Hello, Dear Reader. It’s late morning on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, here in New Hometown, Florida. Currently, the temperature is 81˚F (27˚C) under sunny skies. With the wind blowing from the south-southeast at 2 MPH (3 KM/H) and humidity at 63%, the feels-like temperature is 79˚F (26˚C). Today’s forecast calls for scattered rain showers and a high of 89˚F (32˚C). Tonight, scattered rain will continue, and the low will be 73˚F (23˚C). The Air Quality Index (AQI) is 38 or Good.
I didn’t sleep well last night. I went to bed sometime before 11 PM and avoided drinking anything with caffeine or alcohol after dinner, but I still had to answer the “call of nature” at the ungodly hour of 3 AM Eastern Daylight Time. I did my best to go back to sleep; I avoided the temptation to turn on any screen – whether it was my TV, phone, or this computer – but all I managed to do was toss and turn in a vain effort to find a comfortable position. I curled up on my futon and kept my eyes closed for as long as possible, but it was all for naught.
I gave up trying to get a decent amount of rest around 4:30 AM, and as I write these lines, I have been up and about for five and a half hours. Of course, now I’m tired, cranky, and feeling stressed and aggravated.
The only bright spot to this Hump Day in late June of 2021 is this: I’ll probably be getting the only Amazon Prime Day order I made on Monday – the eight-disc Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection Blu-ray box set from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Universal released this in 2014, back when I still lived in Miami. I remember I wanted to get it at the time, but the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP, or list price) was $99.98, and even though Amazon offered it for a bit less than that, I was trying to make sure I had enough in our bank accounts to pay the bills, and I didn’t think I needed that box set since I already owned quite a few of the the bundle’s titles on Blu-ray. (Remember, in my previous life in Miami, I was taking care of my mom and was, to my older half-sister’s dismay, the acting head of the household.)
I still don’t need the Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection since I have six of the eight films in my collection. However, Always (1989) is currently out-of-stock, and Duel (1971) is included in the mix, so when Amazon was showing me “lightning deals” that were offered only for a couple of hours, I looked at the price – $19.99 for a set that is currently priced at $49.74 (plus Florida sales tax) – and went for it before the deal was withdrawn.
Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection brings:
- Duel (1971), a made-for-TV movie that was later re-structured for an international theatrical release after it was broadcast on ABC, thus making it Spielberg’s first theatrically-released film
- The Sugarland Express (1974), Spielberg’s first made-exclusively-as-a-theatrical release
- Jaws (1975)
- 1941 (1979)
- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Always (1989), one of Spielberg’s underrated films
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Originally, the package with this box set, which also includes a collectible booklet, was scheduled for a Thursday delivery, but it looks as though it will arrive today, based on the tracking information in my Amazon account.
Other than that, though, today is going to be one of those long and tiring days.
On that note, Dear Reader, I am going to close this post so I can go take a shower, change into fresh clothes, and recoup my energies. As always, stay healthy, stay safe, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.
