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Today’s premium members’ edition includes the extended Eric Francis weekly horoscope, covering Mercury retrograde. It’s gonna be a weird one and Eric has just the expert astrological guidance that you need.
Today’s issue also commemorates the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show during their first trip to the United States, comparing it to the era we’re living through now — all through the lens of the Uranus and Pluto cycle. Included is a special section with thoughts by five of Eric’s astrologer colleagues plus entertainment lawyer and friend Michael Ackerman on the astrology and cultural impact of the Beatles.
Also included in this issue is a SKY section about the chart for the Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, several other astro-news briefs and your 12-sign horoscopes for this week, interpreting Mercury’s station retrograde for each of the 12 signs. You can read this entire issue through an individual purchase. Or, sign up for a free one-month trial offer, and receive our premium membership service twice weekly — delivered straight to your email inbox.
If you did the beer commercial, I’d think it was ok to buy the beer – EF said it was the right thing to do. Maybe you should ask Dylan why he did it. Could be to stir up a hornet’s nest.
…not following. If you did a commercial about American beer and (inadvertently) ‘got a conversation started’ because there was an obvious conflict between what you seem to stand for and what is portrayed in the commercial?
As in, if you personally did an advertisement for prediction-based ‘sun-sign” sunday-paper astrology column funded by the nuclear industry….would that potentially “start a conversation” by either default or design?
I’m behind you here, just trying to keep up with your point….(I’m pretty sure you’re going down a path that points out the difference between the German beer and the Chinese cell-phones – but not sure how you see my post in relationship to that piece of the conversation.)
Thx xo
Ok, imagine I do a beer commercial, and then try saying that about me.
Hi Eric,
I think Merc and Neptune did a little dance in Merc’s stormy phase and the dance floor happened to be my natal Sun in the 8th house.
So of course I could entertain (pun) the idea that good ol’ working man (haha) Bob would take an opportunity to get our attention with a covert message.
However, I don’t realistically presume Bob Dylan to be so brilliant that he could slip a message about the state of international working conditions into a pre-scripted television commercial. I enjoy, love, respect him and his work, but “probably not”.
My take is that whatever it is that caused him to accept the gig whether it be money (what else), maybe publicity – it still caused CONVERSATION because, well, because it’s Bob Dylan (whom we associate with “the worker”). And because it’s dialog about American national pride edited over video of “slave” labor in China.
Did he use “the system” to get our attention? By design or default–he got it.
It also seems to me that Chrysler got a different conversation going than the one they intended. But they did get it revved up.
I was curious as to whether Dylan wrote any of the copy for this commercial or if it was entirely scripted by Chrysler’s ad agency. We may never know – or really care – (good ol’ Neptune 🙂 but here’s an interesting bit:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/02/how-much-if-any-of-this-chrysler-200-ads-copy-did-bob-dylan-write/
How Much, If Any, of This Chrysler 200 Ad’s Copy Did Bob Dylan Write?
By Ronnie Schreiber on February 3, 2014
In that case we need a short SciFi film of Bob Dylan wrestling with a robotic arm.
Maybe Dylan knows more than we think. How long will it be before 3D printing takes all the manufacturing jobs? 5 years? 10? 20? Change is coming again whether we like it or not. I read some interesting input at Motley Fool – Women started gaining a bigger foothold in the workplace at about 1960. At the same time service jobs in the fast food industry increased because people began eating out 2 meals per day, as opposed to what – once a week? So it only makes sense that service jobs increased faster than manufacturing. The top jobs (economically) are still held by the few. None of the data accounts for women who are still working at home, not using babysitter services, preparing meals, cleaning, etc. What’s their dollar value?
At any rate, there are ways to make a living besides working in a foundry or production line, but granted, a lot of people need help in figuring it all out. The school guidance counselors only seem to show interest in students who are academically motivated. Making changes to the education system seems impossible, so it’s no wonder so many people home school.
My brother worked at Chrysler around 1970-1976. He would tell us in unbelief about all the times employees would run bad parts all night to get overtime to run them again correctly. He told us about all the times they made rate for the evening and would head out to the bar to finish the shift, come back and clock out. The unions had full knowledge of everything that went on. He ended up getting one of those big checks from the federal government that Lee Iaccoca negotiated, but after the 3rd lay-off he didn’t go back, opting to work in automotive repairs instead, with a clear conscience.
