The Trump administration revealed its “extreme vetting” procedures on Tuesday and hoo boy, are they draconian. They’ll require foreign visitors — even close allies like France and Germany — to potentially reveal passwords, phone contacts and even f…
While we like the idea of detaching from the world, there are a lot of gadgets that are just too darn useful to go without. Some of them still need power, but you don’t want to be forced to rely on being near an outlet if you’re trying to live as a hermit out in the woods. The obvious answer would be to rely on solar power, but what if you’re constantly on the move and can’t put solar panels on a roof you don’t have?
There are all sorts of solar-powered charging options to choose from, but the Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator would be all you need to keep running for a while. This is the size of a small briefcase, and has two 10W monocrystalline solar panels that can expand up to 120 watts with additional Pvs. This can be charged through a conventional outlet or car-powered with the replaceable Li-ion battery.
This will hopefully keep your lamps, coffee makers, heaters, flashlights, and more working for as long as you need. Regardless, it would definitely be handy in an emergency situation. It weighs around 13 pounds, so it’s not something you’ll want to put in your bag while backpacking. You’ll need about 15 hours of direct sunlight to charge this completely. It’s not a cheap buy at $574.99, but it all depends on how much you like having your gadgets charged up and ready for use.
Available for purchase on Amazon
[ The Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator keeps you off the grid copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
If you had to replace a beloved actor who unfortunately passed away in the middle of filming a franchise, you might go looking for someone who also had experience in the “long-bearded wizard” department. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., Ian McKellen refused to take up the Dumbledore mantle.
My Mamaw (that’s grandmother for you yankees out there) used to knit all the time. She was big on making blankets with yarn that had enough open space to be terrible at keeping you warm, and were itchy enough to drive you mad. Thankfully she was never into knitting sweaters so I never had to wear that itchy stuff all day long.
An interesting new device has turned up on Kickstarter called the Kniterate, and it could make Grandma’s knitting obsolete.
The computer-controlled knitting machine can make all sorts of stuff like dresses, sweaters, and even shoes, from a wide variety of yarns. It can knit garments in any pattern you can imagine, and is ideal for making one-off fashions or prototype designs for production.
Kniterate’s design application will include pre-made templates for a variety of garment structures, or you can design your own from scratch.
It’s not exactly cheap, with the first batch of machines selling for $4,699(USD). Despite the price, the campaign has already blown through its crowdfunding goal. Shipping is expected to start in April 2018. I only hope its blankets will keep you warm, and it uses yarns that aren’t itchy.
This week we’re having a peek at two of the favorites in the field for budget leader: Lenovo’s Motorola’s Moto G5 Plus and the OnePlus 3T. Both devices are targeted at users who wish to make the most of their cash – and their prices are around the same range. Some points for features go to the OnePlus 3T, and … Continue reading
Earlier this month, Sarah Lawrence College updated its editorial style guide to include gender-neutral language, including “humankind” in lieu of “mankind,” “chair” in lieu of “chairman,” and “they” as a singular pronoun, in lieu of “he or she.”
The latter change is considered grammatically incorrect by some, but the school seems to believe the change is worthwhile. Daniel Trujillo, dean of studies and student life, explained in a statement issued to The Huffington Post:
Sarah Lawrence College is sensitive and supportive of all efforts to make gender equality in language appropriate for women, men and those who are not binary gender. The use of gender sensitive and inclusive language makes all members of our community visible as persons of equal value, deserving of dignity and respect.
He emphasized that this practice ― which is outlined in the school’s editorial style guide ― pertains to internal usage and is directed at students. Still, the school’s choice is part of a wave of changes being made among institutions responsible for distributing information.
At the end of 2015, The Washington Post announced that is now allows employees to use the singular “they” to refer to genderqueer individuals. The publication still preferred that a sentence be recast as plural when possible, so singular pronoun quagmire could be avoided altogether.
