Realistic Body Paint Gives A Remarkable Visual Of What Happens When You're Pregnant

May 18, 2015, 11:37 am

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A Dutch photographer's painted belly project helps moms-to-be visualize the way their babies fit inside their pregnant bodies.

Leonie Versantvoort specializes in maternity and newborn photography. She told The Huffington Post that she came up with the idea for an anatomy-themed "bellypaint" project and teamed up with body and face painter Marieke van den Dungen-Crone to help bring her vision to life.



Mom Kristine Smits was their model for the project. Versantvoort posted some some behind-the-scenes photos from this convergence of art and science on her Facebook page.

Behind the sceneFotograaf: Leonie Versantvoort fotografie / www.leonieversantvoortfotografie.nlPainter: Marieke Crone, Skin & Scones / www.skinandscones.nlModel: Kristine Smits

Posted by Leonie Versantvoort fotografie on Tuesday, November 4, 2014

It's been said before, but looking at these women's work, it bears repeating -- the human body can do some truly amazing things.

H/T BabyCenter



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Here's Why Famous Authors Chose Their Fake Names

May 18, 2015, 11:46 am

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Writers have chosen pen names over the centuries for reasons almost as varied as the names themselves. (We're looking at you, "Dr. Seuss.")

While some changed their names simply for easier English pronunciation, others had to worry about readers' perception in the days before, you know, everyone realized women could write good books. Still others wanted to escape their past or suggest an alternate, more badass identity for themselves. Reasons abound.

Take a look below to find out why some of our favorite published authors chose the names they did. And when you're done, create your own nom de plume here.

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Mark Ruffalo Tells Grads: 'Activist Is Not A Dirty Word'

May 18, 2015, 12:09 pm

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Actor Mark Ruffalo received the Sam Rose '58 and Julie Waters Prize at Dickinson College for Global Environmental Activism at the school's commencement on Sunday. The prize includes $100,000, which Ruffalo said will go directly to Water Defense, a nonprofit dedicated to clean water access that he co-founded.

Ruffalo gave a short speech in accepting the prize where he urged graduates to fight for whatever cause they truly believe in.

"I'm here to tell you that 'activist' is not a dirty word," he said.

Ruffalo said that this generation of graduates is in a unique position with so many people having access to tools and platforms to "create the world that you can imagine." He asked graduates to dedicate work to challenging climate change, corporatization, environmental degradation and social justice issues.

"I'm asking each of you at some point or another to act up," Ruffalo said. "Be misbehaved. Buck the system. Fight for what you believe in. This is the time to do it; you’re the ones to do it."

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Ian McEwan Gives Impassioned Graduation Address On Free Speech

May 18, 2015, 1:43 pm

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English novelist Ian McEwan used his platform as Dickinson College's commencement speaker to advocate for free speech and expression of ideas on Sunday.

His speech addressed one of this year's major intellectual discussions: the protection of potentially offensive speech. On college campuses, this includes requests for "trigger warnings" on required readings and on-campus "safe spaces," where students can avoid conversations on sensitive topics. During graduation season last year, several commencement speakers were uninvited following student-led protests.

McEwan discussed Brandeis University withdrawing its plan to give an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has criticized Islam.

"It can be a little too easy sometimes to dismiss arguments you don’t like as hate speech or to complain that this or that speaker makes you feel disrespected," McEwan said. "Being offended is not to be confused with a state of grace; it’s the occasional price we all pay for living in an open society."

The author's speech touched on recent instances that questioned the freedom of expression, including writers boycotting the PEN American Center awards after they announced the Freedom of Expression Courage award would be given to Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper that was attacked by gunmen in January. McEwan called the boycott "a disappointment."

He said that while religion, atheism and all thought systems are "of course" worthy of respect, they have to also be open to criticism, satire and -- sometimes -- mockery. He reminded graduates that they are lucky to be in a state that allows for such freedom, and it is their responsibility to support openness.

"Freedom of expression sustains all the other freedoms we enjoy," McEwan said. "Without free speech, democracy is a sham."

McEwan acknowledged that protected speech can sometimes be hard to identify, but it is vitally important for graduates to allow for open discussion.

"I hope you'll use your fine liberal education to preserve for future generations the beautiful and precious -- but also awkward, sometimes inconvenient and even offensive -- culture of freedom of expression we have," McEwan said.

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This Gorgeous Video Reveals How Mozzarella Is Made By Hand

May 18, 2015, 1:51 pm

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Mozzarella is the most popular cheese in the United States; USDA data show that the average American eats 11.5 pounds of the stuff every year, mostly atop pizzas.

The ubiquity of mozzarella can sometimes blind us to its beauty, so it's good, sometimes, to have a reminder. The best possible reminder is making mozzarella yourself -- a sensuous, surprisingly easy process that leads to a divinely fresh ball of cheese that you can eat.

But the second-best type of reminder is watching someone else make mozzarella -- which you can do by watching the beautiful video embedded above. Shot at the headquarters of artisanal cheesemaker Caseificio Torricelle in Paestum, Italy, it details, with gorgeous images and otherworldly music, exactly how mozzarella is traditionally made. And because it profiles an Italian cheesemaker, it even highlights some of the luscious language associated with the craft of mozzarella -- evocative phrases like "la filatura," meaning "spinning," and "punto di pasta," which refers to the point at which the embryonic cheese reaches the proper consistency.

The mozzarella produced by the masters at Caseificio Torricelle looks way more delicious than a shrink-wrapped lobe of Polly-O you might get at Target -- who's down for a trip to Paestum to get some?

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'Queen Of The Night' Is Basically Cirque Du Soleil Directed By Stanley Kubrick

May 18, 2015, 2:11 pm

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Off Broadway plays can get really weird. Like, watermelon-being-smashed-to-bits-on-stage weird. So when the basic Broadway lineup starts to feel tired, it can be difficult to navigate theater options that extend beyond seeing "Wicked" for the fourth time. Here to help you avoid being needlessly splattered with fresh fruit, we bring you the May edition of our monthly roundup of five Off and Off Off Broadway shows.

"Queen of the Night"
Great For: Wine-drunk acrobats



"Queen of the Night" is hard to explain, but it is perhaps most accurately described as an experimental, immersive dinner theater circus. Brought to you by the creator of "Sleep No More," it incorporates interactive elements around a dance-heavy floor show with a mix of acrobatics. Imagine Cirque du Soleil set in a PG-13 version of that masked party featured in "Eyes White Shut."

