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Could CBD-Infused Lifestyle Products Be The Next Big Cannabis Marketplace?

Brendan Bures
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Could CBD-Infused Lifestyle Products Be The Next Big Cannabis Marketplace?

In the heart of Texas, during the country’s largest entertainment festival, there were vendors selling cannabis. Now, this wasn’t cannabis as typically rendered—they weren’t selling bud or common forms of the plants you’d see from retailers in states with legalized marijuana. Instead they were selling hemp-derived CBD products.

That’s because in the state of Texas if cannabidiol is derived from a legal industrial hemp plant, it isn’t subject to state regulations established by the Texas Compassionate Use Act. Instead, hemp-derived CBD is considered an essential oil, in the same family as lavender or peppermint, and can be sold legally.

“Industrial hemp products are safe, legal and can be purchased on-line or on the shelves of hundreds of retail locations in Texas,” Coleman Hemphill, executive director of the Texas Hemp Industries Association, told PR Newswire. “Thousands of Texans have purchased and benefited from the use of industrial hemp products such as hemp hearts, protein, milk, cosmetics, and CBD oil.”

One of the businessmen taking advantage of Texas’ hemp oil marketplace is Skyler Johnstone, who initially entered the cannabis space in Washington with his company Skywalker Delights, a freshly-baked edible retailer.

In Austin, he founded Bee Delightful, which sells organic honey infused with 250 milligrams of CBD hemp oil. The honey comes from treatment-free, organic bees rescued and transplanted to their co-op of farmers at the Bee Delightful sanctuary.

“Coming down here to Texas, I’m way ahead of most people that I run into as far as the cannabis plant because I’ve spent time, years and years, researching it, talking to industry professionals, scientists, doctors, medical patients,” he told us.

Part of what precipitated Johnstone’s move to Texas was the Cannabis Patient Protection Act that took effect in Washington last summer. That move forced the medicinal marijuana marketplace to be folded into the recreational one, and due to some shady business dealings, the big players essentially froze out some of the smaller guys like Johnstone.

“That hurt me. I wanted to be part of Initiative 502, [that legalized] recreational marijuana licenses,” he said. “But guess what happens? If you’re part of that as a producer myself, I would never meet my customer ever again. In Seattle, they have it broke down in three different tiers: producer, processor, and then they have the retailer. You cannot be all three.”

But with Bee Delightful, Johnstone has found a new avenue in Texas. Some within the state are expecting a possible “green rush” this year through the hemp marketplace and could become the new hotbed for growing cannabis to extract CBD.

Bee Delightful and Johnstone are poised uniquely to capitalize on this burgeoning market and really have “struck honey gold.” Every jar that a customer buys also goes to saving 100 bees, which is significant in a time when the rusty patched bumble just went on the endangered species list.

“This market is ready and it’s a bubble that’s about to pop,” Johnstone said. “Even if I have 1 percent of that market, we’re going to be killing it. I think I already have 1 percent of that market because we have such a superior product. The people want it, they just haven’t asked for it yet, or seen it yet.”

With information coming out regarding CBD’s effectiveness treating pain relief and the other benefits the product has, CBD-infused products, like honey, could be an untapped potential within the cannabis space and become part of many’s daily routines.

“We’re approaching this as ‘Life is good’ meets cannabis industry,” Johnstone said. “That’s where we’re at. It’s a lifestyle brand.”

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In Your Face Homer Simpson: Watch This Guy Eat 50 Doughnuts In 10 Minutes

Amy Hansen
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In Your Face Homer Simpson: Watch This Guy Eat 50 Doughnuts In 10 Minutes

You may know Matt Stonie from such roles as The Man Who Chugged a Gallon of Pumpkin Spice Latte, The Man Who Ate 25 Big Macs in One Sitting and  The Man Who Ate 103 Tacos in 8 Minutes. And after watching this video, you’ll know him as The Man Who Ate 50 Doughnuts For Breakfast.

The competitive eater from San Diego is at it again, using his overworked small intestine and a cup of water to digest 50 doughnuts as fast as he can, which is about 10 minutes.

While the doughnuts look tasty, the ease of this challenge does not. Watch as Matt stuffs his pie hole with eight boxes of Entenmann’s chocolate, glazed and powdered doughnuts (dude has sponsorship now, so skip to the 2:45 mark for the action).

