Quantcast
Channel: Culture & Arts
Viewing all 18483 articles
Browse latest View live

'Hocus Pocus' Stage Show Is Going To Put A Spell On You At Disney World

0
0
After 22 years, "Hocus Pocus" is getting resurrected and this time around a virgin didn't even have to light the black flame candle to bring the Sanderson sisters back.

On Thursday, Walt Disney Parks announced that Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson will return to the world of the living in the "Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular." The live stage show will run during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party held on select nights at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Florida from Sept. 15 to Nov. 1.

And because Disney is suddenly bringing "Hocus Pocus" to the stage, naturally it makes us wonder if there is a sequel in store for the beloved 1993 film, which starred Bette Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters.

While Disney hasn't said anything about a sequel, during a Reddit AMA last year, Middler revealed she was totally down reprise her role as Winifred and cast another spell on audiences.

"You have to go to send in your cards to the Walt Disney company," she said. "The ball's in their court."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


Mariah Carey Slams 'American Idol' As 'Fake,' Calls It The 'Worst Experience' Of Her Life

0
0
Mariah Carey isn't the kind of person who worries about burning bridges, clearly.

On Thursday, the singer told us all how she really feels about "American Idol" during an interview on the "Kyle and Jackie O” radio show in Australia -- and she didn't hold back. Carey was a judge for a single season back in 2013 along with Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, and she made it clear she has no intention of returning to the show for its final season.

"Hell no! Absolutely not! That was the worst experience of my life," she told the radio show hosts, before alluding to an apparently show-manufactured feud between herself and Minaj.

“I’m not going to get into what it was. Let’s just say, I don’t think they had any interest in us having a good experience through that show. Pitting two females against each other wasn’t cool," Carey explained. “It should have been about the contestants instead of about some non-existent feud that turned into even more ridiculousness."

The "Infinity" singer also took issue with the show dubbing it "so boring and so fake."

"You have to make up things to say about people," she said. "Half the time the performances are good. You'd just be like, 'It was good!'"

Of course, this isn't the first time Carey has talked about her hellish experience with "American Idol." After coming off the show in 2013 she told Hot 97's Angie Martinez, "It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan."

Never change, Mariah Carey. Never change.









-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Shepard Fairey - Obama Hope Poster, Election 2016 And Rebel Music

0
0
Street artist Shepard Fairey and the Viacom-owned MTV, home to teen moms and teen wolves, are the Felix and Oscar of American culture wars. That they found common ground is something of a triumph.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Erin McKeown And Joseph Keckler Croon Judy Garland Classics In Honor Of Homeless LGBT Youth In New York

0
0
Judy Garland enjoys a near-mythic relationship with gay audiences past and present, so it's only fitting that her legacy would become a tribute to homeless LGBT youth in New York.

At 2014's "Night of a Thousand Judys," out performers Erin McKeown and Joseph Keckler paid appropriate homage to Garland with two unique takes on her legendary songbook. In the video above, McKeown, a Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter, puts a rockabilly spin on Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler's "Get Happy," which Garland introduced in 1950's "Summer Stock," opposite Gene Kelly. Keckler, who is an opera star, tackles the rarely-heard "Blue Prelude," from Garland's 1957 album, "Alone."



Now in its fifth year, "Night of a Thousand Judys" -- which is a special presentation of New York- and Los Angeles-based actor, writer and performer Justin Sayre's variety show, "The Meeting," and timed to coincide with LGBT Pride Month -- will benefit the Ali Forney Center, an advocacy group dedicated to homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens and young adults.

As in previous installments, performers from Broadway, television and downtown cabaret will hit New York's Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center June 1 to croon songs made famous by Garland during her fabled career. Michael Feinstein, Molly Pope, John Early and Jonah Verdon are now among the many stars on the 2015 lineup.

Sayre recently interviewed Ali Forney Center founder Carl Siciliano for his "Sparkle & Circulate with Justin Sayre" podcast. You can check that out here.

Meanwhile, you can also view some previous performances from "The Meeting" on Sayre's official YouTube page. For more Sayre, head to Facebook and Twitter, too.

“Night of a Thousand Judys” plays New York's Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Center on June 1. Head here for more details.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters And Nick Mason Reunite To Celebrate Group's 50th Anniversary

0
0
Fifty years ago, the members of just-formed Pink Floyd were mere souls swimming in a fishbowl. Now that they are some of rock's most championed performers, lead singer Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason reunited on Thursday at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic, where they founded the group, to honor Pink Floyd's semicentennial.

