fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
HackTheBox Web Writeup. “Hack The Box” Challenge
Tags: Http, Hackthebox, Web

“Can you encrypt fast enough?”

Recently ,I’ve been using CTFs as a great way to learn and to gain experience in many domains , one of which is Web.

I’ve stumbled upon “Hack The Box” and in the web challenges section the very first challenge was pretty forward. You need to encrypt the string into an MD5 Hash

“Can you encrypt fast enough?” via HackTheBox

Obviously , to make this a real challenge it isn’t that easy .When you try to encrypt the string with https://www.md5online.org/ for example ,and click the Submit button you get this !

“Can you encrypt fast enough?” via HackTheBox

So we could conclude that there’s some sort of mechanism that’s using a “timer” of some sort that doesn’t let it humanly be possible !

First , i checked the html source code and checked for any javascripts or php that’s blocking us.

My beginner eyes didn’t see anything that we could use from there so after a bit of googling i figured the best approach is making a python script to encrypt the string and send a POST request to the website .

So how do we do that?!

First , we check for libraries we can use for this script which are :

BeautifulSoup , Requests , Hashlib

BeautifulSoup is used to parse HTML . What is parsing ? Well ,pretty much it’s getting information from a webpage and extracting it and making it useable in Python. We could ,for example, extract the title of a certain webpage and use it accordingly how we want .

Requests is used for the POST request we gonna make. We could do alot more with requests but for the sake of this challenge we only needed how to send a POST request

Hashlib to encrypt the string into an MD5

So, after reading the docs of each library (links below) and a bunch of google searches i ended up with this script

Python script for the challenge

You can find this script here : github.com/jasserr/python-post-request

You could also see the comments in the scripts that can help you understand each step!

RESULT :

Flag: HTB{N1c3_ScrIpt1nG_B0i!}

The idea is simple and it’s such a good introduction to scripts and automation.

As a beginner, after finding out I could do this, made me more intrigued to know what more can we do !

Hope this can help you understand how to solve the challenge and get a better idea of how to use the libraries .

Docs and resources :
Web Application Development Company in India
By: Sylvester Bush
Tags: Web, Web App Development, Web App Developers, Webapp, Webapplicationdevelopment

Are you looking for the Best Web Application Development Company in India? If yes, you have reached the right place.

HireFullStackDeveloperIndia was established in 2004, Known as one of the best web application development companies that deliver top-notch web application solutions for their customers and also best in class for mobile application development platforms ios & android.

We also take on web application development services from scratch and present our clients with web applications that are easy to use, and exactly how they imagined it.

Our skilled web application development team in India is immensely experienced in developing large, complex, database-driven tailored applications.

We ensure that your website is built to meet your specific business needs and help users find the relevant information quickly.

We undertake complete web application solutions right from understanding the requirements, formulating a plan, designing the user interface, developing the application, and management.
10 webů pro věčnost dle Jany Bernartové
By: Luboš Svoboda
Tags: Web, Web Archive, Internet, History Of Culture, Webarchiv

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Comparison operators in JS
By: Abhay Jain
Tags: Coding, Web, Web Development, JavaScript

JavaScript provides 3 different comparison operators.

== operator

operator === operator

operator Object.is()

== or Abstract equality operator

Double equals or Loose equality operator which checks if only the values are equal and then returns true. In this case, if the type of the expressions is different, the expressions are converted to one common type using implicit typecasting.

Cheat Sheet for you while using == operator

NaN is not equal to anything including itself

is not equal to anything including itself -0 equals 0

equals null equals both null & undefined

equals both & The expressions are either converted to a string , boolean, or number .

, or . String comparison is case sensitive

If the two operands refer to the same object then it evaluates to true otherwise false

Always remember 6 falsy values (null, undefined, ‘’,0, NaN, and false)

=== or Strict equality operator

Triple equals or Identity operator is very similar to Double equals operator except it doesn’t do any implicit typecasting. This operator returns true if both the value and the type of the left & right side expressions are equal.

Cheat Sheet for you while using === operator

-0 equals 0

equals null only equals null

only equals String comparison is case sensitive

NaN is not equal to anything including itself

is not equal to anything including itself If the two operands refer to the same object then it evaluates to true otherwise it returns false

Object.is()

Same-value equality operator is the newest addition to comparison operators (available from ES2015). It checks if the two values are the same using the following rules.

Rule 1: Both values are undefined.

Rule 2: Both values are strings of the same length, with the same characters in the same order.

Rule 3: Both values are null.

Rule 4: Both values are objects having the same reference.

Rule 5: Both values are the same non-zero and non-NaN number.

Rule 6: Both values are either +0 or -0.

Rule 7: Both NaN.
Why a lot of people choose to be a Web developer?
By: Hassam Shamas
Tags: Web, Full Stack Developer, Web Development, Front End Development, Full Stack Development

There are certain reasons that everyone wants to be a web developer.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

First of all web developers are in demand. Whether you want to work for a company or work alone, web developers are in demand.

