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An HIV Nurse Shares Her Patients' Stories Through Art

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Tuesday is World AIDS Day, and a nurse who treated HIV patients in the Central African Republic wants the world to learn more about the virus and its patients -- through art.


In October 2014, 26-year-old Doctors Without Borders nurse Diana Johnson went to Zemio, a rural town in the Central African Republic, to train local medical personnel and help treat HIV patients. Nine months later, after having met more than a thousand patients, Johnson tells their stories through sketches.


"When I travel, I often draw what I see as a way of trying to process it," Johnson told The WorldPost on Monday. "I wanted to draw a few people that I really remembered and had connected to and a few experiences just so I could process it."


From a charismatic 4-year-old to a moody teenager to a delicate older woman, Johnson's portraits show that HIV doesn't shape a person. She thinks the best way to understand the virus is to remove the stigma associated with HIV patients.


"People should know now that HIV is just a chronic disease and we treat it. People deserve to be treated equally," Johnson said. "HIV deserves to be seen as just an illness that you treat, the way you would treat diabetes or high blood pressure."



Zemio is a rural town near the Central African Republic's eastern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. With a population of 14,000 people, the town is also home to some 3,400 Congolese refugees, the U.N. Refugee Agency reported in March. Doctors Without Borders started working in Zemio in 2010 after an influx of Congolese refugees and internally displaced people from the Central African Republic entered the region following attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army militant group, led by Joseph Kony.


Nearly 12 percent of Zemio's population is HIV-positive, Doctors Without Borders says. But the region lacks qualified medical personnel to treat patients. Only two of the local personnel that Johnson trained had any previous medical training. There is only one nursing school in the Central African Republican capital of Bangui, Johnson noted, and the World Health Organization reported that there were only 250 doctors in the country of 5.4 million people. 


Take a look at the sketches below, along with Johnson's memories of each patient, which were edited for clarity. All patients' names have been changed.


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Prima Ballerina Svetlana Zakharova On Which Epic Ballet Romance Makes Her Cry Onstage

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"This performance speaks of two people, two personalities, who truly loved one another," dancer Vlad Lantratov explains in the video below, "who lose each other, knowing that life goes on, everything goes on."


Lantratov is describing the epic three-hour ballet "The Lady of the Camellias," which illustrates the tragic romance between young lovers Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval, a courtesan and a bourgeois, whose love defies the norms upheld by the world around them. "The ballet is the relationship between two people, the only way they can be, "Lantratov continues. 





"This performance speaks of two people, two personalities, who truly loved one another," dancer Vlad Lantratov explains in the video above, "who lose each other, knowing that life goes on, everything goes on."


Lantratov is describing the epic three-hour ballet "The Lady of the Camellias," which illustrates the tragic romance between young lovers Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval, a courtesan and a bourgeois, whose love defies the norms upheld by the world around them. "The ballet is the relationship between two people, the only way they can be, "Lantratov continues. 


A contemporary rendition of "The Lady of the Camellias," choreographed by John Neumeier and starring the members of Moscow's iconic Bolshoi Ballet will premiere throughout U.S. cinemas on Dec. 6. 


The piece, originally choreographed in 1978 for the Stuttgart Ballet, is based off Alexandre Dumas' novel of the same name. Both novel and ballet tell the tale of Marguerite, a young courtesan suffering from tuberculosis who falls in love with upper-class Armand, who in turn loves her wholly and completely. The ill and fragile Marguerite is dubbed the Lady of the Camellias because she wears a white camellia when she is available to her lovers, and a red one when her illness prevents her from making love.



The young couple lives wildly in love until Armand's father, worried about the scandalous nature of the relationship, convinces Marguerite to leave Armand, using the excuse that she loves another man. Despite the intensity of her love, Marguerite is compelled to conform to the values and codes of the time. (If the plot sounds familiar, you may be familiar with Baz Luhrmann's pop culture-infused film adaptation "Moulin Rouge.")


The ballet concludes with her death, which, in John Neumeier’s contemporary rendition, is performed with a smile. "She knows that in her life she loved, and that she was truly loved in return, as a woman, so she dies happy," prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova explains in the video.


The ballet, featuring Chopin's music, chronicles the agony of regret, the joy of love and the strength of youth. In Zakharova's words: "You’re not thinking of technique in this show. You’re just living life on stage ... There are moments when I cry on stage because I get so deep into the story and become implanted into my character’s state of mind."


In the video, Bolshoi dancers Evgenia Obraztsova, Olga Smirnova and Artem Ovcharenko further discuss their experience with the performance, bringing you behind the curtain in the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema web series. Locate a showing near you on Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema's website. For information on international screenings visit Path Live International. For previous looks at Bolshoi in Cinema, check out their behind-the-scenes looks at "Giselle" and "Jewels."


 



 


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Thanks To These Colorful Condoms, You Can Now Have Art Inside You

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Warning: This post contains images of erect ancient sculptures and may be inappropriate for work. 



Raise your hand if you've ever heard a dude say he doesn't like to wear condoms. Something about the flesh-colored sacks being so aesthetically dull they just kill the mood. Like, who, in the middle of a hot and heavy make-out sesh wants to take a break, stop looking at the beautiful naked creature in front of them, and set their sights instead on a rubber glove the color of oatmeal?


Thankfully, if you too have felt personally victimized by ugly condoms, a solution is on the horizon. A French startup by the name of Made in Love has crafted a line of artist-made condoms, turning the drab prophylactics into fab objets d'art. Yes, boys, slip on one of these and not only will you be guaranteed a worry-free round of safe sex, but you'll be transforming your member into your own little personal artwork. Or, sorry, very big artwork. 



