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Eden Richards

People

Harry and Meghan “put planned cannabis brand on hold”

Sources on the West Coast have told Off-Grid.net that a large, legal cannabis farm which had been gearing up production for a super-high quality, recreational cannabis launch from the Sussex Royals, has been told to stand down.

According to rumours circulating among trimmers at the holding, the brand was to be fronted by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and would have been called Her Royal HIGHness.

The possible launch of the brand was consistent with other rumours emerging from London about the reasons for the Sussexes departure from the Royal Household. A Cannabis blog in London filed a report based on inside sources that part of the reason for the strained relationships at the palace may have been the Sussexes support for Cannabis legalisation.

The West coast sources asked to remain anonymous and it was not possible to contact the Sussexes for confirmation because Buckingham Palace press office longer represents the couple.

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People

Zac Efron illness irony

Zac Efron was filming a new off-gid adventure series entitled “Killing Zac” when he was taken ill and nearly died, in a story that will be useful publicity for the upcoming series.The High School Musical star is now said to have been given the ‘all clear’.

Efron was rushed to hospital, flown to Australia from Papua New Guinea by a medical evacuation crew after battling a ‘form of typhoid or similar bacterial infection.’

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Efron was in a ‘stable’ condition when he was admitted to to St Andrews War Memorial Hospital where he was kept in for seven days.

32-year-old Zac had jetted out to Papua New Guinea to film the daredevil series ‘deep in the jungle of a remote, dangerous island, falling off the grid for 21 days”.

The Quibi adventure series is said to star and be executive produced by Zac, who would forego all luxuries to survive with nothing but basic gear and a guide partner for the challenge.

Speaking ahead of filming, Zac said: “I tend to thrive under extreme circumstances and seek out opportunities that challenge me on every level.

“I am excited to explore any uncharted territory and discover what unexpected adventure awaits!”

Four days before Christmas, tour guide Cyril Tara posted pictures with Efron as he took him on to Kamanibit Village.

The pair arrived there by canoe before travelling to Pagwi Village.

“I am very happy to be is guide,’ said Mr Tara on December 7 as he posed for a picture with Zac.

The Californian native first found fame for starring in the Disney Channel original film High School Musical in 2006.

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People

Mike Banning’s father lives off the grid

He may be a fictional character, but Mike Banning has a huge following. In the latest movie in the Fallen franchise, Angel has Fallen, hero Mike Banning is reunited with his dad, played by Nick Nolte living in a remote forest in Virginia.

When a well-coordinated drone attack decimates the POTUS’s heavily-armed security detail, Banning’s razor-sharp reflexes once again save the leader of the free world from … well, let’s just say that in the latest instalment in the Fallen franchise, the bad guys are a little closer to home.

Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), who was Speaker of the House in the original film and VP in the sequel, has been promoted to President in Angel Has Fallen.

But its Nick Nolte who steals the film as the woods-living, gun-toting hermit named Clay Banning.

As the surname suggests, he is our hero’s long-estranged father. On this level, Nolte also brings some much-needed emotional depth to the movie.

But it’s the comic side that is worth waiting for. It’s a treat every time Nolte is on the screen. I doubt it will happen but he deserves another Oscar nomination for this role. He’s had three so far — for Prince of Tides, Affliction and Warrior — without a win.

A man of deep integrity, Trumbull is a West Wing kind of president; the sort you wish you had. But after being pulled unconscious from the freezing lake into which he and Banning dive to evade the drone attack, he remains in a coma.

On the basis of damning evidence that links Banning to what appears to be a Russian Government-funded assassination attempt, Trumbull’s hawkish Vice President (Tim Blake Nelson) gears up for WWIII.

Banning’s colleagues also swallow the frame-up story hook, line and sinker. Let’s hope nothing happens to this seasoned operative — presidents may come and go, but without Banning at their side, democracy doesn’t stand a chance.

With the US law enforcement authorities in hot pursuit, Banning sets off across the country to simultaneously clear his name and arrest Armageddon.

The action is fast, furious and without unnecessary frills. The firepower is impressive and the multiple explosions would light even Michael Bay’s fuse.

There’s also an attention-grabbing sequence, in remote forest in Virginia, in which Banning is reunited with the father who abandoned him — a crusty old war vet with a yellowed moustache who lives off the grid and is played by Nick Nolte.

ANgel has fallen ** 1/2 Rating: MA15 + Running time: 121 minutes Director: Ric Roman Waugh Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith – Democracy doesn’t stand a chance without Mike Banning

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People

Thomasin McKenzie interview

Thomasin McKenzie, 19, came to fame as a Hollywood actress playing an off-grid character.

