A Saudi princess who fled Paris's luxury Shangri-La hotel in the middle of the night to avoid paying a £5 million ($7.5 million) hotel bill is to have her assets seized in France, a judge has ruled.

Maha Al-Sudairi was caught ordering her entourage of 60 to load scores of suitcases into a fleet of limos outside the hotel at 3.30am in June last year.

She had racked up the vast bill after checking into the hotel six months previously, taking over an entire 41-room floor.

But when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia refused to pay for her stay, she attempted the early morning dash, claiming diplomatic immunity and moving to the nearby five-star Royal Monceau Hotel, near the Champs-Elysees, which is own by "family friend" the Emir of Qatar.

She then left France a month later and has not returned since.

Lawyers for the Shangri-La on Wednesday however won a legal bid at a court in Nanterre, west of Paris, to have her assets in France seized.

She is known to have bought three storage units in central Paris, where she is believed to have stashed her wares from her shopping trips around the French capital – said to include luxury leather goods, artworks, jewellery, and clothing worth up to £10 million.

A spokesman for the Shangri-La said the hotel was pleased at the judge's ruling, but did not expect the bill to be settled soon.

"As far the process of getting paid goes, it's likely to take a long time," he said. "Her belongings will need to be valued and then sold at auction, and even then we may need to take international legal action against the princess before we see any cash."

Princess Al-Sudairi's lavish foreign trips have even proved too much for King Abdullah, who confined her to a palace in the oil-rich state in 2009 after she left a trail of unpaid bills across Europe.

But the ex-wife of Nayef ben Abdel Aziz, the former Saudi Crown Prince, who died weeks after the Paris incident, escaped and headed for France.

Princess Maha has a history of frustrating foreign police forces.

In 2009, she claimed diplomatic immunity, again in Paris , after running up unpaid shopping bills of more than £15 million, including £60,000 on designer lingerie.

The following year, she needed to again be bailed out by her after she ordered £18,000 worth of glassware and silverware from a Paris store.

Her fabulously wealthy credentials meant her IOU notes handed to shopkeepers reading 'payment to follow' were usually accepted.

Over the past years, up to 30 of Paris's most exclusive luxury goods retailers have fallen foul of her credit notes, according to French newspapers.

Jacky Giami, owner of Paris's Key Largo leisure wear store, said the princess and her relatives pillaged his shop of more than £100,000 worth of stock three years ago.

He said he spent days loitering in the bar of the Georges V hotel hoping to confront her, only to learn she had fled to London.

In 1995, Princess Maha was accused of assaulting a servant in Orange County, Florida, whom she suspected of stealing $200,000 from her. No charges were filed.

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Tens of thousands of paintings found in a Bellport, New York cottage are estimated to be worth $20 to $30 million, according Sean Bergin of Long Island News 12.

Discovered by Thomas Schultz and investor Lawrence Jospeh when they bought the home in 2007, the artwork was supposed to have been trashed years before. The artist who painted them, Arthur Pinajian, had left instructions for his family members to take the paintings and journals to the Brookhaven Town Landfill after he died.

They never did, and both Schultz and Joseph decided to restore and frame the works after purchasing them from the family for a measly $2,500, Bergin reports.

Peter Hastings Falk, a New York art appraiser and art historian, says that all of the paintings and journals kept by the little-known artist could be worth up to $30 million dollars today.

Some of the pieces have already sold for $500,000, according to AP.

The remainder of the re-framed paintings can be found at Bellport's Gallery 125 owned by Schultz, who also currently lives in the artist's cottage with his family.

SEE ALSO: 15 New Sculptures, Paintings, And Photos That Have The Art World Buzzing

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The residential real estate industry has moved online — real estate-related searches on Googlehave grown more than 250 percent in the past four years, and 90 percent of house hunters now look online, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors.

As a result, there are now more than 130 companies creating technology intended to make the process easier for buyers and sellers, from online brokerages to home-showing tools.

Paul Knegten of Amitreecategorized these companies into a cool graphic on the company's Fixing Real Estate blog, which you can see below (he notes that the ecosystem around mortgages is not included).

He told us that while the field is still messy, fragmented, and behind the times, the fact that companies are popping up to try and "fix" the real estate process is a positive sign.

"For the first time, there is starting to be a healthy M&A market for new startups as a result of the IPOs and growth of Trulia and Zillow," Knegten wrote to us in an email. "This chart is going to grow and multiply as more of these deals get done, more VC funding flows into the space, and more innovation spurs real change in real estate tech."

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At a meeting of the Beijing delegates during China's National People's Congress, a journalist asked a question about air pollution that lasted over 3-minute mark, and saw her almost break down in tears numerous times.

The delegates response? Nothing at all.

