Facebook-owned WhatsApp has strengthened the encryption of its widely used instant messaging app, a development that in theory makes it harder for law enforcement to gain access to communications.
Companies are wary about what employees are doing on their smartphones. Be it data loss or time-wasting, a growing number of employers are actively stopping staff from using certain apps on company-controlled devices.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation released the latest version of its annual "Who Has Your Back" report on tech companies' data disclosure policies Wednesday afternoon, giving perfect five-star ratings to companies including Apple, Adobe, Dropbox and...
Facebook-owned WhatsApp, the popular mobile messaging and calling service, has no immediate plans to offer tools to outside developers to let them build services on top of it.
Facebook's Messenger app has traditionally been used for keeping in touch with friends. Now people can also use it to send each other money. In the future, it could become a platform which other apps could use, if recent rumors prove true.
Iran has arrested several Facebook users on charges ranging from insulting religious figures to conducting immoral activities, even as it is said to be talking to Google about setting up operations in the country.
WhatsApp is now available for the Web, in a form that pairs the mobile version of the app to a user's desktop computer.
The U.K. may ban online messaging services that offer encryption such as WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage, under surveillance plans laid out by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mobile messaging platform WhatsApp has accumulated more than 700 million monthly active users and seems on track to reach 1 billion in about a year, a target Facebook set when it acquired the company in 2014.
Ramping up efforts to keep its customers' messages safe from snooping, WhatsApp said Tuesday that it now supports end-to-end encryption for messages sent between users.
Facebook has revealed a little more about what compelled it to spend close to $US19 billion earlier this year to buy mobile messaging service WhatsApp -- a deal that had many scratching their heads at the huge sum.
Facebook said Monday it had closed its acquisition of messaging app WhatsApp, giving the social network a massively popular service for mobile messaging.
Facebook's US$19 billion bid for WhatsApp won the approval of European Union competition regulator on Friday.
Several Facebook and WhatsApp competitors were sent questionnaires by the European Commission asking them about the effect that the US$19 billion deal between the companies could have on competition, people familiar with the matter have confirmed.
Facebook is reportedly requesting that the European Commission review its pending WhatsApp acquisition, in what is likely an effort to avoid multiple, parallel antitrust scrutiny in several countries.
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text:
| || InvestHub.com's |
Finance Dictionary and Glossary of Investment Terms
A certificate of deposit (CD) for $100,000 more.
A CD with a very large denomination, usually $1 million or more. These are usually bought by institutional investors who are interested in low-risk investments. Jumbo CDs are usually in bearer form, and have secondary markets that are highly liquid. also called negotiable certificate of deposit.

domain: economics


text:
Andy Warhol & Keith Haring '20th Montreux Jazz Festival', Original Pop Art Poster, Plate Signed, 1986
Keith Haring (United States, 1958-1990) & Andy Warhol (United States, 1928-1987) '20th Montreux Jazz Festival', 1986
This print is a collaboration work created by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring to promote the 20th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland in 1986. The work features bars of musical notation in Warhol’s style with Haring’s figures moving between the lines. Printed and published by Albin Uldry Berne, Austria, with the original stamp in the lower left.
Offset-lithograph 590 x 840 mm (23.3 x 33 in) Plate Signed Limited Edition Excellent Condition

domain: artistic


text:
It’s difficult to understand our feelings when traumatic events happen in our lives, and it’s common for people to mistake feelings of sadness as depression when stressful situations occur. Though sadness is a symptom of depression, there are characteristics of typical sadness and depressive sadness that people should know to fully understand their own emotional experiences. Here’s some important information about sadness and depression if you’re struggling with life transition or stressor.
What is Sadness?
Sadness is a temporary state of despair, and feeling sad is a healthy response to a crisis or disappointing event. Often, sadness links to a specific trigger and will entail moments of improved mood that come and go in waves. Feeling sad is a typical adaptive response to stressful situations, and people can usually find some relief from crying, venting, or talking out frustrations.
Sadness generally doesn’t lead to extreme changes in behavior compared to depression. Sadness may affect one’s interests in aspects of daily life, but these effects don’t tend to persist like depression symptoms. It’s normal to experience sadness following a crisis or disturbing event. It’s part of the human experience and usually cites the beginning of overcoming a life stressor.
What is Depression?
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how one feels, thinks, and acts. The illness brings long-lasting symptoms that influence various areas of one’s daily life, self-care, and perceptions that sadness often doesn’t reach. While a sad mood is a barrier that one can usually tackle on their own, depression is a beast that typically requires professional help to overcome.
Depression is multifaceted and understanding the causes can be just as complex as the symptoms themselves. It’s common for depression to appear after a trauma or event, and there are a variety of possibilities for what may be causing one’s depression. Sometimes the cause can be pinpointed, and other times there is none.
Symptoms of Depression
Depression symptoms vary from mild to severe and may include:
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, handwringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
The symptom of sadness in depression differs from non-depressive sadness in its severity and longevity. Symptoms must last at least two weeks and represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression. Depressive sadness also negatively impacts one’s daily functioning and is more debilitating than a typical sad mood.
Thankfully, there is plenty of hope for depression recovery. Below are three solutions to combat depression:
Therapy and Medication
Therapy and antidepressant medication are two of the most common treatments for depression, and they’re often used in coordination with one another to tackle multiple causes or symptoms of depression. The most common kind of talk therapy is called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which centers on thinking patterns and cognitive skills. CBT is used to develop healthier coping mechanisms, use problem-solving skills, and learn to recognize their own cognitive distortions. This therapy focuses on moving forward and learning to manage one’s depression independently.
Antidepressant medications are also used to reduce the chemical imbalances and functional errors in the brain that cause depression. There are many different kinds of antidepressants, including:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This is the most common type of antidepressant, and the type with the least side effects.
- Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Similar to SSRIs, but not exactly the same. Some respond better to SNRIs than SSRIs, but one is not always more effective than the other.
- Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Often prescribed after SSRIs or SNRIs have been tried, TCAs are an older antidepressant treatment. They are sometimes recommended for treating other mental illnesses, like OCD or bipolar disorder.
Antidepressants are prescribed by a doctor and can be used as a short or long-term solution for depression.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
If you’ve tried antidepressants but haven’t found success, other treatment options available. One safe and effective treatment is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is designed to treat depression, OCD, and other common disorders safely and effectively. TMS works by emitting gentle magnetic pulses to the area of the brain that regulates mood. These pulses activate specific areas of the brain and decrease symptoms of depression.
TMS does not require anesthesia, hospitalization, and has no systemic side effects. During the 20-minute treatment session, patients are awake and sit in a comfortable chair, and they are able to drive home after treatment. TMS is FDA approved and is covered by most insurance.
TMS has a high success rate for patients with treatment-resistant depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even in cases where medications are not effective, TMS can help you overcome symptoms and experience the best version of yourself.
Ketamine is the most-studied psychedelic drug for mental health therapy. In low doses, it has shown to be beneficial in numerous trials exploring its potential to treat depression. Traditional medications often take several weeks to work, or may only work for as long as a person takes them. Most research on psychedelic therapy, by contrast, has found an immediate improvement, sometimes with a single dose.
Relief Mental Health is proud to offer SPRAVATO® (esketamine), the first and only NMDA receptor antagonist approved for adults with treatment resistant depression. It’s administered under medical supervision in a therapeutic room, and your physical and mental health are expertly monitored during care. Psychedelic therapy demonstrates consistent safety across indications and can only be administered in a certified healthcare setting. Relief Mental Health is an REMS-certified provider of SPRAVATO® for people with treatment-resistant depression.
SPRAVATO® can be used in conjunction with TMS treatment, antidepressants, and psychotherapy. Most patients engage in more than one form of treatment while to achieve optimal health.
If you suffer from depression, don’t lose hope! With the right treatment plan, you can conquer your depression and feel happy again. Relief Mental Health can help you get to a better place. Call us at 630-974-6602 or via the form below to learn more about the right treatment option for you.
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domain: psychology


