Guava Magazine 02 by Nsikak John

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ISSUE 002 PEOPLE. TECH. CULTURE a unique confluence of rural and urban

FISHBONE Counterfeiting and piracy not only kill creativity, they raise a people who constantly thirst for fakery because of the pricelessness of it. The movie Fishbone portrays this.

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Is your head full of ideas but blank when it meets paper? I know… it happens to the best of us. We can turn your doodles to bestseller books.

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Tech Culture Design Flash Fiction Vanity People

a unique confluence of rural and urban

Guava is a monthly magazine published by Kahn Digital Limited. For enquiries: hello@kahndigital.tech Copyright worldwide of all editorial content is held by Kahn. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden. Cover photo: Makoko, Lagos. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

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The new Window Flicks allows people to watch movies together but still observe social distancing

TECH

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The COVID19 pandemic has forced people to watch movies alone in their homes or on online movie sites, but the communal fun of sharing such moments with others is still mostly a largely missed feature.

The project’s name is a wordplay on Netflix. ‘Our idea was to show that people don’t have to be cooped up behind digital screens, they can go and open their windows and watch something together with their neighbourhood,’ says Olaf Karkhoff Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

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A member of the Window Flicks team sits on the edge of a bathtub in a small bathroom, while he gets the equipment ready for the movie projection. The owner of the flat tiptoes around gleefully as large speakers boom and vibrate sound out of his living room windows for all the neighbours to hear. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

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Olaf Karkhoff launched Window Flicks in February 2020, to give people the luxury of staying at home and also enjoying social connection. The screens are usually fitted in communities where at least 20 residential units can have an unobstructed view of a large wall, standing at their balcony or looking out their windows, and is usually accompanied with free popcorn.

There has been an excited kick-off of the project currently in Berlin as anyone living in Berlin can apply to have their community participate. And more usage is expected in Munich, Brussels, and some Italian cities.

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What if, like water sliding off a raincoat, viruses could be repelled by the textiles we wear? Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel are developing surface coatings that contain nanoparticles of safe metal ions and polymers with antiviral and anti-microbial activity. Also, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh developed the liquid and virus-repellent coating made with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, the same polymer that makes Teflon nonstick) and polypropylene microfibers. This coating is applied to textiles and surfaces through drop casting, a method to coat materials by dropping the solution from a syringe. The anti-viral coatings are invaluable in places with increased risk of contamination, such as hospitals. And can also be used at home, schools, airports, public transportation and cinemas. 7

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Once they have been tested against coronaviruses, specifically SARS-CoV-2, and innovative manufacturers are sufficiently interested, these coatings are expected to be turned to products accessible for medical and other uses. Coating surfaces and fabrics with antiviral and anti-bacterial materials may be highly cost effective both to producers and users. However, in a world where more pandemics are expected, this would be agreeably worth the price.

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Fruits and veggies will now taste sweeter, thanks to gene editing

We all know that fruits and veggies are packed with lots of vitamins and minerals, but they would normally not be top of our grocery list, if there at all. Pairwise Plants wants to change that.

The food tech startup based in Durham, North Carolina, is using the geneediting tool CRISPR in an attempt to make nutritious but less popular fruits and vegetables like kale or pumpkin more appealing to the average shopper.

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Pairwise has started editing mustard greens, a peppery relative of kale and cabbage in the Brassica family high in many essential vitamins and minerals, by using CRISPR to take some of the pungency and heat out of them and to make their raw form more pleasant.

Likened to “molecular scissors,” CRISPR can be programmed to cut out and replace DNA in organisms. But the funny question is: are we eating less fruits and veggies because of our aversion to their taste?

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CULTURE

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FISHBONE Whether na okrika, aba-made, pirated movies, counterfeited drugs or fake life; it’s better to pay more for excellence and originality.

The movie Fishbone is exhilaratingly captivating in the frank portrayal of reality and sincere advocacy against counterfeiting of drugs and entertainment.

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Counterfeiting and piracy not only kills creativity, they raise a people who constantly thirst for fakery because of the pricelessness of it.

Poverty is the state of mind where the thirst for excellence has been murdered by a persistent indulgence in mediocrity.

FISHBONE DANIEL ETIM EFFIONG, SHAFFY BELLO AND MOSHOOD FATTAH LENGTH 33mins

DIRECTOR Editi Effiong

PRODUCER Victoria Akujobi

SCREENPLAY Editi Effiong

YEAR 2020

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connect with global non-comformists. place your ads on guava FULL PAGE ₦10,000 / €25 / $30 SEND A MESSAGE HERE 13

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DESIGN

Let’s hangout, playing Bini cards with unique BeninKingdom inspired outlook.

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The Bini Playing Cards, created by Nigerian illustrator, Osaze Amadasun takes us back to the ancient Kingdom of Benin and its classical arts.

Osaze spent many months deeply researching the history of Benin, and every card draws from a rich cultural heritage.

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These cards reference characters from regular court life in the Benin Kingdom. And so the King in the deck is represented by the Oba of Benin, while the Queen is represented by the Queen mother, Queen Idia. 16

FLASH FICTION

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When the bullet wound is gone I shall learn to ride bicycle again And this time I shall Remember to not join the war.

THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TO AFRICA’S OUTSTANDING POSTCOLONIAL POET CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO

@kufrenikky 17 17

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FOOL If I had a dollar for every time I said “this won’t happen again”, I’ll be dining with The Gates Here I am bundled again under the sheets, your triumph – flowing freely down my legs – the one thing I hate I use the word hate rather loosely, because oftentimes I wonder if our being together has anything to do with fate. That is our routine, isn’t it? We love and we hate and we love some and then again, we hate.

@mzmordi 18

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Rain, rainfall ran across the wall In the same world where walls have ears And weavers can weave.

@kufrenikky 19

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black where we belong my favorite song reminds me of thisday so let’s put it on replay let the king live long! social disturbances still counterbalanced income couldn’t rip the skin black, where we belong

@nsikakjon 20

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every writer needs a home to share their deepest truths. share your stories to be featured on guava send a direct message to 21

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VANITY

Shea butter… my Oree

Nature’s milk dripping from a tree Vitamins, fatty acids and minerals make three For every melanin sprinkled bodee Same sweetness since several centuries ago Sunscreen for sunbath leisure and glow Condition-her moisturize-her watch her grow For every thick frizzled afro

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Let our designers bring your imaginations to life… magazines and book covers, classic logos, business cards and brochures… just how you imagined.

What’s on your mind? 23

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PEOPLE

JAVIER CASTAN 24

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André Leon Talley for Vogue

Javier Castan is a Spanish photographer whose creative process highlights the beauty and singularity of individual photographs.

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Ayobami

@javiercastan

Sara & Xenia for Milton 26

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Listen to Eccentric Conversations.

@wildshowlive 27

YO U M AY S HOOT ME W I T H YOU R WO RDS, YO U M AY CU T ME W I T H YOU R EYE S, YO U M AY K IL L ME W I T H YOU R HATE FULN E SS, B U T ST IL L , L IKE AI R , I ’ LL R I S E. MAYA A N G E LO U