Q: You broke out in last year’s Leave No Trace – trailer, playing a teen who lives off the grid in the Oregon forest. Did it teach you anything about disconnecting?

A: I was banned from using my phone for a couple weeks as preparation for the film, which was eye-opening. I’ve always had a conflict with Instagram—it’s an amazing platform to express yourself, but on the other hand, it’s a trigger for a lot of mental illnesses, constantly comparing yourself to people. I learned it doesn’t deserve all your time and energy.

Q:That Debra Granik film still has a rare 100 percent favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned you awards buzz and your choice of Hollywood roles. How do you pick your projects now?

A:I gravitate toward projects that have a strong message led by talented people with really specific visions.

Q: Who’s on your bucket list to work with?

A: Olivia Colman and Rooney Mara. And I love [director] Jane Campion.

Q: Your father is a director and your mother is an acting coach. Was there ever any doubt that you would go into the family business?

A: My parents always made it clear that acting isn’t as it seems in the media—it’s a hard job, and you’re often very vulnerable. At the beginning, I was acting more for pocket money and time off from school. But when I was 13, I did a film called Consent about rape and the abuse of power in the police force, and it made me realize that acting can be a platform to make a difference.

Thomasin McKenzie spoke with V.F.’s Britt Hennemuth

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People

University boss quits her job to live off-grid

“I was a cognitive psychologist, an academic happily ascending the career ladder,” said Dr Alison Green, head of Scientists Warning.

“I knew about climate change, and I knew that things were looking a bit gloomy, but I hadn’t really acquainted myself with the facts. The alarm bells weren’t ringing. People tend to have faith that those in high places know what they’re doing when it comes to climate change. It’s a trap I fell into myself.
I moved into academic management and got what was effectively my dream job: pro-vice chancellor at Arden University, a campus and distance-learning university based in Coventry. In July 2018, I came across Prof Jem Bendell’s Deep Adaptation paper, which was going viral online. Here was someone with credibility and a good track record who, having studied the science, was saying that we’re no longer looking at mitigation, we’re looking at adaptation; that societal collapse is inevitable.
Being a vice-chancellor no longer meant anything to me. I gave up my career, and I’m so much happier as a result
People are starting to talk about the kind of spiritual awakening you get in these situations: an “ecophany”. I concluded that banging on about climate change on social media was not enough, and became involved with grassroots activism. Being a vice-chancellor no longer meant anything to me. I gave up my career, and I’m so much happier as a result. Now I talk at conferences and events about the need for urgent action and I have taken part in direct actions with Extinction Rebellion, including the closing of five London bridges last November and speaking in Parliament Square during the April rebellion.
The science shows that societal collapse could be triggered by any one of a number of things, and once triggered, it could happen quite quickly. I suppose I’m being protective towards my four children, aged between 16 and 24, but in the event, I feel I need to be somewhere where I’m growing my own food, living in an eco-house, trying to live off-grid. It would give me some security; I don’t feel secure where I live in Cambridge at the moment – I’m concerned by thoughts like, “What would happen if I turned the tap on and there was no water?”. On our current trajectory, cities will not necessarily be safe places in the future – possibly within my own lifetime, certainly within my children’s.
I am putting my house on the market. My aim is to move to north Wales or Scotland and get a smallholding. I’ve had to think differently when house-hunting: is it energy-efficient? Does it have access to water? Is it above sea level by a certain amount? Where’s the slope facing, so I can grow food. I need to get solar panels up, and a friend has offered some help with a wind turbine. It’s a way …

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Community

Off-Grid Editor on BBC2 chat show

The editor of Off-Grid.net is appearing on BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire show, shortly, in a piece about a family of 4 who went to live off the grid in Wales.

The slot featured the ways to create energy including biodigester gas, and the difficulty of getting planning permission. Editor Nick Rosen spoke about the need for all new homes in the UK to be built off the grid. He said it was easy and cheap to do, and the other panellists agreed with him that off-grid communities had a better chance of success than single households.

Nick Rosen is currently setting uo an off-grid community in Majorca. you can apply to join him there.

Contact nick at nick@off-grid.net

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People

Steve Miller leaves his island haven

Rocker Steve Miller’s remarkable off-grid retreat in Washington’s San Juan Islands finally sold for $8.5 million. The property was originally listed for $20 million in 2014.

The most recent list price on the 39-acre compound was $9.95 million, and the sale closed in mid-May for about $1.5 million less.

For comparison, Oprah Winfrey paid only $8 million for her 43-acre estate on nearby Orcas Island, so Miller made out OK even though the sale price was a massive reduction.

“It is difficult to really know about the price,” said Tere Foster of Compass, who represented the buyer. “There are very few sales that occur in the San Juan Islands above $7 million. However, the compound did cost more to construct than the purchase price.”

The compound is ideal for your average music mogul or tech titan who wants to get away from it all. Blasted out of rock, the 11,000-square-foot main residence has off-grid capabilities for up to a year.

“The buyer is a former tech executive who was especially drawn to the property’s private 410-foot, deep-water dock, the only one of its magnitude within the San Juan Islands,” according to the listing agents, Dan Gottesman and Sam Chapin of Engel & Völkers Seattle.

The acreage includes hiking trails and views of Friday Harbor, Zen gardens, a Japanese-style teahouse, and a horse pasture.

The property also comes with 300 feet of water frontage, and the deep-water dock can accommodate three yachts.

The main house has three bedrooms and four baths. The basement is currently set up as a recording studio, which could easily be transformed into additional bedrooms or offices. But who’d want to mess with a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s studio?

In addition to the main house, there are eight other structures on the property, including a barn, shop, greenhouse, and caretaker’s accommodations.

“It’s one of the most beautiful properties I’ve ever seen,” says Gottesman. “The woodwork alone, handcrafted by local artisans, is a whole ‘nother level.”

Foster agrees: “The home is beautifully constructed,” she says. “All the woodwork and casement is furniture-quality throughout.”

The home is “less than 2 miles from town, wonderfully private on 36 acres with that 300 feet of waterfront,” she adds.

Perhaps the sale of Miller’s San Juan Islands retreat bodes well for his similar retreat in Ketchum, ID, which has been listed for $16 million since 2017. Its 13 acres include an 8,000-square-foot home, three guest cottages, a 1,600-square-foot art barn, a 4,000-square-foot recording studio, and a 2,700-square-foot archive building.

Miller’s Steve Miller Band is heading out on a national concert tour in mid-June. Fans will be able to relive the glory of smash hits such as “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Take the Money and Run,” and “The Joker.”

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Land

Off-Grid Millionaire AirBnB’s his Hawaii home

Each Christmas tech geek Graham Hill heads to Hawaii. At first he would shack up in a small, dilapidated cabin on Maui and spend afternoons kitesurfing at Ho’okipa beach.

Then he was offered a 2.2-acre plot of land. As founder of LifeEdited, a Manhattan property consultancy selling simple, small-space living, he had no plans to upgrade, he saw an opportunity. He would build an experimental eco house that would be similar to, yet different from, the two small apartments he had created with LifeEdited.

“At first I had no plans for the land,” he says, “but Hawaii is a great place for off-grid living. There’s lots of sun and wind, and where I am in Haiku, a decent amount of rain. It’s also the perfect temperature, so you don’t need heating.” He joined forces with the local architecture and engineering company Hawaii Off-Grid, and spent a year creating a 1,000sq-ft holiday home that is fully sustainable and creates more energy than it uses.

Wafer-thin, almost-invisible solar panels line the roof, lithium batteries in the garage store their energy, and a giant tank in the garden holds up to 20,000 gallons of rainwater. The two bathrooms come with compostable toilets and the whole space is fitted with the same sort of flexible, functional furniture that fills Hill’s micro-apartment in Manhattan.

Three of the four bedrooms feature fold-up beds and can change function; one becomes a games room, another morphs into a film room and the third becomes an office. The 330sq-ft lanai (terrace) is fitted with pop-up tables and loungers that swivel around a dining table.

When pushed to the max, the house can sleep eight and cater for 20, and every room offers views to the ocean and the West Maui Mountains, which shape-shift under ever-changing skies.

Thanks to two internet start-ups, 47-year-old Hill was already a millionaire before he founded LifeEdited in 2010. The first was a web-design company, which he sold in 1998 for $10 million; the second was sustainability website TreeHugger, which was purchased for the same sum in 2007. Featuring everything from how to build a chicken coop to the latest self-driving cars, TreeHugger presents eco issues in millennial language.

“It shows that going green and doing good doesn’t have to be non-profit,” explains Hill, whose mantra, “Design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy,” has seen him invited to speak at TED conferences.

