Opinion

Culture

REVIEW: ‘Star Wars’ creature feature too afraid to slow down

Elliott Wood | June 29

Last month, the first “Star Wars” film in almost seven years, subtitled “The Mandalorian and Grogu”, was released in theaters. It follows the titular Mandalorian peacekeeper Din Djarin and his very small companion on another adventure after three seasons of the show that introduced audiences to the characters in 2019.  The first big question that arises after you adapt a show into a movie tends to be, “Is it worth it?” The big budget, the advertisements and global press tour? The answer isn’t quite as obvious as the question, but after reflecting on all of its parts, this film replies “no.”

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Opinion

REVIEW: 007 First Light: The reboot the franchise deserves

Marley Herndon | June 10

“I’ve been reading up on the 00’s, and I think the programme deserves a reboot.”  This is what iconic Bond regular Ms. Moneypenny, reimagined in “007 First Light” as the “girl in the chair,” tells James Bond before he’s shipped off for training in Malta to become the hero fans know and love. It’s also the apparent mission statement of developer IO Interactive as they were tasked with both telling the first original Bond story since fans said goodbye to the Daniel Craig era in 2021 with “No Time To Die,” and developing the first 007 video game since “007 Legends” in 2012.

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Opinion

OPINION: Football: Inside the Lobos’ historic rise from long shots to favorites

Edge Garcia | June 8

The Lobos’ football team has taken the field for 94 years, and not once have they entered a season as the betting-odd favorites to win the conference, until now. After hiring Head Coach Jason Eck, who led the team to just their sixth season with nine or more wins in program history and a trip to the Rate Bowl – their first bowl appearance since 2016 – the Lobos became one of the nation's top stories in all of college football.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week

Marley Herndon | June 8

Where there’s a victor, there’s a loser, and sometimes, certain athletes contribute to their team’s shortcomings. These athletes are favorably called bobbleheads. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren Early in the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked to be in prime position to repeat as champions. They had the best record in the NBA and came into the Western Conference Finals 8-0 in the postseason, sweeping both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. However, throughout the regular season, one team seemed to have their number, and that happened to be the team they would have to face with a trip to the NBA finals up for grabs.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week

Marley Herndon | May 18

When there’s a winner, there’s a loser. Sometimes a player can do everything in their power to win a game and still lose. Just as often, a player’s performance can cost their team the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads. 

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Opinion

OPINION: Local news is failing — everyone can help fix it

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | April 27

For those who do not know me, I am not surprised. I am Jaden McKelvey-Francis, the outgoing editor-in-chief of the New Mexico Daily Lobo. There’s an adage within newsrooms across the country of “we are not the story,” meaning that the focus of our content should be on the story being told, rather than the person telling the story. This is a helpful saying, one of many I have learned over my year as editor-in-chief (journalists love their sayings), but I find it slightly lacking — if people don’t get the news, trust the news, or understand how news is created, how can we complain if they aren’t informed of the news? 

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Honor our active duty troops

March 23

While it might be quaint to give space to a letter writer like Thomas Abeyta (“No American Heroes Died in Kuwait”) — this non-teen (he stated a year 2000 birth year) ought to be far far less idealistic and frankly completely ignorant by age 25-26! Of course the first seven killed in this war are indeed heroes! They served and served with honor and this is completely distinct from your beliefs on the War in Iran itself — no different than the two World Wars or the Korean and Vietnam Wars nor the two Iraq Wars nor the Afghanistan War etc!

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: No American Heroes Died In Kuwait

March 9

It is reported that 1,332 people have been killed so far in the joint U.S. and Israeli act of war against Iran. I could not help but think of them when I saw the U.S. flag lowered to half mast in honor of the six U.S. soldiers who died in Kuwait, and the seventh killed in the UAE. Fallen U.S. soldiers are often called heroes, including these soldiers by the president himself.  My nation has dropped bombs on Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen since I was born in the year 2000. In that time I have come to see the U.S. imperial force as invaders and corporate plunderers, not heroes. 

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Project Ranger or Project Undercover?

December 12

Over the past few months, the Castelion Corporation has been quietly considering Sandoval County as the location for a new rocket motor manufacturing facility, which will contain several structures with the biggest one being over 200,000 square feet on more than 1,000 acres. Despite the scale of the project, the Californian company has kept its plans largely under wraps, only hosting a few meetings that were open to the public before the project was pushed forward by commissioners of Sandoval County, with backing from Senator Jay Block. 

