Fishing Guide to the Stars
By Kramer Wetzel
For the week starting: 11.19.2009
"We, ignorant of ourselves
Beg often our own harms, which the wise powers
Deny us for our good;"
Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra [II.i.v]
Questions are always free, some answers require a cash deposit.
The e-mail line is always on, "31" (24 and 7). Barefoot Astrology instructional video is here.
Scorpio: I’ve seen turkey processed and prepared a number of different ways. Having a birthday like I do, that — intermittently — falls on T-Day, I’ve seen more done with Turkey than I would rather think about.
Here’s the deal: deep fried turkey caught on, then the dangers were revealed. Not that it would stop any of my friends, but that’s not what this about. It’s about the best way I’ve ever had turkey and for my Scorpio friends? A simple suggestion. The best way I’ve ever seen the mighty Thanksgiving Bird fixed? Green Chile Enchiladas. It was a New Mexico treat, as that’s the best source I know of for Green Chile. Use that stuff in everything, but one fall, I caught it just when the Hatch (NM) crop was coming in. It’d been dry that year, which makes the peppers meaner. Better as far as I was concerned.
The only time I’ve had a truly "hot" turkey, although, I’m still hoping for a Cajun/Louisiana bird some day. Look at your chart, last day of Scorpio, then it’s all onto new stuff. Lingering Venus and the Cardinal pressure. Think about new ways to cook the bird. Maybe a new recipe. Maybe a new spin on an old-style dish. Let me know what you cook up.
Sagittarius: What if there really was a secret conspiracy to keep the public in check? What if there really was a secret body of knowledge and some sort of evil cabal was in charge? What if there were state secrets that could change the world forever — and what if that was not a good direction for change?
Lot of "what if" questions these days. I’m just figuring that Sagittarius is in a secret-revealing mood. Not mode, as I’m not sure it’s time for us to reveal all our secrets. But it is a good time to think about our secrets, and it is a good time to think about revealing them. Toy with the idea.
Would the greater good be served? Maybe, just maybe, I know, it’s the beginning of our birthdays, the holidays, everything going on, but still, is it time for the great secret to be unveiled? Maybe not. Okay, I’ll tell one secret: 3-inch, salt and pepper curly-tail on a weedless 1/4-ounce jig head. Secret bait. Always works.
Weekly video, or as an audio file.
Capricorn: Time and local traditions vary, but there’s always a "rite of passage." As Thanksgiving looms closer, and as the Pluto/Saturn thing becomes more apparent, I couldn’t help but think of certain rites of passage. The first girlfriend (or boyfriend), first date, first kiss. First beer, first fishing trip. It’s mid-November, in Texas, it’s also the first deer-hunt.
Don’t worry, I don’t hunt. But these are merely examples of rites of passage. The only real warning, as this week unfolds, what with the moon’s condition? I’d watch for the term, "Right of passage," as compared with "rites of passage." One is ritual. One is earned. One is irrevocable. And the last one? Might not have anything to do with this. Don’t confuse "Rites of Passage" with "Rights of passage." It’s a small point but an important distinction for Capricorn.
Aquarius: In my times, I’ve seen some pretty interesting fishing rod repairs. Or fishing gear, in general, I’ve seen some strange attachments, editions, and a few just plain weird set ups. One of the more bizarre that I’ve encountered was at a garage sale in old East Austin. It was an expensive model of fishing pole and reel, just a "push button automatic," and I fear that the fishing line was older than me, not to mention the antique nature of the hardware.
What interested me, though, was the way the rod tip had been attached, for a second or third time. I know how easy it is to break fishing rods, having done so myself, on a number of occasions. There’s a certain "snap" sound that goes with it. What I was looking at, though, was the rod tip itself, about six inches of busted plastic, and then, wrapped around the tip, holding it adjacent to pole, wrapped in old-style electrical tape, the broken tip. Snap. Then the tip, hastily re-affixed to the pole, and it’s been like that, maybe longer than I’ve been around.