It’s a worthwhile vocation. Front-end web advancement pays well. As per the Creative Group Salary Guide, a front-end web engineer with three years of involvement can acquire from $80,000–$119,500.

Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash

Adaptability. As a front-end engineer, you can work from anyplace, including home. This makes it one of the most adaptable vocations you can pick. The range of abilities you secure permits you to work in various zones like Image altering, UX/UI, versatile turn of events and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Innovativeness. Front-end web improvement is about innovativeness and imaginative critical thinking. As a front-end web engineer, you’ll have the right stuff to fabricate redid sites to make the most ideal client experience.

Many vocation alternatives. Online presence has become a primary factor in all areas and customer/client commitment is a steady test for organizations. Regardless of whether you decide to work for partnerships, non-benefits, or become an independently employed consultant, you can make a fruitful profession.

Photo by Maliha Mannan on Unsplash

A continually developing field. Front-end web improvement is an energizing profession since it’s continually developing and continually evolving. This implies you’ll generally have the occasion to collaborate with new devices and learn new abilities, keeping you occupied with your vocation. It’s a field that gives numerous occasions to active learning.

In the event that you love innovation, appreciate making an incredible client experience, and are searching for an energizing vocation with a great deal of development potential, front-end web development may be the perfect profession for you.
The Shadow Request: Troubleshooting OkCupid’s First GraphQL Release
By: Michael P. Geraci
Tags: GraphQL, Web, Node, Docker, Apollo Server

As we were building our GraphQL API in a totally new stack, we wanted to see how it would measure up against our previous REST API with a real production load, and we wanted to do so without negatively impacting the user experience.

To do this, we released what we called The Shadow Request. On our target page, the user loaded the page’s data from the REST API as normal and displayed the page. Then, the user loaded the same data from GraphQL, measured that call’s timing, and discarded the data.

We didn’t come up with this idea, but it was a game changer for us: we discovered that our first release of the GraphQL API took about double the time — 1200ms versus 600ms — of the REST API. If we had shown this version to real users, it would have led to a very poor experience for them.

To read about how this test fit into our overall process for releasing a GraphQL API at OkCupid, check out my previous post about the transition. But here, I will talk about the improvements we found in our Docker and Node environments, how GraphQL resolvers work on lists of entities, and CORS requests. So, let’s take a look!

Docker and Node Low-Hanging Fruit

The first thing that we realized was that I accidentally released a build with the NODE_ENV set to development . You always hear to not do this, since development mode enables more logging and slower code paths in packages. But now I have the empirical evidence to say why not: changing NODE_ENV to production saved us 34ms per request on average.

We were also using an unoptimized Docker base image for this initial deploy. Switching from node to node-stretch-slim reduced our image size by 600mb (850mb to 250mb); while this didn't speed up the response time of the application, it did make our development cycle quicker by making the build and deploy process faster.

These were not the biggest wins, but they were two of the easiest!

Naive GraphQL Resolvers Can Be Sloooow

If you have a field that returns a list of entities (in our case, OkCupid users) you’ll probably be getting information about each of those users, like their name or age.

The page that we were converting to GraphQL for this deploy was the OkCupid messages page. When making our schema, we defined a Conversation as having a text snippet from the last sent message, and a User entity representing the person to whom you're talking. Then we added a field on the top-level User entity to fetch that user's conversations. Here are the relevant parts of the schema and resolver:

A simplified version of our Conversation schema

This worked; we deployed and celebrated! But when we looked at a request’s stack trace, we saw something that looked like this:
What is Ngrok? and Asp.Net Core Problem
Tags: Web, Aspnetcore, Web Development, Software Development, Ngrok

It’s a significant tool for web developer. it’s create temporary tunnel for publish to internet your project. And procject is accessible from all over the world through tunnel. What makes it important to ngrok is it’s be practical and fast publish process. in under normal conditions, require

a intermediary service such as AWS or Azure for publish but under favour of ngrok not requierd this. it’s connect with created virtual tunnel to local address. so the project is opened to the internet.

Startup

I spoke of about to its easylies. But we’re require do to a few little process before use. First of all, we creating account from ngrok offical website(ngrok.com). When register to ngrok its define a private token for you. This token will allow you to make your transactions.

After register it will foward to web page. we’re required download program in this web page. Then execute token cli command on ngrok cli program. in this way we define unique token to program.

ngrok authtoken <auth_token>

Practice

At now, we can use it. we can project to online with just little command.

ngrok http <port_number>

In a line, ngrok create url by using virtual tunnel to us. Also it’s create alternative SLL url too. it can preferably be used.

