Kristen

In the wake of their success with transmogrification, scientists at Calvin Labs have triumphed again with the dog shrinking machine.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Pups

Photo by Mike Windle for Getty Images

On the final day of our first-ever Pet Week (did you catch reader faves like the blogger-pet gallery, dog park map, and Store Sidekicks series?), we invite you to explore new ways to ring in the holidays with your sweet little fur ball. One idea is taking him/her to Beverly Center, where the shopping mecca is currently hosting its annual Santa Pet Portraits service.

A handful of TV stars kicked off the FREE festivities last night, including Beverly Hills, 90210's Jennie Garth (above with her four pups named Pearl, Roxy, Pinky, and Sandy) and E!'s Ross Matthews. Pet portraits are available daily starting now through Friday, November 28th (Mon-Fri 12pm to 8pm; Sat 11am-7pm; Sun 12pm-5pm) and Saturday, November 29th (10am to 9pm). Note that pets must be on a leash or in a lightweight carrier and must be up-to-date on their shots.

Beverly Center also tells us that "Santa may elect to not be in the photo based on the nature of the pet," so unless it's Rudolph, make sure your furry friend is in a tame mood before approaching.
· Beverly Center [Official Site]
· All Pet Week 2014 Coverage [Racked]
· Get Festive: 5+ Free Holiday Haps at LA Shopping Centers [Racked]

Photo by ©Val D'Aquila - https://www.flickr.com/photos/tehchix0r/14776215596


Photo by ©Chuck Olsen - https://www.flickr.com/photos/blogumentary/441128096


Photo by ©Jon Young - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wow/476681911


Photo by ©Vassilena Valchanova - https://www.flickr.com/photos/vasvalch/6337455401


Photo by ©Julie - https://www.flickr.com/photos/yoursecretadmiral/5705960686


Photo by ©Niklas Pivic - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pivic/2933803029


Photo by ©Jenny Ondioline - https://www.flickr.com/photos/idea-saras/7550886762


Photo by ©Andee Duncan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/windysydney/3185127694


Photo by ©Bearden - https://www.flickr.com/photos/beardenb/526984964


Photo by ©Marina - https://www.flickr.com/photos/allmightymo/27189816

catsbeaversandducks:

Cats Who Want to Taste Your Food Just to Make Sure It’s Not Poisoned

archiemcphee:

Statler: “He was doing okay until he fell off the stage.

Waldorf: “Wrong. He was doing okay until he came on the stage.”

LEGO builder grubaluk created this awesome diorama of the lovably disagreeable Statler and Waldorf, sitting in their balcony box seats at The Muppet Show, where they enjoy nothing more than heckling the performers. There’s something particularly pleasing about seeing Waldorf’s bushy mustache and Statler’s shaggy eyebrows in LEGO form.

We hope these two curmudgeons keep Grump Notebooks in their pockets. It would be awful to think of a good heckle when away from the box and have nowhere to write it down — not that being away from their seats would ever stop them from shouting.

[via Leg Godt]

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Southwest Pasadena's Markham Place District is filled to the brim and chockablock with impressive residences erected between 1895 and 1918 by such esteemed architects as Charles and Henry Greene, Sylvanus Marston, Frederick Roehrig, Myron Hunt, and Elmer Grey. Named for its most famous resident, Henry Markham, who was California's governor from 1891 to 1895, the tract was developed by George W. Stimson, who also built this handsome house that's just hit the market for the first time in 40 years. Located on Congress Place east of Orange Grove Boulevard, the 3,544-square-foot Folk Victorian features five bedrooms, four and a half baths, an updated kitchen, a "double parlor," coffered ceilings, hardwood floors, elaborate moldings, French doors, and a gas fireplace. Per the listing, the .56-acre property also contains a "summer house with 3/4 bath," an 1891 barn that's been converted to a two-car garage with storage, and a gated swimming pool. Asking price is $2.095 million.

· G.W. Stimson Victorian [deasy/penner]
· 311 Congress Place [Estately]

It's a deconstructed bowl of pho in burrito form. [ more › ]

[Spiegel via Getty Images]

Evan Spiegel, the Snapchat cofounder and CEO who's so secure in his wealth that he turned down $3 billion in cash from Facebook, has been living at his dad's house in Pacific Palisades for years now. Back in high school, Spiegel's father gave him "carte blanche to decorate the [then-]new home, a privilege that came with the professional decorating services of Greg Grande, the set designer on 'Friends'," according to a 2013 CNET story. The high schooler went with a white leather custom king-size bed and a basement movie theater he could control from his bedroom, but he moved out to his mother's anyway when his dad refused to give him a BMW 535i (his Escalade was not cutting it!). After he'd spent a little time at Stanford and co-created his sexting app, Spiegel eventually moved back to the house in Pac Pal, but now he's finally striking out on his own, all the way to Brentwood.

Variety reports that Spiegel has picked up a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house in Brentwood that was owned for many years by actress Julia Ormond. The 1928 house underwent a renovation in 2012 and Ormond sold it that year for $2.575 million. It comes with a courtyard, dining room, eat-in kitchen, and a patio, and Spiegel paid $3.33 million.

Spiegel's Snapchat cofounder Bobby Murphy bought a glassy house in Venice last year. The pair settled recently with a third cofounder who alleged he was pushed out of the company in its early days.

