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Mexican-American Slam Poet Schools Donald Trump On U.S. History

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Donald Trump may want to bust open a U.S. history book because he's about to get schooled. 


Chicana slam poet Mercedez Holtry gave the GOP presidential candidate a lesson and a piece of her mind with her poem "We're Here to Stay," recently published by Button Poetry's YouTube channel. She performed the piece in Brooklyn, New York, during the Women of the World Poetry Slam 2016 in March. 


The poet, who is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, starts with verses aimed at the thinly veiled discrimination in Trump's campaign rhetoric, from his slogan to his portrayal of Mexicans: 



Your campaign slogan, 'Let's Make America Great Again,' with the unsaid words '…by kicking out all the brown people,' disguised and attached to the end of that statement, aka let’s keep America American. Let’s keep America white. Let’s keep America inclusive by outcasting people who were here before you. What I wanna know is who the fuck taught you history, Donald?



Holtry then goes on to mention everything from Operation Wetback to the Zoot Suit Riots and Arizona's SB 1070 before telling Trump there is nothing new about his "racist generalizations and assumptions" and warning him that his actions will have consequences in November. 


"You're are not the first to label us mongrels and bandits in our own home, the media has been portraying us this way for years," she says. "The history books spew forth your ignorance. We have been kept out of America long before your pathetic excuse for a campaign suggested building a wall. You just called out an empire much bigger than your own, just remember Mr. Trump -- the flood is coming now more than ever and we, us 'wetbacks' are in fact the river. And the river is ancient and the river runs deep and the river will take no prisoners on election day."


The poet recently shared the poem with her Facebook followers and gave a small insight into what she was feeling when she wrote the piece:


"I wrote this poem with anger in my heart and my people's pride stirring fire in my blood."


Check out the full poem in the video above. 

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Sequins And Skin Made 'Broadway Bares: On Demand' A Must-See (NSFW)

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The chiseled stars of "Broadway Bares" brought a sizzling, burlesque-style spin on must-see TV to the stage of New York's Hammerstein Ballroom Sunday night. (WARNING: the above video and images below may be NSFW


This year's installment of the annual fundraiser, "Broadway Bares: On Demand," featured elaborately staged vignettes including a home improvement show, a fitness routine and even "American Idol."


Nearly 200 of Manhattan's most-able bodied dancers stripped down for those numbers and others, including "Scared Stiff," a number which spoofed horror classics like "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" to the tune of Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now." More amusing, still, was "Soakin' Wet," a spectacularly randy weather report. 


The tragic June 12 mass shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub wasn't far from the minds of the cast and creatives at the one-night-only event. Director Nick Kenkel offered a heartfelt tribute to the 49 victims of the massacre and their loved ones at the evening's finale, dedicating the performance to "our family in Orlando."


Ultimately, it was for a great cause, too, as the night's two performances raised $1,482,724 for Broadway Bares/Equity Fights AIDS, a non-profit group dedicated to AIDS-related causes across the U.S. 


Don't miss steamy photos of the event below! 


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A Version Of Fifth Harmony's 'Work From Home' Just For Stay-At-Home Moms

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These days it seems like any song can easily translate into a parenting anthem.


Awestruck teamed up with comedy group, JustBoobs Sketch, to turn Fifth Harmony's "Work From Home" into a song about moms.


The video specifically shows the perspective of a group of stay-at-home moms looking for a little midday relief from their partners. "You don't need to be at work work work work work work work 'cause this baby needs a burp burp burp burp burp burp burp," they sing, adding, "So you can work from home."


Ah, the simple fantasies in life.


H/T Today

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Fly Through A Byzantine Church With Breathtaking Drone Footage

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In a new video captured entirely by drone, film company BigFly takes viewers inside a 19th century church, offering a sun-drenched perspective only the birds typically get.


BigFly filmmakers Guillaume Juin and Joris Favraud filmed the exquisite interior of Saint Louis Church in Paimboeuf, France -- a historic 19th-century reconstruction of a Byzantine-era church


As a Byzantine reconstruction, the church exhibits all the trappings of early Christian art and architecture, with its domed ceiling and icons of biblical figures.




Flying a drone indoors always entails a measure of risk, noted photography outlet Fstoppers. And within such a historic edifice, the project carried an added layer of stress. 


"We had room to fly it, but I knew that it could go wrong at anytime," Juin told Fstoppers. "Just two seconds of distraction could lead to catastrophe."


Luckily the filmmakers surmounted the challenge without a hitch, and the result is breathtaking. We suggest watching with the sound on for a fully immersive experience.


Check out BigFly's "Byzantine" above.

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Donald Trump Is America's Joffrey Baratheon

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When you play the game of thrones elect a president, you pray Donald Trump doesn't win or you become an expat and/or die. 


The similarities right now between Westeros and Washington, D.C., are all too real, and DesignCrowd, a company that connects small businesses with graphic designers, took that idea to the next level.