Along with unveiling a commemorative plaque, Waters and Mason, both 71, chatted with the press and bantered about how bad the band was in its inception. Waters joked about needing to "floss more" now that they've earned such a lofty recognition, while Mason said that "if we’d gone up for 'Britain’s Got Talent,' I don’t think we would have made it past the audition stage." (“We were effing awful," Waters retorted.)

Pink Floyd stopped touring in 1994, but the band has reunited a few times over the years, most notably at 2005's Live 8, which marked Waters' first performance with the group since 1981. Guitarist and singer David Gilmour was not on hand for Thursday's commemoration, as he was not a founding member. Keyboardist and singer Richard Wright died in 2008, while singer and guitarist Syd Barrett -- a founding member who was only with the band for three years -- died in 2006.

Pink Floyd is the second musical act to receive a Regent Street Heritage Plaque. They are preceded by David Bowie, who earned one in 2012. Bowie's is stationed at same spot where his artwork for "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" was captured.

Watch the videos below for more from Pink Floyd's commemoration:


Courtesy of The Globe and Mail


Courtesy of NBC News

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Shepard Fairey Thinks These Changes Could Help Obama Do More In The White House

0
0
Street artist Shepard Fairey shot to fame after designing the iconic poster used in then-Senator Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for president.

But now, he's questioning whether Obama is living up to the hype.

When Fairey was asked in an interview with Esquire if Obama had lived up to the famous "Hope" poster, the artist had a simple answer: "Not even close."

"Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he's compromised on that I never would have expected," Fairey said. "I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he'd support]."

obama hope poster
In this Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 file photo, Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey poses for a picture with his Barack Obama Hope artwork in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)


Fairey noted his issues aren't always with the president. Fairey suggested taking money out of politics and educating the American public to help facilitate positive moves in the White House.

"I hate to say Americans are ignorant and lazy, but a lot of them are ignorant and lazy," Fairey said.

"When you live in a place that has a lot of good things that make life easier, it's easier to take them for granted. But what frustrates me to no end are people who want to blame Obama or blame anything that is something that if they were actually doing anything as simple as voting, it might not be as bad as it is," Fairey added. "There's a lot of finger pointing and very little action and very little research into the dynamics that created the situation that they're unhappy about."

Fairey penned an op-ed for The Huffington Post in October 2012, explaining why he chose to vote for Obama. He previously blogged for HuffPost in 2010, where he expressed frustration in the hand Obama had been dealt.

Read more at Esquire.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Emma Stone Plays A Part-Asian Character In 'Aloha,' And That's Not Okay

0
0
Trailers for "Aloha," a new Cameron Crowe flick starring Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, cast a seductive spell: a lineup of absurdly charismatic stars, an idyllic island backdrop, a bit of action and a romantic triangle. But the film arrives in theaters today burdened by controversy, not least outcry from Hawaiian and Asian-American activists over the predominantly white cast.

Stone's casting as Allison Ng, a character described as a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese, stands as a particularly clear snub to the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Ng is a Chinese surname, and many Hawaiians are, in fact, of Chinese descent. Stone, however, is of neither Pacific Islander nor Chinese descent.

Celeste Ng, author of the bestselling Everything I Never Told You, noticed this odd discrepancy recently and tweeted her confusion:






Guy Aoki of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans expressed frustration over Stone's casting. "It's so typical for Asian or Pacific Islanders to be rendered invisible in stories that we're supposed to be in, in places that we live," he told The Huffington Post. "We're 60 percent of the population [in Hawaii]. We'd like them to reflect reality. "

Popular director Crowe's latest film has been haunted by rumors of poor quality and a lack of studio support since the Sony email leak in December 2014 exposed internal tensions over the film's execution. Bemoaning poor audience reactions in test screenings, then co-chairperson of Sony Pictures Entertainment Amy Pascal wrote, “I'm never starting a movie again when the script is ridiculous.” Strict limits on advance press viewings and review embargoes only stirred up more speculation that the long-awaited film is a dud; early reviews have indeed been brutal.

Even the carefully curated trailers for "Aloha" have attracted criticism, however.

The casting of a white actress as a part-Asian, Hawaiian character rings alarm bells for activists on the lookout for the erasure of Asians and Pacific Islanders from film and television. Asian-Americans are shockingly underrepresented onscreen.

"This casting reflects an overall pattern in Hollywood to seek out and prioritize white talent over actors of color," Marissa Lee, cofounder of Racebending.com, told HuffPost. Across the board, she argued, "institutions need to truly prioritize diversity in casting, and not only when it suits them."

Whistleblowers are clear that Stone's casting as Ng is only one symptom of a problem that plagues "Aloha." Though writer-director Crowe has emphasized his love for Hawaiian culture and desire to honor it in the film, Hawaiians have been troubled by the choice of a predominantly white cast for a movie set on the islands and guided by Hawaiian cultural themes.

