"You're looking at me as if I can help but I seriously cannot even."

"My shoes are made of paper and I can't. Even."

"Literally, look at me one more time because I seriously cannot even."

"We're the only two people in this bar and you choose to sit directly next to me, I cannot even."

Hand-on-hip is the international sign of cannot even.

"This baby can't even so I cannot be expected to."

This lady, her monocle and her dachshunds cannot. Not today.

This sleeve is enormous and he cannot even with it.

Gertrude Stein can't even.

"I'm trying to pretend that I can but I can't even."

Shhhh, half-naked angel. St. Francis can't even.

Someone named Oswolt Krel cannot even.

Look into her eyes and feel how much she can't even right now.

"Nothing about my expression should communicate that I can in any way, because I can't even."

Lol. She can't.

Whatever is happening here they cannot, and they shouldn't, even.

He's done, guys. He can't even.

You asked. And he couldn't. And now he really cannot even.

Oh please, he cannot.

Never.

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“Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.” “Fantastic Four.” “Vacation.” “Jurassic World.” It’s not summer without a cinemaplex near you bursting with reboots, sequels, prequels and new installments in franchises that should have been allowed to die with dignity in the 1980s.

There’s not much mystery surrounding the continuing font of such films, however. A major action movie with no pre-established following could be a colossal disaster if it flops, a waste of millions of dollars. A similar movie from a beloved franchise, even a worse one, will at least successfully draw the superfans to theaters, if only so they can bemoan the blasphemous mistreatment of their favorite characters. Really, it's the same reason we eat at Wendy's or Olive Garden: It might be just OK, but at least it's an OK we know. A franchise film is low-risk for movie execs gambling massive sums on guessing what the average viewer will shell out to see.

The thing is, this doesn’t just happen in the movie biz.

Dr. Seuss and Harper Lee, neither of whom have actually penned a word for publication in decades, published new books this summer. (You may have heard.) Despite lukewarm reviews, they rapidly set sales records: What Pet Should I Getsold 200,000 copies in a week, faster than any picture book in Random House’s history, and Go Set a Watchmansold 1.1 million copies in a week, faster than any book in HarperCollins’ history.

 Surprising no one, it turns out peddling a low-quality option from an established literary franchise more reliably draws in profits than trying to get readers to pick up a better book by an unknown author. There’s that franchise effect rearing its ugly head again.

In general, the movie world is optimized for this effect in a way other artistic industries aren’t. Art motivated by profit, owned by corporations and created by committee all too often results in an endlessly regurgitated cycle of unimaginative pap. Blockbuster movie-making requires enormous funds and large teams; the rights to a franchise usually belong to a major studio, not to an idealistic artiste. If a director, star or screenwriter doesn’t want to keep putting out increasingly less worthwhile follow-ups to their original hit, they’re often free to walk, and the studio is often free to simply make those follow-ups with other directors, actors and screenwriters, then rake in the profits.   

Book publishers, except in the cases of ghostwritten series like Nancy Drew, have to contend with an often recalcitrant artist, without whom nothing can be accomplished. If the publisher is lucky, they’ll get a Tom Clancy, happy to keep churning out more of the brand of fiction that readers want from them, then willing to slap his name on similar books co-written with no-name authors. Tom Clancy books are still coming out today, years after his death, each with the actual author’s name in much smaller font at the bottom of the cover.

If less fortunate, the publisher might get a J.K. Rowling, so determined to break free of her meal ticket that she swears off writing Harry Potter books once the original series is complete, and even writes books for adults under a pseudonym.

Or, horrors, a J.D. Salinger, who decides he’s had enough writing for the public and secludes himself for the remainder of his days. Once this happens, there’s not much for a publisher to do. A writer controls his or her own artistic destiny. Without the writer’s contribution, or at least blessing, that well of profit runs dry. (Hey, at least there are reissues, right?)

Fortunately for the publishing industry, there are ways around this roadblock. A half-finished manuscript by a deceased icon, polished up and sent out into the world. More specifically, a finished but forgotten novel by a reclusive, and now elderly and infirm, author, uncovered and published to great fanfare. Or, a picture book by a beloved author and illustrator never deemed special during his lifetime, pushed into print upon its rediscovery well after his death.

Unfortunately for the authors’ legacies, and the readership itself, these books typically weren’t published in their time for a reason, whether it was incompleteness or sheer awfulness. We're left to contend with this smudge on the oeuvre of our literary idol, reckon with what it means for his or her artistic legacy that a book possibly never ready for the world has now been thrust into it.

Regardless, the reading public, like the movie-watching public, can be counted on to grab at new old things -- the same stories they’ve cherished their whole lives, but different. The publisher can count on a payday, no matter how disappointing the actual book.

Thanks to Watchman and What Pet, the most noteworthy books of this summer read like they could have appeared in newspaper headlines fifty years ago. But there are only so many lost manuscripts and easily persuadable superstar authors (a la E.L. James) for the industry to hang its hat on. Publishers can't look to the franchise reboot effect to save themselves the way movie studios do. They'll have to create blockbusters the old-fashioned way: on a wing and a prayer.

And, if they're lucky, lots of YA action romance trilogies. Here's looking at you, Divergent.

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“Swim Thru Fire,” a serialized comic featured on Penguin Random House Canada’s Hazlitt magazine, is today’s best argument for comics on the Web.

The series, now in its fifth installment on the site, centers around Ada, a mermaid who lives underwater among others of her kind, undulating plants and large whales. She makes contact with the surface when she rescues a woman researcher who’s been thrown overboard. The story continues from there, both on the research boat and in the water, with co-creator Annie Mok’s writing and Sophia Foster-Dimino’s art laying down broad brushstrokes of setting, characterization and feeling.

When discussing their comic on the “Young Talk” podcast, Mok described the vision of the story as “loosely a retelling of The Little Mermaid,” Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale of a mermaid who gives up her identity to obtain a human soul for the love of a prince. In the comic, the mermaids are there, but the prince becomes a female researcher.

“I identify as a trans woman; all my protagonists for my fictional work are trans people, usually trans women,” Mok explained to The Huffington Post in an email. “There have been a lot of trans readings of The Little Mermaid, and certainly Hans Christian Andersen was a queer person who had been abused. I identified with the hurt, desire and outsider feelings he put into that story.”

The series would be a masterpiece in any form, but what strikes immediately is the framing: one long, continuous panel that the reader must scroll down to read. It’s an effect that ties the art form to its digital home; the act of moving down the page conveys the depth, both literally and figuratively, of the story at hand. One scrolls further down, unsure of how far from the beginning they are, curious about how deep it might go -- not dissimilar to a plunge into the cold sea. 

To describe her and artist Foster-Dimino’s dual efforts, Mok turns to other known collaborators. “Jeff Parker compared his comic book scripts for Steve Lieber to what silent movie scripts might be like, and I do the same,” she said, recounting how she gives Foster-Dimino “stage directions with notes on what the characters are thinking and feeling.” From there, Foster-Dimino draws the strip.

“I think of how Billy Strayhorn wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington, and then Duke and Johnny Hodges and the rest of Duke’s orchestra fleshed the song out, improvised, and made it real,” Mok said.

Mok’s background as a comic artist helps as well. “Our process maybe involves more back-and-forth than the standard writer-artist pipeline used in mainstream comics, but I think the rhythm we've come up with is much better for both of us in terms of creative payoff,” Foster-Dimino wrote to HuffPost in an email.  

“She cooked up the notion to keep the ocean parts very flowing and open, and to make the parts on the boat all hard edges and constrictions,” Mok said of Foster-Dimino. “Like any story, it's a story in part about contrasts, and her choices draw out and build upon nuances suggested in the scripts.”

Foster-Dimino noted that this collaboration was the first one she's worked on specifically for the Web. “Many people have loved the scrolling, and it’s been incredibly fun for me as an artist to solve compositional problems when you have no vertical boundaries.”