This unusual design venture has merged the two intoxicating realms of art and sex in a way we never really imagined. The revolutionary invention just might overturn the entire art marketplace as we know it. Why own a piece of art when you can be entered by a piece of art? Instead of roaming a museum, or envisioning a Picasso or a Monet on your bedroom walls, why not imagine them adorning your privates? Are art condoms the new dorm posters? What is happening? 


Before we get too ahead of ourselves, art condoms are still in the crowdfunding phases of their existence. Made in Love is currently raising funds on the Paris-based crowdfunding platform Kiss Kiss Bank Bank to make these beautiful love gloves a reality. Thus far, artists Maëlle De La Forge, Alex & Marine, Anna Borowski and Lilyloca have contributed their work, consisting mostly of brightly colored abstract designs that make your sexy parts look like they're on their own personal acid trips. 


So, next time you're surfing an online dating site and see your potential partner "loves art," you know what to do. Give the lady or lad what she/he needs -- penetration BY ART.


See Made in Love's video below to learn more. 





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This Early-Aughts Book About Being A 20-Something Totally Gets It

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Unlike so many books and articles about combating your terrible 20s, Megan Daum's is not of the self-help variety.


The essayist now known for her thoughtful meditations on emotions and how we convey them does not urge her reader to work less or date more or rearrange her values lest she miss out on the fleeting magic of youth. She does not wag her finger at those accruing debt, but she doesn't exactly endorse grad school, either. She simply relates her own experience, thoughtfully and bemusedly, and mostly without judgment. 


Throughout her newly republished essay collection, My Misspent Youth, we learn that Daum was raised in New Jersey, with her eyes cast towards Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We learn that, for better or for worse, she made most of her early life decisions in pursuit of the goal of living like Hannah, and her sisters. We learn of her attempts to sculpt a personality, uncovering virtues and ugly faults along the way. In short, we learn about her specific experience of growing up, and we can pluck what we’d like from her retelling of it.


Daum, who recently edited a collection of essays illustrating the myriad cases for and against having children, showed an early penchant for telling a compelling story without an embedded moral takeaway. In her leaving New York essay (every writer must have one, apparently!), she surveys the debts she’s racked up -- some worthwhile, some careless -- and concludes, “I’m someone who has had a very, very good time here. I’m just leaving the party before the cops break it up.”


This isn’t to say that Daum doesn’t write clearly and deliberately. She lays out her habits, inclinations and experiences plainly, offing a platter of anecdotes for the reader to relate. She disparages herself for allowing her class anxieties to get in the way of would-be relationships, but shows no desire to change. She wryly observes her own tendency to fall for the same kind of man again and again, and in spite of her lack of romantic success, doesn’t imply that she’ll be doing things differently going forward.


Daum writes cynically about people who “listen to NPR, tell other people what they heard on it, and are amazed when the other people say they heard it, too.” After making this clinical observation, she turns inward: “I am one of those people.” She owns her flaws, and tries to live in line with her shifting principles in spite of them, which might be the most important coming-of-age lesson of all. For more blunt, atypical advice on surviving the tumultuous period that is young adulthood, here are other tidbits from Daum’s My Misspent Youth:


Sometimes your dream job isn't all it was cracked up to be.


In “Publishing and Other Near-Death Experiences,” Daum writes about the years she spent working as an editorial assistant in a handful of publishing houses, from bigwig imprints to earnest, fledgling houses. She laments that although her career was inspired by editor-writers like Mary McCarthy, she learned quickly that her ascent to success wasn’t imminent -- it was, more likely, forever on hold. Instead of slurping oysters and having thoughtful conversations about books in bars, she found herself living paycheck to paycheck, working mostly as a glorified receptionist. All of this is just to say: If you’ve spent your college years dreaming of a specific career track, your 20s are the period when you learn whether reality can align with your expectations.


Having good or interesting taste might seem like the most important thing in the world. It isn't. 


A few of Daum’s essays center on her youthful fixation with identity markers, an affliction many of us can relate to. She writes about her aversion to things like gold jewelry, carpeted apartments and a sincere enjoyment of Billy Joel, noting, “The kind of class that I associate with good floors is the kind of class that emerges out of an anxiety about being classy.” These mostly shallow values lead her to end an otherwise good relationship and to reject an otherwise amazing (and inexpensive!) apartment. They also contributed to her living beyond her means, a pitfall 20-somethings could be more wary of.


Coping mechanisms may vary.


In her most self-disparaging essay, “Variations on Grief,” Daum writes about how the death of a close friend leads her to focus all of her energies on living productively, often to her own detriment. She writes of the critical thoughts she once had about her friend, who never worked or finished college because his parents provided a comfortable life for him. She writes, also, about how her interpretation of his death made her double down on her own neuroses, which, after all, is how grief operates for many of us. She critiques her friend’s parents’ coping mechanisms, only to find that her own are just as wayward.


Online dating can be both alluring and disheartening. 


Before there was Tinder, there was “You Got Mail”-style e-flirting, a spontaneous email exchange flourishing into a full-blown romance. Unlike the shallow perusing most online dating lends itself to today, Daum notes through a story about her own cyber-romance that sometimes, meeting online frees you up to display a kind of vulnerability that’s hard to find in “real life,” where the stakes are higher. On the flip side, getting swept up in a full-blown romance, cheesy compliments and all, can make you lose sight of your own day-to-day life, and your own identity that you’ve worked so hard to construct.


There's nothing wrong with reevaluating your ambitions. 


Throughout Daum’s childhood, the Upper West Side as depicted in Woody Allen films was her North Star. It guided her college application decisions, her decision to work long hours to fund an expensive lifestyle, and her decision to apply to an even more expensive MFA program. As she got older, though, she realized that some aspects of the life she aspired to were still important to her, while others were just ancillary to her actual desires.