text:
Struck by Wanderlust- Savi and Vid
Savi and Vid live in London and are avid travelers. They have traveled to 50 countries and blog about their travel and fashion adventures at Bruised Passports. Their blog is full of travel stories, outfit posts, street food adventures, and photo essays.
What makes Savi and Vid Hobos We admire? Well, they are ones who have left their stable career and jobs in order to follow their interest or more precisely to say, passion for travelling. These are two talented souls whose lives are stuff that dreams are made of. Forever travelling and telling their stories, they aspire to trot around the world and have covered atleast 50 countries till now. Let us ask Savi who calls herself as an urban gypsy and Vid who calls himself as an instinctive rebel, what travelling means to them:
Q1. How and when did the travel bug bite you?
We think it was the first time the two of us took a trip together - Thailand, circa 2007. Discovering new cultures is always exciting, but travelling together made it irresistible. Ever since we've covered 50 countries and over 200 cities, and we fall a little more in love with travelling every day.
Q2. Which destinations have you explored till now?
Weve explored most of Europe including famous cities such as Paris and Brussels and little-known countries like Malta and Croatia. Weve also travelled extensively in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. However were yet to explore Australia and South America those are definitely on our immediate wish list.
Q3. Which has been your most memorable journey till date? (Give us details on why you decided to travel to this destination and what was your itinerary)
That journey would have to be A Road Trip in Iceland. There is no other country like Iceland in the world here nature is tinged with magic and there are natural wonders by the dozen. There is something surreal glacier, fjord, volcano, crater, or geyser - everywhere you look. Were convinced phrases such as knock your socks off or knock the daylights out of you were coined for Iceland.
Q4. Why is it the most important and memorable one for you?
Icelands towering mountains, mysterious moors, majestic waterfalls, seductive glaciers, and fairytale towns left an everlasting impact on us. Wed never seen the glories of nature showcased in this fashion ever before. We went hiking on glaciers, driving on snowcaps, and caving inside volcanoes each experience was more surreal that the last. Driving around in the country made us feel connected to nature in a way thats never happened before. We just didnt want to leave.
Q5. Apart from wonderful memories, what have you brought back with you from the journey? (any life lessons, any special memorabilia etc.)
Weve been fortunate to have some amazing experiences on the road. If theres one thing weve realized, it is that life is too short to be spent worrying about accumulating material possessions. It should be about crazy adventures, amazing people, sumptuous memories, and deep kisses.
Q6. Which place are you planning on visiting next and why?
Were planning to visit the Norwegian Fjords on a cruise ship. We love the Scandinavian countryside and we really enjoy cruising. Put the two together and you get the perfect trip. We will be visiting a number of glacial rivers, storybook hamlets, stunning valleys, meadows, and snow-capped mountains, so were excited.
Q7. What are the problems, which you face while traveling?
Travelling on Indian passports complicates things a lot. We need visas for each and every country, so its imperative we plan our travel in advance. Wed love to just book a ticket and take off to Argentina one fine winter morning, but we cannot. Theres a big task-list that precedes that get our documents in order, book our tickets, procure bank statements, and book accommodation just to get our visas. Our British friends are always shocked at the amount of paperwork that goes into travelling on an Indian passport.
Its easy to get dissuaded from travelling at all, but of course wanderlust triumphs every single time.
Q8 Would you like to say anything on the dynamics of your relationship as a couple given the fact that you are travelers for the most part of your lives?
We were schoolmates and friends, dated for years, and then got married. Currently, we call London home. I am an academic with a PhD in English literature, and Vid is a computer engineer by profession. Both of us are equally passionate about travelling, so travelling together has only brought us closer. Besides our collective passions, we also like to indulge our individual passions and give each other some space, which is important when you spend so much time together I hit the museums in a new city while Vid seeks out the gourmet coffee shops.
Q9. How has travel changed over the years?
We wanted to see as many places as we possibly could when we first started travelling. However that has changed over the years. As we travel more and more, we realize its not the places but the people and experiences that make travelling special. We love the feeling of having friends all over the globe and knowing about the quirks of different cultures much more than counting the number of countries weve visited.
Q10. Lastly, any travel tips for the readers?
Epiphanic moments that cannot be planned but leave an indelible impression keep us motivated. The feeling of witnessing a fabulous sun set, reaching the top of a mountain after a long hike, chancing on spectacular ruins, discovering amazing street food in a sleepy village is second to none. We would advise any aspiring travellers to travel slowly - devour every bit of a place before you move on to the next.
As told to Neha Kapoor

domain: geography


Indiana's restrictive abortion bill advances despite protests
More restrictions were added despite pleas from Democrats.
Indiana lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would ban nearly all abortions in the state.
The 7-5 vote by the Indiana Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee took place after members heard arguments from over 50 individuals who protested the bill's current state.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Indianapolis on Monday to meet with lawmakers about the bill.
The bill, which bans all abortions from the moment of conception with exceptions for rape, incest, threats to the mother's health or fatal fetal abnormalities, was amended on Monday.
One amendment restricts the rape and incest exceptions to within the first eight weeks of pregnancy for those aged 16 and older and 12 weeks for those under 16.
The bill was also amended to require those who are victims of rape and incest, including minors, to sign an affidavit in order to receive an abortion. The affidavit will become part of the patient's permanent medical records.
The committee also voted not to allow telehealth medicine to be used for women seeking abortions within the outlines of the new law.
There were a number of amendments the committee did not hear, including one that allows for religious exceptions.
The amendment was backed by State Sen. Eddie Melton, who cited the testimony of Rabbi Aaron Spiegel. The bill was against the beliefs of Judaism, according to Spiegel.
The bill passed despite opposition from Indiana Democrats.
“When we started this process, I thought we were going down the road to protect girls and women. I see the strategy here and I’m not going to support it. This is dangerous,” Democratic State Sen. Greg Taylor said leading up to the vote.
“This bill is not about life, it's about control,” lawmaker Shelli Yoder, a Democrat, said at the hearing. “Give people time to process what they are about to do.”
State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, a Republican, voted in favor of the bill but expressed disagreements with its current form.
“I have been physically sick to my stomach listening to these discussions,” Charbonneau said at the hearing. “After two days of testimony, no one has been able or willing to shift from two very extreme positions.”
Charbonneau added that despite being a “devout Catholic” himself, the testimony in favor of abortion bans over the last two days troubled him.
“How can religious freedom only apply to certain religions?” Charbonneau said before voting in favor of the bill.
The bill will now go to the Senate floor, where it is expected to pass.


Alonso will enter the final year of his contract at Chelsea and he is keen to move on from Stamford Bridge in the next transfer window.
The Spaniard wants to return to his homeland and Barcelona are interested in securing a deal to sign him as part of their transfer plans.
Talks have already taken place between the Catalan giants and Alonso’s representatives and the player is keen on the move to the Nou Camp.
But according to ESPN Deportes, the defender is yet to get an opportunity to tell Chelsea about his interest in moving on from the club this summer.
Alonso is looking for the right opportunity and will soon inform Chelsea about his willingness to join Barcelona.
The Catalan giants are his preferred choice despite interest in him from other clubs in Spain.
Alonso is hopeful that Chelsea will grant his request and will negotiate a deal to sell him to Barcelona this summer.
However, Chelsea cannot enter any negotiations until their ownership issue is resolved and it is expected to drag on for a while longer.


text:
- cafecrem (9248)
- [2005-07-12 5:12]
This is absolutly AMAZING! Just great! I love it very much!
- chiliu (6526)
- [2005-07-12 5:19]
Very sharp image, good details, great composition.
- LordPotty (12503)
- [2005-07-12 5:28]
Nice one Pam. Its amazing how the pattern on the wing matches the pattern in the eye.An interesting feature I'd never noticed before.Nice capture and composition.
- sway (1276)
- [2005-07-12 5:37]
Lovely focus and DOF.
I love the eyes on the wings
- red45 (31094)
- [2005-07-12 6:27]
Scary eye Pam ;-) Perfect looking patterns on its wings. Brown colours, sharpness, details - all very good. Pity that so great moths don't fly in Poland...
- dew77 (13270)
- [2005-07-12 6:43]
Wonderful butterfly close up.Details,framing and composition are perfect.TFS...:-)
Good capture! Sharp details and great colors. Well composed and good POV. Well done & TFS!
Ps-Don't you use the new L-lens??
- Comandante (1408)
- [2005-07-12 7:31]
very interresting butterfly to me.Colors,sharpness,POV and composition are excellent.Thanks for sharing.
- phlr (2821)
- [2005-07-12 8:01]
Very beautiful and also a big butterfly!
- marhowie (486)
- [2005-07-12 8:03]
Great work Pam! Very good sharpness, DOF, details, colors and light. I like the head-up composition, great note - Well done!
- AndyB (3982)
- [2005-07-12 10:10]
A very nice capture Pam,
Great colours and detail,excellent DOF.
Very good composition and POV.
- electra (679)
- [2005-07-12 10:45]
this is an beautiful butterfly,sharpness and colors are perfect. Thanks for posting it here.
- carper (8439)
- [2005-07-12 12:19]
very nice one again Pam,
Yes it is a very nice butterfly to photograph, I have don it before and I promess that I shall send one to the site. This shot is very good composed, good in pov and exelent dof,personal I had crop it some from top, very good job,
- liquidsunshine (5437)
- [2005-07-12 13:44]
Great shot Pam,
Well composed, good detail, colours and sharpness.
Nicely captured, Great POV, DOF and excellent exposure.
Thanks for posting.
- christophe (1781)
- [2005-07-12 14:36]
In a friendly way Christophe
- scottevers7 (12309)
- [2005-07-12 23:05]
Excellent shot! Nice colors and sharp detail in this tight cropped shot. I love those eyes!!!
- lglandon (1334)
- [2005-07-12 23:56]
Very nice shot, sharpness and color are +++++
very good composition.
- wallhalla15 (13829)
- [2005-07-13 3:58]
Hi Pam. Very good shot. Great POV and very good details. Excellent colours.
- TAZ (10926)
- [2005-07-13 5:02]
Beautiful and interesting shot for this superb butterfly with many eyes on wings ! Colors, details and sharpness are very good ! Thanks for sharing Pam.
- honza (4197)
- [2005-07-13 5:04]
Great shot of this beautiful butterfly. Very good composition, sharpness and colors.
Personal assessment of the photo: very good.
Good visual impact.
Aptness of the photo for the site: excellent.
Personal assessment of the note: complete.
Thank you very much for sharing.
- pari_ali (51)
- [2006-12-06 11:20]
The clarity and details are superb, as are the colours. Wonderful shot! TFS