In “Swim Thru Fire,” its digital home is not merely an afterthought or at odds with the story’s structure; it works directly with it.

The comic is one example of how artists can use digital screens to their advantage. “I’d like to see more online platforms offer legitimate, well-paying opportunities for cartoonists, and I’d also like to see cartoonists push what can be done on the Web,” Foster-Dimino said, noting that comics are seldom outfitted for a smartphone screen, typically looking better on a tablet or computer. She admires fellow artist Maré Odomo for occasionally tailoring comics for mobile viewing, “since viewing images on a phone is a special kind of intimate experience."

"There is something about the space of a Web page that is uncanny, inherently ... because you don’t know when it will end. With a book, you know where you are,” Foster-Dimino added on the "Young Talk" podcast. "It’s something you can physically hold in your hands, you have control over it and shut it in your hands if it scares you ... Web comics have the power to be much more manipulative.”

Artist Emily Carroll, author of graphic story collection Through the Woods, is also known for producing Web comics that take advantage of digital spaces, using GIFs to add surprise and tension in a way that paper cannot. Clicking on a comic from Carroll’s homepage takes a reader to a black-background site, her creations front and center. At the bottom of each scroll, “next” buttons tell you that there’s more to come -- but there’s no telling what it could be, and for how long it will last. She cites fellow artist Jen Lee, creator of "Thunderpaw," as another creator using GIFs and online tools in innovative ways. 

Carroll noted she draws faster on a tablet, "which means I can get mistakes out of the way quicker and correct myself more easily." In traditional work, "I can get very sloppy -- I smear ink a lot, I get fingerprints everywhere -- and when I mess up a drawing, I tend to get frustrated and scrap the entire thing."

Interestingly, Carroll doesn’t see the print versus digital dilemma as "an either/or situation" in the comic world. "There's things you can do online that would be impossible to do in print," she told HuffPost in an email. Online spaces are typically more accessible for artists in terms of publication and exposure -- it's faster and easier to share a link or a graphic online than to send them in the mail, or secure a spot selling them in-person at a convention. 

This advantage becomes all the more significant when one considers the unlimited space online to host the typically untold stories from authors in marginalized groups. Mok noted that most of the comics she considers radical are found online or in self-published zines. Though these are a useful starting point, traditional publishing hasn't quite caught up. "Most small presses and even micropresses remain somewhat hidebound politically," Mok said in an email. "For example, the number of black cartoonists that have had books published by Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly [two major comics publishers] can be counted on one or two hands."

Citing the alienating "R. Crumb mold for indie cartoonists as sad sack, angry misogynist white boys," Mok finds fewer radical voices in comics than in similar music and zine scenes. Despite the grim landscape, there's still hope: "I feel very excited about a number of voices," she said, listing the The Response, Sab Meynert, Cathy G. Johnson, Higu Rose and Aatmaja Pandya, to name a few, as some inspiring voices that challenge norms in the cartoonist world.

With "Swim Thru Fire," Mok and Foster-Dimino can also add their own names to that list. 

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What, you ask, is dada?

The radical leftist movement was anti-war, anti-bourgeois, anti-art, even sometimes anti-dada. In his Dada Manifesto, Tristan Tzara poetically explained: "Dada; abolition of logic, which is the dance of those impotent to create ... Dada; absolute and unquestionable faith in every god that is the immediate product of spontaneity ... Freedom: Dada Dada Dada, a roaring of tense colours, and interlacing of opposites and of all contradictions, grotesques, inconsistencies: LIFE."

According to Naomi Sawelson-Gorse's book Women in Dada, the legend goes that the word "dada" was discovered by opening a dictionary at random. There are also other less logical possibilities -- the word translates to "yes yes" in Romanian, "rocking horse" in French. But, come on, the title of the chaotic artistic movement of the early 20th century bears, most of all, a striking resemblance to a baby's first utterance upon seeing his or her father. From its start, there was something patriarchal about dada. 

Hugo Ball, Hans Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Raoul Hausmann -- these are some of the artists most associated with the proto-punk movement. Visionary avant-garde goddess Hannah Hoch occasionally gets a mention. However, the majority of women contributing to the dada movement have been gradually erased over time.  

Today we're revisiting eight of the fearless and independent women whose 20th century artworks shaped the trajectory of radical artmaking and radical feminism to come. They painted, they sculpted, they wrote, they acted, they danced, they dressed up, they taught, they kicked ass. Behold, the forgotten Mamas of Dada. 

German-born Freytag-Loringhoven was dubbed "the only one living anywhere who dresses dada, loves dada, lives dada," by co-editor of the journal The Little Review, Jane Heap. The avant-garde performance artist began as an actress and vaudeville dancer, later modeling for artists like Man Ray. After graduating from art school in Munich, Freytag-Loringhoven moved to New York, setting up shop in Grenwich Village. 

She was an early pioneer of radical, sound-based poetry, her work appearing alongside James Joyce's Ulysses in The Little Review. Making up new words like “phalluspistol,” “spinsterlollipop,” and “kissambushed," Freytag-Loringhoven created her own vibrant, collaged language to bring her graphic and raggedy poetic visions to life. It's also been speculated that Marcel Duchamp's idea for his game-changing "Fountain" was, in fact, Freytag-Loringhoven's idea. Duchamp wrote a letter to his sister explaining that a female friend had sent him the urinal under the male psuedonum Richard Mutt. 

The artist also worked with found assemblage sculptures and paintings, turning junkyard materials into potential artistic media. Most of all, however, she was known for her "living collages," boundary-shattering performances without beginning or end, actualized via ornate costumes and absurd behavior that bridged life and art. 

"A self-proclaimed anarchist, she found what she wore, from shower curtain rings as bracelets to postage stamps as beauty marks," explained Interview Magazine. "She was a living dada artwork. Her willingness to be ugly and absurd is much of the charm. Here was a lithe, sexually liberated woman, taking flapper-esque fashion and distorting it, wearing tin-can bras or carrying her tiny, mangy dog like an accessory to poke fun at upper crust notions of breeding."

2. Sophie Taeuber-Arp

Taeuber-Arp was born in Switzerland, the youngest of five children. She began studying art at a young age, joining a dance troupe and an artist colony in her 20s. At 26 years old, she met dada artist Hans Arp at a gallery. The two would go on to be artistic collaborators as well as romantic partners. Her salary as a professor kept the artists afloat while they struggled for artistic recognition. 

Taeuber-Arp taught weaving and textile arts in Zurich, making her own abstract, geometric works that played with the relationship between shape and form. "The hallmark of Miss Taeuber-Arp's art," Hilton Kramer wrote in The New York Times, "then and later, was an extreme simplicity of design most often achieved through the use of pure geometrical forms."

Additionally, she also worked as a dancer, choreographer and puppeteer, and served as co-signer of the Zurich Dada Manifesto. In 1943, Taeuber-Arp died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, the result of a malfunctioning stove.

3. Clara Tice

Tice, an artist and illustrator, born and raised in New York City, was later dubbed "The Queen of Greenwich Village" due to her bohemian style -- she claims she was the first to don her hair bobbed in all of New York. Although Tice was praised for her slinky sense of style, she wasn't interested in dressing well to find a date. "Brains [and] the ability to do things," she once said, "are the things that attract a man."

The It Girl loved to draw, but it wasn't until an exhibition of her provocative nude drawings was shut down by the Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1915 that her career really blossomed. The whole commotion captured the attention of Vanity Fair's editor, and before long, Tice's sleek drawings graced the pages of the magazine. Her illustrations were characterized by movement -- awkward yet natural, jarring yet flowing.

Tice was an avid animal lover, especially loving horses and dogs. One of her most beloved illustrated books, ABC Dogs, pairs each letter of the alphabet with a respective breed of canine. 

4. Mina Loy

Loy, an artist, actress, poet, novelist, futurist and (duh) all-around badass bohemian, changed her given name from Lowy to evade anti-Semitism. The choice also enabled her disciples to dub themselves "Loy-alists."

