WASHINGTON -- In the early moments of "Chasing Heroin," a new "Frontline" documentary that will air Tuesday on PBS and online at 9 p.m. EST, a police van pulls down a Seattle alley and stops near a pair of heroin addicts. A cop gets out of the van and assures them that he means no harm.

“I gotcha,” he says, “You’re getting well. No big deal. I’m not going to jam you up.”

The officer merely wants to know who the addicts are and offer them connections to a social worker -- and, maybe down the line, to treatment. Decades into the war on drugs, the exchange is jarring for what it doesn’t include: an arrest.

"Frontline" cameras spent a year chronicling not only the quiet devastation of the opioid epidemic but also the attempts of police officers and social workers, public defenders and prosecutors, to save the lives of addicted people without locking them up.

Disappointments and setbacks are frequent in "Chasing Heroin." It’s because of these disappointments that the film achieves a clear-eyed, even vital importance, especially if you know someone struggling with addiction. The opioid epidemic may be decades in the making, but the public health solutions -- specifically in the forms of medication-assisted treatment through methadone and buprenorphine -- are still trying to take root and gain public acceptance.

You’ll worry about Cari Creasia, the PTA mom turned opioid addict and drug mule, and Johnny Bousquet, an addict yearning for a second chance. A single car ride to a methadone clinic will feel like a huge win. At the very least, one thing is certain: You won’t wish any of the addicts were in prison.

This past weekend, The Huffington Post did a short Q&A over email with Marcela Gaviria, the director, writer and producer of "Chasing Heroin," in anticipation of Tuesday's premiere. HuffPost spoke with Gaviria about her film, how it came together and what she learned from making it.

What got you interested in making "Chasing Heroin"?

I began my career at FRONTLINE reporting on the drug wars. I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, and had cut my teeth following the cocaine wars, so it was natural territory for me.

The heroin epidemic first came onto my radar back in 2013, after I heard about the spike of overdoses in places like New Hampshire and Vermont. I pitched this story for several years and was really pleased when I finally got the green light to pursue the story.

How did you arrive at the public health/harm-reduction storyline? Did you set out to tell that story? 

When we set out to tell this story, I kept thinking of something [Drug Enforcement Administration] Special Agent Bob Stutman told us 15 years ago while making "Drug Wars" for PBS FRONTLINE. He said, “We, as a nation, should have learned the lesson a long time ago that you cannot depend on law enforcement to solve the problem.” I wanted to understand if that had changed since I last covered the drug wars. Did the drug war logic still endure? Did punitive approaches still hold sway? Were any cities embracing a decriminalization model? What was new and novel? 

The best reporting that we found, to be blunt, was yours. I was very tempted to head to Kentucky and Indiana to cover the response to the HIV spike, but also wanted to try to till new territory. 

Seattle and LEAD [Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion] seemed to encapsulate a shift from the old war on drugs to new ways of dealing with demand. We settled there for budgetary and logistical reasons, deciding to explore this terrain in one place.

The original idea was to find two participants in the LEAD program and follow them over time. Along the line we decided that it would be important to show a counterpoint, in drug courts, which is a more prevalent model.  

One of the most compelling people that you followed was Cari. How did you find her? What drew you to her story?

I sat in on several sessions of King County drug court to find possible participants. I was looking for someone who had begun abusing opioids and then moved on to heroin, so that I could tell the backstory of the opioid epidemic. But the few characters I was drawn to in drug court actually dropped out of the program before I started filming. So, in speaking to the team that runs program for alternatives, they suggested I contact Cari Creasia. And once I heard the details of her life story -- from soccer mom to drug house junkie -- I couldn’t resist.

In the film, you show how the LEAD program works and how it sometimes doesn't work, especially when addicts have to wait for treatment or are turned away from treatment. Why aren't doctors certified to prescribe buprenorphine incorporated into the LEAD program more? Is there a shortage of certified doctors in Seattle?

This is interesting territory, and I wanted to do more on it, but ultimately decided the best way to broach it in the film was through the providers in each character's life. I think there is an overall shortage of buprenorphine-certified doctors in the country, but [I] don’t think Seattle is unusual in any particular way.

I'm curious about what you think of the criticism mentioned in the film that the media is paying attention to the epidemic because it's mostly affecting white people? And that the harm-reduction approach is only becoming mainstream because there are white addicts? In my own reporting on the subject, I've found that addicts still have an incredibly difficult time accessing services and that the more punitive approaches still hold sway in a lot of communities. I think you found that as well with the town that rejected the methadone clinic. And you touch on this with the segment on drug courts.

I think it’s clear that we are starting to see a shift in that cities are increasingly willing to embrace harm-reduction approaches -- from the Angel program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to LEAD, which is being replicated in more than 30 cities now. I do agree with former Attorney General Eric Holder that when things affect a majority community, politicians pay greater attention and are more willing to try new approaches.

That said, you’re right, many communities are still not turning the corner. It’s true of Bremerton and true of many drug courts in Washington state that do not offer medication-assisted treatment.

After spending a year with LEAD, how do you think it could be improved?

You can’t ask LEAD to be responsible for improving the services that they divert their clients to, but it’s clearly a flaw in the system. I also think they could work on finding ways to help their clients find jobs once they are in recovery. It’s very hard for someone like Johnny Bousquet to stay clean if he can’t become [a] productive member of society.

What surprised you most while working on the film?

I was shocked by the lack of availability of services and by the difficulties people have accessing treatment. Too much is stacked against an addict in recovery.

What do you think parents who are struggling with addicted children need to know?

What’s upsetting to realize is that there is no Consumer Reports for addiction treatment. It’s so hard to figure out what to do and where to send your kid.

Having spent a year covering his story, I’ve come away believing methadone and Suboxone are important options in the road to sobriety, and there is still too much stigma attached to using those medications.

What's the scene in the film that still haunts you?

It’s hard to choose one scene, but this is definitely one of the most emotionally intense films I’ve ever worked on. I really grew to care for the people I profiled. And I think I’ll always be haunted by worry for them. Perhaps in five years' time I can come back and film them again and see how things are working out for them. 

As far as scenes, it’s hard to forget Kristina shooting up as she carries on about her future life. I still am touched every time Dr. Capp chokes up when he talks about Johnny’s desire to do anything to get clean.

What do you want viewers to take away from the documentary? 

I hope they realize that this epidemic is not unlike the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Then, as a nation, we rallied to come up with solutions. We aren’t doing enough now. Access to treatment is inadequate. Services stink. Relapse rates are way too high. There aren’t enough studies to tell us what works and what doesn’t work. Over half a million people have died from opiate overdoses in the last 15 years. We clearly can do better.