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Dancing Every Day, With The Help Of Instagram

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The so-called “real world” seldom demands our creativity. There are no bills in the mailbox that remind us our creativity output is due mid-month, no utilities that threaten to shut off if we’ve skipped our 15-minute writing ritual in the morning. We can’t pay for our groceries with a jazzy, improvised ode to the checkout lady.


But for so many of us, those side moments of getting our art on -- be it through poetry, ceramics, comics, model planes, spontaneous dancing, whatever -- are crucial to daily existence. They are the “unnecessary” moments of clarity that allow life to feel necessary. Still, it is all too easy to allow the minutiae of daily work, errands and zone-out Facebook sessions to stamp out our free time.


In order to combat this feeling, business owner Marlee Grace created an Instagram account to document her daily creative ritual: dancing. “Daily ritual and routine has become incredibly important to me, especially as an addict/human being prone to impulsive behavior,” Grace explained in an email to The Huffington Post. “I am incredibly good at making excuses for not taking care of myself or doing what is good for me, so this is a powerful way to not negotiate.”




In short daily clips, Grace allows her body to interpret a song, turning and extending and shimmying in her apartment, her store, or wherever the practice may take her. There are times when the only accompanying sound is the quiet hum of the outdoors, with birds chirping in the background, as Grace moves along silently.


“Doing it every single day shows me that I can come into my practice anywhere, no matter where I am, no matter how many square feet I have, no matter if there is music or not,” she said. Her personal practice Instagram goes back about four and a half months.


While doing these dances in private might have been enough, the social aspect of Grace’s Instagram allows for greater accountability. “Accountability in general is a huge part of my healing process,” she explained, “staying accountable to other friends navigating similar modalities in terms of recovery and addiction, finishing projects, doing my work.”


Similar movements on social media encouraging individuals to stay publicly accountable to their art include the annual NaNoWriMo, for writers, and Inktober, for visual art. For these initiatives, the act of creating on a schedule is held higher than the end product itself.


“By having to share it every day, it's my way of saying, ‘Yes. I did this today,’” Grace added. Her videos feature a mix of pop music jams and old-timey girl groups. “I am listening to music ALL the time,” she said, "when I’m at my shop, in the car; I make a ton of mixtapes for my friends so I am always in this mode of WHAT IS MY VIBE today, on a sonic level.”




“It all started when I was three years old on my parents' couch dancing in my Easter dress slip to Janet Jackson's ‘Rhythm Nation,’” she said of her experience with dance. “The entire album completely moved my tiny body and it was the greatest way for me to vibe on being alive.” Grace began formal dance classes at nine, practicing ballet to the age of 18 and receiving a BFA in dance at the University of Michigan. Now, she studies compositional improvisation with “a radical collective of ladies called The Architects.”


It’s inspiring to scroll through Grace’s Instagram feed and take in the totality of a practice like this. One day of working on oneself may feel insignificant, but here we can see the sum of those single days: the number of daily practices shows commitment, tenacity, a simple love letter to the importance of taking time for what you love. “That is important to me, because it truly started in the womb, like the T-Rex song says, ‘I danced myself right out the womb.’”


For those wishing to try their own version of Grace’s practice, she encourages you to simply start it. “Make a blog, a journal, a zine, a news feed, your own dance Instagram account. Text a friend a video of you dancing, write a letter to a pen pal to start some accountability. Just start. It's the not starting that is so crippling,” she said.


“I spent so long saying, ‘I wish I had more time to dance,’” Grace said. “You have time, I promise. Every day, carve out the tiniest moment to just show up to yourself and your work.”




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Here's Why Norway Is Your Ultimate Nature Vacation Spot

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It's time to plan an adventurous, nature-filled getaway. Hooray! 


But before you choose somewhere sunny and sandy -- and don't get us wrong, there's no harm in that -- consider the mystical land of Norway. It's quite possibly the most stunningly epic place on Earth:



You probably already know Norway as an excellent place to see the northern lights and make like Elsa from "Frozen." But photographer Bjorg-Elise Tuppen reminds us that the country -- particularly its northern region, of which she is a native -- has myriad other natural wonders to explore, like white sand beaches, scenic mountain roads and wide open fields. It's also home to the Lofoten archipelago, one of our favorite places on the planet.  


Norway is dazzling any time of year: Many of Tuppen's photos were taken in fall, but the landscape is equally impressive in winter, when backcountry skiing really picks up, and spring, when orchards are at their best. Take a look at Tuppen's "The Enchanted Land" photo series, and feel the frosty inspiration.



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Meet The Instagram Star Elevating Black Contemporary Art

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A photo posted by kim drew (@museummammy) on




Twenty-five-year-old Kimberly Drew is one of the art world's rising new tastemakers, specifically because her work is centered on dismantling the art world's old gates. In July, Drew was named online community producer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She manages content across the Met's Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts, digital portals that serve as accessible windows to the museum's collection and exhibitions. In other words, Drew gives an art education every day.

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They Don't Make Maps Like this Anymore

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Since the human invention of territorial borders there has been a fascination with maps. Maps have defined the way we understand the world, outlining the geographical -- and often political -- delineations of humanity.


"Worlds Revealed," a new Library of Congress blog created in November, will feature some of the more vintage maps from the LoC archive. The maps, dating back as early as the 1500s, show a time when cartographers used their own artistic stroke to illustrate the world, including cities, railroads, national parks -- even the cosmos.


"With this blog, we invite you to broaden your conception of what a map is," the Library of Congress notes on its site. "We will highlight cartographic objects from our collections that sometimes go beyond what usually ends up in exhibits and in textbooks and bring to the forefront uncataloged objects that have never before been placed online."


