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In which I apologize to Astrology fans everywhere…

By Brian | July 7, 2010 | Share on Facebook

OK, so it all started back in August of 2009, when I saw on one of those “Born on This Day…” sites that Leonard Bernstein and Billy Ray Cyrus share the same birthday. I thought this was somehow ironic, and posted it under the heading “Proof That Astrology Is Nonsense.”

Fast forward to April of this year, when I turned the concept into a (mostly) weekly series, showing photos of pairs of celebrities who shared the same birthday and were somehow “odd couples.” Eight of these posts went by with the usual reaction – an occasional comment or a “Like” from the Facebook crowd.

But then yesterday, I published my ninth post of the series (George M. Cohan & Franz Kafka), and started receiving multiple messages from folks who were upset about how I was over-generalizing, over-simplifying, under-valuing, and speciously criticizing the field of astrology. None of which was the point, of course, as much as it was to highlight weird pairs of celebrities. That said, astrology? Really? Is nothing up for free ridicule anymore? Ah well, live and learn.

In any case, I’ve renamed the series Unlikely Twins, and have removed just about all references to astrology and/or horoscopes. Hopefully, we can all now share a weekly chuckle, and leave the arguing to important matters – like politics. Or whether the World Cup is getting in the way of a perfectly good baseball season.

(And oh, by the way, Happy Birthday to both Ringo Starr and Gustav Mahler, composers of Yellow Submarine and Kindertotenlieder – Songs on the Deaths of Children, respectively…)

Topics: Blogging about Blogs, Unlikely Twins | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “In which I apologize to Astrology fans everywhere…”

  1. Konstantin says at July 7th, 2010 at 4:08 pm :
    Ignore the naysayers. I enjoyed the pairings, and those who missed the point… well.

    Astrology is pseudo-science anyway. Keep going if only for our amusement.

  2. Lisa says at July 7th, 2010 at 4:14 pm :
    OMG. Ridicule away, I was just pointing out that you were overgeneralizing astrology as a pseudo-science (as viewed by those who truly believe in it) and that just because people are born the same day doesn’t mean that astrology followers believe they are twins.
    I did plant my tongue in my cheek in making a comment regarding being late for my appt with my psychic. All I was doing was pointing out that perhaps making fun of something not properly understood led to erroneous assumptions. Sheesh. Just double checked your DOB…we’re both Scorpios! Hmmm…now everything makes sense!

  3. Joe Woods says at July 7th, 2010 at 4:16 pm :
    Too late, Greenberg! You are now branded as an over-generalizer!

  4. Brian says at July 7th, 2010 at 4:23 pm :
    @Lisa – if I run out of celebrity pairings in November, I’ll have to remember to put up a picture of you & I. All tongues firmly planted in cheeks here – no ridiculing intended…

    @Joe – you always call people over-generalizers. Oh, wait…

  5. Jeff Porten says at July 7th, 2010 at 4:45 pm :
    Oh, you must be kidding me. Astrology is proven nonsense.

    I hereby start the counter-protest. Bring back the old title!

  6. Brian says at July 7th, 2010 at 6:24 pm :
    @Jeff #5: Sorry – took me about an hour to switch it. The first time, it’s a democracy. The second time, it’s a dictatorship.

    If it helps any, ponder this: people born on the same date but not in the same year (and of different parents) are not really twins.

  7. Ilya says at August 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am :
    Er… Yellow Submarine is sung by the incomparable Mr Starr, but he did not compose it… As is the overwhelming majority of The Beatles’ songs, this one is universally credited to Lennon/McCartney…

    I’m up for joining Jeff’s counter-protest, to be honest…

  8. Ilya says at August 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 am :
    btw, this just told you how long it was since the last time I found time to visit your blog… I hope I have a good excuse :-)

  9. Brian says at August 2nd, 2010 at 12:45 pm :
    @Ilya: I stand corrected. I always thought of it as “Ringo’s song,” which is why I made the error. Perhaps I should have compared “This Song is Just Six Words Long” with Kindertotenlieder…

    And as for not reading the blog, yes – the arrival of an entirely new person in the house strikes me as a good excuse to fall behind on blog reading. ;-)