domain: hobby


text:
We know two things: Lizzo and Harry Styles make an epic duo, and they’d do a fine job presenting at an award show. Thanks to the many fun moments between the pair, Tuesday’s BRIT Awards were an absolute treat to watch.
In between epic performances, awards being announced, and heartfelt speeches, presenter Jack Whitehall made sure to speak with Lizzo and Harry plenty of times throughout the night, which made for lots of hand holding, kisses, cuddling, and, best of all, downing very strong alcoholic beverages. After trying a small sip of the tipple, Jack handed Harry’s drink (which just so happened to be a full glass of neat tequila) over to Lizzo, who took on the challenge of downing the entire thing like a champ. We’re sure that her potential hangover will be worth it.
Jack seemed fond of his new love triangle, tweeting “New show. Me @lizzo and @Harry_Styles travelling round the world in a camper van,” and we are absolutely into that idea. Read on to see some of Harry and Lizzo’s best moments from the BRIT Awards.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
Prophetess: A confluence of spirituality and criminality with over N140mln tag (Review)
On April 2, 2021, Anthill Productions and FilmOne’s comedy film, Prophetess, had its world premiere in Nigerian theaters.
Directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, co-written by Niyi and Yusuf Carew and Amaka Chidoka, the movie stars Toyin Abraham, Kehinde Bankole, Deyemi Okanlawon, Kunle Remi, Lateef Adedimeji, and Tina Mba and others. Additionally, Ronke Oshodi-Oke, Muyiwa Ademola, Stan Nze, Uzor Arukwe, and Seyi Awolowo, a participant on the 2019 season of Big Brother Naija, made an appearance.
Here’s a belated but important review of the movie, which grossed over N140million across Nigeria cinemas and garnered a large fan base in 2021. The box office success of Prophetess was sort of a shock to its critics who thought the story and set was too ordinary to generate as much viewership, giving that Nollywood hits hold common traits of showing the pop culture.
Prophetess tells the story of a prophetess who unwittingly made a series of forecasts that all came true, prompting an entire community to wager on her last prediction about how a relegated side will beat one of the league’s top teams.
The protagonist of the tale is Ajoke (Toyin Abraham), a prophetess whose capers are caught on camera by Dipo (Kunle Remi) and posted on social media. Salewa (Tina Mba) and Iya Ibeji (Ronke Oshodi-Oke), OAP Dipo, who resides in Lagos and with a huge fan base, to Ajoke for cleansing. The prophetess responds to various inquiries from Dipo with some insights that the audience could take the wrong way. When two of her prophecies come true, people all around Oyo State place a huge, unconventional bet on a neighborhood football game. As a club that was demoted, WonderBoys faced overwhelming odds, and they manage to pull off an unlikely triumph.
Ajoke wakes up to a large group of new parishioners after the news went viral, and Dipo gains another 100,000 Instagram followers as a result. However, as political candidate Amani Olofaina (Seyi Awolowo), who fell for Ajoke’s trick, soon disturbs the quiet in the church, the cause-and-effect run of the plot began. Soon, Labake (played by Kehinde Bankole) enters and engages Ajoke in combat after spotting Ajoke on TV earlier that day. According to the storyline, Ajoke and Labake are sisters, and seven years ago, Ajoke fled with Labake’s money. The money was intended for investments by Labake in her future, which led to their sisterly animosity. However, the reason why they fought was because Labake, who was still carrying around the hurt from the past, couldn’t bear to lose more money to Ajoke as Hakeem, whose relationship to the family is unmentioned, placed a bet with the $300,000 that had been sent to him for their mother’s medical expenses.
Akinmolayan exhibits an entitled attitude prepared to place the blame elsewhere when the word circulated that the first forecasts were only happenstance and that there was a rabid crowd during the same wave. As soon as this problem involved some extremely dangerous characters, including Fogo Bombastic, a well-known street mafia lord who threatens to kill Ajoke and her nephew if her prophesy fails, Ajoke and Dipo immediately set out to solve it.
Fond Nollywood memories prior to the age of extravagant costumes and high-tech cameras were stoked by Prophetess. It is not a flawless movie though. Far from it, and to be perfectly honest, it makes no effort to be. Prophetess is a melodramatic movie about melodramatic individuals, despite the fact that it contains probably an excessive amount of melodrama.
You might initially wonder why the movie continues to capitalize on the cliched dramatization of a religious practice of ‘white garment’ churches, but the plot goes to reveal credible themes touching tale of suffering, rejection, family, and salvation. The fact that Prophetess is about regular people, in our opinion, is what endeared it to the moviegoers the most.
Prophetess’ problem is that most of the humour appears to be an outcome of the performance, not the actual content of the movie. Though the performance is excellent, the lines are not up to par. The conversation might occasionally come out as being very commonplace and unoriginal. Although Prophetess has humour, it suffers from humour that is centred on the actors rather than the picture.
The plot was skillfully crafted to reflect a number of societal truths, including the themes of love and forgiveness within a family, religious sentiments that influence decision-making, employer-employee relationships, mob mentality, social media trolling, and sports fandom, by award-winning director Niyi Akinmolayan. It is also quite intriguing how the author gently highlighted the poor condition of our regional football clubs and the disregard for former players and football legends. Nollytrailers thought the intertwined storylines were insightful and well-integrated.
Casting and Acting
The cast of the film represented a diverse range of individuals from various backgrounds, with various aspirations, and leading various lives. We witnessed the difficulties and obstacles faced by actual people experiencing actual emotions while going about their daily lives. From the wealthy to the poor, tech-savvy to inept, educated to ignorant, the characters were not out of place and were discovered in their natural elements, right down to the finer points of their appearances and etiquette.
Nollytrailers would like to assume that the performers who portrayed each role did a better job of capturing the personality of the characters than anyone else could have. With Toyin Abraham playing the major role and actors like Kehinde Bankole and Lateef Adedimeji.
The Prophetess chose a genuine and well-thought-out place; Ibadan has a long history. The director documented the city’s historical past by photographing prominent and noteworthy landmarks such as the Liberty Stadium, Mapo Hall, and a few more. The characters’ separate residences were also nicely chosen, with a clear portrayal of and differentiation between rural and urban areas.
Niyi, with this project, once again demonstrates that intriguing cinematography is not all about choice locations and beautiful landscape. The A-List filmmaker here displayed a strong command of image compositions and shots that effectively told the tale. The use of on-screen social network pop-ups spiced the story-telling – they were funny, extremely realistic, and added to the story’s growth.
Sound Design and Music
The uniqueness of this film’s musical creations was a joy to the ears. The invention of a character song for “Fogo Bombastic,” as well as the majority of the instrumentals used, was fantastic. At times, the music was a rich mash-up of well-known Yoruba songs. Some may argue that Yoruba people would like and relate to the music more as a result of this, however ethnicity is not a barrier to appreciating the mood generated by the music at various moments throughout the film.
It is also worth noting the sharp and clear sound production. Sounds that appeared to be routine, such as the crushing of pepper – a mannerism by one of the characters – were intensified for a greater impression.
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Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba, the King’s Horseman
By Olobe Yoyon
The new Netflix movie, Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba, the King’s Horseman is another adaptation of Wọlé Ṣóyínká timeless 1975 play, Death and the King’s Horseman. The play was inspired by Dúró Ládipọ̀’s 1964 play, Ọba Wàjà (The King is dead).
Both plays are based on a real incident which unsettled the ancient city of Ọ̀yọ́ when a British civil servant prevented the sacrificial suicide of a town chief, Ẹlẹ́ṣin, who was ritually prepared to obey custom and follow his late king to the grave.
In Ọba Wàjà, Dúró Ládipọ̀ tells the story of one Abọ́bakú (one who is required by custom to die with the king) who due to the intervention of a British District Officer, became doubtful of the duty of his office, a most shameful thing to his honour and his family.
Dáwódù, Ẹlẹ́ṣin’s son was disgusted by his father behaviour in breaking faith with tradition. He decided to take upon himself the burden of the office and do the needful. He insulted his father till his last breath, for being cowardly.
Ẹlẹ́ṣin took his life as he was supposed to, however his honour was already gone, and he had also lost his first son. “This is the white man’s doing,’ he cried, ‘the British official, trying to save one life, has caused two deaths.”
Ṣóyínká’s Death and the King’s Horseman is set in the Ọ̀yọ́ Kingdom in south-west Nigeria in the early 1940s. Ọ̀yọ́ tradition demands that Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba, the king’s horseman, must commit suicide before the king is buried in order for his spirit to lead the king’s to the great beyond.
However, Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba failed in his duty. The story ends on a tragic note, his son, Olunde, has to return from studying medicine abroad to commit suicide in place of his father.
The importance and impact of this story cannot be overemphasised. It has been performed in many countries across the world.
The theme of the clash of cultures continues to resonate with people and further enlightens audiences about colonialism, that no culture is superior to another.
In this Netflix film, the richness of Yoruba culture, its language, music, fashion, dance, proverbs etc, are brought to life. Kudos to late Biyi Bandele for the job well done.
The main lessons from the story include:
As a person, you have a sense of duty to your ancestors and your people.
To Europeans represented by Mr Pilkings and his wife, if you do not understand a culture, ignorance is not a crime but conduct arising from ignorance can be. Be humble enough to ask why things are being done the way custodians of tradition do their things even if they sound ridiculous to you.
A great inspiration should be drawn from the character of Olunde, the British educated son of Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba who trained in England as a medical doctor. In spite of his western education, he still understands his culture and his family ties.
Whatever you do, do not abandon your mother tongue. Do not trample on your tradition. Do not throw away your culture. Do not mock our Òrìṣà and Irúnmọlẹ̀.
N.B: Culture is not static, it is in a state of constant flux. Some of our old traditions are no longer relevant in today’s world. We have rightly long abandoned the practice of ritual suicide in Yorubaland.
I watched the film in Yoruba and I love it. Will try the English voice over tomorrow.
Brotherhood: Nigerian prisons, the postgraduate school of criminality (Review)
They have been numerous testimonies of the life behind the walls of Nigerian prisons. Beyond the common understanding of its inhuman state, records have shown that a lot of the inmates somehow find their way back to crime and back there. Findings establish that innocent individuals, from those who had a stint with crime to the downright hardened criminal, often become worse after a Nigerian prison experience. It’s safe to infer that the prison that ought to be a correctional facility has become an instructional facility for the advancement of crime and criminality – a sort of postgraduate school.
Jade Osiberu and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed’s story dubbed in Greoh Studios’ latest release, Brotherhood, captures the reality and eventualities of this failure of the government to put our prisons in shape.
Brotherhood is a crime and action movie produced by Jade Osiberu, and released for screening across Nigerian cinemas on the 23rd of September, 2022. The movie ensemble top Nollywood, Nigerian music, comedy stars, and an array of ex-Bigbrother Naija housemates in what seemed like a BBNaija reunion. The cast includes Toni Tones, Jide Kene Achufusi, OC Ukeje, Mercy Aigbe, Bright ‘Basket Mouth’ Okpocha, Zubby Micheal, Ronke Oshodi Oke, Sam Dede, Deyemi Okanlawon, Comedians Basketmouth and Adebowale ‘Mr Macroni’ Adedayo, musical superstars, Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana and Omawunmi. The BBNaija HM ensemble includes Tobi Bakre, Diane Russet, Seyi Awolowo, Dorathy Bachor and Boma Akpore.
The film was directed by the super talented filmmaker from Uganda, Loukman Ali, who is making his Nigerian directorial debut with Brotherhood movie.
Loukman Ali has a couple of films he has directed inclusive of: The Girl in the Yellow Jumper, The Blind Date and The Bad Mexican.
Summary of the Story
Brotherhood centres on the dichotomous life of twin brothers- Wale (played by Falz) and Akin (played by Tobi Bakre), who were thrown into the ‘trenches’ at a very young age when their parents were killed on New Year’s day. Their parents were making their way home from the traditional crossover service that had been held in church.
As orphans without any extended family support, the two young boys are caught in the menacing world of Lagos streets. Trying to survive meant they had to find whatever means to make ends meet. Soon, time on the streets honed their skills in a plethora of social vices with Akin leading his brother on the dire path of ruthless survival.