They've superimposed some choice presidential candidates onto the bodies of beloved (and less than beloved) "Game of Thrones" characters.


With Donald Trump as the Night King and Ted Cruz as Ramsey Bolton, "Game of Thrones" literally resembles the horror show that is our political system.


You might ask why Trump is also depicted as High Sparrow and King Joffrey and other icky Westerosi. We're going to assume that's because he's as inherently loathsome as all of them combined. 


Which candidate do you think matches best with a "GoT" character? Put your comments below.


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The 10 Best Books For Little Introverts

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This article first appeared on QuietRev.com


One of the wonderful things about raising introverts is that there are lots of books for every age range that totally get it. Herman Melville’s 1853 Bartleby, the Scrivener has a main character with an infamous line that is arguably the best capture of the introvert experience: “I would prefer not to.” Not that he can’t or won’t, but that he’d rather not. There are introverts like myself who interact with large groups of people for work, and then there are others who are shy and feel totally awkward. There are some who like reading, and then there are those who are into computer games, knitting, or some other solo activity. We may all have vastly different preferences, but the thing that connects all introverts is that we all periodically must say “no, thanks” because we relish our quiet time.    


As Papa to an ambivert 6-year-old and a 2-year-old who is still figuring it out, I am always on the lookout for books that offer an alternative narrative to what our culture tells them is true. Adventurers don’t always have to be loud and constantly surrounded by people. Nerds can solve crimes quietly.


Books are magical portals, and no matter what kind of kid you have—introvert, ambivert, or extrovert—the 10 fictional books listed below for 8-12-year-olds will thrill them:


 



  


Love Quiet Revolution's parenting articles? Listen to Quiet—our new podcast for parents and educators of quiet kids hosted by bestselling author Susan Cain. We've also developed a Parenting Quiet Kids online course, including expert advice, tools, and strategies. Take our free quiz to learn more!



2015-02-04-Joni_Blecher_150x150.jpg
This article originally appeared on QuietRev.com.

You can find more insights from Quiet Revolution on work, life, and parenting as an introvert at QuietRev.com.

Follow Quiet Revolution on Facebook and Twitter.




Also on HuffPost: 


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Watch Itatí Cantoral 'Cry In Spanish' In This Hilarious 'OITNB' Spoof

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One of the most legendary telenovela villains in history is causing trouble in Litchfield. 


Mexican actress Itatí Cantoral recently reprised her infamous role as Soraya Montenegro, from the mega hit '90s soap opera "Maria la del Barrio." The 41-year-old star's villainous character returned to the small screen in a promotional spoof for "Naranja es el Nuevo Negro" "Orange Is The New Black" on Monday.


Think you have no idea who Soraya Montenegro is? Think again: 












If you recognize either of those memes, you'll understand why we were [hyperventilating in Spanish] when we watched the 4-minute spoof posted to the "OITNB" Facebook page.


In the video, above, Cantoral brings Soraya to life once more as a take-no-prisoners prisoner at Litchfield Penitentiary, screaming in Spanish and insulting the likes of Soso, Gloria and Vee. She even has a blast realizing she can curse on the Netflix show.  


The Huffington Post reached out to Netflix about the spoof and, despite rumors that Soraya Montenegro could be a new inmate in Litchfield, the streaming company said her cameo would be limited to the promotional video for Season 4 of the series, which premiered June 17. 


And now, we're crying in Spanish. 






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Amanda Schull Reflects On ‘Center Stage’ And Looks To The Future Of '12 Monkeys’

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"Just dance the shit out of it," says the brassy jazz dance instructor in "Center Stage," the 2000-era teen drama that gave you unrealistic expectations about a career in the ballet. 


And so Amanda Schull, aka Jody Sawyer, the plucky ingénue with "bad feet," did, delivering one of the most iconic performances of dance on screen in recent memory. Sixteen years later, Schull has traded in her pointe shoes for test tubes as the virologist Cassandra Railly on Syfy's "12 Monkeys," but "Center Stage" still looms large.


"Every once and a while, I'll go into a restaurant or a store and 'Canned Heat' or Michael Jackson's 'The Way You Make Me Feel' will start playing," she told The Huffington Post. "I wonder if people are playing it for my benefit and sometimes I do break into some very understated [choreography]. It's kind of hard not to."


As a 21-year-old aspiring dancer with a freshly signed apprenticeship with the San Francisco Ballet, Schull was pulled out of obscurity and put in front of the magnetic gaze of Peter Gallagher's eyebrows. Even the ex-professional ballerina admits that she was underprepared for her role in "Center Stage," but this naiveté is exactly what made her performance all the more convincing.


At the time, Schull's trajectory heavily mirrored Jody's -- both were trying to break into the dance world, both were equally hypnotized by Ethan Stiefel's backside.



