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KeKe Palmer Continues To Be Absolutely Amazing, Becomes Broadway's First Black Cinderella

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Seriously, what can’t she do?!

So, KeKe Palmer is just awesome.

So, KeKe Palmer is just awesome.

She seriously does it all.

Kevork Djansezian / Reuters

She's a natural in front of the camera.

She's a natural in front of the camera.

She begin acting when she was a kid, starring in a stage production of The Lion King at age 9. Since then, she's appeared in movies with stars like Queen Latifah, Samuel L. Jackson, and Angela Basset, and had her own show on Nickelodeon.

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And behind a microphone.

And behind a microphone.

Palmer has released three mixtapes to date and has one studio album under her belt.

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And at age 20, she became the youngest person ever to have her own television talk show.

And at age 20, she became the youngest person ever to have her own television talk show.

Beyond impressive!

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press / MCT


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19 Ways Having A Dog Will Prepare You For Kids

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Fur babies can change your life.

Dogs awaken your maternal/paternal instincts.

It'll surprise you how loving and nurturing you are toward your new best friend.

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They teach you responsibility, too.

There are a lot of things you can't do once you're a puppy parent, like stay out until all hours of the night because you've got a dog at home waiting to eat and be taken to the bathroom.

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You have to pick up their poop.

Parents have to deal with a lot of gross things (cough - blowout diapers - cough), but they won't seem quite as yucky after this.

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They make messes.

Stumbling across doggie disasters like these will help you keep your cool later in life when your kids lay even more wreckage to your home.

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This Fashion Photo Shoot Depicts An Indian Woman Being Abused By Several Men On A Bus

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“It is not based on Nirbhaya,” photographer Raj Shetye told BuzzFeed.

Mumbai-based fashion photographer Raj Shetye released his photo series "The Wrong Turn" last week. It depicts a lone Indian woman surrounded by men on a bus, and fending off their advances.

Mumbai-based fashion photographer Raj Shetye released his photo series "The Wrong Turn" last week. It depicts a lone Indian woman surrounded by men on a bus, and fending off their advances.

Raj Shetye / Via behance.net

"It is not based on Nirbhaya," Shetye told BuzzFeed in a phone-call, when asked if this series was meant to depict the December 2012 New Delhi gang rape.

"It is not based on Nirbhaya," Shetye told BuzzFeed in a phone-call, when asked if this series was meant to depict the December 2012 New Delhi gang rape .

He denied attempting to depict the exact scene of that incident – referred to as "Nirbhaya," which is a Hindi word for "fearless" and a pseudonym given to the victim – although the similarities are plentiful.

"But being a part of society and being a photographer, that topic moves me from inside," he continued. "I stay in a society where my mother, my girlfriend, my sister are out there and something like this can happen to them also."

When asked why he chose to depict this scene via a fashion photo shoot, Shetye responded that it is the only way he knew how. "Being a photographer, the only medium I can communicate in is photos. For me, its as simple as that. It's art. Making movies, writing articles, making a poem – these are all ways of addressing the topic. Being a fashion photographer, this is what I can do best."

Raj Shetye / Via behance.net

"This is in no way meant to glamorize the act, which was very bad," Shetye told BuzzFeed. "It's just a way of throwing light on it."

"This is in no way meant to glamorize the act, which was very bad," Shetye told BuzzFeed. "It's just a way of throwing light on it."

Shetye told BuzzFeed that the idea for this shoot struck him two years ago, but it has taken several months to execute because he "didn't want to create something irresponsible."

He also clarified that while the garments worn by the models are all made by top designers, none of them have been credited publicly because the intent of this shoot is not commercial gain. "The concept is my baby, " he said, "And the aim is to create art that will gather some reaction in society."

Raj Shetye / Via behance.net

"The message I would like to give is that it doesn't matter who the girl is," he said. "It doesn't depend on which class she belonged in – it can happen to anyone."

"The message I would like to give is that it doesn't matter who the girl is," he said. "It doesn't depend on which class she belonged in – it can happen to anyone."

"We stay in a society where rich people roam in cars, and poor people who roam in public transport are in danger," he continued. "It was my intent to mix these two things which are pretty apart from each other and make aesthetically strong images about it."

Raj Shetye / Via behance.net


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Proof That Taylor Swift Gave A Girl $90 To Eat At Chipotle

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OK Taylor, this one wins.