The multi-hyphenate, who was born in London and moved to New York, is primarily remembered for her free-verse poetry, both erotic and extreme. One poem reads: "Spawn of fantasies / Silting the appraisable / Pig Cupid his rosy snout / Rooting erotic garbage." Her peers and admirers included William Carlos Williams, Marcel Duchamp and Gertrude Stein, who, in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, wrote that Loy "has always been able to understand."

Above all else, Loy considered herself a visual artist, working throughout her life with oils, ink, light fixtures, found objects and garbage. She was also a fierce feminist, writing in her early “Feminist Manifesto” that “there is nothing impure in sex -- except in the mental attitude towards it.” Life was not easy for Loy though. She tragically lost a 1-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son. Nonetheless, in old age, she strangely declared that "everything has been funny in my life."

5. Beatrice Wood

Wood was born to wealthy socialites in San Francisco, California. In her lifetime, she became known as the "Mama of dada," celebrated for her ceramic artworks, paintings, drawings, outspoken persona, outlandish style and long list of famed lovers. She was a lifelong vegetarian who rarely spoke or drank. She worked at the potter's wheel until the age of 103 and passed away at 105. She attributed her long lasting health to "chocolate and young men." (Look at this right now.) 

At the age of 18, Wood studied art in Paris and soon after moving to New York took up with an avant-garde crowd that included Man Ray, Mina Loy and Marcel Duchamp -- the latter, along with writer Henri-Pierre Roche, collaborated with Wood on a dada journal titled The Blind Man. In one issue, Wood defended Duchamp's "Fountain" amidst rejection and criticism, declaring ''The only works of art America has given are her plumbing and her bridges.'' The line is often faslely attributed to Duchamp.

In the 1930s Wood, who had previously worked mostly in drawing, took up ceramics. Her objects, whimsical and shimmering, incorporated metallic colors into the glaze itself, instead of on top. She made chalices and bowls and vases; her best works were produced throughout the artist's 90s. Wood tells her story in an autobiography entitled I Shock Myself. James Cameron was amongst its readers, and based his "Titanic" heroine, 101-year-old Rose, on her character. 

6. Florine Stettheimer

Stettheimer was a New York-born painter, set designer and poet, known for the modernist salons she founded in Brooklyn with her sisters. She was born to a wealthy Jewish family and, after her father left the family, spent much of her upbringing traveling. 

Because of her wealth, Stettheimer considered her artmaking a purely personal pursuit and resisted opportunities for self-promotion or competition. She established a salon "for the contemporary literati, gay and polyglot New Yorkers and European expatriates," and exhibited only once in a gallery setting. Similarly, with her poetry, Stettheimer was distinctly private, writing her poems and giving them to friends instead of publishing them. 

Her paintings were sensory indulgences, mixing homey settings with elements of androgyny and eroticism. As Irene Gammel and Suzanne Zelazo wrote in a review of her work: "Unapologetically domestic and über-feminine, Stettheimer’s work has been variously described as ‘faux naïf,’ reveling in simplified shapes and Fauve-like colors, as ‘rococo subversive,’ embracing a camp sensibility; and as ‘temporal modernism’ influenced by Bergsonian concepts of time as heterogeneous durée."

Stettheimer intended to have her work destroyed following her death, but, luckily, her sister had other plans.

7. Suzanne Duchamp

Although she's primarily remembered in retrospect as being the younger sister of dada chief Marcel Duchamp, Suzanne was a formidable artist in her own right. Ms. Duchamp, who was born in France, moved to Paris shortly after World War I broke out, where she worked as a nurse's aid. At just 22 years old, she confirmed her power as an artist after showing at the exclusive Salon des Indépendants.

Throughout her life, Suzanne remained close with Marcel, and eventually wed his studio-mate, Swiss painter Jean Crotti. During their marriage, Suzanne enjoyed the most fruitful artistic period of her life, perhaps spurred by Marcel's unconventional wedding gift: instructions for an "Unhappy Readymade," which involved suspending a geometry textbook on the porch and letting the wind and rain gradually tear it apart.

Although Duchamp did not identify as a feminist activist, her work illuminated the progressive underpinnings of her ideas. In a self-portrait titled "Give me the right to life," Duchamp depicts herself entangled in a network of lines and objects like clocks, scissors, lamps and knobs. It's near-impossible to discern an exact relationship between the many objects included, some barely identifiable but buzzing with energy. However, the proto-feminist implications of the title speak for themselves. 

Eventually Duchamp and Crotti moved away from dada toward a new movement they called Tabu, a more spiritually driven cosmic investigation. 

8. Katherine Sophie Dreier

Dreier was born into a wealthy family in Brooklyn, allowing her interest in art to flourish from a young age. After befriending Marcel Duchamp and becoming frustrated by his lack of success at the time, Dreier became an avid supporter of the arts, specifically modernism and dada.

She founded the Society of Independent Artists and, with Duchamp and Man Ray, the Société Anonyme, the first ever permanent collection of modern art, consisting of more than 1,000 works by avant-garde artists from all over the world. Dreier promoted a variety of now iconic artists, including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Joan Miro. She penned the book Western Art in the New Era, establishing her artistic viewpoint regarding the relationship between form and meaning. 

A devoted feminist and suffragette, Dreier was involved with the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. She also co-founded the German House for Recreation of Women and Children, and served its president.

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There are few things more natural and beautiful than a mother nurturing her child, which is why birth and breastfeeding photographer Sophia Costa gathered a group of proud Hawaii moms to nurse in gorgeous settings.

The Oahu-based photographer is a mother of two herself and knows the scrutiny that can accompany nursing in public. "I think that our society still sexualizes the act of breastfeeding," she told HuffPost. "It’s a natural thing -- our bodies do it without us even trying."

Costa's collection is part of the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project that includes a network of photographers who hope to normalize and celebrate the act of breastfeeding in public.

"In that first six months, it’s so crucial for the child to get breast milk from the mom," Costa said. "And for the mom to feel comfortable to go out in public and not be locked up in her home, afraid."

Each of Costa's photos is accompanied by a quote from the mother, describing her unique experience with breastfeeding.

"Without a cover," one mother said, "I can see his beautiful face and connect with him. I love his milky smiles and grins. I hope that when I breastfeed in public without hiding that I am emboldening other women to do the same."

The feedback for the project has been "99.9% positive," Costa says. Even when a negative comment appeared on Facebook, Costa said the resulting support made up for it.

"A bunch of mothers saw it and came to the defense of the mother in the picture," she told HuffPost. "What works for one mother doesn’t necessarily work for other mothers. It would be awesome if women just supported each other in whatever decisions we make."

Below, a sample of Costa's powerful work. Follow the hashtag #PBAP2015 to see more photos from the project:

This article is part of HuffPost Parents' World Breastfeeding Week coverage. Read more here. 

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For a long time, "I" has been the silent starting vowel, overshadowed by the more popular "A," "E" and "O" baby names.  But now we’re seeing "I" names rise up the ranks, particularly for girls.  These range from some revitalized vintage names like Ida to the international like Inez and Ingrid. So far there are only two I-girls on the Top 100 list -- Isabella and Isabelle -- but here are some others that we consider worthy of joining them.

Ianthe

A romantic name with both Greek mythological and floral associations (it means "violet flower"), Ianthe has been seen more in fiction than on birth certificates, used by such writers as the poet Shelley and novelists Barbara Pym, Rosamond Lehmann and Georgette Heyer.

Ida

First came the resurgence of Ava (now Number 5), followed by Ada (382) -- so could Ida be next in line? It was a top ten name a century ago, when a popular song was "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider," and is still number two in Denmark and 10 in Norway.

Imogen

A Shakespearean name (though via a misprint), Imogen is currently Number 34 in England, Wales and Australia, and a whopping 23 on Nameberry -- though it’s yet to be seen on the national list. Worthy namesakes include classic photographer Imogen Cunningham and contemporary musician Imogen Heap.

