| Today's Secret
Trader: |
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The real soothsayers aren't
casting spells at a Renaissance Faire near you.
No, they are the pundits who push theories about
where the market is going...the stock market,
that is and that's where we're going with this
section, watching the market watchers and
reporting on how well they're doing at helping
the rest of us to make money |
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Today's Secret Trader
Commentary |
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News
& Comment: |
 Getting the Truth
From the Facts |
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In recent years, there
have been radically dramatic changes in how we get
information about the things that matter to us
news, an essential life task that has been made
even more complicated by the avalanche of
indigested information, which is
causing a virtual epidemic of information
indigestion.
SageMerlin's media wizards
analyze the news to separate the kernels of
truth from the chaff of useless or misleading
information because we can no longer rely on the
major news media.
As Marshall McLuan once
famously observed: the medium is message.
If the medium is the message and we are
increasing becoming the medium through which the
message is conveyed, then we are both the
subject and the observer, which requires a new
paradigm for news media.
Our News &
Comment section is designed to separate the
wheat from the chaff...but we're going to need
your help to do that. |
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click here to read more about it |
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Sage
Merlin's Top Picks |
 Merlin
Members
Best Picks:
Books, Music, Film, Theater, Art,
Television, Games, Web Sites |
Films, television, theatre, art shows, fairs an
festivals, and events that defy description are
happening every day, but it gets harder and harder to
determine whether then next blockbuster is worth the
cost of the ticket.
Ever get the feeling that the best sellers lists are tweaked? The not so
shocking truth of the matter is that all best seller
lists are rigged. Otherwise, how can so many people read
so much drivel?
What's hot and what's not is matter of opinion, but the
more opinions we collect, the more accurate the results
get. We're collecting opinions about almost everything
under the sun. Nominate candidates for our best seller
lists, vote for your favorites, and see your votes
count. Sage Merlin is conducting the ultimate public
opinion survey to compile the ultimate Top Ten lists for
fiction, non-fiction, theater, cinema, music and art.
Write your own reviews on new releases, or revisit the
classics, and if we like your reviews, we'll publish
them in Picks and Pans..
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click here to visit
member's portal |
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| The Cassandra Chronicles |
 Learning
to Live More Happily In a More Uncertain World
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Cassandra,
you might recall, was the Trojan woman who was given the
gift of prophecy and cursed with the fate that no one
believed her warnings. Today, we have spawned a
flock of would-be prophets, each warning us of another
impending disaster. Sometimes, as we have seen in
the stock market crash of 2008, the prophets are right.
(Sage Merlin saw it coming in 2003!)
The practice of soothsaying,
far from being a relic of the past, is very much a part
of our present reality. The problem with
soothsayers is that they make their livings by scaring
the shit out of the rest of us and, like patrons of
horror movies, we go along for the ride.
SageMerlin wants to collect the croaking of the crows,
and the contradicting crop of crocuses, to debunk the
one and raise questions about the other, all in an
effort to keep you updated on our progress toward
Armageddon, the End of Days, 2012, and other predictions. |
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click here for the future |
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| Mahjong Hands |
 An
Ancient Chinese Game is Alive and Well in America |
Mahjong is like life: The
rules keep changing (they publish new ones every year)
and what you get is often something you didn't expect.
Mahjong
is also like bridge: if you don't get it immediately, you're
never going to understand the attraction of the game,
but millions of people across the United States, and
around the world, can't go a week without playing the
game. It's that addictive, but it's an innocent
addiction because most players only play for nickels and
dimes. Nevertheless, one of life's great tragedies
(especially for elderly Jewish ladies like my mother) is
when a long-time Mahjong game ends because one of the
players has passed away. If
you play mahjong, or you know someone who does, you know
how difficult it can be to find a game. Mahjong
Hands will help you, or your mother, find a game near
by. Just fill out the form and we'll let you know
if someone in your area is looking for another hand, or
whether there's player near you looking for a game! |
| Click
here to get in the game |
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| Universal Disclaimer |
 Of
course, we know there's really no such thing as magic.
It's impossible to read minds, communicate
telepathically over long distances, or to move objects -
or ourselves -with only the force of our minds alone.
