Hasta La Gadget!

An 87-year-old woman had what was no doubt a powerful experience Monday, when she visited the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture to see her childhood home on display for the first time. 

Smithsonian officials invited South Carolina resident Isabell Meggett Lucas and her family to look at the small two-room cabin where she was born, which is now on view in the museum’s “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit, according to NBC News. 

The cabin, where Lucas’ family of 11 lived during her childhood, once stood on a plot on Edisto Island, South Carolina. It was originally owned by Point of Pines Plantation slave owner Charles Bailey, who housed slaves in it from 1853 until 1861. 

Lucas, who lived in the cabin from birth to age 19, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she hadn’t known as a child that it had once been a slave cabin ― it was simply home. 

“It’s my home. We all lived there together and we were happy,” Lucas said.

The full-circle nature of Lucas and her family’s visit isn’t lost on the people behind the exhibit. “This is the most beautiful thing that could’ve happened ― the Meggetts coming forward and visiting us and sharing these stories with us,” said Nancy Bercaw, a curator for the museum.

The Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture opened to the public in September.

— 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.

Last summer, photos of one Orlando Bloom paddleboarding in the buff with then-girlfriend Katy Perry went viral online, leading people on the internet to lose all semblance of chill.

Aside from possibly being embarrassed about the photos, and seemingly poking fun at the incident on Instagram, Bloom hasn’t said much about the photos. But in a new interview with Elle UK, the actor opened up, and even broke the ice by joking about the pics. 

“Are we going to talk about my penis?” he said, before letting out a laugh. 

Bloom admitted the photos took him by surprise, noting, “I wouldn’t have put myself in that position if I’d thought it would happen.” 

“I’ve been photographed a million times in a million ways. I have a good radar,” he added. “We’d been completely alone for five days. Nothing around us. There was no way anyone could get anything. So I had a moment of feeling free.”

When asked if he thought the response to the images reflected society’s double standard ― for instance, if the photos were of a naked woman, there’s a good chance we would have seen plenty of outrage ― Bloom admitted he hadn’t given it much thought. 

“I didn’t take it that deep, darlin’,” he said. “What can I tell you? Note to self: you’re never free. Ha!” 

The actor also opened up about his split from Perry in the interview, telling the mag they’re still friends. 

“It’s good. We’re all grown-up. She happens to be someone who is very visible, but I don’t think anybody cares what I’m up to. Nor should they,” he added. “It’s between us. It’s better to set an example for kids and show that [break-ups] don’t have to be about hate.”

To read more from Bloom’s interview, head over to Elle UK.

— 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.

Julian Lennon wants to inspire kids to love and protect the Earth.

The musician, photographer and filmmaker appeared on the “Today” show on Tuesday to promote his new children’s book, Touch The Earth. The book is geared toward kids age 3 to 6 and takes readers on a journey around the world to help solve environmental problems. 

Lennon is very passionate about conservation. His founded an organization called The White Feather Foundation in 2007 to raise money for environmental and humanitarian causes.    

Speaking to Today Parents in the green room, he explained the origin of the foundation’s name. While on tour in Australia to promote his 1998 album “Photograph Smile,” Lennon met an aboriginal tribal elder, who asked him to bring awareness to the plight of his people.

The leader presented him with a white feather, which gave the artist goosebumps as it brought back a memory of his late father, John Lennon.

“Dad had said to me that if there was a way of letting me know that he was going to be all right, or that we were all going to be all right, it would be in the form of a white feather,” he explained.

“I just thought, well, it really is time to step up to the plate. Let me do what I can,” he added.

Lennon and his father had a strained relationship following the Beatles star’s divorce from his mother, Cynthia Lennon. Still, the author told Today Parents he’s made peace with his past “as much as one can.”

Said Lennon, “Forgiveness came to me a long time ago, on that front. This [book] is about making that connection with your parents and trying to understand how important that is when growing up.”

He added, “Most of my friends have kids … I think today’s modern mothers and fathers are really quite incredible. I think they do a great job and I’m hoping this little book will help that along the way.”

— 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.

While critics were busy debating the merits of “Fearless Girl” ― that diminutive-but-defiant statue strategically placed in front of Wall Street’s resident “Charging Bull” ― the artist behind the old bovine was apparently asking, “What about me?”

According to The Associated Press, Italian-American sculptor Arturo Di Modica is accusing New York City of violating his legal rights by permitting the installation of “Fearless Girl” in front of his bull, without his permission.

Di Modica is expected to explain this accusation in a news conference on Wednesday, his attorney Norman Siegel claimed. The sculptor will be challenging the city officials who issued a permit for the bronze girl to stay until February of 2018, demanding that the city provide documentation behind the decision.

A day before International Women’s Day, “Fearless Girl” first appeared on the Wall Street traffic island, meant to symbolize the lack of women on the boards of U.S. corporations. Designed by artist Kristen Visbal, the statue was celebrated by some as a model of female empowerment and criticized by others as a form of pinkwashing. 

“Wall Street is a traditionally male environment and [the statue] says, ‘Hey, we’re here,’” Visbal told The Wall Street Journal. “To me, it says a woman can be delicate and petite, but strong.”

“Don’t let emotions about this piece of art fool you,” HuffPost’s Emily Peck countered. “That adorable, perfectly irresistible little girl is just a super-sophisticated bit of feminist marketing, used to make us feel good and do little that is substantive.”

Di Modica seems to agree, calling the statue an “advertising trick” created by corporations themselves ― Boston-based State Street Global Advisors and New York-based advertising firm McCann.

Di Modica installed his 7,000-pound bronze bull in 1987, not long after the stock market crash of that same year, The Guardian writes. He did so in the middle of the night, without a permit. Authorities originally removed the work, but later reinstalled it after public outcry made clear that New Yorkers wanted the bull to stay.

Visbal’s work was also installed in the middle of the night, though this time, with a permit. Similarly encouraged by fans, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last month that “Fearless Girl,” initially scheduled to be removed on April 2, would remain where she is until 2018. 

Displeased with that decision, Di Modica is fighting back.

“We’re all for gender equality,” Siegel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union who’s handling Di Modica’s case alongside attorney Steven Hyman, told The Washington Post on Tuesday night. “But the questions are because there are other issues.”

A lawsuit has not yet been filed, added Siegel, who has yet to provide further details. The time of Di Modica’s Wednesday press conference is unknown.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related… + articlesList=58c19095e4b0d1078ca4d223

— 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.

Existing VR systems and experiences are immersive, engaging and sometimes even interactive. But they don’t offer a quick, easy way for you to express your emotions. Medical device maker MindMaze has come up with a novel, compelling way to convey your…