An expert shows the painting "Children Playing under a Pomegranate Tree" by Chinese artist Zhang Daqian. The stolen works mentioned in the court transcript pertaining to Xiao Yuan included paintings by influential 20th century artists Qi Baishi, who used watercolors, and Zhang Daqian, who depicted landscapes and lotuses. Zhang himself was considered a master forger. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

BEIJING (AP) — A former chief librarian at a Chinese university admitted in court Tuesday to stealing more than 140 paintings by grandmasters in a gallery under his watch and replacing them with fakes he painted himself.

For two years up until 2006, Xiao Yuan substituted famous works including landscapes and calligraphies in a gallery within the library of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

He told the court in his defense that the practice appeared to be rampant and the handling of such paintings was not secure. He said he noticed fakes already hanging in the gallery on his first day on the job. Later, after he replaced some of the remaining masters with his own fakes, he was surprised when he noticed his fake paintings were being substituted with even more fakes.

"I realized someone else had replaced my paintings with their own because I could clearly discern that their works were terribly bad," Xiao, 57, told Guangzhou People's Intermediate Court, which posted a video of the two-hour hearing on its website.

Xiao said that he didn't know who had replaced his fakes, but that students and professors could take out paintings in the same way as they could borrow library books.

Xiao sold 125 of the paintings at auction between 2004 and 2011 for more than 34 million yuan ($6 million), and used the money to buy apartments and other paintings. The 18 others he stole are estimated to be worth more than 70 million yuan ($11 million), according to prosecutors.

Xiao pleaded guilty to a corruption charge for substituting the 143 paintings, and said that he deeply regretted his crime.

Also removed was "Rock and Birds" by Zhu Da, a painter and calligrapher who lived during the 17th century and used ink monochrome.

Xiao said he stopped his stealing when the paintings were moved to another gallery. He was the university's chief librarian until 2010, and his crimes came to light when an employee discovered what had happened and went to the police.

Calls seeking comment from the university were not answered.

Xiao will be sentenced later.

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An old computer doesn't necessarily inspire most people to get crafty.  Cyrus Kabiru, a visual artist, is not like most people. 

The Kenyan sculptor uses recycled material from electronics and other things found on the streets of Nairobi, where he lives, to create funky, intricate glasses that can only be described, as he does, as "afrodazzled."

Kabiru's glasses are not for the faint of heart, utilizing everything from cassette tapes to computer speakers as frames, but they certainly make a big statement -- and  they are eco-friendly.

"The most dangerous waste that will mess up our continents, our places is electronics," he said in a video made by AJ+. "We need to think about how we can stop making more motherboards. We need to recycle them. We need to change our mentality. We need to be creative with what we're doing."

Fashion-forward thinking for the win. 

Check out the video above, and head to Kabiru's website and tumblr to see more of his work. 

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When New Zealand mom and nutritionist Julie Bhosale shared a blog post about her postpartum body image journey, she hoped that it would reach a few fellow mothers in her local community. What she did not anticipate was the viral mania that would follow as her post rapidly spread to parents all over the world.

Bhosale's blog post, "My Real Postpartum Body," features personal photos, inner thoughts and words of support for other moms as she shares the changes her own body underwent after giving birth to her second son in January. She also highlights the pressure on new mothers to just "bounce back" after the physical transformation of pregnancy and rejects those expectations by taking part in January Harshe's #TakeBackPostpartum movement -- a more honest and inclusive trend in discussing post-birth body image. 

"I really struggled with all the body changes I went through after the birth of my first son," Bhosale told The Huffington Post. "Working in the health industry, and being an expert, I felt a lot of pressure to get my body back -- and expected that because I was fit and healthy it should be easy. However, this was not the case! It did take a while!" 

"I also really struggled to breastfeed my son and so my confidence in myself and as a woman and a mum was really low," she continued. "I thought if this is how I feel with all my expert nutrition knowledge, imagine how other mums must also feel?" So, after giving birth to her second son, the mom decided to share her postpartum journey with other parents. "I thought it may help just one mum not feel so alone," she said.

The post reached far more than just one mother. Shared across news sites and social media platforms, "My Real Postpartum Body" empowered a global audience, which Bhosale says has been a very "moving" experience. "I am touched and often have tears in my eyes reading all the comments, messages, feedback and sharing of the blog. I stay up late at night reading them all (and replying)."

Just four months away from completing her doctorate, the nutritionist and mom feels truly inspired to help new parents. "I really hope that mums who read this truly know how beautiful, incredible and amazing they are -- for all they have gone through, are going through and the sacrifices made every single day," she said, adding, "I hope to empower mums to take time to recover and to nourish from the inside out -- with both good food and love."

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On last night's episode of "The Bachelorette: Men Tell All," viewers got a taste of the vicious online abuse many women face on a daily basis. The Internet can be a glorious place where women's voices are lifted up -- but it can also be a hell hole of harassment. 

Kaitlyn Bristowe has come under fire this season from both men and women who have taken it upon themselves to play the morality police. She (gasp!) had sex with a man she was dating mid-season -- one who she was very attracted to and who is currently one of her final two suitors. This act -- which breaks the unwritten, deeply retro sexual rules of "The Bachelor" franchise -- forced the show to acknowledge the universal truth that sex happens. It also brought a hailstorm of unsolicited, abusive and disgusting commentary into Kaitlyn's social media feeds. ABC decided to address this abuse on-air. 

Chris Harrison, resident host/therapist/father figure, sat down with Kaitlyn and had her speak about the wave of abuse she's received. "I like to think that it doesn't matter what people think about me," she said, "but when it's thousands and thousands [of comments] just pouring in of people hating… I get death threats. That hurts."

He also read some of these tweets out loud:

"your the worst #bachelorette ever in history you're a little #whore so shut your little whore mouth. #slut" 

"Kaitlyn you need to unspread your whore legs and shut your [redacted] filthy diseased mouth and [redacted] off" 

The sentiments behind the tweets are clear: You're a woman and you acted in a way that I don't like, so stop talking and stop existing. 

For anyone who has spent a lot of time on the Internet -- especially professionally, and especially as a woman -- these comments probably aren't all that surprising. Disgusting? Absolutely. Shocking? Sadly, no. 

Women are more likely to be stalked and harassed online, no matter their age. Female gamers like Anita Sarkeesian and Brianna Wu receive targeted death threats on a regular basis. Women who write about women's issues for a living draw the ire of random Twitter users every day. Kaitlyn Bristowe is yet another public figure who has fallen prey to the crime of existing as a woman with a voice.

If nothing else, ABC's miniature PSA seemed to have an impact on a few of "The Bachelorette" contestants, encouraging them to speak up for Kaitlyn both during the show and online.

The segment shed light on a few truths that are far larger than "The Bachelorette": The people on the receiving end of Internet tripe are human beings. This is what women put up with online. And women -- their choices, their sex lives, their words -- do not exist for you.

