Moonit wants to make sure we all learn something new every day. That's why we're teaming up again with our partners at Astrolabe to create a brand new feature on the site: dynamic relationship updates! In addition to the relationship assessments we're already providing, Moonit will be updating your relationships in real-time to let you know what to expect with your crush, significant other, boss, best friend or mother-in-law every day. So pretty soon you'll know… when to call in sick with the swine flu and when to show up for work bright and early with bells on… when to get home a little bit later than usual or go ahead and get it on… when to screen that call and when to pick up… ]]> http://blog.moonit.com/2009/11/learn-something-new-every-day/feed/ 0 http://blog.moonit.com/2009/07/lots-of-lunar-activity/ http://blog.moonit.com/2009/07/lots-of-lunar-activity/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:19:10 +0000 dana http://blog.moonit.com/?p=949 Moonit wants to take a moment to call out all the lunar activity going on right now because, as you may have guessed, we're all about the moon in all its glory. Forty years ago this week, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission, a giant step for mankind indeed. And we have to give a shout out to Buzz Aldrin, the most underrated astronaut, commonly referred to as "that second guy who landed on the moon. You know, the one right after Neil Armstrong" (meanwhile, the first object to land on the surface of the moon did so ten years earlier, as part of the Soviet Union's Luna 2 unmanned mission on September 13, 1959, but we won't dwell on that part). 

So not only is this the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, but the solar eclipse is happening this week, too. That means the moon will come between the sun and earth… entirely blocking out the sun. And this isn't just any eclipse. At 6 minutes and 39 seconds, it's the longest eclipse that will occur during the 21st century and won't be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132! This event has caused quite a stir, with a lot of superstitious people around the world ready to hole themselves up in their houses and pray to every god known to man. Since ancient times, Hindus associated malicious forces with the eclipse, assigning demonic creatures responsible for extinguishing the light and making food and water unfit for consumption. And today, pregnant women in areas like India still stay inside on the day of the eclipse to reduce the risk of birth defects. 

Some astrologers are portending doom while others, like Siva Prasad Tata who runs the site Astro Jyoti, are taking a far less alarmist approach. He says there's no need to worry as eclipses are a natural phenomenon. On the contrary, "during the period of the eclipse, the opposite attracting forces are very, very powerful. From a spiritual point of view, this is a wonderful time to do any type of worship. It will bring about good results, much more than on an ordinary day."

Rated a top 15 site and one of the top 50 companies in India with a record number of documented marriages online, BharatMatrimony has been around since 1997. The site allows users to screen by age, gender, religion (e.g. Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist), caste (e.g. Ahom, Brahmin, Intercaste, Kalita), subcaste, occupation (e.g. Doctor, Accountant, Lawyer, Engineer, Teacher) and location (by city and country). Profiles not only include users' photos and estimated heights but also links to their horoscopes.

My sister's colleague used the site to screen for a potential mate based on the criteria above, but that was only the preliminary measure he took. He then had their natal information run. Only when it was determined that their synastry was good did their families agree to make contact. At that point, they did another reading to double-check before he actually met the girl, spoke to her and agreed to marry her in short order. After all, the signs were all pointing them that way.

It seems that even the most progressive and practical twenty-something year-olds in India–those who have abandoned the practice of formally arranged marriages–are still staying true to their roots by consulting astrological charts and relying upon matchmaking services that use a lot of the same criteria as their age-old predecessors. Only difference is that this time, the services are readily available both on and offline. Although astrological synastry remains the true deciding factor for Indians tying the knot, the process of checking synastries has not been automated and rolled into sites like Bharat. To all you young singles in India and the US, Moonit is just a mouse click away!

So what constitutes a pandemic? It's a virus or pathogen spreading around the world through sustained human contact.  Like the disastrous Spanish Flu of 1918, this version is, interestingly enough, also most detrimental to very healthy and active young people (who are apt to breathe in more contaminated air into their lungs than the sick and elderly).  Although we live in a truly global society where spring breakers can be in Central and South America one day and a NYC or European public school the next, we are better prepared today because we can leverage the R&D investment made to combat the two most recent scares.

The chart above showcases the new moon–full moon–new moon cycle over the next month. What it shows is that the approaching Jupiter/Neptune conjunction on May 27th is becoming more intense as it further aligns with Chiron, which rules medicine and the healing arts and squares Mercury (the God of trade, profit and commerce). The Jupiter/Neptune conjunction has the ability to make things much bigger and "inflated." Neptune rules the oceans and things fluid, such as air-born infection by sneezing.

Generally speaking, this astrological alignment supports the idea that, either the current swine flu outbreak has the potential to be a major world-wide pandemic with much greater impact and loss of life than anyone is considering at this point, or the media coverage of the outbreak will be blown to these momentous proportions.

Interestingly, the total solar eclipse of July 21/22, which will cross over such major population centers as Calcutta, Delhi, Shanghai and Wuhan in Southern China, suggests that the crisis may have its greatest impact on the peoples of the two most populous countires in the world with unimaginable loss of life and the consequent economic impact! We're going to look at the astrological signatures of the 1918, 1957 and 1968 pandemics to determine if there are any similarities to the current picture. Now that Pluto has entered Capricorn (which last occurred during the American Revolution) the transformations which are likely to impact society and the world economy are likely to be profound.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So he's (understandably) feeling frustrated by recent White House invitation snubs, getting beaten to the punch by Gordon Brown and missing a prime photo op at the G20 Summit, stolen by Berlusconi and Medvedev. As for the Presidents' wives, Michelle and Carla's interactions did not amount to any sort of a catfight or fashionista face-off, much to the dismay of ogling paparazzi.

