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10 Famous Artworks That Celebrate Father Time

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Most of the world is mere hours away from the dawn of a new year, welcoming 2015 with a slew of fireworks, champagne toasts, resolutions and awkward renditions of Auld Lang Syne. Here on the Huff Post Arts&Culture page, we'd like to celebrate the passing of time the best way we know how -- with an art history listicle devoted to clocks, countdowns and Father Time himself.

You may immediately think of Christian Marclay, an artist who has received attention for his time-centric, marathon movie reel "The Clock," earning the Venice Biennale's Golden Lion award in 2011. But the tick-tock obsessed filmmaker certainly wasn't the first creative figure to surrender his art to the concept of time. In fact, visual artists from the Renaissance period all the way to Futurism and beyond have toyed with the passing of time as a major motif of their work.

Take a few minutes to scroll through the countdown list of artists who have created time-related artworks. As 2015 approaches, we know you've got time on your mind. Let us know which artsy time depictions soothe (or maybe just aggravate) your countdown worries below.

10. Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory"

persistence of memory
Salvador Dali, "Persistence of Memory," 1931, oil on canvas, 24 cm × 33 cm (9.5 in × 13 in), Museum of Modern Art, New York City.


The iconic melting pocket watch in Dali's masterpiece is meant to signify the artist's personal interpretation of time as "soft" or "hard." The mysterious figure that appears to be sleeping underneath one of the "soft" clocks is thought to symbolize the skewed passage of time that occurs in one's dreams.


9. Antonio de Pereda's "Allegory of Vanity"

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Antonio de Pereda, "Allegory of Vanity," c. 1632 - 1636, Kunsthistorisches Museum.


Perad's still-life and portrait painting depicts several representations of the passage of time, including a clock, an hourglass, old photographs, a blown out candle, skulls and a globe -- a nod to the very literal turning of the world.


8. Marcel Duchamp's "The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass)"

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Marcel Duchamp, "The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass)," c. 1915-1923, oil, varnish, lead foil, lead wire, and dust on two glass panels, 277.5 cm × 175.9 cm (109.25 in × 69.25 in), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.


This complicated, multi-media installation, which is meant to depict an encounter between a bride and nine suitors, took Duchamp nearly eight years to complete, and the duration of the project seems to have left a mark on the piece. Several of the figures remain bumpy, smudged and dusty, deliberately pointing to the many moments in which the unfinished work laid untouched. Moreover, when on display in natural light, "The Large Glass" takes on wholly different appearances depending on the time of the day and the season.


7. Agnolo Bronzino's "Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time"

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Agnolo Bronzino, "Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time," c. 1545, oil on wood, 146 cm × 116 cm (57 in × 46 in), National Gallery, London.


Time personified appears in this Agnolo Bronzino painting, appearing as a more dashing version of Father Time, silver beard and all.


6. Arthur Ganson's "Machine with Concrete"

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Arthur Ganson, "Machine with Concrete," 2009, Art Electronica Museum of Future.


Arthur Ganson is know for his kinetic sculptures and Rube Goldberg interpretations, and this particular piece, titled "Machine with Concrete," is especially time-sensitive. Set up with a specific gear reduction structure, it would take billions of years for the mechanism to prompt the final gear to turn. But the ultimate punchline of this work? The final gear is embedded in concrete.


5. Claude Monet's "La cathédrale de Rouen"

rouen

Claude Monet, "La cathédrale de Rouen," 1893, oil on canvas, 107 × 73.5 cm (42.1 × 28.9 in), Musée d'Orsay.



Monet devoted himself to the Rouen Cathedral, capturing the façade of the massive structure at different times of the day and year in a series of Impressionist paintings. The result is a rather dreamy tour through one inanimate object's lengthy existence.


4. Alighiero Boetti's "Gemelli"


Alighiero Boetti (Italian, 1940-1994). Gemelli (Twins). 1968. Photomontage 5 7/8 x 3 15/16" (15 x 10 cm). Collection Annemarie Sauzeau, Paris. © 2012 Estate of Alighiero Boetti / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome.


Boetti was known for his mild obsession with time and the concept of twinning, and in "Gemeli" he takes the two ideas very literally. The photograph is a double self-portrait of the artist, shown holding hands with himself at a different point in his life. Boetti became so fascinated with the fluidity of time and self that he officially changed his name to Alighiero e Boetti in 1973, solidifying his dual self.


3. Umberto Boccioni's "Dynamism of a Cyclist"

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Umberto Boccioni, "Dynamism of a Cyclist," 1913.


The allure of Futurist painter Umberto Boccioni lay in his careful attention to the details of movement and dynamism. This painting for example, shows what we would expect to be the speed of a cyclist; however, the passage of time becomes locked into one frame, and the various movements of the individual and his mechanism are forced into one two-dimensional glance.


2. Felix Gonzalez-Torres's "Untitled (Perfect Lovers)"

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Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), 1987-1990. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Gift of the Norton Family Foundation. © The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation. Photo: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.


"Untitled" was dedicated to Gonzalez-Torres's deceased lover, Ross Laycock, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991. Here are the guidelines the artist supplied to MoMA when the museum set to display his clock-related work:

“When installed, the two clocks were to touch; the clocks could be replaced with white plastic commercial clocks of similar dimensions and design; the minute and second hands were to be set in sync, with the understanding that eventually they might go out of sync during the course of the exhibition; if one of the clocks needed the batteries replaced, it was to be done, and the clocks were to be reset accordingly; the clocks were to be displayed on a wall painted light blue.”



1. Christian Marclay's "The Clock"

christian marclay the clock
Visitors watch the video installation 'The Clock' by Christian Marclay winner of the Golden Lion for the Best Artist at ILLUMInation Exhibitionon June 7, 2011 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Marco Secchi/Getty Images)


And voila! A still from Marclay's "The Clock." Watch a clip from the 24-hour montage of time-keeping devices here.

In honor of the new year we're revisiting a post originally published last year.

Happy Birthday To Henri Matisse, Master Of The Paper Cutout

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Today is the birthday of French painter, printmaker, sculptor, and scissor-wielder extraordinaire, Henri Matisse. The Fauvist artist and original sporter of round spectacles would turn 145 if he were miraculously alive today.

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Matisse in front of gouache-painted papers, Hôtel Régina, Nice. Photo: Lydia Delectorskaya. © 2014 Succession H. Matisse


On this most holy of art holidays, we're celebrating with "The Cut-Outs," Matisse's current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. The exceptional show spans the final phase of Matisse's life, from the late 1940s until his death in 1954, when the color-happy artist revolutionized the future of art by creating paintings with neither paint nor canvas. Instead, the artist painted with scissors, creating flattened abstractions buzzing with life, proudly residing in the realms of both adornment and fine art, object and environment.

