Author: Alex Diaz-Granados
-
Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, September 13, 2020: The End is Nigh for the Weirdest Summer Ever
Hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Musings & Thoughts. It’s late morning here in my corner of Florida as I sit here in my writer’s study, but I had a rather sleepless night, so I’m tired and weary in both body and spirit. Right now, the weather picture for today is rather dreary;…
-
Book Review: ‘The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 (Volume II of the Pacific War Trilogy)
On September 21, 2015, W.W. Norton & Company – an independent, employee-owned publishing company based in New York City – published Ian W. Toll’s The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944. This is the second book in Toll’s Pacific War Trilogy, which begins with Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942…
-
Book Review: ‘Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Volume I of the Pacific War Trilogy)
On November 14, 2011, W.W. Norton & Company published Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942, the first volume of Ian W. Toll’s Pacific War Trilogy. In twelve chapters and an epilogue which take up 493 pages of narrative, Toll covers the first six months of the Pacific War that pitted the Japanese…
-
More Tales from a Constant Reader: Progress on ‘Twilight of the Gods’ & a Bit of Melancholy
Hi, there, Dear Reader. As I write this, it’s still early afternoon on Thursday, September 10, 2020. In my neck of the suburbs – so to speak – it is a typically hot late summer day; the temperature outside is 90˚F under mostly cloudy skies. According to my smartphone’s AccuWeather app, the “feels-like” temperature is…
-
Tales from a Constant Reader, or: Books, Memories, and Changed Circumstances
Well, it’s late morning here on this Wednesday, September 9, 2020, and in my corner of Florida, it looks like it’s going to be another hot and stormy late summer day. Right now, it’s 83˚F (28˚C) under partly sunny skies, although the feels-like temperature is 94˚F (34˚C). It’s a quiet – if perhaps a bit…
-
TV Documentary Review: ‘The First World War’ (2003)
In September of 2003, Britain’s Channel 4 TV network began airing The First World War, a 10-part series based on historian Hew Strachan’s eponymous book about the cataclysmic conflict that broke out in the summer of 1914 and ended on the “11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month” in 1918. Produced and…
-
Musings & Thoughts, Labor Day 2020
Labor Day 2020 It’s late afternoon here in my corner of Florida; right now the weather outside is typical of the wet season – hot, muggy, and, after a passing thunderstorm, partly sunny. The temperature is 89˚F (32˚C), but with humidity at 64% and an easterly breeze blowing at 6 MPH, the feels-like temperature is…
-
‘Star Wars’ Collectibles & Toys Review: Hasbro Star Wars The Black Series – Imperial Snowtrooper (Hoth) (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Figure)
IMPERIAL SNOWTROOPER (HOTH): Stormtroopers in cold-weather gear deployed from Imperial AT-AT walkers and invaded Hoth’s Echo Base, quickly and ruthlessly taking control of the Rebels. – Product description blurb, Hasbro official website On Friday, August 28, Hasbro released the latest addition to its Star Wars The Black Series collection of figures commemorating the 40th Anniversary…
-
Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, September 6, 2020: Another Late Summer Day in My Corner of Florida
Hello, Dear Reader. I hope this Sunday post finds you in good health and safe from the current global COVID-19 pandemic. If you are a citizen or resident of the U.S., I also hope that you are enjoying a nice pre-Labor Day weekend, even if the coronavirus health crisis means you have to put up…
-
Musings on Politics, September 5, 2020: Trump Disses America’s War Dead as ‘Suckers’ and ‘Losers’; Supporters Don’t Care
Hi, there, Dear Reader. It’s late Saturday morning in my corner of Florida as I start this post, and – no surprise – it’s going to be another hot late summer day here. Currently, the temperature here is 83˚F (29˚C) under mostly sunny skies. With a slight breeze blowing from the east at 2 MPH…
A Certain Point of View, Too 