Akin would later go to jail for stealing anti-malaria drugs when Wale got very sick. That becomes a pattern in his life as he gets more desperate, trumping society in his fraught search for a life without lack. Wale, on the other hand, charted a different path outside crime and soon joins the police force to achieve his dream of fighting crime, motivated by the circumstances surrounding the death of their parents.
The contradiction in the chosen life paths of the brothers so strains their relationship and brews tension amongst them that they became each other’s nemesis, albeit still very much concerned about each other’s welfare.
Akin for the umpteenth time got out of jail with a sworn resolve never to return, but would somehow get reunited with an old friend (‘Cobra’, played by OC Ukeje) from the early years of petty street crimes. Cobra introduces him to the deadliest robbery gang in town, the Ojuju Boys and with Akin’s intelligent criminal mind, a grand heist plan that he and another inmate acquaintance back in jail had nursed was soon hatched. Wale ironically, gets admitted into an elite police squad that handles the toughest crimes. Soon the brothers, the best at their chosen career paths are made to face each other in a battle of good against evil, yet connected in their hearts by the bond of brotherhood.
Analysis of Plot Elements
Akin is the protagonist of the story, who hoped to beat life to the frailties of lack at all costs. He assumed he could snatch out fortunes from high society without necessarily causing any casualty. Akin’s exposure to the dark world of crime had not taken is pure respect for the sanctity of life out of him. His grand play was to make one big heist and retire to a crimeless life with newfound love. Akin’s purpose was to hit up, clean up, and move up the ladder without the recompense for his actions.
Akin’s twin, Wale, is the antagonist of the story, whose sole purpose was to ensure criminals get the consequences of their actions in the hand of the law. Though Wale has built a strong character for achieving his dreams in the build-up to the climax of the story, his hitherto stealth history with his criminal twin-brother becomes a wound when he finds love in the arms of the daughter of the elite squad’s ‘supercop’ leader.
The plot easily introduces the protagonist and the antagonist in the first few minutes into the film, setting up a strong personality distinction that can be followed throughout the film. As Akin’s purpose attracted all its propellers, Wale’s too got a graceful build-up. The progress of the brothers in their divergent paths formed the rising actions, each character acquiring formal and romantic relationships along the way to a head-on collision.
The story hits a crescendo when Akin’s gang wanted to double down on their earlier success of jerking a bullion van with a double, same-day robbery of two more bullion vans. This time on low intel, which Akin questioned and used as an alibi to ditch the gang and their plan. Akin’s soft forwarding toward his new girlfriend and the gang’s only female member brought him back into the disaster-bound plan. Just at this point, Akin had erroneously killed Wale’s father-in-law in self-defence during the first of the planned same-day twin robbery. The SWAT team and now his brother knowing he was part of the robbery that killed his father-in-law, are out for a vengeful and brutal attack when the radio came about the ongoing second robbery attempt.
The story begins to wind down as the various other characters within the gang got killed and the most vicious, Cobra, grassed everyone right at the heart of the deadly robbery and made away with the money, leaving them to their death.
The final moments of the story saw the brothers face each other in a gun duel, albeit Wale sorted to safely disarm Akin, his colleagues couldn’t let him go without a hit. As Akin falls into the lagoon from the top of bridge with bullet injuries, the plot’s closure was left open-ended, until it is revealed that he magically survived, recovered the stolen monies from Cobra, and eloped to live his dream.
Analysis of Creative Elements
Though the story is not entirely unique, the fine details and detour of the script make it worth viewers time and money. When to come to the nuances and how everything connects, it is brilliant storytelling as captured by the scriptwriter and interpreted by the movie’s director, Loukman Ali. For example, how Akin’s plan was conceived from a conversation with a fellow inmate at the prison, got human resources from a vicious gang who had come to rob him only for the leader to be his old friend, the connect with Sanusi (played by Boma), the ex-military arm dealer, all but galvanized the perfect spotlight on the security mess of the nation.
Also, the smart use of dispatch bikes as the courier for monies gotten at the robbery spot and eventual transloading into Eko Meat Van to obfuscate the loot trail sets the story up for an interesting viewers’ journey.
The dialogues too are rich, though on some occasions I failed to take the last leap to hitting the ‘quotable’ threshold. An instance is the scene where Cobra introduces Akin to Shadow (the secret head of the Ojuju Boys gang). Akin while downloading his grand plan to rob bullion vans to Shadow went with a ‘following my gist’ check in street parlance, “Shey you de visualize my plan, boss?”. Shadow replied trying to express skepticism for the too risky venture Akin had painted, “I no de visualize you plan o”. That line too bland for that atmosphere. The dialogue could have been taken a notch higher with a touch on comedy with, “No I no the visualize your plan, na your death I de visualize”.
Casting and Characterization
The casting director played a smart one with the array of stars culled from three showbiz sectors of movie, music, and comedy. Africans are always waiting to see how their favourite BBNaija housemates progress in life. Bringing five hot ones from three years editions is a genius one to command viewership from their broad audience.
Tobi Bakre showed with this project that he has honed his acting skills. The characterization of the protagonist character was not only excellent but very commendable. Roleplaying an action figure takes a little work. He must have had months of preparation, physical fitness training, gun handling, etc., Tobi was at his very best and can be credited for the great output of the movie in terms of characterization. The highlight was when he fell from the top of the bridge into the lagoon. Judging by the technical details that was really an about hundred kilos man plunging down over 200m.
Falz, though delivered on most fronts, was not quite a good fit for the lover boy role. Perhaps the stereotype of him be unserious just ‘colloquialized’ his serious, romantic heart-to-heart conversionations. His kiss with Kamsi (played by Dorathy BBNaija) was so real. Then, he goes to ask for her hand in marriage with a piece of thread spurned around her hand. The magic of that scene would have happened only if Falz wasn’t coming across as unserious.
Bringing back the Isakaba legend, Sam Dede as the head of SWAT is yet another brilliant call of the casting director. Of course, Sam delivered a five-star characterization.
The only obvious fail with the casting is Mr Macroni. He struggled all through to portray the personality of a hardened criminal. His facial expressions were alien to the expected emotions in most scenes. It was too obvious that he was trying too hard to look hard.
OC Ukeje, Ronke Oshodi Oke, Zubby Micheal, Omawunmi also did quite well.
Loukman Ali once again delivered on this one. The 2021 winner of the Best Short Film at the Uganda Film Festival and nominee for 2021 Best Short Film, at Durban International Film Festival brought out his best in the Directing and Cinematography of this film. Loukman’s input will be the best creative piece in this film. The shots are a beautiful work of art. The use of natural light, professional lights, angles, ambience, and props are excellent transitions are only the sort of things you can expect from a talented director of photography. Some intriguing scenes are the point where Akin is photographed from the ceiling with all the muscle and distortions of a ghetto set, and the next thing is a braless girl holding up a gun to his head. Then the scene where Akin shows up at the loot pick-up point after he fell into the lagoon, all to the shock of Cobra, the traitor. This scene was a perfect reenact of a typical John Wick scene. Scare light in a deserted remote cottage, double barrel gun in a wounded arm, one shot is fired, and Cobra is pummeled out through the door, body squatted on a green lawn in a brisk moonlight night, the camera zooms up to reveal the entire set of deliberate collections of nature and mother scene, a wow sight is delivered!
The costumes were also on point. The scar on Shadow’s face, the smudging of the gang members’ faces and all the nice selection of crazy appearances.
The sound design/music is not bad, could have been better though. For a Nollywood attempt at action, it’s really a job well done. The smashing of tables, kicks, door bursting, gunshots, and night time wizzling, were in sync with the expected emotions the script hoped to play. The best use of sound is the Akin vs Cobra last showdown. Just before the killer shot, Akin goes, “Koni da fun awon to ni e (E no go better for the people wey get you)”, a brief silence, a deafening sound of big gunshot and a perfect action scene sound, that leads the camera out to the ground outside, where Cobra’s corpse laid, and then the pitter-pattering sound of rain, altogether gave this work a perfect ending.
Verdict (4.5 stars)
Overall production quality: 4/5
Tears, despair, snare of Nigeria’s unjust justice system – ‘Inside Life’ Movie Review (3.1)
As at August 2022, about 52,000 out of 74,000 inmates in Nigerian prisoners are waiting many years to be served justice; only 3 out of every 10 people languishing in Nigerian prisons have been convicted. What is more pathetic is the circumstances surrounding how some found themselves behind bars and the agonizing situation of spending years in Nigeria’s shanty prisons. If anything is worse than slave trade, it is the black man’s most populous nation’s snare of despair denominated as justice system.
Lanre Olorunnishola was caught in the trap of Nigeria’s unjust system, wrongfully incarcerated and served the sour taste of a dehumanizing prison experience. Unlike the lot of 90% of such victims, he was fortunate enough to get a chance at life after spending 11 days. He goes on to write a book about his experience (called ‘Prison Notes’) and a friend who’s a veteran TV production guru, Chuks Enete partnered to wax the story for the silver screen as his own debut solo film project.
‘Inside Life’ produced by Siloth Studios and distributed by Silverbird Film Distribution is an adaption of Lanre’s story and laudable spotlight on worthy indignation towards Nigeria’s judiciary. The movie by AIT and Iroko TV-famed filmmaker, Chuks Enete was premiered at the Silverbird Galleria on the 8th of September and released to cinemas across Nigeria on the following day. The film is co-written by the story’s protagonist, Lanre Olorunnishola, and Chuks Enete, directed by Tope Adebayo Salami, edited by Dipo Teniola. The movie casted Wole Ojo, Broda Shaggi, Nnedu of Wazobia FM, Romeo WJ, Tina Mba, Koloman, Belinda Effah, Saka, Ropo Ewenla, and Okey Uzoeshi. Others include MC Benkash, Chukwuka Jude, Jerry Okpan, Jay Hemkay, Zara Udofia Ejoh, Yinka Aiyelokun, Peter Oladeji, Funsho Adeolu, Enechukwu Uche, Ekiti Father and Eric Obinna, while Idowu Adedapo is Director of Photography.
Summary of the Story
A few days before his wedding, Larry (Wole Ojo) is assigned to represent his boss at a court hearing, a prolonged civil dispute with the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSTIF), over Chief’s (Larry’s MD played by Chuks Enete) headstrong refusal to pay his dues to the agency, premised on a rebellion against paying government while he bares the skyrocketing cost of running his business alone. The company’s lawyer (played by Okey Uzoeshi) does not show up and NSTIF’s lawyer (Tina Mba) got the magistrate to wrongfully remand Larry in prison as a lesson to the company for disregarding the court process.
Larry needs to fight for his release for his wedding to his sweetheart fiancée (Belinda Effah), but then, he must learn to survive the dire condition of the prison and come out alive regardless. Larry moves from being a dove in the raft of ducks to flirting with the pangs for survival. His initial ability to gain rare privileges with the prison officials earned him enmity with hitherto protective cell lords, but his ingenious charity to all cellmates soon got him affable attention much that the toughest of the lot (played by Broda Shagi) sort out his help, sharing with him even more distressing stories of his own wrongful imprisonment and total despair.
Analysis of the Plot Elements
The movie begins with an aloof brutal murder scene, blacks out, and transitions to a gothic scene of two lovers waking up to early morning curdle and reminiscence of their ‘bedmatic’ through the night. Within the first minute of the plot’s exposition, one can tell the dichotomous style of the plot.
The story slowly moves from the everyday life of young hardworking hopefuls and sharply turns to the details of life’s capriciousness. Maybe this makes a good reason for naming it Inside Life.
To us at Nollytrailers, we think the writers, perhaps riding on the power of epic storytelling, smartly unfolded the story’s main characters, hinting by dialogue and actions, their personalities, and quickly erupting emotive followership for the audience.
The rising actions were a steady climb towards the climax. Larry moves from being a fine eligible bachelor, high-profile staff of his company, who had just been gifted a huge sum as his MD’s support towards his forthcoming wedding, to a stunned witness in the box in a case he had no clue about, then to a benevolent but angry suspect who had to pay for his own transportation to prison, then to a star inmate who has privileged unrestricted access to the chief warder’s office, and then to a co-parker in the rigour and torture of life in a crowded prison cell, with perhaps no certainty of regaining his freedom anytime soon, since the judge on his case has suddenly collapsed and is incapacitated to hear his case on the next adjournment.
