What do rock stars buy for their mega-movie star friends after the birth of a child? Well, rocker Gwen Stefani recently answered that question when she and her husband, Gavin Rossdale, brought an enormous bouquet of sunflowers to actress Angelina Jolie after the birth of her daughter with her boyfriend, actor Brad Pitt.

Sunflowers are aptly named since their enormous golden blooms closely resemble the sun. They also, quite literally, follow the sun; their blossoms turn to follow the sun as the day goes on.

Sunflowers come in several varieties, such as:

* Autumn Mix: These are the giant plants that grow over six feet tall. They come in yellow and rust colors with blooms five or six inches wide.

* Teddy Bear: This variety is a smaller type that has a full, fuzzy bloom. It grows to around 18 inches tall.

* Italian White: These sunflowers aren't the typical sunny, golden color; they're a creamy whitish color. The plants grow to a height of approximately four feet and produce small blooms.

* Large Varieties: These varieties include the huge 20-inch blooms of the Russian Giants and the ten to fifteen foot tall plants of the Kong Sunflower.

Sunflowers are an ancient flower, used by Native Americans as a medicinal flower and food source since as early as 2300 B.C. They provided early Americans with medicines to treat warts, snakebites, and sunstroke. They also provided oils used on the hair and were ground up to create face paints. Foods made from sunflowers included seeds roasted and ground to meal for baking, seed balls much like today's peanut butter, and roasted hulls steeped in water to produce a hot beverage.

Today sunflowers are a very popular garden flower loved for their big, beautiful blooms as well as the ease with which they're grown. They should be planted in full sun after the threat of frost has subsided for your area. If you're starting them from seeds, plant the seeds about one inch deep and six inches apart. If you're planting seedlings, plant them about eighteen inches apart (twelve inches for the smaller varieties). Give them a good dose of water after they're planted and keep seeds damp until the plants pop through the ground. You may need to stake the plants as they grow to provide support and keep them from bending or breaking in the wind.

Even if you choose not to grow your own sunflowers, you can still enjoy them or given them to friends to enjoy just by visiting your local florist who is sure to have these gorgeous flowers on hand. So, go ahead, send some flowers to the movie star in your life-or just to your best friend or mom-she'll appreciate them as much as Angelina Jolie did hers.

With her current attachment with Brad Pitt, her work for the United Nations, and beautiful new daughter Shiloh to care for, Angelina Jolie seems to have her plate full for the next few months. With a huge following as an actress and a humanitarian, and so many demands on her time, what's in store for People Magazine's most beautiful woman in the next few years?

As a Numerologist, if I want to see what is in someone's future there are (3) main calculations which I look at: their Life Cycles, their Letters of Transit and their Personal Year. These values give me a number of clues about what's upcoming for a person, in a general way. Looking at these shows that the actress may have some big changes on the way.

===> Her Life Cycle

Angelina Jolie's first life cycle just ended with her 31st birthday in June 2006. This cycle featured an effort to achieve "balance" between her domestic life and her careers. She was often asked for advice and given many opportunities to be creative. The challenge of this cycle was to develop an awareness of the needs of other people. Certainly, her work for the United nations and in developing countries shows that she mastered this challenge.

Her birthday last June was the first major turning point in her Life as dictated by Numerology. It revealed a new direction for her. She has become focused on her personal needs at this time. She is also experiencing an opportunity to be more independent in some manner.

I would say that the birth of her new daughter, and her joining with Brad Pitt represent this turning point in her life.

Her second life cycle began with this turning point, and will run through June 2033. It will demand a good deal of hard work from her. Mundane matters will require a lot of her attention. She will receive many opportunities to build a strong foundation for success in both her family life, and her work. This period will be more serious and hectic than her first life cycle, if that's possible.

Amazingly, there is no single life challenge to be overcome in this cycle; instead she must overcome the various changes and conflicting events which will arise from one day to the next. Her challenge is dealing with her very hectic life.

===> Her Transit Letters

Transit letters are calculated from a person's full birth name and are the most detailed predictor of events unique to an individual. Angelina Jolie's transit letters have been quite stable through the last few years.

With her recent birthday, her transit letter of 'O' which had been in force for six years since June 2000 came to an end. This transit letter marked a time of calm and serenity in her life. She accepted responsibilities in her home life with the adoption of her children, and experienced improved finances during this time. The success of the 'Tomb Rader' movies, and 'Mr and Mrs. Smith' certainly made her one of Hollywood's best paid female stars.

With her last birthday, she gained an 'L' as a Transit letter. The next three years will be filled with socializing and making new friends. Her creativity will be very strong during this period, but she may waste many opportunities due to partying and having fun. This is not necessarily a bad thing for someone with as much on her plate as she has.

