And so to bed

If I can think of anything more to say on the astrology thing that is worth saying, I'll probably say it tomorrow, but if it's just going to be a matter of who has the last word, consider the match conceded. Life is too short for verbal tennis.

We watched Prince Caspian for the first time tonight (and quite enjoyed it, I think) and I am feeling a lot better, thanks to helpful advice from good friends.

Tomorrow is another day. At least I'm fairly sure that's what's on the forecast; if it turns out to be a strawberry cheesecake or an oracular verse in Choctaw instead, I shall be registering a complaint.

Closing thoughts on looking at astrology

I began this set of posts with an attempt, not (as I repeatedly said) to defend astrology as a science (which it is not), but to provide a more balanced view of how it might have originated. That was the conversation I wanted to have, limited in scope perhaps but reasonably uncontroversial. By a natural process, though, the discussion got shunted on to the more popular main line of "astrology; is it true or not?" and as usual, in dealing with the arguments as they cropped up I found myself being pushed into a position where my only alternatives were to assent by silence to a view I found flawed, or to defend something of whose virtues I am still uncertain. This, coupled with a feeling that it would have been nice to talk about what I wanted to talk about, caused some anger, and I apologise for that.

( So, this. )

And this is where I stop. Anyone who wants the last word is very welcome to it. Otherwise, we're movin' on.

All knowledge truly is contained on the internet!

I just--FINALLY--found out who played Doctor Terror on the BBC2 late night horror strands in the nineties. I loved his dry wit and his delivery. I've been looking for ages, speculating on who it might be and ploughing through loads of irrelevant Google entries. But Facebook is my friend.

Surprise, surprise, it's no-one I'd ever heard of. Guy Henry.

But he has been in lots of things I've seen, including the most recent HP film in which he played somebody called Pius Thicknesse. If anyone can point me at him, I'd like to know what his face looks like under the prosthetics. Assuming he isn't wearing any in this.

I do like to start the week with a Wossname.

Okay, I'm up for it.

But let's do this properly if we're going to do it at all. I'm a big fan of the scientific method. *adopts big old sh*t-eating grin copyright Simon Baker as Patrick Jane*

For this trick I will require the assistance of a volunteer from the studio audience. The volunteer should have a friend who is (a) an amateur astrologer (since I can't afford to pay for twelve professional jobbies), (b) completely unacquainted with me, and (c) willing to put in a fair amount of effort for no reward other than a possible sighting of the rare Greater Red-Faced Nyrond, or possibly a (partial, and scientifically invalid) vindication of astrology.

If such a person offers him- or herself, my assistant, the dashing and handsome catsittingstill, if she is willing, will select twelve birth dates and times, one of which is mine, the other eleven being randomly selected from a variety of months, years, days and times. The volunteer will then ask the friend to cast a birth chart for each date (classical astrology only; twelve signs, no waiting) and write down a description of the person charted, which the friend will then send to me without the date, chart or any other identifying marks. I will publish the twelve descriptions unedited and in full, and both I and my entire flist (or whoever's still reading) will pick the one that in our individual opinions best describes me.

After everyone who's going to has weighed in, the friend will reveal the correct description, and either I will look like a credulous buffoon (sorry, more like a credulous buffoon than I do already), or (if a significant number of guesses are correct; not sure what a significant number would be in this case) Cat will admit in this journal that on this occasion the experiment was successful, doubtless through pure random coincidence.

It's an awful lot of work to ask of somebody I don't know, but this way I can avoid any suggestion of personal bias. I'm told it's been done "time and again," so once more can't hurt.

Anyone interested, or shall we continue with the moving on process?