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callistolivia · 3 years ago

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Who I am to You – Synastry 101, Part 1

I had to divide this post into parts seeing that it was becoming quite lengthy. Part 1 covers interchanges to the generational planets in synastry.

[Preface]

I’ve been recently thinking a lot about synastry after listening to an anthropologist talk about love and the cultural statistics around relationships. It just sort of peaked my interest in astrology again and the complexity of synastry; how we are kind of one big organism or machine, with all of these gears that interlock with each other; all the people in our lives serve a purpose of being there in a particular moment. How we happen to pass by some people and experience a love at first sight with others. How we happen upon our family; how the people who we consider coworkers or colleagues end up in the same place as us; How we operate generationally and systematically. The gears always turning and changing within this magical makeup of our reality. Relationships are really fascinating, especially if you believe and indulge in astrology.

I also re-read Linda Goodman’s Relationship Signs, and while she draws from somewhat of a overtly spiritual bias (lots of soulmate this– karma that–), she provides both an expert analysis of synastry (having done synastry for many many people, gathering statistics) and an optimistic, magical perspective on relationships that would make one feel as though there is some sort of cosmic significance to their own relationships. Her book is inspiring and being a hopeless romantic myself, I can’t help but enjoy the spiritual bias around romance and relationships in general.

I figured since I’m doing the research anyway, I might as well attempt to make a comprehensive post on synastry for this dead blog. I also think this topic tends to be what peaks people’s interest the most in astrology.

Generational Planets – Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

I’ve decided it makes more sense to work backwards; before exploring the dynamics of personal relationships, understanding how people function as groups or generations provides a grander perspective on synastry. I think the casual astrology enjoy-er tends to get wrapped up in the mystic of these planets in both their natal chart and in synastry interchanges. We are drawn to these planets, especially when we locate significance in a chart, because they symbolize a collective experience and understanding. There is something paradoxical about the relatability and understanding felt towards the impersonal planets. For those of you who are unaware, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are considered generational planets because of their long cycles. Uranus takes 84 years to cycle through all of the signs, approx. 7 years in one sign; Neptune takes 165 years to cycle through all of the signs, approx. 14 years in one sign; Pluto takes 248 to cycle through all of the signs, approx. 12-31 years in one sign. The length spent in one sign is a stark difference to the amount of time it takes for the Sun or Moon to transit a sign, thus these three planets impact one on a generational level. Uranus represents social climate, environment, and advancement in technology. Neptune is seen as a cultural representative as well as a passive form of social climate; the quiet tide of acceptance in contrast to Uranus which chaotically brings issues to light and demands justice. Pluto is the inward and intrinstical generational planet; representing generational trauma and grief, collective attitudes and needs of a group, the depth of collective experience; a soul grouping. It is very evident that there are powerful interchanges taking place between generations of people (e.g. Millennials vs Gen Z, Gen Z vs Baby Boomers, etc.) which astrology provides insight to. Your parents or grandparents don’t quite “get you” and you don’t need astrology to tell you that, but astrology can! Which is a fascinating little thing!

Interchanges between generational planets

The distance between two generations will roughly create the one-sign-apart semi-sextile aspect; an example being the relationship between Millennials and Gen Zs and these two groups’ semi-sextile nature. Within a semi-sextile in synastry, there is a tendency for the sign ahead to not see the sign behind. There are a lot of similarities between these two generations in that they blend like a brush stroke. However, we also see Gen Z discovering “new” things and pioneering trends meanwhile Millennials sitting back saying to themselves, “been there, done that, actually.” The distance between Gen Z and Gen X is roughly that of a sextile, a harmonious aspect. An example of the relationship these two generations share is the very apparent recycling of arts and culture. Gen X, having the opportunity to be a teen in the 90′s birthed some of the most influential arts and media we have today; that 90′s culture is deeply appreciated and repurposed by Gen Z. If we expand even further, the distance between Gen Z and Gen V (the generation notorious for being called “boomers” but aren’t technically baby boomers... Again, we can take into account the brush stroke semi-sextile between actual boomers and Gen V) is roughly a square aspect. There is an inherent natural strife between this older generation and Gen Z; differing world views, the inability to see each other’s perspective, and a general misunderstanding for one another. Similarly, we can also take note of the square between the actual boomer generation and millennials. The strife between Pluto in Leo and Pluto in Scorpio is that of who deserves power and say? Who should be making the choices for society’s future? I could go on and on about the relationship dynamics between generations, but the main takeaway is to observe the relationships generational planets provide on a very broad level. It’s very likely one will inherently understand the generation they are in (ignoring other natal chart factors, of course) because of a conjunction occurring between Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. In synastry, when this conjunction occurs, two individuals relate to each other on a cultural, societal, memetic, and systematic level; two individuals on the same timeline, in the same soul-grouping.

Interchanges between generational planets and personal planets

While interchanges between generational planets provide broad, impersonal significance in synastry, we can see personal significance when a generational planet interacts with a personal planet. In synastry, we can look at this as the chart holder with the generational planet being seen as someone who directly relates and signifies to the cultural, environmental, political, and metaphysical experiences of the chart holder with the personal planet. Personal planets can give remarkable power to the otherwise unconscious and invisible planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Sun The circumstances in which these two individuals meet will likely be unconventional. Additionally, the relationship itself will likely be unconventional and unexpected. The intensity of a conjunction can make for both positive and negative outcomes, though the “negative outcomes” do not reign anything close to the negative affects of the malefic planets, Mars and Saturn. At most, these two individuals may find themselves unexpectedly separated for periods of time; or that the chaos of Uranus is somewhat of a liability in their relationship (particularly so if the Uranus person embodies somewhat of a chaotic, radical archetype in their overall personality). In positive outcomes, which includes trine and sextile interchanges, there may be a revolutionizing quality to the relationship. If we consider the Sun symbolizing the self, then we may conclude this encapsulates all of the individual’s quirks and facets, including potential hardships brought on just by their very being or walk of life. The revolutionizing quality of Uranus may bring aid to the Sun, especially if the Sun individual faces particular injustices in their life. Uranus is radical, innovative, and ingenious; being the higher octave of Mercury, it problem solves and advocates for the needs of the Sun individual. The Sun individual will likely find themselves doing things they wouldn’t normally do or think of thanks to the Uranus individual. Both individuals boost each other’s confidence; there is a sense of feeling comfortable in one’s own skin and embracing one’s quirky side. The positive interchanges remark platonic harmony and a relationship with substance. In the negative interchanges, such as a square or opposing aspect, the relationship could be described as erratic and conflictual. There may be differing political and world views; the Sun individual too arrogant and stubborn and the Uranus individual too radical and unforgiving. Arguments tend to be explosive, especially if Mars is also somehow involved, and particularly ego-damaging. There needs to be forgiving aspects elsewhere to undo emotional bruising.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Moon Likewise with the Uranus-Sun interchanges, the circumstances in which these two individuals meet will likely be unconventional and unexpected. The conjunction can bring about tension as these two planets function very differently from each other. Uranus being such an erratic force, it can provoke and trigger the Moon which can cause emotional meltdowns in the relationship. This can be similarly observed with the square and opposition as well. Without other promising aspects in the synastry chart, there will be a proneness to breakups and physical separations. Despite the emotional chaos, there is an unwavering draw to each other, particularly the Moon individual being drawn in by the Uranus individual’s intellect, uniqueness, and/or rebelliousness. The trine and sextile interchanges are much more forgiving and are actually constructive. The relationship sparks inspiration which can lead to trying lots of new things both individuals wouldn’t have done otherwise. If the Uranus individual embodies much of the attitudes and direction that Uranus represents, then a relationship with the Moon individual can shine light on an empathetic and introspective approach to their goals, especially if their goals involve politics, environment, or any field that impacts the world. Similar to the Uranus-Sun interchanges, the positive interchanges remark platonic harmony and a relationship with substance to it. With this aspect, a friendship tends to take precedence over a romantic relationship; within a romantic relationship the two people retain a strong best friend dynamic. As with all Uranus contacts, aspects between these two planets definitely add quirkiness to the relationship.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Mercury With the conjunction, trine, or sextile, these two individuals are transported to a completely different plane of being when they interact. The depths of their conversations leave people to believe they are witnessing two aliens talking to each other. Conversations feel exhilarating to both individuals, they feel smarter around each other. These aspects are particularly beneficial if the relationship is a business one or if the two individuals are colleagues. Together they have unmatched creativity and ingeniousness that can be utilized for projects, inventions, and movements. Additionally, there is something about the positive contacts that gives this pair reach to broad audiences. This is particularly true if there are social house involved in the overlays. We can expect these two people to have a rapidly growing social group when they become acquainted. In the negative aspects, square and opposition, we see what two people with two different sets of quirks interact. Both individuals will be outspoken about their beliefs to one another and somehow topics that are prone to being heated are reoccurring. The Uranus individual is much too serious and radical whereas the Mercury individual is much too light-hearted and trivial; at least, this is how these two perceive each other. If there are other positive aspects in the synastry chart, these interchanges aren’t particularly damning to the relationship. Patience and acceptance goes a long way in dealing with the square and opposition.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Venus With the conjunction, trine, or sextile, there is a magnetizing, strange attraction between these two individuals. The Venus individual would likely describe their attraction as unusual or unexpected; there is something about the Uranus individual that doesn’t appear as the Venus individual’s usual “type.” The Venus individual finds the charm, intellect, weirdness, and quirks of the Uranus individual irresistible. The benefits for the Uranus individual is that they don’t really need to “try” or do anything to seduce the Venus individual. They are liked simply for who they are entirely and candidly. Romance aside, the positive interchanges are also beneficial platonically and even in romantic relationships, the individuals retain a very friend-like dynamic. This combination can operate well as a creative duo; any projects worked on together won’t be anything less of avant-garde. Additionally, with the conjunction, there may be a tendency for the Venus individual to have bouts of insecurity about the relationship. There’s a slight inherent coldness from Uranus that makes the individual too cool as a cucumber for the Venus individual. With positive interchanges elsewhere, these anxieties can be easily outweighed or remedied. However, with the square or opposition, there is less ease. The Venus individual will consistently feel as though there isn’t enough romance coming from the Uranus individual; a romantic relationship may feel like it’s lacking intimacy and warmth without good synastry elsewhere in the chart. Similar to Uranus-Sun interchanges, there may be a proneness to sudden separations. In all Uranus-Venus contacts, intimacy and love takes an unconventional form. For people looking for experimentation, challenge, and excitement, having an aspect between Uranus and Venus in synastry will give just that.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Mars Interchanges between Uranus and Mars is best described as a loaded trigger. Both planets offer immense direction and power ripping at the seams; and when they come together, they trigger each other’s chaos. With the conjunction, we see this chaos’ full potential. We might find an anarchistic duo from the radicalizing Uranus and the action-oriented Mars. In a positive light, the conjunction makes these two individuals unstoppable towards whatever shared ambition they might have. However on the flip side, the intensity of the conjunction can also reap a negative affect where two individuals reach a boiling point and turn on each other. We can definitely expect the former outcome if the two individuals work in the same field and likely have the same goals in mind. With the trine and sextile, we can also find this unmatched ambition when these two individuals come together. These aspects are fantastic for colleagues, business partners, freedom fighters, and even lovers! The spasmodic energy of Uranus harmoniously interacting with the Martian planet makes for great sexual tension; you can especially expect some friskiness if there is a 5th house overlay involved. Mars can also draw out the experimental side of Uranus which is sure to provide excitement to those looking for an un-ordinary, non-vanilla relationship. Although the house overlays involved with these two planets will provide more insight to this, it is worth noting the social and generational themes Mars will activate in Uranus. There’s definitely a direct correlation to politics, science, environment, technology, and activism when these two planets interact. It wouldn’t be surprising to see these two individuals dismantling the patriarchy or fighting climate chaos together! With the square and opposition, tensions are high between these two planets. If you’ve ever met someone who just don’t get, don’t understand why they do the things they do, or get irritated by their mere presence, these aspects could be why! These two planets can just irritate the absolute heck out of each other. These aspects are particularly problematic if these individuals are involved with each other in the realm of politics, current events, and social issues. There can be a refusal to understand one another because of drastically different viewpoints. In personal or romantic relations, this aspect can be looked at as an enemies-to-lovers sort of configuration. The sexual tension is also not lacking in the negative aspects, so there may be a plus there.

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Jupiter Interchanges between Uranus and Jupiter aren’t quite felt on a personal level as Jupiter is one of two social planets. Similar to the Uranus-Mars interchanges, the social and generational themes come to surface with aspects between Uranus and Jupiter. Jupiter being a benefic planet, aspects to Uranus denote justice, inspiration, harmony, and spirituality. Jupiter acts as a supplier to Uranus’ cause; a philanthropist to an organization, metaphorically speaking. The conjunction, trine, and sextile are particularly beneficial. You really can’t have too many of the Jupiter individuals in your life if you’re the Uranus individual as these are the people who will always see your vision and possibly even fund it!