Updated 11/12: Photos removed at the request of the copyright holder.
· Snapchat's Evan Spiegel Finally Leaves Family Home [Variety]
· Snapchat's Evan Spiegel: Saying no to $3B, and feeling lucky [CNET]
· Snapchat Cofounder Just Dropped $2.1MM On A House In Venice [Curbed LA]

piggyazalea:

sharkeisha:

a lot of people are STILL asking me how Iggy Azalea is racist and homophobic so i’m just going to make a proper post 

in addition to all of this she also calls herself a “slave master” at 0:06 in this video

the amount of notes on this post

After school let out, the only thing more exciting than a Costco-sized box of Pizza Rolls in the freezer was a fresh Delia's catalog in the mailbox. With recent reports of the brand's decline, there's been an outpouring of nostalgia for all those ball-chain necklaces, ripstop parachute pants, and glitter decals, which — though rad by themselves — really came alive thanks to the book's roster of models. Executing silly poses with makeup and hair looks the average 13-year-old could actually achieve, these models not only showed us the true versatility of platform shower shoes, but that the secret to their late-'90s cool was not taking yourself too seriously.

You might not have known the girls by name, but you definitely recognize their faces. There's the brunette with the baby bangs and bob, the tomboy with eyebrows and jaunty poses, the lanky one always in board shorts with the beautiful fro…and then that girl. With mermaid hair down to her waist, a knack for looking both beautiful and weird, Kim Matulova was like your best friend's older sister who skateboarded to high school and always took her student photo with cross-eyes. She's the face we'll forever associate with Delia's. And, it turns out, the real-life Matulova isn't that far from how we always imagined her.

Said Matulova to MTV about her initial casting, "I probably had a skateboard with me. I was skating-heavy at the time." As for shooting those wacky poses, it's just as we thought: "I just always remember it being really fun... We'd be dancing, we'd be jumping all around. I think that I was definitely known for being that girl that made the crazy faces..."

We were also encouraged to hear that the cast of Delia's characters wasn't just something we made up in our heads while noshing on those pizza bagels, but an integral part of the catalog's mission. "As teenage girls, we look for something to kind of idolize and [Delia's] built characters out of us. It was also nice because you could see how one girl or the same few girls could transform themselves and look so different just with clothes and accessories and doing different hair. I think having a set of characters was definitely part of that appeal. You see it today with Victoria's Secret; they have the Angels, and people have their favorite one and buy what she's wearing."

Click through to MTV for a brief walk down Matulova Memory Lane, for her take on those mIxEd cAps Mad Libs, blow-up furniture, and some thoughts on what's inspiring Cara Delevingne. (We have a guess.) (MTV)

Like what you see?How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

15 Ways To Dress For A High-Fashion Party

5 Blake Lively Pregnancy Looks You NEED To Steal Right Now

Inside The Nonstop Life Of A Beauty Mogul

I’ve finally had a moment to sit down and gather my thoughts about the Chanel S/S 15 show, a pleasant stroll down Boulevard Chanel that has essentially been overshadowed by the faux-test, fashion riot and co-opting of feminism that has reverbed into discussion threads far longer and more in depth than any other show of the season, nay maybe the year.  I have to thank Instagram for clarifying my thoughts – not through the endless pictures by attendees, which mostly gave the show a big thumbs up and applauded the genius of Karl Lagerfeld – but by commenters on a little slideshow I made of the picket sign and banner waving finale.  I salute you guys for bringing thought provoking discussion without brainless finger pointing to the land of emojis and likes.

I was ready to dissect it all to try and conclude my own initial feelings of unease and confusion when I first saw the show.  Then I went and read some of the reviews that had gone up.  Vanessa Friedmann, of the New York Times, who has been injecting pretty much every review with a political angle, somehow skirted the issue.  Tim Blanks did add context and colour to his review but gave Lagerfeld a pass because he was remembering 1968.   An interesting Twitter convo between Cathy Horyn (your presence is missed…) and writer Max Berlinger had Horyn answering questions from the public about recent shows.  What did she think of the Chanel finale?

“My knickers are not in a twist. It’s a show!” she replied.

That was a nail in my twisted knickered self.  Had I overthought it and gone too deep into my foggy flu-influenced thoughts?  Should I tra-la-la along and laugh it all off as just a bit of fun at a fashion show?

Well, I’ve thought and re-thought.  The feelings throttling about in my feverish head were real.  When waiting for the show to start, I was catching up on what was happening in Hong Kong on The Guardian.  I was thinking about how proud I was that as a sort-of-HK-er, Hong Kong – a city which I had thought was essentially a slave to the $ and consumerism – had galvanised itself and was fighting back for what is a hugely worthy cause.  I was also still slightly perturbed by the fact that on Sunday night, a Chinese “fan” accosted me in a restaurant, accusing me of betraying my “country” because I had tweeted out my support for the pro-democracy protests – did try and tell her that China was, not in fact my country.  I was incensed and perhaps, slightly raging in my own head.

My head looked up.  Then I saw pretty paint-splattered tweed, rainbow silk and ribbon woven in and out, monochrome metallic pin-striping and the continuation of “street-inspired” casualification of Chanel classics.  All good and well.  They walked down the street in pairs, trios or by themselves, with different hair and make-up treatments.  They were individuals walking down a very busy and Chanel-ified street.  Dress however you want was what Lagerfeld seemed to be saying.  Great!

Then at the end of the show, the silence was broken by a faint yelling.  Cara Delevigne led the way with her loudspeaker, as all the models stormed the mock Boulevard with a mock protest.  Karl Lagerfeld, not holding a placard or banner, walked along coyly as if it were a joke and a ruse.  Some waved their banners and placards with half-baked enthusiasm (woe on models who are required to “act” – they mostly don’t have it in them).  Some were having a laugh with it.  Did they know what they were saying?  I doubt it.  Not with slogans like “Féministe mais Feminine”, “Votez for Coco”, “Divorce pour tous”, “Boys should get pregnant too” and “Tweed is better than tweet.”  What do they even mean?  More to the point, why is pointless activism being used to sell clothes, when elsewhere in the world, real isuses are being fought for with blood, sweat and tears?

