Happy Friday, guys!
I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

This movie is one I wasn't sure I wanted to watch at first; a colleague recommended I saw it. I still can't believe I'm stuck on it. Apart from an episode of The Good Wife (Season 7 I think) and Guzaarish (which I had seen a few years back), I don't think I've ever been so connected to a movie that centered on Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide before. I also think there isn't enough awareness about Euthanasia.

By the way, what do you think about me reviewing Bollywood movies on the blog?

My own version of a background:
A young, rich and athletic man becomes paralyzed (from the neck down) in a bike accident. It's two years later and he's the same way. The medical verdict was that he won't get better, but had to still go in once in a while for checkups. He decides to go the route of assisted suicide and his parents of course weren't supportive of the decision, so he gives them 6 months to think about it.

His mother hires a care-giver, in the hopes that she (the care-giver), will be cheerful enough (within the 6 months period) to change his mind. He did get a really nice, kind and careful one, even fell in love with her, but she wasn't enough to change his mind.

Source

Review:
This movie makes me question euthanasia so much. On one hand, I understand perfectly that no one could share the pain he's feeling and no one has any right to ask him to keep being that way for the rest of his life, regardless of if his care-giver never complains, or his parents die and leave enough money to continue taking care of him. It's just really sad that someone was saved from death, just enough to be alive to still be close to it and they just give up. He was so paralyzed that, even when his brain was active, he had to be fed and couldn't even move his neck.

On the other hand, I'm thinking that there had to be a reason why he remained a member of the living club. Emilia Clark (Luisa Clarke) was able to show him that there were many other things he could do, regardless of his health or situation. I loved the fact that she genuinely cared for him and was prepared to do anything, but then I ask myself; what if she grows tired doing the same thing at some point?

Rate: 10/10

Recommendations: Love By Chance, The Dressmaker, Barbershop The Next Cut

Assisted Suicide is a really serious issue and right now, I'm seriously confused as to whether it should be combated or supported. First, it is fully a person's choice to decide to end their lives based on what they're going through. Secondly, it is a sin and in my opinion, there has to be a reason why, instead of dying, they were saved. Third and final thing is, it is a really sad and helpless situation for the person's loved one.

What do you think of Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide? I'd really love to hear your comments.

Till my next post, xx

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Hi guys!

How are you enjoying the new week?

For those that follow me on Instagram, I had posted a certain picture a few weeks ago that was taken by my best friend. By the way, if you aren't following me on Instagram yet, you should! @lolaogunnupebi. I also mentioned that post that I visited the Lekki Conservation Centre with my friends and had so much fun! Today, I introduce to you,  Ebonite Photography by Mosope Oduwole.

He's an engineer who loves photos  and had been briefly taking photos since 2009. Just last year, he switched professional and I can attest that it's been really beautiful so far.

He's super artistic and loves to bring reactions to life, capture emotions and freeze moments; which is all every photographer wants to do, really.

He generally does portrait photography, but hopes to diversify into wildlife and wedding photography, so if you're in the Ontario area and need a photographer to cover your weddings, or even need a portrait shoot, he's your guy. If you're anywhere else around the world, he's also available to travel; just make the call and like magic, he'll be there to make your special day magical.

We also visited the Lekki Conservation Centre in January and he was one of our photographers for the day. There's so much to pick from but, see some of the pictures he took below:

We were waiting on our other friends, so we did a mini shoot. I'm so in love with the pictures he took of us.

This is Feyisayo, She's a very old friend (my bunk mate in secondary school), a Pharmacist, an aspiring make-up artist and Mosope's bae. I'm probably going to feature her business on the blog next, what do you think?

I performed a few poems for the friends here :)

Honestly didn't know what this was about. I guess the excitement got to me too much.

Here's a picture of all of us, trying the jump-style. The photographer really captured this well. We also had a baby over - his name is Dante, he's my friend, Boladale's son and he's super cute :)

 An auto-picture of us; L-R: Toyosi, Dipo, Mosope, Another friend, Another friend, Oreofe, Me, Abiola, Angela and Feyisayo. Other friends not in the picture: Lala and Oyin.

Here's a beat picture of Angela, Feyisayo and I. Even my scarf felt the enjoyment. We went on the canopy - which was scary for a few people. We also played the "floor ludo" (If that's what it's called) and it was so much fun because everyone was practically cheating and screaming.

I think I'll be visiting LCC again. To connect with Mosope (Please please please go follow him and his photography journey, there are hidden and amazing memories he surely can bring back to life for you), Please follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @mosope_iv and @mosopeIV respectively. 

P.S: How do you like my new blog look? Loving some of Bloggers' new themes! 

Have you been to the Lekki Conservation Centre? What did you think?
Never been there? Do you think you would like to visit?

Have a fabulous week ahead!

Till Friday, xx

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Hi guys!

Hope you had a great weekend?

