another slow saturday morning . . .

update: can't find anything funny today after watching the news while I sorted laundry (text HAITI to 90999 to give $10 through the Red Cross - gets added to your phone bill).

[i have a beauty mark in my jupiter spot]

Oh my, Virgo! Here it is! The year you've been waiting for. Jupiter, who spends one full year in a sign, will set off for Pisces and your house of one-to-one relationships today, which means you're about to be served a veritable buffet of lovers. [like Golden Griddle, only different?] Better take those vitamins.

"In terms of your personal life, the vacillation of those around you is getting to you today. The Lovers card holds sway in the emotional sphere today, revealing hesitant and somewhat fickle behavior on the part of your nearest and dearest. All this is very unsettling for you, to the point that where certain people are concerned, you feel as if you’re getting nowhere as neither of you has faith. A word of advice: ignore your doubts and try to communicate."

If you asked me to make you a mix tape that would be conducive for making love to, I wouldn't be in the least surprised. These long January nights are ideal times for you Virgos to be unleashing your dormant passion and sharing volcanic pleasure and exploring the frontier where delight overlaps with wonder. In the compilation of tunes I'd create for you, I'd probably have stuff like "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, "Breathe Me" by Sia, "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, and "6 Underground" by the Sneaker Pimps. But I think it's a better idea for you to assemble your own soundtrack.

muse - feeling good (nina simone), I like the tone of this version, a kind of devil may care upbeat what the hell ever there's no sense even trying to make sense typa thing. if I had to sum up the alignment of the stars right now, I'd say: beware of the sense men can whip their minds up into making cz it might make 'no I'm not hungry but I'll take a sandwich' look like a cake-walk
Bloodgroup - My Arms
Jenny Björkqvist - To Heal Your Wounds
Ibrahim Maalouf - Souma Hia
Sneaker Pimps: de herrineringen! Onmisbaar om eens in je leven te beluisteren (Filla Brazilla) remix: 6 Underground. a nice lo-fi mix
Steinski and Mass Media - Let's Play it Cool - I've listened to this a buttgillion times recently, high rec

WEEKEND LOVE FORECAST: ARIES: The love that is intertwined with common interests and compatible personality traits will be lasting. TAURUS: Your strong sense of fairness will help you to see where another person is coming from. GEMINI: Your disposition is kind, but you won't put up with less than you deserve. CANCER: You will alleviate another person's distress -- a beautiful gift. LEO: You care more about the success of a joint activity than you do about your own success. VIRGO: You'll get the chance to follow through on a promise you made long ago. LIBRA: You accept a loved one "as is," and this person blossoms in the warmth of your unconditional love. SCORPIO: A friend connects you with just the person you were looking for. SAGITTARIUS: Your compassion will endear you to one who's had an eye on you. CAPRICORN: Your happiness means everything to someone. AQUARIUS: It is said that love doesn't envy or boast. However, you will have something to be proud of, and loved ones may talk you up or be secretly jealous of your prize. PISCES: Don't get so hypnotized gazing into another person's eyes that you forget to take a moment to look together in the same direction.

bonus, you gotta! check this out if only for the first few seconds of the shoulder shimmies, it's fantastic. and its utter weirdness captures so much:

wow it's cold here deep into my everything - a productive day though, some work got done on the house, yup yup, it's all good, the garage[roof] situation lookin up for sure, and school starts up again this week and I'm on the studio schedule so welp inner bee stings always make me the most effective person in any room so I'll just go with that I'm sure, some kinda way

"Cuddle Alone," She Keeps Bees

A reader calling herself Rebellioness collaborated with me to come up with five revolutionized approaches to the art of rebellion. I present them here for your use, Virgo, as they identify the kinds of behavior that will be most nurturing for you to cultivate in the coming weeks. 1. Experimenting with uppity, mischievous optimism. 2. Invoking insurrectionary levels of wildly interesting generosity. 3. Indulging in an insolent refusal to be chronically fearful. 4. Pursuing a cheeky ambition to be as wide-awake as a dissident young messiah. 5. Bringing reckless levels of creative intelligence to all expressions of love.