And, just last week, The Associated Press issued a similar update to its style guide, writing that subjects who don’t identify as either male or female should be referred to by name, or else as “they/them/their,” if re-wording the sentence isn’t possible.
The Chicago Manual of Style has its own rules for avoiding exclusive pronoun use, too, including restating the noun the pronoun is meant to replace, and revising the clause altogether. As a last resort, “they” may be used to refer to a genderqueer person, but never in the informal, accidental sense, mistakenly referring to a singular unit as a collective.
Not everyone is on board with the changes, for reasons both thoughtful and pedantic. Last year Amanda Hess argued in The New York Times, “It’s precisely the vagueness of ‘they’ that makes it a not-so-ideal pronoun replacement. It can obscure a clear gender identification with a blurred one.” It’s difficult, then, for genderqueer individuals to assert their identity, when the aligning pronoun is oftentimes used in other contexts as a mistake. Less considered arguments, such as Gersh Kuntzman’s at New York Daily News, call the change “tyranny by the uneducated, lazy or merely millennial,” and seem merely progress-averse.
But is the singular “they” really so revolutionary? A professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Illinois, Dennis Baron, compiled a history of singular, genderless pronouns, beginning in the late 1700s. In March of 1794, a writer for The Medley or New Bedford Marine Journal defended the use of a singular “they,” writing, “we wished to conceal the gender.”
Shortly after, in 1808, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wondered in his notebooks, “Whether we may not, nay, ought not, to use a neutral pronoun relative, or representative, to the word ‘Person’ […]”.
The timeline continues, citing regular criticisms of English’s lack of gender-inclusive language. In 1845, abolitionists said the use of “he” to refer to all people impeded women’s success; in 1868, the alternatives “en,” “han” and “un” were suggested by various publications. Defenses of the singular “they” surfaced in local newspapers, and was defended by Ursula K. Le Guin, whose science-fiction stories explore gender fluidity.
If she, and Coleridge, and a bevy of other writers from centuries past, could embrace the pronoun, isn’t it time the rest of us do, too?
type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related… + articlesList=577d1b21e4b0416464114fbc
— 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.
Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of design label Eckhaus Latta recently ignited controversy with images from their new spring 2017 campaign.
The designers got real people (not professional models) to actually have sex for the ads, where pixelated sections leave little to the imagination:
In an interview W magazine, Eckhaus and Latta spoke about the campaign that ultimately ended up crashing their website. Shot by photographer Heji Shin, the ads are supposed to have a non-pornographic approach.
“We were thinking of how we were using sexuality, the relationship between fashion advertising and sexuality—and in very direct terms saying sex sells,” Shin told W.
Latta added, “We weren’t covering people in oil—that’s actually their sweat, you know? We’ve really wanted to play with the principles around advertising, but it had to be authentic and it had to be real people. If it was simulated, it would have really lost the whole intention behind the shoot.”
The hardest part about shooting the campaign was getting people to participate, but with the help of friends and a specific casting director, it all came together within about six months.
“[The participants] were all excited about it, and wanted to do it—and to do it in the context of the Eckhaus Latta ad campaigns. It was actually pretty real,” Shin told W. “Of course, sometimes you have to stage small things, like putting hair on another side. But, other things are very hard to stage—with guys, for example, you have to be quick.”
Despite the supposed commentary on “sex sells” and the intended non-pornagraphic nature of the photos, it’s still extremely difficult to see the Eckhaus Latta clothes that the models are wearing. Perhaps the website crashed because people were trying to see what the spring ‘17 clothes actually looked like?
The HuffPost Lifestyle newsletter will make you happier and healthier, one email at a time. Sign up here.
— 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.
Coca-Cola Co is putting the likeness of Warren Buffett on Cherry Coke cans in China, hoping to benefit from its biggest shareholder’s popularity in the country.
According to its website, Coca-Cola got permission from the billionaire investor to use his image on cans for a limited time, while supplies last. It launched Cherry Coke in China on March 10.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which Buffett runs, is Coke’s largest investor, with a 9.3 percent stake worth roughly $17 billion.
