A Mars Pluto family legacy could have cut actor Josh Brolin’s life short as he started on drugs aged nine and was an alcoholic over the next four decades. He emerged with distinction in the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men (2007) and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the biopic Milk (2008). … Read more
Denzel Washington steals the show in Gladiator II in the supporting role of Macrinus, the villainous slave turned slave owner aiming for power and status. Glowing reviews hint he is at the top of his game, having been crowned recently as the best actor of the 21st century by The New York Times. He was … Read more
Caveat emptor (buyer beware) must be ringing through many Republican politicians’ heads. The electorate may be forgiven for their disinterest in anything beyond the dollar in their pocket. But senators and congresspersons don’t have that excuse for their wholehearted support for Trump, knowing full well his – ahem – idiosyncrasies and his mental deterioration from … Read more
Frank Auerbach, known for his encrusted canvases, a Holocaust orphan, who lived a monkish, solitary life in Camden, London has died aged 93. Seven days a week, 10 hours a day, for decades, he painted and said “I’ve certainly never been lonely by myself. I’m far more likely to be lonely in the company of … Read more
Despite the drift away from institutionalised religion it continues to fascinate with Robert Harris’s spellbinding Conclave about the election of a new pope now out as a movie with Ralph Fiennes starring. Reviews are good – “A self-contained and intricate story that uses God’s representatives on Earth to show us at our most human, filled … Read more
“To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now.” Samuel Beckett The panicky uncertainty of this time of celestial transition was in place before recent US election results with many/most stumbling through a fog of unknowing with rising levels of anxiety. How to cope when it is … Read more
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, is profuse in his apologies about not nailing down child abusing barrister John Smyth when his offences became known a decade ago. His “horrific” and violent abuse of more than 100 children and young men was covered up within the Church of England for decades, according to the conclusion of … Read more
Donald Trump is the unquestioned winner of the election with Jupiter crossing his 10th house natal Uranus and transiting Uranus conjunct his Midheaven pushing him across the line. His success comes despite a raft of imponderables ahead. His Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct his South Node exactly now, then conjunct his Moon in 2025 and … Read more
Even staunch Royalists are wincing over the recent investigation into King Charles and Prince William’s opaque financial affairs which details how their estates take money off hospitals, the military, prisons and firefighters. Both Royals pay income tax (since the 1990s though refuse to say how much) but not capital gains and corporation tax. Hints from … Read more
Rodney Alcala, known as The Dating Game Killer, is the subject of a true crime film made of his murderous career. He was found guilty of eight murders between 1971 and 1979, is suspected of killing more than 100 women and girls and died in 2021 on death row. The actress Anna Kendrick who directed … Read more