If Wayne can have Fountains, then why can’t I have fields? I woke up this lovely morning and looked out onto the grounds. It seems as though some children had managed to stumble into my berry orchard. Like poets, artists, and dreamers, children have a way of finding their way in and out of here—in most cases, more easily than adults. Although I have heard some say that all journeys must begin, and end, here at the Mercuriosity Shop.
And maybe inside as well. The trees around the Mercuriosity Shop are heavy with pink and white blossoms. Time to go outside and enjoy the weather.
I received the following email recently. It concerns the mysterious number “23”. I think the info contained herein has been culled from numerous internet sites. (Now I know in my previous post I said I’d stay off the internet for a week, but it’s April 23rd! What was I supposed to do really?)
DAB: This is David B, here in Los Angeles in the home of Robert Anton
Wilson. It is April 23, 1988, a significant day in Robert Anton Wilson
philosophy. What is the significance of 23?
RAW: Well, 23 is a part of the cosmic code. It’s connected with so many
synchronicities and weird coincidences that it must mean something, I just
haven’t figured out yet what it means! In several of my books, including the
Illuminatus trilogy and Cosmic Trigger, I have given examples of a
tremendous number of coincidences connected with 23. Take today as an
example, April 23: this is the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, April 23,
1556 and his death, April 23, 1616. Also April 23, 1616, the same time
Shakespeare died in England, Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, died in
Spain. April 23, 1014 is when Brian Boru died, he was the first high king of
Ireland to be a political as well as religious leader. He unified all
Ireland and drove the Danes out, and on April 23, 1014 he was killed by one
of the Danes after the battle of Clontarf, where he defeated the Danes for
the final time, and liberated Ireland from foreign rule. August 23, 1170 is
when the Normans came in, and Ireland has been under foreign rule again, in
whole or in part, ever since. On Aug. 23, 1920 James Joyce was discussing
coincidences with a friend in a Paris bar when he suddenly saw a giant black
rat and fainted dead away. So that ties Joyce together with the invasion of
Ireland, and Shakespeare, and Brian Boru. All of this is in (James Joyce’s)
Finnegan’s Wake, by the way.
———————————-
the 23 enigma: Captain Clark welcomes you aboard!
The ‘23 Enigma’, as discovered by William S. Burroughs, presents itself as a
good omen for some - disaster for others. Trying to convey the phenomenon to
the uninitiated is as easy as describing the night sky to someone who has
been blind from birth.
When Burroughs was in Tangiers, he knew a Captain Clark who ran a ferry over
to Spain. One day, Clark told Burroughs that he had been doing the route for
23 years without an accident. That day, the ferry sank …that evening,
while Burroughs was thinking about the incident, a radio bulletin announced
the crash of Flight 23 on the New York-Miami route. The pilot was another
Captain Clark!
Burroughs began to keep a scrapbook of 23s. When writing about Dutch Shultz,
he realized that when the New York City gangster had put a contract out on
23-year-old Vincent ‘Mad Dog’ Coll, who met his end on 23rd St. Shultz
himself died on October 23rd, 1935. As Robert Anton Wilson writes in ‘Cosmic
Trigger’, the same night, Marty Crompier, another gangster was shot, but not
fatally. “It’s got to be one of them coincidences,” he told police.
Speaking of October 23rd, Seventeenth century scholar Archbishop Ussher
reckoned that the earth was created on October 23rd, 4004 BC, while the
Mayans believed the world will end on December 23rd, 2012.
Hexagram 23 in the ‘I Ching’ oracle means “break apart.” 23 in telegrapher’s
code means “break the line.” Aleister Crowley defined number 23 as “parting,
removal, separation, joy, a thread, and life …”
Parents each donate 23 chromosomes to the fertilized egg …the human
biorhythm cycle is generally 23 days, and it takes 23 seconds for blood to
circulate through the human body.
And so on …
This inexplicable fascination with 23 has become a mind-virus, seeping into
the music of ‘Psychic TV’, the art of H.R. Giger, the comics of Jamie
Hewlett and Grant Morrison, the literature of Robert Anton Wilson, Arthur
Koestler, Umberto Eco, and countless others. The pages of the ‘Principia
Discordia’ supply another feast of 23s. It now reached a point where one has
to be sharp to differentiate between the 23s meant as signposts for those in
the know, and those which appear for no obvious reason, in the damndest of
places. The Internet is these days littered with lists of historical and
scientific ’23s’, some of which are not so ` - i.e. mere coincidence, some
mind-boggling - beautiful synchronicity.
The ‘23 Enigma’ has its skeptics - those who say that it’s a focusing of
attention on just one number. This may be true, but as mentioned above, some
folks have fun with 23s - the day-to-day synchronicity that raises a private
smile - while for others it can be sheer hell, and we’re not just talking
about Burroughs’ two Captain Clarks. Genesis P. Orridge (his band, ‘Psychic
TV’, released 23 albums on the 23rd of each month for 23 months) told the
members of another British band, ‘Cabaret Voltaire’, about the enigma. They
showed interest, but skepticism. Two days later, Genesis received a phone
call from them:
“You bastard! … We’ve come to Holland to do three gigs, and in ever
hotel we’ve had room 23, and the gig on the 23rd was a complete disaster.
