Full Moon in Leo...February 14, 2014...

 

It is Valentine’s Day, 2014. It is also the day of February’s Full Moon in the sign of Leo. This particular moon peaked at 6:55PM EST, but as the energies will be in effect for a little bit I don’t feel completely remiss in writing this. Over the last couple of days I have been experiencing what I hope aren’t the beginning stages of one of my occasional bouts of insomnia. Looking at the state of things up there and the implications, I can understand why.

This lunation has a bit to do with choices. There are some trouble makers among the various aspects, and some effort will have to be made to push past them. February 14^th has the mystique of romance attached to it, but expectations of being swept off of one’s feet by a significant other, or even a new love, will most likely see some difficulty. That is unless the aforementioned ‘effort’ is consciously applied.

There is a Cardinal T-Square with Jupiter in Cancer, and Arian Uranus and Pluto conjunct Venus in Capricorn. A fixed T-Square with Saturn in Scorpio and the lunar axis will apply some pressure. Simplicity is key when fixed signs are about. It is fine to express your Valentine’s Day amorous intents, but it is advised to veer away from the heavy handed approach. Stick to giving a card. Be genuine rather than go for the flash. An Aquarian Sun and the Leo moon are involved in a fixed T-Square, with Saturn in Scorpio at the apex. Big, grandiose Valentine’s related gestures designed as a big surprise to your intended…a good time to reconsider. Doesn’t really jive well with fixed signs. Not a good combination. Jupiter in Cancer’s involvement means family squabbles are pretty imminent. Rebellious teens wanting to spread their wings…that sort of thing.

Known for being rather tactless, Aquarian Mercury is back and conjoined with the Aquarian Sun, both in a square to Saturn. While Aquarius tells it like it is (from its perspective), Scorpio will act as counterpoint as it is all about keeping a cool head, and being reserved. Saturn will be direct with Aquarius about laying off for a bit. Mercury went retrograde as of February 6^th, in the sign of Pisces, and will last until February 28^th, to finish up in Aquarius. There are strong leanings to focus on the retrograde as a time to consider things before eventually putting them into action. Think before you speak.

When you have more than one fixed sign, they can butt heads. Don’t let bull headed stubbornness get in the way of constructive resolution. Libran Mars is around to help things in a trine to the sun, and being sextile to the moon. Finding the middle ground is something that Libra excels at, so giving an effort to be fair minded can result in success.

On to some emotion based things for this lunation. A Full Moon on Valentine’s Day will be expected to have some heavy love effects. The love angle is there, which I will get to in a moment. This moon is one of unusually high energy, which is definitely emotionally charged. There is nothing low-key about it, and love/positivity is at the forefront. I think most of us are guilty of putting on a façade rather than just being ourselves. Call it adverse effects of political correctness. I’m not saying that we should be raging, tactless ninnies, but I think we often say what is expected rather than saying how we really feel. We cease to be ‘us’ in certain situations. As a result we can unconsciously lose touch with ourselves, which trickles down to affecting our other relationships. I’m going to get a tad corny here, but I shall quote my favorite drag queen, RuPaul: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

 

(Artist: David Palladini)

The luminous effects of this moon will help shed light on barriers that are keeping you from seeing, and dealing with some painful issues. Some of them could be quite old. We all carry baggage around…I’ve got a several piece luggage set at the moment myself (lol). The best plan of attack when looking inwardly is to focus on your personal happiness. If you’re happy, then your other relationships will benefit.

During a Full Moon, the sun is in opposition to the Moon. The current opposition can stir up an inner conflict between our idea of love, and our expectation of being in love/loved. There is also a potential here. A potential to let go, and be open to freedom to be loved and love unconditionally. It’s not a time to be selfish. This goes back towards the beginning of the post when I mentioned “choices”. Getting some inner peace right now is attainable. It’s attainable through a commitment to action…to choices.

This Leo moon is kind of a double playing field. There is just as much potential for it to be a bumpy ride with emotions high and fueling drama, as there is to make a conscious choice to focus on you and give yourself some love. Get in touch with ‘you’, not the façade. Allow yourself to uncover and face up to a few things you may not realize are an issue. Be true to you and allow the good parts of you to shine. It can only help your other relationships when you are delivering the genuine article. This moon is good for shining a light on what needs healing, and what can just be let go. Pay attention.

If you would like to know the meaning of some of the terminology used in this post, the following link is to a good online Astrology Dictionary: http://www.evolvingdoor.ca/glossary/glossary_a.htm

The following excerpt is from the Farmer's Almanac:

• Full Snow Moon ~ February: Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

Valentine's Day "Eye" Candy...2014...

I usually post a Valentine's Day themed entry to my blog...well, for the past few years, anyway. Since I have already covered many aspects of the February 14th celebration (the traditional ones), I had to do a bit of thinking about what to do for 2014. 

