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The New Year begins on a challenging note with four planets lining up in a T-square formation during January and February. This culminates in a transiting Grand Square around the full Moon on January 12. The main players in the T-square are Jupiter in Libra, Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. Mars transiting through Aries joins them in February. The Grand Square adds the Sun in Capricorn and the Moon in Cancer. All the signs involved are cardinal, meaning that the main problem could be too much impulsive choices and actions. The way out can come from being more deliberate in planning.

With Astronauts gracing the covers of LIFE and Look and other weekly magazines, the American space program was big news in the '60s. These brave test pilots were presented as the epitome of American maleness, and the only females we saw who were part of the space program were the women who quilted the multiple layers of fabric for each custom-fitted space suit! Fifty years later, Theodore Melfi’s perfectly named film Hidden Figures brings the unsung heroes of the space program out from the shadows—and we finally discover that several of the mathematical geniuses who made the program a success were female African Americans! In this retelling of the quintessential American fable, those dashing spacemen are little more than passengers aboard a heaving, clunking, fuel-spewing chunk of hardware. The real heroes are the genius “slide-rule-jockey’s-of-color” (beautifully portrayed by Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae), who figured out how to loosen gravity’s inexorable hold on we frail human beings. It’s nice to have a film where the audience cheers for the underlying decency and determined humanity epitomized by the three women combating the solidly built wall of racism, sexism and chauvinism that were signatures for that time and place.

Winter is traditionally my favorite time in the wine business. While vines are dormant, it’s a time to reflect on the past growing season and fruits of our labors, while engaging in strategic planning necessary for a successful new year. The most rewarding work I do is to devise annual brand plans and marketing road maps that guide clients throughout the year. After all how can one gauge success without measuring preconceived goals?

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“Alan Turing: The Enigma,” by Andrew Hodges. Now subtitled “The Book that inspired the film The Imitation Game.” 736 pages, illustrated. Turing was credited with his invaluable help in solving codes to end World War II and creating the first computer. His biographer succeeds in giving us a detailed portrait of the enigmatic scientist, along with an account of his groundbreaking work. A good long read.

Another year, with 12 months and 8,760 hours, has come and gone. Was it too fast, too slow or something in between?

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