MIRTHMAKER ~ Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks, described at Wikipedia as film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He's best known these days as a creator of film farces and comic parodies, for example: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, and The Producers .

Brooks' biographer James Robert Parish said of him, in interview:

"Both Brooks’ onstage persona and his filmmaking point of view are strongly tied to his background: As a youngster, growing up in the Jewish section of Brooklyn, diminutive Mel — whose father died when he was very young — had to be extra feisty to survive in the tough street corner society. If he lacked the physical strength to outdo his opponents, his quick mind, sense of the ridiculous, and a love of being the center of attention, provided him with the chutzpah to become the amusing neighborhood clown."

I'm sure that many well known comedians, over the years, were driven by very similar motives - but, of course, the potential for doing it well had to be in them to start with. Brooks himself once said: "Humor is just another defense against the universe."

Many comedians are supposed to be major bores when they’re not "on." Does Mel Brooks fit into that mold?
"Over the decades, few people (beyond Brooks’ family and very close friends) have ever witnessed Mel when he is not "on." He considers it his life-long duty to be entertaining both on camera and off. Whether bantering on a TV talk show, parrying with a dour waiter in a deli, or directing his cast/crew on the film set, Brooks uses humor to get his way, to gain attention, and to protect his private self. Even now, in his 80s, Brooks remains the dynamo — the inveterate clown."

Mel Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York on 28 June 1926. No birth time available, so chart set for 12:00 noon.


His sensitive Cancer Sun lies in challenging square to a strong Mars in its home sign, Aries. This could act as a spur, rather than an unpleasant challenge - a spur to keep him moving along in the face of difficulty - stiffening and strengthening his over-sensitive or timid Cancerian traits.

James Robert Parish said, "For me, the most intriguing aspect to Mel Brooks is his amazing resilience over the many decades in the face of career setbacks".

Brooks' natal Moon is in Aquarius, somewhere between 6 degrees and 21 degrees (can't be precise without time of birth). Wherever its exact position, it endows him with a quick mind and one of those "left-field" inner cores - not "yer average Joe", not a guy easily put into a box and categorised.

I like the chain reaction of planets I see in his chart. Judd Apatow (see here) had one, which was less helpful. In Brooks' chart, start at Neptune @ 22 Leo > semi-sextile Mercury 29 Cancer> sextile Venus 29 Taurus (its own sign) > sextile Uranus 29 Pisces > semi-sextile Jupiter 26 Aquarius. Saturn at 19 Scorpio can be added, loosely. The chain also produces square and an opposition, chains will always do so; I look on this as just part of how the planetary dynamo works. In Mel Brooks' chain the order of planets is more helpful than the one in Apatow's chart. The planets involved relate as follows: Neptune-creativity. Mercury-communication, writing & mental process. Venus- the arts, music. Uranus-inventive, the unexpected. Jupiter- the feel-good planet and planet of exaggeration. Saturn-business, discipline. So it's clear how these, working in harmony with dynamic tension inbuilt, would be a great asset to someone writing and performing comedy.

There's a Grand Trine in Water signs linking Mercury, Uranus and Saturn. Here's a Uranus-Saturn link again (as in Eddie Murphy and Billy Connolly - see post for Tuesday). Here it's a harmonious trine, linked to communications planet Mercury. There could hardly be a better circuit for comedy. And it's in Water, so the fun will retain sensitivity, even when based in sharp satire and parody, it's unlikely to be cruel or mean-spirited.

A quote from Mel Brooks, which I particularly like, and which could also be related to astrology:

Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him.

Here's Mel appearing on Dick Cavett's chat show - must be sometime in the 1970's I think.
He does impressions of "Susan" Bogart (Humphrey's sister) and "Hilda" Cagney (Jim's mom), and a brilliant impression of Sinatra singing "America the Beautiful".

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Gilda Radner & Tracey Ullman

Spotlighting female comedians today. I'm not using the term "comediennes" because to my mind the word adds a layer of uncalled for differentiation.

My husband was a great fan of "the old" Saturday Night Live. Nowadays it appears to have lost its early sparkle (and that's putting it kindly!) The late Gilda Radner was one of their brightest stars, I've seen most of her contributions to the show via DVD. Watching Gilda perform, I'm continually reminded of Tracey Ullman.





These two comedians were born some 13 years and 5,000 miles apart. It's possible that Tracy Ullman got her inspiration from watching Gilda Radner's performances. The ability to invent hilarious characters and play them with consistent brilliance and humour is the mainstay of both gals' acts.