"I was sort of living Jody's life at the time ... I just thought that this is kind of me on camera because I had never been on a film set before," Schull explained. "It was a truly surreal experience and frankly I had no idea what I was doing through most of it. I'm just really lucky that they somehow entrusted me with that role."


"Center Stage" acquired what some would call a cult status after its release, proving popular enough to spawn a direct-to-cable sequel, "Center Stage: Turn It Up," in 2008. (Trust us and turn down the volume to save your ears from the cringeworthy dialogue.) But Schull decided not to participate in the film's spiritual successor, as well as Lifetime's upcoming sequel, "Center Stage: On Pointe,” starring many of the original cast members. 


Although Schull says she'll be watching when "On Pointe" debuts later this month, there's a very good reason why she's left Jody in the past. 


"I feel very personally possessive," she said of opting out of the spinoffs. "Jody hasn’t been in any of those and I’m really thankful they haven’t had a Jody look-alike or somebody else be an older Jody."


"I do love that [producer Laurence Mark] wants to continue this idea to have dance on screen," she added. "He feels very strongly about them."


After the dancing stopped -- Schull retired from the San Francisco Ballet in 2006 -- she began to develop a steady stream of guest appearances on television series like "One Tree Hill" and "Suits," as well as starred in films like 2009's "Mao's Last Dancer." But a role like Aria Montgomery's bats**t crazy substitute teacher on "Pretty Little Liars" didn't afford Schull the opportunity to develop a character in the ways she'd always hoped.


It became clear that parts like Jody Sawyer didn't come around too often. That is, until she was offered the lead in Syfy's adaptation of the time-traveling mystery "12 Monkeys" in 2015. 



For the first time in her career, Schull has been able to dig deep into a role that would last longer than a string of episodes on a teen TV show, something she describes as a "luxury." 


"This character is unlike any other I’ve had the opportunity to grow and develop," she said. "Every single woman on this show is not immediately linked to a romantic plot, which is, as a woman, so refreshing ... I go out for roles often and it’s like, 'You're the love interest.' Ugh, snooze. That’s all that person is? I'm sure she has more sides to her." 


Now in its second season, "12 Monkeys" finds Schull traveling to the future and back again to prevent the release of a deadly virus. Relying on her smarts, and more often than not her fists, Schull's Cassie has experienced perhaps the biggest transformation over the series' 26 episodes. Hardened by time spent in the future apocalypse, the Cassie we meet in Season 2 is a far cry from the dumbfounded doctor introduced in the pilot. In this kill-or-be-killed environment, Schull's talents have taken ... center stage ... as Cassie fights to maintain the kernel of good so easily extinguished in the brutal environment. 


"I don’t think I’ve personally ever seen a role like this on television," Schull said. "I could have had an opportunity on another show and I wouldn’t have made half the growth." 


But no matter how deep she travels in time, Schull will always be Jody Sawyer to those who know and love her. And there's one question that's plagued the actress since her days at the American Ballet Academy: is she sweaty or is she sweet? 


"I remember reading that and being like, 'What do I do with this?'" she joked, recalling the oft-quoted line from "Center Stage." "I think I'm sweaty sweet."

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In 'Relationship,' A Trans/Trans Couple Collected Intimate Photos Of Life Together

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“Whatever I am, or have since become, I know now that slipperiness isn’t all of it,” Maggie Nelson writes in her poetic memoir The Argonauts. “I know now that a studied evasiveness has its own limitations, its own ways of inhibiting certain forms of happiness and pleasure. The pleasure of abiding. The pleasure of insistence, persistence. The pleasure of obligation, the pleasure of dependency.”


The book is an undulating ode to her relationship with the gender-fluid artist Harry Dodge. In writing about their courtship and marriage, Nelson embraces the freeing act of casting off gender norms, while also pledging allegiance to a committed relationship.


She’s a fitting writer, then, to contribute to a book of photos and writing about a couple like any other -- a couple that leaves loves notes scrawled on napkins, snaps pics while eating watermelon, and hangs out on their beige couch -- except that neither person adheres to gender binaries and each is in the midst of undergoing a transition.


“It’s become something of a lazy commonplace that gender is best understood as a relation we have with ourselves, whereas sexuality is essentially relational,” Nelson writes in Relationship, which chronicles the offhanded photos taken by a trans/trans couple, artists Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, in the throes of love.


The photos capture Drucker and Ernst lounging on wrinkly sheets, gripping peeled oranges on stoops, slouching by pools aside full ashtrays. Each image is a lo-fi slice of life. To flip through the book’s images is to scroll through a couple’s iPhone photos, scanning through the posed, the casual, and the intimate.


Rhys explains the project in the books introduction, writing, “Had we met at another point in our lives, we might not have been so driven to document ourselves. But we were in the unflattering throes of yet another puberty ... each learning from the other's gender history."


Collectively, the images project the idea that gender is only a performance insofar as any relationship is. There are moments of pure individuality, and moments where your private self curls up against someone else’s private self, giving each other shape.


