... :( ... September 11, 2001 ... :( ...
[[..Fr.14.Sept.2001..]]
A day of mourning across Europe - "prayer and remembrance" in the USA - I wear all black and the three circles, in solidarity with and in recognition of the grief that surrounds the entire globe - I mourn for the loss of life and the loss of innocence - I mourn for all the sadness gone before and all the saddness to come - from my viewpoint, we stand at the brink of WWIII - I don't see any way to avoid it...
Today the refrain from Al Stewart's song "[The Eyes of] Nostradamus"
runs constantly in my head:
"Man, Man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the sea
I am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me"
An internet hoax has perpetrated a misunderstanding of the prophecies of Nostradamus. Here are two similar English translations of the ACTUAL/FACTUAL couplet in question and a link to the source of the translations:
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/91101.htm
Century 6, Quatrain 97
At five and forty degrees, the sky will burn,
Fire approaches the great new city,
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up,
When they want to have verification from the Normans.Century 6, Quatrain 97
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude,
Fire approaches the great new city [New York City lies between 40-45 degrees]
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Normans [French].
Here are some alternate viewpoints disputing the veracity of these prophecies:
http://www.ed.brocku.ca/~nmarshal/nostradamus.htm
http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/hoaxes/predict.htm
...the source of the links above was:
http://satriani.com/perl/interact/comments-index?archive=comments.20010914.html
Date: Wed Sep 12 17:46
Nitsua111 (Austin Lewis, Jr.) <Nitsua111@aol.com>:
Hi everyone. First, I wanted to say that the Nostradamus
quote is a fake. It's often credited as 1642...well...he died in 1566.
Go to (http://www.ed.brocku.ca/~nmarshal/nostradamus.htm) and (http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/hoaxes/predict.htm)
if you want more info. Yesterday was an ugly day. I was watching all of
this on the news in the morning before I went to my first class. Then it
turns out there was a bomb threat at my school (CSU Long Beach), so the
entire campus was closed...they ended up closing the entire Cal State system.
Anyway, again, everyone out there...give blood if you can. Everyone can
help out...we can get through this is we stick together. ...Austin...
[[..thank-you, Austin..]]
Regardless of whether one believes these verses are "prophecy" or the poetic and deluded ravings of a madman, in conjunction with the images now emblazoned on the psyche of every sane and civilized member of humanity as we witness the carnage in NYC and Washington D.C. the images they conjure speak to our collective grief, and our collective fear of the bloodbath that could conceviably follow in the wake of these events.
In light of the ability of poetry and song to speak to our human sensibilities, I offer the following selected song lyics [note the respective dates of their publication] based on the prophecies of Nostradamus:
[[..http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/sy/jch/present.txt..]]
Album Title: Past, Present and Future
Tracks:
1. Old Admirals
2. Warren Harding
3. Soho (Needless To Say)
4. The Last Day Of June 1934
5. Post World War Two Blues
6. Roads To Moscow
7. Terminal Eyes
8. Nostradamus
Notes:
Most sources give 1973 as the date for PP&F, but the copyright
date on the Arista CD is 1974.
Releases:
Year Country Label Catalog No. Formats
Notes
1973 UK CBS
65726 L
Gatefold sleeve
1973 USA Janus JLS3063
LCT
[[..etc..]]
NOSTRADAMUS
(c)Al Stewart-Gwyneth Music Ltd.In the east the wind is blowing the boats across the sea
And their sails will fill the morning and their cries ring out to me
Oh, the more it changes, the more it stays the same
And the hand just re-arranges the players in the game
Oh, I had a dream
It seemed I stood alone
And the veil of all the years
Goes sinking from my eyes like a stoneA king shall fall and put to death by the English parliament shall be
Fire and plague to London come in the year of six and twenties three
An emperor of France shall rise who will be born near Italy
His rule cost his empire dear, Napoloron his name shall be
From Castile does Franco come and the Government driven out shall be
An English king seeks divorce, and from his throne cast down is he
One named Hister shall become a captain of Greater Germanie
No law does this man observe and bloody his rise and fall shall be.....
In the new lands of America three brothers now shall come to power
Two alone are born to rule but all must die before their hour
Two great men yet brothers not make the north united stand
Its power be seen to grow, and fear possess the eastern lands
Three leagues from the gates of Rome a Pope named Pol is doomed to die
A great wall that divides a city at this time is cast aside
These are the signs I bring to you to show you when the time is nigh...Man, Man, your time is sand, your ways are leaves upon the sea
I am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me
[[..http://www.manfredmann.co.uk/music/some.html..]]
Album Title: Somewhere In Afrika
Released in Europe by Bronze in late 1982, in the UK in 1983 and in
a revised form in the States in 1984. This album as indicated by the title
has a strong African flavour and uses a variety of African singers and
chants to good effect long before others tried to do this. Despite the
strong African feel the album is still strongly Earth Band. Highlights
are many but must include a brilliant version of Bob Marley's "Redemption
Song" and Sting's "Demolition Man". The US version featured the hit single
"Runner" and another new song "Rebel" as well as the return of Mick Rogers.
EYES OF NOSTRADAMUS
(c)Al Stewart-Gwyneth Music Ltd.At night... At night...
At night - they will think they have seen the sun
When they see the mad half-pig man
At night - screams, battles seen fought in the sky
And beasts will be heard to speakMan, man your time is sand
Your ways are leaves upon the sea
I am the eyes of Nostradamus
All your ways are known to meThink upon it - all of you who may read this verse
Listen and listen well
Think upon it - barbarians, idiots and fools stay far awayMan, man your time is sand
Your ways are leaves upon the sea
I am the eyes of Nostradamus
All your ways are known to meOh, I had a dream
I thought I was alone
And the veil of all the years
Fell from my eyes like a stoneFrom the Ground - the seven year child
And a fire will come to the earth
From the sky - at forty-five degrees
And the stone will crack with the forceMan, man your time is sand
Your ways are leaves upon the sea
I am the eyes of Nostradamus
All your ways are known to meOh, I had a dream
I thought I was alone
And the veil of all the years
Fell from my eyes like a stoneAt night... at night...
Think upon it... think upon it...
At night... at night...
Think upon it... think upon it...