Prior to his cut-outs moment, Matisse was a leader of les Fauves, French for "the wild beasts," a group of modern artists that privileged the expressive power of color and shape above allegiances to nature and reality. Matisse, along with artists like André Derain and Jean Metzinger, employed abstraction and electrified pigments to create artworks that, rather than mirror reality, surpassed it.

matisse
Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954). The Codomas (Les Codomas), 1943. Maquette for plate XI from the illustrated book Jazz (1947). Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, mounted on canvas. 17 1/8 x 26 3/8” (43.5 x 67.1 cm). Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Dation, 1985. © 2014 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York


Matisse's cut-outs were, in a way, the final phase of this artistic venture, the culmination of his lifelong mission to paint with pure color and shape. The artist cut painted sheets into shapes -- some edgy and geometric, others more organic -- yielding flattened color-scapes that point to the infinite possibilities of artistic potential, the endless combinations of color and shape that extend beyond those visible in the physical world.

As Jerry Saltz so beautifully expressed in his review, "With The Cut-Outs, Matisse crosses a mystical bridge. One of the true inventors of Modernism, he stands at the precipice and points to a way beyond it, to a pre-digitalized space, where pixels and separate segments of color and line form images, where painting seems to exist even where there is no paint and no canvas. With The Cut-Outs, Matisse goes beyond the romantic notion of the self-mythologizing agonized male genius. With The Cut-Outs, all we see is the work; only process is present; process and something as close to pure beauty in all of Western art."

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Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954). The Clown (Le Clown), 1943. Maquette for plate I from the illustrated book Jazz (1947). Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, mounted on canvas. 26 7/16 x 19 15/16” (67.2 x 50.7 cm). Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Dation, 1985. © 2014 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York


Despite the works' cheery appearance, they were made during a period of intense suffering for Matisse. Rendered unable to paint traditionally due to deteriorating health, he created his cut-outs while confined to a bed or wheelchair, enlisting assistants to help him and using a long stick to draw and point. Despite the physical agony Matisse endured during the works' creation, they appear as boundless and carefree as wild beasts frolicking in a color field. The pre-internet works operate almost as a proto-Second Life, offering a not-quite-virtual space for limited humans to experience infinite freedom.

It's also, for those who prefer to remain offline, one of the great powers of art. Happy birthday, Matisse! Your wild colors and strokes never fail to put smiles on our faces. We're thinking of you today.

"Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs" runs until February 10, 2015 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. See a preview below.

20 Of The Most Ingenious Works Of Architecture In 2014

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It's been a banner year for architecture your ten-year-old self dreamed of -- from 3D printed homes to buildings grown from trash. Below, we've compiled our favorite buildings of 2014.

1. a21studio's Rainbow Chapel: This rainbow chapel and community center, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, gives life to a region lacking in community centers for people to host conferences, weddings and exhibitions. The multicolored wonder was named World Architecture Festival (WAF)'s "building of the year" in 2014.

rainbow

2. Isfahan Dreamland Commercial Center by Farshad Mehdizadeh Architects: This commercial center in Isfahan, Iran is still just a plan by Farshad Mehdizadeh Architects. The geometric design is an attempt to harmonize the city's aesthetic with a pre-existing building -- and is fittingly called Dreamland.

dreamland

3. Freedom of The Press Monument by Gustavo Penna Arquiteto & Associates: This glass monument honoring the freedom of the press in Praca Central, Brazil is a 42,000-square-foot design by Gustavo Penna Arquiteto & Associates and has been called "a gesture in glass."

gesture

4. Neri&Hu's Split House: This split level apartment series in Shanghai updates a crumbling lane house -- once a staple design in China.

split


5. Dune House by Fearon Hay: This villa is an hour's drive north of Auckland, on New Zealand's North Island. Called Dune House, the home was designed by Fearon Hay to suit its mellow white-dune-and-beach surroundings.

dune


6. Yalikavak Marina Complex by EAA-Emre Arolat Architects: This is a stunning shopping center for upper middle class consumers in Yalikavak, on the southwestern coast of Turkey.

world architecture festival


7. The Blue Planet by 3XN: This futuristic aquarium in Copenhagen, Denmark is fittingly called the Blue Planet.

blue
© Adam Mõrk


8. Alcácer do Sal Residences by Aires Mateus: This suite of residences for the elderly, in Alcácer do Sal Portugal was designed by architec, Fernando Guerra, who describes it as a prime setting for a specific kind of "micro-society" -- a cross between a hospital and a hotel -- that enables both privacy and a sense of community.

white

© FG+SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra


9. Red Pepper House by Urko Sanchez Architects: For this camouflaged vacation home in Lamu, Kenya, the client, a lover of nature, requested that the design preserve as much of the surrounding forest as possible.

beach
© Alberto Heras


10. Hotchkiss Biomass Power Plant by Centerbrook Architects and Planners: This equally camouflaged building on the campus of the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, named the Hotchkiss Biomass Power Plant, puts a fittingly green facade on a facility that burns sustainably harvested woodchips to heat the more than 600 residents at the sprawling school.

green
© David Sundberg/Esto


11. Tree Snake Houses by Luís Rebelo de Andrade + Tiago Rebelo de Andrade: This series of tree house-inspired homes in Portugal are not only whimsical, but sustainable.

treehouse
© Ricardo Oliveira Alves


12. The Hebei Academy of Fine Arts: A new art school in China, the Hebie Academy of Fine Arts has been drawing attention for its bizarre architecture, which is an almost exact knock-off of the Hogwarts castle from the Harry Potter film franchise.

china


13. Studio Cachoua Torres Camilletti's Residential Towers: This architectural feat would be built in Hong Kong, a place with a strong physical and symbolic connection to rice. In fact, the skyscraper would be part tower, part rice farm, with rice terraces sitting atop the monstrous conceptual building.

rice

14. David Benjamin's The Living: This completely organic tower, made from cornstalks and the root-like structures of mushrooms, called mycelium. The "growing" design was recently crowned the winner of the Museum of Modern Art’s Young Architects Program.

creat


15. DO Architects' Rolling Homes: These "rolling," single-family homes in Svencelė, Lithuania maximize indoor space and light.

rolling


16. China's 3D Printed Homes: These 3D printed houses in China are part of a series of 10 single-story homes fitted with plumbing, electrical wiring and insulation after construction, which took less than 24 hours.



17. The LEGO House: This Lego-inspired "hands-on minds-on experience centre" in Denmark welcomes visitors to experience the beauty of the LEGO legacy.

lego

Courtesy of LEGO group



18. SURE Architecture's Endless City in Height: This "endless" skyscraper in London is still in the design phase. The dizzying tower does away with the notion of stacking floors on top of each other, instead winding two street-sized ramps into the sky as an extension of the city.

sky


19. Lava Homes: These homes built on cooled lava in Hawaii, make for exceptional views and natural cooling from wind. Architect Craig Steely told HuffPost his hope is to create "a Hawaiian architecture that skips over plantation and resort style and comes to a modern place that prioritizes living simply and connected to the land.”

craig steely lavaflow 5


craig steely lavaflow 1


20. Agence Chartier Corbasson's Organic Skyscraper: This organic skyscraper in London would grow as the nearby residents recycle. The design, still in proposal stages, hinges on a symbiotic process by which refuse is converted into material that then gets used to build new floors inside the structure.

skyscraper

The Organic Skyscraper is proposed for Shoreditch High Street in London


H/T to our partners Arch Daily and Artnet

The Most Beautiful Fireworks To Ring In 2015

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People around the world welcomed 2015, ringing in the new year with parties and well-wishes. From Asia to Europe, cities celebrated in style with fireworks that lit up the sky in bright colors.