Liz Carter, an active China watcher who tweets at @withoutdoing, put subtitles on a video of the confrontation. We've embedded below.

Beijing and over large Chinese cities have recently been hit with serious smog problems, which have been declared "hazardous" by air monitors. Online, many Chinese netizens have been criticizing the government for doing too little to stem the problems — Carter says the video has been trending on Weibo today.

Air quality is just one of many areas where Chinese citizens accuse their government of favoring progress over the environment. Recently one Chinese entrepreneur offered an official $32,000 to swim in a polluted river for 20 minutes.

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The owners of the most expensive estate on Nantucket are having a tough time selling.

They have dropped the price tag on the property from $59 million to $47.5 million, Curbed Cape Cod reports.

The 70-acre property, called Swain's Neck, is being sold by the estate of the late Russell Dale Phelon, who made his fortune in the engine electronics business.

It was briefly taken off the market over the winter, and is now listed with Great Point Properties.

In addition to a 7,800-square-foot mansion, the estate has two moorings and two gated horse pastures.

Welcome to the most expensive estate on Nantucket.

It's totally secluded on a private peninsula.

The late owner purchased the home in 1997 for $7.15 million.

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Columbia University has issued a release denying that its dining halls were spending $5,000 a week on Nutella.

The internet was abuzz today about a report from the Columbia Spectator's Cecilia Reyes which claimed that students were plundering Nutella from campus dining halls.

The report said that the university was spending $5,000 per week to keep up with students' Nutella-hoarding habits, and that whole jars were going missing.

Now, Columbia says that the number was severely exaggerated.

It says that the actual cost was $2,500, because of a 3-4 day period right after Nutella was added to the dining halls, and that number "quickly" declined to around $450 per week.

Here's the press release issued by Columbia University:

NUTELLA-GATE EXPOSED:  It’s a Smear! Says Columbia

Columbia University officials today denied press reports claiming that campus dining halls were running rivers of nut-brown ink to the tune of $5,000 per week in allegedly pilfered Nutella.

Columbia Dining Services emphasized the mundane fact that the ongoing weekly cost of Nutella supply is actually less than one-tenth the purported amount originally reported on a student blog and quickly picked up by other media.  It is true that in the first 3-4 days after Nutella was recently added to the dining hall selections, demand was indeed extraordinarily high, with students enjoying a large amount in that initial short period.  However, the actual cost was only about $2,500, and quickly went down to $450 per week for dining halls that serve some 3,600 students, seven days a week at three locations.  Ironically the media attention to Nutella-gate has cut down on the amount people have been taking in recent days.

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Most people's fears about flying are unfounded: It's a remarkably safe form of travel, especially on large, commercial airlines.

But for anyone headed to Bhutan, a little fear of air travel is totally justified. The small country's only international airport is called Paro, and like the rest of the mostly Buddhist kingdom, it is nestled among the Himalayan Mountains.

Bhutan, whose neighbors include China and India, held its first general election just five years ago, after converting from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one.

Despite some changes, the country has preserved much of its traditional Buddhist culture, a big draw for the tourists who come from around the world to explore its majestic mountains and centuries-old monasteries.

But the 18,000-foot mountains surrounding Paro, plus its unusually short runway, make getting there a scary proposition: Takeoffs and landings are among the world's most difficult, and very few pilots are qualified to land there, according to the Daily Mail.

But for those who can get their hands on a tourist visa (not the easiest task) and handle their fear, a trip to Paro also offers breathtaking views of some of the world's most beautiful mountains, and one of the only ways to visit one of world's happiest countries.

The runway is short, with little space on either side.

The Google Maps satellite view shows it is nestled among the Himalaya Mountains.

One Google reviewer says there's one duty free shop and a small beverage counter, but "sweet and hospitable security and one of the most charming airport buildings ever."

[Source: Google Review]

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While five star hotels offer great amenities, vacation rentals can provide a more exclusive and unique experience.

And some of them are entirely out of this world.

We're taking a look at 12 architecturally stunning rentals available on Luxury Retreats, a luxury villa vacation company with more than 2,000 properties.

Villa Sapi, in Lombok, Bali, has nightly rates starting at $950. With a main house, guest house, and five bedrooms in total, Villa Sapi is perfect for a large family or group of friends. It has beautiful landscaping with fishponds and gardens leading down to a white beach.

Click here to see the listing.

Tranquility Villa in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, has nightly rates starting from $4,700. This property has three free-standing pavilions, each with its own master suite. It comes with an on-site cook, infinity-edged pool, and is only a five-minute walk from the beach.

Click here to see the listing.

Casa Kimball, in Cabrera, Dominican Republic, starts at $2,400 each night. It has eight bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms and is great for a group of up to 20. It has its own swimming pool and a chef to prepare delicious meals every day.

