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Afrofuturism is having a moment. First posited by journalist Mark Dery in the early 1990s, Afrofuturism is now a full-blown social, cultural, psychological, technological, and aesthetic movement. And never has this movement, this moment, been more fully realized than in Tim Fielder’s magnum opus, Infinitum. To call it a graphic novel would be to undercut it’s value. It is an enterprise of speculative cultural cartography.

Episode five of The Mandalorian season two brought Star Wars fans a moment we’d been waiting years for. The first appearance of a live-action Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). Additionally, this chapter in Star Wars history also revealed Baby Yoda’s real name: Grogu. A truly special moment in Jedi history, Ahsoka explains to Mando about the fall of the fabled order. Using a somber tone, she says “There aren’t many Jedi left.”

Bottleneck Gallery

And “There Aren’t Many Jedi Left”  just so happens to be the name of a new piece from artist Mark Englert and the folks at Bottleneck Gallery. Englert’s piece juxtaposes the calm, bonding moments between the trio of protagonists with an expertly crafted glow-in-the-dark layer portraying Ahsoka’s intense battle with Elsbeth. It highlights one of the most memorable scenes from one of the most key chapters in the Star Wars saga. We see Ahsoka testing Grogu’s Force abilities in front of his surrogate dad on the planet of Corvus.

Englert’s print will be available as a timed-edition release from Wednesday (February 24)  at 12p.m. ET through Sunday (February 28) at 11:59p.m. ET at Bottleneck Gallery’s website. A black and white glow layer variant, edition of 75, will be included in random orders, free of charge. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky Ahsoka Tano fans who receives one. The number of prints sold through Sunday, February 28 at 11:59p.m. ET will determine the edition size.

Bottleneck Gallery

You can check out details of this amazing print right here, including the limited edition black and white version. Click to enlarge each image.

Featured Image: Bottleneck Gallery

The post New MANDALORIAN Print Highlights Ahsoka and Grogu appeared first on Nerdist.

In 2020, I dedicated my extra time at home to tackling a feat that normally wouldn’t be possible: watching the entirety of the Star Trek franchise. I laughed. I cried. I cringed. And I loved it all. One thing that stuck with me throughout the entirety of the journey is that Deep Space Nine is perfect. The character arcs. The narrative progression. The insight. In my opinion, this is the show we should have gotten instead of Picard. I need more of it now. 

So here are nine reasons why we need more Deep Space Nine.

1: There’s More Story to Tell

This is honestly the biggest reason, and every other point I make from here on out is really just branching off from this point. 

We live in a time where reboots and continuations are the norm in television and movies. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. Doesn’t matter if something ended on a sour note or if it had a satisfying ending. If there’s money to be made, it can be revived. 

Deep Space Nine falls somewhere in the middle. While its finale was satisfying, it also left threads open with a promise for more. But to this day, we haven’t gotten a canonical entry into anything that the show left open. That hurts me.

In a continuation of Deep Space Nine, we could find out what life was like after Sisko ascended into a Prophet. Either from his perspective or the perspective of his family and friends. At one point in time, the show was going to have movies just like The Next Generation, but they were shelved. Dust them off and adapt the story within the context of the new Trek we’re getting today. I’m begging you, and the prophets.

Before he left, Sisko literally promised his family that he’ll be back. Let him come back!!

2: Jake Sisko

I want to know how Jake coped with the loss of his father. Especially with the context of the episode “The Visitor” (my favorite episode of Star Trek), which eerily foreshadows Jake’s loss of his dad and how he deals with losing both of his parents at such a young age. In that episode, we see that Jake dedicates his life to saving his father’s. He sets aside his dreams and his family so he can bring Sisko back. Due to some timey wimey stuff, the events of that episode technically never happened to Jake, so does that mean he’s destined to repeat that cycle now that he’s lost his pops for real? I need this answered. 

3. Kasidy Yates and Sisko’s Child

In the DS9 finale, it’s revealed that Kasidy Yates is pregnant with Sisko’s child. It ultimately becomes a device that strengthens the conflict and makes it even more difficult for Sisko to make the decision he has to make at the end of the episode that results in his ascension. But either way, I’d like to know who that kid becomes, along with Kasidy. Does the child follow in their father’s footsteps and join Starfleet? Or do they blaze their own path as Jake did? I’d also like to see how Kasidy navigates being a single mother, and how Jake fills the void to help out.

