Fishing Guide to the Stars for the week 11.11.2010

“The man who hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils.”
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice [V.i.83-5]

Scorpio: Ticking clock, the spinning beach ball, the cursor that was the spinning hourglass? Seen them all? Yet there’s more. I was watching the progress of a new upload, and there was the usual status bar, a little bar marching across the screen, fulfilling its allotted space. Then the job was done processing. Uploading, really. Only the bar? It kept on going.

A wonky bit of web-ware. Maybe the processing cycles went longer than anticipated. I think it was just faulty animation, but the idea worked since the machine was effectively tied up until that progress indicator, the little growing bar graph, the machine was busy until the graph stopped growing. Even if it took longer than projected.

The next few days? It’s like that. The progress bar goes marching along, then runs over its allotted space and the bar keeps on growing. Almost like it will grow right out of the computer’s monitor. Which won’t happen, but if it does, we can make much money. I doubt that. Doubt that the bar would really extend past the monitor, not that we could make much money.

The example, I hope you can imagine this, but there’s going to be one Scorpio birthday wish, one Scorpio event, one Scorpio occasion in the next couple of days — that one event, item, thing, person, is going to require a little more time than originally allotted. Like the spinning cursor. Or the progress bar that went over the line.

Venus is Retrograde special: Order a half-hour reading and get a full hour (year overview) reading for the half-hour price. Valid only if your birthday is this week – some restrictions may apply.

Sagittarius: Advice? As Mars and Mercury fry through Sagittarius? Venus backwards in Libra? “Follow the river and flow around the rocks.” I don’t have a source for the quote, but it sounds like an Eastern/Occidental expression.

Adds a whole different level of meaning to the term, “Go with the flow,” as it elevates that to a method to deal with profound obstacles. Those two “M” planets will illustrate some Sagittarius perceptions of problems. There will be a problem. Or a perceived problem, more than a likely.

Instead of trying to push out way through the problem? Flowing around it? That might be a better and more apt solution to the problem. Obstacle. The other point I was trying to make had to do with perception of an obstacle rather than a real rock, right there, in front of us.

Capricorn: Texting, and by extension, Twitter, opened up new avenues for expression.

When I was limited to just a regular phone keypad, I failed to see the point of trying to send text messages. However, as I graduated to a smart phone, and then, watching as social network giant Twitter got larger and larger? I began to understand the appeal.

Short notes. Concise and limited. The appeal, in part, comes from the 140 character limit. Limited verbiage. Makes a point. Ran into this issue with an aging friend. Couldn’t make the point that text messages outbound for regular phones? Have to be a certain (short) length. Long stuff doesn’t make it. Which is the point for Capricorn. Pretend that everything is a text message. Or computer posting on Twitter.

I’ve already discussed the possibility of doing a whole series of horoscopes as Tweets, but that’s not happening. I don’t have the required discipline. With Mars loping along in Sagittarius? Mars and Mercury? Sun in Scorpio? Think along the lines of 140 character limits on all your Capricorn messages.

Aquarius: The accidental nature of discovery is integral to the way I work. However, for the sake of illustrating what’s going on in Aquarius? I was going to borrow a cleaner version.

Ivory Bar Soap — the soap that floats? Originally, the air bubbles were a mistake. An error occurred while mixing the original batch. However, soap that floated? That became a big hit. Countless consumers voted with cards and letters, and that resulted in the mistake becoming a feature.

I trust the accidental nature to help reveal and guide my way. I might not arrive where I set out to go, but I get to where I’m supposed to be.

Like that soap that floats? There’s an accidental discovery — a very Aquarius mistake reveals a flaw that might become the next big thing — the next big thing in Aquarius land, anyway. Good for you. Mistakes aren’t always mistakes, even if the story about the soap that floats is apocryphal.

Pisces: It was a fancy place, perhaps too tony for me, but I was a guest. I overheard, next table over, the best question. “The Wild Salmon, is it farm raised?” While I’m suspicious, that doesn’t mean that I don’t believe what the words say. Clearly, this was a menu item, and clearly it said “wild,” which would imply, I’m guessing here, that it wasn’t farm raised.