"It's just in keeping with the whitewashed nature of this movie," Aoki said of Stone’s casting as Ng. "Doesn't it make sense they got over 30 white actors and instead of casting one who's part Asian, they go and make a white person part Asian?"

The Huffington Post reached out to Sony for comment, but as of press time, they had not provided a response. On Wednesday, Sony released a statement addressing widespread concern over the perceived whitewashing of Hawaii in “Aloha,” saying, “While some have been quick to judge a movie they haven’t seen and a script they haven’t read, the film Aloha respectfully showcases the spirit and culture of the Hawaiian people.”

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include reports that the character Allison Ng is described as both a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Terrance Hayes On The Joys Of Poetry: 'Poets Are ... The Decathletes Of Literature'

0
0


Too often, writing is swept into two neat categories: We have fiction, and we have nonfiction. A novel? Fiction. A memoir? Nonfiction. But what about a poem? It seems to dwell somewhere in a realm beyond fact and fantasy. A poem might recount imagined events or real ones, or a mixture, or put such a lyrical spin on quotidian reality that it hardly seems related to what we call "nonfiction."

Terrance Hayes, a poet who received a MacArthur "Genius Grant" in 2014 and published a collection, "How to Be Drawn," this spring, puts it this way: "It absorbs all the other mediums: memoir, fiction, journalism, the visual arts, music."

Poetry isn't just beyond classification; it encompasses it.

Hayes' poems, which crackle with linguistic fireworks and pulse with musical rhythms, exemplify the form's capacity to distill all other arts into just a few lines of text. Below, we've excerpted his "New York Poem," and talked to him about the special joys offered by poetry.

terrance hayes

What do you think poetry offers that other mediums don't?
I think one of poetry's gifts is mimicry. (Aristotle said something like that first.) It absorbs all the other mediums: memoir, fiction, journalism, the visual arts, music. Poets are like the decathletes of literature. (Obviously, I'm biased.)

What led you to fall in love with poetry?
I don't think I was interested in genre in the beginning. I read broadly. I loved Flannery O'Connor just as I loved Jean Toomer; I loved John Keats just as I loved Toni Morrison. When I applied for grad school, I did not specify genre. I said I wanted an MFA in Creative Writing. I was so cute and stupid! The admissions committee at Pitt decided to put me in poetry.

What is the most important thing to do when reading a poem?
Poems are not read, they are reread. Reread the poem, then read between the lines, then look at it, then watch it, then peek at it: handle it like an object. Contemplate its shadows, angles and dimensions.

Which contemporary poets do you think people should read?
How about all of them. I'd never reduce it to a handful of names. Start with the literary journals in nearby bookstores and libraries. Cruise the books on order for poetry classes at nearby colleges and universities. Every contemporary poet is a door to another poet.

Do you believe the rise of social media offers any great opportunities for poets and poetry? Any great obstacles?
No, social media is a new, additional medium: something to be absorbed and mirrored in language. It puts a new pressure on language, but that means it can also create new shapes in the language. Like Whitman stringing long lines across big sheets of newsprint or e.e. cummings at a type writer. The new modes of expression don't necessarily degrade old modes.

terrance hayes

New York Poem


In New York from a rooftop in Chinatown
one can see the sci-fi bridges and aisles
of buildings where there are more miles
of short cuts and alternative takes than
there are Miles Davis alternative takes.
There is a white girl who looks hijacked
with feeling in her glittering jacket
and her boots that look made of dinosaur
skin and R is saying to her I love you
again and again. On a Chinatown rooftop
in New York anything can happen.
Someone says abattoir is such a pretty word
for slaughterhouse. Someone says
mermaids are just fish ladies. I am so
fucking vain I cannot believe anyone
is threatened by me. In New York
not everyone is forgiven. Dear New York,
dear girl with a barcode tattooed
on the side of your face, and everyone
writing poems about and inside and outside
the subways, dear people underground
in New York, on the sci-fi bridges and aisles
of New York, on the rooftops of Chinatown
where Miles Davis is pumping in,
and someone is telling me about contranymns,
how cleave and cleave are the same word
looking in opposite directions, I now know
bolt is to lock and bolt is to run away.
That's how I think of New York. Someone
jonesing for Grace Jones at the party,
and someone jonesing for grace.



From HOW TO BE DRAWN by Terrance Hayes. Reprinted by arrangement with Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2015 by Terrance Hayes.



-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


Ladyfag's Pop Souk Taking Over Webster Hall May 31, 2015

0
0
This weekend, New York City nightlife icon Ladyfag will bring the fashion and art out of nightlife and into a daytime market where you can snatch eclectic items and meet some of the up-and-coming artists and designers of tomorrow.

