Why didn't I think of this sooner? Tonight it occurred to me, after a weekend of failed communications in my work life (very failed, and misunderstood I might add), and with the nation's economic collapse and hate-spewing bimbos running for office, that what we've got here, folks, in the words of Strother Martin as the Captain, left in Cool Hand Luke "is failure to communicate." ["what we got heehr is...failyuh to com-municate "] But why is that?
Well, we could blame Mercury for one, that pesky little planet that three times a year or so goes into "retrograde." While I don't really understand what that means in planetary terms, here is a synopsis of what it means in astrological terms, according to AstrologyCom.com:
In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce, education and transportation. By extension, Mercury rules people who work in these areas, especially people who work with their minds or their wits: writers and orators, commentators and critics, gossips and spin doctors, teachers, travelers, tricksters and thieves.[Basically that sounds like the media, anyone who writes, or "tricksters and thieves..." Mmm, who could they be?]
Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray or awry.
["Astray or awry..." Wall Street crisis anyone?]
It is therefore not wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is very likely that these decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!
This period of time began on September 24, influenced by Libra, will peak on October 15, and wane by October 31st. Just in time for the election. Let's hope the uninformed masses, some as witnessed in this segment below, will find that their "critical faculties" have returned. These interviews, recorded on BlueOhioan, make me somewhat embarrassed to be a native of that big Blue-ish-Reddish state (which I guess, when mixed, makes it purple, which is the color of homosexuals, which I guess isn't such a bad thing -- At least, on a symbolic level, Ohioans would be heading in the right direction for tolerance that way). Have people lost their minds? If these clips weren't real they would be brilliant parody. But they're real, and really sad.
Another "huh?" moment for me occurred this evening when a friend announced the end of her blog (something I was briefly tempted to do myself this weekend--at least to announce some sort of hiatus from this computer realm where I seem to often be misunderstood or misheard or misconstrued...and I'm supposedly a writer).
Here is a little Bill Maher to round out the weekend (from October 10--"New Rules" and closing monologue). He, too, is puzzled by divisive candidates and a fair number of idiotic prospective voters but he is an equal opportunity comic, even though we know where his politics lie:
We live in a deeply divided country...the truth is we hate each other's guts. Bill Maher
Meanwhile, I'm guessing this whole retrograde thing is starting to affect our neighbors, too, because since I started typing this blog fifteen minutes ago I've heard a series of gun shots (maybe 20 or so) from their direction. I suppose I wouldn't otherwise worry except it is 1 o'clock in the morning! And we're on a ridge, in the middle of freaking nowhere. I woke my husband up and he didn't seem concerned. But my friends, if I might get all folksy for a moment, fact is always stranger than fiction. I suppose it is just another day in a big, giant Red state.