Ngrok is provide UI in local for request tracking. You can access this UI from localhost:4040 or stated address.
Best Web Development company in Kolkata — Office With Prime
Tags: Website Design, Web, Website, Web Development, Kolkata

Compared to other companies I have experienced across Kolkata, Office With Prime has definitely topped my preference list.While building my new website, the customer service has been super smooth and well coordinated. Everything was properly documented and customized according to my needs. I am really thrilled to have known Mr.Saurav Chowdhary, the company CEO and the rest of his team at OfficeWithPrime. Within weeks,I can confirm that I am going to be renewing my contract with OfficeWithPrime again and again.OfficeWithPrime truly has the potential to turn your website dream into reality. I am so satisfied with how my business has progressed after getting a website done from Office With Prime. Office With Prime in my opinion is the Best Web Development company in Kolkata. I am very grateful to my friend for recommending me OfficeWithPrime.

I have had many websites since I started my business. However, it was only informative about the basic background and nothing out of the box. But the way these guys built my new website,I realised what was lacking in my business. They listened to my needs and understood my budget restraint. They also offer easy EMI schemes so that you can pay flexibly. Their project management was prompt to respond to all of my questions and last minute changes. Office With Prime is hands down the best web development company in the whole of Kolkata. Kudos to Office With Prime for making it happen!

My new website is everything that I wanted. What I also loved about Office With Prime was the fact that they started with a plan and executed it. They took the time to get to analyze my business before starting the build process which saved me time because I didn’t have to continually make changes. They were also very easy to communicate with and were able to work from concepts rather than needing my inputs all the time. It is for sure the best Web Development company in Kolkata.
IcoFont is Officially Recommended by Bootstrap!
Tags: Web, Icons, Design, Fonts, Bootstrap

Good icon fonts are always a critical component of any design. I am sure you have probably used some icon fonts on your design projects. If you are a part of any sort of website design, you may already know IcoFont has so many beautiful free icon fonts that you could use and jazz up your website design.

We are delighted to share the news that your bucket full of happiness — IcoFont is now Bootstrap recommended! Whether you are a developer, designer, or web enthusiast, IcoFont is the most comprehensive list of icon fonts that you’ll surely love.

What IcoFont Offers

Some of the exciting things IcoFont includes are a huge catalog of totally free icons, superb management of icons sorted into 30 different categories, a custom icon pack builder that lets you make your icon pack, and so much more.

Let have a look at some of the awesomeness IcoFont offers:

2100+ free icons freshly designed

30 different categories and more on the way

Custom icon pack builder

Font and SVG format

Compatible with both the web and desktop platforms

But the best part is it’s totally free for our community and forever will be.

Summing Up

Here’s the official link to Bootstrap’s IcoFont Recommendation. It’s always a proud moment when our hard work is recognized and appreciated. Please do not forget to share with us your experience with IcoFont, what you love the most about it, and most importantly your valuable suggestions. Good day!
Hello there, my name is name rashed.
By: Md Rashadul Islam
Tags: Development, Web, If Else, JavaScript, Scope

Hello there, my name is name rashed.

Who am a right ?

I am nothing but a learner programmer 😁

I would like to share my knowledge about JavaScript, stay tuned…,

*If you want to be a JavaScript programmer then you should learn first some core concept of JavaScript, without it you can’t say you are a JavaScript programmer, also you can’t be comfortable with any JavaScript framework too.

So here is the list that should know every JavaScript programmer/developer

If else, do while

Var, let, const

Object, Array

Primitive type, reference type

Hoisting

Scope

Function

Class

Prototype

Inheritance

Iterator ( Reducer, map, filter, for of)

Iteration

Set, weakset

And many more… go search for every topic From the list and learn them for better future, also i will write another blog for those topics one by one inshallah .

Please forgive me if i give any wrong information or wasting your time). i am also learning and this is my first blog here just to test and curiosity.
The Grass is Greener on the Web
By: Deepakshi Sood
Tags: Sustainability, Web, Green Technology, Green Tech, Technology

“With great power, comes great responsibility”. This is something we all have heard of, but have you ever wondered if it can be applied to the environmental aspects of digitalization as well?

“Faster connections, improved access, greater efficiency, more profitability for companies, better healthcare and education, better governance — the list of benefits of digitalization is endless. However, one of the most lasting impacts of digitalization is probably the environment, the planet earth.” — Vipul Tuteja, The Hindu BusinessLine. This is a snippet from an article named “Go Green, Go Digital” in The Hindu BusinessLine in the Year 2013. It mentions that one of the most enduring impacts of digitalization is on the environment, which is exactly the truth. But the question that arises is, is it really in a virtuous way as it is made out to be?

According to a blog by Mightybytes.com, “Data servers will generate about as much carbon as the aviation industry within a few years.” and “Online video sites like YouTube generate at least 8,000 tons of carbon dioxide (C02) per day. That much C02 would cover the entire Chicagoland area.”. These statements are pretty much is self-explanatory in their context. The fact that going digital will is the first step towards eradicating the environmental impact of industrialization might just be a myth. There are conscious steps we need to take to make our web development more sustainable.