Called Pop Souk, the pop up market will take place this year on a larger scale than ever before, filling the legendary Webster Hall -- from its balcony to the studio below -- with the work of almost 100 of downtown's NYC's budding creatives. Previous installments of Pop Souk have taken place on a smaller scale, like the 2013 market outside of the Standard Hotel.

Ladyfag, who was previously featured in the HuffPost Gay Voices series, "After Dark: NYC Nightlife Today And Days Past," has curated a massive line-up for this event, including Whatever21, BCALLA, TILLYandWILLIAM, Bond Hardware, Ben Copperwheat, Dominique Echeverria, Geoffrey Mac and Sir New York, among others. A full list of vendors can be found here.

Additionally, $1 of each $5 entry fee will be donated to the Ali Forney Center, benefiting queer homeless youth.

The Huffington Post spoke with Ladyfag this week about Pop Souk, how the pop up market has grown since its inception and what attendees can expect.

pop

The Huffington Post: What is your overarching vision for Pop Souk?
Pop Souk is a happening. Part market/part party. It's kind of a nexus of all my worlds. At the end, it's really about creating a platform for all of these amazing talented people I know and bringing my community together to share in an experience.

I sold vintage in Toronto for 10 years, so that's my background and will always be in my blood. In a way, throwing parties has a similar base for me -- it's about bringing people together and forming connections. Now people shop on the Internet, which is great if you want a particular product, but it's not the same thing as meeting the artists themselves and hearing about their passions. I loved the connection I had with so many clients over he years who became friends to me. We'd share our passion for certain designers, or swoon together over antique embroidery. It's about sharing the love of fashion and people's passions.

pop

How do you choose the artists whose work you feature?
In some ways Pop Souk is just a mirror of the "downtown" scene. Some of the vendors are such talented artists and I want to buy everything they make, and then some of them might just make cool t-shirts. But, more importantly, they're super cool kids who are part of what makes my bubble of New York City major. These kids don't follow trends -- they march to the beat of their own drums and create them. Everyone who does Pop Souk, from the artists to the DJs, are all people that inspire me. They're the heartbeat of NYC and the reason I love living here.

tilly

How has this event changed and grown since its inception?
I remember trying explain to my boyfriend years ago about this idea I had for Pop Souk, but it was hard because nothing like that existed. To explain it, it could sound like a flea market, which it's not. So I got a little team together and sort of used my vintage market and nightlife templates and combined them. When the first Pop Souk happened, my team stood behind me, but had doubts of what it could be. At the end they all gasped, because it really did become what I had dreamed of.

You have to come to understand. Once you get there you would never just call it a flea market -- there's a certain NYC magic to Pop Souk. It's growing in size and scope. We literally are taking over all of Webster Hall, from the studio below to the balcony above... it's huge! There are now nearly 100 artists taking part, and so I have a bigger responsibility to the artists to make sure I can help all of them. It's all still very DIY, so it has some bumps on the road. But we're all in this together and every year it gets better. Most business models want to grow to increase revenue, for better or for worse. That's never been my M.O. We're the anti-H&M... we're all about the magic!

bond

In the past, how have you seen Pop Souk inform and shape the fashion industry?
I've watched some of the artists who were just starting at Pop Souk grow and are now making big waves. From Zana Bayne, Chromat, Chris Habana, Gypsy Sport -- there's so many of them and I'm so proud of all them! Lots of fashion editors and stylists come to Pop Souk, so it does act as a platform for good exposure for them. In a way, Pop Souk is a nest for a lot of young artists, and this mama is more then happy to watch them take what they need from us, and then fly higher!

gabriel

Pop Souk will take place at Webster Hall in New York City From 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, 2015.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

26 Stunning Photos Of Women's Tattoos -- And The Stories Behind Them

0
0
Tattoo artist Kat Von D once said, “I am a canvas of my experiences, my story is etched in lines and shading, and you can read it on my arms, my legs, my shoulders, and my stomach.”

Tattoos are stories -- marked in ink and blood -- quietly traveling around us all day on shoulder blades and wrists and across entire backs. These stories can be powerful, uplifting and even heart-wrenching. They can symbolize a life-changing event, they can be in memory of someone special, or they might exist simply because they're beautiful.

We spoke with 26 women who shared photographs of their tattoos and the varied reasons they got them. Some tattoos came out of heartbreak, others from moments of celebration.

Here are 26 gorgeous images of women's tattoos and the stories behind each of them:





These interviews have been edited and condensed.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

'Deadpool' Finally Feels Real Now That Ryan Reynolds Confirms Production Has Wrapped

0
0
There may be no forthcoming film that ignites a spark in comic-book fans' eyes more than "Deadpool," the "X-Men" spinoff that has been in various stages of development since at least 2000. Just the idea that it exists is like an Infinity Stone leading to some kind of fantasy movie land for superhero obsessives. That makes the news that "Deadpool" has completed shooting all the more potent.

