13 September Fortune Teller got nuffin

We've come full circle. The book has been used up, and there is no replacement for it, as of yet. Still, I hope to get something started to fill this space -- something other than politics, that is -- around the beginning of the next month.

(Funny how the project grew from simple transcript and a flippant remark to the monster list of links it became, isn't it?)

It all depends on whether or not I can muster the focus to start another year-long project. It's hard to keep this sort of thing up, day after day, when you'd rather be outside, tormenting the neighbor's kids (hey you kids! keep offa the grass or I'll send my cats to poo in it!) or picking raspberries and offering the other kind to people who pass you on the street.

But, as the billboards often used to say: WATCH THIS SPACE.

Not sure what it will do, but with the right mix of medications, it could be truly entertaining...

12 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are methodical, thorough, faithful and a good worker. You are generally quiet and reserved, possess a subtle and amusing sense of humor. When aroused, your temper is strong but short lived. You make your home pleasant and attractive and are demonstrative in your love.

Be subtle and amusing when you ask Norma Verhil if she, too, matches this fortune. Of course, you might consider making your home more pleasant and attractive in anticipation of a party, to which you might invite a few of these other birthday notables :Lorenzo II de' Medici, Henry Waxman, Bertie Ahern, Sam Brownback, Guillaume Le Gentil, Richard Hoe, Richard Gatling, Irene Joliot-Curie, Jaegwon Kim, Henry Louis Menken, Stanisław Lem, Michael Ondaatje, Ben Shahn, Øistein (Einstein) Kristiansen, Maurice Chevalier, Maria Muldaur, Barry White, Neil Peart, Barry Andrews, Hans Zimmer, Ben Folds, Larry "Ler" LaLonde, Nathan Larson, Jennifer Nettles, James McCartney, Ruben Studdard, Matsunosuke Onoe, Desmond Llewelyn, Sir Ian Holm, Joe Pantoliano, Peter Scolari, Jason Statham, Paul Walker, Benjamin McKenzie, Aaron Sidwell, ... Linda Gray, Rachel Ward, Amy Yasbeck, Jennifer Hudson, Emmy Rossum, Jesse Owens, Adrian Adonis, Ricky Rudd, Ángel Cabrera, Sean Burroughs, Yao Ming, Henry Hudson, Alfred A. Knopf, Frank McGee, Jeff Jarvis,

George Jones

and Gerry Beckley.

Don't slice the cake if the candles aren't blown out.
Happy birthday!

11 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

Conscientious and ambitious, you are thorough and capable in your work ; a good planner and competent in executing your plans. You have a keen mind, good judgment and are sincere and honest. You will be a loving mate and parent.

19 Shirley l. ZiMMerMAN and 1927 RoseMAry PAtchett might be good ones to ask, especially if you want to plan a gigantic birthday party inviting some of these other noted celebrants of the day : Minamoto no Yoriie, Ferdinand Marcos, Franz Ernst Neumann, Carl Zeiss, James Hopwood Jeans, James Thomson, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, William Sidney Porter aka O. Henry, David Herbert Lawrence, William Thomas Walsh, Jessica Mitford, Marianne von Werefkin, William Boyce, Friedrich Kuhlau, Oliver Jones, Lola Falana, Leo Kottke, John Martyn, Tommy Shaw, Victor Lemonte Wooten, Richard Melville "Moby" Hall, Harry Connick, Jr., Kay Hanley, Gidget Gein, Richard Paul Ashcroft, Christopher Bridges aka Ludacris, Jon Buckland, Brian de Palma, Tony Gilroy, Brad Bird, Pinto Colvig, Herbert Lom, Edwin Richfield, Ian Abercrombie, Felton Perry, Scott Patterson, Tyler Hoechlin Amy Madigan, Roxann Dawson, Anne Ramsay, Virginia Madsen, Elizabeth Daily, Kristy McNichol, Laura Wright, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Tom Landry, Eddie Miksis, Bill Whittington, Ellis Burks, Ed Reed, Frank Francisco, Mike Comrie, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shaun Livingston, Dwayne Jarrett, Julian Byng, Philipp Bouhler, William Luther Pierce, Don Blakeslee, Daniel Akaka, Hans-Ulrich Wehler, Robert Crippen, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga,

James Houston "Jimmie" Davis

and Mickey Hart.

