Music Monday ~ EAGLES

Last week we watched History of the Eagles a 3+ hour film in 2 parts, now available on Netflix. It was a slog, but an interesting one. I've always enjoyed the Eagles' 1970s hits but knew little about the band members. The band formed in 1971. What intrigued me most about the Eagles' story was the enmity that grew between band members leading to the band's break-up with the declaration that they'd get back together only "when Hell freezes over". They did get back together though.

From indications in the film (all I have to go on) it seemed to me that a major source of antipathy involved in the first exit of a member, was between Glen Frey (RIP) and guitarist Bernie Leadon; much later more problems arose and guitarist Don Felder was fired. It's not easy to keep the line-up straight, time-wise.

Frey and Leadon were two of the band's founding members; Don Henley and Randy Meisner were the other founders. Leadon left in 1975, with much bad feeling involved. I decided to look at Frey's and Leadon's natal charts, so sharp was the antagonism that showed clearly through film clips. Part of their disagreement stemmed from Glen Frey's wish for the band to veer more away from country flavours and towards rock than had been the case thus far. Leadon seemed not to agree and preferred the blue grass/country styles, found rock guitar not really his "thang". I suspect the rift went deeper than this though. A bit of political disagreement also? (Just guessing).

After Leadon left the band Joe Walsh took his place; Don Felder joined too at some point.

I've used 12 noon charts, as the time given by astro.com for Frey has a DD rating (dirty data) and there's no time of birth available for Leadon.

Glen Frey born on 6 November 1948 in Detroit Michigan

Bernie Leadon born on 19 July 1947 in Minneapolis Minnesota

Out of respect for the recently deceased Glen Frey, I'm looking only for a possible astrological source of their antagonism towards one another, not interpreting the charts in general.

I have my sights on natal Mars in opposition: Frey's at 14.53 Sagittarius, Leadon's at 13.02 Gemini directly opposite. Their initial compatibility (which I assume must have existed) could have come from Leadon's natal Jupiter conjunct Frey's Sun.

Both had natal Sun in a Water sign: Frey's in Scorpio, Leadon's in Cancer, indicating to me that Frey was likely to have been the harder headed, and more determined of the two, as well as better business minded, if his natal Moon was, as seems likely, in Capricorn.

In general, it's interesting to see that the Eagles' 4 founding members all had natal Suns in Water signs: Frey Scorpio, Henley Cancer, Leadon Cancer, Meisner Pisces. Joe Walsh, who replaced Leadon had Scorpio Sun (20 Nov 1947). Don Felder (21 September 1947) had Sun in Virgo. Timothy B. Schmit, the only native Californian in the band, joined later on, he has Sun in Scorpio too (30 October 1947). So, a Scorpio thread runs through the Eagles. The eagle is an alternative symbol to the scorpion for zodiac sign Scorpio. Hmmm.
I wonder if Glen Frey, Don Henley, or maybe others of the band had an interest in astrology.

This, from here.

The title track for 1973’s Old West-themed Desperado, which had been rattling around in Henley’s head since at least 1968, originally had an astrological bent. Frey remembers his initial lyric as, "Leo, my God, why don’t you come to your senses?"

According to the film the band's name was the result of band members, in the group's very early days, taking a hike up a mountain, with lots of peyote in their pockets. Frey (I think it was) needed to relieve himself, and in the process, in looking up to the sky saw an eagle hovering.

A couple of their songs: first, a favourite of mine, from the time when Leadon was still part of the band (at heart I'm a country gal, just not a Republican country gal!)




And their main hit after Joe Walsh and Don Feldon joined : Hotel California

THAT Day Again...

In honour of tomorrow's schmaltzy schmooze in celebration of St Valentine's Day I took a look at some vintage Valentine's greetings cards at Google Image. Some of them would not go down too well in this era of more thoughtfulness, or as some disparagingly call it "PC". Take a look at these. A couple of them are just silly, most reflect the times in which they were produced, the last one would probably be mine to send - but one of these is especially nauseating.

Arty Farty Friday ~ Sun Aquarian Barbara Kruger

Below is a re-airing of a 2011 post...just because. Before starting the re-run, though, I looked around to discover whether Ms Kruger has had anything to say about the current election season. I found this, by Bob Duggan, relating to the 2012 election season at Big Think: How Barbara Kruger Asks the Questions This Election Must Answer. The exhibit is still on view, I understand. I haven't yet found anything specifically related to 2016 though. I like this one of Ms Kruger's for our current situation:

Barbara Kruger (Sun Aquarian) is an artist whose work, once identified, is immediately recognisable from then on. She incorporates text and old photographs from magazines, or her own photographs, to present provocative messages. These concern consumer culture, stereotyping, feminism, politics etc. In recent years she has moved into video art and installation art.