Want more on "The Bachelorette"? Listen to our Here To Make Friends podcast:

The best tweets about this week's "Bachelorette":

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The "American beauty" comes in all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. 

That's what photographer Carey Fruth set out to prove with her photo series, "American Beauty," which features 14 diverse women lying naked in a bed of lilacs.

Fruth told The Huffington Post that the series was inspired by the iconic rose petal fantasy scene in the 1999 film "American Beauty" where a middle-aged man has a sexual dream about his teenage daughter's best friend (who is attractive, thin, blonde and white). The scene reflects a quintessential male fantasy where the young woman has no power -- she's merely a sex object. 

With these images, Fruth is taking back that power and giving it to women. 

"Almost every image you see in mainstream media is of one type of woman, thin white women to be specific," Fruth told HuffPost.

"But that is not actually the majority of women in our country look like. America is made up of all types of women. Women who are hungry to see themselves represented in a beautiful way. And why shouldn't they?"

By highlighting women who look different than what's so often represented in pop culture, Fruth hopes to empower women to feel beautiful, confident and sexy just the way they are. 

"When women come into my studio, I want to prove to them that they ARE as beautiful as they always feared they weren't, then maybe they can let go of that fear," Fruth said. "By stepping into a fantasy dream girl world and by letting go of that fear, they free themselves up to direct that energy they once wasted on telling themselves that they weren't good enough to elsewhere in their life."

Scroll below to see 14 women proving to themselves --  and everyone else -- that they are absolutely beautiful. 

Head over to Fruth's website to see more of her work. 

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It's 2015. By now, reality TV is a young adult, but it hasn't grown out of "The Bachelor" franchise. Despite its bizarre dating rituals, low success rate, and questionable racial and gender politics, the stable of shows is, if anything, more popular than ever. Do people love "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," or do they love to hate it? It's unclear. But here at "Here To Make Friends," we both love and love to hate them -- and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail.

In this week's "Here To Make Friends" podcast, hosts Claire Fallon, Culture Writer, and Emma Gray, Senior Women's Editor, recap the eleventh episode of "The Bachelorette," Season 11. We'll discuss Ian's mea culpa, Jared and Ben H.'s eternal sweetness, and ABC's attempt to educate the public about the online harassment of women.

Plus, Senior Staff Writer for Mic Politics (and Claire's boyfriend!) Greg Krieg joins to give us his Very Important "Bachelorette" insights.  

The best tweets about this week's "Bachelorette" ...

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Looking for some end-of-summer reading? We have some women's stories to suggest -- 17 of them, in fact. 

The remarkable women on this list of unputdownable memoirs have shared the most personal and painful parts of their lives through their writing. They have suffered from mental illness, escaped abuse, stood up for their political beliefs, experienced tragic loss, redefined gender and stressed the importance of equality. They have worked as sex workers, lived in psychiatric institutions and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail alone. They have learned valuable lessons from their life journeys, and impart their wisdom through their books.

 Here are 17 women's memoirs you need to add to your reading list:

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Good luck going to the carnival next year.

Photographer Axel Hoedt's new book Dusk chronicles the revelry, and occasional abnormality, of carnival culture throughout southwestern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland.

His eerie images counter the "traditional (and often clichéd) representations of carnival," a description of the project reads. "Here are no paraders somersaulting before the crowds, no embarrassing scenes of drunken debauchery."

Carnival culture is far different in parts of Europe from the roving theme park familiar to many Americans. The celebratory season, called Karneval or Fasching in Germany, traditionally begins Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m., though the parties, festivals and parades ramp up in early January. It runs until Ash Wednesday. Hoedt's photos capture the essence of modern revelers to "reminds us of what carnival once used to be: a final celebration before the dawning of hard times."

Take a look at some of the stunning images, all of which are featured in Dusk, below.

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After opening up about her experience with pregnancy loss and helping to break the silence around the topic, mom and filmmaker Ann Zamudio has a new project that she hopes will continue the conversation and comfort others who have dealt with miscarriage -- as well as stillbirth and infertility.

Zamudio, who blogs for The Huffington Post, is trying to raise money to create a documentary called "Don't Talk About the Baby" -- which will feature couples sharing their stories of pregnancy loss, stillbirth and fertility struggles. "While each of those topics carry their own set of challenges and emotional hardships, they tend to be tied by one thread -- silence," she writes on the film's Kickstarter campaign page. To break this silence, Zamudio invites anyone to submit their own story for consideration for the the documentary through the official website and social media channels. 

The director was inspired by her own experience after her first pregnancy ended in an early miscarriage. "I was so surprised when I was inundated with stories from friends and family who told me they'd gone through the same thing," she told The Huffington Post. "These were people who, just weeks earlier, had smiled and celebrated with me. Why hadn't they said this was a possibility? Why was it such a secret?"

"I became passionate about making a change in my social circle, and spreading awareness about pregnancy loss, so that no one else that I knew would feel so blindsided," she added. After her miscarriage, Zamudio became very active in pregnancy loss and infertility communities. "I saw there was a very real need for men and women to be able to tell their stories in their communities, but there were so many cultural stigmas encouraging them to keep silent."

As an experienced filmmaker, the mom hopes that inviting couples to share their stories in a feature-length documentary will help break down these stigmas. "No woman should feel embarrassed or ashamed of a loss, and no man should feel like he can't openly grieve his child."

On the Kickstarter campaign page for "Don't Talk About the Baby," Zamudio cites statistics that show just how many people these issues affect. 

Though sources may vary slightly, Zamudio explains that the statistics typically show that up to 25 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. "Sadly, we've consulted with some doctors and specialists who say the rate of miscarriage is actually higher than 25 percent, sometimes as high as 70 percent," she said, pointing to factors like age and the inclusion of chemical pregnancies that lead to discrepancies in data. Other startling statistics -- like the survey that showed 55 percent of adults think miscarriage is uncommon -- further underscore the need to foster conversation about pregnancy loss.  

Infertility should also be part of the conversation, Zamudio believes. While some statistics indicate that one in eight couples have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy, the fertility clinic they're working with for the film suggests it's closer to one in six. 

With these numbers in mind, the filmmaker hopes "Don't Talk About the Baby" will accomplish two things: letting the millions of people affected by these struggles know that they are not alone and spreading awareness by dispelling myths and providing facts. "What truly causes miscarriage, and who does it affect? What causes infertility, and how common is it? What are some of the things that we can say to support our friends and loved ones struggling with these things? We want to give people tools to start conversations and spread awareness," Zamudio explained. 

With only one day left in the Kickstarter campaign, backers have already pledged over $20,000 toward the $30,000 goal. If the filmmaker and her team raise the remaining funds in the next 24 hours, they'll be one major step closer to making the film a reality.

"It's time to change how we talk about loss and infertility. It's time to start telling our stories."

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A beloved teacher had one last unforgettable experience at her school, courtesy of her students and colleagues. 