Take a peek into the maps of "Worlds Revealed" below.



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7 Incredible Artists Who Lost Their Lives To HIV

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During the height of the AIDS epidemic, we lost millions of people on a global level.


Today, Dec. 1, 2015, marks World Aids Day -- a time for us to reflect on those that we have lost, those who are thriving and the advances our society has made when it comes to the prevention and treatment of HIV. 


We still have a lot of work left to do in order to eradicate AIDS and HIV stigma is still alive and well, making it crucial that we honor the lives and work of those who died due to the disease.  To that end, POBA, which describes itself as the "first virtual cultural arts center to celebrate the enduring and transformative power of creativity by featuring works of deceased 20th and 21st century artists, launched an exhibit today called "Art Lives" that elevates seven artists who died from AIDS, some well known and some obscure, in an effort to digitally preserve and honor their bodies of work.


POBA is also asking the public to nominate other outstanding artists that died of AIDS who they believe should also have their work showcased.


The Huffington Post chatted with Jennifer Cohen, Managing Director of Songmasters, which developed and operates POBA on behalf to the James Kirk Bernard Foundation, about the exhibit this week.



The Huffington Post: What is the overarching vision for this collection?


Jennifer Cohen: Where the Arts Live has launched the Art Lives initiative to help preserve and celebrate the creative legacies of a generation of artists in all media -- known and unknown, professional as well as amateur -- whose lives and work were cut short by AIDS. By highlighting a wide-range of talents who were nominated by DIFFA, Visual AIDS and LifeBEAT, POBA is also inviting other organizations and the public at large to participate in this celebration by nominating exceptional artists -- painters, photographers, dancers, designers, musicians and more -- they know who died of AIDS whose work they believe should be shared with others through displays on POBA. We will be accepting such nominations through February but all exhibits will have a permanent home on POBA.



Why is it so important for us to preserve the work of these individuals in a digital context?


Many of those who passed in the devastating early waves of the AIDS epidemic died before the digital era. But for the few whose work is well-known or preserved in various libraries or museums, their work is in danger of being lost forever as time passes. Many of the creations exist only as photos, as analog tapes and as sketches or in other forms that can degrade with time. Still others have been relegated to storage, uncatalogued or preserved. Precious little, even that which has been donated to museums and libraries, is readily available for the public. Through POBA’s online displays we want to make their art available for all to discover and appreciate while also pointing to where they might learn more about their art and lives.



It will be the only online center actually featuring the creative work of those who have passed from AIDS and is completely open to the public for their discovery and enjoyment. These powerful creative voices may have passed away, but their creative legacies should live on. Art Lives is also meant to call attention to the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS and the efforts of our partner organizations who continue to offer direct help, counseling and education to another generation still susceptible to this disease.     


Who are the individuals featured in this collection?


[Of] the seven inaugural artists who were nominated by our three initial partner organizations, each has a very unique creative voice and style. In some cases it took POBA months to track down family members and others who might have access to their works. The circuitous paths we were led on in our journey to find these people underscores why it is important to embark on this project now before leads to these artists’ families  and creative works becomes even harder to uncover.   



What do you want people to take away from this collection?


All of us involved in the Arts Live initiative hope that through the permanent displays we are creating together with the public a new generation of art lovers can experience these amazing works and feel first-hand that although the talents that created them may have passed away, their art lives on.    


Check out some other art featured in the Art Lives collection below or head here for more from POBA.









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The 20 Most Popular Baby Names Of 2015

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As we enter the last month of 2015, BabyCenter has released its annual list of the most popular baby names. For the third year in a row, the top three names are Sophia, Emma and Olivia for girls and Jackson, Aiden and Liam for boys. 


The 2015 list of popular girl names is mostly the same as last year's -- though Mia has surpassed Isabella for the number five spot, and Madison replaced Madelyn at number 10. The only change on the top 10 boys' names list is Logan's new ranking at number nine, bumping Jacob down to the bottom.


Without further ado, here are the complete rankings, based on the names of over 340,000 babies born in 2015 to parents registered on the BabyCenter website. The data also combines alternative spellings of the names that sound the same.


Most Popular Girl Names



  1. Sophia

  2. Emma

  3. Olivia

  4. Ava

  5. Mia

  6. Isabella

  7. Zoe

  8. Lily

  9. Emily

  10. Madison


Most Popular Boy Names



  1. Jackson

  2. Aiden

  3. Liam

  4. Lucas

  5. Noah

  6. Mason

  7. Ethan

  8. Caden

  9. Logan

  10. Jacob


In addition to compiling the popularity lists, BabyCenter also conducted its annual Baby Names Survey and identified five notable trends in parents' habits.


Royalty



BabyCenter found an interesting "royalty" trend beyond names like George and Charlotte. Many royal title-themed names rose in the popularity rankings, with Duchess up 75 percent, Sultan up 26 percent, King up 10 percent and Princess up 22 percent. Other royal word names that skyrocketed in popularity include Royalty, which increased 90 percent, Reign (a Kardashian name), which jumped up 90 percent and Tiara, up 20 percent.


Instagram



Another interesting trend the survey found is that the names of Instagram filters are rising in popularity. Examples include Lux (up 75 percent since 2014), Ludwig (up 42 percent), Amaro (up 26 percent), Reyes (up 10 percent), Hudson (up 4 percent) and Kelvin (up 3 percent). "Filter names" on the rise for girls include Juno (up 30 percent), Valencia (up 26 percent) and Willow (up 13 percent).