One of Ms Kruger's best known slogans “I shop therefore I am” mocks consumerism.



She also uses her artwork as a platform to make known her political and social views on some controversial issues such as abortion i.e. “Pro-life for the unborn…Pro-death for the born.”


In an interview with Barbara Kruger conducted by Thyrza Nichols Goodeve in the November 1997 issue of Art in America, titled “The Art of Public Address,” Ms Kruger explained:

The brevity of the text is about cutting through the grease. I just want to address people in a very forthright manner. It is why I always use pronouns, because they cut through in the same way. Direct address has been a consistent tactic in my work, regardless of the medium that I'm working in. I try to deal with the complexities of power and social life, but as far as the visual presentation goes I purposely avoid a high degree of difficulty. I want people to be drawn into the space of the work. And a lot of people are like me in that they have relatively short attention spans. So I shoot for the window of opportunity.

Barbara Kruger was born into a working class background in Newark, New Jersey on 26 January 1945. After graduating from Syracuse University, she enrolled in Parsons School of Design in 1965. Shortly after, she was given a job at Mademoiselle.

From an interview at Dazed Digital

I felt like a Martian at Syracuse University. Most of the people there were very wealthy and had a lot of facial surgery. After the first year at college I saw little reason to stay. And my father had died, so I wanted to be closer to my mom in New Jersey.

I transferred to Parsons School of Design and studied with Diane Arbus. She was the first female role model I had that didn’t wash the kitchen floor six times a day.
I left school at 19. I didn’t have the money to continue. Initially, I got a job as a telephone operator. Then I was hired at Condé Nast as an assistant designer at Mademoiselle Magazine.

In the beginning, it was thrilling to work for magazines because it was all new, and I thought I wanted to be Art Director of the World! But I soon realised that I just didn’t have it in me to be a designer. Designers have to construct millions of different images of perfection to suit their clients. The have extraordinarily broad skill sets. I admire that tremendously, but I could never do that.

I didn’t have a pot to piss in so I started to take all these teaching jobs. Without a degree you couldn’t get a real job, so I just got visiting jobs. I first went to CalArts in 79 and I think at that point I realised I liked LA. I’ve been in Los Angeles for almost 22 years now.

(12 noon chart - time of birth not known.)


No wonder I've been cheering on every example of her slogans I've uploaded for display here! Ms Kruger's natal Sun is in the same degree of Aquarius as my own, and she, too, has Mercury in Capricorn. Socially aware, interested in communicating in a straightforward, no nonsense fashion! There the similarities end though.

Without a time of birth I cannot ascertain rising sign or exact Moon position, but whatever her time of birth Moon would be somewhere in the sign it rules - and possibly the most "female" of all the signs - Cancer, which I think clearly links to her connection with feminism.

There's a lovely Grand Trine in Air in her chart. Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Libra link to each other in harmonious trine, and both link to her Aquarius Sun, and underline her Aquarian traits of slight eccentricity (Uranus ruler of Aquarius), and creativity (Neptune).























Many more examples can be seen at Google Image.

I think that every so-called history book and film biography should be prefaced by the statement that what follows is the author's rendition of events and circumstances.

Listen: our culture is saturated with irony whether we know it or not.

Look, we're all saddled with things that make us better or worse. This world is a crazy place, and I've chosen to make my work about that insanity. (Barbara Kruger)

"When words become unclear...."

Getting away from both politics and astrology for a moment - some beautiful photographs of gardens and other scenic delights:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35476291

Some of those splendid gardens reminded me of visits Anyjazz and I took to some "stately homes" and gardens close to where I lived in England. Most of the photographs we took have become buried under mounds of later photos and linger in digital dark dungeons. I found these strays among my own files, they were taken in parts of the gardens of a splendid old stately home, must've been in the spring of 2004. A chess board had been added to the lovely gardens for additional amusement; and a maze. Clicking on the photographs might produce clearer versions.

