Southern Cross Review

SouthernCrossReview
E-Review of literature, education, science, current events and Anthroposophy

Number 13, September-October 2001

SSeptember 11, 2001

Welcome to the second anniversary issue of Southern Cross Review. The first number in September 1999 looked different in more ways than one. Aside from the format, it was bilingual (English-Spanish), but we soon surrendered the Spanish part, with regret, because it was simply too much work. It was also obvious that the great majority of readers were English speaking. The first year carried mostly short fiction, which was our original intention, but after discovering that the few non-fiction articles we carried got more hits, we changed policy and they now outnumber the fiction pieces -- although we have every intention of continuing the fiction section. This year the key word "anthroposophy" was added to our banner, mostly because the editorial staff is interested in it, but also because the readers seem to be as well, as evidenced by the number of hits received. (For newcomers to cyber-speak, a "hit" is a count of someone going to a certain page on the web.) In SCR's two year biography, the home page has received about 45,000 hits. If the hits on the individual articles were added to this, the total would almost triplicate. It wouldn't mean much though, as the people who read the interior pages are almost always the same ones who go to the home page first. E-book publishing was added along the way, and went through various phases. Being involved brought about some investigation into the phenomenon and the conclusion that e-books (when money is involved) are, in most cases, rip offs, as are POD (print on demand) books. Check out the Editor's page to see why.

Those interested in the origin of the world from an esoteric point of view will want to read a lecture by Rudolf Steiner on Spiritual Cosmology. This is the first time it has appeared in English; in fact it was published for the first time in German this year. Two more lectures on the same subject will appear in subsequent issues of SCR.
The recent events in Genoa have inspired a number of interesting articles. Gaither Stewart's article came in immediately following the events and we put it in the already released SCR number 12. It is carried over here in 13 with an update by the author. Starhawk's thoughts on the Genoa aftermath follow. A lecture by Steve Talbott on globalization presents the phenomenon in more general terms.
Genetic modification (or manipulation, if you prefer) is another hot item. Two articles on the subject by scientists who have studied the subject in depth - Graig Holdrege, Johannes Wirz and David Heaf - provide genetically unmodified food for thought.
After you read the three book reviews listed in the Table of Contents, you'll want to put your reading cap on. The first, by Bobby Matherne, concerns the age-old human dilemma how much freedom life offers, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner. The next is a review by Hannah M.G. Shapero of a Peter Kingsley book about the history of philosophy and magic in ancient Greek civilization. Paul Carline tells us about Ray and Jean Greek's book exposing the myth about the necessity of using animals for testing drugs.
In the short fiction department, don't miss a story with an esoteric tinge by a distant distaff-side relative of Sherlock Holmes. Annah childes fans - and they seem to be legion - will be interested in her latest dabbling in physics (invoking Einstein), light and sex. Coincidentally (do you believe in coincidences?) Normal Locke reports on Einstein's African odyssey. Bringing up the rear, though certainly not the least, Gaither Stewart offers another of his Italian pieces.

Issue number 12 generated a lot of mail. The most interesting letters are reproduced in Letters to the Editor. And don't forget the E-book Library, where some very interesting e-books are offered free.

We want to thank the many readers and authors who have helped make Southern Cross Review worth visiting over the past two years. If you'd like to recommend SCR to others, please click here: Recommend

Frank Thomas Smith
Editor

Jo Ann Schwartz
Associate Editor

[email protected]