What do you think needs to change in our public policy in dealing with the heroin epidemic?

The Obama administration is reviewing the restrictions on prescribing for medication-assisted treatment, and relaxing those rules would be a good start. We could also require insurance plans to include coverage for more than 30 days of inpatient treatment. That’s clearly not enough time to get someone clean. And access to medication-assisted treatment should not be denied.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Thanks to Tumblr user @tardisbluevian, we may have uncovered an explanation as to why Ron Weasley's older brothers are named Fred and George. According to the fan theory, Fred and George's names may have been inspired by British royalty. If true, their monikers hint at Fred's death. 

Did J.K. Rowling do it on purpose? Read the latest Harry Potter theory below and we'll let you be the judge. 

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"The Bachelor" franchise has returned, this time with all-American family man Ben "Unlovable" Higgins at its center. And on "Here To Make Friends," we talk about all of it -- for the right reasons.

In this week's "Here To Make Friends" podcast, hosts Claire Fallon and Emma Gray recap Episode 8 of "The Bachelor," Season 20. We'll discuss Ben's day of potential fatherhood, how idyllic Ohio looks and the many hyper-masculine men in Jojo's life.

Plus, we're joined by former Bachelorette Andi Dorfman!

Check out the full recap of Episode 8 by listening to the podcast:

Do people love "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise," or do they love to hate these shows? 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. Podcast edited by Nick Offenberg.

The best tweets about this week's episode of "The Bachelor"...

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These postcards were created with a double shot of brilliance and a latte of creativity. 

Singapore-based artists Li Jun Pek, who uses the pseudonym "Ink Julep," and Jenn Perng have created postcards with artwork that can only be completed with the addition of a round coffee stain from your mug called "PostCups." The result? Stains your pen pals will actually love. 

The pair, who work in advertising and have taken on this project on the side, have come out with 7 different PostCups which are available on Etsy. Their drawings -- when stamped with a coffee stain -- become doodles ranging from a cute panda to a ferris wheel. 

 Pek, who launched the project with Perng back in January, told the Huffington Post in an e-mail that the coffee-loving pair actually came up with the idea out of annoyance with coffee stains. 

"We started out noticing that coffee cup stains are a constant pain in life. Our office desks are white so this is glaringly obvious," Pek said. "We wanted to take that pain of a coffee stain and turn it into something special. Because we're all coffee lovers and every stain is unique."

 So the pair got to thinking, and they came up with a way to turn those otherwise irritating marks into something aesthetically pleasing. 

"Normal coasters treat stains like a nuisance [that] they need to protect the surface from. So we thought of interactive coasters," she explained in the e-mail. "Something that would create a 'home' just for the coffee stains, where they became desirable. We decided on drawings where the stains became essential to the picture."

We can definitely say these blemishes have turned into a thing of beauty.

If you're a coffee addict and you love the PostCups, you can check them out on the pair's Etsy listing here. 

Also on HuffPost: 

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New York-based actor-singer Michael Zahler promises a night of “good, old-fashioned song-crooning” when he takes the stage of Manhattan nightspot, Feinstein’s/54 Below, this Friday night.

The Feb. 26 show, “Still It’s True,” will be very much a collaborative effort between Zahler, who is passionate about the Great American Songbook, and longtime musical director Will Van Dyke, who favors a rock & roll, singer-songwriter vibe. Hence, Zahler will croon songs by Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim, among other composers, but also a selection of classic pop in the vein of Joni Mitchell and Elton John. (Check out rehearsal footage in the video above for a sneak peek) 

“This music is very special stuff, and every song we’re doing, and how we’re doing it, is hand-picked, newly arranged, and really comes from a great love of it,” Zahler, who starred in the touring production of the smash musical, “The 25^th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee,” as well as “The Boy in the Bathroom,” told The Huffington Post. “It’s hard to separate myself from my love of this music. I hope the audience is able to connect to that love, too."

Joining Zahler for “Still It’s True” are Jenni Barber (“Wicked”) and Karen Ziemba, who nabbed a Tony Award in 2000 for “Contact.” As it turns out, both of these collaborations will represent a “full-circle life moment” for the 32-year-old actor-singer. Zahler and Barber were friends and classmates at the University of Michigan, while he and Ziemba, whose work he’s admired since his adolescence, re-connected at a birthday party earlier this year.

Ultimately, Zahler says the show encapsulates his relationship with Van Dyke, who he calls “the very best there is.”

“Will is a very special kind of genius, where his heart is as great as his intellect, skill and craft,” he said. “I can come up with a crazy idea to mash up a song or two, pass it onto Will, and just when I think it’s impossible to make it a reality, I’ll get a recording file from him in my email inbox – and there it is.”

Michael Zahler performs “Still It’s True” at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York on Feb. 26. Head here for more details. 

Also on HuffPost: 

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"The Bachelor" has a distinct formula. The lead whittles down the original crowd of 25 hot ladies, week by week. Once we get to Week 8 -- the final four -- the Bachelor gets to go home...town. Viewers get a glimpse into the perfectly All-American, manicured lives of the top four contestants, with a side of family drama. 

But what is it actually like to have "The Bachelor" come to your hometown? And as a contestant, how much of the date do you actually have to plan? We decided to investigate by speaking to someone who knows the hometown drill all too well -- former "The Bachelor" contestant and "The Bachelorette" lead, Andi Dorfman.

Here are five behind-the-scenes tidbits about how a hometown date gets made:

1. Some people have their hometown dates in a wealthier relative's home! Turns out not every single "Bachelor" contestant necessarily grew up on a palatial estate. "I have heard that some people will do their hometown in a different house," said Andi, "like an uncle's house or a rich grandfather's house." 

2. The family might cook, or have production help set up the family meal: Andi's mom wanted to order a sushi boat. "They ask you, do you want your mom and dad to cook something?" Andi said. "Like I remember Nikki [Ferrell, on Juan Pablo's season] had her mom cook this big roast. And I'm like, 'uhhh, my mom doesn't really cook.'" Since Andi's parents weren't down to slave away in the kitchen, production offered to get food together.

"My mom talked to one of the producers and she wanted to do a big sushi love boat," laughed Andi. "And I was like, 'Hell. No.' ... In hindsight, knowing the outcome of Juan Pablo, it would've been pretty good, actually. But then again, did he deserve the sushi love boat?" (We think not.) 