Her transit letter on 'N' has been in force for a while and will stay in her life until June 2009. She will experience many changes, possibly some travel, and tasks which will call on her to be adaptable. She will experience some ups and downs in her finances during this time, probably due to changes in her work schedule.

Her transit letter of 'H' has also been in force for many years, and will stay in her reading through 2009. This letter calls for professional growth and financial success during the years it holds sway. It also supports her becoming more independent in her life. But a bit of warning here, she needs to let things happen at their own pace. Trying to force the issue, particularly in her humanitarian causes will bring her frustration and delays.

===> Her Personal Year

2006 is a personal year (9) for Angelina Jolie. This is a time for winding up old task and commitments, and preparation for new opportunities in the following (1) personal year. 2007 is the following (1) personal year, a time of starting new task, new opportunities, and new ventures. This fits right in with her starting a new Life cycle this year.

===> Summation

In summation, I believe that the callings of family life and her humanitarian interest are going to demand more of Angelina's time and attention in the coming years. I believe she will still take some acting roles, but they will be less strenuous and time consuming than her work in the past. Perhaps she will do animation voice work, television guest appearances, or cameo roles in other peoples pictures in order to cut back on her time commitments. I look for her attachment with Brad Pitt to deepen, and for her family to continue to grow and prosper.

I’ve been around computers and the internet for quite a long time. Longer than most. Before Windows existed. That’s a long time. At that time, people did things in DOS (whatever that means). Things were fast, free, no ads and almost no communication. But the beginnings were there with Prodigy and Compuserve. I recall real time chat which I saw for the first time in DOS. I nearly fell off my chair as I watched someone else typing conversation, while I was connected with a 14.4k modem. Then, once our browsers allowed us to view images, the whole world fell in love with the internet, including advertisers.

Now so many of us have alter egos online. Whether it is social or practical, today we live our daily lives connected to internet and hence the world by necessity in many cases. And we shop. We browse and we shop.

Typical items found and purchased on the internet are for home decor. Why go to the store when you can browse at home, purchase in a paperless manner don't have to carry parcels, brave rainy or snowy weather or put up with road rage. Small items are especially popular. Great for impulse buying.

Here are some favorite items sold online.

Set of Cast Iron Rooster Bookends

Cast Iron Doorstop Bulldog/Boston Terrier

John Deere Tractor Salt & Pepper Shaker

Kitchen Fairy on Banana

Jim Shore Horse Figurine

Angel with Hen and Eggs Jim Shore Heartwood Creek

Don’t know what some of these things are? Even if Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston shops elsewhere, this, my friends, is what many people of the internet are buying. These affordable small cast iron objects of desire. These ever hard to get Jim Shore collectibles keep search engines rolling in money. Websites want this business, they advertise and pay search engines to get noticed, the ads appeal to the people, Grandma or Grandpa get hooked up and before you know it another set of Rooster Bookends is sold.

Why? Because it’s easy. It’s a hobby. It’s a way to explore many more things in the world than you can by getting outdoors and walking or driving somewhere. True it may be more real to get out, healthier and better in other ways, but folks, the gas crunch is here, high speed connection is here, products are on the net for less, and so we buy. Even if we don’t need that tin sign or that salt and pepper shaker, we buy. It’s fun, it can be inexpensive entertainment (compared to $30 for 2 for a movie and popcorn) and sometimes it’s just plain practical. I consider this normal behavior. So keep it up folks – and there will be even more good things online ahead.

The titanic developments in new technology have radically changed the way we watch TV and movies at home. Gone are the days when the TV set was a box in the corner with a 20in screen and a tinny speaker. Now most of us prefer to watch movies and sports casts on a widescreen that’s at least 28in from corner to corner. If you are a fan of home theater then that screen will almost certainly be bigger and be accompanied by a surround sound speaker system to maximise the aural effect and immerse you in the action. As technology improves and equipment becomes cheaper, more and more people will have high definition TVs and home theater set-ups.

However, if Sony has its way, we’ll all be enjoying a completely different movie-watching experience, on a 2inch mobile phone screen. Sony wants to see an iTunes-style download service for movies so we can download them and watch them on the move. Would you watch a film on a cellphone? I wouldn’t.

Imagine it. Out would go the immersive, involving experience of the movie theater that we’ve tried so hard to create at home, and in its place would be a screen so small that it would be difficult to make out what was going on. That in itself would create a dilemma for film-makers. If a sizeable number of people who pay to see a movie do so by downloading it on their mobile, will directors have to take this into account when making it? Will studios reject cuts because they contain too many subtle facial expressions or movements that can’t be detected on a tiny screen? Will the muted colors of a Saving Private Ryan have to replaced with more lurid and brightly colored scenes to make them more easily visible on a cellphone?

