Troy

5, 7, 9 (I was flirting with the last number being 8) I can't find my chart right now. My sun sign is Aries, I'm rising in Cancer and I think my moon was in Cancer as well, right? I seem to remember most of my planets being on the top half of the natal chart. Other than that I don't remember much else about it. Feel free to share any significant points. Peace.

The problem with TV and everything else in our culture is as soon as anyone recognizes people value something capitalists exploit it for profit--it does not matter what it is. It can be anything from hip-hop to religion, from school yard ball games to dysfunctional families, from the criminal justice system to our food supply. Making a decent living is never enough, profits must increase year after year. If we can make money by fashioning an otherwise useless crop like tobacco into a cancer causing product we'll do it. We are greedy and don't care anything other than money. Youtube, today is more like what the internet was 10 years ago. Everyone has a voice the variety of what is on Youtube is amazing. I do not think this will continue once corporations take full control over who see content, but for now videos like the one above are quite discoverable. Again ,I watch far more youtube than TV. But I am watching Games of Thrones, I loved the scene where the Lannister dwarf told everyone off during the trail :-) Boondocks started a new season but they want us to play extra to see the episodes. As much as I'd like to watch the Boondocks I refuse to pay a penny more than what I already pay for TV I discovered New Star Trek episodes on Youtube. A bunch of Star Trek fanatics have actually created new episodes -- no studio, completely independent. The first episode was quite watchable I was impressed. I'm taking a final cut pro (video editing) class to step up the quality of my YouTube videos. I've taken one of these TM (Transcendental Mediation) classes I think it is beneficial, thought I don't practice it often enough. It feels like you are clearing out the cluttler. I think walking around in mature can be just as beneficial. Spending all of your time in a place like NYC simply is not good for you.

Man you actually still have my chart laying around :-) If not I can scan it for you to review for the public to see. Let me know if you are into doing that.

Pioneer while it is true men have more testosterone which does lead to being more aggressive, I'm not sure that makse a better leader. Historically women have been known to make great leaders and many men have been know to be horrible leaders. There are also different kinds of leaders. A great leader in the boardroom may make a terrible leader on the battle field. One thing we can probably agree on is that there are differences between men an women. Our culture often wants to make believe women are simply men without penises. This thinking does not benefit either sex. This does not mean we should we should treat women like 2nd class citizens or pay them less for doing the same type of work. We should however better understand the differences and make the most of them.

The fascinating thing about this short video, from my perspective, is that if it were not for me running AALBC.com and if I were still working for some Wall Street firm I would have been largely unaware of these issues. Now that I'm struggling to keep this business afloat, pay for my kid's college educations, and maintain a home, I am much more sensitive to all of these issues particularly the media operates while the government watches. TV as we know it will go away on its own. Like an increasing number of people I rarely watch it. I consume the vast majority of my content via Youtube. Where, at least for now, one can find alternative content that mass media choices not to provide. However, alternative sources (like AALBC.com) are finding it increasing difficult to find an audience for our content out as Google's YouTube favors advertisers, and of course there are the net neutrality and digital divide issue to content with. One point made in the video is that television increasingly separates us from the natural world, as a result we receive no information from the natural world. This made me think about Cynique's moon experience, which she feels is unique, but may in fact be perfectly natural. Indeed our connection with the natural world my be related to astrology conversations we have been having lately. I'd image a significant portion of American's have no connect to the natural world. They could not identify a constellation in the night sky any more than they could find Nebraska on a map of the US. They could not grow food or even identify what is safe to eat if their lives depended upon it. Indeed many people hate the outdoors and are much more comfortable sitting in front of a TV watching nature on a screen.

Pioneer, sure life style is a problem, but if you see the film it explains how pervasive the added sugar is in the food being sold. The labels are very misleading. Imagine if a corporation was allowed to sell you crack and say that it was good for you because it helped you keep your weight down (actually an argument many smokers use). Would you blame the individual who tried it became hooked or would the corporation be at fault?

