Mediaboss Marketing

From 2018 through 2026, the great harbinger of change, Uranus, blasts through the sign most resistant to it, Taurus. Though this transit will occupy the better part of a decade, with retrogrades and dips into other signs, 2022 brings us to a precarious cliff on the event horizon of fate, with this years eclipses going down in Taurus. In real time, a volcano of repressed animus erupts, in the Taurean domains of sensuality, embodiment, and autonomy.

On July 31 and August 1, Uranus collides with Mars and the north node, and from September 15October 23, Uranus comes close to a square, or confrontation, with Saturn in Aquarius. Weve arrived at a jagged crossroads in the Taurean epic. Heres how Uranus in Taurus will reshape your world beyond 2022.

For eons, our solar system was thought to be made of seven planets, with Saturn at the very end of the line. That all changed with the discovery of Uranus in 1781, a breakthrough in technology and consciousness that would forever alter our accepted notions of the cosmos. According to astrologer Ruby McCollister, the arrival of Uranus brought the flourishing of science, technology, philosophy, literature, music, social opportunities and, in virtually every aspect of human life, exploded Western civilization toward liberation, freedom, and choice.

Uranus, then, is associated with change, revolution, youth movements, and new technologies. Its domain, of course, could be nowhere else but Aquarius. This all sounds perfectly promising in theory, but, in the words of Magneto, mankind has always feared what it does not understand. And so, as in the myth of Prometheus delivering fire to the people, Uranian progress often catalyzes swift retribution from the old gods and their institutions. Through chaos comes reinvention, but who wouldnt struggle to hold on to the world they knew?

For the sign that declares mi casa es mi casa, Uranus arrives like the big bad wolf to blow the house down. Anyone with prominent planets in Taurus will experience some mythic ego dissolution and surrender over this transit, as the planet of global progress rips off the straightjacket of myopia and willful obtuseness. But Taurus is also the sign of value, worth and money; of fertility and sexual embodiment; and of the healthy (or, as is often the case, megalomaniacal) cultivation of an ego. The body and the land, and their interconnected freedoms, are up for reinvention, revolution, and, of course, backlash.

Uranuss last Taurus transit, from 19351942, coincided with the Great Depression and WWII, an age of dramatic scarcity and unprecedented power which uprooted Taurean themes in science, culture, and diplomacy. By the time Uranus made its mid-century transit, unsustainable farming practices had led to the dust bowl famine, a climate crisis which displaced millions. The Indian Rights Act and Social Security Act were first steps towards restitution and dignity towards all the countrys inhabitants.

The outbreak of WWII delivered a new type of woman, embodied by the brassy, Artemisian Taurus Katherine Hepburn and the scathing Bette Davis, and glamorized through the creation of some of modern cultures most enduring characters: Lois Lane, Catwoman, and Wonder Woman. Unbound and unbossed, this new generation served a higher ethos than domestic bliss, blasting open a new and varied pantheon of archetypes.

Of course, Taurus is the sign of autonomy, explaining its high probability among divas and dictators. The last Uranian tour saw the rise of some of the 20th centurys definitive autocrats, including Mussolini and Hitler. As the Taurus Harry Truman dropped atomic bombs on Japan, so the human race would fail its Taurean calling of regenerating a fertile earth and instead answer to the destroyer, waiting to rise from the Scorpionic underworld. Our gift of choice the bulls crown jewel had been abused. If one man could command nuclear power, then any person could be capable of godhood. Kingdoms fell, states were redrawn, and in the dissociative haze of mass consumption emerged something novel and intractable, craving unprecedented freedom: the individual.

As Uranus approaches the north node, the cycles of expansion and regression, progress and backlash, come into faster revolution. The discourse around the current climate crisis has narrowed in on the bulls trenchant gluttony, entitlement and inability to change. Can we collectively achieve a Taurean impossibility: convincing human beings to compromise their entitlement for the greater good? Of course, for standards of human decency to improve, so that, say, our meat doesnt have to be processed by underpaid, uninsured workers with no rights, Uranus will force Taurus to part with its creature comforts, and to question the consequences of a gentrified standard of living.

