Posts by Alex Miller

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Decapitated Dad

On January 30, 2024, Justin Mohn, 23, killed and beheaded his father, Michael, 68, at the home they shared in Levittown, PA.  He posted a video of him holding the head, wrapped in a plastic bag, on his YouTube channel, calling his father a traitor because he was a federal employee.  In a 14-minute tirade, Mohn spouted rightwing conspiracy theories and antigovernment slogans, brandishing the head for part of the time, later seen in the background sitting in a cooking pot.  Mohn then took his father’s car and fled the scene, arrested later that evening approximately 100 miles away, after his mother returned home, discovered the body, and phoned 911 at about 7 PM EST. 

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King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis

On Monday, 5 February 2024, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III of the United Kingdom had been diagnosed with cancer.  The 75-year-old monarch had undergone treatment for a benign enlarged prostate on January 26th, and was said to be recovering well.  But another area of concern was noted at the time, and has now been confirmed as cancer, though the Palace has thus far not revealed what type of cancer, beyond stating that it does not involve the prostate.  The King began outpatient cancer treatment the day his diagnosis was announced.

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Orange Is the New Wack

Has anyone else noticed that Donald Trump’s skin tone has become, if possible, even more orange than typical?  And his pronouncements stranger and stranger?  Like confusing fellow GOP nomination contender Nikki Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the January 6th insurrection, opining that Joe Biden will get us into World War II, and repeatedly asserting that he beat Barack Obama in 2016?

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House Diary: Imbolc 2024

Well, it’s official!  Punxsutawney Phil has not seen his shadow, and we’re due for an early spring!  But don’t break out the beachwear just yet, this prognosticating groundhog has a 39% success rate on predictions, almost as bad as my own.

Yes, it’s Groundhog Day, AKA Candlemas, St Brigid’s Day, Oimelc and Imbolc.  There’s a long history of fire and purification associated with the time period, whether that be the Catholic blessing of candles to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary at Candlemas, forty days after the “defilement” of birth; or the pagan festival of Imbolc, which means “washing.”  The Roman Lupercalia, a purification festival promoting health and fertility, occurred just two weeks later, with priests using the ritual februa tools (from which February derives its name) to cleanse the city.  Lupercalia also has ties to the she-wolf (lupus) who suckled the mythic brothers Romulus and Remus that were Rome’s founders, and that connects to Oimelc, an alternative pagan term for the holiday, which means “ewe’s milk,” another allusion to life’s rebirth in the next generation, with the coming spring.

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Carroll of the Bills: Trump’s Defamation Price Tag

Some people never learn.  Despite being found liable for sexual assault and defamation last year, in a civil action brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who sued him for slanderous statements attempting to rebut her claims of rape, Donald Trump continued to defame Carroll, post-verdict.  And Carroll continued to sue him.  And Trump continues to defame her.  Will she sue again?

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She’s Got Bette Davis Skies: An Asteroid Bio of Bette Davis

When it comes to Old Hollywood glamor, style and chic, nobody does it like Bette Davis.  Which is ironic, because, unlike most actresses of her era, Bette never shied away from unglamorous parts, unlikeable characters, and unflattering makeup, even agreeing to aging techniques that had her convincingly playing a 60-year-old Virgin Queen when she was barely 30 herself.

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