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Here's Your First Look At 'Broadway Bares: Strip U'

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More than 150 of New York’s hottest dancers will be hitting the books ― figuratively, at least ― this June, but the lessons they’ll impart are decidedly not for kids.


Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS officials whetted fans’ appetites for “Broadway Bares: Strip U” this week with some steamy photos and a behind-the-scenes video. The 27th installment of the wildly popular Broadway-meets-burlesque fundraiser will feature a collegiate theme, and its chiseled cast will “school” audiences with steamy art, math and sport-themed dance numbers. This year’s show will hit New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom June 18 and will be directed by Nick Kenkel, whose Broadway credits include “Catch Me If You Can,” “Evita” and “The Wedding Singer.” 


“Class will be in session this summer at the only college campus where clothing is optional and bodacious burlesque is always in the curriculum,” officials wrote in a press release, before promising “a science lab exploding with sizzling chemistry or sculpted studs exhibiting model behavior in art class.” 


Created in 1992 by Tony-winning “Kinky Boots” director Jerry Mitchell, the event has raised more than $15.8 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a nonprofit group dedicated to AIDS-related causes across the U.S. Previous installments of the show have ranged from 2012’s fairy tale-themed “Happy Endings” to 2016’s tech-driven fantasy “On Demand.” 


Check out some teaser photos below, and read more about “Broadway Bares: Strip U” here.  



For the latest in LGBTQ entertainment, check out the Queer Voices newsletter. 

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Native American Art Gets Its Rightful Place In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

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The American Wing of the storied Metropolitan Museum of Art has long held a collection of typically “American” artifacts: portraits of wigged colonial leaders, Tiffany chandeliers, Frank Lloyd Wright chairs, silver owned by Paul Revere Jr., quilts by unknown 19th-century makers.


Together they tell a specific, but noticeably incomplete, history of the United States.


Beginning in the fall of 2018, however, the American Wing will attempt to course correct by including a subgroup of art that has been regrettably missing from the section: Native American art. Thanks to a donation from collectors Charles and Valerie Diker, a batch of 91 works of Native American art will be headed for the American Wing, marking a historic change in the way art is curated at New York’s most famous museum.



In the past, Native American art has been housed in The Met’s Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas galleries, a section that spans 3,000 years, three continents and several islands. According to The New York Times, this was a bit confusing to international patrons who were accustomed to seeing indigenous art displayed as part of their own national narratives.


“They go through [the American Wing] and expect to see Native American work here,” Met curator Sylvia Yount explained. “Because often where they come from, indigenous art is part of the narrative of a nation’s art, in a way that it’s not in the United States. We’re really behind the curve.”


The Met characterizes its move to incorporate work from the Dikers ― including bowls, dresses, drawings and bags created by Washoe, Wasco, Arapaho and Anishinaabe artists ― into the American Wing as a “curatorial decision to display art from the first Americans within its appropriate geographic context.” 


“This transformative gift marks a turning point in the narratives presented within the American Wing,” Rebora Barratt, deputy director for The Met’s collections and administration, wrote in a press release shared with The Huffington Post. “With the addition of these works, The Met will be able to offer a much richer history of the art of North America, one that will include critical perspectives on our past and represent diverse and enduring native artistic traditions.”



Back in 2013, Katherine Abu Hadal made a strong case for why the curation of Native American art matters. In a piece titled “Why Native American Art Doesn’t Belong in the American Museum of Natural History,” she argued that work by Native American artists deserves just as much respect as Greek and Roman artifacts.


“When Native American, Pacific, and African art and artifact is lumped in with natural history exhibits, it sends a message that these groups are a part of the ‘natural’ world,” she wrote. “That the art they produce is somehow less cultured and developed than the western art canon. It also sends the message that they are historical, an element of the romantic past, when in reality these peoples are alive and well, with many traditions intact and new traditions happening all the time.”


The Dikers themselves have been vocal advocates of curating Native American art just as one would non-Native art. For their exhibition “First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art,” the Dikers asked National Museum of the American Indian organizers to display their collection as artistic masterpieces, rather than as artifacts. 



Those eager to see The Met’s change in curation will still have to wait until the fall of 2018. (A press representative at The Met declined to give any further information on the collection’s timeline of display.)


You can see a preview of the works headed for the American Wing here, courtesy of the museum. Here’s to hoping that, ahead of The Met’s 150th anniversary in 2020, we’ll see more progressive moves toward making the historic institution a more inclusive, accurate and representative place.




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'13 Reasons Why' Promised To Raise Awareness About Teen Mental Health. That Backfired.

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The Netflix breakout show “13 Reasons Why” has been praised for its binge-worthy, dramatic storytelling. But mental health experts warn that its thrilling narrative devices also make it problematic.


The story, which is adapted from Jay Asher’s best-selling novel of the same title, follows high school student Hannah Baker as she posthumously narrates the months leading up to her death by suicide. Hannah leaves behind tapes for people in her life that detail how their nefarious actions ultimately led to her decision. The 13-episode drama also vividly depicts the method Hannah used to end her life.


Mental health advocates say the show should not have shown Hannah’s suicide and have spoken out about the potentially harmful nature of the show.


“I have watched the show and was horrified at the graphic, sensational ways in which they depicted Hannah’s life,” Dan Reidenberg, executive director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, told The Huffington Post. “Viewers can understand someone who dies, even by suicide, without having to be so graphic.”


A Netflix representative has addressed the criticism, telling The Washington Post that four mental health professionals consulted on the show’s material. And the episode involving detailed scenes related to suicide comes with a warning.


The writer of that episode, Nic Sheff, wrote in Vanity Fair that he was “surprised” by the backlash. He said the show’s staff attempted to handle suicide sensitively, pointing to his own suicide attempt as inspiration for his writing. 


Netflix also produced a bonus episode titled “13 Reasons Why: Beyond The Reasons,” which includes information on mental health and ways to get help. But the narrative episodes themselves, which arguably have a much larger audience, don’t offer resources or ways to reach out for help. 


And, unfortunately, the problems don’t end there. Here are some other ways mental health advocates say the series could be damaging. 


The show’s target demographic has a growing suicide risk.


The series does a disservice to its main audience: young women. 


Suicide is a growing issue among adolescents, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published last year that measured suicide rates from 1999 to 2014. Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 saw the greatest rise in suicide rates during this time period ― a staggering 200 percent.