Inez

An exotic name with a sizzling z-ending, Inez has been fully integrated into the American name pool. It was briefly a Top 100 name in the U.S. in the early decades of the 20^th century. The Spanish and Portuguese version of Agnes, it can also be spelled Ines or Ynez.

Ingrid

Ingrid is one of the few Scandinavian names to be fully accepted in the U.S., largely via the influence of "Casablanca" beauty Ingrid Bergman, whose midcentury popularity caused the name to reach Number 380 in 1967. Somewhat neglected now, it would make an inspired choice for parents with Scandinavian roots. Ingrid is the middle name of both Scarlett Johansson and Michelle Williams.

Ireland

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin thought out of the box when they named their daughter Ireland in 1995, and by 1998, it had reached the lower echelons of the Top 1000. In the current baby name climate, in which place names are trending, Ireland is proving an increasingly appealing destination.

Iris

Iris is a perennial flower name, consistently on the national list since records have been kept, and is now definitely on the upswing: it’s at Number 245 in the U.S., in the Top 100 of the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden and 52 on Nameberry. A Greek mythological name -- she was the goddess of the rainbow -- its also been a celebrity choice: Jude Law and Judd Apatow are both dads to Irises.

Isabeau

A charming French version, in which the belle ending switches to beau and a royal name in France, Isabeau has appeared in an eponymous opera, as a character in "Ladyhawke" -- played by Michelle Pfeiffer -- and in TV’s "Lost Girl," where she was nicknamed Bo.

Isadora

We think this is one I-name that has been sadly neglected. It hasn’t ranked on the national popularity list since 1900 though it ranks at 192 on Nameberry. Interesting references include iconic modern dancer Isadora Duncan, Fear of Flying protagonist Isadora Wing and Lemony Snicket’s Isadora Quagmire (named for Duncan). Bjork called her daughter Isadora.

Isla

After actress Isla Fisher appeared on the international cinema scene, her name, helped along by a Harry Potter character, was on the path to becoming one of the fastest-rising girls’ names, reaching Number 150 within just five years. Even Queen Elizabeth has a great-granddaughter named Isla.

Isolde

If you’re looking for a dramatic, romantic I-girl name, you might consider the fabled love of Tristan in the Arthurian legend, whose tragic story made it very popular during the Middle Ages. Other variations are Isolda, Iseult and Isotta. She’s appreciated on Nameberry, where Isolde is Number 216.

Ivy

This is Another I-name clearly on the rise, especially since Beyonce and Jay-Z chose Blue Ivy for their little girl. Ivy has been appearing more and more frequently on the small screen, on shows from "Gossip Girl" to "Dollhouse" to "Downton Abbey." It ranks at Number 146 on the Social Security list, and in the Top 30 on Nameberry.

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This singer's interesting voice is a gorgeous surprise. 

A video recently uploaded to YouTube features Emma Robinson from St. Petersburg, Florida, singing a stunning rendition of Tori Kelly's "Paper Hearts." 

Listen to Robinson belt out a sweet melody that's so mesmerizing, it'll make your jaw drop. With a special sound like that, it's no wonder her music has generated buzz on the Internet in the past. Back in 2013, Robinson's cover of Rihanna's "Stay" went viral after it was posted to Reddit. 

Robinson says that her unique style can be attributed to her special singing technique. 

"I'd say it's a variation of yodeling or Celtic-type singing," she told the Associated Press in 2013. "I don't know how I got it -- I just can't sing without it."

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While A Song of Ice and Fire fans twiddle their thumbs, waiting for George R.R. Martin to buckle down and write, J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate will release a fantasy story to whet their appetites for geekery.

Called The Story of Kullervo, it’s one of the author’s first works of prose. Although he never completed it, it’s full of ancillary materials, and includes a character who’s closely related to the Lord of the Rings universe. 

The presentation of the book is refreshing relative to certain works by classic writers released earlier this year. The estate doesn’t pretend that the story is polished or complete, but rather offers it up as new material for fans of Tolkien’s central works to chew on. 

Kullervo centers on a tragic character -- an orphan protected by his magical dog Musti, and his twin sister Wanona. A dark magician tries to kill him and sell him into slavery, and a revenge plot ensues.

Tolkien began writing the story when he was in college, inspired after reading the "Kalevala," a Finnish epic poem. According to io9, the author was drawn to the poem’s “dueling Northern wizards and lovestruck youths, beer-drinkers and shape-changers.”

Though the story is imperfect and incomplete, Tolkien himself wrote that the tale set him off on a journey of world-building and fantasy-writing. Fans can follow along the author’s first steps into the world that would become Middle Earth on Oct. 27.

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We know that listening to classical music can lower blood pressure, reduce stress levels and even boost learning. But could it also help prevent seizures in people with epilepsy? 

Now that neurologists have found that the brains of people with epilepsy process music very differently than the brains of people without the condition, this may be a real possibility.

The new research showed that when patients with epilepsy are listening to classical and jazz music, their brainwave patterns actually sync up with the melodies. 

"Like musicians whose brains synchronize with music, persons with epilepsy synchronize to the music in the temporal lobe, where majority of seizures begin," Christine Charyton, Ph.D., a neurologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and one of the study's authors, told The Huffington Post in an email.

The temporal lobe, the area of the brain above the ears where sound is perceived, is involved in both music processing and epilepsy. Roughly 80 percent of seizures originate in this area.

Individuals with epilepsy tend to show abnormalities in the temporal and frontal cortexes of the brain, as well as abnormal synchronization of brainwave activity. 

For the study, the neurologists used electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to record brainwave patterns of subjects with epilepsy and those without the condition.

The participants' brainwave activity was recorded during a period of silence, and also while they were listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, andante movement, and John Coltrane's jazz rendition of "My Favorite Things." 

The subjects with epilepsy had particularly high brainwave activity while they were listening to both types of music. But brainwave activity didn't just increase  -- the electrical activity in the temporal lobe of the participants with epilepsy actually timed up with the music. This did not occur, however, in the brains of the participants without epilepsy.

It's possible that the healthier type of synchronization that occurs when people with epilepsy are listening to relaxing music might be able to prevent seizures insofar as it reduces dysfunctional synchronization in the temporal lobe.   

"This more healthy rather than pathological synchronization may help the person with epilepsy and may prevent seizures from occurring," Charyton said. 

While it's unlikely that music would ever replace traditional treatments for epilepsy, music therapy could potentially be used in conjunction with existing treatments. And for now, it may be beneficial for people with epilepsy to listen to relaxing music. 

"People with epilepsy may use the music to relax -- stress causes seizures to occur," Charyton said. "We want to bring hope to persons with epilepsy and prevent seizures from occurring." 

The findings were presented Sunday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Toronto. 

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It's not "Almost Paradise" anymore -- "Bachelor in Paradise" has finally arrived, and in abundance. The first week's episodes, three hours in total, offered all the laughter, tears, making out and backstabbing we could possibly hope for.

In this week's "Here To Make Friends" podcast, hosts Claire Fallon, Culture Writer, and Emma Gray, Senior Women's Editor, recap episodes 3 and 4 of "Bachelor in Paradise" Season 2. We'll discuss Joe's sociopathic tendencies, whether Jared really is all that sweet, Lauren's exit and Clare's cliffhanger breakdown. 

Plus, Nick Viall, the polarizing runner-up of "The Bachelorette" seasons 10 and 11, joins to catch us up on his life, what the future might hold and to give us his thoughts on "Paradise."

Do people love "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise," or do they love to hate it? It's unclear. But here at "Here To Make Friends," we both love and love to hate them -- and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail.

This week's best "Bachelor in Paradise" tweets...

Can't get enough of "Paradise"? Here's last week's episode of "Here To Make Friends."

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Despite suffering two brutal rejections on "The Bachelorette," first by Andi Dorfman, then by Kaitlyn Bristowe, Nick Viall admitted on HuffPost's "Here to Make Friends" podcast Tuesday that he'd still be open to finding love on reality TV. 

