A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Well, Labor Day 2019 is upon us, and as much of America prepares for this last day of a long holiday weekend, I'm keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian. Not that I think that the monster-sized Category 4 storm is going to come ashore anywhere near me and wreak havoc in my neighborhood; the atmospheric conditions, the steering currents, and the Coriolis effect are all working so that Dorian will skirt along Florida's east coast and either go north to the Carolinas or veer northeast and go out to sea while the outer bands nick the East Coast. Me...I'm hoping for the latter; I've been through several hurricanes already and I would not wish them on anyone. Right now, the chances that Dorian will barrel westward into Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties and then batter its way to the Gulf Coast are next to nil. According to my Weather app, Dorian's eye is almost due east of West Palm Beach, but it's moving so slowly (1 mph) that almost anyone could outwalk...

Today is Sunday, September 1, 2019. As I write this, it's hot, muggy, and cloudy in my corner of the world. And as Hurricane Dorian churns toward the northern Bahamas as a monster Category Five storm, we Floridians are keeping a wary watch. Most of the forecast tracks are predicting that Dorian will head west for a bit, then turn north and stay just off Florida's East Coast as it makes its destructive way toward Georgia and the Carolinas. I wish I could say for sure that my area is totally out of the woods; I know that my former hometown of Miami is probably not going to be affected because Dorian's eye is already almost parallel to northern Broward/southern Palm Beach Counties. But if the storm doesn't turn to the north within the next 24-36 hours, its outer bands will affect Central Florida and maybe even the Tampa Bay area in some way. Per the National Hurricane Center's 11 AM advisory: SUMMARY OF 1100 AM EDT...1500 UTC...INFORMATION ------------------...

Today is Saturday, August 31, 2019, and this is what's on my mind today: First, I'm keeping an eye on the progress of Hurricane Dorian, the fourth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season and the first truly major threat to the East Coast of the U.S. As of this afternoon, Dorian is a Category Four hurricane and on its way to becoming a Category Five storm. Per the National Hurricane Center in Miami: ZCZC MIATCPAT5 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM Hurricane Dorian Intermediate Advisory Number 29A BULLETIN NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL052019 200 PM EDT Sat Aug 31 2019 ...SEVERE HURRICANE DORIAN CONTINUES HEADING FOR THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS WITH LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE AND DEVASTATING WINDS... LOCATION...26.1N 73.9W SUMMARY OF 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH...240 KM/H ABOUT 205 MI...325 KM E OF GREAT ABACO IN THE BAHAMAS ABOUT 385 MI...6...

© 2019 Deutsche Grammophon On August 30, Deutsche Grammophon, the classical music label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG), will release Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams: Across the Stars, a collection of 12 movie themes composed by John Williams and performed by German violin virtuoso Anne Sophie Mutter with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles. This unique collaboration between the dean of modern film score composition and one of the world's foremost violinists is the result of a long-time mutual appreciation and a friendship that began when Mutter was married to the late composer and conductor Andre Previn. Anne-Sophie had been a fan of Maestro Williams' movie music since she was a teen living in Germany's Schwarzwald region when George Lucas's Star Wars (1977) was one of the few distractions for young residents of that beautiful but rural area. Per Deutsche Grammophon's website: “There is only one John Williams,” says Anne-Sophie Mutte...