4. What Happens to the Founders…and Odo

Toward the end of the series, it’s found out that Odo is infected with a virus and that he unknowingly poisons his entire race of people. If there’s no cure, they will all die, and the Dominion war will end as a result. He eventually gets a cure and heals the rest of his people, joining them in the great link. The war ends and everyone is happy. Except for maybe Kira.

But since the end of the Dominion War and the defeat of the Founders, there hasn’t been any mention of the shape-shifting aliens in the franchise. I’d like to know what they’ve been up to in the time since their brush with extinction. Are they still dominating the Gamma Quadrant or have they had a change of heart? They’re too fascinating of a species to not explore more.

5. The Gamma Quadrant

The Gamma Quadrant may have been a big part of DS9, but it’s still pretty unexplored from a franchise point of view. And with the wormhole still intact after the events of the finale, it’s still accessible. Who else resides there other than the former Dominion and how are they doing? Is there a power vacuum? It seems as though in the treaty resulting in the end of the war that the Federation is not allowed in the Gamma Quadrant. But things change. For better or for worse. I’d like to see what’s going on over there. 

6. Bajor

What happened to Bajor after the Dominion War ended? Is it a part of the Federation? Did it remain independent? The initial plot of the series was going to follow the events that led to Bajor joining the Federation, but things got in the way when the war broke out. 

Bajor hasn’t really been mentioned since the end of Deep Space Nine. We’ve seen some Bajoran characters pop up here in there, But that’s it. Anything that happens to Sisko in the future is directly tied to Bajor. He’s literally a God. So, if he were to come back into the fold, I’d imagine so would they. 

It would be interesting to see Sisko navigate being corporeal again and having to balance the responsibility of being a father and family man as well as a God to a whole planet.

7. Deep Space Nine/Terok Nor

This goes hand in hand with the status of Bajor, but I’d like to know what happened to the station itself. Is it still a joint Bajoran/Federation operation, or is it solely run by Bajor? Is it still called Deep Space Nine? Is Kira still running it?

It’s still a place of major importance to the Federation because of its proximity to the wormhole, and even though there isn’t supposed to be anyone coming through that wormhole or going into it, they would probably still like to be around in case something pops off. I want to know what a typical day is like on the station now. 

I bet Quark is still in there swindling folks.

8. Nog

Nog has one of the most wholesome stories in all of Deep Space Nine. Hell, all of Star Trek. He was the Ferengi that defied what the universe told him he could be and became the first of his kind to join Starfleet. I’d like to know what he did in Starfleet after the finale. 

The actor that played Nog, Aron Eisenberg, sadly passed away a year and a half ago so I wouldn’t like them to recast the character. Out of respect, I think the character should also be out of commission in any reboot they do. But I’d like to know everything he did up until that point. He was too strong of a character not to revisit. 

He was so close to Jake that I imagine that anything they do with Nog would be intertwined with Jake’s story.

There was a nice nod to Nog in this past season of Discovery. One of the Federation ships was called the USS Nog. 

Yeah, I cried. 

9. The Rest of The Main Cast

How is Dr. Bashir doing? Is he still doing spy stuff for Section 31? What about O’Brien? At the end of DS9, he was going to teach at Starfleet Academy. Is he still there? Worf is supposed to be the Klingon/Federation liaison now. I wanna see the guy. And Kira. She’s gotta still be heavily involved with Bajoran relations. Give me an update. 

This is obviously just the tip of the iceberg of what I want from a Deep Space Nine revival. You may have noticed how I didn’t mention any Cardassians. That’s because I realized maybe I have more than nine reasons this show needs to come back.

I ask a lot of questions in this article. But that’s because they are questions that need answering. The fact that there are so many only reinforces why we need to revisit this story.

At the end of the day, I hope I’ve proven why there’s still so much more to glean from this area of the Alpha Quadrant. Or at the very least inspired you to come up with reasons you’d like to see these characters again. 