Or is it? Every modern innovation began with the power
of creative imagination when someone envisioned
something that didn't exist and then proceeded to create
it. Modern physics is teaching us that many of the old
ways were based on more than simple superstitions, and
sometimes way more. So, we've embarked on a mission to
find scientific explanations for ancient spiritual
beliefs and we invite you to come along with us on the
journey. |
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Join SageMerlin Now
Become a Preferred
Member For Life
Get 500 FREE Participation Points
per month
Double ALL Participation Points
Earned Each Month
Get Advance Notice on SageMerlin
On-Line Events
50% Discount on all prepaid
SageMerlin Services
click here for
details
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Sage Merlin
Incantations |
Any
wizard or sorceress who's worth his or her salt
has a repertoire of spells and incantations - and Sage
Merlin is no exception. The only difference is
that our spells and incantations - drawn from esoteric
branches of ancient religions combined with teachings
from modern science - really work.
If you've managed to read this far, you know that
something unusual is going on at SageMerlin. We're
collecting wisdom from the people who have it and
distributing it to the people who need it....free of
charge!
The way this works is that we are going to publish
mental exercises (we're calling them incantations, but
you can call them anything from guided meditations to
contemplation exercises) in a format where you can
identify a problem and look up the solution.
If you have incantations that really work for you, share
them with everyone on SageMerlin. If you need an
incantation that doesn't exist, write to us and we'll
make one up for you.
Reports on how these incantation have worked (or failed
to work) for you will be greatly appreciated. Get
points for sharing your stories!
Click Here For the Incantation
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New Community Projects |
 Don't
Complain About The Way Things Are - Build Your Own
Reality |
Governments
are supposed to take care of their citizens, but it's
becoming increasingly clear that governments are no
longer able to take care of the people. Changing
economic conditions are raising questions about the
underlying safety net that is supposed to provide a
basic standard of living for all.
We need a new paradigm for an alternative community
organization. Fortunately, we have models for new
community organizations. Communes,
collectives, and worker-owned collaboratives are on the
rise again...and for good reason. Changing
economic realities make collectives lifestyles far more
attractive than ever before.
As we grow older as a nation, under these new economic
conditions, we need to learn how to work together to
support each other on the personal level. Those of us who passed
through the counter-culture have a unique perspective
that may offer clues for how to shape the future. We're
collecting and disseminating information about this
revival. |
| Click here to check into the
future |
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| The Friday Nite Fix |
 The
Twelve Step Program For The Rest of Us |
Welcome to the lonely crowd.
Each of us lives in our own little universe, struggling
to find social connections that make life more
enjoyable...but good friends are hard to find and, if
you're among the "unchurched," it's getting harder and
harder to build social connections.
And then there's the search for insight. We're
all looking for insight, for instruction in how to
balance our inner and outer lives, but finding that insight is
getting harder all the time. The original Friday Nite Fix
was a meeting place for seekers, a place for the
meeting of the ways at the changing of the tide for more
than forty years.
We think there's tremendous need for a non-sectarian,
non-denominational, non-judgmental meditative
community where people can gather to help each other
gain clarity in our lives...and we're promoting a
revival of this concept in communities across America.
Check in here to find out how. |
|
click here to get Fixed |
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
 The
Material on this website is the sole and exclusive
property of the authors or creators of the material and
is protected under the implied copyright privilege as
incorporated into international law. The appearance of
an item on this website shall be construed as prima
fascia evidence of the author's prior ownership.
SageMerlin.Com makes no representations that it is the
owner of any content not specifically created by paid
staff members or purchased outright from the original
owner or an authorized third party.