Vulnerable people who are in this age range may see themselves in Hannah, Reidenberg said. Teenagers with mental health disorders may struggle to be taken seriously. They could be seen as “dramatic,” or their behavior could just be attributed to their life stage. But mental health is a real issue, and the way suicide is portrayed in “13 Reasons Why” may trivialize that fact.


Hannah’s death scene could inspire copycat acts.


The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has ethical guidelines that warn against this type of storytelling. These rules are specifically geared toward journalists, but anyone who produces content for a wide audience should take them to heart because copycat acts can ― and do ― happen.


Mental health experts fear the show could inspire such actions. 


“This scene does not help public awareness about the topic,” Reidenberg said of the depiction of Hannah’s suicide. “It is not educational or informational.” Instead of dispelling myths about suicide, he said, the show could lead people to replicate similar acts.


Research supports this claim: National Institute of Mental Health studies have found that the risk of suicide increases when specific details of the method are divulged publicly. They essentially give vulnerable, at-risk consumers a “how-to” guide.


Suicide is painted as an act of revenge.


The show barely even mentions Hannah’s potential mental health issues related to her horrifying experiences with sexual assault and bullying. Instead, the way Hannah’s death and the subsequent tapes are shown makes it seem like her suicide was a tool for revenge on the people who wronged her.


More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Ignoring that fact and sensationalizing death by suicide can lead to major misconceptions, Reidenberg said.


“Suicide is the terrible end to suffering with a mental illness, hopelessness and despair,” he explained. “Suicide is not about getting your locker to become a permanent memorial where people will take selfies in front of it ― that isn’t real.”


It relies on the narrative that young women overly care about reputation.


Not addressing the main character’s potential mental health complications could send the message that concerns about social status were the catalyst for her death.


Reidenberg points out that more adolescent males die by suicide than females, but attempted suicide is more prevalent in females. And given that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people, it’s important to spread accurate information about the issue and highlight examples of recovery from mental health issues, he said.


And that’s exactly what the critiques of “13 Reasons Why” boil down to: Although the creators made a concerted effort to bring awareness to an important issue, the portrayal was questionable.


If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the
National


Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
You can also text HELLO to 741-741 for free,

24-hour support from the
Crisis Text Line.
Outside of the U.S., please

visit the International Association for
Suicide Prevention
for a database

of resources.


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Step Inside The Technicolor World Of The International Church Of Cannabis

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At Denver’s newest church, the aim is to have a mind-altering experience. 


The International Church of Cannabis opened its doors on Thursday after a number of legal roadblocks and considerable media buzz. Painted with vibrant, rainbow-colored murals by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel and American artist Kenny Scharf, the church is a vision to behold.


“When one takes the sacrament and meditates on the meaning of the murals, one may have what feels like a transcendental experience,” states the church’s website. “In those moments, one receives the meaning one requires at that time.”


Members of the church are known as Elevationists. Their faith holds that “an individual’s spiritual journey, and search for meaning, is one of self-discovery that can be accelerated and deepened with ritual cannabis use.”


As Elevationist Lee Molloy told The Huffington Post: “When we ritually take cannabis our mind is elevated and we become a better version of self.”


See inside the vibrant new church below:


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Yes, Even Oprah Flips Out Over Black Girl Magic

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Oprah is the queen of all queens and among the most magical of black women. This, we know.


But at a press event in New York on Tuesday ― in promotion of her new film “The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks” ― Oprah stepped into a room filled with all black women reporters, myself included, and totally lost her cool. And THAT, we didn’t expect. 


“When has this ever happened?” Oprah asked all of the women of color in the room. “This is a story in itself!”


To our delight, she broke into a little dance and belted out “Black Girl Magic.” Oprah even insisted on taking a group picture that she posted to her personal Instagram page and live-streamed the interview on her Facebook page


I recorded some of these magical moments (for the sole purpose of re-watching them for eternity, obviously): 




In preparing to be starstruck, the journalists in the room hadn't considered that a black woman who has broken every glass ceiling would be so taken back by the moment of solidarity. It was a scene that reinforced the power of representation as a group of young black women journalists not only got to meet but interview the woman who helped to pave the way for black female storytellers everywhere. 




TMZ caught up with the media mogul on Thursday and asked her specifically about her thoughts on Facebook Live and its effectiveness in media and communication today.


Oprah praised the feature and referenced Tuesday’s press event and why she wanted to share it live on social media.





“I love the fact that we can connect, like, instantly” Oprah told TMZ. “I’ve never been in a room where there were all these beautiful black women who didn’t know each other who all showed up at a junket from various news organizations. I walked into the room and every single person was an African American woman and it was so damn cool! So I just started using Facebook live right there.”


You can read more about the film and our interview with Oprah here, which goes into detail about why she wanted to bring to light the experiences of another black woman who helped change the world. 


“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” premieres on HBO on Saturday, April 22.

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Photo Series Shows How Two Moms Tandem Nurse Their Triplets And Toddler

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When Dublin-based photographer Johanna King set out to document breastfeeding mothers, she came across a family with a rather unique story.


Last year, King photographed around 10 breastfeeding mothers and their families in their natural environments. One such family was Cliona and Sue, a married lesbian couple who both breastfeed their toddler daughter and infant triplets ― a boy and two girls.



A breastfeeding mother herself, King came across Cliona and Sue’s story through a parenting and breastfeeding support group called Cuidiu. When she reached out about photographing them in their home, they were delighted to participate


King told HuffPost photographing the family was a very relaxed experience. “I felt instantly welcome when Cliona opened the door, and I believe they felt at ease too,” she said.


The photographer documented the family as Sue rotated their then-6-month-old triplets to nurse two at a time. 



“Cliona and Sue’s session wasn’t really different from any of the other sessions apart from the fact that their family is quite extraordinary,” King recalled. “I don’t think you will come across many families of two mothers feeding simultaneously four children with four boobs!”


Still, she added, it was like other photo shoots in its focus on capturing the reality of the family’s life in that moment, so they could look back years later and remember how it felt.


Sue gave birth to their triplets and Cliona delivered their first daughter, Aoife. Both women struggled at the start of their breastfeeding journeys. When Aoife was born, Cliona turned to formula due to latch issues. Once they discovered the baby had tongue tie, lactation consultants helped Cliona deal with the issue and relactate.



Their triplets were born two months early and spent about a month in the hospital. “Doctors and nurses wanted to establish a routine and know exactly how much the babies were getting,” said Cliona. “Sue expressed around the clock, despite the fact that she was exhausted, recovering from a C-section, suffering from serious nipple damage, and at one point got mastitis.”