Some of us could see the writing on the wall even then, and NAFTA followed soon after.
Another thing I remember about Dylan was at the first Farm Aid concert he said from the stage that he didn’t really believe in that sort of thing (fund raising) but he knew the farmers had been hard hit by the economy at the time and many were at risk of losing the family farm. I got the impression he might have a little more admiration for people who try to do for themselves than for people who are always asking for hand-outs.
Whose attention and for what? You mean the bit about his face on TV?
Did he sell out? …or did he (use the system to) get “every”one’s attention.
Hard for an old political activist to do that these days.
Bob Dylan takes an Olympic dive into advertising on the Beatle’s 50th anniversary, a week after Pete Seeger leaves the earth plane. This during a Uranus-Pluto reconfiguration, as well as Chiron in Pisces return that all had prospered under. The opportunity is at hand to revisit each one’s legacies then and now. We can learn from the comparisons, and we can improve ourselves.
This could come in handy:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2014/feb/07/learn-russian-protest-anti-gay-laws-sochi-winter-olympics-video
Terrific edition and lots to think about! If you’ll forgive me a ‘first person’ on this topic, as I’ve mentioned before, my eighteenth birthday was the day JFK was buried. A subdued Christmas season come and gone, gloom settled over the nation, particularly in the kids, whose hearts Jack had captured. Me, my boyfriend, my roomy and her guy were all “theatre rats,” absorbed in music and performance culture. One of the guys worked at the local record store, so we were alerted in advance that a “fab” new group was making their debut with an album release in advance of a tour.
Vee-Jay released ‘Introducing the Beatles’ on January 10th (prior to Capital’s release of ‘Meet the Beatles’ on Jan. 20) and that evening, after work, he brought it by. We stayed up much of the night listening and commenting. There was, about that music, a sense of innocence that matched our own, although it had taken a terrific hit and was quickly fading. No wonder we grabbed at it like a life preserver.
What strikes me about that event — and that period, as eric pointed out — is how quickly we went from I Saw Her Standing There and Love Me Do, to Sgt. Pepper and the first hints of the groups internal discord with the White Album. How fast the speeding train from flowers in our hair and tripping in Golden Gate Park to murders in the Haight, Bobby’s assassination and the terrifying summer of the Manson Family.
And the thing is, we were so intense during that period, so engaged in whatever came next, that we weren’t aware of how MUCH we were changing until well after the fact. I’ve always associated that with the Pluto/Uranus fast-tracking our social consciousness and there’s no question that the Beatles orchestrated those changes putting their own metamorphosis — personally, professionally and even spiritually — in the public domain.
And even if they were “more popular than Jesus” — shit-fire, Billy Bob, didn’t THAT raise a stink — most of us felt a deep kinship with their exploration and the disillusionment that created “I am the eggman, goo goo g’joob.” Seems to me, if we’re looking for where today’s cynicism was born, we should look there.
And fe, yes — I laughed at that commercial break announcement, wondering if/when we’d see Stalin in the coming segments. Everything gone RED RED RED seems pretty clear, I guess. Essentially, the whole thing was less militaristic than I’d supposed it would be … and pretty frilly and prancy in spots, which also made me laugh. No gaydar in Russia, looks like. LOL! That’s the problem with drawing a line in the sand, as they have — everything is measured against it.
Adam Greene from Rolling Stone on Dylan’s Super Bowl ad: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/watch-bob-dylans-super-bowl-commercial-for-chrysler-20140203
I think the guy must also read The Onion. He learned something from them.
Eric:
Not apropos of anything, but I am watching the replay of today’s opening day ceremonies of Russia’s Sochi Olympics on NBC. so of course, in a break in the 45 minute extravaganza presenting the panorama of Russia’s history, I am incredulous to report that the chirpy NBC announcer says:
“And now we’ll interrupt this presentation on imperial Russia for a commercial break, returning just in time for the Russian revolution!”
This was riveting- I was compelled to read it ‘cover to cover’-even read most of the links.
Thinking on the Beatles, has anything likewise been done on Mick Jagger & the Rolling Stones?
Probably has and I’ve missed it.
There must be a profound energy impact of these guys on all sorts of levels and also the endurance is significant and how they speak to so many generations.
Let’s face it they are all – what used to be thought of as old. They even challenge that whole concept of old.