[yeah, something like that . . . ]

like this maybe

love this

a slow Saturday, too cold and lazy to do much but clean and eat breakfast repeatedly. and read a bunch of crapola:

. . . skip the cosmetic counter altogether and head straight for the drugstore aisle selling Pepto Bismol. Yes, you read right. The diarrhea treatment can also help you get you the glow going.

"It contains salicylic acid, and if you put a coating on your face, let it set for a few minutes, then wash it off, and your skin will have a mega-glow that shines through even after you put on your makeup," says Irons, whose most recent book is, The World's Best Anti-Aging Secrets.

[huh] [update: pepto bismal turns your face that bright pink even after you've rinsed it off, fyi - pink alll day]

---

The Virgo is often gentle and delicate, preferring to step back and analyze before moving ahead. Virgo Key Words:

Strengths: Practical, loyal, hardworking, analytical, kind.

Weaknesses: Worry, shyness, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play.

Charismatic marks: A certain, reserved manner marks the classic Virgo. Virgos are generally slight in build.

Likes: Cleanliness, animals, healthy foods, books, nature.

Dislikes: Taking center stage, rudeness, asking for help.

Virgo in Love: censored

---

Afghanistan's national game, buzkashi, is attempting a marketing transformation inspired by pro football's and basketball's growths in the United States over the last several decades, according to a November USA Today dispatch. The main hindrance is that buzkashi is often little more than violent anarchy. A team of 12 men on horseback tries to carry a goat carcass the length of a field, around a goal and back, through an opposing team "defense" that includes almost any tactic short of murder. Spectators are often trampled by riders disregarding boundaries, and horses have dropped dead on the field from abuse or fatigue. The head of the Buzkashi Federation said he aims to present the game for consideration to the International Olympic Committee.

[It'd be even better if the goats were alive, don't you think?]

---
CéU -

Malemolencia - Instituto Remix (rt clk)

WEEKEND LOVE FORECAST: ARIES: There are many facets to your personality. Keep the one you are interested in guessing. TAURUS: You'll be receptive and open to the adventure of loving someone who is very different from you. GEMINI: Stick with the one you started with. Loyalty will count, and you'll be proud of your choice. CANCER: Every effort to make yourself feel better will help you become more loving. LEO: Give straightforward answers and directives. You'll be appreciated. VIRGO: The care you take in the details of your personal presentation will make you magnetic. LIBRA: Be bold and talk to people you don't know. Your courage is attractive. SCORPIO: Your genuine care for others makes you shine as a class act. SAGITTARIUS: You'll find out that you are at the top of someone else's to-do list. CAPRICORN: Be peaceful. If you feel angry, work it out appropriately. Misdirected anger is like poison. AQUARIUS: You'll be a buddy to your love, sharing his or her interests without worrying whether that makes you masculine or feminine. PISCES: Someone needs to know that you trust him or her. Let go and prove it.

Fionn Regan: Getting Better (The Beatles)
Cara Dillon & Sam Lakeman: Wait (The Beatles) - high girly

VIRGO,You like the story in which the caterpillar goes to sleep and wakes up a monarch butterfly. Go with that sleepy feeling for now. Soon, in some way, you are about to wake up.

for FPH, rose melberg - things that we do

it sure will be nice when maybe someday my roof isn't just leaking like a bitch all over (sigh)

Led Zeppelin – Ten Years Gone
Hayes Carll: Bad Liver & A Broken Heart (tom waits)
"Fallin'," Teenage Fanclub (feat. De La Soul) - get past the weird first seconds, it's worth it, high rec
Bob Dylan: Hard Times Come Again No More

no one can always be an angel

VIRGO, When you change your direction, others must adjust -- or get run over. Honor their process. Some people take a long time to process change. Try to occupy yourself while you wait for them to come around.
Shawn Colvin: You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go [i've always loved every inch of this song - hear how the crowd holds its breath at the lull? (apx 3:10) everyone knows the first end isn't really]
New Buffalo “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (The Animals)
'New Buffalo is Australian musician Sally Seltmann, who wrote the song “1234″ for Feist,' says Coverfreak - high rec, mood = drag ass'n

it is superman-would-only-come-here-to-escape-criptonyte cold here

It's not easy being quiet and good, it's like hanging on to the edge of a bridge when you've already fallen over; you don't seem to be moving, just dangling there, and yet it is taking all your strength.
--Margaret Atwood

stein ski - [original link removed] woops that was the weird sex one (hahaha, sorry that was an awful song! funny tho) - correct one: solid air junk mood, a totally great track, high rec