The only time I really observed the day was when I was in elementary school. Pathetic, huh? *grin* I appreciate the sentiment, but have always viewed it as a 'Hallmark holiday'. That, and I don't need a day to give me a heads up to tell those I love that I love them. At any rate, the teacher would tell all of us to bring in a shoe box from home. We would cut a slot in the lid, and then decorate it with paper doilies, construction paper, glitter...whatever was available. I never really wanted to participate. After all, the majority of the boys in my class were "gross" (I was eight years old...all of my friends were boys, but I wasn't really "noticing" boys yet), and we were all expected to give a Valentine to each of our classmates. I mean, why would I want to give the nose picker who sat behind me in class a card asking him to be my Valentine? The only redeeming factor were the cards of the day, like the one I posted above. Even in the third grade I had a deep appreciation for sarcasm, and a good terrible pun. You know, puns so bad they're great. Groan producers. At least there was an effort to at least try to make them "clever".

This post is in essence my Valentine's card to everyone. Okay, my design choices do cater to a select group out there (you know who you are). I figure Valentine's Day is one day where I can post something like this and not get too big of an eye roll from people. Chris (Hemsworth) and Tom (Hiddleston) are both extremely talented actors, and both very easy on the eyes. I am not an obsessive fan, or a stalker. I am a big BIG fan of both of them though. Just someone who has an appreciation for their talent and "attributes". It's just me having a little fun. Okay? Alright. I hope the like minded among you enjoy my little Valentine's Day offering. 

"Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus"...

I love a good bio-pic (‘biographical film’, for those of you who need the clarification), and have seen some great ones over the years. Many of them have fallen under the ‘independent’ heading. The film that serves as ‘subject’ of this post is no exception.

These days, I tend to veer away from the theater experience. Sticky floors, antiquated and creaky seating, and stale popcorn are all that is available to me these days. I prefer to wait until films that I want to see hit digital and disc formats. Media I can view in the comfort of my own home. That means I see many films after they have been in wide release for a number of months. Generally, I don’t mind the wait. True, there are some movies I chomp at the bit to see…any of the current (and future) Marvel hero films, for example. Then there are other films. Ones that fall under the independent heading that I mentioned earlier. Some of which pass completely past the scope of my radar.

“Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” (2006), did just that. I wasn’t aware of its existence until I happened upon it during a night of relentless button pushing, many years after its release. My remote was getting a workout as I searched for something among the myriad of channels my cable service provides (which is really sad…all of those channels and nothing worth watching…blimey). It was luck in the truest ‘movie lovers’ sense that I found it. Found it, and was drawn in by it.

At first glance of the title, one might not register the exact implications of the word “imaginary”. At first glance of the title, one might think it to be one of the aforementioned bio-pics. There are nuggets of ‘the’ Diane Arbus, and her life that do pepper the film. However, I think a better way to describe “Fur”, is to call it a bigger budget form of “fan fiction”, and a very entertaining one, at that.

There are many who know of Diane, and her work (myself included). For the sake of this post (and the uninitiated who may read it), Diane Arbus (1923-1971) was a photographer. Like a number of artists, she garnered her fame posthumously. Known for her black and white images, she was known to photograph people who many would consider among the odder sect of humanity. Circus performers, those with certain defects, people who existed on the societal fringe.

(Allan Arbus & Diane)

(Allan Arbus as "Dr. Freedman")

She was married at one time to her high school sweetheart, Allan Arbus, who exposed her to what would become her art: photography. (If his name jumps out at you, you will most likely know him as actor Allan Arbus, who played “Dr. Sidney Freedman”, on the TV version of “M.A.S.H.”. He started as a print photographer.) After his marriage to Diane ended, Allan dissolved his photography business and delved into acting.

As Diane’s career carried on, she rode a rollercoaster of mood swings and bouts of depression. She was plagued with fears that she would always be known as the “freak photographer”. The label still holds, but it is her art that has made her one of the most distinctive photographers of the twentieth century. Sadly, Diane’s mental and emotional trials would lead her to committing suicide on July 26^th, 1971. She slashed her wrists after consuming a large number of barbiturates. Her work would gain notice on a wider scale soon after she passed.  This account is more of a Reader’s Digested version…you can find more about her life via Google.

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson, and directed by Steven Shainberg (both also know for the film “Secretary”), “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” (2006), centers around an imaginary relationship Diane has with a neighbor in her apartment building. I assume it to be imaginary as I cannot find anything online to prove that said neighbor is/was an actual person.

I WILL TAKE A MOMENT HERE TO CRY "SPOILER ALERT"! Be warned that there are some spoilers from this point forward as I do give some key plot points. 