We're grateful we're still alive, especially today. Have some cake.
Happy birthday!

10 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are uncommunicative and do not like to be questioned about your own or the affairs of anyone else. You are am-bitious and resourceful, impulsive and emotional and are guided by your intuition. You love your home and family and are capable of a deep and fervent love.

Don't try to communicate with 1927 Dorothy Sestedt, or with Margie McCullough, as they do not like to be questioned, either. Instead, apply your ambitions to having an impulsive sort of gathering, and invite a few of these noted celebrants to your joint birthday party : Pope Julius III, Maria Theresa of Spain, Alice Brown Davis, Charles Collett, Arthur Compton, Waldo Semon, Waldo Wedel, Stephen Jay Gould, Gunpei Yokoi, Charles Peirce, Walter Martin, Hannah Webster Foster, Hilda Doolittle, Franz Werfel, Mary Oliver, Neale Donald Walsch, Nicholas Lanier (baptism date), Henry Purcell, Niccolò Jommelli, Christopher Hogwood, Danny Hutton, Sir Thomas Allen, Don Powell, Joe Perry, Johnny Hickman, Siobhan Fahey, David Lowery, Robin Goodridge, Michael "Mikey" Way, Robert Wise, Chris Columbus, Guy Ritchie, Edmond O'Brien, Philip Baker Hall, Daniel Truhitte, Peter Nelson, Colin Firth, Johnathon Schaech, James Duval, Ryan Phillippe, Bessie Love, Judy Geeson, Amy Irving, Kate Burton, Ted Kluszewski, Arnold Palmer, Roger Maris, Jim Hines, Bob Lanier, Charlie Waters, Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ben Wallace, Sammy Knight, Joseph Wheeler, Adele Astaire, Alva R. Fitch, Rin-Tin-Tin, Fabio Taglioni, Charles Kuralt, Karl Lagerfeld, Margaret Trudeau, Bill O'Reilly, John E. Sununu,

Raymond Scott

and Jose Feliciano.

We lit your candles. Now, blow them out and make a wish.
Happy birthday!

9 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

Magnetic, intuitive and with some latent psychic powers, you have many different interests and have a leading part when-ever possible. You are apt to rush into things without deter-mining the outcome and should be more discriminating in your judgment. You are loving, kind and considerate.

Develop those psychic powers by trying to guess the name written in the book for today. If you guessed it was blank, you were absolutely right, and should, maybe, set up a psychic hotline for profit. If not, just relax, use your magnetism to gather a crowd together for a big birthday bash, and, maybe, invite a few of these other notables of the day : Aurelian, Flavius Honorius, Ashikaga Yoshitane, Luigi Galvani, Hans Georg Dehmelt, Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, Leo Tolstoy, Joseph Henry Shorthouse, Mary Hunter Austin, Adelaide Crapsey, James Hilton, Phyllis Whitney, Paul Goodman, John Kricfalusi, Hoyt Curtin, Otis Redding, Inez Foxx, Bruce Palmer, David A. Stewart, Chris Caffery, Michael Bublé, Max Reinhardt, Arthur Freed, James Neil Hamilton, Cliff Robertson, Chaim Topol, Bruce Gray, Art LaFleur, Tom Wopat, Jeffrey Combs, Hugh Grant, Henry Thomas, Goran Višnjić, Chace Ambrose, Tsuru Aoki, Jane Greer, Sylvia Miles, Angela Cartwright, Julia Sawalha, Rachel Hunter, Constance Marie, Julie Gonzalo, Frank Chance, Frankie Frisch, Waite Hoyt, Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, Garry Maddox, Joe Theismann, Bob Stoops, Dan Majerle, Mike Hampton, Félix Rodríguez, Kyle Davies, Edwin Jackson, Sam Hollenbach, William Bligh, Alf Landon, Harland Sanders, Bruno E. Jacob,

Elvin Jones,

and Doug Ingle.

Let that soul experience help yo blow out those candles.
Happy birthday!

8 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are artistic and musical ; have positive ideas and like hav-ing your own way. You are discriminating and shrewd, a good student, deep thinker and an interesting talker. Loving, faith-ful and devoted to your family, you will probably not fall in love at first sight.

