Bordering on Limitation Here, There and at The Oscars

Around this date, 23 February, in a couple of previous years (here and here) I've rambled on about Roman god Terminus, god of boundaries and his festival, Terminalia, held this day in ancient Rome.

Boundaries...these can be physically marked by borders, signs, guards etc. or psychological and inter-personal in effect. Astrologers have something to say about the latter type of boundary. Saturn is master of boundary-related issues in astrology, while part of Neptune's area of interest covers the dissolving of boundaries. February 23, at the beginning of Sun's journey through Neptune-ruled Pisces, in our 21st century eyes, seems pretty inappropriate timing for celebrating the god of boundaries! Romans marched to a different drummer though, a different calendar and different astrological ideas.

For some astrological theories on boundaries psychological and inter-personal see the following:

The 3 Major Ways of Setting Boundaries—Which Type are You? - an article by Dr Brian Grady carried at Donna Cunningham's astrology blog.

Working With Saturn: Internal Boundaries by Hiroki Niizato

Pisces: The Dissolution of Boundaries by Sean at The Clestial Observer

We made it through the Oscars last night - not a lot of boundaries crossed there this year. Lots of pretty frocks on the ladies of course, but the guys are so timid about crossing traditional boundaries where their evening "uniform" is concerned. Hundreds of bog standard (though probably horrendously expensive) black tuxedos, bow ties, white shirts, with a smattering of white or ivory tuxedos, one navy blue one (Eddie Redmayne's), one dark red one with matching vest (David Oyelowo who plays MLK in "Selma"); a few black shirts and ties (seems to be the in thing just now outside of formal ceremonies); and a pale blue suit (Jared Leto)- bravo! Late addition: my newest favourite actor, Matthew McConaughey, giving out the last Oscar - for best female actor - sported an elegant metallic pewter tuxedo. Knew he wouldn't let me down by being "ordinary"! Aw..riight!

There seemed, to my ears, to be a boundary when it came to applauding the movie about Edward Snowden, "Citizenfour" when it won an award for...something. I thought the reception very subdued compared to the standing ovations given to "Selma" and "American Sniper". Isn't Hollywood supposed to be liberal to the core? Their liberalness has boundaries, obviously! Maybe, as in the case of "Selma", it'll take 50 years for Snowden's efforts to be fully appreciated and warrant a standing "O". Tsk!!

Music Monday's offering appropriate to ideas of the god Terminus, and boundaries? Hmmm... there's a song I've always liked and its sub-title or alternative title happens to be Exordium et Terminus (which, translated = beginning and end). The song's main title: In the Year 2525 was a 1969 hit by American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans. There's an archived post about it and them here.

OSCARS

In case anyone's interested, a few thoughts about this year's Oscars awards ceremony televised on Sunday evening. We're longtime film fans, totally non-sporty, so such ceremonies have become our alternative to Superbowl and suchlike. We sat through the three and a half hours, muting the TV during ads, most of which were for Cadillacs which hardly anyone watching at home would be able to afford.

Ellen DeGeneres hosted the event in her casual, straight-faced mildly sarky style, which went down fairly well. Ellen's idea to order pizza, bringin' the assembled multi-millionaires down to earth, fell kind of flat. It was an iffy thing to try really with everyone and their dogs on strict diets. I bet there were numerous pizza slices found under seats when the janitors did their thing later.

The only sour note, I felt, was Ellen's mean and ageist remark, and attitude - meant to be a joke - towards the 83 year old actress June Squibb who was nominated for her supporting role in Nebraska. If Ellen had done something similarly stereotypically non-funny to an African American or gay person she'd have been booed off the stage...but she assumes she's safe enough joking about age. I've noticed she's being criticised for a "joking" remark she made to Liza Minnelli, but about the "joke" at June Squibb's expense, not so much.