 

About a year ago, Matt ate 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts in 34 seconds, beating the previous record by 11 seconds. Looks like that simple challenge built up some confidence in the guy!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEwstoSSgwH

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This Performance Artist Got Trump’s Campaign Slogan Tattooed Around His Butthole

Sam Jones
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This Performance Artist Got Trump’s Campaign Slogan Tattooed Around His Butthole

While you were busy donating a couple bucks to charity, a performance artist was bending over to endure the most cringe-worthy act of resistance you’ll see today: Getting Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” presidential campaign slogan tattooed around his own asshole.

Abel Azcona, a queer performance artists who’s participated in or individually performed 500 projects around the world, got the tattoo done at the Defibrillator Gallery in Chicago.

His reasons for this extreme act of bravery(?) are best heard in full, from the man himself. Azcona told the Huffington Post:

“I always worked my body as a weapon and a political tool. For more than 12 years I have been performing political and social performances and exhibitions that have led me to jail, detention or death threats. I believe in the empowerment of the body and of the pain. The anus is a pleasure zone for many people, and an area of sin for others. I think demystifying what the anus is, and writing a fascist political motto like that in my anus, is a clearly critical and subversive action.

“I believe that all of us who consider ourselves different should never be silent. We must attack. We must use our body as a weapon of empowerment. We are faggots, women, Mexicans, blacks and different. And we are brave. Art is the greatest critical, social and political weapon I know.”

Truly empowering words from an activist whose butthole is likely very sore.

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Brett Ratner Calls Out Rotten Tomatoes As Total Crap

Brendan Bures
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Brett Ratner Calls Out Rotten Tomatoes As Total Crap

A note to all film critics and fanboys: Brett Ratner really isn’t a fan of Rotten Tomatoes.

Talking at the Sun Valley Film Festival last weekend, Ratner made it clear he wasn’t against film criticism or open discussions regarding a movie’s merits. Rather, Ratner was frustrated by the aggregation of those reviews the website Rotten Tomatoes provides and the sort of declarative statement it can make on a film’s success.

Here’s what Ratner said via EW:

The worst thing that we have in today’s movie culture is Rotten Tomatoes. I think it’s the destruction of our business. I have such respect and admiration for film criticism. When I was growing up film criticism was a real art. And there was intellect that went into that. And you would read Pauline’s Kael’s reviews, or some others, and that doesn’t exist anymore. Now it’s about a number. A compounded number of how many positives vs. negatives. Now it’s about, ‘What’s your Rotten Tomatoes score?’ And that’s sad, because the Rotten Tomatoes score was so low on Batman v Superman I think it put a cloud over a movie that was incredibly successful.

It’s worth breaking down the specificity of Ratner’s Batman v Superman mention. Ratner’s company RatPac Entertainment co-financed Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman (as well as other Warner Bros. features).

And as EW mentions, Batman v Superman is an “incredibly successful” movie in a financial sense. It cost about $250 million to make and grossed more than $900 million worldwide. On Rotten Tomatoes, it was a major disappointment with its 27 percent score, though it did score 63 percent audience score.

More Ratner via EW:

People don’t realize what goes into making a movie like that. It’s mind-blowing. It’s just insane, it’s hurting the business, it’s getting people to not see a movie. In Middle America it’s, ‘Oh, it’s a low Rotten Tomatoes score so I’m not going to go see it because it must suck.’ But that number is an aggregate and one that nobody can figure out exactly what it means, and it’s not always correct. I’ve seen some great movies with really abysmal Rotten Tomatoes scores. What’s sad is film criticism has disappeared. It’s really sad.

Doing their due diligence, EW reached out to Rotten Tomatoes regarding Ratner’s comments. What’s surprising is RT Vice President Jeff Voris sort of agreed with Ratner in his statement.

Via EW:

At Rotten Tomatoes, we completely agree that film criticism is valuable and important, and we’re making it easier than it has ever been for fans to access potentially hundreds of professional reviews for a given film or TV show in one place. The Tomatometer score, which is the percentage of positive reviews published by professional critics, has become a useful decision-making tool for fans, but we believe it’s just a starting point for them to begin discussing, debating and sharing their own opinions.

So maybe don’t just check the numbers next time on Rotten Tomatoes?

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With ‘The Heart Part IV,’ Kendrick Lamar Reminds Hip Hop The King Is Back

Brendan Bures
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With ‘The Heart Part IV,’ Kendrick Lamar Reminds Hip Hop The King Is Back

Kendrick Lamar is the greatest rapper alive because he’s the only one who flips the game on its head every time he rhymes. This is not hyperbole. Last year, Kendrick was featured on projects by Isaiah Rashad, Travis $cott, Sia, A Tribe Called Quest, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, DJ Khaled, Kanye West, Danny Brown, and more. (We don’t acknowledge that uninspired, unctuous Maroon 5 verse, because top 40 radio doesn’t either.) That is a who’s who of pop and rap, both commercial and underground.