Take a look at some of the most spectacular fireworks from across the globe.

Bae, It Would Be Cray To Stop Using These 'Banned' Words

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If you had plans to spend next year calling your boo bae, describing the chilly weather as a polar vortex or talking up your foodie lifestyle, cancel them immediately. Those three terms can never be spoken again.

At least, that’s the tongue-in-cheek goal of the “List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness," released Wednesday by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The college's 40th annual list has a total of 12 new words we're supposed to collectively excise from our vocabulary in 2015.

The other nine entries include hack, skill set, swag, curate(d), friend-raising, cra-cra (alternately spelled cray-cray), enhanced interrogation, takeaway and nation when used to denote the fans of a particular sports team (e.g. Cubs Nation).

The banished word list was started in January of 1976 by W.T. Rabe, a savvy former LSSU public relations director, who's also known for inventing the school traditions of issuing unicorn questing licenses and burning a snowman each spring.

The first list came directly from LSSU staff and Rabe’s personal language pet peeves. But at this point in time (that phrase made the list in 1976), it’s generated by the wider populace, with people submitting the words they loathe on the school’s website and a committee compiling the final selection each December. The list has since grown to include more than 800 entries.

Some of the phrases on the list have been faulted for redundancy, like 1995's vast majority; others, like enhanced interrogation, speak to a dead serious (another banned phrase) critique of cultural mores. Other words are clearly targeted because they're trending (yep, also banned).

Nominators also take issue with overused words that become divorced from their original meaning, like using "hack" to describe mascara application tips or calling a box of different dog foods "curated."

It's easy to get annoyed by slang terms that crop up suddenly -- especially if you need an article from Time to understand them -- and then die out within a year or two anyway. But part of the fun of language is the difficulty of predicting which words will naturally fall by the wayside -- we barely knew you, cybarian and chillaxin' -- and which ones will become so commonplace -- prioritize, parenting, brainstorm, blog -- it's strange to think of trying to ban them. With something as delightful and amazing as language, half the fun for wordsmiths is watching usage change over time.

In some ways, putting a straight-up ban on words that are part of people's everyday conversations seems like a stodgy approach. However, LSSU's banished word list serves as a reminder to be creative and deft with word choice -- to encourage thinking outside of the box -- rather than as a prescriptive ban. It can also just be an interesting snapshot of what’s hot and hated in language year-by-year.

That said, if you catch yourself telling your bae, who’s a real foodie, about a cra-cra hack for getting free swag, it might be time to think about expanding your vocabulary.

Or not, whatever. It's all good.

Here's When All Your Favorite TV Shows Premiere In 2015

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The worst part of winter, when all of your favorite television shows go into hibernation and the networks are re-runs, is almost over. Soon, we'll find new episodes of "Downton Abbey," an entire new season of "House of Cards" to binge and brand spankin' new shows like "Better Call Saul." Here are all the winter and spring premiere dates for 2015's TV shows.

HuffPost Entertainment will attempt to keep this list as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

Sunday, Jan. 4
"Galavant" series premiere (ABC)
"Downton Abbey" Season 5 premiere (PBS)
"Bob's Burgers" returns (Fox)
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" returns (Fox)
"Family Guy" returns (Fox)
"Celebrity Apprentice" Season 7 premiere (NBC)

Monday, Jan. 5
"The Bachelor" Season 19 premiere (ABC)
"Gotham" returns (Fox)
"Sleepy Hollow" returns (Fox)
"State of Affairs" returns (NBC)

Tuesday, Jan. 6
"Pretty Little Liars" Season 5B premiere (ABC Family)
"Agent Carter" series premiere (ABC)
"Masterchef Junior" Season 3 premiere (Fox)
"Switched at Birth" (ABC Family)
"CougarTown" (TBS)
"The Challenge: Battle of the Exes 2" premiere (MTV)
"The Mindy Project" returns (Fox)
"New Girl" returns (Fox)
"About A Boy" returns (NBC)

Wednesday, Jan. 7
"American Horror Story" returns (FX)
"Empire" series premiere (Fox)

Thursday, Jan. 8
"American Idol" Season 14 premiere (Fox)
"Portlandia" Season 5 premiere (IFC)
"Archer" Season 6 premiere (FX)
"Parenthood" returns (NBC)

Friday, Jan. 9
"Glee" Season 6 premiere (Fox)
"Hart of Dixie" returns (The CW)
"Banshee" Season 3 premiere (Cinemax)
"Comedy Bang! Bang!" Season 4 premiere (IFC)

Sunday, Jan. 11
"Shameless" Season 5 premiere (Showtime)
"Girls" Season 4 premiere (HBO)
"Togetherness" series premiere (HBO)
"House of Lies" Season 4 premiere (Showtime)
"Looking" Season 2 premiere (HBO)
"Episodes" Season 4 premiere (Showtime)
"Mulaney" returns (Fox)

Monday, Jan. 11
"Eye Candy" series premiere (MTV)

Tuesday, Jan. 12
"Parks And Recreation" Season 7 premiere (NBC)
"Kroll Show" Season 3 premiere (Comedy Central)

Wednesday, Jan. 14
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 10 premiere (FXX)
"Workaholics" Season 5 premiere (Comedy Central)
"Broad City" Season 2 premiere (Comedy Central)

Monday, Jan. 19
"The Fosters" returns (ABC Family)
"Chasing Life" returns (ABC Family)
Larry Wilmore's "The Nightly Show" Series premiere (Comedy Central)
"Jane The Virgin" returns (The CW)

Tuesday, Jan. 20
"Justified" Season 6 premiere (FX)

Thursday, Jan. 22
"Backstrom" series premiere (Fox)

Tuesday, Jan. 27
"Sirens" Season 2 premiere (USA)

Wednesday, Jan. 28
"The Americans" Season 3 premiere (FX)
"Suits" returns (USA)

Thursday, Jan. 29
"Grey's Anatomy" returns (ABC)
"Scandal" returns (ABC)
"How To Get Away With Murder" returns (ABC)

Sunday, Feb. 1
"The Blacklist" returns (NBC)

Wednesday, Feb. 4
"Fresh Off The Boat" series premiere (ABC)

Thursday, Feb. 5
"Allegiance" series premiere (NBC)

Sunday, Feb. 8
"The Walking Dead" returns (AMC)
"Better Call Saul" series premiere (AMC)

