A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

The unsung hero of Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss. Photo: Alex Diaz-Granados  Hello again, Constant Reader. Welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the no-reviews/no politics section of A Certain Point of View where I basically write about whatever topics cross my mind or just vent about everyday stuff that saddens or irritates me. Well, it's Monday afternoon in my corner of Florida; right now it's mostly sunny outside; the temperature is 79℉ (26℃) and the humidity is low at 48%. It's so nice out that I'm almost tempted to go and sit out on the front porch and read for a while. That's something that I always say I want to do; when I lived in East Wind Lake Village, I used to go with a book to the nearby pool, lie on one of the deck chairs, and read for an hour, maybe two, out in the sun and fresh air. Here, I'd be content if I went out on the porch with a book and my Amazon Fire tablet and read for a while...but for one reason or

My former neighborhood, as seen in Google Maps. Contrary to what the satellite photo shows, there is no restaurant in the middle of East Wind Lake Village.  Hello, Constant Reader, and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the blog-within-a-blog section of A Certain View in which I write about topics that don't fall neatly into my usual reviews-and-political commentary content categories. It's Sunday, November 24, and as I mentioned yesterday, Thanksgiving 2019 is just around the corner. I'm trying to not get into a funk about my fifth major holiday season without my mom, but it's hard not to think about it. We were close, my Mom and I, so her absence around this time of year is a bit more palpable than in others. Anyway, enough about that. Right now it's mid-afternoon in my little corner of Florida; the temperature outside is 70℉ (21℃) under sunny skies. It's definitely not as chilly as it is in more northerly regions of the U.S., but it doe

A view of East Wind Lake, a man-made lake at the center of the condominium where I lived from February 1978 to April 2016.  Looking to the south on a midsummer afternoon circa 2013. Note the cumulonimbus cloud forming in the background. (Photo by the author.) Hello again and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, a recurring feature in A Certain Point of View where I step out of my usual review of product reviewer or budding screenwriter and just talk about "stuff." Don't get me wrong; I love writing reviews about music albums, books, movies (especially movies!), and the occasional computer game, but there are days when I wake up in the morning and I don't feel like doing the "same old, same old." Today, apparently, is one of those days. It's almost 3 PM in my corner of the Sunshine State; outside, the temperature is 88℉ (31℃) under partly sunny skies; with humidity at 63%, the "feels-like" temperature is 98℉ (36℃). It's

Photo Credit: Pixabay Hello again and welcome to another installment of Bloggin' On, the section of A Certain Point of View where I don't feel compelled to review movies, books, music, or computer games. I love reviewing; it's something that I have done since I was a 10th grader at South Miami High, and I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at it. But sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have no freakin' idea what I'm going to write about...and today is one of those days. As I write this, it's 3:21 PM Eastern Time, and it's a nice sunny afternoon. Outside, the temperature is 82℉ (31℃) under mostly sunny skies. I have not ventured outside today; I should, but going for walks and meeting the neighbors is a habit I eased out of once I left my hometown of Miami for another part of Florida in early 2016. Maybe I'll start walking around the block at some point in the future...just not today. My heart's not in it. I am, however, thinki

Debris from a neighbor's house that landed on the patio of my former home in Miami during Hurricane Sandy's passage through South Florida, October 26, 2012. Photo Credit: Alex Diaz-Granados (own work)  Hello again and welcome to another installment of Bloggin' On, which is a feature on A Certain Point of View where I break away from the usual reviews and political commentary and just talk about everyday stuff or things that are on my mind that isn't the "usual fare" of this blog. Well, it's almost early evening here in my corner of Florida on Saturday, October 26. Right now it's partly sunny outside; the temperature is 81℉ (27℃) and the humidity is at 82%. It still doesn't feel like fall here, even though summer ended over a month ago. It's not as hot as, say, mid-July or August, but if memory serves, it used to start getting cooler in the Sunshine State by mid-October. Then again, I've only been living in this part of Florida fo