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She loves freely, but her parents think being gay is against nature. So does India's Supreme Court.

In 2013, India reinstated an old colonial law that affected her life even though she's 8,000 miles away.

"My people are magic, know how to fold into their skin and hold themselves up, know how to fit somewhere they are not welcome, learn how little their humanity is worth and still love so fiercely."
— Arati Warrier

What "people" do you think she's talking about?

In 2013, India reinstated an old colonial law that criminalizes gay sex acts — effectively making it illegal to be gay. Yep. That's the law right now!

But it wasn't always that way. The Indian Supreme Court had reversed that old colonial law in 2009 and, for about four years, being gay was just like most any activity between two consenting adults: legally accepted as a fundamental and constitutional human right.

But now, for Arati and "her people," their very way of life is illegal.

The implications for these kinds of sweeping laws are real and personal.

She talks more about her experience of being gay in Indian culture through her beautiful spoken-word poem. It really started to give me chills about a minute in:

Pop Culture

Folks are admitting that Boomers weren’t totally wrong. Here are 19 things they got right.

OK, Boomer, you're right about this one.

via Patrick Lannigan/Flickr

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

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Science

14 of the funniest photos from the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Funny kangaroos, monkeys and more!

© Jason Moore/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023 and © Tzahi Finkelstein /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, known for being one of the most entertaining photography contests, has just wrapped up, and this year’s top prize goes to Jason Moore for his hilarious and brilliantly captured photo of a kangaroo, cheekily named “Air Guitar Roo.” Not only did this fantastic shot win the overall competition, but it also rocked the Creatures of the Land category, too.

Jason's photo stood out among a whopping 5,300 entries submitted by 1,842 photographers from 85 countries. Moore’s photo of the female western grey kangaroo was taken in the outer suburbs of Perth, Australia when Jason visited a field of wildflowers to snap some pics of the many adult kangaroos and joeys playing there.

“The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured,” Moore said in a statement. “Not many people know that kangaroos are normally fairly docile and even a bit boring most of the time if I’m honest. However, when I saw this roo striking the air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special."

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Education

Sweden’s landmark new proposal will stop the world from mixing it up with Switzerland

Honestly, do you know the difference?

True

After over a thousand years of peaceful relations, European semi-superpowers Sweden and Switzerland may finally address a lingering issue between the two nations. But the problem isn’t either country’s fault. The point is that the rest of the world can’t tell them apart. They simply don’t know their kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumpling) from their birchermüesli (a Swiss breakfast dish).

This confusion on the European continent has played out in countless ways.

Swedish people who move to the United States often complain of being introduced as Swiss. The New York Stock Exchange has fallen victim to the confusion, and a French hockey team once greeted their Swiss opponents, SC Bern, by playing the Swedish National Anthem and raising the Swedish flag.

Skämtar du med mig? (“Are you kidding me?” in Swedish)

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Pop Culture

Trevor Noah laments the loss of 'spirited conversations' and creates a space for having them

"Imagine if discussing how to navigate the minefield was as dangerous as the minefield itself. That's what I feel like we're living in now," Noah says.

Carrick Ryan/Facebook

Trevor Noah launches his "What Now? with Trevor Noah" podcast.

If there's one thing Trevor Noah excels at (besides stand-up comedy), it's talking about hot topics. When Trevor Noah was hosting "The Daily Show," his "Between the Scenes" segments where he chatted with his live audience during breaks often went viral. In these clips, Noah would find ways of speaking about controversial issues in a way that was clear, concise, thoughtful and wise.

With his new podcast "What Now? with Trevor Noah," he's taking those conversations even further.

A video of Noah explaining the premise behind the podcast shared by Carrick Ryan gives voice to what so many people are feeling about social discourse in the modern age.

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Pop Culture

Jennifer Garner's 'embarrassing' reveal of items in her bag is delightfully unhinged

And somehow....still relatable.

@jennifergarner/TikTok

This video is nuts.

Usually when celebrities do a video revealing what’s in their bag, you can almost guarantee that there will be zero traces of any half eaten candy bars, wads of crumpled receipts and other junk items most people carry around everyday.

Instead, viewers can expect a rather aspirational fare—luxury skin products (that said celebrity is a brand ambassador for, no doubt)…top-of-the-line health foods…at least one New York Times Bestseller.

But not Jennifer Garner. No no no. When Jennifer Garner does a purse contents reveal, you can expect something messy, hilarious and oh-so relatable.
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Pop Culture

Heroic sanitation workers save abducted, 10-year-old girl while on their trash route

"I was just doing my job man. I was just doing my job and actually came across somebody who needed help."

via Dion Merrick / Facebook

At 1:30 am on a Monday morning in February, an AMBER Alert went out in southern Louisiana about a missing 10-year-old girl from New Iberia. It was believed she had been kidnapped and driven away in a 2012 silver Nissan Altima.

A few hours later at 7 am, Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine, sanitation workers for Pelican Waste, were on their daily route when they noticed a vehicle that fit the description in the alert.

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