After publishing the Blog post about Fed Up I went back to edit it. I realized I missing providing a link to the Fed Up movie's website. Well for some reason the Fed Up movie website did not come up first, but there was a prominent Google ad for what appeared to be the Fed Up website. I clicked the advertisement trying to reach the website and discovered a site by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The GMA's site homepage looks very much like the Fed Up movie site (see a comparison below). The GMA touts itself as the “makers of the world’s favorite food, beverage and consumer products.” On the FedUpFacts website you will find additional “facts,” all of which contradict the information provided in the film. Sources cited included a February 2014 New York Times’ article, Obesity Rate for Young Children Plummets 43% in a Decade. Based upon this article the GMA asserts: Over the last decade, childhood obesity rates have dropped by as much as 43 percent, and obesity rates overall have plateaued. "For the first time, we’re seeing a significant decrease in childhood obesity" nationally, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, earlier this year. However, if you read the actual article and the points above in context you see that; Point #1 is a misrepresentation of what was written in the NY Times article. First, the drop in obesity rates was from 14% to 8% for children ages 2 to 5 years. Second, the article goes on to say the obesity rates for this "tiny fraction" of the population fluctuates and more time will be needed to determine if this is a trend. Second, the articles states "...figures for the broader society had remained flat, and had even increased for women over 60. A third of adults and 17 percent of youths are obese, the federal survey found." To say that Obesity rates have plateaued, based upon the NY Times article is egregious enough to be called an outright lie. Point #2 A Dr. Thomas Frieden is not mentioned in the article the GMA referred as the source of their point. But online articles are often make corrections, so it is possible he was mentioned in an earlier version. The article did however quote Cynthia L. Ogden, a researcher and the lead author of the report who said “This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group.” Cynthia was also the person who caution that this group is a "tiny fraction" of the population and that the figures for the broader society had remained flat, and had even increased for women over 60. Finally, and this is the main point, the GMA never denies that all the extra sugar is making people much less healthy. They are no different that the tobacco industry. At the end of the day the Surgeon General is useless. The Government is merely the handmaiden of corporations who in reckless pursuit of maximizing the wealth of their owners are have no problem destroying the planet, poisoning the food supply, miseducating our children, locking up our adults, and controlling the media. The saddest part is we, as a people, don't seem to care. I would always tell people who expressed a concern about Obama being assassinated not to worry, because Obama poses no threat. Indeed no one in the Black community poses a threat; most of us strive to successful parts of the system that oppresses us.

If you read the Washington Post article it did not shed any light on the situation. Which is pathetic reporting. I did see some conversation where someone familiar with the common core said this was more meant to replace the "old way" of doing subtraction, but was meant to help students understand numbers and calculate larger figure in their heads. I don't know if that is true either, but all of the information I got just seems to be stoking controversy rather that shedding light. In today's world you can't depend to newspapers to help you understand issues. This is why we are so confused about the most basic things.

I would explain the accuracy of the reading as a coincidence augmented by my desire to see it work. Again I was impressed by the reading I just don't consider one reading proof that astrology is real. I don't think the woman is psychic, nor did she profess to be. She simply pointed to concrete things in my sisters natal chart that "explained" her personality/nature. Del, and I appreciate this may be a stretch to do, but what characteristics would you ascribe to someone, in general, who does not have any fire in their chart?

Cynique, was your relationship with the moon consistent throughout your life, or has it changed as you've aged? The mysteries of the universe are absolutely mind-boggling. I would love to know what preceded it and what is beyond its boundaries. The idea that the universe is finite in size is just as amazing as the research they are pursing in understanding sub atomic particles. Apparently were are approaching or actually in the age of Aquarius which is supposed to correspond with a period of enlightenment, transcendence, spirituality, or just a period of people being nice to each other for a change. The current period, Pieces is most often associated with Christianity. This is the reason fish is an important symbol of both the age and religion. I may be butchering the whole concept, perhaps Del can clarify. At any rate, Cynique your perspective may be shared with more people than you expect as we all are living during the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

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Cynique you may also be prejudiced because you largely avoided the problem for the bulk of your adult life. You grew up in a world where people cooked their food--as did I. I'm perhaps more sensitive to it because as a parent raising children I was duped into falsely believe what I was giving my kids was good for them. I consider orange juice which I wrote about in my blog post: 8oz has 22g of sugar. I might as well have been giving them Kool-aid or soda for breakfast. So while I agree there is some level of personal responsibility, if we are misled and lied to by our government it is much harder to do the right thing in a ideal enviroment. Pile on the stress and hardships of poverty, poor living conditions and services and doing the right thing becomes damn near impossible. As a child I rarely went to a fast food restaurant. Today some families, in the same community, eat at a fast food restaurant several times a week Then we call all the over weight people in the ghetto lazy?! And lets be clear, obesity skews toward the less educated and people with lower incomes--which includes a lot of us.

