Have you ever stood slumped-shouldered in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, letting your desire to reclaim a state ID before your lunch break is over fizzle into a vague hope that you’ll make it out of the maddening experience unscathed?

We’ve all experienced the downsides of bureaucratic organizations at one point or another. But imagine what it would feel like if your life depended on waiting in those never-ending lines and cracking the codes of those puzzling forms.

In a bold, vibrant statement against the muddy, headache-inducing process of immigrating to a new country, artist Merve Iseri painted fluid strokes of bright blues, greens and pinks across the rigid boxes that comprise pages of paperwork. Her project draws on personal experience; Iseri immigrated from Turkey to England and wanted to speak out against the cumbersome process.

“The series reflects my feelings and reaction towards the bureaucracy of immigration, which is a process focused on separation of individuals. There are so many titled application forms for 'different' types of human profiles, first selecting the right application form to fill in, then filling boxes for at least 30 pages,” Iseri said in an email exchange with The Huffington Post. “These policies are defined from 1,000 feet above, where people are diminished to statistics and numbers. When you zoom into the human experience, the reality is much more different.”

In stark opposition to her frustrations with immigration paperwork is Iseri’s expressive brushwork -- fluid streams of teal and blue wash over the boxed-in categorizations. Of her color choices, Iseri said, “It was intuitive […] hopefully my work will make people step back and see that humanity is one race.”

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Charlotte Moorman was always something of a girly girl. At her high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, she was one of the first to don dark lipstick and dress in "risqué" dresses. Sadly, it was perhaps this unabashed femininity that resulted in Moorman's exclusion from feminist circles in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. 

Today, Moorman is virtually forgotten. Despite her contributions as a performer, organizer and pioneer of experimental art in all its forms, the artist died virtually penniless in 1991 and receives little recognition to this day. But an exhibition at Northwestern's Block Museum entitled "A Feast of Astonishments: CharlotteMoorman and the Avant-Garde, 1960s–1980s" hopes to change the conversation surrounding Moorman's accomplishments, recognizing her as what she is: a gifted artist and a fourth-wave feminist before it was cool. 

"There is an important art history story in this as well," Block director Lisa Corrin, who curated the exhibition, told The Huffington Post. "She was collaborating with artists from a variety of media, and most often the more famous artist -- the male artist -- got the credit." Corrin became interested in Moorman's story after seeing a well-known photograph of her playing a "TV Cello" with "father of video art" Nam June Paik. Moorman, donning massive goggles, strums on the retro-futuristic instrument made from three television sets, one stacked on top of another. The piece is credited only to Paik. 

When Corrin began working at Northwestern, she realized the school owned all the artist's archives. "I thought: now here’s a story that needs telling," Corrin said. 

Moorman was a classically trained cellist who, after receiving a master's degree from the University of Texas, continued her musical studies at Juilliard in New York. It was there that Moorman developed a taste for the avant-garde -- the indeterminacy of John Cage, the generosity of Yoko Ono, the slipperiness of Fluxus. "She wanted to play the music of her own generation," Corrin explained. "When she played Brahms her mind was drifting off to other things."

Before long, Moorman was wound up in the dynamic uproar of the experimental art scene, belonging to no one movement, medium or genre in particular. "Performance art didn’t really have a name yet," Corrin explained. "She referred to herself as mixed media. It hadn’t really even been categorized."

While today she may have identified as a performance artist, Moorman was really an eternal collaborator, sliding between art trends and stamping her projects with an indelible essence. As Paik once said: "Charlotte is always Charlotte Moorman. Whatever she plays, whether she plays with the voice of John Cage, she is Charlotte Moorman ... She herself is interesting."

In part because of Moorman's reluctance to conform to a particular bracket, opting instead to float in an eternally slippery state of in-between, history didn't know quite where to place her. In Corrin's words: "Artists had to fit a category and if they didn’t, they got left out of history."

It also didn't help that many of Moorman's most iconic performances took place sans clothing. Her 1965 performance of "Opera Sextronique," with Paik, involved Moorman playing the cello without a shirt. As a result, she was arrested, tried and convicted for partial nudity. The sentence was suspended, but the association of Moorman as the "topless cellist" stuck. 

When word spread of Moorman's artistic adventures, her Arkansas family was far from pleased. Her mother begged her to return home and play with the symphony, feeling that Moorman was squandering her talent playing with the likes of Paik and Ono. "I think it’s fair to say her family was somewhat conventional," said Corrin. "They wanted to see her succeed but not on terms that Charlotte wanted for herself."

It was not only Moorman's traditional family that took issue with her proclivity to perform in the nude. "Women were not very fond of her," explained Carolee Schneemann, feminist performance artist and a friend of Moorman's, in A Feast of Accomplishments. "Some of them called her a narcissist. If you are a woman artist and use your body in your work, you're immediately subject to that criticism. Charlotte was not a diva. Nobody was supporting her. She made everything happen."

This hasty delineation of female artist as narcissistic -- especially when an unclothed body is involved -- persists today. In fact, a tenet of fourth-wave feminism is the freedom for women to be sexual, to be girly, to be strong, or soft, or lewd, or whatever they want.