3. The contestant has to think of a fun and distinctive local activity for the Bachelor/ette, even if the pickings are slim. According to Andi, the producers ask the final four to pick an activity that "means something" to him or her -- or just something that could be really fun. "I remember for my season, I wanted to go skeet shooting and they couldn't get everything together for the skeet shooting ... so we ended up going to a gun range," said Andi. "I mean, what is there to do in Atlanta, Georgia? You go to the Coca-Cola museum or you go shooting."  

4. The contestant can't talk to his or her family before the date starts. Andi recounted how she had to have a producer relay messages to her parents about the food and activities since she couldn't speak to them directly while she was on the show.

5. The whole experience is very weird and probably unexpected for the family. "The weird part about the hometowns is that, your family, you haven't seen them in awhile," said Andi. "For my family, I was like, 'I'll be back in a week.' And then, next thing you know, I'm bringing a guy, so it's weird for me but even more weird for the family ... It was really strange to see my family on TV and in that environment."  

For more hometown date secrets, check out HuffPost's "Here To Make Friends" podcast:

Do people love "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise," or do they love to hate these shows? 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. Podcast edited by Nick Offenberg.

Also on HuffPost:

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Egyptian writers, artists and activists are reeling over the lengthy prison sentence handed down to a well-respected writer last week in a Cairo court. Ahmed Naji was sentenced to two years behind bars on public indecency charges relating to his novel Istikhdam al-Hayat (Using Life).

Though journalists have been routinely arrested and imprisoned in Egypt in recent years, the writers of fiction have faced less persecution. Naji's sentence sent a chill through the country's arts and literature community, who feared where the hammer might fall next.

Prosecutors had filed charges against Naji after a private citizen complained that reading a magazine excerpt from Using Life, with its descriptions of sex and drug use, had caused this individual to suffer heart palpitations and a drop in blood pressure. The writer was actually acquitted of the charges at trial in early January, but prosecutors appealed.

On Saturday, the appellate court found Naji guilty. His supporters had hoped for a definitive acquittal and feared at worst a fine. But in an unexpected move, the court gave him two years in prison.

"Everyone present in the courtroom looked at each other in disbelief, and we remained in a state of shock as we watched the forces surround him and take him away," Ayman Zorkany, a friend of Naji's and the illustrator of the book, told The WorldPost.

A verdict against an author for a work of fiction should not be taken lightly.
Egyptian news sites Mada Masr, Qoll, Za2ed18 and Zahma in a joint statement

Naji, 30, is known for his writings about contemporary art and music; he recently co-founded an art magazine. His debut novel, Rogers, was published in 2007. Using Life is his second novel.

The case stems back to August 2014, when an excerpt from Using Life was published in Akhbar al-Adab, a state-owned literary magazine. Based on the complaint from the offended citizen, prosecutors referred the case to trial in November 2015. Akhbar al-Adab's editor was also charged and, in the most recent ruling, ordered to pay around $1,300.

The Using Life excerpt follows a day in the life of the fictional Bassam Bahgat, an Egyptian man in his early 20s. He smokes hashish, drinks and discusses sex with his friends one night before meeting his lover the next morning. Arablit, a blog dedicated to Arabic literature, published a translation on Jan. 25 after Naji was initially acquitted:

We stayed up until the morning smoking hash and competing to finish a whole bottle of vodka. I remember seeing the music dissolve into monkeys that clung to the ceiling. There was a blonde German tapping her leg to the beat. Erections popping around the room. A young Palestinian-American, with poor Arabic, talking a lot about racism. Smoke, cigarettes, hashish. And more smoke.

Since Naji was sentenced, many in Egypt's cultural community and independent media have condemned the government for trying to stifle free expression.

"A verdict against an author for a work of fiction should not be taken lightly and must be seen in the context of the police state's continued attempts to intimidate," Egyptian news sites Mada Masr, Qoll, Za2ed18 and Zahma wrote in a joint statement posted online Sunday.

"Society's views are developed through a clash of ideas, through the existence of freedom of expression and thought and belief," prominent Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim posted on his Facebook page. "The state's role in modern societies is to protect these freedoms and rights, not to play guardian over people's thoughts."

More than a dozen rights organizations, including Great Britain's Article 19 and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, have come to Naji's defense. They argue that his case highlights the deterioration of human rights and free speech in Egypt. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, released a statement this week calling the verdict unconstitutional. 

See a video of an exhibition and book signing for Using Life, held at a Cairo gallery in December 2014.

But human rights groups and international law experts have routinely criticized the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for abuses in the nation's legal system. Still in late 2015, Egyptian authorities shut down two major independent cultural institutions, the Merit Publishing House and the Townhouse Gallery and its Rawabet Theatre. Earlier this year, poet, journalist and former parliamentarian Fatima Naoot was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of contempt of Islam after criticizing religious animal sacrifice in a Facebook post.

Naji's fate has made an uneasy time even more so.

"The literary scene is very nervous," Zorkany said. "From the older generations and writers who have worked with the state, to younger independent writers and even commercial writers." 

Nick Robins-Early contributed reporting to this article.

Also on HuffPost:

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"Liking" something on Facebook is about to be a bit passé.

The company on Wednesday introduced sweeping changes to its social network that will let you react to content with a variety of emotions. The update is called "Reactions," appropriately enough, and it's been in the works for months.

Sure, you can still "like" links, photos and status updates, but you'll also be able to select more specific emoji-based reactions to communicate "Love," "Haha," "Wow," "Sad" or "Angry." A "Yay" reaction was previously tested but apparently axed for the final version.

Sammi Krug, a product manager at Facebook, told The Huffington Post that the update is launching simultaneously on the network's iOS, Android, desktop and mobile web versions.

Here's how it'll work. On mobile versions, you can tap and hold on the redesigned "Like" button to see the full range of available emotions. If you're on a computer, just hover your mouse over the redesigned button. Tap or click on the emotion you want to use and it'll join a new summary box at the bottom of whatever you're reacting to.

What This All Means

If this feels like a fluffy update to you -- well, guess again. Facebook's iconic "like" button has been a staple on the platform since 2009, meaning it's been around for the majority of the social network's lifetime. To reiterate, the reactions aren't outright replacing the "like" feature, but one could theoretically use Facebook without ever selecting that little blue "thumbs up" now.

In a sense, your wordless interactions on Facebook just got about five times more nuanced. You can now express that you love content, that you think it's hilarious, that it outrages or surprises you without ever typing a word.

"Our job is to give people tools to express themselves no matter where they are," Krug told HuffPost.

And that statement is a big clue. Facebook is getting bigger and bigger -- an astounding feat considering more than a billion people use the social network every day -- and there are more ways than ever to intimately communicate with strangers on the platform. There's live video, for example, meaning you can dive into an event that someone's broadcasting from Paris whether you're in Sydney, Australia, or Cleveland, Ohio. You can "follow" notable people rather than "friending" them. 

