POSTED // Nov 26,2008 - nARIES (March 21-April 19)nHave you ever arrived at a mountaintop on a clear day? Do you remember what you felt like? Can you re-imagine the sparkling purity of the air as it sweetened your lungs, the shimmering light that washed through you in lush waves, the exaltation of the sweeping vista as it lifted you to a deeper understanding of where your place is in this life? That’s the kind of p...

POSTED // Nov 26,2008 - Curses, Foiled AgainnBarry Cleveland Roberts, 46, was arrested for murder in Norfolk, Va., when he tried to buy a gun. Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Cotton said that after Roberts filled out an application at Bob’s Guns and Tackle, a background check turned up the outstanding murder warrant. Authorities were waiting for him when he returned to the store to purchase the weapon. nn•...

POSTED // Nov 26,2008 - I was shocked by your highly ignorant column on “when life begins” [“Fetalmania!” Oct 30, City Weekly]. You have a very conservative approach, and a misogynistic one at that. I appreciate your attempt at explaining brain waves. But what your article lacked was a woman’s right to her body, and you had an even more disturbing view on rape. Apparently, you need to take a...

POSTED // Nov 26,2008 - Dear Mexican: I hear all the time that 12 million illegal immigrants live in the United States. Is that true? Who counted them? How did they do it? Is there a turnstile at the border tallying up illegals and stamping their hands with neon glowing cartoon characters so they can go back and visit their familias? —American Patrol nDear Gabacho: Counting the number of undocumented in this countr...

POSTED // Nov 19,2008 - nARIES (March 21-April 19)nFifty-five percent of Americans not only believe in guardian angels, but testify that they have been actively aided by the intervention of those divine helpers. Commenting on the results, one religious expert said that “Americans live in an enchanted world.” The 55 percent figure may rise even higher in the coming weeks. A majority of Aries all over the plane...

POSTED // Nov 19,2008 - Curses, Foiled AgainnAuthorities charged Lavarr A. Milton, 21, and Guy O. Walker, 18, with robbing a gas station outside Louisville, Ky., after they stopped in mid-getaway to ask a police officer for directions. “The officer noticed some evidence in the vehicle that led him to believe that a robbery had occurred,” police official Alicia Smiley told the Courier-Journal. n n• Two me...

POSTED // Nov 19,2008 - I’m sure you’ve heard the term “concrete shoes,” mobsters’ choice of swimwear for fellas with rodent traits and other individuals that ran afoul of them. Is there any truth to it? —Ale, Bangkok When your question came in, Ale, I thought: At last, a chance to have it out with E.L. Doctorow. You remember the opening of Doctorow’s award-winning 1989 no...

POSTED // Nov 19,2008 - Dear Mexican: I recently received the biography of Rolling Stones bassist Ronnie Woods. While reading about his friendship with Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie described him as part black, Cherokee and Mexican. I’ve always read about Jimi’s grandmother being Cherokee, but this was the first I read about him being Mexican. I Googled Hendrix’s name with the word “Mexican,” and rec...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - nARIES (March 21-April 19)n“You can’t know fire unless you play with it,” says Mark Finney, a math whiz who develops computer models for fighting forest fires. I offer that as a motto for you in the coming week, Aries. I’m not saying you should purposely ignite a conflagration for the sake of impulsive experimentation. I’m not saying you should kick smoldering embers ...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - Curses, Foiled AgainnAfter receiving a call from the manager of the Sunset Inn Motel in San Antonio, Texas, police found 15 newspaper vending machines inside a guest room. “All the newspapers are gone,” Officer Raul Gonzaba said. “All the change is gone.” The thief was gone, too, but Gonzaba foresaw a quick arrest because the suspect had reserved the room using his real nam...