ODDS & BOBS

Is this a glyph I see before me? ~~~
I caught sight of a new poster while surfing around the net, one of a new set created by artist Juan Ortiz for the episodes of Star Trek. This is the poster for the episode titled The Way to Eden:





Is it my imagination or, if turned upside down, wouldn't that be almost the same shape as the astrological glyph for Uranus? If so, any connection to Star Trek would be exactly appropriate, Uranus being the only planet with connection to the future and futuristic technology. I could well be "late to the party" here, never having been a fan of the Star Trek series back in the day - perhaps this Uranus glyph connection has been well-known for decades? Anyone know?



Other posters from the set can be seen HERE, with some comment by the artist. Another poster showing a similar glyph-like symbol is that for The Ultimate Computer episode.



A trio of pearls from astrologer Jayj Jacobs' Codswallop Detector. , which can apply to anyone and anything - not only to astrologers and astrology.

Authoritism: The dual beliefs that if it's in print it is true & that famous people are always right ('authors' are de facto 'famous'). The more famouser the more righter. "If I haven't already read, or heard of them, they are nobody, and know nothing."

Lalalalogy: The belief that more lyrical sounding something is, the truer it is. The prettier the poem, the truer the message. It is assuming that the pleasant prevails, and that "The truth rhymes."

Spuriousism: The assumption that if you can make it seem to work for you once, it does indeed work - and must be used by everyone.


I'm impressed by the quality of some of the murals we see on our travels. Here are a few samples, all from husband's camera. In the first two I managed to insert myself into the shots, which may not enhance them at all, but at least it gives an idea of the murals' scale.

Outskirts of Wichita Falls, Texas.



Muskogee, Oklahoma (as in Merle Haggard's song Okie from Muskogee)



Can't recall in which small town we saw this one




Tucumcari, New Mexico (on Route 66 as was).



Tucumcari, again....



Hot Springs, Arkansas



Columbus, Ohio.






What I suspect will be a must-see movie due for release on 26 October: Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of the award-winning novel by British author David Mitchell. The movie will star Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving among others, and is said to run over 165 minutes.

Cloud Atlas tells six separate stories that span time and place - from an American travelling back home by ship after a sojourn in New Zealand in 1850, to a post-apocalyptic tribesman living in the remnants of what was Hawaii in the distant future. The actors play multiple parts.

From the trailer below it looks fascinating - might have to get me the book in preparation.






My favourite from Husband's vintage photograph collection - it's just a small snapshot around 3 by 4 inches, but special. A commenter on Flickr rightly described it as "a magical capture into a lost world."



Those were the ODDS....here come the BOBS:

I do benefits for all religions - I'd hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality.
Bob Hope

It's getting harder and harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone. It still brings me up short to walk by somebody who appears to be talking to themselves.
Bob Newhart

Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight.
Bob Marley

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.
Bob Dylan

Astrologers' Words of Wisdom # 3

Words of Wisdom #3 consists of extracts from Thinking about Thinking by Jayj Jacobs. Since I first found this piece years ago, I go back to read it often. These are some of the wisest words I've found, and can be applied inside or outside astrology.

Here are some of my current thoughts about thinking. I invite you all to think about where and how they apply to recent conversations, to astrology in general, to (western/global) society as a whole, and to life as a process.

Bad thinking is bad for astrology. Bad thinking, or not thinking, is bad for everyone.

If one accepts anything without question s/he is not thinking.

If the premise is not grounded in factual or experiential reality the conclusions are meaningless. That's the classic GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Jacobs' GOGI Corollary is: If Garbage came Out, then Garbage went In.

If the precognitive mindset is impervious to contradictory input one is not thinking. That's prior opinions blinding one to reality.

If one thinks they know everything, and have nothing to learn, relearn or unlearn, then they have stopped thinking.

Knowledge can be divided into what you know, what you know you don't know, what you don't know you don't know, and what you know that just ain't so...............

Anything said about opinions can be validly said about beliefs.

Opinions are not facts. Opinions about facts are not facts. Opinions are not experiences. Opinions about experiences are not experiences.

