Lifestyle & Arts

Framed “I’m like an interested layperson.” That’s how Nirupa Rao describes her approach to her work. Despite having no formal training in art or botany, Rao combined an inherent talent and innate love for plants to become one of India’s leading natural illustrators. Bengaluru-based Rao grew up in a family that included botanists as well as horticulturalists: her grand-uncle Cecil Saldanha had documented Karnataka’s flora in the ’60s, collecting about 14,000 samples across 5,000 species. So, for Rao, plants were always synonymous with adventure and discovery. As a young girl, she remembers going on picnics, or “expeditions” as the adults would sometimes call them, where the kids would collect berr...

"I was uneducated. I was unread." Florence Pugh has done some reflecting and is now apologizing for cultural appropriation — including a time when she wore cornrows and a beanie "painted with the Jamaican flag colors." Marc Piasecki / GC Images The actor posted a note to her Instagram, where she recalled this moment from when she was 17. "Proud of my Rastafarian creation, I then posted about it the next day with a caption that paraphrased the lyrics to Shaggy's song 'Boombastic'. I am ashamed of so many things in [these] sentences," she wrote, adding that it was "cruel" she "forgot" about it and "had no idea how many people were offended." ...

There were first-time winners in several key categories at the 20th annual BET Awards. Lizzo was named best female R&B/pop artist. She beat Beyoncé, who had won 10 times in this category, including the last six years in a row. Megan Thee Stallion won best female hip-hop artist, beating two former winners in the category – Cardi B, who had won the last two years, and seven-time winner Nicki Minaj. DaBaby won best male hip-hop artist, beating four-time winner Drake, among others. Gymnast Simone Biles won sportswoman of the year for the first time. She beat tennis legend Serena Williams (who had won 12 times in the category, including the last six years in a row). Here are other artists who made history at the BET Awards. Blue Ivy Carter, the eight-year old daughter of...

Country singer Chase Rice is under fire for holding a large concert in Tennessee on Saturday night where fans went maskless and neglected to social distance. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people watched Rice perform at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary — a former prison turned museum and concert venue — in Petros, about 150 miles from Nashville. Chase Rice captured the crowd in his own Instagram story, writing “We back” as he panned the camera across the raucous crowd. Nobody in the footage appeared to be wearing a mask and the fans were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. The re-imagined Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary reopened May 1, and, according to their website, said they “will be observing social distancing guidelines.” Fellow country singer, Kelsea Ballerini,...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

The first episode of HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was released on June 28. The true crime documentary series revolves around Michelle McNamara’s book of the same name. Before her death, McNamara was heavily involved in investigating the Golden State Killer, a serial rapist, and killer who terrorized citizens of California between 1974 and 1986 before going dormant. In April 2018, Joseph DeAngelo was arrested for the crimes, just two months after McNamara’s book was released posthumously. He stands accused of at least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 100 burglaries and is expected to plead guilty on June 29. Who is Michelle McNamara? McNamara, the author of I’ll Be Gone In the Dark, was a television writer before starting her blog, True Crime Diary. On the blog, McNamara ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Rob Kardashian is back and better than ever.  The 33-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star took to Instagram on Saturday, June 27, to wish his big sister Khloe Kardashian a happy birthday. Sharing a childhood photo of the two, Rob wrote, "Happy Birthday Khlo-moneyyyy!! Woohoo ! I LOVE YOU best friend [blue hearts] TONIGHT WE DRINK AS KINGS‼️ (inside joke)." But the photos he shared on Instagram on Sunday, June 28, are what had fans' jaws on the floor.  The notoriously private star shared rare candid photos of himself with sisters Khloe, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian. He also shared a photo of himself with Scott Disick, Tristan Thompson and Tristan's friend Savas Oguz.  In the picture of Rob with the birthday girl and sisters Kylie and Kendall, the father of ...

The BET Awards paid tribute to Willie Brown, the very much alive former mayor of San Francisco, during the show's tribute Sunday night to notable African Americans who have died in the past year. Sandwiched between pioneering actress Diahann Carroll and soul singer Bill Withers, a picture of "Willie Lewis Brown Jr.: Politician" appeared during the show's in memoriam segment. Show producers had wanted to honor "Old Man Willie" Brown, who died in October at 78. The Hall of Fame cornerback played 16 seasons in the NFL, 12 of them for the Raiders in Oakland and Los Angeles. The error was corrected for the replay immediately following the broadcast. Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Brown in 2017. Marcio Jose Sanchez / APThe former mayor and California Assembly speaker is 86 and writes a w...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.