All of the triplets also had tongue tie, but eventually, “after a lot of tears,” Sue managed to nurse the three babies.



Having another breastfeeding mom in the family can be an asset for Sue, though she does the vast majority of the triplets’ feedings. 


“It is great that I am able to help out now and again ― for example if one of them has a hospital appointment, I can bring them in and know that I can breastfeed them if they get upset, and we don’t need to bother bringing a bottle of expressed milk with us,” Cliona explained. “Sue has also fed the older child a few times, although she doesn’t show much interest as she says it is ‘too spicy!’”


On the day of the photo shoot, King stayed for two hours documenting the family. She told HuffPost she was struck by Sue’s methodical approach to rotating between all three babies as she nursed.



“It was quite amazing to see how much she cared that they all got enough, even if it meant no break for her. The babies were 6 months old and exclusively breastfed. I don’t think Sue got more than 30 minutes a day (and night) without a baby latched on.”


As a sleep-deprived mother herself, King felt for Sue but said she was glad to see how much support she gets from Cliona and her own mother as well.



The couple loved the finished photos of their family. “I think they reflect what our house is like ― the madness and sheer chaos of it,” said Cliona. “Like I said to Johanna, it is easy to forget with all the stress and exhaustion that there are beautiful moments too. I am so happy that we will have these gorgeous photos to remind us what it was like when the gang was so young.”


Cliona hopes that people who see their photos learn that it’s possible to breastfeed triplets, though it may take perseverance. 


“There is no easy way to feed triplets ― when they were on bottles it was a nightmare doing all the cleaning and managing feeds ― but this is definitely the best way for our family,” she said. 



“I also hope that people see the happiness in our family, even if the house is messy and our hair hasn’t been washed in days!” she added.


The photographer said she was honored to work with Cliona, Sue and their family.  “I love taking breastfeeding photos because of what it means to the mothers,” she explained, adding that she hopes people feel the love in their home. And as with her other breastfeeding photo sessions, she wants to help other nursing moms feel empowered. 


“I think every breastfeeding journey is different, and every mum faces different challenges,” Cliona told HuffPost “I don’t think either of us were prepared for how life-changing and empowering it would be to breastfeed our babies. Before we had children, we just viewed it as ‘food,’ but it is so much more than that.”


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Justin Sayre Has A Word Or Two About Queer Stories On Television

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Justin Sayre has a few thoughts on the why recent efforts to bring queer stories to television audiences have fallen short. (WARNING: contains graphic language.)


In his latest video for HuffPost Queer Voices, the writer-performer has one stipulation when settling in for an LGBTQ-themed TV program: “At least the hair and makeup will look pretty on people.” In Sayre’s view, however, most shows that have incorporated a queer storyline have failed to measure up in that area ― and others. “I think [studio executives] are afraid that if we’re funny or if we’re loose about things, we’re still not proving to straight people how serious we are,” he said. “It feels really insincere.” 


Sayre’s “International Order of Sodomites” (I.O.S.) gathers once a month for “The Meeting,” a variety show honoring an artist or a cultural work that is iconic to the gay community. The next installment of “The Meeting” hits Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York April 23 and is dedicated to legendary Broadway diva, Patti LuPone. Julia Murney, Cole Escola and Molly Pope are among the performers scheduled to appear. 



You can check out Sayre’s comedy album, “The Gay Agenda,” here. Meanwhile, the latest episode of “Sparkle & Circulate with Justin Sayre,” the official I.O.S. podcast, was released in March featuring an interview with singer-songwriter Gabrielle Stravelli.




You can also view some previous performances from “The Meeting” on Sayre’s official YouTube page. For more Sayre, head to Facebook and Twitter.  


For the latest in LGBTQ entertainment, check out the Queer Voices newsletter.


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The First House Antoni Gaudí Ever Designed Is Now An Incredible Museum

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Antoni Gaudí is known to many as the genius behind Sagrada Família, the monumental church in Barcelona, Spain, that has been called “the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages.”


Originally commissioned in 1882, Gaudí became the lead architect of Sagrada Família in 1883, working on the astonishingly detailed project right up until his death in 1926. The massive structure was famously only a quarter of its way to completion at that point, nonetheless, tourists have continuously flocked to the monumental feat of art, marveling at the ways various architects have attempted to finish Gaudí’s vision over the years. 


Sadly, those waiting to see Sagrada Família in all its finite glory will have to wait until at least 2026, the projected date for its highly anticipated completion, which not-so-coincidentally will mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. In the meantime, though, fans of the Spanish Catalan architect can soon visit another one of his distinctive designs ― Casa Vicens, the first house he ever built.


What was once a private home in Barcelona, built for the broker Manel Vicens from 1883 to 1885, will be transformed into a museum dedicated to Gaudí this fall. In the 1920s, the tiled house temporarily served as three separate apartments ― arranged by architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez with Gaudí’s approval ― but for the last century has functioned as a private home to one family. The Andorran bank MoraBanc bought the property in 2014, and renovations have been underway since 2015, overseen by Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectes S.L.P. and architects José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, Elías Torres and David García.


Casa Vicens, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, along with seven other Gaudí buildings, since 2005, will reopen to the public in just a few months. While no set date has been announced, organizers have recently released a batch of images that allow people around the world to tour the yet-to-open, but ever so ornately decorated destination. Enjoy:


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J Balvin, Nicky Jam Say They Changed The Notion That Reggaetón Is Misogynist

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J Balvin and Nicky Jam have practically become reggaetón royalty in recent years, but they don’t view their brand of reggaetón to be on par with what filled the airwaves in the early 2000s.


Both artists sat down with Billboard recently to discuss their journey to becoming global phenomenons, including why they wanted to change the idea that reggaetón is a misogynist genre for the sake of the many women and children who follow their music. 


During a joint conversation with the magazine, ahead of the 2107 Latin Billboard Music Awards on April 27, journalist Leila Cobo mentioned that both artists had “largely avoided objectifying women in lyrics and video, which is common in reggaetón.” 


In response, the 36-year-old Nicky Jam explained that given their broad audience, they need to make videos “where women look beautiful and conservative and are treated with respect, because the videos are seen by kids and adults.” He added that other reggaetón artists are targeting “one audience,” though he didn’t specify which, and didn’t have the same responsibility. 


J Balvin, 31, added that he felt the need to change the notion that the genre objectifies women because of the women in his own life.


“Plus, we both have mothers, sisters, relatives,” J Balvin said. “Part of what we did is change that misconception that reggaetón is machista and misogynist. On the contrary, women are our biggest fans, and they inspire us.”