Last week Taylor Swift went to Central Park where she did a bunch of fun things, including helping this random girl off a rowboat...

Last week Taylor Swift went to Central Park where she did a bunch of fun things , including helping this random girl off a rowboat...

Lenny Abbot / Splash News

...and then taking a picture with her.

...and then taking a picture with her.

Lenny Abbot / Splash News

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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More Than 500 Dead After Powerful Earthquake Rocks Southern China

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At least 589 people are dead in southern China’s Yunnan province after a U.S. Geological Survey reported magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit on Sunday.

A USGS reported magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southern Chinese province of Yunnan on Sunday, killing at least 589 people and injuring more than 2400, the Associated Press reported.

A USGS reported magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southern Chinese province of Yunnan on Sunday, killing at least 589 people and injuring more than 2400, the Associated Press reported .

The earthquake struck at 4:30 p.m., local time, at a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the USGS. Reports out of China measured the earthquake to be of magnitude 6.5. A large earthquake hit the same Yunnan region in 2012, killing 81 people and injuring more than 800.

China Daily / Reuters

AP Photo/ Xinhua / Hu Chao


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16 iPhone Apps That Will Make Women's Lives Easier

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Don’t worry, be appy.

Clue

Clue

This app will track your fertility cycle, period, PMS, and offer information about your female health all in one app. Basically, the app is designed to help you prepare for pregnancy, your period, or mood swings with a better understanding of it all. And it spares you from asking sometimes uncomfortable questions.

Via helloclue.com

Period Tracker Lite

Period Tracker Lite

This is the free version of a period tracking app. And it does exactly what it says, tracks your period. If that's all you want/need out of an app, this app is perfect for you. It will let you know when your last cycle was, when you should expect to start again, and you can also keep track of your symptoms.

Via itunes.apple.com

ShopSavvy

ShopSavvy

An app that will help you find the BEST deals on all of your favorite things? Uh, yeah. Please and thanks. You can choose categories such as books, clothing, health and beauty, and home. Then you can even follow specific stores to find deals for the stores you frequent. OH AND IT OFFERS PRICE COMPARISON. Basically, it's heaven. The end.

Via itunes.apple.com

Gilt

Gilt

Gilt is the app for any woman who lusts over designer clothing but can't always afford it. The app offers deals up to 60% off for designer labels. That's not just clothing, by the way. And if you're feeling NICE you can get the same deals with men and children's products as well. ~ But you are most important. ~

Via itunes.apple.com


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What Your Hair Bow Says About Your Love Life According To This 1944 Magazine

47 Things You Might Not Know About Yorkshire

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Because every day is Yorkshire day.

Thinkstock / BuzzFeed

1. The population of Yorkshire is roughly 5.3 million marvellous souls, according to the 2011 census.

2. At 2.9 million glorious acres, Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK.

3. Were Yorkshire an independent country, and not just the best part of a bigger union, we would have finished 12th at the 2012 Olympics.

4. Our champion athletes include Jessica Ennis-Hill, boxer Nicola Adams, cyclist Ed Clancy, and triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee.

5. We love the Brontë sisters, erstwhile word enthusiasts and pioneers of the literary form, so much that the area around Haworth, Bradford, is named "Brontë Country" in their honour.

6. Other renowned Yorkshire word-wranglers include Alan Bennett, Barbara Cartland, Arthur Ransome, J.B. Priestley, Ted Hughes, and W.H. Auden.

7. Famous Yorkshire folk from history include the explorer James Cook, anti-slavery campaigner and abolitionist William Wilberforce, clockmaker John Harrison (the man who solved the problem of establishing longitude at sea), and pioneering aviator Amy Johnson.

8. James Mason, Sir Patrick Stewart, Dame Judi Dench, Sean Bean, Michael Palin, Brian Blessed, and Sir Ben Kingsley are just some of our award-winning theatrical exports.

The Shambles, York.

Flickr: cle0patra

9. Visits to Yorkshire totalled 216 million in 2009, about the number of visitors to Disney theme parks worldwide. Ee, it's th'appiest place on earth.

