Lizzie Weber's 'Falling Like Fools' Is Your New Favorite Song About Heartbreak

September 16, 2014, 9:37 am

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Fans of the soundtracks to "Once" and "The Fault In Our Stars" will want to check out Lizzie Weber's "Falling Like Fools," a love song about two people who maybe aren't right for each other.

"The song relates that struggle to a poorly executed dance," Weber wrote to HuffPost Entertainment in an email. "It's the feeling that arises when there have been one too many missteps, and you don't know whether or not there can be true recovery from that."

Weber, who cites Joni Mitchell, Mazzy Star, Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard (of "Once" fame) and Birdy (who has three songs on the soundtrack to "The Fault in Our Stars") among her influences, will screen the video for "Falling Like Fools" at Raindance Film Festival in London this month. She'll also appear with Irglova later this fall at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles.

"The music culture today is very different than it was in the 60s and 70s. Now, the focus, for many female artists, is less on her craft, and more on her image, and what she represents or symbolizes," Weber wrote. "Success is now often determined by many other factors beyond lyrics and musical talent, such as having a big social media following. What I've found is that the industry today, generally speaking, craves a heavily produced, commercialized sound, particularly from females. Nevertheless, my intention is to stay true to myself as a songwriter."

Watch "Falling Like Fools" below. Head to Weber's Facebook page for more.

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Patti Smith Tells It Like It Is In Riot Fest Rant, Continues To Be Our F*****g Hero

September 16, 2014, 9:41 am

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If anyone was wondering whether 67-year-old "godmother of punk" Patti Smith has lost her rebellious edge, this video should put any doubts to rest.

Capping off an emotional set at Riot Fest in Chicago's Humboldt Park as the sun set Sunday evening, the legendary singer-songwriter, poet and artist launched into an epic rant on politics, corporate greed and war as she and her band finished "People Have the Power," one of her best known songs.

"We do have the power! Our governments, our corporations would like us to feel defeated, but we have it with our numbers if we use it. Don't forget it!" Smith exclaimed.

(Check out her speech, beginning at 6:30 in the video above.)

"People, you can change the f*****g world! Take heart, don't give up!" she continued, beginning to shake with rage and vigor. "Globally unite for peace! It's not f*****g corny; it's what we f*****g need!"

Smith's set felt particularly personal, as it took place not far from her Chicago birthplace, on the birthday of her late husband, former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. She dedicated both "Because the Night" and a cover of John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" to Fred Smith. Prior to her performance, she even snapped a few photographs of the crowd:

Hi, Patti Smith #riotfest pic.twitter.com/SqHCDjvddZ

— Amanda Koellner (@AmandaKoellner) September 16, 2014

Julianne Hough Dazzles At 'Dancing With The Stars' Premiere

September 16, 2014, 9:42 am

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Julianne Hough stole the show at the Season 19 premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday.

Hough glittered as she took her place at the judges' table in a floor-length gown, with her hair in retro curls reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. The 26-year-old is the fourth judge on the ABC reality competition. As a professionally trained dancer and former "DWTS" champion -- she won the mirror ball trophy in Seasons 4 and 5 -- Hough certainly has the necessary credentials.

“What Julianne brings is she was youth champion at the Blackpool [Dance Festival],” the show's executive producer Rob Wade told TheWrap. “She's a beautiful dancer and an excellent teacher. She has also been a dancer on the show, so she really understands every aspect of this.”

Jessica Rabbit Has Let Herself Go, And We Can Barely Keep It Together

September 16, 2014, 9:47 am

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Jessica Rabbit is washed up. Her hourglass figure has succumbed to the years. She and Roger Rabbit vegetate in front of the TV, living off the fumes of their popularity from the 1988 film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

But they're not the only ones.

In Steve Cutts' animated mockumentary "Where Are They Now?" Jessica narrates the sad fate of many cartoon characters. She waxes nostalgic for a time when she sang a happier 'toon. "The magic's gone," she says.

And how, Ms. Rabbit. And how.

h/t Digg

Scout The Pit Bull Can Balance Anything On His Big Ginourmous Head

September 16, 2014, 10:25 am

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This is Scout. He's a 9-year-old pit bull with a new book out that shows off his remarkable talent for sitting very still while all kinds of objects are perched on his big, lovely head.