No discussion of Taurean themes would be complete without considering cold, hard cash, which, over this transit, undergoes a literal metamorphosis. Even if NFTs and crypto prove to be fads, the value of money will never be the same. Nor will previous assumptions around work and compensation. In the limited support people received from their leaded officials and employers during lockdown; the rise of digital entrepreneurship, self-merchandising, and self-published erotica through sites like OnlyFans; and in the growing public disinterest to return to office culture, Uranus has made individuals question why theyve settled for the abuses of corporate life and capitalist labor, what their talents are worth, and how they believe they should be compensated.

Meanwhile, femininity and womanhood have undergone a rapid metamorphosis through the filters of capitalism and consumption. Posting a pic, finna make me a profit, raps Megan Thee Stallion, one of the breakout stars of the era, in "Thot Sh*t. Megan may be the archangel of Uranus in Taurus, arriving, like Prometheus, to deliver a new fire to the masses: an unrestrained, insatiable embrace of pleasure, power, beauty, and capital. Seduction has always been a cash game; now everyones in on it.

Of course, as it blasts forward to progress, Uranus uncovers buried, atavistic resistance to change. The defamation trial against the Taurus Amber Heard, which raged during a Taurus stellium and the launch of the Taurus-Scorpio eclipse cycle, revealed the threat of a woman who doesnt hew to the dominant standards of clean, uncomplicated morality. For depicting the complex reality of relationships and the ways that love, power, and abuse cannot be easily disentangled, Heard, like so many Taurus women before her, would be locked away in the dungeon of the Minotaur, bound as a bull sacrifice on the altar of virtue. .

The empire has struck back. But Taurus answers to a more ancient authority, unimpressed by the construction of pretty pyramids and systems of rulership. Real power, imbued into all bodies and expressed through the becoming of self and the creation of another, cannot be limited, literalized and compromised. So much for free will, Liz Greene writes, in The Astrology of Fate. It exists, for the Platonist, only in the non-corporeal. The body, brimming with passion and the seeds of mortality, is full of fate. What fate will our bodies lead us to next?

The core tenet of liberalism is that society is moving towards progress, a vision furthered by Aquarius. At stake under the legislation of so many deflated old dudes on the senate floor is the primal power of creation and the divine gift of becoming; what if, after all, the ancient, volcanic ore of the earth, and of its inhabitants, cant be reconciled with a civil society at all? Taurus the avatar of the crescent moon, fallopian tubes and pre-Judeo-Christian pagans holds the fertility traditions of ages past, and as the state falls, so erupts a primeval, Dionysian rebellion of the body.

The Taurean promise of freedom is at stake, and conspiracy theorists, mass shooters and capital rioters have already made their warped case for it. Perhaps the rest of us, bound to the breast of the state, are missing the point. Prometheus delivered the fire of revolution to all humankind. 2021s GameStop coup went down during a Uranus-Saturn square, and the Staten Island unionization against Amazon, however precarious and embattled, marked new possibilities for rebellion in a corpocracy. Previous Uranus in Taurus eras brought on the French Revolution, Boston Tea Party, and Indian revolts against the British. No more hoping for change from inside the system. Its time to build a better one.

And it all begins with the individual. Over the past decade, the body has been exploited in the development of the personal brand, making each of us a unit of trade and consumption, in a rat race for followers and corporate funding. Perhaps that same spirit of self-embodiment, which makes each of us a vessel of the cinematic, erotic and fantastic, which has immortalized legendary Taurus divas like Cher, Grace Jones and Barbra Streisand, can be weaponized, or, at least, fully realized. What if the public personality each of us inhabits begins to live, in the eyes of its followers, not a life of meaningless consumption or even worse virtue signaling, but incandescent creative fulfillment and authentic transgression?

On the eve of the Uranus-Mars-north node collision, Beyonce drops her album Renaissance and the Taurus Lena Dunham releases her new film Sharp Stick. As the centurys most indelible feminist archetypes have demonstrated, every action of creation can shake the world, start a discourse, and make you a god or an antichrist. Your body is a vessel of the rapture, and in the age of surveillance, its always being watched. Show them something they wont forget.

Style + Culture, delivered straight to your inbox.