Consistently Kendrick is contextually great on these songs—he graphs himself into the track’s DNA, then chooses from his litany of styles (melodic, possessed Gemini, that weird alien voice he does, west-coast funkman, etc.) and raps in a way that elevates the whole record, not just himself. He is both rap’s greatest team player and its best talent, and every time we forget the latter, every time we forget about “King Kendrick,” he drops a track like “The Heart Part 4.”

Now we don’t really care about the subliminal shots aimed the direction of Big Sean and Drake in the track because we don’t really care about rap feuds and beefs outside the 24-hour news cycle excitement of their release. Unless names are mentioned, subs are such a blatantly transparent marketing strategy today (and perhaps always were), and rarely produce memorable songs, just fun moments. (Since we’re here: Nas’ “Ether” throws and lands better punches but Jay Z’s “Takeover” is a better overall song, and therefore will always be the winner in that battle.) Make no mistake: “The Heart Part 4” is a really fun moment.

But it’s also a great standalone record. Kendrick tells you he’s the best alive—“Yellin’, ‘One, two, three, four, five / I am the greatest rapper alive’ ”—but he also shows you. As the track’s production flips about four or five different times, top hat rhythms appearing the dissolving away while different voices echo and answer Kendrick’s rhymes, and not once does K.Dot fall off the beat. Instead he drives it faster and further, recklessly swinging away as the production twists and turns in a way somewhat reminiscent of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” intro. Almost everything that qualifies Kendrick as great he displays in full here.

Plus, yes, the raps are the type of incendiary bars we’ve come to expect from K.Dot. “You jumped sides on me, now you ’bout to meet Westbrook” might just inspire Russ to evolve from his current demigod status into, like, a legendary Pokémon (my guess is Mewtwo). “I said it’s like that, drop one classic, came right back / ‘Nother classic, right back / My next album, the whole industry on the ice pack” is a boast no other rapper from the New School, like Drake, Big Sean, J. Cole, could make. And that bit of him re-writing his verses in beat, audible paper crumbling, showcasing his pursuit toward perfection, is a huge flex, elevating him further past any rapper accused of ghostwriting.

It should be mentioned this isn’t exactly a new move for Kendrick Lamar. Last time he released a track in his “The Heart” series, “The Heart Part 3,” and finished the fusillade of possessed bars by naming a date, that day brought us good kid, m.A.A.d. city. This time he calls out April 7. If  “The Heart Part 4” was an excellent chess move in the hip hop game, that day could be rap’s checkmate.

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Gossip: Internet Pissed At Kylie Jenner’s Makeup Co. For Latest Blunder; Kris Jenner Planning New Animated Kardashian Series

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Internet Pissed At Kylie Jenner’s Makeup Co. For Latest Blunder; Kris Jenner Planning New Animated Kardashian Series

Kylie Jenner’s makeup company, Kylie Cosmetics, is in hot water again.

The lip kit queen is getting blasted with hate after revealing the names of her five matte blushes. Ranging in colors from fuchsia to pale pink, the new line of products, which goes on sale this Friday (March 24, 2017), features cheeky and titillating monikers like “X-Rated” and “Hot and Bothered.”

However, fans were not pleased when Jenner unveiled a blush named “Barely Legal” and another one dubbed “Virginity.” Taking to Twitter, many accused the 19-year-old of blatantly using sex to sell.

Kris Jenner Planning New Animated Kardashian Series Featuring Kim And Her Sisters

Their hugely popular fly on the wall reality show helped turn Kim Kardashian and her extended family into household names.

But after ten years, thirteen seasons and numerous spin-off shows, negotiations are reportedly underway to develop an animated series based on the successful Keeping Up with the Kardashians template.

TMZ claim family matriarch Kris Jenner has held talks with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in a bid to pitch an outline for the proposed show.

While Kim, and her sisters – Kourtney, Khloé and Kendall and Kylie Jenner – will reportedly join a host of familiar faces should the animated series go into development, transgender father Caitlyn Jenner will not be involved.

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

Drink Like It’s Spring Break Without Breaking The Bank With These 7 Wines

Erin James
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Drink Like It’s Spring Break Without Breaking The Bank With These 7 Wines

Eyes gazed and cursor flashing: you’ve been caught at your desk again daydreaming of the time you won a booze-fueled wet t-shirt contest in Puerto Vallarta. Now as a responsible adult — and legal purchaser of alcohol — your spring break doesn’t have to consistent of a whistle-blowing bartender dumping free tequila down your gullet. Your springtime alcohol getaway can be one of leisure and budget-saving relief! Here are seven wallet-friendly and imported white wines to export your mind back to those white-sanded glory days.