Some examples of their portrayal of women in lyrics and music videos include J Balvin’s hit “Ay Vamos,” a song about a couple who fights each other but loves each other in the end. In the video, the artist and his supposed girlfriend try to out prank each other. 





Nicky Jam’s single “Hasta el Amanecer” has lyrics that do seem to have sexual undertones with verses that talk about wanting to be with a woman he just met until dawn. But the music video for the hit features the artist simply meeting a young woman at a laundry mat, trying to get her attention with his dance moves. 





J Balvin and Nicky Jam, who is Puerto Rican but rebuilt his career in Medellín, are both the product of a boom of reggaetón stars coming out of Colombia. The two artists were friends long before their individual success, and continue to support each other as they go head to head in both the music charts and award nominations. 


In a conversation with The Huffington Post, Nicky Jam explained what he feels set Colombian reggaetón apart.


“I just think the music is more catchy, and the lyrics are more cotidianos (day-to-day),” Nicky Jam said in Sept. 2016. “It talks about things that happen on a daily basis. Reggaeton from Puerto Rico is more about dancing music, reggaeton specifically. Now Puerto Ricans are starting to [focus more on lyrics], because they have the ability to do it.”


For J Balvin, it’s always been important to be both a leader in the genre and represent his native Colombia as an urban artist. 


“There’s vallenato, there’s pop, there’s rock [in Colombia] but we need the urban part and thankfully we’ve been able to do it little by little,” the artist told HuffPost in 2014, after the success of his single ‘6 AM.’ “Obviously we’re still in the process of growth, but there’s been a clear vision for the public that there’s good Urban music coming from Colombia for the world.”


Read Nicky Jam and J Balvin’s entire conversation with Billboard here

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True 'Harry Potter' Fans Will Never, Ever Drink Unicorn Frappuccinos

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Accio any other drink at Starbucks.


On Wednesday, the popular coffee brand broke the internet when it debuted its new Unicorn Frappuccino.


The frozen drink is made with mango syrup, a sour blue drizzle, and topped with vanilla whipped cream and sweet pink and sour blue powder.


Naturally, many find the cotton-candy-colored concoction pretty magical.






But the idea of drinking the essence of a unicorn is unsettling to “Harry Potter” fans, who are quick to point out that in the beloved series by J.K. Rowling the drinking of unicorn’s blood isn’t exactly a great thing.














In fact, it’s downright despicable.







Allow this excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to explain why the drinking of unicorn blood could make your house lose, like, 92,480,234,823,098 gazillion points:



“Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure and defenseless to save yourself, you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.”



Drinking unicorn blood was one of the many ways in which Voldemort, the series’ main antagonist, keeps himself alive.


And thus, lovers of the wizarding world made their feelings about the trendy drink known on the interwebs.





Unicorn #unicornfrappuccino #harrypotter #starbucks #voldemort #humor #drink

A post shared by Serg Beret (@sergberet) on





I hope you enjoy your cursed half life. #unicornfrappuccino #lordvoldemort #unicornblood #harrypotter

A post shared by angie (@angmiracle) on












Yet, despite its taboo nature, some “Harry Potter” fans just can’t seem to help themselves from giving into the power of Starbucks.



Tastes like a sweet tart #unicornfrappuccino #harrypotter #cursedlife #halflife #unicornblood #harrypotter

A post shared by Beautiful, Spooky & Stupid. (@spookykisses) on






They must be Hufflepuffs.

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Artist Shares Poignant Portrait Series On #BeingBlackAndMuslim

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A portrait series inspired by a Twitter hashtag on being black and Muslim is exploring the challenges many people face at the intersection of two marginalized identities. 


Visual artist Bobby Rogers published the powerful portrait series Wednesday night on his website and social media accounts. The project was inspired by #BeingBlackAndMuslim, a Twitter conversation initiated in 2014 by the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC). 






”My #BeingBlackandMuslim series was created to challenge the mainstream meaning of what it is to be ‘Muslim,’” Rogers, who identifies as Muslim, said in an email to The Huffington Post. “There is, and always has been, an erasure of Black Muslims from our historical teachings in America, just as there is an erasure of Black and Muslim cultures worldwide.”


There are more than 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, according to Pew Research Center. Muslims make up roughly 1 percent of the U.S. population, at more than three million.






American Muslims make up one of the most ethnically diverse faith communities in the country. A 2017 poll by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding found that a quarter of Muslims in the U.S. are black, with slightly smaller percentages of white, Asian and Arab Muslims.


Some of the earliest Muslims in the U.S. were African slaves, at least 10 to 15 percent of whom are believed to have been followers of Islam. But despite this long history, many black Muslims feel like their converging identities are overlooked in conversations about both racism and Islamophobia.






“The erasure of Black American Muslims undermines efforts towards developing a unified front in the face of our greatest threat,” wrote black Muslim activist Margari Hill in a 2015 HuffPost blog. “Groups working in the field must take into account the ways in which their anti-Islamophobia work alienates Black American Muslims.”


Anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. spiked after the September 11 attacks and has surged again in the wake of terrorist attacks at home and abroad. Much of the work being done to combat Islamophobia has centered around promoting tolerance of immigrant communities, Hill noted, which ignores the experiences of black Muslims “whose Muslim identity is homegrown.”


“With my series I want to show society that Black Muslims have always been an integral part of American history, as well as, Islamic history,” Rogers said.






The artist said his project aims to bring awareness to challenges black Muslims face “as a result of occupying the axes of two of the most marginalized groups in society.” But through exploring these challenges, Rogers said he hopes “for others to understand the true beauty & resilience of being Black and Muslim.”


“When we speak about Islam we should recognize Blackness as an equal and integral part of the conversation, and additionally, truthfully acknowledge the scope of Black Muslims throughout history.”


Scroll down to see more powerful portraits on #BeingBlackAndMuslim:

























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'Handmaid's Tale' Showrunner Is Already Talking About Future Seasons

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Hulu’s soon-to-be-released adaption of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, has yet to premiere, but that hasn’t stopped the showrunner and producers from dreaming about future seasons.


During a panel discussion that took place after a screening of the series’ first episode at Tribeca Film Festival, members of the cast and crew discussed all things “Handmaid’s Tale,” including how the source material for the adaptation of Atwood’s incredibly prescient novel leaves the door wide open for an expanded version of the story for TV. 