Still, language barriers exist, though Facebook has been trying to knock those down since 2011 with an automatic translation tool. A few emoji-based reactions may not let you have a conversation with someone who doesn't understand your language, but they certainly will help you respond with a bit more precision to something you see in your News Feed.

They can also let you react to your friend's grandma dying without saying you "like" it, which is nice.

"Reactions" might augur more substantial changes, too. Krug told HuffPost that while they won't have an immediate impact on Facebook's algorithm -- which decides what kind of content you see in your News Feed -- they could someday, once the social network has gathered enough data on how people use them.

So, maybe use that "angry" reaction sparingly.

MORE ON HUFFPOST:
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Gone are the days where one could walk down the street, pick up a physical copy of The Onion, finger through a couple pages, and enjoy a laugh that sounded more like a scream.

That isn't to say that we don't have easy access to mind-blowing satire. Culture-skewering machines like Clickhole, Reductress, Starwipe, Above Average, Funny or Die News, McSweeney’s and The Onion keep us gasping at our laptops everyday while we pretend to have jobs. Good comedy isn't hard to find, but I don't think I'm breaking news when I say that humor is shrinking with our attention spans.

Most of our gut-busting content lives and dies by the tweet it's attached to, or whatever humorists can put in that box to make you stop scrolling down your feed. Best-case scenario, you stop scrolling long enough to smirk at the title, NOT read the article, send it to your friend, and keep scrolling.  

Janice Magazine, an illustration and humor magazine in the style of The New Yorker (if The New Yorker just grew boobs and wanted to tell everybody about it) hopes to be the antidote to our disposable attitude towards comedy. The creators/contributors for Janice are Upright Citizens Brigade mainstays Ryan Haney and Matthew Brian Cohen with art by New York Times' Maëlle Doliveux. Currently, they're running a Kickstarter to fund the release of their second print issue. The cover of the first issue can be seen below and its contents can be read here. If nothing else, check out "A Review of the Playstation 4 and My Own Wasted Potential" or "Time to Take Action Against Climate Change Without Letting Earth Getting All Cocky About It."

The Huffington Post spoke with Ryan, Matthew, and Maëlle about their decision to commit to print, and why making something great is better than trying to break the Internet.

The tone is Clickhole but more pointed. Correct?

RYAN HANEY: Yeah, totally. We were aiming for that sweet spot between McSweeney's/New Yorker and Clickhole. Finding that happy medium of doing something pointed but with a cruder path to it.

MAËLLE DOLIVEUX: I feel like it’s The New Yorker for our generation. Is that fair to say?

That’s fair.

RH: We describe it as The New Yorker but slightly fucked. I always forget the name of the guy on the cover of The New Yorker.

MD: Eustace Tilley.

RH: Yes, Janice is like Eustace Tilley after a good slogging.

You are Kickstarting a print issue of Janice. Why did you decide to do a hard copy?

RH: There are just so many things grabbing your attention online, so we wanted to create this weird little world around this strange publication and have you sit in that for a while. We try to build things up with the crossword, letters to the editor, and the gag cartoon. We choose a theme for every issue. We wanted people to hang out, explore, and see all the weird hidden treasures. We thought having it in print was the best way to highlight all that.

When you read an Onion article, you're swept up into the world and maybe that’s because we used to pick up paper copies of The Onion off the street. The Onion was right there next to the regular newspapers! For free!

MD: I think it works for The Onion because it’s news. And these articles aren’t very long. They’re brief and understandable within minutes. The longest article in the newest Janice issue is insane and it’s 10 pages long and it’s my favorite. It’s impossible for the Internet. They'd see how short their scrollbar is and they'd go "Oh, gosh! I’ll read it later." But then you never get to it. With the magazine, you can put it down and pick it up later or just make the time for it. It’s great and weird!

RH: I refer to Janice as semi-hallucinatory, hard-boiled erotic noir.

MD: I think that’s super accurate.

I love that. What’s the plan after this print issue comes out?

MD: I would love to keep making hard copies. I'd also like to send Janice to people who would get a kick out of it and hopefully want to be involved. I think it would be interesting to get even more variety and voices. Also I'd love to start working on the art with other artists. So it’s not just me.

Maëlle, you do all the art for Janice. What's the process for that? Do you do whatever you want or do you create art based on the articles?

MD: They just let me do my thing.

RH: You don’t want to spoil the broth. 

MD: It's daunting, so I send it to people I look up to in order to make sure it’s good. We hope to put these out four times a year. I think it would be great to start working with more comic artists for the interiors.

Another important thing you guys landed on was: “What if we just made a funny thing?” Everything doesn’t have to break the Internet. What happened to making something because you love it and you think it’s funny? Why is that naïve?

MD: This sounds very pretentious but all the comedy in the print copies are timeless. Haha! I said it. It’s timeless! Not in a way that’s super vague to the point where it’s not interesting but in a way that it’s specific and eternal. I really think people will be able to pick up this copy in 10 years and find some really funny things. I think there’s a tendency with comedy where you read it once and then you get it so you don’t go back to it. I didn’t feel that way with the writing in Janice.

MATTHEW BRIAN COHEN: Janice harkens back to the Army Man magazines. The people writing for Janice are the next wave of comedy. People need to get their copies now before they become collector’s items.

RH: My hope is that Janice becomes a place where funny people can come and get their "ya-yas" out. Not to rag on the Internet but it puts a lot of bread on a lot of tables. Meaning, it's a job. So I hope Janice becomes a place where really funny people can do that idea that’s been in the back of their head. Let their freak flag fly.

Also on HuffPost:

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If you pull yourself away from the illusion of Oscar prestige, you'll probably agree there's a bad seed in almost any Best Picture crop. Sometimes multiple! In fact, upon scrolling through Best Picture rosters of yore, you'll probably land on some that are just one big case of "Yikes." So let's talk about it. 

We're days away from crowning the 88th Best Picture winner, so I decided to rank the past decade's collective nominees. In looking at each year's list, it's pretty easy to deem any given set a victory or a bust. In some ways, it's not even the Academy's fault -- certain years' slates are just superior. And because movies often feel dated even one year after they've opened, it's worth considering how the past 10 years' Hollywood superlatives have fared.

I could pretend this list has a semblance of objectivity. (To be fair, I did put a lot of value in these movies' overarching cultural stature when debating their retrospective quality.) But, really, I am one mere movie fan, and these are my opinions. You can argue with them. You should argue with them! But they're pretty accurate, so good luck. In ascending order of quality, here is a ranking of the past 10 years' Best Picture inventories. 