Margaret Gabica, a teacher at St Julian’s Primary School in Newport, Wales, retired this year after more than 25 years of teaching. To honor her time at the school, teachers organized a flash mob with all the students, set to the Lion King musical's version of "He Lives in You." The performance, which took place last Wednesday, Gabica's last day at the school, was caught on video and uploaded to Vimeo. It left the educator -- and us -- in tears. 

The flash mob has garnered quite a bit of buzz since it was shared, with coverage on several different outlets. After seeing the beautiful gesture for yourself, you'll understand why.

"It was completely overwhelming, I was stunned, amazed," Gabica, who loves musicals,  told ITV News of the performance. "It was absolutely fantastic."

Watch as the kids and teachers gather into formations in different areas of the school yard, and clap, twirl and jump in their choreographed routine. Gabica starts off emotional, and by the 4:49 mark, she's attempting to wipe away her tears.

She loved the flash mob so much that she returned to the school a few days later to thank everyone involved, ITV News reported. 

We give the teachers and students an A+ for that performance!  

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Why can't all airplane cabins get the Swiss treatment?

After the Internet panicked over a design that makes passengers face each other in a sardines-like, shoulder-to-shoulder seating situation, this spacious new concept should elicit a collective sigh.

The breathtaking cabin below was created for Swiss International Airlines's new fleet of 777-300ER planes by Priestmangoode, a British design and brand consultancy firm.

"We wanted to pick up the cultural significances" of Switzerland, said Nigel Goode, a director at Priestmangoode and a leader on the project.

European travelers want a more open cabin that also gives them some privacy, he said, so he and his team focused on elements that give the passenger flexibility in succinct, Swiss fashion.

Seats in the economy class are upholstered in cream-colored fabrics and wood paneling continues throughout; passengers are assisted by a self-service kiosk and mobile charging stations.

Business class seats are more like little cubicles, with headphone hangers and straps for storing books, magazines and beverages.

But the first class design is what we think of when we picture flying in style.

In addition to a 32-inch flat screen TV, seats here recline into a six-and-a-half-foot bed. A retractable partition gives passengers three privacy options, and a personal wardrobe with doors that can be pulled together fully encloses the passenger as if they were riding in a train car.

"One of the things I get a big kick out of when other people see the design is that they'll say it looks so Swiss," Goode told The Huffington Post. "You can sit in the seat and everything lines up and it’s quite precise." 

Swiss ordered an update to six of its Boeing 777-300ERs, and Goode said they'll be in use starting in January 2016.

Swiss says its Boeing 777s hold about 330 passengers, and will be used for "ultra long routes," or connections including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Bangkok.

While this makes us want to book a trip to Switzerland immediately, Goode said there's hope for passengers on U.S.-based airlines. Priestmangoode is working with United Airlines to improve their cabins, and Goode said he sees American companies starting to take notice of the finer details. 

In the U.S., Goode said, "There tends to be more interest in the business, premium and economy areas, rather than first [class] itself. We’re working on a project that looks at this level of detail throughout the cabin, [such as] quality of finishes and attention to detail."

We can hardly wait.

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EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Tom Moore, the "Archie" cartoonist who brought to life the escapades of a freckled-face, red-haired character, has died in Texas. He was 86.

Moore, who began drawing cartoons while in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, died early Monday morning while in hospice care in his hometown of El Paso, his son Lito Bujanda-Moore told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said his father was diagnosed with throat cancer within the past week and chose not to undergo treatment.

Moore drew Archie Andrews and his friends on and off from 1953 until he retired in the late 1980s. Annual sales of the comic regularly surpassed half a million during the 1960s, according to the El Paso Times.

"I did one comic book a month," Moore told the newspaper in 1996. "I did everything. We always worked six months ahead. I'd be doing Christmas issues in June and beach stories with a foot of snow outside my window."

After the war, Moore used funding available through the GI Bill to attend a school in New York for cartoonists. He studied under "Tarzan" comic strip illustrator Burne Hogarth.

Soon after, Moore signed up with Archie Comics in New York. Bob Montana created "Archie" in 1941, and Moore took over in 1953.

But by 1961, Moore couldn't ignore the itch to be closer to the mountains of far western Texas, according to his son. He and his family moved from Long Island, New York, back to his native El Paso that year, and he later took a break from comics and worked in public relations.

"He always felt that his heart belonged at the foot of the Franklin Mountains," Moore's son, Lito Bujanda-Moore, told the newspaper.

Bujanda-Moore said he father loved every aspect of nature: trees, rivers, mountains and deserts. One year the family cooked their Thanksgiving meal at home, then took all of it out to the desert just east of El Paso.

"We would be able to have a great Thanksgiving dinner under the stars," he said.

Archie Comics' editor in chief, Victor Gorelick, who has worked at the company for more than 50 years, said Moore "was a cartoonist's cartoonist." He noted that Archie Comics invited Moore back to help revamp Archie's friend, Jughead, and remained with the company until he retired.

"Tom was very funny and had a knack for putting together really great, hilarious gags and special pages when he worked at Archie," Gorelick said. "He was probably best known here for inking our 'Jughead' relaunch decades ago. We're all sad to hear this news and wish his family the very best during this time."

After retiring, Moore kept tabs on Archie — and disagreed when the comic book company decided to kill off the character.

The El Paso Museum of Art displayed some of Moore's work and his vast comic collection about 20 years ago.

"I have enjoyed what I've done and I am pleased that others liked it, too," Moore said at the time. "I think it's such a kick that my stuff is going to be hanging at the museum. Who knew Archie would have such universal appeal?"

Along with his son, Moore and his wife of 63 years, Ruth, also raised a daughter, Holly Mathew.

Bujanda-Moore said there will be a celebration of his father's life in coming weeks.

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BEIJING (AP) — Ai Weiwei announced on Instagram that he got his passport back Wednesday, four years after it was confiscated by Chinese authorities.

The artist and government critic posted a photo of himself holding a Chinese passport with the caption, "Today, I got my passport."

Ai was detained by authorities for about three months in 2011 but not charged.

Ai's design firm later was slapped with a $2.4 million tax bill, which he fought unsuccessfully in Chinese courts.

Ai's representative confirmed the passport had been returned, but didn't immediately respond to further questions.

Chinese authorities often deny passports to dissidents who might embarrass the ruling Communist Party overseas.

Ai's work has been shown worldwide, making him one of best-known Chinese dissidents.

Before his detention, Ai had spoken out about a number of national scandals, including the deaths of students in shoddily built schools that collapsed during a massive earthquake in 2008.

The government has blacklisted him from any mention in state media, and he is not allowed to post anything on China's social media.

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When you’re slotting your recent dates into their respective archetypes -- “She was a clear-cut Carrie.” “He’s such a jock.” -- the name Simone de Beauvoir is unlikely to enter the conversation.

