Phil Collins is back in weird news this week.
If you know why, take the Fark Weird News Quiz.
-- 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.
Read the original article on artnet News.
Last weekend, the sight of a woman perched naked on top of a London rooftop caused a great deal of confusion amongst locals and passersby. The incident turned out to be a performance by artist Poppy Jackson, titled Site, and carried out for four hours.
Images of Jackson's performance—which took place on the roof of Toynbee Studios in the city's East End—went viral after an onlooker working in a nearby office shared photos of the unfolding of the bizarre event on social media.
After a mix of critical acclaim and bewildered reactions from Britain's outspoken tabloids, the artist spoke to the Evening Standard about her performance.
Jackson admitted that she was “astounded by the global reach of the work," and explained that the idea behind the performance was to “celebrate the power the body holds."
Addressing the media's response to her work, she said “I think it has ‘confused' people because I am celebrating my body in a way that is not sexually objectifying such as we are so accustomed to, whilst also critiquing why and how shame is layered upon the female body."
“It's obviously received some misogynistic responses because of the tabloids' sensationalist take on the work," she added, "but these comments just go to prove why artwork presenting the female body from a woman's perspective is so important."
“I think the reason that it has had an impact in the media is because this platform usually presents female bodies in a way that objectifies them or commodifies female sexuality," Jackson argued.
Jackson emphasized that "Societal readings attributed to female sexuality […] is 'for' others. I use my body itself to work against this viewpoint, in a dignified and respectful way that celebrates the power the body holds."
The artist also explained that she deliberately chose an outdoor venue for her performance to make the piece accessible to everyone.
“I believe that art is for everyone and that making work only for art galleries can, even accidentally, exclude many people, so I often make my work for public contexts, as it deals with themes that are political and social."
Follow artnet News on Facebook.
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
The contemporary baby name world is full of many different options. It's also constantly evolving. Many of the names in today's Social Security Administration Top 500 list were virtually nonexistent in the U.S. in the 1980s.
Here is a list of increasingly popular baby names today.
Aniyah is one of those names that resembles a lot of other names, from Anya to Amaya to Aliyah, but is actually a recent invention. Used for zero babies in 1985, today it stands at number 226. Aniyah was used for nearly 1500 girls in the U.S. in 2014, with spelling Aniya given to another 500+. The name may be thought of as a contemporary spin on Ann.
This newly-popular name was inspired by a type of orchid. The name Cataleya was given to nearly 700 baby girls in 2014, placing it at number 461, versus zero in 1985.
Lyric is now a popular baby name for both genders, ranking number 271 on the girls’ list and number 860 on the boys’ list. In 2014, more than 1200 girls were named Lyric, along with more than 250 boys. In 1985, that count was 10 girls and zero boys.
The celestial name Nova, which means "new," reemerged on the baby name list in 2011 after falling into obscurity around the 1930s. Since then it’s soared all the way to number 287 and was given to more than 1100 baby girls last year. In 1985, that number was 38.
This baby name has been popularized by a character on the Disney Channel show "Jessie." Zuri was used for 660 girls in 2014 and ranked number 475, but did not appear at all on the 1985 extended roster. The name is Kiswahili for "good" or "beautiful."
The name Yaretzi is believed to derive from the Aztec language family and mean “you will always be loved.” It may also be related to the goddess name Yara, popular in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries. Yaretzi, which didn’t appear at all on the 1985 roster, was given to nearly 900 baby girls in the U.S. last year, placing it at number 372. It’s currently ranked at number 58 in Mexico.
The name Ryker given to more than 2500 boys last year and ranking at number 151. In 1985, only eight baby boys were named Ryker.
Unless you're a big soccer fan, you may not have heard of the name Iker, hugely popular thanks to Iker Casillas, who plays for both Portuguese and Spanish teams. The name is Basque for visitation and is pronounced EE-keer. It was given to 1787 baby boys in the U.S. last year, ranking at number 215.
Tyler and Kyle were both already a top 100 names in the 1980s, inspiring lots of variations, including combo-name Kyler, given to 64 baby boys in 1985. Today, though, that number has exploded, with over 1200 babies named Kyler last year, ranking the name at number 288. Kyler is a Dutch occupational name that means “archer."
