Barack Obama has shared his list of his favorite songs of 2023. Big Thief’s ‘Vampire Empire’, Mitski’s ‘My Love Mine All Mine’, and Indigo De Souza’s ‘Younger & Dumber’ – all of which also made our top songs of the year – are among the picks, as well as tracks by Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy and 21 Savage, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves, Blondshell, Brent Faiyaz, Tems, and more. Check out the full list below.
“Here are some of my favorite songs from this year,” Obama wrote on X/Twitter. “Let me know if there are any artists or songs I should check out.”
Earlier this year, Christine and the Queens performed a medley the Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘Night Fever’ at Cannes Film Festival. Now, the singer has shared the studio version, ‘Stayin’ Alive ! Chris Version’, along with a self-directed video shot in Venice. Check it out below.
In a statement about the cover, Chris wrote:
Art heals! Brings us all together again and again! Art is the experience of humanity, the joyful boat of the imagination, the fireside where we reinvent together – childhood My masters use art as a magical refuge and I, in turn, take them along masked, free of themselves into the sovereign realm of their own dreams. Made in a few days, in an emergency with fabulous friends, generous strangers, the inhabitants of Venice the beautiful, this is our fond farewell to 2023 our PUNK gesture for a better future see you soon, Chris
In today’s world, cybersecurity is one of the hottest topics. The internet has seamlessly integrated into our lives, and our dependence on it continues to grow. Amidst this reliance, the rise in online attacks and cybercrime highlights the increasing importance of keeping our personal data and sensitive information safe. LLM development plays a crucial role in addressing these evolving challenges.
Experts warn of information being ‘leaked’ when using public Wi-Fi
Cybersecurity experts have recently raised concerns about the use of iGaming, i.e., online gaming and casinos, while on vacation. A study published in Forbes Advisor magazine detailed the risks associated with using public Wi-Fi to visit casino sites for money, examples of which can be found at https://twinspinca.com/.
Research firm OnePoll conducted a survey of 1,000 adults who had used public Wi-Fi during air travel in the past year. The survey found that only 17% of them felt unsafe using the internet over a public network. Surprisingly, however, more than 40% of those surveyed said their information had been compromised while traveling.
Cybersecurity and iGaming
The iGaming sector in the US is particularly worrying, with several major attacks on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment already having occurred this year. Casinos and online gaming platforms have become attractive targets for cybercriminals as they store vast amounts of sensitive information on millions of customers. This information includes data such as driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and even credit card details.
Aura, a company that specializes in digital security, warns of the risks associated with connecting to such networks and says that the level of protection on such networks is usually much lower than your home network.
Aura representatives say there are possible threats from experienced hackers, especially in public places such as airports. Hackers can infect devices with malware, access personal information, steal passwords, intercept sensitive data, and even use ransomware to attack.
One common scheme used by hackers is to create a fake Wi-Fi hotspot that shares a similar name to a real public place network. When you connect to this fake hotspot, the hacker can easily intercept your data or even take control of your device.
An equally common scheme is the man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. According to Aura, attackers can hack into your network and intercept data being sent between your devices and your Wi-Fi router. When you enter your password or other credentials, a hacker can easily intercept them and use them for their own purposes.
How to protect personal data from “leaks”
To protect yourself from such threats, experts recommend taking a few precautions:
– You should avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi networks in unfamiliar or unreliable locations. It’s also important to be extra careful when choosing a Wi-Fi hotspot and make sure it’s an official hotspot from an ISP or trusted institution.
– Using virtual private networks (VPNs) can be a useful way to protect your data on public networks. A VPN encrypts all data in transit and provides an extra layer of security for you.
– It is important to make sure you have all necessary updates and anti-virus software installed on the device you use to connect to public networks.
Security on public Wi-Fi networks is an important aspect of digital security to keep in mind. By taking into account the risks associated with using such networks and taking appropriate precautions, you can increase the security of your data and protect yourself from potential cyber threats.
Losses from romance scams amounted to $956 million in 2021, and they are considered one of the most expensive frauds in terms of victim losses. Can we avoid scammers these days? We decided to plunge into this topic and have some pivotal information on how romance scams work.
What are romance scams?
Romance scams are commonly referred to as “catfishing,” a situation where a scammer uses online dating websites, social networks, and other online platforms and pretends to be someone interested in a romantic relationship with you to deceive or exploit their victims. There are also some other types of romance scams:
Pro-daters – a fraudster is a real person who communicates with you and even arranges dates (usually in his country) to exploit you financially.
Blackmail – is a way of extortion related to your explicit photos or videos that you may have shared with the scammer during communication.