It’s new territory. Wind and solar technology is racing aheadEven for Hill, who is also a trained architect, going fully off-grid was a challenge. “It’s new territory. Wind and solar technology is racing ahead and it’s hard to know what to choose. Do you, for example, keep electric water heaters and have solar on the roof? Do you get a massive system that can deal with anything, or a small one with a generator …

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Houswives star publicity still in Green dress
People

Teri Hatcher living in a van for her YouTube series

In a great piece of self-promotion, actress Teri Hatcher first encouraged and then denied the story that she was down and out and living in a van.

in fact Ms Hatcher allowed herself to be Papped sitting in her VW Microbus while filming a series called Van Therapy.

“Teri Hatcher is ‘Desperate For Cash & Living In A Van’said one discussion in ‘Celebrity News and Gossip’ started by yaso1, yesterday at 3:56 PM.

In a pristine vintage VW bus? I don’t think so.

“Teri Hatcher Shocking Photos Living Camper Van.” said another headline.

“Getting off the grid is white people’s version of being woke,” said another chat board comment

“I would love for it to be true but I doubt it. Homegirl has been working since the 1980s plus she has residuals from multiple tv shows” said another commment.

Teri Hatcher herself spoke out on Thursday against Star magazine’s claim that she’s broke, homeless and living in her van, calling it ‘totally absurd.’

The 53-year-old actress told KTLA 5 ‘It’s categorically false. I am not broke. I have done very well investing my money. I’m not homeless. And I’m not living out of my van.’

She continued: ‘I am shooting my YouTube series Van Therapy in my van.’

Her interview with KTLA 5’s reporter Sam Rubin took place in London on Thursday, which is International Women’s Day.

Teri said that this was the perfect time to talk about it, with International Women’s Day as well as the Time’s Up and #MeToo movement.

The TV star said on KTLA 5: ‘The voice of women collectively is saying “We’re not just going to take it and accept it and be quiet about it all, because we have for decades.”‘

Adding: ‘I just felt like even not for me, someone has to say “you can’t do this. you can’t egregiously lie, hurtfully, with such a ridiculous story that it’s a kind of harassment and bullying that we can’t take anymore.’

Sam reported that Terry is speaking with her lawyer about possibly seeking legal action.

Teri has owned the green 1978 VW bus camper for many years but has never lived in it.

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Coolio at the Great GoogaMooga Festival
People

Coolio ‘preparing to live off the grid’

American Rapper Coolio has told a newspaper he is preparing for a social collapse and plans to end his days off-grid.  “I’ve acquired knowledge of people and the world — knowledge that will help me survive in any given situation” he told the SundayTimes. ” I can track stuff. I can fix a car. I can build a house. I could build a wind turbine if I wanted to.

“I’m preparing to live off the grid, without electricity, air conditioning and heat. You could say it’s preparation for an apocalypse or a natural disaster. The poles are shifting and I’m not optimistic about the future,” he said.

Coolio,  best known for his hit single Gangsta’s Paradise, would like to get rid of the entire tax system — and believes tax is illegal under the US constitution.  “If I was in charge, I’d get rid of tax completely. I’d get rid of money too. I’d go back to the barter system. In my opinion, and according to the constitution of my country, tax is illegal.”

The Grammy award-winner, who says he is not on good terms with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), believes investing in people, gold and diamonds is the best way to save for his retirement. He admits, though, that he has an expensive shoe habit and buys a pair “at least once a week” — sometimes for as much as $1,000 [£785].

He does not personally own any property – “Property can be taken away from you by “eminent domain” [the right of the government to seize your property]. That can happen to anyone in America. I’m going to put all my money in people, gold and diamonds.

 “As for gold and diamonds, that’s something you are always going to be able to use to get food and water. I’m thinking ahead to the time when a bottle of water is going to cost $10. Hopefully, I won’t live that long, but I think that time will come.

Back when he was starting, said Coolio “to make ends meet, I hustled. I sold things: drugs, shoes, jewellery, whatever I could get my hands on. The name of my first album was It Takes a Thief, you know? I’ve been around the block a few times. It made me determined — determined to not live like that for the rest of my life. I got mad at myself. I told myself: “You should be doing better. You’re smart enough — you should be Steve Jobs [the founder of Apple] or someone like that. Get off your ass and go get some money.

“I had to sleep in my car. Sometimes I didn’t have enough money to pay the rent and would get thrown out of where I was living. Other times, I went hungry. I was fortunate in that I had good friends around me who would …

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millie bobbie brown wide smile
People

Comic Con star yearns for Bora Bora

“Stranger Things” fans gave Millie Bobby Brown — the 13-year-old breakout star of Netflix‘s sci-fi series — pure and unmitigated rock-star treatment on closing day of this year’s Indiana Comic Con.  highlights of the session – she yearns for an off-grid life and she hates shopping.

