A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

A view of man-made East Wind Lake, taken before I moved out of my former home in 2016. Photo Credit: © 2015 Alex Diaz-Granados (own work)  Hi there, Dear Reader, and welcome once more to Bloggin' On, the feature section where I take off my hats of product reviewer and/or political commentator and just talk about things that are on my mind. It's early morning on Monday, December 30, 2019, at least in my corner of Florida, and the sky is beginning to lighten as the sun rises ever so steadily over the horizon. Outside, the temperature is 71℉ (22℃) under cloudy skies; per the forecast on my PC's weather app, the high temperature is expected to reach 76℉ (25℃), it will remain mostly cloudy, and we may even see some rain. I haven't watched any weather updates on TV today, but just by looking at the forecast trends on my computer, it looks as though a weak cold front is passing through, as the high for tomorrow is only expected to reach 65℉ (19℃). Tomorrow, of cours...

Photo Credit: Pixabay Hello and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the "random thoughts and personal observation" section of my A Certain Point of View blog. It's Wednesday, December 25, 2019. my fifth Christmas Day since Mom passed away and my fourth one living far from my hometown of Miami, Florida. Right now, it's late morning in my corner of Florida; it's cloudy and chilly outside, with the temperature at 69℉ (21℃) it is definitely a stay-indoors day for me. As the day progresses, it will warm up to around 77℉ (25℃) with just a bit more sun in the sky than there is now.  I'm still feeling the last lingering effects of the cold that laid me low last week and prevented me from going to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Opening Weekend; I don't have aches, pains, or even a fever, but I still have occasional fits of coughing. Thus, right now I feel more annoyed and enervated than I feel sick, especially since I really want to go s...

Hi, there, Constant Reader. Today is Monday, December 23, 2019, and it's a cool but sunny winter morning in my corner of Florida. Right now the temperature is 65℉ (18℃) under mostly sunny skies; the forecast high is expected to reach 69℉ (21℃) and rain is expected to affect the area in the evening hours. I had hoped to report that I watched Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Opening Day (Friday), or at the least on Opening Weekend, but I've been confined to the house by the flu (or a very bad cold) since last Monday. My significant other caught a respiratory bug from a co-worker, and in turn two of us here have caught that bug from her. I'm over the worst of it and no longer have a headache or a low-grade fever, but I still have a nagging dry cough that comes and goes at random. This, of course, has put the kibosh on any plans related to going to public venues; I don't want to bother any other moviegoers with my hacking and wheezing, and I definitely do not want to...

Recently, novelist Harry Turtledove, the acclaimed author of Ruled Britannia, The Guns of the South, and many other alternate history stories, shared a whimsical Tweet with his followers which he titled #70sChristmasList: Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu Taking inspiration from Mr. Turtledove and his amusing Tweet, I decided that I'd revisit the past four decades' worth of Christmases past and share my typical wish lists for each, starting with the 1970s and ending with the 2010s.  As I've pointed out in my previous posts in this series, these aren't real Christmas lists that I wrote and passed around. Indeed, I often bought most of the items herein, although on occasion I did get a few of them as presents during the holidays or for my birthday.  ...

A few days ago, Harry Turtledove, one of the authors I follow on Twitter (and the only one with whom I interact regularly on that social media platform), posted this whimsical Christmas wish list from the 1970s: #70sChristmasList Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu I thought this was clever, amusing, and cool, so I replied with a #70sChristmasList of my own: #70s ChristmasList Stereo system with LP/8-track/AM-FM radio Brut, or English Leather Wacky Packages Star Wars figures (by Kenner) Billy Joel albums Star Wars OST 2-LP set Superman OST 2-LP set Classical music LPs A Bridge Too Far book Over the past few days, I've been going through the decades (the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s) and thinking of typical Christmas wish lists based on the trends of the...

A few days ago, writer Harry Turtledove (a novelist who specializes in the alternate history sub-genre of science fiction and is known for his Worldwar series, as well as his novel about Spanish-occupied Britain, Ruled Britannia ) posted this whimsical #70sChristmasList tweet on Twitter: #70sChristmasList Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu Inspired by Mr. Turtledove, I've decided to share similar Christmastime wishlists across the decades, starting with the 1970s and ending with the 2010s. The wishlists are not real lists that I handed out to family and friends before the holidays. I mean, sure, Mom (and sometimes my older half-sister) would ask me to write a short list of things I wanted for either Christmas or my birthday, but more often than not my friends, who ...