And everywhere we turn, there are 23s. What have you done?”
“Well, I did say you’d start noticing it,” answered Genesis.
———————————-
The date of July 23 has special significance for Robert Anton Wilson. It was
on July 23, 1973 that Wilson received a message from an extraterrestrial
from the planet Sirius. Or maybe, he says, it was a 6-foot-tall white rabbit
in County Kerry, Ireland. Or maybe he was just tripping on acid. (Wilson
also notes that on July 23, 1973, Monica Lewinsky was born.)
Thirty years later, a giddy Mayor Emily Reilly officially declared July 23,
2003 as “Robert Anton Wilson Day” in the city of Santa Cruz.
———————————-
There are 23 letters in the Latin alphabet
W = 23rd letter of the alphabet
It’s symbol is 2 points down, 3 up.
W, the only letter in the English language to be pronounced polysyllabically,
is 23rd in line. Note also that it is a double(2)-u and that has three(3)
syllables.
WWW = 23+23+23 = 69
69/3 = 23 -> 6+9+3 = 18 = 23-5 (2+3=5)
2 / 3 = .666
23 is the first prime number in which both digits are prime numbers and add
up to another prime number.
Two (2), three (3), and five(5) are the first three prime numbers in our
counting system. (1 is not prime, it’s an identity).
Square root(s) of 2,3, and 5 are used in respect to tetrahedral
hyperdimensional physics and perfect form in design. Square root(s)of 2, 3,
and 5 supposedly relative to D&M Pyramid on Mars and other similar
relationships. Also these square roots were quite common in early
architecture and considered the most aesthetically pleasing in design.
23 written in base 3 is 212 (2+1+2=5)
23 written in base 4 is 113 (1+1+3=5)
23 written in base 7 is 32 (3+2=5)
23 Axioms in Euclid’s Geometry.
Pentagram: the angle between the rays of a symmetrical-pointed star is 72
degrees. Also, the angle between legs of a pentagon is 108 degrees (the
complementary angle of 108 is 72(108+72=180)). (2^3)*(3^2)=2*3*2*3*2=72.
(Note that 5 (2^2)*(3^3)=3*2*3*2*3=58. Numbers are 2*3*2*3*5=180 multiplied in each equation.)
Two-thirds of numbers which are divisible by 2 are not multiples of 3.
In the Qabalistic Tree of Life, the 23rd path is associated with the Hanged
Man Tarot Card. Aleister Crowley also states that this card represents the
concept that the only way OUT is WITHIN!
Physical Phun & Phrolics
The human biorhythm cycle is generally 23 days. One measures a circle
beginning anywhere.
It takes 23 seconds for blood to circulate through the human body.
An average menstrual cycle is 28 (23+5) days.
The human body has 46 chromosomes, which are paired, in somatic cells.
Generative cells have half this number, 23, which is the number of
chromosomes each parents gives to human deoxyribonucleic acid.
The number of joints in the human arm is 23.
63 years, the average lifespan of a human being on the planet Earth, is
roughly 23,000 days.
23 days in the male sex cycle (according to Tantrists).
69 (23*3) is one of the many loved sexual positions of humans. The Zodiac
sign for Cancer looks like a sideways 69. Cancers are born between June 21
and July 21 and 21+2 (the number of characters in 69)=23
On average every 23rd wave crashing to shore is twice as large as the
average wave.
The name of the Uranium isotope used in bombs is U235.
The symbol for the 23rd element (Vanadium) is V (roman numeral 5).
The number of atoms of an element in one mole (cf. Atomic Weight) is
6.21x1023.
Astronomy & Astrology; Space, and all that.
First landing on the Moon was in the Sea of Tranquility, 23.63 degrees East.
Second landing was in the Ocean of Storms, 23.42 degrees West. Notice the
names of the picked sights and how they contrast. Note: First two landings
were Apollo 11 & 12 (11+12= 23!). Just exactly what does NASA know?
The days on which the signs of the Zodiac begin and end are the 22nd and
23rd of most months.
Johannes Kepler was born at 2:30pm in 1571. In astrology, this gives him an
Ascendant degree of 23 degrees. He was born at 2:30pm on Dec. 27, 1571 His
astrological rising sign was at 23’ of the sign Gemini, meaning that the
constellation of Gemini was rising in the east when he was born.
The axis of the Earth (which currently points vaguely at Polaris) describes
a circle in the heavens (switching off ‘pole stars’ and sometimes going
without) over a period of 23,000 years. Precision, as this motion is called,
also accounts for talk of our entering the Age of Aquarius (we entered the
age of Pisces around the era of the birth of the historical Jesus). The Sun
will ‘be in’ each of the ‘12’ Zodiac at Spring Solstice (each being an
‘age’) during this 23,000 year cycle.
Asteroid researchers measuring the rotation periods of asteroids reported
that none were found with periods of less than 2.3 hours. A rotation period
of less than 2.3 hours would cause them to be torn apart.