See images from Relationship, published by Prestel, below:


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Jenny Holzer Takes Over Ibiza As Art Helps Revive The Island's Glorious Past

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This article originally appeared on artnet News.



Ibiza might be best known for its idyllic sun-kissed beaches and intense, 1990s-tinged nightlife, but this summer art lovers have other reasons to visit the Balearic island.


The billionaire art collector and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté -- the man behind the local art initiatives Lune Rouge and Art Projects Ibiza -- has launched an ambitious show of works by Jenny Holzer in collaboration with the gallery Sprüth Magers, inviting the artist to create a site-specific commission.



The result is the exhibition “ARE YOU ALIVE?," which opened to the public on June 21, and brings together a number of text-based works by Holzer, ranging from "Truisms" -- a series of footstools and benches emblazoned with aphorisms -- and a number of works engraved onto boulders.



This is not the first collaboration of Laliberté with a blue-chip gallery. Last summer, he made a splash by joining forces with Blum & Poe to stage a show of new works by Takashi Murakami on the island.


The lavish festivities for the exhibition opening last summer, became the hot ticket of the season on the island.




Ibiza was an international bohemian hotspot throughout most of the 20th century -- well before it was embraced by the hordes of clubbers -- and Laliberté is not the only one who's been working hard to revive the island's artistic and intellectual past.


Since 2013, the Madrid-based gallery Parra & Romero has a second space in the island, a huge refurbished warehouse where they stage solo and group presentations by gallery artists. Currently on view are shows by Adam Pendleton and Robert Barry.



#robertbarry #reflections on view @parraromero #parraromero #ibiza #ibiza2016 #conceptualart

A photo posted by P&R | Guillermo Romero Parra (@parraromero) on




Moreover, on July 22, the gallery is launching a new sculpture park amid the stunning rural landscape of Ibiza, which will feature works by Stefan Brüggemann, Luis Camnitzer, and Philippe Decrauzat among others, curated by Jeróme Sans.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda: It's 'No Accident' Hamilton Came To Me On Vacation

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In his award-winning musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda makes the case that if Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton had taken a break from work during one particularly high-pressured summer, he could have gone onto become one of America’s greatest presidents. Instead, Hamilton refused to go on vacation with his family and made the worst decision of his life by starting  an affair. The career-killing mistake is now infamously known as one of America's first political sex scandals.  



"I hadn’t slept in a week, I was weak, I was awake / You've never seen a bastard orphan more in need of a break"
A lyric from "Say No To This," a song about the Treasury Secretary's affair from the Hamilton Musical.


Miranda discussed the link between fatigue and poor decision-making in a livestreamed interview with The Huffington Post President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington and HuffPost Live host and producer Alyona Minkovski before his appearance at the Rockefeller Foundation’s "Insight Dialogues" series Thursday. He sang the praises of both sleep and the importance of taking a break -- for himself as well as for his characters.


“There’s no magic pill for it. No ginger, no apple cider vinegar will substitute a good night of sleep,” said Miranda. "I do believe we make our worst decisions when we’re tired.”


Huffington, who has seen the musical three times, wrote about the link between Alexander Hamilton’s lifelong workaholism, lack of sleep and his fatally poor decision-making in a May story for HuffPost. In it, she wondered whether his lack of sleep influenced not just Hamilton’s decision to couple up with romantic partner Maria Reynolds, but his agreement to participate in a duel with his political enemy, Aaron Burr. 


"What connection did his burnout have with his untimely death?,” she wrote. "When you find yourself walking to a duel at dawn -- after you had lost your son in a duel three years earlier -- it’s fair to ask if you’re mustering all the wisdom you’re capable of."


The link between rest and creativity 


The happy flip side of the link between fatigue and poor decision making, however, is the link between relaxation and creativity. Miranda has won Tony and Grammy awards, a MacArthur Genius grant and a Pulitzer Prize for his race-bending Broadway take on the founding fathers, and he credits the inspiration for the musical to one fateful trip. 


"It’s no accident that the best idea I’ve ever had in my life -- perhaps maybe the best one I’ll ever have in my life -- came to me on vacation," Miranda said.


"When I picked up Ron Chernow’s biography [of Hamilton], I was at a resort in Mexico on my first vacation from 'In The Heights,' which I had been working seven years to bring to Broadway,” he continued. "The moment my brain got a moment’s rest, ‘Hamilton' walked into it.”


Research does support the notion that rest promotes productivity and creativity, because your brain needs time to dream, solve problems, learn and create new ideas.


Both Miranda's and Hamilton's stories serve as lessons for those who feel too busy to take a break -- whether it's a good night’s rest or a full-blown vacation. Miranda later joked that his experience is an excuse to justify any vacation that he wants to take for the rest of his life, and that he was looking forward to an upcoming break once he finishes performing his last show on July 9. 


Take a break, Mr. Miranda! Your fans can’t wait to see what you come up with next.