10. Leeds, York, and Scarborough are among the top ten most visited English towns by UK residents.

11. There is enough bed space in Yorkshire's 3,150 hotels to sleep every person in a sold-out Wembley stadium.

12. At 3.4km long, the walls around York are the longest city walls in England.

13. The Shambles in York (pictured above) was named Britain's most picturesque street in the 2010 Google Street Awards.

14. The Humber Bridge is the longest single-span suspension bridge in the UK. It's also the second longest in Europe and the seventh longest in the world.

15. The Yorkshire Dales is home to Britain's highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn, serving real ale at a heady 1,732 feet above sea level. Super.

16. Yorkshire is home to 30+ real ale breweries, producing enough ales between them to give you a different pint each night for at least six months. Smashing.

17. Yorkshire has six Michelin-starred restaurants, more than any other region outside London: The Black Swan in Oldstead, The Old Vicarage in Sheffield, The Yorke Arms in Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale, the Box Tree in Ilkley, The Pipe & Glass Inn in South Dalton, and The Burlington in Skipton. Great.


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Australian Journalist Tells Readers To "F--k Off" Over Gaza Column, Then Quits

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“I told a few people to f—k off. We do that in this country occasionally.”

Veteran journalist Mike Carlton resigned from The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, after being told he was to be suspended for sending abusive emails to the newspaper's readers.

Veteran journalist Mike Carlton resigned from The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, after being told he was to be suspended for sending abusive emails to the newspaper's readers.

Twitter: @MikeCarlton01

The drama surrounding Mr Carlton, known for his years as a radio shock jock, reached a peak when one of his columns on the Israel-Hamas conflict was accompanied by this controversial cartoon.

The drama surrounding Mr Carlton, known for his years as a radio shock jock, reached a peak when one of his columns on the Israel-Hamas conflict was accompanied by this controversial cartoon.

The cartoon sparked controversy in the Jewish community for the use of the Kippah, Star of David and the "hook nose" leading to the Sydney Morning Herald to retract it and issue an apology.

"It was wrong to publish the cartoon in its original form. We apologise unreservedly for this lapse, and the anguish and distress that has been caused," wrote Sydney Morning Herald Editor Darren Goodsir in an editorial published on Monday.

The Sydney Morning Herald / Via haaretz.com

Mr Carlton stood by the cartoon and the contents of the column which was titled, "Israel's rank and rotten fruit is being called fascism".

Mr Carlton stood by the cartoon and the contents of the column which was titled, "Israel's rank and rotten fruit is being called fascism".

Twitter: @MikeCarlton01

It emerged Mr Carlton not only was telling people to "fuck off" to critics on Twitter, but the Herald Sun reported he was also serving abuse to those who contacted him via email.

It emerged Mr Carlton not only was telling people to "fuck off" to critics on Twitter, but the Herald Sun reported he was also serving abuse to those who contacted him via email.

Mr Goodsir confirmed there were multiple instances where Mr Carlton sent correspondence containing abusive language.

"This behaviour is completely unacceptable. I have asked Mike to apologise for these actions. Mike regrets his behaviour and will be contacting affected readers to apologise," Mr Goodsir wrote on Tuesday.

blogs.news.com.au


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Can You Tell If It's Meat?

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To these meat lovers, a veggie alternative is only good if it tastes like meat, which they don’t think is possible. So we put them to the test.

Featuring: Antjuan Tobias, Patrick Hickman, Allison Bagg, Moses Medina & Daysha Edewi

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15 Things That Are Impossible To Do Gracefully

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But, really, walking in heels is super difficult.

The Definitive Ranking Of '90s Aussie Kids TV Shows

19 Socially Awkward Situations For People Who Are Always Early

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The early bird catches the worm. And then has to play on their phone for 15 minutes waiting for all the late birds.

Arriving at a party.

Arriving at a party.

The invite says 8pm, so you get there at 8pm, right?

Miramax films / Via kyw-newsradio.crushpath.me

Going on a date.

Going on a date.

You cannot be early for a date. It is the lamest thing you could do. But if you are too late they will not love you. So you plan to be late, actually end up arriving on time, and spend six minutes waiting round the corner to seem cool.

NBC / Via collegetimes.com

Getting to the airport so early that check-in isn't open yet.

Getting to the airport so early that check-in isn't open yet.

Spending three hours in duty-free is infinitely better than being that person who has to run to the gate. Who can handle that?

BBC / Via ampp3d.mirror.co.uk

Going on holiday with a late friend.