We haven't yet seen the movie which took the Best Picture award Twelve Years a Slave. One of the film's cast, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The film is still in the top price range at our video rental store, so we shall wait a while until it slides over to the cheaper shelves. We haven't seen either Nebraska or Dallas Buyer's Club yet for the same reason. The latter movie's two leads won best supporting actor and best actor: Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey respectively. Jared Leto's speech was one of the best, I thought. He gave a shout out to those under stress in Ukraine and Venezuela, the only one who did, far as I recall. His colleague Matt McConaughey's speech was a rambling mess, but he meant well.

Amazingly this year, we had actually seen some of the nominated movies. We saw Gravity (wrote a paragraph about it here). It deserved the seven awards it received, including best visual effects, cinematography and original score. I was surprised not to see George Clooney in the audience, or presenting awards. His name wasn't mentioned in connection with Gravity until near the end of the ceremony when it was rapidly reeled off among a list of thank yous.

We saw Blue Jasmine (wrote about it here), and thank goodness the recent hoo-haa about Woody Allen, the film's director, did not impinge upon Cate Blanchett's being awarded the Best Actress Oscar for her stunning performance in the film. She did not shy away from thanking Woody Allen either, that was good to see.

We saw August: Osage County, some weeks ago. The film itself didn't seem like Oscar material to us, but leading characters received nominations: Julia Roberts for best supporting actress and Meryl Streep for best actress. The two ladies did give fine performances.

Just a sidelight - I noticed quite a few English accents from those collecting awards. That's nice, I thought, giving 'em a run for their money at their own game. (winks).

Oscars 2013, 2000, Seth MacFarlane and American Beauty

I'll refrain from commenting much about this year's Oscars, and the TV presentation, and Seth MacFarlane, other than to say it was nice, for once that three nominated movies were ones we'd actually seen already - never happened before, and Argo, was one of 'em, and won Best Picture among other awards. See HERE for post on that film. As for this year's host, Seth MacFarlane, he made the 4 hours-worth of communal back-patting much easier to take. I think Seth has yet to hit his perfect stride in entertainment. Family Guy isn't it, Ted wasn't it. His CD (now among my favourites) is inching a tiny bit nearer. I'm interested to watch how his career progresses, and perhaps evolves.

Regarding Seth MacFarlane's "We saw your boobs" song/skit, the one getting some women riled up - I'll say just this: if women weren't so eager to show their breasts, scarcely covered, in the course of TV and film appearances as a kind of fashion statement to see who can show most skin, I'd have more sympathy for the voices raised on this. I could've done another verse ...."We saw your boobs all but a quarter inch or so on (whatever) show on TV". Y'all get what you have coming gals! Disclaimer: I am not a feminist with a capital F. I unwaveringly support equality of the sexes and equal pay for women. We now are emancipated enough and strong enough to look after ourselves! It'd be a better plan to quit complaining and compose something as counterpoint, eg:"We saw your dingle dangles"

Enough about 2013.

A little time travelling, back to 2000 when the 1999 movie American Beauty (the one with red rose petals all over the place) won "Best Picture" award. As it happens this film came up in an online conversation with blog-buddy "mike" in commentary to an earlier post (here) on the topic of pedophilia and inappropriate sexual attraction. I'd seen the film years ago but had only a very hazy memory of it, so I acquired an old VHS tape and we watched it a couple of nights ago.

You know, I think American Beauty, clever and satirical as it may have been in 1999, hasn't aged all that well. I wasn't bored by it, but I certainly didn't think it was Oscar material in today's terms.

A laundry-list refresher for any other hazy memories. The film was a satirical look at American suburban life of the 1980s and 90s. Dysfunctional parents, obtuse teenage offspring, focus on materialism, a rather unpleasant portrayal of females, clumsy references to homosexuality, a middle-aged man's unsatisfactory relationship with annoying wife leading to his lusting after a teenaged Lolita-type friend of his daughter; an ex-marine overtly homophobic and controlling husband of a quivering silent wife, father of a teenaged, supposedly soulful and arty, drug dealer son......remember?

