A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

 Hey, there, Dear Reader. I know, I know. I don’t write too many posts here anymore. I regret that, but once a bunch of conservatives – or maybe it was only one or two conservatives, I don’t know for sure – complained to Facebook that I was posting politically-themed stuff that they didn’t like, the Powers That Be in Meta’s corporate HQ decided to block A Certain Point of View from the “Social Network.” I had no way to appeal that decision; Facebook/Meta makes it so hard to get a punitive decision regarding what you post on Facebook that it was just easier to go over to WordPress and create A Certain Point of View, Too. I did not want to, nor did I love the idea of paying a yearly fee to have my own domain name and other benefits from a premium account, but if I wanted to share my blog on Facebook – which was one of this blog’s biggest sources of readers – I had to do the “WordPress” thing. As I’ve said in previous posts on this topic, I thought I’d be able to either write two bl

© 2021 Harry N. Abrams/Abrams Books & 20th Century Studios   Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s Friday, February 4, 2022, and here in Lithia, Florida, it is a nice winter afternoon, Florida style. After a few days of near-freezing temperatures, we’re now in a warming trend. Outside, the temperature is 85˚F (29˚C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at 57% and the wind blowing from the south-southwest, the heat index is 86˚F. Winter it may be, meteorologically and astronomically speaking, but it certainly feels like summer here. Well, as I sit here I’m keeping an eye on my Amazon account and the progress of my latest order. Yesterday I bought a copy of Laurent Bouzerau’s West Side Story: The Making of the Steven Spielberg Film. Published last November by Harry N. Abrams, a New York-based publishing company that specializes in books about art and entertainment, this is a 256-page, fully-illustrated behind the scenes account of how (and why) Steven Spielberg directed a second film ad

An enemy ship sinks in Cold Waters.  Game elements © 2017 Killerfish Games  Hi, there, Dear Reader. It's Monday, January 10, 2022, and finally, after two months of not posting anything in A Certain Point of View, I am back with a new - if perhaps brief - post.  I am happy to report that I got my Moderna (Spikevax) vaccine. I received my first shot in mid-November, and I got my second one just a few days before Christmas, I have not gone out anywhere since the second Fauci Ouchie, mainly because I don't go out much anyway, and the woman who used to take me places - doesn't do it anymore. I missed seeing Steven Spielberg's West Side Story because of this, and since there's no easy way for me to go to the nearest theater on my own, I'm resigned to having to wait till the film hits the home media market.  Anyway, I've been busy over on WordPress with our sister blog A Certain Point of View, Too. I write at least one post a day there, and currently, I am on a str

© 2017 Killerfish Games  As you know, my current favorite computer game is Cold Waters (2017), a submarine warfare simulator set in an alternate timeline where the Cold War turned hot. Inspired by MicroProse Software's 1988 classic Red Storm Rising, this game from Australian game studio Killerfish Games takes players into the cold waters of either the North Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean and depicts three separate and chilling scenarios set in alternate versions of 1968, 1984, and 2000.  I play Cold Waters at least twice a week on average, but there are times when I play the game a bit more. I enjoy it more than most of my other games because:  It does remind me of the many hours that I played Red Storm Rising back when I was younger It has kickass graphics It has immersive sound and dialogue It is full of heart-pounding action and intense situations full of suspense and drama Did I mention the kickass graphics? It is challenging and makes players want to learn more about Cold War e

© 2017 Game-Labs Hi, there! I know I haven't posted much here, but between writing posts for A Certain Point of View, Too , working on a screenplay, and gaming every so often, I find it difficult to carve time to post here regularly. If it weren't that I've had this blog for so many years already, I'd probably call it a day and just focus on my WordPress blog. But, since I have already invested a lot of time and work into A Certain Point of View , I will just submit posts here when I can.  © 2017 Game-Labs Speaking of gaming, I have been playing two Civil War-based computer games published by a Romanian company called Game-Labs. One is Ultimate General: Gettysburg  (2014) , and the other is its more ambitious sequel, Ultimate General: Civil War (2014) .  I am not a die-hard Civil War buff, but I know enough about the bloodiest war in American history to at least try out a few wargames set in that conflict. I currently own four such games; in addition to the Ultimate G

  Hello, Dear Reader. It’s early afternoon here in New Hometown, Florida on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. The current temperature is 88 ˚ F (31 ˚ C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at 56% and the wind blowing from the east-southeast at 7 MPH (11 KM/H), the heat index is 96 ˚ F (36 ˚ C). This afternoon we can expect thunderstorms to pass through the area; the high will be 91 ˚ F (33 ˚C) . Tonight, scattered showers will occur, and the low will be 74 ˚ F (23 ˚ C). The Air Quality Index (AQI) is 38 or Good . Well, where to begin? For starters, I have what seems to be a garden variety summer cold, so I am not exactly at my tip-top best right now. I’ve had a low-grade but persistent headache, intermittent sneezing fits, a nose that alternates between an uncomfortable stuffiness and an icky, disgusting runniness, and occasional (but mild) fits of coughing. I’ve had worse respiratory ailments, to be sure, but this is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out early last year

© 2014 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment   Greetings, Dear Reader. It’s early afternoon here in New Hometown, Florida, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Currently, the temperature is 86 ˚ F (30 ˚ C) under rainy conditions. With humidity at 63% and the wind blowing from the northwest at 6 MPH (12 KM/H), the feels-like factor is 91 ˚ F (33 ˚ C). Today we can expect scattered showers throughout the day and into the evening. The high will be 89 ˚ F (32 ˚ C); the low will be 72 ˚ F (22 ˚ C). My two Indy Blu-ray sets. 4K UHD set on the left, my original 2012 Blu-ray set on the right. Photo by the author. Well, after a delay of nearly two weeks, I finally received my Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection with the first four Indiana Jones films in 4K UHD Blu-rays late Monday evening. I pre-ordered it on March 16, and the original delivery window was for June 10 or 11, a few days after the five-disc set’s street release. But Paramount Home Media Distribution, ViacomCBS’ division in charge of phys