There's a dark, partly tongue-in-cheek theatricality about the way the cast has transformed the Diamond Horseshoe supper club. The show starts in earnest at 8 p.m., though the performance really begins as soon as you walk through the door at 7:30. A crew of dancers wearing androgynous uniforms (halter tops paired with long shorts and dress shoes) swoop through the crowd mingling over drinks, engaging with audience members.

The cast searches for participants through pounds of eyeliner, reading their potential victims based on energy. It's possible to shirk that element of the evening all together, though you'd be missing the point. Experiences range from a silent ceremony with the queen on the main stage to a milk bath (about which the publicist would only say "the experience is private").



Once the show is in full session, dinner is served. While dinner theater food is usually a pre-made frozen afterthought, the culinary aspect of "Queen of the Night" is very much a part of the experience. The meal varies by night, but is often an extravagant extension of the show itself, and has included an entire lobster or whole roasted pig.

Much of the show is what you make it (and how adventurous you may be feeling beforehand), though some elements are consistent for all audience members. Even if you stay firmly planted in your seat, avoiding eye contact and gripping a glass of wine, "Queen of the Night" manages to be a thrilling mix of the eerie and garish. It vacillates between beautifully haunting and grotesquely dramatic -- as if Stanley Kubrick and Baz Luhrmann were co-directors at war for the soul of the show. But, for the love of Nicole Kidman, I mean that in a good way.

In performances until June 30 at The Diamond Horseshoe.

"Churchill"
Great For: Teenage history buffs



"Churchill" is sort of like watching a kindly old professor enact an impression of the indelible Winston in hopes of reinvigorating his students. In spite of the set, it is far closer to a dramatic lecture than a one-man show. While the history of the great prime minister is well studied, the accent is not. For a general vision of what actor Ronald Keaton's Winston is like, imagine Churchill doing an impression of a Midwestern American doing an impression of himself.

In performances until Sept. 13 at New World Stages.

The Stepfathers
Great For: Stepchildren, but also most human beings



A better example of the Harold does not exist in New York. For those that don't willingly identify as "comedy nerds," the Harold is a form of improv invented by Del Close that threads a narrative through scenes, enacted by a group and inspired by a suggestion from the crowd. Of course, this is far too simple an explanation, like explaining a monarch butterfly's metamorphosis by saying "a worm becomes aesthetically pleasing." But you will understand it all quite clearly in the masterful hands of the troupe that comprises The Stepfathers. The whole thing makes "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" look like child's play.

In performances at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

"Queen for a Day"
Great For: "Sopranos" fans who deign to watch primetime crime drama



For fans of "The Sopranos," watching Vincent Pastore ("Big Pussy" Bonpensiero) and David Proval (Richie Aprile) on stage is inherently sublime on some level. Yet once you get past the thrill of these actors playing mobsters once again, there are obvious flaws to be seen. For one, it is wholly unclear if "quirky old Italian man" is Proval's character or just what he's like in real life. And while it is fun to see poor Pussy rise to the role of mob boss, he shows up on stage far too late to salvage a play that ultimately feels like an elongated interrogation scene from an Italian-themed episode of "Law & Order."

In performances until July 26 at the Theatre at St. Clements.

"The Glass Menagerie"
Great For: Denzel Washington



Masterworks Theater Company put on Tennessee Williams' classic play with the mission statement of "igniting" young audiences. Things are certainly updated and reimagined in a more modern theatrical manner, invigorated with an exciting reading of each line. And yet, the central dilemma -- the tragedy of becoming an old maid -- feels out of place amid the updates. Your heart still aches for the helplessly jittery Laura (played by Olivia Washington, daughter of one Denzel) and yet her plight feels lost in time amid the reinvigorated choices of director Chris Scott, as well as the archaic ideas the show contains. This was certainly an ambitious effort, but if Masterworks Theater Company would like to "ignite" their audience, they ought to bring a bit more lighter fluid.

Now in performances at 47th Street Theater.

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12 Ways Nora Ephron Taught Us To Be Better Women

May 19, 2015, 8:58 am

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On May 19th, Nora Ephron would have turned 74. The author, screenwriter and director, best known for films like "When Harry Met Sally," "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless In Seattle," died in June 2012, leaving behind a collection of beautiful writing, movies and people whose lives have been touched.

Even though Ephron is no longer with us, her words are still very much alive -- and have never seemed more relevant. Here's to her writing continuing to inspire legions of women (and men) for years to come.

Here are 12 lessons, courtesy of Nora Ephron, which encourage us to be better women:

1. The political is personal.

--Wellesley Commencement Speech, 1996

2. Women are complicated as hell -- and all the more incredible for it.
“I try to write parts for women that are as complicated and interesting as women actually are.”

3. Breaking up is just as integral a part of a relationship as falling in love is.


4. Being a parent involves a whole lot more than just having kids.
"Here’s what a parent is: A parent is a person who has children. Here’s what involved in being a parent: You love your children, you hang out with them from time to time, you throw balls, you read stories, you make sure they know which utensil is the salad fork, you teach them to say please and thank you, you see that they have an occasional haircut, and you ask if they did their homework." --I Feel Bad About My Neck

5. Sometimes looking good can go a long way towards making you feel good.


6. Embrace your body exactly as it is right now -- and celebrate how damn good you look.

--I Feel Bad About My Neck

7. Some things about your own life will always remain a mystery, especially when it comes to love.
"You can never know the truth of anyone's marriage, including your own." --I Remember Nothing

8. Reading is nourishment for the soul and the brain.

--I Feel Bad About My Neck

9. Feminism still matters.
"Don’t underestimate how much antagonism there is toward women and how many people wish we could turn the clock back.”--Wellesley Commencement Speech, 1996

10. Never settle.

--Heartburn

11. There is always a silver lining to even the darkest of circumstances.
“Sometimes I think that not having to worry about your hair anymore is the secret upside of death.”--I Feel Bad About My Neck

12. And, perhaps most importantly...

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Zac Efron And Max From 'Catfish' Make A Movie About EDM

May 19, 2015, 9:34 am

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"Hardship. Friendship. So much love. That's your ticket to everything." Sure, we'll pretend to know what that really means in terms of a movie about a DJ, played by Zac Efron, just trying to achieve his dreams of ... being a DJ? We think? Behold: the trailer for "We Are Your Friends," the film which forced writer/director/"Catfish" bro Max Joseph to dip out of the first half of the show's current season.

Seems worth it, considering "We Are Your Friends" follows Efron, Emily Ratajkowski and Wes Bentley as they try to strike gold in the tech/electronic music scene. It hits theaters Aug. 28, and is basically "Entourage" for the Avicii generation.

