A certain type of tree has been popping up throughout the United States and has been described as “magical.” These trees produce 40 different varieties of fruit. These trees generate several types of peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries. Throughout the year, however, these trees look completely normal. It is only in the spring that these trees blossom into their colorful form. Each tree of this type has its own, unique collection of stone fruit. The project to create this tree species began in 2008 when Sam Van Aken, Syracuse University sculptor and artist, found that an abandoned New York-state…
Author: Julia Berman
Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi, 42, was arrested for obscenity charges due to her art that explores female genitalia. The artist vowed to challenge her arrest and declared from behind bars to defy a culture of “discrimination” against openly acknowledging the vagina in Japanese society. On July 12, Igarashi was arrested for distributing indecent material with a potential sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. According to reports from the Kyodo News Agency on Saturday, July 19, Igarashi has been released from jail. “That was an unjust arrest. I don’t think my genitals…
Pixar has recently finished their new projects entitled “Inside Out” and “Lava.” Apparently, “Lava” is a love story that takes place over the span of millions of years. The project is also a musical. “Inside Out” is a more interpretive film about human emotions. The news of the short film “Lava” was released on June 19. The opening scenes of Pixar’s new feature “Inside Out” was screened for an audience in LA that same day at the DGA. A sneak peak of “Lava” was also shown. The exclusive audience watched behind-the-scenes look at the film which is scheduled for…
On Mon., Jun. 30, at an event to celebrate LGBT pride month, President Obama lauded Bill Yosses, the retiring White House pastry chef. Yosses is known for his delicious pies and is therefore called “the Crustmaster.” Yosses was first hired in the White House in 2007 under President George W. Bush. When speaking about the excellent pastry chef, Obama joked, “I don’t know what he does — whether he puts crack in them, or …” The audience responded with chuckles, however Michelle Obama quickly asserted, “no he doesn’t. … There is no crack in our pies.” It is ironic that…
Being a bridesmaid is not an easy task, it requires a lot of work to please a bride on her big day. Recently, a woman in New York posted an offer on Craigslist to work as a “Professional Bridesmaid.” The woman is Jen Glantz, 26, writer of All My Friends Are Engaged, so she does have some experience on the matter. On her post she wrote about her prior experiences saying, “This year alone, i’ve been a bridesmaid 4 times. That’s 4 different chiffon dresses, 4 different bachelorette parties filled with tequila shots and guys in thong underwear twerking way…
A dating app designed particularly for lesbian women has been released. The app has recently launched in the U.S., in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Florida, and then in New York City on June 19. The app plans to launch in Australia soon and was initially released in the U.K. in Sept. 2013. In the U.S., over four million women identify themselves as lesbian or bisexual, so for this large demographic, such an app is something to rejoice over. The app is called “Dattch” and it is completely different than any other app made for gay men or heterosexuals. The name…
Police have been seeking help from the public in identifying two suspected shooters from an incident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Sunday morning, June 28. A surveillance camera placed above a bar caught some of the incident. The footage, from 2:45 a.m., shows people chaotically running around in response to the shots. The police put the views of the gunmen online in hopes that someone may identify them. The victims were shot only two blocks from Jackson Square and around the corner from Pat O’Brien’s piano bar, according to People. The shooting resulted in 10 injured people, nine were…
For the first time, a federal appeals court declared that gay marriage cannot be prohibited. On Wednesday, June 25, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Utah cannot ban same-sex marriages. Same-sex couples are still unable to marry in Utah because of a stay in place. This case has been extremely significant to the public as it is representative of the first ruling on gay marriage at the appellate level since the Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013. Ever since this ruling, judges have been unanimous in supporting the right of same-sex marriage and striking down bans…
In the age of technology there are perhaps too many ways to communicate. Emoticons have become an especially popular way to convey emotions via technology. Now, the use of these symbols can actually be psychoanalyzed. Apparently Daniel Brill, a copywriter for Droga5, has become the “Emoji doctor.” If a person screenshots his or her recently used emoticon, Brill will psychoanalyze this usage, determining the individual’s mental state. This is also dependent upon the emoticons that have been regularly applied while texting.In addition, he will “prescribe” a new emoticon to use after analysis. Brill’s venture is documented on his blog called,…
British actor Gary Oldman, 56, has received considerable heat after allegedly making anti-Semitic comments during his interview on Mon., Jun. 23, with Playboy magazine. Oldman was promoting his new film, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, in his interview. Nevertheless, he went on to denounce certain instances of “political correctness.” During the interview he asserted that it is hypocritical to castigate Mel Gibson for his anti-Semitic comments in 2006 when he was arrested for drunk driving. His rationale was that, “we’ve all said those things.” Oldman continued to explain by saying, “Mel Gibson is in a town that’s run…
Claire Berlinski, an American woman currently living in France, tweeted about being trapped in her bedroom by her own cat on Wed., Jun. 25, morning. Her 10 thousand followers remained intrigued as she detailed her entrapment. Berlinski is a self-described “novelist, freelance journalist, travel writer, and biographer who lives amid a menagerie of adopted stray animals in Istanbul.” She lived in Turkey last year until she left after the Gezi Park protests last year. Subsequently, she moved to Istanbul France and currently lives in the Marais district of Paris. This is where the incident occurred. Berlinski began her story tweeting,…
On Friday, Jun. 20, a young American in Tübingen, Germany was rescued from a giant sculpture of a vagina, weighing 32 tons. Rescuing this student took 22 firefighters. Local newspaper Schwaebisches Tagblatt joked, “forceps delivery was not necessary.” The firefighters explained that they freed the man “by hand and without the application of tools after about 30 minutes.” The artwork by Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara, entitled the “Chacán-Pi” (Making Love) has remained outside of Tübingen University’s institute for microbiology and virology since 2001. It is worth almost $200 thousand. Nevertheless, this is the first time that a student…