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The post Nine Reasons We Need a ‘Deep Space Nine’ Revival appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

Hi everyone! Today I have some big updates that I want to discuss with y’all! So, let’s get started, shall we?! At Walt Disney World, they are now hiring tens of thousands of layoffs after a massive layoff that made the employees lose their jobs. This is great news as it not only means jobs are coming back, but perhaps that the theme parks could be expecting more business in the near future. The job listing is for bus drivers at Walt Disney World Resort and is currently the only job listing for either Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Here is what the listing says:

    The Walt Disney World® Resort is recruiting Transportation Bus Drivers who are positive, dependable and focused on maintaining the safety of our guests as they travel throughout multiple routes within our parks and resorts. As a part of our passionate team, you would be expected to observe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and other state and local traffic laws, and meet Department of Transportation Physical Standards.

    A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is not necessary to be considered for the Transportation Bus Driver role, but will be required if hired into the role. If selected, you will receive paid training to obtain your CDL and the cost of the CDL will be reimbursed by the company. Candidates must obtain/have a valid Florida Driver’s License to begin the CDL process. This is meaningful as so many Cast Members lost their jobs in 2020. The starting rate for this position is listed at $17 an hour which is well above minimum wage. We know that Disney recently announced that their Magical Express bus transportation service from the Walt Disney World Resort to Orlando International Airport (MCO) will be ending in 2022. The Magical Express buses were operated by Mears Transportation.

There is a chance this new job listing could meet a need for Mears employees who will be losing their jobs. It could, also, of course, help others who are looking for steady employment during these difficult times.

What this could mean for Disney World theme parks.

This listing could indicate that the Walt Disney World Resort is expecting to run more buses in the near future. This is great news as more buses would mean more Guests at Disney World, and that could lead to even more jobs opening back up at the resort. Disney World has been operating at limited capacity with success, and no known outbreaks of COVID-19 have been tied to Walt Disney World since it reopened to Guests. We will have to see if this is the start of Walt Disney World rehiring and opening more jobs in the future!

At the Disneyland Resort, the next phase of Disneyland Resort’s re-opening has just been announced. Similar to the phased reopening here at Walt Disney World, the Disney Vacation Club section of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will be reopening on May 2nd.

The announcement was made via email to Disney Vacation Club members:

    Dear Member,

    Today I’m pleased to share that The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel® & Spa are currently scheduled to reopen on May 2, 2021. Our Cast Members on the West Coast are excited to make their magic once again and “welcome home” Members with enhanced health and safety measures based on guidance from health authorities and appropriate government agencies.

    It is important to note that while the Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will open for Members and their guests, the rest of the hotel, as well as the Disneyland® Hotel, Disney’s Paradise Pier® Hotel, Disneyland® Park and Disney California Adventure® Park, remain closed for normal operations and will reopen at a later date. The Downtown Disney® District is open with select shopping and dining experiences. We invite you to continue to visit the website for the latest details about the phased reopening plans for the Disneyland Resort. The non-DVC rooms at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel will remain closed. The Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel also remain closed at this time. Please note that during the initial reopening period of The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, most dining, amenities, activities and services will be modified, limited in capacity or unavailable based on physical distancing and health guidelines. In addition, some areas and offerings will remain temporarily closed or unavailable.

The Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel were supposed to reopen in December, but the plans were scrapped at the last minute when a new stay-at-home order was put in place. I love the great news of the Grand California hotel Villas reopening on May 2 because it gives people some confidence and this is a small step forward that Disneyland needs to take to slowly reopen everything not rushing to reopen, unless the bill which Anaheim supports it to make it happen.

Also, some Disney experts said that Disney parks may ease the mask requirements meaning they won’t need them at the end of this year and into 2022, but I think it is a possibly that masks are still required next year as well, what do you guys think?

All of this information came from the Disney news I looked at today.

So, what do you guys think about this information about Disney?!

I would love to hear comments, thoughts, opinions, questions, or concerns down below!

Stay tuned for Disney updates.

The post Some Disney Layoff and Hotel Updates appeared first on The Nerd Element.