Page 6 Archives - Page 11 of 30 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

March 12th, 2022 at 08:51am by Alex Miller

Garden Glimpses: First Stirrings

In the garden, March Madness has more to do with the weather than anything else. One day it’s 72, the next night we’re down to 15 again. Nature doesn’t seem to know which season it wants to be, and this dilatory musing can be a real challenge for the gardener intent on coaxing as much bloom as possible from the landscape. Early heat can set tender buds to swelling, which later are subject to freezing if temps dip again, blighting the blossom and eliminating an entire season of bloom for some species.

March 10th, 2022 at 08:40am by Alex Miller

AAA Flashback: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I just couldn’t let the 25^th anniversary of the premiere of my favorite show ever slip by without due acknowledgement, so here we go! On March 10, 1997, the Warner Brothers television network opened the gates of Hell and unleashed “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, a teen angst horror hell-odrama about a high school age Valley Girl fated to battle evil in all its forms; the world would never be the same. Creator Joss Whedon had assailed the topic in a 1992 theatrical film starring Kristy Swanson, but wasn’t done with the idea, not by a long shot! TV’s Buffy was the guardian of a hell mouth in “everyman” Sunnydale, California, charged with slaying, not just vampires, but all manner of demons, ghosts, zombies, hell-beasts and things that go bump in the night.

February 22nd, 2022 at 09:04am by Alex Miller

2022 Oscar Preview

On February 8^th, 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released its nominees for the upcoming Oscars, to be presented at 5 PM PDT in Hollywood, California on March 27^th. With the Academy agreeing to expand eligibility into films made for streaming platforms, there are a record eleven Best Picture nominations, though acting and directing categories have been maintained at the traditional five nominees per. From an asteroid perspective, Best Picture nominations are a wasteland – just three have exact matches for any portion of their titles (“Nightmare Alley”, “West Side Story” and “King Richard”), though “Drive My Car” weighs in with an alternate spelling (asteroid Carr).

February 15th, 2022 at 08:47am by Alex Miller

Garden Glimpses: Mid-Winter 2022

Winter can seem a very bleak period, but there’s beauty and wonder everywhere, if you know where to look for it. Last year we had a blizzard in late January, which dropped more than 30 inches on the property, and kept it snowbound until mid-March. In my youth, this used to be the natural state of things in my area, snow cover from Christmas to Easter, but climate change has made that a rarity. The year before there was no measurable snow accumulation the entire season, and this year, though we’re still running below average, we’ve managed to have a series of smaller snowfalls which, aided by bitter cold spells, have helped to keep the ground covered throughout January, if only by a few inches.

January 31st, 2022 at 09:09am by Alex Miller

B is for Bridge, C is for Cat: A Biden Astro-Primer

Don’t you ever wonder how this all works? I know I do. After 15+ years of intense engagement with asteroids, I’m no closer to an answer, but sometimes I like to revel in how even the most mundane of mundane events can be reflected in the stars. On January 28^th, two Biden-related stories made the news – a bridge in Pittsburgh, PA collapsed just hours before a presidential visit touting the need for repair of crumbling infrastructure; and the White House acquired a new furry occupant, a grey tabby cat with jade-green eyes named Willow.

January 3rd, 2022 at 09:21am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Betty White

Just as the year 2021 came to its close, so did the life of Betty White, one of the most beloved entertainers in America. Fate was oftentimes a friend to Betty throughout her long life, but unkind to her at its end – she expired barely two weeks before her 100^th birthday. Just days before her passing, she had tweeted her eager anticipation of the star-studded celebrations planned to commemorate her centennial.

White, who enjoyed the longest career of any female entertainer, was an actor and singer noted for her comedic talents. From the sugar-spiked sexpot Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, to the naïve sexagenarian ingenue Rose Nylund of “The Golden Girls” and the acerbic house caretaker Elka Ostrovsky on “Hot in Cleveland”, White continued to delight TV audiences for over seven decades with her unique brand of charm and humor.