Here is a curated list of a few Sustainable Resources that Web Developers and Tech Enthusiasts alike can use to have Green Development practices:

Blackle

This is an interesting tool for all “dark mode” lovers out there. This is a black screen version of Google, which consumes less energy than the white screen while putting less strain on your eyes as well. Although not yet scientifically established, it is always good to be aware of such tools that might contribute even a bit to lower energy consumption. Emergy-C CSS Palette

This is an energy-efficient color palette by Mark Ontkush which uses only 3–4 watts more energy than a completely black screen, something definitely the frontend developers would be keen to use. AMP WinOFF

A windows Scheduling Tool that automatically shuts down Windows computers as per user’s requirements. This utility has also been awarded the 100% clean label, so you know you are doing your bit while using it. TLP

For all those Linux users out there, TLP is a great command-line tool that aims to optimize the power consumption in your laptops by making a power-aware process scheduler, the processor frequency scaling, and a lot more!

These resources are just a foundation for what we can do as individuals to contribute to Green Technology. Even when it comes to Tech Development, one must always remember that “Less is more!”. Being aware of our development practices and using cleaner tools can go a long way in the long run.
Restricting the network to ping only to the Google Search Engine
By: Ankush Chavan
Tags: Facebook, Web, Google, Internet, Networking

When we work in the real world, we may come across some use cases where we want to disable the user from accessing the websites other than we allowed. One of the great ways to achieve this is to use the firewall but if we want to know the internals of how the network works, we have to do some experiments to achieve this using pure networking concepts. So, in this article, I will show you how to allow the user to access only the websites that we had allowed using pure networking concepts.

At the end of this article, we will achieve something like that we are able to ping to the Google Search Engine but we can’t ping to other sites like facebook.com.

Let's begin…

Prerequisites:

The only prerequisite is the internet-enabled computer with a Linux operating system.

Step 1: Check if the internet is working fine

First of all, we will check that if our internet is working fine and we are able to ping to other sites.
Nodejs -express framework- v.2
By: Alitalip Sever
Tags: Web, HTML, Nodejs, CSS, Expressjs

You don't need Game of Thrones, or House of Cards, when you have Turkish politics.
Starting to work as a freelancer…
By: Ahren Pradhan
Tags: Web, Freelance, Web Development, Experience, Startup Life

Photo by Sebastian Seck on Unsplash

My approach

There was a person, whose friend is the brother of my dads’ client. He did freelancing but he had no work for me, plus a lack of projects to prove my worth.

Then this idea came into — ‘OFF-LOADING’

He finally offloaded the work on his personal project onto me as he was just too busy. I did it for $2.5 per hour, and I was able to impress him. Then I did the next for $5 was cool.

In the mean while had a bit of luck and did freelancing work from elsewhere as well, finally generating a decent about of work with 2x times the money I earned while I was doing my job.

This had many other advantages as well

1. Everything was on me both the good and the bad,

2. I wrote everything, so bugs were a piece of cake,

3. Sometimes I had to work on an existing project, and helped me improve working on others work,

4. The amount of money,

5. I now have a number of project whose work I could reference from thus improving my speed,

6. Working on the architecture help me realize what’s good to work with and now as I had the entire project structure on my mind , I didn’t had to go through the code, unlike compared to my job,

7. My English proficiency , and a lot more
Spline：輕鬆建出能在網頁互動的 3D 模型
By: 吳俊儀 Junior
Tags: 3d Modeling, Web, Spline, Splinetool, UI Design

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
[筆記]使用 gulp + sass + 客製化 bootstrap 開發
Tags: Front End Development, Gulp前端自動化, Web, Scss To Css Converter

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Enhance your web apps with a vibration!!
By: Francesco Leardini
Tags: Web, JavaScript, Web Development, API, Frontend

Phuc H on Unsplash

Nowadays we are used to receive a tactile feedback when we receive a text message or when we play a game on our phone.

Until now, native apps had the advantage of providing a deep experience to the users, being able to tightly interact with the hosting hardware.

However, thanks to the Vibration API we can enrich our web apps with a new functionality and let a device vibrate through our browser!

It’s a further step to close the feature gap with native applications.

The Vibration API simply won’t do anything if the hosting device doesn’t support it.

This goes along with the progressive enhancement strategy. That is, if the user has a modern browser and a device capable of vibrating, then we can offer a richer experience. On the other side, our web app must keep working correctly for all other users even without advanced features.

API Syntax

We use the navigator.vibrate to define a pattern, made of a single vibration or a sequence of vibrations and pauses. The method accepts as parameter an integer or an array of integers, expressing the length in milliseconds of a vibration or sequences of vibrations and pauses, respectively. The return value type is boolean : false in case we pass wrong parameters, true otherwise.