One’s Uranus aspecting another’s Saturn Similar to Uranus-Jupiter interchanges, aspects between Uranus and Saturn are not felt on a personal level. Aspects between these two planets will play into the social and generational themes of Uranus. However, in contrast to Jupiter, Saturn is a malefic planet and may reap difficulty in the worldviews and social needs of these two individuals. With positive aspects such as the trine or sextile, the interchanges between Saturn and Uranus simply represent the past mirroring the future. There is a willingness to commit to change on Saturn’s part for the benefit of Uranus’ future. What is thought to be necessary for the betterment of humankind is more likely to align more-so with the positive interchanges. However, in the harsher aspects such as the conjunction, square, or opposition, there is a discomfort with each other’s generational needs. The Saturn individual might subconsciously perceive any of Uranus’ drastic or radical approaches to things to be immature and hasty. The energies between Uranus and Saturn are not something felt on daily basis nor do they normally wreak havoc in a relationship anyway, however when their conflict does present itself to a relationship, the remedy is simply patience and hearing each other out.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Sun With the conjunction, trine, or sextile, there is something hypnotizing, dreamy, and nostalgic about the relationship. This is one of the interchanges in synastry that Linda Goodman considers “karmic.” She mentions a strong psychic connection, particularly with the conjunction. In a more technical sense, I believe that with the positive contacts, trine and sextile, as well as the conjunction, what is being ignited in the pair (especially for the Sun individual) is a reflection of their past (a hyper-romanticized version of it, that is), as well as a personification of their interests. By interests, I mean interests that were cultivated by their generation of media and culture particularly. This could be why we are so mystified and hypnotized by people whose Neptune makes significant interchanges to our birth chart. Neptune being a higher octave of Venus, it casts a charm over a person to make them appear as someone’s favourite song or favourite piece of media, but as a walking, breathing, existing version of it. So of course, if you meet someone who reminds you of your favourite song, they will undoubtedly seem special, significant, or fateful. Wow-factor aside, there can be a negative side to Neptune interchanges, even in positive aspects, and especially with the conjunction. That is a tendency to idealize. With Sun-Neptune interchanges in synastry, one or both people may have a totally inaccurate perception of the other person because of this idolization. With the negative aspects, square and opposition, there are two possible outcomes that tend to occur in synastry. First outcome being the Neptune individual is totally out of the Sun individual’s reach. If this is one the strongest aspects in your synastry chart, you can expect the Neptune person to be extremely elusive to the Sun individual. Linda Goodman also mentions issues around deception and infidelity with this pair in her book. The second outcome is that the Neptune individual is very much involved in the Sun individual’s life, to the point where Neptune completely consumes the Sun with its venomous charm. There can be themes of dependency, substance use, and the sort of “pulling” into one’s hell. The former outcome is much more common with people who have a very strong Sun presence in their chart; the latter is common with individuals who do not have a strong sense of self.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Moon Most of what can be said about interchanges between the Sun and Neptune can also be applied here. However, the difference here is a larger focus on each other’s emotional realm, and you could consider these aspects less superficial and less about idolization. With the conjunction, trine, or sextile, there is a connection between these two individuals that transcends any ordinary relationship. Again, we see these two pulled in together by possibly a similar taste in music, similar upbringing, familiar culture, etc., but in addition to that there can be spiritual alignment too. The spiritual and emotional swimming and meshing is a definite plus for romantic relationships. However Neptune can trigger a lot of sensitivity in the relationship when in contact with another’s Moon. With the conjunction, there is an over-exaggeration especially. While things can seem very beautiful in the relationship and bring about many tears of joy, there can also be tendency to fall into a pit of despair and emotional exhaustion. It’s important for both individuals to find other outlets for their intense feelings other than dependently funnelling it into their partner. Artistic, spiritual, and clinical outlets tend to do the job. Similarly in negative aspects, square and opposition, there is acute emotional sensitivity triggered. This pair is easily hurt by each other and there is a tendency for misunderstandings thanks to Neptune’s proneness to obscuring clarity. If there isn’t enough good synastry between two individuals, the negative aspects can be somewhat of a red flag for close relationships. Neptune harshly having that stand-offish grip on the Moon leads to all sorts of trouble with disintegrating emotional reality. There may be themes of emotional manipulation (not in the vain of control, but rather a defence mechanism), bad habits, and deception. With this all said, there is nothing therapy can’t aid!

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Mercury In the conjunction, trine, or sextile, this interchange is an incredible source of creativity and muse. The Mercury individual makes the Neptune individual’s creative subconscious tangible. This is a great aspect to have in a synastry chart if the relationship is a creative one (e.i. musicians, writers, artists, or creative colleagues of any sort). Together, a pair like this can produce some very intellectual and sensitive pieces of work. In addition to this, in the positive aspects, this pair will find themselves inspired by each other. The connection ignites poetry, colour, and music. According to Linda Goodman, the positive interchanges are an indicator of a “psychic” connection in synastry as well. In the negative interchanges, square or opposition, we can see a sort of lost-in-translation affect. Accidental misunderstandings, deception, secrets, and mind games are the themes of these interchanges! These aspects are particularly annoying in business relationships; neither person is being clear, project delays, intentionally leaving out information in business emails, and so on. It may be a little bit easier to speak up on the issues Mercury-Neptune squares and oppositions bring about if the person you’re dealing with isn’t your boss. In intimate relationships, this pair will find their bond grow closer once they stop keeping secrets from one another and lay everything on the table.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Venus The interchanges between Neptune and Venus reminds us just how important Venus is to one’s personality and to relationships (of any kind; platonic, romantic, with nature, with humankind, etc.). Venus interacting with its supposed higher octave is so potent and telling of oneself; the conditions of Venus is important to its interpretation here. In a conjunction, attraction is often instantaneous and hypnotizing; these two people will be immediately pulled into each other’s world when they meet. There is also the outcome of mistaking deep empathy for love; compassion and obsession is somewhat of a troubling combination. The Venus individual, obviously depending on the conditions of their natal Venus, may have that easily moved, compassionate, and sympathetic personality; the type of personality that attracts the types of people seeking refuge. The Neptune person, either consciously or subconsciously will seek out the Venus individual and immediately become obsessed with their forgiveness and dependability. There can obviously be some level of toxicity in that the Venus person sticks around out of guilt and is somewhat of an enabler for the Neptune individual’s troubles. Outside of this negative outcome, there are positive outcomes with the conjunction as well and we can include the trine and sextile aspect along side with these outcomes as well. Romantically, this could potentially be a hedonistic match made in heaven (as long as the rose-coloured glasses stay on). This pair is deeply romantic, spiritual, and creative. The positive aspects evoke a relationship that does not lack colour; this is a pair that wants the cultural perception of romance which alludes to the whole shebang (extravagant dates, writing love notes, movie nights, sharing headphones, sentimental gifts, flowers, watching sunsets, and just about every romantic trope you can think of). The positive interchanges also indicate creative collaboration and similar to the Neptune-Mercury interchanges, these aspects would be beneficial to creative relationships. Both individuals have a lot to offer each other in terms of creativity. In the negative aspects, square or opposition, the mutual draw towards each other in a hedonistic fashion is still prominent, however there is a forbidden or confusing quality to these aspects. There’s a chance this pair, if romantically interested in each other, will never fully admit to their romantic feelings for one another, especially if there is nothing keeping this relationship from drifting apart. There is a tendency for one or both people to hide things from each other in general. Similar to the conjunction, if the Venus individual is a compassionate type, they should be cautious with those who’s Neptune opposites their Venus. Particularly with the opposition version of this, the Neptune individual may attempt to pull the Venus individual into their gloomy fog. In the negative aspects, this pair is susceptible to enabling each other’s guilty pleasures. Extra caution should be addressed if either people have an addictive personality or happen to have met at a rehabilitation centre.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Mars With the conjunction, this aspect in synastry is particularly beneficial in creative and business relationships (particularly work that is ruled by Mars, Neptune, or both). The combination of these two planets together is ambition soup. This pair is bound to make music, cinematic masterpieces, life-saving medicine and devices, or lead the free world. The Mars individual has the will, drive, and connections and the Neptune individual has the vision and deep understanding for what the world loves and needs. On the flip-side, there is a negative outcome with the conjunction (the square and opposition can be included here as well), particularly with closer relationships, that should be cautioned. Similar to the Venus-Neptune interchanges, there is susceptibility to bad indulgences. This pair should be extra wary if either have an addictive personality or a history with rehabilitation. This pair should also, just in general, avoid vices and substances as a means of inspiration. In addition to this, this pair should also take caution with radical groups, especially radical groups dealing with spirituality (phew, lots of precautions). With the trine and sextile, they too are beneficial for creative and business relationships. The difference between these aspects and the conjunction is that these aspects are a lot gentler in more intimate relationships and not likely to cause any sort of troubles. This leaves more room to bring that same beneficial energy seen in business and colleague relationships into intimate relationships. This pair will likely share a similar hobby, spiritual perspective, or effort/dedication to the world that they will undoubtedly be inspired to work on together. With the square and opposition, Mars is too harsh and triggers Neptune’s sensitivity and evasiveness. The Mars individual will likely find themselves disagreeing with the Neptune individual’s perception on spirituality, politics, culture, or the world in general. This disagreement can lead to aggressively prying at the Neptune individual to change resulting in the Neptune individual fleeting or withdrawing from the relationship.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Jupiter Interchanges between Neptune and Jupiter are not quite felt on a personal level as Jupiter is one of two social planets as discussed earlier with Uranus. Nevertheless, interchanges between these planets are still special, especially considering how deeply spiritual Neptune and Jupiter are. This combination is actually somewhat similar, spiritually speaking, as Venus-Jupiter interchanges if we consider Neptune being the supposed higher octave of Venus. In the positive aspects, conjunction, trine, and sextile, themes of spirituality will be very important in the relationship. With Jupiter’s expansive abilities, it excites the depths of Neptune. The relationship has a general feeling of goodness; there will be many moments where these two people feel absolutely mystified by each other or that they are very fortunate to have met each other. This euphoric connection sparks the desire to take chances. Jupiter wants to make the fantasies of Neptune a reality. This could look like a wide range of outcomes, but in essence, chances and opportunities that involve a lap of luxury, spiritual enlightenment, or euphoria are the dreams Jupiter wants to try and make a reality. The houses involved with these planets will indicate what kind of experiences will be created with this pair. Since Neptune encapsulates this sort of generational understanding of culture and social climate, this planet might be an area where an individual feels deep empathy or concern for the world. The Jupiter individual can aid these worries by showing the Neptune individual how to take action or change their perspective of the world. Once again, the houses involved with these planets will be telling of what these concerns are and how perspectives can be shifted. Along with the conjunction, the square and opposition (by mainly seen in the intensity of the conjunction or opposition) can trigger some over-indulgent tendencies. This pair should be wary of substance use, gambling, over consumption, and extreme belief systems making its way into the relationship. Neither planet has a good grip on reality or the consequences of careless actions; a strong Saturn influence in the relationship or in individual natal charts can aid these issues, particularly if the Jupiter-Neptune interchange is one of the more prominent aspects in the synastry chart.