I’ll quote some Instagram comments to solidify the point as they were so eloquent.

NonsenseonStilettos: This kind of co-opting of protests and the real concerns that have people out on the street, to drive Chanel’s particular brand of selling things, is in poor taste.

ModernNiche: Perhaps it is admiration of protestors past and present but essentially trivialises the real issues to sell clothes (or more likely beauty and fragrance) sold at some of the highest price point.

When the banners got meatier and expressed a more intelligent feminist sentiment – “He for She” (in arch reference to Emma Watson’s UN speech), “Feminism not Masochism” and “Women’s Rights are More than Alright” the shit really hit the proverbial fan.  Whatever Lagerfeld’s true stance on feminism is, it is difficult to believe the conviction of a uniform cast of women, held up to an unrealistic standard of beauty, waving such banners, whilst wearing clothes that are prohibitively expensive.  Why go there, Karl?  To court controversy?  To get more Instagram likes?  I suspect it’s a combination of both.

Lounawt: It mocks any real struggle, it’s the bourgeoisie dressed up as the proletariat.  The presentation of the feminist movement as trendy or as though we have gender equality.

MelissaKateColeman: Feminism is a flat concept if we don’t use it to discuss current gender issues. In fact it distorts the conversation. This is not starting the conversation on feminism.  It’s a conversation what a luxury fashion brand can and cannot do in good conscience.  Just to be clear, if he’d really addressed issues I would have respected it regardless of his questionable past.  Sadly, he was just paying lipservice.

Some have pointed out the fact that Lagerfeld – he of the controversial and often misogynist quotes – is in no position to even promote the cause of feminism.

MoreModelsofColor: Bullshit.  If you are for all women.  Cast older women, cast more models of colour – four black models is not enough and cast darker black models like Grace Bol, Nykhor Paul, Ataui and Ajak Deng, Ajuma Nasenyana, etc… Cast Indian models, cast more Latinas, cast more Asian models.  Embrace all women.  Have a more diverse cast if you are going to preach about feminism.  Cast plus-size models.  Stop it with racism, white supremacy and all the hypocritical-ness and pretentiousness.

On the flipside,  some, including many big glossy title reviews, did credit Lagerfeld for driving awareness and starting conversations.  I myself had lengthy conversations with fellow editors about the show usually tailing off without any neat conclusion.

SansimAdali: On the contrary I find it beneficial for those who want to make themselves heard.  For example some of you now learned that Turkish women are suffering from gender inequality.  Maybe some of you are now watching Emma Watson’s UN speech #heforshe. I just checked the latest news about #occupyhongkong

I did love all the conversation and discussion that came out of the conversation but what is the final end result – that Chanel gets more bag sales because they “raised” a topic of discussion?

PowItsKim: Awareness isn’t really a valid argument? If there is no follow-up, there is such a great chance of doing more harm than good ultimately.  So he brought up, well, bombarded us with feminism, what are we now to do with that information?  Who is leading this dialogue?  The same skinny white women who are privileged by the system of fashion?

Thud.  There goes that line of defence.

Then there’s the other theory.  Was it all one big satire and was he in fact trolling feminists and political correctness in general?  Or poking fun at fashion designers that take themselves too seriously with their heavy-handed messaging?  Was Lagerfeld in fact acknowledging the real bottom line of why we’re all there to see fashion, which is that we’re all there to flog clothes and anything else is just a diversion?  Then all the discussion is moot and not in fact a positive contribution because they’ve just added to the page views, mentions of Chanel on Google and its search ranking and numbers of #ChanelProtest on social media, which in turn will lead to sales.  Which I’m fine with – that is what brands seek.  We’re all in the game and that’s how it’s played.  That said, it’s the callousness with regard to the real issues of feminism and the struggles going on right this second that makes my head spin.  But yes, what fun!   What larks because Instagram exploded with vids and pics.

And so, yes I have taken it all rather seriously and my knickers are in a big twist, even when I put aside my own personal entanglement with what is going on right now.  It left me in a conflicted position because – and I do want it this to be known – I shamelessly love Chanel.  I love its world and most things it touches with its glossy black, gold-edged, quilted hand.  Chanel’s presence on this blog is a whole-hearted genuine MUAH to the brand without any commercial ties.  Questioning what it does and its impact is demonstrative of how highly I regard it.  This is a house that can affect change if it really wants to.  It can go big on a protest and get behind a solid and genuine cause.  Of course, if Lagerfeld is indeed just poking fun at the idea of fashion effecting change as he did when he prodded the art world in a gallery or made fun of our love of a brand, so much so that we’d try and steal an empty CC-logoed biscuit tin in a fake supermarket, then I have nothing to say to that.  It’s the crème de la crème of all cynical moves that could so easily have been a positive one.

And then my other final final question would be, why all the fuss and the shit-stirring that essentially overshadowed the clothes?  Unlike some of the other Instagram commenters, I quite enjoyed the clobber and when I saw them in the showroom, even more so, because they weren’t hidden by placards or banners.  You saw superb craftsmanship and fabrications of the highest order and just a streamless unfettered indulgence of pretty pretty things (if perhaps a bit unedited).  They’re clothes that could definitely empower a woman but that idea is now dented by the images of those signs.  A woman rich enough to buy Chanel with her own hard earned £/$ will also be smart enough to know when she is being played by a man.  Why couldn’t he just have had all the models walk out with variations on the signs that read “Be your own stylist” and “Be different”- those are strong messages that didn’t get muddled up with all this click-baiting, Instagram trolling and knicker twisting.

dboybaker:

the awakening

gameraboy:

questionableadvice:

~ The British Tripe Council, c. 1952

Mmm… tripe

Attn @petermorwood: Cf. “They’re Happy Because They Eat LARD.”

