Dancing With The Stars season 30 viewers are anticipating the upcoming two-part Disney Night, which is set to air this week. While there are typically numerous different themed nights throughout the duration of a DWTS season, Disney Night is surely the most beloved theme by fans. As the dancing couples are preparing their next live performances, fans are curious to know what the two-part Disney-themed night will entail.
Last week, DWTS season 30 featured Britney Night, which consisted of the dancing duos performing to hit songs from pop singer Britney Spears. During the exciting night, duo Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke performed both virtually and individually from their homes for the first time in the history of the show. This was due to them recently testing positive for COVID-19. Cheryl has now been cleared to return to the ballroom in time for Disney Night, but it is unclear if Cody has been cleared as well.
With Disney Night coming up, the couples have a lot of rehearsing to do. For the first time this season, each duo will have two dances to prepare for. According to D23, there will be two live episodes of Dancing With The Stars season 30 this week: one episode on Monday, October 11 and another on Tuesday October 12. During Monday’s episode, the dances will recall Disney heroes, while Tuesday’s dances will reference Disney villains. It has been assumed that there will only be one elimination this week despite there being two nights of performances. Otherwise, it’s unclear if judge Derek Hough will return to the ballroom for Disney Week following skipping out on last week’s show due to a COVID-19 exposure. Hopefully, he won’t miss out on the Disney fun.
As the dancing duos prepare for two brand-new performances, fans are curious to know what Disney favorites will be seen throughout the two-part episode. On Monday night, the pro dancers and their celebrity partners will be dancing to songs from hit Disney movies such as Moana, Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins,Encanto, Frozen, The Jungle Book, Mulan, Aladdin, and more. Then, on Tuesday night, the performances will be based on Disney movies such as Coco, Cruella, Maleficent, Beauty & The Beast, The Jungle Book, and others. Jenna Johnson and Jojo Siwa will be taking on Cinderella for heroes night even though Jojo has never seen Cinderella.
Since Disney Week brings on the challenge of having to prepare for two different dances with back-to-back live shows, there is a chance that the couples’ overall performances and scores could be affected. There is no doubt that they have all been spending endless hours in the studio preparing for this exciting yet stressful week. Hopefully, their hard work will pay off and result in high scores from the judges.
Windows 11 kicked off its wide rollout on Tuesday. Microsoft launched its new operating system and began rolling it out to eligible devices on Oct. 5, and the upgrade is free to everyone already using Windows 10. However, because Microsoft is rolling out the OS in phases, your system might not show the option to upgrade just yet. An August blog post from Microsoft said the company expects “all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022.” Don’t want to wait? Read on to find out how the Windows 11 Installation Assistant is your shortcut to Windows 11.
If you’re not in a rush, however, the Windows 11 update will be pushed to your device at some point in the coming months when Microsoft’s data indicates the upgrade is ready for that device. When the new OS is available to you, the upgrade process will feel similar to a normal Windows 10 update, as long as your device is compatible and meets the minimum requirements needed. (And even if it doesn’t, Microsoft will offer a workaround, but your Windows 11 installation won’t be supported by the company.)
Don’t want to wait until next year? You still have the option to manually download Windows 11 and check out its new features, such as widgets, snap layouts, virtual desktops and the new Microsoft Store. We’ll tell you how below. Before your download, here’s everything you need to know about Microsoft’s new software.
To see if your current Windows 10 PC is eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 11, you can check in a few different ways. And if you buy a new PC, that computer will also be eligible for the free upgrade.
If you haven’t updated to Windows 10 yet, don’t worry — there’s a trick for downloading Windows 10 free that still works. Now would be a good time to make the switch to prepare your machine for the Windows 11 upgrade. That trick will be the same one you use if you want to manually upgrade an older machine to Windows 11, though Microsoft doesn’t encourage doing this as it may not be eligible for the same updates.
Aye, Mateys! Time to sail the seven seas and search for adventure with these classic pirate movies. The life of a pirate is a life of freedom, danger, and debauchery that make for perfect entertainment. Pirate films are fun and exciting adventure movies that provide a little bit of everything.
There are usually great fight scenes, ship battles, and even some romance. Audiences can have a great time with these movies, and most critics can’t deny their joy at getting the chance to become invested in the world of pirates.
Updated October 7th, 2021 by Rose Graceling-Moore – Pirates continue to be a source of fascination for audiences, with recent offerings including Netflix’s mini-series The Lost Pirate Kingdom (which managed an impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes itself). The Pirates of the Caribbean pirate movie franchise also continues to grow, with reports of a female-fronted installment in the works. In the meantime, these classics, twists, and new favorites are enough to keep any pirate happy!