The climax came quite full-stack, comically captured by Dele’s (the president of the prison cell) initial wisdom to Larry, “When jungle don mature, okoro go know where him de”. Larry suffers the same fate as other inmates; external visits stopped and privileges vanished as usual contacts either got transferred or put out of reach by other wardens whom he had earlier spoken to arrogantly when he first got there.
The falling actions go on a sublime decent into the closure, but wisely picturing the story’s theme of the importance of faith and the eventual embrace of the miracle-working potency of praying and believing when all other things fail. Larry’s atheist position soon gets transformed once he recognised that only a miracle can get him off the hooks.
From believing to reforming, Larry’s travail captured all the important steps that leads towards the resolution of the story’s critical matter and a restoration to status quo.
There’s a part of the movie that is brilliantly left for the interpretation of the audience, which leaves an intuitive open end – Larry, while in jail, had a dream that his fiancée was celebrating with the company’s lawyer the success of their evil plan to have him reprimanded by trapping him with the lawyer’s absence from court. The dream meant that his most beloved and trusted human was the mastermind of his tribulations.
The writers never gave a material concession to the substance of this dream and as such left it to the imagination of the audience.
Analysis of Creative Elements
If there is anything that stands out with this movie, it is the powerful story it tells. The writers did an incredible job of interpreting Lanre Oluwanishola’s true life story by setting the entire project mainly on the prison experience. Just that would have likely been a bore to the comedy-loving Nigerian audience, but smartly, the script was spiced up with apt comic relieves.
For instance, there’s a scene where Larry was tearing and condemning religion with the assertion that organized religion was a big scam. He shortly realized painfully a little later that his seemly short imprisonment may become elongated. He turns to Dele to wail, complaining also about the rice that was served the prisoners and asking why not yam instead. The cell’s ‘presido’ hits back at his lack of regard for the power of prayers with sarcasm, “The yam you need to chop now na I am than I am”.
The dialogues are brilliant, funny and well laced with wisdom – able to instruct heavily on the irony of a supposedly blessed nation and the agony of its people. Unlike a lot of works that feature an array of comedy skit makers, this did justice to the effort at sprinkling light-hearted-moments without having unnecessary overtures.
Broda Shagi had a brilliant display of street jokes and ‘agberoism’ that is a prefect reflection of the life in a Nigerian prison. Dele was such a perfect character of a hard but wise cell lord, dropping doses of ghetto wisdom – profound in its depth, but crude and funny in its tone. One noteworthy excerpt is his stump reaction to Larry’s denial of reality, where he encouraged him to eat what was served in prison. In response to Larry’s insistence that he had no appetite, Dele goes “Designer prisoner. You no get appetite ba, no worry jungle go soon mature and you go know say last last Mandela chop Apartheid”.
Quite a rib-cracking joke but also an en explosive dialogue that connects the realities of the unjust justice system of Apartheid South Africa to that of present day Nigeria. It also delves into the projection of the fate of the character who seem too headstrong to embrace the present and will be well on the way to spending a long time in prison if he does not explore the power for miracles.
Casting and Characterization
Most of the actors were in character, though a few would have done better. Chief (The MD) played by the executive producer himself, Chuks Enete, beyond the apt ‘Ogene’ sounds that accentuated his scenes, was short of perfect in roleplaying. There was an obvious effort to fit into the personality of a crude wealthy Igbo businessman. This easily give up the mystery that ought to come with interpreting the role and therefore is below the current industry standard.
Belinda Effah was also not at her best. Her interpretation of a devastated fiancée visiting her partner in jail was short of believability. She acted and sounded like a starter in a drama rehearsal. Watching her, the character’s pain could not be felt, her confusion was not obvious and expected exasperation towards the company was totally silent.
Wole Ojo delivered Larry’s character to the fullest. Every step of the way, there was no emotion, personality or nuances of the character that was not communicated; Larry’s ego was depicted in and off the mic and the personality transformations were well captured in his acting. Kudos!
Brother Shaggi and Nedu did justice to the characters of leading the ‘Ikoyi vs Agege’ strata of the prison; personalities, checked! Dialogue, checked! Actions and reactions, checked!
The casting is also quite good. Love the minor roles of the big names like Tina Mba and Funsho Adeolu. The cast, safe for a few snags, by frame and personality fused perfectly into the plot of the story and delivered quite well its themes.
Directing is but an okay job for this movie. There are obvious issues with the sets, costumes and transitions that ought not to have skipped the calls of Dipo Teniola and Tope Adebayo.
For instance the costume is totally unbelievable! Here are prisoners who have stayed an average of 2 years in jail, all having stylish clean shaves. The dialogue at the chief warden’s office hinted that Larry was going into a 35-man cell, the shots were set in a less than 15-man prison, almost scanty.
Dipo Adedapo may have given his best to this but there are certainly no wow moments from the filming of this movie. It is nothing more than basic shots.
There were efforts to add some creativity through camera techniques but that also fell flat – the filming at a tilted angle combined with shaky panning just didn’t work quite well.
The lighting at the main set also could have been better. In fact, it presented the cinematographer an opportunity to display creativity, given that over 70% of the movie was shot on that set. Nigerian prisons are often quite dark, poorly ventilated with walls riddled with amateurish graffiti. Dapo could have ridden on this to explore tricks like off-subject shots in silhouette or playing creatively with exposure, extra lighting for focus matter or even sunrays-drop background for early morning dialogues, etc.
Tosin Amire, the young FUTA graduate of Applied Mathematics turned sound designer, did a great job on the sound design for this film. The sound in some scenes helped to enliven the poor performance of some acts, like that of Chief (The ‘igbotic’ MD). Though the sound production quality could have been better, but the large-scale original compositions were good and aptly distributed across the movie’s scenes.
The overall production quality is average. This is owing to the less emphasis placed on Directing and Cinematography. This would have easily been a 4 star movie.
Inside Life is easily a high-recommendation movie chiefly because of its powerful story, theme and overall message to the nation. It is also a good pick for a couple’s date night (would have been great for a family was it not for the few scenes of gunshots). You will be sure to really get cracked up seeing this movie.
Hit the cinemas to see for yourselves, better with company though, you don’t want to deal with laughing and falling on a stranger’s shoulders if you are alone. You might just receive sneer or slap. In the words of Broda Shagi in the film, “Who de microwave liver for you?”
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That quad exhaust setup jutting from the back certainly isn’t production-spec, but it could be the only clue we need. For some time we’ve heard rumors about an amped-up GT R that could be called Clubsport. We even caught a car testing at the Nürburgring back in early April, and this could be it. Those rumors say the tweaked model will shed some weight and see power climb above 600 horsepower . If you want to exercise experimental engine upgrades without cooking the bodywork, pushing the exhaust pipes out away from the rear fascia would certainly help. There’s also the possibility that we’re seeing a prototype for the GT R Black Series.
The part comes in the largest crate I have seen at the dealer. The exhaust is one piece from the down pipe all the way back to the muffler. There will be a slight performance gain, but only once you push the car welllll beyond the stock power levels. All the performance exhaust is is the stock system without a resonator. I.e it will give better flow, but, you’re engine wont take advantage of the exhaust being able to flow more until you are pushing massive power. STEP.20.Triple check everything, in, under, and around the engine bay and around the car. Start up your car, warm it up (it will smell a little bad because of the WD-40, it will burn off eventually). Take it for a test drive; enjoy the increased power and the brutal exhaust sound. It may not seem as “normal” as if they just made it the same size, but it’s probably a negligible effect in the Big Picture.
The system is also beneficial to the overall engine performance. Some do it because louder exhaust sound shows how powerful their engine is. But maybe the funniest yet convincing reason is, it alerts the pedestrians that something monstrous is after them. There are many different styles of exhaust tips to choose from, including popular options like a dual exhaust tip or black exhaust tip. Exhaust tip shapes range from common shapes like round, oval, and rectangular, to less common options like oblong, trumpet, split oval, and more. In addition to shape, there are many finishes you can use to complement your ride. Black exhaust tips, stainless steel exhaust tips, and chrome exhaust tips are among the most popular finish options. The result is a much more aggressive sound and improved power.
We have a feeling the prototype lacked many of the bits and pieces of the Clubsport Package, while that rear diffuser will likely be replaced by a new setup to neatly integrate the exhaust. Speaking of which, our spies have informed us the test vehicle was a bit louder than the regular GT R. It looks like one of the novelties Mercedes has in tow is a different exhaust system with stacked dual tips on each corner of the rear bumper in the same vein as Lexus is doing with its hot F-badged cars. It seems the prototype had the R’s regular diffuser, but with the vertical fins chopped off to make room for the exhaust finishers. The hexagonal-shaped central exhaust might look like it’s still there, but you can see it’s actually blocked off. My SLK320 is not exactly a AMG but I wanted that little extra grunt without the car sounding like a Corsa with a drain pipe and my local exhaust shop put sport cats on for me. Done the job nicely quite a few of the lads from our local runs have commented on the sound. Established in 1990, Akrapovič is a Slovenian manufacturer of premium motorcycle exhaust systems. Akrapovič exhausts was founded by Igor Akrapovič, a racer and enthusiast who won multiple Formula-1 and World Superbike championship titles.
The AMG GT is poised to set the bar for what should be expected from a luxury sports car. Weistec Engineering offers Downpipes for the AMG GT and the AMG GT-S. Engineered and designed with the most sophisticated Computer Aided Design tools, excellent fitment and the highest performance possible are guaranteed. Each Downpipe and Midpipe features 3 inch diameter piping and laser cut precision flanges to mate with factory mounting points, giving this system a perfect fit. Supporting modifications – The highest power levels require supporting modifications. Depending on the engine, this could mean forged internals, built transmission, upgraded fuel system, 110+ octane race fuel, etc. Engine Health – Higher miles tends to result in increased build up and lower compression which can and will impact engine output. Properly maintained engines will have better performance than abused or neglected engines.
A full sound, as if you were cruising along Daytona Beach, your nice car and a cool sound to go with it. These hangers are another Gardner Exhaust Exclusive reproducion. They come built with correct coreded rubbers and flat head rivets, correct bolts lock washers and star washers for easy installation. They are zinc plated and are available with any of our AMX exhaust systems. As with any of our reproductions we encourage you to compare them to originals. FCP Euro carries a wide range of precision-manufactured OEM and aftermarket replacement parts for your vehicle. It’s almost certain we will be able to satisfy your auto parts needs, no matter how complicated. If you need an uncommon part that isn’t currently in stock, we will try to find it for you. FCP Euro has been bringing the Mercedes Benz community high quality parts for over 20 years.
We soon found out, working on the cat-back exhaust section had no effect; it made not one extra hp over stock. Regardless of the brilliant work done by the R&D team at the AMG Factory, a lot of performance has been left on the table; we at Supersprint made the plan to set it free, as simple as it was. Although this engine did not rev as high as the later generation M156 6.2l V8, it had way more torque in the low and mid rpm range. Getting the best out of this magnificent powerplant is the only reason why we have developed a long tube headers system for the E55#AMG Kompressor V8 Wagon. That being said, they both have flaps that open up and change the sound. Thanks and hopefully someone can give me ideas as to how to retrofit the exhaust. We’ve always got the latest tech, the newest trends, and the most talked about labels.