CORRECTION: This story incorrectly spelled Maria Reynolds' name and said Lin-Manuel Miranda had won an Emmy for "Hamilton." It was a Grammy. 

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Graffiti Artist Casey Nocket Is Now Banned From National Parks Thanks To Reddit

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A little more than a year after an online mob helped federal authorities unmask a graffiti artist who was seen desecrating protected national parks in the U.S., Casey Nocket has learned her fate.


The 23-year-old San Diego woman was sentenced last week to two years probation and 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to defacing seven national parks over a 26-day period in the fall of 2014.


As part of her punishment, she is additionally banned from stepping foot on any national park land during her probation -- that's 84 million acres spread out in all 50 states.


“A hearing to determine the amount of restitution Nocket is required to pay will be held at a later date,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in a release.



Nocket's June 10 sentencing comes nearly a year and half after her “CreepyTings” collection was thrust into the public spotlight -- just not for its acclaim.


The self-titled artist doodled and scrawled on protected rock formations with acrylic paints and markers and then shamelessly boasted about her markings on multiple social media accounts.


“I know, I’m a bad person,” she once responded to an Instagram user's expressed concern.



Sorry @modernhiker I'm an artist. #creepytings #whatsupbanksy

A photo posted by Casey Nocket (@theofficialcreepytings) on




After Modern Hiker highlighted her damage in a 2014 article, Nocket tagged them in an Instagram photo that showed her defacing some rock wall. It read: “Sorry @modernhiker I’m an artist.”


The post included a hashtag that referenced the urban graffiti artist Banksy, whose work is renowned internationally.


But as both the public and court's verdict found, she’s no Banksy.



Photos of her handwork were uploaded to Reddit with a question on how she could be tracked down and brought to justice.


“I wonder if its possible to get some sorta action against this person? Her name on Instagram shows her FB page as well so shes not hard to find ... ” a Reddit user wrote.


The thread soon caught the attention of Steve Yu, an investigator for Yosemite National Park, who posted his contact information should anyone have any information on her.



Fast forward to June 13, Nocket found herself in court pleading guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of damaging government property.


“The defendant’s defacement of multiple rock formations showed a lack of respect for the law and our shared national treasures,” Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert stated in a release that addressed her sentencing.


Restoration efforts remain ongoing at the parks she defaced, however.



“The National Park Service has worked hard to restore the rock formations to their natural state, completing clean-up efforts in five of the seven parks. They expect to complete cleanup efforts at Death Valley in the near future and at Crater Lake as weather permits,” Talbert stated.


Charles Cuvelier, chief of law enforcement for the National Park Service, further stressed the importance of people coming together and speaking up.


“This case illustrates the important role that the public can play in identifying and sharing evidence of illegal behavior in parks,” he said in a statement. “It is clear that the public cares deeply for the special places that the National Park Service represents, and the resolution of this case sends a message to those who would consider such inappropriate behavior going forward.”

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If Disney Princesses Had A Voice, Here's What They'd Sound Off About

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Poor Disney Princesses. They’ve been manipulated into everything from assassins to Taylor Swift. But what if we gave them an actual ~voice of their own~?


We’re pretty sure Ariel would be an ocean advocate with her own HBO documentary and Belle would be the next great feminist author. 


These are the activist fairytale revisions we'd want to see -- especially given the fact that exposure to Disney princesses can cause girls to conform to gender norms and feel that their potential is limited.


Check out these tales that are our true heart's desire below.


1. Ariel Would Clean Up All The Thingamabobs In The Ocean And Protest Pollution



You’d never find activist Ariel brunching with Prince Eric on the weekends -- instead she’d be organizing beach cleanups.


The Little Mermaid's favorite hobby was collecting whoseits and whatsits galore that had made their way into the water, so she knew all about the garbage invading our oceans. This mermaid with a megaphone would tell everyone the harsh reality that, without any reforms, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050. She’s got Flounder’s wellbeing to think about, after all.


 


2. Belle Would Be Doing A Feminist Book Reading In Brooklyn



If Gaston ever again lamented, “It’s not right for a woman to read,” brassy Belle would surely hit him upside the head with a copy of “Bad Feminist.”


Belle would take her cause seriously, advocating for the more than 770 million people around the world who still don’t know how to read -- with two-thirds of that population being women. After setting Gaston straight, Belle would rally him to help her launch a book drive to get reading materials to those who need them.


 


3. Jasmine Would Want A Whole New World In Which Animals Are Protected



First, a justice-seeking Jasmine would become enlightened and realize her tiger bae Rajah shouldn’t have been cooped up in a palace instead of being in the wild.


Then, she'd paper the streets with petitions from her magic carpet ride, urging everyone to speak out for the 2,215 species considered endangered or threatened.


 


4. Cinderella Would Use Her Broom Handle As A Picket Sign, Protesting Unfair Labor Laws 



Though Cinderella did trade her tattered clothes for a ball gown in the end, the glass slipper-wearing princess wouldn’t forget where she came from.


Her time spent slaving away for her evil stepmother would have made her seriously empathetic with American workers’ plight. Low-income workers have been fighting for years for a $15 minimum wage -- and they recently won some important victories in New York and California. Cinderella and her fellow mouse laborers would have been right there with them, marching to bring the living wage countrywide.


 


5. Mulan Would Speak Out For Women In Combat, Battling Back Any Misogyny



After the U.S. military opened up combat roles to women, a mission-driven Mulan would have been the first to join the front lines. And she would have advocated for gender parity.


As someone who disguised herself as a dude to join the army in patriarchal ancient China, she wouldn’t have tolerated any misogyny. Given that a 2015 report from RAND National Defense Research Institute found that 85 percent of U.S. Special Operations Forces surveyed were against allowing women into their specialty, we need more women like Mulan.


 

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The Dazzling Indigenous Cultures Of Mexico, In Photos

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Photographer Diego Huerta was living in the city of Santa Catarina in the state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico when he realized he was living in close proximity to a reserved ecological zone called La Huasteca. Native Mexicans, known as Wirrarika or Wixáritari or Huichol, believed this particular territory represented the origin of the earth. As such, each year, the Wirrarika would journey from their homeland of Jalisco to Nuevo León to honor the space where the earth was born. 


What followed is a narrative as devastating as it is expected. A man claimed to own land in the reserved ecological zone, the very land believed to be the origin of the earth. To prevent Mexico's native tribes from entering his land, he erected a gate. "When I read the news, I felt impotent," Huerta explained to The Huffington Post. "I also got angry. How was someone able to destroy sacred rituals that have lasted for thousands of years?"



Huerta began to research Wirrarika culture and soon realized just how little he knew. Even more startling was how little information was out there in general, and how few archival photographs existed. That was one detail Huerta knew he could change. "I am not an investigator, but I am a photographer, and I could document what they look like through my lens," Huerta said. He then embarked on the 14-hour journey to the mountains of Jalisco, to immerse himself fully in the indigenous culture, to experience their traditions, rituals and way of life. And document his experience, camera in tow. 


This was how Huerta's photography series "Native Nations" got its start. After photographing the day-to-day life of Wirrarika culture, Huerta looked to other Mexican native peoples, whose stories are similarly unseen and unheard. "It is surprising that we have more than 57 native cultures [in Mexico] and we don’t know at least half of them. The information is nearly nonexistent."



Huerta's process is simple, yet demanding. First he locates a community he wishes to document and travels to their region. The complicated part, however, is gaining their trust and access into their world. Huerta is not interested in the commercial aspects of their existence, often revolving around the textile and food trades. He's more interested in their lives off the grid, in the time-trusted customs that set each nation apart from the rest. "I focus on being close to the places where they live to capture their essence," Huerta said.


The artist equates his success with a single feat. "Communication is what makes us click," he expressed. "I share interest in what they do and I let them know that I am looking to learn more about them. After conversations and sharing silences, I earn their trust and that is when I am accepted by them. This is when I am able to portray them and therefore, able to tell their stories."



In brightly colored textiles, fur hides, feathered headdresses and body paint, Mexico's indigenous peoples speak volumes about their culture, history and lives without saying a word. Huerta's striking series shows the supernatural power of a camera to traverse distances and communicate volumes with just images.


"I hope that I am able to show the greatness of the native cultures through my photography," Huerta said. "The culture and history of Mexico relies on them. I also hope to make others conscious of the treasure that we have and what these cultures value. I hope that we can recognize and respect these cultures through my photography. They deserve it."



See Heurta's "Inside Oaxaca" series here.

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See The Powerful Beauty Of Men's Hula Come Alive In 360 Degrees

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To watch HuffPost RYOT’s 360-degree footage on a desktop browser, click and drag to look around. On a phone, tap here to open it in the YouTube app, then pan by tilting your device.


In native Hawaiian culture, hula is not simply a dance, but a way of life. 


Each dance tells a story, and hula is the Hawaiian way of passing stories down from one generation to the next. While there is a common misconception that hula dancers are exclusively women wearing grass skirts and coconut bras, male dancers are just as vital to the art, portraying strength and power with their choreography.


HuffPost RYOT joined Kei Kai o Kahiki, an all-male hula halau (troupe) as they danced on the island of Oahu.


Watch the HuffPost RYOT video on men's hula above.

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100,000 Students Across The U.S. Will Probably See 'Hamilton' Before You Do

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Thousands of public school students across the country are about to realize exactly how lucky they are to be alive right now. History is happening. And this time, not just in New York.


During an interview with The Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced that his celebrated #EduHam program is expanding. What started as a project dedicated to helping 20,000 New York City public school students see the Tony-winning musical for just $10 (a Ham for "Ham," as Miranda has described it) will grow to include thousands more students in cities set to host the musical on its national tour next year.


"We are very excited to announce today that we're going to bring 'Hamilton' to 100,000 school kids around the United States," Rodin explained to an audiences at Thursday's Insight Dialogues event. 


The Rockefeller Foundation has pledged $6 million to the expansion, funds that are meant to provide resources to local school districts, similar to the program piloted in New York City. The national program is set to take hold in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., with others joining as "Hamilton" tours. Like the NYC version, the national program will facilitate special, interactive matinee performances for students -- at just $10 a ticket.


"#EduHam will find partner schools and basically continue this extraordinary thing, which has been the greatest things for our cast and our company" Miranda added, "to have the opportunity for students to see the show."



As a part of the #EduHam phenomenon in NYC, the Gilder Lehrman Institute developed the "Hamilton Education Program," described as an in-class curriculum inspired by the lessons embedded in the musical. According to The Rockefeller Foundation, this curriculum will be integrated into participating Title I schools across the nation, where the majority of students are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches.


The Gilder Lehrman program also includes a "Hamilton Student Performance and Study Guide" and an online "Hamilton" portal that provides students with a creative platform for developing and producing their own original performances -- be it poetry, rap, musical theater, or any other facet of performance they can think of. In New York City, students performed those original productions before their "Hamilton" matinees in the Richard Rodgers Theatre.


"By part of the curriculum being that they have to tell stories, and that they're not using necessarily the 'Hamilton' characters or stories [...] they're learning that they get to tell all the stories in their lives in ways that really mean something to them," Rodin added.


Miranda credits his own experience with early arts education as the catalyst behind his theater career today. During the Insights Dialogue discussion, he spoke highly of his elementary school teacher Ms. Ames, who, for the record, has seen "Hamilton" several times since it opened. She cast a 12-year-old Miranda as Conrad in "Bye Bye Birdie" and the rest is history.


Students from the Thomas Edison High School in Queens, who were part of the #EduHam program, were notably present in the audience at The Rockefeller Foundation on Thursday. For them, Miranda's words cut particularly close.


"We're not going to get 1,300 musical theater writers when these 11th graders see the show," Miranda said. "They're not all going to go into theater. They might write this piece for the show and never write anything again. But, I do believe firmly that approaching history in this way [...] that it forces you to reckon with what you're going to do with your life. And I think it forces you to confront what it is to live a life of meaning [...] whether that's theater or whether that's architecture or whether that's medicine or biology."






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'The Homo Cholo' Explores The Importance Of Social Spaces For Queer Latinxs

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"I think the gay community needs to check itself a little bit and realize there is a race problem."


This is what gay rapper and self-described "homo cholo" Deadlee says of Los Angeles' LGBTQ community in a video produced by #EmergingUS


Deadlee takes viewers to different queer spaces in L.A., noting how some have been more welcoming to Latinxs and other people of color than others. “This is kind of considered, I guess, the gay capital of Los Angeles." he says of West Hollywood in one scene. "Well, you know, it’s never really been my gay capital. I came here just because this is where , I guess, the gay mecca was here, so you’re kind of drawn here, but I never completely felt accepted here."


Deadlee, who sports a shaved head, sometimes with a bandana, and tattoos, recalls in the video the multiple instances in which he was told to remove his bandana at a gay club in West Hollywood. Even though, he notes, there were white men at the club who wore bandanas in their back pockets and were not asked to do the same. 


Though the video focuses primarily on Deadlee's personal experiences, it speaks to a larger conversation, especially in the wake of the Orlando tragedy, about the importance of social spaces for queer people of color. #EmergingUS founder and editor Jose Antonio Vargas told to The Huffington Post that Deadlee's story also denotes the importance of telling intersectional stories. 


"Stories like Deadlee's, as well as so many others, are important because none of us fit into neat societal categories, and we need to see more stories that challenge that assumption," he explained. 


It's with this mission in mind that #EmergingUS, a video-centric journalistic project created by Vargas, has dedicated itself to creating original video content which lives at the intersection of race, immigration and identity.


Learn more about Deadlee's story in the video above, and visit #EmergingUS on Facebook to view more of its original videos.

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We Asked 'Hamilton' Himself What The Founding Fathers Would Think Of Donald Trump

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Lin-Manuel Miranda spent countless days researching the Founding Fathers in order to spend countless nights bringing their stories to life on stage in his Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Hamilton: An American Musical."


With that in mind, The Huffington Post's Alyona Minkovski asked Miranda to give some insight into how our nation's architects might have reacted to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.


"I think the Founding Fathers would be looking around at the lights and screaming, there's a lot for the [them] to wrap their head around if they were around in our time," the Puerto Rican star said during a Facebook live stream on Thursday morning at The Rockefeller Foundation. 


The 36-year-old Tony winner may not have truly known what the Founding Fathers would say about Trump, but he did express his own feelings on the Republican candidate's divisive rhetoric.


"It's really interesting," Miranda said. "I think that the notion of pointing at the newest group of people to enter a country and saying 'they're the reason you don't have jobs' is old, that's really old politics. That actually happens over and over again in our nation's history. This is a particularly virulent strain of it, but it'll go away and it'll come back again."


During the live stream, Minkovski also spoke with Miranda about the Orlando shooting and the moving acceptance speech at the Tonys he delivered inspired by the tragedy. 





"I had scheduled myself a little time to think about what I would say if I were lucky enough to win a Tony award that night, and it was all I could think about," Miranda said of what led to him writing the sonnet. "The theme of our show actually resonates with some of the things that were coming out of that tragedy, which is that love wins, and love lasts longer, and acts of hate can destroy lives and destroy families, but our legacies are actually carried on by the people who love us and talk about us and carry us in their memories. And that's where I went in my head, as I was reflecting on the tragedy that morning."


The two also touched upon how the mass shooting was an attack that had greatly impacted the Latino LGBTQ community, particularly those of Puerto Rican descent. When asked if he felt enough attention had been paid by the media to the victim's heritage, Miranda said conversations on the topic were far from over. 


"I think we're going to be look at this for the rest of our lives, this was a national tragedy, one of the worst shooting tragedies in our nation's history," he said. "So, I think there's time for all of it to be discussed and looked at."


The conversation with Miranda was held just ahead of his interview with Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, as part of the organizations' "Insight Dialogues" series. The Huffington Post is a media partner with The Rockefeller Foundation on the series.


Watch the full Facebook live stream here

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The Democrats Sang A Decades-Old Hymn Of Protest During Their Sit-In

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When House Speaker Paul Ryan interrupted Democrats' sit-in over gun control late Wednesday night, the protestors reportedly responded with a song -- the famous civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome." 


And just like that, an African American spiritual that once delivered a promise of freedom echoed through the halls of the U.S. Capitol Building.


Earlier in the month, this simple tune was heard in vigils across the country, as people gathered to remember the victims of the Orlando shooting. 


"Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome, some day," the mourners sang.






The powerful sense of certainty that is evoked by this old hymn, and its endless adaptability, have turned it into a song that has been used in protests around the world -- from Northern Ireland to South Africa. Its backstory, which has many twists, turns, and unknowns, is reflective of its history as a folk song -- a song of the people that expresses a longing for a brighter future for all. 


While the melody of the song may have roots in classical music of the late 18th century, according to Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts, scholars at California State University, Fresno, the song's lyrical connection to protests for freedom can be traced back to the period before the Civil War, when slaves knew it as “No More Auction Block.” By the late 1800s, the song was a well-known hymn sung in African-American churches, using the words, "I’ll Be All Right."


At the turn of the century, a black Methodist minister from Philadelphia named Charles Albert Tindley published a version of the song that he called, "I’ll Overcome Some Day," according to the archivist Kate Stewart.


A few years later, the song brought black and white mine workers in Alabama together to protest low wages. After World War II, an interracial coalition of cigar factory workers used the song during their own strike.


The song was refined and re-written throughout the 1950s and 1960s, taken up by civil rights activists like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr and Rep. Lewis. 



In his memoir about the civil rights movement, Lewis wrote that "We Shall Overcome" helped him through many years of struggle.


"It gave you a sense of faith, a sense of strength, to continue to struggle, to continue to push on. And you would lose your sense of fear," Lewis wrote in the book, according to NPR. "You were prepared to march into hell's fire."


As such, it's fitting that Lewis was on the House floor on Wednesday to hear that same tune used for another kind of battle -- the fight to pass stronger gun control legislation. 


The representatives changed one verse to "We shall pass a bill" -- proving once again its versatility as a prayerful hymn of protest.





Below, a version of the old hymn published in The United Methodist Hymnal.



1 We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
we shall overcome someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
we shall overcome someday!


2 We'll walk hand in hand.


3 We shall all be free.


4 We shall live in peace.


5 The Lord will see us through.


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'Keep Dancing Orlando' Is The Beautiful Tribute City Needs Right Now

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Dance is helping Orlando heal.


A video that honors and celebrates the lives the 49 victims killed during the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub has gone viral.





The group Keep Dancing Orlando posted a video featuring people busting moves all over city — from Disney World to the beloved, local sandwich joint Beefy King — on Facebook on Wednesday, and it has already garnered more than 36,000 shares and 770,000 views.


The video — which features people dancing to Whitney Houston’s upbeat anthem “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” — encourages viewers to donate to the OneOrlando Fund, and make their own videos of themselves dancing. Once their sweet moves have been recorded, they are then asked to upload the video to social media with the tag #KeepDancingOrlando.


Some people have already uploaded their videos, like local Orlando news station WESH 2 employees and the Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls:





“Forty-nine beautiful souls were taken at Pulse, but their spirit dances on in all of us,” reads the campaign’s site, adding: “We will recover. We will grow stronger. We will keep dancing.”

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