Asteroid Astrology: Page 6

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Cross-Country Cat

After the recent political developments in the US, couldn’t we all use a nice, feel-good story?  Such is the tale of Rayne Beau (pronounced “rainbow”), a savvy tabby who, against all odds, was reunited with his family in Salinas, California two months after becoming lost in Yellowstone National Park, some 1100 miles away.  Rayne Beau made the vast majority of the return trip, almost 900 miles, under his own steam, though no one knows how, being found and then trapped in Roseville, California, about 200 miles from home.

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Halloween Horror: The Candy Man Murder Turns Fifty

It was half a century ago, on 31 October 1974, that eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan died in agony after eating a Halloween treat laced with cyanide.  The family and friends had been trick-or-treating in Pasadena, Texas, when they came across a house which did not respond to their knocks.  Thinking no one was home, the group proceeded down the street, but Timothy’s father Ronald hung back awhile.  In a couple minutes he rejoined the group, offering five 21” Pixy Stix to his son, daughter, and three other children, claiming that his repeated knocking had finally elicited an answer, and these were the treats he was given.

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House Diary: Halloween Returns

“All Hallowtide is now begun, and welcomed in with bells;

and ringing, too, at set of sun, with all our shrieks and yells!

As house to house we begging went, to get ourselves a sweet;

we also pranked, sans ill intent, ran riot in the streets.

With ghost and banshee, witch and cat, we’re happy to cavort;

give thanks to those who fill sacks fat, else “Trick!” is our retort.

On this one night of all the year, the children have the rule;

to banish all that they most fear, like homework, chores and school.

But come the dawn it all returns unto the normal scenes;

then joy and mirth are once more spurned, until next Hallowe’en!”

Due to my 2023 hiatus on Halloween, which came just weeks after knee replacement surgery, it’s been two years since I’ve done things up right here on the property.  Halloween is my favorite holiday, ever since I was a kid, and it was a wrench to give it up last year.  But that’s behind us, and it’s a brave new day, scary brave!

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Young Frankenstein: Still Golden at Fifty

The fiftieth anniversary of the release of Mel Brook’s comedy horror classic “Young Frankenstein” is fast approaching.  Premiering on December 15, 1974, to take advantage of the holiday moviegoing crush, it seems more appropriate to me to honor this milestone during Spooky Season, even if there are more laughs than chills in Brooks’ version of the 1818 Mary Shelley novel.  To be fair, Brooks’ riff on the theme has less to do with Shelley’s gothic tale and more to do with parodying the five Universal Studios productions that far preceded it.  “YF” was shot in black and white in homage to Brook’s boyhood reminiscences of seeing those films, and utilized contemporary 1930s scene change camera techniques from that era; many “mad scientist” stage props created for the 1931 original were recycled for “YF”’s own laboratory scenes.

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Garden Glimpses: Red October

Many gardeners bemoan the approach of autumn, as signaling the end of the growing season and the withdrawal of color from the landscape.  But color is everywhere in October, from the vivid leaves in woody stretches to the farmstands overflowing with pumpkins and gourds in every conceivable shape, size and hue.  The trick is bringing that amazing color into your backyard!

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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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