Hey Del I've been answering all your questions but you not answered mine. Do you consider the single incidence of the teacher describing my sister as I have described it proof? If so why, if not why not? Consider the possibility that I may have interpreted the Astrologers reading as accurate, but my sister would probably disagree with it. Who is right? How do you prove who is right? Since Astrology is open to interpretation by both the one who reads the chart and the one being read. It is more difficult to prove--there simply is no objective measure that I'm aware of. Perhaps if a scientist published proof in a peer reviewed journal and it withstood review by the rest of the scientific community I would then believe in Astrology. But that is no more likely to happen than the publication of a scientific proof of Christianity. But most people who believe in Astrology, don't need proof. Like religious people it is a question of faith "proof" is irrelevant.

I was impressed too, I just don't consider it proof. Do you?

Check out the film Fed Up

No Del, the one incident is not proof, but again it got my attention and as I said I no longer dismiss this practice. If a stranger asked you to pick a number from 1 to 20 and she was able to say what your number was would that proof she is psychic? More likely our female stranger made a lucky guess. Now if that female stranger was in a room with 100 different people, and was able to get everyone's number, I would consider that proof of psychic ability. The odds of guessing one person's number correctly is 5% The odds of guessing all 100 correctly are so fantastically small it is indistinguishable from impossible.

My opinions on Astrology are bit different. I took one class and the additional knowledge changed my opinion a great deal. I was much less dismissive of it. The instructor of the class happened to be the daughter of one of my grade school teachers. Ya'll would call that synchronicity, I'd call it a small world any who, because of the connection we became friendly and she cast a chart for my sister, a person she did not know. I did not describe my sister either, other than to provide the detail of her birth. When she interpreted that chart the instructor pretty much nailed my sister's personality and nature. I was pretty impressed. Some would call that proof. In my opinion this it is not proof, but I do consider it is pretty strong evidence. That experience and many other changed my opinion of Astrology. I used to dismiss it as nonsense when my experience was based solely upon the newspaper daily readings. Again, I questioned and ultimately adjusted my belief. Keep in mind, I was raised to believe Astrology was the work of the Devil, practicing it would be a ticket to Hell. I was told in no uncertain terms not to mess with it. I never believed that. Indeed all the practitioners I've meet (including Del) seem to interested in understanding and helping people much more than the people who condemn the practice. Most scientists I've heard speak on the subject pretty much dismiss it straightaway.

LOL, sure given all the intrigue I completely understand why people would care. I'm just not really one of them. I have enough drama in my own life to spare the brain cycles wondering about Solange and Jay-Z. I don't look up to them, they don't reflect anything I strive to be. Sure I could use their money... but that is about it. Yes I did wonder how much TMZ paid for the footage. I know the video alone was viewed by more people in three days than visited this site in two years. Posting the video generated a boat load of money for TMZ. I also wondered how the video got out. It is wild that Jay-Z has no expectation of privacy even when he is alone with is family in an elevator. It was interesting that Jet Magazine seemingly invested more effort in sharing information about the Solange meltdown that they did about the death of their own publication. This whole situation, including our collective reaction, is nothing to be proud of...or anything that should be shared publicly.

With 700K subscribers was the magazine nonviable? It seems to me a significant portion of Jet readers don't use aps and are not constantly connected to the web. Perhaps they are trying to reach a younger demographic. Young people spend their mobile time on social media, playing games and listening to music. Jet was the magazine you picked up while waiting your turn at the barbershop or dentist office, you read it while you were on the can. As more and more magazines transition to digital only format, they may was well just go away altogether. A cursory look at the Jet website reveals a mashup of the wire stories already available everywhere else on the net. There does not appear too many original or exclusive stories; nothing to drive you to that particular site. While I still consider myself very technically oriented. I do not believe the digitization of everything leaves us better off. We are reading less, what little remains of what we own, on-line, languishes in obscurity. The management of every digital asset we own from books, music, videos, photos has become a technical nightmare. Corporations already have many of us paying $150 per month for TV, $100 per month for a phone, and now they are salivating waiting for us to pay them a recurring fee to store our personal photos, videos, whatever in some stupid "cloud" that you have to pay them yet another fee to access! We have become perpetual victims of the 'ole okie doke.

JET Magazine Goes From Print to Digital Only The historic Johnson Publishing Company title changes format after nearly 63 years CHICAGO, (May 7, 2014) — Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), announced today that JET magazine, founded in 1951, will transition to a digital magazine app at the end of June. JPC is making the proactive decision to adapt to the changing needs of its readers as their desire to get information quickly and easily increases. JET, the number three magazine in the African-American market, with a rate base of 700,000, started as a publication for Black-Americans to get weekly news on issues central to their community in a quick and easy to read format. The new weekly digital magazine app will leverage a variety of storytelling tactics, including video interviews, enhanced digital maps, 3D charts and photography from the JPC archives. Breaking news will be updated daily. The app will be available on all tablet devices and mobile platforms. In addition, JET will publish an annual special print edition. “Almost 63 years ago, my father, John Johnson, named the publication JET because, as he said in the first issue, ‘In the world today, everything is moving faster. There is more news and far less time to read it,’” said Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of JPC. “He could not have spoken more relevant words today. We are not saying goodbye to JET, we are embracing the future as my father did in 1951 and taking it to the next level.” “The JET magazine online presence is continuing to grow, and JPC feels strongly we can provide great and timely content to our readers with the first weekly digital magazine app in the African-American space,” said Desiree Rogers, CEO of JPC. This JET online content will feature strong entertainment news along with politics, pop culture and social issues that impact African-Americans, as well as a new EBONY/JET digital store. Kyra Kyles, formerly a senior editor of JET magazine and digital managing editor of JETmag.com, has been appointed the digital editorial director for JET online. -###- Read more at EBONY

I saw this on social media this morning and thought it was a joke. This was reported by the Washington Post yesterday. As schools around the U.S. implement national Common Core learning standards, parents trying to help their kids with math homework say that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing has become as complicated as calculus. They're stumped by unfamiliar terms like "rectangular array'' and "area model.'' They wrestle with division that requires the use of squares, slashes and dots. They rage over impenetrable word problems. Watch video on how to solve the problem: I see how the problems are solved; 45 - 17 = 28 17 + 3 = 20 20 + 10 = 30 30 + 10 = 40 40 + 5 = 45 3 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 28 I still find this hard to believe. Even if it is just a tool to help kids understand math. There are easier ways to do this...

I have deliberately not looked for more detail. This is what I heard so far just going about my business. Solange Beyonnce's sister went off in an elevator on Jay Z and Beyonnce. Apparently the rant was captured on the security camera. Start this video then scroll down to the 2nd video Now start this video and watch it while listening to the one above for an interesting experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWdhX9c_7FA It is too bad these people can't even go into an elevator without be watched. This was far worse that what I heard I though Solamge was just screaming at Jay Z. If looks like she was try to f-ck Jay up! I wonder what he did to deserve that?

A few... off the top of my head, Astrology, Christianity, The existence of a soul, the existence of extraterrestrials. How do I test these Ideas? I don't, at least I don;t test them in the sense I think you mean. It is not like I'm in a lab running experiments. I do however read the results of those do and have more knowledge on a subject. In the case of extraterrestrials, I believe they exist. No one can prove this, but based upon the best available data and given the countless other worlds that exist it seem perfectly plausible that the are other worlds with intelligent life. I know a couple who have both seen an alien space craft while driving down the NJ turnpike. They claim others were pulled over watching it too. I don't believe what they saw was an alien space craft but that does not mean I do not believe they can exist. I also read a book that cited many cases of alien abductions I don't believe any of those stories either. Now I have now way of knowing, on my own, that there are countless other planets. I know this because other folks have done the research and made the discoveries and I trust their results. I tend to disbelieve most things people say. So while a I believe aliens are real I can't prove it. Crop circles are not proof to me. A bunch of eyewitnesses in Roswell NM is not proof to me. An alien would pretty much have to show up to prove they exist. For many others their standard of proof is much lower. A silly story in the National Enquirer is sufficient proof.

The story has not changed from 10 years ago: Few cared then and fewer care now. The media has us all riled up over Donald Sterling, yet no one really cares about an increasingly ignorant population. I guess that is the problem we are too ignorant to know enough to care. Look, I'm not just talking from the perspective of someone whose livelihood is adversely effected because people are reading less. I'm not even speaking from the perspective of the target of corporations doing everything in their power to kill everyone who is doing what I do online and off. I'm talking from the perspective a person, a father, who is witnessing the wholesale marginalization of a people whose who have already suffered enough hardship in the country.