deerstalker

https://nerdist.com/article/jenga-playing-dog-is-a-canine-genius/

Dogs are people’s best friends, to paraphrase King Frederick of Prussia, and this video of a pooch playing Jenga demonstrates that sentiment perfectly. This Australian Shepherd (who’s possibly mixed with a Border Collie), has enough grace and focus to match any human game participant we’ve ever seen, and her brick-pulling skills are only the tip of the KONG toy.

Holy crap, this is incredible: A dog playing Jenga. Turn-taking, fine motor control, apparent understanding of the aim of the game. I would not have guessed a dog could do this. pic.twitter.com/cewL7wmaK5

— Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) December 29, 2019

The shockingly brilliant canine brain featured in this clip (via Buitengebieden on twitter) is named Secret, and she’s the pet, friend, and presumable confidant—considering that name—of Seattle teenager, Mary Peters. Peters has set up an Instagram account for herself and Secret, my_aussie_gal, and nearly every one of their videos features the frisky, furry genius pulling off some kind of feat that will make you stop and say: Dogs can do that?! 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mary & Secret (@my_aussie_gal) on Dec 22, 2016 at 8:49pm PST

On top of playing Jenga, Secret can also dance, sled down hills, do yoga, dispose of her own garbage, place Christmas ornaments on a tree, mop, play the drums, draw, paint, ride a scooter, and help build the Dyson Spheres necessary for the development of a Type II Kardashev civilization. OK, there’s no proof of that last ability, but if there’s any dog who could pull that off, it’d be Secret. Just check out the little brainy beauty as she performs a trust fall with Peters. And as a fun thought experiment, imagine doing this with a cat—you’d have to have bags of donor blood on hand considering the scratching that would ensue.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mary & Secret (@my_aussie_gal) on Jan 9, 2017 at 10:31pm PST

There isn’t a ton of information regarding Secret or Peters online aside from their Instagram account, and various tidbits of unverifiable information from a handful of news outlets like The Sun, so it’s hard to say exactly how Peters managed to teach Secret to be such a wunderdoggo. Although she does note on her Instagram that she’s an advocate of R+ and clicker training. For those wondering, according to Dogster, R+ is a form of positive reinforcement training; “clicker” refers to the use of a handheld contraption that makes a click sound, and is also generally used for positive reinforcement training.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mary & Secret (@my_aussie_gal) on Aug 17, 2017 at 6:20pm PDT

Even though Secret is obviously a maximum-level smarty paws, it should be noted that Australian Shepherds are, for the most part, some of the smartest dogs out there. According to the American Kennel Club, “Aussies are remarkably intelligent…” and are perfect for anybody “looking for a brainy, tireless, and trainable partner for work or sport….” They do love to be very active though, so if Secret has inspired you to make an Australian Shepherd part of your family, make sure you’re ready to keep up. Or at the very least have some of these back-flipping quadruped bots on hand to help make things interesting.

What do you think about Secret and her mad Jenga-playing skills? Are you desperate to pick up an Australian Shepherd after watching these clips, or do you prefer your pup be more of the derp variety? If your dog is as brilliant as this one, have it write out your opinions in the comments!

Feature image: Lyn Figura

The post Jenga-Playing Dog Is a Canine Genius! appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/time-to-ring-in-the-new-year-with-a-new-playlist-trollando-style/

We’re pleased to offer you the musical stylings of Orlando Jones this New Year’s Eve with a brand new playlist for 2020.

Written By: Orlando Jones

Let’s take a ride. Will you ride with me? Will you ride for me?” Bilquis didn’t respond. Ibis filled the silence with another careless whisper, “You are a Rose In Harlem.” “This isn’t Harlem. We are worlds away from that place.” She inhaled deeply, “My sister is happy.” Bilquis was holding something inside her that made her skin luminescent. It glowed like black gold. Ibis watched her, transfixed. He hung on her every word from the noose inside his head and swung back on familiar things. “You disappeared, for weeks. Where did you go? Where’s Nancy?”