And what of the audio? Is their any point in spending time and money developing a detailed and textured surround-sound experience if a significant portion of your audience will be listening on earbuds while travelling on a train?

These examples may be extreme, but they do highlight the differences between the way a music download service works and the way a movie download service would. Music, by its nature, is immensely portable. OK, the sound quality from an iPod over a pair of earbuds may be nothing compared to that from a decent hi-fi set-up, but for most people most of the time, it’s a close enough approximation. That won’t be the case with movies. Why did those tiny, battery powered, pocket TVs never really take-off? For the same reason.

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, who knows a thing or two about the movie industry through his stewardship of Pixar, has often said that he’s not interested in producing a video iPod because no-one wants to watch movies on a small screen. Jobs is right about most things, and I think he’s right about that. Sony disagrees. It will be interesting to see who’s right.

In just the last few years the world has watched actress Angelina Jolie go through a baby boom with the adoption of her children Maddox and Zahara and the birth of baby Shiloh. Jolie's motherhood garnered worldwide attention, but not all baby booms draw stares; some go utterly unnoticed. Take, for example, the baby boom that occurred in the rose world during the 1990s.

The eighties saw only a few dozen rose varieties available to consumers through flower shops. But, during the nineties the rose went through a good, fertile production period that resulted in the creation of numerous new rose varieties. Today consumers have over 120 rose varieties to choose from. Although most people who regularly purchase flowers probably noticed some new colors and varieties popping up in their local flower shops, a survey commissioned by the Society of American Florists (SAF) revealed that about half of those people who participated in the survey thought only 50 or fewer varieties existed.

Once available in limited colors, like red, white, pink, and yellow, the rose boom generated blooms in colors and shades previously unseen. Red, of course, remains the color of choice for most people, especially men, but other colors are catching on. 62 percent of the women who responded to the SAF survey indicated they prefer other colors, such as yellow, pink, peach, and white. Some of the newer colors like lavender and orange, are also becoming favorites.

The new color varieties have resulted in the common colors of red, pink, yellow, and white becoming entire color families consisting of shades from light muted colors to vibrant, bright colors. Reds now include every shade from bright raspberry to orange-reds to dark, rich reds. Pink is no longer just the traditional light pink commonly seen in bridal bouquets; it's now the light pastel pink to the hot pink, and everything in between. The pink family also contains hues like peach, apricot, oral, and lavender. Yellow includes lemony-yellow, gold, and two-toned blooms. It has become the second most popular color choice among men. Even white isn't just white; this color family now includes bright white, ivory, and champagne.

Not only did the rose baby boom give the world many new colors to choose from, it also gave us changes in bloom size, shape, stem length, and fragrance. So, with all these color choices and characteristics, roses can be the perfect floral choice for anyone you'd like to send flowers to-even if it's Angelina Jolie and her own brood of babies.

Angelina Jolie is well known not just for her acting ability but for the good deeds she does for various organizations. If Jolie is environmentally friendly as well, she could make her flowers and plants even friendlier for the earth. A new line of flowerpots has just hit the market, and they're sure to draw the eyes...and wallets...of all those who do what they can to keep the earth clean and healthy.

The pots, called EcoForm pots, are a new line of beautifully designed containers being sold by a company based in Santa Rosa, California. These pots are earth friendly because they're made from grain husks, like rice hulls. The binders used are starch-based and water-soluble and all additives are biodegradable. With ingredients like those, the pots are completely biodegradable, so they make good environmental sense.

They also make good economical sense, because they're durable, too. The pots are meant to last for a period of five years. At the end of that time, they decompose naturally and form a rich organic material with a PH of 7.

Springwise newsletter, a British company that keeps track of international consumer trends, said of the pots: "Combining sustainability with eco-chic, the pots have a smooth finish and come in a variety of shapes and natural colors, in both decorative and grower lines."

The EcoForms pot makers describe the pots as "a smart and sustainable choice for gardeners and growers alike." They claim the pots can be used both inside and outside and that they're a great alternative to plastic pots because, like plastic, they're also lightweight.

As the pots draw more attention and become more common, consumers around the world are sure to be looking for them at their florists and in stores. Why not be a step ahead of the crowd? Order a pot from the company and bring it in to your florist to be filled with a gorgeous arrangement. You can enjoy the arrangement in your own home or give it as a gift to one of your earth-wise friends.

Surely big-name stars like Angelina Jolie who are concerned about the environment will help fuel this trend for biodegradable plant and flower containers.