Jason was a top 10 name in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1985 Kason had barely been stirred to life, given to only 15 boys that year. Today, that number has soared to nearly 900, with Kason -- a hybrid of Jason and Case and Karson -- ranking at number 365.
As a Biblical name, Adriel was used quietly in 1985, when it was given to 42 boys and 14 girls. Today that’s increased to nearly 700 boys and 50 girls, with another 50 baby girls named Adrielle. Adriel ranks number 433 on the boys’ list.
Of course Mom knows the name Jack, and she’s also familiar with Jackson, and she may even know that Jackson is sometimes styled as Jaxon or Jaxson. But Jaxton? Probably not, given that it doesn’t appear at all on the 1985 extended roster. A hybrid of Jackson and Braxton, Jaxton was given to 640 baby boys last year placing it at number 457.
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
British comedian Ryan Swain became a dad to identical twin girls seven months ago. Like many parents of twins, he's noticed he tends to receive the same series of questions and comments from friends, acquaintances and strangers on the street.
So the funny dad turned to comedy and created a short video summing up some of his "quickest and wittiest" responses to these remarks. Swain told the Huffington Post, "I wanted to make the video from a true observational perspective of being a parent and a dad and having to embrace the same questions asked by people daily about my twins."
The finished product is called "What A Parent Of Twins Finds Themselves Saying To Everybody!" Some gems include, "Yes, I can tell them apart," "Yes, I'm glad they're mine and not yours, too" and "Yes, they are natural. What's artificial about a twin anyway?"
Enjoy.
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
Phil Collins is back in weird news this week.
If you know why, take the Fark Weird News Quiz.
-- 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.
After a bleak start at life, this little bull made an a-moo-zing recovery and is now enjoying a cushy life with lots of love and other animal friends.
Born on a California dairy farm, Goliath the cow was originally a "drop calf"-- a baby cow taken from its mother at birth to be sold for slaughter. But he was spared that fate, when the family on a nearby ranch intervened and took him in. Goliath has gotten so comfortable with the Hubbs family that he thinks he’s a household pet, and late last month snuck into the family’s house to curl up on the sofa.
Seventeen-year-old Shaylee Hubbs posted a photo of Goliath on the couch on Oct. 28, and it's been retweeted 32,000 times as of Friday.
Living on a ranch with horses, goats, sheep and chickens, the Hubbs family knows cows are not domestic pets, and has no intention of treating Goliath as one. But the sneaky little cow has taken to the family’s three large dogs, and observed how one of the Great Danes, Leo, has taught himself how to get into the house.
"He's best friends with Leo, and so he used to watch Leo push down the door handle and come and sit on the couch," Hubbs told ABC News. "And of course, he now knows how to come in, too. He just pushes down on the knob with his head and lets himself in and onto our couch."
"Goliath is our pet and now part of our family," Hubbs told The Huffington Post. "[But] we don’t let him in the house purposely. He is getting bigger every day and now spends all day in the big pasture with the other animals. We still bring him up to the backyard at night, just in case.”
Experts agree that purposefully bringing cows into domestic spaces isn't a good idea.
"Cows are profoundly emotional animals, and deeply sensitive," Kathy Stevens, founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, HuffPost. "You can’t bring an animal who is going to weigh 2,500 lbs. into the house, because then you'll have a sad cow someday. Give them a big space and shower them with love inside their own roomy barn."
Indeed, Goliath now happily plays and grazes with his dog pals on the Hubbs ranch.
H/T ABC News
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
In honor of Friday's "Spectre" debut, the good nerds over at Burger Fiction created a supercut of every James Bond gadget that appeared on film. That's 23 movies, from "Dr. No" to "Skyfall."
We took it upon ourselves to rank the 90 most ridiculous inventions out of the 193 that the video documents, in order of increasing absurdity:
H/T The Verge
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
Watch your step.
A hike in the park could turn into a scuba trip if you walk slow enough in Grüner See, a mountainous Austrian park that turns into a lake every year.
Grüner See, which means "Green Lake" in English, sits at the base of the Hochschwab mountains near the town of Tragoess in Austria, and everything in the park -- the benches, grassy knolls, creeks and bridges -- become a popular diving spot come spring, when winter's snow and ice flood the area with beautiful aquamarine water.