Opinions, if not grounded in facts or experiences, are prejudices. That makes them bigoted preconceptions. 'Pre-conceptions' come before thinking has occurred; holding to them means one is not thinking.

Opinions and preconceptions are below stereotypes in a cognitive hierarchy. Stereotypes are pretty low, (and dangerous), but at least they are based in a grain of truth, since blown out of proportion.

Everyone has a right to their opinion. Having an opinion, even having the right to an opinion, does not make the opinion right.

No one is qualified, by reasons of knowledge & experience, to form an opinion about everything. Everyone faces something about which they are not qualified to form an opinion. Some are not qualified to form an opinion about anything. That stops very few people from forming an opinion.

It is bad thinking to credit the opinions of jerks, students, amateurs, the minimally competent, or anyone else, in the face of a contrary declaration by a virtuoso or a master -- in that field. It is also bad thinking to assume that only recognized experts have valid insights.

Confidence is unrelated to correctness. Certainty is not the same as accuracy.

Codswallop

Purging my Favourites File, I came upon astrologer Jayj Jacobs' Codswallop Detector. This dates from ten years ago, but remains very apt.

There's plenty of codswallop being written and spoken on the political front here in the USA, and some of the categories below, as well as being relevant to astrology, could equally be applied to the political scene - under an umbrella term - "spin".

After Hillary Clinton's win in PA last night the Obamamedia is busy spinning it down to an irrelevancy, the Clinton camp is overjoyed and confident. I think reality lies somewhere in between, but I can't help feeling buoyed up today!

Anyway, back to the subject in hand - the word codswallop itself may be more obscure in the USA than in Britain. The commonly used American term meaning much the same thing is "bullshit", although I always think codswallop is a little more benign. There's a proper definition and origin of the word codswallop here.

These are my favourites from Jayj's indicators of codswallop which can be found not only in astrology but elsewhere. The author forms "an objective assessment of faults, logical mistakes and spurious reasoning most apparent and seemingly inherent in astrology and astro-logic. By no means are these mental preconceptions limited to astrology or metaphysics; they are pandemic in western culture."

Authoritism: The dual beliefs that if it's in print it is true & that famous people are always right ('authors' are de facto 'famous'). The more famouser the more righter. "If I haven't already read, or heard of them, they are nobody, and know nothing."

Contraryism: The belief that only the generally unaccepted is worthy. Different and antithetical is better. The faith that conventional wisdom, and common sense, are always wrong.

Conspiritorialism: The conviction that the truth is being deliberately withheld from 'us' by 'them'. The fewer people that know it, or believe it, the truer it is. Denial is always evidence for, rather than against. [see related topic: Contraryism]

Nominalnomy: The belief that the name determines the meaning. It's based on the faith that astronomers, (etc.), have a god/goddess/force given infallible ability to name (celestial) objects with appellations appropriate to their mystical/metaphysical significance.

Hypotheosis: The belief that assumptions -- especially a priori ones -- are infallible. If you have even a shred of evidence, you have incontrovertible proof. This is an extreme example of 'Jacobs' Law of Increasing Certainty': "The thrust of every Hypothesis is towards an Absolute."

Venereism: The belief that nice is holy (and the truth is pretty). Therefore 'thou shalt not critique or criticize another' -- especially an astrologer. Manners matter more than meaning, and properly polite is superior to perceptively precise. AKA Venerean Disease.

Lalalalogy: The belief that more lyrical sounding something is, the truer it is. The prettier the poem, the truer the message. It is assuming that the pleasant prevails, and that "The truth rhymes."

Cosmenology: The belief that whatever makes the universe seem pretty, kind, caring, etc., is correct. "Beauty is Truth." [reference Robert Pante, "If you look good, and dress well, you don't need to have a purpose in life."]
Audiblation: The assumption that volume makes right. The louder (and meaner) you say it, the truer it is. Capitalization Convinces.

Spuriousism: The assumption that if you can make it seem to work for you once, it does indeed work -- and must be used by everyone.