Posts by Alex Miller

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Death in Triplicate

The recent pairing of Jupiter, the planet ruling fame and celebrity, and asteroid Requiem 2254, named for the funeral mass for the dead, has yielded a fresh crop of autumnal celebrity deaths, much in the way Jupiter’s earlier conjunction with asteroid Lachesis 120, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life, depopulated the planet of famous names in mid-summer.  Among the recently departed:  Dame Maggie Smith, celebrated British actress best known for her work in the Harry Potter movies and PBS’ “Downton Abbey;” Kris Kristofferson, American singer, songwriter and actor; and Pete Rose, American professional baseball player and gambling afficionado.

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Hurricane Helene

Atlantic storms with PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) equating to their designated names, which find these connected to the Sun when they make landfall, often prove to be among the worst, most powerful and destructive hurricanes on record, not to mention the most expensive.  Such was the case with Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida on 10 September 2017, with the Sun conjunct asteroid Irma (estimated cost $65 billion); and Hurricane Maria, which made landfall in Puerto Rico ten days later, with asteroid Maria exactly squared the Sun (estimated cost $115 billion).  And such is the case now, with Hurricane Helene striking Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, the largest ever to hit the region, on September 26th, under a precise conjunction of the Sun with asteroid Helena (with an early estimate of the storm’s damage at $95-110 billion).

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Porn, Pizza & Politics: The Mark Robinson Saga

Well, Trump and the MAGA GOP base have done it again!  In nominating North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson for the Tar Heel State’s top job, they’ve once again picked the most controversial candidate possible, a veritable fount of homophobic, misogynist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, racist statements, a Holocaust denier who called himself “a Black Nazi.”  Already trailing Democratic challenger Josh Stein by double digits in most polls, a bevy of new online statements revealed in a CNN report on September 19th have set Robinson’s campaign into a tailspin, with four key staffers resigning in the aftermath of the story.

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Aster-Obit: James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones passed away on 9 September 2024, at the age of 93.  Jones was a member of the exclusive EGOT club, meaning he had won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, but ironically, most people know him best from three roles where he never appears on camera:  as the voice of Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy; the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s animated feature “The Lion King;” and as the voiceover announcer who for decades declaimed the tagline, “This is CNN” at the cable news network’s commercial breaks.  It was Jones’ basso profundo vocal range that set him apart from the competition, though his 6’2” height and substantial frame also gave the actor a stage presence and gravitas few could rival.

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Sean “Diddy” Combs Arrested

On 17 September 2024, rapper and recording mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs (AKA Puffy, Puff, and Puff Daddy, at various points in his career) was arrested on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.  The charges largely stem from Combs’ infamous “freak-offs,” coerced sex acts performed by sex workers which Combs allegedly orchestrated and filmed, in marathon sessions lasting for days, fueled by drugs which kept performers compliant.  Combs has been denied bail as a flight risk, and remains incarcerated.

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Trump Assassination Attempt, Take Two

On 15 September 2024, history repeated itself with a second assassination attempt against former US president and current GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, golfing at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Shots were heard on the course at approximately 2 PM EDT, and Secret Service agents quickly whisked Trump out of harm’s way.  Details are still sketchy, but it seems the shots fired were from advance Secret Service agents, who noted a gun barrel protruding from a wooded fence line area as they scouted the course two holes ahead, roughly 400 yards beyond where Trump was playing.  Shots were fired at Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who never actually saw Trump or discharged his weapon before he abandoned his AR-15-style rifle in the bushes and fled the course.  He was apprehended several hours later.

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