“When the book ends, the reaction is fury, because the way it ends is so cut off,” showrunner Bruce Miller told audiences on Friday night. “And so in some ways, immediately, the first thing you think of is ― how are we going to expand this story? Because that’s what your desire is as a reader.”



The book, he noted, is written strictly from the perspective of Offred ― one of the many handmaids living in the theocratic dictatorship known as Gilead, who are forced to function as sexual surrogates for leaders of the republic. In this indeterminate future version of the United States, sterility has become an overwhelming issue, resulting in a return to “traditional” values and widespread subjugation of women, particularly those of lower social standing who are capable of bearing children for more powerful men. 


“The book is so strictly from Offred’s point of view, that you hear about all of these amazing, interesting worlds and all of these parts of all of these things that are going on, but you don’t see any of them going on in the book,” Miller explained. “That, to me, as a TV series [showrunner], seemed like ... once you create this world, you have a lot of places to go.”


“I wanted to know more,” he added. “I wanted to know what happens next. The end of the book is quite a mystery, so I get to make it up.”


The first three episodes of the Hulu series certainly center around the life of Offred (Elizabeth Moss), once a free mother and wife who’s now forced to live with, serve and produce children for a high-ranking commander in Gilead’s militant regime. But we’re also given a glimpse into the worlds of fellow handmaid Ofglen (Alexis Bledel), Offred’s best friend from college Moira (Samira Wiley), the commander’s wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), handmaid trainer Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), and even the commander himself (Joseph Fiennes).


“You might not stay with Offred the whole time,” teased “Lemonade” cinematographer Reed Morano, the director of the first three “Handmaid’s” episodes.


Executive producer Warren Littlefield was more than willing to entertain the idea of future “Handmaid’s Tale” seasons as well:



The landscape of television right now is such an exciting playground for artists. The audience asks, each and every year, to only get more complex in character and more complex in story. Look at who’s up on stage. Each and every one of these actors ― the characters that they play ― there’s so much to explore. Where a limited series is certainly thriving right now in the television landscape, Bruce has years and the struggle continues. God knows it’s relevant. So [...] we’ve only scratched the surface in the first 10 hours and our hope is that we leave you with, “Oh, I have to have more.”



“The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere on Hulu on April 26. Meantime, here are some images from the show to get you excited:






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Adorable Portraits Explore The Lives Of Big-City Shop Cats

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Tamar Arslanian knows that shop cats aren’t just cute, they can play a vital role in a city like New York that can feel a bit cold and brutal at times.


It all started when she started posting photos of two shop cats in her neighborhood — Jack, who lives at a wine shop and Kitty, who resides at a pilates studio — on social media, and was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and interest of her fellow New Yorkers. Many of them had favorite local shop cats of their own.


“It’s then I began to realize how pervasive shop cats were in the city, and the important role they played in adding a touch of warmth – a sense of community even – in a place that can sometimes feel overwhelming and impersonal,” she told HuffPost in an email.


That realization inspired Arslanian to write “Shop Cats of New York,” a book that explores the lesser-known lives of the city’s most adored felines. She teamed up with photographer Andrew Marttila, who shot gorgeous portraits of the book’s furry stars.



Arslanian had some important criteria for which cats she included.


“First and foremost, I wanted to to feel confident the cats were well cared for and beloved,” she said.


As it turns out, she was pleasantly surprised by just how great the cats’ lives seemed to be.


“My biggest ‘ah ha’ was realizing the level of stimulation and attention these cats received in comparison to most house cats, mine included,” she said. “I see my cats for about an hour before work and a few hours in the evenings during the week, but I can’t say I’m actively playing with them for very long. It made me realize the level of enrichment these cats were receiving on a daily basis. In some ways they could be viewed as having fuller lives than most cats living in more traditional homes.”


That’s one reason why Arslanian would like to see more animal shelters and rescue groups be open to adopting out cats to businesses, not just traditional residences.


“Businesses could be vetted as are most adopters, and assessed to ensure the business and cat are a good fit for one another,” she said, noting that of course not all cats have personalities that would be suited to that environment.


See a selection of Marttila’s photos from the book below.


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Margaret Atwood Responds To Cast's Claim That 'Handmaid's Tale' Isn't A Feminist Story

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It’s difficult to talk about “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s famous dystopia, without bringing up the story’s eerie relevance to contemporary politics. It is, after all, centered on a dictatorial regime hellbent on policing women’s bodies.


This was certainly the case during a panel discussion at Tribeca Film Festival on Friday night, during which many of the show’s cast and crew were asked how they felt about the political aspects of the series, set to premiere on April 26. When asked whether or not the story’s feminist themes in particular were part of the reason some of the actors were attracted to the project, the answers were somewhat surprising. 


“Any story about a powerful woman owning herself in any way is automatically deemed feminist,” Madeline Brewer, who plays handmaid Janine, told audiences after a screening of the show’s first episode. “This is a story about a woman. I don’t think this is feminist propaganda. I think this is a story about women and about humans. The three people hanging on the wall were all men. This story affects all people.”


“I really echo what Maddie said before,” Elizabeth Moss, who plays Offred, said. “It’s not a feminist story, it’s a human story, because women’s rights are human rights. I never intended to play Peggy [from ‘Mad Men’] as a feminist and I never expected to play Offred as a feminist.”


A few members of the audience, including MTV culture writer Rachel Handler, took to Twitter to express their concern with Moss and Brewer’s claims.














In response, another Twitter user thought it wise to see what Atwood, the keeper of the source material, thought:










Atwood didn’t necessarily refute the cast’s claim, but rather edited it to be more in line with a human rights-centric definition of feminism, one that many contemporary feminists already adhere to.


“It’s not only a feminist story,” she’d have them say, “it’s also a human story.”


In an earlier essay for The New York Times titled “Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump,” the author weighed in on whether or not she considered her novel to be feminist.



[I]s “The Handmaid’s Tale” a “feminist” novel? If you mean an ideological tract in which all women are angels and/or so victimized they are incapable of moral choice, no. If you mean a novel in which women are human beings — with all the variety of character and behavior that implies — and are also interesting and important, and what happens to them is crucial to the theme, structure and plot of the book, then yes. In that sense, many books are “feminist.”



Moss has taken a similar position in past interviews. On stage on Friday, she described her character’s actions and thoughts as being motivated simply by a desire to survive and reunite with her daughter ― not necessarily a cemented vision of feminism.


“For me, I don’t approach anything with a political agenda,” she added. “I approach it from a very human place, I hope.”