Click here to see the listing.

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On the heels of his success with Noma, the Danish restaurant that holds the title of "best restaurant in the world," owner Claus Meyer could have opened a copycat kitchen anywhere in the world.

Instead, he decided to open a restaurant in La Paz, Bolivia — a city where haute cuisine is practically nonexistent, according to Bloomberg Pursuits' Ryan Sutton.

Gustu, which is slated to open next month, will serve a $260 tasting menu for two, far less than the $900 price tag at Noma but much more than the average Bolivian could afford.

Meyer's target audience is embassy workers, bankers, and gastrotourists who are willing to endure the 12-hour flight from New York to La Paz to feast on a Bolivia-sourced menu.

Sutton was skeptical that Gustu would entice travelers, despite its pedigree. But after getting a preview of a meal there, which included chicharrones, a singani cocktail with local liquor, and a llama shoulder poached in butter for 14 hours, he was convinced otherwise.

It sounds like Gustu will definitely be the next destination for adventurous foodies to add to their bucket lists.

SEE ALSO: This Is What It's Like To Eat Dinner At The Best Restaurant In The World

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Skytrax ranked Singapore Airlines the best economy class airline in the world in this year's World Airline Awards.

I recently flew economy class from New York City to Singapore (with a stop in Frankfurt) on Singapore Airlines, and saw for myself why the airline gets rave reviews.

What really helps the airline stand apart is not the seats or the food or even the entertainment (though it has all that), but the service. People who work for the airline are trained to treat passengers with respect and care — something that's increasingly unusual these days.

We thought the day-long trip to Singapore would be unbearable. But even in economy class, it was surprisingly pleasant.

Disclosure: Our trip to Singapore, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.

From the moment I stepped on the plane, flight attendants greeted me by saying "Welcome aboard" before guiding me to my seat.

Like most airplanes, you have to walk through business class before entering economy. It's easy to get jealous of the large, comfortable reclining seats and private pods.

Even in coach, the seats were fairly spacious. Each passenger gets a nice fluffy pillow and fleece blanket.

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Dozens of customers became sick after eating at Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant that has held the title of "world's best restaurant" for several years running, Christian Wenande at The Copenhagen Post reports.

Danish food authorities inspected the restaurant in late February after learning that guests had become ill with Roskilde Sickness, a norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, The Copenhagen Post reported.

63 out of 78 guests who dined in the restaurant over a four-day period became sick, authorities found.

The food poisoning appeared to stem from poor hygiene in the kitchen. According to The Copenhagen Post:

"There has been illness among staff who have handled the food products,” [national food authority] Fødevarestyrelsen wrote in its report. “The inspection visit was due to guests complaining of vomiting and diarrhoea.”

Fødevarestyrelsen went on to criticise Noma for not disinfecting the kitchen in time in order to prevent the contagion from spreading. It also discovered that there was no hot water in the taps that staff used to wash their hands.

Dinner for two at the restaurant, which is known for its innovative tasting menu of Nordic cuisine and "foraged" ingredients, can cost upwards of $900 with wine.

Claus Meyer, the owner of the acclaimed restaurant, is in the process of opening a second eatery in La Paz, Bolivia.

SEE ALSO: This Is What It's Like To Eat Dinner At The Best Restaurant In The World

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The "models and bottles"  lifestyle of NYC's club crowd are evolving as venues seek a more egalitarian atmosphere.

Take the newly revamped Marquee in Chelsea, which has fewer tables and a bigger dance floor.

Sure, the same bankers and pretty girls will flirt around their reserved bottle service table, but there's also a new line for prepaid ticket holders waiting to get in the door and see the DJ, The New York Post's Hardeep Phull reports.

In that line, no one cares what clothes you're wearing, what you look like, or how big your wallet is. You bought a $30 ticket, so you'll get in the door.

"The first time around, Marquee was geared strictly toward the celebrity crowd and the people who were too cool for school," club co-owner Jonathan Schwartz told the Post. "Now it's more of a hybrid where fans can be in the space with the VIPs."

And it's not just in Manhattan. Williamsburg's new club Output bills itself as a place with no bottle service, no doormen, no nonsense. Via the club's FAQ page: "Output is open to anyone, but is not for everyone. Output welcomes individuals who value the communal experience of music over cameras and bottle service."

Business Insider's Linette Lopez attended the opening of the new club, and described the scene:

There was no hassle at the door. This is an important thing to many New Yorkers, and this is what many of them have been waiting to see at a proper, large-scale club…You do not go to Output to be seen. You go to dance.

The music and dance scenes are now the major selling point at Output, Marquee, and the soon-to-be-opened Space nightclub in Manhattan. It appeals beyond the Wall Street-types and model-esque women to the music nerds, tourists, hipsters, dancers, and club rats willing to shell out $30 to get in and hear great music.

