the constant skeptic

From The Times (Online);
For one group of expectant mothers, their due date holds
an extra dimension of dread. The prospect of giving birth
on June 6, 6/6/06, has prompted talk of spawning devil
children on Armageddon Day.

How in heaven’s name did the “Number of The Beast” get
turned into a date, of all things? Sounds like the
Database Administrator of The Beast applied the wrong
Oracle conversion function: “date_armageddon :=
TO_DATE(NUM_OF_BEAST, ‘MMDDYY’).”

A British self-help group that usually exchanges routine
tips on parenting has turned its attention to the dangers
of a date marked by the satanic symbol.

For Hollywood and the worldwide entertainment industry it
is by contrast a once-in-a- century opportunity to turn
evil into gold. Leading the charge is 20th Century Fox,
whose remake of The Omen, the classic 1970s horror film,
will appear on June 6.

The approach of the sixth day of the sixth month of a new
century’s sixth year has prompted animated discussion
among women participating in the website of Mother & Baby,
a British parenting magazine.

One pregnant woman, Francesca Renouf, said she had been so
worried that she had booked a doctor’s appointment to
ensure that she would avoid giving birth on the sixth.

Others appeared to take the dangers less seriously. One
woman, Emma Parker, wrote that she intends to call her
baby Damien, after the satanic boy in The Omen. Another,
Donna Magnante, said she would name her baby after Regan
in The Exorcist.