Battlefront 2, a video game in the Star Wars: Battlefront series, received the final update to its multiplayer experience this week. The game, which primarily revolves around playing as iconic Star Wars characters both with and against other players, received a great degree of negativity during the time surrounding its launch in 2017. A lack of enjoyable content and a pay-to-win series of mechanics implemented in the game drove off many fans and buyers. By removing said pay-to-win mechanics and providing players with regular updates, the developers behind the game were able to bring new and interesting characters, locations, and weapons to the game, as well as perform regular maintenance on connectivity and gameplay issues. Over the years, the game has evolved into one beloved by fans, and many are sad to see the final update, which adds a massive amount of new cosmetic and mechanical items to the game. The team behind the game is looking to begin work on Battlefront 3, which will also follow a similar style of development.

The Batman, part one of a trilogy of movies starring Robert Pattinson as the titular character, was originally slated for a June 2021 release. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown production off track, and the cast and crew decided to stay home, rather than risk spreading the virus. Due to this delay in production, the release date has been pushed back to October 1st of 2021. The film, which is said to show Batman during his earlier days of fighting crime, hosts an impressive cast, with actors and actresses such as Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis. To prevent any of the cast or crew from falling ill with the virus, precautions have been taken to halt production until the virus runs its course.

While being stuck inside of the house may seem to be a boring and painstaking endeavor, there are a great many things that you can do to help pass the time.

Examples include:

– reading a new book

– working out

– watching movies

– writing stories

– practicing an instrument

– FaceTiming friends and loved ones

– learning a new skill, such as cooking or skating

Despite having concluded the main Skywalker saga with the recently released Rise Of Skywalker, Disney still plans to continue the Star Wars franchise through a series of movies. This news comes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly delayed a number of Marvel titles, another brand under the control of Disney. The Star Wars release slated for 2022 is actually “…very much staying still, making it one of a few movies to retain its original date” (Roberts, 4/6/20). Gary Cardenas, a lifetime Star Wars fan, said that “ (I)…very much like that they’re keeping the date the same, and I’m looking forward to more movies. It seems that, despite the worldwide pandemic, Disney remains confident in its 2022 release date.

Well known columnist and political pundit John Stossel has been the subject of my Follow A Columnist series, and, in the time spent researching his work and prior experiences, his strategies and methods of relaying the news have been made clear. Stossel’s Twitter is effectively used to provide a small amount of detail regarding his most recent blog posts, and a link so that one may read more on the given topic. Stossel also isn’t afraid to hold back in regards to his opinions, and his frankness over political matters grants him an air of decisiveness and provides a clear message to those who both agree and disagree with him. Stossel’s Twitter is his only notable social media platform, and as a result he relies predominantly on said platform to advertise his website, where he posts all of his blogs and editorials. His content is all politically based, with variations in the specific topics. His articles cover his disdain or approval for various laws, government policies, or prominent political figures. I find his content to be agreeable for the most part, with a few of his opinions conflicting with my own, namely those in which he sees things as very black and white. I find such a viewpoint to be hypocritical, as most of his platform is built off his nonpartisan views. However, I still find his content and person to be both respectable and agreeable. His website and Twitter are accessible on nearly any medium, and are easily navigated on mobile and desktop, with the former even having its own format, which is just as easy to use as the latter. The website is visually engaging, as is the content. Stossel’s Twitter also uses various images and video clips from either outside sources or his own footage, making it equally visually engaging. Stossel interacts with his followers on occasion by asking them questions, and answering theirs. His questions and answers are all politically based, and reflect his opinions both in his answers to said questions and the nature of his questions. As a self described Libertarian, Stossel believes in the holding of the individual freedom of United States citizens above all else, and he isn’t afraid to dive into controversial opinions regarding political events. This has drawn the ire of both conservative and liberal news outlets and political figures. Stossel uses this opposition to further push his political agenda and argue his case in the events of controversies such as court cases, new laws, and policy reform. His strategies are bold, intelligent and divisive. However, such qualities grant a refreshing truthfulness to his news reporting that is often found lacking in more partisan news outlets or groups. Unfortunately, I was unable to establish contact with John Stossel. An analysis of his social media platform and website allowed me to draw these conclusions and form this examination.