All fraudulent schemes lead to the same result––obtaining money from victims by all possible means. Regardless of how many types of scams there are, it’s crucial to know what romance scams are and how to spot and avoid scammers when you use online dating sites.
How do romance scams work?
Depending on the type of scam, there are different ways to provide it. Nevertheless, the main principle is to establish trusted relationships with victims and solicit money through all possible means.
A scam strategy lasts from several weeks to months and even years. Everything depends on the scammer’s ambitions and the amount of money he wants to exploit from you.
A typical scenario of online romance scams is the following:
A single man or woman initiates a conversation with you on any dating platform.
Scammer strikes you with regular messages and long conversations.
He/she always asks many questions to learn more about you, which seems to be sincere.
For some time of regular communication, you’ll get some requests for financial help, particularly with emergency issues, trip tickets, or other things, depending on the context of your relationships.
When the scammer gets as much money from you as he/she expected, you will be left disappointed and heartbroken, or you can reveal the scam.
In any case, you will be in a pathetic situation if you can’t recognize the fraudster and how romance scams work at the beginning of the con. For this reason, we have researched and prepared a classic description of an online scammer for you.
The red flags of online romance scammers
Romance scams are quite prevalent, so there are ready-made instructions and schemes that fraudsters use to attract their victims. The main thing is to create an appropriate dating profile and provide victims with enough attention to gain their trust. So, a typical scammer on dating sites is:
A person with no completed profile but 1-2 high-quality photos
Profile pictures usually depict the face only, without any other details
All information related to interests, marital status, income, etc., will be absent or hidden
The scammer will act dynamically with you, bombarding you with questions and compliments
Swindlers often want to communicate via emails or instant messages, not the dating website
Your interlocutor will claim that you have lots of things in common, including hobbies and traits
After a few conversations, you can get a marriage proposal or a declaration of love
An online scammer never has an opportunity to meet you in real life and, in most cases, avoid video conversations
Generally, you will feel happiness and satisfaction from this communication, as scammers always act as caring and supportive partners who are attached to your personality no matter what. However, it is disappointing to realize that there is nothing in common with sincerity, just a strategy to catch your trust.
So now you know the general appearance of a scammer, and it is essential to be familiar with the ways to avoid romance scams.
How to avoid romance scams?
If you are familiar with what are romance scams, the next question is how to avoid them online. Fortunately, the FBI and IC3 act appropriately, and there are many hacks and tips to act safely on the internet and online dating websites. So, the step-by-step instruction is the following:
Choose a reputable international dating website, like women-for-marriage.com with an appropriate security system and anti-scam policy.
Become a premium member for more advanced security measures.
Use the safe mode and communicate only with identified users (they are marked as verified on the dating platforms).
Avoid chatting with people who have poor profiles with no photos and no information.
Check users’ photos in search to ensure they are not taken from public sources or used elsewhere.
Don’t share any critical information related to your social media, phone number, and more with the interlocutor in the first conversation.
Keep things slow and communicate with each person for some time to get to know each other better.
Request video conversation to ensure the person is real.
Never send money to any person on dating websites or social media networks.
We are sure if you follow these tips, you’ll protect yourself from swindlers. Remember to be detail-oriented and act appropriately if you see something malicious during your conversation with users on dating sites. Likewise, if you want to know what to do if you are already involved in a scam, read the following chapter.
What should you do if you’re already involved in a scam?
There is no doubt that scammers are improving their skills and techniques, so there is still a chance of falling for a romance scam. So you should know what to do in this situation.
First and foremost, if you receive inappropriate messages from scammers, block them and report them to a dating site’s customer support.
If you have already fallen for your scammer and sent him some money, gift cards, crypto transactions, etc., contact your bank or the company as soon as possible.
Finally, if you suspect romance scams, report it to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) by indicating the website or app where you met a scammer.
It is no wonder that you believed in the sincerity of the scammer, as many of them are professionals. But it is critical to act quickly if you find yourself in an insecure situation.
Conclusion
Now that you are aware of what romance scams are and how to detect them, we hope this firsthand experience and information from reputable sources will be valuable. Regardless of the situation, make sure you do everything to protect yourself from any potential scam. However, we are confident that you can find genuine connections on dating sites if you act with your safety in mind.
Though THC produces the euphoric high associated with its counterpart, THCA has gained significant interest due to its potential health benefits. With demand for THCA products growing steadily, the extraction process plays a vital role in assuring quality and purity in final products; we will explore this topic here focusing on Diamond CBD’s extraction methods to guarantee the quality and purity of its THCA products.