For example, the 2015 documentary "The F Word" chronicles contemporary women artists who fold their bodies into their performances, bringing the legacy of feminist performance art into the digital realm. "Anybody who thinks selfies are only vain wants to reduce the importance of a human being. I am not sure where the judgment comes from," artist Rafia Santana, who is featured in the film, said in an earlier interview with HuffPost. "We should all be reflective of ourselves whether we are in a good place or bad place. Selfies help to bring us out of a bad place to uplift ourselves and connect with others."

Corrin also stressed the fact that although Moorman's body was often incorporated into her works, she always maintained agency over her parts. "Her body wasn’t being used by men. Charlotte was an active participant and shaper of those performances, expressing self-empowerment and power over her own body. The work is about Charlotte’s body, it can’t not be."

For better or for worse, Moorman is often remembered as the "topless cellist," though her main passion was bringing avant-garde to the masses. She accomplished this through 15 massive multidisciplinary art festivals, which she organized between 1963 and 1980, incorporating a vast medley of artists, spirits and techniques. Before the Internet, coordinating such an ordeal was a massive undertaking, requiring incalculable phone calls and in person visits. 

The festivals, combining visual art, sound art and performance, took place at sites as accessible as Central Park, speaking to both Moorman's ambition, effectiveness and faith in the public. "She felt the American public was smart," said Corrin, "and that faced with the work of John Cage, they could make up their own minds about what was interesting and what wasn’t."

Corrin's festivals gave artists a certain freedom to experiment, both physically and symbolically, that museums and galleries didn't allow. For example, the time Moorman played cello while suspended by helium balloons over the Sydney Opera House in Australia. On a subtler level, there wasn't as much at stake in these wayward happenings occurring outside the institution. 

According to Schneemann, this too was another manifestation of Moorman's feminist influence. "In the festivals, we were contentious, and wild, and challenging traditional forms," she said. "Charlotte is a pioneer of feminist principles by making this free radical community, by being central to it, imagining in it, constructing it, sustaining it, and extending it into a larger public. The Annual New York Avant Garde Festival has to be understood as a powerful feminist statement."

Moorman gave everything to the art she cared about, earning her the nickname "Joan of Arc of New Music" by Edgar Varèse. Yet she died of cancer at 58 years old, with little acknowledgement for her sacrifices. In unabashed feminist fashion, Moorman reportedly, during her final days in the hospital, was seen repeatedly reaching for hair spray and makeup. 

"She was one of the greatest ambassadors for new art that the U.S. has ever seen," Corrin said. "And she got very little for it. She was pretty selfless. It was a very different moment, back then, and she helped create the moment."

"A Feast of Astonishments: Charlotte Moorman and the Avant-Garde, 1960s --1980s," is on view at Northwestern's Block Museum of Art. The exhibition will travel to New York University’s Grey Art Gallery in fall 2016 and to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria, in spring 2017. 

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People are looking at their self-criticisms in a completely different way, thanks to one student's poignant project.

Abbe Dembowitz’s initiative, the Turn It Around Project, features photographs of people with their biggest insecurity written on one side of their bodies, alongside pictures of positive affirmations written on the other. The Pace University senior, whose team has shot about 50 photos since launching the project last November, says it’s all about changing perception.

"It's about really encouraging people to look past whatever negative thoughts or insecurities or hangups ... and showing them that that negative first thought doesn't have to be where it stops," she told HuffPost. "You have the power to turn around your thinking."

The statements in the photographs range in topics from body image to achievement. 

"I am afraid of disappointing others," reads the words on one participant's back. The positive affirmation on his chest continues with, "but that's my motivation."

Another message tackles vulnerability. 

"I take things to heart," reads the words on the participant. "But my heart is open." 

Dembowitz told HuffPost that the student and her team organize volunteers, who are primarily from the New York City area, for her project through either word of mouth or social media. When the volunteers come together for a photo shoot, they all discuss their insecurities as a group. They also brainstorm ways to turn those criticisms into uplifting thoughts, creating the corresponding empowering statements to be featured in the photos. 

The participants not only have a safe space to discuss their thoughts, they're also able to see that they're not the only ones who have self-doubts and fears. 

"It's solidifying this idea that they're not alone," Dembowitz said. "And people make bonds that way." 

The 22-year-old, who told HuffPost she had been extremely self-critical of herself in the past, said the project sprouted from her own experiences. The student explained that she had attended the University of Maryland before transferring to Pace. While there, Dembowitz battled her own insecurities. 

"I had a really hard time with this intense, crippling fear of imperfection," she explained. "If I couldn't do anything perfectly, then I just wouldn't do anything at all."

Prior to her transfer, Dembowitz took some time off from school and attended counseling where she discovered that she had to power to uplift herself. She also felt comforted that many others were struggling with own self-doubts and fears.

Through the project, she told HuffPost, many of the participants start to not only feel more comfortable with themselves, but also feel supported by others who have been involved with Turn It Around as well as those who have seen their work on social media. 

Dembowitz said that while the project has ambassadors in different cities, who are interested in recreating the project, her team will be going on a tour, where they will visit schools and help others bring the concept to their area. They are currently fundraising through a GoFundMe page for the trip.

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Warning: This post contains some very surreal nudity and may not be suitable for work. 

Allow me to set a scene. You and a very special someone (or two, or three!) are hot for each other. You're giving off the vibes, feeling the heat, getting all the tingles in all the places. Things get physical and the world fades out of focus. Limbs become entwined, bodies melt into one another. All the sudden, your eyeballs are bulging out of your head, you've sprouted a beak and your tongue is the size of a fruit rollup. Did I lose you?  