Plus how come Keith Richards is still alive and a fantastic role model in many ways along with kind of being an archetype of the drug takers of the 60’s.
He is just no saint and yet most people love him – even if they couldn’t tolerate him when he was younger.
Also, Paul McCartney said something that rung a bell in me or resonated and it comes back to me when I’m having crap times.
It was part of an interview at the time he was going through his truly crappo divorce.
“When you’re going through hell – keep going.”
Yeah, I can see that. Disturbing, all around. Took a look at his chart, after this little volley – and, you know, that Sag rising hooks into the romantic, idealized identification with a cow-boy, Guthriesque union man thing that came through when he spoke of the ‘American roads’ etc.. Am choosing to believe there was a sense of wanting to serve the screwed city of Detroit, somehow, but – I can definitely see what you mean, and – pretty much gives me the willies.
s i g h …
My impression watching the ad for the first time, live, when it ran, was he did it to get his face on national TV, since for the most part he is regarded as irrelevant and is unknown to young people, like Bill Haley and the Comets.
That was my sense of the ‘why’ of Bob. Am the opposite of qualified to discuss the current state of the auto industry, though I have friends in Detroit and have been quasi-in-the-loop relative to that city’s struggles. Just – that’s why I picked up from the (totally creepy) ad. That he was doing it out of some kind of desire to serve Detroit. Apart from some kind of sci-fi Dylan Mafia embroglio, why else would he, for God’s sake? ? (?)
Detroit – esp Chrysler – needs help? 2013 figures. PS THE WHOLE “AMERICA” THING IS BULLSHIT, THIS IS AN ITALIAN-OWNED COMPANY.
DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler Group LLC on Wednesday said its net profit for the third quarter rose 22 percent to $464 million, and it confirmed its full-year sales forecast of $72 billion to $75 billion.
The No. 3 U.S. automaker’s net sales rose 13.5 percent to $17.56 billion in the quarter.
Fiat SpA (MIL:F), which owns 58.5 percent of and has management control of Chrysler, will report its quarterly earnings later on Wednesday.
Fiat is seeking to merge with Chrysler and purchase the remaining 41.5 percent of shares, which are now owned by a health care trust for retired Chrysler workers affiliated with the United Auto Workers union.
Also hadn’t seen the Dylan ad (though I did see a tweet from Michael Moore who seemed to appreciate it) so was pretty stunned to read about it in today’s issue (thrilled to be in there! Thanks!) but this was my hit, when I did click that link: Apart from whatever mercantile reasons he may have had, my sense was that he was trying to serve Detroit, and took the script of the ad as a ‘necessary evil.’ Apart from all of that, what’s with the b a d hair color on aging rock stars? They can afford good hair. Creepy.
Many thanks to Eric and his Planet Waves team for a superb edition. Special thanks to Chelsea for her wise-beyond-wisdom comment today (i did not see the commercial either, thankfully). Lest it get lost in the rich content of this week’s subscriber edition, kudos to Eric for bringing to our attention (in the spirit of Chelsea’s gentle admonition) one of the most accurate predictions (regarding Venus’ station direct) in the history of astrology – you really nailed that one, Eric!
Here is a sample of Union Sundown from INFIDELS
Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore
My flashlight’s from Taiwan
My tablecloth’s from Malaysia
My belt buckle’s from the Amazon
You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines
And the car I drive is a Chevrolet
It was put together down in Argentina
By a guy makin’ thirty cents a day
Well, it’s sundown on the union
And what’s made in the U.S.A.
Sure was a good idea
’Til greed got in the way
Well, this silk dress is from Hong Kong
And the pearls are from Japan
Well, the dog collar’s from India
And the flower pot’s from Pakistan
All the furniture, it says “Made in Brazil”
Where a woman, she slaved for sure
Bringin’ home thirty cents a day to a family of twelve
You know, that’s a lot of money to her
Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/union-sundown#ixzz2sfWlnOr5
It would be too casual to say that Dylan sold out. Whether he sells out personally is his business. He can pimp himself any way he wants.
I was not objecting to the Chrysler ad, which definitely is selling out, as much as to the content of the ad, and in particular, the bit about endorsing sweatshop labor in Asia. I was objecting to his assertion that assembling cell phones is a matter of national pride, which was the theme of the ad — let Germany brew your beer (yeah OK) and let Switzerland make your watch (um OK if you can afford a $10K watch) and let Asia make your cell phone (one of these things is not like the others).