A temporary fix with really long-lasting results. That’s what this is about. You’ll hear a "snap" kind of sound in the next few days, like a fishing rod tip being broken. How you fix that? Careful, might last longer than you think.
Pisces: I answered my mobile phone, "Saddlebags." The call was from a buddy, and he wanted to know where I was at that very moment. Something to do with plans and trips, and getting a drink later, a cup of coffee, and I’ll bet, he also had a girlfriend figured in the equation. Somehow. His version, anyway.
I looked around, I was with a girlfriend, in a mall, in a store, in a mall, someplace in Central Texas, but could be anywhere on the planet, for all I care, and all I saw was saddlebags. Wasn’t a good collection, or for that matter, a manly collection of saddlebags, but that’s what it looked like to me. The walls were lined with all types and shapes, mostly leather, although some had cloth trim, and at least one had fake-fur trim, which, of course, makes no sense on a saddlebag, but then, they didn’t ask me for help.
My duty was to stand by idly, or carry bags. Either way, I finally stumped my buddy. He was busy trying to figure out which Western Tack store I was in. He didn’t catch on a quickly. It’s all about changes, big changes, little changes and naming conventions.
Aries: I just wish this stuff would hold off. Regrettably, the Xmas push is here. So far, I’ve received the link and/or video to "The House with Trans-Siberian Flashing Lights" — at least — a dozen times thus far. Cool. It was cool, the first season or two. It’s boring, and at this point, mildly annoying, anymore. Seen it. Don’t need to see it again, but thank you forwarding me the link and/or the video. But please, don’t repeat sending it to me again.
That’s the problem in Aries land, either you’re sending — or receiving — the same message over and over. Once was fine. Twice, okay, that’s tolerable. By the third time, it gets a little boring and by the fourth or fifth time, it’s annoying. Six or seven times? And you get my point, don’t you?
"This is SO Cool!!! You Have to WATCH THIS!!!!" Thanks. No thanks, but thanks for thinking of me. Get the point, my fine little Aries friend? Stop. You’re either sending or receiving, and my guess is you’re about to forward that link to my e-mail address. Please, think about the children. "But it’s Xmas spirit!"
Weekly video, or as an audio file.
Taurus: After I finished my six or seventh book-length manuscript, I found out the hardest part about being a writer? The most difficult part of writing isn’t the writing itself, it’s the rest of the business. It’s — relatively speaking — easy to write. But that’s less than ten percent of the job. The other ninety percent? Promotions, publicity and public relations. Much harder work.
I was thinking about this example since that’s what’s happening in the Taurus slice of the heavens. It’s about the supporting roles and the other pieces that make the way this all fits together. The fun stuff? For me, that’s the writing, but for you? The fun stuff is whatever it is, but that’s not the point. There’s still plenty of fun stuff around. It’s the rest of the toil that’s required. Just as an idea, here we are, holidays looming on the horizon, and there’s still some career stuff that needs attention. Pay attention now to make sure everyone is pleased. (Still waiting on that literary agent to get back to me, too.)
Gemini: Some folks will encourage an attention to detail at times like this. Look after the little pieces, and then the bigger pieces all fall into place. It’s a nice idea. Doesn’t work.
That attention to detail? That looking at the smaller parts and pieces? You’re missing a bigger point. The short version of the scope? Quit obsessing about minute details.
The longer version? You keep looking at the smaller and finer points until you’re working — in typical Gemini fashion — on microscopic level. Then it’s a sub-atomic level. Fine for theory, but there’s a point your missing, up here, in the real world. That attention to detail? Skip it for the duration of this horoscope. Now, make a note to yourself to come back and thank me since you did get to see the big picture. Write it down, you know, part of a list of items that need to get done.