For example, deer antlers:

Post by Stuffonscoutshead.

As well as huge wheels of brie:

Post by Stuffonscoutshead.

And, perhaps most poignantly, humongous biscuits bearing pro-pit bull messages:

Post by Stuffonscoutshead.

Scout lives in Toronto, Canada, with two cats, a great Dane and his human mom, Jen Gillen, who has been keeping a blog called Stuff on Scout's Head for a few years now.

“He actually has quite the large flat surface on his head, making it actually quite easy for him to balance things since he sits so still for these tricks,’’ Gillen told The Today Show last year. “It started when a friend suggested that I put a roll of toilet paper on his head. He instantly posed and balanced it so well, that I decided to try my luck, and try some other humorous items.”

The blog, and now the book, are more than just a laugh. Through Scout's utterly nonthreatening brand of fame, Gillen is also hoping to change people's minds about pit bulls, and to advocate against breed specific legislation, or "BSL" -- laws that prohibit or restrict dogs based on their breed.

It's a personal mission: Scout himself is required to wear some frightening-looking headgear in public because of pit bull regulations in his own hometown.

"Scout and I live in a province that has [had] BSL throughout it for just over nine years," says Gillen. "That makes half of Scout's mission about educating, why I throw in the occasional sad muzzle picture. Because pit bulls are cute and goofy yes, and as more people are learning that, the reality is that these laws turn them into monsters especially to the people who don't realize why this dog is wearing a muzzle."

Post by Stuffonscoutshead.

Beyond this, Gillen is also hoping to impart the message about the importance of... well, you can see what the message is right there in the photos.



"If we just take a second, out of our day, let everything fall away, all the stresses and the worries, and just focus on one small task, and achieve it," she says, "Well, that's huge! We've found our zen. You sometimes need to take a step back and refocus, with or without things on your head."

As for Scout, despite going on television, and becoming an internet star with a newly published book, Gillen says his interests mostly remain modest -- palling around with his animal siblings and chasing squirrels, then spending "most of his days snoozing" -- though it is possible, his loving mom admits, that all this attention is giving him a bit of an inflated noggin.

"He does demand more treats sometimes," she says.

Post by Stuffonscoutshead.

Follow Scout's balancing act on his Facebook page and blog. "Lessons in Balance: A Dog’s Reflections on Life" is available on Amazon.

Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!

This Photographer Taught 1,500 Puppies How To Swim. These Are The Impossibly Adorable Results.

September 16, 2014, 10:34 am

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Ever wondered what your puppy's expression looks like when he or she takes that running leap into the water?

Odds are, a little something like this:



New York Times best-selling author Seth Casteel is back with a second photography book full of our doggy paddling pals, but this time the stars are miniature.

Underwater Puppies, a successor to his 2012 book Underwater Dogs, is the product of swimming lessons Casteel says he gave to more than 1,500 pups. Although dogs are instinctive swimmers, he writes on his website that since swimming pools are not natural bodies of water, it's important that the dogs are taught taught how to get safely out of pools.

Many of the little ones had never swum before, and the pictures showing their excitement are making a serious splash.

But why all the fuss about man's (tiny) best friend getting in some swim time? Casteel thinks he has the answer.

"Puppies lift our spirits. They don't care who you are, what you've been doing, where you're going, they just want to love you and they just want to be your friend. And I think that's always going to make us feel good," Casteel told NPR.


Casteel taking a dog's photograph while underwater.

Casteel began his pet photography career by taking pictures of homeless animals to help them find forever homes. Families began falling in the love with the animals with the help of his photos. Casteel was hooked. Years later, he's still passionate about pet adoption.

"The goal [of the book] was to feature some Amazing Rescue Puppy Ambassadors to remind people that adoption is a wonderful option!" Casteel writes on his website. "There are so many AWESOME pets that need loving families and I hope you'll consider bringing a shelter pet into your life."

Check out the puppies and their adorable underwater antics below.



h/t Bored Panda

This post has been updated with additional information about the purpose of Casteel's project.