Ryan Reynolds, who portrays the title character in the Tim Miller-directed film, tweeted a photo on Friday to announce that production has "wrapped." In the same breath, he targeted the story's voracious fans, saying, "We got to make this film because of you."




"Deadpool" will open Feb. 12, 2016, further proving the summer-blockbuster season is essentially a year-round affair now. One thing that's still up in the air about the forthcoming action film, however, is Hugh Jackman's involvement. The actor stated previously that the forthcoming third "Wolverine" film will mark his final time playing the clawed hero. But in an interview with Australia's News Limited, Reynolds said that "Deadpool" could feature one more Jackman appearance.

"God I hope so, that would be really nice," Reynolds said. "I dunno, we’ll see. It seems like he’s open to it, but it’s gonna be more of a scheduling issue than anything else."

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The Polyphony Foundation Is Using Classical Music To Bring Jewish And Arab Musicians Together In Israel

0
0
The Polyphony Foundation is spreading classical music across Israel -- and bringing Jewish and Arab people together in the process.

Polyphony began as a small school in 2007 in Nazareth, with the intention of bringing classical music education to the Arab community. After establishing that, co-founder Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar wanted to expand the school's mission. He started the nonprofit Polyphony Foundation in partnership with Deborah and Craig Cogut in 2011 with the goal of creating positive shared experiences between Arab and Jewish communities in Israel.

"Within the challenges that the Israeli society is facing, we thought that classical music can play an important role," Abboud-Ashkar told The Huffington Post.

Polyphony provides basic music education in schools in addition to running conservatories, orchestras and traveling ensembles. It currently serves over 6,000 students in 73 kindergartens and 26 elementary schools across the country. Next year, they expect to nearly double the number of students.

The Huffington Post spoke with Abboud-Ashkar and four young musicians from the program's quartet while they were in New York City for performances in May. The members of the quartet range from 18 to 20 years old. Two of them are Arab and two are Jewish. Giddy from jetlag, the group members giggled together as they talked about their experience.

group
From left: Feras Machour, Revital Bendersky, Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar, Shir Hayat and Mahdi Saadi in New York City on May 27, 2015.


"We always had different stereotypes, each one had a stereotype about the other, and we didn’t accept each other," said Mahdi Saadi, a cellist from Nazareth who has been a part of Polyphony for about seven years. "When the project began, it just broke all the stereotypes."

The quartet has rigorous weekend rehearsals in Nazareth, a city populated mostly by Arab citizens. For Shir Hayat, a violinist new to the program, the first time she saw the city was when she came for a rehearsal.

"We do have stereotypes and prejudice about the other side -- bad, good, we do have stuff," Hayat said. "It kind of changed how I look at things because I came to the city and saw some different things that really weren't like what I thought. People were amazing that I met."

The musicians are ostensibly involved to make beautiful music, not to form relationships and reach across a divide. When asked what the best part of being in the group was, violist Feras Machour said it's simply the satisfaction of successfully performing a piece after intense preparation. But in collaborating to make music, the musicians are doing something extraordinary.

"I personally never thought of [the differences], because we’re doing music and we’re having fun. We’re meeting new people," said violinist Revital Bendersky. "It's fun!"

performing

The members of the quartet said they would enthusiastically tell people back home about their experience with Polyphony and what they learned about each other.

"It broke all the stereotypes, and it changed my way of thinking and how I behave, how I see things," Saadi said. "I see it now differently, I see it now more [like] living in peace."

Abboud-Ashkar realizes the program has limitations in terms of bringing Arab and Jewish people together, but he is proud of the swift growth and success the foundation has had so far.

"If you get people to engage in discussions about history and what happened and what is wrong, that’s a dead end," Abboud-Ashkar said. "Not saying that’s not important -- and we’re not ignoring what’s happening on the ground and also not being naive and saying, 'Oh, with the music everything is wonderful now.' What we’re saying is, 'Let's start by creating positive shared experiences, and let's see where that takes us.'"

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Mom Captures Beautiful Moment Between Little Girls Battling Cancer Together

0
0
When Tazz Jones was visiting her 5-year-old daughter Maliyah at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, she took a sweet photo of the little girl embracing her friend and fellow patient Madelina DeLuca.

"This is the perfect example of love," the mom wrote in the caption.

Caption this! Repost & Share please! Trying to get this picture seen all over the world. So many people have been...