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A shift in perspective, or at least a quick, cool dip into the mind of another person, is the objective of travel, and also of reading great books.

So if you’re both knowledge-hungry and couch-bound, pick up a road trip saga or family drama set during a listless beach vacation. Here are some options:

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

It’s not all smooth sailing on the island of Mallorca in Emma Straub’s 2015 beach read. A family sets off from Manhattan, hoping to bask in the sun in celebration of a major anniversary. Franny, Jim and their daughter Sylvia may be sorting through old grudges and wounds, but the backdrop of this familial drama is still enviable -- warm winds and gorgeous vistas frame the fast-paced story.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Francophiles will tell you that Paris is a city to be seen, not just discussed, which is why Lucy Knisley’s graphic novel is a great medium for exploring the city on the page. It follows a mother and daughter on their six-week stay in the City of Light. Knisley’s mother is a chef, so expect sensory stimulation out the wazoo, and a generally delightful romp through Paris.

10:04 by Ben Lerner

When narrator (and, by proxy, author of this book) Ben Lerner goes to Marfa, Texas, on a writing fellowship, he doesn't make the best use of his time. He dallies, keeps a weird sleep schedule, and almost misses out on the wonders of the unique art oasis altogether. But, urged by a friend, he goes to see Donald Judd's rows and rows of aluminum structures, reflecting the big Southern sky on their well-preserved surfaces, and his procrastination pays off.

The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray

Rich music, quaint pastry shops and stunning architecture populate the city, so it's no wonder Wray wanted to explore its streets, its people and its politics. Parts of his wild new novel are set in a Viennese university, circa Einstein's relativity discovery, and others are set in today's Austria. You can romp around its streets at a quick clip, comfortably aware that your circumstances are less dire than his poor protagonist's. 

The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida

A jarring reminder that traveling abroad often involves last-minute changes of plan, Vida’s screwbally novel is a fun read for anyone who can laugh along with overseas mishaps. The narrator takes a last-minute trip to Casablanca, having romanticized the city without really reading up on it, and winds up losing her backpack full of necessities immediately. She constructs a new identity, winds up at a Patti Smith concert, and steps in as a stunt double on a movie set, before finally making her way back home.

A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall by Will Chancellor

A tragically thwarted Olympic career leaves Owen Burr feeling lost. At the start of Chancellor’s novel, the idiosyncratic protagonist suffers from a career-ending injury. In desperate need of a new pursuit, he flees to Berlin with vague ambitions to become an artist. This book’s conception of the city makes it feel a little like NYC at the height of the abstract expressionist movement -- a place any art fiend wouldn’t mind spending some time, even if the freewheeling experience is a little overwhelming.

Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabriella Hamilton

Hamilton is a chef first, an author second -- a descriptor she grapples with throughout her memoir, which is about so much more than how to navigate a hectic kitchen. The owner of New York City restaurant Prune picked up a few of her cooking chops in Italy, and her descriptions of the scenery are warm and supple. If you’re dreaming of a food-centric escape, a few pages of this book may be enough.

Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson

The characters in Mona Simpson’s first novel are fuelled mostly by hope, but also by the credit card they took from the husband and father they’re living behind. Ann and Adele flee their native Wisconsin to head West, hoping to find instant success in Los Angeles, a city they presume will be life-changing. It’s a critical examination of our ideals surrounding Hollywood, but also a charming take on the cross-country road trip.

Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling With D.H. Lawrence by Geoff Dyer

Out of Sheer Rage is what happens when a writer with a hefty travel stipend and a penchant for procrastinating tries his darndest to turn in his manuscript on time. Rather than writing a somber academic study of D.H. Lawrence, or perhaps a novel based on the writer’s life like he set out to do, Dyer hangs around Paris and Rome and books a lengthy stay in Greece, where he bikes on winding roads and meditates on the art of procrastination.

Sea and Sardinia by D.H. Lawrence

Before you read Dyer’s wry book about D.H. Lawrence, you might do well to read the source material. You might’ve read Sons and Lovers in high school English class, but Lawrence was a traveloguer, too. Sea and Sardinia is the writer’s account of Sicily after World War I, written while he was living there in 1921. As much as an account of the place, it’s an examination of its politics, so be prepared for deft commentary on burgeoning fascism.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

The same author who flew readers to Italy, India, and Bali explores Peru, Philadelphia and Amsterdam in her most recent work of fiction. It’s not a journal of self-exploration, but a work of historical fiction set during the 1800s, centering on the mystical world of botany. If you’re a nature-loving traveler, The Signature of All Things might transport you to more fascinating places than Eat, Pray, Love.

Open City by Teju Cole

Travelers may disagree on hostels versus hotels or guidebooks versus more spontaneous exploration, but it’s pretty well agreed upon that the best way to explore an unknown city is on foot. In the spirit of the flaneur -- only less self-consciously leisure-obsessed, and more focused on broadening his social perspectives -- Teju Cole’s narrator wanders the streets of New York City. The meandering style of Cole’s prose mimics the act of taking an open-air stroll, and will make you feel like you’ve roamed around the city too.

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Walk through the halls of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art on your own and you're sure to receive at least an afternoon's worth of a history lesson. Beside the centuries-old paintings and sculptures hang placards that give a quick glimpse into the stories behind the art. Many tell tales of myth or allegory, others of well-to-do figures of the past, patrons of the great artists we study today.

Very few mention sex at all, especially as it pertains to women.

"Some art is about religion," Professor Andrew Lear, founder of Shady Ladies Tours, writes on his website. "Some art is about power. But lots of the greatest art is about sex and sexiness, and the Met has a bordello-full of racy artworks, art that tells the history of human sexuality." You just might not know it.

Lear is on a mission to bring these juicy tales of sexuality to the forefront. As the self-proclaimed polar opposite of Sister Wendy, he's launched Shady Ladies as an alternative tour service at the Met, one that embraces the untold tales of courtesans, royal mistresses and otherwise scandalous women whose faces -- and nude bodies -- populate the halls of the museum.

"My goal is to reconnect people with the sexy side of art history," Lear explained on a recent visit with The Huffington Post.

His tour moves through the familiar wings of the behemoth institute, where he waxes poetic on the dramatic histories behind the hetaerae of Greek vase painting, the naked sculptures of Praxiteles, and the work of well-known painters like Titian, Manet and Degas. As it stands, these works depict the faces of both nameless and infamous women -- from mythic figures like Venus and Salome to very real ladies like Madame X and Grace Dalrymple Elliott. Yet their biographies are virtually absent from the historical material available to museum-goers.