Going on holiday with a late friend.

They are so slow at everything that travelling with them means you arrive only just in time to be the recommended two hours early for your flight.

NBC / Via giphy.com


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17 Words That Mean Something Totally Different To Fast Food Workers

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No, sir, that coupon does not mean you get three free meals.

Ball Pit

Ball Pit

What you think it means: A place where kids go to play after they enjoy their fast food meal.

What it actually means: A place where kids play while eating their food. It's fraught with fries, burgers, and questionable sauces, and it always smells like feet.

Camknows / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: camknows

Standing

Standing

What you think it means: It means your body is upright and perpendicular to the ground.

What it actually means: Being on your feet for no less than seven hours in some cases. Your feet throb by the end of your shift.

Joe Monin / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: jmonin87

Drive-Thru

Drive-Thru

What you think it means: A position that requires one to take money from a customer in exchange for a good, typically food.

What it actually means: Taking multiple orders, taking cash and/or credit cards from customers, and trying not to lose your mind.

Jeremy Brooks / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: jeremybrooks

Holiday

Holiday

What you think it means: A glorified day off of work.

What it actually means: A day where people still come into the restaurant in droves, making you dislike people even more. Who goes to McDonald's on a holiday, anyway?

Bravo / Via tamaratattles.com


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Why Carole Radziwill Had To Stop Being Polite And Start Getting Real

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On The Real Housewives of New York City .

Bravo / Via realitytvgifs.tumblr.com

Being the voice of reason on a reality show such as Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City is destined to be a doomed position, as Carole Radziwill found out the hard way in this past season. When she first joined the show in Season 5, Radziwill — a writer and Emmy-winning former ABC News producer — served the necessary function of commenting, if not sometimes gawking, at the often crazy behavior of the rest of the cast. She was a stand-in for viewers.

It was not to last. Season 6, Radziwill's second — which began airing in March — drew her immediately straight into its mad heart. What sucked her in were accusations from Aviva Drescher, a cast member who had also joined the show in Season 5, that she had heard "on the street" that Radziwill used a ghostwriter for What Remains, her 2005 memoir. Radziwill, who confronted (and strenuously denied) the question on camera in a heated fight with Drescher, was flabbergasted, and the scandal — #bookgate — hovered over and partly informed the trajectory of the season. What Remains is Radziwill's recounting of her life with her late husband, Anthony Radziwill, his prolonged struggle with terminal cancer, and their close friendships with Anthony's cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Three out of those four people died in the summer of 1999, which is also what What Remains is about. To call its authorship into question was new and ugly emotional territory, even for Real Housewives.

The second of three reunion episodes aired Tuesday night, and #bookgate was addressed. The cast fell into its usual formation, with Radziwill, Heather Thomson, Kristen Taekman, and Luann de Lessepps on one side (literally), and Drescher, Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer on the other. Drescher still maintains she did not have a ghostwriter on her own memoir, Leggy Blonde, and in an effort to advance her theory that no writer writes a book alone, somehow also managed to smear Harper Lee. In other words, it was a mess, and nothing was resolved. Part 3 of the reunion will air next Tuesday.

I recently met Radziwill at a diner in West Hollywood, where we talked about the disaster with Drescher, how infuriating #bookgate was for her, her frustrations with some of the other cast members (Sonja Morgan!), and her work outside of the show, including her recent novel, The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating. Oh, and we talked about Drescher throwing her leg on the floor.

In your first season, you were able to rise above and not get drawn into drama. I felt like your experience this season, however, proved that it's impossible on one of these shows to rise above in perpetuity.

Carole Radziwill: Last season, because I was new and because all the women, I think, genuinely liked me, as I them, there wasn't anyone gunning for me. I did, if you recall, cry — they made me cry.

That's true.

CR: It was an intense time in St. Barts. And there was a lot going on. Some of it not fun for me. But yeah, this season I scream. I cop to that. It wasn't my finest moment. But I think I proved that I'm pretty easygoing about things, whether it's gossip about my ex-boyfriend or silliness about who's bossy and who's not. Or who's not invited to some party, or who is. But I think what really matters to me is my work. And when you not only question my integrity and my credibility — but also, it went deeper than that. I could have understood Aviva repeating gossip about my work, and saying people said I had a ghostwriter, although it seems implausible. But listen, there's no industry that's immune to gossip and professional jealously.