It looks like the era of pretty girls and bottle service is ending, and the huge dance clubs like Palladium, Roxy, and Limelight from the '80s and '90s are back in style.

Don't Miss: STUDIO TOUR: The Design Firm Behind New York's Hottest Nightclubs

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WATCH: How To Make A Bacon Bowl 

The Denny's Baconalia menu is coming back.

Unfamiliar with the Baconalia festival?

Well, back in 2011, Denny's announced the first version of Baconalia — a bacon-focused menu that went viral. It was a huge success, according to the company.

The folks at Foodbeast were lucky enough to be able to partake in the revamped bacon frenzy before it's unleashed on America on March 12.

It will likely run for two to three months and feature 12 dishes.

Here's what they tried:

• Caramel Bacon Stuffed French Toast— French toast sandwich with a layer of white chocolate spread and bacon, topped with caramel sauce and diced bacon, with a side of two eggs and two more hickory-smoked bacon strips
• Ultimate BLT— sandwich with four strips of pepper bacon, spring greens, tomatoes, avocado and a creamy pepper spread on toasted sourdough
• Spicy Pepper Bacon Jack Burger— beef patty with two pepper bacon strips, Pepper Jack cheese, jalapenos, and chipotle sauce
• Ultimate Bacon Breakfast— six strips of hickory-smoked bacon, two eggs and hash browns
• Bacon Pepper Jack Tilapia— grilled tilapia with fresh spinach sauteed with diced bacon and pico de gallo, topped with Pepper Jack cheese sauce with two sides and bread
• BBQ Bacon Mac N' Cheese Bites— bacon bits mixed into six macaroni and cheese bites, with BBQ sauce and a side of Pepper Jack cheese topped with bacon
• Maple Bacon Milkshake— vanilla ice cream, maple-flavored syrup, bacon, and whipped cream
• Maple Bacon Sundae— vanilla ice cream with hickory-smoked bacon, a layer of syrup and ice cream, and another layer of bacon
• Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae with Bacon— salted caramel brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and bacon

They said that the Caramel Bacon Stuffed French Toast and the Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae as the best new items they tasted.

And Foodbeast's Charisma Madarang tells us that the bacon sundae is "just too much good."

Be sure to check out photos of all these dishes at Foodbeast >

SEE ALSO: Taste Test: Burger King's Bacon Sundae >

SEE ALSO: Here's How Much Bacon You Need To Eat To Die Young >

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Copenhagen restaurant Noma has been called the "world's best restaurant" by Restaurants magazine for several years running.

The kitchen, run by executive chef René Redzepi, serves a reinvented version of Nordic cuisine with a focus on ingredients foraged from the nearby forests and shores.

The two-Michelin-starred restaurant received a bit of bad press this week when it was reported that dozens of diners got sick after eating there, apparently due to poor kitchen hygiene.

One thing is for sure: a meal at Noma is completely out of the ordinary. Guests are treated to a parade of small plates, most of which bear little resemblance to recognizable food. The tasting menu costs $260 a head, and the wine pairing is an additional $175.

Some good news for folks who have dined at Noma and loved it: The concept is expanding to La Paz, where owner Claus Meyer is opening a high-end restaurant similarly dedicated to elevating Bolivian cuisine.

Jose Moran Moya, a foodie who takes gorgeous photos of his meals for his blog Spanish Hipster, was lucky enough to eat at Noma last year. He shared pictures of his Noma feast with us.

The first appetizer was actually hidden in the table arrangement. It consisted of malt flatbread and juniper.

See more of Moya's photos at Spanish Hipster

Next up, "moss and cep,"—fried reindeer moss and mushrooms.

See more of Moya's photos at Spanish Hipster

Crispy pork skin and black currant. Moya described it like "a fruit roll up getting it on with a chicharrones (Spanish fried pig skin) ."

See more of Moya's photos at Spanish Hipster

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Ferrari has confirmed its new LaFerrari flagship supercar has already racked more than a thousand requests, despite its asking price being well over a million dollars (the final figure is yet to be announced).

Unfortunately, Ferrari has chosen to limit production to just 499 examples, which means there will be a lot of disappointed millionaires out there.

This means anyone lucky enough to have secured a build slot can look forward to their cars appreciating in value — before they have even been built.

Ferrari’s flagship supercars typically hold their value over time, and in many cases they rise dramatically as car fans and even investors bid up their prices.

Recently in the Financial Times, a number of assets were analyzed to see which gave the best growth over the last 10 years. The best performing assets turned out to be gold and classic cars of significant importance, with the latter offering a return of 395 percent.

With attributes such as this, it’s little surprise that Ferrari’s ‘special series’ cars are regularly sold out before they’re even announced. Unfortunately, just having the money to buy one is no guarantee that you’ll be offered the opportunity.