Lear, founder of similarly tantalizing tours devoted to Oscar Wilde and "Gay Secrets," is out to correct this historical imbalance.

Standing in front of a painting by Edgar Degas, occupied by his signature subject, ballerinas, Lear points out the shadowy figure of a man in a top hat watching the women as they prepare for the stage. History buffs know that ballets were originally performed by men; like Shakespearean plays, the male dancers playing women acted in drag. When women finally entered into the profession, they were not paid much. Yet, as categorically pleasing bodies and artistically-inclined minds, they drew the attention of suitors with money to spend. The shadowy figure, Lear explained, is likely one of the women's patron.

So were these ballerinas, who fraternized with monied male patrons, courtesans? No, we have no idea as to whether the patron relationship involved sex. But Degas' image plays with the conservative attitude that obscured 19th century sexuality. Degas renders the man amongst the ballerinas as a blurry, dark figure, barely articulated, as though his presence behind the stage was never really advertised. The women appear at ease, though one can be seen shirking behind the figure, perhaps listening in on the conversation being had. It's a mysterious setting, one hardly explained in the small, white rectangle of information the Met provides.

Lear is eager to share more stories like this: the tale of Elizabeth Farren, a late 18th century actress painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence; Victorine-Louise Meurent, the painter and model of Edouard Manet; Madame de Pompadour, the official chief mistress of Louis XV and the woman who commissioned portraits from François Boucher. Beyond the names, he speculates on the role of hetaerae in art -- referring to a specific type of sex worker in ancient Greece -- and the relationship between courtesans, dancers, actresses and the artists commissioned to paint them.

As male was, more often than not, the gender responsible for documenting sexuality on canvas throughout history, Shady Ladies accordingly focuses on the women displayed. There are non-heteronormative gems amongst the bunch though. Take, for example, "The Horse Fair" by Rosa Bonheur, a "New Woman" of the 19th century who wore men's clothing and preferred female "companions." During our tour, Lear dramatically revealed that the figure in the center of her painting, donning a blue jacket, nearly obscured by a bucking horse, is in fact Bonheur herself. 

Secrets abound.

Lear also runs a broader Sexy Secrets tour, which combines tidbits from his Gay Secrets segment (think: the shady boys of Caravaggio's paintings) with the gems of Shady Ladies. Both of these tours veer outside of the mostly Western purview of Shady Ladies, telling tales of sex in India, China, Korea, Japan and more. But there's something particularly intriguing about Shady Ladies, especially given the fact that 85 percent of the nudes at the Met are female. Their stories deserve to be told. 

At the end of the day, the "Shady" of Lear's title seems to refer less to the "disreputable" occupations of the women and more to the dubious ways institutions gloss over their contributions to art history. For what it's worth, Dr. Ruth, sex therapist extraordinaire, enjoyed her visit. For those not of the prudish heart, a field trip to the Met might be in order.

For more information on Shady Ladies Tours, check out the ticketing website. The next tour will be held on Friday, Feb. 26. See a preview of the paintings discussed in the tour below.

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Dozens of artists and writers have signed an open letter from the PEN American Center in support of Apple's stand against the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agency is attempting to compel Apple to unlock an iPhone owned by one of the attackers in the mass shooting which took place in San Bernardino, California, on December 2, 2015.

Addressed to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the letter asserts that “what the FBI is asking Apple to do would erode the vital U.S. values of free expression and privacy, and could endanger writers and human rights advocates in countries around the world."

Among the signers are artists including Richard Serra, Fred Tomaselli, and Lawrence Weiner, as well as writers such as Siddhartha Deb, Jonathan Lethem, Maaza Mengiste, and Colm Tóibín.

The FBI wants Apple to disable the feature on the iPhone which erases data after ten failed password attempts, in hopes of gaining more information about the motives and possible terrorist connections of Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, who killed 14 and injured 22 in the December attack at the Inland Regional Center. Apple is resisting, and privacy advocates and some tech experts say that a “back door," even if created for one-time use, could end up in the hands of hackers and repressive governments. Both sides are reportedly prepared for a protracted legal fight.

The step the FBI is demanding, the letter asserts, is a threat to constitutional rights.

“The right to privacy is not an abstract or fungible good," it says. “It is a set of protections that sets the U.S. apart and has allowed expression, literature, culture, intellectual life, and creativity to flourish."

“The consequences of forcing Apple to create software that effectively creates a back door into its encryption systems are serious: such an outcome will put hundreds of millions of people on notice that their texts, emails, documents, photos, videos, poems, stories, and creations may no longer be secure, and that they had better keep that in mind as they draft, develop, and dream," they go on to add.

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"This book tells our story," photographer Ken Light wrote on his Kickstarter campaign last year. "It shows how I saw America and the actions of my generation through the lens of a 35mm camera."

His photos, shot between 1969 and 1974, give a glimpse into one of the most important eras of modern American history -- one punctuated by campus protests, discussions of war, and unruly political campaigns. While in words, it sounds similar to the election period Americans find themselves in now, Light's images -- collected together in a book titled What's Going On: America 1969-1974 -- depict a different time and place entirely.

The time captured in Light's series is marked by so many unforgettable cultural moments -- Woodstock, the Kent State shootings, the resignation of President Nixon, the return of POWs from Vietnam, and the rise of the Women’s Liberation movement, the Black Panthers and Students for a Democratic Society. The years were a mix of hope and despair; as the images show, American citizens protested and celebrated the change they witnessed.

"Baby Boomers had dreams and maybe our dream was naïve," Light writes. "A lot of us believed you could live your life and build the world around two basic precepts: love and peace. We believed we were the generation that would do away with war. We would do away with greed, and in its place we’d create a world that would revolve around compassion and camaraderie, personal and political liberation."

While the Boomers certainly left their mark on American history, a survey of sentiment in the United States highlights a persisting culture of weariness. According to a Gallup poll from 2015, 47 percent of respondents reported feeling "not very much" trust and confidence in the people running for or holding office in the United States. Amid a reinvigorated push for reproductive rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, issues of the past remain.

Lights' other works -- exploring the legacy of coal mining in southern West Virginia, the experience of living on death row, the history of rural black poverty, the lives of farm workers and their journey from Mexico -- similarly reflect on historical moments that ring true today. A professor and curator of the Center for Photography at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California Berkeley, Light has dedicated his career to shining a light on these corners of American politics and life. 

See a preview of What's Going On below. Signed copies of the book are available here.

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One tattoo artist is helping others turn traumatic scars into symbols of strength.  