Caves da Cerca 2016 Famega Vinho Verde ($8)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA3chQ3Bc0s

Directly translating to “green wine,” this bubbly Portuguese favorite is sessionable perfection. A light, citrusy and sprightly wine that can be consumed by the bucket-full at roughly 8 percent ABV. Buy in bulk.

Marqués de Cáceres 2016 Rueda Verdejo ($9)

Altogether now: ver-DAY-ho! This Spanish powerhouse maker pumps out its version of the region’s most planted white grape with zest and zeal, a crisp and crunchy sipper best served ice cold and next to a poolside veggie platter.

Le Jaja de Jau 2015 Pays d’Oc Sauvignon Blanc ($9)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFzkTxUuvpu/

The scents and flavors of white flowers and tropical fruits are captured and capsuled in this bargain bottle from France’s Languedoc region. The screw top allows for easy access when the sun randomly rears its head.

Berger 2016 Grüner Veltliner ($10)

Truly only four words needed here: bang for your buck. A single Hamilton (and change for tax) will get you this pop-top liter bottle of refreshing, fruity yet dry wine. Oddly enough, the Austrian import is a natural match for sushi.

Yaluma 2016 Y Series Viognier ($10)

Lush and brimming with tropical fruit like a Mai Tai without the hangover, creamy flavors of honeysuckle and melon bring the Bahamas to the glass, by way of an Australian winery. Drink with heaping hot salsa and salty tortilla chips.

Inama 2015 Soave Classico ($14)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMr9UvVDPNN

From the Italian Garganega grape variety comes this wine from its namesake region in the hills of the Veneto. Lemon peel, tangy green apple, ripe pear, chamomile and other herbs fill out the profile on this white that deserves the presence of fish n’chips.

Terrazas de los Andes 2016 Torrontés Reserva ($15)

Teaming with the smells of spring (melon, lychee, white flowers, peaches), the Argentine variety fills the glass and palate with wide flavor and freshness you’d expect from season. Just like Mexico to college students, Torrontés should be consumed while its still young and fresh.

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SXSW 2017: Our Favorite Surprises And Most Disappointing Music Performances

Brendan Bures
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SXSW 2017: Our Favorite Surprises And Most Disappointing Music Performances

Austin’s South by Southwest may be over, but we’re still processing everything we saw that wild week. To help explain to those who couldn’t attend a feeling of what SXSW shows are like, we offer this small taste.
Photos by: Abigail Slider

Best Performance: The Roots & Friends

Part of what establishes The Roots as so foundational to contemporary music is their subtle, wide-open ears. They can flip between backing Hov and Hamilton and not lose any of their essential flavor. When you read the lineup of who the Roots considers musical Friends—a sampling: Rae Sremmurd, Shakey Graves, Brandy, Cloves—it doesn’t really make sense at first sight. Heard in context with the Roots, you simply shut up and listen. (For full list and experience: check here.)

Favorite Show: Francis And The Lights

I’m kind of outing myself as a Francis head, but so has your favorite: Chance, Kanye, Bon Iver, Drake. His music feels both intimately vulnerable and oddly protective as a listener. He really goes for it, and willing to try anything—like when Francis climbed the paneling of his stage, danced from the highest peak (a good 15-20 feet tall), making me think I would witness death, then jumped down to stage level, clutching the microphone and crushing the hook of the song he was performing. It was just pure exhilaration.

Best I-Didn’t-Think-I’d-Ever-See-Him-Perform Performance: Jay Electronica

I won’t repeat myself too much after writing a full recap here. But for a week filled with surreal moments, Jay Electronica was the one performance I couldn’t stop questioning, “Is this really happening right now?”

Most Disappointing: Taylor Bennett

Some necessary caveats: Taylor Bennett does not receive his proper credit because he happens to be Chance the Rapper’s little brother. Restoration Of An American Idol is one of 2017’s more underrated hip hop projects. “Neon Lights” should be an underground summer jam, but probably won’t. You can see I’m supporter of Taylor’s music, which might explain the crushing disappointment to watch him rely so heavily on his backing track while rapping. I won’t accuse him of lip-syncing, but his performance didn’t connect in the way it should. It was strange, too, that he rapped a verse a cappella mid-show and sounded great. The whole show would’ve probably been better that way.