While several members of the cast seemed less willing to discuss politics point blank during the Tribeca panel, Ann Dowd, who plays a complex villain in “Handmaid’s Tale,” did not mince words. When asked what kind of impact she’d like the show to have on viewers. “I hope it has a massive effect on people,” she said. “I hope they picket the White House and I hope they’re wearing [’Handmaid’s Tale’] costumes.”


Her advice to fans who want to view “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a politically-charged warning was made clear: “Stay awake. Stay awake. And don’t for a minute think, well, I’ll get involved some other time. I won’t worry about the midterm election. I’ll just... no, no, no. Don’t wait. Just stay awake.”







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Destiny's Child Gives The Fans What They Want With Cute Reunion Photo

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Beyoncé may be about to give birth to twins any minute now, but she still made time to reunite with her fellow independent women. 


On Friday, the singer shared a series of photos on Instagram from Kelly Rowland’s Whoa, Baby! book launch at The Grove in Los Angeles, which took place on Wednesday. 


The first three photos show Bey, dressed in an oversized blush-pink dress with flowing sleeves and a pair of tight over-the-knee boots. She accessorized with drop earrings and oversized sunglasses. She’s definitely nailing this whole maternity style thing. 


Bey was, of course, there with fellow Destiny’s Child members Rowland and Michelle Williams. The trio made sure to satisfy fans’ thirst for the supergroup and pose for a cute photo, complete with a Whoa Baby! filter. 



A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on




Fuck Cancer founder and CEO Yael Braun, hosted the book launch, and Rowland took to Instagram to thank Braun for hosting the event. “Thank you for being there and sharing you intelligence, humor, wit, and beauty with us all! I adore you!” Rowland wrote.



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'The Handmaid's Tale' Is Unequivocally A Story By, For And About Women

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With the much-awaited release of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” only four days away, much has been said in the past 24 hours about who the story, in both its book and TV show form, is for.


In Saturday’s New York Times review, executive producer Bruce Miller discusses spearheading the show as a man when its creators initially wanted a woman to do so: 



“Offred spoke to me,” Mr. Miller said. “She’s in this nightmarish situation but she keeps her funny cynicism and sarcasm. She finds really interesting ways to pull levers of power and express herself.”


But Mr. Miller wasn’t a shoo-in for showrunner because producers were looking for a woman, he recalled. “The Handmaid’s Tale” has been a seminal right-of-passage novel for many young women for over three decades; a feminist sacred text.


“It’s sacred to me, too,” Mr. Miller said. “But I don’t feel like it’s a male or female story; it’s a survival story.”



At the show’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, the starring actors placed a heavy emphasis on the show being a “human” story and not a “feminist” one


“I think that any story, if it is a story being told by a strong, powerful woman... any story that’s just a powerful woman owning herself in any way is automatically deemed ‘feminist,’” said Madeline Brewer, who plays handmaid Jane. “But it’s just a story about a woman. I don’t think that this is any sort of feminist propaganda.”


Elisabeth Moss, who plays the show’s main character Offred, echoed Brewer’s comments


“It’s not a feminist story, it’s a human story, because women’s rights are human rights,” Moss said. I never intended to play Peggy [from ‘Mad Men’] as a feminist and I never expected to play Offred as a feminist ... I approach it from a very human place, I hope.”




Atwood has since responded by neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the cast. 



“It’s not only a feminist story,” she said. “It’s also a human story.”



While the show doesn’t need to be labeled as “feminist,” and while it’s fine that a man who loves the story spearheaded its televised iteration, a story that a woman wrote about the forced subservience of women and their subsequent survival deserves to be owned by women. We get to claim it. 


The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian fiction, sure, but it’s one that has women storming to their local libraries to grab a copies of the book. Last month, women dressed up as handmaids and protested anti-abortion legislation in the Texas Senate gallery. And, at this year’s SXSW festival, women wore handmaids costumes and roamed the streets of Austin, Texas, as performance art. Even though the book was written more than 30 years ago, it is resonating with women all over again.


Rebecca Traister wrote about reading the book in the era of President Donald Trump for New York Magazine in Februrary. “[T]here’s no question that reading about Atwood’s imagined dystopia is far scarier today than it was, I suspect, for adults living in 1985,” she wrote.


For anyone who has read the book, there shouldn’t be much surprise as to why women feel so connected to it in this current political and social moment. After all, it feels closer to reality than the show’s creators wanted.


Moss, who also serves as a producer, acknowledged the eerie and terrifying parallels between Offred’s nightmarish journey and Trump’s America.


“We never wanted the show to be this relevant,” she told Entertainment Weekly in December.


The relevance of story is easy to spot.


In the dystopian theocracy of Gilead, where “The Handmaid’s Tale” is set, women’s bodies are policed and controlled by the male-run state. Handmaids’ only purpose is to bear children ― they have no rights, no freedom, no lives. Women are not trusted with their own bodies. 


America now has a president who brags about grabbing women “by the pussy.” This week, a lawyer in Tennessee said that women are “especially good at lying ... because they’re the weaker sex.” A Missouri congressman said last year that becoming pregnant after a rape is a blessing from God. Rooms full of men make legislative decisions about women’s bodies. A panel of men in Maryland decided that rapists can continue to have parental rights over the children who were conceived by rape. And abortion access is under threat across the U.S. 


But the beauty of “The Handmaid’s Tale” ― something that Miller misses and perhaps what women connect to most deeply ― is that it is inarguably, explicitly, a story of women’s survival and audacity. 


The first time I read the novel, in the fall of 2015, I cried. Not because its content was so traumatizing. (It was.) And not because it felt so eerily similar to what was happening in our political landscape. (It did.)


I cried for lines like this:



 “We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semidarkness we would stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths.”



And lines like this:



“I keep on going with this sad and hungry and sordid, this limping and mutilated story, because after all I want you to hear it ... By telling you anything at all I’m at least believing in you ... Because I’m telling you this story I will your existence. I tell, therefore you are.”



Atwood’s beautifully constructed prose is at its finest when she is portraying the sheer resilience of my fellow women.


In the wake of the presidential election, the resilience of women is what has kept me going. Women are resisting, calling, volunteering, donating... and living.


And like the fictional Offred ― whether Moss thinks she’s “feminist” or not ― we intend to survive.

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Hillary Clinton Applauds March For Science

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Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton praised the thousands of demonstrators who protested against President Donald Trump’s anti-science agenda on Saturday and urged people to “protect the Earth and all its beauty.”


