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Tag Archives: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
April 6, 2019 by Rohit Jagadeesan
Burning (South Korea, 2018) [IMDB: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, My Rating: 8.0]
'Burning' does not hit the viewer hard for about three-fourth of its duration. It is only after viewing the entire film that the finer points of the plot fall into place. Inconsequential scenes make sense and random dialogues fit in a jigsaw puzzle which looks different even after assembly based on the perspective of the viewer. The director uses metaphors abundantly while holding a mirror to contemporary Korean society. This mystery thriller tells the story of three youngsters who are acquaintances but share something far more than what is apparent. If you do watch this memorable movie, try to read up on it. The various interpretations by viewers of the scenes make for some interesting reading. Highly recommended.
The Wild Pear Tree (Turkey, 2018) [IMDB: 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, My Rating: 8.0]
From the director of 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' (a favourite of mine) and 'Winter Sleep' comes this three hour long movie of a young graduate trying to understand his role in the Turkish society while discovering himself. The movie is told through a series of long conversations with friends, family, strangers and a particularly acerbic yet incisive writer. The conversations reveal more about the protagonist and the people in the countryside of Turkey. Definitely worth three hours of your life.
Shoplifters (Japan, 2018) [IMDB: 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 99%, My Rating: 8.0]
Enigmatic and filled with surprises, 'Shoplifters' is a modern Japanese classic which showcases the craft and control of its director. A family's life changes when they take in a small girl into their setup where they themselves thrive on stealing from shops and supermarkets. The director is successful in manipulating the viewers' emotional response as the film progresses. The actors emote with perfection and the roving camera is a silent observer when the chickens come home to roost. Highly recommended.
Capernaum (Lebanon, 2018) [IMDB: 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 89%, My Rating: 7.5]
Acclaimed Lebanese director Nadine Labaki literally drags the viewer through the streets of Beirut in this movie about a young boy too sincere for his own good and yet corrupted by the environment. The clear triumph of Mrs Labaki is her ability to extract some phenomenal acting performances from the characters especially the protagonist. Poverty, refugee problems and parental responsibilities are dealt with in this movie which does tend to get a bit out of hand in the latter half. For all the good cinema on show, I had this nagging feeling that this could have been a much better movie with a better climax had more thought gone into the screenplay.
Border (Sweden, 2018) [IMDB: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%, My Rating: 7.0]
Featuring what some call as the weirdest sex scene in cinema history, 'Border' offers a strange and compelling story about people on the fringes of the society. A lady border guard whose USP is her sensational sense of smell finds the reasons for her awkwardness and the dark history of eugenics in Sweden. The movie is, as all good movie must be, a director's show. A special mention for the makeup department for transforming the actors who do not look anything like their real life personalities.
Instant Family (2018) [IMDB: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 81%, My Rating: 7.0]
A light-hearted comedy which plays it by the book and still keeps the viewer engaged enough to care about the proceedings on screen. Based on the life of the scriptwriter, the movie tells the tale of a couple who look for adopting a child and end up with three. Rose Byrne pulls off a heart warming performance as a mother trying to understand her new children. There are no twists in the tale but there are some genuinely funny moments. Hope Hollywood can make more of the same.
On the Basis of Sex (2018) [IMDB: 6.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 74%, My Rating: 6.5]
There are two or three cracking dialogues in this movie. One is when a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg is asked by her dean on why she chose to study law when a man could have had her seat at the Harvard Law School. This biopic on the Supreme Court judge looks at the making of a legal eagle and her family life. While successful in depicting the entrenched misogynistic attitudes of her times, the movie has glaringly obvious ideas on how to also show the times. The number of times the characters smoke on screen must be some sort of a record for the amount of fumes on display. Maybe the director just wanted to drive home the point that smoking in public was a normal thing those days. Felicity Jones performs with earnestness as RBG but if you want to know the judge better, watch the documentary RBG. The documentary is better than the movie.
The Mule (2018) [IMDB: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 70%, My Rating: 5.5]
Good old Clint Eastwood returns to direct and act in a drama on a real life drug carrier who was the oldest in the world in that trade. How do we know? He was caught by the law enforcement and a reporter wrote a long article on it. Then Eastwood decided that this is what he was going to make a movie on. Notable more for the lack of drama and a sure sign that Clint Eastwood must be talking to chairs ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=933hKyKNPFQ ) nowadays, 'The Mule' is for large parts boring. For the remaining parts, you are left wondering: why was this movie made?
Holmes & Watson (2018) [IMDB: 3.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 11%, My Rating: 2.5]
Will Ferrell was once funny. Once as in, 'once upon a time' and not just one time. Now like the tagline of his movie 'They Don't Have a Clue', he seems to have lost it, completely. Inane, idiotic and unfunny are the words that come to mind when 'Holmes & Watson' is mentioned. This movie is the opposite of comedy. Dreamt up by people who bring a bad name to slapstick humour and filled with feeble attempts to write funny situations, this movie is the cinematic equivalent of the Greek economy. Nothing can salvage it. I hear that medical marijuana has been made legal in many US states. Probably the writer and director had some medical condition.
Leaving Neverland (2019) [IMDB: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%, My Rating: 8.0]
A damning documentary on Michael Jackson in the words of his accusers. Those words carry much weight. Not for the weak of heart. Not for the worshipers of Michael Jackson. For those who seek the truth.
Eagerly waiting for: 'John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'
Did you know: Clint Eastwood, is an anagram for 'old west action'
Tagged Ah-in Yoo, Ali Abbasi, Armie Hammer, Bennu Yildirimlar, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Cesar De León, Chang-dong Lee, Clint Eastwood, Dan Reed, Dogu Demirkol, Etan Cohen, Felicity Jones, Hirokazu Koreeda, Isabela Moner, Jörgen Thorsson, Jimmy Safechuck, John C. Reilly, Justin Theroux, Kirin Kiki, Lily Franky, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Jackson, Mimi Leder, Murat Cemcir, Nadine Labaki, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Rose Byrne, Sakura Andô, Steven Yeun, Wade Robson, Will Ferrell
January 24, 2015 by Rohit Jagadeesan
Winter Sleep (Turkey, 2014) [IMDB: 8.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, My Raing:7/10]
Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival in 2104, this is another masterwork from perennial Cannes favourite Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Set in the interiors of Turkey where everyone knows everyone, this movie tells the tale of a retired actor whiling away his time, doing pretty much nothing. He has a hotel to manage and he also writes articles on mundane issues. His running feuds with his wife and his divorced sister pale into insignificance when he has to address issues created by his tenants. The film captures the breathtaking locales and the cultural hues of Turkey. The performances are competent and the film has its moments but those moments are few and far between. This, is especially testing when you have to muster the patience to sit through 196 minutes of the movie. If it had chopped off 100 minutes from the running time, the movie would have looked much better. For its unjustifiable duration, 'Winter Sleep' can induce sleep even in the summer.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) [IMDB: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes:90%, My Rating: 7.5/10]
This movie was a commercial flop and largely overlooked by the audiences in spite of the critical acclaim it received. Maybe some movies are not lucky enough at the box office because there is enough to suggest that this movie is one of the best action films of 2014. Set in the future where one man (Tom Cruise, who else?) is humanity's last hope to fight an alien invasion, this movie brings in a cocktail of time travel, hi-tech combat and lofty ideals. Although Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt give mediocre performances when they could have easily put their histrionic qualities to test, the movie more than holds on its own. With enough twists and turns, it keeps you engaged without getting boring, inviting you to second guess the various permutations and combinations that are possible. Recommended.
The Imitation Game (2014) [IMDB: 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 90%, My Rating: 7.5/10]
Based on the life of legendary Alan Turing and his seminal contributions to the Allies' efforts in breaking the German code during the Second World War, 'The Imitation Game' tries to delve into the life of a genius tormented by his sexuality. The movie has been tirelessly promoted in the build up to the Oscars but it is a good movie but not good enough. Benedict Cumberbatch gives all he can to bring Turing to life on screen and he is not let down by an ensemble cast, with another notable performance from Keira Knightley. The movie has a riveting background score and is ably directed. The moral dilemmas of Mr. Turing and his inability to make sound judgement when he is enjoined to not speak about a spy, are all captured well. The asperity of Mr.Turing did not endear him to many but that wouldn't be the main roadblock for Cumberbatch to achieve Oscar glory. Unfortunately for him, there are better performances this year.
Unbroken (2014) [IMDB: 7.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 49%, My Rating: 6.5/10]
The moot point while watching 'Unbroken' is whether a better director could have done a better job with the source material on hand. Louis Zamperini, on whom the story is based, was a champion runner, decorated war hero and an inspirational speaker. His life had countless moments which would have looked great on screen but in director Angelina Jolie's hands those moments look forced and tame. 'Unbroken' tells the story of Zamperini's unlikey rise from humble origins, his remarkable success in athletics and the relentless torture that he had to undergo in a Japanese POW camp during the Second World War. Jack O'Connell gives an impressive performance in a breakout role. 'Unbroken' is a movie of great ambitions but lacks a soul. It is a lesson on how clichéd one can become when making a biopic and how disrespectful that can be to a legend who deserved better than this.
Birdman (2014) [IMDB: 8.6, Rotten Tomatoes;92%, My Rating: 8.0]