Gilda Radner's regular characters included Rosanne Rosannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. Tracy Ullman slipped from one crazy character to another in her shows, characters such as Carmel Pinkum, a lady who's "different" , Nadia, the Russian trapeze artist, Dr. Jillian Smalls, radio psychologist, Kiki Howard-Smith, pro golfer from Australia, Ariel, a singer (her big hit was "Slit My Wrists").

Gilda Radner born 28 June 1946, Detroit, Michigan (12 noon chart below, as no time of birth available).




Tracy Ullman born 30 December 1959, Burnham, near Slough UK at 3:15 am.(Astrodatabank)




Any similarities ?

1. Both have Sun, Moon and Saturn within a 30* span.

2. Both have all planets within one half of the chart.

3. Both have Jupiter trine Uranus.

5. Radner has Mercury sextile Neptune, Ullman has Mercury trine Uranus.

6. Their Suns lie opposite each other within 2 degrees, in cardinal signs, Cancer/Capricorn.

Strange!

Closely grouped planets, a pattern common to both charts indicates intense focus in certain areas. It's obvious that to achieve the kind of success these ladies enjoyed, focus and dedication was a necessity!

Jupiter trine Uranus - Jupiter expands things, Uranus likes the eccentric or unexpected. Both ladies created larger than life eccentric characters, aided and abetted by their Mercury placements harmonious with Uranus or Neptune.

I'm not sure what the Sun/Moon/Saturn within 30* in both charts reveals. It's a definite similarity though. Symbolically it might mean that heart and soul went into their work ? I don't know.

Tragically, Gilda Radner died from ovarian cancer in 1989.


On the day of her death, 20 May 1989, it is remarkable that Uranus, Neptune and Saturn at 4*, 12* and 13* Capricorn, (all retrograde) opposed her natal Sun at 6* Cancer.

And.....those three planets on the same day were conjunct Tracey's Sun/Saturn/Moon.
That is spooky!

(Edited version of a post first published here on 1 January 2007)

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Eddie Murphy & Billy Connolly

I've chosen to put these two comedians together because they both make me laugh, in spite of their occasional, or sometimes frequent, descent into crude language and vulgarity. They can, by some personal magic, get away with almost anything. There's an underlying kindness and child-like delight in their own fun - at least that's what comes over to me. Both take on stand-up comedy and acting with equal ease. They are born clowns and entertainers.





Does any clear astrological similarity link to the feeling I get from both comedians? Not at first glance - not really....erm....no wait...both have Uranus conjunct Saturn ! I have to report though that the interpretations of that aspect in two volumes from my bookshelf do not fit the Eddie and Billy the public know and love. My version would be that they both are able to find the ridiculous (Uranus) in everyday practical, routine matters (Saturn), because these two planets are so close in their natures, they blend rather than fight.










Both have Sun and Venus in a Fire sign (Aries and Sagittarius) they show great energy and enthusiasm in all they do. Both have a dollop of Scorpio in their charts - Mercury and Mars for Billy, Moon and Neptune for Eddie, adding an inner passion and intensity which has no doubt helped them reach the heights they have.

Eddie has a Grand Trine in Water signs linking Mars, Moon/Neptune and Mercury. This points to an emotional and softer character than the persona we know. I feel pretty certain that Eddie is a soft-hearted, kindly individual, underneath all the flash of his Leo ascendant.

Billy's Jupiter in sensitive Cancer trine Mercury in Scorpio could well be his "soft-spot".

I suspect that it's this underlying softness which helps these two comedians get away unscathed with more than the average comedian. I can't recall ever thinking that their humour was cruel or mean-spirited. For me, that's the litmus test of good comedy.

MIRTHMAKERS ~ Ernie Kovacs - A Pioneer

I'm declaring this week "Mirthmaker Week" on Learning Curve on the Ecliptic. After sitting through the awful "Funny People" movie last week, I need to re-orient my funnybone! There'll be posts on humor/humour, astrology and funny people, past or present - and anything else that occurs to me along the way. There are so many possible characters to investigate in this field that I'm spoilt for choice, so after this week's marathon, I'll continue to look at a Mirthmaker on each following Monday for a while.

To start, a look at someone many may have forgotten, or are too young or "foreign" like myself, to have ever known.