Ferrari invites only its most loyal customers to place an order. Getting on this list is no easy task as it usually means having already bought several of Ferrari’s cars, and importantly, still owning some of them.

For the budding collectors out there, cars with global appeal and documented histories general do well, especially if they were built in limited quantities--something the LaFerrari meets in most regards.

Code named the F150, the LaFerrari made its debut on Tuesday at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. It is powered by a hybrid drivetrain that pairs a V-12 engine with Ferrari’s own HY-KERS hybrid setup designed to boost output and lower emissions. Peak output is 950 horsepower and “more than” 660 pound-feet of torque, which will ensure the car reaches 60 mph in under 3.0 seconds, 186 mph in 15 seconds and allow a top speed above 217 mph.

For our complete coverage on the new Ferrari LaFerrari, click here.

SUPERCAR BATTLE: McLaren's P1 Vs. Ferrari's LaFerrari

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Turns out the faux fur on fashion designer Marc Jacobs' clothing may not actually be so "faux" after all.

According to a new report from the Humane Society and NY State Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), the popular discount department store Century 21 in New York City was caught selling Marc Jacobs "faux fur" jackets that were actually made with hair from raccoon dogs, an East Asian canine species.

The undercover investigation also found that the big-name NY store sold an unlabeled infant sweater that contained rabbit fur, the Humane Society said.

In September 2012, Humane Society investigators purchased three Marc by Marc Jacobs jackets online that advertised their trim as "faux fur." Upon laboratory testing, it was determined the made-in-China trim was actually from a raccoon dog, according to the Humane Society.

Century 21 responded with the statement, “Century 21 does not create garment labels, the manufacturers do." Marc Jacobs had not released a public statement at the time of this post.

Under the federal Fur Products Labeling Act, all clothing trimmed with animal fur must provide not only the name of the animal on the tag, but the country in which the animal was killed. It is a violation to misidentify the species of animal fur.

"The Humane Society of the United States is releasing these findings during National Consumer Protection Week to warn consumers that animal fur, including from raccoon dogs who may be skinned alive in China, is being sold unlabeled or as faux fur," Pierre Grzybowski, research and enforcement manager of the fur-free campaign for The HSUS, said in a press release.

Check out the undercover investigation at Century 21 below.

Don't Miss: QUIZ: Can You Spot The Knock-Off Handbags, Shoes, And Gadgets?

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Excuse me while I play the cranky feminist for a minute, but I'm disheartened every time I sign into Facebook and see a list of female names I don't recognize.

You got married, congratulations! But why, in 2013, does getting married mean giving up the most basic marker of your identity? And if family unity is so important, why don't men ever change their names?

On one level, I get it: people are really hard on married women who don't change their names. Ten percent of the American public still thinks that keeping your name means you aren't dedicated to your marriage. And a full 50% of Americans think you should be legally required to take your husband's name.

Somewhere upwards of 90% of women do change their names when they get married. I understand, given the social judgment of a sexist culture, why some women would decide that a name change is the path of least resistance.

But that's not what you usually hear. Instead, the defense of the name change is something like, "We want our family to share a name" or "His last name was better" or "My last name was just my dad's anyway" – all reasons that make no sense. If your last name is really your dad's, then no one, including your dad, has a last name that's actually theirs.

It may be the case that in your marriage, he did have a better last name. But if that's really a gender-neutral reason for a name change, you'd think that men with unfortunate last names would change theirs as often as women do. Given that men almost never change their names upon marriage, either there's something weird going on where it just so happens that women got all of the bad last names, or "I changed my name because his is better" is just a convenient and ultimately unconvincing excuse.

Not that I'm unsympathetic to the women out there who have difficult or unfortunate last names. My last name is "Filipovic." People can't spell it or pronounce it, which is a liability when your job includes writing articles under your difficult-to-spell last name, and occasionally doing television or radio hits where the host cannot figure out what to call you. It's weird, and it's "ethnic," and it makes me way too easily Google-able. But Jill Filipovic is my name and my identity. Jill Smith is a different person.

That is fundamentally why I oppose changing your name (and why I look forward to the wider legalization of same-sex marriage, which in addition to just being good and right, will challenge the idea that there are naturally different roles for men and women within the marital unit). Identities matter, and the words we put on things are part of how we make them real. There's a power in naming that feminists and social justice activists have long highlighted. Putting a word to the most obvious social dynamics is the first step toward ending inequality. Words like "sexism" and "racism" make clear that different treatment based on sex or race is something other than the natural state of things; the invention of the term "Ms" shed light on the fact that men simply existed in the world while women were identified based on their marital status.

