Category: Movies
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Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Volume III’ (1997)
Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits, Volume III: A Late Discovery Worth the Wait I’ll admit it — I nearly passed this one by. When Greatest Hits: Volume III dropped in 1997, I hesitated. Joel’s post-An Innocent Man output hadn’t exactly lit up my radar, and with my classical collection growing, I wasn’t keen on spending limited…
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Movie Review: ‘Summer of ’42’ (1971)
Summer of ’42 (1971) Directed by: Robert Mulligan Written by: Herman Raucher Starring: Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Jennifer O’Neill, Christopher Norris, Lou Frizzell Music by: Michel Legrand Studio: Warner Bros. Summer of ’42: The Art of Being Seen Originally reviewed in 2003. This expanded reflection carries forward the emotional imprint of that first…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace – The Illustrated Screenplay’
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace – The Illustrated Screenplay By: George Lucas Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine Books Year of Publication: 1999 Genre: Film, Space Fantasy, Star Wars, Screenplay I first fell under the spell of screenplays in the spring of 1980 when I discovered Carol Titleman’s The Art of Star Wars—a treasure trove of…
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‘Clown 345’ Travels to Portugal: A Family Story with Circus Roots
Every clown has a first joke. Clown 345 is about one boy’s moment—the fragile, tender beat before laughter arrives. Co-written by Juan Carlos Hernandez and me, and starring Anthony James Hernandez as the Young Clown, this eight-minute short unfolds in a silent exchange of glances, jitters, and hope. Adria Kay Hernandez and Juan Carlos Hernandez…
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“This Night”: Music, Memory, and the Moments That Define Us
There’s something about music that stays long after the moment has passed. A lyric looping quietly in the back of your mind. A piano chord that stirs a memory you hadn’t meant to revisit. In Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, one such song plays softly in the background—Billy Joel’s “This Night.”…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About Where ‘Comings and Goings’ Came From
Where Did You Get the Idea for Your Most Recent Book? It’s funny how inspiration works sometimes. With my novel Reunion: Coda—which I finished and published less than three months ago—the journey from spark to story was anything but fast. (Amazon pegs it at 529 pages, by the way.) The seed was planted back in…
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The Echo of a Smile: Memory, Maria, and the Garratyverse
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, College Life, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Films by Steven Spielberg, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Miami-Dade Community College, Movies, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, West Side Story (1961 Film), West Side Story (1961), West Side Story (2021)Long before Jim Garraty stood on the curb in Somerville, watching a Corolla disappear into the quiet, there was a boy sitting in a sunlit classroom, speechless at the sound of someone saying “Hi.” I wrote about Maria in Catalyst back in 1987. She was radiant, kind, and achingly real. We shared benches between buildings…
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On Soft Light and Honest Songs: A Note to the Reader
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Billy Joel, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Love and Sex, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Movies, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: CodaEvery story in the Garratyverse carries its own rhythm. Some sweep across decades, reckoning with inherited grief, generational wounds, and the long arc of forgiveness. Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen isn’t that kind of story. It’s smaller. Quieter. But no less true. This one lives in the hush between songs, the half-step…
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Longest Day, Shortest Royalty Check… But Who’s Counting?
Friday Afternoon, June 20, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone— A few notable highlights from this first official day of summer: Now for a little personal update: Kindle Direct Publishing has processed my April royalties, and I’m set to receive a not-so-whopping (but still smile-worthy) $78.21. Most of that comes courtesy of Reunion: Coda, though…
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42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away (A Tempus Fugit Gig)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Billy Joel, Blogging, Cold War (1945-1991), Computers, John Williams (Composer), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Personal History, Personal Thoughts, Personal Thoughts, South Miami Senior High School, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Tempus fugit, U.S. History42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away…. Late Morning, Tuesday, June 17, 2025 — Miami, Florida “It was only high school, after all—arguably one of the most bizarre periods in a person’s life. How anyone emerges well-adjusted is nothing short of a miracle.” — E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly A…
A Certain Point of View, Too 