I was at #BookHubTheEvent on Sunday and was really happy to see some of my favorite poets and my friends again. We discussed Poetry and Social Media and it was quite an enlightening session. I also bought two books: Chimamanda Adichie's "We All Should Be Feminists" and Okey Ndibe's "Arrows of Rain". I started reading the latter yesterday morning and I'm enjoying its direction so far. Did you go for the event? How did you find it?

Usually around this time and especially on some work days, stress could set in. A few people have favorite days of the week, saying it's Monday, but a whole lot of others will disagree. When I'm stressed or bored at work, I do any one of these five things. They're pretty basic and easy to do and depending on the type of person you are, you just might find one of them useful or even strike a balance between two or more options.

1. Doodling

Doodling is my to-go thing to-do when I'm stressed. I have always been quite artistic but, I promise you that doodling doesn't require any artistic experience. When you just keep drawing random lines and shapes on a sheet of paper, it takes you out of your current state. It relaxes you and takes your mind off things that might be stressing you. Remember you aren't doodling for an art exhibition, so it might as well look like a baby's fascination with a pen when you're done; at least the goal has been achieved.

2. Give in to distractions

You will always need distractions for times like stress. This is because, they are exactly the things you don't want, but are very necessary because they take you away from the fire that stress has created in your head. Distractions give you a clean slate. It comes in different variations and can help place your head anywhere else but the task that's stressing you out.

3. Rubix Cube

Try solving a rubix cube; consciously or unconsciously. The unconscious part would do just what the first two points do: take your mind off things and calm you down. The conscious part helps you to see the stressful task differently. You probably have been stressed because you have been limiting yourself to only two methods of problem solving or strategy. The rubix cube is a decision making type of "game" that could open your minds to the many possibilities you hadn't even thought of.

4. Music

This is probably cliche, but even as a writer, music helps me sometimes to do certain things creatively. When I'm stuck on a certain brief and I'm stressing myself too much with not knowing how to execute it well, one of the things I do is turn to music. I sort of feel the beats speak to me and from there, I somehow am able to concentrate on the lyrics I've always listened to, but never paid much attention to. Then I think of the brief again and somehow I'm able to coin something from it.

5. Take a dump

Absolutely the funniest thing because you can't just call excreta whenever you want. I can unapologetically say that this is one of my most effective ways to reduce stress from a task. This might only work for certain people, but I get most of my ideas (when it comes to writing) from the loo/toilet.

I honestly don't know how it happens, but I go in with an empty book and a pen and come out with scribbles. I think the toilet creates another world for you, away from the familiar faces and whatever their facial expression might do to heighten the already high pressure on you. The toilet tells you that you control this space and there are no bosses there. Just you and your task.

These methods might or might not collectively work for one person, but you could also find ways to tweak them to your taste; make it work for you. Look stress in the face and tell it to sit somewhere because you call the shots.

Image source (Apart from poster): Google.

What do you do to reduce stress at work? Which one of these would you try?

Have you read my last post?

Till Friday, xx

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Unknown

Hi guys,

Happy Friday!

A few days back, I was scrolling through my Twitter timeline as usual and I came across someone's quoted tweet saying a certain video made them cry. Out of curiosity, I open the original tweet and found out that the video was actually a short film called "Bariga Sugar" and was Nigerian too. Just because I couldn't ignore anything film, I watched the video and had my won share of waterworks.

My version of a background:

The short film is a plot that focuses on the lives of kids whose mothers are in the prostitution business. How they think, what they think of their mothers and their "numerous friends", their place in an environment filled with people in the same business and if they even aspire to something bigger or something at all. It's also about friendship in its purest form.

Review:

Let me just hint you guys; I don't have any concerns about this short film. Sometimes, you watch a movie because you just want to know what story is behind it, sometimes you watch it because you want to do a review. This film didn't even give me any cause to ask questions like: "Why is she looking too old for a young, vibrant and sexy lady?".

The costuming, location, sound, musical interludes, props, acting, dialogue was on point. Don't even get me started on the dialogue! It wasn't much, but any time there was a dialogue, my heart fluttered to hear it because it was so little and had so much meaning. When there was no dialogue, the actions, expressions and feel of the environment carried an even larger meaning. You forget that you're watching a movie, it's like this is something happening outside your window.

The hero and heroine were kids I had never even seen in a movie and they were just amazing. They reminded me of the kid hero in Beasts of No Nation. This is one type of hard work you just feel in your body and soul because you know they paid EVERY attention to detail. The short film was produced by Ifeoma N Chukwuogo (@FizzyThatcher on Twitter) and I have embedded the movie here, so you can watch it and ponder on the message, just like I did. You can also search "Bariga Sugar" on YouTube, any one that works for you as long as you watch it. A huge kudos to the cast and crew. You guys are awesome!

Have you seen Bariga Sugar already? What did you think? Let's talk about it in the comments!

NB: I don't know anyone of the cast or crew personally, but I'm writing about it because I think good work needs great recognition and this short film needs more exposure than it already has, so please like, subscribe and share as much as you can for others too. Also, I'm super proud it's Nigerian!

This is NOT a sponsored post.

Till Monday, guys
xx

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