Asked if he would accept an offer to become the next Bachelor, Viall told hosts Claire Fallon and Emma Gray, "To be perfectly honest, I would seriously consider it. It's obviously an incredible opportunity." If anything, he seems to consider his sometimes-bumpy history on the show as good preparation for a future Bachelor: "As a 34-year-old, having dated and having had relationships not work out, you learn about yourself. You learn about what you want [...] and I feel fortunate to be in a position in my life where I know who I am and I'm very comfortable in my own skin and I know what I'm looking for."

Still, the two-time "Bachelorette" runner-up said he doesn't want to become the guy who only dates with a mic pack on and a host of cameras circling. "I don't want to get pigeonholed," he joked. "But at the same time, it can certainly work."

If he doesn't get the nod from ABC -- Viall says he has no idea who will turn out to be the next Bachelor -- he had a few thoughts on another former "Bachelorette" contender who might be a good choice. "Obviously, Ben H.'s name comes up a lot," he said. "I think he would be a great choice [...] I have a lot of respect for Ben H. He is as sweet as everyone thinks he is."

What is Ben H. really like? Well, Viall said, "I might be giving myself too much credit, but Ben kind of reminds me of when I was 26." 

As of now, Viall says he's in a good place after taking a few months to regroup from his last season of "The Bachelorette" -- but there's no one special in his life at the moment. "I am not currently dating anyone specific or exclusive. I'm not really actively dating," he told "Here to Make Friends."

You heard him, ladies. Now's your chance; after all, who knows how long he'll be off-camera and on the market?

For more from Nick Viall of "The Bachelorette," including a recap of this week on "Bachelor in Paradise," check out the new episode of HuffPost's "Here to Make Friends":

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Photographer and mom Liliana Taboas hopes her "Divine Mothering" project will bring joy and encouragement to her fellow mothers by celebrating the many shapes and sizes of the postpartum female body. 

"Becoming a mother has been a complicated journey," Taboas told The Huffington Post, adding that she developed a lot of anxiety about giving birth after her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. "It took a long time, two healthy pregnancies and experiencing that immense love for your children to help me move past that fear. I grew to understand that my body was a place of life and death, light and dark."

Through her personal journey, the photographer developed a desire to help other women come to a sense of peace with their bodies. "I soon realized that I could use my photography as a tool to help women heal -- to help women see themselves in a different light," she said.

Taboas launched Divine Mothering as a blog where she shares photos of mothers, along with their personal stories."I try to capture the beauty that is purely motherly love as well as pride, fearlessness, confidence," she said. So far she has photographed and interviewed 19 moms for the project through a series of intimate sessions. 

The mom says she stumbled upon a "really incredible community" of mothers when she helped her friend and fellow photographer Erin White take breastfeeding pictures for her "Women in the Wild" series. "Everyone was so happy they participated, everyone wanted to see more," she said, adding, "I realized that the energy was still high and decided to use it to continue a series dedicated to all mothers... all women really."

Ultimately, Taboas wants Divine Mothering to be a beacon of support for women struggling with body image. And, she hopes the participants will feel empowered by the photos. "I hope they see the light that radiates from each and every one of them," the photographer said. "I hope they see how beautiful they are, as they are. I hope they see how incredible their bodies are and what they have accomplished. I hope they can see their strength, their fearlessness, their courage for standing up and participating."

Keep scrolling for a sample of photos from Divine Mothering. 

 H/T BoredPanda

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Remember scratching your head when Paul Haggis' "Crash" won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay in 2006? Sadly, us too.

The 2005 film, starring Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Michael Peña, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and a long list of others, thrived on the gimmick of interconnecting a bunch of different storylines throughout Los Angeles. If anything, you likely remember how the film came under fire for its racial stereotyping and the responses that followed its Oscars win. But don't worry, Haggis, who wrote and directed "Crash," doesn't exactly agree his film deserved the golden statuette, either.

In a recent interview with HitFix about his upcoming HBO miniseries "Show Me A Hero," Haggis reflected on his double-Oscar win ("Crash" also won Hughes Winborne an Academy Award that year for Best Editing). "Was it the best film of the year?  I don’t think so," Haggis told HitFix before listing off the other great nominees from that year, which included Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," Bennett Miller's "Capote," George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" and Steven Spielberg's "Munich." "I mean please," Haggis said, "what a year."

While the director says he's proud his film touched people enough to earn an award, he doesn't think it should've won. "I'm very glad to have those Oscars," Haggis said. "But you shouldn’t ask me what the best film of the year was because I wouldn’t be voting for 'Crash,' only because I saw the artistry that was in the other films."

Regardless of award show recognition and backlash, does the filmmaker believe he made a "great" film in retrospect? "I don’t know," he told the website. And that, ladies and gentleman, is the sound of the final nail in the "Crash" coffin (we hope).

For the full interview, head to HitFix.

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Rainbows are rare and lighting is fast, so to capture the two in one magnificent shot takes skill -- and some luck. 

Tucson, Arizona, real estate agent Greg McCown picked up the hobby of photography while on vacation in 2004 and has been a storm chaser ever since. On Saturday, he took the perfect shot while in Marana, Arizona, capturing a rainbow and an electrified bolt using a lightning trigger on his camera after following the storm for about two hours. 

"What an amazing feeling it was," he wrote in an email to The Huffington Post Tuesday. "It happened so fast and I actually only saw the flash out of the corner of my eye. I checked it on the camera LCD and couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't wait to get home to bring it up on a big screen to make sure."

 The rarity of the shot is noteworthy. 

"I do capture lightning scenes quite frequently, but the majority of those are later in the evening," he said in an interview with Weather.com. "The combination of having a rainbow, a lightning bolt that is powerful enough to really stand out in the daytime and composed perfectly with a saguaro has never happened for me before."

McCown was proud. 

"This particular shot has been a goal of mine for over [seven] years," he told HuffPost. "I've seen similar things happen only a few times in my life while actively looking for it, so to catch it with the camera was nothing short of awesome."  

Check out more of McCown's photos on his website, Saguaro Pictures. 

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The latest parody video from YouTube's Laughing Moms channel shows what ABBA might've sounded like if they sang about breastfeeding.

The comedic duo turned "Dancing Queen" into a lactation-themed anthem called "Nursing Queen." From night feedings to hormone and fatigue-fueled breakdowns, the parody covers many scenarios breastfeeding moms know all too well. The moms also pay tribute to Kristina Kuzmic's satirical PSA, "4 Reasons Women Should NEVER Breastfeed in Public."

In the video caption, the moms note that their tribute is not meant to belittle mothers who don't breastfeed. "We love all mommas and want to show our support to those mommas who choose to nurse their babies!" they write. "That doesn't mean we think any less of those mommas who don't nurse, we just want mommas who do nurse to have the freedom to do so!" 

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Here are a few cool facts about chameleons: They can move their eyes independently, change color at will and shoot out their tongues to twice the length of their bodies to capture prey.

A stunning new National Geographic clip highlights these and other unique attributes and describes the incredible variety within the chameleon family -- there are 202 different species ranging in color and size.

Scientists have made some striking discoveries about chameleons in recent years, most notably about the way they change color. Their technicolor skin isn't primarily used to blend in, as scientists used to believe. It's actually "mostly for communication," National Geographic's Patricia Edmonds notes. "It’s the lizard using colorful language, expressing itself about things that affect it: courtship, competition, environmental stress."

As for their tongues? Scientists used to think chameleons shot them out by filling them with blood or inflating them with air. But they now know that the lizards' tongues actually function like a bow, using a spring-loaded system of bone, elastic tissue and muscle to snatch prey at 13 miles per hour.

The wildlife publication will feature the animals in its upcoming September issue. Nearly 40 percent of all chameleon species were classified as endangered or critically endangered in the most recent Red List assessment, released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Many of the creatures are struggling to stay alive as habitat alteration and deforestation threaten to wipe them out.