The comet Hale Bopp was at her closest point to Earth, 123 million miles.
July 23, 1996 - “Mysterious Eyes” of comet Hale-Bopp first sighted.
On the evening of March 23, 1997 in the US, not only was the comet Hale-Bopp
clearly visible, but there was also a lunar eclipse. Mars was also at its
closest distance to Earth.
Sirius A has a luminosity of 23.5.
The “Dog Days” of summer begin on July 23rd when the star Sirius, in the
Constellation of Orion, first rises from behind the sun.
The axis of the planet Earth is 23.5 degrees.
The distance from the center of the planet Mars to the center of it’s
farthest moon is 23,500 kilometers.
Average Lunar Cycle is 28 (23+5) days.
December 23, 2012 - A huge cycle ends in the Mayan calendar. Terence McKenna
thinks the Eschaton will Immanetize. Other theories suggest the ice caps,
having become wobbly from the gravitational pull exerted by the alignment
offive planets directly opposing the Spaceship Earth on 5-5-2005, will cause
the crust of the Earth to slip over the soggy innards, causing the ice caps
to melt, and new ones to form. Of course, this will cause massive flooding,
earthquakes, general mayhem and undoubtedly affect the quarterly earnings of
Nike. All because the earth is slightly tilted, averaging about 23.5
degrees! (Refer to Graham Hancock’sFingerprints of the Gods for more
background on this phenomenon. It ties in the Egyptians and other ancient
civilizations, Atlantis, Osiris, star-charts, geological evidence, and hard
physical evidence of the remnants of a lost, technologically superior
pre-historic race.)
December 23, 2012 - The date the Mayans believed the world will end. Hence
why they werereally obsessed with time and it’s observance.
The harmonic convergence occurs every 23,000 years.
July 23rd is both the Sumerian and Egyptian New Years.
On March 14, 1997, NASA representative states that MIR 23 space station is
having problems resulting from the February 23, 1997 fire and has used 23 of
their oxygen-generating canisters. It is the 23rd day aboard for the Russian
crew. Progress 233 supply vehicle has problems of its own and cannot redock
with MIR.
Saturn V (2+3=5) rockets were used to launch the Apollo missions to the
moon.
The longitudinal coordinates of the Apollo 11 moon landing were 23.63
degrees. (2+3=5 while 6+3=9=32)
Ufology
23+23+2+3 = 51 (Area 51)
23 Annunaki, the number of the original advance team of “aliens” who aided
in the seeding of life on this planet.
April 23; More reported UFO sightings on this day than any other day of the
year. This is the flapday of the year.
The date of the ‘weather balloon’ crash at Roswell, New Mexico was July 3,
1947. 7+3+1+9+4+7=32. The reverse of 23.
Regarding UFOs, the myth-inspiring Hangar 18 is yet another alien parts
store. (23-5=18)
Literature
Allen Ginsberg died at 2:39pm April 5: 2+3+9+4+5=23. The code at the bottom
of the Reuter’s article about Ginsberg’s death reads: ‘23:28’. (28=23+5).
Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616. Most of
Shakespeare is known to us through the first folio published in 1623.
23+23=46. Shakespeare was 46 years old in the year 1610 (1+6+1+0=8, 8=23),
the year the King James Bible was published. Psalm 46 in that translation
has as its 46th word “shake” while the 46th word from the end is “spear.” Go
ahead, explain that one. I dare ya. It’s also a fun party trick!
In the early ‘60’s in Tangiers, William Burroughs knew a certain “Captain
Clark” who ran a ferry from Tangiers to Spain. One day, Clark said to
Burroughs that he’d been running the ferry 23 years without an accident.
That very day the ferry sank, killing Clark and everyone aboard. In the
evening, Burroughs was thinking about this when he turned on the radio. The
first newscast headlined the crash of an airline plane on the New York-Miami
route. The pilot was another Captain Clark and the flight was listed as
Flight 23 (ala the line “Captain Clark welcomes you aboard.”).
2+3=5 is the equation Descartes chooses to theorize about as being an
objective truth that he is possibly being fooled into believing is true in
his Meditations on First Philosophy.
Not really literature, but then again, he did publish his works; June 1,
1996; The day Timothy Leary died. The date 6-1-1996 provides 6+1+1+9+9+6=32,
or 23 backwards. Fortean Times #97 reported that Timothy Leary’s ashes were
to be launched into space the 2nd week of March (the third month). The
launch contained the ashes of Timothy Leary,Star Trek creator Gene
Roddenberry and 23 others…
June 16th, 1904; (19 + 04 = 23) The day James Joyce uses in Ulysses, who
mentions the General Slocum disaster the day before repeatedly within this
book.
In Dickens’Tale of Two Cities, Sidney Carlton, the 23rd man, is guillotined
in the final scene. “The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many
faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so
that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes
away. Twenty-Three.”
The Catch-22 of Joseph Heller’s book/film: “If a bomber-pilot don´t want to
fly missions then he´s sane, for mission-flying is deadly dangerous. If a
bomber does want to fly missions then he´s insane for missions-flying is
deadly dangerous. The only way to stop flying missions is to be insane, but
if the flyer does want to fly missions then why shouldn’t he go on? No way
out (23).”