Acclaimed for her feminist theory and existential philosophy, Beauvoir was one of the first women to receive a degree from the prestigious Sorbonne in Paris and the youngest person to pass the infamous philosophy agrégation test. Most know her for her contributions to the vibrant Parisian intellectual scene and her relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre.* What few people know is that Beauvoir once gave a succinct, snarky and brilliant breakdown of the nine people you’re bound to date.

In part two of The Ethics of Ambiguity, Beauvoir details a series of common responses people have to the loss of childhood. You know, the realization that the world does not have a god-given or parent-given meaning. That in the moment we seem free to act, but we are paradoxically bound to destiny. The truth is, most people you meet are struggling with that horrifying mix of freedom and lack of freedom that comes with adulthood. But they’re all grieving in different ways. Beauvoir is taking subtle shots at some of the greatest thinkers of the era -- she’s no fan of Friedrich Nietzsche -- and her categories are uncannily applicable to recent Tinder dates.**

1. The Sub Man: “Nothing ever happens; nothing merits desire or effort.”

The worst of them all, the sub man catches a glimpse of post-infantile freedom and, horrified, closes him or herself off from the world. His parents indulged a fear of broccoli and now he refuses to eat Asian fusion. Deciding long ago that everything in the world is insignificant and dull became a self-fulfilling prophecy, and instead of facing up to the challenge of free will, he hides from it. This is the mopey, apathetic guy/girl who can stand in front of the Golden Gate Bridge and remain unimpressed.

Risk Factor: Low. You’ll spot him or her a mile away.

2. The Serious Man:“The serious man gets rid of his freedom by claiming to subordinate it to values which would be unconditioned.”

Probably the most common type, the serious man solves the existential crisis of teendom by choosing some arbitrary object or system to define his or her values. There’s no real reason why she chose that thing -- is your lifting regime/spin class really that sacred?? -- but once she's decided, she isn't going to change. Serious men pop up everywhere, from religious fanatics to greedy CEOs who define self-worth with money. At one point she probably questioned her cultish adherence, but now she believes "for belief’s sake," just to have some absolute meaning in the world. Hint: She tends to know she's a fraud, so you can spot her by her penchant for irony.

Risk Factor: Medium. If you have chosen similar arbitrary values, you should be okay.

3. The Passionate Man: “Having involved his whole life with an external object which can continually escape him, he tragically feels his dependence.”

Easily mistaken for the serious man, the passionate man will obsessively invest all his or her energy and belief in something. But the passionate man does not believe that meaning lies in that object -- but in his or her relationship to it. He'll talk endlessly about his special connection to the new FKA twigs album or 17th-century Italian poetry, which might inspire you but also makes “any conversation, any relationship [...] impossible.” If you’re lucky enough to be the object of passion, you’re in for a magical, overwhelming romance -- but be on the look out for things to go overboard. Sadly, the passionate man must confront that he'll never be fully fused with you or with Ms. twigs.

Risk Factor: Medium. Ideal for an intense summer romance -- as long as you can deal with the emotional fallout and break-up fight of your life.

4. The Nihilist:“Conscious of being unable to be anything, man then decides to be nothing.”

Usually found in teenagers who have just lost the idyllic state of childhood, it can also pop up in the mid-life crises of those who tried to be serious -- and failed. Sometimes they seem like sub-men, but nihilists took a chance on the world. They tried to exercise their freedom, but were beaten down. So they tend to be more exuberant, more aggressive, and more likely to force on you their prurient readings of Nietzsche.

Risk Factor: High. Unlike sub-men, they aren’t content just sitting around and being grumpy. They have to prove to everyone else that the world is meaningless -- even if that means destroying things others have created. “If he wills himself to be nothing, all mankind must also be annihilated,” Beauvoir cautions. Yikes. 

5. The Demoniacal:“One stubbornly maintains the values of childhood, of a society, or of a Church in order to be able to trample upon them.”

A peculiar brand of the serious man, the demoniacal remains loyal to some organizing principle or group -- but only so she can reject and complain about them. This is the Birkin-bag touting woman who works at Vogue but lambasts the fashion industry. It’s the guy who recommends burgers for dinner only to spend the meal complaining about the ethics of grass-fed beef. Classic domain of the hipster.

Risk Factor: Low. Pretty easy to spot, though their split personalities might seduce the overly curious.

6. The Adventurer:“He throws himself into his undertakings with zest, into exploration, conquest, war, speculation, love, politics, but he does not attach himself to the end at which he aims; only to his conquest.”

The upbeat, optimistic version of the nihilist -- the adventurer knows there is no ultimate meaning of life. So he decides to embrace a hedonistic existence of curiosities, seizing a million opportunities without remaining loyal to any one. “He likes action for its own sake,” seems to have emancipated himself from existential angst and lives "in the moment" like we all wish we could. He or she will sweep you off your feet with smooth talk infused with pop-Buddhism. But beware: the adventurer holds a secret desire for his or her exploits to be told of in history books and demand the “approval of a few faithful.”

Risk Factor: High. Full of seductive and idealistic aphorisms, the adventurer will secretly prop up any social evil that enables his lawless, bohemian lifestyle. Will either become emotionally dependent when she realizes how close she is to nihilism or ditch you when the next adventure appears.

7. The Critic:“He understands, dominates, and rejects, in the name of total truth, the necessarily partial truths which every human engagement discloses.”

Ever-skeptical, ever-cautious, the critic is wary of becoming either serious or nihilistic. So she avoids allegiance to a single doctrine, but maintains the idea that some doctrines can have more meaning than others. The critic, though, remains devoted to the mind as an objective, universal space that can escape the subjectivities of the body. But it’s all a ruse: “Instead of the independent mind he claims to be, he is only the shameful servant of a cause to which he has not chosen to rally.” The critic dresses in all black and inevitably qualifies statements with expressions like “on one hand,” “almost,” “virtually,” “it appears,” etc.

Risk Factor: Low. Not particularly seductive and not unpleasant to be around. Tendency to swap positions will grate on you over time.

8. The Artist: “It is existence which they are trying to pin down and make eternal.”

Like the adventurer, they have fairly mature reactions to their existential crises. Accepting that the world has no “essence” to be chased down, the artist turns his or her attention to the surface of life, and tries each day to transmute that surface into something remarkable. Like critics, though, artists secretly believe in an objective space outside of time and free will: beauty. He or she will drone on and on about the importance of a current painting, and that interest can easily waver into the behavior of a passionate or serious archetype.

Risk Factor: Medium. You might get drawn in by how watercolors can emancipate you from all existential concerns ... till you realize that you’ll never measure up to their true idol: art.