Original post:
Uranus In Taurus & The Battle For Embodiment - NYLON

Kathy King Johnson| Cheboygan Opera House

The last column about the Johnston Family in World War II requires a correction. I said that three Johnston brothers returned safely from WWII, but actually only two brothers, Howard and Bob, went to war.

The third sibling was Fayes sister, Lorraine Johnston Hamilton. Lorraine was an Army nurse and a lieutenant, while Howard and Bob were sergeants. Because she was an officer, Lorraine was not allowed to fraternize with her brothers while they were stationed in Europe.

Through a series of correspondences with their mother at home, the three somehow arranged to meet in England before coming home for good. Now living in Traverse City, Lorraine, 101 years old, is reading these articles and deserves great thanks for her service.

In 1944, most eligible men were in the Army, forcing many women to join the workforce. Even the children were asked to help. Faye and thousands of other students across America, were doing their part to help the war effort by collecting milk weed pods. The milk weed silk was extracted and used as flotation material for life jackets. As a class assignment, children were asked to fill mesh onion bags with milk weed pods. Two bags provided enough filling for one life jacket.

According to The Monarch Joint Venture,Over 12 MILLION pounds of milkweed pods were collected and sent by trainloads to Petosky, Michigan, for processing.

No one gave a thought to the Monarch butterfly, Johnston said.

Cheboygan volunteers also stood guard at the Opera House, one of the tallest buildings in town. Armed with binoculars they stood at the third-floor windows and watched for enemy planes. If any suspicious plane was sighted, they were to alert a liaison at the Airport.

Cheboygans first public hospital was built in 1942. When the war ended and the soldiers came home in 1945, the baby boom began all over America. As a junior in high school, Faye left her position as a housekeeper to Mrs. Duncan. She took a job as a candy striper at the hospital. Most of her work was in the maternity ward. We may not have known much about birthing babies, but we learned fast, Johnston said. It was really busy. That same year, Faye had a part in the junior class play. She saw the Opera House for the first time.

It was nothing like it is now, not as well kept, no pretty carpet or fancy seats. But I was just a girl and not paying much attention to the architecture or details. It was a very special place and it was really a great opportunity for the school classes to be in there. And so began Fayes lifelong love of the Cheboygan Opera House.

In 1946, Faye, a senior, met Sophia Fultz, Grandma Shy. Fultzs letters to her grandson spoke of her passion for the Cheboygan Opera House, where she first visited in 1900. Faye was 17 or 18 and Fultz was 53 years old.

Fultz decided that the girls in the senior class, many of whom were farm girls, needed more culture. She invited the senior girls to a tea party at her house. The girls were to dress up and were told to wear white gloves.

No one in the Johnston family had white gloves and it took awhile to find a pair that Faye could borrow. She arrived at the tea party in her nicest dress and white gloves with Delores Peasch Petersen and Anne Tromble. Fultz served tea in her finest china and nice linen. She entertained the girls, playing the piano for them. The Fultz home where Sophia gave piano recitals, hosted bridge club and held fancy teas still stands at the corner of Locust and Bailey.

Senior year, Faye had a larger part in the class play at the Opera House, Grandpa Hangs the Holly about a mean-spirited old grandfather who was not happy at Christmas. Vic Leonall played the grandfather. He was always class president, Faye said. Faye played the spirit of his departed wife who returned to change his mind. She wore a long white dress and got to kiss Vic Leonall, but only on the forehead, because of his makeup.

Faye made another appearance on the Opera House stage when she graduated in June 1946. In 1944, most of the 12th-graders joined the service and the class was very small. But by 1946, the graduating class was very large again. It was a hot and muggy day, made worse when the rains started. The Opera House did not have air conditioning.

Seated at the top of the balcony, 83 seniors baked, wearing wool caps and gowns. To cool down, high school students often went to Lakeland Ice Cream on Main Street, with its soda fountain and dairy bar, where The Hive now stands.

During the winter months, one of the biggest forms of entertainment for the young people was the ice rink. The city closed the entire city block where West Side Elementary stands now and turned it into a skating rink. There she met her husband Jim. Faye got busy having babies and running a business, later to become Johnstons Marina.

She still went to events in the Opera House and one that stood out in her mind was a cooking class given by the I.G.A grocery store in the summer of 1949. They learned to plan meals and shared recipes but this event was made memorable when one lucky participant won an electric range.