Characters and situations portrayed now seem like overly stereotypical caricatures. Much too much of everything. I could easily envisage the whole thing as a Monty Python sketch. Perhaps that was the creators' intention? Perhaps that was what life was like in America back then - a Monty Python sketch? I wasn't here, so I don't know. It wasn't like that in my neck of the English woods - that's for sure!

Best part of the movie, for me, was seeing some actors I've enjoyed in other roles since, doing what they did in earlier days: Allison Janney, the wife of the ex-marine in American Beauty came into her own in TV's The West Wing as White House press secretary and later Chief of Staff, C.J. Cregg. Chris Cooper, the ex-marine character, played numerous supporting roles before and since, he always does sterling work; for me he'll forever be remembered as "July Johnson" (in Lonesome Dove). Annette Bening, who I usually admire, rather over-played her part I thought, but she was nominated in Best Actress category, was beaten to it by Hilary Swank. Kevin Spacey, of course, was highlight of American Beauty, took Best Actor Award too. He has appeared in far too few movies recently in my opinion.....I shall now have to go back and find more of his old stuff.




America has moved on since 1999 and American Beauty. 11 September 2001 changed everything.

American Beauty has, in my opinion, lost whatever lustre it must have had to win the Academy Award. The same cannot be said of all Oscar winning movies, some remain timeless and relevant many decades later. Will Argo be one of those I wonder? Lincoln would've been, Les Misérables might have been.....but longevity is probably not a requisite quality a film must have in order to win an Oscar.

Comparing 2000's "Best Picture" winner with 2013's, is there a link of sorts? American Beauty afforded a critical look at an aspect of American life, Argo presents a story which might cause Americans, especially those connected to Hollywood, to feel proud of an achievement. Another nominated movie Zero Dark 30 which we deliberately didn't see, is also I understand, an attempt to present American, or CIA/military achievement in a complimentary light, and to draw feelings of pride. Different flavours, almost opposites in fact, one self-deprecating, t'other self-congratulatory.
Food for thought.

Retro-Oscars, Planet-flavoured.

The Oscars.....yawn...awards show will be on TV tonight. If nominations more nearly matched my own taste the show might be worth watching. Neither The King's Speech nor Social Network, which seem to be getting the most drumming-up, are my idea of memorable movies. We saw both. Both are fact-based, more like embroidered documentaries. Colin Firth does deserve his acclaim but other than that I remain distinctly underwhelmed.

For me, it's the movies that live on in memory, sometimes for decades, that are Oscar-worthy. They should do a Retro-Oscar award show, at least 10 years after release dates.

A personal list of favourite movies, most long-gone, none ever forgotten. Several were award-winners or received nominations, in their own time too, some were overlooked.

I've added a smidgin of astrological flavour: instead of the usual categories (Best Film, Best Actor etc.) a movie for each planet and light.

Sun ~~~ Ben Hur (the best - outshines all else for me, and I have no religious beliefs!)

Moon ~~~ Prince of Tides (great emotional pull)

Mercury ~~~ Network (all about communication)

Venus ~~~ Bridges of Madison County (love)

Mars ~~~ The Victors (war)

Jupiter ~~~ Across the Universe (had to fit it in somewhere!)

Saturn ~~~ Cool Hand Luke (prison, restriction)

Uranus ~~~ 2001 A Space Odyssey (for obvious reasons)

Neptune ~~~ Man With the Golden Arm (addiction)

Pluto ~~~ From Here to Eternity (war/death)

Daily Dazzles

SUNDAY:- Celebrity time with avengance. The Oscars. I have what some might see as an unfortunate trait (only one?)- dislike of celebrities. This time of year brings on the worst symptoms of my affliction, a bit like 'flu season - well actually it's 'flu season and Oscar season both. Unfortunately there's no shot available for celebrity-itis. Might this affliction of mine stem from something in my astrology? Natal Sun in obtuse and rebellious Aquarius is a start. Saturn (limitation) in Aries in 10th house (public status)- maybe Saturn, the old misery, in this position tends to put a damper on celebrity worship. Grand Trine in Earth signs adds to the mix anchoring feet to the ground, helping to breed an innate distrust of glitz and glitter.