“Take A Number, Why Don’t You? (Mr.) World asked the same question, so did Wednesday.

There is no Us between me — and ANY of you.”

“Can We Pretend?” The question slipped from his slips too easily. “Have you ever seen Nancy shapeshift? He transitioned into a female spider right in front of me. Her tentacles formed an Asase Ye Duru. My sister’s symbol.” Ibis, “I would have killed Anansi long ago but for his mother. His father sees him for who he truly is but The Goddess of Goddess dotes on her son. Rumor has it, it’s Really Love. I’m told he often keeps her Warm On A Cold Night.

A Cheshire Cat grin formed on Bilquis’s face. “Feels Like, you’ve forgotten how true love feels. I’m going to teach how to LOVE AGAIN… (Ibis swallowed his thirsty smile) “…or be leftovers. Sometimes love the second time around is fresh… but most of the time, it tastes like Leftovers.”

Ibis chirped, “Ooowee. Bilquist turned her head Sideways and leaned in, “I Wasn’t Looking for this.

Sensing danger Ibis cried out “Have Mercy, your majesty I meant no offense?” Bilquis smiled warmly, “I Idolize You, Slave.” Fate Added The Bassline Feeling Good in Jardin d’hiver She saw The Look of Love in his eyes. That hastened his demise.

The decision to consume another being rested solely with Bilquis. She spoke French Fighting Suspicions as she pulled Ibis deeper inside and Danced Him To The End Of Love.

“Talk to Me!” he screeched realizing his fate. “You will be confined to the European quarters of the nebula where treacherous nobility who challenged my throne long ago, still reside.

Defiant Ibis reasoned, “I am already a Black Man In A White World! That is not a punishment for me.”

“Living the American Dream is life with too much cream in Black Coffee.” Bilquis quipped.
“Don’t get Carried Away your Majesty. I meant no disrespect to your family.” Bilquis, shook, rumbled and shapeshifted. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars trembled as one God Surrendered to another. A beautiful female spider jumps and fires two webs forward at an angle and one backward and exclaims “That’s just how I feel!”. Creating a slingshot that launches Anansi into flight as her tentacles turn a Y web formation into a V. Grains de Beaute of what was once a deity fall as the trickster God flies away. Bilquis was never there. Nancy was up to his old tricks again. This time, he not only cheated death — he killed Him.

You can follow the BGN Playlist on Spotify here.

The post Time To Ring In The New Year with A New Playlist! Trollando Style! appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/review-qt8-the-first-eight-and-my-love-hate-relationship-with-quentin-tarantino/

One of the most influential and controversial filmmakers of our time — Quentin Tarantino — is profiled in QT: The First 8 which covers his 30-year cinematic history.

I’ll begin by saying I’m not your average Quentin Tarantino fan, and as a Black woman, I have a love/hate relationship with the filmmaker. Both race and gender aside, there’s also other issues I’ve come to learn about his auteur style that begs the question of whether he has an original creative bone in his body. When I was in film school, I wrote a paper about Tarantino because his Reservoir Dogs resonated with me, as well as the story of Tarantino himself. I, too, used to work at a video store spending my evenings and days off watching movies until there was no tomorrow.

I was that geek at the video store who knew the name of every actor in every movie and can tell you where to go find what you’re looking for even if the description of what you wanted was vague. The character Randy Meeks from Scream and I were definitely kindred spirits. I also dabbled a bit in screenwriting and admired the fact that the chamber piece flick Reservoir Dogs was written in three days. This movie has some of the best dialogue, including the compelling “Like A Virgin” speech at the opening scene. It is definitely worth your time.

I’ve gone through ebbs and flows of the social consciousness critiquing race, feminism, and art through film. And as I’ve grown older (and hopefully wiser) my relationship with Tarantino’s work is like an ex-boyfriend. I keep coming back knowing he’s no good for me, but I love the time we share together and he’s my guilty pleasure. I can’t really show him around to my friends and family and share public displays of affection for fear of ridicule — yet instead I text him in secret and we only hangout on very specific terms.