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The 'Follow Me To' Instagram Series Goes To India, Where The Fashions Are Crazy Gorgeous

May 19, 2015, 10:57 am

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Couple Murad Osmann and Nataly Zakharova's travels have made them not only two of the luckiest people on earth, but also some of the most interesting to follow on Instagram.

#followmeto Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi with @yourleo. It is the largest mosque in India and its scope amazes you. There is a very loud market surrounding it and yet with every step as you walk inside you become more and more peaceful and relaxed.

A photo posted by Murad Osmann (@muradosmann) on Apr 10, 2015 at 11:23am PDT

The couple, whose "Follow Me To" series first gained popularity in 2013, has documented its travels to New York, Paris, London and beyond. Now, the duo has captured the breathtaking sights in India.

#followmeto Varanasi with @yourleo. It was the city we were most excited about visiting having seen so many photos and videos of it. Hindus believe that Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world. Big thanks to @bazaarbridein

A photo posted by Murad Osmann (@muradosmann) on Apr 3, 2015 at 9:03am PDT

The photos alone are gorgeous, and a scroll through Osmann's feed could induce wanderlust on anyone, but let's talk about the clothes! Among the scenery, Zakharova is seen wearing a slew of absolutely beautiful garb.

#followmeto the great Taj Mahal with @yourleo. It is hard to explain the emotions that you feel the first time you see the Taj Mahal through the entrance doors. It truly is one of the world's best wonders.

A photo posted by Murad Osmann (@muradosmann) on Mar 11, 2015 at 10:03am PDT

We get that the point of the series is to show Osmann "following" Zakharova around the world, but we wouldn't be totally opposed to seeing what some of those outfits look like from the front.

Head to Osmann's Instagram to see more from the couple's adventures.

#followmeto Amer Fort in Jaipur India with @yourleo. It was an amazing trip with a lot of stories and photos to share. This is just a beginning :). Big thanks to the great team of @bazaarbridein

A photo posted by Murad Osmann (@muradosmann) on Feb 24, 2015 at 10:52am PST

(H/T Bustle)

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'The Bachelorette' Season 11 Premiere Recap: Here's What Happens When There Are Two Bachelorettes

May 19, 2015, 11:21 am

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It’s 2015. By now, reality TV is a young adult, but it hasn’t grown out of "The Bachelor" franchise. Despite its bizarre dating rituals, low success rate, and questionable racial and gender politics, the stable of shows is, if anything, more popular than ever. Do people love "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," or do they love to hate it? It’s unclear. But here at Here To Make Friends, we both love and love to hate them -- and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail.

In this week's first Here To Make Friends podcast, (it is a two-part premiere ... thanks, ABC) hosts Claire Fallon, Culture Writer, and Emma Gray, Senior Women’s Editor, recap the May 18 episode of "The Bachelorette," Season 11. We'll break down the least impressive and most drunk men, the weirdness of the whole two Bachelorette thing, and who we think will come out on top.

Plus, author, actress and "Bachelorette"-tweeter Jenny Mollen joins to give her insights. And we even have a few thoughts from host Chris Harrison!



You can check out our future episodes of Here To Make Friends and other HuffPost Podcasts on The Huffington Post's Sound Cloud page. Thanks to our producer, Katelyn Bogucki, our editor Jorge Corona, and our guest Jenny Mollen.

Also, check out the HuffPost Here To Make Friends podcast on iTunes and make sure to rate and review the show, too.

The best tweets about this week's "Bachelorette"...

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The Women Of 'The Bachelor' Are All Of Us (No, Really)

May 19, 2015, 11:47 am

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Last week, just a few days before the premiere of Season 11 of "The Bachelorette," my colleague Emma Gray and I launched a podcast called "Here To Make Friends," which recaps the dating reality show with love and snark. (You can listen to our recap of the first episode below.)

From around the newsroom, I received ripples of shock. Some were mostly bemused: "Oh my God, I would never have guessed you watched 'The Bachelor'!" several colleagues gasped to me. Others were almost concerned. “I just...” said one of my male coworkers, furrowing his brow in consternation, “You seem like a smart person. Why do you watch ‘The Bachelor’?”

I’ve been getting versions of this question since I started live-tweeting the show a couple seasons ago. My unlucky followers must endure two hours of incessant tweets poking fun at contestants’ opening gambits and questionable outfits every Monday night, resulting in not a few unfollows and annoyed replies from my more high-minded friends and acquaintances. “Why do you watch 'The Bachelor'?”

I was a Books Editor at The Huffington Post when I first started getting this query; the assumption was that 100 percent of my free time (rather than 90 percent) was spent reading. But hey, I’m a multi-dimensional person! People who watch "The Bachelor" also read books. Shocking.

"The Bachelor" won me over slowly when I was living alone in a tiny studio in Brooklyn. Folding laundry and cleaning seemed incredibly tedious -- so I’d put on the most recent episode of "The Bachelor" on Hulu, at first barely paying attention as I scrubbed and sorted. Then I realized I was doing a lot of staring, rapt, as the Windex dangled limply in my hand. I was hooked.

Moving to an apartment with a TV changed everything. I could watch each episode in real time -- which meant I could live-tweet. Suddenly, every episode of “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise” became my version of the Super Bowl: God help anyone who tried to keep me from being in front of the TV when the cheesy intro started playing. Bring me appropriate snacks (wine, Thai takeout, ice cream) and absolutely do not talk until commercial breaks, if you must watch with me. If you have to say something about the show, I told my (very patient) boyfriend, say it on Twitter.


Can you find love... on a beach? Marcus Grodd and Lacy Faddoul apparently did on the first season of "Bachelor in Paradise"!

Still, why do I watch "The Bachelor"? There are actually a few answers to the question. (Emma has her own response.) Chick flicks and formulaic rom-coms feature among my favorite mindless distractions, and "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" offer a touch of that absurd, over-the-top romantic melodrama -- and plenty of snort-worthy gaffes to keep things light.

Once I began live-tweeting, my enjoyment blossomed into something more involved. Nothing felt better than nailing a barb about a particularly outrageous group date (goat milking, anyone?) or getting into quippy exchanges with my new live-tweeting friends. The show felt like both a guilty pleasure and an intellectual exercise, a chance to hone my one-liners and rapid-fire banter.

That wasn’t all, though. As much as we mock the rigid rules and absurd formula of "The Bachelor," one reason it’s endured so long may be its similarity to the real world of romance. Sure, it’s an exaggerated one -- exaggerated to the point where we can barely recognize it -- but it enforces and brings out dynamics that many of us experience, in subtler fashion, in our own dating lives.


If you're lucky, like Whitney Bischoff, you get proposed to on national TV after two months and swept off your feet by a muscle-bound hunk of love like Chris Soules.