THE ONE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION YOU'LL KEEP: Which resolution are you most likely to stick to? Here's what your stars have to say on the matter. ARIES: Learn how to get along better with the opposite sex. TAURUS: Go on a vacation with your favorite person and no one else. GEMINI: Learn to say several useful phrases in another language. CANCER: Master a new signature dish, and feed it to many friends. LEO: Write regularly in your journal. VIRGO: Photograph your daily life often and share the pictures with loved ones. LIBRA: Keep family ties strong by planning 10 important outings with loved ones throughout the year. SCORPIO: Replace a tired part of your vocabulary with fresh words and expressions. SAGITTARIUS: Learn to perform a song, preferably on an instrument you do not currently know how to play. CAPRICORN: Hone your listening skills to such a degree that you're praised and celebrated for them. AQUARIUS: Cut out the drink that causes you the most expense and contributes the least to your overall health. PISCES: Master walking with an attitude. This includes your usual getting-around walk and, of course, your confident swagger.

Scientific studies have proved what we all knew already: A person who's only mildly interesting to you will probably become more attractive if you drink a couple of pints of beer. What if I told you, Virgo, that in 2010 you could regularly create the same effect without drinking the beer? I have it on good astrological authority that this will be the case. Due to fundamental shifts in your relationship with the life force, and having nothing to do with how much alcohol you consume, the entire world will often be at least 25 percent more attractive to you than it ever was before.

Emiliana Torrini: I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You

early morning massive bummer idea: google "good gifts for people who are dying quickly"

my first yoga teacher, Roberto, is dying of liver cancer, already in advanced stages - I've been sitting here for the long minutes since I read that email, breathing around the inward choking that Roberto was the first person to notice in me - he'd look at my throat, not my eyes, and say with command relax

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: The current conjunction of Pluto and Venus reminds us that relationships are cyclical and it's important to accept the changes that come with the seasons.

I'm not sleeping at night la la laaaa

right out my untrimmed chest la la la

MC Solaar – Bouge De La

watched this for the umteenth time

VIRGO FORECAST 2010: You'll initiate projects you know you can succeed with this year, but you won't stop at that. A challenge that is almost certain not to work out will be equally appealing to you. And if you can maintain a winning attitude and a high level of confidence, you'll defy the odds, finding success where many before you have failed. A big, daring purchase is featured in September.

Money and Career: Friends will be helpful to your business arrangements, though often in an indirect way. A turning point comes in May. There will be a chance for advancement in August. Your gratitude keeps you in good social and political standing.

Love: You will learn about yourself in romantic moments -- it's so interesting what others see in you. Singles go from friendship to love in March. [huh, ?, cz I have 'commit suicide to get out of it' scheduled for first thing in the morning on March 1] February and September are ideal times to travel with a loved one.

Personal Development: One of your talents is to connect with nature on a visceral level. Gardening, caring for animals or capturing the beauty of nature through photography or art will be a great source of healing, self-esteem and spirituality.

Rose Polenzani, Jennifer Kimball, Jordan Caress, and Ramona Silver: In The Bleak Midwinter

I am cold.

It's soltice weekend, the darkest days of the year. I went to a fire drumming ritual last night, which was a blaaaaaast. I love to dance and never do it anymore, the kinda dancing you do alone in a crowd and go nuts and work up a big sweat, and then go to Wendy's for a wee-hour munchfest off the dollar menu.

At the end of the ritual, everyone joins hands and spirals inward toward infirm or sick people who are in the center for healing. All night there's a lot of circling, Greek-wedding ft. conga, circle-dancing being the traditional choice for raising energy. Circling and twirling and letting fly, repeat repeat repeat. After all that booty-shaking, there's so much energy in the room and in your body, it's like we're all literally humming in our guts for the final circle, spiraling into a knot of vibration until the few suffering in the center are wrapped tight. That kind of thing is pretty powerful.

bootyshaking music (if it doesn't move your ass, then eat a cheeseburger cz obviously you need more ass then):
traditional african - tafadzwa (I could shake to this for days)
bonus track, florence + the machine - drumming song

anybody got any good voodoo?

