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The Toxic Side of Fitness Culture

Unless you happen to be blessed with the luckiest of genes, exercise is definitely the easiest route to owning a great body. Of course, working out may not be exactly budget friendly for everyone, and most people would argue that it is a little hard. Still, it beats every other option out there. Perhaps we have not always been certain about it, but at this time in human history, the available evidence on the benefits exercise has for our overall health and physical appearance is more than adequate. So, the chances for people who hope to look better - own those toned limbs, a firm midsection and even bigger glutes - are pretty high. But it involves  work. Fitness is a matter of being motivated and staying motivated. These days, it is also looking as if that vital morale is quite easy to come by (it is not). I mean, is it not curious that so many people, many of whom you may have never met in real life are actually interested in your health and appearance, invested in mak...
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Canvases

The first time they met was not when their cars collided, in the middle of a gridlock. But Bibobra would think of the auto crash as the more remarkable moment. It was only a smashed bumper but she found herself railing at the man who had hit her from behind. 'How had he gained his license, was he blind or just callous?' And "Are you going to pay for this?" She exploded? He said nothing, which was strange because silence was acquiescence, and no one agrees to being wrong when caught in situations like that in Lagos. He ought to have been shouting back, telling her how she had caused it in the first place because she was was a poor driver who was probably texting on the wheel. There was loud honking and a couple of drivers had converged about them. For some reason, when he took out his cell phone and asked for her bank details so he could pay for the repairs, that was when she got really angry.  'This is not taking responsibility, it is just the opposite...

This Farm In Benin is Africa's Model of Sustainable Agriculture

Songhai Farms located in the Republic of Benin is perhaps the number one model of sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. The farm operates on the principle of "zero waste' where every output is utilized in a way that there is no waste, and that sustainability is assured. Basically, it is a system that mimics the way our natural ecosystems work. Father Godfrey Nzamujo, an expatriate African priest and former instructor at UC, Irvine runs the agricultural estate which he founded in 1985 with the aim of tackling hunger and creating jobs, while protecting the environment. So far, it cannot be said that he has hasn't made good success in the actualization of this vision. Nzamujo has degrees in science and engineering including a PhD in Microbiology. He lives in the farm and regularly updates his methods.  In sustainable agriculture, the farming system operates in such a way that external inputs like synthetic fertilizers, fossil fuels and other chemicals w...

War

The problem with the world is simple: it's leaders. The more one ponders on the Russia/Ukraine situation, the more poignantly true that statement appears to be. In the middle of a pandemic, amid a global economic crisis, climate change, etcetera, one leader thought: well the world is just too boring right now, let's put steam under everyone's asses, let's show them. So now, we're probably on the brink of another global war. From time to time it hits me that this is a war, a full scale armed conflict, another one in the world and I am indignant. People are dying, more will die, lives and livelihoods are being destroyed all because one man said it's time for war.  Many of us would agree that this Putin's War is just senseless. If you are not thinking in that line then you're probably on the side of geopolitical considerations for Russia which is okay. No, it's not. To attack a sovereign country especially in this age, with eve...

Africa and Climate Change

For many of us, climate change is such a distant problem, if it is in fact a problem. And this thinking is actually excusable, especially in the developing parts of the world. I mean we have way too many pressing issues bothering us just now - insecurity to poverty, political instability, war. Climate change however is a very real threat, a big bold threat to the survival of the human race and we no longer have the luxury of denying this anymore. It's all here: warmer temperatures in the earth's atmosphere resulting in large scale ice melting in the ice bound regions of the world, rising sea levels and oceanic acidification, increased occurrences of drought, flooding and other dangerous natural disasters. They are all in our faces now and the culprit is climate change, or to put it more accurately, human civilization; seeing as the phenomenon itself is largely influenced by the activities of human beings.  I'd say the whole world needs to start doing something a...

The Fine Art of Daniel Ibanez

Daniel Ibanez creates paintings that are so like mirrors. His work clearly reflects hope, beauty, and the presence of the divine in all forms of existence in the world. No matter the haste you're in, you'll definitely not fail to miss one of these creations if it's hanging from a wall along your path. They are like a soft light that somehow sinks into your being, making you feel as if you'll never know darkness again. The skill of our artist is so boldly apparent, you can see, can't you? Daniel IbaƱez is a contemporary realism artist, illustrator, and instructor of Traditional and Digital Arts from the state of Colorado, USA. The man has been painting since he was a baby and he's revealed that he's of a family of artists. His grandmother was an oil painter. Ibanez sold his first oil painting at fifteen and by the time he was nineteen, he had won awards, had had solo shows and had been privileged to have his work displayed in galleries like Abe...

Seth Globepainter

This is where I want to ask: what do these kids see and what do they make of the obvious in their sociocultural and political environment? I want to slip into my childhood. Maybe I'll find the stuff I have missed all these years while I try to figure out my own thought process and visual culture as a kid. I am only affected this way by the large-scale, childhood themed murals of French artist, Seth Globepainter. Julien Malland (that's his real name) travels the word, infusing life and colour into rather unremarkable surroundings and structures with his paint brushes and spray paints, making strong political statements subtly while at it, and learning traditional styles from collaborations with local artists. It's interesting how one can make out expressions from his faceless figures, as if their small bodies tell it all. You are also touched by the gentleness and innocence these murals bear, and this is amazing as these same creations raise awareness on ...