When we see a 24-year-old, blonde yoga instructor sobbing after not receiving a rose, wondering if she’ll ever find love, it seems truly laughable, and we laugh. She’s young, and (duh) her success on "The Bachelor" is not a measure of her value. But for many women, a part of us also responds with secret compassion. We’re taught to value our desirability to men so greatly that any rejection can call our self-worth into question; how many of us have spent the weeks or months after a break-up or unrequited crush bemoaning our fated singlehood?

And sure, most dudes don’t date 25 women at once, narrowing them down by eliminating one or two per week, but women today (at least here in NYC) often do complain of the difficulty in finding a relationship when men are seemingly happy to casually date an ever-changing rotation of ladies. After you’ve been on a couple great dates, you don’t need to be on "The Bachelor" to feel the nauseating fear of losing out to a more alluring competitor. (And who hasn’t felt the sting of that asshole who strung you along, made you fall in love with him, told you he wasn’t ready for marriage, then turned around and proposed to some other girl, like, right away?)


If you're less lucky, like Kaitlyn Bristowe, you might feel strung along and humiliated, but who's to say you won't have the last laugh?

"The Bachelorette" is a different kind of crazy -- a bunch of bros trying to pretend they don’t care about a woman, they just want to win, but also they’re there for the right reasons -- but still presents plenty of head-scratching yet all-too-familiar vignettes from the world of love. And last night's two-Bachelorette premiere felt even more familiar, as I watched Kaitlyn side-eye the ground with a forced smile while Britt enveloped suitors in a cloud of silky hair and lipstick. As much as we fight against it and proclaim our inherent self-worth, we all kind of want to be the popular one.

For the smart, intellectually engaged women I know who can’t stop watching this franchise, there’s a certain twisted pleasure in seeing the imbalanced gender dynamics of dating writ large: What might seem so slight an annoyance in our own lives that we’d be petty to mention it becomes a cartoonish offense in "Bachelor World," and strident analysis seems like fair game. It's like the Platonic ideal of modern dating, claiming to be evolved and empowering, but packed with degrading expectations and assumptions.

Sometimes it’s depressing, even with white wine and Twitter in hand, to see these worn-out tropes being visited on another generation; the women who must ooze sex appeal while never admitting to having had actual sex, the men who flex their muscles at each other instead of forming relationships. But those problems still exist in our society, and that’s why they exist on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." The reality shows just make them easier to talk about.

Also, check out HuffPost's new podcast on "The Bachelorette"!



You can check out our future episodes of Here To Make Friends and other HuffPost Podcasts on The Huffington Post's Sound Cloud page. Thanks to our producer, Katelyn Bogucki, our editor Jorge Corona, and our guest Jenny Mollen.

Also, check out the HuffPost Here To Make Friends podcast on iTunes and make sure to rate and review the show, too.

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Photographer Takes Moving Pictures Of Families With Their Dying Pets

May 19, 2015, 11:51 am

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Photographer Eva Hagel has been taking beautiful pictures of people with their dying pets for about a year now.

Project Cleo, as this photo series is known, was inspired by Hagel's own beloved boxer who died, suddenly, about four years ago.

Cleo's death "was the most traumatic moment of my life," says Hagel -- who was heartbroken all over again to realize that she had few photos of her dog, "and none of us together."

Jezebel is a boxer who died of cancer in April. This photo was taken on her last day. "It was very hard. Boxers intensify my feelings," says Hagel. Photo: Eva Hagel

She's now set out to make sure that other families have what she's so dearly missing -- that gorgeous photographic record.

"Our pets are just like children. Their death can leave a resounding emptiness in our lives," Hagel says. "Having these images to look back on can help begin the healing process and encourage memories about what a joy their companion was."

I would like you all to meet Sweet Tuesday. This session hit harder to home as her momma is my dear friend, co-worker,...

Posted by Project Cleo on Sunday, November 30, 2014

Seven families have participated as of now. All in southeastern Minnesota, where Hagel lives; all with dogs thus far -- and all free of charge. (Donations are welcome and can be made on the Project Cleo website, where you'll also find more information about booking a shoot.)

"These sessions are very emotional," Hagel says. "I always cry on the way home. It is so hard knowing what these families are about to experience."

Roo Yori and his wife, Clara, spent time with Hagel last fall, before their pup Hector died of cancer.

Hector had an active public life -- he was one of Michael Vick's former dogs, rescued out of the NFL player's dogfighting operations in 2007, and went on to be a therapy dog as well as a symbol of triumph and redemption to his many, many fans.

But with an ample record of what Hector did and stood for out in the world at large, Yori says he and Clara also treasure having this account of the family's private time.

"As much as we try to remember every little thing, unfortunately memories fade with time," Yori says. "Having the photos of the moments we experienced lets us revisit them and prevent that from happening."

Hector the pit bull with his human parents, Roo and Clara Yori. Photo: Eva Hagel

Hagel says that her goal is indeed to "make sure every family has at least one lasting memory of the beloved pet that they will be missing." And -- just as importantly -- to do it in a way that might help cut through that awful thick of grief, even just a little.

"During the session I tell families to love on their animals, relax and enjoy the moment. Above all sessions should be about joy and happiness," Hagel says. "If I can ease the pain of saying goodbye, I know I have done my job."

Your my best friend...

Posted by Project Cleo on Sunday, November 30, 2014

Check out more photos on the Project Cleo Facebook page and below.

And get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!






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One Photographer Is Using Social Media To Celebrate 'Queer Icons' Of Color

May 19, 2015, 12:06 pm

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Jahmal. 2014, From the series Queer Icons, Photogravure w/ Chine-Colle, 11x14, image size 8x10. Gabriel Garcia Roman

Icons are an essential part of the visual history of religions, including those of the Catholic, Coptic and Orthodox Christian traditions. From the familiar Mary and the Archangel Gabriel to the more obscure Saint Menas or Theotokos of Vladimir, iconic depictions venerate the figures we consider holy or miraculous, marked by a defining saintly feature -- the halo.

For artist Gabriel Garcia Roman, the halo is a particularly mesmerizing aspect of spirituality. Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, he immigrated to Chicago at the age of two. There he grew up in a Mexican household heavily influenced by Catholicism and religious imagery. As a kid, Garcia Roman recalls being transfixed by halos in fresco paintings, which, to him, combined suffering and strength on the dark walls of his church. "I saw the halo as a badge of nobility and selflessness," he explained to The Huffington Post. "So I try and bring that feeling into my work. I want the viewer to be mesmerized like I was as a kid and still am."