But when the attack was not only about my career, but impugns my late husband's family, belittles my accomplishments, and kind of trashes my novel in a way that I knew to be untrue — and then she ridicules my age — it's, like, Whoa! I feel like the audience wants you to defend yourself. You don't mess with someone's career, or work, or family.

When something like that happens, how aware of the cameras are you?

CR: Had I been more aware, I wouldn't have reacted the way I did, I think. If someone said to me at a cocktail party, "Well, I hear gossip that Bill Whitworth, the editor of The Atlantic Monthly, ghostwrites all your books," I would have been, like, "OK, you're crazy." And walked away. But as she's saying it, I'm like, What is she saying? And then I'm like, She's saying this on national television? And the minute you start to defend yourself, which I did, you kind of look defensive.

She asked me at lunch if I used I ghostwriter. I said no. I asked her, she said no. It should have ended there. It didn't. She went to everybody and repeated the gossip. And then confronted me in her home. I said no then, and then yeah, I got spitfire angry when she then continued to belittle my accomplishments and ridicule my age and talk about my late husband's family — I couldn't say I was so aware of the cameras at that moment. I was and I wasn't. I was aware that she was saying this stuff on national television, but I wasn't able to take that awareness and say, Let me at least behave in a way — I think I behaved in a way that anyone would have.

Carole Radziwill with Aviva Drescher.

Bravo

It happened so early in the season. It must have been jarring.

CR: You're just coming back, you're getting your sea legs, like, OK, I've got to gear up for this again! Had I known she wasn't going to bring up her process of hiring a writer to work with, had I known she wasn't going to bring that on camera, I never would have asked if she had hired the writer. At that moment when I said, "Have you hired the writer?" I fully thought she was going to do scenes with her. So when she said, "No, I did it alone," in my stomach, I said, Oh, shit. I never thought she would go as far as she did.

Throughout the season, Aviva either said she wrote her book herself or "it takes a village." But her book was ghostwritten by a woman named Valerie Frankel. Why is that a bad thing?

CR: It's industry standard. She signed a deal, she had to turn that book around quickly. They peg it to the show. It's what every other Housewife does. And it's great. It's great for publishing, it's good for writers. It just never occurred to me that she wasn't going to be honest about that.

I imagine that one of the frightening things about being on a reality show is that people can just say anything.

CR: I know, Kate. I know! And I don't have skeletons in my closet, I don't have things I can't talk about. But I realized after that, Oh, you can just make it up. I remember after that scene going to the producers and saying, "Well, that was drama, but it's not true. The publisher didn't pass, and Bill Whitworth is an editor." He was my copy editor, which is a phenomenal insult to him to even say that, because he's one of the most respected editors. It's just that he didn't come on until the very end of What Remains. I remember saying to the producers, "That's not true." And they looked at me, like, We don't care about the truth. It was this stupid "Aha!" moment.

When something like that does happen, which is upsetting and potentially damaging, what do you do? Do you call Andy Cohen?

CR: The ironic thing is that the next morning at 10 a.m., I was at a wedding with Andy; a mutual friend was getting married. I was in a rage! I'm really good with Andy, because we do travel in the same social circles, and I've never — it's like a Chinese Wall. Because I can be very passionate about things, especially about work, and I do regard the show as work. I don't like to get into conversations with him about it, because he is the executive in charge of Bravo, and there's a professionalism that has to exist. Neither of us wants to talk about the show when we're at weddings. But I broke my rule.

Tell me more.

CR: I think he had heard about it. And he knew I was upset about it. He was very smart, though. He said, "Rely on the intelligence of the audience, Carole." I was, like, "I can't do that! That's slander! And this is insane!" And you know what? He was right.

Right.

CR: But there were calls to lawyers.

There were?

CR: There were people who were saying, "Why don't you sue?" It's not an easy answer. There were several reasons. One is we sign contracts, so we can't sue each other. So you'd have to break the Bravo contract.

So all these Housewives who are always threatening to sue other Housewives, they can't actually sue?