So what's going on behind the scenes in both of these marriages?  And what potential does Barack have to forge a lasting relationship with the center-right French president? These are the sorts of questions that Moonit seeks to get to the bottom of. Moonit ventured beyond the double-sided kisses and dug up the foursome's birth data as a starting point for our romantic and professional relationship analysis:

• Michelle Obama: January 17, 1964 at time unknown (we're assuming 12 noon) in Chicago Illinois
• Carla Bruni-Sarkozy: December 23, 1967 at 6:10pm in Turin, Italy 
• Nicolas Sarkozy: January 28, 1955 at 10pm in Paris, France
• Barack Obama: August 4, 1961 at 7:24pm in Honolulu, Hawaii

Believe it or not, Barack and Nicolas are an ideal combination for a close relationship–they've apparently got a lot in common, communicating well together without feeling threatened or hurting each other's feelings.  Barack has the drive necessary for joint projects, while Nicolas can offer his know-how and planning capabilities. Nicolas is the more intuitive of the two while Barack will rely on his intellect. Since Nicolas is more of a risk taker, he can sometimes feel constrained by Barack, who errs on the side of discretion and feels a slow but sure approach is a sign of success.

Overall, it's likely Barack is the more dominant person in the relationship, but he stands to receive emotional support from Nicolas that helps him achieve his professional goals. If these two were to interact over time, however, Nicolas is in danger of growing needy, feeling like he can no longer rely on Barack, and Barack can then become distant and withdrawn towards him. Thankfully, it seems the two will remain cordial and supportive of one another, but no long-term bromance is in the works, so you won't see Barack riding bikes around France with Nicolas like Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConnoughy any time soon.

When taking a look at Barack and Michelle's charts, you can definitely see how they ended up together. There's not only a lot of romance and intimacy going on there, but also positive signs for community involvement, interacting on a professional level and family life. But anyone could probably guess that stuff. What many of you might not know is that tensions can also flare between the two of them, with Michelle communicating on an intuitive or feeling-based level while Barack is generally the more rational thinker of the two. The result is a relationship with a lot of intense passion but the occasional emotional spats (seems like quite a good trade-off if you ask us).

Nicolas and Carla's whirlwind romance is the epitomy of opposites attracting, where sparks probably flew the instant they met at a fated dinner party… they're able to fill deep voids within each other and broaden one another's horizons with exciting new experiences. After that initial infatuation and fascination wanes, though, friction starts to creep in, and what was once attractive (maybe Carla's bohemian ballads and swimsuit model bod?) starts to seem pretty darn irritating  (maybe Carla's pretentious lyrics and nude photos of her appearing left and right?).

Nicolas may eventually have a hard time understanding Carla's emotional nature, feeling impatient and frustrated by the limitations she imposes. Carla may in turn feel overwhelmed by his personality, letting her insecurities get the best of her.  But chances are that the two are willing to persist through troubled times, having the maturity at this point in their lives to realize the rewards of the relationship they are building together are great. Since Carla herself has been quoted as saying that "love lasts a long time, but burning desire—two to three weeks," I'm sure she is all too aware that it takes work after the honeymoon is over.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Danny Gokey: April 24, 1980
• Kris Allen:  June 21, 1985
• Lil Rounds: October 20, 1984
• Anoop Desai: December 20, 1986
• Scott MacIntyre: June 22, 1985 (oddly enough also David Cook's birthdate)
• Allison Iraheta: April 27, 1992
• Matt Giraud: May 11, 1985
• Adam Lambert:  January 29, 1982

All these '80s and '90s birthdays are officially making us feel old, but c'est la vie. The point here is, Moonit is willing to put our own personal faves and musical critiques aside and rely instead on the Moon Man's predictions for the fate of this season's remaining 8 contestants. Stay tuned for that prediction and please comment on this blog post if you're looking to make a bet with us. We're ready to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak!

The showcaster asks "How Did He Do It? "

"A. He cheated; B. He's lucky; C. He's a genius; D. It is destiny."

The movie then takes you through his life where every moment is a clue to the answers, while an incredibly addictive Indian song "Jai Ho" (which literally means "You Are My Destiny") plays throughout the film. And all of us teary-eyed audience members eventually find out that "she" is Jamal's destiny–his childhood friend who grows up to be a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When Moonit watched Slumdog, we were overtaken with emotion and inspired by the ability to elicit the kind of happiness in our users that comes with finding our true destiny. At SXSW, we had the chance to sit down with a brilliant friend of ours named Remy who is a consultant in Texas, helping small and mid-sized companies refine their digital strategies.  Remy happens to be Indian and reminded us of the importance in catering to the Indian market.

Although his family is by no means "hard core into astrology," they make sure the stars are aligned when it comes to the most important decisions in their family lives, such as the marriage of his sister, significant business decisions and travel arrangements.  Remy acknowledged that the vast majority of the Indian community lives by the mantra that "it is written," relying upon gurus and resources for astrological advice publicized across very specific print, television and radio outlets. And marketing to this very lucrative demographic  can prove to be extremely cost efficient when targeting the finite outlets that the Indian community relies upon for information. Moonit is eager to help this group of people "make destiny," providing a fresh and accurate resource to the Indian community while also capitalizing on the rising popularity of Indian culture brought to the forefront by Bollywood's recent global breakthroughs.