Some chameleons are highly specialized, and can only be found in specific habitats. Forty-two percent of them live on the island of Madagascar, off Africa's east coast. 

You can read Nat Geo's entire feature on chameleons here, or take a look at the creatures' incredible color-changing mechanism here.

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In New Zealand, it's time to let some freaky flags fly. 

The country may retire its national flag, and its government has sought the public's help in coming up with a new design. Voters will rank four finalists in November and then, in a follow-up vote in March, they'll choose between the most popular newcomer and the current flag.

But now is the fun part for all the armchair vexillologists before the competition gets too serious. A panel overseeing the Flag Consideration Project picked 40 entries on Monday for further review from a wild and wacky pool of 10,292 potential replacements. 

Many of the entires pay homage to Maori culture or include images of a kiwi; a beloved species of bird; the silver fern; an iconic national flower; and the Southern Cross.

Here are some of the contenders, with contestants' descriptions:

Designed by: Daniel Crayford and Leon Cayford from Auckland

This is an evolution of the 1902 New Zealand flag. The unfurling white koru design, formed by the red and blue sides meeting together, represents a young land, full of potential. Next to it sits the guiding stars of the Southern Cross, or in Māori tradition, the Anchor or Arrow. No matter what object they represent, they help us find our way, and remind us of home.

Designed by: Otis Frizzell from Auckland

This design incorporates the long white cloud/whitecaps. The green of the land and sea. The Southern Cross on the blue background pays homage to the 1902 New Zealand flag, but the Māori design element replaces the Union Jack.

Designed by: Sven Baker from Wellington

This design represents the partnership forged between Māori and European settlers in the Treaty, through the interlocking Gordon Walters’ koru forms. These also symbolise Rangi and Papa – the sky and earth. A unity symbol that speaks to a shared spirit and collective ambition for the future.

Designed by: Mike Archer from International

This design subtly references ‘The Land Of The Long White Cloud’ and the Southern Cross, with a nod to New Zealand’s silver fern and our geographic location within the world. The colour palette is iconic and has been reduced to reflect New Zealand’s strong connection with the ocean and environment - past, present and future.

Designed by: Sven Baker from Wellington 

An abstract Koru forming a unity symbol for the New Zealand people, speaking to a shared spirit and ambition for the future of New Zealand. The contemporary circular Koru design is inspired by a new fern frond unfurling as it grows represents new life and harmony, the circle of life representing no beginning or end. 

Designed by: Kyle Lockwood from Auckland

Suggested by: Hayden Crosby from Auckland

The silver fern: A New Zealand icon for over 160 years, worn proudly by many generations. The fern is an element of indigenous flora representing the growth of our nation. The multiple points of the fern leaf represent Aotearoa's peaceful multicultural society, a single fern spreading upwards represents that we are all one people growing onward into the future. The Southern Cross represents our geographic location in the antipodes. It has been used as a navigational aid for centuries and it helped guide early settlers to our islands.

The full catalogue of 40 flags is available on the New Zealand government's website -- and so are all 10,292 designs if you really want to see the good, the bad and the ugly.

You'll see some outside-the-box versions, like these, in that second link:

Designed by: Hannah Maxwell from Waikato

Suggested by: Hannah Maxwell from Waikato

The winding road showcases many elements that kiwis pride themselves on: the sky tower is a well recognised landmark and represents kiwi ingenuity and creativity. A little further down the road but no less important is our stunning environment. But perhaps a little more literally this flag showcases NZ's roading system -- you can't go anywhere without going around a few bends!

Designed by: Andre Braunias 

No description. 

Designed by: Frank Martinoff from International

it's a simplified "Canting as well as a Heraldic Version"

Don't forget about New Zealand's current flag:

The panel overseeing the contest laid out their criteria for how a winning flag will emerge from the entries. 

A great flag should be distinctive and so simple it can be drawn by a child from memory. A great flag is timeless and communicates swiftly and potently the essence of the country it represents. A flag should carry sufficient dignity to be appropriate for all situations in which New Zealanders might be represented. It should speak to all Kiwis. Our hope is that New Zealanders will see themselves reflected in these flags’ symbols, colour and stories.

In September, the panel will reduce the number of entrants to four, which will be voted on by the public. 

A potential new flag should unmistakably be from New Zealand and celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that is connected to its environment, and has a sense of its past and a vision for its future.

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CHENGDU, China -- Earlier this week, the Ministry of Culture banned 120 songs from Chinese websites on the grounds that they “trumpeted obscenity, violence, crime or harmed social morality.” Hip-hop accounts for just a tiny sliver of mainstream music in China, but at least 50 of the 120 banned songs are by mainland Chinese and Taiwanese rappers. No one ever thought hip-hop and the Chinese government would be a match made in heaven, but this was pretty cold.

Still, here in a modest apartment covered in cat hair, an architect at the local Chengdu zoo is plotting his takeover of the Chinese hip-hop scene. Xie Yujie, aka Melo, is a 23-year-old recent college grad who spends his days designing structures for animals, and his nights ripping into rival emcees.

Rail-thin and with a chest covered in tattoos, Melo came up in the local freestyle battle scene, plowing through opponents until there weren’t any challengers left. He took on the nickname "Mr. Nobody Can Fuck With Me."

Hip-hop is carving out a niche within Melo’s generation, and he’s confident that his local Chengdu rap collective is going to steamroll rivals and dominate markets.

“Back in old-school China... the emperor was like, ‘If there’s more land and we don’t use it, we’re fools,’” Melo told The WorldPost. “There’s only one standard for success: using rap, using my fame and my music, to earn enough money to really” -- here he switches into English -- “make it rain, get that paper.”

In discussing his plans for domination, Melo likes to allude to the Mongol Empire’s 13th-century invasion of Europe, but for now his aims are more modest. He's in a duo with another rapper, Psy.P, and they've printed 1,000 copies of their first full mixtape, "Prison Trap." The group, Tiandi Hui, is hoping to sell at least 500 units.

The rappers in Melo’s crew are some of the most talented hip-hop artists in China, but only a couple can support themselves with music alone. The crew records songs in home studios and shoots music videos using GoPro cameras on selfie sticks.

For the past decade in China, if you wanted to live like a hip-hop star, you wouldn’t actually go into hip-hop. You’d have a much better chance of partying in the champagne room as a provincial tax official than a top-tier rapper.

That is starting to change -- for corrupt officials and aspiring rappers alike -- but hip-hop still faces a serious culture clash in the Middle Kingdom.

Violence, rebellion and sexually explicit rhymes are common themes for many of the American artists whom local rappers idolize. But the Chinese Communist Party has shown zero tolerance for any of the above, and has blacklisted artists who cross these unwritten lines.

Then there's the Chinese listening public itself. Can chest-thumping emcees find a wide audience in a conservative culture where education, family and personal humility are among the most dearly held values?

Fat Shady, a 25-year-old rapper and a member of the same crew as Melo, is easily one of the country’s most successful hip-hop artists. But he sees China’s culture and history as major obstacles to the art form's growth.

“Chinese audiences can’t accept music with any attitude or individualistic stuff,” Fat Shady told The WorldPost. “China used to be a Confucian society, and it was all about being humble, stifling, smothering, suppressing. Then we went through a lot and everyone dressed in exactly the same clothes. Again -- stifle, smother, suppress.”

But hip-hop is perfect for giving voice to that kind of frustration. That’s exactly what Fat Shady did with his song “Daddy Ain’t Going to Work Tomorrow," an angsty anthem in which the emcee rails against the petty indignities of the working world and demands a chance to “live out a little bit of truth.”

“When I finished writing it, I was like, 'This track bangs, the people are going to love it,'” Fat Shady said. “Every week I’d perform it for all kinds of different people -- old dudes in their 50s with gold chains, young tech kids with glasses, soldiers.”