Dylan is perfectly aware of labor conditions in Asia and how they differ from a watchmaker’s shop in Switzerland and a brewery in Germany — besides the obvious prejudice of those statements as well.
Here is a quote from today’s article:
I hadn’t seen the Bob Dylan commercial until I read about it in today’s edition. I think we all “sell-out” and sell ourselves short. We need to remind ourselves who we are, and that’s where we’ll find the fuel to keep going. As Eric put it, “You can be anesthetized into thinking you’re not who you are, for a while. You can be lured away from your humanity, conditioned what to think, distracted from your soul or consume alcohol and fast food until you’re semi-blotto — but you’re still human, because you possess the Inner Light, the inner connection to the same intelligence that orchestrates your DNA. You are, even if you forget. So you may as well remember.”
I wonder if Bob Dylan’s “selling out” can be likened to Jung’s concept of enantiodromia–that whenever one places so much emphasis in one direction a psychic backlash eventually results, pulling consciousness violently into the opposite direction.
This seems to be a common manifestation of those who so strongly oppose something or stand on a specific side of the fence for too long. They eventually cross over, completely, changing their allegiance quite drastically.
It’s reminder to live a balanced life. To be conscious of becoming too extreme in either direction. This doesn’t suggest embracing an unbiased, unopinionated or indifferent attitude, but rather embracing all needs/desires in equal proportion. How often do we deny the desire to do or be something based on a political or ideological stance that we project and have become attached to?
Just a thought.
I really enjoyed the description of the Uranus/Pluto square bringing this sense of collective hopelessness and futility as opposed to the exciting potential that was felt at the conjunction in the 1960’s. But I think that’s a natural component of the upper square; it’s the halfway point of the cycle where the long road ahead seems insurmountable. There’s inevitably a sense of insecurity and uneasiness about stepping up to the challenge.
I like to think of the Uranus/Pluto square as cyclic process (which it is), and that we are only at the next step of the challenge. The conjunction brought the vision, dream and ideal and now we’re faced with the challenge of integrating it realistically and weeding out what just isn’t going to make it. It is indeed a long road ahead until the opposition, at which point the vision truly takes shape and blossoms in its potential. So something remarkable is happening, but we’re at the point where we need to remind ourselves to just keep going, no matter what; don’t give up the fight.
To add on to Hillary’s comment about Bob Dylan potentially selling out– depressingly enough, yes, I do think anyone could these days. It’s our culture, the cynicism that Eric wrote about that permeates everything around us. This is off-topic, but I live close to Boston, and right after the marathon bombings last year, one news report showed spectators looting a marathon souvenir stand, right in the middle of the fray. It was heartwrenching to see the heroism displayed that day, and then to catch a glimpse of something so awful– people trying to get what they can get, despite the moral implication of doing so.
And I know it’s been mentioned before that words aren’t enough, and that people need to act. But articles like Eric’s do inspire, and inspiration can lead to action. I hope everyone who reads it takes a look inside and holds themselves to a higher standard. We’re going down a bad path and it will take everyone to stop the looting.
http://violetflamerecords.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/it-was-50-years-ago-today-tavistock-brought-the-band-to-play/
A different perspective on the Beatles arriving n America…who was really responsible and what was the motivation for bringing them here?
Bob Dylan’s complete reversal of view on sweat shops in Asia with the “let Asia assemble your phone” comment makes me wonder if an icon like Dylan can sell out, could anyone?
It seems to be a problem with most public figures, show them the money and they will say whatever you want them to.
so, as i was proofreading the SKY section this morning, right after eric put it in the issue, a light bulb went off as i was reading about the ambiguity of asteroid Juno on the western horizon, in the context of the terrorism question but more importantly in Juno’s delineation as both the jilted woman and the guardian of justice and good causes. also, Juno is conjunct Aphrodite. i wrote to him:
i’m hoping that turns out to be the stronger manifestation of Juno in the Olympics chart — as opposed to the “black widows”: female suicide bombers (not necessarily actually widows). beyond that, we were not having much luck identifying any real threat in the chart for the Sochi opening ceremony, which serves as the chart for the event as a whole — which, i think, is a good thing. from what i can tell, the media personnel are being “terrorized” plenty by Mercury retrograde, in the form of inhabitable travel accommodations. amazing.