That pseudo Nostradamus quatrain deciphered...

[Sly]

I got together with some extremely old friends, the Benedictan Monks, to work on that pseudo quatrain which was floating about earlier in the week. We actually discovered, over a few glasses of mead, that many parts of this prophecy have been fulfilled. Here's our findings:

In the City of God...
- The "God" referred to here is actually misleading; in the context Nossie (Nostradamus to those of you who didn't know him personally) uses it here, he doesn't mean the "Ultimate God" - the Creator, the Supreme Power, the End of the Line Dude, et al, etc. The reference is actually to the ultimate power behind a self-contained entity, another existence.

That existence is actually "AFL Football." If you can consider Football is a self-contained world of its own, the God of it is not the Commissioner, or the AFL, etc. - for those people will come and go and be replaced - but the MCG, which is considered the "Home of Football." So the first part of the first line is actually a reference to the MCG. We've often heard of the MCG being referred to as a "mecca." Nossie, though, chose to refer to it as "the City of God."

...there will be a great thunder
- Well, that's the easiest of the interpretations. The "thunder" is the clamor of people as they gather. It's the applause, the cheers, the roars.

Two brothers torn apart by Chaos
- The two brothers torn apart by Chaos are actually Saverio and Anthony Rocca. The "Chaos" is actually a reference to the frenetic dealings and double-dealings which occur throughout the trade period and result in the Draft. Furthermore, as Saverio was drafted by the Kangaroos - a Team which has basically been rooted in 2000 by financial difficults, injuries and their gameplan becoming obsolete - it's another significant indicator of the "Chaos" implied.

While the fortress endures...
- The fortress the first part of this line refers to is actually, again, the MCG. In the first line, Nossie establishes the geography where the quatrain and prophecy will unfold - the MCG. But this line here actually now establishes the "time" the prophecy will unfold.

This line is actually an indicator toward the furore and eventual contruction of the Great Northern Stand. As we have seen and heard this year, there's been great debate over whether the old stand should be torn down to be replaced by a new, spiffier one. So in that regard, the fortress - the MCG - endures, and that's how we come to establish both the "place" and "time" of the prophecy.

..the great leader will succumb
- The second part of this line is, in fact, a reference to Nathan Buckley. Over the Pre-Season, there was tremendous conjecture about his relationship with other players, such as Paul Williams, Chris Tarrant, myself, etc. The word "succumb" can be inferred many different ways; while people would think that it means the great leader will physically fall, it's actually representative of the re-modeling Buckley did on his approach to Captaincy and leadership. Previously, he was full-tilt, full of pride and fire - and he was criticized for this approach. But he "succumbed" to self-evaluation and emerged a better leader.

The third big war will begin...
- This first part of the final line is one of the easier to decipher. The "third big war" is actually a reference to the 2002 Grand Final.

It is the third big war - the 2000 Grand Final being the first big war, 2001 being the second big war, and logically and naturally, 2002 will be the third big war. We reset the clock of Grand Finals as we count - or begin the count again - from the turn of 1999 to the year 2000. Remember everybody was worried about the Y2k and that it might reset all the clocks? Well, it actually reset the count here.

...when the big city is burning.
This is actually a direct reference to something the Buckley's Surfers have often referred to - the Phoenix. The terminology of "city" is misleading, because this is actually a metaphoric. The city is the city of Collingwood "fans", a la a city being a community and a community being a family. It's the fault of the translators who were so bad at interpreting Nossie's cyphers and multitude of languages. The "fire" is actually our passion - we're all tired of hearing we're rebuilding, etc., and we're ready to explode. This is the fire inferred.

Finally, the date on this quatrain was "Nostradamus 1654" - which is some 100 years after Nossie-baby died.

So is this quatrain a fraud? Are my interpretations a fraud?

No. As Nossie could foresee the future, he knew there was no need to write this quatrain because somebody would come along and write it for him. It helped take the onus of him - but also implies the final clue.

Because it's dated around 100 years after Nossie died, Nossie's trying to tell us that we're "ahead of the timetable", that we're "not as far behind it all" as we think. It is in fact the most ingenious of all his clues.

Well, I hope I've given you all some hope. Now for another mead...




S.
The Last Remaining Bad Guy.
The Incandescent One.
The Collingwood Rant.
The AFL Ranting Board.

[AlfAndrews]

Now, that's what we wanted to hear.

**floreat pica**

[Nick is RAD]

That is the funniest thing i've read all week!
It's a quality piece, GO PIES!

--nick davis is the next best thing!!--