¡Saludos Amigos!

Disney ¡Viva Navidad! is returning to Disney California Adventure park later this week, but you can get a taste of the celebration now. Chefs at Paradise Garden Grill are cooking up authentic tastes inspired by Latino culture with a special Disney ¡Viva Navidad! menu.

Entrées:

• Torta al Pastor – Fresh made telera bread with al pastor pork, chorizo beans, lettuce, avocado mash, and crema served with tortilla chips and salsa
• Sopes De Barbacoa – Sopes with barbacoa, chorizo beans, cabbage, cotija cheese, and crema served with achiote rice, tortilla chips and salsa
• Street-style Tacos – Three barbacoa soft corn tacos garnished with cilantro and onion served with achiote rice, tortilla chips and salsa
• Ceviche – Fresh fish and shrimp marinated in citrus juices, cilantro, onions, and chiles served with a side of tortilla chips and salsa
• Chicken Mole – Roasted chicken topped with chocolate-infused smoked chili sauce with achiote rice, corn salad and a side of tortillas
• House-made Pozole – Mild chile and pork stew with hominy and oregano served with tortilla chips

Desserts:

• Buñuelos with Cajeta – Two golden-fried flour tortillas dusted with cinnamon sugar, served with a side of cajeta
• Sweet Tamales – A pair of traditionally-made sweet tamales with pineapple and golden raisins
• Champurrado – Traditional Christmas-time Mexican hot chocolate made with chocolate, milk and cornmeal

Kids Meals:

• Kids’ Cheese Quesadilla – A whole-wheat tortilla with melted cheese, carrots, sliced apples, and a choice of small low fat milk or small Dasani water
• Kids’ Power Pack – Includes Dannon Danimals yogurt, a petite banana, whole-grain “fish” crackers, carrots, sliced apples, and a choice of small low fat milk or small Dasani water

Featured ¡Viva Navidad! Beverages:

• Red Sangria
• Corona
• Negra Modelo

Tip: The al fresco seating area of Paradise Garden Grill is the perfect place to enjoy a meal while taking in all the sights and sounds of Disney ¡Viva Navidad!

Authentic Tastes for Disney ¡Viva Navidad! at Disney California Adventure Park by Rachel Brent: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

The ramen trend wants to also revolutionize your make-at-home instant ramen. Whole Foods has started carrying ramen kits from Sun Noodles, which supplies noodles to David Chang's restaurants.

But how do the at-home versions taste? Grub Street asked their college student interns to test them out.

READ MORE »

mama-macabre:

Pakistani salon owner Masarrat Misbah discovered a new life mission ten years ago when an acid attack survivor came to her salon and asked her for help to look better. “When she removed her veil, I had to sit down. There was no life in my legs,” Masarrat recalls in a recent BBC interview. “In front of me was a woman with no face. Her eyes and nose were gone and her neck and face were stuck together so she couldn’t move them.” Determined to help her, Masarrat found doctors to perform reconstructive surgery on the woman but her involvement didn’t stop there — she went on to start a non-profit organization called Smile Again which has helped hundreds of acid attack survivors rebuild their lives over the past ten years.

Masarrat has built one of the most respected salon chains in Pakistan and, since 2003, has not only funded the work of Smile Again but has turned her salons into refuges for women who have experienced such attacks. In addition to paying for their medical treatment, Massarat also teaches the women workplace skills and some have become beauticians at her salons. Two such women, pictured here, are Arooj Akbar, who was set on fire by her husband for giving birth to a girl rather than a boy, and Saira Liaqat, who had acid thrown on her by her then fiancé for refusing to leave her parents’ house.

At least 160 acid attacks have been reported this year alone in Pakistan but advocates believe the real number is much higher. Masarrat believes that the government needs to do more to prevent attacks and help the women affected, stating “Because it is a female-orientated issue, it comes right at the bottom of their [the government’s] priority list. Also, they say it tarnishes the image of our country. This is why it is hushed up and swept under the carpet.”

She adds, “You listen to their stories and the attackers are motivated by such small reasons, sometimes no reason at all, and you think, ‘Is this the world we want to live in?’” For her part, Masarrat is trying to build the kind of world she wants to see by helping one woman at a time rebuild their life.

An estimated 1,500 people, 80 percent of whom are women, are attacked with acid annually around the world. Those attacked are also overwhelmingly young women with an estimated 40 to 70% of the victims being under 18.

Remember when an after-dinner viewing of Unsolved Mysteries was all it took to get the goosebumps going? These days, we're too busy gobbling up stories of killer clowns, horror flicks inspired by favorite childhood games, and TV tales of leg-barbecuing zombies to take much notice of the fact that, hey, life itself is pretty darn terrifying already.

One need only drop into the rabbit hole that is Wikipedia for proof. Historical serial killers, unexplained disappearances, and ridiculously gruesome forms of torture? Not even Stephen King or Ryan Murphy could dream this stuff up. When you consider that all of it actually happened, you'll realize that Hollywood-issue horror has got nothing on some late-night Wiki research.

Behold, 30 of the most spine-tingling Wiki entries we've come across. We clutched our teddy bears, cried ourselves to sleep, and wet the bed so you could feast your eyes on these spooky stories. Nighty night!


Opener Image Designed By Shawna Huang.

Abraham De Moivre

The death of this 18th-century French mathematician reads like something out of an Edgar Allen Poe story. Consider this passage: "As he grew older, he became increasingly lethargic and needed longer sleeping hours. He noted that he was sleeping an extra 15 minutes each night and correctly calculated the date of his death on the day when the additional sleep time accumulated to 24 hours, November 27, 1754." Yes, he was a smartypants math whiz and an expert on the probability theory. But, you know, still eerie.