Over the years, Faye attended countless events at the Opera House. She watched her children and grandchildren perform on the stage. Some of her favorite shows are when the U.S. military bands come to town. For Faye, the Cheboygan Opera House will always be a very special place.

Kathy King Johnson is former executive director of the Cheboygan Opera House.

Link:
History of the Opera House: Post-war Cheboygan and the Opera House through the eyes of Faye Johnston - Cheboygan Daily Tribune

Will Weissert| Associated Press

Washington Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to God and endorsed reparative therapy to reverse it. By 2020, the party was ready to remind the world that Texas retains the right to secede from the United States.

But now the GOP platform in the countrys largest red state long an ideological wish list that even the most conservative Texans knew was mostly filled with pipe dreams that would never become policy has broken new ground in its push to the far right.

Approved by 5,000-plus party delegates last weekend in Houston during the partys biennial convention, the new platform brands President Joe Biden an acting commander-in-chief who was never legitimately elected.

It may not matter who the president is, though, since the platform takes previous language about secession much farther urging the Republican-controlled legislature to put the question of leaving the United States to voters next year.

The platform also says homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice and rejects bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21, saying Texans under 21 are most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves.

Though non-binding, the platform illustrates just how far Texas Republicans have moved to the right in the past decade from championing tea party ideals in 2012 to endorsing former President Donald Trumps continued lies about nonexistent widespread fraud costing him an election he actually lost by more than 7 million votes.

The platform reflects the direction that party activists believe the party should take, said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in the Texas capital of Austin. He said that, rather than deciding elections or dictating legislative action, the platform is more relevant as a signal of where primary voters are and what they care about.

Mackowiak said items like considering succession wont be taken seriously, but Trumps policy agenda is here to stay. He said that, as the former president continues to question 2020 election results, he will continue to find a receptive audience in the Texas GOP.

Are people really in doubt that Republicans have concerns about how the election was conducted? Mackowiak asked.

Matt Rinaldi, a former state lawmaker who now chairs the Texas GOP, said state Republicans rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results and we dont care how many times the elites tell us we have to.

We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024, Rinaldi said in a statement.

Democrats havent rigged anything. An Associated Press r eview of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump has found fewer than 475 a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Texas 2020 election was a romp even by the standards of Republicans who have dominated the state for decades. The partys candidates topped Democrats in key congressional and statehouse races as Trump easily carried its electoral votes.

We're offering a great rate on digital subscriptions. Click here.

But that didnt stop the former president from praising the partys 2022 platform, posting Tuesday: Look at the Great State of Texas and their powerful Republican Party Platform on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud.

Such courage, he wrote, but thats why Texas is Texas.

Trump was cheering language declaring, We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected. That was a departure from as recently as 2014, when the Texas GOP platform questioned Barack Obamas commitment to citizens constitutional rights, but at least recognized him as president.

This years platform also says that Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.

Ed Espinoza, executive director of the advocacy organization Progress Texas, said some of the adherence to open discriminatory language might have receded if not for the rise of Trump who has demonstrated he could double down on the crazy and not suffer a consequence yet.

Normally what happens is, when theres crazy in a party, people try to soften it, said Espinoza, former Western States Director of the Democratic National Committee. In this case, they saw it worked for Trump so they think itll work for them.

Texas was an independent republic for nearly a decade until 1845. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, the 2020 Texas Republican Party convention was held virtually and degenerated into a leadership struggle. But it also featured platform language declaring, Texas retains the right to secede from the United States should a future president and congress change our political system from a constitutional republic to another system.

That caveat about governmental system was dropped in the 2022 edition, which seeks a referendum for voters to determine whether or not their state should reassert its status as an independent nation.

Texas rightward push was clear in ways beyond the party platform. Delegates booed Republican Sen. John Cornyn who has held his seat for 20 years and got more 2020 votes statewide than Trump did for working on bipartisan legislation seeking to impose modest limits on guns. Those efforts began following last months mass shooting in the Texas town of Uvalde, which killed 19 elementary students and two teachers.

