" has ten prominent people who have access to valuable resources and are about to be exposed ala "Ed Wood". Computers and electronic machines, such as ATMs, are malfunctioning. The hero's of this show discover that the machines are run on the same operating system. The global company is owned by a multimillionaire Drew Imroth an alleged member of The Marked. This show has me psyched, with its innuendos and hidden slurs at what is happening. They storyline involves a religious cult, a messiah, and a prophet. There is promicin which either kills you or brings you an extra ability to help in the fight against the "Marked". Jordan Collier the "Messiah" is here so that the end of the world will come about. Maia the youngest 4400 has visions. She believes a corrupt leader will come into power (Bush or his predecessor?) and start sending the 4400s to camps (Hitler). The social commentary about people who are different shouldn't be locked up for those differences, can apply it to the civil rights movement. I love this show and wanted to share it with you and that is a F.A.C.T.