Here’s the thing. Tarantino’s movies will be indelibly printed in our collective minds and his impact on pop culture cinema is nothing to be ignored. He has his share of fans and his share of haters and perhaps that’s why he’s such an enigmatic figure. However, as a fan and sometimes former fan, I see why I’ve loved and also disliked who and what he represents.

Let’s start with the problems and then we will buff around the jagged edges with positive stuff later. Before I dive into the review of QT8: The First Eight, I first want to establish that this documentary serves as a love letter to the filmmaker from his devoted colleagues, friends, and partners — it does fawn over Tarantino a bit. This, of course, is completely understandable given that many of the subjects in this film, like Tim Roth, Richard Gladstein, and Michael Madsen, have worked with him for nearly 30 years. A slightly less subjective view of the man would have created a more thoughtful study and analysis of this deeply complex filmmaker.

Tarantino’s problems began with Spike Lee’s critique of his overzealous use of the N-word. Then there’s the copying (or inspiration) Tarantino derives from other films. Nearly all of his films have similar plots, cinematic shots, or character arcs from movies that have impacted him over the years. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, Tarantino said, “I steal from every single movie ever made.”

There’s also the issue of his use of putting women actors in dangerous situations, such as using Uma Thurman as a stunt driver in Kill Bill Vol 2. That resulted in a permanent neck injury. Or Quentin Tarantino himself nearly squeezing the life out of Diane Kruger in Inglorious Basterds. And let’s not forget his 25-year relationship with a sexual predator.

Here’s the thing though, QT8: The First Eight addresses all of this. The doc doesn’t spend too much time on it because the idea is to get you to focus on his body of work as an artist and to adore him as the perfect director that he is, but there it all is as a footnote to add to QT’s history.

The documentary starts from Reservoir Dogs (one of my favorite films of all time) and ends at Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It tells the tale of how Tarantino made his first trip to Cannes that year presenting Reservoir Dogs after leaving his friend’s couch in Los Angeles and came back a star. Miramax bought the rights to the film, which began the start of his relationship with Harvey Weinstein.

The documentary explores films that target race like Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained and addresses the incessant use of the N-word. Actor Jamie Foxx gave some commentary about the hypersensitivity surrounding the criticism. Stuntwoman and actor Zoe Bell shared her thoughts about QT making the egregious error of putting an untrained Uma Thurman in a stunt car without a team to support her, resulting in a car accident that could have killed her. She simply said, “It was a mistake.” And Diane Kruger’s response to QT putting his hands around her neck strangling her to make the scene more real, which nearly took her life as well, was — “Quentin is very hands on.”

I did appreciate the film devoting time to Harvey Weinstein and the many allegations against him from women (including actors who have worked on Quentin’s films) featured in the doc. The doc never directly dives into QT’s direct relationship with Harvey outside of being a producing partner; it simply regurgitates headlines and news stories intercut with scenes from Tarantino’s films, which I thought was kind of an odd form of editing. There is a chef’s finger kiss moment that reveals the character of Harvey Weinstein as told by Michael Madsen in animated form that you just have to see for yourself. The story is just too hysterical to believe but makes so much sense about Weinstein’s issues with entitlement and control.

QT’s presence in the film is minimal. There are no soundbites or interview clips from him directly; his story is told through images of old stock photos and crafty animation. I personally would have wanted to learn more about some of the quirky aspects of QT’s work like his weird foot fetish — if you haven’t noticed, Tarantino has a thing for women and feet. I also would have liked more script to screen story. I’m always fascinated with how a screenplay becomes a movie. True Romance was a damn good script and I would love to know more of the story behind that.

Now here’s the highlights of what I did love. I appreciated that they mentioned the QT multiverse, which is kind of like the Marvel Cinematic Universe because this guy has managed to integrate all of his fictional characters into his films. Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega and Reservoir Dogs’ Vic Vega are brothers. Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained is connected to Paula Schultz, the infamous tombstone The Bride was buried alive in.