One’s Neptune aspecting another’s Saturn Similar to interchanges to Jupiter, interchanges between Neptune and Saturn will not be felt on a very personal level as one is a generational planet and the other is a social planet. The most important thing to be noted about interchanges between these two planets is how different these two planets operate. One planet forgets and transcends reality, the other is stuck in reality. These two modes play an important role in their interpretation in synastry. The aspects between these planets will be of particular significance if either individual is Saturnian or Neptunian. In the positive interchanges, trine or sextile, the Saturn individual may benefit from the Neptune individual; Neptune can help Saturn with their rigidity, seriousness, disconnect from spirituality, and inability to step out of safety. On the other hand, Saturn can ground the Neptune individual and help them overcome irrational fears, disconnect from reality, and difficulties with direction. With the conjunction, there can be similar themes as the trine and sextile, however the conjunction’s intensity can match the challenges of the square and opposition. With the challenging aspects, these two planets differences represent a lesson in the synastry of two individuals. Again, the significance of these planets interactions are heavily dependent on whether either individual is Saturnian or Neptunian in nature, otherwise the challenges are vaguely a difference in beliefs. If either individual is Saturnian in nature, the challenging aspects remark being triggered by the Neptune individual’s beliefs, potential deceptiveness, and lack of regard/caution. Alternatively, if either individual fits the Neptunian profile, they may feel controlled, heavily critiqued, and limited by Saturn. If the challenging aspects propose a great theme in the synastry between two people, they will have to work on seeing each other’s perspectives otherwise this is very much an “agree to disagree” interaction.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Sun With the conjunction, there are two potential themes in synastry. One theme depends on how relevant Pluto is in an individual’s chart; one individual actually being quite Plutonian themselves will certainly experience this relationship differently than otherwise. In this instance, there can be fight for power in the relationship; the noble Solarian individual outshining the Plutonian individual; and the insurmountable Plutonian individual vanquishing the Solarian individual. This isn’t to say these two people couldn’t work together, they had just better have something in common that they can consider neutral territory. With their shared power, they can actually make great business partners. The second theme reads as more-so the general descriptor for Pluto conjunct the Sun, and the trine and sextile can also fall in line with this interpretation. Pluto interacting with another’s Sun positively can indicate a subconscious magnetism to each other. There is something about the Sun individual that sparks a slight obsession in the Pluto individual. If the Pluto individual is aware of this obsession and wants to pursue some sort of connection with the Sun individual, they will intricately weave their way into the Sun individual’s life until recognition is received. Given that the Pluto individual has likely carefully laid out their cards, the Sun individual will start to feel like there is something auspicious and significant about their connection. The mutual magnetism grows from there. Contacts between Pluto and personal planets are very commonly described by astrologers as karmic. This may or may not be the case, but it is important to note that Pluto is also commonly associated with past lives and things beyond our basic conception. Pluto-Sun interchanges does have credible significance in that powerful, unexplainable, and deep connections are formed when two people have these aspects in their synastry chart. With the square and opposition, the themes described with the conjunction and power struggles are also quite prevalent here. While these aspects don’t destroy a relationship, they are not without difficulties to overcome. The Pluto individual is often extremely envious of the Sun individual’s success at life. This almost completely blinds Pluto of their own potential, their own path in life, and just derails the idea that the universe has a different set of needs and experiences set out for Pluto. There is obviously a destructive outcome of a relationship like this where jealousy turns to hate. However, the saving grace in all of this is the humanity and love that can come from the Sun individual who sees Pluto. The Sun individual can illuminate Pluto’s strengths and their own path to success. They can even make a great team as long as Pluto doesn’t exhaust the aid from the Sun. There’s only so many times the Sun can say something like, “you and I are actually alike” before thinking Pluto refuses to help themselves.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Moon As mentioned in the Pluto-Sun interchanges, personal planets interacting with Pluto are time and time again described as a karmic connection. While this may or may not be true, to believe either is up to you, the significance in the connection is true. Pluto always brings about an unexplainable magnetism that adds magic to relationships. The Moon is quite concerned with the past and Pluto is concerned with the sort-of meta-past, thus synastry between these two planets bring about a sense of familiarity in a relationship; whether that is a good or bad familiarity. The Moon individual’s upbringing and childhood will be very telling on how this aspect will operate. With a rather rough or traumatic past, the Pluto individual could potentially reawaken those memories in the Moon individual. The intensity of the conjunction can see this being both a good and a bad thing. There is a potential for intense pain to be resolved and transformed as much as there is a potential for a scarred Moon person saying “hey, this relationship reminds me of a terrible part of my life and I can’t move past that.” The lessons that come from Moon-Pluto relationships are that of how much one really understands themselves emotionally; their traumas, boundaries, and relational schemas. They can be rather helpful to one’s growth. There is obvious ease with the positive interchanges, trine and sextile. With these aspects, the prying one does to the Moon individual’s past never crosses unforgivable territories. There can actually be a real, deep understanding for each other. In the negative interchanges, square and opposition, the Pluto individual might feel like they are walking on eggshells around the Moon individual. The Pluto individual reminds the Moon individual of someone in their past and there is a tendency to recreate that relationship to try and re-do things. Unless the Moon individual has a deep emotional understanding of themselves, this relationship will be prone to a very messy separation. It isn’t all on the Moon individual though, Pluto may have to work on their differentiation and kindness. Outside of intimate relationships, Pluto-Moon contacts can really put emotions into words, secrets into the light, and decode life’s intricacies when they work together. Possibly this is where the real magnetism for each other comes into play; these two will go to each other with an idea, or concept, or dream they had and give each other the perfect response. These two are always left thinking, “YOUR MIND!! ♡”

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Mercury While these two planets together do not say a lot about personal, emotional inner works of a relationship, they do work similarly to the Pluto-Moon aspects in that these two people just work well together mentally. Particularly with the conjunction, trine, or sextile, these two people will feel connected mentally and maybe even psychically. These two will have a lot to talk about; there is a never ending eagerness to expand on each other’s points. The Mercury individual will likely find the Pluto individual to have a very interesting, possibly even odd, way of understanding aspects of life. Pluto ignites an esoteric interest in Mercury thus the discussions these two will have will almost always lead to topics bigger than life. If these two happen to be coworkers or colleagues, they would make an incredible team at jobs that involve sleuthing or intense research. Additionally, a mentorship type relationship may form where the Mercury individual is drawn to the secrets and experience Pluto holds. In aspects square or opposition, these two people may be at odds with their perspective on life. Pluto symbolizes a deeper, emotional understanding in the relationships whereas Mercury symbolizes a realistic and logical perspective. There may be times where each individual’s valued perspective on life may be challenged by the other person. The lessons here would be that both individuals need to humble themselves around differing worldviews. Aside from heated arguments here and there, the negative aspects are not too challenging. These two people might even be drawn to each other for their differing mental and emotional skill sets.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Venus According to Linda Goodman’s book, Pluto-Venus contacts are karmic and may be a soul-mate indicator. As romantic as that sounds while you think about your hero in the dark or queen of the night, take “karmic” and “soul-mate” with a grain of salt! Especially if you’re the person with Pluto! Exploring Linda Goodman’s perspective on these aspects, a conjunction, trine, or sextile between two people remark intense magnetism towards each other. The force between each other may be so strong that they meet at the wrong place-wrong time, but given that these two have some soul-business to sort out, the time and place becomes right eventually. When these two meet for the first time, it is love at first sight; these two fit each other’s love map perfectly in a spiritual and emotional sense. The positive aspects remark commitment and connection. The intensity of the positive aspects described in Linda Goodman’s book would likely have to be supported by other major configurations in the synastry chart in order for it to be a true “soul-mate” indicator. Regardless, the infatuation is still prominent, especially for the Pluto individual. When another’s Venus activates one’s Pluto, the Pluto individual is absolutely hopeless for the Venus individual. This can trickle into obsessed territory (especially with the conjunction or tight orbs), so it would be wise for the Pluto individual to practice living in reality instead of seeing everything as a sign. Aside from the attraction side of Pluto-Venus contacts, in the positive contacts we can see a healing quality to this relationship. Especially if we consider the purpose of these planets and what they can do for each other when they come together. The thematics here deal with healing trauma, compassion, self love, and an exploration of spirituality and self. With the square or opposition, there is a similar magnetism as the other aspects, however much more difficulty and strife comes along with the square and opposition. The selfishness in Pluto is activated by the Venus individual. There may be upwellings of the past that Pluto brings into the relationship or the Pluto individual may be somewhat controlling or smothering. Other positive aspects in the synastry chart can negate Pluto’s power here. In all Pluto-Venus aspects, Pluto promises transformation in Venus. The two people involved with these aspects will learn a lot about themselves, relationships, and their values.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Mars The positive contacts between Pluto and Mars can be described by a few words, “great power.” With the conjunction, trine, or sextile in synastry, these two individuals would make great business partners. There is, of course, a great capacity for attraction as well and in that case, we can name this pair a power couple. The conjunction does have the potential to manifest itself in an unfavourable manner. If both individuals are considerably strong willed and in need of being in control, this relationship can reach a boiling point over who has say over matters (the houses involved may give insight to these “matters”). Arguments are explosive; Mars is relentless and Pluto is vengeful. A deep, mutual passion for one another is the only thing that will keep this relationship from falling apart if there isn’t any other favourable aspects in the synastry chart. Time spent away from each other can also cool things off when things get too heated. The opposition is similar to the intensity of the conjunction. In conflict, these two will need to compromise for each other. Both people can’t be right or in control 100% of the time– both individuals need to take a step down from time to time to allow the other person to have matters their way. Emphasis on BOTH. The square could potentially be the most difficult Pluto-Mars contact as there isn’t much seeing eye-to-eye to share a business or be a power couple. There also isn’t much room for meeting each other halfway. Both individuals are gonna have matters their way and the other person will just have to deal with it! It would be wise for these two to avoid provoking arguments.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Jupiter As mentioned with the other two generational planets, interchanges between Pluto and Jupiter are not felt significantly on a personal level. There is however little noticeable nuances and symbolism that can be picked up. There is also a bit of a social commentary, something on a grander scope, that can be said about the relationship when these two planets interact. With the conjunction, trine, or sextile, the Jupiter person augments the spiritual side of the Pluto individual. Jupiter really brings the curiosity and weird out of Pluto; these two will find themselves delving into the unknown more often than prior to meeting. Fiery planets, such as Jupiter, interacting with Pluto are always good for business matters. These two would make great business partners with Jupiter’s celebrity-like qualities and Pluto’s insatiable desire to be CEO of something big. The way in which these two people are associated with each other could be for reasons connected to a larger social matter; perhaps these two met through politics, or a protest, or even just a philosophy class! Wherever it was they met, it was as big as a network and depthless in human importance. The square and opposition are not the worst synastry aspects in the world thanks to the benevolent nature of Jupiter’s touch. There may be spiritual and moral disagreements between these two individuals; the reason for their differences will take root in the houses associated with these planets.

One’s Pluto aspecting another’s Saturn As mentioned before, the combination of a generational planet and Saturn isn’t always felt on a personal level as these are not considerably personal planets. However, there is a strange energy to this combination, two lord-like planets interacting with each other. Especially if Saturn is a chart ruler. With the conjunction in particular, both planets potency oh-so-strategically prys open each other’s secrets, shortcomings, and traumas. The conjunction’s intensity can swing both ways where this can be good or bad, depending on the rest of the synastry chart. The square and opposition lean more-so towards “bad.” It doesn’t help if these two people come from different socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds as there is a fight as to who’s hardships were worse. With this all said, Pluto-Saturn interactions in general tend to go unnoticed. One good Venus interaction and you won’t even be thinking about Pluto and Saturn. The trine and sextile are as equally strange (feeling/energy wise) as the conjunction, however it is important to note that these aspects can make two individuals good business partners. Both powerful planets in business, these two people will be making executive decisions together and expanding their brand’s empire. Oh, and these two are likely going to be in each other’s lives for a long time!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ:* Stay tuned (patiently...) for part two! In the next part I will go over the personal planets in synastry.

#astrology #synastry #generational planets #uranus #neptune #pluto #im not checking spelling errors or any of that #so bear with me lol this was a long one #took months

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betelguwuse · 4 years ago

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My grandma is being like peak boomer and it’s so annoying, she’s complaining to my dad that a teacher she knew said “hey that’s rude, you shouldn’t say that” when a kid said like “ew that’s gross” at a gay kiss scene he saw. Like as y’all probably know I’m Side B myself, so I’ve seen both sides, but whether you support the gay or not it is very much rude to outwardly show disgust at them. Like imagine Jesus saying “ew that’s gross” like no!! That’s not how He talked to sinners man!! It’s not some anti christian brainwashing to teach kids to be nice to people they disagree with! In fact being calm and kind to people you disagree with is like the entire attitude you’re supposed to have as a Christian!

And then she goes on to tell my dad “if you ever have grandchildren you make sure they’re in a private Christian school or homeschool”. Uhhh I’m heavily pissed that she’s so adamant about where MY kids get their education. My education wasn’t influenced by my great-grandparents who barely had any involvement in my life, or even my grandparents, so why should my kids’ be??? And I’m still a Good Christian Boi after being in public school my whole life, because guess what! Children are people who can think for themselves after being given more than one perspective, and my parents didn’t try to censor other opinions from us!

It just comes off as super culty to just block out any other views and stay in an echo chamber, whether it’s about religion or politics or whatever. I thought she understood that as a right leaning person, but nooo that only applies to the evil leftists apparently, they’re not allowed to live in samethink bubbles, but we are because our samethinks are the correct ones. Newsflash that’s how the “”other side”” thinks too!!

Obviously I’m not saying you can’t teach your kids what you believe is right, I’m 100% for parents passing down their values and culture and whatever. But that’s the whole point, it’s the parent’s job!! You can’t just leave it up to private teachers just because they have the same views as you. And you sure as hell can’t make those decisions for your great grandchildren who you’ll barely interact with.

Like if you think a kid’s entire Christianity is going to be shattered by seeing A Gay, then congrats u didn’t actually teach them Christianity, you taught them your ideal societal status quo disguised as a religion.

#I’m angy can u tell :^)#christianity #side b #side b christian #also this isn’t meant to be a public vs private school debate #I’m just saying that one specific reason for private school ain’t it

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colorsinautumn · 5 years ago

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i have to rant about something. this whole billie eilish not knowing van halen thing has finally culminated in wolfgang van halen (the bassist for van halen) tweeting that he literally doesn’t care that billie eilish doesn’t know his band and instead went on to say that people shouldn’t be shaming others for not knowing the music you like. it just pisses me off so much that one little comment about a band that was at their peak popularity in the early fucking 80s made it’s rounds all over the internet and boomers mocked and trashed her on the internet. i’m sick of the elitism of from music fans and specifically older ones that constantly trash “the popular music of today”. these people couldn’t be anymore out of touch with music considering the fact that they don’t listen to anything made after fucking 1991 or whatever year you want to throw in there. furthermore, i’m sick of people hailing the music of their time “the best and only good music that’s ever been released, ever” like shut up! it’s this kind of attitude that turns people off from listening to music from your generation in the first place. the whole story was stupid and i’m upset that it got around this much. it should’ve never been an issue.