My husband recently bought a DVD compilation of some of the work of the late Ernie Kovacs. I'd never heard of him. The husband enlightened me that Kovacs was one of the first ever TV comedians, from way back in the 1950s. Watching the DVD was a prospect that, secretly, didn't fill me with glee, but I approached it with as open a mind as I could manage.

As we watched the variety of short clips I kept thinking, "this guy had strong Aquarius - or maybe prominent Uranus - he just has to have had one or the other". I had to know, so asked for a short interlude in the proceedings during which I quickly Googled "Ernie Kovacs" - et voila! Sun in Aquarius, born 23 January 1919. Not only Sun in Aquarius, but also Venus, Mars and Uranus, the sign's ruler, there too!



Does it take one (a Sun Aquarian) to know one? Perhaps.
Mr. Kovacs is described by Wikipedia thus:

..... an American comedian whose uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident (in January 1962). Such iconic shows as Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Uncle Floyd Show, Saturday Night Live and even Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street and The Electric Company, and TV hosts such as David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson are seen as utilizing Kovacs' influence.

To fully realise the man's comic genius and inventiveness it's really necessary to think back to the 1950s, the first years of TV. I doubt that any passing reader is old enough to do so.

Nobody, in those days, had fully appreciated what could be accomplished on the TV screen, nor how TV presentations could differ from, and improve on, what was already available via radio and movies, while using the best from both.

I hadn't even seen a TV set until 1953, when a group of us kids piled into a neighbour's house (back in the UK) to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It wasn't until some years later that my parents bought our first TV set.

In the USA, I guess TV was considerably more advanced than in the UK, but even so, Ernie Kovacs was pioneering comedy in a completely new medium, and what better job for a quadruple Aquarian?

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT

A quartet of links for perusal while enjoying the morning coffee, afternoon tea or evening tipple - and suchlike:

Plinky Prompts
Sometimes a source of ideas, sometimes just a fascinating read.



The Vertical Oracle
Fun way to get a quick, do-it-yourself answer to your question of the moment. Answers can be cheeky and spooky at times. (Produced by astrologer Antero Alli and Sylvie Pickering). The deck of cards, illustrations from which are also featured at Free Will Astrology, at the weekly horoscopes, can be purchased here.


Elle News Blog
Tidbits of fashion and other fripperies.
Readers of "a certain age" might like to scroll down to "A Senior Moment" and if you are brave enough, follow the link to "Advanced Style" blog. Eeeek! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!


The Arrow of Time
The Diego family has an annual ritual. They photograph themselves "to stop, for a fleeting moment, the arrow of time passing by". The small facial photos of each family member span the years from 1976 to 2009. It's so interesting to see the family likenesses and how they develop.

THE WEEK THAT WAS.......

Our tumble down the rabbit-hole with Alice continued unabated. Other news has been practically drowned out by tales of hate speech and unfair accusations hurled around at town hall meetings on the health care debate, in states throughout the USA. While my treatment of the issue (linking it to Lewis Carroll's masterpieces) may seem flippant, facetious, I'm hiding sincere concern at the way things are shaping up in the USA.

Is there any astrological sign of a return to common sense on the horizon? Will Saturn's move into Libra, sign of diplomacy and balance, in late October turn things in a better direction? Or will Saturn's influence on the sign's characteristics modify or blight them? It's not clear.

Alice laughed, "There's no use trying," she said, "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Right-wing extremists have continued to disrupt town hall meetings. Neither side can focus on what is important when tempers flare - that's their motive for disruption. They are running scared of change. They want Obama to fail in all his attempts, however mild, to make the USA a fairer country for all its citizens. Talk about wrong-headed! When the health care issue has been dealt with,one way or another, this mob will display the same tactics to disrupt discussion on environmental issues, education, transport. Everything. Reports of at least one individual attending a meeting last week armed with a loaded gun sent shock waves of memory among many citizens old enough to remember their country's fairly recent history.
More here

The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never, never forget."
"You will though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it."

Something which did raise a smile came via Stephen Hawking who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease. He chose to set the record straight after an editorial in a financial paper dragged him into the US health care debate. Blasting the U.K.'s National Health Service, Investor's Business Daily said the brilliant Hawking "wouldn't have a chance" if he was British. Hawking who is due to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom as one of 16 "agents of change" - is British. And he says he owes his life to national health care.
"I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS."