Lines 22-23 of Book I of Milton’s Paradise Lost read, “…. what in me is
dark Illumine, what is low raise and support…”
Jim Carroll - Forced Entries
p.3 - Chapter: Jenny Ann, like a cat
“She brought with her all my morning staples - two light and sweet coffees,
two chocolate donuts (one laced with coconut flakes), and a pint of
chocolate Italian ice from the pizza stand across 23rd Street.”
p.6 - Chapter: A Day at the Races
“He came in clocked at twenty-three seconds.”
p.41 - Chapter: Robert Smithson does some impressive talking to an idiot who
just trailed a beam of light
“On 23rd Street I noticed that it turned, heading off a mirror five flights
up a building facade on the southwest corner, in the direction of Lexington
Avenue.”
p.42 - Chapter: Robert Smithson does some impressive talking to an idiot who
just trailed a beam of light
“I was ready, however, to match my determination with it’s creator’s
considerable wit, and I ran back down to 23rd to follow the downtown light
from where it had originally split in two.”
There are probably more references in this book, but I haven’t checked the
rest of it for the number 23 yet.
Religion, sects and the occult
Numbers 32:23 - Be sure your sin will find you out
In Aleister Crowley’s Cabalistic Dictionary, he defines the number 23 as the
number of “parting, removal, separation, joy, a thread, and life…”
Refer to Chapter 69 of Aleister Crowley’s Book of Lies. 69/3=23. 6+9+3=18.
18=23-5. We could go off all day…
Revelations of The New Testament has 22 sections the 22nd having 21 lines;
implying a progression to 23
The most frequent numbers in the Book of Revelations are 4 (the powerful
beasts), 7 (seven seals, seven churches, etc.), and 12 (12 apostles, etc.).
4+7+12=23!
There is no known 23rd Chapter to Revelations.
I Corinthians 15:56, Paul said “The sting of death [23] is sin and the
strength of sin [13] is the law [10].”
Daniel 8:14 “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days;
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…”
7.32 is the Holy Number of the First Church of Zypgx, which gives all of its
members a number between 7.32 and 8. (7 being the number of luck, 32 being
23 backwards and 8 being approximately the symbol for infinity. 3.1415 is of
course, the mathematical enigma which is pi. Multiply these two numbers and
you get almost exactly 23. The followers of the First Church of Zypgx also
believe that when pi is found to the last decimal place, the number of their
Savior timesexact pi will be precisely 23. And you thought the Heaven’s Gate
people were a bit kooky?
Church of the Process; Famed church, espoused by Skinny Puppy and Psychic
TV, which regards 23 as a special number of great significance.
There are 23 chapters of the Cult Awareness Network. Incidentally, the
over-zealous law firm which for years has represented the “Church” of
Scientology, a more successful joke religion than even Discordianism,
purchased the logo and license agreement of the Cult Awareness Network
(CAN). The Heaven’s Gate Away Team nerds were really happy about this
according to some of their USENET posts.
L. Ron Hubbard; His Axiom 23: All thought is concerned with motion.
December 23, 1805; Birth date of Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or as the better marketing name goes,
Mormons).
December 23, 679; The date that Dagobert II, a Merovingian King was
murdered. Speculation, derived from the research of the highly controversial
book entitledHoly Blood, Holy Grail, leads one to conclude this
assassination was performed in connivance with the Catholic Church. The
church leaders, unhappy with Dagobert’s apparent policy of religious
tolerance in his kingdom, located in the south of France, allegedly got him
out of the way to best serve their own interests. A predecessor of Dagobert,
Clovis, had an alliance with the Catholic church, so it is possible that
church leaders saw Dagobert’s actions as a betrayal of what was considered a
long standing policy of pro-Catholic reforms.
Two-thirds of the angels decided to stick it out in Heaven with God after
Lucifer and the other third fell.
The address of the Freemasons lodge in Stafford, England is 23 Jaol Rd. In
New York it is on 23rd street.
Henry Price is buried in the cemetery of Townsend, Massachusetts. His
monument is an obelisk that measures 69” tall (69 / 3 = 23). On the side of
the monument facing west it says:Henry Price “Founder of Duly Constituted
Masonry in America.” On the east face it says:Born in London about 1697,
removed to Boston about 1723, appointed Provincial Grand Master of New
England in 1733. The monument is carved on 2 faces, made of 3 pieces - base,
block, and cap stone.
The Templars had only 23 Grandmasters. Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and
last of the Templar Grandmasters. “Jacques de Molay, thou art unhinged!”
October 13 (10+13=23) is the month and day that the Knight Templars were
arrested in France… hence Friday the 13th being considered a day of bad
luck. Amazing how it all starts to fit together, isn’t it?
Level of ONE; The newest front society of the Illuminated, the 23rd level of
the ONE is reported to be the last level attainable (achieving departure
from Earth). Remind you of something else?
According to Bishop Usher in hisAnnales Veteris Testament (Annals of the Old
Testament), the supposed date of God’s creation of the world is October 23,
4004 BC.
September 23; Yom Kippur.