#80sChristmasList The 1980s coincided with my high school and college years. They also coincided with the last decade of the Cold War, the advent of new technologies, and the emergence of Tom Clancy and the technothriller genre of popular fiction. The following is a sampling of various Christmastime lists from across the decade, although the default year is 1985, which was my freshman year at Miami-Dade Community College. I eventually ended up owning all of them; if I didn't receive them during the holidays, I'd get them later as birthday presents or, as in the case of my first personal computer, an out-of-the-blue gift from a relative. And, of course, once I got a few jobs, I'd buy things on my own. Personal computer (I was given one in 1987, an Apple IIe that cost approximately $2,100, or $4,774.56 in 2019) New-release VHS tapes of feature films (average cost in 1985: $79.99, or $190.85 in 2019) Novels by Stephen King Novels by Tom Clancy Music albums on...

© John Atkinson Wrong Hands Recently, Harry Turtledove - the author of such alternative history novels as Guns of the South and Ruled Britannia - posted his #70sChristmasList on Twitter: #70sChristmasList Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu Inspired by Mr. Turtledove's whimsical wish list for the Christmas/Hannukah holiday season, I've decided to share my own wishlists as they would have appeared over the past 40 or so years . Note: The lists reflect my particular tastes and circumstances at the time, and include items that I ended up receiving for Christmas and/or birthdays, was surprised with on occasion or ended up purchasing myself. (In the case of the 1970s, which reflect the Christmas season of 1978, I earned an allowance of $5-per-week by doing chor...

A screenshot of my Blu-ray.com Collection Page (A-C). Notice that It: Chapter Two is in the "Ordered" category. Hi, there, Constant Reader, and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, my blog-within-a-blog where I write stuff that doesn't fall neatly into the usual categories of reviews or socio-political commentary. It's Thursday, December 12, which for most of us means that Christmas is only 13 days away.  (Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? I have!) Here it's still morning in my little corner of Florida; it's almost nine o'clock as I sit here tap-tap-tapping away on my keyboard. Right now, it's also quite cloudy and cool; the current temperature is 67℉ (20℃) and the sky (at least from what I can see through my writing room's window) is a leaden shade of gray.  According to my PC's Weather app, the high temperature is expected to reach 77℉ (25℃), and it looks like a cold front might be passing through this weekend; it w...

The 2019 "Multi-Screen Edition" reissue sports new slipcover/jewel box art based on Drew Struzan's 2005 theatrical release poster. © 2019 Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) As part of the pre-release marketing blitz ahead of the December 20 premiere of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Buena Vista Home Entertainment reissued all 10 of Lucasfilm Ltd.'s live-action Star Wars feature films, including the existing Skywalker Saga Episodes and the two A Star Wars anthology films ( Rogue One and Solo ) on DVD and Blu-ray in late September. Dubbed the "Multi-Screen Edition" because each disc comes with an insert that contains the code for a streamable/downloadable copy, this 2019 rerelease marks the first time that The Walt Disney Company's home media distributor offers the first six Star Wars movies made during the George Lucas era at Lucasfilm (another Disney subsidiary.) Publicity photo depicting eight of the 1...

The new slipcover (and jewel box) art for the Multi-Screen Edition of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. © 2019 Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On September 22, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. reissued the 10 existing Star Wars live-action films in Multi-Screen Editions in Blu-ray and DVD along with codes for digital versions for streaming on Movies Anywhere and other Disney partners. Dubbed the "Multi-Screen Edition," this re-release came three months in advance of the theatrical premiere of the last Skywalker Saga film, Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, which opens on December 20. This promotional photo shows nine of the 10 titles in the Multi-Screen Edition collection of Blu-ray/Digital Code sets released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm on September 22. © 2019 Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Although Buena Vista and Lucasfilm (both wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Walt...

Slipcover (and Blu-ray jewel box) art for the 2019 Multi-Screen reissue of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. © 2019 Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Twenty years after its initial theatrical release and nearly three months before the December 20 premiere of Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the first installment of George Lucas's Star Wars Prequel Trilogy was reissued on Blu-ray disc (BD) as part of Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Limited's 10-film  Star Wars Multi-Screen Edition collection. This marks the first Disney-era reissue of Star Wars material that was originally distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment since The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox and the distribution rights to the first six  Star Wars films earlier this year . This promotional photo depicts the slipcover art for the Multi-Screen Edition reissues of the Skywalker Saga films. Rogue One and Solo (not shown here)   also ge...