Your name is your identity. The term for you is what situates you in the world. The cultural assumption that women will change their names upon marriage – the assumption that we'll even think about it, and be in a position where we make a "choice" of whether to keep our names or take our husbands' – cannot be without consequence. Part of how our brains function and make sense of a vast and confusing universe is by naming and categorizing. When women see our names as temporary or not really ours, and when we understand that part of being a woman is subsuming your own identity into our husband's, that impacts our perception of ourselves and our role in the world. It lessens the belief that our existence is valuable unto itself, and that as individuals we are already whole. It disassociates us from ourselves, and feeds into a female understanding of self as relational – we are not simply who we are, we are defined by our role as someone's wife or mother or daughter or sister.

Men rarely define themselves relationally. And men don't tend to change their names, or even let the thought cross their mind. Men, too, seem to realize that changing one's name has personal and professional consequences. In the internet age, all the work you did under your previous name isn't going to show up in a Google search. A name change means a new driver's license, passport, professional documentation, the works. It means someone trying to track you down – a former client, an old classmate, a co-worker from a few years back with an opportunity you may be interested in – is going to have a tough time finding you. It means lost opportunities personally and professionally.

Of course, there's also power in a name change. Changing your name if, for example, you change your gender presentation makes sense – a new, more authentic name to match the new, more authentic you. But outside of the gender transition context, marriage has long meant a woman giving up her identity, and along with it, her basic rights. Under coverture laws, a woman's legal existence was merged with her husband's: "husband and wife are one," and the one was the husband. Married women had no right to own property or enter into legal contracts. It's only very recently that married women could get their own credit cards. Marital rape remained legal in many states through the 1980s. The idea that a woman retains her own separate identity from her husband, and that a husband doesn't have virtually unlimited power over a woman he marries, is a very new one.

Fortunately, feminists succeeded in shifting the law and the culture of marriage. Today marriages are typically based on love instead of economics. Even conservative couples who still believe a husband should be the head of the household have more egalitarian marriages than previous generations, and are less likely than their parents or grandparents to see things like domestic violence as a private matter or a normal part family life.

Unfortunately, despite all of these gains, the marital name change remains. Even the small number of women who do keep their names after marriage tend to give their children the husband's name. At best there's hyphenation. That's a fair solution, but after many centuries of servitude and inequality, allow me to suggest some gender push-back: Give the kids the woman's last name.

Allow me to suggest an even stronger push: If it's important to you that your family all share a last name, make it the wife's. Yes, men, that means taking your wife's name. Or do what this guy did and invent a new name with your wife. And women, if the man you're set to marry extols the virtues of sharing a family name but won't consider taking yours? Perhaps ask yourself if you should be marrying someone who thinks your identity is fundamentally inferior to his own.

The suggestion that men change their names may sound unfair given everything I just wrote about the value of your name and identity, and the psychological impact of growing up in a world where your own name for yourself is impermanent. But men don't grow up with that sense of psychological impermanence. They don't grow up under the shadow of several thousand years of gender-based discrimination. So if you'd rather your family all shared a name, it actually makes much more sense to make it the woman's. Or we can embrace a modern vision of family where individuals form social and legal bonds out of love and loyalty, instead of defining family as a group coalesced under one male figurehead and a singular name.

At the very least, everyone keeping their own name will make Facebook less confusing.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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This is the Kogeto Dot for iPhone 4, 4S, and 5.

Why We Love It: The Kogeto Dot is an attachable video camera for your iPhone that records 360 degree footage. Not only does it let you get panoramic shots, but there's an interactive video component, too.

It snaps easily to your phone, and you can shoot the video or take pictures through the Kogeto app that lets you post to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or anywhere else. Just swipe to swivel wherever you want the lens to focus.

And as if you needed more reason to buy one, Shaq endorses it, too:

Where To Buy: Available on OpenSky and Amazon.

Cost: $49.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

SEE ALSO: Charge Devices Anywhere In The World With This Portable Solar Panel

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Over at 3D graphics blog CGTrader, they've rounded up an eclectic collection of computer-generated images of women for International Women's Day.

Some are humorous and cartoony, but some are borderline photorealistic.

We've gathered some of the most impressive displays 3D graphics for you here.

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Real estate investors are complaining that distressed opportunities in Manhattan have become much harder to find in recent months.

Of the $29.9 billion in distressed assets identified in Manhattan after the financial crisis, 74 percent have been worked out, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. Just $3.3 billion in Manhattan assets went into distress in 2012, while $6.1 billion in distressed assets was worked out.

However, there is still debt to be found in Manhattan. The borough’s 10 most distressed properties account for more than $4 billion in debt, according to data provided to The Real Deal by analytics firm Trepp. Among those 10 properties are longtime distressed apartment complexes, such as Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village and Harlem’s Riverton Apartments. But the list also includes owners whose portfolios are usually associated with profit, such as Gary Barnett of Extell Development and SL Green. Read on for the full list.

Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village: $3B

A distressed first mortgage at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in the East Village accounts for a significant chunk of Manhattan’s distressed property debt all on its own. Holders of the senior mortgage at the rental complex, formerly owned by Tishman Speyer and now controlled by CWCapital Asset Management, are owed $3 billion, according to Trepp’s data, while another $1.4 billion is owed to the holders of the mezzanine debt. Tishman paid a record $5.4 billion to Metlife for the complex in 2007 and defaulted on the mortgage in 2010.

The mammoth affordable housing compound was reportedly valued at $3.2 billion late last year, a $400 million improvement over its last appraised valuation, but the property’s bondholders need to sell the property for a minimum of $3.4 billion to break even.

CWCapital may be getting closer to selling the property, thanks in part to the recent settlement of a lawsuit brought by tenants of the complex against Tishman and MetLife in 2007. Tenants claimed the owners improperly deregulated the rent-stabilized apartments while taking J-51 tax benefits. The deal is worth an estimated $147 million but must still be approved by a state judge.

The Belnord at 2360 Broadway: $375M

Extell Development’s 215-unit rental property, which spans the entire block from West 86th to West 87th streets between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, has been in financial trouble since the company stopped making loan payments on the building in May 2011. The $375 million loan on the property is currently more than 90 days delinquent, according to Trepp’s data.

The building’s problems stem from a decision made by Extell in 2006 to consolidate the property’s existing debt into a $375 million interest-only loan, which was then sold to investors as part of a package of commercial mortgage-backed securities, as previously reported. Extell’s debt service soon far outpaced the building’s revenue, which was held back by a 2009 state appeals court ruling forbidding landlords from raising rents above certain levels if they had participated in the city’s J-51 tax abatement program. The loan was transferred to a special servicer in 2011.

In response to an email from The Real Deal, Barnett said only that he was “hopeful that [the company] will have a mutually satisfactory conclusion with the lender.”

Riverton Apartments at 2171-2200 Madison Avenue: $225M

When a joint venture between Laurence Gluck’s Stellar Management and private equity giant the Rockpoint Group bought this Harlem apartment complex in 2005 for $132 million, they secured a $105 million mortgage. When they refinanced that mortgage with Deutsche Bank in 2006 — with an eye toward renovating the complex — they more than doubled the debt on the property to $250 million.

Despite converting more than half of the units from rent stabilized units to market rate rentals, the owners struggled to match their rental income to debt service payments, ultimately defaulting on the loan. Deutsche Bank then sold the loan as part of a CMBS package. CWCapital took over ownership of the complex in 2010. The delinquent loan currently totals $225 million, Trepp’s data show.

119 West 40th Street: $160M

This 340,000-square-foot Garment District office building — known as Mendelssohn Hall — has been in financial difficulties since December 2009, when CWCapital filed to foreclose on a $160 million senior mortgage on the property held by owner, billionaire Leon Charney.

L.H. Charney Associates acquired the property for $182 million in 2007 in partnership with George Comfort & Sons and Fortis Property Group, angling to renovate the building and sign on new tenants at higher rates, as previously reported. But plans went awry in 2008 when the company failed to make payments towards an unpaid mechanic’s lien, and construction work on the building stalled.

Malkin Holdings, which held the $22 million mezzanine loan on the property, called in a default in 2009. Under a deal reached later that year, Charney agreed to sell the loan to Malkin for $7 million, but he reneged after he fell ill in 2010, it was previously reported.

The $160 million loan on the property is currently more than 90 days delinquent, according to Trepp’s data.

90 Fifth Avenue: $62.34M

Aby Rosen’s RFR Holdings, the owner of 90 Fifth Avenue, reportedly lost out on a $115 million deal to sell this distressed building last year after it was revealed that the building’s main tenant, Forbes, had ceased to pay rent at the property. Jamestown Properties, the reported buyer of the building, walked away as a result of Forbes’ missed payments, it was previously reported. Forbes leases 110,000 square feet of the building’s total 140,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, RFR is more than 90 days late on making its own loan payments, according to Trepp’s data for the month of February. Lender Wells Fargo appears to be owed a principal balance of $62.34 million secured by the property, made up of a $33.29 million gap note and a $33.7 million original mortgage. The loan was 60 days delinquent in January, according to Trepp. A spokesperson for RFR was not immediately available for comment.

369 Lexington Avenue: $59.19M

A foreclosure action is pending on the $59.19 million loan secured by the 28-story tower at 369 Lexington Avenue, on the corner of East 41st Street, according to Trepp’s data, but the total unpaid balance owed by the property’s owners actually amounts to $76.7 million, including interest and accrued charges.