Tarot; 2 is the number of balance, 3 is the number of synergy and 5 is the
number of strife in the Tarot deck. Presumably, therefore, if things always
changed, or if things never changed we would be all right, but when both
happen, we experience troubling times.
The trump cards, or the Major Arcana of the Tarot represent a cycle, or
wheel. The cards are 22 in number, “beginning” with the fool and “ending”
with the universe. But, as the standard musical scale of western music is an
octave (seven notes (ABCDEFG) with the first repeated as the last (ABCDEFGA)
to represent the progressive cycle of the musical scale), the 22 trumps,
when arranged with the fool at the “beginning and end”, actually form a
cycle of 23.
There is no 23rd card in the Major Arcana.
The I Ching Hexagram 23 means “Break Apart”. Telegrapher’s use 23 as the
code for ‘break the line’.
Musical Madness
The song “Just a perfect day”, originally by Lou Reed, has been released in
a special BBC edition, and is performed by 23 famous artists
In the song “Gett Off”, by the artist formerly known as Prince, the lyrics
read: “Gett off! Twenty-three positions in a one-night stand”.
The Police; Their song “Synchronicity I” is 3:23 long.
Richard 23, name of the backup vocalist for the Belgian industrial rock band
Front 242.
Kurt Cobain; Born 1967: 1+9+6+7=23. Died 1994: 1+9+9+4=23.
Demolition 23, the name of a pleasantly subversive band.
The first song on Side A of the Beatles first Album took 23 takes to record.
U2; U is the 21st letter in the alphabet added to the number two gives you
23.
Psychick TV made the Guinness Book of World Records by release the most
amount of albums in the shortest time period. 23 albums in 23 months on the
23rd of each month.
There are 23 letters in the name Justified Ancients of Mu Mu.
August 23; Birth date of Keith Moon, original drummer for the Who.
August 23, 1995; David Gottel, a member of Skinny Puppy, died. Huh.
In Dvoráks Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (5th letter of the alphabet, btw), you
hear the morse code for V, the Roman Numeral Symbol for 5. Titled “From the
New World”, probably as in “The New World Order”. You also hear the same BA
BA BA BUUUMMMMMM (Dot Dot Dot Dash) in Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, which he
wrote after being “Illuminated” by Adam Weishaupt.
Sonny Bono died on Jan 5, 98 (1/5/98) -> 1+5+9+8=23
Gorillaz, the virtual band of cartoon-characters. Since the characters are
designed by Mr. Hewlett of Tank Girl-fame, we can expect to see lots of 23’s
in their clips ;-)
Not to mention the Spiral 23 Tribe of course; a tribe of traveling people
involved in underground tekno movement traveling all around the world (from
UK to USA and India)… you may want to start your search on info about them
here: http://www.network23.org.
Coincidences with Computers
The fifth generation is the 32 bit bus, 32 being the fifth power os 2, and
23 * 22.
Standard TCP/IP port for Telnet is 23.
Most URLs for the web contain 2 “/”s and 3 W’s…
10111 is the binary equivalent to 23. Note the five digits, yet another
connection to the Law of Fives.
There are 23 buildings on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington. Where
do you want Bill Gates to go today?
Computers communicate in 23 bits (bytes).
SEGA; 19+5+7+1 = 32 ; 1+9+5+7+1 = 23
Moving pictures
In the epic cartoon Yellow Submarine the Blue Meenies are comprised of a
wild pack of destructive anti-music villains. Among them is a character
named the Butterfly Stomper (butterfly being a symbol of transformation).
The Butterfly Stomper is one who destroys all things of beauty. On his shirt
is the number 23… and you know what that means.
Bug Bunny says in one cartoon “frick-a-frack-a fire-crack-er siss boom bah!
Bugs Bunn-y Bugs Bunn-y Rah Rah Rah!” There are 19 syllables in this cryptic
statement. 1-9=-8, or -23, the prime number before 23. Wow… people are
funny.
Tank Girl ; the Tank Girl comic-books are literally packed with the number
23.
Twin Peaks ; Laura Palmer was murdered on februari 23rd.
The Academy Award winning film “Charly” is the story of a low-grade moron
(IQ around Dan Quayle’s) who is transformed by neuro-surgery into a
superhuman genius (IQ 200 plus). In the crucial operation scene, the number
on the operating room is visible, and it is 23.
In the movie Airplane II the name of the space ship is theXR - 2300.
In the movie Airport, the mad bomber has Seat 23.
In the movie Babe, the little piggy is the 23rd contestant for the Sheep Dog
contest. Kind of takes the innocence of the flick away doesn’t it?
In the movie Die Hard III the train derails in subway station 23.
In the movie Hackers, the data which causes all the action is take from
‘data bank 23’.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978); The first trash truck seen
transporting pods is labeled number 23.
Lawrence of Arabia; Anthony Quinn’s character proclaims he has 23 wounds
upon his body.
In David Lynch’s film, Lost Highway, Fred’s number in the jail is 47516
(4+7+5+1+6=23).
