A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

How much support will Donald Trump lose if Mueller reveals unequivocal evidence that he conspired with Russia to win the election? Based on my interactions with Trump supporters, as well as observations of what they say on Facebook, Twitter, and, yes, Quora, I’d say that the current President will lose less than 1 percent of his supporters  if Mueller provides them with unequivocal evidence that he colluded with Russia to win the election. Consider, Trump supporters have so far stayed loyal to Donald John Trump, Sr. for over two years  in spite  of the firing and/or resignations of two National Security Advisers, one Attorney General, one Secretary of State, two communications directors, one Secretary of Defense, and one Press Secretary for a plethora of reasons. In addition, several individuals who were investigated for Russiagate and election-related shenanigans have been arrested, pleaded guilty, or made plea deals with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and other entities, inclu

In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan "discovers" Kamino. Why do the Kaminoans have a spot in the Republic Senate in  Star Wars : The  Clone Wars ? In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan "discovers" Kamino. Why do the Kaminoans have a spot in the Republic Senate in  Star Wars : The  Clone Wars ? Although we don’t know   exactly how much time elapses between the end of  Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones  and the beginning of the  Star Wars: The Clone Wars  series in-universe, we do know that Kamino joins the Galactic Republic a short time after the First Battle of Geonosis (22 years Before the Battle of Yavin). It stands to reason; the Grand Army of the Republic is the official standing army of the Galactic Republic. It’s not, like the Hessians hired by the British to help them quash “the insignificant rebellion” in America in the 18th Century, a mercenary army. Any reasonable leader, whether he or she is a Sith Lord or a true lover of democracy, would wa

What do people think the Star Wars franchise would be like if Disney had not bought Star Wars? Before I give you my answer to the question at hand, let me first make an observation. It seems to me that  Star Wars  fans have no understanding of how corporate ownership of a media company works. The impression that I get when I see questions such as “What do people think the Star Wars franchise would be like if Disney had not bought Star Wars?” is that the persons that ask queries like this have a huge chip on their shoulder about George Lucas’s retirement and subsequent sale of his company, Lucasfilm Limited (and all of its subsidiaries and intellectual properties) to The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company (aka “Disney”) owns a large number of subsidiary companies which enjoy a great deal of autonomy. I don’t have time to name them all, but here are the most prominent Disney subsidiaries: The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Marvel Entertainment (which includes M

Is Tucker Carlson a White Supremacist? I’m convinced that Tucker Carlson  is  a white supremacist, or, at the very least, says horrible things that make him sound like one. I mean, seriously now; how can one not think that someone who says any of the following statements is  not  a white supremacist? “Immigrants make America poorer — and dirtier — and more divided.” “White men deserve the credit for creating civilization.” “The Iraqis are nothing but a bunch of semiliterate primitive monkeys.” “You know, I am not even sure that President Obama is really black.” “We need a Presidential candidate who will blame the lunatic Muslims who are behaving like animals.” So, yep. I do believe Mr. Carlson is a racist jerk who believes that the “white race” is superior.

Cover art by Tara Philips. © 2019 Disney-Lucasfilm Press Well, Dear Readers, it's Friday again, and here I am with a new Star Wars book about Padme Amidala, a character who is prominent in the franchise as the secret wife of the Man Who Will Be Vader and the ill-fated mother of the Skywalker Twins (Luke and Leia). Best of all, we get to revisit our favorite galaxy far, far away during a period that has not been explored much since the House of Mouse purchased Lucasfilm from George "the Maker" Lucas almost seven years ago: the Prequel Era. On March 5, Disney-Lucasfilm Press published E.K. Johnston's Star Wars: Queen's Shadow, a novel set four years after the events of Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In this all-new canonical novel by the author of Star Wars: Ahsoka, we get to follow the 18-year-old Padme as she makes the life-changing transition from being the elected monarch of Naboo to the challenging and perhaps even perilous world of galactic p