His work, "Queer Icons," consists of wildly vibrant portraits that mimic the splendor of religious iconography, with one very important caveat. His subjects are not centuries-old saints. His subjects are very real individuals who identify as QTPoC (queer and trans people of color).

Sonia. 2015, From the series Queer Icons, Photogravure w/ Chine-Colle and silkscreen, 11x14, image size 8x10. Image by Gabriel Garcia Roman. Poetry by Queer Icon Sonia Guiñansaca

Inspired by a desire to show the diversity of a population that often goes underrepresented, Garcia Roman renders friends and friends of friends, whether they are organizers, activists, poets or artists, in saturated colors and decadent patterns, halos always in tow. Much of his series highlights QTPoC "icons" -- "people who are working at gaining visibility with issues or simply the identity of being a Queer person of color," Garcia Roman said.

"The subjects in 'Queer Icons' are people of color, who maintain separate, individual identities within the queer community," Garcia Roman writes in a statement on his website. "These explorations of the edges of genders take place in the nuances of the contemporary urban world. A simple eye shape, an angle of a mouth, the tilt of the head -- indicate a queering of conventional forms and roles ... Much like traditional religious paintings conferred a sense of safety, calm and meditation into a home, the works in this series aspire to a similar sense of refuge, drawn from the inner grace of the subjects out onto a world that might not always be safe."

Mitchyll. 2014, From the series Queer Icons, Photogravure w/ Chine-Colle, 11x14, image size 8x10. Gabriel Garcia Roman

Drenched in deep purple and electric pink, his contemporary icons incorporate sprawling text and geometric backgrounds that set them apart from the icons of yore. To create them, Garcia Roman first photographs his subjects, then silkscreens colors and patterns onto the printed photos using a chine-collé technique. The artist has described his icons as a combination of martyrs and warriors, made distinct by their penchant for fearlessly staring down the viewer. Like the portraits of American painter Kehinde Wiley or South African photographer Zanele Muholi, both of whom Garcia Roman cites as influences, his work is defiant and uncompromising.

"I’m absolutely inspired by the stoic portraits of Jan Van Eyck and Albrecht Durer too," he added.

For some of the portraits, especially those that depict poets or spoken word artists, he allows the subjects to take part in the process, providing them with a Sharpie and tracing paper and instructing them to hand write some of their work around their image. "I wanted to give them a canvas to speak about their identity," Garcia Roman told Mic. "I wanted to amplify their voice."

Kathy. 2014, From the series Queer Icons, Photogravure w/ Chine-Colle, 11x14, image size 8x10. Gabriel Garcia Roman

Garcia Roman posts the finished products online, on his Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr pages. "I am very active on social media," he said to HuffPost. "Right now my Tumblr page is getting a lot of hits and I get excited when I get a notification that one of my images got re-blogged because I know that it’s being seen by people outside of my own circle."

His goal: to ensure that young people come across his images and see these "icons" as examples of powerful leaders. One way he's achieving this outside of the Internet is by making inexpensive digital reproductions, "so that people who can’t afford to own an original piece can have access to them."

See a preview of the series here:

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Art Museum Uses Medieval Paintings To Hilariously Recap 'Game Of Thrones'

May 19, 2015, 12:10 pm

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Dragons and magic aside, "Game of Thrones" has a historical bent -- it draws extensively from medieval history. Some have complained that this flair for the Middle Ages provides an excuse for the show runners to slather the drama with gratuitous sexual violence and gore. But the era has a lot more to offer than miserable brutality, and the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Tumblr wants to draw your attention to another facet: the realm of medieval art.

The museum’s Tumblr recaps each "GoT" episode -- composed in works of art from, primarily, their own collection. According to The Observer, Getty media producer Sarah Waldorf and manuscripts curator Bryan Keene are behind the highly visual summaries. Keene told The Observer he tries to “jot down some things from the book I know are happening” before the show, as he’s read all the books.

It’s not the clarity of the recaps that captures readers, however, but the ingenuity with which the ancient art selected plays off of the themes of each episode. It doesn’t hurt, by the way, that the paintings and sculptures showcased are mesmerizing, and unlikely to be seen without this little additional incentive. (Medieval art geeks, my apologies -- you are the exceptions.) Check out last episode's recap -- and more at the Getty's Tumblr.

http://thegetty.tumblr.com/post/119299035216/game-of-thrones-season-5-episode-6-winter-is

H/T The Observer

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Two 'Bachelorettes' Wasn't As Bad As Expected. It Was Worse.

May 19, 2015, 12:19 pm

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"I love that some people are upset about [there being two Bachelorettes]," declared Chris Harrison on HuffPost Live Monday afternoon."[If you're upset], it's probably an issue you have with yourself or with other women." As two of the women who’d had a problem with it, we’re not perfect, so we’re always willing to consider that it’s a problem with us. We decided to go into that night’s premiere of “The Bachelorette” with open minds, ready to see the female empowerment Harrison promised.

We hoped against hope that the whole two-Bachelorette thing wouldn’t be as 1950s terrible as we thought it would be. Unfortunately, it was worse.

“The Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” franchise isn’t exactly known for its progressive depiction of modern love. Slut-shamey, whitewashed, heteronormative romance is what these shows promote each season. But the one thing “The Bachelorette” has always had going for it is that a woman is in control of her own romantic narrative. Twenty-five lackluster men have to declare their desires for families, marriage and true love, wooing one woman who could at any time send them packing in tears. This season, we’re denied even such small flipping of the normative script in favor of giving straight men “a little bit of power.”

The end result was a premiere that pitted two women against each other, harping on their differences and repeatedly pointing out just how “devastated” one of them would be by night’s end.

“Kaitlyn shocked the girls with her jokes. Britt shocked the girls with her intensity,” explained Chris Harrison, introducing each of them. “One of them shed a lot of tears, the other shed something else…” (Yes, Chris, we know that the “something else” is Kaitlyn’s bathing suit bottom. Nothing more scandalous than not-even-fully-nude skinny dipping.)

The two women were essentially presented as one-dimensional caricatures of themselves, defined by very specific (and traditionally undesirable) character traits: Kaitlyn by her overtly-sexy humor, and Britt by her overtly-expressed emotion. Chris Harrison may as well have framed the season as a battle to the reality TV exile between the slutty slut and the crying trainwreck -- two things that women, especially women who are trying to impress men, are never supposed to be. (And two things that men, no matter how naked or teary they get, never can be.)