In Oliver Stone’s Nixon, Tricky Dick’s football jersey at Whittier is number
23.
Quiz Show; A waiter chooses 23 when asked for a random number, and the
contestant follows with a list of 23 related facts to show his knowledge
base.
Star Wars
The Millennium Falcon escapes Mos Eisley spaceport from docking bay 94
(9/3=3 and 4/2=2 reverse it and you get 23).
In the final assault on the Death Star, Luke Skywalker is in Red 5. Red 2
and Red 3 start the bomb runs at 23 degrees. “Stay on target!”
R2-D2 and C-3PO: R2+C3=RC (Rosy Cross, Rosicrucian) and 23.
TK421, the only stormtrooper called by name in the Star Wars trilogy.
T(20)+k(11)+4-2-1=32. The reverse of 23. Now that’s the spirit! Why aren’t
you at you’re post?
The cell block where Princess Leia was held on the Death Star was AA-23 on
Level 5. A.’.A.’.?
When Luke Skywalker is in the trench during his bombing run, the first
number you see on the targeting computer is 23. The next scene that shows
the computer shows the number 32.
George Lucas’ first real movie, in alphabetic order, T=20, H=8, X=24.
(T)20-(H)8=12; 1+3+8=12; reconcile: 12-12=0 which leaves (X)24-1=23.
Support your local gunslinger; James Garner’s character, who despises
roulette, announces that he has “an irresistible urge to bet on the number
23.” 23 becomes a running gag throughout the comedy-western.
In the movie “The Prophecy”, the Bible belonging to the dead angel Uziel is
bookmarked on the 23rd chapter of Revelations.
The number on Adam Sandler’s helmet in “Happy Gilmore” is 23.
Marilyn Monroe’s former address is 12305 Helena Drive.
Popeye is seen repeatedly pondering the number 23 in many of his 1970’s TV
Cartoons.
Babylon 5; A 5 mile long space station, a 5 year story line, set in the 23rd
century, naturally. And if you watch closely, you’ll notice it’s all parable
for Clinton and Whitewater.
Seinfeld; Kramer hides his air conditioner on Level Purple 23 in a shopping
carpark. This episode was played in Australia on 23 September 1996.
Sesame Street; Bert is a member of the National Association of W Lovers. W
is the 23rd letter of the alphabet, if you haven’t had that driven into your
head by now.
In most every episode of ST:TNG, if a number is given it will usually be a
23 (or 23,000).
X Files; Ten-Thirteen (10+13=23) is the name of the production company famed
for producing shows like the X-files and Millennium. 10-13 is the Birth date
of creator Chris Carter and the day the Knights Templar were arrested in
France in 1307. Aha! you exclaim, More proof!
1013 (10+13=23) is the number on the abandoned nuclear missile silo where a
UFO is contained and Crycek is locked up by the Men in Black in an episode
of X-Files.
Agent Mulder goes to the apartment of a recently deceased man in one
episode, and we see the number 23 on the door as he is let in.
Max Headroom broadcast on Network 23
August 23, 1970; Birth date of River Phoenix, actor. Died of drug overdose,
“You call him Dr. Bones, doll!”
Historical events, politics, and related stuff
230 people died on TWA Flight 800.
The two recovered seats from TWA Flight 800 with shrapnel damage were Seats
23J and 23K. The explosion is theorized to have occurred at this location.
April 19th; As in 4-19… 4 + 19 = 23. April 19 is the date the Battle of
Lexington, Waco, and the Oklahoma City Bombing… (4+19=23).
August 23, 1305; The day William Wallace, whose life is fictionalized in the
movieBraveheart, was executed for treason to the crown by leading a Scottish
revolt. Interestingly, this was the pre-cursor to the underground Knights
Templar refugees’ involvement with Robert the Bruce at the Battle of
Bannockburn.
Over 50% of the national media is owned by 23 major corporations, as
reported by Noam Chomsky. To recapitulate… more than half of the
information thrust upon the American people is controlled by only 23
corporations.
Bill Clinton’s numerical initials are B=2 C=3.
The number of letters in William Jefferson Clinton is 23.
John Dillinger robbed 26 banks, but only 23 for money. Now that’s a
statement.
2323 Clark St. Chicago, IL: this is the theater where John Dillinger was
allegedly shot while leaving after the flick Manhattan Melodrama ended.
Also, have you noticed that in most movies hotel room numbers are based on
five, with many of them being 23, or some variation that breaks down to 5?
Arthur Flengenheimer (a.k.a. Dutch Schultz) died in a New York hospital on
October 23, 1934 and uttered: “A boy has never wept nor dashed a thousand
kim… French Canadian bean soup… The bears are in trouble and the
sidewalks are in trouble…”
Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945 (8+6+4+5=23).
Adolf Hitler organized the National Socialist Congress on January 23. On
November 23 he tried to seize power.
On January 23, 1968 the USS Pueblo was hijacked off of North Korea. The crew
was held exactly 11 months until December 23, 1968 when they were released
after being beaten by soviets to give back an intercepted USSR message
stating plans to start a nuclear war with Red China.