QUOTE: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ~ Ansel Adams

"And keep your eyes wide - The chance won't come again"

Pundits who insist on evaluating the Sanders campaign through the lens of conventional politics will continue to see their predictions fall flat. Bernie Sanders is not running a political campaign, he has instead become the leader of a movement whose message transcends the personality of the candidate. It is the American electorate’s response to decades of corrupt campaign financing, divisive politics, and continuous foreign interventions and war. While the other candidates are playing at politics, Bernie Sanders is making history… its a completely different game.

That's a quote from last September, from a blog which appears now to be defunct, but how right the author was!



Bernie took full advantage of his opportunity to give his winner's speech last night, and all the time he could while on national television, uninterrupted! Hillary's speech was good too, Trump's was a mess, but John Kasich, who came second to Trump, gave a very nice speech, quite different from the others. He's the sensible Republican, and if he continues to do well and gets ahead of Trump, maybe gets the Republican nomination, he'll be much harder to beat than any of the other oddbod Republican candidates - in my not so humble opinion.

Changing Generations and Cynical Smiles

I'll be waiting eagerly for the results of the New Hampshire primaries tonight. Bernie Sanders should have the advantage, Vermont, his state, and New Hampshire being next door neighbours. In this year of the unexpected, though, nothing will surprise me!

It's heartening that so many young people, those under 30, are drawn to Bernie Sanders' campaign. These people are not blinkered by political establishment's controlled spin via TV and newspapers. They form their opinions through peer to peer conversations on social media and reading on the internet in general. The Clinton machine might have overlooked this potential wave of opposition. Astrologically it ought not to have come as a great surprise. Look at these forecasts of "the generations" from E.Alan Meece's always absorbing book "Horoscope for the New Millennium". To save copy-typing I found the section of interest on this point online (link). Here are Mr Meece's relevant generational outlines for those now in their early to late 20s, and for some who are even younger, poised to add to a wave of change in coming years.

"The committed ones," 1988-1995 [now aged 21 to 28] (Generation Y-b) (Uranus conjunct Neptune in Capricorn, Pluto in Scorpio) This is a group with outstanding potential. It is a very precocious generation, but won't burn itself out in youth. They are steady, persistent, determined, ambitious and passionate. They have great talent in the arts, politics and organization, and they may be the great leaders who lay down lasting foundations for a new age of civilization. On the other hand, some might consider them too cold, calculating, rigid, worldly or obsessed with their own goals.

"The flame throwers," 1996-2003 [ now aged 13 to 20] (Generation Y-c) (Uranus in Aquarius, Neptune in late Capricorn and Aquarius, Pluto in Sagittarius) This will be a very outgoing, irrepressible, exuberant generation, quick to question authority and convention. They will be brilliant intellectuals, inventors, reformers and propagandists.

"The universal free spirits," 2003-2010[now aged just 6 to 13] (Generation Z-a) (Uranus in Pisces, Neptune in Aquarius, Pluto in Sagittarius/early Capricorn) Their successors will be similar, but more easy-going, sensitive and poetic. They will follow the paths laid down by the previous two generations, but will show greater brilliance in the imaginative arts. As the first of Generation Z, they will teach compassion for Humanity as we all reach the "omega point" of universal human awareness after 2012.
[Long after 2012 as it happens!]

A video to raise a cynical smile or two. A commenter at YouTube remarked that it is some 15 years since the video was produced, but it feels as though it could have been made last week.

Another Vulture Hovering

An article by investigative reporter Greg Palast throws light on something of interest regarding Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio and one Paul Singer:
The big boys are confident that Sen. Marco Rubio has locked up the Republican nomination. But who’s locked up Rubio?


We all know who Marco Rubio is, we've also read of his loopy repetitive style, as reported from Saturday's debate.

What was Marco Rubio thinking Saturday night in Manchester, New Hampshire? Why would he repeat the same canned talking point four times, even after Chris Christie accused him of constantly repeating his canned talking points?

But Paul Singer...?

Wikipedia

Paul Elliott Singer (born August 22, 1944) is an American hedge fund manager, investor, philanthropist and political activist. He is the founder and CEO of hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation, what the New York Times terms an "activist hedge fund", and (via his Paul E. Singer Foundation) a prominent New York based philanthropist.

In 2015, Forbes rated Singer's net worth as $2.1 billion. In 2015, Singer was 327th on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, 1006th among the world's billionaires, 350th of American billionaires, and the 16th highest earning hedge fund manager. His investment style has been described by the Washington Post as either "an activist investor" or a "vulture capitalist".