9. The Free Man:“Man can find a justification of his own existence only in the existence of other men.”

By Beauvoir’s account, there’s one rare breed of person who comes face-to-face with existential angst and makes it out on the other side. They do so by unselfishly focusing on the happiness of others. Passing by the fixations of other types -- adventurous exploits, art, the mind, doctrines -- but never lapsing into nihilism, they hold true to one principle: to protect the freedom of others. This is the altruistic soul mate, the best listener, the person who would unconditionally sacrifice his or her own well-being for your own. It’s unclear if any of these free men and women exist. “To will oneself free is also to will others free,” says Beauvoir. Maybe she was the only one.

--- 

*Though Beauvoir’s relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre is often lauded as the paragon of intellectual couples, the two actually led quite free-form romantic lives, often engaging in ménage à trois and taking separate lovers in their open relationship. Sartre's romantic games verged on the despicable, and probably fell much closer to the serious or critic archetypes than the free man.

**Beauvoir opts for male gender pronouns, but they've been intentionally mixed up here.

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A girl with wavy tresses cradles her fluffy cat in front of a vanity brimming with products -- two hairbrushes, bottles and bottles of hairspray and perfume. Her shirt’s a bright coral, her walls are hot pink and adorned with images of other girls, their faces on display in square frames.

The scene is from a photo in Rania Matar’s series, “A Girl in Her Room,” which is as intimate and simple as it sounds. Matar began the project after taking portraits of her teenage daughters as they left the free and magical world of childhood to enter the more self-conscious community of adulthood. Matar initially snapped photos of her girls interacting with friends, but realized more natural images could be taken of the kids when they were alone in their own worlds, their own rooms.

“The room was a metaphor, an extension of the girl, but also the girl seemed to be part of the room, to fit in, just like everything else in the material and emotional space,” Matar writes on her site.

Matar is one of 12 women photographers showcased currently at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Called “She Who Tells a Story,” the exhibit features artists whose work comments on and subverts stereotypes about Middle Eastern identity.

Although Matar’s project was conceived in the United States, she expanded it to include the rooms of girls in the Middle East, where she was born. Raised in Lebanon, she moved to America and began exploring photography nearly two decades ago, returning to teach art to teenagers in refugee camps.

In her series, it's impossible to distinguish between the young American subjects and the Lebanese teens she's photographed. A blonde lounges in front of a wall-size portrait of Marilyn Monroe; a brunette casually peers out a window near her bed, peopled with stuffed teddy bears.

“I became fascinated with the similar issues girls at that age face, regardless of culture, religion and background, as they learn to deal with all the pressures that arise as they become conscious and aware of the surrounding world wherever this may be,” she writes. 

The incidental beauty of Matar’s portraits is especially evident when paired with the intense, stylized work of Nermine Hammam, a photographer from Cairo who imbues her images with painting and collage. Her series “Upekkha” is a manifestation of her memories of Egypt’s 2011 revolution and the military invasion of Tahir Square. She writes on her site, “as the hatches opened, and doors of military vehicles were thrown wide, what emerged was not the angry stereotypes of power and masculinity we expected, but wide-eyed youths with tiny frames, squinting at the cacophony of Cairo.”

Hammam’s photos emphasize this juxtaposition; while she grew up believing power structures such as the military had a certain commanding aesthetic, she grew disillusioned with the impermeable nature of these institutions, believing them to be an elaborate act, complete with props and costumes.

In one of her photo mash-ups, a youthful military man gazes wistfully from behind a sniper rifle. Behind him, a picturesque garden is in full bloom. Commenting on the hazy, unreal feelings she associates with war, Hammam titled the image, “Dreamland II.”

Hammam and Matar’s work is vastly different. One offers a subtle slice of life, the other  a surreal vision of the feelings war can stir up internally. Their photos alone capture the breadth of imagery being created that artfully offers an alternative to prevailing aesthetics associated with the Middle East.

View images from the exhibit below, or at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

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Have you seen a sunset? OK, great. New question: Have you trekked to the roof of the new Whitney Museum in downtown Manhattan? No? Well, then you lied earlier. You HAVEN'T seen a sunset. Because there's only one sunset in this town, and it costs $22 to stare at.

For those New Yorkers not living under literal rocks this summer, the reopening of the Whitney Museum of American Art, newly situated near the shores of the Hudson River, has been an occasion you're more than vaguely aware of. There have been Instragrams. And those Instagrams more likely than not feature a smattering of hyper-colored chairs seemingly dropped by the Hand of God onto the roof of the prestigious place. Pay the standard admission fee, and from these chairs you can see the aforementioned sunset. The expensive one. The one that "closes" on September 27.

The sunset has been provided for you by artist Mary Heilmann. Don't thank the universe. Do not thank, like, the clouds for parting and not getting in the way of your bleeding star. Thank Heilmann.

Her "Sunset" is a site-specific installation -- simultaneously referred to as an "intervention" -- meant to evoke "poignant memories" and "fresh possibilities." The sunset is the chairs. The sunset is the Pepto-Bismol canvas on the wall that juts up from the roof, looking like a frozen Tetris piece. That's important. The sunset is the white canvas that looks like a a much larger Tetris piece nearby. The sunset is the view of the "ever-changing" city; mostly warehouses, parking lots and more rooftops.

The sunset is practically everything on that roof but the actual setting sun. Because, alas, you can't see the sunset from Heilmann's site. There's a giant wall blocking our view of the west, which I'm told is the cardinal direction we should associate with setting suns. You might be able to catch "glimpses of the light over the Hudson River," but that's probably an oversell. Really, you've got sculptural chairs and Tetris pieces and parking lots. 

I said smattering, earlier. About the chairs. I should have said "scattered." "Scattered on the terrace like a shower of confetti." That sounds better. They're scattered so that loads of people can deliberately congregate on the Whitney rooftop. "Let's meet on the Whitney roof," people could be saying. “Museums are places to hang out,” Heilmann definitely said. "As are New York rooftops," the Whitney whispers.

I should also note that the chairs sculptures "serve as elements in [Heilmann's] larger composition and encourage visitors to interact with one another and the cityscape beyond." Beyond, but not including a sun setting.

Heilmann was a New Yorker at one time. Her more famous work, the video "Swan Song," filmed in 1982, documents the destruction of the former West Side Highway. It's on view at the Whitney and you should absolutely watch it. But if you want to see a sunset, head to the indoor galleries and walk until you see water out the window. At around 8 p.m. this time of the year, a sun will set. It still costs $22.

Try here.

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Outsider art is a hairy term. Outside of what exactly? According to whom? In 1994, in a review of the Outsider Art Fair, Roberta Smith valiantly attempted to define the expression, stipulating outsider art to be "a somewhat vague, catchall term for self-taught artists of any kind."

Self-taught. The phrase is only a narrow margin less problematic. "It has been argued by many critics that the category is meaningless," explained critic Lyle Rexer, "since on the deepest levels all artists teach themselves." 

This was especially true, at least in America, before the 20th century, when professional art school became a relatively widespread phenomenon. Prior to that, being self-taught did not carry the same associations with isolation and otherness, both physical and mental, that it does today. In fact, being self-taught was the norm. 