In Switzerland, more than 78% of the heating in buildings this day is equipped by boilers fueled by oil, gas, or wood. The leisure 22% is equipped by electrical radiators, electrically pushed heat pumps, and district heating networks.
Nearly 60% of the heating historical in Swiss, generated from fossil fuels. This makes Switzerland the ideal such particular person in Europe.
Original know-how affords hope that the nation’s resilience to fossil fuels may maybe furthermore soon decrease. All thanks to incentives by the federal and cantonal governments, advances in insulation supplies, and unique know-how.
Many of the building homeowners are installing hybrid systems to occupy assorted forms of energy to restrict fossil fuels.
A brand unique know-how developed by EPFL high-tail-off Enerdrape is for precisely a majority of these systems. The know-how recovers heat from underground parking tons and uses it to heat the flats above.
The know-how comes with geothermal wall panels that must quiet be installed in underground constructions. The panels then get hold of better the warmth positioned within the soil.
The know-how objectives to maximize the utilization of underground partitions and exploit a natural, sustainable useful resource in locations where it goes wasted. The panels measuring 1.3m x 0.7m are fabricated from a steel no thicker than a painter’s canvas. Every ten blue-and-white panels works as a heat exchanger that captures every geothermal and ambient energy.
The equipped heat pump circulates the captured energy finally of the building above, hence offering a fixed offer all year long.
Margaux Peltier, the CEO of Enerdrape, acknowledged, “The soil temperature doesn’t fluctuate whilst you get hold of a couple of meters under ground. Which method the energy generated by our panels isn’t dependent on climate conditions or the time of year.”
Because of the intellectual originated of the panel, it affords the dreary car parking lot partitions a facelift.
Alberto Simonato, director at Realstone – company, acknowledged, “We most continuously wait on startups which may maybe be growing progressive know-how for reducing CO2 emissions – a field on which we grab a proactive stance and are one step earlier than Switzerland’s federal and cantonal building requirements.”
“If Enerdrape’s panels recent to be as efficient as we quiz, we may maybe furthermore install them on the soil-abutting partitions of a 275-allege car parking lot or in some of our other building s.”
Enerdrape’s panels may maybe more feasibly be installed in unique and recent buildings over the following couple of years at a value akin to other systems and with a yield that’s no longer less than as accurate, if no longer better.
The know-how will be historical in underground parking tons and in tunnels, trains, and subway stations.