If you want to have interesting talk, check in with Shirley JohNsoN, CliNtoN, Wis, or Nancy Pointer, San Jan, N. Mex. If you're more inclined to have your own way, throw a party, and invite a few of these other noted birthday celebrants : King Richard I of England, Emperor Gwangmu of Korea, Marin Mersenne, Derek Harold Richard Barton, Ludovico Ariosto, Clemens Brentano, Eduard Mörike, Frédéric Mistral, Siegfried Sassoon, Howard Dietz, Ann Beattie, Nicolas de Grigny, Jaime Nunó, Antonín Dvořák, Jimmie Rodgers, Harlan Howard, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, David Kearney aka Guitar Shorty, Ronald C. "Pigpen" McKernan, Aimee Mann, David "Shuffle" Steele, Alecia Beth Moore aka P!nk, Frank Cady, Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar, Richard Henry Sellers aka Peter Sellers, Thomas Kretschmann, David Arquette, Martin Freeman, Larenz Tate, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Heather Thomas, Harry Hillman, Rogie Vachon, L.C. Greenwood, Maurice Cheeks, Sergio Casal, Pierre Sévigny, Elena Likhovtseva, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Charles J. Guiteau, Robert Alphonso Taft, Harry Secombe, Lyndon LaRouche, Sam Nunn, Robert W. Firestone,

Brian Cole

and Virginia Patterson Henley aka Patsy Cline.

More than three candles on a cake.
Happy birthday!

7 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You have great executive ability, are authoritative, determined, persevering, and self-reliant. You should go far in your chosen field. You enjoy reading good books and like to travel. You have high aims and ideals and have the respect and esteem of your friends and associates.

You're on your own, though (perseverance be hanged), when it comes to the book, as the page for today is blank. With all due respect, why not gain the esteem of a few associates by having a huge party, and invite a few of these other birthday notables : Emperor Saga, Queen Elizabeth I, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, August Toepler, Michael DeBakey, James Van Allen, John Cornforth, Thomas Erastus, Tristan Bernard, Dame Edith Sitwell, Eric Hill, Matthäus Günther, Johan Tobias Sergel, William Friese-Greene, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, François-André Danican Philidor, Graeme Bell, "Little Milton" Campbell, Jr., Gloria Gaynor, Chrissie Hynde, Mark Isham, Jermaine Stewart, LeRoi Moore, Paul McCoy, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quayle, Peter Lawford, John Phillip Law, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Emerson, Toby Jones, Tom Everett Scott, Oliver Hudson, Julie Kavner, Susan Blakely, Mira Furlan, Diane Farr, Evan Rachel Wood, Johannes Zukertort, Mike O'Neill, Willie Crawford, Darren Bragg, Brian Stokes, Mark Prior, Aleksandra Wozniak, Kevin Love, John McDouall Stuart, Thomas A. Hendricks, David Packard, Barry Siegel,

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins

and Charles Hardin Holley.

Pretty pretty pretty pretty birthday cake.
Many happy returns of the day!

6 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are very conservative, planning carefully and working slowly and faithfully, for you enjoy seeing a job well done. In spite of your strong will you are sometimes led by others. Domestic, gracious and sympathetic, your love is strong and true, and your home life ideal.

Perhaps it is ideal because there is no other crowding you out in the pages of the book. Use your gracious domestic side to put together a party, and crowd it with some of these other noted birthday celebrants : Tsar Ivan V of Russia, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Geert Wilders, Johan Wilcke, John Dalton, Zelia Nuttall, Sir Edward Appleton, Luis Federico Leloir, Richard J. Roberts, Henry Muhlenberg, Moses Mendelssohn, Robert M. Pirsig, Dan Cragg, Alice Sebold, Isabella Leonarda, Anton Diabelli, Buddy Bolden, Billy Rose, Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed, David Allan Coe, Nigel Westlake, Scott Travis, Pål Waaktaar Gamst aka Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Hikawa Kiyoshi, Cisco Adler, Inga Fung Marchand aka Foxy Brown, Maurice Prather, Michael Winslow, Tommy Snider, Justin Whalin, Mathew Horne, Clara Kimball Young, Jo Anne Worley, Swoosie Kurtz, Jane Curtin, Rosie Perez, Sarah Danielle Madison, Naomie Harris, Max Rosenbloom, Harry Danning, Kevin Willis, Ben Finegold, Tim Henman, Derrek Lee, Alex Escobar, Jillian Hall, St. John Richardson Liddell, Samuel Arnold, Jane Addams, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Claire Chennault, Philipp von Boeselager, Brigid Berlin, Carly Fiorina, Jeff Foxworthy, Elizabeth Vargas,

Nina Persson

and George Roger Waters.