In Stossel’s most recent article, the journalist admonishes contemporary policies relating to laws regarding the treatment of children. He cites the case of Debra and Regina Harrell, a mother and daughter who found themselves embroiled in a controversial case of “child neglect”, wherein the former chose to leave the latter at a playground, due to her inability to afford daycare. Debra worked at a nearby McDonald’s while Regina hung out at a playground with several friends and their parents. Eventually, Debra was imprisoned and charged with “willful abandonment of a child”, which carries a 10-year prison sentence. Prosecutors dropped the charge after being met with a significant amount of controversy. Stossel believes children should be afforded more freedoms and opportunity for independence, and argues that a decrease in child-related crimes means children are safer than ever. I agree with his statement, and believe that an overabundance of laws requiring the constant supervision of a child will eventually need to extremely dependent and needy adults, who undoubtedly wouldn’t be productive members of society.

In this article by John Stossel, he begins by praising Democratic Party candidate Mike Bloomberg for his denouncing of fellow candidate Bernie Sanders’ socialist policies. However, he immediately goes on to berate Bloomberg, referring to him as the type to run government like a business, not too dissimilar to the style of current President Donald Trump. This style of governing, Stossel argues, has a tendency to limit or rescind American freedoms, freedoms which are expected when one lives in a free country such as this one. Overall, Stossel has many problems with Bloomberg, but prefers him to Sanders simply due to Bloomberg’s willingness to oppose popular party policies he disagrees with. I find Stossel’s evaluation of Bloomberg to be fair, if not a little harsh on some of Bloomberg’s more liberal policies, such as continued regulations on the free market.

In this editorial by John Stossel, Stossel puts forward the claim that Bernie Sander’s support for socialist and even communist ideals show a lack of formal education on the topics which propel his political base. While I believe that Sanders’ political beliefs and actions do paint him as a democratic socialist, I find his emulation of Denmark and Sweden’s economic strategies to be indicative of a lack of knowledge regarding what socialism truly is, as neither of the aforementioned countries are truly socialist in the sense of the word. Sanders’ support of communist regimes such as those in Cuba and Russia also highlight not only a man who is poorly versed in politics, but also desperately attempting to appeal to a growing voter base of those who find socialism great in theory, but not practice.

The critically acclaimed Star Wars franchise has no doubt been under a barrage of both praise and criticism, drawn mainly by Disney and Lucasfilm’s decision to move forward with a new trilogy of movies, referred to by fans as the Sequel Trilogy. This new trilogy (consisting of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise Of Skywalker) is the first set of films (alongside spinoff films Rogue One and Solo) in the franchise to be helmed by Disney creative executives. This change in leadership from Lucasfilm’s former full autonomy to a new, corporate-focused hierarchy of business officials is, in the eyes of many, an unwise move. This opinion holds a large degree of merit, as businesses act in the interest of profit, while film studios are often times more interested in creating art pieces and allowing for creative freedom. Disney’s corporatist mindset towards the Star Wars brand has led to an excessive stifling of creative freedom, and an overly cautious approach to storytelling. Because of this, old story beats are lazily reused, new and interesting characters are relegated to minor roles and forward thinking ideas are put in the background if they do not properly align with projected overseas profits. The franchise, which has long celebrated the values of freedom, acceptance and hope, is instead being wrung dry by a money-hungry business, who could care less about passionately and attentively developing an ongoing, original and bold story.

Star Wars’ ninth episode, titled The Rise Of Skywalker, was a divisive work, and far from one of JJ Abrams’ best films. JJ’s involvement in the film is a result of Disney’s removal of director Colin Trevorrow from the project, as Disney believed JJ would be able to ease some of the controversy brought about by Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. However, prior to his removal, Trevorrow completed the script for Star Wars’ ninth episode, originally named Duel of the Fates. This script differs radically from the film Abrams presented audiences with, and comes with its own benefits and drawbacks. Recently, leaks on Twitter have made a pdf version of the script available for anyone to read. Disney has yet to address this controversy, but Trevorrow’s release of concept art for his vision of the film, which coincides perfectly with the leaked script, as well as his personal reactions and opinions regarding several plot points in the original script, grant a fair degree of legitimacy to the leaks. Now, Star Wars fans can only wonder as to what Trevorrow’s vision for Star Wars’ finale may have looked like.