11 Teens You Should Follow On Instagram Immediately

September 16, 2014, 11:57 am

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Instagram's the new shopping mall; it's where all the cool kids are hanging out. But in a sea of selfies and mediocre sunsets on the beach, how do you find the teens with the coolest Instagram pages? We've saved you the trouble and gathered some of the best teen Instagrammers the Internet has to offer.

1. Ryan Parrilla, @novess

This 15-year-old New York-based photographer has already caught the eye of nearly 48k followers with beautiful shots of nature and city life.





2. Jules Spector, @jules.spector

Fourteen-year-old Jules is already a feminist activist, working as a teen advisor for the @girlupcampaign and blogging at Teen Feminist. Her Instagram tracks her travels and activism.



3. Mark Otto, @markotto

Ohio teen Mark Otto shows high school life in bright pop colors. Everyday knick-knacks transform into instant art!




4. Alana Smith, @alanasmithskate

Fourteen-year-old Alana Smith is the world's most popular skater girl. Last year, Smith earned a Guinness World Record for being the youngest X Games medalist in history. She gives fans a peek into her world of skating, fashion and assorted badassness.




5. Prince Sarmah, @prince_sarmah

Prince's Instagram offers candid moments from his life in Assam, India.




6. The Sizoo brothers: Bob, Willem and Bastiaan Sizoo, @bob_sizoo, @willemsizoo, @bastiaansizoo

Okay, it's a 3-for-1, because we couldn't pick which Sizoo brother we liked best! An eye for photography runs in the family as can be seen in these gorgeous photographs.





7. Nic Tullis, @nic_tullis

Nic Tullis' Instagram page captures the sights of St. Louis, Missouri with a special focus on showing the face of St. Louis' homeless population.




8. Tina, @nourishandevolve

Sixteen-year-old Tina's a vegan who is cooking up some of the most beautiful refined sugar-free meals on Instagram for her nearly 57k followers. Tina's photos are influenced by her health conscious approach to eating.

“I think sometimes that people (me included) get so caught up on having what some might regard as the perfect and healthy diet, that they forget that it is also very important to have a healthy mentality towards food and not be obsessive," she told BuzzFeed.




9. Gigi Crouch, @scolerina

Ballerina Gig Crouch was diagnosed with scoliosis and was put in a back brace at age 13. On her Instagram page, beautiful photos of her dancing prove that a diagnosis doesn't have to limit your dreams.




10. Hailey Luntz, @haicat

Hailey Luntz is like the awesome doodler you love sitting next to in class, but darker and way more talented.




11. Luis Ruiz, @literaluis

Seventeen-year-old Mexican artist Luis Ruiz uses Instagram to showcase his cartoons, doodles and day-to-day sights.


Follow HuffPost Teen on
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Community Music Lessons Helpful For At-Risk Kids (STUDY)

September 16, 2014, 12:06 pm

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BY SHEREEN LEHMAN
NEW YORK Fri Sep 12, 2014 3:26pm EDT

(Reuters Health) - Community-based music lessons for disadvantaged youth can have positive biological effects on their brains, a new study found.

“Music training directs children's attention to sounds, and teaches them to make sound-meaning connections, eventually leading to heightened biological processing of sound that is associated with superior academic performance,” study leader Nina Kraus told Reuters Health in an email.

“Learning to make music appears to remodel children’s brains in ways that facilitate and improve their ability to learn academic content,” said Kraus, who directs Northwestern University’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory in Evanston, Illinois.

The children were actively playing instruments themselves rather than passively listening to others’ music, Kraus pointed out.

The study team collaborated with Harmony Project, a community music program that has provided free music instruments and instruction to more than 1,000 children in the Los Angeles area in low-income neighborhoods, Kraus said.

“Studies of music training’s benefits have generally focused on private instruction, which tends to be expensive and is usually an option only for privileged children,” Kraus said.

“The breakthrough with this study is the discovery of positive biological changes following participation in a free community music education program offered in low-income neighborhoods,” she added.

As reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, 44 children between the ages of six and nine participated in the study. They all went to public schools and lived in gang-reduction zones of Los Angeles.

