Shows
Movie Deputy REVIEWSJoker (2019)Albert Fleck, a mere man or a madman, you decide.
Original Review:
Throughout the Batman saga, we've seen Joker in different stages of mania. What we've never seen is why he is so manic. What pushed him over the edge and what keeps him going? That's what this is, Joker's back story. His life from childhood onward was complicated, to say the least. In his quest to escape his own life, he becomes a clown. Trying his hardest to bring light to others amongst the darkness all around him. When that part of his life...2024-10-2405 min
The Nordland Railway: Tracks of WarCredits‘The Nordland Railway: Tracks of War’ is written and directed by Øystein Ulsberg Brager. Music and sound design by Øystein Vesaas. An audio drama from Nordland Teater and Bodø2024.
For more information see nordlandteater.no, trailway.no and bodo2024.no
Content warning: Please note that the series deals with stories from the Second World War,, and contains depictions of, as well as references to, violence, murder and war crimes.
CREDITS
‘The Nordland Railway: Tracks of War’ was written and directed by Øystein Ulsberg Brager.
Bjørn Westlie was...2024-02-2003 min
Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 10: The Unique Strengths of an Asset-Backed Cannabis Business Model with Grant SchusterIn our tenth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Grant Schuster, the co-founder and CEO of Accelerant Holding, a PAAS (production-as-a-service) company specializing in pre-roll manufacturing for the cannabis industry.
Prior to founding the company, Grant helped build Curio Wellness in MD over the course of 4 years as the Director of Lean Manufacturing and Supply Chain, after which he went on to oversee the manufacturing division at Parallel.
These experiences, along with his prior background in culinary spice manufacturing have given Grant a strong foundation on which to build his new, revolutionary company.
2023-10-131h 03Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 9: Scaling Up a Family Cannabis Brand in the New Mexico Market with Samantha RobinsonIn our ninth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Samantha Robinson, the Chief Operating Officer of Santa Fe, NM-based vertically-integrated cannabis operator Best Daze.
Samantha, an accountant by trade, joined this family-run operation earlier this year as the head of operations, after having provided them with accounting services as a client of her firm. During her tenure with the company, she has leveraged her financial and at-scale operations background in other industries to bring tried and true best practices to Best Daze, allowing them to continue their growth while improving operational efficiencies, quality management, and consistency.
In this...2023-09-291h 15Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 8: Perfecting Pre-Rolls, Packaging and Regulatory Activism with Nathan Russell and Ben RichardsIn our eighth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Nathan Russell and Ben Richards, the owners of the cannabis packaging company formerly known as CUSTOMPACKCO (now a subsidiary of AE Global), as well as the Michigan-based cannabis processor The Lab, and innovative pre-roll brand Road Trip.
In addition to running their production facility like a well-oiled, lean manufacturing machine, Nate and Ben are vocal proponents of regulatory reform in the state, particularly regarding the newest regulation updates proposed by Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency.
The duo has managed to win on several fronts—successfully selling controlling interest in their pa...2023-09-151h 16Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 7: Building a Multi-State Cannabis Brand With a Team of Two with Lex Corwin and Sabrina WheelerIn our seventh episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Lex Corwin and Sabrina Wheeler—CEO and COO of Stone Road, respectively—a quickly-growing, multi-state cannabis brand from Los Angeles, CA that has been rapidly gaining fans from across the country.
Sabrina and Lex have a particularly unique approach to building their cannabis brand—most notably, being the only two full-time employees of their company! This hasn't stopped them from quickly expanding outside California into several other state markets, including MA, OK, MI, and NM.
They've been able to expand with only their tiny team by lev...2023-09-0153 minDiamond Miners PodcastEpisode 6: The Art of Combining Legacy Experience and Executive KnowledgeIn our sixth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Michael "Mikey" Towey, VP of Cultivation at Good Day Farm—a vertically-integrated, Southeastern US-based multi-state operator headquartered in Little Rock, AR.
Mikey has a rich background of experience in cannabis cultivation, starting with his time in the WA legacy market, followed by several roles overseeing progressively larger facilities, including the opening of the 250k sqft Salinas-based facility that is now the home of Lowell Farms.
Mikey covers a wide range of topics, including GDF unique lighting approach that allows them to produce exceptionally-high yields from th...2023-08-181h 24Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 5: Bringing an Iconic Alcohol Brand to the Cannabis Industry with Kevin FordeIn our fifth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Kevin Forde, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Fireball Cannabis, which first launched in Las Vegas, NV. Most people know the brand Fireball as the hot cinnamon-flavored whiskey loved by college kids. Kevin and his team built an edibles brand through a licensing deal with Fireball and brought that same iconic flavor over to the cannabis world.
In 4 short years, Fireball Cannabis has expanded into more than 10 states/territories and has established a strong foothold in the gummy segment—primarily due to Kevin's integration of customer service and su...2023-08-0457 minDiamond Miners PodcastEpisode 4: How to Build an Amazing Reputation in the Cannabis IndustryIn our fourth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Jonathan Kane, PhD, co-founder, and Chief Scientific Officer of Lion Labs out of Lansing, MI. Lion Labs is one of the state's most prominent processing and manufacturing operations, with a portfolio of retail brands, including their flagship brand Element Extractions—one of the best-selling concentrate brands in the state.