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happylittlemarmite · 4 years ago

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Creative Journal

7/12/20- Week 10

Sessions Themes: In this weeks session we looked at being alert to unexpected opportunities and different creative environments. The example we looked at when discussing the former was for the invention of the post-it note which i have bullet pointed as follows:

Spencer Silver- trying to create “super strong” adhesive for use in aerospace industry

Creates an extremely weak adhesive- Acrylate Copolymer Microspheres

Arthur Fry heres of this in a seminar and decides it would make for a good non-residual bookmark

Post-it is born- Unsuccessful at first due to unfamiliarity but after work with free samples 90% of American households would go on to buy them.

We also looked at some creative environments from big companies such as google and Pixar, and discussed how our environment can impact on our creativity. Brad Bird of Pixar said “if you have a loose, free kind of atmosphere, it helps creativity.” in relation to the interesting working environments throughout Pixar, where employees are allowed to decorate their workspaces however they wish. I think this was an extremely interesting concept to think about, it’s one of those background things that you know to be true but don’t give a lot of thought. Recently with trying to do my uni work I’ve been driving myself up the wall a bit, and i think it’s to do with there being no clear work/rest divide now we have to work from home. I wake up, sit on my bed at my computer studying, watch a little Netflix before i go to bed and then sleep in the same bed I’ve been sat on all day. Hopefully once lockdown is lifted, I’m going to try and study in commons during the day time so i don’t get stuck in such a weird cycle.

DSD: This week for my do something different activity i have been working on my anxiety. Daily i leave for work at the same time and usually there are around 4 or 5 faces that i see every time. Sometimes as i pass them i smile, but often they dont see or smile back and i get so embarrassed, so I’m going to take the initiative and start saying “hello” as i pass them. One of them in particular, i know we have the same employer because of our uniforms but assume we must work different shifts, ALWAYS blanks me which is particularly disheartening to me, so once I’ve cracked that I’ll be golden. I know it’s silly but I’ve given some of them nicknames based on description in order to feedback to the boys i live with regarding my success.

Inspiration: Some interesting media I’ve been looking at recently is early 2000′s British sit-coms. I’ve been trying to find something i can watch on Netflix that makes for good “passive viewing”. It’s unlike me to have any more than 2/3 series’ on the go at any one time because my attention spam would not allow for it. I like to watch one series that’s long and in depth but with something shorter and more light-hearted for when i just want something on in the background or if I’m not feeling like paying too much attention. I hate American lifestyle TV SO MUCH, it’s one of those things i feel like I'm watching to laugh at not participate with, and especially American comedy I have to be in a very specific state of mind to try and enjoy it. As much as i hate to admit it, my friends always say i like “boomer humour” because of the way i communicate with older people and the type of jokes i like to tell. It’s not that i think my taste is “mature”, it’s most likely that i virtually grew up down the pub surrounded by people my parents’ age. I don't understand a lot of the older pop culture references but i find myself laughing at silly “mum humour” often, it’s just not something I’ve ever thought to pursue in terms of the media i consume. I’ve been watching things like Teachers and Spaced on Netflix and i love the witty dry humour so much. The only reason these kind of shows stand out to me against newer sit-coms also is the pacing of the jokes. I’ve been trying to watch some modern sit-coms on Netflix too such as Drifters and Crashing and the humour is so much more obvious. It’s like something will happen in front of you and then, just to make sure you got the joke, a character will explain what you just saw.

I find early 2000s TV particularly interesting because of the stark differences in social attitudes between now and then. For example, I know socially that LGBT+ issues have progressed so much in the past few years, however it’s so much easier to pinpoint these progressive peaks through TV. The stereotyping of the “gay best friend”, or “trendy gay” tropes, with people asking questions like “who who is the man in the relationship?” It’s not that they’re being overtly homophobic, but it’s so crazy that these kind of cliché’s were socially acceptable not even that long ago.

All that being said, as i mentioned in my last post with the rise of the y2k trend i could just enjoy this under the influence of the aestheticism of the 90′s and early 2000′s, but even so, it makes for good tv.

#Journal

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foreverlogical · 5 years ago

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Donald Trump is running for the presidency of an America that no longer exists.

Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly reprised two of Richard Nixon’s most memorable rallying cries, promising to deliver “law and order” for the “silent majority.” But in almost every meaningful way, America today is a radically different country than it was when Nixon rode those arguments to win the presidency in 1968 amid widespread anti-war protests, massive civil unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., white flight from major cities, and rising crime rates. Trump’s attempt to emulate that strategy may only prove how much the country has changed since it succeeded.

Americans today are far more racially diverse, less Christian, better educated, more urbanized, and less likely to be married. In polls they are more tolerant of interracial and same-sex relationships, more likely to acknowledge the existence of racial discrimination, and less concerned about crime.

Almost all of these changes complicate Trump’s task in trying to rally a winning electoral coalition behind his alarms against marauding “angry mobs,” “far-left fascism,” and “the violent mayhem we have seen in the streets of cities that are run by liberal Democrats.” The Americans he is targeting with his messages of racial resentment and cultural backlash are uniformly a smaller share of American society now than they were then.

Not all the country’s changes present headwinds for Trump. The population is older now, and older white voters in particular remain a receptive audience for Trump’s messages of cultural and racial division (even if his mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak has notably softened his support among him). Fifty years ago, Southern evangelicals still mostly leaned toward the Democratic Party; now they have become a pillar of the Republican coalition. And while many Northern white Catholics back then might have recoiled from Trump-style attacks on immigrants as a smear on their own heritage, now “when Trump talks about making America great again,” more of them “see themselves as part of that country that is getting protected,” says Robert P. Jones, the founder and chief executive of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute and the author of White Too Long, a new book on Christian churches and white supremacy.

[David Frum: This is Trump’s plague now]

Together, those shifts have solidified for Republicans a much more reliable advantage among white voters without a college education than they enjoyed in Nixon’s era. Like Trump, who once declared “I love the poorly educated,” Nixon recognized that he was shifting the GOP’s traditional class basis. On “tough problems, the uneducated are the ones that are with us,” Nixon told his White House advisers, according to David Paul Kuhn’s vivid new book about blue-collar backlash in that era, The Hardhat Riot. “The educated people and the leader class,” Nixon continued, “no longer have any character, and you can’t count on them.”

Trump might echo both of those assessments. But he is offering them to a very different audience. The demographic shifts that have most reshaped politics since Nixon’s day sit at the crossroads of race, education, and religion.

From the 2016 GOP primaries forward, white voters without a college education have provided Trump’s largest group of loyalists. In the 1968 presidential election, that group comprised nearly 80 percent of all voters, according to post-election surveys by both the Census Bureau and the University of Michigan’s American National Election Studies. White Americans holding at least a four-year college degree represented about 15 percent of voters, with non-whites, almost all of them Black, comprising the remainder, at just under 10 percent. (Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz analyzed the ANES data for me.)

That electorate is unrecognizable now. The nonpartisan States of Change project has forecast that non-college-educated white Americans will likely constitute 42 percent of voters in November, not much more than half their share in 1968. States of Change anticipates that both college-educated whites and voters of color will represent about 30 percent of voters in 2020. For the former group, that’s about twice their share in 1968; for the latter, that’s somewhere between a three- and four-fold increase.

The change is just as dramatic when looking at the nation’s religious composition. White Christians comprised fully 85 percent of all American adults in 1968, according to figures from Gallup, provided to me by senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones. They now represent only half as much of the population, 42 percent, according to PRRI’s latest national figures.

The groups that have grown since then reflect the nation’s increasing racial and religious diversity. In 1968, non-white Christians represented only 8 percent of Americans; now that’s tripled to just over 24 percent in the PRRI study. Most explosive has been the growth of those who identify as secular or unaffiliated with any religious tradition. They represented just 3 percent of Americans in 1968; now it’s 24 percent.

Other shifts in society’s structure since that era are equally profound. Census Bureau reports show that a much smaller share of adults are married now than they were then. Only about half as many Americans live in small-town or rural communities outside of major metropolitan areas. The share with at least some college experience is about triple its level then.

Across all these dimensions, the consistent pattern is this: The groups Trump hopes to mobilize—non-college-educated, non-urban, married, and Christian white voters—have significantly shrunk as a share of the overall society in the last 50 years. The groups most alienated from him include many of the ones that have grown over those decades: college- educated white people, people of color, seculars, singles, and residents of the large metro areas.

Trump faces two other big challenges in channeling Nixon. One is that the crime rate, especially the rate of violent crime, doesn’t provide as compelling a backdrop for a law-and-order message as it did during the 1960s. The overall violent-crime rate increased by more than 50 percent just from 1964 to 1968, en route to doubling by the early 1970s. Robberies per person more than doubled between 1960 and 1968. The murder rate soared by 40 percent just between 1964 and 1968; by 1972 it was nearly 85 percent higher than in 1964. In Gallup surveys from September 1968, 13 percent of college-educated white voters, 11 percent of non-college-educated white voters, and 9 percent of non-white voters identified crime as the biggest problem facing the nation.

Today, overall crime rates are much lower, a change that’s made possible the revival of central cities around the country. After violent crime peaked in 1991, it declined fairly steadily for about 15 years. It’s proved more volatile over the past decade: The violent-crime rate fell from 2008 to 2014, then rose through 2016 and has dipped again since. As Trump did in 2016, with his dark warnings about “American carnage” following the uptick in crime late in Barack Obama’s second term, he is again using recent findings of elevated murder rates in some cities to raise the specter of Democrats unleashing a new crime surge. “Despite the left-wing sowing chaos in communities all across the country … and the heart breaking murders in Democrat controlled cities like Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta, Joe Biden has turned his back on any semblance of law and order,” the Republican National Committee warned in a press release yesterday morning.

But James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said that any crime spikes this year amount to “short-term fluctuation [in] a long-term trend” toward greater safety. “We’ve enjoyed, really since the early 1990s, a decline in crime,” he told me. “From year to year, some cities see decreases, some see increases, [but] there’s no crime wave … although Trump may want to construct one—a trumped-up one.”

Though polls generally show concern about crime hasn’t fallen as fast as crime itself, Americans haven’t entirely missed this long-term trajectory: In June Gallup polling, just 3 percent of adults cited crime as the nation’s top problem, far less than in 1968.

Trump’s other big obstacle is that racial attitudes have shifted since then. That’s partly because people of color represent such a larger share of American society. But it’s also because college-educated and secular white Americans, who tend to hold more inclusive views on racial issues than non-college-educated and Christian whites, are also a bigger portion of the white population. Gallup polling in 1968 consistently documented a high level of white anxiety about the pace of racial change: Almost half of white Americans said the federal government was moving too fast to promote integration; two-thirds said Black people did not face discrimination in hiring; and, most strikingly, a bristling three-fifths majority supported a policy of shooting looters on sight during riots. On each front, college-educated white people were less likely to express conservative views than those without degrees, but even they split about evenly on these questions.

[Read: The rage unifying boomers and Gen Z]

A half-century later, racism remains ever-present in America. But many more white people appear willing to acknowledge its persistence, especially in the national debate that has followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A recent Monmouth poll found that most white people now agree police are more likely to use deadly force against African Americans, while CNN found that most whites agree the criminal-justice system is biased. And while Trump has called Black Lives Matter “a symbol of hate,” three-fifths of white people expressed support for the movement in a June Pew Research Center poll. White people with a college degree were consistently more likely than those without one to express such liberal views on race, but these perspectives claimed significant support among non-college white Americans as well.

Those attitudes point toward a final key difference from 1968. Back then, many anxious white voters genuinely believed Nixon could deliver law and order; but today, many white Americans, especially those with degrees, have concluded that Trump himself is increasing the risk of lawlessness and disorder. In one particularly striking result, Quinnipiac University last month found that college-educated white people were twice as likely to say that having Trump as president made them feel less safe rather than more safe. That’s a very different equation than Nixon faced: Though he may have considered “the uneducated” the most receptive audience for his hardline messages, he overwhelmingly won college-educated white voters too, carrying about two-thirds of them in both of his victories, according to the ANES. Some recent polls have shown Trump carrying only one-third of them now.

Trump still has an audience for his neo-Nixonian warnings about an approaching wave of disorder: In that same Quinnipiac survey, a solid plurality of white voters without a degree said they feel more safe with Trump as president (even though many blue-collar whites have also expressed unease about his response to the protests). In a PRRI poll last year, majorities of white Protestants, Catholics, and especially evangelicals said discrimination against white people was as big a problem as bias against minorities. Yet both these groups—working-class and Christian white voters—will each likely comprise only about half as many of the voters in November as they did when Nixon prevailed five decades ago.