Still, such state convention outbursts also arent new. Republican Gov. Rick Perry was booed in 2012 for praising fellow GOPer and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was then locked in a primary battle for an open Senate seat with Ted Cruz. Some delegates also in the past walked out of a speech by then-Republican Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

It shows you how much QAnon may not be an outlier in the Republican Party, Espinoza said. Some people are very susceptible to conspiracy theory, and that appears to be a higher percentage the deeper you go into the Republican Party of Texas.

Read more from the original source:
Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform - Detroit News

In the midst of battling monsters and trying to save the world, it is important to take a breather every now and then, which is exactly what Alchemy Stars are offering in their newest event. Entitled Trees, Fish, and a Slow Life, it is a two-part event centring on a nice tea party and brings exclusive items, new characters and more with it.

Alchemy Stars is set in a world named Astra where the Aurorians and the Caelestites are locked in a neverending battle against the evil Eclipsites. The battles take place on a tactical grid with a unique tile-connecting gameplay, where if you move along the same colour tiles you rack up a combo, which allows you to unleash powerful skills.

Trees, Fish, and a Slow Life gives the characters a reprieve from battles and invites players to warm up a mug of tea and relax a bit. There are two parts to complete in the quest, Afternoon Tea Party and Teatime Pleasantries, and clearing them will reward Lumamber, Special Star Flames and access to two new Aurorions, Nina and Sanae. There is also Anderson Association Tickets up for grabs, which can be exchanged in the limited-time event store for rewards such as a 5-Star Auroiran United Kit 2 or a Special Star Flare. The event also brings with it limited edition furniture to collect. The store will remain open until July 14, so there is time to redeem any tickets won before the event itself ends on July 11.

Any player who logs in before July 11 is eligible to claim the log-in bonuses, totalling 8 days of prizes. Rewards range from Anderson Association Tickets, Recharger Packs, Nightium and more, all the way up to the Ninas Afternoon Tea Avatar on day 8.

Alchemy Stars is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Read more:
Take a break and relax with Alchemy Stars new Event Trees, Fish, and a Slow Life - AppSpy

MARTINSBURG Candidates for the Miss West Virginia and Miss West Virginia Outstanding Teen competition enjoyed a tea party in downtown Martinsburg at 1902 On Queen to encourage positive mentorships and sisterhood with several girls from the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle.

Stacie Rohn, executive director of the BGCEP, said that the event means a lot to her and that it also means a lot to the girls in the club.

I hope the girls that are competing in Miss West Virginia had a chance to talk to the girls about positive self-esteem and why the pageant could benefit them the scholarship opportunities and learning confidence and saying, You know what, I can do anything I want to, Rohn said. I want our kids to have those positive role models that help to set the tone for what their future could look like. If we have strong, successful women who are mentoring our girls, we cant go wrong.

Shelley Nichols-Franklin, state director for the Miss West Virginia competition, was pleased to see the event come together and benefit those in attendance.

I am really excited for the Boys & Girls Club to participate with us. This is what our program is all about, mentoring young ladies and giving back to the community, Nichols-Franklin said. We are glad to have all of these girls together.

Tiffany Lawrence, Miss West Virginia 2006, sponsored the event.

To see the community come together like this with the Miss West Virginia organization is amazing. To see the faces and smiles of these little girls who look up to our contestants in this way, it is heartwarming for me as a former, Lawrence said. Seeing opportunities like this come to fruition in our community and being a part of that is very special.

1902 On Queen hosted the event and donated the space.

Patty McIntyre, human resources and business director for the BGCEP, sat and watched all of the girls interact at the tea party with a bright smile on her face, excited for their futures.

It is so exciting to see them be elevated and being treated to something nice and fancy. I dont know how many of the girls have a chance to do this. I think this is great, McIntyre said. Our goal is always to have our kids go through school and graduate from high school and either choose a trade or go to college. If a scholarship can help them get on their way in that, that is definitely a plus. These girls are so great and so resilient. Theyve had a tough couple of years during the pandemic.

Rohn added that she would be pleased if events and collaborations, like the tea party, would continue with the community at large.

For the young ladies and the young men, I would love the business community to come in and talk about what they do. I would like for some of our successful kids to have reasons to stay in the community and what better way than to explore what businesses are here and what are their opportunities.

See the original post here:
Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle young women gather with Miss West Virginia candidates for tea party - Martinsburg Journal