The children were split into two groups. One group started lessons right away. For two hours per week, they received training in music fundamentals and learning to play the recorder. Most kids progressed to group instruction with instruments after about six months.

The second group waited a year before starting lessons.

Each year the research team evaluated the children’s ability to process speech.

Children who took lessons for two years showed improvements in their ability to distinguish similar sounds. These changes were not apparent after only one year, however.

“We’re not claiming music is a quick fix and we’re not saying music is the single, perfect way to improve academic performance, but music-making does provide a host of ingredients for brain stimulation,” Kraus said.

Aniruddh Patel, a psychology researcher from Tufts University in Boston, told Reuters Health by phone, “I think it’s an important study -- we need a lot more of this kind of work where neuroscientists actually go into the schools and look at the effect of real world musical training programs on children.”

Studies should focus particularly on “children who stand to gain a lot from these things – low socio-economic status children that may not be receiving a lot of other enrichment at home or in other activities,” said Patel. He has done research on how musical training produces benefits but wasn’t involved in this new study.

Patel would like to see more studies that build on this one. For example, he would like to see music training compared to other types of training, or studies of both neural and behavioral measures of language processing.

“So there are clearly ways in which the study could be expanded, and future work could ask more and deeper questions, but in terms of getting a foot in the door with this type of research, I think it’s a landmark study,” he said.

Patel said more work like this is needed, particularly as communities think about reshaping school curricula and setting priorities.

“It always seems like music is the first to go when budgets get tight - never based on any evidence but just on the intuition that it’s kind of a frill,” he said. But, he added, we know that music deeply engages the emotional system of the brain and children learn best when they’re excited about things.

More information about Harmony Project is available at www.harmony-project.org/.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1w919qx Journal of Neuroscience, online September 3, 2014.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

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Susan Sarandon Quotes That Will Help You Live Your Best Life

September 16, 2014, 12:14 pm

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If anybody can dish out inspirational words of wisdom, it's Susan Sarandon. On top of her lengthy and impressive film career, the Academy Award-winning actress is equally accomplished for her outstanding social and political activism. In 2006, Sarandon received the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award for her work in several humanitarian efforts, including her role as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, a spokesperson for Heifer International and an advocate for victims of hunger and HIV/AIDS.

A source of motivation for us all, here are seven quotes from Susan Sarandon that will inspire everyone to live their best life:















All quotes found at BrainyQuote.com.

The Book We're Talking About: 'The Children Act' By Ian McEwan

September 16, 2014, 12:19 pm

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The Children Act
by Ian McEwan
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $25.00
Published Sept. 9, 2014

The Book We're Talking About is a weekly review combining plot description and analysis with fun tidbits about the book.

What we think:
The epigraph of Ian McEwan’s latest novel, The Children Act, offers some hint of what lies within its pages -- especially for non-British readers less likely to be familiar with the titular piece of child protective legislation: “When a court determines any question with respect to … the upbringing of a child … the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration. --Section 1(A), The Children Act, 1989.” These few but weighty words insinuate themselves throughout McEwan’s tale of a family court judge, Fiona Maye, who must decide the fate of a 17-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who has refused vital blood transfusions due to his faith.

The facts of the case contain sufficient complications to make the question of the child’s welfare treacherous to determine; Adam is 17, nearly 18, and in a few months he will be able to make his own medical decisions. He insists that his choice is informed and based on deeply held personal beliefs, not those of his parents and church elders, though they support him. Is it really the case that he must be protected from a judgment he could freely make were he only a few months older?

Further complications arise, however, when it comes to Fiona -- for while the child’s welfare must be her paramount consideration, judges, McEwan reminds us, harbor personal considerations of their own. Fiona’s beloved husband, Jack, has recently blindsided her with a demand that he be allowed to pursue a extramarital fling -- “one big passionate affair” -- before he’s too old to enjoy it. Baffled, furious and unwilling to examine her own role in her marital breakdown, she retreats into her new, suddenly high-profile case. The medical situation is critical; Adam needs transfusions within mere days to supplement his leukemia treatment, which is destroying his blood supply. Fiona, eager for a distraction as well as additional facts on which to base her decision, takes the unusual step of visiting Adam in the hospital herself. Her visit sets more in motion than she could have anticipated, coloring her decision as well as creating a strange bond between her and the bright, intense young man whose future she’s helping to decide.