Axeman of New Orleans

John Wayne Gacy had clowns; the Axeman of New Orleans had jazz. From May 1918 to October 1919, an axe-wielding serial killer terrorized the Italian-American community of New Orleans. In an interesting twist, the killer wrote a public letter stating that he would spare those who were playing jazz. Crank it up!

Belle Gunness

There are Black Widows, and then there is Belle Gunness. Born in Norway in 1859, this six-foot-tall housewife left a trail of dead lovers, husbands, and children in her wake. Eventually moving to the Midwest, the serial killer is supposed to have faked her own death by arson, a crime for which her besotted hired hand, Ray Lamphere, was charged. Lamphere died in prison, countless bodies were dug up on Gunness' property, and no one quite knows just what became of the "female Blackbeard."

Whitehall Mystery

Scotland Yard is used to solving crimes, but, ironically, nobody's cracked the case of a murder that took place on its own grounds. During the building's construction in 1888, police found the dismembered remains of a woman in three different locations. The woman's head, left arm, and right leg were never found, and her identify remains a mystery.

Scaphism

This ancient Persian form of execution almost makes waterboarding sound like a walk in the park. We'll spare you the disgust of going into the very gory details, but let's just say that it involves lots of milk and honey, being stretched, shitting yourself, and being invaded by insects in the worst way imaginable.

Albert Fish

Serial killers don't get much more horrifying than Albert Fish, a.k.a. Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and The Boogey Man. Ultimately executed by electric chair in 1936, the New Yorker was a notorious child rapist and cannibal who also dabbled in consuming his own urine and feces. Rumor has it the monstrous "family man" even fed his victims to his own children.

Mary (Elephant)

Poor Mary was a five-ton Asian elephant who performed in the circus. In 1916, she killed a trainer who was reportedly prodding her behind the ear with a hook. As punishment, the story goes that Mary was first shot five times, then hung in public. During the first attempt, she fell and broke her hip, but died after a second hanging.

Slow Slicing

Skip this one if you're the least bit squeamish. Still with us? Slow slicing was an ancient form of Chinese torture that involved methodically cutting off parts of a victim's body until the person died. After slices of flesh had been removed and limbs severed, the ritual was typically completed with a decapitation — or a knife through the heart.

Bible John

What makes this Scottish serial killer from the late 1960s especially troubling? All three of his rape and murder victims were menstruating at the time of death, and were found with sanitary pads and tampons near or on their bodies.

50 Berkeley Square

Described as the most haunted house in London, this posh address has had reports of ghost sightings for about 250 years now. Though stories vary, one legend has it that the attic is haunted by the ghost of a young woman who killed herself after being abused by her uncle. At least two people staying there have reportedly died of fright, and even former resident — and 18th-century British prime minister — George Canning claimed to have had paranormal experiences there. The townhouse is now home to the Maggs Bros. antiquarian booksellers. Shop at your own peril.

Tom & Eileen Lonergan

The 2003 film Open Water was partially based on the disappearance of this American couple during a scuba diving trip to Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 1998. Their boat left the diving area without the couple on board, but nobody realized the Lonergans had disappeared until two days later. Troubling diary entries sparked speculation of a suicide or murder-suicide, but the bodies have never been found and no one knows for sure what happened to the pair. And, this is why we're never scuba diving again.

Bobby Dunbar Disappearance

In August 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanished during a Louisiana fishing trip with his parents. Eight months later, a handyman was picked up with a young boy believed to be Bobby. Despite the man's claims that this boy, whom he called Bruce, was the son of a female friend, he was jailed for kidnapping. "Bobby" was reunited with the Dunbars, though many accounts say that he had no recognition of his so-called parents, who couldn't be quite sure whether or not he was theirs. Nonetheless, the boy was raised with the Dunbars, went on to have children of his own, and died in 1966. In 2004, his son underwent DNA testing, which showed that he was not blood-related to his supposed cousin, the son of "Bobby's" younger brother. What happened to the real Bobby? We may never know.

Bubbly Creek

Bubbly Creek sounds like a quaint hot springs, but it's anything but. Those "bubbles" for which the Chicago River's south branch was once known were created by methane and hydrogen-sulfide gases from the decomposing entrails and blood that had been dumped there by nearby meatpacking factories. Gag.

Carroll A. Deering

This schooner was found on the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC in 1921, with one thing missing: the crew. The lifeboats, logs, and all personal effects had also vanished. Though the likeliest explanation is a mutiny, the story of the Rio-bound vessel has given rise to Bermuda Triangle conspiracy theories.

Cicada 3301

Though not bloody-murder-scary, there's something rather mysterious and chilling about this cryptology organization. Shrouded in secrecy, Cicada has released three sets of Internet puzzles since 2012 (one per year), with the aim of recruiting cryptanalysts. (Nope, solving " The Puzzler" on Car Talk just doesn't cut it.) No company has revealed itself to be behind the puzzles, and no one who may have solved the puzzles has publicly come forward. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Phantom Time Hypothesis

This one isn't just spooky, it's also somewhat mind-blowing. What if Charlemagne never existed? What if there was a conspiracy to rewrite history and make up dates that didn't actually occur? What if AD 614-911 never happened? What if it's not 2014?

Red Rain In Kerala

People living in the southern Indian state of Kerala were understandably disturbed when blood-red rain started pouring on them in the summer of 2001. Various hypotheses have suggested that the downpour is due to algae spores, debris from a meteor, or even signs of extraterrestrial existence.