I am an admirer of deirector Alexandro Gonzalez Inarritu. I have loved his works like 'Babel' and 'Amores Perros'. 'Birdman' is a shift from his usally dark depressing themes. In fact, there is even an element of mischief in this movie, which is being categorized as a comedy. The merits of that categorization aside, the film tells the story of a thespian who is tryng his best to stay relevant. Micael Keaton delivers a heavy duty performance as the protagonist who has seen better days. Shot in 10 minute uninterrupted sequences using one camera, the movie tries to play around with cinematic formats. Another highlight is an unconventional background score which many have hailed as groundbreaking but I found to be annoying. In terms of performances, this is the best performce by an ensemble cast in 2014. Michael Keaton will go head to head with Eddie Redmayne for this year's Best Actor Oscar. The movie is also a strong contender in the film, director, cinematography and screenplay categories. The major disadvantage that the movie faces is that it is not a mass entertainer like 'Boyhood'. This could prove to be its Achilles heel.
American Sniper (2014) [IMDB:7.6, Rotten Tomatoes:74%, My rating:7/10]
There is no movie dividing the critics and the audiences like this one. Seen by some as an unapologetic look at the American side of the story in the Iraq war and by another equally vociferous section as the story of a true American hero, this movie tells the story of the most successful sniper in the history of America who finally died from the gunshot wounds he received from 'friendly fire' when he was in USA. Judged purely on quality, the movies is a poor cousin of 'The Hurt Locker'. There are many action sequences in the movie but none of them are good enough to capture your full attention. Many such scenes get repetitive. If the intention was to create a contrast between the life in a war zone and life at home, then the movie resoundingly fails to do so. The viewer will not be able to feel any compassion for the character on screen who is a monstrous sniper. Amercans have every right to (in fact, they should) honour a brave soldier who put his life in danger to serve his country. War movies are not supposed to be an examination of what the enemy feels about getting killed. Even if the hero here was convicted of slander in real life, it does not take away his service to the nation. Inspite of this, the movie is a very tedious one to watch and does not deserve the high praise it is getting. It also does not deserve the scorn that seems specially reserved for it. American sniper, in the end, is a an average movie about a great sniper directed by a once great director.
The Good Lie (2014) [IMDB: 7.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 87%, My Rating: 8/10]
After a mish mash of snipers, tortured geniuses, former superheroes and real life superheroes, comes the time to review a movie which is undoubtedly the feel good movie of the year. 'The Good Lie' is not a movie that will move mountains or has a scale or budget that will put it in the top league but for the sheer quality that it produces from its limited budget, it is one of the must see movies of 2014. The story traces the lives of orphaned Sudanese children trying to escape civil war in their country and their journey to USA. Effortlessly funny and charming, this movie has its heart in the right place. With enough doses of humour without becoming a comedy movie, the film is about real people in the real world. Must watch.
Ivory Tower (2014) [IMDB: 6.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%, My rating: 6.5/10]
A look at the American college system. Very interesting to watch but misses some salient points.
Eagerly waiting for: 'Timbuktu'. Should a good one. Also, I have been close to Timbuktu but never been there.
Did you know: Courtesy: http://www.rogerebert.com Roger Ebert's review of M Night Shyamalan's 'The Village' quoted below. "Eventually the secret of Those, etc., is revealed. To call it an anticlimax would be an insult not only to climaxes but to prefixes. It's a crummy secret, about one step up the ladder of narrative originality from It Was All a Dream. It's so witless, in fact, that when we do discover the secret, we want to rewind the film so we don't know the secret anymore.
And then keep on rewinding, and rewinding, until we're back at the beginning, and can get up from our seats and walk backward out of the theater and go down the up escalator and watch the money spring from the cash register into our pockets."
Tagged Alejandro González Iñárritu, Andrew Rossi, Angelina Jolie, Arnold Oceng, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bill Nighy, Bill Paxton, Bradley Cooper, Chris Kyle, Clint Eastwood, Demet Akbag, Domhnall Gleeson, Dominic West, Doug Liman, Edward Norton, Elizabeth Armstrong, Emily Blunt, Ger Duany, Haluk Bilginer, Imelda Staunton, Jack O'Connell, Jamshed Bharucha, Jason Hall, Joel Coen, Keira Knightley, Kristen Stewart, Kyle Gallner, Lane Garrison, Matthew Goode, Matthew Warchus, Melisa Sözen, Michael Keaton, Morten Tyldum, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Sattler, Peyman Moaadi, Philippe Falardeau, Reese Witherspoon, Richard Arum, Sienna Miller, Stephen Beresford, Takamasa Ishihara, Tom Cruise, Zach Galifianakis
October 19, 2013 by Rohit Jagadeesan
A Hijacking ( Denmark, 2012) [ IMDB: 7.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 95%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyMegiVnYwM
Somali pirates have given a new topic for filmmakers for ideating and the world is now raising a toast to the Tom Hanks movie 'Captain Philips'. Incidentally, an equally acclaimed film on a ship hijack was released in 2012. Based on real events, the Danish film 'A Hijacking' is a gripping drama about a hostage situation. The focus here is more on the long drawn out negotiations. A psychological cat and mouse which focuses on the people than on the events.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey, 2011) [ IMDB:7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKgHqU1jrs
There are some movies which make me want to visit the locations where they were shot. For example, I went to Bruges in Belgium only because 'in Bruges' was shot there. Anatolia in Turkey is one region i would like to visit after watching 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia'. The plot of the movie involves a police search for a dead body in Anatolia but then the film is not about the story. It is more an exploration of the terrain and its wild beauty. This movie is a visual treat even when most of the region is explored during the night. No wonder it won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes.
Sixteen Candles (1984) [ IMDB: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 86%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcKqtzj8LAg
The movie is a cult classic and one of the most rented movies on Netflix. Strangely, it still connects with teenagers, three decades after its release. This movie is a testament to the idea of beauty in simplicity. The story revolves around the sixteenth birthday of a girl. Though utterly predictable, the easy dialogues and carefree acting creates the right kind of ambiance. Almost all the credit for this goes to writer-director John Hughes who went on to make many memorable movies. An easy watch.
The Last King of Scotland (2006) [ IMDB: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 87%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV_QgKJFZP0
Idi Amin was rumoured to have blood in the list of drinks he used to have during his tyrannical rule of Uganda. Forest Whitaker becomes Idi Amin in a performance which clinched him the Oscar. His Oscar winning speech is one of the most sincere I have ever seen. Watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-fGCHGTaGE . James McAvoy plays the Scot who became Amin's personal physician. The movie has a brisk pace and is a piece of history told in an entertaining way. An underrated gem.
The Notebook (2004) [IMDB: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 84%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3G3fILPQAU
A rich girl falls in love with a poor boy. That is a plot which gives cliches a bad name but with 'The Notebook' the story gets a new appeal altogether. Shot in breathtaking locales with freshly minted dialogues, the story is a an easy romance. The good part is that the best dialogues belong to Ryan Gosling and he has a field day mouthing them. The movie almost made it to the top 25 romantic movies covered by me a fortnight ago. It would have been a shoo in if it had been more tightly edited.
Monsters University (2013) [ IMDB: 7.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 83%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBzPioph8CI
Coming to cliches, animation movies are now turning out to be a parody for real life cliches. In 'Monsters University' every single prop of a college movie is used which leads to mixed results. The story is as predictable as the plot of a Karan Johar film but the animation is exceptional. Some of the fine touches have to be viewed in slow motion. The animation movies are getting a little stale but this one is among the better ones to have come out in the last few years.
The Lone Ranger (2013) [ IMDB: 6.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 58%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjFsNSoDZK8
When the producer of 'Pirates of Caribbean' series makes a movie with the venerable Johnny Depp as a native Indian, you expect more. Here, you get more of the same. They just forgot that they were shooting another movie with a more serious theme. Depp cracks the same type of jokes he had in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' with elaborate action scenes to keep the kids glued. Along the way they forget the story and by the end the viewer also does not care.
The Internship (2013) [ IMDB: 6.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 59%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdnoqCViqUo
I must admit that I now have a grudging admiration for the guys at Google. They made the longest corporate ad film and then got people to pay for watching it. Two guys who have zero skills land an internship at Google and then everything just works out perfect for them. They also educate us about various Google projects and products. In case you did not know, Google gives free food to its employees. Learn more such useful information as veterans like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson make complete fools of themselves in this utterly boring film scripted to sell the goodness of Google.
The Canyons (2013) [IMDB: 4.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 22%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5uTtNLUmCA
The only reason for watching this movie was the controversy over the working style of Lindsay Lohan. For such an apology for a movie, the real shock is that it is written by the same guy who wrote 'Taxi Driver'.
American Movie (1999) [ IMDB: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%]
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IzXD29halw
Some naive people want to be filmmakers. They have no money, no talent, no story and no sense. They do have truckloads of passion. A documentary which follows such a group. Tragically hilarious.
Eagerly Waiting for: '12 Years a Slave' because Steve McQueen makes movies which are painful to watch, in a good way.
Did you know: Sally Field who played Tom Hanks' mother in 'Forrest Gump' is only 10 years older than him.
Tagged A Hijacking, Anthony Michael Hall, Armie Hammer, Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da, Dar Salim, Forest Whitaker, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, James Deen, James Garner, James McAvoy, Johnny Depp, Justin Henry, Kapringen, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Molly Ringwald, Muhammet Uzuner, Nolan Gerard Funk, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Owen Wilson, Paul Schrader, Pilou Asbæk, Rachel McAdams, Rose Byrne, Søren Malling, Taner Birsel, Tom Schimmels, Vince Vaughn, William Fichtner, Yilmaz Erdogan