MONDAY afternoon, a letter arrived from the United States Immigration and Citizenship Service notifying me that I should attend for interview on 11 April. This has been a long time coming - since July 2007. On Monday Venus and Mercury were less than 4 degrees from natal Aquarius Sun, with Mercury having not long since moved from retrograde to direct motion, it all ties in nicely. Chances are that I shall be a citizen in time to register to vote in November. The long immigration treck will soon be over. It started with a UK fiance visa for himself, enabling him to be resident in the UK, followed by a marriage visa for me to enter the USA as a Permanent Resident back in 2004, then further hassle to remove conditions from my Permanent Residency last summer. With a following wind I should finally reach the end of this rocky road sometime this summer, after an Oath Ceremony. Then, transformed as a US citizen (dual US/UK citizen to be exact), I shall be saying a resounding "PHEW!!"


TUESDAY evening's TV viewing hovered between rock and a hard place - American Idol and another Democratic debate between El Obama and La Clinton.

American Idol has thrown up a likely winner already. David Archuleta won rave comments for his rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". He's the youngest contestant, so if he does eventually win, my theory that this year's astrological factors favour the more mature contestants will be proved wrong.

They say Tuesday's debate may have been the last of the season, I hope they are correct. Nothing new emerges now, just regurgitation of what we've heard many times before.

Senator Obama, when speechifying on the campaign trail, and when debating, displays two quite different sides to his personality. He doesn't light up the debate platform as he does stadiums filled with adoring crowds. His sparkling Leo Sun, Mercury and Uranus seem eclipsed by his strong Saturn in Capricorn, which lies quincunx(inharmonious)to Uranus. Uranus dazzles at campaign rallies, with promise of change, unity, and that "Yes we can!" In the debates Saturn appears to dampen things down considerably.

WEDNESDAY - An earthquake hit the UK, mild on a global scale, but pretty unusual for Britain. Eclipses are thought by some to be precursors of earthquakes, but there's no scientific evidence for this. There was a lunar eclipse last week. Coincidence?

Astro-harmony in "Falling Slowly"

It was good to see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova receive their Oscars on Sunday evening for Best Original Song: "Falling Slowly", from last year's movie "Once". It's a lovely song from a gentle, non-glitzy, non-starry movie. We saw it and enjoyed it, but never expected it to be mentioned at the grand Oscars ceremony. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova the movie's virtually unknown leading actors also wrote the winning song.



I wondered whether there would be some harmonious links in their natal charts. Here they are, calculated for 12 noon as birth times are unknown.

Glen Hansard was born in Dublin, Ireland on 21 April 1970.



Marketa Irglova born in Valasske Mezirici in the Czech Republic on 2 March 1988

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There is harmony in common clusters of Earthy planets. Hansard has Sun, Saturn, Mercury and Venus between O* and 22* Taurus (ruled by Venus the music planet). Irglova has Uranus, Saturn, Mars and Neptune between 0* and 9* Capricorn, so the planets in Earth signs, Taurus and Capricorn are in harmonious trine.

Both have close aspects between Mars (energy, dynamism) and Neptune (imagination, creativity, dreams), Hansard's Neptune/Mars are in opposition, Irglova's are in conjunction.

Both have Venus (planet of music) close to another personal planet Hansard's is conjunct Mercury(planet of writing & communication), Irglova's conjunct Jupiter (which rules publishing & luck, among other things).

Their natal Suns are in wide sextile, but unfortunately without times of birth their Moon's positions are unclear. At 12 noon both Moons lay at 28* of Libra and Leo, either or both could move into the next signs with birth times from early evening onwards. Ascendants remain unknown.

There's sufficient evidence, even without times of birth, that these two people would understand each other and have little trouble harmonising together, as is well illustrated by their co-written song and their performances in "Once". Here's the song, as performed in the movie: