A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Photo Credit: © 2019 DK Children (a division of Dorling Kindersley Limited) and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On December 20, 2019 ﹘ the same day that J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker went into wide release in theaters, Dorling Kindersley Limited's DK Children imprint published Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - The Visual Dictionary with Exclusive Cross-Sections, a hardcover reference book written by Pablo Hidalgo. As the sixth and final visual dictionary based on a Skywalker Saga film. the book follows the template created in 1998 when DK Books published archaeologist and Star Wars fan David West Reynold's  The Star Wars Visual Dictionary, a 64-page volume that covered the Original Trilogy films. Although that 1998 book - which is still in print and is also incorporated into DK Books' omnibus editions of The Complete Star Wars Visual Dictionary - was marketed for the "younger reader" audience, the writing was also smartly written and edited becau...

My current "author's photo" as it appears on my Amazon author's page and the back cover of Reunion: A Story. I need a more "writer-like" picture, though. Photo Credit: L.C.H.  Well, hello there, Constant Reader, and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the blog-within-a-blog section of A Certain Point of View where I write no reviews nor political commentary and just chat about life, the Universe, and almost anything that interests me (besides writing reviews or talking about today's toxic political environment, that is). Today is Sunday, January 19, and it is a gray, gloomy morning here in my corner of Florida. Presently, the temperature outside is 72℉ (22℃) under partly sunny skies (although over our house, it's cloudier than it is sunny). Per the forecast on my Weather app, we can expect rain and maybe a few thunderstorms in the evening, and the temperature is expected to drop to 45℉ (7℃) in the evening hours. (Hmm. Sounds like a ...

Screenshot from Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 showing dialogue from Happy Days Are Here Again. © 2019 Alex Diaz-Granados Hey, there, Constant Reader! Welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the no-reviews, no-politics zone of A Certain Point of View where I talk about (or, if you're literal about such things, write about ) topics that do not fit neatly into those categories. Today is Friday, January 17, 2020, which by coincidence is the 29th anniversary of the start of Operation Desert Storm (the U.S.-led military campaign to liberate Kuwait from its Iraqi occupation) back in 1991. It's already early afternoon here in my corner of Florida, and it's a nice day outside. Presently the temperature is a mild 77℉ (25℃) under mostly sunny skies; the forecast for the area says that's as warm as it will get today, and the low is expected to reach 62℉ (17℃). For those of you who are following the progress of Happy Days Are Here Again, Juan told me yesterday that he...

© 1989 Rhino Records Inc.  On October 26, 1989, Los Angeles-based Rhino Records published Paul Anka - 30th Anniversary Collection: His All-Time Greatest Hits, a one-CD compilation album featuring 24 of Canadian singer-songwriter-actor Paul Anka's best-known and best-loved hits. Known throughout the world for songs such as Diana, Lonely Boy, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, and (You're) Having My Baby, Anka is also the musician who took a French-language song by Claude François and Jacques Revaux and transformed it into Frank Sinatra's signature song My Way.  Paul Albert Anka was born on July 30, 1941 into an Antiochian Orthodox Christian of Syrian and Lebanese ancestry in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. His talent for music emerged early during his childhood, and when he was a grade school student, Paul sang in the choir of Ottawa's St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, where he also studied music theory with Frederic Karam, the choir's director. When Paul ...

My current author's photo as it appears on the back cover of Reunion: A Story.  Hi, there, Dear Reader! Welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the blog-within-a-blog feature where I don't review anything or inject any politics and just write about life, the Universe, and (almost) everything else. Today is Wednesday, January 15, 2020, and as I start writing this post, it's not quite noon in my small corner of Florida. Presently the temperature outside is 80℉ (26℃) under partly sunny skies. The forecast for the area calls for a high of 82℉ (28℃) and no change in the cloud/sun mix, while the low tonight is expected to reach 63℉ (17℃) under mostly clear conditions. Well, yesterday Juan Carlos Hernandez, the New York-based actor-director who sometimes asks me to write screenplays for his Popcorn Skies Productions company and long-time friend (from our days as drama students at South Miami High), texted me a short update on our new film, Happy Days Are Here Aga...

© 2004 BMG Heritage/RCA Great songs never leave us, on a jet plane or otherwise. – David Wild, in "A Fan's Notes," John Denver: Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits On October 4, 2004, BMG Heritage and RCA released John Denver: Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits, a two-disc compilation that presents most of the late singer-songwriter John Denver's best-known and most popular hits (the sole exception being Grandma's Feather Bed ). Produced by Rob Santos and assembled by Gary Pacheco, Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits is a 24-track retrospective of Denver's storied career, including hits from his days as a star in the 1970s and the "twilight" years of the early to mid-1980s. Released to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Denver's first album for RCA Records ( Rhymes & Reasons, 1969), Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits presents 20 songs that were recorded between May of 1969 and April/May of 1983 on one disc, and four previously unreleased...

© 2004 Sony Legacy Hi there! Welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the blog-within-a-blog section of A Certain Point of View where I step out of my usual roles of media reviewer and sometimes political commentator. It's almost noon in my corner of Florida as I sit here, and it's a relatively warm and humid day. Right now the temperature outside the house is 80℉ (26℃) under mostly sunny skies. Per the weather app on my PC, the forecast calls for a high of 86℉ (30℃) and more clouds, more humidity. These temperatures don't make the days feel like it's winter; rather, it feels almost as though summer was drawing nigh. Yesterday was a stay-home day for my significant other and me. She spent most of her Saturday doing chores and taking down Christmas decorations, while I spent most of my day either watching Great Voices Sing John Denver and John Denver: The Wildlife Concert  or doing prep work on my upcoming novel. I haven't started writing it yet, mind, bu...