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Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – TwoMorePages Book Review
So I put off getting this book for a long time. "I'll read something else first." I said to myself. In fact, that's how I ended up reading that Jon Stewart book about the Daily Show.
I strongly regret that decision now. This book was so entertaining, so fun and easy to read, that I finished it in 4 days while I was out on a ski vacation. I'd go skiing, then come back and read until dinner. IT WAS FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC.
And I learned so much about how different my life could have been. Trevor Noah is 33 years old. I'm 30. While I was playing with legos and watching Power Rangers here in Texas, thinking that racism is kind of dumb and that was totally normal, Trevor Noah was growing up in Apartheid and thinking "yes, of course the cities are segregated. It's totally normal that my dad and mom have to pretend to *not be my dad and mom* because I'm mixed."
Sometimes books open your eyes to different perspectives and enlarge the scope of your world view. This one did that, and did it while telling extremely entertaining stories.
Wait, what? That's a thing? That sounds like something from the Hunger Games.
One of the takeaways that I'll always remember from this book is the description of how Apartheid society worked. For instance, he described how there was one black settlement of about a million people with only one road in or out. That way, in case the people living there started getting a little too uppity and started protesting or something like that, the government could close the roads and bomb the settlement and people would have nowhere to run to. WHAAAT?! O.o
That sounds like something from some fictional dystopian future, not a description of the 1980s which I was alive for.
Another thing that I learned was that there weren't just two groups, black and white, like I've tended to experience here in America. No, there was an entire other one – colored (or mixed). They had their own segregation and their own set of unique ways to be treated. If you were mixed, you belonged to *that* group and not necessarily just white or black, depending on which way the color of your skin skewed. It's a trippy thing to think about, honestly.
I've experienced very little racism in my life, and I am super thankful for that. Seldom have I thought it held me back, except perhaps when it came to dating. I never even experienced the whole anti-asian bias that Universities are sometimes accused of having, since I got into both the University of Texas and the University of Wisconsin when I applied. So reading about the stark contrast between the way I grew up and the way Trevor grew up was jarring enough; reading about how he just kind of accepted it and rolled with it, like it was a 100% normal thing, was much more surreal.
How African racism is different from American racism
British racism said, "If the monkey can walk like a man and talk like a man, then perhaps he is a man." Afrikaner racism said, "Why give a book to a monkey?"
In America you had the forced removal of the natives onto reservations coupled with slavery followed by segregation. Imagine all three of those things happening to the same group of people at the same time. That was apartheid.
It's weird to think that racism has different forms. That the racism that a person could experience in one country could be different from one country to another. I always thought it was a binary kind of thing – either it existed or it didn't. I never thought about shades of grey in racism itself.
What Trevor did a great job illustrating through his stories was just how much more severe the racism under apartheid was. Yes, you have discussion and discourse about how there is a cycle of poverty here in America (and about how black people tend to be stuck in it), and about how hard it is to escape it, but at least here I've never heard anyone outright say "Yeah, don't even bother teaching those kids. They're x race." or "Yeah, you have to live in this neighborhood that we've set aside for you. You're x race.
Yes, through social policies, black kids might be tracked to poorer public school and so would get less of an education. Yes, because it's too expensive to live in certain areas, you may end up with de facto segregation like in Austin where everyone of a certain ethnicities tend to live in certain areas, but it's never specifically defined in the law. There weren't requirements for separate restrooms for whites, blacks, and colored folks.
Now, I hear the argument that perhaps the end result is the same or at the very least similar, but the fact remains that it was literally spelled out.
Growing up in the way I did, I learned how easy it is for white people to get comfortable with a system that awards them all the perks. I knew my cousins were getting beaten for things that I'd done, but I wasn't interested in changing my grandmother's perspective, because that would mean I'd get beaten too. Why would I do that? So that I'd feel better?
At that point, I didn't think of the special treatment as having to do with color. It wasn't, "Trevor doesn't get beaten because Trevor is white." It was, "Trevor doesn't get beaten because Trevor is Trevor."
-Trevor, on growing up as a mixed kid in a black family
The way he went on to describe the societal differences, even in black society was eye opening as well. The belief that black people were inherently inferior seemed ingrained into South Africa's society. When he, as a mixed kid, was hanging out with his black family, even *they* treated him differently, but in a better way.
It's not reverse-racism like you often hear about here in the US, where a white kid in a black community would be ostracized; it's a literal continuation of "white is better" that the rest of his society was promoting. Weird.
And his commentary on how people who were treated better would react is spot on. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who society has decided to treat preferentially – why would you go out and change it? Indeed, you might not even understand why you were getting preferential treatment – you might think it's just because *you specifically* are awesome.
I won't lie. I feel like I've been in that spot before growing up. Sometimes it was getting to do something my sister couldn't because I was a boy. Sometimes it was the luxury of knowing that I as a kid would get in less trouble than other kids because I was a better student. But at least in my mind, it was because I was awesome. Nothing more; nothing less.
Commentary on living in "the hood"
The hood made me realize that crime succeeds because crime does the one thing the government doesn't do: crime cares. Crime is grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers internship programs and summer jobs and opportunities for advancement. Crime gets involved in the community. Crime doesn't discriminate.
The hood has a gravitational pull. It never leaves you behind, but it also never lets you leaves.
-Trevor, on his experiences in the hood
One of the absolute best things this book did was give me a fresh perspective on things I had never experienced. I grew up in a pretty affluent neighborhood without wanting for anything monetarily, so experiences in Houston's third ward are completely foreign to me. And here's Trevor talking about his experience in South Africa's version of it.
And he describes things so vividly it's perfect. His thoughts on how the economy of the hood is perfectly evolved for its environment is intriguing – how it doesn't discriminate; how when traditional employment fails, the hood provides ways for its members to provide for themselves economically, to survive.
But the way in which he described how it's *extremely* difficult to leave is kind of terrifying. His recollection of one of his friends who got a legit job, but was peer pressured basically to quit it is sad. Crabs in a bucket, right?
Poignant Life Observations
They're free, they've been taught how to fish, but no one will give them a fishing rod.
Trevor did a fantastic job of coming up with very eloquent ways to describe some of the life lessons he learned. The sentence above was him talking about how you can educate people, but if you don't give them any opportunities to use that education, it doesn't actually help.
He talked specifically about how he had the intelligence to do things, the drive to work hard, and the personality to sell things, but it was really only when his friend Andrew gave him his CD-writer that Trevor was able to utilize his skills to be productive, to do something with his life (even if it was just to create pirated CDs).
The more time I spent in jail, the more I realized that the law isn't rational at all. It's a lottery. What color is your skin? How much money do you have? Who's your lawyer? Who's the judge?
This is one thing I've only heard from other people's stories, and that I believe is universally true, whether it's here in America or South Africa. And the way that Trevor describes his time in jail is…a little horrifying.
He describes a huge hulk of a man who was in for stealing, but who couldn't communicate with his guards or his defense lawyers, and so would probably not get to defend himself in court; one who was apparently not a violent criminal but was being treated as such because of the way he looked combined with the fact that nobody could understand what he was saying because he spoke a different language.
You hear stories from things like the Daily Show where poor people don't know how to navigate the legal system and so get much harsher sentences; and you also hear through the grapevine of how people with money are able to successfully navigate their way through legal troubles and it's…disheartening.
So yeah, I agree with you Trevor. The law is a lottery. And you get better tickets if you have money.
We live in a world where we don't see the ramifications of what we do to others because we don't live with them.
Trevor's point when saying this was twofold. One, he said this is why ghettos were created, so that rich white people in South Africa would not have to see the poor black people that they were taking advantage of; But ALSO, two, it's how he said everyone in the hood rationalized stealing. You weren't stealing from a person, taking something and affecting their lives: you were just taking something that was there. It wasn't until he got a camera with a family's photos on it that he finally felt remorse for being complicit in stealing something.
I think this is a poignant life observation as well. It's so much easier to get mad at someone else or trivialize their problems if you don't have to see their face, to see them deal with the problems that you may have had a hand in. So if you really want to change a person's mind on something that you think they're doing, make them see the firsthand human results of what they've done. Don't argue with them on the internet. It will be much more effective. Hopefully, this is a lesson I can take going forward in my life.
