Back to it...Trump-related talking-headitis

Yes, that's me. We spent couple of days in Paris, Texas, just for a change of scene.

I saw more political commentary on TV during the last few days than I'd seen during the past 6 months, partly due to the hotel's numerous TVs forever broadcasting Fox or CNN throughout the hotel: in the breakfast room, on the walls outside the elevators on each floor. I must've been feeling masochistic because I actually watched a bit of MSNBC one evening, on the TV in our room, when waiting for something else to begin. Missing Netflix is an unfortunate side effect of taking a trip away from home!

Those darn talking heads are so irritating! Back home on Saturday, after Netflixing we caught the later part of SNL. I was happy to see some of their skit writers must have been feeling the same - suffering from talking-headitis. Watch the skit HERE.


A level-headed article by Luigi Zingalesnov in the New York Times on 18 November:
The Right Way to Resist Trump is one of the few reasonably sane pieces on our political situation I've seen so far. A snip from the early paragraphs:

Five years ago, I warned about the risk of a Donald J. Trump presidency. Most people laughed. They thought it inconceivable.

I was not particularly prescient; I come from Italy, and I had already seen this movie, starring Silvio Berlusconi, who led the Italian government as prime minister for a total of nine years between 1994 and 2011. I knew how it could unfold.

Now that Mr. Trump has been elected president, the Berlusconi parallel could offer an important lesson in how to avoid transforming a razor-thin victory into a two-decade affair. If you think presidential term limits and Mr. Trump’s age could save the country from that fate, think again. His tenure could easily turn into a Trump dynasty.

Mr. Berlusconi was able to govern Italy for as long as he did mostly thanks to the incompetence of his opposition. It was so rabidly obsessed with his personality that any substantive political debate disappeared; it focused only on personal attacks, the effect of which was to increase Mr. Berlusconi’s popularity. His secret was an ability to set off a Pavlovian reaction among his leftist opponents, which engendered instantaneous sympathy in most moderate voters. Mr. Trump is no different.

We saw this dynamic during the presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton was so focused on explaining how bad Mr. Trump was that she too often didn’t promote her own ideas, to make the positive case for voting for her. The news media was so intent on ridiculing Mr. Trump’s behavior that it ended up providing him with free advertising.

Unfortunately, the dynamic has not ended with the election. Shortly after Mr. Trump gave his acceptance speech, protests sprang up all over America. What are these people protesting against? Whether we like it or not, Mr. Trump won legitimately. Denying that only feeds the perception that there are “legitimate” candidates and “illegitimate” ones, and a small elite decides which is which. If that’s true, elections are just a beauty contest among candidates blessed by the Guardian Council of clerics, just like in Iran..............

It's Music Monday - almost forgot! Something else we watched on TV in the hotel, on PBS - Friday, was Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs. I like Alan Cumming - I would wouldn't I, his birthday is the same day as mine, but his was many years later, of course. He's not a great vocalist by any means, but does know well, using his impressive acting abilities, how to present a song - that is very, very important. Here are YouTube clips of a couple of the numbers Alan sang in the show:

The Ladies Who Lunch



And in calmer mode - before he took his jacket off: Somewhere Only We Know

MONDAY MIRTHMAKER ~ Kristen Wiig

This is my 1000th post on this blog! I join the ranks of k-bloggers everywhere. Onward and upward to 2000 then - will I make it? We'll see.



Homing in today on an American TV comedy star of a younger generation than those already featured in earlier posts. This is one gal whose career is likely to take off into a much wider sphere in the future: Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live. Her comedic acting and timing are special, frenetic, outlandish and high energy.

Brief points from her natal chart, set for 12 noon in the absence of a known birth time, so Moon's degree will not be accurate, though it will be in Gemini; and ascending sign can't be determined without time of birth.



Sun and Mercury in Leo is an excellent fit for someone appearing regularly in the spotlight, and Moon in Gemini blends very well, bringing in a rapid fire mind and quick wit.

More unusual though is to see that Kristen Wiig has 4 Yods in her chart.

Yods, aka Fingers of Fate, are patterns formed by a sextile (60*) between two planets, each of which is then linked to the same third planet by quincunx aspects (150*). This forms a sharply pointed arrow shape. The astrological explanation is that the energies of the blended sextiled planets are blended and chanelled through the planet at the apex of the Yod.

Jupiter sextile Neptune with Saturn at the apex =
Jupiter's feel-good exaggeration mixed with Neptune's imagination anc creativity channelled through Saturn's discipline and hard work.










