Alex's Asteroid Astrology |

April 18th, 2022 at 08:05am by Alex Miller

Garden Glimpses: Midseason Form

It’s been an odd spring, weatherwise. We had an unseasonably warm start in late February, which popped the early bloomers like crocus and snowdrop, but then slowed to below normal temps, followed by drastic cold, with three consecutive nights dipping into the teens as March ended. That was nerve-wracking: so much was at a critical stage of development, and I could hardly cover the entire garden! I did put some weighted pots over the new corydalis “Beth Evans”, which was budded much earlier than I dreamed, and took my chances with the rest.

April 11th, 2022 at 07:57am by Alex Miller

RIP Emmett

On April 4, 2022, a dear feline friend, Emmett, passed away. Emmett was the daughter of Embers, my cat Ashes’ sister, and thus her niece and a close relation, part of our extended family. She was fur baby to my longtime friend, former landlord and cat rescue partner John Mignone, and is survived by her sister Maxine. Emmette passed of complications from failing kidneys due to hyperthyroidism.

April 8th, 2022 at 08:15am by Alex Miller

AAA Profile: Ketanji Brown Jackson

The United States Supreme Court just got a little more diversified, with the history-making confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as its newest Associate Justice, the first black woman to sit on the bench. Jackson was confirmed by the full Senate on Thursday, April 7, with a bipartisan vote of 53-47, and will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer when the new session convenes in October. A native of Washington DC, Jackson was raised in Florida, is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School (where she edited the “Harvard Law Review”), and previously clerked for the Justice she is replacing.

April 2nd, 2022 at 09:38am by Alex Miller

AAA Profile: Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin has dominated Russian politics for almost a quarter century. A former KGB officer, Putin entered politics after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, an event he describes as the greatest tragedy of the Twentieth Century. In 1996 he joined Boris Yeltsin’s administration; appointed as prime minister in 1999, he filled the role of acting president when Yeltsin resigned later that year, being elected to the office in 2000. At the time, Russia had a prohibition on an individual serving more than two consecutive terms as president, so after being reelected in 2004, in 2008 Putin swapped jobs with then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev for a term, only to assume the top spot again in the following election, four years later. That would have entitled him to two more terms, but Putin changed the law to allow himself to run for an additional two terms uninterrupted, potentially continuing his occupancy of the presidency indefinitely.

March 29th, 2022 at 09:11am by Alex Miller

Oscars 2022: And the Smackdown Goes to…

In the aftermath of the slap seen ‘round the world, will anyone remember who actually won Oscars at the 94^th annual Academy Awards? Will anyone care? Moments after presenter Chris Rock uttered a rather tasteless joke about Jada Pinkett Smith appearing in “G.I. Jane 2” (based on her shaved scalp due to alopecia hair loss), hubby Will Smith, nominated as Best Actor, strode to the stage and smacked the comedian full on the face, then returned to his seat, and yelled at Rock to “Keep my wife’s name out your fuckin’ mouth!” Minutes later Smith accepted his Oscar, tearfully apologizing to everyone except Chris Rock for his violent outburst.

March 26th, 2022 at 09:30am by Alex Miller

Virginia Reels: The Ginni Thomas Text Controversy

On March 24, 2022, Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa reported on text messages sent in November 2020 from Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to Mark Meadows, former President Trump’s then Chief of Staff, exhorting him to do anything necessary to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep Donald Trump in office. Sent days to weeks after the loss, Thomas deluged Meadows with false information, conspiracy theories, and strategies for reversing the apparent defeat.