Fun, Fun Stories
"Yeah, she was super sad too, because she had such a crush on you. She was always waiting for you to ask her out. Okay, I gotta go to class! Bye!"
Reading back on what I've written, I make his book sound super preachy, and that does Trevor a disservice. Perhaps literally the best part about his book is that he wasn't preachy about his overarching messages. This book was, first and foremost, "a collection of stories from growing up in Apartheid in South Africa."
And boy were those stories so entertaining. Whether it was in the context of an overarching message he was trying to get across (like the ones I referenced above), or just about him regretting his inability to ask a girl out (quote above), they were genuinely funny and delightful.
I mean, yes, he's a comedian, and maybe you should expect that, but his writing style was *on point*.
Fufi was my first heartbreak. No one has even betrayed me more than Fufi.
I believed that Fufi was my dog, but of course that wasn't true. Fufi was a dog. I was a boy. We got along well. She happened to live in my house. That experience shaped what I've felt about relationships for the rest of my life: You do knot own the thing that you love.
His story regarding how his dog used to go and hang out with another family during the day was hilarious. And the life lesson that he was trying to convey with it is pretty good in the grand scheme of things.
Life lessons with funny stories? Yes please.
Slightly less funny stories
But the closing story of the book was honestly the most riveting. And it sucks that this isn't some fictional story, because it would be way better if it is. He talked about how his mom's abusive relationship with his stepdad, and about how said stepdad tried to kill his mom.
This was the story that he told mostly just as a story – no life lesson, no entertaining bit at the end. And it showed. He conveyed his tone so well, you could feel his anxiousness, feel his anger at the situation and how helpless he was about it.
For the life of me I could not understand why she wouldn't do the same: leave. Just leave. Just fucking leave.
I won't spoil the story in case you haven't read it yet, but I know that feeling, where one of your friends/family is in a situation, partly of their own doing, and THEY WON'T STOP. You just want to yell at them to stop, but they won't.
It's infuriating, and you won't understand. And that's basically where Trevor was. That's good writing to me.
I'm so glad I took the time to read this book. It was entertaining, had good life lessons with each story, and gave me insight into how other people grew up. Hell, other people *my age* grew up (Trevor is basically my age).
My only gripe would be that since it's a collection of stories, Trevor's age jumps around between the stories. He'll be a high school graduate in one chapter, then you'll jump to a new story and he'll be 11. Sometimes that was jarring. But whatever, I'm sure that he put some thought into the ordering of the stories, and that was a small thing overall.
The little excerpts he put in between his chapters describing something in history I thought were perfect too. They set up the following chapters well, and were little bite size nuggets of wisdom.
This might be my favorite book that I've read so far this year. I loved it.
By ensignleein Book Review, Non-Fiction 2017-02-23 2017-09-08 2,609 WordsLeave a comment
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – TwoMorePages Book Review
Hoooh boy, that was a fun adventure. First off, kudos to my friend Arielle for coming up with this book with absolutely NO hesitation when I asked her what I should read next.
The twists and turns were amazing entertaining, as well as thought out and logical, and I am so happy I took the time to read this book.
That was…a thrilling rabbit hole we just fell through. Can't talk more without spoiling shit, so HERE WE GO:
Twist #1
A fine, red mist blinds me for half a second, and Daniela sits on the sofa, a hole dead center between her big, dark eyes.
-The book
One moment, life is great, and aww, isn't it cute that they still have all this chemistry in what looks to be an alternate universe and then… 'Wait, that blood red mist is HER BLOOD?!' AAAAGH
I am so glad I made you read that. 😛
-Arielle
Yeah, so this book was rather traumatizing at times. Thanks Arielle. Probably the best part about this book for me was the stuff that came out of left field while propelling the plot forward. It really gave you a sense of the confusion that the protagonist felt while trying to figure out what the hell was going on; and the shocking events that the book pivoted around were done so well that I was as surprised as I was during GoT during the Red Wedding or during the Viper v Mountain fight.
…also, just as horrified.
So the above reaction from me is when Daniela in the other universe gets SHOT IN THE HEAD with no warning or provocation, right after our protagonist finally seems to be a little happy again after getting transported to a world that he doesn't seem to know and that he doesn't understand. It did an exceptional job of highlighting the confusion that Jason was going through, and the panic running through his mind.
Before this, I had been wondering "Why did you flip out when you woke up in that lab and run away? Everyone was acting nicely to you; why didn't you just explain and figure out what was going on?" but this flipped the entire script on its head for me, which set up the next part of the story really well.
Okay, so now we've established the guys at Velocity Labs are bad guys, and now they're pissed at our protagonist. They've murdered our buddy Ryan, who incidentally, totally had it coming for his part in getting Daniela killed, pffft, and look like they're about to kill us. We seem to have had some connection with this girl Amanda, who works for the labs, but whatever probably not important.
Except it is! She gets us out of here, we figure out that this box actually transports you to other alternate universes, and we start a brand new adventure!
Up to this point, I had entertained the notion that we were looking at alternate universes, and that he'd swapped with one of his other selves, but wasn't 100% sure. Having it spelled out was a nice surprise, and boom, scoreboard? haha.
Reading Jason's adventures was a fun story in and of itself, and his adventures changed the tone of the book to a slightly more hopeful, if increasingly desperate tone. No more running around, not really understanding what was going on; now we're basically doing Sliders adventures trying to find our home universe.
There's a connection here, and it's getting stronger every day. If I moved even an inch closer in her direction, we would do this. No question in my mind.
Some version of me certainly kissed her in this moment. Some version knows the answer. But it won't be me.
Another great thing this book did was to raise the hopes of a reader for a specific outcome…that never happens. *sob*
Going through the different portal doors, we saw our protagonist, Jason, grow ever closer to his rescuer, Amanda. I thought the book was going to end in Jason never finding his home universe, but growing closer to his travel companion with each adventure and then…eventually accepting his fate and just living happily ever with Amanda. I mean, Daniela seems to be okay with imposter Jason; I suppose everyone could win if original Jason ends up with Amanda.
But nooooope! He has to blow it, and he almost gets her killed in the one universe that has a giant plague, as well as the one where everything has frozen over.
So…she eventually leaves him, and that just…broke my heart more than a little.
All your life you're told you're unique. An individual. That no one on the planet is just like you. It's humanity's anthem.
But that isn't true for me anymore.
MULTIPLE JASONS? WHAAAAAAT?
So, twist 3 that I didn't see coming, and that's a little hard for me to wrap my head around: Every time we make an observable decision, a new universe is created. So when he gets back to his original universe, so does every other Jason that was able to make the correct set of choices to do so.
And they ALL want to get Daniella and Charlie back. Well, hmm, quite the kanundrum. As a result of their choices, some of the Jasons are murderous sons of bitches and our protagonist finds himself almost getting murdered several times.
This was a plot twist I definitely didn't see coming. You could kind of see some of the other ones given enough clues; after all, I kind of thought about the multiple universe theory before it was explained, and we all knew that Velocity Labs had some serious firepower, so maybe I could have seen the murder of that one Daniela coming. But this? Awww damn. Way out of left field for me.
I really liked where the story went from here, between his (sometimes murderous, sometimes friendly) interactions with the other Jasons and his ultimately successful plot to be the first Jason to meet up with his wife and son again.
I didn't really understand why there weren't basically infinity Jasons all after Daniela and Charlie, but for the sake of moving the story forward, let's just gloss over that.
The action sequences were really well written, and getting to read about his reunion with his wife and son was heartwarming.
Thoughts and Conclusions
(1) So if every observable choice makes a new fork with a new universe, that means there is at least one Jason out there that chose to just stick it out with Amanda. Good. Because only one Jason out of a bajillion of them ended up with a happy ending if they decided to go back for Daniela and Charlie. Poor guys.
It warms my heart to know that there is at least one set of Jasons and Amandas making the smart/easy/best choice and enjoying their lives. Really, that should have been a no brainer – the chances of him making it back to his universe in infinity universes was pretty much zero if you think about it. They should have just been focusing on finding a good world, like that futuristic one Amanda found, and making lives for themselves there.
(2) Jason's a panicky son of a gun haha. He could have avoided all the murder if he'd just CALMED THE FUCK DOWN when he first appeared in Jason2's universe. The people at the lab were obviously willing to work with him and had no reason to hurt him; he complicated everything by running away.
Also, in the same vein, Jason2 is a panicky guy too. He could have straight up TOLD Jason his plan, and maybe Jason would have gone along with it. Or at least, then, wouldn't freak the fuck out when he appeared in Jason2's universe. Not enough of the book dealt with Jason2's rationalization that they BOTH could have had what they wanted, the experience of a family AND scholarly success. IF ONLY THEY HAD TALKED.
(3) This book was awesome. The pacing was wonderful, the turns were unexpected and fit well within the story, and it was just a straight up fun read. Thanks Arielle, and thanks for putting up with my reactionary texts while I was running through the story!
By ensignleein Book Review, Sci-Fi 2017-02-06 2018-08-29 1,395 Words2 Comments

