Monday, Sept. 19, 2005 (revised) Dear Ladies, Gentlemen, Canines and Felines (and Birds, and Trees), Today is the day I get to tell you I'm going out of the daily blogging field of reality. Effective immediately, after one heck of a nonstop news year dating back to Stolen Election Round II (with a stand-in by Jude in the spring), this blog -- the Planet Waves cover blog, as we know it here -- is on hiatus, perhaps to return, perhaps not. I am pulling back from daily geopolitical analysis. Being an astrologer and essayist is more than adequate, and just as much as one little Fish can handle. This decision, arrived at after quite a bit of reflection (several months) is part of a commitment to balance out my life and reduce my workload to human proportions. Many of you write to me asking how I do it, and the answer is, I really don't know. While I have the capacity to handle a lot of work, I am driven by a sense of responsibility that can quite literally keep me going very nearly around the clock for months. So in eliminating the cover blog, I am pulling back a little, to preserve the whole: meaning me, and meaning the Planet Waves project that depends on my health and well being. The CafeBlog will continue every day or two on the subscriber homepage, focusing on the latest astrological developments and naturally touching on world affairs. To get access to that, it's best to become a subscriber, which has substantial benefits (particularly an astonishing three year archive of essays, birthday reports and weekly horoscopes) -- and of course your subscription helps us because that's how we pay the small but solid bills that this Web page creates. I heartily invite you to join in the fun, even if you only do it once. If you have not seen our genuine, unsolicited, unedited, authentic subscriber feedback, not even processed by any public relations agency, take a look -- and perhaps you too will be inclined to send some soon: http://planetwavesweekly.com/feedback.html You will see the subscribe link from there. Subscribing to independent media is important, now more than ever. Most of us think nothing of paying a $65 monthly cable bill for crap and commercials. We cannot expect to pay for marketing and lies and get the truth for free. In order to have independent sources of information, we have to support them. In this spirit, Planet Waves is a financial supporter of truthout.org, giving 1% of our gross revenues to that excellent, free news site. Planet Waves subscriptions are affordable, they are guaranteed, there are many discount categories, and we comp anyone who cannot afford it. You have nothing to lose by subscribing, only to gain, and we feel this is a totally equitable method of doing a pay service. As for the free side of the site, where you are now: cover photos will continue to rotate every two days or so on the homepage; lately, I often feel a lot better saying what I have to say in pictures rather than in words, to the extent being a writer permits that. Planet Waves Monthly and Inner Space horoscopes will continue to be posted from the free side of the site, as will some articles on a regular basis. Weekly horoscopes and birthday reports will continue on the subscriber side of the site, along with the weekly essay. Thank you for your devoted readership, for checking in every morning to see what I have to say, for your vast majority of kind, insightful letters that keep me thinking, and most of all, for working together with us to help make Planet Waves happen. Yours truly and gratefully, with the Aries Moon trine Pluto, and Pisces rising, ERIC FRANCIS In the 5th Arrond. of Paris