Entry#2--Disney+ and Star Wars

Star Wars is a series that shouldn't need much introduction. Even if you aren't a fan of the series, odds are you have at least heard of it. (right?) Starting at the end of 2019, Disney+ has been releasing new Star Wars shows, starting with the Mandalorian and most recently Ahsoka. If you're a Star Wars fan at all, this has been great news. The shows have been exciting, well written and they've done an amazing job connecting stories from previous movies and shows together. 

In case you aren't familiar with these stories and the roles they play, I'm gonna fill you in. The Mandalorian starts with a unique character and story but by the second season, it continues much of the story from the Clone Wars tv show that involved the Mandalorians. The Book of Boba Fett adds to the story of the Mandalorian and a fan favorite character. Andor is a prequel story for the movie Rogue One. Obi Wan serves as a bridge to better explain details between episodes 3 and 4. As of the time this is written, Ahsoka isn't currently finished but it looks like it's continued that trend as it serves as a continuation of the story from both Rebels and the Clone Wars tv shows. (If you haven't watched these, I highly recommend it. Don't let the animation style fool you, they're not only for kids)

These inclusions add some much needed detail to the stories they're associated with and expand upon some of the stories that fans of the series wanted to see more of. This is actually a great change of pace when you look at the fan reception for the sequel trilogy. These movies came out after Disney bought Star Wars and reviews are all over the place, with many fans unhappy with the story. I'm sure the same could be said about the new tv shows, but the vast majority of reviews and ratings I've seen have been overwhelmingly positive. Based on the success of the shows, I'm definitely excited to see what future Star Wars movies will look like in the future. I'm curious to know what other fans might think?

It's also worth noting that these shows have lead to some great collectibles being released, most notably Lego.. Which I look forward to adding to my collection. 

Entry#1--A Blog About Blogs

Hi all! I'm back and I'm here to share my thoughts about blogs. I'm going to be honest, until recently I thought blogs were kind of an outdated concept. At the inception of personal use computers and people having home internet, blogs seemed so much more prevalent. I remember Myspace having a section to add personal blog posts that could be private, shared with friends or were out there for anyone to see. Fast forward many years and this idea felt foreign to me, however, I've come to realize that blogs are still highly utilized online. I had actually been viewing blogs on a daily or weekly basis without giving it any thought. I follow several pages on social media that post blogs for topics I follow and I've seen several other blogs while doing things like doomscrolling and clicking or tapping on random pages, only to end up on a random blog that had reeled me in with some enticing hook about how I can only find the outcome if I "click here". We've all done that, right?

In my recent journey, learning everything I can about blogs, I had realized there was a blog I saw often that I had actually followed on social media so I can stay up to date on all things Lego. Jay's Brick Blog This blog is casual/professional and has an audience of anyone interested in Lego. The format of the blog is usually really simple, when there's news of upcoming Lego sets, they share that information and any pictures or links associated with it. I really like the simplicity of the blog and having a trusted source that relays this information in one place. I can't really say there's anything I don't care for in this blog. They post about upcoming sets, do reviews for those and existing sets and even post links to Lego related sales or deals. In the event anyone reading has any interest in Lego, I highly recommend following. 

As previously mentioned, another type of blog I had become aware of was popping up during doomscrolling. I didn't want to subject myself to any more doomscrolling than I already do, so I found a blog that shares a similar format from those I've seen online.  CHEEZburger This type of blog post features a hook or title that reels people in. They can't get the full story or picture without clicking and opening it up. This particular one isn't too bad, the blog I read had a link to the original reddit story they wrote about and it was written in the casual/professional style. The blog itself is mostly just a retelling or the original link though and pictures taken directly from that link. It seems to serve an unnecessary purpose, as the original reddit link covers the gist of the story and the blogs only addition is a brief summary of the original. Despite what might feel like a harsh view on these, they can definitely be a fun way to waste time. 

The third and final blog I'll cover was Lifehacker. This was another fun way to waste time but one of the more redeeming qualities I found about this blog was that while it had information that could be found elsewhere, it complied a nice and tidy list in one location. This was another blog written in the casual/professional style. (Seems popular!) I'd imagine the target audience is anyone who enjoys retro video games and needs to something to do for a few minutes or even hours. It has pictures or a video of each game and a brief synopsis of each game and how to access it on a web browser. Certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I looked through blogs but I was happy finding it. 

I choose these blogs because they reminded me of blogs I see throughout my normal life and I was surprised to see how many blogs are out there and that blogs themselves, are still relevant. I'd interested to know about any additional types of blogs that are super common that I may have overlooked during my time looking through blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment. 😀

#0--A Quintessential Introduction

                                                 

Hi all! My name is Nathan and this is the start of my blog. I'm currently taking Eng 101 at Glendale Community College (GCC) and some additional classes at Phoenix College (PC). I'm currently a STEM major pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. I'm in the infancy of obtaining my degree, having started over after pursuing a degree in software engineering. I'm a little nervous about starting over and having plethora of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry classes just over the horizon. But hey, that's future Nathan's problem!            

Honestly, having to write about myself makes me realize I'm kind of boring at the moment. I have hobbies such as drumming and Jiu Jitsu. Though I'm currently on a break from the latter. I spend most of my time at work, being a parent and now, doing schoolwork. There's not much time for anything else. The biggest hobby I've been able to hold on to and has been vital for maintaining some semblance of sanity is gaming. My favorite game for almost two decades has been World of Warcraft. I enjoy the game and I have a small community of friends I'm able to socialize with while playing. It's quite therapeutic. 

Here you can find a link to a snapshot of my main character where I'll humbly point out it's currently the #1 Holy Priest on the group of realms I play on. 😃

That's it for now, see you next time!