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
by Sara Adães, Ph.D. , June 19, 2020
What is Glycolysis? Where Glycolysis Takes Place, Definition, and Steps of the Glycolysis Pathway.
Learn about the pathways of glucose breakdown and oxidation
Find out how glucose metabolism contributes to cell energy production
Learn how glucose metabolism is associated with the aging process
Discover how glucose metabolism can be supported
What Is Glycolysis?
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that breaks down the carbohydrate glucose to produce cell energy in the form of ATP. Glycolysis generates ATP directly, as a product of the pathway's chemical reactions, and indirectly, using energy generated by electrons extracted from the chemical bonds of glucose. These electrons are carried by the molecule NAD to the mitochondrial electron transport chain, where they are used to power the production of ATP through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).
In this article, we will look into these processes in more detail. But before we do so, it's important to review some concepts that will help us understand what glycolysis is and the part it plays in cellular metabolism.
Glycolysis Is A Pathway of Cellular Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. Among them are those that allow us to obtain energy from food and to use that energy to synthesize molecules needed for cellular activity. Metabolism is divided into two types of processes: 1) catabolism, the set of degradative pathways that break down large molecules into smaller molecules, releasing the energy stored in the chemical bonds; and 2) anabolism, the set of constructive biosynthesis pathways that build large molecules from smaller molecules and store cell energy in their chemical bonds. This means that the breakdown of food to obtain energy takes place through catabolic reactions, whereas the synthesis of the complex cellular molecules from simpler units takes place through anabolic reactions [1,2].
The energy contained in food is not readily available to be used by cells and must be converted through metabolic reactions into a form of energy cells can use. This form is a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), "the energy currency of the cell" common to all biological systems. ATP is used for all sorts of biological functions in all types of cells and tissues, including, for example, powering muscle contraction or sustaining neuronal activity.
Metabolism is the sum of interconnected energy-requiring and energy-consuming processes that sustain life.
The set of metabolic reactions through which energy is extracted from nutrients to generate ATP is called cellular respiration. In the process of respiration, oxygen (O2) is consumed and carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and heat are produced. Energy is extracted from nutrients through a type of chemical reaction called redox reactions (from reduction—the gain of electrons + oxidation—the loss of electrons). In redox reactions, electrons (the electrically charged particles that orbit the nuclei of atoms) are transferred from one molecule (which is oxidized) to another (which is reduced). Therefore, we say that, in cellular respiration, nutrients are oxidized to generate cell energy as ATP.
Glucose, obtained from the breakdown of carbohydrates, and fatty acids, obtained from the breakdown of triglycerides (fats), are the main fuels cells use to generate ATP; amino acids obtained from protein breakdown are also used, but to a lesser extent.
Cellular respiration occurs in three major stages. In the first, fuel molecules are oxidized to yield two-carbon fragments in the form of the acetyl group of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). In the second stage, the acetyl groups are oxidized in mitochondria in the citric acid cycle, with electrons being transferred to the electron carriers nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is vitamin B3-dependent, and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which is vitamin B2-dependent. In the third stage of respiration, electrons are transferred to oxygen via the electron transport chain (ETC) in mitochondria, with their energy being used to power the production of ATP by a process called oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) [1,2].
Glycolysis is part of the first stage of cellular respiration: it is the pathway that oxidizes glucose. Glycolysis generates the molecule pyruvate, which is then converted into acetyl-CoA to be used in the second stage of cellular respiration.
Cellular respiration is like a very slow combustion reaction: it burns fuels to generate energy, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide and heat in the process.
Figure 1: Metabolic extraction and storage of energy from food. Source: OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology; 24.1 Overview of Metabolic Reactions. License CC BY 4.0.
What Is Glucose? Why Is Glycolysis Important?
Glucose is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are a type of biomolecules made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that include sugars, starches, and cellulose. More specifically, glucose is a monosaccharide, the simplest form of sugar and the most basic type of carbohydrate [1,2].
We get dietary glucose from the breakdown of complex carbohydrates, such as starch, made up of several to many monosaccharide units joined together (i.e., they're polysaccharides). We also get glucose from the breakdown of simpler dietary sugars such as disaccharides (made up of two monosaccharide units), which include sucrose or lactose, for example. Other monosaccharides, such as fructose or galactose, can also be used for energy production, but they must first be converted into other molecules that can be used in glucose metabolic pathways [1,2].
Glycolysis is important because it is the metabolic pathway through which glucose generates cellular energy. Glucose is the most important source of energy for all living organisms. In the human body, glucose is the preferred fuel for the vast majority of cells: it's the only fuel red blood cells can use, the preferred fuel used by the brain under non-starvation conditions, and the main fuel used by muscles during strenuous exercise.
Glucose is so important that our body has several mechanisms to ensure that blood sugar levels are kept relatively constant so the brain is always adequately supplied with glucose. After a meal, the rise in blood glucose increases the release of the pancreatic hormone insulin, which in turn stimulates glucose uptake by tissues, mainly the liver and skeletal muscle, and glucose storage in the form of glycogen. Between meals, a decrease in blood glucose levels increases the release of the pancreatic hormone glucagon, which in turn stimulates the breakdown of glycogen stores into glucose and its release into the blood. Glycogen stores are also mobilized when glucose is being used to support physical activity.
Glucose, which is a carbohydrate, is the most important source of energy for most cells. Its blood levels are kept relatively constant to ensure a steady supply to the brain.
Glucose Is Oxidized in Glycolysis to Produce ATP
Glycolysis takes place in the fluid matrix of cells (the cytosol) in a sequence of ten reactions divided into two stages. In the first stage, glucose (which has six carbons) is split into two three-carbon fragments in a process that actually consumes ATP to prepare glucose for degradation. In the second stage, each three-carbon fragment is oxidized to a molecule called pyruvate in a process that produces ATP.
Electrons extracted in the oxidation reactions are transferred to NAD+, a redox molecule that carries electrons to the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) to produce more ATP through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).
Figure 2: Glycolysis. Source: OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology; 24.2 Carbohydrate Metabolism.
License CC BY 4.0.
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that breaks down glucose to produce ATP.
The First Stage Of Glycolysis Uses ATP
Glucose can easily enter and exit cells through membrane transporters. However, a simple structural modification is enough to keep it inside cells to be metabolized: the addition of a chemical structure called phosphoryl group (a phosphorus atom with three oxygen atoms attached) in a reaction known as phosphorylation. Glycolysis starts by doing precisely that: it phosphorylates glucose and traps it inside cells.
Glucose phosphorylation is carried out by an enzyme called hexokinase which takes a phosphoryl group from ATP and transfers it to glucose, producing glucose 6-phosphate (see step 1 in figure 3) [1,2]. Hexokinase belongs to a family of enzymes called kinases (which is the classification of enzymes that phosphorylate a substrate using a phosphoryl group from ATP or vice versa). All kinase enzymes require magnesium for their activity. Therefore, magnesium plays an important part in this reaction. In fact, magnesium has a key role in glycolysis in general because it's a cofactor for all kinases that participate in this pathway [3]. One of the main reasons that Qualia Life (previously called Eternus) contains Magnesium is to support glycolysis reactions.
In the next steps of glycolysis, glucose 6-phosphate is converted into fructose 6-phosphate (step 2, figure 3), which in turn is phosphorylated again to yield fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (step 3, figure 3). This second phosphorylation is carried out by another kinase (phosphofructokinase) using another molecule of ATP and magnesium as cofactor. This six-carbon molecule is then cleaved into two three-carbon molecules (step 4, figure 3), which are different but interconvertible (step 5, figure 3); the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate form is used in the second stage of glycolysis [1,2].
Figure 3: The first stage of glycolysis. Source: OpenStax, Biology; 7.2 Glycolysis.
The first stage of glycolysis uses ATP to prepare glucose for degradation; it is an investment of ATP that will pay off.
The Second Stage Of Glycolysis Produces ATP
The first reaction of the second stage transforms glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate into 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (step 6, figure 4) [1,2]. This reaction includes two coupled processes: an oxidation and an addition of phosphate. The oxidation reaction extracts two electrons from the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, which are transferred to the redox molecule NAD+ (derived from vitamin B3), reducing it to the NADH form. In the next step, 3-phosphoglycerate is produced by another kinase (phosphoglycerate kinase, with magnesium as cofactor) with the concomitant production of ATP (step 7, figure 4). Qualia Life supports these reactions by supplying Magnesium [3] and Vitamin B3 in the form of Niacinamide and Nicotinic Acid [4].
In the next two steps, 3-phosphoglycerate is rearranged (step 8, figure 4) and then dehydrated (step 9, figure 3) to form phosphoenolpyruvate. In the final step of glycolysis, phosphoenolpyruvate is converted into pyruvate and another ATP molecule is produced pyruvate kinase using magnesium as cofactor (step 10, figure 4).
In the second stage, two molecules of ATP are generated from each three-carbon unit, meaning that each glucose molecule yields four ATP molecules. Given that the first stage of glycolysis uses two molecules of ATP to prepare glucose for breakdown, the net outcome of glycolysis is the production of two ATP molecules per glucose molecule [1,2].
This mechanism of ATP production is called substrate-level phosphorylation. It uses the chemical energy released by the conversion of a higher energy substrate into a lower energy product to power the transfer of a phosphoryl group to produce the high energy molecule ATP. Substrate-level phosphorylation is a faster, but less efficient source of ATP. It also comes with a cost of using one NAD+, which becomes NADH. As we'll see in part 4 of this series, most ATP is generated by oxidative phosphorylation, and the NAD+ will be recovered during that final stage of cellular respiration.
Figure 4: The second half of glycolysis. Source: OpenStax, Biology; 7.2 Glycolysis.
The second stage of glycolysis generates pyruvate, NADH and ATP; the net outcome of glycolysis is the production of two ATP molecules per glucose molecule but at a cost of one NAD+.
Pyruvate Produced in Glycolysis Yields Acetyl-CoA In Mitochondria
Glycolysis yields only a fraction of the ATP that can be produced from the complete oxidation of glucose. That's because the pyruvate molecules produced in glycolysis can still be further oxidized. It's in the following pathways of cell energy generation, the citric acid cycle and OXPHOS, that the vast majority of ATP production takes place.
Whereas glycolysis takes place in the cytosol, the citric acid cycle and OXPHOS take place in mitochondria [1,2]. Therefore, pyruvate, the final product of glycolysis, is transported into mitochondria where it is converted into two-carbon fragments—acetyl units—and carbon dioxide (CO2). In this reaction, carried out by a cluster of enzymes called pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, electrons extracted from pyruvate are transferred to NAD+, reducing it to NADH. Acetyl units are transferred to coenzyme A (CoA, derived from pantothenic acid i.e., vitamin B5) to form acetyl-CoA, the molecule that feeds two-carbon units to the citric acid cycle, where they will be further oxidized. The electrons extracted from each acetyl unit will then be used to generate ATP through OXPHOS.
Figure 5: Pyruvate oxidation. Source: OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology; 24.2 Carbohydrate Metabolism.
The mitochondrial conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA is the link between glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. This is an important reaction that requires several cofactors: CoA (derived from pantothenic acid), NAD+ (synthesized from compounds with vitamin B3 activity or by using L-tryptophan as a substrate and Vitamin B6 as a cofactor), FAD+ (flavin adenine dinucleotide, derived from vitamin B2 i.e., riboflavin), the coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate (derived from vitamin B1 i.e., thiamine), and lipoic acid [1,2].
Qualia Life supports these reactions by supplying Niacinamide and Nicotinic acid (Vitamin B3) [4], Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) [5], Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) [6], Thiamine HCl (Vitamin B1) [7], Pyridoxal-5'-Phosphate (Vitamin B6) [8], Lipoic Acid [9], L-Tryptophan [8], and Magnesium [3].
Pyruvate is converted into acetyl-CoA in mitochondria; this step links glycolysis to the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. It comes with a cost of one NAD+ unit (which will later be recovered).
NADH Produced in Glycolysis Generates ATP In Mitochondria
NAD+ is a redox molecule that carries electrons to the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) to produce ATP through OXPHOS. In the oxidation of each molecule of glucose to acetyl-CoA, four NAD+ molecules are used, each receiving two electrons and becoming the NADH form. Because NAD+ is a central element in ATP production, it is important that cells maintain a pool of NAD+ available to receive electrons [1,2].
Qualia Life contains a set of ingredients that support the upregulation of the NAD+ pool in cells. These include Grape Proanthocyanidins (in Grape extract, BioVin®) [10], Resveratrol (in Grape extract, BioVin®) [11–13], Coenzyme Q10 [14], and Lipoic acid [15,16].
NADH carries electrons to the mitochondrial electron transport chain to produce ATP through oxidative phosphorylation. NAD+ is regenerated in the process.
How Glucose Metabolism Impacts Aging
Glucose and other monosaccharides have the ability to react with amino groups of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids to produce a structural modification called non-enzymatic glycation. These modified molecules are called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and they lose their function—they are damaged molecules.
AGEs are usually degraded by cellular quality control mechanisms, but they can accumulate in tissues. AGE production increases when there is prolonged exposure to high blood glucose levels, for example. AGE degradation decreases with aging due to the progressive loss of metabolic efficiency and cellular defense mechanisms [17].
AGE accumulation is a major player in aging and in the development of age-related dysfunctions. For example, protein glycation can contribute to the stiffening of blood vessels and to the neurodegenerative aggregation of proteins in the brain. Furthermore, besides being damaged molecules, AGEs can activate signaling pathways that contribute to tissue dysfunction by increasing oxidative stress and the production of other damaging molecules [17].
Therefore, the efficiency of carbohydrate metabolism is important not only for the production of cell energy, but also for the minimization of cellular damage associated with glycation. If sugars aren't used in cell energy pathways, they can react with proteins, fats, and other molecules and contribute to unhealthy aging. For these reasons, it is important to support glucose metabolic pathways to help our body protect itself against AGE accumulation.
Age-related loss of efficiency of glucose metabolism and cellular defense mechanisms can lead to the accumulation of damaging advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).
Why Supporting Glucose Metabolism/Glycolysis Is Important
Supporting glucose metabolism contributes to the maintenance of a healthy glycolytic flow. This is crucial, first and foremost, because glucose is the most important source of energy for our cells and tissues. Healthy carbohydrate metabolism is important for an efficient production of ATP to power biological processes.
An efficient glucose metabolism is also fundamental for the maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels. Among other benefits (such as healthy insulin signaling, for example), this helps decrease the likelihood of detrimental glycation reactions of proteins and fats.
Glucose metabolism can be supported by providing precursors for the cofactors that participate in glycolysis and acetyl-CoA production. As we've seen, Qualia Life provides those ingredients. Qualia Life also provides ingredients that support glucose regulatory enzymes, such as Rosmarinus officinalis Leaf Extract (50% ursolic acid) [18]. Furthermore, Qualia LIfe also contains ingredients that support cellular quality control pathways that function to protect against AGEs. These include Sirtmax® Kaempferia parviflora Root Extract [19] and Rosmarinus officinalis Leaf Extract (50% ursolic acid) [20–22].
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[20]Y. Zhao, R. Sedighi, P. Wang, H. Chen, Y. Zhu, S. Sang, J. Agric. Food Chem. 63 (2015) 4843–4852.
[21]J. Ou, J. Huang, M. Wang, S. Ou, Food Chem. 221 (2017) 1057–1061.
[22]Z.-H. Wang, C.-C. Hsu, C.-N. Huang, M.-C. Yin, Eur. J. Pharmacol. 628 (2010) 255–260.
glycolysis pathway carbohydrate cell energy ATP Cellular Metabolism
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text:
The interior of St. Sophia Cathedral. In the vault of the main altar is placed a huge figure of the praying Virgin – Orans. She stands out among the paintings of the cathedral grandeur and monumentality richness of colors. This well-preserved mosaic – the original XI century.
The interior of St. Sophia…
Tags: The interior of St. Sophia Cathedral
PreviousPrevious post:The world-famous monument of history, architecture and monumental painting of the first half of the XI century – Saint Sophia Cathedral. Its name comes from the Greek word "sophia" – "wisdom."NextNext post:A fragment of group portrait of the family of Yaroslav the Wise. The composition is particularly valuable frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral. It was severely damaged during the restoration of the XIX century. On the south wall murals over the butter pieces were written great martyrs, on the north wall – figures of saints. Clearing these frescoes carried out after the organization of the Sofia Reserve in 1934 – 1935 years.
"The Eucharist." Fragment of mosaic of St. Michael's Cathedral. XII century. St. Michael's Cathedral was the last of an ancient building in Kiev, where applied mosaic murals. In 1934-1935 in connection with the reconstruction of the cathedral was demolished, all the surviving paintings removed from the walls and moved to a new cement base. To organize them into Sophia was allocated one of the buildings of the XVIII century. In the hall a wooden apse corresponding apse of the Cathedral of St. Michael, and its concave surface at the same height, put the scene, "the Eucharist."
The central composition of the main dome – polufigury mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in the medallion. The medallion is encircled by ten colored circles that resemble a rainbow. Around the Christ – the four archangels, of which only one figure in blue – Mosaic, the rest having added oil in 1884 MAVrubel.
A fragment of group portrait of the family of Yaroslav the Wise. The composition is particularly valuable frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral. It was severely damaged during the restoration of the XIX century. On the south wall murals over the butter pieces were written great martyrs, on the north wall – figures of saints. Clearing these frescoes carried out after the organization of the Sofia Reserve in 1934 – 1935 years.
The world-famous monument of history, architecture and monumental painting of the first half of the XI century – Saint Sophia Cathedral. Its name comes from the Greek word "sophia" – "wisdom."
Kiev streets remind us not only of the recent past events, but also about the olden days. This picturesque street is named Rognedinskaya – in memory of his wife Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev Svyatoslav, during whose reign the Kievan state and the ancient city reached the highest development.
Original design solutions and architectural forms of the Kiev airport terminal "Borispol".