Singer is active in Republican Party politics and is a staunch supporter of gay rights since his son came out in 1998.

From Greg Palast's piece (do read the whole article for context)

...But The Vulture has a problem: Hillary Clinton. As Secretary of State, Clinton went to court on Argentina’s side and body-blocked every ugly attempt by The Vulture to savage Argentina.

Singer is screeching. A President Hillary would cost Singer billions. (As would a President Sanders, a stalwart foe of vulture financiers.) To counter Hillary, The Vulture hatched a Senator: one Marco Rubio. Senator Rubio has made several ethically dubious attempts to bully the Treasury and State Departments on Singer’s behalf.

That failed, so Singer has decided to put the anti-gay martinet Rubio into the White House. (Singer’s son is married to a man—but hey, to Singer, a feast of billions means more to him than family.)

Yet Singer knows you can’t put a Rubio in the Oval Office by winning the most votes. No way. Changing demographics doom almost any GOP candidacy.

The only way to take the White House is to block the vote of millions of voters of color.

So this guy is trying to buy the presidency via Marco Rubio? I'd like to take a look at Singer's natal chart. It'll have to be a 12 noon chart as time of birth is unknown.

Born 22 August 1944 in New York City

Oh look! His natal Sun is on the same degree of Leo (29) as Donald Trump's ascendant, and conjunct Fixed Star Regulus!

What a tightly bundled chart it is too. That's evidence of determined focus, and we don't have to guess in which direction Singer's attention has been for most of his life.

Four personal planets plus Chiron all in meticulous Virgo, with Moon somewhere in Libra, whatever his time of birth. Virgo can be meticulous in many ways, not all of them virtuous it seems.

I'm going to leave the rest of the astrological to Jude Cowell at Stars over Washington - she wrote about Singer in December 2011.

"All human life is there"

Here's a link to an oddity, passed on to my husband by a friend of his via the dreaded Facebook. Because there's no English translation available, it's up to each viewer to make of it what they will. The video was skillfully put together, for sure!

VIDEO

After I watched it, first words coming to mind were: "All human life is there". Where did those words spring from? I pondered. They were buried in files at the back of of my memory bank. A now defunct British Sunday newspaper, News of the World used to carry its motto, those words, under its banner header during the 1950s. Originally a broadsheet, later a tabloid, that newspaper was one of Britain's most disreputable, its focus was on scandal, celebrities, sex and sport - it was popular with the masses, and nicknamed "Screws of the World". The newspaper had borrowed its motto from a line in a 19th century short story by Henry James, The Madonna of the Future. Full text of the story can be read at The Literature Network.

Cats and monkeys — monkeys and cats — all human life is there!

The story is about art and artists, their illusions and delusions.

All of which has little to do with the video, apart from the fact that a lot of human life is there too.

Cats and monkeys... ring a bell also. These bells are a pesky nuisance! A little fable - recalled with the help of a blog HERE

...a 16th century fable entitled The Monkey and the Cat. A monkey and a cat are roasting chestnuts in a hearth. The monkey persuades the cat to let the monkey remove the roasted chestnuts from the fire and embers by using the cat’s paw, promising the cat a share for obliging. As the cat scoops them from the fire, one by one, burning its paw more and more, the monkey eats all the chestnuts. They are disturbed by a maid entering and the cat ends up with nothing except burned paws.

The fable has given rise to two expressions:
To do someone else's dangerous or unpleasant task is to pull the chestnuts out of the fire (for that person) or to pull (that person's) chestnuts out of the fire.

A person who is tricked into doing something dangerous or foolish for someone else
is a cat's-paw.

Coincidentally, accidentally, or serendipitously, mention of monkeys reminds me that in Chinese astrology the Year of the Fire Monkey is about to begin.

Monkey year begins on February 8, 2016 on the new Moon in Aquarius at 6:39 am PT. Chinese New Years Eve is the the second new Moon after Winter Solstice.

Those born in Monkey years 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 can read about themselves briefly HERE, and elsewhere on Chinese astrology websites.

Arty Farty Friday ~ H. R. Giger

H.R. Giger, surrealist, artist, sculptor, architect and designer was known for his dark, somewhat satanic artworks, said to have been inspired by his own nightmares. His work included, famously, his work on the 1979 movie Alien, including design of the title character. Giger died in 2014 of injuries suffered from a fall.