15 Muppet Treasure Island – 73%
Muppet Treasure Island is a retelling of the classic novel, but with The Muppets. The Muppets fit very well in this movie, with Kermit the Frog as the captain and Gonzo as a member of the crew. However, the star of this movie is Tim Curry as Long John Silver, who is clearly having the time of his life portraying a pirate alongside Muppet characters.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this film is the creative and memorable musical numbers that are guaranteed to get stuck in fans’ heads. It’s got a lot of humor, heart, and family-friendly pirate entertainment. While many pirate films are certainly not appropriate for younger viewers, this is a sanitized version of piracy that anyone can enjoy.
14 The Goonies – 76%
The Goonies is the definition of a good time. It follows a group of curious kids who search for lost pirate treasure after stumbling upon a treasure map. Along the way, they face dangerous foes and obstacles that they will have to get through in order to find the treasure, in a classic treasure hunt.
The Goonies has lots of pirate moments, including a treasure room on a ship that was owned by a character named One-Eyed Willy. Critics really enjoyed this family adventure and it is considered a classic movie from the ’80s. It’s hard to watch this movie and not be sucked into the adventure.
13 Peter Pan (2003) – 77%
When it comes to movies that tell the tale of Peter Pan, most people think of the Disney animated classic and Hook. However, many overlooked this 2003 version of the classic story, yet it is considered to be one of the better versions by critics who found it to be a faithful adaptation that still manages to be a great fantasy story.
Captain Hook is a legendary pirate character who is on a mission to get his revenge on Peter. Here, he is played by Jason Isaacs, who always loves to play the villainous characters. This version of Peter Pan may have forgotten about, but it deserves more attention.
12 Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl – 79%
While it is not the highest-rated film on this list, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most famous pirate films. Based on the popular attraction at Disney Parks around the world, Pirates of the Caribbean is incredibly enjoyable. It has an amazing swordfight, a cool story with a unique mythology, and a world enraptured by its swashbuckling atmosphere.
Jack Sparrow is the most iconic pirate character ever put to film, helmed by a great performance from Johnny Depp. However, Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa also competes for the best cinema pirate. It’s one of the biggest franchises ever and people love revisiting these characters. Also, Hans Zimmer’s incredible score is the theme music for anything pirate-related, forever. Surprisingly, though, the rest of the franchise doesn’t do so well on the aggregate site, with many of the films managing a ‘rotten’ rating.
11 The Pirates Of Penzance – 81%
The Pirates of Penzance is a romantic musical comedy from 1983. Based on the Broadway play, the film appears as though it straight from Broadway. as the sets are very obvious and the musical atmosphere is in every frame of this movie. It does have a lot of entertaining pirate moments, but the musical numbers are also clever, catchy, and fit in with the world of pirates.
It still manages to be a pirate adventure while also being a great musical. The action may not be as exciting as other pirate movies, but there is still a lot that critics love about this goofy, pirate musical.
10 Peter Pan (1953) – 81%
Disney’s Peter Pan is an animated classic that makes viewers wish they could stay kids forever. While there are moments in Peter Pan that have aged incredibly poorly, there is still a lot to love here. The animation is colorful, bright, and beautiful throughout. Peter Pan also has wonderful songs that will make any fan want to fly to the second star to the right.
Captain Hook is one of Disney’s best villains, and it’s just as easy to love his goofy sidekick, Mr. Smee. Hook and his pirate crew turn this animated fantasy into an imaginative pirate tale.
9 Blackbeard’s Ghost – 82%
Blackbeard’s Ghost is another pirate adventure from Disney in 1968. This movie is about a track coach who has a supernatural encounter with the ghost of the infamous pirate, Blackbeard. This sounds like a bizarre concept, but critics really enjoyed the movie and found it to be solid family entertainment that delivers some laughs and is immensely creative.
It’s an intriguing concept, as it mixes modern day with the world of pirates. It turns out that these two worlds meld much better than expected.
8 The Black Swan – 83%
This pirate flick is an absolute classic, from 1942 – and an Academy Award winner (for Best Cinematography). The plot revolves around Henry Morgan, rogue pirates, the Jamaican governor, and a beautiful daughter… all the classic ingredients for a swashbuckler.
While elements of the film may appear outdated today, it’s a pirate movie that still deserves the rating it has, not least because it is simply an excellent straightforward adventure movie. This isn’t a film that will appeal to those wanting twists and turns, or historical accuracy, but anyone who wants swordfights and romance will be thrilled.