Saturn sextile Mars with Neptune at the apex =
Saturn's discipline and hard work mixed with Mars energy channelled through Neptune's creativity and imagination









Neptune sextile Pluto with Mars at the apex=
Neptune's creativity and imagination mixed with Pluto's intensity and sexiness channelled through the energy of Mars.









Sun sextile Saturn with Jupiter at the apex =
Core warm and bright Leo personality mixed with Saturn's discipline channelled through Jupiter's feel good exaggeration.




That's a wonderfully helpful integrated network for a TV comedy star!




There are some other very helpful aspects too - Jupiter in quirky Aquarius trine (120*) Venus/Pluto in Libra - two mentally driven Air signs.
Uranus in Libra sextile Mercury in Leo - Uranus the zany planet in harmony with Mercury, representing communication and mental processes.

There are many helpful aspects and formations in Kristen's chart. Pluto in Capricorn will transit right opposite her natal Saturn in November/December this year, which might well stir up some interesting career developments, and because Saturn is linked into 3 of the 4 Yods mentioned above, any development could be far reaching.

Copyright precludes embedding YouTube videos of her performances but there are 5 video clips from HULU at Chris Fullman's website: "My Favourite SNL Kristen Wiig Sketches". Each video has a very brief commercial at the start, but it's well worth wading through it to watch the sketch.

Duffy

At Chez Twilight we have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the contemporary music scene. Saturday Night Live is just about the only time we experience music younger than vintage 1970s.

The latest artist to attract my attention, after a showing on SNL is Duffy. It was good to discover that she's from the UK - from Wales, actually. Most Americans are not aware that Wales is "The Land of Song", and just about all Welsh people can sing, and sing well. Duffy also writes her own songs which is a big, big plus. She already seems to be making a name on this side of the Atlantic, which is no small feat. Even Robbie Williams, so popular in the UK, didn't do too well on this side of the pond.

I suspect that Duffy is going to be one of the big stars of the next decade. Her voice is instantly recognisable, and she has a unique style. Watching her on SNL, for some reason I kept thinking of those pin-up illustrations from the mid 20th century. Oddly, at times, she even brought to mind the legendary Betty Boop - her gestures, poses, and the outfit she was wearing at the time all added to the image.

Anyway, let's have a look at Duffy's natal chart. No birth time available, so a 12 noon chart must suffice to show where personal and outer planets lay as she was born. We can't know her rising sign or exact Moon position, but Moon would have been somewhere in Aries unless she was born in the last few minutes of 23 June.

Born 23 June 1984 in Bangor, Wales, UK.




Hmmmm - here's a "see-saw" pattern chart.

Sun, Mercury and Venus form a tight stellium (cluster of planets) in Cancer, Moon somewhere in Aries, with the rest of the planets on the other side of the chart between Libra and Capricorn. Oppositions thrown up by this pattern possibly indicate a bit of an anomaly - in this context, someone who seeks success but also feels a need to fly from it. Three of the most personal planets in delicate, sensitive Cancer indicate to me that there's going to be an occasional need to withdraw from the pop-star circus. Her tough Aries Moon will stiffen her resolve to stick at her chosen career though. Mars and Saturn conjoined in Scorpio widely trine her Cancer planets and add a sexy and tough edge to emotionally sensitive Cancerian traits. Jupiter, from Capricorn, opposes the Cancer stellium and provides the kind of energy needed to do good business through publishing her undoubted talents.

Transiting Pluto will be opposing Duffy's Cancer stellium towards the end of next year and in early 2010. This isn't a bad transit for her, it'll provide further dynamic energy, but two things might emerge during that period - a power struggle of some kind, perhaps regarding record deals or management, and/or some health problems caused by stress and overwork. This seems even more likely as her career blossoms further. Wikipedia tells us:

"In September of 2008, Duffy mentioned that she was "on the borderline of a nervous breakdown" because of the pressure that fame has brought her. She also said that she had considered becoming a recluse, but eventually decided against the idea for the sake of her fans. Although acknowledging that most people do mean well, she finds it "scary" when people recognise her in the street, and has been fearful of her image possibly changing the person she truly is."

I do hope that her Cancerian instincts to withdraw occasionally from the dazzling spotlight and frazzling publicity will, in future, be heeded and acted upon during what are likely to be even more stressful times to come.

Here's part of her SNL performance: