A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

My writer's credit!  On February 9, 2020, Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss made its debut as a YouTube short film. Since then, it has been viewed 1,257 times, which by YouTube standards is not impressive but still is gratifying for everyone involved. Of the three "shorts" that actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez and I have collaborated on, Ronnie has had the most success, not just in the pageviews department but also as far as critical success is concerned. On our film's Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page , we only have two critics' reviews, one by Meg Learner of PersonaPaper, the other by Denise Longrie, a poet, writer, and longtime reviewer who wrote for many years at the now-closed review site Epinions. In her review , Ms. Longrie says this about the premise of a NYC family divided by politics in Trump-era America: These people love each other. Despite their differences, they still care for one another. Jerry brings home treats for

Hello, Dear Reader. It's Monday, March 2, 2020, and it's late morning here in my corner of Florida. Currently, the temperature outside is 73℉ (23℃) under partly sunny skies; per the forecast for the day, the high is expected to reach 76℉ (26℃), while the low for tonight will be 59℉ (15℃). Well, in three days I will be 57 years old. I have mixed feelings about this; on the one hand, I am glad to be alive and thrilled that Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss , the short film I wrote last year for my friend Juan Carlos Hernandez, turned out as well as it did. So far, in the three weeks since Juan posted it on YouTube, Ronnie has been watched 1,216 times (as of this writing). It has also gotten its first official review ; Blogger/reviewer Denise Longrie says Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss is an "amusing and enjoyable short." A still image from Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss.  She goes on to describe the dynamic of the family

Photo Credit: Hasbro, Inc. © 2017 Hasbro and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) In the Spring of 2018, even weeks before its scheduled April 13 rollout, many retailers began selling Death Star Trooper, the 60th figure in Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series collection of 6-inch scale action figures. Based on the black-garbed Imperial personnel assigned to serve aboard the original Death Star seen in 1977's Star Wars (aka Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope ), Death Star Trooper is a well-made repainted version of 2017's 40th Anniversary figure, Death Squad Commander and was part of a The Black Series wave that included Jawa, Han Solo, Grand Moff Tarkin, Range Trooper, and Lando Calrissian.  Two Death Star Troopers guard the conference room in the Empire's original planet-killing battle station in this scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. © 1977  20th Century Fox Film Corp.  In the original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983), the black-clad Imperial troopers are seen primarily a

The Battle of the Fulda Gap, August 1, 1985. Actual gameplay screenshot from a session I played of Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm. Images © 2014 Slitherine Ltd./Matrix Games and On Target Simulations Hello again, Dear Reader! Welcome to yet another edition of Bloggin' On, the no-reviews, no-politics section of A Certain Point of View. It's Friday, February 28, 2020, and it's a chilly day here in my corner of Florida. Currently, the temperature in my neighborhood is 58℉ (15℃) a few minutes after noon; it was colder earlier, of course, and I don't think that we'll see anything warmer than 60℉ (16℃). The low tonight is expected to be 46℉ (8℃), which reminds me of how cold my apartment in Sevilla (Seville), Spain, could get in late November or early December 1988. I usually like to start writing early in the morning; it doesn't matter if I'm working on a new script, a short story, a review, or a blog post, but I'm tap-tap-tapping on my keyboard no

Title screenshot of Flashpoint Campaign: Red Storm - Player's Edition. © 2014 Slitherine Ltd/Matrix Games and On Target Simulations On November 21, 2014, the UK-based computer game publisher Matrix Games released Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm - Player's Edition, a revamped version of the original turn-based strategy game set in an alternate history of the 1980s in which the Cold War turned hot and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact clashes with the U.S.-led NATO forces in West Germany. Created by On Target Simulations for the merged Slitherine Ltd/Matrix Games studio and inspired by several fictional works about a hypothetical Third World War fought in the mid- to late 1980s, including Sir John Hackett's The Third World War: August 1985 and Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm - Player's Edition puts you in command of either the Allied or Soviet armies in several campaigns and more than 20 stand-alone scenarios, including many player-

"I love the ending. You have to see it to enjoy it." Meg Learner, PersonaPaper , Image from Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss © 2020 Popcorn Sky Productions Well, it took a little while ﹘ 17 days, to be exact ﹘ but Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss has gotten a couple of long-form published reviews. The first one was Denise Longrie's user review on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com ). Here is an excerpt: It's fun to watch the family members interact with each other. There's no malice. The different characters become angry and annoyed at each other. In less capable hands, their portrayals could have been cardboard clowns. However, even when they're at their most ridiculous, these characters remain human beings with depth. "These people love each other. Despite their differences, they still care for one another."  Denise Longrie, Internet Movie Database user review .  Image from  Ronnie and the Pursuit of th

Hasbro Star Wars: The Black Series #90: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Photo Credit: Hasbro, Inc. © 2019 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On October 4, 2019, during the pre-premiere run-up to Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Hasbro released the 90th figure in its successful Star Wars: The Black Series line of six-inch scale action figures, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. This figure, which is actually a re-use of the body from 2017's #45 Kylo Ren figure, features a new helmet based on the one reforged by the former Ben Solo after the events of Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, as well as a new cape and two changeable hoods. This figure was one of a fall "wave" of Hasbro Star Wars: The Black Series figures based on characters not just from the final Skywalker Saga film but also from other Star Wars films and TV shows, including Star Wars; Rebels and The Mandalorian. In addition to Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Hasbro also released the following six-inch sc