Some found the whole narrative to be oddly familiar…

Love this season of The Bachelorette. It's about time the mainstream media presents women as enemies who must fight for men

— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) May 19, 2015

Defenders of the gambit have pointed to the two-Bachelor season -- season 6 -- as evidence that the device is neither sexist nor degrading. Jay Overbye and Byron Velvick got through it, after all! But things have changed since 2004. For one thing, the Bachelors and Bachelorettes are now drawn from the runner-up spots in previous seasons; while Jay and Byron were new to the ABC family when their season premiered, Britt and Kaitlyn both spent weeks on “The Bachelor” before being brutally dumped on national TV. Britt notably slumped in the driveway after being sent packing, wracked with sobs; Kaitlyn was totally blindsided after a fantasy-worthy fantasy suite date. Why put them through more insecurity-inducing judgment and competition, with an extra scoop of national embarrassment for one lucky loser?

But embarrassment is drama, and drama is ABC’s bread and butter. Though one could easily gather that the 25 guys all greeted both women, their approaches were sliced and diced to make each girl, in turn, look like an awkward reject. As we watched bro after bro swoon over to Britt, breathing sweet nothings in her ear, and saw Kaitlyn bravely cleaning her teeth with her tongue and grimacing in the background, it was hard not to flash back to the most public romantic rejections of our lives -- the boys we flirted with at parties who were just using us to get to our hot friends, or our long-time crush who walked over to us at the homecoming dance to ask the gorgeous cheerleader standing next to us to dance. Each Britt and Kaitlyn, in their “in the moment” confessionals, copped to feeling hurt by repeatedly watching men enthusiastically show preference for their romantic rival. “I know I have value,” Kaitlyn insisted forlornly. Yikes.

Harrison’s promised empowerment and camaraderie clearly was left abandoned on a cutting room floor somewhere. Aside from Britt’s undermining comments about Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn’s overt discomfort with Britt’s presence, the two barely seemed to interact, instead flying around trying desperately to charm as many fratty, underemployed men as possible.

And here’s where the premiere got really, really grim. One thing we didn’t, perhaps naively, account for in anticipating a two-Bachelorette season: What would happen when 25 tipsy guys got together in a room to vote over which woman they wanted to go cliff-diving and eat dinner by candlelight with? The answer: The kind of objectifying, reductive conversation women often aren’t privy to. It’s a gross reality to see men pick women apart like pieces of meat to their peers, debating which one is a trophy wife and implying that two pretty faces are essentially interchangeable.

Viewers found it disturbingly cavalier:

Honestly, this is like listening to my brothers decide what to order in for dinner. Kaitlyn? Britt? Indian? Sushi? #thebachelorette

— Jennifer Weiner (@jenniferweiner) May 19, 2015

The first night, at least, was all about what the men wanted. According to Chris Harrison, they wanted both Britt and Kaitlyn on the show, so Britt and Kaitlyn they got. Then they got to kick back and let these two women jockey for their general masculine approval, while they downed Fireball on the rocks and casually weighed the ladies’ respective value. Even “The Bachelor” doesn’t subject women to that level of humiliation.

So, Chris, maybe we do have a problem -- a problem with seeing two women being reduced to sexist cliches, forced to duke it out for the affection of terrible men. But maybe (probably, definitely) it’s ABC’s problem, too.

Check out HuffPost's new "Bachelorette"-themed podcast, "Here To Make Friends"!


You can check out our future episodes of Here To Make Friends and other HuffPost Podcasts on The Huffington Post's Sound Cloud page. Thanks to our producer, Katelyn Bogucki, our editor Jorge Corona, and our guest Jenny Mollen.

Also, check out the HuffPost Here To Make Friends podcast on iTunes and make sure to rate and review the show, too.

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19 Works Of Art That Show Breastfeeding Has Always Been Beautiful

May 19, 2015, 12:21 pm

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With the way breastfeeding mothers are often treated in public, one would think that nursing a baby is some sort of taboo, new age practice. But as this empowering Instagram account shows, that couldn't be further from the truth.

The images posted on Breastfeeding Art serve as an important reminder that nursing is a totally normal phenomenon that has been part of motherhood throughout history. From centuries-old paintings, sculptures and tapestries to contemporary photos and even edible art, each image is meant to provide "inspiration and cultural and historical context for breastfeeding moms," the account description states.

"Young Mother Nursing Her Child" by Mary Cassatt, 1906. Oil on canvas. 99.1 x 80.3 cm (39 x 31 5/8 in.) Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. #marycassatt #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 5, 2015 at 6:20am PST

Artist and mom of three Leigh Pennebaker launched Breastfeeding Art in February and in its 3+ months in the social media sphere, the account has gained over 7,500 Instagram followers.

"Collecting artistic representations of breastfeeding has long encouraged and inspired me personally as a breastfeeding mom, and sharing these images with the world is my way of standing up for mothers and babies and saying, 'look, we will not be marginalized in 2015!'" Pennebaker told The Huffington Post. "Women, and lactating women in particular, have been celebrated, honored, and deified in art throughout human history," she added, noting the abundance of Nursing Madonna iconography and earlier depictions of lactating goddesses like Isis and Hathor.

"I wanted to create a space online that would highlight the historical/cultural context of breastfeeding and convey the extent to which modern-day mothers fit into a long, powerful lineage."

Ultimately, Pennebaker hopes Breastfeeding Art will help moms feel "powerful, beautiful and supported" she said, adding, "I hope people who see it who don't breastfeed will absorb some of the scope of the work and have a greater understanding of the normalcy of breastfeeding."

Keep scrolling and follow the account on Instagram and Facebook for a look at some gorgeous representations of breastfeeding in the art world.

Detail from "The Young Mother" (c.1770-80) by Jean Laurent Mosnier (1743/4 - 1808) Oil on canvas. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 14, 2015 at 11:36am PDT

Detail from "A Woman Nursing a Child" by George Dance (1741–1825). Created circa 1818, graphite on paper, 188 x 162 mm. View this artwork by appointment, at Tate Britain's Prints and Drawings Rooms. #breastfeedingart #breastfeeding #drawing #portrait #motherandchild #tatebritain

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 27, 2015 at 9:56am PDT

Detail from "The Flower Girl" by Sir James Jebusa Shannon, 1900. Canvas, 33×26. "Painted while the artist and his family were on holiday at Eastbourne in 1900. The woman was a flower girl whom they met regularly every morning on their way down to the beach; she consented to sit to Shannon in her ordinary working clothes and is shown nursing her baby. The artist's daughter Kitty recalls that her father told the flower girl to come ‘exactly as you are, baby, basket of flowers, the white blouse with the big black spots and old battered straw hat.'" Published in: Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, London 1964, II. Via Tate Gallery website ❤️