“This is the first time we’ve seen technology break through as a source of name inspiration,” BabyCenter Editor-in-Chief Linda Murray said in the press release for the 2015 rankings. “Photo-sharing is a daily and emotional part of Millennials’ lives, and those two ingredients can trigger love for a name.”


The "Empire" Effect



Based on the BabyCenter survey, character names from the hit show "Empire" have risen rapidly on the popularity charts, with Dre up 77 percent, Lyon up 61 percent and Hakeem up 55 percent. For the first time in three years, the name Luscious appeared in the website's name database as well.


Gender Neutral Baby Names



Many rising baby names were those considered more gender-neutral and jumped up on the boy and girl lists. Celebrity favorite Wyatt went up 84 percent for girls and 11 percent for boys, Lincoln is up 47 percent for girls and 18 percent for boys, Carson increased 39 percent for girls and 14 percent for boys, and Karter went up 45 percent for girls and 9 percent for boys.


Additionally, Piper is up 61 percent for boys, Maxwell increased 39 percent for girls, and Riley went up 48 percent for girls.


Planets And Stars



Celestial names are on the rise, with Venus up 68 percent, Jupiter up 50 percent, Soleil up 28 percent and Sunny up 43 percent. The name Stella, which means "star," is on the top 100 baby names of the year list.


"In the sixties, celestial baby names had a hippy vibe, but today’s parents are more inspired by planetary science and space travel," said Murray.


Also on HuffPost:


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Naked Guy In A Box Is The Weirdest Thing You'll See This Week (NSFW)

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In a seven-day marathon of butt cheeks and balls, a 23-year-old art student in Iceland is spending a week naked in a box and live streaming the entire thing.


Almar Atlason, a student at Iceland Institute of Arts, began his live stream on Nov. 30 and aims to stay in the box at the Academy for the full seven days, Iceland Review reports.


"I think it‘s basically just something cool," he told Icelandic media site mbl.is. "On many levels. It‘s an experiment. It‘s a bit weird being 23 years old and never having been alone for a week."


WARNING: THIS GUY IS NAKED. IN A BOX. 





The project -- part of a final assignment for a class in methods and solutions -- has him on view, including the pork and beans in all their glory.


Confined to a transparent tank, he does all the things you'd expect -- eating, sleeping, reading and going to the bathroom. Of course, he isn't going anywhere, so you might want to turn your head.  


We actually didn't observe his potty moments, thank goodness, but another intrepid media organization maintains that he did his business into a plastic bag


One moment even showed the man adjusting himself, with his hand on his penis. 



As part of the experiment, people can supply Atlason with food through an opening in the tank. He can then also throw things out of his box through the same opening. For the most part, though, he seems to be basking in his own mess.


Evidently, the stream isn't in violation of YouTube's nudity and sexual content policy, as the video page contains an inappropriate content warning requiring viewers to confirm they are prepared to see adult content before clicking through. 


"A video that contains nudity or other sexual content may be allowed if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic, and it isn’t gratuitously graphic," according to YouTube's policy. "For example, a documentary on breast cancer would be appropriate, but posting clips out of context from the same documentary might not be."


Apparently a naked guy in a box art project also fits the bill.


A video comment stream allows users to chat about Atlason's art project.




  • "is that his school? imagine everybody at your college seeing your dick," a user named Ollie posted.

  • "hes gonna regret all the fruit when he blows the lid off that box with raunchy farts," user Vineas Munch commented.

  • "my ocd is killing me, why wont he clean up a little bit arr," user lele popp shared.



And while it's certainly piqued the interest of many, not everyone agrees with Atlason's mission. 


"The human body is not art. Human objectification is not art. This appeals to principles of fascism, and to dark desires of power and subjugation," said a commenter with the username Alex Bodin.


If you want to gamble on when Atlason is going to either leave the box or go insane, start a betting pool with your friends and watch the video stream here for the results.


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Singer-Songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway Pens Holiday Song To Wife

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Tony-nominated, singer-actress Ann Hampton Callaway promises "a fresh take" on the holiday season with her new album, "The Hope of Christmas."


The 12-track collection, which was released in October, eschews traditional carols in favor of original jazz material. One highlight is the closing track, "Fly with the Angels," which Callaway co-wrote with Emmy Award-winning lyricist William Schermerhorn. The song is dedicated to her wife, Kari Strand, and Schermerhorn's husband, Dan Dutcher, in the album's liner notes. 





Like the rest of "The Hope of Christmas," the song was a surprise to Callaway, 57, who said she "really had no idea how beautiful" a holiday album could be before she hit the studio. She credits Schermerhorn with coming up with the idea for the tune as a "really romantic" gesture in honor of their respective spouses.


"Usually, on Christmas albums, you hear the same five, six songs," Callaway, who has written songs for the likes of Barbra Streisand and Patti LuPone, told The Huffington Post. "I mean, how many ways can you do 'Jingle Bells'? [But] it's so nice to be able to celebrate being married and the wonderful feeling that adds to the holidays."


Callaway, who came out publicly in 2009, just celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with Strand earlier this month. So it's fitting that she performed "Fly with the Angels" as the encore of her latest club act, "Feminine Persuasion," which played to enthusiastic audiences during the week of Thanksgiving at New York nightspot Feinstein's/54 Below.


With lyrics like "Hold me close, on this night dreams come true/We can fly with the angels, two hearts wrapped in love," the song has a distinctly yuletide vibe. But we reckon we'll carry its heartwarming sentiment into the new year, too.


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Frank Miller's Latest Batman Tackles Police Brutality

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Batman has always been a force for good, stopping diabolical, often fantastical enemies before they hurt the innocent. Now, he's got a new foe: police misconduct.



