Author: Alex Diaz-Granados
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Thoughts & Musings for Wednesday, September 30, 2020: Autumn is Here…and the Presidential Campaign Heats Up
Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s early morning here in my small corner of Florida, and outside it’s beginning to feel a lot like autumn. As I write this it’s not even 6 AM and the temperature is 64˚F (18˚C) under mostly cloudy skies. The wind is blowing from the north at 11 MPH/18 KPH and…
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Book Review: ‘Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45’
Snow & Steel: Hitler’s Last Gamble in the West Examined On November 28, 2014, the Oxford University Press published Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45, an in-depth book about Operation Autumn Mist (Herbstnebel, which can also be translated from German as “Autumn Fog”), the last counter-offensive launched by Nazi Germany on the…
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‘Star Wars’ Collectibles & Toys Review: Star Wars The Black Series Archive Collection: Luke Skywalker (X-Wing) 6-Inch Action Figure (2019)
“Red Five Standing By…” Luke Skywalker uses the power of the Force and his piloting skills to destroy the Death Star. – Packaging blurb, Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) Back in July 2013, less than a year after George Lucas retired from “big movie” filmmaking and sold Lucasfilm Ltd. and all of its intellectual properties to…
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Even More Thoughts & Musings, Sunday, September 27, 2020
Hello again, Dear Reader. It’s now evening here in my corner of Florida as I begin this third post for Sunday, September 27, 2020. Outside, the sunlight is dimming; it’s 78˚F (26˚C) under partly sunny skies – though the light that is straining to pass through my blinds is grey and dim. Sunset is only…
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More Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, September 27, 2020: Traveling Back to Far Happier Times
More Musings & Thoughts for September 27, 2020: Remembering Seville ‘88 As I sit here in my sunlit, cozy, but somewhat lonely study, I find myself looking back at the past. Right now, as I deal with a breakup that I should have seen coming but didn’t, plus all of the feelings of anger, self-reproach,…
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Musings & Thoughts for September 27, 2020: Absentee Ballots, Books, and Stormy Weather
Musings & Thoughts for September 27, 2020 Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s late morning (past 9 AM) here on this last Sunday of September 2020. It’s going to be a hot, humid day; the current temperature outside is 80˚F (27˚C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at a sticky 92% and a becalmed wind, right…
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Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, September 26, 2020
Hi, there, Dear Reader, and welcome to another edition of Musings & Thoughts. It’s late morning here in my corner of Florida on this hot, humid September Saturday. Currently, the temperature outside is 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at a sticky 74% and a southerly breeze blowing at…
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‘Star Wars’ Collectibles & Toys Review: Star Wars The Black Series Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) Action Figure
“A Little Too Short for a Stormtrooper” – Star Wars The Black Series Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) In a brave attempt to rescue Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker disguises himself as an Imperial Stormtrooper and infiltrates the detention center of the Death Star. – Packaging blurb, Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) In May of…
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Musings & Thoughts for Friday, September 25, 2020, or: Of Wi-Fi Issues, Upcoming Reviews, and (Star) Trekkin’ On
Hi there, Dear Reader, and welcome to another edition of Musings & Thoughts. It’s Friday, September 25, 2020, and as I write this it’s late morning in my corner of Florida. The current temperature is 79˚F under mostly sunny skies; with humidity at a whopping 89% and a 3 MPH breeze blowing from the east-northeast,…
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More Thoughts, More Musings on a Quiet September Afternoon, or: Memories of Sevilla 1988
When I was 25 years old and studying journalism at what was then the South Campus of Miami-Dade Community College,[1] I decided to participate in the Foreign Language Department’s Semester in Spain study-abroad program in Sevilla (Seville) for the Fall Term of the 1988-1989 school year. At the time I had a plethora of reasons,…