7 The Pirates: Band Of Misfits – 86%
The Pirates: Band of Misfits is a 2012 stop-motion animated film about a band of pirate scoundrels. This movie has a tremendous voice cast, including Hugh Jackman, Salma Hayek, Brendan Gleeson, and Martin Freeman.
The animation is also impressive, especially since stop-motion is a difficult form of animation that takes a lot of time to complete. However, the effort was worth it here, as critics appear to love this movie. While it is a goofy film, critics praised the movie for having a lot of smart and clever humor mixed with a wonderful cast and beautiful animation.
6 The Sea Hawk – 93%
The true classic from 1940 stars Errol Flynn as Geoffrey Thorpe, Queen Elizabeth’s man on the high seas. Focusing on the conflict between Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish (and her famous ‘sea dogs’ of the time period), there are plenty of swordfights to be found here – enough that the film was nominated for four Oscars.
Spies, pirates, adventure, battle and more is set against a stunning soundtrack, and although the film is in black and white (and many aspects of it may be considered outdated today) it remains a classic… and a film to prove just how long pirates have been popular on the big screen.
5 Captain Phillips – 93%
Unlike most pirate movies, Captain Phillips isn’t a romanticized look at piracy or set in the Golden Age of Piracy, either. Instead, this modern-day movie looks at piracy as it still exists, a violent and frightening part of shipping and sailing. Based on a real-life story, the film centers on a merchant vessel taken hostage by pirates in 2009.
This is not the film for anyone seeking family-friendly swashbuckling adventures, but for those looking for an action film with real depth and intensity. The film was nominated for six Oscars.
4 Swallows And Amazons – 94%
This recent ‘pirate’ film is an incredibly wholesome look at children playing at pirates and sailors in the Lake District, in the 1930s. Based on the novel of the same name, it is a sweet adventure about a simpler time… while also being a surprising adventure, when the children band together to take down a real-life criminal. There may be no swordfights, but there are some incredible action scenes involving a float plane which more than make up for it.
Treasure maps, imagination, and the power of friendship take center stage in this sweet pirate film appropriate for all ages.
3 The Princess Bride – 97%
The Princess Bride is an iconic film, filled with memorable moments and quotes that stand the test of time. The characters are equally as memorable, from Buttercup and Westley to Fezzik and Inigo Montoya. Directed by Rob Reiner, The Princess Bride is a hilarious film that blends together action, comedy, and romance.
It’s a great fantasy adventure that critics and audiences loved when it first came out and still love today. It is more of a fantasy film than a pirate film, but there are some great swordfights that make for some swashbuckling entertainment. Watching The Princess Bride without a smile is inconceivable.
2 The Crimson Pirate – 100%
With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Crimson Pirate is a near-perfect pirate movie (for its time, of course). Made in 1952, the film stars Burt Lancaster as the pirate Captain Vallo, a classic swashbuckler who falls in love with a beautiful woman, and must save her from an odious marriage.
This may be something of a predictable film, as it fulfils so many of the tropes of classic Hollywood movies, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.
1 Treasure Island – 100%
Disney is the king of pirate-themed entertainment. Treasure Island is a classic pirate tale about Jim Hawkins who encounters Long John Silver on a journey to recover lost pirate treasure. This adaptation of the classic novel is much more faithful to the novel than Muppet Treasure Island and critics praised it for bringing the novel to life.
It has a lot of great pirate action but still manages to capture the family fun that Disney is so well-known for. Disney did give Treasure Island a sci-fi spin with the animated Treasure Planet, but this version from 1950 is the most beloved by critics.
The upcoming Hellraiser reboot has cast actress Jamie Clayton as lead villain Pinhead. This new film will be the 11th in the long-running Hellraiser film franchise, which began with the original film in 1987. The new film is being directed by The Night House‘s David Bruckner, and will be released on Hulu in 2022. Producer David S. Goyer promises that this new Hellraiser will be “terrifying and amazing.“
The series’ central villain is Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites, which are extradimensional beings of pain and pleasure. Pinhead was originally played by English actor Doug Bradley, who reprised the role in the first seven sequels. He was replaced by Stephan Smith Collins in 2011’s Hellraiser: Revelations and Paul T. Taylor in 2018’s Hellraiser: Judgment.