I’m not about to dispute the various methodology used for serving “fresh” seafood in the middle of a desert environment, where I was, but that’s just me. I enjoy fresh seafood, but I prefer my “fresh and wild” to be caught by me, fresh and wild. Insures truth in advertising that way.

This isn’t about truth in advertising, though, this is about reading something then questioning what you just read. When it’s plainly, and thusly, labelled? Have to take it for what it says.

Was the salmon farm raised? In reality, I don’t know. But it purported to be wild and that makes the question seem a bit out of place. Redundant. I’ve heard the expression, “There are no dumb questions.” Before you open your Pisces mouth, though? Think about the phrase. There may be no dumb questions, but how you phrase it can sound ignorant.

Aries: I was in the Catholic Gift Shop — next to a certain Catholic Cathedral. I was poking around, sort of looking for a good luck charm and sort of looking for a certain saint figurine, visor clip, really, helps protect from traffic tickets. Seems to work. There was an “arts and crafts” spindle with a number of hand-painted saints on them. Kind of cheesy, and consider the source when I deemed it cheesy.

One of the saints listed? St. Drogo, as the patron saint of coffee. A little research, thus far, has proved that to be a tenuous connection, at best. No catholic database has yielded that other in name, and I’m not sure about the online sources. In other words, I think it was made-up connection. What I did discover, more than one coffee-shop owner claims that saint, but there’s a difference between an owner and a patron. Patron saint. While I think a patron saint of coffee would be really cool? The evidence in this question, so far, is slim to nonexistent.

Still need research for Aries. Can’t take everything at face value.

Taurus: Buddy of mine, he’s, what he calls himself? Mexican. I’m unsure of his true lineage, and I’d like to think he’s really more “American” than “Mexican-American,” or “Latino,” or “Hispanic.” What he calls himself? Mexican. Funny how Spanish, while used at home, is almost like a second language for him. It’s third — or fourth — language for me. Still a very pretty language.

We were discussing a police issue. Local cops got in trouble for a profile situation. My buddy, realize his roots, judge his book by its cover, and then hear him talk about it? “Those guys, they got arrested for ‘driving while Mexican,'” he shrugged, “it happens.”

I make that comment? I’m racist and I’ve got several defamation leagues after me. He said it? It’s okay. He laughed. I chuckled at his joke. He can say it. I can’t.

I didn’t say it was right, just that there is a double standard, and I’m respecting the local colors. Local flavors. But he was right, sort of, about how it was dumb to act like dumb version of whatever species one is.

Venus is still retrograde. Don’t get caught while, you get it, right?

Gemini: I was listening to music. I head the song’s familiar refrain and then, this time, I could hear a new riff in the music. I’ve listened to the music on that one album a dozen times or more. The whole thing, the CD, ripped it onto a portable music player and heard it maybe hundreds of times. Could’ve been the volume, the settings, the new speakers, me, anything. Or nothing.

Just listening differently. (“Listen different,” is grammatically incorrect.)

It’s like listening to an orchestra piece, a symphony, and hearing a string section that I never heard before. Sometimes it’s the big things in life, and sometimes, like now, it could the littlest of details that may, or may not, be important. That beat, the riff, the musical section added to the song? The part I never heard before? The part I never recognized before? Belaboring that point too much.

However, the personal recognition? That inward acknowledgement? That’s a step forward. Whether it’s trance-dance music, an orchestra’s symphony, some pop song, the source doesn’t matter. I was able admit there was a new layer I was able to perceive. As the doors, windows to Gemini perception open, listen (watch) for those new layers of meaning.

Cancer: Couldn’t decide if I should do this or not, but then, I’ve never been one to err on the side of discretion. The quote is from a female TV hostess, “I have the perfect face for radio.” I swiped that comment, myself, and I’ve pirated that line.

I wonder if that makes me guilty of plagiarism. Besides, this isn’t about whether you look good, it’s about how you feel, on the inside. You feel like that quote suggests. Perfect for something that you’re not doing.