As mentioned previously, if the device doesn’t support vibration, this method won’t have any effect.

var success = window.navigator.vibrate(pattern);

pattern Provides a pattern of vibration and pause intervals. Each value indicates a number of milliseconds to vibrate or pause, in alternation. You may provide either a single value (to vibrate once for that many milliseconds) or an array of values to alternately vibrate, pause, then vibrate again. ( Source: MDN Web)

The method returns a boolean if we pass wrong parameters.

To generate a single vibration lasting 300ms we can use the following code:

window.navigator.vibrate(300);

While to create a pattern composed by 300ms vibration, 100ms pause, 300ms vibration:

window.navigator.vibrate([300, 100, 300]);

Cancel a running vibration
The Tale of Web Avenue
By: Shreyas Malewar
Tags: Web, Dscghrce, Internet, DNS, Ip Address

The Tale of Web Avenue

It was a pleasant day in the computer avenue, the CPU was running at a moderate temperature, fans were running at optimal speeds, and Dev Coder was as usual busy programming(actually fixing bugs). Things turned upside down when Dev Coder was struck with a bug he couldn’t figure out. He asked the wisest man on computer avenue for help, he was none other than Chrome Singh.

Dev Coder -Hey! Chrome Singh. Could you please guide me to stackoverflow.com?

Chrome Singh -“I’m at your service sir. I’ll show you the way to stackoverflow.com right away and also give you about 6,24,00,00,000 results (0.79 seconds)”. Exclaimed Chrome Singh.

Chrome followed the standard protocols and checked if it has the IP address in its cache memory(temporary memory). Chrome was disappointed that the IP address was unavailable in the browser cache.
Star Wars Movies Ranked From Best to Worst
By: Alexander Fleiss
Tags: Star Wars

December 25, 2020 · Enterntainment

Star Wars Movies Ranked From Best to Worst

Rebellion’s Ranking of Star Wars Movies from Best to Worst:

1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

One of the greatest works in cinema history, conveys everything that Star Wars is about while telling a thrilling story.

The Last Starfighter Sequel Takes Off

2. Rogue One (2016)

A standalone tale of the rebels who sacrificed all to get the secret Death Star plans, exceptional in so many respects, some wonder if this is possibly #1?

Flying an RF-4C Phantom vs Piloting Space Shuttle Discovery & Atlantis? NASA Astronaut Mike Mullane Answers the Question

3. Return Of The Jedi (1983)

A feel-good story that contains all of the classic Star Wars elements. A few shortcomings leave this film far behind Rogue One.

4. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

The original piece that set the tone for one of the greatest stories ever told.

An Explanation of NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

5. Revenge Of The Sith (2005)

A dark and depressing tale that rises far above the other prequels.

A Statistical Analysis of The Challenger Accident

6. The Force Awakens (2015)

A fun nostalgic film that has many flaws, however a rousing performance by Harrison Ford makes up for many shortcomings.

NASA Astronaut Tom Jones Reveals Gus Grissom’s Actual Liberty Bell 7 Hatch Story & More Space Stories!

7. The Phantom Menace (1999)

Though disappointing to many fans who had waited decades for the prequels to be made, Lucas worked hard to make it as credible a Star Wars movie as possible. On a negative note this film did give birth to Jar Jar Binks, one of the most controversial Star Wars characters of all time, possibly the most despised until Luke Skywalker’s recent return.

Interview with NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly: An American Hero

8. Attack Of The Clones (2002)

Lots and lots of CGI work was done and we fans can tell, far too contrived. But, all things considered, not terrible and in relation to recent works, kind of awesome.

9. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Far far behind Clone Wars, this film is weak yet has good intentions, this tale falls short in so so many respects. There was a ton of potential, but the failure began with the casting of Han Solo and ultimately lies with almost every part of the movie. Chewy’s story might have been the only positive part of this creation.

10. The Last Jedi (2017)

This is a painful movie that requires many bathroom breaks to survive. The scenes where Kylo Ren tries to use mind communication are beyond awful and Princess Leia is annoying at best.

American Hero & Living Legend General David Petraeus

11. The Rise Of Skywalker

This should not have been made. An insult to fans everywhere.

Has Alibaba Been Unfairly Punished?

Read More
My Mandalorian Christmas Miracle
By: Nate Bagley
Tags: Star Wars, Fatherhood, The Mandalorian, Infertility, Family

Last year my wife had tears in her eyes as she watched The Mandalorian season one finale with me.

We just found out we’d had a miscarriage.

We had been trying to have a baby for a while, and the heartbreak of losing what we expected to be our first child was especially hard on my wife.

She was never a Star Wars fan, but she seemed to get a profound sense of comfort on a weekly basis watching “Baby Yoda” appear on our TV screen.

She grew attached to the little guy.