Local love turned to national fame when Fat Shady performed the song on a TV talent show similar to "The Voice." Video of the performance went viral among Chinese workers fed up with the daily drudgery of their jobs.

Just as important as what Fat Shady was saying in his rhymes was the way he said it: Fat Shady, like all the members of the Chengdu hip-hop collective, raps almost exclusively in the local Chengdu dialect of Chinese.

The languages spoken in China comprise a sprawling family of tongues, some of them as unintelligible to each other as French and Romanian. Today, speaking in dialect or with a regional accent is often seen as a sign of poor education. Ambitious young Chinese men and women work hard to scrub such inflections out of their speech.

But Fat Shady and Melo are proud of their hometown, and when they rap, they don't try to disguise where they're from.

“Every city has its own personality, and the personality is in the dialect,” Fat Shady said. “When you hear the Chengdu dialect, it has a kind of ‘whatever’ feeling to it. Standard Mandarin just doesn’t give you that feeling.”

Staying true to his roots paid off: Fat Shady has managed to turn his song about quitting his job into a lucrative career in and of itself. During a typical week he bounces between corporate events, doing short sets that always end with “Daddy Ain’t Going to Work Tomorrow.” Last month, he performed at a local mango festival and the opening of a real estate development called Golden Paris.

Although Fat Shady still believes most Chinese listeners can't really handle hip-hop with attitude, he was able to support himself with these shows while putting together his new album, "People, Society, Money." The album is inspired by trap music, a genre that developed in the American South and takes its name from a slang term for drug houses. That world might seem light-years away from this corner of southwest China, but Fat Shady sees parallels between the seedy underside of his home country and the Atlanta neighborhoods where trap evolved.

“China is full of these low-class, dirty millionaires, and they live the same way,” he said. “They don’t give a shit. They might have people killed, or a bunch of their workers might die on the job, but they’re still rich. Thirty workers die? No problem. They just cover up the news about it. To me, China is one big trap.”

Hip-hop in China -- as in many other countries that have adopted the form -- exists as a striking mashup of global and local cultures. Fat Shady has inked Eminem’s face and the phrase "Hustle & Flow" onto his arms, but he raps in a dialect so local that even other Chinese people can’t understand it. Melo took his alias from the NBA star Carmelo Anthony, but the name of his duo with Psy.P comes from an 18th- and 19th-century secret society dedicated to the overthrow of China’s last dynasty. Rappers mimic the dance moves coming out of Compton, but instead of handguns, they carry blades of the sort favored by local criminals.

Of all the nefarious foreign influences that could have gotten Melo into trouble, it was Uber that finally pushed him over the line. In May, when Melo heard that Chinese police were cracking down on his beloved ride-hailing app, he went straight to his home studio to throw down the gauntlet.

“Where there’s oppression, there’s resistance,” Melo declares at the start of the track. “I only represent myself. I just like taking Uber. It’s just better than your taxi. What you trying to do? Bite me, bitch!”

The song takes aim at taxi oligopolies and meddling bureaucrats. Within hours, the track was trending on social media and gathering hundreds of thousands of hits. But the joy was short-lived. In the second verse, Melo had crossed way over one of the invisible lines.

“I don’t write political raps," he says in the song. "But if politicians try to force me to stop rapping, I’ll cut their heads off with a knife and lay them at the feet of their corpses.”

The song was scrubbed from the Internet, and local police called Melo to the station. After warning him that he could be charged with promoting terrorism, the police made Melo promise never to release the song again.

It was a scare, but one that feels good in hindsight.

“It proves that I can stir things up so much that the government has to hold me back,” Melo told The WorldPost. “I think if I can make one song like this, I can make a second and a third.”

Whatever comes next, the Uber incident changed the game for Melo.

“The path of a rapper is a hard one -- only a tiny percentage will end up succeeding,” he said. “Even though the government stopped one of my songs from breaking out, this gives me a big push. I’m like, fuck, all that practice wasn’t for nothing.”

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It's no mystery why North Korea is known as the Hermit Kingdom. The government, officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, relies on a combination of isolation and propaganda to communicate its image to its citizens and the world. Because it's so hard to get into, chances are we in the west won't get to see the "real" North Korea in person any time soon.

But an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, called "North Korean Perspectives," attempts to pull the veil back, revealing a juxtaposition between images put out by the North Korean government with those captured by 12 photojournalists and artists who are attempting to present alternative points of view. 

The exhibit features documentary and interpretive work, in some cases using little-altered material handed out by the DPRK to show that whatever truth we see in a destination belongs fully in the eye of the beholder.

"We have to try and make up our own minds about a country eager to do that for us," Marc Prüst, the show's curator, wrote in an essay about the show. "A photograph can be a vehicle for a lie, but change the context of that picture, and it can reveal something of the truth it wants to hide."

 Philippe Chancel, "Arirang (North Korea) May Day Stadium," Pyongyang, 2006

Prüst told The Huffington Post that the exhibition doesn't seek to find the real North Korea. "If anything, this collection of images hopefully points out that there is not one truth that can be found or identified through photography," he said.

Ari Hatsuzawa, "Outdoor pool in Pyongyang, construction finished in 2012," 2012 

Instead of verisimilitude, he said, it's the opinion that comes through: "I do not think one could hope to show a reality of any place, least of all through photography," he said, adding that truth and reality are "just too complex to be shown through photographs. But photographs can show a version of the truth, an opinion, a point of view... [And] because it is possible to voice an opinion through photographs, we might have to question photographs, not in the sense of how truthful they are, but by thinking about the context in which they are shown."

In other words, no matter what DPRK officials tell us about their country, we'll never know the true North Korea, just as we can never know any one true America.

"North Korean Perspectives" is on view through October 4, 2015. Check out some images from the show below.

Tomas van Houtryve, "A North Korean woman loads a pistol for firing practice in Pyongyang, North Korea," 2007

Ari Hatsuzawa, "Pyongyang City Marathon," 2012

Suntag Noh, "Hogism Art Gallery in Seoul," 2007

David Guttenfelder, "Example haircuts on display at a barbershop in #Pyongyang," 2013

David Guttenfelder, "North Korean babies rest in a row of cribs at the #Pyongyang Maternity Hospital," 2013

Pierre Bessard, "Pyongyang," 2000

Pierre Bessard, "Workers in the Number 1 Glass Factory in Pyongyang," 2001

Tomas van Houtryve, "A man wades into the Tae Dong river where banks are flooded high above the normal water level in Pyongyang, North Korea," 2007

Ari Hatsuzawa, "Platform of the Pyongyang City Subway," 2011

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Sometimes, you need a pick-me-up. You're feeling blue, down in the dumps, maybe even dealing with a lump in your throat. Whichever idiom fits your situation, you're just not feeling like your best self. 

To abate the waves of sadness, or palpitations of dread, we've compiled a list of books that can help lift you up in these less-than-desirable times. From a graphic novel to a memoir to a fictional story of intrigue to a picture book adults can enjoy, here are 12 very different books you should read:

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe by Yumi Sakugawa  

Yumi Sakugawa is an illustrator and comic artist who moonlights as the editor of a wellness blog. Her illustrated guide explores the abstract and often overwhelming ideas of mindfulness and meditation through black-and-white doodles of skeletons, squids, flying eyeballs and all the living creatures that came before us. If you aren’t into the self-help genre but are intrigued by the prospect of introducing meditation in your life, Sakugawa’s lovely visual exploration takes the most lofty of ideas (like being one with the universe, for instance) and makes them curious, mischievous, ready to engage. -- Priscilla Frank

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

You’ve probably seen the book's cover image somewhere around the Internet. And there’s a pretty good chance you know what it’s from: Hyperbole and a Half, an odd personal blog that quickly developed a cult following charmed by writer Allie Brosh’s deliberately childlike Microsoft Paint illustrations and comical narration. Brosh retold and illustrated funny anecdotes from her childhood, or relatable conflicts from her 20-something existence. I loved the blog, and would reread entries when I needed an upper, nearly choking sometimes on my laughter.