Thursday, Feb. 19
"The Odd Couple" series premiere (CBS)

Wednesday, Feb. 25
"Survivor" Season 30 premiere (CBS)
"The Amazing Race" returns (CBS)

Friday, Feb. 27
"House Of Cards" Season 3 release (Netflix)

Sunday, March 1
"Once Upon A Time" returns (ABC)
"Secrets And Lies" series premiere (ABC)
"Last Man On Earth" series premiere (Fox)
"Battle Creek" series premiere (CBS)

Monday, March 2
"The Following" Season 3 premiere (Fox)

Tuesday, March 3
"Hell's Kitchen" Season 14 premiere (Fox)
"Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" returns (ABC)

Thursday, March 5
"American Crime" series premiere (ABC)

Monday, March 9
"The Late Late Show With James Corden" series premiere (CBS)

Tuesday, March 17
"One Big Happy" series premiere (NBC)

Saturday, April 4
"Outlander" Season 2 premiere (Starz)

Sunday, April 5
"A.D" series premiere (NBC)

Saturday, April 18
"Orphan Black" Season 3 premiere (BBC America)

Thursday, May 14
"Wayward Pines" series premiere (Fox)

12 Movies For The Next 12 Months

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The new year has finally arrived. To celebrate the start of 2015, HuffPost Entertainment has compiled a list of 12 movies for the next 12 months (with some others of note listed too). Happy watching!

January: "Blackhat"

blackhat

Michael Mann's first movie in six years stars Chris Hemsworth as a computer genius. You crazy for this one, Mann! (Jan. 16)

Other films of note: "Taken 3" (Jan. 9), "The Wedding Ringer" (Jan. 16), "The Boy Next Door" (Jan. 23), "Mortdecai" (Jan. 23)

February: "Fifty Shades of Grey"

50 shades

You don't really want to see it. We don't really want to see it, either. But we're all going to see it. (Feb. 13)

Other films of note: "Jupiter Ascending" (Feb. 6), "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (Feb. 13), "The Last Five Years" (Feb. 13), "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" (Feb. 20), "McFarland USA" (Feb. 20), "Focus" (Feb. 27)

March: "While We're Young"

while were young

There are a host of big movies out in March, but give us Noah Baumbach's indie, one of the best films to screen on the festival circuit in 2014. (March 27)

Other films of note: "Chappie" (March 6), "Unfinished Business" (March 6), "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (March 6), "Cinderella" (March 13), "In the Heart of the Sea" (March 13), "The Divergent Series: Insurgent" (March 20), "The Gunman" (March 20), "Danny Collins" (March 20), "Get Hard" (March 27), "Home" (March 27)

April: "Furious 7"

furious 7

Yes please. (April 3)

Other films of note: "The Longest Ride" (April 10), "Child 44" (April 17), "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" (April 17), "Age of Adaline" (April 24), "Rock the Kasbah" (April 24)

May: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

avengers age of ultron

The sequel to the biggest superhero movie ever adds some new cast members (James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to further our theory that soon every actor will star in a Marvel movie. (May 1)

Other films of note: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (May 15), "Pitch Perfect 2" (May 15), "Spy" (May 22), "Tomorrowland" (May 22), "San Andreas" (May 29), An untitled Cameron Crowe movie (May 29)

June: "Inside Out"

inside out

A non-franchise film from Pixar about the complex emotions inside a young woman. (June 19)

Other films of note: "Entourage" (June 5), "Paper Towns" (June 5), "Insidious Chapter 3" (June 5), "Jurassic World" (June 12), "Ted 2" (June 26)

July: "Trainwreck"

amy schumer trainwreck

Judd Apatow teams with Amy Schumer for your new favorite comedy. (July 17)

Other films of note: "Magic Mike XXL" (July 1), "Terminator Genisys" (July 1), "Minions" (July 10), "Ant-Man" (July 17), "Pan" (July 24), "Pixels" (July 24), "Poltergeist" (July 24), "Grimsby" (July 31), "Point Break" (July 31)

August: "Ricki and the Flash"

meryl streep

Diablo Cody wrote a movie about an aging rock star, who's played by Meryl Streep. (Aug. 7)

Other films of note: "The Fantastic Four" (Aug. 7), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (Aug. 14), "Masterminds" (Aug. 14), "Straight Outta Compton" (Aug. 14), "Criminal" (Aug. 21), "Max" (Aug. 21), "Regression" (Aug. 28)

September: "Triple Nine"

chiwetel ejiofor

Directed by John Hillcoat, this thriller stars Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Woody Harrelson, Gal Gadot and Kate Winslet, aka the year's best cast. (Sept. 11)

Other films of note: "Jane Got a Gun" (Sept. 4), "Kitchen Sink" (Sept. 4), "The Visit" (Sept. 11), "Everest" (Sept. 18), "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" (Sept. 18), An untitled Whitey Bulger film starring Johnny Depp (Sept. 18), "Hotel Transylvania 2" (Sept. 25), "The Intern" (Sept. 25)

October: Steven Spielberg's Untitled Cold War Movie

spielberg hanks

Starring Tom Hanks, Spielberg's latest focuses on a lawyer who tries to negotiate the release of Francis Gary Powers after his plane was shot down in 1960. (Oct. 16)

Other films of note: "London Has Fallen" (Oct. 2), "Victor Frankenstein" (Oct. 2), "The Walk" (Oct. 2), "The Jungle Book" (Oct. 9), "Kidnap" (Oct. 9), "Vacation" (Oct. 9), "Crimson Peak" (Oct. 16), "Jem and the Holograms" (Oct. 23), "The Last Witch Hunter" (Oct. 23), "Scouts vs. Zombies" (Oct. 30)

November: "Spectre"

christoph waltz

The latest James Bond film comes equipped with new expectations (the last film earned more than $1.1 billion worldwide) and a new villain who might be old: Christoph Waltz, who may play Blofeld (or maybe not). (Nov. 6)

Other films of note: "The Peanuts Movie" (Nov. 6), "Friday the 13th" (Nov. 13), "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" (Nov. 20), "The Good Dinosaur" (Nov. 25), "The Martian" (Nov. 25), "Midnight Special" (Nov. 25), An untitled Seth Rogen Christmas comedy (Nov. 25)

December: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

force awakens gifs

The year's most anticipated film, if only to see what it actually looks like. (Dec. 18)

Other films of note: "Krampus" (Dec. 4), "Sisters" (Dec. 18), "Joy" (Dec. 25), "Mission: Impossible 5" (Dec. 25), "The Revenant" (Dec. 25)

Bonus: "The Hateful Eight"

hateful eight trailer

The Weinstein Company hasn't dated Quentin Tarantino's next film, but it's expected to come out toward the end of 2015.

All release dates subject to change.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: The Strange But True Life Of Robert Ripley

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In the world of weird news, perhaps, no one stands taller than Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

Ripley started out as a sports cartoonist, but managed to turn an interest in the strange and bizarre aspects of the world into an international conglomerate that includes books, newspaper columns, TV shows and "Odditoriums" where the weirder parts of the collection are displayed.