(Diane & Allan in the apartment studio)

("Lionel Sweeney" in mask)

The film begins with Diane (Nicole Kidman) on a bus. We soon learn that she is en route to a nudist colony where she plans to take pictures. This setting serves as the jumping off point for a flashback. We are transported back to New York and her apartment. One that she shares with her husband, Allan, and her two daughters. A photo shoot is taking place. Diane’s father is the owner of a department store, and Allan is serving as his advert photographer. The subject of the shoot? Fur, of course. During the scope of the shoot, we learn of Diane’s domineering mother, and Diane’s proclivity to the occasional act of public exposition (she goes out on their balcony, unbuttons her dress, and presents her bra covered body to the neighboring buildings). ‘Awkward’ is the best word to describe Diane. Meek, and apologetic. It is when she goes in search of fresh batteries for her husband’s camera that we see her curious side appear. Through one of the windows, she notices an odd man with a mask on his head standing next to a moving truck. They lock eyes for an extended appraisal of one another before she is called back to her task by her husband. Her new neighbor has arrived.

‘Lionel Sweeney’ (Robert Downey Jr.), moves into an attic apartment situated at the top of a metal circular staircase. The presence of the mask (a rough facial image sewn into its front) peaking her curiosity. Diane is moved to find and put to use the camera her husband had given to her. She then begins to go out on excursions within the building to take photos. It’s more about her curiosity with the new man upstairs. With great timidity, she eventually climbs the stairs to Sweeney’s front door. By this time I wanted to scope him out, too, but alas…not yet. He checks her out through his peephole, and instructs her to come back the next day. She is to use the key he gave her.  Key? (Time to flash back a little in the film…)

One of Diane’s daughters is complaining of the drain being plugged in the bathroom. Not able to see any surface cause for the blockage, Diane gets a wrench and goes at the large exposed piping. She gets the fitting/cap off, which produces some excess water, but nothing else. After probing into the pipe she discovers the problem. A lot of hair. What she assumes to be dog hair. Also…a key. She deduces where it all came from, and is a tad freaked out. The key is thrown in the bin out front. Back to my synopsis…

Figuring out that the key he speaks of is “that key”, she dashes out in time to save it from the trash man’s clutches. Getting herself together, she revisits the door at the top of the circular staircase and lets herself in. Decorated in a lavishly eclectic manner, Sweeney’s apartment wreaks of fitting mystery. After she is able to have a look around, we finally get to see the new neighbor. Possessing a condition known by many names (Hypertrichosis, Ambras syndrome, “Werewolf” syndrome) Lionel Sweeney is covered in hair from head to toe (think ‘jojo, the dog faced boy’). His condition is severe enough to be affecting his lungs. There is something both frightening and magnetic about him. I mean, come on…RDJ is under all that hair…of course he’s magnetic. From that point on, their friendship quickly evolves into one of attraction. Lionel probes Diane with questions that allow those aspects of herself that she has tried to conceal (i.e. exhibitionism) to come to the surface. She revels in the “alternative” life he shows her. He takes her to watch a dominatrix in action; takes her to parties attended by “freaks” of society; introduces her to the world of photographs she would later gain fame for. He is introduced to her children (one approves of him, the other doesn’t), and there are scenes where they help him in his “day job” of creating wigs for certain clients.

(RDJ as "Lionel Sweeney"; Nicole Kidman as "Diane Arbus; Ty Burrell as "Allan Arbus")

Allan Arbus (Ty Burrell) is confused and worried about the whole thing. Diane brings Lionel into her home life, but her marriage is hanging by a thread…one that she has power over. Everything dangles on her decision. It is during an emotional moment between Lionel and Diane that she discovers just how deep her feelings go. Lionel allows Diane to shave him from head to toe (hello, RDJ). They do have “one night” together, and the following day she accompanies him to the beach. Throughout the film Lionel is plagued by his lung condition (it will eventually kill him), and it is his aim to swim out to sea…and never return…which he does. Before he swims away, he does give Diane a gift. A “fur” coat presumably made from his “fur”. It is a poignant moment, and it did tug my heartstrings when Lionel is shown swimming to his death. At the end, Diane decides to go it alone, and we end up back at the nudist colony from the start of the film.

As for the performances: Let me start by saying that I think Kidman is a fine actress (that’s a telling opener, I do realize). She has starred in a number of films that I adore, including “The Others”. I think she does a fine turn as Diane in this, but I think the part called for someone with a few more layers to their onion. The Diane of the film is far more complex than I think Kidman conveyed. On the other hand, RDJ is really good. He’s good in everything he does. Many actors would not be able to get their characters past the “dog faced boy” element of Lionel, but he does it with flying colors. I believe I touched on it during the synopsis, but even I experienced the attractiveness of this outwardly “freakish” man (to most anyway). RDJ puts in a stellar performance, as always. As for the character of Allan, Burrell does a great job as the confused and eventually helpless husband to Diane. He is the quintessential ad-man, and father of the time. My impression was that here is a man who is watching another man appeal to aspects of his wife he can’t hope to, and watching helplessly as he loses her bit by bit. He tries to include himself in this new found life she has discovered, and he can’t.

Keeping in mind that this is a fantasy created around some aspects of the real Diane Arbus, do I recommend it?  Absolutely. Robert Downey, jr. fans will enjoy it, and most individuals who are open to thinking outside of the box. A big thumbs up from me for, “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus”.