Per THR, Hellraiser, which was filming in Serbia, has officially wrapped production and announced its cast. Leading the film as Pinhead is Jamie Clayton, an actress who is best known for starring in the Netflix series Sense8. This will mark the first time that Pinhead has been played by a woman, as well as the first time a trans actress has led a major horror franchise. Also appearing are Odessa A’zion (Grand Army), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Goran Visnjic (The Boys), Drew Starkey (Scream: The TV Series), Adam Faison (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay), Aoife Hinds (Normal People), and Hiam Abbass (Succession) in as-yet-unspecified roles. Check out Jamie Clayton’s tweet announcing the casting below:
This will be Jamie Clayton’s third film after appearing on TV series for several years (she has previously appeared in The Snowman and Chain of Death). On Sense8, which was co-created by the Wachowski sisters, she made a name for herself as the intrepid hacker and political activist Nomi Marks. After Sense8, Clayton also appeared on Designated Survivor, Roswell, New Mexico, and The L Word: Generation Q.
In addition to Jamie Clayton’s casting making history in and of itself, it also shows that the producers are engaging with the long LGBTQ+ history of Hellraiser. The original film was directed by Clive Barker adapting his own novella “The Hellbound Heart.” Barker is a gay man whose work is constantly in conversation with LGBTQ+ themes and the idea of The Other, and Jamie Clayton’s casting rings true to the nature of his inimitable universe. Although he was not involved with the film when she was originally cast, Clive Barker has since been brought on as a producer, giving his ultimate seal of approval to the project.
Warning: SPOILER for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 9 – “weJ Duj (Three Ships)”.
Captain Kirk’s infamous opening scene in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is parodied by Star Trek: Lower Deckswith Ensign D’Vana Tendi and Dr. T’Ana potentially finishing the one mission Kirk never did. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 9, “weJ Duj (Three Ships),” the Lower Deckers aboard the USS Cerritos pair up with a “bridge buddy” for some rest and recreation during a long-haul warp flight. Tendi and T’Ana decide to recreate Kirk’s Yosemite vacation gone wrong in Star Trek 5.
The William Shatner-directed Star Trek V ranks as least-loved of the movies starring the cast of Star Trek: The Orignal Series and scenes like Kirk at Yosemite National Park are partly why. After a prologue introduces Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the action turns to Kirk climbing El Capitan at Yosemite. The Captain’s ascent is interrupted by Spock, who is wearing a pair of hover boots that allow him to fly. Kirk is so distracted by Spock that he loses his footing and ends up plummeting off the mountain. Of course, Spock saves his best friend. Kirk and Spock later join Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) around the campfire later that night to sing “Row Row Row Your Boat” before they are summoned back aboard the Starship Enterprise.
In Star Trek: Lower Decks, Ensign Tendi (Noël Wells) and Dr. T’Ana (Gillian Vigman) climb El Capitan together in a holodeck simulation of Yosemite National Park and they are interrupted by Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), who wears hover boots like Spock and the same “Go climb a rock” sweatshirt that Kirk is wearing aboard the bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek V. In Lower Decks, Boimler’s flying footwear malfunctions and he plummets hundreds of feet, although Bradward’s life is saved by tree branches. Meanwhile, it’s implied that the Orion Ensign and the Caitian Starfleet doctor finished their climb because they weren’t far from El Capitan’s summit and they weren’t particularly concerned about Boimer since they assumed the holodeck’s safety protocols were on. If Tendi and T’Ana did make it to the top of El Capitan, then they finished the climb Kirk never did.
Star Trek V never made it clear whether Kirk ever actually made it to the top of El Capitan. At the end of Star Trek V, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy returned to Yosemite to resume their shore leave, but the film ends with the Enterprise trio once again singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” around the campfire. It’s possible that Kirk didn’t go back to climb that giant rock, especially since Bones was furious that Kirk nearly died the first time he tried it. Not that Kirk always heeds his doctor’s advice, but the captain of the Enterprise could have just settled for enjoying camping on terra firma with his best friends instead of risking his life ascending El Capitan once again.
Despite Star Trek V‘s less than stellar reputation among Trekkers, William Shatner’s The Final Frontier continues to have an indelible influence on Star Trek and there’s a reason why Lower Decks loves to reference it. Star Trek V has its flaws but at the core of the film is the reaffirmation of the friendship between Kirk, Spock, and Bones. Sybok tests the bond of the Enterprise trio but they emerged from their encounter with “God” as steadfast as ever.
Similarly, Star Trek: Lower Decks is a testament to the friendship of the Cerritos’ junior officers, Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawney Newsome), Boimler, Tendi, and Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). The weird aspects of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier are natural fodder for Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ comedy, which celebrates everything strange but wonderful about being in Starfleet. Star Trek: Lower Decks also reveres Kirk and Spock, and the Captain of the Enterprise might be amused that his climbing El Capitan is now mimicked by others in Starfleet, even if they get to finish the ascent Kirk didn’t.