For information
about how to purchase reprint rights for any item
appearing on this websites, please write to:
sagemerlin@gmail.com
For all material not specifically as copyrighted by the
author or artist
copyright © 2009 by
SageMerlin.Com
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| Plagiarism |
 It's
an ugly word for an ugly reality. Plagiarism, however,
depend largely upon intent. When Shakespeare does it,
it's art. When the kid sitting next to you in history
does it, it's cheating. If you submit something that
isn't yours to submit, you will be barred from
SageMerlin. The problem with policing plagiarism is
that we won't know about it, unless you tell us. If you
see something of yours on our web site that isn't
properly attributed to you, let us know and we will act
accordingly. To file a complaint write to: |
| accusation@sagemerlin.com |
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| Contact Us |
SageMerlin.Com
5115 Cortez Court
Delray Beach FL 33484
866-661-5379
561-952-4633 (fax)
comments@sagemerlin.com |
to contact sagemerlin
himself:
himself@sagemerlin.com |
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Sage Merlin's
Virtual Galleries |
 New Art From
Emerging Artists |
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Art
is our way of capturing reality and sharing it with
others. The artist, therefore, is a window through
which we can view the world from a different angle. Art
should be page one news...especially when the art and
the artists are new on the scene. Visit SageArts to
view our latest additions, purchase prints, and bid on
original art...or submit your work for consideration |
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Click Here To Get Artistic |
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Sage Merlin's
Magic Printing Press |
 Getting
Published Isn't Half the Battle:
It's the Whole War |
Chances are that you're a writer.
Everyone thinks they have that one book in them, and
sometimes they're right....but getting from manuscript
to Barnes and Noble takes persistence, contacts,
marketing acumen and did we forget to mention luck?
The problem, of course, is that the publishing industry
is imploding. Newspapers are on the ropes.
Once dominant magazines are reduced to internet versions
only. Publishers no longer read anything that
comes in "over the transom" and, now, you need to
network just find an agent who will agree to look at
your work.
Necessity
dictates that we pay attention to this maxim: whomever
controls the printing presses, controls reality. The
recent trend toward the conglomeration of the entire
publishing industry has dire implications for our
society...if we, as writers, allow it to happen. If you
want to be heard, and making a living doing it, submit
your work to SageMerlin, hone your writing skills, find
an agent, get read, find a publisher, get
published, and maybe even make some money.
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| click here to get
published |
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Sage Advice: |
 We All
Need Someone
We Can
Lean On |
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Advice
ranging from absolute common sense to absolute nonsense
is purveyed every day to untold millions of
readers and viewers from thousands upon thousands of
media outlets ranging from daily
newspapers to street corner palm readers on every
subject from love to money. Some of that advice is
quite good. Most of it is bullshit.
Our approach is
different. We don't think that anyone has all the
answers but, together, we might be able to find some
clues.
Starting from a humanistic perspective (that means we're
not religious fanatics bemused by any particular
religion), we'll go at each question as though our lives
depended upon it, because it sometimes does. At
the same time, we're going to keep watching Dr. Phil and
his cohorts so we can blow the whistle on them when
they screw up but, since we can't watch everything all
the time, we're going to need your help. |
| click here to get Sage Advice
or help advisors |
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Merlin's Friends: |
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Become a Sorcerer's
Apprentice:
Add Some Spice
To Your Life
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Merlin's
Friends are different. We're readers and writers,
artists and performers, change agents and agents
provocateur We're ardent about ideas,
information, art, music, and current affairs, but we
want to be part of the action instead of watching from
the sidelines... and people like that are hard to find.
When you join SageMerlin, you automatically become a
Sorcerer's Apprentice, and you have the option of
posting a profile on our Friends' page.
Merlin's Friends is a social networking site
exclusively for our members where you can connect with
like-minded people in your areas, and earn participation
points at the same time. It's designed to bring
the SageMerlin concept out of the internet and into the
real world.
Think of it as a Special Purpose Meetup, but free of
charge, a FaceBook, without the inane minutiae of
everyday life, as Twitter without the celebrities or the
character limits. (Pun intended.)
Uniquely, everyone who visits SageMerlin can see
everything posted here. There are no secrets here,
so make sure you mean it when you say it because we
publish your email address!!!!
|
| click here to get hooked up |
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Shop at SageMerlin |
 Visit
The Village Green Save Some Real Shekels |
|
In
ancient times, towns came to life on Fair Days, when
farmers and artisans from miles around would bring their
wares to the Village Green to buy, sell and trade. Sage
Merlin's Village Green is much the same thing, a place
where people can buy, sell or trade merchandise, a
virtual swap shop. Find - or sell - original arts
and crafts, and pay only a small fee (3%) to the
landlord but, since we're giving some of that money
back, it's money well spent. Get away from the
mainstream, buy direct from the source, and help support
Sage Merlin's experiment. |
| click Here to Get to the
Village Mall |
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SageMerlin
likes to call a spade a spade: You're
being ripped off.