Will people suddenly stop hating Donald Trump when he leaves office? Well, I can’t answer this for “many people.” I can’t even answer this for “liberals” or “many liberals.” I can only answer for myself, even though I assume there are others who feel this way about Donald Trump. To be honest with you, dear questioner, I’ve never been a fan of Donald Trump’s. Based on his long history of seeking public attention, his very public penchant for marrying attractive (if perhaps a bit plastic-looking) women, then ditching them after having widely-publicized affairs with other attractive (and plastic-looking) women. and his less-than-stellar business history (Trump steaks, Trump vodka, Trump casinos, and worse yet, Trump University), I don’t see much to admire in the current President of the United States. "I love pitting people against each other. My whole life is based on that. It brings out the best in people and the worst in people. If the worst comes out, you don't wan

© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Superman, the Superman logo and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics On May 15, 2012, just as director Zach Snyder's Man of Steel reboot was entering its post-production phase, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. re-released three of the earlier films in the Superman franchise, all of which were connected with director Richard Donner in some way.in a Triple Feature  Blu-ray bundle. This collection consists of Superman: The Movie (1978), the 2006 reconstruction of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, and director Bryan Singer's "soft reboot" Superman Returns, which is set in the same "universe" depicted by Donner and ignores the misbegotten Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.  As is often the case in the home media distribution business, this Triple Feature bundle is only a good deal for consumers who had not previously bought the three Superman films' individual  Blu-r

What happens if Trump loses in 2020, then on January 20, 2021, the President-elect and Vice-President-elect both refuse to take the oath of office, and everyone in the line of succession refuses to become the next President? You’re joking, right? First of all, this is one of the silliest “what if” scenarios about American politics, the Presidency, and how government works I’ve run across in my two years on Quora. Why in the world would the President-elect and his Vice President decide at the last minute to chicken out  at the very last minute  at this late stage in the game? Seriously, dude. Do you  really  believe that whoever ran against Trump in 2020 and defeated him after a bitter and hard-fought political campaign is going to all of a sudden stop the proceedings and say to Chief Justice John Roberts, “Er, excuse me, Your Honor, but my running mate and I have both changed our mind? We aren’t going to ‘solemnly affirm’ anything. Bye.” Pish. Not. Gonna. Happen. And, to m

Cover for Stephen King's Creepshow by Jack Kamen. © 1982 Plume Books, an imprint of Penguin Books  In July of 1982, Penguin Books imprint Plume published Stephen King's Creepshow, a graphic novel based on George A. Romero's eponymous horror film, which had premiered in Cannes two months earlier but would not hit theaters for another four months. Written by King and illustrated by the late Bernie Wrightson under his professional nom de plume "Berni Wrightson," Creepshow (like the film it is derived from) is a graphic homage to the horror comics published by EC Comics in the 1950s. The 64-page book presents the same five stories in King's screenplay for the movie, two of which ( The Crate and The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill ) were adaptations of prose stories the author had published in men's magazines in the 1970s ; the other three segments were written specifically for Romero's film. Creepshow's quintet of horror tales consists of:

Fifty years on. A half-century ago, I was a six-year-old boy who lived in a large apartment in Bogota with my mom and two live-in maids (Lily and Olimpia). I was about to start first grade at Colegio El Nogal, a private Catholic school run by Nidia de Hakim, an acquaintance of my grandparents and mother. I don't remember much about the school now; fifty years on, I only have vague fragments of memories; the campus was a remodeled mansion with many rooms and long dark hallways...the pencil sharpener was in a closet outside one of the rows of classrooms, and we had two meals on school grounds during the school day: onces (which was a mid-morning snack), and lunch (around one in the afternoon). I also remember that we wore uniforms to school; blue-black-and-white plaid shorts, knee-high blue socks, blue-white wingtip shoes, white dress shirts, and blue sweaters with the school's monogram (EN)) in white letters on the upper left of the chest area. School days began at 9 AM and