Star Trek: Lower Decks streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
Let’s be really generous to Facebook and assume that 50% of what Frances Haugen just testified to before Congress was misconstrued in some way.
Regardless, Facebook will argue their case (as they always do), deny everything (as they always do) and claim that no one really understands them (as they always do). Everyone will view whatever they say with extreme skepticism, and nothing will change.
Maybe Facebook doesn’t care. Maybe the possibility of a repeal of their liability protection from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the threat of antitrust prosecutions, the implementation of a U.S. privacy framework akin to what exists in Europe and the inability to get Washington to authorize Libra (Facebook’s digital payment system) all don’t matter.
Facebook is rich and powerful. They may think they can handle anything that comes their way. But the United States government and the media combined are a lot more powerful. And that’s why Facebook needs to change their strategy on just about everything related to politics, regulation and media.
While Facebook’s lawyers and lobbyists dig in for the next phase of an epic, costly confrontation, they should instead be charting an alternative course of humility, introspection and transparency as their best and only strategy for sustaining growth.
What does this look like? Well, it starts with an apology.
It’s incredible that someone as smart as Mark Zuckerberg can have so much difficulty expressing genuine contrition when it’s called for. Not every mistake will obligate the CEO to drag himself over the coals. But right now? He’s got to change his posture and start accepting responsibility and then actually implement real change.
For example, take Haugen’s testimony about an internal study finding that Instagram has a negative impact on teenage girls’ mental health.
That’s a problem Facebook has to own. They should want to own it. Because even if the federal government is unlikely to step in and censor Instagram, parents probably will. As much as my wife and I try to let our teenage daughter make her own decisions, the more we know about Instagram, the more convinced we are that its negative effects vastly outweigh any useful purpose it serves in her life. And we’re not alone. At some point soon, we could be the majority.
Second, it’s time for Facebook to be a lot more straightforward about its underlying business model. Consumers aren’t stupid; we know we don’t get something for nothing. So rather than pretend they don’t monetize people’s data in every way possible, Facebook should just be honest about it.
“If you want to keep using Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp for free, we’re going to sell ads based on your data.” And then give the public an alternative: “If you want your data protected, then you have to pay the platform a monthly fee to make up for the lost revenue.” People may not like that at first, but they’ll understand it and they’ll appreciate being treated like adults.
Third, Facebook needs to admit the truth about content moderation: “We thought we knew better than everyone else about everything; we dug in when we should have been honestly examining and changing our practices and policies. We’re genuinely, truly sorry for it. We’re willing to change.”
Some of that may mean sharing oversight responsibilities with third parties like regulators and academics. It probably means eliminating some content that generates clicks and ad revenue. It may even mean removing some of the top executives responsible for doggedly implementing the deny-reality strategy over the past 10 years. Of course, that will hurt. They still need to do it.
Finally, if Facebook is going to engage in federal legislation around issues like privacy restrictions, new antitrust standards or the repeal of Section 230, they should stop trying to outsmart and outspend everyone.
Instead, Facebook should engage with their critics — in both parties and in both chambers of Congress — to work toward a solution that embraces the ideals of existing privacy frameworks like Europe’s GDPR and California’s CCPA and recognizes that having full immunity from anything said on your platform has to change. Be part of the change, not the roadblock to it.
This isn’t China. Our government won’t just one day outlaw Facebook or Instagram. But that doesn’t mean Facebook won’t be subjected to new laws, regulations, standards and social norms.
Facebook has alienated the media. They’ve lost the progressives. They’ve lost the conservatives. They’ve infuriated the center. And even if revenue keeps growing, they’ve lost the faith and trust of the public, too.
Executives may worry that once the legislative flywheel starts turning, it will never stop. But we’re way beyond that point. If Facebook doesn’t start expressing remorse, accountability and openness to change, they’re at risk of losing everything else they’ve built, too.
Reuters –PfizerInc said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people, battered the world’s economy and upended daily life.
Pfizerand German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to release successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. authorization this month for emergency use of the vaccine. Health experts saidPfizer‘s results were positive for all COVID-19 vaccines currently in development since they show the shots are going after the right target and are a proof of concept that the disease can be halted with vaccination.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Albert Bourla,Pfizer‘s chairman and chief executive, said. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”
IfPfizer‘s vaccine is authorized, the number of doses will initially be limited and many questions remain, including how long the vaccine will provide protection. BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Reuters he was optimistic the immunisation effect of the vaccine would last for a year although that was not certain yet.
“This news made me smile from ear to ear. It is a relief to see such positive results on this vaccine and bodes well for COVID-19 vaccines in general,” said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford.