Ed Gein

Just about every horror story (including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs) was inspired by the case of Ed Gein, Wisconsin's highly disturbed killer and body snatcher. In addition to killing two women, Gein had a habit of raiding graves and creating his own human trophies. Among his gruesome belongings were a pair of leggings made from human skin, an actual face mask, and a belt lined with the nipples of various women.

Euthanasia Coaster

A ride on this conceptual coaster will be your last. The idea for a steel roller coaster that euthanizes passengers was developed in 2010. A series of inversions would trigger cerebral anoxia, or a lack of oxygen, causing death to those seeking to end their lives. The coaster hasn't been built (yet), but maybe read the warning signs really carefully the next time you hit an amusement park, just in case.

List Of Serial Killers Before 1900

This ghastly list is an exhaustive Who's Who of every baddie from history. Apparently Liu Pengli was the first reported serial killer, with more than 100 victims under his belt. You've also got poisoner Queen Anula, "The Werewolf of Bedburg," and Britain's "Sally Arsenic." A motley crew indeed.

Eva Dugan

Dugan is the only woman to be executed by hanging in Arizona, and the event was so traumatizing the state was compelled to switch to the gas chamber. By all accounts, the convicted murderer was bold and brassy, telling jurors at her trial that, "Well, I’ll die with my boots on, an’ in full health. An’ that’s more’n most of you old coots’ll be able to boast on.” Not quite. Upon her hanging, in 1930, Dugan's head snapped off, rolling towards the gathered spectators.

Oscar (Therapy Cat)

The resident therapy cat at Rhode Island's Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has a special gift: predicting death. As of January 2010, the feline had predicted an estimated 50 deaths, reaching the point where staff members will notify family members if he is seen sleeping in a patient's room. Don't get any ideas, kitty.

Michael Taylor (Ossett)

After a period of erratic behavior, 30-year-old Englishman Michael Taylor was subjected to an exorcism in 1974. The all-night session was conducted by a local Anglican priest and a Methodist clergyman. At 6 a.m., the men let Taylor go home, though they cautioned him that at least three demons (insanity, murder, and violence, obviously) still resided in him. Sure enough, Taylor killed his wife, strangled his poodle, and roamed the streets naked and covered in blood until a policeman found him. He was later acquitted of his crimes on grounds of insanity.

H.H. Holmes

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. That was the case at the Chicago hotel owned by H.H. Holmes, who had the building designed to make murdering his female employees as efficient as possible. The World's Fair Hotel, nicknamed "The Murder Castle," was a labyrinthine construction of windowless rooms, doors leading to nowhere, a soundproof gas chamber, and a secret chute where bodies could be dispatched to the basement. Holmes was eventually caught and executed by hanging in 1896, though it took about 20 minutes for him to die on the noose.

Nine Familial Exterminations

The Persians weren't the only ones who really knew how to punish a person. In ancient China, Korea, and Vietnam, the worst penalty for committing a capital offense, such as treason, was to have all of your relatives murdered. This included the criminal's parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren (over a certain age), siblings, in-laws, uncles, and the criminal himself. The reasoning behind this? Because family members were loyal to one another, each relative was viewed as culpable in a criminal's act of treason.

The Taman Shud Case

On December 1, 1948, the body of a dead middle-aged man was found on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia. In his pants pocket was a scrap torn from the final page of The Rubaiyat, a book of Persian poems originally written nearly 1,000 years ago. The scrap carried the phrase "taman shud," which means "ended" or "finished" in Persian. An autopsy determined that the man, rumored to be a Cold War spy, had been poisoned. To this day, the body remains unidentified and officials have denied recent requests to have it exhumed for DNA testing.

Post-Mortem Photography

In the late 19th and early 20th century, it was common practice to commission someone to photograph your deceased loved ones. Needless to say, the images are supremely sad and nightmare-inducing.

Aokigahara

Might want to scratch this one off your list of things to do and see in Japan. This desolate forest at the base of Mount Fuji, also known as the Sea of Trees, is said to be haunted and is one of Japan's most popular suicide spots. Police conduct an annual body search each year. Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe are set to star in a film inspired by the forest next year.

Greenbrier Ghost

Elva Zona Heaster, a.k.a. the Greenbrier Ghost, was, in a way, the Patrick Swayze of her time. Though the West Virginia native's 1897 death was originally attributed to "everlasting faint," her mother was able to get Heaster's husband, Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue, convicted for her murder. According to Mama Heaster, her 20-something-year-old daughter appeared to her in a dream and revealed that ol' Erasmus had broken her neck. This prompted an exhumation, which proved that, yep, the corpse's neck had indeed been broken.

Winchester Mystery House

This San Jose, California tourist attraction was the home of Sarah Winchester, widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. Story has it that a psychic urged the grieving widow to build a home for herself and the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles. Though the haphazardly designed home is said to be absent of paranormal activity, its unusual design is filled with the kind of superstitious touches you might expect from a woman who believed in ghosts. For example, every Friday the 13th the large bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1300 hours (a.k.a. 1 p.m.).

Like what you see?How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

John Waters Wows The Festival Crowds On New Tour

Liv Tyler Literally Confirms She's Got A Bun In The Oven

Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin Are Really Good At Being Exes

absentlyabbie:

collaterlysisters:

natellite:

madnessinthemist:

sourcedumal:

fuckinginactivity:

queenconsuelabananahammock:

athenagray:

Tweet 1: I can see a lot of people either avoiding Plan B & ending up pregnant or attempting to take multiple doses & getting sick.

Tweet 2: anyone w a credit card (not everyone, I know) can/should use ella ella-rx.com they’ll ship it overnight $45

SIGNAL BOOST. Ella is another form of emergency contraception/the morning-after pill. It’s more effective than Plan B and can be taken up to FIVE DAYS after your mishap, rather than three days. Please spread this around; with all of the anti-choice legislation flying about and how difficult it can be for some people to get Plan B even OTC (like minors, people living in small towns, etc.), this might be the only way a lot of people can get their hands on the morning-after pill.