Posted by Tazz Jones on Sunday, May 3, 2015




According to Maliyah's fundraising page, she was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma three years ago, soon after her second birthday. The toddler underwent chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, immunotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, but after a six-month period of remission in 2013, scans detected cancer again in January 2014.

Two-year-old Madelina DeLuca was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in November, her fundraising page states. She recently completed the last of her multiple rounds of chemo at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

When Tazz Jones captured the beautiful moment between the girls at the hospital, they had only just met that day. "She and Maliyah instantly clicked as if they knew one another for some time," the mom told ABC 7. At the moment when the image was taken, "I wondered what they were feeling; what they were thinking and how they felt," she added.

Jones told WPXI that she's grateful for the supportive community she and her daughter have found throughout her battle with cancer. “There’s always someone there, always a friend. Children helping children is always the best support because they don’t know,” she said. “I’ve helped mothers get through their child being diagnosed, and they’ve helped me.”

Ultimately, the mom hopes that this touching photo can help comfort and encourage others battling cancer. She told WPXI, "I want this picture to be seen not just for Maliyah’s story, but for other families going through this.”

H/T Buzzfeed



Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact HuffPost Parents

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Yes! Acquiring 'Perfect' Pitch Is Possible For Some Adults, Scientists Say

0
0
It turns out that some people can be trained to be the next Mariah Carey.

A team of psychologists recently revealed that they were able to successfully teach adults the prized musical skill of so-called absolute pitch, widely known as "perfect" pitch. The ability helps you to identify a note without using a reference pitch.

An elusive skill. Scientists previously thought that perfect pitch was either something you were born with, or something that could only be learned during childhood. The ability is considered remarkably rare -- only around one in 10,000 individuals has perfect pitch.

“This is the first significant demonstration that the ability to identify notes by hearing them may well be something that individuals can be trained to do,” Dr. Howard Nusbaum, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and part of the research team, said in a written statement. “It’s an ability that is teachable, and it appears to depend on a general cognitive ability of holding sounds in one’s mind.”

Practice makes perfect? For the research, 47 men and women at the university -- with varying musical experience -- listened to musical notes through headphones and were asked to recreate the note that they heard. They also were asked to identify notes by name, such as middle-C or F-sharp.

After the tests, the men and women participated in a training program, during which they listened to and identified piano notes, receiving feedback on whether they named the correct notes or not. The researchers retested the men and women after the training and found that the participants retained most of what they learned, showing improvements in identifying notes.

"We demonstrate three important findings in this paper," Nusbaum said in the statement. "First, in contrast to previous studies, we are able to establish significant absolute pitch training in adults without drugs. Second, we show that this ability is predicted by auditory working memory. Third, we show that this training lasts for months."

Vetting the pitches. The researchers noted that more experiments are needed to determine whether this adult-acquired perfect pitch is comparable to the abilities of someone who has had perfect pitch for most of their life.

Indeed, this isn't the first time that scientists have taken a close look at adults' abilities to acquire absolute pitch. In 2014, researchers posed that a drug known as valproate, or valproic acid, could help adults learn how to produce perfect pitch since it enhances the brain's "neuroplasticity." And a 2012 study suggests that your genes play a large role in your ability to obtain perfect pitch.

The new research was published online in the journal Cognition on April 20, 2015.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Senior Graffiti Artists Shatter Every Aging Stereotype, One Street At A Time

0
0
Move over, Banksy. There's some incredible street art showing up all over Lisbon and you won't believe who's holding the paint can.

elderly paint graff<br />
iti

A Portuguese initiative to help bridge the gap between generations is getting senior citizens involved in the community in a very unique way. LATA 65 is an urban creative art workshop set up primarily for older people. Lisbon has a major street art scene and the program was set up to help the seniors not only understand and embrace street art, but also to help shatter stereotypes of both young and old.

"People worldwide are not used to seeing seniors painting in the streets or even thinking they could be interested in urban art or trying it," program founder Lara Rodrigues told The Huffington Post in an email.

Rodrigues says the program has encouraged seniors to get involved in the arts while also helping them understand the meaning behind the graffiti they see around the city. So far, over 100 seniors have participated, ages 63 to 94, and the workshops will continue.

If the art is any proof, the participants are clearly enjoying themselves. "I often say that the spray can has something magical I can not explain," Rodrigues says. "Everyone likes to experiment and the elderly are no exception." Just goes to show, you're never too old.

Check out the amazing art below:







Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


7 Pop Culture Documentaries To Stream On Netflix

0
0
After you've finished our true crime and best of Netflix round-ups, we've got seven more documentaries to stream.