text:
Q: Table cell gradient fill issue When use gradient fill for table cell, I expect rendering issues with cell borders on window resize and it's not observable when solid color fill is used.
Here is one table, some cells use gradient fill, others - solid color:

This dark gap is visible only on particular window sizes, not always.

*

*Is it known issue?

*Is there any hack for this?

Update:
Here is an example: https://codepen.io/zur4ik/pen/bmjLVp
Try change view and resize in horizontal axes

html,
body {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  background: #140B0A;
  font-family: sans-serif;
}

.com-container {
  width: 1540px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

.fx {
  display: flex;
}
.fx.vc {
  align-items: center;
}

.com-game-table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  width: 100%;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  -webkit-user-select: none;
  -moz-user-select: none;
  -ms-user-select: none;
  user-select: none;
}
.com-game-table thead tr th {
  background-color: #784B3E;
  height: 60px;
  font-weight: 300;
  position: relative;
  cursor: pointer;
}
.com-game-table thead tr th:hover {
  background-color: #71473b;
}
.com-game-table thead tr th:first-child {
  border-top-left-radius: 5px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
.com-game-table thead tr th:last-child {
  border-top-right-radius: 5px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td {
  height: 60px;
  color: #000000;
  background: #FBFBFB;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  cursor: pointer;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  border: 0 transparent;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td:first-child {
  border-top-left-radius: 2px;
  border-bottom-left-radius: 2px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td:last-child {
  border-top-right-radius: 2px;
  border-bottom-right-radius: 2px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td .status-cell {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: flex-end;
  align-items: center;
  margin-right: 20px;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td .status-cell .icon {
  background-image: url("../img/tb-row-play-btn-icon.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: left 10px top 50%;
  display: inline-block;
  width: 27px;
  height: 27px;
  background-color: #ffffff;
  -webkit-border-radius: 50%;
  -moz-border-radius: 50%;
  border-radius: 50%;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 2px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
  position: relative;
  top: 1px;
  margin-left: 10px;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr td.col-highlight {
  background: #eeeeee;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
}
.com-game-table tbody tr.started td {
  background: #30211F;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  color: #989291;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .com-icon {
  opacity: .5;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .com-icon:hover {
  opacity: 1;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .status-cell .icon {
  background-image: url("../img/tb-row-view-btn-icon.png");
  background-position: left 6px top 50%;
  opacity: .7;
}
.com-game-table tbody tr.started td.col-highlight {
  background: #2a1d1b;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
}
.com-game-table tbody tr:hover td {
  background: white;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
}
.com-game-table tbody tr:hover.started td {
  background: #332321;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
}
.com-game-table tbody tr:hover.started td .status-cell .icon {
  opacity: .8;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-1"] {
  width: 100px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-2"] {
  text-align: left;
  padding-left: 15px;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-3"] {
  width: 110px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-4"] {
  width: 130px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-5"] {
  width: 160px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-6"] {
  width: 120px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-7"] {
  width: 80px;
  text-align: center;
}
.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-8"] {
  width: 180px;
  text-align: right;
}

main {
  flex-grow: 1;
  display: flex;
  flex-flow: column;
  min-height: 0;
  width: 100%;
}
main .content {
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  align-items: stretch;
  -webkit-box-sizing: border-box;
  -moz-box-sizing: border-box;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  padding-bottom: 15px;
  min-height: 0;
}
main .content .content-body {
  flex-grow: 1;
  padding-right: 15px;
  display: flex;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  position: relative;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header {
  height: 60px;
  position: absolute;
  z-index: 2;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header:after {
  content: '';
  display: block;
  position: absolute;
  width: 5px;
  height: 5px;
  background: #140B0A;
  top: 0;
  right: 25px;
  z-index: 1;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header .com-game-table {
  position: relative;
  z-index: 2;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body {
  overflow-y: hidden;
  overflow-x: hidden;
  flex: 1 1 auto;
  border-top-left-radius: 5px;
  border-top-right-radius: 5px;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .table-body-inner {
  padding-top: 60px;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .com-game-table {
  border-spacing: 0;
}
main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .com-game-table tbody tr td .com-icon.tooltip {
  cursor: help;
}

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A: Ok from what I can work out, this is a sub-pixel rounding problem in Chrome and Edge.
A linear gradient behaves like a background image and is tessellated across the background.
I am not clear on the precise behaviour of the rendering engine but when certain widths are not divisible a 1px gap is introduced.
Firefox doesn't appear to suffer this issue because I suspect it rounds up.

WORKAROUND
We cannot get rid of the gap created in Chrome but we can hide the fact from the end user.

*

*Apply the gradient to the row instead of the cell. The cell needs to remain transparent.

*Apply no-repeat so the background gradient doesn't try to tile incorrectly.

CSS
.com-game-table tbody tr {
  background: #EFEFEF;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
}

EXAMPLE
In the example below I have applied the following fix to ONLY the white rows.
It will need appling to rows of alternate colors and also to hover effects.

html,
body {
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  background: #140B0A;
  font-family: sans-serif;
}

.com-container {
  width: 1540px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

.fx {
  display: flex;
}

.fx.vc {
  align-items: center;
}

.com-game-table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  width: 100%;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  -webkit-user-select: none;
  -moz-user-select: none;
  -ms-user-select: none;
  user-select: none;
}

.com-game-table thead tr th {
  background-color: #784B3E;
  height: 60px;
  font-weight: 300;
  position: relative;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.com-game-table thead tr th:hover {
  background-color: #71473b;
}

.com-game-table thead tr th:first-child {
  border-top-left-radius: 5px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.com-game-table thead tr th:last-child {
  border-top-right-radius: 5px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr {
  background: #EFEFEF;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #FBFBFB 0%, #EFEFEF 100%);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td {
  height: 60px;
  color: #000000;
  cursor: pointer;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  border: 0 transparent;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td:first-child {
  border-top-left-radius: 2px;
  border-bottom-left-radius: 2px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td:last-child {
  border-top-right-radius: 2px;
  border-bottom-right-radius: 2px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td .status-cell {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: flex-end;
  align-items: center;
  margin-right: 20px;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td .status-cell .icon {
  background-image: url("../img/tb-row-play-btn-icon.png");
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: left 10px top 50%;
  display: inline-block;
  width: 27px;
  height: 27px;
  background-color: #ffffff;
  -webkit-border-radius: 50%;
  -moz-border-radius: 50%;
  border-radius: 50%;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 2px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
  position: relative;
  top: 1px;
  margin-left: 10px;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr td.col-highlight {
  background: #eeeeee;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #eeeeee 0%, #e2e2e2 100%);
}

.com-game-table tbody tr.started td {
  background: #30211F;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #30211F 0%, #241715 100%);
  color: #989291;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .com-icon {
  opacity: .5;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .com-icon:hover {
  opacity: 1;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr.started td .status-cell .icon {
  background-image: url("../img/tb-row-view-btn-icon.png");
  background-position: left 6px top 50%;
  opacity: .7;
}

.com-game-table tbody tr.started td.col-highlight {
  background: #2a1d1b;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #2a1d1b 0%, #1e1311 100%);
}

.com-game-table tbody tr:hover td {
  background: white;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, white 0%, #fcfcfc 100%);
}

.com-game-table tbody tr:hover.started td {
  background: #332321;
  background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #332321 0%, #271917 100%);
}