McEwan has gone on the record against hefty novels, remarking on BBC’s Radio Four Today that “Very few really long novels earn their length.” But The Children Act seems to suffer from the opposite failing, suggesting he may be too enamored with brevity. With such a morally and ethically complex subject, and characters in such internal turmoil, the denouement seems almost perfunctory at points and leaves one wishing for more. Though Fiona is a woman in crisis whose suffering surely changes the course of the novel, McEwan allows her to hide behind the dry, legalistic framework of family law, never fully delving into how much her decisions rest on established law and how much they’re simply justified by it.

Wishing for more, however, is an experience common to readers wrapping up a finely written, engaging read. The Children Act might rush through its own final acts, but what’s there remains frequently poignant, challenging, and lyrical.

What other reviewers think:
The Washington Post: "McEwan, who’s spent more time on the Booker shortlist than in church, has produced a svelte novel as crisp and spotless as a priest’s collar."

The Independent: "The Children Act shares the virtues of its heroine -- and, you might argue, some of her strict-tempo limitations too."

Who wrote it?
Ian McEwan has written 15 books, including Atonement, Solar, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach. His novels The Comfort of Strangers and Black Dogs were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and he also wrote Amsterdam, which won the Booker Prize. His short story collection First Love, Last Rites won the Somerset Maugham Award.

Who will read it?
Of course, fans of McEwan, a bestselling writer. Readers who enjoy descriptive, carefully crafted prose and fiction that plumbs the mysteries of the legal system.

Opening lines:
“London. Trinity term one week old. Implacable June weather. Fiona Maye, a High Court judge, at home on Sunday evening, supine on a chaise longue, staring past her stockinged feet toward the end of the room, toward a partial view of recessed bookshelves by the fireplace and, to one side, by a tall window, a tiny Renoir lithograph of a bather, bought by her thirty years ago for fifty pounds. Probably a fake.”

Notable passage:
“Welfare, happiness, well-being must embrace the philosophical concept of the good life. She listed some relevant ingredients, goals toward which a child might grow. Economic and moral freedom, virtue, compassion and altruism, satisfying work through engagement with demanding tasks, a flourishing network of personal relationships, earning the esteem of others, pursuing larger meanings to one’s existence, and having at the center of one’s life one or a small number of significant relations defined above all by love.

“Yes, by this last essential she herself was failing.”

Rating, out of 10:
8. Though tantalizingly brief and somewhat coldly legalistic at points, The Children Act is lovely, pensive novel that reveals the frailties of human faith and the human justice system.

Beyoncé Forgets To Lip-Sync In Paris, Promptly Keeps Running The World

September 16, 2014, 12:20 pm

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We all have those days where we forget things -- hey, even Beyoncé does, too.

Or, well, she had one last weekend.

During a Paris performance of the sultry anthem "Partition" -- as part of her On The Run Tour with Jay-Z -- Queen Bey dropped it low onstage to greet some adoring fans, but dropped something else as well: the fact that she may not be singing live.

In the above Instagram video from flowpest, we see Beyoncé bend down and stop mouthing the words to the song -- however, the vocal track continues on in the background.

But hey, no matter. Post lip-sync fail, Bey snaps the microphone back to her lips, whips her hair, and keeps on running the world like it's no big deal.

We see you, Beyoncé.

[h/t Gawker]

Photographer Risks Nuclear Radiation To Capture Haunting Post-Soviet Landscapes

September 16, 2014, 12:36 pm

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In a haunting legacy of the Cold War, the remains of secret military cities still scatter the lands that were once part of the Soviet Union. Award-winning photographer Nadav Kander managed to get inside two of these cities, still closed to outsiders, for a new photo series called "Dust."

Kander, who is based in London, described the areas as "empty landscapes of invisible dangers."

He photographed the city of Kurchatov, which lies beside a former nuclear testing site in northeastern Kazakhstan known as the Polygon, and was arrested both times he visited the city. He wore white overalls to protect himself from the lingering effects of radiation and a Geiger counter on his belt to measure the radiation.