He seemed to fill part of the hole our unborn child left in my wife’s heart.

All she wanted for Christmas was to hold her own Baby Yoda.

But Disney had not created any merchandise for The Child. So I had to get scrappy.

I eventually found a friend of a friend who owned a 3D printer who agreed to help me create a model of the little guy.

When I presented it to my wife, she was stunned.

She understood what that little statue of The Child represented.

He became the first piece of the Baby Yoda shrine we’ve established in our living room.

Fast forward one year.

It’s been a crazy year.

We’re watching The Mandalorian season two finale.

But this time, I’m the one crying.

Watching the battered X-wing fly onto the screen, the green lightsaber ignite in the gloved hand of the hooded figure…

Watching Din (Mando) remove his helmet, look into the eyes of baby Grogu, and be touched on the face for the first time in his life.

The finale definitely got my emotions going.

But what sent me over the edge was the wiggly little baby that was sitting on my lap, watching the show with us.

That’s right, now we are a clan of 3.

I wanted to name her “Amanda Lorien” (A Mandalorian), but my wife squashed that idea.

Her reason?

“I’ve known too many Amandas that I’m not a fan of.”

But really, I know she just didn’t want to be that mom who named her kid after a Star Wars character.

Fair enough. I can’t really blame her for that.

I’ve been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember. But I never thought Star Wars would become a healing balm in a time of profound pain for my family.

I’m very grateful for the creators of the show who brought this story, and these characters to life. It gave us a new hope (pun intended).

For those of you who might be having a difficult holiday season this year (like ours was last year), please hang in there. Continue the journey. Things get better in the next chapter, I promise.

This is the way.
Bad Faith, Part I
By: Rowan Pike
Tags: Government, Leadership, Star Wars, Politics

Power is a poison well known for thousands of years. If only no one were ever able to acquire material power over others! But to the human being who has faith in some force that holds dominion over all of us, and who is therefore conscious of his own limitations, power is not necessarily fatal. For those, however, who are unaware of any higher sphere it is a deadly poison. For them, there is no antidote.

-Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Relationships

Our human existence is based on relationships, or the lack thereof. The first relationship we have is that with our parents. In rapid succession, siblings and extended family members are added into the list of relationships we must manage or fail to do so. Within a few years of entering this life, a whole other, much different, column gets added to the spreadsheet: friendship.

Some years after that, an even more radically different column is added: romantic interests. How one manages these relationships is a huge part of one’s character, and how others will judge you.

Of course, all of these relationship categories are managed in a variety of ways, good and bad. Do your parents and siblings treat you with love and support? Do you return it?

Do you show people enough respect and support to make them want to be friends? Do they show it to you? Do you nurture romantic relationships, or do you treat them as disposable? How do your interests handle these relationships?

Eventually, you enter the work force. Do you show due respect for your management? Do they show appreciation for you? One thing that is greatly important to successful relationships is an opening from a place of honesty and integrity.

A bit of introspection

Look back on your own life and remember the relationships that began on a good note, and those that did not. Remember the jobs you applied to with a resume that was completely honest, and those who received a resume full of exaggerations and cover-ups; do not lie, we have all done it.

Think about the romantic interests you have been brutally honest with, and those that you felt the need to deceive in one way or another; he/she was just too attractive to let go, am I right? Which friendships began on a good note and were nurtured by more good than bad interactions, and which ended in a train wreck? Which of these relationships succeeded, and which did not, in the long term?
The Mandalorian is a start, but ‘Obi-Wan’ can breathe life back into Star Wars…
Tags: Star Wars, Movies, News

With the recent hit ‘The Mandalorian’ proving there is still so much creative potential left in Star Wars, diehard fans and casual watchers alike have plenty to look forward to with the return of both Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor coming to fruition for the development of the new ‘Obi-Wan’ series set to start filming early into the new year.

There are so many reasons why this is such a big deal for both the Star Wars franchise as well as its fans…

A chance to bring back the classic lightsaber duels which brought the franchise global fans in the beginning.

‘Obi-Wan’ has a fantastic opportunity given its throw-backish nature to bring about the return of some lightsaber usage and duels that diehard star wars fans haven’t seen for years. Before the modern era of films Star Wars had a quality plotline which was backed up by some jaw-droppingly intense and impressive lightsaber duels that put people in seats time and time again all around the world.

This isn’t to say that the modern film don’t have the same level of creative integrity, which is debatable but a separate issue. It just means that as a star wars fan you’ve surely have missed some of the classic duels that made the franchise what it was, and that is exactly what this new Kenobi series can bring you if given the right creative pushes from Disney and the cast.

The opportunity for the resurfacing of beloved characters from times gone by.

With the series supposedly exploring in more depth the character ark of Kenobi there surely is room for some fan pleasing moments with the return of iconic characters such as Darth Maul, Qui-Gon, Commander Cody and even the potential entering of Ahsoka Tano.