On Wednesday, DC Comics released the first issue of "Dark Knight III: Master Race," the highly anticipated comic from the legendary Frank Miller, who brought us "Dark Knight Returns." 


This time, instead of taking on the maniacal Joker or the whimsical Riddler, Batman squares off against his local police force. In the opening panels of Miller's new comic, a young black man named Squid is stopped by police, guns pointed at him. 






"Getting arrested,” Squid texts a friend. When the friend asks why, he responds, “The man don't need no reason."


Thinking that this is the end, Squid runs away. Batman soon arrives on the scene, beating down the crooked cops.


It's the start of a lot of trouble for the caped crusader, who ends up having to fight the entire Gotham Police Department as the officers race to get their hands on the vigilante. 



Michael Shelling, DC's director of publicity, told HuffPost that Miller's stories have always been based on real-world events. 


"It's nothing new, as far as taking place in a real-world context," Shelling said. "The events of DKIII are an extension of real-world events that serve as context of the larger story."


Batman “is, politically, a radical and a revolutionary out to overthrow a corrupt police state,” Miller told Vulture in November. “It’s a very patriotic and loyal-to-the-law kind of story, but the established authorities were doing the wrong thing, so it took an outlaw to bring justice.”


The comic may have been inspired by recent stories of police brutality against black men, such as the New York City police officer who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold and the South Carolina cop who shot and killed Walter Scott.


Scott Snyder's "Batman #44," released in September, depicted Batman confronting police brutality and standing with the Black Lives Matter movement. Snyder's story begins with Batman investigating the killing of a black teen in a hoodie who was fatally shot by a white cop. The comic has strong parallels with the killings of Michael Brown and Akai Gurley, both unarmed black men who were shot and killed by police officers.


"Being grounded in real-world issues is at the heart of what he's trying to write," Shelling said of Miller's latest comic.


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HIV-Positive Moms And HIV-Free Kids Show What AIDS-Free Generation Looks Like

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After losing three children to HIV in the ‘80s, Connie never thought she’d become a mother again.


But thanks to medical interventions and antiretroviral treatment, today the Zambian woman is raising Lubona, an HIV-free little girl.


Tuesday marks World AIDS Day, and one of the greatest achievements to date has been the decline in mother-to-child transmissions. According to the World Health Organization, 17 countries, including Cuba, Chile and the U.S., may have eliminated the transmission of AIDS from mother to child. 


To demonstrate what that milestone looks like, renowned photographer Rankin snapped images of HIV-positive mothers in Zambia posing with their HIV-negative children.


The series came together as a partnership through Bank of America and (RED), a group that’s working to fight AIDS and support people living with the virus. Bank of America has committed $10 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS to provide antiretroviral medication to women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.


These are some of their stories.



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The Prevailing Narrative On Trigger Warnings Is Just Plain Wrong

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Despite the media scare stories, trigger warnings are not widely used by college professors across the country, according to a survey released in full on Tuesday. They're not even widely demanded by students. And when they are used, the warnings address both liberal and conservative concerns. 


The nonscientific survey, conducted by the National Coalition Against Censorship, is the first of its kind to gather data on the actual use of trigger warnings in college classes. The conclusion: While professors are fretting about the possibility, there is "no crisis." 



Trigger warnings advise readers that the content ahead addresses sensitive subjects, such as child abuse, rape and racist violence, that may evoke personal trauma. The warnings, which became popular on blogs over the past decade, are typically placed at the beginning of reading material or stated verbally. A debate has emerged in recent years about their use in the university setting


The Atlantic has writtenrepeatedly about the "spread" of demands for trigger warnings. Jill Filipovic at The Guardian has said "we've gone too far" with trigger warnings, essentially echoing Peggy Noonan's critiques in The Wall Street Journal. Even WikiLeaks has attacked them. The American Association of University Professors last year issued a statement condemning trigger warnings as a "threat to academic freedom."


Yet, as the NCAC survey shows, the fears stoked by some in the media have gone well beyond the on-campus reality.


The Huffington Post first reported the statistics from the survey in June, showing that virtually no college required the use of trigger warnings. The full release of the results on Tuesday included testimony from some of the 800-plus current teaching professors who were surveyed. The project was conducted with help from the Modern Language Association and the College Art Association. 


Eighty-five percent of faculty surveyed said they had never received a request from students to use trigger warnings. Ninety-two percent said there was no student-initiated effort to require them at their school. Some pointed out that such requests may come from parents watching their children leave the nest.


[RELATED: Columbia Adds Toni Morrison, But Not Trigger Warnings, To Required Reading]


More than half of those surveyed had voluntarily used trigger warnings, although less than a quarter had used them "several times" or "regularly." 


They disagreed about what constituted such a warning. If they simply gave students a heads-up about emotionally challenging or difficult content in course descriptions or noted it at the beginning of the semester -- rather than before an individual lesson -- some called that "full disclosure."


A majority -- 62 percent -- think trigger warnings have a negative effect on academic freedom. About 17 percent think they have a positive effect on classroom dynamics.


Many in the NCAC survey who opposed required warnings questioned whether it was appropriately their role to advise college students of what could be "triggering."


"I'm all for involving psychological counseling, when useful," one survey respondent said, "but I didn't prepare myself to be a counselor, and that should not be my role in the classroom."


The NCAC said there is a media narrative that trigger warnings are being demanded by "coddled" liberal students. But the survey found that actual requests for warnings come from across the political spectrum. 


[RELATED: Duke Students Refuse To Read 'Fun Home' Over Gay Themes, Nudity]


One instructor said trigger warnings are used for "foul or sexual language, sexual content, or violence in order to allow our very conservative students to feel more in control of the material." Another said requests for warnings about "homoerotic content in art history" had come from presumably conservative students.


Sometimes, survey respondents said, students want warnings about bloody scenes in horror movies, images of dead bodies or spiders.


The lack of any widespread push for trigger warnings doesn't mean faculty aren't worried about the possibility. They said they fear that professors might be scared away from covering certain subjects or that they might lose their jobs if they discuss something that offends students. 





Tyler Kingkade covers higher education and is based in New York. You can reach him at tyler.kingkade@huffingtonpost.com or find him on Twitter: @tylerkingkade.

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How Dogs Can Transform The Lives Of People With HIV And AIDS

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In 2010, Dr. Robert Garofalo, an adolescent medicine specialist who has dedicated his career to treating HIV-positive kids, found out he was HIV-positive, too. 


"I was in a really dark place in my life," said Garofalo, who now heads the adolescent medicine division at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago and is the founder of Fred Says, a non-profit that raises money on behalf of HIV-positive teens.


Garofalo had already received a cancer diagnosis and suffered a difficult breakup with a longterm partner and an assault on the street, he told HuffPost. "I was acting out, taking bad care of myself, wasn't able to make good decisions for me and my health," he said. 


A year after his HIV diagnosis, Garofalo said he did "the most selfish thing I have ever done" and brought home a little Yorkie he named Fred. At a time when he could barely take care of himself, Garofalo said his friends openly wondered how he'd be able to care for another life. 


They didn't have to worry. Instead of adding a burden to an overloaded schedule, Fred gave Garofalo a new chance at life.



"I wasn't sure peace and joy were ever going to be possible again," Garofalo said. "Fred brought them back to my life -- an ability to laugh that I thought was gone forever. And he doesn't even know it, he's just sitting here letting me rub his belly."


Garofalo and Fred's story is special, but it's not unique. Research shows dogs really do have healing powers, including the ability to lower our stress levels, decrease our cholesterol levels and cut the number of visits we make to the doctor each year. While there isn't specific research about the benefits of dog ownership for those living with HIV, anecdotally, dogs can help with things like self-esteem and even medical adherence.


Award-winning photographer Jesse Freidin has captured these healing powers of dogs. He's focused mainly on the human-animal bond and has dedicated the past two years to photographing dog owners living with HIV for "When Dogs Heal," a project that's part of Garofalo's charity efforts. 


"[I wanted to] tell a story about HIV that hasn't been told before," Freidin said, explaining this side of the story is about "joy, love and survival" rather than stigma and marginalization.



The only way we can changed peoples' minds and ... have a contemporary understanding of this illness is to tell a new story about it.



"My goal as an artist is to reinterpret how we view HIV," Freidin added. "To move away from the stigma and the blame and the fear and all of these things -- they're so outdated. The only way we can changed peoples' minds and talk about survival and have a contemporary understanding of this illness is to tell a new story about it."


So far, Freidin has photographed about 30 people with HIV whose lives have been changed by their dogs. "It has been a real challenge to get people to come out for the shoot," he said. "We've had a lot of interest, but we want people who are ready and willing to tell their story. It takes a person who is out about their status and open to talk about some dark moment in their lives."


"When Dogs Heal," which is partially funded by Fred Says, is set for an opening reception on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in Chicago and another in New York City on Thursday, Dec. 3. The project is entirely donation-based, and all money raised goes directly to funding healthcare for HIV-positive teens and the continuation of the photo series. You can learn more about and donate to the cause at wdhproject.org. View five stories from the ongoing project below.



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National Board Of Review Names 'Mad Max: Fury Road' The Year's Best Movie

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What a lovely day for "Mad Max: Fury Road," which just earned an Oscar boost thanks to the National Board of Review. The New York-based film organization named George Miller's feminist dystopian reboot the year's best movie. 


Because it's one of the first major film prizes announced each year, the NBR's awards wield a strong, if sometimes spotty, hand in forecasting the Oscars. Of the 15 most recent films selected for the NBR's top award, 13 have gone on to earn Best Picture nominations. Last year's left-field choice, "A Most Violent Year," surprised awards prognosticators, and "Mad Max" is in a similar position because, as a big-budget epic released in May, its Oscar potential is one of the season's biggest question marks. One might say, in terms of awards odds, that it lived, died and now lives again. But "A Most Violent Year" was snubbed across the board when the 2015 Oscar list was announced, so transmit good vibes, "Fury Road" fans. The movie has to keep momentum alive until Jan. 14's nominations.


Most of the titles on the NBR's Top 10 list are expected to earn Best Picture slots, with "Sicario" and "Straight Outta Compton" as obvious outliers. ("Carol," "Brooklyn," "Steve Jobs" and "Youth" are among the films left out.)


In the acting races, NBR inclusion means the odds just grew for Matt Damon ("The Martian"), Brie Larson ("Room"), Sylvester Stallone ("Creed") and Jennifer Jason Leigh ("The Hateful Eight"), all of whom are likely candidates in their respective categories. Below is the full list of winners, announced Tuesday afternoon.