This is where "Self-Taught Genius," a traveling exhibition featuring works from the American Folk Art Museum comes in. The show spans artworks made throughout the United States by, well, self-taught geniuses from the 18th to 20th centuries. The diverse works on view capture the many manifestations of unschooled art making, while tracing the evolution of the "self-taught genius" idea over time.

Shirley Reece-Hughes, a curator at the Amon Carter Museum in Forth Worth, discussed the logic behind the show prior to its Texas arrival in October. "What we're trying to do is explore American folk art through the concept of self-taught genius, the meaning of which has evolved over time," Reece-Hughes explained in an interview.

"[The American Folk Art Museum] went back to the very beginning of art making in the United States, what we define now as American folk art. The roots of self-taught and genius resided there, with this idea that, in a fledgling nation, when only a minority of the population was privy to education, there was this early recognition that being self-taught was something vital and important to America."

And then there's the second half of the show title, "genius." The word feels a bit outdated, summoning visions of eccentric (white male) loners scribbling away in attics locked to the outside world. No snack breaks, no excess social media tabs open. 

However, like "self taught," verbal associations with the word "genius" were also different at the turn of the Enlightenment. "Genius had previously been thought to be something bestowed by God. But then with the Enlightenment, something changed, and each human being then had the potential to reach [his or her] own genius," Reece-Hughes noted.

Over time, being a self-taught artist fell more and more out of fashion. Today, even artists working in an unschooled style first go through the process of formal training to then overturn it. "Post civil war, once industrialization, urbanization and education became much more widespread, the term self-taught started changing in meaning. The term now refers to artists outside the mainstream. But in the beginning of the country it was really the mainstream for artists."

The artworks on view (San Diegans -- now is your time!) vary intensely in style, medium and era. How do you contrast "Flag Gate," an American Flag painted on wood by an anonymous artist in 1876, with "Gold Tower," a 1970s totem made from chicken and turkey bones, painted gold by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein? Bruenchenhein, in fact, dubbed his creative ego "Genii," a word constructed from the scrambled combination of his own name and genius, and he often attributed his artmaking to a divine muse, which sat on his shoulder and directed his work. "Flag Gate," it's been hypothesized, "may have been made for Robert Darling’s farm on Pulpit Road in the town of Antwerp, Jefferson County, New York."

Is there any continuous formal or stylistic thread that connects the folk art of the early Americas with the visionary artists of the last century? "The continuous thread would be the impulse to create," Reece-Hughes said. "And the impulse to create in a manner that's unfettered by conventions, whether it's academic training or the traditional guidelines of art making." The 18th century was dominated by artworks that served firstly as functional objects, albeit aesthetically pleasing ones, like chests and quilts. Reece-Hughes argued that illogical urge to make something beautiful is the same drive that compels self-taught artists like Bruenchenhein to start saving up those chicken bones. "There is always that sense of ingenuity," she said.

For the most part, however, the exhibition is characterized not by sameness but by difference. It feels bizarre to loop an 18th century folk artist, working in a conservative populace and reflecting on communal memories via a quilt, to Henry Darger, the quintessential outsider who spent his adult life alone in his apartment writing and illustrating a 15,145-page mythological epic about a battle between imaginary planets. 

Reece-Hughes speculated that the rise of art schools in part contributed to the shift of the self-taught artist from, to oversimplify, community-based insider to isolated outsider. "What started to happen was the rise of these academic conventions, societal expectations of what art is supposed to look like -- three dimensional perspective, fidelity to nature. Painting became the main genre of art, defining what the nation looked like for its clientele. Then came the marketplace." 

Over time, the urgent and instinctual need to create became mythologized, romanticized, fetishized -- as the role of the artist flourished off ideas of darkness and otherness. To again quote Lyle Rexer, when describing the style of artist Jonathan Lerman, who has been diagnosed with autism, it seemed to be "a matter of instinct and feel, like a second skin, arising from a place that language and symbols cannot fathom... A feedback loop forms between hand and brain... It is a kind of nirvana, after all." It's a beautiful description, and a fitting one. It could, however, also be more fitting than you'd think for an 18th century American craftsman who just loves making chests. 

"Genius is a term we don't use as freely today," Reece-Hughes continued. "But I think the beauty of the word today is in its fluidity. When you hear 'genius,' you don't have to immediately think of Albert Einstein. You can think of self-taught geniuses as artists teaching themselves how to express themselves freely. They are not working in relation to the marketplace or to what others might think of them. These artists were just working from intuition, from the messages they wanted to send. The genius is in their originality."

If you want to add an additional layer of complexity to the exhibition-viewing experience in your future, Reece-Hughes is also curating an additional gallery in the Amon Carter devoted to Texas folk artists. "So you can see the local, regional and national scope," she explained. "The goal of the museum is always to expand the dialogue on American visual culture." 

If understanding the ambiguity and endless complexity of the words "outsider art" wasn't enough of a challenge for you, now you can chew on the meaning of "self-taught genius" as well. You're welcome! 

"Self-Taught Genius," presented by the American Folk Art Museum, is on view at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego until August 16. From October 10, 2015–January 3, 2016 it will be on view at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX. Then it's on to New Orleans, St. Louis and Tampa. Follow the schedule here.

For more on outsider art, check out the big news page Outside the Lines. 

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Many thought Jake Gyllenhaal's "Nightcrawler" snub was one of the 2015 Oscars' more egregious errors. Harvey Weinstein wants to make sure we don't say the same thing next year about "Southpaw." The awards-infatuated producer told audiences at May's Cannes Film Festival, where "Southpaw" wasn't even screening, that he will seek "revenge" for the Academy's recent lapse.

If Weinstein is successful, it will be for good reason. Gyllenhaal is transformative as Billy Hope, a celebrated boxer struggling to regain custody of his daughter (Oona Laurence, who hails from Broadway's "Matilda") after his wife (Rachel McAdams) is killed. The movie has an interesting relationship to "Nightcrawler," for which Gyllenhaal dropped 30 pounds to portray a hyper-articulate but unstable crime chaser. In "Southpaw," he beefed up to play an inarticulate but unstable prizefighter. Naturally, those metamorphoses have the masses buzzing, as evidenced in a recent Esquire profile in which the actor asks whether the interviewer is "easing" him into a question about the number of sit-ups he did each day. (The answer: 2,000.) The Huffington Post hopped on the phone with Gyllenhaal last week to discuss the transition between the two movies and why people are suddenly obsessed with his physical appearance, including his height.

Throughout "Southpaw," I kept thinking about how much you disappear behind Billy's mannerisms and unclear speech. Did those things stem from the intense physical training you underwent for the role? 