He also photographed the city of Priozersk in Kazakhstan, which was the site of long-range Soviet missile tests and was once known simply as "Moscow-10." The area remains a closed military zone, and some facilities are leased to the Russian military for the testing of missile defense systems.

Kander named the photo series after a line in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." The exhibition is at London's Flowers Gallery until Oct. 11.

The 2014 Kitchen Of The Year Perfectly Nails This Year's Trends

September 16, 2014, 1:08 pm

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Trends can be so much more than unachievable inspiration, they can become reality. And if there were ever a question as to whether this were true, we present to you one of the coolest kitchens we've ever seen.

It's filled with gorgeous onyx-colored cabinetry, perfectly-placed open shelving and the stunning metallic mash-ups, all of which were touted to be huge this year. So with that in mind, it's no wonder it was named House Beautiful's "2014 Kitchen Of The Year." Inspired by the "amazing light the space afforded," the dramatic room was designed by Steven Miller for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase, and will be featured in the magazine's October issue, which hits newsstands on September 23. It's the seventh year House Beautiful has worked with a designer to create a space they describe as the "new American living room." And considering we couldn't see ourselves spending as much time in any other spot in the historic 1907 home where this year's kitchen was installed, we agree with the decision.

But don't let jealousy overcome you just yet. You can get the same jaw-dropping appeal in your own home. Here are a few close-ups to show you how.





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Are you an architect, designer or blogger and would like to get your work seen on HuffPost Home? Reach out to us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com with the subject line "Project submission." (All PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

Bill Hader Doesn't Really Have A Lot To Say About The Changes To Weekend Update

September 16, 2014, 2:06 pm

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Bill Hader appeared on HuffPost Live on Tuesday to discuss his new role in the indie film "The Skeleton Twins," but the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member couldn't get out of the studio without answering one question about "SNL." Namely, does he have a take on the shakeup to the show's Weekend Update desk, where Michael Che will replace Cecily Strong for the new season?

"No. It's interesting because you kind of know how the show works and things like that. But, no, you just kind of go, 'Okay,'" Hader told host Ricky Camilleri before explaining how Strong's exit from behind the desk will allow her to take on a more active role in "SNL" sketches.

"Update takes up so much time. You have to go to joke reads, you have to help write it," Hader said. "I watched Amy Poehler do that forever. [...] You're like when does she have time to sleep? It's hard. She was an eighth-year cast member when she was doing that. Cecily is in her second season. That's a lot to ask of somebody, and she's really, really good in sketches."

Hader's comments echo what Strong herself wrote about the move after it was announced last week.

I don't see this as me leaving update, just as me being on update in a looser, goofier way that is a lot more fun for me and in a way I think I'm better at. And now I get to do features with the very funny and wonderful Michael Che! No point in being angry or sad for me for something I'm genuinely happy about! Unless you are just a person who enjoys being angry or sad. Then I guess play on, playa.

Watch the full interview with Hader on HuffPost Live right here.

The Extraordinary Makers Of India's Most Expensive Tea

September 17, 2014, 11:59 am

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A 155-year-old tea estate in India's Darjeeling district recently sold the most expensive tea ever made in the country.

Buyers in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. bought the specialty tea, named Silver Tips Imperial, for $1,850 per kilo from the Makaibari Tea Estate. The Japanese buyer told the Times of India that the tea will be served for $45 a pot at the Ritz Carlton Tokyo Roppongi Hotel.

Around 500 women picked the tea in June on the eve of the summer solstice between 12:01 a.m. and 3 a.m., Makaibari chairman Rajah Banerjee told the newspaper.

"Leaves plucked during a full moon night make for excellent tea," he said. "This full moon night of June 13 presented a unique planetary configuration that comes once in 108 years."

The Makaibari Tea Estate was established in 1859 in a forest in West Bengal in the eastern region of India, which is the world's second-largest tea producer after China. See below for photos of the extraordinary tea makers at the estate.