Boooooost

I’ve also read that Ella is more effective for plus size people.

This is important. Ella works for everyone. Plan B is not effective for people over 176 pounds. Protect yourself

Everyone?

Boosting the shit outta this.

hey collaterlysisters this smells a little like bullshit to me, could i get a second opinion

It’s 100% accurate: http://www.popsci.com/article/science/fyi-why-doesnt-plan-b-work-heavier-women

Ella still loses effectiveness beyond a certain weight; it’s just a higher threshold. I can’t recall the the exact number and am at work, and don’t have a moment to hunt the information down, but definitely thoroughly research Ella if you are choosing it due to the weight restrictions on Plan B’s effectiveness.

It's always more fun to DIY. Every week, we'll spare you a trip to the grocery store and show you how to make small batches of great foods at home.

Today: Dunkaroos may not be available in the U.S. anymore (grieving, commence), but frostable fun is still available for everyone, courtesy of the great Molly Yeh.

Turning down the snack and cereal aisle was like walking into a new school, where everyone spoke another language and I was completely naked.

Who are all of these characters on the gummy snack boxes? Is that a cake-flavored pop tart? Where are the Dunkaroos?!

My heartbeat got louder and louder as an employee headed towards me. “Excuse me sir, do you sell Dunkaroos?” I rehearsed in my head as he got closer and my eyes got wider, the word “Dunkaroos” barely audible out of fear that he would judge me. My eyes followed him as he walked past me without so much as a nod or acknowledgement or reassurance that I was not going to die in this aisle. I frantically scanned for the Dunkaroos, desperate to get out of that place as quickly as possible. I had the sweaty palms of an 18-year-old in a liquor store with a fake ID. I was out of place. I hadn’t been down that aisle in 15 years, easily. I was there for research -- that's what I told myself in order to calm down. Research.

Failed research that had me on eBay that night, ready to bid on Dunkaroos imported from Canada.

Because, news flash: Dunkaroos in the U.S. were discontinued in 2012.

...Can you believe that?

I mean just because my mom never bought them didn’t mean I wouldn’t have them every time I went over to my friend Gracie’s house or that I didn't trade my Applegate salami for them.

More: This is not the first time Dunkaroos have been a contentious issue on Food52.

They were a fleeting part of my childhood, they were likely a part of your childhood, and now, they’re another reason to move to Canada. (The first reason being the butter tart.)

But no need to start fishing for a green card yet: You can make your own Dunkaroos! And pretty darn easily, might I add. All it takes are some cut-out cinnamon graham crackers, frosting, and sprinkles (which you probably have leftover from the time you made Funfetti, right?).

Here, I’ve used a little Dala Horse cookie cutter (so these are actually Dala-roos), but you can use any little shapes you’d like. Of course, bonus points if you can find a little kangaroo cookie cutter.

Homemade Dunkaroos

Serves 4 to 6

For the cookies:

2 cups graham flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla
1 pinch salt
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

In a food processor, pulse together all of the dry ingredients (flour through salt) to combine. Add the butter cubes and pulse until you have a coarse, mealy mixture.

In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide the dough into two parts, wrap each in plastic wrap, and then refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350° F and roll out half of the dough on a floured surface until it's 1/4-inch thick. Cut out small shapes with a cookie cutter and place them 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until crispy, and then repeat rolling, cutting, and baking with the remaining half of the dough. (If you have the oven space, you can bake both halves at once.)

It's important to make sure that the cookies are fully baked. If they're anything less than crispy, they'll have a weird texture that almost makes them taste like they are stale.

Cream together the butter and the cream cheese. Add the vanilla and salt. Gradually add the 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar.

Taste and add more sugar, if desired. Fold in the sprinkles.

Dip a cookie, rejoice, and repeat.

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Molly Yeh

Yesterday country pop princess Taylor Swift dropped her fifth studio album, and to celebrate the occasion, Curbed National has dug deep to find the 27 weirdest things Swift has in her many, many houses. From a fish tank full of baseballs in her New York apartment to "a topiary rabbit, as tall as an NBA shooting guard" in her Nashville pad, Curbed National has the scoop, right this way. [Curbed National]

johndarnielle:

shrimpojess:

clittyslickers:

very into charts about naps

Nap charts guys.

want the NASA nap, but fear I would get stressed out by its proximity time-wise to the Bad Nap

this is all well and good but i believe one must respect naps as autonomous things and wake up when they are over. this is delicate as you must discern the difference between waking up because your nap is over and waking up for other reasons, but the work is worth it both for your sake and for the sake of naps that visit you in your life

sherlockspeare:

(X)

Photos via: Fashionising

Obsessed with the long simple lashes backstage at Paul & Joe S/S 2015.

Get the look:
+ Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Mascara
+ Bobbi Brown 'Surf & Sand' Eyeshadow Palette
+ NARS Contour Blush
+ Bobbi Brown Lip Balm

The days of the humble little Jack in the Box restaurant across from Amoeba Records on Sunset are probably numbered, and it's kind of amazing it took so long—the property's already surrounded on all sides by fancy cafes and gastropubs, Amoeba and Arclight, and the Space1520 hipster mall. The LA Business Journal reports that the half-acre site is going to be sold to RD Olson Development for $13.8 million; the company was one of "six aggressive bidders" and the property was under contract within three weeks of going up for sale; the sellers, who have owned the property "for more than four decades," were surprised by all the excitemenet (which is maybe why they waited so long to sell). There's no word yet from RD Olson about what's going to happen to the site, but, for the price they paid, they're probably going to want to put up a hotel.

