A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Pros:  Interesting, if slightly flawed concept.  Good script.  Nice acting. Cons:  Tends to perpetuate the myth of Nazi efficiency.  Otherwise, none. Patterns of Force:  Parallel Worlds, TV Production Politics and  Star Trek  Explained  Considering the socio-cultural and financial success of Paramount’s  Star Trek  franchise – a multi-media colossus rivaled perhaps only by J.K. Rowling’s  Harry Potter  and George Lucas’  Star Wars  empires – over the past 46 years, it’s hard to remember the reality that Gene Roddenberry’s Original Series was not given too much support from NBC,  the network on which it originally aired. Of course, to those fans who saw  Star Trek  during its broadcast network run (1966-1969) and those who latched on to Trekker status in the decade that followed its cancellation and eventual rebirth in syndication, the show’s struggles to survive on the air is part of t...

Hi there, Constant Reader. It’s 2:45 p.m. EST in Miami, and the current temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit under sunny skies. With humidity at 30% and the wind blowing at 9 mph from the northwest, the feels-like temperature is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. All in all, it’s a beautiful late winter day in South Florida. I am to a slow start today with my writing. To be honest, I don’t really feel like writing much; I have not thought about any topics for an Examiner article, not even a movie or book review. And yet, I know in my heart that I must write something. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, mind you. It can be something sublime, profane, or even mundane. The writing gods are not as picky as your garden-variety English composition teacher. The literary deities are as content with a well-written article as they are with a relatively insignificant blog entry.  They don’t care what I write about. It could be my shopping list for Winn Dixie – as long as I write. As I s...

Hi, there, Constant Reader. It's now 3:29 p.m. EST in Miami, Florida. The current temperature is a summery 86 degrees Fahrenheit under cloudy skies. With humidity at 54% and a south-southwesterly breeze blowing at 10 mph (with gusts of up to 30 mph), the feels-like temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though I don't particularly want to, I have the air conditioner on, It's that hot. Worse still, a cold front is on its way to South Florida. It passed through Tampa earlier today and caused heavy rains and high winds, and we can expect at least some showers and stiff breezes here tonight. Hopefully that's all we'll get; last night WPLG, the local ABC affiliate, posted a weather forecast on Facebook that included the possibility of strong thunderstorms and even tornadoes. Luckily, the front is still dozens of miles away from here and my computer's AccuWeather app says no precipitation is expected within the next two hours. Late yesterday evening I went fo...

Hi there, Constant Reader. It’s 11:03 a.m. EST on a cool Saturday morning in Miami. The current temperature is 76 degrees Fahrenheit under cloudy skies. With an east-northeasterly wind blowing at 15 mph (gusts of up to 21 mph) and humidity levels at 51%, the feels-like temperature is 76 degrees Fahrenheit. So it’s not too chilly here, but not warm enough to turn on the air conditioner. I have been reading a lot over the past few days. Partly because I have been a voracious reader since I was a child, partly because I am a book reviewer for Examiner, but mostly because I need to read a lot in order to be a good writer. Right now my main focus is non-fiction, with an emphasis on U.S. military and political history. I’m also half-heartedly reading some fiction, especially Stephen King’s 11/22/63 and his epic Dark Tower series. I used to post my “current reading lists” at the now-defunct Bubblews and the soon-to-be defunct Persona Paper every so often, especially in “blog doldrums...