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Opinion

OPINION: Kyle Lowry’s case for the Hall of Fame

Austin Bishop | December 9

Hall of Fame greatness comes in many forms, and Kyle Lowry’s story is one of metamorphosis. He transformed an overlooked city into a championship contender, becoming the heartbeat of the Toronto Raptors.  During that period, Lowry averaged 18 points per game while anchoring the team as a leader. Lowry’s combination of championship success and sustained excellence, with the ability to elevate those around him, makes him a compelling case to belong among basketball’s all-time greats, and is a future Hall of Fame candidate.

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Major UNM organizations call for administration to do more to protect academic freedom

November 17

Academic freedom is under attack. Long a cornerstone of higher education, academic freedom creates space for faculty to research, to teach, and to speak in the public arena without threat of institutional censorship or reprisal. This attack on academic freedom is part of a broader assault on higher education, one that puts real people at risk for doing the work they were hired to do. The pressure from federal investigations and funding cuts has contributed to a growing culture of fear, one where academics are wary to speak out and voice their concerns. But silence is not going to save us.  Per the American Association of University Professors Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, "[f]reedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth,” and in the classroom, faculty must have the right to “stimulate[] debate and learning that is germane to the subject matter.”  

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Politicians are Adults, Softball is Over

November 17

Dear Jaden McKelvey-Francis, some readers of the Daily Lobo had the unfortunate pleasure of reading your recent interviews with mayoral candidates in this very paper. I am amazed that a university journal with the opportunity to hold a politician's feet to the fire used this opportunity to exacerbate climate change by wasting good paper on pointless articles. The questions asked of these city candidates read like a speed dating card, not anything resembling journalism. Many of these people have been responsible for our daily institutions for years, and their records and interests should be in serious consideration to the voters. These politicians are adults, enough with softball interviews. Because my university's paper is clearly struggling to come up with good questions for those running for office, I thought I’d help out leading up to this runoff election;

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week

Alex Joe | November 14

There are winners and there are losers. Not every loser is the same, as these players' performances were key in costing their teams this week. These players are favorably known as bobbleheads. “You can’t win ‘em all” is a phrase these pro sports players definitely had to hear after some terrible performances this week. Here are the players whose play this week earned them the title of bobblehead. Pittsburgh Steelers: quarterback Aaron Rodgers There were a few players to pick from NFL week 10, but ultimately, the future hall-of-famer gets the nod for a bizarre performance on Sunday night football.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week

Alex Joe | November 7

There are winners and there are losers. Not every loser is the same, as these players' performances were key in costing their teams this week. These players are favorably known as bobbleheads. “You can’t win ‘‘em all” is a phrase these pro sports players definitely had to hear after some terrible performances this week. Here are the players whose play this week earned them the title of bobblehead.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week: MLB Postseason

Marley Herndon | October 24

Where there are winners, there are losers; however, not all losers are created equal, as some teams feature players who single-handedly cost them the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads. During last year’s World Series, sportscaster Joe Davis said, “You deliver this time of year, you can rewrite your whole story, as long as you’ve got the bat in your hands,” a statement which rings as true as its opposite.  You can just as easily rewrite that story by not delivering this time of year, as long as you’ve got the bat or ball in your hands. Since it’s once again that time of year, as the World Series is set to be a showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays — with game one on Friday, Oct. 24 — there’s no better time to highlight the bobbleheads who got us here.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week: NFL week 6 edition

Marley Herndon | October 15

Where there are winners, there are losers; however, not all losers are created equal, as some teams feature players who single-handedly cost them the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads. “You win some, you lose some” is a phrase you’ve probably heard at least a few times in your life. It's also something these players in the NFL probably had to hear from their coaches after their dismal performances in week six of the NFL season.  Here are the guys whose play this week earned them the title of bobblehead.

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Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week: NFL week 3 edition

Simon Reseigh | September 30

The NFL season is in full swing, and teams are looking to build momentum for the long grind that lies ahead. Where there are winners, there are losers. But not all losers are created equal, as some teams feature players who single-handedly cost them the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads. Here are the bobbleheads from the NFL’s week three that helped stall any momentum their teams built from the first two weeks.