Best Film:“Mad Max: Fury Road”


Best Director: Ridley Scott, “The Martian”


Best Actor: Matt Damon, “The Martian”


Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”


Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”


Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”


Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, “The Hateful Eight”


Best Adapted Screenplay: Drew Goddard, “The Martian”


Best Animated Feature:“Inside Out”


Breakthrough Performance: Abraham Attah, “Beasts of No Nation” and Jacob Tremblay, “Room”


Best Directorial Debut: Jonas Carpignano, “Mediterranea”


Best Foreign Language Film:“Son of Saul”


Best Documentary:“Amy”


William K. Everson Film History Award: Cecilia De Mille Presley


Best Ensemble:“The Big Short”


Spotlight Award:“Sicario” for Outstanding Collaborative Vision


NBR Freedom of Expression Award:“Beasts of No Nation” and “Mustang”


Top 10 Films
"Bridge of Spies"
"Creed"
"The Hateful Eight"
"Inside Out"
"Spotlight"
"The Martian"
"Room"
"Sicario"
"Straight Outta Compton"


Top 5 Foreign Language Films
"Goodnight Mommy"
"Mediterranea"
"Phoenix"
"The Second Mother"
"The Tribe"


Top 5 Documentaries
"Best of Enemies"
"The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution"
"The Diplomat"
"Listen to Me Marlon"
"The Look of Silence"


Top 10 Independent Films
"'71"
"45 Years"
"Cop Car"
"Ex Machina"
"Grandma"
"It Follows"
"James White"
"Mississippi Grind"
"Welcome to Me"
"While We're Young"


 


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Beijing's Air Pollution Is So Bad That An Artist Made A Brick Out Of It

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As world leaders convene in Paris for the COP21 climate change talks, a Chinese artist wants to help the world visualize the disgusting effects of pollution.


On Monday, Chinese artist Wang Renzheng -- known artistically as Jianguo Xiongdi, or "Nut Brother" -- created a brick out of pollution particles sucked up from Beijing's air in a campaign to raise awareness about the country's pollution levels, Wang wrote in Chinese on his Weibo account.


"I want to show this absurdity to more people," Wang said Tuesday, according to The Guardian.


Every day for 100 days, from July 24 through Nov. 29, Wang spent four hours in various spots around Beijing, from small alleyways to the National Stadium to Tiananmen Square, holding up the nozzle of an industrial vacuum cleaner to suck in the air pollutants that Beijing citizens breathe.


On Monday, he took what he'd collected -- about 100 grams of dust and smog -- and mixed it with some clay, which he then baked into a brick, China Daily reported Tuesday.



People in Beijing have been experiencing an "Airpocalypse" recently, as pollution soared to abnormally high levels for the fifth consecutive day Tuesday. Beijing schools were ordered to keep students indoors, the Associated Press reported. Sections of highway were closed down, and factories and construction sites were instructed to reduce their work.


On Tuesday, Beijing's Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) index -- which measures the number of small, cancer-causing pollutants in the air -- was higher than 500 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3), according to recent tweets from the U.S. State Department Air Quality Monitoring Program in China. Some suburban neighborhoods outside Beijing recorded almost 1,000 ug/m3 the day before. The World Health Organization's "safe level" for PM2.5 levels is 25 ug/m3.


Air pollution in China kills some 4,400 people every day, the U.S. climate research organization Berkeley Earth noted in an August report. 







More on pollution in China:


- Airpocalypse Now: Toxic Smog Cloaks Beijing During Climate Talks


- Beijing's Anti-Pollution Face-Lift In 6 Photos


- China Targets Big Oil In Wars On Corruption, Pollution


- What Is COP21 And Why Does It Matter?


 - How Social Media Is Taking On The Environment In China



 


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Finally, There Are Emojis For All Your Parenting Woes

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Emojis have become a way of life for smartphone users. But while the iconic keyboard offers cute little animals, junk foods, international currencies, and hearts symbols in at least seven different colors, pickings are slim for people in the throes of parenthood who want to sum up their chaotic, diaper-filled days. Until now. 


To fill this void, Luvs has introduced a custom emoji keyboard app called Momoji. Available in both the Apple and Android app stores, the Momoji keyboard features a pacifier, pregnancy test, bottle, baggie of Cheerios, nursing bra, breast pump, stroller, and baby food emoji, as well as baby poop in six different colors (ranging from normal to some all-too-familiar, fear-inducing hues).




There are also six different baby faces with expressions like angry, sad, sassy, happy, sleepy, laughing and crying. Additionally, the app features some parent favorites like coffee, self-pity ice cream, and a corkscrew for that much needed bottle of wine. 


As a representative for Luvs told The Huffington Post, the Momoji keyboard "gives parents more ways to easily express all the emotions that come with real-life parenting."


Indeed, when words fail (as they often do for sleep-deprived parents), these emojis may be a great means of communication.


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This Adorable Baby Fox Photo Just Won A Major Photography Prize

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A heartwarming photo of a mother fox and her baby in Nova Scotia has taken first place in an international wildlife photography competition.


Ian Murray of Wallace, N.S. won the top prize in the "Baby Animals" category of the 2015 American Wildlife Federation Photo Contest, said a Tuesday news release.


And it's easy to see why. His photo, titled "Momma and Baby Red Fox," shows a mother nuzzling her pup.



"I'm super pleased ... and proud and happy that an image from Canada could win first prize in a major photo competition," Murray told The Huffington Post Canada on Tuesday.


Murray, who's been taking pictures of foxes on his neighbor's property for about "three or four years," said he spent the spring and summer watching the mom coax her babies out of their dens — one under a tree, and one in a field.


Sometimes, Murray said he spent as long as two hours just sitting and watching the animals.


"She goes to the mouth of the den, gives a grunting sound out of her throat," he said. "And when she goes to the mouth of the den and says that, all of [the pups] pop out."


Murray snapped his award-winning photo in May. He said he kept watching the foxes until September, by which time there were only one or two pups left. The others likely wandered off to fend for themselves.


The photographer added that the mother and her babies were often quite friendly, and Murray said he tried to shoo them away while he was working.


"I don't want them to get used to people," he said. "They're wild animals, and you want them to remain wild animals."


Murray's photo will appear in National Wildlife magazine's December 2015/January 2016 issue.


It will also be published on the National Wildlife Federation's "Photo Zone" page.


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