Those numbers won’t become any more favorable for Republicans in the years ahead: While white Americans accounted for four-fifths of the nation’s total population growth from 1960 through 1968, Frey noted in a recent report that all of the nation’s population growth since 2010 has been among people of color; the final 2020 Census, he concludes, will likely find that this has been the first decade ever when the absolute number of white people in the country declines. The shift in the nation’s religious composition is as unrelenting: Jones says that the share of adults in their twenties who identify as secular grew from 10 percent in 1986 to 20 percent in 1996 to nearly 40 percent in PRRI’s latest study. Only one-fourth of adults younger than 30 now identify as white Christians.

Trump hopes that reprising Nixon-style messages about disorder will allow him to mobilize massive margins and turnout among the white voters who feel threatened by these changes. But the country’s underlying evolution shows how narrow a path Trump has chosen. He is betting the Republican future on resurrecting a past that is dissolving before his eyes.

VISIT WEBSITE

#politics

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winter-chill · 5 years ago

Text

RWBY 7 - 3 “Ace Operatives” Thoughts

So thoughts...

BOO!!! they didn't work on stuff themselves.. although if it was Pietro and not just random scientists, I'll let it go :) And i'l give him props for using the Amity fights footage (i'll talk more on weapons later)

Oh, dust mines, launch site... ghiest, oh that's gonna bring back some memories

God Nora being so giddy about her stuff puts a smile on my face

and the Blake/Yang nod, the first of so many bumbleby touches this ep

They're really trying to hit hard again with Jaune and that sash, though it was a good set up for his hair cut (since I wouldn't really think of cutting it now when he's in a cold climate ideal)

Another very slight, but nice detail about having Yang be actually armless, not just fixing it while it's on her. We need more points like this, or maybe i just like the idea of it, but having those details shown off and not forgotten is nice. Also that's a beefy arm, though I swear it looks larger in the intro?

Again, having Blake have an onscreen notice of her hair leads well into why it's cut (though not showing it on screen? nor how/why her weapon's fix being gold... missed opportunity , truly)

WAIT??? Ruby got a NEW cloak? BOO, I would have thought her current one was still the original, has she been swapping it with each outfit? but, all the cuts and tears, the detail and history from her past fights, lost :(

I'll talk about the Oscar scene when it shows up, not here

Again, lovely intro to their new looks, but... could have been more. Showing them actually zip things up, buckle them in, cutting their hair themselves. Just lots of little details that would have added so much

I'll say it again, I think Yang's new glasses look weird.. too anime for the actual show style, but, I guess they 'work' ?

Also they all look to Ruby, this is her mission, her shot to call, she's back with her team (just rwby) for the first time so it's good to see them keeping the team dynamic, she was leader for a reason.

OH THIS SONG IS A BANGER!!!! also, totally a Weiss song (it said mirror)

Bunny hopping Ruby :D adorable

SUMMON SWORD SURFING!!! Finally

Blake really making the use of that ribbon, a little detail they again seem to forget about during most of 4-6 until it's necessary (running from adam in V6)

And... yep, no nonsense Yang sticking with the classics, recoil (( I take it back, Yang's arm is the same as the intro, though I still think it somehow got bigger than when she put it on ))

And end it all on an amazing pose shot

Okay Ace ops time. Harriet, let me see what that little backpack thing do. But for serious, rolling only stops you from getting hurt on small drops, not several hundred foot... Marrow though taking a similar root to Ruby, seeming to ride it down, but he's doing some troll physics there, "stand on chair, jump off building, jump off chair at last moment, you only actually fell 2 foot"

Also, boomerang, gun? Honestly I kind of dislike the generic gun looking form, would have been cooler if it didn't change, but just had a little barrel pop out an end when he needed to shoot.

And now JN- OMG ELM YES, Loving the attitude. Oh Vine what's that on your back? you wielding an expanding throwing star (three pronged)

erm, right... JN_R

so, we got, some sick new looks, Ren's ponytail especially. Jaune's hair (i was one to hate it at first) in motion looks great, the concept art didn't do it justice. Also holding his sword on his arm..... kind of reminds me of @kumafromtaiwan's design for Jaune

"okay Jaune, you got this, it's not gonna be like Beacon all over again"

Oh, is he gonna use his shield like a plow, smashing through rocks, or maybe as a wing and glide do............................

DID JAUNE JUST FORTNITE PARACHUTE SHIELD HIS ASS TO THE GROUND?

Moving on though, yep, Hard light dust was a genius move he would have stuck in his head from Argus, and opens up the question of adding (what i'm dubbing) Shield Shield, with his V4 Nuckelavee Sword Sword, to make hard light blades.... SWORD SWORD SWORD???

a quick little peak at his shield, the emblem lighting up as he shoots a blast to bounce him from hitting the floor, that better be used later too.

And another amazing pose shot!

Oh Elm, you really need to work on your social skills. Actually maybe all the Ace ops do?

POUTY NORA!!!

and, good luck bad luck duo for the final team, this'll be fun.

NEW SCROLLS! Love them, slim and cool, and with new team icons (c'mon girls, smile for your picture)

and that detail on how Ruby zoomed, Weiss had to summon, and Yang had some energy stored up, so their aura is down a bit, but Blake is 100%

THE EARS, THEY SENSE BEES

Oh Yang, adorable goof

Oh Blake, also an dorable goof!!!

And Marrow is indeed the baby of the squad, you said it well Harriet, if a tad harsh?

Weiss no, this is a bad place for your name, but you're here to make it a better one, to fix that remember!!

Has.. has no one taught Ruby to project her aura to keep her warm, or at the others just dealing with it better? Either way, same Ruby, i hate the cold

Okay, yes, Oscar chat time

I don't know what to say, I agreed with it the whole time. Atlas is in a mess, there are good and bad times to tell people, and it's nice that Ruby has her intentions, but this may have been the same path Ozma first took, hiding things "for now" but never finding a chance to tell the truth later... they just need to keep it in mind.

And Oscar, please look after the Relic, I can already see red flags over your head the moment you took it, be that from Ironwood doing shady shit, Watts/Tyrian stealing it, or Ozpin popping back up to use it's last question.

OH, Clover, hitting a man hard with that, bringing up STRQ :/ all those fanfics of Qrow ('s semblance) being behind Summer's death, they all feel more realistic

I almost forgot, Qrow's looking snazzy too, those cross buttons, the eye/feather emblem embroidery in the sleeves. No... no necklace though?

Oh god Qrow's getting shipped with everyone this volume it seems. Good catch Clover.... I MEAN LITERAL CATCH

Halfick? Halphr... what did he say? Don't bullshit me captions, that wasn't alpha

REN!!! PAY YOUR GIRLFRIEND SOME ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!! Jaune you dork, nice try?

Another great Bee moment, Yang too can sense a disturbance in the force.

Weiss this is great, but can you keep your emotional daddy issues and the racial discrimination of a whole people a little more separate. But it's nice to again see you trying to make some amends and distance yourself from being.. well, 'Jacques' and his actions

OOF, Marrow coming in, hitting hard, and then acting like he's.... a millennial "I'm just a teen who does research, what do I know, boomer"

this scene though. Issues and history of faunus oppression, followed by a Schnee apolagy, and a faunus using her traits to help fix the past for a new future... that's some symbolism

Oh, a jump scare, good thing about Blake's semblance there too

HARRIET YES!!!! BIG FISTS, JUST WHAT I WANTED!!! PUNCH THAT ROCK

And RW_Y right behind already running before the rumbles settled to help their girl

I LOVE THE GRIMM IN ATLAS. don't get me wrong, Deathstalkers are still top tier, but these things are awesome too

and now we get to upgrades!

Nice, so Yang has some trigger-able explosives, so she doesn't have to rely on her semblance to protect her when she's using his shotgun blasts

A subtle little thing there, Weiss being able to shoot an icle, not doing so from a glyph, but from the gun part of

Myrtenaster directly

Okay yes, this bugged me for so long. A scythe is a big weapon, the weight is in the blade as much as it is the handle, so having to turn it around all the time would be unwieldy and difficult in combat, so just a tiny upgrade like this is both smart, and amazing for Ruby to have realised she needed

Although I still don't get how shotting a bullet down the barrel, can give her swings an initial boost of speed........

Marrow really out here flying though the sky like he's on a zipline? though the buzz saw boomerang is, again, brilliant

Oh................ So the boy who cried wolf, can pause time? I erm- actually hold on, I need to figure out how that's logical......

I'm just gonna guess it's more "Harriet is moving so fast, he did this for dramatic affect XD

JN_R once again, taking a moment, a little nervous but willing and--- now they're very much not nervous, doing their thing, never first to run in, but never first to run away either.

Also, Vine has a stetchy arm semblance, and Elm has rooting feet semblance. Ye they make a good team (i ship them)

THERE'S THAT PURPLE SHIELD BLAST

And finally StormFlower is getting some love. I don't think they look different, but having those blades be used in more various ways... grapples were a great idea

and again, Nora using that spiked back of Magnahild for more than a place to stand when she launches herself, loving it!!!

Oh Jaune, being nervous dorky, Nora a little ashamed? or ready to be.. and Ren, quiet as ever (i think he's kind of looking up to Vine honestly) don't worry though, you kids did good

OH Harriet... you don't wanna be left out of the action do you :) RUBY YOU DORK! And that little back+forth was actually hilarious

Hmm, I was always wondering how a fishing rod could be a weapon.. i guess pulling a grimm in works, but what was your plan then, to punch the Ghiest?

OH MY GOD THAT ANIMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

again, what are you doing Clover? At least Qrow knows his semblance, acting all "i'm gonna look around, things could easily go wrong here"

Good luck bad luck eh? OH MY GOD Qrow don't make that face, the people are gonna ship you two even harder now!!!

And the hammer duo charging in first... ye Elm/Vine is just Atlas' Renora, and I love that dynamic

oh, weird dust draft from Ren stopping, sweat boiling on the rocks... this room is gonna be interesting, mess things up a bit? fluxuating gravity, hot and cold spots maybe??? Ah yes, dust energy... makes sense

And Marrow in the background while we hear him on the coms, just a great little look at how Vine seems to be "distant" from the moment, doing the whole, Ren style of vague-speak

Ye it is kinda empt-- oh. Also good work having not just the face move, but the whole midsection being rotated... kind of as if, the face is stuck to that one position... COINCIDENCE?

Erm, does this one seem bigger than the V4 Ghiest?

And now we see Ruby trying to act as leader, pause to think, to come up with a plan, where as the Ace (while more experienced) seem to have both a plan on how to take it out, and might also be a little to reliant on Clover, knowing his semblance will fix any little issues

Oh that trumpet, a very self-knowing victorious tune.

And again, Vine and Elm doing a whole of semblance work, shame we don't see them use their weapons a bit more here, same with Marrow though not using his semblance (whatever it is) at all.

HEY WAIT. those black parts weren't there earlier, nor did they appear on the V4 Grimm until it needed them to pull toge- oh... they stretched the limbs to force both a space to cut them, and for the grimm parts to sort of 'be revealed'

And another eye colour semblance indication. Loving the runners pose Harriet does too. She's not time-pausing fast... (I take back what I said about Marrow's semblance earlier?) but things do act slower, even while she's running quicker than we'd see as normal in that moment. It's not time-pausing, but it's very very fast. And the motion blur trail!!, just a tiny effect, but it adds so much detail

Marrow really is the child of the squad, he's the one to make a mistake, but again- kind of had to rely on Clover there.. Interesting to see how things pan out when he's inevitably killed, or trapped, or just isn't there

Little details here and there. Vine using his semblance not just to grab, but to push the grimm back. Harriet taunting it to get it's attention and then getting out before it can hit her (but late enough that it keeps it's attention on her and really slams it's fist down). Elm again sticking to her name, rooting that fist down, being basically an anchor in all her actions. And Marrow... throwing his boomerang

UGH.. that little medallion touch pisses me off somehow, it's so pretentious? but anyway, he had a good idea, pulling it out by it's mask, kinda really relying on his semblance to get between it and the ice chunk without bouncing off anything. Again, very semblance reliant group

Erm... she punched the grimm.. but i wouldn't say it's dead.. are we gonna ignore that??? IT'S GONNA RETURN LATER I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT

Vine again grabbing dust, would have loved to have seen Elm basically kick one to stick it to her feet instead of just catching (or pinning herself to a wall to catch it, as if it was too high to jump and catch)

And Harriet going in for the catch, only for....oh.. that's the first thing RWBY or JNR did this fight? (also no weird dust affects, i feel upset)

But ohhh, her semblance isn't speed. I had this same issue in last volume, that her semblance early on was supposed to be speed, and yet she uses it to fly, to separate into several for moments, and she can 'merge' with others to carry then, when like for Nora in V4 her reaction speed should have been way too slow to really be ready for when she was basically thrown at the previous ghiest

AY yep, I'm shocked if Ruby has control over her eyes, she never tried to flash them off during this whole scene... but again, after Maria's story, hiding them from people we don't fully trust is better

And another little bee moment, Yang flirting with them puns

Omg! Elm carrying Ruby, Yang and Nora dancing, love this group dynamic

Hey, it's that guy from last episode, why are we... Robyn?

huh, kinda spooky... flickering lights... Robyn, watts, or...

TYRIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why are you not wearing your coat, it's cold remember! but that entrance, reminds me again of that "Cheshire cat inspiration" people first thought of back in his V4 reveal

HIS EYES!!! So whatever he does that triggers them is still apparent, and his stinger either still uses his own venom, or it's semblance related

And that line. He's here to mix things up... either he's finally gonna kill someone and let the police find out (unlike last ep when his victim was in a building, it'll take time till that's discovered... oh wait, blood) or he's here for info maybe?

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back-and-totheleft · 2 years ago

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Apart from his undeniable boldness and virtuosity as a filmmaker, Oliver Stone has a genius for promotion.

He's interpreted his fellow baby boomers' peak experiences as paradigms of America's lost innocence -- and sold them with passion to a large and engaged (or enraged) audience. Like Spike Lee, he's been his own best publicist, using political controversy to grab the media spotlight for causes that he's made his own.

He's often mixed documentary detail with speculation or melodrama -- most daringly in 1991's JFK, which implicated Lyndon B. Johnson in the cover-up of a conspiracy to kill the president. But even audiences who deny Stone's premises can embrace or have fun wrestling with his juicy pastiches. He fills his pictures with persuasive and compelling details. After films like Born on the 4th of July, it was common to hear even seasoned journalists exclaim through their applause or tears, "I loved this movie because, to me, it was history!"

Over the past two decades, there've been rumors of "a new Stone," like "a new Nixon," emerging in this new film or that. Inevitably, some show of excess or indulgence would sabotage that image.

But with World Trade Center there really does seem to be a new Stone -- humble, restrained and intent on sticking to the verifiable facts. The director, who turns 60 in September, has assumed the philosophic stance of an elder statesman. At a press stop in Boston, drawing journalists from all over the Mid-Atlantic and New England, there were no signs of the director-shaman who downed peyote and channeled Jim Morrison as he directed The Doors (1991) or the director-general who tried to conquer the ancient world with Alexander (2004). I couldn't help asking whether molding this real story of tragedy and triumph in the shadows of the fallen towers had mellowed him or brought him richer directorial moods and textures. With a twinkle he chalked it up to age and experience: "Like wine," of course, he says -- then adds, with a soft, self-deprecating chuckle, "or cheese."

In a suite at Boston's new Ritz-Carlton, right across the Public Gardens from the old Ritz, Stone spoke quietly and thoughtfully about the characters and themes of his new movie, World Trade Center, which opens nationally Wednesday. It's the harrowing, ultimately inspiring, fact-based tale of two Port Authority Police Department cops, Sgt. John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage), an expert on evacuation procedures who'd been through the 1993 WTC bombing, and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), a mere nine-

month veteran of the force, caught together in the rubble on Sept. 11. When Stone made his first major movie, Salvador (1986), he liked to remind interviewers that the title was Spanish for redemption. World Trade Center turns out to be a tale of redemption, too. It's about people rising from catastrophe to help each other because it is the right thing to do.

Raves in the newsweeklies and trade publications have marveled that the film avoids politics and centers on the human drama. Stone thinks people shouldn't be surprised.

"My films are not that political," he contends. "Look at them. Even JFK is a question mark." It questioned that a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, killed President John F. Kennedy, and postulated a conspiracy to assassinate him because he upset the status quo and was about to pull out of Vietnam. But, Stone says, "it could have been embraced by the right wing because it was responding to Barry Goldwater's demand for an open government responsible to the people. Even Nixon (1995) was not a hatchet job, as some feared; it was a humanistic portrayal. What I say between movies I say because I feel, as Sean Penn puts it. I don't want to be muzzled just because I'm a celebrity. I served my country, I pay taxes. … To say that because you're a celebrity, you don't know anything is to voice an ignorant, demeaning, condescending attitude."

None of his between-film comments proved more incendiary than the ones reported from an Oct. 1, 2001, seminar called Making Movies That Matter: The Role of Filmmaking in the National Debate. Stone linked the attack on the World Trade Center to the riot against the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle: He saw the events of Sept. 11 as part of a pattern of rebellion against the new global economic order. And as a filmmaker talking about filmmaking, he sutured that theme to his own frustration at conglomerates taking over studios and imposing corporate values. But a transcript reveals that he also said of the Sept. 11 atrocities, "I was in Vietnam. This is very personal to me and frankly I feel as if my daughter had been raped. … It's a violation on a very deep level and I feel very sad." He empathized with and paid tribute to "all those families in Jersey, and the father is not coming home or the mother is not coming home. It's just terrifying. They'll never be in their families' lives again. This is very emotional stuff and it does take time."

Still, the damage had been done. Because of the one-two punch of that talk and the domestic failure of Alexander (it did gross more than $175 million internationally), the director's power evaporated. Rarely had he ever been quite this Stone-cold. This director had also been a prolific producer, with credits ranging from small jewels like 1992's South Central and 1996's Freeway to ambitious misfires like 1996's The People vs. Larry Flynt to TV films like the terrific 2001 docudrama The Day Reagan Was Shot.

But now he couldn't get anything started on his own behalf.

So he actively petitioned for World Trade Center.

Stone's agent, Bryan Lourd of Creative Artists Agency, first told him about Rockville, Md., native Andrea Berloff's script in November 2004. "I don't know, Oliver," he said. "It's weird. I don't know if anybody's going to finance it or if this is going to make a dime. But I read it three weeks ago and it stayed with me." Stone read it and had the same feeling. "The difference was, I knew right away I wanted to make it."

Until Stone read Berloff's script, he hadn't thought of viewing Sept. 11 literally from the bottom up. As he kept reading, he kept getting more excited. It wasn't just the story of the two men

trapped below the surface, buoying up each other with their talk of faith and duty and family, and of their wives handling grief and nerves and hope on what swiftly became an unprecedented home front. It was also the mind-boggling tale of David Karnes, an actual ex-Marine from Connecticut, who watches the catastrophe on TV and talks his way onto the site, where he runs into another mysterious Marine and embarks on a mission to find survivors in the collapsed concrete and metal. "Unbelievable!" Stone exults. "Miraculous!" Except for the rabid satiric pulp of Natural Born Killers (1995) and the camp pulp of U-Turn (1997), Stone had based all his pictures on real-life testimony. So he thought the first-hand accounts of McLoughlin and Jimeno were simply "gold."

He was astounded to learn that Hollywood's top A-listers had passed on the project. "Maybe it was too small a story; who knows?" Stone told the producers, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, that for him the relatively small scale of the plot within the larger picture was a plus. "I would make this thing as lean and sparse as I could," he promised them. "It should not be an epic; it should be small, microcosmic."

It was also, for Stone, a tale of America's working class. The opening sequence depicts the multiethnic first responders, not the white-collar crowd, coming in from middle to lower middle-class New York and New Jersey suburbs at the crack of dawn. Several hours later, McLoughlin is leading Jimeno and others into the wounded World Trade Center; before they can rescue anyone, they're trapped 20 feet beneath the rubble field. Only McLoughlin's sighting of an elevator shaft saves them.

"I like working-class pictures," Stone says. "You look at my football movie, Any Given Sunday (1999), and it's about working-class guys -- the players may make more money but their bodies are what they use to work. I don't think we make enough working-class pictures. It's a real shame. Now we're making all these upper-middle-class, upper-class movies. Everybody is the same."

I mention something writer-director Robert Towne (Chinatown) likes to say: "When I grew up, people did things for a living." Stone laughs, surprisingly lightly and easily. "Yeah, you don't see much of that in movies anymore. Now it's more like Seinfeld. You sit around and have an attitude. I never got that. I guess I'm old school, like Bob Towne, on that one."

A child of privilege (his father was a Manhattan stockbroker, his mother a French jet-setter), Stone connected to American working men first on a Yankee ship in the merchant marine and then during the 15 months of service in Vietnam that he fictionalized in Platoon (1986). He sealed his industry standing with that picture, drawing on his experience of combat and in-the-field military politics. (Stone won best director and best picture Oscars; he had previously won a screenwriting Oscar for 1978's Midnight Express, and would later win another directing Oscar for Born on the 4th of July.)

Despite the years it took to make Platoon -- or maybe because of them -- the film proved thoroughly in sync with the country's mainstream feelings about the Vietnam War as a flawed mission filled with tragedy and excess as well as heroism. Indeed, despite Stone's reputation for controversy, movies like Platoon, his bringing-the-war-back-home epic Born on the 4th of July and Wall Street (1987), with corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) declaring "greed is good," landed smack in the middle of the Zeitgeist and cleaned up at the box office. Even the headline-grabbing, editorial-inciting JFK earned eight Oscar nominations (bringing home two) and grossed $205 million worldwide.

With a Newsweek cover story and vast TV coverage, World Trade Center has blanketed the media in a way Paul Greengrass' extraordinary United 93 didn't. Maybe that's because, again, Stone offers a message that Americans are hungry to hear right now: Some good can come out of a near-apocalypse; the country can unite in the face of a national threat.

It was a new regime at Paramount, anxious to break away from the old regime's reputation for formula, that gave the green light for Stone to shoot World Trade Center. Nicolas Cage signed on to play McLoughlin because he trusted Stone to craft the best version of the story. Then Stone partnered up with screenwriter Berloff, who feels the "elder statesman" tag fits Stone well. She thought that as soon as Stone came on board he would fire her: "Why would he want to have me around?" she wonders anew, over the phone from Los Angeles. "This guy can write himself." After the first meeting, she was "incredibly intimidated." Then she decided, "If I was going to go down, I'd go down fighting." She let him know when she thought he was wrong and established an honest collaboration.

She says Stone has a genuine desire "to help younger writers." And whatever you think of Stone's output, you don't spend 20 years as a director of films ranging from the claustrophobic (Talk Radio, 1988) to the would-be spectacular (Alexander) without learning a thing or two about snagging an audience and holding it.

Stone told Berloff to establish that when McLoughlin and Jimeno were pinned down, sleep was something to fight off and numbness to be feared. The director and writer spent hours counter-pointing the men's plight with the tension of the wives and families waiting in New Jersey and New York. They figured out how to vary and sustain the rescues of the two men, emphasizing the mechanical challenges of extricating Jimeno (who came up first) and the psychological hurdle of McLoughlin spending hours more alone in the hole. "It was Will vs. the debris, and John vs. his mental demons," Berloff says. And all in all, she says, bearing down on the script with Stone was "pretty great."

Not even Stone's notorious tardiness set her back. "It's true that if I arrived at his office for a noon meeting, it inevitably was 12:30. I realized that he was taking the extra time to go over his notes, to get his head focused on what we'd be talking about, and we worked closely and intensely every day for six weeks."

On the other hand, Cage, an amazing, versatile actor, who like Berloff considers Stone a great filmmaker, never got used to Stone Standard Time and couldn't get on his director's wavelength. Also in Boston to promote the picture, Cage partly blames his own intensity. He constantly projected himself into McLoughlin's thought process. And especially when he was in the hole, "I was like in a zone, a zombie-like trance, for much of the day. The most profound thing I was thinking about was all the letters of the children at the memorial they have at Ground Zero, the shrine to all the departed. After reading the letters to all the parents who had died, or passed on, I would think about them in the hole and try to find some way of metaphorically answering those letters. So it wasn't a good time to goof or laugh or joke around, and Oliver thought I was a bore to be around."

Really? I asked. A bore? Does Cage mean that as a joke?

Cage's face, long in every sense of the word, suddenly breaks into a smile as he utters a low, shy laugh. "Sort of a joke," he says. "I mean, sometimes, I'd be in my trailer for hours and Oliver would be very, very late. I was in there trying to connect to whatever good voodoo I could to get in that zone. By the time I would get to the set I was so vibrating to work to make the scene that if he'd say, 'Hi' I wouldn't hear him."

In one of many tricky sequences, McLoughlin tries to communicate his fellow cop Jimeno's love for his family over a walkie-talkie that doesn't function. To avoid sappiness, Cage thought of the voice of the super-computer HAL in Stanley Kubrick's 2001, and how it slowed down singing "Daisy" while the computer was being deconstructed. It helped him picture McLoughlin's brain slowing down, so he could play the sentiment-filled moment "without being schmaltzy." But when Stone arrived on set, the director announced he wanted to do another shot first. Cage told him, "I was waiting forever and it was time. Then he said not to worry about Paramount being on the set. And I didn't even know Paramount was on the set, I didn't even want to think about it, I just wanted to get this scene!"

Stone says, "Nic is very sensitive … and Nic is an intellectual on top of that. He's always playing chess with you; he's always challenging or questioning you, and I like that."

Paramount being on the set would have meant something to Stone and his search for authenticity on this picture. The director shot Ground Zero and his interior sets in Los Angeles but resisted the Hollywood impulse to make close quarters bigger to benefit the camera or the lighting. He imported 60 real rescuers, veterans of Sept. 11. Many came forward when they heard of this production, to ensure that the right accents would echo through the set and the correct procedures would be followed. He sought to make the home scenes particular to Clifton, N.J., or Goshen, N.Y., or Wilton, Conn. Ultimately, he says his vision was the same as it was on all his pictures. "Eyewitnesses first. Realism, talk to people."

Only when prodded does he let himself expand. "Dramatists came before historians, we forget this. On the cave walls, they painted dramatic stories -- the hunts, the initiations. Herodotus doesn't come until after Sophocles and Aeschylus. I don't know why historians look down on dramatists. We look at the trees the same way they do, we pull back and look at the forest and they do, too." Actually, in World Trade Center, Stone has scored a comeback not by pulling back to see the forest. Telling the tale of two PAPD cops, he stands in respectful awe at a couple of trees.

-Michael Sragow, "A New Stone Age," The Baltimore Sun, Aug 5 2006 [x]

#oliver stone #the baltimore sun #world trade center

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simplefill09 · 2 years ago

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Baby Boomers Changing the Paradigms About Aging

Shared with us from our friends at Silvernest

Ask any Baby Boomer to reflect back to their childhood and their general perception of their grandparents when they were in their 60’s or 70’s. Most usually widen their eyes and exclaim, “old!” Images of a grumpy old man or wizened old woman come to mind. Many of today’s 65 year-olds look nothing like that. In a short thirty years, we have extended our lifespan, and opened up a third phase of adult life 50+ that is often filled with vibrancy, possibility and health. Yet, our society continues to perpetuate the notion that the “peak years” of life are around age 28. It’s all downhill from there. Really? Ever heard of the word “ageism?” According to Ashton Applewhite, author of “This Chair Rocks, a Manifesto Against Ageism,” it is the last socially sanctioned prejudice, and a cultural narrative that impacts almost every aspect of life after 50. Have you ever felt compelled to lie about your age, or had someone compliment you and say, “You look great for your age?” That’s ageism. In the past few months after the release of her book, Applew Baby Boomerhite has been named “Influencer of the Year” by Next Avenue’s Influencers in Aging list, featured in the New York Times, appeared at the United Nations and is traveling around the country. She is the voice of a new movement, and on a mission to highlight the pervasive narrative that reinforces aging as something to fear, deny or dread. She opens her book with the confession, “I’ve never lied about my age – I have no problem saying ‘I’m sixty-three’ loud and clear – but I know a lot of people who do. People who lie on resumes and on airplanes and on dates.” Applewhite admits ageism is something it has taken years to fully recognize. “Any time we make an assumption about what any person is capable of, what they’re thinking about or doing on a basis of chronological age – that defines ageism,” she says. “Chronological age is a lousy indicator of pretty much anything abut a person, and all “isms” are based on stereotyping – especially because the longer we live, the more different from one another we become.” The term “ageism” was first coined by Pulitzer prize winning physician Robert Butler, founder of the International Longevity Center, in 1968 – around the same Read more: https://simplefill.com/baby-boomers-changing-the-paradigms-about-aging time as the terms racism and sexism. “We experience ageism any time someone assumes that we’re “too old” for something – a task, a haircut, a relationship – instead of finding out who we are anhttps://simplefill.com/baby-boomers-changing-the-paradigms-about-aging/d what we’re capable of,” said Applewhite. This Chair Rocks is a wonderful and fast read; full of powerful insights, and would make a fantastic book-club pick. Applewhite humorously breaks down pre-conceived notions about what it means to get older, and paves the way for trailblazing Boomer activism. Her zany style made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions, and nimbly poked to the inner core of what it means to get older in today’s society. In addition to the book, Applewhite has created a blog called, “Yo is this Ageist?” and a “conscious-raising” booklet to promote grassroots discussion called, “Who Me Ageist?” “No one is born prejudiced, but attitudes about age – as well as race and gender – start to form in early childhood,” she writes. “Over a lifetime they harden into a set of truths: “just the way it is.” Unless we challenge ageist stereotypes – old people are incompetent. Wrinkles are ugly. It’s sad to be old – we feel shame and embarrassment instead of taking pride in the accomplishment of aging. That’s internalized ageism.”

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fromtheringapron · 6 years ago

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ECW CyberSlam 1996

Date: February 17, 1996

Location: ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Attendance: 1,300.

Commentary: Joey Styles.

Results:

1. The Bad Crew (Dog and Rose) and Judge Dredd defeated The Dirt Bike Kid, Dino Sendoff, and Don E. Allen.

2. Spiros Greco defeated El Puerto Riqueno.

3. Taz (with Bill Alfonso) defeated Joel Hartgood.

4. Buh Buh Ray Dudley (with Big Dick Dudley, Dances with Dudley, and Sign Guy Dudley) defeated Mr. Hughes.

5. The Bruise Brothers (Don and Ron) defeated The Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B).

6. J.T. Smith defeated Axl Rotten.

7. Dog Collar Match: Francine and The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and Pitbull #2) defeated Stevie Richards and The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus).

8. ECW World Television Championship Match: 2 Cold Scorpio (champion) fought Sabu to a time limit draw.

9. Shane Douglas defeated Cactus Jack.

10. ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Raven (champion) (with Kimona Wanalaya, Stevie Richards, and The Blue Meanie) defeated The Sandman.

Analysis

The 1996 edition of CyberSlam is all over the place in terms of quality so, as a result, my feelings on it are all over the place as well. There’s no doubt ECW is hitting its stride at this point. They’ve firmly established themselves as the alternative to the then PG WWF and WCW, and taking as many shots at both whenever the opportunity arises. They’ve also solidified a devoted, passionate fanbase. I don’t think the ECW crowds have aged particularly well, mind you. For every moment when their participation helps the show, there’s a bunch of other moments when they’re kinda obnoxious and give off a certain brand of testosterone-fueled white male rage that later became one of the worst byproducts of the WWF’s Attitude Era.

The first hour of the show is mostly unwatchable garbage. In a way, you can see in the first hour the chaotic, car-crash booking that the Attitude Era would later make mainstream, with its short matches and constant interruptions. I really do appreciate ECW’s complete aversion to the structure that’d grown stale in both the WWF and WCW. The only problem, however, is that it’s not well-done for what it’s trying to achieve. It’s just a mess, and not in a fun way. There is some interest in watching Taz in the early stages of his push, but you could fast-forward through most of the hour and be fine. And I don’t recommend the fast-forward button often.

So it’s funny that for as dreadful as it can be, the first hour also features the show’s best and most memorable moment: the surprise debut of Brian Pillman. Few wrestlers have seemed as legitimately unhinged and dangerous as Pillman. His promo here is filled with all the usual Bischoff-bashing that everyone in ECW did at some point, but there’s more believability when he does it. When he threatens the audience that he’ll yank out his dick and piss in the ring, I totally believe it. I am wholly convinced that is something Pillman would do in real life (and if some shoot interviews are to be believed, he totally did). The whole bit with him attacking the fan, who is obviously a plant, is at once a bit too over-the-top but, again. It wouldn’t surprise me if the real Pillman got in trouble for the same thing. This is also one of those moments where the ECW crowd helps more than it hinders, because you can tell they’re completely buying into it too.

The show finds its groove in the second hour. The 2 Cold Scorpio/Sabu match is considered an ECW classic. At the risk of sounding incredibly weird, something about the match reminds me of when I’d hold matches with my wrestling figures as a kid, in which I’d have the figures pull out all these ridiculous maneuvers without any consideration of building a story. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing because much like those matches I’d hold as a kid, it’s a lot of fun, even if the time limit draw is kinda deflating. We’re also given a glimpse at Cactus Jack, whose anti-hardcore heel persona remains a high point for ECW. Foley, at his peak, is unrivaled when it comes to character work. He shows up here for his match with Shane Douglas wearing a cheap suit, but it’s amazing how he can wring out pathos from the most gimmicky of ideas. It’s a skill that comes in handy when he jumps skip to the WWF a month later to portray his most famous persona, Mankind.

So, yes, it’s hard to sum up my overall feelings on a show this erratic, but that’s pretty much ECW in a nutshell. The promotion had to make do with what they had which could result in a product that ran the gamut from piss poor to fun and, at times, brilliant. Fortunately, in their peak years, they hit the latter quite often.

My Random Notes

A man can be seen in the front row wearing a Confederate flag shirt. Wonder if he regrets that now. Probably not.

The Dirt Bike Kid totally sounds like a gimmick the WWF would’ve done around the same time period.

Tons of WCW and WWF bashing here, which is expected. But I can’t help but notice the irony in how many ECW guys later jumped ship to those promotions anyway, mainly because Paul Heyman most likely paid them like shit.

There is some red substance on the floor at some point and I’m not sure if it’s from JT Smith throwing a pizza or not but, either way, it bothers me.

One little detail I love is the ECW fans bringing their own props to the show for the wrestlers to use. Huge fan of that kind of audience participation.

I dig the spot where JT Smith plays possum by making it look as if he botched a move off the top-rope. Totally playing into the ECW crowd’s typical “You fucked up” chants and turning them on its head.

The opener may feature some of the most obscure wrestlers that I’ve ever covered on this blog. Any Dino Sendoff fans willing to give me more details on his storied career?

I’ve been trying to determine who the planted fan in the Pillman segment looks like and the closest I can think of at the moment is either Disney’s Pepper Ann or Boomer from the Burger King Kid’s Club, neither whom aren’t even that close in resemblance.

Raven and The Sandman botch a move so badly toward the end of their match that I literally laughed out loud. I guess even in its prime, there were moments where ECW could still feel like your garden variety shit indy.

#ecw #mick foley #brian pillman

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newstfionline · 6 years ago

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Gen Z Is Coming to Your Office

By Janet Adamy, WSJ, Sept. 6, 2018

Sean McKeon was 11 years old when the 2008 financial crisis shot anxiety through his life in Hudson, Ohio. He remembers his father coming home stressed after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank where he worked. A teacher asked classmates if their parents cut back that Christmas. They all said yes.

That unsettling time shaped the job plans he hatched in high school. “I needed to work really hard and find a career that’s recession-proof,” says Mr. McKeon, now 21. He set his sights on a Big Four accounting firm. He interned at EY in Cleveland and will become an auditor there after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, next year.

About 17 million members of Generation Z are now adults and starting to enter the U.S. workforce, and employers haven’t seen a generation like this since the Great Depression. They came of age during recessions, financial crises, war, terror threats, school shootings and under the constant glare of technology and social media. The broad result is a scarred generation, cautious and hardened by economic and social turbulence.

Gen Z totals about 67 million, including those born roughly beginning in 1997 up until a few years ago. Its members are more eager to get rich than the past three generations but are less interested in owning their own businesses, according to surveys. As teenagers many postponed risk-taking rites of passage such as sex, drinking and getting driver’s licenses. Now they are eschewing student debt, having seen prior generations drive it to records, and trying to forge careers that can withstand economic crisis.

Early signs suggest Gen Z workers are more competitive and pragmatic, but also more anxious and reserved, than millennials, the generation of 72 million born from 1981 to 1996, according to executives, managers, generational consultants and multidecade studies of young people. Gen Zers are also the most racially diverse generation in American history: Almost half are a race other than non-Hispanic white.

With the generation of baby boomers retiring and unemployment at historic lows, Gen Z is filling immense gaps in the workforce. Employers, plagued by worker shortages, are trying to adapt.

LinkedIn Corp. and Intuit Inc. have eased requirements that certain hires hold bachelor’s degrees to reach young adults who couldn’t afford college. At campus recruiting events, EY is raffling off computer tablets because competition for top talent is intense.

Companies are reworking training so it replicates YouTube-style videos that appeal to Gen Z workers reared on smartphones.

“They learn new information much more quickly than their predecessors,” says Ray Blanchette, CEO of Ruby Tuesday Inc., which introduced phone videos to teach young workers to grill burgers and slow-cook ribs. Growing up immersed in mobile technology also means “it’s not natural or comfortable for them necessarily to interact one-on-one,” he says.

Demographers see parallels with the Silent Generation, a parsimonious batch born between 1928 and 1945 that carried the economic scars of the Great Depression and World War II into adulthood while reaping the rewards of a booming postwar economy in the 1950s and 1960s. Gen Z is setting out in the workplace at one of the most opportune times in decades, with an unemployment rate of 4%.

“They’re more like children of the 1930s, if children of the 1930s had learned to think, learn and communicate while attached to hand-held supercomputers,” says Bruce Tulgan, a management consultant at RainmakerThinking in Whitneyville, Conn.

Gen Z’s attitudes about work reflect a craving for financial security. The share of college freshmen nationwide who prioritize becoming well off rose to around 82% when Gen Z began entering college a few years ago, according to the University of California, Los Angeles. That is the highest level since the school began surveying the subject in 1966. The lowest point was 36% in 1970.

The oldest Gen Zers also are more interested in making work a central part of their lives and are more willing to work overtime than most millennials, according to the University of Michigan’s annual survey of teens.

