firsttime

Nearly a decade ago, when Ramata-Toulaye Sy sat down to write her graduation script at the end of a screenwriting degree, her goal was simple. “I wanted to tell the most beautiful and greatest African love story,” says the 37-year-old French Senegalese film-maker with a smile. “When I was growing up a lot of African stories were about misery, poverty, war. I wanted to say: we can have African stories about people falling in love.”She pauses, her grin widening. “Most importantly, I wanted to write the story of how Juliet…

It’s fitting that Chris McGilvray, a Los Gatos native, made his first documentary feature about Mount Eden Vineyards in Saratoga. He began working on the film seven years ago and now, like opening a bottle of fine Cabernet Sauvignon, he’s eager to find out how the public reacts to “Eden.” He’ll get that chance Saturday when his movie is screened at the palatial California Theatre during Cinequest — the Silicon Valley film and creativity festival where filmmakers often get their first opportunities and world premieres of…

By Zach Wichter, Bankrate.com Buying your first home can be an overwhelming experience: a high-stakes adventure that can leave you feeling elated and exhausted all at the same time. And, as a newbie, it’s easy to make (sometimes costly) mistakes if you don’t know how the homebuying process works. Whether you are a brand-new house hunter or one returning to the market after many years, you can sidestep potential pitfalls by understanding the basics of homebuying and home financing, and knowing what questions to ask. Here’s…

Nearly a dozen actors will now have an Academy Awards section added to their Awards and Nominations page on Wikipedia. Bright and early on Tuesday morning, Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the 2024 Oscars nominations live from Los Angeles. With 20 nominees across four acting categories, some names were past nominees and winners — like Jodie Foster, Emma Stone, and Bradley Cooper. But 10 nominees saw their names announced for the first time in their careers. Cillian Murphy became a first-time Academy Awards…

When the California Housing Finance Agency offered no-interest, no-monthly-payment loans last spring to help lower-income residents come up with a down-payment and fees to buy their first home, the entire budget of nearly $300 million was gobbled up in only 11 days.Lawmakers then steered an additional $225 million into the program during the state budget negotiations last year, and CalHFA is aiming to award those funds this spring. But there won’t be a mad dash for cash this time — instead of handing out the loans on a…

When 2022 ended, Denver metro realtors predicted interest rates would drive this year’s housing market. And while they expected the rate increases would stabilize the market, few anticipated those rates would suppress sales activity as much as they did in 2023. As 2023 ends, Denver metro realtors say they’ve learned five lessons this year: Interest rates suppress inventory Bret Weinstein with Guide Real Estate said rising interest rates created a major market slowdown. “We thought prices would drop, but instead, they…

In order to curb scams that use online transactions, the government of India is thinking of ways to add some friction bewteen first time transactions between two parties, if the amount is over Rs 2,000 The government of…

Too Long; Didn't ReadBuilding Blockroll: The Journey in Six months. It's been six months since we laid the foundation for Blockroll. We've had massive challenges, fired a few of the amazing people we hired, and even thought of giving up the whole company. Here are a couple of things that I've learned while building a startup. Too Long; Didn't ReadBuilding Blockroll: The Journey in Six months. It's been six months since we laid the foundation for Blockroll. We've had massive challenges, fired a few of the amazing people…

Publishing is brutal. Writing a book is difficult enough, but selling it is another challenge that most authors feel unprepared for. Social media has always been a bit of a crapshoot when it comes to selling anything, but somehow TikTok has amassed a massive cohort of readers and authors who have the power to make any book—even one from a small press by an unknown author—a bestseller.Mourning the Loss of Addison Rae’s Debut Album | The Meme MachineShawn M. Warner, the first-time author of Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of…

Nahjee Maybin feels fortunate to be fulfilling the American dream of graduating college, landing employment and saving enough money to buy a first home for his family — particularly when he considers the myriad ways government and society historically hindered Black Americans’ home ownership prospects. The U.S. homeownership rate has inched upward over the past decade, from 64.7% of homes occupied by their owners in 2011 to 65.5% in 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors. But Black homeownership rates…