The life of this weird news wizard is the focus of "American Experience Presents 'Ripley: Believe It or Not,'" a special premiering Jan. 6 on PBS.

This exclusive video clip explains why Believe It Or Not! remains so unbelievably popular 65 years after Ripley's death.





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The Problem With Reading Competitively

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Many of us readers like to think of ourselves as unlike everyone else. We’re not macho or ego-driven, but retiring, introspective, and thoughtful, right? But anyone who’s spent time around bookworms knows we can be deeply competitive, whether we’re airily noting the time we read War and Peace in seventh grade or offhandedly mentioning that we read 200 books a year, no big deal. These two forms of literary competition tend to belong to warring factions, the snobs and the every-reader. The snob turns up her nose at the idea that reading 15 Y.A. books means anything at all, as she prefers to read Dostoevsky; the every-reader reviles snobs who “tell people how to read,” but often loves to humblebrag about how many books (Y.A. or non-) he plowed through last week. Regardless, we’re almost all competing, on some level, to be the best, most readery reader we know.

Increasingly, with literary snobbishness on its heels (after all, it’s hard to love a snob), the every-reader seems to be dictating the rules, and the rules of the game are: read more books and win. New Year’s is a particularly competitive season, as we tot up our year’s worth of books and set more ambitious goals for next year. People write articles or tweets about their own reading resolutions, and suddenly even our ambitious goals seem pathetic, and must be augmented again. One writer felt the need to assure readers that though she’s not taking the Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2015, she’ll probably still read 100 books this year -- yes, even when we’re not competing, we’re competing.

Admittedly, it’s hard to resist a little competition. For those of us who loved reading as kids, we quickly learned to associate reading massive piles of books with earning Accelerated Reader points and personal pan pizzas, and it’s hard to let go of that feeling of urgency even when we supposedly mature. My boyfriend has even gotten into it by proxy. Recently, he mentioned that a friend had told him that his wife reads 10 books a month. In a somewhat smug tone, he added, “I bet you read more than that, though, right?” Yep, just two bros, arguing over whose significant other reads more books every 30 days. I felt a petty urge to say “Yeah, of course,” but I knew I couldn’t -- and what’s more, I suddenly hated the part of myself that cared about “winning.”

There’s a quote I often see on literary Pinterests and Facebook walls, usually Photoshopped onto an image of dusty bookshelves: “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” This quote, attributed to Mortimer J. Adler, the author of How to Read a Book, espouses an easy-to-love sentiment: It’s not about winning, but about having a rich experience. Yet how many of us self-identified bookworms love to casually drop into conversation that we read a book a day, or avidly update our Goodreads pages to ensure everyone knows we’ve read yet another book?

Last year, my New Year’s resolution was to be a better reader, and it led to a blissful year of reading. Instead of spending my evenings with Netflix, I spent them with novels -- usually -- and I convinced my boyfriend to lower the volume of his football games so I could read on the couch without finding myself watching NFL RedZone all day. After starting as an editor at HuffPost Books, things have only gotten better. A friend asked me the other day if reading for work makes it less fun, and I honestly answered no; reading is a skill that grows more pleasurable and fulfilling the more we practice it, and being pushed to read more only enhances my joy in it.

That said, I shy away from set resolutions to read a certain number of books next year. Pushing myself to read more and more books can lead to undesirable consequences -- dismissing longer or more difficult books as too much of a time investment, racing through books that would yield more if I read them more slowly. I don't just want to become a more prolific reader, but a better reader, and, in the words of Mortimer Adler, "You must tackle books that are beyond you ... unless you stretch, you will not learn." Active, difficult reading takes time away from speeding through a checklist, but the rewards are far greater.

There’s a small, competitive voice in my head urging me to make 2015 the year I read more books than ever, but my New Year’s resolution is to ignore that voice. I’m not even going to resolve to read the “impressive” books I shamefully long to be able to drop into party conversation, like Ulysses or Infinite Jest, though I plan to read them someday (apparently they're pretty good). Instead, I’m just resolving to use my reading time more meaningfully, not getting through books but letting them get through to me. I want to take more notes, maybe even annotate my pristine pages, and invest my time in fully exploring those books that offer the most to me as a reader.

I want 2015 to be the year that I don’t pick up the 170-page book solely because the 600-page one would prevent me from carving new notches on my bookcase. After all, one of the best books I read this year demanded great commitment and many hours from me -- far more than most I read -- and it was worth every second. I want to read complex, stylized books like Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing slowly, deliberately, examining the artistic choices and subtleties of meaning, not hastily, with a buzz in the back of my head reminding me of all the other books I need to get to next.

We’ve long been proponents here at HuffPost Books of unaccelerated, even slow reading. This year, I am resolving to apply that philosophy more mindfully to my own reading practices. Here’s hoping that we’ll all stop feeling like we have to read at the speed of light -- and make sure everyone knows -- in the new year.

'A Trip To The Continent' Maps Tourism Industry Of 1900 England

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Maps are typically perceived as practical, neutral objects -- the road map in the glove compartment of your car is a faithful representation of the terrain through which you’re traveling, not a political or artistic statement. Well, of course it’s not that simple; for one thing, the earth is not as flat as the pages of a map, so maps must be distorted to some degree. Choices must be made about which towns and cities will be put on the map, where to draw certain borders. To some extent, nearly every map contains an agenda, whether political, sociological, or commercial.

A recent book by Tim Bryars and Tom Harper, A History of the 20th Century in 100 Maps, charts the political and social upheavals of the last century by means of maps, digging below the functional surface to reveal how maps of the time reflected popular ideas, prejudices, and waves of progress. The 20th century, the authors explain, was a particularly fertile time for mapmakers, and the book showcases maps in the form of picture postcards, board games, and book endpapers, maps meant for government purposes and maps intended for mass consumption. The highly eclectic result serves in itself as a reminder of the myriad ways in which we see and interpret the world around us.

The map excerpted below, a 1900 board game entitled A Trip to the Continent, may only seem like a map in the loosest sense, but its depiction of the geography and travel routes between England and Continental Europe offers a telling glimpse into its era. Though no rulebook is available, players would presumably race from London to Berlin, choosing from three available routes and likely using dice or a spinner to determine their progress. The game seems painfully simple, but the layout is fascinating. As the authors note, “A decade later a ‘race to Berlin’ would have carried entirely different connotations, but in the years leading up to the Great War, Germany was one of the top tourist destinations.” The concept of continental travel as a popular pastime also bespeaks the increasing ease of international travel around the turn of the 20th century, the authors point out: “Travel would never again be the preserve of a monied elite … Some Britons were already seeking out unspoiled corners where they wouldn’t hear another English voice, especially a ‘cockney’ or lower-class one.” Sound familiar?

