Page 6 Archives - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

October 1st, 2018 at 10:32am by Alex Miller

Trio of Terror!

Halloween has always formed an important part of my writing, and this month AAA presents three of my classic short story favorites. Written in the ‘80s, these tales of vampires run the gamut from atmospheric to downright bizarre. There’s “Silent Partner”, an HP Lovecraft-inspired story about the symbiotic relationship between the living and the undead. “No Looking Back”, about a one-night stand gone terribly wrong, has the immediacy and irony of a Robert Bloch tale, in a “Twilight Zone”-style framework. “Ruby Oak” is perhaps the most unique offering in this Trio of Terror – it’s certain you’ll never look at vampirism the same way again!

October 1st, 2018 at 09:22am by Alex Miller

AAA Profile: Bela Lugosi

“Welcome to my house. Enter freely and of your own will.” From this first intonation of his opening line in the 1931 horror classic “Dracula”, Bela Lugosi was a star. Suave and elegant, with opera cape, top hat and cane, sans the fangs and gore, Lugosi’s portrayal of Bram Stoker’s malignant villain virtually singlehandedly vaulted the vampire from grotesque to sex symbol. His sophisticated appearance and exotic eastern European accent set him in the firmament of Hollywood glitterati, indelibly linked with his undead character for all time.

October 1st, 2018 at 09:05am by Alex Miller

The Birth of the Slasher Film: Forty Years of “Halloween”

On October 25, 1978, in Kansas City, Missouri, director John Carpenter premiered his third feature film, “Halloween”, with a plot involving a psychotic, knife-wielding killer stalking a group of libidinous teens in a sleepy Illinois town on Halloween night. The movie starred Hollywood scion Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, in her film debut, with a role that would soon become known as that of “the final girl”, that is, the lone survivor of the killer’s rage. A new terminology was required, for “Halloween” broke unhallowed ground in the horror genre, essentially inventing the slasher film

September 11th, 2018 at 07:50am by Alex Miller

Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Tennis Tantrum

On September 8^th the final round of the Women’s Singles match at the 2018 US Open tennis tournament was disrupted in more ways than one. Naomi Osaka, a 20-year-old player of Haitian and Japanese descent, became the first Asian to win the title. Not only that, but she defeated Serena Williams, one of the sport’s all-time best players, with 23 Grand Slam championship titles already under her belt.

And not only that, but Ms. Williams had displayed an astonishing amount of unsportsmanlike behaviors in the match, from yelling at the chair umpire to smashing her racket.

September 7th, 2018 at 03:34pm by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Burt Reynolds

On September 6^th, 2018, noted actor Burt Reynolds suffered a heart attack and died at a Florida hospital. Reynolds was best known for his popular action films of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run”, but also received an Oscar nomination for his work in 1997’s “Boogie Nights”. During his heyday, Reynolds’ life was frequent tabloid fodder, with long-term relationships with singer and talk show hostess Dinah Shore, actress Sally Field (his co-star in the “Bandit” films) and TV personality Loni Anderson, whom he eventually married, then divorced.

August 20th, 2018 at 09:16am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Aretha Franklin

On Thursday August 16, 2018 “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin relinquished her earthly title for a spot on the Celestial Choir. Franklin, aged 76, who had been fighting pancreatic cancer for 8 years, passed away at home while on hospice care, surrounded by family and friends. Her death elicited memorials, statements, tributes and reflections on her life from across the globe.