“It is Earth Day, and we are marching on behalf of science,” Clinton said to applause during a surprise appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Saturday evening. “Part of science is understanding the intricate relationships we share with those on this planet.” 


Saturday’s nationwide March for Science, coinciding with Earth Day, came just three months after the massive Women’s March on Jan. 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration.


Earlier on Saturday, Clinton affirmed her support for the marches, tweeting “March on!”






Clinton attended the festival as an unannounced panelist at the premiere of “The Protectors: Walk in the Rangers’ Shoes,” a virtual reality documentary about elephant poaching that was co-created by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.






The film, which National Geographic will release online next month, documents park rangers in the Congo combating the environmental crisis caused by elephant poaching, an issue Clinton worked on as secretary of state.


“It became clear to everyone that this was not just a terrible crisis when it came to the elephant population; it was a trade, a trafficking that was funding a lot of bad folks, a lot of bad actors,” Clinton said. “It was being used to take ivory and sell it in order to buy more weapons, and support the kind of terroristic activity that these and other groups were engaged in.”






Clinton has kept a relatively low profile since November’s election, but has attended plays and other cultural events in New York and spoken at events related to issues she champions, such as LGBTQ rights and women’s rights.


The former secretary of state’s appearance at the festival was kept tightly under wraps. Bigelow, who moderated the panel, said even she didn’t know that Clinton would be there.


“I had nothing to do with her being here,” Bigelow told The Wrap. “This was all the festival’s doing. But I know she’s been doing great work in this field for years, and she’s a woman of extraordinary power.”


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17 Spine-Tingling New Books For Fans Of Dystopia

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The end of 2016 brought with it a spike in classic dystopian book sales. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ― which will be released as a Hulu show this month ― each piqued the interest of book buyers, who might’ve drawn uncomfortable parallels between the stories and the world around them.


These books, of course, are not the only dystopian titles resonating with readers. The science fiction subgenre has enjoyed a long period of popularity thanks to YA installments like The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner and The 100, each with its own onscreen offshoot.


There are those in the sci-fi genre who are tired of dystopia’s proliferation; there are, after all, many ways to speculate about the future, and not all of them need be pessimistic. Still, as the subgenre grows, its capacity for holding a mirror to today’s problems ― climate change, stringent definitions of gender, and discrimination based on race or gender or nationality ― persists.


If you still see the worth in dystopian stories ― for social change or for entertainment value ― there are, luckily, loads to choose from. Climate-fiction, or cli-fi, has emerged as a sub-subgenre of dystopian fiction, with authors like Lidia Yuknavitch and Jeff VanderMeer ― both of whom have upcoming film adaptations ― leading the charge. Other titles explore cryonics, religion, gender and more.


We’ve included a few we’re excited about below. Just note that our definition of dystopia is a broad one; any vision of the future that could go awry qualifies.



1. American War by Omar El Akkad


Fought amid a changing climate, America’s second Civil War ― lasting nearly 20 years ― was fought with homicide bombings and drones. An academic born during this period remembers the story of a girl who lived through it.   


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 



2. The Book of Etta by Meg Elison


In a town outside of Estiel ― what was once St. Louis ― a girl named Etta fulfills her duties as a forager, but must venture to face a tyrant called Lion when women from her community are kidnapped.  


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 


Read Meg Elison on the possible future of reproductive health.



3. Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch


Lidia Yukanavitch is skilled at writing poetically about the human body, and about nature, so this book ― her first foray into science fiction ― makes sense. It’s a retelling of the story of Joan of Arc, but in a world ravaged by radiation, and with few land-based survivors. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.


Read Lydia Yuknavitch’s thoughts on writing in the time of Trump.



4. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer


Rachel and Wick live in a city destroyed by drought and terrorized by a giant bear, doing what they can to prioritize their survival ― until Rachel finds Borne, a plant-animal she’s immediately attached to. 


 Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.


 Read Jeff VanderMeer on sci-fi solutions to climate change. 



5. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson


When two coders go missing, an entire future society is at risk. Robinson’s work may not be squarely dystopian, but he has a knack for drawing imagined worlds and their societal problems. In his latest, rising tides leave New York partly submerged. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 



6. Void Star by Zachary Mason


If the future of the ever-growing tech industry has a physical home, it’s San Fransisco, where Mason’s novel is set. Life extension, artificial memory and rising waters converge in a sprawling future epic. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. 



7. Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones


Kir has been asked to join a project working towards the possibility of humans inhabiting another planet ― a project designed to give Earthlings, living on a planet that’s overcrowded and climate change-wrecked, a chance at survival. Will her brain ― wired for optimism ― be able to heed the warnings of the artificial intelligence she hosts? 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



8. Tender by Sofia Samatar


Sofia Samatar’s stories are more fantasy than sci-fi, and she’s more likely to chronicle an alternate or parallel reality than a possible future. Her story “How to Get Back to the Forest” earned a spot among the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories 2015.


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



9. The Ship by Antonia Honeywell


Lalla’s father plans to escape the increasingly dangerous world of future-Britain via ship, but the boat turns out to be eerily different than expected. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



10. All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai


What if the world we’re living in now was the dystopian version of some happier, more progressive alternate reality? That’s the premise of Elan Mastai’s debut, which is centered around protagonist Tom, who has to make a tough choice between a thrumming, messy world or a neat and perfect one.


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



11. The Weaver by Emmi Itäranta


On the surface, Eliana’s life is a pleasant one. She lives on an idyllic island where she works as a weaver, but she is forced to hide the fact that she’s capable of dreaming, lest she be cast out. The cracks in her perfect world begin to show when a young girl washes up on the shore, bearing a tattoo of Eliana’s name.


 Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.


 Read Emmi Itäranta on sci-fi solutions to climate change. 



12. Zero K by Don DeLillo


Jeff’s father, Ross, has always been somewhat absent from his life; he’s a billionaire and he’s happily remarried. But when Ross’s second wife Artis gets sick, he invites his son to visit him at a mysterious cryogenics facility, where pseudo-science meets spiritual practice.


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.


Read our review of Zero K.



13. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders


Patricia’s a witch. Laurence is a tech wunderkind. Their star-crossed relationship is a love story for the 21st century, where spirituality and intuition are at odds with scientific advancements. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



14. Thirst by Benjamin Warner


Eddie and Laura’s suburban life devolves amid an ecological disaster, one that forces them each to reconsider what it is that they cherish most. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



15. Black Wave by Michelle Tea


The world, it turns out, is ending. That doesn’t stop Michelle from dating, from writing, from relocating to a new city to distance herself from her drug-addled past, or from proceeding more or less as normal, except that now, the apocalypse looms. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



16. Not Dark Yet by Berit Ellingsen


For Ellingsen, the personal is political. Her story’s hero, Brandon, retreats to the wilderness after his professor and lover makes him commit an act of violence. From there, he fosters hope for a future threatened by rising temperatures and the attendant damage done to the environment. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.



17. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer


Near-future sci-fi may be all the rage; it would seem that it’s more capable of shedding new light on present dangers, anyway. But Palmer’s novel ― set in the 25th century, when society’s perceptions of gender and religion have morphed considerably ― gives those stories a run for their money. 


Buy it on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore.


Read Ada Palmer on sci-fi predictions for the future of sports.

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Mom Draws The Trials And Tribulations Of Parenting In Hilarious Cartoons

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Ali Solomon has been drawing cartoons since she was a child. As she grew up, her characters have aged alongside her, so once Solomon became a mom, it was only natural they would become parents as well.


A middle school art teacher and freelance illustrator, Solomon lives in Queens, New York and has two daughters, ages 3 and 5. She draws comics about the trials and tribulations of parenting for her blog, Wiggle Room



“I was way too tired to create a baby book, but my cartoons and blog became a sort of record of my kids’ life moments, from heartfelt to completely bonkers. Also, it gave me an outlet to help manage the insanity of having a newborn,” Solomon told The Huffington Post. 


“I’d love to be able to capture not just the relatable everyday stuff, but the absurd, undignified, or magical aspects of parenting,” she added. “For example, recently my daughter stamped red ink all over me, which, contrary to the product’s claims, doesn’t wash off skin. For days, people avoided me, thinking I had a face tattoo, a contagious rash, or had applied my make-up blindfolded. Naturally I turned it into a comic. “


Solomon said she hopes other parents relate to her cartoons and feel entertained. “Parenting can be exasperating and isolating. There’s comfort in knowing that other people have similar experiences.”


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22 Baby Names That Are About To Get More Popular

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In just a few weeks, we’ll see the new popular baby names list for the U.S.. The official list is always packed with surprises, as everything from pop music to sports stars influence what we name our children. Other names rise and fall without any obvious cultural connection, buoyed by style and sound alone. Usually it’s both ― a promising name plus a positive association ― that makes a baby name soar.


Here are our bets for some of the names to watch.


Fastest Rising Vintage Names: Oliver & Hazel


Once musty and fusty, Oliver and Hazel are now the freshest vintage names on the block. Celebrities have embraced them ― Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas have an Oliver, while Emily Blunt and John Krasinski went with Hazel. Part of their appeal? They’re vintage gems that boast high-value Scrabble letters in their names ― z and v.


Nature Names to Watch: River & Briar


River Phoenix was once the only person we could list with this nature name. Now it’s a mainstream pick for boys, and rising for girls, too. Likewise, Briar ― once mostly associated with Sleeping Beauty’s Briar Rose ― debuted on the U.S. Top 1000 for both genders in 2015. Parents have embraced –r ending names, and our affection for borrowing from nature continues.


Coolest New Names: Fox & Sylvie


We’re always looking for names outside the current top 1000 that seem likely to debut in future years. Sweet Sylvie could follow Sophie and Sadie into wider use, while Fox feels like a logical successor to Max and Knox. In 2015, both names ranked just beyond the official list ― but not by much. Two dozen more girls would put Sylvie over the top, along with 15ish boys for Fox.


Hottest Celebrity-Inspired Names: Remington & Luna


With John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s adorable Luna Simone in the spotlight, this Harry Potter heroine should keep rising. Ditto for Remington, a surname name chosen by Kelly Clarkson for daughter River Rose’s little brother. Remington is poised to join tough-guy names like Hunter and Ryder near the top of the charts ― plus it comes with built-in nickname Remy.


Mini Names to Watch: Axl & Liv


They’re short, they’re Scandi, and they’re finding favor with American parents. Axel is a Danish spin on the Biblical Absalom. Drop the ‘e’ – as in rocker Axl Rose – and it takes on an edge. Liv comes from Old Norse, but matches up with a modern word meaning life in several Scandinavian languages. Both names pack a lot of sound and substance into just three letters. 


Pop Culture Powerhouses: Bowie & Ophelia


Music ― and musicians ― have put dozens of names on the charts, from “Hey There, Delilah” to John Lennon. Bowie, as in the late David, and Ophelia, from The Lumineers’ song, could be next. The early 2016 passing of legendary singer Bowie is likely to inspire more namesakes. As for Ophelia, the Lumineers’ chart-topping song makes the tragic name seem light and new.


Comeback Classics: Harvey & Louisa 


Henry and Sophia, meet Harvey and Louisa. Long-neglected, these names are perfectly poised to make a big comeback in 2017. Suits gave the name Harvey to a handsome character, played by Gabriel Macht, nicely updating it for the new century. And Louisa is every bit as literary as Emma, but with the same flowing, feminine, but still substantial, style of smart Sophia.


Meaningful Monikers: Bodhi & Sage


Looking for a meaning-rich name for your child? You’re not alone. Bodhi, from the Sanskrit word for enlightenment, is a new favorite for boys, along with spellings like Bode. Meanwhile, Sage means wisdom but also brings to mind the spice, as well as the familiar girl name Paige. Spelling Saige is trending, but only for girls, while the Sage spelling feels more unisex.


Biblical Names to Watch: Ezra & Ruth


For ages, Ezra seemed too out there, a name reserved for a few historical figures. Lately, the name’s edgy sound has taken it into the U.S. Top 100 – the most popular the name has ever been. Loyal Ruth, on the other hand, dominated the early 20th century popularity charts before fading. In recent years, parents are rediscovering the Old Testament name.


The New Emma & Noah: Asher & Nora


We don’t think the number one names will necessarily fall out of favor anytime soon. But which names are poised to take their place someday? Like Emma, Nora is brief but complete, and feels sweet on a child, serious on an adult. Biblical boy Noah might pass the baton to Asher, a fast-rising possibility with a great meaning: happy.


Names Berries Bank On: Milo & Isla 


Not only do we keep the U.S. Top 1000 on our site, we track the most popular names specific to Nameberry. Two choices that readers love that could catch on everywhere? Milo and Isla. Milo combines the sounds of Miles and Leo, but has a quirky charm all its own. Isla seems like a successor to girl names like Ella, Lily, and Mila.


Which names are you watching? Are you hearing more of any of these names?

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