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Rumors about a possible James Harden reunion with his beloved Rockets keep making the NBA headlines, as reports on the potential move are exciting fans from all over. The current Sixers star played his best basketball in Houston during the decade of the 2010s.
However, after years as a sport insider, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst isn’t naive about it, and decided to share his take on the matter during the latest episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast. The journalist was one of the first to report on the possibility, even declaring a couple of days ago that The Beard might go for a four-year deal.
There is ‘an appetite’ around the NBA for (James) Harden landing a four-year contract worth more than $200M, per Brian Windhorst.
“The two big names out on the [free agent] market this year are James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Both of them, at $48 to $50-something million, seem like very bad bets. But, there is a scarcity [of star talent] there,” Windhorst assured.
Just like the Mavericks star, the ESPN reporter believes that they are simply looking to negotiate a better deal with their current squads. Harden’s return to Texas or Ivring to Los Angeles, are such huge media stories for the fans that they can both profit off it during their negotiations.
“I also think that both of them, Kyrie showing up to Laker games, James Harden being rumored to be attached to the Rockets, I still think/suspect all of that is one giant leverage play,” the journalist explained. “That, what James Harden really wants is to elicit the biggest offer out of the Sixers even if it isn’t a max [contract].
“Whatever the number of money is, for as long as many years as he can get. And that this slow dance for months and these rumors are all sort of tied to that.”
The ESPN analyst believes that Irving will end up doing the same as Harden, as both will stay in their respective teams
As both stars head into free agency, they know how to play the game of negotiating, not just shooting hoops on court. Windhorst suggests that the media circus around the rumors will keep adding more and more fuel throughout the summer.
“And I think that Kyrie could be doing the same exact thing [with the Mavericks],” the ESPN reporter said. “Just doing all of this, and whatever he may do between now and free agency to try to get the juiciest offer he can from the team he’s on. Cause [the Sixers and Mavericks] face the most damage from losing those guys.”
Even if it doesn’t end up happening, just to keep us excited check out The Beard’s Top 10 plays wearing the Rockets jersey:
Windhorst explained that for now this is all trade speculation, even though Harden’s agents are holding conversations with the Texan franchise. In the past, the NBA insider has proven to be right as he was the first to hint at the veteran star’s trade to the Nets.
The Toronto Raptors are currently one of five teams this offseason that is searching for their new head coach. Toronto’s front office is in to rush to find their next head coach. They’ve interviewed “far and wide”, with one interesting candidate landing another chance to be an NBA head coach. He last coached the Brooklyn Nets to start the 2022-23 season but was fired after seven games.
Nash was the head coach of the Nets for three seasons and finished with a 94-67 record in the regular season. He was 7-13 in the postseason with Brooklyn. As a former MVP PG, Nash knows the x’s and o’s of coaching. In his time with the Nets, he dealt with a number of ongoing issues on and off the court with his players.
He had lost the locker room and was fired less than 10 games into the season. Now, Nash is getting a shot at being a head coach once again. The 49-year-old reportedly “impressed” the Raprtors in his formal interview.
Steve Nash has interviewed to be the next head coach of the Toronto Raptors
Reports say that the Raports were impressed with Nash’s preparation, along with his desire to get back on the court as a head coach. Nash is an NBA Hall of Famer and is well respected in Canada. He played for the Men’s National team back in his playing days.
However, his inexperience as a head coach was evident in his time with the Nets and that may hurt his chances with Toronto. The inexperience was most glaring in the postseason. He failed to make the adjustments needed to elevate the team.
The Raptors still have a lot of off-season matters they need to take care of besides finding a head coach. Fred VanVleet is eligible as a free agent this offseason and trade speculation looms around O.G. Anunoby. Brooklyn’s former head coach is on a long list of coaching candidates for the Raptors, but they could decide he’s the man for the job.
Nikola Jokic has not only defeated former MVPs like Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns or more recently LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers in the West’s postseason, he’s currently displaying one of the strongest playoff performances in league history. The Serbian star just picked up his eighth postseason triple-double this week, and just guided the Nuggets to their first ever NBA Finals.
Nevertheless, Denver‘s center maintains his modesty even while everyone is showering him with praise and glory. Although most fans and analysts believe now more than ever that the two-time MVP deserved to earn this honor for a third time in a row this campaign, Jokic claimed that Joel Embiid is worthy of the award.
Take a look at the big man’s comments on why he believes the Sixers star deserves this recognition:
“People are just mean in saying that Embiid shouldn’t have won it. … I think he was playing … extremely, extremely tough basketball through the whole season.”
“I don’t think about MVPs anymore,” Jokic explained. “I mean, I think it’s — people are just mean in saying that Embiid shouldn’t have won it. I think he should have won it. I think he was playing, if you watch it, extremely, extremely tough basketball through whole season … He was really amazing in 82 games or how many games he played.”
After being the frontrunner for the Kia MVP race during most of the season, once the Nuggets had assured their claim for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the team relaxed and in a way took their foot off the gas pedal.
So while Denver lost 1o out of their last 18 matches of regular season, Embiid was growing in confidence and playing some of the best basketball of his career. The 76ers were slowly crawling to the top spots of the Eastern Conference and in the final week of the campaign, beat the Celtics with a powerful 52-point exhibition from the Sixers center.
Coach Michael Malone believes that the negativity around the MVP race affected Jokic
Throughout the Serbian’s career he’s always been hesitant to talk about individual awards, but this year in particular he seemed more ambivalent than usual.
His coach Michael Malone suspects that all the pressure around the MVP race finally took a toll on the Nuggets’ big man. “You know, this is the first year where I think — I don’t know this for a fact,” he said.
“He never told me this. But in my opinion, I think the negativity around the MVP race I think did get to him. I can’t blame him. The guy goes out there and does his job every night and he is being criticized,” Malone expressed.
Either way, after beating the Lakers in Game 4, the star center just recieved the 2023 Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award:
The fact that Jokic had a limited postseason resume was one of the main points that critics blamed him for. Now that Denver are on their way to their franchise’s first NBA Finals, the big man is relieved of all the pressure that has been mounted on his back ever since he started thriving in the NBA.
About Embiid’s MVP award, Jokic is realistic. The accolade goes to the player who played best during the first 82 contests of the campaign, and he is the first to acknowledge his opponent’s worthy regular season.
Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (lower left leg strain) was downgraded to questionable on Monday, and now the 15-year veteran has been upgraded to probable for Tuesday night’s Game 4 matchup against the Boston Celtics of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
Love exited Game 3 with 7:13 remaining in the first quarter after he suffered an ankle injury. After a trip to the locker room, he returned to the bench area later before halftime. Though, Love was sidelined for the rest of the game.
Per a few NBA betting sites, Kevin Love and the Heat have second-shortest odds to win the championship. Sportsbooks are still giving the Denver Nuggets the best odds to win their first title in franchise history.
Through 14 appearances of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Kevin Love is averaging 7.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 18.8 minutes per game. The five-time All-Star is also shooting 37.8% from the field and 36.5% beyond the arc.
Love has made 12 starts this postseason. In Miami’s 130-117 first-round win in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks, the two-time All-NBA member scored 18 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
The 6-foot-8 forward made the NBA Finals every year his team has qualified for the playoffs. Other players listed on Miami’s injury report include Tyler Herro (hand) and Victor Oladipo (knee). Herro remains out indefinitely, whereas Oladipo is out for the season.
Heat forward Kevin Love (lower left leg strain) has been upgraded to probable for Tuesday night’s Game 4 matchup against Celtics of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals
Entering Game 4 of the ECF, the Boston Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games. The point total has gone over in 11 of Boston’s past 14 contests. Additionally, the C’s are 0-5 ATS and 0-5 overall in their previous five matchups versus Miami.
Moreover, the Celtics have covered the spread in their past six games when playing as the underdog. But Boston is also 1-4 in its last five contests played on a Tuesday. At the moment, the Miami Heat have a 3-0 series lead over Boston. Of course, Kevin Love is one win away from making his fifth NBA Finals appearance.
Furthermore, the Miami Heat are 6-1 in their previous seven games. They’ve also won their last seven straight home games. The Heat could become the second team this postseason to sweep their conference finals opponent, joining the Nuggets. Not to mention, Miami is 10-2 in its past 12 meetings versus Eastern Conference opponents.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Celtics have a 66.1% chance of defeating Miami away in Game 4. However, sportsbooks show the Heat as a 1.5-point favorite. Not one NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit in a seven-game series to win it. Teams are 0-149 when facing a 3-0 series deficit.