"Beyond Clueless"
"Beyond Clueless" is the kind of educational content you forget is intellectually stimulating halfway through. The seductively calming voice of narrator Fairuza Balk walks through clips of all the major teen movies of the turn of the century, zooming in on the turmoil of adolescence through the narratives of fictional high-schools from "Mean Girls" to "The Craft." For a teen movie junkie, "Beyond Clueless" is eye-opening to an almost startling degree. Director Charlie Lyne has managed to compress more than a decade's worth of the genre into 89 minutes, unpacking his examples both individually and holistically for a commentary on not just film's representation of our teen years but the cultural reality of adolescence.

beyond

"No No: A Dockumentary "
There's no need to be a sports fan or to have heard of Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter on LSD back in June of 1970 to enjoy "No No" (and, before you send in a correction notice, that title is a pun on its subject). Director Jeff Radice outlines Ellis' career, but his focus is on the cultural implications Ellis had for not just baseball players of color but the black community as a whole. Through a mix of complex acts of rebellion -- like wearing curlers with his uniform -- and his challenging, flippant presence on and off field, Ellis changed the shape of the game. He's best remembered for those LSD-endowed innings, though Ellis' impact is infinitely more far reaching than a funny story about mixing drugs and baseball.

nono

"Paris Is Burning"
This classic takes on even more vibrancy and meaning with the rise of drag in the mainstream. It plays like a deep look at what you might imagine to be the heart and soul of "RuPaul's Drag Race." An empathetic yet unflinching look at the marginalization faced by the black members of the LGBT community, "Paris Is Burning" peels back to focus not only on the community that is its subject, but the beautiful power of being yourself in spite of all obstacles.

paris

"Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon"
Mike Myers' directorial debut does not even pretend to be fair and balanced. His look at Shep Gordon takes on a tone so sunnily positive that it feels more like a tribute montage than a documentary. Gordon is a public relations genius, so it only makes sense that he'd emerge from a biographical documentary looking so damn wonderful. Still, there are some very interesting stories peppered into the mix of A-listers that Myers has gathered to reminisce about their pal. The most compelling part of "Supermensch" lies underneath the surface, in the fleeting glimpses at the machinations of the Hollywood PR machine, how it shapes our perceptions and, of course, consumerism.

super

"Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap"
Ice-T uses "Something From Nothing" to focus on the craft of rap. He goes to its roots, the way rapping rose up as a means to make music without instruments or costly production accessories. This is a carefully painted portrait which tears down the extravagant misconceptions that cling to the modern state of the genre (the mainstream idea that it is rooted in money, sex and violence). There is a mix of poetry and rebellion at the core of rap. "Something For Nothing" is a powerful and necessary reminder that it is truly an art form.

something

"Madonna: Truth or Dare"
No shade, but, like, if Katy Perry thought "Part of Me" was a tell-all, she has probably never seen "Madonna: Truth or Dare." Alek Keshishian's black-and-white look at the superstar doesn't play like a vanity piece or extended tour promotion, as pop stars' docs are wont to do. Instead, "Truth or Dare" is a revelatory peek at a woman who is not a different person on stage, but rather only truly herself in the public eye. As Warren Beaty tells Madonna's doctor when he asks if she'd like to move their conversation off-screen: "She doesn't want to live off-camera, much less talk ... Why would you say something if it's off-camera? What point is there existing?"

madon

"Bill Cunningham New York"
If you have a heart, Bill Cunningham will steal it within the first 20 minutes of Richard Press' documentary. The most charming part about the man behind The New York Times' style section is that he has no idea how very charming he is. Cunningham is crucial to the charting of trends and understanding the practicality of fashion, almost more of an unofficial anthropologist than a photographer. He is a staple of life in New York, who has managed to stay humble, kind and motivated only by a genuine love of his work. What's almost more interesting than his cultural influence is the beautiful soul of the man behind the blue smock. He has a perspective on life that most inhabitants of NYC could only hope to learn.

bill

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The Underappreciated Architecture of Waffle House

0
0
"Why would you eat your grits anyplace else?" That's the title of a song on the Waffle House jukebox, and it's what I think to myself every time I dig into breakfast at the greasy-spoon chain, a personal favorite, which has some 1,500 locations from Delaware to Arizona.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

These Dazzling Long-Exposure Photos Prove That Slow Travel Is Always Worth It

0
0
k
(Photo Credit: Lucas Sere Peltzer/Snapwire)


There's much to be said for slow travel. Taking extra time to savor your surroundings -- without racing to catch the next bus or hustle toward the next tour -- is often the best way to truly get to know a place as a traveler, not as a tourist.