Understanding THCA Extraction
THCA extraction involves the isolation and concentration of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid from the cannabis plant. This process is crucial to obtain THCA in its pure form, free from contaminants and unwanted compounds. There are several methods for THCA extraction, each with its advantages and drawbacks.
Solvent-Based Extraction
One popular method of THCA extraction utilizes solvents like ethanol or butane for extraction. The process begins by immersing cannabis plant material in one of these solvents for an extended period of time to dissolve THCA and other cannabinoids into solution before extracting. When complete, the solvent evaporates leaving behind concentrated THCA extract.
Solvent-based extraction can result in high concentrations of THCA but may leave behind residual solvents which could be hazardous if left in the finished product. Diamond CBD recognizes this concern and puts safety and purity as its top priorities during extraction processes.
Diamond CBD’s Approach To Solvent-Based Extraction
Diamond CBD employs stringent quality controls to ensure the solvent-based THCA extraction process produces safe and pure products. Their commitment to excellence starts by carefully selecting high-grade cannabis plants without pesticide residue; only the finest raw materials are utilized in order to produce their extracts of THCA.
Diamond CBD relies on cutting-edge equipment and technology to carefully oversee and control its extraction process, using solvent evaporation methods that remove any trace of solvents from their product and only leave behind pure THCA – this commitment to safety and purity forms part of their mission of offering premium THCA products.
Supercritical Co2 Extraction
Supercritical CO2 extraction is another popular method for obtaining pure THCA extracts. In this process, carbon dioxide is manipulated under specific temperature and pressure conditions to become a supercritical fluid. This supercritical CO2 is then used to selectively extract THCA from the cannabis plant material.
Supercritical CO2 extraction offers numerous advantages, including its precision-driven extraction process and zero harmful residues in its final product. Furthermore, CO2 is a safe solvent with no residual effects to worry about in its final state.
Diamond CBD’s Commitment To Supercritical CO2 Extraction
Diamond CBD recognizes the advantages of supercritical CO2 extraction for THCA products. They have invested in cutting-edge equipment and trained experts to implement this method effectively. By using supercritical CO2, Diamond CBD ensures that its THCA extracts are free from contaminants and impurities, meeting the highest quality and purity standards.
Decarboxylation And THCA Products
Noteworthy is the fact that THC in its raw form doesn’t readily transform into the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. To unleash its full benefits and activate them through decarboxylation, an exact temperature must be heated up causing it to lose its carboxylic acid group and form THC.
Diamond CBD recognizes the importance of decarboxylation in producing effective THCA products. Their careful control of the decarboxylation process ensures their products are both potency and safe for consumers, setting their THCA products apart both in terms of quality and effectiveness.
Quality Assurance And Third-Party Testing
Ensuring quality and purity in THCA products is not only about the extraction method but also about comprehensive quality assurance measures. Diamond CBD takes quality control seriously and conducts thorough third-party testing on all its THCA products. These tests ensure potency, purity, and the absence of contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, or residual solvents.
Diamond CBD products undergo independent third-party testing to provide transparency and accountability, giving their consumers peace of mind that they are receiving safe, high-quality products.
Conclusion
As consumer awareness for THCA products continues to expand, so too needs reliable extraction methods that ensure quality and purity. Diamond CBD’s commitment to excellence in THCA extraction sets them apart in the industry. Whether using solvent-based extraction or supercritical CO2 extraction, they prioritize the safety and satisfaction of their customers.
By choosing Diamond CBD’s THCA products, consumers can confidently incorporate the potential benefits of THCA into their wellness routines. With strict quality control, attention to purity, and a commitment to transparency, Diamond CBD is a trusted source for high-quality THCA products that deliver on their promises of health and wellness.
In an industry where quality and purity are paramount, Diamond CBD’s dedication to excellence in THCA extraction methods ensures that consumers can access the full potential of this promising cannabinoid with confidence.
Anxiety and stress-related disorders have become more widespread, prompting more people to look for natural methods of alleviating anxiety without resorting to pharmaceutical medication. One intriguing option that has emerged in recent years is THCA flower. In this article, we will delve into the world of THCA and explore whether it can indeed help alleviate stress and anxiety.
The Endocannabinoid System And Anxiety
To understand how THCA may assist in managing anxiety, it’s crucial to familiarise ourselves with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This complex network comprises receptors and molecules found throughout our bodies which play an integral part in controlling various physiological processes related to mood, stress, and anxiety regulation.