The pricetag on the land works out to $581 a square foot; to date, the only more expensive deal in Hollywood was for the property that the TCL Chinese Theatre sits on, which leased for $714 per square foot. "[$581 is] an aggressive price per foot," says one broker, "You can't really make that pencil as an apartment project, but knowing who they are, they probably want to do a hotel project." RDO has developed at least 10 Marriotts and has two more in the works in Pasadena and Burbank.

Jack in the Box opted to extend its lease for another five years before the property sold, so it'll be around until 2019. RDO probably needs about that long to get all its plans together anyway.

And if the plan is to build a hotel, it would be one of at least nine planned or underway, including a 12-story hotel on Wilcox, a boutique hotel on the other side of Cahuenga (about 500 feet away from the Jack in the Box), and the in-the-works, futuristic Dream Hotel up the block at Selma Avenue.
· Fast-Food Site to Serve Up Hotel? [LABJ]
· Boutique Hotel Headed For Cahuenga in the Heart of Hollywood [Curbed LA]
· Hollywood's Dream Hotel Getting Bigger But Reducing Parking [Curbed LA]

追いかけっこ中のまるとはな。
Maru&Hana do tag play.



追いかけられて思わず狭い方から逃げ込んでしまったので――
Maru was run after by her and has entered at the narrow entrance of the mouse.


まる：「あたふた。」
Maru:[Wow, this is too narrow.]


まる：「もたもた。」
Maru:[My body does not go into this. ]


はな：「ねえ、まだ入れないの？ 押し込んであげようか？」
Hana:[Hey, are you ok? Shall I push you?]



ゆっくり入れば入れるのですが、
慌てたので詰まってしまった様子。

段ボール箱はもちろん好きだけど、
つるつるしたプラスチックの箱も好きなまる。
一方のはなは全く入りません。
Maru likes the plastic box, too.

はな：「良さがまったく分からない。」
Hana:[I don't like it.]



まる：「この良さがわからないなんて、まだまだチビですな。」
Maru:[Because you are still a child.]

--------------------------------------------------

「ニャンともな日々」第３回目が更新されました。

UPDATED 10/14: Greater Los Angeles has got something for every filmmaker and every film. Even a derelict old mall in which to go searching for a missing person? Yes, we've got that, in the form of the abandoned and crumbling Hawthorne Plaza, which co-stars in the box-office hit Gone Girl. We've taken a tour before, with the great Tom Explores Los Angeles series, and now a photographer going by HumanSockPuppet (naturally) on Reddit has posted a terrifically eerie photo set (via LAist). Closed since 1999, the Hawthorne shopping mall has had plenty of time to be tagged up and damaged by the elements enough to where it looks like the kind of place where some foul play might go down.

The Gone Girl trailer has a few quick shots where eagled-eyed viewers might be able to pick out Hawthorne Plaza, which has had a lot of screen time over the years—it's appeared in Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Minority Report, The Green Hornet. Oddly enough, Gone Girl's exterior mall shots were taken at an old Panorama City Montgomery Ward, says Los Angeles magazine.

· Abandoned mall, the FULL album [Reddit]
· L.A. Plays the Midwest (and New York) in Gone Girl [Los Angeles]
· Watch: Exploring the Spooky Abandoned Hawthorne Mall [Curbed LA]

Perhaps we've figured out why LA Live owner AEG keeps limping along with its half-buried plans to build an NFL stadium in South Park: sources in the NFL are now saying the league "will send one or two teams back to Los Angeles within the next 12 to 24 months," according to NBC Sports. But AEG might want to check themselves—radio show 101ESPN (via Epoch Times) hears that the St. Louis Rams are definitely moving to Los Angeles and will announce the news after the Super Bowl in February. Rams owner Stan Kroenke recently bought a 60-acre site in Inglewood that could make for a fine NFL stadium, so that story is buyable. But! The NFL is also trying to get Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis to sell his team (possibly to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison!), which could create a path for the Raiders to move into AEG's Downtown stadium. Ok, still with us?

The NBC report says a football team would probably announce its intention to move "in the 2015 or 2016 offseason, with arrangements to play at the Rose Bowl or the L.A. Coliseum pending the construction of a new stadium." Besides South Park and Inglewood, Chavez Ravine (home of Dodger Stadium) is also in the mix, as well as "a couple of locations that have not yet been publicly disclosed." (That lame Industry stadium plan "is not regarded as a viable destination.) And besides the Rams and the Raiders, the San Diego Chargers are on the short-list of teams that could move (back) to LA. The Chargers played in LA briefly in 1960; the Rams and the Raiders both left exactly 20 years ago.

All the new NFL-to-LA buzz arrives just as outrage crescendoes over reports about the widespread and horrible brain damage suffered by players and the possibly disingenuous handling of player Ray Rice's spousal abuse case.
· NFL believes it's 12-24 months away from a return to L.A. [NBC Sports]
· St. Louis Rams Rumors: Relocation to Los Angeles is a Done Deal, Will be Announced After Super Bowl [Epoch Times]
· LA Might Drag Out Dead Attempt to Get NFL to Downtown [Curbed LA]
· Confirmed: The Owner of the St. Louis Rams Just Bought a Potential NFL Stadium Site in Inglewood [Curbed LA]

Actor Alfonso Ribeiro took a break from dance rehearsals to bring his family to Disneyland park to experience a little Halloween Time magic last week.

Minnie Mouse stopped by to wish him luck in his pursuit of the mirrorball trophy as a season 19 contender on “Dancing with the Stars.” It is even rumored that Minnie and Alfonso were seen doing a few steps from “The Carlton!”

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Contender Alfonso Ribeiro Celebrates Halloween Time at Disneyland Park by George Savvas: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog