Planetary Alignment 2.0

Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will visible in the night sky for about the next month. How optimistic and woo-woo should we feel about this? Especially, because, you know...

I've written before about how the planets don't seem to be aligned, but apparently they will be soon and you'll even be able to see it in the night sky beginning January 21. So that's exciting, at least from a celestial perspective. Only time will tell how and whether that manifests into something kinder, gentler, better for all of us. I'm no astrologist, mind you, and I'm not sure how much stock I put into what cosmic events like this mean. But it has been said that these moments are ones of heightened energy and transformation.

Are you feeling that? I turned in a couple of longform stories this week, but it was because I had to and not because of whatever's going on in the sky. I'll say it felt good, and that I was energized instead of burned out when I was done. Then I looked around at my office, which is in need of a thorough decluttering, and felt like I really needed to rearrange some things.

Maybe you can help me with my interior design quandary.

Here is my writing space:

So it's nice to have that big fabulous window and all the natural light, but I'm thinking that I need to rotate the desk so that it is still in the center-ish of the room, but perpendicular to the big window you see, and facing the windows at the front of the house. So if I rearranged it this way, my back would be to the bookshelves and I'd be surrounded by windows to the left, windows to my front, and French doors (which have windows, obviously) to my right. This way, my inner mob boss would be able to see who was coming from multiple angles and be ready to beat those intruders with one of the thicker volumes on my shelves. Do you think that's a good idea (the reconfiguring, I mean)? Or do you think I should keep things as is? Inquiring scribes want to know.

Writing prompt: Think about three ways you can shift things up in your life for the better. What are those three things you can do and how do you think they will help you?

Speaking of energy...

Recently, everyone in my sister's house has been sick as a dog. Right when sis started feeling better, she dialed up "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly and then proceeded to rub it in my face. Blah blah blah, I'm watching "Xanadu" without you...this is my self-care...without you...nanny nanny boo boo...without you...my hair is growing back really curly like Little Orphan Annie...you're probably obsessed with me now...ha!

Critics are divided on whether "Xanadu" was actually a good movie. I mean, maybe it's about following through on creative passion, so I think that's an important message. But mostly when I think of this film, I think of the roller skating, and the fact that Olivia Newton John's character came down from Olympus to inspire the opening of a nightclub. Goddesses always do this, obviously, and then they sing about it in well-regarded soundtracks.

The thing about the "Xanadu" soundtrack is that while I love it now, I only loved the Olivia Newton John tunes when it first came out in 1980. Jeff Lynne from the British band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) wrote most, if not all, of the music for the movie, and ELO also had a couple of songs in the film.

Now for my confession: For me, ELO is a really bad Proustian madeleine that brings me back to that moment in 1980 when my mother was playing ELO constantly, and at top volume, so I loathed them. LOATHED THEM. I wasn't even sure why. I just did.

At the time, we were living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and I was in maybe second grade. At school, we had these laminated readers we had to work our way through over the course of the year, but I was done with them within a month or two. To me, they were easy, and I was bored to death. The school didn't know what to do with me so they decided to put me in some sort of gifted program. But before they did, they gave me A PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION. I wish I was making this up, but this is Mississippi we're talking about here, and what do you expect? So I sat down with this person who asked me a bunch of questions about myself and my feelings and what-have-you. And in the report, which I still have somewhere in the house, because it's a trip, one of the first things mentioned was about my sheer hatred of ELO and how I wished my mother would quit listening to them. This was in the report! (Yes, this is what my sister watching "Xanadu" has brought up for me this week...)

So either, the school decided this ELO confession made me mad, bad, and dangerous to know, or they decided that I was objectively gifted, because there were whole stretches of the school day where I sat in a quiet room either by myself or with a few other kids doing things that were supposed to challenge our young brains. In retrospect, I guess I have Jeff Lynne to thank for this. But in the moment, no one wants to be that solitary dork in a quiet room, says the woman who, to this day, prefers her quiet and solitude.

Eventually we moved to Baltimore, where there was another gifted assessment, but it was given to the entire grade. This time there were no shrinks involved. It was just a standardized test that absolutely freaked me out. When the results came in, I was no longer gifted. This was probably because my mother had moved on to the Rolling Stones by then. And this is probably what I deserved for hating on ELO.

Maybe.

These days I don't mind ELO so much. It reminds me of the very beginning of that era when it was just my mom, my sister, and me. In those days, I'm pretty sure my mom was scared out of her mind, raising two girls on her own. But she did it, and did it well. Now I'm making fun of her musical taste from several states away. I love that for me.

And I love her so much.

By the way... have you heard Duran Duran's cover of ELO's "Evil Woman." Check it out. It's pretty great.

The more you know...

Quote

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.

— Dr Seuss

Endnotes

What I'm wondering: What are you going to be doing on Monday? Also, what are you not going to be doing on Monday? Just curious. Please hit reply and let me know.

What I'm reading: Still reading this riveting biography about King Henry Christophe, The First and Last King of Haiti. Also, I have Megan Collins' new book Cross My Heart on my TBR pile, and Octavia E. Butler's The Parable of the Sower ready to re-read with a friend (possibly more friends if you'd like to join in). Sower just feels too damn timely, given the fires, and the politics, and...(motions to all of this). What are you reading and loving right now?

What I'm watching: Okay, I watched "Black Doves." I was going to quit on it after two episodes, but decided to give it another chance. All in all, it was just...okay. I didn't love it, and I especially didn't love that we had to watch the first episode twice. If you've seen the series, you know what I mean. If you've watched "Black Doves" and have thoughts or comments about it, I'd love to hear them. And of course, if any of you are watching something great, please hit reply and let me know what it is and why you love it.

What I'm listening to: Author Elizabeth Rynecki's new podcast "That Sinking Feeling," about her son's ADHD as seen through the lens of her father's ship salvage career. Episode one came out this past Monday, and what I appreciated about it was her – and other parents' – unflinching honesty about navigating school and medical systems as you try to do the best for your neurodivergent child. I'm going to have her visit the newsletter soon to talk about this further, but in the meantime, check out her podcast (available wherever you get yours) and read this essay she wrote for Jane Friedman's blog about why she decided to tell this story in a different medium.

What I'm excited about: Last week the U.S. Mint opened sales for bags and rolls of the first American Innovation $1 coin of 2025. Why does this tickle me so? Because Raye Montague's face – and the Oliver Hazard Perry frigate she designed using a computer – is on the tails side! Isn't that something (Or as she might say: "Can you BELIEVE it?")? Obviously, I'm very happy for the Montague family, and for Raye, who continues to get the recognition she has long deserved.

Where I hope you'll donate this week: The fires in Los Angeles continue to devastate and displace people. Here are a couple of ways you can help this week: California Community Foundation for general support; Altadena Girls, which is distributing clothes, hygiene supplies, and beauty products to help young girls affected by the fires; Project Angel Food, which delivers meals to people with serious illnesses; and Give Directly, which is providing cash relief for low-income survivors. Please if you can, give what you can, and thank you.

RIP David Lynch: Everyone should watch one of his films this weekend. Or binge "Twin Peaks." Or see "Duran Duran Unstaged."