It’s developed over time. I spent five months preparing physically and learning the sport of boxing and learning the techniques of boxing, and I think there were so many discussions with Antoine Fuqua, the director, about Billy and his history. He grew up in the foster care system, never knew his parents, met his wife when they were both probably 12 years old, and he'd been with her since he was a kid. Just given even that background, we made these decisions that Billy was probably not a very articulate guy. He never really spent a lot of time learning how to articulate himself verbally, and really his strongest, most confident place in terms of articulation was the ring.

But I also like to create resistance. I think resistance is a very helpful tool in general, though we all sort of look for things where there isn’t that kind of tension. I think it’s actually so helpful artistically, in particular -- and I think just in terms of drive, you know? Not to get too lofty, but even if you think about the sport of boxing, you have nothing unless you have something to hit. There’s resistance there. If you’re getting hit enough, too, there will be difficulty in bright spaces and with sound, and also just his inability to really trust most people because he grew up in a space where he was moving around so much and being moved around that he found himself pretty angry, I think, and having no models for behavior. So all of those things end up being clues and then you find things behaviorally that you can move and attach to. We just threw lots of things in a bucket.

Boxing movies tend to adhere to certain tropes, and the one thing I struggle with in their redemption arcs is cheering on the hero as he pulverizes another human being. Thinking about that resistance you're talking about, what's your take on violence being the source of the character's salvation?

Well, I would say it’s true that I think boxing can be a very brutal sport. But I also think it is really a science. They don’t just call it that just for shits and giggles. It is really a science of angles and instincts that is sort of beyond explanation. I mean, look, ballet is brutal. So I think it’s easy when you see somebody punch somebody, but my God, the discipline, the self-discipline, the intensity and precision and sacrifice that it takes to be a ballet dancer, they never really talk about that, but shit, is that hard -- and the things that people do to their bodies in that art. I do think that in a sports film, in particular, you have one or two choices because it’s what you have in sports pretty much always: win or lose. So there are inevitably tropes that you fall into, but I learned what I thought was amazing about the story, and just boxing in general, is how many beautiful styles and how many techniques there are. I think when you look at the history of boxing, it’s very inspiring. It is a beautiful, beautiful sport.

Because the world is captivated by celebrities' weight, your physical appearance in "Nightcrawler" and "Southpaw" precede the movies themselves. Do you see that as a distraction from the actual work because people go in with preconceived images of the character you're playing and how he's different from the everyday Jake Gyllenhaal?

I think it’s obvious that the media does judge a book by its cover initially, and I think there’s also clearly so many issues with the way people look at things initially. I sort of understand the interest in it. It’s not ultimately really what I am searching for. To me, I feel like you find your way into different characters in different ways. Some characters feel very far from me as a person, and not just because of personality things, but also physically.

When I did this movie “Nightcrawler,” I lost a lot of weight for it, and the reason I did was because Lou's personality and how he moves through the world and his history is very different than mine. It’s a guy who was struggling to really make ends meet. He didn’t eat a lot and was on the go constantly, with his mind racing. There was a history that I wanted to portray to the audience that you could just see. Initially you could say, “Oh man, that guy is so skinny,” but I think when you see the film, you understand why, and really it comes down to that. It’s the same thing with this one. I don’t think you can get into a boxing ring as a boxer and not really look like a boxer. The intimidation factor in the ring for another fighter is how much you’ve trained, and how much you’ve trained is shown physically -- not only in terms of in the middle of a fight, but any edge you can get on intimidation is what you’ll take. Part of that is your body when you’re a boxer, so all of these things, I think, should be judged based on how much something moves you. It’s so easy to judge and make assumptions, but until you experience whatever a person is doing you don’t really know. I feel that way about everything: It’s hard not to make initial comments like, “Oh, wow, you’re in so much shape. How did you get in shape?” For an actor, it’s because I’m playing a boxer. Everybody has their own agenda and that’s okay.

Antoine Fuqua is about to direct you in "The Man Who Gave Up Snow," a biopic of Max Mermelstein, the drug smuggler who became a government witness. Playing a real person requires a certain physicality, too, but you have the advantage of research. Does it feel like a different process after having only a script to figure out Lou Bloom and Billy Hope?

What I would say is that they all involve intellectual, analytical processing. Initially I had tons of research and tons of reading on boxers, orphan boxers, the spirit of gyms all over America, children who start early, the history of foster care in America. Every single role I play starts initially with the analytical. It’s always, "What can I read?" and "How much information can I take in in words and videos?" So because there’s a lot of improvisation in "Southpaw" and a lot of backstory in scenes that aren’t even in the movie that we shot, we all had to be prepared -- all the actors at all times -- for anything. It’s the same thing with “Nightcrawler,” going with those guys and reading books on sociopathy and having to figure out who this guy was and what he was doing. All of that goes into playing it.

In terms of "The Man Who Gave Up Snow," I’m producing the movie, so we’re developing it right now. The process of developing is based on an autobiography, basically, so it’s based on his accounts of the situation. He was put into witness protection, so it’s very hard to get a read on him through pictures, videos, how he speaks and talks, so you’re trying to create a character based on what you know from secondary sources, which I think is very interesting, particularly because that movie is ultimately a love story. It’s a love story with him and his wife, who happened to be Colombian, and him bringing her family into America and bringing them to Miami in the ‘80s, somewhat indirectly bringing the Medellin Cartel to America and helping them grow. So as we develop it, I’m obviously taking things for the character -- and it’s a very character-based movie, but that’s begun much earlier on than I normally would because of the producing aspects of the movie.

Speaking of actors' physical appearances, there was recently a strange fascination with your height. There's a whole podcast episode about it. How do you feel about that, and what made you decide to participate in "The Mystery Show"?

Well, I’m a huge fan of "This American Life," and Starlee was so sweet and funny in asking me to do the show. I think it’s a new generation of philosophical thought, in a way, and I love the idea of mysteries being different things -- as absurd as they can be, in the case of this show that she did on how tall I am -- and how a sort of seemingly meaningless question can be filled with self-reflective questions. I love that.

I think that ultimately how tall I am and me being a part of it is a bit of a prop for a much more interesting, much deeper conversation, which is what I loved. And she’s just great. Her show is great and she’s so smart, and I think anytime anyone having anything to do with “This American Life" contacts me or I hear about it, I will be involved. It’s been one of my favorite shows for so many years, and Starlee, I think, is just brilliant. But in terms of perception, I think that is what’s fascinating about the show: how we perceive ourselves, how we perceive others, how people also just need to know fact and whether it’s actually truly fact and whether it really matters how tall you are on the screen and how people perceive you in your personality in the workplace -- or in my job, if you see what I do on a big screen, how tall you think somebody is. And how tall do you want them to be? Ultimately I think it has much more to do with us than with the people we are seeing, and that’s what I think is kind of interesting about that show.

"Southpaw" was directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Olympus Has Fallen") and written by Kurt Sutter ("Sons of Anarchy," "The Shield"). It opens in wide release on July 24. This interview has been slightly condensed.

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Hate mail is mean. 

It's not a radical thought, particularly for those of us who spend much of our time writing on the Internet, and as a result, reading comments about our ass-hattedness on said Internet. Digital hate mail is so mean.

But, hate mail can be funny too. You know, if you can separate the humor from the personal attack. "Dear Laura, you look like Gaddafi in a wig." Sorry Laura, but that's funny. "Dear Mark, F--k you and f--k your cat." Yeah, f--k that cat! "Dear Matt, you are a loser and you have back fat." Back fat. LOL.

These particular quips comes courtesy of Mr. Bingo, a UK-based artist who specializes in the pithy art of hate mail. He emblazons the seething quotes on old postcards, adding quirky illustrations to hammer his points home. There's a portrait to prove Laura does indeed look like Gaddafi in a wig. Mark's cat is shocked at the profanity of it all. Matt's back fat is so real.

Now, Laura, Mark and Matt are actually in on the hate jokes. This is Mr. Bingo's schtick. He doesn't just beam out unsolicited hatred; he only sends his masterfully crafted insults to interested parties, who contact the artist on his website and receive a delightfully rude bit of art in return.

It all started in 2011 when Mr. Bingo, drunk, tweeted out the following: "I will send an offensive postcard to the first person to reply to this message." Nine hundred and twenty eight illustrations later and that one tweet has turned into an entire series, dubbed "Hate Mail," that has -- as we've said before -- become the vitriolic version of Dial-A-Poem. 

"Nothing inspires [the series] really," Mr. Bingo told us in a previous interview. "I just think of really awful things you could say to people, maybe it's something about their appearance, or their lifestyle or possibly something a lot darker or thought-provoking, or something that might force them to reconsider their whole existence." He added that he feels like a naughty schoolboy, giving humans around the world what they apparently desire: tickishly biting libel. 

"A lot of people assume that most humans are quite serious, but this project proves that grown up people actually really like to be silly," he noted. "It's comedy, really. People like comedy because it can be absurd and ridiculous and it can take your mind away from everyday life, which can be quite dull to many people. It's fun and it's escapism and everybody needs these things."

Mr. Bingo is currently in the throes of a Kickstarter campaign, aiming to turn his postcard service into a book. "Essentially, it’ll look like a pretentious art book but without the pretentious price tag," he writes online.

The rest of the campaign is as irreverent as the art its advertising. Rewards for pledging support to Hate Mail: The Definitive Collection include "the f--king book," getting "told to f--k off on the Internet," and a slew of IRL favors including a date with Mr. Bingo, a drunken train ride with Mr. Bingo, the opportunity to have Mr. Bingo do your dishes, a 46-minute lecture by Mr. Bingo (including a bit on "How to make a rap video"), and friendship.

Head over to the Kickstarter if you so wish. Otherwise, check out more of Mr. Bingo's genius here.

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After Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died 130 years ago today, a million and a half Americans watched his funeral procession. His mausoleum was a popular tourist attraction in New York City for decades. But for most of the 20th Century, historians and non-historians alike believed Grant was corrupt, drunken and incompetent, that he was one of the country's worst presidents, and that as a general, he was more lucky than good. 

A generation of historians, led by Columbia's William A. Dunning, criticized Grant for backing Reconstruction, the federal government's attempt to protect the rights of black southerners in the 1860s and early 1870s. Black people, some Dunning school historians suggested, were unsuited for education, the vote, or holding office. Grant's critics were "determined the Civil War would be interpreted from the point of view of the Confederacy," said John F. Marszalek, a historian and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. "The idea that Grant would do things that would ensure citizenship rights for blacks was just awful and so he had to be knocked down." 

Grant's "presidency was basically seen as corrupt, and it took place during Reconstruction, which was seen as basically the lowest point of American history," said Eric Foner, a civil war historian at Columbia University. "Whatever Grant did to protect former slaves was naïveté or worse."

In recent decades, that's all changed. The Grant you learned about in school isn't the one your kids will read about in their textbooks. And that's because historians are in the midst of a broad reassessment of Grant's legacy. In just nine years, between 2000 and 2009, Grant jumped 10 spots in a C-SPAN survey of historians' presidential rankings, from 33rd to 23rd -- a bigger jump than any other president. His reputation as a military leader has risen, too. 

"Public opinion is behind what historians are saying about Grant," Marszalek said. "Too many people in the public hold the old Lost Cause view that Grant was this butcher and incompetent and corrupt and a drunkard, which wasn’t true."

One of the reasons for the change in Grant's reputation is an increasing acceptance among historians that Reconstruction pursued worthy goals.

"We now view Reconstruction ... as something that should have succeeded in securing equality for African-Americans, and we see Grant as supportive of that effort and doing as much as any person could do to try to secure that within realm of political reality," said Brooks Simpson, a historian at Arizona State University. "We see him as on the right side of history."

Many historians now point to Grant's decision to send U.S. troops into South Carolina to crush the Ku Klux Klan as particularly praiseworthy, Foner said. 

"You have to go almost to Lyndon Johnson to find a president who tried to do as much to ensure black people found freedom," Marszalek said. 

Grant also suffered because of inevitable comparisons with Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general. He was accused of running a "war of attrition" that required "no real military talent," Foner explained. But "as those older views have abandoned, Grant's reputation has risen, especially among military historians."

Grant is now praised for having a strategic view of the war, rather than focusing solely on the area around Virginia, as Lee so often did. And he gets credit for believing in civilian control of the military. When some of his officers were upset about black soldiers serving in the Union Army, Grant "said, 'Look, this is the policy of the government, and the Army has to carry it out. ... If there's anyone who can't deal with it, resign right now,'" Foner said. 

Foner also thinks increased praise for Grant's memoirs has boosted the president's reputation. Simpson doesn't buy that, noting that famed literary critic Edmund Wilson was praising Grant's memoirs as a "unique expression of the national character" in the 1960s, when Grant's reputation as a president was at its nadir.

The big question now is whether public opinion will follow that of historians. Simpson thinks the shift is starting, noting that Grant is now portrayed more favorably in high school and college textbooks and television documentaries. His memorial in Washington and his tomb in New York have been repaired since the 1980s. And he's been shown in a positive light in popular media, including the 1999 Will Smith vehicle "Wild Wild West," in which he was played by Kevin Kline. On Wednesday, Rick Perry -- the governor of a state that fought against Grant in the Civil War -- praised the Union general in a speech, saying he had "come to symbolize the healing of our nation campaigning under the banner, 'let us have peace.'" 

"We’re always re-evaluating past historical figures in light of present events, and those changes take a lot of time to fix themselves in the public mind," Simpson said.

Perhaps the best way to track Grant's popularity will be monitoring the image of his foes.

"As the Confederacy's reputation rises or falls, Grant's rises or falls in the opposite direction," Foner said.

"As we get more critical of Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy, Grant's reputation is going to go up," Simpson agreed. "Grant's reputation says as much about us as it does about his time, because it's about what we value." 

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