Funny moments of QT interacting with the cast, like Eli Roth recalling a moment when they got wasted on the set of Death Proof, showed a humorous side to the filmmaker.

My feelings for QT will likely forever remain complicated, but I just can’t stay away from his movies. And his reel and body of work is something that cinephiles will talk about for quite a long time.

The post Review: ‘QT8: The First Eight’ and My Love/Hate Relationship with Quentin Tarantino appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/what-you-need-to-know-keto-diet/

Keto — you’ve probably heard about it, or seen some of the weight loss transformation stories on Instagram. But what the hell is it exactly? And how did it become the newest diet craze, offering people the ability to drop tons and tons of weight, in a short amount of time?

The ketogenic diet (or referred to as an update of the “Atkins” diet) was first introduced in the 1920s as a way to treat epilepsy, a seizure disorder. Medical professionals used the diet for two decades until modern epilepsy drugs were developed and it fell out of favor by the 1950s. 

Then, about 15 years ago, the diet reemerged. This time as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Since then, it’s become the newest (and most effective) fad diet for people wanting to (or needing) an extreme weight loss solution — often times to remedy a health condition, or obesity.

And even your favorite celebs (Halle Berry and LeBron James) have incorporated the keto diet into fitness regimen to help them elevate their game.

We’ve enlisted expert help to get down to the bottom of the keto diet, so you can make the determination for yourself if you want to try it.

How does it work?

The diet is designed to get your body into a state called ketosis whereby your body is so low on carbohydrates it starts burning fat for fuel. “The ketogenic diet requires that you cut out carbohydrates in order to force your body to use ketone bodies as its major food source,” says Vanessa Rissetto, a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist who specializes in Weight Loss, Weight Management, and Medical Nutrition Therapy.  “You would keep your carbohydrate load low somewhere between 20-80 g depending on if you’re male or female, current weight etc and load and load up on lean proteins and healthy fats.”

What do people eat on keto?

Expect lots of meat and veggies on your new keto diet. “Lean proteins like chicken, fish, lean cuts of steak like flank, and pork tenderloin” are a win according to  Rissetto. “You can also have eggs, and tofu. Cheeses are also a good source of fat and protein along with healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds. You would get your carbohydrates from non starchy vegetables like brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, and cauliflower.”

What do you need to know before starting?

Many people think going keto means you can have endless amounts of meats, cheeses and fats, such as avocado. But be mindful of the amount of sodium and fat that you intake through the diet. According to Rissetto, “Focus on healthy fats in the right amounts — just because they’re “healthy” doesn’t mean you can eat as much as you want. The serving size of oil is 1 tbsp, or 1/2 of an avocado – this will help you continue to eat a varied diet while sticking to your plan.”

What are the ways to ensure success?

Like any diet transformation, there are a few things you’ll need to do to ensure success. Rissetto says the first thing it to “get a food scale, so you can measure out the appropriate servings of protein for your size and your goals.” Portion control will be extremely important to ensure that you’re not overeating on things that can be potentially harmful (such as cheeses and saturated fats).

“You also want to make sure that you plan ahead, always having keto friendly snacks on hand such as nuts, eggs, beef jerky to help ward off hunger,” she says. Don’t know which snacks you should try? Thankfully, there are now plenty of non-perishable options that you can take with you on the go, when you’re not able to plan ahead. A few good snacks options are Cacao + Greens, Catalina Crunch, The KTO-Bar, The KTO-C8 Chews, Moon Cheese, Coconut Jerky, zero calorie sweeteners such as Wholesome Sweeteners, or for the wine-lovers, even FitVine. 

And lastly, according to Rissetto, “You also want to hydrate, and get plenty of exercise – people forget that water helps with weight loss, and you need to make sure you’re consuming enough in order to help your digestion stay on track.Use an app like My Fitness Pal to help track your macros, and use ketone sticks so you know when you’re in ketosis – be mindful that this could take up to 7 days.

The post Considering Keto In The New Year? Here’s What You Need To Know appeared first on Essence.