There are exactly 23 plainly visible characters (letters & numbers) on the
front of U.S. Coins.
The Articles of Impeachment meant for Richard Nixon were under Article 2,
Section 3 of the Constitution. In the sweetest irony, Our Beloved First
Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was one of the young lawyers who helped
research the constitutionality of impeaching a reigning President. Nice of
her to do all the groundwork for us…
The USA performed 23 tests of atomic detonations at Bikini Atoll in the
South Pacific.
October 23, 1956; The day the Hungarian revolution began against the
Russians. Not to be confused with any of the many previous Hungarian
revolutions.
Parliamentary Procedure; 23 votes are required to rescind a Motion.
The Unabomber allegedly hurt or killed 23 people.
———————————-
Dreiundzwanzig - 23 - Die Geschichte des Hackers Karl Koch
Das Buch zum Film über das kurze Leben eines jungen Hackers, der in das
Machtspiel von Presse, Verfassungsschutz und Geheimdiensten gerät. Hannover
1986. Der 19-jährige Karl Koch flieht aus der verlogenen Welt der
Erwachsenen und entdeckt auf seiner Suche nach den Hintergründen politischer
Mechanismen Dinge, die ihn an eine globale Verschwörung glauben lassen. Er
taucht ab in eine Welt aus Drogen und nächtlichen Reisen durch die
Datennetze. Die Grenze zwischen Realität und Phantasie verschwimmt.
———————————-
I first read about the 23 enigma in Robert Anton Wilson’s book “Cosmic
Trigger: The Final Secret of the Illuminati”. I wrote to Mr. Wilson to tell
him of my own experience of the 23 phenomenon, intending to deliver the
letter in person at the “Cerealogist Cornference” being held in Glastonbury
in August 1991, where he was due to give a talk. Unfortunately, he didn’t
make it. What follows is based on that original letter:
My father died on 23rd. December 1990 in Krefeld, Germany. I went over the
next day to join my mother and help with the arrangements for the funeral
service and cremation. I had been discussing the 23 enigma with my father
when I had last seen him in the summer of 1990. My mother had noticed the
irony of the date when he died, and although the atmosphere was pretty grim,
there were moments of light relief during my first hours there when we kept
noticing things like the sell-by dates of items of food being the 23rd. and
prices being 23 Pfennigs.
After supper, my mother was telling me about a trapeze-artist she’d become
friends with. She and Dad had been to a circus performance during which
she’d unfortunately suffered a serious fall which ended her trapeze career.
Mum had visited her in hospital and they’d subsequently kept up a
correspondence. She passed me the latest letter she’d received - and I
noticed that her house number was 23.
Christmas in Germany is on 24th. December, and that evening Mum wanted to
unwrap the presents anyway, and asked me to open Dad’s. I didn’t really want
to, especially when it came to my own to him, which I left till last. It was
an anthology of stories of the supernatural. When I got into bed that night,
I decided I’d read out one of the stories to Dad. The first story - a ghost
story - was set on 23rd. December.
We had several visitors over the next few days. Among them was Brian, who
mentioned with pride that he had a large collection of shirts - 23
altogether. While he was there, Mum got out a personal stereo that dad had
kept aside for one of my children. As she gave it to me, we were startled to
see that the model number was BFM 23. Later, as we tried to sort out the
teletext information on the T.V. to check on my brother’s incoming flight
from America, we noticed that the listings ran to 23 pages.
During the week a group of us had dinner in a restaurant. I ordered a pizza
by name, and the waitress said, “Ah yes - number 23.” When I reacted, the
others wanted to know why, so I explained. There was some interest and some
scepticism. Then Renate, who was sitting next to me, told us all about the
collection that had been taken in Dad’s office just before Christmas. The
staff had been asked whether they wanted to have the money spent on a meal,
or have it shared out equally amongst them. They chose the latter option,
and the share amounted to 23 marks each. Renate realised with shock what
she’d just said. At the end of the meal we agreed to split the total bill
equally amongst us, rounding up to the nearest mark to cover the tip. The
actual amount each came to 22 marks, 64 pfennigs, which, of course, rounded
up to 23 marks.
Before the funeral service Aunty May (Dad’s sister) and I went to the
mortuary in the R.A.F. hospital in Rheindalen to pay our last respects. The
bus route going into the hospital grounds was for bus number 23. As we
parked, I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and noticed that the time
was 10.23. I began to wonder if Dad was having a last joke. Then as we were
led round to the mortuary, I couldn’t help but notice that all the buildings
were numbered. Surely the mortuary couldn’t be - but it was - building
number 23.
Mum had been asked by the padre to pick the hymns for the funeral service.
She chose “The Old Rugged Cross” because Dad had expressed a wish for that
at his funeral and “The Lord Is My Shepherd”, not knowing, until I pointed
it out, that its real title was Psalm 23. (Curiously, despite it having been
chosen, it didn’t appear on the order of service, so didn’t get sung.)
The day after the service I was discussing all this 23 business with my
brother, Peter. We were sheltering from the rain in a doorway downtown. He
was a bit dubious about it all, until he noticed over my shoulder that we
were standing in the doorway of building number 23.
