As Far as Origin Stories Go, This Show is the Best

Posted on March 8, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Young Sherlock (2026)

This Prime Video from Guy Ritchie is the first time that I have come to truly understand Sherlock Holmes. That is no mean feat. The closest equivalent would be about Batman’s beginnings. But, I must admit, this show is better because it is covered in eight episodes, not one two-hour film.

Young Sherlock’s friendship/rivalry with James Moriarty also is very enlightening. Most of Sherlock’s later sayings (mostly delivered to Dr. Watson) are actually spoken by Moriarty in this show. Sherlock also has a distinct ability to remember verbatim what anyone has said to him. And he is shown to be able to revisit the scene of a crime and walk through it as an observer, even repeating the sequences as required. That becomes a handy skill when he’s remembering childhood memories of the death of his sister, Beatrice.

Even Lestrade shows up as a constable, and Sherlock’s favourite deerstalker is featured on the head of Detective Fitget. Oh, and the extensive quotes of The Bard make interesting counterpoint to the use of modern (but mainly) obscure songs in the soundtrack. Guy Ritchie really has refined his craft.

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When Port Wenn Moved Stateside

Posted on March 4, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Best Medicine (2026)

During its 18 year run on ITV in the UK, “Doc Martin” brought drama and humour to their television screens. Now Fox is launching an American version called “Best Medicine”. Most of the original concepts and scenarios have crossed the Atlantic, including the name of the fishing village, Port Wenn.

Last night, I watched this episode, featuring Martin Clunes, the original Doc Martin, and I suspect the zaniness of the UK hit show is being transported to Maine, with the same named characters bringing local ‘yokel’ colour. Will the US audiences buy into the premise completely? Only time will tell.

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I Didn’t Get to See This Lunar Eclipse Live…

Posted on March 3, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse (March 3, 2026)

But it wasn’t for lack of trying. I suspect the moment of closest lunation was too low in the sky to be seen in Noelville. Either that, or our shed was blocking my view from our bedroom window. Oh, well…

This time, Mars and Pluto are above the horizon, ahead of the Sun and the following planets in Pisces and Aries. The Iran War won’t end anytime soon, in my humble opinion. But the Moon turning blood red sounds apocryphal, doesn’t it? Evidently, the eclipse can be seen by up to three billion people.

Hmm.

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What Happens When Your “Soul Mate” is Gay?

Posted on March 2, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift

I read a line in a Facebook post that quoted Elizabeth Taylor as saying Montgomery Clift was her soul mate. I thought to myself, could that be seen in comparing their birth charts?

Using Clift’s birth chart as the base for the comparison, the close links between them is obvious. Her Mars is conjunct his Uranus; her Neptune is conjunct his Virgo Ascendant; her Moon is conjunct his Mercury; while her Jupiter is conjunct his Neptune. So, yes, they are very connected..

Taylor’s Sun and Mercury are ‘combust’ and her Venus/Uranus conjunction is almost exact. That makes her do the ‘running’ in the relationship. The Venus/Uranus conjunction is inconjunct to Clift’s Mercury and his Saturn, creating a double Yod. If he had been straight in his sexuality, she would have been ideal for him, but the double Yod says otherwise. Isn’t that a shame for them.

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I Learned a Lot of Things from This Film

Posted on March 1, 2026 by cdsmiller17

The Music of Silence (2017)

My wife is a great fan of Andrea Bocelli. This film is his origin story, based on his 1999 book of the same name. In the story he called the hero Amos Bardi. But it is clearly Bocelli’s memories, through and through.

As always, the disability of blindness becomes his superpower. Faith needs to be strong, even when everything is against you. If you believe, it will happen. And family is the secret sauce to the mix.

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If You Look Up at the Sky after Sunset, You’ll See This:

Posted on February 28, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Planetary Alignment (February 28, 2026)

Most of the illustrations for this six planet lineup tend to show them in the wrong order, as if they lined up in their ‘normal’ positioning in our solar system. This one, shown above, is probably the most accurate, although, astrologically, Mercury will be closest to the horizon, at least here in Northern Ontario. Here’s an event chart, demonstrating what I mean:

The Sun, the North Node (in Pisces) and Mars and Pluto (in Aquarius) are the only ones below the horizon. (Perhaps that’s the hint for the conflict in Iran that the Americans have started last night.)

So, if you hope to view this alignment tonight, weather permitting, look west, young man @ 7 pm.

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Hmm. I’ve Never Thought of This Before…

Posted on February 27, 2026 by cdsmiller17

YHWH

Interesting, n’est-pas?

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Another Film Based on a True Story:

Posted on February 25, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Ordinary Angels (2024)

This one was filmed in Winnipeg, and it shows. The use of natural lighting is the giveaway that it’s from Canada. The amount of snow that the producers had representing a blizzard in 1994 Louisville, Kentucky was a ‘normal’ snowstorm north of the border. Funny, that.

Films like this tend to take liberties in order to enhance the dramatic effect, but the real images shown during the ending credits kind of gave the game away. The final obstacle to overcome happens in the daylight, not at night. That makes quite a bit of difference. Driving (or flying) during a snowstorm at night is harder than during the day, although accidents do happen then, too. But not matter, the story is about a miracle, and it delivers it in spades.

The image of a red blanket flying like an angel beneath the descending helicopter is seen as the personification of Michelle’s mother That’s when Ed Schmitt ‘saw’ who was behind the miracle.

Ordinary Angels? Never.

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The E. Files Suggest a New Interpretation of the Phrase:

Posted on February 24, 2026 by cdsmiller17

Tit for Tat

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When It Comes to Olympic Sport Outcomes…

Posted on February 23, 2026 by cdsmiller17

The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat

I purposely didn’t watch yesterday’s Gold Metal hockey game between the United States and Canada. I’d already suffered through the women’s game earlier in the week and didn’t want a repeat. I wrongly thought I might be jinxing them. (and, of course, I have NOTHING to do with the outcome.)

But being Silver medalists is nothing to sneer at. But being beaten by Team USA is a bit galling these days, especially in the climate of international politics. Both games ended in 2-1 wins for the States.

You win some, you lose some.

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