MARKETS SURGE The prospect of a vaccine electrified world markets with S&P 500 futures hitting a record high and tourism and travel shares surging.Pfizershares were indicated 14.2% higher in pre-market trading in New York, while BioNTech’s stock was up nearly 23% in Frankfurt. “Light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s just hope the vaccine deniers won’t get in the way, but 2021 just got a lot brighter,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com Shares of other vaccine developers in the final stage of testing also rose with Johnson & Johnson up 4% in pre-market trading and Moderna 7.4% stronger. Britain’s AstraZeneca was down 0.5%. “The efficacy data are really impressive. This is better than most of us anticipated,” said William Schaffner, infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. “The study isn’t completed yet, but nonetheless the data look very solid.” U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the test results, and the market boost: “STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!” he said on Twitter. President-elect Joe Biden said the news was excellent but did not change the fact that face masks, social distancing and other health measures would be needed well into next year.
1.3 BILLION DOSES Pfizerexpects to seek broad U.S. authorization for emergency use of the vaccine for people aged 16 to 85. To do so, it will need two months of safety data from about half the study’s 44,000 participants, which is expected late this month. “I’m near ecstatic,” Bill Gruber, one ofPfizer‘s top vaccine scientists, said in an interview. “This is a great day for public health and for the potential to get us all out of the circumstances we’re now in.” Pfizerand BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million vaccine doses beginning this year. They have also reached supply agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. To save time, the companies began manufacturing the vaccine before they knew whether it would be effective. They now expect to produce up to 50 million doses, or enough to protect 25 million people this year. Pfizersaid it expects to produce up to 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021. The U.S. pharmaceutical giant said the interim analysis was conducted after 94 participants in the trial developed COVID-19, examining how many of them had received the vaccine versus a placebo. The company did not break down exactly how many of those who fell ill received the vaccine. Still, over 90% effectiveness implies that no more than 8 of the 94 people who caught COVID-19 had been given the vaccine, which was administered in two shots about three weeks apart. The efficacy rate is well above the 50% effectiveness required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus vaccine.
MORE DATA NEEDED To confirm the efficacy rate,Pfizersaid it would continue the trial until there are 164 COVID-19 cases among participants. Bourla told CNBC on Monday that based on rising infection rates, the trial could be completed before the end of November. The data have yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.Pfizersaid it would do so once it has results from the entire trial. “These are interesting first signals, but again they are only communicated in press releases,” said Marylyn Addo, head of tropical medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. “Primary data are not yet available and a peer-reviewed publication is still pending. We still have to wait for the exact data before we can make a final assessment.” The global race for a vaccine has seen wealthier countries forge multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers likePfizer, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, raising questions over when middle income and poorer nations will get access to inoculations. The U.S. quest for a vaccine has been the Trump administration’s central response to the pandemic. The United States has the world’s highest known number of COVID-19 cases and deaths with more than 10 million infections and over 237,000 fatalities. Trump repeatedly assured the public that his administration would likely identify a successful vaccine in time for the presidential election, held last Tuesday. On Saturday, Democratic rival Biden was declared the winner.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS Vaccines are seen as essential tools to help end the health crisis that has shuttered businesses and left millions out of work. Millions of children whose schools were closed in March remain in remote learning programs. Dozens of drugmakers and research groups around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, which on Sunday exceeded 50 million infections since the new coronavirus first emerged late last year in China. ThePfizerand BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more rapidly than conventional vaccines. Moderna Inc, whose vaccine candidate employs similar technology, is expected to report results from its large-scale trial later this month. The mRNA technology is designed to trigger an immune response without using pathogens, such as actual virus particles. Pfizeralone will not have the capacity to immediately provide enough vaccines for the United States. The Trump administration has said it will have enough supply for all of the 330 million U.S. residents who wish to be vaccinated by the middle of 2021. The U.S. government has said the vaccines will be provided free to Americans, including the insured, uninsured and those in government health programs such as Medicare.
Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
Is World of Warcraft still worth playing in 2021? Blizzard’s long-running MMORPG has certainly gotten up there in age, but the commitment to making changes to improve the game’s overall experience, including the approach of Patch 9.1.5 for Shadowlands, has meant playing the game in 2021 is still worthwhile. In fact, the MMORPG seems to keep getting better – and, considering the last several years for context, it’s definitely possible that Shadowlands is at least the game’s best showing in its modern era, even with all the recent controversies surrounding Blizzard.