“They have a stronger work ethic,” says Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor whose book “iGen” analyzes the group. “They’re really scared that they’re not going to get the good job that everybody says they need to make it.”

Just 30% of 12th-graders wanted to be self-employed in 2016, according to the Michigan survey, which has measured teen attitudes and behaviors since the mid-1970s. That is a lower rate than baby boomers, Gen X, the group born between 1965 and 1980, and most millennials when they were high-school seniors. Gen Z’s name follows Gen X and Gen Y, an early moniker for the millennial generation.

College Works Painting, which hires about 1,600 college students a year to run small painting businesses across the country, is having difficulty hiring branch managers because few applicants have entrepreneurial skills, says Matt Stewart, the Irvine, Calif., company’s co-founder.

“Your risk is failure, and I do think people are more afraid of failure than they used to be,” he says.

A few years ago Mr. Stewart noticed that Gen Z hires behaved differently than their predecessors. When the company launched a project to support branch managers, millennials excitedly teamed up and worked together. Gen Z workers wanted individual recognition and extra pay. The company introduced bonuses of up to $3,000 to encourage them to participate.

After seeing their millennial predecessors drown in student debt, Gen Z is trying to avoid that fate. The share of freshmen who used loans to pay for college peaked in 2009 at 53% and has declined almost every year since, falling to 47% in 2016, according to the UCLA survey.

Denise Villa, chief executive of the Center for Generational Kinetics in Austin, says focus groups show some Gen Z members are choosing less-expensive, lower-status colleges to lessen debt loads. Federal Reserve Bank of New York data show that nationwide, overall student loan balances have grown at an average annual rate of 6% in the past four years, down sharply from a 16% annual growth rate in the previous decade.

Lana Demelo, a 20-year-old in San Jose, Calif., saw her older sister take on debt when she became the first person in their family to attend college. “I just watched her go through all those pressures and I felt like me personally, I didn’t want to go through them,” says Ms. Demelo. She enrolled in Year Up, a work training program that places low-income high-school graduates in internships, got hired as a project coordinator at LinkedIn and attends De Anza College in Cupertino part-time.

Gen Z is literally sober. Data from the Michigan survey and federal statistics show they were less likely to have tried alcohol, gotten their driver’s licenses, had sex or gone out regularly without their parents than teens of the previous two or three generations, Ms. Twenge, the San Diego State professor, found.

They grew up trusting adults, and Gen Z employees want managers who will step in to help them handle uncomfortable situations like conflicts with co-workers and provide granular feedback, says Mr. Tulgan, the management consultant.

When Mr. Tulgan’s company surveyed thousands of Gen Z members about what mattered most to them at work, he heard repeatedly that they wanted a “safe environment.” He is advising clients to create small work teams so managers have time to nurture them.

“I was in no rush to get a driver’s license,” says Joshua Berja, a 21-year-old San Francisco resident who waited until he turned 18 to get one. He lives with his parents to save money, runs errands for his mother and picks his father up from work.

Gen Z is reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression as teens and young adults than previous generations. About one in eight college freshmen felt depressed frequently in 2016, the highest level since UCLA began tracking it more than three decades ago.

That is one reason EY three years ago launched a program originally called “are u ok?”--now called “We Care”--a companywide mental health program that includes a hotline for struggling workers.

Mr. Stewart, of College Works Painting, says he wasn’t aware of any depressed employees 15 years ago but now deals frequently with workers battling mental-health issues. He says he has two workers with bipolar disorder that the company wants to promote but can’t “because they’ll disappear for a week at a time on the down cycle.”

Smartphones may be partly to blame. Much of Gen Z’s socializing takes place via text messages and social media platforms--a shift that has eroded natural interactions and allowed bullying to play out in front of wider audiences.

In the small town of Conneaut Lake, Penn., Corrina Del Greco and her friends joined Snapchat and Instagram in middle school. Ms. Del Greco, 19, checked them every hour and fended off requests for prurient photos from boys. She shut down her social media accounts after deciding they “had a little too much power over my self-esteem,” she said.

That has helped her focus on studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., to become a software engineer, a career she sees as recession-proof. When the last downturn hit, she remembers cutting back on gas and eating out because her parents’ music-lesson business softened.

“I learned a lot about the value of money,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to have a very secure lifestyle, secure income.”

She says the negative experience with social media made her want a professional LinkedIn page, and she took a seminar at college to learn how to do that.

The flip side of being digital natives is that Gen Z is even more adept with technology than millennials. Natasha Stough, Americas campus recruiting director at EY in Chicago, was wowed by a young hire who created a bot to answer questions on the company’s Facebook careers page.

To lure more Gen Z workers, EY rolled out video technology that allows job candidates to record answers to interview questions and submit them electronically.

Getting employees comfortable with face-to-face interactions takes work, Ms. Stough says. “We do have to coach our interns, ‘If you’re sitting five seats away from the client and they’re around the corner, go talk to them.’”

Mr. McKeon, the Ohio student, sees a silver lining growing up during tumultuous times. He used money from his grandfather and jobs at McDonald’s and a house painting company to build a stock portfolio now worth about $5,000. He took school more seriously knowing that “the world’s gotten a lot more competitive.”

“With any hardship that people endure in life, they either get stronger or it paralyzes them,” Mr. McKeon says. “These hardships have offered a great opportunity for us to get stronger.”

#Generation Z #workplace and Generation Z

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murfeelee · 4 years ago

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I lover this particularly juicy bit Mack mentioned under the cut:

I’m attaching a graphic that was attached to a review for this book that illustrates what I just spoke on.

Now how does this relate to tumblr’s post+ and twitter? Easy. These companies, without realizing it, are starting to see that we are at the peak of WE right now in the US and that we will be shifting to ME very soon. “ME” culture is a prime place for content-creators and side-hustlers to blossom, and this is only compounded by the fact that “Gen Z” is a very material generation. They like their money, and nice things, and they fully embrace the side-hustle culture. {Again, like most generalizations, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but does seem to show an over-arching trend.}

Not to mention the fact that Gen Z kids--Zoomers--have been reared from the womb connected to the internet. They have none of that technophobic app-resistant anti-google attitude that people from say, my mom’s Boomer/Gen X generation have towards constantly being online, constantly needing an internet connection, and constantly shopping online. It’s the complete inverse of when I was a kid and adults were screaming to NEVER share so much as your first name online. But this new generation is primed and ready for the runaway spending culture that predatory implementations like microtransactions & paywalled content & subscription services rely on, in order to have people pay for things that used to be free.

Sad to say for those of you who are {like me} generally pissed with the constant monetization of everything in our lives, that if this theory holds true, things will get worse from here. The only way that this can be “stopped” is if somehow, the monetization of content gets to the point that it starts trampling on the rights of individuals…leading to copyright issues and lawsuits.

Just look at the mess with copyright laws needing to be renegotiated for streaming on Twitch & Youtube. Gaming and litigation go hand in hand, cuz at the end of the day we’re all using assets (be they textures, meshes, software/programs, codes) that don’t belong to us. Back in the early game streaming days it was FINE, because there was no profit being made: we played games, shared content, and that was it. But the waters were muddied the second money came into the equation, because now people are profiting off of material that doesn’t even belong to them.

For UGC creators, the game and all its associated programs and content belong to the company, not the creator, as stated in the EULA/TOUs. Other game communities were well aware of this, but thanks in no small part to EA’s total failure to curb the abuse of monetization, in fact leading the pack, not only has it utterly ruined the TS4 CC landscape, but now it’s bleeding over into other games as well, including Skyrim, Nexus, and the Xnalara porting community, as everyone from modders to converters/porters monetize their CC (all while having the nerve to complain about corporate microtransactions).

People love money, and people are greedy and selfish AF. But the reason the socio-economic pendulum swings back and forward, the curve going up and down, is basically cuz capitalism is inherently unsustainable. There’s no such thing as infinite growth, despite what the mega-rich demons try to tell people. There’s zero effing way people can keep that kind of energy--let alone that kind of revenue--going in perpetuum. Trends come and go, jobs start and end, empires rise and fall, and and people grow old and die. Everything’s temporary. And eventually this crap will stop, or at least change in sometimes worse, and sometimes better ways. Only time will tell.

Me vs We: The philosophy of monetization of creator content and how it falls on the pendulum of society...

So this might seem a little bit different from my typical paywall rants in relation to the sims, but I want to get a bit philosophical today, and share with you a very interesting consceptual theory that I believe shows why platforms such as tumblr and twitter have been moving lately towards the route of monetization of content for creators. It's a bit of a read, so I'll leave it below the cut and if you want to read further in your spare time you can. It's just a bit of geekery on my part.

First, let's talk about the Pendulum Theory. This theory is shared in this amazing book, called Pendulum, written by Roy H. Williams and Michael H. Drew. To save you a smidge of time and money on it, I'll summarize the basic premise and concept of the book. The idea is that the authors looked back at human history, and found a repeating 80 year pattern that to them, represented a prendulum. On one side is "ME" and the other side is "WE". Now it is important to note a few things: First, EITHER side taken to the VERY EXTREME is bad. Second, different countries/societies can be at different "places" on this pendulum. (For example, China and the U.S are inverse of each other right now.) Third, this pendulum is often reflected most in our artistic, literary, and advertising media. {And I would argue social media, for those living in the 20th-21st centuries.} Those are the most obvious places to see this pattern play out. Fourth, this pendulum "swings back" towards the other side every fourty years. Currently, we are due to start swinging back the other direction in the US in 2023. So let's talk about what these ends of the pendulum mean, exactly: ME: [Individually-centered society] Can be summed up as "I'm not okay, you are okay." It is up to ME to change MYSELF so that the world becomes better. Emphasis on personal freedom and expression, materialism, personal goals, etc. The extreme end of this however, can lead to self-centeredness to the point of hurting others. A prime example of the "extreme end" of ME being America's "Manifest Destiny" expansion, which resulted in thousands of tribes of Native American peoples losing their native lands and being killed. Can also lead to hollow and phony people suffering from burnout as they try to chase the material and personal goals they have set for themselves. WE: [Community/Group-centered society] {USA is currently in WE, due to switch back towards ME in 2023.} Can be summed up as "I'm okay, you're NOT okay." WE can work TOGETHER to change the world for the better. Emphasis on responsibility to others beside ourselves, authenticity and transparency, and group conformity for the common good. The extreme end of WE however, can result in Witch Hunts where those who do not conform to the standards set by the group as a whole are determined to be problems. The Salem Witch Trials being a prime example of "WE" playing out, along with the rise of regimes such as Hitler and his Natzi party. Again, want to remind you all that BOTH of these are bad when taken to the very extreme. A healthy "middle" of both of these tends to be the best place for a society to be, but we rarely stay in that healthy middle for long. We normally are swinging one way or the other. I'm attaching a graphic that was attached to a review for this book that illustrates what I just spoke on.

Now how does this relate to tumblr's post+ and twitter? Easy. These companies, without realizing it, are starting to see that we are at the peak of WE right now in the US and that we will be shifting to ME very soon. "ME" culture is a prime place for content-creators and side-hustlers to blossom, and this is only compounded by the fact that "Gen Z" is a very material generation. They like their money, and nice things, and they fully embrace the side-hustle culture. {Again, like most generalizations, this doesn't apply to everyone, but does seem to show an over-arching trend.} Meanwhile, Millenials like myself are here dumbfounded because we aren't as material as this upcoming generation. It's very easy for us to be pissed off and want to protest Post+ and other forms of "monetization" of our social media, because we aren't here trying to build up a follower base for profit. We're here trying to connect to others, and for some of us, maybe be able to make a small profit while sharing our content with others we connect with. But, looking at things from this lens, it's hard to 100% blame Twitter and Tumblr for going this route. All they are trying to do is stay ahead of the eight-ball and follow the trends they are seeing. And while it make certain generations that aren't wired up that way pissed, it will certainly fit the upcoming culture shift that will occur. Sad to say for those of you who are {like me} generally pissed with the constant monetization of everything in our lives, that if this theory holds true, things will get worse from here. The only way that this can be "stopped" is if somehow, the monetization of content gets to the point that it starts trampling on the rights of individuals...leading to copyright issues and lawsuits. This is why accounts like @postplus-protest are out here trying to get Post+ stopped, is they can see this occuring with Post+, especially with how many fanworks are on tumblr. It is the same for the Sims 4 CC world. Until 3D modeling sites/creators, and EA start defending the rights to their intellectual property, we will see the paywalling and monetization of sims 4 content get worse as we swing back towards ME. The "I have a right to do things my way and express my individual choices" defense will continually be used to try to sway people to support paywalling content. Only if the people who actually are having their OWN individual rights to their content such as EA and model creators who are victims of converters speak up, will those who are on the side of "ME" be appeased. Because the individual will trump the collective every time as things swing back towards that end of the pendulum. It'll be an interesting show. That's for sure. I'm not very much looking forward to it. :/ Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. :)

#mini rant #EA you suck #simmer problems #smdh

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