Britain's NHS (National Health Service) has been in place since 1948. I lived most of my life in England, have seen how my parents and other elderly relatives were treated, how I was treated myself when I needed a major operation - fast. I cannot speak highly enough of the NHS. It's not faultless - nothing is, and if the USA ever gets its act together sufficiently to construct anything similar (very doubtful) it will not be faultless either.

I would ask anyone who reads this post, who has doubts about the way a national health service works, to treat the right-wing's ignorance on the matter with the contempt it deserves. I'm not surprised that some people across the Atlantic are very, very annoyed at the crass ignorance of some right-wing activists in the US denigrating a system and way of life which they value.

"Now, I give you fair warning," shouted the Queen, stamping on the ground as she spoke; "either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time! Take your choice!"

(Quotes in bold type italics come from either Alice in Wonderland or Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll)

So as not to end on a sour note, a mention of something much more pleasant from the week that was.

Last night CBS aired an hour-long programme featuring Neil Diamond, one of my all-time favourite singer/songwriters. There were excerpts from a recent concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, his hometown, and some brief chat and film of him interacting with fans and New Yorkers. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Neil looks good and sounds as good as ever. If it hadn't been for Neil's presence and tweets on Twitter, I'd almost certainly have missed this TV show - so Twitter ain't all bad! He was gracious enough to thank his fans for their supportive tweets too - so nice to see this! I suspect that he's a really, really nice guy. I've written about him on this blog in at least three past posts, so for any passing readers who are fellow-fans here are links to these:

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/02/aquarian-neil-diamond-to-be-honored.html
http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2007/10/neil-diamond-headed-for-future.html
http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/05/adam-neil-comparison.html


(Illustration at top of post is from here.)

Arty Farty Friday ~ ESCHER

Maurits Cornelis Escher (M.C. Escher): I'm always especially interested to see natal charts with a cluster of planets in one sign. When the chart belongs to an artist, one we know a little about, it's even better. Theoretically, such a chart ought to more clearly indicate sign characteristics of the emphasised sign. While the private side of a personality remains unknown, in the case of an artist his work displays something of his inner self.

M.C. Escher was born on 17 June 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Astrodatabank gives his time of birth as 6.55am.



5 planets in Gemini! Mutable Air sign, known as sign of the communicator. All three Air signs (Libra and Aquarius are the others) are mentally focused signs. Whereas Libra's focus is balance and diplomacy, Aquarius is logic and analysis driven, Gemini is the all-purpose communicator, who can turn his head (and in this case hand) to just about anything, as long as it communicates his thoughts to others. And, oh my! Didn't Escher have typical Gemini facial structure and build? Gaunt, long face, wiry body.



Escher's style of art is very mental - or should that be cerebral? His artwork does not come across as emotionally-led. His lithographs and woodcuts are based, in the main, on mathematics, relativity, geometric shapes and patterns, space, symmetry, impossible situations, and tesselation (tiling).

In astrology Saturn rules mathematics, so I would expect to find Saturn hooked up fairly tightly to other personal planets or points in some way. In Escher's case Saturn is conjunct Uranus - these two planets in Sagittarius lie in opposition to Moon, Mercury and Pluto in Gemini, semi-sextile Jupiter in Libra and quincunx Mars in Taurus. So I'd say that Saturn was pretty well anchored in Escher's nature, with both harmony and a touch of scratchiness (from the Saturn/Mars aspect).

Venus, the softer side of artistry lies in Cancer semi-sextile Escher's natal Sun. While this softer side seldom surfaces in his work, it is no doubt part of his "private" personality - that known to his wife and family.

Wikipedia tells us that Escher was a sickly child, and ill health impeded his academic progress in youth. That unfortunate circumstance may have been what turned him to the decorative arts rather than a career in architecture, which he probably would have preferred (that's a guess!)

The work of all artists is subject to copright, of course. I usually feature a few small representations in these posts, to illustrate points, hoping that should the copyright police wander by, they'll accept that the images are used as a kind of educational tool. (Ahem) No money being made here! M.C. Escher's work, whenever featured on websites is always very carefully marked thus (as for instance at Jill Britton's Escher Gallery): "All M.C. Escher works (c)copyright Cordon Art BV - Baarn - the Netherlands. Used by permission. All rights reserved."I'm loath to impinge, yet cannot resist showing just four examples. For more and bigger versions, please do visit the above gallery website.