Cancer: I was reading a coffee (aficionado) website. There was a short article, had to be humor, about how to make coffee if a coffee-maker wasn’t available. The usual ingredients, the coffee grounds, then a coffee cup and boiling water, and then straining the grounds out with a strainer. Just seemed like a lot of extra effort to get a cup of morning brew. I used to only drink specialty coffee, and I’ve outlasted a variety of coffee makers, and I’ve outlasted a variety of coffee shops, too.
I do prefer fresh roasted then fresh ground coffee, but the rest of the details are subject to what’s available. Think about it: headed out at "oh-dark-thirty," for fishing or hunting? Doesn’t much matter what the coffee source is, as long as it works. What was amusing, and the point about that "do it yourself" coffee making process was the depth of the process to get a single cup of coffee.
Coffee beans (ground), hot water, container, that’s all that’s really needed. I prefer, just a choice these days, but I prefer to have the grounds strained out, but that could be me. I was thinking about this and that — hopefully humorous — coffee process because it seemed like it was taking a simple task and making it that much more difficult. Which is what this all about. Don’t. One word: don’t. Or, the longer version? Don’t take a simple process and make it unnecessarily more difficult.
Leo: Robert Earl Keen is a regional favorite. Locally, he enjoys real "rock star" status. Although, apparently, he’s not as widely known outside of Texas. Not that it matters, either, because part of the problem is he defies typical taxonomy. I was listening to a custom play list I’ve got of a sampling of a long and storied career. I pulled songs from a half-dozen albums, and when I was looking at them with my music/media player?
Each CD was labelled in a different way. Rock, Blues, Country, Folk. Yeah, well, no wonder his music isn’t more universal, the folks outside of this area don’t know what to call it. Reminds me of another Capricorn with a similar problem, Jimmy Buffett. But this isn’t about Capricorn musicians, this is about Leo. Notice that the example are real people whose work defies being shoved into a single category.
Other than being Leo? (THE Leo?) Other than that? Stay away from striated and opinionated categories and classifications.
Weekly video, or as an audio file.
Virgo: By the end of this horoscope, it’s time to bust out the Xmas Album. I collect material and put together a play list and burn a couple of "Kramer Xmas Holiday" CDs for friends and enemies. Couple of important pieces to consider, I’ve gotten to where I use the Cheech and Chong clip, highly recommended, and the Robert Earl Keen "Merry Christmas From the Family" song. Run DMC, "Christmas in Hollis," too. Variety. One year, I found a number of xmas mash-ups, and I dropped them onto the CD’s tracks.
Some people do Xmas cards, some do Xmas letters. Me and one cousin, "Hi Brad," we make Xmas CDs. All depends on what we’re in the mood for, too. I was thinking because I was looking at the way the stars fall for Virgo? Planets, really, and the line up is a time. Time to think about one Xmas chore, item, choice, pleasant experience? Something. One of them. Like the Xmas music CD? Could be as simple as that. I thought about the xmas music and Virgo, really, it was last week’s quote, but you get the idea, last week’s idea, this week’s project. A little thought and preparation can help go a long way towards a festive holiday time, all the other influences included.
Libra: Scorpio is a strange time (Northern Hemisphere, European Traditions). It’s the beginning of the long winter nights. The spookiest of times, too. What happens though, as Scorpio closes? There’s a point where you wake up one cold winter morning and you see the bright (cold) winter sun? Bright light, perhaps a little weaker sun than we’d all like, but still, it’s clear and crisp, the leaves have fallen and it’s all good.
Winter clothes, or fall outfits, or, for some of us, just long pants, but still, you get the idea?
There’s a sense of rejuvenation, a spirit of rebirth at the onset of winter. All I’m suggesting, though, for the Libra friends and family? Enjoy the bright spots. Could be as simple as the way the leaves skitter on the sidewalk in the fall’s breeze. Could be the crisp feeling the air. Could be the afternoons at the lake when we can still fish. Could be a lot of individual influences, but I tend to suggest we all find the brilliant little spots of light, wherever it falls.
The Video – Barefoot Astrology