Guadalajara, Mexico-based artist Mario Maplé creates detailed ink drawings of erotic rendezvous so hardcore they induce literal metamorphosis. The series is titled "Canícula" -- loosely translated to "heatwave" in Spanish, referencing the hottest summer days of the year. "I’m exploring ideas of sexuality, erotism and human behavior," Maplé explained to The Huffington Post. "How we transform, morph and dissolve into hybrids." 

In Maplé's sexually heightened states, humans can mutate into something animalistic, cartoonish and grotesque. The images imagine the most bizarre aspects of the intimate practices most often "hidden in the dark of a motel room, a club or our own bedrooms."

"I started drawing [when] I was a little kid, it's hard to remember a time of my life without drawing," Maplé told The Huffington Post. But it wasn't until high school when he began to develop a style of his own. "I started to draw characters that weren't people nor monsters but something in between." He then moved beyond doodling in notebooks to experimenting with posters, stickers and mural painting. 

Growing up, Maplé was inspired by cartoon classics like "Looney Tunes," "The Simpsons," "Ren & Stimpy" and "Spongebob Squarepants." Cartoonist John Kricfalusi, he said, is still one of his biggest inspirations today. As a teenager, Maplé also incorporated the imagery of skate culture into his aesthetic, spending hours poring over the Thrasher magazines his dad would bring from Mexico to the U.S. 

As Maplé reached adulthood, he found another source of inspiration: porn. Erotica, magazines and movies worked too. "I like a position that seems kind of sculptural, acrobatic or full of tensions," he said.

To create a piece, Maplé begins with a graphite rough sketch, first carefully composing the relationship between the figures. Then he adds the details inspired by animals, cartoons, monsters and whatever else, turning the figures into category-jamming creatures. He then begins the inking process which, using a ballpoint pen, is an incredibly slow and painstaking process. "Most of the time it looks and feels like you're not actually drawing, since the tones might not be recognized at first, but layer after layer, shapes and volumes start to take its place."

The resulting images are both magnetic and off-putting, as intimate and alien as sex itself. "I'm interested in keeping that link with realism and photography, to provoke a feeling of shock in the viewer, a space between beauty and discomfort."

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With a little over a week left in Black History Month, there are some raw details about our history in America that everyone should hear. What better way to convey these necessary details than through poetry and spoken word?

These poets in the nine poems we've rounded up unabashedly retell our history, dispel stereotypes and celebrate our culture. They speak of our ancestors, our resiliency and our magic. Watch the videos below and get lost in what it means to be black in America. 

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Art galleries are ... intimidating.

Most are designed like very fancy boxes, with extra white walls and unforgiving concrete floors. Those brave enough to cross the secret-society-like thresholds must pass by a gatekeeper who is nestled safely behind a large, formidable desk, poised to stare at you no matter which corner of the gallery you occupy. Once past, you must navigate a simple yet often profoundly puzzling array of sculptures or paintings or whatnot. "NEVER touch the art," your superego bellows, as you attempt to flex as few muscles as possible. 

The entire gallery setup is built to make you sweat. Inside, you'll doubt your ability to to appear cool, sound smart and, well, belong. But it's all a farce. Art galleries are usually free, staffed by friendly art history majors, and dying for you to come inside to solidify their relevance outside the art market. They want you to ogle their artists. They want you to post that selfie. They. Want. You.

Behold, 11 signs you are trying too hard at an art gallery, and what you can do to maximize your chill. 

1. You worry about admission fees or scheduled appointments.

Most art galleries are free. So, no, unlike the Museum of Modern Art, which requires a $25 admission fee for most visitors, galleries are usually the most cost-effective way to see art. Think of it them like you would any other brick-and-mortar commercial establishment. You don't have to pay an admission fee to go shopping at Barney's, no matter how luxurious the brand -- or how unlikely you are to buy something.

Now, some galleries do require that you make an appointment -- but certainly not all. You can solve this mystery by Googling your friendly neighborhood gallery and checking the hours. For example, the very famous Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, New York, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. No appointment necessary. Bonus: on opening nights, the gallery is probably open later and may be serving free wine. 

2. You fear the person working at the front desk.

OK, your anxiety may be warranted. Some front desk attendants are not exactly versed in the etiquette of customer service, and their job descriptions may not prioritize chitchat with the no-appointment crowd. But don't let them scare you. These kinds of staffers will inevitably ignore you or forget about you the moment you're out of sight. 

But, if you're feeling brave, there's no harm in asking the person at the front desk a question or two. Many gallery assistants, or gallerinas, as they are sometimes called, are art history grads who know a thing or two about the exhibition on view. He or she might be busy -- their jobs often entail a litany of administrative duties -- but really, they won't bite your head off if you need help.

3. You agonize over appropriate attire.

Stop. You could show up to a gallery in sweatpants and sneakers and no one would care. There's no dress code. In fact, on opening nights, there is no typical attire whatsoever. If you're looking for an occasion to wear that one ensemble you never feel up for pulling off, wear it to the gallery. But otherwise, your daily clothing is fine.

4. You're so self-conscious you don't ask for an exhibition description.

See No. 2. There are usually one-sheets available at the front desk, which provide information about the artist and works on view. Grab it. 