CB1 and CB2 receptors make up two primary receptors within the ECS. CB1 receptors tend to reside more commonly within the brain, central nervous system, immune tissue or peripheral tissues while CB2 receptors tend to reside mainly within immune tissue or peripheral tissues. Both interact with cannabinoids such as THCA which may help lower anxiety and stress levels.
THCA And The ECS
Research on THCA is still in its infancy, but initial studies indicate it may interact with the ECS to help alleviate anxiety. Though not directly binding with CB1 or CB2 receptors, THCA may still affect it indirectly through other means.
One possible method involves the decarboxylation of THCA to THC through heat. Once decarboxylated, THC will bind with CB1 receptors in the brain and have an immediate impact on mood and anxiety levels.
Another mechanism of action involves THCA’s ability to reduce inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been linked with elevated stress and anxiety levels; anti-inflammatory properties of THCA could help alleviate such symptoms.
THCA Flower And Anxiety Management
Consuming THCA flower is one way to harness the potential benefits of this cannabinoid for anxiety relief. THCA flower is typically consumed by juicing, blending, or incorporating it into smoothies, salads, or other raw recipes. This consumption method allows individuals to access THCA without the psychoactive effects associated with THC.
When using THCA flower for anxiety management, it’s essential to consider the following factors:
Dosage: Determining the appropriate dosage of THCA flower can be challenging, as individual responses may vary. Starting with a low dose and gradually increasing it while monitoring the effects is advisable.
Strain Selection: Each strain of cannabis contains different concentrations of THC-A and other cannabinoids/terpenes which may alter your experience.
Consultation: It is always wise to consult a healthcare professional prior to adding cannabis products like THCA flower into your anxiety management regimen, especially if you have preexisting health conditions or take other medications.
Lifestyle Factors: Integrating THCA flower use with healthy lifestyle choices such as regular exercise, balanced nutrition and stress reduction techniques can enhance its potential effectiveness in relieving anxiety.
Conclusion
Research on THCA and its ability to alleviate stress and anxiety remains in its infancy; however, preliminary findings indicate it could hold great promise as an all-natural treatment solution. Furthermore, its non-intoxicating nature makes THCA an attractive option for individuals seeking relief without experiencing psychoactive side effects of THC.
However, it’s crucial to approach THCA use with caution and consult with healthcare professionals when needed. Individual responses to THCA can vary, and more research is needed to fully understand its mechanisms of action and optimal dosing for anxiety management.
In conclusion, THCA flower presents an exciting area of exploration for those looking to manage anxiety naturally, offering potential benefits that may contribute to improved overall well-being. As research in this field continues to develop, we may gain a clearer understanding of THCA’s role in anxiety relief and its place in the broader spectrum of natural remedies.
Some of this year’s highlights come from veteran filmmakers returning after long respites (e.g, Catherine Breillat (ten years) or Victor Erice (thirty-one years)). Others are from directors early in their filmography (e.g., Helena Wittmann and Lois Patiño), establishing bold new artistic practices. The ten films on this list are somewhat eclectic. But each provides a clear dismissal to the increasingly prevalent myth that cinema is a dying art with dwindling talent. As always, it’s a question of where we search for great art.
While I’ve restricted myself to feature films, any highlight of the best and most exciting films this year should acknowledge Pedro Costa’s Daughters of Fire: a three-panel split-screen musical short film told with expressionistic digital chiaroscuro. Costa’s one of the titans of modern cinema. If Daughters of Fire is any indication of where he’s headed (and apparently the movie’s a test for his next feature), a major work lies ahead.
Last Summer (Catherine Breillat)
When I learned Catherine Breillat—the rabble-rouser extraordinaire of French cinema—was returning after a decade-long hiatus, I jumped for joy. Breillat is an unparalleled provocateur. Her best films (e.g., Fat Girl, Anatomy of Hell) shamelessly broadcast the thorniest trenches of desire, towards a feminist critique with no illusions of purity or pandering. She thrives in the mess. Last Summer remakes May el-Toukhy’s Queen of Hearts: a film about a middle-aged lawyer’s secret affair with her stepson. As the affair starts to threaten her stability (career, family, etc.), she stoops to increasingly petty depths to maintain her image. In Breillat’s hands, portraiture laden sex scenes become viciously unsexy. Instead, Last Summer launches an indictment against bourgeois entitlement, where a midlife psychosexual crisis unleashes base impulses. Desire undoes her cloak of respectability. Without stooping to didacticism, Last Summer pulls no punches assassinating its central character’s image and spotlighting hypocrisies at the heart of a liberal ruling class. Breillat finds humour in the humiliation, sparking one of the most unexpectedly uproarious films of the year.