Excerpts from a New York Times obituary by Douglas Martin.

Hans Ruedi Giger was born on
Feb. 5, 1940, in the southeastern Swiss town of Chur. Fascinated with things dark and strange, he regularly visited an Egyptian mummy and sarcophagus in a local museum.

“The places I liked most were the dark ones,” Mr. Giger told the Swiss Public Broadcasting Corporation. “As soon as I could dress myself I wore black.”
His father urged Hans, who called himself a “horrible student,” to follow him into the pharmacy business. Instead he studied industrial design at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich.

After working as an interior designer, he switched to art full time, starting with small ink drawings. He moved on to large airbrushed work on surrealistic themes inspired by Salvador Dalí, who became a friend.

Mr. Giger’s early exhibitions were controversial for their depictions of death and sex. Galleries had to wipe the spit of disgusted neighbors from their windows.

A thread running through Mr. Giger’s work was the uneasy meshing of machines and biology, in a highly idiosyncratic blend of science fiction and surrealism. From books to movies to record albums to magazine illustrations to a back-scratcher inspired by “Alien,” his designs challenged norms. He kept a notepad next to his bed so he could sketch the terrors that rocked his uneasy sleep — nightmarish forms that could as easily have lumbered from prehistory as arrived from Mars.

“Giger’s work disturbs us, spooks us, because of its enormous evolutionary time span,” Timothy Leary, the psychedelic drug guru and a friend of Mr. Giger’s, once said. “It shows us, all too clearly, where we come from and where we are going.”

Mr. Giger’s relationship with the Swiss actress Li Tobler ended with her suicide in 1975. His subsequent marriage, to Mia Bonzanigo, ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Carmen Scheifele-Giger.

Giger website is HERE. There are numerous examples of Giger's work at Google Image.

Two videos showing some of Giger's work. The first (5+ minutes long) is narrated and includes remarks from Mr Giger himself. The second is longer: 20+ minutes.







ASTROLOGY

Born on 5 February 1940 in Chur, Switzerland at 4.45 PM
(data from astro.com. 'A' rated)

Regarding his style and choice of subject matter only:

Textbook astrology would advise, when considering an artist (and reputed satanist) such as H.R. Giger, looking for Scorpio and/or Pluto prominence in the natal chart, to reflect this artist's choice of style and subject matter. There's no Scorpio planet in his natal chart, but Pluto is quite close to his ascendant angle (within 7 degrees or so) if his time of birth is near accurate. One box ticked? Pluto trines Jupiter, which could be seen as expanding Pluto's already powerful position and presence in the chart.

Perhaps, also, Giger's art and sculpture style is reflected in the Grand Trine linking Uranus, Neptune and Moon. These are in the practical Earth signs, and much of his artwork involves practical skills as well as artistic and imaginative ones. His futuristically inclined Aquarius Sun and Mercury square Uranus, while planet of the arts, Venus, opposes Neptune, but sextiles Uranus. It's a tangled web, but key players, Neptune (creativity), Uranus (odd, surreal), Venus (art), Aquarius (futuristic) and Moon (inner self) are all part of it, and all clearly represent Giger's choices, with strong input also from his prominently placed Pluto.

Trio con Brio

#1
Goldman Sachs Chief Threatened by 'Dangerous' Criticism from Sanders

All I have to say to Goldman Sachs' Chief is:
"Diddums naughty man freaten big banker....awww!"

#2
I see Chris Matthews is still being...well... Chris Matthews:

This Is Not the Way the Democratic Campaign Should Be Conducted
Chris Matthews had a strange interview with Hillary Clinton today. It was ahistorical and out of bounds.

#3
Any lurking Hillary fans - don't look!

Postscript: From a list of "celebrities" endorsing or supporting presidential candidates on both sides of the political divide, I've culled names of the Bernie supporters, and sadly note that they are all male. WTF!? Sarah Silverman is a possible, though, the list isn't absolutely clear: it says that she "introduced Sanders" at an event.

Yes, I know it'd be nice to have a female president, but not just any female president especially when there's a better, non-corporate, option who happens to be male! Still, celebrities are part of the bourgeoisie - what would I expect? It's good to know that a few of 'em have their heads screwed on the right way.

The following support or have endorsed Bernie: Danny DeVito, Will Ferrell, Dave Matthews, Jeremy Piven, Lil B, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, John C. Reilly, Mark Ruffalo, George Wendt, Neil Young.