.com-game-table tbody tr:hover.started td .status-cell .icon {
  opacity: .8;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-1"] {
  width: 100px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-2"] {
  text-align: left;
  padding-left: 15px;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-3"] {
  width: 110px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-4"] {
  width: 130px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-5"] {
  width: 160px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-6"] {
  width: 120px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-7"] {
  width: 80px;
  text-align: center;
}

.com-game-table [data-type="tb-col-8"] {
  width: 180px;
  text-align: right;
}

main {
  flex-grow: 1;
  display: flex;
  flex-flow: column;
  min-height: 0;
  width: 100%;
}

main .content {
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  align-items: stretch;
  -webkit-box-sizing: border-box;
  -moz-box-sizing: border-box;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  padding-bottom: 15px;
  min-height: 0;
}

main .content .content-body {
  flex-grow: 1;
  padding-right: 15px;
  display: flex;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  position: relative;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header {
  height: 60px;
  position: absolute;
  z-index: 2;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header:after {
  content: '';
  display: block;
  position: absolute;
  width: 5px;
  height: 5px;
  background: #140B0A;
  top: 0;
  right: 25px;
  z-index: 1;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-header .com-game-table {
  position: relative;
  z-index: 2;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body {
  overflow-y: hidden;
  overflow-x: hidden;
  flex: 1 1 auto;
  border-top-left-radius: 5px;
  border-top-right-radius: 5px;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .table-body-inner {
  padding-top: 60px;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .com-game-table {
  border-spacing: 0;
}

main .content .content-body .table-wrapper .table-body .com-game-table tbody tr td .com-icon.tooltip {
  cursor: help;
}

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Q: Riemann-Hilbert correspondence for non-flat connections First of all, let me warn that my knowledge of the correspondence is rather superficial, and I apologize for any technical inaccuracies below.
Setting
Let $X$ be a smooth complex algebraic variety, and $D_X$ the sheaf of differential operators on $X$. A $D$-module on $X$ is a sheaf of $D_X$-modules.
The Riemann-Hilbert correspondence establishes an equivalence between the triangulated category of regular holonomic $D_X$-modules and that of constructible sheaves. ("Recently'' extended to the irregular case by D'Agnolo and Kashiwara (link).)
Holonomic $D_X$-modules are in particular coherent over $D_X$. Furthermore, $O_X$-coherent $D_X$-coherent $D$-modules are locally free of finite rank, that is algebraic vector bundles on $X$ with flat (or integrable) connection.
Equivalently, the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence gives an equivalence from the category of flat connections on algebraic vector bundles on $X$ with (regular) singularities to the category of local systems of finite-dimensional complex vector spaces on $X$.
Questions

*

*General: Can such a correspondence be generalized to vector bundles with not necessarily flat connections? If so, what would we expect local systems to be replaced with? If not, what are the obstacles to lifting flatness?

*Specific: Where is the flatness/non-flatness of the connection being encoded in the correspondence on both sides? Namely, where can one exactly read flatness/non-flatness?

A: I'm a little bit familiar with the smooth category version. Fixing a basepoint $b$, you can parallel transport the fiber from the base point to any other point $p$. The transfer is path-independent if and only if going around the loop $b \to_1 p \to_2 b$ has trivial holonomy. Now according to the Ambrose-Singer theorem if the curvature of the connection is zero, the only nontrivial holonomy can come from topologically nontrivial loops and thus you get a local system. If the curvature doesn't vanish you may get a nontrivial holonomy even along homotopically trivial loops and thus you can try attaching the restricted holonomy groups to each fiber which would capture this behaviour.

A: I'm not sure there is a full answer to the "General" question, at least, within the $D$-module setting. I'll leave some remarks about non-flatness partially answering the question, and perhaps someone will tune in and complete this to a proper answer.

First off, to understand how one can lift flatness we have to know where and how it is being encoded on each side of the correspondence:
-on the $D$-module side it comes straight from the tangent sheaf $\Theta_X$ being a Lie subalgebra of the algebra of differential operators $D_X$. It is, thus, how $\Theta_X$ sits inside $D_X$ that determines the flatness of the underlying connection;
(Aside: We may consider deformations of the algebra $\Theta_X$ where we still preserve the Lie algebra structure, generally leading to twisted $D$-modules. These seem to correspond to connections with fixed scalar curvature (mathoverflow), which under the correspondence give constructible sheaves on a gerbe over the base (mathoverflow). $D$-module theory proper doesn't seem to be the natural ground to explore generic non-flat vector bundles and, therefore, below we will make do with the subset of $O_X$-coherent $D$-modules, i.e. plain vector bundles with flat connection.)
-on the local systems side, the understanding of flatness comes from viewing them as representations of the fundamental groupoid. The fundamental groupoid encodes the notion of paths up to homotopy, which then assembles to a connection where any curvature is washed out. So, it is homotopy invariance that kills curvature. There's still holonomy in the form of monodromy, which is discrete due to flatness. Thus, if we want to lift flatness we need a weaker notion of homotopy invariance.

Let us summarize the web of correspondences at play:

*

*vector bundles with flat connection

*local systems

*representation of the fundamental groupoid
We go from 1. to 2. via the parallel sections functor $\ker\nabla$, with flatness translating into Frobenius integrability condition on the existence of (unique local) solutions to the first-order ODEs $\ker\nabla$ given arbitrary initial data. These are finite-dimensional vector spaces. The correspondence 2. to 3. arises via standard results from covering spaces (already mentioned above; see mathoverflow). We may go directly from 1. to 3. by calculating the parallel transport of the (flat) connection, which descends to a representation of the fundamental group as result of flatness (equivalently, it is the monodromy of the solutions to $\ker\nabla$). The inverse direction goes via the associated bundle construction.
Hence, there are two places where one may explore "non-flatness": the $\ker\nabla$-functor and the parallel transport functor.
$\ker\nabla$-functor
I've partially addressed this recently here Kernel of a non-integrable connection, but let me go over it again for the sake of completeness.
For not necessarily flat connections, $\ker\nabla$ is still a well-defined subsheaf of the sheaf of sections of the vector bundle. In particular, it is a sheaf of finite-dimensional vector spaces with the stalk-rank $\dim(\ker\nabla)_x$ bounded by the vector bundle rank. However, $\ker\nabla$ is no longer a local system if $\nabla$ is not flat. That happens if and only if
$$
x\mapsto \dim(\ker\nabla)_x
$$
is a locally constant function on $X$ (see Lemma 1.6 Conrad). Furthermore, given the stratification of $X$ by stalk-dimension
$$
X^{\leq d}:=\{x\in X | \dim(\ker\nabla)_x\leq d\}\,,
$$
we have that the restriction of $\ker\nabla$ to the subsets $X^{\leq d}-X^{\leq d-1}$ is locally constant for all $d$. Hence, cleary $\ker\nabla$ is a constructible sheaf.
This map from vector bundles with connection to constructible sheaves is certainly not invertible. As already mentioned by @user40276 the exit-path category is relevant here. In fact, a theorem due to MacPherson says that the category of constructible sheaves on $X$ is equivalent to the category of representations of the exit-path category (see Treumann). The exit-path category encodes the notion of exit-paths again up to homotopy. Therefore, on each stratum the curvature of the connection is being killed again, and what we are able to recover is a constructible vector bundle with flat connection (see this thesis of a Block's student; and also mathoverflow). Basically, it is a flat vector bundle on each stratum.
The question remains on how to better characterize the image of $\ker\nabla$ such that we recover a correspondence. See related questions mathoverflow, math.stackexchange.
Parallel transport functor
In the smooth setting, the parallel transport of a connection can be assembled into a functor $\text{tra}$ by sending each point $x\in X$ to the vector space $E_x$, the fiber of $E$ over $x$, and a path $\gamma: x\to y$ to the parallel transport map $\text{tra}(\gamma):E_x\to E_y$. This notion is invariant under thin-homotopy, thus defining a functor from the path-groupoid of $X$ to $\text{Vect}$. Thin-homotopy is indeed the proper refinement of full homotopy to be able to accommodate (non-zero) curvature. In fact, as shown by (Schreiber & Waldorf), and also by (Berwick-Evans & Pavlov), the category of vector bundles with (not necessarily flat) connection is equivalent to the category of representations of the path-groupoid.
Remark: Notice that there's a canonical functor from the path-groupoid to the fundamental groupoid, by sending thin-homotopies to full homotopies. Therefore, a vector bundle with connection is flat if, as a representation of the path-groupoid, it factors through the fundamental groupoid.

Therefore, to close this to a circle of correspondences, as in 1.-2.-3.-1. above, and answer the question being asked we would need a sheaf-theoretic characterization of the category of representations of the path-groupoid. That is, the generalization of local systems (or constructible sheaves) for the non-flat/thin-homotopy case. I've asked about this here Category of representations of the path-groupoid.