CR: They can if they break the contract. But at the end of the day, I'm a single, working girl. I'm not going to take on Bravo. And more than that, she implicated my publishing house. Her publishing house is my publishing house. I'm a freelance writer, I'm not going to take on Simon & Schuster. She also implicated colleagues of mine that I didn't want to drag into a lawsuit. That was a big part of it. And you start filing lawsuits, you get all enmeshed. I wanted less to do with Aviva, not more. I didn't want to go down that rabbit hole. I didn't want to send a cease-and-desist letter. Because then it becomes part of the story.

Right.

CR: And now, a year later, I have much more compassion. And I can see how people will gossip. It was just the extent to which she went for it that was unfortunate. I felt like she left me no wiggle room to even have a reconciliation or some something. I only spoke to her one other time after that, on the beach. And again, she was incredibly condescending. When someone says to you when they're holding up your galley, "Job well done!" Honey, unless you're Ann Patchett or Mary Karr, or you've morphed yourself into Joyce Carol Oates, you can't tell me, "Job well done." It was incredibly condescending. There was no apology. And then that was it. I thought there would be another opportunity when we went away on the trips to have something, some interaction. But then after that, I never really saw her. She didn't go on any of the three trips we took. So we didn't have a natural, organic way to interact.

It does seem that being able to have perspective and compassion is great, but obviously it's something that would bother a person. From Twitter and your blog, it has seemed like it's been a constant irritation.

CR: We don't get into it that much on Twitter. I think I tweeted at her directly after the first episode where she was saying things that weren't true. There's a dark side to her. Her language: We "verbally raped" her. She recently said I was "demonic." She continues to be condescending and insulting about my friends and family on social media. Even a year later, she doesn't miss an opportunity to say something either condescending or insulting or downright nasty about me. And I'm not gonna do that. I'm not going to stoop to that level.


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Commuters Push Train Off Trapped Man

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Mind the gap please.

A Perth man slipped and became wedged between a train and the platform at Stirling Station on Wednesday afternoon.

A Perth man slipped and became wedged between a train and the platform at Stirling Station on Wednesday afternoon.

Transport spokesman David Hynes told the ABC, "He stood in the doorway and as he was sort of taking up his position there, one leg slipped outside the door, slipped outside the gap, and he was stuck."

"We alerted the driver, made sure the train didn't move."

Twitter: @nicolastaylornz / Via abc.net.au

Security footage obtained by ABC News shows the man falling through the gap.

Security footage obtained by ABC News shows the man falling through the gap.

TransPerth / ABC News / Via youtube.com

The commuters and passengers then mobilise for some good old fashioned people power.

The commuters and passengers then mobilise for some good old fashioned people power.

TransPerth / ABC News / Via youtube.com

Mr Hynes said, "there were lots of them, off the train, and organised them to sort of rock, tilt the train backwards away from the platform so they were able to get him out and rescue him."

Mr Hynes said, "there were lots of them, off the train, and organised them to sort of rock, tilt the train backwards away from the platform so they were able to get him out and rescue him."

Renae Bryant / Via Twitter: @MeredithFrost


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Daniel Radcliffe's New Romantic Comedy Is This Year's "(500) Days Of Summer"

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The rom-com isn’t dead, it’s just gone adorably indie.

Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan in What If.

Caitlin Cronenberg/F Word Productions

A character as enduring and beloved as Harry Potter can be a difficult thing for an actor to shake off, and Daniel Radcliffe's post-Hogwarts years have in some ways felt like a reaction to his tenure as YA literature's most iconic young wizard, the role in which he grew up on screen. Since Deathly Hallows: Part 2, he's dabbled in horror (The Woman in Black and the upcoming Horns), lost his (gay) virginity as Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, and — alongside Jon Hamm — starred as a young physician in conversation with his older, morphine-addicted self in the British miniseries A Young Doctor's Notebook. They're varied roles, but they've all felt like deliberate departures from the former Boy Who Lived's comfort zone.

But in his new movie What If, opening in select cities on Aug. 8, Radcliffe comes across less as having something to prove, and instead turns in an amiable glimpse into his possible future as a romantic lead. The movie pairs Radcliffe with Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks) in what feels like a 2014 successor to (500) Days of Summer, a sideways love story that's more articulate about its emotions than its characters are. In this case, Wallace (Radcliffe) and Chantry (Kazan) are Toronto twentysomethings who meet at a party and share an immediate connection — but she has a boyfriend she's been with for years, and so they try to make a go of things as friends while ignoring the spark that suggests they could be more.