So I'm done w the forum transforming with possibilities conference thingy and it was allll goooood, it was. For Ears, it was good, bc for a second I could stop hating his teacher so bad that I want to beat her to death with the bloody end of her own arm, and in that space of time we rewrote his History Day project to his own satisfaction, creating the possibility of his own satisfaction with his work being central to his education. And off he went with his new paper, happy as a clam.

Then the school called and requested a conference - Now, I know that my assumption that that Fucking Bitch of a Cunt of a Teacher is having some problem with the paper = a story I'm telling myself. I'm telling myself the story that just when the kid is okay for a second, they instinctively want to shit all over it to make themselves feel big because they're all so ugly that they haven't gotten laid since the dawn of time and never will. (That might only be true of me, actually.) The only FACT is that the school called, and all the rest that is in my head right now is only that, bullshit in my head that makes me upset. But. I want to get a gun and go over there and put it to her head until she pees her pants right now, that's the rub. And I realize I'm only going to ruin my own day with those feelings, but that realization only makes me want to ruin her day too with my feelings. I think I might be a terminal Asshole, no matter how many conferences I sign up for.

>:(

I'm trying so hard, but it's so not easy. I can try to let my feelings lead me to actions that are keeping with my goals and principles, and when they're in line with each other that's great, and when they're not well then it's kind of hellish. I know that that creates the change you need bc you're forced into it finally, to either feel like shit and keep situations that make you feel like that (martyrdom) or change the way you feel about them some kinda way (revelation?) or change the situation (generally my pick, and where I rediscover how capable I am if I have to be). But. See that question mark after "revelation"? That's because changing the way I feel about a situation when that situation itself is what it is and isn't going to change, huh, that one often escapes or stumps me. How do you do that? And life isn't fair, so situations that are way less than ideal and that's that are inevitable.

At the end, the guy who was running the conference said "I want you to have big breakdowns, bc the only way to never have big breakdowns is to have no big commitments. If you commit yourself to big things, then you'll fail sometimes inevitably. And that's perfect, it means you're trying to be truly alive." I'm trying to keep that in mind, hoping my guts will follow (and my heart will hold up).

John Dissed: Christmas with the Devil (Spinal Tap)

been learning to dream bigger over here - too bad a 3-day trip leaves 3 days worth of hotel food in my lower intestines though, that bums out the Anything-is-Possible mojo just a little if taking a decent crap isn't even possible

Trentemoller - Always Something Better

Kate Rusby: Let Me Be

(my ass still hurts so bad, omg, I can barely sit down to pee. but speaking of peeing, if you're a guy, pee while standing on your tip toes. the master yogi says you'll never get prostate cancer that way.)



(I know it's dumb, but the hairdryer cracked me up.)

for VIRGO For you, the beauty isn't just skin deep. When people get to know you, they start to discover that the inside is even prettier than the shiny outside. Your heart is what makes you so remarkable. (o shit then I got it backwards, I need an ass tattoo on my heart)

Das Palast Orchester “Sex Bomb” (Tom Jones)

i wish i could do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCFFxidhcy0&feature=player_embedded (speak fervently and well, i mean, not get married gay or otherwise)

yoga for 7 hours today. i threw my hip outa whack with a pop loud enough that everyone heard it like a fart only very different - and i learned microcosmic breathing and did yoga nidra (which is fantastic once you get the knack) with others for the first time . . . zzzzzz

In one of his short poems, John Averill describes a scene that I think captures the essence of your current astrological omens: "Today is the day of the photo of moonrise over Havana in a book on a shelf in the snowbound cabin." Here's a clue about what it means: The snowbound cabin is where you are right now in your life. The moonrise over Havana is where you could be early in 2010. How do you get there from here?

Mars is in 03 Degrees Leo. You are a very proud person. Strong, bold, courageous and self-possessed, you love to be the one to initiate significant actions. When people expect a lot of you, you respond positively and will work hard in order to maintain their respect. But when your dignity or pride is threatened, you tend to become sarcastic, arrogant and domineering. Try not to take any challenge or resistance that you meet as a personal affront. You are very stubborn about your right to live your life according to your own principles.

Devil In A Woodpile “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” (Led Zeppelin)