Answering whether or not World of Warcraft is worth playing can be difficult since the answer varies so dramatically based on what players want. With that said, those looking for hyper-specific, niche benefits to playing may not always find what they’re looking for, even if the general consensus surrounding the MMO’s overall gameplay is positive. There were plenty of players who enjoyed Warlords of Draenor, after all, despite that expansion’s less-than-stellar reputation within the game’s larger community. Ignoring the fact that there will inevitably be no unified opinion, however, the question of “is World of Warcraft worth playing in 2021?” can be broken down into two separate responses: one detailing whether new players will enjoy it, and one discussing the experience of returning veterans.
The answer to both those questions is yes, albeit each group may find World of Warcraft worth playing in 2021 for different reasons. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands reviews were positive, player engagement is waning but still strong, and the world of Azeroth is still very much alive. Here’s why WoW is worth playing in 2021, regardless of a player’s previous involvement with the MMORPG.
For new players, “is WoW worth playing in 2021?” boils down to “how hard is it to get into World of Warcraft in 2021?” The answer to that question has been “not very” for some time now, as Blizzard consistently worked to make its MMORPG more accessible to newer players. However, the massive overhauls that came with Shadowlands have set a high bar for the new player experience in WoW, making it easier than ever for beginners to start their adventures in Azeroth.
The Shadowlands release brought with it a completely revamped leveling system that makes World of Warcraft progression feel smoother and more meaningful. Blizzard reduced the inflated level cap to a much more reasonable 60, condensing the game’s scattered abilities, talents, and upgrades into a much tighter path of progression. The result is each level earned feeling like a meaningful addition to a larger experience, and the game’s introductory levels have also been streamlined, making what was once a daunting experience a much more digestible endeavor.
Finally – and perhaps most importantly – Shadowlands’ level squish also fixed the game’s story. World of Warcraft progression pre-Shadowlands wasn’t necessarily a mess, but the result of years of expansions being stacked on top of each other (with tweaks that only directly considered whichever one was most recent) made for an uneven narrative. Players progressed through cool environments way too rapidly, often departing stories mid-way through because they’d out-leveled the adventure. Part of the reason WoW has been so successful over the years is the way it marries its storyline concerns to the way players progress to its endgame, and emotional investment in characters like Thrall and Jaina is hard to build when they’re jumping in and out of the player’s arc at seemingly random times.
Thankfully, Shadowlands introduced a much tighter narrative progression system, one that sees newer players guided through the story content that’s most relevant to the new WoW expansion prior to engaging with it. If new players decide to reroll a character afterward, they’ll be able to choose a zone to make their focus leveling, letting them stick to one story arc and see what it has to offer without feeling like their progression path is suboptimal or outright nonexistent. It’s a welcome change and one that’s likely had even veterans revisiting their favorite expansions with new characters just to relive iconic story beats.
For the most part, Blizzard has World of Warcraft down to a science, which is why WoW is still popular in 2021. Character arcs, class roles, itemization, and more have all been carefully honed over the years and are now implemented with mostly minor hiccups. If there’s one thing that has seemed virtually unsolvable in World of Warcraft‘s long history, though, it’s how to make the WoW endgame fun for the entirety of an expansion – if that’s even possible. For veteran players, “is WoW worth playing in 2021?” is almost certainly a question that can only be answered by an assessment of its current endgame design.
How Shadowlands endgame feels probably depends a lot on a given player’s reception to the Great Vault mechanic, but it’s got some strong characteristics going for it. The Great Vault essentially provides a hub for endgame players that helps them sort out which content they’re “meant” to be doing in a given week, giving players loot based on the content they did in the week prior. The Great Vault also gives players choices – the more content they complete in a given week, the more options they’ll have with regards to the loot they acquire from the system, removing some of the frustration of reward gear not being a good fit for a player’s needs.
The Great Vault also helpfully keeps track of what a character has accomplished that week, further reducing the frustration of missing out on one of WoW’s endgame loot cycles. There are still some concerns over the Great Vault – like whether or not it’s enough of a reward for those sinking in the most time – but by and large, the system is a new idea from Blizzard that’s helped make the Shadowlands endgame more accessible without making it feel too simplified or mundane.
There’s also Torghast, the World of Warcraft answer to rougelike dungeon exploration. Torghast mixes up the way endgame progression usually goes, randomizing more than just loot drops while also offering Torghast-specific character builds that grow more powerful the deeper a player gets in a run. Torghast hasn’t been for everyone, and it can still be a vexing element of the game whenever runs go awry, but it’s yet another addition to World of Warcraft’s endgame content that has improved and diversified its experience.