ANOTHER WORLD



DOUBLE PLANETOID



CONVEX & CONCAVE



BOND OF UNION

"FUNNY PEOPLE" (not) & JUDD APATOW

I'm liable to rant too long about director Judd Apatow's latest movie "Funny People", which we saw this week. Both I and my husband found it to be one of the worst we've seen in a long time. We shared a feeling near to insult at the level of gratuitous crudeness; this time it went beyond Apatow's usual appetite for schoolboy lavatory humor and anatomy jokes.

In an LA Times interview Apatow said of "Funny People":

"It's a mentor story. It's a disease movie. It's a coming-of-age movie. It's a movie about trying to restart an old romance. It's 11 different movies rolled into one."

We beg to differ. It's an insulting, asinine movie, dealing with none of the above issues with anything resembling intelligence.

Is this what American humor has come to? It's a sad reflection on the intelligence level of the general public. The USA has produced some brilliant comedians of all stripes: Robin Williams, Rita Rudner, George Carlin, Jack Benny, Gilda Radner, Gene Wilder, Martin Short....I could go on. The genes are there. Judd Apatow should be well-capable of producing and directing quality comedy. Is it a supply and demand thing? Have we become so moronic that the ability to differentiate between quality and garbage is now lost?

What happened? Where are the 21st century's witty, clever romantic comedies? The last ones I recall came from the UK, more than a decade or so ago, "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", for example.

Judd Apatow was born on 6 December 1967 in Flushing, New York. I can find no time of birth so have set the chart for 12.00noon.



I should like this guy. He has a lovely combination of Sagittarius Sun and Aquarius Moon....could be one of my favourite mixes. Ruled by Jupiter and Uranus this Sun/Moon combination has the potential to produce feel-good, modern, inventive movies. It doesn't happen though.
Overdoses of crude anatomy references or sexual jokes, largely insulting to females, do not make for a feel-good factor. Is there any indication in Apatow's natal chart as to why he insists on following this pattern. His earlier movies, "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year old Virgin" followed a similar but generally milder template. "Funny People" takes insult to another level.

So where's the astrological snag?

Starting at Mercury (planet of mental process and communication) at 1 Sagittarius, move clockwise to Jupiter at 5 Virgo - a challenging square aspect: any happy-go-lucky feel is blighted by this Sagittarius/Virgo square. Move on clockwise to Saturn (planet of restriction, conservatism etc.) at 5 Aries, forming a scratchy quincunx to Jupiter (so happy-go-luckyness is under a further challenge); it also forms a trine to Mercury, thus influencing mind processes towards a more dour tone. The chain continues to Mars at 3 Aquarius, in sextile to Saturn, adding potential for aggression to the dour tone, and forming a further quincunx to a trying-to-be-benign Jupiter. Mars is also in sextile to our staring point, Mercury in Sagittarius.

Jupiter, rules Sagittarius, Apatow's Sun and Mercury sign, and in this case, poor old Jupiter is well and truly punked. This is further emphasised by the Yod (Finger of Fate formation) with the Mars/Saturn sextile feeding into two quincunx aspects to Jupiter. Astrologers consider that this type of formation indicates that the "flavours" of the sextiled planets are channeled through the planet at the apex of the Yod - in this case, Jupiter fed by Mars and Saturn, two planets which are not inherently bad, but together their energy could very easily dampen Jupiter's natural tendencies.

The humour of Judd Apatow isn't as "feel-good" as Jupiterian humour ought to be. His brand of "fun" has a touch of bitterness, a touch of aggression and disrespect towards his audience and his fellow humans in general. To my mind, this is reflected in his natal chart.

My opinion only, of course. If a passing reader found "Funny People" to be a hoot, please - ignore my rant. To each his own!

Paranoia-lite, the USA....and things

Paranoia. The word derives from the Greek: para=outside + nous=mind; literally, being out of one's mind. True paranoia is a very serious mental disturbance, described in medical circles as "delusional disorder." Wikipedia defines it as "a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat."

What we, laypeople, term "paranoia", in general conversation, I'll call "paranoia-lite". I suspect we've all at some point said, or thought, "I'm/he's/she's being paranoid". We all have a touch of it, deep in our nature - part of the human condition. Suspecting that another person doesn't like us, wondering about their motives, questioning whether an acquaintance is sincere, "on the level" or up to no good. Worrying whether one's significant other was ever unfaithful, or is likely to be. Suspecting ulterior motives. Such feelings, and others like them, can arise unbidden from deep inside us, no external evidence necessary. A smidgin of paranoia-lite, though, might even be thought healthy.