domain: sports


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add a quick stamp on the tag. You can use ANY color ink pad your heart desires!
Paper cone for favors.
love the packaging
EASY Christmas cookies!
Valentine Heart Cookies
Cute & Easy Cookie Packaging
logo and ribbon on package
take a 12" square scrapbook page & turn it into a basket.
Love the packaging!
in a metal and clear plastic can
Pin wheels as bows.
Cookie Tin with pringle cans....perfect for Christmas cookie deliveries. An ecuse to eat pringles too!
Ribbon Holly Gift Box DIY
Ooooooh....cute on cookie gift bags!

domain: design


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Less water used*
less carbon emissions*
reduces food waste
means no deforestation
* Atomo ingredients only, as Compared to conventional cold brew coffee
- TMTyler M.Verified BuyerI recommend this productRated 5 stars1 month agoAmazing taste!
Really love this great tasting sustainable cold brew. Love it so much I subscribed to receive monthly.
No coffee beans? So, what is Atomo Coffee made from?
Atomo™ Coffee has replaced the coffee bean with Date Pits, and unlocked their potential to deliver a delicious coffee experience with an entirely new method of production.
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Each of our flavors, CLASSIC BLACK, ULTRA SMOOTH and OAT MILK LATTE have unique qualities; enhanced by their individual roast profiles and subsequent brewing techniques. Every serving delivers a premium coffee experience delivering the taste you expect from a great cup of coffee.
What are upcycled ingredients?
Upcycled ingredients are materials that would have been discarded or become waste, if they were not being used in a new process to give their existence a second life.
Is there caffeine in Atomo Coffee?
Yes. There is 84mg of caffeine in every 8oz. can of Atomo™ Molecular Cold Brew.
Is Atomo Coffee synthetic?
No, we use plant based ingredients.
Will I have acid reflux from Atomo Coffee, like I do with “regular” coffee?
We have not received any feedback or indication of acid reflux or other gastrointestinal side effects associated with traditional coffee. Our products are designed to reduce most negative reactions from coffee, to deliver the ritual and the flavors you seek; without uncomfortable side effects.

domain: food


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A team of engineers from MIT has developed a new glucose fuel cell that runs on the same sugar that powers the human body. The team believes that the device will be able to “drive highly efficient brain implants” that would enable paraplegics to regain control of their limbs. The device, which is detailed in the June 12 edition of the journal PLoS ONE, strips electrons from glucose molecules in order to generate a small electric current.
Team leader Rahul Sarpeshkar, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, believes that the new glucose fuel cell could be integrated into a silicon chip for brain implants. Although the technology has been theorized and developed since the 1970s, MIT’s new fuel cell is made from silicon – which is also used in semiconductor electronic chips. The MIT fuel cell also contains no biological components, as it is made from a platinum catalyst that strips the electrons from glucose.
“It will be a few more years into the future before you see people with spinal-cord injuries receive such implantable systems in the context of standard medical care, but those are the sorts of devices you could envision powering from a glucose-based fuel cell,” says Benjamin Rapoport, an author of the new MIT study.
According to team leader Rapoport, the glucose fuel cell will be able to get all the sugar it needs from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain. CSF also contains very few cells, so the fuel cell is unlikely to provoke an immune response, and since only a small amount of glucose is utilized by the fuel cell, any impact on the brain would be tiny.
“The glucose fuel cell, when combined with such ultra-low-power electronics, can enable brain implants or other implants to be completely self-powered,” says Sarpeshkar. An example of how these fuel cells could change the world is powering the recently unveiled robotic arm for paralyzed patients from Brown University. Here’s hoping their latest breakthrough is a medical reality within the next few years.

domain: biology


On Wednesday, Attorney General Barr reportedly poked fun at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the two crossed paths at the annual Peace Officers Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol.
AG Barr, as Fox News producer Jake Gibson reported, joked with the Democratic Party leader about the upcoming contempt vote and threats to put him in prison if he failed to comply with subpoenas that demand the full and unredacted Mueller report.
“Attorney General Bill Barr spoke to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in person today, after the National Peace Officers Memorial Service at the Capitol,” Gibson tweeted. “A source close to Barr says he asked Pelosi if she had brought her handcuffs. There was laughter but no word on Pelosi’s response.”
Another bystander tweeted on thhe subject and said that Pelosi noted that the House Sergeant-at-Arms was at the event “should an arrest be necessary,” to which AG Barr reportedly chuckled at before walking away.
“The Speaker, not missing a beat, smiled and indicated to the attorney general that the House sergeant-at-arms was present at the ceremony should an arrest be necessary. The attorney general chuckled and walked away.” He tweeted.
As previousley reported, one week age the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold AG Barr in contempt of Congress after he refused to show up to a House Judiciary hearing that had a provision in place to allow staffers to AG Barr questions during it, prompting a full House vote on the issue.
On Friday, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler stated that lawmakers may consolidate different committee’s contempt citations into a single legislative package for the House to vote on.


President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Leendert Verbeek, has condemned so-called parliamentary elections in Georgia’s Russian occupied Abkhazia region.
“By organizing these ‘elections’, the so-called “de facto” authorities of Abkhazia, once again, undermined the principle of the territorial integrity of Georgia forcing this region further into isolation, to the detriment of the local population,” he said.
Vebeek stated that the Congress has always shown its ‘unrelenting commitment’ to the territorial integrity of member States within its internationally recognised borders.
“This principle is all the more important in the current context of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine,” he stated, noting that not only since 24 February “we know that the illegal recognition of territories of other member States can be only one step ahead of further aggression and war. This is the bitter lesson we have to learn, eventually.”
Verbeek stressed that any sort of action undermining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a member State, will be strongly condemned.


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This is my second harvest. I’ve been trying to grow low THC high CBD plants. I’ve bought seeds to this effect. The first tested, at a certified lab to be the opposite of what seed I bought. It was suppose to be 5% THC and 10% CBD. It was 11THC and 4.6 CBD. The latest harvest was suppose to be 5-8 THC and 5-8 CBD. It was tested at 13% THC no CBD. Maybe this doesn’t matter to some of you and maybe it’s just to difficult with all the variables but it’s a little frustrating. I do enjoy growing but I’d like to grow what I want. Any thoughts?
That’s a tough one.
Growing from seed is like having 40,000 kids (some seed runs are that large) and before they are born selling them saying that the kid will have blond hair and blue eyes.
Both those numbers are off more than I’m comfortable with. You would think that with a stable strain the numbers would be in the ballpark.
With that said, you need to run at least 10 seeds of a strain and closer to 40 if you want to find “the one”. I know it’s a pain, but keeping clones and having the parent flowered and tested is the only way you will be able to confidently say the THC/CBD outcome of your grow.
I’m sure that some breeders/strains are more consistent than others and as time goes on all these new CBD strains will become more stable.
Depending on what state you’re in you might be able to buy a clone that’s already testing at levels you want.
You know what Gump says: “life is like a box of chocolates…”
@AAA I thought that might be the case. That would be a LOT of work! Maybe I’m expecting to much. I’ll just keep growing and testing until I get there. Testing is expensive but I guess I’m the kind that wants to know. Thanks for your input.
I understand. But really try germinating twice as many seeds as you want and “weed” out the finicky or runty ones. You will get better plants in the end.
If you want known cbd and thc you must use clones of tested mothers. There is no other way. You cannot use seed and expect this result, it simply will not be reliable.
@Cannabian not very easy to get clones. I’ve tried. Haven’t found any yet. Any ideas on where?
Where do you live? Thereabouts? Like in a general area lol
have you tried your local compassion clubs? That would be the BEST place to find a good source.
Never heard of compassion club
You might wanna look for one, compassion clubs are folks that help people with cancer or other illnesses like epilepsy connect with cannabis.


text: Second in the series (the first Mobil Travel Guide to the Southwest is being revised and up-dated after passing the 94,000 sales gigure)- this follows the same sort of pattern. The aim, one might guess, is gradually to provide a sectional guide along the lines of the classic Michelin Guide in France. It is primarily a rating of- in this case- some 2 thousand hotels, motels and restaurants, along with somewhat sporadic information about sightseeing drives and walks, landmarks and local history, special events, industrial tours, sports facilities, radio and TV stations, etc. There will be street maps of major cities. With the tourist season following soon on the publication date, this should prove a useful plus item in bookstores -- and a reference tool for the front desk in all public libraries. Heavy commercial promoting is planned. The arrangement is alphabetical by states, within that by cities. It will run to 400 pages. A spot examination of the proof sheets inevitably discloses some gaps and some questionable inclusions, but- as with any listings- the personal equation is an inevitable problem.

domain: library


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Please click on Sign The Petition. This petition will be delivered to all Members of the House of Representatives, The . Senate and The White House. Standing together we can make campaign financing fair for everyone who seeks to represent us.
The law was challenged as unconstitutional by groups and individuals including the California State Democratic Party, the National Rifle Association , and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell ( Kentucky ), the Senate Majority Whip . After moving through lower courts, in September 2003, the . Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, McConnell v. FEC . On Wednesday, December 10, 2003, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling that upheld its key provisions.
999 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20463
Email: [email protected]
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VICTORIA - British Columbia's Opposition Liberals took the private member's route to introduce a proposed law to reform campaign financing, including ...
I believe that all campaign surpluses should be donated to the City or to a registered charity after the election in order to give challengers an equal playing field. In this election, whether I win or lose, I commit to donating any campaign surplus. If re-elected as your mayor, I will push for new provincial rules mandating that campaign surpluses be donated.

domain: politics


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