5. You don't want to seem overly interested in the placards, so you avoid those too.

Galleries don't often include historical information next to their works the way museums like the Met do. But the titles of the artworks are frequently positioned next to the canvases or installations, and no one will tsk-tsk you for staring at it while you get your bearings. You can even snag a peek at the price.

6. You're literally counting the seconds you stand in front of an artwork so you don't move too quickly.

Galleries are usually small and sparsely decorated. It might only take you five minutes to get a lay of the land, and that's okay. According to the Getty museum in Los Angeles, researchers in museums have found that 30 seconds is the average amount of time visitors spend in front of works of art. Feel assuaged by this statistic.

7. You slink quietly around the space to avoid making any remote type of noise.

It's impossible not to make noise in the echo chambers that are art galleries. Buck up and strut it out. You'll look more ridiculous as you sleepwalk, muscles tensed, in a poor attempt to remain invisible. Note: if you wear heels, you will be click-clacking around the cavernous gallery. But also, who cares?

8. You feel obligated to appear as though you are at least mildly interested in purchasing art.

Lol. Sometimes you forget that the art at a gallery is for sale. And other times, you can't help but fixate on the pressure to appear like a worthy collector.

Listen, the art you're looking at could be affordable. Or it could not. If you're not yet a collector and you're just interested in viewing art for what it is -- art -- then no one is expecting you to feign interest in purchasing an artwork. So put your faux-Mid-Atlantic accent on the back burner. 

9. You want to flip through the art books at the front, but, again, fear.

Flip through the art books! The bookshelves at the front of galleries are often like mini gift shops, and yes, you peruse them to see more work from the artist on view, or check out the gallery's full roster of represented artists.

10. You're completely unsure of how to exit without drawing too much attention.

Step 1: Look for the door. Step 2: Exit through the door. You're not required to tip your hat at a gallery assistant or declare your departure. You can surely be polite and say goodbye, but it's hardly required.

11. Really, no matter what, you feel like someone is going to kick you out.

But they're not. I mean, don't touch the art. And don't, you know, disturb the peace. But otherwise, exercise common decency and no bouncing will occur.

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There's a (soon-to-be) new delivery service in town, but this one is "bubbe-approved."

Hello Mazel is a new nationwide subscription service that promises to deliver a box of both edible and non-edible Jewish goodies four times a year, starting this April for Passover. The service was dreamed up by members of The Kitchen, an alternative, non-denominational Jewish community in San Francisco and includes items that are curated by a variety of experts -- from San Francisco tastemakers to Facebook's former director of market development, Randi Zuckerberg, who is a member of the Hello Mazel team. 

The team launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month and doubled its initial goal of $18,000 in just one day. It's now the most funded Jewish project in Kickstarter's history. The $45 boxes will ship nationwide in the U.S. and to Canada.

Founded in 2011, The Kitchen aspires to be inclusive of seekers at all levels of Jewish knowledge who are looking for ways to engage with their Jewish identity. Yoav Schlesinger, The Kitchen's executive director, told The Huffington Post that the idea for Hello Mazel came from an understanding that people engage with Judaism in different ways. 

"The experience of communal prayer or being in a community Shabbat dinner, the hooks that most Jewish communities use, are not necessarily the appropriate entry points or avenues for everyone," Schlesinger told The Huffington Post. 

Founded in 2011, The Kitchen aspires to be inclusive of seekers at all levels of Jewish knowledge who are looking for ways to engage with their Jewish identity. Yoav Schlesinger, The Kitchen's executive director, told The Huffington Post that the idea for Hello Mazel came from an understanding that people engage with Judaism in different ways. 

"The experience of communal prayer or being in a community Shabbat dinner, the hooks that most Jewish communities use, are not necessarily the appropriate entry points or avenues for everyone," Schlesinger told The Huffington Post. 

The mission of Hello Mazel, and The Kitchen community in general, is to "break down the barriers that have traditionally served to keep people away." To that end, while Hello Mazel's boxes will have kosher ingredients, the products won't necessarily be certified kosher by a rabbinic authority. 

"People who are keeping kosher are already doing something Jewish. They've already opted in," Schlesinger said. "Our primary market is those people who are not doing that everyday, who aren't necessarily thinking about how to live Jewishly at every moment."

"Instead of asking, 'Who is Jewish,' we want to know, 'Who wants to do Jewish?" Schlesinger told HuffPost.

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You probably know that Vincent van Gogh created a painting in the late 19th century called "Bedroom in Arles." It depicts the Dutch artist's electric blue quarters in what's known as his Yellow House, located, yes, in Arles, France. 

You may also know that van Gogh actually created three versions of the now iconic bedroom image -- the first in October 1888, the second and third in September 1889. Van Gogh, taken with the original, decided to make the two subsequent renditions after learning that water damage threatened the integrity of the original. The three are currently on view together for the first time in North America at the Art Institute of Chicago. 

What you probably don't know, yet, is that the colors we're accustomed to seeing -- the ones we perceive in his three paintings today -- tell only part of the story. The rest is hidden in the ways the colors have changed over time. Conveniently, a group of experts revealed the original colors for the first time, just last month. 

Conservators working at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) employed a technology called X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to determine how van Gogh's pigments have transformed over the past 128 years. Their findings show, not so surprisingly, that the paintings changed color over time due to natural chemical processes in the pigments, and as a result, they are virtually fading from the outside in. 