Here's the full board game, excerpted with permission from A History of the Twentieth Century in 100 Maps; for more about the game and 99 other fascinating maps from the previous century, consult the full book:

triptothecontinent

Reprinted with permission from A History of the Twentieth Century in 100 Maps by Tim Bryars and Tom Harper, published in the United States by the University of Chicago Press.

Text © 2014 by Tim Bryars and Tom Harper. Illustrations © 2014 by The British Library Board. All rights reserved.

Kanye's Beautiful New Song, 'Only One,' Makes Kim Cry Every Time She Hears It (And It Features Paul McCartney)

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Kanye West rang in 2015 with a new song featuring Paul McCartney. Called "Only One," the track is sung by West from the vantage point of his late mother, Donda West, with McCartney adding accompaniment on keyboard. "One day, you'll be the man you always knew you would be," West sings. "And if you knew how proud I was, you'd never shed a tear, have a fear, no you wouldn't do that."

A press release announcing the song said "Only One" was the "first publicly available recording from what has become a prolific musical collaboration between these two legendary artists."

The release also included some backstory on the project:

In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in "Only One" began with a simple brainstorming session between the two: With McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and shaping ideas in a stream-of-consciousness riff.

When they played back the recording afterward, something remarkable happened. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, "Hello, my only one . . . " And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him.

The process of artistic creation is one that does not involve thinking, but often channeling. And he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day.

"My mom was singing to me, and through me to my daughter," he said, astonished.


We're in, and so is Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian:







Listen to the track over at West's website; it's also available for purchase on iTunes. Check out the lyrics to "Only One," via West's site, below.

kanye west

kanye west

31 Photographs That Will Show You The Future of Photography

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How does a photographer get ahead in a world of images? More specifically, how do young photographers “make it” amid all the chaos? One way is through Foam, an important center of photography in Amsterdam that has been giving out annual awards for young talent over the past seven years.

This year, from a pool of 1,473 candidates across 71 countries, 21 artists have been selected. For the winners, it’s an invaluable opportunity for professional growth. Their work is touring the world: first Amsterdam, then Paris; now, at the East Wing Gallery in Dubai, until January 10th.

Foam’s goal is not only to make these promising artists known to the world but also to reflect on how photography in general is changing. As we look at the winners’ work, it becomes evident that the relationship between photography and contemporary art is getting stronger and stronger.

Some examples? Take the Japanese duo Nerhol, who create portraits of people by using overlapping sheets. While they seem to be digital images, they’re actually deeply unique 3D creations. Or the Canadian Émilie Régnier, who went to Africa to tell the story of the lives of young Africans who are reckoning with their future. Then there are David Lynch’s disturbing scenes, which have inspired Johnny Briggs. The latter has created some panoramas or characters with semi-human aspects quite troubling to the viewer. Yoshinori Mizutani's spectacularly direct, intimate photography reveals tiny parrots scattered throughout the sky of Tokyo. And no one's ever had closer contact with the most affluent social classes of Beijing than Charles-Henry Bédué, who dives into the realm of clothes, shoes, purses, cell phones and food, all of which are becoming symbols of power in the country.

Behold, 31 photographs that will show you the future of photography.



This post originally appeared on The Huffington Post Italy and was translated into English.

10 Must-See Movies From The Arab World You Should Watch In 2015

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There is nothing better than a good movie to start the New Year.

Following the success of the Carthage Festival, the Festival of Algiers and the Marrakech Festival, emerging film festivals in Maghreb and the Middle East have seen great success in the past few years. More local cinema productions have appeared in the Arab world’s film industry, which has resulted in significant media and public interest in movies from the region throughout the world. In spite of the revolutions, the sometimes slow democratic transitions, and the persistent dictatorships in Arab countries, 2014 was a year rich in movies.

Below, Huffpost Tunisia invites you to go through a small selection of must-see Arab movies released in 2014 that should be part of your screening queue in 2015.



This post originally appeared on HuffPost Tunisia and was translated into English.

'Foxcatcher' Subject Mark Schultz Apologizes For Harsh Language After Blasting Film On Twitter

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One day after social media accounts attributed to "Foxcatcher" subject Mark Schultz blasted the film and director Bennett Miller, Schultz apologized for the language he used but not the sentiment.

"My story and my life are real. I am a real human being. While I may have tweeted out of anger, I in no way regret standing up for myself, nor do I regret calling out the only other man who has had decision making power concerning my image and legacy these past years," Schultz wrote on his public Facebook page. "I apologize for the harshness of my language, but I am firm in where I stand. I will gladly go to any lengths to protect and safeguard the integrity and truth of my story, my life, my character and my legacy. If that's not worth fighting over while I'm still alive, I don't know what is."

Over the course of multiple tweets on Dec. 31, Schultz, a Gold medal-winning wrestler played by Channing Tatum in "Foxcatcher," slammed Miller ("I HATE BENNETT MILLER") and the film itself ("I hate it"). HuffPost Entertainment took screenshots of the tweets before they were deleted.

mark schultz

mark schultz

The tweets weren't the first time social media accounts tied to Schultz slammed "Foxcatcher." One day earlier, on another Facebook account credited to Schultz, a post recounting the wrestler's purported issues with the film went live.

"The personalities and relationships between the characters in the film are primarily fiction and, although Channing is outstanding, the personality is not accurate," read the post. "However, I think Channing played me the only way it was possible to play me due to the confines of the director's vision."

That piece apparently also took issue with a specific scene in "Foxcatcher" where Miller alluded to a possible sexual relationship between Schultz and John du Pont (played by Steve Carell). According to BuzzFeed, Schultz wrote that it was a "sickening and insulting lie" and added that he told Miller to cut the sequence. "Then after reading 3 or 4 reviews interpreting it sexually, and jeopardizing my legacy, they need to have a press conference to clear the air, or I will," Schultz wrote, per CBS News. Those sentences have since been cut from that Facebook post.

Schultz has often publicly supported "Foxcatcher" since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2014, so much so that Variety reported people close to the film were "caught off guard" by his comments. Neither Schultz nor representatives for Miller were immediately available for comment when contacted by HuffPost Entertainment.

Schultz's own book, "Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John du Pont's Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold," was released on Nov. 18.

Bono: I May Never Play Guitar Again After Cycling Crash

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LONDON (AP) — Bono says he now has a titanium elbow and may never play guitar again due to injuries suffered in a New York City cycling accident.

The 54-year-old U2 frontman suffered multiple injuries, including fractures to his left eye socket, shoulder blade and left elbow, when he crashed his bike in Central Park in November. He required hours of surgery after what doctors called a "high-energy bicycle accident." On the band's website Thursday, Bono said the "recovery has been more difficult than I thought. As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again."

He added that his bandmates — The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen — "have reminded me that neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this."

"I personally would very much miss fingering the frets of my green Irish falcon or my ... Gretsch," Bono wrote. "Just for the pleasure, aside from writing tunes. But then does the Edge, or Jimmy Page, or any guitarist you know have a titanium elbow, as I do now?"