Rooted in Michigan's caregiver market, Lion Labs represents an artful combination of legacy knowledge and corporate/academic acumen—between three of the executives' previous roles at PepsiCo, and Jonathan's background in scientific research.
Unlike many operators in t...2023-07-211h 12Diamond Miners PodcastEpisode 3: Operational Discipline in the California Concentrate MarketIn our third episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with John Lafata, Chief Executive Officer of Big Oil Co—a Type-7 cannabis contract manufacturing operation out of Los Angeles, CA—and the cofounder of BEAR Labs—a long-standing concentrate brand from the legacy market days.
John's cannabis journey started as a consumer when he was a motocross racer, and quickly morphed into a series of entrepreneurial ventures in the medical market—starting with a greenhouse grow operation after he graduated from university in 2014, all the way to today, where he's now at the helm of one of the larg...2023-07-0757 minDiamond Miners PodcastEpisode 2: Building a Portfolio of Value in the Michigan MarketIn our second episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Dean St. Peter, Director of Production at Machine Grow and Processing and Arcanna—a vertically-integrated cannabis operation out of Michigan, with a portfolio of in-house brands, including the well-respected brands 3Lefts and Trap House Company.
Originally a professionally-trained chef and legacy-market operator, Dean transitioned to the regulated cannabis market when he co-founded Arcanna in 2019.
Dean shares many insights in this episode, including lessons learned during his time in the hospitality industry that have carried over into the cannabis world. He also shares some tips that he...2023-06-2357 minDiamond Miners PodcastEpisode 1: Social Justice, Ganja Gold, and the New Jersey Cannabis MarketWelcome to the Diamond Miners Podcast, a podcast for cannabis operators, by cannabis operators, where we explore what makes great cannabis companies great.
We talk with real operators across the US and beyond who are making moves in their markets to find out how they’re creating successful organizations that can withstand the test of time, in this volatile world that we all know as the cannabis industry.
In our first ever episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Manish Patel, JD, MBA—a seasoned cannabis operator and legal professional. Manish has had his hands deep...2023-06-0849 min
Highly ObjectiveBenjamin Ballinger, Diamond Miners ConsultingBenjamin Ballinger is a cofounder of Shryne Group, California’s largest vertically-integrated operator—with retail, manufacturing, cultivation and distribution operations across the state, and the parent company of STIIIZY—the biggest vape brand in the US. As one of Shryne’s top executive, Benjamin oversaw the massive scaling of the company through California’s initial legalization period from 2017 to 2020—with a 10x increase in company revenues between the years of 2018 and 2020 alone. More recently, Benjamin was COO of Left Coast Holdings—a Michigan-based vertically-integrated cannabis company with a successful portfolio of brands—before founding Diamond Miners Consulting—a cannabis consulting firm sp...2023-05-2451 min
Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and RegenerationPreserving Public Lands For Future Generations With Jeffrey H. RyanPublic lands are reserved for everyone’s benefit. Despite this, they are continuously scarred and killed by deforestation and wildfires. If these areas are not conserved properly, the next generations might not even see their true beauty ever again. Joining Corinna Bellizzi is Jeffrey H. Ryan, whose latest book This land Was Saved For You and Me talks about the importance of public land conservation. He highlights in his book the heroes who made a stand to save public lands from total destruction, as well as the nemeses who tried to stop their noble efforts. Jeffrey also discusses the ph...2023-04-1942 min
Cinematography for Actors019 Giving Technical Notes with Cinematographer Sean BagleyCinematography for ActorsWe teach actors the technical side of performance through education and community-building eventswww.cinematographyforactors.comJoin the CFA Community, sign up to our newsletter:https://mailchi.mp/e27e1a2bc895/newsletter00:00 - Our March 11th event! Get on the list!03:50 - How do we know Sean?06:03 - An anachronism 06:30 - The bulk of Sean's work: commercial vs narrative08:00 - Sean's journey into filmmaking09:00 - An Ode to Spy H...2023-03-0753 min
Your Lot and ParcelIf You Are in a Job, You Cannot Tolerate Anymore, What Should You Do? For more than 14 years, Zack Ballinger has been motivating individuals and audiences of all ages— at high schools, colleges, non-profit organizations, civic groups, and corporations—through his presentations, seminars, videos, podcasts, books, and articles.On the stage and from his heart, Zack brings a passion for purpose that is infectious and undeniable. As a motivational and TEDx speaker, author, and career consultant, he guides people to self-discovery that changes their lives. He provides actionable advice in overcoming Career Obstacles. www.zackballinger.comhttp://www.yourlotandparcel.org2022-05-1644 min
The Amelia ProjectInmate 10642“When are you going to take the bag off my head?”Episode 27, Season 3.With: Alan Burgon, Julia Morizawa, Julia Thorne, Andrei Zayats, Alexander Mercury, Amrita Acharia, Alexander Ballinger, Benjamin Noble, Torgny G. Aanderaa, Ravdeep Singh Bajwa, Gianluca Iumiento and Harald Thompson Rosenstrøm.Written by Philip Thorne.Directed by Philip Thorne and Oystein Brager with additional directing by Benjamin Noble.Sound design and music by Fredrik Baden.For full credi...2020-10-1233 min