"At first glance they all look the same," Francesca Casadio, an art conservation scientist at the Institute, explained to The Guardian. "But when you go deeper you can start to see that they tell us far more about the artist’s life and his quest for a home."

If you look at the first painting now, you'll notice dark purple walls, brown furniture, a pallid glow over the room. This vision is in stark contrast to van Gogh's own description of the work to his brother Theo, where he described the walls as "pale violet," the bed and chairs "yellow like fresh butter" and the pillows "lemon light green." 

Although the first "Bedroom" now looks dimmer than the rest, back in the day, the image was piercingly bright, inspired in part by the colored flatness of Japanese prints. Van Gogh painted the first image while preparing a guest room in the Yellow House for a good friend -- painter Paul Gauguin. You can see the door in the image that leads to Gauguin's room. Van Gogh was, from most accounts of the time period, in relatively good spirits.

However, the artists' stint as roommates didn't go so well. The two barely left the house, spending a little over two months cooped up in a cloud of booze, paint and tobacco smoke. Both artists had tempestuous personalities and plenty of issues, and tensions grew higher as van Gogh's mental health declined. As Gauguin put it: "Between two such beings as he and I, the one a perfect volcano, the other boiling inwardly, some sort of struggle was preparing."

By the time van Gogh created the second version of his "Bedroom," he and Gauguin were in a "pact of silence" and no longer friends. Van Gogh, sans an ear, made the piece while at an asylum in Saint-Rémy. Although you can't quite tell from the contemporary versions, the second painting was once much darker than the original, the walls a deep purple and floors a dusky brown. The third "Bedroom" is a close copy of the image on a smaller canvas, one of van Gogh's réductions of his favorite compositions.

At the time of the second and third "Bedrooms," van Gogh was in a far more dire state of mental unrest, and the original paintings reflect this shift. The unfaded first "Bedroom" is a luminous depiction of a fertile home base, rife with inspiration and possibility. The second two images, however, reflect van Gogh's diminishing health, their darkness hinting at the growing tumult in his life and mind. Less than a year after the final "Bedroom" was created, van Gogh shot himself, ending his life. 

The AAAS' research -- X-ray data allowed scientists to create color maps harnessing the original images as precisely as possible, though they'll never be exact -- doesn't just illuminate an alternate color palette for one of van Gogh's most beloved works, it reveals a simple relationship between life and art that previously remained undocumented.

As van Gogh's life grew more troublesome and painful, his palette imitated the impending darkness. The "Bedrooms" aren't just a glimpse into the legendary artist's bedroom, but his declining psyche. 

Van Gogh's three "Bedrooms in Arles" are on view at the Art Institute of Chicago until May 10, 2016.

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When Mark Zuckerberg announced last year that he was launching a book club, responses were cautiously optimistic. Because it’s arguable that Facebook deters deep reading -- it’s a huge distraction for most of the young population, and promotes the kind of multi-tasking that actually hurts our comprehension skills -- Zuck’s push to read full-length books rather than status after status seemed positive.

But, prolific readers wondered, which titles would he select?

Would he stick to the monolithic mantras swirling around Silicon Valley -- explorations of youthfulness, health food, business tactics, robotics, and people whose work ethics are robot-like? Or would the very young CEO use his book club as an opportunity to expand his own horizons, taking in insights from other nations, industries and genders? As it turned out, he explored all but the latter.

The 23 titles on Mark Zuckerberg’s book club list included a book written in 1377 by a man credited as being a father of modern sociology and a 2014 book by Henry Kissinger. His selections span centuries and continents, but only three of them were written by women.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and On Immunity by Eula Biss are both exceptional books that were recognized in both literary communities and the respective communities that are involved with the themes of their books. Alexander’s book centers on race and the legal system, and Biss' confronts anti-vaccine proponents’ flimsy rationale. Another worthy book on the list, Portfolios of the Poor, was penned by four authors, one of whom was a woman. All three are excellent reads, and their inclusion on the list makes sense.

That the club’s picks include William James’ famous meditations on religion and Moisés Naím equally weighty contemporary tome The End of Power shows that Zuckerberg isn’t one to shy away from massive, universal themes. Many of his selections -- like a detailed history of Pixar and an unofficial sequel to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four -- were steeped in contemporary political issues too, indicating that the club is meant to be a comprehensive survey of perspectives and ideas. That such a thorough sampling should exclude the viewpoints of women is disappointing, and limiting.

Because Zuck’s book club list includes a perspective on race in America (only one, to be clear -- most picks are, as expected, sci-fi stalwarts and stranger-than-fiction insights into popular science and social science), it wouldn’t be unthinkable for him to include a book that directly discusses feminism. There are plenty to choose from. If we’re talking William James-caliber social thinkers who’ve stood the test of time, there’s Virginia Woolf or Simone de Beauvoir. For contemporary perspectives, Roxane Gay’s poignant Bad Feminist would do the trick. 

But, let’s say Zuckerberg’s book club wants to work against the idea that reading groups are settings for discussing so-called women’s issues. That wouldn’t limit his selection of great nonfiction titles by women. The Meghan Daum-edited Selfish, Shallow and Self-Absorbed may be a collection of essays about the decision to have children or to live a childless life, but it should be relevant to men, too -- it is 2016. Moreover, four of the five 2015 National Book Award nominees for nonfiction were written by women, including Martha Hodes’ Mourning Lincoln, which inadvertently explored our country’s changing relationship with our president, and If the Oceans Were Ink, a deep-dive into the Quran. Two years ago, the award was given to Katherine Boo for her coruscating Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a look at the hidden lives of Mumbai citizens and a heart-rending read.

It should go without saying -- but apparently doesn’t -- that plenty of women have written Iain M. Banks-levels of science-fiction books, but none were recognized by this book club, which included two works of fiction by men. Zuckerberg’s apparent interest in sociology would’ve been quenched by an Ursula K. le Guin story collection, or perhaps a title from Jo Walton’s timeless Just City series, which tackles mythology and social structures.

It could be that ignorance is to blame for the gender inequity in one of our country’s most influential leaders’ list of great books. But years of cringe-worthy, male-centric must-read articles have lead major outlets like Esquire to apologize for their error and amend their lists to include people of all genders and races.

We’ll patiently wait for Mark Zuckerberg’s book club to do the same; in the meantime, Emma Watson’s feminist reading list beckons.

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Remember yesteryear? When craftsmen made things with their hands and the world seemed perpetually accented with the color of yellow mustard? When the age of modernity had not yet fully "poked its ugly but useful head" and homeowners loved wallpaper?

Ok, I sort of cherry-picked those bits of nostalgia, but, regardless: the past, amiright? There's something so ridiculously soothing about watching the mundane bits of everyday life through the lens of another decade, especially when that view is accompanied by elevator music and a well-spoken narrator who says things like "machine-mad days" and refers to our "whirling world."

Cue a video from 1968 that spotlights a wallpaper and fabric manufacturing factory outside of London, courtesy of British Pathé's YouTube channel. Watch it, relax, and prepare yourself to fall back in love with handmade designs.

H/T This Is Colossal

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There have been a number of memorable "Golden Girls" tributes over the years, but this one really takes the (cheese)cake.

Boston-based artist Mike Denison is hoping to capitalize on the adult coloring book phenomenon with a self-published edition dedicated to -- you guessed it -- the four women of "The Golden Girls."

The 40-page, self-published book will re-create many of the classic series' most iconic scenes, including one from the "Valentine's Day" episode, which found Dorothy, Blanche and Rose [ended up] at a nudist camp. There are a few special nods for die-hard fans, too, including an appearance by Coco, a gay cook who was featured only in the show's pilot episode. 

Denison, who was behind the popular "Bea-a-Day" sketches which re-cast "Golden Girls" star, Bea Arthur, in hilarious, present-day scenarios, said he originally wanted to create a coffee table book of his drawings. Given the popularity of coloring books for adults, he said, it was a no-brainer to create one of his own. 

Clearly, "Golden Girls" fans are liking the idea, too, as Denison's Kickstarter campaign quickly blew past its initial goal of $1,500, which would have funded the production of 250 books. But the artist has extra special plans for additional funds raised before the campaign concludes on March 9; if he hits $5,000, for instance, he'll double the 40-page count to 80.

A self-professed "Golden Girls" devote, Denison grew up watching the series during its original 1985-1992 run with his grandmother. 

"I instantly fell in love with the comedy on the show, and I feel that some of their snarkiness has rubbed off on me," he told The Huffington Post in an email. As far as the show's enduring popularity, particularly among the queer community, he added, "A lot of the themes on the show dealt with sexuality and equality, and I feel that they have helped plant the seeds in a lot of the progress we see today." 

The book will "riff on the same fabric that made the show what it was," he said, before adding, "I'd just like people to have fun while de-stressing and maybe color together, share a laugh, while enjoying a nice cheesecake."

We'll finally be able to literally "picture it, Sicily." Read more about Denison's campaign here.

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This biker has spun his workout into an incredible work of art. 

Avid cyclist Stephen Lund, from Canada's Victoria, British Columbia, attaches a GPS tracker to himself on bike rides. He then creates incredible artwork by mapping his routes with the help of the app Strava.

The biker, who created his first "GPS Doodle" in January of 2015, has logged more than 3,000 miles "drawing" with his bike, according to Caters News. Lund's doodles include anything from a dinosaur to Darth Vader to Queen Elizabeth II. 

Lund, who drew 85 doodles in one year alone, explained that he starts by envisioning objects "like shapes in the clouds," on a map of his city, according to his TedxVictoria talk.

He then uses Google Maps to create the best routes and types out turn-by-turn directions, Caters News reported. The biker then sets out for his ride while using his Strava app. After the ride, he uploads his GPS data from the app onto the computer, which produces -- what he hopes is -- an incredible work of art on a map, he told CFAX 1070. 

While the artist has drawn more time-consuming works -- like the "Mermaid of the Salish Sea," which took about 14 hours to create -- he says that doodles don't have to be quite that daunting. One of his drawings, a bunny, took about 41 minutes for him to complete. 

“What excites me most about GPS doodling is that it takes the intimidation out of creative expression. If you can move, you can doodle," Lund said in his TEDxVictoria talk. "In fact, when I coined the term GPS doodles, I did so because ‘GPS art’ felt a little too lofty and exclusive. Everybody doodles. And anyone can GPS doodle.” 

The only downside? 

"A GPS device doesn't come with an eraser," Lund said in his TEDxVictoria talk. "So I learned early on to ride carefully." 

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If you totally missed Monday night’s “snow moon,” have no fear -- plenty of people caught it and captured it on camera.

What is a snow moon, and why is it so special? Each month’s full moon has a different name in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which vaguely claims the names "come from the Algonquin tribes who lived in regions from New England to Lake Superior."

February’s full moon is called the “snow moon,” and frankly, it probably gets a lot of attention because it sounds more poetic than say, March’s “worm moon.” (That said, we personally think January’s “wolf moon” sounds the coolest.)

Here’s what Monday’s snow moon looked like.

If you're feeling serious moon FOMO right now, don't worry. On Tuesday night, Jupiter will rise alongside the moon, so get out there and get planet-gazing.

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On Monday evening, producer Dr. Luke broke his silence about his legal battle with pop star Kesha, denying the allegations of emotional abuse, battery and sexual assault she has made against him. 

"I didn't rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her," Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) tweeted, going on to tell his side of the story.

Of course, the producer has every right to comment on the claims made about him. But in his 22-tweet rant, he also perpetuated damaging myths about who a rapist can -- and can't -- be.

Dr. Luke tweeted about his past friendship with Kesha and how she "was like [his] little sister."

He pointed to their past professional collaborations:

He brought up the women in his family, including his feminist mother: 

All of Dr. Luke's points may very well be true -- but they have no bearing on whether or not he sexually assaulted Kesha. They especially have no bearing on whether or not he is capable of assaulting anyone. His assertions are irrelevant to whether he forced Kesha to snort illegal drugs or gave her "sober pills" or manipulated her professionally or assaulted her while she was drugged, leaving her to wake up "naked in [his] bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there," as the pop star's 2014 lawsuit alleged.  

Let's make a few things clear:

• Having a feminist mom doesn't mean you can't rape.


• Having a daughter doesn't mean you can't rape.


• Having a sister doesn't mean you can't rape. 


• Having a consensual sexual relationship with someone doesn't mean you can't rape them later on.


• Having a friendship with someone doesn't mean you can't rape them.


• Seeing someone as your "little sister" doesn't mean you can't rape them. 


• Being an all-around "nice guy" does not disqualify you from the ability to commit rape.

It isn't uncommon for men with wholesome reputations to be accused of rape. Daniel Holtzclaw was "a nice kid." Bill Cosby was a "father figure." R. Kelly was "in love" with Aaliyah. James Deen seemed like a "really nice dude." (To date, only Holtzclaw has been convicted.)

In reality, it's the "nice guys" -- the acquaintances, friends, lovers and partners -- who are most likely to commit rape. According to RAINN, 4 out of 5 rapes are perpetrated by someone the victim knows. Forty-seven percent of rapists are friends or acquaintances of the person they assault, and another 25 percent of sexual assaults occur in the context of an intimate relationship. Half of assaults occur within a mile of the victim's home.

It's terrifying to imagine that our idols, our mentors, our brothers, our fathers and our friends could be rapists. It's terrifying to think sexual assaults occur in our communities, our schools and our homes. It's much easier to separate ourselves from the men (and a few women) who rape, imagining them as bogeymen in the shadows. But when we do that, we avoid reckoning with the rape culture we live in. 

We don't know what happened between Dr. Luke and Kesha, and we never will, definitively.

What we do know is that it's dangerous to perpetuate the idea that having a feminist mom or being a good friend or being a productive professional collaborator means that a person isn't, or couldn't be, a rapist. 

Rapists are human beings, not monsters. The sooner we can wrap our collective minds around that fact, the sooner we can get down to the business of fighting the culture that creates and protects them. 

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A funny new video from BuzzFeed highlights some parenting archetypes. Titled "The Different Types Of Moms You Meet," the video assembles a too-real squad of mothers.

The lineup includes the always organized "PTA Mom," "The Parenting Expert" who's read every article about raising kids, the extended breastfeeding "Crunchy Mom," the vinyl- and typewriter-loving "Hipster Mom" and the all-too-familiar "Hot Mess Mom" -- who's always late and covered in kid-induced stains.

#SquadGoals?

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On Feb. 19, a judge denied Kesha's request to be released from her contract with Sony after she said producer Dr. Luke sexually, physically and emotionally abused her. Since then, celebrities have stood by the "Tik Tok" singer online, including Lena Dunham who has shown her support in a powerful essay.

As part of her feminist newsletter and site "Lenny Letter", the "Girls" creator wrote in a Lenny Letter released today that "Sony could make this go away." Instead, the company chose to minimize Kesha to her music and albums with no acknowledgement of the "worth of her soul," Dunham wrote. By controlling her work, Sony also has a say in Kesha's finances. Aside from physical or verbal abuse, many domestic violence survivors face having little or no access to their finances at the hands of their partners, as Dunham pointed out.

"When a woman is not in control of her financial destiny, either because her partner is the primary breadwinner or because he makes financial decisions for the entire family, her world is made minuscule," Dunham wrote. "Her resources evaporate. Fear dominates."

Dunham also applauded the fans and performers who have stood by Kesha, especially other women. She noted that "it wasn't that long ago" that women felt like they couldn't speak up for one another, "for fear of losing all they had worked so hard to create."

Those days are over.

They are fucking done.

We are not scared anymore of losing what we worked for, of being branded hysterical or difficult, of being targeted and silenced by men in power. The women in the music industry speaking out for Kesha are proof.

While her essay focuses on Kesha, Dunham wrote that the pop star's case is about much more than her career as an artist. Then in a single sentence, Dunham summed up the real message the outcome of Kesha's case reveals.

"What's happening to Kesha highlights the way that the American legal system continues to hurt women by failing to protect them from the men they identify as their abusers."

Read Dunham's essay in full over on Lenny.

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"Welcome to the champagne life," Ne-Yo croons on his 2010 album "Libra Scale." "Where trouble is a bubble in the champagne glass, dreams and reality are one and the same, and we gon' do it like this."

Ne-Yo's lyrics might seem like improbable inspiration for a fine art exhibition, but, then again, it's 2016, and we're just as likely to see Kim Kardashian in the center of a canvas as we are the beheading of Holofernes or the façade of a cathedral at different times of the day. 

In fact, such is the case with Julia Wachtel's conveniently titled "Champagne Life," which displays an inverted and repeated image of Kim K and Kanye West, curiously standing next to a painted Mini Mouse sculpture. "The work seems to poke fun at the empty nature of our celebrity culture," Nigel Hurst, CEO of the Saatchi Gallery in London, explained to The Huffington Post. 

Saatchi is currently showcasing an entire exhibition inspired not only by Ne-Yo, but by Wachtel and other artists' appetite for mass media and the mainstream imagery that characterizes our age. While pop culture past was defined by the occasional bloody allegory and architectural wonder, today's Internet-savvy world is accustomed to seeing, well, everything. The artists on view at Saatchi push this reality to new heights, exploring the most banal of imagery to the most bizarre, and the absurd moments in between.

"All these contemporary artists make visually arresting work that provokes dialogue and asks questions that respond to the times in which we live," Hurst added.

The show, "Champagne Life," specifically highlights 14 women artists from around the world in an attempt, Hurst says, to "celebrate the strength and diversity of art made by women today." In a period when women are still severely underrepresented in galleries, museums and auction houses, Saatchi's show hopes to underscore gender disparity by propping up "emerging" artists who may otherwise go unnoticed.

The women on view vary in age from 25 to 59 and hail from cities like Baltimore, Brussels, Vrbas, London, Riyadh and Seoul. Soheila Sokhanvari works with taxidermy, while Mequitta Ahuja favors watercolor and pencils. Sigrid Holmwood depicts traditional scenes, like the butchering of a pig, while Julia Dault creates eerily futuristic, contorted sculptures. No one theme connects the artists, save for a desire to transform contemporary ideas and issues into art.

"The Saatchi Gallery has been supporting emerging women artists since its inception, helping artists including Cecily Brown, Tracey Emin, Paula Rego, Jenny Saville, Cindy Sherman, Rebecca Warren and Rachel Whiteread, to name a few, go on to achieve international recognition," Hurst noted. "However we’ve not presented an exhibition of new art made entirely by women to date and we wanted to do something we’ve never done before for our 30th anniversary."

Since Saatchi announced the exhibition, some critics have questioned the intentions of such a female-centric show, suggesting that the curation casually lumps women artists together without a broader discussion of gender issues in the field. "Instead of patting itself on the back for hosting a thematically vague exhibition of women artists," Carey Dunne posited on Hyperallergic, "shouldn’t the gallery be a little embarrassed that it’s taken 30 years to make a concerted effort to embrace gender diversity?"

Hurst has defended Saatchi's decision to spotlight the 14 artists, along with a handful of other hopeful observers. He contends that the title of the show is light-hearted and ironic -- "and hopefully doesn’t sound too worthy," he added. "But still [it] throws into contrast the reality of finding the time and motivation for the long, hard, lonely hours these artists work in their studios with the perceived glamour of the art world."

If Saatchi's show is capable of at least reminding collectors, curators, artists and the general public that women account for more than half of the people attending art college, yet they are disproportionately represented in the industry's landmark exhibitions and sales -- for example, in 2015 only three women artists were featured in the top 50 contemporary auction lots sold worldwide -- perhaps the "gimmick" was worth it. Maybe the warranted criticisms only broaden the conversation, and that's not such a bad thing. 

"The art world isn’t alone in having a glass ceiling and treating people who juggle family and professional commitments less seriously," Hurst concluded. "Although the situation is getting much better in terms of art by women being represented in commercial and independent galleries, there need to be far more museum-scale exhibitions of contemporary art made by women in order to encourage collectors with all pocket sizes to buy their work."

"Champagne Life" is on view at Saatchi Gallery in London until March 9. See work from all 14 of the artists here.

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The awards keep coming for “Hamilton.”

On Monday, which would have been the 84th birthday of Edward M. Kennedy, Columbia University and Jean Kennedy Smith said that “Hamilton” was the winner of a rich prize named in honor of the senator, who died in 2009.

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"The Revenant" is getting a lot of buzz leading up to this year's Oscars. And for good reason! It's a great story, the performances are terrific, and most importantly, there's Leonardo DiCaprio's epic beard. 

So Todd Spence and the good people at Break took the logical next step, adding the "Revenant" beard to Oscar-nominated actresses' faces.

I would say, "Enjoy," but, heh, LIKE YOU HAVE A CHOICE!

Jennifer Rawrence

Tree Larson

Cate Ranchett

Jennifur Jason Leigh

Check out the rest over at Break.com! 

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