This point was proven yet again when HuffPost asked the Snapwire photographer community for the best long-exposure views they've ever captured. Long exposure photography takes time, patience and a willingness to go slowly, much like slow travel itself. And from New Zealand to Lake Tahoe, these views show that no matter where you go, taking an extra breath and savoring an extra moment is always worth it.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

At $2.3 Million, It's The Most Expensive Painting Made Of Elephant Poop

0
0


This week, Richard Prince broke the (art corner of the) Internet when his appropriated images of young women's Instagram photos went up for sale for $90,000 apiece at the art fair Frieze.

Here to steal the spotlight from Prince is an old favorite when it comes to art world controversy, Chris Ofili. And, we're quick to admit, we'd far rather read and write about Ofili.

the holy virgin mary chris ofili

In particular, we're talking about Ofili's 1996 piece "The Holy Virgin Mary," a work Ofili referred to as "a hip-hop version of the story" of the Madonna. His shocking depiction of an African Virgin Mary features an exposed breast formed from lacquered elephant dung as well as a robe made of pornographic depictions of women's asses. The work is being sold via Christie's this June, and is expected to go for a cool $2.3 million.

Although the painting was made in 1996, it wasn't until 1999 when the feces-adorned Virgin was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, and the elephant dung really hit the fan. The piece, part of "Sensation," Charles Saatchi's show of works by Young British Artists, particularly enraged Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a devout Catholic who in reaction attempted to cut off the museum's city subsidy and remove its board, calling the piece "sick stuff."

Despite the commotion Ofili caused with the work, the Turner Prize–winning artist didn't opt for his unconventional medium sheerly for the purpose of provocation. The material, which he culled from the London Zoo, is, in part, a reference to Ofili's African heritage. "It's a way of raising the paintings up from the ground and giving them a feeling that they've come from the earth rather than simply being hung on a wall," he told The New York Times in 1999. "There's something incredibly simple but incredibly basic about it. It attracts a multiple of meanings and interpretations."

The most popular interpretation, of course, seems to be something along the lines of, "Ohmygawd, this painting is made of shit!" The massive backlash and conversation surrounding Ofili's work speaks less to the masses' scatological obsession, and more to the pop-up binary that so readily assembles between the religious right and the artistic left; the traditional and the experimental, those who think artists should let religious figures fraternize with bodily excrements and those who disagree. For another example, see Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ."

While many insular art world dialogues are filled with contradictions and subtleties, the Ofili controversy presents a chance for the art-loving masses to converge over a mutual love of artistic expression. It's not the most nuanced of artistic debates, but at least those wishing to host a Facebook rant without doing much research know exactly where they stand. It's moments like these that bring the most disparate corners of the art world together to fight for a common goal: the dutiful right to rub poop on a canvas.

Fast forward more than 15 years and "The Holy Virgin Mary" has risen to a nearly mythical status in art world folklore, following Ofili's widely praised retrospective at the New Museum last year. Until now, the incendiary art object has been in the possession of Australian collector David Walsh. According to Vulture, Walsh is a "gambling billionaire (really) who built an underground museum in Tasmania and filled it with conceptual contemporary works, alongside mummies."

The Virgin is slated for auction as part of Christie’s June 30 auction of postwar and contemporary art in London, and it's expected to sell for around two million dollars. In fact, according to a Christie's spokesperson, a third party has already guaranteed a minimum price for the piece. It could go for even higher; right now, Ofili's record auction price is $2.8 million, for the 1998 "Orgena," sold in June 2010.

Yes, this work also featured Ofili's secret ingredient.



-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

On One Of Japan's Most Magical Streets, An Architect Brings Beauty To A Chicken Shop

0
0
ethernet yakitori

Harmonica Yokocho is a special street, beyond even its wondrous name. The narrow alleyway in the stylish Tokyo suburb of Kichijoji is a time warp, still suffused with "the atmosphere of black-market stalls during the post-World War II period," writes the architect Kengo Kuma.

ethernet japanese cafe

yakitori tetchan

This year Kuma completed a redesign worthy of a magical street. Using all recycled materials, he transformed a small yakitori on its edge. On his website, Kuma lists the various unexpected products used to make the chicken shop seem suffused in clouds of color and sheets of ice. Recycled LAN cables and melted acrylic byproduct now cover everything from the walls to the ceiling to the furniture inside.

Kuma writes of the surprisingly dreamy effect old electronic wires can bring: "Form becomes invisible and only materiality and various colors appear as if floating on air."

japanese cafe ethernet

yakitori tetchan
Melted acrylic gives the look of ice.


The restaurant's dual looks have drawn comparisons to yarn-bombing, and Queen Elsa's palace. We're seeing a Gerhard Richter painting crossed with ... well, Elsa's palace is pretty hard to top. Kuma's work is certainly Rorschach-y enough that we should all engage in this fun game though. Best analogy in the comments wins a busted LAN cable, sending time TBD.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Viewing all 18483 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images