The building, which includes 108,000 square feet of office space as well as 20,000 square feet of retail, is subject to the same action as a building lower on our list, at 2 West 46th Street. Both buildings are owned by Joseph Stavrach’s Manhattan-based Triangle Assets and Freddy Srour of Atlas Ventures. A person who answered the phone at Srour’s office said he would not be available to speak this week. Stavrach was not immediately reachable for comment.

The loan was reportedly cross-collateralized with another loan at the building at 2 West 46th Street. When the borrower failed to make payments on the loan for 2 West 46th Street, the loan for the Lexington Property was also thrown into default. An attorney for the borrower said the owners are working to have portions of the complaint against both properties dismissed. He disputed the fact that the borrower had failed to make the necessary payments.

The Time Hotel at 224 West 49th Street: $53.9 million

Vikram Chatwal’s 192-unit Time Hotel is still battling a foreclosure suit from special servicer LNR Partners after his company, London-based Hampshire Hotels, failed to make any interest payments on $55 million in loans from January 2012 onwards. The suit followed the end of the two-year forbearance agreement between the owner and the lender. The loan was sold to LNR in May 2012.

The hotel owner reportedly took out a $43.1 million mortgage loan on the property from Lehman Brothers in 2005 and an $11.9 million gap mortgage loan; the loans were then combined into one $55 million loan. The loan is currently classed as 90 or more days delinquent, according to Trepp.

The hotel has become known as a hotspot for celebrities, such as supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss.

At the Dream Hotel at 210 West 55th Street, Chatwal has refinanced a loan which until last month had an outstanding principal balance of $97.25 million, a spokesperson told The Real Deal. He declined to provide details on the refinancing by press time.

17 Battery Place North: $53M

Moinian Group President Joseph Moinian is currently negotiating a refinancing of 17 Battery Place North, a Financial District office property where the debt is currently classified as non-performing beyond maturity, a spokesperson for the developer told The Real Deal. The loan, which has an outstanding balance of around $53 million, matured in 2009, Trepp’s data show.

Moinian informed lenders in 2009 that he expected to default on the loan, after the credit crunch made it more difficult to refinance debt. His office towers 17 Battery Place North and South have an estimated combined annual pretax net operating income of $13 million, The Real Deal previously reported. Moinian bought 17 Battery Place North from SL Green in 2004 for $70 million.

At another of the buildings in Moinian’s portfolio, 245 Fifth Avenue, the deadline for payment of a formerly distressed loan has been extended, the spokesperson said. A $140 million loan on the property, which Moinian owns with Thor Equities’ Joseph Sitt, was transferred into special servicing because of default concerns last year.

2 West 46th Street: $46M

As previously noted, Triangle Assets, the owner of the office tower at 369 Lexington Avenue, is also facing a foreclosure action against 2 West 46th Street, where their principal outstanding balance is $46 million. The total balance of the loan is $51.9 million, including default interest and accrued charges, The Real Deal previously reported.

The mortgage on the property appears to have been granted to the owners by Deutsche Bank at the end of 2006, records show. LNR is the special servicer on the loan. The building was listed for sale by Eastern Consolidated in 2011, asking $80 million.

Mitchell Haddad of the law firm Sills Cummis & Gross, who is representing the owners in the foreclosure suit, told The Real Deal they are working to have a portion of the lender’s claims dismissed and to reach a settlement. In the meantime, the litigation is ongoing.

1604 Broadway: $25.69M

As reported by The Real Deal yesterday, the ground lease holders on this large Times Square retail building, formerly home to the Spotlight Live Club, are currently falling behind on the $27 million dollar loan attached to the property. The loan, granted to the operators SL Green and Onyx Equities in 2007 by Deutsche Bank, was transferred to special servicer LNR in 2009, according to Trepp’s data, and is secured by the partnership’s leasehold interest in the 29,875-square-foot property. The loan is currently being monitored by LNR while discussions with the borrower continue, according to a servicer’s report provided to The Real Deal by Trepp.

Meanwhile, the SL Green partnership has filed suit against lender U.S. Bank, claiming that the bank declined to provide a necessary stamp of approval for a new tenant to move into the building in 2009, in an alleged effort to keep the building in a distressed state as fodder for a separate legal action against Deutsche Bank.

The retail property, best known as the site of a murder at rapper Lil’ Kim’s birthday party in 2008, is currently only about 25 percent occupied and has been listed for lease by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank since Spring 2012, The Real Deal previously reported. The land beneath is owned by Farmore Realty, who has also filed to evict the leaseholder from the site.

Correction: In a previous version of this story, The Real Deal incorrectly stated that a judgment of foreclosure had been issued at 369 Lexington Avenue. The foreclosure action is actually still pending.

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