Last Thing (Deborah Stratman)
Experimental documentarian Deborah Stratman’s Last Things frames history as a posthuman legacy of geologic evolution, where humanity’s own development exists in a broader, thirteen-billion-year-old narrative of the mineral kingdom. Inspired by Robert Hazen’s hypothesis of mineral evolution, Stratman positions rocks as inanimate archives, existing for eons without memory. They will endure without consciousness until the Earth’s end. Last Things’ style—essayistic yet ambiguous—combines a breadth of research, marrying literary prose (e.g. Clarice Lispector) and biological theory (e.g. Lynn Margulis). Though contained within a fifty-minute runtime, Last Things is perhaps the most expansive film of the year, its scope jumping from celestial to microscopic, from the planet’s beginning to its end. Stratman represents humanity as just another organism adrift through time. In an era of climate doom, I can’t think of better solace than a reminder of our cosmic insignificance.
La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher)
La Chimera is a few things: a sun-drenched romp, a tomb-raiding adventure, and a hauntological drama. Set in 1980s Tuscany, the film follows Arthur, a perpetually dishevelled Englishman as he’s released from prison. He reunites with his motley crew of fun-loving grave-robbers raiding Etruscan tombs, leading the pack as he searches for a legendary gateway to the underworld to find his lost lover. Rohrwacher traces the illicit pathways of the artifact market, where plundered treasures become respectable property on exhibit at the world’s most prestigious galleries. Arthur cannot imagine a future, cannot build new relationships. He’s stuck in a timeloop, in love with a missing woman. In La Chimera, all systems (financial, aesthetic, emotional) are dictated by ghosts of the past, whose hauntings persist even in times of ostensible progress.
The film’s nucleus is Rohrwacher and O’Connor’s pairing as filmmaker and actor. Rohrwacher’s conception of Arthur is so vivid, the perfect cocktail of suaveness and assholery. O’Connor’s rendition is lived-in, larger-than-life at times, yet also infused with the pathos of lovesick longing. At points, he moves like a reincarnated Jean-Paul Belmondo: similar faces, erratic physicalities, charismatic gruffness. The accumulated dirt on his ivory suit delivers a better performance than most human actors will this year. It’s a gradual performance, hinging on the revelation that he’s a man prepared to plunge into the deepest depths of the earth to uncover a lost love.
Close Your Eyes (Victor Erice)
Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes is the latest of late-style, the oldest of old man movies. The legendary Spanish filmmaker spins his first feature in thirty years: an intimate epic about a retired filmmaker haunted by the memory of his best friend and ex-leading man who, twenty years prior, vanished into thin air. Once a storyteller of children’s’ subjectives, Erice’s filmmaking now grapples with old age and mortality. He excises the magic realism of his earlier narrative works and strips down to an economy of mostly shot-reverse-shot close-ups. It’s a welcome restraint, exquisitely lit and patiently still. The movie’s first half is a painful personal archeology, rummaging through lost artefacts, paying visit to ghosts of the past. Every character interaction exhumes a deep memory twinged with sorrow. Everyone speaks in subdued hushes, withered by time. In the gooier second half, Erice shakes the ambient melancholy for a more concrete emotional palette and central conflict. The last moments are shamelessly sentimental, sculpted from a whole lifespan of nostalgia.
Like almost all Erice films, Close Your Eyes is a movie about movies. Yet in Erice’s past films (e.g., Spirit of the Beehive, El Sud, La Morte Rouge), the dynamic of cinema-history-memory is a gateway into a socio-historic consciousness. In his earlier works, cinema becomes deflection, imbued with Franco-era traumas that cannot be spoken. In Close Your Eyes, cinema is a force supplementary to the human being, something that remembers what we can’t and fills the gaps of our own consciousness: an imperfect archive adopted as appendage. Erice’s love (for his characters, his medium, his world) is infectious and feels earned because it’s accompanied by such palpable heartache.
Youth (Spring) (Wang Bing)
Assembled over five years, Chinese documentarian Wang Bing’s latest film Youth (Spring) charts the lives (work lives, personal lives) of several teenage or twenty-something textile labourers in Zhili, China. Their worlds consist of long hours toiling with fabric and collective bargaining with employers over unlivable payrates, all the while navigating the joys and hardships of youth. As a documentarian, Wang’s access into his subjects’ worlds is startlingly thorough. He films in domestic quarters, cramped workshops, and the streets of Zhili. Youth unfolds against industrial backdrops overrun with garbage. Wang cultivates an aesthetics of refuse: the waste which floods the streets, accumulates in the subjects’ dormitories, or remains on the workshop floor after a day of textile labour.