Obviously there can be no expectations as to which characters we may see pop up along the timeline of the new series but without doubt fans should hope to see at least a few along the journey, something which could bring back the spark from older viewers returning to see characters that made their childhood. The return of older characters and concepts also gives the new generation of star wars watchers the chance for a taster of why the serious is still so popular so many years after its initial release.

A potential landmark in the future of the franchise and it’s direction with both films and series works.

Finally, whilst we know so little about how the series will turn out we can only hope that it will serve as a creative landmark for disney as they tackle how to push the franchise forward going into the future. Following the success of Disney’s ‘The Mandalorian’ series there has been a standard undoubtedly set for Star Wars fans who want to see like it both in the form of series work and films going into the future.

There really is so much to look forward to with the upcoming filming of ‘Obi-Wan’ and without doubt Star Wars fans should feel in safe hands with the return of franchise legends who surely will do nothing but good for what stands as one of the most passionately followed stories of all time…
I’m in LOVE with the #Nativity at the Vatican this year.
By: James Anok
Tags: Vatican, Astronauts, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Baby Yoda

I’m in LOVE with the #Nativity at the Vatican this year. An #astronaut is included. Yes. You read that right. These surreal life sized ceramic nativity figures were created during the time of the first moon landing. My contribution to the apparent “controversy”: The “moon” the astronaut is holding is an embryonic #BabyYoda from #StarWars #TheMandalorian !!! It’s even green!!! There. I said it. It’s the #Vatican X #StarWars crossover everyone has never known they’ve wanted or needed. #MerryChristmas Grogu, may The Force of the season be with you, for #ThisIsTheWay .
Why the Mandalorian Is a Masterclass in Storytelling
By: Dianne Sullivan
Tags: Storytelling, Writing, Star Wars, Marketing, Filmmaking

Why the Mandalorian Is a Masterclass in Storytelling

Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash

The opening line of every story must draw the reader in.

The last line must leave them satisfied.

Too often, the last scene of a film or TV show’s season leaves us with many unanswered questions. This is the time-honoured marketing tactic used to make us only partially satisfied while building anticipation for the next season — the classic cliffhanger.

But get the balance wrong with too many unresolved plotlines and viewers will become frustrated and turn away.

Take the example of Twin Peaks, a TV show first aired in the 90s. A phenomenally successful first season quickly turned sour. For younger readers, the storyline falls off the rails around episode 17 when there are simply too many confusing side plots building with too many unresolved and random events. Why is Agent Cooper still hanging around the town for goodness sake?

In complete contrast, The Mandalorian is a masterclass in storytelling from beginning to end.

Written and executive produced by Jon Favreau, it’s the first live-action Star Wars TV series ever.

As I write, the last episode of season two has just aired on Disney+. I want to immediately go back to the beginning and watch them all again.

It’s that good.

Here’s how Favreau has got the storytelling just right.

Spoiler alert — don’t read any further if you haven’t yet watched The Mandolarian and plan to.
VIDEO: Boardwalk Times Easter Egg Hunt: LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
By: Zach Perilstein
Tags: Disney Plus, Boardwalk Times, Disneey, Star Wars, Video

VIDEO: Boardwalk Times Easter Egg Hunt: LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special

Today we launch a new series for Boardwalk Times titled Boardwalk Times Easter Egg Hunt. The new original series from Boardwalk Times is a series where we locate and discuss interesting easter eggs and hidden details from some of our favorite films, TV series, games, attractions, and specials.

In our first installment, we tackle the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special which is now on Disney+. We find a ton of cool hidden details and easter eggs throughout the special.

Do you have a film, TV series, game, attraction, or a special in mind that you want to see Boardwalk Times Easter Egg Hunt tackle? Tweet at us @BoardwalkTimes.

Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
12/22/2020 — The COVID Strikes Back
By: Willie Witten
Tags: Sp500, Star Wars, Volatility, Covid 19, Vaccines

I didn’t fully comprehend the expansive reach of The Empire when I first experienced Star Wars, so I felt pretty confident that by the end of the original film, The Rebellion had put an end to Darth and The Gang. A massive explosion, people cheering, and an elaborate awards ceremony tend to signal a decisive victory. As such, The Empire managing to strike back truly surprised me.

When COVID struck back early yesterday morning with a supposedly new, fast-spreading strain, it inspired one of the more lackadaisical selloffs in recent memory. No one seemed too surprised, or overly interested because the pandemic continues to loom large in our daily lives. The 80 point tumble in the S&P 500 may have briefly captured the imagination of industry bears, but the overall sentiment was one of inevitability. The inevitability that the market would weather its intermittent plunges, quickly discarding the jitters and resuming its slow return climb to all time highs.