Brown’s Q&A was peppered with bio info you might find in a teen-focused magazine from the “Stranger Things” era:

Where would you like to visit? “Bora Bora, because it’s off the grid.”

What’s your favorite color? Purple.

What’s your TV obsession? “Friday Night Lights” and “The Vampire Diaries.”

Music favorites? Gorillaz and Whitney Houston.

Give her space when she’s eating in a restaurant or trying to catch a flight.

And don’t bother sending Eggos, the breakfast treat closely identified with Eleven. Brown is wary of hidden cameras and poisoned waffles.

When doors opened to the large hall where Brown answered audience questions, the first of 500 or so attendees ran to grab prime seats as if the event were a Harry Styles concert. It took exactly one fan into the session, 13-year-old Addison Tuttle of Lexington, Ky., for Brown to field her first request for a date.

After someone said Brown’s YouTube videos are a source of encouragement when this particular fan feels unwanted or unimportant, the “Stranger Things” actress stepped down from the dais to deliver a hug. Tears fell for multiple fans when given the chance to talk to the actress who portrays telekinetic youngster Eleven.

Christy Blanch, the Q&A’s moderator and owner of Muncie’s Aw Yeah Comics store, paused to note the affection in the room.

“I have been doing this for four years, and I have never seen this amount of emotion in questions,” Blanch told Brown.”I did Carrie Fisher’s panel and nobody broke down like this.”

Brown, a native of Spain who spent early years in England and now lives in Atlanta where “Stranger Things” is made, appeared comfortable in the setting.

She agreed to pose with a Godzilla action figure supplied by a fan who asked about Brown’s role in the upcoming film “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” When asked to showcase her rapping skills, Brown said she felt like singing and belted out an a cappella minute of Emeli Sande song “Read All About It (Part III).”

Wearing black, low-cut Chuck Taylor tennis shoes, Brown told the story behind the Victoria Beckham-designed rabbit shirt she wore this Easter Sunday.

“I hate shopping,” Brown said. “My mom tricks me into going shopping. She says, ‘Oh, we’re just going to get Starbucks,’ and here we are! We were in Target the other day, and she said, ‘Just try on this. It looks really cute and you can wear it to the con.’ I said, ‘I’m not trying it on. Just buy it and we’ll see if it fits.'”

Regarding the signature pink dress with the Peter Pan …

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How I Relax – by Jessica Ennis-Hill

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill DBE is a retired British Olympic Gold track and field athlete

“The Peak District in the UK is the most beautiful place. I’m maybe biased because my grandparents live there in the village of Castleton. As children, me and my sister spent a lot of time out there and the nearby villages, off on adventures. I’ve got lots of great memories of us as a family.

My grandparents live just below the castle, and we would go sledging on the hills and in the summer we would get ice cream and go for long walks. I didn’t like long walks when I was little but we used to a really long one up Mam Tor. Now I look back and think it was fun.

Going to Derbyshire is the opposite of where I lived growing up in the centre of Sheffield, with noise and traffic. Around Castleton is really hilly. Behind where my grandparents live is Winnats Pass, where the road winds up through the hills and over to Manchester. There are massive cliffs and rocks; it looks like something out of Game of Thrones. It’s really beautiful and dramatic.

My grandma used to work in the caverns at the Blue John mine and I used to love going down there. I think I’d be scared now, as I’m a bit claustrophobic. But the Blue John is magical.

When I was younger my sister and I wouldn’t want to go home. Now it’s lovely to go and visit and come back home refreshed. When I was training, I would head up to Castleton for some down time and to relax. The signal is terrible, so you don’t have to worry about emails and what might be going on back home.

You can grab a couple of days detached from everything.

I’m lucky it’s on my doorstep and I try and get there regularly. A few weeks ago I took my little boy Reggie to his great-grandparents. They love having him over. It’s weird to look in the bedroom where we used to sleep when we were little; it always seemed massive but it’s a tiny box-room.

It’s not somewhere I go to be alone. I always spend time with the family; when I go round my grandma has invited five of her friends. It’s not a place I can be incognito.

The summer is my favourite time of year as you can do so much more. When it snows up there, it really snows.

The drive from where I live in Sheffield doesn’t take long — you pass through the villages of Hope and Hathersage, where Andy and I got married. I’m excited about making new memories out there. We love taking our labrador Myla on massive walks. It’s wonderful having that connection from my childhood and I want Reggie to enjoy it too.”

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