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Alison Bechdel Awarded MacArthur Fellowship: 'Fun Home' Creator One Of 21 New Fellows

September 17, 2014, 12:24 pm

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On Wednesday, cartoonist Alison Bechdel was named one of 21 new MacArthur Fellows. Bechdel’s name may be familiar to you from her graphic memoirs Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Are You My Mother?, or you may recognize her as the deviser of the Bechdel test, a metric she described in a 1985 comic strip that assesses whether movies have meaningful interactions between female characters. For decades, she’s been assembling a groundbreaking body of work that plays with what the cartoon form can do, through her graphic memoirs as well as through her comic strip "Dykes to Watch Out For."

Bechdel’s choice as a MacArthur Fellow made a splash, however, as it marks only the second time a cartoonist has been selected for the honor. The first, Ben Katchor, was awarded the fellowship in 2000.

Graphic novels and cartoons have been catching more and more of the spotlight in recent years, with serious, realistic comic books such as Bechdel’s memoirs, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, and Craig Thompson’s Blankets helping push the form further into the literary mainstream. Not all attention is positive, however; the American Library Association has made graphic novels the theme of 2014’s Banned Books Week (Sept. 21-27), because “despite their literary merit and popularity as a format, they are often subject to censorship.”

Bechdel's choice for a MacArthur fellowship, however, demonstrates that the increasingly serious critical attention shown to cartoonists and graphic novelists can pay dividends. The fellowship provides $625,000 over five years to each recipient; Bechdel noted to the Los Angeles Times, "It will give me a lot of security that I don’t have."

Though no novelists or short-story writers numbered among the 2014 winners, new fellows also included poet Terrance Hayes, translator and poet Khaled Mattawa, and playwright Samuel D. Hunter.


Read more about all 21 MacArthur Fellows from 2014 here.

'Love The Skin You're In' Series By Oliver Jones Looks At Society's Obsession With Perfect Skin

September 17, 2014, 12:28 pm

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Think about how many skincare ads you see in an average week.

Online banners, television commercials, billboards and magazine pages all hawk a variety of products designed to make your skin wrinkle-free, unblemished, evenly-colored, small-pored and soft.

A series of drawings by British artist Oliver Jones explores society's obsession with perfect skin. Jones, who borrowed the phrase "love the skin you're in" from an Olay marketing campaign, used colored chalk pastels to create images showcasing how advertising feeds into cultural ideas of beauty.

"We often forget or oversee that how we actually experience flesh in the everyday, in the mirror, from the supermarket shelves and through the routines we put in place to maintain or improve it, are far removed from [industry's] portrayal," Jones told The Huffington Post in an email.


"Three Steps To Younger Looking Skin Pt. 3" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist


According to Jones, his aim is to "re-advertise" a more realistic version of human skin.

"Society has never been so saturated with images of flesh (particularly images of the face) that have been produced and altered in a way that emits an aura and notion of perfectionism or a vision that we should strive to achieve," he told HuffPost.


"Best A Man Can Get" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist


One of the series' most striking images features Jones' baby daughter, Eve, marked up with plastic surgery lines.

“Today’s science, coupled with commerce that appeals to society’s vain traits, means that humanity no longer has to leave everything down to nature,” Jones told The Birmingham Post in June 2014. “We feel that we also need to be part of the design.”


"Maybe She's Born With It" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist


The series is on display at Gusford Gallery in Los Angeles until October 25. See more of Jones' thought-provoking images below.


"Healthy Beautiful Smiles For Life" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist



"3 Steps To Younger Looking Skin Pt. 2" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist



"Take Off The Mask" / courtesy of Gusford | los angeles and the artist


[h/t Beautiful Decay]

Toddler Takes The Lead In Choreographing Interpretive Dance For Adults

September 17, 2014, 12:30 pm

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These adult dancers' movements might have more finesse, but it's 2-year-old Zaya that gives them their spark.

The toddler is seen "choreographing" a dance to Sia's "Chandelier" in a video uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 14. In the footage, two adult dancers follow the baby prodigy's every step, twisting as she turns and stomping to her beat.

The song's an emotional one, and it's clear that little Zaya's taking the responsibility of leading the performance very, very seriously.

We can't wait to see what this tiny dancer does next.