Cartoon HERE.

Astrologers propose that the zodiac sign of Scorpio is often prominent in natal charts of those who experience regular attacks of paranoia, so by extension I guess, this applies also to paranoia-lite. Neptune, Saturn and Pluto are also thought to be involved, via difficult aspects, 8th house too, due to its connection with Pluto/Scorpio. I can put my hand up to natal Sun in 8th house, Pluto in 1st house and Mars in Scorpio. I don't suffer often from paranoia-lite, but I have recognised its symptoms in myself on occasion, and I often sense it in others.

In general terms, those with Water signs prominent are more prone to suffer occasional attacks of paranoia-lite than those where Earth, Fire and Air predominate. When faced with a situation in which paranoia-lite could arise, people with Fire prominent in their charts would fight back in some way, Earthy ones would lean on a more pragmatic attitude, and Air people would be likely to apply analysis and logic to the situation. Watery folk, who work from deep emotional triggers, will suffer the most intense reaction to a nasty dose of paranoia-lite.

Astrologer Noel Tyl has written an interesting piece on paranoia - link:
The Dimensions of Paranoia.

As a nation, some consider the USA to be more prone to paranoia-lite than most other nations. I've secretly harboured the thought myself, but try to be understanding of the country's history and the reasons behind this propensity. McCarthy witch-hunts and Nixon's duplicity spring immediately to mind as two triggers - there are dozens more. The nation was born under the Sun sign of Cancer - the cardinal Water sign known for its ultra-sensitivity. I wonder if this is the relevant astrological link?

British TV personality, Jeremy Clarkson wrote some articles, back in 2006 in The Times on this very subject. Here's one sample "The united states of total paranoia"

Snippet:

"I know Britain is full of incompetent water board officials and stabbed Glaswegians but even so I fell on my knees this morning and kissed the ground, because I’ve just spent three weeks trying to work in America.

It’s known as the land of the free and I’m sure it is if you get up in the morning, go to work in a petrol station, eat nothing but double-egg burgers — with cheese — and take your children to little league. But if you step outside the loop, if you try to do something a bit zany, you will find that you’re in a police state."

Clarkson goes on to describe some examples of paranoia-lite he encountered. I'm not a fan of his, in general, he's too ascerbic for me, but I can appreciate the points he makes in this piece.


(Today's post includes edited parts of my post first published here in June 2007.)

In the beginning.......when?

Wikipedia states that 11th or 13th August 3114 BC, was the date from which the Mayan Long Count calendar started (rectified to the way we presently count time). It's from this date that their now famous cycle began - the one that ends on 21 December 2012.

In the words of The Bard, "aye, there's the rub".

I've gathered that the date in mid-August was selected by Mayan astrologers, astrononmers and calendar constructors due to the position of the Milky Way in the skies over their part of the world at that point on their calendar.

August 13, 3114 BC is as precise and accurate as one can get for a beginning of history: the first Egyptian dynasty is dated to ca 3100 BC; the first 'city,' Uruk, in Mesopotamia, also ca 3100 BC; the Hindu Kali Yuga, 3102 BC; and most interestingly, the division of time into 24 hours of 60 minutes each and each minute into 60 seconds [and the division of the circle into 360 degrees], also around 3100 BC, in Sumeria.
If the beginning of history was so accurately placed, then must not the end of history, December 21, 2012 also be as accurate? See here.

But that surely refers to the start of some level of human civilisation. The Earth and solar system are estimated to have formed some 4.6 billion years ago. That was "creation" proper.

If we are talking about the start of history, or civilisation, as a date from which to begin making a count based on the positions and cycles of the stars and planets, any date settled upon is nebulous at best. Why would cycles, based on the position of celestial bodies, start from some arbitrary point when humans had become sufficiently sophisticated to set themselves into some semblance of organisation? Cycles began at the time the Earth and our solar system began. 2012, or any other date calculated from any calendar of any ancient civilisation, simply form a part of their civilisation's myth and legend, nothing more.

I'm a mere lay-person, and have probably either missed the point, or grabbed a hold of the wrong end of the ancient stick. Still, it's something worth considering. Think, also, how much money has been accumulated by authors and TV presentations, and movies, based on this (probable) myth involving 2012.

MONDAY MARINADE ~ Julia Child (+ Paul)

"Julie and Julia", a movie released last week, features the work of TV food expert, Julia Child. I had been going to write about Julia as part of a brief series about chefs, but really she wasn't a chef at all, in my own definition of the word. She was, to the American public, a well-loved TV personality who taught, wrote and talked about cooking and food. As far as I can tell, she didn't ever run a hotel kitchen or a restaurant. In my brief researches though I did see Julia Child as an interesting subject, especially in regard to her very happy and enduring marriage to Paul Child. I was interested to see both natal charts.(Photograh, left: Julia with her husband, Paul C. Child, whipping cream in the kitchen of her Cambridge home, November, 1963 (photograph by Dick Fish). From here.)


Julia Child was born on 15 August 1912 in Pasadena, California.


Paul Child on 15 January 1902 in Montclair New Jersey. (Time of birth unknown - chart set for 12 noon).



Julia didn't set out with any thought of a career with preparation of food at its core. She came from a wealthy background, majored in history at university, worked as a copywriter for a New York furniture company and outside of work led the life of a minor socialite.... until the outbreak of World War 2. She was too tall (6ft2ins) for the uniformed forces, so Julia joined the OSS (Office of Strategic Services - the intelligence agency), after a spell as typist in the Office of War Information.

All quotes come from a Vanity Fair article by Laura Jacobs:

"Julia, it turned out, had formidable organizational skills: soon enough, she was supervising an office of 40 people. In 1944 she shipped out to India. “The war,” she said, “was the change in my life.” "

"Formidable organizational skills" screams Virgo organization and Leo leadership - Julia's sun in Leo, with Mercury, Venus and Mars in Virgo fit the bill exactly!


After later being transferred to China she became romantically involved with Paul Child.

"A worldly intellectual with a poetic sensibility, an artist and photographer who relished wine, women, and song, he designed war rooms for General (Lord) Mountbatten in Kandy and for General Wedemeyer in Kunming."

Intellectual = Air signs - Paul has Mercury and Mars in Aquarius. Poetic sensibility - his planet of the arts (Venus) is in dreamy poetic Pisces. Sun, Saturn and Jupiter in business-oriented, common sense Capricorn added to the rest produced an intriguing blend of art and practicality, that was something always likely to appeal greatly to Julia's Leo/Virgo/ Libra (Moon.) blend.
(Photograph, above, by Paul Child: Julia Child and Jeanne Villa from 'My Life in France').

"Paul thought Julia unworldly, unfocused, and doubtless a virgin—“a hungry hayseed” is how she would describe herself—but also steady, game, a “classy dame,” and “brave,” he wrote his twin brother, Charlie, “about being an old maid!” He was 42 to her 32, five feet ten to her six feet two. He was looking for a soulmate, but had counted Julia out. And yet their sure-footed friendship, forged over Indo-Asian food and shared danger, was climbing, slipping, into love. Which led to bed. And then, in 1946, when the war was over, marriage."

Paul introduced Julia to the joys of the culture and cuisine of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and China and later, of France, after his transfer to Paris.

"Back in the States, the couple’s love letters reflected the playful and frankly lusty nature of their relationship. “I want to see you,” Paul wrote, “touch you, kiss you, talk with you, eat with you ? eat you, maybe.” Come 1948, could there have been a better diplomatic posting for Paul and his wife of two years than Paris? "

"Paul, when he first met Julia, in the O.S.S., described “her slight atmosphere of hysteria.” No doubt he was referring to Julia’s almost operatic vocal tonalities, the here floating, there plunging falsetto she seems to have been born with."

I wonder if this peculiar voice thing might relate to Uranus (the eccentric planet) quincunx (scratchy aspect) communications planet Mercury?

It was in France that Julia's draw to the kitchen took place. She fell in love with France, its culture and the innate flair of the French for knowing how to cook and present food. She enrolled in the Paris cooking school Le Cordon Bleu. “I would go to school in the morning,” she once said in an interview, “then for lunch time, I would go home and make love to my husband.”

Sounds like a good combination of Virgo (service) and Leo (fun and enjoyment)!

"Paul Child died at the age of 92, in 1994. Ten years later, in 2004, Julia Child died two days short of her 92nd birthday. "

In addition to her now iconic set of TV series, Julia Child, wrote several books on cookery as well as being co-author of a two-volume cookbook titled "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (1961), now considered a classic in its field.