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Feb 28, 2015 at 3:24pm PST

"Charity With Four Children" from the Baroque period, by Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1627-28. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on May 17, 2015 at 4:29am PDT

Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806) #vintage #japanese #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #motherhood #normalizenursing

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Feb 8, 2015 at 1:47pm PST

"Peaceful Snack" by @ivetteivens #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on May 17, 2015 at 3:40pm PDT

Detail from "la Paix" by Pablo Picasso, 1952 ❤️ #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #picasso #modernart

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 24, 2015 at 12:19pm PDT

"Interior of a jacal (shack)" by Édouard Pingret, 1853. Oil. Mexico City, National Museum of History. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #edouardpingret

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 25, 2015 at 5:36pm PDT

Photo dated 1898, found via Pinterest ❤️

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Feb 12, 2015 at 7:26am PST

"The Breastfeeding Mother" by Ferenc Medgyessy, 2009, Debrecen, Hungary. Submitted by @szannae, thank you, mama! #breastfeedingart #breastfeeding #motherandchild #sculpture

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on May 16, 2015 at 4:27am PDT

#Regram from @misswatkins: "These photographs were a Mother's day gift to myself. I think its time we stop shaming our bodies after we have kids. Yes some women's bodies can snap back and thats great. For others, for many really that isnt the case and they feel shamed. Honey let me tell you something. Your body was a vessel and you held life. Thats beautiful. We as women and men need to stop shaming mom bodies. Im proud of these pictures and if I can encourage at least one women, it was worth posting these. So lets take back the #4thtrimester. We are all beautiful." #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #motherhood #normalizenursing #love

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on May 15, 2015 at 8:35pm PDT

"Maternity (Women on the Seashore)" by Paul Gauguin, 1899.

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Feb 13, 2015 at 4:09am PST

"Bonheur des Parents" by Jean-Eugène Buland, 1903. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #parenthood #normalizenursing

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Apr 16, 2015 at 3:57am PDT

"Mother and Child" by Henri Lebasque. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #henrilebasque

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Apr 7, 2015 at 4:33pm PDT

"Virgin and Child" by Hans Baldung Grien, painted between 1539 and 1540. #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #marialactans #motherandchild #hansbaldunggrien

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Apr 23, 2015 at 3:48am PDT

Detail from "Milk" by Helene Knoop (b. 1979, in Drøbak, Norway). This is a self-portrait, of which the artist has said, "The eternal image of a woman and child has always fascinated me; but not until recent years has it struck me so directly as when I myself transformed into the motif. This is a painting of my first son and me. Actually, I was painting as I was breastfeeding. The color of the background had to be the color of the feeling; a bright greenish white in contrast with the pulsating skin. It is such a bodily condition, this is why there is a lack of other objects in the image." Read more at http://combustus.com/a-graceful-lingering-interview-with-helene-knoop/#dckM7OMqZ6zzwv0d.99 #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #heleneknoop #painting #selfportrait #motherandchild

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Apr 6, 2015 at 6:37pm PDT

Mother Breast-feeding her Baby, by Louis Fleckenstein, c. 1900. Platinum print, 301 x 251 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Feb 8, 2015 at 9:10am PST

Detail from "Mother and Child" by Gaston Parison (1889 – 1959, French). #breastfeeding #breastfeedingart #motherandchild #painting #portrait #motherhood #gastonparison

A photo posted by @breastfeedingart on Mar 2, 2015 at 5:29pm PST

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This Striking Image Of A Black Man Hanging A Klansman Shows A Different Side Of America's Racist History

May 19, 2015, 1:06 pm

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When photographer Tyler Shields captured the provocative photo of a naked black man hanging a white Klansman from a tree branch, he considered his work a significant achievement.

However, when he chose to widely share the image, his friends expressed caution. They said it was "too much" -- but Shields merely batted away their worries.

"I've been wanting to do this series for a while," Shields told The Huffington Post. "I've had this image in my head forever."

There is no doubt the image itself is jarring. It has the power to evoke many emotions, some of which may align with the discomfort expressed by family and friends who were reluctant to have it released.

It shows a naked black man standing in muddy water and using his might to hold one end of a rope that hangs over a tree branch with the other end tied as a noose around the neck of a white Klansman whose body hangs limply. It's a provocative photo and one that harks back to a dark time in history when black lives were devalued, disrespected and disposed of without repercussion.

In many ways, the parallels to today's issues are hard to ignore. The recent deaths of Michael Brown, Freddie Gray and Natasha McKenna serve as harsh examples of what activists say is ongoing unjust treatment of black individuals in America.

Shields said these perceptions of race were the focus of his work and he aimed to deconstruct them through imagery that reflected a striking role-reversal. Not only do the individuals in this particular lynching image reflect a distinct moment or period in history, they are positioned as opposing players in a way that delivers a different message than those previously shared.

"It's haunting; it's shocking," Shields said. "It humanizes the situation in a very strange way."

To put it simply, Shields says, his photos relay one key message: Treat others how you would want to be treated. "It's the golden rule," he said.



The image is just one of 23 that Shields has included in his latest project, "Historical Fiction." The project's photos reflect some of the most traumatic events in America's history. Many of those included are set during the civil rights era but not all deal directly with race. There are reflections of 9/11 and the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Through each picture, Shields said, he attempted to portray the perspective of those who witnessed such tragic events rather than those who fell victim to them.

For Shields, a 33-year-old white resident of Jacksonville, Florida, racially charged instances seemed to occur all too frequently so he decided to tell various interpretations of them. Although the other photos aren't as shocking as the lynching one, Shields said some others also expose a duality in the discussion of race in America and how it is perceived. Perhaps this explains why more than 4,000 people attended the debut of Shields' display at the Andrew Weiss Gallery in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday -- and it is likely his work will draw many more viewers over the coming weeks.

"I was interested in seeing what it was like during that time for other people," Shields said. "I was interested in the reaction."

Shields' work has prompted a series of reactions of its own. He shared that a Klansman wrote him a letter to express his disapproval while others criticized the imagery for being too harsh.

These criticisms are similar to those Shields received from the release of some of his previous work. Shields has earned notoriety over the years for producing controversial imagery that has provided commentary, whether intentionally or not, on many political and civil topics such as animal cruelty and domestic violence. He touched on the latter in a series of photos he released in September 2011 showing a bruised-up Heather Morris, of "Glee" fame, posing for images that were intended to denounce domestic violence. Instead, they were condemned by many -- and by HuffPost too -- who criticized Shields for missing the mark.

"Looking at the images of the TV show's ditzy blonde Britney with a bruised eye and hands tied up in a plastic cord felt like being confronted with some glamorous-looking domestic abuse," Ellie Krupnick previously wrote.

