Page 6 Archives - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

August 6th, 2025 at 11:02am by Alex Miller

Two Funerals & a Memorial

The Sun’s annual opposition to Pluto (in 2025 extending from July 15 to August 5) cast a bright spotlight (Sun) on themes of death and mortality (Pluto), showcasing the passing of two iconic ‘80s figures, and the unveiling of a memorial to commemorate the passing of a third. On Sunday 20 July, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, part of the ensemble cast on the megahit “The Cosby Show,” accidentally drowned while on holiday in Costa Rica. On Thursday 24 July, WWE pro wrestler Hulk Hogan died at his home of cardiac arrest. And on Saturday, 19 July, a mural was unveiled in Paris to honor Jazz era American-French dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker, marking the fiftieth anniversary of her passing.

July 24th, 2025 at 01:59pm by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Connie Francis

“Who’s Sorry Now?” Legions of Connie Francis fans, that’s who, mourning the death of the singer whose signature tune that became. Francis herself hated the song, but it was her breakout hit from 1958, and she paid homage to its importance in her life and career by using the phrase to title her 1984 autobiography. Francis was translated to the celestial choir on 16 July 2025, aged 87.

July 10th, 2025 at 12:35pm by Alex Miller

The Bezos-Sanchez Nuptials

Perhaps not everyone will remember where they were the day that the Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wedding redefined “conspicuous consumption,” but as these things go, the day was surely memorable. Or perhaps we should say “days,” since the nuptial celebrations sprawled across three days in Venice, Italy, with pre-and post-ceremony festivities, though the actual union came on Friday, 27 June 2025. It was then that billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the fourth-richest man in the world, wed his bride Lauren Sanchez, a former journalist, in what was likely the fourth-costliest wedding in history, with a price tag coming in somewhere around $55 million. Just a drop in the bucket for Bezos, however, with an estimated net worth of $244 billion.

June 30th, 2025 at 08:54am by Alex Miller

Garden Glimpses: Solstice Stunners

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “It never rains, but it pours.” Well, that was May 2025 in the garden. After a dry, showerless April, the May flowers were distinctly lacking, but 9” of rain that month brought on the vegetation like gangbusters, and by summer solstice, the garden had become a tangled jungle.

Between the incessant rains and then a physical setback when a burst water cyst behind the newly replaced left knee kept me in pain and off my feet for two weeks, there was no curb on the ambitious plans for world domination clearly hatched by my local weeds during their dormancy. I hadn’t even finished the last of the winter cleanup when the deluge began, and that boat has now sailed, with the eastern bank of the sand mound a revolting mix of old and new weeds. Well, there’s always 2026.

June 6th, 2025 at 08:17am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Loretta Swit

On 30 May 2025, American actress Loretta Swift passed away at her home in New York City, at the age of 87. Best remembered for her performance as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the smash 1970s TV hit series M*A*S*H, Swit effortlessly grew that character from one-dimensional, strait-laced, traditionalist army nurse having an extramarital affair with an inept doctor, to a married, then divorced, fully emancipated modern woman. The metamorphosis was stunning to behold, and Swit’s character became an icon of feminism for the time. Swit won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal, appearing in all but 11 of the series’ 256 episodes, only one of two actors to appear through the run of the show, from pilot to finale (the other being Alan Alda, Captain Hawkeye Pierce).

April 28th, 2025 at 10:40am by Alex Miller

Garden Glimpses: Spring 2025 – Better Late Than Never

It was a long time coming, but Spring finally got here. And by and large, it did not disappoint. True, some of the plantings were inexplicably reduced in size over last year, but many flourished, and new plantings in the west bed did very well. A climatic push-me/pull-you combination of short bursts of extreme heat and long spells of below-average temps contrived to bring things on quickly, then preserve them longer than normal.