A video to illustrate Julia's style of presentation. She teaches how to make an omelette:

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT

I'm not a religious person, but custom and practice through the years has imprinted the idea that Sunday ought to be "different". With this in mind, why not a series of Sunday blogs which veer away from emphasis on astrology?

"Sunday Supplement" is a well-used title in newspaper circles; I'm borrowing it for a weekly blog post which "supplements" day-to-day stuff with a slightly wider view of the world - wouldn't want to become myopic, the Aquarius in me rebels against that.

Most Sundays I'll simply recommend a blog which doesn't already appear in my sidebar links, and doesn't relate to astrology, though which might be of general interest to astrology buffs. Occasionally I might ramble on, briefly or at length, about something, anything.

Today - a blog recommendation. I've been reading this one for some months now. I've never left a comment there because the blog is really written for people in the selling trade - people who need to pitch their ideas or products.

"Depth Perception", written by Kevin Jackson, VP of a Sales and Marketing outfit.

I've been surprised how interesting Mr. Jackson's fairly brief posts have proved. Sales as a career was never my thing - not by miles, yet as in sales, so in life in general. The pointers and mild advice Mr. Jackson comes up with on 5 days each week can almost always be applied to life in general, not just to success in sales of products. I find his advice far less irritating, patronising and fluffy than that of some guru-types and advice-for-life authors.

Mr. Jackson's post for last Thursday"Don't Order the Soup" is a good example of his style.

The Week That Was..........

It's been a funny old week in the USA. Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha!


We've had:

Rush Limbaugh likening President Obama to Hitler, then saying “It is liberalism that’s the closest you can get to naziism and to socialism.”
Makes me certain that we have truly fallen down the rabbit hole with Alice!

Alice:
It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.

The White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibb responded yesterday, "I think anytime you make references to what happened in Germany in the 30's and 40's, I think you are talking about an event that has no equivalent. And I think anytime anyone ventures to compare anything to that, they are on thin ice, and it is best not employed."

Lou Dobbs insisting that the President show his birth certificate to prove his entitlement to be Prez.

The Hatter:
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at.

Various conservatives and right-wing groups at town hall meetings during the week trying to scupper the administration's plans to reform healthcare in the United States. Many carried signs bearing nazi imagery. A much needed reform is under attack by what we used to call in the UK the "I'm alright Jack" brigade. They have health insurance - damn anybody who is unfortunate enough to be without.

The Duchess:
There's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is -- The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.

48-year old George Sodini shot and killed three women and wounded nine others at a Pittsburgh-area health club, before killing himself. Too many guns in a country where there are too many unbalanced people.

Former US President Bill Clinton travelled to North Korea and persuaded Kim Jong Il to pardon and free two American journalists, and on his return, after a brief acknowledgement of his success, comedians just couldn't resist the snide and unfunny quips relating to his past errors of judgement.

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.

Film maker John Hughes, best known for his 1980s comedies ( eg: The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.) suffered a fatal heart this week, attack while taking a morning walk in New York. At age 59 - another one gone too soon. An Aquarian Sun person, too, he died close to an eclipse in his Sun sign. His health problem must have been present for some time though, and perhaps the eclipse provided "the tipping point".





Speaking of Sun Aquarians - but on a lighter note - rising music star, Adam Lambert has designed a silver pendant for sale at Pennyroyal on behalf of the charity MusiCares - he drew it himself, a copy of a tattoo he bears on his wrist depicting Egyptian symbol, The Eye of Horus. He has said that he had it put there when he succeeded in surviving auditions as far as the final 36 contestants of American Idol Season 8. He was eventually runner-up of the season.




Coincidentally, around 6 years ago, on a trip to the USA to meet my now husband, we visited a museum in Fort Worth, where I bought, in the gift shop, a decorative piece to which I felt drawn: a thick, dark green tile-like ornament bearing The Eye of Horus design (right). I took it home to Yorkshire, displayed it on my dresser, and later made sure it was one of the things I retained to bring over when I emigrated from the UK (immigrated to the US, after marrying Himself). It currently has its home in our bedroom.

I wonder whether the Sun/Moon combination I share with Adam translates to an attraction to this particular symbol?

Wikipedia has some interesting information on The Eye of Horus, by the way. Who'd have thought that this symbol has anything at all to do with arithmentic, for instance?

Adam also has a custom made pendant from the same firm, Pennyroyal, showing astrological glyphs for his Sun/Moon/Rising sign, as below.