Shields claims he "doesn't follow politics," yet his work reflects various sorts of political statements that are ripe for debate and dissection. While he said many have praised his latest work for evoking emotion -- no matter how dark or ugly it may seem -- others have lambasted it for failing to display due respect and delicacy while tackling such sensitive topics.

His latest collection is susceptible to some of the same criticisms, but so far, viewers have been widely receptive. Shields is more than satisfied with his work -- and he won't let the critiques or calls for caution hinder his creativity.

"I don't regret anything. I'm very happy that I trusted myself and didn't listen to people who tried to tell me not to do it," Shields said. "People will want to see this."

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10 Incredible Shots From This Year's National Geographic Photo Contest That Will Make You Hit The Road

May 19, 2015, 2:18 pm

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There's nothing like the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest to make you want to pack your bags and explore the hidden corners of the world.

From a heartwarming image of a child in Mongolia to a stunning picture of the majesty of Niagara Falls, this year's globetrotting contestants have an eye for capturing the great and remarkable.

Want to see your picture in the contest? The competition is open until June 30. The winner will take home an eight-day National Geographic Photo Expedition to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal for two.


A bird ́s view of tulip fields near Voorhout in the Netherlands, photographed with a drone in April 2015. (Photo by Anders Andersson /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




Kit Mikayi is a rock formation about 40m high situated west of kisumu, western Kenya. She climbs up the rocks rocks daily to meditate. (Photo and caption by Allan Gichigi /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




Lucky timing! The oxpecker was originally sitting on hippo's head. I could see the hippo was going into a huge yawn (threat display?) and the oxpecker had to vacate it's perch. When I snapped the pic, the oxpecker appeared on the verge of being inhaled and was perfectly positioned between the massive gaping jaws of the hippo. The oxpecker also appears to be screeching in terror and back-pedaling to avoid being a snack! (Photo and caption by Howard Singleton /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




The Yetis of Nepal - The Aghoris as they are called are marked by colorful body paint and clothes. (Photo and caption by Abrar Mohsin /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




On a weekend trip to Buffalo from Toronto we made a pit stop at Niagara Falls. I took this shot with my Nexus 5 smartphone. I was randomly shooting the falls themselves from different viewpoints when I happened to get a pretty lucky and interesting shot of this lone seagull on patrol over the falls. The sun rise in the background, the steam from the falls and the silhouette of the seagull come together for pretty neat composition in the photo. (Photo and caption by Chris Ludlow /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest )




Toddler helping her mother with laundry by hanging clothes on their ger in Mongolia.(Photo and caption by Daria Berkowska /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest).




This wave is situated right near the CBD of Sydney. Some describe it as the most dangerous wave in Australia, due to it breaking on barnacle covered rocks only a few feet deep and only ten metres from the cliff face. If you fall off you could find yourself in a life and death situation. This photo was taken 300 feet directly above the wave from a helicopter, just as the surfer is pulling under the lip of the barrel. (Photo and caption by Ian Bird /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




A view of Lion's Head from Kloof's Corner in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo and caption by Neeve Terman /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




The mountain road, Trollstigen, in western Norway. I was lucky enough to live here for two months during summer and one evening I saw the valley filling with fog, so I drove up the road to watch the late summer midnight sun set as the fog swayed through the valley below. (Photo and caption by Sean Ensch /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)




This photo was taken during an afternoon safari in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. This huge male elephant was roaming around some bushes while we approached. However, he passed by as if he did not perceive us and continued feeding from leaves and grass. Such a close encounter was surely breathtaking. (Photo by Felipe Arias Gutiérrez /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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21 Books From The Last 5 Years That Every Woman Should Read

May 19, 2015, 2:35 pm

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The one struggle of being a woman who reads is that you want to read everything.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by bestseller lists, because there just isn't enough time in the day to read every hot new book. Between near-constant recommendations of amazing memoirs, new sequels and a terrifyingly long list of bookmarked Internet longreads, it can be stressful to choose what you should pick up next. Knowing which classics you're missing from your reading repertoire is easy -- it's a little harder to remember what you've missed from three years ago.

We've done a little bit of the hard work for you (or maybe just increased your book stress... sorry) by pulling together a list of incredible titles from the past few years that you should add to the pile on your bedside table. These books by women are just a few of the incredible titles published recently -- an exhaustive list would be hundreds of books longer. Those listed here are some of the most-discussed, thought-provoking and life-changing books from a diverse group of women writers. They make you rethink what being a feminist means, offer life advice to women of all ages, and reinforce your long-held belief that Tina and Amy should be your best friends and life coaches forever. The novels are some of the finest writing from woman authors. From lighthearted memoirs to harrowing thrillers, there's a genre here for everyone.

Here are 21 books published in the past 5 years that all women should read:



What would you add to our list? Comment below, or tweet @HuffPostWomen!

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Azealia Banks Calls BET Awards 'Bogus,' Says Nicki Minaj Wins 'Every Year'

May 19, 2015, 2:38 pm

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Azealia Banks is never one to hide her feelings, and it's safe to say she's really not feeling her BET Award nomination for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.

Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj, Trina, Tink and Dej Loaf are up for the honor along with Banks, who took to Twitter on Monday to express her thoughts on the "bogus" award show:

@bet has thrown me such much shade over the years. Keep misspelling my name...

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

I really hate getting nominated for @bet awards. They're so bogus.

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

The female rap award at the bet awards goes to nicki every year, it's not even a real award anymore lol it's a bit of a running joke.

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

They should just nominate nicki five times with five different wigs on and pick the best picture lol

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

*hears barbz buzzing in the distance* *rolls up car windows* *sound of little barb heads slamming into glass* *unconscious barbs on floor*

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

*turns up random nicki Minaj verse* *puts car in reverse* *backs up over barbs* *blood splatters* *puts car in drive and takes off*

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

Minaj certainly has been a favorite at the BET Awards and has taken home the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist for the last five consecutive years. She has yet to respond to Banks' comments, but she's likely basking in the afterglow of dropping the video for "Feeling Myself" with Beyonce.

Besides, Banks claims her comments weren't supposed to be taken as jabs at Minaj anyway:

3,2,1 all the urban media sites gonna run a headline saying I'm throwing shots. Black media is so stupid and pointless. What a shitty cycle.

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

Black media hates me and I love white men.. What is my life ? LOL

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

I really really can't win with black men and It's really so so sad. Like truly and honestly sad.

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

I try and laugh it off but it's really hard being shitted on by the same men you'd lose your life to defend..... Lol

— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) May 18, 2015

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