Three wishes? You only get one with the candles!
Happy birthday!

5 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

Cultivate your self-confidence and don't give away to moods so easily. You are impetuous, vivacious, sometimes unsteady in your judgment and generally very interesting. You like society, excitement and pleasures, but you are capable of seriousness if necessary. You are winsome and loving.

Although you like society, there doesn't seem to be any on this page in the book. You're on your own, today, so perhaps you should aim for some excitement and pleasures by throwing a big party and inviting a few of these other birthday notables: Louis VIII of France, Archduke Charles of Austria, Manuel Montt Torres, Justiniano Borgoño, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Jean-Étienne Montucla, François Sulpice Beudant, Pierre-Armand Dufrénoy, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Nicanor Parra, Robert Fergusson, Caspar David Friedrich, Frank Thomas, Cathy Guisewite, Johann Christian Bach, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Amy Beach, John Cage, John Stewart, Al Stewart, Loudon Wainwright III, Buddy Miles, John Peter "Juan" Alderete, Brad Wilk, Dweezil Zappa, Liam Lynch, Darryl F. Zanuck, Werner Herzog, Frank Shuster, Bob Newhart, William Devane, George Lazenby, Michael Keaton, Peter Wingfield, Jonathan Phillips, Steve Burton, Paddy Considine, Skandar Keynes, Gloria Holden, Raquel Welch, Kristian Alfonso, Rose McGowan, Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie, Bill Mazeroski, Rod Barajas, Nazr Mohammed, Filippo Volandri, Drew Carter, Jesse Woodson James, Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Paul Volcker, Andrian Nikolayev, Jonathan Kozol, Claudette Colvin,

Carol Lawrence

and Farrokh Bulsara aka Freddie Mercury.

What a great wish! Now, blow out the candles.
Happy birthday!

4 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are quick, volatile and tempestuous and carry a point only by force of will. You have a keen, brilliant mind, but lack patience and when facing failure you give up in disgust. You are either greatly liked or intensely dis-liked ; a loyal friend, but a bitter enemy.

Did you use your force of will to keep this page blank, just for yourself? Put that volatility on a back burner, throw yourself a big party, and invite a few of these other noted birthday celebrants : Alexander III of Scotland, Wanli, ... Martin Wiberg, Stanford Moore, Clive Granger, Constantijn Huygens, Mary Renault, Richard Wright, Joan Aiken, Anton Bruckner, Darius Milhaud, Steven Duren aka Blackie Lawless, George Hurley, Kim Thayil, Daisy Dee, Carmit Bachar, Nona Gaye, Beyoncé Knowles, Lacey Mosley, Dick York, Dinsdale Landen, Damon Wayans, Noah Taylor, Jason David Frank, Wes Bentley, Carter Jenkins, Jennie Lee, Mitzi Gaynor, Khandi Alexander, Patricia Tallman, Ione Skye, Tom Watson, Mike Piazza, Pat Neshek, Sarah Childress Polk, Fritz Todt, William Lyons, Mickey Cohen, Henry Ford II, Paul Harvey, David Drew Pinsky,

René Pape,

Gary Duncan and Greg Elmore,

Happy birthday!

3 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

You are conservative in your judgment and your methods of execution. You have mechanical ability and are methodical, patient, observant and versatile. You do not make friends or attachments hastily and will probably not marry young. Your love will be strong and lasting.