Since Shadowlands launched last year, WoW has gotten bug fixes and balancing updates, including the most recent fixes to the Sanctum of Domination on September 24. Of course, the recent lawsuits and controversies surrounding Activision-Blizzard have likely diminished some of the goodwill players felt after Shadowlands‘ release, but looking at the game solely as an MMO, WoW still holds up incredibly well. In the meantime, fans are eagerly awaiting Patch 9.1.5, which will add a number of player-requested changes to WoW. For these reasons, World of Warcraftis still very much worth playing in 2021.
Nuclear Blaze is an upcoming 2D action platformer that puts players in the role of a firefighter tasked with putting out radioactive flames – and rescuing cute cats along the way. It is being developed by Deepnight Games, who impressed gamers with 2017’s corpse-possessing roguelike Dead Cells. Dead Cells would go on to inspire plenty of indie Metroid-like titles such as last year’s Forgone, and a DLC expansion subtitled Fatal Falls was released back in January.
Last month, Deepnight announced its newest 2D side-scrolling adventure Nuclear Blaze, which is currently set to launch on Steam on October 18. As a firefighter who is airdropped inside a secret underground military facility, players will have to explore Metroid-style levels as they work to extinguish constantly spreading fires by aiming their trusty fire hose in any direction they please, investigate the source of the ongoing inferno, and even engage in the time-honored firefighter’s tradition of rescuing cats. Nuclear Blaze features the smooth controls of Dead Cells (as designed by former Motion Twin associate Sébastien Benard), a designated “Kid Mode” for younger players, and multiple unique levels packed with hidden secrets and side-stories as players unravel the mystery behind the shady military complex.
Nuclear Blaze looks to be a fun take on the classic Metroidvania formula of exploring large maze-like dungeons packed with hidden secrets and Easter Eggs. This formula can also be seen in the critically acclaimed Metroid Dread, which will release on October 8th. Firefighting is a relatively unexplored profession among recent video games save for a few simulators, so this title will hopefully stand out from the Metroidvania crowd. Players will be able to strap on their fire hoses, put out a few loose flames and even rescue some adorable kitties when Nuclear Blaze launches on Steam on October 18.
In Marvel Comics’ new Inferno event, the X-Men’s Wolverine can’t escape reliving one of his most iconic deaths over and over again. The anti-mutant organization Orchis has grown too powerful with the return of the Sentinel Nimrod, though there’s been very little the mutants of Krakoa have been able to do to stop them. While the island nation has been continually sending teams to try and destroy Orchis, none have been successful despite resurrecting and sending the same mutants with each attempt. This includes Wolverine, who’s been stuck in a brutal loop experiencing one of his most brutal deaths multiple times over.
In this first issue of Inferno from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti, it’s revealed that Krakoa has already tried sixteen times to destroy Orchis and Nimrod using a variety of means. While a few attempts have involved hiring assassins and sending the alien Brood to do the job, the majority have been the deployment of the same mutants over and over again. However, no matter what they’ve tried everything has failed. Nimrod has proven to be too powerful, able to counter all kinds of abilities and destroying the mutant teams with extreme prejudice. While Wolverine has been a part of the X-Force teams sent with every resurrection, the end result has never been pretty.
Inferno #1 depicts Krakoa’s sixteenth attempt, seeing Nimrod defeating Domino, Omega Kid, and Wolverine as he’s apparently done several times before. However, Nimrod sears all of the flesh from Wolverine’s adamantium-covered bones, a nod to Logan’s most famous death by Sentinel as seen in Days of Future Past. Furthermore, as Orchis reviews the footage of this latest incursion, it’s revealed that they’ve been collecting Wolverine’s skeletons of which they now have several thanks to Logan’s vicious cycle of resurrection after continually experiencing one of the worst ways he’s ever gone out in Marvel Comics’ past.
While Krakoa has a store of adamantium they’ve been using to regraft the metal to Wolverine’s skeleton whenever he needs to be resurrected, they must be running low of the nearly indestructible and rare metal. Logan’s past skeletons continue to fall into Orchis’ hands, and there’s no telling what they might do with them going forward. It’s certainly possible that it could all come back to haunt the former Weapon X with the upcoming X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine event. Perhaps Orchis finds a way to weaponize the adamantium skeletons down the line, forcing Wolverine to fight elements of his own past selves.
In any case, it’s going to be interesting to see where Krakoa goes from here. Seeing as how the resurrected mutants have no memory of the incursions, it looks as though they’re going to keep trying until they succeed (despite their inability to learn and adapt from their mistakes). All Krakoa knows is that Nimrod is back online and Orchis must be destroyed. As such, Wolverine seems determined to stop them at all costs, even if it means continually reliving one of his worst deaths ever.