Unlike the Star Wars reversal, current market spectators never believed that the antagonist had been vanquished. In fact, the pandemic appears to have the upper hand as COVID related deaths rally to their highest levels yet and show little sign of abating. We are still waiting for our own Return of The Jedi in the shape of day-to-day normalcy. For its part, the new strain appears spread quickly, but shows no signs of being anymore virulent, or giving any indication that it may be resistant to vaccinations.

But none of this really matters. The market treated the “revenge” of COVID with the same gentle skepticism that it has all news items since the presidential election and announcement of completed vaccine trials. By neither ignoring, nor truly taking seriously the threat of an enhanced pathogenic killing machine, US markets ultimately retreated to their current default posture, which is to briefly satisfy newsworthy items with a perfunctory dip, but remain ready to sate the influx of dumb money with a quick return to market peaks.

With real unemployment (not the bogus numbers championed by The Bureau of Labor Statistics) higher than at any point since the Great Depression, the glut of capital being thrown into stock markets promises to buoy recent gains — even as the pandemic reaches its most deadly levels. However, as short-lived as it was, Monday’s volatility spike to a 31 level reminds that any substantial vaccine glitch, or major political misstep could send inexperienced punters tripping over themselves in search of an exit.
Disney confirms ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ is a ‘Mandalorian’ spin-off series
Tags: Star Wars, Fiverr, The Mandalorian, Email Marketing

It’ll take place in the same timeline as ‘The Mandalorian.’

When the season two finale of The Mandalorian dropped last week, it teased something called The Book of Boba Fett in a post-credits scene. It was clear that Boba Fett was going to get some time in the spotlight, we didn’t know if this was a movie, a new series, an arc on The Mandalorian, or something else entirely. Today, Disney clarified that The Book of Boba Fett will be a full new series debuting in December of 2021. Furthermore, we know that it’ll take place in the same general timeframe as The Mandalorian, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see some crossover between these shows.

The tweet also confirms that the show will be executive produced by Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau along with Dave Filoni (executive producer of Star Wars Rebels) and prolific writer/director Robert Rodriguez (who recently directed episode 14 of The Mandalorian). Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen will their roles as Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, which they played in recent episodes of The Mandalorian. There isn’t much else to go on yet, most specifically who’ll be running the show, but given that it’s only a year away from debuting, we should hear plenty about it in the months to come. Another big question is when The Mandalorian will return for its third season — but with a big new series to debut, it wouldn’t surprise us to see season three pushed back a bit into 2022.
Top 7 Strongest Mandalorians of All Time: Most Powerful Mandalorians
By: Rui Carreira
Tags: Entertainment, Cinema, Movies, Star Wars, TV Series

Learn about the Top 7 Strongest Mandalorians of All Time in this list which brings you the best Mandalorians in the Star Wars Universe.

If you’ve been wondering who are the strongest Mandalorians of all time in Star Wars, then know I have you covered as I have researched, compared, and studied my lore.

I have also been doing that for 25 years now.

I have compiled this list considering the feats, power, prowess, fighting skills, and the galactic impact these Mandalorians had.

While I know these lists are subjective and that it’s impossible to get a 100% approval seal from the Internet, I know this is the best list you’ll read.

I know this because I’ve been wanting to find good lists myself and all of the others are trash since people don’t know their Mandos.

I’m used to making lists that blow other lists out of the other, modesty not being my forte, as I made the web’s first Top 50 Sith Lords of All Time list, which garnered a lot of popularity, praise, and copycats.

Having said that, I hope you enjoy the list and that you learn more about the best Mandalorians out there.
You’re the only one who understands me, Artoo.
Tags: Star Wars, Friendship, Comics, Humor

If droids were real, I’d never speak to another human being again.

https://www.dieselsweeties.com/ics/1114/
Session 2: Above the Clouds. The crew finds themselves stranded in…
By: Johan Solo
Tags: Star Wars, The Guide, The Hunted Campaign, Session Intro, Sunrise On Ord Mantell

“Master, I ask again for your guidance.”

Very well, my old friend. I will guide you. I sense that you are questioning why I include certain details. I only say this: I do not alter the events of the story, nor do I choose which to include. They simply occurred, and can only be told as such. Now, we shall continue:

The handyman, the botanist, the gunslinger, and the Mandalorian found themselves in orbit above the planet Ord Mantell, stranded on a ship they had just stolen from Medina Mechanics. Some of them might have reflected on the events of the past few hours: the meeting with Chequa Nomi, the journey to the spaceport, the explosive distraction, and the skirmish with the Black Sun guards. Or perhaps they thought of the silent follower with the armored duster and horned Mandalorian helmet.

They could have contemplated their predicament, watching the golden glow of Ord Mantell City diffused by the clouds passing through the atmosphere like wisps of gray smoke. However it’s quite likely that they thought about none of this, instead preoccupied with red warning lights, frayed wiring, and scorched mechanical parts clattering from the ceiling of their new starship.