Good time to be inside? You’re required outside.

Good time to be outside? You’re required in the studio — in front of the camera.

It functions two ways, in part, the full moon that’s approaching and in part, the backwards Venus sailing through Libra. More like it’s Venus and more like she’s grinding backwards through Libra, and more like, you’re just not happy. The secret is to understand that it really is you, and yes, you’re feeling this way, and that no, it’s not for forever, but this is a temporary situation.

Buried on the website someplace, there’s an image of me with (locally) “famous” DJ in El Paso. A local luminary, a political figure and me. All in one image. Was it a big deal? Not really. However, it just goes to show, with that image, even radio, oh, never mind. You get it, right?

Leo: I tend to carry three items with me, at all times, to help prevent this from being an issue. What I was pondering? How much time do guys spend, standing outside the “Ladies Room,” waiting patiently? I used to comment that there’s no way to look manly doing that, but that ship has long since sailed.

Waiting on girlfriends and such? Just no way to look cool while, apparently, lurking outside the “women’s toilet” area. The three items that are handy? Pencil, paper and phone. I can use, one, or more, sometimes together, sometimes separately, but still, I’m not just stuck there. Does this happen to you? Adjust the gender as need be, but still, stuck, waiting. Happens at the store, the mall, the bar, and even on the highway of life, at the “picnic” area (rest stop). Waiting. Patiently.

With pencil and paper? Doodling, or, like me, calculating how long this was going to take. Phone for messages, check the e-mail, any number of items can be done. It’s not wasting time. Be prepared, though, as this week progresses, you’re going to be like me, at some point, waiting there. I wonder, how much time is spent waiting like that? I did return that call, didn’t I?

Virgo: A buddy of mine was talking about a drug test. Work thing. Employment requirement. The idea of a drug test, though, the name, it evokes mirth. I know it’s not funny, not in its original form.

The first joke is about studying for the drug test, and I envision a vast array of illicit, uncontrolled substances. The second version, a little more thought is required, but suppose I had to take a drug test, illicit drug screen. The results, I know the results would show that I’m clean as can be. Really clean. No bio-chemical impropriety whatsoever.

Strongest thing in my system was black tea, I had yesterday. However, anyone who’s had interaction with me, is this a relief? Or is this more cause for worry? Finding out that my system shows no evidence whatsoever of (illicit) chemical enhancements? Is that good? Is that more cause for worry? Based on my speech pattern, cadence and loping delivery? Is it worrisome that there are no chemical causes in my bloodstream?

Worried? You should be. The real issue isn’t what’s in my bloodstream, though, it’s about how you perceive what’s a worry and what’s not. Worried that there might be drugs in my system? Or more worried that there aren’t any?

Libra: In Central Texas, like Austin and its environs? No question I look native. Nary a flicker of doubt or question. Further south? Like, in South Texas? I’ve met with a remarkably diverse set of questions, but the theme is usually the same. “Are you from, like, Huntington Beach?” Or, “LA, right?” The variation, “San Diego, huh?”

No, I’m not from Southern California. Visited a time or two, but no, not from there. “You look so, California.”

I’m guessing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and sandals does that. I’m just surprised no one leaps to the obvious beach allusion, but most South Texas beaches are full of younger versions of myself. Surfer jams and bikinis, from what I’ve seen. Or obvious fishing attire. So I look like an outsider, when, in fact, I’m very much an insider, having made a hobby out of local lore, traditions, and histories.

Doesn’t stop the other South Texas people from questioning my loyalties and affiliations. Seems like I don’t fit in. I do, but I don’t let it get to me, and I kind of enjoy the mistaken identity. Judging me by my cover is a deceptive.

Honestly? I think I’m pretty open, but the feedback, locally, has been that I look “California,” not native Texan. Except in Austin. There I blend in so well I don’t raise a single eyebrow. Except for this one Capricorn, but that’s another question for a different sign. In Libra? Take a hint from me. Fit in? Don’t fit in? Does it matter, either way? (Hint: not really.)