The Edge is U2's principal guitarist.

Bono said he hadn't "been able to move around physically" since the accident, and would "have to concentrate hard" to be ready for a U2 tour due to start in May.

Barb Jungr On Kicking Off 2015 With Her 'Mad About The Boy And No Regrets' Cabaret Show In New York

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Barb Jungr likens her show, “Mad About The Boy And No Regrets,” to the act of renewal and, more specifically, “shedding one’s skin,” so it’s only appropriate that her New York engagement kick off at the start of 2015.

When she hits the stage of venerable Manhattan nightspot 54 Below on Jan. 2, the British singer-songwriter, 60, will tackle songs by Bruce Springsteen, Noel Coward, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, among others. Still, she says anyone seeking inspiration as far as resolutions or explicit messages are concerned would be better served elsewhere.

“I don’t ever want to feel that I’ve become a message bearer, other than…I would like there to be joy in the world through the medium of what I do as a musician and an artist,” Jungr told The Huffington Post in an interview. “By excavating what we excavate, we allow the possibility that we can see the whole landscape. “

Jungr, who is of both Czech and German descent, has been labeled a chansonnière in Europe, but her musical interpretations often defy classification stateside. While she was hailed as the "high priestess of cabaret" by Time Out New York, Jungr makes it clear that her aspirations extend into other genres, too.

“I think I’m a cabaret artist and a jazz singer,” she said. “Because I improvise, re-harmonize [and] I deal with music in a certain way, my feet are in jazz. But my sensibility is in cabaret.”

In November 2014, Jungr brought another show, “Hard Rain,” to New York’s 59E59 Theater. Jungr says she sees that show, hailed by The New York Times for its “astounding emotional range,” and her album of the same name as the politically-edged counterparts to “Mad About The Boy,” which was conceived prior to “Hard Rain” and features a fearlessly romantic, though unsentimental, tone.

As both shows evidence, Jungr is perhaps best known for her interpretations of Dylan's songs. Regarding her tendency to emphasize material written by male singer-songwriters, she noted, “I get to understand things that I don’t necessarily understand. It’s the word made fresh. It’s a revelation to me.“

Above all, Jungr, who says she’s a fan of Eliza Carthy, Gillian Welch and Meghan Trainor among other contemporary female performers, favors material with an edge, even if she doesn’t like to “intellectualize” her set lists too much beforehand.

“I like songs that strip away the stuff, so that when you’re singing them, you access something that goes beyond words and people can also access within themselves -- who knows what it is? It’s best we don’t ever try and nail that down,” she said. “But I like a bit of bite to the work. I want a little bit of kicking, a little bit of irreverence. I want a little bit of knickers off and here’s my backside.”

Barb Jungr's "Mad About The Boy And No Regrets" plays New York's 54 Below on Jan. 2-4. Head here for more information.

One Of These 21 Movies Will Probably Win Best Picture At The 2015 Oscars

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best picture

Welcome to For Your Consideration, HuffPost Entertainment's breakdown of all things Oscar. Between now and Feb. 22, 2015, entertainment managing editor Christopher Rosen and entertainment editor Matthew Jacobs will pore over awards season and discuss which films will make the most noise at the 87th annual Academy Awards.

The finish line is here. We are two weeks away from the Oscar nominations, which means studios need to put any last-minute campaigning into overdrive. With voting having already opened (see our dream ballots here), it stands to reason that the state of the race has more or less been determined. Still, we hope to see plenty of surprises when the nominations arive on Jan. 15, especially in the Best Picture field, where the number of nominees remains a question mark. (Since a 2011 rule change, the Academy Awards can nominate anywhere between five and 10 films for Best Picture.) There's arguably still no clear front-runner, but five movies ("Selma," "Boyhood," "The Imitation Game," "Birdman" and "The Theory of Everything") seem like guarantees, with ample contenders trying to edge their way into the remaining slots. Here are the 21 movies competing in the marathon:

9 Art Therapy Techniques To Help You De-Stress In 2015

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Welcome to the New Year! Whether you're already hard at work making your fresh batch of New Year's resolutions a reality, or still nursing your hangover and breaking all of them at once, we're here to ease you into equilibrium with a little dose of calmness and creativity. The following art therapy techniques are designed to stimulate the imagination and soothe the soul with easy exercises for anyone from age five to 100. What better way to ring in 2015 than making an effort to let simple creative expression ease out those inner knots and work you into a state of inspired self-possession?

Art therapy is a form of therapy predicated on the belief that artistic expression has the power to help us in healing, in self-esteem or simply in chilling out. It's unique in that most other forms of therapy rely on language as the foremost mode of communication, whereas art requires something different, something harder to define.

We're not art therapists, and the techniques below are only suggestions based on practices familiar to the art therapy community. But for those hungry for a creative outlet to relieve the tension that tends to build up this time of year, the practices below may help. They require few materials and no artistic background -- in fact, the less art you make, the better. The following suggestions are less about the final product, and more about the transformation that occurs along the way.

1. Make an invisible New Year's resolution visible (and beautiful)

new years resolutions

New Year's resolutions. How did something so seemingly restorative turn into something so incredibly stressful? Instead of promising yourself to floss more or eat less, focus some attention on an invisible accomplishment, something that's either too big or too small to see with your eyes. Instead of writing it in the notebook with the rest of your resolutions, devote some time to making your personal goal into a beautiful object, a visual mantra that inspires you just upon seeing it.



2. Create a memory jug

memory jug

Memory jugs originated with members of Africa’s Bakongo communities, who believed the physical world was connected to the spiritual world by water. They often decorated graves with water-centric items like jugs to connect deceased spirits to the waterways that would lead them to the afterlife. The ritual was revived recently as a form of found art sculpture, or 3D scrapbooking. Use lacquer to adhere found objects to a vase, jug or pot -- whether they remind you of a specific person, recall a certain time in your life, or just make you smile.



3. Do a doodle a day

doodle

You know what's hard? Taking time out of a hectic schedule to create a work of art when you have absolutely no idea where to start. You know what's easy? Taking a few minutes to break from your day and scribble out a little weirdness, just for the sake of keeping that hand moving. Divide each page of a sketchbook into fourths and create one simple drawing every day -- really, if you draw a happy face as your falling asleep it's okay. Just getting into the creative rhythm will get your imagination churning. Soon you'll feel more comfortable with your artistic style and be struck by inspiration during your daily routine. You may even want to spend more than five minutes on a drawing someday. But worry not, doodles always look good.



4. Shed your old skin into a sculpture

found object pile

Okay, this is far less creepy than it sounds. This suggestion is for those doing some early spring cleaning or getting rid of old belongings -- be they clothes, papers, glasses, buttons, defunct technologies. Instead of tossing away your old junk, use the materials to create a sculpture of a former self, immortalizing the (insert appropriate adjective here) year that was 2014. The sculpture does not have to (and probably won't) look like you; it can be abstract, geometric, organic or all of the above. Even if the materials seem meaningless now, they'll become treasures with the passing of time, and the ceremony of creating the sculpture provides great closure in moving on to the new year.