When I left at the end of the week to return to England, Brian (of the 23
shirts) gave me a lift to Aachen to pick up the train to Zeebrugge. On the
way we got lost in one of the worst thunderstorms I have ever experienced.
After much frantic detouring (we were running out of time), we found our way
back onto the motorway on spotting a sign which read, “Aachen - 23
Kilometers”.
On the ferry, I was idly looking at my passport, when I realised that the
issue date was 23rd. July. This prompted me to look for any other 23’s I
might have on me, although I felt instinctively that I shouldn’t actually
seek them out. I examined my boarding pass, which bore two serial numbers.
The first added up to 24 and the second to 22. The one inbetween - the
“missing” number - was, of course, 23.
When I arrived in Felixstowe I got a taxi to the railway station in Ipswich.
As we set off the driver said into his microphone, “23 here…”
Dad’s obituary appeared in “Sixth Sense”, the newspaper of the British
Forces in Europe, in January 1991 - in the edition of the 23rd. He also
appeared posthumously on television, during an item on some ex-servicemen
who were getting up a petition. While one of them was being interviewed, a
photograph taken at his wedding years earlier was shown. Dad had been the
best man - and there he was on T.V. Mum subsequently gave me the phone
number of someone who could give us a copy of the video-recording of the
news item. The first two digits of the phone number were 23.
Mum came over to England in 1991 to find somewhere to live. After three
depressing weeks of looking we finally found the ideal place, in Sheringham
in Norfolk. A new estate was being built on the outskirts of the town. There
was one house left for sale. Mum was 99% convinced she ought to go for it,
and was wondering whether Dad would have liked it. As we stood in the site
office and I studied the map of the new estate, I asked the woman there if,
since the plot number was 30, the address would be 30 also. No, came the
reply, that was only the plot number. The house address would be number
23…
Mum bought the house.
(One final note - I wrote the original letter to Robert Anton Wilson on the
day I received the tickets for the crop circle conference. It was as I began
the letter that I first noticed the date - 23rd. August 1991. And the day
I’m uploading this file - 23rd. April 1997.)
fnord
So he asked, “What is the use of this horse of wood, and what is its virtue and what is the secret of its movement?”; and the Persian answered, “Oh my lord, the virtue of this horse is that, if one mount him, it will carry him whither he will and fare with his rider through the air and cover the space of a year in a single day.”from
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Long-time visitors know I photograph portraits of strange beings who visit me at the Mercuriosity Shop. Well, now I’ve taken up shooting portraits of books. And since I had mentioned Chagall recently, I thought I’d share something I keep on the shelves in the Librarium here at the Shop. It’s a book called Marc Chagall Arabian Nights, although it’s since been retitled to Arabian Nights: Four Tales from a Thousand and One Nights, which is probably more accurate. Of course the text is excerpted from the translation by Sir Richard F. Burton, but Chagall had created a set of beautiful, dreamlike lithographs based on the stories. These were later collected, along with Chagall’s sketches on the subject matter, and compiled into the book that you see open before you now.
To see the detail of the portrait I photographed above, one may view it here.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
So the eunuch carried the King’s order to the Minister, who straightway summoned the Captains of the host and the Lords of the realm and bade them don their harness of derring-do and mount horse and sally forth in battle array.
As some of you know, I sometimes venture out with my orgone-powered antique box camera which was originally used for spirit photography. I’ve joined it with a transverse glamour lens, and my usual entity sensitive film. Most of the time, I get nothing. But sometimes in special places, or at special times of year, I develop the film and I find I’ve captured a picture of something—or someone—that usually slips between the familiar notions of our perception.
And whom do you think this might be?
Around a week or so ago, I received my shipment of opera posters from the Polish Poster Gallery. I promptly got them framed, and I’ve just finished hanging them on the wall.
While the Polish Poster Gallery has many posters of various different subjects, styles, and artists to choose from, my favorites all were painted by Rafal Olbinski. If you must know, the posters I ordered were Tosca (2000), Aida, and Il Viaggio a Reims.
Some of you might remember when I mentioned the Clone Wars back in November. It was an animated series of shorts that aired on the Cartoon Network. They are intended to tide the fans over until the next (last) Star Wars movie. The bad news was, it ran for ten episodes and then stopped. The good news is, it’s started again! Go here to watch the new episodes of CLONE WARS!
Oh yes, and borrowed from the Cartoon Network website this image was. But, already knew that, you did.
The Gryffin, all-around Mercuriosity Shop menace, refers to the Bush administration’s National Security Adviser as Condoleezza Fleiss. He believes her relationship with the President is a little more “Jeffersonian” that is let on. Me, I would never be so uncharitable. I do question her conceit that she feels she is not answerable to the American people, however. But I am glad that she’s finally decided to aid the 9/11 Commission. Although she does seem rather “put out” by it—she’s been pouting in the news for a week now.
Now I know I promised to stay off the political soapbox, but I only mention it to introduce this illustration by an associate of the Gryffin’s, namely one L. Penner. And don’t neglect to pay special attention to Ms. Rice’s earrings.