Best Surprise: Rag’n’Bone Man

Some friends told me to meet them at YouTube House to watch Rag’n’Bone Man. They’d heard him the night before and, with little else happening that afternoon, wanted to see him again. On the flip side, I didn’t know there was an artist even named Rag’n’Bone Man. First impression as he walked on stage: he’s a big, bearded fellow, a bit soft-spoken, shy even, a dark rum drink in hand. Then he opened his mouth to sing. His voice is so full, ragged (get it?) in a world-worn way; it hits you in the gut like a bowling bowl to an empty stomach. Two nights later I saw him again. The venue was St. David’s Church, which I couldn’t resist even though it was 1 a.m. and had been drinking. Apparently the performance was an emotional experience because a woman in the pew ahead of mine, turned around then clutched my knee, a pitying-yet-understanding look on her face. She didn’t need to explain the gesture.

Most Hype: Denzel Curry

This is a man who cannot be contained. Dissatisfied with the crowd’s energy, Denzel Curry jumped down the stage and started moshing fans while rapping his ass off. This happened multiple times and not once did his syllables falter, even as he pushed fans wildly flailing into him away. This all happened before he went “Super Saiyan II.” Best to keep that moment a secret, though.

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Gossip: Hugh Jackman ‘Wolverine’ Wrap Present; Penis Pics; Kim K Changes Locks Every 5 Days

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Hugh Jackman ‘Wolverine’ Wrap Present; Penis Pics; Kim K Changes Locks Every 5 Days

It’s not uncommon for actors and crewmembers to give each other presents when a film ends production, but Hugh Jackman revealed he got a very naughty wrap gift when he finished X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the first of the three standalone movies starring the gruff X-Man.

Moviegoers didn’t see the full Jackman, but the footage was shot. And when it came time for the wrap party, “my wrap gift from the director [Gavin Hood] was a bag which had all the film… with my dick in it,” Jackman disclosed.

“So, I got frames of film, and I am looking, going, ‘Okay, hello!’”

The 48-year-old Aussie says the production team offered him a cock sock for the scene, but he demurred, claiming “it’s just like college.” (Side note: We would like to visit Hugh Jackman’s college.)

Asked about how little Logan looked in living color, the star replied, “It’s pretty good, I think. I’m fine.”

Kim Kardashian Has Locks And Security Codes Changed Every 5 Days

Kim Kardashian told her family about a Paris robbery flashback triggered by husband Kanye West arriving home late.

“I totally freaked out,” Kim admitted. “He always comes up the back stairs. Like, I always know he comes out the stairs that go into my room. But he came up the front stairs, and all I heard were his feet stomping up stairs,” she told Kris and Kourtney of husband Kanye, 39.

“I can’t sleep without four guards outside,” said Kim. “Like, at three in the morning, he came in, and that’s the same time the robbery happened. After a concert, he can’t hear that well, so I’m going, ‘Hello, hello!’ Like, exactly what I did and he’s not responding to me ’cause he can’t hear me,” she added. “And then he walks in, and I’m like, ‘Hello, a**hole.’ [I’m] like, ‘We’ve got to come up with a plan. You’ve got to announce yourself'”, she said.

“Kim is still terrified. She demands all the locks and security codes get changed every 5 days. She is taking no chances,” sources tell NAUGHTY GOSSIP. “Her security is now her number one priority. She doesn’t care how much money it costs. She will never be in that terrifying position again. Never.”

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

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Wisconsin Town Thinks A $1 Fine For Marijuana Is Too Much Money

Taylor Berman
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Wisconsin Town Thinks A $1 Fine For Marijuana Is Too Much Money

The city council in Monona, Wisconsin recently a year and a half debating whether the fine for marijuana possession should be lowered from $200 to $1. But in the end they agreed that even $1 was too much to pay for such a harmless crime, and agreed to remove any fine for marijuana altogether.

High Times reports the new ordinance has removed all fines for possession of marijuana in public or private spaces if the person is at least 21. Smoking in public, however, is still against the law and carries a $200 fine.

But how does local law enforcement feel about the new ordinance?

“If the community values are, ‘Marijuana is not that serious of an offense’ and they want to have a $1 fine, or no fine, that’s their opinion,” Chief Walter Ostrenga told High Times. He added that while there are only 60 to 70 marijuana possession cases per year, he worries that eliminating all fines could lead to an increase of weed in private homes, which could expose more children to the drug.

“I can totally see both the arguments for and against, but I think there is an initiative, a change coming forth that is going to be a reduction of those fines,” Monona Mayor Bob Miller said.

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