For some time, however, her posting slowed, then stopped. She revealed that she was battling depression, even describing her struggle with the illness in two gently funny, poignantposts. Finally, in 2013, she put out a book of her comics, both new and from the archive, called Hyperbole and a Half. It’s not a long read, and it’s not arduous, but it’s exactly what you need when you’re feeling depressed and unmotivated. Her ridiculously energetic, oversized humor brings the color back to life, but it’s not empty, heartless humor. Without wallowing, Brosh’s comics wisely and empathetically portray the reality of depression, uplifting with a perfect blend of exuberance and thoughtfulness. -- Claire Fallon

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan

Sloan’s novel is the fairy tale of the Facebook age, in which a laid-off web developer guy takes a job at a rarely frequented bookstore filled with more mystery than an episode of “Poirot.” Working the graveyard shift, the story’s protagonist eventually stumbles upon a mysterious set of books and -- using a romantic interest’s data visualization skills, of course -- attempts to crack the code of a secret society. Chaos ensues, but Sloan’s characters work together to prove things like teamwork and analog reading instruments are still worth our while. It's not only a feel-good story, it's also a great escape from the details of everyday life. -- Katherine Brooks

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

Takashi Hiraide is a poet by trade, and it shows in the subtle nature of this story. A pair of writers who work from home as freelance editors find their listless days interrupted by a new visitor -- a neighbor’s cat who enjoys basking and playing in their garden. Though the narrator isn’t partial to animals, his wife is, and so he learns to enjoy the free-spirited creature who begins making his days more lively. Though the story is a reflection on loss, it also moves slowly and sweetly like a summer breeze. It’s a novella-length reminder of simple pleasures, and the happiness that can be gleaned from attachment. -- Maddie Crum

Hug Me by Simona Ciraolo

The title and genre of this gorgeously illustrated picture book might lead you to believe it is solely for children, their parents, and maybe totally infantilized millennials. Leave your judgment at the door, folks: as a single 27-year-old who keeps this book on her shelf -- and who has completed a few books without pictures in them in her life -- I will heartily recommend this to anyone regardless of age or gender. Because no matter how tough the cruel world has made our outside exteriors, I’ve found no one can resist this heartwarming tale of a tiny cactus, raised by a cold and unfeeling cactus family, simply looking for some comfort. Besides the life-affirming, there’s-a-lid-for-every-pot ending, you also get to see what a grumpy cactus playing Sudoku next to Chinese food leftovers looks like which, much like this book, is something you didn’t know you needed until you did. -- Jill Capewell

I’ll Have What She’s Having by Rebecca Harrington

What if you could live in a world where your biggest -- nay, only -- problem was that you were forced to subsist entirely on the bizarre diets followed by a constellation of celebrities? For a few glorious hours, I’ll Have What She’s Having can give you that escapist fantasy. Harrington’s nonfiction book recounts her very true attempts to eat like Elizabeth Taylor (steak and peanut butter on bread), President Taft (glutinous biscuits), Gwyneth Paltrow (juice), and Madonna (seaweed), despite her clearly questionable culinary skills. “The cake … is crumbly and tastes like a prune, but this is probably my fault,” she writes. “‘I like the tacos,’ one of my friends says, after I ask about the cake.” With funny anecdotes about the various celebrities and Harrington’s own sometimes-feverish fascination with them (on Gwyneth Paltrow: “I enthuse: 'She’s so fun. She smokes one cigarette a week!'”), the book reads like a dive into a glossy lady mag, only far more substantive, hilarious and refreshing. Just try to read a couple chapters without coming away giggly and rejuvenated. -- Claire Fallon

Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton

Shapton’s book, as its title implies, is less a straightforward narrative and more a collection of observations that could only be made by someone who’s fully immersed in his or her vocation or hobby. Both an illustrator and former Olympic Trials-qualifying athlete, Shapton sketches portraits of the teammates she once had, paints watercolors of every pool she’s ever swam in, and snaps photographs of every swimsuit she’s ever trained with. Her artwork is accompanied by vignettes that bring the sport to life -- what is it like to wake up before the sun rises each day? What is it like to win or lose a race by less than half a second? Though the author assumes the tone of an expert, her writing has a whimsical, lively air that will make the topic relatable to anyone. More than a collection of works about swimming, it’s a passion or obsession brought to life, and a reminder that devoting your time to a single task has beautiful benefits. -- Maddie Crum

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

For anyone who spends the first hour (or three) of their workday watching eye-dampening dog videos, veterinarian James Herriot’s novel is for you. All Creatures Great and Small recounts Herriot’s time practicing veterinary medicine in rural England, aiding both poor farmers and lifelong pet owners in keeping their beloved animals alive. While some of his memories are gut-wrenching (Old Yeller kind of gut-wrenching), others are incredibly heartwarming, illustrating the undeniable bond humans and creatures can form. -- Katherine Brooks

2 a.m. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino

Bertino’s writing is like a kind stranger or an Internet video of a dolphin rescuing a dog: a small wave from the universe to remind you of the unexpected, beautiful qualities of the everyday. In this debut novel, we follow young Madeleine Altimari, the Catholic-school attending child of her late singer mother and jazz aficionado father, distant and mourning since the mother’s death. Despite these grim circumstances, Bertino uses them as a jumping-off point for an endearing tour of gritty, snowflaked Philadelphia on one particular Christmas Eve Eve, during which motherless daughters can get their wishes and condemned, legendary music halls stay open for one last encore. Bertino’s writing is what the word "mellifluous" was made for. “The city gathers its black-skirted taxis around the ankles of Rittenhouse Square ... Pinwheels hem and sigh in flowerpots stuffed with foam,” reads part of the opening. Her resilient characters will remind you that you, too, can persevere. -- Jill Capewell

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Even if you don’t subscribe to Robinson’s brand of religiosity, her more overtly Christian-themed works carry a soulfulness that nourishes. Gilead, the first of three novels set in fictional Gilead, Iowa, tells the story of Reverend John Ames -- or rather he tells it, in the form of a long letter to his young son. Already a long-widowed old man when he unexpectedly fell in love, remarried and had a child, Ames now must come to terms with the increasingly likely possibility that he won’t be there to watch his boy grow into a man. In his letter, he distills a lifetime of heartbreaks, revelations, reckonings with family history and musings on the purpose of life. The bittersweet meditations of Gilead won’t offer frivolous distraction, but they do offer something more substantial: a real acceptance of life’s pain, and a reminder of the hope and grace that can find us nonetheless. -- Claire Fallon

Songs for the Witch Woman by John W. Parsons and Marjorie Cameron

Jack Parsons was a rocket scientist. Marjorie Cameron, an artist and witch. The two fell in love in Pasadena, California, in 1946, Parsons believing Cameron was a manifestation of sex magick, his true love incarnate. Songs for the Witch Woman is a collection of love poems for the spookier set, imbued with the black magic Parsons and his buddy Aleister Crowley were known to dabble in. The poems are assembled alongside Cameron’s delicate and dark drawings, depicting mythological witch-lions, contorted angels and other nightmarish, bewitching visions. If your idea of a pick-me-up involves tapping into your darker feelings in the most decadent way, look no further. -- Priscilla Frank

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

Disclaimer: this book is uplifting, but it’s also quite tragic. Wilder tells the fictional story of a group of interrelated strangers, all of whom died the day an Incan rope bridge collapsed in Lima, Peru. The book’s central character -- a friar who witnessed the collapse -- explores the lives of these strangers, attempting to discern why these particular people died at the time that they did. Was there some sort of divine or cosmic plan at work here? Or did the deaths of these men and women mean nothing? Even if you aren’t particularly religious, you’ve probably questioned whether or not destiny is at work in your life, imbuing it with meaning. And while such a story could definitely end in tears, Wilder manages to end on a hopeful note, immersing the reader in deep thoughts about love and devotion that are -- surprisingly -- quite happy in the end. -- Katherine Brooks

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