Brian Finn, who works at Infinite Art Tattoo in Toledo, Ohio, spends one day a week inking over people's scars from domestic violence, human trafficking or self-harm -- for free. 

The artist, who began his compassionate project back in October, has worked on five tattoos thus far with many more to come. He explains that he does it all to help others feel empowered. 

"It's just something I can do that won't take much time that can make a big impact on other people," Finn, who's been tattooing for almost 17 years, told The Huffington Post of his thoughtful initiative. "A tattoo can help disguise the scars, so ... it's like a new chapter."

Finn explained that over the years, he's encountered many clients who have scars from trauma and wanted to ink over them. However, when Finn would explain the cost he found that many were going through financial challenges and were unable to afford them. 

The artist eventually decided to set aside time to help individuals, who went through similar obstacles, at no cost so they'd be able to turn over a new leaf no matter their financial situation. 

Finn has been inking different designs through his initiative, including a Celtic knot, which is an existing tattoo on a client that he's reworking to hide scars, a rose and a skull with pistons. While some open up during their sessions and talk about their experiences, Finn mentioned that he also encounters people who prefer to keep their stories private.

He says that ultimately, the people he's worked with feel overjoyed when they see the ink. 

"There's definitely been tears involved -- of happiness," he said. "It's been a great response."

Though the artist has worked on five, he's received many requests since the news broke of his initiative and is booked through April with appointments to transform scars. And though his project is very admirable, the humble artist says it's simply the right thing to do. 

"It's just not being a jerk," he said with a laugh. 

H/T NPR

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The average writing day for pagan author Starhawk seems apt for someone whose spirituality is embedded in the magical qualities of nature. The 64-year-old wakes up in her northern California home and goes outside to sit and meditate. When she's ready, she settles down to write at a spot out in the woods, listening to the sounds of nature as she lets the words flow freely onto the page. 

Starhawk, who cofounded the Reclaiming tradition of modern paganism in 1980, has been writing for the pagan community since she published her first book, The Spiral Dance, in 1979. The modern pagan community is comprised of people who identify as witches, pagans, neopagans and more. With The Spiral Dance, Starhawk became a leading voice in the neopagan movement, which is marked by the burgeoning of earth-based, goddess spirituality in the 20th century.

The writer now has a new book, a follow up to her 1994 epic The Fifth Sacred Thing, coming out March 1. 

The book,City of Refuge, is set in a utopian and pagan-influenced San Francisco in the year 2048 just after a devastating war with the totalitarian South. As the city struggles to regain stability, it quickly becomes apparent that its troubles are far from over. 

It took nearly twenty years for Starhawk to revisit the story of The Fifth Sacred Thing, though she's written many pagan-themed nonfiction books in the interim. She started writing City of Refuge in early 2012, inspired in part by her involvement with Occupy Oakland.

To her, a novel begins with a question, she told The Huffington Post. The question she had at the time, given the context of the Occupy movement, was, "How do we create a new world when people are so deeply damaged by the old?"

The novel is full of themes influenced by Starhawk's earth-based spirituality that begin to explore what that "new world" might look like -- from the city's marked reverence for nature to the characters' ability to gather information from crystals much like people today wield their smartphones.

“There’s a proverb that says, ‘If we don’t change our direction we’re going to wind up where we’re headed.’ The world we’re headed to is clear: rising seas, ecological collapse, social collapse. We see it happening all around,” Starhawk said.

Just like the characters in the book, Starhawk suggested that we might find inspiration to confront this dire reality by nurturing a "spiritual connection to nature."

“Let nature in, let nature be your teacher,” she said.

What the utopian North has that the South lacks in the novel are things that might seem simple at first glance: gardens that grow real food, effective natural healing techniques, and respect for the earth that translates into respect for every other person and living thing. These elements make the North and its inhabitants resilient and equipped to envision a healthy future for the generations to come.

It's essential, Starhawk said, "for all of us to look ahead and ask, 'What kind of world do we want to leave? What's the personal contribution we came into the world to make?'"

There's much healing to be done, both in the novel and in the real world, before that vision can come to fruition. As her initial question acknowledged, the "new world" only begins when people are able to heal from the damage caused by the old. 

"It isn’t always a smooth road; I don’t think healing ever is,” Starhawk said.

But the book offers some hope that perhaps even a cynic might find comforting.

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Back on Halloween night in 2003, Kasi Brown found herself talking to her friend and boss Leonardo DiCaprio about whether she would have the energy to go to a party later that evening.

DiCaprio and Brown, his assistant, were in the actor's trailer as they waited to go back to the set of "The Aviator," the film that would eventually earn DiCaprio his first of four nominations in the Best Actor category at the Academy Awards (the latest of which DiCaprio may finally win this Sunday for his role in "The Revenant").

But DiCaprio wasn't interested in that. He wanted to talk about Halloween. 

"'Halloween is my favorite holiday,'" Brown recalled DiCaprio telling her. The holiday was Brown's favorite, too, so she asked why. 

"His face got serious and he said he liked the anonymity," Brown told The Huffington Post over an email. "He said it was nice to be able to walk amongst people and interact with them without recognition. Just be like everybody else without any expectation."

Throughout the fall of 2003, Brown would come to understand this desire, as she was simultaneously embedded into DiCaprio's day-to-day life and entrusted with protecting various aspects of it. Occasionally, when DiCaprio was out of his trailer, Brown would hold an umbrella over his head so that the paparazzi "couldn’t snap photos of him making weird faces while he rehearsed," as Brown explained.

Because of their long hours together, Brown and DiCaprio found points of connection. One was Halloween. Another was rap music. 

"Leo and I always had fun on set," said Brown. She claimed that they particularly bonded over how they "love[d] to observe people and goof around playing characters, doing accents, whatever."

One recurring joke between the pair involved acting as if DiCaprio were the archetypal celebrity.

"Sometimes, I would pretend that he was the stereotype of an entitled celebrity and when he would ask me to do something, I would bow and in a beaten-down voice say, 'Yes, sir, anything you like sir, anything else, sir?' and he would laugh and tell me to knock it off," Brown said. 

Brown got the job by way of a particularly lucky connection. In 1999, Brown moved from Kansas to Los Angeles to pursue her Hollywood dream. Her best friend at the time was working as DiCaprio's assistant on 2002's "Catch Me If You Can." When this friend again assisted DiCaprio as he started filming "The Aviator" in Montreal, Brown headed to Canada to hang out with her.

During the day, Brown would visit the set. At night, Brown, her friend and DiCaprio "would go out on the town."

"Those Montreal girls were crazy for him!" said Brown. "One punched me in the arm in a club to get close to him." 