By summer, the lake reaches its maximum depth of about 40 feet. The lake's green color (hence its name) is a result from the grass and foliage that line the bottom of the basin.
We're getting into prime hiking time, just make sure you don't take a long nap on one of those benches -- you might wake up underwater.
Check out the photos below:
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
Metts Bahadir probably assumed an elaborately decorated trick-or-treater would be the scariest thing to knock on his door last week, but the 10 1/2-foot alligator that stopped by for a visit on Thursday night proves otherwise.
A Florida resident since 1986, Bahadir had never seen an alligator close-up before he woke up to the sound of scratching and discovered the beastly creature on the front porch of his home in Lutz, just north of Tampa.
“It was like the wild kingdom was at my door," he told ABC Action News.
Bahadir called the Tampa Police, who then contacted a trapper to get the gator away from the home.
Video shows the trapper lassoing the gator, and shows the animal lashing out in response.
Bahadir admits he was scared and that he feared for his children, ages 5 and 8.
"I would have been really worried my son could have opened the door," he told 10 News.
"A 10-foot alligator is a big alligator, but it's not that uncommon," Gary Morse of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told Huffington Post.
He said an alligator this size would generally not be relocated.
Trappers who catch alligators often kill and process them for their hides and meat, according to the Commission's website.
Researchers estimate there are about 1.3 million gators in Florida.
-- 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.
It turns out being Taylor Swift is really hard -- if you're not that Taylor Swift.
Take Taylor Adam Smith, a 30-year-old photographer living in Seattle. There was nothing unusual about his name for the first 20 years of his life. But around the time Taylor Swift released her first album in 2006, he explained to Mitch Pittman of KOMO 4 News in Seattle, he started to see his name everywhere.
"I was kinda like, OK, I should look into this," Swift explained. "So I started researching, I was like, 'OK, so she does country music, that's great. She writes her own music, that's awesome! She seems like a great person.'"
Of course, it's only gotten more intense from there. Swift said that he gets fan letters intended for the pop star all the time, both in the mail and, for a while, at the email address he's since had to change: taylorswift@gmail.com. References to his photographic career get buried under an avalanche of music results on Google. And he finds it impossible to tell anyone his name in person without prompting astonishment.
"There's that moment when they're like, wait, your name's actually Taylor Swift? Your real ... your whole ... your name's Taylor Swift," he told Pittman.
On the other hand, Swift says he likes sharing a name with the "Shake It Off" singer -- because of all that fan mail.
"It's a great confidence booster," Swift said. "It's like endless amounts of, 'You're so beautiful, you're so talented, you're a great role model, you have a beautiful voice.' And it's like, here I am, like, 'Thank you.'"
"There's way worse names to have," he laughed.
Here's the KOMO 4 News segment, if you want to hear this tale of woe hilarity from the man himself:
The Seattle photographer is actually one of many Americans named Taylor Swift. A search of public records on Nexis turned up 54 hits around the country. Many are, like the pop star, women in their early 20s. (Taylor was among the 10 most popular baby names for girls every year from 1993 until 2000.)
Let's hope they all have the same good attitude as Taylor Adam Smith!
Also on HuffPost:
-- 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.
An Austrian woman shredded her 950,ooo euro ($1.02 million) fortune in spite because she didn't want her family to have it, AFP reports.
According to German-language newspaper Kurier, the 85-year-old woman neatly cut the euros and some savings account books before leaving them on a nursing home bed, days before she died.
Authorities theorize she turned her fortune into the world's most expensive confetti to upset her family, though the reason why is unclear.
Prosecutors can be of only limited help to her successors.
"The damage of the money in the woman's property is not a criminal matter, so we have not begun any investigation," Austrian state prosecutor Erich Habitzl told AFP.
Luckily for the heirs, Austria's central bank (OeNB) should be able to replace the cash.
Friedrich Hammerschmidt, deputy head of the OeNB cash division, told Kurier, "If the heirs can only find shreds of money and if the origin of the money is assured, then of course it can all be replaced."
"If we didn't pay out the money then we would be punishing the wrong people," he said.
-- 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.