Perhaps you might compare your observations with those of Roger Steiner. Or, perhaps not. On the other hand, perhaps you might methodically plan to compare your mechanical abilities with those of some of these other birthday notables : Emperor Go-Sanjō, Charles Radclyffe, Queen Olga Konstantinovna, Abraham Trembley, Fritz Pregl, Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Maurice Dobb, Carl David Anderson, Lev Semenovich Pontryagin, Ryoji Noyori, Loren Eiseley, Sarah Orne Jewett, Alison Lurie, Cherry Wilder, Paul Kane, Louis Sullivan, Mort Walker, Bengt Lindström, Adriano Banchieri, Pietro Locatelli, Frank Christian, Thurston Dart, Al Jardine, Eric Bell, Doug Pinnick, Steve Jones, Alan Ladd, John Shrapnel, Merritt Butrick, Costas Mandylor, Charlie Sheen, John Fugelsang, Nick Wechsler, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Helen Wagner, Irene Papas, Eileen Brennan, Pauline Collins, Valerie Perrine, Ashley Jones, Eddie Stanky, Dick Motta, Damon Stoudamire, Jevon Kearse, Nate Robertson, Jennie Finch, Marcus McCauley, Shaun White, George Hearst, Ferdinand Porsche, Maurice Papon, Albert DeSalvo, Dixy Lee Ray, Marguerite Higgins, Pat McGeown, Adam Curry, Jeremy Glick,

Freddie King

and Hank Thompson.

To Go? I don't think so -- not with all these people waiting for cake!
Happy birthday!

2 September Fortune Teller says

Your birthday today:

Always the "life of the party", you are witty, bright, friendly, a good conversationalist and well liked. You have friends in several distinct circles and can adapt yourself to each one. You radiate vitality, are domestic and loyal ; and you love with sincerity and strength.

The page in blank for today, so if you are looking for circles to which you might adapt, you won't find one there. Instead, perhaps you might have a big party, and invite at least a few of these other birthday notables : Queen Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, Louis Bonaparte, Queen Liliuokalani, Roger Wolcott, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Woldemar Voigt, Wilhelm Ostwald, Frederick Soddy, Rene Thom, William Somervile, Cleveland Amory, Vincenzo Scamozzi, Walt Simonson, Jon Berkeley, Tom Glazer, Hugo Montenegro, Clifford Jordan, Sam Gooden, Rosalind Ashford, Joe Simon, Billy Preston, Michael Rother, John Zorn, Spencer Smith, Hal Ashby, Meinhardt Raabe, Victor Spinetti, Clarence Felder, Mark Harmon, Keanu Reeves, Charles "Tuc" Watkins, Katt Williams, Mary Jo Catlett, Rosanna DeSoto, Salma Hayek, Cynthia Watros, Kristen Cloke, Albert Spalding, D. Wayne Lukas, Peter Ueberroth, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Connors, Tony Alva, Rex Hudler, Eric Dickerson, Stéphane Matteau, Tommy Maddox, Jason Blake, Dr. Frank C. Laubach, Andrew Grove, Christa McAuliffe, Jim DeMint,

Horace Silver

and Jimmy Clanton.

Don't you know that cake will get stale if you don't cut it – and let's eat.
Happy birthday!

1 September Fortune Teller says

BIRTHSTONE –– Sapphire : Love
FLOWER –– Aster
COLOR –– Brown

Your birthday today:

You are extremely generous in thought and deed, kind, hearty and robust. You have much sentiment, and are loyal to your kindred. You sometimes speak abruptly but do not mean it unkindly. You are demonstrative and affectionate in your love, and will receive the same in return.

You are alone, today, as there is no name written into the pages for today. It is not meant unkindly, but if you wish to surround yourself with your kindred, perhaps you might throw a party and invite at least a few of these other birthday notables: William IV, Prince of Orange, Nicu Ceauşescu, Francis William Aston, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Carolyn Janice Cherry aka C. J. Cherryh, Gene Colan, Johann Pachelbel, Engelbert Humperdinck, Franz Biebl, Art Pepper, Conway Twitty, Greg Errico, Bruce Foxton, Gloria Estefan, Christian Nyby, Ron O'Neal, Edward Alleyn, Richard Arlen, Johnny Mack Brown, Richard Farnsworth, George Maharis, Don Stroud, Elvera Sanchez Davis, Yvonne De Carlo, Anne Ramsey, Lily Tomlin, Polly Shannon, James J. Corbett, Al Geiberger, Dave Lumley, Billy Blanks, Brian Bellows, Tim Hardaway, Jason Taylor, Aaron Schobel, Ryan Gomes, Ann W. Richards, Dr. Phil McGraw, Kenny Mayne, Mohammed Atta,

Lecil Travis Martin aka Boxcar Willie

and Barry Gibb.

You should be dancing and eating tons of cake.
Happy birthday!