5. Use your non-dominant hand to create

child drawing

You know that Pablo Picasso quote, "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up"? Firstly, make that "he" a "he or she." Now, channel this Picasso-ian sentiment by unlearning anything you've ever learned about style, control and discipline by passing your pencil to the other hand. Before you know it, you'll have the uncertain, wiggly, unfettered stroke of a child -- and thus, by the transitive Picasso principle, of a bona fide artist.



6. Craft an intention stick

twigs

Whether you call them intention sticks, prayer sticks, wish sticks or talismans, their purpose is the same: to provide a physical object for you to wrap your hands around and bring you strength as well as peace of mind. Intention sticks, which have roots in Hopi and Tibetan traditions, gain their power from the positive energy posited in the stick during its creation -- so basically, make sure you're in a good mood when you make it! Find a stick that fits perfectly in your hands, think of it like a magic wand, paint it and decorate it with mantras or intentions close to your heart. Add string, feathers, glitter, beads and whatever else you wish and keep the stick in a secret place for when you need it most.



7. Make your own stencil

stencil

If you're having trouble embarking on an artwork itself, how about starting with the artistic medium instead? You can make a DIY stencil from a cardboard box, playing card, cereal box -- the list continues. Use scissors to cut out a shape all your own and you can make your imprint, quite literally, on any future artworks or random pieces of paper you happen to encounter. Don't worry about straight lines and perfect proportions; with a handmade stencil, the more rugged the better.



8. Draw through the darkness

abstract drawing

Take out pencils, pastels, crayons and a giant piece of paper. Close your eyes. You can listen to music or work in darkness, but focus on visualizing the abstract shapes and patterns swirling in your head, giving them time to focus and take shape. Without opening your eyes, draw what you see -- without, actually, seeing anything at all. The resulting image will be unlike anything that exists outside your head, and that's pretty special if we do say so ourselves.



9. Turn your fears into a (literal) monster

monster painting

Sometimes the only way to lessen your fears is to face them head on. Think about something that frightens you, whether it's "spiders," "being a bad artist," "going broke" or "losing my way." Give this fear a shape, a color and a texture; it can be as abstract or symbolic as you wish. Creating the beast outside of you will strip your fear of some of its power, especially when comparing it to the (now often silly) fears we all had as a child.

See our earlier art therapy suggestions here and here.

Piano Stores Are Closing As Fewer Children Take Up The Instrument

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BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — When Jim Foster opened his piano store 30 years ago, he had 10 competitors selling just pianos.

When he closed Foster Family Music in late December, not one was still selling pianos in the Quad-Cities area of Iowa and Illinois. "We did try hard to find a buyer," Foster said. There were no takers.

Stores dedicated to selling pianos like Foster's are dwindling across the country as fewer people take up the instrument and those who do often opt for a less expensive electronic keyboard or a used piano. Some blame computers and others note the high cost of new pianos, but what's clear is that a long-term decline in sales has accelerated.

The best year for new piano sales in the U.S. was 1909, when more than 364,500 were sold. But after gently falling over the years, piano sales have plunged more recently to between 30,000 and 40,000 annually.

Larry Fine, a Boston-based piano technician, consultant and author, said it is an indication of a changing society.

"Computer technology has just changed everything about what kids are interested in," said Fine, who also publishes a website offering consumer information on new and used pianos. "People are interested in things that don't take much effort, so the idea of sitting and playing an hour a day to learn piano is not what kids want to do."

Youth sports demands also compete with music studies.

"Children these days are being recruited for so many other activities, whether it's soccer, gymnastics, or swimming," said Robin Walenta, CEO of West Music, a music retailer with a chain of stores in Iowa and Illinois.

To succeed now, Walenta said retailers must engage families in music education. Her company offers an early childhood music program that starts with 3-month-old babies. A keyboard exploration program is available for youngsters until they're ready to begin individual lessons at age 7 or 8.

Foster Family Music survived because it took a similar approach, offering digital pianos and acoustic pianos with built-in electronics for student lessons and hosting thousands of students in large performance events, Foster said, sitting at a Wi-Fi and fiber optic-equipped Yamaha Disklavier grand piano.

Walenta said those types of features on pianos help ensure the instrument continues to be a mainstay for children learning music.

"On a digital piano they can practice with a harpsichord sound or a trumpet sound. It makes it more fun," she said. "Kids these days need that kind of interaction to be interested."

When Dennis Saphir recently closed his piano store in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, it was the end of a business his family started six generations ago in Vienna. He took it over from his father who brought the business to the U.S. during World War II.

Saphir said new piano sales are challenged by fewer parents requiring youngsters to take lessons as part of their upbringing and a glut of instruments already in homes.

"We actually found ourselves competing with our own pianos that came back on the market and, frankly, nothing was wrong with those pianos," he said. "We had serviced them and made sure customers took care of those pianos. There were lots of really excellent pianos on the market for a fraction of what the new piano would cost."

The average cost of a new grand piano last year was just over $16,000.

Well-maintained pianos can make music for 50 to 70 years, said Peter Stumpf, a piano technician for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Mellon University, also in Pittsburgh.

Stumpf acknowledged new piano retailers are challenged by technicians like him who restore well-made used pianos and sell them at a fraction of the cost.

The piano's design, durability and new flexibility brought by technology helps keep the instrument created by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori more than 300 years ago relevant today, said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of the National Association of Music Merchants, a music products industry trade association.

"Having all the notes laid out in front of you spatially is really an important way to learn music," he said. "It's why it's one of the most important instruments for people to begin on. That's not going to change."

This Was The Least Attended Year At The Movies Since 1995

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Hollywood is churning out more gargantuan franchises than ever before, but ticket sales reached a 19-year low in 2014. According to estimates, box-office receipts fell by 5.2 percent this year and attendance plunged by 6 percent on domestic shores. The 1.26 billion tickets sold mark the weakest sales since 1995, when such films as "Toy Story," "Batman Forever" and "Apollo 13" triggered a total 1.21 billion tickets sold.

2013's movies (the top titles were "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," "Iron Man 3" and "Frozen") sold 1.34 billion tickets, itself a mere 1 percent increase in admissions from 2012. Official figures on 2014's overall North American box office won't be ready until the National Association of Theater Owners determines the year's average movie-ticket price, but preliminary estimates maintain the woes that sprung from summer's disappointing turnout.

All this despite 17 of the year's 20 highest-grossing movies hailing from franchises or adaptations, commonly seen as the pot at the end of the Hollywood rainbow. Still, the No. 1 film -- Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- pulled in $92 million less than 2013's No. 1, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." The proliferation of costlier 3-D tickets skewers contemporary box-office tallies, but North America has yet to see a calendar year top the all-time high that "Spider-Man," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and other successes rendered in 2002.
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