CBS Films

Directed by Michael Dowse, who made 2011's sweet-natured, bloody-knuckled, quietly awesome hockey comedy Goon with Seann William Scott, What If is a cute exploration of the not-unexplored territory of whether or not men and women can ever be friends. But it's rarely cutesy, despite being set in a world of knitting clubs, cartoon metaphors for a character's loneliness, a score by The New Pornographers' A.C. Newman, and, if it need be said, a whole bunch of white people.

Romantic comedies, almost by definition, throw up a bunch of artificial barriers to keep its perfect-for-each-other leads from getting together until the inevitable happy ending. But what's stopping Wallace and Chantry is the fact that the pair are too fundamentally nice to do something so terrible as to hurt other people in order to follow their hearts. They're nice in a way that makes them bury their feelings in banter about Elvis' second favorite sandwich and magnetic poetry and a million shared fleeting cultural references that stand in for the deeper connection they feel and are trying to insist is platonic.

What If is a movie about two people whose instincts are always to diffuse loaded situations. Wallace (who's British, freeing Radcliffe from having to do an accent) dropped out of med school for a dull cubicle farm job after having his heart broken by a fellow student, while Chantry is an animator who actually turns down a promotion because she doesn't want to deal with managing people. They're so conflict-avoidant that Chantry mires herself in denial about her feelings for the determinedly well-behaved Wallace, even as the movie winkingly strands them again and again in atmospheric situations, huddled under an umbrella in a downpour or skinny dipping on a camping trip.


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Spike Lee Erects Memorial To NYC Man Who Died After NYPD Chokehold

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The film director has publicly criticized NYPD’s use of excessive force that led to Eric Garner’s death in July.

Film director Spike Lee erected this memorial for Eric Garner, the asthmatic father of six who died after a brutal altercation with NYPD officers last month.

Lee has hung the memorial, created by artist Adrian Franks, outside his film studio in Brooklyn.

nydailynews.com

Facebook: SpikeLee


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21 Things Every Single Indian Girl Is Sick Of Hearing

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“When I was your age, I was a mother of two.” *RAGE*

"So when do you plan to get married?"

"So when do you plan to get married?"

I don't know... MAYBE when I find the right guy.

Via indipepper.com

"You do want to get married eventually, right?".

"You do want to get married eventually, right?".

No, I wish to live alone and eventually get devoured by my 69 cats. AND THAT'S OK.

Via izismile.com

"Your clock is ticking."

"Your clock is ticking."

Great, it's lovely to be reminded of my mortality CASUALLY LIKE THIS. Tick tock goes the death clock!

Via scoopwhoop.com

"How do you feel about hitting 30 soon?".

"How do you feel about hitting 30 soon?".

Does being in your twenties mean you'll turn 30 sometime in the foreseeable future? Funny thing, I never knew. Thanks for that insightful information. Eternally indebted to you.

Via manaalaslam.blogspot.com


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Watch This Cocoa Farmer's Joy As He Tastes Chocolate For The First Time

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“U.S. westerners have the luxury to enjoy chocolate. But in the Ivory Coast cocoa farmers sadly don’t have this luxury.”

The Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of the cocoa bean, the main ingredient in chocolate. But the impoverished farmers who harvest the beans generally never see and cannot afford to buy the finished product — your chunk of chocolate.

The Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of the cocoa bean, the main ingredient in chocolate. But the impoverished farmers who harvest the beans generally never see and cannot afford to buy the finished product — your chunk of chocolate.

Thierry Gouegnon / Reuters

The Netherlands' Metropolis TV traveled to one cocoa farm in the Ivory Coast earlier this year to speak to the farmers about the problem.

The Netherlands' Metropolis TV traveled to one cocoa farm in the Ivory Coast earlier this year to speak to the farmers about the problem.

The chocolate industry is worth an estimated $110 billion dollars a year, CNN reported. Wealthy areas of North America and Europe consume most of the world's chocolate, while most cocoa beans are grown in West Africa.

youtube.com

The average cocoa farmer lives on less than the equivalent of $2 a day, while under 5% of the price of the average chocolate makes its way back to the farmers, according to Oxfam.

youtube.com

Metropolis TV gave some of the farmers chocolate to hold and taste for the first time. Their responses?

Metropolis TV gave some of the farmers chocolate to hold and taste for the first time. Their responses?

youtube.com


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