Grover And Abby Cadabby From 'Sesame Street' Really Love Michelle Obama's Hugs

September 17, 2014, 12:34 pm

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Michelle Obama may have discovered an untapped demographic of supporters: the puppet population.

"Sesame Street" stars Grover and Abby Cadabby dished on their friendship with the first lady when they stopped by HuffPost Live on Wednesday to have some fun with host Nancy Redd. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be embraced by Mrs. Obama's enviable arms, allow these fuzzy pals to fill you in.

"She's really good at hugs," Abby Cadabby shared. "The first lady gives the best hugs."

Grover and Abby also discussed a few other A-list "Sesame Street" visitors, including Stevie Wonder, One Direction and Janelle Monae.

Get the scoop on Michelle Obama's hugs in the clip above, and check out the full HuffPost Live segment here.

Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!

Things Are A Little Different In The Movie Version Of 'This Is Where I Leave You'

September 17, 2014, 12:52 pm

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The following post contains spoilers about "This Is Where I Leave You."

In Jonathan Tropper's "This Is Where I Leave You," Judd Foxman finds out his soon-to-be ex-wife is pregnant with his child on page 12. In Shawn Levy's adaptation of Tropper's best-selling novel, Judd (played by Jason Bateman) hears the same news more than halfway into the film's running time.

"The idea of this mid-point twist -- the announcement of the pregnancy -- predated my involvement," Levy told HuffPost Entertainment in a recent interview at the Toronto International Film Festival. "I can't take credit for that. It's a structural decision that amounts to a grenade being thrown into the movie narrative. I think it's good because we, as an audience, always want to be taken aback by things we don't see coming. There are certain tropes we're familiar with in this genre. So that's all the more reason we need narrative surprises."

Starring Bateman, Adam Driver, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Corey Stoll, Rose Byrne, Connie Britton, Dax Shepard, Ben Schwartz, Timothy Olyphant and Kathryn Hahn, "This Is Where I Leave" carries on the tradition of dysfunctional family dramedies perhaps best embodied by "Terms of Endearment" and "Little Miss Sunshine," two films Levy cited as favorites. That might surprise some based on Levy's resume: The director's credentials include the "Night at the Museum" franchise and "Real Steel," among other blockbusters, and it was initially suggested by Warner Bros. that the project wasn't right for his sensibilities.

"I was kind of politely told, 'Love that you love it, but you're a big movie guy and this is a small movie. We don't know that we're ever going to make it, and it feels like you're better served doing big movies,'" Levy said. "It was a flattering blowoff."

The 46-year-old director remained vigilant, however, because of his love for Tropper's novel, which combines comedy and drama, often within the same page. But once on board as director, Levy realized the film's script -- which Tropper wrote himself -- had left behind the pathos that helped make the novel such a runaway success.

"Jonathan, whether overtly or presumptively, wrote a script that was more broadly comedic than his book. It was 'This Is Where I Leave You: The Comedy,'" Levy said. "When I finally got my grubby hands on this material, I said, 'Let's take a breath and start again.' Jonathan needed to remember how fucking awesome his novel was."

According to Levy, he showed Tropper a copy of "This Is Where I Leave You" with lines of dialogue underlined. "We went page by page through the book, going 'Why is this not in the movie?'" Levy said. "We literally lifted out a bunch of broad slapstick and put in a lot of nuance and weight from the book."

It's those heavier moments that make "This Is Where I Leave You" stand out as an anomaly in the marketplace. The film, with its ensemble cast and uncomfortable themes of loss, infidelity and suburban ennui, looks and feels like the kind of indie feature that premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Instead, Warner Bros. will release Levy's film on more than 2,750 screens starting Friday.

"Warner Bros. is ballsy. They have enough big franchise hits that afford them the right to be ballsy," Levy said. "I hope to God that a movie like this and 'The Judge' can find enough of an audience so that we don't continue to see the segregation of 'franchise equals studio, characters equal indies.'" Warner Bros. is also set to release "The Judge," a family drama with Robert Downey Jr. next month.

"I like to believe a movie like 'Terms of Endearment' could still get made today," Levy said. "I believe we as grown ups love movies that are just about people. For me to make a movie that was just about people was fucking gratifying."