Buffett has many fans in China, which often sends a large contingent to watch him at Berkshire’s annual meetings in Omaha, Nebraska.
Last year, Berkshire webcast its meeting for the first time, and provided simultaneous translation only in Mandarin.
Buffett has often said he drinks five Cokes a day, and joked that he is “one quarter Coca-Cola” because the beverage accounts for 25 percent of his caloric intake.
The 86-year-old told shareholders at Berkshire’s annual meeting last April that he had no evidence he would be more likely to live to 100 if he switched to “water and broccoli.”
— 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 teasing fans about his role as Frederick Douglass last September, John Legend will finally debut his portrayal of the iconic abolitionist on the this week’s episode of WGN’s “Underground.”
During the special episode titled “Whiteface,” Legend will appear as the historical figure alongside a group of prominent abolitionists attending a Philadelphia party hosted by the show’s character Cato (played by Alano Miller), according to a press release for the episode.
Known as a world-renowned leader and human rights activist, Douglass escaped from slavery at age 20 and went on to become one of the most distinguished leaders of the abolitionist movement. He would later document his years as a slave in the 1845 memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, followed by the release of two autobiographies My Bondage and My Freedom in 1855, and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass in 1881.
According to Legend, who also serves as an executive producer of the WGN America network drama series, portraying the legendary author, and orator was a huge honor and humbling experience.
“I looked at it as an honor, to be able to do that, to represent someone that I had been reading about since I was a little kid,” he said during a January interview with Variety. “It’s humbling to take on that role, but I felt like it was a huge honor and I wanted to do what I could to help the show.”
The special episode of “Underground” will air on April 5 at 10 p.m. EST on WGN America. Check out a preview of John Legend’s appearance in the clip above.
— 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.
<span class="articleLocation”>Mylan NV (MYL.O) has been hit with a new proposed class action lawsuit over the price of its EpiPen allergy treatment, which shot up to more than $600 for a two-pack of the device from less than $100 in 2007.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in Tacoma, Washington, federal court by three EpiPen purchasers. It claims Mylan engaged in a scheme with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs – companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers and drug companies – to dominate the market and overcharge consumers.
Although other lawsuits have been filed over EpiPen pricing, Monday’s is the first to focus on the role of PBMs and to bring claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law historically used against organized crime.
Mylan spokeswoman Nina Devlin declined to comment.
The EpiPen, acquired by Mylan in 2007, is a hand-held device that treats life-threatening allergic reactions by automatically injecting a dose of epinephrine. The company now sells a $300 generic version.
The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuit say Mylan paid large rebates to PBMs so they would favor EpiPen over competitors. In helping Mylan control 95 percent of the epinephrine auto-injector market, the rebates artificially inflated EpiPen’s sticker price, resulting in higher costs for many patients, the suit said.
The lawsuit says the three largest U.S. pharmacy benefits managers – CVS Caremark, part of CVS Health (CVS.N); Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX.O) and OptumRX, part of UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) – aided Mylan’s alleged scheme. They were not named as defendants.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages to represent a nationwide class of EpiPen purchasers.
Mylan has grappled with a growing backlash from U.S. consumers over the price of EpiPen in the last year. Other class action lawsuits have been filed against Mylan over the pricing of EpiPen, including two currently consolidated in Kansas federal court. However, they have not focused on the role of PBMs.
The company is also under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and said last September that it had agreed to a $465 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over how the drug was classified for government buyers. The Justice Department has not confirmed the settlement.
Mylan Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch has said that the company makes only about $100 per EpiPen pack, and that most consumers pay less than $50 for a two-pack.
The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuit said Bresch falsely tried to paint Mylan as a “victim” of a flawed healthcare system and avoid its own responsibility in setting rebates.
The case is Rainey et al v. Mylan Specialty LP, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 17-cv-05244.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
— 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.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