So when the set relocated to Los Angeles and her friend moved on to assist Kate Hudson, Brown was already in a prime position to be the replacement. Making it an even more seamless transition was the fact that Brown and her friend have nearly the same name, though with different spellings. And so, Kasi Brown became the new Kayce Brown.

"She asked me if I was interested in taking over the position," Kasi Brown recalled over email. "I thought, why not? It would give me the opportunity, as a filmmaker, to watch Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio work. I’d be an idiot to turn down a learning opportunity like that!"

While on set, Brown learned many things about DiCaprio. He was "very smart." He knew quite a bit about "politics, pop culture, history, you name it." He had a "wicked sense of humor" and would spend his rare down-time chatting with everybody on the set, including crew and extras.

At the end of filming, DiCaprio gave the entire crew embroidered flight bags with a note written in the style of Howard Hughes, the eccentric business tycoon DiCaprio played in the movie.

"He's extremely down to earth, and he likes to share stories and life experiences with people," said Brown.

But Brown also learned from the young actor. Witnessing DiCaprio's relentless devotion to his craft ended up being an inspiration to her.

"On the way to set one day, I saw that he kept stepping on all the cracks and spots on the floor in our path," Brown recalled. "He was playing Howard Hughes, who has OCD, and I realized that he was getting into character."

At the very end of the shoot, Brown even got to act alongside DiCaprio, with Martin Scorsese directing her. The actress that played DiCaprio's mother in the movie wasn't available to do a particular reshoot, so Brown stepped in to play the offscreen ghost for the last scene of the movie.

Brown said that she had memorized the Southern drawl the former actress had used and was able to imitate the original performance. "When they cut, Marty came up to me and said, 'You’re an actress!' and Leo stepped off set and said, 'Kasi!' in an impressed voice," Brown said. "They both made me feel really good about my acting and the work that I was doing to learn everything I could on set while assisting Leo."

After they finished filming "The Aviator" and DiCaprio was no longer her boss, Brown and her former club-mate still kept in touch. As Brown worked on her own projects, DiCaprio remained encouraging, inviting her to submit to his production company, Appian Way, and giving feedback on a sketch comedy show she produced nearly a decade later.

Finally in 2015, Brown fulfilled her goal of making her own movie when she wrote and directed the comedy "Gone Doggy Gone" with her partner Brandon Walter. According to Brown, DiCaprio, "gave [her] encouragement all along the way," despite all the years that had passed. 

At least from Brown's account, DiCaprio seems to be someone who'd like to achieve being "just like everybody else without any expectation" by helping those around him achieve their own dreams. 

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This "Hamilton"-inspired artwork is so money. 

Danielle DeJesus, an artist in Brooklyn, New York, was so inspired by the diversity in the cast of the Broadway play, that she decided to create an ode to them. She painted a portrait of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of "Hamilton," on a canvas with the Founding Father on it -- the $10 bill. 

And it's truly a masterpiece. 

The artist told The Huffington Post that she didn't know much regarding the history written about in the musical, nor is she a Broadway buff. However after watching the cast and their win at the Grammys, the artist, who says she has a ton of Puerto Rican pride, was drawn to the play. 

"To see an entire cast of people of color ... just blew my mind. I became obsessed with it and started researching. I fell in love," she told HuffPost. "Being a Latina from Brooklyn -- from New York -- it's just such a huge inspiration to see actors who look like me, my friends and my family." 

So after being immersed in all-things "Hamilton" the idea to put Miranda on the $10 bill just clicked. The artist used acrylic and watercolor paints to create the work and spent about eight hours on the detailed portrait. Of course, she included the Puerto Rican flag in the background, as Miranda, too, is of Puerto Rican descent. 

Since she's shared her piece on social media, DeJesus has received a great deal of positive feedback from other "Hamilton" fans, as well as fellow Latinos, who are also applauding her work, which raises awareness around the cast's diversity. 

"People have been messaging me saying, 'Thank you so much for representing,'" she told HuffPost. "It's been really cool ... to make my people happy."

Dejesus said that she'll continue painting other members of the Hamilton cast on different bills and create a series out of it. And, of course, she'll be seeing the show in June. 

To see more artwork from DeJesus, check out her Instagram page here. 

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When Simon Beck walks in the snow, he leaves tracks to remember.

Beck creates giant murals as he trudges through the white stuff in his snowshoes.

"It started as a bit of fun, but gradually, it's taken over my life," he says in the video above posted by Great Big Story.

For one of his bigger works, Beck says he might spend two hours measuring his piece and 8 hours walking. That's about 40,000 steps for him.

Beck says on his Facebook page that his designs are based "on the world of geometry or 'crop circles.'"

He makes about 30 snow drawings per year, with the Alps serving as his main canvas, according to a previous report. 

At least when this guy walks in circles, he really gets somewhere.

H/T Digg

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This year marks the 90th anniversary of one of New York's most well-known cultural institutions -- and the oldest dance group in America -- the Martha Graham Dance Company.

The eponymous Ms. Graham founded the organization in 1926, attracting classically trained icons and emerging modern dancers alike with her innovative take on the relationship between expression and movement. Her influence on the dance world at large has been likened to "Picasso's on painting, Stravinsky’s on music, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s on architecture," and performances like "Revolt" (1927) and "Appalachian Spring" (1944) are still studied today. According to Margaret Atwood's famous Maddadam trilogy, the choreographer-dancer's legacy is so monumental that the Martha Graham Academy even exists in American society's dystopian future. 

Today, 10 years shy of the company's centennial, the dancers at Martha Graham are preparing for "The Next 90!" a season of programming dedicated to bringing back classic performances that haven’t been seen in years, commissioning brand new works, and restoring original stage sets designed by the beloved sculptor Isamu Noguchi.

To do so, the company has taken to Kickstarter, launching an initiative to raise $90,000 -- an appropriate sum for to mark the occasion. So far, the company has secured $30,000 from its board and $30,000 from its foundation; the rest it hopes will come from fans on the crowd-sourcing platform. 

"In this celebratory 90th year, we plan to go bigger than ever and bring Graham fans -- old and new -- behind the scenes, into our archives, and even on tour," the company writes online. Awards for support include passes to a technique class at the Martha Graham School, limited edition merchandise, balcony tickets to shows, and access to archival video. 

In honor of "The Next 90!" once dancer in particular -- ballet-trained principal Lloyd Knight -- has put together a tutorial for the Graham lovers out there. For those familiar with the company's unique aesthetic, the video shows fans how to contour like a professional modern dancer.  

For more information on the Martha Graham Dance Company's upcoming programming, check out the Kickstarter campaign.

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