An invaluable documentation of Chinese labour politics, Youth centers the workers themselves as more than mere tools in the chain of production. Much of the movie unfolds as durational shots of workers working: hands operating sewing machines with aggressive familiarity. Wang is a silent observer (though he’s occasionally acknowledged by subjects). He organizes the movie around the rhythms and repetitions of his subjects’ lives, rather than narrative practicality or any didactic thesis. The film’s length and slowness paint an immersive portrait of a working-class day-to-day: a film form aligned with its subjects’ reality.
Human Flowers of Flesh (Helena Wittmann)
Great art (whatever that means) doesn’t spawn abruptly in a lightning storm. It’s melded together through time: an interplay with past art and history, a byproduct of everything that’s cobbled together to constitute the present moment. This isn’t a radical idea, but it’s worth remembering when so much art folds to the allure of past forms, indulging nostalgia, and creating pale imitations of a once groundbreaking work. The recognition that we cannot create art in a vacuum motivates the worst artistic impulse to assimilate into the past. Helena Wittmann’s sophomore feature Human Flowers of Flesh, follows the footsteps of Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, sharing its ghostly draw to the image of the French legionnaire, returning to the film’s locations, and even resurrecting its laconic protagonist. Despite their dialogue, the two films are incongruous, built from the distinct rhythms and obsessions of their respective imagemakers. Human Flowers of Flesh’s intertextuality isn’t a surrender to a specter, but a trampoline towards something novel.
Between this and Drift, Wittmann’s a burgeoning water auteur. Human Flowers follows Ida, a ship captain, alongside her all-male crew. Unfolding as a travelogue, the duration is largely plotless and primarily sensual. 16mm images conduct an oceanography, archeology, and ethnography of marine and maritime landscapes and cultures. It’s a film lost in details: ripples, flora, glimmering surfaces, a snail’s glacial glide, all-encompassing blues. Yet it’s also full of colossal moments, like an extended shot where the camera slowly drifts deep-sea, down towards the wreckage of an algae-coated, long-lost vessel.
Samsara (Lois Patiño)
Lois Patiño, the experimental New Galician Cinema filmmaker, returns with an ambitious work examining cinema’s place in the representation of non-material movement, particularly the journey of a soul through reincarnation. Samsara is a triptych: a film that travels from Laos through the Buddhist Bardo and ends in Zanzibar. It’s a narrative of death, transition, and rebirth. Whereas Patiño’s last feature Red Moon Tide was avant-garde cosmic horror full of scarlet-tinted images, Samsara is a tranquil work. The first section (lensed by Mauro Herce) includes an extended escape to a gentle riverside afternoon, where young monks listen to hip-hop on an iPhone speaker against an ambient choir of chirping cicadas. Patiño cultivates a space of slowness and reverie. The middle stretch is a showstopper: a prolonged flicker film with text addressing us to close our eyes. The sequence simulates a representation of a reincarnated experience through soundscape and pulses of light which register through our closed eyelids. The film ends in Zanzibar (the camera now lensed by Jessica Sarah Rinland), where the soul’s reincarnated as a goat. Patiño crafts an anti-anthropomorphic animal cinema, where all life (human, livestock, otherwise) exists on a single plain.
Perhaps this is a failed experiment. Cinema, a medium bound by sound and image, cannot replicate an unknowable experience of spiritual transference which transcends the boundaries of a material existence. Yet Patiño opens a space to imagine the furthest dimensions the camera’s apparatus can reach beyond strict representation.
May December (Todd Haynes)
Todd Haynes’ latest is a cocktail of grotesque diva-psychosis, uproarious irony, pathos, and, amidst the feverish perversity, genuine compassion. It’s a virtuoso juggling act orchestrated by a filmmaker in peak form. Inspired by the case of Mary Kay Letourneau, the movie follows a middle-aged suburbanite (Julianne Moore in a late-period Bette Davis-style performance) and her two-decades-younger, Korean-American husband. Their relationship, which began when he was thirteen, is founded on statutory rape and grooming: something 90s tabloids sensationalized. Now, with two high school children on the verge of graduation, the predatory origin of their marriage remains an unspoken subject in their white-picket fantasy. However, a method actress (Natalie Portman) enters their domestic circle, researching for a role she’s playing in a cinematic adaptation of their life story. Sprouting from tension between the two women’s exploitative egos, the film unravels as Portman’s character snakes her way through the family’s repression, revealing a festering wound at the core of an American family.
With glossy images and off-kilter framing, May December plays like a divinely executed Lifetime movie (that’s praise). If this story sounds harrowing, it is. Immense credit to both Moore and Portman who deliver shamelessly unflattering portrayals of two shark-toothed egos and the collateral damage they wreak. May December fosters a looming sadness as Moore’s husband wrestles with a life lived in subservience to his groomer wife. At one point, he smokes weed with his teenage son: a first try for the thirty-six-year-old man. The scene is quietly tragic. Forced into premature fatherhood by a much older wife, he was robbed of adolescent self-discovery. These moments of gravitas go hand-in-hand with Haynes’ biting irony. The film announces its camp sensibilities in the opening scene, which ends with a sinister piano sting and tight zoom into Moore’s face as she agonizingly declares “I don’t think we’ll have enough hot dogs!” For Haynes, humour isn’t a reduction of anyone’s pain. Rather, it’s the only means of understanding a world this foul.
Knock at the Cabin (M. Night Shyamalan)
Is there a stronger Hollywood studio filmmaker today than M. Night Shyamalan? Shyamalan is the Platonic ideal of a B-movie auteur: prolific, marketable, visually ingenious, and full of rich contradiction. Watching Knock at the Cabin—a tearjerker-thriller about the modern American Family and Armageddon—it becomes clear that no other filmmaker in Shyamalan’s field matches his control and creative precision with the camera. Shyamalan’s grasp of spatial relations goes beyond the cultivation of coherent interiors and becomes the basic ingredient of his storytelling. His camera movements—meticulous! dynamic!—represent action without the trendy, fetishistic long-take showmanship of today. In one scene, a character’s escape in a basement is simulated by a parallel dolly on an upper floor, the action capturing an adjacent dialogue while the camera maps the unseen character’s movement. There’s an old interview from the 90s where Brian De Palma very frankly (and not erroneously) proclaims himself the best working visual storyteller in Hollywood. Today, De Palma’s eighty-three and his career’s been stalled by studio bureaucracy. With Knock, it’s clear his self-ordained accolade is inherited by Shyamalan.
But Shyamalan’s work isn’t all about form. The film’s sense of tragedy is so bleak, so moving. He’s among the greatest humanist filmmakers since Ozu, but Knock introduces a splash of hopelessness into a career sentimentalist’s work. Like with Spielberg’s 9/11 depression-induced War of the Worlds, an American romantic creates a work of uncharacteristically grim doomsday imagery and reckons with the impossibilities of a parenting generation. Though composed with love, Knock is a movie so attuned to the weight of failures. The failure of assimilation, the failure of the family unit, the impossibility of raising children in an era of inevitable destruction. Because Shyamalan’s melodrama is so tender and compassionate, his violence is even tougher to swallow.
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel)
Anthropologist filmmakers Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel’s overarching project centers on visual proximity. They reimagine optical apparatuses to facilitate intimate confrontations with disavowed subjects (e.g., the GoPro-gaze of Leviathan’s commercial fishing seascapes or the dizzying extreme-close-ups of cannibal Issei Sagawa in Caniba). New, unseen (and perhaps unwanted) images. With De Humani Corporis Fabrica, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel use custom-made surgical lipstick cameras to venture into the corporeal depths of several operations across eight Parisian hospitals. It’s a rare movie (excluding Osmosis Jones) set predominantly inside the human body. I’ve written longer about this film and spoken with Castaing-Taylor and Paravel about it. Still, De Humani remains a towering and confrontational work with ambitions to reorient our relationship to our own anatomical coil.
Like a spiritual successor to Stan Brakhage’s The Act of Seeing With One’s Own Eyes, De Humani broadcasts a landscape of fleshy interiority, forcing an identification between ourselves and the indiscernible caverns of tissue sprawled across the operating table. As always, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel’s approach is non-expository, hinging on spectators’ subjectivities. Visceral abjection breeds self-confrontation. Questions arise: how do we identify with flesh? How do we reckon with the human paradox of existing day-in-day-out as a body, obsessing over own our own corporeal form, and manipulating it towards an elusive ideal of aesthetic perfection, yet still feel nauseous at a glimpse of its interiority?
When I first saw De Humani, it was accompanied by a rowdy audience’s gasps and cries of repulsion. I’m still awed by the cognitive dissonance of a slow cinema screening evoking the uproarious exclamations you’d expect from a circus-freakshow spectacle. Of course, what can you expect from the filmmakers who induced the largest audience walkout I’ve seen with Caniba? De Humani selects particularly taboo surgeries (eyeball, urethral, c-section, etc.), forcing engagement with “the grotesque.” Yet amidst the soundtrack of gags and shielded eyes, De Humani became a site of radical self-interrogation for me. This is a deeply beautiful film, even on a superficial level. When we move beyond bodily tangibility, inner canals and arches of bodies materialize as flowing, abstract colours and textures (reminiscent of other, less embodied Brakhage movies). Yet the crux of the film is tissue. I watched spellbound, forced to face my aversion to on-screen flesh and by extent: fear of my own flesh, fear of myself. When Brakhage titled his movie The Act of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes, it’s a subtle irony; all images are filtered through his camera. Our naked eye sees nothing. With De Humani, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel’s lipstick camera produces a space to see ourselves in the most disavowed corner of human vitality. To see the unseeable, and identify with it.
When winter approaches, many people decide to give skiing a go for the first time. Although it is an exhilarating and glamorous sport, not everyone enjoys the high speeds and the possibility of constant falls. However, the breathtaking landscapes and the luxury amenities are adequate reasons for almost everyone to want to go on another ski holiday trip. In this article, we’ll focus on the top ski resorts for non-skiers worldwide so as to ensure that you will have a plethora of fun activities to do during your winter holidays other than dreading skiing.
Ski Resort 1: Zermatt, Switzerland
You cannot go wrong with a destination in the Alps, Europe’s largest mountain range. There are numerous luxurious ski resorts in many beautiful countries, but Zermatt in Switzerland stands out. Its diverse terrain and dramatic slopes make it a haven for ski lovers, but non-skiers are captivated by its Alpine charm. You should book your accommodation in the ski resort or nearby charming towns at amazing prices through Erna Low in advance because travellers from all around the world visit this iconic ski area. Apart from skiing, you should explore the charming car-free village, indulge in Swiss chocolate tasting, and savour the exquisite local cuisine.
Ski Resort 2: Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown, also known as the ‘Adventure Capital of the World,’ is one of the best ski resorts in the Southern Hemisphere loved by thrill-seekers and tranquillity enthusiasts alike. What are some activities for non-skiers to enjoy there? Go on an idyllic cruise on Lake Wakatipu or take a leisurely stroll along the charming streets. Queenstown offers something for everyone, thanks to its vibrant arts scene, exquisite wineries, and outstanding dining options. This is your big chance to visit the nearby Fiordland National Park, which is famous for its stunning fjords.
Ski Resort 3: Aspen, USA
Aspen, Colorado, is synonymous with elite skiing. Don’t let its reputation deter you from enjoying the splendid experiences it offers beyond the slopes. Non-skiers can relish the town’s cultural offerings, including world-class art galleries and theatres. Treat yourself at renowned spas, shop along the chic streets, and unwind in charming cafes. The Maroon Bells, with their snow-draped peaks, offer a serene retreat for non-skiers, providing an opportunity for winter photography and contemplative walks.
Ski Resort 4: Niseko, Japan
Another international destination that offers more than world-class skiing and deserves a spot among the top ski resorts for non-skiers is Niseko. Non-skiers can immerse themselves in Japanese culture by visiting traditional onsens, which are hot springs, or enjoying a delightful stroll through the charming village of Kutchan. Take a day trip to the nearby city of Sapporo to experience the world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival, a spectacular showcase of ice sculptures that transforms the city into a winter dream.
Hovvdy have released a new single, ‘Portrait’. Following recent offerings ‘Jean’ and ‘Bubba’, the duo of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor produced the single alongside Andrew Sarlo and Ben Littlejohn. Check out a lyric video for it below.
M.I.A. has released a new mixtape called Bells Collection. The 16-track collection includes contributions from Skrillex, Blaqstarr, and Troy Baker. You can stream it via her OHMNI website.
Talking about the new project in a press release, M.I.A. wrote:
BORN ON THIS DAY, A PRESENT, OHMNI PRESENTS – BELLS COLLECTION,
DROPS CHRISTMAS DAY 3PM GMT 25/12/23. TIS THE INDIAN WINTER SEASON.
I PRESENT YOU A GIFT FROM THE EAST, STAR OF WONDER STAR OF NIGHT. BEAUTY. BRIGHT. SACRED. COSMIC. MAGNETISM. A COLLABORATION W/ GOD, LIMITED EDITION HEAR IT ONLY ON OHMNI.COM.
IF YOU WANT TO SHARE THIS GIFT, CLICK SEND, TO YOUR FRIEND! MERRY CHRISTMAS! JESUS SAVES
M.I.A.’s most recent album, Mata, came out in 2022. Ahead of its release, the singer revealed in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that she is now a born-again Christian.
