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Lose that holiday weight by eating three square meals a day of your Free Will Horoscope:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" Philosophers long ago stopped trying to solve these questions, says biologist E.O. Wilson, believing them to be unanswerable. Scientists subsequently stepped forward to fill the vacuum, and now act as supreme arbiters of the mysteries that once belonged to philosophers. I regard this as a loss. Though the scientific method is a tremendous tool for understanding the world, many scientists refuse to use it to study phenomena that can't be repeated under controlled conditions or that can't be explained by current models of reality. And I say it's impossible to explore the Big Three Questions without taking into account all that stuff. Which brings me to the crux, Virgo: Your assignment in 2003 is to bring the disciplined objectivity of the scientific method into areas of your life that are invisible, subtle, secret, and soulful.

Being methodical is apparently something I'm good at. Being methodical about such ideas defies all of my logic, so I guess I may have to give it a try.

Joseph Lieberman is looking to become president of the United States. I'd have to say this is big news, given that Al Gore announced he had no further intention of running for office. I will say that Lieberman is a more colorful candidate than Gore, but can he compete with John Edwards? And no, I'm not talking about this guy.

Lots of news from the Times' Calendar section this week. Along with their coverage of the Los Angeles Auto Show, there is also a feature article on record stores and what they mean for certain types of music. I like all of these stores for different reasons, but I tend to like Virgin the least. They do tend to have a large selection of books there though. Also, there's some coverage of the movies competing for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. A little soon for Oscar coverage, but whatever works, I guess.

Lastly, a small bit of news concerning a small movie.